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----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Feb. 23, 1995 ========================================== Medical Evacuations To Resume This Week GENEVA, Switzerland (Feb 21) Evacuation of sick and wounded from Bosnia and Herzegovina is to resume this week thanks to donations from three European states, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said on Tuesday. IOM was forced to halt its programme on January 24, but after an appeal by German Television ARD private contributions reached 1.2 million marks. The governments of Italy and Norway have pledged $300,000 and $100,000, respectively, according to IOM. A first group of four children would be flown on Friday to Duesseldorf and Frankfurt, Germany, where they would receive free medical treatment, the agency said in a statement. Under the programme, begun in September 1992, some 1,500 people have been taken to 33 states for treatment not available in the region. UN Worried About The Night Flights VIENNA, Austria (23 Feb) UN peacekeepers reported suspicious nightime flights Feb. 10 and 12 of what appeared to be a C-130 cargo plane escorted by fighter jets near Tuzla, the second-largest town held by the Bosnian government. In Tuzla, the United Nations controls the main airfield, but the Bosnian army has three landing strips nearby. The Bosnian government hasn't commented on the Tuzla incidents. NATO spokesmen say neither the alliance's planes nor radar can corroborate the UN ground reports. NATO investigators have questioned the UN reports, but have not released their own findings. Lt. Col. Gary Coward, retracted comments on possible "weapons drop," which he said reflected the UN's position prior to NATO investigation. "We now believe our original assessment has been brought into serious doubt," Coward added. The reports have strained relations between the United Nations and NATO, which is conducting an investigation since NATO warplanes flying over Tuzla at about the same time were all USA jets. Talks About Confederation JABLANICA, Bosnia and Herzegovina (23 Feb) Representatives of Bosnian Croats and Muslims held a meeting led by the president and the vice-president of the Bosnian Federation, Kresimir Zubak and Ejup Ganic and generals Tihomir Blaskic and Rasim Delic in Jablanica yesterday. They agreed to shift the joint Bosnian Federation Army HQ to central Bosnia. Meanwhile, it was stated that the Muslim side had not kept its part of the agreement in the free movement of goods and people between the two central Bosnian towns of Vares and Kiseljak, with the Muslim representatives giving firm guarantees that this would soon be ratified. The two sides also agreed that political and military cooperation was satisfactory. Bosnian Prime Minister visit Tuzla TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina (23 Feb) Bosnian Federation Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic together with his associates began a three day visit to Tuzla region yesterday. A series of meetings are planned today with the First Corps of the Bosnian Government Army, and Prime Minister Silajdzic will speak at a public meeting this evening on the establishment of the Bosnian Federation and problems related to it. How will UN pullout from Croatia? ZAGREB, Croatia (Feb 23) UN officials say that some 12,500 UN soldiers withdrawing from Croatia risk getting caught in the crossfire between combatants or taken hostage by Serbs in need of a shield against Croatian attack. UN planners are already consulting NATO on scenarios for evacuation and that plan may require a NATO rescue mission, senior UNPROFOR officers said. "We will have (at least) limited problems, that's guaranteed (...) The worst-case scenario would be either the Krajina Serbs or Croatians or both going for the same piece of ground or UN kit at the same time, with us caught in the crossfire." he said. In Croatia, UNPROFOR would have no authority after 12.01 a.m. on April 1 to prevent incursions through buffer zones or defuse confrontations by mediation. UNPROFOR's larger operation in Bosnia would be jeopardised by a loss of supply lines from Croatia. If enveloped in combat, UN troops would probably have to abandon heavy equipment -- including armoured vehicles and trucks coveted by forces of both sides -- and be whisked out by a hazardous NATO-run airlift. German Opposition -- Bosnia Troop Deployment BONN, Germany (Feb 23) Germany's opposition Social Democrats party's foreign affairs spokesman