Tadić receives doctorate in Bucharest

Source: FoNet, Beta
BUCHAREST -- President Boris Tadić has been conferred an honorary doctorate at the Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University in Bucharest.
Traian Basescu, Boris Tadić (FoNet)

Addressing students at the university, Tadić expressed his belief that Serbia and Romania had a common European future and that the EU would be a common home for the South-East European states.

“We greatly appreciate the strong support that Romania is offering Serbia in the European integration process,“ he said.

The president said that bilateral relations between Belgrade and Bucharest were exemplary, both for the region and other parts of the world.

“We’re grateful to Romania for her principled position and continued support in preserving our sovereignty and territorial integrity,“ said Tadić.

Tenth anniversary of NATO attack

Tenth anniversary of the NATO air strikes on Serbia and then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ).A file 1999 photo of houses in Ćuprija destroyed by NATO bombs (Beta)

At midday, air raid sirens sounded throughout the country in a mark of remembrance for the victims.

The government, which has decided to build a memorial center dedicated to the victims of the air strikes, called on all citizens to suspend their activities and respect the minute’s silence for the victims.

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković said that the air strikes had been an illegal act that could have been avoided.

"Could the bombing have been avoided? We know the answer. Only reason can prevail over evil," he told a special cabinet meeting today.

Cvetković said that 1,002 soldiers and police officers had perished during the bombing, as well as around 2,500 civilians, including 89 children, while 12,500 people had been injured.

He underlined that the air strikes had not solved the problems in Kosovo, nor had they established the rule of law or peace in the province.

He said that Serbia had elected to resolve the problem using peaceful and democratic means, but that it would never recognize Kosovo's unilateral independence.

"The bombing led to long-term detrimental repercussions for Serbia. For the future of our children, we must not let this happen again," the prime minister stressed.

Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said that the bombing had been carried out without the UN’s authorization and that its result had been Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

"Whatever the cause was, that campaign should not have been carried out in a democratic, civilized world. That was a crime against our people,“ said Dačić.

He added that in the same way as the air strikes had been launched against Serbia, certain countries had recognized Kosovo’s independence in contravention of the principles of international law.

The anniversary of the bombing was also marked at the Russian House in a ceremony attended by representatives of the government, the Russian Duma, businessmen and politicians.

Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin said that now, instead of military bombs, bombs of a political nature were falling on Serbia.

“No-one had any illusion as to the intention of taking Kosovo from Serbia, while even now there are no illusions that the wish of the European presence in Kosovo, which is squeezing out the UN, is to implement the Ahtisaari plan. But even that’s not the last political bomb. From The Hague they’re bombing you with harsh condemnations of Serbs,” Konuzin stressed.

During the 78 days of the air strikes, in a campaign titled Operation Allied Force, over 3,000 people perished, while civilian and military infrastructure suffered severe damage. Economists have estimated the vale of the damage at USD 29.6bn.

The Brooklyn Connection

"The Brooklyn Connection" directed by Klaartje Quirijns, based on material from the book "Be not Afraid, for You Have Sons in America", by Stacy Sullivan. Special Jury Prize at the International Human Rights Festival 2005 in Paris.

Serbia making efforts to solve problems through peaceful, diplomatic, legal means

Belgrade, March 24, 2009 – Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic today stated that the innocent victims of the NATO bombing, which started on this day 10 years ago, will always remind Serbia that it must struggle for its interests, adding that Serbia opts for justice and dialogue and not for weapons.
At a special government session held to mark Remembrance Day for victims of NATO bombing, Cvetkovic said that the NATO aggression was an illegal act and not in line with international law.

The government’s official web site quotes Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic’s speech:

On this day, 10 years after the beginning of the NATO bombing, we are here to recall the tragic events which lasted for 78 days and assess the most tragic episodes in European history during the second half of the 20th century.

The NATO attack on Serbia was illegal, not in accordance with international law and without the UN Security Council’s permission. The NATO bombing has left long-term consequences for Serbia, the entire region and political relations all over the world. Serbia cannot forget those tragic days.

If we want to secure our children’s future, we must not let such things happen again.

During the 11 weeks of the NATO aggression, 1,002 members of the Serbian Army and police were killed, as well as 2,500 civilians, 89 of which were children. A majority of victims lost their lives during the attacks on a train in Grdelicka Klisura, the RTS building, on Surdulica, a bus near Luzani and the attacks on Nis. The hardest attack was that on Albanian refugees near Prizren, where 87 civilians were killed.

