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Serbia Today, 97-01-16
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] BILDT: "I FEAR ANOTHER MASS EXODUS OF THE SERBS"
[02] MEMORANDUM BY EXILED SERBIAN INTELLECTUALS TO THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
[03] IRANIAN AID FOR THE MOSLEM-CROATIAN FEDERATION
[04] THE SERBS MAINTAIN THEIR DEMANDS
[05] DECISION ON BRCKO BY FEBRUARY 15TH
[06] BOTH SIDES CONDEMN TERRORISM
[07] LOCAL ELECTIONS PROBLEMS SHOULD BE SETTLED WITHIN POLITICAL SYSTEM
INSTITUTIONS
[08] DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OWNERSHIP
AND STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION
[01] BILDT: "I FEAR ANOTHER MASS EXODUS OF THE SERBS"
International community high official = Mr. Carl Bildt, stated yesterday
that he fears a mass exodus of Serbs from Eastern Slavonija. At a press
conference held in Mostar, Mr. Bildt said that Zagreb should act in a way
to prevent local Serbs and Serbian refugees living in the region from
thinking about running away. "It is extremely important that conditions be
created to convince the Serbs living in Eastern Slavonija to stay there,"
said Mr. Bildt and added: "If this is not done, a major wave of refugees
will come from Eastern Slavonija, and this will have a negative social and
political effect on the on the areas that the Serbs control in Bosnia".
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Nasa Borba, 1997-01-16
[02] MEMORANDUM BY EXILED SERBIAN INTELLECTUALS TO THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
"We hope that you will not allow a program designed back at the time of
fascist rule in Europe - to exterminate the Serbian people in Krajina - to
be implemented during your mandate." - states among other things the "
Memorandum of Exiled Serbian Intellectuals from the Republic of Croatia and
the Republic of Serbian Krajina", that is to be submitted to the UN
Security Council and General Assembly, and to the most prominent political
figures throughout the world. The Serbian people in Croatia has been drawn
into a war because of its constitutional degradation, the Croatian
secession and the general determination of the Serbian people to avoid the
break-up of the second Yugoslavia, but especially due to the fears based on
its tragic historical experience at the time of "Independent State of
Croatia" (NDH) in 1941-1945, states the Memorandum. The document also
reiterates that the Serbs in Croatia were never (except during the
existence of the Nazi puppet state of NDH), citizens of some sort of
"Croatian state", for the simple reason that such a state never existed.
The Serbian intellectuals that signed the Memorandum, ask the UN to ensure
the recognition of the same rights for the Serbs that the Moslems and
Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina already enjoy, because before the war they
did have the same civil and political rights. "It would be a great
injustice and stigma for you, if one side is given the right to plunder,
steal private property, to bomb for days on, to massacre civilians, to burn
homes, erase all traces of another people, and other forms of violence,
while the other side - suffering all this - is denied the possibility to
return to its centuries old homesteads, to the land where all its ancestors,
friends and relatives are burried. We believe that this would create a
precedent jeopardizing the future of our civilization." stresses the exiled
Serbian intellectuals.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Ekspres Politika, 1997-01-16
[03] IRANIAN AID FOR THE MOSLEM-CROATIAN FEDERATION
For this year, Iran has allocated 50 millions of dollars for the economic
reconstruction of the Moslem-Croatian Federation in Bosnia, stated the
Iranian Ambassador in Sarajevo - Mr. Ibrahim Taherian in an interview for
the Sarajevan daily "Dnevni Avaz". According to the same diplomat, Iran
also signed contracts for reconstruction projects with two Bosnian
companies, but failed to reveal the names of the companies and the value of
the contracts. According to various news agencies, Mr. Taherian remarked
that he expects that the West will criticize his government and the Bosnian
Federation for this new agreement on aid, because the western countries
fear "all relations based on money". Last week, US Government officials
accused Teheran of secretly sending 500.000 dollars to Alija Izetbegovic -
leader of the Democratic Action Party (SDA) - for his elections campaign in
September. The SDA confirmed that it received this money from Iran, but
affirms that the funds are to be used for schooling little refugees and war
orphans.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Politika, 1997-01-16
[04] THE SERBS MAINTAIN THEIR DEMANDS
The letter on the conclusion of the peaceful reintegration of Eastern
Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem that the Croatian Government addressed
to the UN Security Council, contains several positive elements, but
generally does not meet the expectations of the Serbian population in the
region - stated Dr. Vojislav Stanimirovic - chairman of the Provincial
Executive Council. The positive aspects include the Croatian readiness to
grant the Serbs full educational and cultural autonomy, and the article
specifying that Serbian young men will not be drafted by the Croatian Army
for two years after the end of the UNTAES mandate. The most controversial
part of the document concerns the Croatian Government demand to split the
present provincial territory into two new Croatian counties. In order to
solve this controversy, the Serbian side will submit a demand to the US
Government that Ass. Secretary of State John Cornbloom should visit the
province as soon as possible.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Vecernje Novosti, 1997-01-16
[05] DECISION ON BRCKO BY FEBRUARY 15TH
The negotiations on the future of the town of Brcko, currently taking place
in Rome as part of the International Arbitration Committee activities, will
probably be conclude around February 15th. Quoting well-informed diplomatic
sources, Reuters news agency reports that the US proposed that Brcko be
given the status of integral part of the territory of the Republic of
Srpska. These same sources affirm that US Assistant Secretary of State John
Cornbloom signed a document containing possible solutions for Brcko, but
giving precedence to the option of granting Brcko to the RS. Should Mr.
