YDS 10/23

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

23. OCTOBER 1995. YUGOSLAV DAILY SURVEY

CONTENTS:

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO BELGRADE - YUGOSLAV, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET - YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH HUNGARIAN PREMIER

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA - SERB OFFICIAL SAYS PROGRESS IN PEACE PROCESS ENCOURAGING - RED CROSS LETTER TO HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS - BOSNIAN SERBS SAY 8,500 REFUGEES STILL WITHOUT SHELTERS

FILE CROATIA - AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL RESEARCHER: CROATIAN AUTHORITIES ORDERED CRIMES IN KRAJINA

BRITISH DIPLOMAT ON KOSOVO - KOSOVO IS SERBIA'S INTERNAL MATTER

OPINIONS - LORD CARRINGTON SPEAKS ABOUT CAUSES OF BOSNIA CIVIL WAR - KISSINGER: UNITED BOSNIAN STATE WOULD MEAN ENDLESS WAR - WORLD TO BLAME TOO FOR WAR IN EX-YUGOSLAVIA, SAYS FORMER UN COMMANDER

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO BELGRADE

YUGOSLAV, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET

B e l g r a d e, Oct. 20 (Tanjug) - Prime ministers Radoje Kontic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Gyula Horn of Hungary agreed in Belgrade on Friday that the process of settling the crisis in former Yugoslavia was in its final and decisive phase. Kontic and Horn, who was on a one-day working visit to Yugoslavia at the invitation of his Yugoslav counterpart, agreed that basis had been made for the continuity and successful ending of the peace talks. The Federal Information Secretariat said in a statement that the prime ministers had conferred about the most important questions of the peace process and Yugoslav-Hungarian cooperation. Horn said that Hungary attributed special importance to its relations with Yugoslavia and that he believed the visit was another step towards their further promotion. Kontic, for his part, said that the promotion of relations with Hungary was among Yugoslavia's priorities. There are no political problems between the two countries, it was heard. Numerous common interests and the degree to which Yugoslavia and Hungary rely on each other create conditions for a successful promotion of relations and cooperation in all fields, it was said. Kontic and Horn urged the intensification of the peace process for former yugoslavia so that the final goal - a peace conference, could be reached at the earliest possible time. The two prime ministers spoke to reporters at the close of Horn's visit to Belgrade. Kontic said the comprehensive Yugoslav-Hungarian talks had focused on the crisis in former Yugoslavia and development of bilateral cooperation. Kontic said it was agreed during the talks that there were conditions for a comprehensive development of this cooperation once the international sanctions against the F.R. of Yugoslavia were lifted. He said the Yugoslav side had been pleased to see that Hungary had opted for comprehensive recovery of cooperation with Yugoslavia and expressed Yugoslavia's stand that the development of cooperation with that country was at the very top of Yugoslavia's foreign-policy priorities. Regarding the position of the Hungarian national minority in Yugoslavia, Kontic pointed out that the F.R. of Yugoslavia had regulated the position of national minorities at the level of European and world standards. The fact that these options are not always fully realized is not a result of Yugoslavia's political stands, but a consequence of international sanctions and the lack of financial means fully to realize certain rights, Kontic said. He said the Yugoslav side had strongly emphasized the fact that the presence of a Hungarian minority in Yugoslavia and a Serb minority in Hungary presented an impetus to cooperation and bridges of cooperation between the two states.

YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH HUNGARIAN PREMIER

B e l g r a d e, Oct. 20 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic and Hungarian Premier Gyula Horn agreed on Friday that a restoration of peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina was a priority and in the interest of their two countries. Lilic underscored that a signing of a final peace agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the basis of principles of the Geneva and New York talks between the foreign ministers of Yugoslavia, Croatia and the Muslim government in Sarajevo, was of crucial importance for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Only a respect of the ceasefire in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina can contribute to the signing of a peace agreement. A communique issued by the Cabinet of the Yugoslav President said that Lilic had warned that Croat-Muslim forces had not ceased their offensive actions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that the international community, the OSCE and Hungary, in its capacity as current OSCE president, were expected to energetically urge a respect of the ceasefire by all parties to the conflict. Otherwise, we would face the threat of a new war which could endanger peace and stability, not only in the region but in Europe as a whole. Lilic said that the massing of Croatian troops towards the Srem-Baranja area, so-called U.N. Sector East, constituted the same level of danger and added that the issue should be resolved through a dialogue between local Serb authorities and Croatia. Lilic pointed out that Croatia had set a precedent in international relations with its aggression against the Republic of Serb Krajina in early August. The international community calmly watched the exodus of 250,000 Serbs and the appropriation of their property by Croatia, which is an unprecedented violation of human rights. The Hungarian side raised the question of the position of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Vojvodina and claimed that certain incidents had occurred. Lilic underscored that minorities in Yugoslavia enjoyed all rights guaranteed by European and international standards. The ethnic Hungarian minority enjoys the same rights as 23 other minorities living in Vojvodina, which can serve as a model of harmonious joint life between many peoples and minorities for other countries and entire Europe. I would be happy if the Serb minority, living outside Yugoslavia, could achieve the same level of rights, Lilic said. And when we hear from certain circles in the international community and international institutions that we should promote respect of human rights, I can only say that it is true to that extent that everything will be much easier and better after a restoration of peace and lifting of sanctions, but also that the equal standards should be applied to all. Horn described the talks with Lilic as intensive and constructive and both officials agreed that Horn's visit was a great contribution to the support to Yugoslavia's peaceful policy and a speedier expansion of bilateral relations, primarily in the field of economy.

