Yugoslav Weekly Survey 95-01-12

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

Yugoslav Weekly Survey

12 January 1996

CONTENTS

[A] FROM DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN PRESS

[01] YUGOSLAVIA - DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION

[02] PETER HANDKE DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR SERBIA

[03] POSSIBILITIES FOR REPATRIATION OF 700,000 REFUGEES

[04] CATHOLIC CHURCH DIGNITARIES QUESTION DAYTON PEACE ACCORDS

[05] IZETBEGOVIC PROTESTS THE NEW YEAR'S MERRYMAKING

[06] THE TRUTH ABOUT JASENOVAC CANNOT BE DESTROYED WITH DYNAMITE

[07] TRACING WAR CRIMES: A MYSTERIOUS COMMANDER

[A] FROM DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN PRESS

[01] YUGOSLAVIA MUST NOW STRUGGLE FOR DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION, SAYS PAPER

The Bosnia peace agreement closed yet another tragic chapter in the history of the peoples living in this part of the Balkans, the paper said and added that the agreement had created a new geopolitical situation in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

At present, Yugoslavia is not a full member of the United Nations, but it has not been expelled from the world organisation either. This "dual" status should soon be resolved to Yugoslavia's advantage.

A formula is currently being sought to reconcile the stands of the European Union's Badinter Commission and Yugoslavia in that regard.

The Badinter Commission claimed that the former Yugoslavia had disintegrated and that each of its component parts had to seek international recognition, while Yugoslavia's position is that it is the successor state of the former Yugoslavia, said "Politika Ekspres".

Both the former and the current Yugoslav states inherited their statehood and sovereignty from the former Kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, the paper argued.

If the question of Yugoslavia's international status is resolved successfully, it would facilitate its return to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe, said "Politika Ekspres".

Yugoslavia has opted for reforms, an open society, parliamentary democracy, a market economy and national and religious tolerance, and its reintegration into the international community will largely depend on how fast these goals are achieved, the paper said. ("Tanjug's Daily Bulletin", Belgrade January 5, 1996)

[02] PETER HANDKE DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR SERBIA

In it, Handke challenges the one-sided, mainly negative, interpretations of the role Serbia has played in the Balkan events over the past few years.

"Almost all photos and reports came from only one side of the front and border", explains the well-known writer the reasons for his action.

The writer in fact expounds his view of present-day Serbia, the impressions he gained last November during his visit, as he himself says, "to the rivers of Danube, Sava and Morava". Those were the days of the Dayton peace negotiations, the harbingers of the final outcome of the years-long crisis in the Balkans. Handke presented his views on the situation, events and meetings with people on full 85 pages, carried in two instalments by the "Suddeutsche Zeitung".

Making its pages available to Handke, one of today's leading German newspapers explains that the author's observations have "literary- political significance".

Peter Handke is Austrian, born in 1942 in the village of Griffen in the province of Carinthia. The last few years he has lived near Paris. Already at the beginning of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, at the time of Slovenia's secession, he wrote an article on these events with his recollections of the country which began to disintegrate.

In the first part of his observations published today and entitled "Justice for Serbia", the well-known writer portrays the life in Serbia under the burden of the war raging in its vicinity and of the sanctions.

There is no doubt that Peter Handke's feuilleton, carried by one of the most renowned German newspapers, will provoke fierce reactions in the circles of German and European lobbyists for the Croatian-Muslim cause, for there has been no any other similar case in the local media.

From the very beginning of the Balkan crisis, two other renowned German dailies, "Die Welt" and "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", particularly in the articles of two of their leader writers (awarded high Croatian decorations and honours), used every opportunity to swoop down on everything Serbian.

Peter Handke's feuilleton and his demand for "Justice for Serbia" are a long-awaited attempt to show the other side of the coin to the German reader. Are some different, better times about to come in Germany? This remains to be seen, but the feuilleton of this well-known writer could be a good introduction to a different tomorrow of German-Serbian cultural cooperation. ("Politika", Belgrade, January 6, 1996)

[03] POSSIBILITIES FOR REPATRIATION OF 700,000 REFUGEES FROM EUROPE

A recent attempt by Germany to start sending back refugees was halted personsally by U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata, who demanded a postponement on account of the cold winter.

Germany has received about 350,000 refugees from the former Yugoslavia.

Among the countries that have received tens of thousands of refugees are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and England.

The UNHCR has to make preparations for the return of displaced persons who have sought temporary refuge in Western European countries, as part of the program for repatriating about three million refugees from the former Yugoslavia.

