OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 142, 24 July 1995
CONTENTS
[01] WESTERN ALLIES PUT SERBS ON NOTICE.
[02] DID THE FRENCH BOMB PALE?
[03] CROATIA PLEDGES HELP FOR BIHAC.
[04] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY "ALWAYS PRODUCES HALF MEASURES."
[05] SERBIAN WITNESS CONFIRM SREBRENICA ATROCITIES.
[06] BELGRADE CAUTIONS BOSNIAN SERBS, MLADIC CALLS FOR WAR.
[07] GREEK, BOSNIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS BOSNIAN WAR.
[08] LEADERS OF BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH PARTY MEET.
[09] BULGARIA WILL NOT EXTRADITE SUSPECTS IN HUNGARIAN DEATH TRUCK CASE.
[10] ALBANIAN COURT TURNS DOWN PROSECUTOR'S REQUEST TO RELEASE NANO.
[11] U.S. SPY-PLANE MISSION IN ALBANIA EXTENDED UNTIL OCTOBER.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 142, Part II, 24 July 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] WESTERN ALLIES PUT SERBS ON NOTICE.
International media on 24 July reported
that British, French, and U.S. representatives the previous day warned
Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic that "massive and
unprecedented" air strikes awaited the Bosnian Serbs should they attack
Gorazde or other "safe areas" in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It appears that this
warning, as well as the vaguer formulations issued in London by the Contact
Group on 22 July, apply to Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Bihac, but not to embattled
Zepa. The allies told the Serbs that there can be "no military solution" in
Bosnia and that further attacks against the UN-designated zones "cannot be
tolerated." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[02] DID THE FRENCH BOMB PALE?
Fighting continued over the weekend around Zepa,where the Bosnian government defenders refuse to surrender and be killed
wholesale by the Serbs, which seems to have been the fate of the Muslim
troops in Srebrenica. International media on 24 July also said that Serbs
killed two French peacekeepers on 22 July and that an unidentified bomb
appeared to have hit Pale the next day. Liberation reported that the device
came from a French Mirage aircraft, which President Jacques Chirac
allegedly ordered personally to attack the home of someone close to Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. AFP reported that Chirac's office denied the
story, but the French news agency later reported that a general alert has
been declared in Pale after three unidentified aircraft dropped several
bombs on the morning of 24 July. Meanwhile, hundreds of British and French
troops from the new Rapid Reaction Force arrived on Mt. Igman near Sarajevo
to defend UNPROFOR against more Serbian attacks. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI,
Inc.
[03] CROATIA PLEDGES HELP FOR BIHAC.
The VOA on 23 July said that "the most
serious fighting" over the weekend was in the Bihac pocket, where the Serbs
have taken 75 sq km of territory since 19 July. The "safe area" is being
hit by renegade Muslims from the north, Krajina Serbs from the west, and
Bosnian Serbs from the east and south. Croatian Foreign Minister Mate
Granic told the BBC on 23 July that the fall of Bihac would affect his
country's "vital interests" since it would consolidate land links between
Krajina and the Bosnian Serbs. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his
Bosnian counterpart, Alija Izetbegovic, met in Split on 22 July. They were
accompanied by large delegations and, "in an unofficial capacity," by the
highly influential U.S. Ambassador Peter Galbraith, Slobodna Dalmacija
wrote on 24 July. Vecernji list carried the text of the final declaration,
which stressed that the meeting was aimed at consolidating the
Muslim-Croatian federation. It also noted that Sarajevo asked Zagreb for
"urgent military and other assistance," which the Croats then promised. It
is not clear what form the Croatian support will take. -- Patrick Moore,
OMRI, Inc.
[04] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY "ALWAYS PRODUCES HALF MEASURES."
This is howBosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic reacted to the vague decisions of
the London meeting of the Contact Group, the International Herald Tribune
said on 22 July. U.S. Senator Robert Dole announced he would go ahead with
plans for a Senate vote on lifting the arms embargo against the Bosnian
government. The eight-member ad hoc committee of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference met on 21 July and declared the embargo "invalid and
immoral." IRNA reported on 24 July that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar
Velyati will organize a meeting of Islamic defense ministers and military
chiefs to discuss ways of helping the embattled republic. Bosnian Foreign
Minister Muhamed Sacirbey said that he already has promises of help but
that the details have to be worked out. (See related item in Russian
section.) -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] SERBIAN WITNESS CONFIRM SREBRENICA ATROCITIES.
British and Serbian
journalists have interviewed Serbs on either side of the Drina River who
confirmed charges that Bosnian Serb forces are systematically massacring
Muslim men in Bratunac. The Independent wrote on 21 July that one woman
said her relatives in Bratunac "are quite open about what is going on. They
are killing Muslim soldiers. They said they killed 1,600 [on 17 July] alone
and estimated that in all they had killed about 4,000 men." The horror
stories from Srebrenica appear to have led to a big change in how much of
the world views the war. President Bill Clinton over the weekend spoke of
"Serbian aggression" rather than of "warring factions." Pope John Paul II
in a series of statements has called for "defensive and proportionate"
intervention in Bosnia in "a just war" to defend the civilian population.
