Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-09-16

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] AMBASSADOR HILL MEETS WITH RUGOVA

[02] "LA REPUBBLICA": NATIONALISM IS CAUSE OF THE CRISIS IN ALBANIA

[03] "24 CHASA": ALBANIANS ARE NEW BALKAN HOOLIGANS

[04] OSCE: FIRST BOSNIAN ELECTION RESULTS NOT BEFORE FRIDAY

[05] 8.5 PERCENT PRODUCTION INCREASE IN EIGHT MONTHS

[06] YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF RECEIVED HIS ROMANIAN COUNTERPART

[07] SLAVYANI FOUNDATION PRESIDENT VISITS YUGOSLAV CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

[08] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PREMIER SAINOVIC RECEIVED PRESIDENT OF THE SLAVYANI FOUND ATION

[09] YUGOSLAVIA AND CROATIA DISCUSS DISPUTED PREVLAKA PENINSULA

[10] DINSTBIR ON MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT'S DECISION

[11] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT EXTENDS FELICITATIONS TO RUSSIAN PREMIER PRIMAKOV

[12] IOM CONTINUES COOPERATION WITH SERBIAN COMMISSARIAT FOR REFUGEES

[13] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED THE DELEGATION OF VETERANS OF 1918 WARS

[14] YUGOSLAV CITIZENS DO NOT SUPPORT SEPARATISM AND TERRORISM

[15] KOSOVO AND METOHIJA INFORMATION SECRETARY MEETS GERMAN PRESS ATTACHE

[16] AID TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN COOPERATION WITH STATE AUTHORITIES

[17] TERRORISTS KILL A 75-YEAR-OLD WOMAN

[01] AMBASSADOR HILL MEETS WITH RUGOVA

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia, Christopher Hill, met on Tuesday in Pr istina with the leader of the Kosmet Albanians, Ibrahim Rugova, to discuss the stabilization of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. After hour-long t alks, Hill just told journalists that he was leaving for Brussels on Wednesday after which he will return to his diplomatic duties.

[02] "LA REPUBBLICA": NATIONALISM IS CAUSE OF THE CRISIS IN ALBANIA

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

A chief cause of the serious crisis in Albania is that the Fatos Nano government has not succeeded in checking and thwarting Albanian nationali sm, the Rome daily "La Repubblica" said Tuesday. In a commentary headlined "From Poverty to Chaos, Six Years without Hope," the daily said that in the past six-ye ar period, "significant quantities of arms were moved from Albanian cellars to the territory of a Serbia province by members of the so- called Kosovo Liberat ion Army." "La Repubblica" said that Prime Minister Nano had waited for Euro pean governments to resolve problems in his own country, but that those govern ments had no right solution for now and "pressed by the public opinion at home, urge authorities in Tirana to be moderate."

[03] "24 CHASA": ALBANIANS ARE NEW BALKAN HOOLIGANS

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

The high-circulation Bulgarian daily "24 Chasa" said on Tuesday that the latest unrest and bloodshed in Tirana had made Albanians into "new Balkan hooligans." The daily set out in the editorial that "the latest developm ents in Albania have once again shown why the West does not want to hear of an independent Kosovo."

"Tirana is on the brink of a civil war once again, at the very time when the way is being paved for a peaceful resolution of problems linked to th e Albanian minority in Serbia's province," the daily said. It underscored that politicians in Tirana had never ceased dreaming of a "Greater Albania, " a nd quoted former Albanian President Sali Berisa as saying in the Bulgarian Parliament in 1994 that "there will be no peace and full security in the Balkans until Albanian problems are solved in general." The Bulgarian daily said if Berisa succeeded in coming to power again, he would undertake new adventu res in Kosovo and Metohija in order to divert attention from the accumulated dom estic problems.

"24 Chasa" said Albanians had been supporting the separatists in Kos ovo and Metohija and sending arms to the terrorists there. "It is claimed that B erisa, himself, is a member of a clan linked with ethnic-Albanian separatists" i n Kosovo and Metohija, the daily said. The daily said that ethnic-Albanian leader s in Macedonia continued threatening with secession of the western part of Yugoslavia's southern neighbour, and stressed that, "if the world again t urns a blind eye to Albanian aspirations for a 'Greater Albania', other Balkan c ountries could also start grabbing pieces of territory which allegedly belong to t hem."

