News for January 23rd, 1997

Belgrade students have entered their fourth day facing a police cordon in Kolarceva Street in the heart of Belgrade. About 10,000 people are still standing against the cordon. The students were joined on Wednesday night by thousands of residents, including the deans of seventeen Belgrade University faculties, and numerous writers, actors, journalists, doctors and lawyers.

The oppositional "Zajedno" coalition called upon the citizens today to block the traffic in Belgrade and all other cities in Serbia in which they protest against the annulment of the election results and against the refusal of the authorities to remove the special police forces from the streets. The action should be carried out between 14:00 and 17:00 today. The Coalition appealed to the citizens who will participate in this action to allow the ambulances and cars of medical institutions to pass.

Thousands of Belgrade citizens rallied in Republic Square on Wednesday for the sixty-fourth day of protest against government rejection of November's local election results. Civil Alliance leader Vesna Pesic reported to demonstrators on the meeting of Socialist Internationale in Rome which she had attended as a guest. Mrs Pesic stressed that although the organisation's membership includes political parties of the democratic left from all over the world, the Socialist Party of Serbia has never been admitted, despite seeking inclusion on several occasions. "They expressed their solidarity with the opposition and the students who have given Serbia a new, democratic image," said Pesic, President of the Democratic Party, Zoran Djindjic, told protesters that the Serbian authorities had accused Serbian citizens of the attempted assassination of the Pristina University Chancellor, but failed to raise any condemnation from the international community. Serbian Renewal Movement President Vuk Draskovic told the packed square that if employees of the state media were to strike for just two days, the Socialists would lose their power.

The citizens of Belgrade have again participated in the action of noise making during the main information program of Radio Television Serbia starting at 19:30. In many parts of the city the people got out into a protest march along the sidewalks.

Several thousand people from the Banovo Brdo settlement have again made a protest march through the main street in this part of town during the main information program of the national TV network RTS. Traffic was put to a halt during the march. Other parts of the city also participated in the action of noise making. In Srpskih Vladara street several hundred citizens occasionally blocked the traffic from the direction of Slavija. The police literally chased after them and tried to stop these actions. The people ran on and off the streets and sidewalks so they kept out of reach of the police.

Belgrade University Chancellor Dragutin Velickovic, on Wednesday invited representatives of the Student Protest for discussions. The talks are scheduled to begin on Thursday, January 23, at 11.00 hours. The Student Protest Steering Committee was undecided late on Wednesday whether to accept the invitation. One member of the committee told Radio B92 that the students would be wasting their time in discussions with a man who had no morals at all. He added that the chancellor should speak to officials of his own party, the Socialists, who had appointed him to his position, and that as far as the students were concerned, his only option was to resign.

UofB students replied to an invitation for talks from the UofB Chancellor on Wednesday. The Chancellor's first invitation for talks with students came on Tuesday, after 62 days of student protests at the November electoral fraud. The Chancellor sent the invitation through the daily press, so the students replied through the same medium. They refused the invitation, saying that the only thing they demand from the UofB Chancellor is his resignation. The Students added that there was nothing to discuss with a University Chancellor who put his loyalty to the political party he belonged to above the demands of students and lecturers whose head he is supposed to be. The Information service of the Student Protest found out on Thursday morning that a delegation pretending to represent student protestors was talking to the Chancellor. They went to investigate but were met by UofB Student Official Vojin Djurdjevic, whose invitation to come into the Deanery building they refused, stating that after their failure to address the students for 62 days the UofB Chancellor and Student Vice Dean could only resign.

Members of the Initiative Committee of the Student protest 96/97 did not accept the invitation to meet Dragutin Velickovic, Chancellor of Belgrade University today. They found out that, in connection with this invitation, there had been cases of false representation. Milan Kovacevic, a member of the Information service of the Student Protest explained in his statement for the FoNet agency that the students in the Press center had been informed around 11:00 this morning that a group of persons representing themselves as the delegation of the Student Protest had come to the Chancellor's office. "After a woman from the Chancellor's office had informed us about this visit, we decided to go there and see for ourselves who the impostors were," said Kovacevic. Aca Djukic and Miso Gavrilovic, members of the Initiative Committee, and Momcilo Radulovic and Milan Kovacevic, members of the Information Service, were greeted by Vojin Djurdjevic, Student vice-chancellor, who invited them for coffee.

