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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 94, 96-05-15
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 94, 15 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TROOPS FIRE ON DEMONSTRATORS IN NORTHERN TAJIKISTAN . . .
[02] . . . RUSSIA EXPRESSES CONCERN.
[03] ECO SUMMIT RUMPUS.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[04] COUNCIL OF EUROPE MAKES UNPRECEDENTED MOVE AGAINST CROATIA . . .
[05] . . . WHILE ZAGREB MULLS OVER ITS RESPONSE.
[06] U.S. OFFICIAL RESIGNS OVER SCHEDULING OF BOSNIAN ELECTIONS . . .
[07] . . . WHILE KARADZIC ANNOUNCES HIS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY.
[08] JUDGE INDICTS SERB AFTER KOSOVO KILLING.
[09] YET ANOTHER CROAT-MUSLIM MILITARY AGREEMENT.
[10] POLISH PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA.
[11] UPDATE ON ROMANIAN TELEPHONE BUGGING SCANDAL.
[12] MOLDOVAN, DNIESTER SUMMIT FAILS AGAIN.
[13] BULGARIAN LABOR LEADER OPPOSES GOVERNMENT PLAN.
[14] BULGARIA'S BREAD CRISIS.
[15] ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS CHARGE DEMOCRATS WITH FURTHER INTIMIDATION BEFORE
ELECTIONS.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TROOPS FIRE ON DEMONSTRATORS IN NORTHERN TAJIKISTAN . . .
Five people died during a demonstration in the northern Tajik city of Ura-
Tyube on 14 May after troops fired on the crowd of about 200 people, ITAR-TASS
reported. The demonstration began the day before as people gathered outside
the local administration building to protest the killing of a businessman the
previous day. On 14 May, the demonstrators began breaking windows and started
fires at the administration building, the chief prosecutor's office, a militia
building, and the mayor's house. AFP reported that some of the protesters were
armed. Reinforcements from the Tajik Interior Ministry are being sent to the
city. The disturbance comes as demonstrations involving thousands are going on
in the Tajik city of Khojent and fighting continued between government and
opposition forces in the Tavil-Dara region. -- Bruce Pannier
[02] . . . RUSSIA EXPRESSES CONCERN.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigorii Karasin said on 14 May that his
government is gravely concerned at "the deteriorating situation in Tajikistan,
" according to ITAR-TASS. Karasin did not say how far Russia would go to
protect Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov's government but did state that
events in Tajikistan have "a direct effect on the strategic interests of
Russia." Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev ruled out the possibility of
Russian military involvement in the Tavil-Dara fighting but did say Russian
troops had been ordered "to guard and defend state and important military
facilities," ORT reported. -- Bruce Pannier
[03] ECO SUMMIT RUMPUS.
Amidst much acrimony, a two-day summit of the 10-member Economic Cooperation
Organization opened in Ashgabat on 14 May, Reuters reported. Following talks
between the foreign ministers of member states earlier in the week, heads of
state agreed to expand the organization's structure and move ahead with
revising the founding treaty. A 22-point Ashgabat declaration calling for
priority action in transport and communications, trade and energy was also
signed. Irked by Iran's verbal attacks on Israel, Uzbek President Islam
Karimov threatened to withdraw his country from the grouping, indicating he
opposes "transforming the organization into a military-political unit."
Karimov's position was supported by his counterparts from Kazakhstan (who left
the summit early) and Tajikistan. The ECO was founded in the 1960s by Iran,
Turkey, and Pakistan and in 1992 expanded to include all the former Soviet
Central Asian republics plus Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. -- Lowell
Bezanis
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[04] COUNCIL OF EUROPE MAKES UNPRECEDENTED MOVE AGAINST CROATIA . . .
Foreign ministers of the 39-member Council of Europe voted on 14 May to delay
action until the end this month on Croatia's application for membership. They
cited Zagreb's failure to act on a 21-point program on democracy and human
rights that it had agreed on with the council in April. Spokesmen added that
specific issues included press freedom, the status of the Zagreb city council,
cooperation with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, and the reunification
of Mostar. Croatia's application had already been approved, first by a
committee and then on 24 April by the parliamentary assembly. The action of
the ministers at the third, and hitherto purely formal stage of the admission
process, is unprecedented, Reuters and the BBC noted. Many in Strasbourg were
angry with the Croatian government's moves since 24 April against the
independent media and the opposition-dominated Zagreb council. -- Patrick Moore
[05] . . . WHILE ZAGREB MULLS OVER ITS RESPONSE.
