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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 133, 96-07-11
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 133, 11 July 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TURKMENISTAN, VATICAN ESTABLISH TIES.
[02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN KYRGYZSTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] WHAT IS IFOR PLANNING FOR KARADZIC?
[04] CONTROVERSY MOUNTING OVER BOSNIAN ELECTIONS.
[05] FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF SREBRENICA.
[06] MOSTAR COMMISSION'S CROATS THREATEN TO RESIGN.
[07] U.N. ENVOY FOR BOSNIA VISITS MOSTAR.
[08] BELGRADE, RED CROSS COOPERATE ON HUMANITARIAN LAW.
[09] BOSNIAN REFUGEES EVICTED IN SERBIA.
[10] ROMANIAN BANKING SCANDAL TURNS POLITICAL.
[11] SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA.
[12] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF INTERFERING IN MOLDOVA.
[13] THREE BULGARIAN DEPUTIES DIE IN CAR CRASH.
[14] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION NAMES CANDIDATE.
[15] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER PUTS NEW GOVERNMENT TOGETHER.
[16] ALBANIA STILL WRANGLING OVER COALITION.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TURKMENISTAN, VATICAN ESTABLISH TIES.
The Vatican and Turkmenistan will establish diplomatic ties at the level of
nuncio and ambassador, respectively, AFP reported on 10 July. Turkmenistan is
the last of the five Central Asian states to do so; Tajikistan established
diplomatic relations with the Vatican last month. -- Bhavna Dave
[02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN KYRGYZSTAN.
Yevgenii Primakov, on a tour of Central Asia, held talks with Kyrgyz President
Askar Akayev in Bishkek on 10 July, RFE/RL and ITAR-TASS reported. Akayev said
his country has already "felt the results" of economic integration among the
CIS states, and vowed to expand links with Russia. He also expressed
satisfaction at the reelection of President Yeltsin. Primakov, speaking at the
Slavic University in Bishkek, called for further integration among the CIS
states but centered his speech on the prospects for real peace in Tajikistan.
A Kyrgyz battalion is serving with the CIS border guards defending the Tajik-
Afghan border. -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] WHAT IS IFOR PLANNING FOR KARADZIC?
NATO peacekeepers are keeping a very close watch on Bosnian Serb leader and
indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, effectively confining him to his
headquarters in Pale, The Daily Telegraph reported on 10 July. IFOR is
still wary of attempting nab him outright because of the memory of the bloody
fiasco when U.S. troops tried to grab Somali warlord Gen. Mohamed Farah Aideed
in 1993. The well-armed NATO troops apparently fear Karadzic's body guards,
possible reprisal attacks elsewhere, and the loss of "a reasonable degree of
cooperation between the Bosnian Serbs and the peacekeepers," the paper
reported. -- Patrick Moore
[04] CONTROVERSY MOUNTING OVER BOSNIAN ELECTIONS.
"British sources" warned against attempts to ban Karadzic's Serbian Democratic
Party (SDS) from the 14 September elections, The Daily Telegraph reported on
10 July. OSCE election commissioner Robert Frowick said he would prohibit
participation of the SDS because parties run by war criminals must be
disqualified. The British sources said that move would turn elections into "a
farce" and "exceed the restrictions placed on Dr. Karadzic by the Dayton
accords." Russia also warns against such a move. Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic, however, said Muslims might boycott the vote if the SDS is
allowed to participate with Karadzic as its chairman, AFP reported. -- Patrick
Moore
[05] FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF SREBRENICA.
