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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 8, 11 January 1996
CONTENTS
[1] MILOSEVIC TO HELP PREVENT FURTHER ATTACKS?
[2] BILDT BRINGS SERBS, GOVERNMENT TOGETHER.
[3] SHELLS FLY IN MOSTAR.
[4] POLITICAL STANDOFF INTENSIFIES IN ZAGREB.
[5] ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS MEET.
[6] MOLDOVA, UKRAINE STRENGTHEN COOPERATION.
[7] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTE.
[8] BULGARIA WILLING TO TAKE PART IN IFOR.
[9] ALBANIA LIFTS VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREEKS.
[10] FORMER TIRANA PROSECUTOR "FLEES" TO U.S.
[11] GREEK PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO CONFIDENCE MOTION.
[12] GREEK PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE FOR BOSNIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 8, Part II, 11 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] MILOSEVIC TO HELP PREVENT FURTHER ATTACKS?
NATO commander AdmiralLeighton Smith on 10 January said Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic
has promised to help prevent future incidents like the bazooka attack in
Sarajevo that killed one and injured many more (see OMRI Daily Digest,
10 January 1996). Both men agreed that the shelling was an isolated
terrorist incident and not part of some Bosnian Serb project to torpedo
the Dayton agreement, the International Herald Tribune reported on 11
January. Nasa Borba added that Milosevic pledged the attack will not go
unpunished. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said diplomats and
military experts in the Bosnian capital fear that the Serbs intend to
torch their suburbs rather than hand them over to government authority.
The Serbs there made up only about half of the prewar population, and
thousands of expelled Muslims and Croats now want to go home. Meanwhile,
the VOA's Croatian Service reported that President Bill Clinton will
visit Tuzla in the near future but will not go to Sarajevo because of
security concerns. Hina noted that he will also go to Zagreb. -- Patrick
Moore
[2] BILDT BRINGS SERBS, GOVERNMENT TOGETHER.
The international community's
Carl Bildt on 10 January chaired the first publicized meeting in four
years in Sarajevo between representatives of the Bosnian Serb civilian
leadership and their government counterparts. Nasa Borba said on 11
January that Bildt's spokesman called the session "the beginning of a
process of resolving urgent problems relating to the Sarajevo area," but
Reuters noted that any solution is a long way off and that the
government representatives have no intention of visiting Serb-held
territory. Meanwhile, Muslim and Croat leaders have apparently agreed on
Izudin Kapetanovic as the Federation's new prime minister. He comes from
Tuzla and belongs to the mainly Muslim Party of Democratic Action. --
Patrick Moore
[3] SHELLS FLY IN MOSTAR.
The EU on 10 January blamed primarily the Croats
for continued shelling in the divided Herzegovinian city, RFE/RL's South
Slavic Service said. The EU administrator, Hans Koschnick, again
threatened to resign unless the Croats and Muslims get to work on
breathing life into their federation, AFP reported. President Clinton's
trouble-shooter is making the rounds in the region to try to bring an
end to Croatian-Muslim tensions. Hina noted on 8 January that German
Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said that he and U.S. Secretary of State
Warren Christopher would both become more involved in settling the
Mostar issue. Slobodna Dalmacija reported on 9 January that the town of
Citluk, located between Mostar and the pilgrimage site of Medjugorje,
has offered to provide a home for Mostar's new airport. -- Patrick Moore
[4] POLITICAL STANDOFF INTENSIFIES IN ZAGREB.
Novi list reported on 11
January that President Franjo Tudjman still will not confirm Goran
Granic of the opposition coalition as mayor of Zagreb. It was made clear
to Granic that he would not receive presidential approval, and on 10
January he offered his resignation to the opposition-dominated city
council that elected him. That body rejected the offer. Zagreb county
council chairman Zdravko Tomac said the standoff is likely to continue
"until somebody drops dead." -- Patrick Moore
[5] ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS MEET.
Ion Iliescu on 10 January met with
his Moldovan counterpart, Mircea Snegur, who is currently vacationing in
Romania, Radio Bucharest reported. The two presidents focused on the
main political, economic, and social problems posed by the reform
process in their countries. They expressed their desire to expand
bilateral relations, regardless of political development in 1996, which
is election year in both Romania and Moldova. Snegur also met with
Metropolitan Daniel of Moldova, with whom he discussed a possible
reunification of the countries' Christian Orthodox Churches. During the
Soviet era, the Moldovan church was subordinated to the Moscow
Patriarchate. -- Dan Ionescu
[6] MOLDOVA, UKRAINE STRENGTHEN COOPERATION.
Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister
Valentin Cunev and his Ukrainian counterpart, Anatolii Kinakh, have
signed a protocol on trade cooperation and setting up a customs union,
BASA-press reported on 10 January. The protocol outlines the main areas
of cooperation, including the establishment of a free exchange regime.
It was signed at the end of a two-day visit to Moldova by a Ukrainian
government delegation. Interior Ministers Constantin Antoci and Yurii
Kravchenko signed the same day an agreement on cooperating to combat
weapons and drug trafficking as well as car theft. -- Matyas Szabo
[7] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTE.
A no confidence vote
against the cabinet of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov on 10 January was
rejected by 130 to 105 votes with five absentees, Bulgarian and
international media reported. The opposition had demanded the
resignation of the Socialist cabinet because of the ongoing grain
crisis. After the vote, Videnov said the government will use the state
reserves but not the military reserves to regulate supplies. Union of
Democratic Forces leader Ivan Kostov argued that those reserves should
be used only in case of war or natural disasters. "The sole cause of
this crisis is the government's incompetence," he said. RFE/RL's
Bulgarian Service reported that at least five Socialist deputies voted
against the government. Since the Socialists hold 125 seats, this
suggests that 10 deputies from other parties supported the government.
-- Stefan Krause
[8] BULGARIA WILLING TO TAKE PART IN IFOR.
Duma on 11 January, citing
information from the presidential Consultative Council on National
Security, reported that the Bulgarian government is holding talks with
the IFOR command about the possible participation of Bulgarian troops.
Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski and Defense Minister Dimitar Pavlov
have reportedly suggested to the cabinet that Bulgaria contribute a
pioneer unit, a field hospital, and civil staff as well as hospital beds
and rehabilitation centers in Bulgaria. -- Stefan Krause
[9] ALBANIA LIFTS VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREEKS.
Albanian President Sali
Berisha has decreed the lifting of visa requirements for Greek citizens,
Reuters reported on 10 January. The decision was made in an attempt to
further improve bilateral relations. Visas for Greeks were introduced
in September 1994 after Greece closed its border to Albania when six
ethnic Greeks suspected of espionage and illegal arms possession were
arrested in Albania. Relations improved after their release February
1995. -- Fabian Schmidt
[10] FORMER TIRANA PROSECUTOR "FLEES" TO U.S.
Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor
of Tirana Genc Gjokutaj has fled the country on a U.S. tourist visa,
Koha Jone and international agencies reported on 10 January. The 27-
year-old Gjokutaj--who took part in the trials of imprisoned Socialist
Party leader Fatos Nano, a number of bank directors charged with
corruption, and communist dictator Enver Hoxha's son, Ilir--is
suspected of having accepted large bribes. He was suspended from the
bar, and investigations were launched by the Prosecutor-General's
office. Koha Jone suggested that he received some $40,000 in one
instance alone. -- Fabian Schmidt
[11] GREEK PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO CONFIDENCE MOTION.
The Greek parliament on
10 January voted against a no confidence motion in the government of
ailing Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Greek and international media
reported. Antonis Samaras, the leader of the opposition Political
Spring (POLA) party, said POLA deputies will boycott parliament sessions
until a new premier is elected. Meanwhile, Papandreou has asked to meet
with President Kostis Stephanopoulos, AFP reported on 10 January. This
has raised speculation about his political future, since the ruling
Panhellenic Socialist Movement is divided over whether Papandreou should
be replaced. His doctors over the past few days have repeatedly said his
health is improving but have not said if he will be able to resume his
duties. -- Stefan Krause
[12] GREEK PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE FOR BOSNIA.
A contingent of 180 Greek soldiers
and 80 vehicles left for Bosnia on 10 January to join IFOR, AFP reported
the same day. They will be stationed in Visoko, northwest of Sarajevo,
as part of a Belgian-commanded transport unit. Seventy Greek soldiers
and officers are already based there. -- Stefan Krause
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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