Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-12-02

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED MESSAGES OF FELICITATION

[02] PREMIER KONTIC RECEIVED THE NEWLY-APPOINTED BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR

[03] TRIBUNAL SEEKS DOCUMENTATION ABOUT SUFFERINGS OF SARAJEVO SERBS

[04] BALKAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS MINISTERS REACH ACCORD ON COOPERATION

[05] GENERAL COLIC: "TRAIN AND EQUIP" PROGRAMME IS A MENACE TO PEACE

[06] AUSTRIA WILL BACK YUGOSLAVIA'S INTEGRATION INTO EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

[07] YUGOSLAVIA URGES RESTORATION OF CONFISCATED JEWISH PROPERTY

[08] PREMIER KONTIC: RUSSIA REMAINS YUGOSLAVIA'S PRINCIPAL TRADE PARTNER

[09] CYPRIOT AND SERBIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS FUTURE COOPERATION

[10] FOREIGN MINISTER MILUTINOVIC SAYS OUTSIDE PRESSURE FANS NATIONALISM

[11] BRITISH PREMIER INSISTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DAYTON AGREEMENT

[12] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA FINDS IRREGULARITIES IN OSCE ELECTION PROCESS

[13] YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER KONTIC LEAVES FOR MOSCOW ON TUESDAY

[14] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVED TANZANIAN DELEGATION

[15] HUNGARY URGES INCLUSION OF YUGOSLAVIA INTO CEI

[16] YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR HANDED OVER HIS CREDENTIALS IN CANBERRA

[17] GERMANY PREPARES CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA

[18] ETHNIC-ALBANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY OF SERBIA ACTIVIST ASSASSINATED

[19] RS GOVERNMENT LETTER TO FROWICK

[20] YUGOSLAVIA, ALGERIA AGREE TO DEVELOP ECONOMIC COOPERATION

[21] SERBIAN-ALBANIAN COOPERATION IN THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL MONUMENTS

[22] REHN APPOINTED SPECIAL U.N. ENVOY IN BOSNIA

[23] PRIME MINISTER KONTIC TO VISIT RUSSIA

[24] YUGOSLAVIA SETS MODEL FOR SECURING EXERCISING OF ETHNIC RUTHENIANS' RIGHTS

[25] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PROTESTS WITH OSCE ABOUT ELECTION RULES BREACH

[26] YUGOSLAV ECONOMIC RECOVERY

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED MESSAGES OF FELICITATION

Tanjug, 1997-11-28

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has received a large number of messages of felicitation from Yugoslavia and abroad on the occasion of November 29, Republic Day.

The messages include those from Presidents Thomas Klestil of Austria, Yasser Arafat of Palestine, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Suharto of Indonesia, Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Carlos Menem of Argentina, Roman Herzog of Germany and King Albert of Belgium.

[02] PREMIER KONTIC RECEIVED THE NEWLY-APPOINTED BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR

Tanjug, 1997-11-28

Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic received on Friday the newly- appointed Bulgarian Ambassador to Yugoslavia Isail Trifunov, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat said.

Full agreement was expressed at the talks about current bilateral issues and regional cooperation that conditions, joint interest and possibilities existed for promoting cooperation in all fields, especially on the economic level.

It was assessed that an institutional framework for cooperation should be worked out - modern state accords, which will enable the liberalization of foreign trade and the flow of capital and people, with the long-term goal of creating free trade zones and a no-visa regime.

Mutual readiness was expressed to intensify state contacts at the highest and inter-ministerial level and in the work of the Mixed Commission in order to resolve practical issues in certain economic fields, increase mutual cooperation and balance foreign trade.

It was stressed that both countries attach great importance to regional cooperation and that they should act together to use their geo-strategic position to their advantage.

It was assessed that for full cooperation and stability in the region all countries should be included, and that means the lifting of the outer wall of sanctions to Yugoslavia and its return into international institutions. Access to all international financial institutions will enable the working out and realization of joint and multilateral projects, and in that way only the Southeastern regional initiative can achieve real results, the statement said.

[03] TRIBUNAL SEEKS DOCUMENTATION ABOUT SUFFERINGS OF SARAJEVO SERBS

Tanjug, 1997-11-29

The International War-Crimes Tribunal has requested of Sarajevo judicial authorities documentation about a war-time trial of soldiers of the Muslim Tenth Mountain Brigade who had received very light sentences for killing large numbers of Sarajevo Serbs at the infamous Kazani pit, according to a Sarajevo court official.

