Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-02-16

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAVIA, MALAWI ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

[02] SERBS TADIC AND SIMIC VOLUNTARY GO TO THE HAGUE

[03] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PREMIER MEETS BOSNIA'S COLLECTIVE PRESIDENCY PRESIDENT 1993.

[04] KRAJISNIK HOLDS TALKS WITH U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY REHN

[05] KRAJISNIK SAYS BRCKO MUST REMAIN PART OF RS

[06] ARBOUR SAYS COOPERATION BETWEEN HAGUE TRIBUNAL, YUGOSLAVIA NORMALISED

[07] YUGOSLAV PROSECUTOR SAYS CONTACT WITH WAR CRIMES COURT IS HIS DOMAIN

[08] CULTURAL-INFORMATION CENTRE FOR BULGARIAN MINORITY OPENED IN DIMITROVGRAD

[09] YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS ARE EXEMPLARY, OFFICIAL SAYS

[10] YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS: SERIOUS STATES DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH SEPARATISTS

[11] YUGOSLAV DELEGATION VISITS MACEDONIA

[12] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER POINTS TO IMPORTANCE OF VISIT TO ITALY

[13] EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES

[14] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER JOVANOVIC'S VISIT TO ITALY

[01] YUGOSLAVIA, MALAWI ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Yugoslavia and Malawi formally established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on Friday. Malawi is the only African country with which Yugoslavia has not had diplomatic relations up to now, due to that country's former support of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Under the decisions taken by the two Governments, diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and Malawi were established with the signing of a joint statement by the ambassadors of the two countries to Zimbabwe in Harare on Friday.

[02] SERBS TADIC AND SIMIC VOLUNTARY GO TO THE HAGUE

Tanjug, 1998-02-15

Two Serbs, Miroslav Tadic, 61, and Milan Simic, 38, both of Samac, indicted for alleged war crimes by the Hague Tribunal three years ago, voluntarily left for the Hague on Saturday.

Tadic and Simic hope to prove their innocence before the Tribunal, said media reports in Pale.

Speaking to many home and foreign reporters, the two Serbs said they were leaving of their own free will and under no pressure, and that they had confidence in Chief Prosecutor Louise Arbour.

Tadic and Simic will be defended by Belgrade lawyer Igor Pantelic and Samac lawyer Borislav Pisarevic, the Srpska news agency SRNA said.

Neither Tadic nor Simic had been directly engaged in military activities. During the war, Tadic was president of the Municipal Commission for refugees, and Simic was President of the Executive Committee of the Samac City Hall.

Foreign agencies also confirmed the report that the two Serbs had agreed voluntarily to go to the Hague. They are the first indicted Serbs from Bosnia voluntarily to go to trial, they said.

I hope this is the end of the satanization of Serb people, agencies quoted Tadic as telling reporters outside his house in Samac.

[03] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PREMIER MEETS BOSNIA'S COLLECTIVE PRESIDENCY PRESIDENT 1993.

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik met President of the collective Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Alija Izetbegovic here on Friday. Attending the talk was also Premier of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Ethem Bicakcic.

This was Dodik's first meeting with Federation officials in Sarajevo.

According to Sarajevo media, in the talk with Izetbegovic, Dodik had raised the issue of the arrest of Bosnian Serb Goran Vasic. Vasic was arrested by the Federation police at an inter-entity boundary line on suspicion of killing Bosnia-Herzegovina Deputy Prime Minister Hakija Turajlic in early

The talk focused also on cooperation between Bosnia's two entities and both sides agreed such meetings should take place more often, Sarajevo media said.

[04] KRAJISNIK HOLDS TALKS WITH U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY REHN

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Republika Srpska member in Bosnia's three-man Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik discussed with U.N. Special Envoy Elisabeth Rehn here on Friday current issues concerning the Republika Srpska.

After the talks, Krajisnik said he had informed Rehn about his view of the situation in the Republika Srpska following the appointment of the new government, saying it was not good that the government had been appointed in the way it had been appointed. He said they had also discussed the arrest by Moslems of Goran Vasic, saying this was a blow to the peace process. He said Rehn was taking an active part in settling the case.

Rehn said the talks had dealt with the situation in the Republika Srpska and the reconstruction of the R.S. police, saying the talks were useful for both sides.

[05] KRAJISNIK SAYS BRCKO MUST REMAIN PART OF RS

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Republika Srpska (RS) President in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Momcilo Krajisnik said on Friday that Brcko must remain part of RS as any other solution would be in violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement provision on the territorial integrity of RS. Krajisnik voiced hope in Pale that the Arbitration Commission would bring a final decision regarding Brcko and that it will be a positive one for RS. Krajisnik praised the efforts made by RS representatives for the final decision regarding Brcko to be satisfactory for the Serb entity.

