Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-05-21

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From: Tanjug, Yugoslavia, via Serbian Unity Congress <http://www.suc.org/>

May 21, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] CROATIAN AUTHORITIES ACCUSE SOCCER FANS OF BEING YUGOSLAVIA-MINDED

[02] BULGARIAN PAPER: CROATIA REMAINS IN COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S WAITING ROOM,

[03] BELGRADE DAILIES POLITIKA, NOVOSTI ON KARADZIC'S EXIT OUT OF BOSNIAN SERB POLITICS

[04] FRENCH IFOR MEMBER DIES IN BOSNIA

[05] MEDICAL WORKERS IN SERBIA ON STRIKE

[06] BILDT INSISTS KARADZIC MUST NOT INTERFERE IN PEACE PROCESS

[07] ASSOCIATION OF SERBS FROM CROATIA DISSATISFIED WITH PARTIAL AMNESTY

[08] U.N. ADMINISTRATOR JACQUES KLEIN ON CROATIA'S AMNESTY LAW

[09] SOLANA AND KINKEL WANT KARADZIC TO LEAVE PUBLIC LIFE

[10] EXHIBITION ON SPIRITUAL GENOCIDE 1991-55 OPENS IN BELLRADE

[11] MEDIEVEAL CASTLE ON LAKE SKADAR TO BECOME TOURIST COMPLEX

[12] SERBIA, CROATIA REVIEW MOVING OIL FROM CROATIAN SEA TO NORTH SERBIA

[13] NOVOSTI: DEATH BEFORE VERDICT

[14] GALBRAITH URGES PRESERVATION OF JASENOVAC MEMORIAL SITE

[15] SILAJDZIC DENIES EXISTENCE OF MOSLEM-CROAT FEDERATION IN BOSNIA

[16] SOLANA: RECONCILIATION IN BOSNIA KEY TO SOLID PEACE

[17] PLAVSIC: DAYTON AGREEMENT MUST BE HONOURED

[18] TRAINING OF BOSNIAN OFFICERS BEGINS IN TURKEY

[19] CROATS PARTICIPATING IN MOSTAR ELECTIONS, MUSLIMS SEEK DELAY

[20] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES BILDT

[21] OVER 25,000 NON-SEBS LIVE IN BANJA LUKA

[22] IZETBEGOVIC'S CHIEF RIVAL SAYS HE WILL WIN ELECTITNS

[23] KASAGIC: THERE WERE NO PREPARATIONS FOR COUP AGAINST KARADZIC

[24] GERMAN PRESIDENT LAUDS BUNDESWEHR MISSION IN BOSNIA

[25] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS TO BREAK INTO CROAT-CONTROLLED TOWN

[01] CROATIAN AUTHORITIES ACCUSE SOCCER FANS OF BEING YUGOSLAVIA-MINDED

zagreb, may 20 (tanjug) - the fans of the croatian soccer champion have not forgiven croatian president franjo tudjman for renaming the club dinamo into kroacija and booed and hooted at the official trophy award and jeered at the president.

the ruling croatian democratic union (hdz) said that the soccer fans were being politically manipulated against the authorities and described their demand to give the club its old name as a wish to restore a new form of neo-socialism and even yugoslavia.

the slogans chanted by the soccer fans, whose dissatisfaction is not only caused by the renaming of the club, are not a good sign for the hdz ahead of the elections. the party's position is particularly vulnerable in the capital where it was defeated at local elections.

about 30,000 fans jeered and whistled at tudjman when he presented the trophy to the 'blue' players last week.

tujdman has repeatedly said that the name of 'dinamo' was a symbol of the old system and communist rule.

a confrontation between the regime and the blue reached its climax when the fans began to taunt the president, who almost regularly attends matches played by the croatian champion.

the ruling party issued a special statement, carried by all croatian media, ahead of the final match in the championship. the party said that stadiums had become the scene of political rivalry between the fans for various political goals.

the statement said it was clearly an attempt to find support among fans for staging discontent and organizing political manipulations against the government.

the statement failed to produce any effect on the fans at the final match and they continued to shout even more loudly and fervently -- 'dinamo, dinamo'.

after the match, the players did not run to the president's box but to the other side of the stadium to share their joy with the fans. the club's director was sacked as a result.

the rijeka daily novi list said that it was easy to dismiss a director but wondered about ways to dismiss fans.

