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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-10-29
Yugoslav Daily Survey
CONTENTS
[01] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER FELICITATES GERMAN COUNTERPART
[02] SERB ASSOCIATION PROTESTS ABOUT DESTRUCTION OF NOVA GRADISKA SERB
CEMETERY
[03] "ALL FOR ALL" ISSUE WILL BE RISED
[04] YUGOSLAV AIRLINES DISCUSSES COOPERATION WITH CFM INTERNATIONAL
[05] BELGRADE RAILWAY JUNCTION TO OPEN NEXT YEAR
[06] BRATISLAVA MORINA MEETS WITH FRENCH*GERMAN HUMANITARIANS
[07] USAID OFFICIAL SAYS SECURITY SITUATION IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA SATISFACTORY
[08] HILL: US DOES NOT BACK INDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVO-METOHIJA
[09] DINSTBIR CALLS FOR RELEASE OF TANJUG'S JOURNALISTS
[10] NATO IS INSTRUMENT OF U.S. POLICY
[11] IMPORTANT STEP IN YUGOSLAV-LIBYAN ECONOMC RELATIONS
[12] SERBIAN JUSTICE MINISTER RECEIVES U.N. OFFICIALS
[13] MATIC SENDS LETTER TO ANNAN
[01] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER FELICITATES GERMAN COUNTERPART
Yugoslav Foreign Ministry statement, 1998-10-28
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic on Wednesday felicitated his
German counterpart Jozef Fischer on appointment. Jovanovic voiced belief
that a positive approach to bilateral relations and cooperation on an equ
al footing can be the best contribution to the realisation of the interes
ts of Yugoslavia and Germany, peace and stability in Europe.
[02] SERB ASSOCIATION PROTESTS ABOUT DESTRUCTION OF NOVA GRADISKA SERB
CEMETERY
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
The Belgrade-based association of Serbs from Croatia protested Wednesday
about the destruction of the Serb cemetery in Nova Gradiska, describing the
act as unheard-of vandalism and unequivocal manifestation of patholog ical
hatred and ethnic and religious intolerance. A statement issued by the
association said the cemetery had been more than two centuries old, s aying
this marked the resumption of crimes committed during World War II Nazi-
puppet independent state of Croatia when a Serbian Orthodox Church h ad
been destroyed on the same locality and the cemetery vandalised.
This atrocity and other forms of genocidal pressure are aimed at destroy
ing Serb roots in Croatia and at attaining the political goal of an ethni
cally pure Croatia, the statement said. Local authorities are acting wil
fully enjoying open support by Croatian authorities that are backed by th
eir foreign patrons with whose help they have created the independent "de
mocratic" state, the statement said. The association said it was dismaye d
by the stand by the U.N. Security Council, the Council of Europe and ot her
international factors which, except for half-hearted condemnation of and
warnings against the Croatian authorities' genocidal behaviour, had d one
nothing to restrain Zagreb's wilfulness or to put an end to crimes ag ainst
Serbs.
[03] "ALL FOR ALL" ISSUE WILL BE RISED
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
During the two-day session of the committees of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Republic of Croatia for humanitarian issues and
missing persons, which opened on Wednesday in Belgrade, rised will be the
issues of the so-called exchange "all for all", the chairmen of the two
committes, Maksin Korac and Ivan Grujic, said today.
Yugoslav committee chairman Korac set out that in question is the rising of
a major humanitarian issue.
