OMRI Daily Digest no. 28, part 2, 8 February 1995 [**]

Ta nea ths hmeras, apo to OMRI:

  • . 62 pthseis elikopterwn apo thn Serbia sthn Bosnia.
  • . Nea allagh grammhs sthn politikh twn HPA gia to bosniako. Aposyretai apo tis ap'eyqeias epafes me toys Serboys h Oyasingkton.
  • . O Milosebits arneitai na anagnwrisei thn Kroatia kai thn Bosnia, kai aporriptei thn gallikh prwtoboylia gia nea synodo koryfhs gia thn t. Gioygkoslabia.
  • . Ypografh symfwnias Beligradioy - Mosxas gia tis emporikes synallages twn dyo xwrwn. H Rwsia yposxetai na metaferei kerozinh sthn Gioygkoslabia o,ti qesh kai na parei o OHE.
  • * Ayjhsh twn telwn dieleyshs forthgwn kai lewforeiwn apo thn Boylgaria.
  • . Syllhch tessarwn Toyrkwn kai triwn kilwn hrwinhs apo tis albanikes arxes.
  • ** Apallagh twn tessarwn Ellhnwn ths "Omonoias" problepei o hgeths toy antipoliteyomenoy kommatos "Aleanca Demokratike". [Opws metedwse apoce to Cosmos, o dikasths Zef Mprozi edwse thn entolh na apeleyqerwqoyn oi oi tesseris, an kai o eisaggeleas exei mplokarei thn apofash. O Mprozi einai o dikasths poy apeleyqerwse ton pempto Ellhna kratoymeno, kai poy brisketai se antidikia me ton Mperisa, toy opoioy to proteinomeno syntagma eixe aporricei. Prosfata eixe apeilhqei me arsh ths dikastikhs toy asylias.]

    Dhmhtrhs Paneras

    Boston, MA

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 28, Part II, 8 February 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • UN REPORTS 62 HELICOPTER FLIGHTS FROM SERBIA INTO BOSNIA. The New York Times on 8 February quotes UN spokesmen as saying that during the first four days of the month, 62 helicopter sorties took place apparently from bases in Serbia to Srebrenica, in eastern Bosnia, where Bosnian Serbs have stepped up attacks in recent weeks. Some of the helicopters were reported to have flown "in military formation." The U.S. is demanding a UN investigation and wants to know why UN monitors were denied access to Serbian airfields at Surcin and elsewhere during that time. If it can be proved that the flights indeed came from Serbia, economic sanctions could automatically be reimposed on that country. Meanwhile, Vjesnik reports UN sources in Croatia as saying the number of flights of airplanes and helicopters from the Krajina Serb base at Udbina is increasing. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

  • YET ANOTHER CHANGE IN U.S. BOSNIAN POLICY. The Clinton administration has apparently done another flip-flop on Bosnia, The New York Times reports on 8 February. During December and January, Washington cultivated direct contacts with the Bosnian Serbs at Pale and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke was said to be the "architect" of that policy. But after failing to persuade Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to cooperate in reaching a settlement, Holbrooke is now quoted as saying that "there is no point in shuttling up the hill from Sarajevo to Pale to listen to the kind of crap which is dished out by Karadzic." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

  • MILOSEVIC REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE CROATIA AND BOSNIA. AFP reported on 7 February that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has rejected French and EU calls for a Yugoslav-area summit, calling it "a waste of precious time." He also ruled out Belgrade's recognition of Croatia and Bosnia, saying such a move "would prejudge fundamental solutions," Tanjug reported. Reuters quoted rump Yugoslav Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic as saying that such recognition was "out of the question." Croatian and Bosnian officials have long called for Serbia to recognize them in their internationally valid frontiers as proof that Belgrade has given up on plans to carve out a Greater Serbia at its neighbors' expense. Hina cites Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic as noting that President Franjo Tudjman would attend a summit "provided the meeting is organized and thoroughly prepared." He also pointed out the connection between holding a summit and the participants' recognition of one another's frontiers. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

  • BELGRADE, MOSCOW SIGN TRADE ACCORD. Tanjug on 7 February reported that Russian Deputy Premier Oleg Davydov and rump Yugoslav authorities signed a bilateral trade accord paving the way for Russian deliveries of kerosene and gas to the rump Yugoslavia until 2010. Davydov was on an official visit to the Serbian capital. Reuters quotes him as saying Russia will deliver kerosene even if the UN Sanctions Committee, monitoring the international embargo against Belgrade, were to signal its disapproval. "Should the UN Sanctions Committee fail to accept our decision, the only way out for us would be to leave the committee, or find a way of carrying out those deliveries," he commented. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

  • BULGARIA INCREASES ROAD TRANSIT FEES. The Bulgarian Transport Ministry has trebled the charges for bus and truck transits through Bulgaria, dpa reported on 6 February. The new fees are 24,000 leva ($360) plus a highway fee of 64 leva ($1) per kilometer. Passenger cars are exempted from the transit payment but have to pay a highway fee of 6 leva per kilometer. The Transport Ministry said the increases are due to the steep devaluation in 1994 of the Bulgarian currency. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

  • ALBANIAN POLICE MAKE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST-EVER DRUG HAUL. Albanian police have seized 3 kilograms of heroin in the country's biggest-ever drug haul, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 8 February. Four Turkish citizens were arrested in possession of the drug on 6 February. The haul has an estimated West European market value of about $500,000. The newspaper also noted that the consumption of heroin, virtually unknown in Albania until 1993, has somewhat increased. The first proof of heroin usage in Albania since the end of communism was the case of a 17-year-old girl admitted to the hospital for an overdose in early 1994. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

  • ALBANIAN ETHNIC GREEKS' SENTENCES TO BE LIFTED? International agencies reported on 7 February that the prison terms of four ethnic Greeks sentenced for espionage and illegal possession of arms will likely be lifted by the Supreme Court. Gramoz Pashko, leader of the opposition party Aleanca Demokratike, said he is "confident" the court will make the right decision, adding that Tirana should take a more flexible attitude toward its ethnic Greek minority. Supreme Court chief judge Zef Brozi, who will preside over the trial, said a recent government move to lift his immunity may have been aimed at preventing him from freeing the four. The parliament voted against lifting his immunity. Greece has demanded the release of the four prisoners as a precondition for reestablishing normal diplomatic relations. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [As of 12:00 CET] Compiled by Jan Cleave