OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 169, 30 August 1995
From: "Steve Iatrou" <siatrou@cdsp.neu.edu>
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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