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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 83, 26 April 1996
CONTENTS
[1] U.S. TROOPS TO STAY IN BOSNIA UNTIL DECEMBER.
[2] HAGUE COURT THREATENS BELGRADE, PALE WITH SANCTIONS.
[3] CROATS, MUSLIMS REACH AGREEMENT ON POLICE FORCE . . .
[4] . . . BUT SPAR OVER ARMY.
[5] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER FACES LIBEL INVESTIGATION.
[6] RUMP YUGOSLAV BANK GOVERNOR FINDS SUPPORTERS.
[7] ACTIVISTS CALL FOR MASS DEMONSTRATIONS IN KOSOVO.
[8] BLACK SEA SUMMIT OPENS IN BUCHAREST.
[9] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT URGES PARLIAMENT TO DISMISS CABINET.
[10] BULGARIAN SUPREME COURT CONFIRMS ELECTION OF KARDZHALI MAYOR.
[11] BULGARIA RAISES INTEREST RATE BY 18%.
[12] BULGARIAN TV BOSS STAYS ON.
[13] ALBANIANS KILLED WHILE SMUGGLING REFUGEES.
[14] GREECE RECOGNIZES YUGOSLAV SUCCESSOR STATES.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 83, Part II, 26 April 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] U.S. TROOPS TO STAY IN BOSNIA UNTIL DECEMBER.
Secretary of Defense
William Perry says that NATO commander Gen. George Joulwan has asked
that U.S. forces remain in Bosnia at "essentially a full capability"
through December, the International Herald Tribune reported on 25 April.
The American exit strategy has never been fully stated in public, but it
was expected that the GIs would be out by 20 December, about one year
after the Dayton treaty was signed. Joulwan seems especially concerned
that NATO be present in full force to provide security for September's
elections. Other European allies have been discussing contingency plans
for keeping NATO forces in Bosnia beyond one year. Perry said he sees
the success of the mission in restoring basic security to the embattled
republic. He would therefore consider extending the mandate beyond one
year to "deter a war [but not ] to unify the country." The secretary
stressed that the political future of Bosnia is a matter for the local
people themselves to decided. -- Patrick Moore
[2] HAGUE COURT THREATENS BELGRADE, PALE WITH SANCTIONS.
Antonio Cassese,
president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia, has said that Serbia and the Bosnian Serbs should be
punished with sanctions unless they begin to cooperate seriously with
the court. In particular, they must begin handing over indicted war
criminals, the BBC and Vecernji list stated on 26 April. In Bosnia,
Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic denied Croatian reports that the six
Bosnians arrested near Senj on terrorism charges were Bosnian agents
trained by Iran, news agencies noted on 25 April. Sarajevo argues that
it has nothing to do with the shadowy six and that the whole affair
might be a publicity stunt by their alleged victim, Bihac pocket kingpin
Fikret Abdic, to aid his attempt at a political comeback. Abdic, who is
wanted in Sarajevo for war crimes, met with Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic on 25 April, Onasa added. -- Patrick Moore
[3] CROATS, MUSLIMS REACH AGREEMENT ON POLICE FORCE . . .
Senior Muslim and
Bosnian Croat officials met with German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel,
the international community's Michael Steiner, and other negotiators at
Petersberg near Bonn on 25 April, Oslobodjenje reported. The Muslims and
Croats agreed to end their acrimonious dispute over the nature of the
federal police force by disbanding half of their respective forces,
merging the rest, and issuing them neutral gray uniforms. Kinkel
threatened the two sides with sanctions if they did not reach and stick
to agreements to bolster their shaky federation, Nasa Borba noted. --
Patrick Moore
[4] . . . BUT SPAR OVER ARMY.
Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic has
meanwhile called for an integrated federal army, Onasa added on 25
April. His representative Muhamed Sacirbey said that officers on active
duty would be barred from "elected office...or being high functionaries
within political parties." Izetbegovic's Party for Democratic Action
(SDA) has, however, been consolidating its hold over the military. Its
governing bodies at all levels contain officers, and two generals serve
on the top SDA steering committee. Croatian Defense Minister Gojko Susak
on 24 April said the Bosnian Croat military must remain separate in
order to guarantee the Croats' security. -- Patrick Moore
[5] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER FACES LIBEL INVESTIGATION.
A Serbian district
court on 25 April cleared the way for authorities to launch an
investigation into Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic's alleged
libel activities. Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic recently took action
against the weekly Telegraf, which in January ran a Democratic Party
advertisement alleging corruption and fraud within his government.
Djindjic took responsibility for the advertisement, thereby setting
himself up to be the target of such an investigation, Reuters reported
on 25 April. -- Stan Markotich
[6] RUMP YUGOSLAV BANK GOVERNOR FINDS SUPPORTERS.
Ivan Kovacevic, spokesman
for the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), has said that his
party "will under all circumstances...defend [National Bank Governor
Dragoslav] Avramovic and his policies," Nasa Borba reported on 26 April.
Avramovic earlier this week was removed as rump Yugoslavia's chief
negotiator with the IMF. Federal Finance Minister Jovan Zebic will now
assume that role. SPO leader Vuk Draskovic said that this move
effectively meant that Avramovic was being removed as bank governor in
all but name. Montenegrin Premier Milo Djukanovic, currently in the
U.S., has also voiced support for Avramovic and for his role as
negotiator with international financial institutions. -- Stan Markotich
[7] ACTIVISTS CALL FOR MASS DEMONSTRATIONS IN KOSOVO.
