.--------------------------------------------------------
"We see the next two or three months in the following way: The people go on to the streets, the Church calls the people to go on to the streets, Serbia as a whole is in a state of civil disobedience in a general strike.
[Milosevic] goes."
Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic
Quoted by the Financial Times, July 7 « Uzice, Yugoslavia
"Those who committed these crimes in Kosovo must be brought to justice. Their first and last names must be known and they cannot hide behind the regime. This must happen, not because you in the West want it, but because we in Yugoslavia need it. We need to know and we need to cleanse ourselves of this evil."
Former Yugoslav Army General and Social Democracy Party lleader Vuk Obradovi Quoted by the Calgary Herald, July 2 « Belgrade "[Yugoslavia has become] a laboratory for Slobodan Milosevic and his autistic, xenophobic regime in permanent conflict with the whole world."
Montenegro's President Milo Djukanovic
Quoted by Agence France Presse, July 2 « Podgorica
"[Milosevic is] still trying to overthrow Djukanovic."
Unnamed State Department official
Quoted by the Washington Post, July 2 « Washington
"Whether the economic rebuilding program will be done in a Milosevic era or a post-Milosevic era is an open question... Finland will not make any hasty
moves in this respect."
Pertti Torstila, director general for political affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of Finland (which on July 1 assumed the 6-month presidency of the European Union)
Quoted by the Washington Times, July 4 « Washington
"Milosevic retains formidable power in Yugoslavia, and he's an expert at dividing the opposition. And I think that we need to do all that we can to encourage a democratic opposition to speak out and take the lead and force him to meet his fate in The Hague... There has been a lowlevel campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Sandzak region between Serbia and Montenegro...
There is increasing tension with the Hungarian ethnic community in Vojvodina."
NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee'
July 1 « Washington
---------------------------------------------------------
I. OPPOSITION TO BELGRADE REGIME STIFFENING
Demonstrations in Prokuplje, Leskovac, Uzice, Novi Sad, Krajlevo, Raska, Nis, Belgrade
* Agence France Presse reported an opposition rally today in Prokuplje, Serbia, 130 miles south of Belgrade, "which attracted more than 4,000 people. The rally... was held in a tense atmosphere, after Milosevic's allies earlier announced they would hold a simultaneous rally in support of the Yugoslav president. But the officials of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) decided to cancel the gathering, although groups of pro-Milosevic supporters came to the square and attempted to disrupt the opposition rally. Gunshots rang out at the start of the Alliance rally, held in the central square of Prokuplje, south of Belgrade. Six shots were fired into the air from the balcony of the local headquarters of Milosevic's party, but there were no reports of injuries. Witnesses said a local SPS official had fired the shots, while several dozen pro- and anti-Milosevic supporters
clashed in a nearby park.... The next Alliance rally is scheduled for Tuesday in the town of Sabac, 60 miles west of Belgrade."
* Deutsche Presse Agentur reported yesterday that in the "town of Leskovac [160 miles south of Belgrade] "police arrested human rights activist Vjeceslav Nesic. The Socialist district chairman Zuvojin Stefanovic accused Nesic of organising recent opposition protests, Beta reported. Regime critics announced further protests. Unconfirmed reports said the Socialists were also planning an anti-opposition rally." The Belgrade news agency BETA reported Wednesday that "in Leskovac on July 6, demonstrators broke windows and knocked down the fence around the home of the head of the local Jablanica district, Zivojin Stefanovic. During demonstrations in the city on July 5, protesters had demanded Stefanovic's resignation. Earlier during the day at least 2,000 protesters clashed with police when they tried to make their way to the city's police station to seek the release Ivan Novkovic, a tape technician at the local [state-run] TV station who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for organizing the rally on the previous d
ay. Following a brief scuffle with police, the demonstrators retreated and tried to reach the building housing the Leskovac municipality and the seat of the Jablanica district by another route. The police attempted to overtake the demonstrators and a real race ensued between police and demonstrators. Regardless of the police effort, the demonstrators reached the municipal and district building, continuing their protest by shouting
'We want Ivan,' 'Army help us,' 'Murderers, murderers,' 'Go to Kosovo,' and 'You betrayed Serbia'... The president of the local human rights committee for Leskovac, Dobrosav Nesic said that Stefanovic had attacked his brother with a gun, and that an incident was averted thanks to a police intervention."
* Yugoslavia's Independent Association of Electronic Media (ANEM) said that "on July 1, during a break in a basketball match between Yugoslavia and Germany, Mr Novkovic put to air his own message to the Leskovac audience, calling on them to gather in the town's central square on July 5 to protest against the policies which have led Serbia to the brink of poverty and caused the unwarranted destruction of the country. Some 25,000 Leskovac citizens subsequently attended the July 5 rally at which Mr Novkovic spoke. One of the protests demands was that the local media in Leskovac begin reporting objectively and stop false propaganda representations of the desperate situation in the southern Serbian town. A second rally was announced for the following day, July 6. In the morning of July 6, the municipal misdemeanours judge found Mr Novkovic guilty of organising a public gathering which had not been registered with the police and sentenced him to a month's imprisonment." ANEM's statement noted that "Novkovic was se
ntenced [to thirty days imprisonment] by a municipal misdemeanours judge in Leskovac... Novkovic was also immediately dismissed
by TV Leskovac after the conviction."