Sarajevo Municipal Court President Senad Kreso has told the Sarajevo "Vecernje Novine" that he knows that "the Hague Tribunal has asked for the documentation about the case."

He said that the Hague Tribunal could reopen the case against soldiers of the Tenth Mountain Brigade who are believed to have killed in most horrendous ways, mostly by throat slitting, between 300 and 1,500 Serbs.

The Tenth Mountain Brigade commander at the time was infamous Musan Topalovic-Caco.

President of the Serb Civil Council Mirko Pejanovic has told the Sarajevo weekly "Dani" that "between 2,000-3,000 Serbs were killed in Sarajevo during the war."

Most of them perished at the Kazani pit on Mount Trebevic overlooking Sarajevo, and others in numerous privately-held prisons.

Sarajevo jurists say that the "Kazan slaughterhouse" and the private prisons are more than enough for the Hague Tribunal to take up the matter, especially since the indictment at the war-time trial was changed and the defendants were not tried for crimes against civilians.

Independent Sarajevo newspapers have for days devoted attention to sufferings of Sarajevo Serbs and warned that the Hague Tribunal could say what authorities in Sarajevo are keeping silent about.

Independent newspapers are especially critical of the excuses given by official circles that they allegedly did not known anything, totally disregarding the fact that then Muslim Army commander Jovan Divjak had informed Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic about what was going on and had resigned because of it.

[04] BALKAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS MINISTERS REACH ACCORD ON COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-11-28

The second Conference of Balkan Post and Telecommunications ministers concluded here on Friday. The Yugoslav delegation was led by Telecommunications Minister Dojcilo Radojevic.

The participants reached accord on future cooperation in all spheres of telecommunications and adopted a communique, pledging to sign mutual accords to improve telecommunication links in the region.

Radojevic held separate talks with his counterparts during the Conference. He met on several occasions with Turkish Transportation and Communications Minister Necet Menzir, who accepted in principle an invitation to visit Yugoslavia.

A proposal by the host for holding the next Conference in Belgrade, next year, was accepted unanimously.

[05] GENERAL COLIC: "TRAIN AND EQUIP" PROGRAMME IS A MENACE TO PEACE

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

Chief of Staff of the (Bosnian Serb) Republika Srpska (RS) Army Gen. Pero Colic received in Pale on Monday the new Commander of the land forces of the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia- Herzegovina, Gen. Sue Pike.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Gen. Colic said he had warned Gen. Pike that the U.S.-led "Train and Equip" programme for the Army of the Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation was jeopardising peace in Bosnia- Herzegovina.

Stressing that the Federation Army was under no threat, Gen. Colic added that the arming of the Federation Army must stop if there was a true desire for peace in the region.

He said that he had also informed Gen. Pike about the presence of foreign mercenaries (Mujaheddin) in the Bosnian Muslim Army, insisting that they must be weeded out.

Gen. Colic further said he had communicated the concern of the Bosnian Serb Army and people about the future status of the disputed town of Brcko. He stressed that Brcko was a Serb town without which there could be no survival for the Republika Srpska, and that the people in the RS must know by March 16 next year what the status of Brcko would be.

Gen. Pike, for his part, said they had discussed contacts between the armies of the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation, and the setting up of such a structure in the RS Army as would conform to the Dayton Accord.

[06] AUSTRIA WILL BACK YUGOSLAVIA'S INTEGRATION INTO EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

After it takes over the chairmanship of the European Union in the second half of 1998, Austria will back Yugoslavia's integration into European institutions and the development of its economy, Deputy Minister of the Economy Josef Meyer said at a meeting with the President of the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce Mihajlo Milojevic and Yugoslav businessmen.

Austria can offer to Yugoslavia its technology, cooperation and experience in management and privatization, Meyer said.

Meyer, who also heads the Department for foreign economic policy and European integration in the Ministry, said he expected the forthcoming direct talks between Austrian and Yugoslav businessmen to provide an incentive for investments in Serbian and Montenegrin economy.

The Austrian Government is creating a legal framework for economic cooperation, and it will be up to the two countries' businessmen to negotiate specific projects, Meyer said.

Milojevic expressed hope that the former bilateral trade volume of 500 million dollars would be reached and exceeded by exploiting the numerous cooperation potentials.

Underlining that Yugoslav regulations on foreign investments have been adapted to EU standards and that the privatization process has been initiated in Yugoslavia, Milojevic said that direct contacts among businessmen were the best way of promoting cooperation.

