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OMRI Daily Digest II, No. 20, 29 January 1996
CONTENTS
[01] PRISONER EXCHANGE CONTINUES IN BOSNIA.
[02] BOSNIAN FACTIONS AGREE TO CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES.
[03] IFOR CASUALTIES INCREASE, AMERICAN WOUNDED.
[04] U.S. ARMY RELUCTANT TO HELP INVESTIGATE MASS GRAVE SITES?
[05] BOSNIAN SERB OFFICER TO GIVE EVIDENCE ON MASS GRAVES?
[06] FEDERATION OFFICIALS VISIT PALE.
[07] SLOVENIAN LEFT LEAVES GOVERNMENT COALITION.
[08] WORLD BANK CONFERENCE OUTLINES MACEDONIA'S PRIORITIES.
[09] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER ATTACKS PRESIDENT AGAIN.
[10] MOLDOVA URGES CE TO HAVE RUSSIA RATIFY TROOP WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT.
[11] RUSSIAN MILITARY TRANSPORT LEAVES MOLDOVA.
[12] BULGARIAN INDUSTRY CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN IN 1995.
[13] ALBANIAN POLICE BLOCKS DELIVERY OF INDEPENDENT DAILY.
[14] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT IS POOR.
[15] GREEK, RUMP YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.
[16] GREECE, TURKEY DISPUTE DESERTED ISLAND.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 20, Part II, 29 January 1996
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[01] PRISONER EXCHANGE CONTINUES IN BOSNIA.
International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) spokesman Pierre Gauthier said on 28 January that a
total of 460 prisoners have been released since the exchange began the
previous day. Under the Dayton peace accords, all prisoners held by
the warring factions in Bosnia were to have been released by 19
January. The EU and the United States have threatened to withhold aid
if the prisoner exchange is not completed. Gauthier said the Bosnian
government has handed over 241 prisoners and the Croats 127. The
Bosnian Serbs set 82 prisoners free, but the release of another 70 in
northern Bosnia was unconfirmed. The ICRC expects the release of all
registered prisoners to be completed on 29 January but acknowledges
that many unregistered prisoners remain in the hands of the Bosnian
factions. -- Michael Mihalka
[02] BOSNIAN FACTIONS AGREE TO CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES.
The Bosnian
factions on 26 January agreed on confidence-building measures by the
deadline stipulated in the Dayton peace accords, international media
reported. Measures include prior notice of large troop movements and
verification of troop and heavy weapons strength. AFP reported that
the Serbs objected to the fact that the OSCE has named half the
inspectors on teams that are to consist of four members from the
Bosnian factions and four from the international community. Meanwhile,
separate talks on arms control continue under OSCE auspices in Vienna.
-- Michael Mihalka
[03] IFOR CASUALTIES INCREASE, AMERICAN WOUNDED.
Three British soldiers
belonging to IFOR forces were killed on 28 January when their armored
vehicle hit a mine in central Bosnia, and a Swedish soldier died when
the vehicle in which he was riding ran off the road, international
media reported. The same day, an American soldier was wounded by
suspected sniper fire in Sarajevo. He received first aid treatment. --
Michael Mihalka
[04] U.S. ARMY RELUCTANT TO HELP INVESTIGATE MASS GRAVE SITES?
IFOR continuesin its reluctant agreement to protect war crimes
investigators if asked but still does not seem eager to look for
evidence of atrocities. This was what Reuters suggested on 28 January
in reference to U.S. troops in the area of Vlasenica in eastern
Bosnia. Reporters followed up on the testimony of survivors of a
massacre of Muslim civilians by Serbs in 1992. Up to 8,000 Muslims had
been held earlier at a nearby Serbian camp, where they were grossly
mistreated. The Serbian commander is wanted for war crimes as a
result. Reuters described witness accounts of the now familiar
sequence of butchery, the stacking of corpses, and the digging of mass
graves. -- Patrick Moore
[05] BOSNIAN SERB OFFICER TO GIVE EVIDENCE ON MASS GRAVES?
