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BELGRADE, April 23, 2004
MAROVIC AND GERMAN AMBASSADOR ON BOOSTING COOPERATION U.S., EU AND NATO CALL FOR BELGRADEPRISTINA DIALOG COUNCIL OF MINISTERS HANDS DOCUMENTS TO ICTY MASSARI ON CONTINUATION OF REFORMS IN POLICE DRASKOVIC: INDEPENDENT KOSOVO WOULD MAKE SERBS EUROPE'S JEWS
MAROVIC AND GERMAN AMBASSADOR ON BOOSTING COOPERATION BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Serbia Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic met with German Ambassador Kurt Leonberger in Belgrade on April 22, to discuss the boosting of bilateral economic cooperation. Marovic and Leonberger addressed "the activities which, after the visit of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, should be stepped up towards the realization of the agreed projects related to economic cooperation," it was announced after the meeting. MAROVIC - McSHANE TALKS BELGRADE, April 22 (Tanjug) - Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) President Svetozar Marovic and British Foreign Office Secretary of State Dennis MacShane agreed on Thursday that the resolving of the problem of Kosovo requires the responsible engagement of both Belgrade and Pristina, and the international community as well. In the talk with Marovic, MacShane pointed out that the constructive role of the state union in this process is of extreme importance, Marovic's office said. President Marovic said that the March escalation of violence in Kosovo was a warning that there could still be a repetition of the past events in the Balkans, and that this is why it is necessary strongly and constantly to insist on strengthening ties, and a democratic and European policy of cooperation, the statement said. DRASKOVIC MEETS McSHANE BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - British Minister for Europe Denis McShane and Serbia Montenegro Chief of Diplomacy Vuk Draskovic concurred on April 22, in Belgrade, that cooperation with the Hague based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was one of Serbia and Montenegro's main international obligations, and that it must be honored. I know that Draskovic was very courageous in clearly making it understood that Serbia must face its international obligations. I have to say that in this matter he needs support from all the democratic forces in Serbia, McShane stressed to journalists after the talk. Draskovic and McShane, who visited Pristina on April 21, stated that the situation in Kosovo constituted one of the main topics of their conversation. "We absolutely agreed that protecting human rights, the safety of lives and property and the protection of minority rights formed the cornerstone of that in which institutions in Kosovo will prove if they are oriented toward Europe," Draskovic said. "We must allow Kosovo to become Kosovo, and we must ensure that human rights in all communities there are respected. The Serbian community must be able to live in peace with its language, culture, and tradition," McShane declared. After the talks, Draskovic stated he had also conveyed to the British diplomat that "it must not happen that after June Serbia Montenegro becomes the only European country to be left outside the Partnership for Peace." SERBIA-MONTENEGRO DEFENCE MINISTER MEETS WITH BRITISH, US OFFICIALS BELGRADE, April 22 (Tanjug) - In separate meetings held with British Deputy Assistant Foreign Secretary in charge of European issues Dennis McShane and US Deputy Assistant State Secretary for Europe Cathleen Stevens on Thursday, Serbia-Montenegro Defence Minister Prvoslav Davinic discussed military cooperation and Serbia-Montenegro's joining of the Partnership for Peace. The meeting with McShane focused on a further promotion of military cooperation between Great Britain and Serbia-Montenegro. McShane said that Great Britain was interested in seeing Serbia-Montenegro and its armed forces join Euro-Atlantic integrations and stressed the importance of fulfillment of Serbia-Montenegro's obligations. The meeting with Stevens also focused on the promotion of bilateral military cooperation and Serbia-Montenegro's joining of the Partnership for Peace. Davinic presented the plan of reform of Serbia-Montenegro's armed forces. Stevens praised Serbia-Montenegro's cooperation with KFOR in Kosovo-Metohija and said that this was a proof of real partnership between Serbia-Montenegro and NATO. She stressed the need for continuing good cooperation with the aim of protecting Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, the Serbia-Montenegro Defence Ministry said in a statement. OSCE REPRESENTATIVE ON POSITION OF MINORITIES IN SERBIAMONTENEGRO BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - In Belgrade, on April 22, the OSCE high commissioner for national minorities, Rolf Ekeus, spoke with the Serbia Montenegro deputy chief of diplomacy, Predrag Boskovic, about the position of minorities, judging as positive the adoption of conventions on the protection of human rights. According to a press release from the Serbia Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ekeus positively rated Serbia and Montenegro's joining the Council of Europe's Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties and the framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Ekeus announced a visit to the South of Serbia next month. US, EU & NATO DELEGATION IN SCG U.S., EU AND NATO CALL