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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-04-16Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Yugoslav Daily SurveyCONTENTS
[01] YUGOSLAV AND ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS HOLD CONSULTATIONSTanjug, 1998-04-15Yugoslav Foreign Ministry Political Director Dragomir Vucicevic and Romanian Foreign Ministry Director-General Ion Donka and their associates held today in Belgrade bilateral consultations between the two ministries. During the talks, the two sides expressed firm commitment to an active promotion of relations and cooperation on stable and long-term basis, on the basis of traditional friendship between the two countries and the Agreement on good neighbourly relations, friendship and cooperation. [02] KINKEL: KOSOVO AND METOHIJA ONLY WITHIN YUGOSLAVIATanjug, 1998-04-15After advocating "wide autonomy" for Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija (Kosmet) for several months, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel finally gave a public explanation of what he meant by that term. In a statement which was presented to media in Bonn these days, Kinkel finally said that "status within Yugoslavia" should be determined for Kosmet. Kosmet's new status implies autonomy and self-administration which cannot be revised, controlled or limited as Serbs wish, Kinkel said in the statement. This patent for Kosmet is reminiscent of, or even stronger than, the position enjoyed by this province under the 1974 Constitution of the former Yugoslav federation, judging from the presented general principles. The realization of Kinkel's plan for Kosmet would practically grant this province the status of a federal unit. This has also been urged actively lately by top leaders of neighbouring Albania, for instance, by Prime Minister Fatos Nano and Foreign Minister Pascal Milo. It is difficult to believe that such a great similarity between the stands of Kinkel and these Albanian politicians is a coincidence. Especially if one has in mind that Kinkel openly asked his hosts to work more actively on Kosovo during his visit to Tirana in early February this year. Kinkel's statement, evidently intended to put new pressure on the authorities of Serbia and Yugoslavia, was made some 10 prior to a new meeting of the Contact Group, when Kosmet will be discussed. It is also evident that Kinkel's statement makes no closer reference to the London or Bonn meetings of the Contact Group, when Kosmet was also on the agenda. Kinkel seems to believe that he has the right not only to speak, but even to threaten on behalf of the Contact Group. This impression is especially strong because of the way Kinkel speaks about what will follow if his alleged recommendations about Kosmet are not accepted (the Contact Group will then be unable to avoid adopting new measures, he said in his statement). It is characteristic, or, rather, extremely arrogant, how Kinkel indirectly addressed a "third side," or "Belgrade's partners," as he called them, cautioning them that there must be no going back or stopping in the insistence on a political solution. Kinkel's messages in his statement to the leaders of Kosmet Albanians also showed only too well which side the German minister was taking under his wing, and who he was in fact protecting. Kinkel's nuances, when he spoke about the Albanian side, were evident in the part of the statement in which he condemned terrorism and the circles which urged such an option but failed to mention that representatives of Kosmet Albanians had rejected all invitations to dialogue. The German minister did not hesitate to grant amnesty to Ibrahim Rugova and his negotiating team, even though they had failed to respond to calls for dialogue by the Serbian Government and President as many as 10 times. In his statement, Kinkel said it was sufficient that Kosmet Albanians had appointed a delegation for the talks and that the ball was now in Belgrade's court. It means nothing to Kinkel that senior Serbian officials, including republican President Milan Milutinovic, had gone to Pristina, offering dialogue to the ethnic Albanian side without any preconditions. [03] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT DELEGATION WILL CONTINUE WAITING FOR ETHNIC ALBANIANSTanjug, 1998-04-15Showing again that they do not care for a dialogue, political representatives of ethnic Albanians from Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija have announced that they will not respond to Serbian Government's 11th invitation to talks about all unresolved issues in the province on Thursday. This call, like all the others made since March 10, confirms the Serbian Government's openness to a negotiated resolution of all issues on which the realisation of civil and human rights in Kosovo and Metohija depends, but ethnic Albanian leaders keep on ignoring all possibilities at resolving all issues through talks, making up new excuses every time. According to what Ibrahim Rugova said again last week, ethnic Albanian representatives do not want to discuss anything but the independence of Kosovo and Metohija or, possibly, some kind of a "special status." They also want the talks to be held under the "supervision" and with the participation of the foreign factor, primarily the United States. International representatives, mostly ambassadors or Western parliamentary delegations, have visited Pristina almost every day over the past few weeks and, while they kept telling Kosovo district representatives that dialogue is the only way to resolve problems, they did nothing to persuade ethnic Albanians to enter a