Social massacre in Serbia / Massacro sociale in Serbia
1. RAPPORTO AMNESTY DENUNCIA TORTURE POLIZIA / Amnesty International
denounces police brutalities (4/9/03)
2. SPARATI COLPI DAVANTI SEDE GOVERNO (12/9/03)
3. CIO' CHE RESTA DELL'ESERCITO JUGOSLAVO SARA' INVIATO IN AFGHANISTAN,
IRAQ, LIBERIA ECC. COME CARNE DA MACELLO PER GLI AMERICANI
4. SERBIA/MONTENEGRO: ESERCITO A DIETA PER NATO E BILANCIO (ANSA
19/9/03)
--- LINKS:
BANCA MONDIALE E FONDO MONETARIO INTERNAZIONALE SONO ENTUSIASTI DI
SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
World Bank continues support to Serbia-Montenegro
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/cgi-bin/printpage.cgi?filename=/news/2003-
09/23/331080.html
IMF welcomes Serbia-Montenegro's economic policy
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/cgi-bin/printpage.cgi?filename=/news/2003-
09/19/331032.html
--- I PRECEDENTI ARTICOLI DELLA SERIE:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2680
1. US STEEL TO BUY SERBIA'S SARTID STEEL PLANT
(La "USA Acciaio" firma per l'acquisto delle acciaierie serbe "Sartid")
2. US AMBASSADOR: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SUPPORTS SERBIA
(L'ambasciatore USA: noi appoggiamo la Serbia perche' reprime e
privatizza)
3. SERBIA: DETAINEES ALLEGE TORTURE
(Serbia: i detenuti denunciano di aver subito torture)
4. UNIONS OF SERBIA "DECLARE WAR" ON THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
(Federazione sindacale "dichiara guerra" al governo)
5. WORLD BANK OFFERS $80 MILLION TO PRIVATIZE SOCIALLY-OWNED FIRMS
(La Banca Mondiale offre 80 milioni di dollari per la privatizzazione
delle imprese a capitale sociale)
6. UNHCR CUTS AID TO BELGRADE; CASH CRISIS SHUTS SOUP KITCHENS;
SERBIA-MONTENEGRO HAS GRAVEST REFUGEE PROBLEM IN EUROPE
(Alto Commissariato ONU per i Rifugiati ed altri organismi "umanitari"
tagliano drasticamente i fondi alla Serbia, benche' il paese abbia la
situazione piu' drammatica d'Europa)
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2683
7.A) Serbian Regime Passes Sweeping Law To Purge Former
Officials From All Government, Public, Media Positions
7.B) Last US Sanctions Lifted As Serbia And Montenegro 'Integrate Into
International Community'
7.C) German Businesses To Invest In Serbia
8. Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis, Kragujevac
9. 58 COMPANIES IN SERBIA PRIVATIZED IN APRIL; PROPERTY OF PRIVATIZED
ENTERPRISES WILL BE PROTECTED, VLAHOVIC
10. Free press under fire in Serbia (by David Binder)
11. Serbia prepares ground for oil privitisation
12. Financial Times:
A) River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
B) Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
13. THREE WAZ [GERMAN] TOP MANAGERS TO HEAD POLITIKA
14. SERBIAN PREMIER VISITS USA:
15. CONTINUING DROUGHT COULD SPELL DISASTER
16. SERBIAN MILITARY PURGES TO ESCALATE:
17. [Serbia-Montenegro Minister of International Economic Relations
Branko] LUKOVAC SAYS BOTH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2699
A. DEFENSE MINISTERS OF ISRAEL AND SERBIA-MONTENEGRO SIGN COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
B. Links to Human Rights Watch documents on the mistreatment of
political prisoners in Serbia
C. OUTRAGEOUS REGIME ATTACKS CONTINUE
D. Massive Army purge has begun
E. SERBIAN SOLDIERS TO "PEACEKEEPING" MISSIONS: DOS AND OTPOR
"WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT"
F. The New Janissaries. How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go? (N. Malic)
=== 1 ===
SERBIA: RAPPORTO AMNESTY DENUNCIA TORTURE POLIZIA
(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 4 SET - Amnesty International ha chiesto una
indagine internazionale su presunti abusi da parte della polizia
serba ai danni dei fermati nell'ambito dell'operazione 'Sablja'
(sciabola), che ha seguito l'uccisione, nel marzo scorso, del premier
Zoran Djindjic. Stando ad Amnesty, che ha raccolto decine di
testimonianze, gli agenti sono ricorsi anche alla tortura per
estorcere confessioni e informazioni ai fermati, soprattutto a quelli
ritenuti piu' in basso nella scala gerarchica delle cosche.
