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Serbia Doesn't Need Protection From Us

Z. Radovanovic

Nasa Borba, Beograd, FR Yugoslavia, 12/5 1996

Kragujevac - "These demonstrators have only one goal: that those who enact laws also respect those laws. Their theft is unprecedented. Therefore, until they return our mandates in the Belgrade city hall, we will continue with protests; until that happens Belgrade will feel that Kragujevac is a moral capital of Serbia". With these words Milan Komnenic, from Serbian Renewal Movement, addressed yesterday's rally in the center of Kragujevac. "Through the official channels, we want to win the necessary political, economic, and cultural changes in Serbia. Because of that we expect that common sense will prevail in the end and that these 100,000 policemen will return to their homes. There's no need to protect Serbia from us, we are its future," said Komnenic and added that "the lesson in democracy" will continue until Christmas, if necessary.

Finally he told to the Kragujevcani: "Let us struggle to become free men, to respect law and that Kragujevac, together with Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis be in the quartet of cities which will be the cornerstone of new Serbia".

Student Protests

Student protest continued yesterday at the mechanical engineering faculty in Kragujevac. Student protesters were addressed in the central lecture hall by professors, Dr. Milos Kojic, Dr Milan Micunovic, Dr. Miroslav Demic, Dr. Ruzica Nikolic, as well as several teaching assistants. It was agreed at this meeting that Kragujevac students will gather daily at 1 p.m. at the mechanical engineering faculty and that the protest will continue until their demands, the most important of which is the respect of the popular will as expressed in the local elections, are fulfilled.

After the rally at the mechanical engineering faculty, Kragujevac students walked through the city and arrived to the main rally at the central city square "kod Krsta".

Newly elected "Zajedno" representative, Dr. Vladan Vucicevic emphasized that people will gather every day at the main city square, "kod Krsta" until both Belgrade and Nis are liberated.

"We will prove to everyone in Serbia that 'Zajedno' is a political organization which has the strength of Karadorde and wisdom of Milos [Karadorde and Milos Obrenovic liberated Serbia from Turks]. If necessary, we will go to Belgrade to help," asserted Vucicevic.

"Now all of us know what Milosevic's regime is prepared to do. They won't flinch from open theft of opposition mandates. Something like that is unprecedented in the history of democracy. Slobodan Milosevic and his henchmen staged the heist of the century. It seems they don't know what they are doing, they've lost their heads," said the secretary of the Democratic party City Council for Kragujevac, Dragutin Radosavljevic.

He added that on November 17, all illusions about the independent judiciary in Serbia disappeared. "There is no independent judiciary in Serbia. The courts are just another institution in service of Slobodan Milosevic and his regime," said Radosavljevic.

"We will demonstrate in city squares until the media in Serbia are free. We can see that Milosevic's regime is relentlessly trying to destroy the free media. We must persevere and hold on to the end. We won here in Kragujevac, but we must help Belgrade, Nis and other cities and show to the Socialists that the Serbian people doesn't want their rule," concluded his speech Dragutin Radosavljevic.

Yesterday's protest concluded when more than 10,000 Kragujevac citizens passed through the city streets shouting "Red bandits". New demonstrations were scheduled for today at 3 p.m.

Criminal Complaint Against Judges

"Zajedno" coalition lodged through its legal representative, attorney Zoran Markovic, criminal complaints against Tomislav Stanojevic, president of the District Court in Kragujevac, and judges Nikola Popovic, Nenad Cosic and Zivadinka Miletic who served on the judicial council which illegally annulled some of the results from the second round of local elections in Kragujevac.

Translated on 12/9/96