Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-08

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

Jun 8, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] MUSLIMS WANT CONTROL OVER MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION ARMY

[02] COUNCIL OF EUROPE PUTS PRESSURE ON CROATIA

[03] DINI, SANTER VISIT SARAJEVO

[04] ADMIRAL SMITH SAYS NO CHANGE OF MISSION IN BOSNIA

[05] U.S. ENVOY GOING TO BOSNIA TO IRON OUT FEDERATION PROBLEMS

[06] MILOSEVIC: I ADVOCATED A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO CRISIS

[07] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

[08] TELEPHONE EXCHANGE WITH 17,000 LINES OPENS IN SERBIA

[09] AGREEMENT ON ARMS CONTROL IN BALKANS NOT INITIALLED IN VIENNA

[10] CROATIA FACES NEW MEDIA AFFAIR

[11] UNHCR PRAISES YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIES FOR THEIR CARE FOR REFUGEES

[12] REPATRIATION OF BOSNIA'S REFUGEES CARRIED OUT AT TOO SLOW PACE

[13] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT: AMNESTY LAW WILL COVER ALL CITIZENS OF CROATIA

[14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER SAYS SERBS CURED OF COMMUNISM

[15] U.N. SPOKESWOMAN SAYS SARAJEVO SERBS ARE BEING HARASSED

[16] KRAJISNIK: IFOR TO HAVE IMPORTANT ROLE IN BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

[17] BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER: NO POSTPONEMENT OF BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

[18] OGATA SAYS NO CONDITIONS EXIST FOR MASS RETURN OF REFUGEES TO BOSNIA

[19] SOME MUJAHEDDIN ARE STILL IN BOSNIA

[20] FROWICK MEETS WITH BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

[21] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES DINI, SANTER

[22] SANTER: EX-YUGOSLAVIA SHOULD BECOME AREA OF STABILITY, PROSPERITY

[23] DINI: YUGOSLAVIA CHIEF FORCE IN MAKING PEACE AGREEMENT

[24] ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA - CHANCE FOR LEGALISATION OF SERB ENTITY, PAPER

[25] CROATIA OPPOSED TO 'REGIONAL APPROACH'

[26] IT IS TIME FOR ASSESSMENT OF DAYTON AGREEMENT RESULTS

[27] BILDT: SO FAR ALL SIDES ARE COOPERATIVE

[28] ZIMBABWE'S PRESIDENT MUGABE TO VISIT F.R. YUGOSLAVIA

[29] UNFAVOURABLE OUTCOME OF SANTER'S AND DINI'S VISIT TO SARAJEVO, ZAGREB

[30] SANTER, DINI GIVE SKOPJE MESSAGES FROM EUROPE

[31] PARIS SAYS PEACE LATE IN COMING TO BOSNIA

[32] DIPLOMATIC CIRCLES OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA

[33] 'TEMPORARY' SETBACK IN CONFERENCE ON ARMS CONTROL IN BALKANS

[34] EU DELEGATION OPTIMISTIC OVER HOLDING ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA

[35] U.S. EXPECTS OSCE TO CALL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA SOON

[01] MUSLIMS WANT CONTROL OVER MUSLIM-CROAT FEDERATION ARMY

he said that the federal defence law should already have been adopted but the muslim side 'does not accept what their representatives signed on may 14 in washington' the sarajevo media reported friday.

he listed two points as contentious - the civilian command of the army and the conscripts' right to chose to serve in either the muslim or the croat army.

the muslim side constantly fears that the croat side could break away while the croat side fears being outnumbered and that an army similar to the yugoslav people's army (jna) of the former yugoslav federation could be created, soljic said.

speaking about the croat army soljic said that out of the 100,000 soldiers half had joined as professionals with salaries between 800 and 1000 german marks.

salaries in the muslim army are between 100 and 400 marks, according to information published earlier.

[02] COUNCIL OF EUROPE PUTS PRESSURE ON CROATIA

'croatia must immediately arrest and hand over to the tribunal...those individuals accused of having committed war crimes and other violations of human rights,' reuters quoted the council as saying in a memorandum accompanying a letter to the croatian government.

the demand is one of 14 conditions set for croatia's membership in the council, an international forum which has been promoting democracy and human rights for more than 40 years.

the quoted demand particularly pertains to persons suspected of committing war crimes in the village of stupni do, central bosnia-herzegovina, in 1993 and in the lasva river valley, also in central bosnia-herzegovina, in 1992 and 1993.

the hague international war-crimes tribunal has indicted bosnian croat general ivica rajic for killing 16 civilians at stupni do and bosnian croat general tihomir blaskic and five accomplices for war crimes in the lasva valley.

