FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
YUGOSLAV DAILY SURVEY
BELGRADE, 9 July 2000 No. 3102
S P E C I A L I S S U E
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
The present Amendments shall form an integral part of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and shall enter into force on the date of their
promulgation.
AMENDMENT II
1. The Federal Assembly:
shall elect and replace: the President and members of the
Federal Government, judges of the
Federal Constitutional Court, judges of the Federal Court, the Federal
State Prosecutor, Governor
of the Yugoslav National Bank and other federal officials as designated
by the federal law.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 78, paragraph 7 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT III
1. The Chamber of Republics shall be comprised of 20 federal
deputies each from each
constituent Republic, elected at direct elections.
Election and end of the term of office of a federal deputy to
the Chamber of Citizens and the
Chamber of Republics of the Federal Assembly shall be regulated by the
federal law.
A federal deputy shall decide and vote at his own discretion and
may not be recalled.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 80, paragraph 3, and
Article 81, paragraph 2, and
shall supplement Article 86 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT IV
1. Federal laws on the flag, coat of arms and the national
anthem shall be passed by the
Federal Assembly by a two-thirds majority of all federal deputies voting
in each of the two
parliamentary Chambers.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 90, paragraph 2 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT V
1. The President of Republic shall be elected at direct
elections by a secret ballot.
The term of office of the President shall be four years.
The same person may be elected as President of Republic twice at
the most.
The President of Republic and the President of the Federal
Government, as a rule, may not be
from the same constituent Republic.
The President of Republic shall enjoy the same immunities as the
federal deputy.
Immunities enjoyed by the President of Republic shall be decided
by the Federal Assembly.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 97 of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT VI
1. The term of the President of the Republic shall end before
the expiry of the period for which
he has been elected, if he is removed from office or if he resigns.
The term of the President of Republic shall end on the date of
his resignation or removal from
office.
2. This Amendment shall replace the provisions of Article 98,
paragraphs 1 and 2 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT VII
1. The Federal Assembly may remove from office the President of
Republic if the Federal
Constitutional Court finds that he has violated the present
Constitution.
Procedure for removal from office of the President of Republic
may be initiated at least by
half the federal deputies in both Chambers of the Federal Assembly.
Removal of the President of Republic from office may not be put
to a vote before 15 days
have expired from the date on which the Federal Constitutional Court has
forwarded its decision to
the Federal Assembly referred to in paragraph 1 above.
The President of Republic shall be deemed removed from office if
both Chambers of the
Federal Assembly have accepted the motion by a two-thirds majority of
the federal deputies.
If the Federal Assembly declines the motion, it may not be voted
on again before the expiry of
six months.
This Amendment shall replace section V, paragraph 2 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT VIII
1. The Federal Government shall be deemed elected if the
majority of all federal deputies in
both Chambers have voted for it by a secret ballot.
The Federal Government shall be accountable to the Federal
Assembly.
The Federal Assembly may vote a no confidence motion to the
Federal Government.
The President of the Federal Government may propose replacement
of some Federal
Government members.
No confidence motion may be voted on at least three days after
the motion was moved.
The no-confidence motion shall be voted down if the majority of
all federal deputies in each
of the Chambers have gone along with it.
The Federal Government and each of its members may hand in their
resignations to the
Federal Assembly.
AMENDMENT IX
The Constitutional Law shall be adopted to implement Amendments
II to VIII above.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ON THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF AMENDMENTS II TO VIII TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
Article 1
Within 60 days from the date of entry into force of Amendments
II to VIII to the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, federal laws shall be passed on
the election and end of
term of office for the deputies to the Chamber of Republic of the
Federal Assembly and on the
election and removal from office of the President of Republic.
Article 2
Both Chambers of the Federal Assembly shall sit until the expiry
of the term of office of the
federal deputies to the Chambers of Citizens, in accordance with Article
81, paragraph 1 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, whereupon elections
will be held for federal
deputies to both Chambers of the Federal Assembly.
The President of Republic shall resume his duties until the
expiry of his term as set out in
Article 97, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, until which time
elections for President of Republic shall be held in accordance with
Amendment V to the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Federal Government shall resume its work until its election
in accordance with
Amendment VIII to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Article 3
The provisions of paragraph 3, subparagraph 1 of Amendment V to
the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia deal only with the persons elected as
President of Republic in
accordance with this Amendment.
Article 4
The present Law shall enter into force on the date on which it
is proclaimed by both
Chambers of the Federal Assembly.
---
PARLIAMENT PROCLAIMED YUGOSLAV CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS
BELGRADE, July 7 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav parliament proclaimed
Yugoslav
Constitution Amendments and a Constitutional Law on their implementation
at
an official joint session of both chambers on Thursday.
Thunderous applause welcomed chairman Srdja Bozovic's words when
he
proclaimed the amendments to the Constitution.
Addressing MPs, Bozovic said the proclamation of the
Constitutional
amendments was a big step in the further promotion and overall
democratic
development of the country's social and political systems.
"The Constitutional amendments do not pertain to the established
system of
distribution of power and do not affect the Constitutionally guaranteed
mechanisms of equality of the federal units," Bozovic said.
