Headlines
- In the RS – the celebration of St.Vid (RS Army patron’s day);
- Talks between Dodik and representatives of the RS Veterans Organisation on privatisation and veterans’ rights;
- The return of Albanian refugees and disarmament of KLA commence in Kosovo;
The RS Army celebrates its patron’s day – St. Vid; Member of BiH Presidency, Radisic congratulated all RS Army soldiers and commanders on the RS Army’s patron’s day. The main celebration took place in the RS Army Centre in Banja Luka, attended by Dodik, Djokic, Gen.Talic, Radisic, Milovanovic, Poplasen and FRY Army representatives.
RS PM Dodik, and RS Minister for veterans issues, victims of war and labour, Gligoric met representatives of the RS Veterans Organisation. The main topics were the status of the Veterans Organisation, privatisation issues and the legal regulation of veterans’ rights. These issues will probably be considered at the next RS NA Session. Regarding privatisation, it is deemed necessary to allocate additional vouchers for use by RS Army Veterans.
Ten years ago, Slobodan Milosevic (then Secretary General of the Central Committee of The Communist Party of Serbia) promised the Serbs in Kosovo that they would be protected. This promise was given in Gazimestan (site in Kosovo) to a million people gathered at the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo. Many analysts identify the Kosovo problem as a cause of the Kosovo crisis and of the general instability of the region in the last ten years. Ten years later FRY faces an international protectorate in Kosovo and the exodus of 70,000 Serbs from the province.
KOSOVO NEWS
SRT correspondent from Belgrade (Draga Grubic) reports on: incident between KLA members and US KFOR in Vitina, disarmament of KLA, 2 missing workers of Milk factory from Uzice (Western Serbia), Albanians entering the building of Pristina Television, Bishop Artemije of Kosovo calls on Kosovo Serbs to stay in Kosovo, Serb refugees in Kragujevac (town in central Serbia) applying for return to Kosovo, 380 Albanians returned to Kosovo (organised by UNHCR). The item is accompanied by APTN footage of KLA members in Kosovo and houses in flames.
International organisation for struggle against censorship “Article 19” called on Serbian authorities to cancel the law on public information, and warned them that otherwise it would mean that censorship was continuing in spite of lifting the state of war. This organisation also made an appeal to the IC to support independent media in Serbia as a key element for democratic development in the country.
FRY REACTIONS
SRT carried the statements of : Nebojsa Vujovic, Momcilo Trajkovic (Serbian Resistance Movement), Nebojsa Pavkovic (Commander of 3 FRY Army), SPO (Serbian Renewal Movement), DS (Democratic Party), DSS (Democratic Party of Serbia), The Serbian Christian Democrat Party and Socialdemocratic League of Vojvodina.
Member of BiH Presidency, Radisic and RS Minister for refugees and DPs, Dragicevic visited Modrica where they met Modrica Municipality representatives. Radisic said that there were two main problems in this town: the refugee problem and the difficult economic situation.