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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 6, 9 January 1996
CONTENTS
[1] IS UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT EASTERN SLAVONIA?
[2] SUSAK BACKS DAYTON DEADLINES.
[3] MITTERRAND GETS COLD SHOULDER FROM BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.
[4] MILOSEVIC SENDS "BEST WISHES" TO BOSNIAN SERBS.
[5] HOLBROOKE ASKS MILOSEVIC TO ALLOW U.S. REPRESENTATION IN KOSOVO.
[6] SLOVENIA TO OPEN NEW EMBASSIES?
[7] ROMANIAN ROM TO RUN IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.
[8] UNIDENTIFIED VIRUS KILLS BABIES IN ROMANIA.
[9] ASSOCIATION FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH FORMED IN BULGARIA.
[10] DID BULGARIAN DEPUTY PREMIER RESIGN?
[11] ALBANIAN COURT ORDERS ARREST OF FORMER COMMUNIST OFFICIALS.
[12] GREEK OPPOSITION FILES NO CONFIDENCE MOTION.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 6, Part II, 9 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[1] IS UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT EASTERN SLAVONIA?
The BBC on 9 January calledthe UN resolution on Croatia (see "Top Story") the organization's
toughest condemnation of that country to date. The broadcast suggested
that the council is under no illusions about any early or massive return
of Krajina Serbs but is seeking rather to reassure the Serbs of eastern
Slavonia, who are slated under a 12 November agreement to return to
Croatian control within two years. AFP reported that Russia may be asked
to help beef up the international military contingent in eastern
Slavonia from fewer than 1,700 to some 5,000 troops as part of a general
upgrading of the UN force in the region. There appears to be general
concern in the international community that any problems in eastern
Slavonia could adversely affect implementation of the Dayton agreement
in Bosnia. Croatia has repeatedly warned that it reserves the right to
retake the territory by force if the Serbs do not respect the current
agreement. -- Patrick Moore
[2] SUSAK BACKS DAYTON DEADLINES.
EU administrator Hans Koschnick said in
Mostar on 8 January that Croatian and Muslim officials now seem anxious
to implement the Dayton agreement. "Both sides, importantly, have
managed to calm the situation down. As far as I'm concerned things seem
to be getting better," he told Reuters. U.S. trouble-shooter Robert
Gallucci said in Zagreb, however, that he was unhappy with current
progress on the implementation of the peace treaty. But Croatian Defense
Minister Gojko Susak, who is probably the most powerful of the
Herzegovinian Croats, weighed in solidly on behalf of the Muslim-
Croatian federation: "We have to go on with the federation. If we want
the federation, if we want to stick with the Dayton agreement which has
certain deadlines, then we have to have a much more active approach."
AFP reported on 9 January that EU police officials in Mostar are
nonetheless doubtful that a joint force can be set up by the 20 January
deadline. -- Patrick Moore
[3] MITTERRAND GETS COLD SHOULDER FROM BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.
Many ordinary
Sarajevans may fondly recall late French President Francois Mitterrand,
who died in Paris on 8 January aged 79, for his daring if brief visit to
their besieged city; but those sentiments are not necessarily shared by
the mainly Muslim authorities. The BBC on 9 January quoted Vice
President Ejup Ganic as saying that Bosnia has no reason to remember
him. This presumably reflects the view widely held in Bosnia and Croatia
that Mitterrand was pro-Serbian and sought to restore a united
Yugoslavia as his ultimate goal. President Alija Izetbegovic told OMRI
in Prague in October that he found little sympathy or understanding in
Paris during the Mitterrand presidency but that things improved
dramatically following the election of Jacques Chirac. -- Patrick Moore
[4] MILOSEVIC SENDS "BEST WISHES" TO BOSNIAN SERBS.
Nasa Borba, citing
Tanjug, on 9 January reported that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic
sent the Bosnian Serbs his official greetings on the occasion of the
"national day" of the Republika Srpska. Milosevic observed that this was
the first such holiday commemorated "in peace," and he added that it is
his hope that the Bosnian Serbs can look forward "to a successful
economic and cultural recovery." -- Stan Markotich
[5] HOLBROOKE ASKS MILOSEVIC TO ALLOW U.S. REPRESENTATION IN KOSOVO. U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke told VOA on 8 January
that he has held talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and
that the U.S. is seeking permission to establish an official presence in
Pristina. The representation will probably be a United States
Information Agency office, Holbrooke said. He added that it might open
"in the very near future" and will help reduce tensions in the region.
