YUGOSLAVIA: CAR BOMB SERIOUSLY INJURES SENIOR SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OFFICIAL IN KOSOVO/ DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE IN BELGRADE

Record ID: 358510

  • Title: YUGOSLAVIA: CAR BOMB SERIOUSLY INJURES SENIOR SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OFFICIAL IN KOSOVO/ DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE IN BELGRADE
  • Date: 16th January 1997
  • Summary: KOSOVO AND BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA (JANUARY 16, 1997) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) KOSOVO 1. SLV POLICE AT SCENE, CAR DAMAGED AT THE SCENE (2 SHOTS) 0.15 2. SCU DEBRIS ON GROUND; MANGLED WRECK OF CAR 0.24 3. SLV DAMAGE TO CARS AT SCENE 0.28 4. SLV MANGLED DEBRIS (2 SHOTS) 0.41 5. SCU PAPERS LYING ON GROUND 0.45 6. SLV D
  • Embargoed: 31st January 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: KOSOVO AND BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA
  • City:
  • Country: Yugoslavia
  • Reuters ID: LVABY9SJ36JG03PMIY8KNGJJTHWJ
  • Story Text: - INTRO: A senior Serbian Orthodox church official has been badly injured in a car bomb attack in the Albanian-dominated province of Kosovo.

    In Belgrade, demonstrations continued as students washed the building which is the seat of the University rector, showing their disapproval of Wednesday's decision of the Belgrade University Council to keep the rector in his post.

    The Serb rector of Pristina University was badly injured in a car bomb attack on Thursday (January 16) in Serbia's restive Albanian-majority province of Kosovo, local authorities said.

    The presiding doctor at Pristina's clinical centre told Reuters that the rector, Radivoje Papovic, was unconscious with grave trauma injuries and his life was in danger.

    "The bomb went off about 7:45 a.m. (0645 gmt) when the rector was going to work. I was on the spot myself," a senior provincial official, a Serb who asked not to be named, said.

    "Papovic had been picked up by his driver and the car blew up about 15 metres (50 ft) from his house as it passed a parked car. I hear...that the parked car had explosive in it which was detonated when the rector's car passed by.

    First word of the attack came from SRNA, news agency of the nationalist Serb republic entity in neighbouring Bosnia, and it blamed the incident on ethnic Albanian "terrorists".

    The central government of Serbia, part of federal Yugoslavia, revoked Kosovo's regional autonomy in 1989, accusing its 90 percent Albanian majority of seeking to secede and join neighbouring Albania.

    Since then, most Kosovo Albanians have repudiated central authority and set up their own shadow government, accusing Belgrade of systematic human rights abuses.

    Several people, mainly Serbian police, have been killed in political violence since the beginning of 1996.

    In Belgrade, demonstrations continued as students washed the building which is the seat of the University rector, showing their disapproval of yesterday's decision of the Belgrade University Council to keep rector Dragutin Velickovic in his post.

    The decision was a snub to demands by students protesting for weeks against election fraud in Serbia and a promise by the Serbian government that he would be ousted.

    "With this action we are saying that we do not support rector and the University Council and we are washing the building from this shame", Aleksandar Djukic from students initiative board said.

    Half of the members of the Council are officials appointed by the ruling Socialist Party. The other half are deans, professors and students from various faculties.

    The students accuse Velickovic of persecution and obstruction of their demonstrations.

    The students had been demonstrating separately from the opposition Zajedno (Together) coalition for the past 59 days against theft of opposition election victories in 14 of the biggest Serbian cities on November 17.

    They demand reinstatement of Zajedno's victory and punishment of those involved in the election fraud, free access to media and sacking of the University rector.

    Hundreds of Zajedno supporters gathered in front of New Belgrade municipality building and set off on a walk to join the main rally in central Belgrade.

    Deputies of the ruling Socialist party constituted the New Belgrade municipality on Wednesday despite the decision of a city electoral commission to restore the results of thesecond round of elections in which they did not hold a majority.


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