OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 142, 24 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] WESTERN ALLIES PUT SERBS ON NOTICE.

  • [02] DID THE FRENCH BOMB PALE?

  • [03] CROATIA PLEDGES HELP FOR BIHAC.

  • [04] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY "ALWAYS PRODUCES HALF MEASURES."

  • [05] SERBIAN WITNESS CONFIRM SREBRENICA ATROCITIES.

  • [06] BELGRADE CAUTIONS BOSNIAN SERBS, MLADIC CALLS FOR WAR.

  • [07] GREEK, BOSNIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS BOSNIAN WAR.

  • [08] LEADERS OF BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH PARTY MEET.

  • [09] BULGARIA WILL NOT EXTRADITE SUSPECTS IN HUNGARIAN DEATH TRUCK CASE.

  • [10] ALBANIAN COURT TURNS DOWN PROSECUTOR'S REQUEST TO RELEASE NANO.

  • [11] U.S. SPY-PLANE MISSION IN ALBANIA EXTENDED UNTIL OCTOBER.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 142, Part II, 24 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] WESTERN ALLIES PUT SERBS ON NOTICE.

    International media on 24 July reported that British, French, and U.S. representatives the previous day warned Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic that "massive and unprecedented" air strikes awaited the Bosnian Serbs should they attack Gorazde or other "safe areas" in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It appears that this warning, as well as the vaguer formulations issued in London by the Contact Group on 22 July, apply to Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Bihac, but not to embattled Zepa. The allies told the Serbs that there can be "no military solution" in Bosnia and that further attacks against the UN-designated zones "cannot be tolerated." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] DID THE FRENCH BOMB PALE?

    Fighting continued over the weekend around Zepa,where the Bosnian government defenders refuse to surrender and be killed wholesale by the Serbs, which seems to have been the fate of the Muslim troops in Srebrenica. International media on 24 July also said that Serbs killed two French peacekeepers on 22 July and that an unidentified bomb appeared to have hit Pale the next day. Liberation reported that the device came from a French Mirage aircraft, which President Jacques Chirac allegedly ordered personally to attack the home of someone close to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. AFP reported that Chirac's office denied the story, but the French news agency later reported that a general alert has been declared in Pale after three unidentified aircraft dropped several bombs on the morning of 24 July. Meanwhile, hundreds of British and French troops from the new Rapid Reaction Force arrived on Mt. Igman near Sarajevo to defend UNPROFOR against more Serbian attacks. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] CROATIA PLEDGES HELP FOR BIHAC.

    The VOA on 23 July said that "the most serious fighting" over the weekend was in the Bihac pocket, where the Serbs have taken 75 sq km of territory since 19 July. The "safe area" is being hit by renegade Muslims from the north, Krajina Serbs from the west, and Bosnian Serbs from the east and south. Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic told the BBC on 23 July that the fall of Bihac would affect his country's "vital interests" since it would consolidate land links between Krajina and the Bosnian Serbs. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his Bosnian counterpart, Alija Izetbegovic, met in Split on 22 July. They were accompanied by large delegations and, "in an unofficial capacity," by the highly influential U.S. Ambassador Peter Galbraith, Slobodna Dalmacija wrote on 24 July. Vecernji list carried the text of the final declaration, which stressed that the meeting was aimed at consolidating the Muslim-Croatian federation. It also noted that Sarajevo asked Zagreb for "urgent military and other assistance," which the Croats then promised. It is not clear what form the Croatian support will take. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY "ALWAYS PRODUCES HALF MEASURES."

    This is howBosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic reacted to the vague decisions of the London meeting of the Contact Group, the International Herald Tribune said on 22 July. U.S. Senator Robert Dole announced he would go ahead with plans for a Senate vote on lifting the arms embargo against the Bosnian government. The eight-member ad hoc committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference met on 21 July and declared the embargo "invalid and immoral." IRNA reported on 24 July that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velyati will organize a meeting of Islamic defense ministers and military chiefs to discuss ways of helping the embattled republic. Bosnian Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey said that he already has promises of help but that the details have to be worked out. (See related item in Russian section.) -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] SERBIAN WITNESS CONFIRM SREBRENICA ATROCITIES.

