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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 230, 28 November 1995
CONTENTS
[1] KARADZIC WARNS THAT SARAJEVO WILL BE EITHER BERLIN OR BEIRUT.
[2] BOSNIAN PRESIDENT SAYS SERBIAN LEADER WANTS TO SPREAD WAR.
[3] BITTERNESS IN CROATIA OVER DAYTON AGREEMENT.
[4] REFUGEES RETURN TO VELIKA KLADUSA.
[5] NATO MILITARY COMMITTEE DECIDES ON DEPLOYMENT PLAN.
[6] FUEL PRICES DROPPING ON SERBIAN BLACK MARKET.
[7] UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VISITS KOSOVO.
[8] ROMANIA'S RULING PARTY ELECTS LEADERSHIP.
[9] OSCE CRITICIZES RUSSIAN DUMA'S RESOLUTION ON MOLDOVA.
[10] BULGARIA STOPS EXPORTS OF GRAIN.
[11] NANO'S SENTENCE INCREASED BY ONE YEAR...
[12] ...PROMPTING RENEWED CHARGES OF POLITICAL MANIPULATION.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 230, Part II, 28 November 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] KARADZIC WARNS THAT SARAJEVO WILL BE EITHER BERLIN OR BEIRUT.
The
Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on 28 November that Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic has said again that partition of the Bosnian capital is
essential for peace. He argued that if it were not divided like Cold
War-era Berlin, it would bleed like Beirut. He also warned that a "blood
bath" would result if anyone attempted to arrest him or other
internationally wanted Bosnian Serb war criminals. Nasa Borba quoted him
as arguing that "the Dayton conference recognized our struggle for
freedom and our state as well. I am the legal and official chief of
state." He also claimed that he and his people have nothing to do with
war crimes: "At the beginning of the war I ordered my officers to uphold
the Geneva conventions [on the conduct of war]. I am sure that my army
did not commit crimes." The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung added that
Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic issued a statement that his
army "would not give up Sarajevo." -- Patrick Moore
[2] BOSNIAN PRESIDENT SAYS SERBIAN LEADER WANTS TO SPREAD WAR.
Hina on 27
November quoted Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic as saying that
Karadzic was simply trying to scare world opinion with his threats.
Izetbegovic added that "my opinion is that Karadzic is afraid of peace
and wants to spread the war, but this time by using the Serbian people
[whom he has brought out to demonstrate]." Nasa Borba on 28 November
cited Bosnian Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey as arguing that
Karadzic's attitudes could lead to a continuation of the war. -- Patrick
Moore
[3] BITTERNESS IN CROATIA OVER DAYTON AGREEMENT.
Nasa Borba on 28 November
also reported on the general dissatisfaction among Croats with the
treaty, which is widely seen as "legalizing [the results of] ethnic
cleansing," as Cardinal Vinko Puljic put it. Vecernji list added that
people in the Posavina region of northern Bosnia are especially
disappointed and that an assembly of refugees from there called the
agreement "illegitimate and illegal." AFP reported that some 700
refugees have meanwhile "laid siege" to Zagreb city hall in protest and
demanded that President Franjo Tudjman meet with them. -- Patrick Moore
[4] REFUGEES RETURN TO VELIKA KLADUSA.
Attempts are under way to return the
20,000 refugees from Kuplensko in Croatia to the Velika Kladusa region
in northwestern Bosnia. But there were only 600 takers by 26 November,
when more than 200 people went, Vecernji list reported next day. The
refugees are followers of local kingpin Fikret Abdic and are unwelcome
in Croatia and politically at odds with the Bosnian authorities. The
interior ministers of Bosnia, Croatia, and Turkey have agreed to work
together to enable them to return home safely. The ministers visited
both Kuplensko and the Velika Kladusa area to plan deployment of a joint
police force. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[5] NATO MILITARY COMMITTEE DECIDES ON DEPLOYMENT PLAN.
The NATO Military
Committee on 27 November decided on an operations plan for the
deployment of troops in Bosnia, Western agencies reported. But France,
which is not a member of NATO's integrated military structure, is
resisting turning over command of the operation to U.S. General George
Joulwan, NATO supreme commander, until the promised 20,000-strong U.S.
contingent arrives, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported the next
day. This could threaten the beginning of NATO deployment, which is
scheduled to take place after the formal signing of the peace treaty in
Paris probably in mid-December. The NATO foreign ministers are expected
to approve the operations plan at their meeting scheduled for 5-6
December. Under the plan, NATO forces will not be required to wait until
being fired on before shooting. -- Michael Mihalka
[6] FUEL PRICES DROPPING ON SERBIAN BLACK MARKET.
Bulgarian media on 28
November report that since sanctions have been eased against the rump
Yugoslavia, the black market rates for vital commodities is tumbling.
