Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-04-09

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] GUINEAN AMBASSADOR PAYS FAREWELL VISIT

[02] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE'S REPORT 1992).

[03] OGATA MEETS SERB DELEGATION IN VUKOVAR

[04] OGATA'S VISIT TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[05] OSCE TROIKA DISCUSSES KOSOVO-METOHIJA IN WARSAW

[06] CROATIA*RECORD UPTURN IN MUTUAL TRADE

[07] "INDEPENDENT KOSOVO" IS CHIEF PLANK IN ETHNIC ALBANIANS' PLATFORM

[08] MACEDONIA*SESSION OF THE COMMISSION FOR BORDER DEMARCATION

[09] SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA UNACCEPTABLE FOR RUSSIA

[10] HUNGARY*CUSTOMS SERVICES COOPERATION

[11] YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF RECEIVES GERMAN AMBASSADOR

[12] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT RECEIVES IRISH AMBASSADOR'S CREDENTIALS

[13] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT RECEIVES SRI LANKAN AMBASSADOR'S CREDENTIALS

[01] GUINEAN AMBASSADOR PAYS FAREWELL VISIT

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Lilic on Wednesday received Guinean Ambassador to Yugoslavia Alexandre Cece Loua in a farewell visit.

The Yugoslav Government said in a statement that in a long and friendly meeting, both sides had expressed satisfaction with the promotion of the cooperation process between Yugoslavia and Guinea, both in the field of politics and economy.

[02] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE'S REPORT 1992).

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

The preparations of Muslims and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina for secession from the former Yugoslavia were organized and coordinated, and the genocide over Serbs in Sarajevo was organized, massive and conducted with the knowledge of Alija Izetbegovic, said the latest ninth report of the Yugoslav Government Committee for collecting information about crimes against humanity and international law sent to the Hague Tribunal.

The report gives evidence of cooperation between Muslims and Croats, recalling that they made political and military preparations for the forcible secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the SFRY, which ran contrary to the constitutional amendments of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 that banned political organizing and activities directed against the territorial integrity of the SFRY.

That is how the Muslim Party of Democratic Action (SDA) formed, back in April 1991, the Patriotic League as its military wing. Izetbegovic stated on December 14, 1994. for the newspaper "Ljiljan" that an "assembly of reponsible individuals" formed the National Defense Council which headed the Patriotic League.

The political headquarters of the Patriotic League was led by Omer Behmen and Ejup Ganic, and the military by Sefer Halilovic, who cooperated closely with Alija Izetbegovic.

At the head of the National Defense Council was Alija Izetbegovic, and its members were Ejup Ganic, Rusmir Mahmutcehajic, Haris Silajdzic, Muhamed Cengic, Salem Sabic and Sulejman Ugljanin.

As early as the beginning of the summer of 1991 the Patriotic League organized in the region of Mostar and in Herzegovina the secret arming of Muslims, in coordination with an illegal military organization in Citluk run by a group of Herzegovina Croats.

The arming of the Muslim

Croat side covered, by the fall of 1991, all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and weapnas arrived through different channels, mostly from Croatia.

To that end, the Patriotic League started sending Muslims for training in Croatian police centers in Kumrovec, Lucko and Rakitje. from the fall of 1991 it also started to assemble Muslim strategic personnel who had deserted the legal armed forces of the SFRY, and in the period from April to September the same year groups of young men were sent to Libya for terrorist training.

Under the military wing of the Patriotic Legaue operated "green berets", volunteer mudjahedeen units, special logistic, paramedic and other units, the military organization Bosnia, headed by notorious prewar criminals (Jusuf - Juka Prazina, Ramiz Delajic). By the time wear broke out, the Patriotic League had 98,000 organized troops.

Besides setting up illegal, paramilitary units within the Patriotic League, the Musilm * Croat side in Bosnia and Herzegovina appointed as chief of police Alija Delimustafic, while the head of national security in Sarajevo was Munir Alibabic, the Deputy Minister for Security was Jusuf Pusina and the Deputy Minister of Police Avdo Hebib.

