Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-06-23

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED ICRC CHIEF SOMMARUGA

[02] BOSNIA PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY PASSES LAWS ON ECONOMIC REINTEGRATION

[03] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT MEETS WITH RUSSIAN AND U.S. DIPLOMATS

[04] SREM-BARANJA OFFICIAL ON SERB DELEGATION'S VISIT TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

[05] YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL SPEAKS AT INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BALKANS

[06] CONSULTATIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENT END IN VIENNA

[07] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PREMIER DJUNIC ON PAYMENT OF DEBTS

[08] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ADOPTS REPORT ON BRUSSELS TALKS

[09] SUBSTANTIVE TALKS IN ROME AND THE VATICAN

[10] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH TORAN

[11] SOMMARUGA: POSITIVE RESULTS OF MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC

[12] VANCE: YUGOSLAVIA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT MISSING PERSONS COMMISSION

[13] SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED VANCE

[01] SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED ICRC CHIEF SOMMARUGA

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic received on Friday President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Cornelio Sommaruga and his aides.

Interest was expressed in the continuation of cooperation between Yugoslav state bodies and ICRC teams in their regular activities, in keeping with the host country's regulations and International Law.

Also was present the Head of the Yugoslav Government Committee for humanitarian affairs Pavle Todorovic.

[02] BOSNIA PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY PASSES LAWS ON ECONOMIC REINTEGRATION

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Bosnia's Parliamentary Assembly adopted through summary proceedings on Friday a package of seven laws on economic reintegration.

The Assembly met in Sarajevo immediately after the Council of Ministers had adopted the laws in question. The international community has set the adoption of the seven laws as a condition for a Donor Conference that should be held in Brussels soon.

The Council needed several months to reach agreement on the laws, giving the green light for them earlier in the day, evidently under pressure by the international community and its threat that it would again postpone the Donor Conference.

Deputy of the High Representative for Bosnia, Michael Steiner, said after the Sarajevo meeting that the Assembly had established a framework of major laws that would be implemented throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. He said this was the first legislation following Bosnia's elections.

The Donor Conference is believed to be of major importance because donor countries have announced that they will offer financial assistance of 1.4 billion dollars to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The adoption of the laws makes possible Bosnia's credit deals with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that are crucial to the war-devastated economy and infrastructure of the former Yugoslav republic.

The laws in question include those on the Central Bank and a common currency, foreign debt, budget, duties and tariffs. They are to enable economic reintegration of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the manner urged by the international community for quite some time.

[03] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT MEETS WITH RUSSIAN AND U.S. DIPLOMATS

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic on Friday held separate talks with U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Sarajevo Robert Beecroft and Russian Foreign Minister's special envoy Alexander Axenyak.

Plavsic and Beecroft conferred about the "open cities" proposal and Donors' Conference for Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Plavsic and Axenyak discussed the package of laws for a speedy recovery and the Law on customs tariffs in a meeting also attended by head of the Russian Office in Sarajevo Yakov Gerasimov.

After the talks, Republika Srpska Presidential Office Chief of Staff Milos Prica told reporters that the United States insisted on proclaiming some cities open to the return of refugees and believed that the project should start in Sipovo.

Prica said that the U.S. side had proposed the return of a number of Muslim families after which the United States should invest in the reconstruction of the city's infrastructure and housing facilities both for its present inhabitants and displaced persons.

Prica said that Republika Srpska representatives would give the reply after having analyzed the plan.

Beecroft said that the Donors' Conference would most likely be held in the second week of July if a speedy recovery laws package were adopted and a letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund were signed.

Beecroft believes that if this succeeds, there will no obstacles to the Donors' Conference, Prica said.

He said Plavsic had been satisfied that the adoption of the speedy recovery law was in sight, because this would open the door to the holding of the Donors' Conference.

Prica quoted Plavsic as saying that the conference was very important to the Republika Srpska because it would have the possibility to get financial assistance which it had been denied last year.

