Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-11

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

Jun 11, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ISSUES DECREE ON NEW ARMY APPOINTMENTS

[02] SERBIAN MINISTERS RECEIVE U.S. EXPERTS

[03] AGREEMENT ON DATE FOR ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA POSSIBLE IN FLORENCE

[04] YUGOSLAV-RUSSIAN COMMISSION FOR SCIENTIFIC-TECHNICAL COOPERATION

[05] YUGOSLAV-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL HOLDS SESSION

[06] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS ARREST AND MALTREAT CROAT OFFICER

[07] YUGOSLAVIA ADOPTS PLATFORM FOR FLORENCE CONFERENCE

[08] ABOUT 19,000 REFUGEES REGISTERED IN SERBIA'S KOSOVO-METOHIJA PROVINCE

[09] MOSTAR CITIZENS TO VOTE IN EUROPEAN CITIES, BUT NOT IN BELGRADE

[10] BOSNIAN MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA HOLD TLAKS

[11] SANTER REPORTS ON VISITS TO COUNTRIES OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[12] WORLD ENVOY BILDT SEES NEED FOR BOSNIA PEACEKEEPING ARMY AFTER IFOR

[13] E.U. ON RELATIONS WITH COUNTRIES OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[14] BANJALUKA INDUSTRY OFFERS TO SUPPLY IFOR WITH FOOD, DRINKS...

[15] SIGNING OF BALKANS ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENT POSTPONED

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ISSUES DECREE ON NEW ARMY APPOINTMENTS

lieutenant-general dragoljub ojdanic, the first army commander, was appointed to the post of deputy chief of the general staff.

major-general miodrag simic, currently head of the general staff first department, was appointed chief of the third army headquarters.

lieutenant-general nedeljko copic, currently assistant chief of the general staff for ground troops, was appointed chief of the yugoslav army inspection.

major-general gradimir zivanovic, now chief of the nuclear-biological-chemical defence department of the general staff, was appointed head of the information and moral department.

major-general professor doctor aco jovicic, currently deputy head of the military medical academy, was appointed academy head.

colonel ivan djokic was appointed head of the general staff air defence and technical department.

the supreme defence council agreed that lieutenant-general ratomir milovanovic, currently assistant chief of the general staff for the rear, be appointed to be yugoslav deputy defence minister.

major-generals slavko krivosija and miljko radosevic were promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general.

colonels momcilo damjanovic, radoljub masic, nikola grujin, momcilo momcilovic, negoslav nikolic, dr sinisa borovic, borivoje kovac, jovan cekovic and nebojsa pavkovic were promoted to the rank of lieutenant-major.

under the decree, lieutenant-generals blagoje kovacevic, dobrasin prascevic, assistant professor dr jovan bjelic, borislav djuric, slavko krivosija, miljko radosevic and bora ivanovic are going into retirement, as well as major-generals djura dzapini and radomir krstic.

[02] SERBIAN MINISTERS RECEIVE U.S. EXPERTS

the experts, who teach at iowa universitites, are on a visit to the federal republic of yugoslavia and are due to deliver lectures at a seminar on the financing of agriculture in an open market economy. the seminar will be held in the touristic resort of palic, in the northern serbian province of vojvodina, on june 12-13.

the serbian ministry of information said that sipovac, who is also minister of agriculture and forestry, and vlatkovic, informed the experts of potentials and problems in the field in yugoslavia. they said that yugoslavia wished to cooperate with experts in finding ways to revitalize this important sector.

harl agreed with the serbian ministers on the need to finance agriculture by preseving stable economic conditions.

the talks were also attended by the heeddddd of the belgrade institute of economic studies tomislav popovic who organized the seminar.

harl and prescoff are among the leading experts at the centre for international agricultural financing based in iowa. they worked as experts in state associations for agricultural policy and agricultural legislation and were counsellors at the white house and many governments in transition countries.

[03] AGREEMENT ON DATE FOR ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA POSSIBLE IN FLORENCE

spokesman colum murphy told a news conference in sarajevo that the formerly warring sides in bosnia should renew their support to the dayton peace accords signed six months ago at the florence conference on the implementation of the dayton accords, according to foreign news agencies.

the organization for security and cooperation in europe is to announce by the end of the month whether conditions have been fulfilled for free and democratic elections.

agence france presse said western countries, headed by the united states, urged respect for the dayton timetable, so that the international implementation force (ifor) could pull out by late december 1996, as scheduled.