Unidentified ethnic
Albanian activists have distributed leaflets calling for mass
demonstrations in Kosovo, the BBC reported on 26 April. The appeal does
not have the support of any of the shadow-state's political parties,
which have called on the population to remain calm. The head of the
Kosova Information Center in London warned that the situation in Kosovo
is tense and that the shadow-state government may lose control over more
radical activists. Meanwhile, Albanian President Sali Berisha also
called on Kosovars to stay calm and urged the international community to
take swift measures to solve ethnic problems in the region, Reuters
reported. Since five Serbs were shot dead in separate incidents
following the murder of an Albanian by a Serbian civilian last week,
police have arrested more than 100 Albanians, mainly in Decani and
Stimlje, ATSH reported. -- Fabian Schmidt
[8] BLACK SEA SUMMIT OPENS IN BUCHAREST.
A high-level conference on economic
cooperation in the Black Sea region opened in Bucharest on 25 April,
Radio Bucharest and Western media reported. Political leaders and
businessmen from 11 countries , including Macedonian President Kiro
Gligorov and the premier of rump Yugoslavia, Radoje Kontic, are
attending. Gligorov launched an impassioned appeal for the Black Sea
states to help rebuild former Yugoslavia after almost five years of war.
Russian Foreign Minister Yevgenii Primakov is expected to join the
conference at the weekend. He also plans to discuss the final details of
the long-delayed basic treaty between Romania and Russia. -- Dan Ionescu
[9] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT URGES PARLIAMENT TO DISMISS CABINET.
Mircea Snegur
has called on the parliament to sack the government because of alleged
incompetence and involvement in corruption, Reuters reported on 25
April. The agency quoted Snegur as saying that people "want to know if
elected representatives can sack those unable to carry out their duties
and nominate others able to cope with difficulties and get the country
out of the abyss of poverty." Snegur said the government was responsible
for growing unemployment as well as wage and pension arrears, which
exceeded $70 million by mid-April. Snegur's appeal came after he
unsuccessfully attempted to sack Defense Minister Pavel Creanga on
corruption charges in mid-March, without consulting Andrei Sangheli's
government. The Constitutional Court later reinstated Creanga. -- Dan
Ionescu
[10] BULGARIAN SUPREME COURT CONFIRMS ELECTION OF KARDZHALI MAYOR.
The
Supreme Court, overruling a Kardzhali Regional Court decision, has
reinstated Rasim Musa as mayor of Kardzhali, RFE/RL reported on 25
April. Musa, a member of the mainly ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights
and Freedom, was declared winner of November 1995 elections when he beat
out a candidate backed by the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party by a
margin of one percentage point. The BSP demanded that the election be
invalidated on grounds of irregularities, which the Regional Court did
in early February. The Supreme Court has now ruled that the
irregularities were "insignificant" and did not affect the outcome. In
other news, the parliament has overruled President Zhelyu Zhelev's veto
of an agreement with Greece on joint use of water from the River
Mesta/Nestos, Reuters reported. -- Stefan Krause
[11] BULGARIA RAISES INTEREST RATE BY 18%.
The Bulgarian National Bank on 25
April announced it will raise the prime interest rate from 49% to 67%
beginning today, Bulgarian and Western media reported. The move is aimed
at stopping the continuing devaluation of the lev, which has lost some
18 percentage points against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the
year. BNB Governor Lyubomir Filipov said the central bank "prefers to
raise the prime interest rate rather than intervene on the foreign
exchange markets." -- Stefan Krause
[12] BULGARIAN TV BOSS STAYS ON.
The BSP caucus on 25 April voted not to
remove Bulgarian National TV (BNT) Director-General Ivan Granitski,
Kontinent reported. The deputies rejected the BSP Executive Bureau's
recommendation that Granitski be sacked. Officially, the BSP blamed
Granitski for financial irregularities at BNT and for poor management.
But the BSP daily Duma yesterday reported that Prime Minister and BSP
Chairman Zhan Videnov does not approve of BNT's newscasts, co-
productions, and sociological analyses. Standart on 26 April reported
that Videnov told the BSP deputies that "it's either me or Granitski."
-- Stefan Krause
[13] ALBANIANS KILLED WHILE SMUGGLING REFUGEES.
In a shoot-out off the Corfu
coast, Greek coast guards have killed an Albanian sailor who was trying
to smuggle illegal immigrants into Greece, AFP reported on 25 April. The
smuggler reportedly opened fire on a Greek patrol boat during a chase.
Shortly before that incident, Greek patrols arrested another Albanian
who also opened fire on a Greek vessel. Meanwhile, an Albanian smuggler
was killed when his motorboat hit an Italian Navy vessel during a boat
chase on 24 April, Reuters reported. -- Fabian Schmidt
[14] GREECE RECOGNIZES YUGOSLAV SUCCESSOR STATES.
Greece on 25 April
officially recognized rump Yugoslavia as one of the successor states of
the former Yugoslavia, AFP and Reuters reported. It also recognized "all
the countries created by the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," a
Foreign Ministry statement said. However, the Greeks recognize Macedonia
only under the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." In related
news, Nova Makedonija reported that the Macedonian parliament ratified
the rump Yugoslav-Macedonian agreement on mutual recognition. -- 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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