Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-06

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

Jun 6, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] BRITISH OFFICIALS VISIT OPPOSITION DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF SERBIA

[02] SERBIAN AID CONVOY REACHES REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[03] SWEDEN CALLS FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, ETHNIC ALBANIANS

[04] PERRY: IFOR IS CAPABLE OF HANDLING ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS IN BOSNIA

[05] BY END OF 1996 - 700,000 NEW TELEPHONE LINES IN SERBIA

[06] YUGOSLAV SUPREME DEFENCE COUNCIL HOLDS SESSION

[07] MINESWEEPER-MINELAYER FOR YUGOSLAV RIVER WAR FLEET LAUNCHED

[08] ALGERIAN COMPANY INTERESTED IN COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAV FIRMS

[09] TRIESTE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT IN MONTENEGRO

[10] TALKS ON GREEK-YUGOSLAV COOPERATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

[11] YUGOSLAV, EAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS COOPERATION

[12] RADULOVIC: ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION SHOULD BE MAN'S EVERYDAY DUTY

[13] YUGOSLAVIA NEEDS WORLD MARKET, WORLD STANDARDS, SAYS OFFICIAL

[14] PROMOTION OF YUGOSLAV-AUSTRIAN ECONOMIC COOPERATION

[15] FRANCE, YUGOSLAVIA HOLD TALKS ON PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION

[16] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT ADOPTS BILLS, PLATFORMS

[17] YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL URGES PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH JAPAN

[18] COMMONWEALTH CALLED UPON TO BACK IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON ACCORDS

[19] YUGOSLAVIA WILL CONTINUE TO COOPERATE WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

[20] U.S. INFORMATION CENTRE OPENS IN PRISTINA

[21] SERB PARTY LEADER ACCUSES TUDJMAN OF FANNING ETHNIC HATRED

[22] MUSLIM-CROAT DISPUTES IN BOSNIA CONTINUE

[23] BONN INSISTS ON IFOR'S SCHEDULED PULLOUT

[24] PREPARATIONS FOR OPENING OF CONSULAR OFFICES IN YUGOSLAVIA, CROATIA

[25] CONDITIONS EXIST FOR PROMOTING YUGOSLAV-BRITISH COOPERATION

[26] ADMIRAL SMITH: IFOR WILL CONTINUE TO COOPERATE WITH REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[27] SERBIAN CONGRESS PRESENTS RESULTS OF INQUIRY INTO CROATIAN CRIMES

[28] HADZIC: SERBS ARE NOT AGAINST CROATS' RETURN TO EASTERN SLAVONIA

[29] GERMANY TO START FORCIBLE REPATRIATION OF BOSNIAN REFUGEES IN OCTOBER

[30] STEINER ENCOURAGED BY TALKS WITH OPPOSITION LEADERS IN BANJA LUKA

[31] DEMOBILIZATION BEGINS IN EASTERN SLAVONIJA

[32] CROATIA: RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES ON TUDJMAN'S PLAN TO MODIFY JASENOVAC

[33] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES - NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS IN

[34] SADAKO OGATA: 30-60 THOUSAND PEOPLE KILLED IN BOSNIA

[35] OVER A THOUSAND SERBS IN CROATIAN AND MUSLIM PRISONS

[36] CONSULAR SECTION AT YUGOSLAV BUREAU IN ZAGREB BEGINS WORK ON JUNE 15

[37] MEDIA IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA DIVIDED INTO THREE DISTINCT GROUPS

[38] PROBLEMS IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA CAN BE SOLVED THROUGH TALKS ONLY

[39] COUNCIL OF EUROPE SETS TOUGHER CONDITIONS FOR CROATIA'S ADMISSION

[40] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OPPOSES CROATIA'S ADMISSION TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE

[41] RUSSIA PROPOSES LIFTING OF INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA

[42] SIXTY SERBS, FORMER CROATIAN PRISONERS, ARRIVE IN BELGRADE

[01] BRITISH OFFICIALS VISIT OPPOSITION DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF SERBIA

the talk covered, among other topics, democratization, the freedom of the media and the opposition's election prospects in serbia, a dss statement said.

[02] SERBIAN AID CONVOY REACHES REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

the convoy, carrying 100 tonnes of flour, 8,500 square metres of sheet glass, 27,000 roof tiles, 10,000 bricks and 52 tonnes of cement, was led by minister for serbs outside serbia radovan pankov.

mrkonjic-grad and sipovo had been seized by croatian forces in september 1995, to be returned to the republika srpska in march 1996 in compliance with the dayton peace accords.

the towns sustained extensive damage inflicted systematically while under croatian control.

the bodies of 181 massacred serb civilians, mostly old people murdered shortly after the croatian troops stormed the town, were exhumed from mass graves in the orthodox christian cemetery in mrkonjic-grad in april.

[03] SWEDEN CALLS FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT, ETHNIC ALBANIANS

an official statement said that in a meeting with milos nesovic, the deputy district commissioner of kosovo and provincial information secretary bosko drobnjak, bruner reaffirmed sweden's position on the necessity of solving problems in the irovince through dialogue that should open and close within the federal republic of yugoslavia.

a strong ethnic albanian separatist movement, adcocating the province's secession from yugoslavia and its republic of serbia and its annexation to neighboring albania, has been active for decades.

ethnic albanians have been granted all internationally recognized rights, including t e rigtt to education and inforoation in the mother tongue and the right to take part in the country's political life.

part of ethnic albanians, 8,!)73,:3d ?6 '30-4-58'5 )3-d34', have been refusing to exercize these rights, creating the impression that they were engangered.

serbian and yugoslav authorities have, on several occasions, offered to open a dialogue with ethnic albanians about all issues except for the province's secession, but the separatist leaders have repeatedly refusedtrthe separatist leaders have repeatedly refused it.

