Yugoslav Daily Survey 96-03-19

Yugoslav Daily Survey Directory

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

19 March 1996

CONTENTS

[A] GENEVA MEETING ON BOSNIA

[01] MILOSEVIC CALLS FOR CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON ACCORDS

[02] MILOSEVIC SAYS ALL BOSNIAN PARTIES AGREE TO RELEASE PRISONERS

[03] SERBIAN, CROATIAN PRESIDENTS MEET

[04] MILOSEVIC TALKS WITH CHRISTOPHER

[05] INTENSIVE BILATERAL TALKS AT U.S. GENEVA MISSION

[06] CHRISTOPHER SEES GENEVA MEETING ON BOSNIA AS SUCCESSFUL, ENCOURAGING

[07] BOSNIAN SERB OFFICIAL STRESSES INTEREST IN BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

[B] FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[08] SANCTIONS SUSPENDED, TRADE BARRIERS STILL IN PLACE - MINISTER

[09] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER AWARDED HONORARY CITIZENSHIP OF ATHENS

[C] BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

[10] BOSNIAN MUSLIM TROOPS STILL PRESENT IN SARAJEVO ZONE OF SEPARATION

[D] O P I N I O N S

[11] HANDKE CRITICISES AGAIN AUSTRIA'S ROLE IN CRISIS IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

[E] FROM DOMESTIC PRESS

[12] BELGRADE DAILY SAYS OVER 600 SERBS FROM MOSTAR WANT TO RETURN HOME

[A] GENEVA MEETING ON BOSNIA

[01] MILOSEVIC CALLS FOR CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF DAYTON ACCORDS

Milosevic made a brief press statement on arriving here Monday morning for a meeting of the three negotiating sides in Dayton and four out of the five Contact Group members, which starts at the U.S. U.N. Mission in the afternoon. Milosevic arrived accompanied by Bosnian-Serb Republika Srpska Vice President Nikola Koljevic, Yugoslav Assistant Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic and Serbia's Presidential Adviser for economic affairs Kosta Mihajlovic.

Milosevic told the press that only regularly elected representatives and institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina could secure conditions for normal life in both Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation, meaning in all of Bosnia-Herzegovina. He said that was a goal to be striven for.

Republika Srpska Vice President Koljevic said it was necessary to create a better political climate in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which he said had been lacking so far. 'As it is well known, Republika Srpska has cooperated so far, but the attitude towards the Sarajevo Serbs, for instance, has not been civilized,' Koljevic said. He said the Geneva meeting could be extremely important because it was expected to give answers to questions relating to the implementation of the peace accords, questions which he said had not been cleared up. 'The Dayton peace accords must be taken seriously, and Republika Srpska accepts the accords in full,' Koljevic said.

[02] MILOSEVIC SAYS ALL BOSNIAN PARTIES AGREE TO RELEASE PRISONERS

He said the conference had been meant to give the signatories to the accord an opportunity to exchange views and reach agreements on measures to be taken and thus help speed up and consolidate the implementation of all aspects of the accord.

All sides are agreed on the need for stepping up the process of preparing and holding elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as the only way to create a climate conducive to a normal functioning of institutions and normal living conditions, Milosevic said.

He described the elections as the most important political question in the creation of conditions for normalising relations in both the Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation. It is therefore very important that the elections receive virtually identical treatment from all sides, he added.

Milosevic said that another good news was that it had been agreed to start flights between Belgrade and the Republika Srpska's biggest city of Banjaluka, as well as between Belgrade and Sarajevo. This will further help the people maintain contact and create conditions for a normalisation of relations in the region as a whole, he added.

Milosevic made a very positive assessment of the Geneva conference and contacts with all parties and with representatives of the U.S. and of nations of the five-state 'Contact Group' for Bosnia.

[03] SERBIAN, CROATIAN PRESIDENTS MEET

Milosevic and Tudjman said that the agreements were a major step on the way towards a full normalisation of bilateral relations.

[04] MILOSEVIC TALKS WITH CHRISTOPHER

During the Milosevic-Christiopher talks in the U.S. Military Mission in Geneva it was assessed that the military part of the accords had been almost fully implemented. They assessed, however, that the implementation of the accords is behind on the political aspect and that it is necessary to invest additional efforts to ensure elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina are held as scheduled by Dayton.

