BosNet NEWS: (June 27, 1996)

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From: Adnan Smajlovic <asmaj@spectranet.ca>

CONTENTS

[01] COTTI (OSCE) DECIDED - ELECTIONS IN B-H SEPTEMBER 14, THIS YEAR

[02] DEMOBILIZATION OF CROATIAN ARMY IN EASTERN SLAVONIA

[03] RESIGNATION / REPLACEMENT OF R. KARADZIC ?

[04] CROATIAN OPPOSITION WITHOUT A COMMON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

[05] EUROPEAN COUNCIL RENEWED DISCUSSION ON CROATIA

[01] COTTI (OSCE) DECIDED - ELECTIONS IN B-H SEPTEMBER 14, THIS YEAR

Sarajevo, Vienna, June 26, 1996 (Press TWRA)

F. Cotti, who is also the Swiss foreign minister announcedhis decision in Vienna addressing the Permanent OSCE Council. Cotti said: "This decision is based on consultations specially in B-H alone and the view of the ministry conference of European Union in Florence which was decisive. (...) The main pre-condition for successful elections in B-H is to prevent the war criminals like R. Karadzic to maintain their political influence in pre- electoral period. R. Karadzic draws the strings behind the scene, manipulating political events in Republic of Srpska. Showing off with his unimpeded freedom of acting, he provokes the signatories of the Peace agreement and the whole world. (...) There are many reasons for and against elections in B-H and they are mainly in balance. Minimum conditions must be met for holding free and democratic elections. Despite some progress, those conditions have not been met. (..) I appeal again to the international community and all sides to B-H to make maximum effort in providing pre- conditions for holding elections.

The USA welcomed the OSCE decision for B-H elections to beheld in on Sept. 14 promising assistance in ensuring democratic voting. The US envoy J. Kornblum who today arrived in another visit to Croatia, B-H and FRY said Karadzic and other criminals must be prevented from influencing on B-H elections.

PIC high representative (Council for peace implementation),Carl Bildt welcomed the decision for holding B-H elections as scheduled. "Elections will make the way to establish the joint institutions to B-H as planned by the peace accord, enabling in that way the beginning of a long process of overcoming the carve- up process of the state, repeated Carl Bildt. C. Bildt's spokesman Collum Murphy repeated that the international community would not let any war criminal, including Karadzic to appear on the list of candidates at this year's elections in B-H.

It was released in the OSCE mission seat in Sarajevo that 24parties would candidate their members for the B-H parliament and 13 for the B-H federation parliament. Five parties registered in the B-H Federation, among them SDA, announced candidacy of their members for the president of the Republic of Srpska and the Assembly of that Republic. Total of 22 parties from both entities announced their candidates for president of B-H. The deadline to provide all lists with the names of candidates is July 4, this year.

Five opposition parties (SDP, UBSD,HSS MBO, RS - jointdemocrats to in B-H) will participate as a coalition. It seems the agreement on another opposition coalition including SBH (H. Silajdzic), LBO (Muhamed Filipovic) and LS (Rasim Kadic) failed. (end) A.S.

[02] DEMOBILIZATION OF CROATIAN ARMY IN EASTERN SLAVONIA

Djakovo, June 26, 1996 (Press TWRA)

Cervenko expressed his pleasure with demilitarization ofeastern Slavonia praising its administrator of the transitory period Jacques Klein and UNTAES for all they had done.

Commenting partial demobilization in Croatian army, Cervenkohas said that by the end of this week, of 9,000 mobilized soldiers, about 2,500 will have been demobilized and that the demobilization of the soldiers from the occupied area will be in accord with the implementation of the measures for their return and employment. (end) A.S.

[03] RESIGNATION / REPLACEMENT OF R. KARADZIC ?

