Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-03-23

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT YELTSIN SENDS A MESSAGE TO YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC

[02] ETHNIC ALBANIAN PARTY SIMULATES ELECTIONS FOR RUGOVA'S MEDIA PRESENTATION

[03] SERBIAN POLICE SAYS SPECIAL FORCES ARE NOT IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA

[04] ABOUT 800,000 ETHNIC ALBANIANS LIVE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[05] MONTENEGRO ASSEMBLY GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR EARLY ELECTIONS

[06] YUGOSLAV AGRICULTURE MINISTER TO VISIT BELARUS

[07] YUGOSLAVIA AND ROMANIA SIGN A CULTURAL COOPERATION PROGRAM

[08] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN SLOVENIA

[09] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENT ADOPTS DECLARATION ON KOSOVO-METOHIJA

[10] KINKEL OPPOSES SECESSION OF SERBIA'S PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[11] DECISIVE REJECTION OF INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE KOSMET ISSUE

[12] YUGOSLAV DEFENCE MINISTER ARRIVES IN GREECE

[13] ICRC REFUSES TO PARTICIPATE IN FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE FOR KOSMET

[14] PROBLEM IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA IS SEPARATISM

[15] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES FOREIGN MINISTRY ACTIVITIES CONCERNING KOSMET

[16] PRESIDENT YELTSIN VALUES HIGHLY RESULTS ACHIEVED SO FAR IN SOLUTION OF KOSMET PROBLEM

[17] YUGOSLAVIA DENIES VISAS TO U.S. UNOFFICIAL FACT-FINDING MISSION TO KOSOVO

[18] YUGOSLAV MINISTER EXTENDS FELICITATIONS TO CHINA'S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER

[01] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT YELTSIN SENDS A MESSAGE TO YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC

Tanjug, 1998-03-19

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic received on Friday the Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Yuri Kotov who presented him with a written message from Russian President Boris Yeltsin for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

The message concerns the strengthening of bilateral relations, cooperation and friendship and joint activities aimed at consolidating world peace, security and confidence.

The message also contains President Yeltsin's invitation to President Milosevic to visit Russia, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat said.

[02] ETHNIC ALBANIAN PARTY SIMULATES ELECTIONS FOR RUGOVA'S MEDIA PRESENTATION

Tanjug, 1998-03-22

The ethnic Albanians' Democratic League of Kosovo (DSK) party, led by Ibrahim Rugova, on Sunday simulated illegal separatist elections for parliament and "president" of a phantom "republic" in part of the Serbian state territory - Kosovo-Metohija, just as it did in 1992.

While the 1992 "elections" could hardly have been formally more convincing for some ethnic Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija, ethnic Albanians themselves consider the Sundays elections to be a complete farce.

This opinion has been voiced before the beginning of this propaganda operation masterminded by part of the separatist political core. It has been voiced by its other part comprising several leaders of other ethnic Albanian groups and parties, which have a considerable influence on the ethnic Albanian public in Kosovo and Metohija.

They have directly demonstrated their attitude by failing to take part in this media farce, saying that the "election" will not be legal or legitimate.

Analysts of the ethnic Albanian political scene have been especially confused by the fact that, this time, opponents of the latest media operation, allegedly aimed at confirming Rugova's legitimacy to negotiate with Serbian representatives on "an equal footing", were those people who had pressured Rugova for years to call "elections' for non-existent bodies and offices.

The greatest opponent turns out to be Adem Demaci, whose Parliamentary Party is the second on the list of ethnic Albanians' strongest parties topped by the DSK. A year ago, Demaci tried to conjure himself up on the list of "parliament members" elected in 1992 and then give an impetus to the "parliament" which has never been constituted.

Rugova's elections are also opposed by other relevant forces, such as the Union of the Independent Trade Union, the Union of Independent ethnic Albanian university students as well as leading intellectuals like Redzep Chosja and many others.

They all believe that the time is not right for such action and that this will contribute to a further polarization of the ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija.

These divisions could also be seen during Sunday's media "election" operation. The alleged one million voters were nowhere to be found, except in some alleys, private houses and other facilities that are not owned by the Republic of Serbia or other bodies of local power.

