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Serbia Today 96-04-26
26 April 1996
In This Edition
NEW DIPLOMATIC ATTACKS OF CROATIA ON THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIA
TRAGIC TESTIMONY OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL WITNESSES
FRANCE WARNS ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS
CONTENTS
[01] NORMALIZATION OF THE RELATIONS OF YUGOSLAVIA WITH THE WORLD CONTINUES
[02] POPE RECEIVES AMBASSADOR MASLOVARIC
[03] YUGOSLAV REPRESENTATIVES IN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
[04] NEW DIPLOMATIC ATTACKS OF CROATIA ON THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIA
[05] PLACEMENT OF THE JAPANESE TECHNOLOGY AND CAPITAL
[06] TRAGIC TESTIMONY OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL WITNESSES
[07] FRANCE WARNS ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS
[08] DJUKIC: 'MY FACE MUST REMAIN UNTARNISHED'
[09] SFR OF YUGOSLAVIA WAS BETTER FOR SLOVENIANS
[01] NORMALIZATION OF THE RELATIONS OF YUGOSLAVIA WITH THE WORLD CONTINUES
Yugoslav embassy in Athens was informed that the Greek
Government has decided to elevate its diplomatic representation
in Belgrade to the ambassadorial level. In this the Greek
Government is expressing its readiness for further development
of cooperation with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and is
expressing belief that this decision will have a positive
influence on the development of the relations with the European
Union. It is underlined in Greece that at the same time this
means a special impetus to the bilateral cooperation and
development of relations on the basis of all the previous
inter-governmental agreements.
State secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway Jan
Egeland, who is on an official visit to the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, after his meeting with the Federal Minister of
Foreign Affairs Milan Milutinovic and the Deputy Minister
Zivadin Jovanovic, announced "overall normalization of the
relations between Norway and Yugoslavia in all the fields". "We
are now in the process of sending of the new Norwegian
ambassador to Belgrade, for purpose of revival of all the
diplomatic communications. We wish also fully to renew the
relations of the two countries: in the economy, culture and the
other fields", said Egeland. While informing the guest of the
stands and activities of the FR of Yugoslavia in the peace
process and the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, the
Yugoslav side expressed its recognition for the well balanced
approach and engagement of Norway during the crisis in former
Yugoslavia.
Full normalization of the relations between Japan and the FR of
Yugoslavia is to be expected soon, stated yesterday in Tokyo
chairman of the Committee of the Japanese Parliament for foreign
policy, Kacucugu Sekija, after his talk with the lord mayor of
Belgrade Nebojsa Covic, who is on a visit to Tokyo. During the
talks it was agreed that the delegation of Japan, composed of
the members of Parliament, representatives of economic
organizations and scientific institutions should visit
Yugoslavia soon. President of the Adria Committee, the former
committee for cooperation with Yugoslavia, Kenzo Harada, pointed
out that this will be the first step in the revival of good
economic relations with our country, like the ones that were
existing before the disintegration of former Yugoslavia.
