Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-10-28

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] MILUTINOVIC RECEIVES STOJILJKOVIC

[02] BULGARIAN MEDIA CARRY TANJUG DIRECTOR GENERAL'S APPEAL TO CONTACT GROUP

[03] BUDAPEST NEPSZABADSAG ON ABDUCTION OF TANJUG JOURNALISTS

[04] ICRC NOT ALLOWED TO SEE ABDUCTED TANJUG REPORTERS

[05] KOSOVSKA MITROVICA DISTRICT CHIEF CONFERS WITH ICRC REPRESENTATIVES

[06] RUSSIAN JOURNALISTS DEMAND RELEASE OF ABDUCTED TANJUG REPORTERS

[07] RUSSIA WILL DECISIVELY PREVENT ETHNIC-ALBANIAN PROVOCATIONS

[08] UKRAINE SOLELY FOR PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF PROBLEMS IN KOSMET

[09] COOK: SERIOUS HEADWAY MADE IN IMPLEMENTING KOSOVO AND METOHIJA ACCORD

[10] NATO CONFIRMS YUGOSLAV ARMY, POLICE PULL OUT OF KOSOVO-METOHIJA

[11] YUGOSLAV STATE, BUSINESS DELEGATION TO RETURN TO BELGRADE ON TUESDAY

[12] BABURIN: RUSSIA SHOULD HAVE ITS SAY RESOLUTELY

[13] DELEGATION OF BRITISH COMPANY VISITS SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

[14] JOVANOVIC RECEIVES DINSTBIER

[15] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT APPOINTS ASSISTANT MINISTERS OF INTERIOR

[01] MILUTINOVIC RECEIVES STOJILJKOVIC

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

Serbian President Milan Milutinovic on Tuesday received the heads of the Public and State Security Department of the interior ministry, headed by Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic, the president's office said. Pre sident Milutinovic wished success in their work to the deputy interior mi nisters appointed today. Milutinovic especially thanked former head of Pu blic and State Security Department Jovica Stanisic for his work and coope ration so far. President Milutinovic on this occasion again paid tribute to all ministry members for their professionalism, determination and cou rage in defending the organization, territorial integrity, peace, and sec urity of all citizens of the Republic of Serbia, saying it was precisely this effort by the police that defeated terrorism and created conditions for a peaceful settlement in Kosovo and Metohija, the statement said.

[02] BULGARIAN MEDIA CARRY TANJUG DIRECTOR GENERAL'S APPEAL TO CONTACT GROUP

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

Bulgarian media carried on Tuesday Tanjug Director General Dusan Djordje vic's appeal to the six-nation 'Contact Group' to help release two Tanjug reporters abducted by ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohija ten days ago. Reporter Nebojsa Radosevic and photojournalist Vladimir D obricic disappeared near the village of Magura, about 20 km southwest of Pristina, centre of Serbia's southern province, on October 18. The media said Djordjevic had called on heads of states or government of the Contac t Group comprising Russia, the United States, Britain, France, Germany an d Italy to help find out what had happened to Radosevic and Dobricic and help release them. The Bulgarian public has already been informed about the abduction of Radio Pristina reporter Djuro Slavuj and his chauffeur R anko Perinic two months ago by the ethnic Albanian terrorist organisation calling itself Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Their fate is still uncerta in. Leading Bulgarian papers quoted Serbian police general Vladimir Djor jdevic as saying that the police had routed ethnic Albanian terrorists an d separatists in the province. Reports from Pristina and Belgrade said Y ugoslav army and Serbian police units were pulling out from the province in line with a recent agreement between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milos evic and U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke on the peaceful resolution of the K osovo and Metohija issue.

Bulgarian papers also said there was no reason whatsoever to issue threa ts or intervene.

[03] BUDAPEST NEPSZABADSAG ON ABDUCTION OF TANJUG JOURNALISTS

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

The leading Hungarian daily Nepszabasag Tuesday reported that ethnic-Alb anians had still not released the two abducted Tanjug journalists. In an article about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, the daily said that quite a few international organization had called on the ethnic-Albanian terrorist organization "Kosovo Liberation Army" to release the two journa lists, Nebojsa Radosevic and Vladimir Dobricic, who had been abducted on Oct. 18. The article followed a Yugoslav embassy appeal to all major Hun garian media to display solidarity with the adbucted Yugoslav colleagues.

