Thursday April 15, 1999

Several detonations were heard on Thursday, aroung 7:30 p.m. in the vicinty of Podgorica, in the direction of the village of Tuzi and missiles hit targets in the direction of the Zeta and Lake Skadar where there are also no military facilities. At present, there are no official information about the consequences of this NATO action. Nato aircraft on Thursday also pulled down one of the most beautiful and largest bridges on the Lim river on the Belgrade-Bar railway between Prijepolje and Priboj, hit the railway station in Biljanovac and damaged the tracks. Earlier in the day, there was yet another air raid on the ski resort on Mt Kopaonik. No casualties were reported and enormous damage was caused.

Nato warplanes launched an overnight attack on the Belgrade municipality of Rakovica. The blast smashed a large number of windows of the Health Care center, residential facilities and houses and damaged anew the medieval monastery of St Archangel Michael. Massive material damage was caused and a number of people was injured, Tanjug reports. Nato aircraft overflew Belgrade as well but the Yugoslav Army's air defence system was activated.

Three civilians were wounded and a bridge on the Toplica river was damaged in an overnight strike at the village of Pepeljevac near Kursumlija.

Nato warplanes attacked Kragujevac two times targeting the city center, the vicinity of the Sumarice memorial and the Divostin district. One person was reportedly heavily wounded and there was huge material damage. Yugoslav air defences shot down two enemy missiles.

In a repeated strike at Krusevac, two missiles destroyed a bridge across the Morava river in the village of Jasika. The already massively damaged October 14 factory was hit anew as well as a sports center and its vicinity. The Gerontological center accommodating 120 bed-ridden patients and just as many healthy persons, including women and children, was largely damaged.

There were overnight attacks on the Slatina airfield and civilian targets in the vicinity of Pristina, the village of Lukare, the region of Mt Goles and the Belacevac colliery. No casualties were reported but there was massive damage to civilian facilities. More than ten cluster-bombs fell on Mount Pastrik and Mt Cicavica. Three persons were reportedly injured in a strike at Kosovka Mitrovica.

Aggressor missiles damaged Serbian Radio and Television relayson Mt Ovcar. There were overnight air raids on Nis, Valjevo, the village of Samaila, Vranje, the Pcinja district and the Presevo region.

The Yugoslav Army's air defences downed an enemy cruise missile over Paracin.

At 1 o'clock p.m., seven Nato missiles hit the region southwest of Pristina where air raid alert has been in effect continuously since Tuesday evening.

***

Nato on Thursday confirmed it was responsible for Wednesday's massacre of an Albanian refugee column on the Djakovica-Prizren road in which at least 75 people were killed, Tanjug reports.

The preliminary investigation showed a Nato warplane had accidentally struck at a civilian convoy, Nato spokesman Arild Izeg told the press in Brussels. He said Nato headquarters in Brussels could not establish the number of casualties in the latest in a series of "mistakes" whereby Nato is attempting to account for civilian casualties in the aggression against FR Yugoslavia.

***

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has submitted a request to the UN Security Council for convening an urgent session due to Wednesday's criminal act by the NATO aggressor on columns of Albanian refugees near Djakovica, in which dozens of civilians were killed, while at least 20 sustained serious injuries.

The written request to the Security Council chairman, French Ambassador Alain Dejamin, has been forwarded by the head of the Yugoslav mission with the United Nations, Vladislav Jovanovic. He sets out facts about the aggressor's atrocious act against columns of several thousand refugees, mostly women and children. At the end of the letter, expressed is hope and the conviction that the Security Council would condemn this terrible criminal act by the NATO aggressor against innocent civilians who had responded to the Yugoslav government's appeal to return home.

***

The NATO aggression against Yugoslavia is a crime against peace, stability and humanity, and it must stop, said, at a press conference for domestic and foreign reporters, the spokesman for the Federal Foreign Ministry and Yugoslav Deputy Minister Nebojsa Vujovic.

