OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 169, 30 August 1995

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [01] FOREIGN MINISTRY WARY OF NATO ACTION IN BOSNIA.

  • [02] NATO LAUNCHES AIR, ARTILLERY ASSAULT AGAINST BOSNIAN SERBS.

  • [03] SERBS RETURN FIRE.

  • [04] SILAJDZIC SAYS RAIDS RESTORE CREDIBILITY.

  • [05] CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE IN SARAJEVO.

  • [06] OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONFLICT REGION.

  • [07] RUGOVA PROPOSES INDEPENDENT KOSOVO FOR PEACE PLAN.

  • [08] SERBIAN SOLDIER REPORTED KILLED BY KOSOVO ALBANIANS.

  • [09] CHOLERA IN BUCHAREST.

  • [10] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT REFUSES TO APPROVE CHANGES IN ARMED FORCES.

  • [11] FIVE ALBANIAN SOLDIERS APPLY FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN U.S.

  • [12] ALBANIAN ARMY FIGHTS ENVER HOXHA WITH NAPALM.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 169, Part I,II, 30 August 1995

    RUSSIA

    [01] FOREIGN MINISTRY WARY OF NATO ACTION IN BOSNIA.

    An anonymous diplomat at the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on 29 August that the possibility of NATO airstrikes against Bosnian Serb positions in retaliation for the recent mortar attack on a crowded Sarajevo marketplace could endanger progress toward a peace settlement in the former Yugoslavia. Another Russian diplomat, quoted by Interfax in Paris before a scheduled meeting of international Contact Group representatives, described the mortar attack as a "provocation" designed to undermine the peace process. He refused, however, to pin the blame on the Bosnian Serbs, saying that "extremists" among the Bosnian Muslims also wanted to block the negotiation process. In Moscow, Defense Minster Grachev told journalists that the international community should give "equal treatment" to all parties in the Yugoslav conflict, adding that the "Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslims all have a big enough share of responsibility for current developments." -- Scott Parrish

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [02] NATO LAUNCHES AIR, ARTILLERY ASSAULT AGAINST BOSNIAN SERBS.

    Jets of several members of the Atlantic alliance appeared over Sarajevo around 2:00 a.m. local time on 30 August, after taking off from bases in Italy and from aircraft carriers in the Adriatic. They continued to fly bombing missions throughout the morning with a brief interruption around dawn. British, French, and Dutch heavy artillery of the Rapid Reaction Force lobbed more than 600 shells into Bosnian Serb positions by mid- morning, international media reported. Bosnian Radio said that the fire was directed against targets in Lukavica, Bogosca, Ilidza, on Mt. Jahorina, and elsewhere. The extent of the damage is not clear, but the VOA reported that most targets appear to have been hit. The aim was to secure Sarajevo as a "safe area" following the Serbian shelling of a market on 28 August, which killed 37 and wounded 85. Serbian positions near the "safe areas" of Tuzla and Gorazde were also attacked. -- Patrick Moore

    [03] SERBS RETURN FIRE.

    Bosnian Serb forces responded with antiaircraft fire directed at the planes and with rockets aimed at Sarajevo, including a Bosnian army base. Radio Pale said on 30 August that the damage from the NATO intervention could be "massive" and that there was "no excuse" for such a move. The UN had taken precautions in advance to get its peacekeepers out of the area lest they be taken hostage. The only "blue helmets" in exposed positions now are Russians, and it is doubtful that the Serbs will want to anger Moscow, one of their few friends. The VOA quoted President Bill Clinton as saying that he hoped the attacks will help promote the peace process by bringing the Serbs around to negotiate seriously. The BBC, however, cited The Independent as criticizing the attacks and a British UN spokesman as warning the Bosnian army not to take advantage of the new situation. There was no official reaction from the Bosnian Serb leadership as of mid-morning. -- Patrick Moore (see related story in the Russian section above)

    [04] SILAJDZIC SAYS RAIDS RESTORE CREDIBILITY.

    Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic told Reuters on 30 August that "this is a very important step toward peace because it restores the credibility of the international community. I hope the Serbs and the regime in Belgrade have got the message." The BBC noted that the overnight developments mean that the UN has switched from peace-making to peace-enforcing, while Reuters spoke of the "most intensive military intervention in the Bosnian conflict." Another dispatch called it the biggest single combat mission in NATO's history. The VOA, however, asked why such moves had not come sooner, such as during the Serbian attack on Srebrenica and Zepa or even at the start of the war. Serbian shelling of Sarajevo has killed 10,500 and wounded 50,000 since 1992. The 28 August attack apparently was the last straw, however, the broadcast concluded. -- Patrick Moore

    [05] CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE IN SARAJEVO.

