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PRESS CUT - Croatian Press News in English	

October 29, 1998


* CROATIA

1. TWENTY CIVILIANS EXHUMED FROM WELL, SO FAR
2. BLACK HAND HACKERS BREAK INTO VJESNIK WWW PAGES
3. EU STILL CONSIDERS CROATIA TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
4. NATO NO THREAT TO CROATIAN SECURITY!
5. NADA SAKIC EXTRADITION AT BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER?
6. CROATIAN SOCCER CUP NEARING ITS CLIMAX

* ICTY

7. ICTY INVESTIGATORS STILL WITHOUT FRY VISAS
8. FORMER BRITISH OFFICER TESTIFIES AT BLASKIC TRIAL

* BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

9. FRAMEWORK FOR CO-OPERATION
10. SDP PROTESTING OHR CALCULATIONS
11. CREDIT PROJECT SUCCESSFUL
12. PRSKALO MAYOR OF MOSTAR AGAIN

* YUGOSLAVIA

13. NATO STILL TALKING TOUGH

* NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

14. DENATIONALISATION WITHOUT RECIPROCITY



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

***

* CROATIA

1. Ma. M., Iz bunara ekshumirano vec 20 civila, Vecernji list October
29, 1998, p. 4.
TWENTY CIVILIANS EXHUMED FROM WELL, SO FAR

ERDUT, DALJ - In Daljski Atar, in an old well in a field close to the road
running from Osijek to Erdut, the largest mass grave in the Osijek Baranja
County has been discovered. This is the tenth mass grave found in this
county and the 107th in Croatia.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Health, Dr Dinko
Balicevic, the preparations for exhuming bodies from this well took from
October 23 - 26. Aside form the Ministry of Health of the Republic of
Croatia, exhumations are being conducted in the presence of representatives
of: Government Commission for Detained and Mission Persons, Ministry of the
Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, European Union
Monitoring Mission and the ICTY.

The first remains of victims were exhumed on Monday from a depth of five
metres. Over the last 3 days, from depths between 5 - 7 metres, 20 bodies
were exhumed (15 men and 5 women). It is presumed there are more victims
buried in this well.

According to Balicevic, for now almost nothing is known about the exhumed
bodies, except that they were probably killed at the end of 1991 or the
beginning of 1992 and that they are all civilians. During the exhumations,
the remains of explosive devices were found among the bodies, probably hand
grenades which were activated and thrown into the well after the victims
were thrown down there. This is why the exhumation process is very risky
because it is not known whether there are any unexploded bombs in the well.
Also found were heavy metal debris, probably from a garage, due to which
the bodies are even more deformed, some in pieces.

"We will continue to dig until we reach the bottom and all remains of
victims will be taken to Zagreb for further study and identification,"
added Balicevic. In the regions of Dalj, Aljmas and Erdut there are 46
people listed as missing, 34 of which have had search requests renewed.

***

2. S.H., Crna ruka provalila Vjesnikove stranice na Internetu, Vecernji
list, October 29, 1998, Back Page
BLACK HAND HACKERS BREAK INTO VJESNIK WWW PAGES

ZAGREB - Vjesniks Internet pages at the address http://www.vjesnik.com
could not be accessed yesterday because Serbian hackers broke into them.
They left their address behind and a "Long live Greater Serbia" message.
They call themselves the Black Hand - the name of the terrorist group
responsible for the assassination of Prince Franjo Ferdinand and his wife,
the Duchess of Sofia, in Sarajevo in 1914.

Though they have cloaked themselves with such a militant name, on their
pages one can find messages like: "We oppose war! We do not want any evil!
We want truth to reign over this planet! We want our children to grow up in
peace, love and prosperity!" Furthermore, they claim they want to "change
the false impression of the world that Serbs are criminals and murderers."

The hackers claim they are not affiliated with any political parties and
their fight is against the attempts of the Serbian authorities "to create a
dark regime over this beautiful country."

The President of the Vjesnik administration, Ivan Bozicevic, stated that,
"The Serbian hackers used our pages for propaganda, but did not manage to
change the contents of our pages, rather only redirect visitors to their
web pages. The problem has already been removed, but there is no such thing
as absolute security."

***

3. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, October 29, 1998
EU STILL CONSIDERS CROATIA TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

BRUSSELS, ZAGREB - "Croatia, B&H and FR Yugoslavia still have not taken the
necessary political and economic steps to qualify for an advance into the
European Union program of assistance and economic co-operation," it was
stated in the European Commission report discussed on Wednesday in Brussels.

