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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-04-07Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Yugoslav Daily SurveyCONTENTS
[01] SERBIAN PRESIDENT TO ATTEND TALKS IN PRISTINATanjug, 1998-04-06Due to the importance of talks with ethnic Albanian representatives, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic has decided to attend a dialogue to be held at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Tuesday, the Serbian Presidential Office said in a statement on Monday. [02] TERRORISTS KILL SIX ETHNIC ALBANIANS IN KOSOVO-METOHIJATanjug, 1998-04-06Six ethnic Albanians were found dead on the Malisevo-Orahovac road near the village of Carevac in Kosovo-Metohija early Monday morning. According to unofficial reports, Salji Berisa, Bajram Berisa, Fadilj Zogaj, Ramadan Zogaj, Brahim Zogaj and Brahim Suljaj were shot dead from an automatic weapon. The victims, who went missing on April 3 were presumbaly killed elsewhere as no traces of blood were found at the site. No official report on the crime was released. Salji Berisa owned a gas station Naser Petrol in the village of Kijevo in the Klina district. He and his brother Bajram were next-door neighbors of Serbian Djordje Belic, who was murdered in January. Belic's wife used the phone at Berisa's gas station to call the police. The Zogajs and Brahim Suljaj came from the village of Iglarevo. "The Kosovo Information Centre", run by the ethnic Albanian Democratic League of Kosovo (DSK) party led by Ibrahim Rugova, tried to minimize the severity of the crime in a statement issued on Monday, claiming that the site where the victims had been found was "used by the Yugoslav army." No military facilities have ever been located in this place. Local residents said they did not know the victims. The remaining terrorists in Drenica on Monday launched three attacks on a police check point near the village of Josanica and another one in the vilalge of Brocna. The terrorists opened sniper and automatic gunfire at the police. No one was hurt in the attacks. [03] DIALOGUE WITH ETHNIC ALBANIAN REPRESENTATIVES SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAYTanjug, 1998-04-06The Serbian Government has again invited ethnic Albanian political representatives in Kosovo and Metohija to open and unconditional talks in Pristina on Tuesday on the resolution of all questions outstanding. This invitation, like all previous ones since March 10, demonstrates the Government's openness to a negotiated settlement of all issues connected with the realisation of civil and human rights in Kosovo and Metohija, but ethnic Albanian leaders continue to ignore all possibilities for resolving the issues through talks. According to announcements arriving from Democratic Alliance of Kosovo leader Ibrahim Rugova, his side will refuse the Tuesday meeting with Serbian Government and Parliament representatives and Yugoslav President's Special Envoy Vladan Kutlesic. [04] CHINESE MEDIA CARRY MILOSEVIC'S PROPOSAL TO CALL REFERENDUM IN SERBIATanjug, 1998-04-06China's leading dailies and state radio and television have carried Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's proposal to call a referendum in Serbia on whether to accept foreign mediation in solving the Kosovo and Metohija issue. In an extensive report from Belgrade, the renowned Peking daily Guangming Ribao quoted excerpts from Milosevic's letter in which he stated that issues in Kosovo and Metohija were Serbia's internal affairs and that Yugoslav leaders did not accept foreign mediation because these were fundamental issues that concerned the preservation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The daily said despite unceasing pressure by Western countries, Yugoslavia's firm position was that former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez could only be accepted as a representative of the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in talks on the promotion of relations with the two organisations but not as a representative for Kosovo. In its regular weekly selection of major positions and articles carried by Chinese media, the English-language China Daily carried key excerpts from a commentary, the most analytical yet on issues in Kosovo and Metohija, published recently by China's weekly Liaowang. Stating in its headline that the United States should not interfere in the Kosovo crisis, the daily carried excerpts stating that foreign interference, sanctions or threats with military intervention could only further deteriorate the situation in Serbia's southern province. The daily said the United States was a self-appointed guardian of international peace, saying Washington used issues in Kosovo and Metohija as an excuse to prolong