Yugoslav Daily Survey, 98-08-07

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Yugoslav Daily Survey

CONTENTS

[01] CHINESE MP'S VISIT YUGOSLAVIA

[02] VOJSKA: ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS UNDERGO TRAINING IN ALBANIA

[03] ORGANIZED RETURN OF EXPELLED SERBS TO CROATIA BEGINS

[04] JUSTICE MINISTER A LODGES PROTEST TO THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

[05] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT REVIEWS BALANCE OF ENERGY SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION

[06] FAMILIES OF ABDUCTED SERBS STAGE PROTESTS

[07] U.S. SAYS IT OBSERVES YUGOSLAVIA'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

[08] ETHNIC SERB ORGANISATION IN HUNGARY PROTESTS AGAINST BIASED REPORTING

[09] WASHINGTON: MASS GRAVES ALLEGATION IS FALSE

[10] YUGOSLAV EMBASSY PROTESTS AGAINST ALLEGATIONS ABOUT MASS GRAVES

[11] VUCIC: REPORTS ABOUT A MASS GRAVE NEAR ORAHOVAC ARE LIES

[12] PROTEST OF YUGOSLAV ASSOCIATIONS IN GERMANY

[13] SERBIAN MINISTER: SERBIA IS FOR A POLITICAL DIALOGUE

[14] MILUTINOVIC: STATE WILL PERSEVERE IN SECURING PEACE AND STABILITY

[15] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

[01] CHINESE MP'S VISIT YUGOSLAVIA

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

A delegation of the Pan-Chinese National Congress of China, headed b y Standing Committee Vice-President Peng Peiyun, will visit Yugoslavia from August 7-11 this year, the Yugoslav Parliament's Press Service said. The Chinese MP's will visit Belgrade and Novi Sad and hold talks with Federal Parliament representatives and other high-ranking state officials, the statement sai d.

[02] VOJSKA: ETHNIC ALBANIAN TERRORISTS UNDERGO TRAINING IN ALBANIA

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Statements made by terrorists who have tried forcibly to cross the Y ugoslav border after training in special centres have confirmed that Albania is continually carrying out an aggression against Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav A rmy daily "Vojska" said in its latest issue. The terrorist training centres in Albania are situated in Tropoje, Bajram Curri, Krume, Kukes and Peshkopi, "Vojska" said. About 5,000 terrorists are in those centres constantly or in transit and primarily former Albanian Army officers divide them into grou ps of between 20 and 60 terrorists and intensively train them to use arms for 1 0-15 days, after which they take them to the border with Yugoslavia and choose the directions for their infiltration to the Yugoslav territory, "Vojska" sai d. The terrorists, who refer to their gangs as the "Liberation Army of Kosovo" ( OVK), move around those Albanian towns armed and in uniforms with OVK insignia.

The main training ground for terrorists is near Tropoje and terrorist headqua rters is situated in a school in the village of Vucidol, "Vojska" said. Live-am munition shooting is an obligatory part of their training. Members of a 1,000-str ong group of terrorists, who tried to cross the border and were captured on t he night between July 17 and 18, said that they had been trained in Tropoje and Ba jram Curri, "Vojska" said and added that most of the terrorist group members h ad been recruited in the West and that more than one half of them were Mujaheddin from the Middle East. With a comprehensive engagement of military and police experts, terrorist headquarters organised a seven-day training and they tried to e nter Kosovo and Metohija armed, "Vojska" said. The Mujaheddin operation again st Yugoslavia from the Albanian territory represents a typical aggression un der the U.N. norms, the daily said and voiced concern because the U.N. Security C ouncil had not condemned Albania and because numerous international missions in the country had not noticed Mujaheddin either in Tropoje or moving towards th e Yugoslav border. The daily said that an office of the so-called OVK had operated in Tirana for quite a while and that their members received terrorists co ming to Durres from Bari, transported them to training centres, purchased arms fo r them and took care about their transfer to Kosovo and Metohija. Bearing in mi nd the infrastructure of Kosovo terrorists in Albania, training centres and arms dumps in Tropoja, Bajram Curri, Kukes, Peshkopi and Krume, transit arms dumps i n Durres and direct and indirect engagement of Albania's bodies, forces and instit utions in the reception, organisation, arming and training of terrorists, includ ing their infiltration in Yugoslavia, Albania is undoubtedly responsible for all crimes by ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohija, Vojska said 2E

