"Army knew about NATO attack on RTS"

Six NGOs claim the Defense Ministry had information about a NATO strike against the state television center in Belgrade. The NGOs have called on Justice Minister Dusan Petrovic to approve the publication of the transcripts of a conversation between a NATO pilot and his base shortly before the Serbian Radio-Television (RTS) building was bombed in April 1999. "Army knew about NATO attack on RTS" They claim that the Ministry of Defense has these transcripts, implying that the former Yugoslav Army (VJ) headquarters were aware of the planned attack. "The Serbian Ministry of Defense has a transcript of a conversation between a NATO crew and their base, shortly before the RTS building was bombed," the report alleges. The report was sent on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Center, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Centre for Cultural Decontamination, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, and Women in Black. It claims the Ministry of Defense also possesses "an official memorandum from authorised army personnel referring to the intercepted conversation, which confirms that Army Headquarters in Belgrade were informed in advance of an imminent attack on the RTS building." These documents are allegedly located in the MoD secretariat in Belgrade. "In spite of reliable information indicating that these documents exist, added to the insistence of the victims’ families and of Rodoljub Sabic, the trustee for information of public importance, that they be made available to the public, Ministry of Defense staff continue to deny its existence," the report goes on to say. Publishing the transcript of the intercepted conversation would give the victims back their dignity, while the public would be made fully aware of all the details of the bombing of the RTS building, it concludes. Sixteen RTS employees were killed as a result of the bombing, and then managing director Dragoljub Mlanovic was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for failure to comply with the decision of the government at the time regarding work in conditions of war.

"Army knew about NATO attack on RTS"

They claim that the Ministry of Defense has these transcripts, implying that the former Yugoslav Army (VJ) headquarters were aware of the planned attack.

"The Serbian Ministry of Defense has a transcript of a conversation between a NATO crew and their base, shortly before the RTS building was bombed," the report alleges.

The report was sent on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Center, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Centre for Cultural Decontamination, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, and Women in Black.

It claims the Ministry of Defense also possesses "an official memorandum from authorised army personnel referring to the intercepted conversation, which confirms that Army Headquarters in Belgrade were informed in advance of an imminent attack on the RTS building."

These documents are allegedly located in the MoD secretariat in Belgrade.

"In spite of reliable information indicating that these documents exist, added to the insistence of the victims’ families and of Rodoljub Šabić, the trustee for information of public importance, that they be made available to the public, Ministry of Defense staff continue to deny its existence," the report goes on to say.

Publishing the transcript of the intercepted conversation would give the victims back their dignity, while the public would be made fully aware of all the details of the bombing of the RTS building, it concludes.

Sixteen RTS employees were killed as a result of the bombing, and then managing director Dragoljub Mlanović was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for failure to comply with the decision of the government at the time regarding work in conditions of war.