BELGRADE/PRISTINA/SARAJEVO/LJUBLJANA, Sept 11 (Hina) - All dailies in former Yugoslav republics on Thursday commented on Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's first official visit to Serbia and Montenegro, carrying apologies exchanged
between Mesic and Serbia and Montenegro's President Svetozar Marovic.
BELGRADE/PRISTINA/SARAJEVO/LJUBLJANA, Sept 11 (Hina) - All
dailies in former Yugoslav republics on Thursday commented on
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's first official visit to Serbia
and Montenegro, carrying apologies exchanged between Mesic and
Serbia and Montenegro's President Svetozar Marovic. #L#
Mesic's visit and the apologies of the two presidents for
wrongdoings the two sides have done to one another are on the front
pages of all Belgrade dailies.
"Danas" highlights Mesic's statement about the war crime at Paulin
Dvor near Osijek, where 18 ethnic Serbs and one Hungarian were
killed. He is quoted as saying that the killed were civilians who
were supposed to be under Croatian protection.
In another section, the daily notes that Mesic's popularity at home
is based mostly on his moves on the foreign policy front, and that he
could win another term.
"Politika" highlights Mesic's invitation to Croatian Serb refugees
to return as well as a statement by the president of the Assembly of
Serbia and Montenegro, Dragoljub Micunovic, that the two countries
should do all to heal the wounds of the past.
"Glas javnosti" highlights, among other things, Mesic's statement
that guilt for war crimes must be individualised.
The only objections residents of Belgrade had concerning Mesic's
visit were very tight security measures, which blocked traffic in
the capital, causing many to be late for work.
Reporting about the two presidents' mutual apologies, Kosovo
dailies also quote their statements that one should stop looking
into the past and turn to the future, European integration
processes and regional cooperation.
Mesic's visit was given extensive coverage also in the Kosovo
electronic media.
The visit is the main foreign political event in the Bosnian media
as well.
Although Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Wednesday visited
Sarajevo and High Representative Paddy Ashdown promoted a new set
of reforms which are to speed up the country's integration in the
EU, dailies such as Sarajevo's "Jutarnje novine" or Banja Luka's
"Nezavisne novine" placed Mesic's visit on their front pages, while
other dailies ran extensive articles with affirmative comments.
The local media have paid special attention to Mesic's statement
that Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro should conduct a careful
policy towards Bosnia and that Bosnia's Croats and Serbs could be an
exceptionally important element of cooperation with neighbours.
The Slovene press on Thursday paid more attention to Mesic's visit
than relations between Slovenia and Croatia, which have recently
deteriorated due to Croatia's plans to proclaim an economic zone in
the Adriatic and the withdrawal of the Slovene ambassador in Zagreb
to Ljubljana for consultations.
In an extensive report on Mesic's visit to Belgrade, "Delo"
describes as "scandalous" Mesic's statement given before the visit
that Croatia could have the right to access to Austria at Sentilj if
it followed the logic that Slovenia should be given access to the
open sea in the Adriatic, because it used to have it when it was part
of the Yugoslav federation.
(hina) rml