Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-09
From: Tanjug, Yugoslavia, via Serbian Unity Congress <http://www.suc.org/>
Jun 9, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW
CONTENTS
[01] BELGRADE DAILY COMMENTARY ON HAGUE TRIBUNAL PRESIDENT
[02] SERBIAN INTELLECTUALS ASK THAT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KARADZIC BE DISCONTINUED
[03] HAGUE TRIBUNAL ASKED TO INDICT THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR 1994 SARAJEVO
[04] MOSTAR MUSLIMS CALL FOR MASSIVE TURNOUT AT ELECTIONS
[05] BRITISH SOLDIERS TO TESTIFY AGAINST SERBS
[06] DEMIREL TO VISIT SARAJEVO IN JUNE
[07] CROATIAN LIBERALS SHAKEN BY INTRA-PARTY CONFLICTS
[08] TENSION RUNS HIGH IN DIVIDED MOSTAR AHEAD OF ELECTIONS
[09] NORWEGIAN DIPLOMAT SAYS WESTERN MEDIA WRONGED THE SERBS
[10] SERBIAN PRESIDENT ON RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
[11] MILOSEVIC WAS FOR KEEPING EX-YUGOSLAVIA, PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICTS
[12] MILOSEVIC: FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA LIVES AS MULTIETHNIC STATE
[13] MILOSEVIC STRESSES KOSOVO INTERNAL AFFAIR OF SERBIA, YUGOSLAVIA
[14] MILOSEVIC SAYS NOBODY IN PALE OPPOSES DAYTON ACCORD IMPLEMENTION
[15] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
[16] RULING PARTY HDZ AND CROATIAN LIBERALS TO FORM COALITION
[17] SERBS IN SLOVENIA DO NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE STATUS
[18] ELECTION COALITION FORMED IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
[19] U.S. MILITARY CONSOLIDATION IN THE BALKANS
[20] FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE BY NEW APOSTOLIC NUNCIO IN BELGRADE
[21] NEW TIVAT-ZURICH-TIVAT AIRLINE SOON
[01] BELGRADE DAILY COMMENTARY ON HAGUE TRIBUNAL PRESIDENT
belgrade, june 8 (tanjug) - the belgrade daily politika ekspres
on saturday questioned the sincerity of antonio cassese, the
president of the hague international tribunal for war crimes in
former yugoslavia.
leaving belgrade following an official visit on thursday, cassese
said he believed in yugoslavia's promises that it would cooperate
actively with the tribunal, but on his arrival in sarajevo, he
threatened that sanctions would be reimposed against (bosnian serb
republic) republika srpska, and possibly also against yugoslavia,
because the serb side had not extradited persons indicted for war
crimes, the daily said.
politika ekspres said cassese had in belgrade reiterated his
regret that a step further had not been taken -- that a concrete bill
on cooperation and extradition of indicted persons with the tribunal
had not been proposed in yugoslavia.
however, the daily said, it seems his disappointment was so great
that as soon as his direct flight to sarajevo was over, cassese had
sent sharp threats 'from a safe distance' and a 'neutral terrain', so
different from belgrade, which had evidently been taken as 'hostile
territory' where he should 'refrain from any sincerity.'
'if there can be any (sincerity) at all in such politics and
diplomacy,' the politika ekspres commentary said.
the daily said 'it is interesting that (high representative for
bosnia carl) bildt immediately reacted to this rhetorical bombshell,
who, refusing to enter into direct polemics with cassese, explained
that sanctions could possible be reimposed (only) against republika
srpska, and only in the event of a complete breakdown of the peace
process...'
'it would be naive to think that bildt had sided with serbs in
this case,' said the commentary. 'bildt is aware of the delicacy of
his and all other positions and strictly follows possible and desired
moves,' said the daily.
cassese's statement was also immediately commented on by u.s.
state department spokesman nicholas burns, politika expres said.
burns calmed the situation by saying that the united states was not
considering the reactivation of sanctions against serbs (republika
srpska or yugoslavia), because he said it would be a
counter-productive move, the commentary said.
wondering at the fact that statements by cassese were so very
different from the political stand of the actual founder of the
tribunal, the united states, the commentary said it would be
premature to think that something had changed in the true
independence and objectivity of this international institution.
if this were so, the daily said, cassese would have voiced his
opinion on the alleged lack of cooperation of serbs at some other
place, and not in sarajevo, following a meeting with prime minister
hasan muratovic of the muslim-dominated bosnia-herzegovina
government, politika ekspres said.
pointing out that 'no-one seems to be acting truly independently
in the tribunal-u.s.-bildt triangle,' the commentator concluded that
'this is perhaps an occasion for yet another pair of scales to be set
into motion, with pressure on one side and relaxing on the other,
while those in the middle will be put completely off balance.'
