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Yugoslav Daily Survey, 97-02-10
Yugoslav Daily Survey
CONTENTS
[01] BILJANA PLAVSIC CONFERS WITH KUZNYECOV
[02] LOCAL ELECTIONS IN SREM-BARANIA REGION LIKELY TO BE POSTPONED
[03] SERB EAST SLAVONIA REGION MAY NOT HOLD POLLS AS PLANNED, ZAGREB SAYS
[04] YUGOSLAVIA AND MACEDONIA EXCHANGE PROPOSALS FOR SETTING JOINT BORDERS
UNHCR MAINTAINS ITS REFUGEE AID PROGRAMMES IN YUGOSLAVIA
[05] ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR: CURRENT EVENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA ITS INTERNAL AFFAIR
[06] CALL TO SERB POPULATION NOT TO LEAVE EASTERN SLAVONIJA
[07] PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, MR. S.MILOSEVIC: PROBLEMS RELATED
TO THE ELECTIONS WILL BE SOLVED IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF SERBIA
[08] DUMA DEPUTIES CONCERNED OVER STATEMENTS BY SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS
[09] SERBIAN VICEPREMIER SAYS DRAFT LAW LEX SPECIALIS IS IN LINE WITH
CONSTITUTION
[10] YUGOSLAVIA SHOULD TAKE PART IN INTERNATIONAL DIVISION OF LABOUR
[11] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT STARTS CONSULTATIONS ON ELECTION OF PRIME MINISTER
[01] BILJANA PLAVSIC CONFERS WITH KUZNYECOV
Republika Srpska (RS) President Biljana Plavsic received in Pale on
Saturday the political director of the OSCE mission in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Vladimir Kuznyecov. Biljana Plavsic assessed the talks as
useful, underscoring that 'information was exchanged on important issues.'
She said she believed that the decision of the Arbitration Commission in
charge of drawing the inter*ethnic delimitation line in the region of Brcko
will be fair, indicating that she 'expected a compromise.' Kuznyecov said
that the talks were an occasion to find out certain solutions essential for
OSCE's work in RS.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-08
[02] LOCAL ELECTIONS IN SREM-BARANIA REGION LIKELY TO BE POSTPONED
Croatia has announced that local elections in the Srem-Barania Region might
not be held on March 16 as announced earlier. The Zagreb pro-Government
daily 'Vjesnik' quoted on Friday diplomatic sources as saying that U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan would submit a report later in the month on
whether preparations for the elections had been completed. Croatia's
leading daily said this meant that it was not certain whether the elections
would be held on that date, because it said the possibility should not be
ruled out of the elections being postponed for technical reasons. Vjesnik
said the U.N. Security Council's recent statement did not specify the date
of the elections, saying advisors of Jacques Klein, Chief of the U.N.
Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Barania and Western Srem
had proposed that the polls be put off.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
[03] SERB EAST SLAVONIA REGION MAY NOT HOLD POLLS AS PLANNED, ZAGREB SAYS
The Serb region of East Slavonia, Baranja and West Srem might not hold
local elections in mid March as planned by Croatia and the region's U.N.