In 2,300 air attacks all over Serbia, 148 buildings and 62 bridges were demolished and 300 schools and 176 cultural sites were damaged. According to a rough estimate, material damages were worth $30 billion.

Serbia can still feel the consequences of the NATO attack. The remnants of missiles and cluster bombs can still be found, which have had a negative influence on Serbian citizens’ health.

Could the attack on Serbia have been avoided?

We do not have answer to that question. Evil can be defeated only by reason. The past should teach Serbia and the rest of the world how to act in the future in order to avoid such mistakes. Responsible states would never put in question the survival of their people and all the other nations in the world.

The future cannot be based on someone’s misery. There is no excuse for the deaths of two year old Marko Simic from Novi Pazar, 11 moth old Bojana Tosovic from Merdare, three year old Milica Rakic from Batajnica and many others.

All innocent victims should always remind us that we must fight for our aims through civilised means, act responsibly, provide a better life to our citizens and must not make enemies. Serbia opts for reason and justice and not for weapons and will do all it can to solve its problems through peaceful, diplomatic and legal means.

While fighting for our own interests, we also fight for international law. The NATO bombing did not solve problems nor provide peace, stability and the rule of law in Kosovo-Metohija. On the other hand, it has lead to gross violations of human rights and international law.

Serbia will never recognise the unilaterally declared Kosovo independence and will fight for its interests in the UN.

Serbia is ready to cooperate with all who respect democracy and true values.

We invite Serbian citizens to pay tribute to all innocent victims of the NATO bombing, concluded the Prime Minister.

At the beginning of the special government session all participants observed a minute’s silence. Afterwards they were addressed by Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.

Commemorative gatherings will be held on March 24 at 12 noon throughout Serbia in places where the air strikes claimed lives.

Remembrance Day for the victims of the NATO air attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will mark the tenth anniversary of the tragic events that took place during the period from March 24 to June 10 in 1999.

World should draw lesson from NATO attack

Belgrade, March 24, 2009 – First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic today stated that the world should draw a lesson from the NATO air attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and therefore prevent the recurrence of such tragic events.
At a special government session held to mark Remembrance Day for the victims of the NATO bombing, Dacic reiterated that that the NATO bombing was a crime against Serbia with the aim of supporting Kosovo independence.

The alleged motive for the attack, which started without the UN Security Council’s permission, was an incident that happened in Racak. Afterwards even the Hague tribunal withdrew the charges against the Serbian indictees, said Dacic, adding that the NATO aggression was a violation of international law.

Not only civilians but also policemen and soldiers are innocent victims and compensation for war damages has never been recieved.

Today we are paying tribute to the victims of the NATO aggression, said Dacic, pointing out that the Serbian government is taking care of the families of those killed during the NATO bombing.

At today’s session the government agreed to set up a memorial to the victims of the NATO bombing in Belgrade.

Tadic calls on UN, EU to carry out their mandate in Kosovo fully

Belgrade/New York, March 23, 2009 – Serbian President Boris Tadic called on UN and EU missions to completely carry out their mandate in Kosovo and also invited those UN members that have not recognised the province’s independence to remain so until the International Court of Justice (ICJ) offers its opinion on the legality of this secession.
Speaking at a UN Security Council session today examining the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, Tadic said that none of the states should prejudice the ICJ’s decision and that no new recognitions of the so-called independent Kosovo should be encouraged.

Serbia advocates new negotiations, as only they can provide a just, compromise and mutually acceptable solution. Serbia will never recognise Kosovo-Metohija’s independence directly or indirectly and will continue its diplomatic, peaceful and legal battle in defending its integrity, Tadic said.

Serbian authorities are sure that the ICJ’s decision will be of extreme importance for the UN as it will prevent Kosovo from serving as a dangerous precedent in all parts of the world where secessionist inclinations exist, he said.

Serbia will contribute to the stability of Kosovo by cooperating with UNMIK and EULEX, he said and called on Pristina not to oppose the will of the international community and the UN Security Council when the implementation of the six-item plan is concerned.

He repeated that Serbia is making serious negotiating efforts so that the plan can be implemented in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and international law.

Serbia is ready to continue negotiations on all levels with UN representatives and with the support of EULEX, said Tadic.

Without UNMIK it is not possible to fully implement the provisions of either UN Security Council Resolution 1244 or the six-item plan of Ban Ki-moon, Tadic said.

It is UNMIK’s duty to be part of the Pristina delegation in all international and regional meetings, where Pristina can be represented only under the name UNMIK/Kosovo, the Serbian President stressed.

He recalled that Serbia will accept the reconfiguration of the international presence in the province only if it is in accordance with Resolution 1244.

