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OSCE Chairman-in-Office to appoint Gonzalez as Personal Representative for Serbia
COPENHAGEN 19 September 1997
COPENHAGEN, 19 September 1997 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, issued the following statement in Copenhagen today:
The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE has today informed the authorities in Belgrade that he intends to appoint Mr. Felipe Gonzalez as his Personal Representative for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for a period not exceeding the OSCE ministerial meeting in Copenhagen on 18-19 December 1997.
The OSCE decided to accept the invitation from the Yugoslav authorities of the 14 August to observe elections in Serbia on 21 September. This invitation is viewed as a positive confidence-building step. A decision to monitor elections does not, however, in itself indicate any approval of the state of affairs in a given country. The preliminary OSCE pre-assessment team indicated furthermore in its report of late August that none of the recommendations for broad democratic reforms stated by former Prime Minister, Felipe Gonzalez, in conjunction with his report from December last year on local elections have been consistently pursued in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The four basic points which should have been resolved before the upcoming elections are (1) an equal and balanced access to the public media, (2) freedom of the private media including a negotiated accord about the distribution of frequencies, (3) a negotiated accord in a new election law, and (4) a free and independent judiciary with regard to election processes.
The involvement of Mr. Gonzalez with whom renewed contact was established over the last few weeks will give an opportunity for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to show its commitment to democratic reform and for the OSCE to assist in and thoroughly evaluate the process. The Chairman-in-Office very much hopes that the authorities in Belgrade will make the best of this possibility offered in the interest of reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a genuine and fruitful dialogue with the international community.
The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE has today informed the authorities in Belgrade that he intends to appoint Mr. Felipe Gonzalez as his Personal Representative for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for a period not exceeding the OSCE ministerial meeting in Copenhagen on 18-19 December 1997.
The OSCE decided to accept the invitation from the Yugoslav authorities of the 14 August to observe elections in Serbia on 21 September. This invitation is viewed as a positive confidence-building step. A decision to monitor elections does not, however, in itself indicate any approval of the state of affairs in a given country. The preliminary OSCE pre-assessment team indicated furthermore in its report of late August that none of the recommendations for broad democratic reforms stated by former Prime Minister, Felipe Gonzalez, in conjunction with his report from December last year on local elections have been consistently pursued in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The four basic points which should have been resolved before the upcoming elections are (1) an equal and balanced access to the public media, (2) freedom of the private media including a negotiated accord about the distribution of frequencies, (3) a negotiated accord in a new election law, and (4) a free and independent judiciary with regard to election processes.
The involvement of Mr. Gonzalez with whom renewed contact was established over the last few weeks will give an opportunity for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to show its commitment to democratic reform and for the OSCE to assist in and thoroughly evaluate the process. The Chairman-in-Office very much hopes that the authorities in Belgrade will make the best of this possibility offered in the interest of reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a genuine and fruitful dialogue with the international community.