Reactions to CoE investigator’s report

Source: B92, Tanjug

BELGRADE, PRIŠTINA -- After the adoption of Dick Marty’s report, Hashim Thaci has denied accusations against him, linking him to human organs trafficking.

The map of suspected detention facilities used by the KLA in Albania


The CoE Human Rights Committee adopted both the report and a draft resolution linking the Kosovo Albanian leader to trade in organs harvested from kidnapped Serb and other civilians in Kosovo in 1999.

Thaci, who is currently Kosovo's PM, has denied all allegations and called them “offensive”. “The goal of these accusations is to destroy the image and international reputation of the state of Kosovo,” he claims.

Thaci said Marty’s allegations were “scandalous” and that his report “is a text full of lies and defamation which are recycled propaganda that has been going on for the last 15 years”.

He stressed that the accusations were launched “by persons who do not wish well to Kosovo and its citizens”.

The Kosovo PM told a press conference in Priština late on Thursday that "Kosovo's institutions were ready to provide documents and arguments that would be requested" and demanded that Marty provided evidence and facts he mentioned in the report.

“We owe it to all future generations that will come after us to protect the values we’ve created as people, and that’s Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), from tendencies aiming at belittling historic role it played for freedom and independence of Kosovo,” said Thaci.

“All efforts in this direction are also efforts to destroy the state of Kosovo,” Thaci concluded.

EULEX Spokeswoman Irina Gudeljević, meanwhile, called upon the CoE investigator to present evidence for the war crimes and human organ trade allegations to the competent authorities.

“EULEX is taking very seriously all accusations of war crimes or organized crime,” she stressed.

“However, the prosecution needs to base its investigation on evidence. We encourage all those who have relevant evidence that will confirm the allegations from the report to hand them to the appropriate authorities,” the EU mission spokeswoman said.

“But what I have to point out is that the mission already has a certain number of cases that are linked to war crimes and organized crime that are being investigated or are in the stage of criminal prosecution,” Gudeljević stressed.

When asked about the private Medicus clinic that Marty mentioned in his report as a place where illegal organ transplantations took place, she said that an initial hearing had already begun at the District Court in Priština.

In Belgrade, head of the Serbian government's Commission for Missing Persons Veljko Odalović stated on Thursday that the adoption of Marty’s report was a great victory of this European institution.

“The CoE Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights adopted by a huge majority Marty's report on illegal trade in human organs in Kosovo and Albania, identified possible perpetrators and gave guidelines for future activities,” he stressed.

Odalović told B92 that he had witnessed suffering and disappearance of people in Priština in the chaotic period between 1999 and 2000, when 1,500 persons, not only Serbs but also Albanians, had been kidnapped and killed.

He underlined that ethnic cleansing was linked with human organ trafficking, and that now the international community had to offer full support and secure comprehensive international investigation of the case.

According to him, nothing can stop this process now from being fully detangled.

“Priština has to deal with the fact that the main suspect in Marty's report is current Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaci, however it is up to Albanians to decide whether they will take a risk and appoint Thaci president regardless of Marty's report,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Dick Marty will visit Moscow on Monday and discuss the report with Russian officials.

Deputy Head of the Russian delegation at the PACE Leonid Slutsky told Kommersant daily that the main topic of Marty's talks with Russian officials would be the relations between Russia and Georgia, which PACE had been discussing regularly since the conflict in South Ossetia.

He, however, noted that during the visit, members of the Russian delegation would take a stand on Marty's report, in which Thaci was qualified as the leader of a group engaged in organ, drugs and weapons trafficking.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated Wednesday that Russia was deeply troubled by the information of the possible involvement of Kosovo's top officials in the crimes against humanity.

FM: Organ trafficking case test for world

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said on Thursday that the accusations CoE Rapporteur Dick Marty must be thoroughly investigated.

Jeremić underlined that this would represent a "great moral test for the international community".

Outgoing Kosovo Albanian Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, whose party on Sunday won the election, was named in the report as one of the ex-KLA responsible for organizing kidnappings of Serb civilians in 1999, and their transport to Albania where their organs were removed.

“I see this as a great moral test for the international community. What we have here are grave accusations and they have to be thoroughly investigated and examined, and this issue must not be swept under the rug,” Jeremić said after his meeting with Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci.

Jeremić expressed his satisfaction over the fact that the Committee for Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly adopted in Paris on Thursday Rapporteur Marty's draft report on Kosovo, and voiced his belief that the Assembly will approve the document at its plenum session scheduled for January next year.

Medelci congratulated the Serbian authorities for the wisdom they had shown in dealing with the Kosovo issue and for their opting for dialogue, which he hopes will yield a solution that Serbia will find as suitable.

Medelci also said that his country, which has not recognized Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence, had always defended, at all meetings with different international partners, the stand of Serbia.

The position of Algeria is that the (UN) Security Council is the only body that can resolve that issue (Kosovo), and that as long as the issue is not resolved in such a manner, Algeria will not be in a position to establish official relations with Kosovo, Medelci said.

Medelci and Jeremić also discussed the forthcoming conference of Non-Aligned Movement, which will be held in Belgrade in September, on the 50th anniversary of the organization's first summit staged in the Serbian capital in 1961.

The two foreign ministers also spoke about Serbian President Boris Tadić's visit to Algeria next year, when a great number of inter-state agreements are expected to be signed.

Del Ponte in plea to support organ investigation

Source: Tanjug, swissinfo.ch

BUENOS AIRES -- The draft Council of Europe report implicating Hashim Thaci in organ trafficking has been welcomed by former Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. 

In an exclusive interview with swissinfo.ch, the Swiss lawyer said she was torn between concern and satisfaction at the idea that these “heinous acts” would soon be brought to justice. 

Del Ponte, now Switzerland’s ambassador to Argentina and due to retire early next year, was Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) from 1999 to 2007.

In 2008 she published a controversial book, The Hunt, in which she detailed evidence of the smuggling of organs taken from murdered Serb civilians after the end of the Kosovo war in 1999.

The ICTY said it had never seen evidence to substantiate her claims, and Thaci, the Kosovo Albanian prime minister, and the Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha publicly rejected them.

The Council of Europe report, drawn up by Swiss senator Dick Marty, who presented it officially to European diplomats on Thursday, says Thaci headed a “mafia-like” organization that dealt in weapons, drugs and human organs.

It says the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which Thaci led, had secret prisons where Serbs and Kosovar Albanians were held in inhuman conditions, before being murdered for their organs.“The information revealed in The Hunt led to this investigation,” Del Ponte said.

Del Ponte’s book quotes witnesses saying internal organs had been taken from 300 Serbs deported from Kosovo to northern Albania.

She said in the interview she was “shocked and deeply distressed” by the findings – “namely that the killing of prisoners with the express purpose of removing their organs and selling them for profit was carried out by senior members of the KLA, including some individuals who hold top positions in the country’s current government”.

She said the claims in her book were backed by “credible and verifiable physical evidence“ obtained by researchers from the ICTY and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (Unmik) during a mission to Albania and in the presence of an Albanian government prosecutor.

“The reason I included these claims in my book was to provoke a serious follow-up, so that, if the findings warranted it, a criminal investigation would be launched,” she explained.

“Such a criminal investigation could not have been carried out by the ICTY because it had no jurisdiction in this matter. But UNMIK and the local authorities in Kosovo and the Republic of Albania did have such jurisdiction, and also had the authority to undertake this,” she said.

“I know the reports cited in The Hunt led to an investigation by the Council of Europe, a draft of which was published on its website in March,” she said.

Del Ponte said she was glad the Council had taken over the investigation, describing it as the “only credible one ever carried out by any competent body, either local or international”.

“Neither the Kosovo authorities nor the government or judiciary of the Republic of Albania have carried out any investigation into the statements in my book, and have now just dismissed the serious accusations contained in the Council of Europe report,” she told swissinfo.ch.

Indeed, on Thursday a senior Kosovo official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Thaci had contacted attorneys to pursue a libel suit against Marty. The official said Thaci was also considering suing the London-based Guardian newspaper, which first published the report.

“So I beg the European Union, the United States, other interested countries and the United Nations to give EULEX [the EU police and justice mission] every political and material support to conduct a criminal investigation into these accusations and to bring to trial all those suspected of involvement in these crimes,” she said.

“Furthermore, I beg them all to redouble their efforts to build up and implement the necessary capacities for law enforcement and the eradication of illegal organ trafficking, in particular the harvesting of a person’s organs against their will.”

Del Ponte has no doubt that the world needs a better system to ensure a supply of healthy organs for transplantation, but thinks the depravity of killing innocent people for their organs makes it hard for many people to believe that it actually happens.

