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Serbia Today 96-02-01
Serbia Today
1 February 1996
In This Edition
SIPOVO AND MRKONJIC-GRAD RAZED TO THE GROUND
LACK OF CIVILIAN "RECONSTRUCTION" OF BOSNIA
CONTENTS
[01] THE RIGHTS IN YUGOSLAVIA PRAISED
[02] SERBIA WILL EXPEL NOBODY
[02] KARADZIC: WE WILL COOPERATE WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL
[03] IMMINENT VISIT OF THE BRITISH DELEGATION
[04] SIPOVO AND MRKONJIC-GRAD RAZED TO THE GROUND
[05] TENSION IS RISING IN KULEN VAKUF
[06] HEGEMONISM OF THE ISLAMIC PARTY
[07] LACK OF CIVILIAN "RECONSTRUCTION" OF BOSNIA
[08] UNPUNISHED CRIMES
[09] BALKAN CONFERENCE ON LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
[01] THE RIGHTS IN YUGOSLAVIA PRAISED
The refugees in FR Yugoslavia enjoy the identical rights as
all the other citizens - concluded the authors of the monthly
bulletin published by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
circulated yesterday at the Palace of Nations in Geneva. In a
broad analysis concerning the refugee issue, UNHCR reminds
that there are currently some 650.000 refugees in Yugoslavia.
"At the present moment, the main concern of the UNHCR and of
the Yugoslav authorities, is to find a lasting solution for
the refugees from Krajina and Bosnia that will certainly
never return there", states the UNHCR analysis. (Borba,
January 2, 1996)
[02] SERBIA WILL EXPEL NOBODY
"The return of the refugees and expatriates should be
voluntary and well organized, with all conditions for a
normal life previously ensured", said Serbian Commissioner
for Refugees - Ms. Bratislava Morina in an interview for
Borba daily. The current talks have revealed that most of
them wants to return. Still - as Ms. Morina stressed - our
state policy is to animate the return of the refugees without
coercion. "It is in the best interest of the refugees to
massively return to their homesteads, since far greater
international aid will be directed to the renewal and
reconstruction of the war-stricken zones, and a much lesser
part to their re-integration in FR Yugoslavia." - Ms. Morina
stressed. (Borba, January 2, 1996)
[02] KARADZIC: WE WILL COOPERATE WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL
Mr. Radovan Karadzic - President of the Republic of Srpska
stated that he is quite certain that neither the RS Army nor
the police ever committed crimes of war. "If any crimes did
take place at all, they were not the result of a given
policy, but civil war incidents, or cases of revenge for
something that occurred during World War II." said Mr.
Karadzic in an interview for VTN TV. We are prepared to
cooperate with the Hague Tribunal and we are investigating to
investigate all the imputations presented by this tribunal
concerning crimes of war committed in the zones under our
jurisdiction." Mr. Karadzic said and added that the Republic
of Srpska is particularly interested in cooperating with the
Tribunal because more than 50 mass graves with the remains of
massacred Serbs have been discovered in Srebrenica in 1993".
(Politika, January 2, 1996)
[03] IMMINENT VISIT OF THE BRITISH DELEGATION
"For the first time since the sanctions, Yugoslavia will be
visited by a British state-political delegation." - said Mr.
Ivor Roberts - Charge d'Affaires of the British Embassy in
Belgrade during his meting with the President of the Yugoslav
Chamber of Economy - Mr. Mihailo Milojevic. The British
diplomat announced the visit of a delegation comprising
representatives of the building, energy, pharmaceutical,
automobile and chemical sector, as well as businessmen
representing financial, trade and distribution firms. The
delegation will meet with high Yugoslav state officials and
business figures. (Borba, January 2, 1996)
[04] SIPOVO AND MRKONJIC-GRAD RAZED TO THE GROUND
A joint delegation comprising local officials from
Mrkonjic-Grad and Sipovo, visited the two towns and
established that they have been practically razed to the
ground and most of the buildings burned - said Mr. Slavko
Kopuz - chairman of the Mrkonjic-Grad Municipal Council
Executive Board. "Combined units of the Croatian Army and
Croatian Defense Council (HVO), that are supposed to withdraw
from Mrkonjic-Grad and Sipovo on February 2 according to the
Dayton Agreement, plundered all private and public property
in the two towns." - Mr. Kopuz said. He stressed that
extensive damage has been inflicted to the waterworks and
sewage system adding that most of the plants have been
burned, and that in the remaining ones the machinery has been
dismantled and taken away. Mr. Brano Jovanic - manager of the
"Elektro Krajina" power company and member of the expert team
that entered Mrkonjic-Grad with the help of IFOR troops,
revealed that the Croats plundered power network very
systematically. There are practically no transformer station
left in the region. Not a single screw is left in the local
screw factory and there isn't a single window left in the
entire town. (Borba, January 2, 1996)
[05] TENSION IS RISING IN KULEN VAKUF
In the zone of Kulen Vakuf, some 30 kilometers south of
Bihac, the situation is deteriorating dangerously,
threatening to escalate into an armed conflict between
Moslems and Croats - Moslem Radio Sarajevo reports. The
deterioration of the situation started on January 24, when
the Croatian Army pulled out from the zone according to the
Dayton Agreement, and replaced by Croatian Defense Council
(HVO) from central Bosnia and western Herzegovina. This is
