OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 122, 23 June 1995
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIA CONCERNED WITH UN STANCE IN BOSNIA.
[02] FRENCH MADE A DEAL FOR HOSTAGES' RELEASE.
[03] ALBRIGHT CRITICIZES AKASHI LETTER TO SERBS.
[04] UN REPORT SLAMS SERBIAN ATROCITIES.
[05] SERBIAN OPPOSITION RESPONDS TO PRESS-GANGING.
[06] SERBIAN PLANES VIOLATE ALBANIAN AIRSPACE.
[07] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES LOCAL ELECTION LAW.
[08] BULGARIAN, TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTRIES TO COOPERATE.
[09] GREEK-TURKISH UPDATE.
[10] LAW ON PRIVATE EDUCATION ADOPTED IN ALBANIA. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 122, Part I, 23 June 1995
RUSSIA
[01] RUSSIA CONCERNED WITH UN STANCE IN BOSNIA.
In a statement released on 22
June, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed regret that the UN Security
Council had not taken action in response to the alleged blockade of UN
peacekeeping forces by Bosnian government troops, Interfax reported.
With fighting in Bosnia intensifying, the spokesmen told journalists
Russia had twice this week asked for an emergency session of the
Security Council to discuss the continued obstruction of peacekeeping
operations by Bosnian government forces but had been rebuffed.
Continuing silence on this issue may call into question the
"impartiality" of the UN, added the spokesman. Also on 22 June, a senior
Russian industrial official told Interfax that Russia is prepared to
resume scientific and technological cooperation with rump Yugoslavia as
soon as international sanctions are lifted. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 122, Part II, 23 June 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[02] FRENCH MADE A DEAL FOR HOSTAGES' RELEASE.
Western and Belgrade dailies
on 23 June report that French military authorities bargained for the
UNPROFOR hostages' freedom, even when Paris was saying publicly that the
prisoners' release must be unconditional. The UN commander in the former
Yugoslavia, General Bernard Janvier, held secret meetings with Bosnian
Serb commander General Ratko Mladic in Zvornik and Pale, and General
Bertrand de Lapresle came directly from Paris to cut a deal. As the
Bosnian Serb foreign minister said at the time, the Serbs received
assurances that there will be no more NATO air strikes against them in
return for releasing the hostages. The New York Times reported that the
UN commander in Bosnia, Lt. Gen. Rupert Smith, is at odds with Janvier
and opposed the talks. Nasa Borba quoted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic as saying that taking the hostages was a mistake. -- Patrick
Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] ALBRIGHT CRITICIZES AKASHI LETTER TO SERBS.
The VOA on 23 June reported
that U.S. Ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright released a statement
the previous day opposing UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi's recent
letter to Karadzic. Akashi had assured the Serbs that the new Rapid
Reaction Force would have no more teeth than UNPROFOR. Albright wrote
that "the method, timing, and substance of this letter are highly
inappropriate." The BBC, however, said the statement was prompted
primarily by domestic political considerations and by President Bill
Clinton's desire to overcome Republican opposition to financing the RRF.
Meanwhile, Akashi clarified his refusal to approve NATO air strikes
against the Banja Luka airport in response to Bosnian Serb violations of
the "no-fly zone." Akashi claimed that UN resolutions permit retaliation
only against aircraft, not against airports. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI,
Inc.
[04] UN REPORT SLAMS SERBIAN ATROCITIES.
An RFE/RL correspondent quoted Le
Monde on 20 June as saying that for one year, the UN has known of a
report of its own showing that the Serbs alone have systematically
carried out war crimes as a conscious political policy. A recent CIA
study also blamed the Serbs for virtually all the atrocities, especially
those connected with deliberate "ethnic cleansing." The Paris daily adds
that the UN report clearly shows there "is no moral equivalence among
the warring sides" and throws into question attempts by former EU
mediator David Owen to treat all sides as equally responsible.
Meanwhile, Owen's successor, Carl Bildt, was in rump Yugoslavia for
talks with President Slobodan Milosevic. The BBC on 22 June said that
Bildt nonetheless has not yet chosen to reopen diplomatic contacts with
the Bosnian Serbs. International media added that the Serbs shelled a
line of people waiting for water in Sarajevo, killing several. --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] SERBIAN OPPOSITION RESPONDS TO PRESS-GANGING.
Nasa Borba on 23 June
reported that a member of the Democratic Party has sent a letter to
Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic and other officials criticizing the
press-ganging of ethnic Serbs, principally refugees, for military
service in Serb-occupied Croatia and Bosnia. The letter calls attention
to the fact that forcibly recruiting persons amounts to a "violation of
human rights." In a 22 June statement, the Serbian Renewal Movement
indicted recent events as "a savage hunt for people who are kidnapped
from student dorms...from apartments, and on the streets." The latest
campaign began on 11 June with a wave of kidnappings and police night
raids. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[06] SERBIAN PLANES VIOLATE ALBANIAN AIRSPACE.
Two Serbian military aircraft
flew over northern Albania on 21 June, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 23
June. According to Kosova Daily Report on 22 June, Serbian military
aircraft have repeatedly flown low over various residential areas in
Kosovo recently. Elsewhere, Secretary of State Warren Christopher told
Kosovar shadow state President Ibrahim Rugova during his visit to
Washington that the U.S. will not allow the war in Bosnia to spread to
Kosovo and reiterated a warning issued to Serbia by U.S. President
Clinton earlier. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[07] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES LOCAL ELECTION LAW.
The National Assembly
on 22 June adopted the draft law on local elections on its first
reading, Demokratsiya reported the following day. Krasimir Premyanov,
leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) caucus, said the law lays
the foundations for effective policy on local government and will help
the reform process, but opposition deputies strongly criticized it on
several points. The main objections was to the provision that three,
rather than two, mayoral candidates take part in the second round of
voting, which, the opposition claims, favors the BSP. It also objects to
the provision that the number of candidates on party lists for municipal
councils equals the number of seats in the council, since this will
handicap small parties. Finally, the opposition claims that the law
imposes restrictions on the media in reporting about the election
campaign. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[08] BULGARIAN, TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTRIES TO COOPERATE.
Sofia and Ankara
will take joint actions against the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and
coordinate the fight against drug trafficking, 24 chasa reported on 23
June. The two countries' Interior Ministries also agreed to simplify the
extradition procedures for Bulgarian criminals living in Turkey. A
Bulgarian police delegation is expected to go to Istanbul soon to
discuss further details. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry claims that
Kurds living in Bulgaria are not involved in terrorist activities and
are not trained in the country. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[09] GREEK-TURKISH UPDATE.
Greek Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis on 21
June accused Turkey of "violating the elementary rules of international
law and order," Greek media reported the following day. He was
responding to Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's statement the
previous day that an extension of Greece's territorial waters from six
to 12 miles would be a cause for war. Arsenis said that merchant ships
and warships will have "the right of safe passage [through the Aegean]
in peacetime." Both Ciller and Arsenis were addressing the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Western European Union in Paris. Meanwhile in Athens,
Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said "Greece's foreign policy
is a matter for our country and we are not interested in what Ciller has
to say." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[10] LAW ON PRIVATE EDUCATION ADOPTED IN ALBANIA.
The Albanian parliament
passed a law on private education on 21 June, international agencies
reported. The law allows the establishment of religious and foreign-
language high schools, but only with government approval. So far, such
schools have needed special permits. In foreign-language schools,
instruction in Albanian will remain compulsory. Only Petrit Kalakula,
the leader of the Democratic Party of the Right, voted against the
draft. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.
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