Yugoslav Daily Survey May 24

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>BELGRADE, 24 May 2000 C O N T E N T S : FROM THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF
>YUGOSLAVIA YUGOSLAVIA SENDS PRO MEMORIA ON KOSOVO-METOHIJA TO E.U. YUGOSLAVIA:
>GRAVE CONSEQUENCES OF NATO AGGRESSION MINISTER MATIC ACCUSES IFJ OF SERVING
>NATO YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL BRIEFS PRESS ON DYNAMIC DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY YUGOSLAV
>PRESIDENT DECORATES 243RD BRIGADE FOR BRAVERY YUGOSLAVIA - RUSSIA PRESS
>CONFERENCE OF YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR IN MOSCOW RUSSIA BOYCOTTS BRUSSELS MEETING
>ON BOSNIA SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA DELEGATION OF EXPATRIATE
>SERBS VISITS KOSOVSKA MITROVICA FOREIGNERS VISIT DETAINED SERBS MEJDANI COMES
>IN ILLEGAL VISIT KOSOVO AND METOHIJA - TERRORISM ALBANIAN TERRORIST ATTACKS
>RUSSIAN KFOR TROOPS FROM DOMESTIC PRESS NEW DONATION FOR THE FOUNDATION "SANJA
>MILENKOVIC" FROM FOREIGN PRESS "MONITOR": U.S.- LEADER OR OCCUPIER OF THE
>WORLD "SPECTACLE DU MONDE": LOST ILLUSIONS ABOUT KOSOVO-METOHIJA * * * FROM
>THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA YUGOSLAVIA SENDS PRO MEMORIA ON
>KOSOVO-METOHIJA TO E.U. BELGRADE, May 23 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav foreign
>ministry has sent to the European Union a Pro Memoria on the implementation of
>U.N. Resolution 1244 and the Kumanovo military-technical accord on
>Kosovo-Metohija. The Pro Memoria presents the Ministry's positions on the
>dramatic problems that have been plaguing that part of Yugoslavia and its
>republic of Serbia ever since an international security force was deployed
>there on June 10, 1999. The full text of the document follows (official
>translation): "The FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia carried out all
>their obligations under Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the
>Military Technical Agreement (MTA). "Since the deployment of UNMIK and KFOR,
>Security Council resolution 1244 and MTA have been systematically violated,
>UNMIK and KFOR are not fulfilling their mandate, terrorism of transformed
>so-called KLA continues, whereby 10 citizens on average are being killed or go
>missing on a daily basis, the sovereignty and integrity of Serbia and
>Yugoslavia continue to be systematically violated, while harassment, detention
>without trial and ethnic cleansing of Serbs, Roma, Muslims, Turks, Goranci, go
>on. "The Province has been turned into a European centre for terrorism,
>organized international crime, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, white slavery
>and money laundering. "Planning civil registration and elections under such
>conditions is aimed at legalizing the achieved level of separatist process
>under the auspices of UNMIK and KFOR, and at hiding their devastating results
>and avoiding responsibility. Free and fair elections are possible following
>prior agreement on a political settlement, and in accordance with the
>Constitution and laws of Serbia and Yugoslavia. "A political solution
>presupposes: "a) respect for the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of
>Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia; "b) full implementation of the mandate by
>UNMIK and KFORin accordance with Security Council resolution 1244 and MTA,
>particularly physical and property safety of citizens, disbanding and
>disarming of transformed terrorist so-called KLA, respect for human rights,
>free and safe return of refugees and displaced persons, cancellation of
>further stay and removal of all foreign nationals who are illegally staying in
>the Province, the restoration of public order and peace, freedom of movement,
>return of contingents of VJ and MUP and full control over the State border.
