Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-03-07

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

7 March 1996

CONTENTS

[A] THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[01] LILIC HAILS BELARUS FOR HELPING YUGOSLAVIA UNDER SANCTIONS

[02] YUGOSLAVIA, BELARUS SIGN FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT

[03] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT: U.N. ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS WERE STRATEGIC ERROR

[04] CZECH PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT SERBIAN PRESIDENT

[05] INTERNATIONAL REINTEGRATION OF YUGOSLAVIA IMPORTANT CONDITION FOR PEACE

[06] BULGARIA, YUGOSLAVIA DISCUSS PROMOTING ECONOMIC COOPERATION

[07] BULGARIAN, YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SAY BILATERAL COOPERATION ON THE RISE

[08] BELGIUM LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE WITH YUGOSLAVIA

[09] YUGOSLAVIA, AUSTRIA TO INTENSIFY MILITARY COOPERATION

[10] PROSPECTS FOR YUGOSLAV-BRITISH FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

[B] BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

[11] KRAJISNIK CAUTIONS AGAINST MUSLIMS' PREPARING 'ANOTHER MARKALE'

[12] BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER BLAMES MUSLIMS FOR SERB SARAJEVO EXODUS

[13] U.S. WILL OPEN OFFICE IN BANJALUKA, R.S. SHORTLY

[14] FROWICK SEES PREPARATIONS FOR BOSNIA ELECTIONS AS GOING WELL

[C] CROATIA - CRIMES IN SERB KRAJINA

[15] CROATIA'S HELSINKI COMMITTEE ON NEW CROATIAN CRIMES IN KRAJINA

[D] FROM FOREIGN PRESS

[16] DEUTSCHE WELLE: TEHRAN REGIME STRENGTHENS ITS INFLUENCE IN BOSNIA

[A] THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[01] LILIC HAILS BELARUS FOR HELPING YUGOSLAVIA UNDER SANCTIONS

This is the first -level visit from Yugoslavia and it is taking place at the invitation of the Belarus President. Both sides place extreme importance on the visit as an important step for the traditionally friendly relations to develop comprehesively.

We are proud that we did not support the sanctions against Yugoslavia at the time, and that we did not take a single step to block a brotherly state and people, Lukashenko said, welcoming the Yugoslav Yresident. Lukashenko assured the people of Yugoslavia that they had a friend in Belarus, in the former Soviet Union - not only in Belarus, but also in Russia, Ukraine, and other states. He concluded that Belarus would maintain very good relations with Yugoslavia in all areas.

Lilic, for his part, said he was certain the forthcoming talks would contribute to setting up economic cooperation at least on that scale which had existed before the sanctions were imposed.

The Yugoslav delegation includes Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, Trade Minister Djordje Siradovic, and Assistant Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic. A group of Yugoslav economists and businessmen also arrived in Minsk to establish contacts with Belarus partners.

[02] YUGOSLAVIA, BELARUS SIGN FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT

This political document is seen by both sides as an important stimulus to the promotion of bilateral cooperation in many fields and as a basis for future legal and inter-state documents.

Later in the day, Yugoslav Vice Premier Nikola Sainovic and Belarus Vice Premier Leonid Sinitsin also signed inter-governmental agreements. The agreements regulate economic and trade cooperation, the setting up of an inter-governmental committee on commercial economic, scientific and technical cooperation, and mutual stimulation and protection of investment.

Yugoslav Minister of Trade Djordje Siradovic also signed three agreements - on scientific and technical cooperation, on cooperation in education, culture and sports and on international passenger traffic and road haulage.

The two countries' Foreign Ministries also signed a protocol on cooperation.

In a plenary meeting, President Lukashenko supported President Lilic's idea to set up free trade zones in Yugoslavia and Belarus and cooperate with third countries.

Lilic said that Yugoslavia highly appreciated the friendly and principled position of Belarus during the crisis in former Yugoslavia and the operation of anti-Yugoslav sanctions, and added he was sure that these relations would be maintained in the future. Lilic also said it had been agreed that Yugoslavia and Belarus should exchange diplomatic missions.

[03] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT: U.N. ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS WERE STRATEGIC ERROR

Lilic said that Yugoslavia had been punished only for insisting on a political settlement of the crisis in former Yugoslavia, on an equal treatment of all peoples in the territory of former Yugoslavia and an equal respect for their legitimate interests. He said that the Yugoslav Federation would do its all to maintain and strengthen the peace process, as a prerequiste for Yugoslavia's all-round development and reintegration in world bodies.

Returning the toast, Lukashenko said that a friendship and cooperation agreement that had just been signed, and strong cultural and historic ties that bind the two countries' peoples were a firm foundation for fruitful cooperation. He said that Belarus and Yugoslavia were going through a period of complex political and economic changes caused by the disintegration of the original federal states of which they had been part.

