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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 41, 27 February 1996
CONTENTS
[1] UN CHARGES SERBS WITH LOOTING PUBLIC PROPERTY.
[2] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS ON BOSNIA.
[3] BOSNIA, CROATIA SIGN ACCORDS.
[4] SERBIAN MINISTER SAYS REFUGEES SHOULD GO HOME.
[5] CROATIAN UPDATE.
[6] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES ENERGY CRISIS.
[7] MOLDOVAN RULING PARTY MOVES TO SET UP LEFT-WING ELECTORAL BLOC.
[8] BULGARIA CALLS FOR BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING.
[9] BULGARIAN POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR RACKETEERING.
[10] ALBANIAN POLICE ARREST THREE SIGURIMI AGENTS IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB ATTACK...
[11] ...AND INTERROGATE JOURNALISTS.
[12] GREECE GETS LUKEWARM SUPPORT FROM EU PARTNERS.
[13] TURKEY SEEKS SUPPORT AMONG EU ALLIES.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 41, Part II, 27 February 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] UN CHARGES SERBS WITH LOOTING PUBLIC PROPERTY.
Serbs are continuing to
pillage their Sarajevo suburbs as they leave. UNHCR spokesman Kris
Jankowski told Reuters on 26 February that reports were coming in daily
of, among other things, thefts of furniture from the municipal office
building and the movie theater in Ilijas. He added that "Serb police
were there but did nothing to stop the theft. We're going to share our
concerns with NATO." The population in Ilijas has shrunk recently from
about 17,000 to 2,000 as the Serbs flee with the help of the Bosnian
Serb army. When federal police arrive on 29 February, Muslims and Croats
who were "ethnically cleansed" in previous years are expected to return.
Nasa Borba said on 27 February that federal authorities arrived in a
series of suburbs the previous day only to find them deserted. AFP
reported that Sarajevo Serbs are being sent to the strategic Brcko area,
the future of which is to be decided by international arbitration.
Bosnian Presidency member Ivo Komsic called the Serbian tactics a form
of "ethnic cleansing," Onasa noted on 26 February. -- Patrick Moore
[2] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS ON BOSNIA.
EU foreign ministers, meeting in
Brussels on 26 February, discussed future cooperation with the successor
states of the former Yugoslavia, Nasa Borba reported. Such cooperation,
they said, will be conditional on the free movement of people, goods,
and services. The ministers said they were "sorry to hear of EU Mostar
administrator Hans Kosch-nick's resignation," but they agreed to the
extension of his mandate until a replacement is found. They also said
that economic support for Bosnia, Croatia, and the rump Yugoslavia will
be conditional on their cooperation with The Hague-based International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[3] BOSNIA, CROATIA SIGN ACCORDS.
Prime ministers Zlatko Matesa of Croatia
and Hasan Muratovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, meeting in Split on 26
February, signed agreements on air traffic, investments and legal
assistance in civil and criminal proceedings, Vecernji list reported.
Reuters reported Croatian radio as saying that Bosnian citizens will no
longer need visas to enter Croatia beginning in March. The two sides
agreed to decide on the status of the Croatian port of Ploce, which the
Bosnians consider vital to the development of their economy, within two
weeks. Repatriation of refugees and the status of Mostar remain
unresolved issues. The same day, a police unit made up of Croatian,
Bosnian, and West European officers began guarding EU headquarters in
Mostar, Hina reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[4] SERBIAN MINISTER SAYS REFUGEES SHOULD GO HOME.
Serbian minister for
Municipal Planning Branislav Ivkovic, speaking in Subotica on the
weekend, said it is the aim of Serbian and rump Yugoslav authorities
that refugees currently in the rump Yugoslavia return home. TV Serbia on
24 February quoted the minister as saying he expected the international
community to provide guarantees for the safe return of the refugees. The
minister added, however, that the government has developed a program for
those who decide to stay in Serbia whereby all municipalities are to
volunteer information on housing availability, abandoned dwellings, and
uninhabited areas. The minister criticized local authorities in Subotica
for allegedly refusing to comply with his requests. -- Stan Markotich
[5] CROATIAN UPDATE.
Novi list reported on 27 February that the railway
workers' strike committee held a press conference the previous day. Its
chairman, Zlatko Pavletic, said that the workers were dropping their
demand for a 100% pay hike and asking for only 60% instead. He also
called for direct talks with President Franjo Tudjman, whom he said had
been misinformed about the strike, which began on 22 February.
Meanwhile, pro-government newspapers on 26 and 27 February praised the
governing Croatian Democratic Com-munity's recent congress as "a
blueprint for the next century." Novi list quoted opposition parties,
however, as calling it "a typical party plenum from the 1950s." --
Patrick Moore
[6] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES ENERGY CRISIS.