"We agree that the corrsponding bodies immediately begin exchanging the
documents and lists of names in order to identify these people," Korac sa
id. He told the foriegn and domestic press that the Yugoslav committee
would demand that the international factors pressure the ethnic Albanian
terrorist organization, the so-called "Kosovo Liberation Army" (KLA) to r
elease as soon as possible Tanjug's two kidnapped reporters. We expect t he
chairman of the international committee for missing persons, Bob Dole, to
make a statement about this, Korac said. Recalling that this is the 38th
session of the two committees, Korac set out that the morning sessio n
analysed the protocol on Croatian military operations Flash and Storm a nd
that the Croatian side had so far turned over 669 such documents but t hat
another 125 remain to ba handed over. "However, it has turned over 5 7
protocols from other locations which are also being analysed," Korac sa id
and added that the Croatian government released the official statement that
120 protocols remain to be discussed. Korac also stated that the a nalysis
so far of the protocols determined that the identification of 79 persons
had been fully carried out, which means that their identity was c onfirmed
by close relatives. The experts have finished their job on the
identification of 109 persons but their work remains to be confirmed by t
he immediate families. Korac expresed hope that during the two-day meeti ng
agreed will be the transfer of the remains because, as he said, our si de
has taken the position that "all remains should be handed over without any
conditions." The chairman of the Croatian state committee for capti ve and
missing persons, Grujic, said taht "the issue of the captive, miss ing and
violently taken persons is one of the priorities on which Croatia will
insist until the final resolution." In this sense, signed were agr eements
within the Dayton agreement and at the level of the two countries '
committees, Grujic recalled and added that of the 1,000 persons, sought by
the Yugoslav side, another 400 remain on the list. "A number of issu es
about the remains have been resolved through the continued work of the two
committees and the relinquishing of documents," Grujic said and adde d that
issues linked to "details and numbers" remain open. One of the po ints on
the agenda planned for today is the release of "all fo all," as a greed by
the two foreign ministers, Grujic said and underscored that "Cro atia's
position is that this agreement must be fulfilled." He added that attempts
will be made to achieve concrete results during the current sess ion.
[04] YUGOSLAV AIRLINES DISCUSSES COOPERATION WITH CFM INTERNATIONAL
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Board o f
Managers of Yugoslav Airlines (JAT) Momir Pavlicevic and Sales Director for
central and eastern Europe of the CFM International company Jean-Pie rre
Vernon discussed Wednesday future cooperation between the two compani es, a
Chamber statement says. CFM International, a US-French company com prising
Snecma and General Electric, is one of leading world aircraft eng ine
manufacturers covering 40 percent of the international market. Pavli cevic
and Vernon discussed the delivery of engines for Air Bus A 319 owne d by
JAT, as JAT has honored all its commitments in line with its contrac t with
Air Bus. CFM has proposed to JAT the creation of a regional cent er for
repairing aircraft engines as JAT has the manpower and technology for the
job, the statement says. This would help the development of loca l industry
and increaee employment of local manpower, Pavlicevic said.
[05] BELGRADE RAILWAY JUNCTION TO OPEN NEXT YEAR
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic said on Wednesday after the symb
olic inauguration of the Karaburma railway tunnel, which will link downto
wn Belgrade and the nearby town of Pancevo, that the program of construct
ion of the Belgrade railway junction was being realized according to plan
and that works would be completed next year.
The ceremony held at Belgrade's Main Railway Station Beograd-Centar was
attended also by Serbian parliament president Dragan Tomic. Tomic said t he
work on the tunnel and two new sets of tracks was paving the way to th e
construction of "Europolis" which should present the continuation of ma jor
construction work in Belgrade. "Europolis" will be a business-commer cial
complex by the Sava River, where the present railway station is now
located. It is expected that there will be much interest among foreign in
vestors in this project, Tomic said. The city will reclaim the banks and
reach the Sava and Danube rivers, something prevented at this time by the
railway tracks, he said. With the construction of the tunnel and the co
mpletion of work on the railway tracks toward the Belgrade district of Ka
raburma will create conditions for the Yugoslav capital to get a metro wh
ich should eliminate traffic jams from the city streets.