[02] SERBIAN INTELLECTUALS ASK THAT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KARADZIC BE DISCONTINUED
belgrade, june 9 (tanjug) - a group of prominent serbian
intellectuals have asked that the hague international tribunal
discontinue proceedings against (bosnian serb) republika srpska
president radovan karadzic, the belgrade daily vecernje novosti said
on sunday.
the proceedings are not based on facts, but on political motives
and are aimed against democratic processes in former yugoslavia, 'in
particular the territories where serbs have lived for centuries,'
said the declaration.
'during the civil war in bosnia-herzegovina, karadzic did not
issue a single order or any other document which could fan hatred in
war or call for or incite genocide and ethnic cleansing against the
enemies in the war, muslims and croats,' the daily said quoting parts
of the declaration.
'the stabilization of peace in bosnia-herzegovina is not possible
without respect for the interests of the serb people in republika
srpska, or without the participation of r.s. president radovan
karadzic,' said the declaration which was signed by 24 serbian
intellectuals.
among the signatories are 10 members of the serbian academy of
sciences and arts -- smilja avramovic, kosta cavoski, dejan
medakovic, mihailo markovic, milorad ekmecic, ljubomir tadic,
vasilije krestic, and others.
the declaration further said that, at the initiative of radovan
karadzic, the 'r.s. assembly on dec. 17, 1992, adopted a declaration
on an end to the war, which expressed the will of the serb people to
stop the war and to cooperate with the international community.'
[03] HAGUE TRIBUNAL ASKED TO INDICT THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR 1994 SARAJEVO
massacre
belgrade, june 9 (tanjug) - the belgrade daily politika ekspres
on sunday urged the opening of proceedings against those responsible
for the massacre of civilians at sarajevo's markale market in 1994,
for which the serb side had been unfoundedly blamed at the time.
in a special commentary, the daily reacted to a specific
confession, a statement made these days by former u.n. peace mission
chief for bosnia yasushi akashi. akashi said that the mine which
killed 68 innocent civilians at this sarajevo market in february 1994
had been fired by bosnian muslims.
the japanese diplomat, now u.n. undersecretary for humanitarian
affairs, said on friday in an excuslive interview to the german dpa
news agency that the existence of a secret report on markale had in
fact never been a secret.
until this time, u.n. officials have strongly denied the
existence of such a document which contains evidence that the muslim
side, under the command of president alija izetbegovic, had staged
the markale massacre in order to provoke retaliation against bosnian
serbs with the help of international mediators.
the politika ekspres commentary urged the tribunal for war crimes
committed in former yugoslavia to open proceedings against the
perpetrators, headed by izetbegovic and the accomplices who have been
covering up this crime to this day, on the grounds of 'the words of
yasushi akashi, a man whose words cannot be doubted.'
[04] MOSTAR MUSLIMS CALL FOR MASSIVE TURNOUT AT ELECTIONS
belgrade, june 9 (tanjug) - the authorities of muslim mostar on
sunday urged all mostar muslims, including refugees in the country
and abroad, to come to the polls and vote for a united city, muslim
radio sarajevo said.
'history and your offspring will never forgive you if you do not
vote and take part in the final decisive battle for an integral
mostar,' said the proclamation by the muslim election headquarters.
meanwhile, croatian democratic union president for croat mostar
jadranko topic told croatian radio that mostar would remain divided
into three croat and three muslim municipalities even after the
elections.
after the forming of the nominal muslim-croat federation, mostar
remained a divided city of muslim east mostar and croat west mostar
and was placed under a two-year administration of the european union.
about 45,000 serb citizens of mostar were banished from this city on
the river neretva before the binational federation was formed.
e.u. administrator ricardo perez casado recently said the
elections in mostar would be held on june 30.
observers consider these elections a major test for the general
elections in bosnia-herzegovina set for mid-september. they also
believe the mostar elections will be a test for the muslim-croat
federation which is shaken by numerous conflicts between the two
sides, formerly allies in their war against serbs.
