Serbia Today, 96-11-05

Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Serbia Today

5 November 1996

CONTENTS

[01] DEPUTY SEATS IN PARLIAMENT FOR 8 PARTIES, I.E. COALITIONS

[02] VICTORY OF THE RULING PARTIES IMPORTANT FOR STABILITY IN THE REGION

[03] 'PHILLIPS' AND ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY TO CONTINUE COOPERATION

[04] MILITARY INSPECTORS IN CROATIA

[05] REWARDED BY TUDJMAN

[06] CONCEALING THE CRIME

[07] SESSION OF THE PRESIDENCY OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TO BE HELD TODAY

[08] 99 DAYS BLINDFOLDED

[09] SPREADING FALSE INFORMATION

[01] DEPUTY SEATS IN PARLIAMENT FOR 8 PARTIES, I.E. COALITIONS

According to the reports based on two thirds of the counted votes, the deputies in the Chamber of Citizens will be from the unique list SPS-JUL-ND (Socialist Party of Serbia - Yugoslav United Left -New Democracy) 17 seats, Coalition "Zajedno" ("Together") 9 seats, Serbian Radical Party 6 seats, Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians 1 seat and Coalition "Vojvodina" 1 seat.

With the remark that these data will be slightly changed, director of the Federal Institute for Statistics said that in Montenegro, on the basis of the 74 percent of the counted votes, seats in the Assembly (Parliament) of Yugoslavia have obtained three parties: DPS (Democratic Party of Socialists), People's Party and the SDA (Party of Democratic Action).

President of the Federal Electoral Commission Rajko Nisavic last night pointed out that the Commission did not receive any objections to the regularity of the elections. (Politika, November 5, 1996)

[02] VICTORY OF THE RULING PARTIES IMPORTANT FOR STABILITY IN THE REGION

Russian media are reporting on the convincing victory of the leftist coalition, underlining that it will contribute towards strengthening of stability in the Balkans, and allow President Milosevic to continue with conducting of the policy of peace and program of further internal stabilization and international affirmation of Yugoslavia.

German media are also in their morning reports quoting the information that elections have taken place peacefully and are forecasting the victory of the left in Yugoslavia.

French "Le Mond" is reporting that "the left coalition headed by President Milosevic is on the way of undisputable victory", while today's "Le Figaro" writes about "pure victory" of the leftist block over "the rightist opposition".

According to the writings of the British press, the first elections after ending of the civil war in Bosnia and lifting of sanctions of the United Nations, the analysts in London are seeing, most of all, in the function of the peaceful perspectives and stabilization of the entire region of the Balkans.

Underlining the importance of the elections for the improvement of the political and economic climate, Chinese media are reporting the comment by President Lilic that he is convinced that citizens will vote for Yugoslavia which is devoted to peace and development.

Greek television channels have underlined that the elections have taken place in excellent order, that the voters have given their votes to the present leadership and have confirmed their confidence in Socialists and President Milosevic.

Diplomates in Geneva, according to the reports of the Swiss media, are underlining that elections in Yugoslavia are to be assessed from two aspects - the exterior and the interior ones. From the exterior aspect, it is considered that the elections will be an important factor in the stabilization of the situation in the entire region of the Balkans. In the interior aspect, it is most of all recovery of the national economy, i.e. alleviation and elimination of the grave consequences of sanctions.

Daily newspapers in the Benelux countries are reporting that numerous foreign observers had no objections to the electoral procedure and the course of elections.

Norwegian news agency NTB reports that the victory was won by the supporters of peace in the Balkans, and the state radio announces that voters have given their votes to the President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic.

The results of Sunday's elections of the citizens of Yugoslavia are reported also by the Sarajevo media, which are quoting the statement by President Milosevic on the importance of these elections for the stability in the region.

Zagreb "Vecernji list' is also quoting the statement by the President of Serbia that the elections are having great importance for the future of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but also for the entire region. "Vjesnik" is reporting today on its front page about the elections in our country, with the remark that "the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is one of the important factors in the quieting down of the region in the areas of former Yugoslavia".