He stressed that Yugoslavia was not the only victim of this aggression, but that victims were also the UN Charter, the Final Helsinki Act, and the Statute of NATO, whose member countries, with their aggression against our country, had violated the provision on its defensive nature. The victims of NATO bombing are hundreds of killed and thousands of injured people of all nationalities, living in Yugoslavia. Targeted are being civilian facilities, bridges, schools and hospitals, and the material damage is great, said Vujovic, stressing that, over the past two days, the aggressors committed two crimes against humanity - first they bombed an international passenger train in the Grdelica gorge, whereby 55 casualties have so far been reported and, on Wednesday, they targeted a number of times two columns of refugees returning to Kosmet, killing 75 people and seriously injuring 26. This is the worst humanitarian catastrophe brought about by NATO bombs, and those who have caused it do not want it stop. We will use all our powers to defend ourselves from the aggressor, but, at the same time, we will energetically work on accelerating the political process for Kosovo-Metohija, which was launched on April 1 with a meeting between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Kosmet Albanian leader Dr.Ibrahim Rugova. Rambouillet was not and will not be the basis for a political solution, Vujovic said, adding that welcome for a political settlement of the crisis in Kosovo-Metohija are initiatives of countries that are not taking part in the aggression and which have clearly spoken against it.

***

The special correspondent of the American ASSOCIATED PRESS news agency in Kosovo-Metohija, brings testimonies by the surviving Kosmet Albanians who confirmed that they had been targeted by NATO planes on Wednesday.

Between 75 and 80 civilians were killed in this attack, while 25 people were seriously injured. The AP correspondent cites 15 year-old Saban Hasani as saying in horror: "I saw bodies without heads, arms and legs". Eighty year-old Dibran Asmani testified that three bombs fell near him, blasting away people on tractor trailers. With him were his wife, daughter and daughter-in-law with her three children. "I don't now what happened to them. All of them may be dead", said Asmani with tears in his eyes.

***

In an interview to the Canadian CBC TV network, The Los Angeles Times reporter from Kosovo-Metohija, Paul Watson, denied the NATO Generals' claims that the Yugoslav Army had massacred Albanians in Pristina.

The Russian Itar-TASS news agency quotes Watson as explaining that he regularly visits the regions of Kosovo-Metohija inhabited by Albanians and that he has never seen a single body or signs of any massacre or violence. NATO member-countries' governments are trying to deny their own responsibility for the exodus of the population from Kosmet, said Watson, adding that such a large exodus would not have taken place had there not been the NATO air-strikes.

***

Commenting on Wednesday's criminal Nato strike at Albanian civilians on the Djakovica-Prizren road, China on Thursday expressed its deep concern and regret over the humanitarian catastrophe caused by Nato's aggression against FR Yugoslavia.

Spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Sun Yusi said it was China's consistent stand Nato should put a halt to its air-strikes against FR Yugoslavia in order to avoid further deterioration of the situation and bring the Kosovo-Metohija issue back on the path of political settlement. He reiterated China was confident Nato military actions would cause serious problems concerning refugees and a large number of casualties.

***

The Russian Foreign Ministry assessed the NATO missile-bomb attack on a refugee column near Djakovica as a criminal act testifying to the flagrant violation of international law and causing deep bitterness.

The Russian ministry cautions that, increasingly often, the aims of the NATO air strikes are civilian facilities and that the number of victims among the civilian population is huge. At the same time, the chairman of the Russian Parliament's Upper House, Yegor Stroyev, said that the bombing of refugees in Kosmet represented real insanity, adding that all that NATO was doing in Yugoslavia was a mockery of international law and the world public opinion. The chairman of the Lower House, Gennady Seleznov stressed that the killing of innocent citizens, the demolition of towns, bridges and factories which had nothing to do with the military industry, represented an issue to be reviewed before the International Military Tribunal.

