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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 227, 21 November 1995
CONTENTS
[1] DAYTON DEADLINES COME AND GO.
[2] HAVE THE TALKS DIED?
[3] FIRST MUSLIM ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES.
[4] CROATIA, RUMP YUGOSLAVIA AGREE ON PRISONERS, MISSING PERSONS.
[5] BELGRADE OFFICIAL SAYS NO EXTRADITION FOR WAR CRIMINALS.
[6] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER PROPOSES EXPANDED NATIONALIST ALLIANCE.
[7] STOCK EXCHANGE OPENS IN BUCHAREST.
[8] SNEGUR SAYS SUMMIT MEETING "QUESTIONABLE."
[9] BULGARIAN, GREEK, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.
[10] LARGE OIL DEPOSITS DISCOVERED IN ALBANIA.
[11] STOCK MARKET TO OPEN IN ALBANIA.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 227, Part II, 21 November 1995
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] DAYTON DEADLINES COME AND GO.
Two "last-chance" deadlines declared by
the U.S. State Department came and went on November 20-21, and still no
peace agreement was announced. The BBC said that the three groups of
"Yugoslavs called the Americans' bluff." Regional and international
media stressed that the problem remains territorial issues, specifically
the Posavina corridor in the north and the status of Sarajevo. The
Bosnian and Serbian delegations at different points each had their
respective aircraft's engines started, and German media said that only a
telephone call from President Bill Clinton dissuaded his Croatian
counterpart, Franjo Tudjman, from leaving as well. The final deadline
passed after a late night marathon session. -- Patrick Moore
[2] HAVE THE TALKS DIED?
State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that"these talks have not failed. The negotiators continue to negotiate."
Bosnian Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey, however, said the talks had
indeed collapsed. Off the record, unnamed U.S. officials also told news
agencies they were pessimistic. The BBC quoted Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic as telling Bosnian Radio on 21 November that the talks were
in a crisis but had not failed. Speculation now centers on the
possibility of continuing discussions in Dayton for an unspecified
length of time or holding them at some future date elsewhere, such as
Paris. The Dayton round has dragged on for three weeks amid Spartan
living conditions and a virtual news blackout. Tudjman has twice left on
business and returned. The problem remains that core issues are
unsettled and that no side has been totally defeated on the battlefield
and hence forced to negotiate a settlement. -- Patrick Moore
[3] FIRST MUSLIM ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES.
Nasa Borba and Novi list
reported on 21 November that an unidentified Bosnian Muslim was arrested
in the Netherlands on 15 November at the request of the Hague-based
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The man is
suspected of having killed a large number of Bosnian Serb civilians
while serving with the Bosnian Croat army, and he is expected to be
formally charged within a month. Of the 52 men indicted for war crimes
to date, 45 are Serbs, including Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic
and General Ratko Mladic. The remaining seven are Croats; but to date,
apart from the unidentified Bosnian Muslim, only one of the 52 has been
arrested, namely the Serbian prison guard Dusko Tadic. Croatia wants
some Muslims charged with war crimes for atrocities committed against
Croatian civilians in 1991 when the Muslims in question were serving
with the rump Yugoslav army. -- Patrick Moore
[4] CROATIA, RUMP YUGOSLAVIA AGREE ON PRISONERS, MISSING PERSONS.
The
Croatian and Serbian foreign ministers have signed an accord in Dayton
on the immediate release of all detainees as a part of a general
agreement on prisoners and missing persons, Reuters reported on 20
November. According to unofficial estimates, more than 10,000 Croats
have been missing since 1991. An investigation is to be launched into
the fate of those still unaccounted for. In another development,
Minister for Refugees Adalbert Rebic announced his resignation owing to
"numerous obligations elsewhere," Slobodna Dalmacija reported the next
day. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[5] BELGRADE OFFICIAL SAYS NO EXTRADITION FOR WAR CRIMINALS.
The Bosnian
Serb news agency SRNA on 19 November reported that Borisav Jovic, the
chairman of the rump Yugoslav legislature's Foreign Policy Committee,
said Belgrade is not prepared to turn over accused war criminals to the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Jovic said
that sending accused criminals to the Hague to face charges would
violate the rump Yugoslav constitution, which purportedly stipulates
that rump Yugoslav nationals may not be handed to a "foreign" tribunal.
Jovic did, however, reiterate Belgrade's official line on war crimes,
observing that "we oppose them, and we will prosecute criminals if there
are any." * Stan Markotich
[6] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER PROPOSES EXPANDED NATIONALIST ALLIANCE.