The direct election of federal MPs to the Chamber of Republics,
at general
elections, as it is done for the Chamber of Citizens, secures a
democratic
and authentic expression of the will of the citizens of Serbia and
Montenegro in constituting both chambers of the federal parliament. This
method, which is applied in most federal states in the world, "secures
the
full democratic legitimacy of the upper house of federal parliament and
eliminates any form of mediation between citizens and their political
institutions," Bozovic said.
The changes in the manner of electing the head of state and
enabling his
election at direct elections ensures that the top state function in
Yugoslavia is based on the absolute democratic determination of those
who
carry national sovereignty - the citizens of Yugoslavia, Bozovic said,
adding that the Constitutional authorities of the president remain the
same.
The firmer linking of the mandates of federal government members
to the
federal parliament shows a due implementation of the parliamentary
system
as the foundation for the organization of state authorities in
Yugoslavia,
Bozovic said.
---
SULLA AUTOPROCLAMATA MISSIONE DIPLOMATICA MONTENEGRINA ALL'ONU
(COMPOSTA DAL SOLO SIGNOR PEROVIC ZELJKO)
Montenegro More Visible at UN
.c The Associated Press
By NICOLE WINFIELD
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - From his one-bedroom apartment in midtown
Manhattan,
Zeljko Perovic has begun a campaign to give Montenegro a greater voice
at the
United Nations, setting up a one-man ``mission'' and getting himself
invited
to U.N. meetings.
One of two republics that make up what is left of the former
Yugoslavia,
Montenegro has no independent legal status at the United Nations.
Montenegro
and Serbia are represented together by Belgrade's U.N. mission.
But with tensions between the two republics increasing - and heightened
last
week with constitutional changes that seek to reduce Montenegro's status
-
Montenegro is seeking to increase its own diplomatic visibility and
garner
support for its pro-Western cause.
``We have to protect our interests,'' said Perovic, Montenegro's
self-proclaimed ``head of mission and U.N. liaison officer,'' in an
interview
Friday.
Montenegro is finding support in its campaign from the four former
republics
that separated from Belgrade in the early 1990s: Slovenia, Croatia,
Macedonia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
On Friday, Slovenia circulated a second letter in three weeks on behalf
of
Montenegro to the Security Council, enclosing the text of a resolution
adopted by the Montenegrin parliament rejecting the constitutional
amendments
enacted by the Yugoslav federal assembly.
The amendments aim to concentrate power in the hands of Yugoslav
President
Slobodan Milosevic while reducing Montenegro's status. One paves the way
for
Milosevic's re-election, the other says parliament's upper house will be
chosen by popular vote, curtailing the influence of Montenegro's
parliament,
which is dominated by Milosevic's opponents.
Slovenia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Samuel Zbogar, said Friday that his
government had decided to help Montenegro gain greater visibility at the
United Nations because Belgrade wasn't representing its interests here.
That support includes circulating letters to U.N. ambassadors on behalf
of
Montenegro and inviting Perovic and other Montenegrin officials to the
United
Nations as ``guests'' of the Slovene mission.
Visitors to the non-public areas of the United Nations must be
accredited to
the organization or be escorted into the building as a ``guest'' of
someone
who is.
``They are the democratic light in Yugoslavia and you have to support
that,'' Zbogar said in an interview.
Yugoslavia's representative at the United Nations, Vladislav Jovanovic,
has
bitterly complained about what he calls Slovenia's interference in
Yugoslav
internal affairs. He has also dismissed Montenegro's quest for official,
or
even unofficial, recognition at the organization.
``Parts of member states are not entitled to have any official or
semi-official mission within the U.N. The appearance of one person
claiming
to represent Montenegro in the U.N. is totally private business and
doesn't
have anything to do with the U.N. membership,'' he said in an interview.
Indeed, as a part of Yugoslavia, Montenegro cannot be recognized as an
independent U.N. member state. It probably couldn't even get
``observer''
status, which has been granted to entities such as the Palestine
Liberation
Organization.
In their dispute with Milosevic's regime, Montenegro officials have
talked
of breaking from Belgrade, but they have stopped short of making a
direct
move for independence.
Similarly, Montenegro's moves at the United Nations have not been
presented
as a step toward statehood. But Zbogar and Perovic said they were
looking
into ways to allow Montenegro to have some type of other accreditation
at the
United Nations - or at least be given the same type of access as
Belgrade's
U.N. representatives.
Belgrade's envoys don't have full rights at the United Nations. In
1992,
they were stripped of some membership rights following the independence
of
four of its six republics. The United States, Britain and the four
former
Yugoslav republics have demanded that Belgrade apply for membership as a
new
country.
Belgrade has so far refused, arguing that the independence of its
republics
didn't affect the ``continuity'' of the country.
Last month, U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke raised Yugoslavia's
disputed
status as one reason for limiting its access to U.N. meetings. He
successfully got the Security Council to block Jovanovic from
participating
in a council debate on the Balkans, primarily on grounds that Milosevic
and
other key leaders have been indicted for war crimes.
Montenegro's foreign minister, Branko Lukovac, attended the Security
Council
debate as a guest of Slovenia, Zbogar said.
AP-NY-07-15-00 0217EDT
---
LA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA E' ISOLATA A LIVELLO INTERNAZIONALE - OPPURE NO?
