OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 143, 25 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?

  • [02] SERBS CLOSE IN ON BIHAC.

  • [03] WHO BOMBED PALE?

  • [04] NATO FAILS TO REACH A DECISION ON AIR STRIKES.

  • [05] MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH KOZYREV.

  • [06] GREEK SENIOR DIPLOMAT DENOUNCES INTERRUPTION OF MACEDONIAN TALKS.

  • [07] RUMP YUGOSLAV HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER IN BULGARIA.

  • [08] BULGARIAN TV CHIEF CANCELS ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS.

  • [09] SLOVENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN TIRANA.

  • [10] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR MEETING OF BOSNIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 143, Part II, 25 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?

    International media on 25 July said that the Bosniangovernment in Sarajevo has denied UN accounts that Zepa has in effect surrendered. Bosnian authorities in the embattled "safe area" reportedly made an agreement with the Serbs on the evacuation of women, children, the sick, and the elderly. It is unclear what this would mean for military-aged men, who appeared to prefer to die fighting rather than face a massacre like the one that followed the Serbian conquest of Srebrenica. UN special envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki said on 24 July that the Serbs had committed "barbaric acts" against the Muslims in that eastern Bosnian town. "What happened cannot be described as [moderate] violations of human rights but as extremely serious violations on an enormous scale," he concluded. UN spokesman Chris Gunness added that the Serbs' "actions are an affront to the values of all civilized people." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] SERBS CLOSE IN ON BIHAC.

    The four-way assault by Krajina Serb, Bosnian Serb, and rebel Muslim forces on the Bihac pocket continues. AFP on 25 July reported that Krajina units have reached the fringes of the "safe area" itself, and Reuters wrote the previous day that the Serbs appear to be trying to split the pocket in two and then mop up the separate halves. A UN spokesman said that "this coordinated, deliberate attack on all fronts represents arguably the most considerable military action in Bosnia for many months." The VOA added that the UN Security Council has warned the Serbs not to press their attack on Bihac. A French Foreign Ministry spokesman urged "all parties to show restraint" and said that the goal was to prevent another Srebrenica. He warned there could be a "substantial and decisive response" if attacks persist. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] WHO BOMBED PALE?

    Meanwhile near Sarajevo, British and French units ofthe new Rapid Reaction Force continued to arrive on Mt. Igman on 24 July. It remains uncertain, however, what accounted for the reported bombings of the Bosnian Serb "capital" on the 23-24 July. Both France and NATO denied they were responsible, although Liberation on 24 July ran a detailed account of what it called a mission ordered personally by President Jacques Chirac. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] NATO FAILS TO REACH A DECISION ON AIR STRIKES.

    Ambassadors of the Atlantic alliance meeting in Brussels on 24 July failed to agree on a program for implementing the resolution approved in London on 21 July. Another session is scheduled for the afternoon of 25 July. The International Herald Tribune quoted an American official as saying that "there's no snag. It's just complicated and time-consuming." But the VOA said there are differences as to what would trigger air strikes, what would be the targets, and who would order the missions. UN Secretary- General Boutrous Boutrous Ghali insists that he have the final say, but this is unacceptable to Washington, which wants the operations exclusively in NATO hands. The International Herald Tribune on 24 July quoted a French official as saying that "the object is to diminish the firepower of the Serbs to a level where the Bosnians can hold their own, not to raise the firepower of the Bosnians." U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has other ideas, however. The VOA reported that he will soon call a vote on a unilateral lifting of the arms embargo against the Bosnian government. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH KOZYREV.

    BETA on 24 July reported that Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, allegedly acting on instructions from Russian President Boris Yeltsin, arrived in Belgrade the same day for talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Accompanying Kozyrev were Russian Ambassador to Brussels and former special envoy to the former Yugoslavia Vitalii Churkin and Contact Group representative Aleksandr Zotov. The apparent reason for the visit, which followed the London Conference's threat to use military action against the Bosnian Serbs if they attacked the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Gorazde, was to secure Milosevic's help in reining in the Bosnian Serb side. Kozyrev reiterated Moscow's oft-repeated commitment to a peaceful resolution to the Bosnian conflict. According to AFP, Milosevic used the opportunity to condemn international "threats . . . [and] military action" aimed at the Bosnian Serbs. "The international community must engage in creating political conditions that are effective and capable of leading to a stable peace," said Milosevic. AFP reported on 25 July that Kozyrev left Belgrade saying he was "satisfied" with his visit. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] GREEK SENIOR DIPLOMAT DENOUNCES INTERRUPTION OF MACEDONIAN TALKS.

    Former Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Tzounis said the Greek government has made a "mistake" by interrupting the Greek-Macedonian talks and perpetuating the economic embargo against Macedonia. In an interview with the Greek newspaper To Vima he noted that "the battle over the name of Greece's northern neighbor is the core of the problem, [which is endangering] security and peace in the region." To resolve the conflict, he proposed bilateral treaties on the inviolability of existing borders between Macedonia, rump Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania, BETA reported on 24 July. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] RUMP YUGOSLAV HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER IN BULGARIA.

    Margit Savovic met with Bulgarian deputies on 24 July, Bulgarian media reported. Saying that all rump Yugoslav citizens enjoy equal rights, Savovic dismissed a report by UN special envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki on human rights violations in her country as "not objective." On the situation of the Bulgarian minority in eastern Serbia, Savovic said Bulgarian is regarded as a mother tongue by the authorities, but many Bulgarians do not have the desire to learn it properly. She said the term "Western regions," used in Bulgaria to describe the territories ceded to Yugoslavia in 1919, is "unacceptable" and constituted interference in Yugoslav internal affairs. Former Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov from the opposition Union of Democratic Forces boycotted the meeting, saying he "will not meet with the minister for human rights of a state that brutally violates them." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] BULGARIAN TV CHIEF CANCELS ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS.

    Ivan Granitski, director of Bulgarian National Television, announced on 23 July he is canceling two weekly entertainment programs, international media reported the same day. The two programs are a beauty contest and a game show. Granitski, who was appointed by the Socialist majority in June, said he will ban programs "propagating, violence, homosexuality, prostitution, gambling, and drug addiction" as part of his "struggle for higher professional and artistic levels of programs and against those [who] oppose national interests." Prosecutor-General Ivan Tatarchev said he fully supports Granitski's move because "national interests" require it. A commentator for the independent weekly 168 chasa called the move "sheer nonsense." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] SLOVENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN TIRANA.

    Zoran Thaler visited Albania on 21 July, Gazeta Shqiptare reported the following day. At meetings with Albanian President Sali Berisha and Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi, both sides agreed to improve economic and military cooperation. They also discussed the Bosnian crisis and the Kosovo conflict, reportedly agreeing that "the aggressor must be punished." In other news, a high- ranking U.S. diplomatic delegation arrived in Tirana for a two-day visit on 24 July to discuss bilateral relations and the situation in the region, Montena-fax reported the same day. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR MEETING OF BOSNIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS. Karolos Papoulias on 24 July said Greece will try to arrange a dialogue b

    etween Bosnia's religious leaders, AFP reported the same day. Papoulias, who was on two-day visit to Jordan, called such a meeting "essential to finding a solution." He also said Greece will send humanitarian aid to "all those suffering" in Bosnia. -- 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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