Perhaps this reflects the unwillingness of the press and legal authorities to rake up these issues, and the unwillingness of the relevant officials to follow them up,” she said.

“Let us hope the accusations made by the Council of Europe will be heard as a cry that will make the international community do what is needed to solve this problem,” she said.

Organ trade report "great victory for Serbia"

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- The report by Council of Europe Special Rapporteur Dick Marty is a great victory for Serbia in the fight for truth and justice, says Bruno Vekarić.

Serbia's Deputy war crimes prosecutor commented thus late on Tuesday on announcement that Marty's still unpublished report accuses Kosovo Albanian leaders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) for organizing kidnappings of Serbs and others in order to harvest their vital organs.

“Thanks to the help and the authority of Serbian President Boris Tadić and the continuous efforts exerted by judicial bodies, we have achieved the victory and returned hope to the families of kidnapped or missing victims,” Vekarić told Tanjug.

He expressed expectation that the “exceptionally positive” report will launch many investigations into human organs trafficking in Kosovo, and also in Albania, where courts have been "ignoring calls for solving the problem for years".

Vekarić noted that he will be able to comment on Marty's report in greater detail only after it has been officially published and reviewed, which is due to happen at the Thursday session of the CoE Human Rights and Legal Affairs Committee

If the committee adopts the report, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly will discuss the document in late January.

In a book published upon termination of her office with the Hague Tribunal, former chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte was the first to publicly address the issue of kidnappings and human organs trafficking in northern Albania in 1999. Serbia launched an investigation into the case, which has since been dubbed the Yellow House case.

Thaci, KLA named in human organ trade report

Source: B92, BBC, Tanjug, Guardian.co.uk
STRASBOURG -- The ethnic Albanian leaders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were responsible for organizing human organ trafficking.

An areal photo of suspected N. Albania locations (courtesy of the War Crimes Prosecution)

This is according to a report submitted by CoE investigator Dick Marty, that should be discussed in late January 2011.

Members of the KLA kidnapped Serb and other civilians in Kosovo in 1999, to transport them to Albania, where their organs were extracted to be sold in the black market, according to this.

International authorities in Kosovo "did nothing to solve this case even though they had the evidence," the report says.

The Swiss investigator, who previously revealed CIA-operated prisons in Europe, is thus once again in the spotlight, with the revelation concerning the so-called Yellow House case.

According to the report, which B92 has seen, but which is yet to be made public, Hashim Thaci, Kosovo's outgoing prime minister, was the leader of the criminal group that abducted civilians and removed their organs.

Thaci headed the KLA Drenica Group in 1999 and organized kidnappings and the illegal organ trade, said the Marty report compiled after two years of investigating.

Thaci's KLA group is described as "the most extreme".

Marty further implicates the now Kosovo Albanian politician, whose party won most votes in the elections in Kosovo held on Sunday, in heroin trafficking and trade in other narcotics, which he substantiates with numerous intelligence reports from several European countries.

"Our first-hand reports have confirmed for us that Hashim Thaci and his close associates ordered, an in some case oversaw murders, imprisonment, beatings and interrogations in Kosovo, especially in the context of operations that the KLA conducted in the territory of Albania, from 1998 until 2000," the report says.

The document blames the Drenica Group for responsibility for the secret prisons in Albania and the fate of people imprisoned there, "among them many civilians kidnapped in the territory of Kosovo".

Marty's draft resolution to be discussed by the Council of Europe (CoE) states that there are many indications and evidence that confirm that both Serbs and ethnic Albanians were held in secret prisons in northern Albania operated by the KLA.

Although many wintesses to these crimes have been killed themselves, others are alive but afraid to testify.

However, B92 has learned that Marty believes a sufficient amount of evidence has been collected to make sure those responsible for committing the crimes will be brought to justice.

The still-secret report, seen by the BBC in Strasbourg earlier today, shows that prisoners were treated inhumanely and were subjected to humiliation, "before they disappeared".

The draft directly names KLA leaders, and says the crimes took place after the end of the 1999 war, and before international forces could impose order.

The human organ trade, which developed in the "post-war chaos", then took other forms in Kosovo and continued to this day, says the report, noting the Medicus Clinic case investigated by EULEX.

Dick Marty specifies that organs were extracted from prisoners in a clinic in Albania near the town of Fushe Kruje. The organs were then transported via the airport in Tirana to rich clients abroad.

Marty writes in the document that concrete signs that the trade took place were evident in the early 2000, but that international authorities in Kosovo "did not consider it necessary to investigate in detail", or investigated "superficially and unprofessionally".

The Marty report will be discussed by a CoE commission on Thursday. If adopted, the Parliamentary Committee will debate it in late January of next year.

Guardian's take

As the Medicus case trial proceeds in Priština today, guardian.co.uk reports that Marty stated that "Kosovo's guerrilla army" formed "a formidable power base in the organized criminal enterprises" in Kosovo and Albania.

The faction is known as the Drenica Group was led by Hashim Thaci, became the KLA's dominant faction and senior KLA figures from the group hold senior positions in Kosovo's government today, says the newspaper's report.

"In 1999, Thaci was identified as the most dangerous of the KLA's 'criminal bosses' by intelligence reports," according to Marty.

Thaci's KLA group is also said to be the main organization responsible for smuggling prisoners across the porous border. They were held in a network of six detention facilities, converted from warehouses, farm buildings and a disused factory.

The report, which states that it is not a criminal investigation and is unable to pronounce judgments of guilt or innocence, focuses on a key figure said to have played a central role in the organ operation, says the Guardian.

A KLA medical commander based in Albania, Shaip Muja was and remains a close confidante of Thaci's. Muja is currently a political adviser in the office of the prime minister, with responsibility for health.

"We have uncovered numerous convergent indications of Muja's central role [in] international networks, comprising human traffickers, brokers of illicit surgical procedures, and other perpetrators of organized crime," the Marty report states.

Marty estimates that 40 captives survived being held prisoner in Albania, and are alive today. Others are thought to have been killed, including "scores" who he says were taken across the border after the war ended.

Among the makeshift prisons where captives were held, Marty identifies the "famed Yellow House", near the town of Burrel.

Serbia wins Davis Cup

The Serbian tennis team has won the final match of the Davis Cup in the Belgrade Arena, after beating France, the nine-times champions, by 3:2.

Viktor Troicki secured the win with a straight-sets victory over Michael Llodra in the final singles match.

Earlier, Novak Djokovic beat Gaël Monfils to level the tie at 2–2.

Djokovic beat Gilles Simon on Friday by 3:0, but Monfils triumphed over Janko Tipsarevic with the same score. The French had an upper hand on Saturday, with Llodra and Clemont defeating Zimonjic and Troicki in men’s doubles by 3:2.

Tadić apologizes during Vukovar, Croatia visit

Source: B92, Tanjug

VUKOVAR -- Serbian and Croatian presidents Boris Tadić and Ivo Josipović have placed wreaths to honor Croat victims at a memorial in Ovčara, near Vukovar.

The two leaders also visited a memorial for Serb civilians killed in the town of Paulin Dvor. Both towns saw executions of prisoners and civilians during the war in 1991.

"I am here to once again offer words of apology, to express regret and create a possibility for Serbs and Croats, Serbia and Croatia, to turn a new page of history," said Tadić in Ovčara.

According to him, by admitting to crimes, apologizing and expressing regret, possibilities are created for reconciliation.

"Everything that happened to Serbs and Croats in the twentieth century can be put in the book of the past, which in itself would be an act of writing a book of the future," Tadić said.

Josipović said that Ovcara is a place of pain and suffering of the victims of a senseless policy.

"We have come to pay respects to the victims, express our condolences, but also to promise that no crime will go unpunished," he said.

Josipović expressed belief that this event will help boost the efforts in shedding light on the fate of the missing persons and in establishing good neighborly relations, underscoring that a different policy, one of peace and friendship, proves possible. In Paulin Dvor, Josipović said that the victims commemorated there "deserve an apology".

He also noted that there is "no excuse for any crime", and that his country is determined to prosecute criminals.

Tadić was accompanied by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Božidar Đelić, National Assembly General Secretary Veljko Odalović, President of the Vojvodina provincial government Bojan Pajtić, President of Bač municipality Tomislav Bogunović and Ambassador of the Netherlands to Serbia Laurent Stokvis.

Tadić was welcomed by Josipović, Vukovar Mayor Željko Sabo, as well as Dutch and Serbian ambassadors to Croatia, Stella Ronner-Grubačić and Stanimir Vukićević.

President Tadić's visit to Ovčara near Vukovar, the execution site of 261 Croat prisoners of war and civilians, drew the attention of numerous journalists, and security measures have been intensified along the road.

