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Subject: IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 143
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WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 143, May 26, 2000

REGIME SHUTS DOWN UNIVERSITIES  Students are first in the firing line as
repression in Serbia reaches a new level of brutality.  Petar Lukovic
comments from Belgrade. 

SERB REFUGEES GIVEN HOPE  In stark contrast to the Tudjman era, the Croatian
government has implemented a series of measures to facilitate the return of
Serbian refugees. Dragutin Hedl reports from Osijek.

PETRITSCH CHIDES BOSNIAN LEADERS The international community is losing
patience with Bosnia's ineffectual political leaders. Janez Kovac reports
from Sarajevo.

KOSOVO BROADCASTERS LEFT CONFUSED  Efforts to establish terrestrial
broadcasting in Kosovo are being undermined by the lack of clear guidelines
from the international authorities. Alush Gashi reports from Pristina. 

****************** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ****************** 

REGIME SHUTS DOWN UNIVERSITIES

Students are first in the firing line as repression in Serbia reaches a new
level of brutality.

By Petar Lukovic in Belgrade 

The Belgrade University Faculty of Agriculture witnessed a truly bloody
confrontation on Tuesday evening (May 23). Fifteen young men, sporting crew
cuts and surgical masks, set upon student protestors with baseball bats. The
students had gathered to protest against the earlier police beating of one
of their comrades. Around 10 students were injured.

The temperature in Belgrade is rising ahead of Otpor's (Resistance) rally
scheduled for Saturday, May 27. Every day and every hour a supporter of
Otpor or the opposition is dragged off for questioning or is beaten up. On
Thursday the Yugoslav Minister of Education, Jevrem Janic, ordered all
universities to close down within g 24 hours. 

This constant intimidation though is only stoking up the fire. There is no
real news. All opposition media has been virtually silenced. Rumours spread
by word of mouth. After the rally on Saturday, people expect the regime to
carry out mass arrests to thwart the rebellion.

Since 1991, students protest movements, like the Serbian opposition in
general, have lacked the unity to seriously challenge the Milosevic
government. They have tended to be little more than extensions of
established political parties and have rarely put forward their own demands.

In 1992 tens of thousands of students marched on Milosevic's villa in
Dedinje to demand his resignation. But even then nothing changed. With wars
on-going in Croatia and Bosnia, the regime successfully exploited
nationalist euphoria to strangle student resistance and opposition protests
alike.

Only at the end of 1996 and in early 1997, when Milosevic really did look
vulnerable, did the students demonstrate their strength. Together with the
opposition, which was for once united, the students sealed off the Belgrade
University faculties and halted lectures throughout Serbia for several
months. The protests even forced the dean of Belgrade University to resign.

But Milosevic employed some tried and tested tactics to defuse the protests.
Just as time and again the regime has split the opposition by making timely
concessions to some of its leaders, overnight campuses were renovated,
scholarships were paid on time and students were granted additional study
time prior to exams. All that anti-regime energy dissipated.

Meanwhile, many students from urban centres - who've tended to be most
critical of Milosevic - have left the country, there places taken by
refugees and kids from the provinces for whom the Serbian president is a
role model 
Over 10,000 students from the provinces live at the Studentski Grad
(Students' Town) in Novi Beograd. Regime ideologists regularly visit the
campus. Sessions start and finish with patriotic anthems and folk songs. 

Studentski Grad delivers the majority of supportive telegrammes to Milosevic
in his battle against the New World Order. Scared, disinterested, bought for
three meals a day - these students are different to their colleagues from
urban centres. 

Otpor, however, was founded last year, initially as an alternative student
organization. But it soon became a genuine resistance movement throughout
Serbia. The nucleus of Otpor, in Belgrade and other towns across the
country, is made up of young, educated and articulate people who have driven
the regime crazy with their unusual tactics. 

Hence the hysterical response from the state. That the police are reduced to
roaming around the faculties beating up whomever they come across is
evidence enough that the authorities feel unable to halt the protests. 

The student strikes at the Agricultural Faculty, the Civil Engineering
Faculty, the Medical Faculty and the Philosophy Faculty are only the tip of
the iceberg. Underneath the surface, rage and indignation are reaching
boiling point.