Dragutin Velickovic, Chancellor of Belgrade University, stated today that he would resign if students returned to schools. In his statement, given in connection with the students' refusal to talk to him, Velickovic added that he would not resign if things remained as they were. He pointed out that unless students returned to their schools, he would not resign on any account.

The students, who are protesting for the fourth consecutive day in the center of Belgrade, have sent word to Dragutin Velickovic, the Belgrade University Chancellor, that they expect his resignation, which should be handed in at the protest gathering in Kolarceva street. Aleksandar Djukic, member of the Student Protest leadership stated that the students are sticking to their demands: Recognition of the electoral results from November the 17, dismissal Dragutin Velickovic and Vojin Djurdjevic, Chancellor and Student Vice-Chancellor of Belgrade University.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Cornbloom met student protest leaders on Wednesday and expressed his full support for their action. Reuters quotes Mr Cornbloom as saying: "It was important for us to hear their opinion directly from them, and besides that, we had a chance to express our full support for what they are doing." Mr Cornbloom went on to say that the delegates had told him about the sobering process which had has occurred in Serbia since the signing of the Dayton agreement.

On Thursday a group of 17 UofB school Deans and 5 directors of UofB institutes called on all university lecturers to demand both recognition of the local election results according to the original electoral minutes and the resignation of UofB Chancellor Dragutin Velickovic. The deans and institute directors announced that a council of all university staff was soon to convene. The aim of the council would be to adopt a charter to protect academic freedoms and provide for complete autonomy of the University.

Chairman of the Belgrade University Council, Serbian Academician Zlatibor Petrovic, resigned on Wednesday. Petrovic said that recent events in Belgrade had had an influence on his decision, but he also emphasised that he would not sign any petition of support for protesting students. "I will not sign anything any more," said 75-year-old Petrovic, adding that he had decided to resign after consulting his physicians.

The taxi drivers from the main bus terminal in Belgrade collected around 1,300 dinars for the students protesting in Kolarceva street. The Student Protest announced that 62 taxi drivers and two porters from the main bus terminal in Belgrade contributed the money.

The heads of diplomacies of Switzerland, Denmark and Poland sent an appeal to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic from Copenhagen today, inviting him to emergently acknowledge the victory of the opposition in the local elections, and establish democracy.

The Belgrade Electoral Commission on Wednesday verified nine out of the ten remaining disputed mandates for the Belgrade City Assembly. The latest round of decisions has given an additional four seats each to the Left Coalition and Zajedno, with one going to the Radicals. One seat remains undecided. After these decisions, the Belgrade City Assembly now has 64 seats held by Zajedno, 27 by the Socialist Party, 16 by the Serbian Radical Party and 2 by the Democratic Party of Serbia 2.

The City Electoral Committee (GIK) in Belgrade is discussing today the three complaints the "Zajedno" coalition has lodged against yesterday's decision of the GIK by which 9 more mandates for the City Assembly of Belgrade. It is expected that this evening the GIK will hand down the decisions to the new delegates of the City Assembly in Belgrade.

Dragoljub Jankovic, President of the First Municipal Court in Belgrade stated today that the Supreme Court of Serbia rejected an appeal made by this court in which they demand that the decisions on complaints made by SPS and SRS should be brought by some other Municipal court in Belgrade.

The Presidents of Serbia and Montenegro, Slobodan Milosevic and Momir Bulatovic, met in Belgrade on Wednesday. The two leaders agreed that the continued union of the republics and the strengthening of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are the factors which will guarantee the security and the successful development of the country. Following the meeting, an official statement said, in part, "Attempts to foment a conflict between Serbia and Montenegro can only be interpreted as part of the strategy for the weakening of both Republics as well as of Yugoslavia."

