Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-12-11

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] FR YUGOSLAVIA IS FAITHFUL TO U.N. PRINCIPLES

[02] SPONSORS OF TERRORISM ARE CREATING NEW TENSIONS

[03] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT: FIRM MONETARY POLICY MUST CONTINUE IN 1998

[04] PRESIDENT CLINTON'S LETTER TO THE CONGRESS * COMMENTARY

[05] KRAJISNIK: DEMONIZATION OF SERBS AND DANGEROUS REVISION OF DAYTON

[06] TALKS CONTINUE ON SUCCESSION TO FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[07] BONN CONFERENCE ADOPTS FINAL DOCUMENT

[08] RUSSIA AGAINST SEPARATIST ASPIRATIONS IN SERBIA'S KOSOVO PROVINCE

[09] SUCCESSION GROUP OPENS A NEW ROUND OF TALKS

[10] OSCE WILL CONTINUE HELPING THE PROMOTION OF THE ELECTION PROCESS

[11] OFFICIAL AND FINAL ELECTION RESULTS

[12] VUCICEVIC: DEVELOPMENT OF ONLY ONE ENTITY UNACCEPTABLE

[13] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA REQUESTS INVESTIGATION ON WAR CRIMES AGAINST SERBS

[14] DIFFERENCES SURFACE AT THE BONN CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA

[15] PREMIER KONTIC - INTERVIEW TO "ROSSISKAYA GAZETTA"

[16] SESSION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

[17] REPUBLICAN ELECTIONS COMMISSION: RESULTS FROM 78% POLLING STATIONS

[18] BOSNIAN SERBS WILL URGE CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DAYTON ACCORDS

[19] SDS HAS LODGED A COMPLAINT TO THE APPEALS COMMISSION

[20] POLLING STATIONS IN SERBIA CLOSE

[21] RS DELEGATION FOR BONN CONFERENCE

[22] OSCE DELEGATION VISITED THE REPUBLICAN ELECTION COMMITTEE

[23] STANIMIROVIC: USEFUL MEETING WITH TUDJMAN

[24] RODIC: FIRST PRELIMINARY RESULTS ON MONDAY

[25] YUGOSLAV-ARAB SOCIETY APPEALS FOR LIFTING OF SANCTIONS

[26] DJUMIC: OSCE OBSERVERS HAVE NO OBJECTIONS

[27] BELGRADE TO HOST 1998 BALKAN MEETING OF TELECOMMUNICATION MINISTERS

[28] FINAL RESULTS OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

[29] INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS HAIL ELECTIONS AS REGULAR

[30] KRAJISNIK RECEIVED U.S. AND RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS

[01] FR YUGOSLAVIA IS FAITHFUL TO U.N. PRINCIPLES

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

The Federal Justice Ministry has said on the occasion of the Interna tional Justice Day marked on December 10, that the FR of Yugoslavia (FRY), as a democratic and open co untry, is faithful to the principles of the United Nations, attaches great importance to human righ ts and urges their respect and further development at all times. At the invitation of the United Nation s, Yugoslavia will in 1988 take active part in the marking of the 50th anniversary of the General Deceleration o n Human Rights. In this aim, the federal Government has set up a Committee for marking this anniversary wh ich is headed by the federal Prime Minister, a statement said. The Justice Ministry said that the com plex social and economic relations in Yugoslavia are important factors which affect the degree of human righ ts. "This fact obliges us to step up efforts for realizing the full protection of human rights and freedoms as our overall goal as a part of the international community. This is why our country will mark this signific ant date," the statement said. FR of Yugoslavia firmly adheres to the principles of the protection of human rights and the respect of general principles and nobel causes of the General Deceleration on Human Rights t hat: "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms stipulated in the Deceleration regardless of race, sex, language, religion, political or other views, national or social origins, property, birth or other circumstances," the statement said.

[02] SPONSORS OF TERRORISM ARE CREATING NEW TENSIONS

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

Attempts by certain countries and foreign circles to initiate and tr eat the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, and even in the Raska region, in a distorted, unprincipled and extremely unacceptable way, are present on the political scene. On offer are various "mediations" from a broad and ideas on the need to give "a special status to Kosovo and Metohija." Expressed is alleged "con cern" over the alleged tensions in the Raska region. All this represents open and gross interference into Yugoslav internal affairs and the lack of respect of the basic norms of International Law, the U.N. Cha rter, and especially the conduct among sovereign states. This is, unfortunately, the case with the meetin g of the Council for the Implementation of Peace held in Bonn on December 9-10. Although the Dayton Agreement does not contain any provision empowering this forum to discuss the internal quest ion of the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, certain influential factors have trie d to impose this. This was the main reason why the Yugoslav delegation and Republika Srpska top leaders walke d out of the session of the Council for the Implementation of Peace, because the organizer of the con ference failed to consider the consensus of all participants and refused to omit from the basic document the part referring to Kosovo and Metohija although this is a purely internal issue.

It is interesting that at the moment when the international communit y is united in naming terrorism as a major threat to world peace and security in the post-cold war era, c ertain countries are enabling the members of the so-called Liberation Army of Kosovo, which has assumed res ponsibility for a series of terrorist actions and assassinations in Kosmet, to hold public press conf erences with the aim of promoting their terrorist activities in the realization of the separatist aims for the secession of Kosovo and Metohija from the Republic of Serbia and FRY. This is why it is not clear whose i nterest it is to draw away attention from important issues for the implementation of the Dayton Agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina, such as the return of refugees and displaced persons to their previous homes, the financing of programs for the reconstruction of both entities, the implementation of the results of the local elections in Bosnia, the non- functioning of the central bodies of the Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the arming of the Muslim-Croat Federation Army, etc. Instead attempts are being made to artificially cre ate new possible focuses of crises and sources of misunderstandings and tensions in the region. Kosovo and Metohija is an integral and inalienable part of Serbia and FR of Yugoslavia. Serbia and FRY have no p roblem with their citizens belonging to the Albanian minority nor with Muslims living in Raska becau se the Republic of Serbia is a state of all its citizens, rather than a national state made up solely of Serbs. Problems exist and they are being created by separatist and ultranationalist leaders and organization s which aim to break up the Republic of Serbia and FRY and to change internationally recognized borde rs. Unfortunately, in this they have the concealed sympathies and understanding of certain foreign circle s. This country is not willing to make any kind of compromise or concession regarding the sovereignty and t erritorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia and FRY. This country will not agree to any kind of " offer" or "demand for mediation in resolving the situation in Kosovo and Metohija" regardless of who make s them and with what intentions.

