."Nobody has helped Montenegrins become so aware of the need for independence as Milosevic."
Danilo Burzan, editor of independent Montenegrin news agency Montena-Fax
Quoted by the Washington Post, June 25 - Podgorica
"After each international agreement accepted by the Yugoslav regime, repression within the country increases, especially repression of the independent media. That pattern is now repeating. The regime has continued
the repression it began last year with the Republic of Serbia's Public Information Act, under which a large number of media outlets have been destroyed. The Yugoslav Telecommunications Ministry has also banned
several more radio and television stations."
Association of Independent Electronic Broadcast Media (ANEM), June 24 - Belgrade
"Where is the Cory Aquino, where is the Aung San Suu Kyi, where is the Dalai Lama, where is the Kim Dae Jung figure who becomes the obvious rallying point for the forces of democracy? All of the people I just named... were important leaders and symbols. There is no such clear figure at this point in Belgrade, and that is the tragedy of Serbia." Richard Holbrooke, US Ambassador-designate to the United Nations, in testimony before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee June 24 - Washington
"The people shouldn't be afraid of those in power. The time has come for the regime to be afraid of the people."
Goran Svilanovic, Civic Alliance President
Quoted by the Los Angeles Times, June 30 - Belgrade
"What kind of president is Milosevic? He cannot cross into a part of the territory he officially still rules (Kosovo) because he would be arrested, as the Hague War Crimes Tribunal has indicted him... He cannot go into any European country, he would probably never again meet any European leader. That's the kind of the president he is." Vuk Obradovic, Social Democratic Party President
Quoted by Reuters, June 26 - Belgrade
"The people expected in 1997 that the opposition politicians would push for comprehensive change to the political system, not argue over who's going to be in control of garbage collection in Belgrade and Nis. The test for the opposition now... is to see if we are capable of leading the growing mass of discontent. We're not responsible for that discontent. The government is. But there is a question of whether we're mature enough to harness that and to bring it to a definitive resolution."
Milan Protic, historian and co-founder of the opposition coalition Alliance for Change
Quoted by the Calgary Herald (Canada), June 29 - Belgrade
I. OPPOSITION TO MILOSEVIC SPREADS
Cacak demonstration draws 10,000, Kosovo atrocities denounced
* Agence France Presse reported Tuesday that "more than 10,000 people poured into [Cacak -- 75 miles south of Belgrade] Tuesday for the first demonstration demanding the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his government... The rally ended after more than hour, without incident. 'We demand Milosevic's resignation, free media, forming of a transitional government of national salvation which will call free and
fair early elections,' said Vladan Batic, a leader of the opposition coalition that organized the protest... Zoran Zivkovic, mayor of the southern Serbian town Nis and top official of the Democratic Party said the time had come 'for the regime to be afraid of people, not the people of the regime... We want a democratic Serbia, as a part of Europe, where human rights are respected, not because we are ordered from abroad, but because we want to. This is the time to choose between Serbia or Milosevic,' Zivkovic told the crowd... Milan Kandic, a local official from Cacak, said the Alliance had collected more than 20,000 signatures on a petition calling for Milosevic's dismissal. The protestors carried Serbian and party flags, and placards saying: 'We will celebrate for months when we get rid of Slobodan (Milosevic)' or 'Go honorably before it is too late.' "
* The Washington Post noted yesterday that "today's demonstration... was a significant act of defiance against the Serb-controlled Belgrade government... The promoters of the demonstration promised more protests in other Serbian cities, such as Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac." The Times (London) noted yesterday that "the highlight of the rally was the return of the Mayor of Cacak, Velja Ilic... who had been in hiding. Many people wept as he talked of the town's devastation and the need for democratic reforms." The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that "several speakers even broached subjects that many had said were too sensitive for Serbs to
air in public: Milosevic's indictment by an international tribunal last month on war crimes charges and the Kosovo atrocities behind those charges."
* Associated Press noted Tuesday that "police had warned some of the organizers not to go through with the rally and tried to block roads to prevent protesters and some media crews from reaching Cacak. In an unusual twist, a Yugoslav Army unit stepped in, offering army buses to help transport opposition supporters from another central Serbian town, Kragujevac."
*Reuters reported Tuesday that "an explosion went off in Cacak's central square just as the demonstration got under way. No one was injured by the device, normally used in military exercises to simulate artillery blasts, and the protest continued. The crowd started chanting "Red Bandits, Red Bandits" immediately after the blast. In Serbia that cry normally refers to Milosevic and his supporters. Earlier, organizers told the protesters they had been informed by police that the rally was not authorized but pledged that they would go ahead with it anyway. Organizers said police had stopped buses carrying supporters from various central Serbian towns."