>"c) autonomy within Serbia while guaranteeing equality of all citizens and
>national communities; "d) dialogue between the legitimate representatives of
>national communities and the State representatives, with appropriate
>participation of UN Security Council representatives. "The Government of the
>FR of Yugoslavia has proposed to UNMIK the Draft agreement on the
>establishment of a Joint Coordination Committee. We are interested in the
>position of the EU on that matter. "Belgrade, 19 May 2000." YUGOSLAVIA: GRAVE
>CONSEQUENCES OF NATO AGGRESSION BRUSSELS, May 24 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav
>Mission to the European Union (EU) in Brussels has sent a letter to the
>European Commission, the European Parliament and to permanent representatives
>of EU member countries, warning about the grave ecological consequences of
>NATO's aggression. U.N. top officials also received documentation with reports
>made by domestic experts and international organizations for the protection of
>the environment, demanding that measures be taken for removing the
>consequences of contamination. NATO, it was said, waged an ecological war
>against Yugoslavia, breaching international accords and principles on the
>protection of the environment. During the bombing, NATO destroyed a large
>number of chemical, petrochemical and oil processing facilities, and used
>depleted uranium banned by international conventions, which was finally
>admitted by NATO Secretary General George Robertson. The consequences of the
>ecological war are still felt, and some will appear in the future, which will
>constitute a special problem unless timely concrete measures are taken, the
>letter warned. The Yugoslav government considers, it is said, that it is
>absolutely necessary to form a special international operative group, made up
>of domestic and foreign experts, which would deal with the consequences of
>contamination and propose protection measures. MINISTER MATIC ACCUSES IFJ OF
>SERVING NATO BELGRADE, May 24 (Tanjug) - Yugoslavia's Information Minister on
>Wednesday deplored that the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and
>its president had placed themselves unreservedly in the service of NATO's
>propaganda lies. Minister Goran Matic wrote to IFJ President Aiden White and
>the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of the
>media representative, Freimut Duve. Matic said that, a year since NATO's
>aggression on Yugoslavia, the IFJ and White had not found it necessary to
>condemn the brutal crime, or the disastrous performance of the international
>force (KFor) and the U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) in Kosovo-Metohija. Matic
>said White had not condemned, either, NATO's bombing of the Serbian state
>television building in Belgrade on April 23, 1999 or sought that those who had
>ordered and perpetrated the crime be found and punished. Furthermore, Matic
>added, White was doing nothing now for the world to learn the truth about the
>tragic consequences of last spring's NATO aggression on sovereign Yugoslavia.
>He said the IFJ, as the world's largest international association of
>journalists, was doing nothing for the world to learn about the tragic
>situation in the Serbian (Yugoslav) U.N.-ruled Kosovo- Metohija province since
>the international troops came last June. In the presence of KFor, UNMIK and
>UNMIK's chief Bernard Kouchner, ethnic Albanian terrorists are killing and
>terrorising Serbs and other non-Albanians and even those Albanians who oppose
>an ethnically pure Kosovo-Metohija and a Greater Albanian state in the
>Balkans, Matic said. He accused White of working unscrupulously and
>persistently for the destruction of Yugoslavia and for the ousting of its
>legally elected government. He again invited White to condemn in clear terms
>the bombing of the Serbian television building, in which 16 workers were
>killed, and for the IFJ to insist that those who ordered and perpetrated this
>crime against humanity be brought to justice. He urged White to uphold the
>true democratic values of the civilised world on the threshold of the third
>millennium. YUGOSLAV OFFICIAL BRIEFS PRESS ON DYNAMIC DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY
>BELGRADE, May 23 (Tanjug) - Yugoslavia's Foreign Ministry spokesman briefed
>the press on Tuesday on the country's dynamic diplomatic activity and
>presented the government's positions on the dramatic situation in its province
>of Kosovo-Metohija, efforts to curb terrorism and pressure from the aggressor
>states. Nebojsa Vujovic, who is assistant foreign minister, said Yugoslavia is
>continuing and intensifying its diplomatic activity, and announced an
>impending visit from Chinese Parliament Speaker Li Peng and other exchanges of
>visits with friendly nations. "Yugoslavia adheres to the principle that
>international relations have a future in mutual respect among states, strict
>respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference
>in their internal affairs," Vujovic said. He went on to speak to the domestic
>and foreign reporters about numerous contacts made in the sphere of the
>economy and business, and consultations by Yugoslavia's defence and other
>departments with foreign officials. He said that Foreign Minister Zivadin
>Jovanovic's recent Moscow talks brought to light identical views on the
>principles for settling the question of Kosovo-Metohija in line with U.N.
