OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 156, 11 August 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] YELTSIN PROPOSES NEW BALKAN PEACE INITIATIVE.

  • [02] RYBKIN MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC.

  • [03] U.S. PRESENTS EVIDENCE OF SREBRENICA MASSACRE.

  • [04] REPORTS ON MLADIC'S GRISLY ROLE IN SREBRENICA.

  • [05] REFUGEE UPDATE.

  • [06] BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER WITHDRAWS RESIGNATION.

  • [07] BELGRADE COMPLAINS OF "CROATIAN AGGRESSION" . . .

  • [08] . . . AND CONTINUES TO MOBILIZE.

  • [09] BELGRADE MEDIA SIGNAL SHIFT ON "GREATER SERBIA" POLICY?

  • [10] ROMANIAN DAILY RENEWS ATTACKS OVER EMBARGO.

  • [11] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT INCREASES ELECTRICITY PRICES.

  • [12] BULGARIA TO MAKE DEBT PAYMENT.

  • [13] RECORD HIGH FOR ALBANIAN TOURISM.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 156, Part I,II, 11 August 1995

    RUSSIA

    [01] YELTSIN PROPOSES NEW BALKAN PEACE INITIATIVE.

    After meeting with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on 10 August, President Boris Yeltsin proposed that an international conference be convened on the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, Russian and Western agencies reported. In a statement read to journalists, Yeltsin said recent Croatian actions in Krajina had brought the region to "the brink of a major war" and expressed regret that Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, under "pressure" from other states, had declined to come to Moscow for talks. In contrast, Yeltsin praised Milosevic's commitment to a negotiated settlement of the conflict and said that UN sanctions against rump Yugoslavia had become a major obstacle to its achievement. He added that Russia would press for the lifting of the sanctions, adding that any delay in addressing the issue might lead Russia to take "unilateral steps." Yeltsin also renewed his bid to mediate an overall settlement to the conflict, inviting Milosevic, Tudjman, and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic to Moscow for a meeting to lay the groundwork for a later international conference. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] RYBKIN MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC.

    During his 10 August visit to Moscow, Serbian President Milosevic also met with Duma Speaker Ivan Rybkin, Russian and Western agencies reported. Rybkin echoed President Yeltsin's comments that UN sanctions against rump Yugoslavia should be lifted and told Interfax that if an appropriate international decision is not taken soon, the Duma is prepared to pass a law calling on Russia to unilaterally ignore the sanctions. Rybkin added that all factions and parties in the Duma supported his earlier statements condemning Croatian actions in Krajina and said he expected Russian policy toward the Yugoslav conflict to be discussed at the special session of the Duma scheduled for 12 August. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [03] U.S. PRESENTS EVIDENCE OF SREBRENICA MASSACRE. U.S.

    Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright told the Security Council on 10 August that there is "compelling evidence" that Bosnian Serb forces killed up to 2,700 Muslims in Srebrenica and buried them in a mass grave. She produced photos and an eyewitness, who said he escaped by pretending to be dead and then fleeing to Bosnian government territory. The Security Council has demanded that the Serbs allow human rights monitors into the area. The international media also stated on 11 August that Amnesty International has released a report saying that up to 4,000 Muslims remain unaccounted for. The Guardian, however, wrote that there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that a massacre has taken place. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] REPORTS ON MLADIC'S GRISLY ROLE IN SREBRENICA.

    Newsday reporter Roy Gutman on 8 August wrote that Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic took an active interest in the fate of the captured Srebrenica Muslims and "personally attended much of the butchery that followed." He would reassure his victims that he would protect them and then promise his troops a massacre in what one observer called the typical "fascist pattern we've seen throughout" the conflict. Referring to the men and boys, Mladic announced to his soldiers that there would be "a feast . . . with blood up to your knees." Of the women, eyewitnesses said the internationally wanted war criminal told his troops: "Beautiful. Keep the good ones over there. Enjoy them." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] REFUGEE UPDATE.

    International media on 11 August reported that the Security Council has called on Croatia to protect the thousands of Serbs fleeing to Bosnian Serb territory and to Serbia. Particularly ugly incidents were reported from Sisak, where Croatian crowds not only pelted the Serbs with stones and bricks but also hauled them out of their vehicles and beat them as police looked on. The International Herald Tribune said that some Serbs swore vengeance, but that one man blamed the collapse of Krajina on the Serbs' own "crime, smuggling." Novi list wrote that Serbs in Benkovac forced 70 Croats to flee with them and killed three of the elderly. The BBC noted that some Bosnian Serbs have begun joining the Krajina exodus, fearing that the Bosnian or Croatian armies will move into their areas next. The VOA reported that Krajina Serb refugees in the Banja Luka area have started forcing the few remaining Muslims and Croats to flee and that those Muslims and Croats have begun arriving in Croatia. The broadcast also noted the "qualitative difference" between the flight of the Krajina Serbs in a well-coordinated movement of vehicles loaded with goods and the expulsion of the Croats and Muslims on foot and with little more than the clothes they were wearing. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER WITHDRAWS RESIGNATION.

