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Tillbaka till hemsidan
June 05
- BELGRADE: The latest research by the "Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut" Health Protection Institute shows that 48% of the men and 37% of the women in Serbia are smokers, meaning that Serbia smokes 73 tons of
cigarrettes or 3 million euros per day.
"Glas javnosti", 1. 6. 2005.
- PODGORICA: A law on prevention of ethnic discrimination will be debated in the Montenegran Parliament soon. The law was prepared by the Serbian Popular Party whose president, Andrija Mandic, says: Serbs, who make up 32% of the population of Montenegro, are deprived of all the rights in the areas of culture, press and employment in the state administration. In the Montenegran police - less than 1% are Serbs. "The law we are proposing is not going to protect only the rights of Serbs but also Muslims, Bosniaks and Albanians. The discrimination which is now obviously directed against the Serb community, could be directed tomorrow against some other community living in Montenegro and we want to prevent it legally", says Mandic.
"Vecernje novosti", 1. 6. 2005.
- PODGORICA: It is estimated that around 300.000 citizens in Montengro are smokers, of which 40% are women. Over 1.000 people in Montenegro die per year from the cosequences of smoking, said Nebojsa Crnogorac yesterday, president of the Anti-Cancer Society in Montenegro.
"Danas", 1. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Dr Slavisa Dobricanin of the Coordination Center for Kosovo says that the remains of 24 victims have been found in Volujak in Kosovo and the remains of 13 victims of Albanian crimes have been found in Malisevo. "It is unknown how many victims there were in the cave in Volujak, it is hard to do a reconstruction", says Dobricanin. He says that the DNA analysis are performed in Tuzla and the bodies are autopsied in Orahovac.
"We have identified 8 people. They are Serbs from Orahovac who went missing in the summer of 1998. Their remains were found in Volujak in 1999 and then they were transferred to Pec and buried in the local Muslim cemetery. Last year they were exhumed and samples were sent to Tuzla for DNA analyses. The results of the analyses were released six weeks ago. It was probably the motive to start the recent exhumations in Volujak", says Dobricanin.
He says that the big problem with identifying the victims is the fact that the closest relatives of many of them haven't given their blood samples to compare with the results of the DNA tests.
"Glas javnosti", 2. 6. 2005.
- SUBOTICA: An incident took place during the celebration of the highschool graduation in a restaurant in Palic last weekend, that caused the fear to arise again that interethnic incidents were back in the area of Subotica.
The Hungarian authority has reacted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hungarian Prime Minister, Ferenc Djurcanj demanded that the municipal authorities take urgent steps and prevent any ethnic conflicts.
According to a statement that Albert Boros has given to some news media, the incident started when one of the girls who were at the celebration heard him and his friend speaking Hungarian on a bench in the park outside the restaurant and said to them, "Go to Hungary, this is Serbia". Boros said that soon after that another two boys came out of the restaurant and started to provoke him and his friend. They told them they didn't want any problems but then the boys from the celebration started to attack them physically - they hit Boros, he fell to the ground and when he tried to get up someone hit him in the face with a beer bottle. After that he and his friend called the police who interrogated all the participants and witnesses of the conflict.
However, a police report issued on Tuesday contains a different version of the event: what caused the incident was Albert Boros who tried to make a move on the girls outside the restaurant. The boyfriend of one of the girls, Srdjan Cvijanovic, became so angry that first he dragged the girl back inside and then went back determined to deal with Boros. Then a fight started between Cvijanovic and Boros in which Boros was slightly injured. He "refused to go to a doctor for help but the policemen instisted so he went to see a doctor after all", says the police report. Charges are brought against Cvijanovic for starting the fight. It was just a jealous fight over a girl.
The incident took place 24 hours after the closing of the "Camp of Tolerance" organized by the Parliaments of Serbia and Hungary for the young people to learn about tolerance and co-existence through interaction and education.
"Danas", 2. 6. 2005.
- ZAJECAR: It is possible to open a pig farm on hospital grounds and the proof is the pig farm on the grounds of the hospital in Zajecar. It was opened some time ago in one of the abandoned wards, right next to the pectoral ward.
The farm was started the moment the management of the Health Center decided that it was much better to use the patients' leftover food to feed pigs rather than throw them away. The farm has up to ten pigs.
The doormen look after the pigs. Besides controlling the entrance to the hospital, the doormen's duty is also to feed the pigs and clean after them. They do both jobs in the same clothes regardless of the possiblity that they might transmit some infection to other people.
Inspectors have examined the hygiene in the hospital on several occasions but none of them have objected to the fact that there is a pig farm in the very center of the hospital grounds.
"Danas", 2. 6. 2005.
- BOR: The average age of the population in eastern Serbia is 48 and 27% of the population is over 60 years old.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Jelena Markovic, assistant to the federal Minister of Human and Minority Rights, says that there won't be any mass deportations of the citizens of Serbia&Montenegro from the West. The process of readmission, i.e. the return of the persons with no residence visa in western European countries, started immediately after the democratic reforms in 2000. "We insisted that a limited number of people be returned so they could be 'absorbed' economically and socially and it is respected more or less. In 2003, around 1.000 citizens were returned from Germany", says Markovic.She estimates that in western Europe there are around 200.000 citizens of Serbia&Montenegro without legal residence and in some countries laws are being passed to liberize the residence so the number of those planned for return is decreasing.
A special problem are people from Kosovo. There are 55.000 only in Germany, of which 38.000 are non-Albanian.The German authorities have started sending Egyptians, Ashkalia, Bosniaks, Gorans and Turks back to Kosovo, but not Roma and Serbs. Markovic says that this started without any control or influence from Belgrade and UNMIK is issuing the permissions for these people's return. The UN Resolution 1244 insists that the citizens of non-Albanian nationality should not be sent back to Kosovo before safe conditions for their return are created. Nevertheless, Germany has signed a bilateral readmission agreement with UNMIK. According to the agreement, the UN Mission has to guarantee safety for these people. Germans announce that, for now, they will not send any Roma back to Kosovo. Markovic says that Belgrade has insisted that members of Kosovo minorities shouldn't be forced back to the Province because if there is
no safety conditions for Roma, then how can anyone say that there are safety conditions for Egyptians or Ashkalia. She says that the possiblity for non-Albanians from Kosovo to be returned to central Serbia was never brought up during the talks with the representatives
of western countries and all the countries have a fair position on that, except for some sporadic cases.She emphasizes that the biggest problem is the readmission of Roma
from central Serbia because it is a group with major social problems - problems with housing, with residence, most children only speak Roma language and the language of the western country from which they are being deported so their reintegration will be an additional obligation for the state. There is a strategy and an action plan for the integration of the citizens of Serbia&Montenegro who are being returned under the readmission agreement but there is no funds, says Markovic. She says that the EU has expressed willingness to provide financial support, but Serbia&Montenegro hasn't used any of those funds yet.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Governments of Serbia and Montenegro haven't completely met the minimum standards in the elimination of people trafficking but they have made some significant efforts, says the State Department's annunal report on people trafficking. "Serbia&Montenegro is a country of origin, transit or final destination of the trafficking in girls and women for sexual exploitation", says the report and stresses that trafficking in Roma children who are forced to beg is still a problem in Serbia&Montenegro. Victims of people trafficking in Serbia&Montenegro come from Ukrain, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, as well as former Yugoslav republics.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 6. 2005.
- NOVO MESTO (Slovenia): Yesterday around midnight, two women lost their life in an explosion in the Roma settlement of Dobruska near Novo Mesto.The police department in Novo Mesto has stated that an unidentified person threw an explosive device on the house and according to the Slovenian POP TV, it was an army hand grenade. The TV station reports that a similar attack also took place in the beginning of May, in the settlement of Brezje near Novo Mesto.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 6. 2005.
