YDS 12/12

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

12 DECEMBER 1995 YDS-1036

C O N T E N T S :

FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA - SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES STOLTENBERG - SERBIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL'S ENVOY - SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES DELEGATION OF U.S. CONGRESSMEN - MILOSEVIC RECEIVES MORE U.S. CONGRESSMEN - MILOSEVIC EXPECTS BALKANS TO BECOME ZONE OF PEACE, COOPERATION - YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES KOFI ANNAN - U.N. ENVOY SAYS UNITED NATIONS TO REMAIN IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA - BULAJIC: RESTORATION OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH CZECH REPUBLIC

YUGOSLAVIA - BULGARIA - YUGOSLAV, BULGARIAN OFFICIALS FOR CLOSER COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY TIES - YUGOSLAV VICE PREMIER: COOPERATION WITH BULGARIA DEVELOPS APACE - YUGOSLAVIA, BULGARIA SIGN TRADE, ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT - MONTENEGRIN PREMIER MEETS WITH BULGARIAN DEPUTY PREMIER

FORMER BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA - BOSNIAN CROATS BAR U.N. TROOPS FROM MRKONJIC GRAD - BOSNIAN MUSLIM PASSPORTS FOR MUJAHIDEENS

THE HAGUE INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIME TRIBUNAL - INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIME TRIBUNAL REJECTS RUSSIA'S REQUEST

SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES STOLTENBERG Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Monday received Co-Chairman of the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg for a farewell visit. Milosevic stressed Stoltenberg's contribution in settling the Yugoslav crisis and bringing about peace to the war-struck areas. He said Stoltenberg's consistency in an unbiased treatment of all sides in the conflict and in securing their equality as prerequisites for a peaceful and political settlement of the Yugoslav crisis was of paramount importance for a comprehensive normalization of relations in the Balkans. Stoltenberg said his mission had been fulfilled with the signing of the peace accords on the Srem-Baranja region and Bosnia. He said he believed his job was done, in which context he came to visit Milosevic, whom he said was a key figure in the entire process since he became involved in early 1993. He said it was extremely important that the funds and personnel arrive for the enforcement of the peace accord on the Srem-Baranja region, said Stoltenberg, adding that without this the entire peace process might collapse, not only in the Srem-Baranja region, but in Bosnia as well, with grave consequences.

SERBIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL'S ENVOY Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic received on Monday the U.N. Secretary General's Special Envoy to former Yugoslavia Kofi Annan, and aides. The two sides exchanged views about the process of overall normalisation of relations in former Yugoslavia and consolidation of peace and stability in the region. Special attention was devoted to efforts that are being made to create conditions for bringing life fully back to normal in the Serb-populated Srem-Barania region (formerly U.N. Sector East). International guarantees and the continued presence of international peacekeepers under the U.N. wing should make a major contribution to this end, it was said.

SERBIAN PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC RECEIVES DELEGATION OF U.S. CONGRESSMEN Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Monday received a delegation of 20 U.S. Congressmen, headed by Dennis Hastert, a Republican from Illinois. The Congressmen showed special interest in the latest political developments in the Balkans following the initialling of a peace agreement for Bosnia-Herzegovina in Dayton, Ohio, on November 21, a statement issued after the talks by the President's Office said. Accordingly, the talks mainly dealt with key issues concerning the implementation of the agreement and with the engagement of a multinational force that is to police its implementation, the statement said. The Congressmen were informed about the interior issues of Yugoslavia that are vital for its prosperity. The talks were attended also by U.S. Charge d'affaires in Belgrade Rudolf Perina, the statement said.

MILOSEVIC RECEIVES MORE U.S. CONGRESSMEN Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic received late on Monday another group of U.S. Congressmen. The 15-member group is visiting the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, headed by California Republican Ron Packard. The U.S. Congressmen enquired about current political developments in the region after the initialling of the peace accord in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 21. They showed an interest as well in questions of importance to Yugoslavia's stability, peace and internal development. Attention was devoted also to the restoration and promotion of ties and all-round cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the U.S., in which there is mutual interest and for which there is great potential. The meeting was attended by Charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade Rudolf Perina.

MILOSEVIC EXPECTS BALKANS TO BECOME ZONE OF PEACE, COOPERATION Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic said on Monday that he expected the Balkans to become a zone of peaceand cooperation. Speaking with Norwegian reporters in Belgrade after meeting the E.U.'s Envoy to former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg, Milosevic said he was convinced that this was the future of the region. Asked what would happen if the leadership of the (Bosnian Serb State) Republika Srpska dishonoured the Bosnia peace accord, reached in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 21, Milosevic said it was better not to consider that possibility. He added it was unrealistic to expect the Republika Srpska leaders not to honour the peace accord when the entire leadership had accepted it in a meeting with top Yugoslav officials shortly after it was reached. They upheld and endorsed the Dayton accord, and it is to be expected that they will all meet the obligations stemming from it, said the Serbian President who initialled the accord as head of the Yugoslav delegation which represented also Bosnian Serb interests. Milosevic said that peace in the Balkans was a big historic step, taken for the benefit of all those living in the region, all citizens, nations and countries of the Balkans. He said he therefore saw no reason why anybody should oppose or reject the accord. Asked about the implementation of the Serb-Croatian accord for the Srem-Barania region, Milosevic said that all that was needed now was to honour what the representatives of eastern Slavonia and the Zagreb Government had accepted. The Erdut accord was reached by the two sides, he said and added that he therefore expected both sides to support its successful implementation. Asked about the missing french airmen that were shot down over Republika Srpska in late August, Milosevic briefly explained that everything was being done to help shed light on the matter, and hoped that the efforts would bear fruit.

YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES KOFI ANNAN Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic and the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for the former Yugoslavia Kofi Annan discussed Monday in belgrade the implementation of the peace agreement for Bosnia and the comprehensive political resolution of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia. Kontic ruled out any possibility of holding up the implementation of the Dayton agreement, but pointed to the danger of attempts to jeopardize it or slow it down, the Federal Information Secretariat said in a statement. He also pointed to the need for an immediate normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the U.N. and other international organizations and institutions, adding that only under such conditions can Yugoslavia be a key factor of peace and stability in the Balkans. Kofi Annan pointed to a fresh atmosphere prevailing in Balkan relations following the Dayton agreement and to the new U.N. role in the former Yugoslavia. Activities of the U.N. will primarily be humanitarian, aimed at laying the conditions for the normalization of life and the return of refugees, he said. Annan also expressed hope that international police would play an important role in confidence-building among refugees for their return, the statement says.

U.N. ENVOY SAYS UNITED NATIONS TO REMAIN IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - The U.N. Secretary General's Special Envoy to former Yugoslavia Kofi Annan said in Belgrade on Monday that the U.N. would continue its mission to former Yugoslavia, with special obligations in the Srem-Baranja region. Annan was speaking after meeting with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Among the tasks lying ahead, Annan mentioned the repatriation of refugees, the release of prisoners and other humanitarian problems. He said that the U.N. was aware of the humanitarian needs of the millions in the region, and that the NATO-led peace implementation force (IFOR) should be efficacious in implementing the peace accord, which is to be signed in Paris later in December. Asked about the missing French pilots downed over Bosnia in late August, he said that the French Government was very much interested in what had become of them. The French Government attributes great importance to the matter, and is closely cooperating with Milosevic on it, said Annan. He condemned the torching of Serb houses in Croat-occupied Mrkonjic Grad that should be restored to Serb control under the Dayton accord, and deplored the fact that the force of occupation had not abandoned its scorched-earth policy. He described the issue of the Srem-Barania region as crucial to over-all normalization in the region, and explained that the U.N. was doing its utmost for the implementation of the Erdut accord struck between the region's Serbs and the Zagreb Government. He said that the U.N., i.e. the international community, was required to help demilitarize the region, bring life back to normal and set up an international administration for a transitional period of no less than one year. Annan said that there was agreement that the administrator for the Srem-Barania region should be from the U.S., but that the Secretary General had not yet said his last word in the matter.

BULAJIC: RESTORATION OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH CZECH REPUBLIC Prague, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic, who arrived in Prague late on Sunday, told the Czech news agency CTK that Yugoslavia wanted the speediest possible promotion of economic relations with the Czech Republic. Bulajic, who is on an official three-day visit to the Czech Republic, said that the trade between the former Czechoslovakia and the former Yugoslavia amounted to between 1.3 billion dollars and 1.5 billion dollars annually and that Serbia and Montenegro accounted for 45 percent of the trade. 'This should be reached and exceeded. We hope that our trade will reach one billion dollars in the following years,' he added. Bulajic welcomed the Czech participation in the multinational Bosnia peace implementation force and said that Yugoslavia accepted the Dayton peace plan. 'We support the plan and want it to be fully implemented within ternational assistance and guarantees, and observation of rights of the Serbs in Sarajevo,' Bulajic said.

Prague, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslav Bulajic and his Czech counterpart Alexander Vondra said at a meeting here Monday that the two countries could now restore and step up cooperation, especially in economy. Bulajic said that trade between the two countries could reach one billion dollars next year. Yugoslavia's new economic program, approved recently, urges a liberalization of trade and opening up to the world market, Bulajic said at the first round of consultations with Vondra. The Czech Deputy Foreign Minister said that the two sides should re-activate or again sign some basic agreements relating to the protection of investments, the prevention of double taxation and some other questions. Bulajic on Monday evening informed a group of Czech and Yugoslav economists about the main elements of Yugoslavia's new economic program.

YUGOSLAVIA - BULGARIA

YUGOSLAV, BULGARIAN OFFICIALS FOR CLOSER COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY TIES Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Vice Premiers Nikola Sainovic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Cyril Tsochev of Bulgaria agreed on Monday about the need for speedily boosting bilateral ties in the power and communications industries. A Yugoslav Government statement quoted the officials as saying that a speedy promotion of relations was necessary in order to ensure a normal functioning of the two states' economies and enable a united Europe to build its infrastructural projects via the two countries. Both sides said that Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were interested in day-to-day cooperation in the power, construction and road, river and maritime transport industries, and in raising the value of commodity trade in 1996 to half a billion dollars, the statement said.

