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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 153, 96-08-08
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 153, 8 August 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] IMF PRAISES ARMENIA.
[02] U.S. DIPLOMATS IN SUKHUMI.
[03] GEORGIA AGAIN DEMANDS GIORGADZE'S EXTRADITION.
[04] TURKMENISTAN AND PAKISTAN TALK.
[05] ANOTHER PRISONER AMNESTY IN UZBEKISTAN.
[06] UN OBSERVERS CLOSER TO TAVIL-DARA.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] SERBIAN, CROATIAN PRESIDENTS AGREE ON RECOGNITION . . .
[08] . . . BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN.
[09] GHALI PROPOSES THAT TROOPS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA STAY ON.
[10] BOSNIAN SERBS ORDER HALT TO EXHUMATIONS.
[11] BOSNIAN ELECTION UPDATE.
[12] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL REJECTS BOSNIAN SERB DEFENDANT'S REQUESTS.
[13] REHN CONCERNED ABOUT CROATIAN SERBS.
[14] SLOVENIA TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON ELECTION REFORM.
[15] ROMANIA, HUNGARY AND THE U.S.
[16] ANOTHER ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
[17] PRO-SNEGUR MOVEMENT SET UP IN MOLDOVA.
[18] MOLDOVAN PREMIER'S PRESS CONFERENCE.
[19] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VETOES LAND LAW AMENDMENT, COAT OF ARMS.
[20] ALBANIAN-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS WORSEN OVER TETOVO UNIVERSITY.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] IMF PRAISES ARMENIA.
Panos Katsambas, the head of an IMF mission that has spent the past two weeks
in Armenia, on 7 August expressed satisfaction with the progress of
macroeconomic stabilization and reform in the country, ITAR-TASS and Noyan
Tapan reported. Katsambas expressed concern, however, over enterprise debts to
the budget, estimated at 12.5 billion drams ($30 million). In October, Armenia
is scheduled to receive the second ($25 million) tranche of a $150 million
ESAF credit. -- Liz Fuller
[02] U.S. DIPLOMATS IN SUKHUMI.
A U.S. delegation led by the deputy ambassador to Georgia, Larry Kerr, arrived
in Sukhumi on 6 August on a fact-finding mission, ITAR-TASS and Abkhaz Radio
reported on 7 August. The delegation met with newly-appointed Foreign Minister
Konstantin Ozgan, who claimed that Abkhazia has never been an integral part of
Georgia, and with parliament speaker Sokrat Djinjolia, and expressed U.S.
readiness to help find a compromise solution to the question of Abkhazia's
future relations with Tbilisi. -- Liz Fuller
[03] GEORGIA AGAIN DEMANDS GIORGADZE'S EXTRADITION.
The Georgian prosecutor-general on 7 August issued a statement branding former
security chief Igor Giorgadze a terrorist and criticizing Moscow's refusal to
extradite him to Tbilisi as incompatible with its pledge to combat terrorism,
Russian media reported. Giorgadze is suspected of involvement in last year's
bomb attack on parliament chairman Eduard Shevardnadze. The statement
further claimed that failure to extradite Giorgadze would pose a threat
to Shevardnadze's security on his upcoming trips to Russia. -- Liz
Fuller
[04] TURKMENISTAN AND PAKISTAN TALK.
Turkmen Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov met with Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto in Islamabad on 5 August to discuss the construction of a $6
billion oil and gas pipeline linking the two countries and investment in
infrastructure, according to a Radio Pakistan report monitored by the BBC.
Shikhmuradov, accompanied by executives of the U.S. oil firms UNOCAL and Delta,
is exploring the possibility of exporting Turkmenistan's hydrocarbon riches
south through areas of Afghanistan controlled by the allegedly Pakistani-
backed rebel Taliban movement. U.S. sanctions against Iran are reported to
have scuttled an alternative plan to move Iranian gas to Pakistan. -- Lowell
Bezanis
[05] ANOTHER PRISONER AMNESTY IN UZBEKISTAN.
President Islam Karimov on 7 August granted amnesties and prison-term
reductions to some of Uzbekistan's prisoners, ITAR-TASS reported. The exact
number of prisoners that will benefit from this decree is unclear, although
the wording suggests that this is part of a "large-scale amnesty." This is the second time in the past two months that Karimov has issued such a decree. On 15 June, he pardoned 80 prisoners, including two opposition figures (see ). -- Roger Kangas
[06] UN OBSERVERS CLOSER TO TAVIL-DARA.
