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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 23, 1 February 1996

From: OMRI-L <omri-l@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>

Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest Directory

CONTENTS

  • [01] BOSNIAN OPPOSITION DEPUTIES MEET ACROSS DIVIDE.

  • [02] CROAT-MUSLIM FEDERATION GETS NEW GOVERNMENT.

  • [03] MORE "TERRIBLE DISCOVERIES" IN BOSNIA?

  • [04] SNIPER ATTACKS ON THE RISE; MUJAHIDEEN LEAVE.

  • [05] BOSNIAN SHORTS.

  • [06] SERBS STONEWALLING IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

  • [07] UN MILITARY OBSERVERS TO BE DEPLOYED IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

  • [08] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ON THE HAGUE.

  • [09] SLOVENIA BUYS ARMS FROM ISRAEL.

  • [10] UN FORCE IN MACEDONIA TO BECOME INDEPENDENT.

  • [11] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY.

  • [12] CONTRADICTORY REPORTS ON ROMANIAN MINISTER'S DISMISSAL.

  • [13] DNIESTER PARLIAMENT AGAINST STATE OF EMERGENCY IN ECONOMY.

  • [14] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT CALLS GOVERNMENT "DANGEROUS."

  • [15] JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN ALBANIA.

  • [16] ALBANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECLARES GENOCIDE LAW LEGAL.

  • [17] GREEK PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 23, Part II, 1 February 1996

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] BOSNIAN OPPOSITION DEPUTIES MEET ACROSS DIVIDE.

    The Onasa news agency and AFP on 31 January reported that Bosnian Serb opposition deputies from Banja Luka arrived in Sarajevo for a meeting with their counterparts there. The visitors were led by Liberal Party leader Miodrag Zivanovic and the hosts by Social Democratic chief Sejfudin Tokic. They issued a declaration that called for the participation of opposition parties in organizing upcoming elections, the renewal of economic contacts, the punishment of war criminals, and the right of refugees to go home. A joint opposition council will be set up to encourage mutual trust, and an economic delegation from Banja Luka will go to Tuzla. Zivanovic added: "Democratic forces in Banja Luka believe that our lives cannot be built on ideas which understand an absolute reduction of life to ethnic background, which are advocated by the ideology of blood and evil, and which represent the past and a myth." -- Patrick Moore

    [02] CROAT-MUSLIM FEDERATION GETS NEW GOVERNMENT.

    Just one day after the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina received its first postwar cabinet, one of its components, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina followed suit. Prime Minister Izudin Kapetanovic presented the parliament with a list of 12 ministers and deputies reflecting an ethnic balance between Muslims and Croats. There are also two ministers without portfolio. Most of the posts deal with purely internal matters, but there is a defense minister, namely Vladimir Soljic. A Muslim deputy questioned how Soljic could be appointed when he is also a deputy in the Croatian Sabor, but Federation President Kresimir Zubak answered that Soljic gave up his job in Zagreb on being appointed to the cabinet. Oslobodjenje reported on 1 February that the new government is young by traditional Yugoslav standards, with the average age of the ministers being 46. * Patrick Moore

    [03] MORE "TERRIBLE DISCOVERIES" IN BOSNIA?

    Elisabeth Rehn, UN specialreporter for human rights in the former Yugoslavia, told the Stern weekly magazine about possibility of more "terrible discoveries" of mass graves in Bosnia, AFP and Nasa Borba reported. She said of the estimated 200-300 mass graves in Bosnia, some may be attributed to the Croats or Muslims. Besides the Srebrenica mass graves, she mentioned three graves near the east Croatian town of Vukovar and others near Banja Luka and Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina, some of which were bigger than 20 square meters. Rehn criticized IFOR for not patrolling grave sites to protect evidence being destroyed. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [04] SNIPER ATTACKS ON THE RISE; MUJAHIDEEN LEAVE.

