BosNet NEWS / Apr. 8, 1996

From: Nermin Zukic <n6zukic@SMS.BUSINESS.UWO.CA>

Bosnia-Herzegovina News Directory

CONTENTS

[01] Paris paid for weapons?

TF-1 television said late on Saturday that Paris secured the release of the two pilots shot down during a NATO air offensive after lengthy negotiations. Russian Colonel Vladimir Koulich of the Russian foreign intelligence agency said he played a key role in the case, along with Jean-Charles Marchiani, a veteran French intelligence operative.

French President Jacques Chirac publicly thanked Russian leader Boris Yeltsin for his help at the time of the airmen's release.

[02] POPE COMPARED SARAJEVO WITH GOLGOTHA

Walking around the ancient stone theater in roman Colosseum, aiming thus to remind of the Way of the Cross, along which, according to the christian belief, Jesus Christ walked his crucifixion, Pope John Paul ll, made this year a comparison between this Jesus's suffering (calvaria) and suffering of the modern world - especially in Sarajevo. On this occasion, he read contemplations of the youngest Cardinal in the world - Archbishop of VrhBosnia, Vinko Puljic. Pope was accompanied by eight catholic male and female believers, reminding us of Apostle Shimon, whom Pope is considered a heir, and who was crucified in Rome, thus also, according to christian teaching, following the destiny of Messiah and Jesus. Among these eight women, two were from Sarajevo - sister Zrinka Barisic, professor Ankica Juric and one mother coming from Black Africa (Rwanda), where about 1 million people were killed in a genocide lasting hardly few months. Following the initiative of catholics from Milan, a long-year-lasting dispute concerning the authority and ownership upon the place considered as the Last supper hall, in which Jesus and 12 Apostles commemorated the day of Paschal, has been finally solved. Italian catholics decided to make this area near Jerusalem a touching place between Muslims and Jews, catholics, Copts and Orthodox. <end> A.S.

[03] EDHEM BICAKCIC (SDA) - CRITIQUES ON THE FEDERATION AGREEMENT

Edhem Bicakcic, SDA Vice President, who expresses the Party stands in many occasions, and is considered as one of its ideologist, made a comment for the Sarajevo daily "Oslobodjenje" on recently made Federation agreement, signed by Bosniak and Croat delegations, headed by E.Ganic and K.Zubak. Bosnian media described this agreement as "killing of Bosnian intelligence system". Among other SDA critiques, they pointed out a need for further discussion and precision of some decisions, such as: AID, organizing of Sarajevo, federal coat of arms, establishing of a central agency for the control of bank-activity and united monetary system. This was also mentioned by Bicakcic. He said:"AID is not and can not be within the competence of Federation and part of the agreement concerning AID, encloses only personnel and equipment and not the agency itself. (...) If decisions concerning defense would not be precised they could lead, in actual situation, to decreasing of the BH sovereignty." <end> A.S.

[04] STATE DEPARTMENT - WARNING TO BELGRADE

State Department said Serbia will not get the diplomatic recognition and full-membership in the international organizations as long as antidemocratic trend goes on in that country. The U.S. diplomacy spokesman mentioned the cases of the annulment of the independent TV-station Studio-B and the closing of the Soros foundation office. "Belgrade will not enter the international organizations nor it be recognized by the United States if the conditions for normal activity of the Soros foundation and Studio B are not ensured." (end) A.S.

