Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-06-05

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV BORDER GUARDS THWART ILLEGAL ENTRY

[02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY EXPECTS DIALOGUE ON KOSOVO-METOHIJA TO RESUME

[03] PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION IN THE BALKAN, EUROPE

[04] KOSOVO DISTRICT HEAD: SEPARATISTS, TERRORISTS NEED ALLEGED REFUGEES

[05] YUGOSLAVIA, GREECE AGREE COOPERATION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

[06] UNICEF PREPARES NEW 3-YEAR PROGRAMME FOR YUGOSLAVIA

[07] AUSTRIA'S SCHUESSEL URGES YUGOSLAVIA'S RETURN TO OSCE

[08] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES IOM DIRECTOR-GENERAL

[09] SERBIAN REFUGEES COMMISSIONER MEETS WITH IOM DIRECTOR-GENERAL

[10] YUGOSLAVIA RETURNS TO INTERNATIONAL GREEN CARD SYSTEM

[01] YUGOSLAV BORDER GUARDS THWART ILLEGAL ENTRY

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

Yugoslav border guards early this morning stopped an illegal entry into Serbia by a gang from neighboring Albania, the media center reports. The incident occurred about 3 am (GMT 0100, 1998) on Thursday in the area of the Cestak watchtower near Dragas, Kosovo and Metohija, the Media Center learns from local authorities in Dragas. The gang retreated back into Alb anian territory, after an exchange of fire with the army. One of the gang members was killed in the skirmish. He was found to carry weapons, ammun ition and hand grenades, the Media Center said.

[02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY EXPECTS DIALOGUE ON KOSOVO-METOHIJA TO RESUME

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

Despite a new escalation of armed conflicts in Kosovo and Metohija, Russ ia expects talks between Belgrade and Pristina delegations to resume on F riday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Valery Nyesterushkin said on Th ursday. It must be clear to all that the regional stability and long-term solution of the Kosovo problem cannot be achieved in any other way but t hrough talks, he said.

Nyesterushkin said that Moscow and its 'Contact Group' partners were con cerned about the new deterioration of the situation and possibility of fu rther complications and expressed belief that the Yugoslav leadership was just as concerned.

We hope that no hasty measures would be taken under these, by no means s imple, conditions, which may make the entire situation even more complica ted, he said.

There is no other way to find a stable and long-term solution to the Kos ovo problem but through political talks aimed at finding a mutually accep table form of co-existence in the province, Nyesterushkin said.

He also told Russian and foreign reporters that the Kosovo issue had bee n on the agenda of a recent congress on promoting local administration, w hich also dealt with the situations in Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia and Ukra ine.

Nyesterushkin said that the participants had voiced much concern about t he deterioration of the situation in southern Serbia and that most of the m had favoured the preservation of Yugoslavia's territorial integrity.

The Russian delegation proposed and the congress supported international efforts aimed at consolidating the negotiating process and condemned ter rorism in all its forms as well as the sending of arms to the region.

[03] PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION IN THE BALKAN, EUROPE

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

The Council for International Cooperation of the Socialist Party of Serb ia held a session on Thursday chaired by its President, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, to discuss new ideas and initiatives for coop eration prospects in southeastern Europe.

The expanded session of the Council was attended by Government and Parli ament members, diplomats and renowned figures in science and culture.

Jovanovic pointed to Yugoslavia's important contribution to regional coo peration and to cooperation with its neighbors. This year marks the ten th annivesary of the first conference of Foreign Ministers of Balkan coun tries held in Belgrade, Jovanovic noted.

Thanks to the advantages due to its geostrategic position and economic a nd other potentials, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has an active app roach to peace building in the region, its stability, development and goo d- neighborly cooperation, Jovanovic said. Changes that have occurred in t he meantime only confirm the need for a policy of developing multilateral cooperation in southeastern Europe, he noted.

Yugoslavia is playing an active role in the region as a sovereign, indep endent and democratic country which follows a Europe-oriented policy, Jov anovic said.

Yugoslavia's foreign policy is based precisely on the development of goo d neighborliness and multilateral cooperation among Balkan and southeaste rn European states. A positive approach has consequently been adopted tow ards various regional initiatives, Jovanovic said.