In the second half of 1991, through the intermediary of a private firm in Sarajevo, the SDA party collected in a fraudulent scheme from citizens around six million Deutch marks, under the guise of car payments, for what it later bought arms in Slovenia.

The Muslim * Croat side thus made thorough preparations for secession from the SFRY, even before the referendum on the secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the SFRY (February 29 and March 1, 1992), in which Serbs did not take part, and the international recognition of Bosnia and Herzegoviona (April 6,

At a meeting of the military regional leadership and members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 20, 1992 in Sarajevo, the regional command representative pointed to information about the formation of a military region and that it was the Army's duty to defend the state of the SFRY, to what Izetbegovic responded that he did not accept Yugoslavia "because it does not exist anymore."

The "incident" that occured on March 1, 1992, when Ramiz Delalic Celo killed in a wedding procession in the old town of Sarajevo the bridesgroom's father Nikola Gardovic, was used by the Muslim side as pretext to start distributing arms to Muslims.

The Committee's report said there are reliable witnesses who can testify that in the night between March 3 and 4, 1992, a massacre of Serbs was planned to take place in Sarajevo. When the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) Command in Sarajevo informed Izetbegovic that they knew about the plan, on the same evening Izetbegovic, Radovan Karadzic and General Kukanjac called on the population over television to maintain peace and order.

Soon afterwards, on April 15, 1992, in the name of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all municipal and district territorial defense headquarters received orders to attack JNA and its military facilities. The order, signed by Territorial Defense Commander Hasan Efendic, instead of Izetbegovic, said: "Immediately seize arms and ammunition depots and blockade army barracks, seize them and take prisoner Yugoslav Army troops in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

In an attempt to avoid further tensions, SFRY representatives Branko Kostic and general Blagoje Adzic agreed with Izetbegovic in Skoplje on April 22, 1992 on the peaceful departure of JNA from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Izetbegovic signed on May 2, 1992 in Lisabon the so-called Cutillero peace plan, but on return to Sarajevo rejected it and attacks were launched on the same day on the JNA House, the Regional Command building and the army barracks Marshal Tito, Viktor Bubanj and Jusuf Djonlic.

After that, Muslim military formations and groups, led by notorious criminals as Juka Prazina, Ismet Bajramovic Celo, Musan Topalovic Caco, Samir Kahfedzic Krusko, Ismet Kadzic and Ramiz Delalic Celo targeted only Serbs.

According to evidence at the disposal of the Committee, there were in Sarajevo 52 military and police headquarters with camps, where approximately 7,000 Serbs were killed during the war.

The public was informed about the crimes over Serbs in Sarajevo and other places first hand over Sarajevo television, which became the main propagator of the policy of genocide over Serbs.

[03] OGATA MEETS SERB DELEGATION IN VUKOVAR

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata met a delegation of Serb leaders, led by President of the Joint Council of Municipalities Milos Vojnovic, in Vukovar on Wednesday.

Vojnovic said after the closed-door meeting that he had an impression that Ogata and her associates knew very well the situation concerning Serb refugees.

He said the Serb delegation had pointed out to an ongoing inequality in the treatment of refugees of different nationalities. Vojnovic said that he was mainly referring to a series of regulations, which promoted that discriminatory state of affairs.

He also said he found Croatian Government's actions, such as abolishing the laws on temporary administration of abandoned property and renting of apartments, insignificant at this point, because they did not annul the consequences produced by these laws nor did they settle other vital repatriation-related issues.

[04] OGATA'S VISIT TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata said on Wednesday that her two-week visit to the entire region of the former Yugoslavia was basically aimed at negotiating with former Yugoslav republics' Government officials an agreement on a repatriation of about 1.4 million refugees.

Ogata, who arrived on a visit to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Wednesday, told a news conference in Novi Sad that she had named local singer Djordje Balasevic UNHCR Ambassador of good will to the former Yugoslavia. She said she was happy to welcome Balasevic as an Ambassador of good will, as this important office would enable him to continue promoting peace and friendship in the entire region on behalf of the UNHCR.