Nepszabadsag said that Hungary had not directly participated so far in t he settling of the situation in Serbia's southern province and that it wa s not known whether it would join the OSCE peace mission in Kosovo and Me tohija.

For the time being, unarmed Predator reconnaissance planes, stationed at the SFOR Tasar base in Hungary, are making verification flights over Kos ovo and Metohija in keeping with the Hungarian parliament's recent decisi on allowing NATO the use of national air space.

[04] ICRC NOT ALLOWED TO SEE ABDUCTED TANJUG REPORTERS

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesman told Tanjug here Tuesday that the ICRC got a confirmation from a commander of the et hnic Albanian self-styled Kosovo Liberation Army terrorist organization (KLA) in the area of the village of Magura in the Yugoslav republic of Ser bia's Kosovo-Metohija province where two Tanjug reporters have recently g one missing, that the reporters were well, but added that not even Tuesda y had ICRC representatives been allowed to see them. Spokesman Josue Ans elmo said that the local commander, with whom the ICRC had talked for the fourth time in a row, had taken over things the family of reporter Neboj sa Radosevic had brought to the ICRC's Pristina office, but had not allow ed the ICRC team to see Radosevic and his colleague Vladimir Dobricic.

When the ICRC team insisted on seeing the reporters, the commander said he had to consult the headquarters, because this was part of what he call ed a standard procedure, said Anselmo. He said that that the ICRC team h ad not been given a reply to a Radosevic family letter, which they had de livered to the KLA commander on Oct. 23.

Anselmo said the ICRC had made it clear that the KLA was obliged to let the ICRC see the captured reporters, adding that the ICRC would keep comi ng back until it was able to do so. The ICRC will also urge KLA's politic al spokesman Adem Demaqi to intervene so as to have the abducted reporter s released as soon as possible, he said.

Radosevic and Dobricic went missing in the area of Magura, some 15 km aw ay from the Kosovo-Metohija's chief city of Pristina, around noon Oct. 18. The reporters were going on an assignment in an official car.

[05] KOSOVSKA MITROVICA DISTRICT CHIEF CONFERS WITH ICRC REPRESENTATIVES

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

State authorities of Serbia and Yugoslavia, governmental and non-governm ental organizations and the local self-government will do their best to h elp Kosovo and Metohija inhabitants in this difficult situation and are r eady to cooperate along that line with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Kosovska Mitrovica district chief Zdravko Trajkovic said Tues day. In a talk with ICRC representatives Nina Nordberg and Anika Norling , Trajkovic stressed that assistance would be provided regardless of nati onality and faith and primarily through the relief distribution centres.

The ICRC representatives pledged successful cooperation and utmost effor ts in the field, including in the search for missing persons. Asked abou t Tanjug's missing journalists Nebojsa Radosevic and Vladimir Dobricic, N ordberg said that ICRC representatives were doing everything possible for the release of the abducted journalists. The ICRC representatives will later in the day be received also by Kosovska Mitrovica municipality chie f Nikola Radovic.

[06] RUSSIAN JOURNALISTS DEMAND RELEASE OF ABDUCTED TANJUG REPORTERS

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

The Russian news agency Novosti of Moscow has sent a letter to Tanjug Di rector and Editor-in-Chief Dusan Djordjevic condemning the abduction of T anjug journalists Nebojsa Radosevic and Vladimir Dobricic by the ethnic-A lbanian terrorist organization "Kosovo Liberation Army." The Novosti sta ff said they had deeply been shocked by the abduction of their Tanjug col leagues while on an assignment, a "gross violation of the generally accep ted international law norms and human rights." "It is particularly distu rbing that the abduction of the Yugoslav journalists followed by only a f ew days the reaching of the accords on a peaceful resolution of the Kosov o crisis. The assurances that abducted Dobricic and Radosevic are held ho stage and are "well and unhurt" are not sufficient for Russian journalist s. We are seriously concerned for their fate and demand that our Yugoslav colleagues be immediately and unconditionally released," the Novosti let ter said.

