OMRI Daily Digest I, II, No. 90, 10 May 1995

From: "Steve Iatrou" <[email protected]>

CONTENTS

  • [01] MORE RUSSIAN GAS TO TURKEY.

  • [02] AKASHI MEETS SERB LEADERS.

  • [03] SERBS LEAVE FOR BOSNIA.

  • [04] BOSNIAN UPDATE.

  • [05] VE-DAY IN BULGARIA MARKED BY POLITICAL DIFFERENCES.

  • [06] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER IN MOSCOW.

  • [07] ROW BETWEEN BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT AND SOROS FUND.

  • [08] GREECE DENIES TRAINING KURDISH REBELS.

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    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 90, Part I, 10 May 1995

    RUSSIA

    [01] MORE RUSSIAN GAS TO TURKEY.

    An agreement to double Russian natural gas supplies to Turkey has been reached, Russian media reported on 9 May. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller held talks with her Russian counterpart Viktor Chernomyrdin in conjunction with her visit to Moscow for V-E day celebrations. The talks focused on economic relations between the two countries with Russia registering its willingness to increase its natural gas exports to Turkey from nearly 5 billion cubic meters to 9.2 billion cubic meters. In addition to announcing their mutual aim to boost bilateral trade, currently estimated at $2.2 billion a year, Chernomyrdin assured his Turkish counterpart that Russia had not and will not help Kurdish separatists in any way. -- Lowell Bezanis, OMRI, Inc.

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 90, Part II, 10 May 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [02] AKASHI MEETS SERB LEADERS.

    UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi on 9 May met in Belgrade with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and heads of the self-styled Republic of Serbian Krajina, including RSK President Milan Martic and Premier Borislav Mikelic, Nasa Borba reports the following day. Akashi urged Martic and the other Krajina leaders to refrain from any drastic measures or retaliatory actions in response to Croatia's recent retaking of territory in western Slavonia formerly under rebel Serb control (see OMRI Daily Digest 2 May 1995). For his part, however, Martic said that conditions and tensions were such that they "can escalate into bigger conflicts," Reuters reported. Discussions with Milosevic were reportedly aimed at winning over the Serbian president for the purpose of averting a wider regional conflict. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] SERBS LEAVE FOR BOSNIA.

    Reuters reported on 9 May that the UN moved into the once Serb-held enclave in Croatia's western Slavonia to evacuate local Serbs to Bosnia after "Serb leaders threatened reprisals if they were not allowed to go." Two buses were slated to transport up to 100 people to Bosnia, and UN officials have said they expect that many more individuals will leave, likely causing the "evacuation program" to continue for at least several days. Meanwhile, on 9 May Hina, citing Croatian army sources, reported that Serb paramilitary forces some 80 kilometers southeast of Zagreb are amassing heavy weapons and "building up troops." The news agency also reported that Bosnian Serb forces fired three shells at targets near the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] BOSNIAN UPDATE.

    According to HABENA reports of 9 May, Bosnian Serbs shelled the northeastern Bosnian city of Tuzla that day, allegedly causing "significant damage" but evidently no casualties. Meanwhile, international media continue to report on fighting throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 9 May, AFP reported that representatives of the international Contact Group will meet on 12 May, and the topic of using NATO airpower against the Bosnian Serb side is likely to be broached. On 8 May, UN officials decided against using the threat of airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs in response to the 7 May Serb mortar attack on a Sarajevo suburb which resulted in 11 deaths. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] VE-DAY IN BULGARIA MARKED BY POLITICAL DIFFERENCES.

    VE-Day celebrations in Sofia on 9 May highlighted conflicting views of Bulgaria's communist past. dpa reported the same day that representatives of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) laid wreaths at the monument of the Soviet Army, while opposition parties boycotted the ceremonies. The ambassadors of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia took part in the ceremonies, which were accompanied by Soviet military songs and chants of "eternal friendship." A BSP statement honored the contribution of Bulgarian soldiers and partisans to the victory over Germany, but contained no criticism of communist rule after the war. Bulgaria was allied with Germany until September 1944, and changed sides after being occupied by the Red Army. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER IN MOSCOW.

    Zhelyu Zhelev and Zhan Videnov on 9 May attended the VE-Day celebrations in Moscow, arriving separately and following different programs, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. Videnov attended the celebrations on Red Square and the military parade at Poklonnaya Gora, and also met with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Ivan Rybkin, chairman of the State Duma. Zhelev, who attended the celebrations on Red Square, met with Bulgarians living in Russia, Trud reported. Most papers noted that the two politicians did not even greet each other on Red Square and tried to avoid contact. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] ROW BETWEEN BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT AND SOROS FUND.

    A meeting on 8 May between US businessman George Soros and Blagovest Sendov, chairman of the National Assembly, failed to resolve a conflict over the role of the Soros-sponsored Open Society Fund, Bulgarian newspapers reported the following day. The parliament canceled a 42 million leva ($ 646,000) contribution to the fund last week. The Fund's budget is $6.2 million without the government contribution, $6 million of which is provided by Soros himself. It finances the American University in Blagoevgrad, scholarships, scientific projects and exchanges. Sendov was cited by 24 chasa as saying that Soros is trying to "interfere in domestic affairs," while Education Minister Ilcho Dimitrov told Duma that Bulgaria is thankful for any help, provided "it does not offend our national sovereignty and honor." According to the Fund's Managing Director Georgi Prohaski, Soros during the meeting with Sendov "expressed his concern over some recent publications . . . which showed signs of xenophobia and reluctance of the government to develop ties with the Western world," international agencies reported. Soros himself told Demokratsiya that he will continue to finance the Fund. Prime Minister Zhan Videnov declined to meet Soros. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] GREECE DENIES TRAINING KURDISH REBELS.

    Greek government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos on 9 May denounced Turkish allegations that his country is training Kurdish rebels, international news agencies reported on the same day. He was replying to statements made by an alleged Kurdish rebel in Izmir on 8 May. Mehmet Kavak, who was captured along with two other suspected Kurdish rebels, said he received two months of military training at a camp 200 kilometers from Athens. Venizelos said this is "not the first time that a Kurd who has been arrested is forced to confess . . . that he allegedly was trained . . . in Greece." He added that Greece "is accessible to all and is transparent," so that "anyone can conduct a journalistic investigation here to see what is going on." Greece has repeatedly denied Turkish claims that Kurds are trained on its territory. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.

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