[05] BRITISH SOLDIERS TO TESTIFY AGAINST SERBS
london, june 9 (tanjug) - in its latest campaign against bosnian
serbs, the hague tribunal has involved a group of british soldiers
who were deployed in bosnia-herzegovina last year.
the british ministry of defence has confirmed that the
investigators of the tribunal, which was set up in may 1993 for the
prosecution of war crimes in the former yugoslavia, had contacted
five soldiers of the welsh fusiliers who had been stationed in the
town of gorazde.
the investigation has been launched on the basis of suspcion that
they were maltreated in violation of the geneva convention while
being held by the army of the republika srpska (rs), the serb entity
in bosnia-herzegovina.
they were among the 33 welsh fusiliers who were held by the rs
army after nato air raids against bosnian serb positions in late may
last year.
the london paper the mail on sunday said the investigation was
aimed to bring charges against two unnamed rs army colonels for war
crimes and that the alleged maltreatment of british troops should be
the main evidence in the charge.
the latest campaign against bosnian serbs was preceded by a visit
of tribunal chief prosecutor richrd goldstone to london.
while the 'blue helmets' were held in the republika srpska, the
united nations and the international community, including britain,
were firm in their stand that the 'blue helmets' were not war
prisoners because the united nations was not at war with the bosnian
serbs.
the tribunal now wants to prove that the british soldiers were
prisoners of war and that the united nations was at war with the
bosnian serbs.
until may, the tribunal indicted 57 suspects in the former
yugoslavia -- 46 serbs, eight croats and three muslims.
[06] DEMIREL TO VISIT SARAJEVO IN JUNE
ankara, june 9 (tanjug) - turkish president suleyman demiel ai
l
visit sarajevo on june 17 and 18, for the first time since war broke
out in bosnia-herzegovina, unofficial but well-informed circles in
ankara told tanjug on sunday.
demirel will receive an award presented by bosnian muslim leader
alija izetbegovic to persons who have contributed most to peace in
these regions, the sources said. demirel will also hold talks on
turkey's contribution to the reconstruction of war-ravaged
bosnia-herzegovina, they said.
turkey has promised to bosnia an 80-million-dollar credit under
favourable conditions, but it has so far earmarked only 26 million as
it is itself facing complex economic problems and huge debts to
foreign creditors.
demirel will also confer with his hosts on overcoming problems in
relations between bosnian muslims and croats which have been blocking
the functioning of the artificially formed muslim-croat federation in
bosnia-herzegovina, the sources said.
demirel had tried to visit sarajevo on two occasions. once, in
mid-1994, and again early last year, but he had turned back from the
croatian port-city of split because he feared bosnian serbs would
down his plane.
[07] CROATIAN LIBERALS SHAKEN BY INTRA-PARTY CONFLICTS
zagreb, june 9 (tanjug) - following an announcement of a possible
coalition with the ruling croatian democratic union (hdz), the ranks
of the biggest opposition party - the croatian social liberal party
(hsls) might be seriously shaken.
the independent rijeka daily novi list said on sunday that
croatian liberal leader vlado gotovac had admitted he had heard from
hundreds of people these days who were 'tearfully begging me not to
enter into a partnership with the hdz.'
meanwhile, the daily said, certain important liberal branches in
the country have announced they would change parties collectively.
it seems that a rift might even take place in the so far leading
opposition party following the latest moves by its leaders, judging
from a statement by one of its prominent members and founders,
asembly deputy and former secretary-general of the party, bozo
kovacevic.
kovacevic said a small group of people had persuaded the party
president to negotiate with the hdz and thus prevented him from
running for republican president at the next elections to be held
next year.
'these people would sell the party for a few ministerial seats,'
kovacevic warned in a statement to novi list.
the rijeka liberal branch has already distanced itself from a
possible coalition of the liberal leader and the party of croatian
president franjo tudjman, making it clear that they would 'never
agree to cooperate with the hdz.'
polls among the croatian electorate had shown gotovac as
practically the only serious rival to croatian president tudjman at
the next elections.
