OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 133, 11 July 1995

From: "Steve Iatrou" <[email protected]>

CONTENTS

  • [01] SERBS GIVE SREBRENICA AN ULTIMATUM.

  • [02] WHAT DO THE SERBS WANT?

  • [03] CAN THE UN RECOVER CREDIBILITY?

  • [04] FERAL TRIBUNE UPDATE.

  • [05] MACEDONIAN-ETHNIC ALBANIAN TALKS IN GENEVA FAIL.

  • [06] ENORMOUS DAMAGE FROM DOWNPOUR IN MACEDONIA.

  • [07] IRANIAN FIRST VICE PRESIDENT IN BULGARIA.

  • [08] FORMER BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER TO RUN FOR MAYOR OF SOFIA.

  • [09] BOUTROS GHALI IN ATHENS.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 133, Part II, 11 July 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [01] SERBS GIVE SREBRENICA AN ULTIMATUM.

    International media on 11 July reported that Bosnian Serb forces have given Bosnian government forces and the 42,000 civilians in Srebrenica until dawn on 13 July to give up their weapons and leave town. Some of the civilian refugees appear to have already begun leaving for the surrounding hills. Serbian artillery on 10 July also pounded Sarajevo and Zepa. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 11 July said the Bosnian government has accused the UN of "deliberate inactivity despite the highly dramatic developments" around Srebrenica, adding that if the Serbs take the town there may be little sense in maintaining any UN presence in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Vecernji list added that women and children in Tuzla are threatening to blockade local UN forces unless UNPROFOR turns the Serbs away from Srebrenica. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [02] WHAT DO THE SERBS WANT?

    UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali on 10July said the UN might call in NATO air strikes if necessary. When a Dutch commander sought air support, however, the UN civilian headquarters hesitated until the immediate danger passed. The International Herald Tribune on 11 July quoted UN officials as saying they do not believe the Serbs actually intend to take Srebrenica but merely want to embarrass the Bosnian government and the UN. According to this view, Srebrenica represents no threat to the Serbs, who, in any event, do not need 42,000 more Muslim civilians on their hands. The BBC said that as of 11:00 a.m. local time on 11 July, Dutch peacekeepers continued to patrol Srebrenica but there was no word as to whether the Serbian advance was continuing. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] CAN THE UN RECOVER CREDIBILITY?

    International media on 11 July discussedhow the international organization has found itself in its current predicament and whether it can be taken seriously again. They maintain that it has only itself to blame for repeatedly failing to make use of superior force in response to aggression by irregulars backed by the rump Yugoslav army and command structure. Nor did the UN enhance its status in the Balkans by making a secret deal to free the hostages the Serbs took in late May and effectively giving into Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's blackmail. Media reports added that the UN continues to display indecisiveness by questioning whether its own mandate in Srebrenica allows it to attack the Serbs only if the peacekeepers are fired on or if the town itself is invaded. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] FERAL TRIBUNE UPDATE.

    Government authorities in Split have begun legal proceedings against the three thugs who publicly stole and burned copies of the independent satirical weekly Feral Tribune on 27 June. Journalists suspected the authorities of at least complicity in the young men's actions. The three are charged with offenses against the press and could be fined or receive up to a year in prison, Novi list reported on 11 July. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] MACEDONIAN-ETHNIC ALBANIAN TALKS IN GENEVA FAIL.

    Negotiations between the Macedonian government and the three main ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia have ended without any success, international media reported. Macedonia's ministers of education, justice, and internal affairs participated in the talks, under the mediation of Gerd Ahrens from the Geneva Conference on the Former Yugoslavia. The talks focused on higher education, the legalization of the self-proclaimed Albanian-language university in Tetovo, local self-administration, and the use of Albanian as an official language. Meanwhile, 10 ethnic Albanians convicted in June 1994 of forming a paramilitary group are to be amnestied by Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov in August. Albania had called their trial a "rigged political process." Radio Tirana said the move was important for "easing tension in interethnic relations and starting closer bilateral relations and cooperation." -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] ENORMOUS DAMAGE FROM DOWNPOUR IN MACEDONIA.

    Heavy rain, storms, and subsequent flooding on 6 July have caused enormous damage in southeastern Macedonia, MIC reported on 10 July. The damage is estimated at several hundreds of millions of dollars. In the regions of Kavadarci and Negotino, which were hardest hit, two-thirds of the crops were destroyed and 3,000 houses damaged. One person is reported missing in Kavadarci. The rail line and highway from Skopje to Gevgelija was also damaged. President Kiro Gligorov, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, and Defense Minister Blagoj Handziski visited the region over the weekend, promising state assistance. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] IRANIAN FIRST VICE PRESIDENT IN BULGARIA.

    Hassan Habibi arrived in Bulgaria for a three-day visit on 10 July, international agencies reported the same day. Habibi and Bulgarian Prime Minister Zhan Videnov agreed to work together to fight drug trafficking and to improve facilities for trade payments in order to boost bilateral trade. Bulgarian government spokesman Nikola Baltov said trade between the two countries fell from $335 million in 1985 to $114 million in 1994, with Bulgarian exports totaling just $10 million. Baltov said Bulgaria hopes to restore "agricultural and food exports for Iran," while Iran will provide Bulgaria with additional oil supplies. Habibi will meet President Zhelyu Zhelev and Parliamentary President Blagovest Sendov on 11 July. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] FORMER BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER TO RUN FOR MAYOR OF SOFIA.

    Reneta Indzhova will run in the elections for mayor of Sofia, Standart reported on 11 July. Her candidacy is supported by the People's Union, an opposition party that has 18 of the 240 seats in the Bulgarian parliament. The opposition agreed last month to cooperate in local elections; but the Union of Democratic Forces is reluctant to support Indzhova, since it wants to score a success in Sofia itself, Kapital reported. Indzhova headed an interim government from September 1994 to January 1995 and was the first woman to become Bulgarian premier. According to opinion polls, she has a good chance of winning the elections in the Bulgarian capital. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] BOUTROS GHALI IN ATHENS.

    UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali met with Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias on 10 July, Western agencies reported the same day. They discussed the war in Bosnia, Greece's relations with Macedonia and Turkey, and the situation in Cyprus. Boutros Ghali called the talks "extremely fruitful and positive," saying he was confident Greece's problems with its neighbors will be settled quickly and peacefully. "Negotiations are going on between Athens and Skopje, and I believe we are near to finding a solution," Boutros Ghali said after the meeting with Papandreou and Papoulias. He also said the UN will continue its efforts to find a "peaceful solution" to the Cyprus issue. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a Prague-based nonprofit organization.

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