BELGRADE, January 24, 2006

• STOJANOVIC DOES NOT BELIEVE BOSNIA WILL WIN
• ITALIAN AMBASSADOR EXPECTS DECISION ON JAILED PILOT SOON

• SERBIAN PRESIDENT WANTS TO ATTEND RUGOVA FUNERAL
• MATTER OF WAR CRIMES INDICTEES TO BE SETTLED SOON

• UNMIK HEAD - IT'S HIGH TIME FOR BELGRADE TO DO SOMETHING
• KOSOVO COORDINATING CENTER OFFICIAL'S HOUSE HIT BY BOMB

• LAJCAK HAILS TALKS WITH CABINET, OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVES
• TRAIN-TRAGEDY
• WORLD WILL RECOGNISE REFERENDUM RESULTS, SAYS VLAHOVIC
• DJUROVIC: MONTENEGRO WOULD NOT WAIT LONG FOR ADMISSION

BELGRADE, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Radoslav Stojanovic, Serbia-Montenegro's legal representative before The Hague-based International Court of Justice as regards the lawsuit Bosnia-Herzegovina filed against the state union for genocide, has expressed doubt that "the most competent court" in the world would issue a verdict in favor of Bosnia-Herzegovina. "In my defence, my stand is that nothing and no one can prove that Serbia and Montenegro and the Serbian nation wanted to destroy the Muslim population," Professor Stojanovic said in an interview for the Tuesday issue of the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. "Of course, I cannot speak in public about the ways in which we are going to prove this," Stojanovic said, adding that if that was to be the case, "he would offend the court as well, which does not want that any announcements be made before the process is not concluded," as well as that he did not want to reveal any arguments to the other side. Stojanovic said that SCG was prepared for the first hearing scheduled for February 27, regardless of that whether Bosnia-Herzegovina was going to withdraw the lawsuit or not.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Beta)-SerbiaMontenegro Human and Minority Rights Minister Rasim Ljajic had a meeting with Italian Ambassador Alessandro Merola in Belgrade, on Jan. 23, to discuss the transfer of Maj. Emir Sisic back to Serbia, to serve out the rest of his prison term.

"Ljajic stressed that SerbiaMontenegro wants the matter resolved, as quickly as possible. Merola stressed that Italy's state prosecutor has forwarded the case to the Superior Court of Italy, which is to render a final decision," said an official statement.

"Merola also stressed that given the independence of the courts, he can only say he hopes a decision will be made soon and that the Italian Ministry of Justice and other bodies are closely monitoring the case," it added.

It said in the release that "Ljajic again emphasized that SerbiaMontenegro would meet all of its international obligations regarding the transfer of convicts and that Italy can have faith in the country's authorities."

Maj. Sisic was sentenced in Italy to 15 years in prison for shooting down a EU helicopter over Croatia on Jan. 7, 1992. The downing resulted in the death of five diplomats.

BELGRADE, Jan 23 (Beta)-Serbian President Boris Tadic announced on Jan. 23 that he would ask UNMIK to make it possible for him to attend the funeral of late Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova.

"Common courtesy dictates that the president of Serbia should travel to Kosovo, which is a part of its country and its integrity, to pay due respect to a political representative of the Albanian people," Tadic told BETA.

He added that by attending the funeral he wishes to demonstrate that Serbia is ready "in a European way, to deal with the political projects of people, who have different and opposite views."

"Therefore, I want to contribute in every way possible to Serbia's European future since Serbia is not a closed country, nor is it afraid of facing the unknown or those who have different interests," he said. "I do not want my country to be small and xenophobic, scared of the world, but open, European, and prosperous, to communicate with the world and pay tribute even to people who hold different political views," he stressed.

NOVI SAD Jan 23 (Beta)-A spokesman for the Office of the Special Prosecutor for War Crimes has said the problem of war crimes indictees wanted by the Hague tribunal "will soon be resolved," adding that they will be brought to justice.

"I believe that political, judicial, police, and other forces in this society are fully mobilized to make that happen. All of Serbia cannot be held hostage to one or two men. The time has come for these men to show their patriotism, by surrendering and going to The Hague," said Bruno Vekaric in the Jan. 23 issue of Novi Sad's Dnevnik paper.

He stressed that the state will have a variety of options at its disposal after they do so, citing Croatia as an example, which has provided Gen. Ante Gotovina with a lawyer and assistance in his defense.

According to Vekaric, Special Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic's statement that people helping out the fugitives could face legal action "had a specific purpose and it has been achieved."

He also said that the Office of the Special Prosecutor for War Crimes is working on about 40 investigations, the majority of which are related to crimes in Kosovo. A small number of cases involve crimes committed in Bosnia Herzegovina.