[08] TENSION RUNS HIGH IN DIVIDED MOSTAR AHEAD OF ELECTIONS
belgrade, june 9 (tanjug) - tension in muslim-croat relations in
mostar, southern bosnia-herzegovina, has heightened following several
grave incidents which occurred in both parts of the town over the
past fews days, the muslim radio mostar said on sunday.
after arrests made by both sides, hostage detention and mafia
showdowns in the eastern muslim part of mostar, tension in the
strained relations between the federal partners reached a culmination
after the wounding of a croat, the radio said.
mostar croat authorities have sharply protested to eu
administrator for mostar ricardo perez casado of spain, who refused
to connect the latest incidents with election obstruction and said
that the incidents should be dealt with by policemen and not the
politicians.
the previous eu administrator for mostar, hans koschnik of
germany, failed to reunite the town in line with the peace agreement
for bosnia.
local croats and muslims expelled about 40,000 serbs from the
area of mostar at the outset of the war in bosnia in 1992. muslims
and croats fiercely fought for supremacy over the territory in 1993.
the muslim-croat fighting was put to an end after the signing of
an agreement on the setting up of a joint federation in bosnia in
march 1994 under u.s. pressure. mutual hostility between the federal
partners has not been overcome.
the mostar elections, originally scheduled for may 31, were
postponed to late june this year following objections made by muslim
authorities.
[09] NORWEGIAN DIPLOMAT SAYS WESTERN MEDIA WRONGED THE SERBS
oslo, june 9 (tanjug) - norwegian diplomat kai eide said that the
biggest wrong the western media had done was to accuse serbs alone
for the violence committed by all the conflicting parties in the
territory of the former yugoslavia.
the former united nations peace mediator in ex-yugoslavia said
during a debate on media coverage of the civil war in the area that
muslims in bosnia-hezregovina were the most skillful in their use of
the media which served to create a picture of sarajevo as a muslim
town exposed to serb aggression.
eide, the assistant of the former co-chairmn of the international
conference on the former yugoslavia thorvald stoltenberg of norway,
said that some 90 percent of the news reports from bosnia-herzegovina
were launched from the muslim side and only 10 percent from the serb
side.
during the debate in the town of bergen norwegian judge hane
sofie greve agreeed with ambassador eide on the key role played by
western media.
the media did a unique job in that conflict, said greve who was
member of the u.n. commission for gathering material on war crimes
committed in the former yugoslavia.
thorn egrim, a well-known left-oriented norwegian intellectual,
asked journalists why the media produced a negative picture of the
serbs while at the same time depicting muslims and croats as
innocent.
[10] SERBIAN PRESIDENT ON RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
bonn, june 9 (tanjug) - serbian president slobodan milosevic
feels that the emplacement of peace in bosnia-herzegovina should
result in the restoration of ties among the former yugoslav peoples
and their ties with the other nations in europe and the world.
speaking for germany's der spiegel magazine in an interview
released ahead of publication on june 10, milosevic said that germany
could be a valuable ally of the federal republic of yugoslavia,
especially in preserving the peace.
the federal republic of yugoslavia and germany can establish
highly diverse economic, cultural and political cooperation, he
added.
milosevic said that the german press had in recent years
published a lot of false information about developments in former
yugoslavia and biased interpretations of them, which had gone
especially to the detriment of serbia.
serbia has been pictured as the only or at least the main cause
of war in former yugoslavia, but this is not so, he said.
he went on to say that the history that weighed on the two
countries must remain in the past, and not be repeated either for
serbia or for germany.
they are both european nations and in the same boat on this
continent, and the responsibility of the strong and the rich nations
lies in helping the others, not in imposing their own life-styles on
them, he stressed.
milosevic commented on the agreement struck with german foreign
minister klaus kinkel in belgrade in may about the repatriation of
120,000 asylum-seekers to the federal republic of yugoslavia from
germany by end 1997.
in this context, he said that all young people who had refused to
respond to the army call-up in the early 1990's had been amnestied a
few months ago and were free to return.
he said, however, that this pertained only to citizens of the
federal republic of yugoslavia, and not to all those frauds who
thought they would fare better in germany if they posed as victims of
persecution by 'the serbian dictatorship.'
if germany has wasted money on them, it is not to be pitied,
because the authorities must have known quite well that nobody has
been driven out of the federal republic of yugoslavia and that nobody
has had to run away from any kind of pressure or terror, he added.
yugoslavia holds no political prisoners, unless those who shoot
at police officers and are found in possession of large quantities of
fire arms for army use, explosives, ammunitions and the like should
be considered as such, milosevic said.