FOR BELGRADEPRISTINA DIALOG BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - "Representatives of NATO, the EU, and the U.S. call on Belgrade and Pristina to resume their direct dialog on technical issues. We strongly hope that concrete progress will be made in this forum. The representatives of the U.S., the EU, and NATO suggested they returned to Belgrade in May and June to continue with an intensive dialog," it is stated in the announcement quoted by the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. The representatives informed Serbia Montenegro officials about the Contact Group's meeting in Pristina on April 19, when they identified as priorities finding and prosecuting those responsible for the violence that took place in the stricken province in March, rebuilding destroyed property, and ensuring the return of displaced persons, as well as their safety and security," it is said in the joint announcement. The announcement further said that the international representatives also discussed the country officials' readiness to intensify the BelgradePristina dialog as a means for building trust and setting urgent measures towards improving the situation and freedom of movement of everyone in Kosovo. The international representatives suggested "this intensive dialog" also addressed ideas and plans for ensuring efficient local institutions in Kosovo and Metohija. EU MISSION SHOCKED AT EVENTS IN KOSOVO ON MARCH 17, SAYS LEHNE BELGRADE, April 22 (Tanjug) - Special adviser to the European Union (EU) foreign policy and security chief Stephan Lehne said on Thursday in talks with Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) parliament President Zoran Sami, that the EU mission was shocked at the events that took place in Kosovo on March 17. Conveying his impressions following a visit to Kosovo and Metohija, Lehne said it was the joint assessment that the international community must be more engaged on the opening of political dialogue conducive to resolving the Kosovo crisis and preventing possible new violence by ethnic Albanian extremists. The missions of the United States (US), NATO and the EU have begun the process of monitoring the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and assessed it is necessary urgently to repair the damage, create conditions for a safe life of the non-Albanian population, and then immediately to start seeking lasting political solutions in the interest of the local communities, the SCG parliament PR Service said. LEHNE: IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMOVE DAMAGE SUSTAINED IN MARCH IN KOSOVO BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - The advisor to the EU high commissioner, Stephan Lehne, stated on April 22, in Belgrade, that, in the wake of the March violence in Kosovo, "it is now important to remove both physical and psychological damage as soon as possible." In a conversation with the chairman of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija, Nebojsa Covic, Lehne specified that the Contact Group, through the Kosovo Support Group, would in future meet in Pristina regularly every six weeks, in order to influence, assist and control more directly the stabilization of conditions in the province. As announced by the Coordinating Center, Covic, supporting the international community's efforts, stressed that a precondition for any stabilization was "the complete disarmament of extremist terrorist groups... and trying all those who participated in the pogrom of the Serbian populace and holy edifices last month." MAROVIC AND LEHNE ON EUROPEAN INTEGRATION PROCESSES AND KOSOVO BELGRADE, April 22 (Tanjug) - Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) President Svetozar Marovic and special adviser to the European Union (EU) foreign policy and security chief Stephan Lehne agreed on Thursday that a concept of ethnically homogenous territories in Kosovo would pose a threat to the entire region and mark a return to the period of conflicts and isolation. Regarding European integration processes, Marovic said the state union was the most rational framework for the speedy accession of the SCG to the EU, and that wide consensus is necessary in both Serbia and in Montenegro on the European priorities, the president's office said. KOSTUNICA: AUTONOMY IN KOSOVO A WAY TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - On April 22, Serbian Premier Vojislav Kostunica pointed out it was necessary to establish autonomy in Kosovo, as the only way to protect the elementary human rights of Serbs and other nonAlbanians in the province, it was announced by the Serbian government. Kostunica spoke to the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, Kathleen Stevens, the Chief of the State Department's Kosovo and Metohija section, Craig Land, the special advisor to the EU high representative for foreign policy and security, Stephan Lehne, NATO's special representative for South East Europe, Robert Sorry, and the EU's special envoy for Kosovo and Metohija, Fernando Gentini. Kostunica declared specific solutions were needed, which would lead to a real breakthrough, stressing that the return of the banished people had not been secured and that there is no freedom of movement for Serbs and nonAlbanians in the province. Sorry underlined that KFOR would take all necessary measures to avoid a repetition of the events of March and secure the conditions for the safe