[04] SREM-BARANJA OFFICIAL ON SERB DELEGATION'S VISIT TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Joint Council of Municipalities President Milos Vojnovic said on Friday that during a recent visit to the Council of Europe, a Serb delegation had very important talks with the association's strongest political body, the Committee of Ministers.

"We had the opportunity to speak about the implementation of the Peace Agreement and future activities at the Committee of Ministers," Vojnovic told TV Vukovar and Joint Council of Municipalities' Press Centre. He said that the topics had included the level of tolerance between nations, which he said could still not guarantee life in peace and complete security and equality to all citizens.

"There was also mention of the problem of refugees in the context of latest statements by the Croatian side, especially President (Franjo) Tudjman's statement banning the return from Yugoslavia of Serbs, which is especially worrying," Vojnovic said.

He said that the Serb delegation told the Council of Europe and the Committee of Ministers that the Amnesty Law was still not implemented and that the notorious lists of unpardoned Serbs had not been abolished, despite firm guarantees by the Croatian side.

This is another proof of the discrepancy between the policy which is created in the highest political and other institutions of power and its implementation in practice, Vojnovic told the Council of Europe.

The Council heard again the Serb stand on the necessity to extend the unaltered mandate of the U.N. Transitional Administration of Eastern Slavonia by January 15, 1998, after which an OSCE or U.N. monitoring missions would remain on the ground as long as necessary.

Education, culture, information and other topics were also discussed.

[05] YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL SPEAKS AT INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BALKANS

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Yugoslavia attaches great importance to relations with its neighbours, believing that only development of good neighbourly relations and cooperation helps build trust and consolidate peace and stability in the Balkans and Europe, said Ljubisa Ristic head of the Yugoslav Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee.

Ristic was speaking in the Macedonian town of Ohrid, where he heads a Yugoslav delegation to an International Symposium on Security and Stability in the Balkans.

The symposium, organised by the Macedonian and NATO Assemblies, is attended by more than 200 renowned political figures, including parliamentary representatives of Macedonia's neighbours and NATO Assembly officials, Macedonian state and political leaders and numerous officials.

Ristic said that the Balkans represented an integral part of Europe and that a wider European political and economic architecture could not be built without it. "Stability, security and development of the Balkans are important preconditions in the process of Europe's unification," he said.

"In its 'Balkan' policy of mutual appreciation, building of confidence and development of cooperation among Balkan countries, the FR Yugoslavia is guided by the principles of sovereign equality, mutual interests and non- interference in other countries' internal affairs. The Balkan peoples should decide themselves on the fate of the Balkans without the influence of world factors on the inter-Balkan relations," Ristic said.

He also said that Yugoslavia supported and would actively participate in initiatives for cooperation in the Balkans and other initiatives which help build confidence and security, reduce military potentials in the region, consolidate trust and promote good neighbourly relations and cooperation in all fields, especially between the former Yugoslav republics.

"The strategic commitment of the FR Yugoslavia is to build its relations with all neighbours on the principles of equality, non-interference in internal affairs, observation of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. This approach and constructive activity aimed at promoting good neighbourly relations represent the priority of our foreign policy," Ristic said.

Speaking about Yugoslavia's relations with Macedonia, he said that great importance was attached to the upgrading and promotion of cooperation in this field.

[06] CONSULTATIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENT END IN VIENNA

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

This week's regular consultations on the implementation of an Agreement on sub*regional arms control in the former Yugoslavia ended successfully on Friday, head of the Yugoslav delegation, Ambassador Dragomir Djokic, said.

Djokic said the consultations were aimed at analyzing the ongoing implementation of the agreement with the focus on the second phase of the reduction of arms by the signatories to the agreement.

The agreement was signed in Vienna in June 1996 by Yugoslavia, the (Bosnian Serb) Republika Srpska, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Moslem-Croat Federation.

Djokic said all parties concerned had submitted detailed plans and programmes for reducing their arms within the second phase that was to be completed by late October.