[04] OSCE: FIRST BOSNIAN ELECTION RESULTS NOT BEFORE FRIDAY

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

The Chief of Mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperatio n in Europe (OSCE) said on Tuesday that first results of last week-end's gener al elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina would be available on Friday afternoon.

OSCE Mission Chief Robert Barry told a news conference that the ball ots counted so far were insufficient for even a preliminary result to be anno unced as it would not reflect the true situation, and that the OSCE would rathe r not publish incomplete figures. "We've always said that it would be 10 days from the polling to have the final tally ready and that is still very much our tar get," Barry said, but did not rule out the possibility of a fortnight's delay.

He said the counting was slow because of nearly 200,000 unverified b allot papers, and that others were still coming in by post and from abroad, bri nging the number of ballots still to be counted to between 600,000 and 700, 000.

He said that the delay was due also to the complicated way of counti ng the ballots, which was supervised by observers and party delegates, and even the media at collection points in Lukavica and Rajlovac near Sarajevo.

He said that parties announcing their victory on the strength of the ballots counted so far were being premature. "Nobody has yet a basis for claiming victory," he said. According to Barry, the turnout was 76% for all of Bosnia-Herzegovina, 79% for the Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation and 74% f or the (Bosnian Serb) Republika Srpska.

A total of 1.6 million voters out of an electorate of 2.7 million are estimated to have cast their ballots on September 12-13.

[05] 8.5 PERCENT PRODUCTION INCREASE IN EIGHT MONTHS

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Industrial production in FR Yugoslavia in eight months this year com pared to the same period last year registered a 8.5% growth, according to Feder al Statistics Bureau (FBU) data, it was said at a news conference on Tuesday.

In that period, production rose in Serbia 9.7%, while it dropped in Montenegro 4.5%. Production rose in Vojvodina 8.7%, in Kosovo and Metohij a 4.5% and in central Serbia 10.5%, FBU Assistant Director Mirjana Rankovic said.

Increased production also resulted in exports' growth, which in eight months totalled 4.3% so that the total value of exports was 3.085 billion dollars, a 1.7% increase compared to the same period last year, Mirjana R ankovic said.

[06] YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF RECEIVED HIS ROMANIAN COUNTERPART

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) Chief of General Staff, Gen. Momcilo Perisic on Tuesday received his Romanian counterpart, Gen. Constantin Degeratu, who is on an one-day visit to Yugoslavia, a VJ statement said. The highest VJ and Romanian army representatives discussed a further prom otion of inter-army cooperation and assessed that all conditions existed for fu rther successfully developing cooperation between the armed forces of the two f riendly countries. Information on the military and security situation in the reg ion and the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija was ex changed. It was unanimously assessed that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija sho uld be resolved by political means, as an internal affair of a sovereign country and within the existing borders. It was also underscored that possible foreig n interference could negatively reflect on the stability in the Balkans. Th e meeting between the Chiefs of General Staff of the two neighbouring count ries, which was spent in an open talk, was part of the activities envisaged und er the Agreement on Inter-Army Cooperation signed last year, the VJ statement sa id.

[07] SLAVYANI FOUNDATION PRESIDENT VISITS YUGOSLAV CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Cooperation between Yugoslav and Bulgarian enterprises should be exp anded and intensified, Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce President Mihailo Milojevic and President of the Bulgarian Slavyani Foundation Zahari Zahariev set out Tu esday. Milojevic urged the intensification of the visible and invisible trade be tween Balkan countries. Zahariev set out that Bulgaria was especially interest ed in Yugoslav-made agricultural machinery. He pointed up the good business tie s between Bulgaria and the Electrical Power Industry of Serbia, and said hi s country was interested in importing electricity from Yugoslavia. The gue st said Bulgarian firms were ready to participate in the reconstruction and devel opment of the electrical power industry in Yugoslavia and to do so on the basis of barter deals.

[08] YUGOSLAV DEPUTY PREMIER SAINOVIC RECEIVED PRESIDENT OF THE SLAVYANI FOUND ATION

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic coffered on Tuesday w ith Sofia-based Slavyani Foundation President Zahari Zahariev on scientific- technological and cultural cooperation between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Special attention was devoted to cooperation among Balkan countries, and, within this, between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, which are on Europe's important infrastructure corridors. It was agreed that this was an additional moti vation for the two close countries to cooperate more diversely and closely, said a statement by the Federal Secretariat of Information.