[04] PERRY: IFOR IS CAPABLE OF HANDLING ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS IN BOSNIA

'we expect there to be more turbulence and more problems in bosnia this summer as a result of the refugee resettling and the impending elections,' perry told a news conference in lisbon on wednesday, carried by the associated press on thursday.

perry visited lisbon on his way to the azores to visit u.s. troops.

perry expects nato member-states to hold talks in the fall on what military role the alliance might play in bosnia after the peacekeeping mission that ends in december.

'when that is completed, when the elections are completed as i expect that they will successfully be this fall, it is i think appropriate to look at what additional support nato might be asked to provide to bosnia,' perry said, adding that he remained certain the peacekeeping mission would end on schedule, in december.

[05] BY END OF 1996 - 700,000 NEW TELEPHONE LINES IN SERBIA

this will constitute a one third increase in the total number of current lines, ptt director general milorad jaksic told president milosevic.

in the two billion deutsch mark investment, to be carried out in cooperation with the french firm alkatel and german siemens, a significant role will be played by the domestic electronic industry.

under the modernization program, 300,000 new telephone lines are planned annually in the next 10 years.

it is also planned to introduce 100,000 mobile telephone lines, and a paging system to be linked with the european network.

in order to carry out these objectives, a transit telephone exchange has already been built in belgrade, and by the summer a new international telepohne exchange and satellite station will be put into operation, the statement said.

[06] YUGOSLAV SUPREME DEFENCE COUNCIL HOLDS SESSION

the council, headed by yugoslav president zoran lilic, also reviewed the financing of the yugoslav army and provision of housing for professional army members, the yugoslav presidential office said in a statement.

in addition to the council members -- presidents momir bulatovic of the yugoslav republic of montenegro and slobodan milosevic of the yugoslav republic of serbia -- the session was attended also by yugoslav prime minister radoje kontic, defence minister pavle bulatovic, head of the yugoslav army general staff lt.-gen. momcilo perisic and council secretary maj.-gen. slavoljub susic.

[07] MINESWEEPER-MINELAYER FOR YUGOSLAV RIVER WAR FLEET LAUNCHED

chief of general staff, gen. momcilo perisic, who christened the vessel, said that brodotehnika's workers and experts had built the minesweeper-minelayer in the very difficult conditions of the country's international isolation.

the novi sad is one of the s-25 nestin vessels, sailing under yugoslav, hungarian and iraqi flags.

it is intended for the detection and clearance of all types of mines in rivers and lakes, the laying of mines and the defense of waterways.

the vessel is built of an aluminum alloy and is armed with two 20-mm anti-aircraft guns and an anti-aircraft missile system.

the vessel's displacement is 61-78 tons. it is 27 meters long and has two 191-kilowatt engines. it can develop a speed of up to 26 kilometers per hour.

nestin vessels are one of a wide range of vessels built by the brodotehnika shipyard for buyers in yugoslavia and a score of foreign countries.

the shipyard recently delivered 10 'al-sk' patrol boats to the chinese ministry of public security and is negotiating the building of other types of vessels for the same buyer.

[08] ALGERIAN COMPANY INTERESTED IN COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAV FIRMS

the company is interested in delivering yugoslav agricultural products and food items to the markets of algeria and other countries.

speaking on behalf of the serbian government, sipovac supported a proposal that the scti set up a joint mixed enterprise with interested yugoslav companies.

the algerian partner's proposal for a long-term cooperation in the production and sales of yugoslav seeds was assessed as important.

[09] TRIESTE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT IN MONTENEGRO

the two sides concluded that cooperation could be promoted through joint ventures and other long-term arrangements in the wood processing, textile and aluminum industries.

[10] TALKS ON GREEK-YUGOSLAV COOPERATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

pavlicevic said that there was a possibility for cooperation between yugoslav and greek companies, primarily in the construction of highways and reconstruction of the railway network in yugoslavia.

the construction of highways towards hungary, bulgaria and greece should be one of the biggest investments in the yugoslav construction industry, pavlicevic said and added that yugoslavia was ready to give concessions to foreign investors in future projects.

dentsoras said that the technology chamber of northern macedonia would try to introduce yugoslav companies into deals in europe and urged the forming of joint companies aimed at appearing on the third countries' markets.

the greek delegation is in yugoslavia at the invitation of the serbian association of engineers and technicians, with whom they are to sign a cooperation protocol on thursday.

[11] YUGOSLAV, EAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS COOPERATION

markovic said that cooperation between ean and the yugoslav article numbering association had been good despite the international sanctions.

markovic stressed the need for intensifying business ties between the two organizations and said that yugoslavia was one of ean's first members.

van lennep said that yugoslavia had experts who could apply international standards, which should increase the implementation of the ean system and make it more popular.

[12] RADULOVIC: ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION SHOULD BE MAN'S EVERYDAY DUTY

addressing a news conference in belgrade held on the occasion of environment day, june 5, radulovic said irrational exploitation of natural resorces must be abandoned and that the development should be brought in accord with the nature's limitations.

this year's environment day is dedicated to human settlements, which has been the reason to hold a u.n. conference on human settlements titled habitat ii, in istanbul, he said.

a yugoslav delegation to the 1972 conference on environment held in stockholm launched an initiative that the first day of the conference be marked as environment day throughout the world from that point on.