[04] YUGOSLAV-RUSSIAN COMMISSION FOR SCIENTIFIC-TECHNICAL COOPERATION

special importance is attached by both sides to the constituent meeting in view of the intentions that scientific-technical and overall economic cooperation be resumed between russia and yugoslavia quickly and succesfully after an interruption of several years.

in contacts with partners in russia, yugoslav businessmen said that according to the volume of trade russia was the first foreign trade partner of yugoslavia.

it is expected that at the meeting in sankt petersburg, at which delegations are headed by respective yugoslav and russian deputy ministers for science and technology radonja minic and aleksandar fonetov, will determine a program of scientific-technical cooperation in the next three-year period.

[05] YUGOSLAV-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL HOLDS SESSION

this was said at the yugoslav chamber of commerce on monday during a session of the yugoslav-u.s. business council. yugoslav and u.s. bankers and businessmen discussed yugoslavia's banking and economic system and prospects for upgrading yugoslav-u.s. economic relations.

president of the yugoslav chamber of commerce mihajlo milojevic said that yugoslavia needed u.s. understanding, cooperation and support in order to realize these priorities.

he said that yugoslavia was a potentially serious, strong and attractive partner and that yugoslav businessmen called for open market cooperation, higher technological level of production, investments and setting up mixed firms for joint ventures.

u.s. bankers and businessmen were particularly interested in legal security of foreign investments in yugoslavia, the privatization process, administrative procedures for the setting up of mixed companies and ways to resolve the issue of land ownership.

president of the u.s. business council for yugoslavia fulvio dobric said that u.s. businessmen had been informed of the quality of yugoslav business potentials, market and production capacities and that the quality was one of the most important reasons which had prompted them to visit yugoslavia.

a council member, former u.s. ambassador to yugoslavia john scanllon, said that yugoslavia should make itself competitive for the world market and that positive results depended on conditions for foreign investments in yugoslavia.

yugoslav assistant minister of trade borisa vukovic said that yugoslavia had a market-oriented and open economy which was confirmed by the fact that foreign exchange accounted for over half of the gross national product.

under a recently adopted law on foreign capital, foreign investors are protected from legislation changes which may put them into a less favourable position than at the moment of the signing of the agreement, vukovic said, adding that yugoslav legislation was being liberalized.

yugoslav chamber of commerce vice-president danilo perovic said at the council session that the yugoslav economy had suffered direct damages of over 50 billion dollars because of the sanctions, and that indirect damages reached about 150 billion dollars.

beogradska banka bank president on cyprus borka vucic said that yugoslav payment operations had been normalized with most european banks, but that the defreezing of yugoslav capital in u.s. banks, in spite of the suspension of the sanctions, posed a problem.

she specified that as many as 90 percent of the funds which belong to private individuals from yugoslavia were still frozen on accounts in these banks.

vucic pointed out that most yugoslav branch offices, representative offices and banks in the united states still had not been reopened, and asked the business council for help in restoring normal relations with u.s. banks and institutions.

u.s. citibank vice-president robson marie said these matters were of a solely political nature. she said u.s. businessmen and bankers were interested in restoring normal business relations with yugoslavia.

u.s. business council president for yugoslavia fulvio dobric concluded that it could not be expected for business cooperation with u.s. banks and companies to be revived before yugoslavia was returned to international institutions, primarily the international monetary fund and the world bank.

[06] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS ARREST AND MALTREAT CROAT OFFICER

ivan matulov, the commander of the croat defence council (hvo) in orasje, a croat enclave in northern bosnia, was held for one hour in a muslim prison where he was maltreated and physically abused, the croat radio reported.

the staaaatement said that it was yet another gross violation of the agreement on the freedom of movement and that the croat officer and hvo had been deeply insulted.

the southern bosnian town of mostar has remained divided between muslims and croats despite the setting up of a joint muslim-croat federation in march 1994. animosity still remains between the federal partners who fiercely fought for 14 months.

a correspondent of the muslim radio of mostar reported on sunday on an increase in incidents in both sides of the town and heightened tension ahead of the elections scheduled for june 30.

[07] YUGOSLAVIA ADOPTS PLATFORM FOR FLORENCE CONFERENCE

the basic goal of the conference is a review of the six-month implementation of the dayton agreement, accord on a further comprehensive implementation of the dayton provisions and respect for the set deadlines, a federal government statement said.

the conference participants will focus attention, among other things, on elections in bosnia-herzegovina, the return of refugees and regional arms control, according to the statement.

special attentioon will be devoted to the full freedom of movement, as a condition for the elections in bosnia-herzegovina, it said.

the yugoslav delegation will insist, in keeping with the country's peace policy, on a comprehensive implementation of the dayton accords and an equal treatment of all sides in bosnia-herzegovina.

the yugoslav delegation to the florence conference will be headed by foreign minister milan milutinovic.