UN military observers in Tajikistan have come closer to fulfilling one of the
conditions of the 20 July Ashgabat ceasefire agreement signed by representatives
of the Tajik government and opposition, ITAR-TASS reported on 7 August. Tajik
presidential press secretary Zafar Saidov said UN observers have now set up an
office in Khovaling, a town just outside of the Tavil-Dara region that is used
as a base by Tajik government forces. According to the agreement, UN observers
were to "position groups of observers on both sides of the conflict line" in
the Tavil-Dara region by 23 July. However, continued fighting between
government and opposition forces in the area prevented any independent
observers from entering the region. -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] SERBIAN, CROATIAN PRESIDENTS AGREE ON RECOGNITION . . .
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman met
near Athens on 7 August and agreed that bilateral relations would be
established. Nasa Borba on 8 August reported that they will open relations
"after just one more round of talks between foreign ministers Milan
Milutinovic [of rump Yugoslavia] and Mate Granic [of Croatia] in Belgrade at
the end of the month." Reuters reported that a joint statement outlining
territorial disputes, humanitarian issues, and possible economic cooperation
was released after the meeting. According to Tudjman, the statement means "we
agreed on the normalization of relations in all fields, such as restoring
(sic) diplomatic relations. Foreign ministers will meet on 23 August and sign
final agreements." Meanwhile, Milosevic called the meeting " a huge step for
the interests of [rump] Yugoslavia and Croatia...[and] also for the entire
region," Tanjug reported. -- Stefan Krause and Stan Markotich
[08] . . . BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN.
While both presidents hailed the talks and the landmark agreement as
breakthroughs, outstanding questions may put a brake on the normalization of
relations. Reuters reported an unnamed Croatian official said Zagreb would
insist that Belgrade recognize Croatia in its internationally-accepted borders
prior to normalization. Belgrade, however, has not renounced claims to the
strategic and Croatian-held Prevlaka peninsula, but both sides "reaffirmed
their readiness to resolve [the issue] through negotiations." Another possible
friction point is eastern Slavonia, which remains in Croatian Serb hands.
Belgrade's recognition of it under Zagreb's jurisdiction would send a signal
to local Serbs they are part of Croatia. Furthermore, questions relating to
the division of former Yugoslavia's assets and to rump Yugoslavia's demand to
be recognized as the sole successor will likely have to involve the other
former Yugoslav republics -- Stefan Krause and Stan Markotich
[09] GHALI PROPOSES THAT TROOPS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA STAY ON.
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has suggested that the UN
Security Council consider a one-year extension of the mandate for the UN
Transitional Administration in eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), Hina reported on 7
August. UNTAES' mandate expires on 15 January 1997. Ghali said it was
unrealistic to expect that UNTAES' duties will be completed by then. He said
the earliest possible date for elections in eastern Slavonia was late February
or March, while the Croatian government wants elections to take place in
December. Ghali also underscored the importance of the financing of local
administrations, where monthly costs total more than $2 million. The Security
Council has asked Croatia to fulfill its obligations regarding the financing
of local administrations. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] BOSNIAN SERBS ORDER HALT TO EXHUMATIONS.
The Pale authorities have issued a statement banning further uncovering of
mass graves on their territory, AFP reported on 7 August, quoting SRNA. They
charge that the Croat-Muslim side has not allowed the exhumation of what the
Serbs say are mass graves of Serbs at Glamoc and Ozren on federal territory,
and that Pale demands reciprocity. The Serbs also want a meeting with the
Croats, Muslims, the international community's Carl Bildt, and the Red Cross
to discuss a host of issues, including missing persons and prisoners of war as
well as mass graves. The Serbs are apparently embarrassed by evidence found in
previous exhumations on their territory indicating that thousands of Muslim
males were massacred after the fall of Srebrenica just over a year ago. --
Patrick Moore
[11] BOSNIAN ELECTION UPDATE.
IFOR commander Gen. Michael Walker warned the Bosnian Serbs to "take the [14
September] elections seriously" and prevent any "angry, unruly crowd trying to
stop people from voting." He was apparently referring to the possibility of
actions against Muslims and Croats coming home to vote on what is now Serb-
held territory. Gen. Walker also noted that local Serb authorities are
interested in seeing "the voting go smoothly, [but] I am worried that this
attitude isn't shared at the top," Onasa reported on 7 August. The commander
added that IFOR is present to stop the war from being resumed but will not
police the elections. -- Patrick Moore
[12] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL REJECTS BOSNIAN SERB DEFENDANT'S REQUESTS.
The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on
7 August rejected two motions made by the attorneys defending indicted
war criminal Radovan Karadzic, Nasa Borba reported the next day.
Karadzic's American lawyers asked to submit objections that would contest the
validity of the court's statute and the Rules of Procedure. The court ruled
that the issue could be discussed, but only when Karadzic comes to trial. The
tribunal also rejected a motion by a lawyer for Dusko Tadic, the Bosnian Serb
charged with killing 13 Muslims at prison camps and 18 additional ones
during ethnic-cleansing campaigns. The motion was for hearsay testimony to
be disallowed during Tadic's trial. The court ruled it was up to the judges
to decide the admissibility of the testimony. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[13] REHN CONCERNED ABOUT CROATIAN SERBS.
