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PRESS CUT - Croatian Press News in English	

September 30, 1998


* CROATIA

1. PHARE PROGRAM STILL OFF LIMITS TO CROATIA
2. ADRIATIC PLATFORM READY
3. MONTENEGRO TO LEAVE FRY PREVLAKA NEGOTIATING TEAM
4. TODOROVIC AT THE HAGUE ON WEDNESDAY
5. CROATIAN DOCTOR PERFORMS FIRST INTERNET LASER EYE SURGERY
6. RABBI CELEBRATES YOM KIPPUR IN ZAGREB AFTER 50 YEARS
7. HAJDUK STOPPED BY FIORENTINA BUNKER
8. CROATIA IS READY FOR SHOWDOWN WITH OLYMPIAKOS
9. CIBONA LOOKING TO CONFIRM BELGRADE VICTORY AGAINST TDK MANRESA

* BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

10. OSCE: NEW FORMULA LEAVES MINOR PARTIES IN THE RACE
11. B&H PFENNIGS TO BE FORGED AT ROYAL MINT
12. FINNISH PRESIDENT MEETS NEW B&H PRESIDENCY MEMBERS
13. ZUBAK & SOLJIC MEET GARROD IN FAREWELL VISIT
14. FEDERAL AND RS POLICE TRAINING IN BASQUE CAPITAL
15. SLOW CROATIAN RETURN TO ZENICA
* YUGOSLAVIA

16. WHAT SERB RETREAT?



Todays Exchange Rates: http://www.hic.hr/turizam/tecaj/
Todays Weather Report: http://www.hic.hr/turizam/prognoza/
HELP BUILD THE CHURCH IN TIVAT! Visit: http://www.hic.hr/tivat
Everything you want to know
about Papal visit to Croatia: http://www.papa.hr (Croatian)
			      http://www.pope.hr (English)	

***


* CROATIA

1. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, September 30, 1998.
PHARE PROGRAM STILL OFF LIMITS TO CROATIA

ZAGREB - European Union Special Envoy to Croatia Per Vinther gave an
interview yesterday for Reuters and the Voice of America radio station. The
main topics discussed were his mandate in Croatia and how he sees the near
future for Croatia. Vinther told journalists that Croatia is on the right
track, but still has a long way to go before seriously being considered for
European integration. In fact, there has not been satisfactory progress in
the changes to the Election Law and liberalising the state controlled
media. Vinther did, however, commend Croatia for its progress in the
implementing of the Return and Welfare Plan for Displaced Persons, Refugees
and Migrants, especially in concern with Croatian Serbs. In spite of all
the efforts Croatia has been making in all the conditions imposed on it by
the EU, the PHARE Program - from which Croatia was banished after
liberating its territory from Serb occupation in 1995 - is still off limits
to Croatia, indefinitely.

***

2. V.M., Predano postolje za jadransku platformu Ivana A, Vecernji list,
September 30, 1998, p. 3.
ADRIATIC PLATFORM READY

RIJEKA - Shipbuilders at the Viktor Lenac Shipbuilding company in Rijeka
handed over the Ivana A Platform to the representatives of the Italian
company Rosetti Marino from Ravenna. The platform is the first of its
kind built in Croatia and weighs 634 tonnes. Among those present at the
ceremony were ENI President Gulielmo Moscata from Rome, Ina Zagreb General
Manager Davor Stern, representatives from the Croatian Army, church and
counties. When the production platform Ivana A will be completed and set
up in the Adriatic, 40 km from Pula, one of the most important Ina
projects, together with the Italian AGIP company, will begin.

"We believe the project of developing a possible gas field discovered in
Croatian waters could be complete by 2001," stated Stern.

***

3. Hina, Crna Gora izlazi iz ekipe SRJ za pregovore o Prevlaci, Vjesnik,
September 30, 1998, Front Page.
MONTENEGRO TO LEAVE FRY PREVLAKA NEGOTIATING TEAM

BELGRADE - Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Perovic announced the
possibility of pulling the representatives of Montenegro from the FRY
Prevlaka negotiating team unless the request to open the Debeli Brijeg
border crossing is met. In an interview for Blic, Perovic stated that on
October 9 in Belgrade there will be another meeting between Montenegrin and
federal authorities to try and reach an agreement on the policies of the
two sides. If this is not successful, Montenegro could pass a unilateral
decision. "We insist only on that which is completely in the interest of
the residents and businesses needs in that region. This can be achieved
only through concrete actions which would be welcomed by the Security
Council as the first shred of evidence that there has been movement in the
solution finding process for Prevlaka," stated Perovic.

