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Serbia Today, 96-10-25Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Serbia Today25 October 1996CONTENTS
[01] AUSTRIA IN FAVOR OF IMPROVED RELATIONS WITH FRYFederal Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, currently visiting Austria, talked yesterday with his Austrian colleague - Wolfgang Shissel, and with Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranicky. During the talks, particular attention was dedicated to the enhancement of bilateral relations and bringing them back to the level before the crisis in Yugoslavia. The need to ensure the conditions for economic cooperation and joint investments has also been underscored. At the press conference the two foreign ministers underlined their close positions regarding bilateral issues, the current situation in the region, the implementation of the Dayton document and the relations between FRY and the EU. (Borba, October 25, 1996)[02] BETTER CONDITIONS FOR YOUNG AND CREATIVE PROFESSIONALSI am certain that next year, the first one without sanctions, our economy, experts and workers will achieve a qualitative jump in the overall economic and social development of Serbia and Yugoslavia, with a two-figure economic growth rate, two-figure production and social product rate, and greater employment primarily of young and educated people", said Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic at a panel held at the Belgrade University campus. According to Mr. Marjanovic, next year, the membership and the relations with international financial institutions will be normalized, agreements concerning our foreign dues will be signed, and arrangements made for the introduction of foreign capital into the country. "We will use all foreign funding and domestic financial potentials to fully activate our development capacity. Our greatest advantage - stressed by foreign investors as well - our biggest industry, is the industry of knowledge, an army of young and educated professionals in various spheres, the highly skilled workers and good craftsmen capable of working and producing according to the highest European and world standard", Mr. Marjanovic underlined. (Politika, October 25, 1996)[03] "THE NEW WORLD ORDER AND YUGOSLAVIA"The book "The New World Order and Yugoslavia" - authored by French publicist Gerard Baudson (published by "ING-PRO" Belgrade) has been promoted yesterday. Mr. Baudson already published two books on related topics ("Madmen's Europe" - 1993. and "Europe des Apatrides" - 1994.) came to Belgrade for the promotion. "I have written this book because I was shocked by the events taking place in Yugoslavia, and especially by the media reporting. I have tried to explain why has all that happened rather than what happened. In fact, the Serbian people are not responsible in the way that it is generally assumed. The New World Order used Serbia to express its might" - Mr. Baudson said at the promotion of the book. (Vecernje novosti, October 25, 1996)[04] CROATIA MUST ENABLE THE SERBS TO RETURNIn an interview for the latest edition of Croatian "Globus" weekly, the US Ambassador to Croatia - Mr. Peter Galbraith said that America will insist on the implementation of all the articles agreed upon in Dayton and stressed that the return of the exiled and refugees represents the most important part of the document. "Exile and ethnic cleansing, the suffering experienced by many in this war, as well as the very idea of ethnic cleansing, are completely unacceptable for us", said Ambassador Galbraith. Asked about the possibility of Croatia being punished for the slow repatriation of Serbs, he said that "Croatia must allow the return of all the Serbs that want to do so, and to provide safe living conditions for them." If Croatia wants to join the western community, it will have to fully accept the western values, which means that all people meeting the requirements for Croatian citizenship should be allowed to return to the country, without any discrimination - specified the US Ambassador. (Politika, October 25, 1996)[05] DRASTIC MEASURES AGAINST ZAGREB IF OBLIGATIONS AREN'T METMr. Rene van der Linden - Vice Chairman of the Council of Europe Assembly , said in an interview published by the Zagreb weekly "Nacional", that once it formally becomes member of the Council of Europe, Croatia will have to fully comply to the obligations it assumed in the domain of human rights. The European Parliament will apply drastic measures should Croatia fail to meet the obligations Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Croatian Parliament Speaker Vlatko Pavletic have signed. This would include "withdrawal of the accreditation for Croatian deputies in the Council of Europe", which would formally exclude Croatia form the European institution right after being admitted - Mr. Van der Linden said. (Ekspres, October 25, 1996)[06] ARBITRARY ARREST OF A SERBMr. Alun Roberts - spokesperson of the international police forces (IPTF) in the western sector, expressed serious concern yesterday for the growing tension in the zone of Sanski Most and Prijedor, after the Moslem Police arbitrarily arrested a Serb (Milorad