Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service

    Odraz B92 vesti (by 6 PM), February 17, 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 6 PM
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    STUDENTS BACK TEACHERS

    Belgrade students continued their protest at November electoral
    fraud on Monday. At a rally in front of the School of Philosophy
    they reiterated their resolve to continue until all electoral
    results, including those in New Belgrade and Mladenovac
    municipalities have been restored. The students then marched
    through central Belgrade streets. Their route included the Serbian
    Government building, in front of which they joined striking
    teachers.


    KINDERGARTENS CONTINUE STRIKE

    Marija Tunic, Chair of the Trade Union of Kindergarten Workers
    told media on Monday that representatives of the union had met
    with the newly-appointed Minister for Family Care, Bratislava
    Morina on February 14. The minister had told them that she was not
    yet sure whether their strike fell within her portfolio. She
    reassured them that they would meet as soon as her authority was
    confirmed. But no government representatives have so far addressed
    the kindergarten workers.

    Ms. Tunic said that the strikers would go to the newly-appointed
    Belgrade City Government after February 21, as it was the founder
    of the kindergartens. If no earlier solution was found, Belgrade
    kindergartens would not reopen until the strikers had reached an
    agreement with the Belgrade City Assembly, Beta reports.


    TOMIC CONVENES ASSEMBLIES

    The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Dragan Tomic, has set dates
    for the opening sessions of most city and municipal assemblies
    dealt with by the lex specialis, Belgrade state media report. The
    majority of these sessions will be on February 21 and February 25.
    The dates for Kragujevac, Lapovo and the Belgrade municipalities
    of Vozdovac and Zvezdara are yet to be confirmed.


    AMNESTY URGES PEACE IN KOSOVO

    Human rights organisation Amnesty International on Monday called
    for a halt to the torture and mistreatment of political detainees
    in Kosovo, FoNet reports.

    Amnesty's statement drew attention to the case of Nait Hasani, an
    ethnic Albanian from Kosovo, who was arrested in Pristina on
    January 28, transferred to hospital two days later with serious
    injuries and disappeared on January 31. The authorities have not
    announced what has happened to Hasani, one of 90 Albanians
    arrested since January in the course of police action against the
    Liberation Army of Kosovo.

    Of the 90 arrested, some 40 have been released with no charges
    laid. Some detainees claim to have been beaten and tortured,
    Amnesty International said.


    MOSTAR

    Spokesman for SFOR, the Stabilization Forces in Bosnia, Lt Colonel
    Pierre Bale, said on Monday that a grenade had been hurled from a
    moving car at a road junction in Mostar late on Sunday evening.
    Colonel Bale said there were no casualties in the incident which
    had occurred in the Western Croat-controlled part of the town,
    close to the border dividing the Croat and Muslim sectors.


    ALBANIANS SEEK ARMED RESISTANCE

    The US daily New York Times reported on Monday that many Albanians
    in Kosovo believed that it was time for more serious action
    following the victory of the opposition in Serbia and the weakened
    position of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

    The daily said that increased numbers of Albanians believed that
    armed resistance was the only way to escape the grip of the
    Belgrade authorities. The report went on to say that, although
    still in embryo, the Albanian guerilla movement in Kosovo had
    widespread support and was an increasing threat to the stability
    of Kosovo and the security of the local Serb minority, Beta
    reports.

    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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