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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 15, 22 January 1996
CONTENTS
[1] TROOPS IN BOSNIA MEET DEADLINE FOR WITHDRAWAL . . .
[2] . . . BUT PRISONER EXCHANGE NOT YET COMPLETED.
[3] NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT MASS KILLINGS.
[4] KASAGIC ON MASS GRAVES.
[5] WHAT WILL IFOR DO?
[6] SERBIAN INFORMATION MINISTER CRITICAL OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA.
[7] MONTENEGRIN UPDATE.
[8] MINOR CABINET RESHUFFLE IN ROMANIA.
[9] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTY CHOOSES NEW LEADER.
[10] NATO WILL NOT KEEP PEACE IN MOLDOVA.
[11] NEW BULGARIAN MINISTERS NOMINATED.
[12] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES CHANGES TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
[13] MORE COMMUNIST-ERA OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN ALBANIA . . .
[14] . . . AND RAMIZ ALIA TO BE NEXT?
[15] NEW "REFORMIST" GOVERNMENT IN GREECE.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 15, Part II, 22 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] TROOPS IN BOSNIA MEET DEADLINE FOR WITHDRAWAL . . .
The withdrawal of
government, Serbian, and Croatian forces from the zones of separation
took place in Bosnia by midnight on 19 January, the deadline set in the
Dayton peace accords, international and local media reported. IFOR
commander Admiral Leighton Smith said there was "substantial compliance
on the military issues of the peace agreement by all parties." However,
although the some 1,400 minefields along the 1,000 km-long zones have
been identified, not all mines have been removed, as called for by the
agreement. Speaking in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana
praised progress to date but expressed concern about the continuing
conflict in Mostar, which, he said, was the "key for the whole peace
process." -- Michael Mihalka
[2] . . . BUT PRISONER EXCHANGE NOT YET COMPLETED.
According to the
International Committee of the Red Cross, only 217 prisoners were
released by the midnight 19 January deadline laid down in the Dayton
accords. IFOR commander Admiral Leighton Smith, citing ICRC sources,
said that 318 prisoners remain in Bosnia, 151 in Serbia, and 177 in
Croatia. The Bosnian government is refusing to release more prisoners
until the Bosnian Serbs account for some 1,000 Bosnian Muslims who are
thought to be in Bosnian Serb labor camps and thousands more believed to
have been killed. -- Michael Mihalka
[3] NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT MASS KILLINGS. U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State
for Human Rights John Shattuck on 21 January spoke of what the BBC the
next day called "mass killings and crimes against humanity" committed by
the Bosnian Serbs. He referred to a warehouse at Kravice, near
Srebrenica, where up to 2,000 people were shelled to death or shot as
they fled. The VOA's Croatian Service quoted him as saying that he even
saw blood on the ceiling and that he would pass on evidence to the war
crimes tribunal in The Hague. Shattuck feared that up to 7,000 Muslims
could have been massacred in the wake of the Serbian seizure of
Srebrenica last July. He noted that what he found in the area confirmed
reports he had heard from witnesses and survivors. -- Patrick Moore
[4] KASAGIC ON MASS GRAVES.
Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Rajko Kasagic told
Radio Kragujevac that his government has no information on what happened
in a Ljubija mine where 8,000 Muslims and Croats were allegedly disposed
of by Serbs in 1992 (see OMRI Daily Digest, 12 January 1995), Nasa Borba
reported on 22 January. He rejected claims about mass killings in the
Srebrenica and Prijedor areas, saying that there was a lack of evidence
and that "these accusations are old as war itself." He also said that
Bosnian Serb authorities will allow UN Special Envoy for Human Rights
Elizabeth Rehn to visit the sites of alleged mass graves from 4-8
February in order "to stop disinformation." -- Daria Sito Sucic
[5] WHAT WILL IFOR DO?
Central to the discussion about investigatingpossible sites of atrocities in Bosnia is the role of the NATO troops
there in carrying out or assisting in the investigations. IFOR's
position is that it will not carry out such missions on its own but will
provide protection for international investigators who request it. IFOR
spokesmen have been quick to add that they have received no such
request. Shattuck noted, however, that the Serbs are trying to hide or
destroy evidence near Srebrenica and at the Ljubija mine. NATO
Secretary-General Javier Solana said that IFOR will prevent the
destruction of evidence, but he would not say how, AFP reported on 22
January. -- Patrick Moore
[6] SERBIAN INFORMATION MINISTER CRITICAL OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA.
Ratomir
Vico, in an interview with Deutsche Welle cited by BETA on 19 January,
said independent broadcasters in Serbia will not be granted frequencies
because their reporting is anti-government, inaccurate, and patently
"one-sided." Vico went on to lambaste the German press, which he said
continued to be biased in its reporting of the Balkan conflicts. He said
the German media had inaccurately portrayed the Serbs as "the sole
aggressors." -- Stan Markotich
[7] MONTENEGRIN UPDATE.
Montena-fax on 19 January reported that an official
Montengrin delegation completed a visit to Hong Kong and was traveling
to neighboring Macao for a one-day stay. The purpose of the visits was
to promote Asia-Pacific investment and Montenegrin economic cooperation
with Asian communities. -- Stan Markotich
[8] MINOR CABINET RESHUFFLE IN ROMANIA.
