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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 210, 27 October 1995

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] BOSNIAN PRESIDENT ON PEACE PROSPECTS.

  • [2] WILL BOSNIAN SERBS LIFT SIEGE OF SARAJEVO?

  • [3] UPDATE ON MASSACRES OF MUSLIM REFUGEES.

  • [4] MACEDONIAN INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS.

  • [5] ROMANIAN OFFICIALS, STUDENTS DISCUSS EDUCATION LAW.

  • [6] ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN TREATY HIT SNAG OVER BORDERS.

  • [7] ORTHODOX CHURCH CELEBRATIONS IN BUCHAREST.

  • [8] TOKES ACCUSES ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT OF ETHNIC CLEANSING.

  • [9] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WANTS ROMANIA, BULGARIA REMOVED FROM BLACKLIST.

  • [10] BULGARIA, MACEDONIA TO STEP UP TRANSPORT PROJECTS.

  • [11] ALBANIA RECEIVES PHARE GRANT.

  • [12] MUSLIM CLERGYMEN MEET IN ANKARA.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 210, Part II, 27 October 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] BOSNIAN PRESIDENT ON PEACE PROSPECTS.

    The New York Times on 27 October reported Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic as saying a stable peace cannot be forged for Bosnia-Herzegovia as long as the current Bosnian Serb leadership remains in place. "The criminals have to be removed. . . . That is the most important question," Izetbegovic said, referring to Bosnian Serb civilian chief Radovan Karadzic and his military counterpart, General Ratko Mladic. Both Karadzic and Maldic have been accused of war crimes. Izetbegovic also remarked that any proposed NATO- led peacekeeping operations for Bosnia ought not exclude Russia's participation. (See related item in Russian section) -- Stan Markotich

    [2] WILL BOSNIAN SERBS LIFT SIEGE OF SARAJEVO?

    The UN on 27 October is toescort five civilian trucks and their cargo of humanitarian aid some 25 kilometers, from Kiseljak to Sarajevo and back, international media reported. If this objective is reached, the UN plans to escort busloads of civilians through Serb-held territory to Sarajevo on 29 October. In this way, the Bosnian Serb resolve to lift the siege of the Bosnian capital and observe the ceasefire is likely to be put to the test. The free movement of civilians to and from Sarajevo was a key condition of the ceasefire, which went into effect on 12 October. -- Stan Markotich

    [3] UPDATE ON MASSACRES OF MUSLIM REFUGEES.

    UNHCR spokesman Kris Jankowski on 26 October said he had more evidence suggesting that earlier this month, between 2,000 and 3,000 Muslim men from northwestern Bosnia were "separated from their families . . . , perhaps beaten to death, perhaps killed," Reuters reported (see OMRI Daily Digest, 26 October 1995). The UNHCR has questioned refugees from the region who reported the beatings and killings. Meanwhile, the Washington Post gave a detailed report of the Bosnian Serbs capture of Srebrenica in July. The report says "significantly less than half" of the 12,000 Muslim men who tried to flee to Tuzla made it to safety. It also states that "the massacres during the week starting July 11 were the worst atrocities committed in Europe since World War II." -- Fabian Schmidt

    [4] MACEDONIAN INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS.

    Ljubomir Frckovski on 26 October handed in his resignation to Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, Vecher reported. He said he felt "morally and politically responsible" because he had been unable to prevent the assassination attempt on President Kiro Gligorov on 3 October and because no arrests have been made in connection with the incident. Frckovski blamed a "financial-economic group of a neighboring country" for the attempt but refused to specify the country. He said a member of the organization built the car bomb, "together with fanatics and criminals from Macedonia's political underground," in an attempt to eliminate the president and destabilize Macedonia. -- Stefan Krause

    [5] ROMANIAN OFFICIALS, STUDENTS DISCUSS EDUCATION LAW.

    Representatives of Romania's striking students have met with members of the parliamentary education committee to discuss possible changes in the education law, Radio Bucharest reported on 26 October. Romulus Dabu, president of the education committee, said "all rational demands of the students were accepted," while the spokesman of the Students' League said the results of the negotiations were "below expectations." The two sides were able to agree only on changes affecting the students' financial situation. A new draft will be submitted to the parliament within one week. The students plan to resume their protest on 30 October by blocking railway lines throughout the country. -- Matyas Szabo

    [6] ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN TREATY HIT SNAG OVER BORDERS.