Macedonian media are underlining that the elections have taken place in peace and order and in a democratic atmosphere, and that the foreign observers have qualified them as fair and correct, emphasizes the report by the state television in Skopje. (TANJUG, November 5, 1996)

[03] 'PHILLIPS' AND ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY TO CONTINUE COOPERATION

This meeting, according to the Director General of Electronic Industry Radosav Paunovic, is one in a series of talks which the leadership of this corporation is conducting after the lifting of the international embargo, in order to venture on the world market and by employing all of its production capacities, accelerate the consolidation of this our economic system. (Politika ekspres, November 5, 1996)

[04] MILITARY INSPECTORS IN CROATIA

The arrival of the first group of military inspectors is in accordance with the agreement on the sub-regional armament control, prescribed in the Dayton Accords. This is the beginning of a new phase in the implementation of these accords, prescribing control of reduction of armament, as opposed to the inspections so far which were only inspecting the type and quantity of armament. (Vecernje novosti, November 5, 1996)

[05] REWARDED BY TUDJMAN

This move has the aim to rehabilitate these men, from whom some were persecuted in former Yugoslavia. It is a question, however, of the latest in a number of moves by which the state honors are being awarded to persons who were on the side of the puppet Nazi-Ustashi regime, comments Reuters news agency.

President of the Croat 'Domobran" (Motherland Defenders) Dragutin Franjic stated that they were awarded by the President of the Republic Franjo Tudjman. (Nasa Borba, November 5, 1996)

[06] CONCEALING THE CRIME

"For everyone in Croatia, and for Croatia in general, it would be the best to determine and punish perpetrators of these crimes, because in this way it would avoid of having the entire nation indicted for the crimes. Therefore, the crimes against motherland are not committed by those who - in accordance with the international and national legislature are publicly warning that the rule of law is not functioning - but by those who in the name of "higher national interests" are striving to conceal the truth about the crime, giving thus an impetus for new crimes to be committed", concludes the president of the Croat Helsinki Boards, Ivan Zvonimir Cicak. (Politika ekspres, November 5, 1996)

[07] SESSION OF THE PRESIDENCY OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TO BE HELD TODAY

[08] 99 DAYS BLINDFOLDED

Mandic and Vukadin were abducted on the road Trnovo-Sarajevo on July 2, 1996 by the members of the Muslim military police and their fate was unknown for almost three months, because the Muslims were persisting in denying that they are in their prison.

"What we have lived through I would not wish even on my fiercest enemy. In one room size 25 meters square, without any windows, we have spent the entire 99 days permanently blindfolded and hand-cuffed to the beds made of rough boards. Throughout this time we were guarded by 4 military policemen and were given twice per day some dry food", testifies Mandic.

According to him, in that prison on September 23, 1996, also Radenko Goljanin from Trnovo and Predrag Matkovic from Kragujevac were also brought in. They were abducted in a similar way along that same road.

After having spent three months in prison, finally they were brought for interrogation and false indictments against them were filed.

Mandic was accused of having been since April 9, 1995 when he left Sarajevo, on duty for the SDS (Serbian Democratic Party) and of having raped an elderly Muslim woman and robbed a Muslim family.

Cedo Vukadin was accused of having been present at a rape of Muslim women and killing by a firing squad of a number of Muslim civilians.

Mandic is a handicapped person and was never in any army whatsoever, while Vukadin during the past war was neither active in the military field nor in politics.

The indictment against Matkovic was the strangest of them all. He had, allegedly, raped several Muslim women, killed 4 and burnt down 17 Muslims, although throughout the times of war he was living in Kragujevac, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He entered for the first time the territory of the Republic of Srpska to visit his wife's family in Lukavica near Sarajevo and then he was arrested.

All the four of them were released thanks to the persistent insisting of the Serbian side and interventions by the international factors.

According to Mandic, in the Muslim prisons through which they have passed, there are still a lot of Serbs condemned to many years of imprisonment for invented war crimes, and about many of them nothing is known. (TANJUG, November 5, 1996)

[09] SPREADING FALSE INFORMATION

The news agency of Croats in Bosnia - HABENA, announced on Saturday that Serbs have killed five Croats in the village of Tramospica near Gradacac, in the north-east of the Republic of Srpska, who had on the All Souls Day come to visit the graves of their dear deceased.

French AFP news agency is observing that it took three days for the UN to deny this information, which was taken over from the agency of the Bosnian Croats and reported by the Radio of the "Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia", Croat media in Zagreb and the Muslim media in Bosnia.

Broadcasting of the false news was taken very seriously in Sarajevo, where the international representatives are recalling that this type of disinformation had played a great role in the starting of war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the agency points out. (Politika ekspres, November 5, 1996)

Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next Article