As for the balloting itself, those who illegally turned out to vote did not have any choice, with Rugova being the only "presidential" candidate.

The internal democracy of the illegal separatist elections is evident also from a figure released by the Serbian Interior Ministry saying that 100,000 ballot papers with the name of the only candidate already circled were uncovered on Friday, March 20.

Another proof is the fact that most candidates running for the phantom "parliament" are members of the DSK, led by Rugova.

According to what separatists have masterminded over the past ten years, the outcome of the elections can be very easily predicted. As early as on Monday reports will be released saying that the turnout in the elections was massive and that Rugova had received massive and unconditional support from all voters and that ethnic Albanians had again demonstrated their will and commitment to "independence and freedom".

The same situation occurred in September 1991 when there was an alleged referendum and also on May 24, 1992 when the first alleged presidential and parliamentary elections for a phantom "Kosovo republic" were staged.

[03] SERBIAN POLICE SAYS SPECIAL FORCES ARE NOT IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-03-23

In response to enquiries by foreign reporters and officials in connection with the current situation in the Province of Kosovo-Metohija, a Spokesman for the Interior Ministry of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia made to Tanjug late on Monday a statement as follows:

"The security situation in Kosovo-Metohija is normal, and regular police units are carrying out their duties of keeping law and order, controlling and regulating traffic, protecting the security of the Republic and of the person and property of the people.

Having destroyed the terrorist gang in the village of Donje Prekaze on March 5, members of special police anti-terrorist units, with their equipment and materiel, are in their permanent base outside the area.

Regular police forces are doing their regular duties and successfully securing public law and order in Kosovo-Metohija."

[04] ABOUT 800,000 ETHNIC ALBANIANS LIVE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-03-22

About 800,000 ethnic Albanians live in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, according to the latest estimates that are not very reliable because members of the Albanian minority boycotted the 1991 Census.

These estimates shed a completely different light on the number of ethnic Albanians that has often been a matter of manipulation greatly influencing certain political decisions.

The Belgrade daily 'Borba' said on Sunday that it was impossible to determine the precise number of ethnic Albanians because they had boycotted the 1991 Census. The paper said Kosovo and Metohija was a multi-ethnic province where two constituent peoples, Serbs and Montenegrins, lived as well as a large number of ethnic groups.

It is a fact that the province is predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians, but basic indices show that their number is far below that presented in the world, the paper said.

The 1981 Census in the former Yugoslavia, which was not boycotted by ethnic Albanians, put their number at 1.2 million, while estimates based on the average birth rate put their number in 1991 at slightly under 1.6 million, the paper said. If the same statistical principle were applied again, there should be about 1.9 million ethnic Albanians in the province at this point, it said.

Massive emigration of ethnic Albanians, whom Western media described as people without a homeland whose lives were in jeopardy, took place, however, in the meantime, under instructions by ethnic Albanian separatist leaders and their foreign advisors.

'Borba' said it was not hard to establish the number of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija on the strength of data released by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Hans van den Broek, member of various European bodies, on which Serbian Minister for Family Care Bratislava Morina had recently commented.

Morina said Kinkel and Van den Broek claimed that 400,000 ethnic Albanians lived in Germany, 130,000 in Switzerland, 260,000 in Italy and 200,000 in the United States, so that the inevitable conclusion was that there were only slightly over 800,000 living in the province at this point.

Commenting on the province's multi-ethnic structure, the paper said 150,000 Serbs and Montenegrins also lived there as well as 150,000 Moslems and almost as many Gypsies, and members of other minorities. The daily said ethnic Albanian leaders had disregarded this fact alleging that, apart from a small number of Serbs, the province was exclusively populated by ethnic Albanians.

Moreover, the ethnic Albanian leaders refuse to reveal the reason why the number of Serbs living in the province has drastically dropped, the paper said.

'Borba' said all but ethnic Albanian terrorists wanted to continue living in the united Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which it said had been confirmed in talks with Serbian Government officials over the past few days.

The paper said a seemingly marginal but nevertheless not quite irrelevant fact indicated the number of ethnic Albanians, which is that ethnic Albanian bakeries produce daily 227,000 loaves of bread.

