Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-09-11

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] CLASHES BETWEEN POLICE, ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS NEAR DECANI, PEC

[02] EAST SLAVONIA SERBS SEEK A MEETING WITH TUDJMAN

[03] BOSNIA GENERAL ELECTIONS TO START THIS WEEKEND

[04] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT, PREMIER ARRIVE IN MOSCOW

[05] PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IN PEC REQUESTS INVESTIGATION AGAINST 26 ETHNIC ALBANIANS

[06] WHAT THE UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE HEARD, BUT FAILED TO SEE

[07] TWENTY-FOUR BODIES FOUND AT SITE OF MASS CRIME

[08] ANOTHER MEDIA MANIPULATION ATTEMPT REPORTED

[09] ITALIAN PRESS ON MASS GRAVE IN GLODJANI

[10] INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED AGAINST 716 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS

[11] SERBIAN MINISTER VOWS ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISM WILL BE ERADICATED

[12] RELIEF CENTRES IN KOSMET SUPPLY SERBS, ETHNIC-ALBANIANS

[13] SERBIAN MINISTER ANDJELKOVIC VISITS VILLAGE IN TROUBLED PROVINCE

[14] NEW RELIEF CENTRE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA OPENS

[15] KOSOVO DISTRICT CHIEF MEETS SWEDISH, FINNISH AMBASSADORS

[16] SERBIAN, FOREIGN OFFICIALS TOUR AID CENTRES IN TROUBLED PROVINCE

[17] SERBIAN OFFICIAL RECEIVES GERMAN, FRENCH DIPLOMATS

[18] PRIMAKOV: POLITICAL, DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS CAN YIELD RESULTS IN KOSMET

[19] RUSSIA OPPOSES SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA

[20] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BAN FLIGHTS FROM EUROPEAN UNION

[21] YUGOSLAVIA SENDS OFF SECOND AID SHIPMENT TO CHINA

[22] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PM LILIC RECEIVES U.N. UNDER SECRETARY OTUNU

[23] YUGOSLAV DELEGATE ADDRESSES IPU CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW

[24] YUGOSLAVIA, GREECE DEVELOP SUBSTANTIVE, CLOSE, FRIENDLY RELATIONS

[25] E.U. DECISION IS NOT BINDING FOR MACEDONIA

[26] YUGOSLAVIA'S SAVOVIC RECEIVES U.N. UNDER SECRETARY OTOONU

[01] CLASHES BETWEEN POLICE, ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS NEAR DECANI, PEC

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

In the municipalities of Decani and Pec clashes occured Thursday between the police and groups of ethnic Albanian terrorists, Tanjug has learnnt from municipal authorities.

Groups of ethnic Albanian terrorists who forced to flee, threw away thei r arms and uniforms with the insignia of the terrorist organization, the so- called "Kosovo Liberation Army."

The police found yesterday and today in that area several hundred pieces of discarded automatic guns, mostly of Chinese make.

[02] EAST SLAVONIA SERBS SEEK A MEETING WITH TUDJMAN

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Serb leaders in East Slavonia have asked for a meeting with Croatian Pre sident Franjo Tudjman because of a highly complex situation in this Serb region in Croatia.

The request for a meeting was based on the Croatian government's Letter of Intent, which envisages for such a possibility every four months.

Should the request be granted, the Serb delegation should comprise local Serb leaders and Serb deputies to the Croatian Parliament.

According to the proposed agenda, they should raise the matter of the st atus of the Joint Council of Municipalities, a Serb body set up in East S lavonia pursuant to the Serb-Croatian Erdut Accord of late 1995.

[03] BOSNIA GENERAL ELECTIONS TO START THIS WEEKEND

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

About 2.7 million voters will cast their ballots at the general election s, which will be held in both entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina under the co ntrol of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

A total of 83 parties, coalitions, alliances and independent candidates will run in the elections.

Voters in the Bosnian Muslim-Croat federation will vote for the Presiden cy of Bosnia-Herzegovina, both houses of the Bosnia-Herzegovina federatio n's parliament and the Bosnia-Herzegovina parliament as well as for canto nal authorities.

Voters in the Republika Srpska will vote for the Presidency of Bosnia-He rzegovina, both houses of the Bosnia-Herzegovina parliament, the Republik a Srpska parliament and municipal authorities.

A total of 2,342 polling stations will be open in Bosnia's two entities and Yugoslavia and Croatia. The Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina will hav e 1, 307 polling stations, the Republika Srpska 833, Yugoslavia 73 and Cro atia 79.

In addition to OSCE officials, 3,200 people, including 2,700 supervisors , have participated in the organisation of the Bosnia general elections.

Committees made up of members of different nationalities and representat ives of non-governmental organisations will monitor the elections at each polling station.