    British and Serbian journalists have interviewed Serbs on either side of the Drina River who confirmed charges that Bosnian Serb forces are systematically massacring Muslim men in Bratunac. The Independent wrote on 21 July that one woman said her relatives in Bratunac "are quite open about what is going on. They are killing Muslim soldiers. They said they killed 1,600 [on 17 July] alone and estimated that in all they had killed about 4,000 men." The horror stories from Srebrenica appear to have led to a big change in how much of the world views the war. President Bill Clinton over the weekend spoke of "Serbian aggression" rather than of "warring factions." Pope John Paul II in a series of statements has called for "defensive and proportionate" intervention in Bosnia in "a just war" to defend the civilian population. He said that if Europe did not react to "acts of barbarity and crimes against humanity," it risked falling into the "depths of ignominy." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] BELGRADE CAUTIONS BOSNIAN SERBS, MLADIC CALLS FOR WAR.

    BETA on 24 July reported that the federal parliament of the rump Yugoslavia appealed on 21 July to the Bosnian Serbs not to attack the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Gorazde. Legislators argued that an attack against Gorazde would result in civilian casualties and endanger the regional peace process. Meanwhile, BETA also reported that General Ratko Mladic, military leader of the Bosnian Serbs, continues to accuse the Bosnian Muslims of aggression and has threatened to overrun Bosnian government forces and territory. "By autumn we will occupy Zepa, Gorazde, Bihac, and, if need be, even Sarajevo and end this war," Mladic said. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] GREEK, BOSNIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS BOSNIAN WAR.

    Karolos Papoulias, Muhamed Sacirbey, and Ali Akbar Velayati met in Athens on 21 July to discuss a possible solution to the war in Bosnia, international agencies reported the same day. Sacirbey urged rump Yugoslavia to recognize his country and effectively close its borders to territory held by the Bosnian Serbs. He proposed that sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro be lifted as a reward or stiffened as a punishment. Sacirbey claimed the Bosnian Serbs raped and murdered Moslems after taking the "safe area" of Srebrenica, and he put the death toll as high as 5,000 to 10,000. "In one instance, 1,600 young boys and older men were executed in a soccer stadium after being taken prisoners," he was quoted as saying. Greek Foreign Minister Papoulias is expected to brief Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on the talks. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] LEADERS OF BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH PARTY MEET.

    The leadership of the Movement for Rights and Freedom (DPS) on 22 July met to discuss holding an extraordinary party conference, Bulgarian media reported. Some leaders want DPS Deputy Chairmen Osman Oktay and Yunal Lyutfi to resign and are demanding structural changes within the party. Sixteen of the 22 regional council chairmen are urging that a conference take place in order to discuss those issues, but DPS chairman Ahmed Dogan has declined. Instead, he submitted the resignation of all his deputies, saying they were elected en bloc and therefore can resign only collectively. Their resignation was not accepted, however, since some leaders argued that the DPS would have to re-register and would be unable to take part in the forthcoming local elections if registration were delayed for some reason. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] BULGARIA WILL NOT EXTRADITE SUSPECTS IN HUNGARIAN DEATH TRUCK CASE.

    Sofia City Prosecutor Nestor Nestorov on 21 July said Bulgarian citizens arrested for alleged involvement in the death of 18 illegal Sri Lankan immigrants in Hungary (see OMRI Daily Digest, 17 July 1995) will not be extradited, Reuters reported the same day. He said Bulgarian law prevents the extradition of Bulgarian citizens on criminal charges, adding that so far Hungarian authorities have made no such request. The suspects will stand trial in Bulgaria instead. Legal proceedings against them on charges on manslaughter and forgery of travel documents have already been initiated. Nestorov confirmed that the owner and driver of the truck have been arrested, but he declined to say how many more people were being held. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] ALBANIAN COURT TURNS DOWN PROSECUTOR'S REQUEST TO RELEASE NANO.

    The Tirana Appeals Court has turned down the surprising request by Prosecutor-General Skender Denmeri to release Fatos Nano, leader of the Socialist Party , international agencies reported on 21 July. Nano has two years left to serve from a prison sentence for falsifying documents and misappropriating Italian aid funds. Denmeri argued that Nano should be released since his prison term has been reduced by various amnesties and a new penal code introduced on 1 June. Appeals Court judge Fatos Caku, however, argued that Nano should have received a higher sentence under the new penal code and therefore should remain in jail. Nano is expected to be released by Albania's Supreme Court on 26 July. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [11] U.S. SPY-PLANE MISSION IN ALBANIA EXTENDED UNTIL OCTOBER. U.S.

    unmanned Predator spy planes employed in Albania since 14 July to gather intelligence on Bosnia will continue their mission until October, Montena-fax reported on 22 July. The undertaking has been extended because of the recent worsening of the Bosnian crisis. Elsewhere, U.S. troops ended the Sarex-2 program, which included military exercises for humanitarian rescue operations. The exercises were the two countries' third joint maneuvers, Lajmi i Dites reported on 22 July. -- 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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