Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-12-24

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] VOTING SUCCESSFUL, MILUTINOVIC WINS 58.66 PERCENT OF VOTES

[02] PORTUGUESE FOREIGN MINISTER IN BELGRADE

[03] GOVERNMENT ENDORSES RESTRICTIVE MONETARY POLICY

[04] SRPSKA COMMITTED TO DAYTON AGREEMENT

[05] SRPSKA, US PRESIDENTS MEET IN SARAJEVO

[06] SRPSKA DEMOCRATIC, RADICAL PARTIES SIGN AGREEMENT

[07] MILOSEVIC: TIME FOR EXERTING ALL EFFORTS TOWARDS BETTER LIFE

[08] MILAN MILUTINOVIC - PROFILE

[09] TALKS ON RENEWING TRAFFIC

[10] VISIT PROVIDES INCENTIVE FOR CONSOLIDATING PEACE

[11] GOSA BUILDS HYDRO-PLANTS IN ETHIOPIA

[12] MIXED GROUP FOR BORDER ISSUES

[13] THERE IS ROOM FOR YUGOSLAV ECONOMY ON WORLD MARKET

[14] PORTUGUESE FOREIGN MINISTER GAMA DUE IN BELGRADE MONDAY

[15] MILUTINOVIC LEADS

[16] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ADDRESSES BEST WISHES TO CHINA FOR 1998

[17] YUGOSLAVIA WILL OPEN CONSULATE IN SHANGHAI

[18] HUMANITARIAN AID TO YUGOSLAVIA WILL NOT BE REDUCED

[19] PROTOCOL ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION

[20] YUGOSLAV DELEGATION MEETS ICAO OFFICIALS

[01] VOTING SUCCESSFUL, MILUTINOVIC WINS 58.66 PERCENT OF VOTES

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

According to the first, partial results, the repeated voting for the President of Serbia, held on December 21, has been successful with a turnout of 50.53 percent, it was stated on Monday evening at a press conference in the Serbian Election Commission.

Serbian Election Commission Secretary Nebojsa Rodic said that the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Yugoslav Left and New Democracy, Milan Milutinovic, had won 2,049,900 votes, or 58.66 percent of total votes.

The presidential candidate of the Serbian Radical Party Vojislav Seselj has won 1,332,648 votes, or 38.14 percent of the total number of votes.

Announcing these partial results, Rodic said that till 15:10 (local time), the Serbian Institute for Statistics had processed reports from 9,231, out of 9,844 polling stations in Serbia.

Rodic also said that at polling stations whose reports have been processed, the number of voters was 3,494,549, or 50.53 percent of the electorate.

A total of 109,515 invalid ballots have been registered, or 3.14 percent of the total number of ballots. That is at the level of the usual percentage at elections for the President of the Republic, he said.

The data unequivocally confirms that the repeated voting for the President of the Republic has succeeded, which, after the processing of data from all the polling stations in Serbia, and in accordance with the law, will be announced at the next press conference, Nebojsa Rodic said, not specifying when that will be.

At the press conference held on Monday, Serbian Election Commission spokesman Zoran Djumic said that the elections for President of the Republic of Serbia were followed by 29 foreign observers - 13 from OSCE, eight from international nongovernmental organizations and eight from foreign diplomatic-consular representations.

[02] PORTUGUESE FOREIGN MINISTER IN BELGRADE

Tanjug, 1997-12-23

Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama, who arrived on a two-day official visit to Yugoslavia at the invitation of his Yugoslav counterpart Milan Milutinovic on Monday, is to discuss with Yugoslav officials the promotion of cooperation and relations between the two countries and international issues of mutual interest.

[03] GOVERNMENT ENDORSES RESTRICTIVE MONETARY POLICY

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

The Yugoslav Government held a session on Monday chaired by Prime Minister Radoje Kontic and endorsed the plans on restrictive monetary policy proposed by the National Bank for 1998, Yugoslav Information Secretariat said in a statement.

The basic goal of the 1998 monetary policy is to preserve the stability of the exchange rate and of prices, which is line with the fundamental goals of the Government's overall economic policy for 1998. The growth rate of money supply in 1998 should be lower than that of the GNP, in order to reduce pressure on foreign exchange reserves and ensure the stability of prices and of the exchange rate of the dinar.

In the first quarter of 1998, the money supply will be considerably reduced in order to stabilize the exchange rate and prices, the Government said.

In order to realize the planned production increase, all funds should be directed only to companies operating successfully, the Government said.

The Government also discussed and adopted several measures for ensuring the planned budgetary revenues, the statement says.

[04] SRPSKA COMMITTED TO DAYTON AGREEMENT

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

The Republika Srpska member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik described as useful the talks held with US President Bill Clinton on Monday in Sarajevo.

