BELGRADE, Dec 11 (Hina) - All Serbian dailies and the media on Wednesday reported about Tuesday's signing of a protocol on a temporary regime on the peninsula of Prevlaka, on the southern Croatian-Yugoslav border.
BELGRADE, Dec 11 (Hina) - All Serbian dailies and the media on
Wednesday reported about Tuesday's signing of a protocol on a
temporary regime on the peninsula of Prevlaka, on the southern
Croatian-Yugoslav border. #L#
"Vecernje novosti" bring an article headlined "To Prevlaka Without
A Passport", which notes that agreement on the demarcation line is
not possible for the time being, which was why the two sides started
from a principle adopted after the break-up of the former
Yugoslavia: former borders between the republics are new state
borders. The daily also notes that the protocol defines a more
liberal fishing regime, while the residents of three
municipalities in Boka Kotorska Bay and of neighbouring Konavle in
Croatia will be able to cross the border with their IDs, a
regulation which in the summer will refer to tourists as well.
In an article headlined "From A Powder Keg to A Peaceful Laguna",
"Glas javnosti" notes that "according to the generally accepted
opinion, the protocol is a result of hasty attempts to regulate
bilateral relations in any way before the departure of UN forces
from Prevlaka on December 15". The daily also claims that
complications can be expected, especially due to "imaginative" and
regularly subsequent interpretations of documents, which the daily
claims Croatia is prone to. However, it does not seem the Yugoslav
authorities think so, at least not officially. "No one in the ruling
circles is willing to publicly admit that Yugoslavia has
capitulated once again, at least in a symbolic sense, and it is
claimed that so-called dual sovereignty is in force on Prevlaka.
For how long?", reads the daily.
The "Politika" daily notes that "it will take time for the temporary
regime to start functioning as envisaged", but adds optimistically
that the protocol "will become a reality in six months' time,
although its advantages will not become obvious before the next
tourist season".
The "Danas" daily dedicated its editorial commentary to
yesterday's event, headlining it "Peninsula of Trust". The daily
says the protocol "is a piece of good news at last", with "Prevlaka,
a symbol of years of dispute, having become a bridge of
confidence".
The document, the daily claims, eliminates major bilateral
disagreements and tensions. Despite optimistic forecasts that the
temporary protocol will soon become a permanent agreement, the
daily concludes that informed sources "warn that one should have
reservations towards such optimism. The bad memories of the war -
time 1990s have still not faded and militant political forces are
still not willing to accept that it is people, not enemies, who live
on both sides of the border, with more or less the same problems".
(hina) rml