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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-06-16Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Yugoslav Daily SurveyCONTENTS
[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC ARRIVES IN MOSCOWTanjug, 1998-06-15President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic arrived in Moscow on Monday evening to discuss with Russian President Boris Yeltsin the bilateral relations and the means for resolving the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija. President Milosevic is paying a two-day working visit to the Russian Federation at the invitation of President Yeltsin. Yugoslav Ambassador to Moscow Danilo Markovic had said, on the eve of the visit, that the forthcoming talks between the two Presidents would constitute a continuation of the good bilateral cooperation in economic, cultural, political and all other fields. As regards the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, the Yugoslav side expects Russia to categorically reject the threats of the use of force and to advocate a political and diplomatic solution to the problem. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said on Monday that President Milosevic's visit was considered in Moscow as the most outstanding development in the present situation regarding Kosovo and Metohija. The meeting between Presidents Yeltsin and Milosevic will be decisive for future developments, the Spokesman said. [02] OSCE CONCERNED OVER INCIDENTS IN CROATIA'S EAST SLAVONIA REGIONTanjug, 1998-06-15An ambassadorial "troika" of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Monday stated grave concern at the human rights situation and rising number of incidents in Croatia's Serb-populated East Slavonia region. The "troika" comprises Ambassadors Adam Chalacinski of Poland, Kai Eide of Norway and Lars Wising of Denmark - former, present and next OSCE chair- countries. They were speaking after meeting with officials of international organisations and local Serb and Croatian leadership in the region's chief city of Vukovar. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kai Eide said that the local leadership had expressed different views of the situation in the region. He added that the international community wished to see a process of reconciliation of the people follow the peaceful integration of the territory. He went on to say that there was a long way to go before a reconciliation, which was why reconciliation committees at local levels should be reactivated. He added that the participants in Monday's meeting had agreed to meet in future with all competent executive bodies immediately over each new incident, in the presence of representatives of the international community. He explained that such meetings would help explain and clear up incident situations and promote the reconciliation process, and pledged the OSCE's support for the reconciliation process. He added that the Norwegian Government had already submitted to the Parliament a project of investments in the reconstruction of the region worth 9 million dollars. Milos Vojnovic, President of the region's Joint Council of Municipalities, said for his part that the situation in the region had deteriorated since the Serb leadership submitted its report to the OSCE commission of ambassadors on May 20. He added that the deteriorated situation made the position of the Serb leadership in the region untenable. Vojnovic explained that Croatia was still ignoring its obligations undertaken by the signing of international documents, and the situation was further complicated by a growing number of incidents and arrests, which could be avoided if the police did a better job of prevention. [03] 12.2% PRODUCTION GROWTH IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHSTanjug, 1998-06-15In the first five months of 1998, industrial production in FR Yugoslavia grew 12.2% compared to the same period last year, Yugoslav Statistics Institute Deputy Director Mirjana Rankovic said. In Serbia, in the same period, the registered production growth was 13.5%, and in Montenegro production dropped 3.6%. The largest growth of 29.5% was registered in the production of non-metals and construction material. Following are textiles, leather and rubber with 24.6%, chemical products and paper with 23.4%, processed metals and electrical industry 18.7%, metallurgy 17.2%, processed wood 13.3%, foodstuffs and tobacco 6.5%. The rest of the industry realized a production growth of 11.2% and the only drop in production was registered in the electric power industry of 0.1%. Statistics show that as of February 1994 production has grown constantly, while stocks were gradually reduced. Production growth has affected in the past and this year a continuous growth of exports. In the first five months, the largest export growth was registered by industrial branches with the largest production growth, and these are the production of non-ferrous metals, ferrous metallurgy, production and processing of chemical products, production of final products from wood, production of textile yarn and materials, processing of rubber and production of foodstuffs. Mirjana Rankovic said that important exports results have been registered