Serbian Radical Party President Vojislav Seselj, addressing a crowd of 2,000 which had gathered to greet Jean Marie Le Penn, defined the goal of the Radicals as "to topple the Left block in the elections, and to eliminate the Zajedno coalition." Seselj went on to say "We want this regime to fall as soon as possible. Radicals will not be allies of either the Socialists or Zajedno."

A special session of the city government of Kragujevac, called in order to discuss the events concerning the Radio-television Kragujevac, began at 10:00 this morning. After the new authorities had been constituted in this city, in which the opposition had won the election, former municipal authorities - the socialists - gave the control of the local radio, television and the "Svetlost" weekly to the RTS (Serbian National Radio-television Network).

New managers of the Radio Television Kragujevac company were prevented from entering their offices by police early on Wednesday afternoon. The opposition coalition Zajedno announced a blockade of the city of Kragujevac on Thursday at 14:00 hours and a protest meeting in front of the Radio Television Kragujevac building at 17:00 hours -- the deadline for the Serbian Government to solve the situation. He stated that the Mayor of Kragujevac had spoken on the phone with Dragutin Milanovic, General Manager of Radio Television Serbia. Mr Stevanovic commented that Mr Milanovic appeared unconcerned by what was going on in Kragujevac.

The first clash between the police and citizens of Kragujevac occurred on Thursday at 16:30 hours. Zajedno supporters from Kragujevac blocked the entrance to the Belgrade-Nis motorway. They refused to let a bus carrying Kragujevac policemen returning from Belgrade pass. The policemen got off the bus and started beating the citizens. Four casualties were reported. Negotiations between the representatives of Kragujevac council and the Serbian Ministry of Information over the issue of the management of the local radio television were concluded on Thursday at 18:00 hours. Kragujevac council offered the Serbian Government a compromise, saying that if the new management of the local radio television were allowed to enter their offices and the police left the building they had occupied on Wednesday, the city government guaranteed that the civil protests in front of the building would cease. The council also offered to wait for the Economic Court in Belgrade to resolve the dispute when its decision is published on February 3.

Instead of the expected reply from the Serbian Government, Kragujevac council received a telex from Dragoljub Milanovic, General Manager of [state] Radio Television Serbia (RTS) on Thursday. The telex invited the newly appointed General Manager of Radio Television Kragujevac (RTK), Vidosav Stevanovic and Mayor of Kragujevac, Veroljub Stevanovic to come to Belgrade for talks on Friday. The General Manager of RTK stated on Thursday that he would accept the invitation to avoid breaking off the negotiations and dialogue.

Students of the UofB expressed their support for the citizensof Kragujevac on Thursday, protesting at the take-over of local radio and television by the "united forces of police and the RTS." The student statement of support said they hoped that citizens of Kragujevac would persevere in fighting for the independence of their radio and television station. The statement urged that the protestors resist any provocation from the Serbian Government and keep their protest peaceful.

Police maltreated and arrested a cameraman and a sound technician from the Televsion Associated Press in Kragujevac on Thursday. The two were trying to film the riot police assaulting the demonstrators. Federal MP for the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement, Zoran Simovic was taken to the neurosurgery department of the Hospital in Kragujevac after being beaten by the police in Thursday's clashes in Kragujevac, according to Beta news agency. Radio B92 learned on Thursday that there had been some 16 casualties with minor injuries in Kragujevac. Beta news agency reports a statement from the Democratic Party (DS) on Thursday claiming that during the road-blocking police had beaten Serbian Renewal Movement(SPO) MP for Kraljevo, Marko Petrovic and arrested Dragan Nikolic Feman, the DS party chairman in Jagodina According to information sent to Radio B92 from Kragujevac through the Internet, some 50 riot police and a bulldozer were used to "clear" theentrance to the motor-way during the road-block action on Thursday. A 10-meter police cordon swept the road, beating everybody in its path.