[03] ORGANIZED RETURN OF EXPELLED SERBS TO CROATIA BEGINS

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

A hundred and sixteen Serbs, expelled during the exodus of Serb peop le from Croatia during the Croatian army operation Storm in the regions of Banija , Lika, Kordun, and Western Dalmatia, in August 1995, returned to Croatia on Thur sday via the Batrovci border crossing in the organization of the UNHCR and the Ser bian Refugee Commissariat.

This is the first and the biggest ever group of returnees since the UNHCR started organizing the return of refugees from Yugoslavia to Croatia in t he spring of 1996. The return was realized under a new simplified procedure which has been in effect in Croatia since May. The UNHCR had originally regist ered 160 persons for this trip, but the three UNHCR buses took to Croatia only 116 Serbs, mostly elderly persons, who will return to their homes in the areas of Vo jnic, Donji Lapac, Dvor, Plitvice, and northern Dalmatia. The returning Serbs were seen off at the Yugoslav border by Serbian Refugee Commissioner Bratislav a Morina and UNHCR Belgrade office Deputy Chief Eduardo Arboleda.

Morina said the event was the fruit of cooperation between the respe ctive commissions of Yugoslavia and Croatia which are working on the realizatio n of Article 7. of the Agreement on normalization of relations between the two states, as well as cooperation with the UNHCR as the key partner. Morina said th e UNHCR had received 15,000 requests for return since it started this campaign in Yugoslavia in February. She said she was confident that the Croatian auth orities would step up the processing of these requests and provide full security and safety to returning Serbs. Arboleda, who is in charge of a project for t he permanent settlement of refugees, told Tanjug that the organized return w as a result of many months of negotiations with the Croatian Government, in wh ich they had succeeded in by-passing the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade. He said it was very important for the refugees to address themselves to the Serbian Comm issariat or the UNHCR, as the office in Croatia checks with local police to see ab out the state of the returnee's home or other accommodation with relatives, which must be absolutely safe. Arboleda said the Croatian authorities had promised that the returnees would be safe. The UNHCR and numerous international humanitaria n and other organizations in the field will see to this as well, he said. Transportation for Serb refugees to Croatia will be organized every Thurs day in future, and the UNHCR hopes that there will be many more passengers than today, Arboleda said.

[04] JUSTICE MINISTER A LODGES PROTEST TO THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Federal Justice Minister Zoran Knezevic has sent a protest letter, v ia the Liason Office of the Prosecutor of the International Penal Court for the Former Yugoslavia, to this court's president, Gabriella Kirk MacDonald, the Fed eral Information Secretariat has said. In the letter, Knezevic protested stro ngly over the death of Dr. Milan Kovacevic who, he said, did not receive timel y and adequate medical aid. "All courts are responsible for the fate of persons being detained on the basis of its decisions until legal rulings about their gu ilt are reached," Knezevic said. "After that, the corresponding prison authoriti es should take responsibility for these persons. I hope that this is the cas e with The Hague Tribunal, which is why that court cannot avoid taking responsib ility for the death of persons it detained, regardless of whether this death is the consequence of suicide or untimely and inadequate treatment." Knezevic a lso expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the investigation into the death of Slavko Dokmanovic which fails to link his death with negligence in the work of certain services of The Hague Tribunal and the responsible persons the re. Knezevic said he expected that the tribunal's internal investigation into the causes of the death of Dr. Kovacevic would be more thorough.