in the cooking oil industry. In five months, the total value of exported goods was 968 million dollars, or 10.8% more than in the same period last year. Of that amount 56% of exports were sold on the markets of Germany, Russia, Italy, Macedonia and Republika Srpska. In that period imports reached the value of 1,979 million dollars, or 4.8% more than in the first five months last year, with a tendency of slowing down. The major imports are oil, gas and oil by-products. Industrial production in May rose 10.4% compared to the same month last year. The greatest growth was registered in wood processing, 28.8%, the production of leather, textile and rubber 25.8%, non-metals and construction materials 21.6%, chemical products and paper 20.8%, metallurgy 14.9%, electric power industry 5.5%, foodstuffs and tobacco 1.2%. The rest of the industry registered a growth of 1.8%. In May, compared to April, production rose 1.3%. Production in May compared to monthly production last year rose 8%, compared to April 4%, compared to May last year 13.7%. This indicates a continuous production growth in the first five months this year. [04] SERGEYEV STRONGLY CRITICISES NATOTanjug, 1998-06-15Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev on Monday strongly criticised NATO's leadership for holding exercises along the border with Yugoslavia and indirectly told the head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff that NATO was dishonest towards Russia. "As a soldier, I am accustomed to being honest with my colleagues. I don't understand how they could treat me in this way after my departure from Brussels," he told the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Henry Shelton in Moscow. "I learned about the beginning of the NATO exercise only today. It was so unexpected that I simply could not understand what was happening," Sergeyev said. It turns out that "words are differing from actual deeds," he added. Sergeyev said that Kosovo was the tensest region in Europe and that the problem had been thoroughly reviewed at the session of the Joint Russia- NATO Permanent Council in Luxembourg on June 12. "I then got the impression that we had almost reached a common understanding of the reasons behind the situation around Kosovo and its further prospects," Sergeyev said and added that he had personally informed the NATO defence ministers about Russian President Boris Yeltsin's wish to meet with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Moscow said that Shelton had assured Sergeyev that he favoured a peaceful resolution of the Kosovo problem and that NATO would coordinate all further steps with Russia. Itar-TASS news agency reports from the U.S. military base in Aviano said that everything had been done to turn the NATO exercises into a demonstration of force along the Yugoslav border. Russian Army Chief of Staff Anatoly Kvashnin on Monday confirmed that Russia was withdrawing its military representative in NATO, Gen. Viktor Zavarzin. "There are problems which have to be thrashed out," Kvashnin said. However, he did not wish to say whether Zavarzin's recall was connected with NATO's exercises in the Balkans. Russian State Duma deputy and one of the heads of the Anti-NATO movement Col. Sergei Glotov was more specific and told Itar-TASS on Monday that the recall of the Russian representative in NATO demonstrated Russia's commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict about Kosovo. Glotov said that NATO's military provocations could cause dangerous and unforeseeable consequences and that this was why many State Duma deputies had welcomed the decision to recall the Russian representative from NATO. All Russian media also linked Zavarzin's recall with NATO's military exercises in Albania and Macedonia. [05] PROSECUTION DEMANDS INQUIRY INTO TERRORIST ACTIVITIESTanjug, 1998-06-16The district prosecution in Pec, Kosovo and Metohija, has submitted a request to court for an inquiry into suspected terrorist activities by 16 ethnic Albanians from the town of Djakovica. The terrorists are charged with armed assaults against police, carried out in May within the terrorist "Kosovo Liberation Army" organization. The terrorists blocked the road linking the villages of Popovac and Ponosevac early on May 4, and opened fire on a police car passing by. They carried out another attack at around 3 pm, firing at a police vehicle carrying supplies to employees in the police department in Ponosevac. One police officer was wounded. The same group shelled a police unit in Ponosevac two days later. On May 8, the terrorists carried out four attacks with automatic guns and hand grenades on a police convoy passing down the Djakovica-Ponosevac road. One policeman was wounded. Terrorists shelled a police unit from the house of a local Albanian on May 15, and fired at a convoy of police vehicles on the Djakovica-Ponosevac road. [06] KALINIC AND POPLASEN HAVE BEEN OUSTED FROM OFFICETanjug, 1998-06-16Republika Srpska Parliament President Dragan Kalinic and Vice-President Nikola Poplasen were ousted from office by a majority decision at a Republika Srpska Parliament session late on Monday. The decision was carried after midnight, following an all-day debate at the joint proposal of deputies of the