The program envisages their return in three stages. First refugees and displaced persons within Bosnia would be sent back, then refugees from the former Yugoslav republics, and finally, those from Europe.

The institute of temporary protection is no novelty, but has been systemmatically elaborated since the first conference on the former Yugoslavia on July 29, 1992, with advantages and temporary guarantees.

A recently published study condition of refugees worldwide - in quest of solutions, shows the UNHCR to be faced with the dilemma whether temporary protection becomes a permanent asylum for thousands of refugees, and who is to say when conditions are met for their return and to assess where they would be the safest.

The UNHCR, entrusted under the Dayton accord with the return of refugees from the former Yugoslavia, has to deal with the question of those who have lost temporary protection, but do not wish to return, or those whose homes are in territory controlled by the other side.

According to the UNHCR, temporary protection might be extended to those whose native country refuses to take back, and in cases when the country of asylum and the native country come to terms in regard to this question.

Other exceptions would include refugees receiving such medical care that they could not have in their native country (victims of torture, sexual abuse and those who need special treatment, persons with serious physical and mental disorders) as well as refugees who would be separated from other members of their families.

Repatriation will also depend on normalization of life after peace is established in the war-torn former Yugoslavia.

("Tanjug's Daily Bulletin", Belgrade, January 5, 1996)

[04] CATHOLIC CHURCH DIGNITARIES QUESTION DAYTON PEACE ACCORDS

"The first to do this was the bishop of Sarajevo, who said the loss of the northern Bosnian region of Posavina had practically shaken the Catholic church, and was an alleged injustice to Croats in Bosnia. It is not clear where Catholic dignitaries find the logic that all territories which had at some time been within a bishopric are god-given Croat lands", the daily asks.

They act as if there had never been members of any other religions or nations in these lands, primarily Orthodox Serbs, and as if their right to living space was a matter of the "good will" of the current Catholic dignitaries, the paper said.

Bosnian Catholic leaders thus openly sent a message to their believers not to drop their weapons just yet, but to hang on to them in the event of possible new storms, like the "Operation Storm" in August last year when Croatian troops expelled more than 250,000 Serbs and murdered several thousands of them, "Vecernje Novosti" said.

In a Christmas message, Cardinal Kuharic of Zagreb also spoke about the Posavina region (which was placed under Serb control under the Dayton accords). He expressed his "concern" how Bosnian Serb authorities will be able to secure equal treatment for all believers and if they can do this at all.

Cardinal Kuharic implied that these authorities should be replaced by more "civilized" ones, the daily said, adding that he might have been referring to Croatian army units which razed all of western Bosnia with tanks and artillery and 60 percent of Serb villages and towns in Krajina.

In the aftermath of this "civilized" march by the Croatian army, Cardinal Kuharic organized midnight mass for the first time in 50 years in some strictly Serb-populated places in the region of Lika.

Croatian media wrote with open pleasure about these midnight masses.

According to the media reports, Croatia has finally become a country of Catholics, including even those villages and towns which had been a hundred percent Orthodox Serb for centuries, "Vecernje Novosti" said. ("Tanjug's Daily Bulletin", Belgrade, January 5, 1996)

[05] IZETBEGOVIC PROTESTS THE NEW YEAR'S MERRYMAKING FATHER CHRISTMAS - "ALIEN TO OUR PEOPLE"

Television broadcast people who, after two and a half years of war, celebrated the arrival of the New Year in peace, eating, drinking and merrymaking in restaurants, as well as decorated Chrismas trees and Father Christmas giving presents to children. Izetbegovic thinks that showing such pictures is not in order and, as he said, "I think that a large part of our people, soldiers in particular, feel equally dejected, wondering what sort of a place is it they live in". He warned that "99.9 per cent" of the population celebrated the New Year modestly, if they did it at all, and "in a manner which will not hurt the feelings of the thousands of those who lost their beloved or their homes". "Only few shameless and insensitive persons dared to get drunk and make fools of themselves in front of television cameras as if nothing had happened, while the graves and wounds are still fresh", said Izetbegovic.

He criticized television directors because they "obviously allowed" the showing of the people who succumbed to "European vices such as alcohol, drugs and pornography", pointing out that Bosnia, although a European country, should not open its doors to these vices. According to AFP, Izetbegovic, a Muslim, also criticized the showing of Father Christmas giving presents to children, explaining that it is a symbol "alien to our people". Acknowledging that he was voicing his "personal opinion", the Bosnian President pointed out that "no censorship and bans will be resorted to, but that care will be taken that people resolutely reject various suspect values being foisted on us".

