Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-07-15

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] ETHNIC-ALBANIAN TERRORISTS SENTENCED TO TOTAL OF 264 YEARS IN PRISON

[02] YUGOSLAVIA, CYPRUS SIGN PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION

[03] RUSSIAN MEDIA ON SFOR OPERATION IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[04] KRAJISNIK CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS FOLLOWING PRIJEDOR INCIDENT

[05] KRAJISNIK MEETS WESTENDORP

[06] ABUSE OF RED CROSS SYMBOL CONFIRMED BY ICRC

[07] SIR ARTHUR WATTS ENDS VISIT TO BELGRADE

[08] MILOSEVIC FELICITATES BULATOVIC ON DAY OF UPRISING

[09] RS GOVERNMENT REJECTS INFORMATION SENT BY SFOR GENERAL

[10] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT READY FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH CROATIA

[11] GREEK AMBASSADOR VISITS PRISTINA

[12] UPPER HOUSE SPEAKER - CELEBRATION OF UPRISING ANNIVERSARY

[13] RS GOVERNMENT CRITICISES SFOR OPERATION IN PRIJEDOR

[14] RS LEADERS MEET SENATORS, SERBIAN ORTHODOX OFFICIALS

[15] SFOR KILLS ONE SERB, ARRESTS THREE

[16] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT OPENS DEBATE ON DEVELOPMENTS IN RS

[17] YUGOSLAV BUILDERS SIGN NEW CONTRACTS WITH FOREIGN PARTNERS

[18] JOULWAN CONFIRMS SFOR ACTION - PLAVSIC PROTESTS

[19] YUGOS TO BE SOLD IN POLAND

[20] KRAJISNIK CONDEMNS SFOR ACTIONS

[01] ETHNIC-ALBANIAN TERRORISTS SENTENCED TO TOTAL OF 264 YEARS IN PRISON

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

A group of members of the ethnic-Albanian terrorist organization "Liberation Army of Kosovo" were sentenced to a total of 264 years in prison on Friday by the district court in Pristina. Chief defendant Besim Rama and ten other defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison each. The group carried out terrorist attacks in the 1992-1996 period, in which three policemen and one young girl were killed, 16 persons were wounded, and great material damage caused. The terrorists also carried out bomb attacks on a refugee centre and an Army of Yugoslavia barracks in Vucitrn.

[02] YUGOSLAVIA, CYPRUS SIGN PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

On the last day of an official visit to Cyprus, Yugoslav Minister for Labour, Health and Social Policy Miroslav Ivanisevic and Cypriot Labour and Social Protection Minister Andreas Musutas signed a protocol on cooperation in the field of labour. The document determines the dynamics of cooperation and envisages the signing of an agreement on employing young experts for specialisation and an agreement on social security.

Musutas and Cypriot Health Minister Christos Solomis said they were satisfied with the results of the visit.

[03] RUSSIAN MEDIA ON SFOR OPERATION IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

Tanjug, 1997-07-12

The majority of Moscow newspapers on Saturday carried a statement in which Russia strongly condemned the recent SFOR operation in the Republika Srpska and said that this development might cause a rift between the guarantors of peace in Bosnia.

Quoting NATO officials as saying that the peace mission in Bosnia proves that Russia and NATO can cooperate well regardless of all differences, the daily Sevodnya said, "It would be interesting to see what would remain of this cooperation if the pecaekeeping force in Bosnia, including the Russian contingent, were ordered by the NATO Commander Europe to begin with a large- scale operation of arresting war crimes suspects."

Izvestiya said that operations, such as the one in Prijedor, could hardly help consolidate trust, particularly between the SFOR and Serb forces, especially because British SFOR troops had abused the Red Cross sign during the arrest.

Most of Russian commentators belive that the arrests in Prijedor were just an overture to a bigger operation, aimed at a complete removal of the Republika Srpska political leadership, which acts against current President Biljana Plavsic.

Estimates say that such NATO operations might lead to results that would be diametrically opposed to what was planned. Sevodnya said that the Serb leaders might unite in the face of an outside threat, which has already happened more than once.

[04] KRAJISNIK CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS FOLLOWING PRIJEDOR INCIDENT

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

Serb member in Bosnia's three-man Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik said on Friday that he was concerned about developments following an incident in Prijedor on Thursday when the SFOR had killed former Prijedor police chief Simo Drljaca, overstepping its authority.

