MONTENEGRO: THREE SENTENCED FOR ATTEMPTED VOTE BUYING

Podogorica, 28 April (AKI) - A court in the Montenegro capital, Podgorica, on Friday sentenced three pro-independence activists for attempting to buy votes in a referendum to be held on 21 May, when Montenegrins will choose whether or not they want to remain part of a union with Serbia.. Former state security official Vasilije Mijovic and Ivan Ivanovic, an activist from the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), each got ten month jail terms, while another DPS activist, Ranko Vucinic, got six months. The resulf of next month's referendum is expected to be very close.

Mijovic and Ivanovic were captured in a secretely shot film on 5 March, offering to pay a 1,580 euro electricity bill to a man named Musan Buskovic in the village of Golubovci, south of Podgorica, if he voted for independence and the dissolution of Montenegro's union with Serbia.

Montenegro's prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, who is spearheading the independence drive, has laughed off accusations that his party was buying votes for independence, saying the film was the work of the Serbian secret services - a claim immediately dismissed by the opposition as “Djukanovic’s wishful thinking.”



never underestimate the resolve of republics who want to get away from serbia....


Serbia favours the continuation of the state union, but Montenegro's population is fairly evenly split on the issue. A survey released on Friday by the Podgorica Centre for Democracy (CEDEM) indicated 87 percent of Montenegro's 475,000 eligible voters would turn out to vote in the referendum, and that 56.3 per cent would opt for independence.

CEDEM said it would make no new surveys in the period running up to the referendum. The European Union has recommended that at least 55 percent of voters need to turn out for the result to be considered valid.

Djukanovic has banned some 300,000 Montenegrins living in Serbia from voting in the referendum. According to the opposition, he has organised a vote buying campaign and is planning to fly in thousands of ethnic Albanians originally from Montenegro and now living in the USA and European countries, to vote for independence.

Montenegro's opposition, which opposes independence, last week uncovered another film reportedly showing Ivanovic attempting to buy votes in the same village, saying he was doing it in the name of the government. The film allegedly shows Ivanovic offering 500 euros to a local DPS official, Aleksandar Leka Cekovic, not to come out and vote against independence. "That’s for you from the government, to treat your children,” Ivanovic is reportedly heard saying.

The film has not yet been aired on TV, but excerpts were published by Podgorica daily Dan.


(Vpr/Aki)

Serbia charges police officers with 1999 Kosovo murders

In what prosecutors describe as a sign that Serbia is facing up to the bloody legacy of the Milosevic years, eight former police officers have been indicted for the 1999 slayings of 48 people -- all but one from the same family -- in Kosovo.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 28/04/06

The Serbian War Crimes Prosecution on Tuesday (25 April) brought an indictment against a group of police officers for war crimes against Albanian civilians in the Kosovo village of Suva Reka in 1999. Gendarmerie Assistant Commander Radoslav Mitrovic, who commanded a special unit during the Kosovo conflict, is among those charged.

Also indicted were Radojko Repanovic and Nenad Jovanovic, the former chiefs of the Suva Reka precinct, and Sladjan Cukaric, a policeman at the precinct. In addition, charges were brought against former Serbian secret police member Milorad Nisavic, Suva Reka policemen Miroslav Petkovic and Zoran Petkovic, and police patrol chief Ramiz Popovic.

The group has been in custody since October 2005, and some were on active duty when arrested.



Yugoslav Army Chief of staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic (right) and former Commander of Yugoslav Third Army General Vladimir Lazarevic were among four ex-generals indicted in 2003 for war crimes in Kosovo. [Getty Images]

Prosecutors say the indictees were responsible for the killing of 48 people -- including at least 13 children and a pregnant woman -- in Suva Reka on 26 March 1999. All but one of the victims belonged to the local Berisha family. Their bodies were later found in mass graves in Serbia.

One of those graves, discovered in 2001, is located at the special police units' training field at Batajnica, on the outskirts of Belgrade. Some 800 bodies are believed to have been transported there from Kosovo in an effort to cover up atrocities.

A news release from the prosecution says the indictment is the first to be filed in the Batajnica case and that the prosecutor has proposed that the District Court's War Crimes Council extend the indictees' detention.

The indictments are a "sign that Serbia is ready to face its negative past" and to "sanction crimes, regardless of who committed them", the AKI news agency quoted prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekaric as saying.

In 2003, the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague indicted four former Serbian police and army generals -- Nebojsa Pavkovic, Vladimir Lazarevic, Vlastimir Djordjevic and Sreten Lukic -- for crimes in Kosovo. Indictments were also raised against former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic.