[03] DINI, SANTER VISIT SARAJEVO

dini and santer met first with moslem prime minister hasan muratovic, international news agencies reported from sarajevo.

after the meeting, muratovic told reporters that the european union had pledged 72 million ecus (about 89 million dollars) for bosnia-herzegovina.

reuters said dini and santer had met in sarajevo also with prime minister of the (bosnian serb state) republika srpska gojko klikcevic and high representative for bosnia carl bildt.

dini told reporters that the talks had focused on the organisation of bosnia's elections, because he said the international community believed that it was crucial for the implementation of the bosnia peace process that the elections be held by september 14 at the latest.

in this connection, dini described as minimum conditions for the elections securing freedom of movement, large-scale repatriation of refugees, pluralism of media and freedom of association for political purposes.

dini said these conditions had not been met so far, and said there were still three months to go before september during which time he said a lot could be done.

[04] ADMIRAL SMITH SAYS NO CHANGE OF MISSION IN BOSNIA

'there will not be a major change of mission,' reuters quoted smith as saying to reporters in sarajevo.

speaking about the situation in bosnia-herzegovina, smith said that the west did not want to see an ethnically divided bosnia and he accused local politicians of lacking the will to prevent this.

smith said that the number of nato troops in bosnia-herzegovina would not be reduced until the bosnia elections, scheduled for mid-september.

'the latest guidance i have got is i will not reduce the force until the elections. after the elections gradual scale down will commence but on 20th of december i will have an effective fighting force,' smith said.

the associated press news agency says that this is the first time a nato official has said that the bosnia peace implementation force will remain in bosnia after the expiry of the one-year mission.

[05] U.S. ENVOY GOING TO BOSNIA TO IRON OUT FEDERATION PROBLEMS

pardew, who is in charge of organising u.s. military assistance to the muslim-croat federation is visiting bosnia because of the disgreement between bosnian muslims and croats over joining their armies within the bosnian federation.

the muslim-croat federation parliament again deferred a defence law last tuesday intended to integrate the armies of bosnian muslims and croats within three years.

state department spokesman nicholas burns said on friday that this was contrary to the promises made by bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic and croatian president franjo tudjman to the u.s. secretary of state warren christopher in geneva last monday.

'unfortunately there has been some backsliding this week..'in the dispute between croats and muslims burns said.

he repeated pardew's former warning that the equip and train programme promised by the americans to the federation would not be implemented until the defence law is adopted adding that you can't give miitary assistance to an institution that does not exist.

[06] MILOSEVIC: I ADVOCATED A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO CRISIS

the dayton agreement is being successfully implemented primarily because the formula has been taken into account, milosevic said in the interview to be published on monday.

the german news agency dpa reported on saturday on the interview in which milosevic also said that the federal republic of yugoslavia, consistent in its peaceful policy, had avoided a war in its territory and that the bosnian serbs had obtained the republika srpska.

regarding relations with germany, the serbian president said that germany could be yugoslavia's valuable partner in preserving peace and that the future for the two states was in good cooperation.

we must turn to the future and not the past, milosevic said among other things in the interviw with der spiegel.

[07] PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

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.

[08] TELEPHONE EXCHANGE WITH 17,000 LINES OPENS IN SERBIA

the opening of the exchange, provided by the french firm alcatel, is the beginning of the realisation of a programme under which 700,000 new telephone lines are to be introduced in serbia by the end of the year, babic said.

radmila andjelkovic, the president of ptt serbia's board of directors, said serbia planned to open two million new telephone lines by the year 2005 and expected to catch up with the developed world by the beginning of the next century.

'some 1.4 billion dollars will be invested in the project,' andjelkovic said adding that over the next ten years ptt serbia will hire 8,000 experts.

she said that the paging system is planned to cover 90 percent of the territory of the republic and that 50,000 subscribers of the modern mobile phone system are to join european telecommunications links.

the official opening of the alcatel exchange was attended by representatives of the french corporation, experts of siemens and sweden's erikson, who are jointly participating in serbia's telecommunications project.