The EU, according to its so-called regional approach, has placed Croatia
in the group with B&H, FRY, Macedonia and Albania. Whether these countries
have fulfilled the necessary requirements to get closer to the EU is
reviewed every six months.

Albania and Macedonia received positive assessments in the report. "Croatia
and Serbia received a clear thumbs down, while B&H could have been
better," stated an EU official for Reuters. He added that Croatia has
adopted a law for the return of refugees, but has yet to implement it.

Croatian Foreign Minister Granic stated that, "We still are not expecting
the PHARE Programme [Aid for the Reconstruction of the Economy], though we
feel that it is the fault of the international community and the EU." He
also assessed that Croatia did the most for the implementation of Dayton
and that PHARE Program membership would be helpful to the peace process.

The official version of the European Commission report will become a public
document if it is accepted by the EU Council of Ministers, due to meet
November 9.

***

4. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, October 29, 1998
NATO NO THREAT TO CROATIAN SECURITY!

ZAGREB - NATO officials qualified as being ridiculous Croatian media
reports, including those of Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), that the
NATO exercise in Slovenia from November 14 - December 2, is actually an
exercise for reacting to a coup d'�tat in the event the governing party in
Croatia looses the next elections.

"That is absurd. NATO only gets involved in a program if defence is in
question. We never threaten the security of any country. This exercise is a
part of the Partnership for Peace program and is based on an imaginary
situation, completely without any relation with reality. This situation is
not meant to have any connotation about any country," stated NATO
Spokesperson James Shea, in an interview for Croatian Television.

Slovenian diplomatic sources supported NATO denials that the said exercise
has anything to do with Croatia. In fact, Croatia will be invited to
monitor the exercise. Croatian Foreign Minister Granic stated he was
informed by his Slovenian colleague, Minister Frlec, that Croatia will be
invited to participate in the exercises as an observer.

***

5. V.B., Izrucenje Nade Sakic pocetkom studenog?, Vjesnik, October 29,
1998, Front Page.
NADA SAKIC EXTRADITION AT BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER?

ZAGREB - After Argentina gave its permission for Nada Esperanza Tambic de
Bilanovic Sakic to be extradited on October 6, the one month deadline for
her appearance in front of a Croatian court began to tick away.

The technical part of the procedure, as we have unofficially learned, is
still not complete. Nada Sakic also has to be extradited to Croatia through
a third country. As was the case with her husband, that country should be
Germany.

The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, i.e. the Croatian
Interpol office, under whose jurisdiction the whole process is under, is
still waiting for Germanys permission for use of their territory.

Due to the fact that one month is almost up, as well as the fact that
Germany will certainly not refuse permission to Croatia and the daily
flights between Argentina and Germany, it can be expected that Nada Sakic
could be extradited sometime at the beginning of November.

***

6. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, October 29, 1998
CROATIAN SOCCER CUP NEARING ITS CLIMAX

BELISCE, KOPRIVNICA - The first legs in two games of the quarterfinals of
the Croatian Soccer Cup were played yesterday. Cibalia visited second
league team Belisce and completely trampled them, gaining a 4:0 win. This
gives the team from Vinkovci an almost unreachable advantage, as it is not
likely Belisce will be able to beat them with a five goal difference as the
visiting team. The other game was played in Koprivnica, as Slaven Belupo
hosted Segesta, a second league team from Sisak. They easily beat them 4:1
and to make matters worse for Segesta, they were left with a player deficit
as of the 36th minute, when Gudicek committed two back to back fouls for
which he was cautioned - ergo that meant a red card!

The other two games in the quarterfinals: Cakovec - Hajduk and Varteks -
Osijek, will be played November 11.

***

* ICTY

7. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, October 29, 1998
ICTY INVESTIGATORS STILL WITHOUT FRY VISAS

THE HAGUE - Although the international community feels Milosevic is keeping
up his end of the bargain made to avoid NATO air strikes, The Hague court
investigators still are not able to travel to Kosovo, as FR Yugoslavia has
yet to grant visas. The group of ICTY judges, headed by chief prosecutor
Louise Arbour, are not able to carry out any investigating into crimes
committed during the Serbian police and military crackdown in Kosovo, but
are hopeful this will change soon. "In case FR Yugoslavia does not issue us
visas, we will take more vigorous action," stated deputy chief prosecutor
Graham Blewitt.

