Shorts

Anatomy of a Massacre

Yasushi Akashi, the former UN mission chief for Bosnia and now UN undersecretary for humanitarian issues, told Germany's DPA news agency that "the existence of the secret report on the massacre of civilians in Sarajevo's Markale marketplace was never a secret". Akashi said the report exists and that many journalists have copies of it. He mentioned an article by American reporter David Binder in 1995 which included some report details. VREME published that article on January 2, 1995.

VREME asked Binder to comment on the statement and he said he had talked to Akashi and was assured the former UN special envoy never made the statement to DPA.

Lottery

The Serbian power company wanted to give consumers a pleasant surprise and informed them, along with a new price list, that they would be included in a power company lottery. People who don't pay their bills on time were just warned to pay up or be cut off in five days.

Report

On June 6, Politika daily reported two dead in two car accidents near Mojkovac. In one of the two tragic incidents, Miroslav Toholj from Pale was mentioned as one of the survivors. He was driving a Golf registered in Pale, exactly like his namesake who used to be the Bosnian Serb information minister and an important figure in the ruling SDS. Politika did not specify whether this was the same man who told UN spokesman Aleksandar Ivanko he would be tied to a post with other UN hostages if he continues lying about the Serbs.

Careful reading of the state media also turned up a report that a Serbian police SWAT team on a routine inspection arrested Radovan Karadzic from Pale and Ratko Mladic from Han Pijesak who resisted arrest.

Sandzak Moslems in Elections

SDA Sandzak leader Rasim Ljajic said most Moslem political parties in the Sandzak agree on the need to take part in the coming parliamentary elections. "I expect the Moslems to respond en masse since we abstained in three elections to date," Ljajic said. He added that a political mistake was made when the elections were boycotted. He said the interest of the Sandzak Moslems is to form a single election list but added that the SDA is preparing to stand alone.

The Moslem National Council for the Sandzak also spoke up in Novi Pazar saying it had decided that SDA leader Sulejman Ugljanin should return to the country. Ugljanin left the FRY on July 5, 1993 for Turkey. A while later a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of preparing the unconstitutional secession of parts of the FRY and creating the state of Sandzak.

Public Statement

Under a decision by the VREME newspaper publishing management board the following changes have taken place: VREME editor in chief Dragoljub Zarkovic is now also VREME NP acting director; former director Ivan Mrdjen has gone on to become director of the ABV group under a joint decision by VREME and B 92 radio. Former VREME deputy director Vojislav Milosevic is now VREME director. Daniela Nesic, head of accounts, has become financial director. All of these changes are part of the reorganization aimed at promoting VREME operations.

BIGZ Refuses to Print Srpska Rec

The BIGZ management board has decided to stop printing Srpska Rec. Danica Draskovic director of the publication told VREME: "I think this is political pressure on Srpska Rec as part of the campaign against the free media. The reason why BIGZ refused to print the magazine is because of the cover and story of the Milosevic family. One member of the management board told me that Mrs. Markovic conditioned her continued writing for Duga magazine and state financing to BIGZ with the expulsion of Srpska Rec since it permanently insults the president and his family. The ultimatum was so powerful that the decision to stop printing was taken a day before publication although Srpska Rec had paid in advance for the next two months. The whole thing is complicated by the fact that a local photographer in Pozarevac was beaten up after his photos appeared on the cover of VREME and Srpska Rec."