Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-04-13

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE CHINESE PREMIER

[02] YUGOSLAVIA RELEASED A REPORT ON MUJAHEDDIN ATROCITIES AGAINST SERBS

[03] YUGOSLAV BUSINESS DELEGATION ARRIVES ON VISIT TO MOSCOW AREA

[04] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER BULAJIC RECEIVED AMBASSADOR JACOLIN

[05] PRIME MINISTER KONTIC RECEIVED THE IRISH AMBASSADOR IN YUGOSLAVIA

[06] INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION CONDEMNS TERRORISM IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[07] SADAKO OGATA IN PRISTINA

[08] KINKEL STRONGLY CONDEMNED ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS

[09] OGATA: REFUGEE CENTRES SHOULD BE RELOCATED TO SAFER AREAS

[10] CALL FOR OBJECTIVE AND TRUTHFUL REPORTING

[11] RUGOVA REJECTS AGAIN THE INVITATION FOR TALKS

[12] U.S. CONGRESSMAN MEETS WITH SERBIAN OFFICIAL

[13] SERBIAN NEGOTIATOR ON TALKS IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[14] KOSOVO DISTRICT OFFICIAL: ETHNIC ALBANIANS WILL TAKE PART IN THE REFERENDUM

[15] SERBIAN DEPUTY PREMIER ON THE REFERENDUM

[16] PRESS CENTRE IN PRISTINA

[17] TOP YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SEND CONDOLENCES TO THE GREEK HOLLY SYNOD

[18] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE GREEK HOLY SYNOD

[19] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC SENDS CONDOLENCES TO PRESIDENT JIANG

[20] SERBIAN PRESIDENT SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE GREEK HOLLY SYNOD

[01] YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE CHINESE PREMIER

Tanjug, 1998-04-12

Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic has sent a telegram of condolences to his Chinese counterpart Zhu Rongju following a mining accidents in China's Henan province that claimed the lives of 82 miners. In his telegram, Kontic expressed the deepest condolences to the families of the killed miners.

[02] YUGOSLAVIA RELEASED A REPORT ON MUJAHEDDIN ATROCITIES AGAINST SERBS

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

Bosnian Moslem authorities made possible for Mujaheddin to set up camps for torturing and killing Serbs in a bestial manner, said the ninth report by the Yugoslav Government Committee for gathering data about crimes against humanity and International Law committed in the former Yugoslavia. The committee recently submitted to The Hague-based International War Crimes Tribunal substantial evidence and witnesses' accounts confirming statements by the Bosnian Serb side as well as by international forces, intelligence agents, politicians and reporters to the effect that Moslem countries had liberally assisted Bosnian Moslem leader Alija Izetbegovic's army during civil war in Bosnia, not only in terms of logical support but also in terms of weapons and troops. The report said 465 camps in which Serbs had been held prisoner had been set up throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina, two of which, located in the villages of Kamenica and Gostovici at Zavidovici, had been run by Mujaheddin troops from Islamic, Moslem, Middle East and other countries.

The report contains accounts by witnesses, victims, Bosnian Serb troops who fought on the front at Vozuca and civilians who were tortured and humiliated in a bestial manner in the camps between July and September 1995.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not register the camps in question, registering Serb captives only once as they had been transferred to a prison in Zenica. The report said Mujaheddin troops' participation in civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina had been organised in Sarajevo, Vares, Vitez, Fojnica, Kakanj, Jablanica and Zenica at the outbreak of hostilities in the former Yugoslav republic, about which the committee informed the tribunal in its sixth report. Members of the Bosnian Serb army who were held prisoner at the Gostovici camp were beaten on a 24- hour basis, they were tied with chains and wire and threatened that they would be slaughtered. Moreover, Mujaheddin troops would cut a victim's head off with a sabre and hang it on the wall as a warning having first forced other prisoners to kiss it. Witness N.N. was captured by Mujaheddin while fighting for the Bosnian Serb army on the Vozuca front in July 1995 and was taken to the Gostovici camp where he was held prisoner for 34 days. He said Mujaheddin troops had tied up his and the hands and feet of two other Serb prisoners behind their backs, putting knives under their throats and threatening to kill them. The Mujaheddin bludgeoned the prisoners with poles and tool handles threatening to saw their heads off. Several witnesses said in their accounts that Mujaheddin troops cut off the head of Serb Gojko Vujicic having previously tortured him for several days. One of the witnesses, who was captured with Vujicic and two other Serbs on July 21, 1995, said that, one evening while they had been lying beaten up, tied and blindfolded at the Gostovici camp, he had heard Vujicic screaming for help because he could no longer bear the pain. The witness said soon after he had heard a shot and Mujaheddin shouting "Allah al ahbar" (Allah is the Greatest). After that the Mujaheddin removed their blindfolds ordering them to "kiss their brother." The head was then hung on a hook on a wall of their cell and left there. The committee also listed in its report Serb victims whose bodies had been handed over limbless and headless. Moreover, the committee said bodies of 17 Bosnian Serb troops had been exhumed in the area between Stog and Gostovici on November 14, 1997. All the bodies were headless. The exhumation was conducted by a joint commission of the (Bosnian Serb) Republika Srpska and the Moslem-Croat Federation in the presence of ICRC representatives. The R.S. Commission for prisoner exchange and missing persons has submitted a list of 54 Bosnian Serb captives reported to have gone missing in the Gostovici area where the Moslems' El- Mujaheddin camp was located. The committee has also come into possession of a videotape on which Izetbegovic was recorded while reviewing Mujaheddin troops. The Hague-based tribunal, however, is reserved about videotaped material because of the possibility of it being forged.