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
Belgrade Says West's Isolation Bid Has Failed
BELGRADE, Jul 12, 2000 -- (Reuters)
Belgrade's foreign minister said on Friday
the West's bid to isolate Yugoslavia
and strangle its economy had failed and world
support for the government was
growing, state news agency Tanjug reported.
"Yugoslavia's ties and cooperation
with three-quarters of the world's nations,
which accept it as a valid, reliable
and equal partner, and its achievements in
reconstruction and development both
testify to this," Zivadin Jovanovic said.
The United States and most Western
nations withdrew diplomats from Belgrade
last year before NATO launched air
strikes on Yugoslavia over its repression of
majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic's Socialist-led regime embarked on a
heavily-publicized reconstruction
campaign after the air war damaged much of the
country's infrastructure.
"We never begged around for help. We
did not waste time hoping for help from
abroad. Our future is not in the
hands of the European Union, NATO or any other
foreign factor, but in our own
hands," Jovanovic said.
High-ranking delegations from
Brazil, China, Iraq, Myanmar and Russia are among
those that recently visited
Belgrade.
"If the philosophy of sanctions and
isolation has helped in any way then it is in
raising awareness that nothing
positive can be achieved in southeast Europe
without Yugoslavia's equal
participation as a key economic, political and
security
factor in the region," Jovanovic
said.
Yugoslavia maintains diplomatic
relations with 166 countries and has other
government offices in 97 countries.
There are 70 foreign embassies in Belgrade.
---
RUSSIA: IMPORTANCE IN PRINCIPLE TO PRESERVE YUGOSLAVIA
MOSCOW, July 11 (Tanjug) The new foreign policy concept of the
Russian Federation underscores that it is important in principle for
Russia
that Yugoslavia's territorial integrity should be preserved and any
attempts at its dismembering prevented.
Yugoslavia's dismembering would pose a threat of a general
conflict breaking out in the Balkans with unpredictable consequences,
said
the document which was endorsed by President Vladimir Putin at the end
of
June, and whose full text was announced for the first time on Tuesday.
The special 22page document also says that Russia will do its
utmost to contribute toward finding a lasting and just solution to the
situation in the Balkans, which will be founded on coordinated decisions
of
the international community.
The Balkans is also mentioned in the part Concepts, which
defines
Moscow's relations toward the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in
Europe (OSCE). Russia will resolutely oppose any narrowing of the OSCE's
functions, primarily meaning any attempts to direct activities of this
organization exclusively to the postSoviet area and the Balkans.
---
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 29, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
EDITORIAL: YUGOSLAVIA: NOT SO ISOLATED AFTER ALL
When NATO moved into the Serbian province of Kosovo and
Metohija a year ago on June 10, U.S. plans were to continue
to isolate and dismember what was left of Yugoslavia. The
"International Tribunal" in The Hague--set up and paid for
by U.S.-NATO forces--had indicted Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic for alleged war crimes. It looked like
Montenegro, the remaining republic joined with Serbia to
form Yugoslavia, would be the next target.
Now a year has passed, and it turns out Yugoslavia is not
so isolated after all.
Li Peng, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress of the People's Republic of
China, addressed a joint session of the Federal Assembly of
Yugoslavia this June.
Li said the U.S. missile attack on the Chinese Embassy in
Belgrade 13 months ago that killed three Chinese
journalists and rendered the embassy building unusable is
"a case of grave international wrongdoing seldom seen in
the history of diplomacy and a gross violation of China's
sovereignty.''
He attacked the U.S. and expressed solidarity with
Yugoslavia.
The head of a Cuban Communist Party delegation visiting
the hometown of President Milosevic in June said the people
of Yugoslavia, "just like the Cubans, have shown they are
not ready to lose their identity no matter what price they
have to pay for that."
He added that the Cubans "admire Yugoslav resistance" to
the "policy of hegemony of the West," during and after
NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia last year. "Both
Yugoslavia and Cuba have the same enemy, but it is most
important that we are not afraid of that enemy."
So China and Cuba have reaffirmed their solidarity with
Yugoslavia. And other forces are chipping away at the U.S.
position. Even Amnesty International has accused U.S.-NATO
forces of war crimes.
And then there is the story of Danish soccer star Peter
Schmeichel. After his team lost a match June 16 in the EURO
2000 games, Schmeichel made an astonishing announcement to
the media.
He said, "Tonight I officially applied at the embassy of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for a Yugoslavian
passport. The Yugoslav football team is excellent, and it
is the only team I would like to play for. I personally
asked President Slobodan Milosevic to grant me Yugoslavian
National Passport, because I highly respect him and his
achievements in last year's war against NATO aggressors."
It's hard to imagine a superstar athlete making such a
remark unless this reflects an attitude more widely held in
the population.
And in Montenegro itself, local elections have put pro-
Yugoslavia and pro-Milosevic parties in office in some of
the most important cities, despite all the funds pumped
into the anti-Yugoslavia parties by the U.S. and its NATO
allies.
Yugoslavia deserves all the solidarity it can get. And it
is getting some.