(Politika, April 26, 1996)
[02] POPE RECEIVES AMBASSADOR MASLOVARIC
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul Second,
received in Vatican the newly appointed extraordinary and
plenipotentiary ambassador of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
at the Holy See, Dojcilo Maslovaric. The Pope expressed the
belief that the mission of the new Yugoslav ambassador will be
successful and useful for the people and the state which he
represents and his pleasure that the peace is reigning in former
Yugoslavia. Ambassador Maslovaric underlined that his mission
has the task to develop good relations between Vatican and the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and expressed hope that these
relations will be better and better. The audience of the
Yugoslav ambassador with the head of the Roman Catholic Church
is an important event bearing in mind that over the past four
years the ambassadorial post of Yugoslavia at the Holy See was
empty. Belgrade had in February 1992 withdrawn its ambassador
after the Vatican had recognized the seceded republics Croatia
and Slovenia. During the appointment of the new Yugoslav
ambassador to Vatican and the Monsignor Santosa Abril Kastenio
for the new Papal nuncio in the FR of Yugoslavia, Vatican has
explicitly underlined that it is not a question of the renewal
of the diplomatic relations because they were at no time
disrupted. In favor of this fact speaks the information that the
Papal nuncio over all the past years was the official diplomatic
representative of Vatican in Belgrade. (Politika, April 26,
1996)
[03] YUGOSLAV REPRESENTATIVES IN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
In the debate on the implementation of the Dayton Agreement
which has taken place in the Council of Europe yesterday, the
representatives of the FR of Yugoslavia have also taken part,
professors Radoman Bozovic and Dragoljub Micunovic. Bozovic
recalled that the FR of Yugoslavia has fulfilled all the
obligations which it has undertaken in Dayton. "Yugoslavia has
signed the agreement with Macedonia, has recognized
Bosnia-Herzegovina and has tried to establish relations with
Croatia. It has also on several occasions called upon Albanians
in Kosovo to join the dialogue". In spite of all this, said
Bozovic, the status of the FR of Yugoslavia in the international
institutions still remains unresolved. "The greatest
contribution to the stabilization in the region would be to make
possible full reintegration of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia in the international community", said Bozovic.
Professor Micunovic said that in the face of the important
events which are forthcoming in Bosnia and the hesitations as to
which direction should be taken, "we are trying to help all the
democratic forces in Bosnia and we shall persist in this in
future". (Borba, April 26, 1996)
[04] NEW DIPLOMATIC ATTACKS OF CROATIA ON THE FR OF YUGOSLAVIA
Croatia has tried again to change the mood of the participants
to the 52nd session of the UN Commission for Human Rights in
Geneva, by a new attack on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In the letter to the President of the Commission, Gilbert Saboy,
the Croat mission at the UN has served a number of haphazard
conclusions, insinuations and falsehoods about the status of
members of the Croat nationality in the FR of Yugoslavia. This
was in fact an attempt of the desperate who is not giving up on
the intention to force the international community again to
anathemize Yugoslavia, even at the price of false accusations.
How far is gone in the nonsential accusations is best
illustrated by the Croat claim that Vojvodina was never a part
of Serbia. This historical falsehood is denied by historical
facts themselves. Vojvodina was integrated with Serbia as early
as in 1918, by the decision of its assembly whose delegates were
Serbs, Croats, Bunjevci, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Hungarians and
others. The answer to these and such falsehoods was given by the
Yugoslav mission in the letter which is filed as the official
document of the session. One of the Croat insinuations is that
"the entire Croat villages in Srem were forcibly cleansed of
Croats", which is completely false because in Vojvodina there
are no purely either Croat, Serbian, Hungarian or other
villages. Croat accusations of Yugoslavia for ethnic cleansing
is the peak of cynicism when it is known that Croatia is the one
of the ethnically "purest states" in the world, in which in this
century three genocides were committed against the Serbian
people. (Politika ekspres, April 16, 1996)
[05] PLACEMENT OF THE JAPANESE TECHNOLOGY AND CAPITAL
Representative of the Japanese corporation "Tomen" Kinishi
Furuta stated yesterday during his talk with the Republican
Minister for Transport Aleksa Jokic and the management of the
Serbian Railways and "CIP" Transport Institute in Belgrade, that
the Japanese businessmen are interested in strengthening
technological positions in Yugoslavia through the investment
into its infrastructure. He specified that the aim of the visit