***

At a summit in Brussels, EU leaders adhered by the stand that Nato should press on with military operations in Yugoslavia but at the same time, supported the peace initiative for the settlement of the Kosmet crisis forwarded by the Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, Tanjug reports.

At the extraordinary summit, the first since the launching of Nato's aggression against FR Yugoslavia, the EU's heads of state or government began to explore new avenues for emerging from the current situation threatening to endanger peace not only in the Balkans but in the whole of Europe. Following the meeting, Annan said the Kosovo-Metohija issue could be solved exclusively by peaceful means, under the aegis of the UN, rather than by the use of force or through military action.

***

Russia maintains that NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia is an unacceptable form of relations between sovereign states, Russian Prime Minister Yevgenny Primakov said in a meeting with the Czech Prime Minister Milosh Zeman.

Primakov emphasized that Russia still advocated exclusively political methods in overcoming the conflict in Yugoslavia and believes that pressures with force and ultimatums were the wrong means. The Russian prime minister said the bombing of a sovereign state only caused a catastrophe and represented a threat to European security.

***

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has said that the crisis in Yugoslavia can be resolved only if NATO is forced to stop the aggression and commence political talks.

The Russian foreign minister said the only issue on which Yugoslavia disagreed with other countries was the engagement of international armed forces in its territory. He emphasized that such engagement, whether military or civilian, was possible only with the consent of the Belgrade authorities. Ivanov said the arrival of NATO troops in Kosovo-Metohija would not lead to peace in the region, but would only complicate the already difficult situation.

***

The United Nations special human rights rapporteur, Yiri Dinstbier, has said that "the unfair bombing and humiliation of the Serbs must stop", and he spoke in favor of "lifting the economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

In an interview to the Czech daily HOSPODARZSKE NOVINI, Dinstbier stressed that there existed the obligation to repair and rebuild everything that had been destroyed in NATO air strikes, speaking in favor of applying this everywhere on Yugoslav territory, where it is necessary to invest billions of dollars. Asked by reporters how he saw the resolution of the Kosovo-Metohija problem, Dinstbier stressed that "since the very beginning, one should have spoken of the entire Balkan problem, which requires a complex approach".

***

Russia's President Boris Yeltsin said in Moscow on Thursday he was confident Viktor Chernomyrdin's mission would be a success since he, as the Russian president's special envoy, is to solve the crisis caused by Nato's aggression against Yugoslavia.

Chernomyrdin has authority abroad and is well-acquainted with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, President Yeltsin told the press. Chernomyrdin said he would take all necessary steps to resolve the conflict and that he would soon pay a visit to Yugoslavia.

***

NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia has annihilated the United Nations, the Security Council, the foundations of international law and all ethic principles which the international community is based on, said Yugoslav Information Minister Milan Komnenic, in an interview to the leading Japanese daily MAINICHI SHIMBUN.

Commenting on the so-far unprecedented media campaign being conducted by the western electronic media, Komnenic said that CNN was actually NATO's television station. Western media view this war as a video game, in which our cities are only crosses on the screen, and not places with civilian populations.

23rd DAY OF THE AGGRESSION

This Tuesday marks the 23rd day since the beginning of the daily US-led Nato air-strikes against sovereign Yugoslavia in which civilian population is being killed, and their homes, bridges, schools, industrial plants... destroyed. Nato's bombs relentlessly pound numerous cities throughout Yugoslavia and there are many civilian casualties every day. Yet, this Wednesday, April 14th, will be remembered as the day when an unprecedented crime in recent world history took place. On that day the Nato aggressor massacred a column of Albanian refugees on the Djakovica - Prizren road. The refugees who were on their way home were bombarded by Nato warplanes in the middle of the day, when tens of the refugees were killed and many more were injured.

The Yugoslav people are appalled at the news of the horrible massacre, and the whole country commiserates with the Albanian nation in this tragedy of innocent civilians whose only fault was, as the Serbian President, Milan Milutinovic said, that they belonged to our common home country.

