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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 100, 96-05-23
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 100, 23 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST RUSSIAN COMMANDER IN TBILISI?
[02] GEORGIAN COMMUNISTS DENY UNIFICATION REPORTS.
[03] BOMBERS ARRESTED IN KYRGYZSTAN.
[04] BATTLE CONTINUES IN TAVIL-DARA, OPPOSITION TO RELEASE PRISONERS.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[05] YET ANOTHER GENEVA SUMMIT.
[06] U.S. WAVERS ON ARRESTING KARADZIC.
[07] BRCKO SERBS WILLING TO ACCEPT ARBITRATION.
[08] BOSNIAN SERB GENERAL MAKES PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
[09] NO MUSLIM REFUGEES GO HOME TO REPUBLIKA SRPSKA.
[10] UN SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON CROATIA TO CHANGE AMNESTY LAW.
[11] MACEDONIAN UPDATE.
[12] SLOVENIAN UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES JOIN STRIKE WAVE.
[13] ROMANIAN ELECTION UPDATE.
[14] MOLDOVA, TURKEY SIGN BILATERAL AGREEMENTS.
[15] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE.
[16] BULGARIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER UNDER FIRE.
[17] VIOLENCE AT ALBANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY RALLY.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST RUSSIAN COMMANDER IN TBILISI?
The cars of Col. Gen. Fedor Reut, commander of the Russian forces in
Transcaucasus, and his deputy, Maj. Gen. Vasilii Belchenko, have been shot at
in Tbilisi, Russian media reported on 22 May. The generals had been driving
along Shota Rustaveli Avenue. A bullet allegedly broke the windshield and the
rear window of Belchenko's car, but nobody was hurt. Georgian authorities
denied the reports, saying that Belchenko's car was damaged by a stone and
that Reut was not in Tbilisi that day. The same day, Reut travelled to Yerevan
to join a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Soviet
troops in the Transcaucasus. -- Irakli Tsereteli
[02] GEORGIAN COMMUNISTS DENY UNIFICATION REPORTS.
The press center of the Georgian United Communist Party (GUCP) described
recent reports that the country's various communist groups are uniting as
"misinformation (that) is intended to discredit the communist movement in
Georgia," Iprinda reported on 20 May. According to the statement, the 18 May
meeting of the Stalinist Communist Party of Georgia was "another provocative
farce." -- Irakli Tsereteli
[03] BOMBERS ARRESTED IN KYRGYZSTAN.
A group of former police officers who were "dismissed for blatant violations
of the law" have been arrested in connection with a series of explosions at
Interior Ministry buildings in April, according to an 11 May article in Ekho
Osha cited by the BBC. The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said the bombs were
planted as a warning to new Interior Minister Omurbek Kutuyev who recently
launched an anti-corruption campaign. Two bombs went off near the ministry
buildings in the early morning of 20 April. Another pipe bomb, located in one
of the capital's main squares, had been defused in early May, RFE/RL reported.
No casualties or damage have been reported. -- Bruce Pannier
[04] BATTLE CONTINUES IN TAVIL-DARA, OPPOSITION TO RELEASE PRISONERS.
Government forces are reported to be on the offensive again in the
Komsomolabad region. Tajik presidential press secretary Zafar Saidov said
government forces are still in control of Komsomolabad though the situation is
"highly complicated," ITAR-TASS reported on 22 May. Guerrillas in the Tavil-
Dara and Garm regions have attacked repeatedly since the beginning of May,
killing more than 50 government soldiers. Meanwhile, RTR reported on 22 May
that the opposition will release 26 prisoners of war on 28 May. The 26
soldiers are among 400 the opposition claims to have captured during recent
fighting in the Tavil-Dara area. Opposition leader Ali Akbar Turajonzoda said
their relatives could come and collect them but added that all the prisoners
are in poor condition owing to the government's refusal to allow humanitarian
aid to the region. -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[05] YET ANOTHER GENEVA SUMMIT.
Faced with numerous and flagrant violations of the civilian provisions of the
Dayton accord, the "international community" has decided to summon the
presidents of Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Geneva, Reuters
reported on 23 May. The summit, slated for 2 June, will include representatives
of the Contact Group countries. The shuttle diplomacy and high-level meetings
that the major powers use in the former Yugoslavia have in the past led
generally only to paper promises. -- Patrick Moore
[06] U.S. WAVERS ON ARRESTING KARADZIC.