[05] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT REVIEWS BALANCE OF ENERGY SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

The Yugoslav Government, at its Thursday's session chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Lilic, reviewed the implementation of the balance of energ y supply and consumption in the January-July 1998 period and projections of what i s to be achieved by the end of the year, the Yugoslav Information Secretariat sai d. It was noted at the session that the situation in the first four months of 1 998 was satisfactory and that the estimated balance of power supply and consumpti on had been achieved. However, the power generating and distributing system oper ated with difficulties in May and June due to unfavourable hydrological situat ion and the situation in the province of Kosovo and Metohija. To this effect, th e Government concluded that competent federal and republican bodies should take steps toward dealing with all factors threatening the operation and safet y of people and property and toward making sure that power companies in Kosovo and Metohija immediately take specific steps to create conditions for and mai ntaining of the continuity of power and coal production in line with the balance o f energy supply and consumption. The Government decided that a permanent fund sho uld be set up to assist the families of those killed and wounded in fighting wit h ethnic Albanian terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija. It placed competent federal b odies in charge of securing the necessary instruments for the functioning of th e fund and to find ways of raising and distributing the funds. The Government a dopted a Yugoslav delegation's report from the 9th meeting of the Yugoslav- Croa tian Commission for the implementation of the Article 7. of the Agreement on normalizing relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croa tia pertaining to the implementation of the Protocol on the procedure of the organized refugee return and property rights of individuals. The Governm ent also reviewed a report on the property in Croatia of legal entities based in t he Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was noted that Croatia's publishing an advertisement of its privatization fund for the sale of property in Croat ia belonging to legal entities based in Yugoslavia was a serious violation o f a provision of Article 7. of the inter-state agreement on the normalization of relations. The Yugoslav Government will lodge a protest with the Croatia n Government and will also urge it to revoke the advertisement and to refra in from all further action that might jeopardize the property in Croatia of indiv iduals and legal entities based in Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Government will inf orm all competent international institutions about Croatia's activities threateni ng the property of Yugoslav citizens and legal entities.

[06] FAMILIES OF ABDUCTED SERBS STAGE PROTESTS

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

A group of some 40 relatives of Serbs abducted from Orahovac and its vicinity and from the region around Srbica, Serbia's southern Kosovo and Metohija (Kosmet) province, protested on Thursday outside the American information Centre in Pristina, demanding that the United States and international humanitar ian organizations do more toward the release of abducted persons. Centre representatives received a five-member delegation, headed by Orahovac top municipal official Andjelko Kolasinac. In a previous talk with reporters , the relatives told shattering stories about developments in Orahovac on July 17, when ethnic Albanian terrorists occupied the town and abducted some 50 Serbs.

The relatives strongly criticized the slow actions of international humanitarian organizations, in particular the Red Cross, for not having d one anything to date on uncovering the fate of the abducted Serbs.

[07] U.S. SAYS IT OBSERVES YUGOSLAVIA'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Washington has reaffirmed that the United States do not support the independence of the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija and that they urge a solution within autonomy. The United States observe the terri torial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, White House spokesman Ph ilip Crawley said late on Wednesday and added that his country did not support the independence of Kosovo and Metohija and that it was interested in establi shing autonomy on the previous level. Crawley was speaking after a meeting in Washington between U.S. President Bill Clinton and German opposition lead er Gerhard Schroeder. Responding to reporters' questions about the U.S. and German stand on the problems in Kosovo and Metohija, Crawley said that the inter national community did not support the independence of Kosovo. He said that the si tuation in Kosovo and Metohija was one of the topics at the Clinton-Schroeder mee ting.

Schroeder said that the U.S. and German positions on this issue did not differ. Richard Holbrooke also made a brief statement on the situation i n Kosovo and Metohija late on Wednesday. He told CNN that Yugoslav authorities wer e ready to talk with ethnic Albanian representatives. The problem lies in the fa ct that ethnic Albanians cannot agree on the negotiating team, Holbrooke said.

