Srpska Republika News Agency (SRNA), 98-03-17

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From: The Serbian Unity Congress Server at http://www.suc.org

MAR 16, 1998 EVENING

NEWS REVIEW, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

BIJELJINA - The President of the Municipality Board of the RS Socialist Party in Bijeljina Dragoljub Timic stated that there was no reason for postponing of a final arbitration decision on Brcko because democratic processes were present in RS. He added that a position of a city has a vital importance for RS.

BANJALUKA - Serbian Patriotic Party (SPS) warned in Banjaluka that "postponing of a final decision on Brcko and keeping of current status is in opposition with the Dayton Accord". In a public statement, delivered to SRNA, it has been emphasised that for the SPS was unacceptable a revision of the Dayton Accord and "everyone who wants something like that will be responsible for total disaster of the Dayton Accord."

BELGRADE - The spokesman of the Democratic Party (DS) Cedomir Antic assessed in Belgrade that a decision on Brcko " represents a serious threat to authority of Biljna Plavsic". "This decision, will only increase political crisis and economic tension in RS" - Antic said.

BELGRADE - The President of Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Vojislav Kostunica assessed that postponing of a final decision on Brcko is against the regulations of the Dayton Accord and the Arbitration Tribunal had exceeded its authority. "This decision represents only a link on a chain of arbitrary explanations of the Dayton Accord by his creators" - said Kostunica in his statement for SRNA. " They did not succeed in making Mostar and Sarajevo multiethnic and multicultural cities, so they are trying to the same thing with Brcko, trying to persuade people in RS that they must come to terms with a fact that their state is not unique any longer but divided" - said Kostunica.

SARAJEVO - Representatives of international organisations at a press- conference in Sarajevo supported a decision of the President of the Arbitration Tribunal Roberts Owen for the final solution for Brcko. " The International Community High Representative Carlos Westendorp demands for both sides to unconditionally fulfil all requests from the decision. He thinks that it is in his own interest, because eventual obstruction will exert influence on their final decision", said spokesman of the OHR Simon Haselock.

BELGRADE - The President of Serbian Democratic Party for Serbia Dragoljub Kojcic stated in Belgrade that SDS demanded for Serbs in Croatia to have a same level of autonomy as the international community wants for Albanians on Kosovo.

PRISTINA - One of the leaders of Albanians from Kosovo Azem Vlasi forwarded a letter to the Government of Serbia in which he said that "an independent and sovereign Kosovo should not be understood as a pre-condition for joining a dialogue, although it can not be rejected in advance as one of the options", Reuters reported. Softening of the Albanian stance came after a remark of Mahmut Bakaly, the Albanian politician. He said that "Albanian people could agree to live in separate republic within FRY but with equal status as the Serbia and Montenegro have".

PODGORICA - The Montenegro Ministry of Religions condemned an act of a schismatic in Bulgaria Orthodox Church self-styled patriarch Pimen, who promoted a priest Miras Dedejic to a bishop of canon nonexisting church in Montenegro. "Ministry of Religions maintains good relations with only gospel Orthodox Church in Montenergo, founded 800 years ago, and headed by metropolitan Amfilohije Radovic" - it is said in a statement by Minister Slobodan Tomovic.

ANKARA - Military and diplomatic officials of Turkey, the U.S., Bulgaria, BJRM, Rumania and Slovenia gathered in Ankara in order to discuss a proposal of Turkey about forming of multinational forces in Turkey, for interventions in the Balkans. "Forming of multinational forces for peace keeping in the Balkans, will represent an important event for security and stability in the whole region" - general Jeviq Bear, assistant chief of staff in Turkish army said at a meeting with foreign delegations.

SREBRENICA - The OSCE representatives along with representatives of the local authority and SDS and Serbian Radical Party (SRS) scheduled for March 24 a constitutive session for future composition of Srebrenica Municipal Assembly.

MAR. 17, 1998 DAY

NEWS REVIEW, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

SARAJEVO - The U.S. Ambassador to B&H Richard Kauzlarich stated in Pale that the solution concerning functioning of the Council of Ministers, offered by the OHR, was a very good one and it would be favourable if this organ accepted it. After talks with the co-presiding in the B&H Council of Ministers Boro Bosic, Kauzlarich emphasised that the U.S. Government was concerned because of inadequate functioning of the common organs and that today's meeting was the opportunity to discuss the problem. Bosic expressed hope that the problem would be solved in the following period, with the help from the international community and the U.S. Government.