Ogata said her new special envoy to the former Yugoslavia Nicholas Morris, who also attended the news conference, would have two key tasks.

The first task will be to promote repatriation, especially a massive return of minorities to Bosnia-Herzegovina, while regional approach will be the second task, Ogata said. She recalled that there was a total of more than 700,000 refugees in all former Yugoslav countries, which necessitated an adequate solution for all of them.

She said that this was not something that could be accomplished overnight, but hoped that the issue would be settled in time.

Ogata said that about 280,000 refugees were now accomodated in Vojvodina, accounting for the largest refugee population in the region. She added that efforts were currently being made to establish the exact number of those wishing to return.

[05] OSCE TROIKA DISCUSSES KOSOVO-METOHIJA IN WARSAW

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Bronislaw Geremek said that the OSCE Troika meeting Wednesday in Warsaw focused on the conflict in (Serbia's southern province of) osovo-Metohija and recommended dialogue as a means of resolving the problem.

The Troika, comprising the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Denmark and Norway (present, last and next OSCE chairmen), recommended preventive dilomacy for resolving the conflict, Geremek said. Geremek said at a press conference following the meeting that there was still time for the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to accept OSCE proposals.

The Troika urged the Yugoslav authorities to accept the mission of the OSCE and European Union representative Felipe Gonzalez to monitor democratic processes in Yugoslavia and study the conditions for its membership in the OSCE.

A statement issued by the Troika - Geremek, Niels Helveg Petersen and Knut Volebek - urges the Yugoslav authorities to allow the reinstatement of the OSCE missions in Yugoslavia.

The Troika also pointed to the need for initiating unconditional dialogue between the Belgrade authorities and representatives of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, Geremek said and noted that the dialogue should be based on the respect of Yugoslavia's state integrity and on refraining from any terrorist actions.

Underlining that OSCE wanted the best solution to be found for Yugoslavia, Geremek said the Troika urged Yugoslavia to accept international presence as a pre-condition for OSCE membership.

The meeting in Warsaw was attended also by OSCE Sscretary General Giancarlo Aragona, High Commissioner for National Minorities Max van der Stoel and President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Javier Ruperez.

[06] CROATIA*RECORD UPTURN IN MUTUAL TRADE

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

The Yugoslav Commission for the stimulation of trade and financial-banking cooperation and the establishment of payment operations and the Croatian Government's coordinating team for talks on economic relations with Yugoslavia held a session in Belgrade on Wednesday.

The session was chaired by Yugoslav Assistant Foreign Trade Minister Miodrag Bogdanovic and Croatian Assistant Foreign Minister Spomenka Cek.

The two sides established that trade between the two countries was on the upturn, but still far below the actual possibilities, a joint statement said.

With a view to stepping up the growth of the bilateral trade, the two sides decided to initiate that a meeting of representatives of the two countries' Chambers of Commerce and bank associations be held as soon as possible.

The two delegations agreed on the text of a trade agreement, creating conditions for the agreement to be signed soon and legal foundations to be established for an increase in the bilateral trade.

The two delegations discussed the stimulation and protection of investments, the avoidance of dual taxation, the linking of the electrical-power systems, the coordination of frequencies and in general regulation of radio broadcasting, the international automobile insurance, the so-called green card, the protection of plants, cooperation in the veterinary science and in the water-resources industry.

The two sides also discussed transportation, the protection of the human environment and intellectual property. They agreed that the competent authorities of the two countries resume work on the matters initiated at the meeting in Belgrade on Wednesday, according to the joint statement.

[07] "INDEPENDENT KOSOVO" IS CHIEF PLANK IN ETHNIC ALBANIANS' PLATFORM

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

The ethnic Albanian negotiating team appointed by Ibrahim Rugova for talks with the Serbian government outlined on Wednesday a platform for the talks, a spokesman said.

Spokesman Blerim Shala said that the ethnic Albanian side to the talks "with the Yugoslav representatives" would insist on "the creation of an independent Kosovo."