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was indicted for Kosovo war crimes as well, but he died on 11 March before a verdict was reached.

Tensions mount ahead of Montenegro referendum

Tensions are mounting between secessionists and unionists in Montenegro ahead of the republic's scheduled 21 May referendum on independence from Serbia.

The unionists, ie those who would favour a close and lasting political association with Serbia, are shown by recent polls to be slightly outnumbered by those who seek independence for this republic of 700,000 people. However, some 15% of the 480,000 registered voters are still undecided.

According to a special formula proposed by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Montenegro's secession from Serbia would require 55% of the votes cast, instead of a simple majority. Political science professor Srdjan Darmanovic was quoted by Financial Times Deutschland as saying that there is a "55% chance of reaching 55%".



the little Montenegro that could....

In the run-up to the referendum, EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak has held talks with both secessionist Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and Predrag Bulatovic, the leader of the unionist opposition. "I conveyed my concern over the mood which seems overly headed toward confrontation," Lajcak said, citing recent accusations of vote-rigging and bribery by the unionists. "There is no need to create problems that would only complicate life after the referendum," he said.

"Something must change in Montenegro, or the European Union will change its stand" toward the Balkan republic, Lajcak commented.

Decency ban urged in Croatia resort

Thursday, April 27, 2006

The Associated Press
ZAGREB, Croatia -- A bishop on a northwestern Croatian island has asked authorities to declare a "decency zone" in the city's center, to ban regular summertime promenades of tourists wearing nothing but swimsuits.

Ivan Kordic, bishop of Krk island, said "scarcely dressed" people "harm the morale, the spirit and the soul" of other people in the city, in a letter to city officials.

Krk authorities have not responded to the letter yet.



.... EU or bust? - Decency is stoutly un-European


But tourist officials and many residents have already rejected the idea, arguing that in Krk, as most other Croatian tourist resorts, city centers are adjacent to beaches and it is therefore normal for people to walk around, have a drink or do some shopping in their swimsuits. Besides, a dress code could put off tourists, who are responsible for most of the island's -- and the country's -- hard currency income, they said.

"It's quite logical that one should be dressed decently when entering a holy place," Majda Sale, a local tourist worker, told a local newspaper. "But walking in public places is a question of personal freedoms and a good taste."

The Roman Catholic church is highly influential in Croatia, where about 90 percent of people are members. The church has so far successfully protested against yoga classes in schools, an AIDS program that taught pupils how to use condoms and shopping on Sundays.

EU to replace UN mission in ruling Kosovo

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, April 27 (UPI) -- An EU civil mission could play a leading role in governing Kosovo once the future status of Serbia's southern province is decided in U.N.-mediated talks.

Representatives of the Contact Group -- the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Russia -- Wednesday in Vienna met behind closed doors to discuss the international presence in Kosovo, the Tanjug news agency reported quoting diplomatic sources.

An international civil mission, led by the EU, should control judiciary, police and other relevant institutions, once Kosovo's future is determined, Tanjug said Thursday.



there's a new sheriff u gradu

The Contact Group considered ways to transform the NATO-led U.N. Kosovo forces and the Kosovo Protection Corps, along with the international civilian presence.

The fourth round of talks between Serbs and ethnic-Albanians on the future of Kosovo will be held in Vienna May 4-5. Kosovo is 90 percent ethnic-Albanian, with a Serb minority of 100,000.

Formally, Kosovo is part of Serbia but since 1999 it has been governed by the U.N. civilian mission and protected by NATO forces.

Most ethnic Albanians publicly say they want a Kosovo independent of the Serbian government.


© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Serbian authorities suspend major private television's broadcasting permit

A move by Serbia's broadcasting agency to suspend the license of the republic's first private television station for allegedly biased reporting has been criticised by local media organisations.
(Blic - 27/04/06; AP, VOA, UPI, Radio B92, Beta - 26/04/06)

Serbian police shut down the republic's first private television station early Wednesday (26 April) following a decision by the government's broadcasting agency to temporarily suspend the licence of BK Television (BK TV).

Belgrade-based Radio B92 reported that the Serbian Broadcasting Agency cited two reasons for its move: BK TV management has prevented agency representatives from examining much of the station's financial information, and has presented biased reporting regarding one of its owners, Serbian tycoon Bogoljub Karic and his party, the Power of Serbian Movement.
BK TV's license has been suspended for 30 days, after which it could face a permanent ban if it fails to change its policies. Some however linked BK TV's closure with its alleged campaign against the broadcasting agency and its recent selection of final winners for national television frequencies, which did not include Karic's television station.



that's Miodrag Popov, BK Television's Editor in Chief, and he ain't hugging that policiac!

