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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 105, 96-05-30
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 105, 30 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] RELEASE OF TAJIK SOLDIERS MAY BE DELAYED.
[02] FATE OF KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA IN KAZAKHSTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] FINAL RESULTS IN FIRST ROUND OF ALBANIAN ELECTIONS PUBLISHED . . .
[04] . . . OPPOSITION CONTINUES WITH PROTEST RALLIES.
[05] BRIDGE EXPLODES IN NORTHEASTERN BOSNIA.
[06] DID THE FRENCH PRESIDENT PLAY THE KEY ROLE IN SREBRENICA'S FALL?
[07] BOSNIAN WRAPUP.
[08] BOSNIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT POLICY RESETTLES MUSLIM REFUGEES IN SARAJEVO.
[09] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BELGRADE.
[10] RUMP YUGOSLAV PREMIER SLAMS IMF.
[11] ROMANIA DEMANDS EXTRADITION OF TAIWANESE SAILORS.
[12] MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS DNIESTER LEADER.
[13] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER ANNOUNCES AUSTERITY MEASURES.
[14] BREAD SHORTAGE IN BULGARIA.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] RELEASE OF TAJIK SOLDIERS MAY BE DELAYED.
The scheduled transfer of 26 government soldiers held prisoner by the Tajik
opposition did not take place on 29-30 May, ITAR-TASS reported. The 26 men are
among 300-400 men captured during the fighting in the Tavil-Dara region over
the last eight months. The International Red Cross had arranged the deal and
offered to be present at the transfer, but heavy rain is holding up the
arrival of the Red Cross personnel in the Tavil-Dara region. The Tajik
opposition had agreed to release the men, claiming that they were in poor
health and that government blockades of the area had prevented the opposition
forces from offering the prisoners basic medical care. -- Bruce Pannier
[02] FATE OF KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA IN KAZAKHSTAN.
The People's Court in the Medeu region of Almaty is holding talks with the
Kazakhstani Procurator-General's Office to urge it to withdraw the proposed
ban on Komsomolskaya pravda , ITAR-TASS reported on 30 May. Supported by
a group of Kazakh writers and political leaders, the Procurator-General's
Office alleged that the newspaper had fomented ethnic discord and attacked
the territorial integrity of Kazakhstan by publishing an interview with
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in its 23 April issue. Solzhenitsyn's earlier
statements endorsing a recreation of "Greater Russia" by incorporating Russian-
inhabited border regions have made him persona non grata in Kazakhstan.
However, a large number of Kazakhstani journalists claim that the proposed ban
is an attempt to undermine the freedom of the press. Komsomolskaya pravda is
the most popular Russian newspaper in Kazakhstan. -- Bhavna Dave
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] FINAL RESULTS IN FIRST ROUND OF ALBANIAN ELECTIONS PUBLISHED . . .
According to the Central Electoral Commission, the Democratic Party won 95 out
of 115 direct seats in parliament, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 30 May. The
Socialist Party received 5 seats, and the ethnic Greek Party for the Defense
of Human Rights (PBDNJ) two in Gjirokastra and Saranda. The elections will be
repeated in two districts in Fier and one in Puke due to irregularities. The
second round of the elections on 2 June will determine 10 more seats. The
Socialist Party, the Social Democrats, the Democratic Alliance, the Party of
National Unity, and the Party of the Democratic Right have announced their
boycott of the elections and demand new elections. Meanwhile, the two PBDNJ
deputies opposed their party leadership's decision and said they would not
boycott parliament. -- Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
[04] . . . OPPOSITION CONTINUES WITH PROTEST RALLIES.
After police violently broke up an opposition rally the previous day in Tirana,
the Socialist Party continued to hold demonstrations on 29 May in Tepelena,
Vlora, Fier, Kucova, and Korca. In Fier, the police surrounded the Socialist
Party headquarters in an attempt to arrest local party leader Petro Koci but
failed when a large number of his supporters blocked the building's entrance.
