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Serbia Today 96-02-14
Serbia Today
14 February 1996
In This Edition
CONTENTS
[01] INVESTIGATION PROCEEDINGS AGAINST REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA ARMY OFFICERS BEGIN
[02] TRIBUNAL - AN INSTRUMENT OF PRESSURE
[03] VIOLATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT
[04] RUSSIA REQUESTS LIFTING OF SANCTIONS ON THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
[05] MOSTAR 'KNOT' ABOUT TO BE CUT
[06] CROATIA IS AGAIN DECEIVING SECURITY COUNCIL
[07] YUGOSLAV-BULGARIAN AGREEMENT ON INVESTMENTS PROTECTION
[08] EXHIBITION 'SERBIAN-HUNGARIAN CONTACT'
[09] YUGOSLAV PROJECT OF PRIVATIZATION IS NOW DRAFTED
[10] RETURN WITH HIGHEST GUARANTEES
[11] SUBSTANTIAL AID ARRIVES FROM ZURICH
[01] INVESTIGATION PROCEEDINGS AGAINST REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA ARMY OFFICERS BEGIN
Investigation proceedings have been initiated yesterday before
the International Tribunal for Prosecution of War Crimes
Committed in Former Yugoslavia in The Hague against two high
officers of the Republic of Srpska Army, General Djordje Djukic
and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic. Spokesman of The Hague Tribunal
Christian Chartier said at the press conference that according
to the judicial procedure, the suspected but not indicted
Serbian officers, were informed of their rights to the choice of
defense attorney and paid sworn-in judicial interpreters. It was
explained that the extradition has taken place at the orders of
Judge Ninijan Steven, based on suspicion that they are possible
perpetrators of the acts for which they were charged by the
judicial bodies in Sarajevo. Chartier also said that in The
Hague Tribunal an urgent decision is awaited on raising (or not
raising) of the indictment as soon as possible. If the
investigation should conclude that there are no grounds for
indictment, Djukic and Krsmanovic will be returned to the
authorities in Sarajevo from where they were taken. When asked
what will happen if the local authorities should nevertheless
decide to prosecute, spokesman of The Hague Tribunal said that
this should not happen. Officers in question could be retained
in The Hague even if their guilt is not proved, in the capacity
of witnesses. Regarding the role of IFOR members in the
extradition of the suspects from Sarajevo to The Hague, this
form of cooperation is welcomed in The Hague, said Chartier. For
purpose of further cooperation IFOR members are given detailed
description and data about all of the 52 persons so far indicted
for war crimes in Bosnia, from this number six are Croats, and
all the others are Serbs, while no Muslim has been indicted
until now. (Politika, February, 14, 1996)
[02] TRIBUNAL - AN INSTRUMENT OF PRESSURE
Command of the international forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, IFOR
and NATO, is very much concerned over further prospects of the
peace mission after extradition of the two high officers of the
Republic of Srpska Army to the Tribunal in The Hague, reports
Tanjug from London. There is no dilemma whatsoever, recalls
London, that war criminals of the Bosnian civil war should be
brought to justice, but the circumstances under which Serbian
officers have been arrested and their extradition are giving
cause for doubt that the Tribunal in The Hague is most of all an
instrument of political pressures and manipulation. (Borba,
February 14, 1996)
[03] VIOLATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT
Regarding the extradition of the two high officers of the
Republic of Srpska Army to the Tribunal in The Hague, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Srpska Aleksa Buha has
sent an open letter to Carl Bildt, representatives of the
Contact Group member-countries and representatives of the
countries, members of the Managing Board of the Conference for
the Implementation of the Dayton Agreement. "Government of the
Republic of Srpska is considering its urgent duty to warn you of
a number of negative elements in the present implementation of
the peace agreement which must be overcome as soon as possible,
so that the agreement will not be disavowed", writes Buha and
lists examples of violation of the peace agreement. "A
satisfactory solution regarding securing of collective and civil
rights of Serbs in Sarajevo has also not been found as yet",
says Buha. President of the Republic of Srpska Radovan Karadzic
has qualified last night in Pale the extradition of the high
Serbian officers to the Tribunal in The Hague as "yet another
international disgrace". This is the hardest blow to the freedom
of movement, and life together will not be possible if "the