He said that if Europe did not react to "acts of barbarity and crimes
against humanity," it risked falling into the "depths of ignominy." --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[06] BELGRADE CAUTIONS BOSNIAN SERBS, MLADIC CALLS FOR WAR.
BETA on 24 July
reported that the federal parliament of the rump Yugoslavia appealed on 21
July to the Bosnian Serbs not to attack the Bosnian Muslim enclave of
Gorazde. Legislators argued that an attack against Gorazde would result in
civilian casualties and endanger the regional peace process. Meanwhile,
BETA also reported that General Ratko Mladic, military leader of the
Bosnian Serbs, continues to accuse the Bosnian Muslims of aggression and
has threatened to overrun Bosnian government forces and territory. "By
autumn we will occupy Zepa, Gorazde, Bihac, and, if need be, even Sarajevo
and end this war," Mladic said. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[07] GREEK, BOSNIAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS BOSNIAN WAR.
Karolos
Papoulias, Muhamed Sacirbey, and Ali Akbar Velayati met in Athens on 21
July to discuss a possible solution to the war in Bosnia, international
agencies reported the same day. Sacirbey urged rump Yugoslavia to recognize
his country and effectively close its borders to territory held by the
Bosnian Serbs. He proposed that sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro be
lifted as a reward or stiffened as a punishment. Sacirbey claimed the
Bosnian Serbs raped and murdered Moslems after taking the "safe area" of
Srebrenica, and he put the death toll as high as 5,000 to 10,000. "In one
instance, 1,600 young boys and older men were executed in a soccer stadium
after being taken prisoners," he was quoted as saying. Greek Foreign
Minister Papoulias is expected to brief Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic on the talks. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[08] LEADERS OF BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH PARTY MEET.
The leadership of the
Movement for Rights and Freedom (DPS) on 22 July met to discuss holding an
extraordinary party conference, Bulgarian media reported. Some leaders want
DPS Deputy Chairmen Osman Oktay and Yunal Lyutfi to resign and are
demanding structural changes within the party. Sixteen of the 22 regional
council chairmen are urging that a conference take place in order to
discuss those issues, but DPS chairman Ahmed Dogan has declined. Instead,
he submitted the resignation of all his deputies, saying they were elected
en bloc and therefore can resign only collectively. Their resignation was
not accepted, however, since some leaders argued that the DPS would have to
re-register and would be unable to take part in the forthcoming local
elections if registration were delayed for some reason. -- Stefan Krause,
OMRI, Inc.
[09] BULGARIA WILL NOT EXTRADITE SUSPECTS IN HUNGARIAN DEATH TRUCK CASE.
Sofia
City Prosecutor Nestor Nestorov on 21 July said Bulgarian citizens arrested
for alleged involvement in the death of 18 illegal Sri Lankan immigrants in
Hungary (see OMRI Daily Digest, 17 July 1995) will not be extradited,
Reuters reported the same day. He said Bulgarian law prevents the
extradition of Bulgarian citizens on criminal charges, adding that so far
Hungarian authorities have made no such request. The suspects will stand
trial in Bulgaria instead. Legal proceedings against them on charges on
manslaughter and forgery of travel documents have already been initiated.
Nestorov confirmed that the owner and driver of the truck have been
arrested, but he declined to say how many more people were being held. --
Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[10] ALBANIAN COURT TURNS DOWN PROSECUTOR'S REQUEST TO RELEASE NANO.
The Tirana
Appeals Court has turned down the surprising request by Prosecutor-General
Skender Denmeri to release Fatos Nano, leader of the Socialist Party ,
international agencies reported on 21 July. Nano has two years left to
serve from a prison sentence for falsifying documents and misappropriating
Italian aid funds. Denmeri argued that Nano should be released since his
prison term has been reduced by various amnesties and a new penal code
introduced on 1 June. Appeals Court judge Fatos Caku, however, argued that
Nano should have received a higher sentence under the new penal code and
therefore should remain in jail. Nano is expected to be released by
Albania's Supreme Court on 26 July. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[11] U.S. SPY-PLANE MISSION IN ALBANIA EXTENDED UNTIL OCTOBER. U.S.
unmanned
Predator spy planes employed in Albania since 14 July to gather
intelligence on Bosnia will continue their mission until October,
Montena-fax reported on 22 July. The undertaking has been extended because
of the recent worsening of the Bosnian crisis. Elsewhere, U.S. troops ended
the Sarex-2 program, which included military exercises for humanitarian
rescue operations. The exercises were the two countries' third joint
maneuvers, Lajmi i Dites reported on 22 July. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
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