One has to admit that it is unlikely the students' actions will in
themselves prove decisive in the unrest that is bound to come. But such
protests can act as a catalyst. 

Otpor's activities demonstrate that the citizens' spirit is not yet broken
and exposes the pro-Milosevic Studentski Grad as a mirage. 

Police repression and attacks on students by paramilitary psychopaths only
stir up more unrest and uncertainty in Serbia, where any form of violence
and state terror seems possible.

The students' demands are more radical than those espoused by opposition
leaders. Calls from the likes of Vuk Draskovic for patience, non-violent
demonstrations, gradual retreat and silence, promise only that Milosevic
will remain where he is. Such mealy-mouthed protests only strengthen the
regime.

The student challenge is the only real test facing the regime. Over the next
days and weeks we will see whether the anticipated mass protests provoke
Milosevic into yet bloodier confrontation with his opponents or whether he
falls back on the trusty tactics of buying off greedy, power-hungry
opposition leaders.

The hope remains alive that Otpor will not repeat the failings of their
predecessors. These students, after all, come from a generation, which has
virtually grown up under the shadow of Slobodan Milosevic.

Serbia's students now face their most important exam and to pass it with
honours, the war criminal Milosevic must go.

Petar Lukovic is a regular IWPR contributor


SERB REFUGEES GIVEN HOPE  

In stark contrast to the Tudjman era, the Croatian government has
implemented a series of measures to facilitate the return of Serbian
refugees.

By Dragutin Hedl in Osijek

In a landmark case earlier this month, the Croatian constitutional court
ruled a Montenegrin family, which fled the country nine years ago, could
reclaim their old home.

The court's decision will bolster Prime Minister Ivica Racan's plan to
facilitate the return of around 17,000 Serb refugees. 

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, estimates some
250,000 Croatian Serb refugees are still registered in Yugoslavia and
Republika Srpska. Around 25,000 of them have applied to return to Croatia as
part of the government's repatriation programme.

The constitutional court ruling is significant because the judiciary has
consistently ruled against returnees, particularly those coming back from
Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska, on the grounds that such people had
"participated in hostile activity against Croatia."

The legal breakthough comes as the government is pushes new legislation
through parliament granting Croats and Serbs the right to rebuild homes
destroyed during the war. 

Nationalists, in particular radicals within the Croatian Democratic Union,
HDZ, have resisted government moves at every turn.

In an extraordinary admission during a heated exchange with HDZ
representatives, the Minister for Reconstruction and Civil Engineering,
Radomir Cacic, said he had seen with his own eyes Croatian soldiers burn and
destroy Serb homes in Knin in August 1995. 

Given arsonists and robbers had operated within the military, Cacic went on,
the government had a responsibility to help everyone wanting to rebuild
homes destroyed in the war.

Prior to the break-up of Yugoslavia, all properties were state-owned.
Tenants enjoyed so-called occupancy rights, which were life-long and
inheritable. At the start of the war, Zagreb abolished these rights for
anyone who'd left the country - mostly Serbs and Montenegrins. 

Meanwhile, the authorities permitted people to buy their own homes - an
opportunity denied , of course, by the tens of thousands of non-Croats who
fled the country before and during the war.

Racan's government has also introduced a law on minorities, which recognises
their languages and guarantees them improved representation in parliament.
Should Serbs make up 8 per cent of the next census, they could have 19 out
of the 151 legislative seats, which is more than some smaller parties in the
governing coalition.

In addition, the government's new budget has reportedly set aside around $3
million for minority affairs, the largest share of which goes to the Serbs. 

HDZ radicals have denounced the government's efforts to assist Serb
repatriation as an "equalisation of aggressors and victims." 

Senior officials in the previous HDZ administration, Vladimir Seks and Drago
Krpina, claimed the policies would bring the return of "thousands and
thousands of JNA [Yugoslav Peoples Army] officers, who destroyed Croatia and
killed its citizens."

HDZ radicals are stirring up opposition to Racan's government, claiming it
is little more than a stooge of the international community, implementing
polices dictated by the West and detrimental to Croatian interests.

