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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 50, 11 March 1996
From: OMRI-L <omri-l@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>
CONTENTS
[1] SERBIAN SOLDIERS CONFIRM MASSACRE, THEN DISAPPEAR.
[2] BRITISH DAILY IDENTIFIES MAN BEHIND VISEGRAD KILLINGS.
[3] BOSNIAN SHORTS.
[4] RALLIES IN BELGRADE . . .
[5] . . . WHILE STATE-RUN MEDIA TURN DEAF EAR.
[6] BUCHAREST SUBWAY STRIKE ESCALATES.
[7] TWO DETAINED FOR NUCLEAR SMUGGLING IN ROMANIA.
[8] ROMANIA SENDS MILITARY ENGINEERS TO BOSNIA.
[9] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS MEET IN SOFIA.
[10] TRIAL OPENS AGAINST FORMER BULGARIAN DICTATOR'S SON-IN-LAW.
[11] BULGARIAN NATIONAL BANK CLOSES TWO PRIVATE BANKS.
[12] TWO NEW POLITICAL PARTIES IN ALBANIA.
[13] EU GRANTS WHEAT AID TO ALBANIA.
[14] U.S. CRITICIZES ALBANIA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD.
[15] GREEK POLITICIANS DISCUSS MACEDONIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 50, Part II, 11 March 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] SERBIAN SOLDIERS CONFIRM MASSACRE, THEN DISAPPEAR.
An ethnic Croat
serving with Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica last summer has said he
witnessed the murder of at least 1,200 Muslim prisoners after the town
fell. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 9 March quoted Drazen
Erdemovic as telling Le Figaro that he took part in the killings, as did
a friend of his who confirmed that the massacres had taken place. Both
men were then arrested by the Serbian police in Vojvodina on 3 March,
and nothing has been heard of them since. The U.S. has demanded that
Serbia free them so that they can testify before the war crimes tribunal
in The Hague. Meanwhile, that court on 8 March issued an international
arrest warrant for Krajina Serb leader Milan Martic for ordering a
deadly rocket attack on Zagreb last year. Martic is living in Banja Luka
on Bosnian Serb territory. -- Patrick Moore
[2] BRITISH DAILY IDENTIFIES MAN BEHIND VISEGRAD KILLINGS.
A Bosnian Serb
named Milan Lukic was responsible for the murders of hundreds of Muslims
from Visegrad after the historical town on the Drina fell to the Serbs
in 1992, The Guardian reported on 11 March. Victims were killed,
mutilated, and thrown off the Ottoman bridge, which was the centerpiece
of Ivo Andric's Nobel Prize-winning novel Bridge on the Drina. Lukic is
not wanted by The Hague and is reportedly working in a cafe in
Obrenovac, Serbia. AFP said that the article also revealed that a
concentration camp existed at nearby Uzamnica and that torture was
frequent there. -- Patrick Moore
[3] BOSNIAN SHORTS.
Some 7,000 Muslim civilians in the Bosnian federation
have still not been allowed to return to their homes in Croat-held Kulen
Vakuf. AFP on 11 March quoted Bosnian radio as saying that the deadline
agreed to in Rome passed the previous night. The same news agency
reported on 10 March that Bosnian TV has shown the first footage in
weeks of President Alija Izetbegovic, who is in the hospital with heart
problems. He has written to the international community's High
Representative Carl Bildt and IFOR commander Admiral Leighton Smith to
protest attempts at settling Sarajevo Serbs in the strategic Brcko area,
the fate of which will be determined later by international arbitration,
Nasa Borba noted. -- Patrick Moore
[4] RALLIES IN BELGRADE . . .
Some 50,000 people took part in rally in
Belgrade on 9 March to commemorate the fifth anniversary of
demonstrations in which some 100,000 had demanded the resignation of
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Nasa Borba reported on 10 and 11
March. Vuk Draskovic, head of the Serbian Renewal Movement, Zoran
Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party', and Vesna Pesic of the
Serbian Civic League were the key organizers of the event. They called
for an end to Milosevic's rule and pledged to cooperate in upcoming
elections. Scuffles with some demonstrators were reported, but police
kept a lower profile than in 1991, when at least two persons died. --
Stan Markotich
[5] . . . WHILE STATE-RUN MEDIA TURN DEAF EAR.
Most state-run media either
played down or ignored the 9 March demonstration, BETA reported. Radio
and Television Serbia reported only that the noon rally was delayed by
half an hour because the organizers were "waiting for more people to
show up." BETA also reported that the most comprehensive coverage was
provided by the independent Radio B92, which ran a special program on
the background to the rally and reported the full texts of the
opposition leaders' speeches. -- Stan Markotich
[6] BUCHAREST SUBWAY STRIKE ESCALATES.
Striking subway workers in Bucharest
on 9 March threatened to resign en masse and file requests for
emigration with Western embassies, Romanian and Western media reported.
The threat came after management of the state-run railroad company
released a communique saying employees refusing to go back to work or
obstructing the subway's day-to-day running would be fired. Premier
Nicolae Vacaroiu the previous day had made a similar statement. The
subway workers have been striking since 4 March for more pay and better
working conditions. -- Dan Ionescu
[7] TWO DETAINED FOR NUCLEAR SMUGGLING IN ROMANIA.
