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Serbia Today 96-07-01
Serbia Today
1 July 1996
CONTENTS
[01] LILIC: MOST IMPORTANT IS CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT
[02] NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH THE LONDON CLUB
[03] ALBANIANS ARE ENTITLED TO MINORITY RIGHTS
[04] BRIDGES OF COOPERATION
[05] KARADZIC WITHDRAWS FROM OFFICE
[06] SERBS WHO CAME TO VOTE - ATTACKED
[07] CLINTON: EXISTENCE OF HERZEG-BOSNIA IS OPPOSED TO THE DAYTON
AGREEMENT
[08] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL PREPARES AN INDICTMENT OF TUDJMAN
[09] TERRORISTS ON A PEDESTAL
[01] LILIC: MOST IMPORTANT IS CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT
The crucial positive development for the foreign political
position of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since it was
constituted as a state-successor of former Yugoslavia, is the
reaching of the peace agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina, stated the
President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zoran Lilic in his
interview for the "Politika ekspres" daily. "The most important
thing now is a consistent implementation of the Dayton-Paris peace
agreement, which we shall decisively continue to support", stated
the President. Regarding the occasional threats of an eventual
imposition of sanctions again on Yugoslavia, Lilic underlined that
all the key factors in the international community have confirmed
that the FR of Yugoslavia has fulfilled and is continuing to fulfil
all of its obligations deriving from the Dayton Agreement and that
it is closely cooperating with the representatives of the
institutions entrusted with the mandate to instigate its
implementation. "In the Balkans and in Europe the understanding
prevails that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is the most
meritorious for the progress of the peace process, that it is a
factor of peace, of good neighborly relations, of economic linkage
and other integration processes", said Lilic. While qualifying the
present-day place and role of the FR of Yugoslavia in the
international community, Lilic emphasized that "the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia is now accepted as a partner in the solution
of regional matters and in developing of such forms of bilateral
cooperation which are based on principles of mutual benefit and
interest". (Politika ekspres, June 29, 1996)
[02] NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH THE LONDON CLUB
Federal Minister Vuk Ognjanovic who was heading the Yugoslav
delegation at the negotiations with the London Club, stated
yesterday that he is satisfied with the negotiations and that the
first serious step was made in the normalization of the relations.
"This was our first meeting after five years with the
representatives of the London Club which is gathering over 400 of
the world commercial banks. This is a part of the global strategy
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia towards normalization of the
relations with the international financial organizations and
commercial banks, and towards presenting in a right way our role
and significance on the international market", stated Ognjanovic.
"The fact that the first important step was made and that new term
was scheduled for the second round of negotiations, speaks in favor
of the fact that mutual interest was confirmed for normalization of
the relations. In the London Club of deputies, and even broader, in
the London financial circles, there was an excellent reception of
our decision to engage a distinguished English bank National
Westminster ("Nat West") for our consultant which is to assist us
in the negotiations with the Club and in representing Yugoslavia on
the international market of capital", said the Federal Minister.
(Politika, July 1, 1996)
[03] ALBANIANS ARE ENTITLED TO MINORITY RIGHTS
"It would be a limitation of the constitutional authority of
the state, and thus of Serbia, if the international community is to
prescribe for it its state set-up because the national minorities
are existing in it", stated the Deputy Prime Minister of the
Republic of Serbia Prof.Dr. Ratko Markovic. This would be a very
dangerous precedent for the entire international community, he
added. The basic question which must be classified is whether the
Albanians in the state of Serbia, regardless of their number, are
a constituent people like Serbs are, or are they a national
minority. In this it is necessary to bear in mind that Albanians as
a nation already have realized their statehood in a separate state
of Albania. Serbs as a nation, are having only one state, in which
they have realized their statehood, and it is the Republic of
Serbia. Therefore, the question regarding the status of Serbia is
absolutely clear. Serbia, historically speaking, is a state in
which the Serbian people has realized its collective right to self-determination,
but it is also functioning as a civil state.
Albanians in Serbia are a national minority, because they already
have a state of their own, and they, as well as all the other
minorities, should have "a catalogue of minority rights" in the
composition of which the international community should also take
part. (Borba, July 1, 1996)
[04] BRIDGES OF COOPERATION
Radio Belgrade and Radio Bucharest have broadcasted on
Saturday their first joint two-hour program of actual events
entitled "Radio Bridge". In this program about the relations
between the two neighboring and friendly countries, Prime Ministers
of Yugoslavia and of Romania were speaking, Radoje Kontic and
Nikolae Vakaroju. Both prime ministers stated that the Yugoslav-Rumanian
relations are traditionally good and stable, based on good
neighborly relations, non-interference in the internal affairs,
mutual respect and understanding. "Between our countries there are
no open issues whatsoever. We have identical or close views on
almost all of the most important international and regional
issues", said Kontic. Romania by its principled and constructive
policy had significantly contributed to the peaceful solution of
the Yugoslav crisis and had undertaken and supported actions for
lifting of sanctions and the return of the FR of Yugoslavia to the
international community, underlined the Yugoslav Prime Minister.
