12 June 2002 Afternoon Edition

I - News wires/services /broadcast

AFP
· Deputies from President Kostunica's party quit Serbian parliament

AP
· Yugoslavia in political crisis as president's party withdraws from Serbian parliament
· Amnesty appeals to EU not to sacrifice human rights with immigration controls

B92
· Milan Panic announces retirement from ICN
· Memorial service for murdered police chief
· Court quashes conviction of Milosevic state security chief
· Kostunica party quits Serbian parliament
· Serbian premier takes moral high ground

DPA
· Kostunica's party withdraws from Serbian parliament

Reuters
· Kostunica party blasts rivals' "Milosevic tactics"

Deputies from President Kostunica's party quit Serbian parliament

BELGRADE, June 12 (AFP) - Deputies of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's party walked out of the Serbian parliament on Wednesday to protest at an administrative committee's decision to remove mandates from half the party's deputies for their poor parliamentary attendance record.
The deputies left their parliamentary identity cards at the desk of assembly chairwoman Natasa Micic and walked out of the room as she announced the committee's decision, concluding that the deputies were deprived of their mandates.
"People of Serbia should know that, starting from today, the parliament as a legitimate institution does not exist any more due to the illegal revoking of mandates from deputies of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and changes in the electoral will of the people," Dragan Marsicanin, a top party official, said.
He said the party would no longer participate in parliamentary work, adding that the DSS would lodge an appeal with the Serbian Supreme and Constitutional Court challenging the committee's decision.
The administrative committee voted on Tuesday to remove mandates from 21 of the 45 deputies from Kostunica's DSS for their poor attendance, despite opposition from the party itself.
Kostunica's DSS is a member of the ruling DOS coalition. All the DOS leaders except Kostunica argued the sanctions were necessary because the deputies' absence had prevented the parliament from adopting a number of important reform laws.
The parliament had wanted to replace the deputies by other party candidates who were on the electoral lists for the December 2000 polls but the DSS said it would not accept the decision.
The removla of the deupties' mandates came after DOS leaders decided in May to sack 50 of the coalition's deputies, most of them DSS members.
Other deputies threatened with sanctions have either excused their absence from the sessions or resigned before Tuesday's meeting of the administrative committee.
The 18-party DOS coalition overthrew former president Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000.
Despite still belonging to the ruling coalition, Kostunica's DSS has regularly opposed its government partners in the Serbian parliament and DSS ministers have quit the administration led by Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in protest at alleged corruption.
The dispute over the committee's decision has only deepened a rift between the two factions in DOS -- one backing Kostunica, the other grouped around Djindjic -- which erupted after Serbian authorities handed Milosevic over to the UN war crimes court last June.
On Friday, the DSS announced the formation of a new Serbian shadow cabinet to offer an alternative to the present government ruling Serbia.
Serbia is the larger of Yugoslavia's two republics. DSS representatives continue to remain in the federal Yugoslav government, which rules both Serbia and the smaller republic of Montenegro, and in a number of other institutions.

Yugoslavia in political crisis as president's party withdraws from Serbian parliament

