Tanjug Daily News Review, 96-06-20

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

Jun 20, 1996
NEWS AGENCY - TANJUG
DAILY NEWS REVIEW

CONTENTS

[01] SERBIAN MINISTER AND FRENCH AMBASSADOR ON MEDIA IN SERBIA

[02] YUGOSLAV INTERIOR MINISTER: TERRORISTS IN KOSMET MUST BE RESTRAINED

[03] PARTY REACTIONS TO NEW LAW ON ELECTION UNITS

[04] U.S. TROOPS PREPARING TO LEAVE BOSNIA

[05] BELGRADE DAILY: MACEDONIA DOES NOT GIVE UP ITS NAME

[06] DANUBE MONITORING MISSION ENDS

[07] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT ADOPTS PROPERTY RELATIONS, ANTI-MONOPOLY LAWS

[08] MILITARY ATTACHES VISIT YUGOSLAV ARMS FACTORY

[09] CROATIAN NATIONALIST LEADER PARAGA ARRESTED IN CANADA

[10] BILDT DENOUNCES MUSLIM AUTHORITIES FOR HARASSMENT OF SERBS

[11] OIL TO REACH YUGOSLAVIA THROUGH ADRIATIC PIPELINE

[12] NEW LAWS BRING CLOSER YUGOSLAV ECONOMY TO WORLD

[13] BRITISH FULL SUPPORT TO YUGOSLAVIA

[14] WASHINGTON POST: ETHNIC GAPS IN BOSNIA STILL WIDE

[15] RUSSIA READY TO RESUME MILITARY COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAVIA

[16] STATE OF WAR ENDS IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[17] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENT CHOOSES ARBITER FOR TOWN OF BRCKO

[18] GANIC: HERCEG-BOSNA GOVERNMENT IS A STEP BACKWARD FOR FEDERATION

[19] FAMILY ASSOCIATION DENIES BEING A TOOL OF BOSNIAN SERB AUTHORITIES

[20] ARNOLD: DEMILITARIZATION OF EASTERN SLAVONIA ENDS ON THURSDAY

[21] PERSISTENT SILENCE ON EAST RIVER, VECERNJE NOVOSTI SAYS

[22] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS PREVENT REMOVAL OF 18 BODIES OF BOSNIAN SERB SOLDIERS

[23] DAYTON PEACE ACCORDS LED ASTRAY

[24] ZUBAK BLAMES BOSNIAN MUSLIMS FOR SITUATION IN FEDERATION

[25] NO OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS IN YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS

[26] BOSNIAN CROATS IMPEDE PREPARATIONS FOR ELECTIONS IN MOSTAR

[27] TURKEY, CROATIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON MILITARY COOPERATION

[28] COTTI: BOSNIA ELECTIONS MOST LIKELY TO BE DECIDED UPON ON TUESDAY

[29] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA: DAYTON AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTED SUCCESSFULLY

[30] DEMILITARIZATION OF SERB REGION IN CROATIA ENDS

[31] SERBS IN CROATIA DEMAND SPECIAL STATUS

[32] OSCE FOR HOLDING OF BOSNIA ELECTIONS BY SEPTEMBER 14

[01] SERBIAN MINISTER AND FRENCH AMBASSADOR ON MEDIA IN SERBIA

a statement released by the serbian ministry of information said that tijanic received keller at his request.

[02] YUGOSLAV INTERIOR MINISTER: TERRORISTS IN KOSMET MUST BE RESTRAINED

two policemen were killed and one wounded in an incident in podujevo and another near kosovska mitrovica, in the northwest of the southern serbian province of kosmet, on sunday and monday evening.

during a break in the session of the yugoslav lower house, jokanovic said that the ethnic albanian separatist movement in kosmet was striving to maintain a tense atmosphere and even create new tensions.

a stabilization is not in the interest of the separatist movement, particularly given the unequivocal stand of the international community that kosmet is serbia's internal affair, jokanovic said.

