OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 107, 2 June 1995
CONTENTS
[01] KARADZIC WARNS OF "SLAUGHTER."
[02] SERBIAN FORCES CLOSE IN ON GORAZDE.
[03] BOSNIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AGAINST CHANGING UN MANDATE.
[04] CROATIA SLAMS "MORAL CAPITULATION."
[05] CHRISTOPHER URGES BELGRADE TO MAKE CLEAN BREAK WITH BOSNIAN SERBS.
[06] GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS TO START SOON?
[07] UPDATE ON GREEK-TURKISH DISCORD.
[08] G-24 OFFERS AID TO ALBANIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 107, Part II, 2 June 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] KARADZIC WARNS OF "SLAUGHTER."
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, inhis first public remarks in several days, said that the hostage crisis
in Bosnia-Herzegovina "has to be solved by political means." He added
that "any attempt to liberate [the UN peacekeepers being held hostage by
Bosnian Serbs] by force would end in catastrophe. It would be a
slaughter." International media noted on 2 June that the number of
hostages now stands at 372 and that a Swedish civil affairs officer was
released soon after his capture the previous day. Britain has admitted
that it is maintaining "contacts" with Pale but insists that these "are
not negotiations," Nasa Borba reported on 2 June. AFP said the previous
day that UNPROFOR troops are "living in fear of their own stolen
vehicles" and that "every UNPROFOR vehicle could contain Bosnian Serbs
in disguise, and so it has to be treated as a potential enemy." --
Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.
[02] SERBIAN FORCES CLOSE IN ON GORAZDE.
Nasa Borba on 2 June reported that
Bosnian Serb troops are now only 2 kilometers from the center of the
besieged Muslim enclave, whose population is swollen with refugees. The
Serbs continue to shell the town, but there is no confirmation of
Bosnian government charges that the Serbs are bringing up
reinforcements. The BBC reported that it was otherwise "a quiet night in
Bosnia." -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.
[03] BOSNIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AGAINST CHANGING UN MANDATE.
The Bosnian
government and the Bosnian Serbs are both wary of any projected changes
in UNPROFOR's mandate. The new Bosnian foreign minister, former UN
ambassador Muhamed Sacerbey, told the BBC on 1 June that the UN suffered
from having appeased the Serbs for too long and that any weakening of
the mandate would turn the peacekeepers into "truck drivers for
humanitarian aid." The Bosnian government wants instead to have the
means to defend itself and some air cover but not foreign ground troops.
The BBC and VOA on 2 June noted that the UN debate over the mandate is
likely to drag on for at least two weeks and that neither the proposal
to weaken the present arrangement nor the one to replace it with a
multi-national military force is likely to be accepted. -- Patrick Moore
, OMRI, Inc.
[04] CROATIA SLAMS "MORAL CAPITULATION."
Foreign Minister Mate Granic warnedthat further concessions to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic would
amount to "moral capitulation...at a time when the entire international
community is faced with unprecedented acts of barbarity and the peace
forces are suffering humiliation." Granic charged that Milosevic still
"pulls the strings of war" in both Bosnia and Croatia, AFP reported on 2
June. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] CHRISTOPHER URGES BELGRADE TO MAKE CLEAN BREAK WITH BOSNIAN SERBS.
R
euters on 1 June reported that U.S. Secretary of Sate Warren
Christopher has appealed to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to
"take sides with the rest of the civilized world" and break ties with
the Bosnian Serb leadership. Christopher also remarked that U.S.
diplomatic efforts so far have failed to convince Milosevic to isolate
the Bosnian Serbs. He noted that recent meetings between Milosevic and
U.S. envoy Robert Frasure produced no agreement on lifting sanctions
against the rump Yugoslavia in exchange for Belgrade's recognition of
Bosnia-Herzegovina. In other news, Nasa Borba on 2 June reported that
1,000 ultranationalists, meeting in Belgrade the previous day, called
for the unity of all Serbian lands and support for unification between
Bosnian Serb-held lands and rebel Serb-held territory in Croatia's
Krajina area. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[06] GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS TO START SOON?
Negotiations between Athens andSkopje will start at UN headquarters in New York in 10 days, MIC
reported on 1 June, citing Greek Mega TV. Unnamed diplomatic sources in
New York and Washington are quoted as saying that a transitional
agreement will be signed providing for a new Macedonian flag and the
simultaneous lifting of the Greek embargo. The text of the agreement is
reported to be ready. Meanwhile, Macedonian government spokesman Guner
Ismail said Macedonia still insists on Greece's lifting the embargo
before the talks start. Matthew Nimetz, one of the mediators in the
Greek-Macedonian dispute, told Macedonian Radio that "at least for the
moment, a meeting is not foreseen." -- Stefan Krause , OMRI, Inc.
[07] UPDATE ON GREEK-TURKISH DISCORD.
The Greek parliament's decision to
ratify the Law of the Sea Convention was received coolly by Turkey,
international media reported on 1 June. Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal
Inonu made a clear distinction between ratification and any attempt to
extend Greece's territorial waters, which, he said, Ankara would view as
cause for war. Within hours of the Greek move to ratify the convention,
Turkey went ahead with planned military maneuvers in the Aegean. Athens
on 1 June criticized the Turkish maneuvers in the Aegean as provocative
and announced it will closely monitor them, Reuters reported the same
day. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said Ankara "is repeating
its usual practice of artificial tension and provocations against
Greece." Greece will hold a five-day exercise in the Aegean starting 5
June, but officials said it will not coincide with Turkish maneuvers. --
Lowell Bezanis and Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[08] G-24 OFFERS AID TO ALBANIA.
Albanian Minister for Construction and
Tourism Dashamir Shehi said after a G-24 meeting in Brussels that
Albania has secured $1 billion for infrastructure investment. One-third
of that amount is to come from the World Bank, one-third from EU
countries, and one-third from the Albanian government, Reuters reported.
Shehi also said the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, and the
PHARE program have confirmed they will help finance the $28 million
highway linking Tirana to Durres. Another road linking Durres to the
Greek border is already under construction with funds from the EU's
cross-border program totaling 45 million ECU, Rilindja Demokratike
reported on 30 May. Other sectors to be supported are energy,
telecommunications, and water supply. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.
HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute
news2html v2.09c run on Friday, 2 June 1995 - 15:47:01