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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 42, 28 February 1996

From: OMRI-L <omri-l@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>

Open Media Research Institute Directory

CONTENTS

  • [1] ...BUT U.S. WARNS THAT SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA MAY NOT BE LIFTED.

  • [2] MOST EE FOREIGN MINISTERS BACK EU ARMS EMBARGO.

  • [3] THREE BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET.

  • [4] WAR CRIMES UPDATE.

  • [5] SARAJEVO SERB EXODUS NEARLY OVER.

  • [6] INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE GRANTS $14 MILLION TO SARAJEVO.

  • [7] CROATIA SAYS COOPERATION WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL IS CONDITIONAL.

  • [8] CROATIAN LABOR UNREST ENTERS DRAMATIC PHASE.

  • [9] ROMANIA-EU ASSOCIATION COUNCIL CONVENES.

  • [10] U.S. DEFENSE OFFICIAL IN ROMANIA. U.S.

  • [11] RUSSIAN TANKS TO BULGARIA.

  • [12] ALBANIAN POLICE ARRESTS MEDIA EMPLOYEES IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB ATTACK.

  • [13] GREECE, MACEDONIA FAIL AGAIN TO REACH AGREEMENT ON NAME ISSUE.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 42, Part II, 28 February 1996

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [1] ...BUT U.S. WARNS THAT SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA MAY NOT BE LIFTED.

    The U.S. government has warned Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic that international sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia will stay in place if the Belgrade regime continues its crackdown on independent media and humanitarian organizations, international media reported on 27 February. U.S. government spokesman Glyn Davies said that "Milosevic has to understand that he's not operating in a vacuum.... The Dayton Accord calls for certain standards in human rights and we're going to hold [Belgrade] to it." -- Stan Markotich

    [2] MOST EE FOREIGN MINISTERS BACK EU ARMS EMBARGO.

    East European foreign ministers, meeting with their EU counterparts in Brussels on 27 February, discussed the EU arms embargo on Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia, international media reported. Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia immediately endorsed the embargo. Poland, the Czech Republic, Albania, and Bulgaria weclomed the idea but said they needed to consult with their governments before adopting the measure. They cited a "lack of precision" in the requirement that countries "show restraint" in selling arms to Slovenia and Macedonia, Rzeczpospolita reported. -- Michael Mihalka

    [3] THREE BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET.

    Republican Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic, his federal counterpart Izudin Kapetanovic, and the Republika Srpska's Rajko Kasagic met with the international com-munity's Carl Bildt in Banja Luka on 27 February. Their agenda centered on restoring infrastructure across the boundaries between the Serbian and Muslim- Croat entities. International and regional media said that water will be piped to Gorazde and power lines rebuilt from Visegrad and Sarajevo via Gorazde to Foca. Rail transport will be resumed from Serb-held Zvornik to Banja Luka via federal Tuzla. Kasagic told reporters that there will be a common customs policy based on the German mark as a reference currency. -- Patrick Moore

    [4] WAR CRIMES UPDATE.

    The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia based in The Hague on 27 February concluded its hearings against Krajina Serb leader Milan Martic in just one day. Martic is in Banja Luka, and the VOA on 28 February quoted him as saying that any attempt to arrest and extradite him would be "a terrorist act." He is wanted for an indiscriminate rocket attack on civilians in Zagreb in 1995. The hearings were wound up because of the need to address a request by the lawyer of Bosnian Serb General Djordje Djukic that his client be freed immediately, Nasa Borba noted. Oslobodjenje reported that the Bosnian Serb authorities have drawn up a list of 2,388 people suspected of committing attrocities against Serbs, including 11 Serbs "who betrayed their own people." * Patrick Moore

    [5] SARAJEVO SERB EXODUS NEARLY OVER.

    The evacuation of the Serb-held suburb of Ilijas is almost complete on the eve of the arrival of government police. Bosnian Serb refugees blamed their leaders for ordering them out on short notice and withdrawing essential services at the same time. AFP on 28 February quoted one man as saying that the Serbian "leaders could have let us known of their intentions earlier, instead of shunting us out like cattle at the last minute." The Guardian reported the previous day that the Serb-held suburbs are in the hands of drunken armed bands that terrorize the remaining inhabitants, most of whom are sick and old, and loot what property is left. -- Patrick Moore

    [6] INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE GRANTS $14 MILLION TO SARAJEVO.

