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From: Institute for War & Peace Reporting <info@iwpr.net>
To: Institute for War & Peace Reporting <info@iwpr.net>
Subject: IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 172
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:39:11 +0100
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WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 172, September 15, 2000

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"OUT OF TIME: Draskovic, Djindjic and Serbian Opposition Against Milosevic".

Price 6 Euros (Ł3.00). Send an e-mail to anela@iwpr.net
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KOSOVO TRIBUTES  The publisher of the leading Kosovo daily, Koha Ditore,
pays tribute to two prominent Albanians murdered in the past few days. Veton
Surroi writes from Pristina

KOSOVO ELECTION CAMPAIGN VIOLENCE  Violence has marred preparations for
Kosovo's critical local elections next month. Llazar Semini reports from
Pristina

BELGRADE ELECTION FRENZY  Belgrade is awash with political speculation and
gossip in the run-up to elections later this month. Dragana Nikolic reports
from Belgrade

"SECRET HAGUE INDICTMENTS" EXPOSED  Republika Srpska intelligence services
are said to have drawn up the recently published lists of alleged Hague
indictees to warn potential suspects. Zeljko Cvijanovic reports from Banja
Luka

FILIPOVIC UPDATE: Unofficial sources say Miroslav Filipovic's appeal against
his conviction and the prosecution's counter appeal to lengthen his sentence
are expected to get underway in early October. Filipovic's health condition
is unchanged.
Visit The Filipovic File at
<http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl5?balkans_filipovic_index.html>
Please make a donation towards supporting his family. Send a cheque or
postal order to IWPR (Filipovic Fund), 33 Islington High Street, London N1
9LH. 

************ VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: <http://www.iwpr.net>****************** 

KOSOVO TRIBUTES

The publisher of the leading Kosovo daily, Koha Ditore, pays tribute to two
prominent Albanians murdered in the past few days.

By Veton Surroi in Pristina

Shefki Popova, a former colleague of mine from Rilindja (an Albanian
newspaper), and Rexhep Luci, one of the most famous architects in Pristina,
are no longer with us.

I knew and respected both of them. Shefki was one of the best correspondents
that Albanian journalism had outside Pristina. And Rexhep Luci is one of the
few who could have solved Pristina's urban planning problems.

Why are the people I know dying? Why are they being killed?

I am quite sure that these people were killed because they had a different
opinion to that of their killers. And this makes their murders political.

They are not the first ones. During this year, we have seen acts committed
against this or that political party.

The current victims are part of a new dynamic, where people are targeted,
regardless of whether they are involved in the pre-election race.

In Kosovo, we have entered a cycle of violence we never had even imagined:
Violence against Albanians committed by "unknown Albanians".

>From what I knew of them, Shefki and Rexhep were, in term of their politics,
oriented more towards the Albanian nation than some political party. In
their work, they tried laying the foundations of Kosovo's statehood.

The paper carried a commentary by Ylber Hysa on Luci's last conference, 'The
Vision for Pristina 2000-2005'.

For three days in a row, Luci responded to questions and developed concepts
from the latest unrealised urban plan for Pristina.

During the break, while talking of the urban chaos of postwar Pristina, of
illegal construction that characterised this wild time, he told me slowly -
"I am being threatened directly!"

"Who?" I asked him.

"They are threatening me, " he repeated, one day before he was killed.
"According to someone, I am allegedly favored by the foreigners and I am to
blame for the interruption of illegal constructions!" 

He was not afraid, but with his open eyes and big moustache he tried to warn
me of what is going on, and that it is possible someone might be killed
because he tries to protect the city.

Sometime ago, in an interview for Koha Ditore, he said that all those
attacking the city must realise city will take vengeance on them!

These were the words of the man who believed in a civilized conscience, who
believed that the city is an identity, a heritage and a future, and
therefore must be protected.

If there's one thing that reflects the ugliness of this time, it's surely
the murder of the architect and urban expert, Rexhep Luci - the man who was
killed because he loved the city of Pristina so much.

If there is the slightest civilized conscience left, Pristina residents
should ask themselves - what have we achieved so far?

Veton Surroi is the publisher of Koha Ditore. His article appeared in the
paper this week.


KOSOVO ELECTION CAMPAIGN VIOLENCE

Violence has marred preparations for Kosovo's critical local elections next
month. 

