More glory for Stjepanovic at Junior European Championships

Source: TheNational

The Dubai-based swimmer Velimir Stjepanovic has picked up a second gold medal at the Junior European Championships in Belgrade.

The 17 year old won the 100m butterfly final in 53.79secs, beating Ukraine's Yevgen Koptyelov by 0.15secs with Martino Lucatello of Italy taking the bronze.

Stjepanovic, who competes for Serbia, won his first gold on Friday in the 100m freestyle.

The former Jumeirah College high school pupil returns to the UAE tomorrow and will begin his training for the Shanghai World Cup, which starts on July 20.

"RS already apologized, but others did not"

Source: Tanjug

VIENNA -- Serb Republic (RS) President Milorad Dodik said in an interview for the Vienna-based daily Der Standard that RS already apologized for Srebrenica.

However, said Dodik, "others" are yet to apologize for crimes committed against Serbs.

Asked if RS will send someone to attend this year's commemoration in Potočari near Srebrenica, Dodik said that a few years ago the then RS President Dragan Čavić was there and apologized in public on the behalf of the RS for the crimes.

"Representatives of our government go there each year. However, we do not think we should apologize every time we go there, because we have still not heard an apology from the other side," he added.

Dodik said it is "quite clear" that what happened in Srebrenica should have been avoided and that the "people involved in such crimes are no heroes, but can only be treated as criminals."

Commenting on the Serb entity's decision to offer EUR 50,000 for the defense of Hague indictee Ratko Mladić, Dodik said that just like Croatia helped the defense of its Hague indictees, the RS also has an obligation to assist its citizens in the The Hague Tribunal.

This does not mean that the RS wants to protect anyone who is involved in crimes, Dodik underlined.

Serbia celebrates science and marks Tesla's birthday

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- The birthday of scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla, July 10, is marked as Science Day in Serbia.

Numerous events are organized in order to draw attention to the significance of inventions of the great scientist, and show the young generations that interest in science can be beneficial, said announcements from organizers.

Tesla was a Serb, born in the region of Austria-Hungary that is today Croatia.

He built his career in the United States.

The Center for Promotion of Science will organize an Evening with the Starts at the Kolarac Endowment in Belgrade, where astrophysicist Goran Pavičić will hold a presentation about space.

A mobile planetarium will also be set at the Kolarac Endowment, which can receive about 20 visitors at once, and each presentation will last about 20 minutes.

At the same time, an exhibition dubbed De Revolutionibus will be held, which traces the history of science back to 1,500 - the year of the beginning of the scientific revolution.

The aim of the Center for Promotion of Science is to bring science closer to the audience, the center said in a statement.

The Serbian government decided in August 2010 to declare Tesla's birthday, July 10, as Science Day in Serbia.

The next step in the promotion of the day will be the launching of an initiative before the UN that the birthday of Nikola Tesla, one of the world's greatest scientists of all time, be declared as International Science Day.

"Big powers against UN-mandate organ trafficking probe"

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- The U.S., Britain and France are hindering Serbia's request for the investigation into human organ trafficking in Kosovo to be conducted under the UN mandate.

This is according to Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić.

"Our request for the investigators to work with a mandate on the case of organ trafficking in Kosovo and Albania, and submit their reports to the UN Security Council, has unfortunately been hindered by those who have the institutional capacity to do that," Jeremić told Belgrade-based daily Blic in an interview.

He identified those countries as the United States, Britain and France.

When asked about whether this "ruins the last chance to carry out an independent investigation under the mandate of the UN Security Council", Jeremic said that "talks continued".

"I would like to believe that, in the weeks to come, we will manage to overcome the obstacle and achieve progress. If that does not happen, it will be extremely difficult to resist the impression that there is something in the case of human organ trafficking in Kosovo that, for some reason, should by no means see the light of day."

The Marty report published in late 2010 named members of the ethnic Albanian KLA as perpetrators of the body part trafficking atrocities, and kidnapped Serb and other civilians as their victims.

Exit music festival to kick off on Thursday

Source: Tanjug

NOVI SAD -- The 12th Exit Festival will kick off with performances of Pulp and Arcade Fire in the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, on Thursday.

The event will last through July 12.

During the four-day festival the audience will have an opportunity to enjoy some of the most popular musicians of today such as Editors, Jamiroquai, Portishead and M.I.A.

The gates of the venue will be opened on Thursday at 17:00 CET., and this year's Exit is expected to host its two millionth visitor.

First organized as a sign of protest against the regime's repression in Serbia in the nineties, Exit grew into one of the most important festivals in Southeastern Europe.

CNN included it on its list of the world's top ten music festivals of the world.

Apart from the music program, Exit also includes film screenings, lectures, parties and performances. According to the organizers, Exit has approximately 200,000 visitors per year.

This year, 30,000 foreigners are expected to make the trip to Novi Sad.

Four-day tickets cost to RSD 10,990.

New No. 1 Novak Djokovic Wins 2011 Wimbledon Title

Source: b/r

The 2011 Wimbledon final featured a battle between the current No. 1 and the future No. 1. Come Monday, Novak Djokovic will top the world tennis rankings as a first-time defending champion at Wimbledon.