***

4. Hina, Todorovic u srijedu pred haskim sudom, Vjesnik, September 30,
1998, p. 2.
TODOROVIC AT THE HAGUE ON WEDNESDAY

THE HAGUE - Stevan Todorovic, who was arrested by SFOR personnel on Sunday,
will appear at the ICTY on Wednesday to have his charges read to him and
then he will plead guilty or innocent. Along with another five individuals,
he is accused of participating in a terror campaign which started in
April 1992 against Croats and Bosniaks in the Bosanski Samac region. Out of
six the accused in the Bosanski Samac case, along with Todorovic,
Miroslav Tadic and Simo Zaric are in detention, while Milan Simic was
released until his trial due to his physical disability. Slobodan Miljkovic
was killed in Serbia in July, while Blagoje Simic is still on the loose.
Stevan Todorovic (41) - nicknamed Stiv, Stevo or Monster - was the police
chief in Bosanski Samac after Serbian military and police forces forcefully
took over authority in that town.

***

5. D.G., Lasersko skidanje dioptrije pratilo 270 milijuna ljudi, Vecernji
list, September 30, 1998, Back Page.
CROATIAN DOCTOR PERFORMS FIRST INTERNET LASER EYE SURGERY

FREIBURG - For the first time in the world, live on the internet,
approximately 270 million people watched three eye operations performed by
Dr. Miro Stambuk in his office in Freiburg. In one hour he performed the
operations with the latest technology (using the excimer laser), fixing the
short and long sightedness of his patients.

"The first patient came to surgery with -13 sight, the next one had +7
vision, while the last one had -5 vision. The latter two also had
astigmatisms," stated Dr. Stambuk. Preparations for the live surgery on the
internet took two months. The basic purpose of this Internet outing is to
inform people with similar problems with their vision about what modern
ophthalmology can do and , of course, a good expert, as well as putting
their fears of such surgery to rest.

Dr. Stambuk has been performing laser surgery for over 20 years, using two
laser systems - excimer and holmium - and belongs to the category of world
pioneers. Aided by the holmium laser, Dr. Stambuk operated more eyes than
any other ophthalmologist in the world.

Since glasses were invented, the excimer and holmium lasers are the largest
revolution in ophthalmology. Laser beams change the surface of the cornea
by thousandths of a millimetre, thereby fixing the vision of patients,
making glasses obsolete. This treatment in complicated cases, especially
with the whole world watching, demands a top notch expert.

Dr. Stambuk was born in Zagreb, where he completed his medical studies and
specialised in ophthalmology. He has been living and working in Germany for
years.

***

6. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, September 30, 1998.
RABBI CELEBRATES YOM KIPPUR IN ZAGREB AFTER 50 YEARS

ZAGREB - The most important holiday in the Jewish religious calendar, Yom
Kippur, celebrated by completely fasting for 24 hours, began last night at
sunset. This years Yom Kippur for Jews in Zagreb and Croatia has a very
special meaning, as the head rabbi for Croatia, Kotel Dadon, lead the
central Yom Kippur celebration in the Zagreb Jewish Municipality. Rabbi
Dadon became the head rabbi for Croatia on September 1, 1998, which means
the Jewish community in Croatia has received a religious and spiritual
leader after a half century of not having one at all.

***

7. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, September 30, 1998.
HAJDUK STOPPED BY FIORENTINA BUNKER

SPLIT - Last night in Split Hajduk could not penetrate the defensive bunker
put on the field by Fiorentina in the second leg of the first round of UEFA
Cup action. The final score of the game was 0:0, which means the 2:1
Fiorentina victory in the first game was enough to qualify them for the
second round of play. Hajduk had the ball for most of the game, while only
Batistuta was in striking position for Fiorentina, while Hajduk continued
to suffer its major problem of not having any effective strikers. Now, all
Hajduk can look forward to is next years European season, if they manage
to get over this loss quickly and do well in the Cup and league
competitions in Croatia.

