OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 137, 17 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] EVIDENCE OF "WAR CRIMES" AFTER SERBS TAKE SREBRENICA.

  • [02] DID SERBS FROM SERBIA LEAD THE ASSAULT?

  • [03] "ZEPA ABOUT TO FALL."

  • [04] CHIRAC COMPARES SERB CRIMES TO THOSE OF NAZIS.

  • [05] WILL THE U.S. MOVE TO LIFT THE ARMS EMBARGO?

  • [06] MONTENEGRIN ECONOMIC MIRACLE?

  • [07] BULGARIA LOWERS PRIME INTEREST RATE.

  • [08] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADS POLLS IN SOFIA.

  • [09] MACEDONIAN-TURKISH FRIENDSHIP TREATY SIGNED.

  • [10] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT TO CHARGE FINANCE MINISTER?

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 137, Part II, 17 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] EVIDENCE OF "WAR CRIMES" AFTER SERBS TAKE SREBRENICA.

    The BBC and VOA reported on 16 and 17 July on a growing body of evidence indicating that Bosnian Serb forces committed extensive and grisly atrocities against Muslim civilian refugees following the fall of the UN-designated "safe area" of Srebrenica on 11 July. Persons of both sexes and all ages appear to have been victims in what the VOA on 14 July already called "massive massacres" and "horrendous crimes." Independent Belgrade media are also investigating. The Bosnian Serbs have told the UN that no relief convoys will be allowed through their territory in eastern Bosnia for some days and have yet to let Red Cross monitors visit Muslim male prisoners in Bratunac. Mlada fronta dnes reported on 17 July, however, that the Serbs have released all the Dutch peacekeepers they had been holding hostage. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] DID SERBS FROM SERBIA LEAD THE ASSAULT?

    Bosnian military authorities saythat the assault on the "safe area" was led by General Momcilo Perisic, the chief of the rump Yugoslav General Staff. He was assisted by his own army's artillery and by the irregulars of internationally-wanted war criminal Zeljko Raznjatovic "Arkan," Vjesnik reported on 17 July. Meanwhile, on the Croatian General Staff, General Janko Bobetko, 75, resigned as chief and was replaced by General Zvonimir Cervenko, 64. Bobetko was the architect of the strategy of retaking Serb-held territories through small steps, and both men served in the former Yugoslav army. Bobetko's retirement has long been expected, and Hina carried the story on 15 July. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] "ZEPA ABOUT TO FALL."

    This is the headline of Nasa Borba on 17 July,while the VOA talks of "a relentless Serb tank and artillery assault" the previous day. AFP quoted Muslim defenders on the morning of 17 July as saying that they have repulsed the Serb attacks and that the night was quiet. On 16 July NATO jets flew over the "safe area" in response to a call by Ukrainian peacekeepers for an "air presence," but the planes did not attack Serb positions. UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi told AFP that the UN "is in a very difficult position," while EU negotiator Carl Bildt warned that tough measures against the Serbs would only lead to a broader "Balkan war." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] CHIRAC COMPARES SERB CRIMES TO THOSE OF NAZIS.

    French President Jacques Chirac on 16 July became the first holder of that office to discuss publicly French complicity in the deportations of Jews during World War II. He used the occasion to compare the atrocities of the Bosnian Serbs to those of the Nazis, Nasa Borba and international media reported. He warned of the implications for democratic values of tolerating such behavior and cautioned against forgetting the lessons of history. Radio France International said that Paris wants an international force consisting of France, Britain, Germany, and the U.S. to keep the Serbs out of Gorazde and Sarajevo. The French, British, and American chiefs of the respective general staffs met in London on 16 July to discuss Bosnia, and their defense ministers will gather later in the week. It is unclear what, if anything, has been decided. AFP on 17 July reported that the U.S. is reluctant to help a British and French effort to shore up Gorazde. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] WILL THE U.S. MOVE TO LIFT THE ARMS EMBARGO?

    A vote is likely soon inthe Senate to oppose continuation of the UN mission in Bosnia and to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian government. The VOA and BBC said that sentiments are growing in the face of Serb aggression and UN helplessness that "enough is enough." One senator said that if the Serbs in any way harm U.S. personnel assisting in the evacuation of UNPROFOR, then Washington's response should be "the most massive air strikes imaginable," including attacks on Belgrade. The Clinton administration opposes such measures, but Secretary of State Warren Christopher said that it was probably a mistake to put the international effort in Bosnia under UN supervision. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] MONTENEGRIN ECONOMIC MIRACLE?

    According to Montenegro's official Bureauof Statistics, June industrial production in that rump Yugoslav republic provides grounds for optimism, Montena-fax reported on 14 July. According to the bureau, overall June production was up some 22% from the previous month. Leading the growth rates were sharp rises in coal and metal production. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIA LOWERS PRIME INTEREST RATE.

    The Bulgarian National Bank on 14 July cut its prime interest rate by five points to 39%, AFP reported the same day. The new rate becomes effective on 17 July. BNB Governor Todor Valchev said the rate has fallen from 72% at the beginning of 1995, and might fall to 27-30% by the end of the year. The rate was reduced because inflation is relatively low; in June, it was 0.5%, the lowest since the beginning of economic reforms in 1991. Inflation for the first half of 1995 totaled 15.2% as opposed to 59.4% in the first half of 1994. Economists say inflation has dropped because the buying power of the population has fallen sharply, and because the government has taken restrictive measures. But they warn that it may rise sharply at the end of the year. The National Statistical Institute expects inflation to fall to about 40% in 1995, down from 121.9% the previous year. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADS POLLS IN SOFIA.

    Former Prime Minister Reneta Indzhova is the most popular mayoral candidate in the Bulgarian capital, according to an opinion poll published in Trud on 15 June. Indzhova, whose candidacy for the fall elections was proposed by the People's Union, would get 28% of the vote if the elections were held now. Stefan Sofiyanski of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) would get 20%, and the as yet unnamed Bulgarian Socialist Party candidate 19%. Of the SDS followers, 54% said they will vote for Sofiyanski, and 34% will support Indzhova. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] MACEDONIAN-TURKISH FRIENDSHIP TREATY SIGNED.

    Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and his Macedonian counterpart Kiro Gligorov signed a friendship and cooperation agreement between their countries in Skopje on 14 July, MIC and Reuters reported the same day. Foreign ministers Erdal Inonu and Stevo Crvenkovski, meanwhile, signed a treaty on protection of investments. Demirel defended the Macedonian position in the conflict with Greece about its name saying that "Macedonia is a reality and the name which it will bear belongs to it alone." Talking about the Bosnian conflict, Demirel called for lifting the arms embargo against the Bosnian government, arguing that "if you can't stop the war, at least you give the attacked side a chance to defend itself." -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT TO CHARGE FINANCE MINISTER?

    The head of theAlbanian Supreme Court, Zef Brozi, has warned Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni he could be charged with failing to comply with his ministerial duties, Koha Jone reported on 16 July. Brozi has accused Vrioni of holding back the budget of the courts, which was approved in April, and said he would ask the prosecutor on 17 July to start investigations unless payments are made. Brozi claims that withholding the budget is an attempt to diminish the independence of the courts. He had earlier criticized plans by the ruling Democrats to subordinate the courts' budget to the authority of the Ministry of Justice. The Democrats withdrew the disputed bill before the admission of Albania to the Council of Europe. -- 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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