The elections will be attended by Council of Europe and U.S. parliamenta ry monitors. The elections will cost about 30 million dollars.

[04] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT, PREMIER ARRIVE IN MOSCOW

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic and Premier Milorad Dodik arr ived in Moscow Thursday evening on a two-day working visit.

According to a schedule released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the to p Bosnian Serb officials' first visit to Russia will include talks with a cting Foreign Minister and candidate for prime minister Yevgeny Primakov.

Plavsic and Dodik are due to meet also with Moscow Mayor Youri Luzhkov a nd the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Moscow and al l Russia Alexei II.

Dodik is scheduled to confer also with Ministry of Economy officials.

The agenda of the talks will include the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska ahead of the Sept. 12-13 elections.

[05] PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IN PEC REQUESTS INVESTIGATION AGAINST 26 ETHNIC ALBANIANS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

The District Public Prosecutor's Office in Pec filed a request to the Di strict Court for launching an investigation against 26 ethnic Albanians f rom the municipalities of Pec, Klina, Djakovica and Decani on the suspici on of committing criminal acts of terrorism and of association for conspi racy against the state.

The Prosecutor's Office said that they are suspected of joining the terr orist organization called the "Kosovo Liberation Army", of helping financ ially that terrorist organization, collecting money for the purchase of a rms in the Republic of Albania which was then illegally introduced into t he Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

They are also suspected of carrying out attacks on Serbian Interior Mini stry members, the request said.

[06] WHAT THE UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE HEARD, BUT FAILED TO SEE

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

If anyone expected the world media to focus on reports of the discovery of a new execution site in the village of Glodjani where ethnic Albanian terrorists killed more than 40 Serbs, then they were mistaken.

Instead of reporting about this, news agencies and other western media, restored to the already proven formula in an attempt to create a balance by launching stories about an alleged humanitarian catastrophe in Kosmet.

In this uncomprehensible balancing act, the western media are wholeheart edly aided by the representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refuge es (UNHCR, 1998), Fernando del Mundo.

When it was announced to the world that an improvised crematorium was un covered in the village of Klecka containing more than ten Serb victims bu rned by ethnic Albanian terrorists, Del Mundo hastened to inform western journalists that Serb police had allegedly killed 17 ethnic Albanian civi lians. However, all efforts to find this execution site "uncovered" by De l Mundo, have so far been unsuccessful.

The representative of the most eminent humanitarian organization in the world is now using the same formula. The Serbian authorities announce the discovery of another mass grave in the village of Glodjani and bring for eign journalists to witness the authenticity of this monstrous crime, but Del Mundo makes a countermove by claiming that 30km south of Pec another exodus was taking place with 25,000 ethnic Albanian civilians struggling in a 12km column, fleeing in panic without knowing where they are headin g.

According to Del Mundo, the cause of this alleged exodus is the Serb bom bing of as many as five ethnic Albanian villages.

Del Mundo said that he visited the region on Wednesday and that he "hear d" Serbian police artillery fire which caused him to conclude that the Se rb police was bombing as many as five villages. However, he saw nothing o f this, but managed to precisely measure the length of the refugee column and to count the villages under attack.

The real state of affairs in the Pec region is totally different from wh at Del Mundo learned by relying in his hearing. After the terrorist gangs were dispersed in the villages of the Pec and Decani districts, large nu mbers of civilians, members of the Albanian national minority, who had ab andoned their homes due to constant terrorist attacks, responded to a cal l by the state organs that they would be guarranteed security and protect ion, and decided to return home.

Tanjug learned on Thursday from the Pec community head, Milan Ivanovic, that transport has been organized for the return of the civilians and tha t teams in the field are providing medical aid and the Red Cross is distr ibuting to all civilians humanitarian aid consisting of basic foodstuffs and other necessary items.

Other sources said that there have been no major conflicts in the region targeted by Del Mundo.

It is clear that the story about a humanitarian catastrophe is currently the trump card both of the ethnic Albanian separatists and the terrorist s, especially since all their dreams about an armed victory, and the sece ssion and creation of a "Greater Albania", have been distroyed. This is w hy it is not impossible that the terrorists will launch new actions with the aim of opening up a new propaganda front on which they plan to gain a dvantage and provoke a NATO intervention.

These intentions are confirmed by the latest statement of the commande o f NATO South, Joseph Lopez, who said that a possible intervention in Kosm et would require about 50,000 troops.

However, this would not be an ordinary military intervention but somethi ng else. Lopez said that there 50,000 troops would be deployed in Kosmet only after a ceasefire agreement was reached there so that NATO could app ear as the guarrantor.