* Reuters reported Wednesday that "Serbian opposition leader Zoran Djindjic told thousands of antigovernment protesters on Tuesday that a general strike and mass civil disobedience could bring down Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic... Opposition leader Djindjic, head of the Democratic Party, addressed more than 5,000 people in Uzice, about 125 miles southwest of Belgrade, and spelled out a plan to force Milosevic out. 'We see the next two or three months in the following way: the people go onto the streets, the church calls the people to go onto the streets... Serbia as a whole is in a state of civil disobedience in a general strike. He goes,' Djindjic said...Djindjic hinted that the campaign could start as soon as next week. 'I can envisage, in 10 days' time in Serbia, each day at the same time all churches ringing their bells to send the message 'It's time for you to go',' he said, to cheers... He said the goal was to set up a government of experts with the backing of the Orthodox Church and opposition
leaders. An Orthodox priest at the rally said he had come to represent the church, which has appeared divided by the protests.
Leaflets floated to the ground from an apartment block overlooking the square, first supporting the opposition, then from a 'citizen' saying the speakers of the rally were puppets of the countries which bombed Serbia over Kosovo."
*Agence France Presse reported Wednesday that "students in Serbia's second largest city of Nis [135 miles south of Belgrade] demanded for the first time Tuesday the resignation of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and his withdrawal from the political scene, Beta news agency reported. Student unions from four faculties of the University in Nis demanded a transitional government be formed in Serbia and Yugoslavia to 'engage in political and economic reforms,' the agency said. They called for 'free and democratic elections by the end of the year and the liberation of media controlled by the state.' [Aleksandar Visnjic, a student leader, was quoted
as saying that] 'replacing Milosevic is not a political question, it is an existential one. We have to choose now between Serbia and Slobodan.' "
* BETA news agency (Belgrade) reported Tuesday that "on July 5, for the third time since the state of war was lifted, Yugoslav Army reservists blocked with army vehicles the bridge over the Ibar River in Kraljevo, demanding their outstanding wages and war bonuses. Some 50 reservists, members of a missile unit of the 450th Regiment, demand to be paid their outstanding wages and war bonuses, amounting to some 5,500 dinars per person." Radio Montenegro (Podgorica) reported Monday that "some 500 Yugoslav Army reservists from Raska, south of Kraljevo, lifted their blockade of roads around Raska last night, having been promised by military authorities that they would be paid their allowances and salaries for the period they spent in uniform. The blockade of access roads to Raska from the direction of Kraljevo and Novi Pazar, as well as the blockade of a section of the road near the village of Biljanovac on the Ibar motorway, were lifted around [midnight]. The protest of reservists of the 37th Motorized Brigade be
gan on 2nd July."
* Reuters reported July 2 that "several thousand applauding protesters gathered in the main square in Yugoslavia's second city Novi Sad Friday evening and called for President Slobodan Milosevic to resign. The protest, organized by local opposition parties, was the second in Serbia this week calling for democratic change and for Milosevic to step down. But in contrast to the first rally organized in central Serbia by the umbrella Alliance for Change opposition group, the Novi Sad protest was organized by local parties in Vojvodina Serbia's northern province with a large ethnic Hungarian minority. Nenad Canak, leader of the League of
Social Democrats of Vojvodina, said it was time for people to be given their normal lives back. 'NATO did not hit us because we were guilty of anything, but because we were led by a fool,' he said to cheers. 'Down with Slobodan Milosevic, long live all normal people.' There was no large police presence at the gathering Friday and the hourlong rally ended without a problem. Novi Sad, a city run by opposition politicians, was the object of repeated NATO bombings during the 11 week air campaign against Yugoslavia."
* The Times (London) reported July 2 that "hundreds of pensioners marched in Belgrade yesterday chanting: 'Wake up Serbia! Slobo out!' as they demanded payment of pensions months overdue." Reuters noted July 1 that "it was the first organized demonstration in Belgrade since the bombing ended three weeks ago. Police accompanied the march but did not intervene passers by showed little interest in the march... Support for Milosevic is traditionally strong among pensioners in Serbia, the day before the demonstration, pensioners received some money."
Regime warns on demonstrations
* Associated Press reported today "a warning ffrom Dragan Tomic, the Serbia republic's parliamentary speaker and a Milosevic ally, that the Belgrade regime would not allow unrest and anti-government rallies in Serbia to spread, BETA reported. 'Serbia was in flames for 78 days' of the NATO bombing campaign, Tomic said in Valjevo... 'Unfortunately, there are some who again call for a fire in Serbia. A leader recently said that Serbia was on fire again. He and his like want to see blood and flames in Serbia again,' Tomic said, in a reference to Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic party, one of the six members of the Alliance For Change which has launched a series of rallies demanding Milosevic's resignation. 'It is up to us to tell them this cannot pass in Serbia, we will not allow them. The people of Serbia and Yugoslavia will never allow someone else to choose their president instead of them,' Tomic said."
