Yugoslav Daily Survey - 3/10
ddc
yugoslav daily survey
c o n t e n t s :
the f.r. of yugoslavija
- yugoslav foreign minister visits ghana
- yugoslav air corridors reopen for macedonian and slovenian
planes
- yugoslavs' standard of living slightly improved but still
critical
u.n. human rights commission
- u.n. human rights commission adopts resolution on ex-yugoslavia
- albania falsely accuses yugoslavia
expulsion of yugoslav citizens from germany
- yugoslavia calls on unhcr to prevent expulsion of yugoslav
citizens from germany
- u.n.h.c.r. : germany must not deport refugees
- romania and germany have no agreement on deportation of
yugoslav citizens
bosnia - herzegovina
- bosnian serb official urges new bosnia peace conference
nato's plane incident
- krajina army did not fire at spanish plane
o p i n i o n s
- the usa made a mistake by its premature recognition of the
secession of slovenia, croatia and bosnia-herzegovina
* * * *
the f.r. of yugoslavija
yugoslav foreign minister visits ghana
a c c r a, march 9 (tanjug) - yugoslav foreign minister
v.jovanovic and his ghanaian counterpart o.asamoah on wednesday
agreed on the need for a speedy end to the crisis in
bosnia-herzegovina and condemned the harmful influence of foreign
interests in the crisis in former yugoslavia.
during the first day of jovanovic's official visit to ghana,
the ministers said that solution for bosnia had to be based on
the equality and respect for the legitimate interests and rights
of each of bosnia's three warring nations - moslems, serbs and
croats.
the exchange of views, held in a friendly climate, touched
on the yugoslav crisis, especially efforts to find a way to end
the bosnian war, the non-aligned movement and its influence on
international relations, and bilateral relations and cooperation.
both sides pointed out the need for cherishing, promoting
and enriching the traditional friendship that exists between the
two countries, especially in the political and economic fields.
the official visit affirms ghana's solidarity with yugoslavia
(serbia/montenegro) in its efforts to withstand outside pressure
and threats and the debilitating effects of comprehensive and
mandatory u.n. sanctions imposed on yugoslavia in may 1992 for
its alleged involvement in the war in bosnia-herezgovina.
the two sides stressed that yugoslavia had a right to be
represented in the non-aligned movement, the u.n. and other
international forums and organisations. yugoslavia's isolation is
unjustified and harmful to the peace and stability of its
neighbours, the ministers said.
asamoah dissociated himself from the non-aligned movement's
decision to suspend yugoslavia as of the 10th summit in
aatindonesia, in september 1992, and said ghana and the other
truly independent and non-aligned members of the movement would
invest efforts to reverse the decision.
asamoah accepted jovanovic's invitation to visit yugoslavia.
the ministers discussed also some specific ways of enhancing
bilateral economic cooperation, especially the continued
engagement of yugoslav renowned firms on capital investment
projects in ghana.
yugoslav air corridors reopen for macedonian and slovenian planes
b e l g r a d e, march 9 (tanjug) - airlines from the former
yugoslav republics of macedonia and slovenia will again use air
corridors over the f.r.y., after they announced settling of their
dues over which the belgrade flight control denied to provide
them with its services as of march 1.
'the ban on flights over the f.r.y. is still in force for
some turkish airlines, but the talks are underway and we hope
they will be resolved to mutual satisfaction,' said b.bilbija,
the director of the federal flight control office. he said that
several national airlines tried to avoid paying the office's
service fees by invoking international sanctions against the
f.r.y. in the overall debt of millions of dollars incurred to the
federal flight control office, macedonia's share is said to
amount to 2.5 million dollars.
bilbija underscored that no u.n. security council's
resolution banned flying through the f.r.y. airspace, using or
paying for the services of the belgrade flight control. he said
that charging the airlines for their services was the only source
of the office's income. owing to that, he added, they maintained
very high technical, technological and security standards.
the federal flight control office report said that during
1993, 150,000 aircraft owned by 150 world airlines had used the
f.r.y. air routes.
yugoslavs' standard of living slightly improved but still crit
ical
b e l g r a d e, march 9 (tanjug) - the yugoslav government,
with its neweconomic measures, has eliminated hyperinflation and
saved the national currency, the dinar, but it has not
significantly improved the standard of living of the population.
according to federal statistics, although the cost of living
for a four-member family in february has dropped by one-quarter
as compared to january, average salaries are on a subsistence
level. according to statistics, a four-member family needed 440
new dinars (or 440 german marks) for a normal diet in january and
340 dinars in february.
official data have not yet been published but estimates are
that average salaries in february amounted to 50 dinars. this
means that one needed almost seven salaries to ensure a quality
diet.
u.n. human rights commission
u.n. human rights commission adopts resolution on ex-yugoslavia
g e n e v a, march 9 (tanjug) - the u.n. human rights
commission on wednesday adopted without taking a vote a
resolution on the situation concerning human rights in the
territory of former yugoslavia which calls on the international
community to take energetic action to stop the rights violations.