("Nasa Borba", Belgrade, January 4, 1996)

[06] THE TRUTH ABOUT JASENOVAC CANNOT BE DESTROYED WITH DYNAMITE

(by Radovan Kovacevic)

The "Feral Tribune" newspaper of Split (Croatia) writes about extensive damage done to, and desecration of, the Memorial Centre. Historian Dusan Plenca: This is the second time in ten years that Tudjman has attempted to destroy Jasenovac. Ana Pozar, former Director of the Centre: Despite destructions, Jasenovac will remain a lasting warning what can do the ideology of darkness and evil.

The Memorial Centre of Jasenovac has been destroyed and does no longer exist. This is the conclusion to which the "Feral Tribune" of Split has come in its latest issue, while, according to the Beta news agency, there is every indication that the monument has been greatly damaged and desecrated. This is the latest news in a series about the grim fate of the this greatest execution place of our people.

"To me it comes as no surprise but, unfortunately, as a news to be expected about the vandalism of the neo-Ustasha", says Dr. Dusan Plenca, reacting to the news. He goes on to say: "Tudjman tried to destroy Jasenovac also ten years ago in his pamphlet 'The Wasteland of History' in which he attempted, albeit in a tragicomical way, to minimize the number of victims."

Ana Pozar, the former curator and director of the Memorial Centre of Jasenovac for many years, says:

"It is not clear from the newspaper article what the extent of the destruction is, but even if they have blown up the central monument and other objects, it is not possible to destroy the historical truth contained in a numerous and very convincing documents and sources."

She adds that the adaptation of the Memorial Centre began in 1963. Before that, the whole area of 210 square kilometers, comprising the complex of the Jasenovac camps and places of execution, was overgrown with weeds and everything which could be used for any purpose was taken away from the decrepit and abandoned buildings... By 1968, the concrete "flower", the symbol of Jasenovac, was built and, two years later, the Memorial Centre was also completed. Up to now, the Memorial Centre was visited by about 4.5 million people from Yugoslavia and abroad and, rather than being indifferent, each and every visitor was deeply shaken by the Ustasha atrocities and bestiality. No one left without the thought that this must never happen again.

However, it did happen again, in a way. In the summer of 1991, Jasenovac was occupied by the Croatian army and it was at that time that the first news came about deliberate destructions. The Yugoslav People's Army soon liberated the area and Jasenovac was long looked after the Republic of Srpska Krajina. As Ana Pozar says, in the spring of 1995 Jasenovac was cleaned, the establishments were repaired, including the removal of the "scars" from cannon balls. There was also plans to restore the exhibits serving as evidence of the suffering of the Jasenovac inmates. However, only a day before the reopening ceremony, the Croatian army struck again and occupied Western Slavonia.

Since that time, the only source of information about Jasenovac were occasional reports of foreign journalists. There was also a suggestion by Croatia's President Tudjman to transform the area into a "shrine of all the victims of war", which implied, inter alia, a "reconciliation" of the Ustashe and Partisans. Our interlocutor says that mostly Serbs were liquidated in Jasenovac, adding that from her native village Crkveni Bok - Stremen alone 671 people were killed there! Research has shown that, besides the Serbs, a large number of Jews, Romanies and anti-Fascists of Croat nationality also found death in Jasenovac. So far, nobody has seriously challenged the assessment of the State Commission of War Crimes from 1945 that about 600 000 people perished in the Jasenovac camp.

After a detailed photogrammetric survey carried out by experts from the Military-Geographic Institute and by Professor Marinko Olujic, as well as after a series of probings and other examinations, the number of victims was assessed at 600 000 to 700 000. After all, the statements of the captured Ustasha senior officers (Luburic, Ljubo Milos) as well as from the memoirs of German and Austrian officials in the so-called Independent State of Croatia (Glaise von Horstenau) give every indication that the number of the Jasenovac victims is frightening, but also that it will never be possible to establish it accurately and reliably.

("Politika", Belgrade, January 4, 1996)

[07] TRACING WAR CRIMES: A MYSTERIOUS COMMANDER

(by Radoje Arsenic)

Eduardo Flores arrived in Croatia in 1991 as a correspondent of a Spanish weekly. - Soon, he joined the Croatian National Guard and became the commander of the "International Brigade". - Now, "Reporters without Frontiers" accuse him of killing two foreign correspondents in Croatia, Swiss Christian Wurtemberg and British photographer Paul Janks.

