Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-07-22

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] SERB NATIONAL COUNCIL IN CROATIA CONSTITUTED

[02] YUGOSLAVIA'S ENTRY INTO WTO IS A POLITICAL ISSUE

[03] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT ENDORSES BILL ON ELECTORAL DISTRICTS

[04] KRAJISNIK MEETS WITH HEAD OF E.U. MONITOR MISSION

[05] PLAVSIC WELCOMES CONVENTION OF DONORS' CONFERENCE

[06] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ACCEPTS INVITATION FOR BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 23-24.

[07] TUDJMAN PROMISES TO ALLOW SERB RETURN TO CROATIA

[08] SERB LEADER SEES DISCREPANCY BETWEEN WORDS AND DEEDS

[09] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES U.S. GENERAL

[10] CHINESE PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN CONGRATULATES MILOSEVIC

[11] GREEK PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS CONGRATULATES MILOSEVIC

[12] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON POLITICAL PARTY FINANCING

[13] CZECH PRESS ON IMPORTANCE OF MILOSEVIC ELECTION TO FEDERAL POST

[14] BOSNIAN SERB OFFICIAL KRAJISNIK MEETS WITH SFOR GENERAL CROUCH

[15] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT'S SESSION

[16] YUGOSLAV-CROATIAN TALKS ON TRANSPORT START

[17] MILOSEVIC ELECTION IMPORTANT IMPULSE TO RUSSIAN-YUGOSLAV COOPERATION

[18] POLAND'S KWASNIEWSKI RECEIVES YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION

[19] YUGOSLAV INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES BY 7.6 PERCENT IN SIX MONTHS

[20] RUSSIAN PAPERS ON MILOSEVIC'S ELECTION FOR YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT

[21] YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN TRADE COMMISSION OPENS SESSION

[22] HUNGARIAN WORKERS' PARTY LEADER CONGRATULATES MILOSEVIC

[01] SERB NATIONAL COUNCIL IN CROATIA CONSTITUTED

Tanjug, 1997-07-20

Serbs in Croatia set up their National Council in Zagreb on Saturday, as their central advisory and coordinating body.

Milorad Nenadovic of the Baranya region was elected president of the Assembly, the Council's supreme body, and Milorad Dobrijevic of Knin and Tatjana Olujic-Music of Zagreb were elected vice presidents.

The Council's 27-member Presidency was also elected, and the councilmen elected Milorad Pupovac of Zagreb, deputy to the Croatian Parliament, to be its first president.

[02] YUGOSLAVIA'S ENTRY INTO WTO IS A POLITICAL ISSUE

Tanjug, 1997-07-19

Yugoslav Foreign Trade Minister Borislav Vukovic said on Saturday that Yugoslavia's admission into the World Trade Organization was a political issue.

This is a foreign-political, and not a foreign trade issue, connected with our reintegration into international financial institutions, Vukovic said. "Our country has fulfilled more than 90 percent of the conditions for entering WTO, and is prepared to make laws of solutions requested by the WTO," Vukovic said and added that talks were in progress with member states in the field of agricultural concessions and liberalization of invisibles.

"Yugoslavia's return to the WTO depends on our return to the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, and our return to these bodies depends on international factors that do not favour us," he said.

[03] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT ENDORSES BILL ON ELECTORAL DISTRICTS

Tanjug, 1997-07-18

The Serbian Parliament endorsed on Friday a bill on electoral districts, raising the number of constituencies from nine to 29.

In favour of the bill were 128 deputies, one was against, one abstained, three did not vote.

The greater number of constituencies is not a revision of the election conditions, as the Serbian electorate had already been divided into 29 constituencies in the federal elections last year, said a government statement.

Proceeding the fact that Serbia has 7,141,164 voters who are to elect 250 deputies, the Government proposed that it is ideal statistically to divide the electorate in such as way that 28, 566 voters elect one member of the legislature. Departures from the criteria range from minus seven to plus four percent, which is less than in the case of the existing solutions.

[04] KRAJISNIK MEETS WITH HEAD OF E.U. MONITOR MISSION

Tanjug, 1997-07-18

Republika Srpska member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik said Friday that the RS was concerned at rumours originating from European Union circles that aid would be conditioned on arrest of war criminals at the Brussels international conference on aid for Bosnia.

Krajisnik met with head of the E.U. monitor mission Dean Evers to discuss the political situation in Republika Srpska and the upcoming Brussels conference.

