Chairman-in-Office issues statement on election monitoring in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

COPENHAGEN, 5 August 1997 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Niels Helveg Petersen, has today issued in Copenhagen the following statement on the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY):

The OSCE has continuously urged upon the FRY authorities in Belgrade to follow the road of democracy, leading to integration into the international community. The Chairmanship last week in Belgrade offered an OSCE monitoring and assessment of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Serbia and Montenegro. The observation would include monitoring of the election campaign, especially concerning the freedom of expression and the media.

The FRY authorities in their response placed unacceptable limitations on election observation. Their invitation would not allow observation by a number of OSCE countries. In addition, the relevant OSCE body, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), has not been allowed to send a preliminary assessment team to Belgrade to review the FRY compliance with the Gonzalez recommendations following last year's local elections.

If normal observation standards are proposed, the OSCE continues to be ready to monitor and assess the elections. The ODIHR has an assessment team on 48 hours' stand-by. Free and democratic elections are an important step in the direction of the integration of the FYR into the international community and towards economic recovery.