"Our prosecutors are constantly in the field and we really need reinforcements in order to handle all of these cases," said Vekaric, stressing that the office could also use more funding because it has begun to experience cash shortages.

BUDAPEST, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - UNMIK head Soren Jessen-Petersen has said that it is high time for Belgrade to do something for Kosovo Serbs and that none of the sides should count on realising their demands 100 percent during negotiations. One of the biggest mistakes of authorities in Belgrade was that after March 2004, they did not encourage Kosovo Serbs to participate in the work of Kosovo institutions. The Serbian government should now do something for its compatriots in Kosovo, instead of constantly thinking about the consequences it will face in Belgrade, the UNMIK head told the Budapest daily Magyar Hirlap. Jessen-Petersen said that the two sides had completely opposite stands and that there was no agreement on the topics of negotiations. He said that reality had to be taken into account and that it was a fact that Kosovo Albanians constituted 90 percent of the population. Their will must be observed, but the majority should know that the present situation was created because the then Serb authorities managed things badly. Kosovo Albanians would have to show that they are the true advocates of multiethnic Kosovo, he said. Jessen-Petersen voiced hope that Serbs would remain in Kosovo, regardless of the final outcome of the negotiations.

GNJILANE, Jan 23 (Beta)-In the village of Cernica, in the eastern Kosovo area near Gnjilane, unknown perpetrators threw a hand grenade on the family house of Milorad Todorovic, vice president of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija, Serbian sources in Kosovo said.

The Kosovo police have confirmed the attack.

The Jan. 22 attack has been the fourth attack on the Todorovic family home over the last few years. No one was hurt in the attack but the house sustained some damage.

The Todorovic family house stands isolated in the ethnically mixed village of Cernica, where some 40 Serb families still remain. Until June 1999, there were 712 Serbs living in Cernica, while today there are only about 200 Serbs left there.

There have so far been around 280 attacks against the remaining Serbs in Cernica.

PODGORICA, Jan 23 (Beta)-EU special envoy for Montenegro Miroslav Lajcak has said he is satisfied with the talks he had on Jan. 23 with representatives of the government and opposition, on Montenegro's upcoming referendum on independence.

In a brief address, Lajcak said that the meetings were very constructive and courteous, as he expected, adding that he will now evaluate both sides' proposals.

However, he did not give any details of his encounters.

The opposition is calling for an all party cabinet as the best way to ensure that the referendum is carried out in line with the law.

Opposition People's Party president Predrag Popovic told reporters that opposition officials and Lajcak also discussed checks of the voter rolls, the role of the media, and the majority required for independence. Lajcak is supposed to stay in Podgorica until Jan. 26, and will meet with representatives of NGOs and religious leaders, in the meantime.

PODGORICA, Jan 24 (Tanjug) - Engine driver Slobodan Drobnjak, who drove the train that crashed down a ravine in the vicinity of Podgorica, has been arrested on suspicion of having committed a criminal act against general safety. Investigative Judge of the Podgorica Basic Court Zoran Radovic, who confirmed the arrest on Tuesday, said that the investigation had not yet been carried out, since the attention was, for the time being, focused on the rescue of victims. Previously, there were inclinations that the train's brake system had failed. A total of 44 passengers, including five children, were killed in the accident, and 184 injured people, 14 of whom are in critical condition, have been admitted to the Clinic Center in Podgorica.

PODGORICA, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic said on Monday that the international community would recognise the results of the forthcoming referendum in Montenegro, which would be organized in keeping with European Union (EU) standards. "No one brings the issue of Montenegrin referendum in question any longer, and the Montenegrin independence itself is being received with appreciation and understanding at a number of addresses of the international community, which are important for us," he said in an interview for the Podgorica daily Pobjeda. Vlahovic said that only those referendum regulations and standards which were valid for the EU were acceptable for Montenegro as well, that is that Podgorica would not accept any specific regulations for its referendum.

PODGORICA, Jan 23 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Minister for Foreign Economic Relations and European Integrations Gordana Djurovic on Monday asserted that Montenegro would not have to wait long to be accepted in international organizations in case it proclaims independence. "In case of independence, Montenegro would have to request readmission in international organizations, but, according to the experience, this process is very short if there is political support," said Djurovic. "This means that the process of Montenegro's readmission in international institutions would be very short if it is supported by the international community," said Djurovic. According to her, the process of independent accession of Montenegro in international financial organizations would be much simpler, because the process of accession is simpler. Djurovic asserted that the process of accession of Montenegro in the European Union would not suffer due to a possible proclamation of state independence.