Friday April 16, 1999

The federal government has concluded that the NATO aggression continues with increased intensity and has called on the UN Security Council stop the aggression.

Yugoslavia is a sovereign country, which is neither threatening nor attacking anyone, but is rather only defending its state unity and territorial integrity. The statement from Friday's session says that the target of the lethal missiles had been innocent helpless civilians and infrastructural civilian facilities, factories, schools, hospitals and apartments. The instantaneous cessation of the bombardment, the killing of innocent people and material destruction is the first precondition for the launching and realization of a political process for stabilizing the situation in Kosovo-Metohija and the return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes. The federal government assesses that the increasingly frequent brutal killing of members of the Albanian national minority fully unmask the aggressor's pretext of having engaged itself allegedly for the purpose of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe of the Kosmet Albanians. It shows that a humanitarian catastrophe and the exodus of all peoples from Kosovo-Metohija have been created as a result of the criminal bombardments. The fourth week of merciless bombings shows that the NATO aggressor has not achieved any of its goals. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's defense system is functioning resolutely and efficiently, inflicting serious losses on the aggressor. Civil structures and state bodies of authority are successfully functioning in war-time conditions, while the citizens, with amazing courage and firm patriotism, are offering their contribution to the defense of their fatherland. The federal government stresses that the criminal aggression has destabilized the Balkan region and Europe at large. Cut have been all major regional communication routes, and the attacks on certain industrial installations are threatening to cause an ecological catastrophe, which would affect the surrounding countries. State bodies have taken all necessary measures in order to dislocate certain industrial facilities so as to protect our citizens and prevent NATO strikes from causing unforeseeable ecological consequences.

***

On Friday morning, Nato warplanes pounded the town of Vranje and its vicinity, heavily wounding two civilians and causing great material damage. Several missiles rocked the region south and south-west of Pristina and the village of Sofajlija populated both by Serbs and Albanians.

NATO's airforce fired some 25 missiles on civilian facilities near Lipljani and Pristina. Just before 6 p.m., the NATO aggressor's bombers fired two missiles on Slatina airport, southwest of Pristina. Over 10 missiles have been launched on the airport so far. Nato launched overnight attacks on civilian and industrial sites in Belgrade, Pancevo, Paracin, Podgorica, Danilovgrad, Subotica, Smederevo and Kraljevo. Seventeen civilians were injured in a strike at the petrochemical plant in Pancevo, which was massively damaged. The Azotara-Amonijak fertilizer plant also came under attack in which, besides production plants, numerous other civilian facilities, including the houses and flats of Pancevo's residents, were damaged. Under international norms, chemical industry plants of this kind cannot be targeted in war operations.

The already massively damaged oil refinery in Novi Sad was again hit by several missiles one of which slammed into the Detelinara district. For the first time since the beginning of the aggression, Nato pounded Subotica and the densely populated part of the town, Mali Radanovac overnight. Several people were lightly injured. Shortly before midnight, enemy aircraft hit a bridge over the Danube linking Smederevo and Kovin making it unusable for traffic.

In Belgrade, the aggressors struck at the Strazevica hill in the municipality of Rakovica. Enemy warplanes also hit facilities accommodating refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia in Paracin. Early this morning, aggressors struck at villages in the vicinity of Kraljevo - Mrsac, Samaila, Drakcici and Vrdila damaging tens of households. More than 10 cluster bombs were found in a farm. No casualties have been reported. Nato attacked with four missiles villages in the vicinity of Boljevac between Paracin and Zajecar. Podgorica and its vicinity towards the town of Tuzi, were hit anew overnight. Eyewitnesses claim targets near the Zeta river and Lake Skadar, where there are no military facilities, were struck at. The municipality of Danilovgrad was targeted by four missiles and several detonations were heard in the Bar and Ulcinj municipalities. The information service of the Yugoslav Army's Second Army Command in Podgorica on Friday announced that, on Thursday night, units of the Yugoslav Army's anti-aircraft defense acted against enemy targets, downing two enemy planes and one missile. Considerable material damage was inflicted on civilian facilities in the regions of operation, says the statement of the Second Army Command, adding that cluster bombs were used in the attack.

***

Diplomatic representatives of 26 countries accredited to Yugoslavia on Friday toured the bombed Serbian towns of Aleksinac, Leskovac, Cuprija and Kragujevac.