Holbrooke stressed that the U.S. was not supporting the Kosovar
Albanians' demand for independence. But he pointed out that "the
oppression of the people there by the Serbs has been extremely bad." --
Fabian Schmidt
[6] SLOVENIA TO OPEN NEW EMBASSIES?
Nasa Borba on 9 January reported thatthe Slovenian Foreign Ministry has announced it will open new embassies
in Turkey, South Africa, Portugal, India, Slovakia, Denmark, and the
rump Yugoslavia. But Ljubljana noted that these plans will have to take
into account budgetary and other constraints. Slovenia currently has
embassies in 28 nations. It was the first republic of the former
Yugoslavia to recognize Belgrade (see OMRI Daily Digest, 1 December
1995). -- Stan Markotich
[7] ROMANIAN ROM TO RUN IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.
Ion Cioaba on 7 January
announced he will run in the 1996 Romanian parliamentary elections,
Reuters reported. The international and domestic media treat Cioaba, who
declared himself "king of all Gypsies" in 1992, as something of a joke
and typically focus on his Cadillac motorcades and other signs of
opulence. Reuters writes that "he is not generally recognized by anyone
beyond his family or people keen to do business with him." However, the
agency noted that "his critics, including rival Gypsy leaders, say the
ruling left-wing Party of Social Democracy in Romania uses him as a
puppet in order to garner the substantial Gypsy vote." There are an
estimated 2 million Roma in Romania. -- Alaina Lemon
[8] UNIDENTIFIED VIRUS KILLS BABIES IN ROMANIA.
Six newborn babies died and
12 others were in critical condition owing to a unidentified virus at a
maternity clinic in eastern Romania, Romanian and international media
reported on 8 January. Rompres quoted doctors as saying the infants died
from vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and asphyxiation. The Health
Ministry has set up a special panel to investigate the mysterious
deaths, sent expectant mothers to other hospitals, and shut down the
clinic. Romania's infant mortality rate of 21.2 per 1,000 births in 1995
was one of the highest in Europe. -- Matyas Szabo
[9] ASSOCIATION FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH FORMED IN BULGARIA.
Svobodno Slovo
(Free Speech) officially constituted itself in Sofia on 8 January, Pari
reported the following day. Around 100 journalists, translators, and
sociologists adopted the forum's statutes and elected its administrative
bodies. Former Bulgarian National Radio journalist Yasen Boyadzhiev was
elected chairman of the organization. Svobodno Slovo defines itself as
politically independent and committed to the defense of freedom of
speech. The founding of Svobodno Slovo comes in the wake of ongoing
quarrels within BNR. Dissenting journalists accused BNR's management of
political censorship, while BNR Director-General Vecheslav Tunev
responded by dismissing seven of the journalists who made the
accusations (see OMRI Daily Digest, 27 November and 19 December 1995).
-- Stefan Krause
[10] DID BULGARIAN DEPUTY PREMIER RESIGN?
Pari on 9 January cited unnamedsources within the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party as saying that
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Kiril Tsochev handed in his
resignation and has been on leave since New Year. The resignation will
be announced during a cabinet reshuffle in February, the sources said.
Pari adds that Tsochev will take the blame for the ongoing grain
shortage and leave the cabinet along with Interior Minister Lyubomir
Nachev. While 24 chasa carried a similar report, both dailies noted that
other ministers denied any knowledge of Tsochev's resignation. -- Stefan
Krause
[11] ALBANIAN COURT ORDERS ARREST OF FORMER COMMUNIST OFFICIALS.
The Tirana
Municipal Court, following a request by the Prosecutor-General's Office,
has ordered the arrest of former Deputy Interior Minister Hysen Shahu
and former Deputy Director of the state security Sigurimi Sulejman
Abazi. Both officials held office from 1980-1990 and are accused of mass
imprisonments in violation of communist-era laws and the constitution,
ATSH reported on 8 January. The two officials are included on a list of
36 people accused by the Forum of Albanian Intellectuals of crimes
against humanity. -- Fabian Schmidt
[12] GREEK OPPOSITION FILES NO CONFIDENCE MOTION.
The conservative New
Democracy party on 8 January submitted a no confidence motion against
the government of ailing Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Reuters
reported the same day. Leading ND members said the move was necessary
because Greece has been "a rudderless ship" since Papandreou was
admitted to the hospital on 20 November 1995. They urged the ruling
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) to nominate a new premier and
accused Papandreou of plunging Greece into political uncertainty by not
resigning. The ND is supported by the small Political Spring party, but
together they hold only 119 mandates in the 300-seat parliament. --
Stefan Krause
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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