[02] BULGARIAN PAPER: CROATIA REMAINS IN COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S WAITING ROOM,

the daily was commenting on the council of europe ministerial committee's recent decision to undefinitely postpone croatia's membership in the council.

the time has come to stop with the practice of accepting new members through compromises and by out-voting, the daily said.

the daily said that croatia, which sided with hitler's germany in world war two, should do better to make some progress in a number of important fields, before all, in cooperating with the international war crimes tribunal, providing freedom of the press, securing democratic election in mostar and improving conditions for the return of serb krajina refugees.

the croatian army expelled about 250,000 serbs from serb krajina in the august 1995 aggression on the republic of serb krajina.

the daily said that since the council of europe was established in 1949, such differences between the decisions of its parliamentary assembly and the ministerial committee had never existed.

after a harsh debate in april, the parliamentary assembly gave the green light for croatia's membership of the council, but the ministerial committee recently put a stop to it, the daily said.

[03] BELGRADE DAILIES POLITIKA, NOVOSTI ON KARADZIC'S EXIT OUT OF BOSNIAN SERB POLITICS

vecernje novosti said that karadzic's move represents an indirect admission that his remaining in the office of republika srpska president, since the international community refuses to communicate with him, seriously threatens the realization of the dayton peace agreement and the survival ofm the bosnian serb state.

the daily said that the dayton agreement is not subject to negotiation, but is a series of internationally undertaken obligations (and rights) which must be fulfilled in the already determined ways.

the paper said that the dayton peace agreement bans karadzic, and others accused of war crimes, from running at the forthcoming elections which are scheduled to be held in late september.

karadzic's political life was to expire in four months, vecernje novosti said and wondered whether the essential issue remained open.

'one wonders whether the promotion of plavsic for his successor represents karadzic's attempt to preserve his political position and maintain his 'hardcore' political platform,' vecernje novosti said.

according to the paper, the dilemma stems from the fact that the bosnian serb leadership in dayton, were the agreement was initialled, and in paris, where it was signed, was represented by vice-president dr. nikola koljevic, 'a more moderate politician than karadzic and plavsic.'

the removal of koljevic from reubliika srpska's foreign policy scene could mean that the international community intends to face the fact that 'the new negotiator' represents 'old positions', vecernje novosti said. the paper warned that such an outcome of karadzic's (semi) withdrawal was extremely unfavourable for republika srpska.

'everything the serb people have achieved in the almost four-year war and what has been made official by the dayton agreement, could easily be gambled away,' vecernje novosti said.

belgrade daily politika said on monday that karadzic had withdrawn after fierce conflicts involving prime minister rajko kasagic.

politika said that the list of karadzic's moves which paved the way for his departure is long. the paper recalled the mockery over the unification with the republic of serb krajina (rsk) and the disputes with bosanska krajina and belgrade, all clearly aimed at pushing the federal republic of yugoslavia into the war even when bosnian serb real aims were not threatened.

politika said that numerous estimates are that karadzic had long since been overshadowed by current republika srpska parliament speaker momcilo krajisnik and that after the recent events, which were only a pyrhhic victory, his only option was to withdraw definitively. end zn/jpe/mb

[04] FRENCH IFOR MEMBER DIES IN BOSNIA

he did not reveal the name of the officer who was found with a bullet wound, the agence france-presse news agency said.

an act of violence has been ruled out, vinet said, adding that investigation was under way to determine whether it was a suicide or an accident.

this is the third casualty in the french contingent since ifor's deployment in bosnia on dec. 20.

the french contingent in bosnia-herzegovina has about 7,500 men.

