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Serbia Today, 97-04-02
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] BASIC RIGHTS OF THE SERBS THREATENED
[02] DISSATISFACTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF SERBS
[03] WAR CRIME SUSPECTS ON HDZ ELECTORAL LIST
[04] UNTAES DENIES CROATIAN AUTHORITIES
[05] EQUAL TREATMENT OF SERBIAN REFUGEES IS IMPERATIVE
[06] GOVERNMENT PROGRAM FOR DOUBLING THE PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL
MACHINERY
[07] SECOND DRAFT VERSION OF THE LAW ON INFORMATION BY THE END OF THE WEEK
[08] BASIC PRINCIPLES ON MEDIA ROLE IN THE ELECTIONS ADOPTED
[09] MAJOR REVENUE INCREASE IN REFORM YEAR
[10] KLEIN ASKED TO POSTPONE ELECTIONS IN SREM-BARANJA REGION
[01] BASIC RIGHTS OF THE SERBS THREATENED
Mr. Milan Djukic - President of the Serbian National Party (SNS), remarked
that a large number of Serbs will leave Eastern Slavonija, "not of their
own free will, but because they are facing a number of uncertainties". In
an interview for the Zagreb daily "Vecernji List" he indicated a number of
problems in the organization of the coming elections in the region -
undefined electorate, incertitude on war crimes accusations and the way
that the Serbian refugees are to vote. Mr. Djukic also added that SNS to
promote its list of candidates in all municipalities where once Serbs were
a majority, but it faced numerous problems, because there "Serbs are
threatened and their elementary human rights are jeopardized."
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Vecernje Novosti, 1997-04-02
[02] DISSATISFACTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF SERBS
Permanent representatives of international military, police and
humanitarian organizations in Banjaluka, stated yesterday that they are not
satisfied with the attitude of the authorities in the Federation of Bosnia
and Herzegovina regarding the Serbs and their property. International
Police Forces spokesman - Mr. Alan Roberts, stated at the regular press
conference that Serbian houses are still being burned in the zone of Livno,
Glamoc and Drvar. Mr. Roberts specified that in the past 6 months in these
areas 87 houses (most of them owned by Serbs) have been set fire to, and
the culprits were never identified. The latest incident occurred two days
ago in the Serbian village of Bravsko (near Petrovac) located in Moslem-
controlled territory and completely empty. According to Mr. Roberts, the
alarming fact is that Croatian authorities do not permit Serbian refugees
to visit their homes and farms and that if someone tries to do it, the
personal risk is very high. The Serbs that have decided to live in Sarajevo
and have asked to return to their reconstructed apartments, are now being
obstructed by Moslem authorities. UNHCR spokesman Mons Niberg remarked that
these people are not allowed to return to their rebuilt homes, even though
the international community invested 6,8 million German marks to
reconstruct 1.156 apartments.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Vecernje Novosti, 1997-04-02
[03] WAR CRIME SUSPECTS ON HDZ ELECTORAL LIST
The list of candidates of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) contains
numerous names of people well-known for their crimes against the Serbs.