The "international community" continues to waffle on the fate of indicted war
criminal Radovan Karadzic, AFP reported. Since last week negotiators have said
they hope he will "disappear from the political scene," adding that they will
not insist that he be sent to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, as the
Dayton agreement requires. U.S. State Department Nicholas Burns on 22 May said
that "as long as [Karadzic] has been effectively marginalized..., he won't be
a candidate in the elections and he won't prevent the elections from
occurring." He noted that if this is the case, "I think the elections can go
forward and will go forward with him sitting in his bitter isolation in Pale."
Bosnian government officials have insisted that Karadzic be ousted and sent to
the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia if the elections
are to go ahead. -- Patrick Moore
[07] BRCKO SERBS WILLING TO ACCEPT ARBITRATION.
The Serbs of the strategic northern Bosnian town of Brcko, however, seem ready
to stand up to Karadzic. The Bosnian Serb leader insisted as recently as last
week that the area remain under the control of the Republika Srpska, even
though the Dayton agreement states that arbitration later this year will
determine the future of the "Brcko corridor" connecting Serbia with western
Bosnia. Zarko Cosic, Brcko's security chief and chief local negotiator, told
Reuters on 22 May that "those who have NATO and the world behind them should
work this [arbitration] out in such a way that we can all respect it.... If we
had been able to solve it on a local level, we wouldn't have waged the war in
the first place." But Karadzic's new prime minister, Gojko Klickovic, visited
the town and said that keeping it for the Serbs is a "priority strategic
interest" for his government, AFP noted. -- Patrick Moore
[08] BOSNIAN SERB GENERAL MAKES PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
Gen. Ratko Mladic, an indicted war criminal who spends most of his time hidden
from public view at his Bosnian command post, was in Belgrade on 21 May to
attend the funeral of Bosnian Serb army Gen. Djordje Djukic, international
media reported. Mladic, who was accompanied by members of his general staff,
stood next to Djukic's family during the ceremony. Djukic was indicted by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia but released on
compassionate grounds following doctors' reports that the cancer affecting his
health had reached an advanced stage. Meanwhile, observers noted that Serbian
President Milosevic has effectively failed to enforce the Dayton peace
agreement by not having the Bosnian Serb general arrested. U.S. State
Department Nicholas Burns said that, at least for the time being, Washington
will not "react emotionally just because we've seen...the video of Mladic in
Belgrade," Reuters reported. -- Stan Markotich
[09] NO MUSLIM REFUGEES GO HOME TO REPUBLIKA SRPSKA.
UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said that no Muslims have moved back to their
old homes in Bosnian Serb territory. Many attempts even to visit their native
villages have been blocked by angry Serbs wielding sticks and rocks, but other
trips have been carefully organized by the UNHCR and passed without incident.
Janowski added that the UN is not attempting to enforce the Dayton provisions
on freedom of movement and the right of refugees to go home by withholding
reconstruction aid, Onasa reported. An exception was made for the Croats in
Stolac, who were successfully threatened with an aid cut-off if they did not
let in a certain number of Muslim refugees. -- Patrick Moore
[10] UN SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON CROATIA TO CHANGE AMNESTY LAW.
The highest body of the UN on 22 May appealed to Zagreb to modify its new
amnesty legislation so as to cover all Serbs in eastern Slavonia not wanted
for war crimes as defined by international law. The current law applies only
to Serbs who lived there at the outbreak of the war but not to more recent
arrivals such as refugees from Krajina. The UN also fears that Croatia could
set standards on what constitutes a war criminal that are tougher than the
international ones, Reuters said. Eastern Slavonia is slated to revert to
Croatian control by the end of 1997 under an agreement last fall between the
Serbian and Croatian presidents. Local journalists told OMRI that many Serbs
have already begun preparations to move to Serbia proper. -- Patrick
Moore
[11] MACEDONIAN UPDATE.
President Kiro Gligorov, visiting the headquarters of UNPREDEP on 22 May, said
he favors the extending UNPREDEP's mandate, Nova Makedonija reported.
Gligorov said its presence contributes to stability and peace in the country
and the region. In other news, Parliamentary Chairman Tito Petkovski announced
that on 4 June, the assembly will vote on a petition drive for early general
elections, the news agency MILS reported on 22 May. The petition carries more
than 170,000 valid signatures. Meanwhile, Nova Makedonija on 23 May noted
that four months before local elections are scheduled to take place, the
relevant election law has yet to be drawn up, debated, and passed. -- Stefan
Krause
[12] SLOVENIAN UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES JOIN STRIKE WAVE.