The meeting was attended also by the Yugoslav Ambassador in Vienna Dobrosav Vejzovic, the Austrian Trade Attache Franz Erhard and representatives of Serbian and Belgrade Chambers of Commerce.

The Yugoslav business delegation also met on Monday evening the Vice- President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce Elisabeth Gerstler Maltner.

[07] YUGOSLAVIA URGES RESTORATION OF CONFISCATED JEWISH PROPERTY

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

Yugoslavia's Information Secretary urged in London on Monday the restoration of Jewish property confiscated during the Second World War. Addressing the World Jewish Congress, Secretary Goran Matic said that this was the wish of the Yugoslav people and Government, recalling the suffering of Serbs and Jews during the War.

Matic expressed his Government's thanks for the chance to convey the Yugoslav people's concern for settling the human and moral question of the restoration of property and gold confiscated throughout Europe, and especially in Yugoslavia, during the War.

He recalled the cooperation and joint struggle of Serbs and Jews during the world wars, stressing that a large number of Jews had fought alongside Serbs and Yugoslav patriots in partisan detachments against the Nazis.

Nazi collaborators in Croatia - the Ustashas - as well as Muslims in Bosnia under the command of Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini of Jerusalem, were the common foe of the Jews and the Serbs in Yugoslavia, Matic said. During this difficult period, more than 600,000 Serbs and more than 40,000 Serbian Jews perished in the most atrocious manner in the Jasenovac death camp run by Croatian Nazis - Ustashas, he stressed.

He said that Jewish and Serbian property had been confiscated for the needs of the so-called Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which was a pro-Nazi puppet. He said there were numerous documents to prove this, and they proved also the transfer of the confiscated valuables to the Vatican and Germany, adding that the Roman Catholic Church had supported the looting, and not only ideologically.

He further said there was short documentary footage, discovered recently in the archives of old Yugoslavia, which documented events connected with the murder of Jews and Serbs and the plundering of their property by Croats during the war. The film was screened and watched with careful attention by the 45 delegations attending the Congress.

Matic further said that Slovenia and Croatia had closely collaborated with Nazi Germany during the war and had embraced and applied its racist laws.

He stressed that the Yugoslav Government was making efforts for the restoration of the confiscated property to the Jewish community as a whole, as well as to individuals. This was being done, he added, despite a very difficult situation in present Yugoslavia - Serbia and Montenegro - which had to receive nearly 700,000 Serb refugees and some Jews from Sarajevo who had fled their homes via Belgrade, forced by those same enemies.

He pointed out that Croatia had confiscated Serb property yet again, just as it had done during the Second World War.

[08] PREMIER KONTIC: RUSSIA REMAINS YUGOSLAVIA'S PRINCIPAL TRADE PARTNER

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, who starts on Tuesday a two-day official visit to Russia, gave an extensive interview to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass in which he said that Russia had been and remained Yugoslavia's principal trade partner.

Kontic was not referring only to the volume of bilateral trade but also to long-term stabilization-based cooperation between the two countries.

Following the lifting of the international community sanctions against Yugoslavia, bilateral cooperation was resumed and its positive results must not be underestimated. However, bilateral cooperation is not developing as fast as one might wish given the potentials and policies of the two countries, Kontic said.

Referring to the future cooperation prospects, Kontic underlined that Russia was among the leading priorities of Yugoslavia's foreign policy and had a strategic importance for Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia sees its future relations with Russia as based on the liberalization of bilateral trade, the free flow of capital and communications and on the creation of free trade zones, Kontic said.

This would confer a new quality to legal and institutional bases for bilateral relations, enabling the companies of the two countries to freely select and carry out projects of joint interest and thus achieve stronger economic ties and integration, Kontic said.

Referring to the program of his visit to Russia, Kontic said he would meet Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and other high officials to discuss the promotion of bilateral cooperation and various international issues, including the situation in the Balkans and the implementation of the Dayton Agreement.

Several inter-state agreements are expected to be signed during the visit aimed at promoting economic cooperation, including a Memorandum on liberalizing bilateral trade which should lead to the creation of free trade zones in line with the regulations of the World Trade Organization. In a first stage of implementing the Memorandum, both countries should reduce customs duties on specific goods next year, Kontic said.

An inter-state Agreement on a credit for financing Yugoslavia's imports of Russian equipment, goods and services is also expected to be signed by the two Prime Ministers. It should be accompanied by an Agreement on banking arrangements in order to operationalize the credit, which should contribute to Yugoslavia's economic recovery and modernization and consequently to the expansion of its economic cooperation with Russia, Kontic said.

Several other inter-state agreement have been drawn up and are expected to be signed, including agreements on military-technical cooperation, international overland traffic, cultural, educational and scientific cooperation, Kontic noted.

Asked about the export of Russian gas to Yugoslavia, Kontic said the long- term program of gas deliveries, the Agreement on building gas pipelines in Yugoslavia and the creation of joint companies for the realization of these projects constituted a lasting structural contribution to Yugoslavia's energy sector and to the development of bilateral cooperation.

The deliveries of Russian gas to Yugoslavia during the period under sanctions had helped meet the minimum of humanitarian needs. Deliveries were stepped up following the lifting of the sanctions, helping the recovery of natural gas based industries, Kontic said.

Referring to Yugoslavia's exports to Russia, Kontic said the exports of food and consumer goods were being normalized and the participation of Yugoslav construction and machine-building companies in pipeline investment projects in Russia was being negotiated. Russian and Yugoslav companies are completing the Yugoslav pipeline network and connecting it with the Bulgarian network thanks to such bilateral arrangements, Kontic said.

Yugoslavia will do all it can to meet the deadlines and complete the projects under way in the interest of the development of overall bilateral cooperation, Kontic said in his interview to Itar-Tass.

[09] CYPRIOT AND SERBIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS FUTURE COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

A Cypriot parliamentary delegation headed by Andreas Mouskos on an official visit to Serbia's northern Province of Vojvodina discussed Monday with southern Backa District officials and businessmen the prospects of future political and economic cooperation within the framework of overall bilateral cooperation.

The talks focused on the intensification of economic cooperation in industry and agriculture.

Backa District Chief Obrad Milosevic said that companies from Vojvodina wished to develop cooperation with Cypriot partners in the sectors of health food production, manufacture of textiles and farming machinery and other industrial branches.

[10] FOREIGN MINISTER MILUTINOVIC SAYS OUTSIDE PRESSURE FANS NATIONALISM

Tanjug, 1997-11-30

Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, was quoted on Sunday as urging that the FR of Yugoslavia be reinstated in its rightful place in the international community.

In an interview with the British news agency Reuters, Minister Milutinovic insisted that Yugoslavia must be quickly readmitted into the international political and economic community.

"I am personally against Yugoslavia's isolation because we can't live without the world. The world needs us and we need the world," he said.

"We need to be back in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations - because if we are in the family we have to follow the rules of the family," he added.

Answer a reporters' question, he explained that the rise of nationalism in Serbia had been caused by unremitting international pressure on the country.

He rejected an idea, proposed by France and Germany, for international mediation in Kosovo- Metohija, stressing that this Serbian Province "is and will be our internal question. The involvement of outsiders in that is not so helpful, it is not acceptable."

He rejected also the possibility of Yugoslav citizens being handed over to the Hague-based War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. "We cannot extradite our citizens to The Hague because that is against our Constitution," he explained, adding that there was no undertaking to do so under the Dayton Accords.

[11] BRITISH PREMIER INSISTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DAYTON AGREEMENT

Tanjug, 1997-11-28

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday that his Government insisted on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and on the concept of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a single and democratic state. Blair made Britain's stance clear during a meeting with the Bosnian Presidency members in Sarajevo, Republika Srpska member of the Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik told the press.

Krajisnik said that the three Presidency members had unanimously described Britain's role in the peace process as very important and its attitude towards the two Bosnian entities as balanced.

Presidency member Kresimir Zubak said after the meeting that both sides had expressed support to the implementation of the Dayton Agreement.

Blair subsequently met the Stabilization Force (SFOR) Commander General Eric Shinseki and High Representative of the international community for Bosnia Carlos Westendorp.

[12] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA FINDS IRREGULARITIES IN OSCE ELECTION PROCESS

Tanjug, 1997-11-29

A delegation of Republika Srpska (RS), on an official visit to the OSCE Headquarters, has sharply protested after establishing a series of irregularities which cast doubts on the balloting carried out abroad for the early parliamentary elections in the RS.

Republika Srpska Assistant Foreign Minister Gordan Milinic and Assistant Justice Minister Dragan Podinic told Yugoslav journalists on Saturday that a routine inspection of the rooms at the OSCE Headquarters, where the ballots cast outside the Serb entity were processed, had produced three open cardboard boxes with over 5,000 unmarked original ballots.

