Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-05-18

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

May 18, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] PEREZ CASADO SAYS ELECTIONS IN MOSTAR NOT MOVED FOR LATER DATE

[02] PLAVSIC SAYS DAYTON ACCORDS IMPLEMENTATION HAS PRIORITY

[03] NEW RS PREMIER: WE WILL CONSISTENTLY IMPLEMENT DAYTON ACCORD

[04] IFOR SPOKESMAN: MUSLIMS VISIT SERB TERRITORY WITHOUT INCIDENT

[05] BILDT BELIEVES RS PRESIDENT KARADZIC WILL STEP DOWN

[06] GERMANY PROTESTS TO CROATIA AGAINST PROVOCATIONS IN MOSTAR

[07] SERBIAN CHURCH CHIEF SERVES LITURGY IN BELGRADE ON RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY

[08] BILDT BRIEFED ON ELECTION OF NEW R.S. PRIME MINISTER

[09] ILIESCU ON FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION TREATY WITH YUGOSLAVIA

[10] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS BREAK OFF TALKS ON ENTRY INTO PRIJEDOR

[11] KARADZIC SAYS EXECUTIVE POWER CRISIS IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA SURMOUNTED

[12] BILDT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PEACE PROSPECTS IN BOSNIA

[13] SERBIAN PREMIER MARJANOVIC TO VISIT GREECE

[14] ORUCEVIC: MUSLIMS IN EASTERN MOSTAR WILL NOT VOTE

[15] R.S. ARMY GENERAL DJORDJE DJUKIC DIES

[16] COMMEMORATION OF WORLD-WAR-TWO JASENOVAC DEATH CAMP VICTIMS

[17] SERB EASTERN SLAVONIA REGION SEEKS OPENING TO EUROPE, WORLD

[18] WORLD MEDIA ON CADRE CHANGES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[01] PEREZ CASADO SAYS ELECTIONS IN MOSTAR NOT MOVED FOR LATER DATE

according to foreign news agencies, perez casado said talks continued at all levels and he could take no decision before consulting italy, as the country which currently held the e.u. presidency.

e.u. administration's legal adviser hans birchler said saturday morning that the municipal elections in mostar, originally scheduled for may 31, were being put off for 'technical reasons'.

promptly reacting, perez casado said birchler's statement reflected a personal opinion.

the differing statements followed the withdrawal of muslim representatives from all joint electoral commissions in mostar.

the muslim parties in the city's eastern section confirmed friday evening that they would not participate in the elections if displaced mostar muslims were not able to vote where they were currently residing and if the elections were not moved for a later date.

an e.u. administration official told associated press that the muslim representatives withdrew on instructions from their party leaders.

bosnian croats and muslims were engaged in fierce mutual fighting in central and southern bosnia-herzgeovina in 1993.

bosnian croats had declared early on in the civil war that they planned to make mostar the capital of their republic in bosnia-herzegovina.

before they partitioned mostar, after the agreement on the muslim-croat federation was signed in washington in march 1994, muslims and croats drove out about 40,000 serbs.

under the 1995 dayton peace agreement, mostar is to be a single city.

the efforts to that end of former e.u. administrator hans koschnick of germany were undermined by the croat side.

[02] PLAVSIC SAYS DAYTON ACCORDS IMPLEMENTATION HAS PRIORITY

in a statement released late on saturday, plavsic specified that this meant three things to the republika srpska -- viz. peace, further affirmation of the republika srpska and a consistent implementation of the policy adopted by its parliament.

karadzic said earlier in the evening that he was deputing plavsic to act for him in contacts with the international community in the coming period, in line with the republika srpska's constitution.

he said he needed to concentrate on reviving the economy, rebuilding the country and drafting new laws that should lay the foundations for a free society and a market economy.

[03] NEW RS PREMIER: WE WILL CONSISTENTLY IMPLEMENT DAYTON ACCORD

after a saturday meeting with international community's high representative for bosnia carl bildt at pale, the administrative centre of the rs, klickovic said that his first task would be to hold a cabinet session next week, the rs news agency srna reported.

rs parliament speaker momcilo krajisnik confirmed that the rs would honour its obligations in the dayton agreement and said that out of the 56 members of parliament at the extraordinary parliament session, only one voted against appointing klickovic new prime minister, srna said.

rs president radovan karadzic dismissed rs prime minister rajko kasagic on wednesday.

in a report from sarajevo late on saturday, afp quoted bildt as saying that he respected kasagic's decision to accept the dismissal.

that, however, has not affected our stand on the influence exerted by bosnian serb leader karadzic on the rs state policy which we view as unacceptable, bildt's spokesman duncan bullivant said.

bullivant said that the problem was not as to who would hold the post of prime minister but that the problem was the degree of influence exerted by karadzic.

in addressing the public late on saturday, karadzic said that vice-president biljana plavsic would represent him in the next period in contacts with the international community, in keeping with the rs constitution.

plavsic said saturday evening that the main task before her was the implementation of the dayton accord.

she said that it meant three things for the rs: peace, furhter affirmation of the rs and implementation of the state policy approved by the rs parliament.