- KRAGUJEVAC: Slavica Stevanovic, local commissioner for refugees in Kragujevac, says that the closing of the "Graditelj" collective center should have started 2 weeks ago but around 40 IDPs from Kosovo housed in the "Graditelj" refused to move to the collective center in Trmbas.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 6. 2005.
- SKOPJE: The weather forecast, part of the news in Albanian on the Channel 2 of the national Macedonian Television, only brings information about the weather in the north-west of the FYR of Macedonia. The list of temperatures only contains the settlements with
ethnic Albanian population. The forecast doesn't bring any information whatsoever about the weather in eastern or southern Macedonia. Blerim Iseni, editor-in-chief of the News program in Albanian, says that there are the towns in the east of the country are not covered by the weather forecast only due to technical reasons. His deputy, Kadri Idrizi, says that there have never been any objections from the viewers to the weather forecast.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: In its session on Saturday, the Roma National Council of Serbia&Montenegro adopted a number of action plans for the improvement of the situation of Roma, the decision to grant scholarships for 84 high school and college students of Roma nationality and the Council's financial report was also presented. The chairman of the executive board, Srdjan Sajn, resigned because he is unsatisfied with the work of
the president of the Council, Vitomir Mihajlovic.
"Danas", 6. 6. 2005.
- KNIN: The coalition of the Croatian Democratic Union with two right wing parties - the Croatian Block and the Croatian Party of Rights will be in power in Knin in the next 4 years. So the Independent Democratic Serb Party is in opposition although it has the most representatives in the local parliament.The representatives of Serbs qualify the coalition as fascist and announce that they weill reconsider further cooperation with the Croatia Democratic Community on the state level.Vojislav Stanimirovic, president of the Independent Democratic Serb Party, stresses that before and since the local elections in Croatia, the attitude of the Croatian public and population towards the Serb ethnic minority has deterriorated.
"Vecernje novosti", 5. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: More than 500 persons - staff, patients and visitors - in the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, are exposed every day for the last 28 years to the radiation coming from 4,5 grams of Ra-226 stored in the Institute. A flood, a fire, an earthquake or a bomb explosion could throw the Ra-226 out into the city's water and
sewage system and Belgrade would be faced with a catastrophe. According to Dr Slobodan Cikaric who is working in the Institute for Oncology and Radiology, a few hundred radium tubes and needles used in the treatment of malignant tumors until 1977 are stored in an unnamed location in the center of Belgrade. We have found out from several
sources that the location is precisely the Institute for Oncology.
"Blic", 4. 6. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Zoran Pusic, president of the City Committee for Human Rights in Zagreb, says: "There is an extreme right group in Croatia which is becoming louder and louder . The group is relatively well organized and has its supporters from the Croatian Academy to veteran associations/.../ They are now being very critical about the new, pro-European policy of the Croatian Democratic Community and it seems to me that the Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, with his pro-European policy, is much more threatened by this extreme right than by any other political or non-governmental organization in Croatia".
"Glas javnosti", 3. 6. 2005.
- KRAGUJEVAC: Slavica Stevanovic, local commissioner for refugees in Kragujevac, says that there were 12 collective centers in this city in 1999 and now there are only 4 left. She announced that the collective center in the part of Kragujevac called Aerodrom will soon be closed. She says that the closing of the three remaining centers is not planned
for now but some of them could be closed by the end of the year.
"Glas javnosti", 3. 6. 2005.
- PRISTINA: The remains of Zivko Gogic (aged 71) and his son Slavko (aged 44) of Sredska near Prizren were buried in the orthodox cemetery in Pristina yesterday. They were killed in Tuses near Prizren in 1999. Their bodies were autopsied in 2000 and identified on May 18th, 2005, said Slavisa Dobricanin of the Coordination Center for Kosovo.
"Danas", 3. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, has characterized the cancellation of the arrest warrant for Slobodan Milosevic's wife as "a dangerous precedent" and asked whether "just the word of the lawyers of murderers and criminals, drug dealers, people traffickers will be enough to cancel arrest warrants against the criminals". The Otpor coordinator in Pozarevac said that the cancellation of the arrest warrant was "a proof that our justice system doesn't exist".
"Blic", 3. 6. 2005.
- VISEGRAD: Stojanka Dalfogo of Visegrad appeals to the public in Republika Srpska and Bosnia&Herzegovina to protect Serb prisoners from Bosniak prisoners in the jail in Zenica where her brother Vlastimir is serving a sentence for a crime committed in the area of Sarajevo.
"Vlastimir has managed to phone me and ask me to inform the public that the prisoners of Serb nationality are in danger because the Bosniak prisoners have been threatening to lynch them since the video footage of the killing of Muslims from Srebrenica was shown on TV", says Dalfogo. She says that the Serb prisoners are requesting immediate transfer to one of the prisons in Republika Srpska "because they are not in a normal prison now but in a kind of a concentration camp where their life is in danger every day and none of the prison authorities is doing nothing", says Dalfogo.
"Glas javnosti", 6. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Red Cross of Serbia is in a difficult situation. Although working in more and more difficult conditions, the municiple Red Cross organizations are still performing their duties thanks, above all, to numerous volunteers. Although our country has signed the Geneva Convention, obligating it to provide funds for the projects and structure of the national Red Cross, it hasn't done so in the last ten years of economic crisis.
Today when international donations are cancelled, the Red Cross is struggling to continue its work."The ICRC officially stopped distributing humanitarian aid in our country last year redirecting the funds to development programs: working with youth, blood transfusions and programs for old people. So we stayed without the most important source of funds", says Vesna Milenovic, secretary of the Red Cross of Serbia. In the last two years, the basis for funding the Red Cross of Serbia, the Red Cross organizations of Vojvodina and Kosovo, the 5 city organizations and the 177 municipal organizations have been the games of chance. But it is still insufficient considering the activities of our biggest and oldest organization. "Over the last decade, we received 650.000 tons of food aid and not cash as it is believed usually. The aid was distributed by around 600 professionals which is the total number of Red Cross employees in the country and 6.000 volunteers. It is clear that for the state we are the cheapest apparatus and that's why it assigns projects to us", says Milenovic.In the beginning of May, the Parliament adopted a Draft law on the Red Cross of Serbia and now the procedure for passing the Law is expected in the Parliament. The Law is expected to provide an accurate definition of the position of the Red Cross in the society. The Law is modelled on the European regulations. Only on the adoption of the Law, the Red Cross will be able to raise the necessary funds for the continuation of the activities for which it was established in the first place 130 years ago.
"Vecernje novosti", 6. 6. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: 2/3 of the Serbs and half the Croats and Bosniaks in Bosnia&Herzegovina believe that Bosnia&Herz. could become a target for terrorist attacks after this country's soldiers went to Iraq. According to an opinion poll conducted by the "Puls" agency, 87% of the citizens in Bosnia&Herzegovina don't support last week's departure of 30 soldiers and 6 officers of the Army of Bosnia&Herzegovina to Iraq.
"Danas", 7. 6. 2005.
- PIROT: The soup-kitchen in Pirot stopped working on May 31st. It was financed by the Serbian Government. The secretary of the municiple Red Cross organization, Miroljub Mijic, says that the local self-government is expected to provide funds from the local budget for the continuation of the soup-kitchen program until autumn when donations from
international humanitarian organizations are expected to start coming in again. The soup-kitchen had 370 beneficiaries.
"Blic", 6. 6. 2005.
- ARANDJELOVAC: The USAID has delivered computer, audio and sports equipment worth 240.000 dinars to the Roma humanitarian center in Arandjelovac and the local community's contribution was worth 28.000 dinars.
