14 November 2003 Morning Edition

Kosovo News
· Explosive welcome for Kosovo repatriates (Beta)
· No parallel health institutions exist in Kosovo - Povratak MP (Tanjug)
· Ethnic Albanians stone bus carrying Serbs in Kosovo (Tanjug)
· Kosovo: Crimes Against Serbs Investigated (IWPR)

Regional News
· Serbia-Montenegro president apologises in Sarajevo (Beta)
· MAROVIC: Beginning of new history of relations in region (Beta)
· Seven Balkan states sign deal to set up free trade area (AFP)
· EUROPE: Serbia ruling coalition calls for early poll as allies quit INTERNAL (FT)

Explosive welcome for Kosovo repatriates | 17:42 | Beta
PRIZREN -- Thursday - KFOR troops today found an explosive device in a house in the village of Musutiste near Suva Reka.

The house was one of seven owned by Serb families who were visiting the area today prior to their planned return to the village.

Bomb disposal experts disposed of the device before the families left their vehicles.

The Serb families were escorted from the village after being attacked by local Albanians who have organised protests demanding that Serbs not return to the Suva Reka municipality.

About four thousand Serbs lived Musutiste before the 1999 war. Today there are none.

KOSOVO-INSTITUTIONS-BILL
No parallel health institutions exist in Kosovo - Povratak MP

18:48 KOSOVSKA MITROVICA , Nov 13 (Tanjug) - Health institutions in Kosovo-Metohija, such as the hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica, can in no way be described as parallel institutions, as long as Serb doctors are unable to return to the jobs they held before the war and before displaced and expelled Serbs can return to the province, Serb coalition Povratak (return) MP Cveta Vujicic said Thursday.
The health bill proposed by ethnic Albanian parties and debated Thursday bu the Kosovo parliament is unacceptable for the Serb community, Vujicic told Tanjug.
(end)

KOSOVO-INCIDENT
Ethnic Albanians stone bus carrying Serbs in Kosovo

19:49 PRISTINA , Nov 13 (Tanjug) - German KFOR troops fired warning shots Thursday to disperse a group of ethnic Albanians throwing stones at a bus carrying Serbs who wished to inspect their property in Kosovo.
The incident occurred in the Musutiste village 70 km from Pristina.