the resolution entitled 'violation of human rights in
bosnia-herzegovina, croatia and the f.r.y.' puts emphasis on
massive human rights violations in bosnia-herzegovina where it
says the entire population is the victim of terror practised by
all sides, though the primary but not the sole responsibility
lies with the bosnian serb and croat forces.
the document, which the commission passed by consensus,
condemns ethnic cleansing practised by both serb and croat
extremists.
the resolution, proposed by the u.s. and upheld by slovenia,
italy, bulgaria and hungary, expresses grave concern over the
influence of ultranationalist ideologies and indoctrination and
disinformation instigating ethnic and religious intolerance amog
all sides to the conflict.
the international community is urged to exert influence on
all sides to the conflict, especially the serb side, and on the
f.r.y. to immediately stop the practice of ethnic cleansing and
enable refugees to return to their homes.
the parties to the conflict are asked to cooperate with the
international war crimes tribunal founded last november in the
hague, and croatia and the f.r.y. to supply all the necessary
documents and information pertaining to the persons presumed
missing.
the resolution also speaks of the seriousness of the
situation concerning human rigts in serbia and montenegro,
especially in kosovo, but also in sandzak and vojvodina.
the part of the resolution on yugoslavia 'strongly condemns
in particular the measures and practices of discrimination
against and the violations of the human rights of the ethnic
albanians in kosovo... committed by the serbian authorities.' the
competent bodies in yugoslavia are urged to respect the human
rights of the ethnic albanians in kosovo in order to prevent a
possible conflict. the best way to achieve this is to return
autonomy to kosovo, says the resolution.
the commission urged the u.n. secretary-general to take the
necessary steps for the implementation of the resolution.
albania falsely accuses yugoslavia
g e n e v a, march 9 (tanjug) - the speech by the
representative of albania at the 50th session of the u.n. human
rights commission represents that country's flagrant interference
in affairs of the f.r.y. by falsely charging the yugoslav
republic of serbia and yugoslavia with alleged apartheid, ethnic
cleansing, colonization, occupation and segregation in serbia's
kosovo-metohija province, the albanian leadership has violated
the basic rules of conduct between countries, the permanent
yugoslav mission at the u.n. geneva headquarters said on
wednesday in a letter to the chairman and members of the
commission.
recalling that albania has long since expressed expansionist
intentions, the permanent yugoslav u.n. mission in geneva said
that all possible individual and collective rights were
guarranteed to the albanian minority even before the adoption of
documents such as the helsinki convention or the international
conference on civilian and political rights.
the essence of the kosovo problem does not lie in the
alleged absense of human and minority rights, but in the fact
that the albanian separatists insist on the creation of another
albanian state in the territory of serbia and yugoslavia, i.e. in
a region which has never been a part of albania. the rights which
satisfy national minorities in all other democratic countries,
fail to satisfy the albanian separatists among albanian minority
in kosovo as analternative to democracy. the basic and only
problem in kosovo was and will be albanian separatism and
secessionism, the yugoslav u.n. mission said and added that,
otherwise, this problem, including the human rights issue, would
have long since become obsolescent.
the yugoslav mission's letter will be presented to the
comission's members as an official document.
expulsion of yugoslav citizens from germany
yugoslavia calls on unhcr to prevent expulsion of yugoslav cit
izens from germany
g e n e v a, march 9 (tanjug) - the f.r.y. on wednesdy
apaeled the unhcr to do everything in its power to prevent the
forceful expulsion of yugoslav citizens from germany and that
their status is determined before that.
the permanent yugoslav mission at the geneva u.n.
headquarters sent a letter to u.n. high commissioner for refugees
s.ogata saying that germany has not officially informed the
yugoslav authorities about its intention for the mass expulsion
of yugoslav citizens - serbs, montenegrins and albanians, who are
being denied refugee status. in question are 200,000 people whose
requests for asylum in germany were rejected, the letter said.
it underscored that yugoslavia will not prevent the return
of its citizens. if germany expells such persons, unhcr should
prepare camps for them in romania, the letter said. if germany
carries out its threats, unhcr should also act in yugoslav
territory to prevent the deterioration of the already grave
situation regarding the refugees.
yugoslavia believes that unhcr should insist that the german
authorities strictly respect the 1951 convention on the
protection of refuge, the 1967 protocol and other relevant
international documents, and thus prevent yet another
humanitarian catastrophe, the letter said.
u.n.h.c.r. : germany must not deport refugees
b e l g r a d e, march 9 (tanjug) - the representative of
the u.n.h.c.r. in belgrade l.sachs on wednesday said that germany
must not deport the nationals of the f.r.y. who have the status
of refugees in that country. if there are persons with the status
of refugees among those whose deportation is planned, they are
protected by international law which has precedence over national
laws, sachs said.
she recalled that bonn had signed the international
convention and protocol on refugees and must respect their
rights.
the u.n.h.c.r. office in bonn has requested clarifications
from the german authorities after german press reported that
about 200,000 refugees from thef.r.y. would be expelled from
germany, sachs said.