dialogue. The ethnic Albanian side has made up different excuses for its absence from the talks since March 11, from describing the invitation as "insincere" to alleging that the Serbian negotiating team is "incompetent," but after last week's arrival in Pristina of Serbian President Milan Milutinovic and his invitation to talks, all these excuses have obviously failed. Rugova has used every available means to postpone the start of the dialogue. He set up his negotiating team only on March 24, after U.S. special envoy Robert Gelbard had said that the Albanians would do it, and he described them as a "team of advisors who will prepare a platform" for the talks. Adem Demaci refused to take part in the team and it has turned out that this body, which held just one meeting, is incomplete and that its platform consists of just one thing - the secession of Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia and Yugoslavia. After Milutinovic's determination to hold talks the delegation will wait for ethnic Albanians at the republican government building in Pristina. The delegation, headed by Serbian Deputy Premier Ratko Markovic, will include Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's special envoy Vladan Kutlesic. The delegation also comprises Serbian Deputy Premiers Milovan Bojic and Tomislav Nikolic, Minister Ivan Sedlak, Serbian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee President Ratomir Vico and Andreja Milosavljevic. [04] YUGOSLAVIA WANTS OBJECTIVE AND PROFESSIONAL NEWS COVERAGETanjug, 1998-04-15Yugoslav Information Secretary Goran Matic gave on Wednesday a reception for the press attaches of seventy or so foreign embassies, including those of all Contact Group member-countries. Secretary Matic underlined the need for an objective and professional news coverage. We in the FR of Yugoslavia have directly felt how powerful biased and tendentious news coverage is and that is why we want to establish communication and enhance a professional and objective evaluation of all our problems and processes, Matic said at the reception, which was attended also by a number of foreign ambassadors and charges d'affaires. Matic set out that diplomats, too, were engaged in the exchange of information and urged them to communicate with the Information Secretariat and discuss all disputed issues. The Yugoslav Information Secretary underlined that cooperation would help everyone do the job better and would help the basic processes in Yugoslavia to be presented as realistically as possible abroad. Secretary Matic welcomed the guests as people who would help the truth about Yugoslavia to be heard throughout the world. [05] GROUP FOR SUCCESSION REPORT ADOPTEDTanjug, 1998-04-15The Yugoslav Government Commission for relations of FR Yugoslavia with the Peace Implementation Council and international financial and trade organizations at its session on Wednesday, presided over by Radoje Kontic, examined and adopted the report of the Yugoslav delegation from the plenary meeting of the Group for Succession, held in Brussels on March 25-27, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat said. It was assessed that the Yugoslav delegation had argued for the positions of the Federal Government and that its amendments could not have been an obstacle to the signing of the so-called mini-agreement about specific issues of succession, such as archives, citizenship, pensions, acquired rights and contracts. It was pointed out that FR Yugoslavia, in the interest of the citizens of all states concerned, and of the progress of further talks about succession, attaches great importance to the signing of the agreement as soon as possible - all the more so as all key issues have been coordinated, the statement said. [06] SERBIA HAS 7,243,750 VOTERSTanjug, 1998-04-15Serbia's Central Referendum Commission said on Wednesday, on the basis of figures received from the local commissions, that the total number of voters in this Yugoslav republic was 7,243,750. The Central Commission met to review preparations for a referendum, to be held in Serbia on Thursday, April 23, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., to decide if the people agree to foreign mediation in dealing with the problem of Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija. It noted that the preparations were proceeding in line with the Law on referendum and popular initiative, and within the set deadlines, according to a statement released after the session. Having established the exact size of the electorate, the Commission instructed the Official Gazette to print the ballots in the required number, plus a reserve batch of 1% of the original number, the statement said. [07] ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS SPREAD FEAR IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJATanjug, 1998-04-15Ethnic Albanian terrorists have been reported to be harassing on daily basis Serbs and Montenegrins in villages in the area of Decani, the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija. Terrified by what the terrorists might do to them, the few Serb families have left their homes seeking shelter in abandoned shacks in Decani. The well-armed terrorists are stationed in great numbers in the villages of Glodjane, Saptej, Rznic, Dubrave and other villages. All these villages have been placed under curfew by the terrorists so that after 7 p.m. no one is allowed to leave their houses. Serbs and Montenegrins who have been taken for interrogation by the terrorists say that they have been forced to sign statements to the effect that they have been detained and interrogated but that they have not been