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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 47, 6 March 1996

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

Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest Directory

CONTENTS

  • [01] BOSNIAN FEDERAL POLICE ENTER HADZICI.

  • [02] IFOR TO REDEFINE MANDATE?

  • [03] BOSNIAN FEDERAL PRESIDENT WARNS OF NEW CROAT-MUSLIM WAR.

  • [04] LEADER OF SERBIA'S NEW DEMOCRACY INTERVIEWED.

  • [05] UPDATE ON SERBIA'S STUDIO B.

  • [06] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN ROMANIA.

  • [07] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR COMBATING CORRUPTION.

  • [08] BULGARIAN CABINET RESHUFFLE AHEAD?

  • [09] U.S. HOUSE GRANTS BULGARIA MFN STATUS.

  • [10] KOSOVAR LEADER MEETS MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT.

  • [11] ITALIAN JOURNALIST CLAIMS HE GOT INFORMATION ON TIRANA BOMBING.


  • OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 47, Part II, 6 March 1996

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] BOSNIAN FEDERAL POLICE ENTER HADZICI.

    A 90-man contingent of government police took up duty on 6 March in the third formerly Serb-held Sarajevo suburb to pass to federal control under the Dayton agreement. The force consisted of 70 Muslims, 15 Serbs, and 5 Croats, which reflects the prewar ethnic composition of the area, AFP reported. CNN said that a group of Croat police had entered the area the previous night and occupied a building, but left peacefully after IFOR threatened to use force to oust them. The Croats felt that they were underrepresented in the federal contingent. The Serbian population had largely fled on Pale's orders, and torched and looted buildings in the process. The UNHCR will launch a $2.5 million project to repair the damage to homes the Serbs gutted, Onasa reported on 5 March. -- Patrick Moore

    [02] IFOR TO REDEFINE MANDATE?

    The NATO peacekeepers were ready to to takestiff measures against a group of Croatian policemen (see Top Story), and many think they should show the same resolution toward indicted war criminals and persons tampering with evidence of war crimes. To date, however, IFOR's commanders say that such activities are not in their mandate. Discussions are nonetheless underway in Brussels to broaden the interpretation of IFOR's mission to include dealing with war criminals and protecting evidence, as well as possibly helping with some civilian reconstruction projects. AFP reported on 6 March that moves in this direction are in progress and that diplomatic sources are confident of Washington's approval. U.S. Secretary of the Army Togo West said in Tuzla, however, that this is not the case and "we have a well-defined mission and we are sticking to it." -- Patrick Moore

    [03] BOSNIAN FEDERAL PRESIDENT WARNS OF NEW CROAT-MUSLIM WAR.

    Kresimir Zubak said that the federation could break down and a new conflict emerge if current differences are not resolved. Elsewhere, Onasa also reported on 5 March that the UNHCR has retracted a report that Serbs have launched a new wave of ethnic cleansing in the Banja Luka area, saying now that the evictions took place some time ago. Meanwhile in Tuzla, the Red Cross announced it is setting up a group to look into the fate of missing persons in Bosnia. And in Sarajevo, the Academy of Sciences expelled the prominent Bosnian Serb historian and professor Milorad Ekmecic for his role in developing Pale's nationalist ideology, "which has caused an unseen plight of even the Serbian people in Bosnia." Ekmecic's theories include the historically dubious idea that the area is "historic Serbian space," which provided the ideological underpinnings for the wholesale destruction of mosques and Ottoman-era buildings. The Bosnian government has said it wants Ekmecic indicted for war crimes for his role in promoting ethnic hatred. -- Patrick Moore

    [04] LEADER OF SERBIA'S NEW DEMOCRACY INTERVIEWED.

    Nasa Borbaon 6 March features an interview with Dusan Mihajlovic, leader of the small but important New Democracy (ND) party, which functions as a coalition partner and de facto member of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia in Serbia's legislature. Mihajlovic, signaling that relations between ND and the SPS are likely to remain good, said "we are not going to engage in putsches or conspiracies." He added, "I see no crisis in relations." He touched on the sensitive question of the status of Serbia's Kosovar Albanians, suggesting that he, and presumably his patron, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, continue to rule out genuine autonomy for Kosovo and international mediation on the status of the once-autonomous province. "The [Kosovo] question must be solved by Serbs and Albanians. That's much better than someone else solving it," he observed. -- Stan Markotich

    [05] UPDATE ON SERBIA'S STUDIO B.

