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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 14, 19 January 1996
CONTENTS
[1] MORE MASS GRAVES IN BOSNIA.
[2] BRITISH TROOPS SEAL OFF MUJAHIDIN.
[3] CROATIA LIFTS LIMITS ON RETURN OF SERBIAN REFUGEES.
[4] PROGRESS IN OSCE TALKS ON CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES.
[5] SERBIAN RADICALS ON PROPOSED AMNESTY.
[6] MORE MONTENGRIN AID TO HERZEGOVINIAN SERBS.
[7] NEW DETAILS ABOUT ATTEMPT ON MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT'S LIFE.
[8] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER BLASTS OSCE OFFICIAL.
[9] DNIESTER CONSTITUTION PROMULGATED.
[10] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT?
[11] ALBANIAN JUDGES TO RECEIVE POLICE PROTECTION.
[12] ALBANIAN-MACEDONIAN COMMISSION DISCUSSES BORDER REGULATIONS.
[13] NEW GREEK PREMIER ELECTED.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 14, Part II, 19 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] MORE MASS GRAVES IN BOSNIA.
Bosnian TV on 18 January reported that new
mass graves have been found near Sanski Most and Vozuca. The victims
appear to have been Muslims killed by the Serbs since 1992, but the
exact number is unclear and there has been no independent confirmation
of the reports, AFP noted. Also in Vozuca in central Bosnia, refugees
from Srebrenica have staged a protest about their food and living
conditions, Oslobodjenje wrote on 19 January. The Sarajevo daily also
said that the governing Party of Democratic Action (SDA) has launched
preparations for Muslims to vote in this year's elections in areas from
which they were "ethnically cleansed." SDA spokesmen said that some 380
Muslim families were ready to return to Srebrenica. -- Patrick Moore
[2] BRITISH TROOPS SEAL OFF MUJAHIDIN.
Following an armed incident with
Canadian soldiers on 18 January, 100 British IFOR troops with armored
personnel carriers set up an "overwatch" on 100 foreign mujahidin
fighters in a school near Bihac. The men should have left Bosnia earlier
in the week in keeping with the terms of the Dayton agreement on the
evacuation of foreign soldiers. Their departure has been held up because
of problems with the Croatian authorities in determining transit
arrangements. The muhajidin, one of the more controversial elements in
the conflict, have included native Bosnian Muslims in addition to
foreigners. Such Bosnians, as well as foreigners who have acquired
Bosnian citizenship, have the right to stay but the Bosnian government
is responsible for controlling them. IFOR has tried to play down the
idea that muhajidin could be a potential problem. -- Patrick Moore
[3] CROATIA LIFTS LIMITS ON RETURN OF SERBIAN REFUGEES.
The Sabor voted on
17 January to change an earlier decision that required Serbs who fled
Croatia last year to reclaim their property within a three-month limit.
The new measure says that the issue will be regulated by a future
agreement between Zagreb and Belgrade, Nasa Borba reported on 19
January. The paper also noted that representatives of the Croats in
Vojvodina point out that rump Yugoslavia has yet to clarify the status
of its Croatian population. -- Patrick Moore
[4] PROGRESS IN OSCE TALKS ON CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES.
Istvan Gyarmati,
the OSCE official chairing talks on confidence-building measures, on 18
January said the Muslim-Croatian federation and the Bosnian Serbs have
exchanged lists of weapons and arms sites, Reuters reported. The Bosnian
Serbs had failed to provide the list earlier in the week, citing
"technical reasons." Meanwhile, Robert Frowick, head of the OSCE mission
to Bosnia, said in Vienna on 18 January that registering Bosnian voters
is a "staggering problem," international media reported. The task is
complicated by the numbers of refugees, estimated at 2 million, and the
"hundreds and thousands of displaced people." -- Michael Mihalka
[5] SERBIAN RADICALS ON PROPOSED AMNESTY.
Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leader
Vojislav Seselj on 18 January said his party will "not run away from
discussions" about the issue of granting an amnesty to individuals who
evaded serving in the wars throughout former Yugoslavia. But he noted
that the SRS will oppose legislation that offers only a "partial"
amnesty, noting that any serious proposal should include a pardon for
"even those who stole something just to be able to feed their children."
Seselj also claimed that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic had been
pressured by the international community to support an amnesty for draft
evaders. -- Stan Markotich
[6] MORE MONTENGRIN AID TO HERZEGOVINIAN SERBS.
