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), February 12, 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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    SPECIAL LAW IN USE

    The Special Law recognising local election results in accordance
    with the recommendations of the Organization for Security and
    Cooperation in Europe was valid and usable immediately, on
    February 11th, reports Beta news agency.


    STEALING OF MANDATES STILL POSSIBLE

    The newly adopted special law opens up new possibilities for
    electoral theft, warned the Zajedno party leader Vuk Draskovic:
    ``They overruled all our amendments [mainly claiming more
    majorities], and theft is still possible in 13 cities and
    Belgrade,'' he said and he promised that the demonstrations would
    continue until Zajedno has possession of all its seats. He
    expressed the hope that new local councils and new policies can
    improve the catastrophic economic situation that socialist rule
    left behind.


    VULIN: WE ARE NOT BANANA REPUBLIC

    Vice President of the Yugoslav Left (JUL), Aleksandar Vulin, in an
    interview with this week's ``Nedeljni Telegraf,'' commented that
    foreign countries must have encouraged the protests in Serbia,
    because a big incident such as the demonstrations could not happen
    without foreign influence. ``If it isn't so, then why didn't the
    American Embassy apologize to the authorities for the
    participation of a US Marine in the demonstrations on the Brankov
    Bridge? No diplomatic staff may participate in internal conflicts
    of the host-country. I say that a US Marine was not there
    accidentally. Such a big incident cannot happen by chance. The
    Zajedno coalition leaders go to Germany and literally ask for
    money to break the system in the country,'' said Vulin. Asked why
    President Milosevic had invited the commission of the Organization
    for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Vulin answered:
    ``OSCE is not a single foreign country, but an international
    organization. They did not come here to judge or to punish. But we
    had to check the details of their report. We are not a banana
    republic, where OSCE comes and everybody says 'yes, you are
    right'.''


    SERBIAN RADICAL PARTY: DOUBLE STANDARDS OF SPS

    The Serbian Radical Party in Nis has accused the Socialists of
    double standards over the dismissal from the party and parliment
    of Belgrade's former mayor, Nebojsa Covic. Beta reports that the
    Radicals' chief in Nis, Zoran Krestic, said on Wednesday: ``When
    it is in their interest, the Socialists breach the law. It was not
    good for them if Covic remained in Parliament, so they breached
    the law, and kicked him out.''


    PARIS GREETS ADOPTION OF SPECIAL LAW

    The French Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the adoption of
    the special law on recognition of the opposition's victory in the
    local elections in Serbia, in accordance with the recommendation
    of OSCE, Beta reports. ``It seems that a road has been created, on
    which the dialogue should go,'' the ministry said in a statement.


    OSCE: IMPORTANT EVENT

    The OSCE's Chairman-in-Office, the Danish Foreign Minister Niels
    Helveg Petersen says the adoption of the special law is a ``big
    event,'' Beta reports. Mr. Petersen said that OSCE was ready to
    establish a dialogue with both the authorities and the opposition
    in Serbia. He stressed that the OSCE's aim was to support
    democratic principles, and not to interfere in the question of an
    individual country's leadership.


    FAMOUS HUNGARIAN WRITER AMONG BELGRADE STUDENTS

    Prominent Hungarian writer and intellectual, George Konrad, on
    Wednesday addressed student protesters in Belgrade. He told them
    that they had made a mixture of culture, art and political
    protest, creating a brand-new Belgrade, Beta reports. The students
    said they would continue their protest until the special law on
    local elections has been implemented and the University Chancellor
    and their Student Pro-rector replaced.


    YUGOSLAV FORIGN MINISTRY PROTEST TO AMERICAN EMBASSY

    The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry complained on Wednesday to the US
    Government about the participation of American congressmen and
    senators in the anti-government demonstrations in Belgrade. FoNet
    reports that the complaint was made through the US embassy in
    Belgrade.

    Prepared by: Goran Dimitrijevic
    Edited by: Mary Anne Wood

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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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