S E R B I A W A T C H # 143 - September 5, 2000

"Milosevic wins, steals or loses the election. In the first two cases the

consequences, not only for Serbia, could be very negative. The opposition,

led by Vojislav Kostunica, has mobilized, it has a serious program...but it

also knows that the elections will be difficult because Milosevic wants to

win and is not ready to step aside."

Javier Solana, E.U. Secretary-General and High Representative for the Common

Foreign and Security Policy

Quoted by Agence France Presse, September 4 -- Rome

"I give you my word of honor that, should you elect me president of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, I shall do everything within my power to

terminate the decline of our people and state; I will see to it that we

expeditiously find a solution to the problem of relations between Serbia and

Montenegro that would be in line with popular will in the two republics;

disregard no door to knock on in order to secure that the UN Security

Council finally demands from KFOR and UNMIK the consistent implementation of

Resolution 1244, security for all inhabitants of Kosovo and the enabling of

Serb, Montenegrin and other non-Albanian refugees to return to their

homesteads; I will commit myself to the viable establishment of firmer ties

with Republika Srpska, permitted by the Dayton Peace Agreement; I will do

everything I possibly can to make this state a true mother country to our

fellow nationals from every state of the Diaspora and the homeland, to those

who were forced to leave their homes in republics comprising our former

joint state; I will persistently and patiently strive to have our country

return to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an

organization it is one of the founders of, and restore its full membership

of the United Nations and the worlds leading financial institutions; that I

will spare no pains to explain the disastrous effects of the sanctions and

secure that they are eventually lifted. I give you my word of honor that,

should you choose me as president, there will be no revanchism, revenge or

exulting over those who voted differently; that there will be neither

victors nor losers; I give you my word of honor that, should you choose me

to be president, I will launch an initiative for the democratic

constitutional restructuring and decentralization of Yugoslavia, as well as

the passage of reasonable laws that would bring no one into either a

subordinate or privileged position, in accordance with the principle of the

rule of law...I do not promise you prosperity overnight, but I give you my

word of honor that, should you elect me president, all citizens of this

country will be free and genuinely equal; that power will entail no

privileges and that those in power will be replaceable. I give you my word

of honor, that I will respect the valid Constitution despite its evident

flaws as long as it is in force, and that I will take hold of no competency

that does not explicitly stem from it; that I will try to change this state

of ours for the better in accordance with Gods and human laws, and that I

will never allow power to change me."

Vojislav Kostunica, launching campaign for the FRY presidency, Democratic

Oppostion of Serbia

Quoted by Danas daily, September 1 -- Belgrade

"Hold your noses and say 'goodbye mind' because voting for the DOS means not

knowing what you voted for. The thing they have in common is only hatred for

the more capable, more honest and more successful, especially the leftist,

patriotic forces. The thing they have in common are their bosses and the

obligation they gave them for money. And the orders are: accept the

departure of Montenegro from the joint state, give up Raska, Vojvodina, make

all of Serbia Kosovo in which NATO peacemakers can rob and kill as they have

been doing for a year in Kosovo. The orders to back down came to our

opposition from their NATO bosses. The parties that make up that mess of a

coalition, which proclaims itself the Democratic Opposition of Serbia has to

be divided into three groups: 1.) the rift mongers from the Democratic

Party; 2.) the dismissed clerks of the Big Chief; 3.) the autonomists and

separatists."

Commentary published in Politika, quoted by V.I.P. Daily News Report,

September 5 -- Belgrade

"I criticize myself for being too easy on my political opponents. I am

capable of speaking louder than all that nonsense in the yellow press, the

black press, which gets its salary from abroad and allows itself to follow

instructions that are not even clear, which are superficial, which are evil.

They are not even competent enough to carry out these instructions as they

should. Maybe sometimes this low level of communication makes me lose

motivation."

Mira Markovic, president, Yugoslav United Left

Quoted by BETA news agency, September 4 -- Belgrade

"We can't exclude the possibility of them avoiding the elections. Various

things are possible and none of them should be excluded. The greater those

attacks, the greater the impotence and if it becomes any greater they can

think up some other outcome which could come without elections or prior to

them."

Vojislav Kostunica, presidential candidate, Democratic Oppostion of Serbia

Quoted by V.I.P. Daily News Report, September 5 -- Belgrade

IN THIS SERBIA WATCH:

-- Regime claims 1.6 million signatures for Slobo

-- 4 candidates officially registered

-- JUL-SPS tensions over Belgrade lists

-- SPS officers threaten resignation?

-- Radicals resign over SPS-JUL state media dominance

-- Seselj criticizes state media, JUL, SPS

-- Canak: Possible "liquidation" of opposition leaders

-- Police raid OTPOR offices

-- Police arrest OTPOR activists at fund raiser

-- Opposition speaks out on OTPOR arrests

-- Police ban, arrest NGO, opposition activists

-- RFE correspondent claims SPO death threat

-- Brovina on trial again sept. 14

-- Poll: Voters expect major fraud

-- Special polling stations for refugees from Kosovo

-- Milosevic prepares 850,000 new Kosovo votes

-- Nikolic: Won't recognize results if polling stations in Kosovo

-- UNMIK.: Polling stations in public buildings

-- DOS signs "agreement with Serbia"

-- Kostunica campaigns in core SPS rural areas

-- DOS excludes SPO from local lists

-- Kostunica: "Technical coalition with SPO" possible

-- Solana: "Negative consequences" if Milosevic wins

-- Vedrine: "radical revision of E.U. policy" if Milosevic defeated

-- E.U. postpones sanctions review till after elections

-- Russia, China, India to monitor elections

POLITICAL PARTIES, MOVEMENTS, LEADERS:

Serbia's Opposition

DA - Democratic Alternative (Nebojsa Covic, president)

DAN - Coalition of DA, DC, ND

DC - Democratic Center (Dragoijub Micunovic, president)

DHSS - Christian Democratic Party of Serbia (Vladan Batic, president)

DOS - Democratic Opposition of Serbia (18 parties united for elections)

DS - Democratic Party (Zoran Djindjic, president)

DSS - Democratic Party of Serbia (Vojislav Kostunica, president)

G-17 - Group of independent economists (Mladjan Dinkic, coordinator)

GSS - Civic Alliance of Serbia (Goran Svilanovic, president)

LSV - League of Vojvodina Social Democrats (Nenad Canak, chairman)

ND - New Democracy (Dusan Mihajlovic, president)

NS - New Serbia (Milan Protic, Velimir Ilic, co-presidents)

OTPOR - Youth movement "Resistance"

PDS - Movement for Democratic Serbia (Momcilo Perisic, president)

Reform Democratic Party of Vojvodina (Mile Isakov, chairman)

Sandzak Coalition (Rasim Ljajic, chairman)

SD - Social Democracy (Vuk Obradovic, president)

SDA- Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak (Sulejman Ugljanin, pres.)