SARAJEVO - The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevgeny Primakov will arrive in Sarajevo tomorrow and is due to meet members of the B&H Presidency in the National Museum at 1,20 pm - is confirmed to SRNA in the main office of Serbian members of the Council of Ministers. On the first day of the official visit to RS and the Muslim-Croat federation Primakov is due to meet the plenipotentiary Minister Jadranko Prlic and his deputies, Dragan Bozanic and Husein Zivalj, in the headquarters of the B&H Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 3,00 pm. The RS President Biljana Plavsic and Prime Minister Milorad Dodik will have talks with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Banjaluka on March 19.

BRCKO - Representatives of Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and Socialist Party (SP) in Brcko have asked for a special package of measures, focused entirely on the arbitration procedure, to be adopted by the Government of Republika Srpska (RS) at a special session. In the joint statement delivered to SRNA, representatives of these political parties emphasised that, in spite of displeasure with the Main Arbiter's decision, in the future period they would do everything to persuade representatives of the international community to decide for Brcko to stay within RS.

BRCKO - The Muslim and Croat officials in Brcko continued to boycott the multi-ethnic administration in the town. The president of the Municipal Assembly Mirsad Capo, deputy mayor Mirsad Islamovic and members of the Executive Board Sulejman Kusturica and Ivan Krndelj have not been coming to their work without no explanation from March 13 up to now.

BRCKO - The Croats and Muslims from the multi-ethnic police in Brcko are working again in joint patrols in the centre of the town from this day on - the head of the Police Station in Brcko, Teodor Gavric, confirmed for SRNA. According to the IPTF's preventive plan, the multi-ethnic police in Brcko has been redistributed from March 12 until today, while the arbitration decision was waited for. According to the plan, the Croat and Muslim policemen were patrolling only in the zones for returnees around the town.

BANJALUKA - The Secretary General of Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Nenad Bastinac, assessed in Banjaluka that it was very good that the arbitrage decision anticipated for Brcko to stay within RS until further notice. "Our party thinks that the decision left the possibility for the RS Government to accomplish everything it supported regarding the Dayton peace accord", Bastinac emphasised at a press-conference.

BANJALUKA - The spokesman of SFOR's sector Southwest captain Ian Stock stated in Banjaluka that a military manoeuvres "Dynamic Action '98", the largest one which the NATO forces would perform this year in western Europe, would be carried out in B&H from March 20 - April 7. At a press-conference for reporters of international organisations Stock said that 1,800 soldiers, 400 combat vehicles, air force and battleships would take part in the exercise, which goal was to drill the support for SFOR in B&H.

SARAJEVO - The SFOR's spokesman Peter Clark stated in Sarajevo that the Serbian Press Agency (SRNA) had shown readiness to inform correctly and impartially, completely checking information, and in that way showed the will to work in accordance with international standards. Paying gratitude and respect to editorial board and editorial policy of SRNA, Clark assessed that the agency was reporting views and opinions of all participants in the political life in B&H, without no censure, and in that way was objectively informing the public.

MAR. 17, 1998 EVENING

NEWS REVIEW, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

SARAJEVO - The co-presiding of the B&H Council of Ministers Boro Bosic and the Greek Ambassador to Sarajevo Procopius Mansuranis had talks in Pale about modalities of Greek help in solving the problems in B&H and emphasised mutual interest in developing of relations between Serbian and Greek nations. Bosic emphasised this was just one of numerous talks with the Greek Ambassador and reminded that their significant characteristic was exchange of opinions on the problems in B&H and ways in which Greece, as a friendly country and a member of the EU, could help in solving them.

BIJELJINA - RS Democratic Party (DS) expected that the arbitration decision for the inter-entity boundary line (IEBL) in the region of Brcko would be favourable for the Serbian side, considering the cooperation after democratic changes and election of the new Government. The organising secretary of DS, Gavrilo Antonic, emphasised in a statement for SRNA that the RS democrats believed to be able to procure for Brcko to stay within RS, also after the final decision, using the policy promoted by RS.

