OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 74, 13 April 1995

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

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 74 Part I, 13 April 1995

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

CONTENTS

  • [01] CILLER IN BAKU. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller arrived in Baku on

    11 April to sign an intergovernmental agreement with Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev that will raise Turkey's stake in a $7.4 billion deal to develop oil fields in the Caspian Sea, Russian and Western news agencies reported. Discussions between Ciller and Aliev will center on the route of an oil pipeline, loans to Azerbaijan, and "ways to intensify military cooperation in light of closer military ties between Russia and Armenia," Interfax reported on 11 April. Turkey paid an estimated $70 million to acquire 5% of Azerbaijan's original 20% share in the deal. Ciller noted that Turkey was signing the contract "not for oil, but for the future of Azerbaijan," which she called "my second homeland," AFP reported on 12 April. Aliev expressed his support for a Turkish proposal that would involve constructing a pipeline through Turkey; Russia has opposed it, claiming security considerations, time, and cost dictate export from Russia's port of Novorossiisk. The chief of Turkey's pipeline company, Hayrettin Uzun, said the two proposals are not alternatives but rather a complimentary system, Reuters reported on 12 April. -- Lowell Bezanis, OMRI, Inc.

    • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 74, Part II, 13 April 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [02] BOSNIAN UPDATE. International media on 13 April continue to report on

    the escalating violence throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. A mortar shell the previous day hit Sarajevo, wounding at least seven people. Reuters reported that Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic has sent a strongly worded protest to the UN military command saying that all recent allegations of Serbian attacks on Sarajevo are "incorrect [and] tendentious." According to Vjesnik, Bosnian army helicopters attacked Serbian positions, including around Donji Vakuf, in central Bosnia. Hina reports that Serbian forces have launched attacks on several fronts. Meanwhile, representatives of the international Contact Group postponed a scheduled visit to Sarajevo on 12 April, after failing to receive safety guarantees from the Bosnian Serbs. Nasa Borba reported that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, following meetings with representatives of the Contact Group, said that rump Yugoslav recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina in exchange for a lifting of sanctions against Belgrade is not in the offing. Finally, a new suspension bridge was opened in Mostar on 12 April at the site of the historic medieval structure destroyed in late 1993 when fighting erupted between Croats and Muslims. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

  • [03] MILOSEVIC MAY BE LINKED TO WAR CRIMES. The New York Times on 13 April

    carries a story suggesting that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and high-ranking members of his regime may be directly responsible for war crimes throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. The story is based in part on documents smuggled out of Serbia by 45-year-old Cedomir Mihailovic, a former member of Serbia's secret police who recently defected. "One of the documents, dated May 24, 1992, appears to include directions from the Serbian state security services in Belgrade on the running of concentration camps in Bosnia," The New York Times reports. If the documents prove authentic, they will provide concrete evidence directly linking Belgrade to war atrocities. Milosevic has consistently denied any direct involvement in the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

  • [04] ITALIAN-SLOVENIAN COOPERATION INCREASES. Italian regional official

    Alessandra Guerra, at a press conference in Ljubljana on 12 April, announced that Italy has plans to invest in Slovenia's infrastructure. She said that Italian interest in Slovenia was prompted by a "need for developing the infrastructure between western and eastern Europe" in order to yield "strengthening international cooperation," AFP reported. Slovenian-Italian relations have improved of late, not least because of Italy's decision in early March to cease opposing Slovenian efforts to negotiate associate membership in the European Union (see OMRI Daily Digest, 6 March 1995). -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

  • [05] BULGARIAN POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS. Col. Hristo Gatsov, chief of the

    Bulgarian National Police, resigned on 12 April after a young man died in police custody, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. Gatsov, who was appointed police chief in November 1994, said he felt "morally obliged" to quit under the circumstances. Hristo Hristov, a 22- year-old, was arrested in Sofia on 6 April and died a few hours later of a massive hemorrhage. The autopsy showed he had a torn aorta and several broken ribs as a result of severe beating. The six policemen who questioned him were arrested; Sofia City Prosecutor Nestor Nestorov said they will be charged with murder. If found guilty, they face prison sentences of up to 20 years or the death penalty. The opposition called for the resignation of Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev, who was quoted by Duma as saying he cannot be considered guilty "in this concrete case." Nachev has refused to step down. Pari reported that personnel changes in Sofia's police force are expected within the next few days. Meanwhile, Standart cited Gen. Mincho Bengarski, secretary at the Interior Ministry, as saying that 18 people have died over the past year owing to "carelessness" on the part of the police." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

  • [06] ALBANIA, TURKEY SIGN MILITARY AGREEMENT. Albanian Defense Minister Safet

    Zhulali and his Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Golhan, on 12 April signed a military cooperation agreement in Tirana, Western agencies reported the same day. Under the terms of the agreement, Turkey will train Albanian officers and provide material assistance to the Albanian army. Zhulali and Golhan stressed that the agreement is not directed against a third country. Golhan, who was in Tirana on a three-day visit, said his country is concerned about the resumption of hostilities in Bosnia- Herzegovina, as there is a risk that "the conflict will spill over into the entire Balkans." He said "Turkey will spare no effort to prevent this." -- 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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