[06] ARBOUR SAYS COOPERATION BETWEEN HAGUE TRIBUNAL, YUGOSLAVIA NORMALISED

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Chief Prosecutor of The Hague-based War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Louise Arbour said on Friday that cooperation between the Tribunal and Yugoslav authorities had been normalised. Speaking at a news conference in Belgrade's Hyatt hotel at the close of her five-day visit to Yugoslavia, Arbour said she was satisfied with the talks she had held.

She said that, whenever the Tribunal had asked the Yugoslav authorities for some kind of assistance, they had responded in an acceptable way characteristic also of other governments. She said the Yugoslav Constitution posed an obstacle to the handing over of war crimes indictees to the Tribunal. She said she had called on the Yugoslav authorities to try to persuade Yugoslav citizens indicted by the Court to stand trial of their own free will.

Arbour repeatedly refused to comment on the Tribunal's double-standard policy in dealing with war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia that had been torn apart by civil war.

Asked what steps the Tribunal had taken regarding crimes committed by Croatian troops against Serbs in Gospic and ethnic cleansing of Serbs in the area, to which Croatian army officers can testify, and why it had failed to instigate proceedings against Tomislav Mercep, responsible for atrocities committed against Serbs and Croats regarded state enemies in Vukovar in 1991, Arbour said she never commented on the Tribunal's proceedings. She said the opening of the Tribunal's Office in Belgrade made possible a better access to relevant information and evidence that could lead to headway in the said cases.

She said a growing cooperativeness on the part of Serb victims who were held prisoner in the Celebic camp had led to headway in shedding light on what had really happened in the camp.

Arbour voiced satisfaction with talks held with Montenegro's state prosecutor. Asked why no officials of the Yugoslav Justice Ministry had been invited to the talks, she said that had depended on the host's decision.

[07] YUGOSLAV PROSECUTOR SAYS CONTACT WITH WAR CRIMES COURT IS HIS DOMAIN

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Yugoslav State Prosecutor Vukasin Jokanovic said on Friday that crimes in which the Hague-based War Crimes Court Prosecutor Louise Arbour was interested fell under the Yugoslav Penal Code and were thus in his domain. "Under the law, the Yugoslav State Prosecutor has the last say in the matter of procedure in the case of these criminal offences and takes the responsibility for the decisions, so I alone can assume obligations in contacts with the Hague-based Court," Jokanovic said.

Speaking for Belgrade state Radio One, he said that "it is the right of Mrs Arbour to plan meetings and talks with state and judicial authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."

However, he added, in the cases in which she was interested, the Yugoslav State Prosecutor was superior to the State Prosecutors of the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro, which make up Yugoslavia.

Jokanovic said that he had met with Arbour on Wednesday for talks which both sides had described as useful.

[08] CULTURAL-INFORMATION CENTRE FOR BULGARIAN MINORITY OPENED IN DIMITROVGRAD

Tanjug, 1998-02-14

A cultural-information centre for the Bulgarian national minority, the "Caribrod", was opened in the southeastern Serbian town of Dimitrovgrad late on Friday. The inauguration was attended by numerous dignitaries from Bulgaria - the President of the Parliament Commission for culture and media Stojan Rajcevski, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Veselin Metodijev, Culture Minister Ema Moskovam, and Bulgarian Ambassador to Yugoslavia Ivajlo Trifonov.

The assembly was first addressed by Nebojsa Ivanov, the Centre Director, and then Metodijev read a letter from Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov. In the letter, Kostov said the Centre would have a very important role in the preservation and due protection of the rights of Bulgarians abroad.

The assembly was also addressed by Ambassador Trifonov, one of the figures most deserving for the setting up of this centre.

[09] YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS ARE EXEMPLARY, OFFICIAL SAYS

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

The relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Macedonia can be considered a model of good neighborliness, President of the Yugoslav Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Ljubisa Ristic said.

The Yugoslav delegation headed by Ristic and comprising Ivica Dacic, Cedomir Mirkovic, Dragisa Pesic and Yugoslav Ambassador to Macedonia Zoran Janackovic met on Friday Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Dimitar Buzlovski, Minister of Education and Sport Sofia Todorova and President of the Macedonian Parliamentary Commission for the economy Dusan Nikolovski. On Thursday the Yugoslav delegation held talks with Macedonian Parliament Speaker Tito Petkovski, Foreign Minister Blagoje Handzijski and Parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee President Ilinka Mitreva.

