[SNN] B92 Daily News Bulletin for Friday, June 22, 2001

[Miroslav Antic]

Title:

B 92 NEWS FROM YUGOSLAVIA Friday, June 22, 2001 (GMT+2) In Today's News Yugoslav government to pave way for Milosevic extradition   Hague Co-operation Milosevic to leave Belgrade prison? US delays RSVP SPS warns of governnment by decree Yugoslavia is the will of the citizens, says Bulatovic   Macedonia Macedonian offensive shatters 11-day truce   Other Local News New mass grave unearthed DOS leaders ask for Pavkovic's sacking Hundreds of homes evacuated in flood area   Kosovo Svilanovic meets Everts for election talks     Weather   Foreign Exchange Rates B92 Website | Breaking News | Subscription Information Yugoslav government to pave way for Milosevic extradition Justice ministry drawing up decree BELGRADE, Friday - The Democratic Opposition of Serbia looks set to resort to adopting a governmental decree tomorrow morning to break the deadlock over extradition to the Hague Tribunal. Federal Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic confirmed for press that all DOS leaders had reached full agreement at their meeting last night that a decree was the way forward. He initially announced that the government would approve the measure this afternoon, but news emerged later that the session had been set for tomorrow. Zivkovic said that the decree allowing extradition of war crimes suspects to the Hague Tribunal is already being drawn up by the justice ministry. Precise details were not available. Co-operation "by the end of June" However, later today Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic added that the option of simply applying the existing Hague Tribunal Statute also remained open, reports Srna. He agreed that the issue of how extradition will be regulated will be decided at the meeting tomorrow, and said that Yugoslavia would be co-operating fully with the international court by the donor conference next Friday. Either measure could pave the way for the imminent extradition of Slobodan Milosevic and other war crimes suspects to the Hague Tribunal. Both Djindjic and Zivkovic said they would have preferred to see a law passed through parliament in the usual way. Milosevic to The Hague? Zivkovic declined to comment on whether the move would see Milosevic extradited before the international donor conference in a week's time. "Personally, I expected Milosevic to be extradited to the Hague Tribunal six months ago," he said. The measure comes after attempts to get parliament to pass an act legalising extradition were abandoned once it became apparent they had no chance of success. DOS' partner in federal government, the Montenegrin Socialist People's Party, refused to support the bill despite numerous attempts to persuade it otherwise. However, DOS enjoys a majority in federal government so should be able to adopt the decree with or without its partner's support. (B92) HAGUE CO-OPERATION Milosevic to leave Belgrade prison? PODGORICA, Friday - Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic could be spirited away to The Hague Tribunal as early as this weekend, Podgorica daily Dan reports today. The daily claims the possibility is being discussed by certain DOS leaders and that the "most confidential state bodies in Serbia have been placed on a state of readiness." SPS offers 250 million DM bail Meanwhile, Milosevic's lawyers are still hoping that their client will be released on bail from Belgrade Central prison. Defence lawyer Zdenko Tomanovic told Belgrade daily Blic that his colleagues would ask Belgrade district court to release Milosevic on 250 million deutschmarks bail. The sum has been put up in property by Socialist Party of Serbia members. The court rejected yet another appeal for his release last week before a trial on charges of corruption and abuse of power, pointing out that the fortune amassed by Milosevic far exceeded the bail offered. "Now we will offer an amount which is far higher than the one he is suspected of, and the investigative judge will have to rule on our demand urgently," Tomanovic told Blic. US delays RSVP WASHINGTON, Friday - The US was yesterday continuing to stall its decision on participation in the international donor conference although government officials warned, "it's not looking good." "We've made clear that that cooperation has to take place and at this point, we haven't made a decision in terms of our attending the conference," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told press yesterday in reference to Belgrade's cooperation with The Hague Tribunal. However one official in the Bush administration told AFP, "At this point, I would say our participation is unlikely." Another rated the chances of Washington representatives turning up in Brussels next Friday at just ten percent. Decree alone "is not enough" Reuters adds that Washington has not stated today whether passing a decree would count as co-operating with the Hague Tribunal. Many analysts believe that Belgrade needs to hand over at least one suspect before the conference. Hague Tribunal spokeswoman Florence Hartmann was more explicit. "Of course a decree or a statement in itself is nothing, we want implementation," she told Reuters. SPS warns of governnment by decree BELGRADE, Friday - The government's plans to bypass parliament in legalising the extradition of Yugoslav citizens have come under fire from the Socialist Party of Serbia. In a statement issued today, the party declared: "This agreement heralds government by decree and the suspension of the multi-party parliamentary system in Serbia and Yugoslavia." The party added that none of the country's international obligations predate the republican and federal constitutions. Yugoslavia is the will of the citizens, says Bulatovic PODGORICA, Friday - Socialist People's Party leader Predrag Bulatovic stressed today it would be senseless for disagreement on cooperation with The Hague to jeopardise the federal state. "There is no reason for Yugoslavia to break up, because it exists by the will of Montenegrin and Serbian citizens, and that is above DOS and SNP," Bulatovic told Podgorica media. The draft law was withdrawn from the federal parliamentary procedure after Bulatovic's Montenegrin party rejected amendments offered by their