Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-07-16

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] KRAJISNIK SAYS TADIC SENTENCED WITHOUT COMPLETE EVIDENCE

[02] YUGOSLAV CONSTITUTIONAL COURT PRESIDENT RECEIVES GUINEA'S AMBASSADOR

[03] SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC ONLY CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF YUGOSLAVIA

[04] YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL RECEIVES SWISS RED CROSS PRESIDENT

[05] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT: TADIC'S SENTENCE IS HORRIBLE

[06] SRPSKA ARMY GENERAL MEETS SFOR DEPUTY COMMANDER

[07] INTERNATIONAL OFFICIAL SAYS ARRESTS OF WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS CONTINUE

[08] RUSSIA OPPOSES UNILATERAL ACTIONS IN BOSNIA

[09] YUGOSLAV CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT MEETS WITH BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR

[10] RUSSIAN MEDIA ON SFOR OPERATION IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[11] ABUSE OF RED CROSS SYMBOL CONFIRMED BY ICRC

[12] KRAJISNIK MEETS WESTENDORP

[13] YUGOSLAVIA, CYPRUS SIGN PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION

[14] KRAJISNIK CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS FOLLOWING PRIJEDOR INCIDENT

[15] MILOSEVIC FELICITATES BULATOVIC ON DAY OF UPRISING

[16] ETHNIC-ALBANIAN TERRORISTS SENTENCED TO TOTAL OF 264 YEARS IN PRISON

[17] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT READY FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH CROATIA

[18] UPPER HOUSE SPEAKER - CELEBRATION OF UPRISING ANNIVERSARY

[19] SIR ARTHUR WATTS ENDS VISIT TO BELGRADE

[20] RS GOVERNMENT REJECTS INFORMATION SENT BY SFOR GENERAL

[21] GREEK AMBASSADOR VISITS PRISTINA

[01] KRAJISNIK SAYS TADIC SENTENCED WITHOUT COMPLETE EVIDENCE

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Republika Srpska member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik said Monday that the "sentence received by Dusan Tadic is further proof that it was actually passed on the basis of imcomplete data and evidence." "It is more a political than legal sentence, and that is why we in Republika Srpska are indignated," Krajisnik said.

[02] YUGOSLAV CONSTITUTIONAL COURT PRESIDENT RECEIVES GUINEA'S AMBASSADOR

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

President of the Yugoslav Constitutional Court Milomir Jakovljevic received on Monday Guinea's Ambassador in Belgrade Alexandre Cece Loua. The two officials discussed the promotion of cooperation between the two countries' Constitutional Courts. Cece Lou= a handed Jakovljevic a letter by President of the Guinean Constitutional Court Lamine Sidima in which he thanked for hospitality shown him during his recent visit to Yugoslavia. Also present was Ambassador with the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry Danilo Milic.

[03] SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC ONLY CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

The Credentials-Immunity Committees of the Yugoslav parliament's Chamber of Citizens and Chamber of Republics established ON Monday that only Slobodan Milosevic's candidacy for President of Yugoslavia was valid. The candidacy of Slobodan Milosevic for President of Yugoslavia has been put up by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Yugoslav Left (JUL), and New Democracy (ND) in the Chamber of Citizens. The SPS, JUL and ND said in the proposal, which was read to the Credentials-Immunity Committee of the Chamber of Citizens by Committee chairman Dragisa Ivkovic, that "Slobodan Milosevic, a personality with the greatest prestige and authority in Serbia and Yugoslavia, was elected President of Serbia twice in a row in direct, secret and democratic elections by an overwhelming majority of votes."

"It is thanks to his engagement, principled and realistic policy that the state unity of Serbia has been achieved in a crucial decade for our people and citizens; that our country has been constituted on the principles of multi-party democracy and market economy as a state of citizens based on full respect for equality; that Yugoslavia has been reorganized as a federal state of equal republics; that radical economic and political reforms, aimed at securing development and progress of all citizens, have been defined and are being carried out," the SPS, JUL and ND said.

It is in the interest of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, on the basis of the principles of freedom, autonomy and independence, to grow stronger, develop and affirm itself in the world as a factor of peace, stability, cooperation and understanding on an equal footing, and, as a democratic state, to become part of European and world integration processes, the three parties said in the explanation of their candidacy of Slobodan Milosevic for President of Yugoslavia.