"Blic", 6. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Most countries of the West have decided to reject the asylum applications submitted by Kosovo Albanians, Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptians. Former asylum seekers arrive at the Pristina airport every day and from that moment on, they are left all to themselves. Kosovo Ombudsman, Marek Antoni Novicki, in his article published in
yesterday's "Koha ditore", warns of the negative consequences of these people's forced return, primarily due to social problems, but also ethnic tensions and lack of social adjustment. Some European countries have signed an agreement with UNMIK on forced
return of persons from Kosovo. Among these countries is Germany from which the arrival is expected of around 60.000 Roma exiled from Kosovo in 1999. The Government of Kosovo thinks that this has both a positive and a negative side. The positive is that it is a sign that the situation in the Province is improving and the negative is that the
people don't get any support on their return to Kosovo. "The Government is concerned for financial reasons about the decision of the German authorities to return the Roma. However, since the German authorities signed the readmission agreement with UNMIK, the problem is entirely in the hands of the administration of the Civil Mission to
Kosovo. We don't have sufficient funds to accept those people adequately. Most Roma were left without roofs over their heads during or after the war. They also need jobs and we are in a very difficult economic situation. The problem of return of Roma and Serbs is no
longer political. Simply, we don't have enough money", said Daut Dauti for "Glas javnosti". He is a spokesman for the Kosovo Government.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The police have arrested Miroslav Zonjic (aged 43) of Belgrade and brought charges against Agron Keljmendi (aged 45) of Pec suspected of obtaining illegaly more than 800.000 euros. Zonjic was forging powers of attorney for selling the properties owned by displaced Serbs in the area of Pec and Keljmendi was finding buyers, mostly of Albanian nationality.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 6. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Zagreb "Vecernji list" daily brings the results of a recent opinion poll conducted by GFK: Croats like Germany and Austria the best - 89% gave a positive mark for Germany and 88% gave a positive mark for Austria, and they still dislike Serbia&Montenegro the most, but unlike 4 years ago when only 4% gave a positive mark for Serbia&Montenegro, this year 21% gave a positive mark.The positive attitude has increased significantly towards Bosnia&Herzegovina - 4 years ago, only 27% gave it a positive mark and this year - 62%. The United States and Slovenia received 47% positive marks and 4 years ago, they received 82%,
"Glas javnosti", 11. 6. 2005.
- NIS: The equipment for future owners of handicraft businesses is delivered to 4 persons as part of the project "Promotion of self-sufficiency of Roma and their reeducation and training" that involved 4 groups of students in the "Rom - Sait Balic" Society in Nis.
Osman Vasic received the equipment for an autoelectric shop, Ahmet Memisevic - for a hairdresser's parlour, Rabija Ibisevic also for a hairdresser's parlour and Silvija Sacipovic - for a tailor's shop.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 6. 2005.
- PARACIN: Around 600 meals per day were prepared in the soup-kitchen in Paracin until June 1st and then the donation contract expired that the local Red Cross had with the Norwegian Red Cross and the Serbian Government so the number of beneficiaries has to be cut by a half. "From now on, the preparation of meals will be financed only by the
local self-government so we are putting together a list of 300 most needy people who will have the right to keep getting the meals in the soup-kitchen. It will be mostly the beneficiaries of the public assistance allowance", says Slobodan Djordjevic, secretary of the municipal Red Cross organization in Paracin.The local Red Cross gets around 1.000 applications for this form of aid per year.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 6. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: The preliminary list with 8.106 names of the persons who went missing during the fall of Srebrenica in 1995, was published for the first time in Sarajevo yesterday. The Sarajevo "Dnevni avaz" daily in a special supplement on 24 pages published a list with the names and basic data on Srebrenica victims, put together by the Commission for
the Search for Missing Persons of the Federation of Bosnia&Herzegovina during 10 years of work.
"Glas javnosti", 12. 6. 2005.
- NIS: Nationalistic graffiti directed against Muslims and glorifying Ratko Mladic and the paramilitary formation "Scorpions" dawned yesterday on the facades of the Islam-aga Mosque and the Municipal Hall of the commune of Palilula in Nis. On the Mosque, which is under reparation, someone wrote in big letters "Natasa Kandic 21st century muslim", "General Mladic, thank you for Srebrenica" and "Serbian hero". The graffiti on the Mosque is removed, unlike the graffiti on the Municipal Hall reading "Knife, wire,
Srebrenica", "Scorpions Serbian heroes", "Ratko Mladic", "Serbia to Serbs, Turks get out of here" which are not removed. Miroslav Djordjevic, president of the municipality of Palilula, one of the 5 Nis municipalities, condemned the graffiti yesterday saying that he was "disgusted and shocked". The citizens of Nis also condemn the grafitti and the police is looking for the perpetrators.
"Blic", 12. 6. 2005.
- VISEGRAD: The Union for the Coordination of Refugees and IDPs Associations in Republika Srpska is calling upon the Government of Srpska to set up a commission for evoking and marking war crimes committed against Serbs during the war in Bosnia&Herzegovina, said the president of the Union, Veljko Stevanovic.
"Danas", 13. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Ice and snow, plastic toilet bowl lids, frogs, brandy, herbs, sticks and wips, powder-puffs, pipes, matches, brushes, buttons, brooms, whey.... are among the numerous bizzare products imported into
Serbia. Last year Serbia imported for example, 365.000 US dollars worth of
playing cards and snooker equipment; 1,2 million dollars worth of fishing rods; 2,8 million dollars worth of onion and garlic. "Every year our import gets more and more diverse. The demand is getting more and more subtle but also more demanding. Another reason for the increase in the import of these interesting products is the increase in the buying power and in some cases it is impossible for the domestic production to satisfy this buying power", explains m.a.Goran Nikolic, assistant investigator in the Economic Chamber of the Republic of Serbia.
"Blic", 14. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The heads of the clubs in the Serbian Parliament and the president of the Parliament, Predrag Markovic, are to finish today the text of the declaration to condemn all the crimes committed on the territory of former Yugoslavia.
The declaration calls for the individuals to answer for the crimes and not to attribute the crimes to an entire people and expresses hope that the parliaments of other countries will also condemn all the crimes.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The last 6 years, since the international community occupied Kosovo, is the most difficult period in the history for Kosovo Serbs. Under the auspices of nearly 50.000 troops of UNMIK and KFOR, over 250.000 Serbs left their homes and only around 1.000 have returned so far! To make the tragedy worse, the exodus continues and all the Serbs in Kosovo live in ghettos except for the north part of the Province which is connected to Serbia "proper". Since the establishment of the international protectorate, around 2.500 Serbs have been killed or kidnapped, more than 80.000 houses, apartments and business premises have been usurped or torched; before the very eyes of UNMIK and KFOR, Albanians torched or erased from the face of the earth as many as 150 orthodox monasteries and churches, most of which date from 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th century. How inclined the international community is towards Albanians shows the fact that in the same period, as many as 80.000 houses have been built for Albanians and only around 800 for Serbs!
"Glas javnosti", 13. 6. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: Vice-president of the Coordination Center for 11 NGOs in Republika Srpska, Slavko Jovicic, has condemned the conference on "Srebrenica - beyond reasonable doubt" held in Belgrade two days ago and stressed that only one, anti-Serb truth was heard there. "It is a pity that the organizers didn't invite any of the NGO from Republika Srpska because the participants only told their truth wishing to reduce the suffering of the people in Bosnia&Herzegovina during the war to just the nine days of the Srebrenica tragedy". He stressed that the 11 NGOs gathered around the Coordination Center don't want to deny the horrible crimes committed by individual members of the Serb people but they can't accept what the conference in Belgrade tried to do - to attribute all the crimes to the Serb people in Republika Srpska and in Serbia. He reminded that during the war in Bosnia&Herzegovina, both Muslims and Croats and Serbs were killed and that members of all three ethnic groups committed crimes. "With a selective approach and by fabricating lies that were heard in Belgrade, the truth will never come out and it is the only precondition for the reconciliation of the people in Bosnia&Herzegovina", said Jovicic.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 6. 2005.