[04] IFOR SPOKESMAN: MUSLIMS VISIT SERB TERRITORY WITHOUT INCIDENT

afp reported that a muslim convoy of four buses and about ten cars tried to enter the republika srpska but that the rs officials allowed one bus to enter the territory.

the bus was accompanied by a u.n police vehicle and another of the unhcr.

[05] BILDT BELIEVES RS PRESIDENT KARADZIC WILL STEP DOWN

afp quoted bildt as saying in sarajevo that the situation had not been completely clarified but that he expected that karadzic would not remain long on the political scene.

[06] GERMANY PROTESTS TO CROATIA AGAINST PROVOCATIONS IN MOSTAR

germany has also instructed its ambassador in zagreb to protest to the croatian government.

the behaviour of croats in bosnia is unacceptable, german foreign minister klaus kinkel said, adding the incident was a provocation.

kinkel presented to journalists in bonn an official reaction in which he condemned the incident in mostar which happened during a visit to the town by german minister of development and cooperation carl-dieter spranger.

spranger went to mostar to officially open two railway bridges whose reconstruction was financed by the german government.

one of the ceremonies was called off because local croats at the bridge hoisted croatian flags and refused to lower them down in spite of warnings from the german side.

the croatian flags hoisted at official ceremonies in bosnia-herzegovina are a flagrant violation of the country's sovereignty, the german foreign ministry said.

another incident, which also gave rise to sharp reactions, took place during a reception held in honour of spranger in mostar on friday.

croatian policemen attempted to arrest the secretary of the german society for technical cooperation, a muslim. the eu police prevented the arrest.

[07] SERBIAN CHURCH CHIEF SERVES LITURGY IN BELGRADE ON RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY

patriarch pavle of the serbian orthodox church, accompanied by ranking clergy, served the liturgy in st. sava's church, honouring its patron saint and the endowers of this biggest orthodox christian church in the balkans.

st. sava, the first archbishop of the autocephalous serbian church, died in trnovo, bulgaria, in 1235, on his return from a protracted pilgrimage to palestine, egypt, libya and sinai.

his remains were transferred to the mileseva monastery in southwestern serbia in 1237.

the relics of the 'sainted immortal one of mileseva' were burned by the turks in belgrade in 1594, on the orders of sinan-pasha, the commander of the ottoman army of occupation, in an effort to intimidate the serbs rebelling against turkish rule.

[08] BILDT BRIEFED ON ELECTION OF NEW R.S. PRIME MINISTER

at an extraordinary session early saturday in pale, the poarliament elected gojko klickovic as new prime minister of the serb endity.

bildt said after meeting krajisnik that he would be able to comment this development in writing once he gets full information later in the day or sunday.

asked whether he still supported the dismissed prime minister rajko kasagic, bildt said his task was not to support anyone, but to ensure the full implementation of the dayton agreement. this is not a personal question but a political one, he said.

[09] ILIESCU ON FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION TREATY WITH YUGOSLAVIA

in a statement to the romanian press made in belgrade on friday, iliescu said that this cooperation would be in line with the general principles operating in international relations in the democratic world today.

the 20-year friendship, goodneighbourliness and cooperation treaty between the federal republic of yugoslavia and romania was signed in belgrade on thursday, the first day of the romanian president's three-day official visit to yugoslavia.

the government newspaper vocae romanini highlighted iliescu's statement, made after meeting with yugoslav prime minister radoje kontic, to the effect that romania had supported the federal republic of yugoslavia from the start and continued to do so today.

he added that romania was urging yugoslavia's return to all international bodies.

the economic newspaper curioral nacional focused on the view expressed by president slobodan milosevic of the yugoslav republic of serbia that economic cooperation must soon attain and even surpass the high level of bilateral political cooperation.

