Yugoslav Daily Survey, 96-11-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] CONFERENCE VITAL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF BOSNIA ACCORDS

[02] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS BILATERAL MEETINGS

[03] EGYPT WISHES TO REVIVE QUICKLY ITS COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAVIA

[04] NEGOTIATIONS OF SUCCESSION CONTINUE WITH BILATERAL TALKS

[05] YUGOSLAVIA SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION ORGANISATION'S PROGRAMME

[06] SERB ARMY, IFOR DISCUSS MUSLIM INCURSION IN SERB TERRITORY

[07] R.S. PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH U.N. SENIOR OFFICIAL

[01] CONFERENCE VITAL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF BOSNIA ACCORDS

The Conference reviewed major issues and the complexity of the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, agreeing that it is vital to fully affirm Bosnia's recently elected state bodies and their responsibility, in keeping with the Peace Agreement, he said.

The Conference, brokered by France, and the conclusions adopted by the Steering Committee of the Peace Implementation Council and Bosnia's Presidency represent a solid basis for a London Conference scheduled for December 4-5 that is to further review all issues concerning the consolidation process for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Milutinovic said the international community's support for the process was vital, but that international factors should not take over the obligations that Bosnia's legally elected state bodies had assumed under the Constitution, he said.

He said the strengthening of the autonomous functioning of common bodies as well as bodies of the two entities would contribute to a speedier and more efficient consolidation.

For its part, Yugoslavia will continue to offer support to the full and consistent implementation of the peace process for Bosnia, in keeping with peace accords initialled in Dayton and signed in Paris, he said.

[02] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS BILATERAL MEETINGS

Milutinovic conferred on topical issues in connection with the implementation of the Dayton Accords and bilateral relations with U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Foreign Ministers Klaus Kinkel of Germany and Herve de Charette of France, and Chairman of the E.U. Council of Ministers, Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring.

Milutinovic also met with Foreign Ministers Lloyd Axworthy of Canada and Romano Prodi of Italy, OSCE Chairman, Swiss Foreign Minister Flavio Cotti, E.U. Commissioner Hans van den Broek and First Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

In his speech at the plenary session of the Paris Conference, Milutinovic urged the further and due realization of the peace accords on Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He warned that there were still aspirations to deter from the Dayton concept of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a union of two equal entities and three equal constitutive peoples.

The international community has a great responsibility to support the efforts of the newly-elected legal organs of Bosnia-Herzegovina within the Constitution and to provide them with the necessary help, Milutinovic said.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will develop relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina in agreement with the Paris statement of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Alija Izetbegovic, Minister Milutinovic concluded his speech at the Conference.

[03] EGYPT WISHES TO REVIVE QUICKLY ITS COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAVIA

Assistant Foreign Minister of Egypt, M.F. Shazli, expressed not only Egypt's interest to revive the cooperation but its readiness to support the reintegration of the F.R.Y. into international institutions and assist in better understanding of the Yugoslav positions in other Arab States, particularly within the Organisation of Islamic Conference. The talks between Bulajic and Shazli also covered the renewal of previous and reaching of new inter-State agreements, such as the one on the Protection of Investments, the re-opening of JAT lines to serve the capitals of our two countries.

Bulajic also had talks with the Minister of Trade and Supply, A. Gewaili, who said that the hard times for Yugoslavia and the relations of the two countries are over and that the period of reconstruction and promotion of all forms of bilateral cooperation lies ahead. According to the assessment of the Egyptian Minister it will not be difficult in view of long-standing, traditional and highly developed relations and cooperation, representing an excellent basis for future cooperation. It was agreed that both sides immediately proceed to reviewing the previous agreements and establishing their applicability in market economy conditions prevailing in both countries.

Bulajic pointed to the contribution of the F.R. of Yugoslavia in the establishment of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and consistent endeavours of President of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, in the implementation of the Dayton Agreement. Bulajic positively assessed the role of Egypt and its President Mubarak in particular in the Middle East peace process, in building Egypt's international standing and raising the living standards of the Egyptian people.