Lukashenko said that Belarus had always been sceptical about the justice of imposing the sanctions on Yugoslavia. He said that the Dayton peace accord offered realistic chances for a firm and durable peace that would enable the friendly Serbian and Montenegrin peoples to turn to economic development.

[04] CZECH PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS ABOUT SERBIAN PRESIDENT

This was Klaus' first official visit to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the suspension of international sanctions against it last November.

Klaus stressed the importance which Milosevic attached to the upcoming elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are to be held in September at the latest.

Klaus said he rejected the black-and-white picture of the years-old conflict in the former Yugoslavia that the foreign media had produced, adding that such picture was 'terribly simplified.'

Klaus assessed that the situation in that part of the Balkans has changed and that the international community has taken a more balanced attitude, paving the way for some kind of solution.

[05] INTERNATIONAL REINTEGRATION OF YUGOSLAVIA IMPORTANT CONDITION FOR PEACE

Nastase set out that Romania had urged the suspension of 42-month-old comprehensive and mandatory sanctions of the international community against Yugoslavia when they became senseless and now was urging their complete lifting. Why not apply the same principle of reintegration to Yugoslavia in order to facilitate the national institutions' democratic development being coordinated with European and world integration processes, Nastase observed.

Nastase stressed that Yugoslavia and Romania were about to sign an inter-government agreement on bilateral cooperation and good-neighbourly relations. The agreement will define new legal-political framework of cooperation, which will open still greater possibilities for expanding economic, cultural and political bonds.

Bozovic, who closes his three-day visit to Romania on Wednesday, first referred in a statement to the question of minorities, which he said had never burdened the two neighbours' relations. Moreover, the Romanian minority in Yugoslavia and the Serbian minority in Romania, by their loyalty towards the authorities of countries they are living in, have contributed to the strengthening of these ties, he said. Such relations might set an example for many peoples in Europe and throughout the world, Bozovic noted and said that it was planned to open new and modernize existing border crossings, stepping up local border trade and creating better conditions for the circulation of people and commodities.

Bozovic stressed that Romania had upheld the policy of peace and dialogue pursued by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic at a time when a great majority in the world had tried to close the Serbian people in a ghetto.

[06] BULGARIA, YUGOSLAVIA DISCUSS PROMOTING ECONOMIC COOPERATION

They discussed also some big projects of vital importance to both sides, primarily the construction of roads and power facilities, such as a gas pipeline from Russia via Bulgaria to Yugoslavia.

Zebic said that Videnov had confirmed once again that Bulgaria recognises Yugoslavia's full continuity of the former federation. The two sides noted that agreements signed between former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria remain in force and that that which might be unsatisfactory should be amended, Zebic added.

[07] BULGARIAN, YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SAY BILATERAL COOPERATION ON THE RISE

Zebic said that Yugoslav-Bulgarian relations were on the rise and were exemplary in the Balkans.

Since the suspension of the U.N's sanctions in late 1995, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been trying to return to the world market and rejoin international financial and other bodies as soon as possible. Konakchiev said that Bulgaria would support Yugoslavia's efforts in this direction. He further said that Bulgaria would be willing to manufacture building and agricultural machinery and rolling stock in cooperation with Yugoslav firms, and to participate in the post-war reconstruction of the Bosnian Republika Srpska.

Executives of 26 Yugoslav firms and 46 Bulgarian firms met at the Bulgarian Chamber of Trade and Industry on Wednesday to discuss concrete forms of cooperation.

[08] BELGIUM LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE WITH YUGOSLAVIA

Under the decision, Belgian importers can freely import from and export to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The only restriction on trade with Yugoslavia are the E.U.'s regulations, which means that Yugoslav products must conform to the standards of that political and economic grouping.

The decision gives Yugoslavia the same status on the Belgian market as that enjoyed by the other so-called 'third countries' which are neither members of the E.U. nor have an agreement on trade cooperation with it.

[09] YUGOSLAVIA, AUSTRIA TO INTENSIFY MILITARY COOPERATION

Bulatovic and Meizen discussed also establishing cooperation in the military industry, science and techology and promoting relations in defense, a Yugoslav Army statement said.

Meizen met also Yugoslav Chief of Staff Gen. Momcilo Perisic to discuss the current military and political situation in the former Yugoslavia and the implementation of the Dayton peace accord. The two sides expressed close views on ways and means for dealing with questions at issue by peaceful means, the statement said. Perisic and Meizen said that the visit signalled the beginning of resuming bilateral military cooperation, which had been highly developed in the past.

An initiative was launched for intensifying inter-army contacts, the statement said.

[10] PROSPECTS FOR YUGOSLAV-BRITISH FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

Avramovic, who is on a several-day official visit to Great Britain, is also due to visit the London Economic Institute and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

So far, he has visited the Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Industry and Trade.