physically maltreated and that all their belongings have been returned to them after interrogation. Persons found to be carrying arms are faced with an even worse fate because the terrorists invariably confiscate their arms and relevant permits. In addition to statements which they have to sign, all persons are taken to terrorist bases that are protected with bunkers and equipped with most sophisticated weapons. The worst of "sins" of persons detained appears to be the fact that they move through what the terrorists call "the free territory of the Republic of Kosovo" and "Greater Albania", without their approval. Consequently, the conversation is conducted in the Albanian language only, while the captured persons are not allowed to speak Serbian in the "Republic of Kosovo." Ethnic Albanians living in the villages where the terrorists are stationed have been forced to join them. According to several elderly members of the ethnic Albanian community, they have been forced to join the terrorists under the threat of being expelled from their homes and land. Fearing retaliation, they had to agree to do so although they are well-aware of the fact that Serbs and Montenegrins have lived here since time immemorial and that this is how it is going to be in the future. Moreover, a number of ethnic Albanian children in the Decani area have not been vaccinated against polio because of the terrorist activity, while in other areas of the province over 98% of the children have been vaccinated. Some ethnic Albanians have openly shown disapproval of children from rural areas being used in demonstrations while those living in urban areas are hidden at home or were sent to schools abroad several years ago. Ethnic Albanian women in rural areas have been the first to openly oppose terrorism by refusing to light candles to show solidarity with the terrorists. The terrorists have interpreted their refusal as an unwillingness to accept Catholic practices because the lighting of candles is contrary to Moslem religious practices. Local authorities and residents of the Decani area have repeatedly appealed to relevant state bodies to protect them from ethnic Albanian terrorist gangs. [08] SEDLAK URGES AUTONOMY FOR KOSOVO AND METOHIJA WITHOUT STATE ATTRIBUTESTanjug, 1998-04-15Member of the Serbian Government delegation to talks with national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija Ivan Sedlak has said that the province's status should be determined in line with its constitutional definition providing for a form of territorial autonomy without any state attributes. Speaking for the Belgrade daily Politika Ekspres ahead of the resumption of talks in Pristina, centre of Serbia's southern province, on Thursday, Sedlak said the Government delegation and representatives of minorities and ethnic groups attending the talks would discuss the drafting of a provisional statutory decision on the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. He said such a decision should also pave the way for the adoption of a statute on the status of Vojvodina, Serbia's other province, and should secure the preservation of the Republic of Serbia as a single state that cannot be divided. Sedlak said this would make it possible for all citizens, peoples and national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija to consistently exercise sovereign rights, saying the dialogue in Pristina should be conducted within this framework in order to be able to formulate a statutory decision. Speaking of solutions aimed at securing equality of all citizens, Sedlak said a statutory decision should define in a special way decision-taking in Kosovo and Metohija's parliament and should provide for the parity of authorities in order to avoid violation of national rights or equality of citizens. In this connection, he said ten-member parliamentary commissions should be set up, saying these commissions should be made up of both deputies that considered that a legislation violated the rights as well as those who considered that this was not the case. "Should such a commission establish that the proposed legislation violates the rights, it will prepare a draft legislation on which agreement has been reached or will entrust a relevant provincial body, organisation or service with the job," he said. [09] SERBIAN SOCIALIST OFFICIAL RECEIVES BELGIAN PARLIAMENTARIANSTanjug, 1998-04-15Member of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Main Board Goran Percevic received on Wednesday a Belgian parliamentary delegation headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and head of the Belgian parliamentary group in the Council of Europe Dirk Van Der Malen, the SPS press service said in a statement. The meeting focused on the relations between the FR of Yugoslavia and Belgium and between Yugoslavia and European political and economic organizations and institutions, especially the Council of Europe, the statement says. Percevic underlined that Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija was Serbia's internal affair and that International Law provided no grounds for discussing the issue outside a Serbian framework. The SPS rejects all attempts at internationalizing the issue of Kosovo and Metohija or at imposing solutions contrary to the Constitution and international norms, Percevic said. All issues regarding the exercise of minority rights must be resolved through dialogue within Serbia and in line with international standards, Percevic said. The essential problem in Kosovo and Metohija stems from separatism and ensuing terrorism, not from any alleged violations of human or minority rights. A clear and