Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-08-05

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES OPEN CONSULTATIONS

[02] SLOVENIA'S PRIME MINISTER ON THE SITUATION IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

[03] TERRORIST GROUPS PREVENTED FROM ENTERING YUGOSLAVIA

[04] CONCEPT OF GREATER ALBANIA UNDERMINES BALKAN EQUILIBRIUM

[05] SERBIAN OFFICIAL RECEIVED UNHCR AND ICRC OFFICIAL

[06] SERBIAN POLICE NEUTRALIZED ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS NEAR SRBICA

[07] SERBIAN AND GREEK OFFICIALS DISCUSS CRIME PREVENTION

[08] SERBIAN MINISTER MEETS WITH ATHENS MAYOR

[09] SERBIA PRESENTED IN GREEK MEDIA

[10] JOVANOVIC: TALKS WITH MECIAR WOULD BOOST COOPERATION WITH SLOVAKIA

[11] MARJANOVIC: DECISIVELY AND UNCOMPROMISINGLY AGAINST TERRORISM IN KOSMET

[12] YUGOSLAV DEFENSE MINISTRY DELEGATION VISITS ROMANIA

[13] FOREIGN MINISTER JOVANOVIC HOLDS TALKS WITH KRAMPLOVA

[14] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES MINISTERS OF INTERIOR

[01] YUGOSLAV AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES OPEN CONSULTATIONS

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Delegations of the Yugoslav and Russian foreign ministries opened consult ations in Moscow on Tuesday. The delegations, headed by Yugoslav Assistant Forei gn Minister Zlatan Kikic and Russian Assistant Foreign Minister Nikolai Afanasyevski, discussed a broad range of international issues of mutual i nterest. They conferred also on cooperation concerning the situation in the Balkan s and the southeast of Europe as well as on ideas and initiatives for promoting cooperation in the region and the rest of Europe. On Wednesday, consulta tions will deal with cooperation and relations between the two countries, with the Russian side being represented by Assistant Foreign Minister Alexander Av deyev.

[02] SLOVENIA'S PRIME MINISTER ON THE SITUATION IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Slovene Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek has described the situation in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province as very comple x, saying that the main problem is the lack of trust on both sides, especial ly the ethnic Albanian. Drnovsek was speaking in an interview with The Internat ional Herald Tribune, the English-language daily published in Paris. In the introduction to the interview, the daily said that Slovenia was currently presiding over the United Nations Security Council. Drnovsek said that t he solution to the Kosovo and Metohija issue necessitated international comm unity's assistance, since Serbs and ethnic Albanians were unable to reach the sol ution on their own and since none of them could achieve a 100-percent victory. He said he was of the opinion that ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija would have to accept a certain degree of autonomy with international guarantees. He add ed that neither Slovenia nor himself advocated an independence for Kosovo and Met ohija. We wish that a realistic solution is found, the one that both sides would accept, said Drnovsek.

[03] TERRORIST GROUPS PREVENTED FROM ENTERING YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Yugoslav Army border troops prevented two groups of terrorists from entering the territory of the FR of Yugoslavia (FRY) northwest of Djakovi ca on Monday night and from bringing in loads of weapons and military equipment , Tanjug learned from the Yugoslav Army Pristina corps. Eight terrorists were kil led in the fighting, while the Yugoslav Army did not sustain any casualties. Th e first group of 20 terrorists used horses and mules in an attempt to bring in we apons in the region of the Koznjar watchtower. After warnings from the border g uards, they opened fire and the army responded. During the clash three terroris ts were killed, while the remainder fled to Albania. In the same region, another group tried at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to bring in another load of weapons. They als o responded to warnings by opening fire and the ensuing fighting killed fi ve terrorists. The terrorist groups left behind large quantities of weapons and ammunition, a recoilless cannon, 60 mortar shells and about 300 hand gren ades. The Yugoslav Army is investigating the identities of the dead terrorists and is conducting a further search of the border region.

[04] CONCEPT OF GREATER ALBANIA UNDERMINES BALKAN EQUILIBRIUM

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

The concept of a "Greater Albania", which the western powers are try ing to realize, is based on the idea of a single nation and single religion and is aimed against the Slav and all orthodox nations in the Balkans, a press confere nce was told on Tuesday at the Institute for Geopolitical Studies in Belgrade. Th e Institute will soon publish a study titled: "Greater Albania - Concept an d Possible Consequences" which will be sent to embassies of 15 countries. S tudies on this topic are also being conducted by institutes in Greece, Bulgaria and Macedonia. Prof. Dr. Kosta Cavoski said that the idea of a "Greater A lbania" is a concept of Albanian revenge which threatens the integrity of all Balkan countries.

