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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 58, 21 March 1996
From: OMRI-L <omri-l@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>
CONTENTS
[01] U.S. SEEKS TO REASSURE NATO HOPEFULS.
[02] IFOR TROOPS ENTER SARAJEVO SUBURB.
[03] SERBS DEPLOY IN CENTRAL BOSNIA.
[04] IZETBEGOVIC SAYS ELECTIONS KEY TO DAYTON PROCESS.
[05] CROATIA TO BE ADMITTED TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE.
[06] SADAKO OGATA ANNOUNCES BEGINNING OF REPATRIATION.
[07] SERBIAN PARAMILITARY LEADER BUYS RADIO STATION.
[08] MILOSEVIC POSTPONES VISIT TO SKOPJE.
[09] SLOVENIAN JOURNALISTS END STRIKE.
[10] ROMANIAN MINISTERS ON EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION.
[11] STRIKING WORKERS CLASH WITH POLICE IN ROMANIA.
[12] BULGARIAN MINERS GO ON STRIKE.
[13] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT AGREES TO PARTICIPATE IN PRIMARIES.
[14] BULGARIAN SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS BANKS CLOSURES.
[15] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT AND PARTIES DISCUSS ELECTIONS.
[16] ALBANIAN FOREIGN POLICY UPDATE.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 58, Part II, 21 March 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] U.S. SEEKS TO REASSURE NATO HOPEFULS.
U.S. Secretary of State Warren
Christopher told Central and Eastern European countries on 20 March
they will not be kept in NATO's waiting room forever and "new allies"
will be full members of the alliance. In a speech in Prague before 12
of the region's foreign ministers or their deputies, Christopher
sharply reaffirmed U.S. commitment to European security and NATO
enlargement. He rejected Russian suggestions that countries in the
region could join NATO as less than full members, saying: "This is no
time to talk about deals or qualified membership." Christopher, who
travels to Moscow on 21 March, called the Russian Duma's vote to
reconstitute the Soviet Union "a dark vision" but said it was critical
that Russia should take its "rightful place in the new Europe."
"Central Europe's integration will neither determine, nor be
determined by, events in Russia. But we have an equal interest in
integrating, not isolating Russia," he said. -- Steve Kettle
[02] IFOR TROOPS ENTER SARAJEVO SUBURB.
NATO peacekeepers moved into
Dobrinja on 20 March to defuse tensions between Serbs and their Muslim
and Croat neighbors, the BBC reported on 21 March. Gunfire and
explosions had been reported. The Dayton boundary line between federal
and Serb territory there runs right through the middle of two
apartment buildings, and there were disputes as to which side owns
what. This development reflects the glitches that emerged from the
Dayton boundary demarcation maps and the problems of partitioning what
had been ethnically mixed territory. The Dayton agreement set up a
joint commission to prepare territorial exchanges by mutual consent,
but to date there have been no agreements. Elsewhere in Sarajevo,
British peacekeepers on 19 March prevented government and Croatian
troops from entering two barracks that both were claiming, Reuters
noted the next day. -- Patrick Moore
[03] SERBS DEPLOY IN CENTRAL BOSNIA.
Following the withdrawal of federal
forces in keeping with the Dayton treaty, Bosnian Serb forces (VRS)
entered the "anvil" region around Sipovo and Mrkonjic Grad on 20
March. AFP said that some 1,000 men from the VRS were being monitored
by 2,000 IFOR peacekeepers and by NATO air patrols. Serb refugees are
returning by the thousands to the area lost to the allied armies last
September, and IFOR reports that the situation is peaceful. Nearby,
IFOR said some homes belonging to Muslims near Croat-held Jajce went
up in flames, Oslobodjenje wrote on 21 March. Onasa added that the
peackeepers said the destruction did not appear systematic. The
commander of U.S. forces in Europe, Gen. George Joulwan, has become
the latest Western official to warn Congress that the "number one
issue" facing the peace process is keeping the Muslim-Croat federation
together, AFP stated the previous day. -- Patrick Moore
[04] IZETBEGOVIC SAYS ELECTIONS KEY TO DAYTON PROCESS.
Bosnian President
Alija Izetbegovic is recuperating at home from heart problems but has
given a major interview to Focus, its parent publication Dnevni avaz
reported on 20 March. He stressed that the cornerstone of the Dayton
structure is holding elections later this year, and that if the Serbs
block them, his government will withdraw recognition of the Republika
Srpska. Turning to the Croats, the Muslim leader said that some were
supporters of the Federation but that others were just playing a game,
hoping to provoke the Muslims into torpedoing the project first.