[09] AGREEMENT ON ARMS CONTROL IN BALKANS NOT INITIALLED IN VIENNA

the conference participants -- representatives of yugoslavia, the bosnian serb republika srpska, croatia, the muslim government in sarajevo and the muslim-croat federation -- have reached agreement on all major and essential issues.

the participants have agreed on the ceilings, the ways and deadlines for arms reduction but not on the formal issue of the status of conference participants.

the muslim side has tried at all costs to avoid the equating of the bosnian serb entity, republika srpska, with the other conference participants in the preamble to the agreement.

the participants in the talks hope that the open issue will be resolved in the coming days and the extremely important document for military-political stability in the balkans signed in oslo on june 11, as scheduled.

yugoslav delegation head, ambassador dragomir djokic voiced regret that no full agreement had been reached after five months of talks.

he said he hoped all sides would succeeded in adjusting views on the last remaining disputed issue.

'the agreement on sub-regional arms control is of outstanding importance for our peoples,' djokic said.

conference chairman, norwegian ambassador to the csce vigleik eide said after the talks that agreement had been reached on all technical issues but that views had not been adjusted on the preamble to the agreement because of opposition by one side.

eide said, if all sides so wished, there were few more days left to salvage the agreement.

he said the delegation would discuss the draft document with their governments.

only a formal problem has not been resolved, whereas agreement has been reached on essential matters, croatian delegation head, deputy foreign minister ivan simonovic said.

he expressed conviction that the document would be signed in the end.

the conference participants announced that they had agreed that the reduction of arms surplusses be carried out in two eight-month stages, beginning july 1, 1996.

no other details were disclosed.

[10] CROATIA FACES NEW MEDIA AFFAIR

zagreb, june 7 (tanjug) - although the council of europe has criticised croatia for stifling freedom of the media, its political scene has been hit by yet another affair involving croatian authorities on one side, and independent papers, on the other.

the affair has been triggered by a dispute between the ruling croatian democratic union (hdz) and the independent weekly globus over an issue of considerable political weight.

hdz has sued for libel globus editor-in-chief davor butkovic who wrote an article for the weekly's latest edition stating that hdz, led by croatian president franjo tudjman, had made a blacklist of 48 party enemies, including the names of leaders of strongest opposition parties.

hdz said the reputation of all party members and especially its leadership had been seriously harmed by butkovic's article.

hdz lawyer ruled out in a statement the existence of any blacklists.

an interview to the weekly by leader of the social democratic party ivica racan has however made the hdz position in the dispute even more difficult.

racan confirmed the existence of notorious blacklists containing the names of opposition politicians.

asked whether he had seen the list designating the opposition leaders as state enemies, racan said, 'yes, i have seen it. one of the lists contains the names of opposition leaders and representatives.'

[11] UNHCR PRAISES YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIES FOR THEIR CARE FOR REFUGEES

coordinator of the u.n. high commissioner for refugees special operations department for the former yugoslavia rene van rooyen ended a several-day visit to yugoslavia, where he toured refugee collection centres in serbia's northern and southern provinces -- vojvodina and kosovo and metohija -- and the yugoslav republic of montenegro.

regardless of all efforts of yugoslav authorities and the unhcr, new ways for assistance should be sought, primarily in searching for long-term solutions for refugees, because such a large number of refugees cannot be left as a burden to a state or international humanitarian organizations, van rooyen told tanjug.

he said that repatriation remained a general hope for refugees and that the international community and regional countries had to continue putting pressure on croatia to allow the return of as many serbs as possible.

however, one should be realistic and also think about the integration of refugees, van rooyen said.

following two croatia's aggressions againt western, northern and southern serb krajina in 1995, about 250,000 serbs fled their ancestral homes and found refugee in the (bosnian serb) republika srpska and yugoslavia.

van rooyen said his visit was aimed at determining ways, together with yugoslav authorities, for normalizing the lives of a large number of refugees and that this would be the subject of intensive discussions in the following months.

in this respect, the results of the registration of refugees in yugoslavia will be the basic indicator for future programmes, van rooyen said.

according to the available results of the unhcr-assisted registration which is still in progress, about 600,000 people have found refuge in serbia and montenegro.

