Belgrade, 13. 03. 2008.

SERBIA

• PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED, ELECTIONS CALLED FOR MAY 11
• JEREMIC: UN SC SESSION SUCCESSFUL FOR SERBIA
• PERIOD OF INSTABILITY AHEAD, MUNTER
• FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF DJINDJIC'S MURDER MARKED IN BELGRADE
• U.S. EMBASSY: DJINDJIC'S VISION DID NOT DIE WITH HIM
• KOUCHNER AND BILDT PAY HOMAGE TO DJINDJICH

• EU LEADERS ON SERBIA, KOSOVO TODAY
• SERBIAN DM, EU OFFICIAL CONFER ON KOSOVO
• SERBIA IN EU IN 2012 IF IT CONTINUES DJINDJIC'S REFORMS

• SERBIAN HEALTH MINISTER REQUIRES ASSISTANCE FROM WHO
• AGENCY PERMITS PHARMACEUTICAL IMPORTS, UNMIK
• D'ALEMA: KOSOVO SHOULD REACH AGREEMENT WITH SERBIA
• MONTENEGRO AND CROATIA CAREFUL REGARDING KOSOVO
• SPOKESMAN: NATO CONTINUING TO PRESERVE STABILITY
• FEITH: BRUSSELS TO WAIT FOR MAY ELECTIONS
• UNMIK HAS AUTHORITY OVER ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO
• DE KERMABON, SCHEFFER TO VISIT KOSOVO
• LAVROV AND KOUCHNER CLASH OVER KOSOVO BEFORE PRESS

• CHINA FAW GROUP INTERESTED IN ZASTAVA PRIVATIZATION
• ISRAELI, SERBIAN LOCAL SELF-RULE ASSOCIATIONS SIGN AGREEMENT
• IKARBUS, HALAL SIGN MEMORANDUM ON COOPERATION

BELGRADE, March 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic early on Thursday dissolved the parliament and called early parliamentary elections for May 11, the president's Press Relations Office has released in a statement. On the basis of Article 109 Item 5 of the Serbian Constitution, and in keeping with Article 21 of the Law on President of the Republic, President Tadic issued a decree, following a corresponding proposal of the government, on the dissolution of the National Assembly which was constituted on January 21, 2007, the statement said.

The Serbian president at the same time, on the basis of Article 109 Item 6 of the Constitution of Serbia, reached the Decision on calling parliamentary elections for May 11. "Elections are a democratic path at which the citizens will say in which way Serbia should develop in the years to come. This is a new chance for us to reinforce the capacities for the defence of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to improve our economy perspective through the European integration process, to confirm the democratic capacity of our society and to change things for the better," it is specified in the statement issued by the Serbian president.

Tadic called on all the participants to make effort that this campaign be fair and that it be carried out in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere "so that Serbia could get stable institutions which, in the years to come, will work efficiently for the benefit of all the people of Serbia." The Serbian government suggested on Monday to the president of the Republic to dissolve the parliament and to call early parliamentary elections for May 11, the day when both provincial and local elections will take place. The government explained in the proposal that the reason for such a demand was the fact that the body no longer had a uniform and joint policy, which, according to Article 123 Item 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, made it impossible for it to define and lead the policy of the Republic of Serbia.

BELGRADE, Mar 12 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Wednesday that the UN Security Council session on Kosovo held Tuesday was a success for Serbia, although it did not accept the presidential statement proposed by Russia.

Tuesday was a successful day for Serbia as about 50 countries attended the session, although the presidential statement proposed by Russia did not get the necessary nine votes for adoption. The vote was eight to seven, which shows that a majority in the UN SC favors Serbia, he told Fox TV. Negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina will be resumed if the current policy of interim Kosovo authorities and a number of countries which support them proves unsuccessful, Jeremic noted.

To that end, it is important that the number of countries recognizing unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence should not grow and that Kosovo should not be admitted into any international organizations, he said. Serbia will exert lively diplomatic endeavors to that end and contact international organizations such as the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement and Islamic Conference Organization, he said.