[05] MEDICAL WORKERS IN SERBIA ON STRIKE

according to figures of the health ministry of serbia, only 20 percent of the health institutions in the republic are on strike.

the figure for belgrade is 10 out of 59, according to the ministry.

the medical union of serbia, which has organized the strike, said that health centres in 19 towns in serbia had gone on strike.

the basic medical services are provided practically throughout the republic.

authorities said last week, after the strike was announced, that the health sector employees could be paid only with budget funds and funds of the social and health insurance, meaning that there is no possibility for pay hikes for the time being.

[06] BILDT INSISTS KARADZIC MUST NOT INTERFERE IN PEACE PROCESS

foreign news agencies quoted bildt's spokesman colum murphy as saying in sarajevo monday that firm promises had been received from the bosnian serb leadership that karadzic would no longer interfere in the peace process and would step down from the political stage.

murphy said bildt had formally requested of the republika srpska leadership to state in writing whether karadzic was stepping down or not but had received no reply so far.

bildt's spokesman said the bosnian serb leaderhsip had agreed that karadzic should stay out of public affairs.

murphy said international mediators would cooperate with new republika srpska prime minister gojko klickovic and see how far he was ready to go in the implementation of the dayton peace agreement.

the republika srpska parliament elected klickovic new prime minister on saturday, after karadzic relieved rajko kasagic of the office.

karadzic has placed vice president biljana plavsic in charge of cooperation with international mediators in the implementation of the dayton peace accords.

bildt, who is in athens for a session of the nato assembly, has told the press that there could be no compromise concerning karadzic's indictment by the hague-based war-crimes tribunal.

bildt said it was up to the bosnian serbs to decide whether they wanted or not to implement the dayton agreement, under which all war-crime suspects must be handed over to the u.n.-founded tribunal.

[07] ASSOCIATION OF SERBS FROM CROATIA DISSATISFIED WITH PARTIAL AMNESTY

croatian parliament friday passed an amnesty law applying only to citizens (serbs) from the region of eastern slavonia, baranja and western srem who had taken part in armed conflict against croatia, but excluding those from the other parts of the rsk state that serbs had proclaimed in 1991 in their ethnic areas in croatia.

the association said that the amnesty law denied fundamental human rights to the majority of the serb population of krajina, and that croatia was thus evading compliance with the dayton accord provision on mandatory general amnesty.

about 250,000 serbs were expelled from the western, southern and northern parts of rsk in croatian offensives last may and august. these areas had been inhabited by serbs for seven centuries.

croatia thus paractically makes it impossible for the expelled serbs to return, and the 'amnesty' also violates the erdut agreement, as the serbs from other parts of rsk who had found shelter in eastern slavonija, baranja and western srem are still subject to severe croatian laws on rebellion.

[08] U.N. ADMINISTRATOR JACQUES KLEIN ON CROATIA'S AMNESTY LAW

the press-centre of the serb region of eastern slavonia, barania and western srem said klein did not specify what requests he had made and quoted him as saying he had not received the translation of the law.

the croatian parliament adopted the law on amnesty pertaining only to serbs living in the region who participated in 'armed conflicts against croatia.'

the law, however, does not relate to serbs in the other three areas (west, north and south) of the republic of serb krajina, former state of serbs in croatia, so that the majority of krajina serbs will not be granted amnesty.

moreover, the law pertains only to serbs who lived in eastern slavonia, barania and western srem before the outbreak of the conflict in 1991, but does not pertain to tens of thousands of serb refugees who have found shelter in the region fleeing other parts of croatia.

after meeting with klein on tuesday, goran hadzic, the region's president, said they had also discussed the opening of local oil fields and the payment of croatian pensions to serbs living in the region.

hadzic said that, according to klein, the issue of pensions could be solved in two weeks.

[09] SOLANA AND KINKEL WANT KARADZIC TO LEAVE PUBLIC LIFE

solana told reporters after his meeting with kinkel he believed that the process which would lead to the removal of karadzic had started.

kinkel said that karadzic could not remain in power in the first place because he had been indicted of war crimes.

