YDS 9/21

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

From: [email protected] (D.D. Chukurov)

21. SEPTEMBER 1995. YUGOSLAV DAILY SURVEY

C O N T E N T S :

FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA - YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT LILIC THANKS LANDER FOR HELPING REFUGEES - SERBIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL MEDIATOR STOLTENBERG - GREEK PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER - PEACE IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY, YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS MILUTINOVIC - SAVOVIC, ARENS AGREE TALKS WAY OUT OF BOSNIAN CRISIS - YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR IN PRAGUE: END OF BOSNIA WAR MOST IMPORTANT - FRANCE'S CHARGE D'AFFAIRES: YUGOSLAVIA STRONGLY BACKS PEACE EFFORTS

LIFTING OF ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS - YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL THANKS RUSSIAN DELEGATION FOR URGING LIFTING OF ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS - WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DEMANDS LIFTING ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS

HUMANITARIAN AID - AID TO YUGOSLAVIA - PRIORITY OF THE IFRC

BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA - KOLJEVIC SAYS IT WAS NEVER AGREED THAT MUSLIMS, CROATS GET BANJA LUKA - KOLJEVIC: BOSNIAN SERBS EXPECT CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES - SECURITY COUNCIL ISSUES NEW WARNINGS TO CROATIANS AND BOSNIAN MUSLIMS - UN CONDEMNS MUSLIMS FOR MORTAR ATTACK ON SERB POSITIONS AROUND SARAJEVO

U.N. PROTESTS WITH CROATIA - U.N. PROTESTS WITH CROATIA OVER DEATH OF PEACEKEEPERS

FROM FOREIGN PRESS - ITALIAN MEDIA GIVE POSITIVE MARKS TO YUGOSLAV MINISTER'S VISIT - A GIFT FROM POWELL, by A.M.Rosenthal

FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT LILIC THANKS LANDER FOR HELPING REFUGEES B e l g r a d e, Sept 20 (Tanjug) - The President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRJ) thanked here Wednesday the President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Mario Villarroel Lander for his help in accomodating refugees from the Republika Srpska (RS) and the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK). Lilic stressed that 250,000 Serbs fled RSK after the latest Croatian aggression and that the number of Serb refugees from central and western Bosnia after the current Muslim-Croat offenisve and NATO air strikes had risen to 180,000, the office of the FRY President said. Humanitarian problems could be so ved and the suffering of civilians stopped only by the conclusion of peace, President Lilic stressed. Pointing out that the FRY was committed to peace and urging the immediate cessation of hostilities, Lilic warned that 'Europe will not be able to stop this great tragedy if it does not show enough wisdom and foresight'. Lander praised the Yugoslav Government and especially the Yugoslav Red Cross for doing its part thoroughly. 'The recently signed agreement between our Federation and the FRY Governement will help speed up and expand the existing humanitarian actions', he stressed. President Lilic said that the IFRC can count on the full cooperation of the Yugoslav Government, of state bodies and of humanitarian organizations, in the first place the Yugoslav Red Cross, whose personnel has proved by its deeds it is helping all people who are in need of it, regardless of their religion or nationality.

SERBIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL MEDIATOR STOLTENBERG B e l g r a d e, Sept 20 (Tanjug) - President of the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic and Co-Chairman of the International Conference on former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg demanded Wednesday that an immediate end be put to all armed conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Their categorical joint stand was voiced at a meeting in Belgrade between Milosevic and Stoltenberg who discussed predominantly the relaxation of the situation in the territory of the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Milosevic and Stoltenberg stressed also the need for full coordination and association of diplomatic efforts towards speeding up the peace process to its final success.

GREEK PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER A t h e n s, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou received Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic here today. Milutinovic informed Papandreou about what was currently happening in the peace process and about the latest developments in the ex-Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The talks were attended by Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias.

