Belgrade, 07. 04. 2008.

SERBIA

• JEREMIC TALKS WITH BAN KIMOON ON KOSOVO
• UN HEADQUARTERS TO CARRY OUT INVESTIGATION INTO VIOLENCE
• JEREMIC INFORMS KERIM OF SERBIA'S POSITION ON KOSOVO
• SERBIA'S CITIZENS DO NOT NEED VISAS FOR CROATIA
• MEMORY TO VICTIMS OF 1941 NAZI BOMBING OF BELGRADE
• PRESENTATION OF JAPANESE DONATION TO FILM ARCHIVES

• DJELIC INVITES EU TO CANCEL VISAS FOR SERBIAN CITIZENS
• DELEVIC: CITIZENS' TRUST IN EU IS DIMINISHING
• SAMARDZIC: RUPEL & KOUCHNER LETTER INSULTING TO SERBIA
• FRENCH AMBASSADOR: SERBIA BELONGS IN EU
• 165-MILLION-EURO NON-REPAYABLE AID FOR SERBIA

• TADIC: URGENT APPEAL AGAINST HARADINAJ'S ACQUITTAL
• KOSTUNICA: SERBIA WILL NOT IGNORE ICTY'S VERDICT
• LJAJIC: HARADINAJ'S RELEASE IS SCANDALOUS
• GALLACH: EU RESPECTS ICTY VERDICT
• AQUITTAL OF HARADINAJ IS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

• SAMARDZIC: NOT TRUE THERE ARE SERBIAN POLICEMEN IN KOSOVO
• SAMARDZIC ASKS RUECKER TO COOPERATE ON ELECTIONS
• RUECKER: ONLY UNMIK AUTHORIZED TO ORGANIZE ELECTIONS
• KOSOVO SECESSION ENCOURAGES SEPARATISM IN EUROPE, TITOV

NEW YORK, April 04 (Beta) - In New York on April 4, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic discussed the question of Kosovo with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Serbian state television RTS reported the official confirmation that the U.N. Secretariat General is to start an investigation of the events in Kosovska Mitrovica since March 17.

The TV station learned that Ban Ki Moon expressed concern regarding holding parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo on May 11.

At the meeting, they also discussed relations between Belgrade and UNMIK after the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo's independence.

Jeremic also met with U.N. General Assembly President Srdjan Kerim, as well as the representatives of several U.N. Security Council members, which have not recognized an independent Kosovo. Jeremic told the TV station that he met representatives of countries from South America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region, who have sustained from recognizing Kosovo's independence. He added that he does not expect a new wave of the recognition of Kosovo's independence.

NEW YORK, April 5 (Tanjug) - The UN secretary-general has accepted Serbia's request to launch an official investigation into the violence that took place in Kosovska Mitrovica on March 17, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told Tanjug on Friday, following a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

"The most important result of my meeting is that the United Nations Secretariat gave a positive response to our written request of March 18 to launch an official investigation into the events in Mitrovica. The investigation will not be carried out by UNMIK, but directly from the UN headquarters, which is of exceptional importance for its integrity," Jeremic said.

The minister added that the UN is also willing to start a dialogue on the institutionalization of relations between Serbia and UNMIK, which would eventually result in some kind of agreement. Jeremic also said that there is full readiness to cooperate on carrying out of the parliamentary elections in Kosovo on May 11, but he added there are some reserves concerning the holding of local elections.

NEW YORK, April 5 (Tanjug) - UN General Assembly President Srdjan Kerim has met with Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who has informed him of Serbia's position on the situation in Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), a spokesman of the UN general assembly president said on Friday.

Kerim and Jeremic also discussed the priorities of the 62nd UN General Assembly, the spokesman said. Jeremic told the Serbian Radio Television (RTS) that his meeting with Kerim was part of Serbia's preparations to propose the General Assembly to ask an opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

ZAGREB, Apr 4 (Tanjug) - Serbia's citizens can continue to travel to Croatia without visas as the temporary suspension is still in effect, while Kosovo residents will need them as of May 1, the Croatian government decided Friday.

