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BBC Reporter Kicked Out of Serbia

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Times Staff and Wire Reports

The British Broadcasting Corp. said Friday that its only correspondent in Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia, has been ordered out of the Balkan nation.

A network spokesman told Reuters here that Yugoslav authorities were “broadly unhappy with the way the BBC has reported events surrounding the elections” in Yugoslavia and had ordered correspondent Jacky Rowland to leave Belgrade, the Yugoslav and Serbian capital, within 48 hours.

The Yugoslav government restricted the ability of Western media to cover the run-up, voting and aftermath of Sunday’s elections, refusing to give visas to some journalists for entry into Serbia.

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Times staff writer Paul Watson, among those denied visas, has reported on the elections from Montenegro, Yugoslavia’s smaller and pro-Western republic, with the help of a stringer based in Belgrade.

The spokesman said the BBC’s coverage of the events has been fair. He said the BBC will report from Montenegro.

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