Krajisnik told the press in Pale that he had conveyed to President Clinton Srpska's firm commitment to the Dayton Agreement and its fears of attempts being made to modify it.

He also said he had thanked Clinton for the US and his own role in helping Bosnia's peoples and entities reach understanding.

President Clinton is aware of the specific aspirations of the three Bosnian parties - the Muslims wish to dominate, the Croats are not committed to Bosnia's development and the Serbs do not want a single Bosnia, Krajisnik said.

Krajisnik said he had agreed with Clinton's observations and explained that over 90 percent of the Serbs wish for a unification with Yugoslavia as they fear living in a single Bosnia.

Krajisnik added he had thanked Clinton for the US help in establishing peace in the region and had asked him to help preserve the principle of equality of the three peoples and two entities in Bosnia.

The Serb side will strive for the full implementation of the Dayton Agreement and will not work against Bosnia, but will defend the Republika Srpska sovereignty established in Dayton, Krajisnik said.

[05] SRPSKA, US PRESIDENTS MEET IN SARAJEVO

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic said on Monday in Banja Luka that she had discussed the implementation of the Dayton Agreement with US President Bill Clinton in Sarajevo.

Plavsic said she had asked the US President to show understanding, as the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina ended only recently and the Peace Agreement cannot consequently be implemented fast, Srpska media report.

Plavsic underlined that she expected positive results from the Dayton Agreement but that all sides must be patient.

The meeting between Presidents Plavsic and Clinton in Sarajevo was attended also by the Co-Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Ministers from Republika Srpska Boro Bosic, the Deputy Foreign Minister in the Bosnia- Herzegovina Council of Ministers Dragan Bozanic, and the Presidents of the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska Zivko Radisic and of the Party of Independent Social-Democrats of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik.

[06] SRPSKA DEMOCRATIC, RADICAL PARTIES SIGN AGREEMENT

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

President of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) Presidency Aleksa Buha and President of the Serb Radical Party of Republika Srpska (SRS-RS) Nikola Poplasen signed on Monday evening in Bijeljina an agreement on partnership in order to ensure a majority in the new Srpska Parliament.

It has been proposed that the constituent session of the new Parliament be held in Bijeljina on January 12.

In line with the agreement, the SDS will propose the candidates for Parliament Speaker and both parties will propose candidates for the two Deputy Speakers.

The SDS will also propose to President Biljana Plavsic a candidate for Prime Minister.

Buha said that the agreement was the result of several days of talks between representatives of the two parties and that the socialists had also been invited to join them but refused.

Poplasen expressed satisfaction with the agreement and said that other parliamentary parties were behaving in an unprincipled manner.

The SDS and SRS-RS together have 39 seats in the Srpska Parliament out of the total of 83.

[07] MILOSEVIC: TIME FOR EXERTING ALL EFFORTS TOWARDS BETTER LIFE

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

Head of the Socialist Party of Serbia Electoral Staff Gorica Gajevic and Coordinator Milomir Minic gave a reception at Belgrade's Sava Centre on Monday to celebrate the victory of Milan Milutinovic in Serbia's presidential election, which was attended also by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his wife Mira Markovic.

President Milosevic congratulated Milutinovic on his election as President of Serbia and wished him success.

"I also wish to congratulate all those in our alliance of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Yugoslav Left (JUL) and the New Democracy (ND), who have contributed to the success of this election in the interest of Serbia. I also wish to congratulate all the citizens who have given such a strong support to the policy and commitments voiced by our alliance and our presidential candidate, now already President of the Republic, Milan Milutinovic", Milosevic said.

Now that the election period is finally over, the time has come for everyone in Serbia to start working for economic recovery and devoting all their time and energy to ensuring better and more humane life in Serbia, in the same manner and with the same ardour they demonstrated while working towards the success of the election, he said.

[08] MILAN MILUTINOVIC - PROFILE

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

The newly elected President of Serbia Milan Milutinovic said on Monday morning, after the presidential runoff results were announced at the SPS headquarters, that Serbia's concerns should now be work and development.

Milutinovic thanked citizens of Serbia, the SPS and its coalition partners, the Yugoslav Left and New Democracy, for their support.

"I wish especially to thank the SPS Main Committee and President Slobodan Milosevic, who put their trust in me and put up my candidacy," Milutinovic said.

Milan Milutinovic, who has been elected President of Serbia as the candidate of the left coalition SPS-JUL-ND, was born on Dec. 19, 1942 in Belgrade.

He graduated from the University of Belgrade Law School in 1965. After graduating, Milutinovic held many responsible political, social and public posts. He was a Deputy in the Assembly of Yugoslavia Social-Political Chamber, Serbian Secretary for Education and Science, member of the Serbian Government twice, and director of the National Library of Serbia.