of Japanese businessmen is to discuss development of automobile
industry, investments into major infrastructure traffic
projects, construction of railways and transfer of new
technology. Guests from Japan were informed about the
development priorities of Serbia, among others of the
construction of the international traffic routes passing through
our country. A part of funds for modernization of the railways
in Serbia is provided by the state, and by supplementing the
system laws, conditions are created for joint ventures with
foreign investors. (Borba, April 26, 1996)
[06] TRAGIC TESTIMONY OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL WITNESSES
At the panel discussion of the Faculty of Law in Belgrade,
organized by the Association of Prison Camp Inmates of the Year
1991, in cooperation with the branch of the European
organization of students of law, for the first time and publicly
"at first hand" one could hear tragic testimonies of Serbs
imprisoned in jails of Croatia and Bosnia. "You are not having
in front of you people who are selling their tragedy, but the
unfortunates who are forced to speak and give their contribution
to the search for truth about crimes committed in Muslim and
Croat prison camps", said president of this Association Slavko
Dzibara to the present representatives of the diplomatic corp,
of the Serbian Orthodox Church, local and foreign media,
governmental and non-governmental organizations and political
parties. Some ten of the former prisoners spoke of their bitter
and terrible experience from the camps "Celebici" near Konjic,
"Lora" in Split, "Dretelj" near Capljine, "Tarcin" on Igman,
prisons in Gorazde, Serdari, Hrasnica and other places. Terrible
examples of bestial torture, some of them according to Dzibar,
to be applied for the first time in human history, terrible
beatings, pouring of gasoline over inmates and setting them on
fire, torture by electricity, rape, only are a part of a rich
repertory of Croat and Muslim jailers, about whom their victims
were speaking. Legal adviser to the Association Dragan
Vasiljevic said that in the Hague, in November last year,
criminal charges were submitted against 170 persons suspected of
crimes, but until now the indictments were raised only against
three Muslims and one Croat. This has brought under a question
mark further cooperation with this international tribunal, said
Vasiljevic. (Politika, April 26, 1996)
[07] FRANCE WARNS ALBANIAN SEPARATISTS
French Minister for European Affairs Michael Barnier demanded
that the Albanian separatists in Kosovo refrain from any
violence and underlined that France is rejecting any idea of an
alleged independence of Kosovo. "There must be a strict respect
for the internationally recognized frontiers of Yugoslavia",
said Barnier. Minister also warned that the stability of Kosovo
is the basic factor of stability in the Balkans, which is asking
for prevention of every activity which would make dialogue more
difficult. Therefore, the French Government has warned Albanians
in Kosovo to abandon every violence and to accept the dialogue.
Barnier clearly said this last week in Paris also to the
Albanian political leader from Kosmet Ibrahim Rugova. (Borba,
April 26, 1996)
[08] DJUKIC: 'MY FACE MUST REMAIN UNTARNISHED'
General of the Republic of Srpska Army Djordje Djukic arrived
yesterday from the Hague to Belgrade on board a Yugoslav
Airlines flight and was transferred to the Military Medical
Academy for further treatment. Defense attorney Milan Vujin
conveyed to the press the message by General Djukic: "My face
must remain clean, untarnished, because I did nothing that would
bring me before the tribunal, and if my health would allow, I
will return to complete the trial". The defense does not wish
for the trial proceedings against Djukic to be suspended because
of his illness, but if his health would allow, to be continued
until the final ruling of the Tribunal which will acquit the
general from all the charges, said the defense attorney Vujin.
"Prosecution did not submit even one valid proof and the
Tribunal will have to erase the shame placed on the General by
its decision stating that general Djukic is innocent",
underlines defense attorney Milan Vujin. (Vecernje novosti,
April 26, 1996)
[09] SFR OF YUGOSLAVIA WAS BETTER FOR SLOVENIANS
Slovenians are more and more convinced that in the former joint
Yugoslavia they lived better than in the present-day new
Slovenian state. As far as 80 percent of the participants in the
latest survey conducted by the Center for Public Opinion
Research of the Ljubljana University, is of the opinion that
"life was good in Yugoslavia". Such views are completely
contrary to the years-long dogmatic propaganda of the Slovenian
political leadership, reaching its peak in the final phase of
Slovenian secession. The latest public opinion survey is so far
the strongest denial of the decreasingly convincing claims by
the Slovenian leadership that the secession from the former
joint state will instantly bring prosperity. (Politika, April
26, 1996) .
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