"The choice of Slobodan Milosevic for President of the F.R. of Yugoslavia, with his affirmed values of a politician and statesman, is a great contribution to the fulfillment of the interests and goals of our country, people and all citizens. We are convinced that Slobodan Milosevic will meet with the greatest of success the obligations of the high state post for which we are proposing him and that he will consistently exercise those duties in the interest of the people of Montenegro and Serbia and all citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," the SPS, JUL and ND stressed.

The proposal was signed by heads of the SPS, JUL and ND parliamentary groupings Milutin Stojkovic, Zivko Soklovacki and Miroslav Stefanovic and 46 members of the Chamber of Citizens.

Both Committees established that the candidacies put up by four civic groups and one by the Preporod coalition were not in line with the law which regulates the election of president of the republic or with the Rules of the Chamber of Citizens.

[04] YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL RECEIVES SWISS RED CROSS PRESIDENT

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Head of the Yugoslav Government's Commission for humanitarian issues and missing persons Pavle Todorovic on Monday received Swiss Red Cross President Franz Mucheima, who is also vice president of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies. Speaking about the difficult humanitarian situation in Yugoslavia, Todorovic said that international humanitarian factors overlooked the fact that more than 90 percent of refugees lived with the families affected by the four-and-a-half- year U.N. sanctions against Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Government said in a statement. Another difficulty is that the donors have grown tired and the aid that arrives in Yugoslavia cannot cover the minimum needs of refugees, 65 percent of whom are children and the elderly. Another difficulty in the humanitarian situation is that international aid to Yugoslavia is made conditional on some Dayton Accords provisions, on which Yugoslavia cannot have an influence.

Todorovic especially deplored and protested against the abuse of the Red Cross symbol in the arrest operation in the Republika Srpska. Mucheima said he would try to influence the Swiss Red Cross and the IFRC to increase humanitarian aid deliveries to Yugoslavia.

[05] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PRESIDENT: TADIC'S SENTENCE IS HORRIBLE

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic said on Monday in Banja Luka that the 20 year prison sentence given to Dusan Tadic by the War Crimes Tribunal was horrible. The Tribunal was even unable to determine with certainty whether the man that stood trial was the real indictee or whether he was another man having the same name, Plavsic said. Plavsic said she had once visited the village where Tadic was born to see his house. The villagers told her he was a good man but criticized him for desertion as soon as the war started. Can a deserter be a war criminal, Plavsic wondered.

[06] SRPSKA ARMY GENERAL MEETS SFOR DEPUTY COMMANDER

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Republika Srpska Army Chief of Staff General Pero Colic met on Monday the Deputy Commander of SFOR land forces Cordy Simpson. The meeting focused on the SFOR action last week in Prijedor, in which one man was killed and three were detained. General Colic said after the meeting that SFOR had carried out an action contrary to the Dayton Agreement, describing it as an attack on the Serb people. If a similar action is undertaken again in the future, there will be no more cooperation with SFOR, Colic said. Simpson said that SFOR did not overstep its mandate in Prijedor and added that it would try to restore the former level of cooperation with the Republika Srpska leadership.

[07] INTERNATIONAL OFFICIAL SAYS ARRESTS OF WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS CONTINUE

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Spokesman for the International Community's High Representative for Bosnia- Herzegovina Simon Haselock said here on Monday that the arrests of war crimes suspects would continue regardless of tensions in the Republika Srpska. Speaking at a press conference, Haselock criticised Republika Srpska Parliament Speaker Dragan Kalinic's statement that all Republika Srpska citizens who had participated in the fighting were in jeopardy and said that only those accused of war crimes should be frightened.

U.N. representatives said that the U.N. mission was concerned about an explosion in Zvornik late on Sunday, in which no one was hurt but one Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe vehicle was destroyed. They said that in the Republika Srpska there had been a number of other attacks at international organisation's staff, who had been advised to take measures of precaution.

[08] RUSSIA OPPOSES UNILATERAL ACTIONS IN BOSNIA

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov told visiting British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on Monday that Moscow was against unannounced actions in Bosnia of the kind undertaken by NATO troops of the SFOR in Republika Srpska last week.

"I would not like for operations of that kind to be repeated, for they will not help improve the situation," Primakov told a news conference after the meeting with Cook, who is on a three-day visit to Russia. The Russian Foreign Minister said Moscow had not been informed about the plans for the operation of the arrest of war-crimes suspects, carried out in the town of Prijedor by British troops with strong U.S. support. Primakov proposed in the meeting with Cook that the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina be discussed at the first session of the Joint Russia-NATO Council in New York in September. He said it was necesary that the Joint Council discuss in general regional conflicts and possibilities for countering them, including by means of setting up multinational NATO operational forces which would act on a permanent basis and in which Russia could take part.