Our Constitution and laws provide ample opportunities to members of all national and religious minorities to realize their human, minority and civil rights through dial ogue and within the institutions of the Republic of Serbia and FRY and in keeping with the highest European and w orld standards. Our country and its bodies have sufficient political will and patience for a dialogue about everything with those political forces in Kosovo and Metohija which recognize and accept the Republic of Serbia and FRY as their own country. On the other hand, this country has the power and determination to protect its constitutional order, peace and personal security of all its citizens regardless of their relig ious, national or political affiliation or beliefs. The real confirmation of the sincere and well-intentioned inter est of the foreign powers and factors in the situation in this country would be the lifting of all barriers and obstacles to the full reintegration of FRY into the international community. This would enable our country to ma ke even more determined efforts in continuing the initiated political and economic reforms, and to contin ue its constructive role and contribution to the peace process, thus strengthening peace and stability in the region.

[03] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT: FIRM MONETARY POLICY MUST CONTINUE IN 1998

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

The Yugoslav Government's Economic and Social Councils stressed on W ednesday the importance of continuing to pursue a firm monetary policy in 1998, geared to increas ing the real domestic product, a Government statement said. At their joint session, chaired by Economic Co uncil Chairman Stanko Radmilovic and attended by Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, the Councils rev iewed a draft economic policy for 1998, the statement said. The opening report was submitted by Minist er of Development, Science and the Environment Jagos Zelenovic. It was noted that the planned policy f or 1998 was highly ambitious, but that it was basically a continuation of the policy pursued in 1997.

The implementation of the proposed policy, it was stressed, would de pend closely on accelerating privatisation and structural changes in the national economy, and on the functioning of the law-abiding state. It was further noted that its success would depend also on the FR of Yugoslavia's reintegration in the international community and normalisation of relations with world fin ancial and economic bodies. The main targets of the economic policy would remain stable prices and a stab le national currency, the dinar, as well as reduction of public spending. Production should be increased by 10%, export by 31.2%, and import by 14%, while wage increases should reflect the rise in production and sales. Special attention was devoted to measures for combatting the gray economy.

An urgent need was stressed for beginning reforms in public spending , and the Government's general commitments in the sphere of welfare and pensions were upheld in this context.

The Economic and Social Councils upheld also the Government's effort s for creating the vital conditions necessary for implementing the projected economic policy for 1 998, the statement said.

[04] PRESIDENT CLINTON'S LETTER TO THE CONGRESS * COMMENTARY

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

Almost all Yugoslav media have in the past few days carried the news that US President Bill Clinton sent a letter to the Congress on 3 December 1997, advising of his determination to continue for another year the "blocking of all property and interests in property of t he Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in the United States. This decision of the Americ an executive has had varied response in the public and prompted a lot of comment from the economists, journalists, representatives of the political parties, even from some officials and politicians in Yugosl avia. President Clinton's letter has brought back for the ordinary members of the public unpleasant memories o f the difficult time of sanctions, international isolation, blockade and of hyperinflation, while it has aro used fears with economic representatives * who have been having trouble in re*establishing the sev ered business relations with the world * that this means going into another year fraught with difficulty a nd uncertainty. On the other hand, some media, leaders of some political parties and the so*called liberal e conomists and reformers have used it as an excuse for arbitrary and sensationalist interpretations of the l etter, by suggesting that it contains some elements that were never there in the first place. Some of the so*ca lled independent media have rushed to put in President Clinton's report to Congress also the question of cooperation with the Hague tribunal and Kosovo*Metohija, of which President Clinton's Executive Orde r makes no mention at all. In this regard, President Clinton says in his letter that the previous US Preside nt, George Bush, on 30 May 1992 issued an Executive Order "blocking all property and interests in propert y of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", which was later expanded to include trade and other transact ions with our country. The letter says further that pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1022, the Unite d States suspended by the Presidential Determination of 27 December 1995 the application of sancti ons imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which were totally lifted on 1 October 1996, when the Security Council passed its Resolution 1074. In this connection, it is stated that the said Resolutio n provides for continued blocking of Yugoslav funds and assets that "are prospectively subject to the claims o f the other successor States of the former Yugoslavia", which is the main and sole purpose of President C linton's letter. Additionally, the letter notes that since the last reporting period the Treasury Department , more specifically its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is charged with overseeing the imple mentation of sanctions, has devoted its mandate during the past six months to "overseeing the blocked FRY accounts and records with respect to: (1) liquidated tangible assets and personalty of the 15 block ed US subsidiaries of entities organized in the FRY; (2) the blocked personalty, files and records of th e two Serbian banking institutions (Beobanka and Jugobanka p.a.) in New York previously placed in secure sto rage; (3) remaining blocked FRY tangible property, including real estate; (4) the five Yugoslav*owned vessels recently unblocked in the United States". The letter says that the expenses incurred are estimated at approximately US$ 400,000, most of which represents wage and salary costs for 6*8 Federal personnel. This is, at the same time, the best illustration of the extent of measures contained in President Clinto n's letter to the Congress.