[10] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS BREAK OFF TALKS ON ENTRY INTO PRIJEDOR

prijedor authorities said they would have been able to guarantee the security of only a busload of muslims and were ready to allow that many muslims to visit the local cemetaries.

sanski most mayor, former commander of the muslim seventh corps mehmed alagic, did not accept the serb offer and did not allow any muslims to visit the cemetaries.

implementation force (ifor) troops placed barbed-wire obstacles on the separation line between prijedor and sanski most in order to prevent possible incidents.

both prijedor and sanski most were part of republika srpska during three and a half years of the civil war.

however, sanski most was occupied in an offensive of bosnian-croat and muslim troops and regular army troops of neighbouring croatia in autumn 1995 and became part of the muslim-croat federation under the dayton peace accords.

ifor had earlier said it would prevent any attempt at unannounced or forcible entry from one state entity into another in order to avoid possible clashes.

[11] KARADZIC SAYS EXECUTIVE POWER CRISIS IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA SURMOUNTED

karadzic added in his statement that vice president biljana plavsic would deputize for him in future contacts with the international community.

the planned destabilisation of the republika srpska, which started with an attempt to divide the government and with regional antagonisms, has been resolutely prevented by the unanimous decisions of the national assembly, the presidential statement said.

in this context, the statement added, new premier gojko klickovic has received the unanimous support of the assembly, consolidating the government.

the statement further said that the government's priorities in the coming period were to work to settle the status of refugees, find jobs for demoblised soldiers, revive the economy and rebuild the country.

also, it added, it must prepare new laws that should lay the foundations for a free society and a market economy.

karadzic's statement said that, as he needed to concentrate on some of the priorities, he was appointing vice president biljana plavsic to act for him in future contacts with the world community and other duties, in line with the republika srpska's constitution.

[12] BILDT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PEACE PROSPECTS IN BOSNIA

i believe that we can be optimistic because the people do not want war, bildt said in an interview with vecernje novosti published by the belgrade paper on sunday.

bildt also expressed hope that stable peace would be established by the end of the year.

bildt said that serbian president slobodan milosevic fully supported every aspect of the implementation of the peace agreement and everything leading to a peaceful solution in the former yugoslavia.

croatian president franjo tudjman also upholds the peace agreement, bildt said and urged both president to persevere.

regarding difficulties in the implementation of the peace agreement, bildt said that they had been provoked by the reactions of political extremists on both sides.

he said that the extremists disregarded the existence of the republika srpska and the (muslim-croat) federation which was a reality, while the peace agreement guaranteed a freedom of movement between the entities.

he also expressed the conviction that mutual distrust would be removed. bildt said that the international community encouraged all crossings and meetings and all sensible people who have had too much of war.

[13] SERBIAN PREMIER MARJANOVIC TO VISIT GREECE

during his visit, marjanovic will attend the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the landing of serbian army in corfu to recover after fierce battles in world war i.

in athens, marjanovic will meet greek prime minister costas simitis.

[14] ORUCEVIC: MUSLIMS IN EASTERN MOSTAR WILL NOT VOTE

orucevic said the elections in mostar, a town in southern bosnia-herzegovina divided by muslims and croats, would not be held without substantial modifications in election rules.

the muslim presidency of eastern mostar has instructed all muslim members in election commissions to walk out pending new political decisions on the matter.

the croat radio reported that croats in mostar were making preparations and urged the croat population to cast their ballots and vote for a new administration of the western part of the town, which will be recognized by the international community.

european union (eu) administrator for mostar ricardo perez casado said on saturday that the elections, planned for may 31, would not be postponed.

mostar was put under eu administration in july 1994 after an agreement was reached in washington the same year to form a muslim-croat federation in bosnia.

the agreement put an end to muslim-croat fighting in the town and other areas in bosnia-herzegovina in 1993 but the federal partners have not resolved their disputes.

before launching their fighting, muslims and croats expelled about 40,000 serbs from the area of mostar at the outset of war in bosnia in 1992.