[09] YUGOSLAV CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT MEETS WITH BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR

Tanjug, 1997-07-14

Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce President Mihailo Milojevic discussed on Monday with Bulgarian Ambassador in Belgrade Filip Ispekov the promotion of cooperation between the two countries' companies and creation of conditions for an increase in their trade. Milojevic and Ispekov described cooperation to date as successful, saying business contacts among Yugoslav and Bulgarian companies had been good last year despite difficulties that had been overcome through joint efforts. Milojevic said inter-chamber cooperation as well as that among the two countries' companies developed well, saying Yugoslavia urged good relations with Bulgaria and its economy and people. Commenting on the imbalance in Yugoslav-Bulgarian trade, Milojevic said Yugoslavia's exports to Bulgaria should be higher. He said the Bulgarian Embassy in Belgrade had backed the promotion of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Ispekov, who will soon end his diplomatic mission in Belgrade, said the two countries' future lay in friendly ties, saying this meant that all forms of cooperation should be strengthened. In this connection, he said a joint effort should be made to promote cooperation still further, saying that, regardless of the volume of trade between the two countries, their cooperation in some sectors was on a rather low level. He said good business ties stimulated the development of all forms of cooperation. Milojevic and Ispekov agreed that room existed for a more efficient economic cooperation and cooperation among banks, saying the two countries should continue building good relations.

[10] RUSSIAN MEDIA ON SFOR OPERATION IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

Tanjug, 1997-07-12

The majority of Moscow newspapers on Saturday carried a statement in which Russia strongly condemned the recent SFOR operation in the Republika Srpska and said that this development might cause a rift between the guarantors of peace in Bosnia.

Quoting NATO officials as saying that the peace mission in Bosnia proves that Russia and NATO can cooperate well regardless of all differences, the daily Sevodnya said, "It would be interesting to see what would remain of this cooperation if the pecaekeeping force in Bosnia, including the Russian contingent, were ordered by the NATO Commander Europe to begin with a large- scale operation of arresting war crimes suspects."

Izvestiya said that operations, such as the one in Prijedor, could hardly help consolidate trust, particularly between the SFOR and Serb forces, especially because British SFOR troops had abused the Red Cross sign during the arrest.

Most of Russian commentators belive that the arrests in Prijedor were just an overture to a bigger operation, aimed at a complete removal of the Republika Srpska political leadership, which acts against current President Biljana Plavsic.

Estimates say that such NATO operations might lead to results that would be diametrically opposed to what was planned. Sevodnya said that the Serb leaders might unite in the face of an outside threat, which has already happened more than once.

[11] ABUSE OF RED CROSS SYMBOL CONFIRMED BY ICRC

Tanjug, 1997-07-12

The Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Pale stated on Saturday evening that the ICRC was informed of the abuse of the Red Cross symbol by SFOR troops in their action in Prijedor.

The SFOR troops carried a parcel bearing a Red Cross label when they arrived in the Prijedor hospital to arrest its director Milan Kovacevic.

The ICRC is concerned by the abuse of the Red Cross symbol as such acts can jeopardize its endeavors to carry out its humanitarian mission in a neutral, independent and impartial manner, the statement says. The ICRC will pursue its endeavors at the highest level and urges SFOR to take the necessary measurs to prevent similar abuses, it says.

[12] KRAJISNIK MEETS WESTENDORP

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

The Republika Srpska member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik received on Friday in Pale the High Representative of the international community for Bosnia Carlos Westendorp, SFOR commander Gen. William Crouch and representatives of Contact Group member-states. Krajisnik described the meeting as constructive and useful both for Republika Srpska and the international community, following the incident in Prijedor Thursday.

This situation must not be taken as a pretext for misunderstandings and must not be dramatized, Krajisnik said and suggested that a solution must be found by remaining calm and reasonable. Problems should be overcome through joint endeavors and wisdom, he said.

Underlining that he had protested to the representatives of the international community against the existence of secret lists which are spreading panic among the Republika Srpska people, Krajisnik urged the people, the army and the police to remain calm and not to allow incidents to happen.

The agreement reached with international community representatives should help appease the people in Republika Srpska, Krajisnik said.