There is no need to mention specifically how many million dollars th e United States spent during the sanctions and blockade of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, when it deployed hundreds of monitors on the borders with Yugoslav neighbours, equipped border posts of our nei ghbours with speed patrol boats and helicopters, and kept for several years an entire Sixth Fleet in the Adriatic to maintain the blockade of our only port there. These measures do not affect trade between the tw o countries, which is in principle free. They do not affect, either, financial transactions between the two countries going through new accounts. The letter is primarily intended for internal American purposes and exclusively linked to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the implementation of the peace p rocess in that former Yugoslav republic. In other words, what is involved here are not any new sanctions or tighter restrictions related to the so*called outer wall of sanctions, but rather a routine letter that P resident Clinton addresses to the Congress every six months, as required by US laws regarding unilateral me asures applied against a third country and involving expenditures from the budget approved by Congress. What our public should take taken into account is the fact this Executive Order was issued a little l ater than was the case before. Actually, instead of late November it was issued on 3 December, when elec toral silence began in Serbia, and it was released on 8 December in the USIS Washington File published b y the American Embassy in Belgrade, i.e. after the first round of Presidential election in Serbia. This shows that it is likely that the American side,too, wanted to avoid the abuse of the Order for election pu rposes by some Presidential contenders and some political parties in the Republic of Serbia. Naturall y, our country has a lot of reasons to be dissatisfied at the US authorities continuing to block our property in the United States. The letter, however, clearly points out that "In the last 2 years, substantial progre ss has been achieved to bring about a settlement of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia acceptable to the p arties", and it contemplates a potential removal of the measures even before the end of the one*year per iod, if the Administration are satisfied that the conditions have been met.

[05] KRAJISNIK: DEMONIZATION OF SERBS AND DANGEROUS REVISION OF DAYTON

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

Republika Srpska (RS) representative in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presi dency Momcilo Krajisnik on Wednesday told Serb radio in Pale that the participants of the internatio nal conference in Bonn on the implementation of the Dayton Agreement had tried to demonize as much as p ossible Republika Srpska and the Serb people. Krajisnik said that the Serb delegation warned about the danger of the revision of the Dayton Agreement, especially opposing the wish of certain participant s to raise the so- called issue of Kosovo and Metohija and the Raska region. We supported the Yugoslav dele gation's demand that the final document should not mention Kosovo and Metohija and, when this was not ac cepted, we expressed our solidarity with them and walked out of the meeting, Krajisnik said.

[06] TALKS CONTINUE ON SUCCESSION TO FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

The plenary session on succession to the former Yugoslavia continued on Wednesday in Brussels by a heated debate among the representatives of the FR of Yugoslavia and of the four former federation members, now independent states - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina a nd Macedonia - without any rapprochement of their views, the correspondent of Serbian Radio-Televisi on reports.

The talks focused on a new draft document on the division of the pro perty of the former joint state - the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) - drawn up by the s ession chairman Sir Arthur Watts, who proposed three criteria for determining state property. Slovenia and Croatia categorically refused to accept the principle of joint financing, according to which everything th at had been built with federal funding should now be divided up. Their key arguments were that laws on territori al changes had been passed in 1971, and that the property of the former Yugoslavia had practically been divided up in 1974. The Yugoslav delegation remained firm in its stance that all property finance d by the former federation should be subject to division. The key issue is whether the property list shoul d include investments in the economy. Once this issue is settled, it will be easy to define the criter ia. Any agreement on succession and consequently the outcome of the talks will depend on the contents of the list of state property, head of the Yugoslav delegation Kosta Mihajlovic said. The debate was cut sho rt suddenly by Watts who interrupted Mihajlovic in mid-sentence without any reason, although the l atter was presenting his arguments calmly. The session was resumed after Watts apologised to the Yugoslav de legation. On several earlier occasions Watts had already abandoned his role of neutral mediator to tak e sides against the FR of Yugoslavia. It seems that his undiplomatic behaviour was caused today by the news from the ministerial meeting of the Peace Implementation Council in Bonn. Watts had apparentl y expected the PIC to adopt a resolution unfavourable to Yugoslavia, which would support his initiati ve for a partial division of the property, above all gold and embassy premises. Such resolution was howeve r not passed, instead participants in succession talks were urged to exert additional efforts t o resolve the succession problems.

[07] BONN CONFERENCE ADOPTS FINAL DOCUMENT

Tanjug, 1997-12-10

The Bonn conference of the Peace Implementation Council for Bosnia h as adopted a 30-page final document with detailed future actions of the international community in B osnia. Among the conclusions are earlier- announced wider competencies for the international community' s High Representative Carlos Westendorp who will be able in the future to make decisions by himself in the event that the three sides fail to reach an agreement about certain issues. In the provision devote d to ethnic and national communities and minorities the return of refugees and displaced persons h as been pushed into the forefront. The Peace Implementation Council demands from Croatia to "remo ve administrative barriers for refugees who wish to return or enter the country." The document further cites the statement of the Provisional Administrator of the Srem-Baranja region in which he welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the Erdut Agreement. It further says that the Council welcomes the permanent efforts of the Chairman of the Work Group for ethnic and national communities and minorities and that it is following with concern the escalation of ethnic tensions in other parts o f the region, including Kosovo and other areas. That could, it says, potentially further destabilize the reg ion, and thus the Council calls on all interested parties to renounce activities that could increase difficultie s and to find a mutually acceptable solution through responsible dialogue.

In the next provision, the Council calls on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Yugoslavia and relevant organizations (including the High Representative) to inform the Administrative Committee of the conference about the regional strategy for the return of refugees.

[08] RUSSIA AGAINST SEPARATIST ASPIRATIONS IN SERBIA'S KOSOVO PROVINCE

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

Russia is against separatist aspirations in Serbia's southern Province of Kosovo and Metohija and considers this Province Yugoslav territory, Russian Foreign Minister Yevg eny Primakov said on Tuesday after a meeting with his Albanian counterpart Pasqal Milo. Russia is not at all indifferent toward the situation in the Balkans and developments in that region, Primakov told a news conf erence. We are bilaterally interested in the exchange of information and holding of consultations, f or stability to be cemented in that area and not to allow foci of crises to develop, the Russian Minister sai d. Primakov said the views of the Russian and Albanian sides on developments in Kosovo "largely coincide."

