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Serbia Today, 97-04-24
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN FRY AND MACEDONIA
[02] THE FATE OF 1250 SERBIAN FIGHTERS STILL UNKNOWN
[03] GERMAN SPIES EQUIPPED THE CROATIAN ARMY
[04] THE BACKGROUND OF THE CROATIAN CHANGE OF POSITION REGARDING THE SERBS
[05] AMERICA IS PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF THE SERBS
[06] SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND FRY
[07] FRY PROGRAM: REPATRIATION AND INTEGRATION
[08] COOPERATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE FOR THE GOOD OF ALL PEOPLE
[01] AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN FRY AND MACEDONIA
Ministers of agriculture of the Republic of Macedonia and FR Yugoslavia -
Mr. Nikola Parakeov and Mr. Nedeljko Sipovac - signed yesterday in Skopje
three important documents on the expansion of cooperation between the two
states. These agreements concern cooperation in the veterinary sphere,
biological quarantine and plants protection; the protocol on scientific and
technical cooperation; and economic cooperation in agriculture. At the
joint press conference, the ministers expressed satisfaction with the
cooperation they have established and the current trends in cooperation,
remarking that "due to the complementary character of the two agricultural
sectors far broader possibilities if expanding relations - in particular in
production planning and joint presence on third markets - exist". The
Yugoslav Minister particularly stressed the agreements on mutual
"compensation" of deficient food and agricultural products.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Borba, 1997-04-24
[02] THE FATE OF 1250 SERBIAN FIGHTERS STILL UNKNOWN
As time goes by, there is less and less hope of finding anything out about
the fate of some 1250 Serbian fighters and several thousand civilians
captured or reported missing during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that
lasted three and a half years. This is the stand assumed by the members of
the Association of Missing and Captured Serbian Civilians and Fighters
during their meeting held yesterday in Banjaluka. The meeting was also
attended by the Chairman of the Republic of Srpska State Committee for
Exchange of Prisoners - Mr. Jovo Rosic. The Croatian side is particularly
uncooperative, and - for examples - 16 captured Serbian fighters are being
held without any legal grounds in military prisons in Split and Sibenik for
18 months now. According to Mr. Rosic the exhumation of mass graves in
Moslem-Croatian Federation territory will begin next month. The problem of
several thousand Serbs from Sarajevo has also been stressed, since nothing
is known of them since the beginning of the civil war, as well as the case
of about a hundred Serbian fighters whose every trace was lost in autumn
1991, and have not yet been include in Red Cross missing persons registers.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Politika Ekspres, 1997-04-24
[03] GERMAN SPIES EQUIPPED THE CROATIAN ARMY
The London weekly "Sunday Telegraph" published an article about the scandal
that broke out within the German Intelligence Service (BND) after the
discovery that its top officials were involved in secret deliveries of arms
destined to Croats and Bosnian Moslems during the war in former Yugoslavia.
According to a Radio BBC broadcast in Serbian, this is the first British
newspaper to publish details on accusations of BND involvement in the wide
network for arms smuggling from Germany to Croatia and Bosnia and
Herzegovina, which represents a breach of both German and international
regulations. One of the most serious accusations made by Sunday Telegraph
is that members of the BND spy network infiltrated the EU Monitor Mission
to use it as a cover for sending money and arms to Bosnian Moslems.
According to the latest revelations, many of the EU observers - including
the British representatives, whose duty was to help the cease-fire and the
transport of humanitarian aid - were actually spies, says the same London
weekly.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Politika, 1997-04-24
[04] THE BACKGROUND OF THE CROATIAN CHANGE OF POSITION REGARDING THE SERBS
The report prepared by the Croatian State Attorney Ante Klaric is
characterized by an unusual illustration of the status of human rights in
former Serbian Krayina. In fact, it represents and official confirmation of
what was already known - that in this region the state of human rights and
security of people and property is highly precarious, the worst being - as
the documents states - in the zone of Knin and Donji Lapac. Mr. Klaric
indicated that the most acute problem is "that the Serbs find it impossible
to re-enter their homes", and in this context quotes the warning issued by
the OSCE Regional Chief - Mr. Kramer, that the solution of these problems
directly affects the readiness of the EU countries to provide loans and
financial aid to Croatia. In his report, Mr. Klaric also included
recommendation to urgently formulate a program for the return of all
refugees. The change in the current Croatian policy regarding the Serbs in
Krayina - made visible by this report - has obviously been prompted by
growing criticism by international community representatives. Besides Mr.
Kramer, the OSCE Ambassador to Croatia - Mr. Henric Amneus, expressed major
reservations concerning the existing Croatian Law on Temporary Use of
Property of Serbian Refugees, which practically legalizes the theft of
their property. Recently, the US Ambassador to Croatia - Mr. Peter
Galbraith, also commented this law stressing that it must be abolished and
that this will determine the attitude of the international community
regarding the Croatian affiliation to Europe.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Politika, 1997-04-24
[05] AMERICA IS PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF THE SERBS
During the encounter with the 12 newly elected deputies of the Independent
Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS) in the municipal Council of Vukovar, the US
Ambassador to Croatia - Mr. Peter Galbraith said: "I congratulate you on
your electoral victory and I admire your courage, since you have decided to
shoulder the difficult task that lies ahead of you." Mr. Galbraith
particularly stressed the fact that the US stand is that refugees must
return to their homes in both directions. "America will continue to defend
the rights of the Serbs and I want to assure you that the US will be
actively involved in the coherent implementation of the Erdut Agreement and
will insist that all civil, human and civic rights of the Serbs be
respected", said the US Ambassador and added: "Many thought that the US and
myself are not friends of the Serbs. You can see now that I am being
criticized by the Croatian media because they believe that I am protecting
only the rights of the Serbs. We endorse the right of the Croatian refugees
to return to their homes, but also the right to return of the Serbs." Mr.
