STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [The fact that a few dozen citizens, and lets be genorous and say hundreds, were kept track of during the 1990s by the Yugoslav government of the era, actually speaks to the respect for human rights and restraint of the previous authorities. Consider that Canada alone has been found to spy on thousands of its citizens, while the Anglo-American countries spy on everyone in the world, is it any wonder that a handful of Yugoslavia +10-million people would be spied on during some 4000 days of intense pressure (both internal and external) to disolve the FRY? The fact that there is still no substantiated evidence against former FRY leaders as to corruption, warcrimes or even internal repression is not only significant but central to understanding the level of distortion that is possible in such cases...] Tuesday, 19 June, 2001, 22:16 GMT 23:16 UK Serbia opens secret files Releasing the files would have once been unthinkable By Nick Thorpe in Belgrade Serbian citizens have been able to look at secret files kept on them by the former state security services for the first time. Public interest in the files, which were opened on Monday, is enormous, say unnamed officials quoted in the local media. But despite the interest, files have apparently only been found on a small proportion of those who telephoned a special Belgrade hotline. Many files were allegedly destroyed on the orders of Mr Milosevic "Many phone calls, few files" read one headline in a Belgrade newspaper, summarising the response so far to the opening of the state security archives. After their initial inquiry, people are then called into their local state security office, where they may read their file. Across the country thousands of people are believed to have telephoned but, according to one source, only 12 out of 230 people summoned in Belgrade so far were found to have been under surveillance. Human rights anger The categories mentioned in the new legislation are those kept under surveillance who were suspected of being internal enemies, extremists or terrorists. Human rights organisations have been quick to criticise several aspects of the new legislation. They are upset that the secret police maintain control of the files and have called for an independent committee to be set up to arrange access. They also allege that many files were destroyed in the days and weeks after former president Slobodan Milosevic fell from power last year. They have also called for the security services to be properly purged of former agents. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