[13] YUGOSLAVIA NEEDS WORLD MARKET, WORLD STANDARDS, SAYS OFFICIAL

speaking in a meeting with officials and businessmen in prokuplje, southern serbia, milojevic said it was vital that yugoslavia immediately return to the international finance and banking system.

milojevic said no one would try to salvage companies whose programmes did not stand a chance on the market.

[14] PROMOTION OF YUGOSLAV-AUSTRIAN ECONOMIC COOPERATION

speaking about talks between yugoslav and austrian businessmen in belgrade over the past two days and another upcoming visit by austrian businessmen, erfart said that, in the former yugoslavia, austrian firms had mainly cooperated with serbian and montenegrin companies.

he urged direct cooperation between companies and said that bilateral talks between businessmen were the best way to upgrade economic cooperation between the two states.

over the past two days, representatives of 100 yugoslav and 17 austrian firms discussed in belgrade prospects for renewing economic ties and all forms of cooperation, including co-production.

austria was yugoslavia's fourth trading partner with an annual volume of exchange put at 1.5 billion dollars. the yugoslav republic of serbia and montenegro represented about 40 percent in the total volume.

[15] FRANCE, YUGOSLAVIA HOLD TALKS ON PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION

vujovic is expected to meet also with french minister of transport, tourism and housing bernard pons and secretary of state for transport anne marie idrac.

the talks reflect france's and yugoslavia's willingness to resume cooperation, as stated in a meeting of french president jacques chirac and his serbian counterpart slobodan milosevic in paris in december 1995.

[16] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT ADOPTS BILLS, PLATFORMS

the government determined a basis for yugoslav-italian talks and agreements on stimulating and protecting investments, which will be held in rome on june 12-14, the yugoslav government said in a statement.

the government adopted a platform for the yugoslav-czech talks on social security in belgrade on june 10-14.

it also adopted a bill on the ratification of a yugoslav-slovak agreement on promoting and protecting investments.

the agreement enables the two countries' businessmen to make a large number of investments, enjoying the same treatment and protection as the domestic investors.

the government also drafted a bill on the ratification a yugoslav-belarus agreement on international road transport of passengers and articles.

the agreement represents a legal framework for road transport between the two countries, the statement said.

[17] YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL URGES PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH JAPAN

milojevic said economic ties with japan were modest, and said yugoslav partners and the chamber of commerce were interested in stepping up cooperation with japanese economic associations, the ministry of technology and companies.

referring to the promotion of cooperation, milojevic described ways of how japan could invest in the yugoslav economy and stressed the need for a more efficient transfer of technology.

oba said diplomatic relations between the two countries should be upgraded to the ambassadorial level by the end of the month.

this, as well as yugoslavia's return to international institutions, in particular to the international monetary fund, are major conditions for japan's large-scale investments in the yugoslav economy, he said.

he said once diplomatic relations had been upgraded, the two countries should renew agreements on cooperation in the sphere of science, technology, culture and trade as well as on granting yugoslavia the most-favoured nation status.

oba said japanese businessmen were interested in joint production and joint investments in yugoslavia, which he said was a sign of their return to yugoslavia following the november 22 suspension of the u.n. security council sanctions against belgrade.

[18] COMMONWEALTH CALLED UPON TO BACK IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON ACCORDS

unkovic was the guest of the ambassadors of 27 countries of commonwealth, the organization which rallies countries that used to be part of the british empire.

unkovic spoke about yugoslavia's position in the international community and its indispensable role in the peace process and preservation of stability in the former yugoslavia and the balkans.

he pointed at current economic processes in yugoslavia, its efforts for peace in bosnia and the importance of its speedy return in the united nations and other international organizations and financial institutions.

speaking about yugoslavia's contribution to the dayton peace agreement and to its comprehensive implementation, unkovic said that support of all international factors, including commonwealth countries, was needed.

unkovic specially stressed the devastating effect which the unjustly imposed u.n. sanctions had on the yugoslav economy and pointed at the need for their complete lifting.

in one-hour talks on unkovic's speech, the ambassadors of the commonweath missions in peking gave a positive assessment to the results of the geneva meeting of signatories to the peace agreement.

the ambassadors said that bosnia elections should be held by mid-september, according to schedule.

the commonwealth ambassadors showed full understanding for yugoslavia's return to all international organizations and institutions.

[19] YUGOSLAVIA WILL CONTINUE TO COOPERATE WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

so far, over 1,200 crimes against serbs have been processed and the tribunal has access to those information, the yugoslav information secretariat said in a statement.

yugoslavia will in the future cooperate with the international court in keeping with its legal provisions, said the statement.

a government decision to open the tribunal's bureau in belgrade is expected to make that cooperation more successful.

a number of objections were made on the work of the tribunal because of its failure to treat equally all suspected war criminals both in the process of bringing an indictment and in criminal proceedings, the statement said.

there is no need to adopt a special law on cooperation between yugoslavia and the hague tribunal, it was heard.

the yugoslav legislation has been adjusted to relevant international conventions and deals with the offenses from the competence of the hague court on the basis of international law, it was heard.

yugoslavia is strongly committed to bring to justice all possible offenders of the international humanitarian law, which is evident from the fact that competent yugoslav courts currently deal with requests from the hague tribunal, it was heard in the talks.

