UNHCR and WHO to displace Serbs

The Article

20 April 06

BELGRADE -- Kosovo Serbs officials claim that the UNHCR and WHO plan on forcing Serbs out of the region. At a press conference, Milan Ivanovic and Marko Jaksic said that the UNHCR and the World Health Organisation in Denmark are preparing a plan for relocating 40,000 Kosovo Serbs to Central Serbia, once the final status is decided. The UNHCR denied the claims. Jaksic said that Kosovo Serbs will not accept being relocated to Serbia, but will rather stand in front of the embassy and ask for visas for relocating to countries of Western Europe and the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina, where they will ask for the rights of a constituted community. Commenting the “announcement of relocating and adapting” Kosovo Serbs to Central Serbia, Jaksic said that with ethnic cleansing and institutional pressure, everything is being done to create one “monstrous Albanian nation in the Balkans.”.........(continued)..............

SERBIA & MONTENEGRO: Senator Says Some Form of Independence for Kosovo Inevitable

The Article

2006-04-20

George Voinovich, a Republican senator from Ohio, has said that some kind of independence for Kosovo is an inevitable "reality" and added that Kosovo is not Serbia's only problem. Voinovich told the Voice of America that he personally greatly cared about seeing Serbia-Montenegro as a full EU member as soon as possible, stressing that the condition for that was the extradition of Ratko Mladic to The Hague. "What the Serbs should understand," Voinovich said, "is that when Mladic is in The Hague, the U.S. will provide an excellent package meant to help the Serbian economy, which is a project I am involved in myself." Mladic's extradition to The Hague is very important as it will allow the U.S. to start helping Serbia, as it has helped Croatia, Voinovich added. He pointed out that the U.S. had invested in Serbia more than any other country in the world. "I am working on the most favorable possible reduction of Serbia's foreign debts. The Serbs should not allow the Serbian Radical Party to trick them in the matter of Kosovo by leading them in the wrong direction," Voinovich said. He urged the Serbian citizens to ask themselves what will happen if the Radicals came to power and whether life will improve for them. "I told both (Serbian President Boris) Tadic and (Premier Vojislav) Kostunica that Serbia today needed leadership. We keep talking about that, but we cannot seem to get around to actually doing it. Kostunica and Tadic should join forces, at least for a few years, and take care of their people," Voinovich stressed. He added that he personally cared about Serbia's progress, because his roots were in this region. Source: BETA News Agency

Al Qaeda men have been transiting Balkans for years

The Article

April 18, 2006

Report claims militants took advantage of Balkans’ porous borders to meet, train and possibly plot attacks in EuropeSARAJEVO: Islamic militants with ties to Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations have been crisscrossing the Balkans for more than 15 years, according to an intelligence report focusing on their activities in Bosnia. The 252-page analysis, compiled jointly by US and Croatian intelligence and obtained by The Associated Press, said extremists financed in part with cash from narcotics smuggling operations were trying to infiltrate Western Europe from Afghanistan and points further east via a corridor running through Turkey, Kosovo and Albania. The report offers new evidence to support what authorities long have suspected: that terrorists have taken advantage of the Balkans’ porous borders and relatively lax security to meet, train and possibly plot attacks elsewhere in Europe. .....(continued).............

Terrorists Recruiting Bosnia's White Muslims

The Article

April 18, 2006

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- His code name was Maximus, and he held secret meetings in a shabby room at the Banana City Hotel on the gritty outskirts of Sarajevo.

Bosnian police put him under surveillance, and in a raid on his apartment on Poligonska Street last fall, authorities seized explosives, a suicide bomber belt and a videotape of masked men begging Allah's forgiveness for the sacrifice they were about to commit.
It was a chilling discovery, say investigators, who believe the cell was close to carrying out a plot to blow up a European embassy. But more troubling, they say, was the ringleader's background: Maximus turned out to be Mirsad Bektasevic, a 19-year-old Swedish citizen of Serbian origin with ties to a senior al-Qaida operative.

Terrorists have been working to recruit non-Arab sympathizers -- so-called "white Muslims" with Western features who theoretically could more easily blend into European cities and execute attacks -- according to classified intelligence documents obtained by The Associated Press........(continued).............

