OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 120, 21 June 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] SARAJEVO'S "WORST FIGHTING SINCE FRIDAY."

  • [02] FRENCH DESTROY SERBIAN TANK.

  • [03] KARADZIC BANS ALCOHOL IN BARS AND RESTAURANTS.

  • [04] BOSNIAN DIPLOMATIC UPDATE.

  • [05] SERBIAN ECONOMIC UPDATE.

  • [06] RUMP YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER ON BULGARIAN MINORITY.

  • [07] MEMBER OF KOSOVAR SHADOW PARLIAMENT TORTURED BY POLICE.

  • [08] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT AGAINST NEW FEDERATION.

  • [09] MACEDONIAN OPPOSITION, ETHNIC ALBANIAN LEADERS MEET IN TETOVO.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 120, Part II, 21 June 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] SARAJEVO'S "WORST FIGHTING SINCE FRIDAY."

    The VOA quoted UN observers on21 June as saying that the Bosnian government's offensive around Sarajevo and the Serbian counteroffensive have intensified. Fierce combat is reported on the hills surrounding the capital. The Bosnian army on 20 June denied permission for two large UN aid convoys to proceed beyond Kiseljak to Sarajevo and for two smaller ones to head for Serbian-held territory. The soldiers first said that the roads were not safe and then claimed they had no authorization for the convoys. UN officials are investigating. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] FRENCH DESTROY SERBIAN TANK.

    French UNPROFOR troops, in an unusual display of fighting spirit, fired 90mm anti-tank rounds at a Bosnian Serb tank north of Sarajevo. The International Herald Tribune on 21 June quotes a spokesman as saying that "the turret was [then] separated from the main body of the tank." The pesky Serbian vehicle had generally kept itself well hidden but had been a source of problems for the peacekeepers. It destroyed an armored personnel carrier and fired 15 shells at a UN observation post before the French shot back. Elsewhere, international media quoted UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali as calling the UN operation in Bosnia a failure. He said it could not keep the peace because the "protagonists" do not want peace. Prominent U.S. Senator Sam Nunn also said recently that UNPROFOR has failed and become "nothing but hostage invitations." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] KARADZIC BANS ALCOHOL IN BARS AND RESTAURANTS.

    Nasa Borba on 21 June reported that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has forbidden restaurants and other public establishments from serving alcohol for the coming month. It is not clear whether Karadzic, whose own fondness for strong drink is well known, will ban alcohol sales elsewhere. Meanwhile in Belgrade, UN officials again condemned the current roundup of draft- age men--including Serbian citizens--for the Krajina Serb army. Slobodna Dalmacija quoted a top Krajina general as urging the military to become more involved in economic, cultural, and general public life. He did not openly refer to the new arrivals from Serbia, who are officially known as "volunteers." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] BOSNIAN DIPLOMATIC UPDATE.

    Russian diplomat Vitaly Churkin continued his talks in Pale and Belgrade on 20 June, international media reported the next day. The VOA said there was a "new Russian peace initiative." Nasa Borba, however, quotes State Department officials as saying that no coordinated diplomatic action has been agreed upon, although Bosnia was discussed at the recent G-7 summit. It remains unclear exactly what Churkin is discussing and why he is representing Russia in its latest efforts, given that his dislike for the Bosnian Serb leadership is well known. Meanwhile in Mostar, EU negotiator Carl Bildt held talks with Bosnian government officials. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] SERBIAN ECONOMIC UPDATE.

    Nasa Borba on 21 June reported that the rump Yugoslav currency, the so-called "super dinar" is currently trading at 2.3-2.5 to the German mark. When introduced in January 1994, the new dinar was pegged to the value of the mark at an exchange of 1:1. Its value on the black market has dipped appreciably several times since its introduction, but the daily observes that the latest free fall, unlike previous ones, has not triggered public anxiety. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] RUMP YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER ON BULGARIAN MINORITY.

    Standart on 21 June quoted Vladislav Jovanovic as saying that "the Bulgarians in Serbia are indeed encountering problems, but these should not be exaggerated." Jovanovic made the statement after meeting his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Pirinski, who is on an official visit to Belgrade. Pirinski on 19 June met with local Socialist politicians in the Serbian border town of Caribrod but not with representatives of the Democratic Union of Bulgarians in Yugoslavia (DSBYu), the only registered party of the Bulgarian minority. According to Demokratsiya on 20 June, DSBYu representatives had not been allowed to meet with him. Two days earlier, he had reportedly held talks in Sofia with DSBYu Secretary Todor Petrov but had insisted that the meeting remain secret in order not to anger the Serbian government. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] MEMBER OF KOSOVAR SHADOW PARLIAMENT TORTURED BY POLICE.

    Isak Maxhuni, a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo and a legislator in the Kosovar shadow parliament, has been badly tortured by Serbian police while in custody, Kosova Daily Report said on 19 June. The politician is allegedly suspected of illegal arms possession. His brother is also reported to have been tortured and is now in the hospital. The torture reports have not been independently confirmed. The parliament was elected in May 1992, but Serbian police have prevented it from convening. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT AGAINST NEW FEDERATION.

    Kiro Gligorov, addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union in Paris on 20 June, said "there can be no new experiments" to create a new state entity on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The independence of the successor states has to be guaranteed, and they have to be integrated into European structures, Vecher on 21 June quoted Gligorov as saying. Asked about relations with Greece, Gligorov said his country "was and still is prepared to negotiate," but only on an equal footing. Gligorov also met with French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, who said France will make every effort to help resolve the Greek-Macedonian dispute. Meanwhile, Nova Makedonija reports that Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski left for New York on 20 June to meet with UN mediator Cyrus Vance. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] MACEDONIAN OPPOSITION, ETHNIC ALBANIAN LEADERS MEET IN TETOVO.

    Ljupco Georgievski, leader of the nationalist Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO-DPMNE), has met with Shaban Aliti, a member of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PPD) and mayor of Tetovo, to discuss possible cooperation between their parties at the local level. The PPD is member of the ruling anti-nationalist coalition and the VMRO-DPMNE is in opposition, but their leaders nonetheless concluded that a coalition is possible. Meanwhile, six VMRO-DPMNE local councilors in Skopje rejected the idea of a coalition, threatening to leave the party. It is unclear whether the Liberal Party would support a VMRO-DPMNE mayor in a coalition with the PPD, Flaka reported on 20 and 21 June. -- 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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