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Serbia Today, 97-01-24
Serbia Today
CONTENTS
[01] THE FOURTH ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS ON SUCCESSION ADJOURNED
[02] WORK OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL MADE EASIER
[03] MASS KILLING OF CIVILIANS
[04] SERIOUS MUTUAL ACCUSATIONS BETWEEN HDZ AND SDA
[05] "GREATER SERBIAN HOAX" OF BRANIMIR GLAVAS
[06] TUDJMAN IS PREPARING FOR VUKOVAR
[07] ANXIETY AMONG SERBS
[01] THE FOURTH ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS ON SUCCESSION ADJOURNED
At the end of the fourth round of negotiations on the succession of former
Yugoslavia, the British diplomate Sir Arthur Watts tried to find a
compromise between the confronted positions of the delegation of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the four former Yugoslav republics. It
was decided that the work will continue on identification of the state
property, on which the Yugoslav delegation is insisting, being of the view
that this is a condition for the property to be evaluated and divided.
Furthermore, there will be a series of bilateral talks with Sir Arthur
Watts prior to the next plenary session when there will be discussion of
the new version of the Watts' document. Head of the Yugoslav delegation
academician Kosta Mihailovic stated that the discussion about the property
abroad and the archives and their partial division, on which the four
republics are insisting, can not be separated from the question of the
state property.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-01-24
[02] WORK OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL MADE EASIER
Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Milan Milutinovic received yesterday
the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal Mrs. Louis Arbour,
who is together with her deputy Graham Bluit on a several day visit to
Belgrade. This is the first visit of the Prosecutor Mrs. Arbour to
Yugoslavia since she came in October 1996 to head the Tribunal. During the
talks about the past cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and the Tribunal, it was stated that the cooperation has received an
additional impetus through signing of the Agreement on opening in Belgrade
of the liaison office of the Prosecutor in August last year. This has
established regular contacts between the Prosecution of the Tribunal and
the Yugoslav authorities and non-governmental organizations, and the work
made easier of the Tribunal investigators and their access to the victims
of crimes and potential witnesses. Minister Milutinovic expressed hope that
Mrs. Arbour will contribute towards an unbiased operation of the Tribunal
functions, which will have an influence on the promotion of the mutual
cooperation and confidence.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Borba, 1997-01-24
[03] MASS KILLING OF CIVILIANS
According to the Report of the Yugoslav Committee for Gathering Data on the
War Crimes in Former Yugoslavia, Army of Croatia and the Croat Defense
Council (HVO) under the leadership of the Croat General Matijasevic, during
the occupation of the Serbian town of Mrkonjic Grad from October 1995 to
February 1996, committed a massacre over Serbian civilian population. Until
now from the mass grave at the Orthodox cemetery 181 body was exhumed, and
136 were identified, all of them of the Serbian nationality. During burial
of the earthly remains of the assassinated population in the cemetery in
Mrkonjic Grad, Croat Television, quoting the statement of the leader of the
HVO (Croat Defense Council) Colonel Dr. Boris Zdilar, reported that the
bodies are only "soldiers of the enemy army". However, among the killed
civilians, even the aged men 90 years old were found, which is
contradicting the claims of Dr. Zdilar. On the bodies during the autopsy,
which was attended also by the representatives of The Hague Tribunal, many
wounds and injuries were recorded, which is bearing witness of the fact
that victims before killing were subjected to merciless torture. Among the
victims were also bed-ridden persons, mentally disturbed and seriously
ailing persons, but they were all, nevertheless, assassinated in a most
bestial manner.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-01-24
[04] SERIOUS MUTUAL ACCUSATIONS BETWEEN HDZ AND SDA
The ruling parties in the Muslim-Croat Federation, the Croat Democratic
Community (HDZ) and the Muslim Party of Democratic Action (SDA), recently
have suspended talks and negotiations and started with serious mutual
accusations through their respective media. Especially hard debate was
caused by the statement of the President of Federation Kresimir Zubak that
Herzeg-Bosnia will not be disbanded and that the SDA (Party of Democratic
Action) headed by Alija Izetbegovic is not giving up on the creation of an
Islamic state in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Croat media are accusing the
Muslims of obstructing the signed agreements, of being opposed to the
establishment of the new Croat municipalities and of harassing Croats in
Bugojno, Zenica, Kakanj, Vares and the other cities. In response to these
accusations, the Muslim media are claiming that the human rights have