Socialist Party of R.S., the Serbian National Alliance, the Party of Independent Social Democrats, the Coalition for an Integral Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Social Democrat Party of Bosnia- Herzegovina. The proposal said the two officials had obstructed the work of Parliament so far. Kalinic is a member of the Serb Democratic Party, and Poplasen of the Serbian Radical Party. The other Parliament Vice-President Jovan Mitrovic, of the Serbian National Alliance, won a majority confidence vote. [07] AN ARMED GROUP IS PREVENTED FROM ENTERING YUGOSLAVIA FROM ALBANIATanjug, 1998-06-15At about 1.30 a.m. on Monday Yugoslav border guards prevented a group of armed Albanians from entering Yugoslavia from Albania via Mt Pastrik, the Pristina-based Media Centre reported. After the border guards' warning, the armed Albanians opened fire at Yugoslav soldiers. Two people who tried illegally to enter Yugoslavia were killed during the shooting and the rest of the group dispersed. None of the Yugoslav border guards were injured. Yugoslav border guards seized seven machine guns, 39 semi-automatic rifles, five automatic rifles, one Thompson sniper with a silencer, five hand-held rocket launchers, three rocket launchers, more than 16,000 bullets and 35 German army camouflage uniforms. It is believed that the group that tried illegally to enter Yugoslavia included a Norwegian reporter because documents were found belonging to Pal Refsdal of Bergen Norway TV2 as well as a video camera, a mobile phone and a camera. [08] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER RECEIVES YUGOSLAV AMBASSADORTanjug, 1998-06-15Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Yordan Sokolov received in Sofia on Monday Yugoslav Ambassador to Bulgaria Rados Smiljkovic. Smiljkovic delivered to Sokolov a draft founding document of a consultative assembly of the parliaments of southeast European states, drawn up by the Yugoslav Federal Assembly (Parliament). Smiljkovic briefed Sokolov about the constant efforts being made by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to bring about a peaceful settlement of the problem in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province. Also, he informed him about Yugoslavia's efforts to protect the lives and safety of the people and the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty against constant attacks by ethnic Albanian separatists and terrorists. Sokolov, for his part, stressed that the founding of a consultative assembly of southeast European parliaments was a good idea which should be further developed in future contacts and cooperation among the parliaments. He added that it should be an important and efficacious instrument of regional cooperation. As regards the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, Sokolov said that Bulgaria opposed any changes of the borders and urged for reaching a solution by peaceful means, through talks within Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Bulgaria wants to have the best possible friendly relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its republic of Serbia, with which it has close ethnic and spiritual ties. Sokolov stressed also an opposition to anti-Yugoslav sanctions, which do incalculable damage to Bulgaria and other countries in this part of Europe. [09] YUGOSLAV AND DUTCH PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS MEETTanjug, 1998-06-15A delegation of the Yugoslav Parliament headed by Chairman of the Foreign Policy Board of the Chamber of Citizens (Lower house) Ljubisa Ristic, held on Monday a second meeting with Dutch parliamentarians, this time headed by Haneke Helderblom-Lankhaut, head of the Dutch parliamentarian delegation in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. The talk focused on the procedure of Yugoslavia's admission into the Council of Europe as a full member, initiated by Yugoslavia's application for membership last March. Ristic said that Yugoslavia's membership in the Council of Europe would help in the search for a political solution to the situation in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, and added that he expected the Dutch delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly to endorse Yugoslavia's admission. Mrs Helderblom-Lankhaut said she agreed that Yugoslavia should become a member of the European family of nations and pointed to the need for pacifying the situation in Kosovo and Metohija as soon as possible and for finding a solution through political dialogue. The two delegation agreed to pursue the dialogue initiated by the present visit. [10] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS THE NETHERLANDS 1981.Tanjug, 1998-06-15A Yugoslav parliamentary delegation met in The Hague on Monday with a Dutch parliamentary delegation. The Yugoslav delegation is headed by Chairman of the Chamber of Citizens (Lower House) Foreign Policy Board Ljubisa Ristic, and the Dutch, by Acting Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee J.D. Blauv. The two sides stressed the usefulness of the meeting as restoring dialogue between the two countries' parliaments after a ten-year break, and the need for further inter-parliamentary contacts and exchanges of views which would