Tadic explained that the EU mission must not be based on the Ahtisaari plan, as it has been endorsed neither by Serbia nor the UN Security Council.

Tadic added that Serbs in Kosovo are not provided security, freedom of movement, justice, electricity and water and therefore the situation in the field is not in line with the UN Secretary General’s report.

Tadic recalled that this winter Pristina authorities cut off power supply to Serbs from Silovo in order to make them pay off their electricity bills to the so-called Republic of Kosovo and therefore indirectly recognise this illegal state, adding that this is the best possible example of the fact that Serbs in Kosovo are the most endangered ethnic group in Europe, living constantly under strong pressures.

I would like to point out that UNMIK and EULEX must enable Serbian democratic officials to enter the whole of Kosovo-Metohija. The Pristina authorities must not stop them at the Kosovo administrative line any more, as it brings unrest among Serbian citizens in the province, said Tadic.

The President demanded that the UN and EU missions make justice accessible to everybody, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation.

We are very well aware that 13 months after the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence there is no state in Kosovo, concluded Tadic, reiterating that human rights protection in the province is not at a high level, as there are only a small number of Serbs and other IDPs in Kosovo-Metohija.

Speaking about the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the President told the UN Security Council session that Serbia must never again find itself in a situation in which its citizens are being punished and murdered, adding that the international community must understand that the price of misguided politics must never be paid by innocent lives.

Tadic recalled that Yugoslav citizens were collectively charged and bombarded because of the alleged exile of 800,000 Albanians from Kosovo-Metohija, but when the international community’s rule over the province was established, as many as 200,000 Serbs left the province.

Serbs were punished with bombs ten years ago and now, ten years later, Kosovo Albanians are rewarded for exiling Serbs from the province and burning their houses and churches by having over 50 countries recognise the province’s illegal independence, stressed the President.

He recalled that tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and presented the data on the number of killed and wounded in the bombing, as well as the collateral damage.

Tadic noted that on principle Serbia condemns every war crime and is convinced that all perpetrators must face justice.

It is our principled stance that every criminal is a person with a first and last name and that there can be no collective guilt of a people or a state. The recent Hague tribunal’s sentence to specific persons, four former Yugoslav officials and a Serbian official, showed that there is no collective guilt on behalf of Serbia or its citizens, the President emphasised.

We can debate whether the sentences were too harsh or not, but we cannot deny that the tribunal prosecuted specific persons and thus removed the anathema from an entire people, said the President.

This is why Serbia remains committed to full cooperation with the Hague tribunal and will do all it can to apprehend and extradite the two remaining indictees still at large, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, Tadic concluded.

K. Albanian arrested with bomb in KM

Source: Tanjug
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Members of the Kosovo police, KPS, last night arrested an ethnic Albanian in the northern part of the divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica.

The man was carrying a hand grenade at the time of the arrest, it was announced.

Police chief in northern Kosovska Mitrovica Milija Milošević told Tanjug that the suspect was spotted in the Bošnjačka Mahala neighborhood, and that "a hand grenade and spray" were found on him.

KPS announced that he would be interviewed and released.

Immediately before this incident, the same neighborhood saw a verbal showdown between members of the KPS described as "special police" and a Serb family.

Police entered the home of the Rajčićs, internally displaced persons from Metohija, to search for weapons.

Tanjug learned from the KPS sources that no arms were found. Igor Rajčić was taken to a police station and released later.

This Kosovo Serb told the news agency that police arrived at his home because the music was played loudly, as a religious holiday was celebrated. He said police told him the reason for their arrival was that "one of the members of the household had fired from a weapon".

"They forced the gate violently and tried to drag my father out. Then they used the spray. We have no weapons in the house, nor did any of us fire from a weapon," Rajčić said.

UNMIK sends "yellow house" report

Source: B92, Beta
BELGRADE -- The UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, has sent its complete report on the co-called yellow house in northern Albania.

War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević has also received additional documents related to the probe.

The Serbian prosecution believes that the house in question was used as a venue for surgical removal of the kidnapped Kosovo Serbs' organs.

Hundreds of them are believed to have been abducted by ethnic Albanians and taken to northern Albania during and after the 1999 war in the province, where their organs were harvested to be sold in the black market.

The prosecution told Beta news agency this Sunday in Belgrade that UNMIK notified Vukčević that, after a detailed review, additional material was found.

UNMIK investigated the claims in 2004. The Serbian prosecution said last year that several pages were missing from the original report.