He said inspection plans had also been adopted, working agreements reached and accompanying documents drafted so that, considering the current developments, the entire process was expected to end in the planned time.

The consultations dealt also with the future engagement of the Commission for monitoring the implementation of the agreement. The Commission is to meet in early September. By that time, the plan of its future engagement should be reviewed, he said.

Djokic said the Commission would meet again by the end of the year once the second stage was over to make a thorough analysis of the implementation of the agreement, especially as regards the reduction of military potential.

Once this is over, other countries in the region should join this process, as provided for by the agreement.

Djokic expressed satisfaction with the constructive atmosphere created during the consultations, saying no controversial political issues had been raised that could have drawn attention away from main issues on the agenda.

[07] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PREMIER DJUNIC ON PAYMENT OF DEBTS

Tanjug, 1997-06-21

In the upcoming talks with London Club officials, we shall present the situation in our country with the relevant documents and make proposals regarding the restructuring of our obligations toward the London Club, Yugoslav Deputy Premier Danko Djunic said on Saturday prior to his departure for London.

Our delegation will not insist on anything, Djunic said, pointing out that the London Club was a group of major World commercial banks to which Yugoslav companies owed certain debts, with guarantees of the state.

Yugoslavia wants to return these debts and talks will focus on the deadlines and conditions and start of payments, he said. We hope to receive favourable and concrete answers to all this, he said.

"We expect their stand to be professional and cooperative, but we will not accept any conditions. They agreed to this, so that I expect a concrete professional reply," Djunic said.

"Our hard currency funds are still frozen. Even that what we have is not available to us. We do not have access to the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank so that we could get possible other credits, and we have not settled our relations with the Paris Club, either, primarily for political reasons," Djunic said.

Djunic nevertheless said he was optimistic, but moderately so.

Politics has an important role in Yugoslavia's relations with international financial and other institutions, he said. This will continue to be so in the upcoming talks as well, he added.

"This is not written anywhere in so many words, but it will be very present implicitly, Djunic said.

[08] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ADOPTS REPORT ON BRUSSELS TALKS

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

The Yugoslav Government's Commission for relations with the Peace Implementation Council and world financial and trade organisations adopted on Friday a report by Yugoslav delegation on talks with the Succession Group in Brussels on June 1-4.

In a session chaired by Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, the Commission said considerable headway had been made in the talks, saying it was still evident that other states emerging from the former Yugoslavia wanted to solve the succession issue partially and to give it a political dimension instead of the economic, said a statement issued by the Yugoslav Information Secretariat.

In the light of the fact that the division of the former Yugoslavia's assets constitutes a major issue in regulating Yugoslavia's status on the international scene, especially as regards the normalisation of its relations with world financial institutions, the Commission decided that the delegation try to speed up the talks through its cooperative and constructive approach in order to reach agreement on the issue as soon as possible, the statement said.

The Commission remains firmly committed to the stand that agreement on the issue should be reached gradually and should be based on the footing of equality and the respect of Law, the statement said.

In the Brussels talks, the Yugoslav delegation, headed by academician Kosta Mihailovic, insisted on the equality of all participants in the talks, since it is evident that the Yugoslav side is not receiving equal treatment in the resolution of the succession issue due to pressure exerted through the so-called outer wall of sanctions.

The Yugoslav delegation will continue to urge the normalisation of relations with the international community, especially with international financial organisations, this being the only way of speeding up negotiations and of reaching agreement on the succession issue, based on the footing of equality and the respect of Law, the statement said.

Talks on the issues of division of assets and economic consequences of the secession will resume in early July when Sir Arthur Watts, head of the Succession Group, is due to arrive in Belgrade, the statement said.

[09] SUBSTANTIVE TALKS IN ROME AND THE VATICAN

Tanjug, 1997-06-21

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic assessed on Saturday that the talks he held in the past two days with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini and with the Holy See Secretary in the Vatican were very substantive and intensive.

