Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-01-19

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

From: ddc@nyquist.bellcore.com (D.D. Chukurov)

Yugoslav Daily Survey

19 January 1996

CONTENTS

[A] FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - STATEMENT

[01] SIGNIFICANT AND USEFUL TALKS BETWEEN YUGOSLAV, CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

[B] MILOSEVIC - HOLBROOKE TALKS

[02] BOSNIA PEACE PLAN ACTIVITIES PROCEEDING WELL

[C] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[03] KARADZIC: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY RESPONSIBLE FOR SERB SARAJEVO

[04] SERB, MUSLIM-CROAT DELEGATIONS DISCUSS BORDER CORRECTIONS

[D] YUGOSLAVIA - SLOVAKIA

[05] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH SLOVAK OFFICIAL

[E] YUGOSLAVIA - MACEDONIA

[06] TALKS ON NORMALIZING RELATIONS

[F] GERMANY - YUGOSLAVIA

[07] AGREEMENT ON NORMALISATION OF ROAD TRAFFIC

[G] COUNCIL OF EUROPE - YUGOSLAVIA

[08] COUNCIL INCLUDES YUGOSLAVIA IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS

[H] KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[09] SOME DEGREE OF KOSOVO AUTONOMY MAY BE DISCUSSED

[I] U.N. SPOKESMAN STATEMENT

[10] ATTACK ON SERB KRAJINA MOST TERRIBLE EVENT

[A] FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - STATEMENT

[01] SIGNIFICANT TALKS BETWEEN YUGOSLAV, CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

At a session held in Belgrade and chaired by Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, the Government accepted a report on the talks between Milutinovic and Granic, the Federal Secretariat for Information said in a statement.

Assessing that the relations between Yugoslavia and Croatia represent a key to peace in the Balkans, the Government noted that the first visit of Croatian Foreign Minister to Belgrade makes possible a continuation of contacts, which should help achieve progress in resolving pending issues.

The Government decided that Minister Milutinovic should visit Zagreb in order to continue the talks on normalizing bilateral relations.

The Government session focused on the implementation of the Dayton agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina and the consolidation of the peace process. The Government expressed its full support to the implementation of the peace agreement and assessed that its consistent realization should contribute to stabilizing the overall situation in the former Yugoslavia, the statement says.

[B] MILOSEVIC - HOLBROOKE TALKS

[02] BOSNIA PEACE PLAN ACTIVITIES PROCEEDING WELL

Both Yugoslavia and the international factors resolutely backed this course, it was set out in the talks that dwelled mostly on the implementation of the Bosnia peace operation and the efforts invested towards stabilizing political situation in the region.

Also, the significance of resolving certain civil issues that were of vital interest for the citizens of Republika Srpska as well as for the Muslim-Croat federation was pointed up.

The talks were also attended by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic and U.S. Belgrade Embassy Charge d'Affaires Rudolph Perina.

[C] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[03] KARADZIC: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY RESPONSIBLE FOR SERB SARAJEVO

'If the international community wants a viable and acceptable solution, then it will find one,' Karadzic said prior to a session of the Staff for the implementation of the Dayton agreement for Serb Sarajevo.

The condition for finding a quality solution for this issue lay in the 'goodwill of all sides' and did not require changes in the Dayton agreement, said Karadzic.

He noted that after the end of the war no one was justified in persisting on holding people in prisons. He said the Serb side would no longer unilaterally be releasing prisoners because it has so far released unilaterally more than 5,000 prisoners.

Republika Srpska Parliament Speaker Momcilo Krajisnik said Thursday there were 'realistic chances for the Serbs to remain in Serb Sarajevo, but preparations are being carried out parallely should this not be possible.'

[04] SERB, MUSLIM-CROAT DELEGATIONS DISCUSS BORDER CORRECTIONS

They discussed an exchange of villages along the line of separation between the two bosnian entities but no concrete agreement was reached.

The Bosnian Serb news agency Srna quoted Velibor Ostojic, Chairman of the Bosnian Serb state Commission in charge of separation, who said that he expected the talks to last a while.

All regions along the border will be re-considered so that corrections could be made, Ostojic said, adding that the IFOR would verify the corrections after the two sides reached agreement.

Ostojic said that progress in the talks was not satisfactory. The Muslim-Croat side has offered too little in exchange for what it seeks, he told Srna.

[D] YUGOSLAVIA - SLOVAKIA

[05] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH SLOVAK OFFICIAL

Bulajic and Kuhar discussed activities on an overall promotion of relations between the two countries, the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said.

Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar will head a delegation of six ministers and about 50 businessmen that is to visit Yugoslavia by the end of the month, it was announced on Wednesday.

[E] YUGOSLAVIA - MACEDONIA

[06] TALKS ON NORMALIZING RELATIONS

The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry's Chief Legal Adviser Rodoljub Etinski and Ambassador Dragan Vucicevic left Belgrade for Skopje, where the talks are taking place. The negotiations, which precede the signing of an agreement on normalizing the two countries' relations, began in Paris in December last year.

[F] GERMANY - YUGOSLAVIA

[07] AGREEMENT ON NORMALISATION OF ROAD TRAFFIC

The two countries' road carriers can now resume traffic on the same basis as it was before 1991 because the previous system of issuing permits for line and charter bus traffic as well as permits for lorries has been restored.

The agreement also provides for undisturbed trade between Yugoslavia and Germany. Moreover, German carriers can now transit Yugoslavia on their way to the Middle East.

[G] COUNCIL OF EUROPE - YUGOSLAVIA

[08] COUNCIL INCLUDES YUGOSLAVIA IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS

The offer was made at the first international conference on the promotion of regional economic cooperation between Europe's East and West that opened in Geneva.

The conference in Geneva should adopt a platform for economic development of European regions and should create a basis for a European system of interregional assistance. Although Yugoslavia is not a member of the Council of Europe, its delegation, headed by Vice-President of the Belgrade Assembly Slobodan Drobnjakovic, is participating in the conference on an equal footing.

[H] KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[09] SOME DEGREE OF KOSOVO AUTONOMY MAY BE DISCUSSED

In a talk with Deputy Head of the Kosovo district Milos Nesovic, Ahrens promised he would reiterate the same thing to representatives of the Albanian national minority who, as he put it, would have to begin to look at the situation realistically, which would mean their recognizing the full sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

German Ambassador Ahrens has been in Pristina since Thursday for collecting more information about the position of national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija.

After his talk with Nesovic, Ahrens met also with President of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova and with representatives of other parties of ethnic Albanians.

[I] U.N. SPOKESMAN STATEMENT

[10] ATTACK ON SERB KRAJINA MOST TERRIBLE EVENT

Chris Gunness, who was leaving the U.N. mission, described the reaction by the international community to Croatia's attack on Western Slavonia as disappointing.

He said U.N. personnel were isolated and frustrated for being unable to protect the Serbs during the attack in May 1995 on the U.N. Protected Area - Sector West.

A mild response from the international community, he noted, prompted Croatia to apply more of the same against U.N. - Protected Areas - Sector North and Sector South - in August 1995. He said this action could only be described as ethnic cleansing, which, he said, was terrible and a big evil.