[03] YUGOSLAV BUSINESS DELEGATION ARRIVES ON VISIT TO MOSCOW AREA

Tanjug, 1998-04-12

A Yugoslav business delegation, headed by Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce President Mihailo Milojevic, arrived on a several-day visit to the Moscow area on Sunday. The delegation, including also Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce President Vladimir Vukmirovic and 38 representatives of major Yugoslav companies, was welcomed at Moscow airport by Yugoslav Ambassador in Moscow Danilo Markovic and other Embassy officials. The Embassy officials and representatives of Yugoslav companies operating in Moscow will also attend talks with directors of leading companies in the Moscow area. On Monday, the delegation and Russian partners will hold a plenary session and business talks, while on Tuesday the delegation is to visit companies in towns throughout the area. The delegation ends its visit to Russia on April 17.

[04] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER BULAJIC RECEIVED AMBASSADOR JACOLIN

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

Yugoslav Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic received Ambassador Henry Jacolin, personal envoy of OSCE Chairman for talks about article 5 of Annex 1-B to the Dayton Agreement. Ambassador Jacolin is staying in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia within consultations for opening negotiations about article 5 relating to the issue of regional stability. The importance of the opening of the negotiations as soon as possible and the efforts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in that respect were underlined at the talks. Hope was mutually expressed that preparations will be completed for reaching an agreement about issues of regional stability and security.

[05] PRIME MINISTER KONTIC RECEIVED THE IRISH AMBASSADOR IN YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic received on Friday the newly- appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to FR Yugoslavia Padraic Kradock, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat said. It was mutually assessed that between Ireland and Yugoslavia existed all preconditions for a comprehensive development of bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of economic relations. To that end, the need was affirmed for intensified contacts on the political and economic levels and the introduction of appropriate state regulations as their institutional framework. Kontic pointed to the strategic orientation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to take part more actively in international economic- political processes, emphasizing the importance of cooperation with European Union member countries, the statement said.

[06] INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION CONDEMNS TERRORISM IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ended its 99th conference in Windhoek, Namibia, late on Friday with the adoption of a number of resolutions. The IPU conference, which had opened on April 6, was attended by a delegation of the Yugoslav Assembly (Parliament), headed by Chamber of Citizens (lower house) Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Ljubisa Ristic, and by more than 120 other delegations. Among the documents adopted at the closing session was a resolution on measures to ensure a lasting and peaceful solution to the crisis in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's province of Kosovo- Metohija. At the start of the conference, the Yugoslav delegation had strongly opposed putting the Kosovo-Metohija question on the agenda, insisting that there were neither formal nor any other reasons for discussing a Serbian internal affair in this forum. However, the question was discussed at the IPU Political Committee's motion, and the resolution was adopted, explicitly condemning the escalation of terrorism in the province, which has claimed numerous lives, including those of women and children. The resolution affirmed the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia. It appealed to foreign factors "to refrain from providing funds, supplying weapons and other equipment, or providing training with such weapons and equipment, in support of terrorist activities."

The Swiss delegation sought to introduce an amendment to the resolution which should remove the provision affirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia. The amendment was overwhelmingly turned down, and the opposition to it was spearheaded by the rapporteur for the Committee and by the German delegation which had initiated the discussion of the subject in the first place.