The diplomats saw the demolished largest Kragujevac ZASTAVA collective bombed on April 9 and 12, with some 15 missiles. They also visited the Kragujevac Clinical Hospital Centre in which the citizens injured in the bombing are being treated. The diplomats had the opportunity to see the difficult conditions under which the doctors of Kragujevac are working. They also toured the devastated centre of the mining town of Aleksinac, bombed on April 5. They were all terrified with what they saw and observed with astonishment the removal of the consequences of the aggressor's criminal activities in which many civilians were killed and enormous material damage was caused. This is not, nor can it be a mistake - to cause such pain and destruction to such a peaceful nation and town, Cuban Ambassador Ommar Medina said on the occasion. The ambassadors of Cuba, Iraq and Greece condemned the NATO aggression, expressing regret over the suffering of innocent people, the demolition of schools, companies and other civilian facilities. They pointed out this represented a violation of international law.

***

Serbia's President Milan Milutinovic saw on Friday Ibrahim Rugova, the Serbian president's cabinet announced.

Pursuant to the joint statement of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Ibrahim Rugova of April 1, the talks touched upon issues of importance for the further political process and search for solutions to problems in Kosovo-Metohija. It was jointly assessed that a political solution should be based on respect for the equality of all the citizens and national communities. Respect for a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious approach, to which Serbia and Yugoslavia have been consistently committed from the very beginning, is a basis for a lasting and just solution to the problems. It is through direct dialogue between representatives of all national communities that solutions acceptable for all living in Kosovo-Metohija can be reached. Putting a halt to the bombardment of Yugoslavia is a condition without which the political process cannot be fully realized, since all the citizens, regardless of their national and religious affiliation, are the victims of it. They expressed readiness to resume the commenced search for a lasting solution to the problems in Kosovo-Metohija in direct talks, even under these circumstances. President Milutinovic and Ibrahim Rugova agreed that the launched dialogue was strengthening mutual confidence as a significant condition for emerging from the current situation. The talks were also attended by Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, a statement said.

***

Serbian Commissioner for Refugees Bratislava Morina addressed a call on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, to raise her voice against NATO's aggression against FR of Yugoslavia.

Morina called on Ogata to distance herself from the aggressors who struck Albanian refugee columns and collective centres in Yugoslavia, in which refugees from Croatia and Bosnia are accommodated. Morina requests answers from Ogata as to why bombs are being dropped on the innocent peoples of Yugoslavia - Serbs, Albanians, Romanies, Hungarians, Turks... in the alleged name of humane principles.

***

Costa Rica has requested NATO immediately put a halt on air strikes against Yugoslavia and spoken in favour of the UN's more active role in finding a peaceful solution to the Kosmet problem.

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Roberto Rohas expressed conviction that NATO had not fully absorbed the repercussions of the bombing of Serbs, emphasizing that the bombing was more of a detriment than help to the Kosmet Albanians.

***

Along with the civil resistance in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, also growing and spreading day after day is the resistance of the freedom-loving world against the NATO fascist aggression on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

In cities throughout the world, Yugoslavs and their friends demonstrate on a daily basis, demanding the cessation of the NATO aggressor's bombardment, under the slogan STOP THE BOMBING, STOP THE WAR AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA. On Saturday, in over 100 cities throughout the world, organized will be anti-war demonstrations against NATO's criminal air strikes on the sovereign Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. According to the appeal of anti-war activists in the United States, April 17 has been proclaimed WORLD PROTEST DAY and this will be an opportunity for expressing broad support to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

***

Since the beginning of the aggression against Yugoslavia, the Republican interior ministry has acted in accordance with regulations and plans valid in war-time circumstances, said in Pristina the republican interior minister, Vlajko Stojiljkovic, speaking to the police leadership of Kosovo-Metohija.

He pointed out that public peace and order was stable throughout the territory of Serbia, and that the protection of citizens and the securing of the work of state bodies was at a high level. Minister Stojiljkovic stressed that a special activity of the interior ministry represented the anti-terrorist struggle in war-time circumstances. The evil force of NATO and the even worse terrorists have synchronized their activities, said Stojiljkovic, emphasizing that, since the beginning of the bombardment, 150 terrorist attacks have been carried out on towns and villages, along major roads and on facilities and units of the Serbian interior ministry. In these attacks, the Serbian minister of police added, a number of interior ministry members were killed, and even a larger number was wounded. The response by the police was energetic and resolute, and terrorist gangs have come to answer before the law, said Stojiljkovic, adding that the remnants of the terrorist gangs continue constantly to keep the police on alert until even the last terrorist is caught.

