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Serbia Today 96-08-05
Serbia Today
5 August 1996
CONTENTS
[01] ONE THOUSAND INVESTMENT PROJECTS
[02] "ZASTAVA" RETURNS TO FOREIGN MARKETS
[03] TERRORISM IN ACTION
[04] FOUR OLYMPIC MEDALS FOR YUGOSLAVIA
[05] NEGOTIATIONS IN MOSTAR FAILED
[06] NO BARGAINING FOR BRCKO
[07] THE CROATIAN ETHNIC CLEANSING POLICY
[08] CROATIAN WAR OBJECTIVES
[09] CRIME WITH THE CONSENT OF THE AUTHORITIES
[10] LAWLESS ENVIRONMENT
[11] A MONUMENT TO A TERRORIST
[12] GREAT BRITAIN OPPOSES THE AMERICAN PLAN TO KIDNAP KARADZIC
[13] ROMANIA IS APPALLED BY THE LATEST SATANIZATION OF THE SERBS
[01] ONE THOUSAND INVESTMENT PROJECTS
The Serbian Minister of Private Enterprise - Mr. Radoje Djukic,
revealed that about a thousand projects are being implemented in this
area. The Minister specified that foreign loans are expected - and that
some 50 million dollars of credit will come from Italy. Half of the sum
is to be used by Yugoslav private companies for renewing their
production technology. Stressing that the private sector, employing
about a million people, has grown stronger during the sanctions because
it managed to substitute numerous products from former Yugoslav
republics and western countries, Minister Djukic remarked that among
all the transition countries, we have the strongest private sector.
Commenting the accusations that we are lagging behind in ownership
transformation, Mr. Djukic stressed that privatization is a "serious
thing" and that it should be carried out bearing that in mind, "In
order to carry out the privatization well, the country should first be
freed of the blockade and isolation. Social capital must not be wasted
or destroyed, and it should be used for the general progress of the
society."
(Borba, August 5, 1996)
[02] "ZASTAVA" RETURNS TO FOREIGN MARKETS
Mr. Slobodan Radulovic - Vice President of the Zastava Group in
charge of sales - informed the reporters that the Yugoslav car factory
is once again selling its products on foreign markets. The first part
of the deal with Egypt has been closed, and in August "Zastava" will
deliver the first part of the 9,000 cars deal signed with the "El
Nasco" company. "Zastava" will renew its export to Macedonia by the end
of the year, and export its cars to Jordan, Ecuador, while a special
modified series with the "Bosh" anti-pollution engine will be sold to
the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Brazil.
(Politika, August 3 1996)
[03] TERRORISM IN ACTION
The latest organized attacks on Police precincts in Podujevo and
Pristina, confirmed once again that classical terrorism is involved.
This is confirmed by the place and the time of the attacks, as well as
by the choice and caliber of the weapons used - typical in
international terrorism. There are also indications that the attacks
were carried out by terrorists trained abroad. Bombs have also been
used in the recent attacks. It was clear even before that terrorism is
involved, but certain circles abroad refused this thesis. For example,
the US Congressman Eliott Engel - who recently visited Belgrade and
Pristina - closed his eyes before terrorism and violence. Thus he gave
his support to the Albanian separatists, and during the meeting with
the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova he implicitly tried to
justify the violence used by the Albanians in Kosovo. The international
community should finally realize after these attacks, that terrorism
is involved - not little from terrorism anywhere else in the world. A
condemnation of terrorism and violence in Kosovo would be in coherence
with the recent agreement of the major powers regarding the suppression
of this global plague.
(Vecernje Novosti, August 5, 1996)
[04] FOUR OLYMPIC MEDALS FOR YUGOSLAVIA
The 26th Summer Olympic games in Atlanta will be remembered in our
country as the first ones in which the representatives of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia took part, and thus also the symbol of the end
of a long and unjust isolation of Yugoslav athletes from the
international sports arenas. The Yugoslav athletes won four medals one
gold one silver and two bronze.
(Politika, August 5, 1996)
[05] NEGOTIATIONS IN MOSTAR FAILED
The talks involving representatives of the Bosnian Croats, Moslems
and EU representatives concerning the controversial joint municipal
government in the town of Mostar, ended last night without success.
