Daily News Summary from Balkan-Info.com
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Dateline: Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Source: Associated Press (AP)
09/03/00
ALBRIGHT PRAISES BALKAN LEADERS, CONCERNED OVER MONTENEGRIN SECURITY
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright praised the reform efforts of
Bosnian Serb Premier Milorad Dodik and Montenegrin President Milo
Djukanovic during her visit to Banja Luka, AP reports. "It’s… leaders
like this, along with opposition leaders inside Serbia itself that give
hope for long-term peace in the region," Albright said, quoted by AP.
Albright called Dodik a "courageous leader" for his determination in
fostering ethnic reconciliation in Bosnia. She applauded the restraint
Montenegro has shown in the face of Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic’s efforts to destabilise the smaller republic, but noted her
concern for its security, according to AP.
Dateline: Sarajevo
Source: Agence France Presse (AFP)
09/03/00
MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT WARNS OF POSSIBLE WAR WITH SERBIA
After meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright earlier in
the day, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic warned that Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic might be close to attacking the democratic
republic, and that if Milosevic did, Montenegro would defend itself, AFP
reports. "We have a very powerful motive to protect our state, to
protect peace in it, to protect democracy," Djukanovic stated in an
interview with Bosnian television, as reported by AFP. Djukanovic went
on to stress that he would do everything in his power to avoid war, and
warned Milosevic against any attempt to use the numerous Yugoslav army
units based in Montenegro against the republic.
Dateline: Jagodina, Yugoslavia
Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Beta
09/03/00
SERB MEDIA CRACKDOWN CONTINUES, TWO MORE MEDIA OUTLETS SHUT DOWN
Inspectors from the Yugoslav telecommunications ministry, accompanied by
a dozen policemen, removed crucial broadcasting equipment from the
independent television Nemanja and radio Tir, DPA reports, citing the
Beta news agency. The inspectors accused the stations of not having
valid operating permits and of owing money for their temporary broadcast
permits.
Dateline: Pristina
Source: Reuters
09/03/00
KFOR TROOPS SEIZE SERB AND ETHNIC ALBANIAN WEAPONS
NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) on 9 March confiscated weapons from
locations near the Kosovo-Serb border, Reuters reports. KFOR soldiers
seized a machine gun, 50 grenades, 12 mortar grenades and various other
military goods from a house owned by an ethnic Albanian man, according
to Reuters. The man was arrested at a KFOR checkpoint in the town of
Inatovce. In a separate incident, Belgian and French KFOR troops
confiscated a small cache of weapons during a raid on Serb property in
the town of Miolice also located near the Kosovo-Serb border, Reuters
reports, citing KFOR spokesman Lt. Com. Philip Anido. In that raid,
one automatic AK-47 rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, three
grenades and a Serb army uniform were confiscated, recounts Reuters.
Dateline: Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Source: Associated Press (AP)
09/03/00
CROATIA AND BOSNIAN SERB ENTITY AGREE TO REPATRIATION POLICY
Croatian and Bosnian Serb officials announced on 9 March a new joint
policy that would allow the repatriation to Croatia and Bosnia of
thousands of people displaced during last decade’s Balkan conflicts, AP
reports. Bosnian Serb Premier Milorad Dodik and Croatian Foreign
Minister Tonino Picula publicised the plan after a meeting with U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "We are taking another step away
from past madness," AP quoted Albright. The policy will allow
approximately 4,000 Bosnian Croat and Croatian Serb refugees to
repatriate over the next three months, according to AP. U.N. figures
estimate 30,000 Croatian Serb refugees are currently residing in Bosnia,
while 70,000 Bosnian Croats are in Croatia, AP reports.
Dateline: Ankara, Turkey and Washington
Sources: Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France Presse (AFP)
09/03/00
U.S., NATO REPORT NO EVIDENCE OF SPY FOR SERBIA
U.S. and NATO officials on 9 March denied a BBC report alleging an
alliance employee spied for Serbia during last year’s air campaign,
according to wire service reports. "Results of the air campaign speak
for themselves. The NATO air cover did all that it was asked. The
refugees are now home, underlying the success of the air campaign,"
Robertson said, quoted by AP. The BBC report cited a documentary that
claimed a NATO spy forwarded to the Serbs information detailing strike
plans during the first two weeks of the alliance’s air campaign over
Yugoslavia. Pentagon spokesman Air Force Lt. Col. Vic Warzinski stated
that the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff reported no evidence that a mole was
operating at NATO. "But they do acknowledge that the Serbs did seem to
have an unusual amount of knowledge of when and where and how our planes
were coming in," Warzinski said, quoted by Reuters. Pentagon spokesman
Kenneth Bacon later stated, according to AFP, that NATO officials
carelessly faxing notes on their strike plans to their capitals might
have tipped off the Yugoslavs.
Dateline: Mitrovica
Source: Associated Press (AP), Reuters
09/03/00
U.N. POLICE OFFICIAL RELIEVED OF DUTIES IN MITROVICA
John Adams, Deputy Commander of the U.N. police force in Kosovo, was
relieved of his duties on 9 March after alleging French KFOR troops
blocked police from conducting a crime scene investigation in Mitrovica,
AP reports. In a statement later distributed by military headquarters
in Paris, regional UNMIK police commander Svend-Erik Larsen was
described as stating, "The regional commander condemns recent statements
made by his deputy concerning the co-operation between UNMIK and French
KFOR." Sniper fire and grenades injured sixteen French KFOR troops and
24 civilians during the 7 March spate of violence. French KFOR stated
that the area was sealed after the attack for security measures.
According to AP, it is not known if Adams will receive assignment in
another part of Kosovo.
Dateline: Zagreb
Source: Reuters, Hina
09/03/00
U.N. REJECTS CROATIA’S OFFER TO TRY WAR CRIMES SUSPECT
Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan stated that the United Nations had
rejected the proposal to try the ailing Bosnian Croat war crimes
suspect, Mladen Naletilic, in Zagreb rather than in The Hague, according
to Reuters. Reuters, citing the state news agency Hina, quoted Racan as
saying, "The way things stand now, our proposals have unfortunately
been
rejected but we shall continue discussions." The U.N. War Crimes
Tribunal indicted Naletilic for ordering the murder, torture and
evict
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