Kosovo: Crimes Against Serbs Investigated
UN appears to have overcome reluctance to prosecute Albanian militants.
By Tanja Matic in Pristina (BCR No 468, 13-Nov-03)
The international community has signalled that it intends to pursue Kosovo Albanians suspected of killing Serbs during and after the 1999 conflict, something it has so far been reluctant to do.
This move is certain to outrage the majority Albanian community, which sees itself as the victim of Belgrade aggression, and views as heroes the fighters of the former Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, under suspicion for many of the murders of local Serbs.
Analysts say that the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, has so far been reluctant to pursue Albanians suspected of war crimes, in case this inflamed local tensions and led to public unrest.
However, the past fortnight has seen clear indications that this apparent policy is changing.
A November 11 meeting in Belgrade between UNMIK representatives and Serbian state bodies discussed ways in which the latter's services in the protectorate could aid current investigations into crimes committed against the Serb minority - one of the problems that UNMIK and The Hague have faced has been collecting adequate proof and persuading witnesses to come forward.
Vladimir Bozovic, head of the justice and human rights section in the Coordination Centre for Kosovo, who attended the meeting, told IWPR that the UNMIK judiciary had shown interest in receiving Serbian judicial documents which could prove that certain crimes had been committed in the protectorate.
"I think UNMIK has recently intensified its investigations into crimes committed against Serbs, but we expect even more from them," Bozovic told IWPR after the meeting.
According to UNMIK police figures, a total of 271 Serbs were killed and 650 went missing during, and shortly after, the Kosovo war - Belgrade claims the latter figure is closer to 1,300. Attacks on the minority are still a daily occurrence in the protectorate.
To date, three war crimes processes have begun against Kosovo Albanians - two in local courts and one at the Hague tribunal.
All three are for crimes allegedly committed by Albanians against their own people - civilians suspected of collaborating with the Milosevic regime.
The Serb authorities have often accused UNMIK of bias towards the Albanians, but this has been robustly denied.
However, observers believe that the UN body has deliberately delayed tackling the problem of Albanian violence against Serbs.
Many put this down to a desire to avoid conflict with the majority population - which is far from ready to face the issue.
Only a small number of Albanians acknowledge that members of their community persecuted the Serb minority.
Dukagjin Gorani, director of the Centre for Human Rights at Pristina University, said, "Albanians find it very hard to believe that some of their people could have killed civilians. Whatever the case, someone murdered those Serbs, and I doubt it was KFOR."
A former KLA fighter told IWPR that he knows there were many Serb civilian victims - especially after the conflict ended. " It is better that evidence against those who committed the crimes is revealed as soon as possible, to stop the criminalisation of the entire KLA," he said.
Though most of the majority community are against it, the UN now appears ready to bring KLA suspects to justice. For the first time since UNMIK came to Kosovo, an Albanian has been arrested and charged with the murder of a Serb.
Ramus Halimi was detained at the beginning of the last month in connection with the recent death of Sofijanka Jovanovic Peric, an elderly woman who had been expelled from her home in Gnjilane, and was shot dead upon her return. And on November 6, UNMIK arrested five Albanians on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Slobodan and Radmila Stolic, both aged 80, and their 50-year-old son Ljubinko, who were found dead in their burned-out home in Obilic on June 4.
They were subsequently all released, but UNMIK spokesperson Dereck Chappell claims the investigation into the deaths - which were greeted with outrage in Serbia - has been boosted by information gained during interviews with the suspects.
UNMIK has also confirmed that an investigation is underway to identify three men in KLA uniforms who were photographed holding two severed human heads - thought to be those of abducted Serb soldiers.
The wartime photo was published by Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti on November 3, and the topic was discussed at the November 11 meeting.
"We talked and exchanged information on the photographs and on identifying the terrorists whose photographs had been published in the press," Bozovic told IWPR.
One Hague tribunal investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IWPR that a detailed investigation into the affair would help current tribunal probes into former KLA commanders.
"We learned that the photographs published in Vecernje Novosti had been in the hands of UNMIK for some time, and we believe the Serbian police handed them the pictures. We don't see why they didn't give them to us two years ago," he said.
Speculation is rife in Kosovo that a new indictments from the Hague is imminent, and may feature a former KLA commanders.
During her latest visit to Pristina on October 23, the tribunal's chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte reiterated that she and her colleagues are investigating several ex-KLA men and added that indictments can be expected early next year.
The arrest on war crimes charges of Fatmir Limaj, a former KLA commander and former government member, sparked widespread protests in February.
There was further controversy when UNMIK rejected Kosovo's prime minister Bajram Rexhepi's suggestion that money from the state budget be donated to a defence fund set up by Limaj's family. The government then called on the public to give money to the fund, and an estimated 300,000 US dollars has since been raised.
In addition to their refusal to accept that some ex-KLA men may be war criminals, Kosovars fear that the international community's insistence on tracking down former militants suspected of crimes may have an adverse effect on the protectorate's bid for independence.
Kosovo's final status is not set to be resolved for some time yet, and there are concerns that Belgrade could use any successful war crimes prosecution as a reason to deny the region sovereignty. Bexhet Shala, director of the Human Rights Protection Committee KLMDNJ in Pristina said, "The international community favours the reintegration of Kosovo into Serbia and the current ethnic Albanian political leaders are obstacles to that so a witch-hunt is being waged against former KLA fighters," he told IWPR.
Tanja Matic is IWPR's project coordinator in Pristina.

Serbia-Montenegro president apologises in Sarajevo | 15:07 -> 16:02 | Beta
SARAJEVO -- Thursday - The president of Serbia-Montenegro has apologised today in Sarajevo for "evil" committed during the war in Bosnia.

Svetozar Marovic said he apologised for "every evil act or misfortune that anyone in Bosnia-Hercegovina was exposed to because of Serbia-Montenegro".

The president said it was up to the politicians in power to create an "atmosphere of forgiveness".

"Both sides must be brave, and we must help each other to heal these wounds", said Marovic, adding that he hoped his apology would improve relations between the two countries.

Marovic exchanged apologies with his Croatian counterpart, Stjepan Mesic, earlier this year during Mesic's first visit to Belgrade since the outbreak of war.

Marovic is in Sarajevo today to attend a meeting of the Interstate Council, a body created in 2001 to help improve relations between Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Hercegovina. Participants signed agreements on scientific cooperation and the easing of travel restrictions.

