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Thursday, 25 April 2024
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Serbia Today 96-01-18Serbia Today DirectoryFrom: ddc@nyquist.bellcore.com (D.D. Chukurov)Serbia Today18 January 1996In This EditionEVIDENCE HAS NOT BEEN STOLENRELATIONS IN THE MOSLEM-CROATIAN FEDERATIONMEDIA WAR GAMESCONTENTS[01] THE MINORITIES IN YUGOSLAVIA ENJOY THE SAME RIGHTS AS THE NATIONS[02] THE SUPREME DEFENCE COUNCIL PROPOSED AN AMNESTY[03] ECONOMY AHEAD OF POLITICS ONCE AGAIN[04] DECISIVE ROLE OF THE MEDIA[05] IFOR WILL RELEASE THE POWs[06] LONDON: NATO IS HELPLESS BEFORE THE MOSLEM MANIPULATIONS WITH POWs[07] EVIDENCE HAS NOT BEEN STOLEN[08] RELATIONS IN THE MOSLEM-CROATIAN FEDERATION[09] UNHCR: HASTY CROATIAN ACTION[10] TUDJMAN S TRANSITION INTO DICTATORSHIP[11] SERBS ARE LEAVING THEIR CENTURIES OLD HOMESTEADS[12] MEDIA WAR GAMES[01] THE MINORITIES IN YUGOSLAVIA ENJOY THE SAME RIGHTS AS THE NATIONSDuring the meeting with Ambassador Gherd Arens - Deputy Co-Chairman of the Conference on Yugoslavia, Ms Margit Savovic - Federal Minister for Minority and Human Rights - stressed that the ethnic minorities in FR Yugoslavia enjoy the same rights as the nationalities living in our country. Ms. Savovic reaffirmed the readiness of the competent state bodies to settle all open issues directly, through dialogue with the representatives of the ethnic minorities. (Politika, January 18, 1996)[02] THE SUPREME DEFENCE COUNCIL PROPOSED AN AMNESTYThe Supreme Defence council of FR Yugoslavia advised the Federal Government to prepare a draft law on amnesty for all the individuals indicted for avoiding military service by December 14, 1995. The communiqu=82 issued after the session of the Supreme Defence Council, some 12.455 individuals are involved. (Borba, January 18, 1996)[03] ECONOMY AHEAD OF POLITICS ONCE AGAINMr. Wilhelm Hendrix - Chairman of the International Economic Relations Organisation - confirmed yesterday in Vienna that some 20 Austrian businessmen will arrive in Belgrade at the beginning of March - representing not only Austrian but powerful international companies as well.In view of the growing gridlock in the traffic between EU and Eastern Europe countries, and bearing in mind the far less expensive transport possibilities along the Danube, Austrian businessmen are to come to the Yugoslav capital with business proposals. (Politika, January 18, 1996) [04] DECISIVE ROLE OF THE MEDIAMr. Ratomir Vico - Minister of Information of the Republic of Serbia, and Mr. Klaus Neuebert - the Deputy Director of the German Foreign Ministry met yesterday and jointly expressed hope that the international community will assume the same position regarding all parties involved in the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and treat equally all former Yugoslav countries.The importance of renewed involvement of Yugoslavia in Europe and the revitalisation of comprehensive co-operation with Germany - in economy, culture and information - have been stressed. The German side also stressed the importance of the role of the media in Yugoslavia - especially those based in Belgrade - in inciting the peace implementation process and the co-operation among nations and former Yugoslav republics. (Politika, January 18, 1996) [05] IFOR WILL RELEASE THE POWsNegotiations on the release of prisoners of war, involving Moslem, Croatian and Bosnian Serb representatives - supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross - yielded no results. No exchange has been agreed yet. Well informed circles remark that the entire procedure will be assigned to IFOR, because ICRC is unable to solve the problem of prisoners.Photo-copies of the statements given by the officers and soldiers of the Bosnian Serb Army Prnjavor Brigade - who have been recently set free - have been handed out to foreign reporters at the BSA Press Center in Banjaluka. In their signed testimonies, Lieutenant Velibor Trivacevic and private Igor Guljevatelj provided a detailed report on what they went through since they were taken prisoner by Arab Mujahedins, the atrocities they committed against the prisoners and the attitude of the Mujahedins towards the Moslem soldiers of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Vecernje novosti, January 18, 1996) [06] LONDON: NATO IS HELPLESS BEFORE THE MOSLEM MANIPULATIONS WITH POWsThe disrespect of the agreements concerning the release of prisoners of war might jeopardise the implementation of the Dayton Agreement even though all the necessary conditions exist in Bosnia for the plan to be realised on schedule - warn British commentators.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - in charge of this segment of the Agreement - accused primarily the Moslem Government in Sarajevo for the problems because it refuses to release all the Serb prisoners. The formal justification invoked by the Moslem officials is the fate of the Moslems that are allegedly missing - and their number is being constantly increased. However, the ICRC underscores that the Dayton Agreement makes a clear distinction between the question of prisoners and the problem of missing persons. The Guardian remarks that - to put it bluntly - the Moslem Government is breaching the agreement it signed. Admiral Leighton Smith - in charge of the implementation of the military part of the agreement has the right to punish those that infringe the agreement, but the same London daily learned from NATO circles, that such a step towards the Moslem Government is highly improbable. (Vecernje novosti, January 18, 1996) [07] EVIDENCE HAS NOT BEEN STOLENSerb circles in Zagreb affirm that the information coming from New York - to the effect that the archives of the Centre for Human Rights in Zagreb (containing evidence on crimes committed by Croats) have been stolen, might be a false one.The Serbian archives in Zagreb contain some 10 thousand cases of breach of human rights and