Political Director at the Foreign Ministry Dragomir Vucicevic spoke of Y ugoslavia's role as a factor of peace in the region, as demonstrated thro ugh all forms of regional cooperation and in relations with all countries 2E Yugoslavia wants to develop regional cooperation as the best means fo r preserving its own independence and for the defense of its national int erests. Intensifying such cooperation is an important means of reaffirmin g Yugoslavia's independence and its adherence to the principle that it is up to the Balkan states themselves to take decisions on the essential is sues of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.

The Balkan summit held in Crete last year was another milestone in the r egional cooperation process, especially as it was the first conference of its kind in Balkan history. The summit had confirmed the need for region al cooperation as one of important aspects of regional relations, and for the equality of all countries in this cooperation, which is an extraordi narily important principle, Vucicevic said.

The importance of the consistent respect of the principles of sovereign equality, inviolability of borders, territorial integrity and non-interfe rence in internal affairs was underlined during the session. Internal iss ues cannot be a reason for any foreign interference, it was underlined du ring the session.

Multilateral cooperation has been developing successfully in the past fe w years as part of the joint regional and European policy of countries in southeastern Europe. This cooperation constitutes a pre-condition for an accelerated and stable development and for the consolidation of peace an d stability in the region, the participants said.

The participants pointed to the particular interest and the policy of th e Federal Republic of Yugoslavia aimed at an active participation in the development of all forms of regional cooperation. This stems from its adh erence to peace, all-round ties and stable development of good neighborly relations with all countries.

The forthcoming Conference of Foreign Ministers of southeastern European countries in Istanbul will be particularly important for planning future regional cooperation, it was noted duirng the session. The participants expect the Istanbul conference to pave the way for a further elaboration of principles adopted at the Crete summit and to confirm the univesality of all forms of regional cooperation and the need for an equal participat ion of all countries in all forms of regional cooperation. They also e xpect the conference to open fresh prospects for all forms of cooperation , especially in the economy, paving the way for a more efficient tapping of economic potentials in the region and in each country individually.

The participants endorsed the approach to all-round cooperation in the r egion and put forward a series of proposals and intiatives for economic, cultural, information, legal, scientific and educational cooperation.

[04] KOSOVO DISTRICT HEAD: SEPARATISTS, TERRORISTS NEED ALLEGED REFUGEES

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

Kosovo district head Veljko Odalovic told Tanjug on Thursday that ethnic Albanian separatists and terrorists needed speculations regarding Kosovo Albanian refugees to allege a Serb repression and ethnic cleansing. None of the state organs are carrying out repression or any individual or org anised actions aimed at expelling people from their homes, Odalovic said.

We are doing all in our power to ensure the return of those who have tem porarily left their homes because of the gang and terrorist harassment, O dalovic said and added that official organs called for their return and g uaranteed them safety.

He said that the "state organs' acted only in response to terrorist atta cks and terrorists often use populated places for their bases - parts of settlements and houses - and civilians, women and children as human shi eld after attacks against police." This is why inhabitants of some villag es in the Djakovica and Decani municipalities, populated by Muslim and Ro man Catholic ethnic Albanians, had taken their families to safe places af ter an onslaught of wild terrorist gangs, he said.

Serbs and Montenegrins were expelled from dozens of villages during ethn ic Albanian terrorist attacks, because the ethnic Albanian separatists' t ask was to cleanse these villages from their non-Albanian population. The se people, some of whom are ethnic Albanians who fled from terrorists, ha ve found refuge in municipal centres, Odalovic said.

[05] YUGOSLAVIA, GREECE AGREE COOPERATION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Greece signed in Belgrade on Thur sday a Protocol with an executive programme for scientific and technical cooperation until the year 2000. The Protocol is a continuation of projec ts agreed in the field earlier.

The two sides agreed 11 new priority projects in the fields of physics, biology, agriculture, medicine, telemedicine, geology, the power industry and environmental protection, and 5 more projects are to be considered a t a later date.

During talks held prior to the signing of the protocol, the Greek side s howed an interest in helping along Yugoslavia's indirect inclusion in the European Union's scientific and technological programmes.

Also stressed was the importance of exchanging visits by researchers and officials of research institutions with a view to setting up a base for mutually useful concrete cooperation.

The Protocol is highly important also from the point of view of the lead ing role played by Greece in the EUREKA programme and its prominent posit ion in E.U. scientific research programmes.

