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Serbia Today 96-04-18
18 April 1996
In This Edition
TUDJMAN'S MEDAL FOR THE WAR CRIMINAL
WHAT IS THE HAGUE SILENT ABOUT?
WELCOME WITH PRISON
CONTENTS
[01] FULL NORMALIZATION OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN GERMANY AND YUGOSLAVIA
[02] SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRUTH ABOUT JASENOVAC
[03] TUDJMAN'S MEDAL FOR THE WAR CRIMINAL
[04] WELCOME BY PRISON
[05] WHAT IS THE HAGUE SILENT ABOUT?
[06] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL WAGGING WAR AGAINST ITSELF
[07] TO FACILITATE RETURN OF SERBS
[08] THE SECRET OF MUSLIM PRISONS
[09] NEW MILLIONS FOR ARMING OF MUSLIMS
[01] FULL NORMALIZATION OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN GERMANY AND YUGOSLAVIA
The Government of Chancellor Kohl decided yesterday to normalize
the relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Four
years after the withdrawal of the chiefs of diplomatic missions
of the highest level by the European Union countries, Germany
will have in Belgrade its representative at the ambassadorial
level. This decision was suggested in the first reactions of
Germany to the news of the establishment of full diplomatic
relations between Belgrade and Skopje. Although in Bonn, more
for psychological and political reasons, there was no hurry to
pass a decision on full normalization, this decision was
probably accelerated by the fact that this has already been dome
by almost all of the European Union member-countries. In the
official communique on the occasion of the decision, the chief
of German diplomacy Klaus Kinkel underlined that "Serbian people
must have its place in Europe". He is of opinion that the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, by its full normalization of the
diplomatic relations with Germany and the other EU countries
"has made a step closer to the international community". Further
development of the relations between Bonn and Belgrade Kinkel is
linking with "fulfilling of the obligations by the FR of
Yugoslavia in the field of human and minority rights", the right
to the return of refugees, giving of the autonomy to Kosovo,
solution of the question of succession and implementation of the
Dayton Peace Agreement. The fact remains, however, that in the
face of arguments of the peace policy of Belgrade and a
constructive contribution to the calming of tensions in the
region, also Germany by raising the diplomatic relations to the
ambassadorial level, has respected this reality. In truth, it is
lagging behind its main partners in the EU, just the opposite of
the time when by premature recognition of the secessionist
western republics and even according to the additional admission
by the then-actors in the European politics, it was pouring oil
on fire of the Yugoslav drama. (Politika, April 18, 1996)
[02] SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRUTH ABOUT JASENOVAC
In the archives of the UN Commission for War Crimes there is no
record whatsoever of the name of Jasenovac, and among the
criminals there is no Ante Pavelic and other Ustashi assassins.
While stating this incredible fact yesterday at the press
conference, director of the Museum of the Victims of Genocide in
Belgrade, Dr. Milan Bulajic, appealed for the assistance of the
world organization. He proposed that the UN Commission for
investigating the truth "should establish the truth about one of
the most brutal and largest death camps in Europe" and finally
determine the exact number of victims in Jasenovac "in order to
s the terrible bargaining". While answering questions by
reporters, Dr. Bulajic said that only once the truth is known
about Jasenovac, one will be able to understand the roots of the
latest genocide in Croatia and Bosnia, and that it is extremely
important to prevent by an organized international action the
intention of the Croat President Tudjman to transform Jasenovac
into a memorial center where the remains of both victims and
assassins will be mixed. (Politika, April 18, 1996)
[03] TUDJMAN'S MEDAL FOR THE WAR CRIMINAL
The Croat Helsinki Board protested because of the special
recognition which the Karlovac county awarded to Mihail Hrastov,
the man who massacred 13 Serbian prisoners at the Korana river
bridge near Karlovac in the autumn of 1991, reports Radio Free
Europe. Hrastov, who is now one of the commanders of the special
police in Karlovac, at the time of massacre of the unarmed
captured reserve members of the then-regular Yugoslav People's
Army, was the member of the special task force unit of the Croat
police. One year after the massacre, Hrastov was arrested,
because some media were writing about this crime, but the
District Court in Karlovac acquitted him, with the applause of
the audience in the court room. Croat Helsinki Board, according
to this Radio station, is in possession of the data that Hrastov
commanded also the special prison in the old school in Ozalj,
where "Serbs were bestially tortured, those Serbs who after the
Storm offensive gave themselves up to the Croat authorities".