Of the 142.266 ballots sent to home addresses of voters registered outside the RS, about 80,000 were returned to the OSCE Headquarters in Vienna, but only 50,000 of them came together with original voters' certificates, as required under the election rules.

Before arriving in Vienna, the RS delegation requested of the OSCE detailed information about the number of printed ballots and where they were used. Deputy coordinator of the Vienna Centre for the election process outside the RS Antonios Tsarikis said that he did not know the precise number of the printed ballots, but that the OSCE in Vienna had sent out 142,266 of them and that not a single one had remained in Austria.

"All this casts doubts on the entire election process outside the RS," the RS delegation said in its official protest.

Delegation members claim that "many people enter the OSCE rooms where ballots which are ready for scanning are kept," and that "three persons have the keys to the doors of those rooms, a Croat woman, a Muslim woman, and a U.S. citizen Tanja Shuesler, whose exclusion from the election process we have earlier requested."

"How many ballots have at all been printed? Who could have come by the ballots and how? Were the ballots we get from Germany without the original certificates obtained legally by Muslim clubs, individuals or groups? How can we acknowledge a single ballot which does not come together with the original certificate?" are questions to which the RS delegation have not received answers yet.

[13] YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER KONTIC LEAVES FOR MOSCOW ON TUESDAY

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic leaves on Tuesday on a two-day official visit to Russia, during which he will discuss with his Russian counterpart Viktor Chernomyrdin the promotion of political and economic relations between the two countries.

Kontic will have an exhaustive exchange of views with his host Chernomyrdin on the peace process on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and all major international topics of interest to the two countries.

The talks will be an opportunity to once again send a strong signal to the international community about the indispensability of Yugoslavia's return to all relevant international organizations.

Prime Ministers Kontic and Chernomyrdin will devote special attention to the promotion of bilateral economic relations, which are already at an enviable level.

A Yugoslav-Russian Agreement on a state credit, a Memorandum on the liberalization of the mutual trade, an Agreement on military-technical cooperation and a three-year Program of cultural- educational cooperation are to be signed during the visit.

The Kontic-Chernomyrdin talks are expected to step up the work on other important inter-state agreements.

The Yugoslav state delegation, headed by Kontic, will be accompanied on the visit to Russia by a group of 40 leading Yugoslav businessmen, whose companies are already cooperating with Russian partners or are about to conclude major deals with them.

The upcoming visit is the first visit of a Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Russia. Russia was among the few countries which maintained diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia at the ambassadorial level during the implementation of international sanctions against the latter and it took an active part in all efforts to end the civil war in Bosnia- Herzegovina and conflicts in other parts of the former Yugoslavia.

In the current situation, when no formal and no substantive obstacles stand in the way of the strengthening of relations between the two countries at the political, economic and other levels, it is only logical to expect that the visit to Russia of Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic will provide a genuine and strong incentive.

[14] DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVED TANZANIAN DELEGATION

Tanjug, 1997-11-28

Yugoslav Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic received a Tanzanian Foreign Ministry delegation, led by the head of the Directorate for Europe and America Ambassador Marua Matiko.

The Tanzanian delegation had also held meetings at the Yugoslav Foreign Trade Ministry, the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce, the Institute for International Policy and Economy and other institutions.

The Tanzanian delegation also visited several Yugoslav companies, including Jugoimport-SDPR, Partizanski Put of Belgrade and Toza Markovic of Kikinda.

[15] HUNGARY URGES INCLUSION OF YUGOSLAVIA INTO CEI

Tanjug, 1997-11-30

Hungarian Foreign Minister Laslo Kovacs called on Saturday for Yugoslavia's full inclusion in the work of the Central European Initiative (CEI).

Minister Kovacs, who headed the Hungarian delegation to the CEI Summit which ended in Sarajevo on Saturday, told the Hungarian news agency MTI that Yugoslavia's presence in the forum, which comprises 16 central European and Balkan countries, was essential for the consolidation of peace.

Minister Kovacs said the military aspects of the Dayton Agreement had practically been implemented, but much was left to be done with the agreement's civilian provisions.

"That requires time, and the presence of multinational troops will be needed until all problems are solved," the Hungarian Foreign Minister set out.

"Hungary is ready to continue participating in that, and maintains that it is indispensable that Yugoslavia be included in all forms of CEI's work," Minister Kovacs said.