[08] ETHNIC SERB ORGANISATION IN HUNGARY PROTESTS AGAINST BIASED REPORTING

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

The Alliance of ethnic Serbs in Hungary has voiced concern over the frequently biased reporting of a large number of Hungarian media on devel opments in Kosovo and Metohija. Most Hungarian media distort, deny or tendentiou sly confuse elementary facts and tacitly support separatism, forcible retailo ring of borders, jeopardising of peace in the Balkans and creation of negative stereotypes about the Serbs, said the statement by the organisation, whic h rallies about 5,000 members of the Serb national minority in Hungary. T he text, published in the latest issue of the "Srpske Narodne Novine" newspaper, s aid that ethnic Serbs in Hungary hoped that the bloodshed in Kosovo and Metohija w ould stop and that a peaceful solution would be found in keeping with internat ional norms. Ethnic Serbs in Hungary, most of whose ancestors arrived here mor e than three centuries ago during a great migration from the vicinity of Pec and Prizren, are deeply aware of the nature of war, national tragedy and ethn ic cleansing, the victim of which was the Serb people.

For ethnic Serbs in Hungary, Kosovo and Metohija is not just the cra dle of the Serbian state and sacred things, but also the direct homeland of thei r ancestors. This is why we expect all responsible factors to preserve Serb ia's territorial integrity and the old fatherland and to prevent a complete disappearance from the area of a European Christian culture, which is nea rly one and a half millennium old, the statement said.

[09] WASHINGTON: MASS GRAVES ALLEGATION IS FALSE

Tanjug, 1998-08-07

The official Washington has confirmed that there is no evidence on t he alleged mass graves in Kosovo and Metohija as some Western media tried to present as a malicious lie over the past days, joined by a part of American press 2E Namely, the White House representative F.Crowley said at the press confer ence: "We have no evidence that a mass grave is in question." He then recalled that diplomats already visited the site, near Orahovac, and that they saw a si te with "approximately 50 grave signs". This Washington official gave such a n answer in reply to a question of a journalist who said on that occasion that "th e UN and NATO declared that they had no evidence to confirm that 500 civilians wer e buried". Crowley's firm reply, contributed to the toning down of hysteria even today in local press. Thus, none of the government*run key dailies * "Was hington Post" and "New York Times", which publish every day provocative and one*s ided texts on Kosovo and Metohija * did not write a single line on the subject 2E In addition to such a "decrease of tension" in the local media, there have b een some occasional remarks in official circles in Washington to the effect that t he problems in Kosovo and Metohija should be resolved by political means. Du ring their last night's telephone conversation President Bill Clinton and Brit ish Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that at this moment priority must be giv en to political solution. This was confirmed by the Deputy of the White House Representative J.Lockhard, who said that the situation in Kosovo and Meto hija was one of the subjects of conversation the two leaders had. Kosovo took cen tre stage in the briefings held yesterday in Pentagon, State Department and W hite House. It could be noted that officials from key political institutions w ere on that occasion unanimous that priority must be given precisely to politica l solution. Thus, the Pentagon representative C.Bacon, has also emphas ised that the American side * as he said * continues towards finding a solution by political means. We still believe that diplomatic solution is the best on e, emphasised the White House representative Crowley at this conference, den ying the existence of mass graves in Kosovo and Metohija. He added that Washington still believes that there must be a political solution that could enable an aut onomy to Kosovo and Metohija. At the State Department briefing held by the Depu ty Spokesman, J.Fowley, it was said that * as far as Washington was concerne d * the start of dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija was essential at the moment.

"We wish negotiations to start and be successful", said Fowley. The State Department official also emphasised: "We do not seek a military intervent ion. We want a diplomatic solution".