On Sunday, Djokovic played at the top of his game and took two hours, 28 minutes to dethrone the 2010 champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. He adds the Wimbledon trophy to his two Australian Open crowns.

This marks the first time that Djokovic has defeated Nadal at a Grand Slam tournament, and their head-to-head series now stands at 16-12 in Nadal's favor. Djokovic's win on Sunday also ended the Spaniard's 20-match winning streak at Wimbledon. The only other time that they met at the Championships was in 2007, when Djokovic retired in the third set and was the World No. 6.

“It’s really hard to describe this with words but it is the best day of my life,” he told the crowd after collecting his trophy. “I’ve always dreamed of this. Thank you all for coming and making this day even more special. That’s probably my best match on grass. I would like to congratulate Rafa for having a great tournament.”

He owns a 48-1 record in 2011. The only man to beat Djokovic in 2011 is in fact Roger Federer at the French Open semifinal.

Djokovic got through Jeremy Chardy, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Baghdatis, Michael Llodra,Bernard Tomic, and Jo- Wilfried Tsonga in succession before his final against Nadal.

Nadal went into the match having admitting to the Associated Press that "Mentally he is in a better position than me probably because he won the last four finals against me."

“Wimbledon is the most special tournament. I can imagine how Novak feels,” as Nadal recalls taking the title twice to the press. “Seriously, I lost because I was playing against the best player of the moment, the best player of the world tomorrow."

Nadal defeated Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, Gilles Muller, Juan Martin Del Potro, Mardy Fish, and Andy Murray in the journey to his fifth final at the All England Club.

"I've been dreaming of winning this tournament for 20 years," Djokovic told John McEnroe, who reminded him that he is now the best player in the world. "I did it all perfectly except for the third set."

Djokovic had his whole family watching him, while in the Royal Box were the Duke of Kent, Serbian president Boris Tadic, Wimbledon legends Bjorn Borg, Peter Fleming, Justin Gimelstob and John Newcombe, golfer Rory McIlroy, Formula 1’s Jenson Button and former British Prime Minster Sir John Major.

The first set started with a strong service game from each player, but Djokovic was winning more points on his first serve. In the final game of the set, Novak came back on Nadal's serve up 30-0 to break with some long rallies and winners.

Djokovic took hold of the second set with a break of serve at 2-0 and 5-1. The Spaniard was only able to hold serve at 1-3 and Djokovic closed out the set to love.

The third set was the only time in the match during which Djokovic was not in total-domination mode.

At 2-0, Djokovic recovered from 0-30 to 30-30 but then hit two unforced errors to give the Nadal the break and confidence to hold the remaining games. The Serbian double-faulted again at break point in favor of Nadal at 5-1.

It was all over in the final set when Djokovic seemed to remember defeating the former No. 1 four times previously this year by breaking at 2-0. Nadal immediately broke back with a lucky net cord shot, but that would be the only break for him.

Nadal double-faulted for the first time in the match at 5-3, and Djokovic took advantage of dip. He held on to win the match and celebrated by throwing racquets into the crowd and eating some grass as the No. 1 player in the world.

Djokovic is the 25th player to reach No. 1.

“France not denying Serbian identity”

Source: B92

BELGRADE -- The French Embassy in Belgrade has stated that Paris is not denying Serbian identity of Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo.

“France fully understands the importance of the religious heritage in Kosovo that belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church,” the embassy said in a statement.

UNESCO Committee for the Protection of World Cultural Heritage is a technical body and as such it is not a place for a political debate about to which country some cultural heritage belongs to, as it was explicitly stated by the 1972 World Heritage Protection Convention, the French Embassy believes.

“The draft resolution sent to the UNESCO aimed at protecting this extraordinary heritage,” the statement reads.

“Since this is an international organization, the draft was status neutral and UNMIK was mentioned in each paragraph. Our sincere efforts to reach an apolitical draft that would be neutral regarding the status did not yield results and we are very sorry about it,” the French Embassy pointed out in the statement.

Serbian Government Media Office Director Milivoje Mihajlović said Friday that the “Kosovo heritage thesis" represented a failed attempt to falsify history.

Organ trade working group to be “partly operational" soon

Source: Tanjug

PRIŠTINA -- Working group that will investigate organ trade allegations will be partly operational by the end of the month, EULEX Spokeswoman Irina Gudeljević told Tanjug.

"The working group is in the process of being formed. Staff is being recruited and it will be headed by a prosecutor, but made up of investigators and legal experts," she said.

According to her, "the working group will work on the preliminary investigation which EULEX started back in January."

Gudeljević reminded that EULEX, with full support of all 27 EU member countries, formed the working group to continue the investigation into the human organ trafficking allegations made in Council of Europe (CoE) Rapporteur Dick Marty’s report in December last year.

Djokovic world’s best tennis player as of Monday

Belgrade/London, 1 July 2011 – Serbia’s best tennis player Novak Djokovic will become the world’s No 1 as of 4 July after defeating France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga by 3:1 in sets – 7:6 (7:4), 6:2, 6:7 (9:11), 6:3 today.

Photo: Beta

On 3 July Djokovic will play the final match of the London tournament with the winner of the second semi-final game played between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

Lawsuit for Chelsea Handler!

