OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 136, 14 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] "BIGGEST 'ETHNIC CLEANSING' YET IN THE BOSNIAN CONFLICT."

  • [02] SILAJDZIC SAYS SERBS "POISED FOR THE KILL" AROUND ZEPA.

  • [03] CONFUSION IN THE WHITE HOUSE . . .

  • [04] . . . WHILE FRANCE DEMANDS ACTION.

  • [05] AND THE LESSONS FROM IT ALL?

  • [06] KONTIC CALLS FOR "FAIR SOLUTION."

  • [07] GREEK VOLUNTEERS FOUGHT ALONGSIDE BOSNIAN SERBS.

  • [08] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES LOCAL ELECTION LAW.

  • [09] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT ADOPTS SECURITY CONCEPT.

  • [10] GREEK EXTREMISTS CHARGED WITH MURDER OF ALBANIAN SOLDIERS.

  • [11] GREEK-ALBANIAN COMMISSION MEET IN TIRANA.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 136, Part II, 14 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] "BIGGEST 'ETHNIC CLEANSING' YET IN THE BOSNIAN CONFLICT."

    This is howthe VOA on 13 July described the expulsion of some 30,000 mainly Muslim refugees from the Dutch base at Potocari, north of Srebrenica, to Bosnian government lines and ultimately to makeshift camps in Tuzla. Only some 400 refugees remain at Potocari, from where the Serbs have taken 55 Dutch peacekeepers hostage. It is unclear where the Serbs got the vehicles and the fuel to mount such a huge and obviously well- planned operation. Familiar patterns of systematic Serbian behavior have emerged once again: terrified civilians dumped on the edge of a heavily- mined no-man's land that had to be crossed in darkness; military-age men carted off in another direction for "screening"; young women abducted and not heard from again; and robberies, abuses, and rapes reported. One UN spokesman said "there is no justification in the world" for the Serbs' actions. Another told Reuters that "the scale of the operation has been flabbergasting." AFP quoted Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic as saying that "all the civilians who expressed the desire to leave the enclave were evacuated this afternoon." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] SILAJDZIC SAYS SERBS "POISED FOR THE KILL" AROUND ZEPA.

    The BBC on 14 July said that Bosnia's prime minister believes that the UN-declared "safe area" at Zepa is next on the Serbs' list as they seek to eliminate government-held pockets and free up their scarce manpower for use elsewhere. Berlin's Tageszeitung the previous day reported that the remote area consists of the villages of Luka, Slap, and Zepa and is of no strategic value. Some 15-20,000 mainly Muslim refugees are gathered in the valley by Mt. Zlovrh. AFP quoted Bosnian Serb authorities as claiming that "representatives" from Zepa and the "safe area" of Gorazde are ready to recognize Pale's authority. Bosnian Serb officials said that "all the inhabitants of the two enclaves who wish to will be transferred in total security to the limits of Serbian control." Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic added that he hopes to conquer Bihac, Tuzla, and Sarajevo as well. The International Herald Tribune noted on 14 July that the Serbs have told Zepa's 79 Ukrainian peacekeepers to leave. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] CONFUSION IN THE WHITE HOUSE . . .

    Karadzic called for a new international peace conference to "ratify" his forces' control of 70% of Bosnia's territory, AFP reported on 13 July. The VOA and the French news agency said that U.S. President Bill Clinton dubbed the fall of Srebrenica "a serious challenge to the UN mission," adding that "unless we can restore the integrity of the UN mission, obviously its days would be numbered." He agreed in telephone conversations with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl that one should "reinforce the UN mission" and that the allies should have a common policy, but he did not spell out what that policy is. Clinton added that the arms embargo against the Bosnian government could be lifted only in concert with the allies and if the UN mission collapsed. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali has dispatched mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg to the region. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] . . . WHILE FRANCE DEMANDS ACTION.

    But Paris seems intent on showing that its calls for a tough response to the Serbs are more than just posturing. AFP on 14 July reports that France wants an immediate reply from its Western allies on its call for military intervention to defend the UN "safe areas" from the Serbs. "The situation cannot wait," Defense Minister Charles Millon told the radio station France Inter. "If in 48 hours we do not have a response on the part of the Western powers, France will have to draw the conclusions." Millon did not specify what measures he has in mind but said the French contribution to the Rapid Reaction Force is ready to act. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] AND THE LESSONS FROM IT ALL?