Dal rapporto dell'organizzazione, i metodi piu' frequenti di tortura
sono stati il soffocamento per mezzo di sacchetti di plastica,
scariche elettriche, percosse e anche finte esecuzioni. Il
ministro della giustizia serbo Vladan Batic ha smentito che nelle
prigioni serbe si siano verificato episodi di tortura, ma ha aggiunto
di ''non poter affermare con sicurezza altrettanto per cio' che e'
avvenuto nei commissariati di polizia o durante l'arresto dei
sospetti''. L'operazione 'Sablja' si e' svolta in un regime di
emergenza nazionale, che prevedeva la sospensione di molti diritti
dei fermati, compreso quello del contatto con i propri legali. In
tutto, circa 11.000 persone sono state arrestate, e per 4.500 di loro
e' stata confermata la detenzione. (ANSA). OT 04/09/2003
18:08
SEE ALSO / VEDI ANCHE:
MEMORANDUM CONFIDENZIALE UNHCHR
United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights, Serbia
And Montenegro: Confidential Memorandum To The Ministries Of Justice
And The Interior Of The Republic Of Serbia. Initial findings and
recommendations arising from the visit to detainees in Belgrade 14-15
April 2003
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2537
"POVERLJIVI MEMORANDUM MINISTARSTVIMA PRAVDE I UNUTRASNJIH POSLOVA
REPUBLIKE SRBIJE"
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2536
COMUNICATI STAMPA HRW
Serbia: Emergency Should Not Trump Basic Rights
Certain restrictions on rights imposed by the Serbian government in the
wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic may not be
justified under international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter
(http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503-ltr.htm) to Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic today. (March 25, 2003 Press Release)
http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503.htm
Serbia: End Complete Isolation of Detainees
Serbia Should Uphold Council of Europe Standards
Serbia should immediately end the isolation of those detained during
the ongoing state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today. (April
7, 2003 Press Release)
http://hrw.org/press/2003/04/serbia070403.htm
Serbia: Detainees’ Access to Lawyers Long Overdue
Serbia should ensure that all persons detained during the state of
emergency promptly get access to lawyers, Human Rights Watch said
today. (May 10, 2003 Press Release)
http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051003.htm
Serbia: Run-Around on Prison Visits
The Serbian authorities are obstructing efforts by Human Rights Watch
and other nongovernmental organizations to visit people arrested during
the state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today. (May 14, 2003
Press Release)
http://staging.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051403.htm
LE DICHIARAZIONI INFAMI DI COLIN POWELL
Colin Powell: "Finalmente in Serbia si rispettano i diritti umani"
Colin Powell: " Status of human rights in SCG satisfactory"
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2425
BHHRG: THE KIROV MURDER REVISITED?
An analysis of the events surrounding the assassination of Serbia's
prime minister on 12th March 2003
http://www.oscewatch.org/CountryReport.asp?CountryID=20&ReportID=197
=== 2 ===
SERBIA/MONTENEGRO: SCONOSCIUTI SPARANO DAVANTI SEDE GOVERNO
(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADO, 14 SET - Sconosciuti a bordo di un'auto hanno
sparato in aria ieri sera davanti alla sede del governo serbo a
Belgrado, il medesimo luogo in cui il 12 marzo scorso fu ucciso il
premier serbo Zoran Djindjic. Lo ha reso noto oggi la radio B92
precisando che, secondo la polizia, i colpi esplosi sono stati tre.
La fonte ha aggiunto che i media hanno constatato una forte
presenza di polizia per tutta Belgrado la scorsa notte. Per il
momento restano sconosciute le motivazioni del gesto. (ANSA-AFP).
TV
14/09/2003 10:46
=== 3 ===
CIO' CHE RESTA DELL'ESERCITO JUGOSLAVO SARA' INVIATO IN AFGHANISTAN,
IRAQ, LIBERIA, ECC. COME CARNE DA MACELLO PER GLI AMERICANI
---
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=43727&LangID=1
Seeurope.net
Reuters, September 17, 2003
Ex-foe Serbia to Boost NATO's Kabul Peace Force
Four years after their war over Kosovo, Serbia and
NATO are cooperating on the Afghanistan peace mission
with Serb forces destined for Kabul by the end of the
year, a senior Serbian official said on Wednesday.
He said Serbia was prepared to contribute "several
hundred" troops to the NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) which numbers 5,000 and is
seeking to expand its mission beyond the limits of the
Afghan capital.
"We are readying troops for the mission in
Afghanistan," said the Serb official, who requested
anonymity. They would leave for Kabul before the end
of the year.
In March 1999, NATO launched a war to force Serbian
leader Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his forces from
the province of Kosovo and cease the repression of
ethnic Albanians there.
Serbia was bombed for 78 days before Milosevic
buckled, with over 1,000 troops and civilians killed.
Milosevic was toppled by reformers in 2000 and the
country's reconciliation with the Western alliance has
progressed rapidly since.
The Kabul government and the United Nations have
appealed for more peacekeepers to police Afghanistan,
where warlords defy the central authority and Taliban
guerrillas are attempting a comeback after they were
scattered by U.S. and allied Afghan forces in 2002.
The official said the Serb force would be professional
soldiers. Serbia expected the United States to supply
them with special military equipment required for
Afghanistan's tough conditions.
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?nav_id=24894&style=headlines
B92, October 3, 2003
Belgrade brass in Florida for mission talks
BELGRADE -- Friday – Serbia-Montenegro Army and
Serbian special police representatives today visited
the US Army central command Florida to discuss
technical issues in the deployment of troops in
peacekeeping missions.
Defence Minister Boris Tadic told media that the three
possible destinations discussed were Liberia,
Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Afghanistan is the most likely potential arena in
which the Serbia-Montenegro Army could contribute,”
said Tadic, underlining that the talks did not
emphasise that any decisions had been made.
