bosnet-digest V5 #84 / Saturday, 2 March 1996

From: Nermin Zukic <[email protected]>

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

CONTENTS

[01] NEWS - Feb. 29/Mar. 1, 96 ("Capone's Bookkeeper"; "God's Revenge"; Bildt BOYCOTTED)

- Gen. Djukic: "Al Capone's bookkeeper", "intelligence pearl", "missing link"

- Milosevic's SPS: "The SPS especially does not need those people... who have obstructed the peace efforts by our president and hoped

- Srebrenica stories: ``It stinks of death... And it simply won't go away... We all know that thousands of Muslims were massacred here... But we don't talk about it. It's a taboo... '' Rajko Brajic

- Our life in this place is like God's revenge for what our boys did here...'' Jovka Miric

- Federation to get USD 800 million in military aid, equipment

- SARAJEVO CONNECTED WITH ZENICA - B-H MEDIA BOYCOTT C. BILDT - FOUR STATES WILL DEMAND - B-H INDEPENDENCE DAY - $45 MILLION DOLLARS OF HELP TO B-H - CEREMONY ON THE OCCASION OF THE INDEPENDENCE DAY OF B-H - [Former?] WORLD CHESS CHAMPION [Karpov] ENLISTS WITH SERBIAN SOCIALISTS

- Identity papers of Gen. Djorde Djukic, now in the custody of the tribunal in The Hague, showed he was accredited to the Yugoslav Army's General Staff headquarters (contain also Belgrade validation stamp).

Officially, Djukic is said to have "retired" from the former Yugoslav National Army (JNA) in 1992 to join the nationalist Bosnian Serb military when war started.

- ID card and other papers also showed that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's claims to have blocked military support to nationalist Bosnian Serbs were untrue.

- Gen. Djukic ran the nationalist Bosnian Serb military logistics and have likely supervised the vast flow of arms and ammunition, including those used in attacks on eastern Bosnian towns of Zepa, Srebrenica, Gorazde and others. He also knew details of Serb prison camps. This alleged inside knowledge of arms supplies and logistics make him a prize catch for Hague investigators. Some have even reportedly dubbed him "Al Capone's book-keeper."

The formal charges laid specifically refer to Djukic's role in operations in Sarajevo, where nationalist Bosnian Serb military "on a widespread and systematic basis, deliberately and discriminately fired on civilian targets that were of no military significance in order to kill, injure, terrorise and demoralise the civilian population."

The paper quoted military sources as saying Djukic was a "real intelligence pearl" for both the Bosnian government and U.N. war crimes investigators.

The 3rd Congress of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), to be held during the first weekend of March in Belgrade will allow President Milosevic to purge nationalists. "Milosevic needs to make a wide sweep of his backyard of nationalist garbage. He needs to streamline his followers and consolidate his power base to focus on the challenges ahead," a western diplomat in Belgrade commented.

Upon comletion of Dayton negotiations, Milosevic expelled SPS vice-presidents Mihajlo Markovic and Borisav Jovic, and according to SPS spokesman Ivica Dacic said the process would continue: "The SPS especially does not need those people...who have obstructed the peace efforts by our president and hoped that the war would continue, those who still hope that peace will not last... The Congress will clearly define the ideological profile of the SPS as an authentic and modern leftist party..."

Washington also says Milosevic must hand nationalist Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and his army commander General Ratko Mladic to the Hague war crimes tribunal.

Gen. Rasim Delic, commander in chief of the Bosnian Army, and Gen. Zivko Budimir, chief of staff of the Bosnian Croat HVO forces, said Friday their forces also would require significant retraining. This is response to anticipated influx of new equipment, worth in total USD800 million. USD100M would come from the US, and the rest would be provided by the countries such as Turkey.

``Our priority is not only to equip and retrain our army, but to restructure it to use the sophisticated weapons and equipment which we will receive,'' Budimir told reporters.