The Yugoslavs, daily exposed to the terror of bombs and missiles, are resolute to defend their freedom and independence. We welcome with gratitude the voices of reason coming from all parts of the world which support the Yugoslav state leadership in its claims that the Kosovo-Metohija crisis can be resolved peacefully.

The Russian Foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, said that there can be no talk of any military mission in Kosovo without the consent of official Belgrade, adding that it would otherwise represent not a peace-agreement implementation operation, but the actual use of force. The Nato aggressor, obviously confused by their military failure in FR Yugoslavia, are now trying to mobilize the terrorists to attack Yugoslav security forces in Kosmet. In an attempt to open a new front against FR Yugoslavia, they are currently relying on Tirana, capital of Albania, which has become subservient to the US. According to the already prepared scenario, many foreign newspapers, TV and radio stations are launching ready-made lies about an alleged massive penetration of the Yugoslav Army into the territory of southern Albania. Even the Commander of the Nato forces, American general, Wesley Clark, had to refute this fabrication.

The people of Yugoslavia, confidant that justice is on their side, warn the world that the brutal United States and Nato aggression on an independent, sovereign state, a founding member of the UN, OSCE, and the nonaligned movement, is creating conditions for encroachments of international law and te imposition of their hegemonistic designs throughout the world. The Speaker of the Federal Assembly's Chamber of Republics, Srdja Bozovic, rightly stresses that despite timely warnings about the aggressive threats against FR Yugoslavia, the UN Security Council did not respond according to its obligations either in preventing the aggression in time, or in halting it once it had started. This fact, according to Bozovic, has dealt an irreparable blow to the international community's authority, which would lead, unless measures are immediately taken, to the breaking up of this organization which may have long-lasting effects for international peace and security.

Majority of the world public is unanimous in the stand that the aggression against the sovereign FR Yugoslavia must be halted immediately. Serious analysts, even in the countries taking part in the aggression, see these Nato attack against Yugoslavia as an illegal, barbaric and inhumane act which may have unforeseeable negative consequences for world security and which should be stopped without delay.

POLITICAL PARTY REACTIONS

The three-weeks of bombing raids on Yugoslavia by the NATO aggressor, in which civilians get massacred and civilian facilities razed more and more often, are the topics of this edition of POLITICAL PARTY REACTIONS.

Our only option is to defend our country, but we believe that political solution to the problems in Kosovo-Metohija is the only way towards a lasting peace in the interest of all the people living in this southern Serbian province, the Socialist Party of Serbia's spokesman Ivica Dacic said. He emphasized that the principle of equality of all citizens and national communities in Kosovo-Metohija can be the only foundation for such a solution on which the talks between representatives of the state delegation, that is the Federal and Republican governments, with representatives of Kosmet Albanians are being conducted, Dacic stressed. He pointed out that these talks were being conducted face to face since the problems in this Serbian province should be resolved by the people living there. Dacic recalled that foreign mediators had so far imposed solutions which were not in the interest of any national community and had thus shown that they only desired war and the occupation of Serbia and FR Yugoslavia. The Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, could, unfortunately realize on Wednesday that they were only pawns in the hands of US and NATO criminals. The horrible crime of the murder of passengers in the train near Leskovac, and the killing of Albanian refugees in the column returning to their homes in Kosovo-Metohija show that NATO criminals are not interested in the fate of civilians. They kill Serbs, Albanians and all other national minorities regardless, because they are exclusively interested in territories, Dacic emphasized. He added that the Socialist Party of Serbia was supporting the decision of FR Yugoslavia's joining the Alliance of Russia and Belarus since it is a historic step in the interest of stability, security, and economic, cultural, technological and other forms of integration.

