Copyright 2006 Financial Times Information
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Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2006 BBC Monitoring/BBC Source: Financial Times Information Limited
July 17, 2006 Monday
FOLLOWERS OF SERBIAN CHETNIK LEADER GIVE AUTHORITIES ULTIMATUM TO FIND GRAVE
Belgrade, 16 July: Members of the Ravna Gora Movement, which gathers followers of Serbian Chetnik World War II leader and convicted war criminal Draza Mihailovic, have given the state authorities three weeks to locate hisgrave or else they "will dig up half of Belgrade".
The ultimatum was given at the unveiling of a 4.6-metre-high monument toDraza Mihailovic in Lapovo, near the central town of Kragujevac, on Sunday [16 July] on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his execution by firing squad.
Mihailovic was executed on 17 July 1946 after a Belgrade court sentenced himto death for war crimes, and was buried at a secret location. The place of burial has remained unknown to date.
Over 1,500 of Mihailovic's followers gathered at the ceremony in Lapovo. The monument, raised in the town's central square which is also named after him, was financed by local authorities with the assistance of the Serbian Ministryof Culture.
Addressing the ceremony, Assistant Minister for Expatriate Affairs Aleksandar Cotric said that Mihailovic was the first to rise against the Nazi occupying forces in Serbia, expressing hope that a monument in his honour would be erected in every town in Serbia, including Belgrade.
The anniversary of Mihailovic's execution was also marked by a memorial service in the Church of St George at Ravna Gora, which was attended, among others, by officials of the Serbian Renewal Movement, the party of Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic.
Text of Report in English by Croatian News Agency HINA
Source: HINA News Agency, Zagreb, in English 1819 gmt 16 July 06
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