help promote overall bilateral ties. The talk centred on the current situation in Kosovo and Metohija, with the Yugoslav and Dutch parliamentarians agreeing that political dialogue is the right way to deal with the crisis in that province of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia. Ristic informed the Dutch parliamentarians about the history of the Kosovo and Metohija problem, explaining that the true aims of the ethnic Albanian separatists had been demonstrated back in He said that in 1981, ethnic Albanians had risen in large numbers against the then Yugoslav federation's Constitution of 1974 and the form of autonomy envisaged under that document for the province. However, Ristic said, that document was now often quoted in the international community as the solution to go back to. He said that the Yugoslav Parliament and Government regretted civilian victims caused in clashes with separatists and terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija. However, he deplored the fact that the international community had never expressed regret for the deaths of police officers, troops and civilians at the hands of ethnic Albanian terrorists. Ristic said that there was political consensus in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the point that Kosovo and Metohija should have autonomy in Serbia and Yugoslavia. There was political consensus also, he added, about the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, which ruled out detachment of any part of it. It was Yugoslavia's chief aim to restore peace in Kosovo and Metohija and ensure full equality for its citizens regardless of nationality, language and religion, he said. However, he added, this was difficult to achieve when most ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija were refusing to exercise their rights and obligations as citizens. The Dutch delegation said that the Netherlands was aware of the violence practised by ethnic Albanian terrorists, and the Dutch Government condemned their terrorism, a position which it had made clear to the ethnic Albanian side. The head of the Dutch delegation stressed that the Netherlands recognised the sovereignty and existing borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and opposed secession and independence for Kosovo and Metohija. He added that further escalation of crisis should certainly be avoided. The Dutch parliamentarians showed understanding for the difficulties in which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia finds itself and expressed the Netherlands' willingness to help surmount them. Ristic expressed an expectation that the Netherlands would support Yugoslavia's membership in the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organisations. He invited the Netherlands' parliamentary delegation to visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. [11] PRISACARU: ECONOMIC TIES WITH YUGOSLAVIA LAG BEHIND POLITICALTanjug, 1998-06-15A Romanian Parliament official said in Pancevo, near Belgrade, that political relations with Yugoslavia were good in all fields, whereas bilateral economic relations fell short of the potential. The official, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Policy Committee Gheorghi Prisacaru, is heading a five-member Senate delegation on a visit to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The delegation was received in Pancevo by local district administrator Sinisa Batalo. Batalo said that the South Banat district had the greatest economic potential in Yugoslavia, with a social product in excess of 200 million dollars a year and great export potential. The two sides agreed that economic cooperation must have priority. Slobodan Tresac, General Manager of Pancevo's Petrohemija company, proposed a resumption of cooperation with Romania's Solventul company of Timisoara, with which the Pancevo company has a contract for the delivery of raw materials. Pancevo Oil Refinery Manager Radovan Pesikan announced cooperation with the refinery in the Romanian town of Pitesti, details of which are to be discussed at a later date. After the talks in Pancevo, the guests from Romania went to the town of Banatsko Novo Selo, where ethnic Romanians make up one-half of the population, and visited the local primary school. Romanian Ambassador in Belgrade Panait Lefter accompanied the delegation. [12] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT YUGOSLAVIATanjug, 1998-06-15A delegation of the Yugoslav Parliament Foreign Relations Committee met on Monday with members of the Romanian Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Gheorghi Prisacaru, for talks on developing and promoting cooperation. The officials stressed the need for more vigorous economic ties and contacts among businessmen, in order to boost the economic cooperation which has been flagging in the past few years. Both sides agreed that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija could be resolved only peacefully, through open dialogue, within Yugoslavia and Serbia, and expressed hope that negotiations between representatives of Serbia and ethnic Albanians would be resumed soon. [13] DEPUTY PREMIER SESELJ RECEIVES THE NEWLY*APPOINTED CHINESE AMBASSADORTanjug, 1998-06-15Serbian Deputy