[10] YUGOSLAV EMBASSY PROTESTS AGAINST ALLEGATIONS ABOUT MASS GRAVES

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

The Yugoslav Embassy in Vienna has strongly protested against Wednes day's tendentious and ill-willed report of the Austrian daily "Die Presse" abou t the alleged existence of mass graves near Orahovac. In a letter to "Die Pres se" editor-in-chief Andreas Unterberger, Ambassador Dobrosav Veizovic voiced dissatisfaction with the story by correspondent Erich Rathfelder who quot ed unnamed witnesses and produced no firm evidence or checked such a shockin g subject as mass graves with allegedly several hundred children's bodies. Veizovic said that it was impermissible for a newspaper aspiring to be "independent, objective and free" to publish tendentious and ill-willed r eports and stressed the importance of Austria's presidency over the European Uni on and the damage which the Austrian daily inflicted on the Yugoslav-Austrian re lations by publishing such texts. The letter said that "Die Presse" had made no mention of the fact that 2,300 ethnic Albanians had returned to Orahovac in the p ast week or the kidnapping of Serbs and loyal ethnic Albanians by the so-called Li beration Army of Kosovo. The Yugoslav Ambassador has also sent a letter to Austri an Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel because of his stateme nt in which, without checking the validity of sensationalist stories about mass graves in Orahovac, he voiced "deep concern" if "Die Presse's" information is co nfirmed.

[11] VUCIC: REPORTS ABOUT A MASS GRAVE NEAR ORAHOVAC ARE LIES

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Vucic categorically denied i n Athens on Thursday the story of the German reporter Erich Ratfelder about the existence of a mass grave near Orahovac, Kosmet, and said that this is a pure fabrication and a media fake. "After this fabrication was published, our state bodies organized a visit to the region of Orahovac, the alleged site of t he graves, to enable the press and the E.U. observers to see for themselves that in question is a pure fabrication aimed against Serbia and Yugoslavia", Vuci c told a press conference at the Association for Foreign Media during this week' s media presentation of Serbia in Greece. Vucic said that such fabrications, how ever, are frequently given more attention by the western media than their docum ented denials. This leads to the conclusion that the same or similar scenario as that regarding the developments in the former Yugoslavia, i.e. Croatia and the war in Bosnia- Herzegovina, is once more being implemented, Vucic said. He said that this would be opposed by substantiated and documented reactions, such as the one currently presented to the Greek press in the attempt that the Markale in cident, which occurred during the war in Bosnia, is never repeated, Vucic said. At the well-attended press conference, at which was also present Yugoslav Ambass ador to Athens Dragomir Vucicevic, Vucic set out that despite everything our coun try believes that negotiations with the ethnic Albanian representatives in Ko smet on the type of autonomy in Kosmet, are the only solution to the Kosmet crisi s. Vucic invited the Greek journalists to come to Kosmet and report from the field. He informed that, within this week's media presentation of Serbia in Athe ns, closer cooperation between the two ministries as well as a visit by Minis ter Dimitris Repas to Belgrade was agreed with the General Secretary of the G reek Ministry for Mass Media, Yannis Nicolau. Vucic expressed satisfaction wi th the results of his visit to Greece where he had useful meetings with Greek of ficials and media representatives, all of which received much publicity. He expr essed gratitude to the Greek Government for its support in the search for a pea ceful solution to the crisis in the former Yugoslavia and currently in Kosmet. He underscored the great and close friendship between the Greek and Serb peo ple. We expect Greece to maintain in the future such principled support and objec tive position, Vucic said.

[12] PROTEST OF YUGOSLAV ASSOCIATIONS IN GERMANY

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Yugoslav associations, humanitarian bodies and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Germany protested on Thursday to the Foreign Ministry against Germany' s attitude to Yugoslavia, its republic of Serbia and Serbia's province of K osovo and Metohija. In a letter delivered to the German ministry, these organi zations protested against the pressure being put on the Federal Republic of Yugos lavia, against the use of anti-Yugoslav economic measures and against constant threats of political and military force. This practice, the letter said, in fact does nothing but support the ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo and Metohij a, who are using terrorism in an effort to detach the province from Serbia and Yugoslavia.

