OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 189, Part II, 28 September 1995

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] MIXED REACTIONS TO BOSNIAN AGREEMENT.

  • [2] BELGRADE CALLS FOR A CEASEFIRE . . .

  • [3] . . . WHILE RUMP YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT DOES NOT RULE OUT MORE FIGHTING.

  • [4] DISCOVERY OF MASS GRAVE LEADS TO NEW CHARGES AGAINST WAR CRIMINAL.

  • [5] CROATIA ARRESTS 395 FOR KRAJINA CRIMES.

  • [6] MORE ALBANIANS FROM MONTENEGRO TO STUDY IN ALBANIA.

  • [7] COUNCIL OF EUROPE APPROVES MACEDONIAN MEMBERSHIP.

  • [8] NEW POLITICAL ALLIANCE IN ROMANIA.

  • [9] STIFF JAIL TERMS FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS IN ROMANIA.

  • [10] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES COUNCIL OF EUROPE.

  • [11] MOLDOVAN STUDENT STRIKE COMMITTEE DEMANDS GOVERNMENT'S DISMISSAL.

  • [12] BULGARIA ANGERED BY INCLUSION ON EU BLACKLIST.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 189, Part II, 28 September 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] MIXED REACTIONS TO BOSNIAN AGREEMENT.

    Nasa Borba on 28 September cited U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as calling the accord of two days earlier a "psychological step toward peace." Tanjug quoted Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and EU mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg as dubbing it "a major step toward establishing a final peace." The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung cited Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as saying that the pact firmly establishes his Republika Srpska. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, however, stressed that the agreement keeps Bosnia as a single state. Hina reported that Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak argued that "the signed document is so vague that it has no clear provisions" for the future constitutional order. The Frankfurt daily quoted the Bosnian foreign minister as saying that free elections can take place only after Karadzic and Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic are sent to The Hague to be tried for war crimes. Bosnian army commander General Rasim Delic warned against "euphoria." Deutsche Welle on 27 September noted that the agreement is imprecise, sounds too much like earlier failed Yugoslav models, does not include a ceasefire, and involves making deals with indicted war criminals. -- Patrick Moore

    [2] BELGRADE CALLS FOR A CEASEFIRE . . .

    Rump Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic has urged an end to fighting across Bosnia within a few days, international media reported on 28 September. U.S. negotiator Richard Holbrooke is continuing his shuttle diplomacy with that end in mind, but AFP on 27 September cited complaints from the French and Italian foreign ministers about Holbrooke's alleged one-man show that ignores Washington's European allies. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said earlier that a ceasefire must involve the demilitarization of Banja Luka, an end to the "ethnic cleansing" there, the effective lifting of the siege of Sarajevo, road access to Kiseljak and Gorazde, and a large foreign troop presence to implement any peace agreement. The International Herald Tribune on 28 September reported that Bosnian Serbs fired rockets with cluster bombs at Zenica two days earlier and at Travnik the previous day. Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said that "this is an indication that the Serb terrorists are looking for a way to stop the negotiating process." Some other observers have suggested, however, that the Serbs have the most to gain by an end to the fighting. -- Patrick Moore

    [3] . . . WHILE RUMP YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT DOES NOT RULE OUT MORE FIGHTING.

    Tanjug reported that rump Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic on 26 September received a high level delegation from the Russian Federation, headed by State Duma speaker Ivan Rybkin. Lilic thanked Russia for its backing of Belgrade's "peace efforts" and for sending humanitarian aid. But while stressing rump Yugoslavia's alleged commitment to the peace process, he also observed that an end to the Balkan crisis was not necessarily in the offing. "What we do not want is to have our patience tested to the limit. . . . It is critical to concentrate our efforts on trying to stop the fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina . . . [otherwise] it is certain that the war will spill over its existing borders." -- Stan Markotich

    [4] DISCOVERY OF MASS GRAVE LEADS TO NEW CHARGES AGAINST WAR CRIMINAL.

    The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has made further charges against Dusko Tadic following the recent discovery of mass graves in northwestern Bosnia, Nasa Borba reported on 27 September. Tadic is a Bosnian Serb who is the only accused war criminal in the Bosnian conflict to have been delivered to the Hague. One of the tribunal's investigators went to the field near Kljuc to see a mass grave where the bodies of 540 people were at first reported to have been found. But Oslobodjenje on 27 September noted that about 2,000 bodies were eventually located. The new accusations charge Tadic with "war crimes committed between May and December 1992 in the concentration camps Omarska, Keraterm, and Trnopolje" as well as crimes connected with the "expulsion of Muslims from the Prijedor area." -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [5] CROATIA ARRESTS 395 FOR KRAJINA CRIMES.

