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Serbia Today 96-08-06Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Serbia Today6 August 1996CONTENTS
[01] DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE SERBS IN CROATIAThe Association of Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina and the Republic of Croatia (seated in Belgrade) adopted yesterday a Declaration on the defense and protection of national interests of the Serbian people in Croatia, because "...the present humanitarian, economic and political position of the exiled is tragic and uncertain." The Declaration indicated that the problem of the Serbs from Croatia represents a burning state and national issue for the Serbs, and insists that the Serbs be given back their political rights that have been taken away from them in a non-democratic manner. Complete Serbian autonomy must be instated in ethnic Serb territories, and Croatia has to compensate the property damages and rebuild churches and other sacral buildings, as well as the previous infrastructure. The return of all exiled and refugees to their land of birth must be organized, safe, dignified, voluntary and without deadlines, with the full support and supervision of EU, UN bodies and humanitarian organizations - reads the Declaration. International organizations, and the Hague Tribunal in particular are expected to establish the individual guilt for crimes committed against the Serbian people since 1990. (Ekspres Politika, August 6, 1996)[02] STATE HATRED DAYYesterday was a state holiday in Croatia. The Fatherland Gratitude Day has been introduced to celebrate the entrance of Croatian Army units in Knin - last year. The holiday is supposed to "celebrate" Tudjman's "great" victory over the Serbs, as well as the right of the Croats to forever ban the Serbs to return to their homes. The clerical-fascist nature of the "holiday" is probably best illustrated by the fact that in the village of Ravni Dabar on Mt. Biokovo, a monument to the Ustashi WW II slaughterers has been unveiled on this "State Hatred Day". The ceremonies included numerous masses for the salvation of the souls of those that "died for Croatia" with particular attention to those that died fighting together with the Nazis during The Second World War. Obviously the Croatian Catholic Church has definitely sided with the Ustashi movement, just as Cardinal Aliosious Stepinac uncritically sided with the Croatian Fuhrer - Ante Pavelic. (Vecernje Novosti, August 6, 1996)[03] PEAK OF THE CRISIS IN MOSTARThe European Union decided yesterday to hold the final talks about the future of Mostar with the representatives of the Moslem and Croatian side. Diplomats fear that the failure of the talks concerning this key problem in the Moslem-Croatian Federation might mark the defeat of the Dayton Agreement and peace in former Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EU has made it clear that should the talks fail, it will pull out from Mostar. According to diplomatic circles, all three sides involved: Moslems, Croats and EU - are using a highly dangerous tactics. They also remarked that the controversies in Mostar, could seriously jeopardize peace in Bosnia, and especially the general elections due in September. "There's no point in holding elections if any side gives itself the right to reject the results if it is unsatisfied with them ", said a US representative that wished to remain anonymous. Mr. Karl Bildt - High Representative of the international community stated that most of the efforts in the settlement of the Mostar crisis should be directed towards Zagreb, considered to be the prime mentor of the Bosnian Croats. (Politika, August 6, 1996)[04] PORTILLO ASKED FOR SANCTIONSThe Crisis in Mostar best illustrates the overall situation in the Moslem-Croatian Federation and represents the most serious threat to peace in Bosnia, stress analysts in London. British Defense Secretary Michael Portillo asked the international community to exert greater pressure on Croatia and Bosnian Croats - including sanctions and political isolation of President Tudjman, in order to preserve the peace process. Regardless of the outcome of the latest crisis, the British commentators indicate the events in Mostar already substantially changed the situation in the peace process, and that if any kind of peace is to be preserved, certain changes will have to be made to the peace project and to the entire political concept for Bosnia used by the international community. The failure of the pressure made on the Croats is ascribed to America and Germany, with the remark that Germany promoted the premature recognition of Croatia which subsequently caused the break-up of former Yugoslavia. (Ekspres Politika, August 6, 1996)[05] CROATIAN-SLOVENIAN BORDER CONTROVERSIESZmago Jelincic - Chairman of the Slovenian National Party - one of the most influential in the parliamentary opposition, accused the Slovenian government of trying to deceive the European Union by providing incorrect data on the relations with Croatia. Mr. Jelincic addressed a letter to the EU office in Lubljana warning that Mr. Janez Drnovsek's administration provided false data on the state border with Croatia in the EU questionnaire. According to the Slovenian opposition leader, the tracing of the borders of former Yugoslav republics cost Slovenia major territories in the regions of Medjimurje, Dolenska and Primorska. All these territories are now part of Croatia "which actually occupied them" - says Jelincic - one of the most determined advocates of the need to alter the Slovenian-Croatian border. In Slovenia the demands are getting louder for the Government to stop giving in to the more powerful neighbor and demand a revision of the borders. In fact, political circles affirm that former Yugoslav internal border gave Croatia territories that were traditionally Slovenian. (Politika, August 6, 