[07] SADAKO OGATA IN PRISTINA

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata met in Pristina on Friday with Kosovo district Deputy Chief Veljko Odalovic and provincial Information Secretary Bosko Drobnjak, who informed her about the current situation of refugees in the southern Serbian province. In the part of the meeting open for the public, Odalovic informed Ogata about a series of attacks carried out in the past year on collective refugee centres in Kosovo and Metohija by ethnic Albanian terrorists. The attacks, he said, further disquieted the refugees who have already been victims of violence, and thousands of refugees have already left Kosmet because of that. Odalovic recalled that ethnic Albanian leaders had attempted to politicize the arrival of Serb refugees in Kosovo and Metohija and called it colonisation, although in the province there are now 14,959 refugees which cannot upset the national structure in that part of Serbia. "These people have not usurped houses or land and most of them live in refugee centres. The houses of Croats around Vitina, who have left for Croatia, are untouched, although they later settled down in Serb houses in Kistanje near Knin," Odalovic said.

Odalovic said that the authorities wanted to provide for refugee Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija adequate accommodation, and asked Ogata for UNHCR aid for building a number of refugee settlements. Odalovic informed Ogata about the current situation in Kosovo and Metohija, underlining that the situation at the moment was quite but that, unfortunately, individual terrorist attacks were continuing, although they are "not as extensive or intense as in the past two months." Odalovic listed terrorist attacks in the region of Drenica which occurred since the beginning of the year, and whose toll was seven lives. "We only have problems with terrorist gangs and groups and with no-one else. We will do everything to protect our citizens, secure peace and prevent terrorist activity," he said. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees was informed about the Serbian Government's efforts to make Kosmet Albanian political leaders agree to dialogue, which they are persistently avoiding, just as they are avoiding to disassociate themselves from terrorist actions.

[08] KINKEL STRONGLY CONDEMNED ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

German Foreign Minister called once again for the opening of a dialogue for resolving the situation in Kosmet, strongly warning Kosmet Albanians that they must renounce terrorism. Terrorism and vendetta murders are unacceptable. This places huge responsibility on Kosmet Albanian leaders. They must disassociate themselves more clearly from terrorists," Kinkel said in a statement, sent by the German Foreign Ministry to foreign correspondents in Bonn. Kinkel said that the Contact Group would meet again by the end of April to discuss the situation in Kosmet. "The Contact Group has recognized the right of Belgrade to preserve territorial integrity," Kinkel said in the statement, repeating the thesis about "the legitimate right of Kosmet Albanians" to "a wide autonomy and self-rule." The German Foreign Minister called once again for the talks about Kosmet to be conducted on "the federal and republican levels," with the participation of mediators. If these conditions are not fulfilled, there can be no dialogue, Kinkel considered.

[09] OGATA: REFUGEE CENTRES SHOULD BE RELOCATED TO SAFER AREAS

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata said on Friday at a meeting with the representatives of the Kosovo district that she wants refugee centres in Kosovo and Metohija "to be relocated to areas where the refugees will feel safer." Ogata said at the Pristina airport that she had also demanded that the school buildings, where the refugees are currently located, are also evicted, and that UNHCR would "help the authorities to do this." She did not want to comment what she had discussed with Kosmet Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova. Before meeting with Rugova, Ogata briefly visited Serb refugees located in the sports centre "Boro i Ramiz" in Pristina.

[10] CALL FOR OBJECTIVE AND TRUTHFUL REPORTING

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

Federal Information Secretary Goran Matic hosted a reception on Friday for foreign correspondents in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and called on the numerous newsmen present to objectively and truthfully report on the events in FRY. Matic said that truth and reality should be a basis for the work of journalists and that foreign correspondents should do their work for the good of the people for whom their information is intended. "Objective and professional reporting will be the best stimulus for the resolution of problems in this country in the best and most satisfactory way," Matic said. He pointed out to a number of problems in the media presentation of the developments in Kosovo and Metohija. "A part of these problems is linked to the specific manner of journalistic interpretation, but there are those which are connected to political aims, or what we call dissolution of Yugoslavia," Matic said.