On 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the UN-declared "safe area" in
eastern Bosnia while Dutch UNPROFOR troops looked on, and NATO aircraft
remained on the ground. The worst atrocity in Europe since World War II
followed. As many as 6,000 Muslim males were gunned down after Bosnian Serb
commander Gen. Ratko Mladic allegedly assured them safety and forced them to
call down fighters from the hills. On 10 July 1996, investigators from the
Hague-based war crimes tribunal continued excavating mass graves; they have
found 40 bodies so far, AFP reported. At another location, Bosnian Serbs
continued their cat-and-mouse game with Finnish forensics experts who have dug
out the remains of 25 Muslims. The Finns left Bosnian Serb territory after
Serb authorities hampered their work, Onasa reported. In Sarajevo, UNHCR
spokesman Kris Janowski said Serbs are still preventing refugees from going
home and those responsible for the massacre are still in power, Oslobodjenje
reported on 11 July. -- Patrick Moore
[06] MOSTAR COMMISSION'S CROATS THREATEN TO RESIGN.
The Croatian side of the election commission will not accept the EU's final
results of the Mostar election, deputy western Mostar mayor and Croatian
Democratic Community (HDZ) president Mile Puljic said, Reuters reported on 10
July. The Croats said they would resign if the EU publishes the results. They
are demanding that the vote in Bonn be repeated because of balloting
irregularities. The HDZ also claims there were 1,355 fewer ballots than actual
voters in the Stari Grad municipality in Mostar, and one person was registered
to vote at two polling stations. The HDZ won a majority in the elections in
Mostar--but the foreign returns put the Muslim-dominated List of Citizens for
a United Mostar as the winner. -- Fabian Schmidt
[07] U.N. ENVOY FOR BOSNIA VISITS MOSTAR.
Iqbal Riza met with representatives of the Muslim and Croat communities and EU
officials to discuss Mostar's post-election deadlock. He said the EU
administration was acting impartially. EU spokesman Dragan Gasic said the
legal deadline for complaints is now over, and the EU will sort out any
difficulties, the AFP reported. So far, the EU has released only unofficial
results, and the HDZ's blockade of the election results prevents the city
council from holding its constituent meeting. -- Fabian Schmidt
[08] BELGRADE, RED CROSS COOPERATE ON HUMANITARIAN LAW.
Rump Yugoslav Defense Minister Pavle Bulatovic and International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) Belgrade representative, Francois Bellon, signed a five-
year agreement that will enable the ICRC to conduct courses in international
humanitarian law for civil and military authorities, AFP reported on 10 July.
The report said the courses are designed to instruct rump Yugoslav officials
in "proper wartime conduct," and the first class is scheduled for late 1996. --
Stan Markotich
[09] BOSNIAN REFUGEES EVICTED IN SERBIA.
About 100 Muslim refugees were evicted from their housing in the northern
Serbian town of Crvenka and left to "take care of themselves," Onasa reported
on 10 July, citing Belgrade's weekly Nedeljni Telegraf. Local police "took
an old, blind woman to the village of Lipovac and left her on the street." Her
case was not an isolated one, Onasa reported. -- Stan Markotich
[10] ROMANIAN BANKING SCANDAL TURNS POLITICAL.
The potential bankruptcy of two of Romania's largest private banks has
provoked strong political dispute. The banks--Dacia Felix and Credit Bank--
recently reported losses totaling some $1 billion. Romanian National Bank
Governor Mugur Isarescu earlier this week halted state financial support. But
Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu, whose government appears to fear a backlash from
some 800,000 people likely to lose their savings, said he was surprised at
Isarescu's decision, Radio Bucharest reported on 10 July. That day, the
extreme nationalist Party of Romanian National Unity, which has four
portfolios in the cabinet, called for an extraordinary session of parliament
to discuss the crisis. Leaders of the Liberal Party '93 said they would not
support a special parliamentary debate. -- Dan Ionescu
[11] SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA.
Milan Kucan on 10 July started a two-day official visit in Romania, Radio
Bucharest reported. He discussed bilateral relations and the Bosnian situation
with his Romanian counterpart Ion Iliescu and Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu.
Kucan will also talk with Romanian Senate Chairman Oliviu Gherman and other
senior officials, and make a trip to the former royal castle Peles at Sinaia
in the Carpathians. Kucan is returning Iliescu's 1993 visit to Slovenia. --
Dan Ionescu
[12] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF INTERFERING IN MOLDOVA.