its military presence in the Balkans. [05] ETHNIC ALBANIAN LEADER APPOINTS TEAM FOR TALKS, SETS NO DATETanjug, 1998-04-06President of the Kosovo Democratic Alliance (DSK) Ibrahim Rugova has appointed a four-member negotiating team for talks with Serbian Government and Parliament representatives on resolving the problems in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo-Metohija. The four team members are Fehmi Agani, former DSK Vice-President, Mahmut Bakali, former high communist official, Veton Suroi, owner and Editor-in- Chief of the Pristina Albanian-language daily Koha Ditore, and Pajazit Nusi, President of the Kosovo Committee for human rights and freedoms. Rugova did not, however, set the date when his team will come to the talks which he still insists should be held with foreign mediation. [06] TOMIC DESCRIBES TODAY'S PARLIAMENT SESSION AS POSITIVE "AGAINST".Tanjug, 1998-04-06Serbian Parliament President Dragan Tomic told Radio Belgrade that the Assembly session had gone well so far on Monday. Explaining the adopted Amendments to the Law on Referendum, Tomic said the law specified that there could be a "tighter deadline for holding a referendum...of at least 30 and up to 90 days." He said that sometimes it was necessary to allow citizens to get better acquainted with a given proposal, such as, for instance, if state signs are the issue. Tomic explained that the current minimum deadline was 15 days, and the maximum 90 days, giving a period of up to two and a half months, which he said was quite the usual thing. Tomic said Parliament could determine the length of the deadline "according to the requirements or urgency of answering an issue." He said the other Amendment concerned Article 20, which determined that all questions should be answered with "FOR" or Under the adopted Amendment, questions should either be formulated so as to require an answer of "FOR" or "AGAINST", or there should be several possible answers which clearly show the stand of a citizen, Tomic said. He said the new amendment provided "a more flexible possibility to give an answer more suited to the question and its nature. The amended law is effective on the day of its announcement. If it is adopted today, it will be valid already as of Tuesday, Tomic said. [07] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT PROPOSES REFERENDUM ON APRIL 23Tanjug, 1998-04-06The Serbian Government on Monday submitted to the Republican Parliament a draft decision on a referendum on foreign mediation in the resolution of problems in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija. Under the proposal, the referendum, at which the citizens will decide whether they will accept foreign mediation in the resolution of problems in Kosovo and Metohija or not, will be held between 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) and 8 p.m. on April 23. Under the draft, funds for the referendum will be set aside from the Republican Budget. The Government said that the referendum was the "right way for a direct expression of the citizens' will and affirmation of the constitutional principle of national sovereignty." The Serbian Parliament should decide on the proposal on Tuesday. [08] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS AMENDMENT TO LAW ON REFERENDUMTanjug, 1998-04-06The Serbian Parliament adopted through summary proceedings on Monday an Amendment to the Law on Referendum and national initiative envisaging that a referendum can be held 15 days after a call to this effect. Under the Amendment, which Parliament adopted at the second meeting of its spring session, a referendum can be held 15 days after a call to this effect at the earliest and 90 days at the latest. Initially, it was possible to hold a referendum only after the expiry of a 30-day period. Furthermore, answers provided for by the Amendment include also 'yes' and 'no' in addition to 'for' and 'against.' Of the 250 deputies, 205 voted for the Amendment, nine voted against, while eight did not vote at all. Parliament resumes session on Tuesday. [09] YUGOSLAVIA, EGYPT TO RENEW PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATIONTanjug, 1998-04-06Head of the Egyptian Parliament Foreign Relations Committee Mohammed Abdellah received on Monday Yugoslavia's Charge d'Affaires in Cairo Vladimir Nesic. Nesic conveyed Yugoslav Parliament Upper House speaker Srdja Bozovic and Lower House Speaker Milomir Minic's message to Egyptian Parliament Speaker Fathi Sorur, a statement issued by the Yugoslav Parliament press section said. The talks dealt also with the renewal of parliamentary cooperation between the two friendly countries and efforts by Serbia and Yugoslavia to stabilise the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, the statement said. [10] YUGOSLAV, SERBIAN