[11] MILOSEVIC WAS FOR KEEPING EX-YUGOSLAVIA, PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICTS
bonn, june 9 (tanjug) - serbian president slobodan milosevic said
that from the outset of the yugoslav crisis he was for keeping the
former federation, which he believed to be in the interest of all the
peoples who lived in the area, and when despite everything clashes
broke out he was for their peaceful settlement.
in an interview to the highest ciruclation german weekly der
speigel to be published on monday milosevic said the dayton peace
agreement was being successfully implemented first of all because it
took into account the formula of equality of all three peoples in
bosnia-herzegovina which he himself had always advocated.
'the war is over, that is clear to everyone,' milosevic said and
added 'the people want peace'.
lasting and consolidated peace in bosnia depends on treating
equally the interests of the muslims, the serbs and the croats,
milosevic said. 'an equal stand towards the three peoples is the key
to peace in bosnia' he said.
he said that war in bosnia-herzegovina was not attributable to
an individual or even a single people and stressed that
'responsiblity for the war is borne by all three peoples, and
especially great responsiblity is carried by some members of the
international community'.
'war in bosnia was waged between three peoples and each of these
three peoples had ideologists of war. each of these ideologists was
prodded from outside bosnia,' milosevic said.
speaking about the large number of victims and refugees caused by
the conflicts in the territory of the former yugoslavia milosevic
said that civil war was not worth the price of a single life.
regarding his role in the peace process the serbian president
said he was doing everything to contribute to it adding that the
united states and europe were justified in looking upon him as an
important partner.
[12] MILOSEVIC: FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA LIVES AS MULTIETHNIC STATE
bonn, june 9 (tanjug) - serbian president slobodan milosevic
views as important the fact that the federal republic of yugoslavia
has survived as a multi-ethnic state and has avoided inter-ethnic
strife.
speaking for germany's der spiegel magazine, milosevic said that
this was a major achievement in a situation where a large-scale war
was flaming in the balkans.
speaking about the media campaign waged against yugoslavia all
through the crisis years, he said that nobody could now deny that
those who had fought and won a multi-ethnic state -- the federal
republic of yugoslavia -- had been branded as nationalists.
the federal republic of yugolavia was from the start branded even
as the aggressor and exposed to brutal sanctions at the hands of the
international community, he added.
meanwhile, milosevic said, those who seceded and created
ethnically pure and nationalistic states have been lauded as
democrats and have received support and recognition from the
international community.
the aggressive nationalism and the creation of ethnically pure
states, or rather statelets, with the help of the international
commumnity, cannot have anything in common with anything good, with
any positive values at the close of the 20th century, he added.
he said he firmly believed that nobody could deny in the future
that europe had acted against its own best interests in the yugoslav
crisis.
asked what the war had brought the serbian nation, milosevic said
that it must be borne in mind that the war had been imposed on the
serbs outside serbia.
the serbs in bosnia-herzegovina had been for decades one of the
republic's three constituent nations under the republic's
constitution, he said.
they refused, therefore, to be stripped overnight of the right to
decide about their republic and become second-rate citizens in some
jamahiriyah, he said.
in this context, he stressed that the war in the lands of former
yugoslavia had bypassed the federal republic of yugoslavia, and that
the bosnian serbs had achieved the republika srpska, their entity in
bosnia-herzegovina.
[13] MILOSEVIC STRESSES KOSOVO INTERNAL AFFAIR OF SERBIA, YUGOSLAVIA
bonn, june 9 tanjug) - serbian president slobodan milosevic
stressed in an interview to the german weekly der spiegel that he
considered the question of the southern province of kosovo and
metohija to be an internal affair of serbia and the federal republic
of yugoslavia which shall not be internationalised.
'i have seen... that germany, through a public statement of your
minister (klaus ) kinkel, as well as the british, the americans, the
french, the russians and others also consider this to be our internal
affair,' milosevic told der spiegel in an interview to be published
on monday, june 10.
emphasising that 'albanians in yugoslavia are clearly a
minority' milosevic said he did not believe that anywhere in the
world a national minority enjoyed the rights of the albanian minority
in serbia.
'albanians have their schools, radio and television programmes,
at least 20 papers and magazines which are extremely critical, some
of them have even published very gross insults, but not a single
edition of these papers has ever been banned. albanians here are free
and live in a free land,' slobodan milosevic said.
