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Serbia Today 96-08-09Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Serbia Today9 August 1996CONTENTS
[01] SUMMIT BETWEEN PRESIDENTS OF SERBIA AND CROATIA AND THE LEADER OF THE BOSNIAN MUSLIMS - ON AUGUST 14TH IN GENEVAThe U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher will meet next Wednesday in Geneva with the President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic, the President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman and the leader of the Bosnian Muslims Alija Izetbegovic, officially reports Washington D.C. The spokesman of the[02] U.S.State Department Nicholas Burns specified that during this meeting the peace process in Bosnia will be discussed, and especially the forthcoming elections. Christopher will before this meeting, on Monday August 12, 1996 meet with the high NATO officials in Brussels. For purpose of preparing of the Geneva meeting, Deputy Secretary of State John Cornblum left for the Balkans where he is to visit Belgrade, Zagreb and Sarajevo, said Burns. (TANJUG, August 9, 1996)[03] REACTIONS TO THE SUMMIT IN ATHENSQualifications of Channel One of the Greek state television that the Presidents of Serbia and Croatia "have made one of the most important steps along the long road of stabilization of peace in former Yugoslavia and broader in the Balkans" is reflecting the opinion of the majority of the analysts. The Greeks are seeing the efforts of their Government to make this meeting possible as "a good key for the future peace in the Balkans", while Prime Minister Simitis commented in more detail by saying: "We are already preparing plans for the meeting of the Balkan peoples next year. We shall have an opportunity there to promote contacts between all of the countries and to place a corner-stone for strengthening of the relations between different states of the region". The pleasure because of the successful meeting was also expressed by the officials of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are stating that the beginning of an overall cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia will have a positive reflection on the developments in the entire region.The United States of America, together with the European Union, through diplomatic channels, have helped the agreement between President Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo Tudjman for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia to establish diplomatic relations, reported yesterday unofficially but openly Washington D.C. Because, according to the estimates in Washington, the Dayton Agreement was actually elaborated further in Athens. "The New York Times" writes that it is yet uncertain what will be the consequences of the improvement of the relations between the FR of Yugoslavia and Croatia on the situation in Bosnia, and underlines that "many Bosnian Croats would rather wish to see their joint future with Tudjman and Croatia", than within the Muslim-Croat Federation in Bosnia. "Meeting Without Precedent" - with these words the Moscow newspaper "Sevodnja" qualified the talks between Presidents of Serbia and Croatia. This characteristic of their meeting was also stated by the Itar-TASS news agency, stating that Presidents of Serbia and Croatia on several occasions have met at the international gatherings, but that the meeting in Athens after the disintegration of their joint state, was their first dialogue outside of the framework of international conferences. As the most important target and result of the talks, the Moscow media are emphasizing normalization of the relations and signing soon of the document on establishment of full diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and Croatia. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia Mate Granic had positive views of the meeting between President Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo Tudjman, pointing out that the two sides have come the closest so far to the normalization of the relations in all the fields. At the negotiations there was discussion about Bosnia also, although, as Granic said, almost the entire meeting was devoted to the talks on bilateral issues. "We only agreed for the two sides to give their full support to the Dayton Agreements and holding of the elections in Bosnia in the scheduled time", said the Croat minister. In Bonn are still no official reactions to the meeting between the Presidents of Serbia and of Croatia in Athens, although the German media are devoting great importance to this event, qualifying it as "very useful". The daily "Neues Deutschland" underlines that the meeting Milosevic-Tudjman "is beyond any doubt a good news" , but is linking the talks with the recent developments in Mostar, in order to point out at the differences in the attitude of the European Union towards the Croat and the Serbian sides. In this commentary Brussels is being accused of bias in favor of Croats, as opposed to the constant hostility towards Serbs. "Can this be turned around and the aid for reconstruction be sent to Belgrade, while critical comments are sent to Zagreb?", writes the commentator of