- END -
(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
ww@.... For subscription info send message
to: info@.... Web: http://www.workers.org)
---
ALLE NAZIONI UNITE GLI U.S.A IMPONGONO L'ESCLUSIONE DEL RAPPRESENTANTE
DELLA REPUBBLICA FEDERALE DI JUGOSLAVIA (IL MAGGIORE PAESE BALCANICO PER
NUMERO DI ABITANTI) DA UN DIBATTITO SULLA SITUAZIONE NEI BALCANI.
I RAPPRESENTANTI RUSSO E CINESE ESCONO DALL'AULA PER PROTESTA.
>
>The defenders of 'Western civilization' are in the East...
>
>Russia, China Conduct Walk Out in U.N. Council over Yugo exclusion
>By Evelyn Leopold (6-23-00)
>
>www.tenc.net [emperors-clothes]
>
>"Gagging people's mouths is not the best way to discuss the acute
>international problems in this way,'' [Russian UN Ambassador] Lavrov said.
>"Even a defendant has a right to defend his or her position.''
>
>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters, Friday June 23 3:02 PM ET ) - The Security Council
>took the unusual step of excluding Yugoslavia's U.N. envoy from a debate on
>the Balkans on Friday, prompting Russia's ambassador to stage a
>demonstrative walk out.
>
>"To discuss the Balkan problem without Yugoslavia is nonsense,'' Ambassador
>
>Sergei Lavrov said before leaving the chamber and placing a junior envoy in
>the Russian seat.
>
>China's envoy followed a few minutes later during a speech by Javier
>Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, presumably because he
>headed NATO during its 11-week bombing of Serbia during the Kosovo crisis
>last year.
>China, however, participated in the debate on the Balkans whereas no
>Russian diplomat spoke after the controversy over Yugoslavia's presence.
>
>U.S. ambassador Richard Holbrooke led the challenge on grounds that the
>Yugoslav leadership, including President Slobodan Milosevic, was under
>indictment by a U.N. tribunal for alleged crimes committed during last
>year's Kosovo crisis.
>"It would be inappropriate to allow the representative of this government
to
>use this council in a discussion of where we stand on Kosovo,'' he said.
>Yugoslavia's envoy Vladislav Jovanovic has spoken to the council many times
>before on Balkan issues, the last being one year ago shortly after the
>indictments in May 1999.
>Diplomats said he had tried to since then but was prevented in private
>consultations. One key council envoy said Friday's confrontation was
>ordered by Milosevic.
>
>Milosevic and four of his top lieutenants were indicted as war criminals by
>the Hague-based tribunal for crimes against humanity, including murder,
>during the Kosovo conflict.
>
>The indictments took place amid last spring's NATO bombing raid against
>Serbia to force Belgrade's troops out of Kosovo province where they were
>killing and expelling in large numbers the country's ethnic Albanian
>majority.
>
>The vote on whether Jovanovic should speak was four in favor, seven against
>with four abstentions in the 15-member council. Under council rules,
>procedural matters needs nine ''yes'' votes, with permanent members, such
as
>Russia, the United States, Britain, China and France, unable to use their
>veto.
>
>Voting in favor of Jovanovic were Russia, China, Ukraine and Namibia; those
>against were the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands,
>Bangladesh, Malaysia and Canada; abstaining were Mali, Tunisia, Argentina
>and Jamaica.
>Jovanovic told reporters the action in the council was part ''of the
>aggressive policy which the U.S. administration has been pursing against
>Yugoslavia for years.''
>He said that the seven votes against him were from NATO members and two
>"extremist'' Islamic countries, Bangladesh and Malaysia, thereby
>constituting a "moral victory'' for Belgrade.
>Lavrov told the council the vote was against the spirit of the U.N. Charter
>which allowed even a country that was not a U. N. member to participate
when
>it was a party to a conflict the council was discussing.
>
>"Gagging people's mouths is not the best way to discuss the acute
>international problems in this way,'' Lavrov said.
>
>"A very dangerous precedent has thus been created when states that are
>unpalatable for political reasons are being isolated from participation in
>the work of the United Nations,'' Lavrov said.
>
>"Yugoslavia has a right to participate. It is a country whose interests are
>directly affected by this question,'' Lavrov told the council, adding that
>the tribunal was a politically motivated.
>
>"Even a defendant has a right to defend his or her position,'' he said.
>
>After the vote on Yugoslavia, China's deputy ambassador, Shen Guofang,
>walked out of the council during an address by Javier Solana, now the
>secretary-general of a European Union council on a common foreign policy.
>
>When he returned Shen mentioned the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in
>Belgrade, which Washington says was due to bad maps. He also reminded the
>council that every country had a right to state its views. "This decision
is
>a wrong decision'' and "does not help a solution in the Balkans,'' Shen
>said.
>
>Solana was secretary-general of NATO during its air campaign to force
>Belgrade to stop repressing ethnic Albanians in Kosovo province, thousands
>of whom were expelled..
>
>Yugoslavia's membership of the United Nations has been in dispute since
>1992, when four of its six constituent republics declared their
>independence. It has been suspended from the U.N. General Assembly until
its
>status is cleared.
>
>www.tenc.net [emperors-clothes]
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
YUGOSLAV DAILY SURVEY
BELGRADE, 9 July 2000 No. 3102
S P E C I A L I S S U E
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
The present Amendments shall form an integral part of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and shall enter into force on the date of their
promulgation.