Addressing American concerns about the Iraninan presence in Bosnia,
Izetbegovic said that only 50 ex-fighters are left and that they are
all now civilians with families and Bosnian citizenship. He added that
the prime minister's recent visit to Iran was linked to the ending of
bilateral military relations and that, in keeping with Dayton, such
ties would now be purely peaceful. -- Patrick Moore
[05] CROATIA TO BE ADMITTED TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE.
The Political Committee
of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly proposed on 19 March
that Croatia be admitted to the Council of Europe as a full member,
Hina reported. The committee adopted a report on Croatia with 25 votes
for, three against and four abstentions, and proposed that Croatia be
admitted at the Parliamentary Assembly session scheduled at the end of
April. Earlier, Zdravko Tomac, chairman of the Zagreb City Council, on
behalf of the councilmen from the seven opposition parties forwarded a
letter in which the Council of Europe was urged to accept Croatia.
"The Zagreb crisis was no reason for refusing Croatia admittance," the
letter said, stating the crisis could be resolved "only if Croatia
accepted European standards and was integrated into the European legal
system," Hina reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[06] SADAKO OGATA ANNOUNCES BEGINNING OF REPATRIATION.
The UN High
Commissioner for Refugees said on 20 March that the UNHCR in the
former Yugoslavia is to switch from aid delivery and immediate
protection of the victims of war to help in organizing the return of
two million refugees to the area, Nasa Borba reported on 21 March
quoting Tanjug. "The biggest operation ever undertaken by the UNHCR"
will start at the beginning of April, Ogata announced at the session
of the UN Committee for Human Rights. Meanwhile, the international
community's High Representative Carl Bildt's office on 20 March
established a housing commission to help refugees and displaced
persons return to their homes, Onasa reported. The commission's
mandate is to rule on refugee rights to return and help put them into
practice. It will also help refugees to sell, lease or exchange their
homes or receive reimbursement. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[07] SERBIAN PARAMILITARY LEADER BUYS RADIO STATION.
Zeljko Raznatovic,
alias "Arkan," has bought Belgrade's Radio Pingvin from an Italian
businessman and has named it after his paramilitary Tigers. Arkan, an
alleged war criminal who is also wanted throughout Europe on murder
and other serious charges, said the music-based format of the station
will not be changed and will not feature political commentary, AFP
reported on 20 March. The new station editor is Borislav Pelevic, a
high ranking official in Arkan's ultranationlist political party, the
Serbian Unity Party (SSJ). -- Stan Markotich
[08] MILOSEVIC POSTPONES VISIT TO SKOPJE.
Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic on 20 March postponed a visit to Macedonia scheduled for the
same day, Nova Makedonija reported. No reason was given for the
cancellation, but well informed sources in Skopje were cited as saying
that Milosevic might come next week. Milosevic and his Macedonian
counterpart Kiro Gligorov had been expected to announce mutual
recognition of Macedonia and rump Yugoslavia. -- Stefan Krause
[09] SLOVENIAN JOURNALISTS END STRIKE.
Journalists at the state-backed
Radio and Television Slovenija corporation ended their strike for
higher wages and improved working conditions for freelancers on 20
March. The staff ended its job action after three days, following a
management decision to increase salaries by some 15% effective in
April, raising an employee's minimum monthly wage to $1,200, Reuters
reported. Strike committee officials said that staff will again strike
on 16 April in the event the deal breaks down. -- Stan Markotich
[10] ROMANIAN MINISTERS ON EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION.
Defense Minister
Gheorghe Tinca told journalists on 20 March that Romania was firmly
committed to join NATO. Radio Bucharest quoted Tinca as saying that
Romania's military was interested in establishing very good ties with
armies in neighboring countries to promote stability in the region. In
a separate development, Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, who was
attending the Prague meeting with Christopher, told Radio Bucharest
that he was optimistic about Romania's chances to be admitted to NATO
as a full member. Also on 20 March, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said
in Bucharest that Romania made "a firm option in favor of integration
into the Euro-Atlantic structures, be they political, strategic, or
economic." -- Dan Ionescu
[11] STRIKING WORKERS CLASH WITH POLICE IN ROMANIA.
