Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-09-15

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT COMMISSION DISCUSSES REPORT ON WATTS MEETING

[02] WESTENDORP URGES BOSNIAN ELECTORATES TO VOTE

[03] RUSSIA WELCOMES DECISION OF BOSNIAN SERBS, CRITICIZES BOSNIAN CROATS

[04] RUSSIA, NATO HOLD "VERY CLOSE" VIEWS ON BOSNIA, NATO SOURCE SAYS

[05] OSCE URGES RESPECT FOR DAYTON ACCORD ON BOSNIA

[06] YUGOSLAV DEFENCE MINISTER BULATOVIC ENDS VISIT TO SLOVAKIA

[07] OSCE SUPERVISORS FOR BOSNIA LOCAL ELECTIONS ARRIVE IN YUGOSLAVIA

[08] AUSTRIAN PRESS: MILOSEVIC CRUCIAL IN CONVINCING BOSNIAN SERBS TO PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS

[09] SERBIAN MINISTER MILENTIJEVIC GIVES NEWS CONFERENCE AT U.N. SEAT

[10] BOSNIAN SERBS SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION FOR WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

[11] BELGRADE MILITARY HOSPITAL PATHOLOGIST READY TO LEND EVIDENCE TO ZAGREB

[12] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES KRAJISNIK, WESTENDORP, KLEIN

[13] YUGOSLAV DEFENSE MINISTER BULATOVIC ARRIVES IN SLOVAKIA

[14] LOCAL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA WILL NOT BE POSTPONED

[15] WORLD BOSNIA ENVOY WESTENDORP EXPECTS PROGRESS IN DAYTON PROCESS

[16] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT DELEGATION LEAVES FOR CAIRO

[17] BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT URGES PEOPLE TO VOTE

[18] SUPERVISORS ARRIVE

[01] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT COMMISSION DISCUSSES REPORT ON WATTS MEETING

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

The Yugoslav Government Commission in charge of federal relations with the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and international financial and trade organizations met in session on Thursday under the chairmanship of federal Prime Minister Radoje Kontic to discuss a report by a Yugoslav delegation which had met with Sir Arthur Watts in Brussels on Sept. 4 this year.

Adopting the report, the Commission assessed the bilateral talks in Brussels as basically satisfactory. The Yugoslav delegation had followed the Federal Government's determinations in principle and platforms on this issue.

During the talks, the other side came to a better understanding of our stands regarding matters of succession, and also the division of assets and liabilities, the report said.

It was assessed that this provided real possibilities for the upcoming task to secure further progress in settling these extremely important issues in connection with the normalization of relations with the former Yugoslav republics.

The group for succession is in charge of making a platform for the upcoming bilateral talks and a plenary meeting and present it to the Yugoslav Government for consideration.

[02] WESTENDORP URGES BOSNIAN ELECTORATES TO VOTE

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

High Representative of the international community for Bosnia-Herzegovina Carlos Westendorp on Thursday urged the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina to take part in the municipal elections on Sept 13-14 in both Bosnian entities. In a message which was read at a press conference in Sarajevo by representatives of international organizations, Westendorp said the elections would give a chance to the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina to express their will and take the future into their own hands.

Those who want to persuade these peoples not to vote are denying them their fundamental right to choose their own leaders, said the message.

Bosnian Croat leaders announced two days ago that they would boycott the elections, claiming they were damaged because some of their candidates were rejected by the OSCE, the official organizer and controller of the election process.

[03] RUSSIA WELCOMES DECISION OF BOSNIAN SERBS, CRITICIZES BOSNIAN CROATS

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed the decision of Bosnian Serbs to participate in the upcoming municipal elections and set out the positive role played during its adoption by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

The leadership of Republika Srpska arrived at the joint understanding that it is necessary the elections take place, to which Belgrade's constructive position contributed, Ministry Spokesman Gennady Tarasov told a press conference in Moscow.

Reiterating Moscow's stand that elections should take place as planned, on Sept. 13-14, Tarasov said the expression of the will of Bosnia's electorates was an important element in the continuation of the peace process and a way to secure a permanent nature for that process.

Tarasov also expressed serious concern over the stand of the Bosnian Croat leadership, which announced a boycott of the elections. This presents a real threat to the implementation of the elections in the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and only the Croat population of the republic will lose from a boycott, he said.

Tarasov said he was confident a solution could be found by the elections for issues which are controversial for Croats. We are working with our partners in the Contact Group and the Croatian side to find a solution, he said.