[09] SUCCESSION GROUP OPENS A NEW ROUND OF TALKS

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

The Succession Group opened a fresh round of talks on Wednesday with a debate on a new draft agreement framed by the Group's Chairman, international mediator Sir Arth ur Watts.

The plenary session of the Group, which consists of five independent states - Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia, opened with a debate on a fift h draft agreement for a division of assets and liabilities of the former Yugoslav Federation. Sir Watts p roposed the draft, expecting all the interested parties to accept it, and spend the next two days merely revis ing some solutions. Head of the Yugoslav delegation Academician Kosta Mihailovic said it was too early to call the draft an agreement, as that implied that the delegations had agreed on it completely, and would merely make some revisions. He said the draft did not determine specifically the state assets, but insis ted on a partial division, chiefly gold, hard currency and securities. It is unacceptable to Yugoslavia, said Mih ailovic, for the division of assets not to include economic investments and structures financed by the former Federation, such as the tunnel through the Karavanke mountain range, the Krsko nuclear plant, Brioni isl ands, factories, highways and airports. The Bosnian delegation supported the proposal for the division of gold, and Slovenia said the meeting should broach those issues on which accord could be reached more easily, such as the use of archives, pensions etc.

Despite the differences in opinion, the negotiations opened in a pea ceful tone, though it remains to be seen whether the next two days would be used to examine non-economi c issues, for which Yugoslavia has prepared proposals.

[10] OSCE WILL CONTINUE HELPING THE PROMOTION OF THE ELECTION PROCESS

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

The Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rig hts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Gerard Studmann, said on Tuesd ay that OSCE remains ready to help the promotion of the election process in Serbia and its coordinat ion with OSCE standards. "We believe that such cooperation would result in a positive contribution," S tudmann told a press conference held at the Belgrade Intercontinental Hotel. Studmann read out a stateme nt by the OSCE mission for monitoring the presidential elections in Serbia which praised the Serbian authorities for their cooperation during the mission's work. The statement also said that the Republican E lection Committee had accepted certain suggestions of the OSCE mission on the promotion of the election process which were made following the October elections, but that these could not be realized for the November elections because the Parliament was unable to formally change the Election Law.

The statement said that all candidates did not receive the same medi a treatment and that the election process is still insufficiently transparent because bulletins wi th results are not publicly distributed from polling stations. OSCE mission coordinator Anthony Welch told journ alists that, compared to the October elections where several hundred supervisors monitored the electio ns at polling stations, this was not a classical monitoring mission. This time, 30 experts for election la ws and the election administration observed the technical side of the election process, the election laws an d their application, Welch said.

[11] OFFICIAL AND FINAL ELECTION RESULTS

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

According to official and final election results, a total of 3,812,0 10 people or 52.75 percent of the electorate turned out to vote in Serbia's December 7 presidential electio ns, with leftist candidate Milan Milutinovic in the lead, the Serbian Electoral Commission told a news con ference on Tuesday evening. Commission Secretary Nebojsa Rodic said that Milutinovic had won a total of 1,665,822 votes or 43.70% of the turnout or 23.05% of the electorate. Milutinovic is followed by S erbian Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj, who scored a total of 1,227,076 ballots or 32.19% of the turnout or 16.98% of the electorate. Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) party leader Vuk Draskovic tr ailed with 587,776 votes or 15.42% of the turnout or 8.13% of the electorate. Social Democracy p arty leader Vuk Obradovic won 115,850 ballots, followed by Democratic Centre leader Dragoljub Micunovic with 86,583 ballots. Independent candidate Miodrag Vidojkovic won 29,180 votes, while 21,353 p eople voted for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Predrag Vuletic. Although Sunday's elections were a success with more than a 50% turnout, neither of the candidates won the necessary majority. Ther efore, Milutinovic and Seselj are facing each other in a presidential run*off on December 21. Rodic said t hat the candidate who scores the majority vote in the run*off, provided that at least 50% of the electorat e turns out to vote, would be elected president. Referring to the December 7 elections, Rodic said that of the total of 9, 844 polling stations, balloting was conducted at 9,836 polling stations and annulled at another 8. He said that ballots were annulled at 2 polling stations in the Sremska Mitrovica, Vranje and Prist ina constituencies, respectively, and at one polling station, respectively, in the Leskovac and Vozdovac consti tuencies. The Commission decided not to repeat the balloting at these polling stations, because a total of 8,360 voters registered there could not have influenced the election result. A total of 3,758,334 peop le or 98,59% of the turnout cast their ballots personally at the polling stations, while 43,139 of them ma iled their ballots to polling stations and another 10,537 sent theirs by mail to the Serbian Central Electoral C ommission. Rodic said that on December 7, there were 76,911 or 2.02% of invalid ballots, which was less than in previous elections when their number always accounted for about 3%. He said that the final and o fficial results had been announced before the legal deadline thanks to the fact that all electoral bodies as well as the Serbian Bureau of Statistics had been well-organized. Commission Spokesman Zora n Djumic said that the elections had gone off in a fair and democratic atmosphere. He also said that no violations of the electoral procedure or incidents at any of the polling stations had been reported. He also said that, so far, no one complained of the electoral procedure. Djumic said that the elections we re covered by numerous domestic and foreign reporters and described their reporting as correct.

[12] VUCICEVIC: DEVELOPMENT OF ONLY ONE ENTITY UNACCEPTABLE

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

At the International Conference on Bosnia, which opened in Bonn on T uesday, the Yugoslav delegation reiterated the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's full support t o the peace agreement and underlined the goals which have yet to be fulfilled, especially the equal treatment of both entities.