[12] REPATRIATION OF BOSNIA'S REFUGEES CARRIED OUT AT TOO SLOW PACE

redmond indirectly accused moslem-controlled authorities in bosnia-herzegovina as well as authorities of the moslem-croat federation of obstructing the repatriation.

he said moslems and croats had reached firm agreement on four pilot projects on the repatriation of refugees and displaced persons to the towns of bugojno, stolac, travnik and jajce even before peace accords for bosnia-herzegovina had been struck in dayton, ohio, in november 1995.

none of the projects, which have received considerable publicity, has however been carried out.

redmond also said moslems continued to harass serbs who had remained in sarajevo's suburbs. the harassment ranged from the most brutal assaults on serbs to moving them out forcibly from their houses and flats, he said.

unhcr has protested with moslem-controlled authorities in bosnia as well as with federation authorities over the matter.

another problem encountered by unhcr is a determination by some western countries, primarily by germany and switzerland, to begin a forcible and massive repatriation of refugees to bosnia-herzegovina.

the swiss government has decided to force 8,000 refugees to return home by august 1. the remaining refugees will have to leave the country by july 1997.

u.n. high commissioner for refugees sadako ogata has warned germany and switzerland that a premature repatriation of refugees could destabilise the peace process for bosnia-herzegovina.

redmond welcomed the opening of a bus line between banja luka, in the (bosnian serb state) republika srpska, and zenica, in the moslem-croat federation, saying the bus line was functioning well.

he said unhcr believed that the linking of towns situated in different entities was conducive to the improvement of freedom of movement throughout bosnia-herzegovina.

redmond said another bus line would be introduced between the towns of mostar and nevesinje, again in two different entities, on monday.

[13] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT: AMNESTY LAW WILL COVER ALL CITIZENS OF CROATIA

arnold told a news conference here that the untaes would continue its talks with the government in zagreb with a view to making sure that all possible exceptions in the case of the amnesty law be made strictly in line with international law.

he said it was correct that u.n. administrator jacques klein had more than once spoken about cultural, educational and ethnic autonomy for serbs in the region but autonomy of the kind minorities had in all liberal and democratic societies.

arnold said klein's statements must not be linked to any kind of political autonomy.

the spokesman said the region's demilitarization was unfolding according to plan.

he told the news conference that local units were withdrawing to the barracks, where they would be handing over arms in the coming days.

arnold said that after june 21, all arms would be handed over to untaes or destroyed.

according to the untaes spokesman, individuals would be able to possess or carry only personal weapons on condition the weapon was registered and they had a permit.

asked was untaes ready to defend civilians in case of croatia's aggression, arnold said that, despite their right to air support from ifor in bosnia, the 5,000 untaes troops were not organized to be able to counter an invasion by 50,000 people, from either the croatian or serb side.

he said serbs would initially account for 85 percent of the transitional police, and croats for 15, but that the structure would subsequently change.

arnold said that at the close of untaes' mandate, the local police could have 40 percent of, each, serbs and croats, while the remaining 20 percent would be members of national minorities.

the serb region, which lies between croatia and yugoslavia, was the stage of fierce fighting between croatian secessionists and local serbs in the second half of 1991.

croatia and the local serbs signed an agreement in november 1995, placing the region under u.n. administration for up to two years at the most.

[14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER SAYS SERBS CURED OF COMMUNISM

acting in his well-known style, seselj accused the socialist parties of serbia and the (bosnian serb) republika srpska and all leftist parties and their leaders of betraying the serbian people.

seselj stressed that the serbian radical party wanted no form of cooperation with these parties and said that a coalition with the serbian democratic party of the republika srpska might be formed at coming elections in bosnia-herzegovina in the interest of realizing the strategic serb national goals.

officials of the party's republika srpska branch also spoke at the meeting.

representatives of other political parties of similar orientation were neither seen nor mentioned at the rally.

[15] U.N. SPOKESWOMAN SAYS SARAJEVO SERBS ARE BEING HARASSED

serbs who stayed are maltreated and harassed and international police force have stepped up patrols in sarajevo, manuel told a press conference in belgrade.

a special team has been set up to monitor the region, she added.

about 80,000 serbs fled the five sarajevo municipalities before they were handed over to the muslim-croat federation in march. only a few thousand of serbs remained and they are exposed to systematic maltreatment.

speaking about the freedom of movement and repatriation of refugees, manuel said that this was not being implemented according to plans and that although no visible lines separated ethnic communities in bosnia-herzegovina, a whole wall of other things separated them.

the demilitarization of eastern slavonia (mostly serb-populated region between croatia and yugoslavia) proceeds well, manuel said.

according to the interpretation of a force for the implementation of the u.n. transitional administration of eastern slavonia mission, the serb-croatian agreement on a peaceful settlement of the regional problem does not envisage serb autonomy in the region, she said.

speaking at the same press conference, coordinator of the u.n. high commissioner for refugees for the former yugoslavia rene van rooyen praised yugoslavia for assisting refugees and the yugoslav republic of montenegro for a large number of projects aimed at making them capable of supporting themselves.

he expressed belief that a mass repatriation would not be possible, especially for refugees from croatia, because only about 6,000 requests for the return have been approved so far.

more than half a million serbs were expelled from or fled croatia since 1991, many of them from regions distant from war operations, and croatian authorities hamper their return.

