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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 142, 96-07-24
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 142, 24 July 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] CRACKDOWN ON GEORGIAN INDEPENDENT TV STATION.
[02] NEW UN OFFICE OPENS IN UZBEKISTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] BOMB EXPLODES AT UN POLICE STATION ON SERB TERRITORY.
[04] SERBS ALREADY BREAKING LATEST ELECTION AGREEMENT.
[05] UN STARTS WORK ON THIRD MASS GRAVE.
[06] EU TRIES TO NEGOTIATE AFTER CROATIAN BOYCOTT OF MOSTAR CITY COUNCIL.
[07] BRUSSELS CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA'S RECONSTRUCTION OPENS.
[08] BOSNIAN DELEGATION IN SERBIA.
[09] LJUBLJANA, BELGRADE TAKE SHOWDOWN TO OFFSHORE BANKS?
[10] ROMANIA FEARS NATO BASES IN HUNGARY.
[11] UNEMPLOYMENT IN MOLDOVA.
[12] SOCIALIST CANDIDATE BARRED FROM BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.
[13] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS SAY PIRINSKI REMAINS THEIR CANDIDATE.
[14] ROMA COVERED WITH FUEL AND BURNT IN ALBANIA.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] CRACKDOWN ON GEORGIAN INDEPENDENT TV STATION.
The management of the private Georgian TV station Rustavi-2, which has an
estimated audience of 300,000 people, continues to protest the station's
closure by the Georgian authorities on 17 July, allegedly because the
station's charter did not allow it to broadcast on a TV frequency. The
station's management has produced documentation proving that it received the
appropriate license from the Ministry of Communications, and claims the
crackdown was initiated by unspecified forces seeking to sabotage the process
of democratization in Georgia, Radio Rossii reported on 23 July. -- Liz
Fuller
[02] NEW UN OFFICE OPENS IN UZBEKISTAN.
The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) officially opened an
office in Tashkent on 22 July, Uzbek TV reported as monitored by the BBC. The
UN permanent representative to Uzbekistan, Khalid Malik, and Uzbek Deputy
Prime Minister Saidmukhtar Saidkasymov attended the ceremony. The center is to
study the problems of "health services, education and social welfare" in
Uzbekistan. The office joins a growing list of UN institutions working in
Uzbekistan, including UNHCR and UNESCO. -- Roger Kangas
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[03] BOMB EXPLODES AT UN POLICE STATION ON SERB TERRITORY.
An explosive device went off late on 22 July outside an International Police
Task Force (IPTF) office in Doboj in northern Bosnia, news agencies reported.
There were no injuries or casualties. The IPTF monitors local police forces
and will play a key security role in the fall elections. The latest bombing
fits into a pattern of intimidation and threats against the IPTF on Bosnian
Serb territory. -- Patrick Moore
[04] SERBS ALREADY BREAKING LATEST ELECTION AGREEMENT.
The governing Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) has used Radovan Karadzic as a
vote-getter in an ad in Vesti, a daily aimed at Serbs living abroad, Onasa
reported on 22 July. The text appealed for votes for some of his staunch
supporters, including acting President Billjana Plavsic, parliament speaker
Momcilo Krajisnik, and Foreign Minister Aleksa Buha. The ad said that "they
are the closest partners of Radovan Karadzic, who is the best fighter for a
free and democratic Republika Srpska. Our enemies hate him because he cannot
be blackmailed and because he will not sell at any price the Republika Srpska,
which was obtained [so] painfully. He is a symbol of Serb heroism and many
rightly compare him to the greatest figures of our history," Beta stated.
U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke clinched a deal on 19 July requiring the indicted
war criminal and SDS chairman to withdraw from politics--including media
appearances--so that the 14 September elections can go ahead with SDS
participation. The OSCE said it will raise the issue with the SDS, Reuters
reported. -- Patrick Moore
[05] UN STARTS WORK ON THIRD MASS GRAVE.
International forensic and archeological experts began work on 24 July on a
third site believed to contain the remains of Muslim males executed by the
Serbs following the fall of Srebrenica one year ago. Evidence from other
graves points to a huge massacre of civilians, many of whom had their hands
wired together behind their backs. The Serbs claim that the men are military
casualties, but chief investigator William Haglund told Reuters: "I don't know
how many soldiers fight with their hands tied behind them." But a local Serb
resident said that "there are bodies there. We plow them up all the time, but
they are all of Serbs whom the Turks [Muslims] killed. Why is it that the
world blames us Serbs, when everyone was involved in a war?" -- Patrick
Moore
[06] EU TRIES TO NEGOTIATE AFTER CROATIAN BOYCOTT OF MOSTAR CITY COUNCIL.
At a meeting with Michael Steiner, deputy to the international community's
High Representative Carl Bildt, and EU envoy Tom Bolster, Croatian
Democratic Community (HDZ) leader Mile Puljic, whose party boycotted the
opening session of the Mostar City Council on 23 July, claimed he did not
receive proper notification of the session, AFP reported. After the meeting
with international officials, Puljic said that the "conversation wasn't
fruitful." EU spokesman Tom Walker said there was no sign that an agreement
was imminent, Reuters reported. The HDZ is pushing for a joint interim
administrative body that would run the city pending a final decision on
whether to annul the controversial 30 June elections. Meanwhile, Croat West
Mostar mayor Mijo Brajkovic said that "whatever the [new city] council decided
today is completely irrelevant for us" and threatened not to extend the EU
administration's mandate. -- Fabian Schmidt
[07] BRUSSELS CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA'S RECONSTRUCTION OPENS.