The chief of the Army General Staff, Branko Krga, said
that peacekeeping missions are being discussed every
day, mainly with in the context of international
humanitarian law and anti-terrorist operations.
He added that there were no concrete preparations
under way for any particular mission.
---
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031006-
490708,00.html
Time Magazine, October 6, 2003
Serbs On Our Side
By DEJAN ANASTASIJEVIC
The last time Serbian soldiers saw combat, they were
being bombed out of Kosovo by U.S. Tomahawk missiles.
Now they're all set to fight alongside their former
American foes. During a trip to Washington this
summer, sources tell TIME, Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic pledged to send up to 1,000 troops to
aid American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S.,
which is trying hard to persuade allies to share some
of the military burden in Iraq, quickly agreed. The
initial deployment: a mix of 250 army officers and
members of the gendarmerie. "We don't need
peacekeepers," says a U.S. official involved in the
deal. "It's going to be a combat mission."
Preparations are under way to send a Serbian battalion
to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to hunt down al-Qaeda
terrorists and Taliban guerrillas.
But controversy could be stirred up by the Serbs'
choice of leader for the force — General Goran
Radosavljevic, a.k.a. Guri, chief of the gendarmerie.
During the Kosovo war, he led a cluster of
antiguerrilla teams called Operative Posse Groups
(OPG). Several human-rights organizations claim OPG
committed atrocities against civilians; the 2001 Human
Rights Watch report alleges, for instance, that they
killed 41 ethnic Albanian civilians in the village of
Cuska in western Kosovo in May 1999, though no
indictment has been issued against Radosavljevic. A
New York court is also considering charges that he and
other police officials are responsible for the deaths
of three Albanian Americans from New York City,
captured and then executed in southern Serbia by
Serbian police in the summer of 1999. The Serbs — who
admit that unknown police officials were behind the
killings — say the men were trying to join Albanian
guerrillas.
Despite these allegations, a senior Serbian security
official tells TIME that Radosavljevic "insists that
he be the commander of the unit." Neither
Radosavljevic nor the Serbian government would
comment. But Radosavljevic recently told a Belgrade
newspaper that he has never been implicated by the
Hague war-crimes tribunal and that "I'm ready to go to
court to prove my innocence if it turns out to be
necessary." A U.S. State Department official,
meanwhile, would confirm only that Serbian and
Montenegrin officials visited U.S. military leaders in
Washington and at Central Command headquarters in
Tampa, Fla., last week for consultations on their
possible participation in the Afghanistan campaign.
Radosavljevic was not part of that delegation — he
sent his deputy instead.
---
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/10/4-SEE/see-091003.asp
[Note: Kandahar Province, in Southeastern Afghanistan
near the Pakistani state of Baluchistan, where
according to the British Daily Telegraph of two days
ago an estimated 2,500 battle-hardened Taliban
fighters are perched for an assault on Kandahar, is
the last place in the world any representative
government would choose to deploy its young men and
women.
So contemptuously does the United States continue to
view the Serbian people that Washington would choose
to deploy Serbian military personnel, prohibited from
re-entering the Serbian province of Kosovo where they
are desperately needed at the moment, in direct
contravention of United Nations Resolution 1244, and
instead dispatch them to the farflung corners of the
world's war zones, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Liberia
to Congo, East Timor to wherever else they may be
sitting targets. Rick Rozoff]
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 9, 2003
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO TO SEND TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN?
The Supreme Defense Council agreed in Belgrade on 8
October to send a 1,000-strong force to Afghanistan to
support international peacekeeping efforts, apparently
in the Kandahar area under U.S. command, RFE/RL
reported. Several Western media have reported that
unnamed U.S. officials accepted the offer during a
recent visit by a delegation from Serbia and
Montenegro to Washington and Central Command
headquarters in Florida. Serbia and Montenegro's
government and parliament must approve the Supreme
Defense Council's decision before it can take effect.
It is not clear whether the troops will come entirely
from the Army or also from the police, who have a
strained relationship with the military. Nor is it
clear who will vet the force's officers for the
possible presence of war crimes suspects. Belgrade is
anxious to improve its standing in Washington's eyes,
even if, as Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic recently
said in the U.S. capital, "there are three things
Serbs cannot stand: an independent Kosovo, NATO, and
the United States". PM
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24958&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta, October 9, 2003
Army gets green light to join peace missions
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Serbia-Montenegro’s highest
military authority today gave the go-ahead to the
country participating in international peacekeeping
operations.
The Supreme Defence Council ordered the Defence
Ministry to draft the necessary legislation to
regulate the army’s involvement in such missions, said
a statement issued after the Council meeting today.
Military analyst Zoran Dragisic said today it was
likely around 500 Serbia-Montenegro troops would be
deployed in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, while
some may even go to Liberia.
He predicted the forces would be in place by early
next year.
The Defence Council announced a number of personnel
changes within the military, including a new head of
the Defence Inspectorate.
