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Serbia Today, 97-03-27
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] SERBIAN AND MONTENEGRIN TOURISM PRESENTED IN MOSCOW
[02] UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF THE ACCUSED
[03] METROPOLITAN JOVAN APPEALED FOR AID TO REFUGEES FROM CROATIA
[04] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL ENDED MOSLEM MANIPULATIONS
[05] REPATRIATES TARGETED
[06] UNESCO AWARD FOR RSUMOVIC'S BOOK OF ABC'S
[07] PUBLIC INFORMATION IN MINORITY LANGUAGES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
HIGHEST INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
[08] FR YUGOSLAVIA COUNTS ON DANISH SUPPORT
[09] SERBIAN FAMILY PLANNING CENTER INAUGURATED
[01] SERBIAN AND MONTENEGRIN TOURISM PRESENTED IN MOSCOW
Serbian and Montenegrin tourist potentials have been successfully presented
at the 4th International Tourist Fair in Moscow. The pavilion set up
jointly by the Serbian and Montenegrin tourist associations drew much
attention and earned praises for the quality of the offer, the organization
and the brochures. The pricing of the Yugoslav tourist offer was also
complimented because it is highly competitive on the world market. This
year, Serbia included new offers in spas, mountain resorts, monastery tours,
congress organization, and shopping tours in Belgrade, while the
Montenegrin tourist offer is based on seaside resorts and summer vacation
packages.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Tanjug, 1997-03-27
[02] UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF THE ACCUSED
Serbian fears that the International Court at the Hague has a political
character have been confirmed in the recent case against four persons
indicted for crimes against Serbs in the Chelebici Camp (Zdravko Mucic -
Croat, Esad Landzo, Zejnil Delalic and Azem Delic - Moslems) Prof. Miodrag
Starcevic - member of the Yugoslav team and expert in international law -
recently returned from the Hague and revealed that due to the qualification
of the crimes and certain omissions in the Court Statute, the Court is now
discussing the character of the war in former Yugoslavia. The indictment
raised against the four from the Chelebici Camp qualifies the war as an
"international conflict with elements of aggression", treating the Serbs as
aggressors. To corroborate such assertions, the prosecution brought to the
Hague an allegedly impartial expert-witness, one Ms. Mari Zanin-Calic - a
historian of the Munich Institute for Strategic Studies - who is Croatian
herself. "This lady is dealing with subtle legal issues that she simply
does not understand being a historian and quite incompetent as a jurist." -
said Prof. Starcevic. For example, she affirms that Territorial Defense
Forces introduced by the 1974. Constitution of Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia were not part of the comprehensive military forces of former
SFRY, but rather a legitimate Croatian republican army, hence drawing the
conclusion that Serbs were rebels. The unequal treatment of the accused is
also illustrated by the fact that during the trial against Dusan Tadic,
rape was qualified as a crime against humanity, whilst in this trial the
rape of Serbian women is treated as a much lesser crime. "All this confirms
the fears that - unless something changes in the coming period - the Hague
Tribunal will not contribute much to the idea of establishing a permanent
international criminal court", concluded Prof. Starcevic.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Tanjug, 1997-03-27
[03] METROPOLITAN JOVAN APPEALED FOR AID TO REFUGEES FROM CROATIA
"It would be unjust and politically harmful to ignore the problem of the
Serbs that fled or were exiled from the Republic of Croatia. Both their
number - over 400.000 people fled from Croatia since 1991 - and their
status in view of international laws and inter-state relations, obligates
us to act. The future of the Serbian and Croatian people and their churches
also compels us to do something, since we are determined to free them from
the load of the past and the load of the present." This is part of the
appeal to help refugees from Croatia return to their homes, launched by
Msgr. Jovan Metropolitan Bishop of Zagreb Ljubljana and Italy. The
applications submitted by more than 50.000 Serbs are an alarming fact,
because in most of the case these are elderly people that have been
separated from their families - stresses the Appeal. "On the other hand, by
fulfilling these demands, the implementation of the Agreement on the
normalization of relations between Croatia and FRY would finally begin" -
observes Msgr. Jovan in his letter. He also stresses that Serbs having
valid Croatian documents should be allowed to vote at the forthcoming
elections even though "voting in absence is not envisaged". Metropolitan
Jovan sent his letter of appeal to UN Administrator Jacques Klein and to
the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, in an attempt to mobilize
the clergy in Croatia and raise the issue of people that want to return
home and should be finally given all the necessary documents allowing them
to vote.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Ekspres, 1997-03-27
[04] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL ENDED MOSLEM MANIPULATIONS
After spending 308 days in Moslem prisons in Sanski Most and Bihac,
Aleksandar Sasa Bajric - a Serb from the town of Prijedor has been finally
set free yesterday. The International Criminal Court at the Hague rejected
as false all the points of the indictment prepared by Moslem authorities
and instructed the release of Bajric - arrested a year ago under the
accusation of war crimes against Moslem civilians. Mr. Allun Roberts,
Spokesman of the International Forces, stated yesterday in Banjaluka that
Bajric was constantly beaten by his Moslem jailers. He also added that six
Moslems - sympathizers of Fikret Abdic, and two other Serbs are still being
detained in Bihac prison.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Vecernje Novosti, 1997-03-27
[05] REPATRIATES TARGETED
The state of human rights in former Republic of Serbian Krajina is still
very bad, and lately numerous signs indicate that it is deteriorating
further. Leaders of the Serbian Democratic Forum (SDF) based in Zagreb -
Chairman Veljko Dzakula and his deputy Petar Ladjevic revealed that
