Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-06-26

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

Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES U.S. ENVOY HOLBROOKE

[02] GALOA: KOSOVO CRISIS IN SERVICE OF NATO EXPANSION

[03] HARIS SILADZIC'S STATEMENT CONDEMNED

[04] R.S. GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS SILAJDZIC FOR OFFERING ASSISTANCE TO NATO

[05] PRIMAKOV'S LONDON TALKS ON KOSMET

[06] YUGOSLAV BORDER GUARDS PREVENT ILLEGAL ENTRY FROM ALBANIA

[07] COOPERATION WITH UNICEF

[08] MORINA LEAVES FOR GENEVA FOR TALKS WITH OGATA

[09] SERBIAN MINISTER GIVES INTERVIEW TO SWEDISH NEWSPAPER

[10] HOLBROOKE SAYS WORLD WANTS PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT FOR KOSOVO-METOHIJA

[11] YUGOSLAV PREMIER BULATOVIC ARRIVES AT DAVOS

[01] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES U.S. ENVOY HOLBROOKE

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic received U.S. Ambassador Richard H olbrooke on Thursday. The necessity was stressed of resuming political di alogue in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's province of Kosovo-Metohija a s the only way to settle open questions.

[02] GALOA: KOSOVO CRISIS IN SERVICE OF NATO EXPANSION

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Retired French General Pierre-Marie Gallois told Tanjug in relation to t he latest developments in Kosovo and Metohija that it is difficult to exp lain why countries which consider themselves representatives of the entir e international community deny a soverenign state the right to fight agai nst separatism. This cannot be explained in any other way but as an atte mpt to complete the break up of the former Yugoslavia, said General Gallo is, one of the most respected French military strategists in the period o f General de Gaulle. Asked whether the Kosovo crisis will mark the and e nd of the pacifying of tensions, of understanding and cooperation between the East and the West, General Gallois said that this had already been i ndicated by Russian General Leonid Ivasov in a statement to TASS news ag ency.

Gallois then said that for the "international community" or the states w hich consider themselves to be its representatives, the massacres in Alge ria, the Chechen revolt, resistance in Tibet, Turkish punitive expedition s against Kurds and, of course, the aspirations of Irish catholics, Basqu e and Corsican separatists, are an "internal affair" which concern explus ively Algiers, Moscow, Beijing, Ankara, London, Madrid and Paris. But thi s is not the case with Kosovo separatists who are deemed to be a concern of the "international community" simply because the break up of the forme r Yugoslavia has to be completed.

"Belgrade has no say in it and should be bombed," he ironically comment ed the stand of the so-called international community on Kosmet.

Gallois went on to say that Germany was confirming its "great victory," as Chancellor Kohl called it, by punishing Serbs who contributed to its defeats. For the United States, on the other hand, the Kosovo crisis is w elcomed in order to justify the expansion of NATO, after European countri es showed once again their inability to conduct their own affairs.

The eastward expansion of NATO, armed hand of the United States and Eur ope, has deeply hurt Russia. Russia sees in it the expression of unjustif ied distrust and as taking advantage of its current difficulties which ha ve arisen on the road to democratization. The question now is: what if th e Kosovo crisis, which has awakened Russia, justifies the renewing of a p act on mutual aid, which would not be signed in Warsaw but instead in Bel grade, the General asked.

[03] HARIS SILADZIC'S STATEMENT CONDEMNED

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

The Republika Srpska Parliament supported on Thursday the Govermment sta nd condemning the statement of Ministerial Council Co-Chairman Haris Sila dzic who said that Bosnia and Herzegovina was ready for the phase of NATO forces for military intervention in Kosovo and Metohija.

The Republika Srpska Government and its Assembly is of the opinion that this constitutes a violation of the Dayton Agreement and that Silajdzic i s pressing for a unitary Bosnia and Herzegovina dominated by one side, th e Bosniacs.

Such statements, it was said in the Assembly deliberations, are not hel pful to stabilizing the situation in the region and confirm doubts about attempts to create a unitary Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Governmment and Assembly of Republika Srpska demand from the interna tional community's High Representative Carlos Westendorp to penalize the Ministerial Council Co-Chairman Haris Silajdzic.

[04] R.S. GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS SILAJDZIC FOR OFFERING ASSISTANCE TO NATO

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik informed R.S. deputies on Thursda y that his government had condemned a statement by Co-Chairman of Bosnia' s Council of Ministers Haris Silajdzic to the effect that his country was ready to offer help to NATO in case of military action in Serbia's Kosov o and Metohija province.

Dodik said the statement pointed to attempts to undermine the Dayton Pea ce Accords and Silajdzic's efforts to create a Moslem-dominated unitary B osnia-Herzegovina.

He said Silajdzic's statement did not lead to the stabilisation of the s ituation in the region, saying it only confirmed the fear and speculation that a unitary Bosnia-Herzegovina might be created.

Dodik stressed that neither the R.S. territory nor the rest of Bosnia co uld be used by NATO as a basis for military action in any country.