He was Ambassador in the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry, head of a Foreign Ministry division, and Yugoslav Ambassador to Greece.

Milutinovic and wife Olga have a son, Veljko. Milutinovic speaks English and French.

[09] TALKS ON RENEWING TRAFFIC

Tanjug, 1997-12-19

Yugoslav Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications will head a delegation for talks with representatives of the Albanian Ministry of Industry, Traffic and Trade in Tirana, December 19-20 this year, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat said on Friday. All pend= ing issues will be reviewed on that occasion in connection with the renewal of traffic in the coming period between the two countries, particularly the possibility of restoring railway traffic between Podgorica and Skadar, the statement said.

[10] VISIT PROVIDES INCENTIVE FOR CONSOLIDATING PEACE

Tanjug, 1997-12-21

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Ministers Dragan Bozanic said Sunday in Pale that the visit of US President Bill Clinton to Bosnia-Herzegovina Monday was very important and that much was expected from it. This will be one more incentive to the consolidation of peace and to the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, Bozanic said and added he expected the Americans to pursue their constructive endeavors for the full implementation of the Agreement. Clinton is coming to Bosnia to pay a Christmas visit to the US troops within SFOR, but his visit will also be important for the establishment of good relations within Bosnia- Herzegovina, Bozanic said. Bozanic said he did not share the view prevailing in the Muslim-Croat Federation that the implementation of the Dayton Agreement had come to a standstill. The Peace Agreement continues to be implemented and progress is being made after the Peace Implementation Council conference in Bonn, Bozanic said and expressed hope that activities to this end would be pursued next year.

[11] GOSA BUILDS HYDRO-PLANTS IN ETHIOPIA

Tanjug, 1997-12-19

The "Gosa" holding corporation, based in the Serbian town of Smederevska Palanka, has signed a contract to produce and assemble parts for a hydro- electrical power plant in Ethiopia. The deal was signed with mediation from the Belgrade "Energoproject" company, and the value of the works is about two million U.S. dollars. The "Gosa" industry is due to meet the terms of the contract in less than two years, which would pave the way for work on three more hydro-power plants in Ethiopia. "Gosa" carried off the deal amid strong international competition, in which about 60 companies contested for the job.

[12] MIXED GROUP FOR BORDER ISSUES

Tanjug, 1997-12-19

The Mixed Working Group, formed by the Joint Diplomatic-Expert Commission for determining the state border between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia, held a meeting in Belgrade, December 17-18, the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said Friday. The task of the Mixed Working Group is to examine important documents for determining the state border between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia, which are at the disposal of both sides. Promemoria about the documents were exchanged by the two sides in Skoplje, on October 20 this year. The conclusions and proposals of the Mixed Working Group will be reviewed by the Joint Diplomatic-Expert commission at its next session due to be held soon in Belgrade, the statement said.

[13] THERE IS ROOM FOR YUGOSLAV ECONOMY ON WORLD MARKET

Tanjug, 1997-12-21

Higher production and a reduced participation of public spending in the social product will be the chief features of Yugoslavia's economic and development policies in 1998, Yugoslav Minister of Development, Science and Ecology Jagos Zelenovic has said. Zelenovic said in an interview published in the Pristina daily "Jedinstvo" that the available potentials were a guarantee that the planned development would be achieved. He urged that internal differences over economic issues be resolved, as he said they could pose an obstacle to the planned development. Asked how the extended "outer wall" of sanctions against Yugoslavia would reflect on the country's development, Minister Zelenovic said that capital had its own logic which was often not in line with the actual policy and that logic had already opened many possibilities for exchange with foreign partners. "There is room for Yugoslav economy in the world. Yugoslavia is present on the world market and has numerous bilateral economic arrangements. Yugoslav enterprises record significant trade results and foreign firms are interested in investing in our economy", Minister Zelenovic underscored. He reiterated that inflation must be maintained at the zero level and in that context singled out the need for securing the Yugoslav economy's competitiveness on foreign markets.

[14] PORTUGUESE FOREIGN MINISTER GAMA DUE IN BELGRADE MONDAY

Tanjug, 1997-12-21

Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama is due on a two-day official visit to Yugoslavia on Monday, the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said Sunday. Minister Gama is expected to discuss with his Yugoslav hosts all aspects of the bilateral cooperation, especially, economic, in whose promotion both sides are interested. The talks are also to cover major international topics of joint interest, especially the further development of relations between Yugoslavia and the European Union.