Cornbloom's proposal be adopted, Brcko will remain part of Republic of
Srpska territory, and the Bosnian Federation will be given a transit
corridor through the Brcko area, but the line of communication is to be
placed under international control. Reuters also reveals that RS and
Washington's European allies are quite willing to support this proposal,
but that it will most certainly be strongly opposed by the leadership of
the Bosnian Federation.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Politika, 1997-01-16
[06] BOTH SIDES CONDEMN TERRORISM
Ms. Elisabeth Renn - Special UN Reporter for Human Rights in former
Yugoslavia, visited Kosovo yesterday and talked with representatives of the
local administration and of the Albanian and Serbian organizations and
societies. During Ms. Renn's meeting with the Superintendent of the Kosovo
County - Mr. Aleksa Jokic, his deputy Milos Nesovic and provincial
Secretary of Information Bosko Drobnjak, it has been remarked that her
visit is taking place at a time when ethnic Albanian separatists have
renewed their terrorist attacks against their own co-nationals that are
loyal to Serbia. "These attacks carried out by ethnic Albanian terrorists
have been condemned by both sides and they also agreed that the
international community should take a stand in this regard", reads the
statement issued after the talks. Yesterday, Ms. Renn insisted for the
first time on a meeting with representatives of the Serbian Resistance
Movement Association. The organization chairman - Mr. Momcilo Trajkovic
stated that he told Ms. Renn that Serbian-Albanian relations in Kosovo and
Metohija are primarily affected by the rejection of the Serbian state by
the ethnic Albanian separatist movement.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Borba, 1997-01-16
[07] LOCAL ELECTIONS PROBLEMS SHOULD BE SETTLED WITHIN POLITICAL SYSTEM
INSTITUTIONS
The Supreme Defense Council affirmed its support to the Serbian authorities
in their efforts to use the existing political system institution in
solving problems generated by the election controversies in a given number
of constituencies, since this would greatly help strengthen the overall
stability of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and increase its international
reputation - reads the statement issued by the Military Cabinet of the
President of FR Yugoslavia. Analyzing the international standing of
Yugoslavia, and the efforts our country is making in order to accelerate
its complete re-integration into the international community, the Supreme
Defense Council concluded that the Yugoslav international reputation has
been negatively affected by the growing political differences, lack of
political dialogue within the system institutions, and the increase of
economic problems.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Borba, 1997-01-16
[08] DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OWNERSHIP
AND STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic received the managing team of the
Italian "Telecom" company, headed with General Manager Tomaso Tomasi,
conducting negotiations with the Serbian Government and the Serbian Post
about a partnership regarding the future development of telecommunications
in Serbia and investments in this important economic sector. President
Milosevic expressed satisfaction for the clear interest and readiness to
promote partnership in this field, since this will open an important
prospective for technological progress, economic expansion and high
profitability of the investments. The project, Mr. Milosevic remarked, is
an essential part of the overall structural and ownership transformation
that our country has embarked upon, thus creating the preconditions for a
more intense economic development of the country.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-16 ; Politika, 1997-01-16
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