PEACE IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY, YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS MILUTI NOVIC P a r i s, Sept 20 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic said that the first priority of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the conclusion of peace. This should not be understood as a weakness, because Serbs have been showing military restaint for four years already, not only around Sarajevo, Milutinovic said in an interview to the Parisian daily Le Figaro published Wednesday before his visit to Paris where he is scheduled to hold talks with President Jacque Schirac. 'If Serbs had used all available military means there would have been no problems for negotiations today, because there would have been no Bosnia', Milutinovic pointed out. Pointing out that an agreement had been reached, at the recent meeting in Geneva, about the basic principles of the state structure of Bosnia and that the same rights have been determined for both sides (Muslim-Croat Federation and the Republika Strpska, the state of Bosnian Serbs), Milutinovic stressed that the agreement had to be applied now to territorial delimitation. 'All the sides will have to make great sacrifices, believe me', the Yugoslav Foreign Minister said. Commenting the partiality of the international community in the Bosnian and Yugoslav crises, Milutinovic stressed that Serbs 'are always blamed as aggressors, NATO air strikes are called in only against Bosnian Serb positions, and never against Croats and Muslims, and nothing is said about the human tragedy of Serb civilian refugees', Milutinovic said that good Serb-Croatian relations were the key issue, adding that the problem 'should be solved by ourselves, and not linked to the Bosnian problem'. Milutinovic said that the FRY will not readily accept the recognition of the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia and of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that it knows the difference between wishes and the reality. Commenting the statement of French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette that the future Bosnia and Herzegovina will be one state which will again create links between peoples, Milutinovic said: 'We had a Bosnia like that before the war'. Despite everything, I cannot believe that the position of France is definite', Milutinovic said. The Yugoslav Foreign Minister said he expected that talks in Paris will be useful and pointed to the necessity of lifting U.N. sanctions against Yugoslavia.

SAVOVIC, ARENS AGREE TALKS WAY OUT OF BOSNIAN CRISIS B e l g r a d e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Minister Margit Savovic and Geneva Conference on Yugoslavia Working Group Chairman Gerd Arens Wednesday stated hope that resolution of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia would come about through negotiations. The talks, held in Belgrade, also dwelled on the position of minorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a Government statement said. Savovic set out during the talks that the question of the status of minorities was an internal matter and that Yugoslavia observed international norms on minorities. Yugoslavia was prepared for dialogue with representatives of ethnic Albanians without making these talks conditional on the presence of a third party, she said.

YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR IN PRAGUE: END OF BOSNIA WAR MOST IMPORTANT P r a g u e, Sept 20 (Tanjug) - The most important thing now is for the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina to end and for talks of the warring sides to begin, because everyone has suffered there (Serbs, Croats and Muslims), Yugoslav Ambassador in Prague Djoko Stojicic said. Stojicic said in an interview to the leading Czech daily Prace published on Wednesday that the most important for the Serbs was that the Bosnian Serb Republic Republika Srpska was recognised as a historic fact because Serbs have been living in the area for hundreds of years. The international community has made a mistake by recognising Bosnia-Herzegovina prematurely, before its peoples were able to declare with whom, in which sate and how they wished to live, Stojicic said and added that from the outset the Serbs have wanted the same treatment as had been given to others.

FRANCE'S CHARGE D'AFFAIRES: YUGOSLAVIA STRONGLY BACKS PEACE EFFORT S B e l g r a d e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - French Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade Gabriel Keller has stated that it is high time that top French officials recognised Yugoslavia's strong support for peace efforts on the former Yugoslavia. In an interview published Wednesday by the Belgrade daily Politika Ekspres, Keller said France would remain Serbia's friend and intended to restore ties that used to link their two peoples. Keller, who is directly involved in preparations for Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic's visit to France, said this was by no means a courtesy visit, saying the visit would focus on peace talks and bilateral relations. He said first of all, tempers should cool over all that had happened and now belonged to past. There is no reason why France and Serbia should not be friends and Milutinovic's visit should therefore open a new stage in the two countries' relations, he added. Keller said France had told Croats that it would back their membership in the E.U., and said France would tell the same now to the Serbs, too. Serbia is preoccupied with its history, he said. It should overcome the mood and bravely start a new, he added. Keller said Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was the only official on the Yugoslav side who had credibility with international circles. 'For that reason, we want to back strongly his political position in this much too sensitive process. In that context, the moment the Yugoslav Government recognises Bosnia, the majority of the sanctions (against Yugoslavia) will be lifted,' he said. Keller said a large delegation of French businessmen would pay a visit to Belgrade next month to discuss possible deals once the sanctions were lifted. In this connection he said today's economic space in the Balkans must play an important role in Europe in the future and that a transforamation to this end must begin immediately. He added that there was no reason whatsoever why Europe should end in Austria.