---
SEE ALSO / VEDI ANCHE:
FINANCIAL TIMES E WALL STREET JOURNAL:
LA SERBIA OFFRE TRUPPE ALLA NATO
FT: Serbia offers troops for Nato (by E. Jansson & S. Wagstyl)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decani/message/77404
WSJ: Our Friends the Serbs are to send soldiers to Afghanistan
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/995941/posts
=== 4 ===
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/serbiamontenegro/20030919190532695027.html
SERBIA/MONTENEGRO: ESERCITO A DIETA PER NATO E BILANCIO/ANSA
PARTE RIFORMA FORZE ARMATE, FRA RESISTENZE E INCOGNITE (di
Beatrice Ottaviano) (ANSA) - BELGRADO, 19 SET - Drastica cura
dimagrante per l'esercito che fu di Josip Broz Tito: le elefantiache
forze armate di Serbia e Montenegro si preparano a una radicale
riforma che portera' in futuro al quasi dimezzamento degli effettivi,
facilitando l'ingresso di Belgrado nel programma 'Partnership per la
pace' dell'ex nemico Nato. La parola d'ordine e' 'modernizzazione
ed efficienza', e mai quello slogan si e' sposato meglio alle esigenze
di un bilancio di difesa sempre piu' esiguo. La composizione delle
forze armate serbo-montenegrine, 78.000 uomini in tempo di pace (l'1%
della popolazione, in proporzione e sulla carta uno degli eserciti
piu' forti d'Europa), e' rimasta immutata dall'epoca della guerra
fredda, quando l'allora Jugoslavia dei non allineati aveva come
dottrina militare la necessita' di difesa dalle minacce sia sovietiche
che capitaliste. Al ridimensionamento politico, si e' aggiunto
con le secessioni e le vicende belliche degli anni '90 un deciso
ridimensionamento territoriale: alcuni settori delle forze armate,
come la marina, non hanno quasi piu' ragione di esistere con una costa
ridotta a circa 150 chilometri e alla quale la Serbia potrebbe dover
rinunciare fra tre anni, quando verra' deciso se l'unione con il
Montenegro verra' mantenuta o meno. Il 'gigante dai piedi
d'argilla' e' poi macrocefalo: fino a pochi mesi fa, fino alla nomina
del democratico Boris Tadic a ministro della difesa, contava 100
generali. Pensionamenti forzati hanno ridotto il numero a 54, ma gli
alti ranghi continuano ad essere inflazionati, con circa 10.000
ufficiali all'attivo. Nei tre anni di democrazia seguiti alla
caduta del regime di Slobodan Milosevic la leva e' stata gradualmente
ridotta, per fare fronte a un deciso impoverimento delle risorse.
Ciononostante, da quest'anno i comandi hanno dovuto istituire una
sorta di 'settimana corta' per i soldati, spedendoli in licenza il
sabato e la domenica perche' si facciano a casa docce, lavatrici e
pasti abbondanti: sapone, acqua calda e rancio scarseggiano nelle
caserme. Sul ridimensionamento degli effettivi sono tutti
d'accordo, molto meno sulla sua entita'. Il Montenegro, che non
abbandona le sue aspirazioni indipendentiste e spera di poter secedere
dalla Serbia al termine del concordato 'periodo di prova' di tre
anni, non ha interesse a investire nelle forze armate comuni.
Chiede quindi un esercito di 5.000, massimo 15.000 uomini. Gli
ufficiali serbi sottolineano invece come il paese abbia, a differenza
di altri stati europei, un reale problema di sicurezza alle frontiere
amministrative con il Kosovo e lungo il confine con la Macedonia,
abitato da una forte maggioranza albanese ostile a Belgrado. Stando ai
militari serbi, 10.000 uomini sono necessari solo per coprire quelle
zone, e occorre quindi un esercito di 50.000 soldati. Il ministero
della difesa vede per parte sua in 35.000-40.000 il numero ottimale.
Su questo, come sulla nuova dottrina militare il cui varo e' dato
per imminente, si continua a discutere. Ma la dieta di Tadic, pur
imposta dalle finanze e dal desiderio di integrarsi con i paesi Nato -
Belgrado ha anche offerto all'Alleanza un non meglio precisato
contingente di uomini per l'Afghanistan - non manca di suscitare
malumori fra vertici militari un tempo potenti e ora costretti ad
accettare un inedito controllo civile sullo Stato maggiore. Fra le
stellette crea irritazione anche il varo, a lungo atteso, di un
decreto sul servizio civile, che entrera' in vigore seppure con molte
limitazioni il 15 ottobre. Su quest'ultimo punto comunque le cifre
sembrano smentire le preoccupazioni dei graduati: dei 33.000 coscritti
di quest'anno, finora solo 44 si sono dichiarati obiettori di
coscienza. L'esercito resta l'istituzione di gran lunga piu'