Djindjic returns to Serbia
* Agence France Presse reported July 4 that "Zoran Djindjic, one of the main political opponents of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, returned to Belgrade Sunday despite facing military charges of insubordination for his conduct when his country was in a state of war...He read an airport statement before some 200 supporters repeating demands that Milosevic should go and be replaced by a transitional government pending new elections.... He was also charged for failing to respond to mobilization orders. On arrival in Belgrade, Djindjic dismissed the charges as 'extremely cynical.' " The New York Times noted Monday that Djindjic "has been criticized by other opposition leaders for fleeing the country at a time of national crisis. Some of that criticism has come from inside his own Democratic Party, which he helped found and of which is president. A number of political analysts here say his standing as an opposition leader has been weakened by his decision not to stay with the people of Serbia as they were
being bombed."
* Associated Press reported July 2 that "despite facing a military court investigation on charges of draft-dodging, a top Serb opposition leader will return to the country next week, a close associate and party deputy leader said Friday... 'The criminal proceedings will not prevent Djindjic from returning home. We expect him here next week,' the party's deputy leader, Zoran Zivkovic, told reporters in Belgrade. Besides the military investigation, a civil court also has launched a legal proceeding against Djindjic on charges of failing to inform authorities about a change of residence... 'This is a political process constructed on lies,' Djindjic's
lawyer Strahinja Kastratovic said, adding that the defense has not been allowed access to the court documents in the case. When he recently toured NATO-member countries, Djindjic was not committing treason as some have suggested, Kastratovcic said, but was trying to avert a tragedy convince the world that Kosovo's problem should be solved by peaceful means, the lawyer also said. 'Djindjic became the conscience of this regime, constantly reminding it of its fatal mistakes,' he said. 'Therefore, his own safety is now in danger.' "
Novi Sad., Pirot town councils vote for Milosevic resignation; SPO blocks similar measure in Belgrade
* Associated Press reported today that "the local council of the Serbian town of Pirot on Thursday called for the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, the independent news agency Beta reported... Milosevic had pulled Yugoslavia into a conflict 'with the entire world, exposing the country to NATO bombing and showing an incapacity to resolve the Kosovo problem,' the Pirot council said in a statement... But the local councils of the Yugoslav capital and Uzice in the southwest rejected a vote proposed by the deputies of the opposition Democratic party and its allies from the Alliance for Change coalition, the agency said... In Belgrade, the opposition was outnumbered by deputies from Milosevic's Socialist party and Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), who voted against the motion... In Uzice... Milosevic's party deputies left the council session, thus preventing a vote due to the lack of quorum. Both Belgrade and Uzice councils are controlled by opposition parties, but they do not hav
e an
absolute majority. Officials of Djindjic's party in the southern city of Nis, the third largest in Serbia, said they would submit a call for Milosevic's resignation at Friday's local council session. The opposition also controls the Nis council."
* BETA news agency (Belgrade) reported that "on July 6 Novi Sad City Council called on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to resign from office. At its session, which is still in progress, members of the city council also demanded that the media be allowed to operate freely in the nearest future. Novi Sad City Council is the first local assembly to demand the Yugoslav president's resignation."
Opposition plans take shape
* Agence France Presse reported today that "Serbian opposition leader Zoran Djindjic called Thursday for a referendum to be held on the future of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. 'Nothing can justify NATO (bombings). We cannot dismiss them, but we can dismiss... We must have a referendum this year, for Milosevic or for Serbia. His regime has come to the point where the choice has to be made.' He said the Serbian Orthodox Church, which had also demanded Milosevic's resignation, called for 'a prominent government to be formed' and urged the need 'for reforms and foreign economic assistance.' "
* Associated Press noted today that "the opposition strategy, as outlined by Djindjic at Tuesday's rally in Uzice, is the following: The opposition and the Serbian Orthodox Church call for nationwide protests to run continually until Milosevic resigns and a transitional government is formed to organize free elections under international supervision." The Times (London) reported yesterday that in an interview Djindjic "rejected uniting with the other main opposition leader, Vuk Draskovic... 'The first step is to check the mood of the people -- we only go where we are invited,' he said. 'The second step will be to organise a network of activities from Belgrade with the aim of totally isolating Milosevic. We want to get 20 or 30 towns where there will be people on the streets every day until he resigns. 'We want to direct people's unhappiness but make sure it does not cause widespread unrest. We have learnt from the past that non-violence is the only way to remove Milosevic,' he said."
* Associated Press reported today that "the opposition claims to have gathered more than 100,000 signatures in the first week of a petition campaign aimed at pressuring federal lawmakers to start proceedings on whether to oust Milosevic. Some 3,200 people signed the petition on Nis on Wednesday, the first day it was distributed in the southern city, Mayor Zoran Zivkovic told the Associated Press."
*Republika Srpska news agency SRNA reported July 4 that former Yugoslav National Bank Governor "Dragoslav Avramovic and [former Yugoslav President] Milan Panic are expected to return from abroad soon."