Krajisnik said afterwards that the meeting was useful and that he had insisted on an end to the discrimination against the Serb entity in the distribution of aid to Bosnia.

Krajisnik told journalists that Republika Srpska wanted its relations with the international community to improve following the arrests in Prijedor. He set out, however, that secret list of suspects were disturbing for the population, that they sowed fear and accounted for actions which were not in the spirit of peace.

[05] PLAVSIC WELCOMES CONVENTION OF DONORS' CONFERENCE

Tanjug, 1997-07-19

President of the Republika Srpska Biljana Plavsic welcomed on Saturday an invitation to the Republika Srpska's representatives to attend the 3rd donors' conference, called for July 23-24 in Brussels.

"We were afraid that there might be a postponement of the donors' conference because of our political situation, but now I think that the international community has done wisely not to do so," Plavsic said.

She said that there is no reason for the Republika Srpska not to get economic aid this year, and added that only approved projects should be financed and their implementation supervised.

[06] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ACCEPTS INVITATION FOR BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 23-24.

Tanjug, 1997-07-18

The Republika Srpska Government has accepted the official invitation from the World Bank and the European Commission to participate in the Conference on Aid for Bosnia in Brussels July

The invitation is in more than one way a recognition to Republika Srpska for its cooperation with the international community, which is best proof that various rumours recently published about additional conditions for the Serb side's participation in the conference were incorrect and ill intentioned, a RS Government statement said.

The RS Government rightly expects that the unequal treatment of Republika Srpska by international financial institutions and country-donors will at last start being eliminated, the statement set out, and stressed that Republika Srpska had accounted for only about 2 percent of the aid for Bosnia-Herzegovina so far.

[07] TUDJMAN PROMISES TO ALLOW SERB RETURN TO CROATIA

Tanjug, 1997-07-20

Croatian president Franjo Tudjman has agreed to allow all Serbs to return to Croatia and to influence Bosnian Croats to comply with the Dayton accord, including handing over war crimes suspects.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson said this after meeting Tudjman at his summer resort in the island of Brioni, the Associated Press reports Saturday.

Richardson's statement suggested Tudjman may bow to western diplomatic and economic pressures to accept the return of Serb refugees to Croatia and convince Bosnian Croats to keep to the Dayton accord, said the AP.

"Croatia will accept a return of all Croatian Serbs who wish to return and accept the right and responsibility and legal obligation of Croatian citizenship," the AP quotes Richardson as saying.

[08] SERB LEADER SEES DISCREPANCY BETWEEN WORDS AND DEEDS

Tanjug, 1997-07-20

Serb leader in the Region of East Slavonia, Baranya and West Srem Milos Vojnovic said in Vukovar on Sunday that he was encouraged by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's statement that all Serbs had the right to return.

Vojnovic, President of the Region's Joint Council of Municipalities, was speaking after meeting with the U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations and Croatia, Bill Richardson and Peter Galbraith.

Vojnovic expressed concern, however, at a discrepancy between words and the situation on the ground.

He explained that Tudjman had said one thing during his recent visit to Vukovar, and quite another in the Island of Brioni on Saturday.

Vojnovic said that Sunday's meeting proved that the U.S. administration still had a clear and principled position on the Region and showed great interest in a consistent application of the 1995 Serb-Croatian Basic Agreement and the peace process.

[09] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES U.S. GENERAL

Tanjug, 1997-07-18

President Slobodan Milosevic received U.S. General Wesley Clark, the new NATO Commander, who arrived in Belgrade Friday afternoon accompanied by aides.

As part of an exchange of views on topical issues of the situation in the region, it was set out that the invested efforts, above all those for the implementation of the military provisions of the peace agreement for Bosnia- Herzegovina, had helped consolidate peace in the region and return life back to normal. Throughout the process of the hitherto implementation of the agreement, a positive and cooperative attitude was taken toward the multinational force for the stabilization of peace, whose presence has helped eliminate tensions and establish normal communications in the region.

It was set out in that context that the established confidence of citizens of Republika Srpska in the multinational force should not again be placed in question, which implies a strict fulfilment of the mandate entrusted to SFOR under the Dayton agreement.

President Milosevic stressed that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would continue to strive for political stabilization in the region by providing the greatest possible incentive to the development of good-neighbourly relations and equality-based cooperation with countries in the neighbourhood. That is a foundation for the development of lasting regional stability and the resolution of outstanding issues in mutual relations by political means.

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, and U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade, Ambassador Richard Miles also participated in the talk.