Rumanian Prime Minister especially emphasized the importance of the
Yugoslav-Rumanian cooperation in all the fields and expressed hope
that the trade exchange already by the end of next year will reach
the value of one billion US dollars. (Politika ekspres, June 30, 1996)
[05] KARADZIC WITHDRAWS FROM OFFICE
High representative of the international community for
civilian matters in Bosnia, Carl Bildt, confirmed yesterday that
the President of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Karadzic has handed
over his office to the Vice President of the Presidency Biljana
Plavsic. In the communique published in Sarajevo, Bildt states that
he had received a document in which it is stated that Karadzic was
replaced in the office of the President by Biljana Plavsic, and
that this decision has come into force immediately. "As of today,
Karadzic has no authority and can not perform any official
function", stated Carl Bildt. Karadzic over the past weeks was
under an extreme pressure from the international community to
withdraw from office, and two days ago Bildt made an ultimatum
deadline for his withdrawal (July 1, 1996), threatening by imposing
again economic sanctions. (Politika, July 1, 1996)
[06] SERBS WHO CAME TO VOTE - ATTACKED
Muslims in Mostar have attacked Serbs who arrived from
Belgrade to vote at yesterday's local elections. Foreign news
agencies are reporting that a number of Serbs were beaten up. From
some 40,000 Serbs who were already during the first year expelled
from Mostar, only 160 of them came to vote, and in the city there
is barely another few hundreds of them. Serbian refugees have
arrived from Belgrade to vote because, contrary to the Muslims and
Croats who are allowed to vote abroad, it was not permitted to them
to give their vote in the FR of Yugoslavia and in the Republic of
Srpska. The reporter of Radio Zagreb, who was reporting about this
incident, did not mention the incident which in the opinion of the
foreign news agencies, had happened in the Croat part of Mostar,
where the Muslims were attacked. The enraged Croats stoned at least
two buses with Muslims from the eastern part of Mostar, who came to
vote in the western Croat part of the city, where they were living
before the eruption of conflict between the present-day allies.
(Vecernje novosti, July 1, 1996)
[07] CLINTON: EXISTENCE OF HERZEG-BOSNIA IS OPPOSED TO THE DAYTON
AGREEMENT
The United States President Bill Clinton had sent a letter to
the Croat President Tudjman in which he is expressing his concern
because of the political events taking place in the Muslim-Croat
federation, regarding the creation of federal units, and especially
because of the existence of Herzeg-Bosnia, which is opposed to the
Dayton Agreement. Clinton is warning that such authorities "should
be disbanded at once" and qualified the recent nomination of the
new ministers of Herzeg-Bosnia as "diminishing of efforts for
construction of the federation". Clinton in his letter also stated
that he had expressed his concerns to the leader of the Bosnian
Muslims Alija Izetbegovic because of the resistance of certain
Muslims structures to the process of implementation of the Dayton
Agreement. In response to Clinton, it is reported in Zagreb,
Tudjman said that Croatia is supporting Dayton Agreement and that
it will gradually disband structures of the Croat republic of
Herzeg-Bosnia. However, said Tudjman, giving of 'further
concessions' to the Muslim side would certainly influence "the
frustration of Bosnian-Herzegovian Croats and would be counter-productive for the entire process". (Politika, June 30, 1996)
[08] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL PREPARES AN INDICTMENT OF TUDJMAN
International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague is preparing an
indictment against the Croat President Franjo Tudjman and six of
his generals, reports the German news agency DPA from Stockholm,
quoting the writing of a Swedish newspaper "Dagens niheter". This
Stockholm newspaper has published a report from The Hague, quoting
"reliable sources from the Tribunal Prosecution". According to the
writings of this newspaper, an indictment should be filed within
six months and Tudjman and his generals will be indicted as persons
responsible for war crimes committed against Serbs during the
attack on Krajina. (Borba, June 29-30, 1996)
[09] TERRORISTS ON A PEDESTAL
What are the political winds blowing these days in Croatia is
best illustrated by the fact that over the past several years
several thousands of monuments from the People's Liberation War
were either destroyed or removed, the monuments bearing witness of
the anti-Fascist struggle. At the same time monuments are being
erected and homage paid to the Ustashi terrorists, and this label
is not forced upon them because they themselves were admitting at
being the Ustashi and that they are fighting for these aims. The
latest examples are erecting of a monument near Omis to the members
of the Ustashi terrorist group which in 1972 was infiltrated in
Yugoslavia in order "to start rebellion" - a monument to Ambrozije,
Andrija and Pavle Vegar, as well as the construction of "a memorial
center" to the Ustashi terrorist and the assassin of the Yugoslav
ambassador to Sweden, Miro Barisic. All this is being done under
the auspices of the present-day Minster of Defense Gojko Susak who
was also boasting of his Ustashi roots. These days even from the
very Parliament (Sabor) of Croatia the initiative has arrived for
the 19 Ustashi terrorists - the so-called Bugojno group -
infiltrated in the summer of 1972, to be proclaimed "Ustashi unit -
the predecessors of the Croat volunteers of the motherland war".
The proposal has not been adopted as yet, because there is an
obvious search for the best solution, because the main part of this
terrorist story was taking place in the preset-day foreign state.
However, the general atmosphere is best shown by an open support to
this initiative voiced on the pages on the "Vjesnik" daily. This
newspaper is presenting "the Bugojno group" as "Croat idealists who
have arrived 20 years too early for the rebellion to be raised".
While stating that "Bugojno group" was only "bearing witness of the
never forgotten or discontinued strives of Croats for the renewals
of their own state", the newspaper also states that it should not
be allowed to continue in newspaper files and official state
documents for them to be filed in the official archives under the
label "Action of terrorists in Bosnia-Herzegovina". (Politika, June 30, 1996)
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