13 November 2003 Afternoon Edition

Kosovo News

· Kosovo moves to meet standards (B92)
· CoE drafts plan for Kosovo decentralization (SRNA)

Regional News
· Balkan countries sign four new free trade agreements (dpa)
· Robertson in Belgrade soon (Tanjug)
· Serbia-Montenegro president visits Bosnia (AFP)
· UPDATE 1-Serbia seen set for December parliament poll (Reuters)
· EU urges Croatia to stay with reforms after polls (Reuters)

World News

· POLL-Bulgaria,Romania on track for EU, Turkey far behind (Reuters)
· Nasiriyah attack "Italy's September 11" says press (AFP)

Kosovo moves to meet standards | 12:43 | B92
PRISTINA -- Thursday - The government in Kosovo has formed five working groups charged with meeting standards set by the international community before any discussion of the province's final status, Pristina media report.

Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi said that four groups would work on democratisation, the rule of law, economic and property issues, and minority rights and returns. A fifth will take part in discussions with the authorities in Belgrade.

During a recent visit to the Balkans, US Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman said that final status talks could begin in mid-2005, provided the province meets standards set by the international community.

CoE drafts plan for Kosovo decentralisation | 11:17 | SRNA

PODGORICA -- Thursday - The Council of Europe has adopted a plan for decentralisation in Kosovo, drafted at the request of the province's former UN governor Michael Steiner, Council Secretary General Walter Schwimmer is quoted as saying in Podgorica daily Dan.

Schwimmer said that the plan had been submitted to Harri Holkeri, the current head of the United Nations mission in the province.

Balkan countries sign four new free trade agreements

Rome (dpa) - South east European countries signed four more bilateral free trade agreements at a ministerial conference in Rome on Thursday, taking another step toward a free trade area and in line with instructions from the European Union.
Within the Balkans Stability Pact, Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro agreed in June 2001 to create a network of bilateral free trade agreements. Moldova associated itself to the process with an extended timeline.
With the signing of the latest free trade agreements, 20 of the 21 planned were signed and 16 already in force, the Pact announced.
A free trade area with a market of 55 million consumers is the ``most convincing argument for attracting foreign investment'', said the Pact coordinator, Erhard Busek.
The Pact was formed in 1999 by more than 40 countries and international organizations and institutions to animate investors and coordinates efforts to rebuild and develop the region for its integration with western Europe. dpa bb sc

AP-NY-11-13-03 0927EST
NATO-BALKANS-ROBERTSON

Robertson in Belgrade soon
13:05 BRUSSELS , Nov 13 (Tanjug) - NATO Secretary General George Robertson, whose mandate expires on December 19 and who will be replaced by Dutchman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, will most likely visit Belgrade by the end of November, as part of his farewell visits to both NATO member states and some countries that are not members.
This would be the first visit of a NATO secretary general to Belgrade, which gives the event a special dimension, since Serbia and Montenegro has yet to become a member of the Partnership
for Peace program.

Serbia-Montenegro president visits Bosnia

Source: AFP English Wire Date: November 13, 2003
SARAJEVO, Nov 13 (AFP) - Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic arrived in Bosnia Thursday amid reports that he will apologize for crimes committed during the 1992-95 war that claimed over 200,000 lives.
Marovic and Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic will meet Bosnia's tripartite presidency consisting of Dragan Covic, a Croat, Borislav Paravac, a Serb, and Sulejman Tihic, a Muslim.
"I am ready to apologize to the Bosnian citizens, and I am going to do it if there is an opportunity," Marovic told Belgrade daily Danas ahead of the visit.
He said he expected an apology from Sarajevo at the same time, adding that "the evil was committed by many sides."
Serbia's wartime government under then-president Slobodan Milosevic backed Bosnian Serb forces as they fought against Bosnia's declaration of independence from the former Yugoslav federation in 1992.
Milosevic is currently on trial before the UN war crimes tribunal for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1990s Balkan wars, including genocide in Bosnia.
Bosnia has also filed a lawsuit against Yugoslavia, which became known as Serbia and Montenegro earlier this year, for genocide and aggression before the International Court of Justice.
Earlier this year the court cleared the way for a full hearing into the Bosnian claim, which could lead to an order for Belgrade to pay significant financial compensation to Sarajevo for war damages.
Marovic exchanged apologies with Croatian President Stipe Mesic in September, when the two leaders expressed regret for all the evils committed during the Serbo-Croat conflict in the 1990s.