SDU - Social Democratic Union (Zarko Korac, president)

SPO - Serbian Renewal Party (Vuk Draskovic, president)

SZP - Alliance for Change (Zoran Djindjic, coordinator)

Vojvodina Coalition (Dragan Veselinov, president)

SNV -Serb National Council of Kosovo (Metropolitan Artemije, chairman)

FRY/Serbia Ruling Coalition

SPS - Serbian Socialist Party (Slobodan Milosevic, FRY President)

SRS - Serbian Radical Party (Vojislav Seselj, Serbia's Deputy PM)

JUL - Yugoslav United Left (Mira Markovic, president)

SNP- Socialist People's Party of Montenegro (Momir Bulatovic, FRY PM)

Other

SSJ - Party of Serbian Unity (Borislav Pelevic, president; founder: Arkan)

VJ - Yugoslav National Army (Gen. Nebojsa Pavkovic, chief of staff)

FRY - Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

I. ELECTION PREPARATIONS -- REGIME

REGIME CLAIMS 1.6 MILLION SIGNATURES FOR SLOBO

***"Serbian opposition leaders and Montenegrin officials warned Monday of

likely fraud by Slobodan Milosevic's allies in upcoming elections,

particularly after the Yugoslav president reportedly collected the

signatures of 1.6 million citizens who support his candidacy. 'Of course,

this alleged support is an indication how irregular the vote will be,'

Montenegro's deputy prime minister, Dragisa Burzan, told The Associated

Press. 'We can, therefore, expect that he gets phantom votes just to be

certain of victory,' in Sept. 24 presidential and parliamentary elections,

Burzan said. Vojislav Kostunica, considered Milosevic's toughest challenger

in the presidential race, said he was not worried by the alleged support the

president was receiving before the ballot. If Milosevic fears he is going to

lose, he may cancel the vote and 'opt for some other solution,' Kostunica

said. Top officials in Yugoslavia's ruling coalition Sunday formally

declared Milosevic's candidacy for re-election, submitting 1.6 million

signatures supporting the president. The move was apparently aimed at

countering recent opinion polls that indicated Milosevic was trailing

opposition challenger Kostunica by a significant margin. A candidate needs

only 25,000 signatures to run in the election, which is increasingly seen as

a referendum on Milosevic's rule...'People of Serbia of course know how

those signatures were collected ... it's a farce,' the opposition Serbian

Civic Alliance said in a statement. Other opposition groups said the names

were copied from a telephone directory. Fears are increasing that Milosevic

will tamper with the ballot to stay in power. If an opposition candidate

wins, he may declare the vote invalid, which could trigger riots or clashes

between Milosevic's supporters and opponents. Serbian Orthodox Church

Patriarch Pavle, who has criticized Milosevic's autocratic rule, appealed

for 'just, fair, free elections, recognized by all.' In a statement, he also

spoke against possible civil war in Montenegro and Serbia." (Associated

Press, Sept. 4)

***"On Monday as well, the State Radio-television of Serbia (RTS) gave

maximum publicity to the official information of the Federal Electoral

Commission (SIK) that a million and-a-half people throughout FRY backed up

Slobodan Milosevic's presidential candidacy, stating this fact as proof of

his popularity and of the popularity of his policy. In order to leave a

stronger impression, in its prime-time news bulletin on Monday evening, RTS

spoke of 'almost 1.6 million signatures', comparing this number with the

number of signatures collected for the candidate of the Democratic

Opposition of Serbia (DOS) Vojislav Kostunica. 'The so-called DOS first

announced collecting one million signatures, then they stated a number of

400,000, and finally handed in 200,000 signatures. However, SIK claims that

only 100,000 were handed in, which is almost sixteen times less than the

number of signatures collected for Milosevic', it was stated in the

triumph-like sounding comment. Out of the allegedly collected number of

signatures for Milosevic, RTS emphasizes that more than 180,000 of those

signatures for his candidacy, as it was stated Monday, come from Montenegro.

'That is more than the Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic got at the

elections, including the mass-theft of the votes', judged RTS. However, on

Monday, the opposition parties in Serbia and the governing coalition in

Montenegro dismissed all these claims as unfounded, judging that the matter

at issue is pure manipulation. The Civil Alliance of Serbia (GSS) stated

that the matter at issue is 'forced signatures', which were collected with

the help of threats and blackmail, and that, at the elections, Milosevic

will 'for sure get less votes that the number of signatures supporting his

candidacy'. The Christian Democratic Party (DHSS) stated that whole issue

with the signatures is a forgery which is 'to make official the electoral

theft they are preparing for, since it was established that they collected

as little as 160,000 signatures, which they tuned into 1.6 million with the

help of alchemy'. Claims of the Left were also commented on by Kostunica,

who judged that they will have no influence on the voters. 'This fact is of

no importance compared to just how many people will really vote for him. If

we had collected two million, they would have had three, if we had three,

they would have come up with four million signatures', stated Kostunica."

(V.I.P. Daily News Report-Belgrade, Sept. 5) "The Socialists' Secretary

General Gorica Gajevic declared that this 'singular and decisive support

which puts the interests of the people and the state above anything else'

had come from members of all ethnic communities, including the Albanian. She

said this at a press briefing before she and other senior party officials

went to the federal electoral commission to register Milosevic as a

candidate in the Yugoslav presidential election on Sept. 24, shortly before

the deadline expired at midnight on Sunday...The president of the Yugoslav

United Left (JUL), Ljubisa Ristic, told the briefing that his party expected

Milosevic to win in the first round and that this victory would foretell the

results of the polls for the two houses of the federal parliament and for

municipal councils, which will all be held on the same day. But in a

statement on Sunday night, the DOS said the left-wing coalition of the

Socialists and JUL had falsified the lists of signatures, taking names from

telephone directories. It said Milosevic's candidacy must have been signed

by half a million voters from Kacanik and Junik, the Beta news agency

reported. This is an allusion to the results of the 1997 election when

current Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, a close Milosevic associate,

was elected with the help of votes from these two Kosovo towns populated

exclusively by the Albanians. The DOS statement also said opinion surveys

show that Milosevic will not even poll so many votes as the number of

signatures his electoral teams have falsely collected in an approximately 7

million-strong electorate." (Agence France Presse, Sept. 4)

MARKOVIC: MILOSEVIC WILL WIN 100% TO ZERO

***"The secretary of the Yugoslav Left's (JUL) Directorate and FRY

Telecommunications Minister Ivan Markovic on Thursday expressed the

conviction that the left-wing's candidate for FRY president, Slobodan

Milosevic, would score an absolute victory at the upcoming elections and

pointed out that the federal elections would be carried out on the

territories of Montenegro and Kosovo as well, reported the Belgrade media.

'It will be 100 to nil for Milosevic, in percentage points of course, at the

presidential elections', said Markovic." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 1)

4 CANDIDATES OFFICIALLY REGISTERED

***"Four candidates, including Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, have

been officially nominated for the September 24 Yugoslav presidential polls,

electoral data showed Monday. Milosevic, ultranationalist Yugoslav deputy

prime minister Tomislav Nikolic, and Serbian opposition politicians Vojislav

Kostunica and Vojislav Mihailovic will compete in the election, the first

time a Yugoslav president has been elected by direct vote rather than by the

parliament. The deadline for submitting candidate applications was midnight

Sunday. A candidate has to obtain at least 25,000 signatures to be admitted

to the ballot. The federal electoral commission is expected to approve the

nominations on Friday. Milosevic has been nominated as a joint candidate of

his Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the neo-Communist Yugoslav Left party

(JUL) controlled by his wife Mira Markovic and the pro-Belgrade Socialist

People's Party (SNP)...Kostunica is the joint candidate for the Democratic

Opposition of Serbia (DOS), which groups 18 political parties and unions.

Belgrade mayor Vojislav Mihailovic will run on behalf of the opposition

Serbian Renewal Movement, while Tomislav Nikolic was nominated by his

ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party. Former Serbian state TV reporter

Milovan Drecun, who had announced his candidacy, decided to withdraw the

nomination by his Political Party for Renaissance of Serbia (PPPS), and

support an 'opposition candidate,' the Beta news agency reported." (Agence

France Presse, Sept. 4)

JUL-SPS TENSIONS OVER BELGRADE LISTS

***"Slobodan Cerovic, head of the Belgrade city board of the Yugoslav Left

(JUL), on Monday refused to comment on reports of dissatisfaction within the

Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) over the naming of candidates on joint SPS-JUL

lists from the coming federal elections, independent media reported. ..Asked

to comment on press reports that a number of ranking SPS officials were

dissatisfied with what they see as an excessive percentage of JUL members on

the election lists, Cerovic said that he 'hasn't been informed of those

rumors' and that he 'can't comment something he doesn't know'. Glas Javnosti

said on Monday, quoting informed sources, that prominent SPS members were

angered by the fact that JUL got over 40% of the places on the SPS-JUL

election lists. The daily's unnamed source said that one dissatisfied SPS

official said he would quit his job in the federal government late last

week. V.I.P. sources said Zoran Lilic is the ranking SPS official who took

his job documents from the federal government. Lilic is currently advisor to

FRY president Slobodan Milosevic for foreign economic relations but

officially his job is in the federal government where he was deputy prime

minister. V.I.P.'s sources said that under a preliminary agreement between

the SPS and JUL, the SPS was supposed to get 70% of the election lists and

the JUL 30% but that ratio was changed in favor of JUL. The source said the

great and arrogant pressure from JUL for more places on the election lists

caused dissatisfaction within the SPS. Lilic was in charge of organizing

pre-election activities in a region in Serbia for the SPS." (V.I.P. Daily

News Report, Sept. 5)

***"The left-wing coalition will contest the elections on all levels, with

JUL taking 40 percent of places on all joint lists of candidates. This has

caused discontent among some prominent members of the Socialist Party and

several of its senior officials, including one in the federal government,

have threatened to quit their party jobs in protest at the party's personnel

policy, the independent Belgrade newspaper Glas Javnosti said Monday quoting

'excellently informed sources.' " (Agence France Presse, Sept. 4)

SPS OFFICERS THREATEN RESIGNATION?