evidence on 50 cases of crimes of war. The documents have been transferred on micro-film in several copies, and if they were to be destroyed, they would have to be stolen in various European countries - the same circles revealed. They also indicated that such stories are part of the propaganda war launched by the intelligence services of the great powers. The news has been launched to mitigate the activities of the Hague Tribunal regarding the Croatian crimes. Representatives of the Krayina Documentation-Information Centre Veritas - seated in Belgrade - stressed that various copies of such documents are made. "The UN Security Council has sufficient evidence to accuse Croatia of genocide against the Krayina Serbs. Remarks Veritas expert Mr. Rajko Nikolic. Dr. Ghali s report on the crimes committed by the Croatian Army before and during the Storm operation contains 13 pages and is in itself sufficient to indict the Croatian authorities. It is a different question why no legal actions have been taken yet. Many documents on crimes committed after the Croatian offensive on Western Slavonija and Krayina arrived in Veritas . This humanitarian organisation also has ample archives on Croatian crimes against Serbs in the zones of Ravni Kotari, Miljavci, Maslenica and Medak pocket, where 600 Serbs have been monstrously killed. Croatian crimes are also reported by numerous documents prepared by international organisations that visited Krayina after the offensive (during which many horrendous crimes took place) ended on August 4, 1995. For example, the latest UN report indicates that 1200 burial sites have been observed, where usually two, and sometimes eight bodies of murdered Serbs were buried - most of them civilians. (Vecernje novosti, January 18, 1996) [08] RELATIONS IN THE MOSLEM-CROATIAN FEDERATIONCroatian armoured cars are forcing back the Moslem refugees that are trying to return to Jajce. One such refugee column has been blocked by Croatian forces in the village of Vinac, a dozen kilometres away from the town of Jajce - Moslem Radio Sarajevo reported yesterday.According to the same radio station, Croatian forces from Jajce have prohibited to the Moslem refugees to return home to Jajce. The situation is similar in the town of Bugojno - reports Moslem Radio Sarajevo. In fact, are trying to seize control of all roads leading into the town, and thus they are making true their threat to take control of the entire town which they took from the Moslems during the bloody clashes several years ago. (Vecernje novosti, January 18, 1996.) [09] UNHCR: HASTY CROATIAN ACTIONReuters reports that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern yesterday for the Croatian decision to send all Moslem refugees back to Bosnia. UNHCR Spokesperson Chris Yanowski stated that last week some 200 refugees have been sent back from Croatia, and that 800 have been told that they will have to leave. (Politika Ekspres, January 18, 1996)[10] TUDJMAN S TRANSITION INTO DICTATORSHIPMr. Jozo Rados - Vice President of the strongest opposition party in Croatia - the Croatian Social-Liberal Party - remarked that President Tudjman's recent speech at the Parliament corresponds to "authoritarian regimes . He also stressed that for all the mistakes Tudjman accuses "enemies, international conspiracy and foreign powers failing to admit his own errors.Mr. Stjepo Martinovic - Secretary General of the Croatian People s Party, stated in an interview for "Novi list" (published in Rijeka) that Mr. Tudjman "misinterprets the role of the US in the region , because he believes that the United States will allow him to act as he pleases - thus making a great mistake. Mr. Martinovic also added that "the President is transiting into dictatorship. (Politika Ekspres, January 18, 1996) [11] SERBS ARE LEAVING THEIR CENTURIES OLD HOMESTEADSBosnian Serb Army forces have already withdrawn from the territories around Boracko Lake near Konjic - which is to be part of the Moslem-Croatian Federation according to the Dayton Agreement. Some 3.000 local Serbs also left with them. None of the Serbs from the villages of Cicevo, Kula Berci, Boracko Jezero, Dolovi... wanted to stay in spite of the repeated appeals not to abandon their centuries old homesteads - made by the Pale leadership. Many of them have become refugees for the third time since the war started.They simply do not trust the Moslems and their authorities nor IFOR forces. They can not protect us from the accumulated hatred and the bad intentions of the Moslems. - said many in leaving their homes and heading mostly for the zone of Visegrad where they will be living in refugee camps. The bodies of the Serb soldiers that died in the war have been exhumed from the local cemeteries. Their relatives took them along to the new territories where they intend to settle down. (Vecernje novosti, 18,01.) [12] MEDIA WAR GAMESSeveral days ago, American media launched a new campaign - slandering the Bosnian Serbs. Their reporters have allegedly discovered mass Moslem graves in the Ljubovija Mine, and even managed to find witnesses among locals.Experience shows that the so-called media war in the past four years always used media contamination to introduce actions intended to force new concessions or justify unfair punishment of the Serbs. What is the objective of the latest media campaign? The media processing of the public opinion in the world - based this time on discoveries of new mass graves and crimes committed by Serbs - escalated just before the US Administration officially confirmed that it will provide military training for the Moslems - so that they might defend themselves after the NATO forces are withdrawn. The media underpinning is more than obvious, and the dramatic satanization of the Serbs culminated the same day that Washington announced its decision on military aid. (Vecernje novosti, January 18, 1996) |
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