There was no immediate official comment in Croatia, but Vjesnik, a daily
closely associated with the government, suggested on 15 May that democracy was
not the real issue and that Croatia had been singled out for "special
treatment" because of national interests among the European Council's members.
The paper added that Croatia must now either comply if it wants to join the
council or reconsider the importance of membership in European institutions.
Slobodna Dalmacija added that London was the main culprit in blocking
Croatia during the meeting, which generally demonstrated little consensus on
the Croatian question. Many Croats regard Britain and France as hostile to
their country's independence and believe the two countries are bent on
restoring a Serb-dominated Yugoslavia. The council's move may backfire by
strengthening a small but growing and influential number of people wary of
European integration, who support instead strong bilateral ties with
individual Central European states and above all with the U.S. -- Patrick
Moore
[06] U.S. OFFICIAL RESIGNS OVER SCHEDULING OF BOSNIAN ELECTIONS . . .
William Steubner, chief of staff of the OSCE mission, has resigned in protest
against a decision to hold Bosnian elections in the fall, AFP reported on 15
May. Steubner believes Bosnia will not meet by that time OSCE conditions for
the elections, such as a free media, the right of refugees and displaced
people to return to their pre-war homes to vote, and the exclusion of indicted
war criminals from the electoral process. Robert Frowick, the head of the
OSCE mission in Bosnia, told The Washington Post he was greatly pressured
to guarantee that the Bosnian elections would be held in September, as
scheduled in the Dayton peace accord. Frowick stressed that the dangers of
postponing the vote were greater than those of holding it on time. -- Daria
Sito Sucic
[07] . . . WHILE KARADZIC ANNOUNCES HIS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY.
Radovan Karadzic, an indicted war criminal and president of the Republika
Srpska, said he will run in the forthcoming Bosnian elections, Nasa Borba
reported on 15 May. Karadzic noted his popularity among Bosnian Serbs and the
support of the parliament as justification for his candidacy. He said he is in
favor of early elections in Bosnia. "My leaving the post in this moment would
only cause confusion," Karadzic said. He added that the international
community is just wasting its time trying to find moderate Bosnian Serbs. He
denied charges that he is a war criminal and said The Hague-based
international tribunal for war crimes has no evidence against him. -- Daria
Sito Sucic
[08] JUDGE INDICTS SERB AFTER KOSOVO KILLING.
A Pristina judge has indicted Serb citizen Zlatibor Jovanovic for killing on
21 April Armend Daci, an Albanian student. A wave of violence in Kosovo
resulted from the killing, leaving five Serbs and one Albanian child dead.
Jovanovic claims he killed Daci accidentally and said earlier he thought the
student was attempting to steal his car. Meanwhile, Democratic League of
Kosovo leaders Fehmi Agani and Hydajet Hyseni met with German diplomats,
including the German Ambassador to Belgrade. They discussed prospects for
negotiations on the Kosovo conflict. The Kosovo leaders stressed that the
independence of Kosovo is the only just and viable solution, KIC reported.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Union of Albanians in Germany announced a hunger
strike in Bonn, demanding EU recognition of Kosovo's independence, ATSH
reported. -- Fabian Schmidt
[09] YET ANOTHER CROAT-MUSLIM MILITARY AGREEMENT.
Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic, Bosnian Croat leader and federal
President Kresimir Zubak, federal Vice President Ejup Ganic, and Bosnian Prime
Minister Hasan Muratovic are among the dozen or so participants attending a
"forum" in Washington D.C. to shore up the shaky Croat-Muslim federation. U.S.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher said it is important to strengthen the
federation as a cornerstone of the Dayton peace agreement. He and Zubak made
optimistic statements, but Ganic slammed international peacekeepers not only
for failing to arrest indicted war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko
Mladic, but for also sharing "the same roof" with them, AFP reported on 14
May. The Croats and Muslims signed an agreement that same day to unite their
armed forces under a common defense ministry within three years. They have
made and reneged on several such promises before, but the rather long, and
hence possibly realistic, three-year timetable is new. -- Patrick
Moore
[10] POLISH PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA.