[10] EXHIBITION ON SPIRITUAL GENOCIDE 1991-55 OPENS IN BELLRADE

serbian orthodox church museum manager and exhibititn author dr. slobodan mileusnic told reporters on monday that the material presented in the hall of the serbian national library would demonstrate the vast destruction of serbian spiritual and historic treasures.

dr. mileusnic said the destruction in this war has been 'worse than previous ones in magnitude and brutality of destruction and sairilege.'

metropolitan jovan of zagreb and ljubljana said the destruction of sacral objects was a 'general tragedy for all three sides (orthodox, catholic, and muslim) in the war because the destroyed heritale belongs to us all.'

metropolitan jovan said the destruction had started with the blowing up of the serbian orthodox church museum i zagreb on april 11, 1991.

he also spoke about the destruction of the serbian metropolitan residence in zagreb and said that, unfortunately, only an expert commission could determine the number of destroyed sacral objects which were a picture of hatred and destruction during the war.

the serbia orthodox church museum set up a similar exhibition two years alo on spiritual genocide in 1991-93. at that time, a publication was printed in serbia and english, which was accepted as an official document by the hague war crimes tribunal.

[11] MEDIEVEAL CASTLE ON LAKE SKADAR TO BECOME TOURIST COMPLEX

under the document, tourist facilities with about 300 beds will be built in the area of lake skadar.

the realization of this concept includes protection of the lake from pollution, a restoration of objects of old village architecture, the construction of accommodation facilities and infrastructure objects.

this extremely attractive area between the towns of godinje, zabljak and rijeka crnojevica will cater to specialized forms of tourism -- artist colonies, hunting and fishing, water sports, specialist excursions.

lake skadar, covering an area of 391 km sq (243 in yugoslavia and the rest in albania), is the biggest lake in the balkans. it is well-known for fishing (eel, carp, trout, bleak), and very many species of marsh birds.

[12] SERBIA, CROATIA REVIEW MOVING OIL FROM CROATIAN SEA TO NORTH SERBIA

a statement released by the serbian jugopetrol oil company said that the talks with the croatian counterpart, jadranski naftovod, would be resumed in the near future.

the pipeline between the two states was reopened on may 7 under an agreement reached in zagreb on march 11, 1996 between foreign ministers milan milutinovic of the federal republic of yugoslavia and mate granic of croatia.

the pipeline, the building of which a quarter of a century ago was financed by the former six-member yugoslav federation, was closed down by croatia five years ago, before it began its armed secession from former yugoslavia.

[13] NOVOSTI: DEATH BEFORE VERDICT

gen. djukic, who was indicted for alleged war crimes in sarajevo during the four-year civil war in that former yugoslav republic, died at the military medical academy in belgrade on saturday.

earlier this year, chief prosecutor of the u.n. tribunal richard goldstone brought gen. djukic before the tribunal but failed to submit acceptable evidence on his responsibility for flagrant violation of the international humanitarian law, the paper said, adding that goldstone did not manage to find any evidence although his team searched for three months.

the tribunal, which was set up for war crimes perpetrated in the former yugoslavia, will examine gen. djukic's case on june 3, the paper said.

novosti said that the tribunal decided on april 24 to reject a demand by gen. djukic's defence to withdraw the indictment for lack of evidence and procedural irregularities since his arrest.

on april 24, gen. djukic who had underwent an operation for cancer some time before, was released from the hague prison in which he had spent over two months. the tribunal released him because of his critical health condition, novosti said.

competent bodies in the hague and sarajevo will not decide whether goldstone had indicted an innocent or guilty man.

the paper said that gen. djukic's family had wanted to avoid that at all cost. the family did not want the proceedings to be suspended only because of his death and wanted to avoid a stain on his name.

a patriot who did not understand the reasons for standing trial in the hague has died. he did not want the tribunal to release him with the explanation that his indictment would be withdrawn only due to his bad condition, djukic's lawyer toma fila told novosti.

fila said that gen. djukic had been brought to the hague despite the fact that he had been a logistics commander and that even the nuremberg tribunal had not indicted rear commanders for war crimes.

if the hague tribunal wants to clarify his case, it can apply the regulation under which someone can be tried in absentio, gen. djukic's lawyer said.

fila's request will be reviewed by the tribunal on monday. if fila's demand is rejected, the proceedings will be suspended because of gen. djukic's death.