AMENDMENT II
1. The Federal Assembly:
shall elect and replace: the President and members of the
Federal Government, judges of the
Federal Constitutional Court, judges of the Federal Court, the Federal
State Prosecutor, Governor
of the Yugoslav National Bank and other federal officials as designated
by the federal law.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 78, paragraph 7 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT III
1. The Chamber of Republics shall be comprised of 20 federal
deputies each from each
constituent Republic, elected at direct elections.
Election and end of the term of office of a federal deputy to
the Chamber of Citizens and the
Chamber of Republics of the Federal Assembly shall be regulated by the
federal law.
A federal deputy shall decide and vote at his own discretion and
may not be recalled.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 80, paragraph 3, and
Article 81, paragraph 2, and
shall supplement Article 86 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT IV
1. Federal laws on the flag, coat of arms and the national
anthem shall be passed by the
Federal Assembly by a two-thirds majority of all federal deputies voting
in each of the two
parliamentary Chambers.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 90, paragraph 2 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT V
1. The President of Republic shall be elected at direct
elections by a secret ballot.
The term of office of the President shall be four years.
The same person may be elected as President of Republic twice at
the most.
The President of Republic and the President of the Federal
Government, as a rule, may not be
from the same constituent Republic.
The President of Republic shall enjoy the same immunities as the
federal deputy.
Immunities enjoyed by the President of Republic shall be decided
by the Federal Assembly.
2. This Amendment shall replace Article 97 of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT VI
1. The term of the President of the Republic shall end before
the expiry of the period for which
he has been elected, if he is removed from office or if he resigns.
The term of the President of Republic shall end on the date of
his resignation or removal from
office.
2. This Amendment shall replace the provisions of Article 98,
paragraphs 1 and 2 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT VII
1. The Federal Assembly may remove from office the President of
Republic if the Federal
Constitutional Court finds that he has violated the present
Constitution.
Procedure for removal from office of the President of Republic
may be initiated at least by
half the federal deputies in both Chambers of the Federal Assembly.
Removal of the President of Republic from office may not be put
to a vote before 15 days
have expired from the date on which the Federal Constitutional Court has
forwarded its decision to
the Federal Assembly referred to in paragraph 1 above.
The President of Republic shall be deemed removed from office if
both Chambers of the
Federal Assembly have accepted the motion by a two-thirds majority of
the federal deputies.
If the Federal Assembly declines the motion, it may not be voted
on again before the expiry of
six months.
This Amendment shall replace section V, paragraph 2 of the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
AMENDMENT VIII
1. The Federal Government shall be deemed elected if the
majority of all federal deputies in
both Chambers have voted for it by a secret ballot.
The Federal Government shall be accountable to the Federal
Assembly.
The Federal Assembly may vote a no confidence motion to the
Federal Government.
The President of the Federal Government may propose replacement
of some Federal
Government members.
No confidence motion may be voted on at least three days after
the motion was moved.
The no-confidence motion shall be voted down if the majority of
all federal deputies in each
of the Chambers have gone along with it.
The Federal Government and each of its members may hand in their
resignations to the
Federal Assembly.
AMENDMENT IX
The Constitutional Law shall be adopted to implement Amendments
II to VIII above.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ON THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF AMENDMENTS II TO VIII TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA
Article 1
Within 60 days from the date of entry into force of Amendments
II to VIII to the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, federal laws shall be passed on
the election and end of
term of office for the deputies to the Chamber of Republic of the
Federal Assembly and on the
election and removal from office of the President of Republic.
Article 2
Both Chambers of the Federal Assembly shall sit until the expiry
of the term of office of the
federal deputies to the Chambers of Citizens, in accordance with Article
81, paragraph 1 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, whereupon elections
will be held for federal
deputies to both Chambers of the Federal Assembly.
The President of Republic shall resume his duties until the
expiry of his term as set out in
Article 97, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, until which time
elections for President of Republic shall be held in accordance with
Amendment V to the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Federal Government shall resume its work until its election
in accordance with
Amendment VIII to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
Article 3
The provisions of paragraph 3, subparagraph 1 of Amendment V to
the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia deal only with the persons elected as
President of Republic in
accordance with this Amendment.
Article 4
The present Law shall enter into force on the date on which it
is proclaimed by both
Chambers of the Federal Assembly.
---
PARLIAMENT PROCLAIMED YUGOSLAV CONSTITUTION AMENDMENTS
BELGRADE, July 7 (Tanjug) - The Yugoslav parliament proclaimed
Yugoslav
Constitution Amendments and a Constitutional Law on their implementation
at
an official joint session of both chambers on Thursday.
Thunderous applause welcomed chairman Srdja Bozovic's words when
he
proclaimed the amendments to the Constitution.
Addressing MPs, Bozovic said the proclamation of the
Constitutional
amendments was a big step in the further promotion and overall
democratic
development of the country's social and political systems.
"The Constitutional amendments do not pertain to the established
system of
distribution of power and do not affect the Constitutionally guaranteed
mechanisms of equality of the federal units," Bozovic said.