[10] CHINESE PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN CONGRATULATES MILOSEVIC

Tanjug, 1997-07-18

People's Republic of China President Jiang Zemin has extended cordial felicitations and best wishes to Slobodan Milosevic on his election for President of Yugoslavia.

The telegram said: "On your election for President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Your Excellency, I have the honour to extend to you cordial felicitations and best wishes.

Our two countries and peoples are bound by deep traditional friendship. I wish to invest efforts together with Your Excellency for the further promotion of friendly relations between China and Yugoslavia.

My best wishes for your country's prosperity and the happiness of its people."

[11] GREEK PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS CONGRATULATES MILOSEVIC

Tanjug, 1997-07-18

Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos has congratulated President Slobodan Milosevic on his election for President of Yugoslavia.

The telegram said: "On your election for President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, I would like to extend to Your excellency, on behalf of the Greek people and in my own name, cordial felicitations and sincere wishes for a successful performance of your high mission, and for the progress and prosperity of the friendly Yugoslav people.

I am convinced that, during your tenure, the existing traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between our two countries will continue to be strengthened and developed in the interest of our two peoples."

[12] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON POLITICAL PARTY FINANCING

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

The Serbian parliament on Thursday adopted a law on the financing of political parties, which regulates the financing, registering and control of the parties' financial operations. The law was passed with 126 votes for and no votes against. There were 17 abstentions and three deputies did not vote. The law was adopted in principle on Monday and during a three-day debate, the parliamentary majority rejected all amendments submitted by the Democratic Party.

Under the law, parties are financed through membership fees, donations, income from their property, on the basis of ownership rights in companies, credits, gifts, legacies, endowments and budgets.

Under the law, a party cannot receive funds that exceed the amount of three percent of its annual net income in the previous year from foreign governments and other organs, state and local self-management organs, enterprises and anonymous donors.

Part of the funds for the financing of parties will be secured in the republican budget.

[13] CZECH PRESS ON IMPORTANCE OF MILOSEVIC ELECTION TO FEDERAL POST

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

All Czech newspapers reported the election of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic for President of Yugoslavia, and set out that his election was important for the peace process in the region.

The daily "Mlada Fronta Dnes" underscored the convincing majority of votes Milosevic received in the Yugoslav Parliament.

The daily "Telegraf" said Milosevic's election for Yugoslav President was important for the stabilization of the situation in the country and also for stability and peace in the Balkans and south-eastern Europe as a whole.

"Lidova Noviny" and "Pravo" devoted attention in their reports to the political situation in Yugoslavia, setting out that the Zajedno Coalition had split up and did not attend the session of the Yugoslav Parliament at which Milosevic was elected because it had not yet agreed on how to divide the won parliamentary seats.

[14] BOSNIAN SERB OFFICIAL KRAJISNIK MEETS WITH SFOR GENERAL CROUCH

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

The Republika Srpska's representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina's three-man Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik met in Pale on Thursday with Commander of the SFOR Gen. William Crouch. Crouch's deputy Gen. Roddy Cordy-Simpson and Co- Premier of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the Republika Srpska Boro Bosic attended the meeting.

The two sides reviewed NATO's latest operations that have disturbed the people in the Republika Srpska, a statement from Krajisnik's Cabinet said.

NATO's operations that resulted in the killing of Simo Drljaca and the abduction of Milan Kovacevic in Prijedor have additionally complicated the security situation in the Republika Srpska, and provoked negative reactions, it was noted.

The statement said the two sides agreed that SFOR and the institutions in the Republika Srpska must closely cooperate in order to prevent a further deterioration of the situation.

The population of the Republika Srpska has been further disturbed by talk of secret lists of war crime indictees and searches of homes of local and state officials, it was noted.

Krajisnik expressed readiness to invest additional efforts in order that relations with SFOR should be stabilised and mutual trust restored. This is in the best interests of both sides and of great importance to the functioning of the joint institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accord, the statement said.

Any hold-up in these processes might produce negative effects in both entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it added.

[15] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT'S SESSION

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

The Yugoslav Government held a session on Thursday, at which it debated and endorsed a bill on legal obligation and the basics of property relations in air transport. The session was chaired by Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, a Government statement said.

The bill should coordinate regulations in this area with the Yugoslav Constitution, the bill on air transport and the relevant international regulations, and allow the country to take part in international air transport as an equal partner. The Government defined a platform for talks with the Netherlands on road transport of goods and passengers in line with the existing European regulations and to mutual advantage.