The documents sent to Belgrade consist of ten appendixes, one of them being the complete "yellow house report" that the prosecution saw earlier.

Vukčević was also notified that any investigation into the alleged human organ trafficking is now within the jurisdiction of the EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, which has been informed about the War Crimes Prosecution's demands.

The prosecution has so far, based on the photographs it has, managed to indentify ten possible executors and one victim: Kosovo Serb civilian Predrag Dragović, a resident of Peć.

It is also believed that besides the yellow house, three more locations, also in the north of Albania, were used to commit the same crime.

Serbia started the investigation a year ago, after the allegations were mentioned in former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte book's "The Hunt".

Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty is also conducting an investigation into the reports. According to previous announcements, he is due to arrive here at the end of March.

Kosovo Albanian gangsters, hitmen active in London

Source: Tanjug
LONDON -- Former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) have become prominent figures in London’s underworld of organized crime, the London Daily News writes.

Experience with knives and fire arms have put them at the top of the list of professional assassins in the British capital, the daily states.

It adds that Albanian hitmen working in London "touting for business and offer their sordid services at GBP 5,000".

One leading Albanian gangster who spoke to the London Daily News said:

"We can use guns, we control the prostitutes in Soho and we are investing in London heavily. We fear no one and the law cannot do anything to stop us."

The war in Kosovo fuelled the spread of the Albanian Mafia after numerous gangsters disguised as Kosovo "refugees" found their way into European countries, especially the UK now over ten years since the troubles in the Balkans, the daily writes.

“The Albanian Mafia is not a pyramid with one leader, rather an organization with several bosses,” the article explains.

“The ownership of the European heroin market, according to police sources from a dozen European countries is in the hands of 30 Albanian mafia families. Each of these families control a specific area of Kosovo which is the main transit point for all drugs,” London Daily News writes.

“The Drenica area, which goes through Prizren, Klina and Istok connects Montenegro and FYROM [Macedonia] is controlled by the Drenica Group whose main profit is drugs, weapons, stolen automobiles, white slavery, cigarettes and alcohol. This mafia is connected with the Albanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Czech mafia,” the daily reported.

“Recent FBI report shows that Albanian mafia overtook the Russian and Italian mafia in New York. Same went for several European cities, including London, Berlin and Prague,” the article adds.

Stolen Kosovo

A Czech Television documentary about the suffering of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija province by Vaclav Dvorak.

Five more villages without power

Source: Tanjug
PRIŠTINA -- 5 more villages in the Gnjilane municipality have been left without electricity, according to the head of the Kosovo Ministry’s office in Kosovsko Pomoravlje.

Along with nine schools that have no electricity, the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) has turned off the power supply in the villages of Gornje Kusce, Straža, Stanišor, Melinci and Draganac, said Predrag Stojković, adding that more than 2,500 Serbs had been left in the dark.

He said that “efforts to solve the problem through negotiations with EULEX failed, because they say that they do not have jurisdiction, while KEK is offering a deal that is not acceptable to the Serbs.”

“The Serbian government is trying to solve the problem through the international community, because there is a way of supplying Kosovo with the amount of electricity needed by the Serb community, but the Albanians do not want to accept it,” Stojković said.

The villages of Šilovo, Mogila, Grnčar and Binač have been without electricity for 19 days, while Labljane has not had electricity for over a week.

The power supply to the villages of Ranilug, Glogovce, Tomance and Pančelo was turned off three days ago.

Of the total 73 villages in the municipalities of Novo Brdo, Kosovska Kamenica and Vitina , electricity has been turned off in 14 of them, affecting some 10,000 Serbs residents.

KEK: No power until debts are settled

Power won't be restored to the 20 villages in Kosovo without electricity until all their debts have been settled, says the Kosovo Electricity Corporation (KEK).

A KEK spokesman said that reasons for the cut were the numerous breakdowns on the network that KEK did not wish to repair because of the debts.

He could not say exactly how many Serb villages had been left without electricity.

Serb villages in Kosovsko Pomoravlje and in central Kosovo have been without power for over a fortnight.

KEK announced earlier that Kosovo citizens owed the company EUR 360mn altogether.

No U.S.-Russia reset button "only on Kosovo"

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin on Tuesday stated that Russia believes that Priština should fulfill the agreement reached between Belgrade and the UN.

The agreement is included in the six-point plan, the diplomat reminded, adding that "other partners are suggesting to Priština to ignore it".

The Kosovo Albanian authorities "may not cut a border between Serbia and Kosovo, it is illegal, as much as recognition of Kosovo's independence is illegal”, Konuzin said during an address delivered at Belgrade's Academy for Diplomacy and Security.