The direct election of federal MPs to the Chamber of Republics,
at general
elections, as it is done for the Chamber of Citizens, secures a
democratic
and authentic expression of the will of the citizens of Serbia and
Montenegro in constituting both chambers of the federal parliament. This
method, which is applied in most federal states in the world, "secures
the
full democratic legitimacy of the upper house of federal parliament and
eliminates any form of mediation between citizens and their political
institutions," Bozovic said.
The changes in the manner of electing the head of state and
enabling his
election at direct elections ensures that the top state function in
Yugoslavia is based on the absolute democratic determination of those
who
carry national sovereignty - the citizens of Yugoslavia, Bozovic said,
adding that the Constitutional authorities of the president remain the
same.
The firmer linking of the mandates of federal government members
to the
federal parliament shows a due implementation of the parliamentary
system
as the foundation for the organization of state authorities in
Yugoslavia,
Bozovic said.
---
SULLA AUTOPROCLAMATA MISSIONE DIPLOMATICA MONTENEGRINA ALL'ONU
(COMPOSTA DAL SOLO SIGNOR PEROVIC ZELJKO)
Montenegro More Visible at UN
.c The Associated Press
By NICOLE WINFIELD
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - From his one-bedroom apartment in midtown
Manhattan,
Zeljko Perovic has begun a campaign to give Montenegro a greater voice
at the
United Nations, setting up a one-man ``mission'' and getting himself
invited
to U.N. meetings.
One of two republics that make up what is left of the former
Yugoslavia,
Montenegro has no independent legal status at the United Nations.
Montenegro
and Serbia are represented together by Belgrade's U.N. mission.
But with tensions between the two republics increasing - and heightened
last
week with constitutional changes that seek to reduce Montenegro's status
-
Montenegro is seeking to increase its own diplomatic visibility and
garner
support for its pro-Western cause.
``We have to protect our interests,'' said Perovic, Montenegro's
self-proclaimed ``head of mission and U.N. liaison officer,'' in an
interview
Friday.
Montenegro is finding support in its campaign from the four former
republics
that separated from Belgrade in the early 1990s: Slovenia, Croatia,
Macedonia
and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
On Friday, Slovenia circulated a second letter in three weeks on behalf
of
Montenegro to the Security Council, enclosing the text of a resolution
adopted by the Montenegrin parliament rejecting the constitutional
amendments
enacted by the Yugoslav federal assembly.
The amendments aim to concentrate power in the hands of Yugoslav
President
Slobodan Milosevic while reducing Montenegro's status. One paves the way
for
Milosevic's re-election, the other says parliament's upper house will be
chosen by popular vote, curtailing the influence of Montenegro's
parliament,
which is dominated by Milosevic's opponents.
Slovenia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Samuel Zbogar, said Friday that his
government had decided to help Montenegro gain greater visibility at the
United Nations because Belgrade wasn't representing its interests here.
That support includes circulating letters to U.N. ambassadors on behalf
of
Montenegro and inviting Perovic and other Montenegrin officials to the
United
Nations as ``guests'' of the Slovene mission.
Visitors to the non-public areas of the United Nations must be
accredited to
the organization or be escorted into the building as a ``guest'' of
someone
who is.
``They are the democratic light in Yugoslavia and you have to support
that,'' Zbogar said in an interview.
Yugoslavia's representative at the United Nations, Vladislav Jovanovic,
has
bitterly complained about what he calls Slovenia's interference in
Yugoslav
internal affairs. He has also dismissed Montenegro's quest for official,
or
even unofficial, recognition at the organization.
``Parts of member states are not entitled to have any official or
semi-official mission within the U.N. The appearance of one person
claiming
to represent Montenegro in the U.N. is totally private business and
doesn't
have anything to do with the U.N. membership,'' he said in an interview.
Indeed, as a part of Yugoslavia, Montenegro cannot be recognized as an
independent U.N. member state. It probably couldn't even get
``observer''
status, which has been granted to entities such as the Palestine
Liberation
Organization.
In their dispute with Milosevic's regime, Montenegro officials have
talked
of breaking from Belgrade, but they have stopped short of making a
direct
move for independence.
Similarly, Montenegro's moves at the United Nations have not been
presented
as a step toward statehood. But Zbogar and Perovic said they were
looking
into ways to allow Montenegro to have some type of other accreditation
at the
United Nations - or at least be given the same type of access as
Belgrade's
U.N. representatives.
Belgrade's envoys don't have full rights at the United Nations. In
1992,
they were stripped of some membership rights following the independence
of
four of its six republics. The United States, Britain and the four
former
Yugoslav republics have demanded that Belgrade apply for membership as a
new
country.
Belgrade has so far refused, arguing that the independence of its
republics
didn't affect the ``continuity'' of the country.
Last month, U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke raised Yugoslavia's
disputed
status as one reason for limiting its access to U.N. meetings. He
successfully got the Security Council to block Jovanovic from
participating
in a council debate on the Balkans, primarily on grounds that Milosevic
and
other key leaders have been indicted for war crimes.
Montenegro's foreign minister, Branko Lukovac, attended the Security
Council
debate as a guest of Slovenia, Zbogar said.