[08] ABOUT 19,000 REFUGEES REGISTERED IN SERBIA'S KOSOVO-METOHIJA PROVINCE

kosovo-metohija has completed the census which encompassed 98 percent of the displaced persons, provincial secretary for refugee affairs zvezdan milenkovic told tanjug on monday, and added that final returns would be known in another ten days or so.

the province, where ethnic albanians account for about 90 percent of the population, has given shelter mostly to serb refugees from the republic of serb krajina, who fled before croatia's aggression of august 1995 which displaced more than 250,000 serbs.

the largest number of them have found refuge in the provincial centre of pristina -- about 5,500 of them, and in pec and kosovo polje -- about 1,200 each, and have mostly been accommodated in 130 collection centres.

initial analyses of the census returns show that a large number of refugees would like to remain in kosovo-metohija, where they hope to solve their vital problems -- find work and make their homes.

there is a number of those, too, who have expressed a desire to return to their places of birth, but only if the croatian authorities fully guaranteed their safety and security.

[09] MOSTAR CITIZENS TO VOTE IN EUROPEAN CITIES, BUT NOT IN BELGRADE

this facility offered to mostar's citizens at present living in germany, norway, sweden and switzerland, does not apply to those living in the federal republic of yugoslavia and the (bosnian serb) republika srpska.

mostar serbs in the federal republic of yugoslavia and the republika srpska have asked to be allowed to vote in belgrade and in nevesinje, town in the part of herzegovina belonging to the republika srpska, but the request has been denied.

at the start of the bosnian civil war and before starting to fight between themselves, bosnian muslims and croats had driven out virtually the entire 45,000-strong bosnian serb population from the mostar area.

the monday proclamation said that polling stations would be opened in the capitals of the four european states, and that the european union would cover the cost of bringing mostar citizens to the capitals from the interior to cast their votes.

the proclamation invites all citizens of mostar to come, 'at europe's expense', from all quarters of europe to vote in mostar in the june 30 election.

suffrage is extended to all persons above 18 years of age who had been domiciled in mostar in 1991.

the mostar election is seen as the touchstone for bosniawide elections, slated for mid-september.

local analysts say that barely minimum conditions exist for holding the election, because of a restricted freedom of movement in the divided city, and opine that the election might end up as an ethnic census.

muslims and croats split the city down the middle when they reached their uneasy truce and formed their binational federation in march 1994, agreeing that it be placed under e.u. administration.

[10] BOSNIAN MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA HOLD TLAKS

the (bosnian serb state) republika srpska was represented by vice president nikola koljevic and parliament speaker momcilo krajisnik, and the federation, by its president kresimir zubak.

the talks are said to have encompassed also upcoming elections in bosnia-herzegovina, slated for mid-september.

after the meeting, krajisnik said that important information had been exchanged and that the central topic had been delimitation between the two entities, especially in areas populated by serbs and croats.

he said that the proposals had come from the field and had had to be discussed, and added that an answer would be known next week, but did not specify what proposals had been made and for what territories.

zubak, for his part, confirmed the subjects of discussion and stressed that the two sides had examined relations between the republika srpska and the federation, and the problem of prisoners.

[11] SANTER REPORTS ON VISITS TO COUNTRIES OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

reporting to e.u. foreign ministers in luxembourg about his recent visits to belgrade, zagreb, sarajevo, and skopje (made together with e.u. council of ministers chairman lamberto dini), santer said all former yugoslav republics wanted to get as close as possible to the european union and start cooperating with it.

santer said it had been made clear to the hosts that the e.u. would start investing in that part of the continent only if a repetition of destruction no longer threatened, that is, if relations based on cooperation, goodneighbourliness, and mutual friendship were established in the region.

we made it clear that our strategy was not an abstraction, but a concrete proposal that the common borders of these countries be opened for the free passage of people, goods, services, and capital, that renewal and reconstruction of existing or war-torn systems, such as telecommunications, road networks or power, be encouraged and stimulated, santer said.

he said such an approach taken by europe had encountered the most favourable reception with serbian president slobodan milosevic and the other parties that took part in the talks in belgrade.

in belgrade, we encountered people who absolutely accept the idea of the soonest possible renewal of exchange within the territory of former yugoslavia. they are certain of the advantages of a regional approach to settling relations with the european union, but they wish such a policy to be proven in practice as well, santer said.