The temporary suspension might become permanent depending on Serbia's future moves, especially since the majority of European Union member-states are also introducing such visa regime, the government said. Kosovo, whose independence Croatia recognized on March 19 despite opposition by Serb representatives in its government, has not yet passed the necessary legislation on citizenship and passports, and its residents will therefore need visas from now on. Kosovo residents are still traveling to Croatia and other countries with special passports issued by UNMIK, for which visas are needed.

BELGRADE, April 6 (Tanjug) - Representatives of the Serbian Army, Serbian Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Affairs, Belgrade City Council and members of the April the 6th Association of Belgrade’s on Sunday laid wreaths at the memorials dedicated to the victims of the 1941 German bombing of Belgrade.

German heavy air strikers dropped their first bombs in World War II on Belgrade on Easter, April 6, 1941 at 6:50 a.m, while the majority of its citizens were still sleeping. The army of Hitler's Third Reich launched the attack without a declaration of war, despite the fact that the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia had declared Belgrade an open, undefended city several days earlier. According to the domestic sources, 2,217 citizens of the capital, which then numbered 370,000 citizens, were killed, whereas German sources mention 4,000 victims. The city also sustained inestimable material damage, 714 buildings were completely destroyed, 1,888 buildings were heavily damaged, whereas several thousands of buildings were damaged.

BELGRADE, April 4 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav Film Archives on Friday staged a ceremony of the presentation of a donation from the Japanese government which enabled the purchase of equipment for digitalization and viewing footage, worth some 70,000 euros.

Serbian Culture Minister Vojislav Brajovic recalled that the Yugoslav Film Archives is one of the most important cultural institutions in Serbia, and expressed hope that the Japanese support to the Archives would contribute to expanding the cultural exchange and good relations between Japan and Serbia.

Japan's ambassador to Belgrade, Tadashi Nagai, explained he recommended this concrete aid, because he was able to see how much the Serbian people love and appreciate cinematography, adding that the same applies to his own country.

BELGRADE, April 04 (Beta) - On April 4, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic assessed the first European Commission's report on the improvement of security and the protection of human rights in Serbia as "encouraging," and invited the EU to liberalize the visa regime.

After signing an agreement with the European Commission representatives on the utilization of the EU preaccession funds in Serbia, he pointed out that a positive assessment of the progress is important, because in the next few months, the security domain will greatly influence the decision to cancel EU visas for Serbian citizens.

Djelic said that, at the meeting held on March 4 as a part of the improved constant dialogue on visa regime liberalization, he once again called on the EU ambassadors and the European Commission representatives to cancel visas for Serbia, and to introduce free visas for Serbian citizens as a starting step.

In Belgrade on March 4, Djelic and Head of the European Commission Delegation in Serbia, Josep Lloveras, signed the agreement on the utilization of EUR165 million from preaccession funds intended for Serbia in 2008.

After signing the agreement, Lloveras said that Serbia takes top place on the level of EU aid per resident, which proves the EU's will to share values and prosperity with Serbia.

He reiterated that the EU has earmarked EUR1 billion in preaccession funds for Serbia from 2007 to 2011, granting over EUR2 billion to central Serbia and Vojvodina and EUR1.4 billion to Kosovo since 2000.

VIENNA, Apr 4 (Tanjug) - The European Union (EU) should give Serbia an offer which its citizens would understand clearly, through concrete measures such as liberalization of the visa regime and signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Assistant Foreign Minister Milica Delevic underscored in Vienna on Friday.

At the conference Return to Europe - Talking Balkans, which is held in Vienna on April 3-4, Delevic said that due to vague messages coming from the EU, the citizens are losing their trust in the Union. "There are three types in of states in Europe - member states of the EU, candidate-states and Serbia," clarified Delevic, adding that although citizens greatly support accession in the Union, the Stabilization and Association Agreement has yet to be signed eight years after the political changes in Belgrade.

