20 November 2003 Afternoon Edition

· 17 central, eastern Europen leaders start summit meeting (AFP)

· Montenegrin interior minister resigns: report (AFP)

· Warrants issued against Montenegrin PM's friends (AFP)

· Montgomery Convinced in victory of Democratic Forces (Beta)

· Balkan republic slammed over trafficking of women (AFP)

· Assassination suspect cleared in evidence bargain (Beta)

· Moderates lay claim to Croatia's future in Europe (AFP)

· Former head of Yugoslav army dies at (AP)

· ISTANBUL-IRAQ-EXPLOSIONS-DEATHTOLL (Tanjug)

· Greek family kill woman in 1.5-million-euro insurance fraud (AFP)

· Chinese transport company ready for peacekeeping mission in (AP)

· U.S. Marine Corps Places $1.25 Million Order for KVH TACNAV Navigation Systems (BW)

17 central, eastern Europen leaders start summit meeting
Source: Agence France-Presse English Wire Date: November 20, 2003
WARSAW, Nov 20 (AFP) - Leaders of 17 central and eastern European countries met on Thursday in Warsaw for their last summit before the European Union's eastwards expansion next year.
The two-day meeting of the Central European Initiative started with a meeting between Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller and his counterparts, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
The organisation groups Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, was set to arrive at the meeting later on Thursday.
sw/jmy/bmk/rl

Montenegrin interior minister resigns: report (AFP)
Source: Agence France-Presse English Wire Date: November 20, 2003
PODGORICA, Serbia-Montenegro, Nov 20 (AFP) - Montenegrin Interior Minister Milan Filipovic has resigned following a dispute over the reform of his ministry, the Vijesti daily reported Thursday.
Filipovic refused to comment on his resignation, pointing only to a warning he made earlier this year that he would step down if laws on the reform of the police and the national security agency were not passed, the daily said.
The draft reform bills have been stalled in parliament by disagreements betweem partners in the ruling coalition led by Prime Minsiter Milo Djukanovic.
Djukanovic is now expected to reshuffle his cabinet following the resignation of urban minister Ranko Radovic and the appointment of foreign minister Dragisa Burzan as the ambassador to London.
Montenegro-politics-resignation

Warrants issued against Montenegrin PM's friends
Source: Agence France-Presse English Wire Date: November 20, 2003
PODGORICA, Serbia-Montenegro, Nov 20 (AFP) - Italian police have issued arrest warrants against two friends of Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic over alleged cigarette smuggling, officials said Thursday.
Montenegrin interior ministry spokesman Branko Bulatovic said Interpol had informed the government that an arrest warrant had been issued for Veselin Barovic and Branko Vujosevic.
The Vijesti daily here quoted another interior ministry source as saying the two were suspected of cigarette smuggling, money laundering and criminal association.
Barovic and Vujosevic are friends of Djukanovic, who has been repeatedly linked with organized crime, particularly alleged cigarette smuggling between Montenegro and Italy.
Djukanovic in July denied an accusation by an Italian prosecutor that he had been involved in cigarette smuggling, saying it was only "a transit business in accordance with the law in Montenegro."
Italian media reported at the time that a prosecutor in Naples had issued an arrest warrant against him, but that it was subsequently rejected by an judge because Djukanovic enjoyed immunity as prime minister of Montenegro.
Last year the state prosecutor in Bari, facing Montenegro across the Adriatic, placed Djukanovic under investigation for links to mafia groups, according to media reports in Italy.
Cigarette smuggling played a major role in propping up Montenegro's tiny economy during the international sanctions against the former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 1999.
bmi-ks/smc/ss Montenegro-Italy-crime