Gazeta Shqiptare said many people "among whom a majority [were] women and
elderly," were injured during the clashes there. No incidents were reported
elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party blamed the secret police for the
mysterious 28 May killing of a Eurosocialist (member of the Socialist's youth
organization) in Tirana. The Interior Ministry, however, announced that they
arrested a suspect, who is a known criminal. -- Fabian Schmidt in
Tirana
[05] BRIDGE EXPLODES IN NORTHEASTERN BOSNIA.
Unknown persons blew up a bridge connecting the Republika Srpska with federal
territory in an area where Russian IFOR troops are located. The bridge links
the settlement of Teocak with the Bijeljina-Tuzla road and was the site of
numerous prisoner exchanges during the war. IFOR and the international police
are investigating, Nasa Borba reported on 30 May. Meanwhile, hard-line Serbs
have expelled at least 100 Muslims from Teslic in central Bosnia in what UNHCR
spokesman Kris Janowski called "the worst wave of attacks on Muslims since the
Dayton agreement was signed." Bombings, other acts of violence, and threats
have been used to drive Muslims out of an area where they made up 21% of the
prewar population, Reuters said on 29 May. -- Patrick Moore
[06] DID THE FRENCH PRESIDENT PLAY THE KEY ROLE IN SREBRENICA'S FALL?
A British TV documentary has produced new evidence suggesting that Jacques
Chirac held up air strikes against Bosnian Serbs who were attacking Srebrenica
last July. British commander Gen. Rupert Smith requested the raids that were
to protect the "safe area" and had the backing of UN officials in New York.
Chirac reportedly told French Gen. Bernard Janvier to hold off on the raids.
The documentary indicated that the French made a deal with Bosnian Serb Gen.
Ratko Mladic to end air strikes in return for freeing UN hostages held by the
Serbs. The UN's chief official for Bosnia, Yasushi Akashi, supported Janvier
against Smith, AFP reported on 29 May. The fall of Srebrenica led to the worst
atrocity in Europe since World War II, in which up to 7,000 mainly Muslim
males are presumed to have been murdered. Until now the blame has been laid
chiefly on the Dutch UNPROFOR troops stationed in Srebrenica or on British
elite SAS units operating nearby. -- Patrick Moore
[07] BOSNIAN WRAPUP.
The UN has resumed efforts at exploring sites of possible mass graves in
eastern Bosnia, where many of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre are
believed to be buried. In The Hague, the war crimes tribunal said it will hear
testimony from Drazen Erdemovic--a Croatian veteran of the Bosnian Serb forces-
-who has admitted to complicity in the killings, AFP reported on 29 May. In
Sarajevo, federal President Kresimir Zubak announced that the U.S. firm
Military Professional Resources will train and help equip federal troops. The
organization is based near Washington D.C. and is staffed by retired U.S.
military personnel. The program outlined in the Dayton agreement is estimated
to cost $800 million, but only the U.S. and Turkey have made any firm pledges
of money so far. -- Patrick Moore
[08] BOSNIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT POLICY RESETTLES MUSLIM REFUGEES IN SARAJEVO.
While Bosnian Serbs who fled the Sarajevo suburb of Vogosca before it reverted
to the Bosnian Federation are applying to return to their homes, the Bosnian
government has decided to resettle about 8,000 Muslims displaced from the Serb-
held town of Doboj in northern Bosnia in abandoned Serbian houses in Sarajevo,
Oslobodjenje reported on 29-30 May. The decision was made at a secret
meeting of the Ministry for Refugees in the first half of May. The refugees
from Doboj have been contacted and invited to come and live in Sarajevo,
Oslobodjenje quoted Doboj's former municipal authorities as saying. Ekrem
Ajanovic, an MP from the town of Tesanj, south of Doboj, at the parliamentary
meeting on 28 May criticized the government decision, which he said runs
counter to official policy and the right of refugees to return to their homes.
-- Daria Sito Sucic
[09] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BELGRADE.
Yevgenii Primakov met on 29 May with his rump Yugoslav counterpart, Milan
Milutinovic, for talks on the status of the Dayton peace process. Primakov did
not confirm that the fates of Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Gen.