[09] YUGOSLAVIA AND CROATIA DISCUSS DISPUTED PREVLAKA PENINSULA

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Croatian and Yugoslav negotiating teams met at the Croatian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to discuss a lasting settlement of the disputed issue of the Prevlaka peninsula, the Yugoslav delegation said in a statement.

The Yugoslav delegation was headed by Foreign Ministry's chief legal advisor Rodoljub Etinski and the Croatian delegation by the head of the b orders office Hrvoje Kacic. The two delegations discussed issues outstanding an d agreed to resume talks in Belgrade in the first half of October, the statement s aid.

[10] DINSTBIR ON MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT'S DECISION

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Special rapporteur of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, Yiri Dinstbi r, said on Tuesday that he "does not support, but has understanding" for the deci sion of the Montenegrin Government to withdraw hospitality to ethnic Albanian ref ugees from Kosovo. "Although this is not a pleasant decision, I understand tha t one cannot make a humanitarian gesture which would worsen the humanitarian si tuation in one's own country," Dinstbir told journalists in Podgorica.

Dinstbir discussed the respect of human rights and refugee problems in Montenegro with President Milo Djukanovic, Premier Filip Vujanovic, Vice Premier Dragisa Burzan, Minister for the Protection of the Rights of National and Ethnic Groups, Ljuidji Junacaj, and Montenegrin Commissioner for Displaced Perso ns, Djordjije Scepanovic. Dinstbir said that "the Montenegrin Government s hould undertake preventive measures to increase the autonomy of local administr ative bodies and to grant bigger authority to local selfrule, which requires corresponding means."

He expressed his satisfaction that the Montenegrin authorities said they were ready to undertake activities in this respect."

[11] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT EXTENDS FELICITATIONS TO RUSSIAN PREMIER PRIMAKOV

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic on Tuesday felicitated Yevgeny Primakov on his election as Russia's new Prime Minister. "I believe that ahead of us is a period of strengthening comprehensive cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Russian Federation, in which Montenegro wi ll have a prominent part," Djukanovic said in his message. He stressed that traditionally friendly relations between the Montenegrin and Russian peop les were a solid basis for developing and enriching mutual ties in all domains. He said that these relations would be enhanced also by Russia's Consulate General that would open in Podgorica in the near future.

[12] IOM CONTINUES COOPERATION WITH SERBIAN COMMISSARIAT FOR REFUGEES

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Serbian Commissioner for Refugees Bratislava Morina met on Tuesday w ith the temporary head of the Belgrade mission of the International Organization for Migrations (IOM), Daniel Esdras, the statement issued by the Commissariat said. Morina positively assessed the IOM office's work so far and its cooperati on in the implementation of the election process for citizens of Bosnia-Herzego vina who voted in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). Morina expressed spec ial interest in the announced programs for the support of the integration of refugees in FRY and for the expansion of programs for the voluntary return of expe rts to both entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since IOM is actively involved in a ll forms of solutions of the refugee issues, primarily through programs for their departure to third countries and logistic support to voluntary repatriati on, Esdras announced further cooperation with the Serbian Commissariat for Re fugees in supporting refugees who want to remain in FRY permanently.

[13] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED THE DELEGATION OF VETERANS OF 1918 WARS

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic received on Tuesday, on the oc casion of the 80th anniversary of the 1918 breakthrough of the Salonika front an d national liberation, a delegation of veterans of these wars. The preside nt received Predrag Sekulic, a veteran of 1918 and World War II and the Pres ident of the Federation of Associations of Veterans of Serbia's Liberation Wars 1912-1918, Luka Vojvodic, a 1918 veteran, and Vasilije Zugic, a 1917 vete ran, with their families, and Association Secretary Ljubomir Markovic. Welcom ing the veterans, President Milosevic said the historical anniversary of the brea kthrough of the Salonika Front was celebrated with pride as an example of the hero ic struggle of the Serb Army for freedom and its immeasurable contribution t o the allied victory in World War I, and above all, because of the sacrifices o f the Serb people in the struggle for national liberation which has become stro ngly entwined in its long and unbroken love of freedom. The veterans presente d President Milosevic with an award from the Federation of Associations of War Veterans for the due protection and development of the freedom-loving tra dition of the Serb people, for strengthening patriotism and contributing to the defence of the homeland in contemporary conditions.

