Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-01-16

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

From: ddc@nyquist.bellcore.com (D.D. Chukurov)

Yugoslav Daily Survey

16 January 1996

CONTENTS

[A] U.N. - FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[01] U.N. OBSERVERS TO REMAIN ON PREVLAKA

[02] TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATION FOR SREM-BARANJA REGION

[B] YUGOSLAVIA - DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

[03] HUNGARY TO WAIT FOR E.U. FOR DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH YUGOSLAVIA

[C] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[04] BANJA LUKA MAYOR ON TALKS WITH U.S. PRESIDENT

[05] UNHCR SAYS MUSLIM FAMILIES RETURNING TO BANJA LUKA

[06] GENERAL NASH: SERBS ACT IN ADVANCE OF DEADLINES

[07] MUSLIM GOVERNMENT BLOCKS MASS PRISONER RELEASE

[D] OPINIONS

[08] GERMAN OFFICIAL SAYS NO VICTORS IN WAR IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[09] YUGOSLAVIA'S IMAGE IN MEDIA IMPROVED TO SOME EXTENT

[A] U.N. - FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[01] U.N. OBSERVERS TO REMAIN ON PREVLAKA

The Council on Monday night adopted unanimously a special resolution stating that U.N. observers would continue monitoring the demilitarization of Prevlaka that began in September 1992 under an accord reached by the then Yugoslav President Dobrica Cosic and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman.

The U.N. observers' mandate on Prevlaka was being extended for three months. The mandate may, in keeping with U.N. Secretary-General's report, be renewed for another three months. The U.N. Secretary-General will submit his report to the Council on March 15 in which he will state just how much headway was made in talks between Yugoslavia and Croatia on Prevlaka.

[02] TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATION FOR SREM-BARANJA REGION

The Council on Monday night also decided to call it UNTAES - U.N. Temporary Administration for Eastern Slavonia.

The Council will first send 5,000 peacekeepers to monitor and assist the process of demilitarization of the region as well as enable a safe and unimpeded return of refugees.

The peacekeepers will also be entrusted with maintaining peace and security in the region as well as secure the implementation of the basic agreement signed by the Serb leadership of the Srem-Baranja region and Croatia's regime on Nov. 12, 1995.

The Council authorized the Secretary-General to appoint a temporary administrator to head the civilian authorities in the region who would coordinate also the civilian and military affairs in the transitional period. U.S. General Jacques Klain is to take up this post.

The Council also authorized Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to set up a civilian police force and decide on their numbers and mandate.

UNTAES will also deal with the functioning of the local organs of authority and prepare elections.

[B] YUGOSLAVIA - DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

[03] HUNGARY TO WAIT FOR E.U. FOR DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH YUGOSLAVIA

Gabor Szentivanyi told a news conference that this was not a re-establishment of diplomatic cooperation but a building of diplomatic ties with a new state. 'Certain questions of legal succession of the former Yugoslavia have not been fully settled,' he said.

French Belgrade Embassy Charge d'Affaires Gabriel Keller said in a radio program Sunday that the E.U. Political Committee will, at the initiative of the French Government, consider in Jan. 18 normalization of diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia and that another such meeting would be held on Jan. 28, when, in his view, it was realistic to expect a decision to be adopted to this effect.

[C] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[04] BANJA LUKA MAYOR ON TALKS WITH U.S. PRESIDENT

'At the moment, our basic problem is the problem of refugees who fled their homes in the Republic of Serb Krajina and in the western part of the Republika Srpska,' said Radic.

'Unless their return home is reviewed, the return of other nationalities to Banja Luka and the region around it cannot be discussed,' Radic said.

About 50,000 Krajina Serbs fled to the Republika Srpska, after Croatia occupied northern and southern Serb Krajina in August 1995.

Radic said that Clinton had especially insisted on the necessity of cooperation between all sides in Bosnia-Herzegovina in establishing major joint systems, such as electric power and postal networks, and railway and road links.

[05] UNHCR SAYS MUSLIM FAMILIES RETURNING TO BANJA LUKA

Reuters quoted UNHCR spokesman Mons Nyberg as saying at a press conference in Sarajevo that the return of Muslim families was encouraging.

