OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 113, 12 June 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] DUMA PROPOSES PEACE PLAN FOR BOSNIA.

  • [02] IS SERBIA CONTINUING TO SUPPORT BOSNIAN SERBS?

  • [03] BOSNIAN SERBS SEIZE AID.

  • [04] BOSNIAN VICE PRESIDENT REJECTS BOUTROS GHALI'S PEACE PLAN.

  • [05] CROATIAN PRESIDENT GIVES SERBS ULTIMATUM.

  • [06] TURKISH-LANGUAGE SCHOOLS TORN DOWN IN MACEDONIA.

  • [07] BULGARIA, ROMANIA SEEK LOCATION FOR DANUBE BRIDGE.

  • [08] BULGARIAN PREMIER ON EU, NATO.

  • [09] ETHNIC TURKISH DORMITORY IN BULGARIA ATTACKED.

  • [10] ALBANIAN FORMER COMMUNIST LEADER TO REMAIN IN PRISON.

  • [11] GREEK PROSECUTOR ASKS FOR NEW PROBE INTO MAVI.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 113, Part I, 12 June 1995

    RUSSIA

    [01] DUMA PROPOSES PEACE PLAN FOR BOSNIA.

    The Duma passed a resolution outlining a proposed peace plan for Bosnia on 9 June, Interfax reported. The plan calls for Bosnian Serb forces to release their hostages in exchange for a moratorium on NATO air strikes against their positions, followed by an "indefinite truce" and negotiations between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims on a political settlement. In a declaration accompanying the proposed plan, the Duma expressed its opinion that the recent creation of a NATO "rapid reaction force" to support UN peacekeeping in Bosnia "presents a special danger" and is aimed "at the gradual replacement of UN peacekeeping forces . . . with NATO forces." The declaration also criticized Foreign Minister Kozyrev's suggestion that Russian troops might be added to the rapid reaction force, calling it a "mistake." -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 113, Part II, 12 June 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [02] IS SERBIA CONTINUING TO SUPPORT BOSNIAN SERBS?

    The New York Times on 11June reported that Belgrade seems to be still covertly helping the Bosnian Serbs, despite Serbian President Slobodan Milo-sevic's apparent break with the Bosnian Serb leadership in August 1994. The U.S. daily states that according to European and U.S. officials, the Yugoslav army has continued to pay the salaries of some Bosnian Serb officers and to supply Bosnian Serb troops with vital commodities such as fuel. But it is unclear how systematic and significant Serbia's support for the Bosnian Serbs is. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] BOSNIAN SERBS SEIZE AID.

    Bosnian Serbs on 11 June seized several tons of food aid earmarked for Muslims in the besieged enclave of Zepa. The aid, organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, was to have arrived at its destination on 10 June but was detained at a Bosnian Serb checkpoint. According to AFP, Bosnian Serb troops delayed the convoy after they discovered bullets in a sack of flour, which UNHCR officials suspect was planted by the Serbs. "We were given two options . . . Either the Bosnian Serb army would confiscate the convoy or it would go back fully laden to our warehouse in Belgrade," AFP quoted an UNHCR official as saying. In other news, international media on 11 June reported heavy fighting in eastern Bosnia, including near Gorazde, where government forces fought with Bosnian Serbs over control of strategic territory. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] BOSNIAN VICE PRESIDENT REJECTS BOUTROS GHALI'S PEACE PLAN.

    Hina on 11 June reported that Ejup Ganic has rejected UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali's proposal for a new peace plan for Bosnia-Herzegovina. The proposal was published by the German magazine Der Spiegel. It advocates bringing the Bosnian Serb side back to the negotiating table in order to restart the peace process. Ganic argues that the Contact Group's plan, which allocates 49% control of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Bosnian Serbs and the remainder to the Bosnian Muslim and Croatian federation, remains the best solution. He also observed that to invite Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to the table would again signal that he "can keep the occupied territories," which account for 70% of Bosnia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] CROATIAN PRESIDENT GIVES SERBS ULTIMATUM.