Clearly that in question is an attempt to apply the Bosnian scenario, co upled with intentions to "convince" Yugoslavia and Serbia to negotiate a truce with hardcore terrorists.

It is strange that neither UNHCR nor the European Union, as well as nume rous others, if one were to judge by Del Mundo's statements, fail to see, or maybe do not wish to see, or even refuse to attach importance, to the mass return of ethnic Albanian refugees to their homes. This process has started with the full aid and guarrantees of the Serbian government. Tho se who do not want to return home, clearly have their own reasons and Del Mundo should ask the ethnic Albanian terrorists about them.

Also, it is strange that all agency reports focus only on aid provided b y UNHCR and other international humanitarian organizations, but fail to m ention the aid which is every day arriving from all parts of Yugoslavia, i.e. Serbia.

The same applies to the refugees from Kosmet. Everyone mainly speaks abo ut the ethnic Albanian refugees, but no-one mentions the thousands od Ser bs who were forced to abandon their homes to save their lives before the onslaught of the ethnic Albanian terrorists.

[07] TWENTY-FOUR BODIES FOUND AT SITE OF MASS CRIME

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Twenty-four bodies have been found so far at Ratis, near Glodjane, in Ko sovo and Metohija, a site used by ethnic-Albanian terrorists for executio ns of civilians, which was discovered by the police three days ago, the M edia Centre in Pristina said Thursday.

Twenty bodies have been found in a canal, and four were unearthed Thursd ay. It has been established that two of the four victims were women.

Investigative judge Rajko Gojkovic told Media Centre that experts were t rying to identify the victims and special teams were searching the area.

He said it was clear from marks on the bodies that ethnic-Albanian extre mists tortured the victims before executing them.

The site of the monstruous crime was visited Thursday by representatives of the diplomatic observer groups of the United States amnd Russia, who were accompanied by Chairman of the Yugoslav parliament's lower house Milomir Minic, Federal Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, Socialist Party of Serbia Vice-President Dusan Matkovic and Serbia Minister of Youths a nd Sport Zoran Andjelkovic.

[08] ANOTHER MEDIA MANIPULATION ATTEMPT REPORTED

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

There was no confirmation from relevant bodies in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija province Thursday of late Wednesday's informa tion for the press by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 1998) Kosovo-Metohija spokesman about alleged columns of ethnic Albanian ref ugees seen on a road south of the town of Pec fleeing before tanks and tr oops that destroyed their villages.

By Thursday afternoon, no confirmation of the alarming information by sp okesman Fernando del Mundo was available from the UNHCR's Belgrade office , which said that they were still waiting for an official report.

Tanjug's Pristina Correspondent Jovo Radulovic Wednesday visited the ver y area where del Mundo claimed to have seen columns of refugees and repor ted that there were no alarming information about the civilian plight the re.

Radulovic was there with UNHCR's Kosovo-Metohija Coordinator Eduardo Arb oleda, whom he quoted as saying that neither himself or any other member of the diplomatic mission that had visited the village of Junik knew anyt hing about del Mundo's statement.

Radulovic also said that Arboleda had highly praized Serbian government efforts to help the return of displaced ethnic Albanians to their homes a nd take care of them.

Arboleda also praized the setting up of 11 relief aid centers by the Yug oslav Red Cross, from which relief aid was being distributed to all the n eedy, most of all to ethnic Albanians, for weeks now.

Officials of the Kosovo-Metohija's Red Cross organization found del Mund o's information rather surprising. They told Tanjug that their teams on t he ground did not have any information about the statement, adding that t hey would know if anything so dramatic was happening.

Red Cross teams are distributing 25 tonnes of relief aid shipped into th e province by the Serbian Red Cross Wednesday. The consignment was escort ed by member of the Serbian Red Cross Board Milic Miskovic.

The diplomatic mission was in the area south of Pec Thursday morning and they could not check any of the allegations contained in del Mundo's sta tement, Tanjug learned.

[09] ITALIAN PRESS ON MASS GRAVE IN GLODJANI

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

The Italian press reported on Thursday the discovery of another mass gra ve in Kosovo and Metohija, this time near the village of Glodjani.

The ANSA news agency said that foreign journalists could also "see first - hand that in question is a mass grave in which 12 bodies have so far bee n uncovered, but which is believed to contain about 40."

ANSA quoted police colonel Dragutin Adamovic as saying that the victims are Serbs and possibly Albanians who did not support the separatist goals of their extremist compatriots."

The daily Manifesto said that an Italian team of experts could, in the c apacity of independent observers, participate in the detailed examination of the mass grave in Glodjani and in the identification of the bodies.

