Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-02

Tanjug Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Tanjug, Yugoslavia, via Serbian Unity Congress <http://www.suc.org/>

Jun 2, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] FAMILIES OF SERB PRISONERS WRITE TO CLINTON

[02] BOSNIAN MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION ARMY REMAINS DEAD LETTER

[03] ALBANIAN NATIONALS PREVENTED FROM ILLEGALLY CROSSING YUGOSLAV BORDER

[04] NEW YORK TIMES: BOSNIAN MUSLIMS PRACTICE ETHNIC CLEANSING IN SARAJEVO

[05] GERMANY OFFERS MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO BOSNIAN MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION

[06] BOSNIAN SERB SOCIALISTS URGE OPENING TOWARD YUGOSLAVIA, WORLD

[07] AHEAD OF GENEVA MEETING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON AGREEMENT

[08] ZIVKO RADISIC ELECTED PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA SOCIALISTS

[09] IZETBEGOVIC SETS CONDITIONS FOR ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA

[10] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC OF SERBIA ARRIVES IN GENEVA

[11] IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON AGREEMENT SUCCESSFUL, SAYS MILOSEVIC

[12] SOLANA ON IFOR MISSION AND 'EUROPEAN COMPONENT' OF NATO ALLIANCE

[13] BOSNIA:BODIES OF KILLED SERB, MUSLIM SOLDIERS EXCHANGED

[14] BOSNIAN SERBS CALL FOR POLITICAL ELIMINATION OF IZETBEGOVIC AND GANIC

[15] ANTIYUGOSLAV DEMONSTRATIONS OF ALBANIANS IN GENEVA

[16] SIGNATORIES OF DAYTON AGREEMENT MEET IN GENEVA

[17] REGION OF EAST SLAVONIA, BARANJA, WEST SREM MUST REMAIN MULTIETHNIC

[18] MILOSEVIC, CHRISTOPHER: DAYTON AGREEMENT MOSTLY IMPLEMENTED

[01] FAMILIES OF SERB PRISONERS WRITE TO CLINTON

the letter said that the association was 'non-party, non-political, non-governmental' with over 20,000 members and is pleading for the release from prisons in the muslim-croat federation and the republic of croatia of 1,300 serb soldiers and several thousand civilians.

5#3 )35534 -)'9 2-4,3d 5#-5 5#3 4307?)8: 9! :49-58-, that took an active part in the war againt rs, is holding in its prisons several hundred serbs'.

'we hope you will force the parties signatories to observe the dayton agreement, which is your moral obligation', said the letter sent to clinton by the association of families of rs imprisoned soldiers.

[02] BOSNIAN MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION ARMY REMAINS DEAD LETTER

soljic, a croat, told croatian radio that the misunderstanding had been caused by the lack of agreement on whether recruits would be free to choose between serving in the army of bosnia-herzegovina and in bosnian croat units.

muslim representatives will not participate in a joint commission's work on drawing up a bill on defence of the muslim-croat federation and therefore the bill would not be on the agenda of the constitutional assembly on june 2.

'if we are not able to adopt basic laws in the federation, then all talks about the reintegration of bosnia-herzegovina are pointless,' the federal defence minister said.

one of the u.s. conditions for training and arming the joint muslim-croat army was the adoption of a law on defence.

the muslim-croat federation, one of the two entities in bosnia-herzegovina, was created under u.s. pressure in march 1994, towards the end of one-year muslim-croat fighting for predominance over territories in central and western bosnia-herzegovina .

croats say they refuse to give up their own army because they fear muslim domination, while muslim sarajevo authorities are trying to place all military formations in the federation under a single command.

[03] ALBANIAN NATIONALS PREVENTED FROM ILLEGALLY CROSSING YUGOSLAV BORDER

beci was in one of three groups of albanian nationals (21 persons in total) who were prevented from illegally crossing the yugoslav border.

the security organs opened fire and wounded beci after resistence was offered and an attempt made to escape in spite of repeated warnings, the statement said.

beci later died despite a medical treatment that he received, it said.

another albanian national was wounded in the incident, while 17 were rounded up and handed over to the serbian interior ministry, the statement said.

serbian ministry officials and military investigative organs came to the spot to establish the circumstance of the border incident.

the albanian side will receive a warning through state organs, asking it to prevent similar incidents after increasingly frequent illegal crossings of the yugoslav border, the statement said.