    International media continued to discussthe significance of the fall of Srebrenica, and virtually all agreed it was a watershed. Some commentators wrote that UNPROFOR must remain because its key task is to ensure the delivery of relief shipments. Some questioned whether this point is valid, since the Serbs block most convoys and value the soldiers chiefly as hostages. Other observers noted that UNPROFOR may have to stay, since any withdrawal could be fraught with dangers. The VOA on 13 July quoted one top U.S. diplomat as calling the fall of Srebrenica the greatest Western collective failure since the 1930s. One commentator added that all diplomatic efforts in Bosnia to date have lacked a serious threat of force and that force "is the only language" the Serbian leaderships in Belgrade and Pale seem to understand. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] KONTIC CALLS FOR "FAIR SOLUTION."

    Rump Yugoslav Prime Minister RadojeKontic has called for "the immediate cessation of all military operations and direct talks between the warring parties (in Bosnia) on the basis of the 'Contact Group' peace plan," international agencies reported. Kontic did not mention the capture of Srebrenica but added he opposed "military pressure or war by anyone." He also said he was opposed to bringing in external military factors or to a retreat of UNPROFOR or a modification of their mandate. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] GREEK VOLUNTEERS FOUGHT ALONGSIDE BOSNIAN SERBS.

    AFP on 13 July reported that a dozen Greek volunteers fought along Bosnian Serbs who captured Srebrenica. According to a report in the Greek daily Ethnos, they raised the Greek flag over the town's destroyed Orthodox church. Since the start of the war, about 100 Greeks have fought in a "guard of volunteers" based in Vlasenica, in central Bosnia. They were recruited in Belgrade, and liaison offices have been set up in Athens and Thessaloniki. A student working in one of the offices said he received may calls from "patriotic" candidates and claimed to have fought himself in Bosnia for six months. He added the Greek authorities "never caused any problems" and that the Greek intelligence service was in touch with the volunteers. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES LOCAL ELECTION LAW.

    The National Assembly on 13 July passed the law on local elections on its second reading, Demokratsiya reported the following day. Under the new legislation, the three mayoral candidates who receive the most votes in the first round of elections take part in the second. The opposition objected to this provision, saying it favors the governing Bulgarian Socialist Party. Opposition deputies demanded that either the two best-placed candidates or all candidates who gain a certain percentage go on to the second round. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT ADOPTS SECURITY CONCEPT.

    RFE/RL on 13 July reported that the Bulgarian government has adopted a national security concept that provides for the eventual drafting of a national military and foreign relations doctrine. Defense Minister Dimitar Pavlov said the document called for civilian control over the country's defense system. Bulgaria will strive to be a factor of peace and stability in the region, he added. The security concept will be submitted to the parliament, which will decide whether to adopt it as law or consider it as offering guidelines. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] GREEK EXTREMISTS CHARGED WITH MURDER OF ALBANIAN SOLDIERS.

    A former Greek army officer and a former Greek police officer on 13 July were charged with the murder of two Albanian soldiers during a cross-border raid in April 1994, Reuters reported the same day. The extreme-right Northern Epirus Liberation Front (MAVI) claimed responsibility for the attack on an Albanian army camp in Peshkepi, where 15 Kalashnikov rifles were stolen. The weapons were found in a crackdown on MAVI members last March, which led to the arrest of eight men who were charged with illegal possession of firearms. New evidence led Prosecutor Apostolos Papatheodorou to charge the two former officers with murder. Under Greek law, the six other men cannot be charged in Greece with murders committed on Albanian soil, since they are Albanian citizens. Instead, they have been charged with endangering Greek relations with a neighboring country and risking war. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [11] GREEK-ALBANIAN COMMISSION MEET IN TIRANA.

    The joint Greek-Albanian commission met in Tirana on 13 July, Lajmi i Dites reported the same day. Albanian Deputy Foreign Minister Arian Starova and Greek Secretary- General in the Foreign Ministry Konstantinos Georgiou discussed juridical and diplomatic questions as well as border and defense relations. The talks also focused on work migration, education, and cultural and economic cooperation. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

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

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute
    news2html v2.09c run on Friday, 14 July 1995 - 13:20:53