Source: newjestic

The creator of the Facebook page called: “Boycott of Chelsea Handler until she apologizes to the Serbian people” has wrote on his page: “Dear friends, we are close of reaching something Serbian politicians haven’t succeeded in years, something real in the protection of Serbian people’s reputation. It is amazing how in this way we are demonstrating our ability to be very effective as a community. Imagine what would have looked like had we gathered as a nation around our basic interests? Think about this and be aware of our potentials.”

On question what has been done so far and what happends if she don’t apologize, Filip said: “We have contacted her management, sponsors, the Serbian consul, Jewish organizations, civil liberty unions, etc. The next step if we do not receive a response is that we are contacting lawyers.”

But one man went one step further!The businessman Dragan Djogovic from Düsseldorf decided to charge Chelsea because she said that name DRAGAN is “a popular name Bolshevik.”

Dragan Djogovic said: “I’m doing it on my own behalf and on behalf of my people. I am inviting all Dragan`s to join me,”

American media are also supporting Serbia in this boycott! But of cours there is some ignorant people who are justifying this saying that it was just a joke. Yeah, a joke that doesn’t bring Serbia in good light. According to Chelsea, people in Serbia are not allowed to go to concerts, they don’t have any rules there. Somebody had to stop this wrong propaganda of Serbia and tell the world real truth!

If you want to support Serbian people in this boycott, you can join the facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/Boycott.E.and.ChelseaHandler

Boycott of Chelsea Handler until she apologizes to the Serbian people

http://www.facebook.com/Boycott.E.and.ChelseaHandler

http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-of-the-television-station-e-until-chelsea-handler-apologizes-to-the-serbian-people

Boycott of Chelsea Handler and the E! channel until she apologizes for the comments she and her co-hosts made on June 20 on "Chelsea Lately" about Serbia and the Serbian people.

On June 20, Chelsea Handler and her co-hosts attacked Serbia and the Serbian people on that evenings program of "Chelsea Lately." Along with Chris Franjola, Natasha Leggero, and Greg Proops, Ms. Handler for 3 straight minutes ruthlessly attacked Serbia and its people. The verbal attacks came after a clearly intoxicated Amy Winehouse "performed" in front of 20,000 people in Belgrade. After and during the performance, the people in attendance and state officials criticized Amy Winehouse, who had difficulty singing as a result of what would seem to be heroin usage. At this point, the attacks went from criticizing Amy Winehouse to attacking Serbia and its people.

The first comment made by Chris Franjola was that the concert was held in Serbia, and there are no rules there so it is not surprising that this happened. Ms. Handler then made the comment that she could not believe that they even allow Serbians to go to concerts, and that she did not even know that was going on over there. Greg Proops in trying to seem "intellectual' by knowing the lies spewed by the media, said that there was ethnic cleansing and genocide in Serbia (of which there is no basis for this claim) and that the Winehouse concert was worse than that. How comical is it to compare the Winehouse concert to any kind of ethnic cleansing or genocide? It is an absolute disgrace! He then later says that after Serbia, she is probably going to Kazakhstan, again not only demeaning the Serbian people, but also the Kazakh people, as well.

The worst comment by Ms. Handler came at the conclusion of the assault on the Serbian people. In implying that somehow Serbs should not use Facebook, Ms. Handler read the statement of Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac who said that the the concert was a shame and a disappointment. At this point, Ms. Handler says that "Guess what? So is your country," meaning that Serbia and its people are a shame and disappointment, as well. Chris Franjola then says that he thinks Minister Sutanovac was the guy who fought Rocky, after which Ms. Handler follows up by saying that "Dragan" is a Bolshevik name.

For the sake of trying to seem comical, these "comedians" have viciously attacked Serbia and its people. Their attempt at comedy has horrendously failed, and instead turned into outright hate speech! An attack such as this one on any other ethnic or national group would not be tolerated, but since it is Serbia and the Serbian people, it is allowed to pass without comment. WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN ANY MORE! We call on people from all ethnic groups and nations to boycott anything associated with Chelsea Handler and the E! channel until they issue a sincere apology to Serbia and the Serbian people at the beginning of one of her shows. If Chelsea Handler and the representatives from channel E! do not issue an apology to Serbia and all of the Serbian people, we will seek legal action in both civil and criminal court for a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and for the blatant hate speech on cable television. We must end the cycle of hatred, prejudice, and discrimination against all people of the world!

BOYCOTT LIST:
Chelsea Handler
NBC Universal (E!)
Pucker Vodka
Panasonic
Malibu- Coconut Rum
Sherwin-Williams
AT&T
Pure Michigan
Nikon
Dr. Pepper
John Frieda
Ritz
Samsung
MGD
Belvedere Vodka
All-State Insurance

Step forward in boycott of Chelsea Handler!

Source: newjestic

One of the sponsors of Chelsea Lately show has cancelled advertising on this show!

“Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. 1-800 CONTACTS strives to avoid advertising on shows with distasteful or offensive content. We have cancelled our advertising on future episodes of this program. We have also reiterated instructions to our third-party media vendor to not include us on shows with questionable content. We appreciate your comments.Sincerely, The Marketing Team at 1-800 CONTACTS”

To remind, On June 20, Chelsea Handler and her co-hosts attacked Serbia and the Serbian people on that evenings program of “Chelsea Lately.” Along with Chris Franjola, Natasha Leggero, and Greg Proops, Ms. Handler for 3 straight minutes ruthlessly attacked Serbia and its people.

