Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service
    Odraz B92 vesti (by 9.30 PM), January 4, 1997

    e-mail: beograd@siicom.com      URL: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/
            odrazb92@b92.opennet.org     http://www.siicom.com/b92/
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    All texts are Copyright 1997 Radio B92. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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    NEWS BY 9.30 PM
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    STUDENTS TO STAND IN FRONT OF POLICE CORDONS

    Cedomir Jovanovic, member of the Steering Board of the Student
    Protest, today announced that, as of January 9, students will
    begin standing protests in front of the police cordons until the
    riot police are withdrawn from the streets. He also said that the
    students will ask for a meeting with the Interior Minister of
    Serbia Zoran Sokolovic in order to discuss provisions for safe
    marches down the city streets.

    Today's protest march was organized in the very center of
    Belgrade; and the police promptly blocked access to numerous side-
    streets leading off the Knez Mihajlova, thus preventing students
    from getting into surrounding areas. Among the people who
    addressed the students today was the famous Swedish actress Bibi
    Anderson. The next protest was announced for 6 PM tomorrow.


    DEMOCRATS ASK LILIC TO FIND OUT WHO AND WHY

    The Democratic Party asked Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic today to
    find out who and why ``has occupied'' Belgrade and put special
    police units on the streets.

    ``For seven days now, Belgrade has been under siege by special
    police squads, fully battle-ready, and bused into the city. The
    special police units are blocking the areas where the residents of
    Belgrade and the UofB students have been protesting against the
    violation of their electoral rights. The special police units are
    interfering with the citizens' freedom of movement and their right
    to the freedom of assembly, both of which are guaranteed by the
    Yugoslav constitution,'' says that the Democratic Party
    announcement.


    THE LOUDER, THE BETTER

    Once again deafening noise was heard all over Belgrade at 7:30 PM,
    coinciding with the opening score of the main news bulletin of the
    state-run RTS television. And, once again, the noise was louder
    than on the previous days. Radio B92 has received numerous phone
    calls and e-mails from listeners, describing the atmosphere and
    the noise level in their neighborhoods. The guiding principle
    seems to be ``the louder, the better.''  For the third day in a
    row, Belgraders came out this evening to bang on everything at
    hand, anything that might make enough noise to let their feelings
    be heard: kettles, cutlery, rails, drainpipes, pots and pans,
    metal boards. . . symbolically drowning out the sound of the RTS
    prime time news program.


    PARIS: BELGRADE'S RESPONSE UNSATISFACTORY

    France today officially stated that Belgrade's response to the
    OSCE constitutes a mere delay tactic and cannot be considered
    satisfactory, reports AFP.  The spokesman for the French Ministry
    of Foreign Affairs stated that ``the authorities in Belgrade are
    expected to clearly and without delay comply with the OSCE
    recommendations.''


    MONTENEGRIN DAILY ON SERBIAN JUDICIARY

    Marko Dakic, presiding judge at the Court of Appeals in the city
    of Podgorica, commented on the Serbian judicial system for today's
    issue of the Montenegrin state-run daily Pobjeda. ``What happened
    in Serbia concerning the local elections is a catastrophe for the
    legality of the state and for its people. Although there is no
    firm evidence, it seems that the courts in Serbia did not make
    their decisions properly. This has resulted in serious divisions
    among the judges themselves. Many of them disagree with the
    decisions of their colleagues and think that those rulings were
    irregular, unjust and directly influenced by powerful political
    figures.''


    COVIC'S RESIGNATION UNCERTAIN

    While today's issue of the daily Dnevni Telegraf reports that
    Nebojsa Covic has resigned his post and is no longer the mayor of
    Belgrade, in its news bulletin tonight, the private BK television
    cited unnamed city officials who said that they know nothing of
    Covic's resignation and that the step ``is not in his style.''


    OWEN ON MILOSEVIC: ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY

    Lord Owen, former peace mediator for ex-Yugoslavia, gave an
    interview to the Belgrade weekly Vreme in which he stated that it
    is unlikely Milosevic will make a turn towards social democracy.
    ``The fact is that Milosevic has agreed to a series of compromises
    since 1993. But, it's not hard for me to see that under
    Milosevic's pragmatism there is a deep desire for power. He enjoys
    manipulating people and events,'' explained Owen. ``He, who once
    came to power by fighting the bureaucracy, has himself created an
    enormous bureaucracy, one that consists of a large and well armed
    police force that is ruling Serbia today,'' said Owen, adding that
    the Serbian President might do well to remind himself each morning
    of Lord Acton's famous dictum, ``If power corrupts, absolute power
    corrupts absolutely.''

    Prepared by: Aleksandra Scepanovic
    Edited by: Vaska Andjelkovic (Tumir)

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service
    e-mail: beograd@siicom.com      URL: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/
            odrazb92@b92.opennet.org     http://www.siicom.com/b92/
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