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC=Associated Press Writer=

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) _ The party of President Vojislav Kostunica withdrew from the Serbian parliament Wednesday, declaring the legislature invalid and creating the worst political crisis in the country since Slobodan Milosevic's ouster.
All 45 deputies of Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia walked out of the parliament in protest of a decision by the rest of the governing coalition of Serbia to replace 21 of them and give some of their seats to members of rival parties.
The deputy chief of Kostunica's party, Dragan Marsicanin, claimed that with the walkout of their deputies from the chamber, the Serbian parliament ``no longer exists.''
``This is a coup carried out without weapons,'' Marsicanin said, referring to the decision to replace the pro-Kostunica lawmakers. ``A totalitarian regime now rules in Serbia.''
The 21 lawmakers _ together with 18 others _ were declared dismissed Tuesday for rarely attending assembly sessions.
The move marked a deepening of the power struggle between the country's two key politicians _ Kostunica and Zoran Djindjic, the prime minister of Yugoslavia's main republic, Serbia.
Kostunica, a moderate nationalist, and Djindjic, a pro-Western pragmatist, have been at loggerheads since jointly ousting former Yugoslav President Milosevic from power in October 2000.
Kostunica, a moderate nationalist, and Djindjic, a pro-Western pragmatist, have been at loggerheads since jointly ousting former Yugoslav President Milosevic from power in October 2000.
Replacement of Kostunica's allies in the legislature would give Djindjic's government greater stability and relieve it from a lingering threat of being ousted in a parliamentary vote.
Kostunica's party has been criticizing Djindjic's economic and political reforms, and has tilted toward Milosevic's neo-communists and ultra-nationalists in parliament. That left Djindjic's pro-democracy bloc with a slight majority in the 250-seat Serbian parliament.
Kostunica's deputies _ trying to block reformist laws proposed by Djindjic's government _ have largely boycotted parliamentary sessions, repeatedly preventing a quorum. That had nearly blocked the assembly's work, threatening with a possibility of new elections _ something Kostunica and Milosevic's allies have been striving for.
Djindjic said the move to dismiss the deputies was taken ``to put some order in the country.''
``The (deputies) who receive salaries have to do what they are paid for'' and not boycott assembly sessions, Djindjic said.
Kostunica's party announced ``all forms of extraparliamentary political life,'' indicating street protests and strikes against Djindjic and his government. That would further destabilize the country, already faced with deep economic and social problems. Some protests were already being organized by Milosevic's allies.
Marsicanin said his party will challenge the decision to replace the deputies in Serbia's highest courts.

Amnesty appeals to EU not to sacrifice human rights with immigration controls

By PAUL AMES=Associated Press Writer=

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ Amnesty International appealed to European Union leaders Wednesday to ensure a proposed clampdown on illegal immigration does not erode the human rights of genuine asylum seekers.
EU leaders are due to consider strengthening immigration controls at a summit next week in the Spanish city of Seville.
The tougher restrictions are widely seen as a response to strong electoral showings for anti-immigration candidates, most recently in France, the Netherlands and Denmark.
In a statement, Amnesty International said the clampdown risked infringing on the rights of genuine refugees seeking asylum in EU nations.
``The unwillingness to balance immigration measures with respect for internationally agreed human rights standards threatens to sacrifice the rights of those who seek and need protection,'' said Dick Oosting, director of the human rights group's EU office.
The group said the Seville summit should make an ``explicit and unambiguous'' commitment to the right of asylum; order an assessment of the human rights impact of any new immigration legislation; focus foreign policy on improving human rights in immigrants' homelands; and intensify anti-racism campaigns.
Spain, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, wants to make immigration controls a top agenda item at the Seville summit. Spanish Interior Minister Mariano Rajoy said Tuesday that immigration would be the most important phenomenon facing the EU for the next 50 years.
``It would be a foolish mistake'' not to have a common immigration policy, he said. ``Either we all control our borders or one of us doesn't and the whole thing is pointless.''
Among proposals under discussion ahead of the Seville meeting are increased cooperation between frontier and immigration authorities of the 15 EU nations; a common EU visa policy; a European border police force and increased cooperation with immigrants' home countries to make it easier to send them back.
Justice and Home Affairs ministers from the 15 EU nations are scheduled to discuss the plans at a pre-summit meeting Thursday in Luxembourg.
Governments are also concerned that plans to expand the union to take in 10 Eastern European and Mediterranean island nations in 2004 will increase the flow of illegal immigrants entering over the borders of new members. Within the EU, border controls have been mostly scrapped.
Several EU nations, including Britain, Denmark and Italy, are already introducing tougher immigration controls.
Amnesty's Oosting said politicians' ``overblown rhetoric'' on immigration was be reflected on the streets with ``increased hostility and attacks'' against foreigners.
The London-based campaign group said the number of people seeking asylum in the EU had declined slightly in recent years after increases in the 1990s provoked by wars in the Balkans.
It said 384,530 people sought asylum in 2001 and provisional U.N. figures for this year showed a downward trend. Amnesty listed Yugoslavia, Romania, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan as among the main countries of origin over the past 10 years.

