OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 89, 9 May 1995

From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>

CONTENTS

  • [01] BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP ATTACKS . . .

  • [02]. . . IN THE WAKE OF RECENT MORTAR ATTACK ON SARAJEVO.

  • [03] ZAGREB ON KRAJINA.

  • [04] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT DEFENDS ANTI-CRIME MEASURES.

  • [05] ILLEGAL BUSINESS IN BULGARIA ON THE RISE.

  • [06] IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR IN CHISINAU.

  • [07] MACEDONIA RECEIVES $55 MILLION IMF LOAN.

  • [08] OSCE TO MEDIATE MACEDONIA MEMBERSHIP.

  • [09] ALBANIA TIGHTENS BORDER CONTROLS.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 89, Part II, 9 May 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP ATTACKS . . .

    On 9 May, international media report that Bosnian Serb forces have intensified attacks against a number of targets in Bosnia, including the two UN-protected cities of Tuzla and Sarajevo. Serb forces, violating UN heavy weapons exclusion zone regulations, used tanks against Bosnian government troops just north of Sarajevo in one of the first reappearances of tank attacks in over a year of the conflict. Meanwhile, on 8 May Hina reported that Serb forces from parts of Croatia's Krajina region launched an estimated 24 rockets at Coralici, western Bosnia, in the morning of the previous day. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [02]. . . IN THE WAKE OF RECENT MORTAR ATTACK ON SARAJEVO.

    A Serb mortar attack on a Sarajevo suburb on 7 May killed 11 persons. It was the worst such incident since the February 1994 mortar attack which claimed 68 lives and has come to be known as the "Sarajevo Market Massacre." On 8 May, UN officials in Zagreb ruled out calling for retaliatory NATO airstrikes on the grounds that such a move may have "possible repercussions," prompting strong reactions from US and Bosnian government officials. US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright was quoted by Reuters as saying "I fail to understand the logic behind turning down such a request [for NATO air power] given the kinds of activities that have taken place in and around Sarajevo." -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] ZAGREB ON KRAJINA.

    According to Croatian media accounts, official Zagreb is involved in a concerted effort to normalize life in the recently retaken territory of western Slavonia, formerly held by the country's rebel Krajina Serbs. On 8 May, Croatia's army chief-of-staff General Zvonimir Cervenko told a press conference that "I have assured the people in Pakrac area [in Western Slavonia] that the Croatian army will withdraw as soon as the police begin operating regularly." Meanwhile, Adalbert Rebic, Croatian minister and head of the government office for displaced persons and refugees, met with some 160 evacuated persons, mostly elderly and of Serb ethnicity, promising them that "You will go home in a few days as soon as the security condition allows such a move," Hina reported. In other news, Reuters on 9 May reports that, contrary to earlier accounts, a monument at Jasenovac to Serbs and Jews slaughtered by Croatian fascists during World War II as well as the Serbian Orthodox Church in the area survived intact the advance of the Croatian army in western Slavonia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT DEFENDS ANTI-CRIME MEASURES.

    Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev on 5 May defended the government's proposal for new anti-crime measures, Reuters reported the same day. Nachev said the government plans to extend police investigative powers, tighten arms licensing, and curb the activities of private security firms. Private individuals will be allowed to carry arms only in exceptional cases, while private security guards will be allowed to carry them only while on duty. According to the minister, 49,775 crimes were committed during the first three months of 1995, of which 15,504 are unsolved. Crime rate growth has halved compared to the first quarter of 1994, and murder cases have fallen by 20%. Also on 5 May, Justice Minister Mladen Chervenyakov announced that the government will tighten residence permit requirements for foreigners in order to curb the spread of international crime into Bulgaria. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] ILLEGAL BUSINESS IN BULGARIA ON THE RISE.

    Illegal business activities in Bulgaria amounted to $9.5 billion in 1994, equivalent to the country's Gross Domestic Product, dpa reported on 8 May, citing an article in Trud the same day. The trade union newspaper referred to statistics of the Bulgarian National Bank. Illegal business includes drug trafficking, forged customs declarations, and trade with countries that are under an embargo. According to Trud, many private restaurants, hotels and casinos are just front businesses created in order to justify profits to the revenue office. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR IN CHISINAU.

    Michel Camdessus, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, paid a two-day visit to the Republic of Moldova, Interfax reports. On 7 May, Camdessus told President Mircea Snegur that his organization would continue to assist Moldova in getting Western credits for developing its industry. He also said that the IMF was supporting economic reforms in that country, which should be irreversible. He pleaded for structural reforms and price stabilization, and expressed the hopes that the fall in Moldova's industrial output will stop in 1995. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] MACEDONIA RECEIVES $55 MILLION IMF LOAN.

    The International Monetary Fund on 5 May granted a $55 million loan to Macedonia, dpa reported the following day. The money is intended to assist economic reforms in the country. IMF officials in Washington said the loan was granted after the marked stabilization of Macedonia's state finances, which ended hyperinflation and lowered state debts. -- Stefan Krause

    [08] OSCE TO MEDIATE MACEDONIA MEMBERSHIP.

    The Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE) has received agreement in principle from Greece and Macedonia to mediate the issue of Macedonian membership in the organization, international agencies reported on 8 May. The current chair of the OSCE, Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs, said: "During his recent visit, the foreign minister of FYROM [Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia] raised the issue and today Greece has also indicated that it would welcome OSCE playing a role in solving the problems." Greece has blocked Macedonia's entry into the OSCE because it objects to the country's use of the name Macedonia. Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, visiting Budapest for talks with Kovacs, said: "We want to overcome the crisis." -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] ALBANIA TIGHTENS BORDER CONTROLS.

    Albanian police and army tightened up border and coast controls to cope with illegal immigration and emigration, AFP reported on 8 May. Interior Minister Agron Musaraj said that an additional 300 police, as well as helicopters and motorboats, have been mobilized to check boats on the Adriatic and stop Albanians and other citizens from illegally crossing the sea to Italy. The government also wants to stop illegal immigration to Albania. Musaraj said that 600 persons without valid documents were denied entry to Albania over the past two weeks. -- 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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