OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 132, 10 July 1995
CONTENTS
[01] SERBS POUR INTO SREBRENICA.
[02] ARE AIR STRIKES IN THE OFFING?
[03] OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS.
[04] CONTROVERSY MOUNTING OVER MAZOWIECKI REPORT.
[04] MILOSEVIC TALKS TO TIME MAGAZINE.
[05] MONTENEGRO PROTESTS NEW PASSPORT REGIME FOR MACEDONIANS.
[06] MONTENEGRIN OFFICIAL ON MEDIA.
[07] WORLD BANK APPROVES LOAN FOR BULGARIA.
[08] FORMER BULGARIAN DEPUTY MINISTER KILLED.
[09] BOUTROS GHALI CALLS ON GREECE, MACEDONIA TO END DISPUTE.
[10] RAMIZ ALIA RELEASED.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 132, Part II, 10 July 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] SERBS POUR INTO SREBRENICA.
Bosnian Serb forces continued to push into
the UN-designated "safe area" of Srebrenica, in eastern Bosnia, on 8-9
July. International media on 10 July indicated that their tanks are 1-2
kilometers from the town itself. Nasa Borba quoted a British UN
spokesman as saying that "the Serbs have limited aims," but a Serbian
representative told the BBC that his forces were determined to take the
enclave for military reasons. The UN blamed the Bosnian government for
the death of one Dutch peacekeeper, but the Serbs took another 32 of
them away. A British UN officer told the BBC on 9 July that the men were
not hostages but merely "enjoying the hotel" in nearby Bratunac. --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[02] ARE AIR STRIKES IN THE OFFING?
Mlada fronta dnes on 10 July ran theheadline that the Serbs have taken hostages as insurance against NATO
a
ir strikes. AFP quoted the UN as threatening the Serbs with airborne
retaliation if they attack a Dutch blockade barring the road to
Srebrenica. "If this blocked position is attacked, NATO close air
support will be employed. The [Serbs are] reminded of the grave
consequences of ignoring this warning." Angry Bosnian government
officials are not impressed, however; and the International Herald
Tribune quoted Ambassador to the UN Mustafa Bijedic as saying that "if
Srebrenica falls, that will be the end of the UN mission" in the
embattled republic. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[03] OTHER BOSNIAN DEVELOPMENTS.
The BBC on 9 July quoted UN Secretary
General Boutros Boutros Ghali as telling all sides in Bosnia either to
renew the peace process and stop hindering UNPROFOR or to face the
possible withdrawal of UN forces. Unknown assailants the previous day
shot at the helicopters carrying EU negotiator Carl Bildt and his party
near Konjic, forcing them to land. But Slobodna Dalmacija noted that the
UN is showing spunk at least toward the Croats and that 2,000 French
troops entered the Tomislavgrad area, despite warnings not to do so
until their mission is clarified. Sky News on 9 July added that Bosnian
Serb forces pounded Sarajevo and Bihac. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] CONTROVERSY MOUNTING OVER MAZOWIECKI REPORT.
The International Herald
Tribune on 8 July reported that UN special envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki has
issued another report on human rights abuses in the former Yugoslavia.
He cited offenses by all sides and said that snipers in Sarajevo should
be treated as war criminals. The former Polish prime minister also
mentioned the stepped-up "ethnic cleansing" of Croats by Serbs in the
Banja Luka area, even though the Serbs refuse to let him visit their
territory. The situation in Mostar also attracted his attention,
including the plight of the few remaining Serbs. The 10 July Belgrade
and Zagreb dailies center their attention on parts of the report that
suggest Croatian offenses against Serbs in western Slavonia in May were
worse than Zagreb has admitted. The Croats, however, remain adamant that
there was no systematic policy against Serbian civilians during
Operation Blitz. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
[04] MILOSEVIC TALKS TO TIME MAGAZINE.
Reuters on 9 July reported that
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has granted an interview to Time.
This is the first time in over a year that he has spoken to an English-
language publication. Milosevic stressed his commitment to working for
regional peace but stressed once again that international sanctions
against the rump Yugoslavia are hampering Belgrade's peace efforts.