    Nasa Borba on 4 March ran a piece, "A Fake Studio B," describing what has happened to the once-independent Studio B TV following the recent government take-over. During the past few weeks, the report suggests, the station has seemingly fallen completely into the regime's hands, and now practices distorting and misrepresenting opposition party platforms and public statements. Not surprisingly, the station also now endorses uncritically the policies of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and his Socialist Party of Serbia. "Studio B is now tripping over itself, fawning about its new masters...giving over some 50 minutes of coverage to the [SPS 2 March] party congress during yesterday's programming. This was more coverage than any other television station, except for [the state-run] Radio and Television Serbia," the report observed. -- Stan Markotich

    [06] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN ROMANIA.

    A parliamentary delegation of the rump Yugoslav Federation on 5 March ended an official visit to Romania, Radio Bucharest reported. The delegation, headed by National Assembly Speaker Radovan Bozovic, met with the chairman of Romania's Chamber of Deputies Adrian Nastase and the Senate's Deputy Chairman Ion Solcanu. Bozovic was also received by Romanian President Ion Iliescu and Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. The two sides discussed ways to boost bilateral relations under the new conditions created by the Dayton agreement. They described the signing in the near future of a basic treaty between the two countries as a top diplomatic priority for both Bucharest and Belgrade. The drafting of the document by teams of experts was completed last week in Belgrade. -- Dan Ionescu

    [07] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR COMBATING CORRUPTION.

    As a result of parliamentary debates on anti-corruption legislation, several top officials should have already resigned, Infotag quoted Mircea Snegur as saying on 5 March in the Moldovan parliament. According to Snegur, corruption is related primarily to the state apparatus. He accused the Foreign Economic Commission for violating its own ban on exports, as well as Defense Minister Pavel Creanga for "dubious transactions" in his ministry. Parliament Chairman Petru Lucinschi said one of the reasons for corruption in Moldova was the fact that criminal groups are better equipped and trained than law-enforcement bodies. -- Matyas Szabo

    [08] BULGARIAN CABINET RESHUFFLE AHEAD?

    Before a plenary meeting of theSupreme Council of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), representatives of its coalition partners, and the joint parliamentary faction scheduled for 10 March, Bulgarian newspapers on 6 March speculate about a likely government reshuffle. Kontinent reported that Minister of Economic Development Rumen Gechev, Agriculture Minister Svetoslav Shivarov (both also Deputy Prime Ministers), Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev, and Industry Minister Kliment Vuchev will be replaced for failing to cope with the problems in their respective fields of responsibility. Other papers also name Justice Minister Mladen Chervenyakov as likely to lose his post. Health Minister Mimi Vitkova has prepared her resignation but the BSP has decided that she will resign only if the recent AIDS scandal is brought up during the plenum. 24 chasa reported that the cabinet reshuffle will be completed by the end of May. -- Stefan Krause

    [09] U.S. HOUSE GRANTS BULGARIA MFN STATUS.

    The U.S. House of Representatives on 5 March granted Bulgaria permanent most-favored-nation status, Reuters reported. The U.S. had granted Bulgaria the status, which gives it the lowest U.S. tariffs on its export goods, on an annual basis since 1993. Supporters of the bill said Bulgaria has made good progress toward democracy and a free market economy since the fall of communism. The bill has to be approved by the U.S. Senate. -- Stefan Krause

    [10] KOSOVAR LEADER MEETS MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT.

    Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov met Kosovar shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova on 5 March in Skopje, Reuters reported. They reviewed the situation in Macedonia, Kosovo and the Balkan region and apparently discussed the new conditions set by the international community for the full diplomatic recognition of rump Yugoslavia. The European Parliament on 1 March had asked the EU Council of Ministers to grant full recognition only if Belgrade reaches a "total and satisfactory settlement" with the Kosovar leadership, Beta reported. The parliament further demanded negotiations without preconditions by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic "with [Kosovar shadow state leader Ibrahim] Rugova and other elected representatives of the people of Kosovo." The parliament also expressed willingness to open a Commission office in Kosovo, noting that the U.S. had similar plans. Rugova had earlier visited Tirana where he met Albanian President Sali Berisha. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [11] ITALIAN JOURNALIST CLAIMS HE GOT INFORMATION ON TIRANA BOMBING.

    An Italian journalist, Pietro Zannoni, said he had received information on the origin of the bomb that exploded in central Tirana on 26 February. Zannoni claims he talked to a former communist secret service [Sigurimi] agent who told him that the bomb was given by Serbian secret agents to former Sigurimi agents, who later prepared it in Fier. Zannoni also included internationally wanted Serbian war criminal Zeljko Raznjatovic "Arkan" in his theory. The Interior Ministry could not confirm the allegations, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 5 March. Zannoni had earlier claimed that he had received information proving that the dailies Koha Jone and Zeri I Popullit were being financed by the Serbian secret service. -- 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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