SLOVENIA: MEJAK SUPPORTS RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT ON SUCCESSION

LJUBLJANA, April 2 (Hina) - The agreement on succession to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) is an important document that Slovenia should ratify regardless of the debate about the $600 million of foreign currency reserves that disappeared from accounts abroad, Miran Mejak said in an article in the latest issue of the Ljubljana weekly "Mladina". Mejak is one of a two-member Slovene government delegation for succession issues. #L# The other member, France Arhar, said in the previous issue of Mladina that ratification of the agreement should be prevented in parliament because Slovenia had been misguided during the signing of the agreement in Vienna with regard to the amount of foreign currency reserves of the former SFRY held abroad. Mejak, however, said that the most significant achievement with the agreement on succession was that it recognised the disintegration of Yugoslavia not as a matter of secession but the right to succession was recognised for each of the former republics. According to Mejak, the agreement on succession would be a final document. "The idea to ask for amendments from the parliament is not a good one. I believe that the Serbs should say where the money went to. Foreign currency reserves belonging to Yugoslavia were a lot higher than $600 million. There were several billion dollars," Arhar said. (hina) sb sp