Milosevic and Chrisher said that international factors, too, should do their all in order that difficulties in the implementation of the peace accord for Bosnia-Herzegovina should be surmounted. International factors must do everything, too, to ensure that just and fair elections be held as soon as possible to elect legitimate bodies of power in the Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it was stressed during the meeting.

The two sides expressed their confidence that cooperation in the implementation of the peace accord would continue, and said they would request equal cooperation from all international factors and from the IFOR.

The U.S. and Yugoslavia believe that the Dayton peace accord should be implemented consistently and in full, and will continue to cooperate with this end in view.

Bilateral questions and prospects for promoting bilateral cooperation were given special attention in the Milosevic-Chrisher talks. The two sides will cooperate in the coming period primarily in the implementation of the Dayton accord, as well as in normalising overall Yugoslav-U.S. relations, it was stressed.

[05] INTENSIVE BILATERAL TALKS AT U.S. GENEVA MISSION

The President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic earlier on Monday held a talk with Kornblum about the efforts that need be invested in stepping up the application of the peace agreement. Milosevic and Kornblum particularly reviewed the bilateral questions of importance for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (F.R.Y.) and the U.S.

Kornblum highly appraised the role of the F.R.Y. in the peace and stabilization process in the BiH.

On Monday afternoon, Milosevic had a talk also with Ambassador Richard Frowick, representative of the OSCE.

[06] CHRISTOPHER SEES GENEVA MEETING ON BOSNIA AS SUCCESSFUL, ENCOURAGING

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation President Kresimir Zubak and Vice President Ejup Ganic and Republika Srpska Vice President Nikola Koljevic reached agreements in bilateral contacts, Chrisher said.

Chrisher said that the Bosnian peace process had come to a crisis, and hoped that the Monday talks at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva and agreements reached would get matters in Bosnia-Herzegovina moving for the better.

He said that two key agreements were those on the functioning of the Muslim-Croat Federation and on measures for stimulating the implementation of the Dayton peace accord.

The agreement on stimulating the peace process has ten points, the most important being those that should ensure the holding of free and fair elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina in September.

Chrisher said that one of the problems on which discussion had been held and agreements reached were the latest developments in Sarajevo, which it was agreed must remain a city of Muslims, Croats, Serbs and others.

Agreement was also reached on the release of all prisoners of war in Bosnia before the ministerial meeting of the five-state 'Contact Group' for Bosnia in Moscow on March 23, and on cooperation with the Hague-based War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia.

Chrisher highlighted point 8 of the declaration on stepping up the process of normalisation in the territory of the former federation. To this end, the Governments of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have agreed to start air traffic and sign an agreement on trade, transport, telephone and railway services.

The Yugoslav and Croatian Governments, too, should work for stimulating the normalisation of bilateral relations.

The Croatian Government and the authorities in the mostly Serb populated eastern Slavonia, Barania and west Srem Region should implement a project for the repatriation of those willing to return to the region regardless of nationality.

The international community's High Representative for Bosnia Carl Bildt said at the news conference it was extremely important to build confidence among the peoples in Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina as a basic precondition for the Serbs' return.

[07] BOSNIAN SERB OFFICIAL STRESSES INTEREST IN BOSNIAN ELECTIONS

'Let us hope that it will be so,' Koljevic said, speaking after the talks at Geneva about the implementation of the Dayton peace accord for Bosnia-Herzegovina. 'Probably the best news for the Republika Srpska from the Monday conference is that civilian and commercial traffic from Belgrade to Sarajevo and from Belgrade to Banjaluka will be opened in the immediate future,' he added.

Koljevic said it would appear that it was in everybody's interest that elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina be held as soon as possible, and that the Republika Srpska had never been against elections. The people and leaders of the Republika Srpska are ready for the elections and 'it seems that the other side is agreed, too,' he added.

Koljevic said that the Geneva conference had touched 'also another matters, primarily the problem of the prisoners of war,' and that it was well known that the Republika Srpska had honoured its commitment to release all prisoners of war. He said he had had contacts at Geneva with Vice President of the Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation Ejup Ganic and Muslim Premier Hasan Muratovic, discussing problems of cooperation between the two entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina in rebuilding the infrastructure.

