|
|
Serbia Today, 96-09-19
Serbia Today
19 September 1996
CONTENTS
[01] CHRISTOPHER ANNOUNCES END OF BLOCKADE
[02] GREECE IS EXPECTING FULL ELIMINATION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA
[03] CHINESE-YUGOSLAV PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION SIGNED
[04] BUNDESTAG DELEGATION IN YUGOSLAVIA
[05] ENERGY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY PRESENTED
[06] MERCEDES RETURNS TO OUR MARKET
[07] FINAL RESULTS FOR PRESIDENCY OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
[08] SECURITY COUNCIL AGAIN IS ONLY CONCERNED
[09] SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE NEWS BRIEFS: "AFTER THE FIRST GENERAL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA - POSSIBILITIES AND TEMPTATIONS OF PEACE"
[01] CHRISTOPHER ANNOUNCES END OF BLOCKADE
The U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher greeted
yesterday as an outstanding success the outcome of the elections
in Bosnia and announced final lifting of sanctions against
Yugoslavia. "The international community and the USA were right to
insist on holding of the elections in Bosnia, in spite of pressures
by certain political circles who were demanding postponement of the
elections", said Christopher at the press conference. "After such
a successful completion of the elections in Bosnia it is now
possible to eliminate the economic sanctions against Yugoslavia",
said the American Secretary of State. It is well known that by the
Security Council Resolution of November 22, 1995 it was stipulated
that the sanctions against Yugoslavia will be finally lifted ten
days after the elections in Bosnia are completed. This date will
expire next week, but it is still not specified whether this term
of ten days will be calculated from September 14th, when the voting
took place or from yesterday when the electoral results were
announced.
(Politika ekspres, September 19, 1996)
[02] GREECE IS EXPECTING FULL ELIMINATION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA
Greek Government profoundly believes that now, after the
completed elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the other provisions of
the Dayton Agreement should also fully and consistently be
implemented, stated the spokesman of the Government in Athens
Dimitris Kostas. Greek businessmen are very impatiently waiting for
the elimination of the last barrier, i.e. of the so-called exterior
wall of sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
stated one of the distinguished Greek businessman, President of the
Trading and Maritime Company "SILINK", Jorgos Karaulis. "Without
the FR of Yugoslavia, which is together with Greece one of the
economically strongest countries of the region, economic prosperity
of the region can not be conceived", said Karaulis and added: "This
what Serbia and Yugoslavia are needing now is the capital, and it
will come into the country as soon as the sanctions are lifted,
because the country is offering sufficient guarantees for safe
investments".
(Politika, September 19, 1996)
[03] CHINESE-YUGOSLAV PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION SIGNED
Mixed Yugoslav-Chinese Commission for Scientific and Technical
Cooperation adjourned yesterday several days of work by signing of
the Protocol on Cooperation between the two countries in these
fields. Protocol established the list of 10 projects for a long-term
cooperation in which are dominant projects in the field of
agriculture, petrochemistry, oil industry and telecommunications,
and the list of 22 projects oriented at the solution of specific
scientific and technical problems and introduction of high
technology in many fields.
(Borba, September 19, 1996)
[04] BUNDESTAG DELEGATION IN YUGOSLAVIA
Delegation of the Committee for Economics of the German
Bundestag, headed by Ernest Shwandhold, was received yesterday by
the Deputy Federal Prime Minister Jovan Zebic and the Federal
Minister for Trade Djordje Siradovic. The guests were informed of
the orientation of our country on the promotion of the relations
with the European Union. During the meetings, the joint interest
was emphasized for the relations between the two countries to be
promoted and for the economic cooperation to be intensified. The
counterparts agreed that it is necessary promptly to prepare
cooperation projects, so that they will be ready for realization
when the conditions are fulfilled. In the meantime, it was stated,
there are possibilities for cooperation between medium-size and
small enterprises.
(Vecernje novosti, September 19, 1996)
[05] ENERGY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY PRESENTED
The expert study "Energy Development Strategy Until the Year
2020, with the Vision of the FR of Yugoslavia in the Year 2050",
made by the experts of the Faculty of Economics of Belgrade, was
presented yesterday to the Federal Government, in the presence of
the Government representatives, competent ministries, scientific
institutions, manufacturers and businessmen. While qualifying this
study as a strategic document, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal
Government Nikola Sainovic underlined that the main task of the
energy field as an entity, is to become a vital element of the
economic recovery. Director of the Institute for Economics Danko
Djunic said that this strategy is indicating at the development
lines and is instructing the state what to do over the next 50
years. The experts are estimating that until the year 2000 it is
necessary to construct new electric power plant capacities of some
5.1 thousand mega wat, and that the capital investments in the
energy development are estimated at some 29 billion dollars.
