E/CN.4/2001/0063 page 26 By the Decree of the Prime Minister of 18 October 2000, the Ministry of Defence established a working group that will elaborate the necessary regulations for the implementation of the provisions for alternative service. The head of the group is the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and its members are the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various non-governmental organizations, including religious organizations. The deadline for the submission of the relevant draft regulations to the Cabinet of Ministers is 1 May 2001. Furthermore, the Ministry of Defence has organized several public events concerning this relevant issue, such as a conference headed by the Minister of Defence, social studies and others. The Government will continue the process, which leads to the establishment of balance among the interests of various social groups.” 93. The Special Rapporteur would be grateful if the Latvian authorities would keep him regularly informed of the work of the working groups established by the Minister of Defence. Lebanon 94. On 3 January 2000, Sister Antoinette Zaidan, a Maronite, is alleged to have been raped and strangled by Muslim extremists while on her way to her convent. Her body was apparently discovered near the Science Faculty between Hadeth and Kfarchima. That same day, in the village of Kfar Abou in northern Lebanon, a group of Muslim extremists known as “Al-Takfir Wal Higra” reportedly murdered two Christian women, Salma Yazbeck and her pregnant sister-in-law Sarah Yazbeck. These extremists reportedly decapitated Sarah Yazbeck and dismembered her body. It is said that, on 1 January 2000, a bomb attack was carried out in the Christian village of Kolaia. In November 1999, Muslim extremists allegedly set fire to four churches: on 3 November, the Maronite Church of Saint George in Dekuwane was bombed, killing the deacon, Chafiq Rajha; on 14 November, an identical attack was perpetrated against the Orthodox Church of Saint Mikhail in Tripoli; on 16 November, the Church of Haoush Hala in Zahle came under machine-gun fire; and, for several days in November, rockets were fired at the Church of Aishie in southern Lebanon, even though worshippers were inside the building. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 95. It is reported that Saso Gjeorgiev, a Jehovah’s Witness from Stip, was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment in November 1999 for refusing to perform military service. His two appeals against this sentence were apparently dismissed, and accordingly his sentence was set to run from 15 June 2000. Since conscientious objection is not recognized, the only form of exemption from military service applicable to soldiers citing objections on religious grounds is a waiver of the requirement to bear arms and the extension of military service from 9 to 14 months. Failure to report for military service is punishable under the Defence Act by a fine or a maximum penalty of 60 days’ imprisonment and under the Criminal Code by a maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment in peacetime.