    Volodymyr Vasylenko, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official, has said Romania refuses to guarantee post-World War II borders, Reuters reported on 26 October. "Some [Romanian] political forces are trying to justify territorial claims on Ukraine," Vasylenko commented following two days of talks with Romanian officials in Bucharest. The Romanian Foreign Ministry denied the accusation, saying Romania only wants recognition of the unfairness of the post-war carve-up. Vasylenko said the treaty talks are now frozen owing to "unilateral" changes sought by Bucharest. -- Matyas Szabo

    [7] ORTHODOX CHURCH CELEBRATIONS IN BUCHAREST.

    Orthodox Church leaders gathered in Bucharest on 26 October to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the Romanian Orthodox Church's autonomy and the Romanian Patriarchate's 70th anniversary, Romanian media reported on 26 October. AFP reported the same day that Russian Patriarch Aleksii II boycotted the celebrations because Petru Paduraru--the Metropolitan Bishop of Bessarabia, whose position was approved by the Romanian Orthodox Church- -was attending. The Russian Orthodox Church believes that the Moldovan Church should be under Moscow's jurisdiction. Gheorghe Armasu, head of the Moldovan State Service on Religions, noted that granting a high church office to Paduraru constitutes "flagrant interference by the Romanian patriarchate in Moldova's internal affairs," BASA-press reported on 26 October. -- Matyas Szabo

    [8] TOKES ACCUSES ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT OF ETHNIC CLEANSING.

    Reformed Church bishop Laszlo Tokes, at a meeting with UN human rights representatives in Geneva on 26 October, accused Romania's government of promoting ethnic cleansing, Romanian media reported. Tokes, who is also the honorary president of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania, said discriminatory treatment of the Hungarian minority is the reason why ethnic Hungarians are emigrating from Romania. With the government's passive complicity, extreme nationalist parties are promoting anti- Semitic propaganda reminiscent of the years before the Holocaust, Tokes commented. -- Matyas Szabo

    [9] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WANTS ROMANIA, BULGARIA REMOVED FROM BLACKLIST.

    The European Parliament on 26 October passed a resolution urging the European Commission to remove Romania and Bulgaria from the so-called blacklist of 101 countries for which strict visa requirements are to be enforced (see OMRI Daily Digest, 28 September 1995), Pari reported the following day. The vote is non-binding for the commission. Of the former communist countries that have associate agreements with the EU, only Romania and Bulgaria are included in the list. -- Stefan Krause

    [10] BULGARIA, MACEDONIA TO STEP UP TRANSPORT PROJECTS.

    Bulgaria and Macedonia on 26 October agreed to step up joint road, rail, and air transport projects, Reuters reported the same day. Visiting Macedonian Transport Minister Dimitar Buzlevski said in Sofia that he and his Bulgarian counterpart, Stamen Stamenov, discussed the completion of a railway link between Sofia and Skopje. Only 10-20 km have to be completed on the Bulgarian side, but long stretches still have to be built in Macedonia, which has invested $40 million in the project this year. Both sides agreed to go ahead with the construction of a highway between the two capitals, which is a part of a planned trans-Balkan highway (see OMRI Daily Digest, 24 October 1995). Skopje will also allow the state-run Bulgarian airlines Balkan and Hemus Air to expand their operations in Macedonia. -- Stefan Krause

    [11] ALBANIA RECEIVES PHARE GRANT.

    The EU on 26 October granted Albania 212 million ECU ($275.6 million) as part of its PHARE program. Reuters pointed out that the grant will cover 25% of Albania's public investment scheme. According to PHARE Program Coordinator Chris Hughes, 62 million ECU were granted to develop production and 72 million ECU to improve traffic links with Greece and Italy. Reuters said another 61 million ECU will "promote human and natural resources" and 14 million ECU will help upgrade legislative and other structures. Meanwhile, the Albanian government announced it will invest $52 million of a World Bank credit in the reconstruction of 1,000 km of roads in rural regions, Koha Jone reported on 26 October. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [12] MUSLIM CLERGYMEN MEET IN ANKARA.

    A four-day meeting of Muslim clergymen from Central Asia, the Transcaucasus, the Russian Federation, and the Balkans ended in Ankara on 26 October, Yeni Yuzyil reported the next day. The meeting was organized by Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate to discuss the status of religion in the participating countries. The participants signed a declaration calling for the establishment of a Eurasian Islamic Council and decided that the gathering would become an annual event. -- Lowell Bezanis

    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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