Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

---

    ------------------------------------------------------------------
    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service
    Odraz B92 vesti (by 7 PM), December 12, 1996

    e-mail: beograd@siicom.com      URL: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/
            odrazb92@b92.opennet.org     http://www.siicom.com/b92/
    ------------------------------------------------------------------
    All texts are Copyright 1996 Radio B92. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------



    NEWS BY 7 PM
    ------------------------------------------------------------------


    LAMBERTO DINI MEETS SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

    Italian Foreign Minister, Lamberto Dini had talks in Belgrade
    today both with Serbian President Milosevic and the leaders of the
    opposition coalition Zajedno. Here is, in part, what he said after
    the talks: ``I think nothing can be done about the electoral
    results, at least not along the lines the opposition proposes. The
    electoral results can no longer be acknowledged.'' He added he had
    noted willingness on both sides to overcome the crisis in a
    constructive manner, but he refused to elaborate on this.


    SCHWARTZ SCHILLING MEETS SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

    Christian Schwartz Schilling, arbiter for the Federation of Bosnia
    and Herzegovina and head of the German parliamentary delegation to
    this region, told a press conference held after his meeting with
    Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic this morning that Milosevic
    did not understand international community's concern about the
    present situation in Serbia, which Milosevic characterized as
    ``only normal in democratic states.''  In response to Schwartz's
    open consternation about the large number of police he could see
    on the streets of Belgrade today, Milosevic only reiterated that
    the police are not involved in any activities regarding the
    protests and the demonstrators themselves.

    Schwartz said Milosevic was interested in his proposal for an
    international commission of experts to be invited to examine the
    documentation pertaining to the second round of local elections
    held in Serbia last month. Milosevic, however, did not agree to
    the proposal for a series of round-table talks between leading
    members of the ruling party and their counterparts from coalition
    Zajedno, which has been suggested as a means towards reaching a
    consensus on the basic democratic principles that would, in the
    future, form the basis of political life in Serbia.


    LEADERS OF ZAJEDNO REJECT ALLEGATIONS OF SECRET NEGOTIATIONS WITH
    AUTHORITIES

    Leaders of the Zajedno coalition rejected today allegations that
    they have been carrying secret negotiations with the Serbian
    authorities. Zajedno leaders said those allegations originated
    from a ``shaken and disorientated regime,'' and their goal was to
    create confusion and discredit the coalition as well as all the
    participants in the demonstrations throughout Serbia.


    POLICE PREVENTS STUDENTS FROM GOING TO DEDINJE

    The march of some 40,000 students to Dedinje, where Serbian
    President's residence is, was blocked by 3 police cordons today.
    The disgruntled students returned to the city center while several
    thousand policemen stationed in nearby streets watched their
    return.


    STATEMENT BY THE ASSOCIATION OF DRAMATIC ARTISTS

    A statement by the Association of the Dramatic Artists of Serbia
    said today that all theater performances would be cancelled
    tonight in protest against the arrest of the actor Gojko Baletic.
    The statement also demanded strict penalties for those who had
    participated in the beating of Baletic.


    STUDENT PROTEST GROWS STRONGER

    Spokesman of the Steering Board of Student Protest '96, Dusan
    Vasiljevic said the forming of the Independent Student Movement
    further unified the Student Protest '96. The speech by the leader
    of the Independent Student Movement, who addressed the
    participants of the Student Protest '96 today was greeted with
    unanimous booing.


    DETAILS OF THE GOJKO BALETIC CASE

    Lawyer Milan Vukovic told a press conference today that Gojko
    Baletic, one of the actors who has publicly supported the Student
    Protest, was arrested and beaten while in police custody yesterday
    afternoon. He was released around midnight yesterday. No charges
    have been laid against Bulatovic and no official explanation has
    been given for his recent arrest.


    ILIC: THIRD ELECTORAL ROUND CAN BE RECALLED ONLY BY TOMIC

    New Democracy representative on the Belgrade Electoral Commission,
    Goran Ilic said for today's issue of the daily ``Blic'' that one
    of the legal avenues for the recall of the decision that allowed
    the third round of elections last month was for the Speaker of the
    Serbian Parliament, Dragan Tomic to reverse that decision himself.
    Ilic reminded the readers of ``Blic'' that it was Tomic who had
    made the decision in the first place. Ilic added that he was not
    familiar with any outside pressure on the Commission, which is
    composed of competent legal experts. He described the complaints
    submitted by SPS [the ruling party] about the second round of
    local elections as ``legally unimpressive,'' pointing out that the
    complaints were originally rejected on the grounds of insufficient
    evidence.


    PETITION BY INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS OF SERBIA

    The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia launched a
    petition today demanding respect for the freedom of the press. The
    petition is to be handed to the Serbian Parliament.


    NEW DEMOCRACY PRESS CONFERENCE

    ``Demonstrations are a legitimate way of protesting against
    certain political decisions. We shall support such demonstrations
    as long as they remain peaceful,'' stated today a spokesperson for
    the New Democracy (ND), member of the left coalition. ND stressed
    its disagreement with the statements made by Dragan Tomic, Speaker
    of the Serbian Parliament and Ivica Dacic, spokesman of the SPS,
    who had described the protests as destructive. ND also expressed
    its readiness to assume the role of a mediator between the Serbian
    authorities and the opposition.


    FARMERS' WARNING TO SERBIAN GOVERNMENT

    A decision was made at today's session of the Vojvodina
    Association that farmers would boycott and effectively block the
    work of the companies whose payments are in serious arrears if the
    Federal and Serbian Ministers of Agriculture did not give
    guarantees the state would pay out the money for the produce it
    has already received from them.


    FERIZ BLJAKCORI DIES OF ``CONSEQUENCES OF POLICE TORTURE''

    The Kosovo Center for Information and the Kosovo Committee for
    Human Rights issued a statement today informing the public that
    Feriz Bljakcori died of consequences of police torture in Pristina
    City Hospital earlier today. Feriz Bljakcori (34), member of the
    Commission for Information of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo,
    was arrested 2 days ago for possession of a hand gun and beaten in
    the Pristina police station.


    ELEONORA PROHIC RESIGNS

    Foreign Desk Editor at TV Politika, Eleonora Prohic resigned today
    on the grounds she found professional work impossible under the
    continuing news-blackout and the information blockade practiced by
    this television station.

    Prepared by: Aleksandra Scepanovic
    Edited by: Vaska Andjelkovic (Tumir)

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