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Protests in Serbia Archive
News from Serbian Renewal Movement, Dec 13

No dialogue

In his comment on yesterday`s talks of the leaders of the coalition Zajedno with Mr. Lamberto Dini, the Italian Foreign Minister, Mr. Vuk Draskovic, president of the Serbian Renewal Movement, said:
"We had converastions with Mr. Dini in an attempt to find ways for opening a dialogue between President Milosevic and the people of Serbia. We concluded that no dialogue was possible until the will of the people expressed in elections held on November 17, 1996 is recognized. The prerequisite condition is the acknowledgement by Milosevic of the results of November elections. After that we will be ready for the dialogue. Until then no dialogue is possible, there is no reason for a dialogue, until then the Serbian President is not head of the state but chief of state terrorism".

Students's attempt to visit president Milosevic

On the twenty first day of the protest the students headed for Dedinje, an exclusiveresidential district of Belgrade, and the residence of the Serbian President Milosevic. It was the first time that the students walked in that direction. However, their attempt to come within sight of those who do not want to see them, had failed because forty thousand students marching in the relly, was met by cordon of five hundred riot policemen.
Following a thirty minute negotiation in Kney Milos Street, the police told the students that it was not for them to decide to let them go on. After that the student walked through the city and returned to the square by the Faculty of Philology. According to the SRM Information Service, the students were joined by the American Embassy staff, including some diplomats who were manifesting in this way the assurence that demonstrators would not turn against the Embassy or its staff.

Special press conference held by Serbian Renewal Movement

The focus of today`s conference, addressed by Mr. Vuk Draskovic, president of the Serbian renewal Movement (SRM) was on letter sent to Mr. Warren Christopher, US State Secretary by the Serbian President Milosevic.

Expressing condemnation of the contents of the letter, Mr. Draskovic said:
"The letter to the US State Secretary written by the Serbian President Milosevic contains nothing but distortions of facts.
What is it that Milosevic failed to say?
He failed to say that on November 18, the official representative of the Socialist Party of Serbia acknowledged that the coalition of opposition parties Zajedno won the election victory in number of larger towns in Serbia, in Nis, Kraljevo, Jagodina, Smederevska Palanka, Uzice.
What he did from Mr. Christopher is the fact that in Belgrade the local electoral committee acknowledged the victory won by the opposition, together with the fact that he personally issued the order to the courts to annul the will of voters."

According to Mr. Draskovic, there was not a second round in smaller places with numerous polling stations at which his party was more succesful, but only in towns where the coalition Zajedno won a convincing victory... This coalition gained success in towns with the population over three million.

In Slobodan Milosevic's letter there is no mention of the beaten-up young Dejan Bulatovic, while his insistence that there is no violence -- is a blatant lie. In his opinion, peaceful demonstrations are an act of political terrorism. He concludes by informing Mr. Christopher that all media in the country will publish his letter at his personal request. In this way he wants to show that media are free and independent!!!

It shouldbe born in mind, however, that the editor-in-chief of all media is he himself, Mr. Draskovic adds.
"This letter is truly humiliating for our country. The saddest thing about it is that Mr. Warren Christopher is well aware that Milosevic is lying..." The Serbian President invites a European Union Commision to come, so that he may tell them the truth. Thieves are inviting foreign arbiters to hear the evidence of -- thieves," says Vuk Draskovic, adding that the coalition Zajedno has already presented true facts to western countries and has invited foreign law experts to come and verify the election fraud.
The worst cynism as Mr. Draskovic put it, lies in the fact that Mr. Milosevic attempts to give Mr. Christopher a lesson in democracy.

SRM Information Service

E-Mail: spo@eunet.yu
For further details about coaltion ZAJEDNO, visit us at http://solair.eunet.yu/~spo

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