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Serbia Today, 97-01-22
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] WITH DIALOGUE THROUGH CRISIS
[02] DAY OF THE YUGOSLAV ARCHIVES CELEBRATED
[03] CRIMES OF A PHANTOM ORGANIZATION
[04] DINI: DIALOGUE NECESSARY IN SERBIA
[05] TRAINING STARTS OF OFFICERS OF THE FUTURE ARMY OF THE BOSNIA-
HERZEGOVINA FEDERATION
[06] KOSMET IS A PART OF SERBIA AND THERE CAN BE NO NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT IT
[07] NEW ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS ON SUCCESSION
[01] WITH DIALOGUE THROUGH CRISIS
Government of the Republic of Serbia adopted yesterday the report by the
Ministry of Justice and concluded that the elections in Kraljevo, Sabac,
Jagodina, Pirot, Smederevska Palanka, Sokobanja and Pancevo were conducted
in accordance with the law. In these municipalities Ministry of Justice did
not detect any irregularities in the work of the electoral bodies which
would have an influence on the voting results. Government stated that after
the second round of voting held on November 17, 1996 "a very large circle
of parties and individuals, using the legal rights, stated their objections
or complaints" in which most often are stated the violations of the
electoral procedure. Government entrusted Ministry of Justice "to re-
examine those solutions from the Law on territorial Organization of Serbia
and the local self-government which are prescribing an obligatory
repetition in all the cases where there are breaches, although they may not
have a significant influence on the regularity of elections". Recalling the
report by its legal department, and the need for a consistent respect of
the law and of the constitutional system of the Republic and the O.S.C.E.
recommendations, Government called upon all the parties to start
immediately a dialogue in over to overcome the post-electoral crisis.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-01-22
[02] DAY OF THE YUGOSLAV ARCHIVES CELEBRATED
"Under the domes of this building the evidence of our existence is being
preserved, our collective memory, which is to be safeguarded for the well
being of both the present and the future generations, the most important
and the most far-reaching state treasure", stated yesterday among others,
Prof.Dr. Janko Radulovic, Federal Minister of Development, Science and
Environment, at the celebration gathering on the occasion of the Day of the
Yugoslav Archives. Director of this institution, Jovan Popovic, presented
new publications from the rich archives documentation, and also an
exhibition was opened entitled "From the Fundus and Collections of the
Archives of Yugoslavia". The exhibition presented the most interesting
original documents from several funds and collections of the Archives from
the period of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the socialist Yugoslavia.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-01-22
[03] CRIMES OF A PHANTOM ORGANIZATION
Prishtina newspaper in the Albanian language "Bujku" published yesterday a
communique by the so-called "liberation army of Kosovo" which has taken
over the responsibility for the assassination attempt on the Rector of
Prishtina University Dr. Radivoje Papovic, the same organization having, in
the previous communiques, also accepted the responsibility for the
assassination of several of its own compatriots in Kosmet. At the same time,
it is threatening with the new terrorist actions and assassination attempts
on individuals and institutions of the system, and on the international
centers of power which are, allegedly, failing to resolve the question of
Kosmet. Even in the early Eighties, after the rebellion of the Albanian
separatists and secessionists against Serbia and Yugoslavia, throughout
Kosovo and Metohija appeared the leaflets and letters in which it was
claimed that some clandestine organization has been established which is
threatening both Serbs and Albanians. Until a few years ago not many people
were believing that in Kosmet there is an organized terrorist organization.
The latest attacks, however, brutal killings and the manner of execution as
well as arms used, are indicating that this terrorist organization
nevertheless is functioning. No matter how much the state authorities of
the Republic of Serbia and the individuals at the one time were pointing
out that behind every attack there stand Albanian secessionists and
terrorists, leaders of the Albanian political parties in Kosovo and
Metohija have always denied such claims. They were even accusing Serbia of
inventing terrorism for purpose of its own interior needs. Leader of the
Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, the most numerous Albanian party, Ibrahim
Rugova, in his talks with the foreign delegations and representatives of
the organizations for the protection of human rights, without any reserves
was accusing the Serbian side for "falsehoods and lies" about the existence
of the terrorist organizations. The newspaper "Bujku" close to Ibrahim
Rugova, by publishing the communique of the "liberation army of Kosovo" is
trying to show to the public that this organization really exists. Dzafer
Shatri, one of the self-proclaimed ministers in the phantom government in
exile of the so-called republic of Kosovo, himself had escaped from
Yugoslavia because of the assassination of a police inspector. According to
some information, members of the terrorist organizations are the Albanians
who have over the past years left Kosmet and who were abroad recruited into
special schools for training in terrorist activities. It is believed that
in this organization also the experienced former police officers are being
recruited, the ones who in the year 1990 have abandoned Ministry of
Interior Affairs of Serbia, because they did not wish to serve in the
militia of the Republic of Serbia.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Politika, 1997-01-22
[04] DINI: DIALOGUE NECESSARY IN SERBIA
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Lamberto Dini stated yesterday that he
is categorically opposed to the isolation of Serbia, i.e. of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, from the world community, adding that this is the
stand of the entire European Union. "International isolation of Serbia,
i.e. of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, would not be any solution",
said Dini, while answering the question by the press in connection with the
situation in Serbia, after the local elections. The chief of the Italian
