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Ivan Kovacevic, spokesman of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), said today that the amendments to the constitution were made so that the regime in Belgrade could impose a retrograde political system on Montenegro. He told a press conference that the only way to save the federation of Serbia and Montenegro is to introduce a democratic government in Serbia and then redefine relations between the two members. When ask what was the attitude of SPO towards the idea of a confederation between Serbia and Montenegro, an issue with growing popularity among Montenegrin political circles and its citizens, Kovacevic said: "We support the platform (of the Montenegrin Government) which demands and offers discussions on redefining relations inside the federation, and we agree with what the aim of this platform - total equality between the two federative units. everything else is just wasting time".

The Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Trade does not accept applications for import and export from companies that are on the list of 190 companies permitted to do business with partners in the European Union., Beta reveals. A companies from Belgrade that is on the EU White List told Beta agency that all foreign trade activities are forbidden to them of yesterday.

Every company applying for foreign trade activities are checked whether they are on the EU list. No sort of written document is represented to the parties in question. Most companies on the EU list have not imported or exported goods in in the last few days.

The Yugoslav Government stressed at its session last week "that it was necessary to step up supervision of all business associations in FRY who are obliged to respect Yugoslav laws during their activities". The EU mission in Belgrade could not confirm nor deny to Beta agency information concerning demands by certain companies to be removed from the EU White List.

"No one made any demands of the sort. If some companies did demand to be removed from the list, we have no knowledge of this, since these companies usually applied to be introduced into the list through EU members or business partners in these countries", says the mission.

Police in Sabac beat up an underage Otpor activist yesterday because he smiled during his arrest, and forced him to eat an Otpor leaflet, say witnesses to the event. Eight Otpor activists, who were distributing propaganda material in downtown Sabac, were brought to the police station at noon. While they were being escorted into the police van, the underage activist was hit in the head and slapped twice for laughing, said citizens witnessing the event. The claim that the policeman who used violence against the underage activist also shoved a leaflet into his mouth and ordered him to eat it. The activists were released after they were fingerprinted and questioned. Slobodan Ciric and Sergej Limbocki, Democratic Party activists, were held a while longer. Solicitor Misa Mihajlovic, who represented the arrested activists in the name of the United Opposition Crisis Centre, was prevented from attending the questioning and contacting the activists.

The policeman who physically abused the underage Otpor activist has been identified through his police ID number and criminal charges will be brought against him, said the Crisis Centre after the activists were released. The activists said the police asked questions about their family and financial status. Thy also wanted to know who were the donors for Otpor's propaganda material.

Eight activists of Otpor in Nis were detained by the police and interrogated for about three hours. The members of Otpor, Ivan Stankovic, Vladimir Prvulovic, Milos Antic and another five minors, were arrested for putting up posters reading "Misery, Crime, Repression. What's next?" in the city centre covering the posters of the Socialist Party of Serbia dedicated to the tenth anniversary of this party.

"They were photographed and fingerprinted before being released from the police station", Milos Krivokapic, an Otpor activist told Beta news agency. "They were asking usual questions like who's running and who's financing 'Otpor'." About twenty Otpor members gathered in front of the police station in protest at the police actions and waited, despite police warnings, until their fellow Otpor activists were released.

Ivan Markovic, Federal Minister of Telecommunications rejected claims that there are no free media in Yugoslavia as lies, citing that there are over 3,000 media registered at the Federal Ministry of Information.

"If there was only an 'r' from repression in our country there would certainly be less of them and they would all look alike, Just like CNN I'd say, or that child of liberty, conceived in the illegal affair between Milo Djukanovic (Montenegrin President) and Madeleine Albright (US Secretary of State), also known ass Montenegrin television", said Markovic.

Minister Markovic said at a Yugoslav left conference that a media aggression on Yugoslavia was in progress. He said that programmes that spread lies in FRY are transmitted from Republika Srpska, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, and announced that state authorities would protect the sovereignty of Yugoslav media by all means.

