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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 227, 21 November 1995

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] DAYTON DEADLINES COME AND GO.

  • [2] HAVE THE TALKS DIED?

  • [3] FIRST MUSLIM ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES.

  • [4] CROATIA, RUMP YUGOSLAVIA AGREE ON PRISONERS, MISSING PERSONS.

  • [5] BELGRADE OFFICIAL SAYS NO EXTRADITION FOR WAR CRIMINALS.

  • [6] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER PROPOSES EXPANDED NATIONALIST ALLIANCE.

  • [7] STOCK EXCHANGE OPENS IN BUCHAREST.

  • [8] SNEGUR SAYS SUMMIT MEETING "QUESTIONABLE."

  • [9] BULGARIAN, GREEK, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.

  • [10] LARGE OIL DEPOSITS DISCOVERED IN ALBANIA.

  • [11] STOCK MARKET TO OPEN IN ALBANIA.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 227, Part II, 21 November 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] DAYTON DEADLINES COME AND GO.

    Two "last-chance" deadlines declared by the U.S. State Department came and went on November 20-21, and still no peace agreement was announced. The BBC said that the three groups of "Yugoslavs called the Americans' bluff." Regional and international media stressed that the problem remains territorial issues, specifically the Posavina corridor in the north and the status of Sarajevo. The Bosnian and Serbian delegations at different points each had their respective aircraft's engines started, and German media said that only a telephone call from President Bill Clinton dissuaded his Croatian counterpart, Franjo Tudjman, from leaving as well. The final deadline passed after a late night marathon session. -- Patrick Moore

    [2] HAVE THE TALKS DIED?

    State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that"these talks have not failed. The negotiators continue to negotiate." Bosnian Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey, however, said the talks had indeed collapsed. Off the record, unnamed U.S. officials also told news agencies they were pessimistic. The BBC quoted Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic as telling Bosnian Radio on 21 November that the talks were in a crisis but had not failed. Speculation now centers on the possibility of continuing discussions in Dayton for an unspecified length of time or holding them at some future date elsewhere, such as Paris. The Dayton round has dragged on for three weeks amid Spartan living conditions and a virtual news blackout. Tudjman has twice left on business and returned. The problem remains that core issues are unsettled and that no side has been totally defeated on the battlefield and hence forced to negotiate a settlement. -- Patrick Moore

    [3] FIRST MUSLIM ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES.

    Nasa Borba and Novi list reported on 21 November that an unidentified Bosnian Muslim was arrested in the Netherlands on 15 November at the request of the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The man is suspected of having killed a large number of Bosnian Serb civilians while serving with the Bosnian Croat army, and he is expected to be formally charged within a month. Of the 52 men indicted for war crimes to date, 45 are Serbs, including Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic. The remaining seven are Croats; but to date, apart from the unidentified Bosnian Muslim, only one of the 52 has been arrested, namely the Serbian prison guard Dusko Tadic. Croatia wants some Muslims charged with war crimes for atrocities committed against Croatian civilians in 1991 when the Muslims in question were serving with the rump Yugoslav army. -- Patrick Moore

    [4] CROATIA, RUMP YUGOSLAVIA AGREE ON PRISONERS, MISSING PERSONS.

    The Croatian and Serbian foreign ministers have signed an accord in Dayton on the immediate release of all detainees as a part of a general agreement on prisoners and missing persons, Reuters reported on 20 November. According to unofficial estimates, more than 10,000 Croats have been missing since 1991. An investigation is to be launched into the fate of those still unaccounted for. In another development, Minister for Refugees Adalbert Rebic announced his resignation owing to "numerous obligations elsewhere," Slobodna Dalmacija reported the next day. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [5] BELGRADE OFFICIAL SAYS NO EXTRADITION FOR WAR CRIMINALS.

    The Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA on 19 November reported that Borisav Jovic, the chairman of the rump Yugoslav legislature's Foreign Policy Committee, said Belgrade is not prepared to turn over accused war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Jovic said that sending accused criminals to the Hague to face charges would violate the rump Yugoslav constitution, which purportedly stipulates that rump Yugoslav nationals may not be handed to a "foreign" tribunal. Jovic did, however, reiterate Belgrade's official line on war crimes, observing that "we oppose them, and we will prosecute criminals if there are any." * Stan Markotich

    [6] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER PROPOSES EXPANDED NATIONALIST ALLIANCE.

