Southeast European Times
05/10/2004

Del Ponte Renews Call for Arrest of War Crimes Suspects

05/10/2004

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro — Chief UN prosecutor Carla del Ponte
said Monday (4 October) that she expects Serbia to arrest Ratko Mladic
and other war crimes indictees within days or weeks. Speaking to
reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, she
insisted that Mladic was still hiding in Serbia and that none of the
officials she met had been able to prove the opposite. Del Ponte added
that she had received assurances from Kostunica that Serbia would
co-operate fully with the UN tribunal. The prosecutor is due to brief
the UN Security Council in November. She signalled that she expects
evidence of Serbia’s co-operation by then. (AP, CBC, AFP, B92, Beta –
04/10/04)

Patten, Solana Expected in Belgrade

05/10/2004

BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Commissioner for External Relations
Chris Patten and EU security chief Javier Solana are visiting Belgrade
on Tuesday (5 October) for talks aimed at accelerating
Serbia-Montenegro’s EU integration through the so-called “twin-track”
approach, according to an EU press release. Patten has said the
approach will keep the country from lagging behind its neighbours. He
also stressed that Belgrade’s co-operation with The Hague tribunal is
crucial. On Monday, Serbia-Montenegro and the EU signed a framework
agreement for participation in EU programmes, ensuring financial
assistance during the accession process. (EU Web site, Tanjug, Mina,
B92 – 04/10/04)

NATO Plans to Transfer Military Command in BiH to EU on 2 December

05/10/2004

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) — The ceremony marking the
handover of military command in BiH from SFOR to EUFOR will take place
in Sarajevo on 2 December, according to BiH Presidency Chairman
Sulejman Tihic. After talks Monday (4 October) with international
community envoys, Tihic said the BiH presidency would ask the UN
Security Council to adopt a relevant resolution. The envoys reiterated
that BiH’s lack of co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal
remains a major problem. (Nezavisne novine, Dnevni avaz – 05/10/04;
PBS BiH, Fena – 04/10/04)

Albanian Opposition Threatens Mass Protests if Election Reforms Not
Settled Soon

05/10/2004

TIRANA, Albania — The main opposition Democratic Party (DP)
threatened on Monday (4 October) to stage mass protests if the ruling
Socialist Party (SP) does not settle the stalemate in the electoral
commission soon. DP official Jemin Gjana said the SP should
demonstrate it is willing to hold free and fair elections. The warning
follows the ruling party’s announcement that it will ask parliament to
extend the deadline for approval of electoral reforms by the
commission. The current deadline is Tuesday. (Albanian Daily News –
05/10/04; ATA – 04/10/04)

Former Muslim Commander in Srebrenica Stands Trial

05/10/2004

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Naser Oric, the former commander of the
Muslim forces in Srebrenica, is to appear before the UN tribunal on
Wednesday (6 October) to answer war crimes charges. He is charged with
destroying 50 Serb villages and driving their population out of the
area. He is also accused of failing to prevent cruel treatment and
killings of Serb prisoners by troops under his command. Oric was
arrested and transferred to The Hague in April 2003. (AFP – 04/10/04)

Croatia Hopes New Slovenian Government Will Work to Improve Bilateral
Ties

05/10/2004

ZAGREB, Croatia — Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul expressed hope on
Monday (4 October) that the new Slovenian government, no matter who
forms it, would contribute to improved bilateral ties. He described
Croatia and Slovenia as friendly countries with common objectives as
well as their own interests. The change in government follows
elections last weekend.

In other news Monday, Croatia nominated two law professors, Mirjan
Damaska and Davor Krapac, to serve as “friends of the court” at the UN
war crimes tribunal. The move is a step in the process of referring a
tribunal case to a Croatian court. (HINA, HRT – 04/10/04)

Turkish Cypriots Given Representation Rights at PACE

05/10/2004

STRASBOURG, France — The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) gave the go-ahead Monday (4 October) for members of the
Turkish Cypriot Parliament to participate in PACE meetings. The
decision means that Turkish Cypriot lawmakers will not need to obtain
permission from Greek Cypriot authorities, and will participate as
“representatives of the Turkish Cypriot Community”. PACE President
Peter Schieder stressed the move does not mean recognition of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. (PACE press release, NTV –
04/10/04)

EC Questionnaire Distributed to Macedonian Ministries

05/10/2004

SKOPJE, Macedonia — Macedonia’s deputy prime minister in charge of EU
integration, Radmila Sekerincka, announced Monday (4 October) that the
translated European Commission (EC) questionnaire has been delivered
to all ministries. She noted that the document includes 1,922 sections
with over 3,000 questions, most of which are directed to the
ministries of economy, finance and labour. The government is to submit
its answers to the EC by 31 January as part of its bid to receive
official EU candidate status. (Dnevnik – 05/10/04; A1 TV, Makfax –
04/10/04)

Bulgaria Reaffirms Support for Croatia’s Euro-Atlantic Integration Bid

05/10/2004

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg reaffirmed
Bulgaria’s support for Croatia’s Euro-Atlantic integration bid, during
talks with Croatian Parliamentary Speaker Vladimir Seks on Monday (4
October). The two agreed that bilateral relations are good but should
be strengthened. In Sofia, Seks also met with Bulgarian counterpart
Ognyan Gerdzhikov and President Georgi Parvanov.

In other news, Parvanov kicks off a four-day trip to Armenia and
Azerbaijan on Tuesday. Transport and Communications Minister Nikolay
Vassilev and mayors of several Bulgarian cities are accompanying him.

Meanwhile, a four-day exercise involving the military and police is
under way at three bases in Bulgaria. The drill aims to bolster
co-ordination efforts in case of a crisis. (Sega, bTV – 05/10/04;
Bulgarian government Web site, Hina – 04/10/04)

Greek Parties Request Committee to Investigate Weapons Procurement

05/10/2004

ATHENS, Greece — Representatives of the ruling New Democracy party
and the opposition PASOK separately submitted requests Monday (4
October) for the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate
questionable weapons contracts. The New Democracy is insisting on a
probe into two agreements signed by the previous PASOK administration,
related to the procurement of anti-aircraft systems and anti-artillery
radar. Though PASOK denies any wrongdoing, it favours an investigation
into all weapons contracts signed by the previous and current
governments.

Also Monday, an Olympic Airlines flight was forced to divert amid
claims of a bomb on board. It was the third such incident involving
the airline within the last month. The London-bound plane landed in
Corfu and was searched before being cleared for take-off. (ANA, AFP –
05/10/04; MPA, ABC – 04/10/04)