UN special human rights envoy Elisabeth Rehn, speaking in the Montenegrin
capital Podgorica on 7 August, remarked that she was especially concerned with
"what's happening in Krajina," Nasa Borba reported on 8 August. The envoy
reportedly expressed dismay over the treatment of the 7,000 ethnic Serbs
living in the Krajina region of Croatia, saying "I have not been very happy
with what has been happening to those Serbs who were left behind, old people,
paralyzed people in very bad conditions." She said she was concerned that "a
new method [of violence against the Croatian Serbs] has started again with
explosives," AFP reported. She also expressed concern over the status of
Montenegro's Muslims and Albanians, the BBC said. -- Stan Markotich
[14] SLOVENIA TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON ELECTION REFORM.
The Slovenian government resolved on 7 August that preparations would be made
to hold a referendum on electoral reform 90 days following the convening of
the next parliament, with a vote taking place 30 days later, Reuters reported
the same day. Slovenia is currently divided into eight electoral districts,
and referendum voters will be able to choose from four different reform
models. Elections to determine the composition of the next parliament are
slated for December 1996. -- Stan Markotich
[15] ROMANIA, HUNGARY AND THE U.S.
A spokesman for the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a press
conference on 7 August that his country took note "with interest" of the U.S.
State Department position on Hungarian minorities abroad, Radio Bucharest
reported. Reacting to the 29 July American statement that the U.S. supports
the rights of national minorities to the preservation of their own cultural
and spiritual identity but rejects any drive to territorial autonomy based on
ethnic criteria, Sorin Ducaru said this position was fully in line with
Bucharest's own views on national minority rights. -- Michael Shafir
[16] ANOTHER ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
Radu Campeanu, the leader of the minuscule extraparliamentary National Liberal
Party-Campeanu wing was named on 7 August as a candidate in the presidential
elections scheduled for early November, Radio Bucharest reported. Campeanu
will run as the candidate of the National Liberal Ecological Alliance, which,
apart from his own formation, includes a splinter group from the Ecologist
Movement, headed by Eduard Victor Gugui. -- Michael Shafir
[17] PRO-SNEGUR MOVEMENT SET UP IN MOLDOVA.
BASA-Press reported on 7 August that a "civic movement" supporting incumbent
president Mircea Snegur's candidacy in the November elections had been set up
on the same day. The movement includes 17 parties, organizations and
associations, among which are Snegur's own Party of Revival and Conciliation,
the Alliance of Democratic Forces, the Popular Front Christian Democratic, the
Gagauz People's Party and the Peasant Christian Democratic Party. -- Michael
Shafir
[18] MOLDOVAN PREMIER'S PRESS CONFERENCE.
Andrei Sangheli told a press conference on 7 August that a "constructive
dialogue" with the leadership of the breakaway region of Dniestr would not
resume until Moldovan elections are over, BASA-Press reported the same day. He
said no summits conducted until then will bring results and added that the
longer it takes to solve the conflict, the higher the price paid for it. This
was an obvious allusion to his rival in the presidential elections, President
Mircea Snegur, who has practically frozen discussions on signing a memorandum
with the Tiraspol leadership. Sangheli said that if he wins the elections, he
would not favor Moldova's integration into CIS political structures, since
this contradicted the country's constitution. -- Michael Shafir
[19] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VETOES LAND LAW AMENDMENT, COAT OF ARMS.
Zhelyu Zhelev on 7 August vetoed a recent amendment to the land law, saying it
favors collective farms at the expense of private owners and poses obstacles
to land restitution, Western and Bulgarian media reported. Under the amendment,
owners have no guarantee that they will regain their original piece of land.
Zhelev articularly objected to the phrase "activities prohibiting the
restoration of ownership," saying it paves the way for arbitrary decisions.
The previous day, Zhelev rejected Bulgaria's new coat of arms saying it
divides society. The ruling Socialists and the opposition are divided as to whether the lion on the coat of arms should be crowned or not (see ). Zhelev said that "the coat of arms is not a party badge and should unite society" and called on the deputies to find a compromise. -- Stefan Krause
[20] ALBANIAN-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS WORSEN OVER TETOVO UNIVERSITY.
Following a resolution last week by the Albanian parliament denouncing the
imprisonment of five activists of the underground Albanian-language university
in the Macedonian town of Tetovo, the two countries have been exchanging
accusations. On 6 August the Macedonian Ambassador to Tirana handed a protest
note to the Albanian government calling the resolution an "interference in
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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