Bosnian delegation also met with Military Professional Resources Inc., a consulting firm staffed by high-ranking retired American generals, and BDM International Inc. MPRI is credited with helping retrain the Croatian army, while BDM is engaged in contract work with Saudi Arabia's army and air force.

``The U.S. government urges Serb authorities to permit the Soros Foundation to continue its valuable work... including its $15 million program of financial assistance to the Croatian Serb refugees currently in Serbia,'' a State Department statement said.

Rajko Brajic, 47, a Bosnian Serb refugee, about Srebrenica: ``It stinks of death... And it simply won't go away... We all know that thousands of Muslims were massacred here... But we don't talk about it. It's a taboo... Most of us have a feeling of guilt as we move into places whose owners are probably dead... But we had no choice -- either here, or out in the open.''

``This makes you close your eyes and bang your head against the wall,'' said Jovka Miric, a school teacher from Ilijas. ``If someone doesn't remove this garbage soon, we'll all die of some epidemic,'' she said, sobbing. ``Whoever on earth wanted to capture this doomed city in the first place must have been crazy... Our life in this place is like God's revenge for what our boys did here...''

``I don't know why we're doing all this when we have no electricity or water,'' said Mica Grbic, carrying an electric stove on his back. ``I should have trashed all this.''

The crime rate is soaring, with looters robbing the new settlers or even killing each other over booty or still empty apartments.

``She is protesting because she is hungry,'' said one passerby, after seeing an older woman kneeling on the main street. ``No, she's a mental retard,'' said another. ``Like all of us who agreed to come here.''

B-H MEDIA BOYCOTT C. BILDT Sarajevo, March 1,1996 (Press TWRA) - All B-H media, following the B-H Independent Journalist Association decision, as a protest against the civilian authorities of international community headed by C. Bildt who did not do anything to free from Serbian prison the BH Press' photo-reporter Hidajet Delic, in the next 48 hours will not release any news on the work of C.Bildt and his commission. (end) S.K.

B-H INDEPENDENCE DAY Sarajevo, March 1,1996 (Press TWRA) - Republic Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates today the fourth year of its independence. On that occasion B-H Ambassador in Croatia Kasim Trnka will held the party for high Croatian officials, diplomatic corps.(end)S.K.

FOUR STATES WILL DEMAND Washington, March 1,1996 (Press TWRA) - B-H, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia warned that they will demand compensation from every subject which in the process of denoting the SFRY property violates their interests and rights. In the joint statement of four states' Foreign Ministers sent to Security Council and UN General Assembly said that violation of their rights and interests which come out of resolution on suspension of sanctions against FRY leads to compensation. The statement emphasized that governments of four states were always for reaching the agreement between SFRY successors achieve the agreement on division of resources and property and duties of former Yugoslavia, but FRY delegation from the beginning of the negotiations on succession of SFRY disrupted the efforts to reach such agreement. (end) S.K.

$45 MILLION DOLLARS OF HELP TO B-H Washington, March 1,1996 (Press TWRA) - World Bank granted urgent help of $45 millions in a form of loans and donations, according to circles close to the Bank. Among organizations and states which collected these $45 millions are EU, US, Canada, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain. (end) S.K.

SERBS BECAME TARGETS IN BANJA LUKA Belgrade, March 1,1996 (Press TWRA) - The situation on the Banja Luka territory is not only bad for Muslims and Croats, who are almost completely expelled, but also for great number of Serbs, claims the "Novi profil", Banja Luka's Liberal party paper. The text mentions the existence of "black list with Serbs names". Milorad Dodig, president of independent representatives club in Bosnian Serbs so called "assembly" claims that secret police organized "executors of unacceptable individuals". "I heard that I am on the top of one black lists. They threatened to me and to other members of party leadership with arrests, death and others". The other Banja Luka's newspaper "Nezavisni list" reported some concrete details. "Nezavisni list" claims that on the territory of Republic Srpska the secret association - Serbian national monarchistic order of knights of revenge" has been established. "The knights" already undertook their first action: massacred one Serbian who as a member of municipality Sanski Most war presidency, protested against Karadjic's attempt to "sell" Sanski Most in order to get parts of Sarajevo. (end) S.K.

