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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 87, 3 May 1996
From: "News Distribution Manager" <[email protected]>
CONTENTS
[1] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT-IFOR RELATIONS WORSEN.
[2] BOSNIAN SERBS RELEASE FOUR BOSNIAN CROATS.
[3] TWO MUSLIM WAR CRIME SUSPECTS ARRESTED.
[4] CROATIAN INDEPENDENT PAPER SHUT DOWN.
[5] ZAGREB MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT DISSOLVED . . .
[6] . . . AND CROATIAN PRESIDENT CRITICAL OF OPPOSITION.
[7] BOSNIAN SERB PREMIER SIDES WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT.
[8] UN HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY VISITS KOSOVO.
[9] GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KOSOVO VIOLENCE.
[10] CRIME MARS ROMANIAN ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN.
[11] POLL ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES IN MOLDOVA.
[12] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SOFIA.
[13] RFE/RL JOURNALIST BEATEN UP AT BULGARIAN MAY DAY RALLY.
[14] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 87, Part II, 3 May 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT-IFOR RELATIONS WORSEN.
The local branch of the
Bosnian federal police in Trnovo near Sarajevo said the presence of IFOR
and the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in the area is "not
desired" and that their security cannot be guaranteed, Onasa reported on
2 May. The statement followed recent incidents in which Serbs prevented
Muslims from visiting their homes and gravesites during the holiday
Kurban Bajram. Two people died in the clashes. A federal police
commander said "Serbs will not be allowed freedom of movement," adding
that his officers will block the roads linking Trnovo with Lukavica and
Dobrinja and cut off all telephone wires in the area. His forces have
already set up a checkpoint in Trnovo. IPTF commissioner Peter
Fitzgerald will meet with federal Interior Minister Avdo Hebib to
discuss these developments. -- Fabian Schmidt
[2] BOSNIAN SERBS RELEASE FOUR BOSNIAN CROATS.
Bosnian Serbs on 2 May
released four Bosnian Croats who had been held as suspected war
criminals. The release followed a statement by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that it will not try the
men. The men said they were not harassed during their detention. The
Dayton agreement demanded that all prisoners of war be released by 19
January. According to the UN, however, the Bosnian Serbs are still
holding seven war crimes suspects and the Bosnian government five. --
Fabian Schmidt
[3] TWO MUSLIM WAR CRIME SUSPECTS ARRESTED.
The Bosnian authorities have
arrested two Muslims wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia, AFP reported on 2 May. It is the first
international arrest warrant that has been honored by any of the Bosnian
parties. The 31-year-old Hazim Delic is suspected of killing at least 14
people, torture, rape, and beatings. The 23-year-old Esad Landzo is
wanted for murder and torture. Both allegedly committed the crimes at
the Celebici detention center near Konjic in central Bosnia in 1992.
Another Muslim, the 48-year-old Zejnil Delalic, who was arrested by the
German authorities on 18 March, is to be handed over to the Tribunal
soon. -- Fabian Schmidt
[4] CROATIAN INDEPENDENT PAPER SHUT DOWN.
Croatian state financial police on
1 May closed down the independent Croatian newspaper Panorama for
allegedly violating national environmental and property legislation. The
paper's deputy editor, Andrej Rora, has publicly speculated that the
government's move was in response to statements the paper published
criticizing Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. Rora said Panaroma hopes
to resume publishing. Reuters meanwhile reported on 2 May that in recent
weeks Zagreb authorities have clamped down on independent media.
Authorities fined the daily Novi list in April some $2.5 million for
alleged unlawful use of equipment imported from Italy. -- Stan Markotich
[5] ZAGREB MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT DISSOLVED . . .
Croatia's government
dissolved Zagreb's democratically elected municipal council on 30 April,
following Croatia's Constitutional Court's decision that a budget
submitted by the opposition-dominated local authority was illegal. A
coalition of opposition parties held a majority of 30-20 seats in the
capital following October 1995 elections. Hina reported that the
Croatian government has appointed a commissioner to run city affairs for
the 60 days prior to new local elections. Representatives from the
opposition parties said that the dissolution was not entirely unexpected
and that "this [dissolution] is in fact the culmination of Zagreb's
undemocratic policies." -- Stan Markotich
[6] . . . AND CROATIAN PRESIDENT CRITICAL OF OPPOSITION.
Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman criticized Zagreb's dismissed opposition municipal
authorities, saying they were unrepresentative, harmful politically for
Croatia, and disrespectful of Croatia's constitution. On 2 May, AFP
quoted Tudjman as saying "the rise of Nazism in Germany was made
possible by lack of firmness in the democracy. We must therefore stop
people who don't represent the majority from coming to power." Tudjman
made his remarks in the town of Okucani, some 120 kilometers east of
Zagreb, on the first anniversary of Croatia's retaking of Western
Slavonia from rebel Serbs. -- Stan Markotich
[7] BOSNIAN SERB PREMIER SIDES WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT.
Rajko Kasagic openly
sided with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in a move signaling an
ever growing rift between the premier and the Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic. In a 2 May interview with Le Monde, Kasagic said "I
feel close to Milosevic; he is a realist." Kasagic, who has in the past
sided with Milosevic, is regarded by some observers as a possible
successor to Karadzic. -- Stan Markotich
[8] UN HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY VISITS KOSOVO.