Belgrade, June 26, 1996 (Press TWRA)

The news followed the information that Karadzic expressed hisreadiness to resign under condition that Republic of Srpska is granted some degree of statehood and the town and port of Brcko, north of B-H on which the international arbitration is expected this summer, remains within Serb entity in B-H. The session of the "Assembly" of Serb B-H entity was in session since yesterday but was interrupted without clear results. Before it started, the president of the "Assembly" and close associate of Karadzic, M. Krajisnik told Bildt: " I want to inform you that Karadzic would be ready to sacrifice his power and would not like to cause any delay in the process of the Dayton accord implementation, if it was in interest of Serbs". After the session break Krajisnik said: "Delegates of the Assembly of the Republic of Srpska are ready to remove all obstacles impeding the elections in B-H."

Presidents of FR Yugoslavia (Zoran Lilic) and its two parts,Serbia (S. Milosevic) and Montenegro (Momir Bulatovic) talked yesterday with Karadzic associates Biljana Plavsic and Nikola Koljevic and gave them the ultimatum to remove Karadzic. Yugoslav heads did not demand Karadzic's extradition to ICRY, but only to withdraw from power and active political life in B-H or anywhere else.

FRY yesterday officially demanded from the "Assembly of theRepublic of Srpska" to appoint immediately, a temporary president of Republic of Srpska and definitely remove R. Karadzic. In case the "Assembly of Srpska remains deaf to the demand of FR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav state will take all needed measures equally against institutions and individuals being barriers to the peace process," states the threatening message from Belgrade not specifying the measures against the disobedient from Pale.

B-H authorities are suspicious about the news on Karadzic'sreplacement, stressing they did not regard it enough. Foreign policy advisor of the president Izetbegovic says: "To bring Radovan Karadzic and all the accused of war crimes before the ICTY in the Hague is the key, so the decision on the replacement of some of them is not enough, specially in case of Karadzic, to be regarded as a progress in democratization of Republic of Srpska and general stabilization of the situation in B-H." Regarding the impact of Belgrade on replacement of Karadzic, Hajric says: " I think Milosevic was waiting for the right offer to make that move - i.e, remove Karadzic. As a man to whom the bargain in the world diplomacy is not strange, Milosevic obviously waited for someone to come with the right proposal. I think that he remained with short sleeves as he probably hoped for some concession with regard to the Dayton accord."

Since today, ICTY has started applying the procedure 61 beingused when some state refuses to extradite the ICTY indicted persons. The article will help in public presenting of evidence against the two criminals. The procedure does not lead to a particular court verdict but enables the indicted to appear before the Tribunal in order to start a normal court procedure, as the ICTY statute does not foresee the possibility of try in absentia, but the "procedure 61" could lead to issuing the international arrest warrant for a person, enclosing him within the borders of the state of current stay where he could also be in danger, in case of the change of a regime or a resolute international pressure. The same procedure enables ICTY to demand the action of the Security Council against a state/ states refusing to extradite a person/persons included in procedure 61. Except the procedure, by July 5, this year, the ICTY prosecutor can publicly explain & give evidence for the indictments against Karadzic and Mladic and hear the witnesses. (end) A.S.

[04] CROATIAN OPPOSITION WITHOUT A COMMON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Split, Zagreb, June 27, 1996 (Press TWRA)

President of IDS (Istrian democratic assembly), Ivan Jakovcic, informed on the press-conference held in the Croatian Parliament, about IDS decision to propose to members of the parliamentarian union "New Parliament 95" (composed of 6 parties: HSS, HNS, SBHS, HKDU, HNS, IDS) to nominate a candidate for the presidential elections: "I do believe the others would also accept this idea, so "New Parliament 95" would have its own joint candidate. Some other parties would also be called to support our candidate. This man should not necessarily be a member of a party - the best solution would be to find a person who does not belong to any party, acceptable to other opposition parties, as well. If this is impossible to be realized, then we have to agree upon somebody from "New Parliament 95". (...) We would propose to HSS and others to establish working groups for preparation of concrete ideas and proposals - concerning state structuring, regionalization, ministerial organizing, territorial divisions - which is a very important issue for our party", Jakovcic said. HSS President, Zlatko Tomcic, said for "Vecernji list": "All who have calculated with Gotovac as a joint opposition candidate, have, in fact, been working directly against Gotovac, causing him a major damage. I think there were even some presumptions. HSS did not want to say its decision for a long time and, according to HSS Presidency decision of June 25, we would nominate our own candidate for the next presidential elections. We have not yet decided who it would be but we still have a month or two to agree upon this issue". (end) A.S.