rispettata fra i serbi. Soprattutto nelle campagne, avere un riformato
in famiglia e' considerato un disonore. Quando un giovane parte per
la leva, e' tradizione dare una grande festa che puo' durare anche tre
giorni, detta 'Ispracaj' (Addio). Recentemente in un villaggio vicino
a Smederevo (Serbia centrale), un genitore particolarmente orgoglioso
ha speso ben 50.000 euro e invitato 1.000 persone per festeggiare la
partenza in divisa del figlio. (ANSA). OT 19/09/2003
19:05
1. RAPPORTO AMNESTY DENUNCIA TORTURE POLIZIA / Amnesty International
denounces police brutalities (4/9/03)
2. SPARATI COLPI DAVANTI SEDE GOVERNO (12/9/03)
3. CIO' CHE RESTA DELL'ESERCITO JUGOSLAVO SARA' INVIATO IN AFGHANISTAN,
IRAQ, LIBERIA ECC. COME CARNE DA MACELLO PER GLI AMERICANI
4. SERBIA/MONTENEGRO: ESERCITO A DIETA PER NATO E BILANCIO (ANSA
19/9/03)
--- LINKS:
BANCA MONDIALE E FONDO MONETARIO INTERNAZIONALE SONO ENTUSIASTI DI
SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
World Bank continues support to Serbia-Montenegro
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/cgi-bin/printpage.cgi?filename=/news/2003-
09/23/331080.html
IMF welcomes Serbia-Montenegro's economic policy
http://www.serbia.sr.gov.yu/cgi-bin/printpage.cgi?filename=/news/2003-
09/19/331032.html
--- I PRECEDENTI ARTICOLI DELLA SERIE:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2680
1. US STEEL TO BUY SERBIA'S SARTID STEEL PLANT
(La "USA Acciaio" firma per l'acquisto delle acciaierie serbe "Sartid")
2. US AMBASSADOR: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SUPPORTS SERBIA
(L'ambasciatore USA: noi appoggiamo la Serbia perche' reprime e
privatizza)
3. SERBIA: DETAINEES ALLEGE TORTURE
(Serbia: i detenuti denunciano di aver subito torture)
4. UNIONS OF SERBIA "DECLARE WAR" ON THE SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
(Federazione sindacale "dichiara guerra" al governo)
5. WORLD BANK OFFERS $80 MILLION TO PRIVATIZE SOCIALLY-OWNED FIRMS
(La Banca Mondiale offre 80 milioni di dollari per la privatizzazione
delle imprese a capitale sociale)
6. UNHCR CUTS AID TO BELGRADE; CASH CRISIS SHUTS SOUP KITCHENS;
SERBIA-MONTENEGRO HAS GRAVEST REFUGEE PROBLEM IN EUROPE
(Alto Commissariato ONU per i Rifugiati ed altri organismi "umanitari"
tagliano drasticamente i fondi alla Serbia, benche' il paese abbia la
situazione piu' drammatica d'Europa)
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2683
7.A) Serbian Regime Passes Sweeping Law To Purge Former
Officials From All Government, Public, Media Positions
7.B) Last US Sanctions Lifted As Serbia And Montenegro 'Integrate Into
International Community'
7.C) German Businesses To Invest In Serbia
8. Serbia: Workers' protests held in Nis, Kragujevac
9. 58 COMPANIES IN SERBIA PRIVATIZED IN APRIL; PROPERTY OF PRIVATIZED
ENTERPRISES WILL BE PROTECTED, VLAHOVIC
10. Free press under fire in Serbia (by David Binder)
11. Serbia prepares ground for oil privitisation
12. Financial Times:
A) River traffic falls as users get Danube blues
B) Walk-out at central bank strips Serbia of top economic talent
13. THREE WAZ [GERMAN] TOP MANAGERS TO HEAD POLITIKA
14. SERBIAN PREMIER VISITS USA:
15. CONTINUING DROUGHT COULD SPELL DISASTER
16. SERBIAN MILITARY PURGES TO ESCALATE:
17. [Serbia-Montenegro Minister of International Economic Relations
Branko] LUKOVAC SAYS BOTH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2699
A. DEFENSE MINISTERS OF ISRAEL AND SERBIA-MONTENEGRO SIGN COOPERATION
AGREEMENT
B. Links to Human Rights Watch documents on the mistreatment of
political prisoners in Serbia
C. OUTRAGEOUS REGIME ATTACKS CONTINUE
D. Massive Army purge has begun
E. SERBIAN SOLDIERS TO "PEACEKEEPING" MISSIONS: DOS AND OTPOR
"WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT"
F. The New Janissaries. How Low Can Serbia's Rulers Go? (N. Malic)
=== 1 ===
SERBIA: RAPPORTO AMNESTY DENUNCIA TORTURE POLIZIA
(ANSA) - BELGRADO, 4 SET - Amnesty International ha chiesto una
indagine internazionale su presunti abusi da parte della polizia
serba ai danni dei fermati nell'ambito dell'operazione 'Sablja'
(sciabola), che ha seguito l'uccisione, nel marzo scorso, del premier
Zoran Djindjic. Stando ad Amnesty, che ha raccolto decine di
testimonianze, gli agenti sono ricorsi anche alla tortura per
estorcere confessioni e informazioni ai fermati, soprattutto a quelli
ritenuti piu' in basso nella scala gerarchica delle cosche.
