OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 105, 31 May 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] SITUATION AROUND SARAJEVO " OMINOUSLY QUIET."

  • [02] BOSNIAN SERBS SAY STRENGTHENED UNPROFOR MANDATE MEANS WAR.

  • [03] WHAT ARE THE NEW BRITISH FORCES DOING IN BOSNIA?

  • [04] JOVANOVIC SAYS RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA POSSIBLE.

  • [05] OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS.

  • [06] FADIL SULEJMANI RELEASED ON BAIL IN MACEDONIA.

  • [07] HEAD OF BULGARIAN ENERGY COMMITTEE SACKED.

  • [08] ALBANIA CLAMPS DOWN ON SMUGGLING INTO FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 105, Part II, 31 May 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] SITUATION AROUND SARAJEVO " OMINOUSLY QUIET."

    This is how a UNspokesman described the area surrounding the Bosnian capital on 30 May, the BBC reported the following day. Bosnian Serb forces have taken armored personnel carriers and other vehicles from their UNPROFOR hostages and have removed heavy weapons from UN-monitored storage depots. Serbian troops are also infiltrating into the demilitarized zones around Sarajevo. The Bosnian Serbs let some French hostages return to their bases but captured additional Ukrainians, bringing the total number of hostages of that nationality to 55, Ukrainian Television said. Nasa Borba added that the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague will take up the case of the Serbian artillery attack on Tuzla on 27 May, in which at least 71 died. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] BOSNIAN SERBS SAY STRENGTHENED UNPROFOR MANDATE MEANS WAR.

    France continues to press for a new mandate for UN peacekeepers that would allow them to react quickly and on their own initiative, but Bosnian Serb Foreign Minister Aleksa Buha is quoted by Nasa Borba on 31 May as saying that a changed mandate would mean war. He added that the hostages would be released when NATO promises publicly not to launch any new air strikes. The BBC quoted a UN spokesman as saying that such a declaration is unlikely to appear. President of the Bosnian Serb legislature Momcilo Krajisnik told Nasa Borba that he was pleased that the Contact Group on 29 May opted for a peaceful solution to the crisis. The VOA on 31 May noted that the U.S. will provide additional support for UNPROFOR, such as airlifts, but that Washington sees no need at present for its own ground troops to be sent in. A NATO communique issued on 30 May said that the Bosnian Serb leaders are personally responsible for the safety of the hostages. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] WHAT ARE THE NEW BRITISH FORCES DOING IN BOSNIA?

    The first of the newBritish force of 6,000 highly-trained personnel arrived in Split on 30 May, international media reported. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said, however, that they could advance only as far as Gornji Vakuf, in central Bosnia, and not proceed to the British base at Vares north of Sarajevo. Izetbegovic added he feared that the men had not come to deal with the Serbs but rather to cover an evacuation of UNPROFOR, which the Bosnian government opposes. The men arrived wearing UN blue berets. British Premier John Major said that Britain has no intention of leaving Bosnia, but the BBC' s Serbian and Croatian Services on 31 May report that doubts are being raised in Britain regarding the veracity of that statement. Vjesnik quotes NATO sources as saying that 40,000 soldiers would be needed to protect a total evacuation of peacekeepers. -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.

    [04] JOVANOVIC SAYS RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA POSSIBLE.

    Rump Yugoslav Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic told BBC Television on 31 May that a deal between Belgrade and members of the Contact Group may be in the offing. Such a deal, he said, might foresee Belgrade' s recognition of Bosnia in exchange for an easing of sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia. Jovanovic described negotiations between Belgrade and Contact Group officials as " serious and productive." Meanwhile, Nasa Borba on 31 May reported that U.S. envoy Robert Frasure is in Belgrade for meetings with ranking rump Yugoslav officials to discuss possible deals, including the possible easing of the fuel embargo against the rump Yugoslavia. Reuters reports that Frasure is slated to " try to enlist [Serbian President Slobodan] Milosevic' s help to win the release of almost 400 UN peacekeepers" held hostage by Bosnian Serb forces. Nasa Borba also reported that Milosevic allegedly referred to Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic as a possible bulwark for the peace process in Bosnia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS.

    The Serbs of Bosnia and Krajina have received the blessings of the Serbian Orthodox Church in their moves to set up a still ill-defined common state. Belgrade dailies add on 31 May that the Krajina legislature has approved the introduction of the traditional Nemanjic coat of arms for the new polity as well the old nationalist song " Boze pravde" as its anthem. The Zagreb papers note that the Bosnian Serbs have once again barred UN human rights monitor Tadeusz Mazowiecki from entering their territory. He told a press conference that the differences between Croats and Muslims in Mostar was not that great but that the political will to bridge them was lacking. He added that the most pressing issue there was to set up a joint police force. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] FADIL SULEJMANI RELEASED ON BAIL IN MACEDONIA.

    Fadil Sulejmani, dean of the self-proclaimed Albanian-language university in Tetovo, has been released on DM100,000 bail, Flaka reported on 31 May. Sulejmani was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for " inciting resistance" ; his case is to be reviewed by an appeals court . He was arrested in connection with a riot that broke out after the police crackdown on his university on 17 February. Flaka also reported that a proposal for new parliamentary procedures omits a sentence contained in the old ones stating that deputies have " the right...to speak in the language of his nationality." -- Fabian Schmidt , OMRI, Inc.

    [07] HEAD OF BULGARIAN ENERGY COMMITTEE SACKED.

    Nikita Shervashidze on 30 May was dismissed as chairman of the government' s Energy Committee, according to Bulgarian newspapers the following day. The official reason was reported to be incompetence, but some papers claim the real reason was that Shervashidze let the private Multigrup conglomerate buy up debts owed to Bulgargaz, the state-run gas company. While such a move is legal under Bulgarian law, Shervashidze apparently failed to organize a debt-buying auction, as is legally required. If the government does not intervene, Multigrup will obtain a stake in Himko and Kremikovtsi, two of Bulgaria' s largest industrial exporters. According to Demokratsiya, another reason for Shervashidze' s dismissal is that he allowed water to be re-routed to a power plant when it was needed in Sofia, which faces a severe water crisis. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] ALBANIA CLAMPS DOWN ON SMUGGLING INTO FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.

    The Albanian Interior Ministry on 30 May said that stricter police controls in border areas have stopped fuel smuggling into the former Yugoslavia, Reuters reported the same day. The authorities said that police have made several arrests and confiscated hundreds of tons of fuel. Shipping traffic on the River Buna has reportedly been prohibited, and only fishing and tourist ships are now allowed on Lake Shkoder. Police have also closed ten filling stations. According to Reuters, since mid-May police have seized four tanker trucks, 18 barrels of fuel, 15 floating tankers (four containing 100 tons of fuel each) and some motor-boats. They have also arrested five Montenegrins. Gazeta Shqiptare reported that seven trucks were seized on 26 May, including 35,000 liters of fuel, and ten people arrested. -- Fabian Schmidt , OMRI, Inc.

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

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