[20] U.S. INFORMATION CENTRE OPENS IN PRISTINA

assistant u.s. secretary of state john kornblum addressed the guests at a reception held at the centre and said the centre would be not only a place where to get information but also a place where all people living in kosovo and metohija could come and exchange views.

kosovo and metohija is predominantly populated by ethnic albanians. a strong ethnic-albanian separatist movement has been active there for decades. the separatists want to have the province secede from serbia and yugoslavia and join neighbouring albania.

kornblum, who is in pristina as head of a state department delegation, said that kosovo and metohija was not a u.s. problem but a problem of the people living in the province and the region.

he said the u.s. was trying to help open dialogue.

serbia and yugoslavia have been offering open dialogue on all issues, except secession, but the offer has repeatedly been turned down by the ethnic-albanian side.

ethnic albanians in yugoslavia are guaranteed under the constitution not only equal rights as all other citizens but also the minority rights envisaged under international documents.

however, under the influence of separatists, the majority of ethnic albanians refuse to exercise many of those rights and to participate in political and social life.

kornblum said the u.s. administration maintained dialogue with all sides in the region and authorities at all levels in yugoslavia with a view to helping secure a better future for kosovo and metohija.

he expressed hope that the u.s. information centre would help things along that same line.

asked by a journalist whether the opening of the centre marked the beginning of a serbian-albanian dialogue, kornblum said the centre was neither an official political institution nor a place for political talks.

he said the real dialogue should be held by the people in kosovo and metohija.

the state department delegation also met with head of the kosovo district aleksa jokic. u.s. deputy assistant secretary of state rudolf perina and head of the yugoslav foreign ministry direction for international educational and cultural cooperation stanislav stojanovic, who attended the opening of the information centre, also participated in the talks.

yugoslavia's contribution to the peace process and implementation of the dayton agreement and full normalization of the yugoslav-u.s. relations are important parts of the yugoslav foreign policy, it was heard in the talks.

it was said that the u.s.-yugoslav relations have a long tradition of appreciation, understanding and friendship, said a statement by the kosovo and metohija information secretariat.

jokic and kornblum said they expected that the centre would play a positive role in opening a direct dialogue, restoring understanding among all kosovo's citizens and indirectly helping spur on the region's economic development.

expectation was expressed in the talks that the centre would further expand activities deceloped for decades by the u.s. information service in belgrade and that a soon reopening of the yugoslav cultural and information centre in new york would serve the same purpose.

mihael mcclellan was appointed director of the centre, whose seat is in a house owned by an ethnic albanian.

kornblum and the members of the u.s. delegation are said to have met in pristina with president of the ethnic albanian democratic alliance of kosovo party ibrahim rugova and other party leaders.

[21] SERB PARTY LEADER ACCUSES TUDJMAN OF FANNING ETHNIC HATRED

djukic said in an open letter to tudjman that negative attitudes towards serbs in croatia could no longer be justified by the war in croatia.

he said tudjman's hatred for serbs in croatia was more than obvious and was becoming an element of croatia's official policy.

djukic urged tudjman not to use his addresses to the nation to fan hatred for serbs and not to let 'fear and darkness grip croatia.'

'not only have serbs been expelled from areas in which they used to live, but the cleansing continues to be pursued steadily and in a refined fashion throughout croatia,' djukic said in the open letter.

while no serb in croatia got a job in the past several years, many have been fired. one's nationality is the most important job requirement in all state institutions, djukic said.

he warned that croatia was preventing the return of expelled serbs, many of whose homes have been burned.

about 250,000 serbs were expelled in croatia's offensives on the then republic of serb krajina in may and august last year.

'another obligation assumed under the dayton accords has been flouted, the obligation to let all refugees return,' djukic said.

he called on tudjman to let serbs return to their homes.

[22] MUSLIM-CROAT DISPUTES IN BOSNIA CONTINUE

bender said at a session of the constituent assembly of the muslim-croat federation in bosnia-herzegovina, held in sarajevo, that the two republics existed in reality on the ground and that this fact had to be respected, muslim sarajevo radio said.

bender is presidential council president of herceg-bosna, the state that the bosnian croats proclaimed after the outbreak of war in bosnia-herzegovina. the republic functions in practice in spite of the agreement on forming the muslim-croat federation.

[23] BONN INSISTS ON IFOR'S SCHEDULED PULLOUT

a ministry statement said defense minister volker ruehe and foreign minister klaus kinkel were in full accord on the issue.

the ministry statement followed a report in the newspaper luebeker nachrichten that 3,600 more german troops were ready to leave for bosnia-herzegovina, reportedly as agreed at a western european union meeting in paris.

luebecker nachrichten quoted excerpts from a letter sent by the weu assembly to the organization's council of ministers, stating that not enough progress had been made in the reconstruction process in bosnia-herzegovina and ifor's pullout should be put off.

the implementation force is scheduled to withdraw on dec. 20.

minister of state in the german foreign ministry helmut schaefer backed the extension of ifor's mandate on tuesday but his ministry made a denial a few hours later, blaming journalists for misinterpretation.

[24] PREPARATIONS FOR OPENING OF CONSULAR OFFICES IN YUGOSLAVIA, CROATIA

a proposal was made for a meeting of yugoslav and croatian foreign and interior ministry experts and representatives of customs administrations.

after all necessary elements have been determined, the consular sections might start operating around june 24, it was said.

[25] CONDITIONS EXIST FOR PROMOTING YUGOSLAV-BRITISH COOPERATION

radulovic congratulated roberts on his appointment and wished him success in work, the yugoslag parliament press service said in a statement.

he stressed the traditionally good relations between the two countries and their fruitful cooperationjn and said that britian had always played an important role in settling crucial issues in this region, the statement said.