>Resolution 1244, and reaffirmed Russia's support for Yugoslavia's sovereignty
>and territorial integrity. Yugoslavia highly appreciates the move made by
>Russia which, adhering to this position, has refused to take part in a meeting
>of the Peace Implementation Council which is just opening in Brussels, he
>added. He spoke of the importance of Yugoslavia's resistance to NATO's
>aggression last spring and respect that this resistance has excited both in
>Europe and globally. He went on to stress that the aggressors are continuing
>to bring pressure to bear on Yugoslavia, diversifying it lately with a new
>form - incitement to terrorism. "The whole world has been able to see that
>resistance to aggression and hegemony is possible and that it makes sense,"
>Vujovic said, noting that nations the world over have been awakened and
>encouraged. Yugoslavia maintains successful cooperation with three-fourths of
>the world community of nations and there is increasing evidence that it is
>accepted as an equal partner, he said. Yugoslavia's arguments are getting an
>increasingly favourable reception in the non-aligned movement, in Arab and
>Islamic countries and in their organisations and associations, he said. Recent
>visits and talks by Yugoslav officials in Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Syria,
>Kuwait, Tunisia, Jordan, Algeria, Mali, Guinea and other countries have shown
>that the Islamic and Arab world realises that Yugoslavia is their true friend,
>open to wider bilateral cooperation, he said. Speaking about the possibility
>of Yugoslavia resuming relations with the countries that were involved in last
>year's NATO aggression, he said a difference is made "between the people and
>their governments", adding that the status of friend does not apply to their
>current governments. "These are responsible for crimes committed during the
>aggression and for the pressure continuing with other methods and sanctions,"
>Vujovic said. Prerequisites for a normalisation, he added, would be "indemnity
>for damage done by the aggressors during the air strikes (March-June 1999) and
>by the sanctions, lifting of all sanctions and restrictions, and their
>stopping to interfere in our internal affairs." Vujovic went on to say that,
>late last week, the foreign ministry submitted to European Union
>representatives in Belgrade a Memorandum on application of sanctions against
>Yugoslavia and virtual violation of its sovereignty. The purpose of the
>Memorandum was to show that "there are no grounds for keeping the sanctions in
>place, as they make the economic and humanitarian situation more difficult and
>contribute to the instability of the region," he explained. He said that a
>positive response to the Memorandum from the European Union would best pave
>the way for a normalisation between Yugoslavia and the E.U. states. He added
>that the latest tightening of the financial sanctions is an act of
>discrimination among economic subjects in Yugoslavia "on the basis of
>anti-democratic, political criteria, and constitutes flagrant interference in
>the internal affairs of a sovereign state - member of the United Nations."
>This violates both the U.N. Charter and human rights, such as the rights to
>life, to work and development, to education, to association among economic and
>social factors in a sovereign European state, he said. He stressed that the
>exemption of the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro from the E.U. sanctions is a
>direct attack on Yugoslavia's constitutional order and on the unity of the
>people and the government of Yugoslavia. He told the press that, despite
>NATO-wreaked devastation, despite the sanctions and despite providing for
>about a million refugees and displaced people, Yugoslavia is recording a
>growth rate several times higher than most neighbouring countries which have
>been promised significant financial and technical assistance. Speaking about
>Kosovo-Metohija, he said that the situation there is deteriorating, with the
>U.N. civilian mission (UNMIK) and international force KFor doing nothing to
>stop the Serbian (Yugoslav) province's ethnic cleansing of its non-Albanians
>and their genocide. "For instance, a U.N. document openly speaking about
>disastrous results of the U.N. military and civilian missions has been
>suppressed," he said, explaining that this was a secret report by the UNMIK
>Human Rights Department submitted to only some departments of the U.N.
>Secretariat. According to Vujovic, the report says that the ethnic Albanian
>terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), disguised as the "Kosovo Protection
>Corps" and protected by UNMIK chief Bernard Kouchner, continues its criminal
>activity and has not been demilitarised, as international representatives in
>Kosovo-Metohija claim. Vujovic briefed the domestic and foreign reporters on a
>Pro Memoria on the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1244 and of the Kumanovo
>military-technical accord, submitted to the European Union on May 19, which
>presents Yugoslavia's positions on the dramatic problems of Kosovo-Metohija.