At the end of the visit, Ristic and Mitreva gave a press conference at which they underlined the identity of the two countries' views on many issues that were discussed and on mutual understanding and respect and the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

Ristic underlined that the relations between the two countries were developing in accordance with the guidelines set by Presidents Slobodan Milosevic and Kiro Gligorov when they met last year in Crete.

Issues on which the two countries do not hold identical views were also discussed, Ristic said referring to the problem of recognizing Yugoslavia's continuity with the former federation. This is not only a formal or legal issue, it is an essential issue which regards the consistency of Yugoslavia's policy, Ristic said.

Yugoslavia has recognized the Macedonian people, language and state as that is the manner in which it understands continuity, Ristic said, underlining that Macedonian interests were kept in mind in this regard.

When the young (Macedonian) state was struggling for its international status, Yugoslavia had logically supported it, Ristic said and noted that some former Yugoslav republics had built the success of their foreign policies at the expense of Yugoslavia. This is why Yugoslavia expects Macedonia to support it in international institutions, Ristic said.

Ristic also spoke of the problems Yugoslavia is facing in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo-Metohija, and expressed satisfaction with Macedonia's stance that these problems should be resolved in Serbia and Yugoslavia without foreign interference. Yugoslavia advocates resolving all problems in a peaceful manner through dialogue, Ristic said.

Macedonia has no reason to feel troubled by the situation in Kosovo, as Yugoslavia has the power, the will and the means to prevent any conflict there, Ristic said and added that it was consequently unnecessary to talk about creating corridors.

Preventive measures will be taken if necessary, including the use of armed force, to prevent any provocations that might lead to conflict, Ristic said, adding that a conflict in Kosovo would be to the liking of those who want foreign interference. Yugoslavia cannot and will not allow this to happen, Ristic said, underlining that ethnic Albanians in Kosovo were not loyal to their state and refused any dialogue.

Yugoslav authorities in fact have noone to talk to in Kosovo as ethnic Albanian parties there advocate separatism. They want to transform Kosovo into a republic and have it secede from Yugoslavia. This threatens Yugoslavia's integrity and sovereignty, Ristic said.

Ristic expressed his conviction that the international community supports Yugoslavia's stance, although it has used double standards in the past.

Yugoslavia does not wish to interfere in the issue of autonomy of the Macedonian church, as religious issues are kept separate from state affairs in Yugoslavia, Ristic said.

Other issues discussed during the two-day visit were interesting, especially those regarding economic cooperation and experience in privatization, Ristic said in conclusion.

Ilinka Mitreva said that all forms of bilateral cooperation should be intensified and that inter-parliamentary talks would provide a great incentive to realizing this goal.

Macedonia endorses a peaceful solution of the Kosovo issue within Yugoslavia and advocates Yugoslavia's full integration in all international institutions, she said.

[10] YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS: SERIOUS STATES DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH SEPARATISTS

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

Members of Yugoslavia's Parliamentary delegation met with domestic and foreign reporters in Skopje on Friday, at the close of their two-day visit to Macedonia. The delegation was headed by Ljubisa Ristic, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Yugoslav Parliament Chamber of Citizens (lower house).

At the meeting, held in the Yugoslav Embassy in Skopje, Ristic said that all matters concerning the situation in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija province were Yugoslavia's internal affair and no outside interference would be tolerated.

"Our position on Kosovo-Metohija is well known and has been repeated countless times," Ristic said, noting that ethnic Albanians did not in fact want dialogue, but were only going through the motions of demanding one as part of their strategy.

Ivica Dacic, who was also in the delegation, said that the Serbian Government had at one time put before Parliament a bill on local self-rule, which envisaged that areas with large minority populations should have bicameral parliaments.

He said that the province's ethnic Albanians had all rights under the Constitution, but were refusing to exercise them, boycotting elections and in fact refusing an autonomous parliament on the lines of that formed in the other Serbian province, Vojvodina.

He went on to explain that unrest in Kosovo-Metohija had started long ago, in the days of former Yugoslavia, when the Constitution of the now defunct Federation, promulgated in 1974, was still in operation. "Even then they wanted to secede from Yugoslavia, and we will not discuss it now, just as no other self-respecting and serious state will negotiate these things with separatists," Dacic said.

[11] YUGOSLAV DELEGATION VISITS MACEDONIA

Tanjug, 1998-02-13

A Yugoslav parliamentary delegation led by President of the Foreign Affairs Committee Ljubisa Ristic concludes on Friday a two-day visit to Macedonia with talks with Deputy Premier Dimitar Buzlevski. The delegation met earlier on Friday with Education Minister Sofija Todorova. It also held talks with Dusan Nikolovski, head of the Macedonian parliament commission for economy.