Extremists in the HDZ are not alone. The president of the Veterans and
Invalids of the Patriotic War, HVIDRA, Marinko Liovic, has promised to
disrupt the coming tourist season in protest at the government's
co-operation with war crimes tribunal in The Hague. 

On May 17, five Croatian Army soldiers in Veljuna destroyed a memorial to
570 Serbs killed by the fascist Ustashe during World War Two. The government
response was swift. The soldiers were suspended from the army and are to
face criminal charges. Their superiors are also being investigated.

Racan's government still enjoys the support of the majority of the
population, despite the right wing backlash. Many fear radicals like Liovic
will plunge Croatia back into international isolation and discourage much
needed foreign investment.

Dragutin Hedl is regular IWPR contributor


PETRITSCH CHIDES BOSNIAN LEADERS

The international community is losing patience with Bosnia's ineffectual
political leaders.

By Janez Kovac in Sarajevo

The West's top mediator, Wolfgang Petritsch, has warned that the
international community is questioning its commitment to Bosnia because of
the slow pace of the peace process. 

Petritsch issued his warning on Thursday, May 25, after returning from the
two-day session of the Brussels-based Peace Implementation Council- made up
of foreign ministers from western countries and directors of agencies
involved in the Bosnian peace process.

Petritsch said so-called donor fatigue has started to set in, significantly
reducing loans, credits and donations for Bosnia.

Shortages of funds has already affected the repatriation of refugees. UNHCR
says it would have to cut down and even cancel some of its projects due to
the lack of cash.

"Cash availability is at its lowest in almost ten years, and UNHCR may have
to freeze aid implementation agreements with partner agencies if the
shortage continues," said UNHCR spokesman Barbara Smith recently.

The funding crisis comes as the repatriation process shows signs of
progress. According to UNHCR, the registered number of refugee returning to
their homes in the first three months of the year stood at7,377 compared to
1,717 in the same period last year.

Petrisch claimed local politicians bear much responsibility for the
country's economic woes." The politicians here are doing a lousy job," he
said and warned, "This already very weak economy will run into serious, very
serious problems." 

Most local leaders, it seems, are more interested in petty political feuding
and back-stabbing than proper peace implementation and reconstruction of the
war-devastated country.

Bosnian local, regional and state parliaments and assemblies have failed to
pass or adopt important laws and decisions for fear of offending some
"crucial" interest of one nationalist ruling party or another.

While the three members of the Bosnian joint presidency spent almost four
months deciding on a new Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Bosnia
struggled with no state government.

The presidency finally agreed to propose an unknown Bosnian Serb economy
professor Spasoje Tusevljak.

Against this background, Petritsch announced that the international
organizations and agencies in Bosnia would in future focus on the three key
issues: a fundamental economic reform, acceleration of the return of
refugees and strengthening of the joint institutions.

"The three priorities need to be implemented immediately and without any
tolerance for non-implementation," he said. "There is going to be now
definitively zero tolerance for all the procrastinations that may be still
ongoing in the minds and heads of some of the politicians here."

Petritsch said he would act more decisively when dealing with those who
obstruct the peace process, a reference to the new powers granted him to
remove unco-operative officials and impose laws. 

Only in the past few weeks, Petritsch has dismissed the Bosnian Croat
governor of the Livno canton for obstructing the return of refugees and the
democratisation process and the head of the federal privatization agency,
who was, according to Petritsch's office, slowing down the sale of state
property.

"This is an ongoing exercise and I will not hesitate over the next couple of
months to use all my powers," Petritsch said.

At the same time, Petritsch has called on Bosnians to get more involved
influencing the democratisation of the country. In a national television
broadcast he urged them to vote for change in general elections scheduled
for later this year. 

"You have to help out in all of this. You have to accept that all problems
in Bosnia-Herzegovina are your problems as well," Petritsch told Bosnians.
"Help in bringing about changes and accept responsibility because the
situation can be even worse than it is now." 

Janez Kovac is a regular IWPR correspondent


KOSOVO BROADCASTERS LEFT CONFUSED

Efforts to establish terrestrial broadcasting in Kosovo are being undermined
by the lack of clear guidelines from the international authorities.