A Bosnian Serbcolonel, reported to have been a close associate of Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic, is ready to confirm the existence of mass
graves in Bosnia and to indicate where Serbs carried out massacres,
AFP reported on 27 January, citing Der Spiegel. The German weekly
quoted an anonymous source as saying that the officer was from the
Bosnian Serb stronghold of Banja Luka and that thousands of Croat and
Muslim victims had been buried in mass graves near the city. The
officer is reportedly in The Hague, where he will testify before the
international war crimes tribunal. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[06] FEDERATION OFFICIALS VISIT PALE.
Kresimir Zubak and Izudin
Kapetanovic, leaders of Bosnian Muslim-Croatian Federation, on 26
January visited the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale for the first time
since the outbreak of the war, AFP reported the same day. Bosnian Serb
parliament speaker Momcilo Krajisnik said that the two sides agreed
that all prisoners must be released, while Zubak called on the
governments of Croatia and rump Yugoslavia to immediately release all
prisoners from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The two sides also discussed
Serbian-held Sarajevo. Meanwhile, representatives of associations of
independent intellectuals from Sarajevo and Tuzla are expected to
visit rump Yugoslavia early next month to meet with Serbian and
Montenegrin counterparts as well as non-governmental organizations,
Nasa Borba reported on 29 January. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[07] SLOVENIAN LEFT LEAVES GOVERNMENT COALITION.
The United List of Social
Democrats (ZLSD) on 26 January quit Slovenia's governing coalition,
following a dispute with Premier Janez Drnovsek, international media
reported. The ZLSD objected to the fact that Drnovsek had called for
the resignation of Economic Minister Maks Tajnikar of the ZLSD without
consulting the party. According to the premier, Tajnikar violated his
authority by pledging the TAM bus company that the government would
guarantee its debts. The social democrats also vowed to leave the
coalition. Drnovsek responded by saying there was no need for early
elections as the Christian Democrats and Liberal Democrats could
continue to govern until the end of the year. -- Stan Markotich
[08] WORLD BANK CONFERENCE OUTLINES MACEDONIA'S PRIORITIES.
At a conference
in Ohrid from 26-28 January sponsored by the World Bank and
Switzerland, Macedonia's economic priorities for 2010 were
established, Nova Makedonija reported. Macedonian Prime Minister
Branko Crvenkovski was present at the meeting. Goals include a per
capita GDP of $3,000 (as opposed to the current $690), export-oriented
industry, a fully privatized and efficient economy, high-quality
public services, a lower technological gap relative to developed
countries, agriculture dominated by private farmers, a strong banking
system capable of financing investment, an inflow of direct or
portfolio investment of $80-100 million annually, and at least 5.5%
annual growth of social product. A World Bank official noted that a
good start has been made in achieving macroeconomic stability and
cited the importance of deregulation, especially in labor relations.
-- Michael Wyzan
[09] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST LEADER ATTACKS PRESIDENT AGAIN.
Gheorghe Funar,
leader of the chauvinistic Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR),
has renewed his attacks against Ion Iliescu. Cronica romana on 29
January published a letter in which Funar complains that Iliescu has
not given a satisfactory answer to an earlier message dealing with the
prospects for a "historic reconciliation" with neighboring Hungary.
Funar accused Iliescu of trying to "hide" from political parties and
public opinion in Romania following Budapest's official reaction to
his August reconciliation proposal. He urged the president to enter a
dialogue only with his Hungarian counterpart and not with the
Hungarian premier. -- Dan Ionescu
[10] MOLDOVA URGES CE TO HAVE RUSSIA RATIFY TROOP WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT.
Moldova
has asked the Council of Europe to include Moscow's
ratification of the troop withdrawal agreement with Chisinau as one of
the conditions for Russia's admission to the council, Infotag reported
on 26 January. Dumitru Diacov, head of the Moldovan delegation at the
current session of the council's Parliamentary Assembly, said the
proposal found broad support among delegates. The amendment urges
Russia to ratify the October 1994 agreement within six months. Diacov
also revealed that two members of the Moldovan delegation voted
against Russia's admission to the CE. -- Dan Ionescu
[11] RUSSIAN MILITARY TRANSPORT LEAVES MOLDOVA.
