Full Coverage: Serbia and Montenegro

31.01.2005 The Youth Initiative for Human Rights sent an Open letter to Prime Minister of Serbia about the announced surrender of General Vladimir Lazarevic and violations of the Law by top state officials.

31.01.2005 The ruling of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro that the membership of public officials on the boards of public companies is unconstitutional puts a question mark on the legality of the privatization processes in Montenegro, says the Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector – MANS.

27.01.2005 The wars in former Yugoslavia, led over the last decade of the past century, broke and suspended almost all communications between the cities that belong to the same geographic, cultural and economic space. Many of those cities had great cooperation, back in the days of the common state, but war, crimes and destruction put a stop to all cooperation. Having all that in mind, the Igman Initiative, movement that gathers over 140 NGOs from SCG, Croatia and B&H, which aims at normalization of relationships between the countries of the “Dayton Triangle”, started a project of triangles and circles of cooperation, based on the Agreement on Interethnic Tolerance, says Aleksandar Popov, Director of the Novi Sad Centre for Regionalism, in his interview for OneWorld SEE.

27.01.2005 The Youth Initiative for Human Rights YIHR conducted a survey “Reporting on Kosovo in Serbian Print Media”. The survey included the most influential daily newspapers and weekly magazines in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

19.01.2005 In order to give ECOSOC a better insight into the situation with economic, social and cultural rights in Serbia and Montenegro, the Centre for Children Rights from Belgrade (CRD) gathered several NGOs, for the purpose of preparation of the alternative report to be presented to the ECOSOC.

18.01.2005 Charity Event to collect assistance for the victims of Tsunami catastrophe in Southeast Asia, organized by the Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to Serbia and Montenegro, will be held on January 18, 2005, at the MSC Yachting Club in Belgrade.

14.01.2005 The U.S. suspended the assistance to Serbia and revoked part of the diplomatic staff in Balgrade because of the lack of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. The sanctions also include suspension of all Yugoslav Airlines – JAT flights to the U.S. destinations.

13.01.2005 The Centre for Political Science Research and Public Opinion of the Social Sciences Institute, conducted a public opinion survey for the European Movement in Serbia, on the positions of the citizens of Serbia on the international community and the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro.

13.01.2005 Back in the days, to quote the former regime’s propaganda, the NGOs were considered “traitors and foreign mercenaries”. After the change of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime on October 5, in spite of all promises and expectations, NGOs didn’t receive the legal framework so that they could work for public good. They are accused, furthermore, of illegal functioning in a legal interregnum; there are archaic regulations in place, while the new drafts wait to get to Government and Parliamentary procedure.

12.01.2005 The Centre for Sustainable Regional Development, a Belgrade based NGO, in cooperation with the Embassies of Indonesia, Malesia, and the General Consulate of Sri Lanka in Belgrade, started a humanitarian action to collect monetary assistance for the survivors in the Asian catastrophe in Serbia and Montenegro. CSRD appeals to all citizens, enterprises, institutions and organizations to demonstrate global solidarity and help, at this time of need and charity, within their capacities. The campaign started on January 11 and will last until January 25, 2005.

11.01.2005 On January 19, 2005, the Regional Team for Monitoring of War Crimes Trials in Domestic Courts in Belgrade, Zagreb, Banja Luka and Vukovar, will be officially promoted in Sarajevo. The promotion of the Team, together with the presentation of the Guide for Investigation of Human Rights Violations and War Crimes, used by the Hague Tribunal investigators, are just some of the activities of the three NGOs from Sarajevo, Zagreb and Belgrade.

11.01.2005 The situation in southern Serbia remains tense, several days after an under-aged Albanian Dashim Hajrulaju was killed last Friday, near the village of Miratovac, on the SCG-Macedonian border.

06.01.2005 The Crisis Group for Defense of the Tara River claims that it will complete, in cooperation with the experts from the Group for Change, the draft-Law on Protection of the Tara River by the end of January 2005.

06.01.2005 The League of Women Voters informed the public about the local campaign organized in Zabljak on December 29. The goal of the campaign is to inform the citizens about the activities of the League related to the preparation of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality.