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Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-09

Tanjug Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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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