    In a move little noticed while media attention was on Croatia, Haris Silajdzic offered to resign on 3 August. International media reported on 11 August that he agreed the previous day to stay on after receiving much support from Bosnia's allies abroad and a request to remain in office from President Alija Izetbegovic. Silajdzic told the Italian daily Il Messaggero on 10 August that Izetbegovic had acquired more and more power at his expense over the past year. Silajdzic demanded that the government be responsible only to the parliament and not to the president. He slammed the legislature as well, saying that it showed no interest in the fate of the people of Srebrenica and Gorazde. Finally, the prime minister said that the current in-fighting was simply about power and did not include an ideological debate on the role of political Islam. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] BELGRADE COMPLAINS OF "CROATIAN AGGRESSION" . . .

    Tanjug on 10 August reported that federal rump Yugoslav authorities plan to appeal to the UN Security Council to help restrain "Croatian aggression." According to Tanjug, Belgrade believes that Zagreb remains the key source of "danger . . . to [an] expansion of the conflict." Belgrade is also expected to call again for a lifting of sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] . . . AND CONTINUES TO MOBILIZE.

    AFP on 10 August quoted eyewitnesses as saying that Belgrade is continuing to move troops and military hardware closer to the Croatian border in eastern Slavonia. The news agency, citing the Belgrade newspaper Telegraf, also observed that rump Yugoslav military authorities may mobilize up to 26,000 reservists who are likely to be added to the army near Novi Sad, bringing its total up to some 35, 000 troops. Since 5 August, convoys of at least 100 armored vehicles carrying anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles have made their way to Sid, on the border with Croatia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] BELGRADE MEDIA SIGNAL SHIFT ON "GREATER SERBIA" POLICY?

    State-runSerbian TV newscasts since 7 August have used a new format for weather reports. Previously forecasts were accompanied by maps of the rump Yugoslavia as well as maps denoting "Serbian lands" occupied by Serbian forces outside the rump Yugoslavia. Recent broadcasts have shown instead flower arrangements when commentary switched to accounts of weather outside the rump Yugoslavia. This development has added fuel to speculation that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has signaled he is moving away from the goal of incorporating Serb-held and -populated territory outside the rump Yugoslavia into a "Greater Serbia." -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] ROMANIAN DAILY RENEWS ATTACKS OVER EMBARGO.

    Romania libera editor-in- chief Petre Mihai Bacanu, speaking at a press conference on 10 August, renewed allegations that Nicolae Vacaroiu's cabinet endorsed oil contraband to the rump Yugoslavia, Radio Bucharest reported. Bacanu first made the accusation in a 26 July article. He told journalists that the government was "lying to everybody, including the Security Council," over its adherence to the UN embargo, citing several instances of sanctions-breaking. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry the same day said his department was strictly applying the sanctions. He mentioned hundreds of cases in which police and border guards have confiscated fuel from smugglers. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

    [11] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT INCREASES ELECTRICITY PRICES.

    The cabinet on 10 August announced increases in electricity prices by 25% for private households, and 38% for industry, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. The new prices will go into effect on 1 September. From 15 November, electricity prices will be adjusted to take into account inflation. Pensioners will receive a monthly compensation equivalent to the price of 500 kW. Trud reported that the government expects inflation to go up by 2% as a result of the hikes. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [12] BULGARIA TO MAKE DEBT PAYMENT.

    AFP on 10 August reported that Bulgaria will pay part of its debt to Paris Club creditors on 19 August. The agency cites a report in Standart based on statements by unidentified Finance Ministry officials. The next regular debt payment of around $10 million is slated for 30 September. Total repayment on the principal in 1995 amounts to $50 million, while another $5-6 million is due in interest payments. Standart also reported that the National Bank's reserves amounted to $1.5 billion on 1 August, up from $889 million in January. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [13] RECORD HIGH FOR ALBANIAN TOURISM.

    Albania in the first half of 1995 registered a record number of foreign visitors, BETA reported on 10 August. Some 36,000 tourists visited the country. Tourism is a key element in Albania's strategy for economic development. Most foreigners went to the southern part of the country, where Italian and German businesses are the largest investors. -- 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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