Dal rapporto dell'organizzazione, i metodi piu' frequenti di tortura
sono stati il soffocamento per mezzo di sacchetti di plastica,
scariche elettriche, percosse e anche finte esecuzioni. Il
ministro della giustizia serbo Vladan Batic ha smentito che nelle
prigioni serbe si siano verificato episodi di tortura, ma ha aggiunto
di ''non poter affermare con sicurezza altrettanto per cio' che e'
avvenuto nei commissariati di polizia o durante l'arresto dei
sospetti''. L'operazione 'Sablja' si e' svolta in un regime di
emergenza nazionale, che prevedeva la sospensione di molti diritti
dei fermati, compreso quello del contatto con i propri legali. In
tutto, circa 11.000 persone sono state arrestate, e per 4.500 di loro
e' stata confermata la detenzione. (ANSA). OT 04/09/2003
18:08
SEE ALSO / VEDI ANCHE:
MEMORANDUM CONFIDENZIALE UNHCHR
United Nations Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights, Serbia
And Montenegro: Confidential Memorandum To The Ministries Of Justice
And The Interior Of The Republic Of Serbia. Initial findings and
recommendations arising from the visit to detainees in Belgrade 14-15
April 2003
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2537
"POVERLJIVI MEMORANDUM MINISTARSTVIMA PRAVDE I UNUTRASNJIH POSLOVA
REPUBLIKE SRBIJE"
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2536
COMUNICATI STAMPA HRW
Serbia: Emergency Should Not Trump Basic Rights
Certain restrictions on rights imposed by the Serbian government in the
wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic may not be
justified under international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter
(http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503-ltr.htm) to Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic today. (March 25, 2003 Press Release)
http://hrw.org/press/2003/03/serbia032503.htm
Serbia: End Complete Isolation of Detainees
Serbia Should Uphold Council of Europe Standards
Serbia should immediately end the isolation of those detained during
the ongoing state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today. (April
7, 2003 Press Release)
http://hrw.org/press/2003/04/serbia070403.htm
Serbia: Detainees’ Access to Lawyers Long Overdue
Serbia should ensure that all persons detained during the state of
emergency promptly get access to lawyers, Human Rights Watch said
today. (May 10, 2003 Press Release)
http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051003.htm
Serbia: Run-Around on Prison Visits
The Serbian authorities are obstructing efforts by Human Rights Watch
and other nongovernmental organizations to visit people arrested during
the state of emergency, Human Rights Watch said today. (May 14, 2003
Press Release)
http://staging.hrw.org/press/2003/05/serbia051403.htm
LE DICHIARAZIONI INFAMI DI COLIN POWELL
Colin Powell: "Finalmente in Serbia si rispettano i diritti umani"
Colin Powell: " Status of human rights in SCG satisfactory"
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2425
BHHRG: THE KIROV MURDER REVISITED?
An analysis of the events surrounding the assassination of Serbia's
prime minister on 12th March 2003
http://www.oscewatch.org/CountryReport.asp?CountryID=20&ReportID=197
=== 2 ===
SERBIA/MONTENEGRO: SCONOSCIUTI SPARANO DAVANTI SEDE GOVERNO
(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADO, 14 SET - Sconosciuti a bordo di un'auto hanno
sparato in aria ieri sera davanti alla sede del governo serbo a
Belgrado, il medesimo luogo in cui il 12 marzo scorso fu ucciso il
premier serbo Zoran Djindjic. Lo ha reso noto oggi la radio B92
precisando che, secondo la polizia, i colpi esplosi sono stati tre.
La fonte ha aggiunto che i media hanno constatato una forte
presenza di polizia per tutta Belgrado la scorsa notte. Per il
momento restano sconosciute le motivazioni del gesto. (ANSA-AFP).
TV
14/09/2003 10:46
=== 3 ===
CIO' CHE RESTA DELL'ESERCITO JUGOSLAVO SARA' INVIATO IN AFGHANISTAN,
IRAQ, LIBERIA, ECC. COME CARNE DA MACELLO PER GLI AMERICANI
---
http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=43727&LangID=1
Seeurope.net
Reuters, September 17, 2003
Ex-foe Serbia to Boost NATO's Kabul Peace Force
Four years after their war over Kosovo, Serbia and
NATO are cooperating on the Afghanistan peace mission
with Serb forces destined for Kabul by the end of the
year, a senior Serbian official said on Wednesday.
He said Serbia was prepared to contribute "several
hundred" troops to the NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) which numbers 5,000 and is
seeking to expand its mission beyond the limits of the
Afghan capital.
"We are readying troops for the mission in
Afghanistan," said the Serb official, who requested
anonymity. They would leave for Kabul before the end
of the year.
In March 1999, NATO launched a war to force Serbian
leader Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his forces from
the province of Kosovo and cease the repression of
ethnic Albanians there.
Serbia was bombed for 78 days before Milosevic
buckled, with over 1,000 troops and civilians killed.
Milosevic was toppled by reformers in 2000 and the
country's reconciliation with the Western alliance has
progressed rapidly since.
The Kabul government and the United Nations have
appealed for more peacekeepers to police Afghanistan,
where warlords defy the central authority and Taliban
guerrillas are attempting a comeback after they were
scattered by U.S. and allied Afghan forces in 2002.
The official said the Serb force would be professional
soldiers. Serbia expected the United States to supply
them with special military equipment required for
Afghanistan's tough conditions.
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?nav_id=24894&style=headlines
B92, October 3, 2003
Belgrade brass in Florida for mission talks
BELGRADE -- Friday – Serbia-Montenegro Army and
Serbian special police representatives today visited
the US Army central command Florida to discuss
technical issues in the deployment of troops in
peacekeeping missions.