Another bomb in Novi Pazar

April 18, 2006 B92

Novi Pazar (FoNet)NOVI PAZAR -- A bomb exploded last night in the backyard of Sandzak Party President Fevzija Muric. Muric said that no one was injured but that slight damage was done to his and his neighbour’s home. “At about 12:10 am, a bomb exploded in the yard of my home. No one was injured or located near the bomb at the time of the explosion.” Muric said, adding that according to the police, the explosive device was similar to the one made and thrown in front of the Municipal Building one week ago. This is the second bombing attack in Novi Pazar since the Serbian Government decided to disband the Municipal Parliament in which Rasim Ljajic’s Sandzak Democratic Party and Muric’s party had the majority.

Three Police Arrested In Gjilan

11 Apr 06 (RTK) – Three KPS members are being detained in Gjilan for misuse of their duties and taking bribes. The KPS spokesperson, Naser Ibrahimi stated that the police are suspected of requesting a citizen to pay for their lunch as an exchange for not giving him a speeding ticket. According to the spokesperson, the investigations have begun who also added that no one should be above the law especially those who are supposed to protect it.

Bomb Explodes In Downtown Novi Pazar

Novi Pazar, 11 Apr 06 (B92) - An explosive device was set off at the intersection directly in front of the Novi Pazar municipal building last night.
The incident follows Serbia-Montenegro Human and Minority Rights Minister, Rasim Ljajic’s, warning that a radicalisation of the situation in Novi Pazar will ensue as a result of the Serbian Government’s decision to disband the municipal government this weekend.
No one was injured in the explosion, though several vehicles and windows in the vicinity of the municipal building were damaged. The police are investigating the incident. (Beta)

Cattle Theft In Serbian Villages Continues

Belgrade, 11 Apr 06 (Tanjug) – The Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija announced today that in the village Banje, Srbica municipality, unknown persons stole a cow and a calf from Djordje Mojsic.
In the past year four cows were stolen from the barn of the Mojsic family, and three days ago a tractor was stolen from the Kovacevic family in the same village.
In the past six years 20 cows and 5 tractors were stolen from Serbian households in Banje. The coordinator for Srbica Dejan Tomasevic confirmed that unknown persons stole the cow and calf from the barn around midnight.

Burns: Goal Of Negotiations Is Independent Kosovo

Prishtina, 11 Apr 06 (Beta) – Nicolas Burns, America undersecretary for political issues, stated that the goal of negotiations on Kosovo status is independence.
Radio Television Kosovo (RTK) reports that talking at a ceremony in Washington located at the Center for Strategic Studies, Burns said that most likely by the end of this year, Kosovo will be proclaimed independent. This gathering at the Center for Strategic Studies was attended by ambassadors from a lot of European countries, as well as Henry Kissinger, former US state secretary.
“Our job in Europe is still not done, because the Balkans remains an island in heart of Europe, which is still not connected with the two largest transatlantic institutions; European Union, and NATO,” said Burns.
He expressed the US’s hopes that “once Serbia becomes democratic, just like Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia, as well as independent Kosovo, if this year it is proclaimed as such by UN, which is actually the goal of the ongoing negotiations, then all of these countries should be a part of Europe”.
Burns said that the US believes Europe should make it clear that future of these countries is in the EU.
NATO also needs to give a strong signal, said Burns.

EU prepares its biggest ever security mission in Kosovo

The Article

By Ekrem Krasniqi

EU prepares its biggest ever security mission in Kosovo11.04.2006 - 10:02 CET By Ekrem KrasniqiThe EU on Monday made its first step towards a new and increased security role in Kosovo, in what could be its biggest ever civilian and security mission, Balkans news agency DTT-NET.COM writes. Foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday (10 April) agreed to establish an EU Planning Team, a group of experts to design the future policing role of the EU in Kosovo, once the status of the UN- administrated territory is resolved.In line with earlier proposals by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn, the planning team should develop plans for an EU crisis management operation, particularly in the field of rule of law and police.According to Monday’s decision, the team should prepare a "smooth transition between selected tasks of UNMIK and a possible EU crisis management operation, in the field of rule of law and other areas that might be identified by the EU Council in the context of the future status process." The mandate of the UN security mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is to end after ongoing negotiations between Belgrade and Prishtina on Kosovo are finalised.According to a recent paper by Mr Solana and Mr Rehn, the EU mission in Kosovo in the post-UNMIK period would be the union's biggest and most expensive mission ever. The EU, Russia and the US said last week that they hope that the status of Kosovo will be resolved by the end of the year.