* Associated Press noted Tuesday that former deputy prime minister Vuk Draskovic "said he did not support the planned campaign of street protests by the opposition coalition Alliance for Change calling for Milosevic's resignation which began on Tuesday in the southern town of Cacak. 'If it wasn't for journalists no one would have any knowledge neither of the Alliance (for Change) nor of their rallies,' he said. The Alliance groups small parties with no influence, and everything they organize will substantiate that fact.' "
* The Calgary Herald (Canada) noted yesterday that Draskovic's party "controls Belgrade's only non-state-owned television station, which gave the demonstration short shrift Tuesday night, showing no pictures and claiming that only 2,000 people, 'mostly bused in from other cities' participated."
* Reuters reported yesterday that "Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, on a tour of central Serbia, called for unity on Wednesday and said postwar reconstruction would involve some sacrifices and hardship. 'If we do not reconstruct and rebuild our country united, there is no one else to do it for us...There will be sacrifice in this effort, hardships, but that is the aim we must achieve,' Milutinovic was quoted as saying by the official news agency Tanjug in the southern city of Nis." Associated Press reported yesterday that "several hundred residents of Kursumlija, 150 miles southeast of Belgrade, booed when... Milutinovic declared that Kosovo
remained in the country... Milutinovic's attempt to hold a speech lasted only 2 or 3 minutes and was interrupted by angry jeering several times." BETA news agency (Belgrade) today notes that "the Serbian Broadcasting
Corporation reported on June 30 that in Kursumlija, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic 'was welcomed by almost all the citizens of that small town, as well as by the Serbs who had temporarily left Kosovo before the invasion of the terrorists."
* Reuters reported June 28 that "Dragan Milovanovic, leader of the Association of Autonomous and Independent Unions, reacted angrily to official suggestions that workers, especially those made jobless by NATO's bombing campaign, might be asked to help in Serbia's reconstruction. 'This regime should know the workers will not work for them for peanuts any more, nor will they rebuild the country for free... The Union won't allow any more unpaid work and will actively join the fight against the regime (of Milosevic),' Milovanovic told a joint news conference with the main opposition group."
*BETA news agency (Belgrade) reported yesterday that "Serbian Patriarch Pavle met with Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic in the Pec Patriarchate on June 29. Prince Aleksandar came to Kosovo from Montenegro. After the meeting Prince Aleksandar said that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic 'must step down so that Serbian, Montenegrin and all other peoples in Yugoslavia can live together peacefully.' Prince Aleksandar said that ethnic cleansing 'is the most disgusting thing' that could happen in Yugoslavia. The Prince said that he met with Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic on June 28, and that he had discussions with him 'in the aim of promoting democracy.' Patriarch Pavle said that a man cannot choose the time or the place of his birth, his race or parents and that the only thing he can choose is his behavior. 'Human behavior is the most precious gift God has given us,' the Patriarch said. At a press conference, after serving Mass in the Prizren church, Patriarch Pavle repeated his call to Milosevic
to step down 'for the benefit of everyone and national salvation' so that conditions can be made for the creation of the national salvation government."
* Agence France Presse reported Tuesday that "Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia arrived in Montenegro Monday for a three-day visit... Despite the prince's announcement that his visit was at the request of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, there was no official reception at the airport. Prince Alexander told AFP on Sunday that he would meet Djukanovic and other Montenegrin officials as well as representatives of the Serbian Orthodox church. It is the first time the prince... had visited the republic, which is part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) along with Serbia...