***"Several high-ranking officials of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS),

dissatisfied with the cadre policy, have threatened the party headquarters

with their resignations to all their official party posts. According to our

sources, several reputable socialists have raised their voices against the

increasingly frequent practice of the Yugoslav Left (JUL) conducting the

cadre policy inside the SPS. The fact that Yugoslav Left candidates account

for over 40 percent of the candidates on the ruling coalition's election

lists, has simply enraged the prominent socialists. 'We also learn that,

already on Friday morning, one of the dissatisfied officials announced his

request for terminating his employment with the Federal government', writes

Monday's Glas Javnosti, citing 'excellently informed sources'." (V.I.P.

Daily News Report, Sept. 4)

SPS AND JUL PRESENT CANDIDATES FOR PARLIAMENT

*** "The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and Yugoslav Left (JUL) held the

promotion of their candidates for federal parliament and local council seats

from Belgrade at a Monday evening gathering in Belgrade which the Serbian

state TV (RTS) said was attended by 'tens of thousands of Belgraders'.

Reporters from the independent media said not more than 3,000 people

gathered at the 'eternal flame' monument in New Belgrade. The gathering was

held after dark with lights only on the stage where the candidates stood,

making it easier for the state media to create an impression of a large

crowd. The RTS said that the crowd 'greeted with a huge ovation' the

candidates for MPs and local councilors from the two parties and 'gave

strong support to the policy of defense and renewal' which they conducted.

Ranking officials from the SPS and JUL spoke at the gathering, including SPS

Belgrade board chief Ivica Dacic and JUL leader Ljubisa Ristic." (V.I.P.

Daily News Report, Sept. 5)

RADICALS RESIGN OVER SPS-JUL STATE MEDIA DOMINANCE

***"A possible rift emerged Saturday between Yugoslavia's coalition partners

when two top officials of the Serb Radical Party offered their resignations

from the management board of Radio-Television, Serbia, a key institution of

President Slobodan Milosevic's regime. Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic

and Tomislav Nikolic, the Radical Party's presidential candidate in the

upcoming Sept. 24 elections said they objected to election coverage by the

dominant media because it was heavily biased in favor of two other coalition

partners - Milosevic's Socialists and the neo-communist Yugoslav Left,

headed by the president's wife, Mirjana Markovic. The state media's news

programs have become 'just a bulletin of activities of the Socialist Party

and the Yugoslav Left,' the ultranationalist Radical Party said in a letter

to all cabinet ministers. 'Having no influence on the editorial policy of

Radio-Television of Serbia... we are forced to offer our resignation,' said

the letter signed by Vucic and Nikolic. A copy of the letter, obtained by

the Associated Press, said that Vucic, even though he was information

minister, was unable to alter 'unfair reporting' because of the dominance of

the Socialists and the Yugoslav Left. The Radicals, the Socialists and the

Yugoslav Left, are the only parties presented favorably by the dominant

state media following a government crackdown on all independent media ahead

of the September 24 elections. State radio and television has a virtual

monopoly on the airwaves and either ignores the opposition or blasts it as

'traitors', allegedly allied with Milosevic's foes in the West. The Radical

Party now claim that the other two parties are getting the lion's share of

air time, complaining that their share is 'ten times, even a hundred times

less' than that given to Milosevic's Socialists and Markovic's Yugoslav

Left. Milosevic is the federal president of Yugoslavia, which consists of

Serbia - his power base - and much smaller Montenegro. Although Nikolic is

challenging Milosevic in the presidential elections his main challenge comes

from opposition candidate, Vojislav Kostunica." (Associated Press, Sept. 2)

SESELJ CRITICIZES STATE MEDIA, JUL, SPS

***"Leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and Serbian deputy prime

minister Vojislav Seselj said that electoral terms were not fair and

democratic and that the radicals were utterly dissatisfied with the

state-run media, and the state-run television (RTS) in particular, reported

Radio Index on Thursday. Seselj said that RTS was giving very little

publicity to the SRS presidential candidate, Tomislav Nikolic, and called

the pro-regime newspaper publishing house Politika 'the party company of the

Yugoslav Left (JUL).' Seselj was critical of the coalition partners of the

SRS in the Serbian government, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and JUL,

indicating that the citizens who were signing the support for the radicals

were exposed to organized pressures, as well as that there were examples of

some being taken to police precincts. As yet another example of the

pressures put on the radicals, the SRS leader said that in Belgrade, 'a

member of the City Election Commission took the radicals' list to the police

immediately after it had been submitted.' The pro-regime paper Politika did

not carry Seselj's criticisms of the coalition partners and the state-run

media. In its report on the SRS leader's news conference, Politika stated

only that Seselj had mentioned the problems SRS candidates for councilors

had in many places with municipal desk clerks, which were of the same kind

as those the radicals encountered in Montenegro, that is, the SRS candidates

were not issued citizenship and residence certificates. Politika published a

brief report on the visit of the SRS presidential candidate to the

Pomoravlje district." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 1)

REGIME GETS PERSONAL WITH OPPOSTION LEADERS IN FIERY ATTACK

***"[Commentary published in state-run Politika, continued from 1st page]:

Dragoljub Micunovic, Zoran Djindjic, Vojislav Kostunica, Vladan Batic were

together before this. But, they argued constantly. Not over ideas, since

ideas were never very important to them. They argued over who spoke to the

newspapers more, whose pictures were printed in the press more, who was on

TV more often, who went abroad, who got how much money and how they spent

it...When they finally separated, each of the little leaders got his own

little party, his little cabinet and of course a wallet in their pockets.

Each could finally go West to bow down of their own choice. And the bosses

were glad: So many parties and each of them against Milosevic!...Dusan

Mihajlovic, Vuk Obradovic, Momcilo Perisic, Nebojsa Covic are part of that

sadder and uglier story. Feed the dog so it can bite you, our people say.

And these dogs were very well fed! Dusan Mihajlovic is known as a person

whose main moral dilemma is: Who gives more! This is a man of the secret

services and secret organizations...Vuk Obradovic, that wakeful guardian of

the figure and deeds of Josip Broz Tito was promoted and transferred to a

post close to our best comrades who he could suck up to and report on

associates as much as he liked. So he became the youngest JNA general in

charge of ideological work and morale and political correctness...General

Momcilo Perisic was also dismissed by Slobo...Why the Chief dismissed

Perisic was never officially disclosed. The public whispered that the chief

of staff had opposed the purchase of weapons for the anti-aircraft defense

at the time when the NATO aggression was expected. Did the general do that

to get off the Hague list? Or was it enough for him to cross over to the

other side to be pardoned, to the side of the opponent of his former supreme

commander...The Big Chief also chased out Nebojsa Covic, that little flea

with an excessive appetite. As an official of the Serbian Socialist Party

(SPS) and mayor of Belgrade he really was generous: He sent journalists on

expensive trips for positive articles about him and the most loyal were

given apartments from the city housing fund...When his every humble plea to

be received was rejected by the Big Chief, Covic decided to cross over so he

could nibble on something from the opposition table which seemed rich to

him...Nenad Canak, Dragan Veselinov, Mile Isakov, Rasim Ljajic, Jozef Kasa

(all that's missing is Djukanovic and Thaqi for the list of Madeleine

Albright's favorites to be complete). Their mission is clear and they're not

hiding it: Break away Vojvodina from Serbia and return the Danube Germans to

it. That is why Germany broke up Yugoslavia. Their job is to break away the

Raska region from Serbia and annex it to the green transversal which links

Alija's Sarajevo to Istanbul and Teheran. Those who would do any task from

America includes the vaudeville company named the Civil Alliance. The leader

of this NATO outpost was Vesna Pesic for years and when she left the country

for her American lover, her heir was a pale, shapeless boy, some Goran

Svilanovic. So that is the Democratic Opposition of Serbia. A mess of

nothing. They have no economic or social programs, they have no national or

state programs. And they don't need them." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept.