He said his cabinet would sever contacts with Silajdzic, saying that he expected the High Representative for Bosnia to sanction Silajdzic for mak ing the statement and confirming that he was against the Dayton agreement and against a Bosnia-Herzegovina made up of two equal entities and three equal peoples.

[05] PRIMAKOV'S LONDON TALKS ON KOSMET

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

No details are known in Moscow about the talks on Serbia's Kosovo and Me tohija province held in London late on Wednesday between Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and British Defense Secretary George Robertson, but it is believed that Britain is starting to change its hereto one-sid ed approach to the developments in the Balkans.

Primakov said after the meeting that the talks had been very constructiv e and had covered a number of topics, and that they had also touched on t he problem of Kosovo.

Over the past 24 hours, it has become evident that there is a constant t endency of a gradual reorientation of Great Britain from one-sided condem nations of the Yugoslav authorities to demands of ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova to secure the protection of the civil rights of the Serb population in Kosovo, the ITAR-TASS correspondent, who had been allowed t o attend the very onset of the talks, said.

Primakov also spoke about the problem of Kosovo with representatives of coutries of the E.U. Troika, but no details have been released about thes e talks either.

[06] YUGOSLAV BORDER GUARDS PREVENT ILLEGAL ENTRY FROM ALBANIA

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Yugoslav border guards on Thursday prevented an armed group from Albania entering the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, according to a report in Pr istina, chief city of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Metohija P rovince.

The incident occurred at around 6 a.m., when Yugoslav border guards chal lenged an armed group trying to get into the country near the Kosare bord er post, northwest of Djakovica in Kosovo-Metohija, the Pristina Media Ce ntre said, quoting Djakovica officials. Challenged by the guards, the arm ed Albanians opened fire. Two of the attackers were killed and six were c aptured by the guards.

The attackers, Albanian nationals all, were found in possession of a lar ge quantity of automatic weapons and munitions, as well as of German army camouflage uniforms.

Yugoslavia has informed the local joint border commission about the inci dent which took place about 1.5 km deep in Yugoslav territory, but the co mmission has been unable tot investigate the incident on the scene, as it kept coming under fire from Albania.

[07] COOPERATION WITH UNICEF

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Margit Savovic, who heads the National Commission for cooperation with U NICEF, conferred in Belgrade on Thursday with the newly-appointed head of the UNICEF Belgrade office Steven Johnson.

In a statement to reporters, Johnson said the objective of the meeting h ad been to consider further cooperation between Yugoslavia and UNICEF. H e pointed out that the cooperation so far had been very successful and th at UNICEF had a long history of cooperation with this Commission.

Johnson said they had agreed on the priorities of cooperation and the co ntinuation of the UNICEF aid programme in the areas of health, education and the protection of children.

The next three-year programme is almost completed and it will be realize d as planned with the help of donours, Johnson said.

He said the UNICEF office in Belgrade had worked very well so far and sa id he hoped it would expand its activities even further in the future.

Savovic specified that the upcoming tasks had been determined at the fi rst meeting.

"UNICEF is perhaps the only international organization which did not lea ve the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the time of the deepest crisis b rought upon our country by the international community," said Savovic. Sh e said UNICEF had sent more than 8.5 million dollars' worth of aid to Yug oslavia over the past three years.

"I hope that the next three-year contract with UNICEF, which will be si gned in the coming months, will be even better, so that children and wome n in our country can receive aid," Savovic said. The programmes of the fe deral and republican governments give priority to the promotion of the qu ality of life of children, she said.

[08] MORINA LEAVES FOR GENEVA FOR TALKS WITH OGATA

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Serbian Refugee Commissioner Bratislava Morina left Belgrade for Geneva on Thursday for talks with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Oga ta.

Sadako will receive Morina on Friday to discuss the general humanitarian situation in Yugoslavia and the regional approach to the realization of the return of refugees in keeping with the Dayton-Paris accords, the Serb ian Refugee Commissariat said. The two officials will also discuss progra mmes of support to the integration of those refugees who wish to remain p ermanently in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

As a member of the Yugoslav delegation, Morina will on Friday also take part in the meeting of a Working Group for humanitarian issues. The group will discuss the realization of permanent solutions to refugee issues in the region, the statement said.

[09] SERBIAN MINISTER GIVES INTERVIEW TO SWEDISH NEWSPAPER

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Serbian Minister Ivan Sedlak, in charge of human and national minority r ights, has told the Swedish daily "Dagens Nyheter" that Serbia is ready t o accept any autonomy concept which is better and more modern than the on e it secures for its national minorities, if such a concept exists anywhe re in the world.

The Serbian Information Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that S edlak had told the Swedish daily, with the highest circulation, in a leng thy interview that Serbia was the state of all its citizens and that it e nsured that its national minorities enjoy autonomy and protection of nati onal and human rights according to the highest world standards.

"We are willing to accept and include in our legal norms any autonomy co ncept better and more modern than the one secured in Serbia or the existe nce of a minority right which we haven't recognised under our laws," Sedl ak said.