[10] INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED AGAINST 716 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

The district courts in Gnjilane, Pristina, Kosovska Mitrovica, Pec, Priz ren and Prokuplje have so far opened investigations against 716 persons s uspected of terrorism and the plotting against the state on the territory of Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia Justice Min ister Dragoljub Jankovic told Tanjug Thursday.

Of the total number of investigations, Pec accounts for as many as 451 a nd Prizren for 148, of which four cases involve juveniles.

Of the 716 persons under investigation, 379 are in detention, of whom 19 3 in Pec and 123 in Prizren, and 354 are on the run.

Indictments have so far been raised against 93 terrorists.

Minister Jankovic said he expected most of the trials to open in late Se ptember or early October.

[11] SERBIAN MINISTER VOWS ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISM WILL BE ERADICATED

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Ethnic Albanian terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija will be eradicated in t he best interest of all living in that province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia, according to the Serbian interior minister on Thursday.

Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic was speaking in a meeting in Belgrade with interior ministry officials and police chiefs in Kosovo and Metohija's to wn of Prizren and chief city of Pristina, a ministry statement said.

The elimination of terrorist gangs will best help the exercise of human and civil rights in the province, Stojiljkovic said, praising the police for their bravery and professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

[12] RELIEF CENTRES IN KOSMET SUPPLY SERBS, ETHNIC-ALBANIANS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Coordinator of the work of state authorities in Kosovo and Metohija Andr ija Milosavljevic Thursday toured relief centres in the province together with UNHCR representative Eduardo Arboleda and USAID representative Rich ard Wagner.

At the relief centre in Glogovac, Milosavljevic and the representatives of the two foreign humanitarian organizations were informed that over 15, 000 temporarily displaced ethnic Albanians, who had been driven out of th eir homes by the terror of ethnic-Albanian terrorists, had returned. The Glogovac centre distributes aid to all persons in need, regardless of rel igion and nationality.

The same is true of the other relief centres, including those in Kijevo, Klina and Decani.

Municipal authorities in Decani said that several thousand displaced per sons had returned to the villages of Istinic, Krusevac, Rasic and Papraca ne on Thursday and that aid had been distributed to them.

[13] SERBIAN MINISTER ANDJELKOVIC VISITS VILLAGE IN TROUBLED PROVINCE

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Serbian government and interior ministry officials were welcomed with ap plause in the village of Papracane in this Yugoslav republic's province o f Kosovo and Metohija on Thursday.

Papracane in the Decane area has until recently been a stronghold of the ethnic Albanian terrorist organisation calling itself the Kosovo Liberat ion Army (KLA, 1998).

Minister for Youth and Sport Zoran Andjelkovic and the villagers agreed that the village should appoint representatives who should work with the local government officials to bring life back to normal. It was also agre ed that the ethnic Albanians population of the village, together with the Serbian police, should set up defences to resist OVK terrorist gangs.

The villagers turned over to the police large quantities of weapons whic h they said they had been given by the terrorists under threat.

Speaking for Tanjug, Andjelkovic denied Wednesday's allegation in a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 1998) press release that long lin es of refugees were fleeing the village of Istinic and adjacent villages in the province before government tanks.

He said that a humanitarian centre had been set up in Istinic and was al ready distributing food parcels to those who had returned to the area on Wednesday and Thursday.

[14] NEW RELIEF CENTRE IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA OPENS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Kosovo district chief Veljko Odalovic Thursday discussed with representa tives of the diplomatic missions of the United States, Russia, the Europe an Union, the UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross the efforts invested by Serbia to normalize the situation in Kosovo and Metoh ija, the provincial Information Secretariat said.

Odalovic informed the guests that the 12th relief centre for temporarily displaced persons, who he said had massively been returning home of rece ntly, had opened in Istinic.

The Kosovo district chief set out that Serbia would do everything to res tore peace and security in its southern province.

Odalovic pointed out that members of the Albanian minority who wished to live in peace were massively handing over the weapons that had been forc ed on them by terrorists.

He once again urged diplomatic missions and humanitarian organizations t o join the vast efforts invested by Serbia state authorities for the retu rn of temporarily displaced persons and the distribution of relief aid.

Odalovic set out that the assistance should also come in the form of an objective press coverage, so that the international public would get a tr ue picture of what was happening in Kosovo and Metohija.

The Kosovo district chief specifically called for objective press report s about the monstrous crimes committed bu ethnic-Albanian terrorists in K lecka and Glodjane.

[15] KOSOVO DISTRICT CHIEF MEETS SWEDISH, FINNISH AMBASSADORS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Kosovo District Administrator Veljko Odalovic Thursday conferred with Am bassadors to Yugoslavia Mats Staffansson of Sweden and Ilpo Manninen of F inland on the current situation in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Koso vo-Metohija province, the provincial Information Secretariat said in a st atement.