diplomacy, who is attending in Geneva the session of the Conference on
Disarmament, stated that also it is necessary to have a dialogue between
the government and the opposition and added that the O.S.C.E. could offer
substantial assistance in the solution of the present problems in Serbia.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Politika, 1997-01-22
[05] TRAINING STARTS OF OFFICERS OF THE FUTURE ARMY OF THE BOSNIA-
HERZEGOVINA FEDERATION
Training of the first group of officers of the future army of the Muslim-
Croat Federation started in Hadzici near Sarajevo, under the supervision of
the American military experts. This is practically the beginning of the
complicated process of creation of the joint Muslim-Croat army which should
have from 30 to 35 thousand professional soldiers. The army will be
composed of the national corpses, of which there will be three Muslim and
one Croat. The commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Federation
Army, Army General Rasim Delic, earlier stated that the path towards
formation of the federal army will be a long one because this joint army at
present only has a commander and his deputy. According to the idea of the
American military experts, Federation army will be created according to the
NATO scheme and will have double the armament than the Republic of Srpska
Army.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Politika ekspres, 1997-01-22
[06] KOSMET IS A PART OF SERBIA AND THERE CAN BE NO NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT IT
Recently there are more and more talks about Kosovo and Metohija and the so-
called problem of Albanians in this part of Serbia, about the "status" of
this region, about the "dialogue" with Albanians. In this the
constitutional and legislative as well as historical facts are being turned
upside down, supporting some concoction called "Kosovo republic" and
"special autonomies", there are manipulations with the alleged unresolved
status of Kosmet and the international practices are being circumvented.
The common denominator of all these manipulations is the secession -
separation of this part of Serbia and its annexation to Albania, says
Zivorad Igic, member of the Main Committee of the Socialist Party of
Serbia. There are manipulations with the allegedly constitutionally and
legally unresolved and politically undefined status of Kosovo and Metohija,
although this status was resolved and defined both in the Constitution and
in the laws and programs of the most relevant political forces in the
country. The question is only whether something and what remains unclear to
whom and why, says Igic and further specifies: "Kosovo and Metohija, as a
form of territorial autonomy, is the autonomous province of the Republic of
Serbia, established in the same way as the province of Vojvodina, in
accordance with its special national, historical, cultural and other
properties of the region for which it is established. And there is nothing
to add or subtract here. Since in the Constitution it is clearly stated
that the territory of the Republic of Serbia is single and unalienable,
then all the other combinations about the status of this part of Serbia are
only a political fantasy". At the remark that the Albanian separatists are
underlining that the Constitution of Serbia was promulgated against the
will of Albanians, Igic says: "It is true that the Constitution of the
Republic of Serbia was not brought according to the will of Albanian
separatists. Anyhow, what state in the world is passing its constitution
according to the will of those who wish to break it down. It is true,
however, that the Constitution was passed after profound democratic
preparations, that in favor of this Constitutions have declared themselves
in the legal constitutional institutions all, even the representatives of
the Albanian national minority in Kosmet". Constitutional amendments were
supported by a large majority of the Albanian delegates. From the total of
190 delegates in the Assembly of the then-Socialist Autonomous Province of
Kosovo, only 14 of them voted against the amendments, and four refrained
from voting. It is another question that one part of members of the
Albanian national minority, because of constant pressure and cheating by
the Albanian separatists, is refusing to benefit from the rights offered to
them by the Constitution, says Igic.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Borba, 1997-01-22
[07] NEW ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS ON SUCCESSION
In Brussels today with the mediation of Sir Arthur Watts, a new plenary
session of the Group for Succession is being held where the discussions
will be continued on the division of the succession of former Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav delegation, headed by the
academician Kosta Mihajlovic, it is learnt, will have great reserves
towards the announced agenda. Namely, according to the past efforts made by
our delegation, it does not seem logical that, before it is identified what
actually is and how large the state property of the former Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a debate is opened about a partial division,
about the assets abroad and archives, and especially because there exists
no agreement on the manner of evaluation and the key for the division of
this property. It is expected that the Yugoslav delegation will insist that,
after a few years how now elapsed, be finally determined what is and how
large is the state property which will be the subject of calculation, which
is an important prerequisite for the normal course of negotiations. The
past inheritance debate about the inheritance of the former Yugoslavia has
shown that actually the property which is to be divided is the main
stumbling block between the four now independent republics and the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia. Our delegation is insistently presenting its stand,
and the four republics are insistently demanding for as soon as possible to
have the division of the movable property and the real estate assets which,
after the break down of the SFR of Yugoslavia, have still remained under
the management of the federal bodies. Judging by the meeting which is just
now starting in Brussels, Sir Arthur Watts has, nevertheless, decided on
the division piece by piece, by placing on the agenda the property of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia abroad and the archives.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-22 ; Politika, 1997-01-22
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