MAROVIC: BEGINNING OF NEW HISTORY OF RELATIONS IN REGION
SARAJEVO, Nov. 13 (BETA) - Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic apologized in Sarajevo on Nov. 13 "for any evil or misfortune which anyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina has ever experienced because of Serbia and Montenegro."

Marovic said that this was one of the messages with which he had come to Bosnia and Herzegovina and added that "the people must not bear guilt for the evils committed by individuals, on the contrary, individuals ought to be held responsible for it."

"I believe in our common future, a successful European future, I believe that our invitation to forgive and my extended hand... would mean sincere and real progress in the building of a European and prosperous future both for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the citizens of Serbia and Montenegro," Marovic told a press conference in Sarajevo.

The president of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro visited Sarajevo accompanied by Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic to attend the third meeting of the Inter-State Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro.

Member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency, Dragan Covic, said he was pleased with the talks he had with the Serbia-Montenegro delegation which, he added, also discussed bilateral relations and future joint ventures on third markets.

Covic added that ministers in the two countries' cabinets ought to find the best solution to appear together before the European Union and jointly draw up a feasibility study for accession to the EU.

Topics discussed today did not include the suit filed by Bosnia-Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro for aggression and genocide, but Marovic said he hoped that the suit would be settled by mutual agreement.

Seven Balkan states sign deal to set up free trade area
Source: AFP English Wire Date: November 13, 2003
ROME, Nov 13 (AFP) - Seven Balkan states signed a series of deals in Rome Thursday establishing a free trade area covering 55 million people and seen as a step to eventual European Union membership.
"The creation of a single market in the Balkans region is an event of historic importance," said Adolfo Urso, Foreign Trade Minister of Italy, which currently holds the EU presidency.
The countries concerned are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia-Montenegro.
The agreements will abolish customs duties except for agricultural products and, Urso said, provide Italian businesses with a real opportunity.
About 20,000 small and medium Italian businesses operate in the region, 12,000 in Romania alone.

EUROPE: Serbia ruling coalition calls for early poll as allies quit INTERNAL

FEUDING:
By ERIC JANSSON
Source: Financial Times
Date: November 14, 2003 Edition Name: London Ed1 Section: EUROPE

Serbia's governing reform coalition, which came to power three years ago after the toppling of Slobodan Milosevic, called for early elections yesterday after the defection of two minor parties finally wiped out its parliamentary majority.
The decision, which cuts short the term of the ruling Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) by a year, marks the final break-up of the group after 18 months of bitter infighting.
Zoran Zivkovic, the prime minister, yesterday called for elections be held on December 28. He said the former Yugoslav republic's reform programme had become "bogged down" by obstruction from rivals.
It was no longer nationalists loyal to Mr Milosevic but a growing number of democratic parties who were blocking his plans, he said.
Mr Zivkovic took on a tough brief in March, trying to hold the crippled DOS together immediately after the assassination of his predecessor, Zoran Djindjic. The former prime minister was the DOS's most powerful figure.
Mr Zivkovic won credit early on for maintaining control but he may be forced to shoulder some blame for the dissolution of what was once a cohesive reform movement that enjoyed popular support.
Beset by corruption scandals, the prime minister's Democratic party, the DOS's largest faction, has lately seen internal feuding between two rival groups over how tough to be on the issue of money launderers and war profiteers who amassed great wealth under Mr Milosevic.
Western diplomats in Belgrade said that the struggle for control of the Democratic party may be ultimately as decisive in determining Serbia's future as the forthcoming elections.
"The jury is still out on whether this will be a failed democracy or a successful one. It may fail, but a failed democracy is still better than an authoritarian regime like the one under Milosevic," said a European ambassador.
Serbia holds elections this Sunday, trying for a third time to elect a new president, after two previous efforts failed because of low voter turnout.
Forthcoming parliamentary elections, however, are seen as far more important than the presidential poll, and yesterday's announcement could damage turnout on Sunday.
Serbia faces a number of tests, most notably from the European Commission, which is to deliver a "feasibility study" in March.
If positive, the study could be Serbia's first step on the way to membership of the bloc. The European ambassador said a vacuum at the top is "likely to put Brussels in adifficult position, as long as key reforms remain undone, and could harm Serbia's relationship with the EU".
The EU has insisted that Serbia remain in its new union with Montenegro, formed in February from the old Yugoslavia. This is likely to be a significant campaign issue as some of the DOS's leading rivals, although not all nationalist, are calling for Serbian independence.
Distributed by Financial Times
FTIMESviaNewsEdge