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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 143, 96-07-25
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 143, 25 July 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] U.S. DROPS ARMS RESTRICTIONS FOR 5 REGIONAL STATES.
[02] KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA DISPUTE RESOLVED IN ALMATY.
[03] RUSSIAN ENVOY TO TAJIKISTAN MEETS UTO LEADER.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[04] BOSNIAN SERBS TO GO TO HAGUE.
[05] UN PATROLS TO PROTECT SARAJEVO SERBS.
[06] U.S. MILITARY INSTRUCTORS TO ARRIVE IN BOSNIA.
[07] U.S. GENERAL: WESTERN FORCE NEEDED FOR BOSNIAN STABILITY.
[08] EU THREATENS MOSTAR CROATS WITH WITHDRAWAL.
[09] SERBIA, BOSNIA TO RESTORE COMMUNICATIONS LINKS.
[10] SERB OPPOSITION LEADERS CRITICIZE AGREEMENT.
[11] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT RETRACTS ANTI-OPPOSITION ACCUSATIONS.
[12] NEW ROMANIAN AUDIO-VISUAL COUNCIL HEAD.
[13] RUSSIAN GENERAL IN MOLDOVA DENIES RUMORS.
[14] MOLDOVAN ENERGY CRISIS POSTPONED.
[15] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS INSIST ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
[16] BULGARIA, UKRAINE SIGN ACCORDS.
[17] ALBANIAN COURT REVOKES DEATH SENTENCES.
[18] DATE SET FOR ALBANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] U.S. DROPS ARMS RESTRICTIONS FOR 5 REGIONAL STATES.
According to a State Department announcement on 24 July, the United States has
ended restrictions on arms trade with Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. These countries have been removed from the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) proscribed list. This means
that the U.S. will no longer automatically deny licenses for the export or
import of military equipment or services to these nations. -- Doug
Clarke
[02] KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA DISPUTE RESOLVED IN ALMATY.
An Almaty court has lifted the proposed ban on Komsomolskaya pravda, ending
a three-month dispute between the newspaper's editorial board and the
Procurator General of Kazakhstan, Russian media reported on 24 July. The court
said it was satisfied with the apology published in its last two issues in
which the newspaper's editors admitted being guilty of permitting "factual
errors" on Kazakhstan's sovereignty in the controversial 23 April article
"Conversations with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn." Kazakhstan's Procurator General
withdrew the case following the public statement by the editorial staff that
they do not share Solzhenitsyn's views on relations between Russians and
Kazakhs. -- Bhavna Dave
[03] RUSSIAN ENVOY TO TAJIKISTAN MEETS UTO LEADER.
The Russian Special Envoy to Tajikistan, Yevgenii Mikhailov, met with United
Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri in the opposition's base at Kunduz,
Afghanistan, RFE/RL reported on 24 July. Talks focused on a planned meeting
between Nuri and Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov in Moscow. The meeting was
agreed on at the recent Tajik peace negotiations in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. --
Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[04] BOSNIAN SERBS TO GO TO HAGUE.
Pale said it will send a delegation next week to the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the BBC reported on 25 July. It is seen as
a propaganda effort--the Bosnian Serbs apparently have no intention of
cooperating with the court to extradite indicted war criminals such as Radovan
Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic, and continue to regard the tribunal as an anti-
Serb political instrument. Their hope is rather to gain publicity for their
demand that Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and other Muslims be indicted
for war crimes. In early July, Pale issued such indictments. Meanwhile, former
National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former Ambassador to the UN
Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and others have called for action against Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic in conjunction with war crimes, the VOA reported.
-- Patrick Moore
[05] UN PATROLS TO PROTECT SARAJEVO SERBS.
The International Police Task Force (IPTF) will begin patrolling this week in
the suburbs of Ilidza and Osjek to prevent further harassment of Serbs there,
Onasa reported on 24 July. The Serbs who survived intimidation by Serbian
nationalists earlier this year and stayed on in their homes are now being
bullied by Muslims. The Democratic Initiative of Sarajevo Serbs said 70 people
have left Vogosca in recent weeks, while another 20 departed Blazuj. IPTF
spokesman Alexander Ivanko said while he can not confirm these figures, the UN
continues to receive reports of Serbs being harassed. Meanwhile, in Belgrade,
Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic said Serbs must hold full rights under the
Bosnian constitution, Nasa Borba reported on 25 July. -- Patrick
Moore
[06] U.S. MILITARY INSTRUCTORS TO ARRIVE IN BOSNIA.