when the plundering and destruction of about a thousand
Moslem homes in Kulen Vakuf started, and the Croats
eventually stripped them of everything. Some 6.000 Moslem
refugees currently in Bihac have nowhere to return now. Even
if their homes were intact, they greatly fear the reprisals
of the HVO. Even though the border between Croatia and Bosnia
is only 6 kilometers away from Kulen Vakuf, IFOR forces have
not reacted in any way to these events, affirming that this
is an internal issue of the Moslem-Croatian Federation and a
political matter. (Borba, January 2, 1996)
[06] HEGEMONISM OF THE ISLAMIC PARTY
The Paris newspaper "Le Monde" warns that the democratic
choice of the Bosnian authorities should not be trusted at
all, and raises the question of the growing despotism of
Alija Izetbegovic and the spreading of the hegemonism of his
party. The French daily affirms that "a handful of leaders"
from Izetbegovic's party controls everything. The Moslem
Democratic Action Party is "omnipresent, it builds schools,
gives out the wages to the soldiers, distributes the
humanitarian aid, purchases arms... The role of the
government is very much limited by the omnipotent party." Le
Monde also remarks that Mr. Izetbegovic's party "intends to
create a Moslem state, separated from the Serbs and the
Croats." France is openly showing its fear because of the
violent crisis of the Moslem-Croatian relations, threatening
to bring about the downfall of the twin federation crated
artificially. The French headline indicates that the
political events in the Moslem-Croatian "double", go against
the fundamental principles formulated by the peace agreement.
All Paris newspapers indicate that the prime threat stems
from the secessionist ambitions of the Bosnian Croats and the
radical stands of the Islamic fundamentalists. (Vecernje
Novosti, January 2, 1996)
[07] LACK OF CIVILIAN "RECONSTRUCTION" OF BOSNIA
British diplomatic circles remark that the international
community is still not fulfilling its commitments regarding
the implementation of the peace plan in Bosnia and
Herzegovina except for the military part. One of the most
sensitive shortcomings concern the UN police forces which
should generate confidence throughout Bosnia especially among
those that fear "peace". The London newspaper The Guardian
remarks that the most difficult situation is in the Serbian
quarters of Sarajevo which are to pass under Moslem control.
Although 500 policemen are supposed to be deployed, only 40
have arrived. For example, in the quarter of Ilidza only
seven arrived, and three (including their sergeant) have
already left on vacation. Consequently only four UN policemen
are now patrolling in Ilidza together with the local Serb
Police, but their rounds are being progressively reduced due
to shortage f gasoline. Furthermore, the local Serb policemen
plan to move out soon, and consequently the four UN policemen
will be left alone. The Guardian indicates that numerous
Serbs that planned to continue to live in Ilidza will be
induced to leave Sarajevo due to this situation. (Vecernje
Novosti, January 2, 1996)
[08] UNPUNISHED CRIMES
The recent Presidential Statement issued by the UN Security
Council, strongly criticizing the Croatian authorities due to
the poor state of human rights and the lack of their
endorsement in Krajina after the offensive of the Croatian
Army last summer, caused controversial reactions of the
Croatian public and political circles. Whilst part of them
(decisively a minority) displays abomination for the actions
of the Croatian side revealed by the UN document, others -
and especially the state officials - are trying to prove that
authorities did everything they could to prevent the crimes
(usually called incidents) and the culprits brought to
justice. For example, Minister of Justice Miroslav Separovic
stated in an interview published yesterday by the "Globus"
magazine, that Croatian courts initiated procedure for 1.005
crimes committed in Krajina. Most of these indictments
concern robbery and theft, whilst only 25 persons have been
indicted for murdering Serbian civilians. However, the fact
is that even though 6 months have passed since the Croatian
military offensive on Krajina, no criminal procedures against
those that committed crimes against Serb civilians or their
property has been concluded, whilst several hundred Serbian
prisoners have already been sentenced by Croatian military
tribunals for alleged armed rebellion. (Politika, January 2,
1996)
[09] BALKAN CONFERENCE ON LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
The first Balkan Conference "Local Self-Government in Theory
and Practice" started today in Nis. More than 300 experts and
scholars from Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and FYRO
Macedonia will exchange theoretical and practical experiences
in the implementation of local self-government systems in
Balkan countries. "The problem of local self-government is
extremely pertinent in all Balkan countries, because the
de-statization process of the government, along with an
effective state and a state of law, requires adequate legal
formulations." - said Dr. Vidoje Miladinovic, Dean of the Nis
Law School - hosting the venue. Representatives of various
law schools of Balkan states will sign a declaration on the
founding of the Balkan Center for Local Self-Government
Studies. (Politika, January 2, 1996)
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