By Llazar Semini in Pristina

The killings of two prominent Albanians have cast a pall over the start of
campaigning for forthcoming municipal elections in Kosovo.

Local coverage of the election campaign, which kicked off with celebrations
and large rallies on Wednesday, rapidly ground to a halt as local newspapers
and radio stations held a day of silence on Friday to protest against the
failure of the United Nations administration to stop a wave of violence in
the province, which has claimed 1,100 lives since the end of the war last
year.

The latest victims were Shefki Popova, a veteran local journalist, and
Rexhep Luci, the director of the Department of Reconstruction and Housing in
Pristina. Television journalist Marjan Mellonashi has been missing since
last weekend.

Popova, 50, was a journalist for more than a quarter of a century for the
Kosovo Albanian daily newspaper Rilindja and its radio station of the same
name. He was shot dead on Sunday near the local government building in
Vucitrn, 18 km (12 miles) from Pristina.

Luci, 58, an architect who has worked on a number of infrastructure projects
in, was found dead in front of his apartment building on Monday with six
bullet wounds to his chest.

Both are closely associated with the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, one
of the favourites to win in October's forthcoming local elections.

Luci's death is widely considered to be linked to his involvement in a
UN-led process to demolish illegally constructed buildings in Kosovo. A
series of demolition orders were issued this month. UN officials said the
buildings inspection process would not be slowed by Luci's murder. 

In another incident, a fire bomber attacked the house Fatmir Pireci, the
spokesman for the LDK in Prizren, southwestern Kosovo on Monday, a party
official said, damaging the building but causing no injuries.

The seven Kosovo daily newspapers and six broadcasters, announcing their
protest, complained that no one had been sentenced for any of the murders
committed in the province since the war ended because of the inefficiency of
judicial institutions. Police say arrests have been made in about 45 per
cent of the cases.

"Until now the murders have been interpreted as political and ethnic
violence because of the fact that perpetrators have not been found.
Nevertheless Albanians have been qualified as blameworthy," they said in a
joint statement.

The media appealed to international leaders to undertake institutional steps
to stop violence, find and punish perpetrators and improve the efficiency of
the police, prosecutors office and courts. 

They said they would continue their protest against illegally built
constructions and against inciting statements by politicians and the media
itself. They asked for security for journalists and freedom of movement. 

The recent wave of killings have raised concern among the international
institutions running Kosovo that it could be involved in a continuous period
of violence that will also be affected by elections in neighbouring
countries, particularly the presidential election in Serbia.

As if to confirm their fears, supporters of Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic attacked his main presidential election rival in the Kosovo town
of Kosovska Mitrovica on Thursday, slightly injuring him. Opposition
candidate Vojislav Kostunica was slightly cut under his right eye and the
deputy head of his party was bruised in the leg. Several cars in their
convoy were damaged. Oliver Ivanovic, the influential leader of the Serb
National Council in Mitrovica, is a self-declared opponent of Milosevic.

The NATO-led Kosovo Force, K-For, is bringing in four battalions with 2,400
troops from Britain, France, Italy and Greece for the elections to add to
some 36,000 troops it has already deployed in the province. 

The UN administration has said it does not recognise Serbia's September 24
election as it does not fulfill "reasonable international criteria" and will
not organize any voting in Kosovo. But Serb leaders in Kosovo have said they
will organize voting, even though they lack the necessary infrastructure to
do so. 

The Serbs however say they will boycott the Kosovo municipal elections a
month later because of security problems. Only about 1,000 Serbs have
registered to vote in the elections. 

Preparations for the municipal elections are still under way. Election
officials say there are about one million voters but the final list will not
be concluded until the end of the month. There are some 5,500 candidates,
including 1,363 women, running in 29 communes. 

The OSCE has secured some 750 international supervisors and is looking for
more. The Council of Europe will be leading the observers. 

Security is likely to be a major election issue for all parties. United
Nations Mission in Kosovo administrator Bernard Kouchner set the tone, when
he told a rally on Wednesday launching the election campaign that it is time
to build peace and democracy. "To all the militants and candidates I offer
the support of the international community. But please, without violence,
stop violence, stop killings," he said.

Llazar Semini is IWPR Project Director in Pristina.


BELGRADE ELECTION FRENZY

Belgrade is awash with political speculation and gossip in the run-up to
elections later this month.

