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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 226, 20 November 1995
CONTENTS
[1] LAST DAY FOR DAYTON TALKS.
[2] ZUBAK, SACIRBEY OFFER RESIGNATIONS.
[3] BELGRADE HELPS REBUILD BOSNIAN SERB MILITARY.
[4] IS THERE A SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO IN THE OFFING?
[5] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT RETURNS TO WORK. AF
[6] ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE WARNS OF ISLAMIC THREAT.
[7] ROMANIA, UKRAINE MAKE LITTLE PROGRESS ON TREATY.
[8] MOLDOVA PROTESTS RUSSIAN DUMA "INTERFERENCE" . . .
[9] . . . WHILE RUSSIA SAYS ITS POSITION REMAINS UNCHANGED.
[10] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TO RUN FOR SECOND TERM.
[11] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS WANT TO INVALIDATE MAYORAL ELECTION.
[12] TURKEY TO HAVE EARLY ELECTIONS.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 226, Part II, 20 November 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] LAST DAY FOR DAYTON TALKS.
International media on 20 November reported
that a "public event" would take place at 15:00 GMT in Dayton, Ohio, the
same day. The BBC said there would be either a signing of a draft
Bosnian peace agreement or a press conference to announce why the talks
had failed. Croatian President Franjo Tudjman returned to Dayton from
Zagreb and told reporters before leaving that he expected there would be
something to sign. Croatian Television on 19 November also said that a
constitutional agreement had been reached in Dayton to allow the Croats
and Muslims ties with Croatia, while the Bosnian Serbs could have
"parallel links" to Serbia but could not secede from the Bosnian state.
The BBC quoted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as saying that his
people would demand either independence or incorporation into a greater
Serbian state, but AFP cited him as being more resigned to a less than
"full realization of our objectives." -- Patrick Moore
[2] ZUBAK, SACIRBEY OFFER RESIGNATIONS.
But it appears to be territorial
rather than constitutional questions that have been blocking a
breakthrough--including the status of Sarajevo and the Muslim enclaves
of eastern Bosnia and especially the widening of the Posavina corridor
linking Serbia with its conquests in the Banja Luka area. Croats and
Muslims demonstrated in Sarajevo on 19 November to oppose any
concessions, but international media stated that Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic is under intense pressure from Washington and its allies to
yield. Novi list on 20 November reported that Croat-Muslim federation
President Kresimir Zubak has offered his resignation in a bitter protest
at what he and his fellow Bosnian Croats consider a sellout by Zagreb
and the Herzegovinian Croats. CNN stated on 18 November that Bosnian
Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey has submitted his resignation to make
room for a Croat in that post, but the BBC said he wanted to protest
what he considered to be too many concessions at Dayton on Bosnia's
unity and sovereignty. -- Patrick Moore
[3] BELGRADE HELPS REBUILD BOSNIAN SERB MILITARY.
Belgrade appears to have
reneged on a promise not to help the Bosnian Serbs rebuild vital
military infrastructure destroyed by NATO air raids, according to The
New York Times on 18 November. Rump Yugoslav military personnel have
reportedly helped reconstruct communications links and rebuild air
defense systems. AFP, citing confidential reports dated 30 October,
noted that UN military observers have detected "regular flights of
military transport aircraft and helicopters into Banja Luka at night."
Meanwhile, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has reiterated at the
Dayton talks that his intention was and is to end assistance to the
Bosnian Serbs in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions
against the rump Yugoslavia. -- Stan Markotich
[4] IS THERE A SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO IN THE OFFING?
Gazeta Shqiptare on 18November quoted the Kosovar weekly Bujku as reporting that a plan is
circulating among European diplomats that foresees the demilitarization
of Kosovo, the withdrawal of Serbian police, and the organization of
democratic elections under international supervision. The first stage of
the plan foresees an international conference on Kosovo. Kosovar shadow-
state President Ibrahim Rugova has proposed a similar plan, but it is
unclear if Belgrade would agree to it. Meanwhile, Albanian President
Sali Berisha said there can be no just and stable peace in former
Yugoslavia without a solution for Kosovo. International agencies quoted
him as saying on 17 November that "ignoring the issue of Kosovo means
that we shall face a permanent danger of explosion in the southern
Balkans." -- Fabian Schmidt
[5] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT RETURNS TO WORK.
AFP on 17 November reported that
Kiro Gligorov held talks with Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski and
parliamentary speaker Stojan Andov, who had been acting president since
the assassination attempt on 3 October. Gligorov, who sustained serious
injuries in the attack, is continuing his rehabilitation at home. But
according to the President's Office, he "is already carrying out part of
his current duties." -- Fabian Schmidt
[6] ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE WARNS OF ISLAMIC THREAT.