- GLAMOC (Federation of Bosnia&Herzegovina): Interethnic relations in Glamoc, whose population is made up of 4.500 Serb returnees, around 800 displaced Croats and around 1.000 Bosniaks, are disturbed and tense again after last week's torching of a flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the commune.
"This applies to all three constitutional nations who only live in harmony on the outside but as soon as some incident takes place, they immediately take religious or political sides", said the priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Glamoc, Slobodan Kljajic.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 6. 2005.
- CACAK: The main donors of the soup-kitchen in Cacak have withdrawn - the Norwegian, Austrian and German Red Cross organizations. The last donations came in towards the end of May and they will last another 2-3 months, says the secretary of the local Red Cross organization in Cacak, Bogoljub Maric. Unless a durable solution is found, the soup-kitchen in Cacak will be closed and around 700 citizens will stay without the only daily meal they could count on. Many of them live in the rural areas of the commune so they can't afford to come to the town every day to take over their meals in which cases the employees of the Red Cross deliver lunch-packages to their homes and this requires additional expenses.
The soup-kitchen needs around 700.000 dinars a month. The funds from the municipality are not enough and there ar no new donors although the soup-kitchen is supported by the companies "Znamgraf", "Ilijak", "Optimus", the "Kale" butcher's shop and farmers Stanimir Miletic of Cacak and Zivota Kojovic of Konjevici.
Unless an adequate solution is found, the social cases in Cacak will be faced with the same situation as the beneficiaries of this form of aid in 66 communes in Serbia, where the soup-kitchens are already closed.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 6. 2005.
- KIKINDA: Due to the withdrawal of the domestic and foreign donors, the number of beneficiaries of the soup-kitchen in Kikinda had to be cut by around 50 so now 400 most vulnerable local people get one meal a day here.
The secretary of the local Red Cross says that on June 1st, the municipality took over the financing of the soup-kitchen - it will provide 280.000 dinars per month for the foodstuffs and another 170.000 dinars for the preaparation of meals.
The soup-kitchen opened in 1994. The meal in the soup-kitchen is the only daily food for many of the beneficiaries. Besides the persons without any income, the most vulnerable beneficiaries of the soup-kitchen are pensioners.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 6. 2005.
- PRISTINA: The head of UNMIK, Soren Jesen Petersen, said in Belgrade yesterday that Serbs in Kosovo "won't have any freedom of movement as long as Belgrade claims that they don't have it and as long as Belgrade stops them from participating in the Kosovo institutions". "Status quo is untenable and that is why the negotiations on the future status will start by the end of the year", said Petersen in Pristina opening a 2-day conference on "The future status of Kosovo" organized by the Helsinky Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. He said that "Belgrade makes statements about Kosovo which do not coincide with the reality".
"Glas javnosti", 14. 6. 2005.
- ZAGREB: If Croatia joins the European Union by the year 2009, then Serbia&Montenegro should join the EU by 2014, said the new head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Jorge Fuentes Monzonis Villalonga.
"Glas javnosti", 14. 6. 2005.
- SKOPLJE: 68% of the women in Macedonia have a weapon, shows an opinion poll conducted as part of the "Women and armed violence in Macdonia" campaign. A thousand women aged between 18 and 60 took part in the poll: 29% said they have a weapon because of "love problems", 18,8% because of insecurity in their work place, 6,38% because of the problems with neighbours and passers-by and 18,08% because of the insecurity in the country.
"Glas javnosti", 14. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The draft law on the amendments of the Law on VAT is to be adopted by the end of June, which means that it should come into effect in the beginning of July. The most significant changes are the reducing of the VAT rate from 18% to 8% and VAT won't be paid, among other things, for the goods imported based on a donation agreement, i.e. as humanitarian aid.
"Danas", 14. 6. 2005.
- BEOGRAD: In the last 6 months, only around 100 Serbs returned to Kosovo and in the last 6 years, a total of 11.000 IDPs returned, of which only 5.000 Serbs. If the return process continues at this rate, it will take 3 centuries for all the displaced Serbs to return!
According to the official web-site of the Serbian Government, 212.381 IDPs have found refuge in Serbia and 29.500 IDPs in Montenegro, and another 20.000 Serbs are internally displaced within Kosovo. The return of IDPs is one of 8 standards that the international
community has set for Kosovo.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 6. 2005.
- NOVI PAZAR: The permission is granted to the Bosniak National Council in Serbia&Herzegovina to publish textbooks in Bosniak language. Esad Dzudzevic has announced at a press conference in Novi Pazar that the Ministry of Education and Sports has handed in the official permission also to the Center for Bosniak Studies in Tutin. "Our next goal is to open the Serbian market to the publishers from Sarajevo so our people can buy physics and maths textbooks. We hope it will happen soon", says Dzudzevic.
Dzudzevic said that the Ministry's decision was "the victory of democracy in the state and the victory of Bosniaks in Serbia".
"Glas javnosti", "Danas", 8. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: More and more often, employers come up with all sorts of contracts forcing female employees to oblige themselves not to get pregnant for a specific period. Or, even worse, those who get pregnant in the first year of the employment can get fired without any explanation.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 6. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Ante Nobilo, lawyer from Zagreb, has stated for the Rijeka "Novi list" daily that the "Storm" was also an operation of ethnic cleansing of Serbs. He reminded that organized crimes also occurred after the "Storm" - 16.000 buildings were torched and, according to the estimates by the Croatian Helsinky Committee, at least 700 civilians
were killed.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 6. 2005.
- SKOPJE: A group of armed Albanians has attacked a police patrol in Kondovo near Skopje, which caused fears from new ethnic conflicts in Macedonia, reported TV A1 of Skopje. According to this TV station, Albanian extremists attacked a police patrol in Kondovo on Sunday and held 4 policemen under siege for several hours. Although an occasional shooting was heard from the scene, no one was injured but some Macedonian news media have reported that the policemen were beaten up. The leader of the group is Agim Krasnici. He was keeping Kondovo under siege for nearly 2 months at the end of last year.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 6. 2005.
- PROKUPLJE: The Toplica County has a population of 103.000 now and in the last 10 years, 9.000 people left the County because of bad economic situation, said yesterday the president of the county, Nebojsa Milivojevic. Mostly young people left looking for jobs and better living conditions, said Milivojevic. If the migrations continue at the current rate, the County could stay without any population in 100 years. Most migrations are recorded in the commune of Kursumlija, along the administrative border to Kosovo - there are only 600 inhabitants in this zone which is 106 km wide along the Kosovo border. According to
Milivojevic, in this underdeveloped region, the migrations could be reduced by investing into the existing resources - fruit-growing, cattle farming and tourism.
"Glas javnosti", 10. 6. 2005.
- GRACANICA: Besides the education and health systems,"Kosmo mreza" ("Kosmo net") is the only link connecting Serbs in Kosovo after 1999. More than 25 local and regional radio stations are members of the "Kosmo mreza" which covers 80% of the territory of Kosovo.The new equipment and logistics for the first unique information
system for Serbs in Kosovo are entirely financed by the European Agency for Reconstruction and Development and the OSCE.
"Glas javnosti", 10. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: 70% of the young people in Serbia aged between 15 and 25 have never worked and 55% have been waiting for a job for more than 2 years.
"Glas javnosti", 9. 6. 2005.
