OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 105, 31 May 1995
CONTENTS
[01] SITUATION AROUND SARAJEVO " OMINOUSLY QUIET."
[02] BOSNIAN SERBS SAY STRENGTHENED UNPROFOR MANDATE MEANS WAR.
[03] WHAT ARE THE NEW BRITISH FORCES DOING IN BOSNIA?
[04] JOVANOVIC SAYS RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA POSSIBLE.
[05] OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS.
[06] FADIL SULEJMANI RELEASED ON BAIL IN MACEDONIA.
[07] HEAD OF BULGARIAN ENERGY COMMITTEE SACKED.
[08] ALBANIA CLAMPS DOWN ON SMUGGLING INTO FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 105, Part II, 31 May 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] SITUATION AROUND SARAJEVO " OMINOUSLY QUIET."
This is how a UNspokesman described the area surrounding the Bosnian capital on 30 May,
the BBC reported the following day. Bosnian Serb forces have taken
armored personnel carriers and other vehicles from their UNPROFOR
hostages and have removed heavy weapons from UN-monitored storage
depots. Serbian troops are also infiltrating into the demilitarized
zones around Sarajevo. The Bosnian Serbs let some French hostages return
to their bases but captured additional Ukrainians, bringing the total
number of hostages of that nationality to 55, Ukrainian Television said.
Nasa Borba added that the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague
will take up the case of the Serbian artillery attack on Tuzla on 27
May, in which at least 71 died. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[02] BOSNIAN SERBS SAY STRENGTHENED UNPROFOR MANDATE MEANS WAR.
France
continues to press for a new mandate for UN peacekeepers that would
allow them to react quickly and on their own initiative, but Bosnian
Serb Foreign Minister Aleksa Buha is quoted by Nasa Borba on 31 May as
saying that a changed mandate would mean war. He added that the hostages
would be released when NATO promises publicly not to launch any new air
strikes. The BBC quoted a UN spokesman as saying that such a declaration
is unlikely to appear. President of the Bosnian Serb legislature Momcilo
Krajisnik told Nasa Borba that he was pleased that the Contact Group on
29 May opted for a peaceful solution to the crisis. The VOA on 31 May
noted that the U.S. will provide additional support for UNPROFOR, such
as airlifts, but that Washington sees no need at present for its own
ground troops to be sent in. A NATO communique issued on 30 May said
that the Bosnian Serb leaders are personally responsible for the safety
of the hostages. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] WHAT ARE THE NEW BRITISH FORCES DOING IN BOSNIA?
The first of the newBritish force of 6,000 highly-trained personnel arrived in Split on 30
May, international media reported. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic
said, however, that they could advance only as far as Gornji Vakuf, in
central Bosnia, and not proceed to the British base at Vares north of
Sarajevo. Izetbegovic added he feared that the men had not come to deal
with the Serbs but rather to cover an evacuation of UNPROFOR, which the
Bosnian government opposes. The men arrived wearing UN blue berets.
British Premier John Major said that Britain has no intention of leaving
Bosnia, but the BBC' s Serbian and Croatian Services on 31 May report
that doubts are being raised in Britain regarding the veracity of that
statement. Vjesnik quotes NATO sources as saying that 40,000 soldiers
would be needed to protect a total evacuation of peacekeepers. --
Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.
[04] JOVANOVIC SAYS RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA POSSIBLE.
Rump Yugoslav Foreign
Minister Vladislav Jovanovic told BBC Television on 31 May that a deal
between Belgrade and members of the Contact Group may be in the offing.
Such a deal, he said, might foresee Belgrade' s recognition of Bosnia in
exchange for an easing of sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia.
Jovanovic described negotiations between Belgrade and Contact Group
officials as " serious and productive." Meanwhile, Nasa Borba on 31 May
reported that U.S. envoy Robert Frasure is in Belgrade for meetings with
ranking rump Yugoslav officials to discuss possible deals, including the
possible easing of the fuel embargo against the rump Yugoslavia. Reuters
reports that Frasure is slated to " try to enlist [Serbian President
Slobodan] Milosevic' s help to win the release of almost 400 UN
peacekeepers" held hostage by Bosnian Serb forces. Nasa Borba also
reported that Milosevic allegedly referred to Bosnian Serb military
leader Ratko Mladic as a possible bulwark for the peace process in
Bosnia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[05] OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS.
The Serbs of Bosnia and Krajina have
received the blessings of the Serbian Orthodox Church in their moves to
set up a still ill-defined common state. Belgrade dailies add on 31 May
that the Krajina legislature has approved the introduction of the
traditional Nemanjic coat of arms for the new polity as well the old
nationalist song " Boze pravde" as its anthem. The Zagreb papers note
that the Bosnian Serbs have once again barred UN human rights monitor
Tadeusz Mazowiecki from entering their territory. He told a press
conference that the differences between Croats and Muslims in Mostar was
not that great but that the political will to bridge them was lacking.
He added that the most pressing issue there was to set up a joint police
force. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[06] FADIL SULEJMANI RELEASED ON BAIL IN MACEDONIA.
Fadil Sulejmani, dean of
the self-proclaimed Albanian-language university in Tetovo, has been
released on DM100,000 bail, Flaka reported on 31 May. Sulejmani was
sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for " inciting resistance" ;
his case is to be reviewed by an appeals court . He was arrested in
connection with a riot that broke out after the police crackdown on his
university on 17 February. Flaka also reported that a proposal for new
parliamentary procedures omits a sentence contained in the old ones
stating that deputies have " the right...to speak in the language of his
nationality." -- Fabian Schmidt , OMRI, Inc.
[07] HEAD OF BULGARIAN ENERGY COMMITTEE SACKED.
Nikita Shervashidze on 30 May
was dismissed as chairman of the government' s Energy Committee,
according to Bulgarian newspapers the following day. The official reason
was reported to be incompetence, but some papers claim the real reason
was that Shervashidze let the private Multigrup conglomerate buy up
debts owed to Bulgargaz, the state-run gas company. While such a move is
legal under Bulgarian law, Shervashidze apparently failed to organize a
debt-buying auction, as is legally required. If the government does not
intervene, Multigrup will obtain a stake in Himko and Kremikovtsi, two
of Bulgaria' s largest industrial exporters. According to Demokratsiya,
another reason for Shervashidze' s dismissal is that he allowed water to
be re-routed to a power plant when it was needed in Sofia, which faces a
severe water crisis. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[08] ALBANIA CLAMPS DOWN ON SMUGGLING INTO FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.
The Albanian
Interior Ministry on 30 May said that stricter police controls in border
areas have stopped fuel smuggling into the former Yugoslavia, Reuters
reported the same day. The authorities said that police have made
several arrests and confiscated hundreds of tons of fuel. Shipping
traffic on the River Buna has reportedly been prohibited, and only
fishing and tourist ships are now allowed on Lake Shkoder. Police have
also closed ten filling stations. According to Reuters, since mid-May
police have seized four tanker trucks, 18 barrels of fuel, 15 floating
tankers (four containing 100 tons of fuel each) and some motor-boats.
They have also arrested five Montenegrins. Gazeta Shqiptare reported
that seven trucks were seized on 26 May, including 35,000 liters of
fuel, and ten people arrested. -- Fabian Schmidt , OMRI, Inc.
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