5)

NEW SLOBO POST-ELECTION

***"As Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, faces the prospect of

defeat at the polls for the first time in his political career, it has

emerged that he has begun building an underground bunker complex for himself

beneath a villa in eastern Serbia once used by Marshal Tito, writes Tom

Walker. The extensive renovations of the former Yugoslav dictator's

residence on a mountain known as Crni Vrh near the town of Bor come amid

speculation in Belgrade about Milosevic's likely next move. The formation of

a new army unit designated to re-turn to Kosovo suggests Milosevic is

willing to make more mayhem, but the strange goings-on at Crni Vrh indicate

that he is contemplating life as a private citizen wanted for war crimes.

There is speculation that the bunker may provide him with refuge from

international investigators trying to bring him to trial or even his own

fellow countrymen if the popular mood turns against him." (The Sunday

Times-London, Sept. 4)

II. REPRESSION

CANAK: POSSIBLE "LIQUIDATION" OF OPPOSITION LEADERS

***"President of the League of Socialdemocrats of Vojvodina (LSV) Nenad

Canak judged that 'the physical liquidation' of opposition leaders is

possible, including the liquidation of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia

(DOS) presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica, report Monday the

independent media. 'However, one should be aware that a pretty large

machinery is necessary in order to carry out such activities, and that, as

we witnessed in the case of Ibarska Highway (when four SPO officials lost

their lives in a car accident under highly suspicious circumstances), this

machinery could have a leak', stated Canak in an interview for the

Novosadski Nedeljnik. 'Kostunica is an adult man, and he was aware of the

risks involved when he accepted the candidacy. This is no sports contest, in

which, after the race, the runners will kiss and shake hands, but a fight

for survival', stated Canak." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 5)

POLICE RAID OTPOR OFFICES

***"Police raided Monday the headquarters of a student group known for its

struggle against President Slobodan Milosevic's autocratic regime, students

reported. Police burst into the Belgrade headquarters of OTPOR...student

leader Vukasin Petrovic said. Two policemen, posted at Otpor doors, denied

Petrovic and other students entrance into the premises in the capital's main

pedestrian zone. According to Igor Djapic, an Otpor activist present during

the raid, some fifteen students were inside when about a dozen policemen

barged in, most of them in plain clothes. 'They demanded our ID cards,

ransacked all our drawers and broke into the locked cupboards, confiscating

virtually every scrap of campaign material they could find,' Djapic told The

Associated Press. He said police also carried away their computers, as well

as posters and flags with the group's clenched-fist resistance symbol. None

of the activists were arrested, Djapic said, but no one was allowed to leave

during the raid, and Petrovic and others standing outside were denied

entrance. After police finished packing the group's equipment, documents and

papers into a police van parked outside they left. Reporters and media who

arrived on the scene were told by police to disperse and turn off their

cameras. Later Monday, police raided a second office belonging to Otpor,

this one in Mladenovac near Belgrade, the students said. Gradimir Nalic, a

Belgrade lawyer for the student group, said the raid was the regime's

attempt 'to strike at the heart of Otpor' by breaking into their main office

but that the heart of the students is wherever the students are. The

opposition Serbian Civic Alliance condemned the raid, saying it goes to show

that Milosevic's regime continues to employ methods such as those used in

totalitarian dictatorships against political opponents. 'The regime has

nothing else to offer the voters but repression and daily violence,' the

party's statement said. The students said the raid would not stop their

actions and rallies throughout Serbia." (Associated Press, Sept. 4) "While

the plain clothes police were loading the seized material, uniformed police

ordered reporters to move away from the building, turn off their tape

recorders and not take notes and ordered camera crews not to tape anything.

Otpor lawyer Dusan Ignjatovic said the police did not show a court order for

the search, did not identify themselves and did not leave a record of what

they seized all of which is in violation of procedure. 'We weren't scared by

the police, nor did they stop us from acting. We will continue our

activities in these and other offices in Serbia,' Otpor activist Vukasin

Petrovic said. All the leading opposition parties in Serbia condemned the

police raid on the Otpor offices. The Belgrade police issued a statement

after the raid which said that 'workers of the Belgrade police, on 4, 9,

2000 in Knez Mihailova street 49, found and seized a large amount (a full

truck) of propaganda material from activists of the illegal, mercenary,

pro-NATO organization Otpor. All measures in accord with the law will be

taken in further proceedings,' the Belgrade police statement said, Politika

says on Tuesday." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 5)

POLICE ARREST OTPOR ACTIVISTS AT FUNDRAISER

***"Police arrested 19 opposition activists Saturday, most of them at a

fund-raiser organized to help a sick child, and beat some of them, said an

associate of those detained. Some 50 members and supporters of the popular

student group Otpor, which known for its struggle against President Slobodan

Milosevic, were holding an open-air auction of used toys in the center of

Serbia's largest northern town, Novi Sad, when the police rounded them up

and took 14 into custody, the activist said. Five were detained later. The

event was organized to raise funds for a 12-year old suffering for leukemia

who needs costly treatment abroad because local medical help is

insufficient. 'Just as we began the auction, the policemen showed up and

asked everybody to show identity cards, then forced fourteen people into

police vans ... especially those who wore T-shirts with the clenched fist,'

the group's emblem, activist Bora Lazukic told a reporter...The police also

confiscated the donated toys, then moved to the nearby office of Otpor and

seized leaflets, stickers and other material. Police arrested another five

activists during the office search which, according to Otpor, was done

without a warrant. Several were beaten, Lazukic said. Police declined

comment. There was no information on whether charges had been filed."

(Associated Press, Sept. 4)

ILIC: POLICE SHOULD "CHASE CRIMINALS, NOT CHILDREN"

***"Cacak mayor Velimir Ilic protested on Aug. 30 the arrest of two

activists of the Otpor movement after the rally of the G-17 Plus group in

this city on Aug. 29. 'Does the police want to provoke incidents in the city

by arresting Otpor activists. Who gave them the right to prevent anyone's

promotion or speeches at rallies during the election campaign? Let the

police chase criminals, not children,' Ilic said at a news conference. He

said that the city authorities would request the police explain why Otpor

activists are being arrested and what they are guilty of. He underlined that

the arrests of young people only for wearing Otpor t-shirts, or for being

members of the movement, cannot be allowed any longer. ' (BETA independent

news agency-Belgrade, Aug. 31)

OPPOSITION SPEAKS OUT ON OTPOR ARRESTS

***"The political parties represented by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia

condemned on Sept. 4, the police raid of Otpor's office in Belgrade. The DS

said it believed that this police action was 'a sign to all enemies' of

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that 'in the coming days, ahead of the

elections, they will face repression and abuse of the police and other state

institutions. Milosevic is aware that he will loose the presidential

election with Vojislav Kostunica as his opponent and now he is trying to

avoid defeat by theft, arrests, political violence and total repression,'

Democratic Party vice president Boris Tadic said. The GSS said that 'the

regime is continuing to defend its hold on power by using methods from

countries ruled by open dictatorship.' SD described the police raid as a

part 'of the election campaign of the ruling coalition.' 'Personally, I do

not see the difference between the white van, which took away former Serbian

president Ivan Stambolic 10 days ago, and the blue van which took away

Otpor's equipment in Belgrade today,' BETA was told by Social Democracy vice

president Slobodan Orlic. (BETA news agency, Sept. 5)

POLICE BAN, ARREST NGO, OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS

***"Belgrade police banned on Aug. 30 election campaign activities of

non-government organizations, which were calling on the people to vote in

the elections on Sept. 24. Activists of the independent It's Time campaign

were not allowed by police to distribute their propaganda material to young

people in nine areas of the city, although their activities were dully

registered with the authorities. The same happened to members of Group 484,

for which the police issued the explanation that it was registered as a

humanitarian organization, and as such it could not be engaged in politics.

