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Serbia Today, 97-03-03
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] FIRST SCHOOL IN THE ROMANY LANGUAGE TO BE OPENED SOON
[02] HDZ WARNS THAT THE WORK OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA FEDERATION IS BLOCKED
[03] "THE NEW YORK TIMES": STAGED TRIAL OF SERBS
[04] ALL THE LISTS SO FAR WERE FALSE
[05] FURTHER PERSECUTION OF THE REMAINING SERBS
[06] GUARANTEES TO SERBS - CONDITION FOR ELECTIONS
[07] COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REFORM
[08] HISTORICAL SERBIAN-SERBIAN AGREEMENT
[09] FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF LASTING INTERESTS OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE
REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
[10] THE AGREEMENT ON SPECIAL PARALLEL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
[01] FIRST SCHOOL IN THE ROMANY LANGUAGE TO BE OPENED SOON
During the talks between the President of the Executive Council of
Vojvodina Bosko Perosevic and the President of the Society for Language and
Literature of Romanies (Gypsies), which is celebrating these days its tenth
anniversary of successful work, there was mostly discussion about education,
culture and information. It was pointed out that the largest number of
Romanies (Gypsies) are being educated in the Serbian language, then in the
Hungarian, Slovak and Rumanian languages, and as a positive example was
quoted the primary school in Vajska in the municipality of Bac, where for
the little Romanies (Gypsies) the preparatory school is being conducted in
the Romany language. Trifun Dimic, President of the Romany Home Association
in Yugoslavia (renown also for being the first one in the world to
translate the Bible into Romany language), announced that in the area of
Vojvodina primary education will start soon in the Romany language.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Borba, 1997-03-01
[02] HDZ WARNS THAT THE WORK OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA FEDERATION IS BLOCKED
Presidency of the Croat Democratic Community (HDZ) of Bosnia-Herzegovina
stated that in the functioning of the highest governmental bodies of the
Muslim-Croat Federation there has occurred a very serious stand-still,
Croat Radio reports. Blocking of the work of bodies in the Federation is
the result of the attempts of the Muslim side to change the signed
agreements at the detriment of the Croat national interest in Bosnia-
Herzegovina. In this, reads the HDZ report, accusations are being used and
pressures on the highest officials of the Croat people. There is an
especially strong condemnation of the barbaric attacks on the highest
national and religious values of the Croat people in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
which are aimed at creating unfavorable security and political climate on
the eve of the announced visit of Pope John Paul Second to Sarajevo.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Politika ekspres, 1997-03-03
[03] "THE NEW YORK TIMES": STAGED TRIAL OF SERBS
"The New York Times" is publishing as a sensational discovery that two
Muslims for whose death in 1992 two Serbs have been accused, were found to
be alive and well in Vogosce near Sarajevo. "This is a terrible shame for
the Muslim government", says the author of the article, Chris Hedges who,
at the utter shock of all those who have for years kept a follow-up on the
one-sided reporting of the American press about the Yugoslav crisis, now
has discovered that the Sarajevo trial was a farce and a lie. Even more of
a shock is the statement by the author of the article that the
representatives of the international community for quite some time now have
known the truth. The Muslims in question, brothers Kasim and Asim Blekic,
are alive and kicking, and shepherding the sheep calmly in Vogosce, and for
a long time were not even aware that because of them someone was put on
trial. Serbs Sretko Damjanovic and Borislav Herak, sentenced in the staged
trial to a death penalty, are still being detained in the Muslim
penitentiary in Sarajevo. "The trial in Sarajevo", says Hedges, "was used
in order to convince both Europe and the United States that Serbs are
guilty of the crime of genocide and of the other crimes against humanity".
The defense counsel of the accused Branko Maric, disclosed in his talk with
the American reporter some details about the monstrous trial of Serbs who,
after being tortured, have signed everything that was demanded of them.
"The claims by the defense that the entire case is of a political nature
has proven to be true", underlines the newspaper which is now, although
with a great delay, discovering for the American public the truth, for such
a long time concealed, about the events in Bosnia and the Muslim
propaganda.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Politika, 1997-03-03
[04] ALL THE LISTS SO FAR WERE FALSE
Yet another list of the Croat Government on the alleged crimes, who knows
which one in a row, is being circulated these days around the Srem and
Baranja Region. Pressured by the representatives of the international
community, the latest of these lists are now being denied even by the
members of the Croat judiciary. "None of the lists of criminals has yet
been either confirmed or approved by the official Croat state authorities.
Government of the Republic of Croatia will very soon, through its ministry,
issue a list of persons who have been in any way connected with the crimes
committed in the UNTAES areas". These are the words of Ivan Lovric, Deputy
Croat Minster of Justice, conveyed by Philip Arnold, the UNTAES spokesman.