administrators, a Croatian official said in Zagreb on Friday. The delay
might be necessary because technical preconditions have not been created,
according to Croatian Secretary for justice and administration of the
region Vojin Susa. Susa explained that most of the region's inhabitants of
Serb nationality who might wish to vote would not have the necessary papers
by the given deadline. Representatives of the region's Serbs met behind
closed doors in Zagreb on Friday with Croatian justice minister Miroslav
Separovic to discuss preparations for the introduction of Croatia's justice
system in the region.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
[04] YUGOSLAVIA AND MACEDONIA EXCHANGE PROPOSALS FOR SETTING JOINT BORDERS
UNHCR MAINTAINS ITS REFUGEE AID PROGRAMMES IN YUGOSLAVIA
The heads of delegations of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and
Macedonia within a Joint Diplomatic and Expert Committee for determining
the state borders between the two countries, ambassador Radomir Bogdanovic
and Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister Branislav Stojanovski, exchanged
proposals on Friday for describing the joint state border. The preparation
and exchange of proposals was carried out in keeping with a conclusion
adopted at the second session of the Joint Diplomatic and Expert Committee
held in Skopje. The next session will be held in Belgrade after the two
sides examine each other's proposals. (Tanjug, February 7, 1997)
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is continuing to maintain
its humanitarian programmes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, giving
priority to a lasting solution for the about 600,000 refugees sheltered
here. The UNHCR, according to its Belgrade Office's report for January,
considers repatriation to be the best solution and has therefore invited
authorities in Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia to take practical steps to
enable refugees to return in larger numbers. An upcoming meeting of the
Refugee Commissioners of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia,
scheduled for February 17 in Belgrade, is another effort by the UNHCR to
help along the repatriation of refugees. Integration, as the next best
solution for the refugees, will probably be the option chosen by most of
them this year. To this end, the UNHCR, in cooperation with the competent
institutions in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, will uphold pilot
projects for building refugee settlements. Also, it will suggest to
international monetary institutions and development agencies to assist
Yugoslavia in surmounting the huge difficulties and economic exhaustion
caused by years of international sanctions. Settlement in third countries
remains the last option for finally solving the refugee problem, but,
according to present estimates, the number of those granted emigration
permits this year will not exceed a few thousand. The UNHCR is helping also
in the refugee relocation process, i.e., the return of refugees to areas
where their ethnic group is the majority population group. The UNHCR will
provide humanitarian aid for 400,000 refugees in 1997.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
[05] ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR: CURRENT EVENTS IN YUGOSLAVIA ITS INTERNAL AFFAIR
Romanian ambassador in Belgrade Panait Lefter has stated that the current
political situation in Yugoslavia is its internal affair, stressing that
his country urged stability in the region. In an interview published on
Saturday by the Novi Sad magazine 'Nedeljni Dnevnik', Lefter said relations
with Yugoslavia and in particular Serbia had always been good because there
had never been open issues or conflicts between Serbs and Romanians, which
he said had helped develop bilateral cooperation. Lefter said that, last
year, Romania and Yugoslavia had signed an agreement on goodneighbourly
relations, cooperation and friendship which he said marked a new stage in
the development of the traditionally good relations between the two
countries. He also said Romania's new leadership had taken up office only a
month ago and had therefore not made many contacts with Yugoslavia.
Messages exchanged between the two countries' Presidents, Premiers and
Foreign Ministers have stressed the two countries' readiness to promote
relations, friendship and goodneighbourly ties still further in keeping
with the tradition and the documents they have signed, he said. Lefter
described as good economic cooperation and trade between the two countries
that amounted to 200 million dollars last year despite problems encountered
by both countries' economies. He said the two countries had potential to
achieve the estimated trade level of 1 billion dollars. Lefter said the
minority issue constituted the strongest link in Romanian Serbian
friendship. He said major problems encountered by Romania and Yugoslavia
concerned the achieved level of development and the standard of living of
all citizens which he said were not satisfactory.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-08
[06] CALL TO SERB POPULATION NOT TO LEAVE EASTERN SLAVONIJA
The Prime Minister of the Serb region of Eastern Slavonija, Baranja and
Western Srem, Vojislav Stanimirovic, appealed on Friday to the population
of the region not to leave their homes. In a statement to the regional
Press centre, Stanimirovic said that the ambassadors of 13 countries
accredited to Zagreb said on Thursday in Vukovar that the 'aim of the
UNTAES mission is that all people who now live in the region, remain there
and vote at the elections.' Stanimirovic added that in the talks with the
group of ambassadors the demilitarization of the region had been discussed
and that promises had been given that this issue would be resolved next
month. According to Stanimirovic, the ambassadors underscored that the
Serbs would be guaranteed all possible rights. He quoted German ambassador
Volker Hack that 'the international community is constantly and vigilantly
monitoring what is happening to the Serb people in the region.'