Reviewing last year's NATO aggression, he said that "Yugoslavia has given the world a chance in the 21st century to return to its glory days in the middle of the 20th century, when the United Nations were founded as a result of the struggle against fascism".

Presidents of the Federal Parliament's Chamber of Citizens and Chamber of Republics, Milomir Minic and Srdja Bozovic respectively, scheduled an extraordinary session of both the Upper and the Lower House of the Yugoslav Parliament for Monday, July 24. Several bills drafted by the federal government based on the recent amendments to the Yugoslav Constitution will be on the agenda, Radio Television Serbia reported.

Federal government sent on Tuesday, July 18, the proposal of the law on electing President of FR Yugoslavia, bills on electing federal MPs as well as the bill on electoral districts for the election of MPs for the Chamber of Citizens, to the Federal Parliament for adoption. The proposed legislations are based on amendments passed by the Federal Parliament following the constitutional changes on July 6 prescribing that the Yugoslav President and members of the Chamber of Republics be elected directly by voters. Federal government stated in its press release that the proposed legislations were "based on existing legal framework including democratic norms and standards contained therein".

"Many political parties would need several decades to experience what we have gone through over the course of the last ten years. This is the best possible proof that our party has been working in the interest of the people", President of the Federal Parliament's Chamber of Republics, Milomir Minic, told the press on the tenth anniversary of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).

SPS Secretary General Gorica Gajevic, Foreign Affairs Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic, Serbian Parliament's President Dragan Tomic, Socialist Party of Serbia executive board member Nikola Sainovic and the head of the Directorate for Reconstruction and Development Milutin Mrkonjic attended the formal press conference.

High ranking party officials stated that they were proud of what their political party, headed by the President of FR Yugoslavia, had achieved for the past ten years. They described Milosevic's policy as wise while his work thus far enjoyed "undoubtedly paramount and supreme authority in the country". In their view, Milosevic has become for the last ten years "a symbol of equality among nations and resistance to neo-colonialism".

The opposition political parties described yesterday the ten-year-long rule of the Socialist Party of Serbia as being marked by human and national tragedies, economic collapse, moral debacle, civilisational setbacks and utter hopelessness and catastrophe. The opposition expressed its hope that the citizens would demonstrate what they thought of the ruling party in the forthcoming elections later this year.

Montenegrin Foreign Affairs Minister Branko Lukovac said that Montenegro had the full right to seek and be granted by the UN member states the same status already enjoyed by Serbia.

"Serbia cannot lay claim any longer to represent Montenegro through federal institutions", Lutovac told US public broadcaster Voice of America in connection to the letter sent to the UN Security Council dated June 23 declaring that Montenegro would not accept anymore to be represented by the Yugoslav institutions, consulates and embassies. Asked whether the authorities of the southern Yugoslav republic expected official Belgrade to attempt to "spoil the Montenegrin plans" of resolving its status in the UN, Lukovac estimated that such actions by the Belgrade authorities were quite probable, but went on to say that Yugoslav diplomatic missions could not possibly articulate Montenegrin aspirations as an antipode to Serbian options".

It is natural that the administration of FR Yugoslavia can no longer enjoy Montenegrin confidence as well as that Montenegro should seek to be independently represented abroad so as to express its legitimate political interests, Lukovac stated. Commenting on the fact that Montenegrin official documents had been submitted to the UN Security Council through Slovenian diplomatic mission, Lukovac said that it was "quite logical" stating that Montenegro had very good relations with the former Yugoslav republics.

Yugoslav Army Spokesman, lieutenant Svetozar Radisic said today that the Army will prevent a civil war from happening in Yugoslavia by all means, "Despite the psychological and propaganda mechanisms used to dismantle FR Yugoslavia, there is no price that could turn the Yugoslav Army against Montenegro. The people know this and that is why the Yugoslav Army has their unreserved support", said Radisic at a press conference. The army spokesman denied claims that the army was under political influence, saying that it was equally unattached to all political parties and only supported the federal government according to Constitutional regulations.

