OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 149, 2 August 1995

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] MOSCOW WARNS CROATIA TO HALT OFFENSIVE.

  • [02] SERBS HIT CROATS WITH JETS, ROCKETS.

  • [03] KARADZIC, MARTIC APPEAL TO MILOSEVIC FOR HELP.

  • [04] U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO LIFT ARMS EMBARGO.

  • [05] AKASHI CALLS ANOTHER MEETING.

  • [06] MILOSEVIC REITERATES COMMITMENT TO PEACE.

  • [07] NIMITZ IN MACEDONIA.

  • [08] AMNESTY FOR TWO ETHNIC ALBANIANS IN MACEDONIA.

  • [09] BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS UPDATE.

  • [10] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HIS ELECTION WAS "A DEAL" BETWEEN PARTIES.

  • [11] ALBANIAN PEASANTS CUT OFF WATER TO TIRANA.

  • [12] NEW ALBANIAN TV, RADIO DIRECTOR APPOINTED.

  • [13] INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS AGAINST ALBANIAN CENSORSHIP.

    •

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 149, Part I, 2 August 1995

    RUSSIA

    [01] MOSCOW WARNS CROATIA TO HALT OFFENSIVE.

    The Russian government has officially protested the recent attacks by Croatian forces in western Bosnia, Russian agencies reported on 1 August. The protest sent to Zagreb warned Croatian President Franjo Tudjman that the Croatian offensive could lead to an escalation of hostilities. Izvestiya commented on 2 August that Moscow's concern with the Croatian offensive is not shared by its Western partners in the international contact group, who hope that the Croatian attacks around Bihac will relieve them of the responsibility of carrying out their threats to use NATO air power to protect the UN "safe zone" there. The paper added that divisions between Moscow and the West will undermine recent Russian initiatives aimed at ending the Bosnian conflict. Yeltsin's proposed Bosnia peace plan evoked only skepticism from the Western powers, while his offer to send Russian troops to reinforce UN peacekeepers in Gorazde is unlikely to find acceptance because it would greatly complicate the use of NATO air power to defend the Muslim enclave. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.

    OMRI DAILY DIGEST

    No. 149, Part II, 2 August 1995

    SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [02] SERBS HIT CROATS WITH JETS, ROCKETS.

    The 2 August Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Krajina Serbs attacked Gospic with rockets the previous day. They also hit Croatian forces near Strmica with three Galeb jet aircraft. The International Herald Tribune quoted Bosnian government sources as saying that Belgrade has made great efforts in recent months to beef up the armed forces of the Krajina and Bosnian Serbs. Rump Yugoslavia has sent tanks, aircraft, missiles, and up to 40,000 troops, who could easily have been hidden among local Serb forces. Foreign military observers nonetheless saw troops around Zepa wearing rump Yugoslav army patches. Bosnian General Mustafa Hairulahlovic said that "the Yugoslav army is operating in the middle of our country." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [03] KARADZIC, MARTIC APPEAL TO MILOSEVIC FOR HELP.

    Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his Krajina counterpart, Milan Martic, held a crisis meeting on 1 August and urged Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to come to their aid, the BBC reported. The move is probably designed as a political ploy to force Milosevic to take a public stand on behalf of the Serbs of Bosnia and Krajina. The Serbian president has fallen out with his two former proteges over tactics and power relationships, but their strategic goals remain the same. Milosevic has made sure that in Croatia and Bosnia as well as in rump Yugoslavia, the Serbian military machine is both well integrated and funded. This was shown by Serbian payroll and other documents captured by the Croats in Western Slavonia in May. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [04] U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO LIFT ARMS EMBARGO.

    The House of Representatives voted 298-128 on 1 August to end the embargo against the Bosnian government. Like the measure passed in the Senate, it will only come into effect after considerable delay and does not provide for any arms sales or training. The VOA said that President Bill Clinton feels he can get enough votes to enforce his expected veto, but the bills passed both houses with strong bipartisan support. Elsewhere, NATO officials agreed on a plan to protect the remaining UN-declared Bosnian "safe areas" even if the Serbs only mass troops there and even if the Krajina Serbs attack from Croatian territory. But it remains to be seen whether NATO will want to face Serbian air defense systems and have pilots shot down. A European diplomat told the International Herald Tribune on 2 August that the problem is further complicated by the British, French, and Russian willingness to accept a Serbian project to redraw the map of Bosnia, which Washington and Bonn oppose. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [05] AKASHI CALLS ANOTHER MEETING.

    UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi will hold talks in Geneva on 3 August with Croatian and Krajina Serb representatives. The VOA said the previous day that there is little chance of a breakthrough and that Croatia agreed only because of Western pressure. Slobodna Dalmacija quoted UN officials as saying that Croatian troops are preparing to attack Knin. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the German Foreign Ministry has warned all German tourists to leave the Croatian coast south of Rijeka and the islands south of Split. This could further hamstring Croatia's efforts to revive its vital tourist industry. Finally, the International Herald Tribune said that the UN has accused the Bosnian army of using snipers in Sarajevo against the civilian population. The government denounced the charges, saying that "instead of doing its duty, the United Nations wishes to blame both sides equally. By doing so, [it] can justify remaining impassive." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

    [06] MILOSEVIC REITERATES COMMITMENT TO PEACE.

    Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on 1 August sent letters to Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic appealing for peace, international media reported. According to Reuters, Milosevic noted that continued fighting would result in "enormous human and material losses." The letters were sent one day before the international Contact Group's scheduled meeting in Washington. The BBC on 2 August reported that Milosevic contacted Mladic and Izetbegovic just hours before Karadzic and Martic issued appeals for military backing from Belgrade. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

    [07] NIMITZ IN MACEDONIA. U.S.

    special envoy Matthew Nimitz, mediating in the Greek-Macedonian dispute, ended a two-day visit to Macedonia on 1 August, Nova Makedonija reported the following day. Nimitz met with Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov and Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski. Talks focused on the prospects for direct Greek-Macedonian talks and for normalization of relations. The Macedonian side stressed its willingness to participate in such talks, but only on an equal footing. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [08] AMNESTY FOR TWO ETHNIC ALBANIANS IN MACEDONIA.

    Two ethnic Albanians sentenced two years ago for allegedly preparing an armed uprising have been amnestied by Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov, Flaka reported on 2 August. Seven more Albanians sentenced on the same charges were released after completing their terms. Among the released were two former secretaries of the Party of Democratic Prosperity and a former deputy defense minister. The Albanians were sentenced for allegedly building up a network of people who were to take part in an armed uprising, but Albanian politicians in Macedonia claimed that the trials were staged and repeatedly demanded that the accused be released. * Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [09] BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS UPDATE.

    Standart on 2 August reported that the opposition failed to agree on a common mayoral candidate for Sofia. A meeting scheduled for the previous day was canceled when representatives of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) did not show up. SDS Deputy Chairman Petar Stoyanov denied that a meeting was scheduled, but representatives of other parties contradicted him. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court on 1 August announced it will review the local election law in September. Both the SDS and President Zhelyu Zhelev had asked the court to review some of the law's provisions that, they claim, contradict the constitution. Judge Ivan Grigorov was cited by Demokratsiya as saying that irrespective of its ruling, the court "will not complicate or hamper . . . the elections." -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [10] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HIS ELECTION WAS "A DEAL" BETWEEN PARTIES. Zhelyu Zhelev, in an interview with Bulgarian Radio on 1 August, said his election by the Grand National Assembly in August 1990 resulted from a deal between the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Union of Democratic F

    orces. He rejected allegations that the BSP dictated the conditions for his elections. According to Zhelev, the Socialists agreed on his election in order to avoid an early ballot. He also denied allegations that the BSP tacitly supported his re-election by popular vote in 1992, saying the party did everything to remove him from office. Zhelev said that during his five years in office, restitution was stopped, privatization has not taken place, and land restitution is proceeding very slowly. These are the reasons for the growing crime rate, he added. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

    [11] ALBANIAN PEASANTS CUT OFF WATER TO TIRANA.

    Some 70 farmers on 29 July took control of the Bovilla pumping station, north of Tirana, and cut off the water supplies to the capital to protest a dam project that would drive them from their land, Reuters reported on 1 August. Supplies were restored the same day, and the farmers were taken into custody. They have accused the government of breaking a promise to give them land and housing equivalent in value to what they would lose. The dam is expected to be completed next year. The government reportedly has declared the pumping station a strategic installation and ordered a permanent guard stationed there. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [12] NEW ALBANIAN TV, RADIO DIRECTOR APPOINTED.

    Bardhyl Pollo, former director of Radio Tirana's foreign service, has been appointed director of Albanian Radio and TV, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 2 August. BETA on 1 August quoted Pollo as saying that his priorities are "professionalism, program restructuring, and increased independence for journalists." -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

    [13] INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS AGAINST ALBANIAN CENSORSHIP.

    The Article 19 International Center against Censorship has sent a letter to Albanian President Sali Berisha protesting the arrest of Filip Cakuli, chief editor of the satirical magazine Hosteni 2000, and the journalist Naim Noka, Koha Jone reported on 1 August. Both journalists were detained in late June by the secret service SHIK until they agreed to change the covers of their next issues (see OMRI Daily Digest, 3 July). The German satirical magazine Titanic has also issued a protest saying that items confiscated during the arrests had been given to the Albanians during a visit to Germany in February. Elsewhere, the International Federation of Journalists protested the trial against the chief editor of Populli PO, Arban Hasani. He faces charges that his newspaper wrongly reported that a SHIK officer was arrested for ordering a killing. -- 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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