OFFICIALS RECEIVE GAZPROM DELEGATIONTanjug, 1998-04-06Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic and Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic on Monday received a delegation of GAZPROM, the world's biggest natural gas manufacturer, led by Youri Komarov. The Serbian Ministry of Information said in a statement that the meeting focused on an implementation of a barter arrangement on gas, especially pertaining to construction works contracted as part of the deal by Yugoslav companies in Russia, as well as to an export of Yugoslav agricultural produce to Russia. To this effect, the two sides on Monday signed a three-year agreement that secures the export of Yugoslav agricultural produce to Russia worth U.S. dollars 80 million a year. The agreement, which supplies Moscow with Yugoslav agricultural produce within the barter arrangement on the import of Russian gas to Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav export to Russia, calls for the export of Yugoslav meat, butter, cooking oil, confenctionery, canned fruit and vegetables to the Russian market, the statement said. [11] YUGOSLAVIA, NAMIBIA DISCUSS ESTABLISHMENT OF ECONOMIC COOPERATIONTanjug, 1998-04-06A Namibian business delegation headed by Minister of Energy and Mining Andimba Toivo Ya Toiva visited Montenegrin capital Podgorica on Monday. The delegation was received by Yugoslav Minister of the Economy Rade Filipovic and Montenegrin Ministers of Industry and Energy Miodrag Gomilanovic and of Agriculture Milutin Simovic. The talks focused on the restoration of overall bilateral relations which would pave the way for establishing economic cooperation that would benefit both countries. The participation of Montenegrin companies in power and agricultural projects in Namibia was one of the main topics of the talks. The Namibian delegation visited the marble plant Mermer in Danilovgrad and the hydro-power plant Perucica near Niksic. [12] MORINA TALKS WITH DIENSTBIERTanjug, 1998-04-06Serbian Commissioner for Refugees Bratislava Morina received on Monday U.N. Special Envoy for Human Rights Jiri Dienstbier, the Commissariat for Refugees said. Morina informed Dienstbier that refugees in FR Yugoslavia have the same rights as the rest of the population, and that their rights to work, education and social protection were asserted. The Commissioner for refugees underlined however that she was not satisfied with the realization of the rights of refugees to return, to disposing with or compensation for property, which are guaranteed by a series of international accords signed by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Morina pointed out that Croatia was not fully implementing international and bilateral accords, and called on Dienstbier to place pressure of Croatia to honor them. Jiri Dienstbier made assurances that he as the Special Envoy for Human Rights will urge an objective approach to issues relating to the violation of these rights in all the republics of the former Yugoslavia, and emphasized that continued efforts were needed to improve respect for human rights. [13] STOJILJKOVIC RECEIVES U.N. REPRESENTATIVESTanjug, 1998-04-06Serbian Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic received Special Rapporteur of the U.N. Human Rights Commission Jirzi Dinstbir and the U.N. Commission Belgrade Office Chief Barbara Davis, the Ministry's Press Service said on Monday. The Ministry statement said the talks covered the promotion of cooperation between this Interior Ministry and the U.N. Agency's Office and the need for more objective reporting. [14] JOVANOVIC RECEIVES DINSTBIRTanjug, 1998-04-06Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic has received Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights issues in former Yugoslavia Jirzi Dinstbir, who is on a several days' long working visit to Yugoslavia. Dinstbir, former Czechoslovakian Foreign Minister, succeeded Elizabeth Rehn in his current term in office on March 13 this year. During the talks, the sides assessed as positive the cooperation so far between the respective Yugoslav organs and institutions of the U.N. High Commissioner for human rights, in particular with the Belgrade Office of this U.N. Agency. The officials underscored the importance of an open and objective approach to all issues on which depend the comprehensive and constructuve presentation of the situation and trends in the area of human rights. Both sides expressed readiness to continue and develop the present cooperation. Barbara Davis, the head of the Belgrade Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, also took part in the talks, the statement said. Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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