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Tillbaka till hemsidan
October 05
- BELGRADE: UNHCR records show that In Serbia there are 208.135 IDPs from Kosovo, of which 60.000 are not Serbs. According to UNCHR records, the number of IDPs in the year 2000 was 231.000, of which 201.700 found refuge in Serbia and 29.400 in Montenegro. Six years later, there are 60.000 IDPs in Serbia who are not of Serb ethnicity, mostly Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptians but also 5.000 Albanians. UNCHR estimates, based on a research conducted by ICRC in May of 2005, less than 2% IDPs have returned to Kosovo. Most IDPs or 80% live in central Serbia - the largest number are in Belgrade (53.000), Raska
county (28.000) and Sumadija county (16.000).
"Glas javnosti", 2. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Monthly outgo in Serbia per household in the second quarter of this year was 25.113 dinars - from 22.046 dinars in Vojvodina, 23.600 in central Serbia to 32.184 in Belgrade.
"Glas javnosti", 2. 10. 2005.
- OSIJEK: Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said in Osijek yesterday that he is very glad that Serbia&Montenegro has received a passing grade and it will soon start the negotiations about stabilization and admission to the EU.
"Glas javnosti", 2. 10. 2005.
- PRISTINA: Kosovo Police Service offers 5.000 euros for any information related to the attack on the police colonel Dejan Jankovic. He was wounded on Wednesday when unidentified persons opened fire on his car.
"Glas javnosti", 1. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: There are 11.758 refugees and IDPs have been living in 130 collective centers in Serbia for years, mostly in inhuman and socially isolated conditions. Fit for work but unemployed, they have become passive, not fighting enough to realize their goals, and some suffer from psychological disorders, mostly depression, anxiety and aggressiveness and intolerance, and conflicts are evident in a large number of collective centers - said Nadezda Sataric, program coordinator of the Mobile Teams Network project for monitoring the collective centers in Serbia, at yesterday's round table on "The Life in Collective Centers" held in the Red Cross of Serbia. Among the people in the centers, there are lots of old people, people with chronic diseases, handicapped persons, nearly 4.400 don't have any income, not including children under 18 which are around 3.000.
According to the Mobile Teams Network, living conditions in the centers are bad, and 7 centers even lack the basic living conditions. 90 centers are scheduled for closing by the end of this year and the rest are planned to be closed next year, causing anxiety and fear in the tenants. According to Sataric, more than 1.400 families need strong support from the state and the international community to create conditions for them to leave the centers and start living by themselves, and only 385 families have a possiblity to leave the centers and move to their own housing unit. She said that only 257 families plan to return to their place of origin, 2.211 prefer local integration in Serbia, and 1.081 families are undecided, mostly displaced families from Kosovo.The mobile teams have determined that there are 216 alcoholics among the tenants of the centers and 121 tenants with violent behaviour, making the life in the centers additionally difficult for the other tenants. "The tenants mostly expect the state to solve their problems, provide them with acomomodation and jobs, some see a solution for their problems in donations using them for the purchase of village households and construction of apartments, and some would solve their problems on their own if they could sell their properties in their places of origin", explained Sataric.
The round table was organized by 4 NGOs - the "Amity" from Belgrade, the "Sunce" from Kragujevac, the Humanitarian Center of Novi Sad and the "Horizonti" from Cacak.
"Danas", 1. - 2. 10. 2005.; "Glas javnosti", 1. 10. 2005.
- PODGORICA: 41,5% of the households in Montenegro use computers, of which 65% use the internet, show the results of a reseach by the Institute for Strategic Studies and Prognoses. 58,5% of the households don't have a computer and the main reason is the lack of money, lack of interest, free time and knowledge. 88,2% of the computer users are persons under 18 years of age.
"Glas javnosti", 1. 10. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: The European Parliament adopted yesterday a resolution on Vojvodina expressing great concern over the repeated cases of human rights violation in the Province and calling for immediate action by the authorities of Serbia and Serbia&Montenegro in order to stop it and suggesting to send EU monitors to the Province.
"Danas", 1.-2. 10. 2005.
- KOSOVO: KFOR anti-terrorist unit disarmed an explosive device last night placed under an UNMIK vehicle outside the Ministry of Culture of Kosovo, announced the police.
