Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-05-31

Tanjug Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

May 31, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV VICE-PRIME MINISTER ANNOUNCES RECONSTRUCITON OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

[02] E.U. ADMINISTRATOR SETS MOSTAR ELECTIONS FOR JUNE 30

[03] DINI AND SANTER TO VISIT TERRITORY OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA ON JUNE 7-8

[04] BULGARIAN MINISTER AGAIN MAKES ODD STATEMENTS ABOUT YUGOSLAVIA

[05] MUSLIMS BLOW UP BRIDGE ON DEMARCATION LINE WITH SERBS IN BOSNIA

[06] EIGHTH MEMBER OF MUSLIM TERRORIST GROUP ARRESTED IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[07] BILDT WILL NOT DEAL WITH BOSNIAN SERB VICE PRESIDENT PLAVSIC

[08] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS PROSECUTING KARADZIC COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

[09] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS BREAK OFF TALKS WITH CROATS ON COMMON DEFENSE LAW

[10] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS DISCUSS POSSIBILITY OF FORMING COALITION

[11] THREE FRENCH SOLDIERS LIGHTLY WOUNDED IN BOSNIA

[12] ERDEMOVIC PLEADS GUILTY BEFORE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

[13] U.S. SEEKS WAYS OF UNFREEZING YUGOSLAVIA'S ASSETS

[14] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT'S UPPER HOUSE ADOPTS LAW ON CONSTITUENCIES

[15] MILOSEVIC, KORNBLUM CONFER ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON ACCORDS

[16] IFOR GENERAL: ABSOLUTE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT DOES NOT EXIST ANYWHERE

[17] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES PRIMAKOV

[18] RUSSIAN MINISTER PRIMAKOV SATISFIED WITH VISIT TO YUGOSLAVIA

[19] RUSSIA,YUGOSLAVIA HAVE IDENTICAL VIEWPOINTS ON PEACE AGREEMENT

[20] IS EUROSLAVIA POSSIBLE.

[21] BUSINESS ABOVE POLITICS

[22] SERBS UPHOLD INITIATIVE FOR THEIR REGION'S SPECIAL STATUS IN CROATIA

[23] ALLEGED MASS GRAVES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA CANNOT BE FOUND

[24] WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION AGAINST IFOR'S WITHDRAWAL FROM BOSNIA

[25] U.N. FORCE MANDATE IN MACEDONIA EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS

[26] RETIRED U.S. ARMY SERVICEMEN TO TRAIN AND ARM BOSNIAN MUSLIMS

[27] U.S. ENVOY KORNBLUM - ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA WILL BE HELD AS SCHEDULED

[28] WALKER: POLITICIANS WILL DECIDE ABOUT DAYTON AGREEMENT AFTER DECEMBER

[29] CROATIAN PRESIDENT TUDJMAN INSULTS ROMANIANS

[30] CROAT OFFICIAL SAYS VOTES OF MUSLIM REFUGEES WILL NOT UNITE MOSTAR

[31] PROTESTS IN BARI OVER INTRODUCTION OF VISAS FOR YUGOSLAVS

[32] EXPELLED ITALIANS THREATEN SLOVENIA

[33] GALBRAITH DENIES U.S. OBJECTING TO IRANIAN ARMS SHIPMENTS TO BOSNIA

[34] ZUBAK DOES NOT RECOGNIZE MUSLIM ASSEMBLY DECISIONS

[35] BY ZDRAVKO MILANOVIC

[36] AHEAD OF SUNDAY'S MEETING AT THE GENEVA U.S. MISSION

[37] MUJAHEDDIN STILL IN BOSNIA, SAYS U.S. DAILY

[38] BOSNIAN CROATS THREATEN TO ARREST MUSLIM SOLDIERS

[39] GERMANY, YUGOSLAVIA FORMALLY RESTORE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

[01] YUGOSLAV VICE-PRIME MINISTER ANNOUNCES RECONSTRUCITON OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

klikovac, who is also justice minister, said at the end of a session of the federal parliament's upper house that the office of vice-prime minsiter would be separated from certain departments for which ministers would be appointed, as well as a minister of the newly-formed agricultural ministry.

apart from kilkovac, the other vice-prime ministrs, jovan zebic and nikola sainovic, were also finance and economy ministers respectively.

[02] E.U. ADMINISTRATOR SETS MOSTAR ELECTIONS FOR JUNE 30

elections for the city assembly and six mostar districts were postponed due to muslim-croat disagreement over the election rules according to which, for example, only citizens who found themselves in the city on election day, would be able to vote.

after the forming of the muslim-croat federation in bosnia, which was preceeded by the expulsion from the mostar region of its 45,000 serb inhabitants, the city was divided into the eastern (muslim) and western (croat) parts.

the muslim-croat federaion was set up in march 1994 in washington after 14-month fierce battles between the muslims and croats over territories in central bosnia.

[03] DINI AND SANTER TO VISIT TERRITORY OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA ON JUNE 7-8

tanjug learned at the italian foreign ministry that dini and santer would visit belgrade, zagreb, sarajevo and skopje, the capitals of the federal republic of yugoslavia, croatia, bosnia-herzegovina and macedonia, respectively.

in view of the fact that the forthcoming period will be crucial for the advancement of the peace process, the international community has been put in charge of assuming the decisive role and coordinating the overcoming of the existing difficulties, the italian ministry said in a statement.

the situation in bosnia remains in the focus of the e.u. chaircountry, the statement said underscoring that italy had always fully contributed to the implementation of peace agreements in close cooperation with its european partners, the united states and russia.

italy wants to continue its active role and this is why dini and santer are visiting the territory of the former yugoslavia to convey e.u.'s messages and stands in order to encourage reconcilliation and speed up effective cooperation between the countries of the region.