Romanian police on 8
March said they were holding two people on suspicion of smuggling
radioactive material, including uranium, Reuters reported. A spokesman
said police had arrested two men who were in possession of 82 kg of
unspecified radioactive material, including low-grade uranium. It was
alleged that they also had secret documents from the Oravita mine, where
they work. The spokesman added that, according to preliminary
investigations, the two planned to sell the radioactive material and
copies of important documents to an unidentified foreigner for some 10
million lei ($3,450). Since 1989, Romania has witnessed a surge in
uranium trafficking, mostly from Ukraine. In most cases amounts have
been small and materials have not been of bomb-making grade. -- Dan
Ionescu
[8] ROMANIA SENDS MILITARY ENGINEERS TO BOSNIA.
Romania on 8 March
dispatched a sapper battalion to Bosnia, Reuters and Radio Bucharest
reported. The 200-strong unit joined the NATO-led multi-national
peacekeeping force in Bosnia. Romanian Defense Minister Gheorghe Tinca
said the unit will take part in road building and disarming mines. In
1994, Romania became the first East European country to sign up for
NATO's Partnership for Peace program. -- Dan Ionescu
[9] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS MEET IN SOFIA.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
and its coalition partners--the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union
"Aleksandar Stamboliyski" and the Political Club "Ekoglasnost"--held a
plenary meeting on 10 March to assess the first year of BSP Chairman
Zhan Videnov's government, Standart reported. The Socialists gave a
positive overall rating but asked the government to take measures
against crime, examine its privatization policy, and complete land
reform. Speakers criticized several ministers, but the party leaders
refused to discuss personnel questions. Former Prime Minister Andrey
Lukanov said he has proof that the party--and hence the state--has
merged with the structures of the Interior Ministry. He added that this
signals the "return of Stalinism" in Bulgaria. -- Stefan Krause
[10] TRIAL OPENS AGAINST FORMER BULGARIAN DICTATOR'S SON-IN-LAW.
The trial
against Ivan Slavkov, chairman of both the Bulgarian Olympic Committee
and Soccer Association and son-in-law of former communist dictator Todor
Zhivkov, opened on 11 March. Slavkov is accused of misappropriating
state funds and of illegal possession of firearms. The investigation
against Slavkov began in 1990, but Prosecutor-General Ivan Tatarchev
launched court proceeding against him after he was elected head of the
Soccer Association. According to 24 chasa, Slavkov repaid the sum of
14,410 leva (then around $14,000) before he was charged with
misappropriation. The daily also maintained that the illegal firearms
are a collection of sports guns. -- Stefan Krause
[11] BULGARIAN NATIONAL BANK CLOSES TWO PRIVATE BANKS.
The Bulgarian National
Bank on 8 March closed two private banks, Pari reported. As of 31
January, the Private Agricultural and Investment Bank had amassed losses
of 795 million leva ($10.3 million). It had not submitted its accounts
for 1993 or 1994, nor had it made the required provisions against bad
loans. Kristalbank, which registered losses of 437 million leva, had
also been unable to make adequate provisions against debtors. Depositors
in the two banks will benefit from the BNB's decision earlier this month
to raise the maximum individual saving deposit that is 100% guaranteed
from 50,000 leva to 250,000, 24 chasa reported. Deposits of more than
250,000 leva will be compensated after all other creditors are paid off.
-- Michael Wyzan
[12] TWO NEW POLITICAL PARTIES IN ALBANIA.
The Albanian Ministry of Justice
on 9 March registered two new parties--the pro-monarchist Triumph of
Legality and Ideals of December, international agencies reported. This
brings the number of parties founded since 1990 to 38. The ministry had
earlier refused to register the Islamic Democratic Union and the right-
wing Party of National Restoration. The Supreme Court, however,
overruled the ban on the Nationalists but concluded that Albanian law
"forbids the creation of political parties on the basis of religion."
The creation of a communist party has been banned since 1992 as anti-
constitutional. -- Fabian Schmidt
[13] EU GRANTS WHEAT AID TO ALBANIA.
The EU is to send wheat worth 1.2
million ECU ($1.5 million) to Albania, international agencies reported.
Since January, there has been a shortage of cheap wheat in Albania,
which has been relying on foreign aid to subsidize bread prices. The
country has signed contracts with Romania, the U.S. and France for wheat
imports, most of which will be sold on the general market. The EU wheat
aid, however, is to go to orphanages, hospitals, schools, and needy
individuals. -- Fabian Schmidt
[14] U.S. CRITICIZES ALBANIA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD.
The annual State
Department human rights report on Albania said there was evidence of
police beatings, pressure on the judiciary, and press restrictions,
Reuters reported on 8 March. The report acknowledged that the government
of President Sali Berisha generally respected human rights but concluded
that serious problems remained, such as prolonged pre-trial detention,
poor prison conditions, and occasional restrictions on press and speech
freedom. It added that the judiciary is subject to political pressure.
The report also criticized the imprisonment of Socialist Party leader
Fatos Nano, saying his case was "handled by inexperienced, poorly
trained and underfunded investigators, prosecutors and judges in a
highly charged political atmosphere." "Many observers believe that Nano
was incarcerated because he was President Berisha's principal political
opponent," the report noted. -- Fabian Schmidt
[15] GREEK POLITICIANS DISCUSS MACEDONIA.
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos
on 8 March said Greece is close to reaching a decision on its position
over the name of Macedonia and that "decisions have to be taken in
Skopje and Athens," Western agencies reported. He said relations with
Macedonia "are going from good to excellent," adding that the Greek
government will take a decision after talks with all political parties.
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis reportedly has asked to meet with
Miltiadis Evert, leader of the main opposition party New Democracy, and
with Antonis Samaras, chairman of the nationalistic Political Spring
party. Evert has not clarified his party's position, while Samaras is
opposed to any compromise on the name issue. Meanwhile, informed Greek
sources say Athens might accept New Macedonia as a compromise name. --
Stefan Krause
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz
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