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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 89, 96-05-07

Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest Directory

From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>

Vol. 2, No. 89, 7 May 1996


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] MOSCOW UNWILLING TO HAND OVER MUTALIBOV.
  • [02] URANIUM SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN KAZAKHSTAN.
  • [03] KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA BANNED IN KAZAKHSTAN?
  • [04] MORE TERROR IN TAJIKISTAN.
  • [05] RAKHMONOV IN TURKEY.

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [06] FIRST BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES TRIAL BEGINS.
  • [07] BOSNIAN SERB SOCIALIST LEADER SAYS KARADZIC IS BEHIND BOMBINGS.
  • [08] CROATIA CHARGES BOSNIANS WITH TERRORISM.
  • [09] BELGRADE-ZAGREB HIGHWAY RE-OPENS.
  • [10] BELGRADE PROPOSES ELECTORAL REFORM.
  • [11] KOSOVAR LEADER ADVOCATES CONFEDERATION WITH RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
  • [12] CROATIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ACCUSED OF WORKING FOR COMMUNIST SECRET POLICE.
  • [13] ROMANIAN LOCAL ELECTION UPDATE.
  • [14] MOLDOVA, RUSSIA RESUME TALKS ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL.
  • [15] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT APPEALS FOR UNITY ON NATO MEMBERSHIP.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] MOSCOW UNWILLING TO HAND OVER MUTALIBOV.

    Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General Eldar Hasanov arrived in Moscow on 6 May in the hope of expediting the extradition to Baku of former president Ayaz Mutalibov, accused of masterminding two alleged unsuccessful coup attempts, Russian media reported. Russian Procurator-General Yurii Skuratov told ITAR-TASS that Baku has not yet provided the necessary evidence against Mutalibov, whose fate must be decided by 12 May--one month after his detention in Moscow. -- Liz Fuller

    [02] URANIUM SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN KAZAKHSTAN.

    Authorities in Kazakhstan have detained two men from Ust-Kamenogorsk, who were in possession of more than 100 kg of low-enriched uranium-235, according to the 5-11 May edition of Obshchaya gazeta. The two men were connected to the Ulba holding company, which has previously sold uranium to the U.S. The authorities recently found 4 kg of uranium, one kilogram of thorium, which can be converted into uranium-233, and 10 kg of indium, an extremely rare element, in a car attempting to leave the Ust-Kamenogorsk area. -- Bruce Pannier

    [03] KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA BANNED IN KAZAKHSTAN?

    The Procurator-General has asked the Supreme Court to ban the Russian weekly Komsomolskaya pravda from Kazakhstan, ITAR-TASS reported on 7 May. The justification for the move, according to Kazakhstani officials, is that an 23 April article entitled "Conversations with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" was a "rude interference in the internal affairs of an independent government." The government said that the move was prompted by a group of Kazakhstani writers. - - Roger Kangas

    [04] MORE TERROR IN TAJIKISTAN.

    The 65-year-old rector of the Dushanbe Medical School, Yusuf Iskhaki, was gunned down on 6 May near the capital, according to RFE/RL and AFP. Another six people were killed in a separate attack on a road some 50 km outside Dushanbe. There has been an increase in the number of violent attacks in Tajikistan as the 26 May deadline for the ceasefire agreement to expire approaches. -- Bruce Pannier

    [05] RAKHMONOV IN TURKEY.

    Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov arrived in Turkey on 5 May to sign nine bilateral agreements, such as accords on mutual investment protection and judicial, sports, tourism, and transport cooperation, Western and Turkish media reported the same day. Rakhmonov's first visit to Turkey follows Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's first trip to Tajikistan last September. To date, Turkey has invested an estimated $150 million in Tajikistan according to AFP. Turkey's belated expressions of interest in Tajikistan are part of its efforts to gain credibility in Central Asia and compensate for its earlier stress on supporting Turkish ethnicity in the region. Rakhmonov also told Demirel that Dushanbe has definitively identified the exact location of the remains of General Enver Pasha, the leading member of the triumvirate that effectively ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1908 until its collapse in World War I. The remains will be returned to Turkey. -- Lowell Bezanis

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [06] FIRST BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES TRIAL BEGINS.

    The trial of the Bosnian Serb prison worker Dusan Tadic began at the Hague- based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on 7 May, international and local media reported. This is the first war crimes trial since the ones at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and Tadic was the first indicted war criminal to be arrested and sent to The Hague. The International Herald Tribune the previous day quoted a senior Western diplomat as saying that "Tadic is nothing.... It is doubtful that this trial will make much of an impact." The man in the dock is accused of killing, raping, and torturing, but he held no major position in either the army, the civilian apparatus, or the concentration camp system. Many observers doubt that any major war criminals will ever be brought to justice. -- Patrick Moore

    [07] BOSNIAN SERB SOCIALIST LEADER SAYS KARADZIC IS BEHIND BOMBINGS.

    The political rifts among the Bosnian Serbs continue to deepen. Dragutin Ilic, leader of the Socialist Party, which is an ally of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, accused Bosnian Serb civilian leader Radovan Karadzic of being responsible for a campaign of violence against the opposition. Karadzic allegedly is to blame for intimidation, bomb attacks, and sabotage in the run- up to the September elections, Reuters quoted Tanjug as saying on 6 May. Meanwhile, the power struggle between Karadzic and his loyalists in Pale, on the one hand, and the Banja Luka leadership, on the other, has intensified, AFP reported on 7 May. Banja Luka was known to the UN as "the heart of darkness" during the war because of the Serbs' ruthlessness in conducting "ethnic cleansing" and in destroying historical mosques. But the leadership there has since tried to portray itself as a moderate alternative to the men in Pale. Karadzic controls the police in Banja Luka and has used death threats and intimidation against local leaders. Finally, the Sarajevo bi-weekly magazine Slobodna Bosna reported that Karadzic held a secret meeting with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in Herzegovina last week. -- Patrick Moore

    [08] CROATIA CHARGES BOSNIANS WITH TERRORISM.