CEREMONY ON THE OCCASION OF THE INDEPENDENCE DAY OF B-H Sarajevo, March 1, 1996 (Press TWRA) - On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of restored statehood of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a solemn ceremony was held in Sarajevo today attended by the top military and political officials of the B-H Republic and Federation, religious dignitaries and diplomatic corps.

From the hospital where he is recovering, Bosnian president Izetbegovic sent the attendants of the ceremony the message calling the citizens of B-H to be less Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Jews in future but more citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Member of the B-H presidency and vice-president of the B-H Federation Ejup Ganic expressed the honour and gratitude to all those who helped in defence and survival of Bosnia but stressed that the state must be built up to Bosnians' standard. /end/ A.S.

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA - RUMANIA Sarajevo, March 1, 1996 (Press TWRA) - B-H foreign minister J. Prlic and deputy of Rumanian prime minister Teodor Malescanu signed the statement on establishing diplomatic relations between Sarajevo and Bucharest at the level of ambassadors.

Early last week, Bulgarian ambassador to Sarajevo gave credentials to the president of B-H presidency A. Izetbegovic by which Bulgarian Embassy in Sarajevo started to work. Bulgaria was the first state to recognize B-H. Unlike Bulgaria, being with Serbia on moderately friendly terms, Bucharest has always had good relations with Belgrade with few problems while Rumanian president Ion Iliescu said that Bosniaks actually did not exist as a nation but they were Serbs who converted to Islam while being under the Ottoman Empire. Many Rumanian mercenaries were fighting among Karadzic's Serbs, but the government in Bucharest was not involved in their sending to Bosnia. Rumanian parties were not particularly concerned with the situation in Bosnia but Romania mainly observed the UN sanctions against FR Yugoslavia introduced in mid-1992 and lifted late last year. /end/ A.S.

FRANZ PAL SUPPORTS CROATIAN NATIONALISTS IN MOSTAR Mostar, Feb. 29,1996 (Press TWRA) - Croatian media reported in detail on Franz Pal's visit to Mostar and his support to position of Croatian Government in that area, which he expressed during the visits with local Croatian leaders. Pal held talks with Vlado Soljic, B-H Federation Defence Minister, the mayor of west Mostar Mijo Brajkovic, and Bozo Rajic, HDZ B-H President.

F. Pal, vice-president of Autonomous Province Trentino Alto Adigie (Sud-Turol) on north-east Italy where numerous Austrians live, expressed in Mostar positions which are very close to the local Croatian nationalists' statements and said: "Mostar should be political, cultural and economical center of Croats in B-H. (...) Hans Koschnik, due to his political and geographical origin, did not, inspite of good will, understood the reality of Mostar. To compare Mostar with Berlin, as Koschnik did, is unsuitable, because in Berlin the German nation was separated, and in Mostar are two nations". (end) A.S.

SARAJEVO CONNECTED WITH ZENICA Sarajevo, Feb. 29,1996 (Press TWRA) - B-H Federation Police - 9O policeman, out of which 5O Bosniaks, 25 Serbs and 15 Croats, together with B-H Federation Internal Minister Avdo Hebib, entered today Ilijas, north-west suburb of Sarajevo, by which the four year long siege of Sarajevo have been terminated, and the B-H capital has been connected with Zenica, the biggest city in central Bosnia. Between 1OO and 15O Serbian families remained in Ilijas and the most of them decided to leave that area soon. Marguerita Schluter (International Police Forces IPTF) stated that IPTF opened and office in an old cafe in Sarajevo's suburb, and that so far they have list of 127 Serbs who would like to remain. There are no young people among them.