NOVI SAD - The president of the Serbian Radical Party's (SRS) City Board of Novi Sad and a representative in the National Assembly of Serbia, Igor Mirovic, stated for SRNA that the party would fight for Brcko to stay within RS with "all heart and wisdom". "When the arbitration commission's decision concerning the future status of Brcko is in stake, stances of the Radicals of Serbia are identical with stances of SRS RS", Mirovic said in Novi Sad.

NOVI SAD - The president of Reformative Democratic Party of Vojvodina, Aleksandar Popov, stated for SRNA that the decision of the Arbitration Commission on the future status of Brcko was productive. "All except this kind decision would be prejudice of matter by the international community since the Dayton peace accord did not implement any entity on any ground, especially when it is about taking care of the refugees and opening communications toward FR Yugoslavia", Popov said.

BANJALUKA - The RS Minister of Education Nenad Suzic emphasised in Banjaluka that the prerequisite for effective work in this branch was organised and functional modernising of the Ministry of Education, for which cause the help of the international community, amounting to US$ 10 millions, should arrive soon. After a session of the Expert Colegium of the Republican Educational-Pedagogical Office he said that those means would be used to improve currently extremely difficult situation in the education.

KOZARSKA DUBICA - Preparations for opening of the future border crossing between RS and Croatia across the bridge on Una are in full progress, the Municipal Assembly's president of Kozarska Dubica, Pantelija Curguz, stated for SRNA. He confirmed that few days ago representatives of the U.S. financial and donative organisation, USAID, announced in Kozarska Dubica that means for reconstruction of the bridge on Una, seriously damaged in the war, had been approved.

BANJALUKA - The RS Minister of Internal Affairs Milovan Stankovic promoted at a press-conference in Banjaluka the new official authorisations, which would only authorised persons in this Ministry possess from April 10. According to Stankovic, the new authorisations have been introduced "to eliminate and stop certain forms of criminal in the Ministry of Internal Affairs". "According to the established procedure, the heads of all 9 police stations and adequate organs of MUP are obliged to deliver precise data on persons authorised to possess the new official authorisations from 25-31 March, after which they will be given the new documents", Stankovic said.

SARAJEVO - The chairman of the Serbian Democratic Party's (SDS) Presidency Aleksa Buha assessed that there was "no real reason" to postpone the final decision of the Brcko's status and added that RS had been "endlessly damaged" with such a decision. He stated for the Beta agency that the decision of the Arbitration Commission was "a political, and not a legal text, which it interferes in the internal affairs of RS".

KRAGUJEVAC - A federal delegate and the president of Serbian Radical Party (SRS) for Sumadija Natasa Jovanovic stated for SRNA in Kragujevac that the achieved sovereignty of RS was being ignored by postponing of the final decision for Brcko. "Brcko is the artery of RS and SRS is convinced that the only solution for the town is to stay within RS, since any other solution would be unacceptable", Mrs. Jovanovic said.

BANJALUKA - The president of Labour Union (SS) of RS Cedo Volas had talks in Banjaluka with the high representative of the International Conference of Independent Syndicates from Brussels, Jirsen Buksbaum, about admission of RS workers' association to this organisation. It is said in a report from the SSRS president's Cabinet, delivered to SRNA, that equal economic help of the international community for RS as a prerequisite for solving of social problems, implementation of the Dayton peace accord and improving living standards were discussed as well.

SARAJEVO - The B&H House for Human Rights made a decision that the Muslim- Croat federation has to pay out financial compensation to a Serb Sretko Damjanovic, to whom the Military Court in Sarajevo pronounced a death sentence in 1993, charging him with an alleged war crime. As the Croatian radio Herzeg-Bosna reports, in the meantime it has been discovered that the two persons, for whose murder he has been charged with, are safe and sound.

SRBINJE - On March 16 about 10,00 pm at the exit from Gorazde the Muslims stoned ambulance vehicle of the General Hospital from Srbinje, with three serious patients and one doctor in it. The vehicle, with marks of the Red Cross on it, was returning from Belgrade, where the patients were on treatment.

/end/

From the Serbian Unity Congress Server at http://www.suc.org

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