By announcing the final list, Jacques Klein said that "the list of persons
accused of war crimes must correspond to the international standards and
must not be only a political indictment". According to him, this means that
there must be material evidence supporting the accusations. According to
the President of the Srem and Baranja Region Goran Hadzic, the Serbian side
is now drafting the list of Croats who have committed war crimes in this
region. "Neither this list will contain more than 200 persons, and it is
logical that someone must also be responsible for the numerous Serbian
victims in this war", said Hadzic.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-03-02
[05] FURTHER PERSECUTION OF THE REMAINING SERBS
"This what is today still happening in Krajina is appalling and there are
no words to describe systematic harassment of the remaining Serbs. The one
who still fails to understand that it is a policy of ethnic cleansing,
should only take a walk for two days along these areas and see for himself
what is at play". With these words, during his talk with the press,
President of the Serbian National Party (SNS) from Zagreb Milan Vukic,
described the situation in the areas of the one-time Serbian Krajina, in
which there is still looting of the remaining houses and the few Serbian
inhabitants still left are being robbed and harassed. According to Vukic,
it is a question of "a well planned policy of the authorities to ethnically
cleanse Croatia from Serbs, in which process the impotence of the
international community is being profited from". Thus, for example, SNS has
the information that in these areas the Croat refugees from Bosnia-
Herzegovina are being issued blank decree forms for moving into Serbian
houses, so they are themselves filling-in the selected house particulars.
It often happens that one family would seize several Serbian houses. As
soon as the owner returns, some Croat appears with the decree on moving
into actually that very house, so its owner stays in the street, although
the law formally is protecting private property. How cynical this policy is,
is best illustrated by the recently passed legal regulation on the
prohibition of eviction of Croat refugees who are residing the Serbian
houses, which is directly preventing Serbian returnees from entering their
own homes.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-03-01
[06] GUARANTEES TO SERBS - CONDITION FOR ELECTIONS
The spokesman of the UN liaison office in Belgrade Susan Manuel, stated
that "there are still problems" in issuing of the Croat passports to Serbs
in the areas of the Srem and Baranja Region, although it is a necessary
prerequisite for holding of the election in this region. At the press
conference she recalled that the elections are to be held in April, but
only on condition that Serbs shall receive the necessary documents and that
the UN recommendations are to be respected regarding the rights and
guarantees to the Serbian population, which are mentioned in the Croat
Letter of Intent. Manual also recalled the report by the UN Secretary
General Koffee Annan in which the warning is given that "not a substantial
progress has been made" in the return of Serbs into the other parts of
Croatia. The entire cycle, said Manual, the return of Serbs in the other
parts of Croatia and the return of refugees to Eastern Slavonia, should
take place 'simultaneously'. According to the UN statistics, until now
barely some 1000 Serbs have returned to Krajina, who are still over there
being 'exposed to harassment and discrimination", and for Western Slavonia
there are no precise data, said Susan Manual and pointed out at the
importance of the fact that the UN, European Union and the United States
are making pressure on Croatia to fulfil its obligations.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-03-01
[07] COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REFORM
The governmental draft of the new Law on Privatization which should be an
efficient instrument for the overall economic reform, will be submitted to
the republican parliament this spring. This was confirmed by the Republican
Minister for Economic and Ownership Transformation Milan Beko. "This will
be the year of economic and social reforms. We are abandoning the policy of
"soft" and "cosmetic" changes and are leading the economy into the profound
structural changes. The social ownership, which is mostly offering
socialization of losses and privatization of profits, must transfer into an
economically and ownership-wise more efficient form. The profit which an
enterprise is to generate is a joint interest both of the state and of the
employed, and our measures will be oriented in this direction - in the
direction of a socially acceptable manner", stated Minister Beko. While
answering the question of the model of privatization which will be applied,
Minister Beko made a comparison with the countries in the period of
transition and said: "In our case an essential difference should be pointed
out, because it is a question here of the ownership transformation of the
social and not of the state ownership, as was the case in the other
countries. It is also necessary to emphasize the fact that the work-force
during the times of self-management to a great extent identified itself
with this social ownership. Our model will be a combination of the positive
experiences and of our reform targets". When asked about the opportunities
for foreigners to take part in the process of the ownership transformation
of our economy, Beko answered as follows: "We already have a liberal law on
foreign investments according to which the foreigners practically are
placed on equal footing with the local participants regarding the rights.
The new motivation mechanism will be put in motion with the stabilization
of the market and further liberalization of trade. There should be no
prejudice towards foreign capital".
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Politika, 1997-03-02
[08] HISTORICAL SERBIAN-SERBIAN AGREEMENT
The Agreement on special parallel relations between the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Republic of Srpska, is the most important document for
the fate of Serbs after Dayton Accords. In view of the state of facts in
the Serbian-Serbian relations over the last years, this document has the
significance of the local "mini Dayton". That it is a document with far
reaching positive consequences is best illustrated by the fact that it
pertains to a completely new atmosphere in the relations between the
official Belgrade and the official Pale. Between them there are no more
differences in the views on the important political issues such as peace,
stability, understanding and equality with other peoples.