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
[07] PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, MR. S.MILOSEVIC: PROBLEMS RELATED
TO THE ELECTIONS WILL BE SOLVED IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF SERBIA
President of the Republic of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic gave an interview to
"TO VIMA", the Greek weekly with the greatest circulation, speaking
extensively about the situation in Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia, the
causes and consequences of the war in Bosnia, the Dayton Agreement,
relations with Greece. The fact is that there is a crisis in new
Yugoslavia. In your view, how could it be overcome? Is there room for an
honourable compromise between the Government and opposition which could
result in the normalization of political situation? * this was one of the
questions addressed to President Milosevic. Most of the countries of the
present*day world go through economic, technological and political changes,
which, being so rapid, are not sufficiently controlled and frequently have
traumatic consequences on the life of people today. It could be said that,
at the end of the century, our entire civilization is characterized by
major, sometimes less than clear but certainly traumatic changes in the
search of its expression for the next century. As far this Yugoslavia is
concerned, it has experienced difficult years not only in terms of changing
the system but also of the disintegration of the country. It has also gone
through the war in which it offered great material support for several
years to the Serb people outside Serbia, who were at war, providing shelter
and assistance to almost a million of refugees and was subjected to
sanctions of the international community for three years. In this respect,
it finds itself in a more difficult situation than all countries of Eastern
Europe none of which has experienced either sanctions, or refugees, or war,
while two of them disintegrated without war. In this context, I must say
that Yugoslavia has a higher rate of productivity and lower rate of
unemployment, and has on the whole a better economic and social situation
than most countries of Eastern Europe. This means that it is in a better
position than many others which have experienced neither sanctions, nor war
nor dramatic demographic developments as our country. Accordingly, a set of
economic, social and political consequences brought about these difficult
years between 1991 and 1996. As far the problems related to the local
elections in a number of municipalities are concerned, they will be
entirely solved within the institutions of our Republic respecting the
recommendations of the mission of OSCE which visited our country at our
invitation. How would you comment the feelings that have shaped among most
of the Bosnian Serbs after the signing of the Dayton Agreement? And finally,
do most of them accept the Agreement or not? The Dayton Agreement has
brought peace to all the warring sides in Bosnia. This is of paramount, of
the greatest importance. Furthermore, the Dayton Agreement has recognized
the right of Serbian people to the Republic Srpska, which they wanted,
which was their goal from the moment of the dissolution of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and national conflicts in its territory. There are
possibilities for the Republic of Srpska to establish closer links with the
FR of Yugoslavia in time, although it constitutes Bosnia and Herzegovina
together with the Muslim*Croatian Federation, i.e. not to the detriment of
the Muslim*Croatian Federation. The fact that the Serbian people has got
the Republic of Srpska and that the war is over are good enough reasons to
be satisfied. Certainly, all people over there are not satisfied. This must
be understood. The horrors of war have just ended * people lost their
families, homes, many of them fled to Serbia and the world as refugees and
ask themselves whether to return or not, some even do not have place to
return to, many ask themselves whether the war could have been avoided,
some wish that it still goes on... All this is normal, inevitable,
absolutely human. People will understand that peace is the greatest
interest for each of them. The ties will be slowly established among all
States created from the former Yugoslav republics. Efforts will be made to
find solutions to a new and more modern life for all South Slavic and
Balkan peoples. Hardships will vanish slowly. The only thing that will
hardly disappear, that will never disappear, is the grief for lost people.
