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Serbia Today 96-06-26Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Serbia Today26 June 1996CONTENTS
[01] JOINT STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT LILIC, MILOSEVIC AND BULATOVIC AFTER THE MEETING WITH THE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKAThe Presidents of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro: Zoran Lilic, Slobodan Milosevic and Momir Bulatovic, talked with the official representatives of the Republic of Srpska - Dr. Biljana Plavsic and Dr. Nikola Koljevic. The meeting was staged following an initiative of the Yugoslav leadership with the intention to enhance the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, which is in compliance with the role FRY has as an international warrant for the Republic of Srpska (RS) fulfilling its commitments. The Vice Presidents of RS - Plavsic and Koljevic have been given the authorization for this encounter by the RS leadership.At the meeting the key issues concerning the implementation of the Dayton Agreement have been discussed. It has been observed that the military aspect of the Agreement is being realized in full and in the respect of the set deadlines but that major difficulties are present in the implementation of the civil part. Part of the RS leadership is either avoiding or refusing to carry out the Dayton Agreement. The practice of assuming commitments and then avoiding them is being repeated. Certain arbitrary actions demonstrating opposition to the Dayton Agreement caused negative reactions throughout the world, as well as in FR Yugoslavia: the arbitrary refusal of the participation of RS at the Conference in Brussels caused enormous damages to the Republic of Srpska; the arbitrary - illegal at first and then legalized - removal of Prime Minister Rajko Kasagic due to his cooperation with international representatives in the implementation of the Dayton Agreement; the hesitation to end with determination the limitation of freedom of movement of the citizens by state authorities; violence against supporters of political parties that oppose the SDS policy etc. Such actions, which directly obstruct the realization of the Dayton Agreement, are jeopardizing the interest of the entire Serbian nation, the Republic of Srpska and FR Yugoslavia, who accepted to be the warrant of the implementation of the peace Agreement. No justifications or clarifications can be found for such obstruction of the Dayton Agreement, except in personal interests, because the Dayton Agreement is undoubtedly in the interest of the entire Republic of Srpska, of all its citizens and in the interest of the Serbian nation as a whole. During the talks with the representatives of the Republic of Srpska, the presidents of FRY, Serbia and Montenegro have also been informed that some of the highest RS leaders hid from their own officials and from the Parliament and Governmentof RS the fact that on June 12th, the international high official - Mr. Karl Bildt officially warned them that should their boycott of the Dayton Agreement be continued, sanctions against the Republic of Srpska will be reinstated. Such a development would jeopardize the vital interests of RS and all its citizens, and indirectly the interests of FRY as well. The obstruction and delay of the Dayton Agreement and the failure to fulfill commitments assumed previously, as well as the obligations assumed during the talks with Karl Bildt, represents a direct attack on RS, on the peace process as a whole, and on the entire security structure built in the region in accordance with the Dayton Agreement as well as on the measures intended to build stability and trust. Arbitrary actions of a small group of individuals create the risk of RS being proclaimed a side which obstructs the peace agreement by the international community, and leading to new sanctions against it. This would threaten the vital interests of all citizens who have already suffered enough in the past years. This is why the RS representatives have been asked to warn the Parliament of the Republic of Srpska about all the aspects of this decisive phase in the realization of the peace agreement, and especially in the preparations for the elections in RS. The Parliament has been asked to immediately adopt decisions which will ensure the enactment of the existing commitments. Under the circumstances, it is imperative to immediately appoint the acting President of the Republic of Srpska with full authorization, and to prevent further activities jeopardizing the interests of the people of RS in the implementation of the peace agreement. The leadership of FRY stresses the fact that the realization of the Dayton Agreement in all its clauses, fully endorses the interests of the Serbian people and those of the citizens of RS. Failing to respect it would undoubtedly lead to the disintegration of RS and to the destabilization of the situation in the entire region. The Parliament of RS is fully aware that the RS Delegation at the Dayton peace talks - speaking on behalf of the RS - presented a written appeal to the Delegation of FRY asking it to be the warrant of their fulfillment of the Dayton Agreement. It is also a fact that the Dayton Agreement would not have been possible without such guarantees by FR Yugoslavia. Therefore, should the National Parliament of the Republic of Srpska ignore the legitimate FRY demand to fully comply with the Dayton Agreement, FRY will take actions both against the institutions and against individuals that are obstructing with their actions the implementation of the peace agreement and thus threatening the interests of the people of RS and FRY - reads the statement issued by the Office of the President of FR Yugoslavia. [02] ELECTIONS IN BOSNIAThe elections in Bosnia will be held on September 14, as planned by the Dayton Agreement - said yesterday in Vienna OSCE Chairman Flavio Cotti. He also added that he made the decision after broad consultations with the sides in Bosnia, and in accordance with the stands assumed at the recent international conference on Bosnia held in Florence. According to the articles of the Dayton Agreement, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe is in charge of staging and supervising