[04] BULGARIAN MINISTER AGAIN MAKES ODD STATEMENTS ABOUT YUGOSLAVIA

sofia, may 30 (tanjug) - bulgarian minister for science and education ilco dimitrov, notorious for rough and irresponsible statements about yugoslavia, has now accused this country of failing to respect bulgarian minority rights.

after his recent visit to neighboring yugoslavia, when he abused the extended hospitality with tactless statements, dimitrov went a step further at a press conference in sofia on wednesday, to which foreign reporters were not invited.

dimitrov told the press that bulgaria did not intend to internationalize controversial problems regarding the 'western provinces,' as he calls eastern regions of sovereign yugoslavia, where ethnic bulgarians live alongside serbs.

the bulgarian news agency bta quoted dimitrov as saying that 'the yugoslav constitution grants rights to minorities, but this is not respected in practice.'

there are no regions entitled 'western provinces' in maps of yugoslavia, and the vast majority of ethnic bulgarians in yugoslavia are loyal citizens who enjoy all rights guaranteed under the constitution. unfortunately, a number of self-proclaimed leaders persevere in harming these good relations, and it seems that minister dimitrov has found desired partners in these very people.

without specifying if he was speaking for himself or on behalf of his government, dimitrov said 'bulgaria is for a policy of good-neighborliness, understanding and cooperation with yugoslavia.'

absolutely no fault could be found with this statement, were it not that dimitrov brought an anonymous yugoslav citizen, presented only with the initials t.p., to the same press conference. the mysterious individual made the monstrous propaganda statement that 'books which bulgaria gave to the (so-called) western provinces are already burning.'

dimitrov's statments are all the more unusual as he also informed reporters, according to the bta news agency, that 'a program for cultural, scientific and educational cooperation between bulgaria and yugoslavia until the year 1998 has been signed in belgrade.'

meanwhile, bulgarian foreign ministry representative marin rajkov of the hunman rights department said 'the signed program on cooperation between the two countries regulates also issues regarding the bulgarian minority in yugoslavia.'

'this program offers the bulgarian national minority the possibility to be educated in bulgaria,' rajkov said, and added that it also envisages an exchange of radio and television programs and shows in bulgarian, and the securing of bulgarian books for the minority in yugoslavia.

to conclude -- three participants in the same press conference spoke about the same issue from three different political aspects -- the minister of education, a foreign ministry official, and the mysterious t.p.

[05] MUSLIMS BLOW UP BRIDGE ON DEMARCATION LINE WITH SERBS IN BOSNIA

the bridge which links the bosnian serb republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation was destroyed in an area where the border had been changed in agreement with the muslims, stjepanovic said.

as agreed, the line of separation is the river janja, which had up until that time been on federal territory, stjepanovic explained, as carried by the republika srpska news agency srna.

stjepanovic said muslims had destroyed the bridge because they were displeased with the agreement. he said they had not allowed serb police to take part in an investigation.

implementation force (ifor) spokesman major herve gourmelon said earlier today that the bridge in the town of krstac southwest of bijeljina was rendered impassable after an explosive device was activated on it.

the incident occurred in a sector controlled by russian ifor troops.

[06] EIGHTH MEMBER OF MUSLIM TERRORIST GROUP ARRESTED IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

samir avdic, 29, was a member of this group which murdered four serb civilians in the municipality of milici in early may, the republika srpska news agency srna quoted lieutenant-colonel mano djuric as saying. lt-col djuric is deputy chief of security for the town of zvornik.

avdic admitted at the first interrogation that he had been a member of the said terrorist group.

investigative proceedings will be opened against avdic as there is grounds to suspect that he committee war crimes against serb civilians in milici.

the other members of this terrorist group were arrested by serb police on may 10.

[07] BILDT WILL NOT DEAL WITH BOSNIAN SERB VICE PRESIDENT PLAVSIC

plavsic has recently been authorised by republika srpska president raodvan karadzic to act for him in some matters.

'it is obvious that the international community cannot accept contacts with dr plavsic in her function as 'assisting' a person (karadzic) who is seeking to hang on to public office in clear violation of the peace agreement', bildt said in a statement.

the statement has been distributed to news agencies in sarajevo.

news agencies said that bildt's reaction has come more than a week after karadzic's decision to delegate some of his powers, mostly in dealings with international negotiators, to vice president biljana plavsic.

swedish diplomat bildt has been appointed by the world community to coordinate the civilian implementation of the peace accord for bosnia-herzegovina.

[08] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS PROSECUTING KARADZIC COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

western news agencies carried primakov's statement to russian itar-tass and interfax news agencies on return from the two-day visit to yugoslavia, to the effect that 'such a line (is) counterproductive insofar as it can only arouse further difficulties and even wreck the peace process.'

praizing serbia's president slobodan milosevic's great contribution to peace, primakov said that 'reintroducing sanctions against belgrade would mean the breakdown of the peace process with all the consequences of that risk and the danger to the contigents of the western countries.'