[04] NEGOTIATIONS OF SUCCESSION CONTINUE WITH BILATERAL TALKS

During yestarday's meeting, an explanation was given for the incident which took place on Wednesday and which jeoparadized further negotiations.

Oskar Kovac, member of the Yugoslav expert team, said talks on the principles which should help in the definition of objects of property of the former Yugoslavia - the main item on the agenda of the two-day Brussels meeting - were interrupted at the insistence of the Slovenian delegation.

The Slovenian delegation, Kovac said, based their diversion in the neutral formulation and a paper of the Yugoslav delegation, where the parties to the negotiations are mentioned in one sentence as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the "newly-formed states".

Slovenian experts assessed that Yugoslavia was thus not considering itself as such a state, which they said was countrary to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1022 of November 1995.

Kovac explained that, although this was a completely pointless accusation, the plenary session was interrupted and, instead of the debate planned in the agenda, a meeting of the delegation heads was held.

Watts said later that he was planning to call another plenary session before the London Conference set for early December, possibly to discuss a document which could be an annex to the topic of succession and the results in the negotiations, the expected Declaration of the meeting in the British capital.

The Yugoslav delegation, however, considered the conference on succession currently interrupted because of the incident caused by the Slovenian delegation, but were willing to resume the debate according to the agenda, Kovac said.

Before the end of this debate, Kovac said, the Yugoslav delegation would not accept any proposals on a partial division of property, especially not before its definition is determined.

[05] YUGOSLAVIA SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION ORGANISATION'S PROGRAMME

Todorovic, who chairs the Governmental Commission on Humanitarian Questions and Missing Persons, was made acquainted with the Programme by Chief of Mission of the International Migration Organisation in Belgrade Edwin McLean.

The Programme, which is financially supported by the Organisation, envisages for repatriating to Bosnia-Herzegovina professional men, including those who have found refuge in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a Yugoslav Government statement said.

In the course of the day, Todorovic also received Francois Bellon of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and discussed with him open questions concerning missing persons in the states created on the territory of former Yugoslavia.

Todorovic once again refuted allegations that there were detention camps for war prisoners from Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

He dismissed these allegations as propaganda lies and asked that the ICRC publish its findings disproving such allegations, the statement said.

[06] SERB ARMY, IFOR DISCUSS MUSLIM INCURSION IN SERB TERRITORY

The inter-ethnic boundary line separates the Republika Srpska from the Muslim-Croat Federation.

The incident was provoked when hundreds of armed Muslims crossed the line on Monday and forced their way into the Republika Srpska village of Gajevi in the northeast of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Two Serb policemen were wounded in the shooting that ensued on Tuesday.

International mediators in Bosnia-Herzegovina said on Wednesday that the refugee repatriation programme had been suspended in the 4-km-wide zone of separation as a consequence of the Muslims' serious violation of the peace accords.

IFOR Spokesman Major Brett Boudreau said on Thursday that the Muslim Army's 254th Brigade had taken active part in the unlawful incursion into the territory of Republika Srpska and shooting in the village of Gajevi on Monday.

Boudreau told a special news briefing in Sarajevo's Serb locality of Lukavica that IFOR had raided the Brigade's barracks in Celici near Gajevi earlier in the day.

He added that large quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized and that they would be destroyed when the facility is evacuated.

[07] R.S. PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH U.N. SENIOR OFFICIAL

The talks especially dealt with the issue of the unlawful entry of several hundred armed Muslim refugees into the village of Koraje on Mount Majevica in the north of RS at the beginning of the week, which was characterized by international mediators Wednesday as a grave violation of the Agreement by Muslims.

Following the meeting, Beaumont said that the RS police forces in the Koraja district had executed their duties in a satisfactory manner and that the return of Muslim refugees would not be allowed until further notice.

Plavsic assessed that the Muslims had gravely violated the procedure for the return of refugees under the Dayton Peace Agreement.

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