AP-NY-07-15-00 0217EDT
---
LA RF DI JUGOSLAVIA E' ISOLATA A LIVELLO INTERNAZIONALE - OPPURE NO?
STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM
Belgrade Says West's Isolation Bid Has Failed
BELGRADE, Jul 12, 2000 -- (Reuters)
Belgrade's foreign minister said on Friday
the West's bid to isolate Yugoslavia
and strangle its economy had failed and world
support for the government was
growing, state news agency Tanjug reported.
"Yugoslavia's ties and cooperation
with three-quarters of the world's nations,
which accept it as a valid, reliable
and equal partner, and its achievements in
reconstruction and development both
testify to this," Zivadin Jovanovic said.
The United States and most Western
nations withdrew diplomats from Belgrade
last year before NATO launched air
strikes on Yugoslavia over its repression of
majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic's Socialist-led regime embarked on a
heavily-publicized reconstruction
campaign after the air war damaged much of the
country's infrastructure.
"We never begged around for help. We
did not waste time hoping for help from
abroad. Our future is not in the
hands of the European Union, NATO or any other
foreign factor, but in our own
hands," Jovanovic said.
High-ranking delegations from
Brazil, China, Iraq, Myanmar and Russia are among
those that recently visited
Belgrade.
"If the philosophy of sanctions and
isolation has helped in any way then it is in
raising awareness that nothing
positive can be achieved in southeast Europe
without Yugoslavia's equal
participation as a key economic, political and
security
factor in the region," Jovanovic
said.
Yugoslavia maintains diplomatic
relations with 166 countries and has other
government offices in 97 countries.
There are 70 foreign embassies in Belgrade.
---
RUSSIA: IMPORTANCE IN PRINCIPLE TO PRESERVE YUGOSLAVIA
MOSCOW, July 11 (Tanjug) The new foreign policy concept of the
Russian Federation underscores that it is important in principle for
Russia
that Yugoslavia's territorial integrity should be preserved and any
attempts at its dismembering prevented.
Yugoslavia's dismembering would pose a threat of a general
conflict breaking out in the Balkans with unpredictable consequences,
said
the document which was endorsed by President Vladimir Putin at the end
of
June, and whose full text was announced for the first time on Tuesday.
The special 22page document also says that Russia will do its
utmost to contribute toward finding a lasting and just solution to the
situation in the Balkans, which will be founded on coordinated decisions
of
the international community.
The Balkans is also mentioned in the part Concepts, which
defines
Moscow's relations toward the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in
Europe (OSCE). Russia will resolutely oppose any narrowing of the OSCE's
functions, primarily meaning any attempts to direct activities of this
organization exclusively to the postSoviet area and the Balkans.
---
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the June 29, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
EDITORIAL: YUGOSLAVIA: NOT SO ISOLATED AFTER ALL
When NATO moved into the Serbian province of Kosovo and
Metohija a year ago on June 10, U.S. plans were to continue
to isolate and dismember what was left of Yugoslavia. The
"International Tribunal" in The Hague--set up and paid for
by U.S.-NATO forces--had indicted Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic for alleged war crimes. It looked like
Montenegro, the remaining republic joined with Serbia to
form Yugoslavia, would be the next target.
Now a year has passed, and it turns out Yugoslavia is not
so isolated after all.
Li Peng, chairperson of the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress of the People's Republic of
China, addressed a joint session of the Federal Assembly of
Yugoslavia this June.
Li said the U.S. missile attack on the Chinese Embassy in
Belgrade 13 months ago that killed three Chinese
journalists and rendered the embassy building unusable is
"a case of grave international wrongdoing seldom seen in
the history of diplomacy and a gross violation of China's
sovereignty.''
He attacked the U.S. and expressed solidarity with
Yugoslavia.
The head of a Cuban Communist Party delegation visiting
the hometown of President Milosevic in June said the people
of Yugoslavia, "just like the Cubans, have shown they are
not ready to lose their identity no matter what price they
have to pay for that."
He added that the Cubans "admire Yugoslav resistance" to
the "policy of hegemony of the West," during and after
NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia last year. "Both
Yugoslavia and Cuba have the same enemy, but it is most
important that we are not afraid of that enemy."
So China and Cuba have reaffirmed their solidarity with
Yugoslavia. And other forces are chipping away at the U.S.
position. Even Amnesty International has accused U.S.-NATO
forces of war crimes.
And then there is the story of Danish soccer star Peter
Schmeichel. After his team lost a match June 16 in the EURO
2000 games, Schmeichel made an astonishing announcement to
the media.
He said, "Tonight I officially applied at the embassy of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for a Yugoslavian
passport. The Yugoslav football team is excellent, and it
is the only team I would like to play for. I personally
asked President Slobodan Milosevic to grant me Yugoslavian
National Passport, because I highly respect him and his
achievements in last year's war against NATO aggressors."
It's hard to imagine a superstar athlete making such a
remark unless this reflects an attitude more widely held in
the population.
And in Montenegro itself, local elections have put pro-
Yugoslavia and pro-Milosevic parties in office in some of
the most important cities, despite all the funds pumped
into the anti-Yugoslavia parties by the U.S. and its NATO
allies.
Yugoslavia deserves all the solidarity it can get. And it
is getting some.