The Ovčara monument is located in the hangar where Croatian captives and civilians were imprisoned. After being shot, they were buried in a mass grave.

200 bodies were recovered, while 61 persons are still missing. 15 persons have been found guilty of committing this crime, and received a total of 207 years in prison in trials conducted in Serbia, and at the Hague Tribunal.

Ahead of the unofficial visit today, most Croatian politicians have welcomed the Serbian president’s visit and assessed that it is a “historical” event, while far-right Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) has announced peaceful protests over the first visit of a high state official from Serbia to places where crimes were committed during the war.

"Uber Life", the first serbian interactive film brings stunning action, mesmerizing fantasy and epic tale

Source: starsinkerala

Now, this is something really fresh and original. Premiering this November in Serbia and the Balkans region, ÜBER LIFE is the first Serbian interactive film and also one of the first ones in the world as well made in that new technology which gives the viewer a sense of being truly involved and able to choose a course of dramatic action and to affect the fate of the hero.

The new interactive way of watching the movie gives a whole new dimension to the classic epic tale. Or to put it more simple - this is a film which you both watch and play like a video game :)
ÜBER LIFE is universal and archetypal tale about the forces of good and evil, love and courage. The main hero, a man who has lost  everything, opposes deviant religious powers of darkness and unexpectedly discovers love, the true motive for the struggle and life. Driven by strong motives and the will to survive he gets into various adventures, in which dream and reality are constantly intertwined. This epic adventure takes place in three different ways, via multiple choices of dramatic flows, where the viewers with their participation and selection decide on the further course and destiny of the hero. Film is full of fiction, special effects, action scenes and a large number of dreamy and surreal scenes.

"EULEX will not take north by force"

Source: Beta
PRIŠTINA -- EULEX head Xavier Bout de Marnhac has said that the EU mission in Kosovo does not plan to take control over northern Kosovo by force.

He however reiterated that the rule of law and more visible presence of international institutions has to be established in the predominantly Serb area.

In an interview with Beta news agency, De Marnhac said violence was not the way to solve problems, elaborating, in the interest of clarity, that he did not believe violence could produce any positive result. He added that there was definitely no intention on the part of EULEX to resort to violence.

De Marnhac, who in 2007 and 2008 as an active French general spearheaded KFOR, added that he understood there was a certain amount of concern among the Serb population in northern Kosovo about international presence there.

However, he pointed out that it was for the benefit of the Serb community that EULEX wanted to establish firmer rule of law there, to ensure economic advancement and other forms of progress in the area.

He reiterated that establishing the rule of law, whose presence in northern Kosovo he did not rate highly, was one of his priorities. De Marnhac went on to say that there were indications that this was what the local community wanted too and that he would therefore visit that part of the territory soon.

Forensic experts accused of destroying evidence

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- The Serbian Justice Ministry backs an investigation of forensic experts who worked on the 2004 case of two soldiers found dead in their barracks in Belgrade.

This is according to Justice Minister Snežana Malović, who spoke on the sixth anniversary of their deaths.

"The motion and all accompanying documentation and evidence will be brought before a commission, which will determine whether there had been any illegal activities. We are going to review it carefully and take any necessary steps," Malović told reporters in Belgrade.

The motion is in line with some other activities by the ministry, said Malović, explaining that the new law on forensic experts that was adopted in June required a new general appointment of experts.

The minister appealed to the authorities to do everything necessary to find out all there is to know about the case.

Soldiers Dragan Jakovljević and Dražen Milovanović were found dead inside the Karakaš base in Belgrade on October 5, 2004. The circumstances surrounding their deaths remain officially unknown even after three forensic investigations, two by Serbian and one by FBI experts.

Legal representative of the soldiers' families Predrag Savić says that Serbian investigators destroyed evidence during the investigation, and he wants the Justice Ministry to ban them from acting as forensic experts in the future. Savić also asked the prosecution to start an all-encompassing effort to find the killer or killers of the soldiers.

Street named after slain journalist

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- A street nameplate carrying the name of assassinated journalist Slavko Ćuruvija was unveiled in Dedinje, Belgrade, on Tuesday.

On the initiative of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), the Belgrade City Council made a decision on September 22 to name the second part of the Baja Pivljanin Street after Slavko Ćuruvija.

Ćuruvija was killed on April 11, 1999 in front of his apartment, and the perpetrators have not been identified to this day.

The ceremony was attended by Belgrade Mayor Dragan Đilas, UNS President Ljiljana Smajlović, Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) President Vukašin Obradović, members of the Ćuruvija family and President of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) Vuk Drašković.

Slovak FM: No Kosovo recognition

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Slovak FM Mikulas Dzurinda stressed at the meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković that the Slovak government will not consider recognizing Kosovo.

He also said that Bratislava supports the initiation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština.

According to a release by the office for cooperation with the media, Cvetković expressed gratitude for Slovakia's support to Serbia on its Eurointegration path, as well as for Slovakia's consistent stand not to recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence.

At the meeting, the officials agreed that the two countries are constantly improving their overall bilateral relations, especially in the domain of economy which gives ample room for further enhancement of cooperation.

During his one-day visit to Serbia, Dzurinda will give a speech on Serbia's EU perspective at the conference "Serbia on the road to Europe - 10 years after". The Slovak official will also confer with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić.

10 years since fall of Milošević regime

Source: B92, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Today marks ten years since the fall of Slobodan Milošević's regime, brought about by demonstrations staged on October 5, 2000.

An estimated half a million people from all over Serbia took to the streets that day to protest, led by the 18-party opposition coalition dubbed DOS (the Democratic Opposition of Serbia), in a bid to force Milošević to concede his defeat in the presidential elections held on September 24, 2000.

DSS party leader and DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica had won that election. In the first round, he received 50.24 percent of votes, but the Federal Election Commission, pressured by Milošević, at the time Yugoslav president, said that Koštunica had won 48 percent and announced a runoff.

DOS decided to organize daily protests and road blocks their reaction to an attempted rigging of election results, and force Milošević to concede and step down.

The election commission said it would announce the exact results on October 5. DOS scheduled a big rally in Belgrade for that day.

Protesters entered the federal parliament building in the late afternoon, after police prevented them from doing so earlier in the day, and later they were also inside the state broadcaster RTS premises.

After a disruption, RTS continued broadcasting with the message, "This is the program of the new RTS".

A while later, DOS leaders announced that the presidential election had been won, thanks to the massive protest of citizens.

After the meeting with Koštunica on October 6, Milošević addressed the citizens via a private Belgrade TV station and admitted his defeat at the presidential elections.

He congratulated Koštunica on his victory.

Milošević was arrested on April 1, 2001 and extradited to the Hague Tribunal on June 28, where he died in detention in March 2006, before his trial was completed.

EU congratulates

The European Union (EU) has congratulated Serbia the 10th anniversary of democratic changes that took place on October 5, 2000, while the office of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton stated that the EU will continue to support Serbia on its EU path, in both political and economic sense.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of democratic changes, we would like to congratulate the citizens of Serbia on the progress they have made in view of democratic reforms and improvement of economic situation, Ashton's spokesperson Maja Kocijancic stated for the Cologne-based broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

According to her, all these changes laid the foundations of Serbia's EU integration process.

We are aware that this process is lengthy and not easy, but it is the one which will bring real and concrete changes to the citizens, Kocijancic said.

Chairman of the European Parliament's Delegation for South East Europe Eduard Kukan believes that Serbia has done a lot in the previous ten years, but that it could have done more.

Serbia has done a lot in the previous ten years given that it has managed to achieve the position of a future candidate for the EU membership. The country has had difficulties and problems on the way, but now it is accepted by the international community as a future EU member, and that is quite an achievement, Kukan stated for Deutsche Welle.

He stated that the complicated situation in the country's internal policy prevented Serbia from making even better results, and took an example of the Kosovo issue as one of the chief obstacles.

Serbia's place among nations

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick estimated that Serbia today, 10 years after the democratic changes, is on the road towards integration into European and Western institutions in order to take the place it deserves among other democratic and progressive nations of the world.

We see the day when Serbia will be a force of stability in the Balkans and the leader of regional cooperation, underlined Warlick in an article published in the Belgrade daily Politika.

We see a Serbia which is equal to its American and European partners at the table, which tackles regional and global problems and assists in finding political, economic and scientific solutions.

We see the day in the not so distant future when the promises made on October 5 will be finally fulfilled, the ambassador underscored.

I believe that Serbia will manage to reach all the goals that will bring greater stability, safety and prosperity to Serbia and to the whole region, Warlick concluded.

Serbia has great opportunities in implementation of Danube strategy

Belgrade, 29 Sept 2010 – Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic said today that Serbia has great opportunities in the implementation of the Danube strategy and this is why it should be prepared when a new Pan-European regional strategy on the Danube is adopted in June 2011.

