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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-03-11Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Yugoslav Daily SurveyCONTENTS
[01] ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANOTHER EXPLOSION IN PECTanjug, 1998-03-11A yet another explosion was heard in Pec, Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija, at around 11 p.m. local time (2200 hrs GMT) on Tuesday as a hand grenade went off in the yard of the Dukagjini firm, owned by ethnic Albanian Ekrem Luka. Windows on nearby houses and two cars were destroyed in the blast but no one was hurt. An investigation into the incident is underway. The latest attacks in Pec by ethnic Albanian terrorists show that they have chosen as their target ethnic Albanians unwilling to back terrorism and cooperating with companies owned by Serbians and Montenegrins. [02] CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN THE AREA OF DRENICATanjug, 1998-03-10The energetic action of Serbia's Interior Ministry in which the core of ethnic-Albanian terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija was destroyed was preceded by a series of terrorist attacks on the police and private citizens in the area of Drenica, the Belgrade daily Politika said on Tuesday. The daily gave a chronology of the recent developments in Serbia's southern province, refuting in an argumented fashion numerous lies and stratagems published by the so-called independent domestic and some foreign media in reports from the provincial capital of Pristina. The chronology covers only the most recent brutal attacks by terrorists, whose succession of crimes in the more recent years has been the cause of affliction to scores of Serb and ethnic-Albanian families. On February 28, at 12:30 p.m. local time, ethnic-Albanian terrorists opened fire from automatic weapons at a Serbian police vehicle from an ambush. Several kilometres further from the scene of this ambush, terrorists attacked police reinforcements in a four-wheel-drive Lada Niva, killing two policemen and wounding two. Soon after, at around 2 p.m. local time, members of the Interior Ministry special unit rescued the wounded policemen and went in pursuit of the terrorists. Terrorists withdrew after their operation in the direction of the village of Gladno Selo, firing at the security forces. Three terrorists were killed and three wounded at this point (supporters took away with them two dead and the wounded, living behind the remains of one killed terrorist). Terrorists put up fierce resistance for several hours while withdrawing in the direction of the villages of Poljanice, Chirez and Gradica, where the fighting continued. At dusk on the same day, terrorists attacked the security forces, who took prisoner three ethnic Albanians in camouflage fatigues and armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades. Five terrorists were killed in the clash. A vehicle marked "humanitarian aid," which was used to supply terrorists with arms and ammunition, was found in the village of Vrbovac and terrorists were arrested. On the night of February 28 - March 1, one policeman was wounded in fierce clashes. He succumbed to the wounds. Terrorists opened fire at a police helicopter from a portable rocket launcher and automatic weapons, killing one policeman and wounding one. On March 1, the police broke up a gang of terrorists who fled in the direction of the village of Poljance, sporadically opening fire. Several days later, at dawn on March 5, terrorists attacked a police patrol in the village of Lausa, wounding two policemen. The clash spread in the direction of the villages of Donji Prekaz and Gornji Prekaz, from which women, children and the aged were evacuated. Terrorists were forced to break up into smaller groups and they pulled back into the nearby forests, taking with them the dead and wounded. Two policemen were killed and four wounded that day in the villages of Gornje Prekaze and Donje Prekaze. Twenty terrorists were killed, eight * who were in a well camouflaged bunker * surrendered. Three large bunkers, which had been used as shelters, were discovered. Two were stocked with medical supplies and one, packed with ammunition, weapons and explosives, had served as a command base. On March 6, terrorist leaders Adem Jasari (43), and Redzep Seljami (29), were killed. Jasari and Seljami had been sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison each. After the operation, some of the terrorists withdrew towards the Klina and Djakovica municipalities along the border towards Albania, the Belgrade daily Politika said. [03] UN SECURITY COUNCIL FAILS TO AGREE ON A STATEMENT ON KOSOVOTanjug, 1998-03-10After two-hour closed-door consultations about the developments in Kosovo late on Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council failed to agree and adopt a press release, as China opposed any U.N. action at the moment, determined that Kosovo is Yugoslavia's internal issue. Following a British Ambassador to the United Nations John Weston report on the Tuesday 'Contact group' meeting in London, the U.N. Security Council decided not to make a press release because of different stands on whether it was necessary at all. After the consultations, Weston told reporters that Great Britain had proposed that a press release be made stressing Security Council's concern about the latest developments in Kosovo and Metohija and that one Security Council member had opposed this proposal. Chinese representative Rangeng Chen presented a different picture of the atmosphere at the Security Council, saying that many different stands had been expressed at the consultations. The key question that was posed was whether any statement on the British report should be