Political Director at the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Dragomir Vuci cevic, told the Bonn Conference that the goals agreed at the previous meeting in Sintra are be ing realized, but that it is necessary to step up efforts for the full implementation of the Dayton Ag reement. He said that one of the obligations of all signatories is the creating of conditions for the retu rn of refugees.

The Yugoslav delegation at the meeting of the Council for the Implem entation of Peace, attended by 60 state delegations and those from international organizations, expre ssed concern over the continued arming of one side in Bosnia saying that this leads to long*term destabil ization and threatens the peace process. Vucicevic told a plenary session that the key issue in securing peace is the speedy realization of the program for the reconstruction of Bosnia. He warned that it is una cceptable and impossible to develop, in a joint state, only one entity and ignore the other.

Caution was expressed about giving bigger authority to the internati onal community's High Representative, and instead was proposed the strengthening of the role an d responsibility of the elected bodies to make decisions independently. At the end of the first day of t he Conference, after a number of speeches led by the host, Klaus Kinkel, the impression is that two clear intentions have clashed: the wish to impose the already formulated solutions and efforts to stop this.

A solution can be expected on Wednesday at the closure of the Confer ence when adopted conclusions will be announced by the hosts as a signpost for Bosnia durin g the third post-Dayton year.

[13] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA REQUESTS INVESTIGATION ON WAR CRIMES AGAINST SERBS

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

Republika Srpska Prime Minister Gojko Kilickovic addressed on Tuesday a l etter to the War Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour requesting a full and unbiased in vestigation on crimes perpetrated over Serbs by Muslims during the war in Bosnia. The letter reminds Ms Ar bour that Republika Srpska governmental and non-governmental organizations had presented to the Trib unal evidence on Muslim crimes over Serbs in the part of Sarajevo proclaimed as a protected area.

The crimes against Serb civilians in Sarajevo were committed with the knowledge of Muslim politic al and military leaders, the letter underlined.

[14] DIFFERENCES SURFACE AT THE BONN CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

The introductory part of a two-day Conference of the Peace Implement ation Council for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which opened on Tuesday, was devoted to summing up th e results achieved so far and presenting the international community's plans for the coming period.

The opening of the Conference did not reflect the readiness of the participants to follow the same cour se. In his opening statement, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel listed among the major future tasks stability in the region, broader powers for the international community's High Representative, an anti-co rruption battle, and the return of refugees. High Representative Carlos Westendorp's report on the situatio n in the field drew particular attention. He said that the peace process was seriously blocked and urged strict respect for the Dayton Agreement, as the sole alternative. Westendorp said that Bosnia-Herzegov ina was not functioning as a state although it has been two years since the peace agreement was signed NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana spoke about future military engagement in Bosnia- Herzegovi na, and each of the three members of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency gave their view of the situa tion. Momcilo Krajisnik of Republika Srpska drew attention to the attempts made at revising the Dayt on Agreement and opposed the broadening of the High Representative's powers. He opposed the imposition of solutions on peoples and urged respect for the wishes of refugees. The Yugoslav delegation protes ted because Minister Kinkel had mentioned Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, which he sai d was not a topic of the Conference but an internal affair of Serbia and Yugoslavia.

[15] PREMIER KONTIC - INTERVIEW TO "ROSSISKAYA GAZETTA"

Tanjug, 1997-12-09

Cooperation between Yugoslavia and Russia has been renewed after the lifting of sanctions more intensively than with any other country, but even these results are not c lose to the needs and possibilities of the two countries, Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic told journali sts of the Russian daily "Rossiskaya Gazetta". In an extensive interview, which Prime Minister Kontic gave to the daily during his recent official visit to Moscow, he said that bilateral economic cooperat ion with Russia was of strategic importance for Yugoslavia and constituted one of its foreign policy prior ities.

He stressed that besides trade, other forms of cooperation should al so be used, as production cooperation, joint capital investment and joint operations on the interna tional market. It is pointed out in the interview that during Kontic's visit a number of documents were si gned, including the Memorandum on the liberalization of mutual trade, which provides for the formation o f a free trade zone in accordance with World Trade Organization norms. This will create new legal condition s enabling Russian and Yugoslav firms to take responsibility for the realization of mutually useful proje cts. The conclusion of an Agreement on reducing customs duties is also planned.

Recalling that an Agreement on a 150-million-dollar Russian credit w as signed in Moscow, the daily cites Kontic's assessment that the sum was not sufficient for Yugoslav ne eds, as capital investments in the power industry, metallurgy and mining required greater funds.

"If Russia wants to sell on the Yugoslav market its equipment and te chnology, which we consider competitive, it is necessary to increase the credit, as was in principle agreed to by the Russian side during the talks, " Kontic said in the interview.

[16] SESSION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Tanjug, 1997-12-08

The Federal Government, at a session chaired by Prime Minister Radoj e Kontic, on Monday adopted a draft Law on the confirmation of an Agreement with Bulgaria on customs cooperation and mutual aid, a Federal Government statement said. The agreement is aimed at preventing violations of customs and foreign currency regulations, it facilitates and speeds up go ods and passenger traffic and enables a high degree of cooperation between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria on t he coordination of regulations, exchange of knowledge, and training of customs officials. The Government established a Platform for the participation of a Yugoslav delegation to the Ministerial meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Peace Implementation Council which will be held in Bonn on December 9 and 10. T he meeting will provide an analysis of the implementation of the Dayton-Paris accords and the implem entation of the conclusions from the previous meeting of the Committee held in Portugal in late May this y ear. It was assessed that the FR of Yugoslavia, as a signatory of the peace accords, has made a signifi cant contribution so far to the stabilization of the situation in Bosnia- Herzegovina and the process of b uilding confidence and cooperation in the region, and that it will continue doing so in future as well. The Government is urging the due implementation of the Dayton Accords, and it is necessary to point out at the Ministerial meeting the risks inherent in the issue of refugees, the equal treatment of entities, the a rming of the Muslim-Croat Federation, and other matters. The Government also adopted a Platform for the partici pation of a Yugoslav delegation to the plenary meeting of the Working Group for succession of the Peace I mplementation Council in Brussels on December 9-11. The delegation will be headed by Kosta Mihailo vic. A decision was adopted about the opening of a Yugoslav Consulate, with Honourary Consul Edison S ikeira at its head, in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

[17] REPUBLICAN ELECTIONS COMMISSION: RESULTS FROM 78% POLLING STATIONS

Tanjug, 1997-12-08

Sunday's elections for Serbian President were successful as over 50% of the electorate cast their votes, said the Republican Elections Commission, adding that results from 7,674 or 78% polling stations showed that leftist candidate Milan Milutinovic was in the lead with 1,35 4,118 votes.