Presenting the results of the four-month campaign ¨Days of Danube 2010¨, Djelic noted that the Danube is not only a natural beauty and link between many countries in Europe, but it is also a huge opportunity for Serbia since 588 kilometres of its length pass through it, which is a quarter of the river´s flow.

For Serbia it is important that a meeting on financing projects of the Danube strategy was held in Belgrade on 27 September, Djelic emphasised and added that this meeting was attended by European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn and President of the European Investment Bank Philippe Maystadt.

The participants in the meeting agreed to work out a financial instrument which will cover the implementation of more than 1,000 projects from the Danube strategy, Djelic specified and called on everyone who has ideas and projects to apply for the funds.

Serbia’s business presentation at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai

Belgrade/Shanghai, 29 Sept 2010 – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic visited the Serbian pavilion at the World EXPO fair 2010 in Shanghai today where he opened a business presentation "Serbia – Your Business Partner."

Dinkic stressed that the successful performance of Serbia at the fair is a good basis for the increased presence of Serbian products on the Chinese market and that this is a good chance for many visitors of the exhibition to learn more about our country.

We can be proud as two million, 650 thousand visitors have so far visited our pavilion, said the Minister.

He stated that the Serbian pavilion is very attractive and more visited than pavilions of the countries in our neighbourhood.

He pointed out that September in the Serbian pavilion is dedicated to economic issues and activities related to a business presentation of Serbia, entitled "Code of the Economy."

Visitors to the Serbian pavilion in Shanghai have an opportunity to learn about the natural beauties of Serbia, such as Djavolja Varos (Devil's Town), Lake Palic, Stara Planina, our spas, Belgrade, Novi Sad and other cities, as well as the achievements of our famous scientist Milutin Milankovic.

Also, visitors to the Serbian pavilion have the opportunity to see two modern projects for promoting the economy of Serbia.

The first is a virtual fair "efair4U" prepared by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) and is a portal where companies from China can get acquainted with 2,500 companies from Serbia and establish first contacts with our business community.

The second project, an electronic “Serbia Business Network” is an interactive database that provides access to more than 88 projects, products, services and patents that are open to investors or strategic partners.

The database highlights all the good locations in Serbia for investment partners and projects seeking investors.

Dinkic, who is also president of the Serbian part of the Intergovernmental Mixed Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation between Serbia and China was a guest in Shanghai today at the ten-storey Chinese pavilion, worth €300 million.

3-year-old hurt in Kosovo explosion

Source: B92, FoNet, Tanjug

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- A three-year-old Serb girl was hurt in an explosion that happened on Tuesday in the northern part of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica. 

The child was hurt inside her home, when the device exploded on the roof of the apartment building.

Doctors said that the child had an injury to her knee and that her life was not threatened.

Kosovo police spokesperson Besim Hoti told Tanjug on Wednesday that the explosion that destroyed a cell site belonging to the mobile carrier Ipko, which services Albanians, was caused by 200 grams of TNT.

The site, located on the roof of an apartment building in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, was destroyed at 20:40 CET on Tuesday, Hoti noted.

The roof space was rented out by a local Serb who works for KPS, it has emerged.

His neighbors, who spent the night out in the street, said that they asked him repeatedly to remove the antenna, but that he refused.

After the blast, the rest of the night in northern Kosovska Mitrovica was quiet. This event continues a series of incidents in northern Kosovo, which began with the murder of doctor Mesud Džeković in northern Kosovska Mitrovica in July.

KPS, EULEX and KFOR all showed up at the scene and blocked this part of the city, according to reports.

Violence condemned

Serbia's State Secretary for Kosovo Oliver Ivanović said Wednesday that people should not speculate about the possible motives for the Tuesday incident in northern Kosovska Mitrovica.

Ivanović told Tanjug that violence was an unacceptable tool in solving any problems.

Every time the Kosovo Albanians used violence to destroy Serbian mobile carriers' towers, there was a reaction, said Ivanović. "Many Serbs in northern Kosovska Mitrovica have relatives south of the city, and the disruption to communications seems frightening at a time like this," he remarked.

Violence breeds more violence, and everyone should refrain from one-sided actions and allow the situation to calm down, so that Serbia and Kosovo could start talking about the issues that are important for everyday life, said the Ministry for Kosovo official.

Man dies in Serb enclave with cut off phones

Source: B92
GRAČANICA -- The Health Center in the Serb enclave in Gračanica in Kosovo has announced that a patient died because he was unable to call an ambulance.

The phones operated by Belgrade-based providers in enclaves inhabited by Serbs south of the Ibar River were cut off on Sunday and Monday by the Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština.

According to the announcement today, the 76-year-old man, identified with his initials M.D., died on Tuesday around 17:10 CET.

Gračanica Health Center Director Radmila Trajković said that the ambulance team, once it finally arrived, was not able to save the man's life.

“His daughter came to our health institution upset, saying that her father was in a very serious condition and that he had been unable to call the ambulance all night. By the way, he was suffering from angina, he had cerebral infarction earlier and he was in a serious chronic condition, but on September 27 his condition acutely worsened,” she said.

“Our team then went to the scene where they found the patient in a life threatening condition. In other words, we were only able to go there on September 28 somewhere around 17:00, when his daughter found him, and give him medical attention. Our ambulance team unfortunately did not succeed, he fell into a coma yesterday and unfortunately died,” Trajković xplained.

Priština authorities took to destroying Telekom Srbija base stations south of the Ibar River this week, claiming that the company did not have the license to operate in Kosovo.
The Serbian telecommunications company has rejected these claims.

Thousands of Serbs without telephone service

Source: B92, Tanjug

Serbs in their enclaves in central and southern Kosovo have been left without landline and mobile telephone service.

Beta news agency reports that eighty thousand Serbs in Kosovo were left without mobile, and a few thousands without fixed telephony.

Kosovo Albanian authorities from Priština escorted by Kosovo police yesterday destroyed and shut down equipment of Telekom Srbija (Serbia's telecommunications company), claiming they "operated illegally".

Telekom said they would look to restore service as soon as they could, and rejected these accusations. The company's technical unit coordinator for Kosovo and Metohija, Ilija Ivanović, said that Telekom operated in the province with a license.

"Telekom works in line with (UNSC) Resolution 1244," he was quoted as saying.

On Sunday, Ministry for Kosovo officials said that this development could have a negative impact on the forthcoming talks between Belgrade and Priština.

On Monday, head of the EU mission in Kosovo and Metohija (EULEX) Yves de Kermabon will visit Belgrade, where he will meet with officials.

Kermabon will meet with Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanović, the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement.

Kermabon is also scheduled to meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, announced MUP.

Serbia, Republika Srpska to build bridge over Drina

Belgrade/Banja Luka, 24 Sept 2010 – Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic and Republika Srpska Minister of Transport and Communications Nedeljko Cubrilovic signed a protocol in Banja Luka on the construction of Bacevci-Fakovici bridge over the river Drina.

After signing the document, Dulic said that there is a good cooperation in accordance with the agreement on establishing special parallel relations between Serbia and Republika Srpska and that concrete projects will be carried out based on that agreement.

This bridge will better connect the citizens who live on both sides of the river Drina, but will also be the change for economic growth and a better future.

Dulic recalled that the bridge on the Raca was recently opened and that the construction of a new road linking motorways in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is underway.

Serbia will provide funds for the construction of this bridge in the next year’s budget, he announced and added that the start of bulding access roads will be in 2012.

Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, who attended the signing of this protocol, said that the bridge will be built in order to connect people, banks and their potentials in the future.

The Council for implementation of the agreement on special parallel relations concluded that there are three important points of communication between Serbia and Republika Srpska, Dodik said, noting that these are the Raca bridge, the future Bacevci-Fakovici bridge and road communication between Visegrad and Uzice.

Cubrilovic said that the signing of the protocol is a continuation of good cooperation with the Serbian government and stressed that it is of vital importance for the economy for both sides of the Drina.

The bridge will be more than 200 metres long and its project value amounts to €1.5 million, which will be provided by Serbia, while the funding for access roads will be shared between Serbia and Republika Srpska, explained Cubrilovic.

Tadić, Christofias: Excellent relations

Source: Tanjug

NICOSIA -- Serbian President Boris Tadić and Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias met in Nicosia on Thursday, on the first day of Tadić's two-day visit.

At a joint press conference after meeting Tadić, Christofias said that Cyprus supports Serbia and all Western Balkan countries on their path towards integration in the European Union.

The integration of these countries in the EU would contribute to the stabilization of the situation and relations in the region, he said.

Tadić said that the good bilateral relations are traditional, dating back from a very difficult time for Serbia.