peaceful co-existence on equal footing does not suit separatists who believe that they can achieve their well-known goals through terrorist actions, he added.

the interior ministry will apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice, he said.

i believe that the nature of these terrorist forces and groups is increasingly clear to the international community, jokanovic said, addinr that terrorism must be curbed because their actions are creating tensions among serbs, montenegrins and all other citizens living in kosovo and metohija.

asked by a reporter whether and to what extent these terrorist actions may lead to the departure of serbs from kosmet, jokanovic said that it was part of the strategy of ethnic albanian terrorists.

yugoslavia will be fully backed by the international community in its drive to restrain terrorism, jokanovic said.

[03] PARTY REACTIONS TO NEW LAW ON ELECTION UNITS

the depos-spo deputy club in the chamber of citizens of the federal assembly said the implementation of this law would have 'harmful effects on citizens and push the country away from europe and the world.'

these regulations will very soon be reconsidered, but with the participation of all elected peoples' representatives and in public, said the statement which was signed by club head milan komnenic.

most opposition parties boycot the work of the federal and serbian assemblies because there is no direct tv coverage of their sessions.

democratic party of serbia spokesman milorad jovanovic said the new law on election units would cause a 'further polarization and social instability' because the authorities were pushing parties to fight for their interests using extra-parliamentary means.

the spokesman of this party, which has mps only in the serbian assembly, said the new law and the 'process of stifling the media' had made 'a legal and political framework for new irregular elections.'

serbian civil alliance president vesna pesic said 'confrontation between the authorities and the opposition is growing unnecessarily' and said she believed that was a consequence of the new the law on election units.

pesic, whose party also has mps only the serbian assembly, said all opposition parties should unite and join forces to work on forming equal conditions for all parties during the election campaign, which she said implied a deblockade of the media.

[04] U.S. TROOPS PREPARING TO LEAVE BOSNIA

this will be the first step in the preparations for the departure of u.s. forces from bosnia, he said.

a u.s. army officer who wished to remain anonymous said the departure of this unit of the first armored division marked the start of the redeployment of the u.s. force in the function of their departure from bosnia late this year.

about 2,000 u.s. troops will complete the operation of redeployment from lukavac to the croatian town of slavonski brod by july 15, afp quoted hunter a saying.

u.s. troops account for 20,000 of the 60,000-strong implementation force in bosnia (ifor) composed of troops from 32 countries.

[05] BELGRADE DAILY: MACEDONIA DOES NOT GIVE UP ITS NAME

deputy prime minister jane miljovski, who headed the macedonian delegation at the talks, refused to accept the european commission's demand that the macedonian side be named in the agreement as the former yugoslav republic of macedonia (the name it was given provisionally when it was admitted to the united nations) instead of the republic of macedonia.

after the break-up of talks, a european commission official said that this had been the last chance for reaching agreement and signing the document on cooperation, politika said.

this means that macedonia's rejection of the european union's condition concerning the name of the macedonian state will put off not only the signing of the e.u.-macedonian agreement but also the beginning of new talks for at least several months, politika said.

[06] DANUBE MONITORING MISSION ENDS

bucharest, june 20 (tanjug) - the three-year long action of monitoring traffic on the danuber river, launched to enforce the economic embargo imposed on yugoslavia by the united nations security council in may 1992, ended with a celebration in the romanian town of calafat on the danube last weekend.

customs officials and military police from six european union member-states had been engaged over the period to check the cargo on all ships sailing on the danube.

in the period between june 1993 (when u.n. resolution 820 was adopted) and may 1996, monitors checked 6,663 vessels on the chech-points of galati and calafat in romania, vidin in bulgaria and mohacs in hungary. of that number, 2,771 vessels were checked in the calafat zone, which was the seat of the monitoring mission.

many people in neighbouring countries saw the sanctions as inferring with their traditionally friendly ties, and many of them tried to keep the trade with their serbian neighbours going. the monitoring mission reported 450 such attempts.