Alliance for Change seeks Church support
* Reuters reported today that "Serb opposition and Kosovo church leaders demanded democratic change in Serbia on Thursday, but were jostled by angry Serbs as they tried to deliver their message at a Kosovo monastery. Serbian Orthodox Bishop Artemije and Vladan Batic, coordinator of the opposition Alliance for Change coalition, expressed their deep concern for the future of Serbs in the region in a joint statement. 'We agree to unite all our efforts for the protection and survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija,' said the statement, released after an hourlong meeting of church and opposition leaders. 'We jointly declare that the only way towards the salvation of Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija is in the urgent and thorough transformation of Serbia into a democratic country, ' said the statement which, while failing to mention Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic by name, was clearly calling for him to be unseated... A crowd of more than 100 angry Serbs began jeering and jostling with the coaliti
on members and with the mostly foreign reporters and cameramen. 'You weren't here during the bombing, now get out,' one man yelled at Djindjic.. Other people in the crowd yelled 'thieves' as Djindjic and the church leaders tried to walk through a narrow stone gateway to vehicles waiting outside to take them to Pristina. The confrontation ended when several British soldiers of the KFOR peacekeeping force intervened." Reuters noted that "Djindjic... said the protesters were not even from Gracanica but had come from the city to cause trouble. 'We were expecting provocation from Pristina,' he told reporters, as bodyguards shielded him from demonstrators. The crowd... also kicked and pushed journalists and camera teams covering the disturbance."
* Agence France Presse reported today that "Zoran Djindjic, leader of them main Serbian opposition to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, arrived in Kosovo Thursday to meet Orthodox church officials and leaders of the Serb and international community, an AFP correspondent reported. The aim of the Kosovo meetings is 'to establish a connection between Serb leaders of Kosovo and the international community, and to secure the return of Serbs to Kosovo,' said Djindjic in a brief statement to the press at the administrative border between Kosovo and Serbia proper. Associated Press reported today that "enlisting the active support of the influential church may be crucial. But it's unclear whether the church, which has traditionally steered clear of politics, would indulge in such a struggle now."
* The New York Times reported July 4 that "even though its head, Patriarch Pavle, said last week in Kosovo that the Serb leader's policies were criminal, the church continues to send mixed signals about what its priests should do in toppling a president who is indicted as a war criminal... Bishop Atanasije, vicar of the patriarchy in Belgrade and a cleric who often speaks for Patriarch Pavle, said in an interview: 'The church is not a political body. If the church has called for Slobodan Milosevic to resign, it is not because the church is involved in politics, it is out of her own pastoral care for the people of this country.' "
* The New York Times report also noted that "taking pains to deny news stories that parish priests around Serbia have been instructed to use Sunday's services as the beginning of a campaign to teach Serbs about atrocities committed in their name in Kosovo, [Bishop Atanasije] said, 'Those reports have nothing to do with reality.' It is enough that the church hierarchy has spoken publicly, he said, adding that in local parishes, priests should stick to the Gospel. 'There is no need for the priests to speak out,' said Bishop Atanasije, drawing a clear distinction between what the Serbian Orthodox Church is willing to do here and what the Catholic Church did in Poland."
Draskovic, Serbian Renewal Movement vacillating
* The New York Times reported today that "the news from Leskovac, which is controlled by Milosevic's Socialists but where the Serbian Renewal Movement[SPO] is the main opposition group, appears to have forced the hand of Draskovic. His party announced Wednesday that it will take charge of a rally in Leskovac on Thursday night. Ognjen Privbicevic, a senior party adviser, offered this reason for Draskovic's sudden change of strategies.'( Draskovic) has such a good nose for these things,' Privbicevic said. 'Things are changing so quickly here. Nothing is predictable. This is the first rule.' " Reuters reported yesterday that "Bojana Ristic, an SPO
deputy in the Serbian parliament, was jeered when she told the crowd her party currently seesawing between the opposition and the government had taken up the protesters' cause for political change." [As noted above, representatives of Draskovic's party in the Belgrade town council today joined with Milosevic's party in voting down a resolution calling for Milosevic's resignation.]
* Reuters reported Wednesday that "Vuk Draskovic, who in the past few years has switched from opposition leader to cabinet minister and back, called Tuesday for immediate reform of the government. Draskovic, currently playing a balancing act between the opposition and Milosevic's government, said the federal government needed drastic changes to give it real power and represent both Serbia and its smaller Westernleaning partner in the federation, Montenegro. If those changes were made, Draskovic said he would be willing to rejoin the government. The leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement [SPO] has been touted as a possible new member of the government if there is a cabinet shakeup something seen as needed in response to the calls for Milosevic to resign. For that reason, Draskovic, who led huge antiMilosevic street protests in 199697, has not joined oppositionled rallies which have drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets over the past weeks. 'If we are not in the streets there are reasons for that,
' Draskovic told a news conference. 'The time we decide to go on the streets will be the time we choose it is necessary.' "
* Republika Srpska news agency SRNA (Pale, Bosnia) reported July 4 that "the Serbian Renewal Movement ( SPO) yesterday accused the Yugoslav authorities of inconsistency in their attitude to Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) members, insisting that reservists were being arrested because of their protest against the authorities' failure to pay they their daily allowances despite the fact that they had recently been decorated for 'their heroism in defending the country.' In its statement, the SPO says that in their work the state authorities operate on the principle 'the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing' ; President Slobodan Milosevic decorates 3,500 troops but his army minister [Defence Minister] Pavle Bulatovic fails to meet his own obligations towards them."