[06] BRATISLAVA MORINA MEETS WITH FRENCH*GERMAN HUMANITARIANS
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
Serbian Commissioner for refugees Bratislava Morina received Wenesday a
mixed French German humanitarian delegation and informed in detail its me
mbers about problems in Kosovo and Metohija, expressing gratitude for the
readiness of their countries to help resolve the problems. Morina also
thanked for the humanitarian assistance extended so far to refugees from
the former Yugoslav republics, by nongovernmental organizations and the R
ed Cross of France and Germany. The delegation compised Thierry Bernadac ,
head of the humanitarian mission in the French Foreign Ministry, dr Mic hel
Bonnot, head of the program for extending urgent aid in the French Mi
nistry of Health, Dr Alexander von Rohm, head of the hmanitarian mission in
the German Foreign Ministry, and the ambassadors of France and Germany in
Belgrade, Stanislav Filliol and Wilfred Gruber. Morina pointed out th at in
Serbia there were 700,000 refugees from the former Yugoslav republi cs, and
also 60,000 refugees from Slavonia who, since the end of the war in Croatia,
do no have a solved status. There are also internally displac ed persons
due to the outbreak of the conflict in Kosovo and Metohija, ca used by
terrorists and separatists of the Albanian national minority. Sh e
requested from the French and German humanitarians to ask the governmen ts
of Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina about the real
ization of humanitarian programs for the return of Serb refugees, because
so far to Croatia have returned only one percent of the 400,000 persons who
took refuge in Serbia, and to the Federation of Bosnia ans Herzegovin a
only 2,800 people, although it is a know fact that from Sarajevo alone, in
only one day, 150,000 people fled to Serbia, and from Croatia, in onl y one
day, 230,000 people. Alexander von Rohm said that the members of t he
delegation stayed in Kosovo and Metohija, for one day, where they obse rved
many problems and that they were offering humanitarian aid to help a ll
displaced persons return to their homes before winter. He recalled th at
German nongovernmental organizations had on a number of earlier occasi ons
extended aid to refugees in Yugoslavia, and that now the aid of their Red
Cross was directed to Kosovo and Metohija.
[07] USAID OFFICIAL SAYS SECURITY SITUATION IN KOSOVO-METOHIJA SATISFACTORY
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
U.S. international development agency (USAID) official Hugh Parmer said in
Pristina on Wednesday that the security situation on the ground was pr
esently satisfactory, which created a possibility for the return of a sig
nificant number of displaced persons. Speaking at a press conference at the
U.S. Information Centre, Parmer said that he had drawn this conclusio n
after visiting the areas of Malisevo, Dragobilje and Pagarusa and on th e
basis of talks with international non-governmental organisations and a
USAID disaster releaf team. Parmer said that the humanitarian disaster o f
which everyone had been afraid had been prevented. He said that the cu
rrent security level should remain the same because it enabled a continua l
return of people to their homes. Parmer said that on Tuesday he had se en
that there were no more displaced persons in the area of Pagarusa, whe re
there had been some a few weeks before. He said that humanitarian eff orts
should continue in order primarily to assist people without accommod ation
because there were about 10,000 to 15,000 homeless people. Asked w hat has
happened to the 200,000 displaced persons because of whom NATO wa s
prepared to bomb Serbia and Yugoslavia, Parmer said that nobody had sai d
that they were all in the open. He said he had never heard the estimat e
that 200,000 people were homeless, but that these were displaced person s
who were in difficult conditions because they were accommodated with th eir
families. Parmer said that the UNHCR had set aside 58 million dollar s for
the emergency six-month programme of assistance to displaced person s in
Kosovo and Metohija.
Within its emergency winter programme of assistance to displaced persons in
Kosovo and Metohija, the USAID has set aside 4.8 million dollars.
[08] HILL: US DOES NOT BACK INDEPENDENCE OF KOSOVO-METOHIJA
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
The US does not back independence of Serbia's southern province of Kosov o-
Metohija as it would be detrimental for regional stability, the US envo y
for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Christopher Hill said Wednesday in
provincial capital Pristina. Hill told the press after meeting ethnic
Albanian political representatives that the latter wanted substantial ch
anges in the Accord on resolving problems in the province by peaceful mea
ns, especially as regards the status of Kosovo-Metohija. Work is underway
on an agreement that must be accepted by both sides. Its is very difficu lt
to talks about this at this time as the Serbs could not possibly agree to
independence of Kosovo-Metohija, Hill said. Hill strongly criticize d the
self-styled Kosovo Liberation Army for moving into positions abando ned by
Serbian police, underlining the US view that the withdrawal of sec urity
forces must not be abused. Some progress has been made in seeking a
peaceful solution for Kosovo-Metohija, and the process is now in a key
stage as the situation on the ground is stabilizing, which will have a po
sitive influence on negotiations, Hill said. The press conference was at
tended on behalf of the Contact Group by the Austrian Ambassador to Yugos
lavia Wolfgang Petritsch, who said the European Union had urged ethnic Al
banians to be very careful in the present situation and not not take over
positions abandoned by Serbian forces, in order to prevent jeopardizing the
arrival of the OSCE verification mission to Kosovo-Metohija.