Some 200 workers,
demanding the resignation of the Drobeta-Turnu Severin CELROM
paper-mill's manager, clashed with riot police, who were called to
clear strikers from the factory's gate so that management and
non-striking workers could enter, Romanian and international media
reported on 20-21 March. A worker said an armored police car broke the
gate and some 200 policemen beat the protesters. Several workers
suffered injuries. Col. Marian Tutilescu, police chief of the town,
said "the workers were waiting for us with clubs and one worker lit
two bottles with gasoline and threw them at us." According to him, 11
policemen were slightly injured. CELROM's workers have been on strike
since 17 February, accusing the factory's management of fraudulent
privatization. -- Matyas Szabo
[12] BULGARIAN MINERS GO ON STRIKE.
Around 11,000 workers at Bulgaria's
biggest coal mine went on strike on 20 March, Bulgarian and Western
media reported. It is the largest such action since the Socialists
returned to power. The miners at the Maritsa Iztok mine, which
produces 30% of the fuel used by the country's electricity system, are
demanding a 60% pay raise and better working conditions. Officials of
the Confederation of Labor "Podkrepa," who organized the strike, said
the miners will strike until their demands are met. Miners in other
coal mines held mostly short protest strikes in solidarity with their
colleagues, and the strike has the support of the ex-communist union
as well. Energy Committee head Konstantin Rusinov called the demands
unrealistic and said the strikes were a "stab in the back" to the
country. Other officials said that power cuts and rationing are
possible if the strike goes on until the end of the month. Kontinent
on 21 March reported that Bulgaria has enough coal supplies for one
week. -- Stefan Krause
[13] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT AGREES TO PARTICIPATE IN PRIMARIES.
Zhelyu Zhelev
on 20 March agreed to be the candidate of the Bulgarian Agrarian
People's Union (BZNS) in the upcoming presidential elections and to
participate in primary elections aimed at finding a common candidate
for the opposition, Standart reported. Stefan Savov, chairman of the
Democratic Party which together with the BZNS forms the People's
Union, said that if Zhelev loses the primaries, his party will stick
to the agreement with the Union of Democratic Forces and the ethnic
Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedom saying that the opposition
will support the winning candidate. In other news, German President
Roman Herzog, on the second day of his visit to Bulgaria, met with
Prime Minister Zhan Videnov and Deputy President of Parliament Nora
Ananieva. Herzog also addressed the parliament and pledged German
support for Bulgaria's integration into European structures,
Demokratsiya reported. -- Stefan Krause
[14] BULGARIAN SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS BANKS CLOSURES.
The Bulgarian
Supreme Court on 19 March stopped "preliminary execution" of the 8
March decision by the national bank (BNB) to remove the licenses of
two private banks, Kristalbank and the Private Agricultural and
Investment Bank, Demokratsiya reported on 21 March. The ruling --
which caught the BNB by surprise -- restores the banks' licenses and
renders inoperative the BNB fund that guarantees their 250,000 leva
($3,200) in personal deposits. It also removes the BNB-appointed
examiners who had entered the banks to halt their decapitalization.
Both banks are insolvent, Kristalbank finding itself in that state for
over a year. -- Michael Wyzan
[15] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT AND PARTIES DISCUSS ELECTIONS.
Sali Berisha met
with the leaders of eight Albanian parties to discuss the upcoming
elections, scheduled for the last week in May or the first weeks of
June. The exact date will be announced after parliament has been
dissolved on 3 April. Other issues discussed were the construction of
the electoral commission and districts, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on
21 March. Opposition politicians had earlier expressed fear that the
district boundaries may be drawn in a way that would increase the
Democrats' chances of electing direct candidates. They also said that
the commissions may manipulate the election results, but Berisha
reassured them that the elections will be free and democratic and that
the number of voters will determine the size of the electoral
districts. The Socialists expressed disappointment that no decision
was reached on setting up a commission to verify the credentials of
candidates. -- Fabian Schmidt
[16] ALBANIAN FOREIGN POLICY UPDATE.
Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos
arrived for a two-day visit to Albania on 21 March, international
agencies reported. Stephanopoulos and his Albanian counterpart Sali
Berisha will sign a friendship and cooperation treaty regulating the
status of Albania's Greek minority and of illegal Albanian workers in
Greece. Stephanopoulos had delayed the visit until Albania agreed to
open three Greek schools for its Greek minority. -- Fabian Schmidt
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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