UPDATE 1-Serbia seen set for December parliament poll

(Adds expected date for early parliament election)
By Julijana Mojsilovic
BELGRADE, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Serbia is expected to hold an early parliamentary election on December 28, a leading member of the ruling DOS coalition said on Thursday, as reformers seek a fresh mandate to push ahead with democratic changes.
The statement by Dragoljub Micunovic, DOS' candidate in next Sunday's presidential election, follows months of increasingly bitter feuding among the reformists who ousted Slobodan Milosevic three years ago after a decade of Balkan bloodshed.
The veteran politician said late December polls would allow Serbia to enter 2004 with a new president and parliament to resolve its deep political divisions.
``I did this even though it could harm my campaign but I wanted to prove that Serbia was more important than me,'' Micunovic said, speaking after a meeting of DOS leaders.
Parliament speaker Natasa Micic, whose party is also a member of the disparate coalition, was expected formally to call the election to the 250-seat legislature later on Thursday.
The pro-Western coalition government of Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic has come under increased pressure in recent months to agree to elections before they are due late next year.
``It is impossible to carry out reforms in the pace that we had promised our citizens,'' Zivkovic said late on Wednesday. ``There still are parties which are capable of doing that. They just need a new mandate.''
Serbs go to the polls on Sunday to try to pick a new president. Two attempts failed last year because voter turnout did not reach the required 50 percent.
REFORMER VS NATIONALIST
The Balkan republic has been without an elected head of state since Milan Milutinovic surrendered to the U.N. war crimes tribunal after his five-year mandate expired last December, joining his former boss Milosevic.
Micunovic, 73, is expected to come out ahead of hardline nationalist Tomislav Nikolic, nicknamed ``gravedigger'' for a previous job managing a cemetery.
But opinion surveys show the vote may flop again, because of a boycott by two opposition parties long demanding elections to the parliament instead, and voter apathy.
Many ordinary Serbs are disillusioned that their lives are not better since Milosevic's overthrow, despite official statistics saying living standards have improved.
The government came to power after pro-democracy reformers ousted Milosevic in a popular uprising. But the reformers later split, trading accusations of corruption and incompetence.
Their feuding has slowed Western-style economic and political change in one of Europe's poorest countries.
Political analysts say early parliamentary elections became virtually inevitable after the small Social Democratic Party, holding the balance of power in DOS, decided at the weekend to support an opposition motion of no-confidence.
``It was clear since the end of this summer that everything was hanging on whether the government has enough majority to go on with the process of reforms,'' Zivkovic said. ``We are indeed blackmailed by parties who were in our camp three years ago.'' (Additional reporting by Beti Bilandzic)

EU urges Croatia to stay with reforms after polls

By Igor Ilic ZAGREB, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The European Union urged Croatia on Thursday to stay on the reformist track after elections this month and work with the U.N. war crimes tribunal if it wanted to boost its chances of joining the continental bloc.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, on his first visit to the Balkan country, said the November 23 poll was ``a key step in Croatia's efforts to create confidence and credibility in the eyes of the international community.''
The election pits the ruling Social Democrats against the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), whose hardline nationalist rule in the 1990s came as 10 other mainly east European states worked on joining the EU -- as they will in May.
``The EU will cooperate with any democratically elected Croatian government which respects human and minority rights, promotes stability and the rule of law, and is prepared to fulfil Croatia's international obligations, including full cooperation with the Hague tribunal,'' Verheugen said.
He praised the outgoing reformist coalition for making ``a considerable and impressive progress in political and economic reforms in the last four years,'' and added:
``It is important for Croatian voters not to forget why Croatia missed the first wave of enlargement.''
The HDZ ruled Croatia since its bloody 1991 independence from Yugoslavia until 2000. The rule was marked by poor human rights and international isolation, which kept Croatia away from mainstream Europe until reformers came to power in 2000.
Croatia applied for EU membership for the first time in February, hoping for a green light for talks next year.
If the EU's executive gives a thumbs-up to Croatia's candidacy -- probably by the end of March -- Verheugen said he would recommend accession talks open without delay.
Croatia's economy is doing well but political criteria remain problematic, especially cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunal over the 1990s secession wars.
Failure to arrest an indicted general, in hiding since 2001, has slowed down its membership drive in the face of staunch criticism from the tribunal and some European diplomats.
Diplomats believe that a HDZ-led government might further slow down Croatia's European integration because the HDZ would need more time to prove it had reformed and embraced a European agenda.
The party has reformed itself during its four years in opposition, sacked most hardliners and adopted a European agenda but is still looked on with some doubt in Europe. Croatia is the first of five western Balkan countries to edge closer to EU membership. Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro lag behind and Zagreb is seen as a model -- though not perfect -- for the region.
``Croatia's candidacy would be an incentive for others to strengthen their reform efforts,'' Verheugen said.