She underscored that the EU had not always backed leaders in Serbia in the best way, giving the Zoran Djindjic era as an example, during which Serbia had the most resolute government, underscoring that Serbian was admitted in the Council of Europe and Partnership for Peace after his death. "Offers that would prove that those are not hollow words only are needed. Citizens no longer trust their politicians, and they are also losing their trust in the EU," cautioned Delevic.

BELGRADE, April 4 (Tanjug) - Serbia's Kosovo - Metohija Minister Slobodan Samardzic on Friday described as unacceptable and insulting to Serbia an open letter written by the current and future EU presidents - Dmitrij Rupel and Bernard Kouchner.

The open letter by the two ministers, posted on the Slovenian Foreign Ministry's Internet site, says that it is irresponsible of Serbia to strive to join the EU, while at the same time refusing to cooperate with its missions. Samardzic told Tanjug that the letter declared not only Kosovo and Metohija, but Serbia as well, as a unique case. Underscoring that Rupel and Kouchner gave two additional conditions for Serbia's future European integrations, Samardzic explained that the first condition in the letter is that Serbia should accept the EU mission in Kosovo and Metohija.

"The other condition is the development of good regional cooperation with the province, practically meaning acceptance of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija by Serbia," Samardzic added. He underscored that Rupel and Kouchner's open letter is so far the highest degree of the lack of respect of Serbia as an internationally recognized state expressed by the EU leaders. "Since the EU, rather than Serbia, has a problem with its internal and international law, it should reconsider its policy towards Serbia as this policy has over the past months been based on the violation of the law," Samardzic stated. He explained that this is the most important path for Serbia and the EU to begin discussing open issues which have appeared before european Serbia on its way towards european integrations.

BELGRADE, April 04 (Beta) - Serbia has a place in the EU and France wants to help it become a candidate for membership as quickly as possible and overcome the obstacles it will encounter on that path, according to French Ambassador Jean François Terral.

"Economic development, reform, and EU membership are crucial to the country and its future. We in France believe that Serbia should reassume its place in the region's backbone that naturally belongs to it and that by resolving these problems, Serbia will progress towards that goal. It is our desire to help it on that path," Terral told BETA in an interview.

Asked if Serbia stands a chance of signing its Stabilization and Association Agreement without extraditing Ratko Mladic, Terral said that France "is naturally devoted to good cooperation with the ICTY."

"However, there are other criteria that need to be taken into consideration. We need to think about what will happen after the elections: the prospects for cooperation with the ICTY will depend on who wins the majority," he added.

The French ambassador also said that he understands the reaction of the Serbian authorities in response to Kosovo's declaration of independence, adding that they should nevertheless consider whether these measures are conducive to Serbian interests and European integration.

Commenting on the effect of France's recognition of Kosovo on relations with Serbia, Terral remarked that "we are obviously going through a delicate period."

"There is no longer any official contact with the ministers, which is why it is difficult to make progress in certain areas that are especially important to us," Terral said. He added that this has led to the postponement of a visit by a delegation of France's top companies.

According to Terral, "this is not hampering everyday ongoing cooperation. I also think that things will clear up after the elections and that our relations will return to normal, maybe even improve. We are working on that," Terral said.

BELGRADE, April 4 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic and European Commission (EC) delegation chief for Serbia, Josep Lloveras, on Friday signed a financial agreement approving 165 million euros for Serbia in the form of non-repayable aid.

The signing was also attended by EC Director for the Western Balkans, Pierre Mirel. After the signing ceremony, Djelic said that in question is the first installment of EU's Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) for Serbia, amounting to one billion euros for the period 2007 - 2011. The close to 170 million euros for 2007 will be distributed among 36 projects that will directly help secure a better life for the citizens of Serbia, Djelic pointed out.

