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YUGOSLAVIA INSISTS ON CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTION 1244
NEW YORK - The head of the permanent Yugoslav mission at the United Nations, Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic, sent a letter on Thursday to Security Council President Sergei Lavrov underscoring the need for the return of a part of Yugoslav Army and police troops to Kosovo and Metohija in keeping with Security Council Resolution 1244.
In a separate protest letter to the Security Council President, Yugoslavia demanded this body's reaction to the illegal action of the U.S. contigent within the U.N. peacekeeping mission which, contrary to the decisions and determined policy of the resolution, started building a base in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.
In the two letters, Yugoslavia recalled that a political solution to all issues linked to Serbia's southern Kosovo and Metohija province must be sought solely with the respect of the decisions contained in Resolution 1244, the Ahtisaari-Chernomyrdin Agreement, the Military-Technical Agreement and other relevant documents.
CHINESE COMPUTERS FOR YUGOSLAV SCIENTISTS
BEIJING - There are all conditions for the further extension and promotion of sceintific and technical cooperation between Yugoslavia and China, Serbian Science and Technology Minister Branislav Ivkovic and Chinese First Deputy Science and Technology Minister Li Xueyong siad in Beijing on Friday.
Ivkovic is heading a delegation of the Federal Science, Technology and Environment Ministry as part of a Sino-Yugoslav mixed committee for scientific and technical cooperation.
Expressed was full support to all cooperation so far and underscored mutual interest to intensify the realization of the already existing scientific and technical projects, whose completion was halted by the NATO aggression.
Agreed was a list of new scientific and technical projects for which many are important for the reconstruction of Yugoslavia.
The Chinese hosts expressed full support to Yugoslavia's efforts for the reconstruction of the country, underscoring the interest for concrete contribution to this also through sceintific and technical cooperation.
The Chinese Science and Technology Ministry decided to make a gift of 60 third generation Pentium computers and 30 printers to Yugoslav scientists.
ITALY URGES FOR ALLEVIATION OF ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS
ROME - Italy urges for an immediate alleviation of anti-Yugoslav sanctions and for providing aid to its population in the coming winter in order to avert a possible humanitarian disaster.
A resolution to that effect adopted by the Italian parliament urges the government of Prime Minister Massimo d'Alema to advocate the alleviation of anti- Yugoslav sanctions to its European Union partners.
At the approach of winter, it is impossible to provide to the people of Yugoslavia the aid they need, such as construction materials for their damaged homes or equipment for heating plants, as the sanctions ban such aid, the resolution says.
The Italian parliamentarians rejected the view of some countries which are making aid to Yugoslavia conditional on democratic changes.
This is a long process and an entire people must not be allowed to suffer in the name of democratic principles, the Italian parliamentarians said.
DINI - THERE CAN BE NO RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BALKANS WITHOUT SERBIA'S PARTICIPATION
ROME - There can be no real and comprehensive reconstruction of the Balkans without the inclusion of Serbia in the job, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini told Tanjug Friday.
Ahead of the first round table on economic reconstruction of the Balkan region in Bari, Dini said that Serbia was not only an integral part but also the most important parts of the Balkans.
Bearing in mind the current situation in the Balkans, the Italian foreign minister specified that the basic task of the round table on the reconstruction of the Balkans will be to determine the most urgent investments.
No doubt they will be infrastucture projects, primarily those that include a number of countries of the Balkan region, Lamberto Dini said.
Italian government representative Marko Miniti said that Italy will allocate 280 billion liras (280 million D marks) over a three-year period for the reconstruciton of the Balkans, and according to the coordinator of the special economic council for the reconstruction of the Balkan region, Franco Barnabe, at least 2,000 billion liras, or two billion D marks will be needed for the reconstruction of Kosovo-Meothija.
USA, U.N., ITALY SUPPORT MULTIETHNIC KOSOVO AND METOHIJA WITHIN YUGOSLAVIA
ROME - The United States, United Nations and Italy support a multiethnic Kosovo and Metohija with an autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, NATO commander Europe General Wesley Clark, Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema and U.N. Civilian Mission head in Kosovo and Metohija Bernard Kouchner have said during the presentation of D'Alema's book of interviews.
Asked by Tanjug to explain the U.S. position on the status of Kosovo and Metohija, Gen. Clark said he viewed Washington's policy as very explicit.