After meeting in Pale with head of the OSCE mission to Bosnia, Robert Frowick, Krajisnik said he feared that the present situation resembled in many ways that just before the Dayton Peace Accords had been reached, saying SFOR had undermined good cooperation that the Republika Srpska had first had with the IFOR and with SFOR. Krajisnik said he would personally help secure good cooperation with SFOR but said the R.S. people had already condemned the incident and were concerned that changes had taken place that could jeopardise the Dayton Agreement.

He also said he had discussed with Frowick the freedom of speech and the use of media in the Republika Srpska, saying R.S. President Biljana Plavsic and other people who wanted to present certain things in a way they believed to be right would be given sufficient media coverage.

He said he had informed Frowick about a decision by the R.S. constitutional court putting all decisions, including that on the dissolution of the R.S. Parliament, out of force. He said it would be a grave mistake to continue the campaign again that body. He said Parliament played a special role in the Serb people's lives, saying he hoped that a solution to the crisis would be found despite present difficulties.

Krajisnik said the implementation of the Dayton Agreement must not be jeopardised and that cooperation must not be ruled by emotions. He said it was necessary to engage all wisdom and goodwill to overcome problems in the coming period, calling on the R.S. people to do all they could to ease tensions in order to avoid new incidents.

Frowick said they had discussed major issues concerning OSCE cooperation with relevant R.S. authorities. He said he had requested the meeting because the OSCE must help all parties secure the freedom of speech. He said a large number of points had been clarified, expressing satisfaction with headway made.

[05] KRAJISNIK MEETS WESTENDORP

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

The Republika Srpska member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik received on Friday in Pale the High Representative of the international community for Bosnia Carlos Westendorp, SFOR commander Gen. William Crouch and representatives of Contact Group member-states. Krajisnik described the meeting as constructive and useful both for Republika Srpska and the international community, following the incident in Prijedor Thursday.

This situation must not be taken as a pretext for misunderstandings and must not be dramatized, Krajisnik said and suggested that a solution must be found by remaining calm and reasonable. Problems should be overcome through joint endeavors and wisdom, he said.

Underlining that he had protested to the representatives of the international community against the existence of secret lists which are spreading panic among the Republika Srpska people, Krajisnik urged the people, the army and the police to remain calm and not to allow incidents to happen.

The agreement reached with international community representatives should help appease the people in Republika Srpska, Krajisnik said.

Gen. Crouch said that SFOR acted on Thursday in accordance with its mandate and that it would detain any person indicted for war crimes it encounters. SFOR will follow its own rules, as it did on Thursday when one soldier was wounded, Crouch said and added that the SFOR mandate had not been changed. SFOR will follow the rules and noone should misunderstand this. The Dayton Agreement commits the entities to hand over indictees to the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, the General said.

Carlos Westendorp said the international community reprsentatives had come to Pale to try to pacify the situation. If this mission succeeds, cooperation can continue, he said and added it was agreed that all must remain level-headed and calm.

[06] ABUSE OF RED CROSS SYMBOL CONFIRMED BY ICRC

Tanjug, 1997-07-12

The Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Pale stated on Saturday evening that the ICRC was informed of the abuse of the Red Cross symbol by SFOR troops in their action in Prijedor.

The SFOR troops carried a parcel bearing a Red Cross label when they arrived in the Prijedor hospital to arrest its director Milan Kovacevic.

The ICRC is concerned by the abuse of the Red Cross symbol as such acts can jeopardize its endeavors to carry out its humanitarian mission in a neutral, independent and impartial manner, the statement says. The ICRC will pursue its endeavors at the highest level and urges SFOR to take the necessary measurs to prevent similar abuses, it says.

[07] SIR ARTHUR WATTS ENDS VISIT TO BELGRADE

Tanjug, 1997-07-12

The international mediator on succession to the assets of the former Yugoslavia (SFRY) Sir Arthur Watts ended Saturday evening in Belgrade his three-day talks on the amendments to the draft memmorandum on succession presented by the delegations of all former Yugoslav republics.