LIFTING OF ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS

YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL THANKS RUSSIAN DELEGATION FOR URGING LIFTING OF ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS B e l g r a d e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - A high Yugoslav Parliament official Wednesday stated gratefulness to a Russian Parliamentary delegation for efforts towards lifting anti-Yugoslav sanctions and the resolution of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. Federal Parliament Chamber of Citizens Speaker Radoman Bozovic said in talks with a multi-party delegation of the Russian State Duma (Lower House) headed by International Relations Committee Chairman Vladimir Lukin that a crucial moment has arrived in the resolution of the crisis on the territory of the former Yugoslavia and that the initiatied peace process should end with a general cessation of hostilities in Bosnia. The U.N. Security Council should prevent renewal of NATO bombing of Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and stop the Croatian-Muslim offensive on Serb towns in Bosnia forthwith, he said. The Russian parliamentarians confirmed their continued urging for a resolution to the crisis in the former Yugoslavia and the lifting of sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DEMANDS LIFTING ANTI-YUGOSLAV SANCTIONS G e n e v a, Sept 20 (Tanjug) - The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Hiroshi Nakajima, has addressed a letter to U.N. Security Council Chairman strongly calling for lifting sanctions against Yugoslavia in the field of health. In his letter, Nakayima again expressed concern about the deteriorating health situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the adverse effects of the sanctions on the health of Yugoslav citizens. Nakajima said that he had addressed the Security Council on three occasions to explain that lifting some of the sanctions was necessary and justified.

HUMANITARIAN AID

AID TO YUGOSLAVIA - PRIORITY OF THE IFRC B e l g r a d e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies Mario Villarroel Lander said Wednesday that aid to Yugoslavia, due to difficult humanitarian situation, represented the priority for his organization. 'The reason for my visit to Yugoslavia is to upheld programmes which the Federation is successfully developing in cooperation with the Yugoslav Red Cross and to give credit for the highly professionally performed job in providing for refugees and the needy, Villarroel Lander told a press conference. He said the Federation earmarked 33 million Swiss francs as aid to the Yugoslav Red Cross this year, and asked for an additional 25 million francs from donors, due to the aggravated humanitarian situation in Yugoslavia. Asked whether the Federation would extend aid to the threatened population of the Bosnian Serb Republic, head of the Federation's delegation in Belgrade Jean Ayoub explained that, for the time being, the Federation was working through the ICRC which has the sole mandate to work in war zones. The Federation's delegation was received on Wednesday by Deputy Yugoslav Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic who set out that an especially difficult situation for Yugoslavia had emerged towards the end of August and beginning of September, when about 250,000 Serbs fled the Republic of Serb Krajina before Croatia's aggression. The two sides assessed their cooperation on the humanitarian plane as very good, and voiced readiness for its further promotion.

BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

KOLJEVIC SAYS IT WAS NEVER AGREED THAT MUSLIMS, CROATS GET BANJA L UKA B a n j a l u k a, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Serb Vice President Nikola Koljevic has said it was never agreed at a recent meeting in Geneva that the Bosnian Serb town of Banjaluka be included in the Muslim-Croat Federation. At the Geneva meeting between the 'Contact Group' and the Foreign Ministers of Yugoslavia, Croatia and the Muslim Sarajevo Government it was never mentioned that western parts of the Bosnian Serb Republic, and especially Banja Luka, would be within the Muslim-Croat Federation, Koljevic said in a speech in Banja Luka. Koljevic thus denied allegations by Muslim-Croat Federation Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbej to Croatian media that an agreement had been made in Geneva (he did not specify at which meeting) that Banjaluka belong to the Muslim-Croat Federation. Koljevic said that no territorial issues had been discussed at the Geneva meeting.

KOLJEVIC: BOSNIAN SERBS EXPECT CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES B e l g r a d e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Serb Vice-President Nikola Koljevic said on Tuesday that the Serbs were expecting an agreementon cessation of hostilities throughout Bosnia. Koljevic hinted to reporters in Bijeljina that the Serb side had accepted the Geneva agreement and pulled back their heavy weaponry 20 km from the exclusion zone around Sarajevo, foreign news agencies have reported. This is what the peace accord has come to, said Koljevic, adding that a new Muslim-Croat offensive was under way in northwestern Bosnia. Koljevic said Croatia's third blitz war was detrimental to the peace process, but said he hoped the international Contact Group would exert pressure on the sides that have commenced war operations to stop. He said the NATO bombing of Serb military and civilian objects had made things easier for the Muslims and Croats. Some of the territories conquered are priority regions and the Serbs will demand that they be returned, said Koljevic, but did not say what regions he was referring to.