Milan Panic announces retirement from ICN

B92 - Jun 12, 2002

13:25 COSTA MESA, Wednesday - Former Yugoslav prime minister Milan Panic announced today that he is to retire at the end of the month as chairman and chief executive of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Panic has been widely criticised for personal loans and large bonuses granted to him by his company.
Recent media reports suggest he is considering running for Serbian president when the position is vacated later this year. (Reuters)

Memorial service for murdered police chief

B92 - Jun 12, 2002

13:02 BELGRADE, Wednesday - A memorial service was held in Belgrade today for Bosko Buha, Serbia's public security deputy head who was gunned down early on Monday morning by unknown attackers.
Buha "contributed greatly to the strengthening of security, the preservation of peace and order," the commander of the Serbian gendarmerie, Goran Radosavljevic, told the service in the building of the Internal Affairs Secretariat.
The service was attended by senior interior ministry officials, including Minister Dusan Mihajlovic, and several cabinet members.
Buha commanded the Belgrade police brigade under Slobodan Milosevic but crucially switched allegiances to the DOS coalition in the run up to his ousting on October 5.
He was shot eight times in the chest at 2.45 on Monday morning in the car park of Belgrade's Hotel Yugoslavia.
Belgrade daily Blic reported today that a witness to the murder had come forward. "The eyewitness saw a young man shooting Buha. Scared by the incident he fled in his car," wrote Blic, quoting unnamed sources.
The funeral was held today at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. (Beta)

Court quashes conviction of Milosevic state security chief

B92 - Jun 12, 2002

12:47 BELGRADE, Wednesday - Serbia's Supreme Court has overturned a conviction against Slobodan Milosevic's state security chief and three associates, reports Belgrade daily Blic.
Rade Markovic and three other men were found guilty by Belgrade district court last year of revealing secrets. Markovic was handed a one-year prison sentence.
The Supreme Court returned the case to the district court. (Beta)

Kostunica party quits Serbian parliament

B92 - Jun 12, 2002

12:37 BELGRADE, Wednesday - Deputies of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's party have walked out of the Serbian parliament and vowed never again to participate in its work.
The move came in response to the sacking of 21 of the party's deputies for their poor parliamentary attendance record. The request was lodged by Serbia's governing coalition, DOS, and approved last night by the parliament's administrative council.
The Democratic Party of Serbia deputies filed out one by one, leaving their parliamentary identity cards at the desk of speaker Natasa Micic.
"People of Serbia should know that, from today, the parliament as a legitimate institution no longer exists due to the illegal revoking of mandates…and changes to the electoral will of the people," party vice-president Dragan Marsicanin told reporters.
He said the party would no longer take part in the work of parliament but warned it would lodge an appeal with the Serbian Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. (Beta)

Serbian premier takes moral high ground

B92 - Jun 12, 2002

12:16 BELGRADE, Wednesday - Serbia's prime minister has insisted the decision to sack 21 MPs from his archrival's party was purely a question of ethics, not party politics.
"There's no compromising in putting this country back in order. Those who receive salaries have to do the job they are paid for," Zoran Djindjic said last night.
His comments came after the administrative council of the Serbian parliament tipped the balance of power even further in his favour by sacking from the assembly 21 MPs belonging to the party of his main rival, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica.
This is "an ethical issue, not a party one," claimed the premier. Serbia's governing coalition (DOS), over which Djindjic holds sway, has named just twelve replacements from the ranks of Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia. The party's remaining seats will be shared out among the other ODS parties. (B92)