Referring to integration in Europe, Jeremic said Serbia is ready to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement, but that the problem is that some countries do not agree that Serbia has honored its commitments to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - U.S. Ambassador in Belgrade Cameron Munter has said that "ahead of us" is a period of instability that, in his assessment, will last as long as there is a "combination of irresponsible leadership and legitimate concerns of the Sabrina public over Kosovo."

Munter, in an interview with CorD magazine published in Belgrade in English, said he did not know how long that will take, but that he would like to think that people who represent the majority in Serbia will succeed to set priorities in a way that will enable them to take the path they want and to address genuine problems of unemployment, corruption, European integrations.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Beta) - On March 12, several thousand citizens paid tribute to Serbia's first democratic premier Zoran Djindjic on the fifth anniversary of his death by first visiting the site of his assassination outside the Serbian government headquarters, and then visiting his grave in the so-called Alley of the Great at Belgrade's main cemetery.

Candles were lit, among others, by the premier's widow Ruzica Djindjic and his children, Jovana and Luka.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and the members of his cabinet laid a wreath on the spot where Djindjic was murdered and held a minute of silence to honor the late premier.

Representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, headed by party leader and once close aide to Djindjic Cedomir Jovanovic, also laid wreaths outside the government headquarters and on Djindjic's grave.

Several thousand participants in the march dubbed "A Walk for Zoran" walked from the Liberal Democrats' headquarters to the government headquarters, and then to the cemetery, where they laid wreaths, flowers and lit candles.

About a thousand students and supporters of the NGO Europe Has No Alternative walked the streets of Belgrade to the cemetery. The commemoration began with a screening of the documentary entitled if Serbia Stops. The event took place without speeches, political banners or slogans. However, the crowd gathered outside the Faculty of Philosophy was showered by flyers signed by the Students' Association of Serbia. The flyers said that "Dignity Has No Alternative," that "Serbia's Future Is in Serbia" and asked, "Are we ready to live in the EU without identity and equality?"

The fifth anniversary of Djindjic's murder was also marked in the towns of Prokuplje and Kraljevo.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Beta) - America remembers Zoran Djindjic as a true friend and courageous leader of his people, the U.S. embassy announced on March 12, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Serbian premier.

"In the turbulent days following the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic, he brought his powerful vision of social, economic and democratic reform to a deeply divided nation. Courageously, and in the face of bitter nationalist opposition, he worked to bring Serbia into the transatlantic family of nations," the embassy said in a statement.

The statement given to BETA says Djindjic was a Serbian patriot in the truest sense of the word. "Today, five years after his tragic murder, Prime Minister Djindjic's vision is not fully achieved. Serbia is again at a crossroads." "One path Djindjic's path leads to integration with Europe and western institutions, where enlightened Serbian leaders, with a sense of responsibility as strong as their sense of pride, can bring Serbia at last to its rightful place among the great nations of the world. The other path is an angry retreat to a brooding past, where harmful rhetoric and empty phrases substitute for national greatness."

"Prime Minister Djindjic's vision did not die with him. There are forces today committed to building a Serbia that is democratic, marketoriented, and guided by the rule of law. We believe the democratic spirit reawakened by Zoran Djindjic is alive today, and that it will free Serbia to seize the future while honoring its past," the statement added.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Beta) - The foreign ministers of France and Sweden, Bernard Kouchner and Carl Bildt, on March 12 paid their respects to Serbian premier Zoran Djindjic, who was assassinated five years ago.

"Five years already!... Today, like many others, we mourn his death. We still feel as stunned as we did on March 12, 2003 at his assassination and the extinguishing of the hope and energy he embodied. Today, we both have a special commitment to the Balkans, and Serbia in particular. Five years after the death of Zoran Djindjic, we want to pay him homage and express our friendship for Serbia", said the diplomats.

They said that "it is probably hard for our Serbian friends today to imagine that they will soon be European citizens". "And yet in our view it is certain that Serbia will soon be a member of the EU, because there is no alternative. This is in tune with the march of history, because Serbia, everyone agrees, is the backbone of the region", Kouchner and Bildt said.

"Let us work together, hand in hand, to turn Zoran Djindjic's hope into reality", said the two diplomats.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Beta) - At a meeting in Brussels in the evening on March 13, the EU heads of state or government will discuss the EU's engagement in Kosovo and ways to support Serbia's European, proreform, and democratic orientation until the early parliamentary elections, called for May.

