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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 229, 27 November 1995
CONTENTS
[1] BOSNIAN SERBS THREATEN "A NEW BEIRUT."
[2] WHAT NOW FOR BOSNIAN SERBS?
[3] IS SERBIA STILL MANUFACTURING POISON GAS?
[4] CROATIAN TROOPS TORCHING MRKONJIC GRAD.
[5] PREVLAKA PENINSULA AT CENTER OF CROATIAN CONTROVERSY.
[6] PERRY IN MACEDONIA.
[7] SLOVENIA TO BECOME MEMBER OF FREE TRADE ASSOCIATION.
[8] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS CONTROVERSIAL RESTITUTION LAW.
[9] ROMANIAN SENATE ASKED TO LIFT EXTREMIST SENATOR'S IMMUNITY.
[10] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT ON RUSSIAN DUMA RESOLUTION.
[11] BULGARIAN JOURNALISTS ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF CENSORSHIP.
[12] FURTHER CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST ALIA.
[13] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT IN TURKEY.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 229, Part II, 27 November 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] BOSNIAN SERBS THREATEN "A NEW BEIRUT."
Bosnian Serbs, while acceptingthe Dayton peace plan, have recently staged protests against
establishing a unified city administration for Sarajevo. Karadzic met
with Bosnian Serb leaders on 26 November, and international media
reported that the Serbs insisted that parts of the Dayton agreement
dealing with Sarajevo and with the international peace force be
renegotiated. German media quoted him as saying his troops will stay in
place until this happens. Karadzic told BBC TV that without his approval
the treaty is "worth nothing," and he threatened that Sarajevo could
become "a new Beirut in Europe." BBC Radio commented that he was "trying
to scare the U.S. Congress" into blocking plans to send 20,000 troops to
Bosnia and thereby trying to upset the entire peace agreement. Mlada
fronta Dnes wrote on 27 November that the Bosnian Serbs are determined
not to yield on Sarajevo and will "defend every house" rather than give
up some districts currently under their control. -- Patrick Moore
[2] WHAT NOW FOR BOSNIAN SERBS?
Top U.S. officials made it clear on 26November that the Dayton agreement will not be renegotiated and that
Karadzic, as an indicted war criminal, could face arrest if he tries to
attend the signing in Paris. Madeleine Albright, the U.S. ambassador to
the United Nations, told AFP: "If there is any kind of [armed] action
[on the ground in Bosnia] by rogue elements, they are going to get
whacked." Speculation has been rife that Milosevic might deal with the
problem of war criminals by forcing Karadzic into retirement and
offering General Ratko Mladic a top post in the rump Yugoslav army,
where he would still be in a position to influence Bosnian affairs.
Milosevic might then offer formal leadership of the Bosnian Serbs to
someone from Banja Luka or to Nikola Koljevic. The latter is a professor
who is often portrayed as a moderate, but whom former U.S. Ambassador
Warren Zimmermann described in Foreign Affairs as "directing artillery
fire on the civilian population of Sarajevo." -- Patrick Moore
[3] IS SERBIA STILL MANUFACTURING POISON GAS?
The BBC, citing ITV's program"World in Action," reported on 26 November that Serbia is continuing to
produce sarin, a poison nerve gas, raising questions about its possible
future use and why Belgrade apparently did not make it available to the
Bosnian Serbs. In other news, ultranationalist leaders in Serbia
continue to criticize Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic for his role
at the Dayton peace talks. Nasa Borba on 24 November quoted Vojislav
Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party and accused war criminal, as
dubbing the peace accord "the greatest sellout and the greatest defeat
ever in history of our people." He added that Serbs were "disappointed"
with the deal. -- Stan Markotich
[4] CROATIAN TROOPS TORCHING MRKONJIC GRAD.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung on 27 November reported that uniformed Croats are systematically
looting and burning properties in Mrkonjic Grad and surrounding areas.
Croatian forces took the region in the weeks before the peace conference
but will return it to the Serbs rather than yield land to them along the
northern supply corridor. The daily also wrote about the extensive
devastation of Roman Catholic churches and other property in Croatia by
the Krajina Serbs during the four years of their uprising. -- Patrick
Moore
[5] PREVLAKA PENINSULA AT CENTER OF CROATIAN CONTROVERSY.
All local
opposition parties from the Dubrovnik region on 26 November protested
that the possible swap of the Prevlaka peninsula, which controls access
to Montenegro's Bay of Kotor, for the Serb-controlled Dubrovnik
hinterland, Nasa Borba reported the next day. Meanwhile, Vecernji list
and Slobodna Dalmacija recently published interviews with Minister of
Foreign Affairs Mate Granic saying that Croatia emerged from Dayton with
its international borders intact, referring to Prevlaka and eastern
Slavonia. He said that the Serbs and Montenegrins demanded certain
"territorial swaps" but that no discussions can start before both
Croatia and rump Yugoslavia officially recognize each other. -- Daria
Sito Sucic
[6] PERRY IN MACEDONIA. U.S.