Defence Minister Boris Tadic told media that the three
possible destinations discussed were Liberia,
Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Afghanistan is the most likely potential arena in
which the Serbia-Montenegro Army could contribute,”
said Tadic, underlining that the talks did not
emphasise that any decisions had been made.
The chief of the Army General Staff, Branko Krga, said
that peacekeeping missions are being discussed every
day, mainly with in the context of international
humanitarian law and anti-terrorist operations.
He added that there were no concrete preparations
under way for any particular mission.
---
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031006-
490708,00.html
Time Magazine, October 6, 2003
Serbs On Our Side
By DEJAN ANASTASIJEVIC
The last time Serbian soldiers saw combat, they were
being bombed out of Kosovo by U.S. Tomahawk missiles.
Now they're all set to fight alongside their former
American foes. During a trip to Washington this
summer, sources tell TIME, Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Zivkovic pledged to send up to 1,000 troops to
aid American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S.,
which is trying hard to persuade allies to share some
of the military burden in Iraq, quickly agreed. The
initial deployment: a mix of 250 army officers and
members of the gendarmerie. "We don't need
peacekeepers," says a U.S. official involved in the
deal. "It's going to be a combat mission."
Preparations are under way to send a Serbian battalion
to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to hunt down al-Qaeda
terrorists and Taliban guerrillas.
But controversy could be stirred up by the Serbs'
choice of leader for the force — General Goran
Radosavljevic, a.k.a. Guri, chief of the gendarmerie.
During the Kosovo war, he led a cluster of
antiguerrilla teams called Operative Posse Groups
(OPG). Several human-rights organizations claim OPG
committed atrocities against civilians; the 2001 Human
Rights Watch report alleges, for instance, that they
killed 41 ethnic Albanian civilians in the village of
Cuska in western Kosovo in May 1999, though no
indictment has been issued against Radosavljevic. A
New York court is also considering charges that he and
other police officials are responsible for the deaths
of three Albanian Americans from New York City,
captured and then executed in southern Serbia by
Serbian police in the summer of 1999. The Serbs — who
admit that unknown police officials were behind the
killings — say the men were trying to join Albanian
guerrillas.
Despite these allegations, a senior Serbian security
official tells TIME that Radosavljevic "insists that
he be the commander of the unit." Neither
Radosavljevic nor the Serbian government would
comment. But Radosavljevic recently told a Belgrade
newspaper that he has never been implicated by the
Hague war-crimes tribunal and that "I'm ready to go to
court to prove my innocence if it turns out to be
necessary." A U.S. State Department official,
meanwhile, would confirm only that Serbian and
Montenegrin officials visited U.S. military leaders in
Washington and at Central Command headquarters in
Tampa, Fla., last week for consultations on their
possible participation in the Afghanistan campaign.
Radosavljevic was not part of that delegation — he
sent his deputy instead.
---
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2003/10/4-SEE/see-091003.asp
[Note: Kandahar Province, in Southeastern Afghanistan
near the Pakistani state of Baluchistan, where
according to the British Daily Telegraph of two days
ago an estimated 2,500 battle-hardened Taliban
fighters are perched for an assault on Kandahar, is
the last place in the world any representative
government would choose to deploy its young men and
women.
So contemptuously does the United States continue to
view the Serbian people that Washington would choose
to deploy Serbian military personnel, prohibited from
re-entering the Serbian province of Kosovo where they
are desperately needed at the moment, in direct
contravention of United Nations Resolution 1244, and
instead dispatch them to the farflung corners of the
world's war zones, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Liberia
to Congo, East Timor to wherever else they may be
sitting targets. Rick Rozoff]
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 9, 2003
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO TO SEND TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN?
The Supreme Defense Council agreed in Belgrade on 8
October to send a 1,000-strong force to Afghanistan to
support international peacekeeping efforts, apparently
in the Kandahar area under U.S. command, RFE/RL
reported. Several Western media have reported that
unnamed U.S. officials accepted the offer during a
recent visit by a delegation from Serbia and
Montenegro to Washington and Central Command
headquarters in Florida. Serbia and Montenegro's
government and parliament must approve the Supreme
Defense Council's decision before it can take effect.
It is not clear whether the troops will come entirely
from the Army or also from the police, who have a
strained relationship with the military. Nor is it
clear who will vet the force's officers for the
possible presence of war crimes suspects. Belgrade is
anxious to improve its standing in Washington's eyes,
even if, as Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic recently
said in the U.S. capital, "there are three things
Serbs cannot stand: an independent Kosovo, NATO, and
the United States". PM
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/
index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=24958&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta, October 9, 2003
Army gets green light to join peace missions
BELGRADE -- Wednesday – Serbia-Montenegro’s highest
military authority today gave the go-ahead to the
country participating in international peacekeeping
operations.
The Supreme Defence Council ordered the Defence
Ministry to draft the necessary legislation to
regulate the army’s involvement in such missions, said
a statement issued after the Council meeting today.
Military analyst Zoran Dragisic said today it was
likely around 500 Serbia-Montenegro troops would be
deployed in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, while
some may even go to Liberia.
He predicted the forces would be in place by early
next year.
The Defence Council announced a number of personnel
changes within the military, including a new head of
the Defence Inspectorate.