    Krajina Serb aircraft on 9 June bombed Croatian positions in the Dinara range in response to a steady offensive by Zagreb's forces. The following day, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman visited Okucani in western Slavonia, which his forces took in Operation Blitz on 1 and 2 May, in his first visit to the area since the reconquest. International media said he told the Krajina Serbs that they will face further "lightning offensives" if they do not seek reintegration into Croatia by the time UNCRO's mandate runs out at the end of October. He added that he hoped that Croatian refugees from Serbia and the Banja Luka area of Bosnia would help repopulate western Slavonia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] TURKISH-LANGUAGE SCHOOLS TORN DOWN IN MACEDONIA.

    Two buildings in which ethnic Turkish students have received schooling in their native language for the past two years have been torn down, MIC reported on 9 June. The buildings were in the districts of Zhupa and Papradnik and were reportedly destroyed by the Debar local authorities' "demolition service." Both schools were constructed without a building license in the grounds of mosques. The demolition is reportedly unrelated to the Education Ministry's ban on classes outside the state educational system. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIA, ROMANIA SEEK LOCATION FOR DANUBE BRIDGE.

    Bulgarian officials on 11 June said the question of the location for a second Danube bridge linking Bulgaria and Romania will be solved by July, Reuters reported the same day. Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu discussed the issue with his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Pirinski, in Evksinograd. The new bridge is estimated to cost about $400 million and will ease bottlenecks from central and western Europe to the Middle East. At present, there is only one bridge, linking Ruse and Giurgiu, which has become heavily congested, especially since the UN embargo against rump Yugoslavia. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] BULGARIAN PREMIER ON EU, NATO.

    Zhan Videnov, addressing the North Atlantic Assembly conference in Sofia on 11 June, said Bulgaria wants to join both the EU and NATO, AFP reported the same day. He noted that EU membership has top priority for Bulgaria but that it is still early to discuss either possible Bulgarian participation in NATO's military framework or the deployment of nuclear weapons and foreign troops on Bulgarian territory. Videnov also repeated his government's position that sanctions against rump Yugoslavia must be partially lifted. He advised against lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia and proposed a summit of the Balkan countries to discuss infrastructure problems in the region. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] ETHNIC TURKISH DORMITORY IN BULGARIA ATTACKED.

    A dormitory for ethnic Turkish students in Ruse was attacked on 10 June, international agencies reported the following day. The assailants threw stones and smashed the windows of the building, but no injuries were reported. Bulgarian media linked the event to the 12 June trial of Anton Rachev, a local skinhead leader accused of disseminating fascist propaganda. Rachev's prosecutor and local newspapers have received letters threatening new attacks if he is convicted. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] ALBANIAN FORMER COMMUNIST LEADER TO REMAIN IN PRISON.

    A Tirana court on 10 June rejected Ramiz Alia's claim that he has served out his prison term and should be released under the new penal code and an amnesty law, international agencies reported on 10 June. The new penal code, which went into effect on 10 June, states that every day someone spends in prison between arrest and trial counts as one and a half days in prison. Alia was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1992 for "violation of the rights and freedoms of Albanian citizens." But his sentence was reduced by various courts of appeal and an amnesty last year. Alia is due to be released on 29 March 1996. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [11] GREEK PROSECUTOR ASKS FOR NEW PROBE INTO MAVI.

    Greek prosecutors have asked for a new investigation into the Greek extremist Northern Epirus Liberation Front (MAVI), which is charged with attacking military barracks in Albania last year, AFP reported on 10 June. They have asked the Supreme Court to investigate "anyone responsible . . . for troubling peaceful relations" between Greece and Albania. Five Greek citizens and four ethnic Greeks from Albania were arrested in March and indicted for illegal possession and trafficking of weapons. Seven were in possession of Kalashnikov rifles taken from the Albanian barracks in last year's terrorist attack. They may now face charges of murder and attempted murder. -- 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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