OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 111, 8 June 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] U.S. RESCUES PILOT DOWNED OVER BOSNIA.

  • [02] SERBS TO FREE MORE HOSTAGES?

  • [03] WILL THE RAPID RESPONSE FORCE BE TOOTHLESS?

  • [04] SERBS POUND SARAJEVO.

  • [05] GROWING TENSIONS WITHIN KRAJINA LEADERSHIP.

  • [06] U.S. ENVOY LEAVES FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.

  • [07] KOSOVAR PARLIAMENTARIANS AT FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY.

  • [08] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS ITALIAN NATIONAL ALLIANCE DEPUTIES.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 111, Part II, 8 June 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] U.S. RESCUES PILOT DOWNED OVER BOSNIA.

    International media reported on 8 June that Captain Scott F. O'Grady, who piloted the F-16 shot down by the Serbs on 2 June, has been picked up near Bihac by "NATO search and rescue forces" and taken to the USS Kearsarge in the Adriatic. A NATO spokesman added that the mission took place once contact with O'Grady had been made. President Bill Clinton said that "Captain O'Grady's bravery and skill are an inspiration. So are the bravery and skill of those who took part in the operation to rescue him. They are all American heroes." -- Patrick Moore

    [02] SERBS TO FREE MORE HOSTAGES?

    The Bosnian Serbs may soon free more of theremaining 145 UN peacekeepers they are holding captive. The BBC on 8 June quoted the independent Serbian news agency Beta as saying the operation is being held up only because the men are scattered over a wide range of territory. A Serbian lobbyist told the VOA that the Serbs took the hostages as "the least hostile action" they could think of. Speculation is rife inside former Yugoslavia and abroad as to what exactly prompted the Pale leadership to take nearly 300 UN personnel captive in the wake of NATO air strikes and what the role of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has been. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] WILL THE RAPID RESPONSE FORCE BE TOOTHLESS?

    British, French, UN, andRussian diplomats have been talking at length about the mandate and command structure of the proposed RRF, the BBC reported on 8 June. It appears that the force will be simply an extension of UNPROFOR, restricted in its ability to punish aggressors and subordinated to the UN's hesitant civilian command. The UN head of peacekeeping operations, Kofi Annan, told AFP that "it will use force as it is allowed under peacekeeping operations. It is not going to go into a combat mode. It is not a fighting force.... We will have such presence that at some local levels perhaps we will not be harassed as much." It is difficult to see how such remarks can be reconciled with those of French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, who said: "We have decided to get out of the morass in Bosnia. We have proved this from the military angle, and we have the political will." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] SERBS POUND SARAJEVO.

    Bosnian Serbs on 7 June continued to blast Sarajevo with heavy weapons, which are supposed to be banned from the area, prompting a response from government forces. In Washington, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff continued efforts by the Clinton administration to distance itself from or qualify the president's recent remarks to the effect that U.S. ground troops might be sent to Bosnia if requested by NATO. Secretary of Defense William Perry told a Congressional committee that he does "not believe that the Bosnian war poses a threat to U.S. interests grave enough to risk the lives of thousands of our troops." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] GROWING TENSIONS WITHIN KRAJINA LEADERSHIP.

    The Croatian Serb rebel government on 6 June held a meeting in eastern Slavonia with nine out of 17 ministers present. Frictions are growing in the wake of the loss of western Slavonia and in the face of Croatian military inroads near Knin. The main split is between those around President Milan Martic, who favors a still vaguely defined union with the Bosnian Serbs, and allies of Milosevic close to the recently sacked prime minister, Borislav Mikelic. The latter argue that the union would mean that sanctions against Pale would be imposed against Knin. Former President Goran Hadzic, an enemy of Martic, threatened that resource-rich eastern Slavonia will secede if the union goes ahead. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] U.S. ENVOY LEAVES FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. U.S.

    envoy Robert Frasure has left former Yugoslavia after failing to secure an agreement with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic providing for the lifting of sanctions against rump Yugoslavia in exchange for Belgrade's recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nasa Borba reported on 8 June. The daily also noted that the U.S. envoy appears to think that Milosevic has little influence over the Bosnian Serbs. Nasa Borba also reported that former rump Yugoslav Premier Milan Panic visited Belgrade on 7 June. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] KOSOVAR PARLIAMENTARIANS AT FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY.

    A delegation from the Kosovar shadow-state parliament visited the French Foreign Ministry, Kosova Daily Report said on 7 June. The Kosovar legislators warned of an escalation of the situation in the region and stressed that the Kosovars have been pursuing a policy of peaceful resistance in recent years. A French Foreign Ministry representative expressed his admiration for that policy and said France has been closely watching developments in former Yugoslavia. He added that his country is aware of the complexity of the Kosovo crisis and supports "an acceptable and just solution." -- Fabian Schmidt

    [08] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS ITALIAN NATIONAL ALLIANCE DEPUTIES.

    President Sali Berisha met with deputies from the Italian National Alliance, Rilindja Demokratike reported on 7 June. Berisha told the Italian parliamentarians that "relations and cooperation between the two countries have developed well and brought good results." He also praised Italy for considering the possibility to issue visas for Albanian seasonal workers. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

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

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute
    news2html v2.09c run on Thursday, 8 June 1995 - 21:05:16