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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 42, 28 February 1996
CONTENTS
[1] ...BUT U.S. WARNS THAT SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA MAY NOT BE LIFTED.
[2] MOST EE FOREIGN MINISTERS BACK EU ARMS EMBARGO.
[3] THREE BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET.
[4] WAR CRIMES UPDATE.
[5] SARAJEVO SERB EXODUS NEARLY OVER.
[6] INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE GRANTS $14 MILLION TO SARAJEVO.
[7] CROATIA SAYS COOPERATION WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL IS CONDITIONAL.
[8] CROATIAN LABOR UNREST ENTERS DRAMATIC PHASE.
[9] ROMANIA-EU ASSOCIATION COUNCIL CONVENES.
[10] U.S. DEFENSE OFFICIAL IN ROMANIA. U.S.
[11] RUSSIAN TANKS TO BULGARIA.
[12] ALBANIAN POLICE ARRESTS MEDIA EMPLOYEES IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB ATTACK.
[13] GREECE, MACEDONIA FAIL AGAIN TO REACH AGREEMENT ON NAME ISSUE.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 42, Part II, 28 February 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] ...BUT U.S. WARNS THAT SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA MAY NOT BE LIFTED.
The
U.S. government has warned Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic that
international sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia will stay in place
if the Belgrade regime continues its crackdown on independent media and
humanitarian organizations, international media reported on 27 February.
U.S. government spokesman Glyn Davies said that "Milosevic has to
understand that he's not operating in a vacuum.... The Dayton Accord
calls for certain standards in human rights and we're going to hold
[Belgrade] to it." -- Stan Markotich
[2] MOST EE FOREIGN MINISTERS BACK EU ARMS EMBARGO.
East European foreign
ministers, meeting with their EU counterparts in Brussels on 27
February, discussed the EU arms embargo on Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia,
international media reported. Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania,
Romania, and Slovakia immediately endorsed the embargo. Poland, the
Czech Republic, Albania, and Bulgaria weclomed the idea but said they
needed to consult with their governments before adopting the measure.
They cited a "lack of precision" in the requirement that countries "show
restraint" in selling arms to Slovenia and Macedonia, Rzeczpospolita
reported. -- Michael Mihalka
[3] THREE BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET.
Republican Prime Minister Hasan
Muratovic, his federal counterpart Izudin Kapetanovic, and the Republika
Srpska's Rajko Kasagic met with the international com-munity's Carl
Bildt in Banja Luka on 27 February. Their agenda centered on restoring
infrastructure across the boundaries between the Serbian and Muslim-
Croat entities. International and regional media said that water will be
piped to Gorazde and power lines rebuilt from Visegrad and Sarajevo via
Gorazde to Foca. Rail transport will be resumed from Serb-held Zvornik
to Banja Luka via federal Tuzla. Kasagic told reporters that there will
be a common customs policy based on the German mark as a reference
currency. -- Patrick Moore
[4] WAR CRIMES UPDATE.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia based in The Hague on 27 February concluded its hearings
against Krajina Serb leader Milan Martic in just one day. Martic is in
Banja Luka, and the VOA on 28 February quoted him as saying that any
attempt to arrest and extradite him would be "a terrorist act." He is
wanted for an indiscriminate rocket attack on civilians in Zagreb in
1995. The hearings were wound up because of the need to address a
request by the lawyer of Bosnian Serb General Djordje Djukic that his
client be freed immediately, Nasa Borba noted. Oslobodjenje reported
that the Bosnian Serb authorities have drawn up a list of 2,388 people
suspected of committing attrocities against Serbs, including 11 Serbs
"who betrayed their own people." * Patrick Moore
[5] SARAJEVO SERB EXODUS NEARLY OVER.
The evacuation of the Serb-held suburb
of Ilijas is almost complete on the eve of the arrival of government
police. Bosnian Serb refugees blamed their leaders for ordering them out
on short notice and withdrawing essential services at the same time. AFP
on 28 February quoted one man as saying that the Serbian "leaders could
have let us known of their intentions earlier, instead of shunting us
out like cattle at the last minute." The Guardian reported the previous
day that the Serb-held suburbs are in the hands of drunken armed bands
that terrorize the remaining inhabitants, most of whom are sick and old,
and loot what property is left. -- Patrick Moore
[6] INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE GRANTS $14 MILLION TO SARAJEVO.
The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will allocate $14
million for the reconstruction of the destroyed Olympic arenas in
Sarajevo, Nasa Borba reported on 28 February, citing Deutsche Welle.