He expressed gratitude to Cyprus for its support to Serbia in the process of EU integration and to its defense of its territorial integrity in Kosovo.

Cyprus is one of the five member states of the European Union which have not recognized the unilateral declaration.

The two presidents, however, emphasized that much more must be done to foster economic cooperation, as bilateral trade totaled only EUR 15mn last year.

Tadić was also scheduled to meet later with Archbishop of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus Chrysostomos II.

Jeremic, Titov discuss Kosovo-Metohija issue

Belgrade, 20 May 2010 – Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met in Belgrade with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov today. They discussed bilateral relations and the issue of Kosovo-Metohija.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Jeremic and Titov agreed that bilateral relations are excellent and that both countries are willing to further improve them.

It was confirmed at the meeting that Serbia and Russia have the same stance on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija and that they are ready for further joint activities regarding the matter.

Jeremic and Titov also agreed that it is necessary to intensify efforts to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, concludes the statement.

Mali’s principled support to Serbia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity

Belgrade, 21 May 2010 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic thanked the Republic of Mali today for not having recognised the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, as well as for its principled support to Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Following a meeting with Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Moctar Ouane, Jeremic said that in today’s world such a principled stance shows the independence and courage of the Republic of Mali.

The Minister noted that Mali can count on Serbia’s support in international organisations, just as Serbia can rely on Mali.

He stated that at the meeting they discussed ways to boost their cooperation in economic matters, security, defence and culture, announcing that an expert group from Serbia will soon visit Mali to assess the terms of and define sectors for cooperation.

Jeremic also said that the format of the upcoming EU–Western Balkans meeting, scheduled for 2 June in Sarajevo, will be in line with Serbia’s demands, explaining that the provisional institutions in Pristina will be represented by UNMIK, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

He affirmed that Serbia has received an official invitation for the conference, adding that he expects that the conclusions from the conference will be an incentive for EU integration in the region.

Ouane stressed that in its foreign policy, Mali is uncompromisingly attached to the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, noting that this is his country’s key foreign policy principle.

He said that Serbia and Mali have a long history of friendship, international support and understanding, and will next year mark the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali said that many doctors, teachers and engineers from his country studied in Serbia.

He pointed out the potential in agricultural cooperation, given the fact that Mali could make use of the knowledge of Serbian experts.

Marelli Motori to start production in Serbia by end of 2010

Belgrade/Vicenza, 17 May 2010 – Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan Milosavljevic said today that leading companies from northern Italy expressed interest in investing in Serbia at the meeting “Serbia – Ideal Business Partner in the Balkans”.

Milosavljevic told Tanjug news agency that business opportunities in the fields of agriculture, textiles, leather, footwear, the car parts industry and renewable energy sources were examined and noted that northern Italy has a developed processing industry.

He said that representatives of the companies that already do business in Serbia as investors expressed positive experiences with the business environment in Serbia.

One of these companies is Zanesi, which produces together with Serbian pharmaceutical company Hemofarm the packaging for pharmaceutical products, as well as companies that have made investments in the energy sector.

Milosavljevic is scheduled to speak today with the management of several companies, including the motors producer Marelli Motori, which is planning to start its production in Serbia by the end of the year.

Milosavljevic stated that this is the right way to help Serbia recover its economy, by creating perspectives for new jobs and bringing investors who want to export their products made in Serbia to foreign markets.

We have free trade agreements with Russia and Belarus, both very attractive markets for Italian investors, explained the Minister.

Milosavljevic informed forum participants about Serbia’s achievements regarding the economy and future prospects. He also told them about specific incentives for Italian investors interested in Fiat investments as well as other Italian businesses in Serbia.

This was a good opportunity to improve the traditionally good and constantly growing economic relations between Serbia and Italy and to encourage potential investors interested in Serbia to invest here, said Milosavljevic.

Serbia, Azerbaijan sign agreements

Source: Tanjug
BAKU -- Serbian President Boris Tadić and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev signed in Baku on Thursday a joint declaration on the development of bilateral relations

At the same time, ministers of the two countries signed several bilateral agreements which give room for enhancement of cooperation in all fields.

Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mlađan Dinkić and Azerbaijan Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev signed the Agreement on cooperation in trade and economic sphere, and Interior Minister Ivica Dačić and his counterpart Ramil Usubov signed the Agreement on cooperation in the fight against crime.

The officials also signed a protocol on cooperation between the two foreign ministries and diplomatic academies, as well as the Convention on elimination of double taxation between the governments of Azerbaijan and Serbia in relation to incomes and possessions.

In addition to these two documents, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić signed the

Agreement on abolishment of visa for persons who have diplomatic and official passports.

At the same time, the Group of Friendship with Serbia was set up in the parliament of Azerbaijan.

Belgrade and Baku have both assessed that Tadić's visit to Azerbaijan is an opportunity to establish talks concerning the improvement of economic ties between the two countries.

Azerbaijan takes the 55th place on the list of Serbia's 160 export countries, and is ranked as 97th on the list of 199 import countries. Serbian export to this country has marked a constant increase since mid-90's, while the trade in 2009 totaled RSD 5.15 million.

Later in the day, Tadić will meet with Prime Minister Arthur Rasi Zadeh and Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov.

Kosovo: Shots fired at Serb returnees

Source: Beta
PRIŠTINA -- Shots were fired at Serb returnees in the village of Žač in Kosovo, it has been confirmed.

The incident happened last night, and did not result in any injuries, Kosovo police, KPS, said today.

A spokesman for KPS said that the camp housing the returnees was fired at “from a great distance”, and while KFOR and KPS patrols were inside, and that an investigation was under way.

One bullet hit a wall in one of the returnees' homes, reports said.

Local ethnic Albanians have previously resorted to stoning the tents that the returnees currently live in.

Albanians claim that “war criminals” were among the returnees, something that they denied.

Telekom workers released in Kosovo

Source: B92
GRAČANICA -- Telekom Srbija workers taken into custody in the Serb enclave of Gračanica after trying to get transmitters in the region to work have been released.

The five workers were trying to fix the landline and mobile networks in central Kosovo, and spent three hours in a Gračanica prison.

Their personal identification cards were taken from them by Kosovo police, KPS, and they are expected to report back on Thursday.

The reaction of the KPS came 24 hours after the mobile and landline networks were reestablished in central Kosovo.

The five workers were arrested while working at a telephone pole in the village of Badovci, near Gračanica.

“Based on the operative orders, if someone makes an unauthorized appearance to areas where the Telekom wires were cut, they will be taken to the station and we are ready to act on that,” commander of the Gračanica Kosovo police station, Bratislav Trajković, said.

Workers of the local health center and ambulance blocked the entrance of the police station and traffic in Gračanica in protest for a short while.

Phone services of Telekom Srbija in most of central Kosovo continues to function.

Kosovo Albanian authorities last month disabled or destroyed mobile and landline telephony transmitters owned by Telekom and Telenor compenies to Serb areas south of the Ibar River. The service has since been restored to a large degree.

President attends MUP special unit ceremony

Source: FoNet, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- President Boris Tadić says that organized crime has taken the form of an "exceptionally powerful mafia".

Speaking at the MUP Counter-Terrorist Unit (PTJ) base near Belgrade on Friday, the present however added that organized crime “is not more powerful or stronger than the state which will deal with it”.

Tadić stated that Serbia was the regional leader in combating organized crime in and that it would not give up on standing up to the mafia in southeast Europe, despite the challenges it is facing.

“What Serbia is doing is of crucial importance for the future of our children. We’ll show that nobody has more power than the state,” Tadić stressed, at the celebration of the PTJ patron saint day, St. George.

He said that the unit – considered to be one of the top two MUP outfits – was loyal to its people and tradition, always at its optimal capability and “first to fight organized crime and terrorism”.

The president also pointed out that Serbia was facing “temptations ahead”, and economic problems, “which are a consequence of the 1990s”, as well as the issue of organized crime that was present in the entire region.

“My message is that no one is stronger than the state and you can count on me, because I’m, as the commander-in-chief, a part of your unit,” Tadić was quoted as saying.

Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, who also attended, said that combat against organized crime, corruption and terrorism needed to be continuously carried out and emphasized that this effort would not be successful without good cooperation of all state authorities involved.

“Our goal, of both police and all other state agencies, is to, just like St. George, kill this dragon which is the biggest enemy of the state, people and the entire region,” the minister said.

Dačić also reminded those gathered of the fact that almost 1,000 police officers gave their lives for the country and its future, and said their sacrifice had to be remembered, and their families supported.

The top state officials, which included Police Director Milorad Veljović and BIA Director Saša Vukadinović, as well as Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin and church dignitaries who took part in the ceremonies, were welcomed today at PTJ Base Lipovica by the unit's commander, Lt. Col. Goran Dragović.