[26] ADMIRAL SMITH: IFOR WILL CONTINUE TO COOPERATE WITH REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

after meeting with italian defence minister beniamino andreatta, who is visiting the italian peace contigent in bosnia, in sarajevo, smith told the italian news agency ansa that the implementation of the military aspects of the dayton peace accords was going well.

as regards the civilian aspects of the accords, it is up to politicians to create conditions for their implementation, he said.

he said the people of bosnia-herzegovina deserved to move freely, and said he shared u.n. high commissioner for refugees sadako ogata's view that freedom of movement could not be restored to bosnia by force.

smith also said ifor had repaired 55 bridges as well as thousands of kilometres of roads and four airports. (#3 '-8d 8!94 :)9'3)6 :99034-53d 285# 5#3 94&-,8'-589, !94 '3:74856 -,d :99034-589, 8, 374903 (osce) at this point.

[27] SERBIAN CONGRESS PRESENTS RESULTS OF INQUIRY INTO CROATIAN CRIMES

vukovar is the biggest city in the serb region of eastern slavonia, barania and west srem, situated in the border belt between croatia and the federal republic of yugoslavia, and placed in late 1995 under u.n. administration for at least a year, and maybe two.

the information centre's officials said at a news conference in vukovar on wednesday that they were satisfied with the inquiry made in vukovar in late may by investigators of the hague-based war crimes tribunal for former yugoslavia.

they added that investigations of this kind would shake the belief that had taken root in the world that the serbs had rebelled at arms against and launched an aggression on croatia.

the hague investigators learned at first hand facts about croatian crimes in paulin dvor, massacre in sarvas, assassination of josip rajhl kir, crimes against civilians and the wounded in the vukovar hospital and others, it was said at the news conference.

evidence was quoted in support of the thesis that the croatian regime had been behind the crimes, of which the hague tribunal's investiative team was informed.

it was heard that the idea to 'ethnically cleanse' the area had been conceived at the founding meeting of the croatian democraic union, today the ruling party in croatia, held in the home of tomislav mercep, the party's president for the vukovar area.

the meeting was attended also by the then croatian parliament deputies vladimir seks, ivan vekic and branimir glavas and the croatian government's representative in the vukovar municipality marin vidic bili, it was specified.

seks and vekic are still officials of the croatian parliament, and glavas is district administrator in the slavonia region, based in osijek.

this clearly shows that the green light for crimes against serbs in vukovar and the surrounding area had come from the top echelons of power in croatia, the centre's officials said.

[28] HADZIC: SERBS ARE NOT AGAINST CROATS' RETURN TO EASTERN SLAVONIA

after meeting with special envoy of the u.n. high commissioner for refugees (unchr), soren jensen peterson, hadzic described as unacceptable a position by president of the association of croatia's refugees mate simic that croats would not return to the region as long as serbs did not leave their houses.

the region of eastern slavonia, barania and western srem borders on the federal republic of yugoslavia and croatia. under an agreement reached between croatian authorities and serb officials last november, the region was placed under a one-year u.n. transitional administration.

commenting on the meeting, peterson welcomed hadzic's position on the croat refugees' right to return to the region.

peterson said he would exert his influence on croatian authorities to alter the current law on selective amnesty for serbs, because he said this was a condition for the serbs' return to croatia.

he said the international community was making continual efforts to enable serbs to exercise their right to return home, and said this had been stressed also by the u.n. security council.

he said the first group of serbs who had fled western parts of the republic of serb krajina had visited their houses on wednesday. the action was organised by unhcr, he said.

serbs in croatia proclaimed their own state, the republic of serb krajina, in 1991, after croatia launched a war of secession from the former yugoslavia.

croatia launched an aggression on western, southern and central parts of serb krajina in may and august 1995, triggering an exodus of about 250,000 serbs.

the region of eastern slavonia, barania and western srem is the only part of serb krajina that has not been occupied by croatia.

[29] GERMANY TO START FORCIBLE REPATRIATION OF BOSNIAN REFUGEES IN OCTOBER

the decision postpones by three months the original date for beginning the great migration back to the balkans, which germany hopes to complete by end 1997.

kanther announced the change in a letter to his colleague in the land of north rhine-westphalia, franz-josef knioli, who alone wanted the deadline for beginning the repatriation to be moved to april 1, 1997.

kanther said that the forcible repatriation was being delayed until the autumn in order that the refugees who might wish to do so should have enough time to travel back home and see at first hand what were the conditions for their permanent return.

germany, austria, switzerland, slovenia and croatia recently signed an agreement simplifying the administrative procedure for the transit of refugees through their territories back to bosnia-herzegovina.

kanther alleged that the government in the (bosnian serb state) republika srpska had a totally unsatisfactory attitude to the refugee repatriation talks.

however, minister of state in the german foreign ministry helmut schaefer said on wednesday that he had seen at first hand positive developments in the republika srpska during his recent visit to its biggest city of banja luka.

schaefer said that there was freedom of movement for all ethnic groups in the republika srpska.