[14] MILOSEVIC SAYS NOBODY IN PALE OPPOSES DAYTON ACCORD IMPLEMENTION
bonn, june 9 (tanjug) - serbian president slobodan milosevic does
not see any of the leaders in the (bosnian serb state) republika
srpska in pale as opposing the implementation of the dayton peace
accord for bosnia-herzegovina.
speaking for germany's der spiegel magazine, milosevic said that
the republika srpska's acting president biljana plavsic had recently
assured him of absolute willingness to see the dayton accord
implemented.
expressing optimism about further implementation of the accord,
milosevic said he attached the greatest importance to the upcoming
elections in bosnia-herzegovina.
the elections will set up legal democratic institutions in the
two entities in bosnia-herzegovina -- the republika srpska and the
muslim-croat federation -- and their common bodies of power, he
explained.
once this is done, there can be talk of a normalisation in the
region and of return to day-to-day civilian life, he added.
milosevic said he was sure that the vast majority of people on
the serb side, as well as on the muslim and the croat sides, wanted
peace, and that he expected the results of the elections to reflect
this choice.
as for the repatriation of refugees and displaced persons, he
said he was sure that their return was possible.
everybody, including the international community, is working to
help create conditions for the return of refugees that will be based
on personal and legal security and security of property, milosevic
stressed.
he said that the plan for the withdrawal of the nato-led
multi-national peace implementation force (ifor) could prove quite
realistic if the civilian part of the peace accord were successfully
implemented.
of course, he added, this on condition that nobody should trump
up reasons for delaying the elections beyond mid-september.
in this context, milosevic said he was certain that the dayton
accord would be successfully implemented and that there would be no
further need for international troops.
[15] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
belgrade, june 8 (tanjug) - portuguese president jorge sampaio
met in sarajevo on saturday with bosnian muslim leader alija
izetbegovic to discuss elections in bosnia-herzegovina, slated for
mid-september.
news agencies report from sarajevo that sampaio visited
portuguese troops serving with the nato-led multinational peace
implementation force (ifor) there and promised further support for
the peace process.
portugal has a contingent of 850 troops in bosnia-herzegovina.
reuters points out that izetbegovic is against calling elections
in bosnia-herzegovina until conditions for holding them have
imporved.
after meeting izetbegovic, sampaio told reporters that portugal
supported the peace process and democratisation of bosnia-herzegovina
and peace in europe.
sampaio is accompanied on the one-day visit by defence minister
antonio vitorino and chief of staff admiral fuseta.
in the afternoon, he travelled to rogatica in the east of the
(bosnian serb state) republika srpska, where most of the portugese
troops are deployed.
[16] RULING PARTY HDZ AND CROATIAN LIBERALS TO FORM COALITION
by savan tomasevic
zagreb, june 8 (tanjug) - a joint statement has been released in
zagreb by the ruling croatian democratic union (hdz) and the croatian
social liberal party (hsls), saying they had agreed to start
negotiations on possible cooperation.
the statement said the two parties would begin such talks,
'starting from the fundamental stands of their political programs, as
center parties' and the common goal 'to strengthen state
sovereignty.'
croatian liberal leader vlado gotovac confirmed that he had met
with croatian president and hdz leader franjo tudjman three times
last week and that his party had been offered a share in the power.
tudjman is evidently also planning to resolve the grave political
crisis in zagreb through an agreement with the liberals. tudjman's
party was heavily defeated in zagreb at the last local elections,
winning only 16 of the 50 seats in city hall, while the liberals won
10 seats.
a coalition would provide the two parties with a majority in the
city parliament, so that this could also settle the issue of the
mayor of zagreb, which has caused most of the political conflicts
between the opposition and the ruling party so far.
tudjman has so far rejected four candidates for mayor from the
opposition, all of them liberals.
one of the key conditions set by the european integrations to
croatia for its admission to the council of europe is a democratic
choice of zagreb mayor.
it remains to be seen, however, if the liberals, if they enter
into coalition with the ruling party, will get the same number of
seats at the inevitable new elections for city hall.
it is also important to see how members and organizations of the
liberal party, which had so far been severe critics of the
authorities, will behave.
gotovac said he was surpised by the reaction of the public, in
particular 'certain friends from the opposition,' but that he was
'not afraid talks with the hdz might cause a rift in my party.'
the opposition, however, have already said croatian liberals
might be committing 'political suicide' with this move.
the liberal branch for the croatian port-city of rijeka has
released a statement which says, among other things: 'the croatian
social liberal party in the coastal-hinterland district will never
agree to cooperation with the hdz.'