Milutinovic, the candidate of the Socialist Party of Serbia-Yugoslav Left- New Democracy, is convincingly ahead of the other six candidates. He won 41.5% of the votes counted so far.

The second most successful candidate is Serbian Radical Party Presid ent Vojislav Seselj, with 1,076,438 votes, or 33%. The candidate of the Serbian Renewal Movement, V uk Draskovic, won 536,669 votes or 16.44%.

Social Democrat candidate Vuk Obradovic won 106,623 votes, Democrati c Centre candidate Dragoljub Micunovic 90,597, independent candidate Miodrag Vidojkovic 24,8 89, and Liberal Democratic Party candidate Predrag Vuletic won 18,811 votes. Figures obtained after the processing of the remaining field reports will not essentially alter the present picture, which means that Milutinovic and Seselj will compete in the run*off on Dec 21, a Commission Spokesman said. The fina l results of the first round will be announced on Tuesday afternoon, two days ahead of the legal deadl ine. The Commission agreed that Sunday's elections had passed in a democratic atmosphere. No objecti ons were received as to their regularity or the course of voting. This is an indication of increasingly democratic relations both in the procedure of nominations and in the procedure of voting at polling statio ns. The Spokesman for the Commission also said the elections had been monitored by representatives of international organizations, primarily the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who also said the voting had been in order. The 48 foreign observers were headed by the Director of th e OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Gerard Studmann.

[18] BOSNIAN SERBS WILL URGE CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DAYTON ACCORDS

Tanjug, 1997-12-08

Bosnian Serb member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Momcilo Kra jisnik said on Monday before leaving for Bonn to attend an international conference on Bosnia t hat he would urge a consistent implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and oppose its revision. Kraj isnik said he expected the Bonn Conference to review and set a deadline for obligations stemming from the Dayton Accords. He said that the Republika Srpska would urge a consistent implementation of the Dayton Accords not "because we are enthusiastic about it, but because we signed it and undertook the obligat ion to implement it." "We oppose and fear all revisions of Dayton because they represent attempts at trans ferring some entity powers to Bosnia- Herzegovina, with which we disagree," Krajisnik said and added tha t this referred to the Dayton agreement's provisions which are in the sole jurisdiction of entities, su ch as information, sports and education. Krajisnik said that it was indicative that some circles in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where many issues remain unsettled, had said they were not satisfied with the Bonn documents. "These are deliberate provocations of a policy that wishes to strengthen the positions of Bonn and tries to transfer entities' powers to Bosnia-Herzegovina," Krajisnik said Serb representatives will say that imposed solutions do not function in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he said "The Bonn Conference is crucial for Bosnia- Herzegovina. If force is applied to adopt solutions, B osnia-Herzegovina does not have prospects. The imposition of solutions and outvoting have led to war and one cannot accept that one man (international community's High Representative) is granted more authority in reaching solutions. This is not good," Krajisnik said. According to him, Bosnia-Herzegovina has a future if the equality of the two entities and three peoples is observed. Krajisnik said he regretted the fact that Republika Srpska representatives in Bonn would not have a single platform. He said that Republika Srpska P resident Biljana Plavsic was acting independently and that "we are going to Bonn with uncertainty and hope for success."

Krajisnik said he was dissatisfied with OSCE's preliminary results o n the Republika Srpska parliamentary elections, under which the Serbian Democratic Party had won just 24 seats.

[19] SDS HAS LODGED A COMPLAINT TO THE APPEALS COMMISSION

Tanjug, 1997-12-08

Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) Presidency Chairman Aleksa Buha said on Monday that SDS has lodged a complaint to the Appeals Commission of the Interim Election Comm ission in connection with the partial results of the elections for the National Assembly of Republika S rpska (RS), announced on Sunday by OSCE. Buha specified that the complaint concerned ballots which arriv ed from Vienna, without the proper documentation, and the voting process in the Federation of Bos nia and Herzegovina at 160 polling stations, and where representatives of the RS Government did not have access to one half of the polling stations, making possible the tampering of votes for 18 Federatio n deputies. The Appeals Commission of the Interim Election Commission will examine and resolve th e complaint on Wednesday, and will afterwards announce final results, Buha said. He assessed that t he role of OSCE at these elections was inglorious.

[20] POLLING STATIONS IN SERBIA CLOSE

Tanjug, 1997-12-07

Polling stations in Serbia closed at 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, af ter citizens cast their votes for republican President. A total of 7,234,769 registered voters were able t o vote at 9,827 polling stations which opened at 7 a.m. local time, circling one of the seven candidates f or Serbian President. The candidates were Milan Milutinovic, candidate of the Socialist Party o f Serbia, Yugoslav Left and New Democracy, Vojislav Seselj of the Serbian Radical Party, Vuk Draskovic of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Dragoljub Micunovic of the Democratic Centre, Vuk Obradovic of the Social Democrats, Predrag Vuletic of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Miodrag Vidojkovic, an independent c andidate.