[09] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS BREAK OFF TALKS WITH CROATS ON COMMON DEFENSE LAW

muslim radio sarajevo quoted deputy defense minister mustafa cengic as saying that the decision had been prompted by the abduction of two muslim soldiers in croat-held jiseljak in central bosnia on may 24.

a ministry statement said that, six days after 'this scandalous act that violates the dayton accords basic principle of freedom of movement,' the muslim army command and the defense ministry had no information whatsoever about the abducted muslim army members.

meanwhile, croatian radio said that muslim police in fojnica, central bosnia, had arrested six troops of the bosnian croat army's 3rd guards brigade.

muslim-croat federation defense minister vladimir soljic has issued a statement condemning both incidents and describing the muslim defense ministry's decision as irrational.

one of the u.s. administration's conditions for assisting in the training and arming of the muslim-croat army is that the federation adopt a defense law. a defense bill should be tabled before the constituent assembly when it convenes on june 2.

[10] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS DISCUSS POSSIBILITY OF FORMING COALITION

the meeting was attended by vuk draskovic of the serbian renewal movement (spo), zoran djindjic of the democratic party, jozef kasa of the alliance of vojvodina's hungarians and vesna pesic of the serbian civic alliance, the spo press section said in a statement.

the meeting focused on the coming evtions and a possibility of the four partiesucticipating in them as a coalition, the statement said.

the serbian opposition has repeatedly attempted to form coalition blocs against the ruling socialist party of serbia, the largest party in yugoslavia. the party has been in power in serbia for six years.

[11] THREE FRENCH SOLDIERS LIGHTLY WOUNDED IN BOSNIA

the incident took place while the troops were patroling in the area of trnovo, 40 km south of sarajevo, foreign agencies reported.

ifor said in a statement said that the wounded soldiers had been taken to hospital in the sarajevo suburb of rajlovac.

a total of 27 ifor soldiers have been killed and 93 wounded, mainly in mine-related incidents, over the past six months since their deployment in bosnia.

reports indicate that over three million anti-personnel mines were laid throughout bosnia during the war.

[12] ERDEMOVIC PLEADS GUILTY BEFORE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

foreign news agencies report that presiding judge claude jorda said that erdemovic's confession means that the case would proceed directly to sentencing.

erdemovic, a bosnian croat, was charged of killing numerous muslims from srebrenica, then muslim enclave in eastern bosnia, in july 1995 as a member of the bosnian serb army.

erdemovic was arrested in the federal republic of yugoslavia on march 2, 1996 and was transferred on march 30.

[13] U.S. SEEKS WAYS OF UNFREEZING YUGOSLAVIA'S ASSETS

froman said that his country was willing to help yugoslavia rejoin international financial institutions and bring about the unfreezing of its assets abroad, the yugoslav ministry of information said.

the u.s. official also said that the united states was seeking legal ways of unfreezing yugoslavia's assets.

both sides agreed that yugoslavia's reintegration into international financial insitutions was crucial to ensure an inflow of foreign capital and an increase of production in yugoslavia and enable it to honour its obligations.

[14] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT'S UPPER HOUSE ADOPTS LAW ON CONSTITUENCIES

in keeping with the constitution of the federal republic of yugosalvia, serbia votes for 108 deputies of the chamber of citizens and montenegro for 30 deputies.

the chamber of citizens, which was also planned to debate this issue, postponed its session due to the large number of amendments to which the federal government should first respond.

the opposition parliamentary parties - serbian renewal movement (spo), the democratic party and the national party of montenegro said, however, they would not take part in the debate on this saying that the new solutions favour the ruling parties.

[15] MILOSEVIC, KORNBLUM CONFER ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON ACCORDS

kornblum, who heads the u.s. team for the implementation of the dayton accords, arrived in belgrade with his associates.

the talks covered the current course of the implementation of the bosnia peace plan and measures for the realization of its civilian and political parts, said a statement released by the office of the serbian president.

activities on creating the necessary conditions for the holding of free and democratic elections in bosnia-herzegovina were singled out as the most important topic.

it was agreed that the peace process was proceeding in a positive direction and that the implementation of the dayton accords should be successful. this will be the main topic at the geneva meeting on sunday, which will be attended by all interested sides, all engaged international factors, and the united states.

[16] IFOR GENERAL: ABSOLUTE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT DOES NOT EXIST ANYWHERE

gen. jackson told a press conference in the city of banja luka, southwestern bosnian serb state republika srpska, that the issue of the freedom of movement is specially sensitive in this ex-yugoslav republic.

freedom of movement between the two entities in bosnia is a very complex issue, gen. jackson said and added that this is why it should be resolved in an organized way by the bosnian serb police and the police force of the muslim-croat federation.

ifor is here to prevent 'collective and uncontrolled crossings of the border which could be provocative and dangerous,' jackson said.

regarding the release of all prisoners, jackson said that all three until-recently warring sides in bosnia are still holding a certain numeber of pows but that ifor's mandate is not to 'break into jails and set them free.'

responding to a remark by tanjug that croatia is holding the biggest number of pows, jackson said this is highly probable and that 'the international community should pressure croatia to fulfill this obligation as soon as possible.'

the spokesman of the banjaluka office of the u.n. international police (un/iptf), alun roberts, spoke about the incidents which occured during the unannounced visits by a group of citizens of both entities in bosnia.

roberts referred to recent attempts by muslims from the city of sanski most, central bosnia, to enter neighboring prijedor, the arrest of six local croat soldiers by muslims near travnik, and the arrest of three croat policemen in bosnia by serb authorities near mrkonjic grad. zn/bk/mb