Watts told Serbian radio and television (RTS) following the last round of the talks in Belgrade that the goal of his present tour of the five capitals was to clarify the proposed amendments. On his return to Brussels and London, Watts will draw up a revised text of the draft memorandum in which he will try to incorporate the amendments, adding he would try to adapt them so that they can be adopted. Watts expressed conviction that he would be able to accept some amendments presented by the delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Head of the Yugoslav delegation Kosta Mihajlovic told RTS however that some key issues remained unresolved. Referring to some other options and some other variants that might be accepted, Mihajolovic pointed to trading and parallel writing off of assets in which different parties are interested. There are many possibilities, he said, adding that the Yugoslav delegation would make a full contribution to the negotiations with good will.

Before coming to Belgrade Watts had visited Ljubljana and Skoplje and has yet to visit Zagreb and Sarajevo.

[08] MILOSEVIC FELICITATES BULATOVIC ON DAY OF UPRISING

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has felicitated his Montenegrin counterpart Momir Bulatovic on Day of Uprising marked in Montenegro on July 13.

In a letter of felicitations, Milosevic said, "We cherish with pride the memory of the peoples' uprising against fascism and of the contribution of the National Liberation movement to its collapse as an example of heroic victory and as a guide to future generations how they should defend freedom and their fatherland".

"I am confident that by upholding peace and strengthening the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a common state of citizens and republics that are equal, and by affirming the country's position and renown in the world and ensuring its successful economic and cultural development, we shall cherish in the best way possible eternal values of the struggle for freedom of our peoples, whose uprising we mark.

"I wish all citizens of Montenegro and you personally a success in bringing about the economic and cultural prosperity, which is in their interest and in the interest of all citizens of FR of Yugoslavia."

[09] RS GOVERNMENT REJECTS INFORMATION SENT BY SFOR GENERAL

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

The Republika Srpska (RS) Government rejected on Friday the information sent by the SFOR to RS Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic following the bloody incident near Prijedor and in Prijedor itself when one person was killed, three arrested, and in which British SFOR troops took part.

The RS Government, in a letter to SFOR Deputy Commander General Cordy Simpson said that the "information did not contain basic facts that would explain the unreasonable action of your troops, a precedent in the history of peacekeeping operation forces, who should be acting within United Nations resolutions."

The RS Government said in its statement that it established with astonishment and disbelief that British troops had violated the U.N. mandate which does not provide in any way that peacekeeping forces have the right to organize manhunts on the residents of Republika Srpska who have in no way incited the use of brutal force of SFOR units."

According to the statement "Simo Drljaca was killed while on vacation with his son, and doctor Kovacevic was kidnapped at his workplace from Prijedor hospital." SFOR troops, according to eye-witness accounts, did not ask for his papers from Simo Drljaca, allegedly accused by the Hague Tribunal, and opened fire at him, his young son and the boy's uncle, first heavily wounding Drljaca and then killing him, the RS Government said.

"Your troops," the RS Government statement said, "took away in helicopters the body of the killed former police chief in Prijedor, kidnapped and took away in an unknown direction his yound son and the boy's uncle. Your soldiers have gravely transgressed rules of behaviour in humanitarian institutions, by entering the Prijedor hospital in a Red Cross vehicle, and under the threat of arms taking away the hospital's director Milan Kovacevic."

According to the RS Government "SFOR troops have abused the international sign of solidarity, the sign of the Red Cross, by using humanitarian parcels of the Red Cross Organization which they allegedly wanted to hand over to the hospital."

The RS Government information said that General Simpson, "after the brutal and incredible use of force" asked the RS Government to do everything in its power not to undertake any actions or issue statements which could lead to a conflagration and undesirable consequences.

The RS Government is making every effort to explain to its people that someone wants to cause another war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and not to be taken in by provocations. Now it is up to you general to say why you kill and detain citizens of Republika Srpska. What kind of army kills wounded people, Republika Srpska Prime Minister said at the end of his letter to General Simpson.

[10] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT READY FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH CROATIA

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

At its session on Friday, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vladan Kutlesic, Yugoslav Government adopted the basis for the negotiations and conclusion of agreements with the Government of Croatia on international road and railway traffic. The Governments will negotiate the transport of passengers and goods over the temporarily opened border crossing Batrovci-Bajkovo and the regulation of the railway traffic near the border and at the border railways linking the towns of Sid and Tovarnik and Bogojevo and Erdut.