[Alexander] has also maintained contacts with Serb opposition leaders, notably Serbian Democratic Party president Zoran Djindjic, with whom he met last week in London... In a separate report, Agence France Presse quoted Alexander in Podgorica: 'Yugoslavia needs radical changes to get out of the current crisis... We need radical changes to society and the state... I am not a politician... I believe we must support the proposal of our (Serbian Orthodox) church to form a government of national salvation.... For the current president (Slobodan Milosevic) of the FRY (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), there is no place.' "
Obradovic proposes parallel elections
* Reuters reported June 26 that "in an interview late on Friday, Vuk Obradovic, a former Yugoslav army general who now leads the opposition Social democracy party, drew the comparison of Kosovo for alternative elections leading to a parallel administration. 'The opposition would organize fair and free elections itself,' he said, if all other possibilities for a peaceful democratisation of Serbia were exhausted. 'The best thing for him (Milosevic) would be to resign,' Obradovic said. 'The second best thing would be for him to call for countrywide elections with free media and fair conditions and thus end his career through the ballot box by November at the latest,' he added. Obradovic did not explain how the opposition might organize a ballot. 'The details still have to be worked on,' he said. Obradovic... said he had two goals: to democratize Serbia and to bring it back into Europe. 'People here would recognize our ballot, so would the world,' he said, adding it would not be the first time a parallel state
was created in Yugoslavia. 'That has already happened in Kosovo,' he said... He said he did not believe forthcoming opposition rallies across Serbia would be met by a violent response from the regime as happened with previous protests in 1991, 1993 and 19967. 'Milosevic would not dare, nor would the police obey,' he said. 'And the Army would not get involved.' "
Rising recrimination in Serbia over Kosovo "war crimes"
* Deutsche Presse Agentur reported June 28 that "a group of leading Serb intellectuals called for Milosevic to resign and demanded the punishment of those who committed war crimes in Kosovo so as to 'free us from collective guilt... If you love the Serbian people like you say you do, then you should resign and hand your powers to a government of national salvation,' said the group which named itself the Appeal 50. The statement issued in Belgrade accused Milosevic and his government of bringing the Serb people and state to their worst ever defeat through their Kosovo policies, leading to 'capitulation' (to the NATO air campaign) and the expulsion of Serbs from the province. It called for the punishment of those who had committed crimes in Kosovo."
* The Daily Telegraph (London) reported June 28 that Serbia's Orthodox Church "in an unprecedented move will instruct its priests to tell their congregations about Serb atrocities committed against ethnic Albanians. The developments, which follow protests by Yugoslav army reservists who are being demobilized without being paid for service in Kosovo, will increase pressure on Milosevic, who has portrayed his forces' withdrawal from Kosovo after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign as a victory for Serbia. The decision by the Church, which is widely respected in Serbia and has already called for the president's resignation, to intervene in the post-Kosovo political vacuum in the country is being regarded by many opposition politicians as a potentially critical moment for the future of the government in Belgrade. It follows a visit to Kosovo by Patriarch Pavle, 87, head of the Church, who had traveled originally to persuade members of the minority Serb community to remain in the province, the cradle of Serbian Orthod
oxy, rather than flee from returning Albanians. But, according to his aides, he returned to Belgrade shocked by witnessing ethnic cleansing and mass killing and determined to tell the truth about Kosovo to the Serbian people. To try to bypass the state Yugoslav media - which has ignored the abuses and concentrated on 'terrorist' attacks on Serbs by the Kosovo Liberation Army - the patriarch and senior bishops in the Church's Holy Synod decided last week to instruct priests to tell their congregations about the atrocities next Sunday."
Milosevic announces "accelerating reforms" amid signs of rapprochement with Draskovic
* Reuters reported yesterday that "Yugoslavia's Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic called a special meeting of parties in the federal parliament for Thursday, raising the prospect of a cabinet reshuffle. State television said all political parties represented in the federal parliament would be included in the meeting. But not all were expected to attend. The meeting... could lead to a reshuffle of the cabinet something that officials have been hinting at for the past few weeks. 'The purpose of this meeting is to see the prospects of cooperation between all the parliamentary political parties to apply the (following) goals,' the television said... The ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, which tried unsuccessfully to pull out of the Serbian government earlier this month, and Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement have been touted as possible new additions to the federal cabinet... Although the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro led by Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic was invited to the parlia
ment meeting on Thursday, political sources said it was not expected to attend. The parties listed by the television as invited to attend the Thursday meeting did not include several opposition parties with a small representation in the legislature the Democratic Party, the Democratic Center and the Democratic Party of Serbia."
*Serbia's official press agency Tanjug (Belgrade) reported Tuesday that "Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic held a meeting Tuesday with the top state officials to discuss recovery, reform and development issues. President Milosevic underlined that recovery
and reform, resumption of economic and cultural ties with all, especially progressive and democratic, countries on the basis of equality, and the development of an open market economy system are the priority goals at this time. Accelerating reforms must be simultaneous with recovery and public works, he said... The unity
realized in the heroic national defense is a great achievement which should be maintained in the recovery and reform period too. This is why all parliamentary parties represented in the Yugoslav government, which have contributed to national unity, should also play their role in the realization of the goals of economic and cultural development, President Milosevic said." BETA news service reported yesterday that "observers in Belgrade see this as an indirect announcement of the Serb Renewal Movement's re-entering the federal government after it was ousted in mid-April or for the Serb Radical Party to enter the federal government for the first time."