"Serbia is a major factor for peace in the Balkans . . . but we are
under sanctions; we are in prison. The international community is making
a mistake in expecting us to run in our struggle for peace but do so
with the chains of sanctions on our legs," he commented. In other news,
Milosevic on 7 July presided over the opening of Belgrade's first
underground rail station in a ceremony that took part on Serbian
Uprising Day, which marks the revolt against Nazi occupiers, Nasa Borba
reported on 8-9 July. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
[05] MONTENEGRO PROTESTS NEW PASSPORT REGIME FOR MACEDONIANS.
Montenegro has
protested to Belgrade over a new rule requiring that Macedonians
visiting rump Yugoslavia travel with passports. Macedonians have so far
needed only an identity card to visit that country. Montenegrin Minister
for Tourism Dragan Milic said the regulation is "a direct attack on
Montenegro's tourism industry," AFP reported on 9 July. Tourism has been
a major source of hard currency for Montenegro since international
sanctions were imposed on rump Yugoslavia. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[06] MONTENEGRIN OFFICIAL ON MEDIA.
Svetozar Marovic, speaker of the
Montenegrin parliament, attended a meeting on 8 July of the
administrative committee of Radio and Television Montenegro. He urged
the organization to grant air time to opposition political parties. "The
state media have to give everyone a chance, they have to hear everyone
out," Montena-fax on 9 July reported him as saying. -- Stan Markotich,
OMRI, Inc.
[07] WORLD BANK APPROVES LOAN FOR BULGARIA.
The World Bank on 8 July
announced it has approved a $95 million loan for Bulgaria intended to
help the country restructure its railroads, Reuters reported the same
day. The loan will cover track renewal, training projects, and
installation of modern signaling and telecommunications equipment. The
total cost for the restructuring of Bulgarian railroads is estimated at
$296 million; Bulgarian State Railroads, the EU's PHARE program, and the
EBRD will provide the balance. The Bulgarian parliament recently passed
a law on the relations between the state and the railroads, a World Bank
condition for approving the loan. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[08] FORMER BULGARIAN DEPUTY MINISTER KILLED.
Lambo Kyuchukov was found dead
on 7 July on Mt. Vitosha, south of Sofia, Standart reported on 10 July.
Kyuchukov was deputy education minister in charge of administrative and
economic questions until his resignation last January. Police reported
he was shot dead. He was last seen on 7 July at Sofia University, where
he taught. Kyuchukov was allegedly well informed about the "hidden
privatization" of student dormitories in Sofia, including bribes from
Arab companies that wanted to rent buildings in the neighborhood. He
also discovered that some 20 million leva ($300,000) were missing from
the ministry's budget. According to Standart, he received telephone
threats after this discovery. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[09] BOUTROS GHALI CALLS ON GREECE, MACEDONIA TO END DISPUTE.
UN Secretary-
General Boutros Boutros Ghali on 9 July urged Greece and Macedonia to
resolve their dispute over the use of the name "Macedonia,"
international agencies reported the same day. Boutros Ghali, speaking on
his way to Athens to receive the Onassis Prize for International
Understanding and Social Achievement, said the main purpose of his
three-day visit is "to reinforce the relationship between the United
Nations and Greece." According to Greek officials, the discussions will
include the Bosnian war and Greece's differences with Turkey and
Macedonia. Boutros Ghali is scheduled to meet with President Kostis
Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, and Foreign Minister
Karolos Papoulias. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
[10] RAMIZ ALIA RELEASED.
In a surprise move, an appeals court on 7 July
ordered the release of Albania's former communist president Ramiz Alia,
international agencies reported. Alia was jailed in August 1993 and
sentenced in July 1994 to a nine-year prison term on charges of
violating the rights and freedoms of Albanian citizens. His term was
later reduced by various courts of appeal and a presidential amnesty.
Alia lost a Tirana court hearing on 10 June 1995 after a new penal code
took effect. But his case was reviewed when State Prosecutor Sokol
Parruca requested Alia's release following Albania's admission to the
Council of Europe on 29 June. European politicians accused Albania's
Democratic Party leaders of staging political trials against their old
communist rivals. Supreme Court Chief Judge Zef Brozi called Alia's
release "an example of the independence of Albanian justice." -- Fabian
Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
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