Balkan republic slammed over trafficking of women
Source: Agence France-Presse English Wire Date: November 20, 2003
VIENNA, Nov 20 (AFP) - Independent experts from a pan-European grouping have condemned the police and court system of Montenegro for what they said was incorrect handling of a high-profile case involving the trafficking of women for prostitution.
The confidential report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP on Thursday, strongly criticized both the Balkan republic's deputy prosecutor and police who dealt with the case of a 28-year-old Moldovan woman who alleged that she had been abducted and forced into prostitution for two years, notably for top political and judicial figures.
The case, which emerged late last year, caused a major political scandal in Montenegro, the smaller of the two states which make up the former Yugoslav republic, now known as Serbia-Montenegro.
The report by the Team of Independent Experts, commissioned by the pan-continental Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said that the prosecutor in charge of the case appeared to have violated normal procedures in a bid to cover it up.
"The TIE cannot dismiss the strong impression that the deputy basic prosecutor assigned to this case served primarily as a cover for interests and influences which had nothing to do with the proper administration of justice," the report said.
It said the case highlighted a general failure to conform to normal standards as regards the trafficking of human beings.
On the role of police assigned to the case, the report said: "in some instances the police gave inconsistent statements or did not give proper answers to the questions of the TIE. Certain inconsistencies between statements ... indicate a certain degree of foul play."
The woman who sparked the scandal accused several top people close to the republic's prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, of being involved in the scandal. One of the people she accused of resorting to her services while she was abducted was a deputy prosecutor.
The TIE report said there was "a general lack of awareness among the members of the PPS (Public prosecutor's office) regarding the special prosecution of trafficking of human beings."
It also said that "the security police was involved in the case ... this is highly extraordinary for legal proceedings."
"The Republic of Montenegro should reform its criminal procedure so that it is in conformity with international standards of human rights and efficiency of justice," the OSCE report concluded.
The report, produced on the basis of a mission of inquiry carried out in Montenegro in July, was sent to the OCSE's 55 member states, but not released to the public.
jms/aro/ds/rl
Montenegro-crime-OSCE-women

MONTGOMERY CONVINCED IN VICTORY OF DEMOCRATIC FORCES
BELGRADE, Nov. 19, 2003 (Beta) - The U.S. government believes that pro-democracy forces will receive support from Serbia's electorate in the upcoming legislature elections and form a government to continue the reform course, U.S. Ambassador to Belgrade William Montgomery has told BETA.

Montgomery also said that he was convinced that pro-democracy forces would ensure a majority and would establish a new government in some form which would continue the reform process in the country, stressing that he was an optimist regarding this matter. In his words, the elections will in no way affect relations with Washington.

Recalling that the U.S., with its more than $US500 million assistance, is among the countries which have supported reforms in Serbia-Montenegro the most, Montgomery said that every March 31, the Congress sets the conditions for the continuation of U.S. financial aid and support to Serbia-Montenegro in international financial institutions.

Montgomery stressed that Belgrade's cooperation with The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as one of conditions for U.S. assistance, was being constantly assessed without previously setting up precise requirements.

However, he underlined that the arrest and extradition to the ICTY of the former Bosnian Serb Army leader, Ratko Mladic, would undoubtedly be a great step forward in this respect, which would greatly change the atmosphere.

The U.S. ambassador also said that a bilateral agreement on the exemption of U.S. citizens from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for war crimes "is an important element of bilateral military ties." He explained that without this agreement, further financial support could not be ensured for reforms in the army, which are very important and started off well.

Assassination suspect cleared in evidence bargain | 11:29 | Beta
BELGRADE -- Thursday - One of the 43 suspects indicted over the assassination of Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic has had charges against him dropped in return for giving evidence for the prosecution.

State media reported last night that Ljubisa Buha was given witness associate status ahead of giving evidence yesterday in Belgrade's special organised crime court.

"Witness associate" is a Serbian legal euphemism for a suspect given indemnity in return for prosecution-friendly evidence.

Buha was a close associate of Zemun Gang leader Dusan Spasojevic, who was shot by police soon after the assassination, allegedly while resisting arrest.