romania, regarded as the best friend of serbs among neighbouring countries, was closely watched and frequently accused of violating the regime of sanctions.

in an effort to show allegiance to the leading countries of nato and the european union, whose member romania hopes to become, the country three years ago erected a monument to the embargo in calafat.

every year, romanian representatives and officials of the monitoring mission revealed a new plaque glorifying their cooperation in the interest of peace.

the ceremony of revealing the third plaque, with the inscription 'together for peace,' marked the end of the mission because the sanctions against yugoslavia were suspended in november last year.

the three-year operation, however, hardly proved to be a joyous occasion, and history will be the judge of whether it was really conducive to peace.

[07] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT ADOPTS PROPERTY RELATIONS, ANTI-MONOPOLY LAWS

the law on basic property relations envisages that foreigners who work in yugoslavia may acquire immovable property they need for their work, on condition of reciprocity.

a foreigner who does not work in yugoslavia may get the right to own an apartment or a residential building in yugoslavia, also on condition of reciprocity.

the anti-monopoly law defines the operations and acts of companies, which by abusing their monopoly positions and signing monopoly contracts, violate competition and create disturbances on the market.

the law envisages the setting up of an anti-monopoly commission, which will determine criteria for establishing the companies' dominant positions and assess the existence of monopoly contracts.

the yugoslav parliament's upper house adopted the laws last month.

[08] MILITARY ATTACHES VISIT YUGOSLAV ARMS FACTORY

director vukasin filipovic informed them about the factory's production programme.

the attaches also visited an arms exhibition.

[09] CROATIAN NATIONALIST LEADER PARAGA ARRESTED IN CANADA

paraga was arrested on saturday under a provision in canada's immigration act reserved for spies, war criminals and subversives who threaten democracy, his lawyer said.

paraga arrived in canada for a three-day tour organized by the canadian branch of his party of rights.

[10] BILDT DENOUNCES MUSLIM AUTHORITIES FOR HARASSMENT OF SERBS

'we condemn the beating and harassment of serbs in sarajevo suburbs,' reuter quoted colum murphy, a spokesman for carl bildt in sarajevo, as saying to reporters.

'this must stop immediately and we think that sarajevo should be an example to the rest of bosnia,' murphy said.

'we also ask where at his moment is the official voice of multi-ethnic sarajevo', he added.

reuter said that u.n. officials in sarajevo had repeatedly warned of growing violence against serbs who remained in the city after the dayton agreement, under which five sarajevo suburbs predominantly inhabited by the serbs were transferred to the muslim-croat federation. most of the serbs fled the suburbs for fear of insecurity under muslim-croat rule.

international officials have warned that if remaining serbs leave sarajevo, the city would lose its 'multi-ethnic composition,' reuter said.

in an interview published by the sarajevo oslobodjenje on wednesday, deputy high representative for bosnia michael steiner also denounced muslim authorities in sarajevo for the harassment of serbs.

[11] OIL TO REACH YUGOSLAVIA THROUGH ADRIATIC PIPELINE

it will fully normalize production in yugoslavia's oil refineries in pancevo and novi sad, he said.

the belgrade daily politika said thursday that a tanker with 100,000 tonnes of crude for the yugoslav market would reach the terminal on the adriatic island of krk in croatia in a few days.

the yugoslav and croatian partners agreed that the transport price be 8.5 dollars per tonne.

officials of the adriatic oil pipeline proposed the price of 10.5 dollars but the yugoslav side rejected it, politika said.

the oil arriving to yugoslavia via croatia was sent by the chinese firm sinohem.

in summer 1991, croatian authorities had seized 186,000 tonnes of crude sent by the same chinese firm to the oil refineries in pancevo and novi sad.

[12] NEW LAWS BRING CLOSER YUGOSLAV ECONOMY TO WORLD

laws on firms, privatization and foreign investments will secure market conditions and equality of all forms of ownership, he added.

zebic stressed that it has been made possible for the economy now to organize itself on economic principles, and the free movement of foreign capital in the country.

the federal deputy prime minister assessed that, with the already adopted laws on free zones and stock exchanges, the new series of economic laws is complete and compatible with laws in european union member countries.

the bringing of these laws comes within the economic strategy of the federal government, for whom the return of yugoslavia into international financial and trade organizations is one of the priority objectives, zebic said.

talks with the international monetary fund and the paris club of creditors have already started, and talks will be held these days with the london club and the world trade organization, zebic specified.

at the same time, direct talks are held with foreign banks on the establishment of payment operations and unfreezing of our assets, the federal deputy prime minister specified.

[13] BRITISH FULL SUPPORT TO YUGOSLAVIA

talking to yugoslav correspondents he said that the reception of the yugoslav delegation in london was extremely friendly.

the organization of the visit, siradovic said, went beyond the usual protocol, affirming british interest that economic relations with the fry transcend usual economic ties.

siradovic especially pointed to the seminar on the economic possibilities of serbia and montenegro and to meetings with deputy minister of trade and industry oppenheim, and with state minister in the foreign office sir nicholas bonsor.

the seminar was attended by about 250 businessmen, who represneted over a 100 british companies, including businessmen of yugoslav descent.

london, siradovic said, was chosen to be the first within the diplomatic and economic offensive of the fry in european union.

the yugoslav delegation also held talks in the european bank for reconstruction and development, the first official contact with that financial institution after the supension of sanctions.

it was agreed that the fry and the european bank for reconstruction and development work together on operational plans even before the formal settling of the yugoslav status.

[14] WASHINGTON POST: ETHNIC GAPS IN BOSNIA STILL WIDE

the paper said that the peace process in bosnia-herzegovina was at a crossroads with two paths and two solutions -- one to allow and approve ethnic division and the other to continue exerting efforts in order to create and preserve a multi-ethnic bosnia-herzegovina as conceived during the three-week negotiations in dayton, ohio, last year.

the daily said that major results had been achieved in stabilizing peace in bosnia over the past six months but that almost nothing had been done in closing ethnic gaps. today, just like yesterday, the three rival ethnic communities strive to realize their plans to dismember bosnia-herzegovina into three separate, ethnically homogeneous states, the paper's analyst said.

the washington post said in substantiation that almost none of the muslim refugees were returning to their homes in serb territory and that such was also the case with the serbs who wished to return to sarajevo which they fled because they had been denied any protection.

the paper said that the situaiton was similar in the muslim-croat federation where there were few cases of repatriation of muslims in territories held by croats or repatriation of croats in muslim-held territories.

[15] RUSSIA READY TO RESUME MILITARY COOPERATION WITH YUGOSLAVIA

commenting on the lifting of the 1991 u.n. arms ban on all of the former yugoslavia, the official said once the ban was lifted, the implementation of an agreement on military and technical cooperation between russia and yugoslavia could begin.

the agreement was signed while yugoslavia was under the regime of the u.n. security council sanctions that were imposed on the country in late may 1992. the sanctions were suspended in november 1995.

asked by interfax news agency if russia was willing to set up such cooperation with croatia and bosnia-herzegovina, the official said that would depend on their compliance with the provisions of an agreement on regional arms control, recently signed in florence.

the official drew attention to the arms limits imposed by the agreement, and said moscow would welcome no large-scale arming by any of the parties.

in this connection, he said russia considered easing of tensions crucial, even if it were reached through arms reductions.

the official said an uncontrolled increase in arms deliveries to any of the parties was contrary to the peace solution to the crisis in the former yugoslavia.

[16] STATE OF WAR ENDS IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

in a session in pale, administrative centre of the republika srpska, parliament decided to set up a tribunal for war crimes committed by r.s. citizens indicted by the hague-based international war crimes tribunal for the former yugoslavia.

the r.s. parliament instructed the government to pass a law on the functioning of the tribunal by the next parliament session.

parliament adopted also the law annulling the legislation that had been in force during a state of war, and decided to end the state of war in the republika srpska.

