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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 13, 18 January 1996
CONTENTS
[1] SARAJEVO SERBS STRESS NEED FOR OWN ADMINISTRATION.
[2] BOSNIAN SERB SOLDIERS DESERTING TO GOVERNMENT SIDE.
[3] IFOR SEIZES SECRET GOVERNMENT AIR BASE.
[4] BILDT TALKS WITH NATO.
[5] SERBIA PROPOSES AMNESTY.
[6] BOSNIAN REFUGEES IN CROATIA FORCED TO MOVE AGAIN.
[7] CROATIAN, BULGARIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN AGREEMENT ON FRIENDSHIP.
[8] INVESTIGATIONS INTO CEAUSESCU'S CHILDREN DROPPED.
[9] ROMANIA SETS BROADCASTING RULES FOR ELECTIONS.
[10] TV JOURNALIST KIDNAPPED IN MOLDOVA.
[11] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ON RELATIONS WITH NATO.
[12] ALBANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REVIEWS GENOCIDE LAW.
[13] GREECE, MACEDONIA OPEN LIAISON OFFICES.
[14] RULING GREEK PARTY SETS PROCEDURES FOR PAPANDREOU SUCCESSION.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 13, Part II, 18 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] SARAJEVO SERBS STRESS NEED FOR OWN ADMINISTRATION.
The Bosnian Serbs are
following up on their switch in tactics to accept the transfer of their
suburbs to government control under certain conditions (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 17 January 1996). The BBC on 18 January said that they were now
willing to back the terms of the Dayton agreement and that their
representatives were meeting with the international community's Michael
Steiner to discuss cooperation. Reuters reported that the Serbs want a
local administration that will guarantee their rights. Steiner said that
he and the Serbs agreed that the agreement would be implemented without
any changes but that Serbian concerns would be taken into account. --
Patrick Moore
[2] BOSNIAN SERB SOLDIERS DESERTING TO GOVERNMENT SIDE.
Concern about the
future for themselves and their families has prompted "several dozen"
Bosnian Serbs to desert their units and report to government
authorities. AFP said on 18 January that the men were especially
concerned that their families living in the Sarajevo suburbs not join
any exodus. The government authorities jokingly greeted one man with
"Welcome to the Muslim fundamentalist side." The government officials
said they were obliged to make sure the deserters were not wanted for
war crimes but added that "those who come over have a clear conscience."
-- Patrick Moore
[3] IFOR SEIZES SECRET GOVERNMENT AIR BASE.
French IFOR troops seized a
secret Bosnian government air base on 17 January after repeatedly being
denied access to it, international agencies reported. The Visoko
airstrip, about 20 kilometers from Sarajevo, was reportedly used to
store weapons smuggled into the country in contravention of the UN arms
embargo. IFOR was asserting its right to unrestricted freedom of
movement under the Dayton peace accords. -- Michael Mihalka
[4] BILDT TALKS WITH NATO.
International community representative Carl Bildt
on 17 January met with the North Atlantic Council, NATO's executive
body, international agencies reported. NATO Secretary-General Javier
Solana expressed full support for Bildt's efforts, saying "peace is
reconciliation and...the main task...is in the hands of Carl Bildt."
Relations between Bildt and NATO have been strained because of
continuing NATO grumbling over the slow pace of the civilian peace
effort. Bildt, for his part, has complained that the U.S. has prevented
him from using UN facilities and that he has received funding only from
the EU. Bildt said he expected a substantial contribution from the U.S.
in the near future. -- Michael Mihalka
[5] SERBIA PROPOSES AMNESTY.
The rump Yugoslavia's Supreme Defense Council
has advocated the drafting of a law granting an amnesty to 12,455 people
indicted by military authorities for failing to serve in the regions'
wars over the past few years, Nasa Borba, citing Tanjug, reported on 18
January. The council is the country's highest military executive
authority. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Montenegrin President
Momir Bulatovic, and federal rump Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic are
among its members. -- Stan Markotich
[6] BOSNIAN REFUGEES IN CROATIA FORCED TO MOVE AGAIN.
Oslobodjenje on 18
January reported that some 900 Bosnian refugees in Zagreb collective
centers are being forcibly moved to the Gasinci refugee camp. Croatia
has requested that refugees not be moved before 1 March, when the
Bosnian government is expected to have completed preparations for
accommodating the refugees. In another development, Bosnian refugees
from Srebrenica and Zepa have begun to leave the rump Yugoslavia for
third countries, Nasa Borba reported on 18 January. UNHCR officials
explained that the refugees were leaving because of poor living
conditions and the mistreatment of refugees, who are reluctant to return
to Bosnia due to the lack of safety there. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[7] CROATIAN, BULGARIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN AGREEMENT ON FRIENDSHIP.