The talks covered almost all issues regarding bilateral relations and the situation in the region, Milutinovic told Tanjug.

Milutinovic said he had set out the views of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) about problems in the region, in our neighbourhood, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

Our views were similar or coincided on a number of points, the Yugoslav Foreign Minister assessed.

Milutinovic pointed out that with Italy, our biggest foreign trade partner, we have a wide range of mutual relations and pointed out at the same time to the politically-significant ties with the Vatican.

The Accord on abrogating visas for holders of diplomatic and business passports signed in Rome by Milutinovic and Dini was described by the Yugoslav Foreign Minister as a half-step towards liberalising the visa regime with Italy.

The Accord grants facilities only to a circle of people, Milutinovic said, explaining that the issue of visas is regulated by the Schengen Agreement.

"Italy was the last country to introduce visas under the pressure of Schengen and it is the first to start lifting them," Milutinovic said.

He recalled that Yugoslavia had at one time abrogated visas for 70 countries and that its wish now was that visas be lifted with many countries. Milutinovic assessed that the world, especially the Schengen group of countries, would soon be assured that the lifting of visas with the FRY would not practically create problems, or bring in crowds of people from Yugoslavia.

"Even at the height of the crisis, when Italy did not have visas for Yugoslav nationals, we did not have in Italy refugees from Yugoslavia," Milutinovic recalled. Those visas, he assessed, were introduced as a "sanitary cordon" towards Yugoslavia in fear of refugees from Bosnia and Croatia.

Milutinovic announced the signing of an Accord between the FRY and Italy on the protection of investments. The Accord has only been initialled, as the Italian side had not completed preparations for its signing. The signing will be a formality, but also one more reason to meet again, Milutinovic said.

[10] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH TORAN

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Relations between Yugoslavia and the Holy See continue to develop and both parties are willing to promote relations and cooperation, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic said on Friday.

Milutinovic said he held substantial and beneficial talks in his one-day working visit to the Vatican with the Secretary of the Holy See for relations with states, Jean-Louis Toran.

Talks focused on bilateral relations and the situation in the region.

"We were pleased to state that relations between Yugoslavia and the Holy See are progressing continually, conducive to which are regular contacts and political dialogue," said Milutinovic.

During the meeting, both parties reiterated willingness to promote ties and cooperation on established principles, he added.

"We agreed that the Peace Process has entered a stage when further efforts are imperative in order to overcome obstacles and secure stable peace and equal development throughout Bosnia," said Milutinovic. The officials laid stress to the responsibility of the international community in securing consistent implementation of the Dayton-Paris Accord in the period ahead and rejecting any attempts at alteration.

Financial and other aid for the reconstruction of Bosnia has special significance in that respect, and equal treatment of both Entities, said Milutinovic.

We expressed conviction that the holding of local elections in the fall would continue to affirm the positive aspects of the Peace Process, said Milutinovic.

Both sides underscored a mutual interest in the consolidation of peace, stability, good-neighbourly relations, and expressed willingness to serve toward those aims in the future.

The significance of Yugoslavia's constructive peace policy and its contribution to positive trends and overall cooperation in the region were set out in the talks, Milutinovic said in conclusion.

[11] SOMMARUGA: POSITIVE RESULTS OF MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC

Tanjug, 1997-06-21

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Cornelio Sommaruga said in an interview to Tanjug on Saturday that his meeting with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic had been very useful.

Friday's meeting, during which we considered ICRC activities throughout the world, including Serbia, was very useful and had positive results, he said.

All ICRC activities, since 1991, have been a reflection of the active positive cooperation with the Yugoslav authorities, said Sommaruga.

During the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it was very important for us to overcome possible administrative obstacles in bringing in humanitarian aid, especially to Republika Srpska, in which President Milosevic was of great help, he said.

Sommaruga said he was very happy that he had been able to meet with President Milosevic again. He said Milosevic had again praised the ICRC's work in Yugoslavia, stressing its impartiality.