[17] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENT CHOOSES ARBITER FOR TOWN OF BRCKO

the area of brcko is on the bottleneck of the corridor which links eastern and western parts of republika srpska.

according to the dayton peace accords, the issue of this controversial border between the republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation should be resolved through arbitration.

popovic is a professor of internationl economic law at the university of banja luka, the biggest town in republika srpska.

he has also been authorized by the assembly to select the necessary experts for his team, and the government has been charged to prepare the platform which dr. popovic will use in representing the interests of the republika srpska.

[18] GANIC: HERCEG-BOSNA GOVERNMENT IS A STEP BACKWARD FOR FEDERATION

the muslim-croat federation (one of bosnia's two entities, the other being republika srpska) was created in march, 1994 under pressure from washington after muslims and croats had fought ferociously for a year over parts of bosnia.

at a session of the federation's constituent assembly, ganic demanded that the contact group for bosnia and other international institutions be officially informed of the croats' move.

ganic submitted a report on the situation in the federation, accusing the croats of restricting freedom of movement and implementing the constitution of herceg-bosna in dozens of croat-held municipalities.

he said freedom of movement had been restricted in nine towns, while muslims were being laid off by croats in eight municipalities and urged to move out.

ganic said the croat authorities had restricted the display of religious sentiments and destroyed islamic monuments. schoolchildren were taught under programs from neighboring croatia, he said.

ganic assessed the situation as extremely difficult. he said the condition of human rights was disturbing, laws were violated, private property was not respected, all of which hindered the return of refugees.

croat representative ivan bender agreed with ganic that human rights were trampled on in the federation.

however, he gave examples of 'the incident in cazin,' and the stoning of the catholic church and prison in western (croat-held) mostar.

[19] FAMILY ASSOCIATION DENIES BEING A TOOL OF BOSNIAN SERB AUTHORITIES

a statement issued by the association said some reporters had made similar insinuations after a peaceful protest by mothers and sisters of missing soldiers and civilians, who blocked the office of the organization for security and cooperation in europe in banjaluka.

'individual persons are misusing the suffering of mothers and sisters to make careers as reporters,' said the statement, adding that the families were indignant over the insinuations.

they have been trying to discover the whereabouts of more than 1,150 soldiers and 800 civilians, it said.

the moreso, the statement goes on to say, as the wives and mothers of the missing soldiers had called for the release of all imprisoned sons and brothers, regardless of religion and ethnic group.

'we appeal to the world public to help the release of all prisoners of war,' said the statement.

[20] ARNOLD: DEMILITARIZATION OF EASTERN SLAVONIA ENDS ON THURSDAY

arnold said of the 100 tanks in the region, only six or seven remained, and added that the remaining heavy armaments would be taken over on thursday by the u.n. transitional administration for eastern slavonia (untaes).

arnold said the program for the return of refugees to eastern slavonia would intensify on july 1 following a pilot project encompassing the villages of antunovac, ernestinovo and bilje.

the region is the only part of the former republic of serb krajina not occupied by the croatian army.

on the basis of an agreement reached late last year, the region was placed under one-year u.n. administration, with the possibility for its extension for another year.

[21] PERSISTENT SILENCE ON EAST RIVER, VECERNJE NOVOSTI SAYS

when the president of the u.n. security council, egyptian nabil el-arabi, explained in a strictly informative and diplomatically cold manner that the resolution had simply ceased to be valid, no one in the world body had the moral sense and strength to condemn everything that happened since the adoption of resolution 713 in september 1991.

the embargo on arms imports in bosnia-herzegovina, the daily said, was drastically and repeatedly violated in front of those who were in charge of supervising and implementing it.

although many states who admitted to not having observed the embargo, most of them are security council members, there wasn't the slightest indication of guilt.

the daily said that the main reason for such a principle was that the evading of the u.n. resolution had been prejudicial for serbs, and beneficial for muslims. that is the reason why no one at the moment of the official cessation of the resolution, had words of reproach.

the united states, iran, turkey, croatia, slovenia will not be mentioned in any official u.n. document as violators of u.n. decisions. some other countries, if there was any doubt, would immediately have been condemned, the daily said.

the diplomats in new york have remained deaf and dumb to the five years of international lawlessness around bosnia, and the honor of the gun-runner states has remained intact.

this silence, the daily said, could deal a serious blow to the authority of the security council. it would have been much better and wiser for the security council if it had shown at least a little bit of remorse, vecernje novosti said.