[15] MILUTINOVIC LEADS

Tanjug, 1997-12-22

Spokesman for the Socialist Party of Serbia Ivica Dacic said early on Tuesday that 90 percent of the ballots counted so far put left bloc candidate Milan Milutinovic in the lead. Milutinovic has won 1,954,923 votes (57.51 percent), and radical candidate Vojislav Seselj 1,333,273, votes (39.23 percent). Dacic said the second round of the elections for the president of Serbia had been successful, as the turnout was over 50 percent. Head of the campaign staff of the Serbian Radical Party Dragan Todorovic has said that left bloc candidate Milan Milutinovic was ahead of their own candidate in the second round of presidential elections. The party has counted 92.77 percent of polling precincts, and recorded a turnout of 49.96 percent. Milutinovic has won 1,944,396 votes (57.63 percent), and Vojislav Seselj 1,314,104 (38.95 percent).

[16] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ADDRESSES BEST WISHES TO CHINA FOR 1998

Tanjug, 1997-12-20

President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic has addressed a New Year's message of best wishes for prosperity and cooperation to the President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin and to the Chinese people. The message was presented Saturday in Beijing to the Chinese Foreign Minister Zhang Deguang by Yugoslav Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic, the Yugoslav Embassy in Beijing told the press. Zhang thanked Bulajic for the message and pointed to the great importance of the recent visit of Yugoslav President Milosevic to China which had opened a new stage in the traditionally good and friendly bilateral relations. China is ready to continue developing overall relations and economic cooperation with Yugoslavia, Zhang said, and welcomed the establishment of direct Belgrade-Bejing flights by the Yugoslav airline JAT. Zhang and Bulatovic exchanged views on the overall bilateral relations and Bulatovic thanked the Chinese leadership for the help in opening the flight service. The meeting also focused on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

[17] YUGOSLAVIA WILL OPEN CONSULATE IN SHANGHAI

Tanjug, 1997-12-20

Yugoslav Ambassador to China Slobodan Unkovic said Saturday that a Yugoslav consulate would be opened early next year in Shanghai. Unkovic told the press that China was one of Yugoslavia's key trade partners and underlined that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's recent visit to China had contributed to the promotion and strengthening of all-round bilateral ties, especially in the economy. An inter-state agreement on cooperation in tourism is expected to be concluded in a near future, Unkovic said.

[18] HUMANITARIAN AID TO YUGOSLAVIA WILL NOT BE REDUCED

Tanjug, 1997-12-20

Serbian Commissioner for Refugees Bratislava Morina said on Saturday that the results of the several-day meeting in Geneva on the situation of refugees and humanitarian aid would alleviate the concern of refugees as regards the funding of aid in 1998. Morina told Radio Belgrade on her return from Geneva that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had appealed for maintaining the same level of aid in 1998 as in 1997. Representatives of the international community were told that Yugoslavia remained firmly in favour of the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and was exerting utmost efforts to take care of nearly 700,000 refugees. The most important results of the Geneva meeting were the agreements to provide equal aid to both Bosnian entities (Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation) and to initiate the voluntary repatriation of refugees, Morina said. Describing the Geneva meeting as characterized by a similarity of stances of all delegations, Morina said that the proposal of the Serbian delegation on hosting the next regional meeting on refugees and humanitarian aid was accepted by the participants and should be held soon after the New Year.

[19] PROTOCOL ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-12-19

A protocol on trade and economic cooperation between Serbia and Belarus was signed in Belgrade on Friday, a Government statement said. The protocol provides for the expansion of trade and economic cooperation between Serbia and Belarus, which currently lags behind the actual possibilities. The value of the bilateral trade for 1998 is expected to exceed 100 million dollars. The protocol was signed by Serbian Minister without Portfolio Andrej Milosavljevic and Division Head in the Belarus Government Viktor Demianovic.

[20] YUGOSLAV DELEGATION MEETS ICAO OFFICIALS

Tanjug, 1997-12-20

A Yugoslav delegation headed by Minister of Transport Dejan Drobnjakovic has visited Montreal at the invitation of Assad Cotaita, President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council, to discuss air traffic issues at ICAO headquarters. The talks focused on selecting flight routes and safety measures. The Yugoslav delegation emphasised the principle of territory protection and flight safety, and its views were fully endorsed by ICAO Council President and by its Secretary-General Costa Perreira, as confirmed by a protocol signed during the talks. The ICAO agreed to fulfil its commitments in this regard as soon as possible and promised it would strive to have Yugoslavia readmitted is its member. The ICAO is a UN agency. The issue of a Yugoslav Airlines (JAT) Boeing B737-300 still grounded in Istanbul by the Bosphorus company despite a ruling of Turkey's Supreme Court, ICAO endeavors and bilateral diplomatic activities, was also discussed. The Yugoslav delegation presented a complete file of evidence regarding this problem, and this was accepted by the ICAO representatives. The ICAO officials pointed to the high degree of safety of flights in Yugoslavia's air space and in JAT aircraft. A protocol on the future intensification of bilateral cooperation was signed by Minister Drobnjakovic and ICAO Council President.

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