Marceta) under the suspicion that he committed war crimes. "The arrested Serb has been transferred from Sanski Most to the Bihac prison, and two days ago the IPTF Commissioner - Mr. Peter Fitzgerald, addressed a strong protest to the Bosnian Federation Ministry of Interior demanding that he be released immediately." - Mr. Roberts said. He also stressed that no one has the right to arrests anyone under the charge of crimes unless the particular individual is on the list compiled by the International Criminal Court for Crimes of War at the Hague. The same official also indicated that the Moslem Police provide no justification or evidence for the arrest of 52-years old Milorad Marceta. (Nasa Borba, October 25, 1996)[07] BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT: "SERBS, CROATIA AND EUROPE"What fate can the Serbian population in the Srem-Baranja Region expect as the definite reintegration into the Republic of Croatia draws near?The dilemma, pondered both by the concerned locals and political analysts, has been newly prompted by the renewed talks on the admission of Croatia into the Council of Europe, the academic debate launched by the Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) on the status of the Serbs in this former Yugoslav republic, and by the daily contacts that local Serbian representatives have with the diplomats of the most influential European countries. Regardless of the inevitable extremist and politically unrealistic remarks that are visible in these events, two things are of utmost importance for the Serbs in Slavonija if the answer to the initial question is not to be a dramatic one: firstly - the urgent admittance of Croatia to the Council of Europe, and secondly - the wise insisting of the Serbian leadership on the respect of the fundamentals of the Dayton and Erdut agreements. The fact that Croatia has been waiting for quite some time at the entrance of the Council of Europe and that the latest meeting of the diplomats from this European association anticipated that it will become member should not provoke dissatisfaction among the Serbs. On the contrary. Although there should be no illusions about the political purity and impartiality of the Council of Europe, it seems however that once Croatia becomes its member, the position of the Serbian minority would inevitably have to comply to the European standards concerning minority rights. In that case, the national and human rights of the Serbs in Croatia would no longer be a question of individual or patriotic concern in their mother-country, but also a test case for European advocates of democracy. Without doubt, with its new society, Croatia will be the most ethnically pure state, surely the only one the has come ideally close to equaling state and nation, and thus representing a serious challenge for European representatives that have strongly criticized ethnic cleansing in the past years. Whether it wants it or not, the Croatian state-political leadership will have to take this fact into account - and this will give sufficient maneuvering space to the Serbian minority (especially in the Srem-Baranja Region) to finally acquire what it is entitled to. The strongest arguments of the Serbian minority leaders in Croatia are based on the well known experience with the return of the Serbian refugees to the western provinces around Knin, to the provinces of Banija, Kordun and Lika, as well as on ample data and facts presented at the HHO debate held in Zagreb. The fact that in the past year about 1000 people have died or have been killed in the territories where Serbs were once the majority, or the fact recently revealed by Ms. Elizabeth Renn - that only 2000 people have returned to Croatia after the "Operation Storm", inevitably justify the question: "How is Croatia warranting human and civil rights of the Serbs?" Furthermore, one shouldn't forget that two most important documents (Erdut and Dayton agreements) specify that all the citizens of former Croatia that have settled down in the Srem-Baranja region have the right to vote at the forthcoming elections, and that the concentration of population of same ethnic origin in neighboring counties entitles them to create a county community structure. Due to the fact that almost 150.000 people (mostly Serbs) have poured into the Srem-Baranja region, and that the moment when UN High Administrator Jacques Klein will call the elections is drawing near, it seems obvious that the fate of the local population will be a specific indicator for a change in the general standing of the Serbs in the new Croatian state. Once that Croatia becomes member of the Council of Europe, the Serbian national issue will not only become part of the debate of ethnic issues, but also an item in the broader discussion on the current state of democracy in Croatia. This state is probably best illustrated by the question raised lately by western media - why is Croatia to become member of the Council of Europe and not the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. (Politika, October 25, 1996) Serbia Today Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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