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

PROGRESS IN PEACE PROCESS ENCOURAGING

K r a g u j e v a c, Oct. 22 (Tanjug) - A high ranking Bosnian Serb official on Sunday described as encouraging the progress made in the Bosnia peace process and consolidation of the current truce. Speaking for the local radio in Kragujevac, Nikola Koljevic, the Vice-President of the Republika Srpska, said that the ultimatums issued by Bosnian Muslims were not helping the process. Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic on Friday threatened to continue the war if his 21 demands were not met at the next round of Bosnia peace talks in the United States. Izetbegovic insists on a single presidency, government, parliament, constitutional court and central bank for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Koljevic said that Izetbegovic's platform was unacceptable because the demands exceeded the framework of what had been agreed upon and because they were prejudging in nature.

RED CROSS LETTER TO HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS

B a nj a l u k a, Oct. 21 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska Red Cross appealed, on Saturday, to international humanitarian organizations and the world public for more aid to refugees. The letter sent to UNHCR and Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation officials says that in the last three months alone, more than 200,000 refugees from the south-west of Republika Srpska found refuge in the Banjaluka area. Accommodation conditions are very difficult. Food, hygiene items, medicine, sufficient accommodation, clothing, footwear, heating fuel are in short supply. The letter to the officials of humanitarian organizations pointed to the plight of civilians who did not manage to flee the area occupied by Muslims and Croats.

8,500 REFUGEES STILL WITHOUT SHELTERS

B a nj a l u k a, Oct. 22 (Tanjug) - About 8,500 Serb refugees who have fled to Prijedor and Banjaluka before the latest Muslim and Croatian offensive are still without shelters, said a local Serb official. Nedeljko Rasula of the Sanski Most Crisis Staff said that over 10,000 persons were accommodated in makeshift shelters without any sanitary facilities and that another 1,500 refugees remained in their horse-driven carts on the road between Sanski Most and Banjaluka. An estimated 40,000 Serbs, mostly elderly people and children, became refugees after the intrusion of Muslim and Croatian troops into the Sanski Most and Prijedor areas shortly before the Bosnia ceasefire took effect on October 12.

FILE CROATIA

CROATIAN AUTHORITIES ORDERED CRIMES IN KRAJINA

Z a g r e b, Oct. 21 (Tanjug) - The Croatian authorities are 'completely aware' of the crimes against Serbs in Krajina, Amnesty International researcher Paul Miller said. In an interview to the independent Split weekly Feral Tribune, Miller said that Amnesty International researchers can state with certainty that the Croatian authorities ordered the torching of Serb houses. Amnesty international has knowledge that the killing of Serb civilians and the torching of their homes took place in the zone of operation of special Croatian forces, who were either directly responsible for the murders and arson, or were looking on while it happened, Miller said. There have been numerous cases of executions, for which there are strong indications that they were carried out without previous trials, Miller said, pointing out that bodies have been found with bullet wounds in the back of the head and with slit throats. Miller said that Amnesty International has abundant clear evidence that certain civilians had been taken away by the Croatian armed forces and that these civilians are feared to be buried at the Knin cemetery, were there are a large number of fresh unidentified graves.