Cavoski said that, apart from Kosmet, the instigators of this idea a spire to some parts of Montenegro, such as the districts of Plav, Businje, Ulci nj and others, the western parts of Macedonia and northern Greece. This attempt to redraw the Balkan borders can cause a third Balkan war and seriously thre atens peace and the entire Europe, Cavoski said. He concluded that the preserva tion of Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia's historic cradle, is the issue of the self*r espect and survival of the Serb nation. Dr. Dusan Batakovic set out that the co ncept of a "Greater Albania" has been approved by the international community w ith the aim of destroying Serbia as a regional power in the Balkans. He said that an impediment to the realization of this plan is the existence of an ethnic Albanian minority in western Macedonia.

Recalling that this idea dates back to the previous century in the f orm of various ideologies, he said that in question is an extremist and retroact ive concept based on national ethnic exclusiveness in the guise of an alleged democratic veil and the alleged struggle for human rights. Tomislav Kres ovic said that U.S., German, Albanian and other intelligence services are invo lved in the activities of the ethnic Albanian terrorist organization, the Liberat ion Army of Kosovo (LAK). The Albanian intelligence service has some 100 operative s in Kosmet. Kresovic set out that Albania, by provoking border incidents, ha s long since crossed all permissable limits with the permission of certain weste rn countries.

He said that in Pristina there is a strategic separatist centre in c harge of communicating with foreign military experts, the Albanian Government a nd western countries. The aim of all these coordinated activities is the cr eation and maintaining of the crisis in Kosmet, as well as the unfavourable poli tical and diplomatic milieu in Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia with the aim of including the so-called LAK in the negotiating team, Kresovic said. Prof Dr. Radovan Radinovic spoke about the military aspect of the Kosmet crisis. R adinovic said that the "Greater Albania" is impossible without the support of the big powers. Speaking about the so-called LAK, Radinovic set out that this is a para-military organization with marked terrorist activities, a mixture of terrorism and banditism, which applies all forms of violence against stat e institutions, citizens of Serb nationality and even their own ethnic Alba nians. This organization has foreign mercenaries, which excludes the use of the term guerrilla, it has a marked islamic identity and its leaders are located w ithin the islamic centres of power, Radinovic said. He set out that the events on the Yugoslav-Albanian border can no longer be described as "border incidents" as in question is an armed aggression since as many as a thousand terrorists ar e being infiltrated into this country from Albania. Radinovic pointed out that a media war is also being waged against Serbia and Yugoslavia both via the foreig n media and some domestic ones and that the aim of all these activities is to ini tiate a NATO intervention. Radinovic said that the Yugoslav Army is very succe ssfully defending the border region from the Albanian terrorists and that the so- called LAK has been dispersed following serious defeats by our security forces.

This is why the foreign powers are now trying to "save" the so-calle d LAK by including its representatives in the negotiating team on Kosmet, Radin ovic said.

[05] SERBIAN OFFICIAL RECEIVED UNHCR AND ICRC OFFICIAL

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Coordinator of Serbian state institutions in the southern province o f Kosovo and Metohija Andreja Milosavljevic met on Tuesday the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Pristina Thomas Vargas to discuss the current situation in the province. Great efforts are being made to ensure free a ccess to humanitarian teams and to provide aid to the population of Kosovo and Metohija, especially in crisis areas, as regards the supply of food, medi cines and construction materials, it was underlined during the meeting, the pro vincial Information Secretariat said in a statement. Serbian state institutions i nsist on the return of all persons who have fled their homes due to the terrori st acts by ethnic Albanian separatists, and guarantee to them safety and aid rega rdless of their ethnicity, Milosavljevic said. Many of them do not dare to retu rn out of fear of fresh actions of the terrorists who are still offering resista nce, he added. Milosavljevic and Vargas pointed to the readiness of state instit utions to cooperate with international humanitarian organizations and missions i n order to improve the situation in the province as soon as possible. Means must be found to enable international humanitarian organizations to find out the fate of kidnapped persons, as this would help restore confidence and resolve prob lems in a peaceful manner, it was noted during the meeting, the statement says.