The Government defined a platform for Agriculture Minister Nedeljko Sipovac's talks with his Bulgarian colleague Ventzislav Barabanov in Sofia on July 18. The two ministers should agree the signing of inter- governmental treaties, as well as concrete forms of cooperation in the agriculture industry, the water resources management industry, and trade in agricultural produce.

The Government approved a report on Kontic's working visit to Poland on June 12-13. The visit was assessed as successful and as a major contribution to the intensification and diversification of bilateral cooperation, to the development of which neither side saw any political obstacle. The two countries agreed to maintain a continuous political dialogue, and signed several agreements designed to stimulate economic cooperation. The Government instructed the competent ministries to make the necessary preparations and adopt comprehensive measures to implement the agreements reached during the visit.

The Government approved a report on measures taken, in line with its earlier decisions and obligations under international law, to accommodate and integrate in society Serb and Montenegrin refugees from Albania. The securing of the necessary conditions for the refugees' permanent integration in society was being hampered by a recent absence of financial support from the UNHCR, it was noted. The Government instructed the Ministry of Labour, Health and Welfare to formulate and take the necessary measures to accommodate and integrate the refugees.

[16] YUGOSLAV-CROATIAN TALKS ON TRANSPORT START

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

Yugoslav and Croatian Government delegations began in Belgrade on Thursday to coordinate draft agreements on the regulation of border railway transport and international land transport of passengers and goods. The Yugoslav delegation is headed by Deputy Transport Minister Budimir Sarenovic and the Croatian delegation is headed by Assistant Maritime, Transport and Communications Minister Dragutin Subat.

An agreement on the regulation of railway transport would create conditions for the regular railway traffic between Yugoslavia and Croatia. An agreement on the international land transport should regulate and improve this form of transport between Yugoslavia and Croatia, transit through their territories and transport of goods from and to the third countries on the principle of reciprocity and to the mutual benefit. The two sides are expected to sign the agreements soon, which would be very important for a normal communication of their citizens, the countries' commercial activities and their link with the world.

[17] MILOSEVIC ELECTION IMPORTANT IMPULSE TO RUSSIAN-YUGOSLAV COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

Russia expects that the election of Slobodan Milosevic for President of Yugoslavia will impart a significant impulse to cooperaton between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. "The Russian side expects that bilateral cooperation between Russia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which rests on the strong traditions and historical friendship of the peoples of the two countries, will receive a significant new impulse," Ministry Spokesman Gennady Tarasov told a news conference.

Tarasov singled out the "significant contribution" made by President Milosevic to the resolution of the crisis on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and to the agreement on peace in Bosnia.

"The existing practice of direct contacts between Russian officials and Slobodan Milosevic and continued political dialogue has always been viewed in Moscow as a key element of our policy in the region," the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman underscored, and said Russia was "convinced that such a practice will continue in the future."

[18] POLAND'S KWASNIEWSKI RECEIVES YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski said on Thursday that Yugoslavia had a place in the international community and that Warsaw would do its all to help reintegrate Yugoslavia in all world bodies. Kwasniewski was receiving a Yugoslav parliamentary delegation, which arrived in Poland on Wednesday on a three-day visit. The delegation is headed by Chamber of Republics (upper house) Speaker Srdja Bozovic, and comprises Parliament Deputies Zoran Zizic, Ivica Dacic and Dusan Mihajlovic. Kwasniewski asked Bozovic, who is acting President of Yugoslavia, to convey his felicitations to Slobodan Milosevic on his election as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Bozovic, in turn, expressed the Yugoslavs' sympathies over disastrous floods that have claimed human lives in Poland. He informed the Polish President about the political and economic situation in Yugoslavia, stressing the country's openness to the world and consistency in the implementation of the Dayton Accord. He thanked Kwasniewski for his personal efforts invested so far in making the truth about Yugoslavia known to the world.

Kwasniewski, for his part, pledged Poland's and his own personal efforts in all international organisations and institutions for Yugoslavia's full reintegration in the world community of nations. He said that the visit by the Yugoslav delegation was a confirmation that the two countries were well on the way to resuming relations.

[19] YUGOSLAV INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES BY 7.6 PERCENT IN SIX MONTHS

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

Yugoslavia's industrial production registered a 7.6-percent rise in the first half of 1997 in comparison with the same period of 1996, the Yugoslav Statistics Bureau has told a press conference.

The latest figures show that last year's moderate but continual production growth in most industrial sectors continued, Bureau Assistant Director Mirjana Rankovic said.