    The population of Sarajevo had come to expect nothing from the international community, but were pleasantly surprised by the developments in the early hours of 30 August, the VOA noted. Reuters quoted one man who watched the spectacle from his balcony as calling it "beautiful, just beautiful." Impromptu street parties broke out in the capital, with the besieged Sarajevans jubilant that their tormentors were now themselves being hunted. One crippled woman told Reuters: "NATO and the United Nations are to be applauded, cheered for finally acting after the suffering of our city's innocent people. This is the only thing the Serbs understand--force. They're brutes, beasts, and they're getting what they deserve." -- Patrick Moore

    [06] OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONFLICT REGION.

    Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has written to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to tell him of his support for the latest peace plan, the BBC reported on 30 August. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic continued his visit to Paris, but what was billed as an important diplomatic event has become totally overshadowed by developments in and around Sarajevo. Slobodna Dalmacija wrote that the next two weeks will be decisive for Bosnia. With regard to the Krajina conflict, Hina quoted top Croatian government officials as saying that known casualties from Operation Storm have reached 402 Serbian soldiers, 116 Serbian civilians, 211 Croatian soldiers, and 42 Croatian civilians. Slobodna Dalmacija reported that Croatia has identified 217 Serbian rebels it wants to try as war criminals. Meanwhile in Rijeka, the independent Novi list criticized the governing party for trying to claim all the credit for what the daily said was really a national victory. -- Patrick Moore

    [07] RUGOVA PROPOSES INDEPENDENT KOSOVO FOR PEACE PLAN.

    Kosovar shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova has suggested putting Kosovo under international control as part of a peace plan for former Yugoslavia, AFP reported on 29 August. According to Rugova, Kosovo should be independent, neutral, demilitarized, and "open to both Albania and Serbia," thereby forming a "bridge of peace between Belgrade and Tirana." As an intermediary measure, he proposed "a regime run by an international administration" with "a limited mandate." -- Fabian Schmidt

    [08] SERBIAN SOLDIER REPORTED KILLED BY KOSOVO ALBANIANS.

    One rump Yugoslav soldier was killed and another wounded 300m inside Kosovo when an armed group opened fire on a rump Yugoslav patrol near the Albanian border, Reuters and AFP reported on 29 August. The rump Yugoslav army claims that a group of ethnic Albanian "terrorists" ambushed the patrol with automatic weapons before fleeing into Albania under the cover of a storm. The killing may be related to an incident in which three drunken soldiers killed an ethnic Albanian on 27 August (see OMRI Daily Digest, 28 August 1995). -- Fabian Schmidt

    [09] CHOLERA IN BUCHAREST.

    The first case of cholera in Bucharest was reported on 29 August. Reuters quoted a spokesman for the Romanian Health Ministry as saying the patient appeared to have contracted the illness in his home district of Calarasi, along the Danube. The number of confirmed cases in the Danube Delta area has risen to 19 and seven suspected cases are under investigation, the spokesman said. -- Michael Shafir

    [10] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT REFUSES TO APPROVE CHANGES IN ARMED FORCES.

    Zhelyu Zhelev has defied the Socialist government by refusing to approve the replacement of several top officers from the Defense and Interior Ministries, international agencies reported on 29 August. The Socialists proposed the changes allegedly to improve the efficiency of the armed forces. Zhelev said the chiefs of the Interior Forces, the Border Troops, and the Fire Department should not be replaced by communist-era officers, as proposed by the government. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [11] FIVE ALBANIAN SOLDIERS APPLY FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN U.S.

    Five Albanian soldiers, who participated in the first joint U.S.-Albanian military exercises on U.S. territory have applied for political asylum, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 30 August, citing the BBC's Albanian Service. There has been no official confirmation by Albanian officials. Gazeta Shqiptare adds that the chances of the five achieving their goal are rather limited. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [12] ALBANIAN ARMY FIGHTS ENVER HOXHA WITH NAPALM.

    An Albanian army unit has dropped napalm on giant stone letters commemorating communist-era dictator Enver Hoxha, Reuters reported on 29 August. The stone letters, spelling out Hoxha's first name, were located near the peak of Mount Shpiragu at Berat. The napalm blackened the letters, making them indistinguishable from the surrounding mountainside and no longer visible from the nearby town of Berat. An engineering squad had previously failed to blow up the huge 140-meter long and 65-meter high stones, which were erected 24 years ago. -- Fabian Schmidt

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
    For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz


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