The statement said that Staffansson and Manninen had expressed their res pective governments' concern and also voiced hope that the dialogue betwe en the Serbian state delegation and ethnic Albanian representatives would begin as soon as possible, which would restore a peaceful and safe livin g to the people in Kosovo-Metohija.

Odalovic briefed the two diplomats about the operation of relief aid cen ters and the results they achieved to help temporarily displaced persons return to their homes. He said that a growing number of ethnic Albanians accepted Serbian state bodies' call, returning home en masse, their perso nal safety and the safety of their property being guaranteed.

Odalovic said that the state was providing also material assistance for the return of the displaced, supplying them with basic foodstuffs, constr uction materal and hygienic supplies.

It was stressed during the talk that Serbia was making a clear distincti on between ethnic Albanian civilians and ethnic Albanian terrorists, who must be prosecuted for crimes and massacres they had committed in the vil lages of Klecka and Glodjane and elsewhere.

Odalovic said that the problems in Kosovo-Metohija could be resolved by peaceful means and dialogue alone, with respect for the rights of nationa l minorities in line with top international norms standards and within Se rbia and Yugoslavia. He also voiced Serbian state delegation's readiness to this effect, the statement said.

[16] SERBIAN, FOREIGN OFFICIALS TOUR AID CENTRES IN TROUBLED PROVINCE

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

The Serbian state coordinator in Kosovo and Metohija, accompanied by int ernational officials, on Thursday toured humanitarian aid centres in this troubled province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia.

State coordinator Andreja Milosavljevic was accompanied on the tour by E duardo Alboreda of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 1998), Richard Wagner of the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID, 1998) an d Saverio Bertolini of the Italian Embassy.

Humanitarian centres in the municipalities of Glogovac, Kijevo, Klina, D ecane and Srbica have been set up by the Serbian government, and are supp lied by governmental and non-governmental organisations Serbiawide. Worki ng at the centres are Serbs, ethnic Albanians and members of the other na tionalities living in Kosovo and Metohija. The centres distribute flour, sugar, cooking oil, salt, milk, fruit juice, cheese, fresh fruit and vege tables to all in need, regardless of religion and nationality.

The local authorities in Glogovac said that about 15,000 people, who had fled before the operation of the terrorist organisation calling itself t he Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, 1998), had returned to the municipality, populated virtually totally by ethnic Albanians.

About 10,000 people have returned to the Klina municipality, after havin g fled in fear of being pressed into terrorist gangs. Several thousand vi llagers have returned to villages in the Decane area * Istinic, Raska, Kr usevac, Papracane, Donji Streoc, Gornji Streoc and Dubovik * after breaki ng through a terrorist blockade.

"In the last two days, we have toured nine of the eleven relief aid cent res in Kosovo and Metohija," Milosavljevic said, expressing satisfaction with what they had seen there. According to him, the centres are doing wh at they have been set up to do, and the most important thing is that peop le displaced by ethnic Albanian terrorist operations are returning to the ir homes. He added that the state guaranteed safety to all people and wou ld put the terrorists out of action.

He said that the foreign officials, too, had expressed satisfaction with the work of the relief aid centres and could see at first hand all that had been done to help all those in need.

Bertolini, the Italian embassy official in the province's chief city of Pristina, said for his part that he had gained the impression that the pe ople were returning to their homes. He said that the Italian government h ad opened a humanitarian office in Pristina and would make every effort t o be efficent and benefit all in Kosovo and Metohija.

[17] SERBIAN OFFICIAL RECEIVES GERMAN, FRENCH DIPLOMATS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

State Coordinator in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija p rovince Andreja Milosavljevic Thursday received German Ambassador to Yugo slavia Wilfried Gruber and French Embassy Advisor G. Fauvot, who are payi ng a short visit to Kosovo-Metohija.

According to a statement issued after the talk by the provincial Informa tion Secretariat, the two diplomats were interested to hear views of the latest developments in Kosovo-Metohija, especially of different aspects o f the return of displaced ethnic Albanians and other civilians to their h omes. The diplomats also showed interest in the operation of 11 relief ai d distribution centers set up in the province.

Gruber and Fauvot voiced concern over ethnic Albanians having been virtu ally blocked between the villages of Krusevac and Istinic Wednesday due t o operations that were underway in the area. They wanted more information about the matter.

Milosavljevic thoroughly briefed the diplomats about this and other matt ers of their interest.

He stressed that the return of temporarily displaced people was yielding encouraging results. He said also that almost all residents had returned to the village of Orahovac and more than 50 percent of to the village of Junik.

Speaking about the activities of the relief aid centers, Milosavljevic i nvited the two diplomats to visit the centers and get an insight into the situation on the ground.

