Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-07-01

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From: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SAYS BOSNIAN SERB KARADZIC SHOULD GO

[02] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PREMIER ANNOUNCES NEW FACILITIES FOR ECONOMY

[03] YUGOSLAVIA TO RESUME TALKS WITH WORLD COMMERCIAL BANKS IN MID-JULY

[04] NATWEST BANK TO BE YUGOSLAVIA'S MAJOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR

[05] MONTENEGRIN PREMIER MEETS WITH ITALIAN MINISTER

[06] BILDT CONFIRMS KARADZIC'S WITHDRAWAL AS PRESIDENT

[07] KARADZIC'S LAWYER: DEFENCE HAS NO CHANCE AT WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

[08] MOSTAR MUSLIMS ATTACK SERBS WHO CAME TO VOTE

[09] SERBS PREVENTED FROM VOTING IN MOSTAR

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SAYS BOSNIAN SERB KARADZIC SHOULD GO

The leaderships of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro asked earlier that week that the Republika Srpska Parliament immediately appoint acting President with full powers and put a stop to the further jeopardising of the interests of the people.

Asked about the chances of extraditing Yugoslav nationals to the Hague-based War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, Lilic said that under the Yugoslav Constitution, Yugoslav nationals could not be extradited to foreign states or international judicial bodies. 'If the International Court at the Hague offers evidence of a person's guilt of war crimes, they will immediately be brought before the relevant court in Yugoslavia for trial,' he explained. Lilic said he felt sure that the Serbian people condemned all war crimes and would themselves judge those guilty of them, but that the politicisation of the Hague Tribunal might devalue the role it had been set up to play.

'The implementation of the Peace Accord might be jeopardised unless all the parties to the conflict (Muslims, Serbs and Croats) were given equal treatment,' he said.

Speaking about sporadic threats of reimposing the anti-Yugoslav sanctions, Lilic said that the awareness was gaining ground in the Balkans and Europe that Yugoslavia had played the decisive part in the promotion of the peace process. He added he could see no reason why the sanctions should be reimposed. 'On the contrary, taking everything into account, I expect the sanctions to be lifted altogether soon, because to do otherwise would be in nobody's interest and, besides, it would be grossly immoral after all we have done, and would lead to more conflicts,' he said.

Lilic gave the interview to Politika Ekspres on the occasion of the third anniversary of his election as President of Yugoslavia.

He said that the most important positive foreign policy event since the setting up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as the successor state to former Yugoslavia had been the signing of the Bosnia Peace Accord. The important thing now is to implement it, which is something the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will continue firmly to uphold, Lilic said.

President Lilic said that the Dayton Peace Accord crowned the dynamic peace efforts and process, and brought about a normalisation of Yugoslavia's relations with almost all European states and a resumption of dialogue with world institutions.

'Now the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is accepted as a partner in dealing with regional problems and developing such forms of bilateral cooperation as are based on the principles of mutual benefit and interest,' Lilic said. He stressed that peace was the priority state interest, because cooperation with the former Yugoslav republics and the neighbours was possible only in peace.

Lilic said that the disarmament accord signed recently at Florence, Italy, created conditions for cooperation and understanding among the peoples of former Yugoslavia. He said he felt, however, that Yugoslavia's contribution to the keeping of peace in the region had not been adequately appreciated.

Speaking about a normalisation with the former Yugoslav Republic of Croatia, Lilic said that the 'step-by-step' policy that was being pursued meant maintaining permanent contact and dialogue. He said that some practical results had already been achieved, such as the reopening of telephone communication, the oil pipeline and the Belgrade-Zagreb highway and the enlargement of the duties of the offices of either state in the other's capital. 'We are convinced that on this basis we are creating conditions for settling key questions at issue, and thus for a full normalisation of mutual relations,' he added.

Asked if Yugoslavia and Serbia might be said to be wrongly turning to cooperation with Asia for ideological reasons, instead of getting closer to the West, Lilic said that Yugoslavia cooperated with all countries on the principles of mutual interest and equality. He said he did not see how this approach differed from the development of relations between the European Union states and China. China is the only permanent member of the U.N. Security Council that did not vote for imposing the comprehensive and mandatory sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in May 1992. It is a country with a huge prestige in the world and with a gigantic economy, which is developing on the market principles at an impressive pace and which attracts partners from the world over, Lilic said.