Gen. Crouch said that SFOR acted on Thursday in accordance with its mandate and that it would detain any person indicted for war crimes it encounters. SFOR will follow its own rules, as it did on Thursday when one soldier was wounded, Crouch said and added that the SFOR mandate had not been changed. SFOR will follow the rules and noone should misunderstand this. The Dayton Agreement commits the entities to hand over indictees to the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, the General said.

Carlos Westendorp said the international community reprsentatives had come to Pale to try to pacify the situation. If this mission succeeds, cooperation can continue, he said and added it was agreed that all must remain level-headed and calm.

[13] YUGOSLAVIA, CYPRUS SIGN PROTOCOL ON COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

On the last day of an official visit to Cyprus, Yugoslav Minister for Labour, Health and Social Policy Miroslav Ivanisevic and Cypriot Labour and Social Protection Minister Andreas Musutas signed a protocol on cooperation in the field of labour. The document determines the dynamics of cooperation and envisages the signing of an agreement on employing young experts for specialisation and an agreement on social security.

Musutas and Cypriot Health Minister Christos Solomis said they were satisfied with the results of the visit.

[14] KRAJISNIK CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS FOLLOWING PRIJEDOR INCIDENT

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

Serb member in Bosnia's three-man Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik said on Friday that he was concerned about developments following an incident in Prijedor on Thursday when the SFOR had killed former Prijedor police chief Simo Drljaca, overstepping its authority.

After meeting in Pale with head of the OSCE mission to Bosnia, Robert Frowick, Krajisnik said he feared that the present situation resembled in many ways that just before the Dayton Peace Accords had been reached, saying SFOR had undermined good cooperation that the Republika Srpska had first had with the IFOR and with SFOR. Krajisnik said he would personally help secure good cooperation with SFOR but said the R.S. people had already condemned the incident and were concerned that changes had taken place that could jeopardise the Dayton Agreement.

He also said he had discussed with Frowick the freedom of speech and the use of media in the Republika Srpska, saying R.S. President Biljana Plavsic and other people who wanted to present certain things in a way they believed to be right would be given sufficient media coverage.

He said he had informed Frowick about a decision by the R.S. constitutional court putting all decisions, including that on the dissolution of the R.S. Parliament, out of force. He said it would be a grave mistake to continue the campaign again that body. He said Parliament played a special role in the Serb people's lives, saying he hoped that a solution to the crisis would be found despite present difficulties.

Krajisnik said the implementation of the Dayton Agreement must not be jeopardised and that cooperation must not be ruled by emotions. He said it was necessary to engage all wisdom and goodwill to overcome problems in the coming period, calling on the R.S. people to do all they could to ease tensions in order to avoid new incidents.

Frowick said they had discussed major issues concerning OSCE cooperation with relevant R.S. authorities. He said he had requested the meeting because the OSCE must help all parties secure the freedom of speech. He said a large number of points had been clarified, expressing satisfaction with headway made.

[15] MILOSEVIC FELICITATES BULATOVIC ON DAY OF UPRISING

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has felicitated his Montenegrin counterpart Momir Bulatovic on Day of Uprising marked in Montenegro on July 13.

In a letter of felicitations, Milosevic said, "We cherish with pride the memory of the peoples' uprising against fascism and of the contribution of the National Liberation movement to its collapse as an example of heroic victory and as a guide to future generations how they should defend freedom and their fatherland".

"I am confident that by upholding peace and strengthening the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a common state of citizens and republics that are equal, and by affirming the country's position and renown in the world and ensuring its successful economic and cultural development, we shall cherish in the best way possible eternal values of the struggle for freedom of our peoples, whose uprising we mark.

"I wish all citizens of Montenegro and you personally a success in bringing about the economic and cultural prosperity, which is in their interest and in the interest of all citizens of FR of Yugoslavia."

[16] ETHNIC-ALBANIAN TERRORISTS SENTENCED TO TOTAL OF 264 YEARS IN PRISON

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

A group of members of the ethnic-Albanian terrorist organization "Liberation Army of Kosovo" were sentenced to a total of 264 years in prison on Friday by the district court in Pristina. Chief defendant Besim Rama and ten other defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison each. The group carried out terrorist attacks in the 1992-1996 period, in which three policemen and one young girl were killed, 16 persons were wounded, and great material damage caused. The terrorists also carried out bomb attacks on a refugee centre and an Army of Yugoslavia barracks in Vucitrn.