*Agence France Presse reported Wednesday that "Serb opposition politician Vuk Draskovic Tuesday again called for early elections to be held in line with the principles of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Beta news agency reported from Belgrade. Draskovic, head of the Serbian Renewal Movement, does not support the more radical stances of other opposition leaders who have called for the ouster of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic following the Kosovo conflict. Draskovic said he does not support Milosevic's ouster as Milosevic had been legally
elected by the Yugoslav federal parliament. Draskovic called for Yugoslav premier Momir Bulatovic to step down, and said that post should go to a politician of the Democratic Socialist Party of Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic." Agence France Presse reported July 2 that "Serbian opposition leader Vuk Draskovic will refuse to join a federal Yugoslav government unless Belgrade recognises the authority of Montenegro's reformist
government, press reports said Friday. 'There can be no federal government if it is not democratically agreed between Serbia and Montenegro.' "
Fifth high-ranking police official shot in Belgrade
*BETA news agency reported today that "the Belgrade Interior Secretariat announced that the chief of the Savski Venac municipality's vice squad, Col. Dragan Simic, was killed in Sava Kovacevic street at 720 a.m. on July 8. The secretariat cited that Simic was a long-standing vice squad chief in the Belgrade Secretariat for the Interior's criminal police department and that he investigated the most serious crimes committed in Belgrade. Five high-ranking police officers have been killed in Belgrade since the beginning of 1999, Belgrade media reported."
II. SERBIA-MONTENEGRO RELATIONS WARMING UP?
Montenegro officials set for talks with Milosevic
* The Financial Times reported yesterday that "talks are to begin in Belgrade early next week between the leading political party in Montenegro and Serbian parties to discuss Montenegro's demands for a radical overhaul of the Yugoslav federal state. The move by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), led by Milo Djukanovic, Montenegrin president, to seek talks on reforming the federal constitution rather than work immediately for a referendum on independence is causing severe strains inside the coalition government. Calls in Montenegro - Serbia's junior partner in what remains of Yugoslavia - for outright independence have grown strongly in
the wake of the war over Kosovo. Dragisa Burzan, deputy prime minister and a leader of the Montenegrin Social Democratic party, threatened yesterday that his party would leave the government if the DPS, the senior member of the coalition, sought to turn the talks with the Serb parties into official government policy. The ruling Socialist party of Slobodan Milosevic, Yugoslav president, is due to take part in the talks. Montenegro's Social Democrats have called for a referendum on independence. 'If they [the DPS] are going to talk to political parties in Serbia, that is their business.
But if they are going to involve the government, we are out. I am not going to support any talks there,' said Mr Burzan."
*The Guardian (London) reported Wednesday that "Montenegro has finalised a blueprint for a democratic Yugoslavia in whicch Montenegro, Serbia's junio partner, would enjoy equal rights. The document, to be sent to the Serbian government today, proposes that the remaining bonds should include an open border, a customs union, some common legislation, and a defence council linking the two armies. But Montenegro would enact its own mass privatisation, from September, and introduce its own currency, the 'convertible dinar' or COD, pegged to the German mark. If Belgrade rejects the document, as Montenegro expects, a referendum on independence could
take place by the end of the year."
* Montena-Fax news agency (Podgorica) quoted Djukanovic speaking June 30 on the proposal for a redefinition of Montenegro's status within Yugoslavia: "[It is] quite natural for the majority of Montenegrin citizens to want changes of the state structure in order to secure more certain democratic, economic and pro-European prospects for Montenegro. The response of Montenegrin citizens will be clear, unless Serbia accepts the Montenegrin proposal for redefining the relations within the federation."
Rhetoric intensifying in Belgrade, Podgorica
* Reuters reported July 2 that "the president of Serbia's smaller partner in the Yugoslav Federation has pledged to hand over anyone indicted for war crimes by the United Nations tribunal, a Belgrade newspaper said on Friday. The report means that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, indicted by the tribunal and thus already in danger of being arrested in much of the world, is now at risk if he enters Montenegro, a republic he theoretically rules. 'Montenegro will hand over to the international tribunal anyone indicted for war crimes who happens to be in the territory of Montenegro,' the independent daily Blic quoted Milo Djukanovic as telling a rally in Niksic on Wednesday evening. 'The one who committed war crimes must take responsibility. The guilt cannot be assumed collectively by a nation or a state,' Djukanovic said."