international community should continue to be sympathetic with
the Muslim rovocations, while they are nursing their hatred for
the Republic of Srpska", says Karadzic. (Tanjug, February 14,
1996)
[04] RUSSIA REQUESTS LIFTING OF SANCTIONS ON THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA
Russia is having consultations with the other members of the
Contact Group and is trying to get information in The Hague in
order to clarify circumstances of the capture of two Serbian
officers by the authorities in Sarajevo. This was stated by an
un-named representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Russia, who added that the arrest is causing suspicion. At the
same time spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Grigory
Karasin said that Russia is striving for the lifting of
sanctions against the Republic of Srpska, being of opinion that
the Serbian side has fulfilled all the obligations required for
such a decision. (Vecernje novosti, February 14, 1996)
[05] MOSTAR 'KNOT' ABOUT TO BE CUT
Visit of Richard Holbroke and Klaus Kinkel to Zagreb is
qualified by the analysts in the world as a decisive step
towards "cutting of the Mostar knot". This is also suggested by
the yesterday's visit to Mostar of the NATO Secretary General
Xavier Solana who expressed the support of the Atlantic alliance
to the European Union administration and its plan on the life
together of ethnic communities in Mostar, which was rejected
last week by Croats both in Mostar and in Zagreb. Pointing out
at the responsibility of Zagreb in sabotaging the Dayton
Agreement, "Zie Deutsche Zeitung" of Munich is not leaving place
for doubt that "Tudjman is controlling Croats in Mostar".
According to the RFI "Croat authorities are closely connected
with Herzegovina mafia, and by their decisions so far have made
it possible for mafia to become rich, so that it can profit
itself". British analysts are also inclined to conclude that
Tudjman's time is running out in the simultaneous game that he
is playing with the EU, USA and his quasi-partners in the
Bosnian federation. (Politika, February 14, 1996)
[06] CROATIA IS AGAIN DECEIVING SECURITY COUNCIL
After several resolutions of the UN Security Council and the
report by the UN Secretary General in which Croatia is being
accused for killing of civilians and violation of human rights
of the remaining Serbs in Krajina, Croat Government has
submitted to the Security Council a report denying almost all
the statements given by the UN officials on the ground.
Officials from the information and documentation center
"Veritas" have pointed out at a number of false data and
illogical statements. For example, in the Croat report there is
a mention of only 757 burnt-down houses, while members of the UN
during first two months after Croat aggression in Krajina have
registered 21,000 of completely or partially destroyed houses.
An even greater absurd is the fact that "in the re-integrated
area" 41 attempts of looting were registered, and from this
number the police has allegedly solved 26 of them. About mass
plunder, convoys of cars, trucks and even railway trains full of
plundered goods were writing both the world media and even some
Croat ones. In every Serbian village everything that could be
looted was taken away, but in spite of all that only 41 cases
are presented to the Security Council. Croatia is informing that
it has solved also 1,151 cases of robbery, but it is not
mentioned what kind of cases they are, and no one knows how
these cases were solved. But everyone well knows to what
harassment were subjected the remaining Serbs, mostly aged
persons. In the report about killing of civilians, the killings
also mentioned in Ghali's report, it is claimed that "the Croat
army did not undertake any actions against civilian targets",
and civilian victims are explained by "the enemy military units
having used civilians as a live shield". Croatia is not
mentioning any names of allegedly indicted Croats for
"individual and isolated incidents". For the two most drastic
cases of the murder of civilians, nine of them killed in the
village of Varivode near Knin and seven in the village of Gosic,
the Croat Government is claiming that the investigation of the
suspects is now close to completion. It is not hard to imagine
what will be the outcome of these prosecutions, because it is
not the first time that Croatia is deceiving the international
community. The best illustration are the murderers of Zec family
in Zagreb, body-guards of the Croat Defense Minister, who were
acquitted by the court although they have confessed to the
crime. The criminal prosecution against Tomislav Mercep and his
men who were even boasting of their crimes, was never completed.