* Reuters reported Tuesday that "Vuk Draskovic... said if Milosevic did not reshuffle his government and appoint someone from the westernleaning ruling party of Montenegro, the smaller of Yugoslavia's two remaining republics, as federal prime minister, he would take unspecified measures. 'We as a party decided to give a chance to reason, sense and political agreement, to immediately start creating democratic, reformist, transitional governments on both republican and federal levels,' Draskovic told a news conference. 'When it comes to the federal government, the delegation of Montenegro has to get seats in the House of the Republics of the federal parliament and the position of the Prime Minister, in our opinion, has to be given to the party of Mr. Milo Djukanovic, the leading party in Montenegro,' he said. 'If this regime, however, continues stubbornly in its old, wrong ways, then we will seek other, appropriate, unavoidable ways of resistance to such wrong politics,' said Draskovic, whose party holds seat
s in Yugoslav and Serbian parliaments."
* BETA news agency reports today that "the Serbian Vice Premier who submitted his resignation and the Serbian Radical Party leader, Vojislav Seselj, said that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's resignation in this moment 'would mean chaos in the country... In this moment, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's resignation would have catastrophic political consequences and chaos in the country. If the resignation meant true prosperity, I would support it,' Seselj said on the Nis private TV
station TV 5 in the evening on June 29. Seselj stressed that 'elections are the only democratic solution.' Seselj said that his party could again form a coalition with the left-wing parties, since 'it has proved to be the only real thing.' "
*Associated Press cited a report by Serbia's state press agency Tanjug Tuesday "[that] Milosevic called for a reshaping of the Yugoslav government. 'All the major parliamentary parties must have a place in the federal government and must contribute to achieving the goals of economic and cultural development of the country,' he said. This was viewed as an olive branch to the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), led by ultra-nationalist Vojislav Seselj, and to the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) of Vuk Draskovic... The state would also meet its commitments to the military, he said. Thousands of reservists protested last week against non-payment of their wages."
* Reuters reported that "the leader of Serbia's main opposition party told a German newspaper he suspected that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had received an offer of political asylum from China. 'I have indications that Milosevic has received an offer to flee to China, get asylum there and therefore not be handed over to The Hague,' Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic said in an interview [that appeared] in the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag."
* Reuters reported Tuesday that "the ban on public gatherings in Serbia, put in place during the state of war in Yugoslavia, is no longer in effect, the independent news agency BETA reported on Wednesday. There was no immediate word from staterun media on the status of the ban. BETA said the decree, like eight others passed by Serbian President Milan Milutinovic during NATO's bombing campaign, had a clause written in that it would be lifted when the state of war, declared by the federal government on March 24, was revoked. That was done on Saturday... Milutinovic passed 13 decrees during the state of war in Serbia. Of those, nine applied only during the state of war. In addition to the one banning public gatherings, others included various regulations on residence, identification documents, internal affairs and decrees on exchanges of goods and services and inspections during the war regime."
Charges filed against opposition leader Djindjic
*Reuters reported yesterday that "the leader of Serbia's opposition Democratic Party, Zoran Djindjic, could face up to 20 years imprisonment for avoiding military service during NATO's air war against Yugoslavia, his lawyer said on Wednesday. 'A military court in Belgrade is charging Djindjic under article 214, paragraph two of the Yugoslav penal code, for avoiding the callup,' Sinisa Nikolic, Dindjic's attorney, who was presented the charges by a military judge, told Reuters. Nikolic said that in normal circumstances, the charges could mean one to 10 years in jail, but since Djindjic did not respond to the callup during a 'State of War,' the sentence could be higher, from five up to a maximum 20 years... 'The judge handling the case said the process should start with a hearing as the first step in an investigation demanded by the prosecutor, and then it would be decided whether to try Djindjic and whether he would remain free or be detained pending trial,' Nikolic said. He did not say when the investigatio
n might start but said the court might decide to try Djindjic in absentia, since he was not in Belgrade. Nikolic said Goran Vesic, a highranking party official, had been sentenced to two years in jail in absentia for the same offence by a military court in the central Serbian town of Uzice."