In reply to a question what his vision of a new Yugoslavia was at the turn
of the 21 century, in view of the position of our country, both in the
Balkans and in Europe, S. Milosevic said the following making a special
reference to major problems and tendencies prevailing in the Balkans:
Yugoslavia has potentials to develop quickly and successfully in all
aspects, unless it is prevented by outside pressures and interference of
foreign forces in its internal affairs. The truth is, that almost all
Eastern*European countries and many others, big or small, in Europe, Asia,
Africa, South America, etc. are also subjected to such pressures and
interference. As far the Balkan countries are concerned they must achieve
through their joint efforts their equitable position. They must also end
through their joint efforts, mutual frictions which existed in the past and
which may be resurrected today as well. The independence of the Balkan
States and their good mutual relations, will make their economic, political
and cultural cooperation more easier with the aim of transforming the
Balkans into a region which is economically and culturally developed, equal
to other parts of Europe.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-10
[08] DUMA DEPUTIES CONCERNED OVER STATEMENTS BY SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS
The deputies of the State Duma are worried by the latest statements by
Serbian opposition leaders that they refuse a dialogue with the authorities,
the Deputy Speaker of the Russian Parliament's Lower House, Sergei Baburin,
said on Friday. Baburin was informing journalists about his Balkan tour in
late January and early February, when he visited Belgrade and Sofia. He
said that in the Balkans, the Russian delegation had not been on a
mediation mission. The reason for the visit was a wish to learn about the
situation in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, said Baburin who headed the Russian
delegation. Underscoring that Yugoslavia and Bulgaria 'are in fact those
who determine stability in the Balkans,' Baburin warned that 'any internal
political conflict' in those countries 'could threaten the existence of the
entire state.' In this context he said that the deputies were specially
worried by the latest statements of Serbian opposition leaders who refused
to open a dialogue with the authorities. ''It is necessary of seek a
resolution to all political crises within the Law,' Baburin said.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
[09] SERBIAN VICEPREMIER SAYS DRAFT LAW LEX SPECIALIS IS IN LINE WITH
CONSTITUTION
A draft law Lex Specialis that the Serbian Government has submitted to
Parliament for adoption and that is to settle the dispute over results of
November's local polls in 20 constituencies, Belgrade included, is fully in
keeping with the Constitution, Serbian Vice Premier Ratko Markovic has
stated. In an interview published on Sunday by the Belgrade daily
'Politika', Markovic said as regards its contents the draft law had been
approved by nearly all, but a part of the public, especially experts in the
field, objected to its form claiming that it was contrary to the
Constitution. In this respect, he said it was true that the legal nature of
the draft law was specific but all its elements were in keeping with the
Constitution as well as its form and its contents. He said one should not
resort to this form much too often however because it undermined the legal
power of the Law in general. Markovic said the constitutional basis for
adopting the draft law was indisputable, saying that, under the
Constitution, the Serbian Government, which he said had proposed the draft,
had the authority to submit draft laws to Parliament and that was what it
had done in this case in a way prescribed by the Constitution and
Parliament's rules of procedure. 'The draft law states that the citizens'
will expressed in the second round of the polls is their final will thus
ruling out the possibility of using court protection provided for by
municipal courts through the right to appeal,' Markovic said.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-09
[10] YUGOSLAVIA SHOULD TAKE PART IN INTERNATIONAL DIVISION OF LABOUR
Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic said in Belgrade on Friday that
Yugoslavia's crucial task at this time was that its economy as soon as
possible and as efficiently as possible take part in the international
division of labour and the world market. Yugoslavia will increase exports
and secure the necessary hard currency only after the normalization of
relations with world financial and trade organizations, said Kontic during
his visit to the Yugoslav Institute for measures and precious metals.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
[11] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT STARTS CONSULTATIONS ON ELECTION OF PRIME MINISTER
Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic started consultations on the election of the
federal Prime Minister. The consultations began in keeping with the
Yugoslav Constitution since the mandate of the current federal Government
expires early in March, said a statement released by the Press Section of
the Presidential Office. Lilic invited the representatives of the
opposition coalition "Zajedno" to attend the consultations since this was
in their interest and in the interest of their supporters regardless of the
fact that "Zajedno" deputies neither verified their mandates nor did they
appoint their deputies. "Zajedno" representatives did not appear at the
consultations although they were regularly informed together with the
deputies of all other parties.
Yugoslav Daily Survey, 1997-02-10 ; Tanjug, 1997-02-07
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