Epilogh OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 62, 28 Mar 95 [.]

From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>

Ta nea ths hmeras, apo to OMRI:

[01] . UN THREATENS SERBS WITH AIR STRIKES.

[02] . CROATIA HOLDS FIRM ON UNPROFOR.

[03] . RUMP YUGOSLAV DINAR DEVALUED.

[04] . MACEDONIAN POLICE END PRISON RIOT.

[05] . BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM.

[06] . ALBANIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY SAYS SIGURIMI BEHIND EMBASSY STORMING.

[07] . ROMANIAN PRESIDENT IN ALBANIA.

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 62, Part II, 28 March 1995

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[01] UN THREATENS SERBS WITH AIR STRIKES.

Nasa Borba on 28 March quoted a UN spokesman as saying that attacks on UN-designated "safe areas" in Bosnia-Herzegovina may be met with air strikes. He was referring to Serbian shelling of Sarajevo, Bihac, Gorazde, and Tuzla but added that the UN would not intervene if the Serbs were being fired on by government forces. State-run Borba, meanwhile, says that "the [Bosnian] Serb army is on the counteroffensive" and claims high losses among government troops. But AFP notes that the government army is newly reorganized and has several mobile units composed of men driven from their homes in "ethnic cleansing." Morale and mobility are two key advantages the government troops have over the Serbs, but the mainly Muslim forces are careful not to challenge the Serbs head-on yet in areas of Serbian vital interest, such as the Posavina land corridor. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

[02] CROATIA HOLDS FIRM ON UNPROFOR.

Vjesnki on 28 March reports that Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic has criticized UN Secretary- General Boutros Boutros Ghali's proposal for a new international peacekeeping force in Croatia. He said the plan violates the spirit of the Copenhagen agreement between Zagreb and Washington. That accord specified that a new and smaller force would be created to monitor Croatia's external borders and that its patrolling of Croatian-Serbian front lines within the country would be secondary. Croatia also does not like the latest proposed name for the peacekeepers, namely United Nations Peace Force One, since it does not include the word "Croatia." The Serbs squashed a previous suggestion that the troops be called United Nations Forces in Croatia. According to the latest proposal, Force Two would be in Bosnia and Force Three in Macedonia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

[03] RUMP YUGOSLAV DINAR DEVALUED.

Nasa Borba on 28 March reports that the rump Yugoslav currency, the so-called super dinar, has come under intense inflationary pressure. The super dinar was introduced by National Bank Governor Dragoslav Avramovic in January 1994 and pegged officially to the German mark at a rate of 1:1. The daily reports that dealers in Kragujevac were selling one German mark for 2.7 dinars on 27 March, while in Novi Sad the mark fetched 3.5 dinars and in Belgrade 4.7-5.0 dinars. Politika reported that Serbian Finance Minister Dusan Vlatkovic, in an apparent attempt to calm public concerns, said on Serbian Radio and Television the previous day that there was nothing to worry about. He told Serbs to "save your money, which you will need tomorrow and which [should not] be eaten up by speculators." -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

[04] MACEDONIAN POLICE END PRISON RIOT.

Riot police backed by light tanks on 27 March ended a five-day protest by inmates of Idrizovo prison, near Skopje, AFP and Reuters reported the same day. Some 120 riot police and 200 prison guards entered the prison after tanks had broken up the entrance of the main building, where most of the 400 rebellious inmates staged their protest against severe sentences and poor living conditions. Most of the protesters are serving lengthy terms for capital offenses. Authorities said that about 60 of the inmates involved in the riot were foreigners from Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey, and elsewhere. No casualties were reported, but witnesses said that some prisoners were beaten during the four-hour police action. Justice Minister Vlado Popovski told the press that the demonstrators face additional sentences of up to five years on mutiny charges and that 100 of them will be transferred to other prisons. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

[05] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES PRIVATIZATION PROGRAM.

The Bulgarian government on 27 March approved the final version of the privatization program, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. Kontinent and Zemya said that 20 billion leva ($300 million) in privatization revenues are expected for 1995. The government wants to privatize 600 enterprises, or 20% of all state-owned firms, by the end of 1995. Trud cited Yosif Iliev, director of the Center for Mass Privatization, as saying that every Bulgarian citizen over 18 will receive privatization vouchers worth a total of 50,000 leva ($750). The final mass privatization scheme will be approved by the end of August or the beginning of September, Trud reported. A list of enterprises to be included in the first privatization wave will be drawn up at the same time. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

[06] ALBANIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY SAYS SIGURIMI BEHIND EMBASSY STORMING.

The Albanian Interior Ministry accused members of the former communist secret police, Sigurimi, of circulating false rumors that visas for the U.S. were available. Reuters on 27 March reported that an anonymous leaflet was distributed in Tirana, claiming that jobs were being offered in the U.S. About 1,200 young Albanians had been waiting outside the American embassy since 23 March. One 19-year-old Albanian was shot in the leg when police dispersed the group after about 200 tried to enter the embassy on 26 March. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

[07] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT IN ALBANIA.

Ion Iliescu began a three-day visit to Albania on 26 March, the Albanian-language service of Deutsche Welle reported the next day. He met with Albanian President Sali Berisha to discuss the two countries' integration into Europe and sign economic, cultural, and education accords. Iliescu also met with parliament speaker Pjeter Arbnori, Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi, and representatives of the ethnic Romanian community in Albania. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. [As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Jan Cleave

This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.

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