Describing the agency's decision as "illegal," the television station's attorney, Miroslav Djordjevic, said his team would take action against those who tried to implement it and against the broadcasting agency members.

The deadline for filing complaints and appeals against the agency's decisions is 15 days. The agency then has 30 days to respond to such appeals.

Karic, an ally of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and one of Serbia's wealthiest people, founded BK TV together with his three brothers in the early 1990s. After being accused of corruption, three of the Karic brothers, including Bogoljub, fled the country earlier this year and are believed to be in Russia, according to the AP.

The broadcasting agency's decision to close down BK TV sparked criticism from at least three journalist associations, including the Serbian Journalist Society and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM). According to ANEM, the move was arbitrary and constitutes a serious threat to democracy and media freedom.

This "rash intervention" on the part of the broadcasting agency "is a threat to the legal basis underpinning electronic media operations in Serbia, in a way which goes far beyond the present procedure of broadcast license allocation," ANEM said in a statement.

Noting that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Serbian Constitution, the association said this included the right to be critical of the decisions of public organisations, including the broadcasting agency. "Thus the suspension of a broadcast license on the grounds of such criticism is unacceptable and is seen as a serious attack on freedom of expression in this country," ANEM said, urging the agency to "reconsider and revoke its decision"

Year of the Balkans

This will be the year of the Balkans from many aspects because there will be a lot of political changes and developments in the region and most probably the region will have new states as well.

Needless to say Kosovo first comes to mind among these states. It is certain from now that the final status of Kosovo, which has been under the administration of the United Nations (UN) since the war in 1999, will be determined by the end of this year and the region will gain independence, even if it is conditional or limited.

On the other side, we can anticipate that Abkhazia, North Ossetia, Transdiniester and the Bosnian-Serb Republic will also be influenced by Kosovo’s independence in a way because Russia is trying to establish close relations with Abkhazia, North Ossetia and Transdiniester. The Russian diplomatic efforts are aimed at helping these regions gain recognition as independent states. Leaders of the Bosnian-Serb Republic, which is called Republica Sirpsa in Serbian, are already saying that Kosovo’s independence will lead to instability in their republic and other Bosnian Serb circles have begun developing ideas such as, “If Kosovo gains independence why shouldn’t we do likewise, why shouldn’t we split from Bosnia?”



Despite the tiny picture, it appears as though Fikret Ertan has got some serious "balkan fever"

As these developments on Kosovo are taking place, Bosnia-Herzegovina is trying to prepare a new constitution before the general elections in fall. Today, Bosnia-Herzegovina is governed in accordance with the constitution that was adopted along with Daytona Agreement in 1995; however, this constitution is anachronistic, needs to be amended and the international community also accepts these amendments. Since the Bosnia-Herzegovina administration feels compelled to amend the constitution with pressure from international community, it has been studying a new constitution frame for four months.

According to recent new reports, the Constitutional Review Commission of the Bosnian Parliament accepted the amendment offers presented early this month. The commission will present these changes to the upper house of parliament next week and important steps to adopting the amendments will have been taken.

The amendments at issue can be summarized as follows: Increasing in the number of ministers, giving the prime minister more powers, replacing of the current three-party rotating presidential system with a new system that has only one president and two vice presidents, a transition from direct election as envisaged in the current constitution to the election of the president and two vice-presidents through popular vote. Such changes will bring along with them radical transformation of the political system in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It can well be argued that these amendments are aimed at making the central authority more flexible in its governance as well as taking the country closer to European Union (EU) standards. The proposed changes have received support from both the EU and the United States (US), the architect of the Dayton Accords. From this perspective, it seems very likely that Bosnia will have a new constitution in 2006.

In addition to all these developments and changes in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, other important developments and changes will also take place in Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia. We can easily argue that Serbia will capture the two wanted war criminals, Gen. Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic and will refer them to the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, and that will mean Serbia surmounting one of the biggest obstacles on its path towards the EU.

It is already evident that both Macedonia and Croatia will make great strides in their journey towards the EU; because the process that has already begun will gain momentum later this year and Macedonia will probably gain candidate country status late in December; Croatia will resume its accession talks because the Croatian government handed over Gen. Ante Gotovina, another war criminal, to The Hague last December.