the elections in Bosnia. (Ekspres Politika, June 26, 1996)[03] BOSNIA - TEST-GROUNDS FOR NATOYesterday, the most highly circulated Bulgarian daily "24 Hours" published an editorial stressing that "NATO is turning Bosnia into military test-grounds". Reacting to western reports that NATO is testing its new weaponry in Bosnia, the same newspaper remarks that it is no secret that the "westerners" are testing their new weapons in the deserted Serbian villages. It is much easier to test new weapons over the heads of the Balkanians and on demolished Serbian homes than to do it over the rooftops of the pretty American, English or French villages, says "24 Hours" ironically. The same paper remarks: "NATO is not hesitating to look for culprits among the Serbs once again and to exert pressure in its characteristic way, to carry out another mission in Bosnia which is being into western test-grounds." (Borba, June 26, 1996)[04] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL DOES NOT COMPLY WITH LEGAL STANDARDS *The UN Tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia at the Hague does not comply with the basic legal standards and is not impartial, states the renown British jurist and lawyer Jeffrey Robertson in an article published yesterday by the London Times. He particularly stresses the latest statements made by the court president - Mr. Antonio Casese, which indicate a complete politicization of the court and its partiality. Mr. Casese's statements reveal that the court is under a heavy media influence, and he too declared guilty Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic before they were even tried - just like the press already did. The British lawyer also remarks that legal discrepancies exist, and quotes the example of the accused Dusan Tadic, whose defense was denied information about the identity of the witnesses. Judging by the way it operates, the Hague Tribunal resembles a court-martial and it is a known fact that such courts always have problems with justice and legality - says Robertson. The failure of the Hague Tribunal is a far greater problem than trying war crimes in former Yugoslavia, because it has been conceived as a model for a permanent international court for crimes against humanity and the protection of human rights throughout the world - concludes the British jurist.(Vecernje Novosti, June 26, 1996) [05] LEGALLY WITHOUT SERBSCroatia has definitively decided to live without the Serbs. The ethnic cleansing of the Serbs in Croatia, initiated in the spring of 1991, when more than 500 Serbian houses were burned in the Zadar County, has now been completed by the enactment of the Law on Regions under special State Care. This law authorizes the settlement of Serbian homes, apartments and farms, owned either socially or privately. From now on, only Croats will live in them and the Serbs are banned from returning. Actually, the ban isn't formulated explicitly, but it is clearly defined by the criteria for settlement. The zone of former Republic of Serbian Krajina can not be settled by persons that "have taken or are taking part in hostile activity against the Republic of Croatia". This practically means that none of the 700.000 Serbs that defended themselves from Croatian aggression can ever return home. Their homes will be assigned to Croats, but not just any Croats, because the Law specifies that only "trusted Croats" can be settlers. The law concerns regions where larger Croatian communities never existed and a land settled five centuries ago by Serbs that acted as defenders of the border against the Ottoman Empire. The Law also covers the regions of Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem, although the status of those territories is to be settled in the next year and a half. This Croatian law was not adopted covertly, and it is amazing thatit caused no interest. No reaction came even from the UN and US representatives, seated in Zagreb and in charge of the implementation of the Dayton Agreement. (Dnevnik, June 26, 1996)[06] ELISABETH RENN: THE OBSTRUCTION OF THE RETURN OF THE SERBS WILL MAKE MORE DIFFICULT THE RETURN OF THE CROATS"The obstruction of the return of the Serbs to their homes in Krajina will make far more difficult the return of the Croats to Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem" - stated in Vukovar the UN Special Reporter for Human Rights - Ms. Elisabeth Renn. Croatia has laws but they are not functioning, said Ms. Renn and remarked that she will discuss these issues in Zagreb where she will meet with the Croatian Foreign Minister on Friday. Remarking that she "did not leave out Krajina from the efforts", Ms. Renn announced that she will visit again the regionin August in order to "include different examples of harassment directed mostly against helpless elderly Serbs that stayed there" in her report on these parts of Croatia. She also underscored that the Croatian law on Amnesty is incomplete and that as long as this law is not made better and clearer, she will insist that it be modified and improved. (Politika, June 26, 1996)[07] TUDJMAN IGNORED THE MOST NUMEROUS VICTIMS IN JASENOVACThe visit recently by Croatian President Tudjman to the Jasenovac Memorial grounds and the statements he made at the site where the "death factory" once stood, prompted the Serbian Orthodox Parish in Zagreb to address an open letter to him and the international community. The letter reminds that Mr. Tudjman launched an initiative to transform the memorial grounds where the Ustashi extermination camp once stood into a "monument for all Croatian victims". "He specifically mentioned only the Croatian victims, discarding the far more numerous Serbian, Jewish and Romany victims in Jasenovac", reads the letter. The systematic discarding of the victims or the reduction of theirnumber, raises the question about the final objective of Tudjman's Jasenovac project - says the letter. Its true goal is not to promote a posthumous reconciliation of all Croats, but rather the gradual deletion and complete oblivion of the Ustashi genocide against Serbs, Jews and Romany. As if the Ustashi death camp of Jasenovac never existed." (Politika, June 26, 1996)Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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