CONTENTS

FILIPOVIC: SERBS MUST FACE CRIMES COMMITTED IN KOSOVO
IAC COMMITTED IN CREATING CONDITIONS FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS
EU CLAIMS ASSISTANCE FOR SERBIA WON'T DAMAGE THAT FOR KOSOVO
UNMIK AGREES WITH REQUESTS OF MINERS' UNION

FILIPOVIC: SERBS MUST FACE CRIMES COMMITTED IN KOSOVO

Koha Ditore on page five carried a Reuters interview with Miroslav Filipovic, a Serb journalist who was recently released from prison, during which he commented on Serb crimes in Kosovo. The main reason why Filipovic was arrested was the fact that he was one of the first Serb journalists to write about crimes committed in Kosovo and tried to explain how Serb units attacked Albanian civilians.

"As most prisoners for the first time, Miroslav Filipovic, a brave Serb journalist sentenced to seven years in prison for 'secret publications' and 'spreading misinformation', says he learned a lot during the time behind bars," it was said in the beginning of the interview.

"I was in a cell together with two or three other persons. The prisoners were usually taken from one cell to another, but I was mainly in cells with Albanians. Never before did I have close contacts with them," Filipovic told the news agency, adding that the Albanians with whom he shared the cell were accused of being members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. He thinks that most of them are innocent and that they should be released.

Filipovic's stories, before being sent to prison, were based on horrifying confessions made by Serb officers who served during the conflict in Kosovo. One of them said he saw how Serb militants cut the head of a 3 year-old kid in front of his family. Others spoke of how artillery shelled defenseless Albanian villages and then marched in for massacres.  

According to Filipovic, collective fault cannot be blamed on an entire people, because certain units committed the crimes. But he also adds denies claims that few Serbs knew what was happening in Kosovo. "Everyone of them who was in Kosovo knew, both them and their families. They talked about it. There are people who still cannot sleep while thinking of what happened there," he added.

Different from most Serbs, added the report, Filipovic thinks Milosevic and his associates should be sent for trial to The Hague, and should not be tried in Serbia. Adding to the issue, he said that Serbs should face crimes committed in Kosovo and discuss them. "This is essential if we want to have better relations with Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. On the contrary, we cannot move forward," concluded Miroslav Filipovic.

IAC COMMITTED CREATING CONDITIONS FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS

The Interim Administrative Council (IAC) expressed on Friday its commitment to work on creating the necessary conditions to hold general elections in Kosovo as soon as possible, reported Koha Ditore on page three referring to an extraordinary meeting of the IAC regarding recent changes in Belgrade.

The official statement issued by the council, expressed hope that the changes which are currently taking place in Belgrade would be the first step of a democratization process that will contribute to the stabilization of the entire region, adding that many challenges lay ahead for the people of Kosovo and the international community. "The fate of the detained persons in Serbia and of the missing persons of all communities remains the most pressing problem," it was said in the press release.

EU CLAIMS ASSISTANCE FOR SERBIA WON'T DAMAGE THAT FOR KOSOVO

Reporting from the summit of EU countries in France, Zëri on page three noted that the European Union chairman Romano Prodi and European Commissioner Chris Patten, have assured Kosovar Albanians that the EU financial engagement's for Serbia would not damage those meant for Kosovo.

During a press briefing in Biarritz, Patten promised new financial assistance for Kosovo within this year, which would be implemented through the European Agency for Reconstruction in Kosovo.

UNMIK AGREES WITH REQUESTS OF MINERS' UNION

UNMIK informed yesterday that it has agreed with the requests of the Independent Trade Union of Kosovo Miners, which broke its cooperation with the ITT Consortium due to the failure of fulfilling their demands, reported Zëri on page two.

The Union decided to continue with the cooperation after UNMIK agreed to five of their requests. According to the agreement reached between UNMIK and the union, the managing board of Trepça mining complex will be created after three weeks and it will be composed of international and local experts.

Bernard Salome, Kouchner's advisor for Trepça, yesterday told the paper that the representation of Serb and Albanian workers in the mining complex would be equal. He also said that Kouchner would bring the final decision for the composure of the board and that no decision was made until now. "Until now, I have received six lists," said Salome referring to the lists compiled by various sources interested in representation in the managing board.

Salome denied the division of the mining complex in the southern and northern part, but said that for the time being the workers would work in respective ethnic zones until conditions for joint work are created. However, it was agreed that the decision on the issue is to be made by the Department for Trade and Industry.

According to the report, the two parties also agreed to sign a contract regarding work conditions, salaries and the social condition of those who will remain unemployed. On the issue, Salome told the paper that the social issue and that of pensions for Trepça workers who will remain unemployed would be solved within the solution of the problem throughout Kosovo. He said the starting number of Trepça would be 2,000, 1,000 of them Albanians and 1,000 Serbs.

In closing, it was said that the union requested to see the agreement between the ITT consortium and UNMIK in order to become more familiar with the mandate of the consortium. Until now this agreement was never made public.