Jorge Eduardo Rocha Flores, a journalist of Spanish- Hungarian extraction and a citizen of Hungary and Croatia, recently requested accreditation in the U.N. headquarters in Zagreb but was refused. A civilian UN official said that he had been vetted and that it was established that the said journalist was suspected of having committed two murders and "persons suspected of having committed murders are not given press accreditation".

After a long investigation, the international journalists' association, "Reporters without Frontiers", prepared a comprehensive material and forwarded it to the United Nations Security Council which the expert group in Geneva published within its resolution 780. The essence of the said material is that Flores, the correspondent of the Catalonian weekly "La Vanguardia" of Barcelona and the commander of the "International Brigade" within the Croatian "National Guard" which operated in Eastern Slavonia at the end of 1991 and in 1992, is directly responsible for the death of two foreign journalists, Swiss Christian Wurtemberg and British photographer Paul Janks, who worked for the German EPA news agency.

According to the findings of the "Reporters without Frontiers", the Swiss journalist was brutally murdered in the region of Osijek on 12 January 1992. The autopsy carried out in the Osijek hospital showed that the death had been caused by a rifle bullet and subsequent strangulation with hands and a rope. However, it was officially said that Wurtemberg, who was in the brigade for about two months, had been ambushed and killed by the Chetniks while on patrol.

However, the facts are quite different and show that Wurtemberg joined the "International Brigade" in mid-November 1991 using a false identity and hiding his face behind a mask. As established by the "Reporters without Frontiers", he was trying to investigate and disclose the facts about the activities of the "International Brigade" and its connections with ultra-rightist organizations in West European countries whence most of its members were recruited. He was also investigating the routes of trade in arms and narcotic drugs.

During the last week of 1991, Spanish journalist Julio Cesar Alonso came to the headquarters of the "International Brigade" where he ran into his old friend Wurtemberg. Wurtemberg confided in him that he had left the Brigade a few days before and that he intended to return to Switzerland. Several days later, Alonso met with two members of the Brigade, one of them was its commander Flores (rewarded for his merits with Croatian citizenship), in the Zagreb "International" hotel. According to his subsequent testimony, Flores said that he had uncovered that a Swiss was a mole in the Brigade.

Since Alonso knew that the only Swiss in the Brigade was his friend Wurtemberg, he hurried to Osijek to warn him. In the Brigade headquarters he met Flores again who told him - he claims - with a smile: "By the way, we solved the problem of Christian. There is no more the problem of the Swiss."

Although it was officially said that Wurtemberg had been ambushed and killed by the Chetniks, it is interesting that his mobile PC disappeared, while his diary was saved and given to his parents, but without a few pages which were torn out.

Immediately after the murder of the Swiss correspondent, British photographer Paul Janks came to Osijek after he was informed about Wurtemberg's death by his colleague who had expressed doubt in the official version of Wurtemberg's death. Janks began to ask questions about the death of his Swiss colleague and four days later (17 January 1992) was killed himself. The official version was that he had been killed by a Serb sniper with an accurate shot between the eyes from about 900 metres in the vicinity of the village of Brijest at the outskirts of Osijek.

However, it is known for sure, as said in the report of the "Reporters without Frontiers" to the Security Council, that at the time of the murder a strong wind with sleet was blowing so that such an accurate shot from the said range, as stated in the police investigation, was impossible.

In May of the same year, two photoreporters, Carl Finch and Richie Bell, met a Paolo Bandini in Zagreb who had left the "International Brigade" and who told them that he had killed Chris Wurtemberg. Moreover, he claimed that he had done it at the orders of commander Flores, as he called him. These two journalists publicly reiterated this accusation in September 1992 in "The Observer Magazine" of Liverpool.

Flores left the Croatian army in July 1992, having been commander of the sabotage and reconnaissance squad for 11 months and then the commander of the "International Brigade" of the Croatian army, after which Tudjman promoted him in the rank of a major of the Croatian army, whereafter he was granted Croatian citizenship. Nothing was heard of him for almost three years (allegedly he frequently travelled between Chicago, Budapest and Osijek). Beginning last year, he joined the Democratic Community of Croatian Hungarians headquartered in Osijek and, according to his own statements, "he is a good friend with Tomislav Mercep, Branimir Glavas and Vladimir Seks".

It is rumoured that former commander Flores now even writes poetry, but the "Reporters without Frontiers" hope that this new image of his will not hinder the expert commission to put the murders of the two journalists on its list of war crimes and to bring those who ordered their commission and those who committed them to justice in The Hague.

("Politika", Belgrade, January 4, 1996)