Avramovic's visit is aimed at contributing to an overall restoration of cooperation between Britain and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

[B] BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

[11] KRAJISNIK CAUTIONS AGAINST MUSLIMS' PREPARING 'ANOTHER MARKALE'

Krajisnik said that the plan to make Serbs leave Sarajevo had been devised with tacit approval by the international community so that no Serb would want to risk staying in the Serb parts of this city. He added that now remaining in Sarajevo were no more than 1,500 out of the 50,000 Serbs who populted the city suburbs of Ilijas, Vogosca and Rajlovac before the war. Krajisnik said that just a few of the 10,000 Serbs remained in Hadzici, half the number of Serbs stayed in Ilidza, while all Serbs would leave Novo Sarajevo.

Krajisnik assessed that IFOR would lose its impartial role concentrated on the implementation of peace in Bosnia, in case the NATO Ministerial Council meeting decided that the international force be actively included in the search for the alleged war criminals. 'IFOR must not be either a hunter or a policeman. Irrespective of all, we are still ready to cooperate, and be cooperative, with the international community up to the limits that do not jeopardize the vital interests of the serb people'.

[12] BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER BLAMES MUSLIMS FOR SERB SARAJEVO EXODUS

Kasagic quoted several instances of provocation of Serbs by Muslims and the federal police, and said that he had personally had to intercede with the IFOR to protect the Serbs. He said he was sure that the Dayton peace accord for Bosnia would be implemented in full, despite tensions in Sarajevo and the southern city of Mostar, saying nobody in Bosnia-Herzegovina wanted another war.

[13] U.S. WILL OPEN OFFICE IN BANJALUKA, R.S. SHORTLY

Now that peace has come and it is once more possible to communicate with people, Menzies described his visit as a beginning of intensive relations between the Serb and American peoples.

Menzies met in Banjaluka behind closed doors the R.S. Minister of Education Nedeljko Rasul, Liberal Party President Miodrag Zivanovic, Banjaluka Mufti Ibrahim Halilovic, and Banjaluka Diocese Spokesman father Karlo Viseticki.

[14] FROWICK SEES PREPARATIONS FOR BOSNIA ELECTIONS AS GOING WELL

U.S. diplomat Robert Frowick, Chief of Mission of the OSCE in charge of organising the elections, was reporting to the NATO Council in Brussels. News agencies quoted Frowick as saying that elections in Bosnia should be held by mid-September at the latest, after two months of election campaigns in July and August. He added, however, that a final decision on organising the elections would not be possible before late June, because of problems with refugee repatriation and freedom of the press.

[C] CROATIA - CRIMES IN SERB KRAJINA

[15] CROATIA'S HELSINKI COMMITTEE ON NEW CROATIAN CRIMES IN KRAJINA

The remains of an old woman, Sava Lavrnic, 93, and her son Petar, 63, have been found in the village of Komic, near Titova Korenica on March 2, Committee Executive Director Petar Mrkalj said in Zagreb.

Mrkalj said that Croatian Army units entered the village without meeting any resistance on 12 August 1995. Only 12 Serbs had remained in the village out of the initial 190 village inhabitants. Eye-witnesses said that Croats killed seven of them while the other five found shelter in a nearby forest.

The Committee visited a mass grave in Banija, northern Krajina. Eye-witnesses said that the Serbs killed in the offensive had been there. There are 79 wooden crosses marked 'unknown' at the massgrave.

Mrkalj said that on the basis of the latest discoveries he believed that there were around 5,000 graves with identified or unidentified bodies in Krajina.

During a visit to Croatian Kostajnica, the Committee was informed that a bomb had been hurled into the yard of Danilo Rapajic, 61, and his wife Otilija, 60, late on February 27. Fire from automatic weapons was opened at the house which was also hit by a shell.

[D] FROM FOREIGN PRESS

[16] DEUTSCHE WELLE: TEHRAN REGIME STRENGTHENS ITS INFLUENCE IN BOSNIA

Muratovic went to Tehran to seek economic and military aid for the Muslim part of bosnia. Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani personally promised this aid to him, but under certain conditions. Rafsanjani asked Sarajevo to establish closer ties with Islamic countries, and that Iran have a greater influence in the setting up of Bosnian Muslim armed forces, the German Radio said.

'The fundamentalist regime in Iran stuck its foot into the Bosnian door before its immediate neighbour, Europe, it can therefore demand gratitude from the Bosnian Muslim leadership' for aid provided during the war, the Deutsche Welle commentary said.

Several hundred so-called volunteers from Islamic countries, Mujaheddin, had fought on the Muslim side, the Radio pointed out. Soldiers wearing green headbands with quotations from the Koran were conspicuous at a recent army parade held to mark a Bosnian national holiday. These troops fought on the especially difficult fronts and came to be known as bitter fighters, and they have now become elite units of the Bosnian Army, the Radio said.

Rafsanjani's wish to have a greater influence on the Bosnian Muslim armed forces has already been granted - several hundred Bosnian Muslim troops are being trained in Iran. This fact has caused the U.S. to hesitate in realizing the promised aid in the build-up of the Muslim army. Tehran and Washington have clashed in the Balkans, Germany's Deutsche Welle concluded.