OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 94, 16 May 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] SERBIAN OFFENSIVE STALLED IN POSAVINA.

  • [02] CROATIA TO WITHDRAW FROM UN BUFFER ZONES.

  • [03] CROATIAN SERB COMMANDER OFFERS RESIGNATION.

  • [04] MACEDONIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON.

  • [05] MONTENEGRIN JOURNALIST JAILED.

  • [06] FORMER KOSOVAR PRIME MINISTER ARRESTED.

  • [07] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER REVEALS GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.

  • [08] UPDATE ON ALBANIAN EMBARGO-BUSTING.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 94, Part II, 16 May 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] SERBIAN OFFENSIVE STALLED IN POSAVINA.

    Bosnian Serb forces regrouped on 15 May after largely failing to dent Croatian lines following a week- long offensive. Croatian troops successfully repulsed attacks on Vidovice and Grebnice in the Orasje area, and the Serbs withdrew "to lick their wounds," as a UN spokesman put it to AFP. The Serbs are trying to widen the narrow Posavina corridor that links Serbia with its conquests in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. The Croats received support from artillery on the Croatian side of the Sava River, but UN and Bosnian spokesmen denied Serbian media reports that the Croats had launched a counteroffensive against Serb-held Brcko. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] CROATIA TO WITHDRAW FROM UN BUFFER ZONES.

    International media reported on 16 May that Croatia's ambassador to the UN, Mario Nobilo, has assured the Security Council that the Croatian army will complete its pull-back from buffer areas in Sector South by 5:00 p.m. local time. The leading UN body has repeatedly demanded such a move but did not indicate what it would do if the Croats stay put. AFP added that President Franjo Tudjman has announced an amnesty for 47 Croatian Serbs and a brigade commander taken prisoner during the recapture of western Slavonia on 1-2 May. Zagreb is sensitive toward the views of the international community on its treatment of the Serbs in the former Sector West and is hoping to show Serbs there and elsewhere that they have nothing to fear from the return of Croatian administration. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] CROATIAN SERB COMMANDER OFFERS RESIGNATION.

    General Milan Celeketic has sent his resignation to Krajina Serb President Milan Martic, saying that he no longer has "the moral force necessary" to lead his forces. Serbian and international media said it is not clear whether Martic will accept the offer. Celeketic's move reflects growing tensions among Krajina Serb leaders between allies of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and those who seek to exercise their own authority. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] MACEDONIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON.

    Blagoj Handziski on 15 May asked the U.S. to help his country gain exemption from the international embargo against the former Yugoslavia, Reuters reported the same day. During talks with U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry Handziski argued that Macedonia should be excluded because it has not contributed to the reasons for the embargo. He also expressed optimism that an agreement with Greece can be reached, saying that in his opinion the problems will be overcome "very soon." Perry said that the U.S. sees Macedonia as critical to the stability of the region. If necessary, the U.S. will send additional troops to Macedonia to help boost its security. At present, 500 U.S. soldiers are stationed in Macedonia in the framework of a UN mission. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] MONTENEGRIN JOURNALIST JAILED.

    A court in Podgorica has sentenced a journalist from the independent weekly Monitor to two months in prison for libel, Nasa Borba reported on 16 May. Seki Radoncic wrote an article claiming that retired Yugoslav army General Radomir Damjanovic had managed to obtain an expensive automobile for "little money." Radoncic is the third Monitor journalist to be sentenced since the publication was launched, Nasa Borba commented. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] FORMER KOSOVAR PRIME MINISTER ARRESTED.

    Jusuf Zejnullahu, former prime minister of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, was arrested in Pristina on 13 May, Kosova Communication reported on 15 May. After the abolition of Kosovar autonomy and the declaration of Kosovar independence in 1990, Zejnullahu headed the shadow-government until the formation of the current coalition government in 1992. Zejnullahu was later appointed director of the Belgrade Gama Bank's branch in Pristina. He is charged with committing "criminal offenses of association aimed at hostile activity" in connection with the approval of the Kosovar Constitution of Kacanik in 1990. Zejnullahu was released on 14 May and said he has no idea why he was arrested. He added that during his detention, he was not questioned. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER REVEALS GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.

    Zhan Videnov, at a press conference on 15 May, revealed his government's program for the next four years, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. The five major goals are stabilizing state institutions, promoting a market economy, increasing the competitiveness of domestic products, forming a civil society that meets European standards, and improving the economy and raising living standards to a level suitable for full EU membership. The premier said his government aims at reversing the present decline in GDP, lowering inflation from 121.9% in 1994 to 15% by 1998, and curbing unemployment. But he did not explain how the government will implement austerity measures while limiting social costs, as it has promised. Zemedelsko Zname accused the government of presenting "a program in communist style," while Demokratsiya said the program contains "nothing new." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] UPDATE ON ALBANIAN EMBARGO-BUSTING.

    According to a report by German Television on 15 May, some 500,000 liters of fuel cross the Albanian- Montenegrin border every day. The report quoted EU sanctions monitor Richardt Vork as saying that an estimated 40% of the fuel smuggled into rump Yugoslavia comes from Albania. The U.S. State Department estimates that Albanian oil imports are 50% higher than the country's needs. The reports contradicts earlier statements by the Albanian sanctions coordinator Arben Petrela, who said Albania's fuel imports dropped from 172,000 tons in the last three months of 1994 to 54,000 tons in the first quarter of 1995. Albanian Interior Minister Agron Musaraj also claims that Albanian police have seized various trucks and other vehicles used for smuggling and have exerted tight control over the border, international agencies reported on 15 May. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

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

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute
    news2html v2.05 run on Tuesday, 16 May 1995 - 13:41:07