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OMRI Daily Digets II, No. 211, 30 October 1995
CONTENTS
[1] CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION POISED FOR ELECTION VICTORY.
[2] CONTROVERSY OVER VOTING RIGHTS IN CROATIAN ELECTIONS.
[3] TALKS WITH REBEL SERBS BREAK DOWN. U.S.
[4] CAUTION OVER BALKAN PEACE TALKS.
[5] MORE EVIDENCE OF BOSNIAN SERB ATROCITIES.
[6] FIRST BUSES LEAVE SARAJEVO ON WESTERN ROUTES.
[7] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT IN U.S.
[8] ROMANIAN EXTREMISTS DEMAND BAN ON ETHNIC PARTIES.
[9] MOLDOVA SEPARATISTS ADOPT BASIC LAW.
[10] SOCIALISTS LEAD AFTER FIRST ROUND OF BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS . . .
[11] . . . BUT OPPOSITION WINS IN SOFIA.
[12] U.S. HALTS SPY PLANE MISSION OVER BOSNIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 211, Part II, 30 October 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION POISED FOR ELECTION VICTORY.
Croatian media on
30 October report that the governing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ),
led by President Franjo Tudjman, is poised to win the parliamentary
elections held the previous day. With nearly 43% of the ballots counted,
the HDZ is in the lead with 43.61%, followed by the opposition five-
party coalition, United List, with 19.37%. Nearly 70% of the country's
1.4 million eligible voters turned out. As yet, it is unclear whether
the HDZ will gain a two-thirds majority in the 128-seat Sabor, which
will be needed to introduce constitutional changes granting the
President wider powers and revoking autonomy in the regions of the
country where ethnic Serbs are in a majority. -- Stan Markotich
[2] CONTROVERSY OVER VOTING RIGHTS IN CROATIAN ELECTIONS.
The New York Times
on 30 October reported that Croats living abroad were entitled to cast a
ballot in the 29 October elections, thanks to a recently passed
electoral law introducing the provision. This constituency will have 12
seats. The 312,000 or so ethnic Croats in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina
allowed to vote are regarded as strongly pro-HDZ. The U.S. daily
reported that Western observers have commented that enfranchising this
group may place a strain on the Bosnian-Croatian federation. Zarko
Puhovski, political philosophy professor at the University of Zagreb, is
quoted as saying that the move is arguably tied to Croatian
expansionism. "It is the first step toward a Greater Croatia," he
commented. -- Stan Markotich
[3] TALKS WITH REBEL SERBS BREAK DOWN. U.S.
Ambassador to Croatia Peter
Galbraith and UN envoy Thorvald Stoltenberg on 28 October presented
rebel Serb leaders in Serb-controlled eastern Slavonia with a set of
proposals for reintegrating the territory into Croatia. Serbian leader
Milan Milanovic, however, rejected the proposals, saying the time frame
was unrealistic, Tanjug reported the same day. Meanwhile, the rump
Yugoslav news agency also quoted Serbian negotiator Slavko Dokmanovic as
saying he rejected the proposals on the grounds that they provided for
Croatian police to be stationed along the border with Serbia as soon as
an agreement was concluded. Zagreb has repeatedly hinted that it may
employ force to reclaim eastern Slavonia if an acceptable peaceful
resolution is not found. -- Stan Marktoich
[4] CAUTION OVER BALKAN PEACE TALKS.
Assistant Secretary of State and chief
negotiator Richard Holbrooke, in a 28 October interview with Reuters,
expressed reservations about the likelihood of a breakthrough at
upcoming peace talks in Ohio, to be attended by Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, and Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic. "My greatest fear is that bringing [the presidents]
together will prove to have been a mistake. This was a gamble,"
Holbrooke said. He added that regional peace could not be achieved if
the Bosnian Serbs pressed ahead with their demands for secession from
Bosnia-Herzegovina. -- Stan Markotich
[5] MORE EVIDENCE OF BOSNIAN SERB ATROCITIES.
The New York Times on 30
October, citing intelligence reports and U.S. government sources,
reports that as many as 6,000 Moslems may have been massacred by Serbian
forces after the Serbian capture of the Srebrenica enclave on 11 July.
The report also says that the Serbs attempted to cover up their crimes
by pouring corrosive chemicals on the victims' bodies and moving corpses
that had initially been dumped into a mass grave. Initial reports of the
Serbian atrocities came to light in early August, but recent studies
suggest that more mass burials than originally suspected took place. --
Stan Markotich
[6] FIRST BUSES LEAVE SARAJEVO ON WESTERN ROUTES.