[17] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES PRIMAKOV

at their talks in belgrade, milosevic and primakov, who is on an official visit to yugoslavia with his associates, especially underscored that it was necessary that international factors, inluding russia, support the development of future relations between the regional countries on the basis of equality and affirmation of the responsibility of balkan peoples for their own future.

during the meeting, views were exchanged on political trends and the situation in the balkans. it was agreed that the peace process in the territory of former hostilities in bosnia-herzegovina was proceeding successfully.

it was also underscored in the talks that yugoslavia and russia are linked by stable friendly relations based on equality, trust and the traditional closeness of their peoples. the two sides pointed out the importance of direct and continuous political dialogue between belgrade and moscow.

mutual interest was expressed in the continued successful development of bilateral cooperation, especially in the area of the economy.

it was assessed that developed business contacts between the economic partners of the two countries, their joint projects and business deals, and wide possibilities for mutual use of the complementary advantages in many branches of the economy, were in the focus of attention of the yugoslav and russian economies.

milosevic and primakov also considered a positive approach to settling obligations formed within the trade cooperation realized in the past.

milosevic asked primakov to convey his hearty greetings to russian president boris yeltsin.

yugoslav foreign minister milan milutinovic, russian ambassador to yugoslavia yuri kotov, yugoslav ambassador to russia danilo markovic, and other yugoslav and russian officials attended the talks.

[18] RUSSIAN MINISTER PRIMAKOV SATISFIED WITH VISIT TO YUGOSLAVIA

on his departure from yugoslavia following an official two-day visit, primakov said that such an approach, which will lead to a stabilization of the situation in bosnia-herzegovina, was also confirmed by serbian president slobodan milosevic.

this will make it possible for the bosnian serb republika srpska to acquire legitimacy for the first time, and that sanctions are lifted, although, in his opinion, they should have been lifted even sooner. the lifting of sanctions is conditioned by the holding of elections in bosnia-herzegovina, he pointed out.

speaking at a press conference at belgrade airport, primakov indicated that many views had been identical. he highly praised the results of talks with yugoslav officials and said he was leaving belgrade with a feeling of optimism.

primakov said that he had felt yet again the respect people in yugoslavia felt for russia and its role in the process of resolving the crisis in former yugoslavia.

he said the development of bilateral cooperation had also been much discussed during his visit and pointed out that the development of relations between the two countries had good prospects.

the economies of russia and yugoslavia are in many ways complementary, he said. the direction of future economic cooperation has already been marked, and the two countries share close views on many international problems in the area of politics, primakov concluded.

yugoslav foreign minister milan milutinovic, who was primakov's host for these two days, saw him off at the airport.

during his visit to belgrade, primakov was received by presidents zoran lilic of yugoslavia, slobodan milosevic of serbia, momir bulatovic of montenegro, and yugoslav prime minister radoje kontic.

[19] RUSSIA,YUGOSLAVIA HAVE IDENTICAL VIEWPOINTS ON PEACE AGREEMENT

during talks conducted in a very cordial atmosphere the two sides showed an identity of viewpoints on the consistent implementation of the bosnia peace agreement on the basis of the accords signed in dayton and paris at the end of 1995, the president's information service said.

president lilic stressed tha as the implementation of the dayton accords was nearing its end all parties in the peace process had a growing resposniblity to eradicate all forms of extremism and the international comnunity to treat all sides equally, in order to safeguard peace and precent the breakout of new conflicts which would jeoaprdise the entire area.

he said the international war crimes tribunal in the hague would also have to adhere to the principle of equality when determining war crimes committed in the former yugoslavia.

lilic stressed that priorities of yugoslavia's policy were peace in the territory of the former bosnia-herzegovina and in the region, economic revival and development and added 'the international community should give a true value to yugoslavia's peaceloving and constructive policy and its role in the peace process.'

he pointed to the need of yugoslavia's speedier integration in international financial and trade institutions and added that any new conditions posed to yugoslavia in that process were totally unacceptable.

he said that russia and yugoslavia shared their interests in many spheres and expressed his gratitude to russia for its consistent engagement in the settlement of the crisis in the territory of the former yugoslavia and the humanitarian aid sent to yugoslavia and republika srpska, the bosnian serb entity.

'unfortunately, the need for humanitarian aid still remains,' lilic said adding that 500,000 refugees in yugoslavia alone are hoping to get the chance to return to their homes with the implementation of the peace agreement.

expressing satisfaction with the continuation of the regular dialogue between the two countries at the highest level, lilic said that russian president boris yeltsin and prime minister victor chernomyrdin had a standing invitation to visit yugoslavia.

primakov positively assessed the first results in the implementation of the basic agreement on the srem-baranja region, area predomnantly populated by serbs between the f.r.y and the former yugoslav republic of croatia which has been placed under u.n. administration.

this is the only part of the republic of serb krajina which was left unoccupied. the rsk was formed by serbs in 1991 in their ancestral territories following zagreb's forcible secession from the former yugoslavia.

speaking about economic cooperation and trade between russia and yugoslavia primakov pointed to possible future forms of economic cooperation, including the establishment of joint ventures and joint appearance on third markets and the possibility of the settlement of yugoslav claims from russian firms.