    Croatian authorities have arrested 260 civilians, 70 police, and 65 soldiers in connection with the looting and torching of abandoned Serbian property since the collapse of Krajina in early August. UN spokesman Chris Gunness told news agencies on 27 September that he is still waiting for Zagreb to investigate the alleged murder of Serbian civilians by Croatian troops and to control continuing looting and torching. The Croatian authorities argue that their army is tied up in Bosnia and cannot effectively patrol all of Krajina. Novi list on 28 September reported that some abandoned Krajina Serbian homes are being given to Croatian refugees and displaced persons from the Banja Luka area. In Jajce, however, Croatian authorities have told Croats not to take homes belonging to local Muslims. -- Patrick Moore

    [6] MORE ALBANIANS FROM MONTENEGRO TO STUDY IN ALBANIA.

    Montena-fax on 27 September reported that an additional 20 ethnic Albanian students from Montenegro will be enrolled this year at Albanian universities. To date, only 30 or so Albanians from Montenegro have been studying in Albania. -- Stan Markotich

    [7] COUNCIL OF EUROPE APPROVES MACEDONIAN MEMBERSHIP.

    The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly on 27 September approved Macedonia's request for membership, AFP reported the same day. CE officials said the Committee of Ministers will formally approve the admission on 15 October; and Macedonia will officially join, together with Ukraine, on 9 November under the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia will have three seats in the assembly. Macedonia's admission to the organization is the first concrete result of the recently signed Greek-Macedonian accord, whereby Athens agreed not to object to Macedonian membership in international organizations of which it is a member. -- Stefan Krause

    [8] NEW POLITICAL ALLIANCE IN ROMANIA.

    The opposition Democratic Party- National Salvation Front and the Social Democratic Party of Romania on 27 September signed an accord on forming a political alliance, Romanian media announced the same day. Called the Social Democratic Union, the new alliance plans to run on joint lists in the 1996 parliamentary elections and in many electoral districts in local elections due to be held in early 1996. -- Michael Shafir

    [9] STIFF JAIL TERMS FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS IN ROMANIA.

    The Chamber of Deputies on 27 September voted to impose sentences of 25 years to life for drug trafficking. The relevant provisions are to be included in the new Penal Code under review by the chamber. Romanian media and international agencies reported that the legislation also provides for jail terms of up to 15 years for the production and use of narcotics. -- Michael Shafir

    [10] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES COUNCIL OF EUROPE.

    Mircea Snegur, addressing the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg on 26 September, said that Moldova wants to settle the conflict in the Transdniester region by peaceful political means, Infotag reported. He called on the Council of Europe to organize an international conference on separatism in Chisinau. In Snegur's opinion, finding a resolution to the conflict is being hampered by "Tiraspol's reluctance to agree on a compromise and by external factors, including backing by some interested forces in the Russian State Duma." Snegur also noted the Moldovan Constitution "prohibits the country's participation in any military blocs and deployment of foreign military bases on the national territory." He stressed that Moldova may participate only in programs of cooperation and training, such as NATO's Partnership for Peace program. -- Matyas Szabo

    [11] MOLDOVAN STUDENT STRIKE COMMITTEE DEMANDS GOVERNMENT'S DISMISSAL.

    Anatol Petrencu, leader of the Moldovan student strike committee, told BASA- press on 27 September that the committee is demanding that the parliament and the president dismiss the cabinet. If they fail to do so, Petrencu said, the students' demonstrations will resume on 18 October. He added that the decision was prompted by the present economic plight of the population and the authorities' indifference toward it. Presidential adviser Tudor Colesnic, who heads the commission for dealing with the strikers' economic grievances, said that for the time being, "there are no grounds" to change the government. -- Michael Shafir

    [12] BULGARIA ANGERED BY INCLUSION ON EU BLACKLIST.

    Bulgarian politicians reacted angrily to the European Union's decision to include the country on a list of nations deemed to pose a security or immigration threat, Reuters reported on 27 September. Of the six former communist countries with associate membership in the EU, only Bulgaria and Romania are included on the list of countries for which tough visa requirements will be required. Foreign Ministry spokesman Radko Vlaykov called the decision "groundless and totally unacceptable" because it puts Bulgaria "in a discriminative position compared to other East European countries." Justice Minister Mladen Chervenyakov said Bulgaria's inclusion on the list contradicted its associate EU membership. Foreign Ministry officials said they hope to get Bulgaria removed from the list before it becomes effective in six months. -- Stefan Krause

    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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