The first passenger bus to
leave Sarajevo since April 1992 had a UN escort to Kiseljak on 29
October on a road to the west of the town, Reuters reported. It was
followed by a bus to Zagreb. According to UN officials, the opening of
the road will create a good atmosphere for the peace talks beginning in
Ohio on 1 November. The Bosnian government, however, argues that in
reality, the city remains under blockade, since most civilians are
afraid to travel via Serb-held territory. Meanwhile, the Bosnian Serb
army and the Bosnian government exchanged 19 prisoners and five corpses
in Sarajevo. Elsewhere, international agencies reported that about 1,000
Muslim refugees returned to their homes in Sanski Most, Kljuc, and
Mrkonjic Grad. A UN spokeswoman described the situation in northwestern
Bosnia as "quiet." -- Fabian Schmidt
[7] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT IN U.S.
Ion Iliescu on 28 October returned to Romania
following an unofficial visit to the U.S., Radio Bucharest reported the
same day. The visit came after Iliescu's address the UN General Assembly
on the occasion of the organization's 50th anniversary. Iliescus met
with U.S. businessmen in New York, Houston, and Boston. In a related
development, RFE/RL's correspondent in Washington reported on 27 October
that the U.S. Eximbank has approved a $79.5 million guarantee to
underwrite the sale of five radar systems and related equipment to
upgrade Romania's air traffic control system. The Romanian air traffic
control agency is purchasing equipment worth $82 million from a branch
of the Lockheed Martin company in New York. The Eximbank guarantee will
support a loan from a syndicate of commercial banks that is to finance
the deal. -- Michael Shafir
[8] ROMANIAN EXTREMISTS DEMAND BAN ON ETHNIC PARTIES.
Anghel Stanciu, a
deputy from the extremist Greater Romania Party, demanded on 27 October
that ethnic parties be outlawed in Romania. The proposal came in the
form of an amendment to the law on political parties, which the Chamber
of Deputies is currently debating. But only one other deputy, Petre
Turlea, who defected from the Party of Social Democracy in Romania,
supported the amendment. Other deputies rejected the proposal as
contravening both the constitution and the international treaties to
which Romania is a signatory. Emil Roman, a representative of the Party
of Romanian National Unity, demanded that political formations based on
religious affiliation be outlawed. Both amendments will be examined by a
special parliamentary commission, Radio Bucharest reported the same day.
-- Michael Shafir
[9] MOLDOVA SEPARATISTS ADOPT BASIC LAW.
Radio Bucharest and AFP, citing
Interfax, reported on 29 October that the parliament of the breakaway
Transdiestrian region adopted a draft constitution the previous day
proclaiming the region a separate state. The draft is to be submitted to
a referendum. The president of the breakaway region, Igor Smirnov,
rejected a proposal by the Moldovan government to grant territorial
autonomy to the Transdniester. He told the parliament that the proposal
did not take into account developments in the region over the past five
years. -- Michael Shafir
[10] SOCIALISTS LEAD AFTER FIRST ROUND OF BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS . . .
Preliminary results of the first round of the Bulgarian local elections
on 29 October show that the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) won 42% of
the vote, the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) 24%, the People's Union
(NS) 13%, the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) 9%,
and the Bulgarian Business Bloc 6%, according to RFE/RL. Bulgarian TV
reported that turnout was 55-60%. A second round of elections will be
held wherever no mayoral candidate won an outright majority. In most
cases, the runoff is expected to take place on 12 November. -- Stefan
Krause in Sofia.
[11] . . . BUT OPPOSITION WINS IN SOFIA.
According to the preliminary
results, Stefan Sofiyanski (SDS) is leading after the first round with
some 44% of the vote. Ventsislav Yosifov, who is supported by the BSP,
received 33%, and former interim Prime Minister Reneta Indzhova,
nominated by the NS, came third with 17%. The SDS won about 46% of the
vote for the Sofia City Council, with the BSP gaining 33% and the NS 7%.
Indzhova announced she will withdraw from the race in Sofiyanski's
favor. The second round of elections for Sofia mayor will take place on
11 November. In Plovdiv, Spas Garnevski of the SDS was elected mayor
with 50.9%; the SDS also seems to have won an outright majority for the
city council. In Varna, the SDS candidate garnered 43% of the vote,
compared with 21% for the BSP-supported candidate. -- Stefan Krause in
Sofia
[12] U.S. HALTS SPY PLANE MISSION OVER BOSNIA.
The U.S. will halt unmanned
reconnaissance flights over Bosnia-Herzegovina as of 5 November, Reuters
reported on 28 October. Reuters, citing Koha Jone, says that the three
"Predator" planes that have been stationed at the Gjader air base in
Albania since July, have recently reduced their number of flights. U.S.
diplomats in Albania, however, declined to comment on the report. --
Fabian Schmidt
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
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