[B] FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

[08] SANCTIONS SUSPENDED, TRADE BARRIERS STILL IN PLACE - MINISTER

The exporters do not yet have equal opportunities on the major markets, primarily in the West, Siradovic explained. He said that Yugoslav goods on the E.U. markets were more expensive and less competitive because Yugoslavia was still not being allowed to draw on trade facilities.

Therefore, the first step in linking up with the E.U. should be to return Yugoslavia to the list of beneficiaries of the Union's facilities, he added.

Siradovic said that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would invoke the Union's positive economic measures (system of tariff benefits) enjoyed by the other former Yugoslav republics. He said he hoped that there would soon be a political normalisation with the Union, as a prerequisite for obtaining trade facilities.

Siradovic said that positive political developments in the former federation and Yugoslavia's great contribution to peace would obliterate the consequences of the economic embargo and make the Yugoslav economy an equal partner in world trade.

With its membership of the WTO still undefined, Yugoslavia has entered into bilateral trade and economic cooperation agreements with Russia, China, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Romania, and talks are under way with 15 others states, he said.

Siradovic stressed that Yugoslavia's priority in foreign trade was to be included in the WTO. In preparation for this, the Government has set in motion a process of adjusting the Yugoslav regulations to conform to those of the WTO, drafting a list of concessions for goods and services to be offered to the WTO and a memorandum on the national trade policy.

With inclusion in the WTO in mind, and for its own needs, Yugoslavia has on two separate occasions passed regulations liberalising foreign trade, Siradovic said and added that the process would continue.

[09] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER AWARDED HONORARY CITIZENSHIP OF ATHENS

Milutinovic is the first foreign ambassador to receive the distinction.

Avramopoulos said the honorary citizenship was an expression of Greece's gratitude for all that Milutinovic had done to strengthen ties and promote friendship between Greece and Yugoslavia. He said he was convinced that in his new capacity as Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister, Milutinovic would continue to work for the promotion of friendly and fruitful relations between Athens and Belgrade.

In reply, Milutinovic said that he had felt the deep friendship of the Greek people in the course of his service as Yugoslavia's Ambassador in Athens, which had come at a time of difficulties and complexities for both countries.

[C] BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA

[10] BOSNIAN MUSLIM TROOPS STILL PRESENT IN SARAJEVO ZONE OF SEPARATION

Muslim troops are still present in the Marshal Tito Army barracks in Sarajevo, which is inside the zone of separation that needs to be demilitarized by Wednesday. News agencies said that the Bosnian Serbs and Croats had fulfilled their obligations and that the Bosnian Muslim Army was the only side refusing to abide by the plan.

[D] O P I N I O N S

[11] HANDKE CRITICISES AGAIN AUSTRIA'S ROLE IN CRISIS IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

Commenting on Vienna's premature recognition of Slovenia and Croatia that had violently seceded from the former Yugoslav federation, Handke strongly criticised former Foreign Minister Alois Mock, leader of Christian Democrats. He also criticised Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, leader of Socialdemocrats, for not showing stronger opposition to what he described as Mock's ill-meant actions.

The weekly interviewed Handke ahead of a literary evening in Austria on Monday when his essay titled The Justice For Serbs will be read. The essay has elicited strong reactions in Germany and has become a matter of much dispute in Austria over the past few weeks. In his essay, Handke criticised biassed, one-sideded and prejudiced reporting on the conflict in the former Yugoslavia by western media. The essay was published by the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in early January.

[E] FROM DOMESTIC PRESS

[12] BELGRADE DAILY SAYS OVER 600 SERBS FROM MOSTAR WANT TO RETURN HOME

About 40,000 Serbs lived in Mostar before the outbreak of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in early 1992, while only between 2,000 and 3,000 Serbs live in the town at this point.

Andric, who is currently living in Belgrade, said, 'I believe it is vital that people first return home and then decide whether they are going to remain there or find a different solution.'

Only Safet Orucevic, Mayor of the Moslem section of Mostar, has openly invited Serbs to return home, Politika said. .