Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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      ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service

      Odraz B92 vesti (by 10 PM), April 7, 1997

      E-mail: odrazb92@b92.opennet.org, beograd@siicom.com
   5  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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      C O N T E N T S
  10  ==================================================================


      NEWS BY 10 PM

        Serb-Albanian Round Table in New York  . . . . . . . . . . .  24
        Belgrade Reactions to Albanian-Serb Round Table  . . . . . .  43
        EU Takes First Tentative Steps Toward Trade Concessions for
  15    Yugoslavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  61
        Information Minister Radmila Milentijevic Praises State Media
         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  71
        Aleksandar Tijanic Reacts to Minister Milentijevic . . . . .  84
        Parliamentary Panel to Discuss Media Law . . . . . . . . . . 103
  20    Quote Of The Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

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      NEWS BY 10 PM
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      SERB-ALBANIAN ROUND TABLE IN NEW YORK

  25  On Sunday night Serb and Albanian negotiators ``broke the ice''
      before the official opening of talks on Kosovo at a dinner in New
      York's Waldorf Astoria hotel. The chair provided for the
      representative of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) was
      noticably empty, FoNet reported on Monday.

  30  Although reports have been circulating that Serbian President
      Slobodan Milosevic explicitly asked that the first Serb-Albanian
      talks be held in the USA, the Socialist Party of Serbia pulled
      their original representative Nikola Sainovic because he was
      allegedly not invited to an earlier meeting between US Secretary
  35  of State Madeleine Albright and Zajedno.

      Zajedno leader Vuk Draskovic said the round table would open the
      doors for a permanent Serb-Albanian dialogue but that ``all
      negotiations and agreements had to be made in Serbia.'' Mr.
      Draskovic also expressed his regret that the governing Socialist
  40  Party of Serbia were not represented at the meeting even though,
      as he said, they had been the ones to ask for talks in New York,
      Fonet reported on Monday.


      BELGRADE REACTIONS TO ALBANIAN-SERB ROUND TABLE

      Serbian state-owned media played down the importance of what they
  45  called the ``so-called round table'' in New York on Monday, Beta
      reported. State media stressed that the talks were hosted by a
      ``private foundation'' and that Vuk Draskovic was present at the
      talks even though he had earlier announced that he would not
      attend if the SPS were also not present.

  50  Spokesman for the Yugoslav United Left Aleksandar Vulin stressed
      that ``the issue of Kosovo should not be subject to foreign
      interference.''

      The Serbian Radical Party strongly condemned ``the US
      administration's efforts to turn the allegedly threatened Albanian
  55  minority in Kosovo into the largest quasi-democratic issue in
      Europe.''

      The Serbian Radicals ``thanked the US administration kindly for
      taking care of 'our allegedly large problem' and asked that the US
      also start to solve the problems facing many of its own ethnic
  60  communities,'' BETA reported on Monday.


      EU TAKES FIRST TENTATIVE STEPS TOWARD TRADE CONCESSIONS FOR
      YUGOSLAVIA

      The European Commission seemingly opened the hitherto barred door
      on trade with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Monday. At the
  65  request of the Council of Ministers of the European Union official
      proceedings for the preparation of the ``technical proposal'' of
      the possible approval of trade concessions to FR Yugoslavia has
      begun, FoNet reported

      The proposal could have its first hearing at Hague Council on
  70  April 21.


      INFORMATION MINISTER RADMILA MILENTIJEVIC PRAISES STATE MEDIA

      Serbian Information Minister Radmila Milentijevic on Monday told
      state-owned Radio Belgrade that she expected to table in
      parliament the final draft of the Law on Information in to 10 to
  75  15 days.

      Asked to comment on the often stern criticim of Radio Television
      Serbia Ms. Milentijevic said that it was ``largely without basis''
      and stressed that the state-owned television always served the
      public interest.

  80  Ms. Milentijevic also stressed that RTS ``had no obligation to
      cover the New York talks on Kosovo as the Serbian participants
      were illegitimate representatives and the talks should only have
      been organized in our country.''


      ALEKSANDAR TIJANIC REACTS TO MINISTER MILENTIJEVIC

  85  ``Dnevni Telegraf'' on Monday published a reply to Information
      Minister Radmila Milentijevic's earlier criticism of her
      predecessor Aleksandar Tijanic.

      Mr. Tijanic, now owner of 'Gradjanin', said: ``I usually do not
      comment on statements made about me by ladies of a certain age,
  90  even if they are Ministers, so, I will refrain from any direct
      comment. However I would like to pose two questions. First, if the
      Minister for Information is as powerful as Ms. Minister claims she
      is, then why doesn't she at least reform one state TV show, i.e.
      Dnevnik (main news bulletin of the state RTS TV)?

  95  Secondly, why does she instead demonstrate her power by making
      problems for autonomous TVs, which have had a working license for
      10-years?  If she is so powerful, then doesn't she stop such
      interference? She became Minister at a time when the Serbian
      regime badly needed a liberal image for the world. So, instead of
 100  the notorious autocrat Tijanic, Ms. Radmila was imported from
      America for the second time. This excursion of hers will end like
      the first one.''


      PARLIAMENTARY PANEL TO DISCUSS MEDIA LAW

      The parliament will discuss on Tuesday the revised second draft
 105  version of the Law on Information at 8 p.m. in the Serbian
      Parliament. The Session is to be broadcast live on the Channel 2
      of state RTS television.


      QUOTE OF THE DAY

      ZIVORAD IGIC, member of the Main Board of the governing Socialist
 110  Party of Serbia told 'Blic' that the ``Kosovo Albanians should
      look to themselves for the source of their problems.''

      Prepared by: Goran Dimitrijevic
      Edited by: Julia Glyn-Pickett

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 115  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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