[07] RUSSIA WILL DECISIVELY PREVENT ETHNIC-ALBANIAN PROVOCATIONS

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

Russia, together with the Contact Group, the U.N. Security Council and a ll others who want the situation in Kosovo and Metohija to be resolved, w ill decisively prevent the attempts of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Met ohija to fulfill their secret wishes, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ale xander Avdeyev said Tuesday. Asked by the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS what did Russia and other Contact Group members intend to do in order to create conditions for the signing of a peace accord between authorities i n Belgrade and representatives of ethnic Albanians in Serbia's southern p rovince, Avdeyev underscored that "all attempts of ethnic-Albanian separa tists to undermine that agreement, discredit the OSCE and all negotiation s, and also, by means of small or even major incidents, to again provoke war in Kosovo" had to be opposed. The Russian diplomat said that conditi ons existed for talks and urged the resumption of the complex diplomatic process. Avdeyev specified that the talks should be based on Yugoslavia' s state integrity and the inviolability of its territorial borders, which he stressed must also be the basis of every solution found for the statu s of Kosovo and Metohija. Commenting the latest U.N. Security Council re solution on Serbia's southern province, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minist er said that his country had achieved the desired goal, as "everything th at could have militarily threatened Yugoslavia" had been eliminated from the document and "a clear mandate" had been given for the OSCE mission.

Avdeyev said that the resolution was not just a victory for Russia "but also for the reasonable and wise voices heard in the West, specifically i n the United States, according to which strikes would, firstly, be a viol ation of international law and, secondly, would not ressolve the problem but only aggravate it. The Russian diplomat set out in conclusion that " national-ethnic problems cannot be resolved today be means of force, nor could they ever have been."

[08] UKRAINE SOLELY FOR PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF PROBLEMS IN KOSMET

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that Kiev retains th e position that problems in Kosmet should be resolved solely in a peacefu l way. "Ukraine's position towards the Kosovo problem remains unchanged, " the foreign ministry spokesman told a press conference. The Itar-Tass quoted him as saying in response to a question by a reporter that a group of verifiers is now being formed in Ukraine which will be sent to Kosmet as part of a mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The spokesman said that his country is continuing consul tations with the ambassadors of the United States and the Federal Republi c of Yugoslavia aimed at avoiding the implementation of force against Yug oslavia.

[09] COOK: SERIOUS HEADWAY MADE IN IMPLEMENTING KOSOVO AND METOHIJA ACCORD

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said here Tuesday that serious head way had been made in implementing a recent agreement between Yugoslav Pre sident Slobodan Milosevic and the world community on the resolution of th e crisis in Kosovo and Metohija. British commentators said that, consequ ently, the overall situation in Serbia's southern province signalled easi ng of tensions in the province. London reports said the international co mmunity should at this point start complying with obligations assumed und er the agreement. Daily Telegraph of London said, however, that the worl d had no clear concept of what it should do. The daily said Europe was di vided on what policy on Kosovo and Metohija it should pursue, saying Wash ington would have to shoulder the responsibility for defusing crisis in K osovo and Metohija.

The paper said Europe had simply no political strength to deal with the issue. An Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ver ification mission to Kosovo and Metohija poses another problem. The missi on should include participation of 2,000 people but the international com munity has managed to recruit only 800 verifiers willing to go to the pro vince. Financial Times said the position of international verifiers coul d be extremely diffcult because the ethnic Albanian terrorist organisatio n calling itself Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was returning without the s lightest intention of surrendering weapons and ending attacks to areas wh ence Serbian police had withdrawn.

[10] NATO CONFIRMS YUGOSLAV ARMY, POLICE PULL OUT OF KOSOVO-METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

The NATO Council noted late on Tuesday that the brunt of the Yugoslav ar my and police forces have withdrawn from Kosovo-Metohija or returned to b arracks there, in line with the U.N. Security Council's relevant resoluti ons. However, it ignored Russia's request and, despite these substantial steps taken in that province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia, did not lift, but only suspended indefinitely, its threat of limited military op erations against Yugoslavia.

The Council cautioned the province's ethnic Albanians that they "must eq ually comply with the UNSC Resolutions and cooperate with the internation al community," according to the NATO Secretary General's statement, a cop y of which has been forwarded to TANJUG. The Council further called on Ko sovo-Metohija's ethnic "Albanian armed groups to maintain the ceasefire t hat they have declared." The Russian Itar-TASS news agency reports from Brussels that the threat of air strikes remains, but that it cannot be or dered without a special NATO Council resolution. NATO Secretary General Javier Solana told a news conference that reports by observers on the gro und and air verification showed that the brunt of the Yugoslav army troop s and special police forces have pulled out or returned to barracks in th e province. "The security forces are returning to the level they were at before the p resent crisis began," according to Solana. He said that the improvement in the security situation is creating the co nditions for a meaningful political dialogue to begin to find a solution to the Kosovo- Metohija crisis.