YUGOSLAV VICE PREMIER: COOPERATION WITH BULGARIA DEVELOPS APACE Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Trade and economic cooperation accords and agreements to improve overall economic relations struck between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria show that there is much room for expanding business cooperation, a Yugoslav official said on Monday. Yugoslav Vice Premier Jovan Zebic was speaking in Belgrade after meeting with a Bulgarian Government delegation, headed by Vice Premier Cyril Tsochev. Zebic said that the composition of the Bulgarian delegation, which included as many as 150 businessmen, was proof of Bulgaria's great interest in economic cooperation with neighboring Yugoslavia. He added that Bulgaria had played a very important role in settling the crisis in former Yugoslavia and its economic problems. The agreements reached and the setting up of a joint commission on economic cooperation practically mean the resumption of bilateral relations, Zebic said. He said that this was of particular importance in view of the fact that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia aspired to maintain continuity with former Yugoslavia. Zebic said that documents had been signed on setting up a joint bank, and an agreement signed on cooperation in air traffic, along with a protocol on opening a Belgrade-Sofia flight, the details of which should be settled by the two national airlines. Tsochev, for his part, described the talks as successful, stressing the importance of upgrading cooperation in transport, joint ventures and the power industry. Bulgaria has initiated a link-up of the power grids of five Balkan states into a single power-generation system that should be linked up with Europe, he said.

YUGOSLAVIA, BULGARIA SIGN TRADE, ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Yugoslavia and Bulgaria signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement in Belgrade on Monday, granting each other the most favoured nation treatment for a number of products. The agreement, signed by Yugoslav Trade Minister Djordje Siradovic and his Bulgarian counterpart Kiril Gochev, envisages considerable expansion of bilateral exchanges. Yugoslavia and Bulgaria also plan to promote long-term economic cooperation in the field of investment, production, setting up of joint companies and similar. The Office of the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce in Sofia estimates that the two countries' trade will soon reach the figure of one billion dollars.

MONTENEGRIN PREMIER MEETS WITH BULGARIAN DEPUTY PREMIER Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Premier of the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic met here late on Monday with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Cyril Tsochev. Djukanovic and Tsochev, who is also Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation, agreed about the resumption of bilateral ties in the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the machine building, transport and tourist industries. They also agreed about the use of the Montenegrin port of bar on the Adriatic coast, privatization and a considerable increase in commodity trade. Both sides said that Bulgaria and Montenegro were open to economic cooperation on the market laws and that all-round cooperation between the Balkan neighbors would be a sure way to European integration, a Yugoslav Government statement said.

FORMER BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

BOSNIAN CROATS BAR U.N. TROOPS FROM MRKONJIC GRAD Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Croat forces have prevented British U.N. troops from passing through Mrkonjic Grad, despite promising cooperation in the preparations for the arrival of NATO troops into central Bosnia, U.N. officials said Monday. Croatian military police stopped Sunday evening five British armoured personnel carriers as they tried to pass through Mrkonjig Grad, western Bosnia, which Croats have been burning and systematically looting because the Dayton peace agreement returned it to Serbs, Reuters reported. The U.N. was told it had to give 24 hours' written notice before it could travel through the area. Journalists travelling with the U.N. saw at least four burning houses lighting up the sky Sunday evening, the British news agency said. A factory near Mrkonjic Grad burst into flames just as two trucks drove away from it, and the Croatian military police blocked the movement of reporters who were told that that the region was still a 'war zone'. In nearby Sipovo which the Croats also captured in October and are now obliged to hand back to Serbs, U.N. personnel said houses were burning at a rate of 10 to 15 a day. A U.N. officer working in the area said two convoys a day of a dozen trucks leave Sipovo with looted goods. 'The saw factory had all its machinery ripped out, its timber driven away and then it was torched,' the officer said.

BOSNIAN MUSLIM PASSPORTS FOR MUJAHIDEENS Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic has gone back on his promise made last Friday to the U.S. that all foreign Islamic fatantics, Mujahideens, would leave the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina under Muslim control. U.N. Press Spokesman Major Herve Gourmelon told foreign correspondents there were reports that Mujahideens are obtaining passports from the Bosnian Muslim Government, so that they would not have to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian Muslims have not kept their promise to the U.S., and they will not respect the part of the Dayton agreement according to which all Mujahideens - mercenaries and volunteers from Islamic coiuntries - will have to leave Bosnia and Herzegiovina. Under U.S. pressure, Izetbegovic formally promised U.S. mediator Richard Holbrooke that all Mujahideens leave the territory under Muslim control within 30 day of the signing of the Dayton peaceagreement in Paris on December 14.

THE HAGUE INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIME TRIBUNAL

INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIME TRIBUNAL REJECTS RUSSIA'S REQUEST Belgrade, Dec. 11 (Tanjug) - Chief Prosecutor for the International Tribunal for War Crimes in the former Yugoslavia Richard Goldstone Monday rejected Russia's call to the Tribunal to freeze the charges against Radovan Karadzic, the President of the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic), and Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb Army Commander.