[30] STEINER ENCOURAGED BY TALKS WITH OPPOSITION LEADERS IN BANJA LUKA

steiner was speaking after meeting with officials of opposition parties in banja luka, the biggest town in the (bosnian serb state) republika srpska (r.s.).

steiner met also with the mayors of drvar, sanski most and kljuc, the towns that were placed under control of the moslem-croat federation, bosnia's other entity, under peace accords struck in dayton, ohio, last november, as well as with the mayors of the r.s. towns of banja luka, prijedor and mrkonjic-grad.

steiner said he discussed with the mayors the repatriation of refugees. he said a number of refugees had returned home, but said that number was far too small.

the serb towns of drvar, sanski most and kljuc were seized in an offensive launched in mid-september by joint moslem, croat and croatian regular army forces. tens of thousands of serbs fled the towns before the offensive.

steiner said he could not say he was satisfied with freedom of movement. he said certain progress had been made in this sense, which he said could be interpreted as an encouriging sign.

in this connection, he said a new bus line between banja luka and the federation town of zenica had been introduced on wednesday.

[31] DEMOBILIZATION BEGINS IN EASTERN SLAVONIJA

the troops are surrendering their light arms to the united nations peace force.

representative philip arnold of the transitional administration for eastern slavonija (untaes), a region with a predominantly serb population, situated between croatia and yugoslavia, said serb force commander gen. dusan loncar had on wednesday ordered the start of demobilization.

the operation will cover 3,000-5,000 serb troops, agencies report.

arnold said serb forces should surrender their light arms and ammunition to the untaes by june 20, and starting from june 21, u.n. forces will be obliged to seize and destroy any weapons found.

about 80 percent of the heavy weaponry has already been surrendered to the untaes.

the demilitarization of the region, where croatian secessionists and local serbs fought bitterly in the autumn of 1991, is part of the croatian-serb agreement of november last year on a peaceful settlement of the problems in this area.

the untaes mandate expires at the end of this year and it can be extended for another one. the implementation of the croatian-serb agreement is controlled by 5,000 u.n. troops.

[32] CROATIA: RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES ON TUDJMAN'S PLAN TO MODIFY JASENOVAC

zagreb, june 6 (tanjug) - independent croatian papers and representatives of religious communities in croatia have condemned an idea by croatian president franjo tudjman to mix the remains of wwii victims and their butchers -- the ustasha (croatian fascists) -- in the memorial centre of jasenovac.

the jewish religious community in zagreb and the serbian orthodox church have sharply condemned the plan. the split paper feral tribune described the idea as morbid.

the split daily slobodna dalmacija joined the polemic by publishing extensive interviews with representatives of three religious communities -- the jewish community, the serbian orthodox church and the catholic church.

president of the jewish community in zagreb ognjen kraus pointed to a resolution adopted by the european parliament in february 1993 on the protection of concentration camps as historical monuments.

during world war two, in the so-called independent state of croatia (ndh), an ally of hitler's nazi germany, the croatian fascists exterminated 700,000 serbs, jews and gypsies in the concentration camp of jasenovac.

jasenovac is the biggest place of execution of jews, serbs and gypsies in croatia. the goal of the ustasha ideology was to annihilate them. croats who were opposed to the ustasha regime were also eliminated. jasenovac is the place of genocide of non-croats, kraus said.

it is inconceivable to jews in croatia that the remains of cruel gaolers and killers lie beside jewish victims in jasenovac.

kraus said that a modification of the jasenovac memorial centre would efface the symbol of ustasha terror and criminal ndh.

the archpriest of the serbian orthodox church in zagreb, milenko popovic, denounced the 'modification' in the interview with the daily.

the remains of civilian victims eliminated as part of the programmed ustasha terror lie in jasenovac. these innocent victims were serbs, jews, gypsies and innocent croats, archpriest milenko popovic said.

even if the (ustasha) remains were not buried in jasenovac, monuments and memorial tablets would be erected which altogether would change the memorial centre. monuments to killers alongside the graves of their victims, archpriest popovic said speaking about tudjman's second idea for modifying jasenoavc.

the paper said that the catholic church in croatia and its bishops have not made public their stand.

the paper carried the 'personal' view of a priest, the editor in chief of the catholic news agency in zagreb, don zivko kustic who stressed that it was part of christian tradition not disturb graves.

asked whether a modification of jasenovac may bring about reconciliation, kustic said that reconciliation was effected much more easily without any hasty moves. the polemic on jasenovac has not contributed to reconciliation but quite the contrary, he said.

[33] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES - NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS IN

belgrade, june 6 (tanjug) - assistant yugoslav foreign minister zivadin jovanovic said the normalization of relations with former yugoslav republics was a foreign policy priority.

in an interview to the austrian journal monitor and the belgrade journal review of international affairs, jovanovic pointed out that yugoslavia had already in its constitutional declaration adopted on apr. 27, 1992, expressed full respect of the rights and interests of newly formed states in the territory of former yugoslavia, and confirmed that it has no territorial aspirations toward any sides.

the regulation of the many outstanding problems formed with the break-up of the former common state is possible only through political talks, the patient building of confidence and understanding, on the principles of good-neighborliness, jovanovic said.

as normalization of relations is a two-way process, it is clear that it is expected that the other partners, on these bases, also make full contributions, he said.

the federal republic of yugoslavia sees mutual respect, confidence and cooperation of all balkan countries on the grounds of equality and mutual interest, non-interference in internal affairs, as the foundation principles on which peace, stability and goodneighborliness in the balkans is built. he said.

jovanovic assessed the inclusion of the balkans in european integration processes would be possible only through 'greater mutual cooperation, closeness, strengthening of confidence, overcoming all open issues through talks, and the intensification of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region.

jovanovic said yugoslavia would continue to oppose any partial approach in the treatment of issues of vital interest for security, peace and stability in the balkans.