"Blic", 2. 10. 2005.
with his girlfriend and, for reasons only known to him, he started hitting his head on the newsstand refrigerator. The owner, Momcilo Draskovic, living across the street, heard the noise, he thought the kids were trying to break into his newsstand so he ran out of the house with a gun and started shooting and cursing their gypsy mothers screaming "I will kill you all now!", says the boy's father. "Kena told my son to take shelter, he started running and the bullet hit him straight into the heart!", says the father. The boy was shot in the back.
What hurt Rama's family the most was that their son was proclaimed thief. The police have confirmed for the "Glas javnosti" that there was no robbery attempt. Rama's elementary school teacher has called the "Glas javnosti"., "It was an extremely good boy, loved among other pupils. After first three grades he had to quit school because his parents couldn't afford to school him regularly so he attended an evening school. His parents have another 5 children so it wasn't easy for them", says the teacher. Rama Rusidovski will be buried today at 14:00 hours.
"Glas javnosti"', 4. 10. 2005.
- CACAK: The Roma Education Center in Cacak was founded with an aim to offer the Roma but also all other children a chance to improve their school grades through additional classes in English, physics, computer science, maths and classes for pupils in 1st-4th grade elementary school. "Last school year, the classes in the Roma Education Center were
attended by 46 children - 40% Roma children and 60% non-Roma children. A total of 620 classes were held", says the coordinator of the Center, Miroslav Mitrovic.
"Danas", 3. 10. 2005.
- BANJALUKA: The Special Commission of Republika Srpska has identified more than 17.000 participants of the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995 but the list will not be released for the public, it will be submitted to the state prosecutor for possible indictments.
It says in the Commission's report that 19.473 members of the Army of Republika Srpska took part in the massacre in Srebrenica and 17.074 participants have been identified.
"Glas javnosti", 6. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: 7 faculties of the Belgrade University were cut from power supplies yesterday due to unpaid bills, which happened for the first time in the history of the Belgrade University.
"Danas", 6. 10. 2005.
- VRBAS: The implementation of a project called "Roma Daycare" will start in the Red Cross in Vrbas in the second half of October. The project is aimed to increase the number of Roma children attending regular classes and to help them integrate into the society.
The project is financed by the ICRC and it will also be supported by the "Bosko Buha" Preschool and the local Social Work Center in Vrbas."A considerable number of Roma children get bad results on the tests for the enrollment in elementary school, due to inadequate social and economic conditions in which they grow up. So they get classified among mentally retarded children and they attend the so-called "special classes", says Tatjana Gluscevic, expert associate for the program activities of the Red Cross.
According to Slavica Potezica, pedagogue in the "Bosko Buha" Preschool, the Roma children will be integrated into the daycares and socialization with other children.
"Danas", 6. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Press Service of the Serbian Orthodox Church announced yesterday that the orthodox church in Tuzla was broken into on the night between October 2nd and 3rd - the altar was desecrated and the next night the windows were crashed and the door was broken.
"Danas", 6. 10. 2005.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 10. 2005.
- VRANJE: Charges are brought against Sami Sulejmani (aged 20) from Rajinac near Presevo, for spreading ethnic, racial and religious hatred and intolerance and Spejtim Fazliju (aged 18) and S.S. (aged 15), both from Rajinac are to be submitted to discipline measures. It has been determined that these youths of Albanian nationality toppled and damaged several tombstones on the orthodox cemetery in Rajinac in February and damaged the photos on another 3 tombstones.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 10. 2005.
- BOSANSKA KOSTAJNICA: Graffiti reading "Hang Serbs on willows" and "Bosnia and Herzegovina" appeared yesterday on the house of Mikan and Dusanka Djakovic in Bosanska Kostajnica. The house is under construction and the passers-by noticed the graffiti yesterday morning and informed the police. The house is located near the local mosque.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 10. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: Ante Jelavic, former member of the Presidency of Bosnia&Herzegovina and former president of the Croatian Democratic Community in Bosnia&Herzegovina, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years imprisonment by the Court of Bosnia&Herzegovina for embezzling the money that was arriving from Croatia for the Croats in Bosnia&Herzegovina.
"Danas", 7. 10. 2005.
- NOVI PAZAR: The main problem in all the elementary schools in Novi Pazar is the lack of room due to a large number of pupils. The schools are forced to organize classes in as many as 5 shifts and there are groups of as many as 40 pupils. There are 6 elementary schools in Novi Pazar and the teachers hope that the situation will be improved once the construction of the elementary school in Selakovac is complete. The construction is financed by the Government of Luxemburg.
"Blic", 7. 10. 2005.