BELGRADE, April 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic has urged the ICTY Prosecutor's Office to urgently file an appeal against the scandalous and wrong decision by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to acquit Ramus Haradinaj, the president's press service said in a statement on Saturday.

"Haradinaj committed serious crimes and such a decision is shameful above all because of innocent victims. For this reason, I urge the ICTY Prosecutor's Office to file an appeal and to have Haradinaj convicted for the crimes he committed," President Tadic said.

Serbia wants to help the Tribunal in gathering evidence, because Haradinaj, who is a criminal, should be in prison, the Serbian president pointed out and once again recalled that former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte had confirmed that witnesses in the trial against Haradinaj were intimidated and even murdered in order to prevent them from testifying about the crimes he committed. All criminals should be in The Hague and that is the only way to satisfy justice and put an end, once and for all, to the issue of war crimes committed in the territory of former Yugoslavia, President Tadic said.

BELGRADE, Apr 6 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Sunday stated that Serbia would not ignore the verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) declaring war criminal Ramus Haradinaj innocent, although the European Union is still silent in regards to the verdict.

"Judging by it all, the EU believes that its right answer is not to say anything about the ICTY verdict acquitting Ramus Haradinaj and that the best thing is to pretend that nothing has happened. But, Serbia will not pass over lightly the ICTY decision to declare war criminal Ramus Haradinaj innocent," underscored Kostunica. In his statement forwarded to Tanjug, Kostunica evaluated that the ICTY had erased the difference between criminals and innocence, thus justifying the horrible crimes committed by Haradinaj. Kostunica said that Serbia does not agree the crimes Haradinaj had committed against innocent Serbs should be justified and it will not allow it all to end as yet another media topic that lasted a couple of days.

"Since the Hague tribunal is to the EU a beacon of European values, we now have to establish in a responsible way, together with the EU, whether the institution that had issued a certificate of innocence to a war criminal deserves at all to be called a court," said Kostunica. "Serbia is fully entitled to continue to persist on establishing whether the Hague tribunal may continue to be a legitimate court, because it is Serbia's obligation towards the innocent victims who had been humiliated with Ramus Haradinaj's proclamation of innocence," underscored Kostunica.

BELGRADE, Apr 6 (Tanjug) - President of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY Rasim Ljajic has stated that the ICTY's acquittal of former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army Ramus Haradinaj includes a message "that you may kill people, commit crimes, intimidate witnesses and in the end get acquitted of all responsibility."

"It is scandalous!", Ljajic said in a statement published by Politika on Sunday, underscoring that the "reconciliation process, which is advocated by the international community, will never happen after such acts." Ljajic placed UNMIK on the top of his list of those responsible, which is followed by the ICTY trial chamber which gave in to the pressure imposed by the U.N. administration and tolerated threatening of witnesses, the international community "which makes concessions for those who might cause problems to it" and Carla Del Ponte, "who, instead of gathering evidence for the Haradinaj case, had obviously been gathering material for her book."

He evaluated that Haradinaj's acquittal would increase anti-Western mood and radical political structures in the region and will have impact on our citizens who treat the ICTY as a political institution, regardless of their political orientation, because "from the standpoint of the feeling of justice, this is more than just a distasteful message."

BRUSSELS, Apr 4 (Tanjug) - Spokeswoman of the European Union high representative for foreign policy and security Cristina Gallach told Tanjug Friday that the EU fully respects verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

She was asked to comment the ICTY acquittal of former Kosovo premier and Kosovo Liberation Army commander Ramush Haradinaj. Haradinaj was indicted for murders, torture, abductions and deportations, mainly of Serbs, in Kosovo-Metohija. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica asked the EU earlier in the day to take an official stand on Haradinaj's acquittal by ICTY.