the crisis in former yugoslavia best shows how interference and the influence of outside balkan factors, revival of old and forming of new spheres of influence in the region, which as a rule lies behind the different axes and transversals, can have tragic effects on the entire region, jovanovic said.

asked by monitor reporters how the yugoslav government intends to solve the alleged problem of the kosovo and metohija province, jovanovic said this was an internal affair of serbia and yugoslavia which should be resolved through dialogue of official state representatives and representatives of the albanian national minority.

jovanovic said the albanian national minority in yugoslavia enjoys all rights, which eables ethnic albanians to preserve their national and cultural identity. they refuse to use these rights, however, in order to show that they are allegedly threatened and fulfil the separatist aspirations, he said.

jovanovic welcomed the unequivocal stand of the international community that kosovo and metohija is an integral part of the republic of serbia.

we expect the community in future even more resolutely to use its influence on ethnic albanians to accept dialogue and a life together for the stabilization of the situation in kosovo and elsewhere in the region, jovanovic said.

the yugoslav authorities on several occasions proposed dialogue on all open issues, but not secession, to ethnic albanians in kosovo, but they always flatly refused.

[34] SADAKO OGATA: 30-60 THOUSAND PEOPLE KILLED IN BOSNIA

asked by journalists if there is any truth in the claims of the muslim government of alija izetbegovic that over 200,000 people were killed in bosnia and herzegovina, ogata said they were exaggerated.

in an interview to the parisian figaro published thursday, giving data about refugees, ogata specified that according to her assessment ove quarter of a million people had left their homes in bosnia-herzegovina. about two million refugees have remained in bosnia-herzegovina, one million went to serbia and croatia, and 900,000 refugees have found shelter on european countries, ogata said.

assessing that by now about 70,000 people have returned, ogata added that many difficulties were hampering their return and that political conditions were also lacking.

talking about refugees from croatia, ogata warned that the government in zagreb is setting impossible obstacles for the return of serbian refugees expelled from krajina and slavonija, and warned that 'political problems cannot be solved by humanitarian action'.

sadako ogata recieved in paris the houphouet boigny award granted by unesco to those have contributed to peace in the world.

[35] OVER A THOUSAND SERBS IN CROATIAN AND MUSLIM PRISONS

according to data at the disposal of the association of families of missing rs army troops, croats and muslims run 95 prisons where they hold serb troops prisoner. the international red cross has visited only one third of the prisons, since many are not even registered.

even those rs army troops who have been registered by the international red cross and who are prisoners in croatian prisons are still waiting to be released. there is reliable evidence that muslims and croats are holding in captivity a certain number of serbs who are not registered by international humanitarian organizations, vecernje novosit said.

according to the association, the majority of rs army troops were taken prisoner and went missing towards the end of war, in september and october 1995, when croatian and muslim army troops launched a joint offensive on western krajina and north-east bosnia.

seven months after the end of the war in bosnia and herzegovina, the daily said, and despite the obligation of the warring sides, under the dayton peace agreement, to release all prisoners, their fate is still uncertain.

the association of imprisoned and missing rs army troops who made attempts to trace their loved ones were in no way helped by representatives of the international community, the united nations, the international red cross or ifor.

a member of the association, nebojsa mitrovic, said that letters went unanswered sent to presidents of countries members of the international contact group who, headed by the united states, dictated the peace terms in bosnia and herzegovina.

[36] CONSULAR SECTION AT YUGOSLAV BUREAU IN ZAGREB BEGINS WORK ON JUNE 15

the yugoslav bureau will deal with the protection of the interests of yugoslavia, its natural and juristic persons, will issue travel papers to yugoslav citizens and visas to foreigners, protect the interests of yugoslav natural and juristic persons in the exercise of their inheritance rights and deliver court and other acts, the yugoslav foreign ministry said.

belgrade has called for a meeting of foreign ministry, police, and customs officials of the two countries to be held in the second half of june with a view to defining a common practice of reciprocity and facilitating conditions for the crossing of the common border.

the former yugoslav republic of croatia launched a war of secession from the former yugoslav federation in early 1991.

the first step towards a normalization of relations between yugoslavia and croatia was the opening of the yugoslav bureau in zagreb on april 15, 1994 and of croatia's in belgrade a day earlier, on march 14.

[37] MEDIA IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA DIVIDED INTO THREE DISTINCT GROUPS

the division, corresponding to the political division in bosnia-herzegovina, was referred to in the first report by the centre for monitoring media in the pre-election campaign, released on thursday.

the centre, set up by the institute of peacetime and wartime coverage from london, aims to present to the domestic and the world public, as well as state bodies and voters in bosnia's two entities, an independent and realistic view on the pre-election campaign and the legitimacy of the coming elections.

peace accords for bosnia-herzegovina struck in dayton, ohio, in november 1995, envisage that the former yugoslav republic be a union of two entities -- the moslem-croat federation and the republika srpska.

under the accords, the first free and democratic elections in bosnia-herzegovina, which was torn apart by civil war for 43 months, are to be held by mid-september.

the centre registered 145 newspapers, magazines and periodicals, 91 radio stations, 25 television stations and 6 news agencies in the two entities.

