OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 117, 16 June 1995
CONTENTS
[01] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES BIG OFFENSIVE.
[02] WILL THEY BREAK THE SIEGE?
[03] KARADZIC CALLS THE CAMPAIGN "A LAST TRY."
[04] SECURITY COUNCIL BACKS RAPID REACTION FORCE.
[05] KRAJINA REFUGEES IN SERBIA PRESS-GANGED.
[06] MACEDONIAN NATIONALISTS AND ETHNIC ALBANIANS DISCUSS COALITION.
[07] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION AGREES TO SIGN ELECTION MEMORANDUM.
[08] UPDATE ON GREEK EARTHQUAKE.
[09] ALBANIAN WHO SHOT AT U.S. SOLDIERS SENTENCED.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 117, Part II, 16 June 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES BIG OFFENSIVE.
International media on 16
June reported that Bosnian government forces launched a major drive at
dawn to break the Serbian siege of Sarajevo. The move was rumored for
days because of the buildup of 15,000-30,000 troops north of the
capital. Both Serbian and government troops have taken many of their
heavy weapons from UN storage depots, and the Serbs fired on Sarajevo
with their six captured French light tanks. Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic, in a TV address hours before the offensive began, said
supply routes would be reopened to "prevent further strangulation of the
city." Intense fighting is reported both to the north and south of
Sarajevo, and government forces have moved up from the Mostar area. In
central Bosnia, they are attacking around Telsic on the Doboj-Banja Luka
road. -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.
[02] WILL THEY BREAK THE SIEGE?
The mainly Muslim army is strong on manpowerbut lacks sufficient arms, especially heavy weapons. But it now appears
that the Bosnian Croats are helping by bringing up their big guns
against the Serbs. Croatian TV estimates that the joint campaign could
take up to 20 days and involve 3,000 casualties, while the BBC said that
the government will probably need up to 50,000 men to dislodge the
12,000 Serbs. A correspondent in the city said that people are preparing
for random Serbian shelling of civilian targets but that Sarajevans have
stopped hoping for help from the international community. The VOA added
that the government has placed all territory under its control on
"unprecedented special alert" and that police patrols outside public
buildings have been beefed up. -- Patrick Moore , OMRI, Inc.
[03] KARADZIC CALLS THE CAMPAIGN "A LAST TRY."
Bosnian Prime Minister HarisSilajdzic on 14 June cut short a visit to Washington, saying that his
government was taking "countermeasures" to protect Sarajevo. News
agencies quoted Mayor Tarik Kuposovic as adding that liberation is at
hand. Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey said the offensive was prompted
by the UN's failure to enforce the heavy weapons exclusion zone. UN
special envoy Yasushi Akashi stated on 15 June that he is worried by the
offensive, but "at the same time . . . can well understand the anxiety
of the government about Sarajevo." Nasa Borba on 16 June quotes Karadzic
as calling the offensive "a last try to change the situation on the
ground." The local Bosnian Serb army commander, Major-General Dragomir
Milosevic, told SRNA that his soldiers would smash any attempt to break
the siege. He also warned that the activities around Sarajevo could be a
ploy to distract attention from attacks elsewhere. -- Patrick Moore,
OMRI, Inc.
[04] SECURITY COUNCIL BACKS RAPID REACTION FORCE.
The G-7, meeting in Halifax
on 15 June, urged the combatants in Bosnia and Croatia to cease all
military activity and pursue a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile at the
UN, the Security Council approved the RRF in a 13-0 vote on Resolution
998, with Russia and China abstaining. The question of financing has
been postponed in view of uncertainties about whether the U.S. will pay
for part of the costs. The troops will wear national uniforms and not
have white vehicles, but otherwise it seems that the RRF will be just an
arm of UNPROFOR. In Bosnia itself, the Serbs continue to hold 26
peacekeepers hostage, including two of the three Czech officers
originally taken captive. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] KRAJINA REFUGEES IN SERBIA PRESS-GANGED.
Serbian authorities have begun
a new wave of rounding up ethnic Serbian refugees from the Serb-held
Krajina regions of Croatia for military service, Reuters reported on 15
June. This latest wave began on 11 June with police and army night raids
on refugee centers and residences housing refuges. It is the biggest
such operation since January 1994. AFP observes that the operation, in
contravention to both the United Nations and UN High Commissioner for
Refugees charters, specifically targets ethnic Serbian refugees in
Serbia's northern Vojvodina region. Some men press-ganged for service in
the armed forces of the self proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina have
"jumped off moving buses to escape," AFP noted. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI,
Inc.
[06] MACEDONIAN NATIONALISTS AND ETHNIC ALBANIANS DISCUSS COALITION.
Negotiations on a coalition between the nationalist Internal Macedonian
Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National
Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) and the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic
Prosperity (PPD) and the Democratic People's Party (PDP) took place in
S
kopje on 15 June. The VMRO-DPMNE needs the PPD and PDP votes to elect a
new mayor for the Macedonian capital. The PPD leadership has reportedly
given the green light to its legislators. In exchange, it would gain the
post of vice president at the Town Hall, until now held by the Internal
Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Macedonian National Democratic
Union (VMRO-MNDS). Negotiations between the VMRO-DPMNE and the VMRO-MNDS
reportedly ended "in total disaster," MIC reported on 15 June. -- Fabian
Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[07] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION AGREES TO SIGN ELECTION MEMORANDUM.
The Union of
Democratic Forces (SDS), the People's Union, and the ethnic Turkish
Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) have agreed to sign a memorandum
on joint action in the forthcoming local elections, Demokratsiya
reported on 16 June. The memorandum allows opposition local
organizations to nominate joint candidates for the post of mayor. The
SDS leadership initially said it will not sign an agreement with the DPS
on a national level, but the deputy chairmen of the three formations on
15 June agreed on a common text. The document is to be signed on 16 June
by the leaders of the three parties. -- Stefan Krause , OMRI, Inc.
[08] UPDATE ON GREEK EARTHQUAKE.
International agencies on 16 June reported
that the death toll in the earthquake that hit Central Greece the
previous day has risen to at least 16. More than a dozen people are
still unaccounted for, while 73 were transferred to hospitals in Aigion
and Patras. Authorities declared about 500 buildings uninhabitable. In
Aigion alone, almost 900 houses were damaged. President Kostis
Stephanopoulos and government members went to the area, while Prime
Minister Andreas Papandreou issued a letter of condolence. French and
Swiss rescue teams arrived in Greece to assist local authorities in the
search for survivors, while Japan also offered its help. Meanwhile, MIC
reported that Macedonia was hit by a quake on 14 June measuring 4 on the
Mercalli scale. No damage or injuries were reported. -- Stefan Krause,
OMRI, Inc.
[09] ALBANIAN WHO SHOT AT U.S. SOLDIERS SENTENCED.
The Albanian who shot at
two U.S. soldiers during the first joint military exercises between
Albania and NATO in January has been sentenced to one year in prison,
Reuters reported on 15 June. The man, who wounded the soldiers after a
bar brawl, was convicted of illegal possession of arms. Charges of
homicide were dropped after the court ruled he was mentally
"irresponsible" when he fired the shots. The man claimed the Americans
had molested his fiancee while he was celebrating his engagement with
friends. He has a previous record of mental disorders. -- Fabian
Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
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