Speaking at the National Convention of the Party of Romanian National
Unity (PUNR) in Bucharest on 17 November, PUNR chairman Gheorghe Funar
proposed that the chauvinist Greater Romania Party (PRM) join the
National Unity Bloc (BUN), which includes the PUNR, the Democratic
Agrarian Party, and the Romanian Ecologist Movement. Addressing the
gathering, PRM chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor said there has never been
any conflict between the two parties. Curierul national on 18 November
wrote that Funar told the PUNR gathering that his party has no intention
of leaving the alliance with the PDSR. Also on 18 November, Funar was
re-elected chairman of the PUNR. He accused President Ion Iliescu of
attempting to stage his ouster. Presidential spokesman Traian Chebeleu
on 20 November rejected the accusation. -- Michael Shafir
[7] STOCK EXCHANGE OPENS IN BUCHAREST.
Romania's first stock exchange since
World War II opened on 20 November in Bucharest, Radio Bucharest and
international agencies reported. A total of seven companies were quoted
at the opening session, with five more due to appear in the near future,
exchange officials said. Of the seven listed companies, only one is
completely in private hands; the Romanian state still holds a 70% stake
in the other six. The opening of a stock exchange was one of the
conditions set by IMF for the granting of new credits to Romania.
Initially, it will operate only once a week. -- Matyas Szabo
[8] SNEGUR SAYS SUMMIT MEETING "QUESTIONABLE."
At a meeting with head of theOSCE Permanent Mission to Moldova Michael Wygant, President Mircea
Snegur welcomed the decision to prolong the mission and the "firm
position of most OSCE members at a recent meeting in Vienna in support
of Moldova's efforts to remove Russian troops from its territory."
Snegur said his next meeting with Igor Smirnov, scheduled for 29
November, was now "questionable" because the Tiraspol leadership is
seeking help from the Russian State Duma and requesting the recognition
of "their illegitimate, self-proclaimed republic." He added that the
"Tiraspol leaders are taking their time, are waiting for the results of
the parliamentary elections in Russia and, in fact, are grossly
violating our earlier agreements." The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign
Affairs called on all UN and OSCE members to express disapproval of the
Duma's resolution on the Transdniestrian problem, Infotag reported on 20
November. -- Michael Shafir
[9] BULGARIAN, GREEK, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.
Georgi Pirinski,
Karolos Papoulias, and Hennadii Udovenko met in Sofia on 20 November to
discuss possible cooperation between their countries, Reuters reported
the same day. They agreed to boost cooperation in regional
transportation, telecommunications, and natural gas and oil pipeline
projects "through coordinated initiatives." In separate talks with
Papoulias and Udovenko, Pirinski discussed joint participation in
rebuilding the war-battered former Yugoslav republics. Udovenko and
Pirinski also signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement. Also on
20 November, Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos arrived for a three-
day state visit and met with Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev to
discuss the situation in the former Yugoslavia and bilateral relations.
-- Stefan Krause
[10] LARGE OIL DEPOSITS DISCOVERED IN ALBANIA.
According to Albanian Mineral
Resources and Energy Minister Abdyl Xhaja, more than 440 million tons of
oil-deposits have been discovered in the regions of Durres, Patos, and
Tirana, AFP reported on 21 November. Contracts for exploitation have
reportedly been signed with Shell, OMV, BHP, OXY, and Agip, which had
invested more than $100 million dollars over the past two years in on-
and off-shore prospecting. The firms are expecting to spend another $60
million in 1996. Current on-shore production of an estimated 1,200
barrels a day could shortly rise to 20,000 barrels. More than 200
foreign firms have been asked to study production possibilities. --
Fabian Schmidt
[11] STOCK MARKET TO OPEN IN ALBANIA.
Albanian Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni
said a stock market will open in March 1996, Reuters reported on 20
November. It will trade shares in Albania's recently privatized
companies. The government is preparing to set up a register of shares.
So far, 20 holding companies have been privatized through the sale of
vouchers; and there are now 4,068 shareholders in Albania, of whom 2,700
are employees of the privatized companies. According to Vrioni, another
25 enterprises will be privatized soon. Rothschild Bank, Greek Alfa
Financing, Salomon Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and a Bulgarian group have
already requested information on Albanian investment funds. A minimum of
$20,000 is required to set up an investment fund, and foreigners may own
no more than 50%. -- 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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