Most notably affected is the price of gasoline, which now sells at the
equivalent of $0.56. Rump Yugoslav media report that large quantities of
domestic fuel products are now on sale, partly in response to an
anticipated influx of nearly 50,000 tons of foreign fuel deliveries. --
Stan Markotich
[7] UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VISITS KOSOVO.
International agencies
on 27 November reported that Elizabeth Rehn was told by Serbian
officials that Albanians have chosen to boycott public schools and other
institutions and that the Kosovo conflict is an internal Serbian affair.
Rehn, however, disputed this claim, saying when such rights are in
question, "the international community has the right to interfere and
try to help people." She also met with Kosovar shadow-state President
Ibrahim Rugova and representatives of the Council for the Defense of
Human Rights and Freedoms. Meanwhile, Margit Savovic, rump Yugoslav
minister without portfolio in charge of human rights, declared that the
Albanians of Kosovo have been accorded rights that "far surpass"
international standards, AFP reports on 28 November. -- Fabian Schmidt
[8] ROMANIA'S RULING PARTY ELECTS LEADERSHIP.
The National Council of the
ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) on 26 November re-
elected Oliviu Gherman and Adrian Nastase as the party's chairman and
executive chairman, respectively, Radio Bucharest reported. The election
followed the third nationwide PDSR conference, held in Bucharest on 24-
25 November, at which the party adopted its new program and discussed
changes in its statutes. In a message to the conference, President Ion
Iliescu said if he decided to run for office again, he would do so under
the PDSR banner. The leftist PDSR, which has governed in coalition with
nationalist and neo-communist parties, is the most popular single party
in Romania. -- Dan Ionescu
[9] OSCE CRITICIZES RUSSIAN DUMA'S RESOLUTION ON MOLDOVA.
The OSCE has
criticized the Russian State Duma's recent resolution proclaiming the
Dniester region a zone of special strategic importance for the Russian
Federation, BASA-press reported on 27 November. According to a statement
released by the Office of the OSCE Permanent Council's Chairman, the
organization reaffirms its recognition of Moldova's sovereignty and
territorial integrity within its current borders. The statement says
that the OSCE regards continued talks as the only way to ensure a
special status for eastern Moldova and that it fears "the Duma
resolution can impede the process of finding a peaceful solution to the
conflict." The OSCE calls upon the Russian government to continue to
participate in the negotiations, pointing out the important role it has
played to date. -- Matyas Szabo
[10] BULGARIA STOPS EXPORTS OF GRAIN.
Despite an above-average grain harvest
of 3.5 million tons this year, Bulgaria is presently facing a severe
grain shortage, Bulgarian and Western media report. The government on 23
November banned the export of wheat, rye, and hops until 30 September
1996 in order to secure domestic supplies. A further export ban on
sunflower seeds and cooking oil takes effect on 11 December. Prime
Minister Zhan Videnov blamed speculators for the shortage but said
"there will be no problems with bread supplies." The government on 27
November dismissed the managers of seven state-run mills for exporting
grain, despite the ban. According to Agriculture Minister Vasil
Chichibaba, the government controls about 40% of the grain supplies in
the country. In order to secure fodder supplies, some 550,000 tons of
corn will have to be imported, he said. -- Stefan Krause
[11] NANO'S SENTENCE INCREASED BY ONE YEAR...
The Albanian Supreme Court has
overruled an earlier decision by an appeals court and increased Albanian
Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano's prison term by one year. A
presidential amnesty and several courts of appeal reduced Nano's
original 12-year term to four years. Following the introduction of the
new Penal Code in June, a Tirana appeals court shortened his sentence to
three years. Under this latest ruling, Nano will now have to spend
another three years and seven months in jail. The Socialist Party claims
that Nano, who was sentenced for misappropriation of Italian aid funds
as prime minister in 1991, is a political prisoner and that his
imprisonment is aimed at weakening the opposition. Amnesty International
has also called for Nano's release, pointing out irregularities in his
detention and trial. -- Fabian Schmidt
[12] ...PROMPTING RENEWED CHARGES OF POLITICAL MANIPULATION.
Nano's lawyer,
Perparim Sanxhaku, responded to the ruling by saying it proved that the
court was politically manipulated, Reuters reported on 27 November. The
Socialist Party has accused President Sali Berisha of keeping Nano in
jail until Albania's parliamentary elections in May 1996. It has also
condemned a controversial "genocide law" barring people who held high
office until March 1991 from running for public office until 2002. Nano
is affected by the law. Observers suspect that Berisha might pardon Nano
by presidential amnesty on 28 November, Albanian Liberation Day, to
prove that the judiciary is independent and to resolve the political
conflict. -- 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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