Ratko Mladic were discussed, but both ministers agreed rump Yugoslavia "fully
respected and fulfilled all its duties in accordance with the Dayton-Paris
agreement," Tanjug reported. Primakov's visit is roughly a week after
Washington officials said they would lobby for the re-imposition of sanctions
against rump Yugoslavia should Belgrade continue to fail to honor commitments
concerning the extradition of accused war criminals. Primakov was to conclude
his Belgrade visit after meetings with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic
and Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, Nasa Borba reported on 30 May. --
Stan Markotich
[10] RUMP YUGOSLAV PREMIER SLAMS IMF.
Radoje Kontic on 29 May dubbed as "black mail" the "political conditions" the
IMF has made contingent for the continuation of discussions with Belgrade.
Reuters quoted the premier as adding "[rump] Yugoslavia wants to see political
issues dealt with by competent international political bodies and not the IMF
and the World Bank." Talks between Belgrade and the financial institutions
broke down in 1996, owing to rump Yugoslavia's refusal to back away from its
demand to be recognized as the successor state to Tito's Yugoslavia as a
precondition for accepting membership in the IMF and World bank. Kontic's
latest set of remarks and Belgrade's continuing refusal to step away formally
from the demand suggest that relations with the international bodies are
likely to be strained through the foreseeable future. -- Stan Markotich
[11] ROMANIA DEMANDS EXTRADITION OF TAIWANESE SAILORS.
Romania's Prosecutor-General's Office and the Supreme Court demanded the
extradition from Canada of the captain and six officers of a Taiwanese ship,
Romanian and western media reported. The demand came in connection with the
case of three Romanian stowaways reportedly dumped overboard on the high seas
in what has been described as an "abominable crime." According to press
reports, the Taiwanese captain of the "Maersk Dubai" container ship ordered
his Filipino crew to force two of the Romanians into a makeshift raft on 12
March. A third Romanian stowaway disappeared six day later, while a fourth
eventually reached the Canadian port of Halifax after crew members hid him.
Romania announced it will dispatch two prosecutors and a police officer to
Canada to investigate the case. -- Dan Ionescu
[12] MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS DNIESTER LEADER.
Andrei Sangheli on 28 May met Igor Smirnov, president of the self-proclaimed
"Dniester republic," BASA-press reported the next day. As part of the
negotiations aimed to solve the Dniester conflict, the two sides discussed
financial and economic ties between Chisinau and Tiraspol, including the
possibility to increase electricity production at the Cuciurgan and Dubasari
power plants. Also on the agenda were the need to speed up the electrification
of some railway segments, relations between the Moldovan and Dniester Chambers
of Commerce and Industry, and the repayment of Russia's credit granted to the
breakaway Dniester region in 1993-94. -- Matyas Szabo
[13] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER ANNOUNCES AUSTERITY MEASURES.
Zhan Videnov on 29 May announced new austerity measures agreed on with the IMF,
Reuters reported. In an address to the parliament, he said the agreement gives
Bulgaria the chance "to weather successfully the hardest period in our
transition," adding that the alternative is "the collapse of the country." The
measures include closing down 64 unprofitable state enterprises, cutting off
credits to 70 more companies, and shutting down up to five insolvent banks.
The government will also raise the VAT in June, reportedly from 18% to 22%,
increase excise duties on alcohol, and introduce an import tax on all goods.
Videnov said the government hopes this way to collect 140 billion leva ($920
million) in 1996. He urged all political parties, the trade unions, and
citizens to back the measures. -- Stefan Krause
[14] BREAD SHORTAGE IN BULGARIA.
As the grain and bread shortage in Bulgaria continues, local authorities
started to introduce measures to secure a basic supply, Trud and
Demokratsiya reported on 30 May. The mayors of Asenovgrad and Chiprovtsi
introduced bread rationing in their towns. In other places, supplies are
expected to run out within days, and 13 villages in the Rhodope mountains
reportedly have not had bread for a week. In Plovdiv, Mayor Spas Garnevski
ordered that only two loaves of bread be sold per customer. The country's
biggest private mill in Mezdra stopped production a few days ago. Meanwhile,
Socialist deputies continue to demand the resignation of several ministers,
including Agriculture Minister Svetoslav Shivarov, Kontinent reported. But
Premier Videnov, during a Socialist parliamentary faction meeting on 28 May,
ruled out any personnel changes in the government. -- Stefan Krause
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Deborah Michaels
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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