OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 107, 2 June 1995

From: "Steve Iatrou" <siatrou@hilbert.cdsp.neu.edu>

CONTENTS

  • [01] KARADZIC WARNS OF "SLAUGHTER."

  • [02] SERBIAN FORCES CLOSE IN ON GORAZDE.

  • [03] BOSNIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AGAINST CHANGING UN MANDATE.

  • [04] CROATIA SLAMS "MORAL CAPITULATION."

  • [05] CHRISTOPHER URGES BELGRADE TO MAKE CLEAN BREAK WITH BOSNIAN SERBS.

  • [06] GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS TO START SOON?

  • [07] UPDATE ON GREEK-TURKISH DISCORD.

  • [08] G-24 OFFERS AID TO ALBANIA.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 107, Part II, 2 June 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] KARADZIC WARNS OF "SLAUGHTER."

    Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, inhis first public remarks in several days, said that the hostage crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina "has to be solved by political means." He added that "any attempt to liberate [the UN peacekeepers being held hostage by Bosnian Serbs] by force would end in catastrophe. It would be a slaughter." International media noted on 2 June that the number of hostages now stands at 372 and that a Swedish civil affairs officer was released soon after his capture the previous day. Britain has admitted that it is maintaining "contacts" with Pale but insists that these "are not negotiations," Nasa Borba reported on 2 June. AFP said the previous day that UNPROFOR troops are "living in fear of their own stolen vehicles" and that "every UNPROFOR vehicle could contain Bosnian Serbs in disguise, and so it has to be treated as a potential enemy." -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.

    [02] SERBIAN FORCES CLOSE IN ON GORAZDE.

    Nasa Borba on 2 June reported that Bosnian Serb troops are now only 2 kilometers from the center of the besieged Muslim enclave, whose population is swollen with refugees. The Serbs continue to shell the town, but there is no confirmation of Bosnian government charges that the Serbs are bringing up reinforcements. The BBC reported that it was otherwise "a quiet night in Bosnia." -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.

    [03] BOSNIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AGAINST CHANGING UN MANDATE.

    The Bosnian government and the Bosnian Serbs are both wary of any projected changes in UNPROFOR's mandate. The new Bosnian foreign minister, former UN ambassador Muhamed Sacerbey, told the BBC on 1 June that the UN suffered from having appeased the Serbs for too long and that any weakening of the mandate would turn the peacekeepers into "truck drivers for humanitarian aid." The Bosnian government wants instead to have the means to defend itself and some air cover but not foreign ground troops. The BBC and VOA on 2 June noted that the UN debate over the mandate is likely to drag on for at least two weeks and that neither the proposal to weaken the present arrangement nor the one to replace it with a multi-national military force is likely to be accepted. -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.

    [04] CROATIA SLAMS "MORAL CAPITULATION."

    Foreign Minister Mate Granic warnedthat further concessions to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic would amount to "moral capitulation...at a time when the entire international community is faced with unprecedented acts of barbarity and the peace forces are suffering humiliation." Granic charged that Milosevic still "pulls the strings of war" in both Bosnia and Croatia, AFP reported on 2 June. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] CHRISTOPHER URGES BELGRADE TO MAKE CLEAN BREAK WITH BOSNIAN SERBS. R

    euters on 1 June reported that U.S. Secretary of Sate Warren Christopher has appealed to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to "take sides with the rest of the civilized world" and break ties with the Bosnian Serb leadership. Christopher also remarked that U.S. diplomatic efforts so far have failed to convince Milosevic to isolate the Bosnian Serbs. He noted that recent meetings between Milosevic and U.S. envoy Robert Frasure produced no agreement on lifting sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia in exchange for Belgrade's recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In other news, Nasa Borba on 2 June reported that 1,000 ultranationalists, meeting in Belgrade the previous day, called for the unity of all Serbian lands and support for unification between Bosnian Serb-held lands and rebel Serb-held territory in Croatia's Krajina area. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS TO START SOON?

    Negotiations between Athens andSkopje will start at UN headquarters in New York in 10 days, MIC reported on 1 June, citing Greek Mega TV. Unnamed diplomatic sources in New York and Washington are quoted as saying that a transitional agreement will be signed providing for a new Macedonian flag and the simultaneous lifting of the Greek embargo. The text of the agreement is reported to be ready. Meanwhile, Macedonian government spokesman Guner Ismail said Macedonia still insists on Greece's lifting the embargo before the talks start. Matthew Nimetz, one of the mediators in the Greek-Macedonian dispute, told Macedonian Radio that "at least for the moment, a meeting is not foreseen." -- Stefan Krause , OMRI, Inc.

    [07] UPDATE ON GREEK-TURKISH DISCORD.

    The Greek parliament's decision to ratify the Law of the Sea Convention was received coolly by Turkey, international media reported on 1 June. Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu made a clear distinction between ratification and any attempt to extend Greece's territorial waters, which, he said, Ankara would view as cause for war. Within hours of the Greek move to ratify the convention, Turkey went ahead with planned military maneuvers in the Aegean. Athens on 1 June criticized the Turkish maneuvers in the Aegean as provocative and announced it will closely monitor them, Reuters reported the same day. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said Ankara "is repeating its usual practice of artificial tension and provocations against Greece." Greece will hold a five-day exercise in the Aegean starting 5 June, but officials said it will not coincide with Turkish maneuvers. -- Lowell Bezanis and Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] G-24 OFFERS AID TO ALBANIA.

    Albanian Minister for Construction and Tourism Dashamir Shehi said after a G-24 meeting in Brussels that Albania has secured $1 billion for infrastructure investment. One-third of that amount is to come from the World Bank, one-third from EU countries, and one-third from the Albanian government, Reuters reported. Shehi also said the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, and the PHARE program have confirmed they will help finance the $28 million highway linking Tirana to Durres. Another road linking Durres to the Greek border is already under construction with funds from the EU's cross-border program totaling 45 million ECU, Rilindja Demokratike reported on 30 May. Other sectors to be supported are energy, telecommunications, and water supply. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.

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