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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 193, 4 October 1995

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] CONTRADICTORY REPORTS ON MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT'S CONDITION.

  • [2] REACTIONS TO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.

  • [3] PRELIMINARY SETTLEMENT REACHED IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

  • [4] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES OFFENSIVE.

  • [5] OTHER REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS.

  • [6] HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVO.

  • [7] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ENDS U.S. VISIT.

  • [8] BULGARIA TO RESTART NUCLEAR REACTOR.

  • [9] BULGARIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT INVALIDATES ANOTHER LAW.

  • [10] ALBANIA TO OPEN MINORITY SCHOOLS.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 193, Part II, 4 October 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] CONTRADICTORY REPORTS ON MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT'S CONDITION.

    One day after the attempt to assassinate Kiro Gligorov (see OMRI Daily Digest, 3 October 1995), reports by international and Macedonian media about his condition are still contradictory. Parliamentary chairman Stojan Andov said Gligorov's life is not in danger "at this moment." A hospital statement says that Gligorov is in a "serious but stable situation" after undergoing surgery, that he risks losing his right eye, and that he has several pieces of shrapnel lodged in his brain. Gligorov was operated on for several hours, and more operations may take place in the next few days. Surgeons from France, Greece, Germany, and the U.S. are in Skopje to offer assistance. The New York Times on 4 October cites a Western diplomat as saying it is "touch and go" and "not sure if he is going to make it." Latest reports suggest that about 20 kg of explosives were used in the attempt on Gligorov's life. So far, no one has claimed responsibility, and the identity of the arrested suspects still has not been disclosed. -- Stefan Krause

    [2] REACTIONS TO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.

    Representatives of all Macedonian parties, regardless of political or ethnic orientation, have condemned the attempt on Gligorov's life, MIC and international media reported on 3 October. Ljupco Georgievski, chairman of the nationalist Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization--Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity, called the attempt an "act of terrorism" and canceled a demonstration against the government scheduled for 4 October. Meanwhile, politicians from abroad have expressed their hope that Gligorov will recover soon and that the attempt on his life will not have a negative influence on recent developments in the southern Balkans. Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke were among those who wished Gligorov a speedy recovery. -- Stefan Krause

    [3] PRELIMINARY SETTLEMENT REACHED IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

    Croatian and rebel Serb negotiators met with UN and U.S. mediators in Erdut in eastern Slavonia on 3 October. They reached a preliminary agreement that provides for a transition period before the region returns to Croatian control. The area has first-rate agricultural land and is rich in oil and gas, and there had been speculation that Serbia, which borders eastern Slavonia, would not give it up. But U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith told the BBC that the Serbian negotiators have made the major concession of accepting Croatian sovereignty. That broadcast said there were differences over the length of a transition period, with the Croats accepting a maximum of one year and the Serbs wanting five years. Reuters reported that both sides agreed on a two-year transition, but not on the nature of the interim authority. Croatian negotiator Hrvoje Sarinic said that Croatia would still consider a military option if no final settlement were reached by 30 November. -- Patrick Moore

    [4] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES OFFENSIVE.

    International media on 3 October reported that Bosnian government forces began a major offensive around Mt. Treskavica aimed at blocking the Serbian supply route along the Sarajevo-Trnovo road. Four heavy mortars fired scores of shells at Serbian positions from what the UN said was within the 20 km heavy weapons exclusion zone around the Bosnian capital. A UN spokesman called the action "outrageous" and said there would be a protest to the Bosnian authorities "at the highest level." He said the Serbs have demanded to be allowed to return their big guns to the area but were told "no way." He added that the UN intends to enforce the exclusion zone. -- Patrick Moore

    [5] OTHER REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS.

    The UN Security Council on 3 October criticized Croatia for forcing Bosnian refugees to go home before those areas could be considered safe, the BBC reported. Novi list on 4 October quoted Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic as saying that his government will ask Croatia to extradite renegade Muslim kingpin Fikret Abdic. Meanwhile in Croatia, the opposition has invited international observers to monitor the 29 October parliamentary elections. The Rijeka daily also carries the full declaration by the Croatian Helsinki Committee on the "massacre in the village of Varivode" of 12 elderly Serbs by uniformed men on 28 September. -- Patrick Moore

    [6] HUMAN RIGHTS IN KOSOVO.

    The Kosova Daily Report on 3 October announced that the Helsinki Committee on the Human Rights Situation in Kosova has just completed a 27-page report on the region since 1994. According to the report, overall conditions remain grim, with Serbian police continuing to exercise authority through repression and torture. The report says that in 1994 alone, 17 Albanians were killed, six of whom were tortured to death. As of late September, at least 11 ethnic Albanians have been killed so far this year, most likely as a result of torture. -- Stan Markotich

    [7] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ENDS U.S. VISIT.

    Ion Iliescu on 3 October ended an eight-day working visit to the U.S., Romanian media reported. Addressing Rand Corporation staff and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council the day before, Iliescu said Romania's "strategic preferences" were to join the EU and NATO. At a press conference held in Bucharest on 3 October, Oliviu Gherman, chairman of the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania, described Iliescu's visit as "an unprecedented success" for Romanian diplomacy since December 1989. But Gheorghe Funar, leader of the chauvinistic Party of Romanian National Unity, said in Cluj that he expected a public apology from Iliescu for having depicted him as "a Romanian Zhirinovsky" in the U.S. media. -- Dan Ionescu

    [8] BULGARIA TO RESTART NUCLEAR REACTOR.

    The Bulgarian government on 3 October approved restarting Reactor No. 1 of the Kozloduy nuclear plan, despite appeals from Western countries to shut it down completely, RFE/RL and Reuters reported. The Bulgarian Atomic Energy Committee gave permission for the reactor to reopen after a last round of checks, according to an official statement. Meanwhile, Bulgarian officials and officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency continued their meetings in Sofia. The BBC quotes Hans Meyer of the IAEA as saying that Bulgarian officials have agreed to postpone restarting the reactor. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Kiril Tsochev will meet with the EU's representative to Bulgaria on 4 October to discuss the issue, RFE/RL's Bulgarian correspondent reported. -- Stefan Krause

    [9] BULGARIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT INVALIDATES ANOTHER LAW.

    The Bulgarian Constitutional Court on 3 October invalidated the state budget law, which provides for judges to be paid by the government, international agencies reported the same day. The contested article said the Justice Ministry was responsible for the funding of the Supreme Judicial Council, which appoints and dismisses judges, prosecutors, and investigators. The Constitutional Court acted at the request of Prosecutor-General Ivan Tatarchev, who claimed the article violated the independence of the judiciary. It is the sixth time since the last elections that the Constitutional Court has invalidated a law. -- Stefan Krause

    [10] ALBANIA TO OPEN MINORITY SCHOOLS.

    Montena-fax quoted a representative of the Interior Ministry as saying that Tirana is prepared to open schools for the country's Greek minority in three southern cities. The announcement comes in the wake of a series of meetings between Greek and Albanian officials, most recently between Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi and his Greek counterpart, Karolos Papoulias, on 27 September. The status of the Greek minority in Albania was high on the agenda of their New York meeting. -- Stan Markotich

    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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