[04] NEW YORK TIMES: BOSNIAN MUSLIMS PRACTICE ETHNIC CLEANSING IN SARAJEVO

practicing a policy which international observers have described as ethnic cleansing -- which directly clashes with the dayton agreement -- the muslim government in sarajevo has expropriated at least 70,000 homes from sarajevo residents, mostly serbs and croats who left the city during the war or immediately after the end of fighting, the paper's correspondent in sarajevo said.

the daily said such policy primarily aimed to prevent the return of serbs and croats to sarajevo, adding that the few of those who had attempted to go back had come to closed doors both when the local authorities and the new tenants were concerned.

at the beginning of the war, muslim authorities expropriated apartments belonging to former yugoslav army officers, the paper said.

about 130,000 people, mostly serbs, have been left homeless in sarajevo and the surrounding area owing to the legal provisions that allow a silent campaign of ethnic cleansing, the paper said.

it said that international observers had repeatedly interceded with muslim authorities, telling them that their policy was contrary to the dayton peace agreement and international humanitarian law, but all intervensions produced no effect whatsoever.

according to tanjug's correspondent in sarajevo, an article published by the sarajevo weekly slobodna bosna on saturday also tackled the policy of ethnic cleansing in sarajevo.

the paper said that at least 10,000 muslims from the eastern bosnian town of srebrenica (controlled by bosnian serbs since last summer) had moved into sarajevo suburbs that had been handed over to the muslim-croat federation.

tens of thousands of serbs have evacuated from five sarajevo suburbs in fear for their safety under the muslim-croat rule.

slobodna bosna, which is considered to be an 'independent' magazine, said local authorities were preparing the area to receive another 15,000 muslims from the podrinje region in eastern bosnia. it said the settling was organized by top muslim leaders.

the paper also carried a letter by a local serb organization and its dramatic appeal to international institutions to stop the expulsion of serbs.

the organization said 200 cases of robbery and harassment of serb residents had been registered in the region.

[05] GERMANY OFFERS MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO BOSNIAN MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION

germany is offering assistance in the training of officers engineers in mine clearing, and places in the military commanding academy in koblenz, ruehe told the daily berliner zeitung in an interview.

'arms deliveries would not be necessary,' he said.

by saying that the 'balkan conflict has surpassed the powers of europeans,' ruehe sent a clear message to the foreign ministers of 16 nato member-countries ahead of a spring session, which begins in berlin on monday.

[06] BOSNIAN SERB SOCIALISTS URGE OPENING TOWARD YUGOSLAVIA, WORLD

addressing the first congress of the bosnian serb socialists, ilic said that their party would build and strengthen peace, freedom, social justica, solidarity, creativity and democracy.

he said the republika srpska would be a state only as much as its inhabitants respect what the world had recognized as theirs through the peace process. he said this included a territory of 25,000 square kilometres populated by one million inhabitants.

ilic said the bosnian serb leadership had done great damage to the people with its decisions made in the years of war.

he said that the serb people had not wanted the war, neither in bosnia nor anywhere else, but that it had been imposed on them and unavoidable.

the bosnian serb leadership started a 'hazardous game against the whole world' precisely at a moment when a diplomatic struggle was to verify the results of serb efforts, he said.

he said the bosnian serb socialists had a task to continue a struggle against growing criminality and said that 'deviant and amoral conduct by official authorities have been supported, encouraged and even described as patriotism.'

serbian parliament speaker and one of the leaders of the socialist party of serbia (sps) dragan tomic said in an address to the congress that the international community had verified through the peace agreement the serb people's struggle to survive in that territory.

tomic said that peace, reconstruction and development had their opponents in those who believed that bosnian serb interests could be protected by war, who did not want the republika srpska to be a legal state, preferring it to be an undefined field for satisfying their personal interests, accompanied by all sorts of speculation and crimes.

he said the citizens of serbia would continue to support all those who were committed to peace, reconstruction and development, and that serbia would offer 'humanitarian, economic, financial, cultural and any other support to the republika srpska to remain and develop, with full respect and strict implementation of the peace agreement.'

sps vice-president bosko perosevic, who headed the party's delegation at the congress, said that socialists would be 'the future of the republika srpska' together with other left-oriented parties in the region.

expressing confidence that the bosnian serb socialists had the strength to carry out their plans, perosevic said that the serbian socialists would stand by their side along the road.

[07] AHEAD OF GENEVA MEETING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON AGREEMENT

geneva, june 1 (tanjug) - the signatories to the dayton agreement for bosnia-herzegovina will assess the six-month implementation of the agreement at the sunday meeting in geneva, whose agenda is still kept secret, sources in geneva said on saturday.

the meeting will be held at the u.s. mission to the united nations and will be chaired by u.s. secretary of state warren christopher who arrived in geneva late on saturday.

presidents slobodan milosevic of serbia and franjo tudjman of croatia, bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic and international community's high representative for bosnia-herzegovina carl bildt will participate in the meeting.

members of the 'contact group' for bosnia-herzegovina, comprising russia, the united states, great britain, france and germany will also be in attendance.

