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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 12, 17 January 1996
CONTENTS
[1] PALE CHANGES TACTICS ON SARAJEVO.
[2] WHAT ARE THE SERB GOALS IN SARAJEVO?
[3] FRENCH TROOPS TAKE SARAJEVO UTILITIES "INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY."
[4] INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS OVER BOSNIA CONTINUE.
[5] HAGUE WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL SEEKS IFOR'S SUPPORT.
[6] OSCE ARMS CONTROL TALKS POSTPONED.
[7] BOSNIAN PULLBACK ON SCHEDULE.
[8] SERBIA TO GET NEW "DEMOCRATIC" PARTY.
[9] ROMANIAN RULING PARTY SEEKS CABINET RESHUFFLE.
[10] OSCE CHAIRMAN VISITS MOLDOVA.
[11] UPDATE ON ZHIVKOV APPEAL.
[12] RACE FOR PAPANDREOU SUCCESSION IS ON.
[13] ALBANIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW TAKES EFFECT.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 12, Part II, 17 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] PALE CHANGES TACTICS ON SARAJEVO.
A top-level meeting of the Bosnian
Serb leadership held on 15 and 16 January has decided to try a new
approach to force a change in the Dayton agreement's provision that
certain Serb suburbs will pass to government control. Instead of talking
of a "possible" mass exodus and torchings, Radovan Karadzic and
parliament speaker Momcilo Krajisnik told SRNA that they would would
work with the international community's civilian affairs chief Carl
Bildt. They want him or international arbitrators to agree to maintain
the status quo until elections are held between mid-June and mid-
September. In the meantime, they will tell their people to stay put. --
Patrick Moore
[2] WHAT ARE THE SERB GOALS IN SARAJEVO?
AFP reported on 16 January thatPale has apparently decided that an exodus would deprive it of any say
in the future running of Sarajevo. Earlier reports had suggested that
Pale wanted to send the Sarajevo Serbs to Brcko to firm up Serbian
claims to the disputed strategic corridor there. The Sarajevo Dnevni
Avaz noted on 17 January that anti-nationalist Serbs are seeking IFOR's
help to prevent an exodus. They also aim to reassure the population
through an amnesty for ordinary Bosnian Serb soldiers. -- Patrick Moore
[3] FRENCH TROOPS TAKE SARAJEVO UTILITIES "INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY."
This ishow NATO commander Admiral Leighton Smith described IFOR's latest action
in Serb-held suburbs, the VOA's Croatian Service reported on 17 January.
Oslobodjenje added that water, power and gas are affected, and that the
operation involved 150 French soldiers with 10 light tanks and 20
armored vehicles. -- Patrick Moore
[4] INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS OVER BOSNIA CONTINUE.
The BBC reported on 16
January that UNHCR chief Sadaka Ogata closed the one-day conference
dealing with the phased but flexible repatriation of Bosnian refugees
(see OMRI Daily Digest, 16 January 1996). Meanwhile in Stockholm, an
OSCE gathering dealing with elections said that it may not be possible
to hold them this year, AFP reported. The participants also said that
absentee voting, for which there is a provision in the Dayton agreement,
must be permitted. The treaty also says, however, that casting a ballot
indicates an intention to return to the area for which one is voting.
Finally, the VOA's Croatian Service noted on 17 January that computers
were stolen from a UN office in Zagreb. They may hold sensitive data on
human rights in Croatia . -- Patrick Moore
[5] HAGUE WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL SEEKS IFOR'S SUPPORT.
Critics of IFOR have
charged that it has followed the example of UNPROFOR and been far too
timid in interpreting its mandate. Points in question have included
ensuring freedom of movement throughout Bosnia and dealing with war
crimes. A spokesman for the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia told AFP on 16 January that Justice Richard Goldstone
will meet NATO Secretary General Javier Solana on 19 January to discuss
cooperation. Goldstone is interested in IFOR's ensuring freedom of
movement for those investigating possible atrocities. He also seeks its
help in arresting indicted war criminals. An IFOR press spokesman told a
briefing on 14 January that IFOR had received no formal request to date
for assistance in investigating mass graves. Vecernji list reported on
17 January that Washington favors a more liberal interpretation of the
mandate but that London and Paris are reluctant to become involved in
the issue of war crimes. -- Patrick Moore
[6] OSCE ARMS CONTROL TALKS POSTPONED.
Scheduled OSCE-mediated arms controls
talks in Vienna were postponed on 16 January because rump Yugoslavia was
not yet ready with its data, Reuters reported. Under the Dayton peace
accords, Bosnia, Croatia and rump Yugoslavia are required to provide
inventories of heavy weapons -- including tanks, armored personnel
carriers, large caliber artillery, airplanes and combat helicopters.
"Technical reasons" were cited for the delay. Instead of a full session,
the OSCE official chairing the arms talks, Norwegian general Vigleik
Eide, held talks with individual delegations. -- Michael Mihalka
[7] BOSNIAN PULLBACK ON SCHEDULE.