Discontent within army
*The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that "Yugoslavia's fighting men, just weeks after their defeat in Kosovo, are grappling with their own form of Vietnamveterans' syndrome. More than 40,000 Yugoslav soldiers and reservists like Mr. Koricanac have come home with stories of months without pay, lack of provisions in the field, poor morale and feelings of betrayal by Serbia's leaders for sending them to a senseless war. Many soldiers also speak of a growing remorse for the destruction of Kosovo, which resulted in the brutal expulsion of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from the Serbian province by Serbled military forces... Word is circulating that the police were responsible for the worst crimes in Kosovo and most of the
expulsions... the tension is palpable between the elite police and the army's grunts. But it is unclear how far the demoralized troops will push the state. During the protests, one tank carrying 20 soldiers on its roof lurched down a main road and rolled up to the steps of the local police station, its cannon trained on the doors. A crowd of citizens and soldiers gathered round. Several soldiers jumped down, pulled the pins of their grenades, and began screaming at the police to release an arrested comrade. As the tank was about to roll over a police car, officers agreed to set the soldier free, and the tank pulled back. A police officer mounted the steps
and addressed the angry but fearful crowd. 'What you saw, you did not see,' he barked. 'Go home. There is nothing here.' "
* The Calgary Herald (Canada) reported yesterday that during the protest "members of a disgruntled army regiment based south of Cacak helped opposition supporters bypass police roadblocks by loading them into military vehicles and driving them to the town. Army reservists in the region barricaded roads and bridges last week to protest their lack of pay during their three-month mobilization and active duty in Kosovo. The protest ended on the weekend when they received a portion of their back pay and a promise of the remainder within weeks. There is growing discontent with Mr. Milosevic among the military rank and file, which has been sent to war three times in nine years and been defeated by a better-armed enemy or abandoned by Mr. Milosevic for reasons of political expediency."
International community mulling infrastructure aid to Milosevic regime * Reuters reported yesterday that "the United States on Wednesday insisted postwar aid to President Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia be tightly restricted but France, Russia, China and the United Nations urged a more liberal approach. [At] a U.N.led meeting of 18 foreign ministers and other officials... divisions emerged on how to treat... Serbia as long as Milosevic remains in power. In rebuilding Kosovo and attempting to stabilize the rest of the Balkans, 'we will do nothing to boost Milosevic and his cronies,' Secretary of State Madeleine Albright vowed, reiterating the U.S. hard line. A senior official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said that in Wednesday's closeddoor meeting: 'With the exception of the Russian and Chinese delegations, there was a uniform view that reconstruction assistance was exclusively designed for democratic governments in the region and as long as Yugoslavia had not made a democratic transition,
it would not be eligible for reconstruction assistance.' U.S. officials said Serbia could receive humanitarian
assistance but at this point, it should be limited to food and medicine...
disagreements emerged on the definition of 'humanitarian assistance,' provoking a 'spectrum of opinion,' the U.S. official said. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and France, in addition to Russia and China, argued humanitarian aid should also include funds to rebuild water treatment plants so civilians do not suffer waterborne diseases. Annan told a news conference that without minimum assistance to Serbia rebuilding bridges NATO bombed over the Danube and repairing electrical and water supplies the Balkans could not recover. Reconstruction aid to southeastern Europe would have a 'big hole with Serbia in the middle,' he said, adding: 'It is pointless to take in loads and loads of medicine if people are taking in dirty water and then get sick.' French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine seemed to side with Annan when he told reporters: 'We believe the restoration of heating and potable water is humanitarian.' The senior U.S. official said Washington has 'not prejudged that (water treatment plant issue) one way
or another, but at the moment our assumption is the Serbs can probably fix most of that stuff themselves... Humanitarian assistance ought to, in the first instance and until persuaded otherwise, consist of food and medicine,' he said."
* The Times (London) reported June 28 that "Kofi Annan, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned the West yesterday that a refusal to offer Serbia economic aid could lead to another humanitarian crisis in the Balkans. In remarks pointedly directed to Tony Blair and President Clinton, who have taken a hard line against giving aid to Yugoslavia as long as President Milosevic remained in power, Mr Annan said: 'They say they will give humanitarian aid but not economic assistance. There are some difficulties with that.' Speaking on BBC... he said that NATO had insisted at the beginning that the fight was not with the Yugoslav people but with the leadership. 'At the end of the war, with a lot of destruction, some essential services have been destroyed. If it is only going to be humanitarian aid, I hope it is going to include water and electricity.' He said these services had to be restored before winter."
