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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-01-15Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Yugoslavia <http://www.yugoslavia.com>Yugoslav Daily SurveyCONTENTS
[01] RUSSIA ADVOCATES DIALOGUE BETWEEN AUTHORITIES, OPPOSITION IN SERBIAMoscow believes that the present situation in Serbia can be best resolved through constructive dialogue between the authorities and the opposition. Russia firmly and consistently opposes the use of force in resolving problems that have appeared in Serbia, Foreign Ministry Press Department Head Gennady Tarassov told the press. He also underlined that continuous contacts between Russian and Yugoslav officials were aimed at finding a political solution to the present situation.Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[02] U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RENEWS MANDATE OF PREVLAKA MISSIONThe U.N. Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a Resolution renewing the mandate of its Observer Mission on the disputed Adriatic Peninsula of Prevlaka for another six months, until July 15.The Resolution was passed a day before the Mission's mandate was due to exhire on Jan. 15, under a Resolution of July 15, 1996. The Tuesday Resolution says that the situation in the demilitarised zone on the strategic Peninsula, claimed by both Yugoslavia and Croatia, is basically stable, despite constant tension. It says that further efforts must be made to stabilise the situation in the area, whose stability is of the utmost importance for stability and peace in the entire region. The document reaffirms the importance of the normalisation accord signed between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia for regional peace and stability. The Resolution was formulated on the basis of a report and recommendations made by Boutros Boutros-Ghali before he left the postof U.N. Secretary General at the end of 1996. The Resolution instructs his successor, Kofi Annan, to work out by April 15, 1997 another report on the demilitarisation process and the overall situation on Prevlaka. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[03] SERBIAN SOCIALISTS CALL FOR SETTLING DISPUTES THROUGH STATE BODIESSerbia's Socialist Party (SPS) said on Tuesday that, amid strong outside pressure on Serbia and the resultant aggressive behaviour of part of the opposition, it firmly supported the functioning of the legal institutions of the state. These institutions are the place through which all problems should be settled, the SPS Executive Board said in a statement released after a session chaired by Secretary General Gorica Gajevic.The body stressed that the SPS must greatly intensify its political activity in order to carry out the tasks assumed at the last elections at which the party had received strong support from the people. This support meant also a great obligation and responsibility of every SPS member, especially those in responsible positions, it was stressed during the debate. In this sense, the SPS Executive Board would continue to analyse the responsibility and results of all SPS branches in the discharge of their jobs, it was noted. The Board separately reviewed the work of the party organisations in Belgrade and Nis, the biggest cities in Serbia, and decided to call early elections for SPS leaders for Nis. The Board decided to expell Main Board member Mile Ilic from the party as the one chiefly responsible for the situation in Nis. The body found that responsibility for this situation rested also with Executive Board member Nebojsa Covic, Mayor of Belgrade, who supervised Nis. Because of a personal conflict between Covic and SPS Belgrade Branch Head Branislav Ivkovic, the body decided to place the Belgrade branch in charge of Executive Board member Dragan Tomic. Covic was expelled from the SPS and Ivkovic was removed as member of the Executive Board. The SPS will intensify work especially on further consolidation and democratisation of the institutions in Serbia, with a view to implementing the Reform Programme and major ownership and structural changes planned for 1997, it was noted at the session. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[04] OPPOSITION'S DRASKOVIC SEES BELGRADE COMMISSION'S DECISION AS GOODOne of Serbia's opposition leaders Vuk Draskovic said on Tuesday that the Belgrade Electoral Commission's decision earlier in the day to acknowledge election second round results was a good move, 'although some facts are not clear yet.''Unless the SPS appeals the Commission's decision, it will be a sign that things are slowly moving towards a full recognition of Nov.17 election results and recommendations of the Felipe Gonzalez mission,' Draskovic said. 'If Government recognised all the Nov. 17 election results, we would call off our protests,' he added. Draskovic said be believed that the remaining 10 disputed seats in the City Council should be recognised, too, 'or possibly hold a third round of voting to decide those ten seats,' adding that with 60 seats, Zajedno had a majority in the Belgrade City Council. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[05] COALITION ZAJEDNO WINS 41 SEATS IN NIS MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLYThe Nis Municipal Electoral Commission on Tuesday granted the appeal of the political organization Zajedno and recognized its victory for another nine seats in the Municipal Assembly, bringing the total to 41. By a majority vote, the Commission thus nullified a part of its earlier decision that voting should be repeated for the nine contested seats.The Nis Municipal Assembly has 70 seats, of which 41 were won by the Coalition Zajedno, 28 by the Socialist Party of Serbia and one by the Serbian Radical Party. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[06] BELGRADE ELECTORAL COMMISSION RECOGNISES SECOND ROUND RESULTSThe Belgrade Electoral Commission on Tuesday annulled 45 rulings of the First Municipal Court and recognised the preliminary results of the second round of Nov. 17 elections for the City Council, the Commission's Chairman said.Chairman Radomir Lazarevic told a news conference that, according to the preliminary results, the opposition Zajedno Coalition won 60 seats in the 110-seat City Council, and the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) and the Yugoslav Left (JUL) movement, 23 seats. The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) won 15 seats, and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), 2 seats, Lazarevic added. 