OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 140, 20 July 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?

  • [02] "GENOCIDE" IN SREBRENICA.

  • [03] FRANCE WANTS U.S. TO FACE UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITIES.

  • [04] KARADZIC SAYS HE'S NOT AFRAID OF ARMS FOR BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.

  • [05] FOUR YEARS OF ANTI-WAR ACTION IN SERBIA.

  • [06] MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT SNUBS PALE.

  • [07] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT HEAD BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST FINANCE MINISTER.

  • [08] VAN DER STOEL IN ALBANIA, MACEDONIA.

  • [09] KOSOVAR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MEETS WITH ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS.

  • [10] TURKEY ARRESTS BULGARIAN CITIZENS.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 140, Part II, 20 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?

    Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic said thecivilian authorities in the besieged UN-designated "safe area" surrendered during the evening of 19 July. He added that wounded Muslims will be evacuated to Sarajevo and that other civilians "who want it" will start to be transported to government-controlled Kladanj on the afternoon of 20 July. International media reported, however, that Mladic's statement, which was carried by SRNA, has not been confirmed. Reuters said that the picture from Sarajevo is confused, while AFP quoted Ukrainian peacekeepers in Zepa as saying that the town has not fallen. The Serbs have previously claimed that towns have surrendered when this was not the case. BETA quoted the mayor of Zepa as saying that panic has broken out. Meanwhile, Krajina Serb forces continue to pound Bihac with the help of troops loyal to local Muslim renegade Fikret Abdic. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] "GENOCIDE" IN SREBRENICA.

    The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 20 July reported on a controversy in Holland over blunt remarks by Minister for Economic Development Pronk following his return from Tuzla. Pronk told the media that "we should not allow ourselves to be treated as fools by people who say that nothing [about atrocities by Serbs in Srebrenica] has been confirmed.... There were real massacres. We knew that this could happen. The Serbs have done this many times. That which is going on is genocide." Other politicians have criticized Pronk for violating the "policy of restraint" lest the Serbs take revenge on Dutch peacekeepers. UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi said that he knows nothing about genocide in Srebrenica. Nasa Borba reported that the new Serbian authorities there are restoring utilities and have invited Serbian families who fled in 1992 to return. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] FRANCE WANTS U.S. TO FACE UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITIES.

    President Bill Clinton on 19 July had telephone conversations with other Western leaders, but they have yet to agree on a joint approach to keep the Serbs out of Gorazde and Sarajevo. All agree that something must be done, but the Americans favor massive air strikes against a variety of targets while the French want U.S. helicopters to ferry 1,000 of their troops into Gorazde. The White House is afraid of Americans being killed or captured by the Serbs, who would certainly target the helicopters. Washington also faces problems, however, if nothing is done and UNPROFOR withdraws, since it is committed to providing ground troops to help the evacuation. French officials say that the U.S. must stop dodging its international responsibilities and bear a fair share of the burden in Bosnia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] KARADZIC SAYS HE'S NOT AFRAID OF ARMS FOR BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.

    The VOA on 20 July reported that Senator Bob Dole will postpone a vote on his measure to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian government until after Western security officials meet on 21 July. BETA quoted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as saying that he is not worried about "the Muslims" getting more arms, since they already have good weapons but are still poor fighters. The independent Belgrade news agency also reported that Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak denied French charges that he is "sabotaging" deployment of the new Rapid Reaction Force. Zubak, who is also president of the Croatian-Muslim federation, accused the troops of haughtiness and said that "we are neither bandits nor a colony." He added that the RRF must have and respect a clearly defined mandate. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] FOUR YEARS OF ANTI-WAR ACTION IN SERBIA.

    The Center for Anti-War Action, located in Belgrade, is marking its fourth anniversary, Nasa Borba reported on 20 July. Since its founding, the center has been involved in creating a network of activists opposed to Belgrade's regional war policies. It has evolved into a pressure group linking journalists, human rights activists, social workers, and refugee aid workers. Also, it has helped establish the Internet e-mail network "Zamir." -- Fabian Schmidt and Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT SNUBS PALE.

    Montena-fax on 19 July reported that the Montenegrin government recently refused demands by Serbian authorities in the self proclaimed Republic of Srpska in Bosnia to forcibly mobilize ethnic Serb refugees from outside the rump Yugoslavia who have fled to Montenegro. Montena-fax also notes, however, that uneasy feelings run rife through the refugee community in Montenegro. Members of Pale's police force have been spotted on Podgorica streets, causing refugees to "live in fear" of being kidnapped for military service. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT HEAD BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST FINANCE MINISTER.

    Zef Brozi, head of the Albanian Supreme Court, has brought charges against Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni for failing to fulfill his ministerial duties, BETA reported on 19 July. Brozi claims that for seven months, Vrioni blocked the release of the court's budget in an attempt to diminish the independence of the country's courts (see OMRI Daily Digest, 17 July 1995). -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] VAN DER STOEL IN ALBANIA, MACEDONIA.

    Max van der Stoel, OSCE high commissioner on national minorities, visited Albania and Macedonia on 19 July, Flaka and BETA reported. In Tirana, he was received by Albanian President Sali Berisha, who called on the OSCE to "actively protect the human and national rights of the Albanians in Kosovo." Berisha praised Van der Stoel for his efforts to help solve the conflict in Macedonia over higher education in Albanian. In Macedonia, Van der Stoel met with Abdurrahman Aliti, leader of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity, and discussed ways of interpreting Article 48 of the Macedonian Constitution so as not to ban higher education in Albanian. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] KOSOVAR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MEETS WITH ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS.

    Leaders of the Albanian Socialist Party met in Tirana on 19 July with Mark Krasniqi, leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo. The Socialists stressed that "it is necessary to unite all Albanians and political parties in Albania and Kosovo around the national question." Krasniqi earlier met with Albanian President Sali Berisha and Pjeter Arbnori, speaker of the Albanian parliament, BETA reported. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] TURKEY ARRESTS BULGARIAN CITIZENS.

    Turkish police have arrested between 1,200 and 1,500 ethnic Turkish Bulgarian citizens who were living illegally in Istanbul and detained them in a former army camp, the Bulgarian press reported on 20 July. Under Turkish law, they have to be expelled within 24 hours, but Turkey seems to fear the consequences of a mass expulsion to Bulgaria. Standart quotes Bulgarian Consul-General Kiril Momchilov as saying he has no information about the case. An agreement between the two countries states that the Bulgarian mission is to be informed about police action against illegal immigrants from Bulgaria. Relations between Turkey and Bulgaria were described as good by both sides during Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's visit to Bulgaria in early July. -- 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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