Moderates lay claim to Croatia's future in Europe
Source: Agence France-Presse English Wire Date: November 20, 2003
by Lajla Veselica
ZAGREB, Nov 20 (AFP) - Prime Minister Ivica Racan believes Croatia's future as a fully integrated European state is on the line in Sunday's general elections, the first since nationalists were ousted from power almost four years ago.
He told AFP in an interview this week that only a government led by his Social Democrat party was capable of reaching the Holy Grail of European Union membership by 2007.
"Unlike us, the opposition thinks that it is possible to negotiate with the EU in a way that they can choose to implement the reforms that they like and disregard those that they dislike," Racan said.
"Everyone supports reform and change, but when it comes to making concrete moves there is strong opposition."
The prime minister said his government had faced a massive task after it swept to power with a crushing election victory against the nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in the 2000 elections.
At that time the Balkan country was internationally isolated, rotten with corruption and on the brink of economic collapse due to mismanagement and the costs of the 1991-95 war with Belgrade-backed rebel Serbs.
"When we took over the country was in crisis, isolated, unliked, with its economy devastated," Racan said.
The moderates' 2000 election triumph was a milestone for Croatia, ending a decade of rule by the HDZ under the late autocratic hardliner Franjo Tudjman.
The HDZ had guided Croatia to independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, but its years in power are now regarded as undemocratic and damaging for Croatia's international relations.
Racan said his government had restored democracy, revived Croatia's economy and ended its isolation by putting it on a fast track to EU membership.
Economic growth last year was 5.2 percent in real terms, with low inflation of just 2.3 percent.
Croatia applied for EU membership in February and hopes to start negotiations next year and join the bloc in 2007 along with Bulgaria and Romania.
"We appreciate the considerable and impressive progress made in Croatia during the last four years," EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on a recent visit to Zagreb.
But in a clear reference to the former HDZ regime, he said Croatians "should not forget there was a reason why" the country was not among the 10 central and southern European countries due to join the EU in May.
Despite its successes, the SDP is trailing the HDZ in opinion polls leading up to the weekend's election.
Racan admitted that the government had failed to deliver on some of its electoral pledges, notably to reduce unemployment, which stands at some 18 percent, and to punish corrupt officials from the 1990s.
"We could and should have done more in punishing economic crime and corruption and strengthening the rule of law," he acknowledged recently.
"We had a difficult and rather unpopular job left by the HDZ."
Surveys show the HDZ is the strongest single political group in Croatia but the next government is likely to be a coalition as no party is expected to win a majority in parliament.
The electoral debate has focused on Croatia's EU membership, a goal shared by all the major parties including a reinvigorated HDZ, which has been trying to transform itself into a modern, conservative party.
But Racan said the new-look HDZ was a fake.
"The HDZ is far from being reformed and democraticised enough," he said, adding that his opposition was still an "old Tudjman-style, arrogant party which equates itself with the state and the nation."
Former head of Yugoslav army dies at

BC-EU-GEN--Serbia-Obit-Panic
Former head of Yugoslav army dies at 70
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) _ Gen. Zivota Panic, who headed
the former Yugoslav army in the early years of the Balkan wars, has died, the army said in a statement Thursday. He was 70.
Panic died Wednesday, the army of Serbia-Montenegro _ the loose union that replaced Yugoslavia earlier this year _ said in a statement that did not specify the cause of death.
Panic was the army chief of staff in 1992, when the former Yugoslavia broke up in a series of bloody wars. The Yugoslav army sided with Serb rebels in Croatia and Bosnia who took up arms to fight against their republic's independence.
At the time, Panic was loyal to then-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who is widely blamed for fomenting the wars. Milosevic is on trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
Panic was removed from the post following an alleged corruption affair and retired in 1993.
The funeral is set for Saturday, the army said.

ISTANBUL-EXPLOSIONS-DEATHTOLL
Blasts in Baghdad kill 15, wound over 300 people

14:02 ISTANBUL , Nov 20 (Tanjug) - The latest death toll in the two explosions that on Thursday shook the central part of Turkey's capital Istanbul is 15 and over 300 wounded, U.S. news agency Associated Press reported, adding that these were, most probably, suicide attacks.
Turkey's authorities had confirmed that, in fact, two explosions took place, although it had initially been reported that there were four or five blasts.