James Pardew, the U.S. official responsible for military aid to Bosnia, said
about 170 U.S. instructors will begin arriving in Bosnia soon to help train
the Muslim-Croat Federation forces, AFP reported on 24 July. The first arms
shipments under the U.S. "Equip and Train Program" will not arrive for several
weeks. Pardew said U.S. officials would establish a logistics center to ensure
the weapons are properly stored. In other news, an unmanned IFOR plane on
reconnaissance over northern Bosnia crashed on 23 July; there were no injuries,
AFP reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[07] U.S. GENERAL: WESTERN FORCE NEEDED FOR BOSNIAN STABILITY.
Ltn. Gen. Patrick Hughes, director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency,
said the former warring parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina would return to violence
unless the NATO-led forces remain, AFP reported on 24 July. Hughes said the
prospect for maintaining a viable international force on the ground is not
feasible without full U.S. participation. Meanwhile, NATO is preparing to send
to Bosnia a new command post, which will oversee the withdrawal of its
peacekeeping force, AFP reported. The pull-out is expected to begin the day
after the Bosnian elections, scheduled for 14 September, and to end by
February 1997. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[08] EU THREATENS MOSTAR CROATS WITH WITHDRAWAL.
The EU will pull out of Mostar on 4 August unless the Croatian Democratic
Community (HDZ) ends its boycott of the city council, AFP reported. EU
ambassadors decided on 24 July on that ultimatum, which was to be ratified by
the 15 member states on 25 July. The Croats lost the elections in Mostar and
since then have refused to accept the election results. The EU apparently
wants to pressure Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to resolve the crisis. The
Bosnian Croats have appealed the election results to the Bosnian federal
constitutional court. -- Fabian Schmidt
[09] SERBIA, BOSNIA TO RESTORE COMMUNICATIONS LINKS.
Serbia and Bosnia on 24 July reached an agreement to restore telephone, rail,
bus, and air links. Bosnian Vice-President Ejup Ganic, heading a 15-member
delegation visiting Belgrade, described the agreement as "a new chapter
between the two countries," Onasa reported. Alija Behmen, delegation member
and vice-president of Bosnian state railways, said the technical work of
reconstructing the railway between Serbia and Bosnia likely will be completed
in 10-15 days, Beta reported. Also, Nasa Borba on 25 July reported that a
second protocol was signed, between Foreign Minister of the Bosnian Muslim-
Croat Federation Jadranko Prlic and his rump Yugoslav counterpart, Milan
Milutinovic, which aims to abolish visa restrictions on cross-border travel
for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and rump Yugoslavia. -- Stan
Markotich
[10] SERB OPPOSITION LEADERS CRITICIZE AGREEMENT.
Among the most critical of Ganic's visit were some of Serbia's opposition
parties. The Democratic Party (DS) said while the party welcomed any
normalization of relations between states of the former Yugoslavia, Ganic's
visit--met with much fanfare--contrasted with how politicians from the
Republika Srpska, meeting "in secret," were treated, Beta reported on 23 July.
The DS said the courtesy given Ganic revealed "a double standard." The
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) was more blunt, dubbing Ganic "a war criminal
[whose] place is at The Hague" and calling Milosevic's invitation to Ganic a
"humiliation and complete capitulation." They said renewing relations with the
Muslim-Croat Federation prior to squaring ties with the Republika Srpska was
unacceptable. -- Stan Markotich
[11] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT RETRACTS ANTI-OPPOSITION ACCUSATIONS.
President Ion Iliescu retracted a statement made on 18 July, which had accused
the opposition of acting against the U.S.'s extension of permanent MFN status
for Romania, Romanian television reported on 24 July. A joint statement
released after a meeting with the chairmen of the Democratic Convention of
Romania and the Social Democratic Union, Emil Constantinescu and Petre Roman,
said the extension of the status was the result of equal efforts by "official
bodies and the opposition." -- Michael Shafir
[12] NEW ROMANIAN AUDIO-VISUAL COUNCIL HEAD.