* BETA news agency reported yesterday that "the pro-government Belgrade daily Borba on July 6 accused Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic of wanting to remove its political opponents and destroy Yugoslavia with the aid of the international community and The Hague Tribunal. 'Hunting season on political opponents has finally opened and all those who are in Djukanovic's way of destroying Yugoslavia will be targeted,' the text headed 'The Hague's hunt in Yugoslavia' says. 'Milo Djukanovic's regime has finally removed its mask and issued an ultimatum to the Serb republic on
reviewing relations, on a take it or leave it basis,' says the text and adds that this 'mad and illegal creature represents a part of a general strategy by Western powers and a continued, so far unsuccessful, effort to break up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.' "
Western, Russian, Montenegrin officials on prospect of Montenegro conflict
* US State Department spokesman James Foley said July 2 "we are and remain concerned about the situation in Montenegro. What I can tell you is that Milosevic and the Yugoslav army continue to maintain a threatening environment against Montenegro, with a very large presence and deployment to Montenegro of Yugoslav army troops, whose strength has been bloated to approximately 40,000 troops. And that's about four times their normal presence. So, 40,000 as opposed to normally 10,000 VJ troops in Montenegro... From the beginning of NATO's military campaign in March, the U.S. and NATO have stated that any move by Milosevic to undermine the legitimate administration of President Djukanovic or plans to destabilize Montenegro will be considered provocative and dealt with appropriately."
* Reuters reported July 2 that "NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said on Friday the alliance would take action if President Slobodan Milosevic tried to provoke a conflict in Montenegro... 'As you know, we have been saying from the very beginning that we will not tolerate any action in Montenegro and we will continue to say that and to act if necessary,' Solana told reporters in Sarajevo."
* When asked at a press conference July 1 about "Serbs preparing for possible aggression against Montenegro," NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark said: "We've seen some reinforcement of some of the elements there. We've seen a pattern over several weeks of attempting to put more ethnic Serbians and persons loyal to President Djukanovic's opponent, Mr. Bulatovic, into positions of authority down there. So all these are preparatory stages. We've had, previously, incidents where the Serb military tried to take over the border on the Prevlaka Peninsula. So I think Montenegro remains a very sensitive area. I think President Milosevic is calculating what is to his best advantage in terms of making moves in that area."
* The Washington Post noted July 2 that "despite concerns, some administration officials believe Milosevic will avoid another confrontation. 'Right now, it seems inconceivable that even Milosevic would try something provocative in Montenegro,' said Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon. 'We've clearly thought about Montenegro, but it's a huge hypothetical at this point.' "
*:Montena-Fax news agency (Podgorica) July 1 quoted Montenegro's President Milo Djukanovic addressing a crowd in Niksic, Montenegro: "There are signs that, under the auspices of the army, recruitment for the formation of a federal [Yugoslav] police force has begun. This is being done by those who a few years ago threw the federal Interior Ministry out on to the street because they had no need for it at the time [they are doing this] "because they know that the whole world will condemn them if they use the army in peacetime conditions against the democratic government in Montenegro. They want to replace the army with some kind of improvised federal Interior Ministry."
* Deutsche Presse Agentur reported July 2 that "NATO officials said Friday they were concerned at a build-up of Serb troops in Montenegro, the junior partner in the Yugoslav Federation, and were monitoring the situation closely. 'There is concern about this development,' said a spokesman." The Washington Post reported July 2 that "some Serbian troops that were withdrawn from a border post [in Montenegro] near Croatia have been sent back to control the entry to Montenegro, and two nights ago they put barbed wire back at a checkpoint near a border crossing, according to a diplomat in the region."
* Agence France Presse reported July 3 that "Russia and the European Union should jointly issue a warning to President Slobodan Milosevic if he continues pressuring Montenegro, the smaller of the two Yugoslav republics, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov said Saturday. Luzhkov, a contender for the Russian presidency in the next elections, told journalists on a visit [to Munich] that if Milosevic continued questioning Montenegro's autonomy within Yugoslavia or threatened the pro-western Montenegrin government he must reckon with joint measures by Russia and the 15-nation European Union. He did not elaborate."
New military mobilization reported in Vojvodina, tensions in Sandzak
* Agence France Presse reported Wednesday that "two organisations from the 350,000-strong ethnic Hungarian community in Serbia's northern Vojvodina area have drafted an autonomy plan for the province, Hungary's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) and the Vojvodina Hungarian Democratic Party (VMDP) met here Monday in talks mediated by Hungary's Foreign Ministry and Office for Hungarians Beyond the Borders. The plan envisages autonomy at three levels for the Hungarian community which comprises 15-17 percent of Vojvodina's population, Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabor Horvath said. This ranges from elections of ethnic Hungarians to local bodies and regional municipalities to full autonomy for the province with guarantees for the rights of minorities. 'Of course this all can hardly be realised without the democratisation of Yugoslavia, 'Horvath told the Vilaggazdasag daily newspaper. Hungary's government will support the autonomy plan at a European Union summit scheduled for
mid-July in Sarajevo, Horvath pledged."
