OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No 69, 6 Apr 95

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] TURKEY CRITICIZED BY LDP.

  • [02] POLITICAL MOVEMENT AMONG BOSNIAN SERBS.

  • [03] MILITARY ACTIVITY IN EASTERN CROATIA.

  • [04] SERBIAN FARMERS SCORN "SUPER DINAR".

  • [05] PERSONNEL CHANGES IN BULGARIAN SECURITY SERVICES.

  • [06] GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS UNCERTAIN.

  • [07] ALBANIA SIGNS GAS DEAL WITH RUSSIA.

    •

    OMRI Daily Digest I, No 69, 6 Apr 95

    TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] TURKEY CRITICIZED BY LDP.

    The Liberal Democratic Party faction in the State Duma has protested against Turkey's foray into northern Iraq, Interfax reported on 5 April. The LDP condemned the UN and NATO for their alleged indifference to the violation of the borders of a sovereign state and claimed, "The Turkish war machine has long conducted genocide in northern Kurdistan. Now, with the whole 'civilized' and 'democratic' world watching, it is victimizing people who are not even Turkish citizens." -- Lowell Bezanis, OMRI, Inc.

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 69, Part II, 6 April 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [02] POLITICAL MOVEMENT AMONG BOSNIAN SERBS.

    AFP on 4 April reported that the Bosnian Serb parliament will meet next week to discuss Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's plans for a federation with Krajina. He has been pressing for closer ties between the two rebel Serbian states, while the Krajina leadership has been divided over how far to embrace him, given that he has fallen out with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Meanwhile, news agencies said on 5 April that a delegation of Bosnian Serbs loyal to the government in Sarajevo returned pleased from their first official visit to Serbia. They met with numerous politicians close to Milosevic and in the opposition, as well as Orthodox Patriarch Pavle. The delegates, representing 200,000 Serbs living on Bosnian government-controlled territory, expressed optimism that Serbia's political climate is changing for the better. AFP on 4 April quoted a Bosnian diplomat who met with Milosevic in late March as being similarly optimistic about the prospects for Belgrade's recognizing Sarajevo, although his first public remarks after the meetings were much more sober. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] MILITARY ACTIVITY IN EASTERN CROATIA.

    AFP on 5 April reported that Croatian troops are quietly moving into the UN-controlled Sector West, around Daruvar in Slavonia. The UN's future mandate in the area remains unclear, and it is widely believed that Zagreb wants UNPROFOR out of the sector. UN sources speculated that Croatia is anxious to achieve the appearance of a military success at little or no real cost. The big prize remains Sector East, beyond Osijek, which is rich in oil and agricultural resources and which many think Milosevic plans to annex as his price for supporting an eventual peace settlement. Reuters reported that Krajina authorities have suspended permission for UNPROFOR patrols in eastern Croatia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] SERBIAN FARMERS SCORN "SUPER DINAR." Nasa Borba on 6 April reported that farmers in Serbia's Sumadija district are the latest to express a lack o

    f confidence in the stability of rump Yugoslavia's currency, the dinar. They are now asking the government for payments in sugar refined from locally produced sugar beets, and not in cash. The "super dinar" was pegged to the value of the German mark at an exchange rate of 1:1 in January 1994. But it recently plunged in value, trading on Belgrade streets at a rate of 5:1. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] PERSONNEL CHANGES IN BULGARIAN SECURITY SERVICES.

    The Supreme Judicial Council on 5 April elected Boyko Rashkov as interim director of the National Investigation Service, Otechestven Front reported the following day. He will hold this post until the council elects a permanent successor to Ani Kruleva. The council on 29 March voted to dismiss Kruleva as director on grounds of incompetence. Rashkov is one of six deputy directors of the National Investigation Service and head of the Sofia Investigation Service. Also on 5 April, Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev appointed Lieut.-Col. Pavel Nikolov as deputy director of the National Security Service. He replaces Lieut.-Col. Borislav Rangelov, who was dismissed on 4 April. According to Otechestven Front, another three high-ranking officials in the National Security Service are to be fired in the next few days. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS UNCERTAIN.

    Radio Skopje on 4 April, citing Matthew Nimetz, U.S. President Bill Clinton's special mediator in the dispute between Greece and Macedonia, reports that the date for direct bilateral talks is still not known. Greek officials said earlier that talks were scheduled to begin in New York on 6 April under UN mediator Cyrus Vance. Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, in an interview with Le Monde on 4 April, said that Macedonia is willing to negotiate but "it's difficult to negotiate seriously while the [Greek embargo against Macedonia] remains in effect." The interview prompted speculations in the Greek press that Macedonia might be willing to start talks even with the embargo in place. Greece has said the embargo will remain in force during the talks, while Macedonia has insisted it will not negotiate unless the blockade is lifted. Greek diplomatic circles said there is not enough time to start talks on 6 April, the Athens daily Elevtherotypia reported on 4 April. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] ALBANIA SIGNS GAS DEAL WITH RUSSIA.

    Albania has signed an agreement with the Greek-Russian company Promitheas providing it with 1 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas per year, AFP reported on 5 April. The pipeline, which runs from Russia via Bulgaria and Greece, is still under construction. According to a Greek-Russian agreement, it is scheduled to carry 50 billion cubic meters of gas for a period of 25 years beginning in December 1995. A pipeline to Albania will also be built. Albania has a 300 km natural gas network that has been out of use since Albanian gas reserves were exhausted. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.

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