'At its Tuesday session, the Commission voted, with one vote against, to annul the 45 court rulings and 45 decisions of the Belgrade Electoral Commission taken on the basis of those rulings,' he said. Lazarevic stressed that 100 councillors had been elected preliminarily and that the Commission had instructed the competent bodies to investigate within three days 'what has become of the election of 10 other councillors in the third and fourth rounds.' He said that the parties dissatisfied with this decision could lodge appeals with the competent court within 48 hours of the receipt of the decision. Legal experts have told Tanjug they could give an opinion on the Commission's decision only after reading the exact wording of the decision. In principle, however, they said that an administrative body, in this case the City Electoral Commission, could not under the law annul a court ruling. This is the prerogative only of a higher court, they said, adding that in this respect, the decision was highly unusual. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[07] SUCCESSFUL TALKS OF YUGOSLAV, CROATIAN MISSING PERSONS COMMISSIONSThe talks held on Tuesday in Belgrade by Yugoslav and Croatian Government Commission for humanitarian issues and missing persons were very successful, Yugoslav Commission Secretary Maksim Korac said. Korac told the press that the meeting was organized in line with the Agreement on cooperation in searching for missing persons signed last April by Foreign Ministers Milan Milutinovic (Yugoslavia) and Mate Granic (Croatia) and with the Agreement on the normalization of bilateral relations.Documents on over 100 persons killed, identified or unidentified, have been exchanged. Of the five persons held in Croatian prisons for whom Yugoslavia has presented requests for release, two have been released already and assurances were given that everything would be done to release the others too, Korac said. President of the Croatian Commission Ivan Grujic said the meeting had achieved a significant progress as regards the exchange of documents on the persons killed, identified or unidentified. He recalled that Croatia was still searching for 2,500 missing persons and that it would do everything to provide the Yugoslav Commission with relevant documents. Everything will also be done to resolve the issue of missing persons in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Grujic added. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[08] STUDENTS URGE SURMOUNTING SERBIAN CRISIS BY POLITICAL METHODSA Spokesman for Belgrade's protesting students said on Tuesday that the students' delegation had agreed with a visiting Italian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary that the current crisis in Serbia must be solved by political methods.Undersecretary Piero Fassino had met with a delegation of student protesters in Belgrade earlier on Tuesday. Student Spokesman Dusan Vasiljevic again said that the students'protest was not meant to bring victory to the opposition Zajedno Coalition, but to ensure respect for the democratic principles and the law in Serbia. Vasiljevic referred also to sanctions which were being mentioned by certain circles as a result of the current developments in Serbia caused by the Zajedno Coalition's demostrations. He said that 'we explicitly insisted that this would be totally counter-productive, as sanctions would hurt the people the most.' This view, he said, was shared by Fassino, who had said that all political methods must be used to ensure acceptance of recommendation of the OSCE regarding the second round of Serbia's municipal elections. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[09] ZAJEDNO COALITION LEADER MEETS ITALIAN OFFICIALOne of the leaders of the Serbian opposition Coalition Zajedno Vuk Draskovic said on Tuesday following a meeting with the Italian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Piero Fassino that the latter had informed him that Italy advocated dialogue between the authorities and the opposition in Serbia. Draskovic said that a message from the Italian Government presented to him by Fassino also urges for the recognition of the results of local elections in Serbia.The Coalition Zajedno has accepted Fassino's invitation for talks with Italian Foreign Minister in Rome on Friday, Draskovic said. Draskovic added he had also discussed with Fassino the forthcoming meeting of the OSCE scheduled for January 17 in Vienna, which will focus on the letter addressed to the OSCE by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic and which will be attended by a representative of Yugoslavia. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14[10] ITALY ADVOCATES RELAXATION OF POLITICAL TENSION IN SERBIAUndersecretary of Italan Foreign Ministry Piero Fassino said on Tuesday in Belgrade that Italy advocated relaxation of political tension in Serbia. Fassino said at a press conference following his meetings with Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic and with representatives of the opposition Coalition Zajedno that Italy hoped for a progress of democratic process in Serbia.He said he had come to Belgrade to present a letter from Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini to Minister Milutinovic referring to the situation following last November's local elections. Recognition of the full results of the local elections will pave the way for dialogue between the opposition and the authorities in Serbia, Fassino said, referring to the statements by Zajedno representatives. Fassino told the press that he had also met student representatives and that Zajedno leaders would visit Italy next Friday. Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-01-15 ; Tanjug, 1997-01-14Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |