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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 232, 30 November 1995

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] CHIRAC CALLS FOR CHANGES IN DAYTON AGREEMENT.

  • [2] FINAL DETAILS OF NATO DEPLOYMENT PLAN HAMMERED OUT.

  • [3] UPDATE ON PURGE OF SERBIAN SOCIALISTS.

  • [4] UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNED ABOUT KOSOVO.

  • [5] BIG SHAKEUP DUE IN CROATIAN MILITARY?

  • [6] CROATIA, IRAN DISCUSS COOPERATION.

  • [7] SLOVENIAN, CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.

  • [8] SLOVENIAN GOVERNMENT RESISTS CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS.

  • [9] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION ATTACKS CABINET OVER ECONOMIC POLICIES.

  • [10] ROMANIAN SECRET SERVICE WORRIED ABOUT COMPUTER USERS.

  • [11] HEALTH CARE WORKERS DEMONSTRATE IN BUCHAREST.

  • [12] BULGARIAN AIRLINES IN DIRE STRAITS.

  • [13] TWO BULGARIAN JOURNALISTS FIRED FOR SUPPORTING DISSENTING COLLEAGUES.

  • [14] AMERICAN MARINES START TRAINING IN ALBANIA.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 232, Part II, 30 November 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] CHIRAC CALLS FOR CHANGES IN DAYTON AGREEMENT.

    International media on 28 November reported that French President Jacques Chirac has called for greater security guarantees for Sarajevo's Serbs. The U.S., however, said that the agreement initialed in Dayton is the one that will be signed in Paris on 14 December. Washington fears that tampering with any one part of the patiently assembled package could cause the whole thing to come undone. It is unclear what prompted Chirac's statements. Elsewhere, Hina reported on 29 November that Franjo Komarica, the Croatian bishop of Banja Luka, has called on Croatian troops to respect Serbs and their property in the areas of western Bosnia to be returned to Serbian control. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 27 November reported that uniformed Croats were looting and burning Serbian property. -- Patrick Moore

    [2] FINAL DETAILS OF NATO DEPLOYMENT PLAN HAMMERED OUT.

    NATO defense ministers, meeting on 29 November in Brussels, resolved the remaining questions about the alliance's deployment plan for Bosnia, Western agencies reported. The "enabling" force, which will to clear airfields and set up headquarters, is expected to begin arriving in Bosnia on 1 December. Most of the 60,000 troops should be deployed within 30 days of the signing of the peace treaty, expected to take place in Paris on 14 December. However, questions remain about disarmament and reconstruction. U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said the U.S. will arm the Bosnian army within six months if talks prove unsuccessful on arms reduction. Austria on 28 November made a formal offer of 300 troops for Bosnia. The Czech government followed suit the next day by announcing it would send up to 1,000 men. -- Michael Mihalka

    [3] UPDATE ON PURGE OF SERBIAN SOCIALISTS.

    The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 30 November reports on the continuing purge of nationalist hardliners in Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia. In addition to prominent national figures such as Mihailo Markovic, chief party ideologist, several lesser-known personalities have also been removed, including Radovan Pankov, a party leader in Vojvodina, and Tanjug chief Slobodan Jovanovic. There is speculation among the Western media that Milosevic is trying to distance himself from the nationalists in the wake of the Dayton peace talks. Meanwhile, RFE/RL on 29 November reported that one of the ousted, Borisav Jovic, who is a long-time Milosevic ally and among the party founders, recently published a manuscript implicating Milosevic in instigating and waging war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. -- Stan Markotich

    [4] UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNED ABOUT KOSOVO.

    Elizabeth Rehn, following a two-day visit to Kosovo, has expressed concern about the effects of ethnic tensions in Kosovo, AFP reported on 28 November. She said that "quite obvious very serious...incidents have happened." She added that she was "very concerned about the terribly big difference in opinion and views between Serb authorities and Albanians, especially regarding the very important questions of education and health care." Shadow state President Ibrahim Rugova, meanwhile, repeated demands for an international conference on Kosovo and the southern Balkans. According to AFP, "tens of thousands of police are deployed in the region to cool interethnic tension." -- Fabian Schmidt

    [5] BIG SHAKEUP DUE IN CROATIAN MILITARY?

    Nedjeljna Dalmacija on 29 Novemberwrote that it has an unconfirmed scoop on an impending complete overhaul of the army, navy, and air force to bring them into line with NATO standards. Once the arms embargo is lifted, equipment will be modernized and improved, but there will be big problems in replacing large numbers of trucks and other Warsaw Pact materiel "of dubious quality." There will be a wholesale retirement of officers with a background in the former Yugoslav army, because their outlook is too rooted in its doctrine and thinking. Two generals who might succeed Zvonimir Cervenko as chief of staff are Ante Gotovina or Ante Roso, both of whom received their training in the French Foreign Legion. -- Patrick Moore

    [6] CROATIA, IRAN DISCUSS COOPERATION.

    Croatian President Franjo Tudjman met with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati in Zagreb on 29 November to discuss "trilateral cooperation between Bosnia, Croatia, and Iran," AFP reported. Valayati pledged Iran would help Bosnia and Croatia reconstruct their countries, while Croatian Defense Minister Gojko Susak said Croatia and Iran are expected to sign a military cooperation agreement before Christmas, HINA reported the same day. Valayati said that once the arms embargo against Croatia is lifted, Iran has no reservations about military cooperation. This view was also expressed by representatives at a two-day meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Tehran, which ended on 29 November. The delegates pledged "military, economic, humanitarian, and judicial aid" to Bosnia and stressed the need for a military balance between Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [7] SLOVENIAN, CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.

    Slovenian Foreign Minister Zoran Thaler met with his Croatian counterpart, Mate Granic, at Bezanec Castle, just north of Zagreb, on 29 November, Hina reported. Both ministers agreed the meeting was "successful and useful," noting they had discussed plans for talks between the Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers for January 1996. Thaler said Ljubljana supported Croatia's efforts to achieve EU membership. For his part, Granic reportedly briefed Thaler on developments at the recently concluded Dayton peace talks. Both ministers indicated that bilateral cooperation was a priority and raised the issue of Belgrade's attempts to seize control over overseas hard currency assets of the former Yugoslavia. -- Stan Markotich

    [8] SLOVENIAN GOVERNMENT RESISTS CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS.

    STA on 28 November reported that the cabinet of Janez Drnovsek will not agree to holding elections in the spring of 1996, some six months before they are slated. The announcement came in the wake of recent pressure by Christian Democratic Party (SKD) members who had proposed early polling as means of reactivating foreign policy and domestic economic reform. The governing coalition is made up of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDS), the United List of Social Democrats (ZLSD), and the SKD. -- Stan Markotich

    [9] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION ATTACKS CABINET OVER ECONOMIC POLICIES.

    Romania's main opposition bloc on 28 November threatened to initiate a vote of no confidence in the government over its economic and social policies, Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR) was quoted as saying the motion was necessary because of "the government's poor economic performance." The CDR blamed Nicolae Vacaroiu's left-wing cabinet for the depreciation of the national currency and for plunging living standards. It added that it would table a no-confidence motion if the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania supported the government's austerity draft budget for 1996. The CDR recently issued a political program pledging to radically improve the country's economic situation within 200 days if it won the 1996 elections. -- Dan Ionescu

    [10] ROMANIAN SECRET SERVICE WORRIED ABOUT COMPUTER USERS.

    A report on the Romanian Intelligence Service's activities from October 1994 to September 1995, published earlier this month, has provoked heated parliamentary debates, Radio Bucharest reported on 28 November. The report claims, among other things, that foreign secret services are increasingly using computer techniques to collect data on Romania's economic, social, and political situation. Niculae Ionescu-Galbeni, a deputy for the opposition National Peasant Party-Christian Democratic, warned against extending the concept of "threats to national security" to the economic and social sectors. -- Dan Ionescu

    [11] HEALTH CARE WORKERS DEMONSTRATE IN BUCHAREST.

    Trade unions from the Romanian health care sector on 29 November protested in downtown Bucharest over low pay and budget cuts in the sector, Romanian media reported. Union representatives from 40 regional branches took part in the meeting. The demonstrators were joined by other professional groups, including teachers and workers from the timber industry. Marius Petcu, leader of the health care workers' trade union, said if the government does not meet the protesters' demands, they will appeal to international organizations. -- Matyas Szabo

    [12] BULGARIAN AIRLINES IN DIRE STRAITS.

    State-owned Balkan Bulgarian Airlines on 29 November announced that it risks losing its three leased Airbus planes if the government does not offer financial assistance, Western agencies reported. Balkan owes $8.5 million in leasing fees to the Dublin-based Japanese company Orix. Two planes are impounded in Amsterdam and London, and the third is grounded in Sofia. Balkan is facing severe financial problems which forced it to suspend a number of international flights in October (see OMRI Daily Digest, 20 October 1995). So far, there has been a marked lack of interest in Balkan's privatization. -- Stefan Krause

    [13] TWO BULGARIAN JOURNALISTS FIRED FOR SUPPORTING DISSENTING COLLEAGUES. Bulgarian National Radio Director-General Vecheslav Tunev on 29 November dismissed two journalists working on BNR's "Hristo Botev" program, K

    ontinent reported the following day. Georgi Vasilksi and Petar Kolev on 28 November broadcast a statement supporting journalists from Radio Horizont (BNR's other channel) who had recently issued a declaration accusing BNR's management of censorship (see OMRI Daily Digest, 27 November 1995). According to other Bulgarian media, journalists from the private Radio Darik also came out in support of their colleagues at Radio Horizont. -- Stefan Krause

    [14] AMERICAN MARINES START TRAINING IN ALBANIA.

    Some 350 U.S. marines from the Sixth Fleet Expeditionary Force on 29 November began a six-day cold weather training in the northern Albanian Lure Mountain region, Koha Jone reported. Reuters the previous day quoted Albanian Defense Ministry sources as saying the training was likely to have been organized to accustom U.S. troops to Bosnia's climate and terrain for later deployment there. U.S. military attache Lt.-Col. Steven Bucci did not confirm future deployment in Bosnia but said the troops would "train to use equipment they do not usually use." Albanian President Sali Berisha has repeatedly offered air and port facilities to the United States and to NATO troops. -- 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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