[06] SERBIAN POLICE NEUTRALIZED ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS NEAR SRBICA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Serbian police forces early on Tuesday neutralized strong groups of ethni c Albanian terrorists in the village of Lausa, near Srbica, Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija (Kosmet) province, Srbica municipal authorities confirmed. Lausa was one of the biggest strongholds of ethnic Albanian terrorists in the region of Drenica, well fortified with mined approaches, from where they attacked p olice and civilians in the past months. After control was established over Lau sa this morning and Monday's expulsion of terrorists from Ovcarevo and Jablanica, also major strongholds of terrorists and the so-called Liberation Army of Koso vo, police are now in control of all major parts of this region. There were no casualties among civilians in Monday's and Tuesday's police actions becau se the terrorists had earlier banished the population from the villages in that region.

[07] SERBIAN AND GREEK OFFICIALS DISCUSS CRIME PREVENTION

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Serbian Information Minister's advisor and Interior Ministry Chief o f Staff Danilo Pantovic and Greek Public Order Ministry Secretary-General Yannis Papadoyanakis on Tuesday discussed the prevention of terrorism and crime and protection of citizens' security. The officials said that good and frien dly relations between Yugoslavia and Greece created a favourable framework fo r stronger cooperation between the two ministries in all fields. Pantovic and Papadoyanakis voiced readiness for meetings between the two ministries' e xperts to start soon in order to review and prepare concrete forms of cooperatio n. Yugoslav Ambassador to Greece Dragomic Vucicevic also participated in the talks.

[08] SERBIAN MINISTER MEETS WITH ATHENS MAYOR

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Serbia's Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic met in Athens on Tues day with one of Greece's most popular politicians, Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos. Vucic, visiting Athens at part of a one-week media present ation of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia in Greece, said that relations between the two countries and between the Greek and Serbian people were characterised by feelings of deep friendship. He explained that his visit was motivated by a need to give more detailed information to Serbia's Greek friends about the situation i n Yugoslavia and Serbia, and especially Serbia's province of Kosovo and Met ohija. He said it was impossible to learn what was truly happening in Yugoslavia , Serbia and, particularly, Kosovo and Metohija, from reports of part of the weste rn press, adding that the Greek press was different in this respect, which t he Serbian people appreciated. He thanked Athens for its assistance to the Serbian people in the past years, and stressed the need for still closer ties bet ween the two countries' businessmen. Member of the Serbian Telecom Board of Direc tors Srdjan Smiljkovic, who attended the meeting, said that more major joint v entures on the lines of the Greek capital investments in Telecom and the Trepca metallurgical complex, would be in mutual interest.

Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, for his part, said there were a thousand reasons for the two countries' closer cooperation in the economi c, business, political and cultural fields, with the two economies' business interests taking precedence over all else. Avramopoulos said that the wh ole of Europe was turned to one program - the program of progress, and that all European countries were moving towards the same goal - the Europe of the future - only they were travelling by different routes. Speaking to the press after th e meeting, both sides described their talks as cordial and useful and as co vering a wide spectrum of relations between the two nations. According to Avram opoulos, Greece and Yugoslavia face the same prospects and the same roads, they sh are a common history, as well as a common future in a new and great common stat e - Europe. Avramopoulos accepted an invitation to visit the Yugoslav capita l Belgrade.

[09] SERBIA PRESENTED IN GREEK MEDIA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Serbia's media presentation in Athens focuses on the fact that ethni c Albanian terrorism is active in Kosovo and Metohija and that Serbia is re ady to resolve the present political crisis in the province through talks based on the Yugoslav Constitution. Serbia's media presentation started in Athens on Monday and will last until the end of the week in the organization of the Serbia n Information Ministry and the Yugoslav Embassy to Greece. Within the presentation, Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic made statemen ts to Mega TV station and the Athens daily "Eleftheros Typos" and said that Se rbia and Yugoslavia were fighting against terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija in orde r to protect the country's Constitution and its legal system. In anti-terrori st operations, Serbian security forces act with restraint, primarily protect ing the lives of all Yugoslavs and trying to avoid material damage, Vucic said. He said that the federal Constitution had determined autonomy under the highest international standards in this field and that it was in keeping with the U.N. Charter, OSCE documents and relevant E.U. documents. He further said that the Serbs do not enjoy a single right that the ethnic Albanians do not have. The Kosovo and Metohija crisis shows, however, that the demands of ethnic Alb anians in Kosovo and Metohija have become more ambitious in time, Vucic said. Af ter demanding autonomy and calling for a republic, the ethnic Albanian side i s now trying to detach this part of the country through terrorist attacks.