***

The chairman of the Yugoslav Assembly's Chamber of Republics, Srdja Bozovic, said following a conference of inter-parliamentary union in Brussels, that, at both a plenary session and direct contacts with other countries' representatives, the Yugoslav parliamentary delegation argumentatively set out key proposals for the settlement of the Kosmet crisis.

It was once again demonstrated in Brussels that the force of arguments was sometimes futile and that the proponents of war, that is, those parliamentarians whose governments backed Nato's brutal aggression against Yugoslavia, could not be helped. Addresses by certain members of parliament, particularly from Nato member-countries, abounded in manipulations, falsehoods and ignorance, Bozovic said and added not a small number of countries, proven friends of Yugoslavia, expressed their solidarity with courageous nations living in Yugoslavia and fighting for the preservation of their fatherland's independence.

***

The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said in an interview with the Spanish EFE news agency, that the tragedy of Albanian refugees hit by Nato missiles, was yet another reason for renouncing force and seeking a diplomatic solution to the Kosovo-Metohija issue.

Ansa said that, in a telephone conversation, Italian President Scalfaro and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, called for the UN's playing a more decisive role in settling the Kosmet crisis by peaceful means.

***

The Russian President's special envoy in charge of the Yugoslav crisis, Viktor Chernomyrdin, saw in Moscow on Friday Yugoslav ambassador Borislav Milosevic who informed him in detail about the situation caused by Nato's aggression against FR Yugoslavia.

Chernomyrdin is due to meet President Yeltsin on Friday as Chernomyrdin continues his contacts with all those who could contribute to curbing the aggression in order to pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the Kosmet problem later on. After accepting office, Chernomyrdin said the crisis should be settled by peaceful means.

***

If the aggression against Yugoslavia is not stopped, a serious blow will be dealt to the entire system of international security, and there is also the danger of the war in Yugoslavia growing into a global conflict, warned the Russian Council for the foreign and defense policy.

In its statement, the Council supports the efforts by the Russian president, government and federal parliament of Russia, aimed at halting the aggression and resolving the conflict primarily by peaceful means, the document emphasizes. The statement of the Council for the Russian foreign and defence policy was signed by 70 reputable Russian politicians of various orientations, united in the estimation that the aggression on Yugoslavia represents a challenge against the world order and the system of the preservation of peace and security, which was paid for by tens of millions of lives of many peoples, primarily European ones.

***

The Russian state Duma voted overwhelmingly in favour of the document supporting Yugoslavia's joining the Alliance of Russia and Belarus.

The document endorsed the decision taken by Yugoslavia's Parliament on Yugoslavia's joining the Alliance of Russia and Belarus and recommended Russia's president and government urgently to review international, political, economic, legal and other issues pertaining to the Yugoslav Assembly's decision.

***

The war in Kosovo has not been provoked by the Serbs, but it has rather been carefully planned and conceived by the creators and promoters of the new world order, and launched by Bill Clinton for the benefit of American "death merchants" and the military industry, writes the Wall Street Journal.

The American newspaper came to this conclusion on the basis of a statement by former US army general John Heard, who is currently serving in Macedonia as the director of the power supply, services and construction sector of "Brown and Root Services".

Heard said that the US army had instructed him to build a military infrastructure in Macedonia that could be in use between three and five years' time, writes the Wall Street Journal.

According to this newspaper, the US army, under the guise of NATO, has entered Macedonia and it obviously intends to stay there at least three to five years.

Why is the American nation always the last to learn about such adventures abroad into which our government is dragging us, wonders the commentator of the Wall Street Journal.

***

According to the director general of the FR of Yugoslavia's Administration for Inland Waterways, Radisa Djordjevic, three bridges were razed and five severely damaged in NATO's fierce strikes on the Yugoslav part of the Danube.

None of the bridges has military purposes, and their destruction has not only caused damage to Yugoslavia, but also to all pan-Danubian countries, said Djordjevic, setting out the data on over 40 million tons of goods being transferred via the Danube and that now over 100 ships were stranded in the harbours due to the disruption of transport. Djordjevic recalled the Danube Convention which made possible for full five decades free traffic on the river, adding that, as of April 1, the western alliances bombers severed this tradition by tearing down the steel construction between Novi Sad and Petrovaradin.