(Tanjug, February 14, 1996)
[07] YUGOSLAV-BULGARIAN AGREEMENT ON INVESTMENTS PROTECTION
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria have concluded the
agreement on promotion and protection of investments. After
signing of the agreement, Prime Ministers of the FR of
Yugoslavia and of Bulgaria, Dr. Radoje Kontic and Jan Videnov
have jointly stated that the official visit of Bulgarian
delegation to our country was very successful and has resulted
in concrete agreements. Underlining the importance of the just
signed agreement, Videnov said that "it is even more important
that other agreements are also prepared, especially in the
sphere of economy, which will be signed during the session of
the Joint Yugoslav-Bulgarian Commission by the beginning of
March in Sofia". The most important result of this visit, it was
stated, is the joint belief that there is no return on the peace
process in the Balkans and that now all the necessary conditions
have been created for a stable and peaceful cooperation in the
Balkans. (Politika, February 14, 1996)
[08] EXHIBITION 'SERBIAN-HUNGARIAN CONTACT'
Charge d'affaires of the Hungarian Embassy in the FR of
Yugoslavia Ishtvan Sabo has opened yesterday in Belgrade a
commercial exhibition entitled "Serbian-Hungarian Contact",
where 40 Hungarian firms have presented their products. The
exhibition, the third of its kind this year, was organized by
the Hungarian Bureau for Foreign Trade and the Chamber of
Economy of Yugoslavia. The presented products are illustrating
opportunities for expanding cooperation in the field of power,
civil engineering, food industry and machine building industry.
At the meeting of Hungarian and Yugoslav businessmen at the
exhibition, conditions were discussed for strengthening of
cooperation between companies of the two countries and
establishment of joint companies. Sabo conveyed the message of
the Hungarian Government that it is necessary to normalize
economic relations, as a part of an overall cooperation.
(Politika, february 14, 1996)
[09] YUGOSLAV PROJECT OF PRIVATIZATION IS NOW DRAFTED
The delay in the process of privatization in Yugoslavia may even
become an advantage if our country should succeed in avoiding
the mistakes made by others and if it should enter this process
with a clear political will and social consensus. This was
stated yesterday by one of the authors of the National Bank of
Yugoslavia project entitled "Privatization in Yugoslavia", Dr.
Danilo Sukovic. It is a project which contains a critical survey
of the so far offered models of privatization by political
parties, economic institutes and influential individuals in the
country, and also an analysis of experiences from the Czech
Republic, Russia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Macedonia and Slovenia.
Privatization is one of the prerequisites for attraction of
foreign investments and a means for breaking down of unnatural
monopolies, strengthening of competition and a higher economic
efficiency, says Dr. Sukovic. (Politika, February 14, 1996)
[10] RETURN WITH HIGHEST GUARANTEES
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is actively striving for the
international community to force Croatia to provide conditions
for the return of all the exiled Serbs and to guarantee their
permanent safety. This was stated yesterday by the Federal
Government as an answer to the deputy question. Government will
continue to insist with the international community to make the
solution of problem of refugees from the Republic of Serbian
Krajina "a component part of the process of solution of the
Yugoslav crisis". It is requested from the international
community to undertake energetic measures against Croatia with
the aim "to make possible a free and safe return of all the
exiled Serbs who wish to return to their centuries long homes".
And Yugoslavia will undertake actions in that direction also
within the framework of negotiations about normalization of the
Yugoslav-Croat relations. (Borba, February 14, 1996)
[11] SUBSTANTIAL AID ARRIVES FROM ZURICH
Humanitarian Orthodox Christians Society of Switzerland has sent
recently to Belgrade two large shipments of humanitarian aid in
the total value of some 126 thousand DEM. In gathering of
humanitarian aid for purchase and preparation of two thousand
parcels, this humanitarian organization had a great help from
the organization of the Evangelist Church in Switzerland which
has already before taken part in gathering aid for Serbian
refugees. The donors from Switzerland have prepared 3,500
parcels for Banja Luka and 1,500 for Modrica. (Politika,
February 14, 1996)
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