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    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)
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