Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-05-10

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

From: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>

CONTENTS

[01] POLISH PRESIDENT RECEIVES YUGOSLAV MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

In the talks the Polish President held with the Speaker of Federal Parliament Lower House Radoman Bozovic who is heading a delegation on an official visit to Poland, he said he supported fully the efforts of F.R.Y. to implement the Dayton peace agreement, and expressed his appreciation for Belgrade's resolve to carry out the peace process.

The President of Poland said that Warsaw will do everything to complete the process of full renewal of relations with F.R.Y. and said the forthcoming exchange of ambassadors between the two countries was exceptionally important.

[02] IRELAND NORMALIZES DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH YUGOSLAVIA

A Government statement said the decision had been taken on the basis of the fact that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as an independent and sovereign country, was a signatory of the peace agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina. The statement said Yugoslavia had contributed to the stabilization of the overall conditions in the region by normalizing relations with Macedonia.

YUGOSLAVIA - INTERNATIONAL AID

[03] UNHCR URGES FOR INTERNATIONAL AID

This warning is contained in the latest working document prepared by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees for the forthcoming meeting of the working group for humanitarian issues in former Yugoslavia which starts Monday.

The meeting will be attended by high government officials from 55 countries including Yugoslavia, and by representatives of about 20 international organizations.

The document, which has not yet been made public officially, points out that sanctions have had catastrophic consequences for Yugoslavia's economy, and that although they have now been suspended, it is clear that full recovery will take years.

UNHCR especially points to the readiness of Yugoslav authorities to facilitate voluntary repatriation of refugees, but also notes that many of them will try to stay in Yugoslavia permanently.

According to UNHCR figures, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is host to about 650,000 refugees from the war-devastated ares of the former federation. Of this total, 400,000 are from Bosnia-Herzegovina, including about 100,000 Bosnian Muslims and Croats.

[04] ITALY GRANTS THREE BILLION LIRAS TO REFUGEES IN SERBIA

[05] TRIBUNAL WILL OPEN LIAISON OFFICE IN BELGRADE NEXT WEEK

Blewitt told Tanjug before leaving Belgrade that the opening of the liaison office would greatly facilitate contacts with victims and witnesses of crimes committed against Serbs.

He said it was due to the fact that there was no such office that the Tribunal had not been able to conduct all the necessary investigations into crimes committed against Serbs by Croats and Muslims.

The Hague-based Tribunal has indicted 57 persons so far, of whom 46 Serbs, eight Croats and three Muslims. Blewitt said it was obvious that a one-sided investigation of crimes was not conducive to peace in the Balkans. He said it was very important for the reconciliation process to try persons who have committed crimes.

The Deputy Prosector said the last thing the tribunal wanted was for a trial of a man charged with war crimes to turn into a trial of an entire people. Blewitt said the Tribunal was trying to show that persons who have committed crimes should be brought to justice. He said it was absolutely necessary to avoid mentioning collective guilt in any way.

[06] FRENCH PRESS WARNS OF DANGER OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL'S POLITICALIZATION

Dusan Tadic went on trial Tuesday as the first of the 46 Serbs indicted by the Hague Tribunal for alleged crimes in the four-year civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Tadic was arrested in Germany in 1994 on suspicion of murdering and torturing Muslim and Croat prisoners at a camp in Northern Bosnia.

The daily Liberation said in its editorial that the Hague Tribunal had been politicalized and that biased politics left no room for justice. The daily said the precarious balance in Bosnia must not been disrupted. It described the Hague Tribunal as a tribunal with no future.

French press commentators warned that bias threatened to turn the Tribunal into a sheer instrument of forces which continued to insist that 'innocent angels were on one side, and cursed devils on the other' in the Bosnian war fought among Serbs, Muslims and Croats.

[07] JASENOVAC SHOULD STAY MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF FASCIST TERROR

The delegation laid wreaths on the tomb of estimated 700,000 victims of fascism, mostly Serbs, who were killed in the notorious death camp during World War II.

Organization President Milorad Pupovac said that the Serbs strongly opposed plans to introduce changes to the memorial complex and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's idea to bring to Jasenovac the remains of Croatian fascists, ustashas, and bury them alongside with their victims. Jasenovac should remain a memorial to the victims of fascist and ustasha terror, Pupovac said.