SATURDAY THE 27TH

Dr. Nenad Janicijevic, on behalf of the Pittsburgh Convention Committee, extended a warm welcome to all attendees in the city which received its earliest Serbian immigrants over a century ago and which is a viable candidate for the prestigious title of the Serb capital of America. However, he emphasized that we did not gather to choose one city over another, but to join efforts in securing SERB UNITY. "Our clear priority is to build Serb Unity, with patience, perseverance and decisiveness".

Ron Radakovich chaired the General Session which consisted of the following reports: (a) The President's; (b) The Treasurer's; (c) Washington Scene; (d) Credentials; (e) War Crimes Tribunal Update; (f) Jasenovac Conference Update.

Excerpts of the President's report are attached. The treasurer's report emphasized that the SUC is a non-profit organization deriving its income from donations and membership only. SUC has to live within its means and therefore a balanced budget is the basis of its operations. The SUC has only two persons on its payroll. All the officers and Board members donate their time, effort, and traveling expenses from their own pockets. In order to meet long term demands and for continuous financial health, the SUC has established an Endowment Fund. This year Mr. and Mrs. Minich have donated to the fund shares worth in excess of $26,000. Contributions can be made in cash as well.

Miroslav Djordjevich and Jonathan Clarke presented the Washington scene report. Jonathan Clarke, a former British diplomat now writer, LA Times columnist and a PR consultant in Washington, has been engaged as the SUC's media and public affairs consultant.

Jonathan composes a regular stream of press releases to selected members of the Clinton Administration, the US Congress and the media. These releases reflect the SUC views on various current events in the Balkans providing the only continuous Serbian voice in Washington. In addition to releases, letters, TV appearances, op-ed articles, and personal visits we have established the SUC positions as credible and worth listening to. Instead of being dismissed as reactionary and negative, SUC advice is accepted and acted upon.

The past year has been the most productive year in Washington with both the Executive and Legislative branches of the government. We now have a good story to tell. Hence, the President, Miroslav and Jonathan all urged the members to more actively carry the messages, such as the press releases, to their elected representatives. Policy makers constantly complain that, unlike taxes, schools, law enforcement, etc. they hardly ever hear from their constituents on Bosnia. This means that the debate is controlled by Washington based lobby groups. We are making headway in this group, but Serbian interests still find themselves in a tiny minority.

Vera Davidovich, on behalf of the Credentials Committee, reported that 112 delegates have been registered. While this is not an all-time high attendance, it exceeds that of Milwaukee last year.

Desa Tomasevich Wakeman and Nikola Kostich reported on the Hague Tribunal activities. Through our SUC members of the American Serbian Women's Caucus, witnesses and documentation have been provided to the Tribunal to prosecute those responsible for crimes committed against the Serbian population. Their efforts helped to achieve indictments of three Muslims and a Croat. Our director, attorney Kostich, has represented those Serbs charged such as General Djukic and Dusko Tadic.

There were two panel discussions in the afternoon: (a) Brcko Status; and (b) Democracy in the Serbian Lands. Subsequently three workshops were held: (a) Internet: Action Forward; (b) Chapter Seminar; and (c) Media.

The Brcko panel was chaired by Vojin Joksimovich with panelists Nikola Kostich and Slavko Prosan, deputy minister for industry, technology, handicraft and private enterprise in the Republika Srpska (RS). Slavko, who substituted for the Brcko Major Miodrag Paic, is also the President of the 38,000 strong Small Business Association in the RS. Branko Milinovic, international lawyer from Los Angeles, provided written comments .

Joksimovich reviewed the background leading up to the arbitration. Two directors of the SUC received power of attorney authorization from President Plavsic to select the US attorneys which successfully represented the RS in the arbitration. We selected Reed Smith Shaw & McClay of Washington D.C. and Styler Kostich LeBell Dobroski & McGuire of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Kostich provided an account of the arbitration including the highlights of the two weeks of hearings in Rome. The award specified interim international supervision of the Dayton Accords implementation in the Brcko area. The Tribunal declined to make any immediate change in the inter-entity boundary line thus leaving Brcko within the RS territory pending further developments. It decided to render any further decision by March 15, 1998.

Branko Milinovic, born in Brcko, has been going to Brcko over the last two years. He is of the opinion that the Serbs, Croats and Muslims in Brcko and the surroundings should be able to solve the problems through self- determination rather than the arbitration. However, the RS representatives felt that they could live with the Muslims as neighbors but not with them.

Democracy in the Serbian Lands panel was chaired by Miroslav Djordjevich with panelists Dr. Zarko Bilbija, Chairman of SUC's Strategic Committee and newly elected Board member, Aleksandar Marinkovic, member of Zoran Djindjic's Democratic Party in Belgrade, and Dr. Slobodan Pesic, Pittsburgh University.

Dr. Bilbija's observations, while visiting Serbia, was that democracy was still an alien concept. Aleksandar Marinkovic countered that it does not apply to the young generation and the students in particular. The students do not wish to emigrate like several hundred thousand graduates did during Milosevic's reign. They wish to live in a democratic society, like a western society, which will provide an economic opportunity for all. Dr. Pesic summarized the content of his Ph.D thesis which provided a theoretical analysis of issues facing democracies in post-communist societies.