24th DAY OF THE AGGRESSION

This Friday, April 16th, marks the 24th day since the beginning of the US-led Nato aggression against sovereign Yugoslavia. Day after day civilians are being killed and their homes, bridges, schools and hospitals destroyed. This Friday also marks the 55th anniversary of the bombing of Belgrade by the Allies at the end of World War II. On the pretext that they are bombing Nazi military targets and manpower, the Allies' planes have razed residential districts and greatly added to the number of civilian casualties in Belgrade. American and British planes have in only two days on 16th and 17th April 1944 dropped over 1500 powerful bombs on Belgrade and destroyed 687 buildings. Over 1,100 victims of bombing raids were recovered from under the ruins and there were over two thousand injured. The Yugoslavs whose lives have been in danger of Nato bombs and missiles for four weeks, on this day pay their respects to the victims of the 1944 bombardment by the Allies.

Not only that the US-led Nato aggression is not diminishing, but the air-strikes whose victims are people of all nationalities living in Yugoslavia, are gaining in intensity. Hundreds of people have been killed and there are thousands of those injured. In the last few days the aggressors have committed two unprecedented crimes against humanity: they have hit a train in the Grdelicka canyon and also bombed a line of refugees who were on their way home in Kosmet. Seventy-five people have been killed and 26 sustained serious injuries.

The Nato aggression is a crime against peace, stability and humanity - said the Federal Foreign Ministry aide and spokesman, Nebojsa Vujovic. 'Yugoslavia is not the only victim of the aggression. The victims are also the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, and the Nato Statute, whose member countries have through the act of the aggression against the FR Yugoslavia violated the paragraphs that envisaged its defensive nature', Vujovic said.

The heroic defence against the Nato aggression put up by the citizens of Belgrade, shows their indestructible spirit. They also fully support their country's leadership in the defence of the sovereignty and freedom of FR Yugoslavia, and in the stand that the problems in Kosovo-Metohija can be solved only by political means but that the air-strikes must be halted immediately. The Yugoslavs faced with the most atrocious terror carefully listen to the voices of reason which are getting louder by the day. More and more messages of support are coming from analysts and famous people from the countries taking part in the aggression as well as Yugoslavia. The London Times writes that Tony Blair's crusade is an attempt to cover the failure of his domestic policy and assert himself on the international scene.

'France which is dropping bombs on you and killing your children is not my country', says in his letter to the Serbian nation famous French journalist Jean Defeure. The Nato aggression is an unprecedented crime. It is ungrounded under international law and also according to the most important law there is: that a nation has the right to make its own decisions. The Serbian nation is being bombed by Nato, which is caught in a whirlpool of collective hysteria and directed by the United States of America. Jean Defeur adds: 'France, my country, a country of enlightenment, philosophy and culture, has joined the Alliance and brought shame on to itself. I write this letter out of revolt - before history makes a fool of France' - says well-known French journalist Jean Defeur.

In the meantime, the Yugoslavs are not giving up defending their country by all available means, and even by forming live shields on their endangered bridges and other civilian facilities. No wonder then that foreign TV stations are now coming to Belgrade to film for their programs some of that spiritual energy, songs and music.

AN APPEAL FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE DANUBE

The national coordinator of the Program for the reduction of the Danube's pollution and an advisor to the Federal minister of development, science and environment, dr Zoran Cukic, has addressed an appeal to the chairman of the Convention on cooperation in the protection and viable use of the Danube, Wofgang Stalzer, to stop the genocide and biocide that the criminal NATO forces have systematically conducted in our country.

Informing Stalzer of the enormous damage made to the environment, caused by the insane bombardment of facilities and infrastructure in Yugoslavia, Cukic stated in his appeal that hundreds of tons of various materials have been dropped in the rivers, while inland navigation on the Danube has ceased. The appeal said that the enemy NATO airforce has destroyed a number of bridges in the Danube basin, three of which are on the Danube itself and it is envisaged that around three and half a million shillings are needed for the sanation of the bridges razed so far. "Both Yugoslav refineries and plants for the filtration of waste waters, as well as dozens of reservoirs for oil products have been destroyed, thousands of tons of oil leaked into the ground, channels and rivers, and 250 hectares of woods has burnt in fires caused by NATO planes. The bombardment which continues with the same intensity threatens to cause an ecological catastrophe in this part of the Danube basin" the appeal says. Cukic expressed hope that this letter would be forwarded to colleagues from the Convention Secretariat and representatives of the Convention's signatory countries, so that they would become aware of the alleged humanitarian actions of the NATO airforce and the damage made to the environment in the Danube basin so far, caused by the insane bombardment of the FR Yugoslavia.

Copyright (C.) Radio Yugoslavia