Montenegro: Hungarians in Bar, Serbs in Thesaloniki

How many millions of dollars does it take to get the Belgrade-Bar railroad fully repaired and is it worth it if Serbia opts to get access to the sea through Thesaloniki, and what happens to the port of Bar in that case?

That issue is not something Montenegro's government is addressing, and the republican parliament has refused to include a Liberal Alliance suggestion on its agenda. The Liberals suggested that Montenegro should define its interests in maritime, road, rail and air traffic as soon as possible. The suggestion came after the Serbian government and Yugoslav economic chamber asked Greece for most favored nation status in Thesaloniki. The Liberals decided that Serbia knows the sanctions won't be lifted soon and is asking for maritime facilities in the Greek port in disregard of Montenegro's interests. Liberal Alliance parliament deputy Milorad Vukotic said Serbia has no economic justification for the request since Bar has all the facilities as the Greek port, is 200 kilometers closer and does not demand payment in hard currency, not to mention transit costs in Macedonia.

Bar mayor Zarija Lekic told VREME the port is not in the jurisdiction of the local council and added that the council could not affect the issue. In normal conditions Bar was always a busy port even when Serbian goods were transported to Greece and Croatian and Slovenian ports.

The port was planned to service five million tons of cargo a year, the Belgrade-Bar railroad could take 10 million but both need reconstruction to achieve those levels. What if Montenegro secures the funds to reconstruct but Serbia does not give priority to the Belgrade-Bar line? Some in Montenegro recalled that the railroad is not included in plans for high-speed tracks in Serbia and that Serbia might even divert funds towards the railways to Greece.

The port of Bar and the Montenegrin government have started negotiations with Hungary which has voiced an interest in directing goods from eastern Hungary to Bar. A Hungarian delegation has been to Bar and both sides are happy with their talks.

 

Slovenia: Poll on the State

51.1% of polled Slovenians said the state is not law abiding and 36.9% said it is. The poll was conducted by telephone by Ljubljana daily Delo.

30.2% said they favor the death penalty and 62.6% said they are opposed.

The government got a 43.8% negative and 33% positive score for March while parliament scored 64% against and 16.2% in favor of its activities.

Foreign minister Zoran Taler was rated political figure of the month for the second month running and climbed to fourth most popular politician. The first three are Milan Kucan, Janez Drnovsek and Jelko Kacin.

Kacin is going to spend time in hospital and recuperating following a traffic accident that was his own fault on March 24. The defence minister's duties will be held by first state secretary Boris Zmigavcic while Kacin is away.

 

Croatia: Smuggling Easter Eggs

Egg producers in Croatia raised an outcry claiming mass, uncontrolled imports would bankrupt them.

Split daily Slobodna Dalmacija said recently over 65 million chicken eggs were smuggled into Croatia from Bosnia and Slovenia prior to Easter. The daily said there were indications that Serbian eggs were being imported.

The trail of the Easter eggs leads to Orasje in Bosnia and to Romania. Since Romania's egg production can't meet the country's needs, Dalmacija decided Romania was re-exporting Serbian eggs to Slovenia and Croatia.

"This is a well-organized business and the fact that it is flourishing means someone in the government supports it," Croatian egg producer groupation chairman Mirko Gortan said. The groupation said it would file charges against "anonymous persons responsible" unless the smuggling stops.

 

Belgrade: The Slovenians Are Coming

Last week Belgrade residents got a chance to see the Kontra-Dibidom LJ-BG group of Slovenian artists on a return visit after Belgrade's artists visited Ljubljana last autumn. The four day visit included exhibitions of comic strips, photographs, masks, design and architecture as well as theater plays, lectures and a fashion show.

The Kontra-Dibidon concert was best illustrated in a catalogue of the event: "Modern research methods, including reason, show that another form of communication is possible. The visits to Belgrade and Ljubljana are an effort to show faith in that idea."

 

Belgrade: Protesting Three Years of War

An anti-war rally was held in Belgrade's republic square on the third anniversary of the Bosnia war. It was organized by six anti-war organizations: Women in Black, the Living in Sarajevo group, Center for Anti-War Action, Helsinki Human Rights Committee, Belgrade Circle and Belgrade Youth Forum.

Rally participants warned that over 250,000 people have been killed in the war so far and added that another 27,000 are missing with 1.7 million refugees. They said 80% of the victims were civilians

The anti-war organizations said the total of 10,500 killed in Sarajevo includes 1,700 children.