SERBIAN GOVERNMENT MAKES HARSH DECISIONS ABOUT RED BERETS RIOT

BELGRADE, Nov 14 (Hina) - The Serbian government did not accept the resignation of Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic but it did adopt resignations tendered by the head of the secret police, Goran Petrovic, and his deputy Zoran Mijatovic, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said after an extraordinary government session at a press conference, which was directly broadcast by several Belgrade TV stations. The Serbian government today also decided to disband the Interior Ministry's special units whose members rebelled last Friday, blocking several roads in Serbia and demanding that Mihajlovic resign. More precisely, the Serbian government decided to transfer these from the jurisdiction of the state security service to the jurisdiction of the public security service. The Serbian government has set up a commission, which will establish the circumstances which caused the dissatisfaction of the special police unit, known as the Red Berets. According to Djindjic, the heads of the Serbian Interior Ministry departments will be at the helm of the state security department until "new personnel solutions are adopted". Apart from demanding Mihajlovic's resignation, the Red Berets also demanded that the arrests of Serbs accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) be halted until a new law on Yugoslavia's cooperation with the ICTY was passed. Djindjic said no interest group will be allowed to exceed its powers, including the Red Berets, on who would be extradited to the Hague tribunal or interfere with the political and legal decisions of the state leadership. (hina) np sb