OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 114, 13 June 1995
CONTENTS
[01] KARADZIC FREES 130 HOSTAGES.
[02] WHAT ROLE DID SERBIA PLAY IN THE HOSTAGE RELEASE?
[03] FRENCH PRESIDENT CALLS SERBS "TERRORISTS."
[04] KRAJINA SERBS GET NEW PRIME MINISTER.
[05] SERBIAN ECONOMIC NEWS.
[06] EU OPENS TALKS WITH CROATIA, ITALY BLOCKS SLOVENIAN ACCORD.
[07] KOSOVO UPDATE.
[08] MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS AGAINST MEMBERSHIP IN COUNCIL OF EUROPE.
[09]CHIEF OF BULGARIAN PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM KILLED.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 114, Part II, 13 June 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] KARADZIC FREES 130 HOSTAGES.
The BBC on 13 June reported that Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told a press conference in Pale at 11:00
local time that 130 hostages were being freed at that moment. Many could
leave directly from the Sarajevo area to rejoin their units, while
others would be freed via Serbia. He claimed that "technical reasons"
prevented the release of an additional 14 men, which presumably meant
that they are being held at widely scattered locations. It also could
mean that Pale wants to hold onto some captives as insurance against any
retaliatory moves. AFP quoted Karadzic's parliamentary speaker, Momcilo
Krajisnik, as saying of the hostages: "We have always wanted to free
them as soon as possible. These young boys have all of our sympathy."
Karadzic added: "We consider this crisis closed and we hope it will
never happen again." -- Patrick Moore
[02] WHAT ROLE DID SERBIA PLAY IN THE HOSTAGE RELEASE?
At the same time asKaradzic held his press conference, Tanjug ran a communique from Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic announcing the release of the 130 men. As
before, Milosevic's security chief, Jovica Stanisic, was in Pale and was
directly involved in the hostage release. Questions remain as to exactly
what Belgrade's role has been all along in taking and freeing the
peacekeepers. Articles in The New York Times on 11 June and Newsday the
following day pointed to the integral links between the Belgrade and
Pale military structures. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] FRENCH PRESIDENT CALLS SERBS "TERRORISTS."
Milosevic had recentlyassured Jacques Chirac in a telephone conversation that he was doing all
he could to help free the hostages, most of whom are French. But Reuters
on 12 June quoted Chirac as telling those assembled at a dinner with
Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou on 9 June how disgusted he felt
when talking to Milosevic. Papandreou had been making a speech in which
he asked for understanding for the Serbs, who were fighting for their
religion. Chirac interrupted him, saying: "Don't talk to me about wars
of religion. These people have no faith and know no law. They are
terrorists." Meanwhile, international media reported on 13 June that the
first contingent of 200 French soldiers for the new Rapid Reaction Force
has begun arriving in Split. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] KRAJINA SERBS GET NEW PRIME MINISTER.
Knin's foreign minister and
longtime political figure, Milan Babic, became prime minister on 12
June, Tanjug reported. He replaced Borislav Mikelic, who was sacked in
May because he was regarded as too pliant toward both Belgrade and
Zagreb. Babic is now the ally of his old rival, President Milan Martic,
in calling for some sort of union with the Bosnian Serbs, despite
objections from eastern Slavonian Serbs and from Belgrade. Meanwhile at
the United Nations, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali said in a
report that it will not be possible to redeploy UNCRO peacekeepers by 30
June as expected. Zagreb had demanded that the men be stationed on
Croatia's external borders as part of the deal to renew the UN's
mandate. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] SERBIAN ECONOMIC NEWS.
Nasa Borba on 13 June reported that over the past
several days, the rump Yugoslav currency, the so-called "super dinar,"
has experienced a free fall against the German mark. The currency was
introduced in January 1994 and pegged to the value of the mark at a rate
of 1:1. It came under similar inflationary pressures in late March 1995,
trading unofficially in Belgrade at up to 5 to DM 1 (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 28 March 1995). -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[06] EU OPENS TALKS WITH CROATIA, ITALY BLOCKS SLOVENIAN ACCORD.
The EU
foreign ministers on 12 June agreed to open talks with Croatia on a
trade and cooperation accord, international agencies reported the same
day. The ministers tentatively agreed to such a move in April, after
Croatia extended the mandate for UN peacekeepers, but they backed off in
May when Croatia took territory in western Slavonia. The EU ministers
linked success in the negotiations to Croatia's continued cooperation in
the UN peace process and its respect for democracy and human rights.
Meanwhile, Italy continued to block the signing of the EU association
accord with Slovenia in a long-running dispute over property rights for
Italians who fled the country after World War II. -- Michael Mihalka
[07] KOSOVO UPDATE.
The Albanian shadow-state University of Pristina has
announced a competition for 6,077 new students to enroll this year,
Kosova Daily Report said on 12 June. The university went underground in
1991 when the Serbian regime declared the Albanian-language departments
of the University of Pristina illegal and sacked almost 1,000 teachers
and over 20,000 students. Meanwhile, the trial of 72 ethnic Albanian
former policemen resumed in Pristina the same day. The policemen are
accused of involvement in establishing a shadow-state police force.
Defendants have said that the trial is "aimed at incriminating the
Albanian democratic movement." Detainees have reportedly been subjected
to torture during pre-trial detention. Elsewhere, former policemen are
reported to have been evicted from their apartments by Serbian
authorities. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[08] MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS AGAINST MEMBERSHIP IN COUNCIL OF EUROPE.
A letter
from the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PPD) to the
Council of Europe saying that Macedonia does not meet the criteria to be
accepted into the council has sparked an outcry in the Macedonian media.
Vecer on 13 June called the letter an "anti-Macedonian pamphlet." The
PPD argues that accession should follow only "after the true
democratization of Macedonia begins," MIC reported on 12 June. It claims
that the Albanian minority has been deprived of the constitutional
status it has enjoyed since 1974. The PPD further criticized the
electoral law and the ban on Albanian-language higher education. It also
expressed doubts about the independence of the judiciary. -- Fabian
Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[09]CHIEF OF BULGARIAN PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM KILLED.
Georgi Nikolov, a
former riot policeman and chief of First Private Militia, was killed in
the Black Sea town of Burgas on 10 June, Demokratsiya reported. The
assailant shot Nikolov three times in the head and fled before police
could block nearby roads. Nikolov's security firm, the largest in
Burgas, was banned by the police in May on suspicion of involvement in
an extortion racket. But guards from the company continued to provide
security to hotels, restaurants and bars in the area. Well-informed
sources allege that Nikolov was killed because he wanted to abandon
providing security services in favor of "clean business." -- Stefan
Krause, OMRI, Inc.
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