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Serbia Today 96-06-18
Serbia Today
18 June 1996
CONTENTS
[01] ON NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
[02] TO PRISON BECAUSE OF SERBIAN LANGUAGE
[03] 'FERAL TRIBUNE': TUDJMAN'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR JASENOVAC
[04] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL RELEASES GORAN LAJIC
[05] BOSNIAN CROATS CHALLENGE DAYTON AGREEMENT
[06] SPLIT AMONG MUSLIMS
[07] MUSLIM-CROAT (EACH)PARTY UNIFORMITY
[08] GANIC ACCUSES CROATS
[01] ON NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
Federal Government yesterday has discussed and adopted the report
by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Milan Milutinovic on the
talks with the delegation of the European Union in Belgrade on June
7 and 8, 1996, about the participation of the Yugoslav delegation
at the talks for adoption of the Agreement on Sub-Regional Control
of Armament in Oslo on June 11, 1996 and participation of the
Yugoslav delegation at the Ministerial Conference on Implementation
of the Dayton Agreement held in Florence on June 13 and 14, 1996.
Government had positive views on the talks and results achieved.
Special attention was devoted to the platform of the European Union
for strengthening of regional cooperation and good neighborly
relations in former Yugoslavia. Yugoslav delegation had a positive
view regarding this platform, qualifying it as based on principles
of an equitable treatment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in
respect to the former Yugoslav republics. The Yugoslav Government
had concluded that intensive activities should be continued on
normalization of the relations between the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the European Union. The Conference in Florence was
estimated as a further contribution to the strengthening and
affirmation of the peace process. (Politika, June 18, 1996)
[02] TO PRISON BECAUSE OF SERBIAN LANGUAGE
What it has not achieved by arms - eradication of Serbs and
everything Serbian - Croatia is intending to complete by its new
laws. Therefore, in the draft proposal of the Law on Use of Croat
Language, authored by Dr. Ivan Kramaric, counsellor at the Ministry
of Justice of Croatia, there is an article which proposes the
following: "Whoever should with intent either in a book, study,
magazine, newspaper, public speech or some other written text, use
more than five Serbian words, and as much anglicisms or foreign
words, will be punished by a fine or sentenced to prison from three
months to three years". If the draft proposal by Kramaric is to be
adopted in the Croat Sabor (Parliament), then Serbs in Croatia will
lose the right to their own basic national feature - their own
language. Thus some 150,000 Serbs, the number of those who have
remained in Croatia, would finally be exposed to assimilation,
which has started in this state by the coming into power of the
Croat Democratic Community. Pressures on Serbs have especially been
intensified after the Croat aggression on Slavonia and Krajina.
"The status of Serbs in Croat cities is more difficult than before.
The most difficult situation is the one of children in schools,
because immediately after the name and surname in school registers,
there is a column denoting nationality. Children enrolling as Serbs
are exposed to harassment and thus their parents are advising them
to conceal their nationality or to enrol as Croats of the Orthodox
faith", says Borislav Arsenijevic, president of the Community of
Serbs in Croatia. Officially, there is no conversion into
Catholicism, but in practice this process is taking place
continuously. Only in Partizanska Drecnica 50 pupils are attending
religious classes with the Orthodox priests. In all the other
schools, children of the Orthodox confession are being educated by
the Catholic priests, says Nikola Cetina, secretary of the
Community, and asks: "How can a child feel of Serbia nationality
when in the school it is learning that Serbs are the greatest
enemies of the Croat people?". (Vecernje novosti, June 18, 1996)
[03] 'FERAL TRIBUNE': TUDJMAN'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR JASENOVAC
After the visit by the Croat President Franjo Tudjman to Jasenovac
last Saturday and placing of the wreath on the memorial monument
to Jasenovac victims, Split weekly "Feral Tribune" yesterday is
warning that Tudjman has made a symbolic cutting of the ribbon on
"new Jasenovac", stating that "this is the place to remember both
victims of Fascism and of Communism". It is understandable that no
one is opposed to the piety towards the victims of Communism, but
the Croat President some years ago on their behalf has deleted the
name of the Zagreb Square of the Victims of Fascism. "Now in the
same way one may consider Jasenovac deleted", writes this
independent Split newspaper. The scandal is even greater, adds the
newspaper in its commentary, because "the insubordinate head of
