OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 144, 26 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] KARADZIC, MLADIC, MARTIC INDICTED FOR WAR CRIMES.

  • [02] INHABITANTS OF ZEPA FLEE TO THE HILLS.

  • [03] WHO IS NEXT?

  • [04] ATTACK ON BIHAC CONTINUES.

  • [05] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION ARGUES OVER COOPERATION IN LOCAL ELECTIONS.

  • [06] RUMP YUGOSLAV HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER ON BULGARIAN MINORITY.

  • [07] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT DRAFTS LAND LAW.

  • [08] ETHNIC TURKISH POLITICIAN KILLED IN GREECE.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 144, Part II, 26 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] KARADZIC, MLADIC, MARTIC INDICTED FOR WAR CRIMES.

    The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on 25 July formally indicted 24 more Serbs for crimes against humanity, bringing the total to 46. Heading the list are Bosnian Serb civilian leader Radovan Karadzic, his military counterpart, General Ratko Mladic, and Krajina Serb "President" Milan Martic, AFP reported. The indictment said that the two Bosnian Serbs "intended to destroy Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat people as national, ethnic, or religious groups and killed, seriously injured, and deliberately inflicted upon them conditions intended to bring about their physical destruction." Martic was singled out for the rocket attacks on Zagreb in May. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on 26 July that not everyone has such a bleak view of the Serbs. Dutch UNPROFOR commander Colonel Karremans said he admired the Serbs' military feat in taking Srebrenica, while Dutch army commander General Couzy denied that genocide had taken place in Srebrenica. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] INHABITANTS OF ZEPA FLEE TO THE HILLS.

    International media reported on 25 July that Bosnian Serb forces entered the UN-declared "safe area" town of Zepa. Most of the inhabitants, including Bosnian government soldiers, had fled to the surrounding hills, caves, and forests, where they prefer to fight and face mines and booby traps rather than be massacred. Wounded and infirm civilians were evacuated to government- held territory in buses and have begun to reach Sarajevo and Kladanj. Some told reporters that Serbian heavy weapons, including 15 tanks, had decided Zepa's fate. The Bosnian government wants the UN to airlift its soldiers out of the area to make sure they are not killed, as happened in Srebrenica. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] WHO IS NEXT?

    The Serbs appear to have Gorazde next on their list,although the U.S. State Department has warned them to be cautious, the VOA said. NATO continued on 25 July to be hamstrung in drawing up a plan for air strikes should the Serbs attack Gorazde or the other remaining "safe areas." The problem is that the alliance has conceded the UN's right to a veto over strikes, and it can only hope that Secretary- General Boutros Boutros Ghali will delegate such authority to a UNPROFOR commander on the ground. The International Herald Tribune on 26 July reported that the Rapid Reaction Force may not be doing much in Sarajevo, either. In response to a question about whether British and French forces will open the supply road on Mt. Igman, a British spokesman said it is not an "easy military option" since it would involve taking land and silencing Serbian guns. On 26 July, one of those guns shelled downtown Sarajevo, seriously wounding six, Reuters reported. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] ATTACK ON BIHAC CONTINUES.

    Meanwhile in the Bihac pocket, Croatian forces have begun massing and firing on Serbian positions. Bosnian government commander General Atif Dudakovic told Croatian Television on 25 July that 30,000 Serbs and Muslim renegades are attacking him and the Croats. Croatian media reported Serbian shelling of Livno and of parts of eastern Slavonia. Meanwhile, indignation is growing worldwide over inaction against the Serbs. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told Reuters of his "disgust" for Western inaction and said he is willing to face sanctions if he send arms to the Bosnian government. Saudi Arabian King Fahd called on the UN to lift the embargo, and similar sentiments have come from top officials in Egypt, Vecernji list reported. The International Herald Tribune on 25 July and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the following day noted growing anger over Bosnia in Muslim countries in general. Jewish leaders in Germany have also spoken out. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION ARGUES OVER COOPERATION IN LOCAL ELECTIONS.

    The Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) and the People's Union (NS) on 25 July issued differing statements on cooperating in the upcoming local elections, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. The NS said the possibilities for talks at the local level have been exhausted and insists on talks between the central leaderships. The SDS, for its part, still wants talks at the regional level. Neither formation is willing to withdraw its candidate for Sofia mayor, even though the opposition has agreed to try to find a common candidate. Stefan Sofiyanski has been nominated by the SDS, and former interim premier Reneta Indzhova is the NS candidate. Meanwhile, Executive Director of the First Private Bank Ventseslav Yosifov announced he will also run. Duma reports that the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party will support him. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] RUMP YUGOSLAV HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER ON BULGARIAN MINORITY.

    Margit Savovic on 25 July met with Ginyo Ganev, chairman of the Sofia-based Agency for Bulgarians Living Abroad, Bulgarian media reported the same day. She said that the 27,000 Bulgarians living in eastern Serbia have every possibility to keep up their national identity and traditions but added that the state cannot subsidize them because of the UN sanctions. She denied the existence of blacklists of Bulgarians who are not allowed to travel to Bulgaria, saying the Bulgarian authorities should request information from rump Yugoslav institutions rather than trust "other sources." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT DRAFTS LAND LAW.

    The Albanian government has drafted a controversial law regulating the buying and selling of real estate, BETA reported on 25 July. The parliament is expected to vote on the law soon. Until 1991, land in Albania was either communal or state-owned. Thereafter, it was divided up between those who worked on it. Some opposition parties have criticized the draft law, arguing that it would undermine the property rights of those who owned land before communism. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] ETHNIC TURKISH POLITICIAN KILLED IN GREECE.

    Former parliamentary deputy Ahmet Sadik was killed on 24 July when his car crashed into a tractor in northern Greece, Reuters reported the following day. Sadik, who was a deputy from 1989 to 1993, was one of the most influential politicians representing the 120,000-member Muslim community in Greece. In 1994, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison for spreading false information after he accused Greek officials of suppressing the Muslim minority. But he was allowed to pay a fine instead of serving time. Despite Greek objections, Sadik always described himself as Turkish. He failed to be reelected in 1993 after a 3% threshold for entry to the parliament was introduced. -- 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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