Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-01-13

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN BELGRADE

[02] U.N. OFFICIAL: SITUATION ON PREVLAKA BASICALLY STABLE

[03] MONTENEGRO'S LEADERS RECEIVE DELEGATION OF U.S. CONGRESSMEN

[04] GALBRAITH: REINTEGRATION OF EASTERN SLAVONIJA BY JULY 15

[05] BRITAIN'S PORTILLO CONFIDENT SFOR WILL BRING LASTING PEACE TO BOSNIA

[06] U.N. SOON TO DECIDE ON EXTENDING PREVLAKA OBSERVER MISSION'S MANDATE

[07] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS RECEIVE PROTESTING STUDENTS' DELEGATES

[08] PACK SAYS LEFT WON MAJORITY VOTE AT LOCAL ELECTIONS IN SERBIA

[09] FIVE-NATION 'CONTACT GROUP' AGAINST IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

[10] GREECE WANTS DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC PROGRESS FOR YUGOSLAVIA - PANGALOS

[11] SERBIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER

[12] HEAD OF SERBIAN CHURCH RECEIVES GREEK MINISTER

[01] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN BELGRADE

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

[02] U.N. OFFICIAL: SITUATION ON PREVLAKA BASICALLY STABLE

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-10

[03] MONTENEGRO'S LEADERS RECEIVE DELEGATION OF U.S. CONGRESSMEN

After meeting with the delegation, Bulatovic said the Congressmen's visit was a contribution to efforts by Yugoslavia, and in particular by Montenegro, to develop and promote relations with the United States. 'We have expressed our determination and readiness to work in line with the Yugoslav Constitution and Montenegro's Constitutionals tand on the resolution of issues at the federation level in a democratic and efficient manner, without the use of force and in a manner that is in line with democratic norms and standards,' he said, adding that this visit was an encouragement to efforts to this end.

In a talk with Marovic the Congressmen backed the Montenegrin Government's line on the democratisation of the society and its economic development. Vento said he was confident that the renewal of relations between the international community and the United States on one side and Yugoslavia on the other would help compensate for all that had been missed in the years after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.

Djukanovic informed the Congressmen that the pace of economic and political reforms in Montenegro would largely depend on the pace and quality of Yugoslavia's reintegration into the world community. After meeting with the Congressmen, Djukanovic said they had also touched on the political situation in Serbia. He said he had informed the Congressmen that it was in Montenegro's interest that the crisis in Serbia be defused in a democratic manner as soon as possible.

Heads of opposition Parliamentary Clubs declined an invitation to meet with the Congressmen.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

[04] GALBRAITH: REINTEGRATION OF EASTERN SLAVONIJA BY JULY 15

The region of Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem is wedged between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Croatia. It has a majority Serb population and was in November 1995, under the Erdut Agreement, placed under U.N. Administration (UNTAES) until the summer of 1997.

Commenting the Serb demands for the region to be granted autonomy, Galbraith said that 'there is no basis for this in the Erdut Agreement.' He reiterrated that at the March 16 elections 'entiteled to vote will be all who lived in the region until 1991 and those who came there after this date from other parts of Croatia.'

Galbraith said that the March elections would enable the population of this region to elect its representatives for the local assemblies. He said that the Croatian Government had offered the Serbs to hold the offices of deputy administrators of the Vukovar-Srem and Osijek-Baranja counties, which are planned to form the region of Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem. Galbraith stressed that the Serbs from this region had also been offered senior positions within some Croatian Ministries, but failed to say exactly what offices were in question.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-10

[05] BRITAIN'S PORTILLO CONFIDENT SFOR WILL BRING LASTING PEACE TO BOSNIA

Asked about the U.S. Train and Equip Programme for the Bosnian Muslims and their arming by Islamic countries, Portillo said that this was not a threat to peace and that he could understand the U.S. reasons. However, he added, Great Britain would not take part in the programmes for as long as it had troops in Bosnia.

As concerns Brcko, Portillo said this was a very sensitive issue which was why it needed arbitration. This matter was extremely important to both sides and extremely sensitive, and had to be settled by arbitration in which both sides would have just representation, he stressed. This could not be solved by force, and NATO-led SFOR would ensure stability and security in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he added.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-11

[06] U.N. SOON TO DECIDE ON EXTENDING PREVLAKA OBSERVER MISSION'S MANDATE

Prevlaka was within Croatia's administrative border before its violent secession from the former Yugoslavia but Zagreb had no say in the matter at the time because the promontory was controlled by the former Yugoslav People's army that had facilities there.

With Yugoslavia's approval, Prevlaka was placed under U.N.control after a conference in London in August 1992 until a final solution has been found to the issue.

The extension of the mission's mandate that under resolution 1066, adopted on july 15, 1996, expires on January 15 was proposed by former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in a report he made at the end of his term as Secretary-General late last year.

A draft resolution on the extension of mandate, which the Security Council member-states discussed behind closed doors last week, contains the majority of Boutros-Ghali's proposals and remarks.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

[07] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS RECEIVE PROTESTING STUDENTS' DELEGATES

The Government officials agreed with the need to honour in full the will of the people as expressed in local elections, and stressed that the Serbian Government had been insisting on this position before. In line with this, Government will later today instruct the Justice Ministry to speed up the work of those state bodies that had not yet established final election results.