If Chelsea doesn’t apologize soon all this could end up on a trial. Officials are in negotiations with lawyers and discuss next steps!

NewJestic is asking you to support this boycott and to sigh the petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-of-the-television-station-e-until-chelsea-handler-apologizes-to-the-serbian-people

Also, you can join facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/Boycott.E.and.ChelseaHandler?sk=wall

and tell express you opinion and support! Maybe’s your country next on Chelsea’s list!

Serbia defends World League waterpolo title

Source: Tanjug

FLORENCE -- Serbia's national waterpolo team defended the World League champion title in Florence, Italy, on Sunday.

In the final, they defeated hosts Italy 8-7 (2-2 1-1 2-2 3-2).

The victory also qualifies Serbia for the Olympic Games in London 2012.

Croatia took 3rd place by beating the United States 11-5 (3-2 4-2 1-0 3-1).

Journalists picked the ideal team of the tournament, including three Serbian players - Vanja Udovičić, Andrija Prlainović and Filip Filipović.

This is the fourth World League title for Serbia along with one bronze.

Serbia has two more golds and one silver medal from the time the country competed as "Serbia and Montenegro".

Partizan back on the throne

Source: WW

It took 34 years and a living legend on the bench to get back on the top of European club waterpolo.

Serbian powerhouse Partizan “Raiffeisen” Belgrade led by two-time Olympic champion Igor Milanovic gained a well-earned 11-7 (2-1, 5-4, 2-1, 2-1) victory against Pro Recco, Italy in the final game of the Dalekovod EuroLeague Final Four to here in Rome, Italy to win the seventh title in the top competition of the European Cup competitions. The bronze medal was seized earlier this night by Croatia´s HAVK Mladost Zagreb which had beaten newcomer PVK Budva, Montenegro on penalties, 14-12.

Mladic arrested by Serbian security services

Temerin, 27 May 2011 – First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said today that war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic was arrested yesterday in Lazarevo by members of the police Service for Investigating War Crimes and Security Intelligence Agency (BIA), based on operational work and not upon someone’s report.

After the signing of an Agreement on vocational training cooperation between the police of Serbia and Hungary in Temerin, Dacic denied speculation that some foreign intelligence agency was involved in Mladic’s arrest.

He said that Mladic lived in Lazarevo with a cousin, without bodyguards, and that during the arrest he confirmed his identity and gave up without resistance.

The Deputy Prime Minister explained that Mladic did not use false identity, but had his expired ID card and his military identity card on him.

Mladic's health is visibly damaged and the doctors and the court will decide on further action, he explained.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that five of Mladic's relatives and supporters were detained yesterday and then released, adding that the court will decide whether they will be prosecuted.

He said that the police will not prohibit registered protest rallies, but noted that any unreported rally will be prevented, adding that police do not react as long as public peace and order are not in jeopardy.

Serbia expects to get date for starting negotiations on EU membership by year’s end

Belgrade, 27 May 2011 – Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic said today that following the arrest of Ratko Mladic and additional reforms to be undertaken, Serbia expects to get the date for starting negotiations on EU membership by year’s end.

Djelic addressed the Council of members of the European Movement International by saying that after the decisive action in the field of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serbia expects to get the date for starting negotiations and not just the candidate status.

He said that Serbia's goal is to fulfill a large part of the action plan for acquiring EU candidate status by the end of June.

We have 96 items on the agenda, some can be resolved this year and some such as the fight against corruption represent a whole process, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

He said that he talked today with chairman of the working group for drafting a bill on property and income of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and local self-governments Bojan Kostres and announced that a working group for drafting a law on restitution will be formed soon.

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the results of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina are expected, but they are not a condition for the next step in European integration of Serbia.

Serbia wants to solve the Kosovo issue and to achieve a historic compromise between Serbs and Albanians. We see dialogue as a way to come to final resolution of this very serious issue, said Djelic.

Djelic said that it is a great honour for Serbia that the European Movement International, the most important political NGOs in Europe, is holding its meeting for the first time outside of the EU, in Belgrade.

European Movement International is one of the oldest pan-European civil associations founded in 1948, and the European Movement in Serbia is a member of the European Movement International since 1993.

The two-day meeting in the Serbian parliament, which began today, is also attended by Head of EU Delegation in Serbia Vincent Degert.

President to boycott regional summit over Kosovo

Source: Danas

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Boris Tadić will not attend a summit of central and southeastern European leaders in Warsaw, Poland, because of Kosovo, said reports.

Belgrade-based daily Danas writes that the decision came "because Kosovo will be treated as an equal state".
Kosovo's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in early 2008, but Serbia rejected this as an illegal act of secession.
Now Tadić will miss the summit, scheduled for May 27 and 28, "where U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to be a special guest", noted the newspaper.
According to the report, Tadić will miss the gathering because Kosovo will not be represented "asymmetrically" in relation to other participants.
Such representation, a source from his cabinet said, "is necessary in gatherings on such a high level".
Everything the president does, the source asserted, is done "in line with the government's decision", as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Serbia will likely be joined in the boycott of the summit by Romania and Slovakia, two of the five EU countries from the region that have refused to recognize Kosovo.
Poland, on the other hand, which has done so, decided to invite Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga to the gathering.
The daily also notes that "the Warsaw summit was a chance for Tadić to have his first bilateral meeting with Obama".