[06] UNICEF PREPARES NEW 3-YEAR PROGRAMME FOR YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

The UNICEF and the Yugoslav Government are preparing a three-year cooper ation programme, for the 1999-2001 period, according the UNICEF's new rep resentative to former Yugoslavia. The representative, Steven Allen, said that Yugoslavia had cooperated with UNICEF since the Fund was set up in 1 947, and had in the past been a major donor to programmes for the protect ion of women and children worldwide, while now it was a beneficiary.

Margit Savovic, who chairs the Yugoslav Government Committee for coopera tion with UNICEF and for the promotion of the status of women, said that UNICEF had significantly helped refugee children in all parts of former Y ugoslavia since the outbreak of crisis.

Over the past three-year period, UNICEF had set aside 8.5 million dollar s for the needs of children in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Savovi c said. She added that greater funds were expected for implementing the n ew programme, which Allen said was in the final stage of preparation.

Both sides agreed that the present three-year programme was being implem ented successfully and hope was expressed that relations between Yugoslav ia and UNICEF would remain good, the statement said.

[07] AUSTRIA'S SCHUESSEL URGES YUGOSLAVIA'S RETURN TO OSCE

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

Austria's Foreign Minister was on Thursday quoted as saying he would on Friday propose to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to return to the Org anisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Minister Wolfgang Schue ssel was speaking for Die Presse newspaper prior to his first official vi sit to Belgrade on Friday.

Schuessel further said that all violence must stop in the Yugoslav repub lic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija Province, where the terrorist organisatio n calling itself the Liberation Army of Kosovo is becoming increasingly a ggressive.

He urged that U.N. troops remain in Macedonia and that NATO be deployed to Albania, and noted the need for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to allow the setting up of an observer mission to Kosovo-Metohija.

Speaking on state television on Wednesday about the situation in the reg ion, Schuessel said that new economic sanctions or a military interventio n, as urged by some countries, would be neither realistic nor effective a t this time.

Vienna is attaching great importance to Friday's first official visit to Belgrade by an Austrian Foreign Minister since March 1989, especially in the light of Austria's assuming the European Union's rotating Presidency on July 1.

According to reports from the Foreign Ministry in Vienna, apart from Bel grade, Schuessel will on Friday also be visiting Kosovo-Metohija's chief city of Pristina.

[08] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES IOM DIRECTOR-GENERAL

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic on Thursday received Directo r- General of the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migrations ( IOM, 1998) James Purcell.

It was jointly noted that the several-year cooperation between Yugoslav bodies and this United Nations agency had unfolded well to mutual satisfa ction.

The cooperation is aimed at alleviating and resolving the problems of re fugees accomodated in the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by creating conditions for their voluntary, safe and dignified repatriat ion and also for integration into local communities of those wishing to s tay or by means of finding solutions in the third countries.

The IOM is also closely cooperating with other international organisatio ns, primarily with the Office of the UNHCR.

During the visit to Yugoslavia, Purcell was briefed in detail on Yugosla via's problems in providing for about 700,000 refugees in its territory a nd also on the implementation of activities relating to the participation of part of refugees in elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina in September.

[09] SERBIAN REFUGEES COMMISSIONER MEETS WITH IOM DIRECTOR-GENERAL

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

Serbian Commissioner for Refugees Bratislava Morina on Thursday met with Geneva-based International Organisation for Migrations (IOM, 1998) Direc tor-General James N. Purcell.

Morina stressed long-term good cooperation with the IOM and expressed a wish to expand their mandate to other forms of lasting solutions for refu gees, primarily in support to the programmes for the local integration of refugees who wish to remain in Yugoslavia.

Purcell said that the organisation would go on with its programmes which mostly deal with the moving of refugees to the United States, Australia and Canada. He praised cooperation with the Yugoslav government in assist ing refugees during the registration and elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina and said that this was another step towards a consistent implementation o f the Dayton Accords and support to international efforts aimed at establ ishing democratic processes in the region.

[10] YUGOSLAVIA RETURNS TO INTERNATIONAL GREEN CARD SYSTEM

Tanjug, 1998-06-04

The International Green Card System Council decided at its general assem bly in the Hague on Thursday that the Yugoslav Insurance Federation is a full member of that Organisation, according to the Federation's statement in Belgrade.

Together with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, this international org anisation now has 42 members in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The decision has finally removed the suspension of the Yugoslav Federati on from the International Green Card insurance system, imposed as the res ult of the U.N. Security Council's anti-Yugoslav sanctions.

The Yugoslav Federation is represented at the Council's General Assembly , being held in the Hague on Thursday and Friday, the statement said.

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