[05] EUROPEAN COUNCIL RENEWED DISCUSSION ON CROATIA

Zagreb, June 27, 1996 (Press TWRA)

(1) As far as the cooperation with ICTY is concerned, Croatia was mentioned as one of its initiators, open for the future cooperation. Constitutional law on the cooperation with ICTY, establishing of ICTY Office in Zagreb, extradition of T. Blaskic to the Hague, arresting of Z. Aleskovski in Split were mentioned as evidences for this cooperation."Croatia is still willing to extradite every person charged for war-crimes, if he/she appears on its territory, but can not be responsible for the prosecution and arresting of them in BH."

(2) Concerning the implementation of the agreement on the BH Federation, Croatia reminded of its cooperation during the enactment of the Dayton accord, agreement on the arms-control, its support to the normalization of the situation and to the elections in Mostar and in whole BH. Croatian government response, sent on June 13, does not mention a recent reconstruction of "Herzeg-Bosnia" government. (3) With regards to human rights, ethnic minorities, refugees and displaced persons, Croatian government exposed a plan devided in three phases and concerning the return of Serb refugees to Croatia, reminding of the fact that any Croatian refugee has not yet returned to the occupied Eastern Slavonia. "Croatia tries in every way to improve the relations with Belgrade. New round of Granic-Milutinovic negotiations was announced in Belgrade, a decree on dispensation was accepted and we are cooperating with EC experts in the field of the implementation of a constitutional law on human rights and freedom, rigths of national and ethnic minorities and groups." (4) As to media, it was mentioned that any of 700 publications in Croatia is not forbidden nor prevented to be published. "As far as actual charges are concerned, any of them has been politically motivated. They are related to disregard of customer duties and taxes, publishing of unfounded information, personal calumnies and offending of a fundamental personal dignity." New law on informing will be presented to EC in order to be discussed before its second reading in the Croatian Parliament. Croatia points out its readiness for the continuation of the consultations with the EC experts regarding the implementation of the law on telecommunications. (5) Concerning the local and regional authorities, esp. as far as the Zagreb crisis is concerned, a counselor referendum was mentioned and "beginning of the HDZ cooperation. (HDZ gained major part of votes on the elections - 36.5% - twice more than a leading opposition party - HSLS (...) HSLS stopped negotiating with HDZ on June 13, 1996. HDZ remains open for negotiating with all parties. If an agreement is not reached, new elections will be called." In response to the question of Spanish socialist M. A. Martinez, President of EC ministerial board, S. Kallas (Estonia) stated that Croatia would probably be accepted during his mandate (till the end of autumn), adding that Estonia supports a membership of Croatia. The reception of Croatia to EU will be the first item on the agenda of the Joint Committee session (composed of President of EC Parliamentarian assembly - L.Fischer, her Vice- President, members of bureau, leaders of all deputy groups and Ministerial board - the one blocking the reception, tomorrow probably represented on the level of deputy Ministers). A. Vujic (SDP), one of the Croatian representatives in Strasbourg, claims Croatia will be received this summer but it is postponed intentionally till the conclusion of the BH elections, in order to impose additional pressure upon Croatia. EC is composed of 39 members- all European countries except Croatia, BH and FRY. Ljubljana was warned to prevent maltreating of arrested persons and Tirana to renew Albanian general elections because their irregularity could lead to the suspension of Albania in the membership to the Council. (end) A.S.

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