Đoković wins 7th tournament of season

Source: B92

ROME -- Novak Đoković has extended his unbeaten run this ATP season to 37, beating world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in a second tournament final in the space of one week.

Đoković, who holds ATP's number two spot, triumphed in the Rome Masters final on Sunday after the clash on clay was delayed due to rain.

The Serbian won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, in a match that lasted two hours and 12 minutes.

"I believe this match was better even than the Madrid final," Đoković told B92 in a statement tonight. "I truly gave one of the best performances of my career on this surface."

"It's incredible that I managed to beat Nadal twice in 7 or 8 days, and he is the best player of all times on clay," said Đoković, and added that he was enjoying his victories, and preparing for the French Open.

Serbia's best tennis player also praised the crowd in Rome, saying that those who traveled to the city to attend the tournament "wished for this final to happen".

"I was close to being beaten against (Andy) Murray in the semi-finals, where he was brilliant, but I managed to salvage that match," concluded Đoković.

Djokovic triumphs at Serbia Open

Belgrade, 1 May 2011 – Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic triumphed in this year's third ATP tournament of “Serbia Open” in Belgrade today after winning over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez with 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

This is the second victory of Djokovic at this tournament in Belgrade, where he also triumphed in 2009. This is his 27th victory in a row this season.

Serb victims from western Croatia remembered

Source: Beta

BELGRADE -- Serbia and the Serb Republic (RS) today mark 16 years since Serb areas came under attack in western Slavonia, when Croatia launched its Operation Flash.

Croatia's military and police aggression that lasted 36 hours took place on May 1 and 2, 1995, when more than 280 people were murdered and some 15,000 expelled from their homes.

Some 16,000 Croat forces attacked from several directions, engaging about 4,000 members of the Republic of Serb Krajina military, launching the assault while the civilian population was still asleep.

Some 6,000 Serbs were surrounded by Croats and the towns of Pakrac and Okučani were cut off. There were more attackers than residents in these towns.

Instead of preventing the aggression, the UN peacekeepers, who were warned in time by Croatia's generals, decided to withdraw to safe positions.

The Documentation-Information Center Veritas data shows that 283 Serbs were either killed or are listed as missing, 57 among them women, and nine children under the age of 14.

Croats buried 168 victims marking them as unidentified. Only last year the remains of 52 persons killed in the onslaught were exhumed for identification.

Starting from 1991, a total of 67,000 Serbs were driven out of the western Slavonia area, while only 1,500, mostly elderly, returned to their homes.

Croatia's courts and the Hague Tribunal alike failed to indict anyone for the crimes committed against Serbs in this region.

"Adherence to principle of justice" in Kosovo case

Source: Tanjug, Večernje novosti

BELGRADE -- Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukčević says he expect the UN Security Council to "adhere to the principle of justice".

Vukčević spoke after Serbia officially sent its proposal regarding a future Kosovo organ trafficking investigation, urging the council to organize the probe under the auspices of the UN.

Council of Europe Rapporteur Dick Marty's report, published in late December, named leaders of the ethnic Albanian KLA as perpetrators of atrocities committed in 1999 and 2000, that included kidnappings of Serb and other civilians and harvesting of their vital organs for sale in the black market.

Vučković told Belgrade Večernje Novosti newspaper today that he expected the Security Council "to be outside of the influence of politics".

"Everything else are details that are easy to agree on, once there is a decision on which body will carry out the investigation," the prosecutor was quoted as saying.

"Taking into account that there is a good basis in UNMIK's report - which had been covered up for a long time - I expect that the investigation will be carried out efficiently and that it will bring to justice the persons for whom there are serious indications and evidence of involvement in human organ trafficking, which was only one of the activities conducted by criminal groups in Kosovo," he stressed.

Vukčević said that, before the Security Council decides whether to entrust one of its bodies with the investigation, Brussels, as well as some of the world powers such as Germany, France, Great Britain and the U.S., voiced opinions that EULEX - EU's mission in Kosovo - is capable of carrying out the investigation on its own.

"The investigation has not started yet because there is no agreement among them, and they do not support Russia's, China's and South Africa's initiative to overcome EULEX's problems in the field. By problems, I mean witness protection, leaking of information, and pressures caused by political influence," Vukčević pointed out.

He said that EULEX works in an environment which is unfavorable for such a delicate case.

"I emphasize that the crucial job is the adequate witness protection. EULEX is carrying out, as they say, a preliminary investigation, and that is as far as I have heard. The evidence will not get to the office on their own, someone has to try and collect them. In any case, we are ready to cooperate with our colleagues from EULEX,” Vukčević pointed out.

The Serbian prosecutor also said he had high expectations from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's upcoming visit to Russia. Moscow last week said it supported Serbia's UN initiative.