Yugoslav Government also adopted the basis for the discussion at the coming fourth meeting of the joint Yugoslav-Croatian Commission, devoted to the realization of the Article 7 of the Agreement on the normalization of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia.

[11] GREEK AMBASSADOR VISITS PRISTINA

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

Deputy head of the Kosovo district Veljko Odalovic received on Friday in Pristina the Greek Ambassador to Yugoslavia Panayotis Vlassopoulos.

They reiterated the European Union's stance on the inviolability of the borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and on its sovereignty throughout its territory, and underlined that Serbia's southern province of Kosovo-Metohija was an inseparable part of Serbia and Yugoslavia. All important issues must be resolved in a peaceful manner and through dialogue, through the legal and recognized institutions which provide for the highest degree of respect of human and minorty rights in line with international standards, they said.

The meeting also focused on the situation in the education system and on the need for taking the necessary measures for the return of ethnic Albanian children to state schools.

[12] UPPER HOUSE SPEAKER - CELEBRATION OF UPRISING ANNIVERSARY

Tanjug, 1997-07-13

The general people's uprising 56 years ago in Montenegro against fascism, tyranny and inequality was one of the most outstanding events in the history of Montenegro and Yugoslavia, Acting President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Speaker of the Chamber of the Republics of the Federal Parliament Srdja Bozovic said at the central celebration of July 13, Uprising Day of the Montenegrin people, held at the Mareza excursion site near Podgorica.

The celebration was attended by Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, ministers, federal and republican parliament members, presidents of all Montenegrin municipalities, representatives of the Yugoslav Army and combatants' organizations and war heroes.

The general people's uprising and the beginnng of the fight against fascism embodied the highest values of the Montenegrin people - freedom, justice and equality - to which generations of ancestors had aspired, Bozovic said.

The July 13 uprising was not only a movement of specific ideology or national, class or religious affiliation, it was a movement of the entire people in the defense of collective freedom and dignity against one of the darkest ideologies in world history and the most powerful military force that dominated Europe at the time, he said.

With their July uprisings against the occupation forces at the time they were at the peak of their power, the Serbian and Montenegrin peoples made an immeasurable contribution to defeating the enemy military power, thus encouraging other peoples in enslaved Europe to resist and giving them hope of final victory, Bozovic underlined.

Referring to the current situation in the country, Bozovic said that the state policies of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its two republics - Serbia and Montenegro - were based essentially on the desire of the Serbian and Montenegrin peoples to live in a single joint state. Bozovic expressed his conviction that a modern federation founded on the equality of its member-republics and having firmly established democratic institutions through which the inviolable will of the citizens and legitimate political authority are exercised, was in the interest of the majority.

The alleged dilemma regarding some individuals' endeavors for any kind of Yugoslavia is only an artificial construction put forward for political purposes, as a federal state built, modelled and completed on normative foundations and the rule of law is needed by all, Bozovic underlined.

The fundamental goals of the citizens and democratically oriented political forces in Montenegro and Yugoslavia are a wealthier, socially more just and economically more prosperous Yugoslavia, open to its neighbors and the rest of the world and integrated in the international community it is own interest, Bozovic noted.

In such a federal state, Montenegro has wide prospects for its own development and prosperity, in the common interest of both federal units and the undeniable interest of all citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bozovic said.

The equality of Montenegro cannot be brought into question by unilateral exclusive will of any institution or individual, as the authentic federal principles of coordinating joint functions, dispersion of power and division of prerogatives on which the federal Constitution is based provide a model of relations between federal units which fully protects equality, Bozovic pointed out.

The pragmatic aspect of these principles is reflected in the current and lasting commitment and care of all state bodies and of Yugoslav, Montenegrin and Serbian citizens to the full and efficient implementation and affirmation of these principles and their further development and perfecting, Bozovic said.

Consequently, the importance of these constitutional principles and the strict determination to realize them are indisputable. Any emphasis on inferiority or dominance of any side in Yugoslavia contrary to its constitutionally defined position is therefore a demonstration of someone's problematic intentions. Fortunately, such intentions are preceded and superceded by the inviolable will of the people, whose choice must, as always, be trusted, Bozovic said.