Reacting to yet another instance of the manipulation of the public, the Belgrade daily 'Politika Ekspres' quoted on Sunday Belgrade Archbishop France Perko as saying that masses and sermons for peace had been held in Roman Catholic churches throughout Kosovo and Metohija last week and that they had commemorated deaths of all that had been killed in clashes in the province and not only ethnic Albanians.

Perko's statement proved false press reports claiming that sermons had only commemorated deaths of ethnic Albanian victims.

[05] MONTENEGRO ASSEMBLY GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR EARLY ELECTIONS

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

The seven political parties represented in the Montenegro Assembly unanimously passed a decision on Thursday on the shortening of the Deputies' term of office, giving a green light to the President within seven days to schedule early elections. The Montenegro Assembly also unanimously passed decisions on a different number of seats in the Assembly and on the rules for the presentation of political parties in the election campaign.

[06] YUGOSLAV AGRICULTURE MINISTER TO VISIT BELARUS

Tanjug, 1998-03-22

A Yugoslav state and economic delegation, headed by Agriculture Minister Nedeljko Sipovac, will leave on Monday for a three-day visit to Belarus at the invitation of Belarus Agriculture Minister Ivan Petrovich Shakol, the Yugoslav Government said in a statement.

The two ministers will sign a Protocol on cooperation between the Yugoslav and Belarus Agriculture Ministries and the signing is expected of a large number of cooperation agreements in the field of agriculture. The Yugoslav delegation's visit to Belarus should contribute to a further promotion of bilateral relations, the statement said.

[07] YUGOSLAVIA AND ROMANIA SIGN A CULTURAL COOPERATION PROGRAM

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

Yugoslavia and Romania signed on Friday in Bucharest a Program of cooperation in culture and education up to the year 2000. The program includes various cultural and educational activities, cooperation among universities, exchange of scholarships and exchange of Serbian and Romanian language professors and experts. The program also envisages cultural and educational cooperation of national minorities.

[08] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN SLOVENIA

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

A delegation of the Foreign Policy Boards of the Yugoslav Parliament's Chamber of Citizens and Chamber of Republics, headed by the Chairman of the Chamber of Citizens' Foreign Policy Board Ljubisa Ristic, met on Friday in Ljubljana with the President of the Slovenian Parliament's Board for International Relations, Jelko Kacin and members of that Board.

These are the first talks between the two countries' parliamentary delegations since Slovenia gained international recognition.

Radio Belgrade reported that the talks focused on the Yugoslav initiative on the formation of a Consultative Assembly of the parliaments of southeast Europe, as well as on bilateral relations. The two-hour talks also discussed the situation in Kosovo and Metohija.

Ristic told a press conference that the Yugoslav position was that it is necessary to establish full diplomatic relations between the two countries because a partial solution, urged by Ljubljana, is unacceptable for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Ristic underlined the importance of these first contacts.

The spokesman of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Ivica Dacic, who is also a member of the delegation, told Radio Belgrade that the talks have shown the existence of different views on the issue of succession and continuity of FRY.

Dacic set out that the Yugoslav side had underlined the importance of the continuity issue for FRY. He said that, on the other hand, Slovenia's conduct in international organizations and institutions is absolutely contrary to that country's efforts for establishing full diplomatic relations.

FRY's wish for normalization is not in question, but it is a fact that it primarily depends on moves by the Slovenian Government, Dacic said.

Kacin described talks as valuable. He said that, following the current visit, relations between FRY and Slovenia are better because a dialogue has been opened on the parliamentary level which, according to him, is a specially important step.

Ristic informed journalists about Yugoslavia's position on the Kosovo and Metohija crisis. He set out that FRY believes that it is very important to discuss this with the participation of all sides, but that the Yugoslav side does not believe mediation is needed. He recalled that Yugoslavia had very bad experience with mediation and would not agree to it in the form in which it was realized during the crisis in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

That mediation has greatly harmed all and we believe that the international community should be present and control that process, it should participate in it with good intentions, advice and help, but we should resolve our own internal problems by ourselves, just like any other country in the world, together with our citizens, Ristic said.