the "Neues Deutschland". (Politika, Borba, August 9, 1996) [04] THE WORLD HAS FORGOTTEN REFUGEES IN THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIAAssociation of Refugees in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has called upon all the humanitarian institutions and organizations within the system of the United Nations yesterday, to increase their humanitarian aid to the refugees in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the communique it is stated that the refugees and exiled persons in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia even until now had a much more unfavorable treatment than the refugees in other countries, and that this status has been dramatically deteriorated after complete suspension of distribution of the humanitarian aid over the last two months. "We are expressing our surprise and concern over the fact that the aid was suspended immediately after the completion of census of refugees, which was carried out under the auspices and in the organization of the leading humanitarian organizations, underlines this Association. The Association insists that the UN High Commissariat for Refugees and the corresponding commissariats for refugees of Serbia and Montenegro should publicly publish the program for the solution of the future of refugees on the basis of data obtained by the census of refugees. (Vecernje novosti, August 9, 1996)[05] ZAGREB HAS AN OBLIGATION TO CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SAFE RETURNThe spokesman of the UN High Commissariat for Refugees (UNHCR) in Belgrade Marwan Elkuri stated yesterday at the press conference, that the UNHCR is appealing on the Croat Government to create safe conditions for the return of the exiled Serbs to Croatia and for the right to return to their homes of the refugees to be made unconditional. "We are appealing also on the international community to insist that Croatia makes possible repatriation of refugees and to insist on the right of the Krajina Serbs to their safe return to their homes and for the Croat authorities to fully guarantee them this right", said Elkuri. He underlined that the fate of Serbian refugees from Krajina is one of the greatest concerns of the UNHCR and added: "We are welcoming the meeting in Athens between the Presidents of Serbia and Croatia as a great step forward which, we hope, will bring about a prompt and safe return of all the refugees and displaced persons to their homes".The UNHCR spokesman also stated that the situation of ten thousand Serbs who have remained in Krajina is every day deteriorating. They are exposed to harassment and intimidation, and 3,500 of them are sick, old and bed-ridden and their survival depends only on the international humanitarian aid. (Politika, August 9, 1996) [06] "AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH"Representative of the Croat Democratic Community (HDZ) Sime Dzodan, stated in his interview for "Nedeljna Dalmacija" that "from the humanitarian point of view it is acceptable that everyone who so wishes should return to Croatia". While commenting on the return of Serbian refugees to Croatia, however, Dzodan said that the question is then "who is to offer safety to these people if they are to return to their homes, because it must be known that we Croats still respect the principle: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". In an article entitled "If We Are To Allow Mass Return of Serbs, Croatia Will be Flooded With Terrorists", which is showing once again the generally prevailing attitude in Croatia towards Serbs, Dzodan says that it is not very probable that 200,000 Serbs will return and concludes: "With them, then, would also return those who have participated in the rebellious Chetnick army, and that would cause in Croatia strong reactions. We can not even envisage what would happen in that case". (Politika, August 9, 1996)[07] WITHOUT THE AGREEMENT ON DISSOLUTION OF HERZEG-BOSNIAAt the meeting of the Forum of the Muslim-Croat Federation attended also by the American envoy John Cornblum, no agreement was reached on the dissolution of the Croat "Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia". According to the statement by the Muslim leaders, the Croat side is not ready to dissolve Herzeg-Bosnia and has refused to accept a precise date for its dissolution. According to the Federation Vice-President Ejup Ganic, responsibility rests for this with the authorities in Zagreb, who did not make "a strong enough pressure" on the Bosnian Croats. "They have created Herzeg-Bosnia, they can also eliminate it now", underlined Ganic. President of the Federation, a Croat, Kresimir Zubak, stated for the press that the problem is in the fact that Muslims wish to retain the central power from the pre-war period. The American envoy Cornblum stated his "deep regrets" that after the meeting it can not be reported that the political declaration is adopted and underlined that this was not possible because of "profound differences which still exist within the federation". (TANJUG, August 9, 1996)Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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