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will allocate $14 million for the reconstruction of the destroyed Olympic arenas in Sarajevo, Nasa Borba reported on 28 February, citing Deutsche Welle. Meanwhile, AFP on 27 February reported that international aid agencies are shunning the Bosnian Serbs and concentrating their efforts on the Muslim-Croat Federation. Aid workers said donor governments are reluctant to support the Serbian side because they see no guarantee of long-term stability. An unidentified source told AFP that development aid would target exclusively government-controlled territory, while humanitarian aid projects would remain universal. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [7] CROATIA SAYS COOPERATION WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL IS CONDITIONAL.

    The Croatian parliamentary legislative committee has supported in principle the proposal on Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. But it said Croatia's support is conditional on changes being made to the tribunal statutes in accordance with the legislative systems of Croatia and other successor states of the former Yugoslavia, Novi List reported on 28 February. Croatian law prohibits the extradition of a citizen who has already been tried in Croatia. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [8] CROATIAN LABOR UNREST ENTERS DRAMATIC PHASE.

    The railroad strike that began on 22 February has succeeded in shutting down 90% of the trains, AFP reported on 28 February. The main union grouping, the SSSH, planned to launch a general strike last week but postponed it without giving a reason. President Franjo Tudjman has said that the labor unrest is "not democratic," but the unions have asked to negotiate with him personally over pay and the high cost of living. -- Patrick Moore

    [9] ROMANIA-EU ASSOCIATION COUNCIL CONVENES.

    Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, presiding over a meeting of the Romanian-EU Association Council in Brussels on 27 February, presented his country's strategy for joining the EU, which includes bringing its legislation in line with EU standards and speeding up economic reforms. Radio Bucharest reported that he also renewed Romania's request that EU member states abolish visa requirements for Romanian citizens. The meeting was attended by EU Council President Susanna Agnelli and by Hans van den Broek, EU commissioner for relations with Eastern Europe and the CIS. Van den Broek said he was satisfied with Romania's "considerable efforts to pave the way for full EU membership." -- Dan Ionescu

    [10] U.S. DEFENSE OFFICIAL IN ROMANIA. U.S.

    Undersecretary of Defense Paul Kaminski paid a four-day visit to Romania to discuss bilateral military cooperation, Romanian and international media reported on 26-28 February. Kaminski and his Romanian counterpart, Gen. Florentin Popa, signed an agreement on the exchange of information in military research and development. Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu told Kaminski that Romania continues to aim for NATO integration. The two sides discussed the possibility of U.S. support in modernizing the Romanian army and defense industry. Kaminski also met with President Ion Iliescu, Defense Minister Gheorghe Tinca, and other senior officials. -- Matyas Szabo

    [11] RUSSIAN TANKS TO BULGARIA.

    Russia is to provide Bulgaria with 100 T-72 tanks and other armored "fighting vehicles," Kontinent reported on 27 February. The daily noted that relations between Russia and Bulgaria have always been close, observing "Bulgaria is one of those few countries in Eastern Europe that is not pressing for NATO membership." Meanwhile, Demo-kratsiya reported that Gen. Mikho Mikhov last week refused Moscow's "gift" of 12 Mi-24 helicopters because of their low technical grade and the high cost need to repair and maintain them. The arms transfer was agreed to in 1995. -- Stan Markotich

    [12] ALBANIAN POLICE ARRESTS MEDIA EMPLOYEES IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB ATTACK.

    Albanian police on 27 February arrested the two bodyguards of Koha Jone editor in chief Nikolla Lesi in connection with the bomb explosion in Tirana the previous day, Albanian media reported. This move came after police had interrogated 33 Koha Jone staff members on the day of the blast. State radio said the bodyguards resembled police sketches of the alleged perpetrators. Police also raided Lesi's apartment and confiscated a hunting rifle and a safe box containing tapes of a 1994 trial in which two journalists were convicted of slander and revealing state secrets. Meanwhile, the Association of Professional Journalists has protested the police raid on Koha Jone. President Sali Berisha said "the government is com-mitted...to iden-tifing the perpetrators, and I believe Albanian justice will give them the punishment they deserve -- capital punishment." The Socialist Party has rejected claims it was involved in the attack and has called on all political parties to "unite in the fight against terrorism." -- Fabian Schmidt

    [13] GREECE, MACEDONIA FAIL AGAIN TO REACH AGREEMENT ON NAME ISSUE.

    Greece and Macedonia, meeting at UN headquarters in New York on 27 February, failed again to reach agreement on the issue of a permanent official name for Macedonia. Both parties agreed, however, to continue the dialogue in April. Macedonia was admitted to the UN in April 1993 under the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Greece continues to object to the use of "Macedonia" in its name, arguing it implies territorial claims against the northern Greek province bearing the same name. -- Lowell Bezanis and Stan Markotich

    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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