[04] RUSSIA, NATO HOLD "VERY CLOSE" VIEWS ON BOSNIA, NATO SOURCE SAYS

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

Nato and Russia hold "very close" views on the implementation of the peace operation in Bosnia, an unnamed source at NATO Headquarters in Brussels was quoted on Thursday as saying.

The Russia-NATO Standing Council held an ambassadorial-level meeting in Brussels on Thursday, at which it basically agreed an agenda for the body's ministerial meeting, called for Sept. 26 in New York.

The agenda will be finalised by the Ministers before their session, but it is already certain that the peace operation in Bosnia will be a central point of discussions.

Itar-TASS news agency quoted the source as saying that Russia and NATO held "very close" views on how the peace operation in Bosnia should be carried out.

The source added that the two sides had supported an unwavering implementation of the Dayton Accord and the holding of local elections in Bosnia on Sept. 13-14 as scheduled.

At the Thursday meeting, NATO undertook to consult regularly with Russia via its Embassy in Brussels and directly within the SFOR in Bosnia, and to keep the Contact Group, of which Russia is a member, informed about its decisions.

Russian Ambassador to Belgium Vitaly Churkin told Itar-TASS that he "shared this position."

[05] OSCE URGES RESPECT FOR DAYTON ACCORD ON BOSNIA

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

An official of the OSCE invited on Thursday all three nations in Bosnia- Herzegovina to honour their obligations under the Dayton Accord. An OSCE statement released in Vienna quoted the OSCE President, Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, as stressing the importance of upcoming local elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Petersen invited all parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina to allow the people to vote by securing secret ballotting and freedom of movement, among other necessary conditions. He also urged all three nations to cooperate with international organisations, support the work of the OSCE mission and monitors at the elections, and adhere to the election rules.

[06] YUGOSLAV DEFENCE MINISTER BULATOVIC ENDS VISIT TO SLOVAKIA

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

The Defence Minsiters of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Slovak Republic, Pavle Bulatovic and Jan Sitek, signed here on Thursday a protocol on cooperation in the sphere of defence thus successfully ending a two-day visit by the Yugoslav delegation.

The signing of the protocol secures an institutional framework for the stepped up development of military-economic, scientific, technical and overall inter-army cooperation for which there exist all the conditions and an interest expressed by both countries, Bulatovic said.

Sitek added that he had agreed with Bulatovic the setting up of expert inter-army teams which will, on the basis of expert analyses, propose concrete programs for cooperation between the two countries, especially in the sphere of the military industry in order to realize the technical modernization of the two countries' armies and for joint ventures in third countries.

Today Bulatovic was first received in the Slovak Parliament by Speaker Marijan Andyel, and later by Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. Meciar underscored that Slovakia unreservedly supports the integration of FRY as soon as possible into international political and financial organizations and institutions. He pledged that the Slovak Government would fully support economic cooperation with FRY.

The Yugoslav delegation also attended an excercise of the Slovak Army mechanized brigade.

Bulatovic's visit ended with a ceremony before the Slovak Defence Ministry in Bratislava.

All talks were attended by Yugoslavia's Ambassador to Slovakia, Veljko Curcuc.

[07] OSCE SUPERVISORS FOR BOSNIA LOCAL ELECTIONS ARRIVE IN YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

The Chairwomen of the Federal Government's Committee for aiding refugees at the local elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bratislava Morina, greeted on Thursday in the Hotel Yugoslavia 80 supervisors of the OSCE who will monitor voting at 79 polling stations in Yugoslavia.

Adressing the supervisors sent by the Governments of Norway, Sweden and Finland, Morina expressed satisfaction with the seven-month cooperation so far with the OSCE Bureau in Belgrade. She said that in this period all preparations had been carried out for the registration of as many as possible refugee-voters for the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sept. 13- 14. "The decision of the Republika Srpska (RS) Parliament not to boycott the local elections, has removed the biggest obstacle. I hope that the mass appearence of refugee-voters both in the Federal Republic of Yugoslvia and in RS, will contribute to the further democratization and strengthening of peace in these regions," Morina said.

She expressed belief that the international supervisors would have good contacts in the field with the members of the election committees and with ordinary people and that they will have the opportunity to feel how much all citizens of Yugoslavia desire peace in this region.

OSCE Belgrade Bureau Head Jeff Labovic set out that over the past seven months cooperation with the Fedearl Committee and the Commessariat for Refugees of Serbia, had been very good and communication possible at all times.