[14] YUGOSLAV CITIZENS DO NOT SUPPORT SEPARATISM AND TERRORISM

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic said late on Monday in a meeting with diplomats accredited to Yugoslavia that Yugoslav President S lobodan Milosevic's recent initiative to settle the crisis in Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija (Kosmet) province was yet more evidence of Yugoslavia's readines s to settle all problems with dialogue and in a democratic way. Jovanovic sai d the readiness of Serbia and Yugoslavia to resolve the Kosmet problem politica lly and within European and international standards implied the absence of any pr essures or threats with the use of force.

This approach implies the absence of any sanctions by the internatio nal community against Serbia and Yugoslavia, he said, adding that the sanctio ns in air traffic clamped on Yugoslavia by the European Union were in no way co nducive to the settlement of the Kosmet crisis. Describing the current situation in Kosmet, Jovanovic pointed out that most ethnic Albanians living in that s outhern province "consider no other option but to live in peace and to work in th is country." "Over the past weeks and months, it has been evident that more and more ethnic Albanians publicly express their loyalty to Serbia and Yugosl avia, underscoring that they have no other state nor wish any other state or an y other framework for their advancement except Serbia and Yugoslavia," Jovanovic said, giving the massive return of displaced persons as one of the elements whi ch demonstrate the positive change in the feelings of Serbian citizens in Ko smet.

Evaluating the security situation in Kosmet, Jovanovic told the dipl omats that an essential improvement was evident in that field as well. "On the whole, two-thirds of Kosmet's territory had never been affected by terrorism," h e said.

"We can now state with pleasure that even in that one-third of Kosm et, terrorist attacks and incidents have been drastically reduced, because su ch actions simply do not enjoy the support of the population," Jovanovic sai d.

Yugoslavia and Serbia remain true to the principle of full protectio n and respect of all civil rights in Kosmet, regardless of nationality or relig ious affiliation, Jovanovic said. In the protection of law and order, however, the necessary measures and methods will be used in reaction to terrorism or f orces which strive to violate order and legality, he said.

Speaking about the humanitarian situation in Kosmet, Jovanovic said the Serbian and Yugoslav governments had always persevered in their efforts t o settle all humanitarian problems in the province, respecting equality and the pr inciple of non-discrimination. About 100,000 displaced persons from Kosmet have returned to their homes these days, said Jovanovic, adding that there was an essen tial change in the humanitarian situation. This change for the better was ach ieved primarily thanks to the government efforts at creating secure conditions for the massive return of displaced persons, he said, pointing, however, to the dishonourable role played in this by Kosmet Albanian leaders.

"Even today, there are calls and abuse of media, in particular certa in media from Albania, telling Kosmet Albanians not to return to their place s of residence," Jovanovic said. An organization from Switzerland also joined this campaign, he said. This organization directly appealed to Kosmet Albania ns not to cooperate with the government and not return to their homes, and not t o accept dialogue because that would allegedly mean betrayal of the national inter ests of Kosovo Albanians and betrayal of the main goal - so-called Greater Albani a, said Jovanovic. "Our entire country, all our citizens, are showing solidarity with the endangered population in Kosmet and wish to help them quickly to over come their temporary difficulties, with shipments of the necessary staples or whatever is necessary for the reactivation of the different economic or social activities," Jovanovic said. "We are also open to cooperation in that ar ea with foreign governments, all non-governmental organizations, including intern ational organizations, for mutual cooperation and help in meeting the humanitaria n needs," said Jovanovic.

The Foreign Minister expressed protest because world media had ignor ed massive graves and other sites where ethnic Albanian terrorists had bruta lly massacred civilians.

"I believe it is clear to everyone that we are not drawing the atten tion of you or your governments to these facts merely because Serbs and Monten egrins were massacred there by terrorists, but because it is a matter of humanit y and principle," he said. Serbia and Yugoslavia are ready to continue and pro mote cooperation with all other states, their governments and organizations, s aid Jovanovic at the end of his address to members of the diplomatic corps permanently accredited to Yugoslavia. Serbian Minister Zoran Andjelkovic, who also attended the reception, pointed out to the diplomats that it was the basic determination of the Serbian Government to settle all issues in Kosmet us ing dialogue.

Andjelkovic said conditions should be created in Kosmet for dialogue , which means that activities by terrorist bands must be prevented. Ethnic Alban ian terrorist bands killed over 110 civilians and abducted 229 others of diff erent ethnic affiliation in the territory of Kosmet from the beginning of the y ear, Andjelkovic said.