one can hear unofficially in geneva that the united states is not satisfied with the functioning of the bosnian muslim-croat federation and that it will make it clear to izetbegovic and tudjman on sunday.

izetbegovic has failed to fulfill the obligation to rid his army of all mercenaries within a dayton agreement deadline that expired on jan. 19.

the united states has solid proof that there are still iranian mercenaries in bosnian muslim territory.

tudjman will be confronted with the problem of the repatriation of krajina serb refugees.

more than 250,000 serbs fled krajina in august 1995 in the face of a croatian aggression against the region.

croatia has undertaken to solve all demands of serb refugees who express the wish to return to their homes, but it has not done so.

diplomatic circles in geneva belive that some criticism will also be addressed to milosevic, although everybody are aware that yugoslavia has done all in its power to improve the implementation of the dayton peace agreement and many claim that its contribution was the biggest.

the united states will do so in order to balance criticism and prevent the yugoslav side from remaining outside it. it is clear that cooperation with the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia and the position of republika srpska president radovan karadzic will be its trump card in this 'balancing of criticism.'

regarding the tribunal, however, milosevic holds the trump cards, because yugoslavia has repeatedly emphasized and proved that it does not refuse to cooperate with the tribunal, but that it requests equal treatment of all sides and observation of the national legislation.

[08] ZIVKO RADISIC ELECTED PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA SOCIALISTS

radisic, expert in political science, was among those who founded the republika srpska socialist party in june 1993.

the first congress of the republika srpska socialist party adopted a document entitled the 'republika srpska -- normal life through restoration and development.'

the document presents the party's views of the future of the republika srpska.

the congress adopted as its own a message sent by serbian president slobodan milosevic, assessing it as the best representation of the interest of the republika srpska and all of its citizens and the interest of the entire serbian people.

the congress communicated milosevic's message, which urges a strict and consistent implementation of the peace agreement, cooperation with the world and holding of democratic, free elections to the people of the republika srpska and the international public.

[09] IZETBEGOVIC SETS CONDITIONS FOR ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA

'if the americans fail to do something to remove (bosnian serb president) karadzic and (army commander) mladic and to hand them over to the hague tribunal, it will be a great shame for them,' izetbegovic said after arriving in geneva, where the signatories of the dayton agreement for bosnia will hold a conference on sunday.

muslim premier hasan muratovic expanded the list of muslim demands for holding elections, saying that there were war criminals on the croat side as well, and that their removal from power and extradition to the hague were also conditions for holding the elections, planned for mid-september.

he declined to make any reference whatsoever to crimes committed by bosnian muslims.

muratovic also accused the croats of obstructing the functioning of the muslim-croat federation in bosnia.

[10] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC OF SERBIA ARRIVES IN GENEVA

the meeting will be chaired by u.s. secretary of state warren christopher.

it will be attended also by croatian president franjo tudjman, bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic, contact group representatives and others.

[11] IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON AGREEMENT SUCCESSFUL, SAYS MILOSEVIC

milosevic said on arrival in geneva, where he will take part in a meeting of countries signatories of the dayton peace agreement, that views about key aspects of the implementatc of the dayton peace agreement will be exchanged at the meeting.

'we have six months of the realisation of the agreements behind us and it is very clear the realisation is completely successful', milosevic said. he added they now had to see what are the next tasks in the implementation of the dayton peace agreement.

he said that the next main task was to hold the elections, that will give legal, democratic instituions. the new situation will give a lot of possibilities for tolerance, normal cooperation and the return to normal live in bosnia and herzegovina, milosevic said.

the serbian president said he hoped all conditions will be fulfilled for that and the process of elections takes place as it was proposed and fixed in the dayton agreements. so i'm a big optimist in terms of that, milosevic said.

the meeting of countries signatories of the dayton peace agreement starts sunday afternoon at the u.s. mission to the united nations in geneva, under the chairmanship of secretary of state warren chirstopher.

also attending will be croatian president franjo tudjaman and bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic, along with members of the contact group.

president milosevic is accompanied by yugoslav foreign minister milan milutinovic.

republika srpska (serb entity in bosnia and herzuegovina) foreign minister aleksa buha is also in geneva and will take part in the work of the meeting.

[12] SOLANA ON IFOR MISSION AND 'EUROPEAN COMPONENT' OF NATO ALLIANCE

solana said this in an interview to the daily welt am sonntag, ahead of the spring session of the nato ministerial council in berlin scheduled for june 3-4.

asked about the duration of ifor's mandate in bosnia and herzegovina, solana explained that the berlin meeting will review the work of the mission so far. he pointing out that nato had done a good job there both regarding military aspects and the reconstruction of the country, and that by the end of the year the tasks fixed in dayton will be fulfilled.

however, solana warned that readiness for peaceful, joint life cannot be imposed. it is up to the people to decide about that.

one of the 'thorny' issues at the berlin meeting will be the eastward expansion of the western military alliance, opposed by russia.

solana said that nato wanted a constructive dialogue with russia and that the stability of the continent depended on 'good relations between russia and nato.'