- ZRENJANIN: The representatives of the municipal authorities in Zrenjanin together with the activists of the "Zrenjanin Education Center" NGO continue the action of removing the nationalistic graffiti and the chief of the Zrenjanin Police Department, Dragan Dragas, has
joined them, too. "It is 'fashionable' in Zrenjanin today to insult the Chinese", said Dusan Juvanin, deputy president of the municipality of Zrenjanin. "Something called 'white movements' do it. Because there are no black people here, they take out their rage on the Roma and the Chinese", said Juvanin.
"Glas javnosti", 9. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The cities of Belgrade and Chicago have signed a Chart of Brotherhood at the initiative of a team of American businessmen. Chicago already has 24 brother cities across the world.
"Danas", 8. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: President of the Serbian Parliament, Predrag Markovic, says that the salary of the members of the Parliament is around 70.000 dinars, the heads of the clubs get around 90.000 dinars and they receive their salaries every 40th day.
"Danas", 8. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Only 4% of the citizens have complete confidence in the Serbian Parliament, shows a research by the Center for Free Elections and Democracy conducted between March 25th and April 4th. "If the members of the Parliament continue to raise their salaries, it is likely that the few relatives and close friends who still trust them
will also abandon them",said Srecko Mihajlovic, coordinator of the research yesterday.
6% of the surveyed people have confidence in the Government, 7% in the justice system, 8% in the Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica; 44% have confidence in the army and the police and the confidence in the Serbian Orthodox Church is traditionally very high - 72%.
"Danas", 8. 6. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: The city will provide a location to open the Regional Office of the National Council of Roma in Novi Sad, in accordance with an agreement between Snezana Musicki, member of the City Council for Social Issues and Vitomir Mihajlovic, president of the National Council of Roma.
Representatives of the Roma Network have appealed to the city to suppor financially the Festival of Roma Poets of Serbia which is to be held in Novi Sad this summer and Musicki has said that the city is working on providing the premises for opening the People's Home for the Roma population, which has been emphasized by the representatives of the Roma network as a burning problem.
"Danas", 8. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: As of today, the United States is changing its economic policy towards Serbian&Montenegro. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice will sign a document granting more than 10 million dollars of aid for Serbia&Montenegro - said Nicholas Berns, American under-secretary of State at yesterday's conference in Belgrade. He said that this decision is the result of the progress achieved by Vojislav Kostunica's Government in the cooperation with the Hague Tribunal in the last three months.
"Danas", 10. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Fee reductions will be introduced for refugees and IDPs among others. For them, the Republic administration fee will be reduced by 70% for birth certificates, marriage and death certificates, for enrollment into a birth register and for obtaining notarized copies of these documents. This is one of the amendments to the Law on republic administration fees that the Government has submitted to the Parliament for immediate consideration.
"Danas", 10. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Every 6th traffic accident in Serbia takes place because drivers use mobile phones while driving.
"Blic", 9. 6. 2005.
- KOSOVO: Albanian-Serb Forum for exchanging information was opened yesterday at www.kosovakosovo.com in the partnership of the agencies Beta of Belgrade, Kosovalive of Pristina and Center for Democracy and Reconciliation of Tesaloniki.
"Blic", 10. 6. 2005.
- NIS: The time has come when you can hardly get a job in a hardware shop with a college diploma. A young medical doctor got fed up waiting for an employment and he heard that a hardware shop needed a shop assistant so he applied for the job. The owner of the shop first rejected him and then, after a long persuasion, he gave him the job with a comment: "F... the state where medical doctors sell nails".
"Blic", 10. 6. 2005.
- KRUSEVAC: According to the latest census of refugees carried out in January this year, Krusevac has 580 registered refugees of which 90 live in collective centers. When around 80 refugees move into 38 apartments in the part of town called Prnjavor 1, it will mean that housing problems will be solved for 90% of the refugees who have been living in the collective centers for more than 10 years. The other 10% will probably move to other collective centers and homes for old people so the remaining two collective centers in Krusevac will be closed - the collective center in the old elementary school in Citluk and the collective center in the "Jelenko" daycare in Ribarska Banja.Those who move into the apartments in Prnjavor 1 will have the status of tenants in the next 10 years after which time they will be able to buy the apartments at half the market price.
"Blic", 10. 6. 2005.
- PROKUPLJE: The first daycare for Roma children started working in Prokuplje yesterday. Around 100 children will be organized in 2 groups. Two teachers and a music professor will be working in the daycare.
"Blic", 10. 6. 2005.
- "Kosovo isn't a hell for any of its citizens, including Serbs", said Kosovo Prime Minister, Bajram Kosumi.
"Glas javnosti", 15. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The members of Vojislav Kostunica's cabinet got their last raise towards the end of last year so the Prime Minister's salary went up from 38.127 dinars to 106.000 dinars; the salary of the vice-president of the Government went up from 33.361 to 93.000 dinars; the ministers' salary went up from 32.408 to 90.000 dinars; deputy ministers started receiving 80.000 dinars a month and assistant ministers - around 70.000.
As of March, 2005, 30% of the Prime Minister's salary is paid to the account of the Fund for Kosovo and Metohija, meaning that Vojislav Kostunica puts around 30.000 dinars a month on the account for Kosovo.
"Glas javnosti", 15. 6. 2005.
- DUBROVNIK: The first regular bus service in 14 years between Croatia and Montenegro was reestablished yesterday at 7 am. when a bus left from Dubrovnik for Ulcinj.
"Glas javnosti", 15. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: In the census of refugees in Serbia finished in the beginning of this year, a total of 141.467 refugees from Bosnia&Herzegovina and Croatia confirmed their refugee status - 40.949 from Bosnia and 100.518 from Croatia.
87.000 persons from Bosnia and 42.000 persons from Croatia, who had refugee status before the census, didn't turn up for the registration, which means that Serbia now has 129.000 unregistered former refugees.
In Montenegro there are 6.103 refugees from Bosnia and 2.345 from Croatia, i.e. a total of 6.448 people with refugee status.
"Glas javnosti", 16. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: This year, parents will have to pay 2.098 dinars for a set of textbooks for the first grade of elementary school, 2.283 dinars if they child goes to the second grade, 2.539 for a set of textbooks for the third grade, 2.425 for the fourth, 3.587 for the fifth grade, 3.687 for the sixth, 4.214 for the seventh and 3.316 dinars if their child goes to eighth grade.
The average price for a textbook for elementary school is 210 dinars and for secondary school - 240 dinars.
"Vecernje novosti", 16. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The 400th convoy organized by UNHCR and the Danish Committee for Refugees left for Croatia yesterday taking 23 returnees back to their homes in the communes of Pakrac, Dvor, Petrinja and Sunja.
Since 1996, around 13.000 refugees have returned to Croatia in convoys organized by UNHCR and its partners in Serbia&Montenegro, and another 52.000 have returned spontaneously. This year 800 refugees have returned to Croatia and another 1.200 are on a waiting list.
The return of refugees is financed by the European Union and the European Agency for Reconstruction.
"Vecernje novosti", "Danas", 16. 6. 2005.
- UNMIK: Of around 4.100 persons displaced during last year's violence in Kosovo, 1.467 haven't returned to their homes yet, the UNMIK representatives have stated.
"Vecernje novosti", 16. 6. 2005.
- PRESEVO: The University of Nis was going to open a teachers college in Albanian in Presevo but it is not going to happen this year, announced the University.
The president of the University, Gradimir Milolvanovic, says that there have been talks with the representatives of the Albanian community and the OSCE about the initiative to open the college but it is necessary to wait for the new Law on universities to be adopted and then after that, it will be possible to implement the project.
The only problem in the project was that the Albanian political leaders wanted the teachers college to be a branch of Pristina University and to use the curriculum from Kosovo, and the Serbian authorities and the OSCE office opposed to this.
