Parliamentary Assembly

Mr President, distinguished Representatives, ladies and gentlemen, I have the honour to address this eminent European forum in the capacity of President of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It gives me pleasure to greet you personally, ladies and gentlemen, parliamentary representatives of European countries to the Council of Europe, respected advocates of peace and co-operation, of human rights and freedoms, of democratic development and links on our continent, on the basis of common humane, political and cultural values.

The time that we live in and the epochal changes that we are witnessing justify the efforts that you and your forum have been investing as well as reaffirm the value of the objectives that we have all jointly set for ourselves.

I believe that we can view with justified hopes the current international developments as well as the future of Europe and indeed of the world as a whole. Tensions between the big powers, the principal feature of international relations throughout the post-second world war era, have eased perceptibly. Elements of military and political confrontation and of rivalry between the big powers are disappearing.

The world as we knew it yesterday can be said to exist no longer today. New political, economic and social determinants increasingly shape and affect the pace and substance of international relations and of overall developments on the global scene. Our continent is in the centre of these positive transformations. A process of cooperation and one bringing parts of Europe together has been initiated. Existing integration processes are gaining momentum and new, often complementary ones, are being opened.

Democratisation is being asserted in the political life of all European countries. Market laws dominate the economic scene and mechanisms are being put in place to ensure that man’s spiritual and material needs are satisfied in the best way possible.

Respect for the individual rights and freedoms of every man, the protection of man’s environment and of the quality of life are becoming a measure of the humaneness and degree of democracy of every system.

Relations and dialogue between the big powers today still substantially affect overall developments in international relations. However, the picture is rapidly changing, with the strength and influence of other countries and factors also growing. We are moving towards multipolarity in the present-day world, which requires new mechanisms to co-ordinate interests and maintain their balance as the basis of our common security.

The radical and far-reaching turnabouts in East European countries, together with the changes that have swept over the Soviet Union, have changed the entire political picture of Europe. The past, inhibitory ideological and political frameworks have been removed. Scope has been created for inaugurating market economies, free elections and for the expression of various interests and needs. The road has been paved for the unification of the two German states, thus eliminating a vestige of the second world war and a symbol of division on our continent. An all-European debate on our common future has begun.

I trust that you will share my opinion when I stress that in this context one has to be critical of one’s past, its delusions and instances of narrow-mindedness. We should leave the Europe of divisions and wars behind us. This is a debt we owe to the world and to civilisation. We should return to history to seek inspirational examples of intellectual endeavour, of humaneness and freedom, of understanding and of the integration of nations in European and global civilisation.

We have to be aware of these things today as well because sudden changes of relations and equilibrium can also bring about disruptions, revive old antagonisms or provoke new ones by encouraging unrealistic ambitions and exclusiveness upon ethnic, religious or any other grounds.

I hope that the future pluralistic Europe which we are constructing will be free from these dangers and that in its pluralism and unity it will be responsive to the problems of the non-European parts of the world as well. The sense of interdependence, solidarity and of fateful ties among the European peoples requires that the processes of integration, democratisation and the pursuit of prosperity should not be confined to a single geographical and political area.

As a country which has for decades been developing co-operation and friendly relations with all countries and which in the precarious conditions of cold war sought a way out and a guarantee of its future and independence in the policy of non-alignment, Yugoslavia today resolutely calls for the further positive development of political relations between East and West and of economic co-operation between North and South. This we have to do not only because of the responsibility which Yugoslavia shoulders today as it chairs the Non-Aligned Movement which comprises the majority of developing countries, but also because of the awareness of the interdependence of the contemporary world, which experience has confirmed time and again. It is an incontestable truth that only in a world which shares similar values and aspires to similar goals can understanding among peoples prevail, guaranteeing thereby peace and security for all.

The state which I represent is comparatively young as a joint state community. However, the history of the peoples comprising it is an inseparable part of the long history of Europe. Our existence and our deeds are built into the European space, history, culture and the civilisation of our continent. I trust, ladies and gentlemen, that you are all aware of the wealth of Yugoslavia’s historical and cultural mosaic, with all its national, linguistic, religious and other diversities.

May I stress at this point that, if we constituted a part of European history and contributed to the richness of its cultural heritage in the past, if our country and its people shared the fate and challenges of all the peoples of Europe in this century, then it is only natural that today as well Yugoslavia’s first and foremost interest should be joining in the democratic processes of all-European integration. The more so as even at times of the harshest confrontation between the blocs and of numerous constraints, Yugoslavia maintained its independence and the openness of its borders and promoted intensive cultural, political and economic co-operation with all the countries of Europe.