[13] BOSNIA:BODIES OF KILLED SERB, MUSLIM SOLDIERS EXCHANGED

the exchange was carried out at the ifor post in kopriva, six km. north of sanski most in north-west bosnia and herzegovina.

the initial agreement was to exchange 41 bodies of rs soldiers for six bodies of muslim soldiers, but the muslim commission in charge failed to bring six bodies of rs soldiers.

[14] BOSNIAN SERBS CALL FOR POLITICAL ELIMINATION OF IZETBEGOVIC AND GANIC

the rs party of independent social democrats, whose president is mile dodik, the president of the club of independent deputies of the rs assembly, called on all citizens and political parties in rs to ask by their signatures from the international community the political elimination of izetbegovic and ganic.

as 'key political figures izetbegovic and ganic initiated and instigated civil war, and are doing the same now, after the signing of the dayton peace agreement,' the party said in a statement.

[15] ANTIYUGOSLAV DEMONSTRATIONS OF ALBANIANS IN GENEVA

organized in a recognizably separatist manner, demonstrators carried slogans and read statements directed against the federal republic of yugoslavia (fry) and the yugoslav republic of serbia.

albanians abroad hold regular anti-yugoslav demonstrations, in sign of support to the separatist movement of ethnic albanians in the serb province of kosovo and metohija (kosmet).

for decades kosmet has been the site of a strong separatist movement of ethnic albanians. their leaders organized the illegal declaration of a republic and strive for its secession from fry and unification with albania.

anti-yugoslav demonstations are organized several times a year on the square in front of the palais des nations. the timing of these demonstations was especially for this sunday, at the time of the holding at the u.s. mission in geneva a meetins of the parties signatories of the dayton peace agreement - serbian and croatian presidents slobodan milosevic and franjo tudjman and bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic.

strong swiss police forces were in place, ready to intervene if necessary.

[16] SIGNATORIES OF DAYTON AGREEMENT MEET IN GENEVA

the first part of the meeting was a working lunch at the geneva intercontinental hosted by christopher. it was an opportunity for participants in the meeting from the territory of the former yugoslavia - serbian and croatian presidents slobodan milosevic and franjo tudjman to discuss with christopher compliance so far with the dayton agreement and possibilities to remove some minor difficulties to the implementation of what was fixed in dayton.

the joint assessment is that by now almost everything has been achieved of what was envisaged and that after six months of implementation of the dayton agreement there are two reasons for satisfaction.

it was stressed that the most important next step is the complete implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement - or the holding of elections which would secure the legality and legitimity of the new governments in both entities in bosnia and herzegovia - the muslim federation and the republika srpska.

it is expected that the dialogue will be continued during the day, both on the bilateral level and in plenary session.

[17] REGION OF EAST SLAVONIA, BARANJA, WEST SREM MUST REMAIN MULTIETHNIC

'baranja is presently the only multiethnic territory in croatia, with 32 percent of non-serbs,' and serbs can remain there only if human rights and personal property rights principles are observed, stanimirovic told local radio in the central serbian town of kragujevac.

representatives of croatia and the region's serbs signed an agreement in november 1995, under which the region is to be placed under u.n. transitional administration for one year, with the possibility of extending the period for another year.

speaking about the demilitarization of the region, which should end by june 20, stanimirovic said that the majority of serbs had handed over their weapons and that military units had been disbanded.

he said that croatia's recently adopted law on partial amnesty of serbs had alarmed the population, but that he hoped the problem would be overcome with a full realization of the november 1995 agreement.

[18] MILOSEVIC, CHRISTOPHER: DAYTON AGREEMENT MOSTLY IMPLEMENTED

they also said that some problems in implementing the civilian segment of the agreement could be settled through joint efforts in the near future.

milosevic and christopher are participating at a meeting of the signatories of the dayton peace agreement, representatives of the member-states of the contact group for bosnia and senior u.s. officials.

milosevic and christopher discussed all essential issues relating to the implementation of the peace agreement, reached in dayton last november.

the yugoslav side stressed the need for holding elections in bosnia as early as possible and for setting up legitimate bodies that would make it possible for the entire territory of the former yugoslavia to open a process of stabilization on an entirely new basis.

milosevic and christopher especially focused on relations between the federal republic of yugoslavia and the united states, i.e. possibilities for promoting their ties.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

Tanjug Directory - Previous Article - Next Article