OMRI Daily Digest I,II, No. 156, 11 August 1995
CONTENTS
[01] YELTSIN PROPOSES NEW BALKAN PEACE INITIATIVE.
[02] RYBKIN MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC.
[03] U.S. PRESENTS EVIDENCE OF SREBRENICA MASSACRE.
[04] REPORTS ON MLADIC'S GRISLY ROLE IN SREBRENICA.
[05] REFUGEE UPDATE.
[06] BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER WITHDRAWS RESIGNATION.
[07] BELGRADE COMPLAINS OF "CROATIAN AGGRESSION" . . .
[08] . . . AND CONTINUES TO MOBILIZE.
[09] BELGRADE MEDIA SIGNAL SHIFT ON "GREATER SERBIA" POLICY?
[10] ROMANIAN DAILY RENEWS ATTACKS OVER EMBARGO.
[11] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT INCREASES ELECTRICITY PRICES.
[12] BULGARIA TO MAKE DEBT PAYMENT.
[13] RECORD HIGH FOR ALBANIAN TOURISM.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 156, Part I,II, 11 August 1995
RUSSIA
[01] YELTSIN PROPOSES NEW BALKAN PEACE INITIATIVE.
After meeting with Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic on 10 August, President Boris Yeltsin
proposed that an international conference be convened on the conflict in
the former Yugoslavia, Russian and Western agencies reported. In a
statement read to journalists, Yeltsin said recent Croatian actions in
Krajina had brought the region to "the brink of a major war" and
expressed regret that Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, under
"pressure" from other states, had declined to come to Moscow for talks.
In contrast, Yeltsin praised Milosevic's commitment to a negotiated
settlement of the conflict and said that UN sanctions against rump
Yugoslavia had become a major obstacle to its achievement. He added that
Russia would press for the lifting of the sanctions, adding that any
delay in addressing the issue might lead Russia to take "unilateral
steps." Yeltsin also renewed his bid to mediate an overall settlement to
the conflict, inviting Milosevic, Tudjman, and Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic to Moscow for a meeting to lay the groundwork for a later
international conference. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
[02] RYBKIN MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC.
During his 10 August visit to Moscow,
Serbian President Milosevic also met with Duma Speaker Ivan Rybkin,
Russian and Western agencies reported. Rybkin echoed President Yeltsin's
comments that UN sanctions against rump Yugoslavia should be lifted and
told Interfax that if an appropriate international decision is not taken
soon, the Duma is prepared to pass a law calling on Russia to
unilaterally ignore the sanctions. Rybkin added that all factions and
parties in the Duma supported his earlier statements condemning Croatian
actions in Krajina and said he expected Russian policy toward the
Yugoslav conflict to be discussed at the special session of the Duma
scheduled for 12 August. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] U.S. PRESENTS EVIDENCE OF SREBRENICA MASSACRE. U.S.
Ambassador to the UN
Madeleine Albright told the Security Council on 10 August that there is
"compelling evidence" that Bosnian Serb forces killed up to 2,700
Muslims in Srebrenica and buried them in a mass grave. She produced
photos and an eyewitness, who said he escaped by pretending to be dead
and then fleeing to Bosnian government territory. The Security Council
has demanded that the Serbs allow human rights monitors into the area.
The international media also stated on 11 August that Amnesty
International has released a report saying that up to 4,000 Muslims
remain unaccounted for. The Guardian, however, wrote that there is not
sufficient evidence to conclude that a massacre has taken place. --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] REPORTS ON MLADIC'S GRISLY ROLE IN SREBRENICA.
Newsday reporter Roy
Gutman on 8 August wrote that Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic took
an active interest in the fate of the captured Srebrenica Muslims and
"personally attended much of the butchery that followed." He would
reassure his victims that he would protect them and then promise his
troops a massacre in what one observer called the typical "fascist
pattern we've seen throughout" the conflict. Referring to the men and
boys, Mladic announced to his soldiers that there would be "a feast . .
. with blood up to your knees." Of the women, eyewitnesses said the
internationally wanted war criminal told his troops: "Beautiful. Keep
the good ones over there. Enjoy them." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[05] REFUGEE UPDATE.
International media on 11 August reported that the
Security Council has called on Croatia to protect the thousands of Serbs
fleeing to Bosnian Serb territory and to Serbia. Particularly ugly
incidents were reported from Sisak, where Croatian crowds not only
pelted the Serbs with stones and bricks but also hauled them out of
their vehicles and beat them as police looked on. The International
Herald Tribune said that some Serbs swore vengeance, but that one man
blamed the collapse of Krajina on the Serbs' own "crime, smuggling."