the authorities assured the u.n.h.c.r. that only persons
staying in germany illegally, i.e. do not have the status of
refugees, would be expelled. the bonn office will continue
ensuring that the rights of refugees are not violated as they are
guaranteed by international law. other categories of asylum
seekers are not under u.n.h.c.r. competence, she said.
a high kosovo and metohija official m.simovic wednesday told
the press that some of the deported albanians would probably have
problems in proving whether they had come from the f.r.y. or
albania.
romania and germany have no agreement on deportation of yugoslav
citizens
b e l g r a d e, mar 9 (tanjug) - there has been no
agreement between romania and germany providing for the use of
romanian territory, infrastructure or engagement of romanian
airline and transport companies for transfer of any category of
yugoslav citizens from germany to the f.r.y., the charge
d'affairs of the romanian embassy in belgrade k.girda said on
wednesday.
girda was received at his request at the yugoslav foreign
ministry to convey the official stand of the romanian government
as regards reports on the expulsion of yugoslav refugees from
germany via romania to yugoslavia.
bosnia - herzegovina
bosnian serb official urges new bosnia peace conference
j a g o d i n a, yugoslavia, march 9 (tanjug) - speaker of
the bosnian
serb parliament m.krajisnik on wednesday called for a new peace
conference on bosnia-herzegovina, arguing that peace initiatives
launched by the e.u. the u.s. had proved unsuccessful.
speaking for the local radio in jagodina, he said the e.u.
'has gambled away its chance for a more active role in resolving
the bosnian crisis' because it had not honoured obligations from
its own plan on forming a three-member union in
bosnia-herzegovina.
'the e.u. has sought bosnian serbs' approval for the moslems
to have 33.3 per cent of the territory and for the replacement of
canadian u.n. troops in the moslem enclave of srebrenica in
eastern bosnia, and insisted on the withdrawal of the serb heavy
weapons from around sarajevo and reopening of tuzla airport, in
return for an immediate lifting of anti-serb sanctions.' 'we
fulfilled our obligations, but the e.u. did nothing to lift the
sanctions and i think that every e.u. proposal must now be taken
with caution, because the e.u. itself contributed to losing its
own credibility and respectability,' krajisnik said.
he also said a washington-brokered plan to end the
two-year-old civil war in bosnia-herzegovina was unrealistic.
'the proposal to form a federation of bosnian moslems and croats
which would subsequently form confederate ties with neighbouring
croatia and speculations thet bosnian serbs may join the
moslem-croat deal is, to say the least, an unrealistic assessment
of the situation on the ground,' he said.
in krajisnik's opinion, a moslem-croat federation in
bosnia-herzegovina, agreed upon in principle by the two sides
under strong pressure from washington, can be established only by
force, and the serbs' participation in the project cannot be
ensured even by force.
'it is, before the next step, to summarize the results of
all negotiations so far, to state whether the owen-stoltenberg
plan is still alive, and to hold a new bosnia peace conference in
which all three sides would take part and which would come out
with new proposals on how to divide the territory among the three
bosnian nations,' he said.
'the only issue that can be negotiated realistically is that
of territory because we have opted for a union of three
independant states in bosnia-herzegovina,' krajisnik said.
nato's plane incident
krajina army did not fire at spanish plane
b e l g r a d e, march 9 (tanjug) - the command of the army
of the r.s.k. announced on wednesday that its troops did not shot
on tuesday at a spanish aircraft in the plasko region, the rsk
news agency iskra said.
the r.s.k. armycmad isued the statement after reports,
especially by the croatian media, that the rsk army anti-aircraft
units had fired upon the spanish plane.
according to iskra, the statement recalls that yesterday's
flight was not announced in advance and the aircraft was not
observed over r.s.k.
o p i n i o n s
the usa made a mistake by its premature recognition
of the secession of slovenia, croatia and bosnia-herzegovina
w a s h i n g t o n, 6 march 1994, (tanjug) - former us
secretary of state j. baker admitted that the usa made a mistake
by its premature recognition of the secession of slovenia,
croatia and bosnia-herzegovina from the former yugoslavia.
talking to the "c-span" tv network, baker said that, at the time
when he was the secretary of state, washington advocated the
thesis that a horrible civil war would break out if yugoslavia
did not disintegrate peacefully.
asked by publicist a. dragni~ why the administration did it,
baker answered that what happened was precisely what the united
states feared of: yugoslavia disintegrated but not peacefully;
instead, it disintegrated by a unilateral declaration of
independence first of slovenia and then of croatia. by doing so,
these two countries usurped a part of yugoslavia's borders which
was an act of violence and violation of the principles of the
helsinki act.
european countries and subsequently the united states,
recognized slovenia and croatia and then bosnia which was
admitted to the united nations. the real problem was in the
unilateral declaration of independence (slovenia, croatia and
bosnia-herzegovina) and the use of force to achieve independence,
instead of peaceful negotiations, said baker.
===============================================================
-- I speak for no one and no one speaks for me --
D. D. Chukurov d...@nyquist.bellcore.com
===============================================================