[11] YUGOSLAV STATE, BUSINESS DELEGATION TO RETURN TO BELGRADE ON TUESDAY

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

A Yugoslav state and business delegation, led by Vice-Premier Zoran Lilic , returns from Tripoli to Belgrade on Tuesday after a successful session of the inter-state committee for economic, scientific and technological c ooperation. Libyan President Muammar el-Gaddafi and Lilic discussed issue s concerning bilateral relations in talks on Monday. Lilic informed el-G addafi about the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Me tohija and Serbia's and Yugoslavia's efforts to solve all issues through political means and in line with international norms. El-Gaddafi fully b acked measures for the peaceful and lasting resolution of problems in Kos ovo and Metohija. They also discussed the promotion of bilateral relation s, specifically economic cooperation. The 13th session and talks held by Lilic in Tripoli resulted in an agreement on importing 500,000 tons of o il from Libya. Moreover, Jovan Cekovic, director general of the Yugoimpo rt SDPR company, and Ahmed Mahmud Ali, director of a Libyan state company , signed a deal on Monday for setting up the first Yugoslav-Libyan joint- stock company. The Libyan-Yugoslav trade and building company's main act ivity will be construction of primarily industrial facilities, production of building materials, drafting projects and import and export of goods.

[12] BABURIN: RUSSIA SHOULD HAVE ITS SAY RESOLUTELY

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

Russian state Duma vice-president, Sergei Baburin, said on Tuesday that NATO threats to use force against Yugoslavia can only be removed by Russi a's unyielding stand. "We were directly convinced of this after a Russia n parliamentary delegation recenly visited Kosovo," Baburin told the Itar - Tass news agency. Underscoring concern over the statements by a number of western politicians that the application of force is possible in order to ensure the safety of the international verifiers, Baburin set out tha t in question are attempts for the unprecedented violation of internation al norms and that Russia is strongly opposed to this. Baburin recalled t hat Duma (Russian parliament lower house) has already adopted a resolutio n on the situation regarding Kosmet in which it recommends to President B oris Yeltsin, in case of an aggression in the Balkans, to declare as null and viod the U.N. Security Council decision on sanctions against Yugosla via and to immediately start aiding the country which was the victim of t he aggression. "Faced with a real attack on the existing world order, Ru ssia should convincingly have its say," Baburin said. He headed a Duma d elegation during a visit to Yugoslavia.

[13] DELEGATION OF BRITISH COMPANY VISITS SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

A delegation of Britain's Brown and Root company visited Tuesday the Ser bian Chamber of Commerce wihin its four-day visit to Yugoslavia. Brown a nd Root, which is part of the Texas-based Hallibarton Company, earns annu ally 500 million pounds (about 1.5 billion German marks) by selling build ing materials and contracting deals in the domain, said a statement issue d by the Chamber. The delegation's visit is aimed at finding ways of off ering logistic support to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation i n Europe (OSCE) verification mission to Kosovo and Metohija. Serbian Ch amber of Commerce officials informed the delegation about the Serbian con struction and building materials industries. The delegation said they we re ready to secure infrastructure and logistic support to the OSCE missio n, saying local population would be employed in the process.

[14] JOVANOVIC RECEIVES DINSTBIER

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic received on Tuesday special U.N. rapporteur for human rights, Yiri Dinstbier. The Federal Foreign Mi nistry said in a statement that discussed was the realization of human ri ghts in the light of the recent agreements which secure the framework for a peaceful political solution for Kosovo and Metohija. Underscored was the importance of the fact that the agreements and the peaceful resoluti on of all issues had received widespread international support. Yugosla via's cooperation with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) and the special rapporteur was described as positive. The talks were a lso attended by Barbara Davies, the head of the UNHCR office, the stateme nt said.

[15] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT APPOINTS ASSISTANT MINISTERS OF INTERIOR

Tanjug, 1998-10-27

The Serbian government held a session Tuesday chaired by Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic and appointed three assistant ministers of internal affa irs. They are head of the State Security Service Lt.Gen. Radomir Markovi c, Maj.Gen. Stojan Misic and Director of the Security Institute of Serbia n Ministry of Internal Affairs Nikola Curcic. The three other assistant ministers will remain in office: head of the Public Security Service Gene ral Vlastimir Djordjevic, Lt.Gen. Obrad Stevanovic and Maj.Gen. Petar Zek ovic.

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