OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 114, 13 June 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] KARADZIC FREES 130 HOSTAGES.

  • [02] WHAT ROLE DID SERBIA PLAY IN THE HOSTAGE RELEASE?

  • [03] FRENCH PRESIDENT CALLS SERBS "TERRORISTS."

  • [04] KRAJINA SERBS GET NEW PRIME MINISTER.

  • [05] SERBIAN ECONOMIC NEWS.

  • [06] EU OPENS TALKS WITH CROATIA, ITALY BLOCKS SLOVENIAN ACCORD.

  • [07] KOSOVO UPDATE.

  • [08] MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS AGAINST MEMBERSHIP IN COUNCIL OF EUROPE.

  • [09]CHIEF OF BULGARIAN PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM KILLED.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 114, Part II, 13 June 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] KARADZIC FREES 130 HOSTAGES.

    The BBC on 13 June reported that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told a press conference in Pale at 11:00 local time that 130 hostages were being freed at that moment. Many could leave directly from the Sarajevo area to rejoin their units, while others would be freed via Serbia. He claimed that "technical reasons" prevented the release of an additional 14 men, which presumably meant that they are being held at widely scattered locations. It also could mean that Pale wants to hold onto some captives as insurance against any retaliatory moves. AFP quoted Karadzic's parliamentary speaker, Momcilo Krajisnik, as saying of the hostages: "We have always wanted to free them as soon as possible. These young boys have all of our sympathy." Karadzic added: "We consider this crisis closed and we hope it will never happen again." -- Patrick Moore

    [02] WHAT ROLE DID SERBIA PLAY IN THE HOSTAGE RELEASE?

    At the same time asKaradzic held his press conference, Tanjug ran a communique from Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic announcing the release of the 130 men. As before, Milosevic's security chief, Jovica Stanisic, was in Pale and was directly involved in the hostage release. Questions remain as to exactly what Belgrade's role has been all along in taking and freeing the peacekeepers. Articles in The New York Times on 11 June and Newsday the following day pointed to the integral links between the Belgrade and Pale military structures. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] FRENCH PRESIDENT CALLS SERBS "TERRORISTS."

    Milosevic had recentlyassured Jacques Chirac in a telephone conversation that he was doing all he could to help free the hostages, most of whom are French. But Reuters on 12 June quoted Chirac as telling those assembled at a dinner with Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou on 9 June how disgusted he felt when talking to Milosevic. Papandreou had been making a speech in which he asked for understanding for the Serbs, who were fighting for their religion. Chirac interrupted him, saying: "Don't talk to me about wars of religion. These people have no faith and know no law. They are terrorists." Meanwhile, international media reported on 13 June that the first contingent of 200 French soldiers for the new Rapid Reaction Force has begun arriving in Split. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] KRAJINA SERBS GET NEW PRIME MINISTER.

    Knin's foreign minister and longtime political figure, Milan Babic, became prime minister on 12 June, Tanjug reported. He replaced Borislav Mikelic, who was sacked in May because he was regarded as too pliant toward both Belgrade and Zagreb. Babic is now the ally of his old rival, President Milan Martic, in calling for some sort of union with the Bosnian Serbs, despite objections from eastern Slavonian Serbs and from Belgrade. Meanwhile at the United Nations, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali said in a report that it will not be possible to redeploy UNCRO peacekeepers by 30 June as expected. Zagreb had demanded that the men be stationed on Croatia's external borders as part of the deal to renew the UN's mandate. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] SERBIAN ECONOMIC NEWS.

    Nasa Borba on 13 June reported that over the past several days, the rump Yugoslav currency, the so-called "super dinar," has experienced a free fall against the German mark. The currency was introduced in January 1994 and pegged to the value of the mark at a rate of 1:1. It came under similar inflationary pressures in late March 1995, trading unofficially in Belgrade at up to 5 to DM 1 (see OMRI Daily Digest, 28 March 1995). -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] EU OPENS TALKS WITH CROATIA, ITALY BLOCKS SLOVENIAN ACCORD.

    The EU foreign ministers on 12 June agreed to open talks with Croatia on a trade and cooperation accord, international agencies reported the same day. The ministers tentatively agreed to such a move in April, after Croatia extended the mandate for UN peacekeepers, but they backed off in May when Croatia took territory in western Slavonia. The EU ministers linked success in the negotiations to Croatia's continued cooperation in the UN peace process and its respect for democracy and human rights. Meanwhile, Italy continued to block the signing of the EU association accord with Slovenia in a long-running dispute over property rights for Italians who fled the country after World War II. -- Michael Mihalka

    [07] KOSOVO UPDATE.

    The Albanian shadow-state University of Pristina has announced a competition for 6,077 new students to enroll this year, Kosova Daily Report said on 12 June. The university went underground in 1991 when the Serbian regime declared the Albanian-language departments of the University of Pristina illegal and sacked almost 1,000 teachers and over 20,000 students. Meanwhile, the trial of 72 ethnic Albanian former policemen resumed in Pristina the same day. The policemen are accused of involvement in establishing a shadow-state police force. Defendants have said that the trial is "aimed at incriminating the Albanian democratic movement." Detainees have reportedly been subjected to torture during pre-trial detention. Elsewhere, former policemen are reported to have been evicted from their apartments by Serbian authorities. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS AGAINST MEMBERSHIP IN COUNCIL OF EUROPE.

    A letter from the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PPD) to the Council of Europe saying that Macedonia does not meet the criteria to be accepted into the council has sparked an outcry in the Macedonian media. Vecer on 13 June called the letter an "anti-Macedonian pamphlet." The PPD argues that accession should follow only "after the true democratization of Macedonia begins," MIC reported on 12 June. It claims that the Albanian minority has been deprived of the constitutional status it has enjoyed since 1974. The PPD further criticized the electoral law and the ban on Albanian-language higher education. It also expressed doubts about the independence of the judiciary. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [09]CHIEF OF BULGARIAN PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM KILLED.

    Georgi Nikolov, a former riot policeman and chief of First Private Militia, was killed in the Black Sea town of Burgas on 10 June, Demokratsiya reported. The assailant shot Nikolov three times in the head and fled before police could block nearby roads. Nikolov's security firm, the largest in Burgas, was banned by the police in May on suspicion of involvement in an extortion racket. But guards from the company continued to provide security to hotels, restaurants and bars in the area. Well-informed sources allege that Nikolov was killed because he wanted to abandon providing security services in favor of "clean business." -- 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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