Defense Secretary William Perry, during his
visit to Macedonia on 23-24 November, said that 25 countries have so far
offered to contribute troops to the 60,000-strong peacekeeping force for
Bosnia, international agencies reported. He added that the mainly NATO
force would be deployed very quickly after the signing of a peace
agreement in Paris in early December and that there would be enough
troops in Bosnia within weeks to carry out essential tasks. Perry also
met with Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov, who appeared in public for
the first time since the assassination attempt on 3 October. Perry was
accompanied by the defense ministers of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and
Sweden, which have 1,100 peacekeeping troops deployed in Macedonia. --
Fabian Schmidt
[7] SLOVENIA TO BECOME MEMBER OF FREE TRADE ASSOCIATION.
Ljubljana on 25
November signed an agreement, to go into effect on 1 January, whereby
Slovenia will become a member of the Central European Free Trade
Agreement. Slovenia joins the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and
Slovakia in CEFTA. Reuters quoted Slovenian Minister of Economic
Relations and Development Janko Dezelak as saying "we expect trade with
CEFTA members will significantly increase as a result of the agreement."
-- Stan Markotich
[8] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS CONTROVERSIAL RESTITUTION LAW.
Ion Iliescu on
24 November promulgated a controversial restitution law offering
Romanians modest restitution for properties confiscated under the
Communists in the late 1940s and 1950s, Romanian and Western media
reported. Communist nationalization stripped hundreds of thousands of
Romanians of most of their property, including homes and flats. The new
law provides for compensation not exceeding 50 million lei (some
$18,000). A communique released by the Presidential Office said the
current administration cannot accept the blame for the actions of the
former regime. It also said the authorities have to prevent "new
injustice" against those currently living in nationalized flats. Romania
has yet to resolve numerous arguments over the restitution of property
that belonged to the Jewish community and the Greek Catholic Church. --
Dan Ionescu
[9] ROMANIAN SENATE ASKED TO LIFT EXTREMIST SENATOR'S IMMUNITY.
Justice
Minister Gavril Iosif Chiuzbaian asked the Senate to strip Corneliu
Vadim Tudor, leader of the chauvinistic Greater Romania Party, of his
parliamentary immunity, Radio Bucharest and Reuters reported on 24
November. The minister's decision came one month after the prosecutor-
general's request to start procedures for lifting Tudor's immunity.
Tudor has been accused of offending President Ion Iliescu and defaming
state institutions (see OMRI Daily Digest, 26 October 1995). The final
decision will be taken through a secret vote in the Senate, where two
thirds of the senators have to vote for lifting his immunity. -- Matyas
Szabo
[10] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT ON RUSSIAN DUMA RESOLUTION.
The Moldovan parliament
on 24 November issued a declaration to the Russian State Duma demanding
the recognition of the Dniester region's independence, BASA-press
reported. According to the declaration, the Duma's resolution of 17
November "runs counter to the principles of interstate relations,
Moldovan-Russian agreements, and CIS foundation acts." The document adds
that the Moldovan legislation, its policy toward national minorities,
and the commitments made to international organizations "do not give
other states, including Russia," reasons to treat Moldova in a
discriminatory manner. -- Matyas Szabo
[11] BULGARIAN JOURNALISTS ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF CENSORSHIP.
Thirty-four
journalists working for state-run Bulgarian National Radio on 22
November issued a declaration accusing the socialist government of
censoring state-run media, RFE/RL reported. The declaration accuses the
government of suppressing "professionalism and freedom of speech,"
deciding which news items and studio guests will appear, rearranging
newscasts, and virtually stripping journalists of the right to produce
commentaries. Journalists can be fined 2,000 leva ($29), one third of
their average salary, for not complying with government regulations. BNR
Director-General Vecheslav Tunev refuted the charges, saying his policy
aims at defending "national interests" and "the agenda of society."
President Zhelyu Zhelev on 24 November received the 34 journalists to
show solidarity with them. He called Bulgaria's postcommunist
development "an imitation of freedom of speech, of democracy, of
pluralism, and sometimes even of opposition." -- Stefan Krause
[12] FURTHER CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST ALIA.
Former Albanian President Ramiz
Alia has been accused of ordering police to shoot at demonstrators in
Tirana on 20 February 1991, international agencies reported on 25
November. It is reported that documents are available proving Alia gave
the order as demonstrators toppled the monument of his predecessor,
Enver Hoxha. Hekuran Isai, Alia's interior minister at the time, said he
refused to obey the order because "bloodshed [was] certain." In a speech
held after the incident, Alia complained to army officers that "the
police did not carry out its task" and spoke of "organized bloodshed, if
necessary...to organize the army to fight the internal enemy." -- Fabian
Schmidt
[13] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT IN TURKEY.
Ion Iliescu, heading a large delegation
that included business leaders as well as his foreign, trade and
transport ministers, paid a one-day visit to Turkey on 23 November,
Western media reported. Iliescu met with Turkish President Suleyman
Demirel to discuss strengthening bilateral economic and political ties.
Annual bilateral trade totals $700 million, and an estimated 4,000
Turkish companies are active in Romania. -- 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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