- END -
(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
ww@.... For subscription info send message
to: info@.... Web: http://www.workers.org)
---
ALLE NAZIONI UNITE GLI U.S.A IMPONGONO L'ESCLUSIONE DEL RAPPRESENTANTE
DELLA REPUBBLICA FEDERALE DI JUGOSLAVIA (IL MAGGIORE PAESE BALCANICO PER
NUMERO DI ABITANTI) DA UN DIBATTITO SULLA SITUAZIONE NEI BALCANI.
I RAPPRESENTANTI RUSSO E CINESE ESCONO DALL'AULA PER PROTESTA.
>
>The defenders of 'Western civilization' are in the East...
>
>Russia, China Conduct Walk Out in U.N. Council over Yugo exclusion
>By Evelyn Leopold (6-23-00)
>
>www.tenc.net [emperors-clothes]
>
>"Gagging people's mouths is not the best way to discuss the acute
>international problems in this way,'' [Russian UN Ambassador] Lavrov said.
>"Even a defendant has a right to defend his or her position.''
>
>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters, Friday June 23 3:02 PM ET ) - The Security Council
>took the unusual step of excluding Yugoslavia's U.N. envoy from a debate on
>the Balkans on Friday, prompting Russia's ambassador to stage a
>demonstrative walk out.
>
>"To discuss the Balkan problem without Yugoslavia is nonsense,'' Ambassador
>
>Sergei Lavrov said before leaving the chamber and placing a junior envoy in
>the Russian seat.
>
>China's envoy followed a few minutes later during a speech by Javier
>Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, presumably because he
>headed NATO during its 11-week bombing of Serbia during the Kosovo crisis
>last year.
>China, however, participated in the debate on the Balkans whereas no
>Russian diplomat spoke after the controversy over Yugoslavia's presence.
>
>U.S. ambassador Richard Holbrooke led the challenge on grounds that the
>Yugoslav leadership, including President Slobodan Milosevic, was under
>indictment by a U.N. tribunal for alleged crimes committed during last
>year's Kosovo crisis.
>"It would be inappropriate to allow the representative of this government
to
>use this council in a discussion of where we stand on Kosovo,'' he said.
>Yugoslavia's envoy Vladislav Jovanovic has spoken to the council many times
>before on Balkan issues, the last being one year ago shortly after the
>indictments in May 1999.
>Diplomats said he had tried to since then but was prevented in private
>consultations. One key council envoy said Friday's confrontation was
>ordered by Milosevic.
>
>Milosevic and four of his top lieutenants were indicted as war criminals by
>the Hague-based tribunal for crimes against humanity, including murder,
>during the Kosovo conflict.
>
>The indictments took place amid last spring's NATO bombing raid against
>Serbia to force Belgrade's troops out of Kosovo province where they were
>killing and expelling in large numbers the country's ethnic Albanian
>majority.
>
>The vote on whether Jovanovic should speak was four in favor, seven against
>with four abstentions in the 15-member council. Under council rules,
>procedural matters needs nine ''yes'' votes, with permanent members, such
as
>Russia, the United States, Britain, China and France, unable to use their
>veto.
>
>Voting in favor of Jovanovic were Russia, China, Ukraine and Namibia; those
>against were the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands,
>Bangladesh, Malaysia and Canada; abstaining were Mali, Tunisia, Argentina
>and Jamaica.
>Jovanovic told reporters the action in the council was part ''of the
>aggressive policy which the U.S. administration has been pursing against
>Yugoslavia for years.''
>He said that the seven votes against him were from NATO members and two
>"extremist'' Islamic countries, Bangladesh and Malaysia, thereby
>constituting a "moral victory'' for Belgrade.
>Lavrov told the council the vote was against the spirit of the U.N. Charter
>which allowed even a country that was not a U. N. member to participate
when
>it was a party to a conflict the council was discussing.
>
>"Gagging people's mouths is not the best way to discuss the acute
>international problems in this way,'' Lavrov said.
>
>"A very dangerous precedent has thus been created when states that are
>unpalatable for political reasons are being isolated from participation in
>the work of the United Nations,'' Lavrov said.
>
>"Yugoslavia has a right to participate. It is a country whose interests are
>directly affected by this question,'' Lavrov told the council, adding that
>the tribunal was a politically motivated.
>
>"Even a defendant has a right to defend his or her position,'' he said.
>
>After the vote on Yugoslavia, China's deputy ambassador, Shen Guofang,
>walked out of the council during an address by Javier Solana, now the
>secretary-general of a European Union council on a common foreign policy.
>
>When he returned Shen mentioned the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in
>Belgrade, which Washington says was due to bad maps. He also reminded the
>council that every country had a right to state its views. "This decision
is
>a wrong decision'' and "does not help a solution in the Balkans,'' Shen
>said.
>
>Solana was secretary-general of NATO during its air campaign to force
>Belgrade to stop repressing ethnic Albanians in Kosovo province, thousands
>of whom were expelled..
>
>Yugoslavia's membership of the United Nations has been in dispute since
>1992, when four of its six constituent republics declared their
>independence. It has been suspended from the U.N. General Assembly until
its
>status is cleared.
>
>www.tenc.net [emperors-clothes]
>
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------