Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-03-29

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

29 March 1996

CONTENTS

[A] FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[01] YUGOSLAVIA ONLY SIDE TO FULLY MEET ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER DAYTON

[02] PROMOTING RELATIONS OF JOINT INTEREST TO VIENNA AND BELGRADE

[03] YUGOSLAV BANKS SUE SLOVENIAN BANKS

[04] E.U. ALLOWS IMPORTS OF YUGOSLAV TEXTILE

[B] BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

[05] BOSNIAN SERBS TO RELEASE ALL CROAT PRISONERS

[06] SERB SIDE IN BOSNIA DISCONTENT WITH INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

[07] BOSNIAN SERBS ARREST THREE MUSLIMS

[C] C U L T U R E

[08] YUGOSLAVIA'S OLDEST THEATRE MARKS 135TH ANNIVERSARY

[D] FROM FOREIGN PRESS

[09] POLISH DAILY: ARMING MUSLIMS THREATENS PEACE IN BOSNIA AND BALKANS

[10] GERMAN PAPER SAYS MUSLIMS WANT ISLAMIC BOSNIA

[A] FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[01] YUGOSLAVIA ONLY SIDE TO FULLY MEET ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER DAYTON

Yugoslavia has received undivided recognition for its policy in settling the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, Kontic said in an interview published in Friday's edition of the Nis daily Narodne Novine. He said that an indicator of this was the arrival of many foreign businessmen and government delegations in Yugoslavia in an effort to restore or expand cooperation.

Important contracts have been signed for export-import deals, business and technical cooperation and the forming of joint firms,' he said.

'The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is ready to normalize its relations with the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and other institutions, and measures are being taken to realize that goal,' he said.

It is now possible to restore multilateral cooperation in the Balkans, Kontic said, adding that it would be realistic to work out a joint Balkan platform, especially for regional security and cooperation in the new situation. 'The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia supports Bulgaria's initiative to hold a meeting of the Balkan foreign ministers,' said Kontic and added that it would be a stimulus for building trust and durable good-neighbourly relations.

The economic situation in Yugoslavia shows evidents signs of recovery, he said, adding that industrial production was rising and that the national currency, the dinar, had stabilized at the official exchange rate of 3.3 dinars to a Deutsche mark.

[02] PROMOTING RELATIONS OF JOINT INTEREST TO VIENNA AND BELGRADE

In talks between the Yugoslav delegation and senior officials at the Austrian Foreign Ministry, Parliament and political parties, the two sides reaffirmed full commitment to the Bosnia peace process and stressed the need for intensifying preparations for the holding of free and fair elections in Bosnia.

The officials set out Yugoslavia's constructive role and contribution to the Bosnia peace process.

The two sides positively assessed efforts toward renewing bilateral economic cooperation through direct contact between the two Chambers of Commerce, as well as cooperation between the Belgrade and Viennese ports.

They agreed to realize direct economic, traffic, social, educational and other contacts between the two governments on expert or higher levels, Jovanovic said.

The talks examined important issues pertaining to the more than 300,000 Yugoslav citizens working in Austria.

[03] YUGOSLAV BANKS SUE SLOVENIAN BANKS

The legal representative of the Yugoslav banks, The Lowell, White and Durrant law firm said it had instituted legal proceedings against the Slovenian banks for breaching the new financing agreement on the SFRJ debt reprogramming that was concluded in New York in September 1988. The charges also concern 385 world commercial banks of the so-called London Club of 400 banks which have made the arrangement with Slovenia.

By accepting Slovenia's offer for issuing bonds to the value of 822 million dollars, which would serve to repay 18% of the debt, the parties to the arrangement have caused losses to the other signatories of the agreement, the suers said.

The annex of the agreement with Slovenia says that offers for the purchase of bonds from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will not be accepted because, as the Slovenian banks claim, it has 'usurped' the funds of the SFRJ National Bank.

If the London court accepts the claim, the Yugoslav banks will be able to realize money claims to the value of about 150 million dollars through Slovenian bonds payable in cash.

[04] E.U. ALLOWS IMPORTS OF YUGOSLAV TEXTILE

[B] BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

[05] BOSNIAN SERBS TO RELEASE ALL CROAT PRISONERS

All Bosnian Serb soldiers kept as prisoners of war and registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross will also be released from Bosnian Croat and Croatian prisons, the statement said.

The Bosnian Serb leadership called on the Muslim Government to make contacts in the next 48 hours to make an arrangement for the release of the remaining prisoners, the statement said.

[06] SERB SIDE IN BOSNIA DISCONTENT WITH INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Krajisnik, in an interview to the Serb radio Pale, corroborated his stand by the fact that those invited to Contact Group meetings are representatives of the Muslim-Croat Federation and not those of the Republika Srpska.

He said that the international community, other than the case of the exodus of Serbs from Sarajevo, had shown its lack of ability and principled posture also when the release of war prisoners was concerned, because it failed to force the Federation's authorities to fulfil this part of the peace agreement.

Krajisnik assessed that it would be good to have elections in Bosnia held later this year, adding that he would see to it that all political parties to compete in the elections in the Republika Srpska should reach consensus over the minimum national interests.

[07] BOSNIAN SERBS ARREST THREE MUSLIMS

Police also established that as a member of the Muslim Army, Sljivo had earlier committed war crimes, killing and raping dozens of Serb civilians in Sarajevo, the statement said. Competent Bosnian Serb authorities informed the Bosnia peace implementation force and international police force about the arrest.

International police representatives had expressed their satisfaction with the presented evidence against the three Muslims, international police force Spokesman Alexander Ivanko said on Thursday.

[C] C U L T U R E

[08] YUGOSLAVIA'S OLDEST THEATRE MARKS 135TH ANNIVERSARY

The theatre's guest tour of Belgrade in 1867 prompted the founding of Belgrade's National Theatre in 1868.

[D] FROM FOREIGN PRESS

[09] POLISH DAILY: ARMING MUSLIMS THREATENS PEACE IN BOSNIA AND BALKANS

The daily said Europe did not want another Lebanon on its continent.

The daily said that disputes between Muslims and Croats in the Federation and the problem of the return of refugees posed obstacles for the holding of elections in Bosnia as planned under the Dayton peace accord.

[10] GERMAN PAPER SAYS MUSLIMS WANT ISLAMIC BOSNIA

'Islam basically does not accept any form of pluralism or separation between state and religion,' the paper said, wondering whether there was really a Muslim state with a trully Western type of democracy.

Such policy of the Muslim authorities in Sarajevo endangers the status of Bosnian Croats, the Muslims' allies in a joint Federation, the paper said.

Bosnian Croats have offered resistance to the increasingly perceptible process of islamization and the conspicuous domination of Muslim officials in all federal bodies, the paper said, citing the example of the Sarajevo canton with 35 Muslim administrative officials against only one Croat and one Serb.

Walls are full of graffiti such as 'Iran-Bosnia,' 'Death to Christians' and 'Death to shaitans (devils),' a category which also includes the Americans in Bosnia. .