Serbian Renewal Movement member in Petrovac na Mlavi, Dragan Stojadinovic,

was arrested and brought to the local police station on the morning on Aug.

30, while he was putting up posters in support of the Renewal's presidential

candidate Vojislav Mihailovic's election campaign in that town. The Serbian

Renewal Movement in Petrovac announced that Petrovic was released after the

police officers who arrested him had consulted with their superiors. Police

in Petrovac na Mlavi also arrested Dejan Stevic, who was one of organizers

of the visit by Democratic Opposition of Serbia presidential candidate

Vojislav Kostunica to this town. Stevic was released just before Kostunica

arrived in the main square in Petrovac. Representatives of the local

Democratic Party of Serbia chapter said that the police, on the evening on

Aug. 29, prevented their activists to announce Kostunica's visit by putting

up posters. ' (BETA news agency, Aug. 31)

OPPOSITION LEADERS BEATEN, DETAINED

*** "The New Serbia party announced Mile Milic, one of its candidates for

the Lajkovac municipal assembly, was physically abused in the local police

station on Sept. 2, adding that his hearing 'was damaged' as a result of the

beating. The League of Vojvodina Social Democrats announced that party vice

president Bojan Kostres had been detained and arrested on the road between

Novi Sad and Belgrade at 10 p.m. on Sept. 1, while he was returning from a

Democratic Opposition of Serbia convention. The party added that Kostres was

held for 45 minutes and asked about the operation and goals of his party,

and if he supported DOS presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica. (BETA

news agency, Sept. 4)

PRESSURE ON LOCAL TV IN SOUTH SERBIA

***"Municipal authorities in Vlasotince, near Leskovac, threatened the

private Television Rosulja that it will be forced to leave its premises from

which it has been broadcasting its program for six years, due to, as it is

presumed, the appearance of opposition leaders on this TV in broadcasts they

paid for. One of the co-owners of Rosulja, Milosav Radicevic, stated Monday

for the agency Beta that this TV station believes that the matter at issue

is 'causing fear', since leader of opposition parties have been appearing

very frequently during paid air-time broadcasts, especially leaders of the

Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO). The power in the municipality of Vlasotince

is in the hands of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and Yugoslav Left

(JUL), while this area in the south of Serbia is considered to be a

strongpoint of the governing parties." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 5)

RFE CORRESPONDENT CLAIMS SPO DEATH THREAT

***"RFE correspondent from Majdanpek Dejan Radulovic accused Monday

officials of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) of having threatened his

life, reports the agency Beta. In a statement over the phone, Radulovic

said that the spokesman of the local SPO Petar Gorcilo told him that 'you

will be liquidated tonight', because he, allegedly, tried to persuade

members of this party in the village Laovo to joint the Democratic

Opposition of Serbia (DOS). Radulovic, who is a history professor in a

Majdanpek high school, added that he never went to Laovo, and that he

intends to leave the city by the end of the day." (V.I.P. Daily News Report,

Sept. 5)

BROVINA ON TRIAL AGAIN SEPT. 14

***"Albanian poet Flora Brovina will be, once again, put to trial on

September 14, before the Nis District Court, report Monday the Belgrade

media. At the beginning of June, the Supreme court annulled the Nis

District Court's decision, under which Brovina was sentenced to 12 years of

imprisonment, charged for associating for the purpose of carrying out

hostile activities in connection with terrorism during the war. In its

appeal, the defense stated that there were no grounds for her conviction,

especially for charging her with associating for the purpose of committing

terrorist crimes." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 5)

IMPRISONMENT OF BRITONS, CANADIANS EXTENDED

***"The judicial panel of the Military Court in Belgrade has extended for

another month the detention of two Britons and two Canadians held on

suspicion of terrorism, BETA learned from one of the defendants' attorneys,

Ivan Jankovic. On Aug. 2, Britons Adrian Prangnell and John Yore, and

Canadians Shaun Going and Liam Hall, were detained on Mt. Cakor, on the

border between Montenegro and Kosovo. Jankovic said that the panel of judges

had partially granted the military prosecutor's request for an additional

investigation of Canadian Shaun Going company's business dealings in Kosovo.

UNMIK and KFOR will be asked to provide data on the Going company's

registration, the way of handling and storing explosives, control

procedures, distribution and use of explosives. The Canadian charge

d'affaires in Belgrade, Angela Bogdan, and head of the British interests

section in Belgrade Robert Gordon told the press in front of the Military

Court that the new course of events was 'very disturbing.' " (BETA news

agency, Sept. 1)

REGIME: U.S. TO TIGHTEN "PROPAGANDA CIRCLE"

***" 'As soon as the first few days of the current month, we are expecting

the beginning of the carefully planned and synchronized operations of the

American Government special offices for undermining the legally elected

authorities in FRY, offices that started opening, one after another, in USA

Embassies in Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest and Tirana, under the orders of the

head of State Department Madeleine Albright. These offices, which are all

part of the American plan on gradually tightening the intelligence -

propaganda circle around Serbia, so far employ 120 experienced experts on

psychological propaganda and espionage, who were, since the dramatic plot of

the political crisis in FRY, and later, during the bloody break-down of the

up until recently joint state, directly involved in all crucial events in

our parts, and undoubtedly gave their contribution to them. It is certain

that the American team 'for special military operations' in Sofia is to be

expanded, joined by another fifteen intelligence service men of the regular

Bulgarian Army, under instructions from Washington, which will, at beginning

of September, try to enter into the FRY territory, 'feverishly' attempting

to gather as much information as possible on the political events in our

country before the elections scheduled for September 24, and especially on

the combat readiness of the Yugoslav Army. The important part of the work of

the four 'centres for coordinated action against FRY' will be carried out

with the help of a very wide network of non-governmental organizations,

primarily those that act disguised as cultural and humanitarian association

in and outside our country, but also through offices of multinational oil

companies, like 'Brown and Ruth', a branch office of a large American

company, which specializes in military infrastructure building. The USA

already have great plans on this company entering into Montenegro, which is

proved by the agreement recently signed in Brussels between Brady Anderson,

director of the American corporation for protection of investments from

risks, and Branko Lukovac, Montenegrin Foreign Minister', reports Tanjug,

carries Politika on Saturday." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 4)