Reiterated was the state bodies' position that the continuty in the oper ation of these centers necessitated close cooperation with all internatio nal humanitarian organizations, which had been called to cooperation two weeks ago.

Milosavljevic especially focused on the issue of abducted persons, whose fate is still uncertain, describing as obviously insufficient the involv ement of international fora in the resolution of this problem.

Gruber said, for his part, that relevant representatives of the ethnic A lbanian minority were being constantly informed about these problems, but that no results had been achieved to this effect so far, the statement s aid.

[18] PRIMAKOV: POLITICAL, DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS CAN YIELD RESULTS IN KOSMET

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov said Thursday that the Yugosla v republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija province was today an example of a regional conflict whose settlement could be achieved through political a nd diplomatic efforts.

Primakov, who was also nominated for prime minister-designate, was speak ing at a general debate of the 100th conference of the Inter-Parliamentar y Union (IPU, 1998).

He said that, of the total of 90 armed crisis to have occurred in the wo rld over the past ten years, the vast majority was triggered by internal causes.

There is little room for international community's involvement while the se conflicts are growing from political confrontation into an armed confl ict and it is very difficult to eliminate the conflicts once they explode , said Primakov.

As a rule, these conflicts have undermined the legal system in many coun tries and prompted a spreading of political and religious extremism, he s aid. Primakov listed the explosion of terrorism, drug trafficking and org anized crime as other grave consequences of this.

He said that the only way to deal with all of this are collective and de termined efforts and actions by all countries and key international facto rs, primarily by leading international organizations. However, these acti ons must not be of punitive character against a people, said Primakov.

He said that, of late, a sanctions syndrome had been displayed in intern ational relations as part of efforts to broaden the implementation of san ctions and other measures of pressure.

Therefore, Russia calls for the use of diplomatic and political methods, Primakov said. He said that these methods were possible and effective. T his is the starting point of Moscow's approch to crisis, be it in Iraq, L ibya or Kosovo-Metohija, Primakov said.

[19] RUSSIA OPPOSES SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Russian Federation Foreign Ministry spokesman repeated Thursday the offi cial position of Moscow that economic sanctions against Yugoslavia were c ounterproductive, commenting the European Union decision to ban Yugoslav Air Transport (JAT, 1998) flights.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakmanin said at a news conference t hat the position of the Russian side on economic sanctions against the Fe deral Republic of Yugoslavia was well known, that they are counterproduct ive, affecting primarily simple citizens and not conducive to the resolut ion of the Kosovo crisis.

Rakmanin emphasized the position of the Russian Foreign Ministry that it was now important not to make any steps which could further complicate t he situation in Kosovo and around it and create new difficulties on the r oad of renewing the process of negotiations.

[20] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BAN FLIGHTS FROM EUROPEAN UNION

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

The federal governemnt at a session Thursday expressed regret because of the decision of the European Union (EU, 1998) Council to ban the flights of Yugoslav air carriers to EU countries and assessed that it was illega l and unilateral and an example of the policy of discrimination.

The measure will not any way contribute to the resolution of problems in Kosovo and Metohija, on the contrary, it could be interpreted as support for separatist and terrorist forces in Kosovo and Metohija, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat said.

The federal government has decided to respect the signed agreements with European Union member countries and not to undertake reciprocal measures at this point.

The federal government made a decision to suspend bilateral agreements o n the return of false asylum-seekers from Kosovo and Metohija and of othe rs who are illegally residing in EU member countries, because under those agreements the services of Yugoslav air carriers were to be used, the st atement said.

[21] YUGOSLAVIA SENDS OFF SECOND AID SHIPMENT TO CHINA

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

A shipment of 50 tonnes of Yugoslav aid for the Chinese people hit by re cent disastrous floods took off from Belgrade Airport on board a Yugoslav Airlines JAT plane late on Thursday.

The shipment, Yugoslavia's second for China's disaster areas in as many weeks, contains medicine, blankets, bedding, tents, clothing and two x-ra y machines, part of a field hospital to follow. Similar shipments are to go to Beijing every Thursday for the next month, and their total value wi ll be 3 million dinars (one German mark fetches 6 dinars, 1998).

Chinese Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade Wu Lian said at the airport that t he recent floods in China's central and northern provinces were the worst natural calamity to hit the country in the past 50 years.

According to official figures, the floods have killed 3,000 people and l eft another 2 million homeless, and have caused material damaged estimate d at 200 billion yuan.

Wu said that, in addition to the shipments, the governments of the Feder al Republic of Yugoslavia and of its republic of Serbia, and the Jugopetr ol oil company had set aside another 2.5 million German marks' worth of a id.