SECURITY COUNCIL ISSUES NEW WARNINGS TO CROATIANS AND BOSNIAN MUSL IMS N e w Y o r k, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - Current U.N. Security Council President Paolo Fulcci of Italy Wednesday said the Council would take additional measures of pressure if Croatia and the Sarajevo Muslim Government did not heed the international community's demand and cease war activities in Bosnia. Fulcci did not say which measures he meant but informed reporters that on Wednesday, too, he warned permanent U.N. representatives of Croatia and the Sarajevo Muslim Government to heed the warning. Russian U.N. Ambassador Sergei Lavrov informed Wednesday night reporters that his country continued insisting that the Council adopt a special Resolution sharply condemning Croatia and the Muslims each by name because of the latest offensive in northwestern and central Bosnia. Lavrov said the Russian draft resolution has now become a proposal and that the Council should vote on it in the next 24 hours. Lavrov said - Fulcci also confirmed this - it was true that in the meantime offensive activities by the Croatians and Muslims were not as intensive, but that they have not stopped either. He said that for this reason Russia insisted the resolution be adopted.

UN CONDEMNS MUSLIMS FOR MORTAR ATTACK ON SERB POSITIONS AROUND SAR AJEVO B e l g r a d e, Sept 20 (tanjug) - The U.N. on Wednesday strongly condemned Bosnian Muslim forces for firing four mortar shells Tuesday on Serb positions around the town. 'The U.N. condemns in the strongest possible terms the firing of Bosnian weapons from within the 'safe area' of Sarajevo which is totally contrary to assurances received from Bosnian military and political leaders,' said U.N. Spokesman in in Sarajevo Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Vernon, Reuter reported. U.N. and NATO officials warned the Muslim forces in Sarajevo to refrain from offensive actions in order to enable the Serbs to withraw their artillery to 20 km around the town, Reuter said.

U.N. PROTESTS WITH CROATIA

U.N. PROTESTS WITH CROATIA OVER DEATH OF PEACEKEEPERS B e l g r a d e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - U.N. Spokesman in Belgrade Yuriy Chizhik said on Wednesday that the U.N. troops had strongly protested with Croatia over the death of two and the wounding of nine Danish peacekeepers on Sept. 18 near the Croatian town of Dvor, close to the border with Bosnia. U.N. Commander for Croatia Col. Andrew Leslie has sent a 'very strong protest over the irresponsible actions of the Croatian Army in the region of Dvor, Dubica and Kostajnica,' Chizhik told a press conference in Belgrade. Leslie accused the Croatian Army of being directly responsible for the death and wounding of the Danish peacekeepers because it had positioned and then activated its troops close to U.N. facilities, thus provoking a reaction by the Bosnian Serb artillery. Chizhik said that despite this, the Croatian Army continued artillery actions causing more reaction by the Serbs and the death of another six Duch soldiers. According to Chizhik, a number of peacekeepers were then evacuated but that 60 remained in the base in Dvor. The new spokeswoman of the Belgrade U.N. Office Susan Manuel has said that according to data by the UNHCR, in the Banjaluka region there are 116,000 Serb refugees. Manuel said there were problems in obtaining information because telephone links with Banjaluka have been cut by the NATO airstrikes. According to her, UNHCR has since last Friday sent 100 tonnes of food and other aid to this region every day. Asked by journalists why the Banjaluka region has not been not declared a U.N. safe area due to the serious situation, Chizhik said that U.N. representatives are preparing daily reports about current developments which are then, coupled with their proposals, sent to the U.N. Security Council which should make the final decision.