According to Tanjug news agency, the ambassador said that the EU mission, EULEX, "has done nothing in regards to this issue, EULEX deals only with implementing Ahtisaari's plan".

UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari drafted a plan of Kosovo's supervised independence which was not adopted by the UN and which Belgrade rejected.

Konuzin said that Kosovo is "the only problem" over which his country "cannot find any common points with the United States", but that official Moscow "does not intend to change its stand".

"Russia's position on Kosovo is determined in Belgrade," said the ambassador, adding that his country will continue to support the Serbian government's stand, "while the Serbian government will be responsible to the Serbian people".

He evaluated that there is intensive cooperation between Russia and Serbia reflected in continuous contacts among officials of the two countries and intensified economic cooperation.

Konuzin underlined that Serbia will have a guaranteed source of gas and will produce oil derivatives of European quality thanks to its partnership with Russia.

Jeremić: Campaign of ethnic cleansing

Source: FoNet, Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Five years ago to date a pogrom of several thousand Serb civilians started in an orchestrated and organized campaign in Kosovo, FM Vuk Jeremić says.

In less than 72 hours, the minister wrote in an editorial for the Greek To Vima newspaper, 35 Serb churches and monasteries, many built in the 14th century, disappeared in flames, forever erased from the humanity's cultural heritage.

A Human Rights Watch report dated July 2004 states that "large groups of Albanians cleansed the areas of any remaining traces of Serb presence with frightening efficiency".

Despite then UNMIK chief Harri Holkeri's words that March 17 events in the province represented "serious crimes against humanity", less than a dozen ethnic Albanians were convicted for the destruction of the Serb holy places. Today, not a single perpetrator is behind bars for torching a single church in Kosovo, Jeremić wrote.

This is the context in which the Albanian authorities unilaterally declared independence on Feb. 17, 2008, breaking international law. Serbia immediately clearly said that it would never recognize this act and that the Kosovo Albanians' secession attempt will meet with a peaceful and diplomatic answer, the minster stressed.

"At the same time, we have started cooperating with the international community on reconfiguring the international civilian presence in the province with the agreement of the UN Security Council."

"In line with UNSCR 1244, agreement was reached to preserve the overall jurisdiction of the UN in Kosovo, at the same time giving a larger operative role to a status-neutral EU mission. We expect that EULEX's active participation in status-neutral administering of the province will lead to a more transparent and efficient work of the police and judiciary," Jeremić further wrote.

"In light of this, we believe that those who took part in the worst peacetime pogrom in Europe since the Second World War must face justice," the minster concluded.

"Only government can guarantee Serb survival"

State Secretary with the Ministry for Kosovo Oliver Ivanović on Tuesday stated that the government is the only certain partner to the Serbs for their survival in Kosovo.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Albanian violence against Serbs in the province, Ivanović said in his statement with Tanjug that the events of March 17, 2004 came as a shock to everyone, primarily to the Serbs who had great expectations from the international community to protect them and bringing those responsible for the violence before justice.

“They promised they will punish all those who had participated in the crime against Serbs during those two days, that they will punish those who inspired the violence and those who attempted to profit in any political or material way,” said Ivanović.

He concluded that, "unfortunately, five years later none of the above took place, which teaches us that we can only trust ourselves".

"I think that the Serbs need to be well organized, that they must certainly unite because that is the only way to survive in such a difficult and turbulent area," Ivanović concluded.

His fellow state secretary with the ministry, Zvonimir Stević, also reacted today to say that the anniversary is a binding reminder to all key international factors that the time is high to put an end to violence directed against Kosovo's Serbs.

Stević said that "mass and orchestrated violence of some 60,000 Albanians against the Kosovo Serbs on March 17 did not represent only an act of ethnic cleansing, which is still ongoing in Kosovo and Metohija, but also a defeat of the international community".

"That date will be marked as a day of defeat of the international peacekeepers, who retreated in front of the Albanian extremists, and in that way, enabled them to commit numerous crimes against Serbs and destroy hundreds of Serb homes, and numerous cultural and historical monuments that represent world heritage," he said.

Stević added that the anniversary is a warning to key international factors that there must be an end to violence perpetrated against the Serbs, who are the victims of separatist appetites of Albanian political leaders.

"However, instead of reining in the terrorists, a part of the international community has engaged itself in directly encouraging them through public recognitions of the illegally declared independence," this official said.

Stević, who is also the chairman of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo, said that the international community must establish a clear difference between the bully and the victim.