***

8. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, October 29, 1998
FORMER BRITISH OFFICER TESTIFIES AT BLASKIC TRIAL

THE HAGUE - The defence called a new witness in the trial against Croatian
Defence Council (HVO) general Tihomir Blaskic. Former British officer and
UNPROFOR officer Matthew Dundas Whatley was the liaison officer (LO) with
the local HVO and Army of B&H (A B&H) commanders in the Lasva Valley during
the conflict. He stated that the HVO was not a well organised army with an
established and  functioning chain of command. This is contrary to the
statements of other British officers who were prosecution witnesses and
claimed the HVO had a good chain of command headed by Blaskic.

"The HVO, as was the case with the A B&H, were armies made up of peasants
according to territorial principles, meaning that everybody fought to
defend their own village," stated Whatley, adding that the soldiers were
undisciplined, drank in the streets and were difficult to fit into a
command military structure, as they were not too willing to fight outside
of their own villages.

Whatley further testified that the two opposing armies were established in
the midst of the chaos of war and that commanders were appointed
"overnight" and they often had little to no military experience. These two
armies in Central Bosnia were very poorly equipped and "waged war on each
other like the British army fought a century ago."

Whatley stressed that Croats felt great fear caused by the establishment of
the 7th Muslim Brigade which, as he was very careful to point out, was not
under the command of the A B&H. "This brigade was very well equipped with
weapons, uniforms and well paid soldiers," while the regular A B&H could
not afford such luxuries. Whatley added that he heard the money for this
Muslim brigade came from the Middle East and that its personnel had to
attend prayer times in mosques.

This former British officer went on to explain that the 7th Muslim Brigade
established a number of bases in Central Bosnia, one of which was in
Travnik, in March of 1993. Up to that point there were real problems
between Croat and Muslim residents, but after their arrival the relations
began to deteriorate, as the Muslims developed a new sense of nationalism
and religious fundamentalism, which caused similar reactions among Travnik
area Croats, particularly after the visit of the then President of the
Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosnia (HZHB).

***


* BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

9. J.C., Croatian Information Centre - Sarajevo, October 29, 1998
FRAMEWORK FOR CO-OPERATION

The B&H Federation and Croatia initialled a special relations agreement
yesterday in Zagreb.

The agreement stipulates that the goal of the special relations is to build
all facets of political and economic co-operation while respecting the
interests of both sides. Specifically, the agreement covers 14 points.
These include joint-investment into infrastructure, communications,
telecommunications, industry, energy, defence and agriculture. The
agreement foresees co-operation in the areas of privatisation and
denationalisation, science and technology, education, culture, sport,
social policy, healthcare, tourism, environmental protection, resource
management and regional development.

With the agreement, a joint-council on co-operation will be formed. Its
members will be the President of the Republic of Croatia and the President
and Vice-president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Additionally, it was decided that Croatia and the Federation will develop
by next July annexes to the agreement that will clarify and detail the
necessary steps to furthering co-operation.

After initialling the agreement, Federation President Ejup Ganic said it
was a step towards forming legal relations between Croatia and the
Federation, as well as an important step toward implementing Dayton.

Meanwhile, B&H Foreign Affairs Minister Jadranko Prlic said the agreements
full worth will only be known after the annexes are developed. However, he
added, "The agreement is the basis of co-operation with the Republic of
Croatia, particularly in relation to the future of Croats in B&H."

These words were echoed by Deputy High Representative Jacques Klein.
American mediator Richard Sklar added that the agreement is important for
the economic and security development for all people. Further, he said it
will encourage Croatia and B&H to find a solution to the Ploce-Neum debate.

***

10. J.C., Croatian Information Centre - Sarajevo, October 29, 1998
SDP PROTESTING OHR CALCULATIONS

The largest opposition party in B&H, the B&H Social Democratic Party, has
launched a protest against the calculations made by the Office of the High
Representative (OHR) for the Federation House of Representatives.

The SDP B&H wants the OHR to clarify how it reached its numbers according
to a statement released yesterday. It is also questioning candidate
selection for the entity House. As it stands, the party has two
representatives: one Bosniak-Muslim and one other. However, it sent a
request to send three representatives (one Bosniak-Muslim, one Croat and
one other) from the Tuzla-Podrinje canton, which sends a total of ten.

In its calculations, the OHR asked Alija Izetbegovic and Ante Jelavic, as
the leaders of the parties with an absolute majority and a relative
majority respectively, to suggest the distribution of the House, after
consulting the other parties. The SDP B&H immediately reacted against this.

It is of the position that all parties should have been approached equally
in proposing House distribution, particularly considering the SDP B&H is a
multinational party. It estimates that the minimal distribution for it
should be five Bosniak-Muslims, four Croats and two others.