The Town Assembly in Kragujevac will bring criminal charges against Zarko Todorovic, Chief of Police, because he ordered the beating of citizens here, it was announced tonight.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote a letter to the Serbian President, expressing its deep distress about today's beating of an Associated Press Television crew member. CPJ is also greatly concerned about other police violence in Kragujevac where opposition supporters are protesting police resistance to the transfer of Kragujevac's radio and television stations to its newly-elected city officials. The Committee suggests in the letter for an independent channel to be established, which would ensure the complete editorial independence of radio and television news coverage and points out the need to authorize local municipalities to grant broadcasting licenses.

The opposition coalition Zajedno issued a statement on Thursday saying that the Socialist Party (SPS) and the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) were indirectly encouraging separatism and terorrism in Kosovo by refusing to recognize the November local elections results. Zajedno said that the Serbian regime was giving the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo a clear signal that they had nothing to hope for in this country.

Predrag Popovic, leader of the members belonging to the opposition coalition Narodna Sloga in the Montenegrin Parliament, stated on Thursday that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic are leaders of the hard-line factions in the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) and Democratic Socialist Party of Montenegro (DPS) respectively. He blamed the hard-line cores of the two ruling parties for the current political situation in FR Yugoslavia, reported Montena Fax on Thursday.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) offered on Thursday to mediate between the Serbian Government and opposition so as to help solve the dispute over the voided local election results. Danish Foreign Minister Nils and chair of the OSCE Helveg Petersen said that any dialogue with representatives from the Serbian Government and the opposition would begin in Vienna, where the OSCE's headquarters are. Mr Petersen stressed that the OSCE would insist that the Serbian Government respects the November local election results.

Zajedno supporters in Nis blocked the Belgrade-Nis motorway at the pay-toll near their city for an hour on Thursday. Although the riot police on the spot far out-numbered the Zajedno supporters, no incidents occurred. The traffic was also blocked within the city for a longer period.

Chancellor of Belgrade's University of Arts, Darinka Matic Marovic, together with the Deans of the University's four arts departments urged Serbian Interior Minister Zoran Sokolovic to order the immediate withdrawal of the riot police cordon in front of the students and to end the meaningless blockade of Belgrade, newsagency Beta reported on Thursday.

The Supreme Court of Serbia on Thursday rejected an application by the First Municipal Court in Belgrade for another court to be appointed to hear the Socialist and Radical appeals against the decision by the Belgrade Electoral Commission.

MPs from the Serbian Radical Party demanded on Thursday that the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Dragan Tomic starts the procedure for dismissing Dragoljub Jankovic, Chair of the First Municipal Court in Belgrade, and all the other judges who decided the appeals against the November decision of the Belgrade Electoral Commission.

Chair of the Belgrade Electoral Commission Radomir Lazarevic said on Belgrade's BK Television on Thursday that the courts cannot annul the people's electoral will. He said that the First Municipal Court of Belgrade had assumed the role of the electoral commission when it annuled electoral results in 45 polling stations. He stated that the electoral commission, as a managing body, was obliged to obey court decisions . He said, however, that the court was only authorized to annul an electoral commission's decision and return it to the commission for further procedure.

A group of Yugoslav economic experts drawn from the Schools of Economics in Belgrade and Podgorica, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have completed a document on measures for fast economic recovery of FRYugoslavia to be presented to the general public next week. The introduction to the document states that the reform badly needed by the Yugoslav economy is not feasible without overall democratization, respect for human rights, a stable currency and freedom of the press -- all factors which cannot exist under the current government. The introduction presents evidence that the ruling party has unscrupulously destroyed the state economy in order to fill their own pockets. The authors will offer their work to any political forces in Yugoslavia ready to embark immediately and uncompromisingly on radical economic and social reforms aimed at the recovery of Yugoslav society, which they believe is still possible.

The French newspaper "Monde" informs that Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the French National Front, paid a visit to "a bloodthirsty Serb", Mr. Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party, who is also named "an extremist among extremists in Serbia". "Monde" also informs that Le Pens host "was of great interest to the State Department when they were forming war criminal lists in 1992, because of bloody actions made by his para-military forces during the war in Croatia, especially in Vukovar".