POLL-Bulgaria,Romania on track for EU, Turkey far behind

By Toni Vorobyova LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Bulgaria and Romania are on track to join the European Union in 2007 and Croatia could follow soon after, but Turkey still has a long way to go and is unlikely to be admitted in this decade, a Reuters poll showed.
Romania, which failed to win the status of ``functioning market economy'' in an annual EU assessment this month, still has a 70 percent chance of joining in 2007, according to the mid-forecast from 36 economists and political experts.
The November 10-12 poll put the likelihood of Bulgaria's entry in 2007 at 75 percent. Croatia, which applied for membership in February, may be admitted in 2008, whilst Turkey will likely have to wait until 2014.
Economists said Romania had likely been deprived of the market economy tag this time to pressure it to continue reforms through 2004 even though it is an election year.
``I think it's fairly inconceivable that they wouldn't get it (in 2004) given the progress they've made and their reaction to the November report, which has been basically to re-emphasise their reform process,'' said Tim Ash at Bear Stearns in London.
Romania has closed 20 of the 30 chapters, or areas of negotiation, and Bulgaria -- which was dubbed a market economy last year -- has closed 26. Both have much to do next year, in areas like energy and agriculture, if they are to complete accession talks by year-end.
Some questioned whether the European Union will be ready to admit new members so soon after letting in ten mostly eastern European states in May 2004. But others said two more countries are unlikely to make much difference to a club of 25.
``The EU is not going to notice the second wave of enlargement so there is no reason to delay it,'' said Charles Robertson at ING Financial Markets in London.
Croatia has also made good progress in economic reforms, but serious problems remain elsewhere, notably in its continued failure to hand over General Ante Gotovina, indicted for atrocities during and after a 1995 offensive against Serbs.
Some said the European Union may want to wait until other former-Yugoslav states, notably Serbia, are ready to join.
``I think there is a subplot underway with Croatia... There is a desire not to cut Serbia off. They can't publicly say that but I think that's the real issue,'' said Ash.
TURKEY'S HURDLES
Turkey also has political obstacles to EU membership, but its problems run deeper than Croatia's. The bloc has promised to start accession talks in late 2004 or early 2005, as long as key reforms on issues such as free speech have been implemented.
Earlier this month the European Commission said that although a lot has been done in the last year, Turkey has much further to go in the implementation of the new reforms.
Those polled put the chances of talks starting when planned at 30 percent, slightly down from the 40 percent forecast in the previous poll in August.
Another stumbling block is Cyprus, which has been divided along ethnic lines since Turkey invaded the north of the island in 1974 after a brief Greek Cypriot coup. The European Union hopes to see the island reunited before Cyprus joins the bloc in May.
Turkey has signalled reunification talks could resume after Turkish Cypriot elections in December.
Experts said the European Union will eventually have to take the plunge and start negotiations with Turkey, which could become the first Muslim member in a secular, but essentially Christian club.
``The EU has made increasingly friendly noises towards Turkey in recent years and at some point in time it will have to deliver,'' said Dagmar Alpen at Oppenheim Research in Cologne.
Once they start the talks could be lengthy. Forecasts for the timing of Turkey's EU entry ranged from 2010 to 2025.
``(The) talks would likely take a very long time, especially given the challenges of harmonising institutions and agreeing an accord on agriculture together with regional policy and finance/budget,'' said Peter Worthington at CSFB in London


Nasiriyah attack "Italy's September 11" says press

Source: AFP English Wire Date: November 13, 2003
ROME, Nov 13 (AFP) - Italy's newspapers set the tone for a day of mourning across the shell-shocked country Thursday, describing the attack which killed 18 of its troops in Nasiriyah as "Italy's September 11".
Two prominent dailies, La Stampa and the businessman's staple Il Sole 24 Ore, reached for the same phrase which has become shorthand for a nation's devastation.
"It's our September 11," they wrote on their front pages.
Bitter political debate over the presence of Italian troops in Iraq has been set aside, at least for now.
"Today is a day of condolences, tomorrow will be a day for legitimate and appropriate discussion," wrote Il Sole.
All the main dailies carried pictures of the proud Carabinieri officers in dress uniform, or in the combat fatigues favoured for their peacekeeping role abroad, alongside a reconstruction of their lives in a series of sidebar stories.
Early morning radio news programmes had begun the day with a sonorous listing of the names of the victims of Wednesday's massive car bomb, stating their age and rank.
"Carabinieri carnage, Italy's pain" headlined the Corriere della Sera, which devoted five pages to character portraits of "our simple heros fallen at the front."
"They were our soliders and these are their stories," it said, adding the poignant reminder: "They were coming home. Many of the carabinieri and soldiers killed would have returned to Italy on Saturday."
The dominant front page photograph on many newspapers shows an Italian soldier, his hand raised to his helmet in seeming shock, standing in front of the Nasiriyah's devastated Chamber of Commerce building which served as the Italian contingent's headquarters.
Some newspapers point out that Italy's pain is all the more evident because the Carabinieri paramilitary police, which paid such a high price with 12 dead at the latest count -- the remainder were soldiers -- had forged a good reputation among local populations in their peacekeeping missions abroad.
The papers said that work was continued in Iraq, with the Italians notable for their friendliness towards, and the acceptance by, the local population, unlike the Americans.
"We have been everyone's friends, but now the Italian strategy has collapsed," said the left-wing daily La Repubblica, describing the methods that have served the Italians so well in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
"They were respectful and they made themselves respected," the paper said.
In their reconstruction of the attack, several newspapers raise questions about a lack of security around the headquarters, given similar bombings on the United Nations and the International Red Cross.