Meanwhile, AFP on 27 February reported that international aid agencies
are shunning the Bosnian Serbs and concentrating their efforts on the
Muslim-Croat Federation. Aid workers said donor governments are
reluctant to support the Serbian side because they see no guarantee of
long-term stability. An unidentified source told AFP that development
aid would target exclusively government-controlled territory, while
humanitarian aid projects would remain universal. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[7] CROATIA SAYS COOPERATION WITH THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL IS CONDITIONAL.
The
Croatian parliamentary legislative committee has supported in principle
the proposal on Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. But it said Croatia's support is
conditional on changes being made to the tribunal statutes in accordance
with the legislative systems of Croatia and other successor states of
the former Yugoslavia, Novi List reported on 28 February. Croatian law
prohibits the extradition of a citizen who has already been tried in
Croatia. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[8] CROATIAN LABOR UNREST ENTERS DRAMATIC PHASE.
The railroad strike that
began on 22 February has succeeded in shutting down 90% of the trains,
AFP reported on 28 February. The main union grouping, the SSSH, planned
to launch a general strike last week but postponed it without giving a
reason. President Franjo Tudjman has said that the labor unrest is "not
democratic," but the unions have asked to negotiate with him personally
over pay and the high cost of living. -- Patrick Moore
[9] ROMANIA-EU ASSOCIATION COUNCIL CONVENES.
Romanian Foreign Minister
Teodor Melescanu, presiding over a meeting of the Romanian-EU
Association Council in Brussels on 27 February, presented his country's
strategy for joining the EU, which includes bringing its legislation in
line with EU standards and speeding up economic reforms. Radio Bucharest
reported that he also renewed Romania's request that EU member states
abolish visa requirements for Romanian citizens. The meeting was
attended by EU Council President Susanna Agnelli and by Hans van den
Broek, EU commissioner for relations with Eastern Europe and the CIS.
Van den Broek said he was satisfied with Romania's "considerable efforts
to pave the way for full EU membership." -- Dan Ionescu
[10] U.S. DEFENSE OFFICIAL IN ROMANIA. U.S.
Undersecretary of Defense Paul
Kaminski paid a four-day visit to Romania to discuss bilateral military
cooperation, Romanian and international media reported on 26-28
February. Kaminski and his Romanian counterpart, Gen. Florentin Popa,
signed an agreement on the exchange of information in military research
and development. Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu told Kaminski that Romania
continues to aim for NATO integration. The two sides discussed the
possibility of U.S. support in modernizing the Romanian army and defense
industry. Kaminski also met with President Ion Iliescu, Defense Minister
Gheorghe Tinca, and other senior officials. -- Matyas Szabo
[11] RUSSIAN TANKS TO BULGARIA.
Russia is to provide Bulgaria with 100 T-72
tanks and other armored "fighting vehicles," Kontinent reported on 27
February. The daily noted that relations between Russia and Bulgaria
have always been close, observing "Bulgaria is one of those few
countries in Eastern Europe that is not pressing for NATO membership."
Meanwhile, Demo-kratsiya reported that Gen. Mikho Mikhov last week
refused Moscow's "gift" of 12 Mi-24 helicopters because of their low
technical grade and the high cost need to repair and maintain them. The
arms transfer was agreed to in 1995. -- Stan Markotich
[12] ALBANIAN POLICE ARRESTS MEDIA EMPLOYEES IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB ATTACK.
Albanian police on 27 February arrested the two bodyguards of Koha Jone
editor in chief Nikolla Lesi in connection with the bomb explosion in
Tirana the previous day, Albanian media reported. This move came after
police had interrogated 33 Koha Jone staff members on the day of the
blast. State radio said the bodyguards resembled police sketches of the
alleged perpetrators. Police also raided Lesi's apartment and
confiscated a hunting rifle and a safe box containing tapes of a 1994
trial in which two journalists were convicted of slander and revealing
state secrets. Meanwhile, the Association of Professional Journalists
has protested the police raid on Koha Jone. President Sali Berisha said
"the government is com-mitted...to iden-tifing the perpetrators, and I
believe Albanian justice will give them the punishment they deserve --
capital punishment." The Socialist Party has rejected claims it was
involved in the attack and has called on all political parties to "unite
in the fight against terrorism." -- Fabian Schmidt
[13] GREECE, MACEDONIA FAIL AGAIN TO REACH AGREEMENT ON NAME ISSUE.
Greece
and Macedonia, meeting at UN headquarters in New York on 27 February,
failed again to reach agreement on the issue of a permanent official
name for Macedonia. Both parties agreed, however, to continue the
dialogue in April. Macedonia was admitted to the UN in April 1993 under
the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Greece continues to
object to the use of "Macedonia" in its name, arguing it implies
territorial claims against the northern Greek province bearing the same
name. -- Lowell Bezanis and Stan Markotich
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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