By Alush Gashi in Pristina 

The telephone call signified a new era in the struggle to build electronic
media in Kosovo. On April 19, a construction contractor informed the US
Agency for International Development (USAID) that the new transmission tower
on Mt. Golesh, outside Pristina -- a 96-metre mast supported by two sets of
guy wires -- was finally completed.

Funded by USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), the tower -- the
first new mast raised since the end of the NATO bombing campaign --
represents a considerable breakthrough in efforts to establish terrestrial
broadcasting in Kosovo.

Its construction however has been impeded by all manner of obstacles. And
the lack of clear guidelines from the international authorities has left the
local electronic media in confusion, with particular anxiety over the
preference of the UN and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) for public over private broadcasting.

For now, the only legitimate Kosovo television broadcaster remains Radio
Television Kosova (RTK), the presumptive public broadcaster now run by the
European Broadcasting Union and funded by international donors. 

It produces two hours of output per day, via satellite, at an estimated
monthly cost of 89,400 German marks for the satellite time alone. While
satellite dishes are a fairly common sight, there are no reliable audience
figures. Terrestrially, there are otherwise only some private essentially
pirate operations, either locally based or from Albania, using unlicensed
transmitters.

The new transmitter, combined with a second tower to be completed in two
months on Mt. Svilen in the west near Prizren, should permit public and
private electronic media outlets to cover the entire region of Kosovo with
terrestrial broadcasts. It could also service mobile phone, emergency
broadcasting and two-way radio needs. 

Yet a host of problems and obstacles remains. The first is the strength of
the frequency, which is determined by KFOR. At present, only frequency
strengths of 100 watts, or up to 250 watts in rural areas, are permitted. If
these levels are maintained, the extensive network of "repeaters" (which
pick up and strengthen a signal) would have to be repaired, to make sure the
signal is carried throughout the province, and around the many hills and
valleys. 

Increasing the frequency level could conflict with neighbouring signals and
therefore would require negotiation, in the first place with Belgrade which,
under strict interpretation of UN Security Council's Resolution 1244, is
legally sovereign over Kosovo. In a letter to UN head Bernard Kouchner,
Robert Jones, director of the Radio Communication Bureau of the
International Telecommunication Union, cites the UN resolution in
recommending that UNMIK establish a liaison with the Yugoslav
telecommunication administration to ensure appropriate compliance with the
ITU constitution, conventions and administrative regulations.

Some KFOR officials have also argued that a higher frequency strength could
interfere with signals requirements of the western military and security
operations in Kosovo. The issue of frequency strength is also related to the
still more thorny problem of licences, especially so-called "national" ones
- there must inevitably be even more careful regulations on stronger
signals.

If the signal strength were increased to 10 kilowatts, estimates are that
even with the existing repeater network left behind from the decades-old
Yugoslav system, broadcasters would immediately be able to reach 70 per cent
of the territory, or even more. If not, concern remains that RTK would
disproportionately benefit from any restored repeater network. 

As the deadline for erection of the mast approached, the Telecommunication
Group consisting of representatives of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the
OSCE, KFOR and USAID/OTI, met to address a number of pressing issues. These
include management of the mast, provisions for mast maintenance and plans
for possible implementation of the Professional Media Support Trust Fund.
The fund would collect fees from the usage of the tower and would be used
for local media development. 

The group concluded that primary management responsibility for the tower
should fall to the UN's Department of Telecommunications. The income
generated from the tower should be directed to the Media Commission, which
is made up of UNMIK, the OSCE and local media representatives. The Media
Commission would also be the ultimate authority over access to the tower and
the disposition of the trust fund.

These decisions have caused some concern among Kosovo private broadcasters.
OSCE and UNMIK media representatives have clearly stated that RTK
development is their priority, and local private initiatives fear that they
will not be granted the same privileges and rights as RTK. 

Money, of course, is also crucial, inevitably from international donations.
To date the largest media donor has been the Japanese government, with a
$14.5 million contribution of equipment via the UN Development Programme.
The intention is that private stations may use the broadcasting components
of this gift, but they are concerned that unequal distribution of other
components, such as recording studios, cameras, etc, could result in RTK
securing a monopoly.