The daily quoted him as saying that there is no organized ethnic Alb anian army in Kosovo and Metohija, but only scattered terrorist gangs that atta ck swiftly and as swiftly disappear. Their most frequent targets are lone po lice cars and remote Serbian homes. Asked why the crisis in the province is continuing, Vucic said that Serbia and Yugoslavia insisted on a negotiate d solution for the Kosovo and Metohija crisis and that is why Serbian state negotiators have gone to Kosovo and Metohija fourteen times. He added tha representatives of ethnic Albanian political parties have been invited to the talks, but that they had never turned up. Serbia is doing its best to fi nd a political solution, but it takes two to hold a dialogue, he explained, as quoted by "Eleftheros Typos".

[10] JOVANOVIC: TALKS WITH MECIAR WOULD BOOST COOPERATION WITH SLOVAKIA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic said on Tuesday that his talks with Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar earlier in the day would give impetus to all-round development of friendship and cooperation between the two co untries. Jovanovic said, "We discussed the promotion of overall relations between our two countries, especially in the field of economy with an aim of increasing t rade and cooperation in production and investment." He said they both had stresse d that headway had been made in the promotion of relations but that there were s till many possibilities to be used, because of which he said all agents of eco nomic cooperation should make a greater effort in order to fully use the existi ng potential. He said the talks had focused on the promotion of political d ialogue, saying the dialogue reflected friendly relations between the two countrie s and two peoples and contributed to overall relations. "We discussed the prom otion of cultural, educational, scientific and all other forms of cooperation. We regard that cooperation as a part of positive developments on our contine nt," he said. "The Slovak Government fully understands the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's policy and position both as regards the normalization of our status in European and other international organizations and as regards internal affairs like the issue of Kosovo and Metohija," he said adding that it had been a greed that it was in the interest of both Yugoslavia as well as European and ot her institutions that the country be enabled to act within these organization s on the footing of equality. Referring to the issue of Serbia's southern provinc e of Kosovo and Metohija, Jovanovic said this was Serbia's and Yugoslavia's in ternal affair and that it would be resolved through political negotiations betwe en government officials and representatives of ethnic Albanian political par ties. "This is the only path to lasting and democratic solutions that guarantee equality of all national minorities and ethnic communities in Kosovo and Metohija and of all citizens, in line with the highest European standards," he sai d. After the talks, which were attended also by Yugoslav Home Trade Minister Milorad Miskovic and Yugoslav Ambassador to Slovakia Veljko Curcic, Jovanovic op ened the new building that is to house the Yugoslav Embassy's offices. "The openi ng of the Embassy in Bratislava is a sign that Yugoslavia wants to promote its traditionally friendly relations with Slovakia on a lasting basis," he sa id.

The opening ceremony was attended also by Slovakia's top state offic ials and prominent public figures, members of the Bratislava-based diplomatic corps and the Slovakia-based Yugoslav community.

[11] MARJANOVIC: DECISIVELY AND UNCOMPROMISINGLY AGAINST TERRORISM IN KOSMET

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

The Serbian Government is achieving positive results in the realizat ion of the key points of the adopted program for the dynamic economic growth and rising of the population's living standards, economic and social stability and t he further intensification of reforms - especially in the sphere of ownershi p transformation and the functioning of the legal state, Serbian Premier Mi rko Marjanovic said on Tuesday. In talks with the economic and political lea ders of the Zajecar district, Marjanovic said that the government had to struggle with numerous difficulties in the realization of the economic and social aims due to increased pressure and threats against this county for its justified stru ggle against terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija and for defending its territoria l integrity and state sovereignty. "We are fighting against terrorism deci sively and uncompromisingly," Marjanovic said. "We will curb all forms of violen ce in Kosovo and Metohija because this threatens the peaceful, free and equal j oint life of all citizens. We will win this battle. This is our right, our obl igation and the request of the majority of the citizens irrespective of their pol itical orientation," he said. Marjanovic underscored that the joint statement o f presidents of the FR of Yugoslavia and Russia, Slobodan Milosevic and Bor is Yeltsin, and the determination of our leaders to point out and reveal the true aims of the ethnic Albanian terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the real situation in this part of the Republic of Serbia which is evident to all, all served to stimulate the growing support for our policies. "Today, everyo ne in the world is struggling against terrorism and this is why, when this kind of evil is in question, there can be no double standards," Marjanovic said. The international community has started to accept this and to support our sta nd that all problems should be resolved through political means and that the cont inuation of the political dialogue in Kosovo and Metohija is necessary and cannot be postponed. At the same time, he said, the international community is expe cted to denounce in even stronger terms terrorist activities and to stop all form s of foreign aid to the terrorists, as well as to fully include this country i n international organizations and institutions.