BASA-press on 26 January
reported that a train carrying military equipment belonging to Russian
troops based in eastern Moldova left Tiraspol for Russia. The
transport is the first of 20 to be carried out by 1 June. Mainly
antiquated engineering equipment, including pontoon bridges, was
included in the transport. Gen. Stefan Kitsak, head of the armed
forces of the self-proclaimed Dniester republic, said no combat
weapons were withdrawn. Kitsak stressed that the Dniester authorities
resolutely oppose the evacuation of any combat technique from the
region. He noted that part of the equipment to be withdrawn will be
handed over to the Dniester army. -- Dan Ionescu
[12] BULGARIAN INDUSTRY CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN IN 1995.
Bulgarian real
industrial production grew by a robust 7% in 1995, up from 4.5% in
1994, Bulgarian newspapers reported on 26 January, citing the National
Statistical Institute. Private sector industrial production
experienced 25% growth, with private producers now accounting for 12%
of industrial production (up from 8% in 1994). Dynamic branches
included chemicals and petrochemicals, which grew by 16.1%, and paper
(14.7%). The only three branches suffering production declines were
printing, non-ferrous metals, and light industry. -- Michael Wyzan
[13] ALBANIAN POLICE BLOCKS DELIVERY OF INDEPENDENT DAILY.
Armed police on
26 January blocked and searched six vans carrying 37,000 copies of
Koha Jone, international agencies reported. The vans also contained
33,000 copies of another 11 newspapers, which were being delivered by
Koha Jone's transport agency. Police said they would impound the vans
for at least five days, thus preventing the distribution of opposition
media outside Tirana. Koha Jone Chief Editor Nikolla Lesi called the
incident "yet another attack against the free press in Albania." He
added that the police action followed his refusal to back the
Democratic Party during the election campaign. The Interior Ministry
denied political motivation, saying that four of the six vans either
lacked papers or had technical defects. Meanwhile, the Association of
Independent Journalists has protested the police actions as a
deliberate attack before the elections. -- Fabian Schmidt
[14] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT IS POOR.
Sali Berisha has declared assets of
360,000 lek (less than $ 4,000) and a small three-room apartment in
central Tirana as his only property, international agencies reported
on 27 January. The declaration followed the passage earlier this month
of an anti-corruption law ordering all state officials to declare
property exceeding 1 million lek ($ 10,000) and its origin. After
becoming president, Berisha remained in his 72 square meter apartment
in Tirana. He is the first person to declare his assets under the new
law, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 27 January. -- Fabian Schmidt
[15] GREEK, RUMP YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET.
Greek Foreign Minister
Theodoros Pangalos and his rump Yugoslav counterpart, Milan
Milutinovic, met in Athens on 28 January to discuss Belgrade's
imminent recognition of Macedonia (see OMRI Daily Digest, 26 January
1996), AFP reported the following day. Greek newspapers say that
Belgrade is prepared to recognize the former Yugoslav republic under
the name Macedonia, which Greece continues to oppose. Meanwhile, Greek
Interior Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos has urged the international
recognition of rump Yugoslavia, Beta reported on 28 January. He said
"the peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina could be seriously crippled
if all sides do not recognize [rump Yugoslavia] as a state." -- Stefan
Krause
[16] GREECE, TURKEY DISPUTE DESERTED ISLAND.
Tension has risen between
Greece and Turkey over sovereignty of the uninhabited island of Imia,
Western agencies reported on 28 January. Athens claims it was given
the island when Italy ceded the Dodecannese to Greece in 1947, while
Ankara claims it is Turkish. The mayor of the Greek island of Kalymnos
raised the Greek flag on Imia last week when a Turkish captain refused
Greek assistance after his vessel ran aground, saying the island is
Turkish. A group of Turkish journalists responded by traveling to
Imia, taking down the Greek flag, and raising the Turkish one. The
next day, a Greek navy vessel rehoisted the Greek flag. Greek Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos has protested the incident to the Turkish
ambassador. -- Stefan Krause
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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