The medal which Hrastov received from the Karlovac county as one
of the six meritorious citizens, is not his first one. Last
year, on the Day of Statehood holiday, he was decorated by
President Tudjman for a heroic dead during war. The Croat
Helsinki Board is of opinion that decoration of Hrastov is
showing the attitude of Croatia towards war criminals, even more
so because there are also other war criminals who have been
given medals. (Politika, April 18, 1996)
[04] WELCOME BY PRISON
Croat authorities in Knin are doing their utmost to show to the
exiled Serbs what is awaiting them if they are to return to
their homeland. Jovica Vukadin and Konstantin Biserko upon their
return to Knin, with all the proper Croat documents, have spent
in the prison in Sibenik one month each. Such a 'welcome'
according to the practices of the Croat authorities, is awaiting
all the returnees who were wearing the uniform of the Krajina
army. In the documentation and information center "Veritas"
there is a testimony of a certain M. from Knin who has spent
five months in the Croat prisons. He testified that in the
Sibenik prison he met Luka Pesic (67 years old) from the village
of Bender near Knin, an old man of poor health, accused of armed
rebellion. He was not recorded by the International Red Cross,
and thus his fate became even more uncertain. The Ustashi prison
guards were especially abusing the old man because his nephew
was the former Lord Mayor of Knin. Knin is now the most Croat of
all the Croat towns, the guards were saying to the old man. In
the testimony of M. given to the "Veritas" yet another 'pearl'
of the Croat judiciary is recorded. Zoran Cvijanovic from Knin,
after a four- month investigation for "crimes against the state
of Croatia", was released on December 24, 1995, but after only
11 days was arrested again and detained in the Split
investigation prison again under the same charges. In the
international judicial practice it is not possible to charge
anyone for the same crime twice, but in Croatia everything is
possible when Serbs are in question. (Vecernje novosti, April
18, 1996)
[05] WHAT IS THE HAGUE SILENT ABOUT?
In the text entitled "What is The Hague Silent About" and the
sub-title "New Details of the Muslim and Croat Crimes Against
Serbs", the Russian newspaper "Nezavisnaja gazeta', without any
general qualifications, is presenting a lengthy evidence of
crimes against Serbs and is raising the crucial question : why
is the international justice which is to be served by the Hague,
not interested in this. Among other facts, the newspaper states
that in April 1992 Muslim unit commanded by Alija Selimagic, in
the village of Kostrem, from amongst 45 peaceful people among
them some ten children, killed 29 and slaughtered the others,
including three children. In this same month Croat soldiers in
the region of Kupres killed 52 Serbs, but before murdering them
they plucked their eyes out and broke their arms and legs. In
Derventa Muslims slaughtered 31 Serbs, old men, women and
children, and in the village of Vukasinovic near Gorazde, the
unit commanded by Suad Hamzija, first slaughtered then burnt 17
of its inhabitants. The Croat units near Mostar killed on May
26th some two hundred citizens of Serbian nationality. Near
Sarajevo over one thousand Serbian bodies are buried, killed
between 1992 and 1994, and in some of these cases the trace of
responsibility is leading to the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Alija Izetbegovic. These are only some of the data presented by
the Russian newspaper on the basis of which it is concluding
that the Tribunal in the Hague is insisting only on the
prosecution of Serbs, and is not interested at all in the crimes
of Muslims and Croats. (Politika, April 18, 1996)
[06] THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL WAGGING WAR AGAINST ITSELF
The disputable indictment against General Djukic is wagging war
against itself, meaning against the Hague International Tribunal
for War Crimes, writes the yesterday's commentary of "The
Washington Times" newspaper, one of the few U.S. newspapers to
place under a magnifying glass the work of this Tribunal and
especially the activities of its Prosecutor Goldstone. The
indictment against Djukic, writes the author of the commentary,
