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), December 18, 1996

    e-mail: beograd@siicom.com      URL: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/
            odrazb92@b92.opennet.org     http://www.siicom.com/b92/
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    All texts are Copyright 1996 Radio B92. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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    NEWS BY 4 PM
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    KOSTUNICA: MILOSEVIC'S TACKY MONOLOGUES

    Leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Vojislav Kostunica
    told a press conference today that what we are witnessing these
    days are the first steps towards the nullification of the
    electoral theft. He stressed that the authorities' actions reflect
    the massive pressure from inside the country and abroad for a full
    restoration of the oppostion's legitimate electoral victories
    rather than any desire to respect the laws and the constitution.
    He pointed out that unless new rules are introduced and made
    binding for all participants on the Serbian political scene -- new
    laws on elections and the media, and parliamentary rules of
    procedure to prevent future manipulations -- we shall see more
    fraud in the forthcoming elections. With regard to the talks
    Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic had yesterday with the
    student delegation from Nis, Kostunica said it was merely an
    opportunity for yet another of Milosevic's monologues, replete
    with their usual complement of ``meaningless tacky phrases.''  He
    described Milosevic as ``strangulating'' Serbia and political life
    in the country.


    SPANISH EMBASSY IN BELGRADE: GONZALES TO ARRIVE BEFORE DECEMBER 25

    Representatives of the Spanish Embassy in Belgrade said today that
    they still have no confirmation of the exact date the OSCE mission
    to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is to arrive in Belgrade.
    However, it is certain that the delegation will be here before
    December 25. OSCE intends to send a delegation headed by former
    Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales to Belgrade as soon as
    possible. The Embassy expects to have further details after
    Gonzales's meeting tomorrow with the OSCE Chairman Flavio Cotti in
    Bern.


    STUDENTS HEAD FOR ``FORBIDDEN CITY''

    Students protesting the nullification of the electoral results in
    Belgrade are to march today to the outskirts of Dedinje, the tony
    upper-crust area of Belgrade where Serbian President Milosevic
    resides. On one of the streets leading to Dedinje, they plan to
    leave a mock-up pyramid identifying this area as ``The Forbidden
    City,'' marking it as the single place in Belgrade where the
    students are not allowed to march.


    STUDENT PROTESTERS GIVE UP MEMBERSHIP IN STUDENT ASSOCIATION

    The Steering Board of the Student Protest '96 sent a letter today
    to their counterparts in the Student Association saying that the
    participants of the Student Protest are thereby canceling their
    membership in this association. ``The Student Association is,
    unfortunately, not an organization that represents the interests
    of its members -- the interests of all students of UofB,'' the
    letter said. It stressed that ever since 1992, students at the
    University of Belgrade have been unable to form student
    organizations which would have equal status to that of the
    official, state-approved Student Association. The letter went on
    to deny the Student Association any right to represent the
    interests of UofB students in the future.


    EDITOR OF A NIS DAILY REFUSES TO COLLABORATE

    Milorad Doderovic, one of the most acclaimed journalists in Nis
    and editor of the political column of the daily ``Narodne Novine''
    [People's Daily], has sent an open letter to the editorial staff
    and the manager of the daily to inform them that he has decided to
    cease writing until further notice. ``I can no longer put up with
    an editorial policy designed by the party spies and [government]
    spokesmen which is doing damage to our daily, a newspaper once
    held in general esteem,'' explained Doderovic.


    LOGAR: STATE MEDIA ENGAGED IN PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE

    Chair of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia
    Gordana Logar gave her assessment today of the role of the media
    in the current political crisis. According to Logar, the state-
    owned and para-state media are the most powerful means the state
    has been using in its political struggle against the opposition.
    She compared the situation to that just before the outbreak of the
    war in former Yugoslavia, when the local media had a
    psychologically determining role in bombarding the public with
    pro-government propaganda and preparing the populace for hatred
    and isolation. She said that the main reason the government is
    reluctant to hand over power on the municipal level is that the
    authority of municipal councils has been reduced almost solely to
    the regulation of the media, thus making any change in the
    municipal bodies a serious threat to the regime.


    MONTENEGRIN MINISTER OF FINANCE ON HIS PERSONAL ACCOUNT IN CYPRUS
    BANK

    Montenegrin Minister of Finance Predrag Goranovic confirmed last
    night that he has a personal account with a bank in Cyprus, and
    that Montenegrin foreign currency reserves have been transferred
    into this account, reports the newsagency Montena Fax. At the
    session of the Montenegrin Parliament held late last night, he
    said that the opening of this account was the only solution for
    financing the various needs of the Montenegrin state and its
    citizens during the period international sanctions were imposed on
    FR Yugoslavia. He claimed all payments and investments were done
    according to the decisions made by the Montenegrin government. He
    rejected all criticism by opposition deputies and all charges of
    government irresponsibility and lack of accountability in matters
    of finance.

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

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    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/
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