breaches of human rights are closely linked to the repatriation of the
Serbian refugees. They listed numerous cases of harassment and attacks
against Serbian repatriates that posses regular Croatian documents but can
not return into their homes if they have been settled by Croats. The two
activists warned that this is all part of a premeditated plan to intimidate
and terrorize Serbs in order to force them to desist from returning into
their homes, and added that this could not be done so openly without the
consent and the support of the authorities. The case of Pantelija Puhar
from Okucani was quoted as a typical example. Mr. Puhar was a refugee in
Eastern Slavonija and he recently returned home. His house was taken by a
Croatian refugee from Bosnia and thus he was temporarily taken in by his
neighbor Laza Vujic. Only a few days later, two armed civilians came and
beat up both Puhar and his host for taking him in. Even a lady neighbor
that happened to be there was assaulted. Having beaten him up and
brandished guns, the two "promised" him that he will be liquidated unless
he retracts his demand to repossess his own hose. Since this was a clear
case of intimidation, the authorities refused to accept his retraction, but
he nevertheless returned to Slavonija fearing for his life. SDF files show
that five dozen such cases happened since March 10th alone. Mr. Dzakula
remarked that general Klein will be informed in detail about these cases.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Politika, 1997-03-27
[06] UNESCO AWARD FOR RSUMOVIC'S BOOK OF ABC'S
"Children's Rights Book of ABC's" authored by Serbian poet Ljubivoje
Rsumovic, is one of the three children's books promoting peace and
tolerance that were given a special merit - award by UNESCO Director
General Federico Mayor. More than 600 books from 72 countries in 52
languages were competing for the awards. "Children's Rights Book of ABC's"
appeared in our country in 1995, originally in Serbian and English and was
then translated into Japanese and Italian. Rsumovic specified that he put
into verses the articles of the UN Convention on children's rights -
intended to protect the vital interests of the young ones. The Book of
ABC's contains 30 letters and illustrations by Dobrosav Bob Zivkovic. For
the past year and a half UNICEF has been financing various seminars in
Serbia (more than 60 have been held) where teachers and tutors are being
instructed how to use the book in their work with children.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Borba, 1997-03-27
[07] PUBLIC INFORMATION IN MINORITY LANGUAGES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
HIGHEST INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
The Information Committee of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Main Board
discussed the question of public information in minority languages in the
Republic of Serbia and reached the conclusion that major results have been
achieved in this field. The level of information in minority languages
meets the highest international standards. In Serbia, 93 newspapers and
magazines in minority languages are published, most of them financed by the
state. Special radio and television programs are broadcast in minority
languages, and TV Novi Sad is an unique example of a television station
having a special department preparing programs in Hungarian round the
clock. SPS Spokesman Ivica Dacic said that the level of liberties, rights
and obligations enjoyed by minority communities is extremely high, far
beyond that in various European countries, that are frequently criticizing
our country. In spite of our firm determination to promote a policy of
equality of all citizens of Serbia and Yugoslavia, members of given ethnic
communities have chosen to obstruct these rights in order to realize their
plans to undermine the integrity and sovereignty of our country - Mr. Dacic
remarked.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Borba, 1997-03-27
[08] FR YUGOSLAVIA COUNTS ON DANISH SUPPORT
The quick renewal and enhancement of relations between Denmark and FR
Yugoslavia, efforts to improve understanding and promote a positive
evolution of our country and its cooperation with the Organization for
Security and Collaboration in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU),
were some of the main issues discussed yesterday by the Danish Foreign
Minister Niels Helvegg and Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Milan
Milutinovic. The Yugoslav minister, invited to Copenhagen by his Danish
colleague, remarked that the talks were constructive and extremely open. It
has been agreed that the present level of Yugoslav-Danish relations does
not correspond to real potentials and needs and that political dialogue
should be promptly renewed and mutual contacts intensified. The Danish and
Yugoslav side reached an agreement to jointly work on improving the
relations, especially economic ones, and to incite "direct promoters of
cooperation, as well as corresponding ministries, and to enhance the legal
framework for such cooperation". One of the important issues that were
discussed was the Yugoslav determination to normalize its relations with
the European Union and the Yugoslav side expressed expectations that
Denmark will provide its support in this sense.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Politika, 1997-03-27
[09] SERBIAN FAMILY PLANNING CENTER INAUGURATED
The Serbian Center for Family Planning and Human Reproduction has been
inaugurated yesterday as part of the Mother and Child Institute in
Belgrade. Some 1.3 million dinars were invested to adapt about 850 sq.
meters now accommodating genetic and adolescent counseling and the human
genetics laboratory. "Simultaneous depopulation and drastic population
growth in different parts of the country, represent the biggest demographic
problem in Serbia at the threshold of the new century. Unfavorable trends
in population reproduction postpone ethnic and regional population renewal,
representing the basis for the evolution of our country as a whole" - said
Institute Director - Prof. Dr. Milos Banicevic. If we believe that the
renewal of life is the biggest blessing, we must radically solve the
existing demographic problem giving it top national priority - stressed Dr.
Banicevic.
Serbia Today, 1997-03-27 ; Borba, 1997-03-27
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