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Serbia Today 96-04-03
3 April 1996
In This Edition
SERBO-CROATIAN RELATIONS CLOSE TO FINAL SOLUTION
THE FORGETFUL HAGUE
CONTENTS
[01] SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE PLAN
[02] SERBO-CROATIAN RELATIONS CLOSE TO FINAL SOLUTION
[03] SCHOLARSHIPS FOR KRAJINA CHILDREN
[04] CROATIAN HERO INDICTED
[05] FORGETFUL HAGUE
[06] MONSTROUS MASSACRE
[07] US AGAINST IZETBEGOVIC
[08] THE UNITARY STATE IS SINKING
[01] SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE PLAN
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, received the US Deputy
Secretary of State - Mr. John Cornbloom, who arrived in Belgrade
accompanied by his assistants. The most important issues
concerning the current political situation in the region have
been discussed as well as the evolution of the bilateral
cooperation between FR Yugoslavia and the United States. It has
been remarked during the talks that the peace plan is being
successfully implemented in former zones of hostility in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, as well as the stable evolution of the
peace-strengthening process and consolidation in the Balkan
region. It has also been stressed that the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia will continue to give its contribution to peace and
equality among nations and states, along with developing
comprehensive cooperation with international partners in the
common interest. (Politika, April 3, 1996)
[02] SERBO-CROATIAN RELATIONS CLOSE TO FINAL SOLUTION
"The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia sincerely wants to establish
the best possible relations with the Republic of Croatia and
this orientation of the Yugoslav side has been affirmed in all
the meetings on various levels of the representatives of the two
states." - said Mr. Veljko Knezevic - Head of the Bureau of FR
Yugoslavia in Zagreb, in an interview for the Croatian daily
"Glas Slavonije". Asked when will mutual recognition be signed,
Mr. Knezevic replied: "This entails a process that has its own
rhythm and which will lead to complete normalization. Should it
continue along the current path, I believe that there are good
chances of Yugoslavia and Croatia defining their relations in a
mutually satisfactory way within a reasonable amount of time."
Mr. Knezevic particularly stressed that there are certain issues
which have to be settled in a way to avoid what has occurred
between the two nations in the past several years. One of such
issues is Cape Prevlaka - Mr. Knezevic said - remarking that it
should be handled with patience and without any rush or tension,
in a way to meet both Yugoslav and Croatian expectation."
(Politika, April 3, 1996)
[03] SCHOLARSHIPS FOR KRAJINA CHILDREN
Officials of the Yugoslav Export-Kredit Bank (JIK Banka)
presented savings booklets to 127 children of fallen Krajina
soldiers whose education is now sponsored by the Serbian
Humanitarian Fund in Northern Bavaria. In the past three years,
the Fund has been already been sponsoring (through the Serbian
Red Cross) 235 children of soldiers that were killed in the
Republic of Serbian Krajina. From this month the scholarships
will be paid through "JIK Banka". The funds have been secured by
about a hundred of fellow Serbs and as many Greeks living in
Germany also joined by four German families. (Politika, April 3,
1996)
[04] CROATIAN HERO INDICTED
Former man No. 1 of the Croatian army in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- General Tihomir Blaskic, left yesterday for the Hague, where
he turned himself over to the International Tribunal, which has
accused him of crimes against Moslems. The indictment against
Gen. Blaskic is still not completely known, but he is held
responsible for the massacre of Moslems in the village of Ahmici
where HVO (Croatian Defense Council) soldiers killed and burned
all they captured - about a hundred persons. Croatian media are
trying to depict Blaskic as a national hero that defended the
freedom of his people, an expert and honorable soldier. This is
also the first time that the Croatian press did not criticize
the fact that one was member of former Yugoslav People's Army
(just like Blaskic). When the Hague Tribunal issued the warrant
for the arrest of gen. Blaskic, Croatian President Tudjman
protected him by transferring him immediately to Zagreb and
appointing him Inspector General of the Croatian Army, even
though this had a negative effect both among Croatian allies and
in the international community. (Politika, April 3, 1996)
[05] FORGETFUL HAGUE
Two weeks after the arrest of Zdravko Mucic (in Vienna) Austrian
authorities still await the official request of the
International Hague Tribunal for his extradition. The surprising
delay has been revealed yesterday by Austrian newspapers,
stressing that Mucic (a Croat) has been arrested according to a
warrant issued by the Hague Tribunal. The Tribunal charges Mucic
with crimes against Serbian civilians committed from spring to
autumn 1992 when he was commander of the Celebic concentration
camp. It seems obvious that the Hague Tribunal is in no rush to
indict Mucic and Zejnil Delalic, arrested on similar charges in
Munich. Evidently there is a great difference between these two
cases and the urgency displayed by the judges of the
International Tribunal when two Bosnian Serb officers were
transferred to the Hague with special NATO flights. (Vecernje
Novosti, April 3, 1996)
[06] MONSTROUS MASSACRE
Seventy-eight bodies have been exhumed from the mass grave at
the Orthodox cemetery in Mrkonjic Grad, containing the victims
of the Moslem- Croatian offensive on western parts of the
republic of Srpska last autumn. The remains of the victims -
mostly civilians - show that they were tortured before dying;
numerous have cracked skulls, some bodies show burns, and some
have been mutilated - without extremities. It is estimated that
the tomb contains the bodies of about 200 Bosnian Serb civilians
and soldiers. (Borba, April 3, 1996)
[07] US AGAINST IZETBEGOVIC
The United States are exerting major pressure for the
replacement of the Moslem leader Alija Izetbegovic - states the
Italian daily "Sole ventiquattro ore" specifying that Washington
has chosen former Moslem Premier Haris Silajdzic as its
champion. According to the same newspaper, Silajdzic - judged to
be "moderate" did not renounce to his plans for a unitary and
multi-ethnic Bosnia, unlike Izetbegovic who has become very
close to Islamic countries. (Borba, April 3, 1996)
[08] THE UNITARY STATE IS SINKING
According to Radio France International, numerous anti-Moslem
articles published by Croatian newspapers and the promotion of
the idea that armed conflicts can not be excluded, "...do not
represent beating the war-drums but rather the affirmation of
the notion that divisions exist and that life in common in
Bosnia is impossible." The analyst of the same reputable media,
remarks that the scenario - undermining the last hopes for a
unitary Bosnia - is discretely joined by the Sarajevo Government
as well, because Izetbegovic too does not care much for a
multi-ethnic Bosnia. RFI also observes that in the background of
this specific Moslem-Croatian military alliance against the
Serbs, the policy of "...separation of Moslems and Croats in the
zones where they still live together" is being enacted. All this
represents a deliberate and even negotiated destruction of
possible coexistence and a continuation of ethnic cleansing -
which was regularly ascribed to the Serbs until now. Radio
France International indicates that is confirmed by "...the
enormous amount of hatred broadcast by Croatian above all -
precluding any form of life in common." The commentaries
diffused by Croatian media clearly reveal wording used by the
Croatian leadership." - concludes RFI hinting to Mr. Tudjman's
policy. (Borba, April 3, 1996) .
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