ISTANBUL-EXPLOSIONS-STRAW
Seven dead, 105 injured in several blasts

11:42 ISTANBUL , LONDON, Nov 20 (Tanjug) - Seven persons were killed and 105 others injured in several blasts that hit downtown Istanbul on Thursday, the local television station NTV said.
The building of the British Consulate General was partly destroyed in the explosions.

IRAQ-EXPLOSION
Suicide attack outside Kurdish party offices in Kirkuk

11:22 KIRKUK , Nov 20 (Tanjug) - Four persons were killed and at least six others injured on Thursday when a suicide bomber triggered an explosive device outside the offices of the leading Kurdish party in the northern Iraqi town of Kirkuk.
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani is currently acting as head of the council of Iraq's transitional government.

Greek family kill woman in 1.5-million-euro insurance fraud

Source: Agence France-Presse English Wire Date: November 20, 2003
ATHENS, Nov 20 (AFP) - Greek police on Thursday charged an entire family with the murder of a woman as part of an attempted, 1.5-million-euro (1.78 million dollars) fraud against a German insurance company.
Police said the four-member Greek family, whose name was not revealed, staged a car accident in which an as yet unidentified woman, probably from Macedonia, was killed near the town of Edessa, northern Greece.
According to police, the family confessed to having committed the crime.
The couple in their mid-40s and their two sons had handpicked the victim because she looked like the mother, in the name of whom a life insurance over 1.5 million euros was taken out in Germany in June.
The father and one of the sons, picked up their victim Tuesday at the Greek-Macedonian border under the pretext of offering her a job. In the night to Wednesday, they gave her soporifics and strapped into the driving seat of a rented car. Then, they poured gasoline on the vehicle and pushed it down a slope by the side of the Edessa-Florina national road.
According to police, they left the scene in the certainty that the car would go up in flames. The car, however, failed to explode. According to the Edessa coroner's report, the victim died of gasoline vapours.
On Wednesday morning the husband reported his 40-year old wife missing and the car was discovered. But he, and his sons, one of whom is a minor, gave contradictory statements during interrogation. The family's mother, who had gone into hiding, was arrested Thursday.
Formal charges were to be filed before a prosecutor Thursday, police said.
pap/hb/ss Greece-Germany-crime

Chinese transport company ready for peacekeeping mission in Liberia
ap_topic:Politics;ap_topic:General;
SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ A transport company from China's People's Liberation Army is on standby for peacekeeping duties in Liberia, the Foreign Ministry and official media reported Thursday.
The unit of more than 240 soldiers will provide transport for peacekeepers from other nations based in the war-torn nation's capital, Monrovia, according to a report on the Web site of the official People's Daily. The company is awaiting orders from the United Nations on when to depart.
China has committed personnel to several U.N. peacekeeping missions, but never as combat troops.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the mission had been approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, and the Communist Party committee that controls the military. He said engineering and medical units would also be sent to Liberia.
``I think the peacekeeping forces China sends will play a role in the construction for that area,'' Liu said.
Transport troops bound for Liberia were selected from more than 700 volunteers and have been training intensively over the past year in firearms, field survival, mine removal and first aid, the People's Daily report said.
They will be equipped with flak jackets and night-vision devices, satellite communications sets and laptop computers, it said.
``As peacekeepers, we are asked never to fire the first shot. But safety is our first principle,'' the article quoted Wang Huijun, a senior colonel with the PLA's General Logistics Department, as saying.
Members of the company have a minimum three years' driving experience and are able to ``carry out daily conversations and reports in English,'' it said.
The report didn't say how long the troops were prepared to be deployed for. However, it said company cooks had stockpiled enough dried mushrooms, vinegar and other supplies to last three months.
The deployment indicates growing Chinese involvement in U.N. peacekeeping operations, despite its reluctance to commit troops for battle.
China took part in its first U.N. peacekeeping mission, in Cambodia, in 1992, dispatching engineers to build roads and bridges. Other units have been deployed to the former Yugoslavia and East Timor, and in April a 175-member engineering company and 43-member medical unit were dispatched to join the U.N. mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
China last month established diplomatic relations with Liberia, which then severed its ties with Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory that isn't entitled to diplomatic recognition.
Taiwan accused China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, of threatening to interfere with the peacekeeping budget if Liberia didn't switch recognition.