[21] RS DELEGATION FOR BONN CONFERENCE

Tanjug, 1997-12-07

The delegation of Republika Srpska (RS) for the International Confer ence on Bosnia-Herzegovina, to be held on December 9-10 in Bonn, will consist of the RS representativ e in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, RS President Biljana Plavsic and the Co-Ch airman of the Council of Ministers from RS, Boro Bosic. The delegation will also include the Minis ter for civilian questions and communications in the Bosnia- Herzegovina Council of Ministers, Spasoje Al bijanovic, Deputy Foreign Minister in the Council of Ministers Dragan Bozanic, and several advisors from Plavsic's and Krajisnik's cabinets.

[22] OSCE DELEGATION VISITED THE REPUBLICAN ELECTION COMMITTEE

Tanjug, 1997-12-07

The delegation of the mission of the Organization for Security and C ooperation in Europe (OSCE) which was monitoring the presidential elections in Serbia, headed by the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Gerard Schutdmann, and the OSCE mission coordinator for the presidential elections in Serbia Anthony Welch, met on Sunday with member s of the Republican Election Committee to discuss the conducting of the presidential elections, the Re publican Election Committee has said. The Committee's Chairman, Balsa Govedarica, informed the OSCE dele gation that, according to the arriving reports, that the elections were conducted in a democratic and f air atmosphere. It was said that these elections are of big importance for Serbia and the stability of the entire country. Ambassador Schutdmann expressed gratitude on behalf of the OSCE mission for the open ness of all authorized bodies in the Republic which have enabled the mission to carry out its tasks suc cessfully. The OSCE delegation expressed interest in the development and promotion of procedures and leg al regulations of the election system, and the character and provisions of the Election Law and underli ned the progress in the election conditions and the process of democratization. It was said that the coop eration so far with the OSCE representatives had been good and that their presence at the previous and the current elections was of importance and mutual interest. It was emphasised that the suggestions of the OSCE supervisors would be important for all future changes and development of the election syste m, the statement said.

[23] STANIMIROVIC: USEFUL MEETING WITH TUDJMAN

Tanjug, 1997-12-06

Independent Democratic Serb Party President and Croatian Parliament MP Vojislav Stanimirovic described the meeting between representatives of the Joint Council of Mun icipalities (ZVO) and the Serb National Council (SNV) with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in Zagreb a s very useful, successful and encouraging for Serbs in the Srem-Baranja region. In a telephone stateme nt to Tanjug after the meeting, Stanimirovic said that an official statement was expected already on Mond ay, and also a public address by the Croatian President, to confirm everything that had been agreed at this meeting. "Early next week, we expect the arrival of Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic in this regi on for a session of the National Council for Establishing Confidence, where we shall discuss problems rega rding documents and legislature," Stanimirovic said. He said he expected Minister Separovic w ould make a public statement at this time so that the people could "hear from a Croatian official what is being planned and what they can expect." According to Stanimirovic, this would help remove doubtful point s and ease the anxiety of the people in the region. Speaking about the contents of the talks, Stanimir ovic said it had been heard the UNTAES mandate ended on January 15, 1998, but "both sides pointed out tha t the international community will continue monitoring the processes and that nothing drastic will happ en after the UNTAES leave, which President Tudjman confirmed." Stanimirovic said they had received assura nces from the President that there were no more reasons for any fears or a continuation of the "quiet exodus so far," which Serb representatives pointed out at this meeting.

"We said that the reason for this was that the local border agreemen t had not been good or comprehensive, especially for our refugees from other parts of Croatia," Stanimirovic said, adding that this mistake had now been corrected and that all refugees had the right to bor der passes at discount rates. Serb representatives especially spoke about the problems in connection wi th the inconsistent implementation of the Amnesty Law and the Validation Law. "President Tud jman said there were no longer any lists and, in our presence, ordered the justice minister that an end must be put to the practice of certain irresponsible regional officials, court presidents or judges, deliberatel y or by chance, aimed at getting us to leave these lands, to activate some lists which Tudjman said had been suspended," Stanimirovic said. He said there could be talk only of persecutions of those persons who hav e been proven perpetrators of war crimes. "We were promised that people who are now in the region will have the same rights regardless of nationality and that all refugees will have equal rights to return and renewal," he said. Regarding lost tenancy rights, Tudjman promised these problems would be r esolved in the best possible way, either in the respective refugee's original place of residence or he re in the region, said Stanimirovic.

"Those people who wish to remain in the region, also according to th e Croatian President, have the right to do so under the Erdut Agreement and their tenancy rights in the region will be settled," said Stanimirovic. The talks also briefly covered matters of education and it was agreed that further progress was necessary in this area. "We spoke about the status of the ZVO and th e issue of the so-called Klein's municipalities. President Tudjman absolutely supported our stand that the se municipalities, which held elections, and also the status of the ZVO, must be regulated by a special law," Stanimirovic pointed out. These municipalities will be covered by the Law on Territorial Organizati on, and the ZVO will have its own Status in order adequately to protect the rights and interests of the Ser b people, he said.

[24] RODIC: FIRST PRELIMINARY RESULTS ON MONDAY

Tanjug, 1997-12-07

Republican Elections Commission Secretary Nebojsa Rodic told Tanjug late on Sunday that the first preliminary results of yesterday's presidential elections would be announced on Monday between 2 and 3 p.m. local time at a press conference of the Commission. The Repub lican Elections Commission did not receive any complaints during the day about the regularity of the elections for Serbian President, he said. The elections proceeded in a fair and democratic atmosphere and in keeping with the election laws, said Rodic.

[25] YUGOSLAV-ARAB SOCIETY APPEALS FOR LIFTING OF SANCTIONS

Tanjug, 1997-12-05

The Yugoslav-Arab Society on Friday appealed to all those who care f or human rights, freedoms and dignity to demand the complete lifting of the sanctions against Iraq and all other countries. The Society condemned sanctions in any form and against any country, maintaining that they present genocide and violations of international laws and the United Nations Charter because t hey deny peoples and individuals the elementary human rights. The Yugoslav-Arab Society believes that an appeal for respect of human rights, freedoms and democracy is hypocritical if it comes from any side which does not oppose sanctions, which does not work on their termination and elimination from internation al relations, said the statement.