The students of Belgrade University, who have been protesting for over two months against the annulment of the results of the second round of the local elections, "have nothing to lose, since after they finish their schooling, they have no chance of finding jobs, getting flats, start families; in short, they have no chance of living normally", writes today the "Hospodarzske novini". This Czech daily describes the atmosphere in Kolarceva street, in which the students have been standing in front of the police cordon for four days now, as almost "carnival".

The Society for the Truth about the Antifascist People's Struggle in Yugoslavia (1941-1945) demanded today that the will of the people expressed in the elections should be recognized immediately, and approved of the justified students' demands for the obeying of democratic procedures. This society is of the opinion that the current events in Serbia have gone beyond the dispute over the November local elections, and that the students' and citizens' discontent have outgrown the contest between the two confronted coalitions.

The European Movement in Serbia and the Forum for International Relations appealed today to their members to support the demands of the students of both Belgrade Universities. These two organizations called upon their members to join the students' action "cordon vs. cordon" at 21:30 tomorrow.

The German Bundestag delegation arrives in Belgrade today in order to, as announced by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, to enquire into the current events in Serbia. The members of the delegation are Helmut Lippelt, Werner Schulz, Gherd Poppea, Wolfgang Ullmann and Mariana Birthler.

Dragor Hiber, the head of the legal service of the "Zajedno" coalition, stated today that "the so called institutions of the system, electoral committees and courts have constantly been playing legal ping-pong, returning the ball to one another", in order to avoid the recognition of the mandates the "Zajedno" coalition won in the elections. In the press conference, Hiber expressed his approval of the Decision of the City Electoral Committee to confirm the preliminary results of the elections in Belgrade.

HRH Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, the Heir to the Throne, dissociated himself from the interviews published in the "Nacional" and "Globus" newspapers in Zagreb, parts of which have been published in certain Belgrade newspapers, announced the Office of HRH Prince Aleksandar. The texts they published contain some free interpretations of what Prince Aleksandar, the Heir to the Throne, said, as well as certain false statements, announced the Office.

The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) delegates demanded today of Dragan Tomic, president of Serbian Parliament, to call emergently the session of the Judiciary Board, in which the initiative to dismiss Dragoljub Jankovic, the president of the First Municipal Court in Belgrade, should be made. The delegates of the SRS stated in their letter to Dragan Tomic that the Judiciary Board should initiate the legal procedure for the dismissal of the judges of the First Municipal court, who had made decisions about the complaints lodged by political parties against the decision of the City Electoral Committee of Belgrade between 18th and 23rd November, 1996.

Marian Krzaklewski, president of the Polish syndicate "Nezavisnost", talked yesterday with the delegation of the United branch Syndicates "Nezavisnost" about the situation in Serbia and the aims of the syndical struggle in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Krzaklewski approved of the struggle of the democratic forces in Serbia, which, according to his words, improve the image of the Serbian people among the world public.

The "Zajedno" coalition in Nis has announced the names of major city functionaries, whose election shall be confirmed after the taking over of local authority on January the 27. It was also concluded that "The city government, which will consist of four vice-presidents and ten other members, shall not have room for socialist officials".

Svetozar Marovic, President of the Montenegrin Parliament, stated that Montenegro believes in a democratic Yugoslavia. He claims that the cooperation between the Montenegrin party in power, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), and the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) "is defined by the status of the parties in power." His estimate is that differences between these parties exist and that they are "caused by circumstances under which we function".

Members of the "Timisoara" Society for Protection of Human Rights, the Organization of the December 1989. Revolutionaries and students have held a protest gathering in front of the Yugoslav Consulate in Timisoara today. The gathering was held in protest against police brutality that was used against the peaceful demonstrators in Belgrade, who are looking for recognition of electoral results and democratic reforms in Yugoslavia. The protestors expressed their discontent by a ten-minute silence, lighting candles on the Consulate fence and banners expressing solidarity with the resistance of the people of Serbia to the communist regime.

The media close to the communist and nationalist parties, as well as some independent newspapers in Russia, refer to the events in Serbia as an internal matter of Yugoslavia, but they do not attempt to hide their sympathy for the government "as the only guarantee for the respect of the Dayton agreement". The daily newspapers "Pravda" and "Sovetska Rossia", and to some extent "Nezavisnaya Gazeta", give occasionally only a little space-usually a few rows which say that "riots are still going on". The media close to the parties with liberal and civil policies have been reporting in detail about the background and motives of the protest in Serbia, as well as opposition and government attitudes.