In the preamble of the text it is underlined that in these terms, the
centuries-long interests of the Serbian people are contained. It is further
stated that there is a firm determination of the sides-signatories to
strengthen mutual ties and to promote democracy, peace, freedom and the
respect of human rights and freedoms. It is also stated that both sides are
accepting this agreement, led by the principles of the Dayton-Paris Peace
Accords on Bosnia-Herzegovina and the targets of both the UN Charter and
the Paris Charter. All this speaks of the fact that there are no more
discrepancies about the orientation regarding which neither the official
Belgrade nor President Slobodan Milosevic in all his past efforts both
internally and at the international level had no dilemma. Finally, everyone
is in favor of the Dayton Accords, and this is of a historical significance,
since Dayton was the crown of a policy in the basis of which stands full
responsibility for the fate of an entire nation. By accepting and signing
the Agreement, the Republic of Srpska is strengthening the authority of the
home country and this act will nether remain without effect on the
political scenes of Serbia, Montenegro and Yugoslavia. Officially speaking,
Pale are in this way distancing themselves from the critics of Dayton in
Belgrade, which will further push on the margins the groups having
aggressive programs in Serbia. It is a good opportunity that also some
other parties in Serbia, well known for their support of the forces in the
Republic of Srpska which expressed their reserves towards the Dayton
Accords, have in the meantime and because of their daily political
interests, changed their course. Although they are doing this only because
of the fact that it is impossible to ask for the American assistance for
the internal Serbian contests and at the same time be opposed to the Dayton
Accords, it is clear that at this moment the spirit of Dayton is embodied
in the very foundations of the strives by an enormous majority of important
political groups and authorities in Serbia.
In the recent history of the nation there was no issue about which such a
high degree of agreement was ever reached. This means that Serbs are now
ranking with the peoples who are manifesting their maturity by the
awareness of at least a minimum of their own national interest, and that
now they are rightfully knocking on the door of European and world
institutions. Namely, Serbs also are a part of the European community to
the extent to which they are able to adopt its civilizational norms, and
the signed agreement is the contents of such civilizational quality and
continuous state politics which is being conducted over the past decade.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Politika, 1997-03-03
[09] FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF LASTING INTERESTS OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE
REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
While stating that the agreement signed between the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Republic of Srpska has a historical importance, Deputy
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Zivadin Jovanovic underlined that "its
positive effects will be felt in various areas of life and development,
both in the immediate future and on a long-term basis". The agreement will
also have a positive effect in the field of stabilization of the peace
process, to which fact Yugoslavia from the very beginning was devoting the
priority importance and was giving its contribution, which all the
international factors have recognized and highly appreciated, said
Jovanovic in his interview for the Radio Television Serbia and the Tanjug
news agency. The essential foundations of this agreement are to be found in
the profound, lasting interests and long-term targets and strives of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Srpska, in the
development of comprehensive, close links and relations in all the areas -
from culture, education, economy, linking of infrastructures, market, non-
governmental humanitarian institutions, social organizations, up to sports,
science and technology, parliaments and all the other institutions, whose
links are reflecting the nature and abundance of specific relations of the
parts of one and the same people, said Jovanovic. The name "special" stands
because they are the relations and links of the two parts of the Serbian
people, and "the special feature of our relations derives from the same
language, the same culture, history, from the fact that Serbian people from
both one and the other bank of the Drina river is having the same wish and
the same aim - to live in peace, in stability, to develop as an equitable
people on equal footing with the other peoples in the region and in
Europe". The term "parallel" corresponds in a certain way, to the relations
which the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina has already established with the
Republic of Croatia, says Jovanovic, and adds: "The relations are also
parallel because the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is at the same time
developing its relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina as a union of two
equitable entities. These relations have started on an upward trend
especially after the Paris Declaration of President Slobodan Milosevic and
Alija Izetbegovic in October last year".
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Borba, 1997-03-03
[10] THE AGREEMENT ON SPECIAL PARALLEL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
The Agreement on Special Parallel Relations between the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and the Republic of Srpska was signed this Friday in Belgrade.
At the ceremony held in the Presidency of Serbia, the Agreement was signed
by the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zoran Lilic and the
President from the Republic of Srpska in the Presidency of Bosnia-
Herzegovina Momcilo Krajisnik, in the presence of the Presidents of Serbia
and Montenegro Slobodan Milosevic and Momir Bulatovic, as the highest
officials of the republics and federation. In the Agreement, among others,
the two sides are confirming their determination to promote the relations
on the basis of friendship, confidence, cooperation and respect of mutual
interests, in accordance with the principles of independence, non-
interference into the interior affairs, equality and respect of human
rights and basic freedoms. In their overall relations, the sides will be
conducted by the objectives of peace, stability and progress for all
peoples and states. The Agreement confirms full support to and respect of
the international standards and obligation in the field of human rights and
basic freedoms. The parties-signatories are establishing the Council for
Cooperation which shall plan, instigate and promote cooperation in all the
fields of human creativity.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-03 ; Politika, 1997-03-01
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