He said that ethnic Albanians had for years enjoyed the rights which did not bind them to recognise the status of Serbia's citizens and that they had given up all the rights which confirmed this status.

"If ethnic Albanians wanted to use their rights ensuing from the provinc e's Constitutional position, local self-rule and the provincial Assembly would be in their hands. They would thus realise the possibility to decid e on economic, social and all other issues in the province. In addition t o this, the Albanian national minority would have a significant number of deputies on the republican and federal levels," he said.

Problems which exist in Kosovo and Metohija result from the Albanian nat ional minority's fight for territory, rather than the violation or lack o f human and national rights, Sedlak said.

Speaking about the possibility for returning the status which the provin ce enjoyed under the 1974 Constitution, Sedlak said that the Serbian Cons titution still envisaged the existence of autonomous provinces with all rights they had under the 1974 Constitution, but that it did not give the m the attributes of statehood which no national minority autonomy in the world had.

Asked whether ethnic Albanians could be granted the status of an entity, like the Republika Srpska within Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sedlak said that Se rbs and other two peoples within Bosnia-Herzegovina were constituent nati ons in the former Yugoslavia and that this was why this solution had been found. On the contrary, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija have alw ays been a national minority within Serbia.

Sedlak said that a dialogue about all problems existing in Kosovo and M etohija was the only way to resolve the Kosovo and Metohija problem and t hat the state delegation constantly renewed invitations for an unconditio nal dialogue with ethnic Albanian representatives. On the other hand, re presentatives of all ethnic Albanian political parties and Ibrahim Rugova directly make conditions for the talks by claiming that they accept only the independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

Without a clear condemnation of terrorism as the only reason for conflic ts and plight in Kosovo and Metohija and through biased pressure only on the Serb side and media misinformation, some Western countries only assis t in the escalation of violence and stimulate terrorists to continue with their operations.

Under these conditions, Kosovo Albanians avoid any dialogue that may lea d to a peaceful resolution of the Kosovo and Metohija crisis, the stateme nt quoted Sedlak as saying.

[10] HOLBROOKE SAYS WORLD WANTS PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT FOR KOSOVO-METOHIJA

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

U.S. Balkan envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Thursday the United States, as well as Russia and the other "Contact Group" states, want a peaceful s ettlement of the situation in the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia's Kosovo-Me tohija Province.

Speaking at a news conference in Belgrade, Holbrooke again stressed that the international community accepts the fact that Kosovo-Metohija is par t of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

He said that the United States is aware of the fact that some ethnic Alb anian political leaders in the Province and those that have risen up in a rms in western Kosovo-Metohija all insist on independence for Kosovo-Meto hija. However, he stressed, the international community cannot support th is. In explanation of this position, he said that, in line with the princ iples set down in the U.N. Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, signed by all "Contact Group" states and Yugoslavia, the world could not countenanc e a change of international borders by force.

Holbrooke urged, as his country's position, for a certain arrangement in relations between Kosovo-Metohija and the Federal Government in Belgrade , which would be reached by peaceful means and which would be mutually ac ceptable.

He said that the United States does not want to interfere in the interna l affairs of a sovereign state but that the situation in Kosovo-Metohija is burdened with grave dangers for the international system and for stabi lity in Europe.

He went on to say that his meeting on Wednesday with terrorists of the s o- called Kosovo Liberation Army was incidental, part of an effort to get acquainted with the situation on the ground, and does not mean recognitio n of the terrorist organisation.

He said he subsequently informed Washington about the talks.

[11] YUGOSLAV PREMIER BULATOVIC ARRIVES AT DAVOS

Tanjug, 1998-06-25

Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic arrived in Davos, Switzerland, o n Thursday, heading Yugoslavia's delegation to the world Crans-Montana po litical and economic forum. Bulatovic will address the traditional gather ing of politicians and businessmen on the role of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the Balkan region and on the situation in southeast Europe

Apart from Bulatovic, the Yugoslav delegation includes Minister of Forei gn Trade Borislav Vukovic, Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic and S ecretary for Information Goran Matic.

Serbian state Radio and Television reports that the 9th political and ec onomic forum opened work at the famous Swiss resort of Crans-Montana late on Thursday afternoon.

The forum was opened by its President, industrialist Jean-Paul Carteron, who has been organising the annual gatherings of world politicians, busi nessmen and representatives of international organisations for years.

The participants were welcomed also by President of the European Commiss ion Jacques Santer and former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghal i.

Opening the gathering, Carteron said that discussions of numerous global and European topics over the next four days would be dominated by the si tuation in southeast Europe.

In this context, he welcomed the attendance of Yugoslav Prime Minister B ulatovic and announced the imminent arrival of U.S. Ambassador to the Uni ted Nations Richard Holbrooke.

In the next few days, Bulatovic will have numerous bilateral contacts, a nd will discuss cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia an d the World Bank with officials of that international financial body.

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