U.S. Marine Corps Places $1.25 Million Order for KVH TACNAV Navigation Systems

Order for KVH TACNAV Navigation Systems
Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
MIDDLETOWN, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 2003--
TACNAV Light Systems to be Fielded Aboard Additional U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Assault Vehicles
KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) announced today that the U.S. Marine Corps has placed a $1.25 million order for KVH's TACNAV(R) Light navigation systems, enabling the Marine Corps to expand the use of precision navigation systems aboard its AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles. An additional $0.5 million order for the company's tactical navigation displays was also received from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command.
"Since 1988, KVH has worked closely with the U.S. Marine Corps to ensure that its troops and vehicles like the AAV-7 have the finest navigation systems available," said Dan Conway, vice president of business development. "Our TACNAV family has proved its worth to U.S. and allied troops during the last decade, most recently in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. With products like the U.S. Army type-classified M100 GMENS - the successor to TACNAV Light - and our other systems, KVH is helping to ensure that U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Navy, and allied vehicles and crews have the capabilities they need to carry out their mission and come home safely."
KVH has an extensive history as the supplier for AAV-7 navigation systems. The company's first military vehicle contract was to supply its MV103 digital compass system for use aboard U.S. Marine Corps AAV-7s. Since that time, those original digital compasses have been in the process of being upgraded to the TACNAV Light system. These TACNAV Light-equipped U.S. Marine Corps AAV-7s have seen extensive operational and combat use, most recently during Operation Iraqi Freedom. TACNAV systems are also being used on allied AAV-7 vehicles. Most recently, United Defense LP placed a small initial order for TACNAV systems on behalf of the Republic of Taiwan to equip Taiwan's new AAV-7 fleet beginning in 2004.
KVH's TACNAV and fiber optic gyro products offer every vehicle and every force commander - whether in a command, support, or combat vehicle - 100% availability of position and other tactical data, even if the signals from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites are disrupted or jammed. TACNAV systems have been sold for use aboard U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Navy vehicles as well as to many allied countries, including Canada, Sweden, Britain, Germany, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Italy. KVH's latest-generation equipment is fielded on military vehicles currently serving in such operational theatres as Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Afghanistan. The M100 Ground Mobile Enhanced Navigation Systems (GMENS) is the successor to the TACNAV Light and recently received official type classification from the U.S. Special Operational Command. The German Army has also designated the M100 GMENS as a standard product.
KVH Industries, Inc., designs and manufactures products that enable mobile communication, navigation, and precision pointing through the use of its proprietary mobile satellite antenna and fiber optic technologies. The company is developing next-generation systems with greater precision, durability, and versatility for communications, navigation, and industrial applications. An ISO 9001-certified company, KVH has headquarters in Middletown, Rhode Island, with a fiber optic manufacturing facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, and a European sales, marketing, and support office in Hoersholm, Denmark.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For example, the statements regarding the company's sales and shipment goals for 2004, the intended use of KVH's products, or the functionality, characteristics, quality, and performance of KVH's products are forward-looking statements. The actual results realized by the company could differ materially from the statements made herein. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: uneven military sales cycles; changes in competing technologies and products; changes or cancellation of orders received, and worldwide economic variances. Additional factors are discussed in the company's most recent Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. Copies are available through the company's Investor Relations department and web site, www.kvh.com. KVH assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect new information and developments.
--30--MA/bo*
CONTACT: KVH Industries Contact:
Chris Watson, 401-847-3327
cwatson@kvh.com
or
Investor Relations Contact:
Financial Dynamics
Jolinda Taylor, 617-747-3600
or
Paul Johnson, 212-850-5600

KEYWORD: RHODE ISLAND
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING GOVERNMENT AEROSPACE/DEFENSE
SOURCE: KVH Industries, Inc.
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