[15] R.S. ARMY GENERAL DJORDJE DJUKIC DIES

the international war crimes tribunal for the former yugoslavia on april 24 released general djukic for 'humanitarian reasons' (ill health) after he had spent two months in prison

when the tribunal conditionally released djukic, even prosecutor richad goldstone objected saying the charges against him should be dropped entirely.

djukic, who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer a few months ago, was transfered from the hague jail to the military academy hospital in belgrade where he died saturday evening.

general djukic was arrested by muslim authorities together with bosnian serb army col. aleksa krsmanovic on january 30 this year in an area under ifor control, after which they were taken to the hague.

djukic pleaded not guilty in the hague, stating he had not taken part in offensive actions having been in charge of logistics.

before he was released and aware that his days were counted, djukic said through his defense counsel toma fila that he wished to prove his innocence and die with a spotless reputation.

djukic was born in 1934 in glamoc, south-western bosnia, was a machine engineer and graduated from the highest military colleges. he carried out his duties succesfully and was deputy chief of staff for logistics in bosnian serb army.

bosnian serb army chief of staff general ratko mladic addressed his condolences to general djukic's family.

[16] COMMEMORATION OF WORLD-WAR-TWO JASENOVAC DEATH CAMP VICTIMS

the commemoration was held on the 51th anniversary of a massive flight of the camp's inmates.

croatian nazi-fascists, allies of hitler's germany and mussolini's italy, exterminated 700,000-odd people at jasenovac, predominantly serbs and also several scores of thousands of jews, romanies and anti-fascists of other nationalities.

gradina, the site where a large number of the camp's inmates were executed and where their mass graves lie, is in the bosnian serb republika srpska.

the largest part of the jasenovac memorial complex is across the river from gradina on croatia's territory.

rabbi isak asiel of belgrade and representative of the surviving jewish jasenovac death camp inmates erih jozef prayed in hebrew in memory of the jasenovac victims.

member of the world romany organization dragan ackovic spoke at the commemoration.

republika srpska vice president nikola koljevic, who also spoke, said that, just as jews and romanies, serbs perished at the camp because of their orthodox faith, serb names and language.

the commemoration was attended by members of the u.n. observer mission, the organization for security and cooperation in europe and other international missions.

much of the international community, including jewish organizations, have condemned croatian president franjo tudjman's plans to have the remains of executioners buried alongside those of the victims at the jasenovac memorial complex.

the organization of surviving camp inmates and veterans of the jewish community in belgrade protested against tudjman's plans sunday.

'we the surviving jewish inmates categorically protest...against the incomprehensible plans to bury next to the treacherously murdered victims the remains of their executioners,' a released statement said.

'we also demand that unesco provide international protection of the entire jasenovac memorial complex,' the surviving jewish camp inmates said.

[17] SERB EASTERN SLAVONIA REGION SEEKS OPENING TO EUROPE, WORLD

speaking for radio kragujevac, central serbia, president goran hadzic said that the belgrade-zagreb highway and postal, telegraph and telephone traffic with croatia had been opened with this aim in view.

talks are under way about opening the djeletovci oil fields in the region's territory, and efforts are being made to make the people feel the benefits of the united nations' administration of the region, hadzic said.

a november 1995 agreement between the region and croatia placed the region under u.n. transitional administration for at least one year, maybe two.

hadzic said that the situation in the region was being stabilised and that the leadership was aware that croatia had been recognised by the whole world.

however, he added, security guarantees for the 150,000 serbs living there must be obtained, in view of what has happened to the west of serb krajina.

the croatian army overran the west of the republic of serb krajina in may 1995, displacing tens of thousands of serbs from their ancestral homes. croatia stormed the south and north of the republic in august of the same year, displacing another 250,000 serbs.

[18] WORLD MEDIA ON CADRE CHANGES IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

karadzic addressed the nation late on saturday to say that plavsic would deputize for him in the coming period in contacts with the international community and in other duties, in line with the republika srpska's constitution.

cadre changes in the republika srpska (karadzic dismissed premier rajko kasagic on wednesday, and parliament voted gojko klickovic to replace him on saturday) are viewed in paris as part of the republika srpska's effort to play a big role in consolidating bosnian peace.

french radio and television commentators see the changes as a chance for the serb side to strengthen its position in the peace process.

also, they see it as an opportunity to establish a political balance of power in bosnia-herzegovina, so necessary to the international community if it is to surmount the accummulated difficulties.

although the reasons for karadzic's decision are not clear at this time, it is certainly a radical move that will have far-reaching effects not only for the bosnian serbs, but for bosnia as a whole, according to the la repubblica newspaper of rome.

the italian press says that plavsic is known as 'the bosnian serb iron lady'.

austrian commentators write that the ring around karadzic is closing, and that the west wants karadzic to get off the political stage and is putting all kinds of pressure to bring him to the international war crimes tribunal for former yugoslavia in the hague.

plavsic is seen in initial analyses and commentaries in austria as one of the political hardliners among the bosnian serb leaders.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

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