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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 49, 10 March 1996
CONTENTS
[1] US WANTS SERBIA TO TURN WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS OVER TO THE HAGUE.
[2] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PREPARES FOR DEMONSTRATIONS.
[3] SLOVENIA PREPARED TO APPLY FOR EU MEMBERSHIP.
[4] FOURTH ZAGREB MAYOR ELECTED.
[5] TENSION MOUNTS IN SARAJEVO SUBURBS.
[6] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN MACEDONIA.
[7] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES STATE RADIO AND TV COMPANY.
[8] HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT CRITICAL OF BULGARIA.
[9] BULGARIA, UKRAINE SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT.
[10] FORMER ALBANIAN COMMUNIST OFFICIALS ARRESTED.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 49, Part II, 10 March 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] US WANTS SERBIA TO TURN WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS OVER TO THE HAGUE.
International news agencies reported on 7 March that US State Department
spokesman Nicholas Burns asked Belgrade to turn accused Bosnian Serb war
criminals Drazen Erdemovic and Radoslav Kremenovic over to the
International War Crimes Tribunal. According to Burns, the U.S. "urges
[Serbian] President Slobodan Milosevic to transfer the men as requested
and to cooperate fully with the tribunal." Meanwhile, Tanjug reported
that Erdemovic had been arrested on 2 March by Serbian police for
participation in "mass killings" of civilians following the fall of the
Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica. The Serbian prosecutor's office
said Kremenovic is in custody in rump Yugoslavia for sheltering
Erdemovic. It is believed that Erdemovic's testimony may be key in
linking Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic to
atrocities. On 8 March AFP reported that the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia issued an arrest warrant for Milan
Martic for ordering the bombing of Zagreb in 1995, in which civilians
were reportedly targeted. -- Stan Markotich
[2] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PREPARES FOR DEMONSTRATIONS.
Nasa Borba on 8 March
reported that several opposition parties are urging public
demonstrations on 9 March to protest the government of Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic. The Serbian Renewal Movement, the Democratic Party,
and the Civic Alliance have organized the rally largely to commemorate
the 9 March 1991 Belgrade rally, during which some 100,000 people
protested Milosevic's authoritarian rule. At that time, Milosevic
responded to the protestors by summoning police, and at least two people
were killed. Opposition party leaders are urging supporters to not be
intimidated by the authorities. Some opposition party leaders, notably
Democratic Party of Serbia head Vojislav Kostunica, have said they will
not participate in organized events. -- Stan Markotich
[3] SLOVENIA PREPARED TO APPLY FOR EU MEMBERSHIP.
Reuters on 7 March
reported that the Slovenian government has now gone on record as saying
that it will apply directly for membership in the European Union if it
does not succeed in signing an agreement on associate membership.
Differences with Italy over the status and rights of ethnic Italians who
left Slovenia after the Second World War have caused delays in
Slovenia's gaining associate member status. -- Stan Markotich
[4] FOURTH ZAGREB MAYOR ELECTED.
At a 7 March session of the Zagreb City
Assembly, its members voted no confidence in Marina Matulovic-Dropulic,
Zagreb Mayor and Zagreb County Prefect appointed by President Franjo
Tudjman on 2 March (see OMRI Daily Digest, 5 March 1996), Croatian media
reported. Twenty-eight councilors voted against the motion, while the
ruling party of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) councilors did not
vote. The same day, the alliance of seven opposition parties elected Ivo
Skrabalo, a vice president of the Croatian Social-Liberal party (HSLS),
as the new Zagreb Mayor and Zagreb County Prefect with 27 votes for and
13 votes against. The Zagreb City Assembly also elected two mayor's
deputies from opposition parties, Slobodna Dalmacija reported on 8
March. Tudjman is unlikely to confirm Skrabalo as a mayor, but will
appoint a commissioner for Zagreb, thus enforcing new city elections. --
Daria Sito Sucic
[5] TENSION MOUNTS IN SARAJEVO SUBURBS.
