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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 8, 11 January 1996

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

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] MILOSEVIC TO HELP PREVENT FURTHER ATTACKS?

  • [2] BILDT BRINGS SERBS, GOVERNMENT TOGETHER.

  • [3] SHELLS FLY IN MOSTAR.

  • [4] POLITICAL STANDOFF INTENSIFIES IN ZAGREB.

  • [5] ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS MEET.

  • [6] MOLDOVA, UKRAINE STRENGTHEN COOPERATION.

  • [7] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTE.

  • [8] BULGARIA WILLING TO TAKE PART IN IFOR.

  • [9] ALBANIA LIFTS VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREEKS.

  • [10] FORMER TIRANA PROSECUTOR "FLEES" TO U.S.

  • [11] GREEK PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO CONFIDENCE MOTION.

  • [12] GREEK PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE FOR BOSNIA.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 8, Part II, 11 January 1996

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] MILOSEVIC TO HELP PREVENT FURTHER ATTACKS?

    NATO commander AdmiralLeighton Smith on 10 January said Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has promised to help prevent future incidents like the bazooka attack in Sarajevo that killed one and injured many more (see OMRI Daily Digest, 10 January 1996). Both men agreed that the shelling was an isolated terrorist incident and not part of some Bosnian Serb project to torpedo the Dayton agreement, the International Herald Tribune reported on 11 January. Nasa Borba added that Milosevic pledged the attack will not go unpunished. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said diplomats and military experts in the Bosnian capital fear that the Serbs intend to torch their suburbs rather than hand them over to government authority. The Serbs there made up only about half of the prewar population, and thousands of expelled Muslims and Croats now want to go home. Meanwhile, the VOA's Croatian Service reported that President Bill Clinton will visit Tuzla in the near future but will not go to Sarajevo because of security concerns. Hina noted that he will also go to Zagreb. -- Patrick Moore

    [2] BILDT BRINGS SERBS, GOVERNMENT TOGETHER.

    The international community's Carl Bildt on 10 January chaired the first publicized meeting in four years in Sarajevo between representatives of the Bosnian Serb civilian leadership and their government counterparts. Nasa Borba said on 11 January that Bildt's spokesman called the session "the beginning of a process of resolving urgent problems relating to the Sarajevo area," but Reuters noted that any solution is a long way off and that the government representatives have no intention of visiting Serb-held territory. Meanwhile, Muslim and Croat leaders have apparently agreed on Izudin Kapetanovic as the Federation's new prime minister. He comes from Tuzla and belongs to the mainly Muslim Party of Democratic Action. -- Patrick Moore

    [3] SHELLS FLY IN MOSTAR.

    The EU on 10 January blamed primarily the Croats for continued shelling in the divided Herzegovinian city, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service said. The EU administrator, Hans Koschnick, again threatened to resign unless the Croats and Muslims get to work on breathing life into their federation, AFP reported. President Clinton's trouble-shooter is making the rounds in the region to try to bring an end to Croatian-Muslim tensions. Hina noted on 8 January that German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said that he and U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher would both become more involved in settling the Mostar issue. Slobodna Dalmacija reported on 9 January that the town of Citluk, located between Mostar and the pilgrimage site of Medjugorje, has offered to provide a home for Mostar's new airport. -- Patrick Moore

    [4] POLITICAL STANDOFF INTENSIFIES IN ZAGREB.

    Novi list reported on 11 January that President Franjo Tudjman still will not confirm Goran Granic of the opposition coalition as mayor of Zagreb. It was made clear to Granic that he would not receive presidential approval, and on 10 January he offered his resignation to the opposition-dominated city council that elected him. That body rejected the offer. Zagreb county council chairman Zdravko Tomac said the standoff is likely to continue "until somebody drops dead." -- Patrick Moore

    [5] ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS MEET.