    Two sniper attacks on IFOR vehicles were reported on 31 January. One British soldier was wounded. NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, speaking in Copenhagen the same day, refused to blame any of Bosnian factions for the attacks., saying "It's not for us to point a finger at anybody." He added that 45,000 men of the 60,000-strong IFOR have already arrived in Bosnia. Meanwhile, a NATO spokesman in Sarajevo said that the last group of Islamic "mujahideen" have left the country. But NATO officers say that a number of Islamic volunteers remain in the country after marrying local women or otherwise integrating with the local population. -- Michael Mihalka

    [05] BOSNIAN SHORTS.

    Edmina Babahmetovic, a 53-year-old Muslim woman from Banja Luka, has returned to her flat, restored to her by a Serbian court. Reuters said on 1 February that she still receives threats from armed Serbs. AFP the previous day quoted Pale parliamentary speaker Momcilo Krajisnik as saying the search for the missing may go on for years. The news agency added that outgoing republican Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic blasted the Bosnian parliament for not doing anything to stop the fall of Srebrenica and Zepa last July. Onasa quoted the Croatian deputy prime minister as saying that indicted war criminal General Tihomir Blaskic will soon be extradited to The Hague. He is wanted for atrocities against Muslim villagers in Ahmici in April 1993. -- Patrick Moore

    [06] SERBS STONEWALLING IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

    AFP on 1 February quoted The New York Times as saying that Serbian leaders in eastern Slavonia have yet to admit openly that the region will return to Croatian sovereignty in a maximum of two years. Serbian authorities continue to use vitriolic language against Croatia and are conducting a propaganda campaign among Serbian refugees to encourage them to settle in Eastern Slavonia. The article said it is suspected that the Serbs have no intention of honoring the agreement on returning the region to Croatia signed by the Serbian and Croatian presidents in November. Meanwhile in Zagreb, refugees from Posavina issued a declaration on 30 January to demand that they be allowed to go home, Onasa reported. The group, based in Slavonski Brod, said that they want to return to the area, which has been assigned to the Serbs by the Dayton accords, in the hope of restoring it to Croatian control. -- Patrick Moore

    [07] UN MILITARY OBSERVERS TO BE DEPLOYED IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

    The UN Security Council on 31 January authorized the deployment of 100 UN military observers to eastern Slavonia for six months, beginning end of April, AFP and Hina reported the same day. The observers will join 5,000 peacekeepers in the region and oversee the demilitarization of the area. Meanwhile, the UN Peace Force closed its main headquarters in Zagreb. During its four-year mission in the former Yugoslavia, 213 Unied Nations soldiers were killed and 1,485 soldiers wounded, Hina reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [08] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER ON THE HAGUE.

    Nasa Borba on 1 February reports Vojislav Kostunica, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia, as saying the previous day that the Hague-based International War Crime Tribunal was an organization that "had to be worked with." The tribunal, he said "is a force in international relations that must be respected. In the past, Kostunica has had ties with Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic, both accused war criminals. -- Stan Markotich

    [09] SLOVENIA BUYS ARMS FROM ISRAEL.

    Delo on 31 January reported that Ljubljana has agreed to purchase defense communications equipment worth some $100 million from the Israeli firm Tadiran. Defense Minister Jelko Kacin reportedly closed the deal on 12 January. Ljubljana is obligated to buy the system by 1999. Equipment deliveries have already begun. -- Stan Markotich

    [10] UN FORCE IN MACEDONIA TO BECOME INDEPENDENT.

    UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali on 31 January recommended that UNPREDEP be transformed into an independent mission reporting directly to the UN headquarters, AFP reported the same day. So far, UNPREDEP has been reporting to UNPROFOR in Zagreb. The change, which has to be approved by the Security Council could become effective on 1 February. UNPREDEP currently has about 1,000 soldiers stationed in Macedonia. -- Stefan Krause

    [11] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY.

    Teodor Melescanu on 31 January paid a one-day official visit to Germany, Romanian and international media reported. he met with Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, Development Aid Minister Carl-Dieter Spranger, and Defense Minister Volker Ruehe to discuss Romania's European and NATO integration as well as the development of bilateral economic relations. Kinkel stressed that Romania needs to push ahead with domestic reforms, while Melescanu pointed out that Germany is Romania's most important trade partner, accounting for 17% of Romanian imports and 18% of its exports. Talks with Ruehe concentrated on military cooperation, especially on officer training programs. The German Defense Ministry has agreed to send a senior logistics officer as an adviser in Bucharest. -- Matyas Szabo

    [12] CONTRADICTORY REPORTS ON ROMANIAN MINISTER'S DISMISSAL.

    Radio Bucharest on 31 January quoted President Ion Iliescu's spokesman as saying that the president has endorsed Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu's decision to sack Telecommunications Minister Adrian Turicu. He later issued another statement saying that the president was still considering the case but that no final decision has been taken. Turicu is a member of the chauvinistic Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR), an ally of the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania. Vacaroiu's decision to suspend him is considered an indication of an imminent split of the parties' coalition. -- Dan Ionescu

    [13] DNIESTER PARLIAMENT AGAINST STATE OF EMERGENCY IN ECONOMY.

    The Supreme Soviet of the self-proclaimed Dniester republic on 30 January voted to suspend a state of emergency in economy beginning the next day, BASA-press reported. Deputies argued that President Igor Smirnov has so far failed to present an anti-crisis program, and they urged him to do so by 10 February. The state of emergency, which had been imposed by presidential decree on 12 January, is mainly administrative and includes severe restrictions on civic freedoms and political activities. It is unclear whether the parliament's vote means a de facto end to the state of emergency. On 31 January, the Dniester government continued to abide by Smirnov's decree when it banned the use of the Moldovan leu in cash transactions in the region. -- Dan Ionescu

    [14] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT CALLS GOVERNMENT "DANGEROUS."

    Zhelyu Zhelev on 31 January launched a renewed attack against the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the government of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov. Standart quoted him as saying that "Bulgaria needs a new, democratic government," since the BSP government has become "simply dangerous for Bulgaria [and] its national security and interests." He accused the cabinet of returning to totalitarian methods of government and tolerating crime and corruption. "You can't fight corruption when you yourself are corrupt or are in some way associated with it." Zhelev also criticized the government for alienating some of Bulgaria's neighbors and not wanting to joint NATO. -- Stefan Krause

    [15] JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN ALBANIA.

    Altin Hazizaj, a journalist for the independent daily Koha Jone, on 31 January was arrested after entering a building in Tirana from which police were evicting former political prisoners. The prisoners were squatting in the building because of a lack of housing in the capital. Hazizaj entered the building to report on the case. He has been charged with beating two policemen, but an OMRI correspondent reports that Hazizaj does not appear physically capable of beating policemen. The arrest appears to be the latest in a number of attacks against Koha Jone. Since 26 January, police have been impounding delivery vans belonging to the daily. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [16] ALBANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECLARES GENOCIDE LAW LEGAL.

    The Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal by the Socialist and Social Democratic Parties against the disputed genocide law (see OMRI Daily Digest, 18 January 1996), Lajmi i Dites reported on 1 February. The two parties said the law violated their basic freedoms because it bans communist-era high-ranking officials from running for public office until 2002. Under the law, Socialist Party leader and former Premier Fatos Nano and Social Democratic leader Skender Gjinushi, who was also education minister under President Ramiz Alia, will be banned. Constitutional Court Chief Judge Rustem Gjata ruled that the Albanian constitution allowed "reasonable limitations on the freedom" of people who led repressive regimes. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [17] GREEK PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE.

    Kostas Simitis on 31 January received a vote of confidence from the parliament, Reuters reported the same day. Some 166 deputies voted for his government, 123 against, and three abstained. The ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement has 168 mandates. In the parliamentary debate before the vote, Simitis defended both the agreement to withdraw Greek and Turkish naval forces from the area around the disputed islet of Imia and the decision to lower the Greek flag there in order to ease tension. Miltiadis Evert, leader of the conservative New Democracy party, argued that "the removal of Greek troops and the lowering of the Greek flag constitute an act of treason." He called on Simitis to resign. -- 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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