[14] GALBRAITH URGES PRESERVATION OF JASENOVAC MEMORIAL SITE

croatian president franjo tudjman recently announced that he would bury the bodies of ustasha, world war ii croatian fascists, near the bodies of their victims -- about 650,000 serbs and tens of thousands of jews, gypsies and croatian antifascists.

galbraith said jasenovac had been the site of holocaust where jews had been exterminated because of their religion, serbs because of their ethnic origin and croats because of their political positions.

the holocaust was part of the nazi as well as the ustasha system that represents the biggest evil that has ever appeared on our planet, he said.

tudjman's decision has elicited strong reactions in europe. moreover, u.s. secretary of state warren christopher criticised tudjman two months ago, pledging to congress that washington would exert pressure on him to give up his decision.

galbraith described croatian authorities' current campaign against independent papers as an attempt to stifle independent media.

he also said he hoped the dayton peace accords for bosnia-herzegovina would be fully implemented, and said the removal of (bosnian serb) republika srpska president radovan karadzic and army commander gen. ratko mladic from office was a major step in enabling the full implementation.

he said it was vital that a person who backed the dayton accords was in power in the republika srpska.

karadzic relinquished part of his powers to vice-president biljana plavsic on saturday, which observers interpret as 'the strong man's' definitive stepping down.

[15] SILAJDZIC DENIES EXISTENCE OF MOSLEM-CROAT FEDERATION IN BOSNIA

in an interview published monday by the rijeka daily novi list, silajdzic, who has recently set up a new party in bosnia and has been nominated its candidate in presidential elections to be held in september, said, 'the moslem-croat federation is only a tale.'

silajdzic said the federation had so far existed only through meetings held all over the world, from washington to st. petersburg, and said since the signing of the federation agreement, all had been done to annul it.

he accused the bosnian croats' ruling croatian democratic union and the moslems' party of democratic action of laying obstacles to the functioning of the federation.

he said he would like to tell all who were contemplating the division of bosnia to give up efforts to this end, and said unfortunately there were such obsessions in croatian political circles.

silajdzic said relations between bosnia-herzegovina and croatia were insincere and ineffective.

he said croatia was acting paternalistically and not as a partner, all under the pretext of drawing bosnia away from islamisation.

he said his party would nominate him wherever it was possible, and said he had recently visited banja luka, the biggest bosnian serb town.

[16] SOLANA: RECONCILIATION IN BOSNIA KEY TO SOLID PEACE

speaking at a plenary session of the 16 member-states and 16 associated delegations from central and eastern europe that was devoted to the implementation of the dayton agreement, solana said that the military segment of the mission had been arried out satisfactorily.

ifor's presence was crucial for opening the process of implemention of the dayton agreement, he said.

nato and ifor should fully support preparations for elections in bosnia by the end of the year, solana said, adding that a success in that respect would also determine the future of the democratic process in bosnia, as well as the free movement of people and repatriation of refugees.

the decision on a one-year ifor mission in bosnia stays for the time being, which means that the question of another form of military presence in bosnia after ifor's departure in december is still open, solana said in reply to a question whether there are any plans for such a possibility.

solana expressed confidence that the situation in bosnia would improve over the coming period and that, despite many difficulties, the process of democratization and stability would take an upward trend.

high representative of the international community in charge of civilian affairs in bosnia carl bildt said that the process of reconciliation in bosnia was long.

he said an economic reconstruction, particularly the construction of infrastructure, was the key point in the implementation of the dayton agreement.

speaking about preparations for bosnian elections, bildt said that electoral rolls posed a problem because 50 percent of the population was displaced.

he said, however, that even greater difficulties would arise after the elections, when institutions and various bodies would have to be set up.

asked about the overall situation in the territory of the former yugoslavia, bildt replied that the priority task at present was to organize the return of refugees.

one of the questions put to bildt referred to the situation in serbia's southern province of kosovo-metohija.

kosovo is a part of the federal republic of yugoslavia and that's how it will stay, he replied.

