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Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-08-01

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>


CONTENTS

  • [01] PRESIDENT OF WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM THANKS YUGOSLAV PREMIER
  • [02] KRAJISNIK: ELECTIONS WILL FINALLY RESOLVE ISSUE OF SANCTIONS
  • [03] BOSNIAN SERBS OPPOSE IFOR BASE IN NORTHERN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
  • [04] BILDT: MUCH REASON FOR CONCERN BUT ALSO OPTIMISM REGARDING BOSNIA
  • [05] KLEINER: 49 MUNICIPALITIES IN BOSNIA PARTITIONED
  • [06] CONTACT GROUP OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES CALL FOR DISMANTLING HERCEG-BOSNA
  • [07] ALL WAR CRIMINALS MUST BE TRIED
  • [08] MINISTER SAYS REPUBLIKA SERBS CITIZENS CANNOT BE EXTRADITED
  • [09] BOSNIAN SERBS HAVE PROOF OF IZETBEGOVIC'S INVOLVEMENT IN WAR CRIMES
  • [10] RS GIVES HAGUE TRIBUNAL EVIDENCE ON WAR CRIMES AGAINST SERBS
  • [11] ZAGREB PROMISES TO DISMANTLE CROAT INSTITUTIONS IN BOSNIA
  • [12] SLOVENIA OFFICIALLY CONCEDES ILLICIT ARMS TRADE

  • [01] PRESIDENT OF WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM THANKS YUGOSLAV PREMIER

    B e l g r a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - President of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab addressed on Wednesday a letter to Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic expressing gratitude for his participation in the Salzburg summit on July 7-9.

    Your presence at the opening of the Session 'Central And Eastern Europe: On The Threshold Of A New Era' was highly important for the summit, marking Yugoslavia's key role in the region, Schwab said. The summit has allowed an intensive dialogue on regional issues and has been well greeted by political and business leaderships of the participating countries, Schwab said, adding that the presence of Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic had been extremely important for a successful outcome of the summit.

    [02] KRAJISNIK: ELECTIONS WILL FINALLY RESOLVE ISSUE OF SANCTIONS

    N i s, July 31 (Tanjug) - Elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, planned for Sept. 14, can fortify Republika Srpska (R.S.) and resolve the issue of sanctions, R.S. Parliament Speaker Momcilo Krajisnik said on Wednesday. In an interview with a Radio Station in the city of Nis, southern Serbia, Krajisnik said that the R.S. leadership wanted elections to be prepared and held with the least possible problems. The most important is that elections will finally resolve an essential issue, the issue of sanctions, because the Dayton Agreement stipulates a lifting of the sanctions after the holding of the elections.

    Krajisnik said that the elections would also mean a general control or revision of present policy.

    He highly spoke of Yugoslavia's efforts in helping refugees realize their right to vote and informing them about the importance of the elections for the rs. The registration of refugees and their voting is of paramount importance, Krajisnik said.

    Speaking about difficulties in preparing elections, he warned that the Muslim-Croat Federation was allowed to have different election rules from the R.S. which was not in the interest of the R.S. That is a violation of the Dayton Agreement's provisions on elections, Krajisnik said.

    [03] BOSNIAN SERBS OPPOSE IFOR BASE IN NORTHERN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

    Srpski Brod, July 31 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Serb Ministers and Commanders of the IFOR on Wednesday failed to reach agreement on setting up an IFOR base at a local oil refinery. The meeting was attended by Bosnian Serb Defense Minister Milan Ninkovic and transportation and communications Minister Nedeljko Lajic and IFOR Assistant Commanders William Nash, Felix Vargas and General O'Neill.

    Ninkovic said IFOR had decided to set up its base in Srpski Brod, a town in northern Republika Srpska near the border with Croatia, without authority from Republika Srpska. 'This is unnecessary, as IFOR's mandate is to separate the conflicting sides in Bosnia,' said Ninkovic and added that IFOR was attempting to set up a base between Republika Srpska and Croatia, which is not envisaged under the terms of the Dayton Peace Accords.

    [04] BILDT: MUCH REASON FOR CONCERN BUT ALSO OPTIMISM REGARDING BOSNIA

    N e w Y o r k, July 31 (Tanjug) - International Community's High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina Carl Bildt said on Wednesday that there was much reason for concern but that there was certainly also reason for optimism in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bildt spoke about the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina at U.N. Headquarters in New York on Wednesday and also discussed the issue with U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

    Speaking at the talks and a subsequent press conference at U.N. Headquarters, Bildt said that the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina was gradually normalizing, which was confirmed by preparations for the September elections.

    Bildt said he could see no scenario that would announce the straining of situation, which would require the presence of a strong international force in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He said that reasons for the division between the three sides in Bosnia-Herzegovina had not been removed and that the international community would have to be present in Bosnia-Herzegovina to assist the political stabilization and restoration process.

    Bildt said he did not believe that the Bosnia Peace Implementation Force should stay in Bosnia next year, but that International Civilian Police Force and some peacekeepers would be needed in Bosnia in future.