He underlined that certain reports deny the existence of Albanian terrorism in Kosmet and that the entire problem in this Serbian province is treated solely as Serb violence. Matic set out that FRY is a country which has fully preserved its multiethnic and multireligious concept and that more than one-third of citizens of Yugoslavia are members of national minorities. These people are fully realizing their rights in keeping with international standards, Matic said and added that while, for example, Hungarians and other national minorities in Vojvodina are fully realizing these rights, Albanians in Kosmet are refusing to use them. Matic said that the leaders of the Albanian national minority in Kosmet aim for secession, but that the Yugoslav Government believes that this is not the wish of the majority of the citizens of Kosmet and that they want to live together with other citizens of this country. Matic set out that FRY is a fully open and free country for the work of the press and that reports that certain foreign correspondents have been banned from working or have been refused entry into Yugoslavia, are pure insinuations. Matic said that the best proof that journalists can freely work in this country are foreign correspondents who are already reporting from Yugoslavia.

[11] RUGOVA REJECTS AGAIN THE INVITATION FOR TALKS

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

President of the Democratic League of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova said in Pristina on Friday that the political representatives of Kosmet Albanians will not respond next Thursday to the official invitation for talks, the eleventh one extended by the Serbian Government. Rugova, at a press conference, explained the decision by saying that "the talks should be prepared and conducted with the mediation of a third party." The coming of Serbian President Milan Milutinovic to Pristina was described by Rugova as a propaganda ploy "to announce some talks and negotiations, but more for the public than for resolving the problem." The leader of Kosmet Albanians left open the possibility for talks, but only "at the highest Yugoslav level." Rugova repeated that the Albanian side was for a neutral and independent Kosovo or for an "international, civilian protectorate."

[12] U.S. CONGRESSMAN MEETS WITH SERBIAN OFFICIAL

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy and his associates met in Pristina on Saturday with the head of the Serbian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee Ratomir Vico, Deputy Head of the Kosovo district Veljko Odalovic and provincial Information Secretary Bosko Drobnjak and discussed current developments in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija. A statement released after the meeting said that after being informed about the latest Albanian terrorist attacks, the U.S. officials voiced concern over the developments and stressed the need for a peaceful resolution of problems in the province. Both sides agreed that an unconditional dialogue was the only possible solution and Kennedy offered his personal assistance in the establishing of a dialogue and in future activities connected with the resolution of problems in a way acceptable to all inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija.

[13] SERBIAN NEGOTIATOR ON TALKS IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

Member of the Serbian Government's negotiating team on the position of national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija Andreja Milosavljevic said on Saturday that he was optimistic regarding the talks and that he believed that ethnic Albanian representatives would participate in them. The ethnic Albanian representatives' non-acceptance to sit at the negotiating table is a reflection of the wrong policy of some Kosovo political party leaders who wish to internationalise the issue, to try and achieve independence through foreign mediators and to detach Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia and Yugoslavia, Milosavljevic told Radio Pozarevac. Some foreign powers assist them in this, without realising the deadliness of this policy because a war in Kosovo and Metohija would be impossible to contain and it would be a flame that would quickly spread to the Balkans and into Europe too, Milosavljevic said. This is why I believe in ethnic Albanian leaders' reason and I am certain that only talks - and we are open to all questions - can resolve the status of national minorities in Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia, although it has been resolved in an excellent way under the present Constitution, Milosavljevic said. The fact that ethnic Albanians do not wish to enjoy these rights within the state of Serbia is an entirely different matter, he said.

[14] KOSOVO DISTRICT OFFICIAL: ETHNIC ALBANIANS WILL TAKE PART IN THE REFERENDUM

Tanjug, 1998-04-12

Deputy Head of the Kosovo district Veljko Odalovic has voiced belief that the majority of citizens will participate in a referendum on April 23 and say "no" to the foreign interference in our internal affairs.

"I believe that this is what the international public and the world will have to take into account," Odalovic told Jagodina's TV station Palma Plus late on Saturday. He said that he realistically expected "that according to the number of people participating in it and according to their unity, the referendum will be something that present Serbia and Yugoslavia have not had so far." "We in Kosovo and Metohija expect that ethnic Albanians will participate in the referendum too," Odalovic said and added that this was an opportunity for them to simply say before the domestic and foreign public what they really think and where, how and with whom they want to live. We will do all in our power to ensure that they fulfil this civil right safely on April 23, he said. Odalovic said that ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija were being kept in fear by their leaders, who do not let them have a different opinion and say what they think about Serbian authorities and the Serbian people. "They kill them, which we, unfortunately, witness almost every day, they isolate them and maltreat them, and we care about the opinion of ordinary people, the people who think normally," Odalovic said. "If they stopped killing and intimidating their compatriots for just a moment, the leaders of ethnic Albanian political parties in Kosovo and Metohija would soon lose their 'support' and stay almost alone," Odalovic said.