Instead of supporting the policy that a solution without prior condi tions must be reached through dialogue, Germany and some other "Contact Group" states have lately been trying to impose a solution of their own. Their offers h ave favoured the ethnic Albanian side and recognized the ethnic Albanian terr orism as a reality, going so far as to see the terrorists as negotiators in som e future talks on Kosovo and Metohija, the letter said. Great concern was express ed pertaining to the collection of funds by Kosovo and Metohija Albanians in Germany so as to purchase arms for terrorists, which goes unnoticed by the German authorities. Referring to Germany's concern about a new wave of refugee s, the letter said that the migration of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and Metoh ija is part of a strategy to pressurize the international community. This has be en confirmed in recently published reports by the German intelligence about a planned and organised sending of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and Metohij a to Western Europe, the letter said.

The Yugoslav organizations asked the German Government strongly to c ondemn ethnic Albanian terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija and to bring pressure to bear on ethnic Albanian leaders to help pave the way to a peaceful and politic al settlement of the crisis.

[13] SERBIAN MINISTER: SERBIA IS FOR A POLITICAL DIALOGUE

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Serbia's Information Minister said in Athens on Thursday that this Y ugoslav republic wants to discuss with ethnic Albanians in its province of Kosovo and Metohija any kind of autonomy within Serbia. Visiting the premises of th e Athens "Eleftherotypia" newspaper, Minister Aleksandar Vucic stressed that Serbi an authorities will not, however, negotiate with terrorists, just as no othe r government in the world would. The level of autonomy should be negotiate d by the two sides, but there cannot be a state within the state, Vucic said, spea king with "Eleftherotypia" Editor Costas Tsapogas and the newspaper's foreign desk reporters. By amending the 1974 Constitution, Serbia did not take away a single human right or freedom of the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija, ex cept the right to have a state within the state, Vucic explained. He added that, a t that time, ethnic Albanian extremists were driving Serbs out of Kosovo and Met ohija.

[14] MILUTINOVIC: STATE WILL PERSEVERE IN SECURING PEACE AND STABILITY

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Serbian President Milan Milutinovic said in the eastern Serbian town of Bor on Thursday that the state would provide total security and peace in its entire territory. "We are open and ready for an immediate dialogue, but we oppo se any attack against the safety and security of our citizens and we are against terrorist and separatist gangs and small groups trying to destabilize our country and our territory," said Milutinovic at a ceremony marking August 6, Serb ian Miners' Day. "We shall not allow them to do it," he said, adding that th e state would persevere in its efforts.

"Our entire republic, the entire Yugoslavia has managed, despite all pressures, to display great vitality in preserving peace and stability in this territory. This is what we are doing now in Kosovo and Metohija and we sh all continue to do so in the future," Milutinovic said. "The state will do w hatever it takes to protect peace and security of all its citizens and national communities," the President said after inaugurating a transport system of the Bor mining-smelting complex (RTB).

[15] PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVED RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

Tanjug, 1998-08-06

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday received Russian D eputy Foreign Minister Nikolai Afanasyevsky and his associates. The Federal Re public of Yugoslavia and Russia share an identical stand on the need for a polit ical settlement of the current problems in Kosovo and Metohija as an internal issue of Serbia and Yugoslavia, which necessitates an immediate resumption of p olitical dialogue. The parties to the talk stressed the two countries' joint comm itments stated in the Moscow declaration. It was noted in the talk that coordina ted activities and steps by competent state bodies were being successfully implemented with a view to making easier the return of people who were fo rced by the presence of terrorists to temporarily leave their homes, in which mat erial assistance set aside by the state was especially important. There is no alternative to the policy of national equality, said Milosevic, stressing that issues outstanding could be solved through the political process, alone. International factors should undoubtedly give their contribution and they are expected to condemn terrorist activities finally and unambiguously and to cut off relief the terrorists are receiving from abroad, which would make the mos powerful contribution to the restoration of dialogue.

Attending the talk were also Russian Ambassador to Yugoslavia Youri Kotov, President's Secretary-General Goran Milinovic and Foreign Policy Adviser Ambassador Bojan Bugarcic.

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