FROM FOREIGN PRESS

ITALIAN MEDIA GIVE POSITIVE MARKS TO YUGOSLAV MINISTER'S VISIT R o m e, Sept. 20 (Tanjug) - Italian press described Tuesday's official visit to Rome by Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic as a mutual effort for a speedy, peaceful and political settlement of the crisis in Bosnia and former Yugoslavia. The press wrote about 'identical' or 'very close' stands regarding the resolution of topical problems in former Yugoslavia. It said the two-hour meeting between Milutinovic and his Italian counterpart Susanna Agnelli was important for the strengthening of cooperation between Belgrade and Rome and for Italy's full inclusion in the restoration and development of all of former Yugoslavia 'after the war.' The leading dailies, such as Corriere Della Sera of Milan, La Reppublica of Rome and La Stampa of Turin, gave prominence to 'Belgrade's acknowledgement' of the Italian diplomacy for its'unbiased and objective attitude' towards all sides in the conflict. The dailies said this strengthened the legitimity of Rome as a possible direct mediator and arbitrator in resolving problems and defining conditions of peace. Italian analysts say that despite its proven peace efforts, sacrifices and undisputed contribution to the quest for a political solution, Yugoslavia is, paradoxically, still under the May 1992 comprehensive and mandatory U.N. sanctions. The 'others' are still spared from the sanctions, such as Croatia which is currently launching an aggression and flaring up the Bosnian war with its estimated 20,000 troops. A complete unity of two ministers' stands can be seen in their assessment of the current Croat-Muslim offensive against the Serbs in western and central Bosnia as a great danger to the peace process.

A GIFT FROM POWELL by A.M.Rosenthal N e w Y o r k, 19. sept (The New York Times) - The major contributions of Western leaders to Bosnia and its people so far have been bombs and lies. Gen. Colin Powell now gives Bosnians and Westerners a different gift - truth. Long after the West's bombs stopped falling, the craters dug by the lies will still scar the lives and futures of all Bosnians - Muslims, Serbs, Croats. The reason is that the lies - the totality of the distortions, falsehoods and evasions - helped create the war, helped the war, helped keep it alive and will threaten peace as long as they go unchallenged. But no important Western "statesman" or major political figure has been courageous enough to tell the truth in public until Sunday night, when Gen. Powell spoke in the columns of The New Yorker. It took only a few paragraphs, in an article about him by prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard. But they tell us that if Gen. Powell had been President in 1991, the Bosnian war might not have taken place or been allowed to spread and deepen so hideously. Most certainly he would not have permitted American-led military intervention on one side in a war where the U.S. has no military or security interest. In the whole journalistic Powell-book industry, two pieces of work will last as permanent documentation. One is Barbara Walter's ABC interview - by far the best TV job of telling us about the man's life and character. It is professional, sophisticated and civil, a diminishing journalistic combination. In print, please read and save Professor Gate's piece. It centers on attitudes toward Gen. Powell of the black elite but tells us much more. This is what Gen. Powell said about Bosnia: "The biggest mistake was recognizing all these little countries when they started to decide they were independent. The Serbs had very good reason to be worried about being in a Muslim-dominated country. It wasn't just paranoia. When the fighting broke out, should the West have intervened military as one of the belligerents to put down all other belligerents? There was no Western leader who was willing to say, "I have a vital interest in the outcome of this conflict". Nobody really thinks it has a vital interest". On the NATO bombing, the General had this reaction:"I'm pleased there is some progress. But we could have gotten these terms three years ago - in fact, we could have gotten better terms". There we have it, what the West has refused to admit, because Western leaders bear so much guilt. 1. Western Europe, driven by Germany, with Washington tagging along, recognized a new, Muslim-led Bosnia, knowing that its Serbs would fight to get out. 2. The Serbs of Bosnia, one third of the population, wanted the right the Bosnian Muslims and Croats had won - to get out of an imposed government and run their own lives. 3. From the beginning, the West threw its weight against the Bosnian Serbs. 4. The bombings will not bring a new solution. They may prolong the war if the Muslims and Croatia continue to use Western bombs as cover to destroy the Bosnian Serbs. At best, the result will be a partition the Serbs wanted from the beginning, without a war. I have written these things often. Not much company, so I was buoyed when General Powell spoke out. I was not so buoyed when he supported ending the Persian Gulf war with Saddam Hussein still in power. But that decision was President Bush's responsibility to make - his alone, not any general's. Ho many Americans would have supported the war if they had known the truth that Mr. Bush would allow Saddam Hussein to remain, squirreling away chemical and bacteriological weapons? When I asked an American diplomat recently whether the truth about Bosnia still mattered, he said. "Not any ore." Presidents Bush and Clinton never did reveal the truth, nor has Senator Robert Dole. But yes, the truth matters: if it is not understood how a war started, another will break out. Most Westerners do not understand, because of the failure of their political leaders and press to tell them. General Powell is performing a service for Americans and all Bosnians by doing it himself, and doing it plain.

- I speak for no one and no one speaks for me --