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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 216, 6 November 1995
CONTENTS
[1] CROATIAN SERB REBELS SET NEW CONDITIONS.
[2] BOSNIAN SERBS DEFY U.S. DEMANDS TO DROP LEADERS.
[3] U.S., UN OFFICIALS SEE CAPTURED JOURNALIST.
[4] NEW CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER APPOINTED.
[5] POWER STRUGGLE WITHIN SERBIAN MEDIA GIANT.
[6] GREEK PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA.
[7] CHINESE OFFICIAL ENDS ROMANIAN VISIT.
[8] ROMANIA TAKES PART IN NATO EXERCISES.
[9] MOLDOVAN-UKRAINIAN MILITARY COOPERATION.
[10] PROTEST DEMONSTRATION IN CHISINAU.
[11] ECONOMIC DECLINE IN MOLDOVA.
[12] BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS UPDATE.
[13] RAMIZ ALIA FACES NEW TRIAL.
[14] ATHENS DEMANDS OPENING OF GREEK SCHOOLS IN ALBANIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 216, Part II, 6 November 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] CROATIAN SERB REBELS SET NEW CONDITIONS.
International media on 5
November reported that Croatian Serb negotiator Milan Milanovic rejected
peace proposals from U.S. ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith and UN
mediator Thorvald Stoltenberg. Milanovic represents the Serbs of eastern
Slavonia, the last sliver of the former Krajina still in Serbian hands.
He said that any transition to Croatian rule must be at least three
years, while Zagreb wants two at the most. Milanovic also stated that
supervision must be in the hands of UN troops, not those of NATO, as
Croatia demands. The Serbian official also insisted on a referendum by
local Serbs for autonomy, which Zagreb rejects. Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman and his military chief, General Zvonimir Cervenko, warned
again over the weekend that Croatia reserves the right to restore
sovereignty over eastern Slavonia by military means if talks fail. --
Patrick Moore
[2] BOSNIAN SERBS DEFY U.S. DEMANDS TO DROP LEADERS.
Bosnian Serb Prime
Minister Rajko Kosagic told SRNA on 5 November that his people "will not
permit the Americans or the Muslim authorities of Sarajevo to dictate to
us their choice for (our) leaders. The Serb people will decide
themselves, since they alone can elect or dismiss their
representatives." He was apparently responding to suggestions by U.S.
Secretary of State Warren Christopher that indicted war criminals
Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic are unacceptable as postwar
leaders. Kosagic said the U.S. could demand that the two be put on trial
for war crimes, "which would be the equivalent of putting the entire
Serb people on trial for alleged crimes." In another development, AFP on
5 November reported that the Bosnian Serb army has charged the interior
minister with giving an illegal order to special police units to pull
back from front lines. They demanded that Karadzic overrule the
minister. -- Patrick Moore
[3] U.S., UN OFFICIALS SEE CAPTURED JOURNALIST.
Officials on 5 November met
with David Rohde, a correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor who
was apparently captured by Bosnian Serbs on 29 October. This was the
first contact Rohde had been allowed to Western representatives, and it
came only after vocal protests by U.S. diplomats at the Dayton peace
talks. The officials said he was healthy but exhausted and serving a 15-
day sentence for what SRNA on 3 November called illegal border crossing
and falsifying documents. Rohde has spearheaded reporting on the
Srebrenica massacres of Muslims by Serbs. On 25 October, he ran an
article quoting local Serbs as confirming the killings, for which Rohde
said that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic is ultimately
responsible. -- Patrick Moore
[4] NEW CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER APPOINTED.
President Franjo Tudjman has
announced his decision to relieve Prime Minister Nikica Valentic of his
duties and to appoint Zlatko Matesa as his replacement, Novi List
reported on 6 November. Matesa will present his new government on 7
November. In Valentic's government, Matesa was minister in charge of
relations with the EU and other international financial and trade
institutions. He said his new cabinet is one of continuity, but he also
underscored his determination to find new ways to improve the economy.
-- Daria Sito Sucic
[5] POWER STRUGGLE WITHIN SERBIAN MEDIA GIANT.
Nasa Borba on 6 November
reported that a conflict within the Politika publishing house reached a
"red-hot" pitch over the weekend. Zivorad Minovic, former editor of the
daily Politika from 1985-1991, and Hadzi Dragan Antic, current director
of Politika publishing, appear to be involved in a power struggle. Nasa
Borba speculates that Antic, backed by Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic, will likely succeed in ousting his opponent. -- Stan
Markotich
[6] GREEK PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA.
Costis Stephanopoulos, on an official visit
to Romania on 2-3 November, addressed the Romanian parliament and met
with President Ion Iliescu, Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu, and other
officials, Romanian media reported. The two sides signed an agreement on
cultural cooperation. Stephanopoulos, in a private capacity, also
visited Iasi, where he met with members of Romania's Greek minority. --
Michael Shafir
[7] CHINESE OFFICIAL ENDS ROMANIAN VISIT.
Hu Jintao, a member of the
Political Office of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, on
3 November ended an official visit to Romania, Rompres reported on the
same day. Vasile Vacaru, deputy chairman of the major coalition party,
the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), said his formation has
accepted an invitation to participate in the CCP conference in Bejing in
November. The PDSR and the CCP are to "consolidate" their political
cooperation. Hu also met with Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu and other
Romanian officials. -- Michael Shafir
[8] ROMANIA TAKES PART IN NATO EXERCISES.
Romania is participating in the
Partnership for Peace naval maneuvers that began in the Aegean Sea on 3
November and will continue until 10 November. Three NATO countries
(Greece, Italy, and the U.S.) are taking part, AFP reported. -- Michael
Shafir
[9] MOLDOVAN-UKRAINIAN MILITARY COOPERATION.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense
Minister Ivan Bizhan on 2 November ended a visit to Moldova, BASA-press
reported the next day. A Moldovan Defense Ministry official said the two
sides concluded a protocol on cooperation in logistics and drafted a
cooperation plan for 1996, which is to be signed during Ukrainian
Defense Minister Valerii Shmarov's visiti to Moldova later this month.
The plan coordinates transit operations on the territories of the two
states and provides for Moldovan officers to train at Ukrainian military
institutions. -- Michael Shafir
[10] PROTEST DEMONSTRATION IN CHISINAU.
About 3,000 people demonstrated in
Chisinau on 4 November, demanding payment of wage and pension arrears,
Interfax and BASA-press reported. Some people have not received payments
for six months. The demonstration was organized by the Moldovan
Independent Trade Union Federation. The protesters also called for
increased government measures to tackle unemployment and for incomes and
bank deposits to be indexed. -- Michael Shafir
[11] ECONOMIC DECLINE IN MOLDOVA.
According to data cited by BASA-press on 3
November, Moldova's GDP from January-September 1995 was about 5 billion
lei ($1.1 billion), representing a decrease of 8.7% over the same period
in 1994. The government's Department of Statistics said GDP dropped by
19.4% in the first quarter of 1995, 9.6% in the second quarter, and 1,4%
in the third. Industrial output was 88% of the 1994 level, while
agricultural output registered an 8% drop. Exports dropped by 26% and
imports by 12 %. The deficit in the trade balance rose to 114 million
lei ($25 million). -- Michael Shafir
[12] BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS UPDATE.
Runoffs for mayoral candidates were
held in some municipalities on 5 November, 24 chasa reported the
following day. In the central Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora, the
candidate of the united opposition, Tsanko Yablanski, won 55.6% of the
vote. In most other towns, a second round will be held on 12 November.
Meanwhile, the director of Plovdiv prison punished inmates awaiting
trial by not allowing them to watch a soccer match on TV because those
entitled to vote had unanimously cast their ballots for the opposition
Union of Democratic Forces. -- Stefan Krause in Sofia
[13] RAMIZ ALIA FACES NEW TRIAL.
Former Albanian President Ramiz Alia and
Prime Minister Hekuran Isai have been accused of bearing responsibility
for the killing after 1990 of a number of Albanians at the country's
borders. Fourteen families from Kolonja and Delvina have brought charges
against the two communist-era leaders, arguing that since they held the
highest positions in the country, they were responsible for the killing
of their relatives, who had tried to leave the country, Gazeta Shqiptare
reported on 4 November. After 1990, the penal code no longer specified
leaving the country as "high treason." -- Fabian Schmidt
[14] ATHENS DEMANDS OPENING OF GREEK SCHOOLS IN ALBANIA.
Gazeta Shqiptare on
4 November reported on Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos's
"unexpected" demand that Albania open schools for the Greek minority.
Stephanopoulos, in an interview with the Greek daily Ta Nea, said he
would refuse to visit Albania until his demand has been met. Meanwhile,
Republika on 5 November reported on the "massive return of [Albanian]
immigrants from Greece." The paper claims that Greek police continue to
discriminate against Albanian immigrants, noting that about 15 have been
maltreated by law enforcement officials. -- Fabian Schmidt
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
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