no such approach was encountered in the other three balkan capitals.

in zagreb, santer said, president franjo tudjman held forth on the history and geography of the continent to prove that croatia was already at this time a part of europe.

tudjman was told, however, that croatia could not ask for any privileges which are not possible for other countries of the region as well.

in sarajevo, santer continued, there were still fears of war and that is why attention was focused on the reconstruction process under way through the organization of the e.u. and a team led by high representative of the international community carl bildt.

in skopje, santer said, fear was expressed that a regional approach might stop the process of negotiations on cooperation and trade agreements between macedonia and the european union.

macedonia was given the clear message that these talks would in future depend on acceptance of the idea on regional cooperation between countries of the former yugoslavia and the european union, santer said.

santer and dini on monday also presented certain concrete proposals to the e.u. ministers, which might become documents with further developments.

they propose that precise analyses be made of the current economic relations between all regional countries, even between the two bosnia-herzegovina entities (republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation), where they believe the present virtual non-existence of any relations jeopardizes the implementation of the dayton peace accords.

santer said in closing that the agreed policy of a regional approach to cooperation with countries of former yugoslavia should remain the main direction of the e.u. policy on this part of europe. new european initiatives should be expected in the coming months, he said.

in a debate following the report, e.u. ministers voiced different stands.

french foreign minister herve de charrette insisted on a strict implementation of the agreed policy of a regional approach.

german foreign minister klaus kinkel, however, voiced a much more flexible stand, according to which the european union should practice a parallel policy of developing bilateral relations with the regional countries, but also a regional approach which would enable a speedy falling in step with developed europe.

[12] WORLD ENVOY BILDT SEES NEED FOR BOSNIA PEACEKEEPING ARMY AFTER IFOR

speaking for germany's nordwest zeitung newspaper, bildt, who is in charge of the civilian implementation of the dayton accord, urged a force that should stay longer in the balkans, but did not specify how large it should be or what should be its national composition.

bildt said that the present 60,000-troop multi-national peace implementation force (ifor) would be too large.

speaking about refugees of war and their repatriation, he said that they should be permitted to decide for themselves whether or not they wanted to return.

the international community has the duty only to create conditions for their return, bildt said, and added that all the refugees should first have to be made acquainted with the situation on the ground.

[13] E.U. ON RELATIONS WITH COUNTRIES OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

this stand was taken after european commission president jacques santer reported on his visits to belgrade, zagreb, sarajevo, and skopje last friday and saturday. the visit were made together with e.u. council of ministers chairman lamberto dini.

santer and dini conferred with their hosts on the e.u.'s future cooperation with states formed in former yugoslavia, through the so-called regional approach.

that approach implies development of cooperation and goodneighbourliness between these countries, renewal and use of common infrastructure objects dating back to before the common state had disintegrated, so that they could catch up with the developed world and cooperate with e.u. countries.

although such an approach was fully accepted only in belgrade, while zagreb, skopje, and even sarajevo, expressed reservations fearing an alleged restoration of the former federation, the e.u. ministers concluded in the debate after the report that the policy of a regional approach had no alternative.

it was underscored that none of these countries should be allowed to become, with its behaviour, an obstacle to the development of relations of the region with europe.

the ministers also heard the latest report by high representative of the international community in bosnia-herzegovina carl bildt.

they concluded that it was necessary to give new impetus to the peace process in bosnia-herzegovina, especially in preparing elections, which must be held on time, by mid-september this year.

[14] BANJALUKA INDUSTRY OFFERS TO SUPPLY IFOR WITH FOOD, DRINKS...

eight bosnian serb firms offered milk and dairy products, bread and bakery products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, canned fruit and vegetables, meat and meat products, beer and cigarettes at a presentation at the banjaluka brewery.

representatives of the nato-led multinational peace implementation force (ifor) and other international organizations who attended the presentation said the offer was satisfactory, and hoped that specific arrangements might soon be signed.

banjaluka, in the west of the republika srpska, is the biggest and the most highly industrialised city in the bosnian serb entity in bosnia-herzegovina.

[15] SIGNING OF BALKANS ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENT POSTPONED

spokesman of the norwegian foreign ministry ingvard havnen said the issue was being negotiated, and said the signing was expected to take place later in the day.

havnen said hectic diplomatic activity was underway, and said agreement was yet to be reached on a number of issues, including the names of the negotiating parties.

this appears to be yet another attempt by the sarajevo moslem government to put in question the status of the (bosnian serb state) republika srpska as a signatory of the agreement, called for by the dayton peace accords.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

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