We support solely the creation of an autonomous multiethnic Kosovo and Metohija within Yugoslav borders, he said denying that the United States is increasingly openly backing the separatist aspirations of the militant extremists in Serbia's southern province.
Bernard Kouchner said that the international community is facing the very difficult task of protecting the non-Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija which is often exposed to violence.
Different cultures, religions and years of intolerance have left deep traces which cannot be removed speedily, Kouchner said.
Massimo D'Alema set out that this government believes it is necessary to send relif aid to Serbia as soon as possible, and that this will be discussed at the conference for the reconstruction of the Balkans, to be hed on Oct. 9 in Bari.
FRENCH LAWYER WILL DEFEND KOSOVO-METOHIJA'S ORAHOVAC SERBS
PARIS - Eminent French lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti of Lille has decided to defend pro bono three Serbs from Orahovac, Kosovo-Metohija, on charges of war crimes.
Ethnic Albanian authorities in Prizren, Kosovo-Metohija, emplaced since the deployment of the international KFor force to that province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia, have accused the Serbs of war crimes allegedly committed between August 1998 and June 1999.
Dupond-Moretti is due later on Friday in Prizren, where his clients Andjelko Kolasinac, aged 47, Stanislav Levic, 50, and Vekoslav Simic, 35, are held, to take over their defence.
Dupond-Moretti has noted that lawyer Kolasinac, tradesman Levic and doctor Simic were given no right of appeal to the court order placing them in custody, and that while in custody they have not been allowed contact with a lawyer.
KFor arrested former Orahovac Mayor Kolasinac, Levic and Simic in August and they are being held in Prizren under a Prizren District Court order.
The Hague-based war crimes court for former Yugoslavia has said meanwhile that it is not interested in having them tried in the Hague, obviously because investigation has revealed no evidence for a conviction.
Dupond-Moretti said to the press in Lille on Thursday that he is neither pro-Serbian nor pro-Albanian, but is pro-justice and wishes to see equal human rights for all.
EXPATRIATE SERBS FORM COUNCIL IN HUNGARY
BUDAPEST - Expatriate Serbs in Hungary founded their Council under the auspices of the Yugoslav Embassy in Budapest on Thursday, with the chief aim of consolidating ties with the homeland.
Ambassador Balsa Spadijer said on the occasion that the Council is a first step in implementing accords reached at the conference of expatriate Yugoslavs in Belgrade in early August.
One of the most successful Yugoslav businessmen in Hungary, Nebojsa Susa, was elected president of the Council.
Five commissions were appointed - for economic cooperation, culture, education and safeguarding of the national identity, for information, for sport and for humanitarian affairs.
GENERAL REINHARDT PROMISES PROTECTION OF SERBS AND SERBIAN CULTURAL LANDMARKS
BONN - German General Klaus Reinhardt promised in Pristina Friday, before taking over the duties of KFOR commander, that under his leadership, the international peacekeeping forces will be absolutely neutral and that they will provide effective protection to all residents of Kosovo-Metohija, without regard to ethnic identity.
"KFOR is in Kosovo, among other things, also to protect priceless Serbian cultural sites and prevent the destruction of the magnificent, for the Serbs very important, religious shrines," the 58-year-old general told the German news agency DPA.
Reinhardt also stressed that it was important that people in Kosovo view him as a general who, for the first time since WW II, is not coming to the Balkans as an occupier, but to render assistance to the people.
Before his appointment as KFOR commander, Gen. Reinhardt was commander of the NATO allied troops in Koblenz.
OSCE OFFICIAL CRICICIZES LANGUAGE OF HATE IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA
VIENNA - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) envoy for the media Freimut Duve criticized Thursday the press agency of the separatist KLA Kosova-press for its commentary of October 2, which described the publisher and editor-in-chief ot the Pristina daily Koha Ditore Veton Surroi and Baton Haxhiu as pro-Serbian vampires.
There is no room for men such as Surroi and Haxhiu in the liberated Kosovo, the commentary had said.
Such extremist language is being used to destroy democracy, Duve said, adding that proclaiming people holding different views as enemies and traitors was unacceptable.
Politicians in (Serbia's province of) Kosovo-Metohija should apologize to Surroi and Haxhiu, and the international community must react to the language of hate, Duve said, expressing hope that the UN mission in the province would take the necessary measures.