A motion accusing Nicolae
Vacaroiu's left-wing government of failing to prevent a crisis in the
energy sector provoked heated debates in the parliament on 26 February,
Romanian media reported. The motion was put forward by the Democratic
Convention of Romania, which said that the cabinet "has shown an
irresponsible lack of interest in securing stocks of fuel for the energy
sector." Vacaroiu, who attended the separate sessions of the Senate and
the Chamber of Deputies, defended his government's policy. While failing
to gather the required number of votes in the Senate, the motion passed
in the Chamber of Deputies thanks to support from the government's
former nationalist and neo-communist allies. -- Dan Ionescu
[7] MOLDOVAN RULING PARTY MOVES TO SET UP LEFT-WING ELECTORAL BLOC.
Deputy
Parliamentary Chairman Dumitru Diacov has proposed establishing a left-
wing coalition centered on the ruling Agrarian Democratic Party of
Moldova (PDAM) to nominate a joint presidential candidate, Moldovan
agencies reported on 26 February. Meanwhile, Vladimir Voronin of the
Communist Party of Moldova and Valentin Krylov of the Socialist Unity
told BASA-press that their parties' goal is to set up a bloc of
"patriotic popular forces," which, they said, would be composed of
leftist-centrist parties. Anatol Taran, chairman of the Social
Democratic Party of Moldova (PSDM), did not rule out the possibility of
a PSDM-PDAM coalition, although he said "the PDAM is not a left-wing
party, since it does not defend working people's rights." -- Matyas
Szabo
[8] BULGARIA CALLS FOR BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING.
Bulgarian Foreign
Minister Georgi Pirinski has invited his counterparts from all Balkan
countries to attend a forum in Sofia later this year, Pari reported on
27 February. The aim of the meeting is to revive the process of Balkan
cooperation, which was interrupted by the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
The ministers will discuss confidence-building measures, the
implementation of the Dayton accords, economic cooperation, and joint
infrastructure projects. Foreign Ministry spokesman Panteley Kara-
simeonov said the meeting is expected to be held by the end of June. --
Stefan Krause
[9] BULGARIAN POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR RACKETEERING.
Captain Hristo
Savov, a police officer in Sofia involved in fighting organized crime,
on 26 February was arrested on charges of racketeering and extortion,
Kontinent reported. Savov had offered to "protect" a businessman who had
received life threats. The businessman turned to the police after Savov
asked for $17,000 or the man's flat in return for protection over one
year. Six months ago, the head of the Varna police department fighting
organized crime was arrested on similar charges. -- Stefan Krause
[10] ALBANIAN POLICE ARREST THREE SIGURIMI AGENTS IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB ATTACK...
Albanian police have arrested three communist-era secret
service (Sigu-rimi) agents in connection with the explosion near a
supermarket in central Tirana, Gazeta Shqiptare reported. The explosion,
which killed five people and injured 25, took place on 26 February. The
three are suspected of having links with the Serbian secret service. The
arrests took place only a couple of hours after President Berisha
visited the site and blamed Sigurimi agents for the blast. The
government has issued a reward of 5 million lek ($50,000) for
information leading to the conviction of the perpetrators. -- Fabian
Schmidt
[11] ...AND INTERROGATE JOURNALISTS.
The same day, police interrogated 33
employees of Koha Jone, which, together with the Socialist daily Zeri i
Popullit, has been accused of receiving funds from the Serbian secret
services. Koha Jone staff members expressed concern that the explosion
may be used to exert pressure on the independent media. Albanian TV
connected the blast to an article in Populli Po last November headlined:
"The car bomb in Skopje could happen in Tirana," referring to the attack
on Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov last October. The supermarket
belongs to Vehbi Alimucaj, regarded as the richest businessman in
Albania with a fortune totaling some $50 million. A spokesman for
Alimucaj said he doubted the store was targeted specifically,
international agencies reported on 26 February. -- Fabian Schmidt
[12] GREECE GETS LUKEWARM SUPPORT FROM EU PARTNERS.
The EU foreign ministers
on 26 February backed Greece in its dispute with Turkey but did not
fully endorse Athens' position, Western media reported. Italian Foreign
Minister Susanna Agnelli said "We appealed to [Greece and Turkey] to
begin a dialogue to avoid the threat of war" and to take the question of
the uninhabited island of Imia/Kardak to the International Court of
Justice if necessary. French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette said the
EU Commission "went a little bit beyond its competence" when it
expressed its "full solidarity" with Greece on 8 February. Meanwhile,
Athens said it will review its efforts to block a 375 million ECU ($485
million) EU aid package to Turkey. Voting on the package is scheduled to
take place at the next foreign ministers meeting in late March. --
Stefan Krause
[13] TURKEY SEEKS SUPPORT AMONG EU ALLIES.
Turkish caretaker Prime Minister
Tansu Ciller left for Italy on 26 February for talks with her Italian
counterpart, Lamberto Dini, to seek support among Turkey's EU allies,
Turkish and Western media reported the same day. Before leaving, she
said that Greek conduct over aid to Turkey was an "abuse" of its EU
membership. She also said that any delay in granting the aid package
would be "tantamount to a violation of the agreement." Ciller noted that
Turkey "cannot be kept in Europe's waiting room" and would take its
rightful place within the union. -- Lowell Bezanis
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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