[38] PROBLEMS IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA CAN BE SOLVED THROUGH TALKS ONLY

doris pak, head of the european parliament delegation for southeastern europe, and kosovo and metohija's officials milos nesovic and bosko drobnjak, an information secretary, agreed that a dialogue should open immediately and that no conditions should be set for it.

in doing so, it must not be forgotten that the issue of kosovo and metohija is yugoslavia's and serbia's internal affair, as it has been repeatedly stated also by the international community, it was stated in the talks.

a strong separatist movement has for decades been active in the predominantly ethnic-albanian-populated province. the movement's goal is to detach the province from serbia and yugoslavia and to attach it to neighbouring albania.

serbian authorities have repeatedly inivited ethnic albanian representatives to discuss all issues but the secession. ethnic albanians have invariably refused to do so, boycotting serbian and yugoslav authorities.

under secessionists' influence, the majority of ethnic albanians in kosovo and metohija do not exercise the rights that have been granted to them in keeping with relevant international conventions.

pak conceded that a more intensive financial assistance on the part of the international community would help boost the economy in the province and would, consequentlyjn enable employment of more people and a speedy restoration of confidence among them.

[39] COUNCIL OF EUROPE SETS TOUGHER CONDITIONS FOR CROATIA'S ADMISSION

the council listed as the most important condition for croatia's membership cooperation with the hague-based international war crimes tribunal as well as in the implementation of a peace agreement for bosnia-herzegovina.

moreover, croatia's membership depends on its behaviour in eastern slavonia, barania and western srem and the respect of serbs' human rights there.

zagreb is also expected to respond to serb refugees' requests to return to their homes.

croatia launched an aggression on serb krajina in early may and august 1995, triggering an exodus of about 250,000 serbs. moreover, about 500,000 serbs have left croatia since it launched a war of secession from the former yugoslavia.

croatian foreign minister mate granic has said that zagreb authorities will respond to the council of europe, with the committee of ministers being expected to discuss croatia's membership in the council on june 24.

croatian press reported on thursday about the conditions set by the council of europe, saying the conditions mainly coincided with those already agreed to by croatian president franjo tudjman.

the zagreb daily vjesnik said the council insisted that zagreb secure a dignified return of serbs to croatia and compensate for the property they have lost.

the daily said the council insisted that a court investigation be launched into crimes against people and their property as well as into violations of human rights.

[40] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OPPOSES CROATIA'S ADMISSION TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE

the parliament also adopted a resolution condemning undemocratic actions of the government in zagreb, especially the stifling of the freedom of the press, including the arrest and harassment of journalists working for opposition newspapers.

the resolution criticized president franjo tudjman's ruling croatian democratic union (hdz) for preventing legally elected city authorities and officials from taking office in zagreb.

the resolution called on the croatian government to abandon its plan to turn the jasenovac memorial centre, commemorating world-war-two victims of fascism, into a war memorial in which the victims and followers of ante pavelic, head of the nazi puppet-state 'independent state of croatia,' would be reconciled.

around 700,000 people, predominantly serbs but also jews, romanies and croatian anti-fascists, were killed in the jasenovac death camp by ustasha, croatian nazi-fascist.

tudjman, who minimizes the number of victims in jasenovac and claims that about 30,000 people perished there, plans, 'as an act of the reconciliation of all croats,' to bury the remains of ustasha at the memorial complex.

the european parliament called on the european commission and the council of ministers to suspend all negotiations on croatia's wider inclusion into the phare programme of aid to countries of eastern europe and put off signing an agreement on trade and cooperation with croatia.

the talks were broken off after croatia's attacks on the western, northern and southern parts of the republic of serb krajina in the spring and summer of 1995, when more than 250,000 serbs were compelled to flee.

the council of europe parliamentary assembly took a formal decision on croatia's admission to the council last month.

the chief goal of the council, which has 39 members, is to enhance human rights and democracy in european countries.

at their meeting in may, the e.u. foreign ministers refused to make any such recommendation to the european parliament, which makes the final decision on admission to the council of europe.

[41] RUSSIA PROPOSES LIFTING OF INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA

spokesman grigory karasin told a regular news briefing that russian foreign minister yevgeny primakov had proposed the lifting of the sanctions at the contact group ministerial meeting in berlin on tuesday.

karasin said russia believed that serbian president slobodan milosevic' engagement for the benefit of the bosnia peace process deserved an adequate positive reaction on the part of the international community.

'such a position should be supported by a decision to lift the sanctions against serbia,' he said.

karasin said that such international step would activate general efforts in the peace process.

karasin said nothing about the reaction to the proposal of the foreign ministers of the other four contact group members -- the united states, france, great britain and germany -- and international community's representatives.

the may 1992 u.n. security council comprehensive and mandatory sanctions against the yugoslav federation of serbia and montenegro were suspended after the initialling of the dayton peace agreement in late november 1995.

under the agreement, the sanctions against yugoslavia should be lifted after bosnia elections, which should be held by mid-september 1996.

[42] SIXTY SERBS, FORMER CROATIAN PRISONERS, ARRIVE IN BELGRADE

they were arrested during croatia's operation storm in august 1995, when more than 250,000 serbs fled the northern and southern parts of u.n.-protected serb krajina.

the croatian army seized western serb krajina in may 1995.

those who wanted to speak said that they had experienced worst maltreatments in the prison in karlovac, about 50 km southwest of zagreb.

the majority of the group did not wish to speak in fear of retaliation against the serbs who remained in croatian prisons.

president of the yugoslav government's commission for humanitarian issues and missing persons pavle todorovic, who welcomed the group, said he was dissatisfied because more than 250 serbs were still in croatian prisons.

the croatian side constantly politicizes the problems of prisoners and missing persons, todorovic said and added that the international community would have to put pressure on the zagreb regime to fulfil basic humanitarian law obligations, the yugoslav information secretariat said in a statement.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

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