[17] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT READY FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH CROATIA

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

At its session on Friday, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vladan Kutlesic, Yugoslav Government adopted the basis for the negotiations and conclusion of agreements with the Government of Croatia on international road and railway traffic. The Governments will negotiate the transport of passengers and goods over the temporarily opened border crossing Batrovci-Bajkovo and the regulation of the railway traffic near the border and at the border railways linking the towns of Sid and Tovarnik and Bogojevo and Erdut.

Yugoslav Government also adopted the basis for the discussion at the coming fourth meeting of the joint Yugoslav-Croatian Commission, devoted to the realization of the Article 7 of the Agreement on the normalization of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia.

[18] UPPER HOUSE SPEAKER - CELEBRATION OF UPRISING ANNIVERSARY

Tanjug, 1997-07-13

The general people's uprising 56 years ago in Montenegro against fascism, tyranny and inequality was one of the most outstanding events in the history of Montenegro and Yugoslavia, Acting President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Speaker of the Chamber of the Republics of the Federal Parliament Srdja Bozovic said at the central celebration of July 13, Uprising Day of the Montenegrin people, held at the Mareza excursion site near Podgorica.

The celebration was attended by Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, ministers, federal and republican parliament members, presidents of all Montenegrin municipalities, representatives of the Yugoslav Army and combatants' organizations and war heroes.

The general people's uprising and the beginnng of the fight against fascism embodied the highest values of the Montenegrin people - freedom, justice and equality - to which generations of ancestors had aspired, Bozovic said.

The July 13 uprising was not only a movement of specific ideology or national, class or religious affiliation, it was a movement of the entire people in the defense of collective freedom and dignity against one of the darkest ideologies in world history and the most powerful military force that dominated Europe at the time, he said.

With their July uprisings against the occupation forces at the time they were at the peak of their power, the Serbian and Montenegrin peoples made an immeasurable contribution to defeating the enemy military power, thus encouraging other peoples in enslaved Europe to resist and giving them hope of final victory, Bozovic underlined.

Referring to the current situation in the country, Bozovic said that the state policies of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its two republics - Serbia and Montenegro - were based essentially on the desire of the Serbian and Montenegrin peoples to live in a single joint state. Bozovic expressed his conviction that a modern federation founded on the equality of its member-republics and having firmly established democratic institutions through which the inviolable will of the citizens and legitimate political authority are exercised, was in the interest of the majority.

The alleged dilemma regarding some individuals' endeavors for any kind of Yugoslavia is only an artificial construction put forward for political purposes, as a federal state built, modelled and completed on normative foundations and the rule of law is needed by all, Bozovic underlined.

The fundamental goals of the citizens and democratically oriented political forces in Montenegro and Yugoslavia are a wealthier, socially more just and economically more prosperous Yugoslavia, open to its neighbors and the rest of the world and integrated in the international community it is own interest, Bozovic noted.

In such a federal state, Montenegro has wide prospects for its own development and prosperity, in the common interest of both federal units and the undeniable interest of all citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bozovic said.

The equality of Montenegro cannot be brought into question by unilateral exclusive will of any institution or individual, as the authentic federal principles of coordinating joint functions, dispersion of power and division of prerogatives on which the federal Constitution is based provide a model of relations between federal units which fully protects equality, Bozovic pointed out.

The pragmatic aspect of these principles is reflected in the current and lasting commitment and care of all state bodies and of Yugoslav, Montenegrin and Serbian citizens to the full and efficient implementation and affirmation of these principles and their further development and perfecting, Bozovic said.

Consequently, the importance of these constitutional principles and the strict determination to realize them are indisputable. Any emphasis on inferiority or dominance of any side in Yugoslavia contrary to its constitutionally defined position is therefore a demonstration of someone's problematic intentions. Fortunately, such intentions are preceded and superceded by the inviolable will of the people, whose choice must, as always, be trusted, Bozovic said.

Referring to the recent political developments in Montenegro, Bozovic said they were being characterized by a "magic" confusion in the past few days. The tremendous amount of negative energy, accumulated passions and fresh leadership ambitions have not remained confined to the internal affairs of the most powerful political parties. A series of important issues, serious differences, doubts, embarrasments, even disputes and confrontations have emerged, Bozovic said.

All this, he noted, has opened a political dilemma regarding the respect of the electoral will of the citizens who until a few days ago viewed the political scene in Montenegro and the position of its most important factors in a very different light.