[22] BOSNIAN MUSLIMS PREVENT REMOVAL OF 18 BODIES OF BOSNIAN SERB SOLDIERS

the bodies were found near the village of paljenik, on mt. ozren in northeastern bosnia, during a joint mine-clearing operation with the nato-led peace implementation force (ifor).

the area is under the muslim control and muslim authorities have not allowed that the bodies be removed and buried.

chairman of the republika srpska exchange committee dragan bulajic said that the dayton peace accords obliged the muslim side to hand over the bodies for proper funeral.

[23] DAYTON PEACE ACCORDS LED ASTRAY

paris, june 20 (tanjug) - peace is fragile and a final break-up of bosnia-herzegovina is being announced, the paris daily le mond has said, analysing the first six months of the dayton peace accords implementation.

le mond's view conveys the present-day atmosphere in the french government. moreover, french foreign minister herve de charette has strongly warned that france will change its stand if the logic of a final ethnic division remained.

the general idea of france's policy in bosnia is very clear: ethnic division should stop.

france is unhappy with the developments in bosnia-herzegovina, the nationalists dominating the leaderships of ethnic groups, insufficient cohesion in the contact group for bosnia, and especially with the arbitrary conduct of the united states.

le mond said that the consequences of these developments were the division of bosnia into three ethnic regions with their own separate armies, and the muslim-croat federation as an 'empty shell'.

the daily said that nato forces allowed the division of the country to be finalized in peace.

le mond said that the provisions of the dayton peace accords, which should have helped the unification and the democratization of bosnia-herzegovina, turned to be a dead letter.

the daily quoted an official of the united nations high commissioner for refugees as saying that parties in bosnia had not abandoned the philosophy of war, but only the military means of waging it.

le mond especially emphasized that alija izetbegovic's muslim party of democratic action remained a nationalist movement, giving priority not to the reconciliation among all bosnians but to 'the defense of the muslims,' which consequently led to bosnia's division.

commentators in paris have sharply criticized the international community, especially the european union. the le figaro daily, close to the french government, has said that in peace, as well as in war, the european union showed incompetence to end the bosnian drama.

their general impression is that the european union has been 'subdued to u.s. tutors pursuing cowboy policy.'

le mond explained that a growing pesimism in paris was due to the facts that the coming general election in bosnia-herzegovina would not change the political and constitutional lanscape of bosnia, that the freedom of movement had been a mere masquerade and that nationalists continued to march with equal determination as before.

[24] ZUBAK BLAMES BOSNIAN MUSLIMS FOR SITUATION IN FEDERATION

zubak, a croat, blamed the muslim side for the blockade of federal institutions because it withholds consent from the proposed federal defence law.

federation vice-president ejup ganic, a muslim, and muslim members of the constituent assembly on wednesday strongly protested against the forming of the new herceg-bosna government, seeing it as a blow to federal institutions.

zubak said in a statement on thursday that the croat side had not formed a new herceg-bosna government but only reduced the existing cabinet, leaving only the ministries that did not exist on the federal level.

zubak said that the decision on forming a new cabinet was in accordance with the pace of building the federation, and added that only six of the former 14 ministries had remained because they were vital for the functioning of institutions.

parliament deputies of three opposition parties tried to settle the dispute between the federal partners by demanding that zubak and ganic be dismissed, but the constituent assembly has not yet taken the vote.

the assembly instructed zubak and ganic to prepare a new coordinated report on the situation in the federation for the next assembly session because their previous speeches had been greatly contradictory.

the muslim-croat federation was formed in march 1994 under washington's pressure.

before that, bosnian muslims and croats had been engaged in a brutal one-year war over territories in bosnia.

their federation, however, has hardly begun to function to this day because of constant bickering between the federal partners.

