OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 145, 27 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] U.S. SENATE VOTES TO LIFT BOSNIAN ARMS EMBARGO.

  • [02] MLADIC CALLS ON GORAZDE TO SURRENDER.

  • [03] CROATS MAKE BREAKTHROUGH SOUTH OF BIHAC.

  • [04] BOUTROS GHALI DELEGATES AUTHORITY FOR AIR STRIKES.

  • [05] WHAT DID MILOSEVIC TELL KOZYREV?

  • [06] BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS LIKELY IN OCTOBER.

  • [07] BULGARIAN OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF VIOLATING SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.

  • [08] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT POSTPONES REVIEW OF NANO'S CASE.

  • [09] ALBANIANS PROTEST DRAFT LAND LAW.

  • [10] GREEK PRIME MINISTER ON DISPUTE WITH MACEDONIA.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 145, Part II, 27 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] U.S. SENATE VOTES TO LIFT BOSNIAN ARMS EMBARGO.

    The Senate voted 69-29 on 26 July to end the embargo against the Bosnian government once UNPROFOR withdraws or within 12 weeks of Sarajevo's asking it to do so. Majority Leader Bob Dole said it was a matter of "whether some small country that's been ravaged on all sides, pillaged, women raped, children killed, has any rights in this world." He received strong bi- partisan support and enough votes to override President Bill Clinton's threatened veto. Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein warned that the Serbs want to set up "a Fourth Reich dedicated to the genocide of a people just because they are different." Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic had asked the Senate to "untie our hands so that we may protect ourselves," and later welcomed the outcome of the vote. The VOA called the ballot "a stinging rebuke of [Clinton's] Bosnian policy." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] MLADIC CALLS ON GORAZDE TO SURRENDER.

    Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic told the defenders of Gorazde that if they laid down their arms, his forces would not attack them, Bosnian Serb Radio reported on 26 July. Meanwhile, what the VOA called "another example of Serbian ethnic cleansing" continues at Zepa, where the UN said that 8,000 refugees are "on the run . . . [in] another humanitarian disaster in the making," AFP reported. There is still no word on the fate of Zepa's military-aged men, but refugees arriving in Sarajevo and Kladanj called the UN presence "useless," the BBC said on 27 July. The refugees were dumped on the edge of no-man's land, which they had to cross on foot to Bosnian government lines. UN mission chief Yasushi Akashi said, "We are watching the situation most attentively." AFP reported from Geneva that UN special rapporteur for human rights, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, has resigned his post in protest over the international community's inaction in the wake of the disasters at Srebrenica and Zepa. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] CROATS MAKE BREAKTHROUGH SOUTH OF BIHAC.

    Hina on 27 July reported that Bosnian Croat forces (HVO) have made great advances along the line between Tomislavgrad and Grahovo. The biggest gains are in the Livno region, and the HVO is now 4 km from Serb-held Glamoc and 8 km from the strategic town of Grahovo. Some 250 Serbian refugees fled to Knin, while the total of Muslim refugees from the Serbian advance to the north has reached 8,000, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Fierce fighting continues on all fronts around the Bihac pocket, which has a population of about 180,000. Local Muslim renegade Fikret Abdic on 26 July proclaimed a Republic of West Bosnia, but the BBC called his gesture "meaningless" since Abdic is dependent on the Serbs. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] BOUTROS GHALI DELEGATES AUTHORITY FOR AIR STRIKES.

    International media on 25 July reported that the UN secretary-general has authorized the UNPROFOR commander, General Bernard Janvier, to approve air strikes in conjunction with NATO, effective immediately. The Atlantic alliance was anxious to remove the hesitant Boutros Boutros Ghali and especially Akashi from the chain of command. Turkey, meanwhile, announced a long- term military cooperation agreement with Bosnia but said that it will not unilaterally break the arms embargo, which it nonetheless opposes. The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that "a genocide is going on in Zepa, Srebrenica, and Bihac . . . [and that] no UN official must remain neutral in the face of the aggressor and the victim." Iran declared a week of solidarity with Bosnia, and in Athens a demonstration against war and nationalism took place in front of the rump Yugoslav embassy, BETA reported on 26 July. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] WHAT DID MILOSEVIC TELL KOZYREV?

    BETA on 26 July reported that at hisrecent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Andreii Kozyrev, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic used the occasion to inform Russia that Belgrade is prepared to recognize Bosnia-Herzegovina, but only in exchange for a the lifting of all sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia. Since at least May 1995, Milosevic has insisted that he will barter recognition for a lifting of sanctions, prompting a wave of diplomatic initiatives aimed at securing such an exchange. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS LIKELY IN OCTOBER.

    Bulgarian Socialist Party caucus leader Krasimir Premyanov on 26 July said local elections will most likely take place on 15 October, Bulgarian media reported the same day. He was speaking after meeting with President Zhelyu Zhelev to discuss the issue. Zhelev on 27 July will meet with leaders of the opposition caucuses to discuss the date of the elections and possible changes in the composition of the Central Electoral Commission. Meanwhile, the opposition parties have again failed to agree on a common candidate for mayoral elections in the capital. At a meeting of the six parties that signed a cooperation agreement in June, the People's Union insisted that the national leaderships of the parties convene to discuss the matter. This was dismissed by the other organizations. The Union of Democratic Forces, nonetheless, invited the group's leaderships to meet on 27 July, saying the nomination of a common candidate is the "duty of all non-communist forces." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIAN OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF VIOLATING SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.

    Former Director-General of the Bulgarian State Railways Atanas Tonev has been charged in connection with violations of the UN embargo against rump Yugoslavia, Standart and Trud reported on 27 July. Tonev has been charged in 10 instances, but prosecutors did not say what evidence they have against him. The press says the charges include the illegal export of fuel, furniture, and cement to the rump Yugoslavia. Standart reports that former deputy prime ministers, ministers, and parliamentary deputies will soon be questioned. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT POSTPONES REVIEW OF NANO'S CASE.

    At the request of Prosecutor-General Alush Dragoshi, the Supreme Court has postponed reviewing the case of Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano until September, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 27 July. Dragoshi explained that Nano's appeal writ was missing. He also requested the removal of Supreme Court Chief Judge Zef Brozi from the case, but the court rejected that request. Dragoshi argued that Brozi was biased, since he had announced earlier that Nano should be released. Nano is serving a prison term for the misappropriation of some $9 million in Italian aid. He has appealed for his release, saying his term has been reduced by various amnesties and the new penal code. An appeals court ruled earlier that Nano should have received a higher sentence under the new penal code and therefore should stay in jail. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] ALBANIANS PROTEST DRAFT LAND LAW.

    Albanian demonstrators had to use a foreign express delivery service to send a petition to the parliament protesting a draft law land after lawmakers told them it had to arrive by post, Reuters reports on 27 July. The protesters had tried in vain for two days to hand over the list of signatures before resorting to use of the delivery service. Opposition parties have criticized the draft law, saying it will undermine the property rights of those who owned property before communism. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] GREEK PRIME MINISTER ON DISPUTE WITH MACEDONIA.

    Andreas Papandreou said Greece and Macedonia do not agree on 10% of the disputed questions, MIC reported on 26 July, citing the Greek daily Elevtherotypia. Papandreou said Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov continues to stress that the Greek embargo against his country must be lifted before he will make any concessions. The Greek premier said Greece cannot lift the embargo unless Gligorov undertakes "specific measures." According to Papandreou, words are not enough. Both the Macedonian flag and constitution must be changed before the embargo is lifted, he said. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

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

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