[16] KRAJISNIK: IFOR TO HAVE IMPORTANT ROLE IN BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

the two sides discussed the freedom of movement, the opening of the banjaluka airport for commercal flights, cooperation with the hague tribunal and the endangered position of serbs in sarajevo, krajisnik said.

the u.s. admiral said after the talks that the implementation of the military segment of the dayton agreement was proceeding well, while the civilian segment was lagging behind because of many problems.

[17] BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER: NO POSTPONEMENT OF BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

after talks in the bosnian serb political center of pale, klickovic said dini and santer had insisted on organizing the elections according to plan, i.e. by september 14.

the two sides also discussed preparations for a conference in florence on june 13-14, which is expected to tackle the freedom of movement and economic reconstruction of bosnia-herzegovina's two entities, the republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation, klickovic said.

[18] OGATA SAYS NO CONDITIONS EXIST FOR MASS RETURN OF REFUGEES TO BOSNIA

criticizing a recent swiss decision to return 8,000 refugees to bosnia-herzegovina by august 1 and the remaining 14,000 in the first half of 1997, ogata tried to secure a promise that switzerland would not hurry with a mass return of refugees.

ogata was in an official and working visit to switzerland, where she and swiss government officials discussed the issue and status of bosnian refugees.

a statement issued after the talks said that a swiss government representative would leave for bosnia on saturday to see whether conditions exist for a mass return of refugees.

[19] SOME MUJAHEDDIN ARE STILL IN BOSNIA

the message was conveyed to izetbegovic at the geneva meeting last sunday, and u.s. ambassador in sarajevo john menzies repeated it on thursday.

there are not many of them, but there are some, u.s. state department spokesman robert burns said on thursday evening.

he said that the muslim government in sarajevo had been told that the u.s. would not send a single cent there until all mercenaries, primarily those from iran, were dispatched from bosnia-herzegovina.

burns said that the department knew the names of the mercenaries, their whereabouts and their number, and that it had sent the information on this to the bosnian muslim government and was now waiting for it to put an end to the issue.

it has been repeatedly stressed here that a number of foreign mercenaries from iran, including members of iranian secret services and the 'revolutionary guard,' have remained in bosnia-herzegovina with the help of local muslim authorities, who issued them passports or registered them as members of humanitarian organizations.

a number of mercenaries have allegedly married muslim women in bosnia and have thus obtained new papers.

under the dayton agreement, all foreign mercenaries should have left bosnia-herzegovina by january 19.

[20] FROWICK MEETS WITH BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

'we offered assurances that we will do everything to organize the elections with as much quality and democratic atmosphere as it is possible, and that we will cooperate with the osce,' krajisnik said after the meeting.

frowick described the talk as very good and constructive, and said it was on the line of the recent meeting in geneva.

he said that the final decision on launching the election process was approaching speedily.

[21] MILOSEVIC RECEIVES DINI, SANTER

meeting in an atmosphere of cordiality, opennes and mutual understanding, the two sides exchanged views on the current international situation, particularly the situation in the balkan region, and the process of comprehensive normalization of relations.

it was heard that positive results have been registered in the hitherto implementation of the peace plan for bosnia, which makes a good basis for continuing the successful course and comprehensive realization of duties stemming from the dayton agreement.

a priority in this context is to prepare the forthcoming elections, whose holding will undoubtedly create conditions for an overall stabilization of the situation and relations in the territory of former hostilities.

both sides in the talks voiced expectation that the sides to the agreement and the involved international factors will show cooperativeness in fulfilling this task, so that the elections could be organized in keeping with the agreement and within the given time.

it was heard that the federal republic of yugoslavia and the european union have a common interest in improving cooperation, both bilateral with e.u. member-countries and with the e.u. as a whole.

the federal republic of yugoslavia strives toward equal participation in current european intergration processes and considers a development of its relations with e.u. countries one of its top foreign policy priorities.

the two sides agreed that the full normalization of relations between yugoslavia and e.u. member-states is the best possible contribution to that effect.

the talks were also attended by yugoslav foreign minister milan milutinovic, italian ambassador to yugoslavia francesco bascone, head of the e.u. mission in belgrade michal alan graham and yugoslav ambassador to the e.u. dragoslav jovanovic.