BELGRADE, April 4 (Tanjug) - The aquittal of all charges for former Kosovo premier and one of the commanders of the former KLA, Ramush Haradinaj, represents a "travesty of justice" which has brought the tribunal in The Hague to "its historic closure," the spokesman of Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor's Office, Bruno Vekaric, said on Friday.

"It turns out that Haradinaj has elected the best way to reach an aquittal" by "removing in a Mafia-like manner all witnesses who could testify to his participation in war crimes in Kosovo and Metohija from 1998," Vekaric told the International Radio of Serbia. He stated that now it is of the greatest importance to determine who is responsible that the witnesses failed to show up in court, because, without the relevant witnesses and proof, the court was unable to determine anyone's guilt. Vekaric recalled that the nine witnesses, scheduled to testify against Haradinaj, were killed under mysterious circumstances, although three of them were in the witness protection program in Kosmet. All this goes to show that the Hague tribunal is close to its historic closure, because the quality of its work has been on a downward trend as time passed, Vekaric set out.

According to Vekaric, this sends a totally negative message to national war crimes courts and to their public opinions. Vekaric, however, said that this Hague injustice would be a stimulus for the staff of the War Crimes Presecutor's Office in Belgrade, noting that those who committed war crimes during the war against members of other nations, have thus influcted the biggest moral harm on their own people.

BELGRADE, Apr 5 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic on Saturday said that it is not true that organs of the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) are operating in the Province.

He told Tanjug that special envoy of the U.N. Secretary-General Joachim Ruecker, who has said that MUP organs are operating in Kosovo, has no evidence of that and that the issue should not be discussed without clear evidence. "There have been a number of speculations that members of the Serbian MUP were present in the court building during the protest staged by the court judges and during their stay in the building in Mitrovica.

However, it turned out that on March 17, when the building was stormed by UNMIK and KFOR members and force was used against the judges, not a single policeman was identified there, which is the best proof against Ruecker's theory," said Samardzic. On March 29, Serbian President Boris Tadic also rejected the accusations that MUP forces are present and operating in the Province. Tadic said that people who used to work at the MUP before 1999 live in Kosovo and Metohija and that it is only natural that they are still there, since no one has the right to force them out of their homes.

BELGRADE, Apr 5 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic stated late on Saturday that he had forwarded a letter to special envoy of the U.N. Secretary-General Joachim Ruecker asking him to cooperate on the organization of local elections in the Province, in view of his own and UNMIK's competencies.

"After the conclusion on the organization of parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo, adopted by the Serbian government last Thursday, I personally addressed a letter to special representative Rucker, which he received on Friday afternoon," Samardzic told Tanjug. He specified that the Serbian government had addressed UNMIK with a request to cooperate on the organization of the local election, in view of the competencies UNMIK and the special representative have to call such an election.

PRISTINA, April 5 (Tanjug) - Only UNMIK is authorized to organize elections in Kosovo-Metohija and elections organized in the province by the Serbian authorities will not be valid, UNMIK Chief Joachim Ruecker has said.

"Only UNMIK is authorized to organize elections in Kosovo," Ruecker said and expressed hope that "Belgrade, because it says that it respects Resolution 1244, will not organize local elections in Kosovo." In an interview published by the Pristina Albanian-language daily Koha Ditore he recalled that according to Security Council Resolution 1244, "Kosovo is under UNMIK's administration, and Belgrade should respect that," and pointed out that this should also be applied to the holding of Serbia's local and parliamentary elections in Kosovo-Metohija.

ATHENS, April 6 (Tanjug) - The unilateral recognition of Kosovo's independence further encourages separatism in Europe, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov has told the Greek daily Kathimerini.

The unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence violates the sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the UN Charter, UN Resolution 1244, the Final Helsinki Act principles, Kosovo's constitutional framework and high level agreements within the Contact Group, the Russian diplomat said.

We believe that separatism in Europe has received an additional boost, Titov said and warned that this can reflect on the western European nations too, on the post-Yugoslav area and the frozen conflicts in the Community of Independent States.