"I believe this topic will be discussed there as well and that Russian's great influence and good will to have this investigated will bring us closer to a solution," Vukčević was quoted.

According to him, the organ trafficking case is a huge challenge, but the international community has the strength to respond to it.

"The are two scenarios. One would be to give the mandate to an independent investigator who would be based outside of Kosovo and Metohija. The other is to give EULEX the mandate, and that is something that the United States and Brussels are insisting on," the war crimes prosecutor explained.

But Vukčević noted that "beside the financial problems", he "could not see the reason why an international investigation was persistently being avoided".

"An international investigation is guarantee that truth will be determined, and I hope that is everyone's goal. If important international subjects get involved in daily politics, this phenomenon, at the heart of Europe, will be covered up," Vukčević said of the organ trafficking case.

Milos Simovic: Legija showed me Curuvija’s assassin in discotheque

Source: Blic

Belgrade - ‘Milorad Ulemek was talking to a man in a discotheque and then he told me: ‘This man killed Curuvija’. Later I saw Miki Kurak, member of the State Security in photographs and recognized him as the man from the discotheque’, Zemun gang member Milos Simovic said.

Miroslav Miki Kurak named by Milos Simovic as a man who killed journalist
Slavko Curuvija has been living in Tanzania for several years ‘Blic’ learns. His main occupation is safari hunting.




Milos Simovic, member of the Zemun gang arrested in June last year said in pre-
criminal proceedings for assassination of Curuvija that he did not have direct
knowledge over the crime committed on the Easter Day in 1999.



‘A month after Curuvija’s murder, I was in a discotheque with Milorad Ulemek
Legija. He was then approached by a man whom I saw for the first time. I did not
know who he was. They talked for several minutes, had a glass of drink and the man left. Legija turned to me and said: He killed Curuvija’’, Simovic testified.



He further said that Legija had not told him the man’s name. ‘Later I saw Miki
Kurak’s photographs in newspapers and recognized him’, Simovic testified.

However, Simovic’s testifying has not led to crucial progress in the investigation
revealing who ordered, who organized and who committed assassination of Slavko Curuvija. Simovic’s knowledge over the murder is indirect and can be of use only if some other witness would confirm or substantiate it by evidence.



Serbian Attorney General Zagorka Dolovac said for ‘Blic’ yesterday that Milos
Simovic had been questioned, that certain progress had been made, that a huge
number of proofs had been provided and that more than a hundred witnesses
had been heard. Among those witnesses there are also former members of the 9th Administration of the State Security. According to Dolovac’s words ‘there are
indications that the secret service has been responsible for the crime’ and that ‘in spite of omissions made at the crime scene, Curuvija’s murder shall not remain unsolved’.



Miroslav Kurak was arrested over Curuvija’s murder in the ‘Sward’ police action but was released two months later without a single account of charge which would bring him in connection with the crime.



It was Vojislav Seselj, the SRS leader who first brought Kurak in connection with
Curuvija’s murder. During investigation some witnesses claimed to have seen Kurak and his colleague from the State Security Ratko Romic in the vicinity of the crime scene shortly before the assassination. Later analyses proved those claims to be true. Earlier investigation failed.



According to then plan by the Special Prosecution Kurak and Romic should have been suspected as accomplices in Curuvija’s murder. As those who ordered and helped his murder be carried out, the investigation should have included Mirjana Markovic, Radomir Markovic (former chief of the State Security) and Milan Radonjic (former chief of Belgrade State Security). However, launching of investigation was given up. In the meantime Mirjana Markovic got asylum in Russia, Radomir Markovic is servicing 40-year prison sentence while Radonjic, Kurak and Romic are free citizens.

EULEX “can handle investigation on its own”

Source: Tanjug, Večernje novosti

BRUSSELS, BELGRADE -- Brussels stands by the position that the UN does not need to get involved in investigation of Council of Europe Rapporteur Dick Marty’s organ trade allegations.

"EULEX is fully capable and in the best position to carry out an investigation into the organ trafficking," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton’s Spokeswoman Maja Kocijančić told daily Večernje novosti.

Tanjug got confirmation late Wednesday from the UN Secretariat that that it has received Serbia's proposal for an investigation into Marty's claims.

We can confirm that we received Serbia's proposal and that it will soon be published as a UN Security Council document, Tanjug was told.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon received Belgrade's proposal from the Serbian mission to the UN.

According to procedure, the UN Secretariat will translate the document into all official languages of the world organization and publish it as an official document.

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said Wednesday that the main element of the proposal was that the mandate for the investigation of Marty's allegations must come from the UNSC.

He pointed out that the UN secretary general would send the proposal to UN Security Council member countries, so that the presiding member, right now Columbia, and next month France, could start official consultations upon Serbia's request.

"All war crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia were investigated under a UN Security Council mandate, and the investigators were obligated to report to the UN Security Council. The same must be ensured now, I see no reason why the victims from Kosovo, if the allegations are proven true, should be treated as less important," Jeremić said after a meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.

A regular UN Security Council session on Kosovo is set for May 12, when UNMIK will report on the situation in the southern Serbian province and this could be the ideal opportunity to put the Serbian proposal on the agenda.