POLL: VOTERS EXPECT MAJOR FRAUD

***"Most opinion polls in Serbia suggest that Kostunica has a substantive

lead over Milosevic. According to a reliable poll by the Institute of Social

Sciences, Kostunica will get 35 percent of the votes in Serbia, while

Milosevic can count on 23 percent of the votes. Most opinion polls have

produced similar results. Some sources in the SPS say that a poll taken by

the SPS in Belgrade on a sample of 1,500 citizens suggests that Kostunica

will win about 60 percent of the votes. Interestingly enough, according to a

poll conducted by the Institute of Social Sciences, 46 percent of the

respondents said they expected Milosevic to remain in power after the

elections. This contradiction suggests that most ordinary Serbs expect

Kostunica to win the majority of the votes but that they do not expect

Milosevic to hand over power. They expect Milosevic to resort to electoral

fraud in order to stay in power. This poll result suggests that the

strategic goal of the opposition in the election campaign should be to

convince the citizens that their votes can oust the regime. These public

opinion poll results raise an issue central to the September 24 elections -

election control by the opposition at the polls stations. All observers

believe that Milosevic and his flunkies will try to pull of a major election

fraud scheme in order to ensure Milosevic's victory in the first round of

voting. According to one source close to Milosevic, the Yugoslav president

will regard any result other than his victory in the first round of voting

as his defeat. It remains to be seen whether the DOS leaders will be able to

mobilize about 30,000 controllers who should ensure that the elections are

free and fair. 'We will be stealing in the elections, and the opposition

should show that it is organized enough to prevent us from doing that. We

believe that the opposition does not have enough people and stamina to

endure these elections, ' says a member of the SPS election center. The

ruling coalition is ready for everything. There are reports that it will try

to buy opposition controllers at some of the 9,000 polling stations with

DM2,000-5,000, depending on the importance of the polling station in

question. In addition, the ruling coalition believes it can control the

elections in the rural electoral districts. DS leader Zoran Djindjic claims

that the DOS is organized enough to prevent electoral fraud and that the

elections will prove that to be true. One of the main tasks of the

opposition controllers will be to collect enough evidence of electoral fraud

so that they can prove the invalidity of the elections. Electoral fraud can

trigger riots similar to those in 1996, when citizens protested the

annulment of opposition victories in local elections and marched through the

streets of Serbian cities and towns for three months until their demands

were met. This time around, the situation is different because Milosevic,

who is an indicted war criminal, feels no need to make concessions under

pressure from the international community. (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept.

1)

III. THE KOSOVO VOTE

SPECIAL POLLING STATIONS FOR REFUGEES FROM KOSOVO

***"The Federal Electoral Commission (SIK) as designated special polling

stations for expellees from Kosovo to vote on September 24, writes

Saturday's Politika. The statement says that the electoral commissions in

constituencies 24 and 26, Prokuplje and Vranje, are authorized to designate

special polling stations in the municipalities that do not belong to these

constituencies, and in which over a hundred expellees from Kosovo with the

right to vote have residence. In municipalities that do not belong to these

constituencies, and in which there are less than a hundred expellees from

Kosovo, the vote will take place and at the nearest special polling station.

It was also decided that the electoral commissions in Prokuplje and Vranje

are to make a special, certified extract from the voting rolls for each

polling station, on the basis of the existing voting rolls and the records

on expellees from Kosovo. Under the new Law on Constituencies, Kosovo

constituencies have been joined to the constituencies of Prokuplje and

Vranje." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 4)

SPS: VOTE "WHEREVER POSSIBLE" IN KOSOVO

***"During her visit to Gracanica, near Pristina, on Aug. 30, Socialist

Party of Serbia general secretary Gorica Gajevic said that the elections

scheduled for Sept. 24 would be held in 500 polling places in the province.

'Federal parliamentary and presidential elections will be held in Serbian

enclaves in Kosovo, wherever it is possible,' said Gajevic. Gajevic promised

that the authorities in Serbia would construct 200 houses for Kosovo Serbs

returning to the province, and that all Serbs who lost their jobs after KFOR

deployed would be given wages from Serbia. ' " (BETA news agency, Aug. 31)

MILOSEVIC PREPARES 850,000 NEW KOSOVO VOTES

***"Kosovo is an important factor in the election campaign for the Left

[JUL] coalition. Even though Milosevic's policies have caused Kosovo to

effectively secede from Kosovo, he is once again trying to turn his defeat

into a victory and to profit from it. He believes that the votes from Kosovo

will give him a decisive advantage in the elections. He counts on up to

200,000 Kosovo Serb votes, which will mostly be due to election fraud.

However, that will not be enough for victory, so that he will have to engage

in some major election engineering. According to reports from the Belgrade

dailies, the election districts of Vranje and Prokuplje, southern Serbia,

now cover the entire territory of Kosovo. Vranje now has about 640,000

voters and Prokuplje about 720,000 voters. In the last presidential

elections in 1997 Vranje had about 300,000 voters and Prokuplje about

200,000 voters. This means that these two election districts have about

850,000 voters more than in the previous elections, including the Albanians

from Kosovo. This is a good vote-stealing reservoir for Milosevic in the

upcoming elections. A former high-ranking SPS official says he himself

brought 400,000 nonexistent Albanian votes from Kosovo to Serbian president

Milan Milutinovic in the 1997 elections. Milosevic will take even more if he

needs to, even though many opposition officials claim they can prevent this

kind of electoral fraud in Kosovo. However, the Left coalition is now ready

to steal votes big time, especially as it will not be paying attention to

reactions from abroad. Its only concern will be how to intimidate the people

so that they do not protest after the elections." (V.I.P. Daily News Report,

Sept. 1)

SERB NATIONAL COUNCIL: SPS ABUSES KOSOVO TRAGEDY

***"On Aug. 30, leaders of the Serbs in central Kosovo accused the Socialist

Party of Serbia of abusing the suffering of the Serb community for purposes

of their election campaign. Commenting on the visit of the General Secretary

of the Socialist Party of Serbia Gorica Gajevic to Gracanica, the head of

the Serb National Council of Kosovo and Metohija central Kosovo chapter,

Slavisa Kostic, said that 'the Socialists tried to use the recent tragedy in

Skulanevo, where a Serb child was killed and four other people were wounded,

for (their) election campaign purposes.' 'The visit by the SPS delegation

and local politicians, who found shelter in Serbia represents an attempt to

re-gain individual political positions, which they lost by leaving Kosovo on

orders from Belgrade,' said Kostic. The Serb National Council of Kosovo and

Metohija described Gajevic's visit to the province as 'a part of the

election campaign.' The Council dissociated itself from Gajevic's

'unannounced' visit to the monastery of Gracanica.' " (BETA news agency,

Aug. 31)

NIKOLIC: WON'T RECOGNIZE RESULTS IF POLLING STATIONS IN KOSOVO

***"The presidential candidate of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Tomislav

Nikolic, has said in an interview to Jagodina's Palma Plus television that

the SRS's coalition partners - the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the

Yugoslav Left (JUL) 'must not play with the opening of polling stations in

Kosovo because the SRS could easily not recognize the election results',

reported Saturday's Blic. Nikolic said the SRS would not recognize the

elections at unmarked polling stations and to which the SRS could not send

its electoral committee members. 'The SPS and JUL know very well what it

would mean if the SRS were not to recognize the elections for the first

time, because what are they then to expect from those who are used to taking

power from them in the street', Nikolic said. 'He pointed out that the SRS

had 'already experienced one theft at the presidential elections in Serbia

three years ago, when 300,000 Albanians voted for the SPS and JUL candidate

Milan Milutinovic'. Nikolic stated that the joining of the Kosovo

constituencies to the constituencies of Prokuplje and Vranje had taken place

because the regime knew that no polling stations would be opened in Kosovo.

'Being mentioned are 600 polling stations in Kosovo and the question is why

have we then adopted a law envisages that the constituencies for Kosovo

voters be Prokuplje and Vranje', Nikolic said." (V.I.P. Daily News Report,

Sept. 4)

UNMIK.: POLLING STATIONS IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS

***"The United Nations on Tuesday put public buildings off limits for use as

polling stations during upcoming Yugoslav elections, leading organizers to

say they will be set up in homes. The move, by Kosovo administrator Bernard

Kouchner, appeared in line with his decision on Monday to permit the

elections but offer no international help in staging them. Local Serbs

criticized the move. 'If he doesn't allow us, we are going to set up polling

stations in private houses,' said Slobodan Ilic, a local leader of

Milosevic's Socialist Party...Still, with no plans for an independent ballot

count in Kosovo or outside monitoring of the elections, critics of Milosevic

fear that the Yugoslav president's camp will pad the results heavily in his

favor." (Associated Press, Sept. 5)

KOUCHNER: WON'T STAND IN WAY OF FRY ELECTIONS

***"Head of UNMIK Bernard Kouchner stated Monday that the international

community will not stand in the way of Yugoslav elections scheduled for

September 24 being held in Kosovo, but that it will not take part in

organizing these elections, report the agencies Monday. As Kouchner added,

UNMIK will ensure the necessary security conditions for all potential voters

during elections and warned that Yugoslav elections, as he stated, are not

in accordance with the international standards. He assessed that all

citizens of Kosovo have the right to vote, including the Albanians. UNMIK

representatives in Pristina stated they are not informed of the way Yugoslav

authorities plan to organize the voting in the Serb enclaves in Kosovo.

