Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-04-18

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] GOVERNMENT COMMENDS TURNOUT IN ELECTIONS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA

[02] OJDANIC - WRANKER TALKS

[03] OGATA PRAISES YUGOSLAVIA'S ENDEAVORS TO HELP REFUGEES

[04] MINISTER IVANISEVIC TALKS WITH OGATA

[05] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT MEETING

[06] SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES SADAKO OGATA

[01] GOVERNMENT COMMENDS TURNOUT IN ELECTIONS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA

The Government assessed in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Radoje Kontic that Yugoslavia's constructive policy and activities were conducive to the creation of conditions necessary for the holding of the elections, said a statement issued by the Yugoslav Information Ministry.

The Government said serious problems arose in the organization and implementation of the elections, which had also been noted by the UN Transitional Administration, as well as Yugoslav and international monitors, all of whom hold the Croatian authorities accountable.

The Government stressed that full cooperation with the international community and the promotion of good-neighbourly relations between Yugoslavia and Croatia in line with the accord on normalization of relations are essential for keeping the peace and maintaining stability in the region.

Yugoslavia calls for the extension of the UN mandate and the establishment of a permanent and effective presence of the international community in the region of Eastern Slavonia, Barania and West Srem, to secure peace for the local populace, said the statement.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-04-18 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-17

[02] OJDANIC - WRANKER TALKS

It was underscored that the good cooperation between the Yugoslav Army and UNPREDEP was conducive to the creation of conditions for successful negotiations on issues concerning the border between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia, the statement said.

Both sides agreed that the current manner of consideration of vital issues had been efficient and that it should continue as such in future work, said the statement.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-04-18 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-17

[03] OGATA PRAISES YUGOSLAVIA'S ENDEAVORS TO HELP REFUGEES

Ogata said she had expressed to President Milosevic and other officials gratitude on behalf of UNHCR and praised Serbia and Montenegro for opening doors to refugees during the war and showing such generosity to them.

Ogata said she had not discussed with President Milosevic the possibility of a mass arrival of Serbs from Eastern Slavonia in Yugoslavia, as she and the president were exerting utmost efforts to prevent such an exodus.

The meeting with Yugoslav Minister of the Interior Sokolovic focused on dual citizenship and on resolving the problem of refugees wishing to remain living in the FRY, Ogata said and added she would support their wishes.

No concrete lasting solution to the refugee problem was discussed, but the talk concerned the general prospects for local integration of refugees which would be dependent on granting them citizenship, and on the prospects for the repatriation of refugees to Bosnia and Croatia, Ogata said.

Asked about the prospects for the return of Serbs to Krajina now that Croatia had rejected the statement of the UN Security Council Chairman urging it to enable the expelled Serbs to return to their homes and Yugoslavia's proposal on dual citizenship, Ogata said this issue would necessitate efforts greater than the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia.

Ogata said she hoped Serb refugees would be given the chance to return to Croatia. The principle of their return is not in question, the problem is how to carry it out in practice, she said.

She noted in this context that Croat refugees also wish to return to Eastern Slavonia, but that the Serbs who used to live in that region before the war have the right to remain in their homes too and that those who arrived subsequently from other areas also have the right to stay.

Serbs in Eastern Slavonia feel concerned for their status after Croatian authorities take over the power in the region, she said. The UNHCR has set up a working group together with the Croatian Government and UNTAES to resolve the problem of the return of both Croats and Serbs and has asked for compliance with the reciprocity principle, she explained.

Answering a remark on the drastic reduction of humanitarian aid to the FRY and on the reports that some agencies were closing or planning to close their aid programs, Ogata said that UNHCR had earmarked 40 million dollars for aid to refugees in FRY this year.

The UNHCR will also urge the largest humanitarian agencies such as the EU Humanitarian Office (EHCO) to extend their programs at least until the next autumn, but it will be much harder to persuade donors as they see Yugoslavia as a large food producer, Ogata said.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-04-18 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-17

[04] MINISTER IVANISEVIC TALKS WITH OGATA

Talking about the alarming situation of refugees in FRY, Minister Ivanisevic pointed to the huge efforts made by the population, the state and the economy to provide for them, and the dramatic social conditions in our country which are the result of difficult years in conditions of war in the neighbourhood, but first and foremost of un-imposed sanctions and the impossibility of the FRY's access to international financial organizations.

In addition to this, due to the long-standing problem of refugees, international humanitarian aid has dropped, while the return of refugees into their regions of origin has not yet been secured.

Talking about the main guidelines of our policy in solving the problem, Minister Ivanisevic said that Yugoslavia supports and urges the realization of permanent solutions during years of consolidation, that would involve the organized and collective return of refugees with the help of the UN High Commissioner and their integration into the FRY, or their moving into third countries in Europe and the world.

The repatriation of refugees is a priority for the FRY and the obligation of the international community under the Dayton Peace Agreement and documents in the field of international humanitarian law. A more active approach of the international community is expected in solving the problem of their return. Thanking Ogata for her objective approach to the problem, Minister Ivanisevic said he believed that her visit will help that humanitarian aid is not interrupted, as long as other forms of a permanent solution to the problem are not in sight.

On the return of Serbs to Croatia, from the FRY, Sadako Ogata informed Minister Ivanisevic that on the issue of Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and West Srem, a working body had been formed consisting of representatives of Serbs from the region, the Croatian Government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She proposed that on the same principle be formed a commission of representatives of the Yugoslav and Croatian Governments and of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which was accepted with satisfaction by the Yugoslav side.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-04-18 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-17

[05] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT MEETING

The basis were also adopted for the participation of the delegation of the FRY at a meeting of the working group for humanitarian issues of the Peace Implementation Council at which they will review programs for the permanent solution of the problems of refugees. The FRY delegation at the Geneva meeting on April 23 will be headed by Yugoslav Minister for Labour, Health and Social Policy Miroslav Ivanisevic.

The Government has determined the national plan for resolving the issue of refugees and the engagement of the international community in its realization.

A Yugoslav state-business delegation, to visit Ethiopia, April 20-24, will be headed by Deputy Yugoslav Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic.

The Government adopted a decision on the formation of a Yugoslav commission for cooperation with the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) and the improvement of the position of women.

According to the three-month plan for the federal budget plan, revenues from April to June this year will total 1 billion 912 million dinars, which represents a sharp slowdown in the inflow of funds compared to budget expectations for 1997 to the total amount of 9 billion 238 million dinars. The Government determined measures for the efficient retrieval of revenues and confirmed its determination that expenditure be financed only from realistic sources.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-04-18 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-17

[06] SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES SADAKO OGATA

Milosevic and Ogata focused on the current situation in the realization of the program for aiding refugees in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and activities aimed at creating the necessary conditions for their return home. In this respect, 1997 should mark a significant advancement.

FRY has borne a huge burden and provided unmeasurable material and moral support to the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the territories where the civil war was fought, and secured the basic conditions for their care and normal life, it was said.

Underscored was that UNHCR and Ogata have also contributed significantly to the resolution of this major humanitarian problem.

Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-04-18 ; Tanjug, 1997-04-17

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