“Arrest result of cooperation with EULEX”

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Deputy War Crime Prosecutor Bruno Vekarić says the arrest of Sabit Geci in Priština yesterday is the result of “excellent cooperation with EULEX”.

Vekarić clarified that the ethnic Albanian was indicted in the case of human organ trafficking, the so-called Yellow House case, and for the crimes committed in the Drenica region.

EULEX police arrested the former member of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) on Thursday.

According to a statement, the arrest was carried out at the order issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor in Kosovo on suspicion of his involvement in the war crimes allegedly committed between April and June 1999, a brief statement released by EULEX in Pristina read.

According to media reports, Geci was arrested after an investigation carried out into prisoer camps in Albania, where Serbs and other non-Albanians were in 1999 held hostage, tortured and murdered.

Thaci minister “could get 55 years”

Source: Tanjug
PRIŠTINA -- Fatmir Limaj is suspected of money laundry, organized crime, abuse of office, fraud and bribe receiving.

This is according to acting Chief EULEX Prosecutor and State Prosecutor at the Supreme Court of Kosovo Johan Van Vreeswijk.

The office and house of the Kosovo Albanian transport and telecommunications minister, a former member of the KLA, was searched in Priština by EULEX police last week.

In an interview published by Albanian language daily Koha Ditore, Van Vreeswijk said that the Kosovo law envisages a sentence of up to 55 years in prison for those offenses.

He also said that he was displeased by the comments made by Kosovo Premier Hashim Thaci and other Kosovo officials on the investigation in the Limaj case.

The EULEX official guaranteed “Kosovo officials and citizens that EULEX has evidence for this case” and that he is conducting an investigation in another six cases of corruption and organized crime.

Van Vreeswijk sent out a message to “all Kosovo officials who were or are still connected to organized crime” that they should “start sweating”.

But he added that the “premier and ministers may relax”, because EULEX will not interfere in the work of their offices unless there is something unlawful in their work.

“But, if the law is violated, they should not think that we would knock on the door and ask if we might investigate,” said Van Vreeswijk.

“If the case fails, I agree that we should produce and explanation,” said Van Vreeswijk. “But, do you really think that a professional organization with its qualified prosecutors wants to start proceedings against a high-ranking individual without having a strong case?”

Van Vreeswijk clarified that senior officials under the investigations are not members of Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo only.

There are members of other parties as well, said Van Vreeswijk.

“Kosovo talks only within 1244 framework”

Source: Tanjug
NEW YORK -- Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić told Tanjug on Tuesday that negotiations on Kosovo are possible only within the framework of the UNSC Resolution 1244.

Jeremić speaks at the UN (Beta/AP)

Another condition for such discussions would be that they are held in a transparent manner, said Serbia's chief of diplomacy.

Serbia has always advocated resolving the Kosovo problem through peaceful dialogue, that should result in a compromise based on international law, Jeremić said.

This is the only way to secure lasting and sustainable regional stability, he added.

“However, such negotiations can be held only within the framework of the UN Security Counicl Resolution 1244 and in a transparent manner, in keeping with the democratic mandate the Serbian government has received from its citizens,” Jeremić emphasized.

He was referring to reports that the international community is preparing for a resumption of negotiations between Belgrade and Priština.

“It is crucial for Serbia not to react to provocations and pressures, which are expected to grow,” he said.

“Serbia must remain committed to principles and keep calm, with a clear vision how to pursue the resolving of the Kosovo problem,” he said.

Jeremić is currently New York, attending the conference on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons at UN headquarters.

New ‘Fiat Uno’ to be manufactured in Serbia

The new version of ‘Fiat Uno’ car model shall be manufactured in Serbia and the first deliveries to Italy and Europe are expected at the end of 2011. This was written yesterday on several Italian sites specialized in news from car industry.

The press conference at which ‘Fiat’ shall officially announce production of the new ‘Uno’ shall be held at the beginning of May. On that occasion the giant from Torino shall also announce production of that model in Brazil as well.


The ‘Fiat’ management in Serbia confirmed to ‘Blic’ that the successor of ‘Punto’ would be manufactured at ‘Zastava’ but as the management said, the look of the new model shall be known several months before beginning of the production.
The factory in Kragujevac has gone far with preparations for the new B class model. Only three percent of that production shall be sold in Serbia while the rest shall be exported.



As ‘Fiat’ management announced during latest visit to Kragujevac, this spring the amount of EUR 150 millions shall be invested in the car factory.

Minister: Phone services restored in Kosovo

Source: Beta
BELGRADE -- Telecommunications Minister Jasna Matić stated that mobile and landline phone services of Serbian providers had been restored in most of Kosovo.

Matić pointed out that the Telecommunications and Information Society Ministry had asked UNMIK not to allow illegal actions of Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština, which were incurring great damage to the citizens, and Telekom Srbija and Telenor operators.

“According to UN Security Council’s Resolution 1244 the telecommunications authority has been put under the jurisdiction of UNMIK. They have so far regulated this field and we wrote to them so they would keep doing it,” she said.

Matić noted that the situation in Kosovo was “relatively undefined” and that Priština was was using “every opportunity to strengthen its authority”.

“It’s indisputable that Kosovo is a part of Serbia's territory, that Resolution 1244 is the only document which has legal weight, and Serbia will insist on it like we have done until now,” the minister said.

Authorities in Priština last weekend disabled transmitters claiming that they did not have a license to operate in Kosovo, leaving some 100,000 Serbs in central and southern parts of the province without mobile phone service.

Landline phone service has been disabled in some areas south of the Ibar River.

Serbia, China have joint stance on Kosovo-Metohija issue

Belgrade, 29 April 2010 – Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said today after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi that Beijing will continue to support Serbia in its struggle to defend its territorial integrity.Vuk Jeremic, left, and Yang Jiechi

Photo: Fonet

Jeremic, who is visiting China, stated to Fonet news agency that they discussed the issue of Kosovo-Metohija in order to harmonise a joint stand at an international level.

This relates above all to the UN but also other international organisations which Pristina authorities might attempt to join, a right that belongs only to sovereign countries, said Jeremic.

China is one of the most influential countries in the world today and support from Beijing is invaluable. It is a great encouragement for Serbia to continue its efforts to preserve its sovereignty, he said.

He said that he talked with Jiechi about intensifying economic cooperation, primarily in infrastructure investment in Serbia in the transport and energy sectors.

New joint projects can be expected in the future, he said.

We are pleased with the fact that of all the countries in the Balkans we have very special relations with China, based on a strategic partnership agreement, which was signed last year during a visit by Serbian President Boris Tadic to China, concluded Jeremic.

Cvetkovic, Papandreou support Agenda 2014

Belgrade/Athens, 29 April 2010 – Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou stated today that they support Agenda 2014, an initiative that envisages EU membership for Western Balkan countries by 2014.

Speaking at a joint press conference after their meeting, Cvetkovic and Papandreou said that the good relations between Serbia and Greece are based on historical ties.

Today’s meeting was a friendly talk, said Cvetkovic, adding that Serbs and Greeks have a long history of friendship.

Agenda 2014 is a Greek initiative, advocating EU membership for the Western Balkans by 2014, said the Serbian Prime Minister.

Serbia supports this initiative. Serbia’s place is in Europe, as is true for other Western Balkan countries, he said.

Regional cooperation is very important and greatly facilitates the region’s EU integration process, said Cvetkovic.

Cvetkovic expressed his gratitude to Greece for its principled support for Serbia’s struggle to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Papandreou reiterated that it is vital for Serbia to become an EU member as soon as possible, because that is its rightful place.

He underlined that Serbia is Greece’s strategic partner and that Belgrade can play a crucial role in the Western Balkans region.

Speaking about Kosovo-Metohija, Papandreou said that the most pressing issues are protection of human rights and cultural heritage, and added that one of Greece’s goals is protection of Serbia’s Orthodox monuments in its southern province.

Serbia gets green light for fish product export to EU

Belgrade, 29 April 2010 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management stated that during 2009 it managed to meet first the legislative, and then the practical conditions for exporting fish products to the EU.

The statement adds that early in 2010 a veterinary inspection unit from the EU Food and Veterinary Office visited Serbia and inspected the entire system.

It affirmed that Serbia possesses a quality system for producing and selling fish and fish products corresponding to that of the EU, that it introduced EU standards and will join the ranks of countries that are allowed to export these products to the EU market.

This licence signifies a new beginning for Serbia and an opportunity for it to achieve its potential in the fishery sector and sell its fish products to the EU market, the statement adds.