made. Rangeng said that China considered as the most important the observation of the principle of non-interference in sovereign countries' internal affairs and that it believed that the developments in Kosovo and Metohija were an internal affair of Serbia and Yugoslavia. Rangeng said that China was firmly committed to the observation of this principle and that it did not wish the United Nations to make any precedents in this sphere. Rangeng said that the question had been posed of what the statement should contain should it be decided that it be released. Security Council circles said that some non-permanent Security Council members also insisted on the observation of the principle of sovereignty and integrity. [04] LAVROV: 'CONTACT GROUP' CONDEMNATION OF TERRORISM IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA IS VITALTanjug, 1998-03-11Russia's U.N. Ambassador Sergei Lavrov has described as vital the condemnation of terrorism in Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija by the 'Contact group' at a meeting in London on Monday. Addressing reporters before consultations at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday afternoon, Lavrov said Russia's stand was that the issue of Kosovo and Metohija must be resolved through a dialogue. He said he hoped that diplomatic efforts in that direction would be stepped up in the days to come. Asked if the Security Council planned to adopt a resolution on an arms ban, Lavrov said no such resolution was in the offing. He said the London talks exclusively concerned the blocking of arms supplies to ethnic Albanian terrorists and separatists in the province. [05] RUSSIA IS OPPOSED TO ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONSTanjug, 1998-03-10Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov told the press on Tuesday, in Moscow, that his country was against the imposition of fresh sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Putting an end to terrorist actions of ethnic Albanians is the basic condition for calming the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo- Metohija, Primakov said. Russia is deeply concerned over the arms deliveries to the separatists in Kosovo by some countries, Primakov added. It is no secret that separatists and terrorists in Kosovo are receiving foreign assistance, Primakov said and added that his counterparts and high officials of many countries were aware of this. In the present situation it would be wrong to punish Belgrade, this would not help stabilize the situation, Primakov said and added that actions should be well-planned and balanced in order to prevent the situation getting out of control. Primakov appealed for speedy initiation of a dialogue between Serbian authorities and representatives of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. [06] GELBARD: FUTURE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA LIES WITHIN YUGOSLAV BORDERSTanjug, 1998-03-11U.S. special envoy for the Balkans said on Tuesday his country's stand was that the future of Serbia's province of Kosovo and Metohija lay within the Yugoslav borders. Gelbard was speaking at a news conference in Pristina, centre of the province, after meeting with ethnic Albanian leaders Ibrahim Rugova and Mahmut Bakali. Gelbard met also with leaders of ethnic Albanian students and visited the Albanian-language 'Koha Ditore' newspaper. Commenting on his visit to Pristina, Gelbard said fear was evident in the case of both ethnic Albanians as well as Serbs. He said the fear must be eliminated and people enabled to live in peace and freedom, saying all must make an effort to achieve the goal. He said the United States were ready to help achieve the goal, but said its achievement depended on Yugoslav authorities and ethnic Albanians. He ruled out the possibility of his country backing Rugova's stand on independence of the province. He said Washington would back all democratic leaders urging democratic ideas and non-violent methods of achieving goals, adding that what his country backed was unconditional dialogue. He said his country's stand was that the status of Kosovo and Metohija should be improved and that the province should be granted broader autonomy. He said, however, that parties to the dialogue should have a final say in the matter and not the United States. Yugoslavia must ease tensions in the province and take steps to build confidence in order to find a political solution to the issues through a dialogue, he said. He said immediate steps must be taken to implement the Education Agreement. He declined to comment in detail on his meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade late on Monday. He said what was essential was to establish trust in Kosovo and Metohija and create a possibility of solving the issues immediately. [07] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR VISITS MONTENEGRIN CAPITALTanjug, 1998-03-10The Israeli Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia David Sasson visited on Tuesday the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, where he held separate meetings with Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic, Foreign Minister Branko Perovic and Minister of Education and Science Dragan Kujovic. Sasson and Vujanovic expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between Israel and Montenegro and pointed to the great prospects for its future development, especially in the fields of health and tourism. Sasson and Perovic discussed the situation in the region, with a special emphasis on the developments in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo- Metohija. The Ambassador and Kujovic discussed plans for the reform of the education sector in Montenegro and Yugoslavia. Sasson invited the Montenegrin minister to visit