In order to get the green light from the UNSC, the Serbian proposal needs to receive support from a majority of the nine members, and avoid a veto from any of its permanent members - Russia, the U.S., China, France and Great Britain, the daily stressed.

Serbia remembers victims of WW2 Croatia genocide

Source: B92, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbia today marks NDH Genocide Remembrance Day, to commemorate mass killings of Serbs, Jews and Roma in the entity's death camps.

The pro-Nazi Independent State of Croatia (NDH) existed during the Second World War.

The remembrance day was chosen to commemorate the breakthrough of prisoners from the Jasenovac death camp in April 1945.

President Boris Tadić said that Serbia is a democratic country built on anti-fascist traditions, and that it finds any ethnic or religious intolerance to be unacceptable.

Memories of anti-fascist struggle and sacrifices are still strong in Serbia, said Tadić, "and it is this memory that gives rise to hope death camps will never happen again," said his press service.

"We will always remember the tragic suffering of Serbs, Jews and Roma in Jasenovac and Donja Gradina," Tadić said of camps in Croatia, and also mentioned the victims -Serbia's Jews - of the Old Fairground camp set up in Belgrade by the occupying Nazi German forces.

The Serbian president urged that remembering of the victims of the Holocaust and their suffering should provide guarantee that there would be "no revisionism of history".

Commission sheds light on fate of Gen. Mihailović

BELGRADE -- A state commission has determined that World War II Yugoslav Army General Dragoljub Draža Mihailović was killed and buried at a river island in Belgrade.

Members of the commission in charge of revealing the truth about Mihailović’s death have announced that the Ravna Gora Movement leader was buried near a location on Ada Ciganlija where a prison once stood. Commission President Slobodan Radovanović said that, according to the information obtained by the commission, Mihailović had been executed in the early morning hours of July 17, 1946 near the former old prison. The commission pointed out that this was a primary gravesite from where Mihailović’s body had probably been moved to another location. The commission members stressed that they had not found any direct data about the place and time of the murder, pointing out that they did not find a “written record“ about who, when and where executed Mihailović and added that they had drawn their conclusion based on numerous documents and testimonies of witnesses who had heard it from somebody else. Commission member Slobodan Homen has stated that there are indications that Mihailović’s remains were moved to a secondary location and according to Radovanović, chances of ever revealing it are slim. Historian and Secret Graves Commission President Slobodan Marković says that the location believed to be the primary grave should be scanned. The commission members could not say when exactly the area could be searched. According to Marković, the Secret Graves Commission has so far obtained a list of 24,000 people who were executed since September 12, 1944. “Mihailović’s grave is one of those graves,” he pointed out, adding that it is unacceptable that families of the people executed “without any trial” did not know where and how their loved ones had been killed. Data and documents that the commission had obtained will shed some light on history and they will play an important role in Mihailović’s rehabilitation process. After Nazi Germany occupied the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941, then Colonel Mihailović founded on May 13, 1941 the Ravna Gora Movement, which remained loyal to the king’s government in exile. Mihailović’s men fought against the Germans and Croat pro-Nazi Ustasha movement in the beginning but they ideologically opposed the communist Partisan movement, and engaged in a civil war with them. The Western allies denied support to the movement in 1943 due to their cooperation with the Axis powers and progress that partisans had made. After the liberation, Mihailović was arrested on March 13, 1946 and was charged with high treason on July 15. He was killed two days later. Mihailović’s grandson Vuk and many others have filed a request before the Higher Court in Belgrade to overturn the verdict, rehabilitate the general and reinstate his civil rights.

Source: Beta, Tanjug

Hague jails two, acquits one Croat general

THE HAGUE -- The Hague Tribunal has sentenced ex-Croat General Ante Gotovina to 24 years in prison and General Mladen Markač to 18. Ivan Čermak was acquitted.

The three generals were accused of persecution of Croatia's ethnic Serb population during and after the police and military Operation Storm in the summer and fall of 1995.

The court also found that former Croatian president Franjo Tuđman was a key member of a joint criminal enterprize to cleanse some parts of Croatia of the Serb population.

The prosecution requested earlier that Gotovina be sentenced to 27 years in prison, Markač to 23 and Čermak to 17 years. The defense called for the court to set their clients free.

Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor stated earlier that she “just like all of Croatia", expected just decisions "from all courts, including the Hague Tribunal”.

Members of special police units, guard units, volunteers and victims of the war gathered last night in Zagreb in support of the generals.

Gotovina was on the run until December 7, 2005 when he was arrested in the Canary Islands. The indictment against him was raised in 2001 and it was amended in March 2004.

He was accused of war crimes committed during and after Operation Storm which was carried out by Croatia from August 4 until November 15, 1995.

According to the indictment, as a Split Operative Zone commander and chief commander of the Operation Storm, Gotovina was a part of a joint criminal enterprise together with Croatian Army General Čermak, police General Markač and ex-Croat President Franjo Tuđman.

Their goal was to forcefully and permanently remove Serbs from Croata's Serb-controled area, the Republic of Serb Krajina, it is added in the indictment.

During onslaught, the Croatian Army attacked towns and villages in the municipalities of Benkovac, Donji Lapac, Drniš, Gospić, Gračac, Knin, Korenica, Obrovac, Šibenik, Sinj and Zadar.