    Bildt said that Bosnia-Herzegovina cannot be viewed apart from the political situation and normalization process in the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans as a whole. In this context, Bildt criticized the behaviour of Croatian Authorities, both in Zagreb and in Bosnia-Herzegovina, regarding the situation in the Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation.

    [05] KLEINER: 49 MUNICIPALITIES IN BOSNIA PARTITIONED

    B e l g r a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - OSCE official Hans-Peter Kleiner said Wednesday that the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords has led to the partitioning of 49 municipalities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Kleiner said that some of the municipalities had been divided between the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska and others between the Croat and Muslim sides in the Federation.

    The OSCE official said each side would have its own local electoral commission in the Sept. 14 elections.

    Asked about the municipality of Brcko in the north of Republika Srpska, Kleiner said local authorities were negotiating about which parts of the municipality were to get provisional electoral commissions. He said the talks were not about who would get the town of Brcko but about the organizing of the elections.

    [06] CONTACT GROUP OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES CALL FOR DISMANTLING HERCEG-BOSNA

    B e l g r a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - The Contact Group of Islamic Countries for Bosnia on Wednesday called for the urgent disbanding of the 'Croat Republic of Herceg-Bosna.' Representatives of the eight-member group adopted a statement at a Conference in Geneva that closed on Wednesday, calling on the Croatian Government to redouble its efforts to dissolve Herceg-Bosna.

    The Group, which aided Bosnian Muslims in money and arms during the war, expressed concern for the situation in Mostar.

    Muslim Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic, who addressed the Conference in Geneva, called for an urgent dismantling of Herceg-Bosna. Muratovic said Herceg-Bosna was the cause of all problems in the Muslim-Croat Federation. He said the Federation would be able to function only if Herceg-Bosna was abolished.

    [07] ALL WAR CRIMINALS MUST BE TRIED

    B e l g r a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - A Republika Srpska delegation and the Hague-based War Crimes Tribunal said in a joint statement on wednesday that all war criminals, regardless of their nationality and religion, should be tried before the Tribunal or Republika Srpska courts. The AFP news agency said that the statement was issued after three-day talks in the Hague.

    Republika Srpska Justice Minister Marko Arsovic, who headed the delegation, told reporters in the Hague that the Republika Srpska delegation had visited the Hague in order to exchange views on cooperation with the Tribunal, an obligation it had undertaken under the Dayton Agreement.

    The statement said that the trial of all war criminals was essential for the return of a legal state to Bosnia and restoration of lasting peace in the region.

    The statement said that the Republika Srpska and the Tribunal had agreed that all parties to the conflict had committed crimes.

    The Tribunal's Prosecutor pledged to investigate all evidence of responsibility of the Bosnian three sides' political and military leaders, the statement said.

    [08] MINISTER SAYS REPUBLIKA SERBS CITIZENS CANNOT BE EXTRADITED

    B e l g a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska Justice Minister Marko Arsovic said on Wednesday that the Hague-based Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had accepted Republika Srpska's stand that its citizens could not be extradited. Arsovic said that Tribunal representatives had had a different stand, but that they accepted the position of the Repubika Srpska, whose delegation had given strong arguments on the impossibility of extradition to the Tribunal.

    Arsovic, who headed the Republika Srpska delegation to the Hague in the past three days, described the visit to the Tribunal as very successful. Arsovic said that they had discussed possible cooperation, prosecution policy, Tribunal's biasness, extradition and other issues and that the final results of the talks were 'very favourable' to the Serb side.

    'We have succeeded in convincing them that, according to the number of accused Serbs (54), Muslims (3) and Croats (18), the prosecution policy requested by their Prosecutor had not been objective so far and that mostly Serbs were tried. They convinced us that they were preparing trials against the other two parties to the conflict,' Arsovic said.

    He said that a Hague Tribunal delegation would visit the northwestern Bosnian Serb town of Banjaluka next week and collect evidence on crimes against Serbs.

    Arsovic said that this investigation would be aimed at collecting evidence against Croat and Muslim war crimes suspects.

    [09] BOSNIAN SERBS HAVE PROOF OF IZETBEGOVIC'S INVOLVEMENT IN WAR CRIMES

    T e l A v i v, July 31 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska Justice Minister Marko Arsovic told Radio Israel on Wednesday that the Serb side had evidence of Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic's involvement in crimes against Bosnian Serbs. The evidence has been handed over to the Hague-based Criminal Tribunal Prosecutor and the question is being raised on possibilities of launching an investigation against Izetbegovic.

    Arsovic said that he had discussed in principle the problem of extradition of war crimes suspects in the Hague. He said that the Republika Srpska could not extradite its citizens, because its Constitution and relevant Penal Code banned it.

    [10] RS GIVES HAGUE TRIBUNAL EVIDENCE ON WAR CRIMES AGAINST SERBS

    B e l g r a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska (R.S.) has given the Hague Tribunal 300 files of evidence of war crimes against the Serb people but the Tribunal has not reacted yet.

    The Belgrade paper Vecernje Novosti said on Tuesday that investigation had established so far that about 2,300 Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina had been the victims of war criminals - military and police forces of Bosnian Croats, Muslims and the Republic of Croatia. The International Tribunal for War Crimes in the former Yugoslavia has not reacted to the material evidence. it has only formed several 'cases' but has not launched an investigation or indicted anyone, R.S. Deputy Justice Minister Goran Neskovic told the Belgrade paper.