[08] AUSTRIAN PRESS: MILOSEVIC CRUCIAL IN CONVINCING BOSNIAN SERBS TO PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS

Tanjug, 1997-09-11

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic played the decisive role in Wednesday evening's decision of the Republika Srpska (RS) Parliament to participate at the local elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austrian commentators said on Thursday.

Vienna paper Kurier said that coupled with the international community's recommendations, threats and negotiations, the turnabout came after the Bosnian Serb representative in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, met yesterday in Belgrade with Milosevic and the international community's High Representative, Carlos Westendorp.

The Austrian commentators also wondered what the aim of the elections would be if the threats of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for Bosnia to boycott the elections were realized. The response to this would be in the form of another question - is there an alternative?

Noticeable is that the commentators here are mentioning only in passing the HDZ boycott threats and that Vienna has failed to even mention and criticize its "protege" Zagreb, i.e. the Bosnian Croats who are much influcenced by Austria.

[09] SERBIAN MINISTER MILENTIJEVIC GIVES NEWS CONFERENCE AT U.N. SEAT

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

All the necessary conditions have been created for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in Serbia on Sept. 21 as scheduled, according to the Serbian Information Minister in New York on Wednesday. Minister Radmila Milentijevic told a news conference at U.N. Headquarters that the elections would certainly be held in a democratic atmosphere.

Milentijevic spoke about the election procedure, the role of the media in the election campaign and the atmosphere in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia in anticipation of the elections. She said that the Serbian Parliament had passed three key legislations regulating the election procedure: on the election of parliament deputies, on constituencies and on the financing of political parties.

Speaking about the role of the media in the election camapaign, she said that 50 political parties had signed an accord on the presentation of their programmes and candidates on state radio and television. In this context, she spoke about a new information legislation that was being prepared in Serbia, which would guarantee the media's openness and access to the source of information, while raising the professional level of journalism.

The election campaign, according to her, is unfolding in a climate of tolerance, where the presidential candidates are concentrating on essential problems and the future development of Serbia.

She said that the OSCE and the parliaments of states that had established full diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had been invited to send observers to the Serbian elections. A number of observers had already arrived, and they were cooperating closely with the Serbian Electoral Commission, she said, adding that a good turnout was expected at the elections which would be contested by all the major political parties.

Asked about a boycott of the elections by ethnic Albanians in Serbia's southern Kosovo-Metohija province, she said that ethnic Albanian leaders were very wrong to urge this, adding that a number of ethnic Albanians would nevertheless vote in the polls.

Muslims in Serbia's Sandzak region (which has a hefty Muslim community) and ethnic Hungarians in Serbia's northern Vojvodina province (which is a patchwork of nationalities) would also vote in the elections, she said. She explained that this would give them a chance to take active part in government.

She commented also on the decision of some minor parties, such as the Democratic Party (DS) and the Civic Alliance (GSS), to boycott the elections. She said that the decision had probably been motivated by their awareness that they could not muster the five-percent support necessary to get them into Parliament.

[10] BOSNIAN SERBS SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION FOR WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

Republika Srpska Justice Minister Branko Petric submitted here on Wednesday to the War Crimes Tribunal's liaison officer Frank Dottn documentation about the persecution of Serbs in the Bosnian civil war. The documentation has been compiled by a team of experts of the Republika Srpska Government, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Petric sent a letter to the Hague-based Tribunal's Prosecutor Louise Arbour saying that her appointment to the office had opened new and clearer scope for cooperation, understanding and respect for facts, the statement added.

The extensive documentation contains 36 volumes of materials and commentaries on crimes of genocide committed against the Serb people.

In his letter to Arbour, Petric stressed it was necessary to make a realistic evaluation and assessment of all events that had led up to the civil war in former Bosnia-Herzegovina and of all events that had taken place during the war.

He further said that, during a recent visit, the Prosecutor had received the Republika Srpska Government's conclusions about cooperation with the Tribunal.

Also, he added, she had received the Justice Ministry's platform explaining the Serb side's positions, as well as the first part of the documentation about the persecution of the Serbs.

He said he hoped that the first part of the documentation had already been examined, which was why the new batch of documents was being submitted.

He invited the Tribunal to send experts to the Republika Srpska to examine the voluminous documentation, believing this to be the right way to go about getting at the truth.