almost completely been denied to the few remaining Muslims in the
territories under Croat control and every day examples are being quoted as
illustration of expulsion of the Muslim families from the western Croat
part of Mostar.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Vecernje novosti, 1997-01-24
[05] "GREATER SERBIAN HOAX" OF BRANIMIR GLAVAS
Serbs in Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and Western Srem, judging by all the
signs, will not be able to vote if they are not in possession of the Croat
papers, Croat passport in particular. If they are to accept such papers,
especially if they are to do it in a large number, then again this will not
be good for them because in this way they will show that they are still
'dreaming their dream of Greater Serbia', says Branimir Glavas Bishop of
Osijek in his commentary. In an unscrupulous verbal acrobatics, Glavas is
making comparison between the past collective conversion of Serbs into
Catholicism and the present-day (eventual) collective acceptance by them of
the Croat passport. According to Glavas, at the time of World War Two in
the Independent State of Croatia perhaps there was conversion of Serbs into
Catholicism, but this was being done by the Catholic Church "with the
intention of helping Serbs in that madness of war". And Serbs have returned
this, further comments Glavas, in such a way that they have staged a trial
against Cardinal Kuharic, which was actually not a trial only of the
cardinal and church, but also of the entire Croat people, "under monstrous
accusation of collective conversion of the Orthodox population in Croatia".
Thus, just like they have invented that there was a collective conversion
into Catholicism, in the same way Serbs are now inventing that they are
forced to accept the Croat passport in order to be able to remain in
Croatia, which according to Glavas, "would be the continuation of poisoning
their descendants with falsehoods about the genocidal inclinations of
Croats". For these words spoken by Branimir Glavas, a well known person in
this region and in this war for his evil intentions shown towards Serbs, no
comment is necessary. What he is calling "a Greater Serbian hoax" is
nothing else but yet another of his and not only his hoax aimed at Serbs.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Politika ekspres, 1997-01-24
[06] TUDJMAN IS PREPARING FOR VUKOVAR
Croat Defense Minister Gojko Susak stated that President Tudjman will
ceremoniously enter Vukovar in April this year, and that after the
elections of March 16, 1997 a larger wave of refugees may be expected to
return to Eastern Slavonija. On this occasion he gave a message to the
local Serbian population that "it is in their interest to become as soon as
possible loyal and fully fledged citizens of Croatia", and that Croatia in
front of the world is guaranteeing Serbs their rights. It is their
obligation to cooperate and respect deadlines, said Susak, and in the case
of contrary "we must proceed with an other option which is neither in the
interest of Serbs here nor of Croatia". Croat Minister expressed belief
that the Croat authorities without casualties will reach the Croat border
on the Danube in the planned time. In this, he did not mention even one
word of the requests and proposals made by the Serbian side.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Politika, 1997-01-24
[07] ANXIETY AMONG SERBS
President of the Executive Council of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western
Srem, Dr. Vojislav Stanimirovic, stated yesterday at the press conference
that the Letter of Intent of the Croat Government, which refers to the
completion of reintegration of this region, caused anxiety among Serbian
population, because many of Serbian requests and proposals have been
ignored. "We are especially upset because of the intentions for the present
region which is controlled by the UNTAES, to be divided into two parts,
although we have insisted that it be preserved as an entity", says
Stanimirovic. Serbian authorities have warned many international factors
that this split of the region would make it impossible for Serbs to
organize any form of local self-government and therefore, there would be a
mass exodus of Serbs. In the Croat Letter of Intent also the question of
the return of refugees is completely ignored, although there was insistence
on this point in all the peace agreements. "This is yet another Croat
maneuver aimed for this sensitive problem to be resolved at a later date,
within the institutions of the state of Croatia", says Stanimirovic. While
commenting on the elections scheduled for March 16, 1997, Stanimirovic said
that this date is forcly premature, because the census of population has
not been done yet, and neither have the electoral units been determined,
nor the political parties formed and registered in this region. "This date
has political targets, so that the Serbian population would be forced to
accept Croat documents, which is a prerequisite for voting at the
elections", said Stanimirovic.
Serbia Today, 1997-01-24 ; Politika, 1997-01-24
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