- NIS: Around 1.000 citizens get poisoned in Nis every year and more than 90% of them are suicide attempts. People poison themselves deliberately with pills and they poison themselves accidentally with mushrooms and alcohol. There is no special clinic in Nis yet for the treatment of these patients so they get medical treatment at the Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Disorders.
"Blic", 7. 10. 2005.
the same period last year. In 2004, 21 physical assaults were registered between members of different nationalities, of which 8 at the expense of Hungarians, 4 at the expense of Serbs and the rest were assaults between other ethnic minorities. All the attacks on Hungarians are solved and the perpetrators have been punished.
"Vecernje novosti", 7. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: In the second quarter of this year, the citizens of Serbia spent 37,8% of the income on food and non-alcoholic drinks, 16,5% on housing, 11,6% on transportation, 5,4% on clothes and shoes, 4,8% on alcohol and cigarettes, 3,7% on recreation and culture and 1,9% on education.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Coordination Center for Kosovo announced yesterday that the International Committee for Missing Persons will support the initiative to draft a law to protect the rights of IDPs in Kosovo. The initiative was started by the president of the Coordination Center, Sanda Raskovic-Ivic.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 10. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Today Croatia is marking the Independence Day and the president of the Parliament, Vladimir Seks, has stated on the occasion that the actions of the Croatian army and police - the "Flash" and the "Storm" - were "legal and legitimate" and they enabled Croatian independence.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 10. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: Every 10th highschool student in Novi Sad has participated in a fight, and every 20th is armed with a cold weapon: razor, crowbar or knife; every 3rd student doesn't feel safe and nearly 8% are exposed to harassment - these are the results of an opinion poll conducted by the Vojvodina government. The young inhabitants of Vojvodina say that the reason for the aggressiveness is the bad influence of the environment and poverty in the society and family.
"Danas", 8.-9. 10. 2005.
"We mustn't forget that the main problem should be solved first, which is to answer the question of who is the social protection beneficiary in Serbia, because so far it has been totally normal for a citizen who is mentally and physically healthy to receive social welfare. It should be normal for those who, for some reason, are unable to earn enough for the basic necessities, to have the right to social welfare, which does not only include the poor but also children without parental care, old people and disabled persons", said Lalovic. He said that it is also necessary to harmonize the social policy with the real possibilities of the society because the current system of social protection was defined in the 1970s. The new law on social protection should come into effect on January 1st, 2006.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 10. 2005.
- ZAGREB: 20 youths, Croat refugees from Kosovo, attacked a group of theologians of the Krka orthodox monastery. The youths insulted the theologians on ethnic and religious basis for no reason or motive.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 10. 2005.
- BIJELO POLJE: A total of 14 suicides have been committed in Bijelo Polje since the beginning of the year, making this town the recorder of the Balcans (7 were committed with firearms, 5 hanged themselves and 2 drowned in the Lim river).
"Glas javnosti", 11. 10. 2005.
- SREMSKA MITROVICA: The soup-kitchen in Sremska Mitrovica has started working again after 4 months, but the number of beneficiaries is reduced by half so now 150 most needy locals get a hot meal every day. The program restarted thanks to the support and understanding of the local authorities.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 10. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: Assistant Minister of Health of Serbia,Vasilije Antic, has stated that the first 2 attempts of artificial insemination for married couples will be free as of next year.
One attempt costs more than 4.000 euros on average.
"Glas javnosti", 11. 10. 2005.
- SOMBOR: Refugees will move into the 8 houses in the village of Stanisic next month. They will use the houses for free for 3 years, they will only have to pay the bills and possible repairs. Those refugee households have the right to apply who are not covered by
any other returnees or integration program and have unsolved housing problems. Also, another requisite is that since obtaining refugee status, a household hasn't sold, given away or exchanged any immovable assets in another state that could have solved its housing problems.
"Danas", 11. 10. 2005.
- CACAK: Despite the strict criteria set by the Ministry of Work and Social Policy and implemented by the Social Work Center, the number of soup-kitchen beneficiaries in Cacak is going up by the day. "Every day 10-15 new applicants show up who meet the really strict criteria", says Tomislav Boskovic, coordinator of the soup-kitchen program. Last year there were 560 beneficiaries and this year there are 700. Since the Norwegian Red Cross stopped financing the soup-kitchen in Cacak last April, the future of the program has been completely uncertain despite the financial support from the local self-government - 380.000 dinars are provided each month for the soup-kitchen, which
will be insufficient as of next year, says Tomislav Boskovic.
