OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 95, 17 May 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] SARAJEVO UNDER SIEGE.

  • [02] BOUTROS GHALI ON BOSNIAN PEACEKEEPING.

  • [03] "SEX, DRUGS, AND HEINEKEN."

  • [04] CROATIAN PRESIDENT IN GERMANY.

  • [05] TRIALS IN MACEDONIA.

  • [06] MACEDONIAN-GREEK UPDATE.

  • [07] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT, PREMIER HOLD TALKS.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 95, Part II, 17 May 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] SARAJEVO UNDER SIEGE.

    Sarajevo and its surrounding areas came under heavy attack on 16 May, international media reported the following day. According to Vecernji list, it was one of the fiercest days of fighting between Serbian and Bosnian Muslim forces in the Bosnian capital. The same newspaper also reported that at present, there is no reliable information on casualties. Nasa Borba stressed that serious artillery duels have been taking place and that heavy weapons--banned within Sarajevo's exclusion zone limits--have been used by both sides. According to some agency accounts, Serbian forces just outside Sarajevo have also seized a UN weapons cache. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] BOUTROS GHALI ON BOSNIAN PEACEKEEPING.

    The BBC on 17 May reported that UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali has outlined four options for the future of UN peacekeeping operations in war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina. He noted that the recent intensification of fighting in the country may result in maintaining operations at their present level, using air strikes, pulling out, or scaling down. Boutros-Ghali, said he preferred scaling down. Bosnian UN ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey responded that any such move would amount to serious losses for the Bosnian government and people. NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes, for his part, rejected any ideas of scaling down or withdrawal, the BBC reported on 17 May. He argued that the UN has to get tougher to regain credibility. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] "SEX, DRUGS, AND HEINEKEN."

    This is one of the favorite mottos of Dutchpeacekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Die Presse reported on 12 May. The men there have established a reputation for alcohol and drug abuse, as well as for violence against local prostitutes. But now Dutch opinion is scandalized by fresh reports that the force has used children lured with candy as guinea pigs to test for mine fields. Military and civilian authorities are investigating. Meanwhile, AFP on 16 May reported on the general malaise and feeling of uselessness among the UN peacekeepers in Croatia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] CROATIAN PRESIDENT IN GERMANY.

    Croatian President Franjo Tudjman met with ranking German officials, including Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, in Bonn on 16 May, Vjesnik reported. Tudjman reiterated his promise that the Croatian army would withdraw from a UN buffer zone separating Croatian forces and rebel Krajina Serbs on 16 May. But the BBC reported the next day that it is unclear whether Croatian forces are pulling back in accordance with deadlines. In other news, Nasa Borba reported that Vuk Draskovic, leader of the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement, is to arrive in Germany on 17 May at the invitation of Foreign Minister Kinkel. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] TRIALS IN MACEDONIA.

    Defense lawyers of the director of the self- proclaimed Albanian-language university in Tetovo Fadil Sulejmani have offered DM 50,000 for his release on bail, Flaka reported on 16 May. Sulejmani was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for "inciting resistance." His case is to reviewed by a court of appeal. Meanwhile, the trial of Nevzat Halili, leader of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity-Party for the Peoples' Unity (PPD-PUPM) began in Tetovo the same day. Halili is charged with "participating in a rally interfering with public authorities, executing their duties" and with "organizing that rally." Like Sulejmani, he was arrested in connection with a riot that broke out after the police crackdown on the Albanian- language university on 17 February. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] MACEDONIAN-GREEK UPDATE.

    In an effort to settle the diplomatic dispute between Macedonia and Greece, UN mediator Cyrus Vance and U.S. President Bill Clinton's special envoy Matthew Nimetz on 13 May met with Greek opposition leader Miltiadis Evert in New York, Greek newspapers reported the following day. Vance said he expected progress in settling the Greek-Macedonian dispute, while Evert assessed the meeting as useful and said that his party, New Democracy, always believed in the need to settle the questions between Greece and Macedonia by dialogue. Meanwhile, the Athens daily Elevtherotypia on 12 May cited diplomatic sources in Athens as saying the Macedonian-Greek talks will be completed by the end of the summer. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT, PREMIER HOLD TALKS.

    Zhelyu Zhelev and Zhan Videnov on 16 May met to discuss the political situation in Bulgaria and their differing political views, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. The two leaders agreed that cooperation between state institutions must improve, regardless of ideological and political differences. But they avoided discussing Bulgaria's possible membership in NATO. Kontinent wrote that many questions "remained unanswered" after the meeting. The press centers of the president and the prime minister announced that meetings between the two leaders will take place on a regular basis. But 24 chasa suggests that "the cold war [between the two men] will continue," as it is "rooted in the constitution" and there is no qualified parliamentary majority to change it. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

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

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