We are interested in the existing forms of European co-operation, its institutions and organisations, becoming broader-based and paving the way to new European co-operation by being more open towards other countries and associations. It is in this light that we view the role of the European Community, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the CSCE.

Changes have swept through the world today, Europe in particular, and are also occurring in Yugoslavia, although we cannot equate the ones in our country with those elsewhere. Yugoslavia is a country of marked internal national, cultural, religious and historical differences. Despite the fact that it is a complex state, it managed to ensure a relatively successful economic and social development and an internal balance among its nations and nationalities, with all their differences, over a number of decades. Among the principles which Yugoslavia sought to uphold in its post-war development was autonomous action on the international scene, reflected, inter alia, in its conflict with the Stalinist Soviet Union and its break with the Eastern bloc, as well as in its policy of non-alignment. On the internal relations plane, Yugoslavia was built upon the principle of the autonomy of nations, organised in republican states and linked into the Yugoslav federation. Extensive rights were guaranteed to all national minorities. In the economic sphere already in the 1950s enterprises gained a comparatively high degree of independence and the workers’ management rights, and the system developed over several decades as a self-management socialist system with significant emphasis on market decentralisation.

The political system was, truly, a single-party one, but was, nevertheless, designed to encourage the broadest political participation of all the citizens. After good initial results, the system, although based on the humane principles of political participation and workers’ self-management, started entering a crisis because of the absence of competitive elements both in political and economic life. Economic performance fell short of requirements given the aggravated international economic environment characterised by trade protectionism and the debt crisis which had gripped almost all developing countries, including Yugoslavia. Thus, over the last ten years, Yugoslavia experienced economic stagnation with a high capital outflow to service its external debts. The decreased social product for domestic consumption led to a struggle for its internal redistribution resulting in deteriorated relations among the Yugoslav nations and nationalities, a reduced standard of living, increased unemployment, mounting social problems and a growing inflation. Throughout those years, Yugoslavia sought to address these problems within the framework of the existing system. However, these endeavours failed to yield adequate results. Moreover, numerous adverse phenomena multiplied. In particular, internationality contradictions sharpened. We could say that the equilibrium that had existed in the previous political-economic system began to be eroded.

In the past year in Yugoslavia we have embarked on reforms, both political and economic, to so radical an extent as to bring about substantial changes in the political and economic system. Economic reforms based on market principles are being implemented to the full. The existing tradition of decentralised operation of our enterprises and their corresponding market experience make our task easier. The general internal deregulation and foreign trade liberalisation involve keen competition in economic performance and have set in motion a very difficult and painful process of economic restructuring on the principles of maximum economic efficiency.

We are introducing a capital market, we have established full equality among various forms of ownership, with a growing share of private ownership, and we have accorded foreign investors equal treatment.

In the past year, the economic crisis in Yugoslavia culminated in hyper-inflation, which we have managed fully to curb through a resolute anti-inflationary programme in the past four months. At the same time, the positive balance of payments performance registered over a number of years enabled us to establish the convertibility of the Yugoslav currency, which should constitute the basis for our further financial and general economic opening towards the world.

In outlining these facts it was my intention to inform you that Yugoslavia had exerted exceptional efforts to resolve the difficulties it encountered in the past period, relying on its own forces. The mentioned results have been attained virtually without external support and with a simultaneous exceptionally high net outflow of funds for external debt servicing.

Parallel with the current far-reaching economic reforms aimed at establishing an efficient economic system which will be compatible with the most developed European and world systems, the issue of our joining European and world integration processes is gaining in importance in Yugoslavia. Rather than have an autarchic economic system, we want to join, particularly, European integration processes. For a long time Yugoslavia has had a special agreement with EFTA. Of late, we have further intensified our relations and are prepared for full membership of that grouping. For a long time we have also been an associate member of OECD and now wish to become a full member.

The European Community figures most prominently in our economic relations. So far, we have regulated these relations through special trade and financial agreements, while now we wish to establish the closest possible functional and institutional links with the Community. I think that, given the pace of economic and political changes so far, in two or three years Yugoslavia will have created the prerequisites to apply for full membership in the European Community.

We are aware that the process of the further restructuring of the Yugoslav economy will be difficult, that we will encounter significant transitional problems, but it is nevertheless our wish to design our future economic structure and new development cycle so as to fit into the common European economic space.