The talks covered also ICRC activities on spreading Humanitarian Law among members of armed forces, and access to prisons, he said.

Sommaruga said he had spoken with Milosevic also about the specific problem of the activities of the International Commission for missing persons regarding so-called concealed prison sites.

Asked how many persons imprisoned in connection with the armed conflicts in former Yugoslavia were still visited by the ICRC in Croatia, Sommaruga said only 16 inmates in Split of the about 100 prisoners in Croatia were still treated as POW's. Under the Dayton Accords, all those who have not been charged with war crimes should have been released in early January 1996, and so these 16 prisoners as well, and without any delay, Sommaruga said. He said he was happy that Croatian officials at a meeting of the Commission for missing persons on Friday had signalled that these persons would soon be released as well.

Regarding Yugoslavia, the ICRC is visiting a certain number of persons who are not considered POW's, but have been found guilty of crimes against state security.

Asked to comment on cooperation between the ICRC and the Hague Tribunal for war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia, Sommaruga said this cooperation had nothing to do with the work done by the Tribunal in sentencing war criminals, but was limited only to technical assistance.

In that sense, the ICRC is examining material in the Tribunal archives, especially on exhumation, so as to find possible indications to establish the identity of exhumed persons. In that process, we are not interested in the perpetrators of these acts in the slightest, Sommaruga said.

[12] VANCE: YUGOSLAVIA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT MISSING PERSONS COMMISSION

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Chairman of the International Commission for missing persons in the former Yugoslavia Cyrus Vance said on Friday that the Commission would continue to have Yugoslavia's unfailing support.

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic confirmed this in talks with representatives of the Commission, Vance said.

The Commission held a regular session in Belgrade on Friday, attended by representatives from Yugoslavia, Croatia, the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska.

The session was held in order to report on the results of efforts toward discovering the destinies of persons gone missing during the war in the former Yugoslavia, it was heard at a press conference, which was attended by president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Cornelio Sommaruga.

The Commission stated that Yugoslavia had submitted to Croatia 700 protocols on persons missing in the region of Vukovar in 1991, which will help their identification.

It was agreed at the meeting that Yugoslavia would submit to Croatia by the end of August the remaining 400 protocols on persons missing in Vukovar, after completing forensic reports.

Croatia has released only two out of 18 Serbs held in a jail near the Adriatic port of Split since the Commission's last meeting in Zagreb in March, despite appeals by Vance and international representatives for the release of all prisoners. The Croatian representatives said a number of the remaining prisoners would be released by next Thursday. The Commission warned Croatia that, like the other parties, it was under the obligation unconditionally to release all prisoners held in the territory of Croatia.

The representatives of Bosnia's three sides pledged to continue cooperation with the Commission and expedite work on exhumation.

As to doubts expressed by families about prisoners held in secret camps, the ICRC said it was willing to pursue surprise visits to such sites, in cooperation with the authorities of all three sides.

President of the Yugoslav Commission for humanitarian issues and missing persons Pavle Todorovic said Yugoslavia was not opposed to surprise visits for the discovery of secret camps in its territory.

"President Milosevic confirmed this to Cyrus Vance today. Our stand is to give the ICRC full liberty to check all sites believed to contain secret camps, but Yugoslavia demands the same right in return," said Todorovic. He said the session of the International Commission in Belgrade was a commendation to Yugoslavia for its cooperativeness so far.

[13] SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED VANCE

Tanjug, 1997-06-20

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic received on Friday former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the U.N. Commission for missing persons, Cyrus Vance, who has arrived in Belgrade to attend the Commission's regular session.

Milosevic and Vance welcomed positive results achieved in implementing the Peace Process, pointing out continual efforts to eliminate in a more efficient way adverse effects of civil war in the former Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia is continually helping normalise relations and restore cooperation among Balkan states and peoples on the footing of equality, which is a reliable and durable factor of stability in this part of Europe.

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