By Dragana Nikolic in Belgrade

"SloboDA"( Freedom) the billboards say, a play on the name of Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic. His face is everywhere, his eyes gazing
purposefully into the future. Dressed immaculately, Milosevic looks serious,
every bit the man of vision.

But Belgrade's voters are questioning this 'vision'. There is a sense a
future under Milosevic can bring nothing but more misery. 

The city is awash with gossip - the president is on the way out, his son
Marko is already in China, his daughter is selling up her radio and
television station ready to make a getaway. Some say Milosevic didn't want
to stand, but his wife Mirjana Markovic made him.

Amid the speculation, however, there is an atmosphere of resignation. "We
have been through this already. Sloba [Slobodan Milosevic] will rig the
election results once again. Everything is in their hands," says Rada, a
secretary from Belgrade.

Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia, SPS, is harking back to the good old
days of 'Brotherhood and Unity' - a slogan from the Tito era. Posters
bordered with the Yugoslav flag sport a map of Serbia, Kosovo and
Montenegro, and the ever-present face of Milosevic. SPS coalition partner
the Party of the Yugoslav Left, JUL, prefer to dwell on the recent past,
"We're deciding and not NATO" the slogan goes.

In the main city squares police officers hover around the SPS and JUL
banners to deter potential graffiti artists. Every opposition poster,
meanwhile, is defaced with the words "traitors" and "shit".

The preferred tactic of anti-government student movement Otpor (Resistance)
is to decorate the ubiquitous Milosevic visage with the simple message "He
is finished: 24.09.00" (Gotov je: 24.09.2000).

Milosevic's main rival, candidate for the Democratic Opposition of Serbia
Vojislav Kostunica, is playing up his so-called untarnished reputation.
Where Milosevic is seen gazing into the middle distance, apparently
unwilling to look down on the misery he has created on the streets below,
Kostunica stares directly at the voters, his posters asking, "Who can look
you straight in the eyes?"

Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement, SPO, is going for the
heartstrings, reminding voters of his long struggle with the Milosevic
regime. The SPO have, the billboards claim, stuck by the people through the
hardest times. Their candidate Vojislav Mihajlovic is, the posters tell us,
"Our Man."

In response to the Milosevic government's decision to bar international
observers from monitoring the elections, the Alternative Centre for Free
Elections and Democracy, was formed with branches in all the major cities.
Their posters calling on ordinary citizens to enlist as observers are
plastered along every street.

Milorad from Kikinda has signed up for duty at his local polling station.
"I'm afraid the election results might be irregular, so I want to be present
there and oversee the process with my own eyes. I feel that these elections
are important, that people feel that every vote counts, that the whole thing
would disintegrate if we don't do something as individuals." 

Djoka, a retired interpreter from Belgrade, says, "This vulgar propaganda
will appeal to the peasants, but there is a chance to oust Sloba if a large
number of voters turn out."

Bojan, an opposition activist from Kraljevo is certain Milosevic's days are
numbered, "We will get rid of him, you will see, there isn't a chance that
he can win this time." 

An independent analyst from Belgrade, however, believes Milosevic will
declare himself victor in the first round and then wait to see the public
reaction. If it appears there may be trouble, the analyst suggests, then the
president will engineer some distraction, a conflict in Montenegro or Kosovo
perhaps.

While acknowledging Kostunica appears to have an unassailable lead in the
polls, a Belgrade sociologist agrees Milosevic plans to manipulate the
results by rigging votes in Montenegro, Kosovo, among the Kosovo Serb
refugee community in Serbia.

People are demoralised. Serbia is sinking ever deeper into isolation, a
ghetto where people are reduced to scavenging for survival. Whether voters
are allowed to choose an alternative vision of the future remains to be
seen. So too does their resolve to face down Milosevic should he act in
defiance of the popular choice.

Dragana Nikolic is a regular IWPR contributor.


"SECRET HAGUE INDICTMENTS" EXPOSED

Republika Srpska intelligence services are said to have drawn up the
recently published lists of alleged Hague indictees to warn potential
suspects.

By Zeljko Cvijanovic in Banja Luka

For the second week running, the Banja Luka magazine Reporter has listed
people allegedly named in sealed indictments at The Hague war crimes
tribunal. 

On September 11 Reporter named 35 Bosniaks, including the current President
of the Bosnian-Herzegovina Federation, BiH, Ejup Ganic, and the former top
commander of the BiH Army, Rasim Delic. 