***

8. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, September 30, 1998.
CROATIA IS READY FOR SHOWDOWN WITH OLYMPIAKOS

ATHENS - Tonight Croatia will be playing their second round game in Group A
in the UEFA Champions League in Athens against Olympiakos. Coach Zlatko
Cico Kranjcar feels his team has good chances, as there is a good success
ratio in favour of Croatian teams against those from Greece. It is expected
that tonights starters for Croatia will be: Ladic, D. Simic, Juric, Tokic,
Rukavina, Jurcic, Cvitanovic, Jelicic, Mujcin, Maric and Viduka. This
line-up indicates the confidence Cico has in his team, as a 3-4-3 is very
aggressive for an away game. The other game in Group A will be in Amsterdam
between Ajax and Porto (Lisbon). All Champions League games will be kicking
off tonight at 20:45 (CET).

***

9. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, September 30, 1998.
CIBONA LOOKING TO CONFIRM BELGRADE VICTORY AGAINST TDK MANRESA

ZAGREB - Tonight at 18:00 (CET) Cibona is playing its second Euroleague
game against the Spanish champion TDK Manresa in Zagreb. After their close
cut victory against Red Star (Belgrade) in their first away game, they are
looking to confirm their European quality with a home-opening win. The
starting five for the Tuskanac wolves will be: Atkins, Giricek, Marcelic,
Prkacin and Grgat.

***


* BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

10. Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna, News at 21.00, September 29, 1998.
OSCE: NEW FORMULA LEAVES MINOR PARTIES IN THE RACE

SARAJEVO - The spokesperson for the OSCE mission to B&H, Nicole Szulc,
announced that the final seat allocation results for the various levels of
government, won at the recent elections by the participating parties, may
be expected by the end of the week.

This decision will be made public by the Interim Election Commission, which
is authorised for this task, adding that the party assessments on the
number of won seats are incorrect and incomplete and should not be taken
into consideration.

The formula, which is being applied this year for the allocation of seats
in the B&H parliaments and its entities, is different from previous
formulas. According to this formula, entitled Sainte Laugue, the total
tally of votes for each political party, coalition, alliance and
independent candidate will be divided by especially defined series until
the dividend coincides with the number of seats that a party contended for.

The highest coefficient from each cycle of division will be given the
mandate. The OSCE mission adopted this rule, considering it to be more
honest than the so-called election threshold system, as the Saint Laugue
division treats all parties, candidates and coalitions on an equal
mathematical basis. This formula permits votes obtained by minor parties to
be calculated into the allocation of mandates, which was not possible at
the last elections.

***

11. Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna, News at 21.00, September 29, 1998.
B&H PFENNIGS TO BE FORGED AT ROYAL MINT

SARAJEVO - The Central B&H Bank has ordered the forging of coins for the
new B&H currency and they should be released and circulating with the
already existing Convertible Marks by the end of the year.

The decision on the forging of coins and the appearance thereof was brought
down by the High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, after consultations
with and having obtained the consensus of two B&H Presidency members,
Izetbegovic and Zubak, on the issue, the governor of the Central Bank,
Peter Nicholl, stated in Sarajevo today.

The coins to the value of 10, 20 and 50 Pfennigs will be have a map of the
B&H borders and the name of the country pressed on the front and the
characteristic triangle and stars from the B&H flag on the back. Westendorp
brought down this decision on account of the blockade of the functioning of
central  government bodies which has been caused by the recent elections,
and an assessment made by experts from the Central Bank estimated that it
was necessary to introduce smaller values and hence enable business and the
pay system to function unhindered in the country. On the basis of tenders
it was resolved that the forging of the coins should be conducted by the
British Royal Mint.

The order for the metal coins is to the value of 17 million Convertible
Marks, and the actual production thereof will cost slightly more.

***

12. Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna, News at 21.00, September 29, 1998.
FINNISH PRESIDENT MEETS NEW B&H PRESIDENCY MEMBERS

SARAJEVO - The Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, who  officially visited
B&H today, held talks in Sarajevo today with the newly elected B&H
Presidency members.

The separate meetings were held behind closed doors, and after the meeting
with the current chairperson of the B&H Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, the
latters office disclosed to the press that they had discussed the present
situation in the region and the perspectives for the implementation of the
Dayton Peace Accord after the general elections in B&H.

Izetbegovic assessed that the elections in the Bosnian Serb entity had lent
contradictory results as both Poplasen and Radisic came out of the
elections as victors, however with varied political convictions.

Izetbegovic told the Finnish president that the democratic forces in
Republika Srpska will in future have the support of the Bosniak side,
whereby he expects the state Presidency to be function much more
effectively. Martti Ahtissari talked to Elizabeth Rehn in the UN
headquarters for B&H in Sarajevo, and then met with Ante Jelavic and Zivko
Radisic.