Courts in the Bosnian Serb town of Prijedor have also started to return Muslims to their homes, which Nyberg described as the return of legality into the zone.

Since Nov. 21, 1995, when the Bosnia peace agreement was initalled in Dayton, the UNHCR has received no reports about maltreatment or evictions of Muslims and Croats who remained in the region, Nyberg said and added that the change of policy was very firmly linked with the peace agreement.

Banja Luka Mayor Predrag Radic said on Monday that Commander of the U.N. Army Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Shalikashvili had been told at a meeting in Tuzla on Saturday that the condition for the return of Muslim and Croat refugees to the Republika Srpska was the return of Serbs to Drvar, Glamoc, Grahovo and other occupied regions in the west of the Republika Srpska.

[06] GENERAL NASH: SERBS ACT IN ADVANCE OF DEADLINES

The military provisions of the agreement are in general being implemented without any hindrances from the warring sides, but the implementation of civilian provisions, for which high representative Carl Bildt is in charge, is not progressing at the same rhythm, Nash added.

At a meeting with the Commander of the First Krajina Corps of the R.S. Army Lt.Gen. Momir Talic, General Nash also expressed conviction that the warring sides would withdraw to at least two kilometers from the present lines of separation by January 19.

Talic promised that all provisions of the Dayton agreement would be duly implemented, and asked Nash to ensure the identification and release of Serb prisoners of war who are still languishing in prisons in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

[07] MUSLIM GOVERNMENT BLOCKS MASS PRISONER RELEASE

'We can only regret they didn't follow our plan which allowed for the comprehensive release of prisoners, which was an important step for building confidence', said Jacques de Maio from the ICRC, Reuters reported.

The Muslim government in Sarajevo refused to sign an ICRC plan for the release of prisoners. Bosnian Serbs and Croats started releasing their prisoners of war.

[D] OPINIONS

[08] NO VICTORS IN WAR IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

Everyone has lost, the Belgrade daily Politika Ekspres quoted Fosen on Monday as saying.

Ending his several-day visit to Yugoslavia, Fosen, a socialdemocrat, told reporters that the war in the former Yugoslavia had been the war of all the people in Europe, and that was why the old continent had to pay for everything that happened.

The German politician said that western media had been very biased in reports about developments in the former Yugoslavia. According to them, only the Serbs were guilty, everyone else was innocent, he said.

Fosen, who is the Mayor of the city of Duren, said that he did not believe in those reports and that was why he came to Yugoslavia.

He said that Kosovo was an internal matter of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in which nobody should interfere.

The guest from Germany said that Yugoslavia should be offered all possible assistance, not only humanitarian but also financial, in order to improve the performance of the Yugoslav economy.

[09] YUGOSLAVIA'S IMAGE IN MEDIA IMPROVED TO SOME EXTENT

'They look on Serbs as people unwilling to accept changes which they believe are necessary and constantly equated us with eastern European countries. Another reason for our bad image in the U.S. public opinion, politics and congress is our incongruous defence,' Zivojinovic said.

He said that the Serbs had done less in the media than the others, particularly Croatians and Slovenians, and to some extent Macedonians. He said that islamic countries and their powerful lobbies in the United States had done most of the work for the Muslims.

As an example, Zivojinovic said that he had granted an interview to a television channel in Washington in 1992 and that it had never been broadcast.

'In the interview, I made many objections to the work done by people who wrote about us, these territories and events. I said that they did not have full information, that they were malicious, impartial, biased. I named the individuals who wrote such articles in New York Times, the Washington Post and other prominent papers.'

He said, however, that he had the chance to speak about these issues at the University which drew the attention and support of the students.

He stressed that attacks against the Serbs and Yugoslavia were less scathing on the eve of the Dayton peace talks and that the exodus of the Serb people from Krajina was extensively and regularly broadcast even on CNN.

The convoys of Serb refugees had such a strong effect on the Americans that they came to the conclusion that one side could not be blamed for all and they said that now they looked differently on Croatians and Muslims, Zivojinovic said.