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Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-05-22
CONTENTS
[01] YUGOSLAV SUPREME DEFENSE COUNCIL REITERATES COMMITMENT TO PEACE
[02] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ACTING PRESIDENT PLAVSIC
[03] NORMALISATION WITH IMF, WORLD BANK - PRIORITY OF YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT
[04] PREMIER DEMANDS COMPLIANCE WITH DAYTON ACCORD BY MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION TOO
[05] OVER 25,000 NON-SERBS LIVE IN BANJA LUKA
[06] HOLBROOKE ADMITS INVOLVEMENT IN ARMS DELIVERIES TO BOSNIAN MUSLIMS
[07] BELGRADE DAILY: SERBS COULD ACHIEVE AUTONOMY IN CROATIA PEACEFULLY
[01] YUGOSLAV SUPREME DEFENSE COUNCIL REITERATES COMMITMENT TO PEACE
B e l g r a d e, May 21 (Tanjug) - Yugoslavia's Supreme Defense Council reiterated Tuesday the
country's commitment to a consistent and principled peace policy and a regular fulfillment of the
obligations assumed under the Dayton agreement.
The Supreme Defense Council, chaired by President Zoran Lilic, reviewed a report of the
Yugoslav delegation to the Vienna talks on sub-regional arms control. The Council adopted the instructions
to be given to and the stands to be taken by the Yugoslav delegation in the further talks on sub-regional
arms control. The adopted stands unequivocally reflect Yugoslavia's commitment to a peaceful and lasting
solution of problems in the Balkans.
Apart from Presidents Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Momir Bulatovic of Montenegro, who
are Council members, the session was attended by Federal Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, Federal Defense
Minister Pavle Bulatovic, Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Momcilo Perisic, and Council Secretary, Gen.
Slavoljub Susic.
[02] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ACTING PRESIDENT PLAVSIC
B e l g r a d e, May 21 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic received on Tuesday
Acting President of the Republika Srpska Biljana Plavsic and Republika Srpska Vice President Nikola
Koljevic.
Plavsic and Koljevic informed Milosevic about major political developments in the Republika
Srpska, designed primarily to implement in full the Dayton peace accord and ensure the Republika Srpska's
economic recovery, a statement from Milosevic's cabinet said. Upcoming elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
which should be held by mid-September, are vital for the creation of democratic institutions, it was stressed
during the meeting.
In view of this, it is necessary to establish full cooperation with the mission of the OSCE, which is
authorised under the Dayton accord to coordinate activity conducive to the elections.
The need was especially stressed for ensuring freedom of movement and appointing in good time
election commissions in all municipalities in the Republika Srpska.
Plavsic informed Milosevic about the drafting of rules for an equal representation of the political
parties in the election campaign in the Republika Srpska.
[03] NORMALISATION WITH IMF, WORLD BANK - PRIORITY OF YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT
B e l g r a d e, May 21 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav federal and republican officials stressed on Tuesday
that a normalisation with international financial and commercial institutions, primarily the IMF and the
World Bank, was a priority. Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic was discussing the implementation of
the economic policy for 1996 with government officials of Serbia and Montenegro. The meeting was
attended by Montenegrin Premier Milo Djukanovic, Serbian Vice Premier Dragan Tomic, Yugoslav Vice
Premier Jovan Zebic and other government officials.
The Yugoslav Government is firmly committed to its set economic policy objectives, the
participants in the meeting agreed, according to the statement. Among these objectives are maintaining a
stable national currency and stable prices, increasing production and exports, and attaining the planned
increase in the domestic product. They stressed that the stable exchange rate of the dinar (3.3 dinars to a
German mark) best disproved speculations about a possible devaluation, which meant that the money issue
was backed by the hard currency reserves and production and export results.
The question of working capital necessary for stimulating production and export must be solved
from real domestic sources.
REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
[04] PREMIER DEMANDS COMPLIANCE WITH DAYTON ACCORD BY MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION TOO
P a l e, May 21 (Tanjug) - The Republika Srpska Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic underlined
Tuesday that the Government of the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina would comply with the Dayton
accord, but would demand that the Muslim-Croat Federation also comply with its provisions and with the
timetable for the implementation of specific points.
[05] OVER 25,000 NON-SERBS LIVE IN BANJA LUKA
B e l g r a d e, May 21 (Tanjug) - Over 25,000 non-Serbs live freely in Banja Luka, Mayor Predrag
Radic said. Radic said that before the start of the civil war in Bosnia, Banja Luka had about 190,000
inhabitants, of whom 35,000 left mainly voluntarily. He said that proof of this are their signed statements,
but he did no deny that there had been cases which had 'slipped out of control.'
Radic said that refugees will be able to return to Banja Luka, but that 500,000 Serb refugees from
Croatia and the Muslim parts of Bosnia had already passed through the city and that care for those who
remained is a priority.
Radic said that these problems had been pointed out to visiting missions of the world and
European banks, and the European Union. They had been requested for aid because it is high time to begin
the reconstruction of regions which the Dayton agreement gave to the Serbs.
ON ARMS SMUGGLING
[06] HOLBROOKE ADMITS INVOLVEMENT IN ARMS DELIVERIES TO BOSNIAN MUSLIMS
W a s h i n g t o n, May 21 (Tanjug) - The United States' former negotiator in the Balkans Richard
Holbrooke admitted on Tuesday he had known and been involved in Iranian arms shipments to Bosnian
Muslims.
Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Holbrooke said he had for a time explored
other channels for arms deliveries as well. He confirmed reports disclosed in the US press some time ago
that he had worked in 1994 to find other states, mostly Islamic, apart from Iran, to deliver arms to the
Bosnian Muslims, but the idea was not put into practice.
FROM DOMESTIC PRESS
[07] BELGRADE DAILY: SERBS COULD ACHIEVE AUTONOMY IN CROATIA PEACEFULLY
B e l g r a d e, May 21 (Tanjug) - The international community has raised the issue of autonomy
for the Serbs in Croatia as a realistic solution for the eastern Slavonia, Barania and west Srem region, the
Belgrade daily Politika said on Tuesday. The daily described as 'particularly significant' a statement by
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel prior to his visit to Belgrade on Thursday that autonomy was a
possible solution for the position of Serbs in Croatia.
Politika said Kinkel had given a 'political cue' for what is to take place in the following weeks in
the region and other parts of Croatia from where about half a million Serbs had been expelled over the past
five years.
The daily said the solutions insisted upon were those essentially regarding the equality of the Serb
population.
Serbs have ceased migrating from the region between the Danube, Drava and Bosut rivers, and
nervousness and Panic have subsided, said Politika and added that hopes should be realistic and autonomy
not expected outside the region.
Politika sought an explanation to the return of Kinkel and other international mediators to political
talks on Zagreb's growing condemnation toward minorities on the one hand and the peaceful policy of the
Serbs on the other.
'The number of the Serbs, they stay and respect for European standards on minorities, are good
starting values for a diplomatic battle for autonomy', said Politika.
The daily said it perceived 'Croatia's subconscious reconciliation' to the solution in a recent
decision by the Croatian Parliament on a selective amnesty for Serb soldiers from the region. Would
autonomy for the Serbs not be a good and efficacious manner for its peaceful reintegration into Croatia
whereby all the interested parties would be satisfied, asked Politika.
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