Sources close to the Hague Criminal Court for War Crimes, which conducted a
thorough 10 months investigation of crimes against Serbs committed in
Vukovar and the Srem-Baranja Region, reveal that the tribunal is aware that
the HDZ list of candidates includes people that are known to have been
directly involved in these crimes, that the Court has evidence against and
that indictments are expected against them. Some of them were in the HDZ
delegation that visited Vukovar two days ago. At the press conference, the
"Politika" correspondent quoted investigation findings and asked for
comments. This was met with harsh reactions by the people whose names
appear in the investigation documents such as Pilip Karaula - former
commander of the ill-famed Vukovar quarter of Mitnica and Dr. Vesna Bosanac
- former director of the Vukovar hospital. The thorough investigation
carried out by The Hague Court against her revealed that she was involved
in maltreatment, forcible blood-taking and liquidation of captured soldiers
and civilians.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Politika, 1997-04-02
[04] UNTAES DENIES CROATIAN AUTHORITIES
UNTAES spokesman Fillip Arnold denied tendentious statements by Croatian
government officials in Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem, who
said that the Sunday demonstrations of Serbs in Vukovar had been prepared
earlier to prevent the elections. The UNTAES statement indicates that in
Vukovar, some 200-300 people - mostly refugees - gathered spontaneously to
protest against the Croatian Democratic Community campaign, i.e. against
the presentation of candidates. Mr. Arnold underscored that the peaceful
demonstrations of Serbs in Vukovar had a clear intention and message. "The
protesters demanded the demilitarization of the region or Croatian
government guarantees concerning the respect of human rights." - said the
UNTAES representative.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-02
[05] EQUAL TREATMENT OF SERBIAN REFUGEES IS IMPERATIVE
Deputy Federal Foreign Minister - Mr. Zivadin Jovanovic remarked that the
international community is not showing the same concern for successful
elections in Croatia, as it in the case of elections in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. "The international community is showing extraordinary interest
to provide Bosnian refugees with all possible alleviation for voting, while
no similar attitude exists in the case of Serbs that should vote in Eastern
Slavonija", said Mr. Jovanovic speaking at the 4th Congress of Humanitarian
Aid Providers held in Belgrade. In the case of elections in Croatia, the
international community assumed a firm stand that Serbian refugees have the
right to return and vote, but exiled persons are still facing psychological,
administrative and other types of obstruction. Mr. Jovanovic stressed that
FR Yugoslavia endorses the coherent implementation of the Erdut Agreement
and all existing documents, entailing equality of the Serbs above all. In
this regard, FRY particularly insists that after the transition period of
international administration the network of international organization in
the Region should stay there permanently to supervise the respect of the
rights of Serbs. Speaking about the current situation in FR Yugoslavia,
Jovanovic said that the overall standing of our country has improved, but
the burden of refugee care is increasing, because international
humanitarian aid is being reduced, even though the needs of these people
are growing. Mr. Jovanovic expressed hope that the incoherence on
international level, faced by Yugoslavia, will change and that the doors
will be open to our country allowing it to be integrated economic,
transport and other areas of international community life.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Borba, 1997-04-02
[06] GOVERNMENT PROGRAM FOR DOUBLING THE PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL
MACHINERY
A session of the Government Coordinating Team for Agriculture was held
yesterday involving officials of the competent ministries and
representatives of companies to discuss the Government program for the
renewal of agricultural machinery. It has been stressed that this project
has great importance for the successful development of agricultural
production and ancillary industry and all participant agreed that this is
the best project in this sphere that the government formulated in the past
several years. According to contracts agricultural machinery producers from
all over Serbia signed by the republican Directorate for Commodity Reserves,
by the end of June 2.200 tractors, 1.030 motor-cultivators, 150 combine
harvesters, 220 simple harvesters, 350 trailers, 500 sowing machines and
about 3.000 other units of machinery and ancillary components. The
realization of this project has already been initiated, and these contract
alone will employ about 25% of the production potentials of the
agricultural machinery industry, doubling the present employment. The
greatest importance of this project lies in the fact that it will allow a
better and more effective agricultural campaign and a far greater harvest.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Politika, 1997-04-02
[07] SECOND DRAFT VERSION OF THE LAW ON INFORMATION BY THE END OF THE WEEK
By the end of the week the second version of the Draft Law on Public
Information will be made public, and the final draft law will probably be
submitted to the Parliament at the beginning of May - said Serbian Minister
of Information Radmila Milentijevic at the session of the Belgrade Board of
Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). At the session marking the SPS involvement
in the public debate about the new law, Minister Milentijevic said that the
objective of the law is to harmonize our legislation with European
standards, but fully respecting the Serbian Constitution. Ms. Milentijevic
also said, that an important place will be given to the clause defending
the integrity of an individual against fabrications and slander, insisted
upon by many participants in the debate. "Until now we had two types of
criticism: constructive and political, treating the law as a means for
suffocating the freedom of the press and ensuring the monopoly of the state
television. The law has been conceived as a anti-monopoly regulation, but
state television should and must have the monopoly, because it is at the
service of the state. It is a completely different matter if it broadcasts
poor quality programs, because this is something the voters will decide
upon when they elect the new government", Ms. Milentijevic said. Speaking
about the novelty of obligatory listing of financing sources, be they local
or foreign, the Minister of Information underscored that remarks about this
being a form of restriction of the freedom of the press are unjustified,
nor that this means that media financed from abroad are automatically
against Serbia. Essentially, this clause is a positive factor, said Ms.