    Ion Iliescu on 10 January met with his Moldovan counterpart, Mircea Snegur, who is currently vacationing in Romania, Radio Bucharest reported. The two presidents focused on the main political, economic, and social problems posed by the reform process in their countries. They expressed their desire to expand bilateral relations, regardless of political development in 1996, which is election year in both Romania and Moldova. Snegur also met with Metropolitan Daniel of Moldova, with whom he discussed a possible reunification of the countries' Christian Orthodox Churches. During the Soviet era, the Moldovan church was subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate. -- Dan Ionescu

    [6] MOLDOVA, UKRAINE STRENGTHEN COOPERATION.

    Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Valentin Cunev and his Ukrainian counterpart, Anatolii Kinakh, have signed a protocol on trade cooperation and setting up a customs union, BASA-press reported on 10 January. The protocol outlines the main areas of cooperation, including the establishment of a free exchange regime. It was signed at the end of a two-day visit to Moldova by a Ukrainian government delegation. Interior Ministers Constantin Antoci and Yurii Kravchenko signed the same day an agreement on cooperating to combat weapons and drug trafficking as well as car theft. -- Matyas Szabo

    [7] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTE.

    A no confidence vote against the cabinet of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov on 10 January was rejected by 130 to 105 votes with five absentees, Bulgarian and international media reported. The opposition had demanded the resignation of the Socialist cabinet because of the ongoing grain crisis. After the vote, Videnov said the government will use the state reserves but not the military reserves to regulate supplies. Union of Democratic Forces leader Ivan Kostov argued that those reserves should be used only in case of war or natural disasters. "The sole cause of this crisis is the government's incompetence," he said. RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service reported that at least five Socialist deputies voted against the government. Since the Socialists hold 125 seats, this suggests that 10 deputies from other parties supported the government. -- Stefan Krause

    [8] BULGARIA WILLING TO TAKE PART IN IFOR.

    Duma on 11 January, citing information from the presidential Consultative Council on National Security, reported that the Bulgarian government is holding talks with the IFOR command about the possible participation of Bulgarian troops. Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski and Defense Minister Dimitar Pavlov have reportedly suggested to the cabinet that Bulgaria contribute a pioneer unit, a field hospital, and civil staff as well as hospital beds and rehabilitation centers in Bulgaria. -- Stefan Krause

    [9] ALBANIA LIFTS VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREEKS.

    Albanian President Sali Berisha has decreed the lifting of visa requirements for Greek citizens, Reuters reported on 10 January. The decision was made in an attempt to further improve bilateral relations. Visas for Greeks were introduced in September 1994 after Greece closed its border to Albania when six ethnic Greeks suspected of espionage and illegal arms possession were arrested in Albania. Relations improved after their release February 1995. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [10] FORMER TIRANA PROSECUTOR "FLEES" TO U.S.

    Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Tirana Genc Gjokutaj has fled the country on a U.S. tourist visa, Koha Jone and international agencies reported on 10 January. The 27- year-old Gjokutaj--who took part in the trials of imprisoned Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano, a number of bank directors charged with corruption, and communist dictator Enver Hoxha's son, Ilir--is suspected of having accepted large bribes. He was suspended from the bar, and investigations were launched by the Prosecutor-General's office. Koha Jone suggested that he received some $40,000 in one instance alone. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [11] GREEK PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO CONFIDENCE MOTION.

    The Greek parliament on 10 January voted against a no confidence motion in the government of ailing Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Greek and international media reported. Antonis Samaras, the leader of the opposition Political Spring (POLA) party, said POLA deputies will boycott parliament sessions until a new premier is elected. Meanwhile, Papandreou has asked to meet with President Kostis Stephanopoulos, AFP reported on 10 January. This has raised speculation about his political future, since the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement is divided over whether Papandreou should be replaced. His doctors over the past few days have repeatedly said his health is improving but have not said if he will be able to resume his duties. -- Stefan Krause

    [12] GREEK PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE FOR BOSNIA.

    A contingent of 180 Greek soldiers and 80 vehicles left for Bosnia on 10 January to join IFOR, AFP reported the same day. They will be stationed in Visoko, northwest of Sarajevo, as part of a Belgian-commanded transport unit. Seventy Greek soldiers and officers are already based there. -- Stefan Krause

    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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