Galbraith anticipated that the US will allocate 900.000 dollars as aid for
the reconstruction of infrastructure in the Serbian region, thus financing
projects earmarked by UNTAES and those that will be proposed by the newly
formed municipalities. The SDSS leader and Chairman of the Executive
Council of the Serbian Region - Dr. Vojislav Stanimirovic stressed during
the meeting that the US Ambassador has come to the Serbian Region for the
third time in the last 10 days, clearly indicating the US interest in the
events taking place in the Region.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Politika Ekspres, 1997-04-23
[06] SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND FRY
A delegation of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SANU) visited
Moscow - on an invitation of the Russian Academy of Sciences - to define
the agreement on scientific cooperation between the two academies, within
the framework of the document on scientific cooperation signed in October
1994. The delegation that visited Moscow include SANU President Aleksandar
Despic and academicians who are also members of the Russian Academy of
Sciences - Pavle Ivic, Ljubisa Rakic and Miomir Vukobratovic. IN the talks,
the Russian side was represented by members of the Executive Council of the
Russian Academy of Sciences headed by their President - J.S.Osipov. Both
sides expressed great interest in expanding and furthering the traditional
cooperation between the two academies and ancillary scientific institutions
and numerous topics have been proposed for cooperation in various fields of
natural. technical and social sciences.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Politika, 1997-04-24
[07] FRY PROGRAM: REPATRIATION AND INTEGRATION
At the meeting of the Working Group for Humanitarian issues of the Peace
Implementation Council in Geneva, the Yugoslav delegation illustrated the
basics of the Yugoslav national program for a lasting solution of the
refugee problem, having as its key elements: repatriation, integration and
relocation to third countries. The document provides basic statistical data,
including the actual number of refugees. According to the 1996 census,
verified by the UNHCR, there are 566.000 registered refugees in FR
Yugoslavia, and 130.000 refugees that were not encompassed by the census
have been registered subsequently. Until now, FRY has been spending about 5
per cent of the annual gross domestic product in taking care of the
refugees living on its territory, and in view of the disintegration of the
country, the war in the immediate vicinity of its borders and international
community sanctions, FRY has suffered losses amounting to about 60 per cent
of the effective gross national product. In spite of such adverse economic
and social conditions, FRY has been receiving inadequate humanitarian aid
from the international community which covered merely 14,7 per cent of the
needs of displaced persons and refugees and was far lesser than the aid
provided to other ex-Yugoslav republics. Due to the extremely difficult
situation faced by the Yugoslav economy and citizens, neither repatriation
nor integration will be possible without adequate aid by the international
community. To overcome the present economic and social situation in FRY
regulation of the relations with the International Monetary Fund, the World
Bank and with other international financial organizations and institutions
is needed, as well as the re-admission of FRY into international economic
and financial mainstreams, and the allocation of financial support and aid
for Yugoslav development programs which are to include programs for the
integration of refugees and displaced persons. The Federal Minister of
Employment , Health and Social Policy - Mr. Miroslav Ivanisevic, stated in
Geneva that Yugoslavia endorses a coherent implementation of the Dayton
Agreement, since this document constitutes the backbone of the Yugoslav
national program for a long term solution of the refugee problem.
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Borba, 1997-04-24
[08] COOPERATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE FOR THE GOOD OF ALL PEOPLE
Federal Prime Minister - Dr. Radoje Kontic received yesterday the highest
representatives of the churches and religious communities in FR Yugoslavia.
The traditional meeting was attended; on behalf of the Serbian Orthodox
Church by His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Pavle, accompanied by three
bishops; on behalf of the Belgrade Archbishopric by Dr. France Perko with
the Head Vicar of the Holy See in Belgrade - Father Leopold Pohmes; by the
Belgrade Mufti - Efendy Hamdija Jusufspahic; by the Chief Rabbi of
Yugoslavia Cadik Danon; as well as by the representatives of the Romanian
Orthodox Church in the Banat region, prelates from the Reformist Church,
the Evangelist Church, the Adventist Church, and representatives of other
religious communities in FR Yugoslavia. Acknowledging the role played by
the churches and religious communities in creating the multi-ethnic and
multi-confessional community in FRY, the Federal Prime Minister informed
his guests about the development plans in the forthcoming period. He said
that the federal Government defined four strategic objectives -
transformation of FR Yugoslavia into a modern, democratic and social state
with the rule of law; its reintegration into the international community;
the creation of an open market economy; and the improvement of the living
standard and social care for the citizens. Responding to Prime Minister's
welcome speech, Patriarch Pavle, remarked - among other things - that "the
care for every man, regardless of his faith or ethnic origin, never was
unfamiliar to our Church". Dr. France Perko augured success to the Federal
Cabinet efforts to make life better for all of us, and Mufti Jusufspahic
expressed satisfaction for the fact that "forces of peace have triumphed
and helped preserve peace in our Yugoslavia. Recalling the common fate
faced throughout history by the Serbs and the Jews, Rabbi Cadik Danon
stressed: "We mist preserve the freedom, both ours and that of other men."
Serbia Today, 1997-04-24 ; Politika, 1997-04-24
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