OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 74, 13 April 1995
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 74 Part I, 13 April 1995
TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
CONTENTS
[01] CILLER IN BAKU. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller arrived in Baku on
11 April to sign an intergovernmental agreement with Azerbaijan's
President Heidar Aliev that will raise Turkey's stake in a $7.4 billion
deal to develop oil fields in the Caspian Sea, Russian and Western news
agencies reported. Discussions between Ciller and Aliev will center on
the route of an oil pipeline, loans to Azerbaijan, and "ways to
intensify military cooperation in light of closer military ties between
Russia and Armenia," Interfax reported on 11 April. Turkey paid an
estimated $70 million to acquire 5% of Azerbaijan's original 20% share
in the deal. Ciller noted that Turkey was signing the contract "not for
oil, but for the future of Azerbaijan," which she called "my second
homeland," AFP reported on 12 April. Aliev expressed his support for a
Turkish proposal that would involve constructing a pipeline through
Turkey; Russia has opposed it, claiming security considerations, time,
and cost dictate export from Russia's port of Novorossiisk. The chief of
Turkey's pipeline company, Hayrettin Uzun, said the two proposals are
not alternatives but rather a complimentary system, Reuters reported on
12 April. -- Lowell Bezanis, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 74, Part II, 13 April 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[02] BOSNIAN UPDATE. International media on 13 April continue to report on
the escalating violence throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. A mortar shell
the previous day hit Sarajevo, wounding at least seven people. Reuters
reported that Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic has sent a
strongly worded protest to the UN military command saying that all
recent allegations of Serbian attacks on Sarajevo are "incorrect [and]
tendentious." According to Vjesnik, Bosnian army helicopters attacked
Serbian positions, including around Donji Vakuf, in central Bosnia. Hina
reports that Serbian forces have launched attacks on several fronts.
Meanwhile, representatives of the international Contact Group postponed
a scheduled visit to Sarajevo on 12 April, after failing to receive
safety guarantees from the Bosnian Serbs. Nasa Borba reported that
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, following meetings with
representatives of the Contact Group, said that rump Yugoslav
recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina in exchange for a lifting of sanctions
against Belgrade is not in the offing. Finally, a new suspension bridge
was opened in Mostar on 12 April at the site of the historic medieval
structure destroyed in late 1993 when fighting erupted between Croats
and Muslims. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[03] MILOSEVIC MAY BE LINKED TO WAR CRIMES. The New York Times on 13 April
carries a story suggesting that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and
high-ranking members of his regime may be directly responsible for war
crimes throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. The story is based in part on
documents smuggled out of Serbia by 45-year-old Cedomir Mihailovic, a
former member of Serbia's secret police who recently defected. "One of
the documents, dated May 24, 1992, appears to include directions from
the Serbian state security services in Belgrade on the running of
concentration camps in Bosnia," The New York Times reports. If the
documents prove authentic, they will provide concrete evidence directly
linking Belgrade to war atrocities. Milosevic has consistently denied
any direct involvement in the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[04] ITALIAN-SLOVENIAN COOPERATION INCREASES. Italian regional official
Alessandra Guerra, at a press conference in Ljubljana on 12 April,
announced that Italy has plans to invest in Slovenia's infrastructure.
She said that Italian interest in Slovenia was prompted by a "need for
developing the infrastructure between western and eastern Europe" in
order to yield "strengthening international cooperation," AFP reported.
Slovenian-Italian relations have improved of late, not least because of
Italy's decision in early March to cease opposing Slovenian efforts to
negotiate associate membership in the European Union (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 6 March 1995). -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[05] BULGARIAN POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS. Col. Hristo Gatsov, chief of the
Bulgarian National Police, resigned on 12 April after a young man died
in police custody, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day.
Gatsov, who was appointed police chief in November 1994, said he felt
"morally obliged" to quit under the circumstances. Hristo Hristov, a 22-
year-old, was arrested in Sofia on 6 April and died a few hours later of
a massive hemorrhage. The autopsy showed he had a torn aorta and several
broken ribs as a result of severe beating. The six policemen who
questioned him were arrested; Sofia City Prosecutor Nestor Nestorov said
they will be charged with murder. If found guilty, they face prison
sentences of up to 20 years or the death penalty. The opposition called
for the resignation of Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev, who was quoted
by Duma as saying he cannot be considered guilty "in this concrete
case." Nachev has refused to step down. Pari reported that personnel
changes in Sofia's police force are expected within the next few days.
Meanwhile, Standart cited Gen. Mincho Bengarski, secretary at the
Interior Ministry, as saying that 18 people have died over the past year
owing to "carelessness" on the part of the police." -- Stefan Krause,
OMRI, Inc.
[06] ALBANIA, TURKEY SIGN MILITARY AGREEMENT. Albanian Defense Minister Safet
Zhulali and his Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Golhan, on 12 April signed a
military cooperation agreement in Tirana, Western agencies reported the
same day. Under the terms of the agreement, Turkey will train Albanian
officers and provide material assistance to the Albanian army. Zhulali
and Golhan stressed that the agreement is not directed against a third
country. Golhan, who was in Tirana on a three-day visit, said his
country is concerned about the resumption of hostilities in Bosnia-
Herzegovina, as there is a risk that "the conflict will spill over into
the entire Balkans." He said "Turkey will spare no effort to prevent
this." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
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