1996)[06] COMPUTER EXPERTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURYYoung Jaroslav Blagojevic - from the Belgrade Mathematics Highs School won the Gold Medal in the individual competition at the 8th International Informatics Olympic Games for high school students held in the Hungarian town of Veszprem between July 25 and August 2. The Silver Medal has been won by Vladimir Brankov - a high school student from Nis, whilst the Bronze Medal went to Djordje Milicevic from Belgrade. In team competition, the Yugoslav informatics team was ninth. After two years of absence (because the two previous organizers - Sweden and Holland did not invite the students from Yugoslavia) young Yugoslav informatics students triumphantly returned on the scene. In a highly competitive environment (222 competitors from 57 countries) our boys left behind representatives of far more developed countries. (Borba, August 6, 1996)[07] BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT: BETWEEN "PEACEMAKING" AND TERRORISMThree days ago, just when everyone thought that terrorists were "on vacation" too, four bombs preceded by shots from automatic weapons shook Kosovo and Metohija. Fortunately without any human victims. The terrorists attacks took place in the Podujevo County which gained a negative reputation because of the hard-liner Albanian extremists operating there in the past decade.The latest terrorist attacks targeted against four police precincts came two months after a police officers was attacked and heavily wounded in the center of the town of Podujevo. Before that, policemen were assassinated in Pristina and Stimlje. The most serious terrorist attacks took place three months ago when in five different places in Kosovo police officers were assaulted simultanously, while one masked assassin opened fire in a bar in the center of Decani, killing three and wounding several other civilians. The latest wave of attacks on Friday, is the fifth coordinated operation of the terrorists, carried out - once again - late in the evening and on weekends. Albanian extremists are suspected because in the past six years since the Republic Serbia re-established the full state authority over Kosovo and Metohija, they carried out hundreds of attacks - primarily against Serbian Police. Extremism peaked in 1991, when the civil war broke out in other parts of former Yugoslavia. According to official data, that year alone, there were 119 assaults on policemen - 23 with firearms. Terrorists activity resurfaced in 1993, coinciding with the escalation of the war in Bosnia. That year, police patrols were fired at dozens of times, and there were incidents along the Albanian-Yugoslav border. In that period, the most drastic attack was the one on a police van near the village of Glogovac. Two police officers were killed and five others were heavily wounded. In the next two years, terrorism subsided. However, as peace was nearing in Bosnia, and especially after the Dayton Agreement was signed, terrorism resurrected in Kosovo and Metohija. In fact, Albanian separatists frequently resorted to radical actions and classical terrorism in spite of their public statements advocating peace, and peacemaking propaganda. They always launched attacks when some major event was about to occur, or when their propaganda about the dramatic situation in Kosovo was loosing ground and needed "boosting" and arguments. Thus, the latest shots and explosions came just a few days after the Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic visited the province and publicly stated that the peace policy is being promoted there as well, and that the southern province is an integral part of Serbia without any possibility of its integrity being questioned. It seems that the terrorists attacks three days ago were launched to annul the political and psychological effects of these statements, and to "show" the international factors that there can be no peace in this part of the Balkan Peninsula until the demands of the Albanian secessionists are met - namely the creation of the "State of Kosovo". The terrorist assaults are organized by a number of illegal extremist organizations, some of which have publicly assumed the responsibility. The general propaganda medley insisting on the allegedly peaceful option of the leading ethnic Albanian groups, cloaked their close ties with terrorism. In fact, none of these political groups ever publicly admitted and condemned Albanian terrorism, even though the public statements by various militant groups were circulated - even by Albanian newspapers - indicating that they orchestrated the terrorist attacks. Instead, the leaders of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo and their propaganda centers - insist that the Serbian policemen "are killing themselves", and "throwing explosive devices on refugee camps" in order to create an alibi for the persecution and torture of the ethnic Albanians. The latest statement, issued by the press department of the Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, published by "Bujku" (a newspaper closely linked to Mr. Rugova's party), insists on "enigmatic incidents" which are "the effect of the Serbian terror policy against the Albanians". International factors are consequently asked to "take urgent measures for the political settlement of the question of Kosovo". According to Mr. Rugova's strategy, these measures should include a protectorate and international civilian administration as a "transitional solution" leading to the final secession of this part of Serbia. Experts on the Albanian separatist movement estimate that their strategists will continue to combine "peacemaking" and terrorism, in order to fulfill at least some of the great promises they made their followers. (TANJUG, August 6, 1996) Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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