NATO Secretary General George Robertson said yesterday in Brussels that NATO was "still concerned about Milosevic's ability to cause problems and trouble the waters in Montenegro and the whole region". Robertson particularly emphasised that "Milosevic must be warned to keep in mind his humiliation experienced last year and cease causing troubles in the region".

"We're very cautious and we're carefully monitoring the situation in Montenegro. President Milo Djukanovic has the right and responsibility to realise in the name of the people his presidential term of office. It would be extremely unwise for Milosevic to let it slip his memory and attempt to hinder Djukanovic's efforts", warned NATO Secretary General.

UN envoy for South-eastern Europe, Carl Bildt, has warned of the danger of possible conflict erupting between Serbia and Montenegro unless a political solution to the relations between the republics within Yugoslav federation is found.

"There is already a bitter political conflict between Serbia and Montenegro. While Milosevic is moving towards a unitary state, the majority in Montenegro strives for a lax confederation or independence. Therefore, we've already got a conflict in place which is increasingly intensifying. The real issue is how to prevent an outbreak of violence", Bildt said in an interview for Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija.

"I'm aware of the fact that Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic acts cautiously and wisely in this situation and I know that he wouldn't do anything what might trigger off an open conflict, but the situation is extremely tense and difficult. If some sort of a political solution to the conflict is not found, there's a possibility of an open conflict breaking out including all the inevitable consequences", warned Swedish diplomat.

Eight Serbs were injured in the last night's KFOR intervention to break up demonstrations in front of the UNMIK police headquarters in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Beta reported, quoting Serb sources. One person was shot and another seven injured in detonations of stun bombs and teargas used by KFOR to disperse the Serb demonstrations over the arrest of Dalibor Vukovic (24), a medical student, for allegedly having beaten an Albanian six months ago. Around 11.30 p.m. there were still several hundred protesters gathered in front of the police station and heavy presence of KFOR and UNMIK police in the central part of northern Kosovska Mitrovica.

According to Beta unofficial sources, Dalibor Vukovic was arrested for beating an Albanian six months ago. Four KFOR soldiers claimed to have witnessed this incident. Vukovic had been severely wounded in the northern part of the town in August last year when unknown persons opened fire at him from a passing passenger vehicle.

The mediaeval Church of Saint Ilija in the village of Pomazatin, several kilometres from Kosovo Polje, was razed to the ground last night, radio-amateurs reported, quoting Serb sources from Kosovo and Metohija. According to Serbian Orthodox priest Radivoje Panic, the church in Pomazatin had been set to fire on August 3 last year, but was entirely destroyed in the last night's explosion. The village of Pomazatin had been multinational until the beginning of the Kosovo war last year, but the Serbs fled in fear of reprisals. The church in Pomazatin is the 86th building belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church which has been either destroyed or damaged since international military forces were deployed in Kosovo last year.

KFOR watchtower on the road Pristina-Skoplje was destroyed by an Albanian driver who crashed his truck into the tower, radio-amateurs reported. The watchtower at the entrance to the villages of Laplje and Preoci near Pristina was built by Swedish KFOR soldiers at the request of the local Serb residents to step up security in the area.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) announced that they would demand from the representatives of the Contact Group that the agreement on understanding aimed at providing guarantees for security of the Kosovo Serbs be given a temporary character, the sources close to this Albanian party formed out of formally disbanded KLA reported. DPK leader, Hashim Thaqi, had walked out of the administrative bodies in the province in protest at the agreement on understanding signed in Pristina about twenty days ago by UN mission chief Bernard Kouchner and Serb National Council leader Bishop Artemije.

Albanian Pristina daily Zeri quoted Thaqi as saying that such a move on the part of the Contact Group would be insufficient for him to return to the administrative bodies in Kosovo. This daily cited Thaqi's conditions for renewing co-operation, among which the most important was the adoption of "Kosovo Constitution".

Whether Thaqi is to return to the international administrative organs will depend for the most part on today's talks with a NATO delegation visiting Kosovo headed by its Secretary General George Robertson.

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