"Danas", 11. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The unemployment rate in Serbia, excluding the farmers, is 30%, said Jelena Momcilovic yesterday, of the G17 Institute. In March, the lowest unemployment rate was recorded in Belgrade and the Branicevo County - 19%, and the highest unemployment rate was in the Macva County - 43%, the Jablanica County - 42% and Toplica County -
41%.She said the cause for such a high unemployment rate in the above counties is that a large number of people are working "black".
"Glas javnosti", 13. 10. 2005.
- CACAK: Velimir Ilic, current Serbian Minister of Capital Investments and former mayor of Cacak, has found jobs for half his family - his brother is the president of the local parliament in Cacak, his brother's son is working in the local Post Office, his wife's brother
is the director of the Cultural Center in Cacak even though he is insufficiently qualified for the job, his brother's wife was retired and now she is working in the Tourist Organization of Cacak, and before her retirement she worked as a salesperson in a grocery store, said a
well informed source of the "Glas javnosti" in Cacak.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The County Court in Belgrade has sentenced Nikola Bugarcic from Belgrade, employee of the OSCE, to 3 years imprisonment for using minors for pornographic purposes - between March 12th and June 18th, he sold and tried to sold photos, films and other pornographic materials of minors aged under 14.
"Glas javnosti", 13. 10. 2005.
- LIPLJAN: Dragan Kosanovic, highschool student from Suvi Do near Lipljan, has been beaten up by 5 Albanians who broke his rib. Kosanovic says that he has reported the attack to the members of the KFOR but they told him "it is out of their jurisdiction". Kosanovic was attacked while picking corn in a field 300 meters from his family house.
"Glas javnosti", 15. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Mila Vucic-Jankovic, expert of the Health Protection Institute of Serbia, says that, according to the investigations of 2004, 10-15% of the children are excluded from the immunization process in Serbia. It has been discovered that only 36% of the Roma children, refugee and IDP children and children from socially vulnerable families, are covered by immunization, whereas 23.000 have never been vaccinated.
"Glas javnosti", 15. 10. 2005.
- KRUSEVAC: 400 criminal charges have been brought in Serbia for sexual abuse and smuggling of immigrants and soliciting persons to engage in prostitution; 24 of the charges are for using children for begging and pornography.
The "Astra" NGO has registered 172 victims of people trafficking so far, of which 117 are our citizens and 55 are foreign, and more and more victims are children."The main cause for this phenomenon is poverty and that people look for jobs in advertisements and through 'friends', which is just a cover for totally different things", says Aleksandra Jovanovic, representative of the "Astra". 191 girls aged 18-25 have passed through the shelters for people trafficking victims in Serbia. The shelters provide medical and legal aid and consulting for the victims.
"Glas javnosti", 16. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Dragisa Dabetic, Serbian Commissioner for refugees, has announced that the implementation of the program "A Thousand Apartments for Refugees" will start at the beginning of next year. He has stated for Radio Serbia&Montenegro that "in the best case scenario" the first apartments will be ready at the end of 2006, and the whole project is to be completed "in around 2 or 2,5 years". "Instead of paying monthly rent of 170-180 euros on average, the refugees who get a loan will have a chance to pay approximately the same monthly amount over the following 20 years minimum and after that period they will own an apartment and thus they will have their housing problems solved", said Dabetic.
"Danas", 14. 10. 2005.
- PRISTINA: UNMIK calls on its employees not to move on the roads in the western and south-western parts of Kosovo by night for "security reasons", report the news media in Albanian in Pristina, quoting the "Koha ditore" daily. In a written notice, UNMIK suggests to its employees not to travel in vehicles with UN markings in the municipalities of Pec, Istok, Djakovica, Klina, Decane, Malisevo, Suva Reka, Prizren and Dragas from
18:00 to 8:00.
"Glas javnosti", 18. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Only 44% of Serbia's citizens have a passport, and 40% have never had one; more than half the citizens aged 15-25 have never been abroad, not even in any of the former Yugoslav republics; 17,5% have crossed the border only once and 31,1% have visited a foreign country more than once; nearly half the population of Serbia don't speak any foreign language; 39%, mostly young people, speak one foreign language and 14,9% speak two or more foreign languages.
"Glas javnosti", 18. 10. 2005.
- PRISTINA: Yesterday the police arrested 30 members of the Albanian "Self-determination" Movement, among them the leader of this NGO, Aljbin Kurti, for disturbing public order during their protest, said Refki MOrina, spokesman of the Kosovo Police Service.Morina said that the members of this NGO wrote the word "end" on the
licence plates of the UNMIK vehicles, as a symbol of the request to UNMIK to leave Kosovo immediately.