Petritsch hailed the responsible behaviour of Serbian security forces an d
criticized the ethnic Albanian side for moving into some positions aban
doned by the police. He urged ethnic Albanians to behave in a responsible
manner, as fresh problems would be created otherwise. The EU fully endo
rses the US initiative, the ambassador said and added that decisive progr
ess must be made now. Asked whether he would do anything for the release of
abducted Tanjug reporters, Hill said he was in contact with some ethn ic
Albanian groups, including the KLA.
[09] DINSTBIR CALLS FOR RELEASE OF TANJUG'S JOURNALISTS
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
Special U.N. rapporteur for human rights Jiri Dinstbir told Tanjug Wedne
sday that if he does not hear soon about the release of Tanjug's journali
sts Vladimir Dobricic and Nebojsa Radosevic, kidnapped on October 18 by t
he so-called KLA, he will contact on Friday the most influential news org
anizations in the world to contribute to the release of the kidnapped jou
rnalists. Dinstbir also said in a news conference in Belgrade that when he
recently visited Kosovo and Metohija he asked from Albanian politician s to
shed light on the fate of all kidnapped persons in the area, includi ng the
two jurnalists of Tanjug The U.N. rapporteur said that he asked fr om Adem
Demaci, the political representative of the so-called KLA, that t he
journalists be released as soon as possible. He added that Demaci ass ured
him that the kidnapped journalists were "all right and that an inves
tigation was underway to determine if they are spies." I hope that the r
elease will take place right away, Dintsbir said, and if that does not ha
ppen, all international organizations and international organizations of
journalists, must contribute to the cause, Dinstbir said.
[10] NATO IS INSTRUMENT OF U.S. POLICY
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
From the very beginning of the Kosovo and Metohija developments, a princ
ipled opposition to pressures and military threats against Yugoslavia has
been coupled in China with efforts to clarify the background of the West 's
aggressive behaviour over "a small part of the territory of Serbia and
Yugoslavia." Chinese analysts of international affairs view the NATO be
haviour in connection with Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metoh
ija in a broader international context and underscore that the gross poli
cy of force applied in the case of Kosovo and Metohija sets an extrenely
dangerous precedent in international relations. The military threats aga
inst Yugoslavia have raised in the Chinese public the issue of world secu
rity and peace in a situation when resort to a policy of force is becomin g
customary and when military alliances serve the strategic interests of that
policy. Kosovo and Metohija is no longer the issue but the future o f
international relations, Chinese analysts stress. The Chinese weekly L
iaowang carries in its latest issue two analytical articles about the pre
ssures against Yugoslavia and the actual NATO objectives. The weekly sai d
that, since there were no legal grounds for NATO military action agains t
Yugoslavia, such a step on the part of the Western military alliance wo uld
run counter to the United Nations Charter. The weekly set out in exp
lanation of the NATO and, in general, Western policy towards Kosovo and M
etohija that there were three levels. It said the first was Washington,
which, as the alliance leader, disciplined the allies in Europe and there
by exercised its leading role in European affairs and implemented its glo
bal strategy. The second is the quest for a new NATO strategy, and the t
hird, the West's relations with Russia and the United States efforts to c
ompletely eliminate the traditional Russian influence in the Balkans, acc
ording to the weekly.