"It is unacceptable that the SDP in Tuzla, Sarajevo and Zenica cantons does
not have Croatian and Bosniak-Muslim candidates when it received more than
20 percent of the vote," says the statement. "Obviously we have support
from people of all nationalities."

The SDP says it is also unacceptable that the Democratic Action Party
(SDA), that is the Coalition for a Whole and Democratic B&H, received three
times more votes, but has six times more Bosniak-Muslim representatives in
the House. Similarly, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) received 30
percent more votes than the SDP, but has 25 times more Croatian
representation in the House.

Alexandra Stiglemeir of the OHR says the distribution was calculated fairly
and correctly. She adds, "We will consider the SDPs criticism when they
present a full alternative solution."

***

11. J.C., Croatian Information Centre - Sarajevo, October 29, 1998
CREDIT PROJECT SUCCESSFUL

Over the last 18 months, 10,700 small business and personal loans have been
made in Bosnia and Herzegovina says a World Bank statement from yesterday.

The loans are part of a business initiative project worth $20 million USD.
It is financed by the World Bank, UNHCR and the governments of Switzerland,
Italy, Japan, Austria and the Netherlands. The average loan is 3,000 DEM
and are distributed through 17 different non-governmental organisations.
Twelve of those organisations are in the B&H Federation and five in the
Republika Srpska.

Additionally, 4,500 loans have been granted to women and 2,600 to displace
people and refugees. Most of the loans are for the trade and service
industry, but 25 percent went for agricultural needs.

***

12. J.C., Croatian Information Centre - Sarajevo, October 29, 1998
PRSKALO MAYOR OF MOSTAR AGAIN

MOSTAR - Ivan Prskalo was voted Mayor of Mostar for the second time
yesterday, while his deputy will be Safet Orucevic.

According to the Herceg-Neretva cantonal constitution, the canton governor
and the Mayor of Mostar cannot be of the same nationality. The governor is
Hamo Maslesa, a Bosniak-Muslim.

Prskalo, who was the first post-war mayor of Mostar, expressed his
happiness and promised to do his best to bring a brighter future to the city.

"I would never want those war times to return or repeat themselves," said
Prskalo. "We have made great steps with the help of the international
community and have reason to be optimistic."

Orucevic made similar comments and emphasised that it is important that
Mostar is no longer a litmus test for hatred and intolerance. "Today Mostar
is slowly but surely becoming a symbol of renewal and development."

***


* YUGOSLAVIA

13. T.P., Croatian Information Centre - Zagreb, October 29, 1998
NATO STILL TALKING TOUGH

BRUSSELS, BELGRADE, WASHINGTON - All NATO threats against Yugoslavia will
remain in force and will be acted on without hesitation if Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic decides he no longer feels like acting
democratic. Special US Envoy Richard Holbrooke stated that the Yugoslav
authorities made a major concession by pulling out their forces from
Kosovo, but they only did this because they "realised the USA and
international community meant business and would not hesitate to pull the
trigger."

On the other hand, NATO member countries are more and more concerned for
the safety of the 2,000 member OSCE Verification Mission to Kosovo, as the
situation in the field is still very tense. The UN Special Envoy for Human
Rights, Jiri Dienstbier, stated that the situation in Kosovo has improved,
which cannot be said for the media situation in Serbia. Refugees are slowly
beginning to return to their homes, but many still prefer to sleep in the
open rather than risk returning under Serbian rule.

***


* NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

14. Vlado Zagorac, Denacionalizacija bez reciprociteta, Vecernji list,
October 29, 1998, p. 13.
DENATIONALISATION WITHOUT RECIPROCITY

LJUBLJANA - Croatian citizens whose property was nationalised on Slovenian
territory will not have the right to denationalisation and the return of
their property in the denationalisation process. That was decided by the
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, while finalising the
final verdict on the Law on Denationalisation, at the request of 14 clients
in the case.

Croatian citizens do not have the right to regain their nationalised
property in Slovenia which is currently in the denationalisation process
because Croatia did not allow Slovenian citizens that same right in their
denationalisation process. The Slovenian constitutional court concluded
that the introduction of reciprocity in the process is in accordance to the
Slovenian Constitution. Such a decision insures equality among countries
and determines diplomatic reciprocity in contrast to the principle of pro
rata, so that bilateral international agreements are not needed.

At the same time, the Slovenian constitutional court recognised the return
of nationalised property to the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia (in
property not compensation), however, properties of feudal origin will not
be returned.





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