SERB PRISONERS REFUSE TO ACCEPT PRISON FOOD

VUKOVAR, Oct 21 (Hina) - President of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) Vojislav Stanimirovic and the president of the Joint Council of Municipalities - with a Serb majority (ZVO) Milos Vojnovic on Thursday reacted to a Justice Ministry statement issued the day before. The Justice Ministry confirmed that twelve prisoners of Serb nationality, detained for war crimes, had refused to accept prison food since October 18. In its statement the Ministry stated that the reason for the prisoners refusing food was the slowness in court proceedings and that this was by no means a hunger strike as the prisoners were continuing to take food received in packages or purchased in the prison canteen. The Ministry added that a further eight prisoners also refused to take food as an act of solidarity with their inmates, however, one has since begun to accept food again. Responding to the Ministry's claims that this was not a hunger strike because the prisoners were accepting food received in packages and purchased in the prison canteen, Stanimirovic and Vojnovic stressed that this was not true for as far as they were aware "packages arrive Fridays and food in the canteen is ordered on Monday for Thursday". The two added that the reason behind the strike was not only the slowness of court proceedings but also the "unobjectivity of the courts and non respect of agreements reached during the UNTAES mandate". They ended with a demand that the Justice Ministry review these and other claims by the prisoners and to "investigate the validity of the demands set by the prisoners on hunger strike". (hina) sp