[11] IMPORTANT STEP IN YUGOSLAV-LIBYAN ECONOMC RELATIONS
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
Owing to the reputation which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) e
njoys in the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahirya, the personal effor
ts of Federal Vice Prime Minister Zoran Lilic and the traditionally frien
dly relations between the two countries, in Tripoli signed was an agreeme
nt on the founding of the first Yugoslav-Libyan mixed company, which is a n
important step in bilateral economic relations, the general director of the
Jugoimport-SDPR company, Jovan Cekovic, has said. The document, the first
such in the history of the economic cooperation between the two co untries,
was signed on Oct. 26 at the end of the work of the Mixed Yugosl av-Libyan
Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, b y Cekovic,
on behalf of Jugoimport-SDPR, and Ahmet Mahumud Ali, on behalf of the
Libyan state company. The new shareholder company will do busine ss in
keeping with the Libyan law on trade and will enable direct busines s deals
and participation without bids for all projects in Libya, the Sud an and
Chad, where Libya is investing in the construction of major facili ties,
Cekovic said. In a statement to Tanjug upon his return from Libya, which he
visited within a Yugoslav state and economic delegation headed in Tripoli
by Lilic, Cekovic said that the mixed company, whose founding capital is
one million dollars, would primarily work on the construction of facilities
in countries where Jugoimport-SDPR has traditionally good b usiness
references. Cekovic set out that in 1999 in Libya expected are d eals worth
one-half billion dollars. He added that business deals would a lso be
concluded with the Gulf countries, especially with Bahrain and Qat ar, with
which Libya has good economic relations. The Tripoli-based Liby an-Yugoslav
Trade and Construction Company will have an office in Belgrad e and will
engage in the construction of building facilities, especially industrial
ones, the production of construction materials, development of studies and
projects in its sphere, and the import and export of commerc ial goods,
Cekovic said. "This is a very important company for Yugoslavi a because it
will include in its operation a large part of the Yugoslav c onstruction
firms, primarily companies such as Ivan Milutinovic PIM, Ratk o Mitrovic,
Napred, Graditelj from Gornji Milanovic, Aeroinzinjering, Pla num, Rad and
others," Cekovic stated.
The new company will in time employ about 300 designers, construction en
gineers and architects and will contract deals in hard currency.
[12] SERBIAN JUSTICE MINISTER RECEIVES U.N. OFFICIALS
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
Serbian Justice Minister Dragoljub Jankovic on Wednesday received U.N. H
uman Rights Rapporteur Jiri Dienstbier and head of the Belgrade office of
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Barbara Davids. An Information
Ministry statement said that the meeting had focused on the implementatio n
of a Serbian government statement on the resolution of problems in Koso vo
and Metohija, Item 10 in particular. Jankovic said that the Justice M
inistry was doing all in its power to implement the part of the governmen t
statement which was in its jurisdiction. J ankovic informed the officia ls
in detail about the country's legislation and said that representative s of
the Justice Ministry, competent courts and public prosecutors' offic es
were in Kosovo and Metohija to review all ways to implement the govern ment
statement's Item 10 within our legal system as soon as possible. Mu tual
readiness was voiced at the end of talks to continue cooperation in the
sphere of human rights between the Justice Ministry and international
representatives, especially the UNHCR Belgrade office, the statement said.
[13] MATIC SENDS LETTER TO ANNAN
Tanjug, 1998-10-28
Yugoslav Information Secretary and Tanjug Board of Managers President Go
ran Matic has sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anna n,
urging the release of two reporters of this news agency abducted in Ko sovo
and Metohija (Kosmet) povince. Matic said this anti-civilizational act by
ethnic Albanian terrorists was an attack on the agreement reached by
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke.
The letter reads as follows (unauthorized translation):
"Dear Sir,
"I have read with great care your report dated Oct 3, 1998, which was pr
epared in keeping with Resolutions 1160 (1998) and 1199 (1998) of the Sec
urity Council.
"Proceeding from your statement presented in Article 33 of that report i n
which you state that you had to rely mostly on information and analyses
from sources outside the United Nations, I avail myself of this opportun
ity to acquaint you with the latest abduction of two Yugoslav reporters o f
the national agency Tanjug, of whose Board of Managers I am president.
"They are Nebojsa Radosevic and Vladimir Dobricic, who went missing in K
osovo at about 11:30 hrs on Oct 18, 1998, on the road Pristina-Magura.
"The reporters were on a mision and were driving a company vehicle, Yugo
Florida, white, with registration plates BG 987-090.
"As the so-called OVK was active in that area at the time, it is doubtle ss
that Radosevic and Dobricic have been abducted by members of this sepa
ratist-terrorist organization of Kosmet Albanians.
Since world media did not give due attention to this unfortunate inciden t,
as was also the case with the recent disappearance in Kosmet of three other
Yugoslav reporters, I feel free to acquaint you with these facts.
"I am sincerely confident that you will use in your future activities my
information about these anti-civilizational acts, which are contrary to the
agreement between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and U.S. envo y
Richard Holbrooke on a peaceful settlement of the crisis, as well as th e
efforts by Serbian and Yugoslav authorities toward a lasting solution b
eing found in Kosovo and Metohija through political negotiations and dipl
omatic means."
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