According to the claims of UNMIK's sources, cited by the agencies, the

Yugoslav authorities are planning to open 500 polling stations on September

24 in Kosovo, while the international community has no way of monitoring and

controlling these elections without previously having been handed the voter

registration lists. According to UNMIK's estimates, there is a little less

than 100,000 Serbs living in Kosovo, while, since the arrival of KFOR, over

200,000 Serbs has moved out of this province." (V.I.P. Daily News Report,

Sept. 5)

***"American envoy for the Balkans, Robert Frowick stated that it should be

made possible for Serbs from Kosovo to vote during the upcoming federal

elections in FRY, at which time there must be no interference with the

competencies of the United Nations (UN) in these parts, report the Belgrade

electronic media on Sunday. Frowick stated that democratic traditions must

be respected, and so a way must be found to enable all citizens of Kosovo

who wish to vote in elections in Serbia to do so. Frowick gave no precise

information on Washington's possible ways of allowing the Serbs to vote, but

assessed that, regardless of the kind of electoral procedure, UNMIK's

competencies in Kosovo must be respected. The OSCE mission in Kosovo has

stated that the upcoming elections in the FRY are a farce since they do not

comply with international standards, reported the Belgrade electronic media

on Saturday. The OSCE assessed that, according to UN Security Council

Resolution 1244, all the inhabitants of Kosovo have the theoretic right to

take part in the Yugoslav elections, but that it is most likely that not a

single Albanian will even think of using this right." (V.I.P. Daily News

Report, Sept. 4)

DJINDJIC: NORTHERN KOSOVO WILL VOTE FOR KOSTUNICA

***"Zoran Djindjic, has stated that DOS has called on the international

community to have elections organized in the northern part of Kosovo, where

50 or 60 thousand Serbs live, 'since it is possible to organize regular

elections only in that restricted area', reported Radio Index on Sunday.

Djindjic assessed that it was possible to ensure supervision over the

elections in Kosovo and added that the Serbs around Kosovska Mitrovica and

Gracanica would take to the polls and vote for the DOS presidential

candidate, Vojislav Kostunica. Djindjic stated that it would be more

difficult for the socialists to steal votes there than at some other place

in Serbia." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 4)

IV. ELECTION PREPARATIONS -- OPPOSITION

DOS SIGNS "AGREEMENT WITH SERBIA"

***"Leaders of parties that make up the Democratic Opposition of Serbia

(DOS) signed an 'Agreement with Serbia' at the pre-elections Convention held

in Sava Center on Friday night, as witnessed by around 4,000 Belgrade

citizens present on the occasion. DOS thus officially began its election

campaign, under the slogan 'We Win - Everyone Gains,' writes Danas. Earlier

on the same day, DOS leaders submitted to the Federal Election Committee

(SIK) the candidacy of Vojislav Kostunica for the president of FRY. DOS

representatives also submitted to SIK the 100,000 signatures by which

Serbian citizens support Kostunica's candidacy. After the candidacy was

submitted, Kostunica stated that DOS had 'intentionally' submitted only

100,000 signatures. He added that there were as many signatures in DOS's

election headquarters, reports Danas. Glas Javnosti carries the statement of

Zoran Djindjic, DOS's election campaign manager and leader of the Democratic

Party (DS), that only a 'symbolic' number of signatures was submitted and

that the action entitled 'million signatures' would be continued until

September 20. Candidates heading DOS lists for the Chamber of Citizens in

all constituencies and candidates for the Chamber of Republics of the FRY

Parliament were introduced at the DOS pre-elections Convention. By signing

the 'Agreement with Serbia,' candidates for the Federal Parliament pledged

that they would inaugurate democratic changes in Serbia, bring about the

lifting of sanctions, settle relations between Serbia and Montenegro in a

democratic manner and set up an honest, competent and responsible

government. 'We are obliged to fulfill our promises, and the citizens are

obliged to oust us if that does not happen,' DOS candidates declared. The

agreement was signed by the leaders and representatives of 19 parties that

make up the DOS coalition. Kostunica stated at the Convention that if he won

the elections, he would do everything in his might to bring about democratic

changes, free the country of the sanctions and restore its position in

European institutions." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 4)

KOSTUNICA CAMPAIGNS IN CORE SPS RURAL AREAS

***"The leading opposition candidate for the presidency of Yugoslavia,

Vojislav Kostunica, played on the nationalist pride of the thousands of

people who gathered to hear him launch his election campaign in the

Socialist heartland of eastern Serbia. A buzz of approval ran through the

main square in Zajecar, close to the Bulgarian border, as they heard him

say: Everyone in Serbia still has some heroic blood. And we will show how

worthy we are of our ancestors on September 24.' He is looking for the votes

of people who have traditionally supported Slobodan Milosevic and he made

his challenge far away from Belgrade, the capital...Just over 70,000 people

live in the Zajecar region. According to a DOS official, Cedomir Jovanovic,

around a third of them are without work, although the official figure is

lower. The town has a core of opposition supporters, but in the villages the

Socialists keep an iron grip on the loyalty of the old and uneducated

peasant farmers. Mr Kostunica berated communism and the Milosevic regime for

stamping out democracy in Yugoslavia Reality has been fabricated.' he said.

So don't be surprised if you hear in this big factory of lies that there

were 10 of you here.' He promised to restore normal life and return

Yugoslavia to the world community. Afterwards he led an enthusiastic group

to the town's Orthodox church, said a prayer, and then had a private

conversation with Archbishop Justin: a symbolic gesture which implied that

the weight of the church was behind him and will help sway voters to his

cause. Outside the church a pensioner, Danilo Petkovic, 65, said: I will

vote for him. I would give him two, if I could. But we are not like the

communists. We are the honest ones. I think 80% of Zajecar will vote for

him.' But the real Socialist supporters are in isolated villages, where the

daily news comes from state television and many people do not read

newspapers. The three hundred villagers of Gornji Bela Reka live 18 miles

from Zajeca, close to the Bulgarian border. Milivoje Veljkovic, 58, a

peasant farmer there, said Milosevic is with the people. He has shown it.

Ever since he came into power he has fought for Serbia and Yugoslavia.

Milosevic has looked after people. Everyone has a pension. I think everyone

in the village thinks the same as me.' Asked about the hard times and the

NATO bombing, he said: I blame the ones from outside who are creating rules

for us. All the countries that bombed us didn't have any reason, because we

didn't attack anybody.' On the way to a nearby village an elderly woman in

mourning black sat on a stone watching her two goats. Bosanka Stojanovic,

70, said: What do we expect from elections? Who has been up to now will

stay. It hasn't been bad, so it won't be bad in the future.' With her

pension of less than pounds 10 a month she survives with her two goats,

three sheep and a small plot of land. Yes, I will vote for Milosevic,' she

said, smiling with her few remaining teeth." (The Guardian-London, Sept. 4)

***"The presidential candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS),

Vojislav Kostunica, has continued his election campaign by touring eastern

Serbia, writes Monday's Glas Javnosti. Kostunica on Saturday visited

Majdanpek, Donji Milanovac, Kladovo and Negotin. In Negotin, before a crowd

of around 500, he said that 'Slobodan Milosevic had perfidiously changed the

Constitution so as to keep sitting on his throne, and it is up to us to

remove this throne from underneath him and to get rid of him'. In downtown

Majdanpek, before around 1,000 citizens who greeted him with 'Voja, the

Serb', and 'Victory, victory', Kostunica said that, by what he could see

throughout Serbia, the present regime had already lost these elections.