Franjo
Tudjman and Zhelyu Zhelev signed an agreement on friendship and
cooperation in Zagreb on 17 January, Vecernji list reported. Zhelev
emphasized that Bulgaria was interested in participating in the
reconstruction of Croatia and was ready to support Croatia's
applications for admission to the Council of Europe and Black Sea
Alliance, Hina reported. Tudjman said that the agreement "will lay a
foundation for overall cooperation." -- Daria Sito Sucic
[8] INVESTIGATIONS INTO CEAUSESCU'S CHILDREN DROPPED.
Prosecutors on 17
January announced that they have dropped investigations into the three
children of late Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Reuters reported.
Zoe, Valentin, and Nicu Ceausescu have been cleared of "undermining the
national economy" by using their privileged position to exploit the
assets of the former Communist Party. The authorities also lifted a
foreign travel ban on the three. -- Dan Ionescu
[9] ROMANIA SETS BROADCASTING RULES FOR ELECTIONS.
The National Audiovisual
Council (CNA) on 16 January released broadcasting guidelines for the
April local elections, Romanian and Western media reported. Free and
equal time on state media will be given to all candidates, irrespective
of their political affiliation. "Audio or video material that slanders
opponents" is prohibited, and no opinion polls may be published in the
run-up to the elections. Private radio and TV stations can charge for
air time. Similar regulations are expected to apply to the general and
presidential elections, due to take place by the end of the year. The
opposition has often accused the state-controlled media of favoring
candidates from the ruling party in election campaigns. -- Dan Ionescu
[10] TV JOURNALIST KIDNAPPED IN MOLDOVA.
Five men in police uniforms have
kidnapped the deputy head of a private television company in Moldova,
BASA-press reported on 17 January. Ion Frunza was beaten up and abducted
in a Chisinau street on 13 January. He works for the Catalan TV company,
which began broadcasting last year. Police rejected claims that the
kidnappers might be members of the police force. This is the third
attack on Moldovan journalists since late December. -- Dan Ionescu
[11] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ON RELATIONS WITH NATO.
Zhelyu Zhelev warned the
Socialist government of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov that reluctance to
join NATO could have adverse effects on Bulgaria's economic and
political relations with the West, international agencies reported on 17
January, citing an interview with the weekly Sega. Zhelev said Bulgarian
reservations about full membership in NATO could lead NATO to look at
Bulgaria "with suspicion." He also said Bulgaria has a "moral and
political" right to take greater part in the reconstruction of the
former Yugoslavia since it "incurred great losses...without being
guilty." But he added that the government's foreign policy could affect
Bulgaria's participation in reconstruction programs. -- Stefan Krause
[12] ALBANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REVIEWS GENOCIDE LAW.
The Albanian
Constitutional Court is reviewing the Law on Genocide and Crimes against
Humanity Committed in Albania During Communist Rule Out of Political,
Ideological, and Religious Motives, the Albanian-language service of
Deutsche Welle reported on 17 January. Deputies from the Socialist
Party, the Social Democrats, and the Democratic Alliance requested a
ruling on the constitutionality of the law, which bans communist-era
high ranking officials as well as members or collaborators of the
security service from holding public office until December 2001. The
opposition argues the law is designed to ban its politicians from
running in the upcoming elections. -- Fabian Schmidt
[13] GREECE, MACEDONIA OPEN LIAISON OFFICES.
Greece and Macedonia on 17
January opened liaison offices in each other's capitals, as stipulated
by the interim accord signed in September 1995, Nova Makedonija reported
the following day. The Greek office is headed by Alexandros Malias.
Macedonia is expected to name the head of its delegation by 1 February.
-- Stefan Krause
[14] RULING GREEK PARTY SETS PROCEDURES FOR PAPANDREOU SUCCESSION.
The ruling
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) on 17 January issued the
procedures for the succession of Andreas Papandreou as Greek prime
minister, international media reported. The new prime minister will be
elected by the 168 PASOK parliamentary deputies from among four
candidates: former Industry Minister Kostas Simitis; Defense Minister
Gerasimos Arsenis; Interior, Public Administration, and Decentralization
Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos; and former Foreign and Defense Minister
Jannis Charalambopoulos. The election is to take place on 18 January. --
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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