Karsten Voigt said on Thursday the SPD was willing to agree to a deployment outlined by Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government on Wednesday, He said the number of ground troops was higher than expected. "The technical details are what is causing controversy," said Voigt, adding that he agreed with the government's view that a final decision could only be taken when the UN drew up concrete plans for any withdrawal. Voigt said the SPD had always believed that Germany should help its allies in a potential Bosnia pull-out. Representatives Of The Contact Group In Belgrade BELGRADE, Serbia (23 Feb) German, French and British representatives of the Contact group are to meet with Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade today. They will speak about their proposal on easing sanctions against Serbia in exchange for the recognition of former Yugoslav republics. Willy Claes under fire BRUSSELS, Belgium (Feb 23) NATO Secretary General Willy Claes, who only took over as NATO head last October, was forced publicly late on Wednesday to retract claims he knew nothing of illegal payments by a firm of Italian helicopter manufacturers in 1989. The revelation came only two days after Claes had told NATO ambassadors he had never directly or indirectly been involved in an operation to receive kickbacks for awarding contracts and pledged to cooperate fully with an inquiry currently underway. NATO sources said he had no plans to make any more statements and was looking forward to a forthcoming trip to Washington. =============================================== OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 40, 24 February 1995 WASHINGTON ANNOUNCES THE "FRIENDS OF THE FEDERATION." U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke said that a new international group has been set up to support the joint Croat-Muslim federation in BosniaHerzegovina, Nasa Borba reported on 24 February. The "Friends of the Federation" will have their work cut out for them, and Novi list cites Bishop Pero Sudar as saying that Croats are being driven from their apartments in Sarajevo by Muslims and not given new housing. The Muslims are also having problems with the UN, which has now accused their military of conducting "an orchestrated campaign of harassment" against UNPROFOR, although government forces have not been as obstructive as the Serbs. News agencies also report that government and Serb officials met at Sarajevo airport on 23 February for a second day of apparently inconclusive meetings about humanitarian and other practical questions, as well as about the fighting in the Bihac pocket. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. CROATIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SLAMS GOVERNMENT ATTEMPTS TO CO-OPT IT. Novi list on 24 February reprints a commentary from the latest issue of the Roman Catholic Church's weekly Glas Koncila. The editorial takes to task unnamed officials of the government or the ruling Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) for trying to use Catholicism as part of a "state ideology." The author notes that Christianity cannot be a political ideology and that democratic countries do not need official ideologies. The commentary particularly takes issue with those who have said that the church should not preach "love thine enemy" under the present circumstances in Croatia. On the contrary, while Croatian Catholics should defend their country out of patriotism, the article continues, they must never hate their enemies but rather love them as brothers. The commentary reflects views typical of Pope John Paul II and especially of Croatia's Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, who has kept a healthy distance from the government and openly criticized its war against the Muslims in 1993. The HDZ's attempts to use Catholicism for its own ends have struck many observers as bizarre, since President Franjo Tudjman is not know to be a particularly religious man and since his party contains agnostics, atheists, Jews, Muslims and others who reject the idea of making the HDZ a Christian democratic party. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. MACEDONIAN STUDENTS PROTEST AGAINST ALBANIAN UNIVERSITY. Around 2,000 Macedonian students demonstrated in front of the parliament building in Skopje on 23 February against higher education being taught in the Albanian language, AFP reported the same day. The students argued that teaching in Albanian serves as a pretext for the breakup of Macedonia. Following the police crackdown on a self-proclaimed Albanian-language university on 17 February, police arrested more Albanian activists on 22 February. The former leader of the Party of Democratic Prosperity (PPD) and a founder and current leader of the Party for the Peoples Union, Nevzat Halili, and a professor at the Albanian-language university, Musli Halimi, were arrested, the Macedonian-Albanian newspaper Flaka reported on 23 February. Meanwhile, the current leader of the PPD, Abdurrahman Aliti, met with British ambassador to Macedonia Tony Milson, Flaka reported on 24 February. Milson stressed that a policy of dialogue will bring results and praised the contribution of the PPD in averting the conflict. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Feb. 25, 1995 ========================================== DATE=2/23/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=GOLDSTONE/WAR CRIMES (S) BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST DATELINE=WASHINGTON INTRO: THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR OF THE U-N WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL ON THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA SAYS HE EXPECTS THE FIRST TRIALS ORIGINATED BY HIS OFFICE TO BEGIN WITHIN A FEW MONTHS. AS V-O-A'S DAVID GOLLUST REPORTS, RENOWNED SOUTH AFRICAN JURIST RICHARD GOLDSTONE BELIEVES THAT MUCH IS RIDING ON THE SUCCESS OF HIS TRIBUNAL -AND THE ONE RECENTLY ESTABLISHED ON RWANDA. TEXT: MR. GOLDSTONE SAYS THAT WITHOUT THE SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION OF THOSE GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES IN RWANDA AND THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA, THERE CAN BE LITTLE HOPE OF FINDING LASTING SOLUTIONS TO SUCH BITTER ETHNIC CONFLICTS. SPEAKING AT A FORUM AT WASHINGTON'S AMERICAN UNIVERSITY TODAY (THURSDAY) -- THE SOUTH AFRICAN JUDGE SAID GENOCIDE AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY MUST NOT GO UNADDRESSED: ///GOLDSTONE ACTUALITY/// PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE. AND UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, THERE CANNOT BE RECONCILIATION, THERE CANNOT BE FORGIVENESS AND THERE CANNOT BE ANY FORM OF ENDURING PEACE. ///END ACT/// MR. GOLDSTONE'S TRIBUNAL HAS THUS FAR INDICTED MORE THAN 20 PEOPLE INCLUDING THE SERB COMMANDER OF A CONCENTRATION CAMP IN BOSNIA OFFICIALLY ACCUSED OF GENOCIDE. NONE OF THOSE CHARGED THUS FAR HAS COME FROM THE LEADERSHIP RANKS OF SERB AND OTHER GROUPS LINKED TO THE PRACTICE OF ETHNIC CLEANSING. BUT MR. GOLDSTONE REJECTED THE NOTION THAT THE TRIBUNAL IS ONLY GOING AFTER WHAT HE CALLED "SMALL FISH" AND SAID SENIOR FIGURES FROM THE REGION COULD FACE CHARGES. HE SAID THE FIRST TRIALS, AT TWO SPECIAL COURTROOMS IN THE HAGUE, WILL BEGIN IN A FEW MONTHS. (SIGNED) 23-Feb-95 7:23 PM EST (0023 UTC) Source: Voice of America ----------------------------------- DATE=2/24/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE= BOSNIA SITREP (L) BYLINE= WAYNE COREY DATELINE= VIENNA INTRO: UNITED NATIONS ENVOY YASUSHI AKASHI HAS BEEN UNABLE TO OBTAIN SPECIFIC NEW COMMITMENTS FROM THE SERBIAN PRESIDENT, SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC, TO PROMOTE PEACE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA AND CROATIA. MR. MILOSEVIC EARLIER REFUSED TO ENDORSE A NEW PEACE INITIATIVE BY THE MAJOR POWERS. V-O-A'S WAYNE COREY REPORTS FROM OUR CENTRAL EUROPEAN BUREAU IN VIENNA. TEXT: THE U-N ENVOY RETURNED TO HIS HEADQUARTERS IN ZAGREB AFTER MEETING WITH THE SERBIAN PRESIDENT AT A HUNTING LODGE OUTSIDE BELGRADE. MR. AKASHI AND PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC DISCUSSED THE INCREASINGLY TENSE SITUATION IN CROATIA, THE CONTINUED FIGHTING IN THE BOSNIAN MUSLIM ENCLAVE OF BIHAC AND FUTURE PROSPECTS IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. A U-N SPOKESMAN IN ZAGREB, PAUL RISLEY, TOLD V-O-A MR. AKASHI'S TALKS WITH MR. MILOSEVIC WERE POSITIVE. BUT, MR. RISLEY REPORTS NO PROGRESS ON ANY SPECIFIC ISSUES. THE U-N ENVOY WAS SEEKING MR. MILOSEVIC'S ADVICE AND HELP IN PROMOTING THE PEACE PROCESS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA BECAUSE TWO IMPORTANT DATES ARE APPROACHING. ONE IS THE EXPIRATION OF THE U-N PEACE-KEEPING MANDATE IN CROATIA ON MARCH 31ST. THERE ARE FEARS OF A RENEWED WAR IN CROATIA ONCE THE PEACE-KEEPERS LEAVE. THE OTHER IMPORTANT DATE IS THE LAST DAY OF APRIL WHEN THE FOUR-MONTH OFFICIAL CEASE-FIRE IN BOSNIA ENDS. BOTH THE BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT AND THE BOSNIAN