Ristic described Thursday's talks with Parliament Speaker Tito Petkovski and Foreign Minister Blagoje Handzinski as a strong impulse to promoting relations between Yugoslavia and Macedonia. Most important of all is that we hold the same views on the terrorist activities of ethnic Albanians in (Serbia's province) Kosovo and Metohija, said Ristic. The crimes could cause a lost of trouble in our region, and we agree that the extreme demands of Kosovo Albanians for a separate republic are historically ungrounded and unrealistic, he said.

Macedonia lent support to Yugoslavia's efforts to return to international political and other institutions as, among other things, a contribution to peace in the Balkans.

[12] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER POINTS TO IMPORTANCE OF VISIT TO ITALY

Tanjug, 1998-02-14

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic said on Saturday in Rome that the talks the Yugoslav delegation had with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini and the Vatican Foreign Minister had been very important.

In an interview broadcast on Saturday evening by Serbian Television, Jovanovic described the talks as a follow-up to the high-level political dialogue between the two countries and a contribution to the development of bilateral cooperation.

Experts in specific fields will meet shortly to propose future initiatives to the two Governments, Jovanovic said.

All-round economic cooperation will be encouraged, with a special emphasis on direct Italian investments in Yugoslavia's economy thanks to the advantages provided by the new legislation, above all the law on concessions and the law on ownership transformation, Jovanovic said.

Italian officials have hailed Yugoslavia's endeavors to stabilize the situation in the region, develop good neighborly relations and encourage integration processes in southeastern Europe, the Minister said.

Political, economic and cultural cooperation will benefit from dialogue, visits and joint activities in a near future, Jovanovic said.

[13] EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES

Tanjug, 1998-02-14

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic told Tanjug, following talks with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, that the meeting had confirmed the exceptionally good relations between the two countries and indicated the need to raise these relations to a higher level. This implies an expansion of the dialogue on comprehensive cooperation in economy and all other areas, Jovanovic said. Jovanovic extended to Dini an invitation from Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro to visit Yugoslavia. During the talks, the Italian side gave a high assessment of Yugoslavia's role, and especially of President Milosevic, in the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, and the stabilization of the situation in Republika Srpska, Jovanovic said.

This is why Italy urges an equal and principled treatment of Yugoslavia in the international community and supports Yugoslavia's reintegration into all European and world organizations, primarily on the grounds of balanced rights and obligations, Jovanovic said.

The Italian Foreign Ministry has assessed highly Friday evening's talks between the Foreign Ministers of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Italy, Zivadin Jovanovic and Lamberto Dini respectively, the Minsitry said in a statement issued on Saturday.

During the talks, Dini underscored the positive role of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in the constituting of Republika Srpska and expressed hope that Belgrade would in the future continue its constructive role in the stabilization of the situation in Bosnia and in the Balkans, the statement said.

Dini supported the Yugoslav Government's efforts for the democratization and economic liberalization of the country because this will facilitate the reintegration of FRY into international organizations, the statment said.

[14] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER JOVANOVIC'S VISIT TO ITALY

Tanjug, 1998-02-14

The first round of talks between the Yugoslav and Italian Foreign Ministers, Zivadin Jovanovic and Lamberto Dini, ended in Rome late on Friday. The two Ministers focused on ways and means of promoting bilateral relations, primarily economic, on the situation in the region and on future relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the European Union.

At the start of the meeting, Jovanovic and Dini noted that the Yugoslav Minister's visit marked a continuity in the two countries' top-level political dialogue.

The two delegations gave high marks to bilateral economic relations to date, noting that greater scope should be opened for promoting trade.

The regional situation was discussed in detailed, with the Italian side again showing understanding for the complexity of the problems in Yugoslavia and the Balkans, and supporting dialogue as the only true way to consolidate peace and stability.

After the meeting, the Italian Minister hosted a working dinner for his Yugoslav colleague.

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic ended on Saturday afternoon the official part of his two-day visit to Italy with talks with his counterpart in the Holy See, Monseigneur Jean-Louis Torrent. Openess, mutual respect and an exeptional atmosphere during the talks indicate both the continuity and the upward trend in the dialogue between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Vatican, Jovanovic said.

He said that both countries hold similar views about a number of issues regarding the stability in the region, the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the speedy reintegration of FRY into all world organizations, humanitarian issues and refugees.

Regarding the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Holy See assessed positively the results achieved so far and praised FRY's efforts in this and the stabilization of the situation in Republika Srpska, Jovanovic said.

Jovanovic said that regarding international relations, the Holy See set out that Yugoslavia's place is in all European and world institutions because all Balkan issues can be resolved more successfully if FRY is an equal partner of the international community.

Jovanovic invited Torrent to officially visit Yugoslavia, and the invitation was accepted. The visit should be realized by May.

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