Kosovo: Arms smugglers arrested

Source: Tanjug
PRIŠTINA -- Seven people suspected of involvement in weapons smuggling were arrested in the southern Kosovo village of Begrac, near Mt. Kačanik.

This came after an incident near Blace on the Macedonian border, when police and a group of Kosovo Albanians exchanged fire.

Kosovo police, KPS, and KFOR discovered an unspecified amount of weapons and military uniforms placed in a plastic barrel, as well as pisotls, six boxes of fuses, an automatic rifle, six grenades and detonation wires during a search of two houses in Begrac.

The so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) uniforms, notepads, receipts, stamps and other items with logos of an organization dubbed the Persistence Fund were found, the media in Priština reported.

The suspects’ identities are unknown.

KPS, however, could not confirm whether the arrests were connected to the incident in Blace, where Macedonian police seized a large amount of weapons after a shootout yesterday with “men wearing uniforms”.

Incidents in northern Kosovo

Source: Tanjug
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- A mobile telephony transmitter was targeted in a neighborhood of the town of Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo by unknown perpetrators this morning.

This came after two incidents occurred in the north of the province late on Wednesday.

The first attack targeted a transmitter of cell phone operator IPKO and the second the Zubin Potok police station.

Regional spokesman for the KPS Besim Hoti told Tanjug that an explosion, which occurred around midnight Wednesday, damaged the transmitter in the municipality of Leposavić.

Police determined that an explosive device was planted in the structure which houses the cell phone repeater and caused a fire when it detonated, Hoti said.

This is the third attack on the property of this cell phone operator in the last week.

Unidentified attackers threw a hand grenade into the yard of the Zubin Potok police station early onThursday.

The explosion broke windows at the police station and damaged nearby dumpsters, Hoti said.

The Kosovo police, KPS, was treating both incidents as public endangerment and looking for the perpetrators, he said.

Matic urges reconstruction of dismantled mobile phone towers in province

Belgrade, 27 April 2010 – Minister for Telecommunications and Information Society Jasna Matic asked the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to help protect fundamental human rights of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and enable urgent reconstruction of dismantled towers of Belgrade-based mobile phone operators.

Addressing ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré regarding the illegal dismantling and removal of mobile phone relay towers in the province, owned by Telekom Srbija and Telenor, Matic asked that the ITU, in line with Resolution 1244, reacts and endorses the Serbian government and the mobile phone operators.

The Ministry says in a statement that it is unacceptable that Serbian citizens and institutions in Kosovo-Metohija should be deprived of telephone communication and left without any possibility for children, the sick and the elderly to contact emergency services in order to ask for and receive medical treatment.

Serbia, Republika Srpska, Italy to jointly use energy potential of Drina River

Belgrade, 26 April 2010 – Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Skundric, Italian Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola and Republika Srpska Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Slobodan Puhalac signed a joint statement on the use of hydropower potential in the middle course of the river Drina.

From left: Claudio Scajola, Petar Skundric and Slobodan Puhalac

Skundric and Puhalac signed an agreement regulating mutual rights and obligations of Serbia and Republika Srpska in relation to the construction of new power facilities in the middle course of the Drina.

EPS General Manager Dragomir Markovic and president of Italian Seci Gaetano Maccaferri signed a preliminary agreement for the construction of hydropower plants on the rivers Ibar and Sava.

Skundric told a news conference that the total value of these projects is nearly €1 billion.

The Minister said that the plant on the Drina will have a capacity of between 380 and 400 megawatts, which could annually produce approximately 1,500 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

He stressed that the signing of the agreement between EPS and Seci creates conditions for a joint venture where the Italian company will have 51% ownership and EPS 49%.

Scajola said that the signing of these documents allows the start of the project implementation, which will make the Drina River plant an important resource for Serbia, Republika Srpska and Italy.

He said that another joint project between Serbia and Italy in the energy sector is planned, adding that it will be signed in an energy summit to be held later this year in Belgrade.

Thousands of K. Serbs stage protest

Source: FoNet, Tanjug
GRAČANICA -- The Kosovo Serb protest in Gračanica against the violent disabling of Serbian mobile phone networks in parts of the province has ended.

The protest in Gračanica today (Beta)

Local officials called on the international community to react and to stop the Kosovo Albanian government in Priština from prohibiting Serbs from using the phone services of Serbian operators.

The protests ended without incidents, and more were announced, with similar gatherings expected to be held every day until the Belgrade-based mobile phone networks have been reactivated.

Some 3,000 Serbs from central and other parts of Kosovo participated in the protest march in Gračanica.

There were ambulances ahead of the crowd of people, symbolizing the fact that communication with such emergency services is not possible without working phones.

KFOR and Kosovo police, KPS, secured Gračanica during the rally, which stopped the traffic through the enclave.

The Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština targeted Belgrade-based operators over the weekend.

Kosovo District Chief Goran Arsić said ahead of the gathering today that a clear message would be sent to the government in Priština with the protest, that Serbs would not accept blackmail.

Priština is trying to isolate the Kosovo Serbs even more and integrate them violently into the system of the self-proclaimed state of Kosovo, he said.

Arsić added that events in Kosovo over the last several days “are an introduction for pressures later”, as Priština is trying to integrate the school and health system, as well as other institutions of our country in the province, into their own system”.

Officials of a body dubbed the Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications, with the help of Kosovo police, KPS, have been forcefully turning off Serbian mobile networks in the province.

More than 20 base stations of the Telekom Srbija and Telenor companies have been damaged, while mobile operators are functioning only in northern Kosovo, which has a majority Serb population.

There are currently about 100,000 Serbs in central Kosovo and enclaves south of the Ibar River that have no phone service.

“Everything but force”

The disabling of phone networks in Serb areas in Kosovo is a very serious problem, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković said today in Belgrade.

The government will do “literally everything, short of turning to force,to help Serbs in the enclaves”, he was quoted as saying.

The premier, who spoke during a joint news conference with his visiting Bulgarian counterpart, said that Belgrade was preparing a broad diplomatic campaign, and expected that it would yield a solution acceptable to Serbs in the enclaves.

The disabling of mobile telephony networks is a very serious problem, said Cvetković, and the government will “do everything to help those people”.

UNS calls for help from international organizations

The Serbian Journalists’ Association (UNS) ,meanwhile, has called on the Serbian institutions and international organizations to help remedy the situation caused by the destruction of Serb-language broadcasting transmitters in Kosovo.

UNS states that it has called on Serbian senior officials, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), SEEMO and EULEX to help.

Association President Ljiljana Smajlović sent a letter to the IFJ, SEEMO and EULEX, calling for them to condemn the destruction of the property of legal broadcasts and to help restore the damaged equipm

Dusan Kecman brings Partizan fourth straight title with a backcourt triple!

(by Eurobasket News)

Cibona - Partizan 74-75 OT

Partizan grabbed fourth consecutive title in Adriatic League! It was the most exciting Final ever in this competition and the winner is decided in the last second. Actually, it was 0.6 second left and Cibona was up by two, 74-72. Partizan had the last possession and something extraordinary happened - Dusan Kecman (197-F-77, agency: Beo Basket) hit a bomb from the backcourt for 74-75 victory by Partizan Belgrade! Before that, the Serbian powerhouse had 68-72 but Marko Tomas (201-G-85) and Bojan Bogdanovic (202-G/F-89) drained two quick triples and it seemed that the game was over, but Dusan Kecman had the other thoughts. He did something what happens maybe once in a life time and shocked all Cibona's fans in Zagreb's arena brining his Partizan fourth straight title in the regional championship.

It was a close game during the entire time. Partizan made plus 8 in the second period, but Cibona replied with 11-2 run. For rest of the first quarter teams exchanged baskets and the first half finished with 31-31 tie. Nothing has changed after the breather as neither of teams was able to make a serious run so with one quarter left it was 44-44. In the last period, Partizan made plus five but Cibona tied the score soon after that and it was 60-60. Both teams missed in their last possessions in regular time and the game went to extra five minutes. As it is mentioned above, Partizan made 68-72 after free throws by Lawrence Roberts (205-F/C-82, college: Mississippi St.), but Tomas and Bogdanovic made it twice from behind the arc, and the hosts already started to celebrate. Dusan Kecman received the ball from the baseline and he made a bomb to continue Partizan's domination in the regional championship. 

Dusan Kecman finished the game with 7 points and it was his only triple in six attempts. Aleks Maric (211-C-84) led Partizan with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Lawrence Roberts also was great as he added 13 points and 14 boards. Petar Bozic (197-G-78) and Aleksandar Rasic (195-G-84, agency: Beo Basket) helped with 11 pts each. In Cibona, Marko Tomas and Jamont Gordon (193-G/F-87, college: Mississippi St.) drained 31 points each.

