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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 202, 17 October 1995
CONTENTS
[1] KARADZIC BAGS FOUR GENERALS.
[2] DESPONDENCY IN BANJA LUKA.
[3] MORE REPORTS OF WAR CRIMES.
[4] TENSIONS MOUNT OVER EASTERN SLAVONIA.
[5] STRIKES IN RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
[6] ROMANIAN-EU PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS.
[7] SZUROS DENIES STATEMENT QUOTED BY REUTERS.
[8] MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION ORGANIZATION BECOMES PARTY.
[9] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR SUSPENSION OF TV CHIEF.
[10] ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 202, Part II, 17 October 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] KARADZIC BAGS FOUR GENERALS.
Bosnian Serb civilian leader Radovan
Karadzic succeeded at the recent session of the Bosnian Serb parliament
in removing four of the top military leaders: the second in command,
General Milan Gvero; intelligence chief General Zdravko Tolimir; and
local commanders Generals Djordje Djukic and Grujo Boric. The official
reason given for the shakeup was the need to rejuvenate the top command,
but the International Herald Tribune on 17 October called it a snub to
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who is regarded by many Bosnian
Serbs as having betrayed them. The BBC said the purge showed that
Karadzic "is back on top" at the expense of military leader General
Ratko Mladic. -- Patrick Moore
[2] DESPONDENCY IN BANJA LUKA.
Allied and Serbian forces continued to
exchange salvoes between Sanski Most and Prijedor on 16 October. The
total number of Serbian refugees fleeing the allied advance now appears
to be some 100,000. Nasa Borba on 16-17 October reported on the
situation in Banja Luka, where most of these people have gathered, and
noted that the "humanitarian situation is catastrophic." The paper said
that Serbs there have lost faith in Belgrade and their own politicians
and that the old rift between Banja Luka and Pale is growing. There is
talk of an eventual evacuation of the Bosnian Serb "stronghold." --
Patrick Moore
[3] MORE REPORTS OF WAR CRIMES.
The Independent on 16 October noted that
fighting is now concentrated along the Banja Luka defense line running
from Prijedor south to Sanski Most and southeast to Mrkonjic Grad. This
area saw some of the worst Serbian atrocities against Muslims and Croats
in 1992, and the allied forces are interested in looking at reported
mass graves. Reuters quoted UNHCR officials as saying that the Serbs
appear to be getting ready to resume "ethnic cleansing" following a few
days' break. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 17 October cited
UNHCR personnel as adding that the current peace talks have given the
war criminals more time to do their dirty work. Reuters said that up to
4,000 Muslim and Croat males are unaccounted for. Of these, according to
the International Herald Tribune, 500 alone come from Sanski Most. The
Times and Daily Telegraph on 16 October presented accounts of revenge
killings of Muslim civilians by Serbs fleeing Sanski Most. -- Patrick
Moore
[4] TENSIONS MOUNT OVER EASTERN SLAVONIA.
A standoff continues between the
Croatian authorities and rebel Serbs as to the time and venue for a new
round of talks on the peaceful return of eastern Slavonia to Croatian
sovereignty. President Franjo Tudjman and other top Croatian officials
have continued to state that Zagreb will reintegrate the area by
military means if talks fail. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 17
October said that 22 Croatian army tanks have left northern Bosnia for
Nasice near eastern Slavonia, and the Financial Times the previous day
reported that at least 2,500 troops did not return from Bosnia to their
Adriatic garrisons. -- Patrick Moore
[5] STRIKES IN RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
Some 5,000 workers from the Rakovica metal
works, after striking for two weeks, on 16 October protested in front of
Serbian government offices in Belgrade. They demanded a "systematic
solution for their company's further survival," payment of back pay, and
the dismissal of the ministers for industry, trade, and finance, Nasa
Borba reported. Strikes have spread to Montenegro, including the
Bjelasica Holding Company, which was hit on 16 October. The Teachers'
Union also announced a strike unless back pay is delivered, Montena-fax
reported on 17 October. The same source added that Croatian Serb
refugees are moving from Serbia to Montenegro, thus creating a
humanitarian problem. Meanwhile, double-digit monthly inflation was
recorded there in September, the first time this year that inflation has
exceeded 10%. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[6] ROMANIAN-EU PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS.