He said that for eight years ethnic Albanian leaders had unrealistically promised to their compatriots a phantom "Kosovo Republic" and took contribution for its functioning and now the time has come for Ibrahim Rugova and other ethnic Albanian political leaders to render accounts for delusions and fraud. "I believe that the time that lies ahead of us is the time of sobering and the international community will have to take a definite stand and demand that ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo and Metohija give up their idea of an independent Kosovo," Odalovic said and added that "a quality space for talks will immediately be created, contacts among citizens and normal life be restored and all problems in the region be overcome."

[15] SERBIAN DEPUTY PREMIER ON THE REFERENDUM

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

Serbian Deputy Premier Ratko Markovic said on Saturday that "objections are completely unfounded of part of the public and political parties that the calling of a referendum shifts the responsibility from authorities to citizens."

In a statement to Radio Belgrade, Markovic said that the very question that would be posed at the referendum "clearly expresses our wish to assume the entire responsibility for possible consequences if the citizens of Serbia reject foreign interference in Serbia's internal affairs."

Markovic said that the "authorities' position would be more comfortable if the foreign mediator mediated in the decision-making because authorities would then be able to seek justification in the international pressure, were it blackmail or threats with sanctions."

"Our case is completely different," Markovic said and added that "when a foreign mediator and foreign influence is eliminated, the state organs hold the responsibility, lacking justification in pressure on the free will of those who make decisions." Markovic said that "those who make decisions do not hide behind international representatives, quite the opposite." The claim that the referendum is unnecessary because under the Constitution, the jurisdiction for the resolution of problems in Kosovo and Metohija lies with the state organs rather than foreign representatives, makes things vague, Markovic said. This claim disregards the true state of affairs, Markovic said and added that "this is no formal, but factual decision- making, because a foreign mediator would aspire to offer a solution and demand its implementation." The referendum on the participation of foreign mediators in the resolution of problems in Kosovo and Metohija has a wider importance because it does not refer only to the procedure, but also to the essence, he said. Namely, if on April 23 the majority of citizens decide against the participation of foreign mediators it is clear that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija cannot be resolved outside Serbia, Markovic said. This "rules out any possibility of linking the status of Kosovo and Metohija with the federal state and granting Kosovo and Metohija the attributes of a federal unit," Markovic said.

[16] PRESS CENTRE IN PRISTINA

Tanjug, 1998-04-10

The Managing Board of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) decided on Friday to set up a Press Centre in Pristina with the aim of helping domestic and foreign journalists do their job. The centre will open on April 16 and will be open round the clock. It will be equipped with computers, have a data base and provide the press with all services for unimpeded work. Journalists will also have at their disposal translators and information from major world new agencies, UNS said.

[17] TOP YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SEND CONDOLENCES TO THE GREEK HOLLY SYNOD

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic has sent a telegram to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece expressing his condolences to the Holy Synod and the Greek people on the death of Archbishop Seraphim of Athens and All of Greece. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic also sent a telegram of condolence to the Holy Synod and the Greek people.

[18] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE GREEK HOLY SYNOD

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has expressed deepest condolences on behalf of the Yugoslav people and his personal behalf to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and the Greek people following the death of Archbishop Seraphim of Athens and All of Greece. In his telegram of condolence, President Milosevic said Archbishop Seraphim would be remembered by his outstanding efforts in building friendship between the Greek and Yugoslav peoples.

[19] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC SENDS CONDOLENCES TO PRESIDENT JIANG

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Saturday sent a telegram of condolence to Chinese President Jiang Zemin following a disaster in mines in China's Henan province in which 82 miners were killed.

President Milosevic said that, following a tragedy in the Henan province and tragic deaths of scores of miners, he expressed deepest condolences to President Jiang and the friendly people of China, on behalf of the people of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and his personal behalf. He asked President Jiang to convey the Yugoslav people's sympathy and support at these terrible times to families of miners that were killed or injured in the accident.

[20] SERBIAN PRESIDENT SENDS CONDOLENCES TO THE GREEK HOLLY SYNOD

Tanjug, 1998-04-11

Serbian President Milan Milutinovic has sent a telegram expressing his deepest condolences to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and the Greek people on the death of Archbishop Seraphim of Athens and All Greece, a great friend of the Serbian people.

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