OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 140, 20 July 1995
CONTENTS
[01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?
[02] "GENOCIDE" IN SREBRENICA.
[03] FRANCE WANTS U.S. TO FACE UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITIES.
[04] KARADZIC SAYS HE'S NOT AFRAID OF ARMS FOR BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.
[05] FOUR YEARS OF ANTI-WAR ACTION IN SERBIA.
[06] MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT SNUBS PALE.
[07] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT HEAD BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST FINANCE MINISTER.
[08] VAN DER STOEL IN ALBANIA, MACEDONIA.
[09] KOSOVAR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MEETS WITH ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS.
[10] TURKEY ARRESTS BULGARIAN CITIZENS.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 140, Part II, 20 July 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?
Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic said thecivilian authorities in the besieged UN-designated "safe area"
surrendered during the evening of 19 July. He added that wounded Muslims
will be evacuated to Sarajevo and that other civilians "who want it"
will start to be transported to government-controlled Kladanj on the
afternoon of 20 July. International media reported, however, that
Mladic's statement, which was carried by SRNA, has not been confirmed.
Reuters said that the picture from Sarajevo is confused, while AFP
quoted Ukrainian peacekeepers in Zepa as saying that the town has not
fallen. The Serbs have previously claimed that towns have surrendered
when this was not the case. BETA quoted the mayor of Zepa as saying that
panic has broken out. Meanwhile, Krajina Serb forces continue to pound
Bihac with the help of troops loyal to local Muslim renegade Fikret
Abdic. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[02] "GENOCIDE" IN SREBRENICA.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 20 July
reported on a controversy in Holland over blunt remarks by Minister for
Economic Development Pronk following his return from Tuzla. Pronk told
the media that "we should not allow ourselves to be treated as fools by
people who say that nothing [about atrocities by Serbs in Srebrenica]
has been confirmed.... There were real massacres. We knew that this
could happen. The Serbs have done this many times. That which is going
on is genocide." Other politicians have criticized Pronk for violating
the "policy of restraint" lest the Serbs take revenge on Dutch
peacekeepers. UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi said that he knows nothing
about genocide in Srebrenica. Nasa Borba reported that the new Serbian
authorities there are restoring utilities and have invited Serbian
families who fled in 1992 to return. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] FRANCE WANTS U.S. TO FACE UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITIES.
President Bill
Clinton on 19 July had telephone conversations with other Western
leaders, but they have yet to agree on a joint approach to keep the
Serbs out of Gorazde and Sarajevo. All agree that something must be
done, but the Americans favor massive air strikes against a variety of
targets while the French want U.S. helicopters to ferry 1,000 of their
troops into Gorazde. The White House is afraid of Americans being killed
or captured by the Serbs, who would certainly target the helicopters.
Washington also faces problems, however, if nothing is done and UNPROFOR
withdraws, since it is committed to providing ground troops to help the
evacuation. French officials say that the U.S. must stop dodging its
international responsibilities and bear a fair share of the burden in
Bosnia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] KARADZIC SAYS HE'S NOT AFRAID OF ARMS FOR BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.
The VOA on
20 July reported that Senator Bob Dole will postpone a vote on his
measure to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian government until
after Western security officials meet on 21 July. BETA quoted Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as saying that he is not worried about "the
Muslims" getting more arms, since they already have good weapons but are
still poor fighters. The independent Belgrade news agency also reported
that Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak denied French charges that he
is "sabotaging" deployment of the new Rapid Reaction Force. Zubak, who
is also president of the Croatian-Muslim federation, accused the troops
of haughtiness and said that "we are neither bandits nor a colony." He
added that the RRF must have and respect a clearly defined mandate. --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] FOUR YEARS OF ANTI-WAR ACTION IN SERBIA.
The Center for Anti-War Action,
located in Belgrade, is marking its fourth anniversary, Nasa Borba
reported on 20 July. Since its founding, the center has been involved in
creating a network of activists opposed to Belgrade's regional war
policies. It has evolved into a pressure group linking journalists,
human rights activists, social workers, and refugee aid workers. Also,
it has helped establish the Internet e-mail network "Zamir." -- Fabian
Schmidt and Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[06] MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT SNUBS PALE.
Montena-fax on 19 July reported that
the Montenegrin government recently refused demands by Serbian
authorities in the self proclaimed Republic of Srpska in Bosnia to
forcibly mobilize ethnic Serb refugees from outside the rump Yugoslavia
who have fled to Montenegro. Montena-fax also notes, however, that
uneasy feelings run rife through the refugee community in Montenegro.
Members of Pale's police force have been spotted on Podgorica streets,
causing refugees to "live in fear" of being kidnapped for military
service. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[07] ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT HEAD BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST FINANCE MINISTER.
Zef
Brozi, head of the Albanian Supreme Court, has brought charges against
Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni for failing to fulfill his ministerial
duties, BETA reported on 19 July. Brozi claims that for seven months,
Vrioni blocked the release of the court's budget in an attempt to
diminish the independence of the country's courts (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 17 July 1995). -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[08] VAN DER STOEL IN ALBANIA, MACEDONIA.
Max van der Stoel, OSCE high
commissioner on national minorities, visited Albania and Macedonia on 19
July, Flaka and BETA reported. In Tirana, he was received by Albanian
President Sali Berisha, who called on the OSCE to "actively protect the
human and national rights of the Albanians in Kosovo." Berisha praised
Van der Stoel for his efforts to help solve the conflict in Macedonia
over higher education in Albanian. In Macedonia, Van der Stoel met with
Abdurrahman Aliti, leader of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic
Prosperity, and discussed ways of interpreting Article 48 of the
Macedonian Constitution so as not to ban higher education in Albanian.
-- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[09] KOSOVAR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MEETS WITH ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS.
Leaders of
the Albanian Socialist Party met in Tirana on 19 July with Mark
Krasniqi, leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo. The
Socialists stressed that "it is necessary to unite all Albanians and
political parties in Albania and Kosovo around the national question."
Krasniqi earlier met with Albanian President Sali Berisha and Pjeter
Arbnori, speaker of the Albanian parliament, BETA reported. -- Fabian
Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[10] TURKEY ARRESTS BULGARIAN CITIZENS.
Turkish police have arrested between
1,200 and 1,500 ethnic Turkish Bulgarian citizens who were living
illegally in Istanbul and detained them in a former army camp, the
Bulgarian press reported on 20 July. Under Turkish law, they have to be
expelled within 24 hours, but Turkey seems to fear the consequences of a
mass expulsion to Bulgaria. Standart quotes Bulgarian Consul-General
Kiril Momchilov as saying he has no information about the case. An
agreement between the two countries states that the Bulgarian mission is
to be informed about police action against illegal immigrants from
Bulgaria. Relations between Turkey and Bulgaria were described as good
by both sides during Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's visit to
Bulgaria in early July. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
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