life of the Serbian community. Lehne stressed the significance of resuming the dialog on technical matters, which, in his opinion, can continue side by side with considering the question of Kosovo and Metohija's decentralization and the application of standards. DRASKOVIC MEETS WITH KOSOVO SUPPORT GROUP MEMBERS BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - On April 22, Serbia and Montenegro's chief of diplomacy, Vuk Draskovic, spoke with members of the international Kosovo Support Group regarding the political situation in the country, mentioning especially the conditions in Kosovo. Kathleen Stephens, the U.S. state secretary's deputy assistant for Europe, Stephan Lehne, a special advisor to the EU high representative, and NATO Ambassador Robert Sorry were in the Kosovo Support Group delegation. "We exchanged opinions on the political situation in the country, mentioning Kosovo in particular, and the paths which lead us, as a state and nation, toward an accelerated entry into the Partnership for Peace, the European Union and Euro Atlantic integrations," Draskovic told journalists after the meeting. "The road lying before Serbia is open, it was wide open, but is now narrowed because of the failure on our part to honor international obligations. The international community does not want Serbia as an isolated island outside Europe, they want Serbia in Europe, where we belong," Draskovic stressed. The initiative for forming the international Kosovo Support Group was launched by the U.S. state undersecretary for political affairs, Marc Grossman, after the outburst of violence in March in the province. KATHLEEN STEPHENS ON VISIT TO PRISTINA AND BELGRADE BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - The U.S. State Department's official in charge of South and Central Europe, Kathleen Stephens, stated on April 22 that the goal of her visit to Pristina and Belgrade was to familiarize herself with the direct effects of the March wave of violence in Kosovo, and to participate in talks on facilitating a dialog. "It was very significant that I, as a representative of my government, could come to Pristina and see first hand what the situation is like a month after the March violence," she stated in a brief interview to BETA, reminding that a Contact Group meeting was held in Pristina, as a part of an initiative launched by the U.S. shortly after the outburst of violence. Stephens said this was "the first in a series of serious meetings" planned to be held in Pristina. "We have considered certain efforts by the U.S., EU and NATO to facilitate a dialog which could relate to key issues both short term and also, looking at the long run, to a certain form of institution building, especially on the local executive authorities level, which we feel is necessary in order to secure safety and prosperity for all communities in Kosovo," Stephens said. Asked if she had received any promise from Kosovo leaders that the perpetrators of the March violence would be brought to justice, Stephens replied in the affirmative. To the question of how the representatives of Belgrade authorities had responded to the idea of speeding up the dialog, she replied that "they were very interested in the proposal," and that they expressed readiness to enter such a dialog. Asked to comment on Belgrade's proposals regarding the decentralization of Kosovo, she replied that the U.S. would like to see all forthcoming proposals as a part of the dialog. From the beginning of the week, Kathleen Stephens first visited Pristina, while, on April 22, in Belgrade she spoke to the highest representatives of Serbia and the Serbia Montenegro state union. SCG - THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL COUNCIL OF MINISTERS HANDS DOCUMENTS TO ICTY BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - The Council of Ministers on April 22 decided to hand the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) certain requested documents and data and freed two witnesses, testifying before the tribunal, from keeping a state secret. The two witnesses freed from the obligation are Radoje Paunovic and Novica Trifunovic, a press release from the session of the Council of Ministers said, but did not specify at which trial the witnesses would appear. The Council has also decided to hand certain requested documents to the lawyers of the defendants, the press release said, but again did not specify which documents were in question. The Serbian government said that on April 22 it adopted a decision to guarantee the temporary release of Vladimir Kovacevic and Jovica Stanisic from pretrial detention in the Scheveningen prison unit. MCSHANE CALLS ON RATKO MLADIC TO TURN HIMSELF IN BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - On April 22, the British Minister for Europe, Denis McShane, called on the former commander of the Republika Srpska Army, Ratko Mladic, to turn himself in to the Haguebased International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, before which he is indicted of war crimes. "I appeal to Mladic, if he has an iota of Serbian patriotism in his blood, to go to The Hague and release Serbia from problems with The Hague Tribunal. Instead of being a soldier, Mladic should be brave," McShane told Radio Television Serbia. McShane stated he did not know the whereabouts of certain indictees, but that he did have the knowledge that there were people who knew