[25] NO OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS IN YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS

after arriving in the macedonian capital of skopje, janackovic told tanjug that he was coming to macedonia with 'determination to develop the two countries's relations in peace and cooperation, in accordance with the universal principles of equality, non-interference, respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity, on the basis of mutual interests, as close and friendly peoples, good neighbours and equal states.'

janackovic said that the two sides would work in the coming period on a package of legal and other documents, as envisaged under the cooperation agreement that the two countries signed last april.

[26] BOSNIAN CROATS IMPEDE PREPARATIONS FOR ELECTIONS IN MOSTAR

muslim radio sarajevo reported that orucevic had called the international community to avert the attempted undermining of elections in mostar and to ensure all voters free access to the polls in both parts (muslim and croat) of the city.

following fierce muslim-croat fighting for domination in mostar in 1993 and after expulsion of 40,000 serbs, this city was divided into the western (croat) and eastern (muslim) sector. it has been under the european union administration since 1994.

the muslim side asserted that, after elections, mostar would reunify, whereas the croat side held that elections would change nothing, leaving the city split into three croatian and three muslim municipalities.

croats in the bih do not want mostar to be organized as a single city, as they have recently demonstrated by appointing a new government of 'herceg-bosna' (the mostar-seated state of bosnian croats) in defiance of the dayton accords which provide for the existence of no more than two entities in the bih -- the serb state of republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation.

[27] TURKEY, CROATIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON MILITARY COOPERATION

the agreement, signed by turkish chief of general staff ismail hakki karadayi and croatian defence minister gojko susak, envisages the training of officers and promotion of cooperation in the defence industry and military technology.

susak said after the signing that the '(turkish-croatian) friendship is useful for bosnia-herzegovina, too.'

presidents suleyman demirel and tudjman said that the promotion of cooperation and friendship between the two countries was important for developments in the region, where turkey and croatia, each in its own way, had their special interests.

since the oubreak of the bosnian war in april 1992, turkey openly provided bosnian muslims with military and political assistance and croatia, which firmly supports bosnian croats, had a direct military involvement in the bosnian war since the beginning.

demirel told reporters that turkey and croatia would make efforts aimed at preserving peace in bosnia-herzegovina.

the turkish president late on tuesday ended the first official visit to bosnia-herzegovina, where talks focused on a further cooperation between sarajevo and ankara.

in addition to bilateral cooperation, turkey and croatia also discussed problems which hamper the functioning of the bosnian muslim-croat federation.

the federation is only a dead letter although it was set up more than two years ago. before agreeing to form the federation, muslims and croats fought each other for a year.

turkey appealed to zagreb to influence bosnian croats to consolidate their unity with muslims.

[28] COTTI: BOSNIA ELECTIONS MOST LIKELY TO BE DECIDED UPON ON TUESDAY

after meeting with austrian foreign minister wolfgang schuessel, cotti, who is also swiss foreign minister, told reporters that the osce would decide whether the elections would be held by september 14, according to the dayton agreement, only after a thorough examination of conditions in bosnia-herzegovina.

osce circles told tanjug that cotti would leave for sarajevo on the weekend in order to determine if conditions for free and fair elections existed in bosnia-herzegovina. the osce is in charge of the organization of the bosnia elections.

the united states and the european union are insisting that elections should be held by mid-september, while cotti has reiterated that the lack of a complete freedom of movement and a slow repatriation of refugees hampered the organization of the elections.