Riza Haljimi, president of the commune of Presevo, has stated that the idea was to open a teachers college as part of the University of Nis and to use this University's curriculum. He stressed that there was never any mention of Pristina University or what curriculum would be used. "Only in case there is no teaching staff from Serbia, someone from Gnjilane should come to Presevo to teach the classes in Albanian", says Haljimi.
"Danas", 15. 6. 2005.
- NIS: The international donors have completed their 5-year project of financing the soup-kitchens in Serbia so the financing is now left to the local Red Cross in Nis and the municipality. So the number of beneficiaries is cut from 1.200 down to 800 and the city needs to revise the out-dated lists of beneficiaries put together according to the old regulations which exclude the beneficiaries of the allowance for care and assistance by second persons because they exceed the financial limit for becoming a soup-kitchen beneficiary. They hope in Red Cross that the problem will be solved by the end of this week "so disabled persons and other persons dependent on other persons' care and assistance wouldn't be excluded from this form of aid which, in our view, is a necessary form of additional social support", says Mirjana Gocic, coordinator of the program activities in the Red Cross in Nis.
"Glas javnosti", 18. 6 2005.
- BELGRADE: Two days ago, the Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica delivered to the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oli Ren, a list with 260.000 names of Montenegran citizens living in Serbia demanding the right to vote in the referendum on independence of Montenegro. It caused harsh reactions in Podgorica and Belgrade.
Zoran Stojkovic, Serbian Minister of Justice, has stated that Kostunica's action isn't an act of interference in other state's affairs but "it is an attempt to establish the European criteria for the referendum".
"Danas", 18.-19. 6. 2005; "Blic", 19. 6. 2005.
- CACAK: The police have arrested the director and two cashiers of the Social Work Center in Cacak suspected of the abuse of authority and of forging official documents. The judge of the County Court in Cacak confirmed yesterday that the director of the Center, Delfina Coric (aged 51) and the cashiers Dragica Stefanovic (42) and Zorica Lazovic (39) are arrested. He says that they are suspected of embezzling 2,6 million dinars between the
year 2004 and March of 2005. The director is accused of forging 1.155 documents granting public assistance allowance to nonexistent persons, in individual amounts of 500 to 2.500 dinars and the cashiers were paying the money in accordance with those documents.
"Glas javnosti", 17. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: There is no other way, except for independence of Kosovo, regardless of the victims - said Hamdi Aliu, deputy president of the (multi-ethnic) commune of Strpce, at a rally held in the village of Firaja dedicated to June 12th, the day of the arrival of the NATO in Kosovo in 1999.According to a report that we have received from the municipality of Strpce, Aliu said that "June 12th will be even nicer when the generals and veterans of UCK stop rotting in jails over fabricated accusations of the regime in Belgrade"."June 12th represents a symbol for our people and for Kosovo. It is a day when slavery, discrimination, chaos and planned Serbian genocide were defeated by the liberators, boys and girls of Kosovo. In cooperation with the NATO, Kosovo is breathing more easily today and the road towards Kosovo turning into a state is now open", said Aliu.Firaja is a mono-ethnic Albanian village on the territory of the commune of Strpce. The majority population in the commune is Serbs, there are around 10.000 of them and there are several times less Albanians.Hamdi Aliu is a member of Hasim Taci's Democratic Party of Kosovo.
"Vecernje novosti", 17. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: 43% if the surveyed citizens of Serbia would extradite Ratko Mladic to the Hague Tribunal at this moment.20% believe that he should be extradited because he is guilty of war crimes and 23,3% believe that it should be done so we can enter the EU.For 37% of the citizens, the extradition of Ratko Mladic is still out of the question, shows a research that the "Strategic Marketing" agency carried out for the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.
"Blic", 17. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: 139.483 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia&Herzegovina were registered in Serbia a few months ago.According to UNHCR, 70.000 refugees have returned from Serbia&Montenegro to Bosnia&Herzegovina, 50.000 have returned to Croatia and 90.000 refugees went to third countries, most of all to the United States, Canada and Australia.The Commission for Refugees has on its records around 300.000 refugees who either obtained the citizenship of Serbia&Montenegro by March, 2005, or they are "in the procedure".There are over 200.000 IDPs in Serbia and another 18.000 in Montenegro. According to UNHCR, 12.000 Serbs, Roma, Ashkalia and other
non-Albanians have returned to kosovo. During the March violence last year, more than 4.000 people were displaced, mostly within the Province. Every third is still in displacement because, as announced by the Group 484, "those people are afraid to return to their homes for security reasons, although their homes are reconstructed and more comfortable than the temporary accommodation for IDPs".
"Danas", 20. 6. 2005.
- KRUSEVAC: Unemployed persons from the communes of Aleksandrovac, Brus, Trstenik, Priboj and Prijepolje can apply as of today for a credit granted from USAID. USAID has provided a budget of 300.000 US dollars for the program.The best projects will get equipment worth up to 5.000 dollars. One of the requirements is that an applicant should invest 25% of the total value of his/her project.The credits are granted as a present, not as a loan.
"Danas", 20. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Anti-corruption Committee is "acting outside its jurisdiction and behaving like an oppositional party's organ", said Zoran Stojkovic, Serbian Minister of Justice. He implied that the Committee will be abolished once an independent anti-corruption agency is established. "The Committee requested to continue its work but it wouldn't be desirable because it would call for much higher expenses", said Stojkovic.
"Blic", 20. 6. 2005.
- PODGORICA: According to the official census, there are 5.000 Roma living in Montenegro but their real number is estimated at 4 times as many. The sale of pretty and deligent girls is flourishing among this population. A father wants and gets 6.000-10.000 euros for a daughter, announced Nada Koprivica, coordinator of SOS phones."If a girl of Roma nationality has elementary education, her price drops because then the groom and his parents believe that she will be disobedient", says Koprivica.The money paid for a bride is also a guarantee that the groom won't leave her just like that.It is estimated that around 120 Roma girls are sold into marriage every year.The latest investigations suggest that Roma women start having sex at the age of 14 and they have their first child at the age of 15. An investigation by the Podgorica based "Juventus" Youth Cultural Center shows that the brides, married for the reasons of family business and tradition, have babies until their husbands decide differently. Especially highly rated are newborn girls because when they grow up, they can get their families out of the poverty.
"Kurir", 21. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Yesterday morning Stojan Kovacevic (aged 53), refugee from Croatia, set himself on fire outside the UNHCR office in Belgrade. He decided to do it on the Day of Refugees and IDPs as a way to protest against the Commission for Refugees who won't get him a resident visa for a third country. He poured farmaceutical petrol on his arm and lit it! The doctors in the Clinic for Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery determined severe injuries to the left arm. "I can't suffer any more. I am deprived of all rights and I won't be treated like cattle. UNHCR took away my refugee status in February so I don't have a health security booklet and they don't want to provide me a visa for a third country. I don't exist for them. I had turned to them, wrote 50 letters, I begged and pleaded and there is nothing else left for me to do except to publically set myself on fire", says
Kovacevic.
"Kurir", 21. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: It is the tenth day today that Serbs and Roma of northern Mitrovica are gathering near the main bridge over the Ibar river which in the past 6 years was the natural and the last obstacle for Albanian extremists to occupy the north of the Province.
UNMIK administration opened the bridge for civil traffic 10 days ago. In the beginning, the bridge was open for an hour two times a day and now two hours. Unless there is no major incidents, the bridge will stay open during the entire day as of July 18th.
Serbs are afraid that the opening of the bridge will enable new attacks, similar to those occurred on March 17th, 2004. They don't trust the Kosovo Police Service which is guarding the bridge because its members participated in last year's violence against Serbs. They demand from UNMIK and KFOR to look after the safety in accordance with the UN Resolution 1244. The Albanians are hoping by taking the north of the Province to
"complete" the territory and get independence. On the other hand, the Serbs want to go to the southern section of Mitrovica and further south to the central and other parts of Kosovo.