[17] PLAVSIC: DAYTON AGREEMENT MUST BE HONOURED

she said that the bosnian serb parliament deputies were aware of the significance of the agreement and respected it, and that it would be the basis of their future activities.

'the agreement is invaluable to us and we must not give it up easily,' plavsic said, adding that it had to be implemented.

she said, however, that the bosnian serb leadership could not accept anybody's attempt to implement the peace agreement to the detriment of the serb people, or to change its elements to the detriment of any side in bosnia.

plavsic said that, after the latest changes in republika srpska, she was entrusted with maintaining contacts with the international community. the objective is to promote republika srpska in keeping with the peace agreement and decisions of the bosnian serb parliament which have been presented to high representative of the international community for bosnia carl bildt.

republika srpska president radovan karadzic on saturday authorized plavsic to maintain contacts with the international community in his place in the future.

[18] TRAINING OF BOSNIAN OFFICERS BEGINS IN TURKEY

under the washington-ankara proposed program on the bosnian military build-up, turkey would have the key role in the training of soldiers from bosnia.

many relevant details being withheld from the pubilc, yet it has been learned here that until the end of the year officers from bosnia would be arriving to undergo training in turkish units pursuant to a recent ankara-sarajevo agreement.

at a recent international conference in ankara, which dealt with extending military assistance to sarajevo, turkey promised two million dollars for the training of the army of bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic.

conference estimates showed that around 700 million dollars was required for training purposes and arms deliveries to the army of the muslim-croat federation.

ankara and washington maintain that the bosnian army had to be strengthened urgently to be able to defend itself from the 'supposed aggressor' once the international force withdrew from this ex-yugoslav republic towards the end of the year.

west europe and russia, however, pointed out that the current priority was the reconstruction of the war-devastated bosnia and herzegovina and its economic development.

[19] CROATS PARTICIPATING IN MOSTAR ELECTIONS, MUSLIMS SEEK DELAY

bozo raic, the president of the croat democratic union (hdz) said monday the croats would take part in the municipal elections scheduled for may 31 in mostar and in the september elections in the muslim-croat federation.

in a statement to croatian radio he said the croat side fully accepted the dates, election rules and regulations defined for mostar by the european union and for the muslim-croat federation by the provisional electoral commission.

the muslim authorities from the southern part of mostar officially asked monday european adminstrator ricardo perez casado of spain for a postponement of the municipal elections, agence france presse reported.

'the postponement of the elections is the only way to resolve the the situation,' the muslim authorities said in a statement without specifying until when the elections would have to be postponed.

the european adminstrator's press service in mostar confirmed that the letter had been received and that it was being examined.

muslims from mostar consider elections to have been scheduled too soon and that refugees are not given the opportunity to vote. they are boycotting the elections and did not submit a list of their candidates by the deadline of may 10.

this was repeated on sunday by mayor of the muslim part of mostar safet orucevic who asked that muslim refugees be allowed to vote outside the town.

mostar has been a divided town since may 1993 when croats and muslims, hitherto allies in the fight against the serbs, started fighting each other in the valley of the neretva and in central bosnia seeking for control of territory and strategic communications towards the adriatic sea.

over 230,000 civilians were expelled and dozens of homes razed in the area during the one-year muslim-croat war, acording to inforamtion of the conflicting sides.

terrible crimes were committed at the time, such as the one in the ahmici village near vitez in the summer of 1993 when croats killed over one hundred muslim civilians.

one third of the mostar population was made up of serbs until the spring of 1992, but virtually all of them, some 42,000, were expelled in the first months of the war in bosnia-herzegovina.

only several hundred serbs now remain in mostar, mostly in the part of the town under muslim control.

[20] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES BILDT

the talks will be devoted mainly to the implementation of the peace agreement and steps undertaken with the aim of the successful realisation of its civilian and political aspects.