"Activities by terrorist bands led to the displacement of large numb ers of persons in part of Kosmet's territory, primarily in Metohija and Drenica, " he said. This problem has been successfully resolved in the recent weeks, s o that it can now be safely said that there are no more displaced persons out in the open in those regions, he said.

The displaced ethnic Albanians voluntarily gave to security forces t he weapons they had been forcibly given by terrorists, Andjelkovic said. "T he local bodies of authority set up 72 police departments to protect their homes a nd villages in that part of Metohija," Andjelkovic said. These are persons o f Albanian nationality who have thus taken on the responsibility permanentl y to protect their homes and property, together with the Serbian police.

The task of these local bodies of authority, in addition to securing peace and stability in their places of residence, is also to work on the securi ty of the local supply network, do repairs and organize the infrastructure. Andjelkovic informed foreign diplomats that a large number of humanitaria n centers had been opened in Kosmet - wherever it was found that humanitari an aid was needed.

[15] KOSOVO AND METOHIJA INFORMATION SECRETARY MEETS GERMAN PRESS ATTACHE

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

Information Secretary of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province Bosko Drobnjak conferred on Tuesday with Press and Cult ural Attache of the German Embassy in Belgrade Holgar Kolay.

According to a statement issued by the Information Secretariat, the meeting focused on media in Kosovo and Metohija, its number, structure, circulati on and distribution. On the agenda was also German media coverage of the develop ments in the province. Drobnjak said that state-owned radio and television pro grams and newspapers in Kosovo and Metohija operated in four languages - Serbia n, Albanian, Turkish and Romany. He said that there were 64 Albanian-langua ge newspapers in the province and they were totally independent from Serbia. He added that none of these papers had ever been closed down despite their frequently publishing misleading information about the situation in Kosov o and Metohija, which he described as below the level of the professional ethic s and also as liable to legal prosecution. Drobnjak was also referring to some examples of unprofessional coverage by German reporters. He said that, on the other hand, most German reporters were covering the developments in Kosov o and Metohija correctly and professionally, which made them welcome both in th e interest of professional and objective reporting about the true state of affairs in the province and in the interest of Yugoslavia. Taking part in the ta lk was also Yugoslav Foreign Ministry representative in Pristina Vlada Ljubojevi c, the statement said.

[16] AID TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN COOPERATION WITH STATE AUTHORITIES

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

The coordinator of the state bodies in Kosovo and Metohija, Andreja Milosavljevic, met on Tuesday with the representative of the Italian Emba ssy in Belgrade, Saverio Bertolini, and the representatives of the Intersos huma nitarian organization, which recently started operating in Pristina. The humanita rian situation in the province, especially the Pec district, was discussed. T he Provincial Secretariat for Information said that the Italian delegation v isited five humanitarian centres and expressed a wish to visit several more, esp ecially those where aid is needed the most.

The Italian delegation said they were ready to help in the repairing of damaged houses and added that the aid, in cooperation with state authorit ies, would be sent where the need is the greatest. Milosavljevic underscored the improving situation in the field after the return of the displaced person s to their homes and with the full guarantee of the state. He pointed out tha t the humanitarian aid consisting of construction materials, food, medications and items for personal hygiene are being secured for all regardless of nation ality. He added that in this respect, full control has been established. Milosa vljevic expressed dissatisfaction that the humanitarian aid sent by international organizations is distributed unequally and added that, together with bett er cooperation with the state authorities and the full information about the situation in the filed, its distribution should be carried out fairly.

[17] TERRORISTS KILL A 75-YEAR-OLD WOMAN

Tanjug, 1998-09-15

In the village of Drenovac near Klina the body of Djulja Hajdari has been found who, according to the first evidence found by investigating authori ties, was killed by terrorists. When competent authorities came to conduct an inquest, the body of Djulja Hajdari was not found in the house, but in a nearby we ll, seven meters deep. Djulja Hajdari lived alone in the house and did not l eave the village under the pressure of ethnic Albanian terrorists. Indications sho w that terrorists killed her because she lived in harmony with Serbian neighbour s, who helped her. The terrorists threw the body in the well to conceal the crim e. Investigative judge of the municipal court in Klina Mileva Tomovic told T anjug that the body was at the coroner's office and that an investigation was u nderway.

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