She said that the biggest need was for medicine, specifically antibiotic s, to combat typhoid and bacterial infections. She said the Chinese peopl e highly appreciated all that Yugoslavia, a small country in straitened c ircumstances, had done to help.

[22] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PM LILIC RECEIVES U.N. UNDER SECRETARY OTUNU

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Lilic Thursday received United Nati ons Under Secretary for Children in War Olara Otoonu, the Yugoslav Inform ation Secretariat said in a statement.

Children are the most vulnerable section of the society. For almost six years now, Yugoslavia and its republic of Serbia have been taking care of hundreds of thousands of refugees on their own, without major internatio nal humanitarian assistance. Of this total, nearly 50 percent are childre n refugees, said Lilic, who chairs the government committee for cooperati on with U.N. peace missions and international forces.

The ranking Ugandan diplomat voiced satisfaction at the fact that the U. N. Declaration on children's rights has been included in the Yugoslav Con stitution and also that Yugoslavia, the founder and what he called the mo del country in the Non-Aligned Movement, cherishes the tradition of givin g a helping hand to the most vulnerable first.

Otunu said that, after the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija province, his next mission will be taking care of the children and refug ees from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia that had found shelter in Yugosla via.

Lilic said that the U.N. must realize an important fact, that it is terr orism Yugoslavia and Serbia are fighting in Kosovo-Metohija. He said that , therefore, the U.N. should take a firm step and include the ethnic Alba nians' self-styled Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, 1998) on the list of worl d's terrorist organizations. He said that ethnic Albanian terrorists do n ot care even about ethnic Albanian children.

He also said that the conflict in Kosovo-Metohija was not caused by reli gious or national differences, because the Serbian population is a patchw ork of 30 nationalities, of which 26 live in its northern province of Voj vodina, where there are no problems whatsoever.

What we have in Kosovo-Metohija is secessionism, a wish to break away by means of terrorism part of the territory of Serbia and Yugoslavia, which is a sovereign state, said Lilic.

Lilic said that the ranking U.N. official will see for himself that the state bodies are exerting enormous efforts to stop the violence in Kosovo - Metohija and protect the people, especially the children, regardless of their nationality or religion and also that any well-intentioned and impa rtial activity of the international community and its organizations towar d restoring peace and conditions for beginning dialogue is more than welc ome, the statement said.

[23] YUGOSLAV DELEGATE ADDRESSES IPU CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

The attempts to qualify the situation in Serbia's southern province of K osovo and Metohija as a threat to world peace and security are totally gr oundless, Yugoslav parliamentary official Srdja Bozovic told the 100th In ter-Parliamentary Union conference in Moscow Thursday.

Bozovic, President of the Yugoslav parliament's Chamber of Republics, sa id it was in Yugoslavia's vital interest to secure lasting peace and stab ility and promote economic cooperation with all countries.

He underscored Yugoslavia's special interest in regional cooperation and , in that context, set out that Yugoslavia actively strove for a successf ul implementation of the Dayton/Paris agreement and contributed to the pr ocess of the normalization of relations among states on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

Bozovic set out Yugoslavia's interest in equality-based participation in European integration processes and its active support of all internation al initiatives along that line.

The Yugoslav delegate warned that the destabilization of the situation i n Kosovo and Metohija, caused by open ethnic-Albanian separatism and terr orism, posed a great danger to the country's unimpeded development.

"No international document qualifies a limited-scope police action again st terrorists as aggression in one's own country or threat to neighbourin g states and international peace and security," he said.

Bozovic reiterated the readiness of the Serbia government to resume unco nditional and direct dialogue with representatives of ethnic-Albanian pol itical parties in Kosovo and Metohija, and set out that every solution mu st proceed from respect for the integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and Y ugoslavia.

"Any attempt to impose a solution from the outside is unacceptable, and threats and pressures on Yugoslavia run counter to dialogue and encourage separatism and terrorism," Bozovic pointed out.

He said that leaders of the Albanian national minority in Kosovo and Met ohija were not showing up for talks in order to buy time for new terroris t operations and "provide arguments" for measures against Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav parliamentary official said it was indispensable to take en ergetic and efficacious measures to cut off financial and other aid to et hnic-Albanian terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija and their channels for th e recruiting and training of new men.

Bozovic said ethnic-Albanian terrorists had carried out 650 operations a nd abducted 120 persons so far this year.

He set out that Yugoslavia was still in a hard position due to the conse quences of the international sanctions and the maintaining of the "outer wall of sanctions," which he said prevented Yugoslavia's return to intern ational organizations and threatened the initiated economic reform.

[24] YUGOSLAVIA, GREECE DEVELOP SUBSTANTIVE, CLOSE, FRIENDLY RELATIONS

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic Thursday said his talks with Greek President Constantine Stefanopoulos, Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos had reflected substantive, close and friendly relations between the two countries and peoples.

