OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 122, 23 June 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] RUSSIA CONCERNED WITH UN STANCE IN BOSNIA.

  • [02] FRENCH MADE A DEAL FOR HOSTAGES' RELEASE.

  • [03] ALBRIGHT CRITICIZES AKASHI LETTER TO SERBS.

  • [04] UN REPORT SLAMS SERBIAN ATROCITIES.

  • [05] SERBIAN OPPOSITION RESPONDS TO PRESS-GANGING.

  • [06] SERBIAN PLANES VIOLATE ALBANIAN AIRSPACE.

  • [07] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES LOCAL ELECTION LAW.

  • [08] BULGARIAN, TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTRIES TO COOPERATE.

  • [09] GREEK-TURKISH UPDATE.

  • [10] LAW ON PRIVATE EDUCATION ADOPTED IN ALBANIA. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 122, Part I, 23 June 1995

    RUSSIA

    [01] RUSSIA CONCERNED WITH UN STANCE IN BOSNIA.

    In a statement released on 22 June, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed regret that the UN Security Council had not taken action in response to the alleged blockade of UN peacekeeping forces by Bosnian government troops, Interfax reported. With fighting in Bosnia intensifying, the spokesmen told journalists Russia had twice this week asked for an emergency session of the Security Council to discuss the continued obstruction of peacekeeping operations by Bosnian government forces but had been rebuffed. Continuing silence on this issue may call into question the "impartiality" of the UN, added the spokesman. Also on 22 June, a senior Russian industrial official told Interfax that Russia is prepared to resume scientific and technological cooperation with rump Yugoslavia as soon as international sanctions are lifted. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 122, Part II, 23 June 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [02] FRENCH MADE A DEAL FOR HOSTAGES' RELEASE.

    Western and Belgrade dailies on 23 June report that French military authorities bargained for the UNPROFOR hostages' freedom, even when Paris was saying publicly that the prisoners' release must be unconditional. The UN commander in the former Yugoslavia, General Bernard Janvier, held secret meetings with Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic in Zvornik and Pale, and General Bertrand de Lapresle came directly from Paris to cut a deal. As the Bosnian Serb foreign minister said at the time, the Serbs received assurances that there will be no more NATO air strikes against them in return for releasing the hostages. The New York Times reported that the UN commander in Bosnia, Lt. Gen. Rupert Smith, is at odds with Janvier and opposed the talks. Nasa Borba quoted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as saying that taking the hostages was a mistake. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] ALBRIGHT CRITICIZES AKASHI LETTER TO SERBS.

    The VOA on 23 June reported that U.S. Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright released a statement the previous day opposing UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi's recent letter to Karadzic. Akashi had assured the Serbs that the new Rapid Reaction Force would have no more teeth than UNPROFOR. Albright wrote that "the method, timing, and substance of this letter are highly inappropriate." The BBC, however, said the statement was prompted primarily by domestic political considerations and by President Bill Clinton's desire to overcome Republican opposition to financing the RRF. Meanwhile, Akashi clarified his refusal to approve NATO air strikes against the Banja Luka airport in response to Bosnian Serb violations of the "no-fly zone." Akashi claimed that UN resolutions permit retaliation only against aircraft, not against airports. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] UN REPORT SLAMS SERBIAN ATROCITIES.

    An RFE/RL correspondent quoted Le Monde on 20 June as saying that for one year, the UN has known of a report of its own showing that the Serbs alone have systematically carried out war crimes as a conscious political policy. A recent CIA study also blamed the Serbs for virtually all the atrocities, especially those connected with deliberate "ethnic cleansing." The Paris daily adds that the UN report clearly shows there "is no moral equivalence among the warring sides" and throws into question attempts by former EU mediator David Owen to treat all sides as equally responsible. Meanwhile, Owen's successor, Carl Bildt, was in rump Yugoslavia for talks with President Slobodan Milosevic. The BBC on 22 June said that Bildt nonetheless has not yet chosen to reopen diplomatic contacts with the Bosnian Serbs. International media added that the Serbs shelled a line of people waiting for water in Sarajevo, killing several. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] SERBIAN OPPOSITION RESPONDS TO PRESS-GANGING.

    Nasa Borba on 23 June reported that a member of the Democratic Party has sent a letter to Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic and other officials criticizing the press-ganging of ethnic Serbs, principally refugees, for military service in Serb-occupied Croatia and Bosnia. The letter calls attention to the fact that forcibly recruiting persons amounts to a "violation of human rights." In a 22 June statement, the Serbian Renewal Movement indicted recent events as "a savage hunt for people who are kidnapped from student dorms...from apartments, and on the streets." The latest campaign began on 11 June with a wave of kidnappings and police night raids. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] SERBIAN PLANES VIOLATE ALBANIAN AIRSPACE.

    Two Serbian military aircraft flew over northern Albania on 21 June, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 23 June. According to Kosova Daily Report on 22 June, Serbian military aircraft have repeatedly flown low over various residential areas in Kosovo recently. Elsewhere, Secretary of State Warren Christopher told Kosovar shadow state President Ibrahim Rugova during his visit to Washington that the U.S. will not allow the war in Bosnia to spread to Kosovo and reiterated a warning issued to Serbia by U.S. President Clinton earlier. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES LOCAL ELECTION LAW.

    The National Assembly on 22 June adopted the draft law on local elections on its first reading, Demokratsiya reported the following day. Krasimir Premyanov, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) caucus, said the law lays the foundations for effective policy on local government and will help the reform process, but opposition deputies strongly criticized it on several points. The main objections was to the provision that three, rather than two, mayoral candidates take part in the second round of voting, which, the opposition claims, favors the BSP. It also objects to the provision that the number of candidates on party lists for municipal councils equals the number of seats in the council, since this will handicap small parties. Finally, the opposition claims that the law imposes restrictions on the media in reporting about the election campaign. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] BULGARIAN, TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTRIES TO COOPERATE.

    Sofia and Ankara will take joint actions against the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and coordinate the fight against drug trafficking, 24 chasa reported on 23 June. The two countries' Interior Ministries also agreed to simplify the extradition procedures for Bulgarian criminals living in Turkey. A Bulgarian police delegation is expected to go to Istanbul soon to discuss further details. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry claims that Kurds living in Bulgaria are not involved in terrorist activities and are not trained in the country. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] GREEK-TURKISH UPDATE.

    Greek Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis on 21 June accused Turkey of "violating the elementary rules of international law and order," Greek media reported the following day. He was responding to Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's statement the previous day that an extension of Greece's territorial waters from six to 12 miles would be a cause for war. Arsenis said that merchant ships and warships will have "the right of safe passage [through the Aegean] in peacetime." Both Ciller and Arsenis were addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union in Paris. Meanwhile in Athens, Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said "Greece's foreign policy is a matter for our country and we are not interested in what Ciller has to say." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] LAW ON PRIVATE EDUCATION ADOPTED IN ALBANIA.

    The Albanian parliament passed a law on private education on 21 June, international agencies reported. The law allows the establishment of religious and foreign- language high schools, but only with government approval. So far, such schools have needed special permits. In foreign-language schools, instruction in Albanian will remain compulsory. Only Petrit Kalakula, the leader of the Democratic Party of the Right, voted against the draft. -- 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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