1ST LEAD: Kostunica's party withdraws from Serbian parliament

Belgrade (dpa) - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) walked out of the Serbian parliament Wednesday, after the parliament stripped DSS of 21 deputies from its total of 45.
Kostunica's deputy in the party, Dragan Marsicanin, told reporters the DSS did not just walk out of one session, but would not return to the body.
``Because of the illegal withdrawal of (DSS) mandates ... the assembly from today has no legitimacy,'' he said.
A parliamentary committee, dominated by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition, voted late Tuesday to expel what it termed ``undisciplined'' deputies whose failure to appear at sessions created frequent blocks in the legislative process.
DOS, a coalition of 18 parties, also forced resignations from 13 opposition deputies on Tuesday night. Though DSS used to one of of the DOS parties, Kostunica's party has become alienated from its partners during the past year.
Amid growing differences between Kostunica and Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, DSS formed its own parliamentary faction, pulling out of the cabinet and bodies of authority.
Last week it named a shadow Serbian government, but refused to formally step out of the coalition.
Kostunica initially described the decision to expel his people from the parliament as a ``lively picture of something that is lawlessness''.
Cedomir Jovanovic, chief of the DOS parliamentary faction, said the coalition ``was left to continue'' without the DSS, accusing DSS of ``distancing itself from a programme supported by the voters''.
Without DSS, the DOS majority in the parliament of 250 dropped from 176 to an unstable majority which hinged on several small splinter parties.

Kostunica party blasts rivals' ``Milosevic tactics''

By Will Hardie

BELGRADE, June 12 (Reuters) - The coalition that ousted Slobodan Milosevic creaked closer to collapse on Wednesday as the party of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica accused his rivals of behaving just like the authoritarian strongman.
Late on Tuesday the administrative board of the Serbian parliament rubber-stamped a move by one faction of the governing DOS coalition to sack 21 deputies from Kostunica's conservative Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) for absenteeism.
Kostunica's rivals accuse those deputies of delaying reforms by failing to turn up for parliamentary debates.
Kostunica said he would not replace the sacked deputies, accusing rivals grouped around Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of a ``creeping state coup'' by trying to silence dissent. His party promptly launched a boycott of parliament.
Analysts and diplomats say the coalition has been drifting ever closer to collapse as camps around Djindjic and Kostunica manoeuvre for position in a new political landscape to replace the unwieldy 18-party bloc.
Elections for the Serbian presidency are due at the end of the year, and Kostunica wants early parliamentary elections too.
``This is the most brutal act of snatching DSS mandates in an attempt to secure a majority in parliament for the Serbian government,'' DSS Deputy President Dragan Marsicanin said.
Kostunica's DSS has already withdrawn or lost all its ministers in the Yugoslav and Serbian governments and launched a boycott of the policy-making DOS presidency, effectively withdrawing from the bloc in all but name.
The other parties are all grouped around Djindjic and view the DSS as effectively part of the opposition.
``Slobodan Milosevic used to operate with more consideration,'' Marsicanin told Beta news agency. ``Today Djindjic pays much less attention to the law and the constitution, and is building an authoritarian system just like the one we had before.''
Djindjic says the DSS deputies failing to turn up for debates should be sacked, like any workers who play truant.
But diplomats expressed disquiet, saying that what looked to some like a bid to cement Djindjic's power base called into question his democratic credentials as a pro-Western reformer.
Djindjic and Kostunica united to overthrow Milosevic in October 2000 but have rarely seen eye to eye since and are descending into an increasingly virulent power battle.
POWER BATTLE
Djindjic's DOS allies plan to replace the DSS deputies by candidates who stood on the DOS list at the last election but failed to get a seat. That would mean Kostunica losing seats to other DOS parties as there are fewer than 21 DSS ``spare'' candidates.
The DSS replacements have denounced the scheme as illegal electoral engineering and vowed to challenge it in court.
``This decision...is nothing but a crude redrawing of the citizens' electoral will,'' they said in a joint letter, which the DSS distributed to the media. ``Therefore we refuse to accept the deputies' mandates offered to us.''
Djindjic and his allies have recently failed several times to muster a quorum to debate key legislation and have since tweaked the rules to lower the quorum for debate.
Kostunica's camp has argued that deputies who do not attend debates are using a valid political tactic. The 21 deputies -- a substantial part of Kostunica's 45 seats in the Serbian parliament -- declined to account for their absences.
Yugoslavia comprises Serbia and the small coastal republic of Montenegro. It is in the process of redefining itself as a looser union of states, after Montenegro bowed to Western pressure to shelve independence plans for three years.