* Hungarian state TV2 (Budapest) reported June 30 that [Hungary's Foreign Minister Jozsef] "Martonyi confirmed that they [the government] were aware of the fact that Arkan's Serb paramilitary troops had been present in Vojvodina for quite a long time now. Owing to the presence of the Tigers, who earlier committed brutal murders in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, the fear of those who live there is justified, although there is no reason to panic, he said."
* Duna TV(Budapest) reported June 30: "We phoned Attila Juhasz, mayor of Zenta [Senta, Vojvodina, northern Serbia], in connection with the situation in the region of [River] Tisza. He said that the situation in Vojvodina had further deteriorated after the NATO bombing. Today homes and land are being distributed in the neighboring Toeroekkanizsa [Novi Knezevac] to the refugees of the previous war and to Kosovo Serb refugees. He said that this would change the current ethnic composition of the region. [Juhasz said] 'Kosovo Serbs have been sporadically arriving in Senta as well. The Yugoslav Army units have moved from their positions around the town into the barracks in Zenta. It is feared, however, that we will soon get the Kosovo Serb policemen withdrawn from Kosovo on our backs in Zenta, Vojvodina, in this region. The Yugoslav Army has started a new partial mobilization, allegedly in the interest of reconstruction.' "
* Pancevo Radio (Serbia) reported July 2 that "members of the Bosniak [Muslim] National Council of Sandzak [region straddling the border between Serbia and Montenegro], have requested that the council's assembly meets over the unresolved issue of the status of Bosniaks in Yugoslavia. According to this initiative, the assembly would renew its appeal to the international community and Yugoslav bodies for the status of Sandzak and the Bosniaks in Yugoslavia to be defined, the council's statement says."
* BETA news agency (Belgrade) reported July 2: "The President of the Sandzak Coalition, Rasim Ljajic, told the July 1 issue of the Belgrade daily Blic, that 'the less democracy in Serbia, the more autonomy Sandzak would seek... If the Serbian government insisted on forming a national state, it would be inevitable to intensify demands for ethnic autonomy, which in that case would represent the only way to protect the individual and collective rights of the minorities,' Ljajic said, adding that the condition for that 'is for the current regime to step down.' Stressing that Sandzak 'has no power or potential to endanger the regime,' of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milsoevic, and that is why he will not open a
'front' against Sandzak, Ljajic did not rule out the possibility that 'Belgrade would choose a combination of blackmail, frightening people, and small concessions.' Ljajic said that the government would attempt to 'minimize the issue of Sandzak, in order to draw the attention of the international community away from that region.' He expressed the hope that such a strategy would 'not be acceptable for the international community.' "
* BETA news agency (Belgrade) reported July 2 that "the leaders of the Social Democratic Party and the Vojvodina Coalition, Vuk Obradovic and Dragan Veselinov said on June 30 that the current regime 'must step down as it has proved incompetent in extricating the people from the catastrophe, it has created,' said the statement issued by the press service of the Social Democratic Party. At a meeting dedicated to cooperation between the two parties, Obradovic and Veselinov assessed that the best solution would be to establish a transitional government, which would initiate economic reforms, secure political peace, the freedom of citizens and the press, and which would organize free elections... New Democracy president Dusan
Mihailovic repeated his call on June 30 for organizing extraordinary elections in Serbia, which would be conducted under new election laws, a new law on information, and free media. At a rostrum in Kragujevac, Mihailovic called for the elections to be held under OSCE standards and control, said a party statement. Mihailovic said political tension in Serbia 'is dangerously rising' and added that 'hardheaded disputes about who is right, in moments of immense political tension, could lead to greater misfortune such as an open clash between opposing political options.' "
III. SERBIAN FORCES IN KOSOVO, KOSOVO ALBANIANS IN SERBIAN PRISONS
"Thousands" of Albanians in Serbian prisons
* The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday it had begun visits to some of the 2,000 ethnic Albanian prisoners from Kosovo being held in detention centers in Serbia. In a first stage, the agency saw some prisoners who were on an initial list of 500 names provided by the Yugoslav Ministry of Justice, according to spokesman Urs Boegli in Geneva. ICRC delegates visited the first batch of prisoners in Sremska Mitrovica on Tuesday and then returned to Belgrade, according to the spokesman, who had no details. They would also see detainees in Zajecar, Novi Pazar and
Prokuplje. 'These are the four places where the Serbs have told us they have prisoners and where we have authorization to visit,' Boegli told Reuters. 'We have seen the first prisoners and our delegates are just back in Belgrade. Today they visited Sremska Mitrovica'... Earlier, ICRC task force chief Pierre Kraehenbuehl told a news conference:' We are first and foremost seeking access, then we will pursue, in parallel, talks on subsequent possible release. We obtained a first list of the names of some 500 persons from the Ministry of Justice, of people being held in a variety of locations in Serbia'. Serbian authorities have told the ICRC that they would provide a list of the remaining 1,500 detainees by the end of the week, according to Kraehenbuehl, who had just returned from the Balkans.
'That is their commitment.' "
* State Department spokesman James Foley said July 5 that "we believe through anecdotal evidence that large numbers of Kosovar Albanians were taken from Kosovo into the FRY and are in detention there now and therefore we're very concerned about their fate and we are insisting that all of them be released."