[20] IS EUROSLAVIA POSSIBLE.

the round table, organised by the italian geopolitical magazine limes and the review evropa, was attended by 30 international politics and economics experts from yugoslavia, italy, france and belgium.

presenting the idea of the integration of the area of the former yugoslavia into europe limes rome and paris editors lucio caracciolo and michel korinman stressed that the former yugosalvia proved to be historicaly important for the stability of the balkans and crucial to the peace and the security of above all neigbouring italy.

the idea of euroslavia was born as a geopolitical approach to the settlement of the yugoslav crisis based on the real analysis of italian and european interests which is at the same time the interest of all the peoples of the former yugoslavia, caracciolo said.

departing from the position that peoples of the former yugoslavia will all have to enter europe or will all remain outside the integration, caracciolo and korinman said it can either be the europaisation of the balkans or the balkanisation of europe.

considering the division of europe over the yugoslav crisis, the prject of euroslavia would prevent a european cold war and secure peace and development in southeastern europe, professor korinman said.

[21] BUSINESS ABOVE POLITICS

robertz did not tell how large the contracts would be or what equipment they would be supplying. he did say it covered different deals from supply of medicine to engineering and consultancy work.

it is unofficially learnt that intercam will, together with the american firm kpmg peat marwick, participate in the restoration of infrastructure in republika srpska including road works and the construction of a railway line which wuld go through the posavina corridor, in northern bosnia, linking the eastern and the western parts of republika srpska.

[22] SERBS UPHOLD INITIATIVE FOR THEIR REGION'S SPECIAL STATUS IN CROATIA

the region, situated in the border belt between croatia and the federal republic of yugoslavia, has been placed under u.n. administration for at least one year under an agreement signed between the zagreb regime and the region's serbs late in 1995.

the special status would give the region its own parliament, government, police, regional citizenship and passport, its own money, school programmes, anthem, coat-of-arms and flag and economic self-goverment, according to the local press office in borovo.

the special status concept within croatia envisages for the region's permanent demilitarisation and for regional citizenship and suffrage to be given after six months' uninterrupted residence in the region.

the croatian president would ave the right to veto regulations passed by the regional parliament if that body should overstep its authority.

the initiative will shortly be submitted to the councils of beli manastir and dalj for approval.

croatian president franjo tudjman said on the weekend that he would allow no autonomy for the region's serbs under any circumstances.

[23] ALLEGED MASS GRAVES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA CANNOT BE FOUND

all day wednesday, escorted by members of the multi-national peace implementation force (ifor), investigators toured a number of locations which muslim news media and certain media in other countries said contained mass graves, but did not find anything.

numerous news teams from the west, including one of the cable news network cnn, did not get the expected exclusive reports.

5#3 '3-4:/94 5#3'3 -))3&3d .-'' &4-=3' 28)) :9,58,73.

[24] WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION AGAINST IFOR'S WITHDRAWAL FROM BOSNIA

the balkan pacification mission is far from over, the assembly of the western european military organisation said in conclusions adopted at its session in paris.

under the dayton peace accords, ifor's one-year term in bosnia-herzegovina expires in late december 1996.

the weu assembly stressed at its paris session that weu would not take over nato's duties if u.s. troops withdrew, and threatened that nato's european members would pull out, too, if the united states did.

a premature withdrawal, before a stable peace can be guaranteed, might jeopardise peace in the balkans, the weu statement said.

weu said it opposed the u.s. troops' unilateral and arbitrary withdrawal from bosnia-herzegovina, originally scheduled for december of 1996 and now postponed for january of 1997, adding that much more time was needed for the implementation of the dayton accords.

in the meantime, weu is offering a compromise, viz. that the international force be reduced in size, but that it still remain under nato's umbrella.

the reduced force should be given a very specific and clear mandate, and the presence of u.s. land forces, albeit a token one, is necessary, weu said.

it also asked for coordinating the u.s. and european policies in the balkans and for a far greater involvement of the international community.

[25] U.N. FORCE MANDATE IN MACEDONIA EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS

the council took the position that unpredep's presence in that former yugoslav republic is necessary for a further stablisation of the situation in that part of the balkans.

the only abstention in the vote came from the russian representative, who took the view that an extension of three months would be sufficient.

the council's resolution welcomed the recent normalisation of relations between macedonia and the federal republic of yugoslavia, and the significant improvement in relations between macedonia and greece.

[26] RETIRED U.S. ARMY SERVICEMEN TO TRAIN AND ARM BOSNIAN MUSLIMS

washington, may 31 (tanjug) - the u.s. company military professional resources inc., staffed of retired generals, admirals and officers, has been chosen to train and arm the muslim-croat federation army in bosnia.

mpri, based in alexandria, virginia, has a contract with the croatian government and was engaged in the balkans during the war, training the croatian army and working out its developmental plans.

the company advised the croatian army in its aggressions against krajina last year.

the 'train and equip' program for the muslim-croat army has been initiated by the u.s. government, which seems to believe that peace in bosnia should be built on a balance of fear, not on mutual confidence.

washington has estimated the total cost of the program could be about 800 million dollars, of which not even a quarter has been secured.

at a doners' conference in ankara two months ago, islamic countries were not prepared to offer a substantial sum for the arming of the bosnian muslims.

before signing the contract, mpri is waiting for the federation parliament to pass a law on joint armed forces and for all foreign forces to leave bosnia.

meanwhile, the administration will step up its engagements in rebuilding bosnia, which is belated in starting.

clinton has appointed richard sklar as the envoy in bosnia in charge of seeing the civilian part of the dayton peace accords enforced.

sklar, an expert in civil engineering and a top devgat activist, will be cooperating tightly with the international high representative to bosnia carl bildt.