Rankovic said that in the first six months of the year, the power industry registered a growth of 6.6 percent, metallurgy 36.1 percent, metal- processing and electronic appliances industries 12.9 percent, chemical and papermaking industries 17.6 percent and the textile, leather and rubber industries 3.6 percent. A slight production decline was registered in the production of nonmetals and construction materials (0.1 percent), foodstuffs and tobacco (5.9 percent), wood-processing industry (4.7 percent) and other industrial branches (1.6 percent).

The production in June 1997 rose by 6.7 percent in comparison with June 1996 and according to deseasonalised figures, it rose by 0.6 percent in comparison with May. After taking into account seasonal influences, however, the June production dropped by 0.9 percent in comparison with May, Rankovic said.

[20] RUSSIAN PAPERS ON MILOSEVIC'S ELECTION FOR YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

Leading Russian newspapers on Thursday gave much coverage to the election of Slobodan Milosevic for Yugoslav President, saying that he would continue to care about the country which he could lead through the most complex crises.

"Izvestiya" carried a lengthy biography of the Yugoslav President and paid most attention to the crisis moments through which Yugoslavia had passed in the past few years and in which Milosevic always found a solution. The political crisis in Belgrade last winter was described as especially difficult. "Showing iron restraint," Izvestiya said, "the President did not command the dispersing of the demonstrations," which secured him the moral victory in the end.

The paper described in detail how after the victory "Socialists started to take important steps in the field of economy," particularly stressing the adoption of a law on concessions and a draft privatisation law.

The paper quoted a statement by a leading Belgrade opposition official, who reluctantly admitted that "Socialists, headed by Milosevic, are currently the most consistent reformers in the country."

The newspaper carried a series of criticising statements made by the Serbian opposition, which is said to have "briefly been favoured by the international public," and concluded that "the fate of the Balkan powderkeg in the next few years will largely depend on Yugoslavia as the most influential republic in the region. This is why the world community should get a more careful orientation towards Slobodan Milosevic and count on him."

"Commercant daily" said that Milosevic's position remained very firm, especially since the opposition was not a united force, and because its leaders could not agree among themselves. The daily said that it had not been a special problem for him to receive the Federal Parliament's support. The daily said that even the Montenegrin ruling party's wing led by Milo Djukanovic, did not dare to block his election obviously in fear that in the absence of other recognised leaders, this might trigger a serious crisis in the country.

Describing as a "problem" the fact that the Yugoslav President's powers are not as big as the republican presidents', the daily said that it all depended on the personality and that regardless of his position Milosevic would continue to take care about the country.

[21] YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN TRADE COMMISSION OPENS SESSION

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

The Yugoslav-Macedonian Commission on Trade opened session in Skopje, Macedonia, on Thursday. The two-day session is expected to culminate in the signing of an inter-governmental treaty on bilateral trade. The Yugoslav delegation is headed by Vice Premier Vojin Djukanovic, and the Macedonian, by Economy Minister Boris Rikalovski, who are co-chairmen of the Commission.

At today's session, the Commission reviewed bilateral trade results achieved in the first half of the year and set up a joint commission to supervise the implementation of the treaty that should be signed on Friday.

Djukanovic, Rikalovski and Yugoslavia's Ambassador to Macedonia Zoran Janackovic were on Thursday received by Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski. The two sides agreed there was mutual interest in intensifying bilateral trade.

The Commission continues session on Friday, and a news conference is scheduled to be held after the signing of the treaty, at which the co- chairmen should make statements about the results of the session. Yugoslav and Macedonian businessmen and bankers resumed at the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce on Thursday their talks begun in Belgrade earlier in July, during a visit to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by a Macedonian state and business delegation. Executives of the Yugoslav corporations Sartid, Zastava, FAP, Coop-Invest, Impex and Obod have already arranged concrete business deals with Macedonian partners.

[22] HUNGARIAN WORKERS' PARTY LEADER CONGRATULATES MILOSEVIC

Tanjug, 1997-07-17

Hungarian Wrokers' Party President Gyla Thuirmer congratulated Slobodan Milosevic on his election for President of Yugoslavia. Thuirmer expressed profound respect for Milosevic and his contribution to the development of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and said he was convinced that his "future work will have great importance for the successful development of Yugoslavia and positive impact on the stability of peace in the region."

"I am certain that good-neighbourly relations and cooperation between the FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Hungary will develop in the interest or our peoples, in which you will have a special place and role," the Hungarian Workers' Party leader said in the telegram of congratulations to Milosevic.

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