(Borba, September 19, 1996)
[06] MERCEDES RETURNS TO OUR MARKET
Belgrade foreign trade company "Ineks Interexport" is expected
to sign early in October an agreement with the German "Mercedes"
company on the establishment of a joint company, which will mark
the return of the German car-manufacturing giant to the Yugoslav
market. The joint company will have the majority of capital held
by the German partner (51 percent) and will deal in sales and
servicing of passenger cars, freight vehicles and busses. It is
expected that "Mercedes" will also continue its cooperation with
FAP, "Ikarus" and "Neobus".
(Politika, September 19, 1996)
[07] FINAL RESULTS FOR PRESIDENCY OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Chief of the mission of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (O.S.C.E.), Robert Frowick, announced
yesterday in Sarajevo the final electoral results for the
Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Alija Izetbegovic obtained
slightly less than 730,000 votes, Momcilo Krajisnik obtained
slightly more than 690,000 votes and Kresimir Zubak over 340,000
votes. On the basis of these data, according to Frowick's
explanation, over the next two years the President of the
Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which there will be an
equitable representation of the representatives of all the three
national communities, will be Alija Izetbegovic. Otherwise, in the
area of the Muslim-Croat Federation a total of 1,295,000 eligible
voters took part at the elections, and in the Republic of Srpska
1,023,000 eligible voters.
(Politika, September 19, 1996)
[08] SECURITY COUNCIL AGAIN IS ONLY CONCERNED
Security Council is again, for the fifth time after last-year's
attack of the Croat Army on Krajina, dealing these days with
Croatia, i.e. with the violation of human rights of the Serbian
population. In the text of the statement for the press by the
President of the Council, which will maybe be approved at the
Thursday session of the Council, it is stated that, in spite of
certain improvements, this small number of Serbs who have remained
are still exposed to harassment, pressures and various other forms
of abuse and discrimination. The Security Council, states the
texts of the statement, expresses its deep concern because the
citizens of Krajina and Western Slavonia are still not having an
adequate protection of the Croat authorities, and are therefore,
exposed to attacks, plunder and various harassment.
(TANJUG, September 19, 1996)
[09] SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE NEWS BRIEFS: "AFTER THE FIRST GENERAL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA - POSSIBILITIES AND TEMPTATIONS OF PEACE"
The success of the first general elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina
has removed many doubts in the feasibility of such a
complex procedure for which there were no precedents. The anxieties
have also been quieted that the entire Dayton-Paris project for
ending of the war in this new state community may be broken on this
most important of challenges.
Being much more necessary than decorative, and much more
unavoidable than enthusiastically accepted, these elections of
September 14, 1996 are opening the path for further calming down
of the entire region. Nevertheless, chances are not firm guarantees
for the desired course of this most complicated constitutional and
political, inter-ethnic social and economic as well as military
project.
The voting response has shown that all of the three
autochthonous and constituent peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina -
Serbs, Croats and Muslims of the Yugoslav origin - have accepted
the voting polls as the means superior to bullets and grenades. If
all the three sides, their leaderships and exterior participants,
are to endure in this option, peace will finally find its way in
the unstable multi-ethnic and for foreign expansionists always
attractive heart of the Balkans.
It is true that in all the three sides the national teams won
the victory. Nevertheless, their behavior can no longer be euphoric
and militant, as it was from the beginning of the secessionist
breaking -down of Yugoslavia. And neither is their dominance within
the national and religious camps any longer untouchable. Everyone
has accepted the Dayton Accords as a firm obligation, although all
the time there is a very noticeable intention of the Muslim
leadership for the foreign military aid and the influence of the
Islamic centers to be used for a new military count-down with Serbs
and Croats, in the name of "a single and internationally recognized
state of Bosnia" which never existed and which does not exist
today.
The establishment of all the state institutions which are
foreseen by the peace agreement is an extremely complex job, and
the path towards changes in the psychological and political
attitudes expressed also at the elections will greatly depend on
the behavior of the foreign control factors. The bias which could
well be noticed so many times already, is certainly not a good
direction for the stabilization of the conditions of life in the
entire Bosnia-Herzegovina and around it. The perseverance, however,
on equality of all the three peoples in Bosnia, patience and
flexibility in the further implementation of the Dayton Agreement
and a decisive confrontation to its revision are the right path for
all the representatives of the international community.
The role of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and especially
the contribution of the President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic to
the overall Dayton peace program and these elections, still remain
the source of greatest hopes that the positive changes in the
political spectrum of Bosnia-Herzegovina will bear new fruit.
Therefore, lifting of all sanctions of the international community
against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of
Srpska represents an extremely important next step on the path of
peace. Anyway, this was foreseen in the Security Council Resolution
of November 22, 1995. Neither the Dayton clauses nor the above
stated Resolution and no other source at that, are foreseeing or
allowing for any new conditioning of this decision, which, on the
other hand, will also be of extreme importance for the final
stabilization of the situation in this part of the Balkans.
D. Milic, Political analyst
|