The government crisis, following the resignation of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and the scheduling of an early parliamentary vote pose considerable dilemmas concerning the EU's further support to Serbia's "European path," which will not be abandoned, according to officials in Brussels.

As was the case in all previous critical situations for Serbia's democratic development, the EU does not have the unanimous position of its members, or anything tangible at hand to assist Serbia, at the moment.

After the EU foreign ministers' meeting on March 10, it was said that the EU was still offering to sign a political agreement on cooperation with Serbia immediately, and also to sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement, providing the necessary conditions were met.

According to unofficial statements by certain European officials and diplomats, the way in which the Kosovo issue was decided has created a much more serious internal crisis in Serbia than expected.

Now, the EU and its mission in Kosovo are having problems to win legality and legitimacy for its mission, both in Kosovo and Belgrade, but primarily in the U.N. Security Council.

BELGRADE, Mar 12 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac and European Union General Director for Political and Military Relations Stefan Lehne pointed Wednesday to the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Kosovo-Metohija, the Defense Ministry PR office said.

They conferred in Belgrade on the current political and security situation in the region, and Sutanovac reiterated that Serbia opposes the establishment of an EU mission in Kosovo without a UN Security Council decision. Serbia counts on guarantees that KFOR and UNMIK will protect the Serb and other non-Albanian communities in the province, he said.

BELGRADE, March 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said late on Wednesday that Serbia might join the EU in 2012 if it continued the policy of assassinated prime minister Zoran Djindjic and the brave reforms he had launched. In a live broadcast by TV Pink, Djelic said that it would be possible to make up for the "past few months of uncertainty" if after the May 11 parliamentary elections a strong and stable majority be created which would lead Serbia towards Europe, defending Kosovo and Metohija.

"About one billion euros of foreign investments, with which investors intend to get into our country, are waiting to be used. I do not want to scare anyone, but if the alternative policy wins, which does not want to get us into Europe, this inflow of investments will be significantly reduced, and this is a fact," Djelic said.

BELGRADE, March 13 (Tanjug) - Due to the recent confiscation of a medicine contingent which was aimed for the health centres in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbian Health Minister Tomica Milosavljevic has required assistance from the representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Belgrade, the Serbian Radio Television (RTS) reported on Wednesday.

The contingent, worth 3.5 million dinars (1 euro=82.5 dinars), was confiscated by the customs officers in southern Kosovska Mitrovica, who said that it lacked a required permit of the Kosovo Agency for medicine transportation. RTS reminds that because of that, only urgent cases were being admitted in the health centres south to the River Ibar. UNMIK refuses to comment on the difficult situation in the Health and the Clinical Hospital Centre in Gracanica, but its spokesperson Matilda Heneke has urged that regulations be observed and that required permits of the Agency be obtained.

Although UNMIK refuses to assume responsibility, the health minister holds that the only way in which the issue can be resolved is through cooperation between UNMIK and the WHO. "This is talking at cross purposes, everyone is giving his side of the story, but we should find such a solution which will make it possible for the institutions to continue functioning," Milosavljevic said.

GRACANICA, March 12 (Tanjug) - UNMIK spokesman Methild Heneke told Tanjug on Wednesday that for imports of pharmaceutical products into Kosovo and Metohija is needed the permission of the Kosovo agency in charge of the trade.

Heneke said that UNMIK representatives had informed the Ministry of Kosovo and Metohija about this and asked them to act in keeping with legal regulations. She could not comment on the situation in health institutions in central Kosovo after Kosovo customs run by UNMIK seized pharmaceutical products and sanitary material, which did not have a certificate of the Kosovo agency.

Director of the Pristina Clinical-Hospital Centre currently based in Gracanica dr. Stojan Sekulic has told Tanjug that the situation in the health institutions south of the Ibar river in which most of the patients are of Serbian nationality, was increasingly more difficult by the day. Status quo is still in force, and due to a shortage of pharmaceutical products and sanitary material only urgent cases are admitted for treatment, Sekulic said, and added that fortunately there were not many urgent cases and that "the danger of stopping work is growing every day."

