OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 128, 3 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] "A VIOLENT, BLOODY WEEKEND" IN BOSNIA.

  • [02] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TURNS OUT AKASHI.

  • [03] MLADIC WARNS AGAINST DARK FORCES.

  • [04] CROATIA SETS CONDITIONS FOR PEACE TALKS.

  • [05] RUMP YUGOSLAVIA'S FIRST MAJOR SPORTS VICTORY SINCE SANCTIONS EASED.

  • [06] RUSSIA TO GIVE BULGARIA TANKS, OTHER ARMS.

  • [07] BULGARIA TO HAVE MORE MILITARY DRAFTS . . .

  • [08] . . . AND TO REPAIR RUSSIAN WARSHIPS.

  • [09] CHIEF EDITOR OF ALBANIAN SATIRICAL MAGAZINE ARRESTED.

  • [10] GREEK SEAMEN END STRIKE.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 128, Part II, 3 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] "A VIOLENT, BLOODY WEEKEND" IN BOSNIA.

    This is how the VOA on 2 July summed up developments in Sarajevo since 30 June. The Serbs hit the UN headquarters and U.S. embassy, which the broadcast said further made a mockery of the UN heavy-weapons exclusion zone around the Bosnian capital. In a rare display of firmness, French peacekeepers in the Mt. Igman area fired back on a Serbian attack, which promptly came to a halt. The Serbs meanwhile stepped up their pressure on the mainly Muslim enclaves in eastern Bosnia as well as on the Bihac pocket, where the food situation is becoming critical, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said on 1 July. Croatian Radio on 3 July noted increased Serb shelling in the Posavina area. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TURNS OUT AKASHI.

    The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 1 July said the Bosnian government wants nothing more to do with UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi, since the UN is doing nothing to protect the exclusion zone or Sarajevo's status as a "safe area." Bosnian authorities also regard Akashi's recent written assurances to the Serbs and the UN's secret deal to free the hostages as groveling before Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander, General Ratko Mladic. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] MLADIC WARNS AGAINST DARK FORCES.

    The Bosnian Serb leaders on 2 July attended special Church services in Pale with Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle to mark the Serbian holy day of Vidovdan on 28 June. News agencies quote Mladic's response to the German Bundestag's decision on 30 June to authorize air support for the UN in Bosnia: "I can hardly wait to meet them." SRNA adds that Mladic accused NATO of ganging up on the Serbs. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 1 July quoted the general as saying that plots are afoot to "Americanize" and "Germanize" the Balkans, but he gave no details. The paper also cited unnamed French secret service officials as warning that the U.S. is taking sides in the conflict but that "the Europeans want to remain neutral. Our American friends must realize that the important thing now is not to disturb the peace process." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] CROATIA SETS CONDITIONS FOR PEACE TALKS.

    Croatian Radio on 3 July quotes President Franjo Tudjman as telling UN and EU envoys that firmness is necessary in dealing with the Serbs and that sanctions must remain in place until Belgrade clearly renounces plans for a greater Serbia. He added that he will negotiate with Knin and Belgrade only if UNCRO's mandate is fully carried out and if the Serbs honor the agreement to reopen the main oil pipeline. The EU must also help Croatia restore the Zagreb-Knin-Split railway line. The president warned that international community must forget any ideas about setting up some new Yugoslavia or regional federal state. Tudjman called Krajina Serb leader Milan Martic a "war criminal" for ordering the shelling of Zagreb in May, adding that Croatia will not talk with him. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] RUMP YUGOSLAVIA'S FIRST MAJOR SPORTS VICTORY SINCE SANCTIONS EASED.

    The rump Yugoslavia won the European basketball championship on 2 July, beating Lithuania by six points, Nasa Borba reported the next day. The event marks a milestone win for the first rump Yugoslav team to be admitted to international sports competition since sanctions against Belgrade were eased in the autumn of 1994. Finishing in third place, Croatian team players walked off the award podium after receiving their medals to avoid listening to the rump Yugoslav national anthem. Downtown Belgrade streets were reportedly packed with jubilant fans, with some waving the flag of the former socialist federal Yugoslavia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] RUSSIA TO GIVE BULGARIA TANKS, OTHER ARMS.

    Russia will give Bulgaria 100 T-72 tanks, 100 BMP-1P armored combat vehicles, and 12 Mi-24 combat helicopters, Deputy Defense Minister Dimiter Mitkov announced on 28 June. BTA quoted Mitkov as saying that Bulgarian experts will visit Russia to study the possibility of obtaining equipment that Russia will otherwise have to destroy to meet the terms of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty. In a procedure called "cascading," the Russians will instead give those weapons to the Bulgarians, who will then destroy older equipment so that they abide by CFE limits. -- Doug Clarke, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BULGARIA TO HAVE MORE MILITARY DRAFTS . . .

    Draftees will be inducted into the military four times a year, instead of the present two drafts, Maj. Gen. Lyuben Pandev announced on 29 June. BTA said the new measure is intended to "ease tensions" between successive drafts and thus eliminate the hazing that has plagued the Bulgarian military. Recruits will receive their three-month basic training in 30 centers. Starting in 1997, training will be centralized in eight locations. -- Doug Clarke, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] . . . AND TO REPAIR RUSSIAN WARSHIPS.

    Seven Russian warships and a naval supply ship will be repaired at the Varna shipyard over the next 11 months, BTA reported on 29 June. The repairs are said to be part of a long-term agreement between the two countries. The ships will be stripped of all armaments and reconnaissance equipment before they enter the yard. -- Doug Clarke, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] CHIEF EDITOR OF ALBANIAN SATIRICAL MAGAZINE ARRESTED.

    Filip Cakuli, chief editor of the Albanian satirical magazine Hosteni 2000, was detained and questioned by the country's secret police (SHIK) for one night, Reuters reported on 30 June. He was released only after agreeing to change the cover of the paper's upcoming issue, which showed Albanian President Sali Berisha between two nude women. The Albanian Helsinki Committee criticized SHIK, stressing that "the law does not authorize SHIK to take measures directly impairing the freedom of a citizen . . . but only to act through appropriate bodies, the General Attorney's office and the judiciary." SHIK reportedly also seized printing materials without warrants. Hosteni 2000 previously published photo montages showing Albanian politicians in women's dresses but then withdrew the disputed cover. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] GREEK SEAMEN END STRIKE.

    Greek sailors ended a three-day strike on 2 July, AFP reported the same day. The strike seriously disrupted the tourist season and shipments to the Greek islands. The seamen's union, which is demanding higher wages, tax breaks, and a more vigorous campaign to reduce unemployment, warned that the strike may resume later this month. Meanwhile, the Greek railway company OSE announced that six one-hour strikes scheduled between 3-7 July have been canceled after a court ruled they were illegal. Another court earlier ruled that an aviation strike scheduled for 2 July was illegal. -- 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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