state has made drastic ethnic cleansing of the Jasenovac memorial
complex". (Politika, June 18, 1996)
[04] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL RELEASES GORAN LAJIC
President of the Trial Chamber of the Criminal Tribunal in The
Hague, Claud Jorda, decided yesterday to release immediately and
set free Goran Lajic, a Serb from Banja Luka, suspected of war
crimes. Jorda did this after the yesterday's hearing during which
both Lajic and his defense counsel Belgrade attorney Toma Fila and
the prosecutor, the Austrian Grant Niemann, stated that it is a
question of substitute identity. Nine out of ten independent
witnesses, Muslims from Bosnia, confirmed that the man who appeared
before the Tribunal is not the person to whom the accusations
apply. (Borba, June 18, 1996)
[05] BOSNIAN CROATS CHALLENGE DAYTON AGREEMENT
Establishment of the new government of the Croat entity in
Herzeg-Bosnia is being interpreted among the British analysts as the most
serious challenge so far to the Dayton Agreement. In spite of the
media campaign and persistent strives to cover up real problems in
the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
the commentator of the London "Daily Telegraph" admits that the
Dayton agreement, nevertheless, to the greatest extent is
jeopardized by the relations between Muslims and Croats. It has
become clear that Muslim-Croat federation, is only a concoction on
paper and that the probable future of Bosnia is in the simultaneous
existence of the three ethnic entities. In the British diplomatic
circles warnings were given even before at such a perspective, but
there were also admissions that, after the civil war, this is the
Bosnian reality. (Politika ekspres, June 18, 1996)
[06] SPLIT AMONG MUSLIMS
The attack on Haris Silajdzic in Cazin is essentially only an
extreme continuation of the conflict between his Party for
Bosnia-
Herzegovina and the ruling Muslim Party of Democratic Action -
comment the circles of the opposition parties in Sarajevo. It is
believed that this incident has even further widened the already
existing gap between the two parties which are the greatest
opponents in the struggle for power at the forthcoming elections,
which are to be held in Bosnia in mid-September. "If in Cazin some
hundred supporters of the Party of Democratic Action with the
tekbir (the call after which follows the cry - Allah-u-Akbar, Allah
the Greatest), had attacked with iron bars Silajdzic, what is to be
expected by those opposition members who are the opponents of the
Part of Democratic Action of long standing?", asks the Sarajevo
newspaper "Vecernje novine". Sarajevo media are realizing that this
incident took place even after an increasing popularity of this
party at the promotional rallies in the Muslim-Croat federation.
(Politika, June 18, 1996)
[07] MUSLIM-CROAT (EACH)PARTY UNIFORMITY
In the Muslim-Croat federation in Bosnia, there is escalation of
party uniformity, intolerance and the decline of authorities to
acknowledge possible defeat, conclude the Slovenian media on the
occasion of the attack on the former Muslim Prime Minister Haris
Silajdzic in Cazin. "The attack on Silajdzic is not only an
incident. It is a blow to all those thinking differently, and the
blow was given by the ruling Party of Democratic Action",
underlines TV Slovenia in its commentary. Ljubljana press is
emphasizing that the pre-electoral incidents between Muslims and
Croats, i.e. conflicts with the supporters of the Izetbegovic's
weakened party, happened also in Mostar and Tesanj, but that they
are being covered up, in order to preserve the illusion of a multi-
party system existing in the region of the Muslim-Croat federation.
(Politika, June 18, 1996)
[08] GANIC ACCUSES CROATS
Vice President of the Muslim-Croat federation Ejup Ganic accused
the Croat side for limiting in dozen of cities the freedom of
movement, for implementing the constitution of Herzeg-Bosnia, for
dividing municipalities into Croat and Muslim ones and at the same
time for instigating exile of the Muslims. In his report on the
state of facts in the federation, which will be debated at the
session of the Constitutional Assembly, Ganic specified that
without announcement, it is not possible to limit the freedom of
movement in cities under Croat control, for the Muslims to be
unlawfully discharged from jobs and their exile encouraged. The
expression of religious feelings of Muslims has also been limited,
says Ganic and adds that in Pocitelj all the monuments under the
protection of state are being destroyed and grossly desecrated the
monuments of Islamic culture. Muslim children are attending schools
having the curriculum of the Republic of Croatia and are permitted
only the use of the Croat language. It is estimated that the report
about the state of facts in the federation will cause turbulent
reactions at the Assembly session and will further escalate already
deteriorated relations in the federation. (Vecernje novosti, June
18, 1996)
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