Kosovo Serbs prepare for protest

Source: Tanjug
GRAČANICA -- Kosovo Serbs will today stage a protest gathering in the enclave of Gračanica against the violent disabling of mobile phone networks in most of the province.

The Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština targeted Belgrade-based operators over the weekend.

Kosovo District Chief Goran Arsić said that a clear message would be sent to the government in Priština with the protest, that Serbs would not accept blackmail.

Priština is trying to isolate the Kosovo Serbs even more and integrate them violently into the system of the self-proclaimed state of Kosovo, he said.

Arsić added that events in Kosovo over the last several days “are an introduction for pressures later”, as Priština is trying to integrate the school and health system, as well as other institutions of our country in the province, into their own system”.

Officials of a body dubbed the Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications, with the help of Kosovo police, KPS, have been forcefully turning off Serbian mobile networks in the province.

More than 20 base stations of the Telekom Srbija and Telenor companies have been damaged, while mobile operators are functioning only in northern Kosovo, which has a majority Serb population.

There are currently about 100,000 Serbs in central Kosovo and enclaves south of the Ibar River that have no phone service.

Tadić still believes in “both EU and Kosovo”

Source: Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Boris Tadić has said that he would never stand behind a decision which would endanger sovereignty, integrity and independence of Serbia.

Tadić addresses the PUPS gathering (Beta)

Addressing a ruling Pensioners Party (PUPS) gathering in Belgrade late on Sunday, the president, and leader of the Democrats (DS) also said he would never support bringing “foreign military bases to the country”.

“A combined goal, including both Europe and Kosovo and Metohija, is the policy that I will believe in by the very last moment, and that policy has no alternative,” Tadić underlined in his address.

Tadić noted that “not all political parties believe in that goal, particularly not the coalition of the (opposition) Serb Progressive Party, the Democratic Party of Serbia and the New Serbia”, that was announced Saturday.

Referring to the messages of the Saturday SNS assembly, Tadić said that this political option was already defeated at the previous elections, because it destabilized Serbia's European program, sent messages of conflict and did not have understanding for the needs of the oldest citizens.

“That political coalition would bring no good and push the country into new conflicts,” Tadić underscored, adding that it is still possible for the coalition to change and for that reason he sent the message of dialogue.

Tadić stated that the Serbian society should not be one of long-lasting conflicts, but a society of dialogue, since that is the only way it will have future.

Disruption of telephone lines in Kosovo must be solved as soon as possible

Belgrade, 24 April 2010 – Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic said today that representatives of Serbia and the international community in Kosovo are in constant communication in order to fix the disruption of telephone lines as soon as possible.

File photo of Goran Bogdanovic
Photo: Tanjug

The Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications turned off 14 mobile phone base stations of Telekom Serbia and Telenor yesterday and they have continued doing so today as well.

At the same time, transmitter of the Herc television station from Strpce has been demolished so citizens can no longer watch its programme in the Serbian language.

In a statement to KiM radio from Caglavica, Bogdanovic said that the Serbian authorities contacted EULEX, but they have not been able to provide much assistance.

In the talks with representatives of the international community, Serbian officials are trying to prove that that was an act of vandalism and violation of human rights. The Minister underlined that it is impermissible that in the 21st century people are being deprived without warning of the right to use mobile and fixed phones.

He claimed that the disruption was caused by political reasons and the aim was to make the Serbian community integrate into Kosovo’s society in a forceful way.

Bogdanovic also condemned the stoning of two Serb houses in Kisnica near Gracanica and stoning of tents of Serbian returnees to the village of Zac. That was one more attempt to intimidate Kosovo Serbs.

Tadić: Campaign to restore phones in Kosovo

Source: Tanjug
LESKOVAC -- President Boris Tadić said that Serbia would begin an international action for Serbs in Kosovo to be able to use the services of Serbian mobile phone networks.

Boris Tadić (FoNet archive)

He said that Belgrade would initiate the “broadest possible international action” in order for Serbs in Kosovo to be able to use the services of Serbian mobile phone operators.

He said that Serbia would demand an immediate reaction from international institutions.

“I am horrified by the reaction of EULEX, which is calmly watching the violation of human rights, because EULEX is responsible for the security of the citizens,” Tadić said.

He said that he would be holding a very serious meeting with EULEX officials regarding this issue.

“We will not abandon the Serb population in Kosovo at any moment,” Tadić said.

He said that Telekom Srbija is capable of restoring all of the destroyed and damaged equipment within a week's time.

More Serb phone networks disabled

Source: Beta, Tanjug
PRIŠTINA -- The disabling of the mobile networks of Serbian providers in Kosovo continued on Saturday morning.

Landline networks are also being disabled, leaving Serb villages in Kosovo disconnected from each other.

Transmitters in Štrpce were also demolished for the regional Herc television and radio transmissions. There are 12,000 Serbs living in this municipality.

TV Herc Director Bojan Mladenović did not receive any explanation for this, adding that workers cut cables, violently opened equipment containers and destroyed all the equipment they could.

The 063 mobile network is still operating in Štrpce.

The Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications announced that it would continue disabling and demolishing the transmitters of Serbian mobile operators.

On Friday, 14 mobile 063 and 064 network stations were disabled in other parts of the province. Ambulances and medical workers cannot work because they cannot receive calls.

Patients can be treated, therefore, only if they come to the hospital or ambulance building directly.

The Kosovo government supports the disabling of Serbian networks, stating that the action is "establishing legality on the telecommunications market in the Republic of Kosovo."

It also supports the new actions of the Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications (RAT) in “stopping the illegal work of unlicensed and unauthorized mobile operators in the Republic of Kosovo."

“The legal steps are not directed at any specific nationalities or countries, but against all operators that are not respecting the existing laws and norms,” the Kosovo government stated.

11 years since NATO attack on train

Source: Tanjug
GRDELICA -- Monday marks eleven years since the Grdelički Bridge, which had a passenger train on it at the time, was bombed by NATO in 1999.

A file photo of the destroyed train (FoNet)

The international train was hit with four missiles as it was traveling from Belgrade to Thessaloniki, Greece, and the exact number of victims was never determined.

Authorities said that more than 30 people perished, while scores of others were injured. NATO at the time said their deaths were "collateral damage".

Wreaths will be placed at the monument built to honor the victims of train 393, who were killed on April 12, 1999.

Family members of the victims, Serbian Railway officials, as well as those from the nearby town of Leskovac, and various party and union representatives will attend the ceremony today, it was announced.

Zastava Elektro sold to Koreans

Source: Beta
KRAGUJEVAC -- A EUR 3mn sales contract was closed at the electric cable factory Zastava Elektro in Rača, near Kragujevac, on Monday.

The buyer was the Korean Yura Corporation – the first direct investment from a Korean company in Serbia, Beta news agency reports.

The Koreans are due to invest around EUR 8mn and employ 1,000 workers.

The sales contract was signed by Zastava Elektro Director Sonja Veselinović and Yura General Manager Lukas Nam. Serbian Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić was also present.

Lukas stated that his company's biggest clients were Hyundai and Kia Motors and that over 50 percent of production was for these two manufacturers. "Hyundai and Kia Motors plan to up production, we will match them and I am sure that 1,000 workers will be needed in Rača," Lukas said.

Dinkić confirmed that 1,000 people would get jobs by the end of the year and that Yura would be for Rača what Fiat was for Kragujevac, adding that more than 90 percent of products would be for export. According to him, out of the 280 employees, Yura is ready to take over 200 immediately.

Yura is a global leader in electronic distribution systems, with 50,000 employees in Korea, China, Vietnam, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It manufactures automobile wires and cables, distributor caps, various plastic parts and circuit boards.

Yura's profit in 2008 was EUR 343mn, and EUR 364mn in 2009.

Serbia counting on Jamaica’s support

Source: FoNet
KINGSTON -- FM Vuk Jeremić says Belgrade can count on the continued support of Jamaica for preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia.

Vuk Jeremić (FoNet, file)

“We are entering a crucial phase in our diplomatic and legal efforts in the fight for new negotiations for Kosovo,” Jeremić said after meeting with Jamaican officials.

He added that another battle would be led at the United Nations for every country and every vote, adding that Serbia was happy that it can continue to count on Jamaica’s support.

The foreign minister added that Jamaica was starting its presidency in CARICOM, an association of 15 countries of the Caribbean region, of which only one has recognized the Kosovo Albanian unilateral independence declaration.

In talks with Jamaican officials, Jeremić thanked them for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and the basic principles of international law.

Another topic of discussion was increasing economic cooperation with Jamaica, Jeremić said, especially in the fields of agriculture and tourism.

He said that he talked with Jamaican officials about the coming Non-Aligned Movement conference, which is expected to be held in Belgrade in 2011.