Ion Iliescu's remarks about common language and ethnic identity during a 5-6
July official visit to the Republic of Moldova sparked criticism, BASA-press
and Infotag reported on 10 July. The ultra-leftist Socialist Unity
parliamentary faction accused him of interfering in Moldova's domestic
affairs. The faction's 28 members expressed "bewilderment" over "Iliescu's
teachings," which they said showed he was not prepared to treat Moldova as an
equal partner and independent, sovereign state. The naming of Moldova's
official language has been a major point of contention over the past several
years. In the spring of 1995, Moldovan President Mircea Snegur asked the
parliament to change the language's name in the constitution from "Moldovan"
to "Romanian." -- Dan Ionescu
[13] THREE BULGARIAN DEPUTIES DIE IN CAR CRASH.
Three parliamentary deputies of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
died on 10 July when their car crashed into another vehicle on a wet road,
Duma reported. Emiliya Tomova, Mariya Zaharieva, and Rumyana Nikolova were
en route to Veliko Tarnovo, where the BSP presidential candidate, Foreign
Minister Georgi Pirinski, was to kick off his election campaign at a rally
celebrating the fifth anniversary of the adoption of Bulgaria's constitution.
The driver of the other car was killed, and the deputies' driver was seriously
injured. Pirinski, who had followed in another car, canceled the rally. The
parliament will pay tribute in an extraordinary session on 11 July; all
sessions for the week were canceled. Meanwhile, Pirinski's election campaign
press center was officially opened. -- Stefan Krause
[14] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION NAMES CANDIDATE.
The united opposition on 10 July formally endorsed Todor Kavaldzhiev as their
vice presidential candidate, Kontinent reported. Kavaldzhiev, of the
Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union (BZNS), will be the running mate of Petar
Stoyanov of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS). That agreement was signed by
the leader of the SDS and the BZNS, the Democratic Party--which with the BZNS
forms the People's Union--and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and
Freedom. Kavaldzhiev is seen as a compromise candidate of BZNS factions. The
BZNS had insisted on providing Stoyanov's running mate. Meanwhile, acused
criminal and head of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation Dimitar Dzhamov (see )
was arrested on charges of stealing eight kilograms of gold and four cars from a Roma family, Standart reported. -- Stefan Krause
[15] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER PUTS NEW GOVERNMENT TOGETHER.
Aleksander Meksi was expected to announce his new government on 11 July,
Albania reported. Meksi reportedly will create a new privatization ministry,
to be led by current Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni, and Safet Zhulali will
remain defense minister. New government members are said to include Halit
Shamata as interior minister and former ambassador to Italy Pandeli Paskon as
agriculture minister. Democratic Party leader Tritan Shehu is to become deputy
prime minister and also will replace Alfred Serreqi as foreign minister.
Serreqi's deputy, Arian Starova, will maintain his post. Other new
appointments reportedly include Besnik Gjongecaj as education minister. --
Fabian Schmidt
[16] ALBANIA STILL WRANGLING OVER COALITION.
Other parties likely will be represented in the ruling coalition, Albania
reported on 10 July. The appointments have not been announced, but reports say
the future general secretary to Prime Minister Arjan Madhi will be a lawyer
from the Republican Party. Culture Minister Teodor Laco will represent the
tiny Social Democratic Union; Zef Bushati as secretary of state for sports
will be a voice for the Christian Democratic Party, which he leads. Those two
parties did not gain a single seat in parliament. The Balli Kombetar
leadership, headed by party deputy leader Hysen Selfo, on 9 July also decided
to offer participation to Meksi in defiance of party leader Abaz Ermenji.
Ermenji has charged the ruling Democrats with election fraud and called May's
ballot a "coup d' etat." He later resigned and returned to France, where he
was in exile during communism. -- Fabian Schmidt
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Maura Griffin Solovar
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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