[27] U.S. ENVOY KORNBLUM - ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA WILL BE HELD AS SCHEDULED

over the next two days which he will spend in the balkans and visit zagreb, belgrade, and sarajevo, kornblum is to prepare for the sunday meeting in geneva. besides u.s. secretary of state warren christopher the meeting will also be attended by the serbian and croatian presidents slobodan milosevic and franjo tudjman and bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic.

the meeting will also be attended by international community's high representative carl bildt and diplomatic representatives of the contact group member countries.

the clinton administration, which maintains its key peace role in the balkans, expects the geneva meeting to support the continuation of the bosnia peace process on the civilian track - which means holding elections as scheduled in september this year.

we cannot look for ideal conditions for the holding of the elections, state department spokesman nicholas burns said adding that this was not required by the dayton agreement either.

u.s. president bill clinton said last week that postponement of the elections or of the return of u.s. troops from bosnia was out of the question.

[28] WALKER: POLITICIANS WILL DECIDE ABOUT DAYTON AGREEMENT AFTER DECEMBER

in an exclusive interview to the belgrade daily vecernje novosti the ifor ground troops commander said it was too early to say what would happen after december and added the international forces were directed towards implementation of provisions of the peace agreement.

by ensuring a safe environment ifor helps implement the civilian aspects of the dayton agreement and the reconstruction of the country, general walker said.

three armies in the territory of bosnia-herzegovin (the republika srpska army, bosnian-croat army and the army of bosnia-herzegovina), and the ifor as the fourth side, have so far ensured peace in bosnia, he said.

he said he was encouraged by the realisation of the military aspects of the dayton agreement and added the three armies respected its provisions.

asked what message he would have for the politicians walker said he would like all those involved in efforts to establish peace in bosnia-herzegovina to full-heartedly support the agreement signed by the country's political leaderships adding that only in that case was lasting peace possible.

[29] CROATIAN PRESIDENT TUDJMAN INSULTS ROMANIANS

romanian opposition paper ziua wrote on friday that when asked why he wouldn't give back the name dinamo to the zagreb soccer team tudjman said, 'this reminds me of three ugly and delapidated capitals - kiev, bucharest and tirana which also have teams under that name'.

the paper, which carried the croatian prufent's statement under the headline 'tudjman is disguisted by bucharest', said that tudjman had been head of tito's security service and that his hdz party (the ruling croatian democratic union) today puts journalps on black lists accusing them of being enemies because of smearing croatia's name.

croat josip broz tito (1892-1980) was the first post-war leader of the yugoslav communists and president of the former yugoslavia elected for life.

a second statement by tudjman which amazed and hurt romanians was his reaction to the council of europe's decision to postpone croatia's admittance.

tudjman said that croatia's democracy is criticised by countries which have been admitted to the council such as 'demcoratic albania, romania, moldavia or russia which has used tanks against chechnya,' the romanian press wrote.

[30] CROAT OFFICIAL SAYS VOTES OF MUSLIM REFUGEES WILL NOT UNITE MOSTAR

in a statement to croatian radio, jadranko topic said muslims could vote 100 percent for the party of democratic action (sda) but could not take the seats of croats in the house of representatives.

he said he believed the mostar muslims would, by voting in other countries, only ascertain their number.

topic rejected all attempts by muslims to prevent croats living in western mostar who have a croatian passport from voting at the elections.

after a meeting with local muslims and croats on thursday, e.u. administrator in mostar ricardo perez casado set the new date for the elections at june 30, news agencies have said.

mayor of western mostar mijo brajkovic said this was the third violation of the dayton accord this year.

the elections for the city assembly and six municipal councils had been postponed due to muslim-croat differences over the rules whereby only citizens who were in the city on election day were permitted to vote.

mostar was divided into the eastern, muslim, part, and the western, croatian, part, after the expulsion of 45,000 serbs from the area and the formation of the muslim-croat federation.

the 'paper' federation was created in march 1994 in washington, after 14 months of ferocious fighting between muslims and croats for domination over territories with majority populations.

[31] PROTESTS IN BARI OVER INTRODUCTION OF VISAS FOR YUGOSLAVS

the note said that the introduction of entry visas when there is no italian consulate in the yugoslav republic of montenegro blocks trade and other activities of the bari port.

the mayor proposes that the implementation of the measure be postponed until the opening of an italian consulate in podgorica or in bar and the possibility to be examined of treating montenegrin citizens as cross-border passangers to allow them at least temporarily free entrance into italy.

the bari mayor also called on the government to sign a bilateral agreement with yugoslavia on road transport of international goods.

similar requests were addressed to the italian government by a number of prominent personalities of bari and the entire southeritalian province of puglia, p3d- 24953.

the paper quoted the president of the bari fair francesco divello as describing the introduction of visas for yugoslavs is an absurd measure.

he said the fact that the measure was not simultaneously introduced for croatia and slovenia is especially disturbing, especially since this is stipulated under the schengen agreement.

this is not only discrimination of the citizsnof yugoslavia but also of the citizens of puglia for whom economic cooperation with the other sufofhe adriatic is of vital interest, divelo said.

italian president luigi scalfaro is d to visit bari on saturday and meet the president of the puglia regional committee salvatore distaro. this will be an occuxn to examinehe problems stemming from the introduction of visas at the highest level.