Jelavic, after the meeting with the Finnish president, stated that
attention was devoted to the return of refugees, particularly the complete
implementation of Annex 7 of the Dayton Peace Accord. In response to the
question what he expects of the new B&H Presidency, of which he is a member
for the next four years, the HDZ B&H president expressed his conviction
that the body will function much better than up until now. The Serbian
member of the new B&H Presidency did not release any statement.

Ahtisaari also visited the Finnish soldiers in the SFOR forces, stationed
in Doboj.

***

13. Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna, News at 21.00, September 29, 1998.
ZUBAK & SOLJIC MEET GARROD IN FAREWELL VISIT

MOSTAR - Current B&H Presidency member, Kresimir Zubak, and the Federal
vice-president, Vladimir Soljic, were separately visited by the head of the
OHR office in Mostar, Martin Garrod, in a farewell visit.

As was released from the respective offices following the visit, the
implementation of the Dayton Peace Accord was discussed, particularly the
implementation thereof in the Mostar region and the Herzegovina-Neretva
county as well as the problems associated with the return of refugees.
Soljics office particularly stressed that it was commented that the return
of Croats to the predominantly Bosniak Mostar municipalities has been
evolving slowly and that this issue deserves absolute priority status.

***

14. Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna, News at 21.00, September 29, 1998.
FEDERAL AND RS POLICE TRAINING IN BASQUE CAPITAL

Sixteen police officers from the Federal B&H police force and eight from
Republika Srpska have commenced joint training in Vitorria, the capital of
the Basque region, which was organised by the European Council.

The objective of the 15-day training session, as explained by the European
Council, is to train the police officers on how to behave towards the
population and apply police techniques, which respect the rights and
individual freedom, simultaneously respecting the supremacy of  law. On the
first day of the training session, the trainees were addressed by the
regional minister for internal affairs, Juan Maria Atutxa and the director
of legal affairs with the European Council, Guy de Vel.

Atutxa called for the strict application of the law in order to decisively
contribute to the renewal of democracy and coexistence in their country. He
invited them to be conscious of the fact that the authority they represent
does not belong to them, but that it has been entrusted to them dependant
on the trust that their line of work enjoys in the society that they service.

***

15. J.C., Croatian Information Centre - Sarajevo, September 30, 1998.
SLOW CROATIAN RETURN TO ZENICA

ZENICA - The General-consul for Croatia, Bernard Jurlina, met with
representatives of the Croatian community Tuesday, to discuss the Croatian
situation in Zenica, constitutional guarantees an Dayton.

After the meeting, the president of the Croatian Democratic Union Zenica,
Josip Pojavnik, said that Croatians are a constitutional nation in Zenica
in word rather than action. Croatian return to Zenica is slowing down he
added. From 800 registered requests, only a few have been settled while the
others are being dragged out in court.

Meanwhile, Jurlina emphasised that Croats must be considered a
constitutional people in places where Bosniak-Muslims are the majority, and
vice versa. He added that the situation in Zenica is considerably better
than in places such as the Una-Sanska canton. That doesnt mean the
situation is satisfactory though. Return is slow, settlement of property
claims is minimal, and house renewal is limited.

Later, it was also mentioned that a repeat request to open a Croatian
consulate in Zenica has been put forth.

***


* YUGOSLAVIA

16. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, September 30, 1998.
WHAT SERB RETREAT?

WASHINGTON - Pentagon Spokesperson Michael Doubleday, at a Tuesday press
conference at the Pentagon stated that there is still no physical evidence
Serbian military and police forces are returning to barracks and leaving
Kosovo as Serbian authorities claim. "For now we only have a lot of
rhetoric, but little to no action. We have received numerous statements
made by Serbian officials that their activities and military operations
have been completed, however the situation in the field is very different,"
stated Doubleday.

On the other hand, to show that the Americans are not only full of
rhetoric, the Serbs continued their murderous control of the situation by
shelling villages near Stimlja and Urosevac to the south of Kosovo,
according to the Kosovo Information Centre in Pristina. According to them,
smoke and flames can be seen rising from a number of villages in this
region. Serbian forces continue their attacks against the village of Gornje
Obrinje near Glogovac.

Albanian sources claim Serbian forces are setting villages in the Suva Reka
Municipality ablaze and gunfire can still be heard. The refugee and
displaced person situation in that municipality is getting ever so
difficult. On Monday 4 children, one young woman and 4 elderly women died
in that municipality due to difficult living conditions.






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10,000 Zagreb                 E-Mail:   hicnews@hic.hr
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