Five years since Kosovo violence

Source: B92
BELGRADE -- Five years ago today the largest-scale attack against Kosovo's Serbs took place since the international administration was established in the province in 1999.
Ethnic Albanians attacked the Serb enclaves, massively destroying property, leaving 19 people dead and 950 wounded after a two-day rampage.

Eight Serbs were killed, along with 11 Albanians. The Albanians mostly died in clashes with international troops and police.

63 KFOR soldiers and 123 members of international and Kosovo police were injured.

On March 17-18 2004, some 4,000 Serbs were driven out of their home, while 900 of their houses and 35 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed – some of them precious culture monuments built in the 14th and 16th centuries.

The international forces in Kosovo were surprised by the violence, so their reaction was late, reports said.

The event seen as the cause of the attacks was a campaign in the Albanian language media in Kosovo, claiming that local Serbs were to blame for the drowning in the Ibar River of three Albanian boys. A subsequent UNMIK investigation revealed that these claims were false.

As the violence against the Serbs in the province flared, protests were organized in central Serbia, which turned violent. Mosques in Belgrade and Niš were set on fire, while the seat of the Islamic Community in Novi Sad was vandalized.

Today, the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) will mark the day with memorial services in Belgrade, and in Kosovo and Metohija.

On the eve of the anniversary, President Boris Tadić and PM Mirko Cvetković reminded that the culprits for the organized violence against Kosovo's Serbs have not been punished yet.

Tadić, who will attend a church service in Belgrade today, called on UNMIK and EULEX to ensure justice is available to all residents of Kosovo.

Cvetković said that he expects the EU mission to make sure that more than 200,000 Serbs exiled from their homes in Kosovo return, and to help them rebuild their destroyed houses.

Dignitaries, citizens pay respects to Đinđić

Source: B92, FoNet, Beta, Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Mirko Cvetković, ministers, members of Zoran Đinđić’s family and others have observed the sixth anniversary of the late prime minister’s assassination.

B92 News Politics Politics
Dignitaries, citizens pay respects to Đinđić
12 March 2009 | 13:32 | Source: B92, FoNet, Beta, Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Mirko Cvetković, ministers, members of Zoran Đinđić’s family and others have observed the sixth anniversary of the late prime minister’s assassination.

(B92)
(B92)

The prime minister and other members of his cabinet placed a wreath in the forecourt of the government building, where Đinđić was killed six years ago.

A minute’s silence was observed in honor of the murdered prime minister by Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabić, Ministers Dragan Šutanovac, Saša Dragin, Mlađan Dinkić, Snežana Malović, Diana Dragutinović, Sulejman Ugljanin, Snežana Samardžić-Marković and Svetozar Čiplić.

Also in attendance were Ministers Srđan Srećković, Rasim Ljajić, Tomica Milosavljević, Žarko Obradović, Petar Škundrić, Slobodan Milosavljević, Jasna Matić and their colleagues.

The wreath carried the message: “To Dr. Zoran Đinđić, from the Republic of Serbia.”

Flowers were placed on Đinđić’s grave by members of his family, high-ranking officials and representatives of the Democratic Party (DS) and other parties.

Đinđić’s widow, Ružica, his son, Luka, and President and DS leader Boris Tadić also laid flowers on his grave at the Avenue of Heroes in the New Cemetery, along with Cvetković and DS MPs Nada Kolundžija, Bojan Pajtić, Šutanovac, Dušan Petrović, Oliver Dulić and Čiplić.

Đinđić’s mother, Mila Đinđić, and sister, Gordana Filipović, were the first to place flowers on the grave.

This morning several other members of Đinđić’s government gathered around the grave of the assassinated prime minister, including Gordana Matković, Goran Pitić, Aleksandar Vlahović, Gašo Knežević, Slobodan Milosavljević, Dragoslav Šumarac and Vojislav Milovanović.

Others who placed flowers on his grave included Dinkić, Tomica Milosavljević, Verica Kalanović, Jasna Matić, Samardžić-Marković, Srećković, Dragutinović, Goran Bogdanović, Dragin, Savo Milošević, Ružica Sokić and Svetozar Cvetković.

About 100 citizens waited to lay flowers on his grave at about 11:00 CET.

Zoran Djindjic (1952-2003)

Born in Bosanski Samac, 1952. Graduated from Belgrade University’s Faculty of Philosophy in 1974. Obtained his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Konstantz in Germany, under the mentorship of Dr Jurgen Habermaas, one of the world’s most distinguished philosophers.