[05] HVO POLICE FROM KISELJAK TRIED TO ENTER HADZICI

Croat policemen from Kiseljak tried to enter Hadzici, to hang the Croatian flag there, and so to link that area to the Croat enclave of Kiseljak, Kresevo and small part of the Fojnica municipality, i.e. to "Herzeg-Bosnia". However, NATO announced ultimatum to the Croatian forces to withdraw or be exposed to the IFOR strikes. Croat police complied with the demand. Commander of the Kiseljak Police station, Mladen Tolo, said: "All we wanted was involvement of policemen would in the process of the authority transmission and control of the safety in the Sarajevo suburbs, according to the Internal Affairs Law of the BH Federation." Afterwards, B-H Federal Police, sent from Sarajevo, composed of 7O policemen, out of whom 5O Bosniaks, 15 Serbs and 5 Croats, accompanied by 7O international policemen, entered Hadzici. IFOR stated that majority of Serbs, who had been living there during the last four years, left Hadzici and only 12O Serbs confirmed their staying in the area, southwest of B-H capital. According to the latest census (1991), 24 195 persons lived in Hadzici: 63,6 % (15 399) Bosniaks, 26,4% (6 391) Serbs, 3,1% (743) Croats and 6,9% (1662) others (including "Yugoslavs"). IFOR said the devastating of Grbavica & Ilidza, Sarajevo's areas still under the Serb control, was going on and none tries to extinguish the fires incited every day. (end) A.S.

[06] Los Angeles Times: Iranians smuggling arms to Bosnian Army?

Senior US reportedly told Croatian President Franjo Tudjman that the US would not object to the creation of an arms pipeline supplying inferiorly armed Bosnian government troops.

After discussing the issue with national security adviser Anthony Lake and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, Charles Redman and Peter Galbraith -- relayed to Tudjman that the US would not protest the smuggling operation.

State Department spokesman Glyn Davies declined to reveal details of diplomatic discussions with Croatia, and also denied the United States had violated the arms embargo.

``This case is very, very sensitive and very highly classified,'' former White House counsel Abner Mikva told the Times, who referred the case in 1994 to the Intelligence Oversight Board.

``The policy throughout this administration up until the expiration of the arms embargo (in March) was that we fully abided by the terms of the arms embargo, and we did nothing to violate it or circumvent it... That being said, when the issue did arise, when we were approached by the Croatians as to whether we would object if they acquiesced to Iranian shipments, we took the position that we would take no position in response,'' a senior administration official told the newspaper.

The CIA found out about the smuggling and reportedly questioned whether certain government officials were running an Iran-contra-like operation. According to Davies, Intelligence Oversight Board found no violation of US law.

[07] SERBS REFUSED ECUMENICAL MEETING IN EASTERN CROATIA

General Jacques Klein, UN Administrator for a part of Eastern Croatia under the Serb occupation, met recently with Cardinal Kuharic in Zagreb and had talks with Head of the Serb orthodox Church (SPC), Paul, last Friday in Belgrade. It was made public Klein and Paul talked about the situation in the area and discussed the possibilities of the SPC influences upon local Serbs which could be used to make them stay in the area. Belgrade independent agency, BETA, reported that Klein proposed appearing of members of the SPC and Serbian Ministry of religions on the Easter ceremony in the Ilok catholic church (far East Croatia, where YU Army expelled in 1991 almost all 12.000, mainly Croat- inhabitants) and, a week later, a responding visit of Catholic Church representatives to Orthodox Easter ceremony to be organized in Dalj (a little town in the same area, where Serbs in 1991 committed a massacre upon Croats). Proposed Serb representatives, Orthodox Archbishop Lukijan (Osijek-Polje and Baranja area) and Serbian Minister of religion, Dragan Dragojlovic, rejected the offer and found excuses in alleged "other important assignments". In meantime, Ivica Vrkic, Head of the Croatian governmental Office for transitory administration in Eastern Slavonia, sent a message to J.Klein, requesting him to prevent "urbanistic reconstruction" of Vukovar, which Serbs intend to undertake by pulling down damaged objects, and for which they opened a competition, published in "Politika", (Belgrade). This will put an end to cultural heritage of Vukovar urban nucleus and, at the same time, remove prints of the Serbian crime of urbicide, Vrkic said. <end> A.S.