partners in federal government the Democratic Opposition of Serbia. Bulatovic added that his party would not pull out of the Yugoslav government, despite the signs that DOS looks set to override its objections to Hague co-operation. MACEDONIA Macedonian offensive shatters 11-day truce SKOPJE, Friday - An 11-day truce is in tatters today after Macedonian forces unleashed helicopter gunships in a dawn strike on the Albanian-held village of Aracinovo. Security forces used Mi-24 helicopters, tanks and mortars in a ferocious attack on the village, just 10 kilometres from the capital. Fighting continued throughout the day, and rebels also renewed their threats to shell the capital. This evening, Macedonian military spokesman Blagoja Markovski said that the operation would not be completed today. He added that security forces had surrounded the village and were ready to clear the ground. Robertson slams Macedonian "madness" The military offensive has attracted widespread condemnation. AFP reports that NATO secretary general George Robertson said: "New outbreaks of violence, from whichever side, are madness at this sensitive time. "There is no military solution to this crisis and over-reactions at this moment simply deepen already critical divisions." And the leaders of the Albanian parties in the national unity coalition, Imer Imeri and Arben Xhaferi called on President Boris Trajkovski to order the Macedonian forces to stop the shelling. However, government spokesman Antonio Milososki said the "anti-terrorist action" would get rid of the rebel threat to Skopje and help political negotiations. Casualty figures unclear Details of casualties remain hazy. Commander Hoxha told Reuters by phone that three civilians and one rebel had died in the morning's fighting, while the guerrillas had killed five policemen. However, AFP reports that defence spokesman Georgi Trendafilov said that all civilians had left when the rebels seized the village two weeks ago. He claimed that no-one had died, but that several members of the security forces had been slightly injured. Back to Skopje for Solana The fighting comes after talks between the four parties in government collapsed on Wednesday, with President Boris Trajkovski accusing the Albanians of wanting to divide the country along ethnic lines. They had been trying to reach an agreement that would allow NATO to deploy troops to oversee the disarming of the rebels. The alliance announced on Wednesday it was prepared to send troops once the fighting had ended and after a political agreement had been reached. EU security chief Javier Solana is due back in Skopje this weekend to try to bring the parties back to the negotiating table. (Reuters/ AFP/ B92) OTHER LOCAL NEWS New mass grave unearthed KLADOVO, Friday - A mass grave has been found in eastern Serbia just a couple of hundred metres from one unearthed earlier, the Negotin district prosecutor has announced. Miroslav Srzentic said that the second site at the village of Petrovo Selo, near Kladovo, seems to have similarities with the first. He denied media reports that a third grave has been found nearby. The graves are suspected of containing the bodies of victims of the Kosovo conflicts. DOS leaders ask for Pavkovic's sacking BELGRADE, Friday - Zoran Djindjic said today that Democratic Opposition of Serbia leaders had been prompted to request the resignation of the Yugoslav army's chief-of-staff only because he stirs up politics among troops. The Serbian prime minister confirmed that DOS leaders have now asked President Kostunica to sack General Nebojsa Pavkovic. "One of the first decisions DOS took was to dismiss Pavkovic, but it did not happen," he said. He added that Kostunica had now requested more time, but had promised army reforms. Pavkovic, the former commander of the combat forces in Kosovo, has come under fire in recent weeks for dismissing the head of the joint security forces in southern Serbia.(B92) Hundreds of homes evacuated in flood area KOLUBARA, Friday - The situation in Western Serbia is said to have improved today after three days of torrential rain forced authorities to declare a state of emergency in several areas. According to officials in the area, floods appear to be ebbing in the Macva and Kolubara regions. Some 600 homes in Sabac were evacuated yesterday and 4,000 hectares of crops have been devastated by the rains. (B92) KOSOVO Svilanovic meets Everts for election talks BELGRADE, Friday - Federal foreign minister Goran Svilanovic today met the head of the OSCE mission to Kosovo for talks on the November elections in the province. An official foreign ministry statement said that Svilanovic had told Daan Everts that minority communities must be able to take part in the vote in safety. Everts urges Serbs to take part in elections Speaking at a press conference earlier, Everts said the readiness of certain Serbian political parties to take part in the elections was encouraging. He did not specify which parties. Everts also commented on demands that progress be made in bringing refugees back to the province before the elections. This should not be made a condition of Serbian participation, he said. Rather, if Serbs took part in the political process, they could help create the conditions necessary for the return of those who had fled. Weather   June 23 June 24 June 25 June 26 Belgrade 15C/24C, cloudy 16C/20C, showers 16C/22C, showers 15C/26C, cloudy Nis 15C/26C, showers 15C/19C, showers 18C/22C, showers 16C/25C, cloudy Podgorica 19C/30C, showers 21C/28C, cloudy 21C/29C, cloudy 19C/31C, sunny Pristina 15C/25C, showers 13C/20C, showers 14C/22C, showers 14C/25C, cloudy Foreign Exchange Rates 1 Deutschmark = 30.62 Yugoslav dinars 1 US Dollar = 69.91 Yugoslav dinars 1 British Pound = 98.78 Yugoslav dinars 1 Euro = 59.92 Yugoslav dinars Exchange rates as of Friday, June 22, 2001 17.30 GMT+2 ^^ Back to headlines Hague Co-operation | Macedonia | Other Local News | Kosovo | Weather | FX Rates B92 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION b92-e is an open mailing list for distribution of news by Radio B92. News bulletins are published daily at approximately 22.30 GMT. For more information on Radio B92, visit: http://www.b92.net/   � 2001, B92 | News B92: DON'T TRUST ANYONE, NOT EVEN US!