Referring to the recent political developments in Montenegro, Bozovic said they were being characterized by a "magic" confusion in the past few days. The tremendous amount of negative energy, accumulated passions and fresh leadership ambitions have not remained confined to the internal affairs of the most powerful political parties. A series of important issues, serious differences, doubts, embarrasments, even disputes and confrontations have emerged, Bozovic said.

All this, he noted, has opened a political dilemma regarding the respect of the electoral will of the citizens who until a few days ago viewed the political scene in Montenegro and the position of its most important factors in a very different light.

This fact cannot be overlooked, and all Montenegrin institutions must resolve the potentially absurd situation in the current relations of political forces in a rational and level-headed manner, respecing the political will of the citizens, Bozovic concluded.

[13] RS GOVERNMENT CRITICISES SFOR OPERATION IN PRIJEDOR

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

The Republika Srpska Government has expressed its astonishment at and embitterment with a multinational Stabilisation Force operation in Prijedor.

The Government, chaired by Vice Premier Velibor Ostojic in the Prime Minister's absence, said that the operation had marked a change in the peacekeepers' policy in the region and their giving up of the Dayton accords implementation.

The Government said it would take all necessary measures to preserve law and order and all institutions in the Republika Srpska and appealed to the citizens to remain calm and to trust their authorities and institutions.

The Government said that the international community had demonstrated its hypocrisy, made another division to the good and bad guys and started again to satanise the Serbs.

By killing innocent civilians, whose names are on some secret lists, the international factor wishes to deprive the Republika Srpska and Serbs of the right won through their fight and the universal right to self- determination, Ostojic said. He said that the Republika Srpska would not agree to violence, blackmail and occupation, or the unscrupulous and brutal killing of innocent civilians in its territory. The Government said that the Republika Srpska Constitutional Court decision, stopping the implementation of Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic's decisions, had preserved the Republika Srpska institutions, which are constantly in session. The Republika Srpska government expects Plavsic to propose a topic for a government session to be held in the Republika Srpska centre.

[14] RS LEADERS MEET SENATORS, SERBIAN ORTHODOX OFFICIALS

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

The Republika Srpska leadership met late on Thursday with senators, Serbian Orthodox Church officials and intellectuals from the Republika Srpska and Yugoslavia.

The statement released after the session expressed concern over the current conflict in the Republika Srpska, which some international factors are using to undermine the Republika Srpska. The need was stressed for settling the situation as soon as possible.

The participants in the session appealed on the sides to the conflict to stop with recriminations and rallies and find a compromise in order to settle the political and constitutional crisis in the Republika Srpska.

The statement supported the stand that the Republika Srpska Constitutional Court had to have the last say which must be binding for all parties.

The participants condemned the Thursday Stabilisation Force operation in Prijedor as an impermissible act of brutality, which clashes with the Dayton accords and can only hamper the peace process.

The meeting was attended by Bosnian Serb member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik, Republika Srpska Parliament Speaker Dragan Kalinic, Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic, Foreign Minister Aleksa Buha and Serbian Democratic Party Whip at the Republika Srpska Parliament Vojislav Maksimovic. Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic was not in attendance.

[15] SFOR KILLS ONE SERB, ARRESTS THREE

Tanjug, 1997-07-10

The Security Center in Prijedor said that SFOR troops killed Thursday morning the former chief of that center Simo Drljaca, and arrested his son and brother-in-law. The statement specified that the armed action, in which SFOR used helicopters and armoured cars, was carried out in the village of Gradina, near Prijedor. Drljaca,= it was said, was brutally killed, and his body was taken by SFOR troops in an unknown direction. SFOR arrested Drljaca's son and brother-in-law.

The Security Center in Prijedor also said that SFOR troops arrested Thursday, at his work place, the director of the hospital in that town Milan Mica Kovacevic and took him away in an unknown direction.