Besides Dacic, who is a member of the Board for Foreign Policy Relations of the Chamber of Citizens and the Chairman of the Chamber of Citizen's Public Information Board, the talks were also attended by Cedomir Mirkovic - member of the Chamber of Citizens' Board for Foreign Policy Relations, Milan Bozic - member of the Chamber of Republics' Board for Foreign Policy and Economic Relations, and Dusan Maksic - Board Secretary.

[09] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENT ADOPTS DECLARATION ON KOSOVO-METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-03-22

Republika Srpska Parliament said late on Saturday that Kosovo and Metohija is Serbia's internal matter, which should be resolved in line with the Serbian Constitution. The Bosnian Serb Parliament also strongly condemned any attempt to internationalize the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.

According to a statement released by the office of Speaker Dragan Kalinic, the Parliament adopted a Declaration on Kosovo and Metohija at its 4th session in Banja Luka.

The Declaration voiced great concern over the developments in Kosovo and Metohija, warning that an unprincipled pressure by part of the international community and a support for separatism and terrorism posed an immediate threat to peace and stability in the broader region.

As representatives of the people, which has had a tragic experience of hardship that exclusivism and people's unwillingness to peacefully solve the problem involve, we hope that the best solution will be negotiated between Serbia's legal and legitimate representatives and representatives of the ethnic Albanian minority, the Declaration said.

The Declaration backed Serbian authorities' readiness to use all legal methods available to protect their citizens in Kosovo and Metohija and to adequately counteract the rise of ethnic Albanian terrorism.

It also urged ethnic Albanian political representatives to join other national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija in their acceptance of Serbia as their own state and, through negotiations with Serbian bodies of power, secure the protection and exercise of all national rights in keeping with recognized standards.

[10] KINKEL OPPOSES SECESSION OF SERBIA'S PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-03-21

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel on Saturday reiterated his government's opposition to setting up an independent state in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, saying no one would back such a move.

Speaking for Berlin's Info-Radio, Kinkel said changing borders was not the appropriate way to solve problems every time they surfaced. He said, "It is clear that there can be no separation and no division, but rather a special status that will lead to autonomy. We have achieved some progress in this direction, although not all the questions have been answered."

He said ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija must be told to stop everything that had anything to do with militant actions, adding that, "they have to return to negotiations."

Kinkel, who together with his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine met with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday, said he felt progress had been made this week in resolving tensions in the Balkans.

Asked why ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija could not have their own state, he said, "Because there is no one on this planet who can be taken seriously that could support this demand. And we have to take care that we do not resort to border changes as a solution to every problem."

[11] DECISIVE REJECTION OF INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE KOSMET ISSUE

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

Serbian Deputy Premier and head of the delegation at the talks with representatives of national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija, prof. Ratko Markovic, said on Friday that the Thursday visits of international representatives to Belgrade had the effect of "rejecting decisively and finally the internationalization of the Kosmet issue."

"We have witnessed concrete steps undertaken by the international community in view of the full realization of the dialogue. Our continued presence in Pristina was seen as readiness for dialogue, and after our every meeting something new happened in favour of the dialogue," Markovic said talking to a delegation of other national minorities in Kosmet.

Representatives of ethnic Albanian political parties refused once again on Friday to attend the talks.

Markovic said that, according to certain indications from Tirana, carried by some news agencies, the Albanian side was forming the team of representatives of political parties from Kosovo and Metohija. He assessed that this was an important part of preparations for the beginning of the dialogue and voiced hope that talks with the Albanian representatives will start as early as Monday.

"We are however still witnessing attempts of presenting the Kosmet issue as a problem of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and not of Serbia," Markovic said and added that this was "legally untenable, as the territorial organization of Serbia is not the subject matter of the Yugoslav Constitution."

He said that the issue of the organization of power was the sovereign issue of federal units and so it was physically impossible for a territory of Yugoslavia to exist outside the territory of member republics.

