YUGOSLAVIA: Fear of imprisonment of COs Igor Seke and Goran Miladinovic

Igor Seke (YU10813), who reported to his military barracks in Pljevlja on 4 September 2002, and was sent home one day later with the order to report to his recruitment center in Ruma until 9 September 2002, was again ordered to report to military barracks today. He reported to the military department in Sremska Mitrovica (of which Ruma is a part) yesterday, and had a talk with Commander Savo Mrdja. He told Igor Seke that he was responsible for sending him to the barracks in Pljevlja in Montenegro, as Igor Seke's CO application irritated him. He said that Igor Seke shouldn't have written why he doesn't want to serve, but should just have asked if and how a civilian service would be possible. Yesterday he officially said that there are no chances for serving in any civilian institution, because no such provision is mentioned in the Yugoslav Army Law any more (in fact, this provision was abolished in 1999, in the run-up to the war). He offered to send Igor Seke to the military economic institution in Karadjordjevo, which Igor Seke refused to accept. He was then sent to the military barracks in Batajnica. He has to be there by 8pm today.

Goran Miladinovic went back to the military economic institution in Nis on 8 September in the evening. He had a meeting with the Commander on 9 September in the morning, and was again examinated by a psychiatrist, who declared him fit for military service (although he already has another statements which says that he has some neurotic reaction against the military). He was therefore told to accept serving in the military economic institution, otherwise he would be sent to jail. He will decide tonight.

War Resisters' International calls for support to Igor Seke and Goran Miladinovic. Please send protest letters to the different Yugoslav ministries, especially mentioning that the right to conscientious objection is enshrined in Article 137 of the Yugoslav constitution. Yugoslavia also committed itself to several commitments in order to become a member of the Council of Europe. One of these commitments is to enforce legislation on conscientious objection!

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Federal Ministry of Defence
Velimir Radojevic
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Colonel Milan Radoicic
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