Nicolae Vacaroiu on 19 January made
some changes in his government, Romanian and international media
reported the same day. Dan Ioan Popescu, formerly deputy minister of
trade, replaced Petru Crisan, who resigned last month amid allegations
of corruption, as trade minister. Alexandru Stanescu, a deputy minister
of industry, has taken over the portfolio following the resignation of
Dumitru Popescu, criticized for the slow pace of rebuilding this sector.
Vacaroiu also said Research and Technology Minister Doru Dumitru Palade
has resigned but that his replacement will be announced later this
month. This is the fifth cabinet reshuffle since Vacaroiu became premier
in autumn 1992. -- Michael Shafir
[9] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTY CHOOSES NEW LEADER.
Ion Diaconescu on 19
January was re-elected chairman of the National Peasant Party-Christian
Democratic. Romanian and international media reported that the 78-year-
old Diaconescu, defeated party deputy chairman Ion Ratiu. He replaces
Corneliu Coposu, who died last year. The ballot took place on the first
day of the party's congress. -- Michael Shafir
[10] NATO WILL NOT KEEP PEACE IN MOLDOVA.
A NATO official on 19 January told
a group of Moldovan journalists attending a seminar in Brussels that he
"cannot imagine even for a second" that the mission of peacekeeping in
Moldova would be taken over by a NATO multinational force. He said the
Transdniester dispute should be settled politically with the assistance
of international organizations, including the UN and the OSCE. With
regard to the Russian proposal to give peacekeeping status to the
military contingent now deployed in the breakaway region, the official
said any decision should take into consideration "Russia's interests and
the situation there and only with the approval of the OSCE," Infotag
reported. -- Michael Shafir
[11] NEW BULGARIAN MINISTERS NOMINATED.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
and its coalition partners--the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union
"Aleksandar Stamboliyski" and the Political Club Ekoglasnost--on 21
January nominated new trade and agriculture ministers, Duma reported. If
approved by the parliament, Atanas Paparizov (BSP) will replace Kiril
Tsochev as trade minister, while Agrarian Chairman and Deputy Prime
Minister Svetoslav Shivarov will take over the Agriculture Ministry from
Vasil Chichibaba. Tsochev and Chichibaba resigned over the ongoing grain
crisis. Paparizov and Shivarov were the only candidates, and their
nomiations were unanimously approved by the ruling parties. Also on 21
January, the BSP nominated Lyubomir Filipov as governor of the Bulgarian
National Bank. -- Stefan Krause
[12] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES CHANGES TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
The
Bulgarian cabinet on 18 January approved changes to the tax code,
including raising the minimum annual tax-exempt income from 30,000 leva
($412) to 36,000 leva ($494), Bulgarian media reported. Traders will
have to make advance tax payments. According to Pari, the progressivity
of the tax in all but the lowest brackets has been increased. In other
news, the parliament's legal commission approved laws on the collection
of state loans, tax administration, and tax procedures. The opposition
criticized the proposed creation of a Service for Prevention and
Discovery of Tax Violations, which would have access to information on
bank accounts and conduct on-site inspections, as a violation of
privacy. -- Michael Wyzan
[13] MORE COMMUNIST-ERA OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN ALBANIA . . .
Nine Albanian
former communist officials have been arrested on charges of authorizing
deportations and other political actions violating communist
legislation, Reuters reported on 21 January. Among those arrested were
former Interior Ministers Hekuran Isai and Simon Stefani, former Supreme
Court Chief Judge Aranit Cela, and former Prosecutor-General Rrapi Mino.
The group also included high-ranking officials of the Sigurimi and
former politburo members. These latest arrests bring the number of
communist-era officials detained over the past five weeks to 30. --
Fabian Schmidt
[14] . . . AND RAMIZ ALIA TO BE NEXT?
Former Albanian President Ramiz Aliamay also face arrest soon, Albania reported on 21 January. Tirana
prosecutors said about 70 charges have been brought against Alia by
individual citizens and the National Forum of Intellectuals. Among other
things, he is accused of involvement in authorizing the killing of
Albanians trying to flee the country as well as the killing by the
police of three opposition activists during demonstrations on 2 April
1991. Alia has already served a prison sentence for abuse of power. He
was released in June 1994 following the introduction of a new penal code
and a various amnesties by President Sali Berisha. -- Fabian Schmidt
[15] NEW "REFORMIST" GOVERNMENT IN GREECE.
The government of newly appointed
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis was sworn in on 22 January, Western
media reported. Simitis has appointed a number of so-called reformists
to replace ministers loyal to former Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou
and downsized the cabinet from 51 to 41 members. Theodoros Pangalos
replaces Karolos Papoulias as foreign minister. Former EU Commissioner
Vaso Papandreou will head the newly formed Development Ministry, which
includes the industry, commerce, trade, and tourism portfolios. Both
ministers are regarded as strongly pro-EU. Simitis retained Defense
Minister Gerasimos Arsenis and Interior Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos,
both Papandreou loyalists, as well as Education Minister Georgios
Papandreou, the former premier's son. Finance Minister Alekos
Papadopoulos and Economy Minister Jannos Papantoniou also keep their
posts, suggesting that austerity measures will continue. -- Stefan
Krause
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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