[17] SERBS IN SLOVENIA DO NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE STATUS
sremski karlovci, yugoslavia, june 8 (tanjug) - serbs in slovenia
must win an adequate status, which will be difficult without help
from the mother country, it was heard on saturday at a conference
devoted to the position of serbs in that former yugoslav republic.
at the meeting which is underway in the town of sremski karlovci,
it was indicated that the yugoslav republic of serbia should be more
actively involved in the resolving of the position of fellow serbs in
slovenia.
the meeting was organized by the world community of serbs. about
40 representatives of federal, republican, and provincial organs and
different associations from yugoslavia and abroad are taking part.
as planned, the conference should work out a program for a number
of years, which would serve to help serbs outside the country
preserve their national and cultural identity and strengthen ties
with the mother country.
slovenia forcibly seceded from the former yugoslav federation in
mid-1991 in a 10-day war against the former yugoslav people's army
(jna).
according to the 1991 poll, there were 47,097 serbs in slovenia,
accounting for 2.40 percent of its 1,962,606-strong population.
[18] ELECTION COALITION FORMED IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
banja luka, june 9 (tanjug) - five parties in the bosnian serb
republika srpska have formed a democratic patriotic bloc (dpb) which
will take part in the upcoming elections in bosnia-herzegovina with a
single list of candidates.
the dps was formed at a session held in the eastern town of
bijeljina on saturday by the democratic center party, the
peasants-workers party, the people's radical party r.s. 'nikola
pasic,' the fatherland party, and the democratic party.
a communique released after the session said the bloc, which will
be based in the biggest r.s. town of banja luka, would act as a
political force of the center which 'unites truly patriotic,
democratic forces with the same political goals and interests.'
the objective of the coalition is to prevent new political
divisions within the republika srpska, and it will be open to all
other parties and individuals who have opted for democracy, republika
srpska, and the unity of the serb people,' the communique said.
the dpb is the first political coalition formed in republika
srpska ahead of the elections which should be held in mid-september.
[19] U.S. MILITARY CONSOLIDATION IN THE BALKANS
by mladen stancic
skopje, june 9 (tanjug) - a u.s. batallion of about 550 troops
stationed in macedonia within the u.n. peace mission unpredep is
legally sovereign and outside the jurisdiction of the world
organization as of last week.
with a diplomatic-military exchange of notes with an agreement on
the regulation of the status of the two countries' armed forces, the
u.s. and macedonian governments made official the stay of u.s. troops
in that former yugoslav republic in skopje last tuesday.
the parliamentary verification of the agreement by summary
procedure and the agreement which settles macedonia's status within
nato's partnership for peace program was a major step, macedonian
media and parliament said.
with this verification, macedonia has managed to catch on to the
deadlines to join nato's military activities this year. the first
joint excercise within the partnership for peace initiative will take
place already on july 15 in albania.
a similar joint excercise within this program is planned in
macedonia in october.
under the skopje-washington agreement, the status of u.s. troops
in this region will be regulated exclusively through contacts between
the united states and macedonia.
this primarily means that the u.n protection force is no longer
of first degree importance.
until this time, the unprofor had consisted of two batallions,
the u.s. and the nordic, with about 550 troops each, mostly stationed
at observer points along the still not officially marked border with
the federal republic of yugoslavia.
[20] FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE BY NEW APOSTOLIC NUNCIO IN BELGRADE
belgrade, june 9 (tanjug) - the new apostolic nuncio to the
federal republic of yugoslavia, mgr santos abril y castello, led on
sunday a eucharistic liturgy in the belgrade catholic church christ
the king.
that the was the first public appearance by the new nuncio, who
was appointed by pope john paul ii. mgr. castello will officially
assume his post in the days to come after presenting his credentials.
monsignor castello will thus replace gabriel montalva who was the
apostolic nuncio in belgrade for ten years.
castello, 61, was previously the apostolic nuncio in cameroon,
gabon and equatorial guinea.
[21] NEW TIVAT-ZURICH-TIVAT AIRLINE SOON
tivat, june 9 (tanjug) - representatives of the zurich-based
feral travel and belgrade-based odeon agencies said on sunday that a
new seasonal airline tivat-zurich-tivat (tivat is a yugoslav sea
resort) would be introduced soon.
reporters were told in tivat that there would be flights both
ways every saturday in the period june 29 through august 31.
besides yugoslav emigrants living in switzerland, germany and
france, the new line will be attractive to foreign tourists who plan
to spend their holidays on the yugoslav adriatic coast.
Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996
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