Aleksander Kwasniewski on 14 May began a two-day visit to Romania. He met with
his Romanian counterpart, Ion Iliescu, premier Nicolae Vacaroiu, the chairmen
of the bi-cameral parliament, and opposition leaders. Kwasniewski also
addressed a joint session of the legislature's houses. Three economic and
cultural cooperation agreements were signed. The visit ends on 15 May after
the Polish president travels to the northern town of Suceava, where he will
meet with members of Romania's small Polish minority. -- Michael Shafir
[11] UPDATE ON ROMANIAN TELEPHONE BUGGING SCANDAL.
Nicolae Ulieru, spokesman for the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI),
admitted on 14 May that SRI recorded the private telephone conversations that
were played at a conference of the Greater Romania Party one day earlier but
said the surveillance had been legal. Ulieru added that Constantin Bucur, the
SRI captain who divulged the tape, will be prosecuted for revealing SRI
secrets. Meanwhile, also on 14 May, the Chamber of Deputies approved a new law
on communication, which had been debated in the house for some time before the
scandal produced by Bucur's disclosures broke out. The legislation allows
eavesdropping on telephone calls under warrant from the Prosecutor-General's
Office. -- Michael Shafir
[12] MOLDOVAN, DNIESTER SUMMIT FAILS AGAIN.
Moldovan officials and leaders of the self-proclaimed Dniester republic,
meeting in Tiraspol on 14 May, failed to achieve a consensus on the Interim
Memorandum on Dniester conflict settlement principles, Moldovan agencies
reported. The Dniester leadership has reverted to last year's stance,
insisting on a full division of powers between Chisinau and Tiraspol, which
practically is a call for independence. Moldovan President Mircea Snegur,
Parliament Speaker Petru Lucinschi, and Premier Andrei Sangheli attended the
meeting, while Igor Smirnov, leader of the self-proclaimed republic, and
Grigori Marakutsa, chairman of the Tiraspol Supreme Soviet, headed the
Dniester delegation. The head of the OSCE mission in Moldova and the Ukrainian
and Russian presidential envoys also participated. The next summit is
scheduled for 17 June. -- Matyas Szabo
[13] BULGARIAN LABOR LEADER OPPOSES GOVERNMENT PLAN.
Krastyu Petkov, head of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, on 14
May announced his opposition to government plans to revive the country's
ailing economy, local media reported. Petrov disapproved of restructuring
plans that call for the shutdown of redundant state-run enterprises. This move
would put an estimated 29,000 employees out work, which Petrov said is an
unacceptable outcome. So far, he is the only major labor leader to voice his
opposition to the government's economic renewal proposals. The targeted firms,
which Reuters reports represent some 29% of the economy's losses, have not yet
been named publicly. -- Stan Markotich
[14] BULGARIA'S BREAD CRISIS.
Falling bread supplies and grain shortages triggered "panic" in several
Bulgarian cities, Reuters reported on 14 May. Bakeries throughout the country
were forced to close or limit their sales. The Bulgarian government has
attempted to allay public fears by issuing a statement reassuring consumers
that there "will be enough bread for everyone." However, the local media are
warning that the bread shortage may soon hit Sofia. Reuters quotes Millers'
Union Secretary Hristo Nikolov as saying, "Bulgaria has only a very limited
amount of wheat, which will last not even a month." -- Stan Markotich
[15] ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS CHARGE DEMOCRATS WITH FURTHER INTIMIDATION BEFORE
ELECTIONS.
Local Socialist candidate Alfred Paloka issued a statement in Zeri i
Popullit on 15 May saying that "known activists of the Democratic Party"
intruded on a Socialist public meeting in Shengjin and shot into the air and
the ground with machine guns. Paloka claims that four policemen present during
the incident did not interfere. Elsewhere, the Social Democrats (PSD) charged
authorities with attempting to disrupt its election campaign. The PSD leader
Skender Gjinushi said plain-clothes police had blocked streets, preventing him
from meeting his party's supporters in the north. Meanwhile, Socialist
Secretary-General Gramoz Ruci accused the election committees of failing to
post on time in all districts the voters' lists and of registering some voters
more than once. He also said police detained and beat Socialist supporters. --
Fabian Schmidt
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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