The rejection of internationalization of talks for a solution to the Kosovo issue, Markovic said, has many reasons, and two most important ones are that the Serbian and Albania sides in Kosovo and Metohija are not at war so as to require international mediation, and the other is that there will be no redrawing of the political map of Europe in these territories.

"Our meetings were not in vain as each one was followed by concrete action that meant a step closer to the realization of talks," Markovic said and called on the representatives of Turkish, Romany and Muslim national minorities to name their representatives for the talks due to start on Monday.

He invited once again representatives of ethnic Albanian political parties to the talks, expressing hope that they will form their official delegation by Monday.

Besides Markovic, in the delegation of the Republic of Serbia were ministers Ratomir Vico, Andreja Milosavljevic and Ivan Sedlak, and representatives of party groupings in the Serbian Parliament: Vojislav Zivkovic (Socialist Party of Serbia), Milovan Bojic (Yugoslav Left) and Jorgovanka Tabakovic (Serbian Radical Party).

During the talks on Friday, there were no demonstrations of Kosmet Albanians in front of the Serbian Government building in Pristina.

A news conference was held in Pristina on Friday by the leader of Kosmet Albanians Ibrahim Rugova, who confirmed that the Albanian side had formed a team for the talks, but did not announce their names.

Rugova, however, urged again the mediation of a "third party" in the talks.

[12] YUGOSLAV DEFENCE MINISTER ARRIVES IN GREECE

Tanjug, 1998-03-22

Yugoslav Defence Minister Pavle Bulatovic on Sunday arrived on a three-day official visit to Greece, at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Apostolos Akis Tsohatsopoulos.

Tsohatsopoulos welcomed Bulatovic and other members of the Yugoslav delegation upon their arrival in Athens.

On Monday, Bulatovic and the Greek Defence Minister will resume a dialogue opened in Belgrade in May on the promotion of bilateral military, economic, scientific and technical cooperation in the field of defence.

The talks will also focus on an analysis of the security situation in the region and reviewing of joint measures aimed at promoting cooperation and confidence among states and nations.

Bulatovic should be received on Monday also by Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos and Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis.

[13] ICRC REFUSES TO PARTICIPATE IN FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE FOR KOSMET

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) does not want to participate in a committee for determining the facts about the recent events in Kosovo and Metohija, the Belgrade ICRC office said on Friday following calls by the Serbian authorities for this humanitarian organization to open an ad hoc investigation on the events in this southern Serbian province.

ICRC said in a statement that it had informed the Serbian authorities that activities within the fact-finding committee were not within the scope of its competencies, and that agreement to such a para-judicial demand could threaten their primary humanitarian task which is to provide aid and protect the victims of armed conflicts or internal disturbances.

ICRC said it had advised the Serbian authorities to contact an international expert on International Law so that he could help them set up the committee.

ICRC's priority remains the fulfilment of its humanitarian role in Kosmet and, with in this aim, the ICRC team, which includes a delegate of the International Federation of the Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), has been in Pristina since Wednesday to investigate the further possibilities for aiding people affected by the current crisis, the statement said.

[14] PROBLEM IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA IS SEPARATISM

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

The problem in Kosovo and Metohija are not human rights, as most frequently misinterpreted, but separatism and ethnic Albanian separatists who have openly declared that secession from Serbia and Yugoslavia is their goal, head of Yugoslavia's U.N. mission in New York Vladislav Jovanovic has said.

Speaking of developments in Serbia's southern province at a news conference at Palais des Nations on Thursday, Jovanovic presented data about ethnic Albanian terrorist actions, of which there have been 70 over the past two and a half months. He said such a policy and activity of ethnic Albanian separatists were a threat to Serbia's and Yugoslavia's integrity and people.

He said ethnic Albanians in the province requested that they be granted rights that no minority in the world was entitled to, explaining that they requested to have their own state.

He said Serbia's and Yugoslavia's Constitution and laws guaranteed broad rights to ethnic Albanians as well as all other minorities in the country, saying ethnic Albanians refused to exercise them.

Asked whether it was true that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija posed a threat to peace and security in the rest of the region, Jovanovic said this was an artificially created theory aimed at resulting in a precedent. He said there was no such danger.