This fact cannot be overlooked, and all Montenegrin institutions must resolve the potentially absurd situation in the current relations of political forces in a rational and level-headed manner, respecing the political will of the citizens, Bozovic concluded.

[19] SIR ARTHUR WATTS ENDS VISIT TO BELGRADE

Tanjug, 1997-07-12

The international mediator on succession to the assets of the former Yugoslavia (SFRY) Sir Arthur Watts ended Saturday evening in Belgrade his three-day talks on the amendments to the draft memmorandum on succession presented by the delegations of all former Yugoslav republics.

Watts told Serbian radio and television (RTS) following the last round of the talks in Belgrade that the goal of his present tour of the five capitals was to clarify the proposed amendments. On his return to Brussels and London, Watts will draw up a revised text of the draft memorandum in which he will try to incorporate the amendments, adding he would try to adapt them so that they can be adopted. Watts expressed conviction that he would be able to accept some amendments presented by the delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Head of the Yugoslav delegation Kosta Mihajlovic told RTS however that some key issues remained unresolved. Referring to some other options and some other variants that might be accepted, Mihajolovic pointed to trading and parallel writing off of assets in which different parties are interested. There are many possibilities, he said, adding that the Yugoslav delegation would make a full contribution to the negotiations with good will.

Before coming to Belgrade Watts had visited Ljubljana and Skoplje and has yet to visit Zagreb and Sarajevo.

[20] RS GOVERNMENT REJECTS INFORMATION SENT BY SFOR GENERAL

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

The Republika Srpska (RS) Government rejected on Friday the information sent by the SFOR to RS Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic following the bloody incident near Prijedor and in Prijedor itself when one person was killed, three arrested, and in which British SFOR troops took part.

The RS Government, in a letter to SFOR Deputy Commander General Cordy Simpson said that the "information did not contain basic facts that would explain the unreasonable action of your troops, a precedent in the history of peacekeeping operation forces, who should be acting within United Nations resolutions."

The RS Government said in its statement that it established with astonishment and disbelief that British troops had violated the U.N. mandate which does not provide in any way that peacekeeping forces have the right to organize manhunts on the residents of Republika Srpska who have in no way incited the use of brutal force of SFOR units."

According to the statement "Simo Drljaca was killed while on vacation with his son, and doctor Kovacevic was kidnapped at his workplace from Prijedor hospital." SFOR troops, according to eye-witness accounts, did not ask for his papers from Simo Drljaca, allegedly accused by the Hague Tribunal, and opened fire at him, his young son and the boy's uncle, first heavily wounding Drljaca and then killing him, the RS Government said.

"Your troops," the RS Government statement said, "took away in helicopters the body of the killed former police chief in Prijedor, kidnapped and took away in an unknown direction his yound son and the boy's uncle. Your soldiers have gravely transgressed rules of behaviour in humanitarian institutions, by entering the Prijedor hospital in a Red Cross vehicle, and under the threat of arms taking away the hospital's director Milan Kovacevic."

According to the RS Government "SFOR troops have abused the international sign of solidarity, the sign of the Red Cross, by using humanitarian parcels of the Red Cross Organization which they allegedly wanted to hand over to the hospital."

The RS Government information said that General Simpson, "after the brutal and incredible use of force" asked the RS Government to do everything in its power not to undertake any actions or issue statements which could lead to a conflagration and undesirable consequences.

The RS Government is making every effort to explain to its people that someone wants to cause another war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and not to be taken in by provocations. Now it is up to you general to say why you kill and detain citizens of Republika Srpska. What kind of army kills wounded people, Republika Srpska Prime Minister said at the end of his letter to General Simpson.

[21] GREEK AMBASSADOR VISITS PRISTINA

Tanjug, 1997-07-11

Deputy head of the Kosovo district Veljko Odalovic received on Friday in Pristina the Greek Ambassador to Yugoslavia Panayotis Vlassopoulos.

They reiterated the European Union's stance on the inviolability of the borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and on its sovereignty throughout its territory, and underlined that Serbia's southern province of Kosovo-Metohija was an inseparable part of Serbia and Yugoslavia. All important issues must be resolved in a peaceful manner and through dialogue, through the legal and recognized institutions which provide for the highest degree of respect of human and minorty rights in line with international standards, they said.

The meeting also focused on the situation in the education system and on the need for taking the necessary measures for the return of ethnic Albanian children to state schools.

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