Reporter claimed The Hague Tribunal had been investigating "crimes committed
against Serbs in camps Silos in Tarcin, Krupa, Igman and Hrasnica near
Sarajevo." Quoting a "senior security official" the magazine said "the
highest ranking Bosniak officials" had been the subject of the
investigations. The report said President of the BiH tripartite presidency
Alija Izetbegovic was included in the probe, but was unlikely to have been
indicted.

Tribunal prosecutor's office spokesman Paul Risley confirmed there had been
an investigation but dismissed the list of possible indictees as "sheer
speculation".

The revelations followed the publication on September 4 of a RS Defence
Ministry document, which listed 61 Bosnian Serbs allegedly named in sealed
indictments at the Hague. The document was signed by Deputy Defence Minister
Grujo Boric.

The RS Defence Ministry has since confirmed the document is genuine. In a
statement, the ministry expressed surprise that Reporter had "acquired an
official document illegally and published it without the government's
approval." The ministry condemned Reporter's editors and said an
investigation was underway to find the source of the leak.

An IWPR source in the defence ministry said the document was produced by RS
military intelligence and that its publication has been interpreted as a
deliberate attempt to discredit the service.

An officer in the RS army meanwhile provided another list compiled, he
claimed, by the defence ministry containing a further 20 names of people
believed to be on secret lists at the Hague. 

"Besides this and the list published by Reporter, there are several more
similar documents. They are compiled occasionally combining intelligence and
analytical work. But there is no list given to us by the Hague," he said.

Risley said the lists published in Reporter have nothing to do with the
tribunal. Only court's prosecutors and judges who signed the sealed
indictments know the names of those included, he said.

Risley said the sealed indictments would only be passed to the police in RS
when the tribunal is convinced the Banja Luka authorities will act on the
information and arrest those identified."For the moment we do not have that
level of co-operation," Risley added.

Recently dismissed RS prime minister Milorad Dodik and successive justice
ministers Milan Trbojevic and Cedo Vrzina had been negotiating with the
Hague and had prepared a draft law on co-operation with the tribunal. But
Dodik's government had stopped short of taking responsibility for arresting
suspects should the sealed indictments be made public.

The defence ministry list published by Reporter said the information had
come from Goran Neskovic, defence lawyer at the Hague for former RS
politician Momcilo Krajisnik.

Neskovic denies providing the information. Like Risley he said the list has
nothing to do with him or the Hague. But the defence ministry source
believes Neskovic did co-operate with RS military intelligence to compile
the list following the arrest of Radoslav Brdjanin in Banja Luka on July 6
1999.

The source claims Brdjanin's arrest raised concerns within the RS defence
ministry that several other Bosnian Serb officials with similar wartime
roles to the arrested man could also be indicted.

"Probably these lists have upset many people without any reason. But it's
certain that all those arrested up to now were warned before hand," the
source said.

The defence ministry had warned former chief of the RS General Staff Momir
Talic and wartime commander of the RS army's Sarajevo-Romanija Corps General
Stanislav Galic, the source claimed. 

Talic was arrested during a visit to Vienna in August 1999. According to the
source, Talic had chosen to ignore the warning, trusting instead a written
assurance from then Stabilisation Force commander US General Eric Sinseki
that he was not included in the sealed indictments. 

Galic, on the other hand, had immediately asked for a transfer to the
Yugoslav Army, the source claimed, but was arrested in December 1999 before
he could leave Banja Luka.

The former Commander of the Drina Corps, General Radislav Krstic, now on
trial at the Hague for his alleged role in the Srebrenica massacres had also
dismissed a tip-off from the RS defence ministry, the source claimed.
Krstic, he said, believed the warning to be a ploy to get rid of him. Krstic
was arrested on December 2 1998.

The tribunal has interpreted the list as deliberate disinformation designed
to intimidate as many people as possible. But information from the defence
ministry suggests the aim is rather to warn those mentioned that the Hague
could be interested in them.

Zeljko Cvijanovic is a regular IWPR contributor

************ VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: <http://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: <http://www.iwpr.net>.

Editor-in-chief: Anthony Borden. Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan. Associate
Editor: Gordana Igric. Assistant Editors: 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
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Lancaster House, 33 Islington High Street, London N1 9LH, UK Tel: (44 171)
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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: http://www.iwpr.net ***

IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, NO. 172

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