where The Hague indictees were, or who knew people who knew the indictees' whereabouts. SERBIA MASSARI ON CONTINUATION OF REFORMS IN POLICE BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - The head of the OSCE mission in Serbia Montenegro, Maurizio Massari, on April 22 stressed that the reform of the police was crucial for the success of the overall reforms in the country, adding that much had yet to be done in the field, especially in improving the responsibility of the police forces. After talks with the Serbian Interior Ministry senior official Vladimir Bozovic, Massari said that the Interior Ministry's General Inspectorate had to be strengthened. He also said that the OSCE had a concrete program concerning the responsibility of the police, provided by the Dutch government. Bozovic said that he had requested the support and understanding of the OSCE and announced regular meetings with the organization's representatives. "The objective is to establish the General Inspectorate, which was formally founded in June 2003, but the sector's results so far have been absolutely unsatisfactory and far from the standards and recommendations of the OSCE and the EU," he said. KOSOVO-METOHIJA DRASKOVIC: INDEPENDENT KOSOVO WOULD MAKE SERBS EUROPE'S JEWS LONDON. April 22 (Tanjug) - Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic said in an interview to the BBC on Thursday that the independence of Kosovo will remain an unfulfilled dream and that it will not get the green light from the United Nations (UN) Security Council. In the event that Kosovo should become independent, Serbs would become Europe's Jews, who would fight for their Jerusalem, Draskovic said. Generations of Serbs would dream about the day when Kosovo would be liberated. Serbs would become Europe's Jews who dream of the liberation of Jerusalem. Serbs do not need this, or the young or yet unborn Albanians. Kosovo must be a common home if it is to be multi-cultural and multi-national, Draskovic said. SCHEFFER DISAPPOINTED WITH SITUATION IN KOSOVO BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Pristina on April 22, expressed his disappointment as neither trust between local communities had been established, nor had the reconstruction of facilities burnt during the violence, that struck the province in March, begun. "My message to Kosovo is the same as it was last month the political leadership of the Albanians must take responsibility. The burnt houses must be rebuilt and the Serbs must return. I should have seen that happening today, but I did not," Scheffer told the press after meeting with the Kosovo authorities. Scheffer visited Kosovo together with NATO Gen. James Jones and Admiral Gregory Johnson, and 26 ambassadors of NATO member countries. "I am disappointed in the premier and president of Kosovo, because they have not done what they must do. It is illusory to expect the international community to abandon the "standards before status" policy and to believe that violence will contribute to a faster resolution of the status," Scheffer said. He also said that political representatives of the local Serbs had to be integrated in the work of the Kosovo institutions, because it was not enough to say "we will wait to see what happens." Scheffer concluded his visit to Kosovo, and will head to Ljubljana, where he is to meet with Slovenian officials. OSCE SAYS KOSOVO MEDIA ENCOURAGED VIOLENCE AGAINST SERBS VIENNA, April 22 (Tanjug) - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said that biased reporting of the Albanian-language media in Kosovo and especially the Kosovo Radio-Television encouraged violence against Serbs in Serbia's southern province in March. If the reports on March 16 and 17 had not been irresponsible and sensationalist, the developments might have taken another course and might not have achieved such intensity and level of brutality or they might even have been avoided, OSCE representative on freedom of the media Miklos Haraszti has said. Haraszti on Thursday submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council a report on the behavior of the media in Kosovo during violence against Serbs. The report recommended a detailed analysis of the work of all media in Kosovo and opening of a Serbian-language radio-television for the entire province MOISIU: KOSOVO STATUS SHOULD BE RESOLVED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BELGRADE, April 22 (Beta) - Albanian President Alfred Moisiu declared on April 22, in Pristina, that it was necessary to resolve the status of Kosovo as soon as possible, while UNMIK Chief Harri Holkeri stated international standards should be fulfilled first. At a joint press conference after meeting with the Albanian president, Holkeri said that the Albanian majority population should now be asked to participate in implementing the standards for Kosovo, stressing the need for Serbs to be reincluded in the operation of the temporary Kosovo institutions. Thanking Holkeri for his invitation, as the first president of Albania to visit Kosovo, Moisiu said his country supported the work of UNMIK, and underlined that Albania was not in favour of violence. He declared it was needed to double the authorization to the local government
and that the status issue should be resolved as soon as possible, so that,
in his words, all the less room is left to extremist forces.
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