He went on to say that a large number of organisations and individuals, with obvious political axes to grind, had accused the Serbs of aggression in and a partial occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

This false information had subsequently been used as the basis for intelligence reports by various international bodies and as a pretext for setting up the Tribunal, he said.

All indictments brought against Serbs before the Court had taken as their point of departure the allegation of the Serbs' aggression and occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, he added.

The verifiable documentation submitted on this occasion was meant to help the Court arrive at an objective picture and hear the arguments of the other side which the Court had been either unable or unwilling or yet not permitted to hear before, Petric said.

[11] BELGRADE MILITARY HOSPITAL PATHOLOGIST READY TO LEND EVIDENCE TO ZAGREB

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

Belgrade Military Hospital (VMA) pathologhist Dr. Zoran Stankovic has expressed readiness to lend to Zagreb forensic and other documentation about 24 Serb residents of the town of Gospic killed by Tomislav Mercep's special units on the night of Oct. 16, 1991, so that murderers would not be equitted due to lack of evidence.

The Belgrade daily Politika quoted Wednesday Dr. Stankovic as saying in connection with a recent testimony about the killings of Serbs in Gospic published in the Croatian newspaper Feral Tribune that the bodies of the 24 killed Serbs had been discovered near Perusic, at the Kukin Do hamlet, by members of the Udbine territorial defense.

Dr. Stankovic said that highest Croatian state authorities had known about the killings in the area of Gospic. He set out that Helsinki Watch had written to Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, requesting an investigation and arrest of perpetrators of the crimes, and that Croatia had presented on Oct. 21, 1992 a report on war crimes, which was published as an official United Nations document.

Dr. Stankovic said that evidence had been presented to representatives of a U.N. Commission for war crimes on the territory of the former Yugoslavia at the Belgrade Military Hospital back in 1993. After the Hague War-Crimes Tribunal was set up, Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor Richard Goldstone was called on more than once to open an investigation into the case, and the same was asked of the Tribunal's investigators in the Hague on Nov. 1, 1995, according to the Belgrade Military Hospital expert. Dr. Stankovic set out that Gladstone's successor, Luise Arbour, had been asked during in Belgrade last year to explain the reasons for the Tribunal's silence.

Information about the location of a mass grave in which some of the killed Gospic Serbs are buried was sent to prosecutor Arbour through the Tribunal's Belgrade office in October 1996 and a request made that the exhumation be planned for 1997, Dr. Stankovic pointed out.

He said extensive documentation existed at the VMA and the Yugoslav Committee for data about crimes on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. He specified that the Tribunal's Chief Investigator of crimes against Serbs had also been informed about the crimes committed against Serbs by the Croatian Army and the Tribunal's failure to take action.

Dr. Stankovic said the family of one of the victims had empowered a prestigious French lawyer to represent them before the Hague Tribunal and handed over the complete documentation in English and French, including witness testimonies, autopsy reports with more than 120 photos, and a 105- minute documentary.

"The Hague Tribunal's silence and behaviour in connection with the case are hypocritical and quite unlike the behaviour in other identical cases," Dr. Stankovic told Politika and set out that such a behaviour made possible the destruction of mass graves where Serbs were buried in Croatia.

[12] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES KRAJISNIK, WESTENDORP, KLEIN

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic received on Wednesday Bosnia- Herzegovina Presidency Chairman from Republika Srpska Momcilo Krajisnik, the international community's High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina Carlos Westendorp and his deputy Jacques Klein. The talk covered the current political situation in Republika Srpska and steps which need to be taken to resolve the crisis and secure a successful implementation of the Dayton Agreement.

It was set out that divisions and confrontations in Republika Srpska institutions do not stem from different positions on the obligations in the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, and that it was, therefore, not logical to take sides in the internal political conflict, which can be eliminated only through a political solution. That is why a solution to the crisis lies in a comprehensive examination of the political will of voters, which should start with the scheduled Sept. 13-14 local elections and be rounded off with elections for all highest political institutions in Republika Srpska.

It was also set out that, in the light of the vital interest Republika Srpska citizens have in the implementation of the peace agreement, cooperation between Republika Srpska institutions and the international subjects engaged in the implementation of that agreement must in no way be placed in question, which at the same time points up the need for all issues to be resolved through political understanding and agreements, in keeping with the Dayton Accord.

The upcoming OSCE-monitored local elections should reflect concerted efforts of all political factors which have responsibility in the peace process, so that the successful holding of the elections would impart a new impulse to a consistent implementation of the Dayton Agreement, including to the creation of conditions for a political solution to the newly emerged crisis, in the interest of the consolidation of peace and the overall stabilization of the situation in the region.

Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic and Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic also took part in the talk.

[13] YUGOSLAV DEFENSE MINISTER BULATOVIC ARRIVES IN SLOVAKIA

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

Yugoslav Defense Minister Pavle Bulatovic arrived on a two-day official visit to the Slovak Republic Wednesday, at the invitation of his Slovak counterpart, Jan Sitek.

In the first round of the official talks, Ministers Bulatovic and Sitek agreed that all conditions and the mutual interest existed for the development of military-economic, scientific-technical and overall inter- army cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Bulatovic had a brief cordial meeting with the Yugoslav soccer team which plays against Slovakia in the evening a World Cup qualifying match.

The Yugoslav Defense Minister is to be received on Thursday by Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar.

The Yugoslav delegation will attend an exercise of a Slovak Army brigade on Thursday.

[14] LOCAL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA WILL NOT BE POSTPONED

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

The international community's deputy high representative for Bosnia- Herzegovina, Gerd Wagner, told on Wednesday's Sarajevo media that the local elections would be held although the presidency of the Croatian Democratic Union (CDU) for Bosnia announced a boycott on Tuesday. The announcement caused a wave of strong reactions of international representatives in Bosnia and of numerous parties in the Muslim-Croat Federation.

Wagner expressed regret over such a decision for which he said was not in the interest of the Croatian people. He said that the OSCE and the international community want the elections to be held with or without CDU.

The representatives of OSCE, which is conducting the elections in Bosnia- Herzegovina, said that "OSCE continues its intensified efforts to secure the full cooperation and participation of all parties at the September local elections."

The representatives of the ruling Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and a part of the opposition believe that such a CDU decision stems primarily from fear of an election defeat, but also from an attempt at a last minute change of the election rules which would be to their benefit.

Also believed is that there is no basis for the CDU presidency view that conditions have not been created for democratic and honest elections, and that many provisions of the Dayton Agreement are being violated at the expense of Croat national interests.

[15] WORLD BOSNIA ENVOY WESTENDORP EXPECTS PROGRESS IN DAYTON PROCESS

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

The international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina Carlos Westendorp said here on Wednesday he was sure that there would be progress in the Dayton process for Bosnia over the coming days. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, Westendorp said he and Milosevic had exchanged views about preparations for local elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the implementation of the Dayton Accord.

He said that the need for holding the elections had been stressed during the meeting with Milosevic.

Westendorp added that some technical problems still remained to be solved, but they would be tackled over the next few days, so that the elections should be trouble-free.

He stressed it was extremely important that the Republika Srpska and the entire population of Bosnia-Herzegovina take part in the elections, scheduled for Sept. 13-14.

He added that his talk with Milosevic had touched also on the need for restructuring the Republika Srpska's police force and setting up common bodies of power in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as on the problem of freedom of the press.

[16] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT DELEGATION LEAVES FOR CAIRO

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

Yugoslav Parliament delegation, headed by Upper House Speaker Srdja Bozovic, left for Cairo on Wednesday to take part in the Interparliamentary Union Conference, September 11-16.

At the Conference, a general debate will be held about the political, economic and social situation in the world. The agenda will also include discussions about "securing lasting democracy by giving a new sense to and by enhancing links between the parliament and the people," and also about the issue of employment in conditions of world globalization.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been taking part for a number of years as a full-fledged member in the work of this important international oganization, which brings together parliamentarians from across the world.

[17] BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT URGES PEOPLE TO VOTE

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

The Parliament of the Republika Srpska endorsed on Wednesday the Government's decision to take part in municipal elections on Sept. 13-14 despite irregularities evident in voters' registered. Parliament invited the Bosnian Serb electorate to turn out en masse for the elections and so put the seal of approval on the achievements of the years of struggle for the Republika Srpska. Parliament left it up to the local electoral commissions in municipalities where irregularities are evident to decide, in cooperation with the Republika Srpska's central electoral commission, whether or not to hold elections.

[18] SUPERVISORS ARRIVE

Tanjug, 1997-09-10

Expected to arrive in Podgorica on Wednesday are OSCE representatives who will monitor preparations and the voting itself of displaced persons at local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for September 13, 14. In Montenegro there are 10 polling stations and one supervisor is in charge of each of them, and only displaced persons who have been registered earlier will be able to vote. It is estimated that there are 14,000 potential voters in Montenegro.

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