[22] SANTER: EX-YUGOSLAVIA SHOULD BECOME AREA OF STABILITY, PROSPERITY

'it is very important that the region becomes an area of stability and prosperity, primarily by stabilizing the relations among the countries inside the zone,' he said.

this is also very important to the european union because its own stability also partially depends on stability here, said santer, who was visiting belgrade with president of the e.u. council of ministers lamberto dini.

after five years, a time has come to surmount confrontations and reach a period of cooperation, and that is why a normalization of relations is now taking place, santer said after talks with serbian president slobodan milosevic.

he said that, despite awareness of the existing problems in the peace efforts, there is a wish to do everything to secure successful economic and commercial ties in the future.

he said he would inform the ministerial council about all the e.u. delegation had heard during its visit to the former yugoslavia, and expressed hope that a period of cooperation lies ahead, both inside the region and with the e.u. countries.

[23] DINI: YUGOSLAVIA CHIEF FORCE IN MAKING PEACE AGREEMENT

the e.u. still counts on yugoslavia's constructive role in the implementation of the dayton agreement, dini said, adding that talks with milosevic had been very constructing.

he said the e.u. delegation fully agreed with milosevic on the need for holding elections in bosnia by september 14 and for establishing new legitimate institutions of government.

dini met with milosevic together with european commission president jacques santer.

yugoslavia's progress after the period of sanctions (imposed in may 1992 and suspended in november last year) will enable a full normalization of its ties with the e.u. in the area of tariffs, preferential agreements and trade, dini said.

he said this was where he saw a good prospect for yugoslavia and its significant contribution to the development of the entire region, as well as to the e.u.

[24] ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA - CHANCE FOR LEGALISATION OF SERB ENTITY, PAPER

the forthcoming elections are also a chance for changes, the paper said. it said the greatest fight for redistribution of power on the turbulent pre-election scene in republika srpska will be between the ruling serb democratic party (sds) led by radovan karadzic and the socialist party of republika srpska (sprs).

these are the two strongest parties in republika srpska which are politically very wide apart, wrote politika.

the paper said the 33 other registered parties, spanning widely from the left to the right orientation, had a chance in forming coalitions.

[25] CROATIA OPPOSED TO 'REGIONAL APPROACH'

croatian media quoted santer as saying after talks with croatian president franjo tudjman friday evening that the european union wanted to create stability through a regional approach.

santer said that europe wanted to develop good cooperation with all states emerging from the former yugoslavia and that economic assistance would depend on their mutual relations.

the european union wants to bring about stability and cooperation among states in the region, santer said.

the croatian president informed the eu officials that zagreb wanted to normalise relations with the states in the former yugoslavia but that it could not agree to a balkan regional approach.

croatia is not interested in the creation of any sort of institutional association with states in the balkan region, tudjman said categorically.

croatian foreign minister mate granic told reporters that the regional approach covered economic cooperation so as to reconstruct and stabilize the region which could then join europe more easily.

granic said that each state should separately join european integrations.

the papers also quoted italian foreign minister dini as saying that the aim of their tour in the former yugoslavia was to establish the situation in the implementation of the dayton accord, particularly prospects for holding elections in bosnia.

dini said that the european union and the contact group maintained that the elections in bosnia were of utmost importance for the establishment of a legal government and that the date for the elections would be determined by the organization for security and cooperation in europe (osce).

[26] IT IS TIME FOR ASSESSMENT OF DAYTON AGREEMENT RESULTS

he told a news conference at the end of a two-day visit to yugoslavia that there was visible progress in the implementation of the accords and that future developments in bosnia could be looked on with confidence.

he said it was especially important to continue preparations for holding elections in bosnia-herzegovina as scheduled by dayton, by mid-september this year at the latest.

he added there were still problems regarding the freedom of movement and the return of refugees to their homes but explained it was unrealistic to expect refugees to return in a few months and said the process would last longer.

the meeting due to be held next week in florence, which will be attended by foreign minsiters of eu member countries and of countries from the former yugoslavia, will make the final decision about bosnia elections, assess results of the half-year implementation of the agreement and determine further steps to be taken.

dini said that the process of military and political stabilisation in bosnia should go paralelly with the process of reconstruction and economic normalisation.