stinks of a selective approach and a vengeance of the
Prosecutor, which in itself means transforming of the
international law into the tools of injustice. Similar to the
view expressed recently in "The Washington Post", the author in
"The Washington Times" is also observing that according to this
and the same criteria all those who were engaged in war in
Bosnia could be indicted, as well as all those who were wagging
wars in this century. The shortcomings of this indictment
against Djukic are confirmed also by the lack of readiness of
the Prosecutor Goldstone to apply these same of his theories
about the international war crimes to the other and numerous
members of the Serbian Army, and especially to the Croat and
Muslim military commanders. (Politika, April 18, 1996)
[07] TO FACILITATE RETURN OF SERBS
European Union is of the view that for the first time now since
the eruption of crisis in former Yugoslavia, one may talk of
quite realistic chances for the stabilization and peace in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. This view was stated yesterday at the
session of the UN Commission for Human Rights, held in the
Geneva Palace of Nations, by the Italian Ambassador Torella di
Romaniano, in his capacity of the chairman of the EU. "We are
calling upon the Bosnian authorities to guarantee safety to
those Serbs who have remained in Sarajevo and to undertake
measures, including the protection of personal property, in
order to facilitate the return of Serbs who have left Sarajevo",
said Romaniano. He also underlined that Zagreb has the
obligation to create such conditions which will make possible
voluntary return of Serbs to their homes, and that the European
Union is very carefully watching what the Croat authorities are
doing in this respect. (Borba, April 18, 1996)
[08] THE SECRET OF MUSLIM PRISONS
After the fall of Vozuce into the Muslim hands in September last
year, from the 522 missing persons, the fate is known of only
148, while there is still no trace of all the others. Except for
the ones who have been released from Muslim prisons, there is no
information whether they are still alive. In Doboj for months
now there are 18 unidentified bodies lying around. The board of
families of the imprisoned and missing, established in Doboj,
has received from the International Committee of the Red Cross
the reply that search for missing persons is not their job. The
Red Cross of the Republic of Srpska announced the resumption of
the search for missing persons. (Vecernje novosti, April 18,
1996)
[09] NEW MILLIONS FOR ARMING OF MUSLIMS
The White House has announced that it has received promises from
three countries that they will give 100 million US dollars for
the program of training and arming of the Muslim army in Bosnia,
and qualified this as the turning point in the realization of
this program. The above mentioned amount was promised by Saudi
Arabia, The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, at the request of
the U.S. delegation which was on a visit there these days. At
the donors conference for this program, mostly Islamic
countries, held last month in Ankara, there was almost no
response to the American appeals for money to be given for this
aid. Further to the United States, who have announced that they
will give 100 million US dollars, only Turkey promised
assistance, but of only two million. It is estimated that
certain Islamic countries do not wish to give such aid because
they are not sure that it will end in the hands of the Bosnian
Muslims, fearing that it will be seized by the Croat side, just
like it did during the war. In the strives to arm the Muslim
army in Bosnia, the Americans can not count on the support of
the European allies who are of the view that this is a faulty
logic which is not conductive to the stabilization of the
situation in the Balkans. The U.S. Administration is basing its
stand on the cold-war logic that peace in Bosnia should be built
on a balance of fear, i.e. on the piling of armament. Europeans
are, however, of a quite different view, that peace should be
stabilized by reducing the degree of armament with the
conflicting sides. (Tanjug, April 18, 1996) .
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