    The first 'file' concerns Muslim Army Commander in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, who is suspected with his superiors and soldiers of having committed war crimes against Serbs in the broader area of that town in eastern Bosnia.

    Although investigation on Serb victims in Sarajevo was made difficult by the fact that Muslims control the area, the R.S. War Crimes Commission has established that 120 Serbs had been slaughtered and buried at a dump in the suburb of Pofalici and that many others had been killed and buried in other areas of Sarajevo.

    Neskovic particularly pointed to crimes against Serbs in the areas of Brod, Derventa and Odzak (northern Bosnia and near the border with Croatia) which prove that the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina did not start in April 1992 but a month earlier.

    The first crimes against Serbs were carried out by Croatian forces in the village of Sijekovac, near Brod, on March 27-28.

    No one has been indicted for the crimes against Serbs in Mrkonjic Grad, western Bosnia, although the Tribunal's pathologist attended the exhumation of a mass grave of 181 Serb soldiers and civilians. Most of them were put to death in a most brutal way after surrendering to the enemy or being captured.

    The list of war criminals includes Bosnian Muslim leader and the leader of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Alija Izetbegovic, his Deputy Ejup Ganic, former Muslim Army Chief of Staff Sefer Halilovic and his Deputy Gen. Rasim Delic.

    Neskovic particularly stressed that the involvement of regular Croatian Army in the Bosnian war and their crimes against Serbs had been determined beyond any doubt. They perpetrated crimes against Serbs in Brod, Kupres in April 1992 and in Glamoc, Petrovac, Jajce (western and central Bosnia) in the summer and fall of 1995.

    There is evidence on Croatian air raids on refugee convoys in the Petrovac area. We have determined the number and identity of the victims, he said, adding that the military top of Croatia and President Franjo Tudjman were responsible for that crime.

    [11] ZAGREB PROMISES TO DISMANTLE CROAT INSTITUTIONS IN BOSNIA

    B e l g r a d e, July 31 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Croat leaders agreed on Wednesday to disband the institutions of the 'Republic of Herceg-Bosna,' whose existence is a threat to the Muslim-Croat Federation and peace in Bosnia.

    The 'Republic', proclaimed by Croats in 1992, would be transformed into a 'political community of Croat people,' said a statement issued after their talks with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman.

    The pressure on Zagreb and Bosnian Croats follow the latter's rejection of local elections in Mostar, a city divided between Muslims and Croats, and a threat by the E.U. that it would end its two-year administration of the city. Relations between the federal partners in the paper Federation, created in 1994 at the insistence of Washington, have been causing much anxiety for the future of the Dayton Peace Accords.

    The statement said Croatia wanted a 'consistent implementation of the Washington and Dayton accords, above all agreement on strengthening the Federation and its connection with Croatia.'

    Tudjman said Croatia played a constructive role in the implementation of the Agreement, but it would not 'allow those circles who wished to compromise Dayton to do so behind Croatia's back.' After the meeting with Ganic, Tudjman spoke over the telephone with Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic. The statement said Tudjman had contacted Izetbegovic after Ganic set out certain 'unilateral and unacceptable stands for Croats in Bosnia and Croatia.'

    Steiner and U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith told Tudjman that the European Union and the United States demanded that the Croats in Mostar accept the results of the local elections so as not to set a precedent for Bosnia's elections in September. They said the EU ombudsman in Mostar had assessed the elections as fair and that the local administration should be set up on the basis of the election results. Steiner said the Muslims and Croats had earlier agreed on the decision of the ombudsman as being final and binding.

    Steiner and Galbraith called on the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in Mostar to end the boycott and take part in setting up the city authorities. They asked the Croatian Government to influence the Bosnian Croats to solve the crisis in the city.

    [12] SLOVENIA OFFICIALLY CONCEDES ILLICIT ARMS TRADE

    L j u b l j a n a, July 31 (Tanjug) - Slovenia has conceded that it started illegally arming itself in 1987, as part of preparations for the unilateral secession from the former Yugoslavia, and that it later delivered war material to Croatia and the Bosnian Muslims. The Defense and Interior Ministries were in charge of the organized illicit arms trade through 1995, according to a report on arms trade submitted by the Slovenian Government to Parliament on Wednesday.

    Slovenia has thus officially conceded that it was violating the U.N. embargo on arms deliveries to the former Yugoslavia. The embargo was violated also by quite a few Western and Asian countries, with deliveries made to Croatia and the Bosnian Muslims.

    According to the Government report, Slovenia also provided all-round logistics support to Croatia and the Bosnian Muslims.

    The chief decisions on arms deliveries to Croatia and the Bosnian Muslims from or via Slovenia and across the so-called open border with Croatia were taken by the Slovenian Defense Council, headed by President Milan Kucan.

    The Government report, based on data provided by the Interior Ministry and Security and Intelligence Services, specifies that arms were delivered to Croatia and the Bosnian Muslims for a battle 'against the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbs.'


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