* The Times (London) reported July 2 that "thousands of ethnic Albanians seized in Kosovo by Serb security forces during the war are still being held in jails throughout Serbia, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The organisation has not been granted access to a single one of them and the Serbian Ministry of Justice has repeatedly refused to release a list of its detainees or their whereabouts. 'It is customary under international law at the end of conflicts for an agreement to be signed for the release of all prisoners,' said Daloni Carlisle, a Red Cross spokeswoman in Pristina. 'Unfortunately, due to the speed of negotiations, the military-technical agreement signed between NATO and Yugoslavia includes no such details for the release of captives.' "
* The Washington Post reported July 2 that "Belgrade has 'said nothing' about the prisoners, said Francois Zen Ruffinen, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross. 'It is silent. As soon as we ask indiscreet questions they say, 'Mind your own business.' The prison population in Kosovo was known to be about 3,000 in late March, just before the government offensive began. Hundreds -- possibly thousands - more were arrested in succeeding weeks. The Djakovica residents, for instance, presented the Red Cross with a list naming 706 people, most of whom were seized between May 7 and 13, when Serbian police and paramilitary units raided a city neighborhood. Another 800 people are missing from surrounding villages, and in numerous other communities across Kosovo, families are reporting missing men daily. Ruffinen said the Red Cross has been in touch with the Yugoslav Ministries of the Interior and Justice but that a promised list of ethnic Albanian prisoners has not materialized. He said the
ministries acknowledged that they had at least 2,000 prisoners 10 days ago but said they need time to produce a complete list before giving
it to international organizations or inmates' families... Ruffinen said former Senator Bob Dole will take part in a meeting in Vienna Friday to discuss the prisoners but that so far very little diplomatic pressure has been brought to bear on Belgrade over the issue... Last Friday, Belgrade authorities released 166 prisoners... Some of those released have reported that a number of prominent political prisoners, including physician and human rights activist Flora Brovina, have been subjected to torture. 'We hear she is in very bad condition and paralyzed,' said Ruffinen, adding that the reports are unconfirmed. Brovina -- a beloved figure in Kosovo who
organized political rallies here -- was arrested during the government offensive and is believed to be imprisoned in the town of Pozarevac."
NATO arresting Serbian forces still in Kosovo
*Associated Press reported July 2 that "American peacekeeping forces arrested five Yugoslav army soldiers and Dutch peacekeepers took six suspected members of the Serbian Interior Ministry police into custody inside Kosovo in violation of a troop-pullout agreement, NATO said today. The five soldiers, all in uniform and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, were caught Thursday by U.S. troops in the sector assigned to Americans in southeastern Kosovo, said Maj. Jan Joosten, a spokesman for the NATO mission in Kosovo. He said the soldiers, who were detained near Kosovo's provincial boundary with the rest of Serbia, claimed to be part of a border security force... In a separate incident, Joosten said Dutch soldiers detained six suspected Serbian special police found with weapons, computers and radio equipment in a building in Urosevac, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Pristina, the provincial capital. He said peacekeepers went to the building after receiving informati on that radio signals were being sent from
the location. The suspects were not wearing police uniforms, Joosten said. No other details were immediately available."
* United Press International reported July 2 that "German troops of the Kosovo security force KFOR dismantled a radio transmitter and arrested six alleged members of the Yugoslav army in civilian clothes at Orahovac Thursday night for spreading tendentious rumors. Pancevo Radio quoted an unnamed KFOR spokesman as saying the people arrested broadcast disinformation for the purpose of fomenting unrest among the local population. The spokesman said the suspects had falsely reported among other things that a humanitarian convoy had been destroyed and that their had been an attack on Serbs. German troops had been to the sites of the malleged events mentioned in the broadcasts, but found that nothing had happened. The spokesman said the Germans had traced the source of the broadcasts for several days and made the arrests at midnight after surrounding a house in which they discovered about 40 other people. It is believed that about 4,000 Serbs are still living in Orahovac, southwest of the Kosovo capital Pristina.
A large number of other Serb inhabitants have left the town and its surroundings for Serbia."
* NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark told NBC July 4 that "a number of Serb paramilitaries apparently have remained behind. I can't go into specific details. We don't have all of those details right now. But in a number of locations, it is clear that Serb paramilitaries, some with connections with intelligence organizations, and others, have remained behind. Whether this is some effort to report on situations there, whether it is the seeds for future conflict, to contest control of the province, no one knows. But it is a violation of the MTA [Military Technical Agreement between NATO and Yugoslavia] for these groups to be there. And they're going to have to either disarm and convert or they're going to have to leave. And so some of that is going on." Associated Press reported July 2 that "Army Brig. Gen. John Craddock, commander of U.S. forces in Kosovo, said [July 1] that based on refugee accounts, an unknown number of armed members of Serbian paramilitary groups are believed to have stayed beh
ind
-- a violation of a NATO peace deal that called for the fighters to vacate the province by June 20."