regarding doubts expressed about the signing of the arms control agreement in oslo ahead of the florence meeting dini said he was sure a solution would be found and that everything would be completed according to a determined plan regardless of the muslim side's last minute refusal to accept the proposed agreement.

concerning the stand towards bosnian serb leaders radovan karadzic and ratko mladic dini said stabilisation in the area must go ahead independently of the fate of the two leaders whose extradition is demanded by the hague-based international war crimes tribunal.

european commission president jacques santer, who was in belgrade together with dini, said the aim of the visit to belgrade was to determine the present situation and prospects for establishing relations between countries in the region and eu member countries in the future.

in that respect santer stressed eu's regional approach in the settlement of problems in the territory of the former yugoslavia.

he explained this meant that first of all countries in the area should promote stability and fulfill critera for the respect of some of the basic values observed in all eu countries.

he said this was most of all related to the question of human rights.

[27] BILDT: SO FAR ALL SIDES ARE COOPERATIVE

in an interview published on saturday by the sarajevo dnevni avaz, bildt alluded to the conflict within the muslim-croat federation and said that the establishment of joint institutions was the only way to prevent divisions.

i am especially interested in the establishment of joint institutions because everything which is now happening is going through my bureau which has become a life support system, bildt said.

asked whether national parties would cooperate if they win at upcoming elections, he said that they had committed themselves to cooperation under the dayton agreement.

the whole of bosnia must cooperate and the mechanism will one day oust national parties. look at the map and you will see that bosnia is part of europe and that there is no way that you could make two separate wholes of the republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation. that is unfeasible, bildt said.

[28] ZIMBABWE'S PRESIDENT MUGABE TO VISIT F.R. YUGOSLAVIA

the paper, which is very close to the government, said that during his three-day visit to yugoslavia, mugabe is due to confer with serbian and montenegrin presidents slobodan milosevic and momir bulatovic.

mugabe and his hosts are expected to discuss current international developments and an overall promotion of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of economy.

during the crisis and the war in the former yugoslavia, zimbabwe not only showed understanding for their essential causes but also consistently remained impartial and unbiased.

zimbabwe's ambassador to the united nations, whose state was a non-permanent member of the u.n. security council at the time, did not vote in favour of imposing sanctions against f.r. yugoslavia.

[29] UNFAVOURABLE OUTCOME OF SANTER'S AND DINI'S VISIT TO SARAJEVO, ZAGREB

santer and dini visited the two cities on friday as part of two-day tour of the states emerging from the former yugoslavia in a bid to develop goodneighbourly relations among them as a condition for better relations with the european union.

in a lengthy monologue, croatian president franjo tudjman told santer and dini that croatia was a western european country and that it was refused to return to the balkans, sources close to the eu commission.

the sources also said that sarajevo government prime minister hasan muratovic had rejected any form of regional association.

[30] SANTER, DINI GIVE SKOPJE MESSAGES FROM EUROPE

european commission president jacques santer and european council president lamberto dini met with macedonian president kiro gligorov and prime minister branko crvenkovski.

speaking to reporters after the meeting, santer and dini explained the motives behind the european union's introducing a 'regional and evolutive clause' as a condition for entering into an agreement with macedonia on its association with the union.

informed sources say that the guests made it clear that europe is ready to take macedonia off the 'black list' of countries with visa requirements if it should undertake to receive all its citizens currently illegally staying in e.u. states.

the european officials did not specifically say so in their statements, however.

the insistence of santer and dini on the improvement of mutual relations among the balkan nations is expected to be taken in skopje as a kind of training for cooperation with the fifteen-member european union.

the regional approach should be seen as an act of reconciliation among the former yugoslav republic. this is not a condition, but policy, dini said before leaving skopje on saturday.

santer and dini said that they would submit to the ministerial council, when it met in luxembourg on monday, a detailed report on their lightning tour of former yugoslavia, undertaken as part of preparations for a european summit in florence, italy.

[31] PARIS SAYS PEACE LATE IN COMING TO BOSNIA

france urges international diplomats more strongly to work on the upcoming bosnia conference in florence and at the emergency meeting of the contact group immediately after that.

difficulties are evident both in inter-ethnic relations in bosnia and in the circle of countries which mediate in this, the most difficult european crisis spot, especially on the washington-paris axis,.

le figaro quotes a recent militant message sent by bosnian muslim leader alija izetbegovic to bosnian muslims that 'no honest bosnian (muslim) can be without a rifle' and that 'one day all of bosnia will be liberated.'

the daily says bosnia is permeated by a 'strange atmosphere, which seems rather like a climate existing between two wars than peace.'

france also warns that a failure of the elections planned in the autumn would mean a victory of the forces which want bosnia definitely to be carved up.

that is why france urges a new diplomatic offensive, which is also the reason why french president jacques chirac and german chancellor helmut kohl have asked for a special meeting of the contact group following the florence conference.

