Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service

    Odraz B92 vesti (by 11 PM), March 4, 1997

    E-mail: odrazb92@b92.opennet.org, beograd@siicom.com
    WWW:    http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/, http://www.opennet.org/b92/
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    All texts are Copyright 1997 Radio B92. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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    NEWS BY 11 PM
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    OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

    Belgrade University Chancellor Dragutin Velickovic, at news
    conference in the University Chancery on Tuesday announced that he
    had asked the University Council to dismiss senior Vice-Chancellor
    Dragan Kuburovic, whom the University staff had appointed as
    acting Chancellor. Chancellor Velickovic claimed that Mr.
    Kuburovic had participated in illegal activities and formed
    parallel institutions, thus undermining the stability of the
    University. The Chancellor has also called for the sacking of 13
    deans of faculties and 8 institute directors.

    Chancellor Velickovic dismissed allegations that police had
    secured the Chancery building during the Student Protest. He
    claimed that ``the only persons in the building were the monitors,
    i.e. our students.'' He said that he had not learned about
    February's police break-in into the Faculty of Philosophy until 3
    days after it had occurred, and only from the media. He said that
    he had had no right to respond to this on behalf of the
    administration as a part of the student body had publicly refused
    to acknowledge his authority. Chancellor Velickovic said that any
    action would be taken after the appropriate investigation.

    In the nearby School of Philosophy, the university staff met at
    the same time as the news conference. The meeting was convened by
    the Vice-Chancellor Kuburovic who said that if the situation at
    the University was not resolved within a week, the academic year
    would be lost. The session agreed to reconvene on Wednesday with
    student delegates in order to discuss the resumption of the
    teaching.


    STUDENTS SPURRED ON BY CHANCELLOR

    Spokesman for Student Protest 96/97 Dusan Vasiljevic said on
    Tuesday that the Chancellor's proposal to sack senior academics
    was ``an additional impetus'' to the continuation of the Student
    Protest.

    ``This is the move of a man who has lost any sense of honour.
    Velickovic is making completely wrong and desperate moves. His
    decisions are totally irrelevant and will go unheeded,'' said Mr
    Vasiljevic.


    STUDENTS GATECRASH MILENTIJEVIC COCKTAIL PARTY

    Dozens of student representatives burst into a reception for
    foreign and local journalists Belgrade's National Museum on
    Tuesday night. They blew whistles and chanted anticommunist
    slogans at Information Minister Radmila Milentijevic, who was
    hosting the party.

    After the students departed, Minister Milentijevic told guests
    that the students' place was in their classrooms, adding that such
    an intrusion could not have happened in the US or western Europe,
    but only under the free administration of Serbian President
    Slobodan Milosevic. Ms Milentijevic went on to describe the
    student protest as the tyranny of a minority group over the whole
    student body.


    TODOROVIC DISMISSES PROTEST

    Serbian Minister for Education Jovo Todorovic told media on
    Tuesday that only twenty per cent of Belgrade students were
    protesting and tht it would be unfortunate if the students became
    victims of politics and outside manipulation.

    State-controlled Radio Belgrade reported Minister Todorovic as
    announcing a reform of universities, saying that the general
    public would soon learn about the measures the Serbian Government
    is preparing for the resumption of teaching.


    BLIC IN COURT?

    Manojlo Vukotic, Editor in Chief of the Belgrade daily 'Blic' told
    FoNet on Tuesday it was possible that the daily's founders may
    launch a suit against General Manager Ljubisa Stanojevic if it is
    proved that he had given the statement on the daily's operation
    published in the daily 'Demokratija' on Tuesday. Mr Vukotic
    confirmed that he may take over the post of the daily's General
    Manager but stressed that even in that case he would continue as
    Editor in Chief.


    TEACHERS BACK

    The Belgrade Forum of High Schools and the Schools Steering Board
    recommended on Tuesday that their members stop their strike and
    resume teaching by the end of the week. The two organisations
    stressed that the Government had not met even the minimal
    teachers' demands, but that teaching should be resumed for the
    sake of students.


    LAST RALLY IN SUPPORT OF TEACHERS

    The Pupils' Parents Forum staged a rally in Belgrade's Republic
    Square in support of the striking teachers. Jelena Hristodulo,
    Chair of the Teachers' Independent Trade Union said at the rally
    that the teachers strike would be discontinued in the interests of
    the pupils. She warned that the strike would continue if the
    Serbian Government was even one day late in the payment of
    teachers' salaries or if there were reprisals against any teachers
    for striking.


    SOCIALISTS ORDER COUNCIL OFFICERS TO RESIGN

    Belgrade Council's information service announced on Tuesday that
    the Council's Secretary for Finance, Stojan Golic, and his deputy
    Petar Markovic had resigned without any prior warning or valid
    justification. The Council said that the two had been engaged as
    the most responsible for the City's final accounts for 1996 and
    the draft City budget for 1997. The Council also said that the two
    had told the Mayor of Belgrade and other city officials that they
    had resigned on instructions from the Socialist party. The Council
    warned that this was an obstruction by the Serbian Government and
    the ruling party.


    HELSINKI COMMITTEE SLAMS SERBIA

    The International Federation of the Helsinki Committee for Human
    Rights protested on Tuesday at the harrassment of Kosovo Albanians
    in Serbian prisons. The Committee said that the treatment was
    obviously aimed at extracting confessions from detainees, which is
    a breach of both Yugoslav laws and international conventions. The
    Committee accused Serbian police of beating Kosovo Albanian Besnik
    Restelica to death and expressed concern for detained Albanians.

    Prepared by: Marija Milosavljevic
    Edited by: Steve Agnew

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