[ALBSA-Info] FYI

[National Albanian American Council - NAAC]

National Albanian American Council
1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC  20006
(202) 466-6900    Fax: (202) 466-5593
Email: naac at naac.org
_______________________________________________________________________
For Your Information

WASHINGTON POST
Out of a Job, but Not Out of Opinions 
By Nora Boustany
Wednesday, August 29, 2001

The Yugoslav ambassador to Washington, Milan St. Protic, was unceremoniously fired last Thursday while he was home on vacation, but he only learned about it from the media, he said in a telephone interview from Belgrade on Monday. The envoy, who Belgrade said was recalled after six months on the job for statements contrary to government policy, vowed to continue to speak his mind rather than be someone else's loudspeaker.
"No one from the government or the official side contacted me to let me know," he said. "I was never informed of anything."
Protic, a U.S.-educated historian who was one of the leaders of the democratic opposition that toppled Slobodan Milosevic, said there had been "disagreement from the very beginning and dissatisfaction all along" with the government of President Vojislav Kostunica, whose party he helped found and which he later quit over political differences about Bosnian Serbs. The ambassador will return to Washington with his family Saturday to pack up.
"There was an orchestrated, Communist-type campaign against me and I had to react, so I made some public statements," he said. Protic had accused top officials in the government of not keeping him informed of policy or developments at home. He said he first learned through the press that Kostunica was to visit Washington in May.
The campaign against him, he said, "tells you that the political transition has not ended yet. There are still people adhering to the mind-sets of Tito and Milosevic."
Yugoslav sources said several interviews Protic gave in Belgrade aggravated the tension between him and the leadership. Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said last week that Protic was a prominent person whose contributions he appreciated very much but who had strayed far from the norms of diplomatic behavior.
"Essentially, there has been a deep misunderstanding between us on what our policies toward the United States should be. The same day the prime minister announced I was being recalled, President Kostunica, who was standing next to him, said: 'There are some people who want to replace communism with Americanism.' He was referring to me," Protic said, explaining that he was perceived by some officials in Belgrade as trying too hard to please Washington.
>From March 6, when he said at a congressional hearing that Milosevic would be arrested on March 31 -- the date by which Belgrade had to comply with Washington's demand that he be detained to obtain certification for international aid -- the ambassador said he was at cross purposes with Kostunica. "When Milosevic was arrested that day, proving me right and him wrong, from that point on things got worse," he added. Protic said he also signaled to the Americans in an indirect way that a "major breakthrough" was afoot one week before Milosevic was handed over to the tribunal, where he now awaits trial.
"I have no regrets. You win some, you lose some. This is part of the struggle," he said.
"I never wanted to be anybody's man in Washington, but the man of an idea dedicated to victory against Milosevic and change toward an open, democratic society," he added.
Protic insists he paid a high price for his good connections and high profile here. "I have been speaking my own mind for 10 years and I will continue to do so because it is something that is precious to me," he said. "I was not ready to sacrifice my beliefs; they were too important to give up, even for an ambassadorial post."

RADIO FREE EUROPE
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
August 29, 2001
WEAPONS COLLECTION ENTERS THIRD DAY IN MACEDONIA. 
NATO officials said near Gostivar that weapons collection is proceeding "very well" and that the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (UCK) "are
compliant," BBC Television reported on 29 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2001). Guerrillas lined up to hand in weapons and uniforms
near Tetovo the previous day. The UCK issued demobilization papers to its fighters, "The Independent" reported. One commander, known as Xhaxhi, warned, however, that the guerrillas will rearm if NATO leaves. It is not clear whether he spoke for other commanders or only for himself. Many ethnic Albanians fear that Macedonian security forces and paramilitaries will launch revenge killings when Operation Essential Harvest ends (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 August 2001). NATO stresses that its main aim is to promote mutual self-confidence between Macedonians and Albanians so that the political settlement can work. 
ROBERTSON ARRIVES IN MACEDONIA. 
NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson arrived in Skopje on 29 August to assess the progress of Operation Essential Harvest, dpa reported. He will meet with President Boris Trajkovski, Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski, Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski, and parliament speaker Stojan Andov. The legislature is scheduled to begin discussing the comprehensive political settlement on 31 August. Georgievski, Boskovski, and Andov have publicly stated their reservations about the agreement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2001). 
MACEDONIANS RETURN TO LESOK FOR ASSUMPTION DAY. 
Several hundred ethnic Macedonians attended an Orthodox Assumption Day celebration in Lesok on 28 August, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. British
paratroopers looked on, as did UCK fighters in the hills above. The celebration took place amid the ruins of a church, which was largely destroyed recently under unexplained circumstances (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2001 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 28 August 2001). Many of the Macedonians who attended the celebration said, however, that they do not feel safe enough to return permanently to their homes in Lesok, from which the UCK drove them in July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 July 2001). Elsewhere, UNHCR officials in Skopje warned displaced persons against returning to their homes in rural areas before the
security situation sufficiently improves. 
NATO DETAINS ALBANIANS ON KOSOVA-MACEDONIA BORDER. 
In what is becoming almost a daily occurrence, KFOR troops stopped and arrested 32 ethnic Albanians entering Kosova from Macedonia, AP reported from
Prishtina on 29 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 and 28 August 2001). A KFOR spokesman said that unidentified persons fired on U.S. troops in the same area in a separate incident. The troops had responded to a call of "NATO, NATO help!" from unidentified persons in a forest. The gunmen then "fled the scene."
SERBIAN COALITION TO STAY TOGETHER -- WITH PROBLEMS UNRESOLVED. 
Leaders of the 18-member governing Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) agreed in Belgrade on 28 August to remain a coalition, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. They failed to resolve the mutual recriminations arising from what has become known as the Gavrilovic affair (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 30 August 2001). Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said that his Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) will work with DOS but not participate in the Serbian cabinet. He added that "tonight's long discussion was encouraging because it pointed at corruption and crime as phenomena which shake many
societies in transition and particularly ours." Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic warned that "spreading slander and uncorroborated claims
undermines the country's credibility, makes it difficult to attract foreign investment, and slows down the country's economic recovery," Reuters reported.
U.S. AGREES TO LIFT SERBIAN ARMS EMBARGO. 
The U.S. has joined France and Russia in calling for an end to the UN arms embargo against Belgrade, "The Washington Post" reported on 29 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 August 2001). Critics charge that lifting the embargo will deny the international community needed leverage to encourage Serbia to cooperate with The Hague-based war crimes tribunal. PM
MONTENEGRIN FOREIGN MINISTER: YUGOSLAV EMBASSIES DO NOT SPEAK FOR PODGORICA. 
Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac said in Podgorica on 27 August that he and Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic have failed to resolve differences between their two ministries regarding Montenegro's diplomatic representation abroad, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He added that Yugoslav diplomatic missions abroad were set up and staffed without the approval of Podgorica, which does not recognize the federal government as legitimately elected. Lukovac stressed that Yugoslav ambassadors abroad have no right to speak in Montenegro's name. Montenegro previously established its own "offices" in several foreign countries and former Yugoslav republics.
-------------- next part --------------
HTML attachment scrubbed and removed