Ideological similarities, if there are any, can only be an advantage, and strengthening of economic cooperation creates preconditions for all other relations, he added.

[02] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PREMIER ANNOUNCES NEW FACILITIES FOR ECONOMY

Speaking Friday at a panel of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia in Belgrade, Zebic said that judging by the positive trends registered in first five months 'conditions have been met for achieving the planned growth and economic policy objectives.'

There has been a constant production growth, Zebic said, although lower than planned (2.2 percent from January to May). He said the sowing campaign had been completed on time and price hikes limited to 1.8 percent. At the same time Zebic warned the results of foreign trade were unfavorable, although in the first five months it totaled 1.843 billion dollars, a 17 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The increase is due to higher imports that totaled 1.246 billion dollars, while exports totaled 597 million dollars, or a five percent reduction compared to last year, Zebic said.

The Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister stressed that interest rates should be lowered, but not by administrative measures, but by balancing capital offer and demand and by attracting foreign investments. Problems will be partially solved by tax and fiscal exemptions, intended strictly for securing working capital, as well as by redistributing resources we have in the country, purchasing foreign currency and extending facilities to exporters, Zebic said.

[03] YUGOSLAVIA TO RESUME TALKS WITH WORLD COMMERCIAL BANKS IN MID-JULY

At the close of the talks, Ognjanovic said that all key questions of cooperation between Yugoslavia and the London Club had been identified and that time until the next meeting would be used to define platforms for efficacious and mutually useful solutions.

The London Club has a completely distorted image of Yugoslavia, but it was informed that Yugoslavia's legal and economic system was mostly coordinated with E.U. standards, Ognjanovic said.

Ognjanovic said that a few issues had been discussed. 'First, we stressed the topicality and importance of our 1989 agreement with commercial banks and the legitimity of guarantees accompanying the agreement. In this sense, we specially warned the London Club that we strongly opposed its procedures and partial packages on Slovenia and Croatia regarding the agreement,' Ognjanovic said. He stressed Yugoslavia's insistence on respect for the 1988 financial agreement which regulates the debts of the former Yugoslav Federation. He said that Yugoslavia regarded the Agreement as a valid document and recognised its guarantees.

The question of the unblocking of Yugoslav funds was raised. Further talks with commercial banks depend on this, Ognjanovic said and added that Yugoslavia could not adequately implement its economic programme without these funds. The Yugoslav delegation conveyed the request that commercial banks, especially U.S. banks, unfreeze those of the Yugoslav assets that are still frozen, because there is no longer any reason to keep them blocked. These assets are necessary to Yugoslavia's economic recovery programme and return to the world economic processes, which is what the banks of the London Club want, too, and there is no reason to keep them frozen any longer, Ognjanovic explained.

He said that a willingness had been expressed to include Yugoslavia in international financial processes even before the formal regulation of its status in official international financial institutions.

On the whole, said Ognjanovic, the London Club representatives who attended the talks showed a great understanding for Yugoslavia's specific requirements.

London financial circles received well Yugoslavia's decision to engage the renowned british Natwest Bank as its adviser, he said. The Natwest Bank, the third biggest bank in Europe, enjoys great renown in Great Britain, Europe and especially the United States and it will help prepare future talks at the London Club and represent Yugoslavia on the international capital market, Ognjanovic said.

[04] NATWEST BANK TO BE YUGOSLAVIA'S MAJOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR

Natwest Markets Deputy Executive Director John Howland-Jackson said that his Bank 'is glad it will have the opportunity to play the leading role' in the economic revival of Yugoslavia at this 'historic period.'

It was also said that Natwest Markets would also be the major financial advisor and 'global coordinator' of the Serbian Postal Services Company (PTT) in its ownership transformations and appearence on international markets.

