Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service

    Odraz B92 vesti (by 4 PM), March 7, 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 4 PM
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    BELGRADE UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR RESIGNS

    Belgrade University Chancellor Dragutin Velickovic on Friday told
    a news confernece that he had tendered his resignation to the
    University Council. ``I have resigned for moral reasons, because I
    did not wish to give in to pressure from the street and the whims
    of the opposition parties,'' Mr Velickovic told the conference, to
    which only state media had been invited.

    Mr. Velickovic appointed Pro-Chancellor for Education Tomislav
    Dragovic the acting Chancellor. The University Council is to
    convene on March 20 to elect the new Chancellor, which could be
    Mr. Velickovic himself once again.

    Student Pro-Chancellor Vojin Djurdjevic told the state media that
    he had also resigned so that his colleagues might return to
    classes and complete their studies successfully. Asked why his
    resignation had not come earlier, he replied that had the student
    delegates accepted the invitation for talks a month ago they would
    have had his resignation then. He regretted the failure of his
    colleagues to come to him earlier.

    Vladimir Dobrosavljevic, a member of the Student Protest Steerign
    Board told Radio Index that the Chancellor's resignation was a
    triumph after 106 days of protest. He said that if the University
    Council failed to accept Mr. Velickovic's resignation, the
    students would resume their protest.


    CLASSES ON DEMOCRACY

    Belgrade students went back to classes on Friday morning, to hear
    lectures on democracy held in their respective faculties.
    Accorging to their regular time-table, students of the School of
    Geography waited for their lecturer Ms Mirjana Markovic, leader of
    the Yugoslav United Left and wife of Serbian President Slobodan
    Milosevic to hold the sociology class, but she failed to appear.


    PANIC TO TEST SERBIAN GOVERNMENT'S WILLINGNESS TO FREE MEDIA

    Washington announced that the real willingness of the Milosevic
    government to let the opposition appear on Radio Television Serbia
    might soon be tested, Slobodan Pavlovic reported for FoNet on
    Friday. The test is to be administered by former Yugoslav Prime
    Minister and ``a possible candidate'' in the forthcoming
    presidential elections in Serbia Milan Panic. Mr. Panic will
    demand that the Television Belgrade lease him programme time to
    present his programme of economic reforms to get Serbia and
    Montenegro out of the present crisis.


    ZAJEDNO IN WASHINGTON

    The Zajedno triumvirate will visit Washington in April for talks
    with US Government officials. The US State Department, announcing
    the visit on Friday, said that the Clinton administration was
    particularly concerned about media freedom in Serbia. The
    statement said that the US will not regard this year's
    parliamentary and presidential elections as valid, unless
    opposition parties are given full and free access to the media
    from the beginning of the election campaign.


    PLAVSIC: SERBS WILL STAY

    An international conference on the future of Brcko concluded in
    Vienna on Friday. After the meeting, Yugoslav Foreign Minister
    Milan Milutinovic told media that it was essential that Brcko
    remain permanently within Republika Srpska. RS President Biljana
    Plavsic on Friday reiterated that Brcko was an integral part of
    Republika Srpska. She said that the Bosnian Serb government was
    fully committed to the principles of Dayton, including free
    movement, the right of repatriation for refugees and democratic
    elections. The President emphasised that Brcko was a city of
    refugees and that most of them had little intention of leaving.


    NEW SUPERVISOR FOR BRCKO

    Bill Farend, a top-level US diplomat with considerable experience
    in the problems of Eastern Europe, was appointed Supervisor for
    Brcko at Friday's conference on the implementation of the decision
    of the International Arbitrage Commission for Brcko.

    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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