Elisabeth Rehn, after a meeting
with shadow state President Ibrahim Rugova, said she was "very
concerned" about the situation in Kosovo and called for negotiations
with Belgrade under international mediation, AFP reported on 2 May.
Rugova declined comment after the meeting. Rehn also visited Velika
Reka, where a child was killed in a bomb explosion last week, and met
with the head of the Human Rights Council, Adem Demaci. Rehn will later
visit the Muslim majority region of Sandzak between Serbia and
Montenegro. Elsewhere, Reuters reported that the international
community's High Representative Carl Bildt warned that "peace in Bosnia
depends on the stability of the whole region and the political
leadership in Belgrade; Kosovo and Tirana must seek a political solution
and prevent a major crisis." -- Fabian Schmidt
[9] GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KOSOVO VIOLENCE.
An organization calling
itself the Kosovo Liberation Army claimed responsibility for recent
shootings in which five Serbs were killed last week, AFP reported. The
group had sent a letter to the Albanian-language service of the BBC
warning that as long as there is "support for the Serb aggressor and
disrespect for the requests of the oppressed Albanian people" the armed
conflict in Kosovo and the Balkans will continue. The message added that
"the armed conflict in Kosovo is a war of liberation...[not] terrorism,
interethnic, or religious confrontation." The group made itself known
for the first time in February when it claimed responsibility for
attacks on Serbian refugees' homes. The Kosovar shadow state government
has condemned the attacks. -- Fabian Schmidt
[10] CRIME MARS ROMANIAN ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN.
Opposition leaders on 2 May
accused the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) of
encouraging crime before the local elections scheduled for 2 June, Radio
Bucharest reported. Emil Constantinescu, chairman of the Democratic
Convention of Romania, and Mircea Ionescu-Quintus, leader of the
National Liberal Party, told journalists that burglars broke into their
parties' offices in the town of Botosani and stole documents.
Constantinescu said that the incidents were aimed at creating confusion
to facilitate election-rigging. Last week, local rowdies in the town of
Sascut stoned the car of Petre Roman, former premier and current head of
the Democratic Party. Roman's party accused a local PDSR leader of
leading the mob. Ionescu-Quintus said the incidents have overshadowed
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana's visit to Bucharest that started
on 3 May. -- Dan Ionescu
[11] POLL ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES IN MOLDOVA.
Some 70% of respondents
in a recent poll described the political and social situation in their
country as "bad" and "very bad," Moldovan news agencies reported on 30
April. The results also showed that 82% of those questioned were
dissatisfied with the level of democracy in Moldova, 67% with the
activity of the parliament, 61% with the cabinet's performance, and 49%
with the presidential office. According to 25% of those polled, the old,
communist system lives on in Moldova under new names. The poll was
conducted by the independent Opinia agency jointly with the Chisinau
branch of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. -- Dan
Ionescu
[12] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL IN SOFIA.
Javier Solana on 2 May arrived in
Bulgaria on a two-day visit, Reuters and Pari reported. Solana met with
President Zhelyu Zhelev, Prime Minister Zhan Videnov, Foreign Minister
Georgi Pirinski, and Defense Minister Dimitar Pavlov. Solana said
Bulgaria contributed positively to NATO's Partnership for Peace program,
but he agreed with Zhelev that "it is clear there is no consensus [in
Bulgaria] about [NATO] membership." Zhelev said membership would make
Bulgaria's transition to democracy irreversible and that Bulgaria's
"special contribution" to NATO would be its strategic location in the
Balkans. Videnov said that the government will state on 6 May its
position on membership. The Union of Democratic Forces handed a
memorandum to Solana, reaffirming its pro-NATO position and asking for
consultations between NATO and the Bulgarian opposition. -- Stefan
Krause
[13] RFE/RL JOURNALIST BEATEN UP AT BULGARIAN MAY DAY RALLY.
Kurdish
demonstrators at the central May Day rally of the ruling Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP) beat up Georgi Koritarov of RFE/RL's Sofia office.
He is suffering a concussion, after being attacked while trying to
interview the Kurds, who shouted at him "you have to die" and "the
police sent you," 24 chasa reported on 2 May. One Kurd claimed Koritarov
had provoked them. Another Kurd said the BSP had invited them to the
rally, which BSP spokeswoman Klara Marinova denied, Standart reported. A
police statement blamed the incident on an "independently organized
group of foreign students." RFE/RL has come under fire from the BSP
because of the station's critical position on the Socialist government
and its license may be endangered after a recent government decision to
review all private licenses (see OMRI Daily Digest, 30 April 1996). --
Stefan Krause
[14] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
National Police Director Ivan Dimov on 2 May
announced that the crime rate in the first quarter of 1996 was 21% lower
than during the same period last year, Bulgarian media and Reuters
reported. This marked the first drop in the crime rate since 1990. Dimov
said that economic crime rose by 16% compared to last year, but 40% of
all crimes were solved as opposed to 8% last year. Meanwhile, Trud on 3
May reported that the British Foreign Office issued a travel advisory
warning tourists of incidents involving theft and violence against
foreigners. In other news, the Bulgarian lev continues its free fall
against the U.S. dollar. On 3 May, the Bulgarian National Bank fixing
was 95.323 leva to the U.S. dollar, compared to 87.978 lev one week
earlier. But Duma reported that the U.S. currency was selling the
previous day for 115-120 leva in exchange offices. -- 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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