Darinka Matic Marovic, Chancellor of the Arts University in Belgrade, and Deans of all four Faculties in this university appealed to Zoran Sokolovic, Minister of Internal Affairs, to immediately withdraw the police cordons facing the students and stop the unecessary blockade of Belgrade. They also stated in their letter to the Minister that they totally support the demands of 17 other Deans of Belgrade University. Aside from Darinka Matic-Marovic, the appeal to the Minister of Internal Affairs was also signed by the Deans: Srdjan Hofman (Faculty of Musical Arts), Branko Miljus (Faculty of Fine Arts), Branko Vujovic (Faculty of Applied Arts and Design) and Ljiljana Mrkic-Popovic (Faculty of Dramatic Arts).

The "Zajedno" coalition in Smederevska Palanka sent a letter to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic and Head of the OSCE delegation Felipe Gonzzales, in which the announcement of the Serbian Government that the Serbian Socialist Party won the elections in this city was qualified as "incomprehensible". "In this Government's report it is stated that no irregularities, which would affect the election results, had been found in the work of the election organs in the municipality of Smederevska Palanka, which means that the election results of November 17 which were established in the records from voting places should be fully accepted," reads the letter.

The police bashed the citizens of Kraljevo who blocked the traffic in the Ibar Highway in the course of the action "Defect" today. A police cordon prevented the supporters of the "Zajedno" coalition gathered in the Karadjordjeva street in Kraljevo to join their fellow-citizens in the Ibar Highway. The demonstrators attempted to brake through the police cordon and start towards the Highway, when a turmoil and a dispute between the police and the citizens ensued.

Around 8,000 citizens of Sabac protested today, for the 54th time, against the annulment of the results of the local elections. Since they were surrounded by the police cordons, the citizens walked in the city square after the rally.

The police in Smederevo arrested today at least 15 citizens, who were driving towards Kovin, and detained them in the police station for two hours, learn the media from Milenko Djukic, the president of the Democratic Party Board in Smederevo. Djukic, who was one of the arrested, said that the citizens had been taken to the police station "without any explanation", and that they had not blocked the road. The arrested citizens were released after the intervention on the part of Radoslav Radojevic, a delegate of the Serbian Renewal Movement in Serbian Parliament, who was told by the Head of the police in Smederevo that the police would not be so well disposed next time.

Approximately 2000 followers of the "Zajedno" coalition and citizens of Leskovac protested tonight for the 51. consecutive day because of the annulment of electoral results. Instead of with the usual prison-style march, tonight's gathering was ended with a football match.

The police have prevented the citizens of Majdanpek tonight to even walk on the sidewalks or the traffic-free zone in the traffic center.

The "Zajedno" coalition followers have blocked traffic at the toll-gate at the entrance of Jagodina today between 12:00-14:30, and then held a meeting and made a protest march. An attempt by the Serbian Socialist Party to form the Town Assembly of Jagodina, which was announced yesterday, never happened. According to unofficial information, there is a possibility that 35 delegates of the "Zajedno" coalition elected in the second round of local elections, shall soon form a local government in public.

The Government of the USA has expressed its alarm today concerning the use of force against demonstrators in Serbia, stated the State Department. Nicholas Burns, State Department Spokesman, criticized the restricting of independent newspapers in Serbia and announced that the USA shall continue to support the independent media in Serbia.

Vesna Pesic, President of the Serbian Civil Union has had talks with Lena Hjjelm Wallen, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Sweden and Brigitte Dal, President of the Swedish Parliament, about the current situation in Serbia. In a packed conference room in the ABF Cultural Center in Stockholm at a seminar named "Serbia-where" Mrs. Pesic spoke about the situation in Serbia and the "Zajedno" coalition. Mrs. Pesic has also met with members of the OSCE delegation in Stockholm tonight.

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