By robbing and destroying Serb property, the Croatian Army tried to prevent their return.

According to the indictment, the Croatian forces killed at least 150 Krajina Serbs and drove “tens of thousands“ from Croatia.

However, Croatian Helsinki Committee NGO believes that Gotovina is responsible for the death of at least 700 Serb civilians. It is estimated that more than 20,000 homes of the Krajina Serbs were destroyed during the operation.

The trial of the three Croat generals began on March 1, 2008, the anniversary of Slobodan Milošević's death, which Croatian media commented as the “Hague irony“.

The trial ended on September 1, 2010. The prosecution called 81 witnesses and the defense 57, while judges called seven more witnesses.

Source: B92, Tanjug

UN chief presents new Kosovo report

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has submitted his regular Kosovo report to the world organization's Security Council.



The report covers the period between October 2010 and January 2011, and looks into the implementation of the mandate of the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK.

The document was presented and debated at the Security Council on February 16, and is available for download in a PDF file below.

http://www.b92.net/eng/download.phtml?72768,0,0

10 years since terrorist attack on bus

Source: Tanjug
GRAČANICA, BELGRADE -- Wednesday marked ten years since a terrorist attack near Podujevo in Kosovo on a Niš Express bus carrying Serbs.

A commemoration was held at a church in Laplje Selo near the Serb enclave of Gračanica, Kosovo, dedicated to the 12 people killed in the attack.

After the prayer, SPC Bishop of Ras-Prizren Teodosije said that everyone needs to remember the victims, and that this was one of the biggest crimes in Kosovo after the arrival of international forces. He expressed regret that this crime, as well as other crimes against Serbs, have yet to be solved.

"We pray for our loved ones who died at the hands of villains and terrorists, just because they were of a different nationality and religion. I am sure the perpetrator did not know the victims, because his hate was directed at a whole nation," Teodosije said.

The attack killed ten people on the spot, while two more died of injuries later.

The only suspect in the case, Kosovo Albanian Florim Ejupi, was acquitted by the Kosovo Supreme Court in 2009 for lack of evidence.

EULEX opened a new investigation which only concluded that one person could not be responsible for the attack in Livadice.

On Wednesday, Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanović has asked EULEX, UNMIK and KFOR to say how long they need to shed light at at least one crime against Serbs and what is preventing them from doing so.

"If no crime against Serbs has not been resolved for more than a decade, then the international presence clearly has to say what and where is the problem, and to remove obstacles and create conditions and prerequisites to finally solve crimes," Bogdanović said.

In a statement, the minister said that Serbia is not part of the problem, but is ready to help.

Keeping silent and claiming that there are no witnesses or evidence will only create fresh suspicions, he said.

The only thing about which there is no doubt is that all crimes committed against Kosovo Serbs were ethnically motivated, he said.

"It is devastating that even 10 years after the killing of 12 Serbs, including a two-year child, and wounding 43 of them, in Livadice near Merdare, no one was convicted for the crime," Bogdanović said.

In this context, he reminded that the killers of Serbian harvesters in Staro Gracko, of children in Goraždevac, of the Stolić family in Obilić, as well as perpetrators of other crimes against Serbs in Kosovo, are still unknown.

Djokovic wins Australian Open

Belgrade/Melbourne, 30 Jan 2011 – The best Serbian tennis player and the third player on the ATP list, Novak Djokovic, has won the Australian Open, having beaten the British player Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in the finals in Melbourne today.

Photo: Tanjug

This has been Djokovic’s second victory at this Grand Slam tournament, where Djokovic also triumphed that back in 2008.

This has also been the 19th victory for Djokovic at tennis tournaments since the start of his career in 2003.

The triumph in Melbourne brought Djokovic 2.2 million Australian dollars.

"Organ trafficking will be investigated"

Source: Beta, RTS, Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Head of Serbia's delegation PACE Dragoljub Mićunović says the decision on who will conduct the investigation on Kosovo organ trafficking has not yet been taken.

He, however, expressed his conviction that the case will be resolved.

Now that the PACE resolution based on Dick Marty's report on human organ trafficking has been adopted, both the US and the European Union support the investigation, and Albania will have to cooperate, Mićunović said.

The decision on who will conduct the investigation has not yet been taken, but EULEX will certainly be there, he said.

"There are hopes that some other bodies might take part, such as the UN, the Council of Europe or some independent body, but it is now certain that the investigation will be carried out, Mićunović told state broadcaster RTS.

He also asserted that the organ trafficking investigation will not have any influence on the beginning of talks between Belgrade and Priština, the date for which has not been set.

"What we will talk about is not strictly tied to the investigation, which will be independent and which concerns completely different kinds of investigations," he was quoted as saying by Beta news agency.

"There is no reason (for postponements), and it would even be bad if we were to interrupt now what we have promised, because it concerns us the most, because we need the negotiations...," Mićunović was further quoted.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last week adopted a resolution calling on a probe to be launched, and based the document on a report submitted by CoE Rapporteur Dick Marty. In it, members of the ethnic Albanian KLA are said to be behind the 1999 and 2000 kidnappings of Serbs in the province, their illegal imprisonment in northern Albania, and harvesting of their organs for sale in the black market.