[29] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA: DAYTON AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTED SUCCESSFULLY

the government said that the republika srpska interests had to be taken care of in the further implementation of the agreement, which had to be consistent and not 'according to the free interpretation of those who are trying to impose an even less favourable solution for the republika srpska.'

the government decided that its organs and institutions assist republika srpska representative in an arbitration commission vitomir popovic and his team in the arbitration in the zone of delimitation between the two bosnian entities (republika srpska and the muslim-croat federation) near the town of brcko on the sava river.

under the dayton agreement, the zone of delimitation near brcko has to undergo international arbitration.

republika srpska representatives say that the subject of the arbitration is the widening of the corridor near brcko, which links the eastern and western republika srpska, and federation representatives say that the subject of the arbitration is the town itself.

brcko has been controlled by the serbs since the outbreak of the bosnian war in april 1992, and muslims demand that the port town be handed over to the federation.

[30] DEMILITARIZATION OF SERB REGION IN CROATIA ENDS

the demilitarization of the serb region of eastern slavonia, baranja and western srem officially started on may 21 and should have ended in 30 days.

the demilitarization deadlines were determined on the basis of an agreement which representatives of regional serbs and croatian authorities signed in november 1995 and u.n. security council resolution 1037.

under the serb-croatian agreement, the region -- the only part of the former republic of serb krajina which the croatian army has not occupied -- was placed under a one-year u.n. transitional administration. this period can be extended for another year.

head of the serb slavonia-baranja corps headquarters col. slobodan antonic said that untaes administrator jacques klein would inform the u.n. security council about the fact the demilitarization had ended at noon on thursday.

antonic stressed the correctness of untaes members during the demilitarization and said that u.n, representatives had accepted the proposal that 'personal weapons which people keep at home should not be touched, i.e. that houses should not be searched.'

the demilitarization included heavy weapons -- artillery and tanks.

antonic ruled out the possibility of croatia's conventional military action in the region and said that the deployment of the untaes military part made it possible to monitor all, even the smallest croatian operations.

[31] SERBS IN CROATIA DEMAND SPECIAL STATUS

the text of the declaration has been sent to untaes which mediates in negotiations between local serbs and croatian authorities on the future of the area.

the area, which is predominantly inhabited by the serbs, is the only part of the former republic of serb krajina which has not been seized by the croatian army. under the erdut agreement signed late last year, the area was put under one-year transitional administration with the possibility of extending the untaes mandate for another 12 monhts.

the assembly said the move was prompted by objective, historical, geographic and ethnic motives and that croatia's statement that it would respect obligations on a special status for certain parts of its territory with absolute or relative serb majority had been decisive for the e.c. recognition of croatia.

the declaration said that the area should be demilitarized indefinitely and that its citizens should be exempted from military service.

in the declaration, the serbs asked the right to adopt laws regulating crucial issues for their life in the territory. the area should have the right to have local and municipal self-rule, to have its own flag, anthem and symbols. citizens should have double nationality. the area should collect local taxes and have its own budget. the area should participate in local police in line with the national structure of the population.

the serbs seek the right to have schools with languages used by local peoples and to adopt human rights laws in keeping with international norms. the declaration said that the area should have its own local media.

the declaration said that the untaes mandate, which expires on 15 january 1997, should be prolonged because of the vindictive stand visible in everyday statements made by croatian leaders and materialized in the selective croatian amnesty law for serbs which was adopted in contravention of internatinal standards.

[32] OSCE FOR HOLDING OF BOSNIA ELECTIONS BY SEPTEMBER 14

cotti, who is also swiss foreign minister, told reporters that the final decision on the date of the elections would be disclosed on june 25, after his visit to sarajevo and banja luka.

cotti participated in the meeting of osce 'troika' -- the former, current and future osce presidents -- with the osce permanent council.

thirty-three of the 55 members of the osce permanent council voted for the holding of elections according to the schedule, it was said at the news briefing at osce headquarters.

although the conditions for the holding of free and fair elections in bosnia-herzegovina are not ideal, because the complete freedom of movement was not established and there was only a limited approach to the media, osce representatives said that elections would still be an important step in the stabilization of peace in bosnia-herzegovina.

Copyright © Tanjug, Yugoslavia, 1996

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