OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 101, 25 May 1995
CONTENTS
[01] UN THREATENS AIR STRIKES . . .
[02] . . . AFTER VIOLENCE FLARES IN SARAJEVO.
[03] PEACEKEEPING IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.
[04] OTHER NEWS FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.
[05] ANOTHER ETHNIC ALBANIAN CONVICTED IN MACEDONIA.
[06] MACEDONIAN COALITION ABOUT TO SPLIT?
[07] BULGARIA'S LAST COMMUNIST PREMIER TO HEAD STATE-RUN COMPANY.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 101, Part II, 25 May 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] UN THREATENS AIR STRIKES . . .
The United Nations on 24 May issued an
ultimatum to the warring sides around Sarajevo either to silence their
heavy weapons by noon local time the following day or face the threat of
NATO air power. It also demanded the return by the same time of four
heavy guns pilfered by Bosnian Serb forces just outside Sarajevo. All
other heavy weapons are to be surrendered to the UN or removed from the
exclusion area around the city by noon local time on 26 May. If they are
not removed, the warring sides will again face the possibility of air
strikes, according to the ultimatum. Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic has reacted forcefully, insisting that Bosnian Serb forces will
treat UN soldiers as "hostile" if NATO launches air strikes. Reuters
quotes Karadzic as saying that "if the UN orders air strikes, we are
going to treat the UN as the enemy." According to international media,
Sarajevo and its environs were relatively calm and quiet on the morning
of 25 May. -- Stan Markotich , OMRI, Inc.
[02] . . . AFTER VIOLENCE FLARES IN SARAJEVO.
UN calls for NATO air strikes
come in the wake of some of the most serious fighting to hit the Bosnian
capital over the past year at least. The Croatian news agency Hina on 24
May reported that at least five people were killed and 30 injured when
Bosnian Serb artillery pounded the city and surrounding areas the same
day. It also observed that phosphorous bombs, forbidden by Geneva
conventions, were among those used in the latest attacks. -- Stan
Markotich , OMRI, Inc.
[03] PEACEKEEPING IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA.
Reuters on 24 May reports that UN
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali will formally outline by 26 May
a series of proposals for the future of peacekeeping operations in
Bosnia, which may include withdrawals, greater use of air strikes, or
scaling back operations. It is reported that unlike in the past, Boutros
Ghali is likely to refrain from preferring one option over the other.
Meanwhile, Nasa Borba and Vjesnik on 25 May report that if UN
peacekeepers do withdraw from Bosnia, up to 50,000 NATO forces may be
dispatched to offer the peacekeepers protection during the withdrawal
process. The dailies also observe that U.S. Secretary of Defense William
Perry has suggested that half the NATO contingent may come from the U.S.
-- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[04] OTHER NEWS FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.
Nasa Borba on 25 May quotes UN human
rights envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki as suggesting at a press conference in
Pakrac the previous day that the Croatian army may have committed some
human rights violations against Serbs during its advance on rebel Serb-
held parts of western Slavonia earlier this month. But the daily also
notes that Mazowiecki offered few details to back this claim. Hina
observed that Mazowiecki noted his understanding of the situation was
still somewhat "murky." The envoy's probe into alleged human rights
violations continues on 25 May in Zagreb. Meanwhile, Nasa Borba also
reports on Moscow envoy Alexander Zotov's second day in Belgrade, noting
that the Russian representative has already said he sees little reason
for the international community to insist on the continued imposition of
sanctions against rump Yugoslavia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[05] ANOTHER ETHNIC ALBANIAN CONVICTED IN MACEDONIA.
Musli Alimi, a former
university professor from Kosovo, was sentenced to eight months in jail
on 24 May, international agencies reported the same day. He was
convicted on charges of obstructing the police during riots in February
when thousands of ethnic Albanians tried to prevent policemen from
closing down the self-declared Albanian-language university in Tetovo.
One Albanian died during the clashes. Alimi is the fifth ethnic Albanian
sentenced in connection with the riot. -- Stefan Krause , OMRI, Inc.
[06] MACEDONIAN COALITION ABOUT TO SPLIT?
The ruling Macedonian coalition,currently facing its most serious crisis since it was formed seven
months ago, may be on the verge of splitting, Reuters reported on 24
May. The Liberal Party, second-largest of the three members of the
ruling Alliance for Macedonia, has announced it will press embezzlement
charges against Finance Minister Jane Miljovski, deputy leader of the
Social Democratic Alliance, the largest coalition partner. Miljovski is
accused of depositing into his party's account 8.1 million denars
($212,000) designated for the Liberals. The Liberal Party has invited
the two major opposition parties to attend its next congress, which will
discuss the future of the coalition. The Alliance for Macedonia won 93
of the 120 seats in the fall 1994 parliamentary elections. The Liberals
hold 29 of these seats. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[07] BULGARIA'S LAST COMMUNIST PREMIER TO HEAD STATE-RUN COMPANY.
Andrey
Lukanov is to head the Bulgarian-Russian gas company, which will be set
up in accordance with an agreement signed during Russian Prime Minister
Viktor Chernomyrdin's visit to Sofia on 18-19 May, Standart reports on
25 May. The newspaper says that his return to an official post after
five years puts him in a key position both in the field of economics and
in relations with Russia. Lukanov was first deputy prime minister in the
1980s and was elected to the Politbureau in 1989. From 1989 to 1990, he
was Bulgaria's last communist premier. In order to head the new company,
Lukanov will have to resign his seat in the parliament. -- 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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