The essays and works of Dr Djindjic, one of Serbia’s leading intellectuals, have been published in the periodicals Stav, Knjizevna Rec and Knjizevne Novine. He is also well-known for his books "Serbia; neither East nor West," "Subjectivity and Violence," "Yugoslavia – the Partially Formed State" and "The Fall of the Dialectics."

As a student in Tito’s Yugoslavia, Zoran Djindjic took an active role in the opposition movement. He was arrested and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment for attempting to set up an autonomous student organization with fellow student leaders from Zagreb and Ljubljana.

Dr Djindjic taught philosophy at the University of Novi Sad for a time. Shortly afterwards, he teamed up with prominent Serbian dissident writers and intellectuals to found the Democratic Party, in 1989. A year later, at the annual convention of the Democratic Party, he was elected President of the executive committee. He was elected President of the Democratic Party in January 1994.

In 1990 he was elected MP in the Serbian Parliament. In the same year he became the Democratic Party caucus whip in the Republican Parliament. In 1993 he entered the Chamber of Republics in the Federal Parliament. Following 88-days of student and civic protests at the theft of local and regional elections in 1996-1997, he was elected the first non-communist mayor of Belgrade.

In June 2000, he became coordinator of the Alliance for Change, the largest democratic coalition in Serbia. In August 2000 he became DOS pre-election campaign coordinator.

He was appointed Serbian Prime Minister on January 25, 2001. He spoke German and English. He was assassinated on March 12, 2003 in front of the Serbian government building. Djindjic is survived by his wife Ruzica, and their two children: daughter Jovana and son Luka.

Serbia offers solution to electricity problem in Kosovo

Gracanica, March 10, 2009 – Assistant Minister for Kosovo-Metohija and President of the Coordinating Body for Kosovo-Metohija Zvonimir Stevic today stated that the Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija and the Coordinating Body sent an official protest note to UNMIK over the problem of electricity supply in Kosovo, in which they offered two solutions, resulting from joint activities of the Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija, the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the Serbian electric power industry Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS).

In an interview with the Tanjug news agency, Stevic said that the first solution concerns the setting up of a separate enterprise, which would provide electricity to Serb-inhabited areas.

The government also approved the idea that EPS compensate for the electricity Serbian households have already used, said Stevic.

Stevic pointed out that by cutting off power supply, temporary Kosovo institutions have provoked serious crisis, which could become a real humanitarian catastrophe.

The main goal of Pristina authorities is either to force Serbs to recognise Kosovo institutions or to leave Kosovo-Metohija, said Stevic.

The Serbian government has demanded that the international community does something in order to terminate agony of Serbs in Kosovo as soon as possible.

Serb villages again without electricity

B92:
Serbs in the Kosovo village of Prilužje are holding a peaceful protest today because they have yet to have their electricity switched on.

Also, after receiving electricity yesterday, the village of Šilovo once again does not have electric power.

Schools have been closed for several days in Prilužje, the municipal offices are not working, while only emergency cases are being accepted at the hospital.

After nine days without electricity, Šilovo was left in the dark again after a power failure last night because of excessive usage.

The problems in this area of Kosovo were caused by malfunctions and the distribution network of the Kosovo electric company, KEK, is not implementing collective shutdowns, according to the company.

“The policy of KEK is to intervene in the malfunctions in the electric network in the regions that pay for their electric bills at an acceptable level,” KEK stated.

“We do not intervene in regions where the payments are at an unacceptable level or where they are no payments being made,” the company adds.

The statement adds that the since 1999, the citizens of Kosovo owe about EUR 360mn in unpaid electric bills. KEK did not want to fix a malfunction in the network in the villages where consumers do not pay electricity bills.

Those consumers, however, say that they cannot pay because they have been left jobless.

Four villages in which Serbs live—Prilužje, Grace, Babin Most and Plemetina—have not had electricity since last week.

There are also several Albanian villages that have not paid electricity bills which currently do not have electricity. Residents from those villages protested as well.

Support by Spain over Kosovo and SAA

Blic. Author: E. B. | 10.03.2009 - 09:46

The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero expressed after meeting with Serbia President Boris Tadic, strong support to European integration by Serbia and pointed out that Spain would not change its stance over no recognition of Kosovo independence.

Tadic thanked for Spain’s support on both issues characterizing it as decisive. He also repeated that Serbia would never recognize Kosovo independence but likewise would never give up membership at the EU.
Spain Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos spoke in favor of de-blocking of the SAA between the EU and Serbia during working breakfast with his Serbia counterpart Vuk Jeremic. Moratinos also said that ‘Spain shall continue acting so that Holland makes possible implementation of the SAA as well as the transient trade agreement between the EU and Serbia’.