[16] YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR HANDED OVER HIS CREDENTIALS IN CANBERRA

Tanjug, 1997-11-28

The newly-appointed Yugoslav Ambassador to Australia Dragan Dragojlovic handed over in Canberra on Thursday his credentials to the General Governor of Australia William Dean.

Mutual readiness and interest was expressed at the talks to further strengthen and expand bilateral relations and cooperation of the two countries and mutual satisfaction was expressed by the upgrading of relations to the ambassadorial level.

[17] GERMANY PREPARES CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA

Tanjug, 1997-12-01

Germany is accelerating preparations for an International Conference of the Peace Implementation Council for Bosnia (PIC) scheduled for December 9 and 10, to be attended by foreign ministers of 51 countries and representatives of 21 international organizations.

German and French Foreign Ministers Klaus Kinkel and Hubert Vedrine will visit Sarajevo on December 4, to meet the three members of Bosnian Presidency, Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic, High Representative of the international community Carlos Westendorp and commanders of German and French troops within the Stabilization Force (SFOR).

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Monday that two years after Dayton, a peaceful future remained a distant goal. He urged all involved politicians to intensify endeavours for cooperation among different ethnic groups, for refugee repatriation and for bringing war crimes suspects to trial.

Only when progress is achieved regarding these issues can the European Union aid for recovery be effective, Kohl said at a reception for diplomats from 160 countries.

The Bonn Conference is expected to sum up the implementation of the Paris Peace Agreement and Germany will insist on more decisive measures of the international community to convince Bosnian parties that only those who cooperate can expect aid.

[18] ETHNIC-ALBANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY OF SERBIA ACTIVIST ASSASSINATED

Tanjug, 1997-11-29

Ethnic Albanian Dalib Dugoli, an activist of the Socialist Party of Serbia and member of voters' committees in the latest elections, was assassinated on Friday night in the village of Petrestica, near Stimalj, in Serbia's southern Province of Kosovo and Metohija, according to Radio Pristina.

According to first reports, unidentified attackers fired from automatic weapons.

It was the fifth terrorist attack in Kosovo and Metohija in a week.

[19] RS GOVERNMENT LETTER TO FROWICK

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

Republika Srpska (RS) Government has sent a letter to OSCE Mission h ead in Bosnia and Herzegovina Robert Frowick demanding that he guarantees there would be no tampering of legislative elections results, due to be announced December 10. The letter points to the harmful and tendentious statement of the international community's High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovia Karlos Westendorp, who congratulated the Serbian National Alliance of Biljana Pl avsic the winning of 20 seats in RS Parliament. Such statements are of concern for the Government and crea te doubts that election results will be tampered, while their respect should be guaranteed by OSCE, the l etter said.

[20] YUGOSLAVIA, ALGERIA AGREE TO DEVELOP ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

Yugoslav and Algerian businessmen have agreed to develop bilateral c ooperation and discussed the prospects for the construction of a hydro- power plant, roads and hous ing and the equipment of an airport in Algeria by Yugoslav companies. The projects were discussed dur ing a working visit of a Yugoslav state and business delegation headed by Minister of the Economy Rade Fili povic from November 23 to 26. The visit was described by Yugoslav businessmen as very important, as con tacts between the two countries had been broken off for several years. Conditions have now been laid for resuming economic cooperation in the interest of both countries, they said.

Minister Filipovic conveyed to the Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouy ahlou a message from Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic and their meeting focused on the fu ture development of political, economic and other ties. Pointing to the importance of good relations an d mutual understanding and to the successful bilateral cooperation in the past, especially as regards e conomy, Algerian Prime Minister accepted an invitation by Premier Kontic to visit Yugoslavia. Filipovi c was also received by Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ataf and eight other ministers, including those in charge of land development, water resources and fisheries, finance, housing, trade and transports. The Yugoslav delegation was hosted by Minister Belayat, in charge of land development and road, airport and dam construction. As both Yugoslavia's and Algeria's economies are u ndergoing transition and ownership transformation, cooperation plans include joint investments in small and medium ventures for more successful activities at domestic and third markets. Draft Agreeme nts on the avoidance of double taxation and investment protection and incentives have been exchan ged in order to initiate negotiations. Joint Commissions should resume their activities and earlie r agreements should be reactivated or adapted to new conditions, efficient banking cooperation should be est ablished and air traffic resumed in order to improve communications, it was agreed during the talks. An Algerian state and business delegation is expected to visit Belgrade shortly to pursue the talks.