BRITISH DIPLOMAT ON KOSOVO

KOSOVO IS SERBIA'S INTERNAL MATTER

P r i s t i n a, Oct. 20 (Tanjug) - British Charge d'Affaires in Belgrade Ivor Roberts has said that problems in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija have to be resolved within Serbia and Yugoslavia. We believe that Kosovo is part of Serbia and that the problem has to be solved within its borders, Roberts told the Pristina Albanian-language weekly Zeri in an interview. Suggestions regarding independence, secession, unification with Albania and the U.N. mandate are completely groundless and it is utterly unrealistic to suppose that the international community will accept any of them, Roberts said. The British Charge d'Affaires dismissed the allegations about the existence of some 'republic of Kosovo' within Yugoslavia. Under the 1974 constitution of the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo and Metohija was part of Serbia and Serbia was part of Yugoslavia, and this basic principle cannot be altered, Roberts said.

O P I N I O N S

LORD CARRINGTON SPEAKS ABOUT CAUSES OF BOSNIA CIVIL WAR

B e l g r a d e, Oct. 20 (Tanjug) - The Belgrade weekly NIN published in its latest edition an interview with former Chairman of the Conference on the Former Yugoslavia Lord Peter Carrington who, after a long silence, described the situation and hidden moves that had led to his stepping down. Those moves, Lord Carrington believes, have also led to an escalation of fighting in Bosnia. He said he had been shocked when the European Union recognized Croatia and offered recognition to Bosnia because, in his opinion, it was clearly leading to a civil war. He said that the Kutilheiro plan, drafted upon his own instructions, had been rejected by the United States on the ground that it would imply acceptance of ethnic cleansing (which had hardly begun at the time) and forcible territorial gains (which had been at a minimum). People simply did not understood that it was a civil war and did not pay much attention to its causes, primarily the complex history of Serbian-Croatian relations, Carrington said. He said Croatia had been recognized at the height of a peace conference at which he had managed to persuade Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to accept Krajina's autonomy within Croatia. Among other things, Krajina's autonomy was planned to include separate police forces, and only after that Croatia was to be recognized, Carrington said. As croatia was recognized before these problems were solved, it lost all interest in negotiations at this stage because its independence was not in any way made conditional, he said. Another unfortunate consequence of the move at that moment was that, after offering recognition to one of the republics of the disintegrating country, you had to offer the same to the others, he said. However, to make such an offer to Bosnia before an internal agreement was reached was contrary to the Bosnian constitution, which demanded that all three constituent peoples in the republic agree on that, Carrington said, adding that Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic had naturally been aware of the danger. During talks, Izetbegovic once told Carrington: 'If you ask me whether I want independence, I will have to answer in the affirmative.' However, Carrington said he had been under an impression that Izetbegovic, although with some hesitation, would have preferred to stay in a union with Serbia and enjoy a certain degree of autonomy. And he was right. If anyone really believes that after all that's happened Bosnia can survive as an integral country governed from Sarajevo then he lives in a world of fantasies, Carrington said. He said he hoped the war would stop because there were fair chances for it. However, he said he found it hard to believe that after three years of war Muslims would really be ready to cooperate with Serbs and vice verse. He said he believed that after some time the Serb part of Bosnia would join Serbia, then the Croat part would join Croatia, while the Muslim part would be left in an awkward position.

KISSINGER: UNITED BOSNIAN STATE WOULD MEAN ENDLESS WAR

B o n n, Oct. 22 (Tanjug) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, in a commentary carried exclusively by the German paper Welt Am Sonntag, said that a united Bosnian state would mean endless war in the Balkans. Analyzing the present situation and the still unclear strategic plans of the U.S. government in connection with the role of international forces for monitoring peace in Bosnia, Kissinger said in conclusion there were too many undefined duties for these troops in the field. In that context Kissinger raised the issue of what the international forces will be protecting in Bosnia: the current separation lines between warring sides or the external border of a united Bosnia. In the first case, Kissinger said, the U.S. has shown that the division of Bosnia was its political objective, and in the second it would be drawn into an endless brutal war. If the U.S. want a united, multiethnic Bosnia, it would have to be ready to accept the price of such a decision. U.S. troops would not be peacekeeping troops, but they would be siding with one of the parties to the conflict, Kissinger said. Kissinger said he was afraid mistakes would be likely once Russian troops are included into international forces, because, if Russian troops are deployed on the Serb side and NATO on the Croat-Muslim side, that could mean renewed divisions between the East and West.

WORLD TO BLAME TOO FOR WAR IN EX-YUGOSLAVIA

B u d a p e s t, Oct. 21 (Tanjug) - Former U.N. Bosnia Commander Philippe Morillon has stated that the international community shares the blame for the war in the former Yugoslavia. In an interview to the Budapest daily Nepszabadsag, the French General was particularly critical of the premature recognition of former Yugoslav republics, especially Bosnia-Herzegovina. General Morillon, who came to Hungary for a NATO military exercise, said now was the time to rectify the error made by the international community and help the warring sides bury the hatchet once and for all.