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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 44, 1 March 1996
CONTENTS
[1] IS GENERAL DJUKIC MISSING LINK TO MILOSEVIC?
[2] SIEGE OF SARAJEVO ENDS.
[3] MORE VIOLATIONS OF DAYTON ACCORDS ON PRISONERS, FORCED LABOR.
[4] WORLD BANK APPROVES $45 MILLION AID TO BOSNIA.
[5] BOMB EXPLODES IN MOSTAR.
[6] SOROS FOUNDATION VOWS TO CONTINUE WORK IN RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
[7] WORLD CHESS CHAMPION ENLISTS WITH SERBIAN SOCIALISTS.
[8] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION SENATOR TO BOYCOTT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.
[9] MAJOR OIL LEAK IN ROMANIA.
[10] CONTROVERSY OVER PLUNDERED ROMANIAN JEWISH FORTUNES IN SWISS BANK.
[11] EU-MOLDOVA COOPERATION COMMITTEE CONVENES IN CHI-SINAU.
[12] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
[13] WAS ITALIAN MAFIA INVOLVED IN TIRANA BOMBING?
[14] JOURNALIST CONTINUES TO BE DETAINED IN TIRANA.
[15] GREECE WILL CONTINUE TO BLOCK EU AID TO TURKEY.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 44, Part II, 1 March 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] IS GENERAL DJUKIC MISSING LINK TO MILOSEVIC?
The International CriminalTribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on 1 March announced that Serbian
General Djordje Djukic has been formally charged with "crimes against
humanity" and "violation of war rights and conventions," AFP reported.
It will also hold another Serbian officer, Col. Aleksa Krsmanovic, until
at least 4 April. The Guardian on 29 February published an article based
on a package of leaked documents on Djukic and some secret Serbian maps.
It argues that Djukic is an officer in Belgrade's army, not Pale's, and
that the "international community" was aware all along of Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic's role in starting and continuing the war
in Bosnia through the end of 1995. The author concludes that "the
revelation that the general is Belgrade's man has explosive implications
for the Dayton peace agreement, while cutting to the core of the history
of the conflict by revealing Belgrade's secret role in the Bosnian Serb
war machine." The authenticity of the documents has yet to be verified,
but many observers have long suspected such a link. -- Patrick Moore
[2] SIEGE OF SARAJEVO ENDS.
With the arrival of federal police in Ilijas on
29 February, the blockade of the Bosnian capital formally came to an
end. Oslobodjenje on 1 March reported that Interior Minister Avdo Hebib
has reopened the overland route from Sarajevo to Zenica and Tuzla. The
Serbian siege lasted nearly four years, despite repeated attempts by the
government army to break through. UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko blamed
the Pale leadership for ordering the looting of Ilijas before the
federal units arrived. In another development, suspected war criminal
and Bihac kingpin Fikret Abdic has reemerged on the political scene by
registering his Democratic People's Community in Mostar. -- Patrick
Moore
[3] MORE VIOLATIONS OF DAYTON ACCORDS ON PRISONERS, FORCED LABOR.
The Onasa
news agency on 29 February quoted a prominent Roman Catholic priest,
Karlo Visevicki, as telling Bosnian Prime Minister Izudin Kapetanovic in
Banja Luka that Serbs continue to make Muslims do forced labor in
western Bosnia. AFP the same day reported that the International
Committee of the Red Cross said that the government authorities are
holding 52 more Serbian prisoners in Tuzla, bringing the total there to
at least 129. Two others are being held in Zenica. These Serbs and all
other prisoners not wanted for war crimes should have been freed six
weeks ago. The Serbs are still officially holding 23 captives and the
Croats two, in addition to those all three sides are keeping in
connection with war crimes investigations. -- Patrick Moore
[4] WORLD BANK APPROVES $45 MILLION AID TO BOSNIA.
The World Bank has
approved $45 million in emergency reconstruction aid for Bosnia in the
form of loans and grants, AFP reported on 29 February, quoting an
unidentified source. The aid is part of an emergency fund created by the
World Bank totaling $150 million. The World Bank is expected to announce
on 1 March which reconstruction projects will be financed by these
funds, whose contributors include the EU, the U.S., Canada, Germany,
Japan, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Britain. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[5] BOMB EXPLODES IN MOSTAR.
A bomb destroyed a Muslim-owned bank in the
Croatian part of Mostar on 29 February, Nasa Borba and AFP reported. No
casualties were reported. The bank is owned by a Muslim family that
lives in Zagreb. Bosnian Croat police have opened an investigation into
the blast, which, they say, may be linked either to mafia operations or
to ethnic strife. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[6] SOROS FOUNDATION VOWS TO CONTINUE WORK IN RUMP YUGOSLAVIA.
The Soros
Foundation has pledged to re-register in order to continue its aid work
throughout rump Yugoslavia, Nasa Borba reported on 1 March. The
foundation was banned last month by Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's regime. The organization said that since it was banned,
there has been a risk that 30,000 refugees will not receive critical
food aid, pre-schoolers will be deprived of basic educational supplies,
and some 100 health facilities will not get critical medical supplies.
Foundation head Sonja Licht noted that the rump Yugoslavia is "the only
country that has banned the Soros Foundation from operating on its
territory." -- Stan Markotich
[7] WORLD CHESS CHAMPION ENLISTS WITH SERBIAN SOCIALISTS.
Russian chess
master Anatolii Karpov has formally joined Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia, AFP reported on 29 February.