[21] SERBIAN-ALBANIAN COOPERATION IN THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL MONUMENTS

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

A delegation of the Institute for the protection of Albanian cultura l monuments, visiting Serbia for the first time, and representatives of the Institute for the Protection o f Serbian Cultural Monuments have reached an agreement on the establishment of tighter cooperation in the p rotection of cultural monuments, it was said at a news conference on Thursday in the Institute. Cooperati on will be established next spring by the signing of an agreement, which involves joint work on scientific-r esearch work, conservation and restauration of monuments, exchange of methodology, documentation, expert s, publications and mutual popularisation of the cultural heritage. An agreement on future cooperat ion on the bilateral and regional level in the field of protection was reached by the director of the Alba nian Institute, Walter Stuhl, the head of the Institute's Department for the protection of Medieval monuments, G yerak Karaiskay, and the Director of the Serbian Institute, Mileta Milic. There are 1,300 cultural monumen ts in Albania under protection.

[22] REHN APPOINTED SPECIAL U.N. ENVOY IN BOSNIA

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

The U.N. Human Rights Commission's Special Rapporteur on former Yugoslavi a Elisabeth Rehn will become U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative and Coo rdinator of U.N. operations in Bosnia, a U.N. Spokesman said on Wednesday. Rehn, 62, will take up the post on January 16, 1998. She will be one of a dozen U.N. Special Envoys on hotspots througho ut the world, ranging from Cambodia, Afghanistan and Tajikistan to Western Sahara. Rehn, who acted as Finnish Defence Minister from 1990 to 1995, will replace Kai Eide of Norway who took up the post i n January 1997.

[23] PRIME MINISTER KONTIC TO VISIT RUSSIA

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

The Yugoslav Government met in session on Thursday and determined th e platform for talks of Prime Minister Radoje Kontic with Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyr din in Moscow. The upcoming visit, the first official visit to the Russian Federation at this level since the proclamation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, will take place from Dec 2-4 this year at the in vitation of the Russian Prime Minister. The visit will be a continuation of the political dialogue of the two countries on the most important issues of mutual interest. Talks between the two Prime Ministers will cov er matters concerning the further development of Yugoslav-Russian relations and cooperation, topical issues of the peace process in former Yugoslavia and more important questions regarding international relations of mutual interest, the Federal Secretariat of Information said. Special attention will be devoted to th e promotion of economic cooperation.

The talks which Kontic and Chernomyrdin will hold in Moscow, togethe r with their closest associates from the key economic-financial and other major departments, should stim ulate overall Yugoslav-Russian bilateral cooperation and make room for its further promotion and expansi on in various areas. During the visit, it is expected that the sides will sign an Agreement on state cred it, a Memorandum on the liberalization of mutual trade, an Agreement on military-technical cooper ation, and a three-year Programme on cultural-educational cooperation. It is also expected that the talks w ill give impetus to the coordination of several other interstate agreements between the two countries. In addition to the state delegation, a group of about 40 businessmen from major Yugoslav firms which cooperate with Russian companies will also visit Moscow. The top-level talks with a delegation of the Russian Federation are especially important for strengthening support and understanding in the international communit y about the need to return Yugoslavia to international organizations and institutions.

[24] YUGOSLAVIA SETS MODEL FOR SECURING EXERCISING OF ETHNIC RUTHENIANS' RIGHTS

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

Head of the ethnic Ruthenians' cultural society Mihajlo Varga said o n Thursday the ethnic Ruthenians' world society regarded Yugoslavia a model country for securin g the exercising of ethnic Ruthenians' rights. Varga said this had been concluded at a recent sympo sium on ethnic Ruthenians' status in central and southeast Europe, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The sympo sium was attended by representatives of ethnic Ruthenians from Yugoslavia, Slovakia, Austria, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. Varga said the symposium had been a way of informing western Europe and t he United States about the status of ethnic Ruthenians, saying European and U.S. officials had also praised Yugoslavia for its good solutions to the ethnic Ruthenian issue. Visits by participants in the sy mposium to the German minority in Denmark and the Danish minority in Germany also contributed to the favour able assessment of the status of ethnic Ruthenians in Yugoslavia. Varga said the visits had confirmed that in the field of education, science, culture, information and publishing and other fields considered vital for the preservation of national identity, the Ruthenian minority in Yugoslavia was granted the same right s as minorities in Germany and Denmark.

