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Serbia Today 96-05-07
Serbia Today
7 May 1996
In This Edition:
* ENTRANCE VISA FOR REFUGEES - 10,000 DEM
CONTENTS
[01] BELGRADE-ZAGREB HIGHWAY TO OPEN TODAY
[02] TALKS ON COOPERATION WITH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
[03] SETTLING UNDER PRESSURE
[04] AMNESTY FOR SERBS FROM EASTERN SLAVONIA
[05] BY PROTEST - TO THE TRUTH
[06] WAR CRIES AGAIN
[07] ENTRANCE VISA FOR REFUGEES - 10,000 DEM
[01] BELGRADE-ZAGREB HIGHWAY TO OPEN TODAY
After five years of suspension, today the highway Belgrade-Zagreb is to
open for traffic, which is practically a normalization of the road traffic
between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia. According to the
agreement between Yugoslav and Croat authorities, customs cross-points will
also be opened on the highway, while the seven-kilometer stretch of the
highway in the Croat territory will be controlled by the UNTAES forces of the
civilian police. Being the traffic route of the highest frequency and the
backbone of road traffic of former Yugoslavia, this highway was closed in
summer of 1991, after secession of Croatia and the eruption of war. After the
fall of Krajina, Croatia established control over the entire highway, but the
traffic towards Yugoslavia was still suspended. Only after the recent talks
between the Yugoslav and the Croat side and the signing of the agreement, it
was agreed to open Belgrade-Zagreb highway for traffic, which is not only in
the interest of the two sides, but is the shortest link between western and
eastern Europe. (Politika, May 7, 1996)
[02] TALKS ON COOPERATION WITH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
Italian companies, mostly medium size and small ones, intend to have a
very broad cooperation with firms from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and
also to take an active part in the reconstruction of the former Yugoslav
republics, most of all Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. To that end the
Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, in cooperation with the ministries of
foreign affairs and trade, has organized several separate meetings when
concrete projects for cooperation will be presented. Projects of Italian firms
for cooperation with Serbia and Montenegro will be discussed at the meeting in
Trieste, which is to be held on May 14 to 16, 1996, in cooperation with the
local chamber of commerce. The investments of the Italian companies, it was
reported, will be aimed to the fields of telecommunications, electrical power
production, construction of railways and highways and joint ventures in timber
industry and manufacture of furniture, textiles, ready-mades, footwear and
mechanics. (Politika, May 7, 1996)
[03] SETTLING UNDER PRESSURE
Government of the Republic of Croatia has adopted the draft law on areas
of special state interest, having the aim, according to the explanation of
Minister Jure Radic prior to its adoption in the Parliament (Sabor), to
instigate demographic and economic development of those areas which have
suffered in this war and which "have been with premeditation destroyed over
the past several centuries of foreign rule". These are the areas which over
the past centuries, had the majority of Serbian population, which is now
completely "cleansed" from these lands, while their property was plundered,
destroyed and burnt-down by this very same Croat army. This truth, which is
showing the ugly face of the young Croat state, now is being served in a false
packaging, through the claims that these areas were allegedly "with
premeditation being destroyed over the past centuries". The only truth in all
this is the fact that the vacated and devastated areas are among the most
difficult and the most acute problems facing now the Croat authorities. They
are trying to solve them by returning there the Croats who used to be living
in these areas earlier, as well as by settling Croat refugees from Bosnia,
counting on, of course, the seizure of Serbian houses and property. It is a
question of a well premeditated policy of preventing the return of Serbian
refugees to their homes and lands. The measures of the Croat Government are in
complete contradiction with the obligations which Croatia has given in the
written form, in the form of condition for its admission to the Council of
Europe, and that obligation was to facilitate the return of Serbian refugees.
Since there is no wide-spread wish of the Croats to settle in these areas,
Croat authorities are offering a number of instigation measures, among them is
also the deletion from the unemployment bureaux of those who refuse to take a
job in these areas. (Politika, May 7, 1996)
[04] AMNESTY FOR SERBS FROM EASTERN SLAVONIA
Croat Government has tabled the law yesterday on the amnesty of
inhabitants of the Serbian Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western
Srem, on the basis of which the participants in the armed conflicts against
the Republic of Croatia will be free of criminal prosecution. This draft law
was submitted by the Government to the Croat Parliament (Sabor) for adoption.
In the explanation it is said that amnesty pertains to the acts committed from
August 1990 to the beginning of the process of demilitarization and mentions
that there will be no amnesty for those who have committed war crimes.
(Politika ekspres, May 7, 1996)
[05] BY PROTEST - TO THE TRUTH
Several hundreds of members of the Association of Imprisoned and Missing
Members of the Republic of Srpska Army have protested yesterday with the high
representative of the international community for Bosnia-Herzegovina Carl
Bildt, demanding the release of the prisoners. Families have organized this
protest on the occasion of opening of the offices of the high representative
for Bosnia-Herzegovina in Banja Luka. Bildt was informed about many attempts
of the families to learn the truth about the imprisoned and missing persons,
about whom there are no news since last autumn. Bildt promised to do
everything in his power, qualifying this as "the trade with people". (Borba,
May 7, 1996)
[06] WAR CRIES AGAIN
The official Paris is writing with concern about escalation of the new
militant and war passions of the Muslim population in Bosnia, which is
witnessed by the speech delivered by Alija Izetbegovic in Gorazde. In the seat
of French diplomacy the opinion is that these new war cries by Izetbegovic are
not only making more difficult implementation of the Dayton Agreement, but are
also placing it is jeopardy. The French media are especially quoting
Izetbegovic's announcement of the new war conflicts for an alleged "liberation
of the entire Bosnia", which is practically a threat to all the neighbors,
both those in the west and those in the east. It is being pointed out that
this Izetbegovic's militancy has erupted again just at the time when the
international community is making efforts to end the Bosnian war and stabilize
new state structures. While qualifying Izetbegovic's speech as an attempt to
revive the war atmosphere in the inter-ethnic relations, France is warning
that the state in Bosnia is still loaded with dangers, which is demanding the
restraint from all the actions which are renewing the ethnic intolerance.
(Borba, May 7, 1996)
[07] ENTRANCE VISA FOR REFUGEES - 10,000 DEM
Quoting a confidential analysis of the German Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Bonn reporter of the London "Guardian" is pointing out at the
possibility for the Muslim-Croat Federation "to sink soon" if there should be
a mass return of refugees and is in general predicting "somber future" for
Bosnia, accusing for this all of the three sides, but this time mostly the
Croat and the Muslim ones. According to "The Guardian", German Ministry of
Interior was forced to postpone previously announced date for repatriation of
the Bosnian refugees from the country, and has accused for this the government
of Alija Izetbegovic which is demanding for every returnee a payment of
"entrance tariff" of 10,000 DEM. "They are asking for more and more money and
this can not be accepted. They are now playing poker by testing German
hospitality and generosity", stated German Minister of Interior Manfred
Kanter. In "The Guardian"'s report from Bonn it is also written that "the
government of President Tudjman is postponing the return of Muslims to Bosnia
also by preventing transit through Croatia, because this would disturb the
ethnic balance in the Muslim-Croat Federation at the expense of Croats".
(Vecernje novosti, May 7, 1996)
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