"Any reconstruction of the transmission system will benefit all those who
have ambitions to be broadcasters, private and public alike," says one
official involved with media issues. He insists that even the production
equipment donated by the Japanese for RTK will also be available for private
stations. Some officials also argue that close cooperation among the public
and private sectors is the only way in the long term to ensure a viable and
politically independent media in a territory as small as Kosovo.

The privates are also started to get serious funds. Following recent visits
to the US by the heads of Koha Vision and TV21, USAID revised its budgets,
appropriating an extra $400,000 for equipment purchases for each. The Open
Society Institute has also promised substantial additional contributions to
cover operational costs.

The US State Department has approved the funds for erecting the tower on Mt.
Svilen, and USAID/OTI is organising a site inspection by the contractor. But
no money has yet been granted for electrification and other site logistics.

Lack of clarity over the licensing procedure has also caused concern. In
early April, Radio Television 21, a private broadcaster, received permission
from KFOR to build a small mast on Mt. Golesh and transmit its radio signal
at 2.5 kilowatts. (The station already has a license to transmit from one
location in Pristina.) This move suggested that Aferdita Kelmendi, the
station's director, was determined not to wait for official permission from
UNMIK or the OSCE to hang antennae on the new 96-metre Golesh mast but to
find other alternatives.

A week later, however, KFOR stated that it would not support RTV 21's effort
without a licence from the OSCE. The OSCE acknowledged RTV 21's legitimate
right as an independent broadcaster to try to improve its coverage legally
and to express disagreement with the restrictive policies of KFOR over its
frequency strength limits. But it refused to approve a licence, arguing that
this would set a precedent for other illegal broadcasters and would cause
havoc with frequency allocations.

In response to these anxieties, however, the OSCE and UNMIK have put their
proposed broadcasting code under review. The OSCE is also now expected to
open a tender allowing media outlets to apply for hanging their transmitters
and antennae on the Golesh mast.

"Finally," says Kelmendi, the RTV21 director. "We have been waiting for this
move from the OSCE for a long time. Most of us [private broadcasters] have
the equipment ready, and as soon as we get the go-ahead from the officials,
we are climbing up the tower."

Thus a new mast is up, but the new ground rules have still not been clearly
established. As a result, the international administration appears reluctant
and indecisive - or beset by internal squabbling. 

International officials insist that many of the hard choices, and the
essential regulatory and other structures have been established, and now the
difficult task of reviewing licensing applications, clearing technical
hurdles, and solving other problems is just a matter of time. The aim is to
have terrestrial TV, both public and private, by August, before expected
elections in the autumn. One positive signal has been an indication that the
new KFOR command may be prepared to lift the frequency-strength limitation,
provided that it remains within the international legal framework. Yet for
now, the only Kosovo-wide television program remains RTK's satellite
broadcast, two hours a day.

Alush Gashi is an independent journalist in Pristina.

****************** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ******************

IWPR's network of leading correspondents in the region provides inside
analysis of the events and issues driving crises in the Balkans. The reports
are available on the Web in English, Serbian and Albanian; English-language
reports are also available via e-mail. For syndication information, contact
Anthony Borden <tony@iwpr.net>.

Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International
Development, European Commission, and Swedish International Development and
Cooperation Agency and other sources. IWPR also acknowledges general support
from the Ford Foundation.

For further details on this project and other information services and media
programmes, visit IWPR's Website: <www.iwpr.net>.

Editor-in-chief: Anthony Borden. Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan. Associate
Editor: Gordana Igric. Assistant Editors: Christopher Bennett, Alan Davis
and Heather Milner. Kosovo Project Manager: Llazar Semini. Translation:
Alban Mitrushi and others.

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is a London-based independent
non-profit organisation supporting regional media and democratic change.

Lancaster House, 33 Islington High Street, London N1 9LH, UK Tel: (44 171)
713 7130; Fax: (44 171) 713 7140 E-mail: info@iwpr.net; Web: www.iwpr.net

The opinions expressed in "Balkan Crisis Report" are those of the authors
and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR.

Copyright (C) 2000 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting 

*** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net ***

IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 143

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