Lastly, we will probably hear a declaration of independence from Montenegro after the May 21 referendum.
As we said at the very beginning, 2006 will the year of the Balkans…
April 22, 2006

balkan

After independence, first visit to Belgrade

15:55 April 25 | Beta

PODGORICA -- Miodrag Vlahovic said that his first official visit will be to Belgrade once Montenegro gains independence.

The Montenegrin Foreign Affairs Minister said that, in a televised debate regarding the relations between Belgrade and Podgorica, he hopes that Serbian officials will accept him at this time, in order to talk about further relations between the two independent states.

He said that the claims of the parties who support the preservation of the federal union that relations between Serbia and Montenegro will be poor if Montenegro gains independence, are not true.

Officials who support the union, National Party official Dragan Soc and Serbian National Party official Goran Danilovic, said that relations are poor between Serbia and Montenegro because of the anti-Serbian politics being led by the Montenegrin ruling parties.

.... Belgrade won't likley bust out the napolitanke for Miodrag

Soc said that the Montenegrin Government is leading hateful politics against everything that is Serbian, and added that, if Montenegro gains independence, relations with Serbia will worsen and that Montenegro will be woven into the Great Albania project. He also said that if Montenegro becomes independent, visas will be imposed on Montenegrin citizens and that they will be considered foreigners in Serbia.

Liberal Party leader Milodrag Zivkovic dismissed the claims that Montenegro is leading anti-Serbian politics as “a repulsive claim.”

He said that relations will only better once independence is gained and that the eventual anger of Serbia over this will last several months, at the most.

Vlahovic and Zivkovic accused the bloc supporting the union of using the talks of visas, passports and borders to scare the Montenegrin citizens and promote fear.

According to the Montenegrin Government, there are 19,000 more registered voters in Montenegro today, in light of the May referendum, than for the parliamentary elections in 2002. Citizens have until May 10 to register if they wish to participate in the independence referendum.

Kosovo Serb leader hails Albanian visit

PEC, Serbia-Montenegro, April 24 (UPI) -- A Kosovo Serb leader Monday praised a history-making visit of Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian president to mark the Serb Orthodox Easter Sunday.

Oliver Ivanovic, the leader of the moderate Serbs in Kosovo, praised the visit, the first at such a high level since 1999, of Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian President Fatmir Sejdiu, a Muslim, the Serbian Beta news agency reported.

Sejdiu visited the medieval Decani monastery near Pec where he met Serbian Christian Orthodox Bishop Teodosije Sunday.

Ivanovic welcomed Sejdiu's visit saying the "deeds speak more than words," Pristina electronic media reported.

Kosovo ethnic-Albanian Prime Minister Agim Ceku Sunday visited two villages at Pec, close to Decani monastery, to donate two tractors to Serb farmers.

Ceku's request to visit Gracanica Monastery near Pristina was turned down by a Serbian bishop who argued he could not accept Ceku's Easter visit until his residence is refurbished and Serbs refugees are returned to their homes.

In March 2004, ethnic-Albanian extremists destroyed numerous Serbian houses and churches.

Serbs and ethnic-Albanians have been conducting U.N.-mediated talks to decided on the future status of Kosovo.

Kosovo, formally still part of Serbia, has been governed by a U.N. mission and protected by NATO troops since 1999, when Serbian forces were expelled from Kosovo.

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Alleged Mladic aide held in Serbia

24/04/2006 - 18:46:44

Another alleged ally of top UN war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has been detained on suspicion of helping the general to evade arrest, a lawyer said today.

Ratko Vucetic, a retired Bosnian Serb officer, was detained on Saturday, apparently as part of government efforts to hunt down Mladic by an end-of-April European Union deadline, said Vucetic’s lawyer Branko Butolen.

Butolen said that a judge questioned Vucetic today and ordered him kept in detention for 30 days, pending an investigation.

Ratko Mladic - won't be smiling for long....

Vucetic is the sixth alleged aide to Mladic arrested in the past few months, since the Serbian government stepped up measures to located the fugitive general.

Mladic is sought by the UN war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, on genocide charges for allegedly orchestrating the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.

The European Union has threatened to suspend ongoing talks with Belgrade on establishing closer ties, unless Mladic is handed over to The Hague tribunal by the end of this month.

The UN court officials have insisted that Mladic is hiding in Serbia under the protection of military hardliners.

A nationalist politician, Aleksandar Vucic, today protested the arrests of Mladic’s aides, and urged the government to end its “witch hunt against those who have defended the Serb people.”

Vucic claimed that Vucetic was seriously ill and an invalid.

Vucetic’s lawyer Butolen said his client lost a foot and a finger in the war, and had heart problems.