II. BELGRADE INTENSIFIES PRESSURE ON MONTENEGRO
Army forces cut off border with Croatia, other security measures feared *The Daily Telegraph (London) reports today: "The Yugoslav army has blocked Montenegro's southwest border with Croatia, preventing lorries from entering the country and turning back anyone without a Yugoslav passport. The move is apparently aimed at preventing any supplies getting into Montenegro, placing the country under a partial siege. The Yugoslav government has ordered that all goods entering the country, including humanitarian aid, must come in through five specified border crossings, all of them into Serbia. Montenegro's main port, Bar, remains open, ensuring
that supplies can still come in, but the border crossing with Croatia is an important route and an army checkpoint at Kumbor, 10 miles inside the border, turned back hundreds of lorries yesterday. The government in
Podgorica ordered an information blackout in the hope that it could solve the problem by negotiation before it got out of hand; but not before Abaz Beli Dzafif, the Montenegrin deputy information minister, had confirmed that the army had confiscated two aid lorries and said government officials were on full alert. An early dispatch of hundreds of Montenegrin special police to Kumbor succeeded in persuading the army to remove tanks and heavy guns that it had deployed in the area, but the checkpoint remained."
* Montenegro Television reported June 28 that 'tonight, without any warning or explanation, the army positioned tanks on the motor way. According to unofficial reports, members of the Yugoslav Army today were stopping trailers entering Montenegro from this direction. Among the trailers which were stopped was a vehicle with UNICEF children's clothes. The army did not allow the passage of children's clothes and shoes and this humanitarian aid had to be unloaded in the warehouse in Zelenika [near Herceg Novi]. The fact that the Yugoslav Army positioned tanks caused concern among local residents and questions on the intentions of the Yugoslav Army which, in
spite of the fact that the state of war was lifted, is obviously continuing
to meddle in affairs exclusively within the jurisdiction of civilian authorities." Radio Montenegro reported Tuesday that "although the Yugoslav Assembly has lifted the state of war, [Yugoslav] army checkpoints continue in place at the border crossings in the Niksic [central Montenegro] municipality. We were unable to find out how long they will remain in place because the competent military officials did not wish to speak to our correspondent. The Niksic police headquarters confirmed that the army continues to be stationed at the four border crossings of Ilijno Brdo, Vracenovici, Nuda and Krce, but expressed hope that the soldiers would be
withdrawn soon."
* BETA news agency (Belgrade) reported yesterday that "the Montenegrin Democratic Party of Socialists executive board chairman Miodrag Vukovic said on June 29, that this party's caucus in the federal parliament's lower house issued a call to all parties in the house for a debate on the functioning of the Yugoslav federation. 'Since the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia does not exist anymore, neither as a legal fact, because it was destroyed by the violent policy of the Belgrade regime, nor officially due to the Serbian legislature's decision to accept the form an autonomy for Kosovo which allows it to have its own currency and army, we are prepared to open debate on a new Constitution for Yugoslavia,' Vujovic told BETA. Commenting on the announcement that some Yugoslav Army reserve troops will be transferred to the federal police, Vukovic said that 'this might be an announcement of new abuse of Montenegro in an effort to discipline it.' "
* The Financial Times reported June 28 that "the demobilization of army 0reservists in Montenegro has eased tensions in the small Yugoslav republic where it appears the pro-western government of President Milo Djukanovic has survived its worst crisis, analysts said yesterday. NATO had feared its 11-week air offensive over Kosovo would give Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, the chance to use the military to overthrow Mr Djukanovic, his most vocal political opponent. Montenegro's independent media reported that some of 15,000 reservists to be demobilized had already
gone home while military checkpoints have been relaxed. But analysts noted that this would still leave the army with about 25,000 troops in Montenegro, against peace-time levels of around 8,000. The ruling party of
Mr Djukanovic suspects Mr Milosevic intends to use reservists in both
Serbia and Montenegro to create a federal police force under his control.
At present the two republics have their own interior ministries."
* TV Crna Gora (Podgorica) June 27 quoted the ruling Democratic People's Party (DPS) executive committee member Zeljko Rutovic: "The Montenegrin police are here to prevent any repetition of the Kosovo scenario in Montenegro, as devised by Milosevic and Bulatovic. The Montenegrin police are here to stop a section of Yugoslav Army officers, who have allowed themselves to be manipulated by Milosevic, to start -- with the help of the notorious paramilitary units from Serbia -- a war under the pretext of protecting Serb national interests that are allegedly under threat in Montenegro. Under the pretext of protecting the Serbs of Montenegro, these guardian angels of Serbdom would first carry out mass slaughters and crimes against humanity; they would then ransack and set alight everything in their way, and then, together with their political representatives, they would withdraw in a cowardly manner in the light of the international community's demand. This is the Kosovo scenario as planned for Montenegro, but the
Montenegrin police are here to ensure that nothing like this ever happens in Montenegro."
*The Washington Post noted June 25 that "according to Montenegrin officials, the State Department [following a June 22 meeting between US President Bill Clinton and Montenegro's President Milo Djukanovic] promised to give Montenegro a $10 million credit, much of which is likely to be spent on the hugely expensive police force."