Representatives of 200 European companies and banks on 23 July attended the
meeting called by the European Commission to bid for Bosnia's reconstruction
program, Nasa Borba reported. Hans Van den Brock, EU commissioner for
central and southeast Europe, said the success of Bosnia's reconstruction will
greatly determine the future and even survival of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a
state. Van den Brock also said that the war damage in Bosnia-Herzegovina has
been estimated to be between $30 and $50 billion. The international community
has pledged $5 billion for reconstruction of Bosnia, of which $1.8 billion
will be spent by the end of 1996. More than one third of this amount has been
pledged by the EU. U.S. companies have already started business negotiations
in Bosnia. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[08] BOSNIAN DELEGATION IN SERBIA.
Bosnian Vice-President Ejup Ganic led 15-member delegation that arrived in
Belgrade on 23 July for a landmark visit designed to restore contacts and
promote bilateral trade, Nasa Borba reported on 24 July. The arrival of the
Bosnian delegation is the first such since war broke out in Bosnia and
Herzegovina four years ago, and observers have hailed the development as the
first significant step towards possible mutual reconciliation. Ganic, who met
with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, said just prior to departing that
his was a "risky step for me but a very sure and safe step for Bosnia,"
Reuters reported. Ganic, who advocated strong military resistance to Serbian
aggression, was throughout the conflict dubbed "a war criminal" by the
Belgrade state-run media. After meeting with Milosevic, Ganic remarked that
talks were "open, straightforward. The two countries are closer than they were
before." -- Stan Markotich
[09] LJUBLJANA, BELGRADE TAKE SHOWDOWN TO OFFSHORE BANKS?
Belgrade's assets in Cyprus have been frozen by court order, Nasa Borba
reported first on 22 July. Beobank director Borka Vucic initially responded
saying "our resources are not blockaded." Reuters, however, quoted Cypriot
lawyer Evros Evripido, acting for the Slovenian government, as saying on 22
July that Ljubljana was seeking its share of assets, totaling some $650
million. Efforts to freeze the assets stemmed from the position that as a
former Yugoslav republic, Slovenia had both a right and obligation to maintain
a portion of those federal assets now hidden on Cyprus. The issue of resources
in Cyprus is of paramount concern to Belgrade, which likely weathered the
storm of sanctions by dipping into the cash reserves ensconced on the island.
Slovenia's case is slated for a 29 July hearing, and on 23 July Nasa Borba
added that other claimants are surfacing. -- Stan Markotich
[10] ROMANIA FEARS NATO BASES IN HUNGARY.
Defense Minister Gheorghe Tinca said in an interview with the Hungarian daily
Magyar Nemzet that his country fears that the setting up of NATO bases on
Hungarian territory might encourage "Hungarian extremist forces," the daily
Evenimentul zilei reported on 24 July. Tinca said these forces might believe
the NATO presence would make it possible for them to achieve "their decades-
long dream" of "recuperating Transylvania." -- Michael Shafir
[11] UNEMPLOYMENT IN MOLDOVA.
According to data released by the Moldovan State Statistics Department, 26,100
persons were officially registered as unemployed, two thirds of whom were
women, Infotag reported on 23 July. About 28% of those unemployed receive
unemployment benefits averaging 68 lei (about $15.50) per month. In addition,
124,000 persons were on forced leave, the average duration of which is 39
days. -- Michael Shafir
[12] SOCIALIST CANDIDATE BARRED FROM BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.
A decision of the Constitutional Court on 23 July effectively prevents
Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski from seeking the country's presidency,
RFE/RL reported. Under the constitution, the president must be "Bulgarian by
birth." Pirinski, who was born in New York in 1948 to the family of a
Bulgarian emigre, could not acquire immediate Bulgarian citizenship under the
citizenship law valid at that time since he already had U.S. citizenship by
birth. Nine of the 12 judges ruled that whether someone is "Bulgarian by
birth" is determined by the legislation valid at his birth. The opposition had
asked the court to rule on the question. Judge Ivan Grigorov said the ruling
was not directed against any single person. Pirinski can still be registered
with the Central Electoral Commission, but his candidacy could then be
overruled by the commission or the Supreme Court. -- Stefan Krause
[13] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS SAY PIRINSKI REMAINS THEIR CANDIDATE.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) reacted harshly to the latest
Constitutional Court ruling. The BSP daily Duma called the decision
political and claimed that the judges violated the constitution. BSP
parliamentary faction leader Krasimir Premyanov said Pirinski remains the
party's candidate despite the Constitutional Court's ruling, but Kontinent
cites unnamed sources as saying the BSP is already looking for a new
candidate. Pirinski himself has not commented on the ruling so far, but he is
expected to make a statement on 24 July. Pirinski is widely seen as the only
Socialist candidate who can win the presidential elections in the fall. The
Union of Democratic Forces daily Demokratsiya called on the BSP to withdraw
Pirinski's candidacy and said the BSP should not have nominated him in the
first place if it is worried about society's stability. -- Stefan
Krause
[14] ROMA COVERED WITH FUEL AND BURNT IN ALBANIA.
At least four men on 17 July kidnapped three teenage Roma near Tirana's train
station, took them to a field outside the city, robbed and then tortured them
for some three hours, the European Roma Rights Center reported on 22 July.
They reportedly then poured gas over the head of 15-year-old Fatmir Haxhiu and
set him on fire. He was able to testify to human rights organizations before
he died of severe injuries on 21 July. Two of the culprits have reportedly
been arrested. There was no independent confirmation of the incident. --
Fabian Schmidt
Compiled by Steve Kettle and Carla Atkinson
News and information as of 1200 CET
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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