---
SEE ALSO / VEDI ANCHE:
FINANCIAL TIMES E WALL STREET JOURNAL:
LA SERBIA OFFRE TRUPPE ALLA NATO
FT: Serbia offers troops for Nato (by E. Jansson & S. Wagstyl)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decani/message/77404
WSJ: Our Friends the Serbs are to send soldiers to Afghanistan
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/995941/posts
=== 4 ===
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/serbiamontenegro/20030919190532695027.html
SERBIA/MONTENEGRO: ESERCITO A DIETA PER NATO E BILANCIO/ANSA
PARTE RIFORMA FORZE ARMATE, FRA RESISTENZE E INCOGNITE (di
Beatrice Ottaviano) (ANSA) - BELGRADO, 19 SET - Drastica cura
dimagrante per l'esercito che fu di Josip Broz Tito: le elefantiache
forze armate di Serbia e Montenegro si preparano a una radicale
riforma che portera' in futuro al quasi dimezzamento degli effettivi,
facilitando l'ingresso di Belgrado nel programma 'Partnership per la
pace' dell'ex nemico Nato. La parola d'ordine e' 'modernizzazione
ed efficienza', e mai quello slogan si e' sposato meglio alle esigenze
di un bilancio di difesa sempre piu' esiguo. La composizione delle
forze armate serbo-montenegrine, 78.000 uomini in tempo di pace (l'1%
della popolazione, in proporzione e sulla carta uno degli eserciti
piu' forti d'Europa), e' rimasta immutata dall'epoca della guerra
fredda, quando l'allora Jugoslavia dei non allineati aveva come
dottrina militare la necessita' di difesa dalle minacce sia sovietiche
che capitaliste. Al ridimensionamento politico, si e' aggiunto
con le secessioni e le vicende belliche degli anni '90 un deciso
ridimensionamento territoriale: alcuni settori delle forze armate,
come la marina, non hanno quasi piu' ragione di esistere con una costa
ridotta a circa 150 chilometri e alla quale la Serbia potrebbe dover
rinunciare fra tre anni, quando verra' deciso se l'unione con il
Montenegro verra' mantenuta o meno. Il 'gigante dai piedi
d'argilla' e' poi macrocefalo: fino a pochi mesi fa, fino alla nomina
del democratico Boris Tadic a ministro della difesa, contava 100
generali. Pensionamenti forzati hanno ridotto il numero a 54, ma gli
alti ranghi continuano ad essere inflazionati, con circa 10.000
ufficiali all'attivo. Nei tre anni di democrazia seguiti alla
caduta del regime di Slobodan Milosevic la leva e' stata gradualmente
ridotta, per fare fronte a un deciso impoverimento delle risorse.
Ciononostante, da quest'anno i comandi hanno dovuto istituire una
sorta di 'settimana corta' per i soldati, spedendoli in licenza il
sabato e la domenica perche' si facciano a casa docce, lavatrici e
pasti abbondanti: sapone, acqua calda e rancio scarseggiano nelle
caserme. Sul ridimensionamento degli effettivi sono tutti
d'accordo, molto meno sulla sua entita'. Il Montenegro, che non
abbandona le sue aspirazioni indipendentiste e spera di poter secedere
dalla Serbia al termine del concordato 'periodo di prova' di tre
anni, non ha interesse a investire nelle forze armate comuni.
Chiede quindi un esercito di 5.000, massimo 15.000 uomini. Gli
ufficiali serbi sottolineano invece come il paese abbia, a differenza
di altri stati europei, un reale problema di sicurezza alle frontiere
amministrative con il Kosovo e lungo il confine con la Macedonia,
abitato da una forte maggioranza albanese ostile a Belgrado. Stando ai
militari serbi, 10.000 uomini sono necessari solo per coprire quelle
zone, e occorre quindi un esercito di 50.000 soldati. Il ministero
della difesa vede per parte sua in 35.000-40.000 il numero ottimale.
Su questo, come sulla nuova dottrina militare il cui varo e' dato
per imminente, si continua a discutere. Ma la dieta di Tadic, pur
imposta dalle finanze e dal desiderio di integrarsi con i paesi Nato -
Belgrado ha anche offerto all'Alleanza un non meglio precisato
contingente di uomini per l'Afghanistan - non manca di suscitare
malumori fra vertici militari un tempo potenti e ora costretti ad
accettare un inedito controllo civile sullo Stato maggiore. Fra le
stellette crea irritazione anche il varo, a lungo atteso, di un
decreto sul servizio civile, che entrera' in vigore seppure con molte
limitazioni il 15 ottobre. Su quest'ultimo punto comunque le cifre
sembrano smentire le preoccupazioni dei graduati: dei 33.000 coscritti
di quest'anno, finora solo 44 si sono dichiarati obiettori di
coscienza. L'esercito resta l'istituzione di gran lunga piu'
rispettata fra i serbi. Soprattutto nelle campagne, avere un riformato
in famiglia e' considerato un disonore. Quando un giovane parte per
la leva, e' tradizione dare una grande festa che puo' durare anche tre
giorni, detta 'Ispracaj' (Addio). Recentemente in un villaggio vicino
a Smederevo (Serbia centrale), un genitore particolarmente orgoglioso
ha speso ben 50.000 euro e invitato 1.000 persone per festeggiare la
partenza in divisa del figlio. (ANSA). OT 19/09/2003
19:05