For the second
consecutive year, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) warned in its
annual report to the parliament that Islamic fundamentalist groups
active in Romania pose a growing threat. According to Reuters on 17
November, the SRI report lists several Middle Eastern extremist groups,
including the Palestinian Hamas, the Iran-backed Hezbollah and the
Popular and Democratic Front of Palestine. The report, which is due to
be presented to the parliament this week, says these organizations are
attempting to recruit members from among Romania's large expatriate
Muslim community. -- Michael Shafir
[7] ROMANIA, UKRAINE MAKE LITTLE PROGRESS ON TREATY.
Romanian and Ukrainian
negotiators, meeting in Bucharest on 17-18 November, made little
progress in unblocking the path to a basic treaty, Romanian media and
Reuters reported. The treaty talks stalled in late October over long-
standing territorial disputes (see OMRI Daily Digest, 27 October 1995),
including the issue of the Black Sea Serpent Island, which Bucharest
transferred to the Soviet Union in a secret deal that is now questioned
by the Romanians. Romanian First Deputy Foreign Minister Marcel Dinu
said Bucharest and Kiev have also to negotiate articles on national
minorities. No date has been set for resuming treaty negotiations. --
Matyas Szabo
[8] MOLDOVA PROTESTS RUSSIAN DUMA "INTERFERENCE" . . .
Moldova on 17
November protested the Russian State Duma's "interference" in Chisinau's
internal affairs, Moldovan and international agencies reported the same
day. The protest follows a resolution--proposed by a deputy from
Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party and passed by the
Russian parliament's lower chamber--urging President Boris Yeltsin to
declare the separatist Transdniestrian region a "zone of strategic
Russian interest." The resolution also said Yeltsin should "consider the
possibility of convening a tripartite Russian-Moldovan-Transdniestrian
summit to discuss the recognition of Transdniester as an independent,
sovereign state." Moldovan President Mircea Snegur, in a letter to
Yeltsin, said the resolution was an "unfriendly act" and a "direct
interference in Moldovan internal affairs." He expressed the hope that
Yeltsin will use all his powers to put an end to "efforts by
conservative forces" to upset the process of resolving the
Transdniestrian conflict. -- Michael Shafir
[9] . . . WHILE RUSSIA SAYS ITS POSITION REMAINS UNCHANGED.
A spokesman for
the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding to the Duma
resolution, said his country's position toward the settlement of the
Transdniestrian conflict "has not changed," BASA-press reported on 18
November. He said talks between Chisinau and Tiraspol would eventually
lead to granting the breakaway region a "special status" that preserves
"Moldova's territorial integrity and independence." A settlement of the
conflict, he added would also lead to "deeper cooperation between
Moldova and other CIS states." -- Michael Shafir
[10] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TO RUN FOR SECOND TERM.
Zhelyu Zhelev, in an
interview with Bulgarian TV on 18 November, said he will seek re-
election in early 1997, Bulgarian newspapers reported. Zhelev explained
that he was concerned about the "blocking of reforms, social and
political tension, [and] signs of isolation and distrust in the
country." He said he will "rely on all democratic forces" for his
reelection. The Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), which supported Zhelev
in the last presidential elections, has not made its position clear. SDS
caucus leader Yordan Sokolov said SDS Chairman Ivan Kostov would be the
best candidate, while Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofiyanski said the
presidential candidate should be nominated by the SDS and the vice
president by the People's Union (NS). NS co-leaders Stefan Savov and
Anastasiya Dimitrova-Mozer said they will support Zhelev, and ethnic
Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedom Chairman Ahmet Dogan said his
party "leans toward Zhelev." -- Stefan Krause
[11] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS WANT TO INVALIDATE MAYORAL ELECTION.
The Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP) on 17 November asked the Kardzhali City Court to
invalidate the election of Rasim Musa as mayor of Kardzhali,
international agencies reported the same day. Musa, who ran as a
candidate of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedom, won the
run-off on 12 November against BSP-backed Georgi Georgiev. According to
the BSP, 731 people from neighboring constituencies voted illegally in
Kardzhali. Musa won by a margin of 658 votes. A MRF statement accused
the BSP of trying to create ethnic tension in the ethnically mixed
region, adding that "any attempt to invalidate the election results in
Kardzhali in a Balkan manner will return like a boomerang on Bulgaria
and its people." -- Stefan Krause
[12] TURKEY TO HAVE EARLY ELECTIONS.
Turkey's Constitutional Court has
rejected a petition blocking parliamentary elections scheduled for 24
December, thereby paving the way for early elections on that date,
Turkish and Western media reported on 18 November. The petition was
submitted by 93 opposition deputies who challenged the legitimacy of the
new election law and claimed there was insufficient time to prepare for
the ballot. The court also invalidated provisions of the new election
law on creating electoral districts for 100 new members of parliament.
The final decision on the election date is to be to the taken by the
electoral commission. -- Lowell Bezanis
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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