OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 92, 12 May 1995
CONTENTS
[01] SARAJEVO'S "SNIPER ALLEY" CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM.
[02] FIERCE BATTLES IN NORTHEASTERN BOSNIA.
[03] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT REBUKES CROATIA.
[04] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT RECOGNIZES PARTISANS AS WW II COMBATANTS.
[05] BULGARIAN CABINET EXPECTS ECONOMIC GROWTH, SWIFT PRIVATIZATION.
[06] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER TOPS OPINION POLLS IN SOFIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 92, Part II, 12 May 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] SARAJEVO'S "SNIPER ALLEY" CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM.
A French UN peacekeeper
was critically wounded on 11 May after being shot in the head along
Sarajevo's main strip, known as "Sniper's Alley," Nasa Borba reported
the following day. The total of French peacekeepers critically wounded
or killed in Bosnia-Herzegovina now stands at 37. French Foreign
Minister Alain Juppe on 11 May said the new French government will
debate the possibility of withdrawing its troops from the former
Yugoslavia if safety conditions do not improve, international media
reported. Emerging from meetings with UN Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros Ghali the same day, Juppe also indicated that empowering UN
peacekeepers to employ greater force against violence may be an
alternative to a pullout. France has some 4,500 troops in Bosnia--the
largest contingent in the region. Meanwhile, representatives of the
Contact Group are slated to meet on 12 May to probe ways of improving
prospects for peace in war-torn Bosnia, Vecernji list reported. -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[02] FIERCE BATTLES IN NORTHEASTERN BOSNIA.
Serbian forces continue to pound
the Croatian enclave of Orasje, in northeastern Bosnia-Herzegovina,
international media reported on 12 May. According to Reuters, recent
Serbian attacks on the enclave appear to be the fiercest in several
years, with an estimated 500 shells landing in the hamlet of Matici on
11 May. The Serbian offensive appears to be aimed at forcing the Orasje
Croats back across the border into Croatia in order to remove the pocket
as an obstacle to a Serbian supply corridor. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI,
Inc.
[03] SERBIAN PARLIAMENT REBUKES CROATIA.
The Serbian legislature on 11 May
adopted a resolution condemning Croatia's 1 May offensive against a
rebel Serb-held enclave in Western Slavonia, Nasa Borba reported the
following day. The offensive resulted in the retaking of territory.
Tanjug reports that according to the text of the resolution, the Serbian
parliament especially condemns "crimes against the civilian population"
and Croatia's "lack of respect for the ceasefire." Ultranantionalists,
notably accused war criminal and Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav
Seselj and leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia Vojislav Kostunica,
have registered their opposition to the resolution. They claim it is too
mild and a de facto testament to Serbian President Slobodan Milo-sevic's
unwillingness to defend either Croatia's rebel Serbs or the ideal of a
greater Serbia. Meanwhile, Reuters on 11 May reported that UN
authorities have somewhat "backed away from earlier allegations that the
[Croatian] army shot fleeing Serbs" as it advanced in Western Slavonia.
-- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[04] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT RECOGNIZES PARTISANS AS WW II COMBATANTS.
The
Socialist majority on 11 May adopted a law giving former partisans the
status of combatants against Nazi Germany in World War II, Demokratsiya
reported the following day. Opposition deputies voted against the bill.
The Union of Democratic Forces argued that the communist-dominated
partisan movement was controlled by Moscow and did not emerge until
Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. They also pointed out that
most sabotage acts were directed against Bulgarian installations and not
against German military facilities. Socialist Deputy Angel Wagen-shtayn,
a well-known film director, said that "whoever thinks the anti-fascist
resistance was illegitimate is a fascist." The UDF faction issued a
declaration saying that the law in effect restores the privileges of
former communist party members and proves that the Socialists have not
broken with their communist past. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[05] BULGARIAN CABINET EXPECTS ECONOMIC GROWTH, SWIFT PRIVATIZATION.
Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development Rumen Gechev on 10
May said that the government's major economic goals in 1995 are strict
financial discipline and 2.5% economic growth, BTA reported the same
day. The cabinet projects an increase in GDP averaging 4.5% a year
during its term in office. Gechev said that privatization, to be carried
out in two stages, will start in January 1996 and end in late 1997. Some
150 enterprises will be selected for privatization. The Kozloduy nuclear
reactor, the military-industrial complex, the Bulgarian
Telecommunications Company, the Bulgarian Post, and one or two major
banks are among those enterprises that will not be privatized, Gechev
said. The private sector's share in GDP, which accounted for 30% in
1994, is projected to reach 55-60% by the end of 1996 and 70-75% in late
1997. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[06] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER TOPS OPINION POLLS IN SOFIA.
In an opinion poll
published by Trud on 12 May, Zhan Videnov headed the list of Bulgarian
top politicians. Some 36% of respondents said they have a favorable
impression of him, while 23% said their impression is unfavorable. Ivan
Kostov, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces, came second, with 26%
and 11%, respectively. President Zhelyu Zhelev ranked third (23% and
28%). Videnov's strong showing and the high percentage of negative votes
for Zhelev are attributed to the ongoing fight between the president and
government, particularly over Bul-garia's possible application for NATO
membership and the land restitution law. The opinion poll was conducted
in Sofia, which is one of the UDF's strongholds. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI,
Inc.
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