OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 143, 25 July 1995
CONTENTS
[01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?
[02] SERBS CLOSE IN ON BIHAC.
[03] WHO BOMBED PALE?
[04] NATO FAILS TO REACH A DECISION ON AIR STRIKES.
[05] MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH KOZYREV.
[06] GREEK SENIOR DIPLOMAT DENOUNCES INTERRUPTION OF MACEDONIAN TALKS.
[07] RUMP YUGOSLAV HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER IN BULGARIA.
[08] BULGARIAN TV CHIEF CANCELS ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS.
[09] SLOVENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN TIRANA.
[10] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR MEETING OF BOSNIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 143, Part II, 25 July 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] HAS ZEPA FALLEN?
International media on 25 July said that the Bosniangovernment in Sarajevo has denied UN accounts that Zepa has in effect
surrendered. Bosnian authorities in the embattled "safe area" reportedly
made an agreement with the Serbs on the evacuation of women, children,
the sick, and the elderly. It is unclear what this would mean for
military-aged men, who appeared to prefer to die fighting rather than
face a massacre like the one that followed the Serbian conquest of
Srebrenica. UN special envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki said on 24 July that the
Serbs had committed "barbaric acts" against the Muslims in that eastern
Bosnian town. "What happened cannot be described as [moderate]
violations of human rights but as extremely serious violations on an
enormous scale," he concluded. UN spokesman Chris Gunness added that the
Serbs' "actions are an affront to the values of all civilized people."
-- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[02] SERBS CLOSE IN ON BIHAC.
The four-way assault by Krajina Serb, Bosnian
Serb, and rebel Muslim forces on the Bihac pocket continues. AFP on 25
July reported that Krajina units have reached the fringes of the "safe
area" itself, and Reuters wrote the previous day that the Serbs appear
to be trying to split the pocket in two and then mop up the separate
halves. A UN spokesman said that "this coordinated, deliberate attack on
all fronts represents arguably the most considerable military action in
Bosnia for many months." The VOA added that the UN Security Council has
warned the Serbs not to press their attack on Bihac. A French Foreign
Ministry spokesman urged "all parties to show restraint" and said that
the goal was to prevent another Srebrenica. He warned there could be a
"substantial and decisive response" if attacks persist. -- Patrick
Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] WHO BOMBED PALE?
Meanwhile near Sarajevo, British and French units ofthe new Rapid Reaction Force continued to arrive on Mt. Igman on 24
July. It remains uncertain, however, what accounted for the reported
bombings of the Bosnian Serb "capital" on the 23-24 July. Both France
and NATO denied they were responsible, although Liberation on 24 July
ran a detailed account of what it called a mission ordered personally by
President Jacques Chirac. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] NATO FAILS TO REACH A DECISION ON AIR STRIKES.
Ambassadors of the
Atlantic alliance meeting in Brussels on 24 July failed to agree on a
program for implementing the resolution approved in London on 21 July.
Another session is scheduled for the afternoon of 25 July. The
International Herald Tribune quoted an American official as saying that
"there's no snag. It's just complicated and time-consuming." But the VOA
said there are differences as to what would trigger air strikes, what
would be the targets, and who would order the missions. UN Secretary-
General Boutrous Boutrous Ghali insists that he have the final say, but
this is unacceptable to Washington, which wants the operations
exclusively in NATO hands. The International Herald Tribune on 24 July
quoted a French official as saying that "the object is to diminish the
firepower of the Serbs to a level where the Bosnians can hold their own,
not to raise the firepower of the Bosnians." U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Bob Dole has other ideas, however. The VOA reported that he will soon
call a vote on a unilateral lifting of the arms embargo against the
Bosnian government. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] MILOSEVIC MEETS WITH KOZYREV.
