OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 111, 8 June 1995
CONTENTS
[01] U.S. RESCUES PILOT DOWNED OVER BOSNIA.
[02] SERBS TO FREE MORE HOSTAGES?
[03] WILL THE RAPID RESPONSE FORCE BE TOOTHLESS?
[04] SERBS POUND SARAJEVO.
[05] GROWING TENSIONS WITHIN KRAJINA LEADERSHIP.
[06] U.S. ENVOY LEAVES FORMER YUGOSLAVIA.
[07] KOSOVAR PARLIAMENTARIANS AT FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY.
[08] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS ITALIAN NATIONAL ALLIANCE DEPUTIES.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 111, Part II, 8 June 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] U.S. RESCUES PILOT DOWNED OVER BOSNIA.
International media reported on 8
June that Captain Scott F. O'Grady, who piloted the F-16 shot down by
the Serbs on 2 June, has been picked up near Bihac by "NATO search and
rescue forces" and taken to the USS Kearsarge in the Adriatic. A NATO
spokesman added that the mission took place once contact with O'Grady
had been made. President Bill Clinton said that "Captain O'Grady's
bravery and skill are an inspiration. So are the bravery and skill of
those who took part in the operation to rescue him. They are all
American heroes." -- Patrick Moore
[02] SERBS TO FREE MORE HOSTAGES?
The Bosnian Serbs may soon free more of theremaining 145 UN peacekeepers they are holding captive. The BBC on 8
June quoted the independent Serbian news agency Beta as saying the
operation is being held up only because the men are scattered over a
wide range of territory. A Serbian lobbyist told the VOA that the Serbs
took the hostages as "the least hostile action" they could think of.
Speculation is rife inside former Yugoslavia and abroad as to what
exactly prompted the Pale leadership to take nearly 300 UN personnel
captive in the wake of NATO air strikes and what the role of Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic has been. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] WILL THE RAPID RESPONSE FORCE BE TOOTHLESS?
British, French, UN, andRussian diplomats have been talking at length about the mandate and
command structure of the proposed RRF, the BBC reported on 8 June. It
appears that the force will be simply an extension of UNPROFOR,
restricted in its ability to punish aggressors and subordinated to the
UN's hesitant civilian command. The UN head of peacekeeping operations,
Kofi Annan, told AFP that "it will use force as it is allowed under
peacekeeping operations. It is not going to go into a combat mode. It is
not a fighting force.... We will have such presence that at some local
levels perhaps we will not be harassed as much." It is difficult to see
how such remarks can be reconciled with those of French Foreign Minister
Herve de Charette, who said: "We have decided to get out of the morass
in Bosnia. We have proved this from the military angle, and we have the
political will." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] SERBS POUND SARAJEVO.
Bosnian Serbs on 7 June continued to blast
Sarajevo with heavy weapons, which are supposed to be banned from the
area, prompting a response from government forces. In Washington, the
secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
continued efforts by the Clinton administration to distance itself from
or qualify the president's recent remarks to the effect that U.S. ground
troops might be sent to Bosnia if requested by NATO. Secretary of
Defense William Perry told a Congressional committee that he does "not
believe that the Bosnian war poses a threat to U.S. interests grave
enough to risk the lives of thousands of our troops." -- Patrick Moore,
OMRI, Inc.
[05] GROWING TENSIONS WITHIN KRAJINA LEADERSHIP.
The Croatian Serb rebel
government on 6 June held a meeting in eastern Slavonia with nine out of
17 ministers present. Frictions are growing in the wake of the loss of
western Slavonia and in the face of Croatian military inroads near Knin.
The main split is between those around President Milan Martic, who
favors a still vaguely defined union with the Bosnian Serbs, and allies
of Milosevic close to the recently sacked prime minister, Borislav
Mikelic. The latter argue that the union would mean that sanctions
against Pale would be imposed against Knin. Former President Goran
Hadzic, an enemy of Martic, threatened that resource-rich eastern
Slavonia will secede if the union goes ahead. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI,
Inc.
[06] U.S. ENVOY LEAVES FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. U.S.
envoy Robert Frasure has left
former Yugoslavia after failing to secure an agreement with Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic providing for the lifting of sanctions
against rump Yugoslavia in exchange for Belgrade's recognition of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nasa Borba reported on 8 June. The daily also noted
that the U.S. envoy appears to think that Milosevic has little influence
over the Bosnian Serbs. Nasa Borba also reported that former rump
Yugoslav Premier Milan Panic visited Belgrade on 7 June. -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[07] KOSOVAR PARLIAMENTARIANS AT FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY.
A delegation from
the Kosovar shadow-state parliament visited the French Foreign Ministry,
Kosova Daily Report said on 7 June. The Kosovar legislators warned of an
escalation of the situation in the region and stressed that the Kosovars
have been pursuing a policy of peaceful resistance in recent years. A
French Foreign Ministry representative expressed his admiration for that
policy and said France has been closely watching developments in former
Yugoslavia. He added that his country is aware of the complexity of the
Kosovo crisis and supports "an acceptable and just solution." -- Fabian
Schmidt
[08] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS ITALIAN NATIONAL ALLIANCE DEPUTIES.
President
Sali Berisha met with deputies from the Italian National Alliance,
Rilindja Demokratike reported on 7 June. Berisha told the Italian
parliamentarians that "relations and cooperation between the two
countries have developed well and brought good results." He also praised
Italy for considering the possibility to issue visas for Albanian
seasonal workers. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
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