[05] MONTENEGRIN PREMIER MEETS WITH ITALIAN MINISTER

Djukanovic, who arrived in Italy on Wednesday, informed Fantozzi about economic reform measures being taken by Montenegro, especially in the sphere of privatisation. Djukanovic stressed that Montenegro was committed to the open economy concept and the Yugoslav economy's openness to joint ventures with foreign partners. He said that Montenegro was interested in cooperating with Italian partners and added that he expected the Italian Ministry to uphold at the state level the cooperation idea, including financial support.

Fantozzi welcomed this orientation of the Montenegrin economy and stressed the importance of supporting these forms of cooperation between Italy and Yugoslavia and its Republic of Montenegro, by stimulating both these forms of cooperation and foreign ventures.

Djukanovic informed the Italian Minister about projects for cooperation between Montenegro and Italy and invited Fantozzi to visit Montenegro. Djukanovic suggested that the visit might take place at the time of implementing the first joint venture.

[06] BILDT CONFIRMS KARADZIC'S WITHDRAWAL AS PRESIDENT

'Starting today, Karadzic has no power and cannot perform any public function,' Bildt said.

Bildt hailed Karadzic's departure from the office of President of the Republic as 'an important step' which shows that Republika Srpska is dissociating itself from the crimes for which Karadzic has been indicted by the International Tribunal in the Hague. Bildt added that this is not 'the final step.' Since Karadzic is expected to continue 'fighting his lost battle,' Bildt said that the development of the situation in Serb territory would be monitored in order to determine whether the transfer of power has really been carried out.

[07] KARADZIC'S LAWYER: DEFENCE HAS NO CHANCE AT WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

On returning from the Hague on Friday, Pantelic said that the presence of a lawyer in Court without his direct participation in the Court proceedings served no useful purpose and that he could not agree to be merely a spectator from the galleries. He said he had been empowered to check in the preliminary hearings the legal validity of the indictment and if the evidence against his client had been submitted to the defendant in keeping with the Court rules of procedure.

'I have learned from the Court files that there has been an attempt made to serve my client with the bill of indictment and evidence through the Government in Sarajevo,' Pantelic said. However, he added, 'the Government in Sarajevo is not competent in this case, which means that the procedure is invalid under Article 61 of the Court Statute.'

Article 61 provides for the possibility of holding public hearings in the defendant's absence.

Pantelic explained that, under the Statute, the defence was not precluded from being present in the Court-room, and so he had filed a request to attend the preliminary proceedings of challenging the indictment. The request was opposed by Prosecutor Eric Ostberg, Pantelic said, and added that, after three hours of deliberations, the Tribunal ruled on a compromise, allowing the defence to be present at one part of the proceedings and follow the rest from the galleries.

In Pantelic's view, after the completion of the hearings late next week, the Tribunal will probably confirm the indictment and issue an international warrant for Karadzic's arrest.

[08] MOSTAR MUSLIMS ATTACK SERBS WHO CAME TO VOTE

According to Croatian Radio, sources at the Muslim Sarajevo Government's Interior Ministry said that 'contrary to what has been agreed,' buses with Mostar Serbs had not arrived to the 'designated place.' The Ministry said that a number of 'hooligans' had been identified and would be taken in.

Just 160 of the expelled 40,000 Mostar Serbs came to vote. Only a few hundred of Serbs remained in the city after the outbreak of the Bosnian civil war. Serb refugees from Mostar, who have found refuge in Yugoslavia and the Republika Srpska, do not have the right to vote there, unlike Muslims and Croats who can vote even if they are abroad.

News agencies also reported that a few Muslims had been attacked in the Croat-held, western, section of Mostar. Croatian Radio made no mention of the attack on these Muslims. Croats stoned at least two buses with Muslims from the eastern section of Mostar who came to vote in the Croat section of the city, where they had lived before the outbreak of Muslim-Croat conflicts in the spring of 1993.

A Spokesman for the European Police said that no one had been injured in the incident, but that a few windows on the buses had been broken.

[09] SERBS PREVENTED FROM VOTING IN MOSTAR

The European Union failed to organize polling booths in Belgrade and eastern Herzegovina, where the mjortiy of the 40,000 expelled Serbs have found refuge.

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