Premier Vojislav Seselj on Monday received the new Chinese Ambassador to Yugoslavia Pan Zhanlin, the Serbian Government said in a statement. In lengthy, cordial and open talks, both sides stressed that our country and China were linked by a traditional friendship, based on an anti-fascist commitment, ahead of which lay common goals in ensuring a stable development and prosperity of the two states and peoples while constantly promoting comprehensive cooperation to the mutual benefit, the statement said. Seselj welcomed the Chinese diplomat, wished him success and said that he regarded China as an honest friend. We regard as very important the goodwill of China, which accounts for one-quarter of the mankind, and this is why all important political powers in this country regard China as the most serious defender of our interests in the face of the Western forces' growing totalitarianism. Multilateral international relations are the only chance for the future of the mankind and we expect China to play an important role in this, because justice and equity can be achieved through a balance of forces, rather than a demonstration of absolute superiority of one force, Seselj said and added that he expected China's engagement in the Security Council and the United Nations to ensure the implementation of the equity principle. Pan said that his mission was aimed at improving and promoting the traditionally good and friendly ties between the two states. In its history, China has already supported other peoples without its concrete interest and demonstrated its principled and consistent insistence on justice and equity in the international relations. As for the crisis in Kosovo and Metohija, he stressed China's stand that this was our country's internal affair and that China therefore fully supported the efforts of the Yugoslav and Serbian leadership aimed at resolving the crisis through political means and talks. Any foreign interference would be a violation of internal sovereignty and this is why China will oppose political pressure, economic sanctions and all forms of military intervention in international organisations and insist on the principles of peaceful co-existence, such as the observation of sovereignty, independence, equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, the Ambassador said. No difference would be made among small and big states, because China regards all countries as equal members of the international community, he said. [14] SVETOZAR MAROVIC REELECTED TO THE POST OF PARLIAMENT SPEAKERTanjug, 1998-06-15Former Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament Svetozar Marovic has been reelected to the post at a constituent session on Monday. Marovic won 40 votes by the For a Better Life coalition, 26 voted against - the deputies of the Socialist People's Party and Liberal Alliance, and one abstained. Addressing the deputies, Marovic said "we do not want divisions between 'winners and egoistical and gruffly winners." We should "work for the benefit of all, because our future is in talks and compromise," he said. We must cooperate in Montenegro and the federation, because the federation is not possible without agreement and compromise, law enforcement and equality among people and republics, said Marovic. [15] DEPUTY PREMIER BOJIC RECEIVES THE NEWLY-APPOINTED CHINESE AMBASSADORTanjug, 1998-06-15Serbian Deputy Premier Milovan Bojic received on Monday the newly-appointed Ambassador of PR China to Yugoslavia, Pan Zhanlin. In the talks, it was pointed out that the traditionally good relations between Yugoslavia and China were a good basis for the comprehensive promotion of cooperation of the two peoples and the two states in all fields - from economy to culture and science, the Serbian Information Ministry said. Bojic informed the Chinese diplomat about current developments in our country, pointing out that ethnic Albanian terrorist organizations in Kosovo and Metohija threaten by armed rebellion to break away a part of the territory of Serbia. Faced with threats of use of force and of military intervention, our country must defend its territory and all the people living in the territory, Bojic said. The Chinese diplomat said that the Kosovo crisis is used for great power rivalry over spheres of interest in the Balkans. China's stand is that the issue is exclusively an internal affair of Yugoslavia and Serbia, and that it should be resolved without interference in internal affairs and without political, economic and military pressures. [16] PRESIDENTS MILOSEVIC AND YELTSIN MEET IN MOSCOWTanjug, 1998-06-16Presidents Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia and Boris Yeltsin of Russia met at the Kremlin today for talks on bilateral relations and ways to overcome the current situation in Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province. Yeltsin thanked Milosevic for accepting his invitation for the talks. Our desire to meet has coincided, Yeltsin said. After one-on-one talks, the presidents were joined by Foreign Ministers Zivadin Jovanovic of Yugoslavia and Yevgeny Primakov of Russia, and Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeiev. A working lunch is due after the talks. 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