The Yugoslav Left reiterates that both the Serbs and Albanians in Serbia and Yugoslavia have only one enemy, and that is NATO, said the Information Secretary of the Yugoslav Left's Directorate and the party's spokesman Ivan Markovic. He emphasized that this was shown by the massacre of the column of civilians, mostly Albanians on the Prizren-Djakovica road. At issue are our county's citizens returning to their homes because they believed in their state, Markovic assessed. For that reason exactly, the NATO aggressor planes dropped their deadly load on them because they wanted to interrupt their return home, Markovic said. He said that Yugoslavia would resolutely defend all its citizens on an equal footing - the Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins and all others.

The destruction of an international passenger train, and subsequently of the refugee column of Kosmet Albanians returning to their homes, are evidence of the NATO aggressor losing its orientation - said the Serbian Radical Party's leader Vojislav Seselj. He assessed that the NATO aggressor does not count on reaching the military targets but only wants to destroy, to hamper Serbia and FR Yugoslavia's economic revival after the aggression. The Serbian people and FR Yugoslavia's citizens must endure all that and it is evident that they are determined to endure at any cost - Seselj stressed. He positively reviewed the activity of Russian diplomacy investing increased efforts in order to halt NATO's criminal aggression on Yugoslavia. The Radical leader said that an increasing number of countries in the world, some of which are even NATO member countries, condemned the criminal aggression on Yugoslavia since they have realized the true nature of American policy in the Balkans.

The Kosovo Democratic Initiative (KDI) which gathers mostly Albanians, but also representatives of other national communities in Kosovo-Metohija, condemns Wednedsday's tragedy on the Prizren-Djakovica road when NATO aggressors attacked a convoy of innocent civilians, mostly women and children returning to their homes. Members of the KDI stress that they are not frightened by brutal and barbaric air strikes and that they are prepared to jointly defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and FR Yugoslavia. They appeal on Kosmet Albanians to return to their homes since the Republic of Serbia guarantees their security. The KDI completely supports the Yugoslav Assembly's decision on Yugoslavia's joining the Alliance of Russia and Belarus.

FOREIGN MEDIA ON THE NATO AGGRESSION

The bombing of the columns of Kosmet Albanians who were returning to their homes, and then the strike on the train near Grdelica, as well as the NATO aviation's merciless pounding of civilians in Aleksinac, Cuprija, Pristina, Novi Sad and other places throughout Yugoslavia, show that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the conceiver of these crimes, US President Bill Clinton, care only about dominating our regions, while the killing of innocent civilians and material destruction represent only the road to their goal.

Visiting the ruins in the center of Aleksinac, the chairman of the federal government's commission for cooperating with UNICEF, Dr.Margit Savovic, has warned international humanitarian and other organizations that over 3 million children in our country are endangered by the consequences of NATO's bombing. Russian general Alexei Simonov visited this small mining town, where he saw for himself that demolished in the NATO aggression have been over 500 housing units and that enormous material damage has been caused. He said that the enemy had left behind the kind of horror and terror unprecedented in the contemporary world. Similar assessments are being made by all those who are visiting our country in these difficult times and testifying about the almost completely demolished civilian factories, such as plants of the Kragujevac ZASTAVA, the 14th OCTOBER factory in Krusevac, SLOBODA of Cacak, the chemical factory in Lucani and other places in Serbia and Yugoslavia, where tens of thousands of people have been left without jobs. In his nation-wide address, like the one in the air base in Louisiana, US President Clinton continued cynically to claim that with bombs, the killing of civilians, children and innocent people in Yugoslavia, he was actually "establishing peace".

According to Thursday's London INDEPENDENT, the NATO aggressors might once again explain Wednesday's crime against Kosmet Albanian refugees - returnees as alleged "collateral damage", as they have been doing since the beginning of the aggression. The British newspaper's commentary says that the NATO attacks against Yugoslavia are increasingly characterized by bloodshed among innocent civilians.

Copyright (C.) Radio Yugoslavia