Shala told reporters that the platform would shortly be reviewed by the competent bodies of the phantom "Republic of Kosovo," so that the negotiating team should be constrained to advocate it.

[08] MACEDONIA*SESSION OF THE COMMISSION FOR BORDER DEMARCATION

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

The seventh session of the Yugoslav-Macedonian diplomatic and expert Commission for border demarcation was held from April 6 to 8 in Belgrade. The Commission discussed several documents regarding the demarcation of the border between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia at specific points regarding which negotiations are still underway.

Both sides noted that progress had been made in the negotiations, and agreed to hold the next session of the commission by the end of April in Skoplje, Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

[09] SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA UNACCEPTABLE FOR RUSSIA

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

President of the Russian Parliament's Upper House, Council of the Federation, Yegor Stroyev said in a meeting with Yugoslav Ambassador in Moscow Danilo Zivkovic on Wednesday that sanctions against Yugoslavia were unacceptable for Russia.

Ambassador Markovic informed Stroyev about the development of the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija and voiced satisfaction with the stand held on that issue by the Council of the Federation leadership.

It was set out that the stand of the Council of the Federation leadership was in line with the traditionally good and friendly relations and based on the assessment that the issue of Kosovo and Metohija was an internal affair of Yugoslavia, above all Serbia, which should be resolved through dialogue.

Yugoslavia's membership in the Council of Europe was also discussed, with Stroyev lending support to the idea.

Stroyev accepted with satisfaction the extended invitation to visit Yugoslavia.

[10] HUNGARY*CUSTOMS SERVICES COOPERATION

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

Federal Customs Administration Director Mihalj Kertes on Wednesday received Brigadeer-General Joszef Bence of the Hungarian customs and financial guards.

As head of a Hungarian delegaton, Bence is negotiating with authorized representatives of the Yugoslav administration the establishment of a more efficient cooperation between the two countries' customs services on curbing illegal drug trafficking and other customs violations.

It was heard during the talks that both sides are interested in the soonest possible concluding of an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs affairs between the two countries, which would determine forms of comprehensive cooperaton.

The sides agreed at the meeting that there was continuous successful cooperation between the customs services of the two countries.

[11] YUGOSLAV ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF RECEIVES GERMAN AMBASSADOR

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

Yugoslav Army Chief of Staff General Momcilo Perisic and his associates on Wednesday received German Ambassador to Yugoslavia Wilfried Gruber, the Yugoslav Army General Staff said in a statement.

During the open talks, the two sides agreed on the need to upgrade and develop cooperation between the two countries' armies.

They also exchanged opinions about the security situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, condemned terrorism and said that regional problems had to be resolved only through political means, the statement said.

[12] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT RECEIVES IRISH AMBASSADOR'S CREDENTIALS

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Wednesday received new Irish Ambassador to Yugoslavia Pedrick Cradock's credentials.

Presenting the credentials, Cradock voiced Ireland's wishes for the promotion of its ties with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a successful promotion of bilateral cooperation and strengthening of Yugoslavia's role in Europe.

Receiving the credentials, Milosevic expressed belief that the Yugoslav- Irish relations would continue to grow stronger to the benefit of the two countries and their peoples and in the interest of the consolidationof peace, stability and confidence in Europe.

After receiving the credentials, Milosevic held a brief and cordial meeting with Cradock.

The meeting was also attended by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic.

[13] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT RECEIVES SRI LANKAN AMBASSADOR'S CREDENTIALS

Tanjug, 1998-04-08

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic received on Wednesday the credentials of the Ambassador of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Sheliah Sivasoti Polokasingam. The Sri Lankan Ambassador presented his credentials to President Milosevic and conveyed greetings and best wishes from President Chandrike Bandaranaike Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike underscoring the years-long friendly relations between the two countries and peoples and the belief that they would continue to develop successfully, especially in the sphere of joint economic interests.

Milosevic wished the new Ambassador all the best and set out that the further development of bilateral relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Sri Lanka, based on decades-long joint efforts for peace and equal relations in the world, is in the best interest of our two countries.

The brief and meaningful talk was also attended by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic.

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