Eight days ago in the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica Kosovo customs seized a medical delivery worth three and a half million dinars.

ROME, March 13 (Tanjug) - The integration of the Balkans into Europe should be realised also through an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, and this is why I hope that the dialogue that was interrupted will be continued, Italian Foreign minister Massimo D'Alema said on Wednesday.

Kosovo has not gained full independence, it is under international protectorate, and I do not see how it will be possible for it to become a member of the United Nations if it does not reach an agreement with Serbia, D'Alema said in an interview with TV Sky TG24. This means that both sides have the need to reach agreement, the Italian foreign minister concluded, and the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

ZAGREB, March 12 (Beta) - The prime ministers of Croatia and Montenegro, Ivo Sanader and Milo Djukanovic, stated in Zagreb on March 12 that they will make their decisions on the recognition of the new Kosovo state in accordance with the EU policy, but also in the interests of their countries.

"We are monitoring the situation (in Kosovo) with great attention and we wish to contribute to stability in the region... and we will work on this and hold consultations," Sanader said after the meeting.

Djukanovic, who arrived on an official visit to Zagreb on March 12, said he was convinced that the region would be best served by strengthening regional stability.

Depending on these priorities, Montenegro will determine its own dynamics in the recognition of Kosovo, Djukanovic pointed out, adding that, in this issue, his country shared "the foreign policy stands of the EU, but also expects understanding for its specific situation."

Sanader and Djukanovic agreed for the open issue of the border between their two states at sea to be solved before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Djukanovic also had talks with Croatian Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic.

MOSCOW, March 12 (Beta) - NATO does not have the authority to recognize any country and it will continue to maintain stability in Kosovo and the Balkans, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said on March 12.

According to him, that is in the interest of all sides and added that NATO would continue to work regardless of the position of different sides. "We shall continue to support the mission of NATO and U.N. in order to preserve stability in the Balkans," Appathurai said at a video conference for the Russian press in Moscow.

BRUSSELS, March 13 (Tanjug) - Special EU Envoy for Kosovo Pieter Feith has said that the European Union will wait for May 11 and the results of early parliamentary elections in Serbia before making a decision on the deployment of EULEX in northern Kosovo.

Replying to the question how he can be the EU special representative if that act was not backed by all members of the Union, in an interview with correspondents of VAC and Skopje-based Utrinski Vesnik in Brussels, which was published by the Thursday issue of the daily Politika, Feith said that member-states separately treat the mission for the establishment of the rule of law with the special representative and the issue of recognition.

The second issue is an individual matter of each member-state individually and depends on their legal procedures. I think that the EU is firmly resolved to deploy its troops in the entire territory of Kosovo, including the north, Feith said. How long this will last, with how much effort it will be realized and how it will be realized, these are all questions that need time to be answered, Feith concluded.

PRISTINA, March 12 (Beta) - UNMIK spokesman Alexander Ivanko stated on March 12 that UNMIK is the only authority that makes decisions about elections in Kosovo.

Commenting on the May 11 scheduled general elections in Serbia, Ivanko said at a news conference that the elections "have not been scheduled" for the territory of Kosovo.

We will cooperate closely in this issue with our partners the Contact Group and the headquarters in New York, the UNMIK spokesman said.

Ivanko welcomed the statement by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who said that Resolution 1244 should be respected in full, but he also pointed out that Serbia must honor the special customs zones in Kosovo.

Ivanko said UNMIK expected Serbia to stop supporting all parallel structures, and the Serbian government to help all Serb representatives in the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) to return to their duties.

KPS spokesman Veton Elshani once again called on Serb KPS members to return to their jobs, adding that there are certain officers from the region of Pristina and Gnjilane who have already done so.

He said the situation is "far from ideal," especially after the declaration of independence, since when tension has been mounting.

PRISTINA, March 12 (Beta) - The chief of the EU mission EULEX, Yves de Kermabon, on March 12 arrived on a severalday visit to Kosovo, where NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is also expected on March 14, officials in Brussels have announced.

Both De Kermabon and Scheffer will meet with the president and prime minister of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu and Hashim Thaci, respectively.