Some 80% of all employees at Slovenia's two universities--in Ljubljana and
Maribor--staged a one-day strike on 22 May to demand a 10% salary increase.
According to Reuters, a professor currently earns a monthly gross salary of
about 210,000 tolars ($1,510). Nearly 20,000 students were affected by the
cancellation of classes. So far this year, radio and television journalists,
health-care professionals, railway workers, and teachers have gone on strike
for better pay and working conditions. -- Stan Markotich
[13] ROMANIAN ELECTION UPDATE.
Representatives of several opposition parties, meeting on 22 May with
President Ion Iliescu, demanded that general and presidential elections be
held separately, local media reported. The ballots are scheduled to take place
in the fall. The proposal was first advanced by the Liberal Party '93 and is
now also backed by the National Peasant Party-Christian Democratic, the
National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention, the Hungarian Democratic
Federation of Romania, and the Party of Romanian National Unity, which is
coalition party of the Party of Social Democracy of Romania (PDSR). Observers
believe the proposal stems from the fear that Iliescu's popularity will boost
the PDSR's performance at the polls. But the government's position is that the
elections should be held at the same time to avoid doubling expenses and to
enable the new government to concentrate on economic restructuring. -- Michael
Shafir
[14] MOLDOVA, TURKEY SIGN BILATERAL AGREEMENTS.
Moldovan and Turkish Presidents Mircea Snegur and Suleyman Demirel, meeting in
Ankara on 22 May, signed several accords aimed at boosting bilateral relations,
Moldovan and international agencies reported. In addition to supplementing an
existing defense and cooperation agreement, the accords provide for
cooperation in science and technology, culture, the legal sphere, trade, and
sports. Demirel thanked Snegur for Moldova's policy toward its Turcophone
Christian minority, the Gagauz, which enjoys autonomy within a unitary state.
Snegur, for his part, told the Turkish press that his country's policy was
"one of the best solutions" to the explosive issue of national minorities, the
Turkish Daily News reported. -- Matyas Szabo and Lowell Bezanis
[15] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE.
Zhelyu Zhelev, in an interview with 24 chasa on 22 May, said Bulgaria is on
the verge of collapse. He blamed the situation on the ruling Bulgarian
Socialist Party, adding that the devaluation of the lev and the ongoing
banking crisis may lead to that situation getting out of control. Zhelev
commented that the Socialists have failed to work out and implement a mass
privatization program and are unfit to govern. Referring to the 1 June
primaries for a joint opposition presidential candidate, Zhelev said the motto
must be: "from a president of the united opposition to a government of the
united opposition." He added that the opposition has a realistic chance of
retaining the Presidency, after which it would be able to call early elections
and win them. -- Stefan Krause
[16] BULGARIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER UNDER FIRE.
After only four months in office, Svetoslav Shivarov is facing widespread
criticism for his failure to resolve the ongoing grain and bread shortage,
Bulgarian dailies report. The ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party caucus on 22
May discussed the situation, asking to be briefed by the government. When it
did not receive the requested information, it called a second meeting at which
several deputies called for Shivarov's resignation. Boncho Rashkov, chairman
of the parliamentary agricultural commission, proposed that war reserves of
grain be unblocked. He said 250,000 tons of grain have to be imported by the
next harvest. Shivarov did not attend either meeting. -- Stefan Krause
[17] VIOLENCE AT ALBANIAN SOCIALIST PARTY RALLY.
A man wielding a screwdriver tried to attack Socialist Party leader Servet
Pellumbi during a Socialist rally at the Durres sports arena on 22 May, Koha
Jone reported. The daily described the incident as an "assassination
attempt." The culprit was arrested after injuring Pellumbi's bodyguard in the
arm. Four roads leading to the city were blocked by police and some 100
persons temporarily detained. The meeting was nonetheless attended by some 4,
000 people. However, international monitors who asked not to be named told
OMRI they could not confirm that reported similar incidents throughout Albania
suggest systematic disruption of opposition rallies. They said that the
preparations for the elections were taking place correctly, denying
allegations in the Albanian media that some people are registered in more than
one electoral district. -- Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Deborah Michaels
News and information as of 1200 CET
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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