decisive condemnation of terrorism by the international community would therefore contribute to a full normalization of relations in the province, the statement says. [10] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT MEETS FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTERTanjug, 1998-04-15Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, on a two-day visit to France, met on Wednesday afternoon his host French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine. Djukanovic and Vedrine discussed the situation in Montenegro, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija and in the Balkan region. At a joint press conference after the talks, Vedrine said that France and the Contact Group considered the present situation in Kosovo and Metohija untenable and the demands of ethnic Albanians for Kosovo's independence unacceptable. There is no international conspiracy against Serbia or Yugoslavia, Vedrine said. The status of Kosovo and Metohija should be resolved through negotiations and by granting essential autonomy to the province, Vedrine said, but did not explain what he meant by essential autonomy. President Djukanovic expects to be received on Thursday by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. [11] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER JOVANOVIC ON FRY'S STATUS IN OSCETanjug, 1998-04-15The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) is striving to obtain the same status as the other EU member States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic told journalists on Wednesday after his talks with the Danish counterpart, Mr Niels Helveg Peterssen who is on a one-day visit to the FRY. Peterssen expressed the hope that Yugoslavia would emerge, as he put it, out of an isolation of sorts, in its relations with EU and OSCE, which would, according to him, be useful both for these two institutions and for FRY. Jovanovic expressed satisfaction with today's talks underlining that they were conducted in an open and friendly atmosphere of mutual understanding and it was agreed that joint efforts would promote relations between the two countries. Jovanovic said that bilateral relations were analyzed today, with the aim of strengthening dialogue and cooperation, especially in the economic, cultural and technological fields. "We agreed that this is our joint objective on whose realization both governments should work, and that the results so far, although they are moderate, are also encouraging," Jovanovic said. According to him, Yugoslavia can learn and benefit greatly from the experiences of such a developed country like Denmark, especially in the field of technology. "We also discussed relations between FRY and OSCE, especially in view of the fact that Peterssen is a member of the "Troika" in this European institution," Jovanovic said and added that in this context views were exchanged on the normalization of the FRY's status within OSCE. He set out that this requires mutual understanding and efforts. "We agreed that it would be beneficial to both sides - FRY and OSCE, for Yugoslavia to have the same status and treatment in this organization as other countries, which would enable more efficient realization of the OSCE objectives in South*East Europe." Jovanovic said that today's talks also included FRY-EU relations, especially the autonomous measures which would enable an improved economic cooperation between Yugoslavia and the European Fifteen. Underlining that such a status would be mutually beneficial, Jovanovic said that other aspects of normalization of cooperation between FRY and EU and its promotion were also discussed. "I believe that today's talks will have a positive effect on the development of this cooperation," Jovanovic said. Peterssen agreed that the talks today on bilateral relations were good and he expressed his belief that possibilities exist for improving economic relations between the two countries. Peterssen said that Denmark would shortly send to Yugoslavia a Foreign Ministry mission which should examine possibilities for developing economic cooperation. Commenting on relations between FRY, EU and OSCE, Peterssen said he was pleased that a Yugoslav parliamentary delegation had been invited to attend a session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. "This is good and constructive and it should be hailed," Peterssen said. Recalling that last year, Yugoslavia was granted trade preferences by the EU and that this year they have been withdrawn, Peterssen expressed the hope that EU would again apply these autonomous measures to FRY in the future. Peterssen said that the OSCE "Troika" would at the end of April report to the Contact Group on Kosovo and Metohija, but declined to say what the report would contain. Asked about the situation in Kosmet, Peterssen underlined that terrorism in this Serbian province cannot be tolerated and reiterated the EU and OSCE position that unconditional dialogue should be started as soon as possible. [12] TERRORISTS STRIKE AGAIN WOUNDING ONE POLICE OFFICERTanjug, 1998-04-15Albanian terrorists shot in the arm police officer Dragos Tomovic close to the village of Donje Stanovce, near Vucitrn, at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Two masked terrorists shot Tomovic when he came out of the bus, which indicates that the attack was carefully planned. Tomovic received first aid at the Kosovska Mitrovica hospital's surgical department. Head of the surgical department Dr. Alexander Belovic told Tanjug that Tomovic was wounded in the left lower arm, that his wound was treated, and that he is out of danger and recovering. Also on Tuesday