Television filmmaker Mircea Moldovan was elected on 24 July by the National
Audio Visual Council to replace outgoing chairman Titus Raveica, local media
reported. Moldovan's mandate runs for four years. -- Michael Shafir
[13] RUSSIAN GENERAL IN MOLDOVA DENIES RUMORS.
The commander of the Dniester-based Russian troops, Gen. Valerii Yevnevich,
denied rumors in the Chisinau media that he has been dismissed from his post,
BASA-Press reported on 24 July. Yevnevich said rumors that he was appointed
Russian military attache in China were untrue. He said he had done nothing to
warrant being dismissed. -- Michael Shafir
[14] MOLDOVAN ENERGY CRISIS POSTPONED.
Following a visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli told Moldova
suverana that he reached an agreement to postpone for seven years the
repayment of the $140 million Moldovan debt to Russia for fuel delivery
arrears in 1994-1995. Sangheli said that energy used in 1996, however, must be
paid for. He said the Dniester region's debts were separated from Chisinau's,
and that cooperation was underway with Ukraine and Russia to restore Moldovan
membership into the Common Energy System, BASA-Press reported on 23 July.
Sangheli met in Crimea with Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma to discuss
ensuring normal coal deliveries to Moldova for the winter, as well as other
issues of cooperation, Infotag reported on 24 July. -- Michael Shafir
[15] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS INSIST ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) continues to defy a Constitutional Court
ruling effectively barring the BSP candidate, Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski,
from seeking the presidency. The court ruled he is not a Bulgarian citizen by
birth as required by the constitution (see ).
The BSP daily Duma on 25 July reported that the BSP Supreme Council will
back Pirinski, and that Pirinski pledged to stay on. According to 24 chasa,
Pirinski is the only BSP candidate who can win the presidential elections, and
the BSP hopes for a more favorable outcome if the Constitutional Court should
rule on the concrete case of Pirinski's citizenship. But Standart reported
that the BSP is considering an alternative candidate, probably Parliament
Chairman Blagovest Sendov. Pirinski has not commented. -- Stefan Krause
[16] BULGARIA, UKRAINE SIGN ACCORDS.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko promised to sell wheat, coal, and
natural gas to Bulgaria during an official two-day visit concluded on 24 July,
Bulgarian and Western media reported. Bulgaria is suffering from a grain
crisis and is short on energy. The supplies of wheat and coal are to be
negotiated, while Lazarenko and his Bulgarian counterpart, Zhan Videnov, in
principle agreed on a natural gas shipment of 2 million cubic tons in exchange
for Ukrainian debts to Bulgaria. The two sides signed eight bilateral
agreements, including a consular treaty and an accord on military production,
research, and marketing to other countries. Lazarenko asked Videnov to
liberalize Bulgaria's trade regime and work toward free trade and double
taxation agreements between Ukraine and Bulgaria. He said he hopes Bulgaria
and Ukraine will reach their 1992 trade level of $500 million by the end of
this year. -- Stefan Krause
[17] ALBANIAN COURT REVOKES DEATH SENTENCES.
The Court of Appeal dropped the death sentences of former communist deputy
Interior Minister Zylyftar Ramizi, General Prosecutor Mino Rrapi, and Supreme
Court head Aranit Cela. The three had been sentenced on 24 May for crimes
against humanity. The appeals court, led by Prel Martini, reduced the
sentences to life imprisonment for Ramizi and 25-year terms for the others.
For former Parliamentary President Haxhi Lleshi and deputy Prime Minister
Manush Myftiu, their life sentences were reduced to five years each. -- Fabian
Schmidt
[18] DATE SET FOR ALBANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS.
After Albanian president Sali Berisha decreed that local elections will be
held on 20 October, opposition parties tried to ensure successful talks with
the ruling Democratic Party. On 22 July, the Socialists met with six other
opposition parties to discuss how to ensure free elections. Another issue was
the significance of round-table talks between the Democrats and the
Socialists. The Center Pole coalition criticized the Socialists for holding
isolated talks, Republika reported on 25 July. ButKoha Jone reported that
the Center Pole supported the Socialists after a meeting with the Socialist's
leadership committee on 24 July. They decided new general elections should be
the opposition's main objective. -- Fabian Schmidt
Compiled by Steve Kettle and Maura Griffin Solovar
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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