Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-05-02

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

CONTENTS

[01] GREAT BRITAIN PREPARED TO HELP YUGOSLAVIA

At a news conference in the Yugoslav Embassy, Bulatovic spoke about his talks with Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine and Foreign Minister Malcolm Rifkind, stressing that Great Britain was ready and willing to help the F.R.Y. on the way to its full reunion with the international community.

He said that there was no longer any need to talk about the end of the war and peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but about the building of a new phase of the Yugoslav-British relations and their upgrading to a higher level.

At the talks with Rifkind, with whom Montenegrin Foreign Minister Janko Jeknic also conferred, certain internal questions of the F.R.Y. and the Bosnia peace process were dealt with, said Bulatovic.

Bulatovic singled out the discussion on Kosovo and Metohija and indicated that fears existed that tensions in this region might mount. He added that it was the encouraging fact that the international community and Britain see this southern Serbian province as part of Serbia and of the F.R.Y., and that a solution to the problem in a democratic way could be sought only within the proportions of these realities.

Asked by a newsman about Montenegro's stand towards the Adriatic promontory of Prevlaka, Bulatovic said Montenegro was ready to find through negotiations 'a compromise solution' for Prevlaka, because the fate of the entire region practically depended on a normalization of relations with Croatia.

Bulatovic announced that a British consulate would soon be opened in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica. He said Montenegro would open its commercial and tourist-trade office in London.

On Wednesday, Bulatovic was guest of the Southern English counties of Kent and Middlesex, where he toured water supply managements to learn about their experience in securing sufficient amounts of water for human and industrial uses.

Bulatovic said that the project of Montenegro's regional water supply system was the most concrete economic cooperation program offered to British partners.

Bulatovic said that during his London visit it was agreed that a group of Montenegrin businessmen would soon tour Britain.

[02] ON REGULATING EFFECTS OF SECESSION OF EX-YUGOSLAV REPUBLICS

The Committee, chaired by Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, focused on current succession issues, the implementation of annex 7 of the Dayton agreement on the resolution of humanitarian issues, and the legal possibilities for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to become a member of the World Trade Organization.

The Committee concluded it is necessary to undertake speedy measures for renewing relations with the former GATT, i.e. to prepare concrete normative documents for joining the World Trade Organization.

The Committee was informed about the forthcoming talks with the representatives of the group for succession of the Council for the application of peace from Brussels, who are due to arrive in Belgrade shortly. It was concluded that a platform for the Yugoslav succession group should be prepared for the talks.

The Committee also discussed the information about the payment of old-age and disability pensions in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the former Yugoslav republics. The conclusion was that until Yugoslavia and the ex-Yugoslav republics regulate relations in this sphere on the basis of reciprocity, these issues should be resolved between the corresponding pension funds.

Based on the fact that the institutional role of the European Union and the United Nations, as the mediators in regulating the problems created by the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, has been changed by transferring a part of the duties from the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia to the Council for the application of peace, the Committee proposed that its name be changed to the Yugoslav Government Committee for monitoring the working groups of the Council for the application of peace, the statement said.

[03] ECONOMIC REVIVAL OF YUGOSLAVIA BEGINS

The latest annual study by the U.N. Economic Committee for Europe said that countries in the transition period have started emerging out of a recession and that it is already possible to speak about their realistic recovery following the transition from the previous system to a market economy.

The study said that Yugoslavia had managed to increase its gross national product without any outside help and that this is the only country which has not received a single dollar of aid over the past three years.

Economists said that the U.N. sanctions had devastating effects on the Yugoslav economy, but that after their lifting it is realistic to expect the continuation of the economic development and the revival of trade between the countries of Southeast Europe and between states created in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

[04] MOSLEM EXTREMISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR INCIDENT AT DOBOJ

Maj. Karonen, spokesman of the Nordic-Polish brigade participating in IFOR, told the R.S. news agency Srna that the investigation had shown that Moslems had disregarded a warning by a member of Sweden's IFOR battalion not to enter the R.S. territory forcibly.

Two persons were killed and seven wounded in the incident that occurred at Sjenina Rijeka, seven km northeast of Doboj, on Monday.

Karonen said, ignoring the warning, a group of 30 to 40 Moslems had bypassed the IFOR checkpoint, situated about 600 m west of the bridge at Sjenina Rijeka. After that, six explosions, caused by stepping on anti-personnel mines, were heard as well as several other explosions whose cause it was not possible to determine, in which two Moslems were killed and seven wounded, he said.

[05] CROATIA RENAMES TOWN PREDOMINANTLY INHABITED BY SERBS FOR CENTURIES

The serbs had lived for centuries in the town of Vrginmost, located in Kordun, the former UNPA sector South in Serb Krajina.

Croatia's local county officials decided to rename it Gvozd at the proposal of the Government's commissioner in that municipality.

The town has never been called Gvozd in the past.