evening, an Albanian terrorist gang opened fire on a police checkpoint near the village of Turicevac on the Klina-Srbica road. No-one was hurt. [13] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION ARRIVED IN MOSCOWTanjug, 1998-04-15A Yugoslav parliamentary delegation arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for the International Conference "New structure of European Security NATO", opening on Thursday. The Yugoslav delegation, headed by Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Yugoslav Parliament's Chamber of Citizens (lower house) and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) WHIP Milutin Stojkovic, will attend the conference at an invitation of Russian Parliament's State Duma (lower house) Speaker Gennady Seleznyov. The conference will be attended also by parliamentarians from Russia, Germany, Romania, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia and other countries. Member of the State Duma Anti-NATO Commission Oleg Mironov said on Wednesday that Russian MP's pinned much hope on this conference. "Common stances taking into account historic realities should be adopted," said Mironov. He also said that Russia had no wish to be surrounded by NATO bases, as he believed that NATO expansion and its coming closer to Russia's boundaries was dangerous for Russia. Mironov strongly criticized NATO for having claimed a peacekeeping role uncharacteristic of that military-political bloc. He said that international and inter-ethnic conflicts should be settled and peace should be established by organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as this was what they had been formed for. [14] YUGOSLAVIA LODGES SHARP PROTEST WITH ALBANIA OVER EMBASSY ATTACKTanjug, 1998-04-15The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry lodged a sharp Note of protest with the Albanian Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade, Mr Florian Nova, following the assault on the Yugoslav Embassy in Tirana on Wednesday, when an Albanian citizen forced his way into the Embassy and tore down the Yugoslav flag. The Note protesting the assault, which constitutes a grave breach of the obligations of the host country, as set out in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and a violation of the extra*territoriality of the Embassy, urged the Albanian side to take immediately the necessary steps to fully protect the Yugoslav Embassy, its diplomatic and other staff and to guarantee all conditions for an unimpeded work of the official Yugoslav representation. [15] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER CONFERRED WITH HIS DANISH COUNTERPARTTanjug, 1998-04-15Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic met on Wednesday with his Danish counterpart, Mr Niels Helveg Peterssen, who is visiting Yugoslavia. The talk focused on a wide range of bilateral relations-related issues. The two sides voiced their readiness to promote dialogue and overall Yugoslav- Danish relations, especially economic relations, and agreed to intensify contacts between the two Parliaments, diplomatic representatives and legal experts to thrash out specific aspects of cooperation and also to encourage visits by businessmen. An exchange of views on the current political developments in the region commended efforts towards strengthening peace and stability in southeastern Europe in order for it to fully join modern European processes and integrations. To this end, it was underlined that Yugoslavia had largely contributed to the implementation of the Dayton/Paris accords and to the carrying out of regional initiatives, with emphasis also being on the results the country had already achieved in its policy of good-neighbourly cooperation. As for Peterssen's interest in the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, it was noted that it was necessary to overcome all problems through direct dialogue within Serbia, without an outside interference and in line with the principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and those of the Council of Europe. The meeting focused especially on Yugoslavia's relations with the European Union. In this context, interest was voiced in the promotion of these relations and in the restoration of autonomous positive measures. Special attention was devoted also to the normalization of Yugoslavia's relations with the OSCE, where Denmark is currently one of the "Troika". The need was stressed for a prompt settlement of Yugoslavia's status in the OSCE and its full participation in all OSCE activities. [16] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED DANISH FOREIGN MINISTERTanjug, 1998-04-15Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic received on Wednesday Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen and his host, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic. The talks dealt with the issue of bilateral relations and cooperation of FR Yugoslavia and Denmark, and also with other issues of joint interest. In connection with the interest of the Danish Foreign Minister for issues relating to Kosovo and Metohija, President Milosevic pointed out that the internal issue will be resolved in Serbia, of which Kosovo and Metohija is part, by political means. President Milosevic emphasized there was no need for foreign mediation in the talks between Serbian state bodies and its citizens, and that there was no ground for foreign interference in the internal issues of a state, pointing out that the rights of all citizens in Serbia, under the Constitution, were equal and in line with the highest international standards. Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |