OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 189, Part II, 28 September 1995
From: "Steve Iatrou" <siatrou@cdsp.neu.edu>
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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