[16] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT OPENS DEBATE ON DEVELOPMENTS IN RS

Tanjug, 1997-07-10

The Serbian parliament opened a debate on Thursday afternoon on an action that the Stabilisation Force carried out in Prijedor, the Republika Srpska, earlier in the day. Head of the parliament Committee for ties with Serbs living outside Serbia, Radmilo Bogdanovic, called Thursday's incident a tragedy because a man was killed, saying it was vital at this point to request a thorough investigation into the incident. Bogdanovic said the U.N. Security Council should be called on to determine whether SFOR actions were coordinated with RS authorities. Parliament Speaker Dragan Tomic proposed that the Committee for ties with Serbs outside Serbia adopt conclusions on the issue in its next meeting.

[17] YUGOSLAV BUILDERS SIGN NEW CONTRACTS WITH FOREIGN PARTNERS

Tanjug, 1997-07-09

Construction companies in Serbia concluded 15 new contracts with foreign partners in the first four months of 1997, according to the latest Serbian Chamber of Commerce figures.

The total value of the new contracts, the renewed arrangements with foreign partners and those already being carried out total 453 million dollars. The 12 biggest companies which specialize in complex construction undertakings abroad contracted in the first six months of 1997 alone work abroad worth a total of 134 million dollars, according to a poll conducted by the Construction Industry Committee of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. Builders set out that they could significantly increase their activities abroad if they were to receive bigger financial backing from the state and commercial banks, especially for guarantees.

[18] JOULWAN CONFIRMS SFOR ACTION - PLAVSIC PROTESTS

Tanjug, 1997-07-10

NATO supreme allied commander for Europe General George Joulwan confirmed Thursday that SFOR forces had taken action in the region of Prijedor and that they shot dead Simo Drljaca, former police chief in that town and arrested Prijedor hospital director Mica Kovacevic.

Republika Srpska President Biljana PLavsic sent a strongly-worded protest to SFOR commander General Crouch. Such action by SFOR cannot remain without consequences for relations between the leaderships of Republika Srpska and SFOR, Plavsic said in her protest and demanded the release of innocent people who have been arrested. Biljana Plavsic told SFOR commander that it seemed that SFOR's activities were intended to deteriorate further the situation in RS. It is interesting, however, that Plavsic has remembered now to warn of the danger of destabilization in RS. The= degree of her responsibility and lack of knowledge of the situation, which she has refused to calm down, is clear.

[19] YUGOS TO BE SOLD IN POLAND

Tanjug, 1997-07-10

The Yugoslav car producer Zastava is returning to the Polish market.

The company has contracted the export of 1,000 Yugo vehicles in parts, which will be assembled through the Davismotor company in a factory in Lodz. The Polish partner is interested in buying larger quantities of vehicles, but the realisation depends on Zastava's abilities. Zastava will produce 20,000 cars this year and plans to export half of this quantity. Most of its exports, or 7,680 Zastava 128 cars, will go to Egypt. The factory has already delivered 2,880 of these vehicles. Other buyers of Zastava cars this year include the Czech Republic (800), Ecuador (500), Greece, Macedonia, Slovenia. The factory's exports should total 210 million dollars this year.

[20] KRAJISNIK CONDEMNS SFOR ACTIONS

Tanjug, 1997-07-10

Republika Srpska member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik has condemned the SFOR action Thursday in Prijedor and described it as a crime by the international force. A s= tatement issued by Krajisnik's cabinet says that the persons responsible for the crime must be identified immediately so that their commanding officers can punish them and prevent a repetition of such actions. This is the only way that the consequences of such irresponsible adventures can be brought under control and that peace in the region and consequently the Dayton agreement can be saved, Krajisnik said. It is dangerous and unethical to take advantage of the internal political crisis in Republika Srpska and undertake actions jeopardising everything that has been achieved so far, he said. Krajisnik appealed to all states guaranteeing the Dayton agreement, above all the United States, to curb the ambitious and irresponsible behaviour of their field commanders and to give up once and for all the idea of arresting people in their own country in order to have them put on trial elsewhere. Republika Srpska is ready to put on trial before the international public any of its citizens form whom evidence of crimes can be presented, Krajisnik said. He appealed to Republika Srpska citizens to refrain from any retaliation in which innocent young foreign soldiers or officials could be hurt, and to maintain law and order. The international community must choose its priorities: peace or suspect adventurism and unfounded harassment of people, kidnapping of children and killing of suspects, Krajisnik said, adding that peace concluded after a civil war must be followed by full amnesty, and that each side must as a rule try its own suspects of violations of the war law.

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article