Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-01-04

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

4 January 1996

YDS-1051

CONTENTS

[A] VIENNA MEETING

[01] DISARMAMENT, CONFIDENCE-BUILDING TALKS TO OPEN TODAY

[B] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[02] SARAJEVO SERBS RELEASE THREE MUSLIMS

[03] BOSNIAN SERBS: COMPLAINTS TO COMMAND, CONTENT WITH IFOR DEPLOYMENT

[C] OPINION

[04] RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR SHIKIN: YUGOSLAVIA'S CONSISTENT POLICY

[D] FROM FOREIGN PRESS

[05] LA LIBRE BELGIQUE: CONCERN FOR SERBS IN SARAJEVO

[A] VIENNA MEETING

[01] DISARMAMENT, CONFIDENCE-BUILDING TALKS TO OPEN TODAY

Yugoslav delegation, led by Ambassador Dragomir Djokic, and the Bosnian Serb delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Aleksa Buha, arrived in Vienna on Wednesday.

Buha told Tanjug that the Bosnian Serb delegation would insist in Vienna on clarifying further the disputed ratio for Bosnia, as well as Washington's latest initiative for arming the Bosnian Muslims. The delegation will also insist on knowing the plans for the future military alliance between Croatia and the Muslim government in Sarajevo.

[B] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

[02] SARAJEVO SERBS RELEASE THREE MUSLIMS

On Wednesday, a woman and two men from the group were released, the French Foreign Ministry said. 'Three passengers were released this morning (Wednesday),' news agencies quoted ministry spokesman Jacques Rummelhardt as saying. He said the information had been received from the IFOR in Bosnia.

The exact number of persons held by Serbs is still not certain and the sides involved mention seven, eight, sixteen or eighteen people. The group, which includes a Muslim security officer and several uniformed persons, was 'held for questioning,' the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA quoted Bosnian Serb Government spokesman Dragan Draganic as saying. Draganic said that the group of Muslims - some of whom were travelling in military vehicles - had strayed from the planned route through the Serb part of Sarajevo.

Commander of British ground troops Gen. Michael Walker and mayor of the Serb district of Ilidza Nedeljko Prstojevic met Wednesday to discuss the problem of held Muslims.

News agencies quoted Prstojevic as saying that some persons had been held by Bosnian Serbs because of prohibited activities and the use of illegal routes. He said some of the Muslims had already been released while three persons were still under investigation.

The Agency France-Presse news agency quoted Prstojevic as saying that Muslim authorities in Sarajevo were using the incident for propaganda. Prstojevic declined to give the exact number of persons held, saying only that they were currently in the Kula prison in Sarajevo's suburb of Lukavica. The group includes Muslims, Croats and Serbs loyal to Muslim authorities.

Acting on behalf of IFOR, French forces in Sarajevo also organized a meeting at Sarajevo airport between Bosnian Serb and Muslim authorities.

France on Wednesday told Alija Izetbegovic's Muslim Government that the mission of international forces was not to keep public order in Sarajevo but to help put into effect the Dayton agreement, whose basic goal is real peace.

France was thus reacting to accusations by Muslim government ministers that French forces were responsible 'the violation of the peace agreement' and 'failure to guarantee safety in the integral Sarajevo.'

The Paris daily Le Figaro said Wednesday that 'Bosnian (Muslim) authorities accuse NATO troops of failing to carry out their mission.'

'No, that is not our task. It's a problem for the police and not a military problem. Our duty is to establish confidence and guarantee peace,' the paper quoted commander of French troops in Sarajevo Gen. Zeller as saying.

[03] BOSNIAN SERBS: COMPLAINTS TO COMMAND, CONTENT WITH IFOR DEPLOYMENT

After talks with the Commander of the West sector, British Gen. Michael Jackson, Kasagic told journalists he had complained about it before the new year to the peace IFOR Commander for Bosnia-Herzegovina Adm. Leighton Smith.

I insisted on this because the IFOR Command accidentally or deliberately made contact with municipal presidents who have the authority only to offer utility services, said Kasagic.

He said he viewed this as an attempt to break up the unity of the Republika Srpska and underscored that the Bosnian Serb Government was determined to enforce the peace accord initialled in Dayton.

Kasagic said he was satisfied with the deployment of IFOR around Banjaluka, where the present 150 British contingent would be enlarged by another 600 British troops by Jan. 15.

Kasagic said his first encounter with Jackson had been open and constructive.

He said they had set the locations for deploying part of the IFOR in Banjaluka and agreed that tanks and artillery should not move through the central parts of the city.

[C] OPINION

[04] RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR: YUGOSLAVIA'S CONSISTENT POLICY

Yugoslavia deserves, because of its consistent policy regarding the crisis in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, to return as soon as possible into all international institutions, Shikin said.

Shikin expressed belief that the sanctions would fully be lifted during 1996 and Yugoslavia reinstated as a full member of the international community. 'It is absurd that Yugoslavia, as one of the founders of the United Nations, is now being prevented from being active in this organization ..,' Shikin said.

'The Russian Federation believes there can be no other conditions in this respect. Bosnia-Herzegovina was the reason for the imposition of the sanctions. If the resolution of this issue is conducted correctly and as agreed, then there are no obstacles to Yugoslavia returning to international institutions ..,' Shikin said.

'Regarding Sarajevo, the concern of the Serbs living in this part of the city is quite justified because everyone has heard certain statements by some Muslim politicians,' Shikin said. He added that most probably all Serbs who had carried a gun would be proclaimed war criminals and that this statement was not good. 'Therefore, I would like to reiterate that the people are worried with just cause,' Shikin said.

Shikin said that Eastern Slavonija is a completely separate matter.

'There, we have the November agreement. Now it is of utmost importance that the international community quickly resolves the problem of implementing the agreement. This is Russia's official stand. Time is passing by very fast and every day of delaying the implementation only harms the agreement. I believe that neither of signatories of the agreement cannot interpret it loosely. We have been hearing some radical demands from Zagreb which have no basis in the agreement. The local Serbs may also harbour similar thoughts. The most important is that both sides respect what has been agreed ..,' Shikin said.

[D] FROM FOREIGN PRESS

[05] LA LIBRE BELGIQUE: CONCERN FOR SERBS IN SARAJEVO

This warning is carried by leading Brussels daily La Libre Belgique, which believes that Admiral Smith made this decision in haste.

La Libre Belgique editor suggests to Admiral Smith to hand over this job as soon as possible to the high representative of the international community for Bosnia Carl Bildt, in charge of overseeing the implementation of the civilian aspects of the Dayton and Paris peace agreement. Bildt must find a solution which will in this case have to satisfy the Serb side, the paper writes.

Full protection of all rights of Serbs in Sarajevo must be guaranteed and power should not be transferred to the central government until such guarantees are made one hundred percent, the paper writes.