Addressing a news conference after his meeting with Minister Pangalos, J ovanovic set out that relations between the two countries were characteri zed by a traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation, which he s aid was being developed successfully in all domains of common interest.

Jovanovic said that Yugoslavia and Greece maintained a high-level politi cal dialogue, cultural cooperation and truly exemplary and dynamic econom ic relations.

"Above all, we have direct contacts between the Greek and Serbian people , and we are happy that Greece has facilitated these contacts and enabled their intensification with the opening of its consulates in Nis and Podg orica," Yugoslav Foreign Minister Jovanovic told the press.

Jovanovic paid recognition to Greece for the "understanding, solidarity and significant relief aid to Yugoslavia in the past period."

"Greece, as an influential country in the Balkans and southeastern Europ e and also as a very influential member of the European Union, backs Yugo slavia's efforts for the normalization of its status at the broadest inte rnational level," Jovanovic pointed out.

"We have never believed that sanctions and isolation can accomplish anyt hing," he stressed.

"It is only clear that with Yugoslavia as a member of European instituti ons, as an equal member of Europe, as a common home, far more can be acco mplished for the Balkan region, for southeastern Europe and also for Euro pe as a whole," he said.

Jovanovic told reporters that he had informed the Greek hosts that Yugos lavia was firmly committed to having all issues in Kosovo and Metohija re solved peacefully, through a dialogue which would secure the equality of all citizens in Serbia's southern province, regardless of faith or nation ality, and do so in keeping with European standards, in particular the Co uncil of Europe convention on the protection of national minorities.

"The return home of temporarily displaced persons * of whom 60,000 have returned so far, the handing in of arms by our citizens who are members o f the Albanian minority, the normalization of education, economy, transpo rtation and all other aspects of life and development in Kosovo and Metoh ija secures a favourable framework for the resumption of the dialogue and a peaceful and democratic resolution of all problems in that part of Ser bia, " Minister Jovanovic stressed.

Greek Foreign Minister Pangalos said that Greece and Yugoslavia had frat ernal relations, which daily grew more dynamic, especially at the economi c level.

Pangalos said Greece was one of Yugoslavia's five leading trade partners and the biggest foreign investor in its economic potentials. He said the bilateral trade would record a 26-percent increase this year.

The Greek Minister underscored that both countries were interested in st imulating all forms of cooperation in the region, which he said was preci sely why Greece backed Yugsolavia's integration into international affair s and viewed the policy of the imposition of sanctions as ineffective.

Pangalos told the news conference that Yugoslavia's position on Kosovo a nd Metohija was "in the right direction."

"We are ready to help as much as possible the finding of a peaceful solu tion to the problem within the existing borders and coupled with the secu ring of the humanitarian rights and human freedoms of the entire populati on in Kosovo," Greek Foreign Minister Pangalos said.

[25] E.U. DECISION IS NOT BINDING FOR MACEDONIA

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Macedonia is not obliged to respect the E.U. ban on the Yugoslav Airlines (JAT, 1998) flights, Macedonian Transportation Minister Abdulmemet Bedz eti told a news conference Thursday, and qualified the E.U. decision as " too strict and counter-productive."

Minister Bedzeti said the Macedonian air carriers and Civil Aviation Adm inistration were ready to increase the number of flights.

He said Macedonia was interested in a more flights between Skopje and Be lgrade and its MAT airlines was also ready to fly JAT passengers to desti nations in western Europe.

Minister Bendzeti told the press he would travel to Belgrade Thursday fo r talks with representatives of JAT and Yugoslav civil aviation authoriti es about the expansion of cooperation in air transportation between the t wo countries.

[26] YUGOSLAVIA'S SAVOVIC RECEIVES U.N. UNDER SECRETARY OTOONU

Tanjug, 1998-09-10

Chairman of the Yugoslav commission for cooperation with UNICEF and eman cipation of women Margit Savovic received on Thursday U.N. Under Secretar y for Children in War Olar Otoonu.

A government statement said the two sides agreed that the United Nations ' anti-Yugoslav economic sanctions of the past several years had mostly h urt the children, as the most vulnerable section of society.

Savovic said that the Yugoslav government's efforts, even in the straite ned circumstances, were directed at securing a happy childhood for all ch ildren in Yugoslavia, regardless of their ethnic, social or religious bac kground.

She especially drew attention to the difficult position of the 200,000 o r so refugee children from war zones in former Yugoslavia who had found s helter with their families in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Both sides noted the need for further concrete cooperation in the protec tion of children in order that they should have a happy childhood as guar anteed under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the statemen t said.

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