Bosnian Serb and Muslim-Croat troop
withdrawals from the 4-kilometer wide zones of separation throughout
Bosnia are proceeding on schedule and NATO Brigadier Andrew Cumming said
on 16 January that NATO expects the 19 January deadline to be met,
western and local media reported. "We're looking at 70% compliance by
now and we do expect compliance," NATO commander Admiral Leighton Smith
told reporters in Sarajevo. "The military is being really cooperative."
Local media reported that troop withdrawals have been completed in
several places, including the Posavina corridor and Mostar. There was
less confidence that the requirement to remove or destroy all mines in
the zones of separation and to mark the ones in the rest of the country
would be achieved by the same deadline. "There are so many that we will
probably still be finding mines a decade from now," said one NATO
official. -- Michael Mihalka
[8] SERBIA TO GET NEW "DEMOCRATIC" PARTY.
Politika on 17 January reports
that Dragoljub Micunovic has said he will be involved in founding a new
political party, which sources speculate is to be called the Democratic
Party of the Center (DSC). Micunovic, former president and among the
founders of the Democratic Party (DS) currently controlled by Zoran
Djindjic, was expelled from DS ranks on 2 December. Micunovic now
reportedly says his new party may appeal to disaffected DS members. --
Stan Markotich
[9] ROMANIAN RULING PARTY SEEKS CABINET RESHUFFLE.
The left-wing Party of
Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) on 16 January urged Premier Nicolae
Vacaroiu to reshuffle his cabinet, Reuters reported. Party executive
chairman Adrian Nastase told journalists that a reshuffle would give the
party "dynamism and impulse" to fulfill its program, especially a plan
for accelerating the privatization of state-owned industries. According
to that plan, mass privatization should have been completed by the end
of 1995. But the deadline had to be extended until 31 March, due to
Romanians' failure to trade their coupons and vouchers for shares in
particular enterprises. Vacaroiu, who attended a meeting of the PDSR
standing bureau, was quoted by Jurnalul national as saying that the
cabinet would discuss the reshuffle later this week. -- Dan Ionescu
[10] OSCE CHAIRMAN VISITS MOLDOVA.
Flavio Cotti, Swiss foreign minister and
acting OSCE chairman, on 16 January began a visit to Moldova, BASA-press
and Infotag reported. Cotti met with Moldovan President Mircea Snegur,
Parliament Chairman Petru Lucinschi, and Foreign Minister Mihai Popov.
Snegur informed Cotti of the steps taken by his administration to settle
the conflict in eastern Moldova, including the drafting of a special
status for the Dniester region that is based on OSCE recommendations. He
further said that the Moldovan, Russian, and Ukrainian presidents were
planning to sign a joint memorandum to speed up the settlement of the
crisis. Asked at a press conference about the possible presence in
Moldova of a multi-national OSCE force, Cotti said that his organization
lacked funds to conduct peacekeeping operations, and therefore preferred
"prevention diplomacy." -- Dan Ionescu
[11] UPDATE ON ZHIVKOV APPEAL.
The General Assembly of the Bulgarian Supreme
Court's criminal divisions on 16 January failed to muster the quorum
needed to reach a decision on the appeal of former Communist dictator
Todor Zhivkov to review his seven-year sentence,Trud reported the
following day. Zhivkov was convicted in 1992 of misappropriating public
funds; due to ill health, he is under house arrest. Meanwhile, under the
headline "Judicial idiotism turns the criminal Zhivkov into a martyr,"
Social Democratic Party Chairman Petar Dertliev complained in an article
for Standart that Zhivkov never stood trial for crimes against humanity
committed during his rule. -- Stefan Krause
[12] RACE FOR PAPANDREOU SUCCESSION IS ON.
Four top politicians from the
ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) have announced their
candidacy for the post of Greek prime minister, Western media reported
on 17 January. Former Industry Minister Kostas Simitis and Defense
Minister Gerasimos Arsenis are said to have the best chances to succeed
Andreas Papandreou, who resigned on 15 January. Interior, Public
Administration and Decentralization Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who
has deputized for Papandreou since November, and former Foreign and
Defense Minister Jannis Charalambopoulos, are given less chances.
PASOK's Central Committee was meeting on 17 January to discuss the
party's future course until the next party congress due in summer. The
presidency of the parliamentary faction will also meet that day to
discuss the procedures for the election of a new premier. The actual
voting is expected to take place the following day. -- Stefan Krause
[13] ALBANIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW TAKES EFFECT.
The Albanian government
passed a standing order on the implementation of an anti-corruption law
that was approved by parliament early last year, Albania reported on 17
January. According to the law, all state employees have to declare their
property and explain how they financed it. The order defines the
procedures of declaration. State employees are also obliged to declare
their incomes and those of their family members up to five years after
resignation. A special commission of parliament will be created to
investigate officials suspected of corruption. -- Fabian Schmidt
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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