    Speaking at the National Convention of the Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR) in Bucharest on 17 November, PUNR chairman Gheorghe Funar proposed that the chauvinist Greater Romania Party (PRM) join the National Unity Bloc (BUN), which includes the PUNR, the Democratic Agrarian Party, and the Romanian Ecologist Movement. Addressing the gathering, PRM chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor said there has never been any conflict between the two parties. Curierul national on 18 November wrote that Funar told the PUNR gathering that his party has no intention of leaving the alliance with the PDSR. Also on 18 November, Funar was re-elected chairman of the PUNR. He accused President Ion Iliescu of attempting to stage his ouster. Presidential spokesman Traian Chebeleu on 20 November rejected the accusation. -- Michael Shafir

    [7] STOCK EXCHANGE OPENS IN BUCHAREST.

    Romania's first stock exchange since World War II opened on 20 November in Bucharest, Radio Bucharest and international agencies reported. A total of seven companies were quoted at the opening session, with five more due to appear in the near future, exchange officials said. Of the seven listed companies, only one is completely in private hands; the Romanian state still holds a 70% stake in the other six. The opening of a stock exchange was one of the conditions set by IMF for the granting of new credits to Romania. Initially, it will operate only once a week. -- Matyas Szabo

    [8] SNEGUR SAYS SUMMIT MEETING "QUESTIONABLE."

    At a meeting with head of theOSCE Permanent Mission to Moldova Michael Wygant, President Mircea Snegur welcomed the decision to prolong the mission and the "firm position of most OSCE members at a recent meeting in Vienna in support of Moldova's efforts to remove Russian troops from its territory." Snegur said his next meeting with Igor Smirnov, scheduled for 29 November, was now "questionable" because the Tiraspol leadership is seeking help from the Russian State Duma and requesting the recognition of "their illegitimate, self-proclaimed republic." He added that the "Tiraspol leaders are taking their time, are waiting for the results of the parliamentary elections in Russia and, in fact, are grossly violating our earlier agreements." The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on all UN and OSCE members to express disapproval of the Duma's resolution on the Transdniestrian problem, Infotag reported on 20 November. -- Michael Shafir

    [9] BULGARIAN, GREEK, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.

    Georgi Pirinski, Karolos Papoulias, and Hennadii Udovenko met in Sofia on 20 November to discuss possible cooperation between their countries, Reuters reported the same day. They agreed to boost cooperation in regional transportation, telecommunications, and natural gas and oil pipeline projects "through coordinated initiatives." In separate talks with Papoulias and Udovenko, Pirinski discussed joint participation in rebuilding the war-battered former Yugoslav republics. Udovenko and Pirinski also signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement. Also on 20 November, Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos arrived for a three- day state visit and met with Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev to discuss the situation in the former Yugoslavia and bilateral relations. -- Stefan Krause

    [10] LARGE OIL DEPOSITS DISCOVERED IN ALBANIA.

    According to Albanian Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Abdyl Xhaja, more than 440 million tons of oil-deposits have been discovered in the regions of Durres, Patos, and Tirana, AFP reported on 21 November. Contracts for exploitation have reportedly been signed with Shell, OMV, BHP, OXY, and Agip, which had invested more than $100 million dollars over the past two years in on- and off-shore prospecting. The firms are expecting to spend another $60 million in 1996. Current on-shore production of an estimated 1,200 barrels a day could shortly rise to 20,000 barrels. More than 200 foreign firms have been asked to study production possibilities. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [11] STOCK MARKET TO OPEN IN ALBANIA.

    Albanian Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni said a stock market will open in March 1996, Reuters reported on 20 November. It will trade shares in Albania's recently privatized companies. The government is preparing to set up a register of shares. So far, 20 holding companies have been privatized through the sale of vouchers; and there are now 4,068 shareholders in Albania, of whom 2,700 are employees of the privatized companies. According to Vrioni, another 25 enterprises will be privatized soon. Rothschild Bank, Greek Alfa Financing, Salomon Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and a Bulgarian group have already requested information on Albanian investment funds. A minimum of $20,000 is required to set up an investment fund, and foreigners may own no more than 50%. -- Fabian Schmidt

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
    For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz

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