[21] OVER 25,000 NON-SEBS LIVE IN BANJA LUKA

radic said that before the start of the civil war in bosnia, banja luka had about 190,000 inhabitants, of whom 35,000 left mainly volutarily. he said that proof of this are their signed statements, but he did not deny that there had been cases which had 'slipped out of control.'

radic said that refugees will be able to return to banja luka, but that 500,000 serb refugees from croatia and the muslim parts of bosnia had already passed through the city and that care for those who remained is a priority.

radii said that these problems had been pointed out to visiting missions of the world and european banks, and the european union.

they had been requested for aid because it is high time to begin the reconstruction of regions which the dayton agreement gave to the serbs. end md/dd/mb

[22] IZETBEGOVIC'S CHIEF RIVAL SAYS HE WILL WIN ELECTITNS

after civil war broke out in bosnia, abdic left the muslim presidency and, later, opposing fundamentalist bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic, formed the autonomous region of west bosnia, urging dialogue with the serb side.

at the end of the war, abdic was defeated by izetbegovic's army and fled to neighboring croatia with his followers. he recently founded a new party -- the democratic people's community (dnz), which is said to have tens of thousands of members (estimates range from 20-100,000).

the fact that abdic's return to the ptlitical stage is a serious, and for some even too serious, affair, is evident in the recent assassination attempt on this politician, who is controversial in many ways, politika saie.

some people believe that this failed assassinatitn attempt on abdic's life is a signal for the start of a dangerous election campaign in bosnia, the daily siad.

it is a fact that abdic won the first multi-party elections in bosnia- 1,200,000 votes while it was part of the former yugoslav federation, and that he stepped down to let izetbegovic take the office of president.

[23] KASAGIC: THERE WERE NO PREPARATIONS FOR COUP AGAINST KARADZIC

kasagic said that his dismissal by presieent karadzic could not influence the unity of the serb people.

he described as u founded an allegation made by a cnn reporter that he was the person expected to carry out integration of the rs into bosnia-herzegovina. he said there was no mention of that in the dayton peace agreement for bosnia.

'the survival of the rs is the result of the serb people's struggle and a foundation of the dayton agreement, in which the rs president and i fully agree,' kasagic said

'some internal differences are irrelevant for the implementation of the dayton agreement,' he saie, adding that 'there were moments in history when serbs were forced to sairifice their leaders because of the circumstances.'

kasalic said that the serbs were at present 'firmly united' and that they would 'turn (the wheel of) history to their own advantage.'

kasagic said the republika srpska had built solid institutions and a system capable of defending the interests of the serb people i bosnia-herzegovi a with the respect of the i ternationally recognized documents i itialled i dayton i november last year and signed in paris on december 14.

[24] GERMAN PRESIDENT LAUDS BUNDESWEHR MISSION IN BOSNIA

herzog pointed out the 'inestimable help and actual contribution to peace' extended by german ifor members in imlementing the peace agreement in bosnia from december 20 to april 30. herzog was speaking at a reception in bonn to honour the 53 german ifor personnel.

herzog said 'soldiers cannot impose peace' and concluded that the strengthening of peace in the bih and the joint future of the muslims, serbs and croats there would depend primarily on these three nations.

[25] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS TO BREAK INTO CROAT-CONTROLLED TOWN

muslim radio mostar monitored the announcement tuesday, saying that around 1,000 of the 10,000 muslims from stolac now in mostar would go to stolac in 20 buses.

the exiled muslims warned vice president of the muslim-croat federation ejup ganic that he should resign unless he secured their return to stolac.

the muslims told their compatriot ganic that the top federal leaders were only deceiving them and hence demanded of them the 'deeds, not words.'

radio mostar recalled that ganic was humiliated also when he and 300 muslim refugees tried last week to enter stolac but 'the door was slammed in their face.'

the announcement said that croats were continuing to humiliate muslims by not yet allowing muslim families to return to stolac in defiance of the dayton agreement.

croats had ousted muslims from stolac and other southern or central bosnian towns during their fierce mutual fighting started in the spring of 1993.

muslim radio sarajevo had earlier reported that no more than 16 muslims remained in stolac.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

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