It is little known that the Albanians from the southern section have been crossing the main bridge on foot every day in the last 6 years and going to the northern section where around 3.000 Albanians are living and where the Muslim cemetery is located. Very few Serbs, except for some journalists and the employees in the international institutions, can say that they have crossed the main bridge. Serbs walking free in the southern section is out of the question.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Since the beginning of the war in Bosnia&Herzegovina until the year 2002, at least 1.000 refugees in Serbia killed themselves. The refugees associations gathered these facts and since then, apparently, no one is keeping a record on the people who are taking their own life.The experts explain that the cause of such a large number of suicides is depression, incapability to overcome what they went through, although the real causes are much worse. In some recent studies, the experts of the Institute for Mental Health established that 64% of the refugees have been exposed to bombardment and shelling, 37% have relatives who died a violent death, 25% have relatives who were kidnapped, 8% of the refugees have been tortured themselves. The Institute for Mental Health has established that in Serbia around 29% of the refugees suffer from post-traumatic syndrome; 28,7% are taking sedatives because they suffer from depression, anxiety and emotional numbness. 75% of the refugees have high blood pressure, 14% have high blood sugar, 58% of the active female refugee population has had pathological gynecological tissue and 85% have neglected teeth.What has also been notice about the refugees in Serbia is that they rarely go to a doctor. In the first 7 years, 39% didn't see a doctor once, 11% went to a doctor once and 50% didn't use their health insurance. Refugees have the right to free health insurance and the money for their treatment is provided from the state budget. Apart from this, refugees, like all the unemployed persons in Serbia, don't pay participation for medical examinations and medicines.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- KRALJEVO: 80 refugees from Bosnia&Herzegovina and socially vulnerable local persons have moved into 30 apartments in Kraljevo.The Swiss ambassador to Serbia&Montenegro, Wilhelm Meyer, handed the keys to the future tenants yesterday. He said, "The project of social housing, that the SDC has implemented in 17 communes in Serbia, is among very important projects because the roof over your head is a condition for a person to feel human dignity", said Meyer.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- PODGORICA: The "YUimpex" company of Bijelo Polje was bottling their product, fruit juice, in containers made by the "Pirella" company, which containers had been collected from garbage dumps.This accusation comes from the "Pirella" company of Niksic.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: Head of the Public Relations Department of the International Commission for Missing Persons, Dawn Porter, has announced that 2.032 Srebrenica victims were identified by June 17th. She said at a press conference yesterday that the Commission is
expecting the remains of 550 persons will be ready for a funeral in Potocari on July 11th.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- KRALJEVO: Former inhabitants of the village of Ljug in Istok municipality, displaced Serbs who have found refuge in Kraljevo, are commenting with disbelief the promises about their forthcoming return to their homes in Kosovo. They didn't believe the words told to them by the Albanian leaders of the local self-government because what they saw in their village isn't giving them hope.The Kraljevo office of the Danish Refugee Committee has organized recently a tour for displaced Serbs of Ljug of their destroyed homes and robbed properties, and this visit upset them and postponed their hopes of return.
"The house where I had lived for decades is turned into a ruin. My parents' house is burnt down, too. Our orchard is destroyed, the tombstones in the cemetery are demolished. Are we supposed to return to such a devastation, there is no life for us there", says Ljiljana
Petrovic. Milorad Dubic from the nearby village of Suvi Lukavac is visiting the house recently built for him in Kosovo from time to time, but he is disappointed with the situation in the Province. "It is true that they have built some wooden houses for us, but no one is visiting us or helping us any more. We have no freedom of movement, we can't go to our
farmland, we have no income. How do we survive in a situation like that?", says Dubic.
The Albanian heads of Istok municipality tried to convince the displaced Serbs that they were trying to create adequate conditions for their return. Vedri Hasanaj, vice-president of the municipality, has said for TV Kraljevo that "the municipal budget is too small for the
reconstruction of all the destroyed houses" but they are working on it intensively. Hasana promised that the return would also be enabled for the Serbs who used to live in the town itself. "The Albanians have realized that it must be enabled for the Serbs who
used to live here to return to their properties, Kosovo must be multi-ethnic. It is international standards and we have to satisfy them", said Bajram Djeljaj, local commissioner for IDPs' return.Despite the encouraging tones from the local self-government and the fact that Istok municipality is "the safest municipality in Metohija",
displaced Serbs say that their return is becoming more and more uncertain.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- BAJINA BASTA: The Municipal Court in Bajina Basta has fined Valdimir Stamenic, representative of the Democratic Party in the local parliament - he is to pay 12.500 dinars to Luka Markovic who sued him for calling him an imposter during one of the sessions of the local parliament, stated the local branch of the Democratic Party in Bajina Basta.Stamenic said to Markovic that he was an imposter for voting with the representatives of the Radical Party and he had been elected as a candidate of New Serbia.Athough the Law on local self-government protects parliamentarians from being prosecuted for an opinion expressed in the parliament and the criminal law doesn't identify verbal delict as a crime, the judge of
the Municipal Court in Bajina Basta disregarded all this and proclaimed Stamenic guilty. As impartial witnesses in Markovic's case, the Court accepted two representatives of the Serbian Radical Party in the local parliament, stated the local branch of the Democratic Party in Bajina Basta.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The "TNS Medium Gallup" Agency has conducted an opinion poll among students who go to 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade of secondary school. As many as 43% want to go abroad to live after they complete their education. Srbobran Brankovic, director of the Agency, says "this is an alarming fact and the Serbian Government should think about it, unless it wants for Serbia to turn into an old people home that the young will only visit when they want to see their parents". 93% own a mobile phone, 74% own a computer and 58% have access to the internet.
"Vecernje novosti", 21. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Serbia is the 4th oldest population in the world.
"Blic", 21. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: In the end of May, the highest education authority in Serbia was finally formed - the National Education Council. In a large number of cases, the people recommended by eminent institutions such as the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the universities, expert associations and others, were not elected.For example, Vesna Markovic, biology teacher in Cacak, nominated by the parliamentarian Vesna Obradovic, became a member of the Council instead of Draga Simic, professor in the Faculty of Biology in Belgrade.Branislav Todorov, nominated by the parliamentarian Ivan Josimov, was elected instead of Zdravko Milinkovic, nominated by the Society of Visual Arts Pedagogs of Serbia. Natasa Stojanovic, pedagog in the "Sveti Sava" Gymnasium in Belgrade, was nominated by the parliamentarian Vladimir Andric and she was elected instead of the eminent pedagog and president of the Pedagogy Association of Serbia, Sonja Zarkovic, nominated by the Association.Divna Jovanovic, acting director of the 10th Gymnasium in Belgrade, nominated by the parliamentarian Svetlana Stojanovic, became a member of the National Education Council instead of Ivan Anicin, nominated by the Physics Society of Serbia.
"Blic", 21. 6. 2005.
- PARACIN: The refugees and IDPs who are living in the medical dispensary in Popovac, will get a roof over their heads. The Danish Refugee Council, the Commission for Refugees and the municipality have signed a contract providing the construction of 15 apartments for these people. The Danish Refugee Council will finance the construction and the Commission for Refugees and the municipality will fit the location with adequate infrastructure.
"Blic", 21. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The average salary in Serbia in May was 16.731 dinars (204 euros) which is 2,69% less than April and if the inflation rate is included, than it's a drop of 4,6%.The tabacco industry had the highest average salary in May - 54.434 dinars (663 euros). Bankers are in the second place with 39.063 dinars. The lowest average salary was in the textile industry - 4.216 dinars and in the industry of shoes and leather - 3.400 dinars.