Also, competent state bodies will be asked to pinpoint responsibility in cases where election fraud is found to have been committed, and to punish those responsible.

The Government will also ask the Education Minister to put on the agenda of the next session of the Belgrade University Council the protesters' demand for replacing the Chancellor and the Student Vicechancellor.

The protesters agreed to end their protest if these demands are met, the statement said.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-11

[08] PACK SAYS LEFT WON MAJORITY VOTE AT LOCAL ELECTIONS IN SERBIA

Pack, who on Thursday arrived in Belgrade to look into the developments in Serbia after the second round of local elections on Novrmber 17, told a press conference that she would present her findings at a debate on the political situation in Europe in the European Parliament next week.

The European Parliament is ready to help Serbia in the further development of democratic processes in the country, said Pack who also heads the European Parliament delegation to Southeastern Europe and is a member of Germany's Christian Democratic Party.

Asked by a ZDF reporter if it was possible to step up outside pressure on the Serbian leadership, she said she could understand such demands but that it was very difficult to find the necessary means with which to exert such pressure. We have means which have meanwhile lost their edge, she said, underscoring that the imposing of new sanctions was out of the question since they primarily affect those who should not suffer.

Pack said the leaders of the Opposition Coalition Zajedno (Together) Zoran Djindjic, Vesna Pesic and Vuk Draskovic had spoken with her and opened the issue of imposing new forms of sanctions against their own country. She said they primarily referred to the freezing of Government funds in foreign banks and said she was in favor of such demands.

Speaking about Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija (Kosmet), Pack said there could be no stable peace until this question was settled. She suggested that the question of Kosmet be resolved already this year and said it was in the interest of the Coalition Zajedno to influence ethnic Albanians.

Pack said she had conferred on Friday with Assistant Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, who had reiterated that the Yugoslav Government supported the findings of the delegation of the OSCE, headed by Felipe Gonzales, which visited Belgrade late last year.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-10

[09] FIVE-NATION 'CONTACT GROUP' AGAINST IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

U.S. envoy John Kornblum said sanctions would not help resolve the current crisis in Yugoslavia. France's representative Philippe de Suremain said dialogue was possible in Yugoslavia, while German representative Wolfgang Ischinger reiterated the German Government's opposition to the imposition of sanctions on Serbia because they would not solve anything.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

[10] GREECE WANTS DEMOCRACY, ECONOMIC PROGRESS FOR YUGOSLAVIA - PANGALOS

Pangalos said that the Greek and Serbian nations were linked by strong ties which were more than just historic, cultural and religious. Pangalos stressed that Greece was a member of the European Union and must have a position on and a part in developments in its neighbourhood. Of course, he added, his delegation had not come to give adviceor to preach, or because they thought they knew better, but were here with full respect for the will of the Serbian people and the country's institutions.

Pangalos said it appeared that the report on recent municipal elections in Serbia drawn up by OSCE Envoy Felipe Gonzalez should be applied in full, including where it relates to the Belgrade City Council. The Gonzalez Report, submitted to all interested parties and to the OSCE Council in Vienna, makes no mention in any of its parts of the Belgrade City Council as a question at issue. Pangalos said that the application of the Gonzalez report should be freely accepted by all political factors in Serbia within the country's institutions.

He said that, once this had happened, he felt sure that Government and the Opposition would be ready to open dialogue on a procedure that would guarantee a free and true expression of the political will of the Serbian people in the future. The dialogue should be open to the public with the help of all technical facilities of the mass media, so that the people should know the possible positions of the political powers in the country, Pangalos explained. He again said that Greece was absolutely interested in seeing a strong democracy in Serbia and Yugoslavia, which would play their full part in international relations. He said efforts were being made to integrate the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the international community and would be happy if things were happening that would make it possible.

Vuk Draskovic, who heads the Serbian Renewal Movement which is a member of the Opposition Zajedno Coalition, thanked Minister Pangalos for the open and constructive discussion. He said that the Coalition leaders had informed Pangalos about the background of the political crisis in Serbia and results scored by the opposition in November 17 municipal elections. Draskovic said the opposition was willing to open dialogue with Government and end demonstrations on terms suggested by Pangalos, adding that this dialogue must be carried by all state media freely and openly.

Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party, another Zajedno member, said that Pangalos had been made aware of Zajedno's position, and thanked all those who were willing to help settle the current political crisis.

Vesna Pesic of Zajedno's Civic Alliance of Serbia, said that Pangalos would support the position that the Gonzalez Report should be accepted.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

[11] SERBIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER

They expressed confidence that issues concerning the development of a country should be solved in a country's legitimate institutions and that a harmonious development of a country was in the best interest of all that urge stable and prosperous inter-state relations based on equality, partnership and non-interference in a country'sinternal affairs.

Yugoslavia and its peoples develop such relations with Greece and its people, helping build the future characterised by ties among all nations and a successful realisation of common interests.

Milutinovic also attended the talks.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

[12] HEAD OF SERBIAN CHURCH RECEIVES GREEK MINISTER

Thanking the Patriarch for his cordial audience, Minister Pangalos said his visit was meant to help as much as possible find a solution for the situation in which the Serbian people find themselves.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-13 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-12

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