He informed the news conference about Serbian President Milan Milutinovic's declaration on the political process in Kosovo and Metohija, saying ethnic Albanian leaders had five times in succession been invited to talks on the resolution of issues in the province.

He said ethnic Albanians had again rejected dialogue that had always been offered to them, saying all issues must be resolved through peaceful and political means.

[15] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES FOREIGN MINISTRY ACTIVITIES CONCERNING KOSMET

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

The Yugoslav Government discussed on Friday the Federal Foreign Ministry's activities in representing Yugoslavia's positions and interests in connection with the province of Kosovo and Metohija, after an introductory statement from Federal Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, a Government statement said.

The Federal Government assessed as positive the foreign-policy activities, which it said had essentially helped the international community and key factors of international relations to get a more objective picture of the nature of problems in Kosovo and Metohija, to unequivocally condemn terrorism, distance themselves from separatism and back the platform of the Republic of Serbia leadership for the resolution of all issues through dialogue and by political means, the statement said.

The Yugoslav Government established that some headway had been made and that important international factors and forums had acknowledged the Serbian leadership's open and constructive position, which it assessed should result in the definitive abandoning of a U.N. Security Council resolution on Kosovo and Metohija and of all pressures for and advocacy of measures against Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav Government assessed that leaders of political parties of the Albanian minority must now demonstrate a responsible attitude toward both the open and realistic platform of Serbia's leadership and the unequivocal position of the international community that constructive solutions, which are in keeping with European and international standards, can be reached only through dialogue and by political means.

The Yugoslav Government assessed as positive the position of leaders of the other national minorities and ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohija, who officially asked to participate in the dialogue.

The Yugoslav Government reaffirmed its open approach to matters of equality- based cooperation with the international community and all factors of international relations based on the generally valid principles of international relations, the statement said.

[16] PRESIDENT YELTSIN VALUES HIGHLY RESULTS ACHIEVED SO FAR IN SOLUTION OF KOSMET PROBLEM

Tanjug, 1998-03-20

Russian President Boris Yeltsin valued highly what has been done collectively at this stage in the resolution of the Kosmet problem, Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov said in Zagreb on Friday.

Yeltsin arrived on Friday at the Kremlin after he was treated for a throat infection and immediately phoned Primakov to hear his report about the talks he held in Belgrade.

The Russian minister, ITAR*TASS reported, also said that the "world community must register progress toward a settlement of the Kosovo problem."

The Russian president also said that no additional measures should be undertaken now which might hinder the process currently underway, Primakov said.

He said he believed considerable progress has been made, beginning with the statement of the Serbian President that a dialogue was possible and desirable. Self*government of Kosmet in the framework of Serbia and Yugoslavia is the point of the matter, Primakov said.

[17] YUGOSLAVIA DENIES VISAS TO U.S. UNOFFICIAL FACT-FINDING MISSION TO KOSOVO

Tanjug, 1998-03-21

The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Yugoslav authorities were unable, out of principled reasons, to meet a U.S. request for granting visas to a group of U.S. congressmen and other persons, who intended to travel to Kosovo and Metohija to unofficially examine the situation there.

The group intended to visit Kosovo-Metohija at the time of ethnic Albanian illegal elections in order to demonstrate with their presence a support to secessionist political forces.

The U.S. side ignored the standard procedure of planning and arranging the visit and insisted on coming to Kosovo and Metohija without an approval of official Yugoslav bodies, which is contrary to relevant international principles and practice in relations among sovereign states.

Prominent U.S. figures, especially members of Congress, are always welcome to visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia if their visits are aimed at developing good bilateral relations and promoting mutual trust. However, it is unacceptable to visit Yugoslavia without an invitation or to allow visitors to decide for themselves the time and place of entry into the country.

[18] YUGOSLAV MINISTER EXTENDS FELICITATIONS TO CHINA'S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER

Tanjug, 1998-03-21

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic has sent a message of felicitations to the newly-appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.

Jovanovic said he was convinced that cooperation between the Yugoslav and Chinese foreign ministries, as well as personal contacts in the future, would give a significant contribution to a further comprehensive development of friendly bilateral relations based on principles of mutual trust and respect.

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