Marjanovic pointed out that it is understandable that in such circum stances it is harder to step up production and exports, to maintain the stability of prices and the currency and to protect the living standards of the popula tion. However, in the coming months we must both continue the trend from the fi rst half of the year and increase efforts to improve these results, he said. "We can achieve this because, despite the difficulties, we have significant inter nal human and material reserves," Marjanovic noted. "The dynamic industrial output has continued in the first half of the year and amounts 12.7%. It is impo rtant that the two-digit rise has been realized in those industrial branches wh ich employ the majority of workers. Also favourable are the structural produc tion changes because the fastest growth is that of the means of production," Marjanovic said. He said that all this shows that it is possible to real ize the planned 10% growth of industrial production in 1998. "With this in mind, the Serbian Government will continue with the policy for creating a favourabl e climate for production development. This means the continued financing of the building of the infrastructure and the stimulation of production primaril y for exporting. On the other hand, we will continue to control public spending with the maximum possible fiscal unburdening of the economy," Marjanovic said.

[12] YUGOSLAV DEFENSE MINISTRY DELEGATION VISITS ROMANIA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

A Yugoslav Defense Ministry delegation, headed by Assistant Minister for the civilian sector, Lt.-Gen. Geza Farkas, visited Romania on August 2-4. During the return visit, Gen. Farkas and Romanian Civilian Defense Commander Ge n. Georgeu Popescu discussed the two countries' cooperation in the field of civilian defense. The two sides focused on joint obligations in the prevention of industrial disasters and normalization of situation following natural dis asters.

The Yugoslav delegation and representatives of the United States, Ge rmany and Hungary attended in Timisoara a civilian defense exercise demonstrati ng the joint operation of the army, police, security and civilian defense in the case of an abduction of a plane carrying perilous materials.

[13] FOREIGN MINISTER JOVANOVIC HOLDS TALKS WITH KRAMPLOVA

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic met on Tuesday afternoon with his Slovak counterpart Zdenka Kramplova. Kramplova informed Jovanovic ab out her government's support for Yugoslavia's return to all international organiz ations and the country's endeavours in dealing with internal affairs. It had be en agreed in the meeting, which followed substantive talks between Jovanovic and Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, that headway had been made in the development of bilateral relations and that cooperation potential in the economic field had not been fully used.

Trade between Yugoslavia and Slovakia amounts to about 100 million d ollars at this point, with both sides being willing to increase it to 400 millio n dollars in a very short time. Jovanovic and Kramplova discussed also the liberalization of the visa regime, property protection, investment and strengthening business ties between the two traditionally friendly countr ies. Jovanovic met also with Deputy Parliament Speaker Augustin Marijan Huska. The need was stressed for the development of parliamentary cooperation which should contribute to the promotion of political dialogue and overall cooperation between the two countries.

[14] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES MINISTERS OF INTERIOR

Tanjug, 1998-08-04

President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic r eceived on Tuesday a delegation comprising Yugoslav, Serbian and Montenegrin Mini sters of the Interior, Zoran Sokolovic, Vlajko Stojiljkovic and Vukasin Maras.

The ministers informed the President of the outstanding issues regar ding the activities of their ministries and their cooperation aimed at ensurin g the highest degree of efficiency in exercising their prerogatives. They point ed to the importance of organized joint measures being taken in fighting crime and protecting the citizens and their property. President Milosevic expressed his satisfaction with the increasingly bett er cooperation of internal affairs services in Yugoslavia and with their gre ater efficiency and coordination in ensuring the safety of the citizens and th eir property. The President especially pointed to the importance of coordinated activit ies in preventing the acts of terrorist gangs of the self-styled Liberation Army of Kosovo, in the interest of the safety of all citizens - Serbs, Montenegri ns, ethnic Albanians, Muslims, Romanies, Turks and all others living in the a reas where the gangs are active. The President also pointed to the need for coordinating measures and regulations of interest to all citizens of Yugo slavia. The meeting was attended also by the President's Secretary-General Goran Milinovic.

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