BETA on 24 July reported that Russian
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, allegedly acting on instructions from
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, arrived in Belgrade the same day for
talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Accompanying Kozyrev
were Russian Ambassador to Brussels and former special envoy to the
former Yugoslavia Vitalii Churkin and Contact Group representative
Aleksandr Zotov. The apparent reason for the visit, which followed the
London Conference's threat to use military action against the Bosnian
Serbs if they attacked the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Gorazde, was to
secure Milosevic's help in reining in the Bosnian Serb side. Kozyrev
reiterated Moscow's oft-repeated commitment to a peaceful resolution to
the Bosnian conflict. According to AFP, Milosevic used the opportunity
to condemn international "threats . . . [and] military action" aimed at
the Bosnian Serbs. "The international community must engage in creating
political conditions that are effective and capable of leading to a
stable peace," said Milosevic. AFP reported on 25 July that Kozyrev left
Belgrade saying he was "satisfied" with his visit. -- Stan Markotich,
OMRI, Inc.
[06] GREEK SENIOR DIPLOMAT DENOUNCES INTERRUPTION OF MACEDONIAN TALKS.
Former
Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Tzounis said the Greek government
has made a "mistake" by interrupting the Greek-Macedonian talks and
perpetuating the economic embargo against Macedonia. In an interview
with the Greek newspaper To Vima he noted that "the battle over the name
of Greece's northern neighbor is the core of the problem, [which is
endangering] security and peace in the region." To resolve the conflict,
he proposed bilateral treaties on the inviolability of existing borders
between Macedonia, rump Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria and Albania, BETA
reported on 24 July. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[07] RUMP YUGOSLAV HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTER IN BULGARIA.
Margit Savovic met with
Bulgarian deputies on 24 July, Bulgarian media reported. Saying that all
rump Yugoslav citizens enjoy equal rights, Savovic dismissed a report by
UN special envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki on human rights violations in her
country as "not objective." On the situation of the Bulgarian minority
in eastern Serbia, Savovic said Bulgarian is regarded as a mother tongue
by the authorities, but many Bulgarians do not have the desire to learn
it properly. She said the term "Western regions," used in Bulgaria to
describe the territories ceded to Yugoslavia in 1919, is "unacceptable"
and constituted interference in Yugoslav internal affairs. Former Prime
Minister Filip Dimitrov from the opposition Union of Democratic Forces
boycotted the meeting, saying he "will not meet with the minister for
human rights of a state that brutally violates them." -- Stefan Krause,
OMRI, Inc.
[08] BULGARIAN TV CHIEF CANCELS ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS.
Ivan Granitski, director
of Bulgarian National Television, announced on 23 July he is canceling
two weekly entertainment programs, international media reported the same
day. The two programs are a beauty contest and a game show. Granitski,
who was appointed by the Socialist majority in June, said he will ban
programs "propagating, violence, homosexuality, prostitution, gambling,
and drug addiction" as part of his "struggle for higher professional and
artistic levels of programs and against those [who] oppose national
interests." Prosecutor-General Ivan Tatarchev said he fully supports
Granitski's move because "national interests" require it. A commentator
for the independent weekly 168 chasa called the move "sheer nonsense."
-- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[09] SLOVENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN TIRANA.
Zoran Thaler visited Albania on 21
July, Gazeta Shqiptare reported the following day. At meetings with
Albanian President Sali Berisha and Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi,
both sides agreed to improve economic and military cooperation. They
also discussed the Bosnian crisis and the Kosovo conflict, reportedly
agreeing that "the aggressor must be punished." In other news, a high-
ranking U.S. diplomatic delegation arrived in Tirana for a two-day visit
on 24 July to discuss bilateral relations and the situation in the
region, Montena-fax reported the same day. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[10] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR MEETING OF BOSNIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS.
Karolos Papoulias on 24 July said Greece will try to arrange a dialogue
b
etween Bosnia's religious leaders, AFP reported the same day.
Papoulias, who was on two-day visit to Jordan, called such a meeting
"essential to finding a solution." He also said Greece will send
humanitarian aid to "all those suffering" in Bosnia. -- Stefan Krause,
OMRI, Inc.
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