Scheffer will also meet with the KFOR commander and Serb leaders in northern Kosovo, whereas Kermabon will meet with other officials and representatives of Kosovo institutions.

The visit will provide an opportunity to discuss the latest developments in Kosovo and for De Kermabon to coordinate with his future counterparts, a news release said.

An EULEX press point, conducted in English, will be set up at the Pristina airport on March 15.

MOSCOW, March 12 (Tanjug) - Following a meeting in Paris of the Franco - Russian Council for Defence Cooperation with the participation of their respective foreign and defence ministers, the foreign ministers of Russia and France - Sergei Lavrov and Bernard Kouchner engaged in a verbal clash over Kosovo in front of the press corps, the Russian media reported on Wednesday.

In an attempt to illustrate the claim that the existing differences in the positions of Russia and the EU on the status of Kosovo, whose independence France has recognized and Russia wants to annul, do not mean that joint solutions cannot be sought, Kouchner told a press conference: The fact that the EU, the United Nations and other international structures have decided to opt for such a solution to the Kosovo problem, which does not correspond to the viewpoint of our partners, does not mean that we should end that dialogue in this manner.

The Russian foreign minister then said: I apologize, but I have not heard that the UN have adopted decisions on Kosovo which do not correspond to the viewpoint of the Russian partners. Kouchner continued, with a wide smile, saying that he is not surprised by what Lavrov said. You should not be surprised by the truth, Lavrov shot back. Kouchner responded by saying that this is the truth and that he has heard about Russia's unsuccessful attempts in the UN.

In order for the French media to have a clear picture about the developments in the UN Security Council, I will add that Russia did not make any attempts. In the UN, Resolution 1244 is in force and, unfortunately, it is being violated by some EU members, Lavrov underscored. In order to indicate to Kouchner that it is time to end the dispute, Lavrov stated that he respects the manner in which the principled differences with France have been discussed and that they would most certainly continue to be considered. The French foreign minister gave a sigh of relief and hastened to give the press a chance to ask questions, the Russian papers said.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - A delegation of China FAW Group held talks with Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic and expressed readiness to take part in the privatization of the Zastava company of Kragujevac and interest in Serbia as a strategic point for the development of their company in southeastern Europe, it was announced in Belgrade on Wednesday.

The China FAW Group representatives told Minister Dinkic that they are very satisfied with yesterday's visit to Kragujevac and what they saw at the Zastava works, in particular the Zastava 10 line, as well as the very high degree of expertise of the workers. Tomorrow, the FAW delegation will visit the FAP truck factory in Priboj.

Minister Dinkic told the FAW representatives about the many facilities for foreign investors in Serbia, and underscored that the development of the automobile industry is one of the priorities of Serbia's industrial development. Dinkic also informed the China FAW Group officials that the Ministry of Economy will propose that the industrial zone of Kragujevac should be proclaimed a zone of national importance, which implies the status of a customs free zone, and consequently possibilities for customs and VAT free imports of production material intended for the production in this zone.

BELGRADE, Mar 12 (Tanjug) - Chairman of the Israel Local Authorities Union and Mayor of Karmiel Adi Eldar and President of the Permanent Conference of Serbian Cities and Municipalities Zeljko Ozegovic signed a cooperation agreement Wednesday in Jerusalem.

The Serbian delegation was attending a conference of partner cities and municipalities. The agreement envisages cooperation in economy, culture and management and exchange of experiences on seminars, conferences and projects. The conference started on March 9 and ends on March 12 and is attended by representatives of local authorities from 42 countries.

BELGRADE, March 12 (Tanjug) - The Zemun bus producer Ikarbus and Halal Agency for the Certification of Halal Standards on Wednesday signed a memorandum on business cooperation envisaging the promotion of Ikarbus products in the Islamic world through Halal's marketing network.

Ikarbus representative Dragan Kljajevic told Tanjug that this company was to start producing the first bus in the world to be certified for Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic community in Belgrade and Halal were collecting the requests of potential buyers in order for this to be realised. In addition to establishing friendly relations, this agreement also envisages the mutual professional and cultural training of staff, establishment and maintenance of links with the Islamic world, expert consultations on the examination of some markets in the Islamic world and joint participation at international fairs and Halal seminars.