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 20, 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 4 PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21

        Kuburovic Voted Acting Chancellor  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
        Yugoslav Parliament Ratifies Agreement on Special Relations with
        Republika Srpska (RS)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
  15    Zajedno Leaders in Washington on April 4 . . . . . . . . . .  62
        Montenegro to Sue Belgrade Dailies . . . . . . . . . . . . .  68
        Nicholas Burns on Media in Serbia  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  77
        TV Discussion on Second Version of Law on Information  . . .  97
        News in Brief  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

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      NEWS BY 4 PM
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      KUBUROVIC VOTED ACTING CHANCELLOR

      Belgrade University Council on Wednesday evening elected Dragan
  25  Kuburovic as the University's acting Chancellor. Mr. Kuburovic was
      previously nominated for this post by the Council of Deans and
      University Assembly in the absence of former Chancellor Dragutin
      Velickovic.

      Government-appointed Council member and Serbian Minister of
  30  Culture Nada Popovic Perisic proposed that the resignations of
      Chancellor Velickovic and Student Vice-Chancellor Vojin Djurdjevic
      be accepted without further ado and that Chancellor Velickovic's
      proposal that Mr. Dragan Kuburovic be replaced as Pro-Chancellor
      be dismissed.

  35  Both of Mrs Popovic-Perisic's proposals were accepted.

      Momcilo Babic, director of 'Bezanijska Kosa' hospital, and
      Professor Bosko Vlahovic, both of whom are government-appointed
      members of the Council, were elected as President and Vice-
      President of the Council, FoNet reported on Wednesday.


  40  YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON SPECIAL RELATIONS WITH
      REPUBLIKA SRPSKA (RS)

      The Yugoslav Parliament on Thursday ratified the Agreement on
      Special Parallel Relations between the FR Yugoslavia and Republika
      Srpska (RS). The Agreement was signed by Yugoslav President Zoran
  45  Lilic and RS representative to the Bosnian Presidency Momcilo
      Krajisnik on February 28. The RS Parliament earlier ratified the
      Agreement on March 15. The Serbian Parliament followed suit on
      March 17.

      Representatives of the opposition coalition Zajedno and of the
  50  Democratic Party of Serbia did not participate in Thursday's
      session of the Yugoslav Parliament.

      One of the most interesting statements made during the discussions
      in the Chamber of Citizens of the Yugoslav Parliament came from
      Socialist MP and Vice-President of the Yugoslav Government Nikola
  55  Sainovic. Mr. Sainovic stated that the Agreement expressed the
      will of the people and that it should not be ``explained but
      worked out in detail.'' Mr. Sainovic classed those parties who had
      refused to attend the parliamentary session as ``traitors.''

      The Yugoslav Parliament was still in session on Thursday afternoon
  60  where the Yugoslav Prime Minister will present the platform and
      line-up of the new Yugoslav Government.


      ZAJEDNO LEADERS IN WASHINGTON ON APRIL 4

      Zajedno leaders will visit Washington on April 4 at the invitation
      of the US government, one spokesman for the Civil Alliance of
  65  Serbia disclosed on Thursday. The Zajedno leaders are to hold
      talks on democratization in Serbia with US Secretary of State
      Madeleine Albright.


      MONTENEGRO TO SUE BELGRADE DAILIES

      Montenegrin Information Secretary Bozidar Jaredic stated on
  70  Thursday that the Montenegrin Government intended to invite the
      Montenegrin State Prosecutor to launch legal procedures against
      Editors-In-Chief of the Belgrade [state] dailies 'Politika,'
      'Politika Ekspres,' 'Borba' and 'Vecernje Novosti.'

      The law suits are to be launched in retaliation for the dailies'
  75  attacks on Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Montena-Fax
      and FoNet reported on Thursday.


      NICHOLAS BURNS ON MEDIA IN SERBIA

      Spokesman for the US State Department Nicholas Burns expressed on
      Thursday the US Government's concern at the lack of progress in
  80  the implementation, by the Serbian government, of the Gonzalez
      recommendations on democratic reforms, Slobodan Pavlovic reported
      for FoNet.

      Mr. Burns said the Serbian Government was moving in the wrong
      diretion as far as was media was concerned, referring specifically
  85  to the draft law on information, the case of BK TV, and a months-
      long ban on Radio BOOM 92 in Pozarevac.

      Mr. Burns stressed that such actions were politically-motivated
      and an effort to curb independent sources of information in
      Serbia.

  90  Mr. Burns also reminded the Serbian government of the US and OSCE
      recommendation that they initiate dialogue with the opposition.

      Mr. Burns warned that in the future, the US and the international
      community in general would determine its policy to the Serbian
      government on the basis of its readiness to establish conditions
  95  for free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections in
      Serbia.


      TV DISCUSSION ON SECOND VERSION OF LAW ON INFORMATION

      Serbian Information Minister Radmila Milentijevic announced on
      Wednesday evening that a public TV discussion on the second
 100  version of the Law on Information would be held in 2--3 weeks. She
      told Voice of America that this was to invite public discussion on
      the law throughout Serbia and added that nothing in the first
      working version was legally binding.

      Mrs. Milentijevic said that the new Law was an innovative model
 105  based on ``European experience.'' She said that the first
      innovative creation was the Board, a regulatory body that exists
      in all European countries to monitor the implementation of the
      law.

      Another innovative measure was the requirement that the media
 110  state disclose all sources of finance ``whether domestic or
      foreign.'' Minister Milentijevic insisted that this was common
      practice in the US. She stated that the audience should know the
      sources of the finance as the financer can influence public
      opinion and determine policy. Mrs. Milentijevic also added that it
 115  was necessary to know whether the money came from legal sources or
      was laundered drug-money.

      The third innovative measure Mrs. Milentijevic spoke of was the
      provision to prevent the creation of monopolies in the sphere of
      private media. She said this was based on Franch and Italian media
 120  law. Mrs. Milentijevic added that if citizens did not want this
      regulation it could be dropped from the law and stressed the
      Government's democratic approach to the issue.

      Commenting on the opposition's proposal for a round table to
      discuss freedom of media among other things, Mrs. Milentijevic
 125  stated that a round table was a political matter linked to the
      electoral campaign and that laws should be passed separately to
      political campaigns, BETA reported on Thursday.


      NEWS IN BRIEF

      Dragan Milanovic, chairman of the Association of Free and
 130  Independent Trade Unions of Serbia stated on Thursday that he
      expected mass strikes and workers' demonstrations in Serbia as a
      result of the catastrophic social-economic situation in the
      country.

      Members of the International Police Forces (IPTF) and the Muslim-
 135  Croat Federation have agreed to jointly police the settlement of
      Bozinja, near Maglaj in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They explained
      that this was necessary due to well-founded suspicions that
      mercenaries from Islamic countries were hiding there, SRNA
      reported spokesman for the IPTF Andre Agnelli as saying on
 140  Thursday.

      Prepared by: Marija Milosavljevic
      Edited by: Julia Glyn-Pickett

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