Partizan sets crowd record at Belgrade Arena!

The world basketball capital of Belgrade, Serbia became the proud owner on Thursday of the single-game record for attendance at an indoor basketball game in European club history! Officially, 22,567 fans packed Belgrade Arena for the Last 16, Week 5 game between hosts Partizan and Panathinaikos of Greece. Both teams had already qualified to the next round, the Quarterfinal Playoffs, but were still fighting to finish first in their Last 16 group. With it's incredible crowd behind it, Partizan won 63-56, but it was not enough to displace Panathinaikos from first place.
The record crowd was considerably bigger than the previous two highest-attended European indoor club games on record: 18,518 fans for Telekom Baskets Bonn vs. Alba Berlin in Cologne Arena for a German League game on April 7, 2000 and 18,500 for Panathinaikos vs. Tau Ceramica at OAKA in Athens for their third Quarterfinal Playoffs game on April 12, 2006.

"Crazy," Partizan teenager Jan Vesely said afterwards. "I've never seen anything like this in my life. I was dreaming about this kind of night as a boy and my dreams came true tonight."

The world record attendance for any basketball game, indoor or outdoor, is believed to be the Cup Winners' Cup final between AEK Athens and Slavia Prague on April 4, 1968 at the ancient marble Kallimarmaro Stadium in Athens, Greece, where 80,000 were seated for the game as an estimated 40,000 more followed from outside.

Djokovic wins Dubai Open

Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, February 28, 2009 - World number three Novak Djokovic of Serbia has won the 12th title of his career and his first title of the season by beating David Ferrer of Spain 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Djokovic will pick up US$383,000 in prize money, as well as 500 ATP Tour points.

Serbia wins two medals at shooting European Championships

Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC, February 22, 2009 - Andrija Zlatic of Serbia won gold medal at the European Championships Air Weapons in Prague.
Zlatic fired 684,6 points to win the first place in the men's 10m air pistol event.

Serbian team consisting of Zlatic, Dimitrije Grgic and Damir Mikec took silver medal in the men's 10m air pistol.

293 victims of Albanian extremists identified

Belgrade, Feb 20, 2009 – Today in Pristina the Serbian government Committee for Missing Persons will take over the remains of three victims whom Albanian terrorists kidnapped and murdered in Kosovo-Metohija in 1999.

The committee will hand over the remains of two Serbs and one Roma from Podujevo, Pec and Dragas to their closest relations.

President of the Committee for Missing Persons Veljko Odalovic told the Tanjug news agency that including these three victims, so far a total of 293 victims of Serbian, Roma and other nationalities have been identified, adding that the Serbian side is still looking for another 542 missing persons.

According to the list harmonised by the Belgrade and Pristina joint working group, a total of 3,300 persons went missing in the province during the NATO bombing, said Odalovic, adding that the fate of 1,918 victims has been determined.

He said that the remains of another 400 persons are still in the Pristina morgue because it is impossible to identify them since their DNA does not match the samples given by the families and relatives of the persons who are still missing.

This means we will have to determine whose bodies are these and whether the Hague investigators misidentified some victims in 1999 and 2000, said Odalovic.

The Committee for Missing Persons therefore demands that this matter be resolved as soon as possible and a serious investigation carried out into the trade in organs of around 300 Serbs, kidnapped by the Kosovo Liberation Army and secretly transferred to Albania, where they were murdered, said Odalovic.

Odalovic recalled that Serbia has fulfilled its obligations and handed over the remains of around 800 Albanians from mass graves in Batajnica, Petrovo Selo and Perucac.

However, the Albanian side has not done the same although there are several mass graves in Kosovo-Metohija, noted Odalovic, stressing that the committee will demand that these mass graves be opened as soon as possible.

Six-point plan must be implemented

Belgrade/New York, Feb 18, 2009 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic said last night in New York that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed that the UN remains committed to the full implementation of the six-point plan for Kosovo-Metohija.

After speaking with Ki-moon, Jeremic stated that the Secretary General will report on the plan’s implementation to the Security Council in March.

This is very important since the UN Security Council gave the mandate to the international community to implement the six-point plan, Jeremic explained and stressed that Belgrade will actively participate in its implementation.

The UN will not give up their presence in the province and their role defined in the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, Jeremic noted adding that the UN will neither give up the Secretary General’s plan.

Serbia will use peaceful, legal, political and diplomatic means to fight for the preservation of its statehood and constitutional order, the Minister concluded.