[32] DIPLOMATIC CIRCLES OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA

optimism mainly results from an agreement reached at the u.s. mission in geneva last week during talks between the signatories of the dayton agreement and u.s. secretary of state warren christopher.

diplomatic circles in geneva said that bosnian elections were most strongly advocated by serbian president slobodan milosevic and christopher.

a statement released at the palace of nations on friday on 600 u.n. volunteers who will be at the disposal of the organization for security and cooperation in europe (osce) for the elections is yet another proof that preparations are being accelerated.

[33] 'TEMPORARY' SETBACK IN CONFERENCE ON ARMS CONTROL IN BALKANS

the vienna conference ended on friday after five-month negotiations, a day after the deadline stipulated in the dayton agreement and without the planned initialling of the document.

the talks at the seat of the organization for security and cooperation in europe, were attended by delegations from the federal republic of yugoslavia, the republika srpska, croatia, the bosnian muslim government and the muslim-croat federation.

the arms control agreement was not initialled because the muslims refused to approve the final version of the document in whose preamble the name of the republika srpska is written. the muslims maintain that it is referred to as a state without clear indication that it is an entity of bosnia-herzegovina.

analysts in vienna maintain, however, that the talks were successful given that agreement has been reached on crucial issues such as weapons limits, weapons quotas, deadlines for weapons removal, inspections and other essential elements.

the muslim refusal to initial the agreement is of political nature and a solution could not be found at the vienna conference, the sources said.

[34] EU DELEGATION OPTIMISTIC OVER HOLDING ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA

yugoslav authorities and the bosnian sides are firmly committed to holding the elections, said eu council of ministers chairman lamberto dini of italy. dini and eu commission president jacques santer visited belgrade, sarajevo and zagreb on friday.

dini's optimism results from the conviction that crucial positive steps have already been made in the implementation of the dayton peace accord and that things are further advancing in that direction.

italian media said that the upcoming elections in bosnia, scheduled for mid-september, were a crucial test for the future of the peace process in that former yugoslav republic. the media pointed to the need for securing necessary conditions for the elections, which was one of the issues discussed by the eu delegation and their hosts.

it is necessary to guarantee freedom of movement, return of refugees, pluralism in the media and freedom of political association.

papers quoted dini as saying that the next three months should be used for creating the necessary conditions for the elections.

the busyness of the eu diplomacy in dealing with bosnia, which was on the agenda at several recent meetings, is also linked to intensive preparations for a ministerial conference on bosnia in florence next thursday.

the florence meeting will assess the six-month results in the implementation of the peace agreement and determine future steps to be made by the end of the year, primarily concerning elections in bosnia.

[35] U.S. EXPECTS OSCE TO CALL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA SOON

this political stance is in line with what u.s. secretary of state warren christopher, other members of the 'contact group' for bosnia and other representatives of the international community in bosnia agreed at geneva last week.

also, it is a kind of answer to pressure from certain political quarters and media here to delay bosnian elections on the grounds that conditions have not been created to hold them.

one of those who might like a delay, according to reports in washington on saturday, is swiss foreign minister flavio cotti who, in his capacity as osce chairman, has the final say in whether or not elections in bosnia should be called.

the new york times quotes cotti on saturday as saying that it should be best to postpone the elections if it should appear that the minimum conditions for their holding have not been created.

the statement, as well as reports that cotti might try to delay the schedule of the implementation of the dayton peace accords and the calling of elections even after the geneva agreement, has caused wonder in and less than a moderate reaction from the administration.

there are those in the administration who say, albeit unofficially, that cotti takes himself too seriously in this matter and has obviously lost sight of who is in fact conducting the peace process in bosnia and whose troops are keeping the peace there.

it is being pointed out that the recommendation for calling bosnian elections should come from the osce observer team in bosnia, headed by u.s. diplomat robert frowick, to be considered by the osce standing council in vienna.

the decision to call the elections is expected to be taken in the course of june, although the deadline for such a decision has been set for july 14.

this should leave two months for the election campaign, as the peace accords provide for elections in bosnia to be held on sept. 14 at the latest.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

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