Belgrade stalling on proposed constitution change
* The Daily Telegraph reports today that "a few days ago Mr Djukanovic wrote to the federal government asking for Montenegro's relationship with Serbia to be 'redefined' to include its own currency, foreign policy and army. Belgrade has stalled for time, claiming it has yet to receive the document. But Mr Djukanovic has indicated that, if Belgrade refuses to change the federal constitution, he will call a referendum on the question
of full independence for his republic."
Montenegro to pursue independent currency?
* Associated Press reported June 26 that "Veselin Vukotic, a professor at the University in Podgorica and member of the Montenegrin team which is preparing the offer, told the Associated Press on Saturday that 'Montenegro must build a completely new system ... to be able to integrate into Europe.' In order to achieve this, Montenegrin officials have to negotiate with foreign officials personally since they cannot do it through the Federal Yugoslav government which is isolated from the rest of the world and with which 'one can only build a jail-type economy,' he said. 'Now either we will wait for something to happen in Serbia till we fall unconscious, or we do it ourselves,' he said. One of the main steps in an economic reform is the privatization, which requires foreign investments.
'But in order to attract the foreigners, we will have to have rules of the game which they recognize. They cannot adjust to local rules because Montenegro is not the only place in the world that needs investment,' Vukotic said. Therefore, the economic reform would have to include a new tax and customs system, an effective administration and 'what is very important - a stable currency,' Vukotic said. 'Montenegro will include a separate currency into it's offer to the Serbian government,' he added. It could be called the Convertible Dinar, be fixed to the German Mark or the Euro 1:1, issued by a Montenegrin central bank based on a currency board, Vukotic explained... Montenegro would need some 125 million German Marks - an amount which only a loan from a international financial institution could provide."
III. MORE MEDIA REPRESSION BY BELGRADE REGIME
* The Association of Independent Electronic Media in Serbia and Montenegro (ANEM) reported June 28 that "TV Soko in Sokobanja was... closed down on June 25. Telecomm0unications inspectors, backed by more than ten police, entered the station's premises and seized transmission equipment. Just hours after this raid, TV Soko resumed broadcasting using backup equipment... The station's editorinchief, Nebojsa Ristic, is presently serving a oneyear prison sentence after the Zajecar District Court on June 6 upheld a oneyear prison sentence handed down to Ristic in the Sokobanja Municipal Court on April 23. The Zajecar District Court dismissed an appeal
against the sentence and conviction for the criminal act of disseminating untrue information under Article 218 of the Criminal Code of Serbia. The charges related to Mr Ristic displaying a 'FREE PRESS, MADE IN SERBIA' poster in the station's studios in protest at the repression of the free press in Serbia."
*ANEM reported June 24 that "on June 22, Radio VK in Kikinda and RTV Devic in Smederevska Palanka, both ANEM affiliates, were banned and transmission equipment seized. Radio VK was closed down with the justification that the station was operating without a licence. This is the third time the authorities have closed the station. As on the two earlier occasions, the banning order is illegal as the ministry has not taken into account the fact that the station met all requirements in the February 1998 frequency competition and remains unlicensed only because of the authorities'
discriminatory attitude. On the day the banning order was received, the
station also received invoices for the use of the frequency, despite having been banned over the period covered by the iinvoice. The station's fondue and owner, Mr Zoran Milesevic, alleges that the equipment seized from the station has been given to Radio Television Serbia. RTV Devic in Smederevska was banned with the justification that it had not paid the fee for the use of its frequency. RTV Devic also tendered in the February 1998 frequency competition and, despite the fact that it met all requirements, has not been granted a licence. It has, nevertheless, been asked to pay fees for the use of its frequency. The justification for the ban includes the claim that the Decree on the fee obliges all stations tendering for a frequency to pay the fee. This claim is not correct."
* ANEM noted June 24 that "the independent Parliament newspaper, one of the most influential independent publications in Sandzak, has been fined 135,000 dinars (approximately 13,000 DM) under the Serbian Public Information Act. The justification for the conviction claims that the newspaper's masthead did not contain the name of its editorinchief. The fine is to be paid within 24 hours, under threat of confiscation of Parliament's assets. ANEM fears that the newspaper will cease
publication... the fine of the independent Parliament newspaper in Sandzak could aggravate the situation in Sandzak, a multiethnic community of Serbs and Muslims, resulting in new tensions between the two groups."