[32] EXPELLED ITALIANS THREATEN SLOVENIA

trieste, may 31 (tanjug) - the announcement of several thousand members of the association of italians expelled from slovenia and croatia during and after wwii that they would demand of eu institutions to protect their right to the return of expropriated property could internationalise slovenia's dispute with italy.

the members of the association decided at a protest rally in trieste on wednesday evening to ask eu institutions for he=

the rally was held in reaction to inkations of the italian government that it would agree to slovenia becoming an associate member of the eu before the resolution of the issue over which realtions between italy and the former yugoslav republic had been virtually frozen.

until recently, the rome government categorically rejected slovenia's rapprochement to the eu before the resolution of the question of the return of property hitalians expelled from istria (slovenian part of the coast).

however, italian under-secretary for foreign affairs piero fassini announced new, softer stands early this week following talks with senior slovenian foreign ministry officials.

the most influential political circles and expelled italians' organisations in northern italy said this alleged compromise with slovenia were the remaining shadows of communism and giving way at the expense of italians who are stripped of their rights.

according to official italian data over 300,000 italians were expelled from the traditionally italian areas of istria - kvarner and dalmatia - that now belong to slovenia and croatia.

organisations of expelled italians said that italian citizens own some 7,150 facilities, flats, houses, factories, workshops and other installations in the terriotry of slovenia and demand their return.

they also say they own 40 percent of the land in the slovenian part of istria and its hinterland, it was said in trieste.

'we shall flood the eu with thousands of protest letters and warnings that slovenia continues to grossly violate the rights of the expelled italians,' the national movement of the newly-founded alliance of the expel 85-)8-,' - coordination body for istria, rijeka and dalmatia, said.

the slovenian political leadership considers that by adopting this compromise stand italy has made a final step towards a solution and sees the reactions of hundreds of thousand of deprived owners of property in slovenia as another attempt at planned redrawing of borders in the long-term.

[33] GALBRAITH DENIES U.S. OBJECTING TO IRANIAN ARMS SHIPMENTS TO BOSNIA

galbraith, who was appnted ambass4 59 :49-58- 8, 1993 and became the chief mediator in the secret iranian arms shipments already in the spring of 1994, said the arms shipments had prevented the military debacle of the sarajevo moslem government.

galbraith anxis colleague ambassador charles redman testified at a hearing in the house of representatives foreign relations committee on thursday.

the committee is one of the four congressional bodies engaged in finding the truth about the iranian arms shipments to the sarajevo moslem government in 1994 and 1995 and the role of president bill clinton and his administration in the affair.

redman, former clinton's envoy, said washington's decision not to object to croatia's move to help arm bosnian moslems had determined the subsequent develmqnts.

the majoritxf the congrsmen appear, however, not to have accepted galbraith's and redman's explanations.

head of the foreign relations committee benjamin gilman said the clinton administration had neither informed congress about its moves to this end, nor the u.s. public, nor u.s. allies.

'the adminitration's action circumvented an international arms embargo it was pledged to uphold. it also enabled iran to establish a substantial beachhead in the balkans,' gilman, a new york republican representative, said.

speaking at a news conference that coincided with the hearing, state department spokesman nicholas burns said not all mujaheddin, had left bosnia-herzegovina, because of which he said the united states could not begin assisting bosnia militarily or providing arms to it.

under the dayton peace agreement for bosnia-herzegovina, all foreign fighters were to leave the former yugoslav republic within 30 days of its signing.

an investiguon into thecanian arms shipments did not end with the hearing of galbraith and redman. moreover, a debate over the role of galbraith, a key u.s. man in the affair, continues.

there are indications as well as reports in u.s. press that galbraith offered more assistance in the arms shipments than he had been requested by washington.

galbraith has clashed over the matter even with the head of the zagreb-based cia office, which is also being invegistated.

[34] ZUBAK DOES NOT RECOGNIZE MUSLIM ASSEMBLY DECISIONS

at a session of the presidential council of the croatian republic of herzeg-bosnia croats, also, set up an agency of the same kind, which is practically some kind of secret police.

the muslim-croat federation was formed in march 1994 in washington, after 14 months of fierce clashes between muslims and croats for supremacy over territories with resepective majority populations.

in a lettersnt to the speaker of the assembly of bosnia and herzegovina miro lazovic, zubak warned that the law will not be applied in the territory of the muslim-croat federation which is under croatian control.

the president of the muslim-croat federation, hasan muratovic, assessed as unacceptable the letter of the president of the muslim-croat federation and as an attempt to create political confusion.

muratovic said that not a single republican or federal law was respected in the croatian republic of herzeg bosnia .

[35] BY ZDRAVKO MILANOVIC

muratovic, a muslim, said that the last week's decision that the bosnian croat state of herceg bosna set up its own intelligence service was the last straw in the creation of parallel authorities.

the dayton agreement clearly says that herceg-bosna can no longer adopt any regulations, muratovic told the sarajevo daily dnevni avaz in an interview.

muratovic said that the intelligence service had been set up 'with the blessing of president of the muslim-croat federation kresimir zubak (croat).'

zubak had previously accused the muslim side of adopting laws 'which violate provisions of the federation's constitution and the dayton constitution for bosnia-herezgovina.'

in a letter to muslim authorities, zubak explained that the 'adopted laws will not be implemented in the parts and certain strukges of the federation's authorities.'

the conflict in the muslim-croat federation, which has been going on since the federation was formed, has recently been defined by head of the herceg-bosna presidential council ivan bender.