Novi list wrote that Serbs in Benkovac forced 70 Croats to flee with
them and killed three of the elderly. The BBC noted that some Bosnian
Serbs have begun joining the Krajina exodus, fearing that the Bosnian or
Croatian armies will move into their areas next. The VOA reported that
Krajina Serb refugees in the Banja Luka area have started forcing the
few remaining Muslims and Croats to flee and that those Muslims and
Croats have begun arriving in Croatia. The broadcast also noted the
"qualitative difference" between the flight of the Krajina Serbs in a
well-coordinated movement of vehicles loaded with goods and the
expulsion of the Croats and Muslims on foot and with little more than
the clothes they were wearing. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[06] BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER WITHDRAWS RESIGNATION.
In a move little noticed
while media attention was on Croatia, Haris Silajdzic offered to resign
on 3 August. International media reported on 11 August that he agreed
the previous day to stay on after receiving much support from Bosnia's
allies abroad and a request to remain in office from President Alija
Izetbegovic. Silajdzic told the Italian daily Il Messaggero on 10 August
that Izetbegovic had acquired more and more power at his expense over
the past year. Silajdzic demanded that the government be responsible
only to the parliament and not to the president. He slammed the
legislature as well, saying that it showed no interest in the fate of
the people of Srebrenica and Gorazde. Finally, the prime minister said
that the current in-fighting was simply about power and did not include
an ideological debate on the role of political Islam. -- Patrick Moore,
OMRI, Inc.
[07] BELGRADE COMPLAINS OF "CROATIAN AGGRESSION" . . .
Tanjug on 10 August
reported that federal rump Yugoslav authorities plan to appeal to the UN
Security Council to help restrain "Croatian aggression." According to
Tanjug, Belgrade believes that Zagreb remains the key source of "danger
. . . to [an] expansion of the conflict." Belgrade is also expected to
call again for a lifting of sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia. --
Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[08] . . . AND CONTINUES TO MOBILIZE.
AFP on 10 August quoted eyewitnesses as
saying that Belgrade is continuing to move troops and military hardware
closer to the Croatian border in eastern Slavonia. The news agency,
citing the Belgrade newspaper Telegraf, also observed that rump Yugoslav
military authorities may mobilize up to 26,000 reservists who are likely
to be added to the army near Novi Sad, bringing its total up to some 35,
000 troops. Since 5 August, convoys of at least 100 armored vehicles
carrying anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles have made their way to
Sid, on the border with Croatia. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[09] BELGRADE MEDIA SIGNAL SHIFT ON "GREATER SERBIA" POLICY?
State-runSerbian TV newscasts since 7 August have used a new format for weather
reports. Previously forecasts were accompanied by maps of the rump
Yugoslavia as well as maps denoting "Serbian lands" occupied by Serbian
forces outside the rump Yugoslavia. Recent broadcasts have shown instead
flower arrangements when commentary switched to accounts of weather
outside the rump Yugoslavia. This development has added fuel to
speculation that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has signaled he is
moving away from the goal of incorporating Serb-held and -populated
territory outside the rump Yugoslavia into a "Greater Serbia." -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[10] ROMANIAN DAILY RENEWS ATTACKS OVER EMBARGO.
Romania libera editor-in-
chief Petre Mihai Bacanu, speaking at a press conference on 10 August,
renewed allegations that Nicolae Vacaroiu's cabinet endorsed oil
contraband to the rump Yugoslavia, Radio Bucharest reported. Bacanu
first made the accusation in a 26 July article. He told journalists that
the government was "lying to everybody, including the Security Council,"
over its adherence to the UN embargo, citing several instances of
sanctions-breaking. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry the same day
said his department was strictly applying the sanctions. He mentioned
hundreds of cases in which police and border guards have confiscated
fuel from smugglers. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.
[11] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT INCREASES ELECTRICITY PRICES.
The cabinet on 10
August announced increases in electricity prices by 25% for private
households, and 38% for industry, Bulgarian newspapers reported the
following day. The new prices will go into effect on 1 September. From
15 November, electricity prices will be adjusted to take into account
inflation. Pensioners will receive a monthly compensation equivalent to
the price of 500 kW. Trud reported that the government expects inflation
to go up by 2% as a result of the hikes. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[12] BULGARIA TO MAKE DEBT PAYMENT.
AFP on 10 August reported that Bulgaria
will pay part of its debt to Paris Club creditors on 19 August. The
agency cites a report in Standart based on statements by unidentified
Finance Ministry officials. The next regular debt payment of around $10
million is slated for 30 September. Total repayment on the principal in
1995 amounts to $50 million, while another $5-6 million is due in
interest payments. Standart also reported that the National Bank's
reserves amounted to $1.5 billion on 1 August, up from $889 million in
January. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[13] RECORD HIGH FOR ALBANIAN TOURISM.
Albania in the first half of 1995
registered a record number of foreign visitors, BETA reported on 10
August. Some 36,000 tourists visited the country. Tourism is a key
element in Albania's strategy for economic development. Most foreigners
went to the southern part of the country, where Italian and German
businesses are the largest investors. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
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