[08] SERBS WILL NOT TAKE PART IN BRUSSELS CONFERENCE

Karadzic's Serbs have not yet liberated remaining prisoners nor they have delivered their dossiers to ICTY. Yugoslav news-agency Tanjug reported Dragan Bulajic, President of a local commission for exchange of prisoners, delivered on Pale today 16 dossiers to international community delegation. NATO, however, denied this information: IFOR representatives said: "If this had happened, we would have been informed, but we have not." Friday was a dead-line for delivering of the documentation on authenticity of which ICTY is expected to say a final word. Bosniaks and Croats respected a dead-line but Serbs did not. PIC high official for BH, C. Bildt, stated while finishing his two-day visit to Malaysia that "Bosnian Serbs will not participate in the work of the Second conference of countries-donators, which is to be held next week in Brussels, from April 12 to 13. They will not be allowed to take part as they did not fulfil the request asking for liberation of all remaining prisoners or provision of the facts proving the guilty of those they still keep imprisoned."

Before visiting Malaysia, Bildt had visited the U.S. where he stated that a spectacular improvement has been noticed in BH during the last six months, when compared to the previous situation. "There is not just a cease-fire but the arms were withdrawn, soldiers returned to barracks, population is freely moving around the towns. The improvements achieved so far call for prudence but incite an optimism, as well", he said. Malaysian diplomats informed that Islamic Contact Group will meet in Sarajevo on April 10 (two days before Brussels) in order to discuss the implementation of the Dayton accord and economic help to Bosnia in its post-war reconstruction. According to available information, an OIC representative and Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE are expected to be there. <end> A.S.

[09] LIST OF THE VICTIMS IN THE AMERICAN PLANE DISASTER

State Department made public the official list of the passengers and staff members of the plane that fell near Dubrovnik. Their names are as follows:

 ** A) representatives of the U.S. State administration:
     - Ronald Brown, State Secretary of Trade;
     - Kathryn Hoffman, R. Brown's Senior Adviser;
     - Duane Christian, R. Brown's Security Officer;
     - Carol Hamilton, R. Brown's porte-parole;
     - Bill Morton, R. Brown's Deputy Assistant;
     - Chuck Meissner, R.Brown's Assistant;
     - Gale Dobert, Assistant Director of the Trade Bureau for
       business relations;
     - Lawrence Payne, R. Brown's Special Assistant;
     - Adam Darling, R.Brown's Assistant;
     - Steve Kaminski, Adviser in the Ministry of Trade;
     - Naomi Warbasse, Adviser in the Ministry of Trade;
     - Kathy Kellogg, Assistant in the Trade Bureau for business
       relations;
     - Jim Lewek, economic analyst, CIA.
 ** B) representatives of firms, banks and corporations:
     - Lee Jackson, American representative of the European bank
       for reconstruction and development (EBRD)
     - Barry L. Conrad, Barrington President & Executive Director
     - Paul Cushman lll., President and Executive Director of
       Riggs International Banking Corp.
     - Robert E. Donovan, President and Exec. Director of ABB;
     - Claudio Elia, President and Exec. Director of Air & Water;
     - Leonard Pieroni, President and Exec. Director of Parsons;
     - John Scoville, President of Harza Engineering;
     - Donald Terner, President of Bridge Housing Corp.
     - Stuart Tholan, President of Bechtel;
     - David Ford, President and Exec. Director of InterGuard;
     - Frank Maier, President of Enserch Intl. Administr. Board
     - Walter Murphy, AT&T Senior Vice-President;
     - Robert A. Whittaker, President and Exec. Director of
       Foster Wheeler Energy International.
 ** C) journalists and interpreter:
     - Dragica Lendic-Bebek, interpreter;
     - Nathaniel Nash, Chief of "New York Times" Bureau in Germany,
          as well as journalist of that paper;
     - Niksa Antonini, "Slobodna Dalmacija" news-reporter.
 ** D) members of the staff:
     - Ashley Davis and Tim Schafer, pilots;
     - Gerald Aldrich, mechanic;
     - Robert Farrington, steward;
     - Cherly Turnage and Shelly Kelly, stewardesses.

Dubrovnik - Mark Brzozovski, U.S. Army porte-parole, stated that 34 corpses have been found so far, out of 35, who figured on the list. Brzozovski repeated that there was no black box in the plane. <end> A.S.