'the republic of bosnia-herzegovina does not interest us at all in the way it used to be. we will never let bosnia-herzegovina be a unitary and civil state. if we are not able to prevent it with political means, other necessary means are also available,' bender said.

bosnian muslims and croats ended one year of fighting for territories in central and southwestecbosnia under u.s. pressure in march 1994 by agreeing to form a federation which has nmfunctioned in practice.

since the signing of the dayton agreement, the federation's sponsors, primarily the united states and turkey, have been trying to mediate between croats and muslims in order to revive the alliance.

observers believe that the fate of the future union of bosnia-herzegovina largely depends on this.

[36] AHEAD OF SUNDAY'S MEETING AT THE GENEVA U.S. MISSION

geneva, may 31 (tanjug) - the visits of u.s. envoy john kornblum to belgrade, zagreb, and sarajevo, should pave the way to the success of the meeting of the bosnia peace accord signatories in geneva on sunday, geneva diplomatic circles said on friday.

it still has not been announced why presidents slobodan milosevic of the yugoslav republic of serbia, franjo tudjman of croatia, and alija izetbegovic of the sarajevo muslim presidency have been asked to attend the geneva meeting which will be chaired by u.s. secretary of state warren christopher.

there have not been any announcements either regarding the subjects that will be discussed at the united states mission to the united nationsnigeneva. it is believed, however, that the implementation of the civilian aspects of the dayton peace accords and mutuurelations will be in focus of attention.

ahead of the meeting, the white house announced its views on the process of the realization of the peace accords which surprised many diplomats in geneva. according to the white house, progress has been made not only in the military part, but also in the civilian.

in the area of the military, the biggest achievement is tpmnaintaining of th e truce in bosnia-herzegovu and the withdrawal of the warring sides to 4 km from the zones of separation. the withdrawal of heavy arms is also a positive fwor.

according to the u.s., all prisoners of war have been released and there is progress in freedom of movement. the white house substantiated this statement with the kw that about 15,000 people daily cross the borders between the two entities in bosnia-herzegovina.

the white house also believes that progress has been made in the activities of the office of the high representative for civilian affairs carl bildt in preparations for the first post-war elections in bosnia, in the activities of international humanitarian organizations, and in the persecution of war criminals.

if one were to judge by these latest white house views, the united states, as the organizsof the meeting, will have a relatively easy job.

it is believed, however, that things will not procd so smoothly on sunday. there are, in fact, certain obligations which the signatories undertook at a meeting on march 18 but have not fulfilled. this includes, for instance, croatia's obligation to allow without delay the expelled serbs from krajina to return to their homes. (endns-dd-jg

[37] MUJAHEDDIN STILL IN BOSNIA, SAYS U.S. DAILY

according to u.s. intelligence reports, the mercenaries in bosnia include a group of about 25 iranian terrorists, the daily said.

there were at least 500 iranian 'volunteers' in bosnia during the war and there are scores of them there now, u.s. ambassador in bonn charles redman, former u.s. envoy to bosnia, told congress on thursday at a hearing about a scandal with secret deliveries of iranian arms to muslims in bosnia.

according to u.s. intelligence services, mercenaries are trying to stay in bosnia by 'integrating' into the local society in different ways.

some of them received new documents bxarrying bosnian women, others started to work in different humanitarian organizations and still others are temporarily employed in civilian companies in bosnia-herzegovina.

sources here have reiterated there are indications that muslim sarajevo authorities are trying to help mercenaries to remain in bosnia.

following persistent claims by muslim sarajevo authorities that no mercenaries have left in bosnia, the u.s. state department recently made a list of names of mercenaries who are still there.

under the dayton agreement, muslim authorities had to expel all mujaheddin from bosnia by jan. 19 at the latest.

u.s. state department spokesman nicholas burns said on thursday that a single cent of assistance to the bosnian muslimcmy would notrleave the u. s. tectory until the last mujaheddin had left bosnia.

[38] BOSNIAN CROATS THREATEN TO ARREST MUSLIM SOLDIERS

the radio said that muslim army commander rasim delic had sent a protest letter to the the chief of staff of the croatian defense council (hvo), general zivko budimir.

the muslim army's press centre announced on friday that six hvo members, who were taken prisoner on may 25, had been released from the prison in the town of fojnica.

the press centre said that this was done in the hope that the freedom of movement would be guarranteed to all throught the bosnian croat state herceg-bosna.

the same source said that, however, the fate of the two muslim army members, kidnapped in kiseljak on may 24, rmeained unknown.

this is why the muslim defense ministry said on thursday evening it was breaking off all talks with the croatian side over the text of a draft law on the defense of the muslim-croat federation.

following fierce year-long mutual battles, the bosnian muslims and croats set up their federation in march 1994 under pressure form the united states. in practice the federation has failed to function. the federal partners have maintained their own organs of power, armies and police force.

[39] GERMANY, YUGOSLAVIA FORMALLY RESTORE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

german president roman herzog on friday gave agrement for newly appointed yugoslav ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to germany zoran jeremic.

yugoslav president zoran lilic gave agrement for german ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to yugoslavia gerhard schroembgens.

after a four-year break, germany accepted a full normalization of relations with yugoslavia by a recent visit to belgrade of german foreign minister klaus kinkel and his meetings with serbian president slobodan milosevic and yugoslav foreign minister milan milutinovic.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

Tanjug Directory - Previous Article - Next Article