OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 89, 9 May 1995
CONTENTS
[01] BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP ATTACKS . . .
[02]. . . IN THE WAKE OF RECENT MORTAR ATTACK ON SARAJEVO.
[03] ZAGREB ON KRAJINA.
[04] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT DEFENDS ANTI-CRIME MEASURES.
[05] ILLEGAL BUSINESS IN BULGARIA ON THE RISE.
[06] IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR IN CHISINAU.
[07] MACEDONIA RECEIVES $55 MILLION IMF LOAN.
[08] OSCE TO MEDIATE MACEDONIA MEMBERSHIP.
[09] ALBANIA TIGHTENS BORDER CONTROLS.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 89, Part II, 9 May 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] BOSNIAN SERBS STEP UP ATTACKS . . .
On 9 May, international media report
that Bosnian Serb forces have intensified attacks against a number of
targets in Bosnia, including the two UN-protected cities of Tuzla and
Sarajevo. Serb forces, violating UN heavy weapons exclusion zone
regulations, used tanks against Bosnian government troops just north of
Sarajevo in one of the first reappearances of tank attacks in over a
year of the conflict. Meanwhile, on 8 May Hina reported that Serb forces
from parts of Croatia's Krajina region launched an estimated 24 rockets
at Coralici, western Bosnia, in the morning of the previous day. -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[02]. . . IN THE WAKE OF RECENT MORTAR ATTACK ON SARAJEVO.
A Serb mortar
attack on a Sarajevo suburb on 7 May killed 11 persons. It was the worst
such incident since the February 1994 mortar attack which claimed 68
lives and has come to be known as the "Sarajevo Market Massacre." On 8
May, UN officials in Zagreb ruled out calling for retaliatory NATO
airstrikes on the grounds that such a move may have "possible
repercussions," prompting strong reactions from US and Bosnian
government officials. US Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright was
quoted by Reuters as saying "I fail to understand the logic behind
turning down such a request [for NATO air power] given the kinds of
activities that have taken place in and around Sarajevo." -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[03] ZAGREB ON KRAJINA.
According to Croatian media accounts, official Zagreb
is involved in a concerted effort to normalize life in the recently
retaken territory of western Slavonia, formerly held by the country's
rebel Krajina Serbs. On 8 May, Croatia's army chief-of-staff General
Zvonimir Cervenko told a press conference that "I have assured the
people in Pakrac area [in Western Slavonia] that the Croatian army will
withdraw as soon as the police begin operating regularly." Meanwhile,
Adalbert Rebic, Croatian minister and head of the government office for
displaced persons and refugees, met with some 160 evacuated persons,
mostly elderly and of Serb ethnicity, promising them that "You will go
home in a few days as soon as the security condition allows such a
move," Hina reported. In other news, Reuters on 9 May reports that,
contrary to earlier accounts, a monument at Jasenovac to Serbs and Jews
slaughtered by Croatian fascists during World War II as well as the
Serbian Orthodox Church in the area survived intact the advance of the
Croatian army in western Slavonia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[04] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT DEFENDS ANTI-CRIME MEASURES.
Interior Minister
Lyubomir Nachev on 5 May defended the government's proposal for new
anti-crime measures, Reuters reported the same day. Nachev said the
government plans to extend police investigative powers, tighten arms
licensing, and curb the activities of private security firms. Private
individuals will be allowed to carry arms only in exceptional cases,
while private security guards will be allowed to carry them only while
on duty. According to the minister, 49,775 crimes were committed during
the first three months of 1995, of which 15,504 are unsolved. Crime rate
growth has halved compared to the first quarter of 1994, and murder
cases have fallen by 20%. Also on 5 May, Justice Minister Mladen
Chervenyakov announced that the government will tighten residence permit
requirements for foreigners in order to curb the spread of international
crime into Bulgaria. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[05] ILLEGAL BUSINESS IN BULGARIA ON THE RISE.
Illegal business activities in
Bulgaria amounted to $9.5 billion in 1994, equivalent to the country's
Gross Domestic Product, dpa reported on 8 May, citing an article in Trud
the same day. The trade union newspaper referred to statistics of the
Bulgarian National Bank. Illegal business includes drug trafficking,
forged customs declarations, and trade with countries that are under an
embargo. According to Trud, many private restaurants, hotels and casinos
are just front businesses created in order to justify profits to the
revenue office. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[06] IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR IN CHISINAU.
Michel Camdessus, the managing
director of the International Monetary Fund, paid a two-day visit to the
Republic of Moldova, Interfax reports. On 7 May, Camdessus told
President Mircea Snegur that his organization would continue to assist
Moldova in getting Western credits for developing its industry. He also
said that the IMF was supporting economic reforms in that country, which
should be irreversible. He pleaded for structural reforms and price
stabilization, and expressed the hopes that the fall in Moldova's
industrial output will stop in 1995. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.
[07] MACEDONIA RECEIVES $55 MILLION IMF LOAN.
The International Monetary Fund
on 5 May granted a $55 million loan to Macedonia, dpa reported the
following day. The money is intended to assist economic reforms in the
country. IMF officials in Washington said the loan was granted after the
marked stabilization of Macedonia's state finances, which ended
hyperinflation and lowered state debts. -- Stefan Krause
[08] OSCE TO MEDIATE MACEDONIA MEMBERSHIP.
The Organization for Cooperation
and Security in Europe (OSCE) has received agreement in principle from
Greece and Macedonia to mediate the issue of Macedonian membership in
the organization, international agencies reported on 8 May. The current
chair of the OSCE, Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs, said:
"During his recent visit, the foreign minister of FYROM [Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia] raised the issue and today Greece has also
indicated that it would welcome OSCE playing a role in solving the
problems." Greece has blocked Macedonia's entry into the OSCE because it
objects to the country's use of the name Macedonia. Greek Foreign
Minister Karolos Papoulias, visiting Budapest for talks with Kovacs,
said: "We want to overcome the crisis." -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.
[09] ALBANIA TIGHTENS BORDER CONTROLS.
Albanian police and army tightened up
border and coast controls to cope with illegal immigration and
emigration, AFP reported on 8 May. Interior Minister Agron Musaraj said
that an additional 300 police, as well as helicopters and motorboats,
have been mobilized to check boats on the Adriatic and stop Albanians
and other citizens from illegally crossing the sea to Italy. The
government also wants to stop illegal immigration to Albania. Musaraj
said that 600 persons without valid documents were denied entry to
Albania over the past two weeks. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
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