The Romanian-European Union
Parliamentary Committee began a two-day meeting in Brussels on 16
October, Radio Bucharest reported. The committee, set up in April in
accordance with Romania's association agreement with the EU, monitors
the agreement's implementation and seeks to promote a political dialogue
between the two sides. The current meeting focuses on Romania's
prospects for joining European structures. European Parliament President
Klaus Haensch and EU foreign affairs head Hans van den Broek, addressing
the inaugural session, praised Romania's efforts to adapt to EU
standards in various spheres. They were quoted by Radio Bucharest as
promising that the EU would re-examine a decision to include Romania on
the so-called EU "black list" of countries whose citizens are required
to have visas for travel in EU member states. Meanwhile, President Ion
Iliescu ended his two-day visit to Tunisia on 16 October. Four bilateral
accords (on investments protection, economic and technical cooperation,
tourism, and health) were signed, Radio Bucharest reported. -- Dan
Ionescu
[7] SZUROS DENIES STATEMENT QUOTED BY REUTERS.
Matyas Szuros, leader of the
Hungarian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union conference in
Bucharest last week, denied that he had referred to "Szekler enclaves"
in eastern Transylvania in an interview with Reuters (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 11 October 1995), Romanian dailies reported on 16-17 October.
Szuros said the mistake was the result of a translation error,
explaining that "territorial autonomy" was translated as "enclave". In a
separate development, officials from the Romanian and Hungarian defense
ministries met in Romania to discuss NATO expansion in Eastern Europe
and bilateral relations, Radio Bucharest reported. -- Matyas Szabo
[8] MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION ORGANIZATION BECOMES PARTY.
A leading Moldovan
opposition organization, the United Democratic Congress (CDU), has
renamed itself the Moldovan Party of Democratic Forces at its fifth
congress in Chisinau, BASA-press and Infotag reported on 16 October. The
party has branches in more than 30 districts and representatives in the
parliament and local government. Valeriu Matei, who was elected leader
of the new party, said the current government is unable to stop the
economic decline. The meeting called for the government's removal and
accused it of pushing the country into the CIS sphere of interests. --
Matyas Szabo
[9] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR SUSPENSION OF TV CHIEF.
Union of
Democratic Forces (SDS) caucus leader Yordan Sokolov on 16 October asked
the office of the prosecutor-general to suspend Director of National TV
Ivan Granitski and start legal proceedings against him, Demokratsiya
reported the following day. Granitski has twice refused to broadcast a
declaration by SDS Chairman Ivan Kostov and an SDS statement protesting
the "violation of the provisional statute" of the state-run media.
According to that document, national media are obliged to reflect the
diversity of political views, and political parties have the right to
present their views on TV and radio. Sokolov argued that Granitski
exceeded his authority and demanded that he be suspended until the case
is brought to court. * Stefan Krause
[10] ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN WASHINGTON.
Safet Zhulali and U.S.
Secretary of Defense William Perry signed a military agreement in
Washington on 16 October, Lajmi i Dites reported the next day. Perry
said that the agreement is an important step for bilateral military
relations and a basis for better military cooperation. Albania and the
U.S. signed a memorandum in October 1993 to develop military cooperation
and have held nine joint military exercises in Albania this year. Five
U.S. experts are attached to the Albanian Defense Ministry. Zhulali
praised the "extraordinary role" that the cooperation with the U.S. has
played in the reform of the Albanian military and in ensuring security
in the region. Albania provides facilities for the U.S. Navy and air-
bases for American spy-planes that gather information over Bosnia. --
Fabian Schmidt
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information on OMRI publications please write to [email protected]
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