* Agence France Presse reported Tuesday that "the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) called Monday for Serbia to repeal an information law which it said was a 'declaration of war' against independent journalists. OSCE media representative Freimut Duve said the October 1998 Serbian Public Information Law should be thrown out if Belgrade is to normalize its relations with the West after the Kosovo war. 'A strong international consensus for the repeal of this law will provide valuable support to Serbian politicians striving to bring their country into the community of democracies in Europe,' he said."
* BETA news agency reports today that "the Democratic Party, on June 30, called on Russia to send Serbia humanitarian aid and not aid for the renewal of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, and that 'together with other democratic states of the world, pressure Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to resign... The aid for the renewal of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is a direct attempt at keeping the last autocratic regime in Europe in power, which is causing fatal consequences for the Serbian people,' announced the party, adding that the Serbian state-run television 'is a factory of lies and untruths, and that it serves to maintain a corrupt regime.' "
IV. POST-WAR SERBIAN AND INTERNATIONAL VIEWS ON KOSOVO CRIMES
"[Milosevic's regime is accused of] committing the crimes, in our name, against those living next to us and with us... We apologize to the whole world for something we have not done, but the regime which claimed the right to kill and expel in our name... Someone should be responsible for that. We did not loot, kill and expel, but as Christians, we are obliged to point the finger at the one who did... [Milosevic] 'was protecting Serbian interests by committing crimes ... against others, but also against us. "This regime shamed us and made us ashamed of ourselves. . . . They did evil against those who live by our sides, and they never asked us... Now we have to apologize to the whole world -- not for what we did, but for what was done in our name." Historian and Serbian opposition leader Milan Protic, June 29
"The regime made Serbia ashamed of its name, made monsters of the people, and God punished us ... If [Serbian forces] had surrounded the house of [KLA political chief] Hashim Thaci like this, we would not have problems nowadays."
Cacak Mayor Vladimir Ilic, June 29
"Ethnic Albanians have suffered due to the undemocratic regime of Milosevic, and Serbs are currently are suffering again because of him... The Serbian Orthodox church has officially demanded the resignation of Milosevic not because he lost war, but because he made war....Thanks to Milosevic's policies, there are no more Serbs in Krajina, no more Serbs in Slavonia, no more Serbs in west Bosnia." Serbian Orthodox Church Bishop for Kosovo Artimje, June 28
"You cannot have fascism for 10 years without majority support. The Serbian people supported fascism. I do believe in collective responsibility. But I do not believe in collective punishment... The Serbian people should know what was going on here... The reality is that when you block your eyes and ears, you won't know. But they have a president indicted for war crimes here, which again brings collective responsibility. He is the man the Serbian people either supported or did not do much to remove." Veton Surroi, editor-in-chief of Pristina independent daily Koha Ditore Interview with Institute for War and Peace Reporting, June 23 "We have to make sure that the Serbs, who in some ways are victims of their own leadership, should not be twice punished."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, June 26
"The Serbian people should be freed from collective guilt and that is why those responsible for the crimes committed in their name and without their consent must be discovered and punished." Open letter sent to Slobodan Milosevic by Appeal 50, a group of leading Belgrade intellectuals, June 28
"People talk politics obsessively, but they are preoccupied with how to survive on miserable wages paid months late. They do not even mention the fact that hundreds of thousands of Albanians were expelled by Serb forces from their homes in the province of Kosovo." Financial Times special correspondent in Belgrade, June 28
"What the Serbian people decide to do, of course, is their own affair. But, you know, they're going to have to come to grips with what Mr. Milosevic ordered in Kosovo. They're just going to have to come to grips with it. And, you know, they're going to have to get out of denial; they're going to have to come to grips with it. And then thhey're going to have to decid whether they support his leadership or not; whether they think it's okay that all those tens of thousands of people were killed and all those hundreds of thousands of people were run out of their homes and all those little girls were raped and all those little boys were murdered. They're going to have to decide if they think that is okay, and if they think it's okay, they can make that decision, but I wouldn't give them one red cent for reconstruction if they think it's okay ... I do not believe we should give them any money for reconstruction if they believe that is the person who should lead them into the new century. I do not, and I will not s
upport it."
President Bill Clinton, June 26
"I must tell you, and I'll say it publicly... I doubt the resolve of NATO in going after Milosevic, Mladic and the gang. I doubt the resolve I am not saying it won't occur but I worry about the resolve in putting enough pressure on the Serbian people, who are good people, but to face the reality of what has occurred. For if they do not, they will continue to buy onto the lies of dictators who deny them access to real information and spew lies to them."
US Senator Joseph Biden, June 24
