SUCCESSION REPS. ON FOREIGN SAVINGS, MILOSEVIC'S EXTRADITION

VIENNA, June 29 (Hina) - The main topics of a press conference after the signing in Vienna on Friday of a framework agreement on succession to the ex-Yugoslavia were citizens' foreign savings in institutions of the former federation and last night's extradition of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. One of the signatories of the succession agreement, Bosnia's Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, said the foreign savings issue should be settled as soon as possible "so as not to jeopardise economic cooperation between the successor countries in the future." "Most problems refer to Ljubljanska Banka. We have set up mechanisms to solve them and hope they will work out. In (Bosnia) many people believe they should get (their deposits) back. I believe it is in everyone's interest to settle this issue as soon as possible, including Slovenia which is the most efficient in adopting European standards," said Lagumdzija. According to diplomatic sources, Slovenia objects to the Basel- based Bank for International Settlements' candidacy of Hans Meyer, the Swiss national bank's former governor, for mediation in the matter. The candidacy remains an open issue for now, according to Arthur Watts, the international mediator for succession to the ex- Yugoslavia. Confirming this issue was open, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said each of the five successors should be consulted beforehand. He also warned the foreign savings issue did not refer only to Ljubljanska Banka. "The savings guarantor was the (federal) Yugoslav National Bank, which includes all banks. Milosevic's regime spent a lot of money and not one of the successors to the ex-Yugoslavia should be obliged to pay for Milosevic's wars," said Rupel. Croatia's Foreign Minister Tonino Picula voiced hope the matter would be settled in the coming months as it was in the interest of the citizens who had entrusted their money with banks in the former Yugoslavia. Picula told Croatian reporters he hoped for a compromise which would satisfy the depositors and enable Slovenia to act in the settlement of this issue as befitted a country nurturing European standards and prospects. According to Picula, "the obstacle was Ljubljana's opinion that Milosevic's regime spent the money on its wars as part of the federal assets. But the statement that the citizens' foreign savings were shot out in the form of shells is really bizarre and should have never been uttered. Negotiations with Slovenia on open issues are progressing, including on former foreign savings. It is part of the succession negotiations in which Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia also have an interest, so we hope we shall find a solution that satisfies depositors." Yugoslavia's Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic was asked by the press to explain claims that the extradition of Milosevic bypassed the Yugoslav Constitution and if it might jeopardise Yugoslavia's survival. "Milosevic's fate has nothing to do with the fate of Yugoslavia... We have to avert a state crisis. Political consequences with regard to relations among parties are possible. As a lawyer I don't think the Yugoslav Constitution has been bypassed. We initiated the creation of a legal framework for the extradition and concluded there would be no extradition before the Yugoslav Constitutional Court ruled on the government decree on cooperation with the Hague tribunal. The Constitutional Court suspended its implementation so we acted in line with the UN Charter which demands of us, as a member, to cooperate with the UN Tribunal," said Svilanovic. The representatives of the other four successors were asked to comment on the consequences Milosevic's extradition would have on the region's stability. "It's big news for the families of the victims of the evil Milosevic has inflicted. It is also globally good news for international law as it confirms that one cannot commit crimes in one's local area and go unpunished," said Croatia's Picula. According to Bosnia's Lagumdzija, one of the most important consequences of the extradition is the fact that guilt for war crimes has been individualised. Macedonia's Deputy Prime Minister Ilija Filipovski said the extradition was the right message at the right time, especially for his country "part of whose territory has been occupied by Albanian terrorists." Slovenia's Rupel said the extradition meant the bad times were definitely behind us and that the future was promising. (hina) ha