Israel and get acquainted with the organization of its education system. [08] PRESIDENT OF MONTENEGRO M.DJUKANOVIC RECEIVED THE ISRAELI AMBASSADORTanjug, 1998-03-10Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic received in Podgorica on Tuesday Israeli Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia David Sasson. A statement from the Presidential Cabinet quoted the two sides as saying that there was great potential for and mutual interest in strengthening economic cooperation between Montenegro and Israel, primarily in tourism, health, culture and education. Djukanovic said that Montenegro was greatly interested in attracting foreign investment, in order to put into operation its numerous infrastructure development projects and promote privatisation. He noted that this Yugoslav republic had laws designed to stimulate foreign investment. In the context of the political situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Djukanovic and Sasson discussed developments in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo-Metohija. [09] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL RECEIVES SOUTH AFRICAN AMBASSADORTanjug, 1998-03-10Head of the Yugoslav Parliament Lower House Foreign Relations Committee Ljubisa Ristic received on Tuesday South African Ambassador in Belgrade Tim Masek, at the Ambassador's request. In an open and substantive talk, the two officials stressed the two countries' wish and need for a considerable promotion of cooperation and the stepping up of contacts, especially in the sphere of economy, education, culture and sports, following the setting up of diplomatic relations, a statement issued by the Yugoslav Parliament Press Section said. South Africa is especially interested in new technologies and the promotion of agricultural production as well as in the training of experts and personnel in certain fields, the statement said. It is also interested in the cultural and sports exchange and promotion of parliamentary cooperation, it said. The two officials also discussed issues pertaining a meeting of the non- aligned countries in September to which both sides attach great attention and which is regarded to be of crucial importance to all third world countries, the statement said. South Africa will back Yugoslavia's participation in the meeting because this will benefit both the country itself, which is one of the founders of the movement and the only European country in it, as well as the movement, the statement said. [10] KOSOVO IS HOLY LAND OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE BALKANSTanjug, 1998-03-10The French daily Le Monde published on Tuesday historical facts about the province of Kosovo and Metohija and facts about its importance for Serbia in an article entitled "Holy Land of the Orthodox Church in the Balkans." The author of the article, Henri Tincq, sets out that the first Serbian state was created in Kosovo in the 9th century, and that it was in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 that Serbia had lost its independence in the Middle Ages. He quoted Jean-Francois Colossimo of the Saint-Serge Orthodox Institute in Paris as saying that the wound was still open and every Serb thought of the Battle of Kosovo as of a recent event. Le Monde underlined that many Serbian churches and monasteries were located in Kosovo and Metohija, "the holy Orthodox land in the Balkans," which it said was now predominantly populated by ethnic Albanians. "Imagine the holy places such as Chartres, Vezelay, Lourdes or Mont-Saint Michel being all in a single district of which 90% is populated by Muslims and you will understand why Kosovo is an ethnic and religious powder-keg," Le Monde set out. It specified that the old Patriarchate of the Serbian Orthodox Church was in the town of Pec in Kosovo and Metohija and that "ethnic Albanian terrorists torched a monastery of the old Pec Patriarchate on March 16, 1981." "Kosovo is for Serbia what Jerusalem is for Jews and the Calvary for Christians," Le Monde quoted a Yugoslav author as saying. The Paris daily stressed that "antagonisms started only in the 15th century, when Albanians, who embraced Islam under the Turks, started moving in large numbers to Serbia, i.e., Kosovo." It specified that Albanians moved in after every Serb migration, in 1688, 1738, and 1766. Le Monde included the speech of the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo among the events in the more recent history it covered. It quoted a Serbian priest as saying in 1982, "The Serbian people has been fighting the Battle of Kosovo since 1389. Kosovo is our memory, our hearth, the flame of our being." [11] YUGOSLAV STATISTICS BUREAU: TWO-MONTH EXPORTS RISE BY 10%Tanjug, 1998-03-10Yugoslavia's exports, which reached the value of 346 million dollars in the first two months of this year, increased by 10% in comparison with the same period of 1997 and the country's imports, worth 777 million dollars, rose by 7.3%, Director of the Federal Statistics Bureau Milovan Zivkovic told Tanjug on Monday. The planned degree of increase of exports has not been registered yet, but Zivkovic said that this was frequent in the first quarter. The withdrawal of the E.U. trade preferences has some bearing on this since the price of Yugoslavia's key products, such as textile, footwear and agricultural produce, went up by 9-21% on the E.U. market due to the restored tariffs. The value of Yugoslavia's two-month trade with more than 100 countries amounted to 1.123 billion dollars and the country's foreign trade deficit to 431 million dollars, the statistics said. Yugoslavia traded the most with industrialised countries (530 million dollars), transition countries (464 million dollars) and developing countries (130 million dollars). The biggest value of