After talks that lasted for hours the Special EU Envoy - Sir Martin
Garrod stated: "No conciliation, no agreement". Commenting the
negotiations about the future of the town divided into two ethnic parts
he added that "no step forward has been made". Before the negotiations
started, Croatia was pressured to accept the elections results in
Mostar, and Croatian President Tudjman had to fly to Washington because
of it. The head of the German diplomacy - Klaus Kinkel warned his
Croatian colleague - Mate Granic that it would be extremely unpleasant
if the EU were forced to withdraw from Mostar because Croatia did not
meet the obligations it assumed upon signing the Dayton Agreement.
Heated talks did not help unlock the situation in Mostar, the
Bosnian Croats rejected the UN ultimatum, they refuse to accept the
results of the municipal elections held few weeks ago, and the EU
representatives will probably leave the town - say Italian
commentaries. The refusal of the Croats to find a solution to the
Mostar knot jeopardizes the Dayton process - remarks the Italian
headline "La Repubblica", adding that now the risk exists that the
September elections results might be relative should the Bosnian Croats
continue to reject the results of the elections in Mostar.
(Politika, August 5, 1996)
[06] NO BARGAINING FOR BRCKO
The Socialist party of the Republic of Srpska (RS) held its first
elections rally in Brcko, and presented its candidates for the
September elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. All the speakers
stressed that "there can be no bargaining about Brcko, since there can
be no RS without Brcko, and without RS the Serbs west of the Drina can
not survive.
(Borba, August 5, 1996)
[07] THE CROATIAN ETHNIC CLEANSING POLICY
While it publicly declares that it adheres and belongs to the
European civilization and its norms of behavior, the Croatian
authorities still pursue their policy intended to radically modify the
ethnic structure in large areas - inhabited for centuries by the Serbs.
The most frequently used method is preventing the Serbs that fled
because of the war from returning - with the cynical justification that
they left all they had voluntarily. The "evacuated" zones are now being
settled by Croatia refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of
Yugoslavia as well as Croatian Army veterans - from the last war. On
Sunday, Croatian state television announced that the village of
Kistanje will be settled by Croats from Janjevo (in Kosovo), allegedly
"expelled" by Yugoslav authorities. The same report stated that the
village of Kistanje was demolished "due to the vicinity of the front",
while the truth is that no fighting ever took place there and the
demolition and plundering was carried out by the "liberating" Croatian
Army. The village of Kistanje was visited yesterday by the
representatives of the Croats from Janjevo who have selected 196 homes
that will be rebuilt with state funds and then given to the Croatian
settlers.
(Politika, August 5, 1996)
[08] CROATIAN WAR OBJECTIVES
The intransigent stands of the Bosnian Croats in Mostar reflects
the true war objectives of the Republic of Croatia - says a special
commentary diffused yesterday by the German news agency DPA. Mr.
Tudjman never renounced to the plans he formulated in the early 90's
regarding the division of Bosnia between the Croats and the Serbs, but
when he was forced to abandon his dream of "Greater Croatia spreading
to the banks of the Drina", the next war objective he turned to was the
annexing of Herzegovina to present-day Croatia. Unveiling this strategy
of the Croatian President, the same agency explains the important role
played by the Croatian emigrants around the world that provided major
financial aid for the ruling party in Croatia. The German media never
before diffused such clear and harsh criticism aimed at the Zagreb
government. The Mostar case is seemingly the "drop that filled the
glass", and nervousness is becoming visible in the German relations
with Zagreb as well abstention from radical counter-measures.
(Ekspres, August 5, 1996)
[09] CRIME WITH THE CONSENT OF THE AUTHORITIES
The American human rights organization "Human Rights Watch"
accused the Croatian Army of maltreating Serbian civilians in Krayina
last year during the "Operation Storm", and affirms that the Zagreb
authorities are co-responsible because all that took place with its
knowledge and consent. The report published today in Brussels by the
same organization, indicates that in the "Storm" 526 Serbs died, 116
of them being civilians. Human Rights Watch indicates that the Croatian
Government was aware of the robberies and murders that took place and
that did not punish the perpetrators. Stressing that all these actions
were carried out with the assistance of the Croatian Ministry of
Interior, the same organization insists that all those responsible of
human rights breaches during the "Operation Storm" must be made to
answer for it.