"Vecernje novosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- KRALJEVO: 24 refugee families and 6 vulnerable local families have moved into a newly built apartment building in Kraljevo. The apartments are 25 - 55 sq meters in area. The construction of the apartments, fitted with basic home apppliances and furniture, was
financed by the SDC which invested 530.000 Swiss franks and the municipality of Kraljevo provided the location and the infrastructure.
"Vecernje novosti", 22. 6. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: On June 10th in the "Brvnara" club in Novi Sad, the extreme organization called the Movement for the Preservation of the Serbian National Entity, which is a member of the international neo-Nazi "Blood and Honor" network, organized the celebration of the 10th anniversary of its establishment in Serbia. Several skinhead bands took part in the celebration, among them bands from Great Britain and Slovakia.
The organizers of the celebration didn't allow any reporters into the club.
The owner of the club has stated for Radio 021 that it was a "private party" and he didn't know what kind of a concert it was.
Radio 021 in Novi Sad has announced that there are several "Blood and Honor" branches in Serbia - in Belgrade, Sabac, Novi Sad and Nis.
"Danas", 27. 6. 2005.
- KIKINDA: Yesterday Branislav Blazic, president of Kikinda municipality and high official of the Serbian Radical Party, proclaimed Natasa Kandic persona non grata in Kikinda. He said that the reason was that Natasa Kandic "is creating anti-Serbian hysteria and in this way making the life difficult for the citizens of Serbia".
Slobodan Beljanski, chairman of the Bar of Vojvodina, said yesterday that the president of Kikinda municipality had committed a cirminal offence by proclaiming Ms Kandic persona non grata in Kikinda. "It is legally impossible to do, and not only is it impossible but it is punishable by law, because discriminating the citizens based on their political stand or opinion is a criminal offence", said Beljanski.
"Danas", 24. 6. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: The "Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa" Association has denied stating that the Serbian President was not welcome in Srebrenica. Munira Subasic, president of the Association, has stated that the Association "never invited anyone to the commemoration on July 121 and it is not going to keep anyone from attending".
"Danas", 24. 6. 2005.
- BERLIN: Yesterday UNHCR appealed to the German authorities to apply a careful and individualized approach when expelling the members of the minorities in Kosovo who no longer have the legal right to stay in Germany. At the same time, UNHCR's assessment is that Serbs and Roma from Kosovo should not be expelled from Germany.
The German Government and UNMIK signed an agreement in April about the return of the members of Kosovo minorities. Under the agreement, the expulsion to Kosovo is possible only after an individual check and with UNMIK's approval.
The percentage of Serbs among Kosovo minorities in Germany is negligible.
The expulsion of Roma on a larger scale is not in the plans yet, so the agreement applies primarily to Ashkalia and Egyptians from Kosovo.
"Danas", 24. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Rajko Djuric, deputy editor-in-chief of the TANJUG news agency, has stated that Roma are the worst victims of the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, that the international community knows this but everyone is keeping quiet about it.
He said that around 260.000 Roma lived in Kosovo until 1999, that there is no Roma in Pristina now and in the rest of Kosovo, the Roma would be very easy to count, there is so few of them.
He said that on June 16th, the World Roma Association sent a letter to all the international organizations and heads of the states pointing out the unbearable situation of the Roma in Kosovo and that "a solution must be found for those people". A list of the missing and mistreated Roma was also enclosed with the letter.
"Danas", 24. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Recent studies show that the number of interethnic conflicts in Vojvodina is dropping compared to last autumn, said yesterday Vladimir Ilic, director of the Center for the Development of the Civil Society.
Presenting the findings of the monitoring mission "Winning back the lost confidence - ethnic relations in Vojvodina", he stressed that the decrease in the number of incidents doesn't mean that the interethnic relations are better.
Dragan Kalejski, member of the monitoring mission, emphasized that the investigation in three municipalities in the north of Vojvodina - Mali Idjos, Senta and Kanjiza - showed that the local Hungarian and Serb communities are living parallel lives. He stressed that it is especially present among young people, and there is a feeling of self-sufficiency among the majority Hungarian population, i.e. the lack of a need to integrate into the wider community.
"Danas", 24. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: President Boris Tadic has stated that he will attend the commemoration in Srebrenica "because a war crime took place there and some of my fellow countrymen committed it in the name of the people". He stressed that not nations but individuals are guilty for crimes. "I am going to pay my respects to the innocent vicitms on the 10th anniversary of the crime occurred there", said Tadic.
"Blic", 24. 6. 2005.
- CACAK: Although the local Police Department in Cacak has a special telephone number for reporting corruption, no calls have been received to this number in the last 5 months, said Milovan Petrovic, head of the Police Department.
"Blic", 24. 6. 2005.
- KRALJEVO: 50 of 140 collective centers in Serbia are scheduled for closing, said Dragisa Dabetic, Serbian Commissioner for Refugees.
"Blic", 26. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: When it comes to the corruption level, Serbia is ranked the same as Nicaragua and Lebanon.
"Blic", 26. 6. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: Paul Flin (pardon the spelling-Z), international prosecutor, has dropped the case against Branislav Popovic and Tomislav Vuckovic of Kosovska Mitrovica, who were accused of genocide in 1999.
"Blic", 25. 6. 2005.
- LOZNICA: 31 refugees, IDPs and local vulnerable people moved into 13 apartments in Loznica last weekend.
The construction of the apartments was financed by the Swiss Government with 208.000 franks and the municipality provided the infrastructure.
"Vecernje novosti", 27. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The salary for the members of the Serbian Parlaiment is 120.000 dinars and they get extra daily wages, and money for accommodation and for petrol.
But the culmination is the fact that they don't pay VAT in the Parliament's restaurant where the prices are very low as it is (for example, a Coke costs 10 dinars, a piece of bread costs 3 dinars, mixed grill wrapped in bacon - 110 dinars, etc.). The parliamentarians have voted the Law and this privilege themselves - under the Law on VAT, the restaurants working as part of the state administration agencies do not pay VAT.
"Kurir", 28. 6. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: The employees of the Kosovo Electric Corporation cut the electricity to Milorad Mazic, returnee to Klina, over a debt of 800 euros made by the Albanian who lived in Mazic's house until recently, said Rnadjel Nojkic, Serb representative in the Kosovo Parliament. He said that it was a form of pressure on Serb returnees of Klina and a message to those who plan to return that they are unwanted.
Nojkic appealed to UNMIK to solve the problem and protested against the Electric Corporation's request that Mazic should find those who lived in his house until recently to settle the debt.
There are 10 Serb returnee families living in Klina.
"Glas javnosti", 30. 6. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Instead of spending it's 13,7 million euro budget on creating conditions for the return of over 250.000 displaced Serbs, Kosovo Ministry of Return and Communities has bought 15 cars!
The Ministry has managed to bring back only around a hundred displaced Serbs to Kosovo so far.
"Glas javnosti", 30. 6. 2005.
- ZAGREB: The future deputy mayor of Knin, Franjo Kristo, member of the Croatian block, has stated that the coalition of the Croatian political parties, which is in power in Knin, will not hurry with the return of Serbs. The Croatian political parties emphasize that the municipal budget is "thin" and there are more urgent problems in the Knin region than the return of Serbs.
"Glas javnosti", 30. 6. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: Member of the Centar-Sarajevo Municipal Council, Izudin Filipovic, will start an initiative today for Natasa Kandic, director of the Belgrade based Humanitarian Law Fund, to be proclaimed an honorary citizen of Sarajevo.
It says in Filipovic's official explanation that Natasa Kandic is "among the few persons who raised their voice trying to stop the aggression on Bosnia&Herzegovina and bombardment and siege of Sarajevo".
"Danas", 30. 6. 2005.