    Croatian Public Prosecutor Drago Marcinel has formally charged five Bosnians with planning to kill former Bihac pocket kingpin Fikret Abdic, who now lives in Rijeka, Novi list reported on 6 May. A sixth man, a Croat, is accused of aiding "international terrorism." The prosecutor said that they were acting on orders from Bihac state security chief Ejub Ikic and were promised DM 100,000 for the murder. The Bosnian authorities have repeatedly denied the accusations and suggested that the Croats and Abdic manufactured the incident as a publicity stunt to promote Abdic's political comeback. -- Patrick Moore

    [09] BELGRADE-ZAGREB HIGHWAY RE-OPENS.

    Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic has announced that the main highway between Belgrade and Zagreb will be re-opened for civilian traffic on 7 May, Nasa Borba reported. The highway was closed to private vehicles in 1991 when the war broke out. The re-opening marks the beginning of concrete efforts aimed at the peaceful reintegration of the Serb-held areas of eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and western Srijem into Croatia. The Adriatic pipeline is also expected to be re-opened soon. Meanwhile, the Croatian government on 6 May adopted a program of peaceful reintegration, Hina reported. It also approved a law granting an amnesty to rebel Serbs in Eastern Slavonia who committed criminal offenses other than war crimes. The law is scheduled to take effect by 15 July. U.S. Gen. Jacques Klein, the UN transitional administrator for eastern Slavonia, also attended the session and said later that the reintegration of occupied areas could be expected to be completed by mid-1997. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [10] BELGRADE PROPOSES ELECTORAL REFORM.

    The ruling Socialist Party of Serbia has proposed legislative amendments increasing the number of federal electoral districts to 27 in Serbia and 12 in Montenegro and stipulating that each party gain a minimum of 25% of the vote in a district to qualify for parliamentary representation, Tanjug reported. Under existing legislation, a party needs to win only 5% of the vote to hold a seat. Opposition parties allege that the amendments are designed to keep them out of office and will benefit the SPS and its allies. -- Stan Markotich

    [11] KOSOVAR LEADER ADVOCATES CONFEDERATION WITH RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.

    Adem Demaci, head of the Kosovo Human Rights Council, has said that it is "imperative" for the Kosovar leadership to open talks with Serbia and Montenegro on forming a "confederal Balkan community" in the event that Kosovo gains independence. He pointed out that the recent outbreak of violence in the region shows the need for urgent talks, adding that "We have to do all we can to prevent an escalation [of the conflict]." Demaci also called on the international community to force Belgrade to the negotiating table. He rejected the idea of autonomy for Kosovo, AFP reported on 6 May. -- Fabian Schmidt

    [12] CROATIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ACCUSED OF WORKING FOR COMMUNIST SECRET POLICE.

    Vjesnik, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Croatian Democratic Community, has accused human rights activist Ivan Zvonimir Cicak of working for the former Yugoslav secret police after 1966. The Croatian Journalists Association, the Croatian PEN Center, and all non-government organizations and media have protested the accusation. Cicak was imprisoned by the former Yugoslav regime for alleged Croatian nationalist activities. The Vjesnik article is seen as part of an ongoing campaign against opposition figures in Croatia. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [13] ROMANIAN LOCAL ELECTION UPDATE.

    Opposition leaders have accused the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania of setting up bureaucratic hurdles to prevent opposition candidates from registering for the 2 June local elections, Romanian media reported. Ziua quoted a representative of the Liberal Party '93 as saying that some election officials have illegally demanded police clearance from candidates to discourage them from taking part in the elections. Harassment and intimidation of candidates have also been reported. In a separate development, the BBC rejected accusations by Chamber of Deputies Chairman Adrian Nastase that it is meddling in the Romanian election campaign by openly favoring the opposition. Nastase has asked the National Audio-Visual Council, the country's media watchdog, to investigate BBC reporting practices. -- Dan Ionescu

    [14] MOLDOVA, RUSSIA RESUME TALKS ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL.

    Talks between Moldova and Russia on the withdrawal of Russian troops in Moldova's breakaway Dniester region resumed in Chisinau on 6 May, Moldovan and international agencies reported. Defense and Foreign Ministry officials took part in the negotiations, which have been deadlocked since February 1995. Meanwhile, Yurii Karlov, the Russian presidential special envoy to the Chisinau-Tiraspol talks, told Moldovan President Mircea Snegur that Boris Yeltsin firmly intends to abide by the 1992 Moldovan-Russian agreement ending the military conflict in the region. He added that Yeltsin will consider signing an interim document stipulating the basic principles of a conflict settlement that provides for Moldova's territorial integrity. -- Matyas Szabo

    [15] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT APPEALS FOR UNITY ON NATO MEMBERSHIP.

    Zhelyu Zhelev--speaking at a military parade on 6 May, which is St. George's Day in Bulgaria--appealed to the public to support the idea of Bulgaria's joining NATO, Bulgarian media reported. He noted that NATO membership is "one issue that should not prove divisive" but, on the contrary, should "unite us." Zhelev also said that NATO membership "would increase our chances of solving national security problems." The government, led by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), seems to be in favor of closer ties to Moscow, which is against NATO expansion. -- Stan Markotich

    Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave
    News and information as of 1200 CET


    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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