(Politika, August 5, 1996)
[10] LAWLESS ENVIRONMENT
From the beginning of this year, the harassment of the remaining
Serbian population in northern Dalmatia, Lika, Banija and Kordun is
enacted regularly, and the frequency of the incidents has generated "a
climate of lawlessness and constant fear among the elderly Serbs" -
reads the report published by the International Committee of the Red
Cross a year after the Croatian "Operation Storm". According to the
report, the acts of violence range from verbal harassment to
intimidation and beatings, robberies, larceny, vandalism and in extreme
cases - homicide. The homes of the Serbs that planned to return to the
region were deliberately blown up or set fire to. The ICRC remarks that
a massive return of the Serbian refugees would require the Croatian
authorities to create a "climate of trust" and one of the basic pre-conditions
is the amnesty for all former fighters. According to the
1991 census, these zones had a population of about 300,000 and only 32%
were Croats. A year after the Croatian aggression only 10,000 sickly
and elderly Serbs remain. Among them, 3,500 live in isolated villages
in utmost misery and their survival depends exclusively on the "a
handful of humanitarian workers" - reads the report.
(Politika, August 5, 1996)
[11] A MONUMENT TO A TERRORIST
A monument has been solemnly unveiled at the place where the
Croatian terrorist Miro Baresic and his three assistants died some
twenty years ago during a terrorist incursion. The monument was
unveiled by the Envoy of the Croatian Minister of Defense, and was
blessed by the archbishop of Zadar. In the presence of other high laic
and ecclesiastical officials, the home of the terrorist (now promoted
to Croatian Knight and hero) that was convicted for the assassination
of the Yugoslav Ambassador to Sweden, has been turned into a memorial
surrounded by a carefully arranged park. On the other hand, in the same
zone of Croatian littoral, all monuments to the Resistance and anti-fascist
struggle have been methodically destroyed and removed.
(Politika, August 3, 1996)
[12] GREAT BRITAIN OPPOSES THE AMERICAN PLAN TO KIDNAP KARADZIC
Great Britain rejected the American plan to use a commando
operation to arrest and "kidnap" Radovan Karadzic - remarks the London
Sunday Times. Quoting official sources, the same newspaper affirms that
such a plan has already ready, and that a group of special assignment
commandos and secret agents were deployed in Bosnia. The arrest was to
endorse the presidential elections in America and was personally
ordered by President Clinton. The resolute British opposition to such
an action is based on the estimate that this would jeopardize the
entire peace process in Bosnia. The operation was also opposed by the
European NATO members, but by US military as well.
(Borba, August 5, 1996)
[13] ROMANIA IS APPALLED BY THE LATEST SATANIZATION OF THE SERBS
The Romanians are literally "bombarded" by "revelations" about the
Bosnian Serbs, made by western media broadcasting in Romanian. For
example the Radio BBC broadcast in Romanian "unearthed" thousands
Moslems in the local football stadium in Srebrenica. Incredible stories
about the "criminals from Pale" are also being launched by "Deutsche
Welle", Voice of America" "Free Europe", and Radio Vatican. The
enormous hatred promoted by the "great journalists" working for these
stations is probably best illustrated by Jelkica Petrov, editor of the
Eurovision News Programs Dept. of the National Television: "Going
beyond the instructions they received from their tutors, these people
would like to send all the Serbs to the Hague!" Romanian readers were
offered another "revelation" in one of the last issues of "Paris
Match". One Maria Donovan "discovered" the incredible similarity
between the "Serbian criminals" and the 15th century "murderer" known
as Dracula. In fact, "Paris Match" affirms that Count Vlad Tsenesh -
Dracula "razed to the ground the Moslem town of Srebrenica back in
1496" and that he is "the spiritual inspiration of the ethnic massacres
in present-day Srebrenica".
(Vecernje Novosti, August 3, 1996)
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