Shorts

Terrorism in Kosovo

Policeman Predrag Djordjevic was killed and policeman Zoran Vukojevic was wounded in an attack on a Kosovska Mitrovica patrol car in the Sipolje suburb, an investigating judge said in a statement. Unknown attackers ambushed the patrol at 23:45 on June 18, firing four shots into the car. Djordjevic (32) died instantly and the driver Vukojevic (30) was seriously wounded and taken to a hospital in Pristina where doctors operated to save his life. The police believe at least two attackers ambushed the patrol firing 7.62 and 7.9 mm weapons.

In another attack at the same time in the village of Luzane near Podujevo another policeman was wounded.

Another police patrol was attacked on Sunday, June 17 in Podujevo and policeman Goran Mitrovic was wounded.

The Kosovo information center in Pristina (which is close to Ibrahim Rugova's Kosovo Democratic Alliance) said the police cordoned off the sites of the attacks and added that police patrols were running spot checks. The center said "the latest wave of violence in Kosovo and the response by the Serbian authorities with terror, although we know who is behind the attacks, shows this is all a set up". It added that this possibility hides great dangers because this has happened "while the Kosovo issue is becoming topical in both the international community and Serbian state institutions." It said the policies of the Kosovo Albanians and success in preventing armed conflicts to date are the greatest advantage of non-violence policies in Kosovo.

The attacks on the police were also condemned by the SPS Kosovo executive board as an attempt by Albanian separatists to bring instability to the region. The SPS believes the attacks are an effort "to directly undermine all efforts by progressive forces to strengthen peace and create stable conditions in Kosovo for everyone, regardless of nationality" and called the police to prevent efforts to destabilize Kosovo. "Terrorists must be judged under the laws of this country which they are persistently trying to drag into something no one wants," the SPS said.

The high tension was also confirmed by a statement from the Kosovo human rights board which claimed some 20 Serbs attacked three Albanians in Pristina, injuring one of them.

Four civilians and one policeman were killed in a series of armed attacks in Kosovo in April. Responsibility for those attacks were claimed by the Kosovo Liberation Army, an organization ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo claim does not exist.

Bandits

A gang of eight Macedonians in the border town of Gevgelija were arrested and will stand trial for robberies and rape. The gang mainly attacked Romanians, Bulgarians and Albanians trying to cross into Greece illegally. The gang hid in the woods around the town by day and attacked groups of illegal immigrants by night. They dressed in camouflage uniforms to intimidate their victims. They might never have been caught if a group of Romanians, including a woman they raped, hadn't been arrested right after the attack by a border patrol who were told the whole story.

Retrospective

The Yugoslav Army marked its day with more pomp and ceremony than it had for the past few years on Sunday, June 16. That was the date delegations from the principalities of Serbia and Montenegro met in Venice in 1876 to reach an agreement on ousting the Ottomans. The army in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia marked its day on St. Vitus day, the day the battle of Kosovo (which the medieval Serbian kingdom lost in 1389) began.

The evening before, a formal academy was held in the Yugoslav Army hall, attended by supreme commander Zoran Lilic and other officials. The program included a retrospective of the formation of the army including the greatest moments of Serb-Montenegrin warfare early this century and W.W.II.

Clinton-Djukanovic

Montenegrins are constantly debating the meeting between Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and US President Bill Clinton. State TV showed pictures of Clinton shaking Djukanovic's hand during a visit to the US. But, Podgorica news agency Montena-Fax quoted reliable sources who said former Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Panic got Djukanovic into a meeting of donors for the Democrat's election campaign where he met Clinton. The sources said Panic was cut out of the pictures to give the meeting a more official tone. The Montenegrin opposition also spoke up accusing Djukanovic of ambushing Clinton on an election stopover. A spokesman for the Montenegro National Party said Djukanovic "took part in the vastly expensive election activities by the Democrats" which the population will have to pay for, alluding to the fact that anyone can meet the US president if they donate money to his campaign.

Unsuitable Mayor

The SPS in Kraljevo passed a vote of no confidence for Mayor Miroslav Karapandza. Beta news agency sources claimed a closed session on June 18 demanded his resignation for unsuitable behavior in front of a political rival because he allowed opposition leaders Vuk Draskovic and Zoran Djindjic to hold a press conference in the town hall on May 31.

Press Freedom Seminar

A seminar on the media in the Balkans and freedom of the press was organized in Belgrade on June 17-18 with the participation of reporters from all the former Yugoslav republics and other Balkan countries. The seminar voiced concern over the state of the press in the region and said lack of media freedom enables "the voice of hate".

The first gathering of journalists from the former Yugoslavia in Belgrade was organized by the Media Center and Article XIX London. It was aimed at establishing and developing tolerance for a stable peace and development of cooperation among the independent media in the Balkans. The debate included experts from the OSCE, Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the IFJ coordinating center for the Balkans.