Montena-fax on 17 January
reported that Montenegro's aid efforts to Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina
continued that day with the arrival in Trebinje of some 250 tons of food
products. The Montenegrin government launched the aid program earlier
this month. Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic was in Nevesinje on 13
January to witness the arrival of a humanitarian aid shipment to the
Herzegovinian town. Of the 20,000 people living there, half are Serbian
refugees. -- Stan Markotich
[7] NEW DETAILS ABOUT ATTEMPT ON MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT'S LIFE.
The Macedonian
Interior Ministry on 18 January revealed new details about the attempt
on the life of Kiro Gligorov in October 1995, Nova Makedonija reported.
The force of the explosives used in the attack was much greater than
initially estimated, and some 4.5-7 kg were used laced with small metal
parts. A ministry spokesman said the Citroen Ami used as a car bomb was
driven by a woman and was coincidentally photographed by a German
tourist the previous day. -- Stefan Krause
[8] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER BLASTS OSCE OFFICIAL.
Gheorghe Funar, leader
of the Party of Romanian National Unity, on 18 January sharply
criticized OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der
Stoel, who is currently in Romania to discuss concerns about ethnic
minorities, an RFE/RL correspondent in Bucharest reported. Funar
described Van der Stoel as "a ghost walking freely in Bucharest, scaring
the citizens." He called on the Romanian government to declare him
persona non grata. The OSCE official has met with President Ion Iliescu,
other Romanian officials, and leaders of the country's large Hungarian
minority. -- Dan Ionescu
[9] DNIESTER CONSTITUTION PROMULGATED.
Igor Smirnov, president of the self-
proclaimed Dniester republic, on 17 January signed the region's new
constitution, Infotag reported. The constitution, adopted by referendum
on 24 December, proclaims the Dniester region a sovereign and
independent state. Also on 17 January, the newly elected Supreme Soviet
held its inaugural session in Tiraspol. The deputies re-elected Grigorii
Marakutsa as parliamentary chairman by a vote of 49 to 14. Marakutsa is
regarded as a relatively moderate leader who is prepared to continue the
dialogue with the Moldovan authorities. Vasilii Yakovlev--leader of the
Bloc of Patriotic Left-Wing Forces, which that opposes any rapprochement
with Chisinau--received only six votes. According to BASA-press, Smirnov
the same day dismissed Yakovlev as rector of Tiraspol University. -- Dan
Ionescu
[10] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT?
24 chasa on 19 Januaryreports that Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) Chairman Ivan Kostov will
most likely be nominated presidential candidate at the SDS National
Conference in March. He is likely to run against incumbent President
Zhelyu Zhelev and an as-yet unnamed candidate from the ruling Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP). The most likely candidates are Parliamentary
Chairman Blagovest Sendov and Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski. Zhelev
is trying to secure support from all opposition forces including the
SDS, but many high-ranking SDS members have made it clear that the union
will not support him. -- Stefan Krause
[11] ALBANIAN JUDGES TO RECEIVE POLICE PROTECTION.
All Albanian chief
justices are to receive police protection following attacks on judges
throughout the country, international agencies and the daily Albania
reported on 18 January. Some 45 judges will receive bodyguards following
a bomb attack on the home of the Kukes district court chief judge on 17
January and an attack earlier this month on the chief of the Tirana
district court (see OMRI Daily Digest, 5 January 1995). No one was
injured in either attack. -- Fabian Schmidt
[12] ALBANIAN-MACEDONIAN COMMISSION DISCUSSES BORDER REGULATIONS.
Albanian
and Macedonian officials held talks in Pogradec on easing border
traffic, Koha Jone reports on 19 January. Both sides presented and
discussed draft agreements on visa requirements; in particular, they
focused on visa fees and the abolition of visas for diplomats. Albanian
Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi is expected to visit Macedonia soon. --
Fabian Schmidt
[13] NEW GREEK PREMIER ELECTED.
The ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement
(PASOK) on 18 January chose former Industry Minister Kostas Simis to
head the next Greek government, Greek Radio reported. In the second
round of voting, Simitis received 86 out of 167 votes and Interior
Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos 75. Six deputies cast blank ballots.
Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis, who had been expected to advance to
the second round, came third in the first round. Following his election,
Simitis promised continuity but also stressed "the need for new ideas
and a change in the way of governing." President Kostis Stephanopoulos
has mandated Simitis to form a new government, which is expected to be
sworn in on 22 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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