Karpov is said to be the first foreigner to join Milosevic's ruling SPS.
-- Stan Markotich
[8] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION SENATOR TO BOYCOTT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.
Constantin
Ticu Dumitrescu, senator for the National Peasant Party Christian
Democratic, on 29 February said he will boycott parliamentary debates,
Radio Bu-charest reported. Dumitrescu, a former political prisoner under
the Communists, said he was protesting the indefinite postponement of
the debate over a draft law he proposed two years ago. The bill would
provide for information on the former political police to be released
and would allow citizens access to their Securitate files. He also
pointed to another draft law blocked by the parliament, saying the
legislation aimed at banning former communist officials from holding
high office within the administration. Dumitrescu argued that informers
are still at work everywhere in Romania and that some have infiltrated
the democratic opposition. -- Dan Ionescu
[9] MAJOR OIL LEAK IN ROMANIA.
An oil tanker has spilled up to 250 tons of
gasoline in the harbor of Constanta on the Black Sea, Romanian and
Western media reported on 29 February. The leak occurred when the
Maltese-registered tank ship was unloading its cargo. A port official
blamed the oil spill on "negligence by the crew," who have been ordered
to pay a small fine only and the costs of the clean-up operation. Fuel
imports have been increased in an attempt to halt an energy crisis
caused by particularly cold weather. -- Dan Ionescu
[10] CONTROVERSY OVER PLUNDERED ROMANIAN JEWISH FORTUNES IN SWISS BANK.
The
World Jewish Congress has said the Association of Swiss Bankers is
hiding data on the fate of Romanian Jews' fortunes plundered during
World War II and deposited in a Swiss bank account, Reuters and Cronica
romana reported on 29 February-1 March. The WJC said details of an
account belonging to Radu Lecca have been discovered in a Securitate
file. Lecca, who was in charge of "Romanianizing" Jewish property, is
widely suspected of having amassed a fortune by threatening Jews with
deportation. He was sentenced to death in 1946 but his sentence was
commuted to life imprisonment. The file states that in 1963, Lecca--
possibly under pressure from the Securitate--attempted to reclaim money
from the Swiss Volksbank but was told no record of the account existed
because the bank's records had been destroyed. -- Michael Shafir
[11] EU-MOLDOVA COOPERATION COMMITTEE CONVENES IN CHI-SINAU.
The EU-Moldova
Joint Cooperation Committee on 29 February met for the first time,
Moldovan agencies reported. Moldovan Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli said
the committee was set up to implement the first agreements signed by
Moldova and the EU. He expressed gratitude to the EU for its support in
the peaceful settlement of the Dniester conflict and in efforts to
withdraw Russian troops from Moldovan territory. Without EU's
humanitarian assistance and preferential credits, "Moldova may
experience social unrest," he added. -- Matyas Szabo
[12] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
The Bulgarian government on 29 February adopted
regulations for implementing the arms trade law, Standart reported. The
regulations give private and state-run companies equal status. Private
firms, however, must be Bulgarian majority-owned. Industry Minister
Kliment Vuchev said he is not so interested in re-exports but noted that
"it is important arms are being sold, that our plants work." Also on 29
February, the cabinet decided to raise the price of gasoline, diesel
fuel, and fuel oil. The government said the hikes were due to the
devaluation of the lev against the dollar and the need to finance road
maintenance and reconstruction. -- Stefan Krause
[13] WAS ITALIAN MAFIA INVOLVED IN TIRANA BOMBING?
Reuters on 29 Februaryquoted unofficial sources "with knowledge of the police investigation
into the [bomb blast in Tirana on 26 February]" as saying the owner of
the car that carried the bomb has been detained and has links with the
Italian Mafia. He reportedly came from Italy's Puglia region. Vefa
Holdings, the owner of the supermarket that was destroyed in the blast,
is reportedly also involved in arms trading. -- Fabian Schmidt
[14] JOURNALIST CONTINUES TO BE DETAINED IN TIRANA.
Meanwhile, a Tirana court
has ruled that Populli Po journalist Ylli Polovina is to remain in
prison, Koha Jone reported on 1 March. Polovina wrote an article last
November suggesting that bomb attacks like that on Macedonian President
Kiro Gligorov in October could also happen in Albania. The prosecutor
charged him with "publicly calling for violent acts." Polovina faces up
to three years in prison if found guilty. The Albanian Helsinki
Committee, Reporters without Borders, and the International Center
against Censorship Article 19 have protested both Polovina's arrest and
raids on Koha Jone's offices since the bombing. Koha Jone Chief Editor
Nikolle Lesi has been charged with illegal arms possession, Gazeta
Shqiptare reported. President Sali Berisha continues to blame the
communist-era secret police for the explosion. -- Fabian Schmidt
[15] GREECE WILL CONTINUE TO BLOCK EU AID TO TURKEY.
Greek Prime Minister
Kostas Simitis on 29 February said Greece will block EU aid to Turkey
"as long as Turkish aggressiveness persists," Reuters reported. He said
it "would be foolish for Greece to go along as if nothing were happening
while Turkey threatens war." He also noted that Turkey is not following
a provision of the customs union with the EU committing it to friendly
relations with EU countries. Turkish caretaker Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller said the same day that Greece should not use EU membership as a
weapon against Turkey. She called on Athens to solve differences by
dialogue. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana arrived in
Athens on 29 February to discuss the effects of the Greek-Turkish
dispute on military cooperation in the region, AFP reported. -- 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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