[25] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PROTESTS WITH OSCE ABOUT ELECTION RULES BREACH

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

A Republika Srpska Government delegation on Thursday protested with the OSCE about the breach of election rules in R.S. early parliamentary elections on Novembe r 22-23. The delegation, monitoring at the OSCE Vienna headquarters the OSCE activity in the elect ions, told Yugoslav reporters that it had called on Richard Elerkmann, Senior Deputy head of the OSCE M ission to Bosnia, to immediately exclude from the election process Tanya Sisler because of her not being familiar with the election rules and serious mistakes that could influence the outcome of t he election. Deputy OSCE Coordinator for absentee balloting Antonio Tsakiris, head of the team inc luding Sisler, conceded to Sisler not doing her job quite well but said she must be given an opportunity to learn how to do it.

Sisler, a U.S. diplomat, works with the Geneva-based migration forum 2E R.S. Assistant Foreign Minister Gordan Milinic and Assistant Justice Minister Dragan Podinic sai d the election process would not be considered regular if the OSCE did not comply with the Republika Srpsk a's request. Milinic and Podinic said the OSCE headquarters had received about 65,000 ballots, of which fi gure only 45,000 were accompanied by necessary documentation so that their categorisation was y et to be discussed.

The ballots that are in order are to be sent to Serb Sarajevo, they said adding that about 143,000 people sheltering abroad had the right to vote.

[26] YUGOSLAV ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Tanjug, 1997-11-27

Yugoslav economy has been growing every year since this country bega n implementing its economic recovery programme in 1994. It is estimated that this country's gross domestic product will increase by 10% this year, the amplitude stands as first in Europe. Based on the latest statistics offered by Yugoslav relevant departments, compared with the same period of last y ear, in the first 9 months of this year industrial production increased by 9%, export of industrial products increased by 40%, income increased by 30%, while the inflation is only 2.9%. Yugoslavia once suf fered unprecedented economic difficulties due to the civil war in former Yugoslav republics and the in ternational sanctions, as well as nearly a million refugees. UN Security Council imposed economic sanctions against Yugoslavia in May 1992, and did not lift them until October 1996. The country is now still suffering external economic pressure and has still not been reintegrated into the UN and some other internatio nal political and economic organizations due to the insistence of some countries. Due to above reaso ns, Yugoslavia is unable to obtain loans from the World Bank. Thus, one of the major problems facing Yugoslavia on its road to full economic recovery is the shortage of funds, making normal functioning of enterprises very difficult. The Yugoslav Government has made great ef forts so as to solve the problem of the shortage of funds. Firstly, the Yugoslav Government has established the "Economic Rec overy and Development Fund", limiting the use of funds exclusively for productions, so that the use an d allocation of funds could be centrally controlled. The "Fund" is in charge of planning the usage of th e funds according to the enterprises' production results and export status. In this way the "Fund" can be utili zed to the maximum in the shortest possible time. Secondly, collecting as much funds as possible. For inst ance, the Yugoslav Government encouraged its citizens working overseas to remit money back to Yugoslavi a and to invest into a vigorous reconstruction of tourist facilities so as to develop tourism, etc. Thir dly, taking advantage of the country's geographical location as a bridge between East and West Europe, the Yugos lav Government has allocated more that 600 million DM towards the reconstruction of existing and const ruction of new communication routes, so that more goods may directly pass through the country instead of using round*about routes through other countries, thus increasing the national financial income. F urthermore, Yugoslavia has sold 49% of its Telecom stocks to Italian and Greek companies, with the presup position that this will not influence the country's basic interests, and most of the funds obtained h ave been used to encourage recovery of industrial production. So as to ensure that the funds will be effectively used and the loan repaid in time, the government has to strictly examine all loan applications, en terprises are not given a low*cost loan unless they have signed export contracts and are able to give guaran tees and provide collateral.Only with such measures did the Yugoslav industry achieve rapid recovery. Howe ver, the road to recovery is not smooth. As the shortage of funds still troubles its national economy the country's present economic level is only at half mark of what it used to be in 1989. So, in the fiel d of foreign trade, Yugoslavia has defined joining the WTO and EU, as well as efforts to normalize its relat ions with international financial and trade organizations, as its basic aim. In October of this year, the Yugos lav Government has conceived the 1998*2000 reform plan of its foreign trade system, thus the country has c reated conditions for speedy return to the world market, WTO and other important international financi al organizations.

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