[26] DJUMIC: OSCE OBSERVERS HAVE NO OBJECTIONS

Tanjug, 1997-12-07

Republican Elections Commission Spokesman Zoran Djumic said in Belgr ade on Sunday, after polling stations closed, that the Serbian presidential elections had proc eeded in a democratic and fair atmosphere, without any incidents and in keeping with the law. "The pres idential elections in Serbia were monitored by 249 home and 233 foreign accredited journalists, which is 15 more than at the October 5 elections," Djumic said. Djumic said elections had been followed by 41 o bservers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and that they had not had any objections about the course of the elections.

[27] BELGRADE TO HOST 1998 BALKAN MEETING OF TELECOMMUNICATION MINISTERS

Tanjug, 1997-12-05

Belgrade will host the third meeting of Balkan ministers of posts an d telecommunications in 1998, under an unanimous decision by the second Ministerial meeting recently he ld in Istanbul.

Yugoslav Minister of Telecommunications Dojcilo Radojevic, who heade d a Yugoslav delegation at the meeting, told Tanjug that the decision was very important because it represented further recognition of Yugoslavia's policy and efforts it invested in the development of regi onal cooperation. Radojevic described the unanimous decision to hold the third meeting in Belgrade as a confirmation and recognition also of the policy pursued by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who is constantly stressing the importance of good-neighbourly cooperation and regional linking.

At the two-day meeting held in Istanbul in late November, Balkan min isters of posts and telecommunications passed a Resolution on promoting regional cooperation in that domain. Radojevic said that the Resolution was an important step into the future because it defi ned specific activities to upgrade mutually beneficial regional cooperation in the area of posts and telecom munications. He said that the FR of Yugoslavia attributed great importance to the promotion of economic an d other cooperation among Balkan countries and added that telecommunications were an indispensable part of that cooperation. In this context, Radojevic also stressed the importance of the Yugoslav ministry in charge of that sector, which has been set up at President Milosevic's initiative and proposal.

The Istanbul meeting was held immediately after a Summit of Balkan h eads of state or government on the Greek island of Crete, Radojevic said. He added that the Crete Sum mit Declaration clearly specified a wish to promote cooperation among Balkan countries in the area of telec ommunications. The Yugoslav delegation at the meeting was actively involved and made a substantial co ntribution to its successful conclusion. Radojevic met with most heads of delegations at the meeting a nd agreed with them that expert groups should meet to solve issues of mutual interest relating to posts, telecommunications and radio communications. The Yugoslav delegation supported initiatives to strengt hen cooperation among Balkan countries in this area. These initiatives were included in the Resolution passed at the meeting. The delegation supported a move to set up an institutionalized form of cooper ation among Balkan countries. It also upheld another proposal that Balkan countries coordinate their ap pearance in international organizations during discussions of relevant issues of interest to all co untries of southeastern Europe. The Resolution also calls for studying possibilities of building a Balkan sat ellite system and other regional research projects that could attract financial support of international i nstitutions and private capital. The Istanbul meeting confirmed a joi nt commitment of participating countries to promoting telecommunication and postal traffic with a view to building confidence a nd stability of Balkan countries. It also represents an important step in further cooperation among these c ountries, Radojevic said.

[28] FINAL RESULTS OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Tanjug, 1997-12-07

The Serb Democratic Party (SDS) won 24 seats in the 83-seat Republik a Srpska National Assembly according to preliminary results, OSCE Banja Luka Regional Centr e Director Roger Bryant said on Sunday. The pro-Muslim Coalition for an Integral and Democratic Bosnia -Herzegovina won 16 seats, the Serb National Alliance - Biljana Plavsic and the Serbian Radical Part y 15 seats each, the Socialist Party of Republika Srpska 9 seats, and the Party of Independent Social De mocrats of Republika Srpska and the Social Democrat Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 seats each. Bry ant said a total of 712,448 citizens had gone to the polls.

[29] INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS HAIL ELECTIONS AS REGULAR

Tanjug, 1997-12-08

Member of the international monitoring mission from Britain Christop her Wyner said late on Sunday he had no objections as to the regularity of the presidential elections i n Serbia. The elections are proceeding very well, said Wyner, a member of the British Helsinki Group, who visited several polling stations in and around Pristina, the capital of Serbia's Province of Koso vo and Metohija. The observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the election s had been fair. OSCE representatives from Germany and Norway monitored the vote in the city of Novi Sad, and toured several polling stations in the town of Apatin, Serbia's northern Vojvodina. Mon itors from France and the United States visited several polling stations in the towns of Cicevac and Kruse vac, central Serbia. Other OSCE monitors visited the election precinct in Zajecar, eastern Serbia. Both s aid the elections had been fair.

[30] KRAJISNIK RECEIVED U.S. AND RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS

Tanjug, 1997-12-06

Republika Srpska President in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovi na Momcilo Krajisnik called, on Friday evening, for an equitable access of the two entities and the th ree peoples at the upcoming Ministerial Conference on Bosnia in Bonn. Krajisnik discussed the Bonn Co nference with U.S. Ambassador in Sarajevo Richard Kauzlaric and Russian Charge d'Affaires in Sarajevo J akov Gerasimov. After receiving the two diplomats in separate visits, Krajisnik said that Muslims were pl acing pressure for a revision of the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bonn in order to diminish the competencies of t he entities. We cannot accept a revision of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the expansion of the mandate of the international community's High Representative, SFOR, and the International Police Force s, Krajisnik said. According to him, Republika Srpska will urge the honouring of all agreements and commi tments, ensuing from the Dayton Peace Agreement. He stressed that what does not proceed from the D ayton Peace Agreement, and was being imposed currently, was dangerous for the stability of peace 2E

(only the first 30 articles are shown)

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article