>He went on to describe as "an act of political subversion" a recent visit by
>Albanian Foreign Minister Paskal Milo to Montenegro's city of Podgorica and
>signing of an accord on economic and cultural cooperation and a protocol on
>cooperation "between the two foreign ministries." Vujovic said that diplomatic
>relations between Yugoslavia and Albania were severed on April 14, 1999, after
>Albania became actively involved in NATO's aggression on Yugoslavia, "de facto
>becoming one of the aggressors." "The protocol between Albania and Montenegro
>has no basis in law and is politically unacceptable, infringing on the
>sovereignty and constitutional order of Yugoslavia and being directed against
>Yugoslavia's vital interests", he said. Under the Yugoslav Constitution, he
>explained, only federal bodies, not the constituent republics (Serbia and
>Montenegro), define and pursue foreign policy. YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT DECORATES
>243RD BRIGADE FOR BRAVERY VRANJE, May 24 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav 3rd Army
>Commander General Vladimir Lazarevic, in his capacity as envoy of President
>Slobodan Milosevic, on Wednesday presented the Order of the Standard of War
>First Class to the 243rd Motorised Brigade. President Milosevic decorated the
>243rd Brigade for bravery displayed in defending the country against NATO's
>aggression last spring. At a ceremony at the Sima Pogacarevic garrison in
>Vranje, southeast Serbia, Lazarevic said the decoration was conferred "in
>recognition of all your brigade has done in the defence of the country. "You
>smashed up ethnic Albanian terrorist gangs in 1998 and displayed
>professionalism and a sense of responsibility in discharging all your duties,"
>he said. YUGOSLAVIA - RUSSIA PRESS CONFERENCE OF YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR IN MOSCOW
>MOSCOW, May 24 (Tanjug) - Yugoslav ambassador in Russia Borislav Milosevic
>held on Tuesday in the premises of the editorial office Arguments and Facts a
>press conference at which he spoke about the current situation in Yugoslavia.
>"U.N. Resolution 1244 is not being implemented, there is no security for
>non-Albanians, and since June last year ten persons in average are killed or
>kidnapped every day," Milosevic said. He said that also underway was an
>economic aggression, which runs counter the U.N. Charter, and represents the
>most inhuman pressure on a country, home to a large number of refugees. As a
>third form of aggression he cited subversive activities of some special
>foreign services against Yugoslavia, for what special centers have been
>organized in neighbouring countries for planning and organizing subversion,
>and even assassinations. The aggression on Yugoslavia is continued also
>through the media, whose information is directed at unrealistically depicting
>the situation and demonizing Yugoslavia, its people and leadership, Milosevic
>said. Behind those media organizations stand the same forces that are
>interested in prolonging the war in Chechnya and have launched an operation
>for overthrowing Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, Belorussian President
>Alexander Lukashenko and other politicians whom they would like to see
>replaced by their puppets, the ambassador said. In connection with the
>statement made by the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement Vuk Draskovic
>that he had called for aid from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Yugoslav
>ambassador said he believed that Russia could not agree to lend support to
>those who call for the violent changing of the constitutional system and of
>legitimately elected authorities in Yugoslavia. Belgrade views with optimism
>the future policy of Russia, both on the level of bilateral relations and on
>the international level, Milosevic said. RUSSIA BOYCOTTS BRUSSELS MEETING ON
>BOSNIA MOSCOW, May 23 (Tanjug) - Russia officially confirmed on Tuesday it is
>boycotting for principled reasons the current meeting of the Peace
>Implementation Council for Bosnia-Herzegovina in Brussels. "Despite insistent
>and repeated addresses of the Russian side, Yugoslavia - one of the sides
>which signed the peace agreement and is one of indispensable guarantors of its
>fulfilment - has not been invited to take part in the Brussels meeting of the
>Council for Implementation of the Peace Agreement", the foreign ministry said.
>In these circumstances, the Ministry added, Russia has been forced by
>"considerations of principle" to stay away from the meeting, believing that
>its format is inconsistent with peace accord provisions. The Foreign Ministry
>stressed especially that Russia will not be bound by documents and decisions
>taken in its absence. SERBIAN PROVINCE OF KOSOVO AND METOHIJA DELEGATION OF
>EXPATRIATE SERBS VISITS KOSOVSKA MITROVICA KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, May 24 (Tanjug)
>- A delegation of expatriate Serbs, touring the Serbian province of
>Kosovo-Metohija to learn about the position of the local Serbs, arrived on
>Wednesday in Kosovska Mitrovica. The 7-member delegation, accompanied by its
>host, Ambassador Stanimir Vukicevic, is scheduled to have talks later in the
>day with chief administrators of the Kosovsko-Mitrovacki and Kosovski
>Districts, Zdravko Trajkovic and Veljko Odalovic, respectively. The delegation
>is to meet also with Serbian M.P. Ljubisa Marovic, as well as with the French
>commander of the multinational brigade North, General Pierre de Saqui de
>Sannes, and to visit detained Serbs and Romanies in Kosovska Mitrovica prison.
>FOREIGNERS VISIT DETAINED SERBS KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, May 24 (Tanjug) - Detained
>Serbs and Roma were visited on Tuesday, instead of the head of the Civilian
>Mission in Kosovo-Metohija Bernard Kouchner, as it had been announced, by his
>assistant Eric Chevalier, regional administrator for the Kosovska Mitrovica
>region William
>


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