Subject: Epilogh OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 56, 20 Mar 95 [**] From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" Ta nea ths hmeras, apo to OMRI: [01] . MUSLIMS SEND CONDOLENCES FOR DEATH OF CROATIAN GENERAL. [02] . BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP PRESSURE ON UN. [03] . TUDJMAN HOLDS HIS GROUND REGARDING UNPROFOR. [04] ** BELGRADE DIPLOMACY. [Gia to tajidi Papoylia sto Beligradi.] [05] . BULGARIAN PREMIER DISCUSSES BUDGET WITH MAYORS. [06] * ALBANIA WANTS KOSOVO DISCUSSED IN GENEVA CONFERENCE. [07] ** GREECE, MACEDONIA TO BEGIN DIRECT TALKS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 56, Part II, 20 March 1995 SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE [01] MUSLIMS SEND CONDOLENCES FOR DEATH OF CROATIAN GENERAL. AFP reported on 19 March that Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic sent formal condolences to Federal President and Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak for the apparent murder of Bosnian Croat General Vlado Santic in the Bihac area on 8 March. The telegram said that "the two of us have been confronted with almost insoluble problems before, but we have managed to solve them successfully." The murky Santic affair has strained Croatian-Muslim relations in recent days, but Slobodna Dalmacija on 18 March quoted Zubak as saying that "for all that we are doing, we need patience, tolerance, and consideration." Bosnian authorities on 15 March arrested three Muslim military policemen in connection with the disappearance of Santic. Nasa Borba on 20 March quotes Bihac Muslim rebels as saying that government soldiers killed Santic and threw his body in the River Una, but Vjesnik reports that "there is no information about his fate." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. [02] BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP PRESSURE ON UN. International media reported on 19 March that Bosnian Serb forces fired a mortar shell in the direction of a French air transport at Sarajevo airport and that French UNPROFOR positions returned fire. Serb snipers fired on city streets, and gunners hit the Bosnian government's sole supply road along Mt. Igman. In the meantime, a Russian UN observer was arrested by Serbs at a checkpoint outside Sarajevo. A UN spokesman said it was "likely" that the Serbs were "stepping up an organized campaign of harassment." He added that the UN "may use force to neutralize" any position firing on UN aircraft in the future. The Serb reaction to these statements is not known. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. [03] TUDJMAN HOLDS HIS GROUND REGARDING UNPROFOR. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman told CNN on 18 March that Zagreb has not changed its position in agreeing to a new international presence in Croatia. He maintained that Croatia was firm in saying that UNPROFOR had to go and that the primary task of a new international body under a different mandate would be supervising Croatia's borders. He added that he remained optimistic that both Belgrade and Knin would come round to a negotiated settlement to Zagreb's liking. But The New York Times on 20 March reported that "messy" discussions are under way in UN circles about the composition and mandate of the new force. Croatia wants it to "control" its borders with Serbia and Bosnia, but the most likely mandate on offer will be for the small force to "monitor" its frontiers. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. [04] BELGRADE DIPLOMACY. Nasa Borba on 20 March reported that EU officials have rejected Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's condition that sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia be lifted before Belgrade agrees to participate in a summit on the situation throughout the former Yugoslavia. Milosevic, following meetings with Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, called on the EU on 17 March to help lift sanctions. He noted that since the EU was the architect of the embargo, "it would be fair if an initiative to lift the sanctions were to come from [that organization]," AFP reported. Finally, Nasa Borba on 18-19 March reported that rump Yugoslavia Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic met with Pope John Paul II on 17 March. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. [05] BULGARIAN PREMIER DISCUSSES BUDGET WITH MAYORS. Zhan Videnov and members of his cabinet on 19 March met with the mayors of Bulgarian's 100 biggest towns to discuss the state budget for 1995, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. According to Duma, 29 billion leva ($435 million) will be put aside for the needs of cities and villages. Some mayors said that the sum is insufficient and that the communities will run out of money in the summer, 24 chasa reported. Videnov also announced that the country's administrative and territorial reform is the government's top priority. Finance Minister Dimitar Kostov asked for strong budgetary discipline, while Deputy Prime Minister Doncho Konakchiev said the mayors should not plan any new building activities. Meanwhile, Standart reported on 20 March that construction of the water pipeline linking rivers in the Rila mountains to the Iskar dam, Sofia's main water reservoir, has been completed on schedule. The pipeline is designed to alleviate the water crisis in the Bulgarian capital, which has been experiencing strict water rationing since November. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc. [06] ALBANIA WANTS KOSOVO DISCUSSED IN GENEVA CONFERENCE. Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi repeated demands that an overall peace plan for former Yugoslavia must include a settlement of the Kosovo crisis, Reuters reported on 18 March. Albanian President Sali Berisha had earlier called on the Serbian and Kosovar leadership to start talks under international mediation without specifying preconditions, the Albanian-language service of Deutsche Welle reported on 16 March. The Kosovar leadership, which continues to maintain that Kosovo is an independent republic, has expressed its willingness to take part in the negotiations. Mahmut Bakalli, a high-ranking Kosovar official, said meeting Kosovo's demands is a prerequisite for preventing further wars in the Balkans, Nasa Borba reported on 18 March. Meanwhile, Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhulali said Greece has invited Albania to take part in a military exercise, Reuters reported on 19 March. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. [07] GREECE, MACEDONIA TO BEGIN DIRECT TALKS. Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said on 19 March that Greece will resume direct talks with Macedonia under UN auspices in April, AFP reported the same day. Senior officials from both countries and former UN mediator in Yugoslavia Cyrus Vance will meet in New York, Papoulias said. He added that the economic embargo of Macedonia, which Greece imposed in February 1994, will remain in force during the talks. Greek Government Spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said the resumption of negotiations signifies only "Greek participation in the process of mediation" rather than the start of a "dialogue." Any normalization depends on "the attitude of Skopje," Venizelos was cited as saying. Meanwhile, the Greek weekly To Vima on 19 March said the announcement followed strong pressure on both sides from the U.S. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc. [As of 12:00 CET] Compiled by Jan Cleave