Kostunica on Sunday continued his election campaign with visits to Zajecar,

Bor and Sokobanja. The DOS presidential candidate told the citizens of

Zajecar that the upcoming elections were not ordinary ones, since awaiting

the citizens afterwards was normal life." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept.

4)

G-17: 75% WILL VOTE; 25% UNDECIDED FOR WHOM

***"The G-17 Plus independent expert group said on Monday that Democratic

Opposition of Serbia (DOS) candidate Vojislav Kostunica will win the

presidential elections and that a balance between the ruling coalition and

the DOS will be established in the FRY parliament. G-17 Plus members

Vladimir Goati and Predrag Markovic said the opposition parties will hang

onto power in the towns and cities they have been ruling since 1996 and that

the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS)-Yugoslav Left (JUL) coalition will win

some more towns in the interior of Serbia. They said the estimated

indetermination of voters is still running high - between 25% and 27% of the

electorate. They said most of the undecided are rural and suburban residents

but added that they expect some 75% of the electorate to turn out. Goati

predicted that Kostunica would beat Milosevic in the second round, assuming

that there is no 'large election fraud'. He said the turnout in Montenegro

would be 30% at the most, or around 150,000 people. The claims by the

Belgrade authorities that 181,629 signatures in favor of FRY president

Slobodan Milosevic as the candidate of the SPS, JUL and Montenegrin

Socialist People's Party (SNP) were collected in Montenegro were rejected by

Goati who said that was impossible." (V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 5)

DOS DRAWS FIRST PLACE ON CHAMBER OF REPUBLICS LISTS

***"The electoral commission of the constituency of Serbia has stated that

the drawing of lots has decided that the Democratic Opposition of Serbia

(DOS) be first on the collective lists for members of the Chamber of

Republics, reported Radio Index on Sunday. Second on the list is the Natural

Law Party, third is the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and fourth comes the

Radical Left-Wing Party 'Nikola Pasic'. In fifth place are the Socialist

Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Yugoslav Left (JUL), while the Serbian Renewal

Movement (SPO) is at the bottom of the list, in sixth place." (V.I.P. Daily

News Report, Sept. 4)

DOS EXCLUDES SPO FROM LOCAL LISTS

***"The presidency of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) decided on

Monday to immediately submit the DOS election lists for provincial MPs, city

and municipal councilors and once more rejected the possibility of any kind

of alliance with other opposition forces at local level if that means

changing the name of the election lists, FoNet reported. A statement said

that 'the DOS is already submitting lists in some municipalities, including

the city of Nis, one of the largest centers in Serbia'. In Nis and some 20

other towns in Serbia, the local authorities are in the hands of the

Democratic Party (DS), the leading DOS member, and the Serbian Renewal

Movement (SPO), the only relevant opposition party which will stand alone in

the elections. 'The DOS presidency also unanimously decided that the members

of the 18 parties in this opposition block can only be candidates on the

Democratic Opposition of Serbia - Dr. Vojislav Kostunica election lists,'

the statement said. Later in the day, the DOS leaders, including

presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica, reiterated their stand that no

alliances are possible at local level if that means changing the name of the

election lists. 'There is no reason to create confusion among the voters,'

DS leader Zoran Djindjic told Radio Index. 'If someone wants to join our

list, that's all right, but only on condition that the name of the list

remain DOS-Vojislav Kostunica. That is the winning list and the winning

candidate and we have no reason to change a winning team,' Djindjic said."

(V.I.P. Daily News Report, Sept. 4)

KOSTUNICA: MUST RE-ESTABLISH U.S. TIES DESPITE "EVIL DONE"

***"Democratic Opposition of Serbia presidential candidate Vojislav

Kostunica said in Zajecar on Sept. 3, that one of the most important goals

of Serbia's democratic forces was to ensure the country's return to European

and world institutions if they won in upcoming elections. 'Maybe Castro's

Cuba was able to stand such a long and unjustified isolation but this

country is not an island, but a very firm part of Europe that cannot share

Cuba's fate,' Kostunica told a press conference, stressing that the goal of

the new government would be 'relations with Europe on an equal footing and

re-establishing ties with the most powerful country in the world -- the

United States of America -- with which relations have deteriorated the most.

America has done a lot of evil to us but is a fact for both China and

Russia,' Kostunica said. Kostunica was met by several thousand applauding

and cheering Zajecar residents. During his visit to Bor, he was met by about

one thousand people, as was the case in Aleksinac. On Sept. 2, Kostunica

visited Majdanpek, Donji Milanovac, Kladovo, and Negotin as part of his

campaign." (BETA news agency, Sept. 4)

KOSTUNICA: "HAGUE INDICTMENT AS POINTLESS AS BOMBING"

***"The main opposition candidate in Yugoslavia's presidential election has

said that, if elected, he will not let current president Slobodan Milosevic

be sent to the U.N. war crimes tribunal, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. A press

officer from Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia confirmed this

had been his response to a question on the local Vujic television station in

the central Serbian town of Valjevo Monday evening. Kostunica, who has a

clear lead in opinion polls ahead of the Sept. 24 poll, also criticized the

court. According to the independent Belgrade radio station B2-92, Kostunica

told Vujic television the tribunal was making itself illegitimate by acting

as a political, rather than a legal, institution. He also noted that Russia,

a traditional ally of Yugoslavia, had never been involved in the court's

activities. 'The Hague indictment against Slobodan Milosevic is as pointless

as last year's NATO bombing of Yugoslavia,' Kostunica said...In Sofia,

Bulgaria, chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte said 'I am ready

to go on trial against Milosevic. I have no doubts I can obtain evidence

against him...I know that Milosevic will be sentenced for life (because)

there is no death sentence,' she said." (Reuters, Sept. 5)

DS-SPO COOPERATION IN KRAGUJEVAC?

***"The leader of the Democratic Party regional chapter for Kragujevac,

Borivoje Radic, said on Sept. 4, that an election ticket For Kragujevac will

be formed in this town and that it will include candidates from the Serbian

Renewal Movement. At a press conference Radic said that this decision was

made on Sept. 3, at a session of the Democratic Party chapter and that 13

members voted for it, while six were opposed. In a statement to BETA,

however, Democratic Party vice president Boris Tadic warned that those

Democrats whose names appeared on any election ticket other then the

Democratic Opposition of Serbia-Vojislav Kostunica, will be excluded from

the party. Kragujevac Mayor and Renewal official Veroljub Stevanovic told

BETA that he supports 'the brave' decision of the Kragujevac Democrats to

join the list For Kragujevac. Official of the G-17 Plus non-governmental

organization Predrag Markovic simultaneously said the opposition parties

will jointly run in local elections 'in all towns where this is necessary.'

Markovic added that this will be done in Kragujevac, Pirot and Pozega, and

that the agreement on this will be reached 'during the day.'...At a rally

organized by the Otpor movement in Kragujevac on Sept. 4, several thousand

residents called on local opposition leaders to run together in local

elections scheduled for Sept. 24 and thus prevent the parties of the Left

from coming to power...'We of Kragujevac want to respect party discipline

but only to a certain degree and we have therefore decided that it is in the

interest of citizens that we run united in the elections and as of Sept. 5,

we are starting a joint election campaign,' Radic said. (BETA news agency,

Sept. 5)

KOSTUNICA: "TECHNICAL COALITION WITH SPO" POSSIBLE

***"Vojislav Kostunica, the presidential candidate of the Democratic

Opposition of Serbia, said on Sept. 4, that it was possible the DOS would

form 'a technical coalition with the Serbian Renewal Movement in specific

areas.' Speaking in Sabac, Kostunica said it was 'too late' to unite the

Serbian Renewal Movement and the DOS for all elections. 'Of course, there

are certain areas where the DOS and the Renewal Movement do not have full

control of the elections and this is where technical coalitions are

possible, but it is too late for unification because that could hurt our

cause,' Kostunica told a press conference." (BETA news agency, Sept. 5)

SPO-BOR CHAIRMAN RESIGNS OVER "BELGRADE LOBBY"

***"The chairman of the Serbian Renewal Movement's (SPO) municipal board in

Bor, Miki Jan