"Glas javnosti", 20. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Kaj Vitrup, commissioner of the International Police in Kosovo, confirmed yesterday that the presence has been recorded of a number of criminal groups across Kosovo, especially in the western parts, trying to destabilize the safety situation. Refki Morina, spokesman for the Kosovo POlice Service, however, claims that there is no evidence yet of the existence of armed groups, but he confirmed that the police and KFOR are taking all the security measures and "each person wearing an illegal uniform will answer in accordance with the Criminal law which is in effect in Kosovo", said Morina.
"Glas javnosti", 20. 10. 2005.
- SASINCI: The farmers in the village of Sasinci in Vojvodina are complaining about not being able to find any day labourers for picking corn, not even for daily wages of 15-20 euros, although last year they could find people to pick corn for half the amount.
The farmers claim that young people, despite being unemployed, don't want to pick corn, although they could earn rather much, instead the same people have been picking corn for them for decades.
"Glas javnosti", 20. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Grammar of the Roma Language has come out and the author is the assistant editor-in-chief of the TANJUG news agency, Rajko Djuric. He says that he accepted to write the Grammar because there is a great need for it in the whole Europe and even in the whole world.
The book is intended for those who want to learn about the structure of the language and its grammar, such as Roma language teachers, highschool students and pupils going to the finishing grades of elementary school. The printing of the Grammar was supported by the Ethnic Minorities Council of the Republic of Serbia and the Open Society Fund.
"Danas", 21. 10. 2005.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 10. 2005.
- KUMANOVO: Around 400 ethnic Serbs and Macedonians displaced from the north of Macedonia, among them a large number of women, children and old people, have started a hunger strike protesting over the decision of the Macedonian Ministry of Work and Social Issues to abolish the "privileged" humanitarian accommodation status for some 20 families in collective centers for IDPs.
"Glas javnosti", 23. 10. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The suicide rate in Serbia has been going up in the last 15 years. According to the Forensic Medicine Institute in Belgrade, although this year's records are not processed yet, not one day goes by in Serbia without someone killing him/herself. In the last ten years, the suicide rate in Montenegro almost doubled.
"Glas javnosti", 24. 10. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: The ethnic minorities' political parties in Vojvodina claim that the members of the minority communities are "the object of the Serb youth's hatred" and they are being discriminate against when it comes to employment and use of their native language. At the same time, Serbia's authorities don't react efficiently enough to prevent ethnically based incidents pushing the minorities' problems under the carpet. Tomas Korhec, Vojvodina's secretary for ethnic minorities, elected for this position from the list of the Union of Vojvodina Hungarians, says for the "Blic" newspaper that the key problems that the minorities in Vojvodina are faced with are "the hatred and intolerance on the part of the Serb youth" and the omissions by the judicial system and police when it comes to the sanctioning of the perpetrators. However, Korhec stresses that these omissions are the consequence of the crisis of the values in the society and not a deliberate action organized by the state.
"Blic", 29. 10. 2005.
- NEDZAT DACI: President of the Kosovo Parliament, Nedzat Daci, has said that Kosovo Albanians can't accept anything else but independence for Kosovo and Kosovo will demand war damages from Serbia for "the 124.000 destroyed and robbed homes and 14.000 civilian victims".
"Blic", 28. 10. 2005.
- KULA: After the neighbours' complaints, the police in Kula has prohibited Drago Bailovic (aged 95) from playing and listening to gusle ("gusle" is a very old instrument used among Serbs for playing epic songs - Z.) on his audio cassette player for disturbing public peace and order.
According to Tomo Bailovic, Drago's son, a couple of days ago "the police burst into his house and interrupted on of the old man's gusle sessions with the angry words 'Turn that thing off, this is not Montenegro here!".
After his wife's death, Drago moved from their house in the village of Bobava in Montenegro to his son's place in Kula and the only thing he brought were the gusle and the audio cassettes with his favourite gusle songs.
"Blic", 30. 10. 2005.
- APATIN: According to the Federal Statistics Institute, Apatin is the richest town in Serbia, with the highest income per head, thanks to the millions of euros from the shares of the local "Brewery" (which makes the "Jelen" beer - Z). The municipal budget is nearly two times larger than other municipalities with the same number of inhabitants.
"Blic", 27. 10. 2005.