We are also making changes in the political system. We have accepted the idea that political competition is necessary, we have relinquished one-party monopoly. Different parties are emerging throughout the country, with the political changes in the different republics evolving at varying paces but with the idea of political pluralism being universally espoused. Multiparty parliamentary elections were recently held in Slovenia and Croatia and elections in the other republics will successively follow. We expect the Yugoslav Federal Parliament to be constituted on multi-party principles also by the end of the year. The multinational and federal order of our country involves a rather complex procedure of changing the constitutional and legislative order which in certain instances is in fact behind the already carried out or accepted changes. I am of the opinion that intensive democratic processes cannot be halted in any part of the country.

The protection of individual human rights features prominently in our constitutional and legal changes. We have initiated amendments to our criminal law so as to make it more specific and eliminate ideological provisions. In this way, it will be brought into line with the highest international civilisation standards and achievements. We have opted for an independent judiciary with all the attributes of a legal state. Yugoslavia has acceded to numerous international conventions on the protection of human rights and is ready to accede to others at the earliest possible date, including the European Convention on Human Rights, when we become a member of the Council of Europe.

All the above-mentioned changes in the political and economic system are unfolding under aggravated internal inter-nationality contradictions, with heightened mutual mistrust, burgeoning nationalism, the revival of differences from the past, as a result of deteriorated economic and political circumstances. National feelings often blur the objective causes of our problems and make it difficult to seek rational ways out.

In this context I would particularly single out the difficulties we are confronted with in our province of Kosovo where in a relatively small geographic area there are numerous problems, from disrupted inter-nationality relations, development and population problems, to a crisis of political and legal institutions. National extremisms have been precluding normal economic and political life in this province for almost more than a decade now. They have led to tragic losses of human life and undesired recourse to force so as to maintain elementary peace and legal order. We are seeking a solution through political means on democratic principles and by implementing economic development programmes where we see scope for co-operation with international institutions as well. We believe that the latest developments are along these lines and that conditions for precisely such a solution are gradually being created.

What we are attempting to do in Yugoslavia today is to strike a new inter-nationality balance under changed political and economic conditions, in the framework of parliamentary multiparty democracy and an efficient market economy without a priori political authority which could adjudicate and resolve inter-nationality conflicts in an authoritarian manner. The differences in the pace of implementing political and economic changes in various parts of the country further increase internal contradictions and aggravate confrontations. We know that this is not Yugoslavia’s problem alone, that internationality contradictions from the past are being revived in many parts of Europe. Even up to now the Yugoslav state has been based on a high degree of autonomy and sovereignty of the republics comprising it. It is on those principles that today as well we wish to consolidate the relations among our nations and nationalities. We expect that the process of economic and political reforms that we are implementing will be brought to a successful completion which will have a positive impact on stabilising internationality relations in the state. The tempo of our joining global, particularly European, integration processes is of great significance in this context. Most Yugoslavs see a place for themselves in a future economically, culturally and politically united Europe. I believe that Yugoslavia can contribute to the establishment of such a Europe. And surely Europe, on its part, can considerably help Yugoslavia in resolving its current internal difficulties, primarily by intensifying the pace of Yugoslavia’s inclusion in various European integrations.

Distinguished Representatives, ladies and gentlemen, it is with special pleasure that I say that for many years now Yugoslavia has successfully been developing its co-operation with the Council of Europe. This co-operation has particularly been intensified over the past few years. Yugoslavia participates in the activities of the Council of Europe as a “special guest”. On our part we have also formally expressed our interest in full membership. Through all-round participation in the activities of the Council of Europe, our country wishes to contribute to the transformation of Europe into a continent of peace, new stability, co-operation and prosperity.

As I address this eminent gathering, the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I wish to point out that we particularly appreciate the contribution of the Council of Europe to the dynamic changes taking place on our continent today. We especially value your solidarity and the balanced and yet resolute support extended to the democratic evolution within European countries which are now in the stage of restructuring their economic and socio-political systems. Therefore I believe that the Council of Europe deserves to be acknowledged as a unique international institution which provides a legal and political framework for the common civilisation and democratic achievements of all Europeans. In this way the Council of Europe contributes to the consolidation of positive developments in Europe and to strengthening their democratic core, which is in the interest of all European countries, including my own.

Ladies and gentlemen, today, when I have the honour of representing Yugoslavia amongst the parliamentarians of the Council of Europe for the first time, allow me to express our expectation and hope that in the very near future Yugoslavia shall, as a fully-fledged member of the Council, work together with you on creating a Europe of the future. (Applause)