The B-H Federation Deputy Internal Minister, Jozo Leutar, stated for Croatian media that policeman who took control over Ilijas and other Sarajevo suburbs are not members of Federal Police Forces, but the workers of Sarajevo's Security Service Center. "Neither me nor any Croat at the ministry was not consulted on police force's structure. That was violation of federal law on internal affairs, adopted on January 1O, this year", said Leutar. Croatian politicians consider insufficient the participation of Croats in Sarajevo' police forces and demand that Croatian politicians from Sarajevo, leadership of HDZ B-H party and the leading representatives of "Herzeg-Bosnia" be consulted about their structure.

UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko, stated that UN accused local Serbian authorities in Ilidza for deliberate destruction of the whole industrial infrastructure in south-west Sarajevo's suburb Ilidza, which forced the remaining Serbs to leave, and made the work and life on Ilidza more difficult for the population which will return there after four years long exile. "All necessary for the life of people on Ilidza and neighboring settlements disappeared - machines, medicine and office equipment, banks" , said Ivanko, and described Serbian authorities as "manipulators of human sufferings". (end) A.S.

IFOR ON KARADJIC's NON-ARREST IN BANJA LUKA Sarajevo, Feb. 29,1996 (Press TWRA) - "Decision to undertake the military action, including the arrest of those accused for war crimes, depends on the estimates of IFOR's commanders on the ground. In Banja Luka the estimate was that at that moment Karadjic could not be arrested so the action was not undertaken. NATO soldiers are not in the position to hunt down the war criminals", stated IFOR spokesman Mark Reiner, commenting on british soldiers two days ago who four, five times met Karadjic in Banja Luka Town Hall.

Mayor Carol Haig (NATO) said that Karadjic was surrounded with great number of armed guards, sometimes with heap of civilians, every time when British soldiers saw him. Captain Mark van Dyke (NATO) said there were not enough British soldiers, they were armed only with light arms and they did not tried to arrest Karadjic out fear to cause military and civilian victims. Van Dyke said that IFOR's officers first duty is to - protect their soldiers. (end) A.S.

INTERNATIONAL POLICE ARRIVES (TOO) SLOWLY Geneva, Feb. 29,1996 (Press TWRA) - "UN member countries are sending policemen to B-H too slowly so that it will be very good if at least 5O% arrive by the end of the IFOR mission", stated the UN spokeswoman Silvana Foe, adding that about 15OO planned policemen, only 337 international policemen arrived to Bosnia so far, and the similar respond is for the UN police to east Croatia. (end) A.S.

"THE GUARDIAN": DJUKIC ACCUSES MILOSEVIC The Hague, London, Feb.29,1996 (Press TWRA) - "For a long time denied and unproved the relation between Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs has been confirmed after the Serbian General Djordje Djukic presented to International Tribunal (ICTY) his own identity cards issued by Yugoslav Army Headquarters", writes today's British daily "The Guardian", which released the copy of identity card's one page with the seal of military command in Belgrade. "The Guardian" claims that could start ICTY's investigation against Milosevic in relation to his responsibility for crimes which were committed by Karadjic's Serbs in B-H. The newspaper also cites the secret reports of UN Security Council, which show that UN knew that Milosevic lied, when he proclaimed the blockade and boycott of B-H Serbs and that there were evidences on sending the ammunition and arms to Serbs in B-H from FRY, which helped the occupation of Srebrenica and Zepa 1995.

Djukic's layers, Milan Vujin and Toma Fila demanded from ICTY Djukic's release. As a possible perpetrator, he according to B-H law can not be in detention for more than a month without indictment raised against him, claim the lawyers, adding: "If you want Djukic as a witness, let him go to Belgrade, and than call him and he will come". Djukic has been arrested since March 4. The Court council will decide tomorrow on prosecutor Goldstone's demand for one month extension of detention. If ICTY decides to keep Djukic, he will be turned back to prison in Bosnia. According to B-H laws, in contrary to ICTY, he can be sentenced to death, for participation in devising and using the internationally forbidden explosives and poison gasses.(end) A.S.