UN officials reported a rise in
tensions in Serb-held Sarajevo suburbs ahead of their transfer to
government control, with gangs setting fire to homes and threatening
those who want to stay, Nasa Borba reported on 8 March. Damage made in
looting and dismantling industrial plants in Hadzici is estimated near
DM 270 million, and the fate of 186 Bosnian Muslims and Croats detained
there at the beginning of the war is still uncertain. -- Daria Sito
Sucic
[6] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN MACEDONIA.
Teodor Melescanu on 7 March
arrived on a two-day official visit to Macedonia, Romanian, Macedonian
and international media reported. He met with President Kiro Gligorov,
Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, and Foreign Minister Ljubomir
Frckovski. Melescanu and Frckovski discussed ways to boost bilateral
relations and intensify political and economic cooperation. The two
sides are expected to discuss the peace process in former Yugoslavia, as
well as the situation of a Romanian-speaking minority in Macedonia.
Melescanu and Frckovski will sign a cooperation protocol between the two
foreign ministries. Melescanu said that his Macedonian visit rounds out
the process of "settlement" of new relations between Bucharest and the
former Yugoslav republics. Before the suspension of the UN embargo
against the rump Yugoslav Federation, Macedonia ranked first in
Romania's trade ties with the former Yugoslav republics. -- Matyas Szabo
and Stefan Krause
[7] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES STATE RADIO AND TV COMPANY.
Mircea
Snegur's spokesman on 6 March accused the Teleradio-Moldova state
company leadership of violating the audiovisual law that stipulates
priority broadcasting for incoming information from the presidency,
parliament and government, Moldovan agencies reported. Referring to the
frequent electric power cuts in villages, and the 10-fold reduction in
the number of wired-radio outlets during the past five years, the
spokesman said "some people are interested in hiding information from
the public at large." He added that a governmental decree on the
replacement of the outlets with wireless receivers is being implemented
"with tremendous pain and surprisingly slowly." -- Matyas Szabo
[8] HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT CRITICAL OF BULGARIA. U.S.
State Department human
rights report on Bulgaria says that human rights are generally
respected, but it also points to a number of problems, Demokratsiya
reported on 8 March. Most notably, the report mentions the
constitutional provision that political parties may not be formed on an
ethnic, racial, or religious basis, lack of parliamentary control of the
security services, human rights violations by police, especially against
Roma, and the conditions in Bulgarian prisons. The report states that
many old cadres returned to high positions in the security services in
1995. It also mentions attempts of political domination of and a "lack
of balance in the state media." In other news, Duma reported that 520
persons from a list of alleged criminals published by the Interior
Ministry on 22 February have been arrested as of 7 March. -- Stefan
Krause
[9] BULGARIA, UKRAINE SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT.
The defense
ministers of Bulgaria and Ukraine, Dimitar Pavlov and Valerii Shmarov,
on 7 March signed a bilateral military cooperation agreement,
international media reported. The agreement provides for cooperation in
security measures, military engineering, and personnel training. Shmarov
stressed Ukraine's willingness to boost cooperation in areas of common
interest. During his two-day visit, Shmarov met with President Zhelyu
Zhelev, Prime Minister Zhan Videnov, and Parliamentary President
Blagovest Sendov. -- Stefan Krause
[10] FORMER ALBANIAN COMMUNIST OFFICIALS ARRESTED.
Communist-era Intelligence
chief Irakli Kocollari and Interior Minister Vladimir Hysi were arrested
on 5 March, international agencies reported. In 1991, under the last
Socialist President Ramiz Alia, they ordered the destruction of some
30,000 to 60,000 Interior Ministry documents in order to remove evidence
of human rights violations. If convicted, they face up to seven years in
prison. Kocollari was appointed to head the new intelligence service
SHIK after the first multiparty elections in March 1991 when parliament
decided to disband the communist-era Sigurimi. Unlike Sigurimi, SHIK is
not subordinated to the Interior Ministry. Hysi served as Interior
Minister in the government of experts between December 1991 and April
1992. Another 35 communist officials, including Alia, are currently in
prison under charges of human rights abuses. Meanwhile, present SHIK
head Bashkim Gazidede on 7 March told the parliament that his
organization has been fully placed under civilian control. -- Fabian
Schmidt and 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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