Yugoslav exports was registered in the countries in transition (168 million dollars) and Yugoslavia's biggest purchases in industrialised countries (371 million dollars). Yugoslavia still trades the most with European countries, primarily Italy, Russia, Germany and Macedonia. According to the value of goods, Yugoslavia imported the most from the Russian Federation (125 million dollars) and exported to the Republika Srpska (79 million dollars). The Republika Srpska has become one of Yugoslavia's most important trade partners, with the total value of trade in the first two months of this year amounting to 110 million dollars, Zivkovic said. As for the groups of products, Yugoslavia's most exported products were cereals, medical and pharmaceutical products, non-ferrous metals, steel and iron, cork and wood products, yarn, fabrics and textile. The country's most imported products were oil and oil derivatives, natural gas, fruit and vegetables, coffee, tea, cocoa and spices, yarn, fabrics and textile products and mineral ores. Raw materials and intermediates accounted for 62.1% of Yugoslavia's imports, which should result in a growth of exports. In February, Yugoslav companies exported goods worth 1.67 million dollars, which was a 3.5% improvement in comparison with January and 4.4% improvement in comparison with February 1997. [12] BELGRADE UNIVERSITY DELEGATION VISITS BONNTanjug, 1998-03-10A delegation of the Belgrade University headed by Rector Dragan Kuburovic and the Dean of the School of Philology Slobodan Grubacic is paying an official visit to Bonn at the invitation of the German Rectors' Conference. The BU delegation and its hosts will discuss the renewal of the Protocol on direct cooperation between the Belgrade University and the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Humboldt Foundation. Talks on resuming cooperation will also be held with the German student exchange agency and the Technical University of Hannover. [13] EXHIBITION OF SERB ICONS MARKING 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF CHELANDARITanjug, 1998-03-10An exhibition of copies of icons from the Chelandari monastery by Hranislav Mirkovic, has opened in the Czech National Museum in Prague to mark the 800th anniversary of this Serb monastery. The exhibition was opened by Deputy Serbian Science Minister Vladimir Davidovic, who is also the Secretary of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences. Yugoslav Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Djoko Stojicic, told the opening ceremony that Chelandari "is a synonym of the survival of the Serb people, and has always been the hearth of the Serb historical existence." The opening was attended by numerous guests including ambassadors from Russia, China, Greece, the Belarus, Cyprus and Ghana, and other members of the diplomatic corps, cultural and public personages and Yugoslavs living in Prague. [14] FINANCE MINISTER BULAJIC: VAT FOR FASTER INCLUSION INTO INTEGRATION PROCESSESTanjug, 1998-03-10The adoption of a Law on Value Added Tax (VAT) should enable Yugoslavia to implement more efficiently its macroeconomic and stabilization policy and to join the European integration processes under equal conditions, Federal Finance Minister Miodrag Bulajic has told Tanjug. Bulajic set out that the Federal Government recently adopted a draft proposal of the necessary measures and activities for the implementation of VAT. He said that the introduction of VAT should be at federal level with the aim of eliminating the complex tax calculations and reducing administration costs. Bulajic recalled that VAT, which has been in force for several decades in the European Union, is a tax system aiming at eliminating the need for a grey economy, stimulating foreign investments in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and enabling "equal tax treatment and security to all economic subjects in the territory of FRY." The VAT law should be adopted in mid-1998, but its implementation is expected in 2000 since it is necessary to change several laws, Bulajic said. He added that it is also necessary to create stable social and economic conditions in the country, as the "experiences so far show that the introduction of VAT in countries with an unstable economy, had resulted in an inflation rise." To avoid such inflation effects, it is necessary to apply a restrictive monetary policy and focus on the liquidity of the economic subjects, Bulajic said. According to him, international financial aid would be needed if possible. He set out that of special importance is the adoption of measures which would secure the stability of prices. These measures would either freeze prices of all products and services, or of a certain number of them, for a brief period in the year when VAT is introduced, or control prices as in Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Norway and Great Britain. [15] UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE THANKS YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT FOR COOPERATIONTanjug, 1998-03-10After spending five and a half years as the UNICEF special representative in Yugoslavia, Thomas MacDermot will take new office in the world organisation in late March. On this occasion, he sent a letter to Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic, expressing gratitude for cooperation which UNICEF had on all government levels. A Yugoslav Government statement quoted MacDermot as saying that he was specially pleased with the promotion of services for the children and supporting the Yugoslav Government in its work with the young as the most important investment a government can make for the future of its people. Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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