Milentijevic, adding that the attitude of the public regarding this
information depends upon the media itself. She also stressed that it is
extremely important that all segments of the Serbian Society because the
final draft that will be submitted to the Parliament must be "the voice and
the reflection of the people". Ms. Milentijevic invited opposition
representatives once again to take part in the debate about the new law on
information.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Politika, 1997-04-02
[08] BASIC PRINCIPLES ON MEDIA ROLE IN THE ELECTIONS ADOPTED
The participants of the sixth panel, representatives of: Socialist Party of
Serbia, New Democracy, Democratic Community of Hungarians from Vojvodina,
and "December 1st" Deputies Club, adopted yesterday at the Serbian
Parliament the Basic Principles on Media Role in the Elections, which are
to be used as a foundation for the Code of Behavior and subsequently
included in legal formulas. The media behavior rules used in the past
elections, were based on the basic principles contained in the federal and
republican laws on public information have a lasting importance and value,
and should be promoted as a starting point for defining concrete solutions,
states this document. This means that the media have the obligation to give
the public true and complete information affecting the choice of the voters
in the elections, and that information can not be subject to the interests
of single candidates or parties. The basic principles insist on autonomy,
impartiality and professional responsibility of the journalists and their
editors. All those taking part in presentation of political candidate have
to honor the Constitution, legality and ethics in public statements, and
all public appearances must exclude offensiveness and personal insults,
breach of dignity of man, and the abuse of children for political purposes.
The Basic Principles also specify that the norms on media behavior in
electoral activities are applicable to all media, regardless of their
founder or their circulation. Taking part in the panel discussion Minister
of Information Radmila Milentijevic observed that these principles are
clear and precise, and concluded that they should serve as guidelines.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Borba, 1997-04-02
[09] MAJOR REVENUE INCREASE IN REFORM YEAR
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Yugoslav civil aviation and 50th
anniversary of the JAT airline company, President Slobodan Milosevic
received the top managers of our flag company, headed by JAT General
Manager - Mr. Zika Petrovic, Chairman of the Board of Managers - Mr. Momir
Pavlicevic and Belgrade Airport Director - Mr. Ljubomir Acimovic. In this
reform year, JAT has plans to continue increasing the passenger volume,
along with upgrading its fleet and airport facilities. Congratulating his
guests this special jubilee, President Milosevic said that he wishes this
large company success in realizing its ambitious business and development
plans.
Yesterday at the Aviation Museum on Belgrade Airport the JAT and civil
aviation jubilee was celebrated. Reminding all present of the romantic
early years, Serbian Minister of Transport and Communications - Prof. Dr.
Svetolik Kostadinovic said that JAT was always among the companies
introducing latest technology and know-how, and thus competing with the
most reputable world companies. "Such constant exposure to global
competition turned JAT into a company that always meant exclusiveness,
superior business operation and high level of services", said Minister
Kostadinovic. After four years of blockade, JAT is once again on the way of
becoming a successful and profitable company, capable of fighting for its
share of the world market - Prof. Dr. Kostadinovic stressed.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Politika Ekspres, 1997-04-02
[10] KLEIN ASKED TO POSTPONE ELECTIONS IN SREM-BARANJA REGION
The Association of Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina and the
Republic of Croatia asked the UN Administrator in the Srem-Baranja Region -
Gen. Jacques Klein to intervene with the UN Security Council for a
postponement of the elections scheduled for April 13. The letter to General
Klein stresses that numerous obstructions exist fair and honest elections,
because the Croatian authorities are doing everything possible to prevent a
large percentage of Serbian population from voting. "The emission of
personal documents has been organized by the Croatian authorities in a way
to deny documents to as many Serbs as possible and thus prevent them from
voting. Various expedients and limitations are used, as well as
irregularities, manipulations by Croatian civil servants, media pressure,
threatening statements by Croatian state officials. All this intimidates
the Serbian people and forces it to another exodus." stresses the letter
addressed to Gen. Jacques Klein.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-02 ; Borba, 1997-04-02
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