SERBS HAVE WARNED THAT LARGE-SCALE FIGHTING COULD BREAK OUT AGAIN IN MAY. THE SERBIAN PRESIDENT HAS REFUSED TO ENDORSE A NEW BIG POWER PEACE INITIATIVE. THE MAJOR POWERS OFFERED TO SUSPEND INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA IN RETURN FOR YUGOSLAV RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA AND CROATIA. MEANWHILE, MORE FIGHTING IS REPORTED IN THE BIHAC ENCLAVE IN NORTHWESTERN BOSNIA. IN SARAJEVO, BOSNIAN VICE PRESIDENT EJUP GANIC SAYS U-N PEACE-KEEPERS AND CROATIAN SERBS ARE TO PATROL THE BOSNIAN / CROATIAN BORDER NEAR THE BIHAC REGION. MR. GANIC SAYS THIS SHOULD HELP TO PROTECT THE BORDER. THOUSANDS OF CROATIAN SERB TROOPS HAVE CROSSED THE FRONTIER TO OPENLY INTERVENE IN BIHAC IN FIGHTING AGAINST BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES. BUT, U-N OFFICIALS SAY THE CROATIAN SERBS HAVE ATTACHED AN IMPORTANT CONDITION TO THE U-N PATROLS IN THEIR TERRITORY ALONG THE FRONTIER. THE OFFICIALS SAY THE PATROLS DEPEND ON THE RENEWAL OF THE U-N MANDATE IN CROATIA. (SIGNED) 24-Feb-95 2:28 PM EST (1928 UTC) Source: Voice of America _________________________________________________________________ _______ BosNet-B and BosNews are computer mailing lists/forums run by volunteers. Its goals are to present and distribute information relevant to the events affecting various aspects of life in/about the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina. BosNet-B/BosNews materials are distributed free of charge to the subscribers for educational, informative, research and/or participative purposes. The source of the original article is indicated and proper credit given, when and where applicable. Original materials such as research studies, opinions, and similar periodically published on BosNet-B/BosNews (ONASA - Oslobodjenje Sarajevo News Agency newswire, for example), should also contain the appropriate credit and source when further distributed. Opinions expressed/published on BosNet-B/BosNews do NOT necessarily always reflect the views of (all of the members of) Editorial Board, and/or moderators. Zeljko Bodulovic <ZelB@dwe.csiro.au> Davor Wagner <DWagner@mailbox.syr.edu> Nermin Zukic <N6Zukic@sms.business.uwo.ca> ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Feb. 25, 1995 ========================================== FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzegovina United Nations officers said on Friday there had been an increase in shooting incidents on several front lines across central Bosnia. Reports of sporadic shelling coincided with the stand-off in Gornji Vakuf where Bosnian army set up checkpoints in and around Gornji Vakuf in protest against the stationing of separatist Serb liaison officers. Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Coward, a spokesman for the UNPROFOR said it remained unclear whether separatist Serb forces had launched retaliatory attacks as a result of the dispute. UN sources said that some 20 mortar, artillery or tank rounds were reported in the area of government controlled Travnik while peacekeepers heard two explosions east of Vitez and two detonations around Zenica. There was a brief but intense exchange of fire near Tesanj. Fighting was also reported along frontlines around Maglaj and Doboj, as well as near the vital Posavina corridor. Some shelling was reported around government-held Zenica and Tuzla. UN military flights to Sarajevo were suspended today after two bullets hit a UN plane. No one was injured, and UN humanitarian flights continued. Also today, Serbs closed one of two recently opened civilian routes out of the capital, in a dispute with the United Nations over fuel. The third convoy in three days reached hungry civilians in government-held territory of Bihac on Friday with 116 tons of food, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. UN Says Serbs Hid Artillery SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (24 Feb) The UN discovered a cache of Serb heavy weapons near the capital of Bosnia, in violation of the exclusion zone, and aid workers today rebuked Serbs for renewed atrocities. The big guns, including three mortars and a truck-mounted artillery piece, were spotted through the half-open doors of a warehouse in the Serb-held suburb of Rajlovac on Friday, said Maj. Herve Gourmelon, a UN military spokesman. One UN source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were "a considerable number of heavy weapons" in the zone, but that only the most senior UN officials knew how many. UN humanitarian officials accused the Serbs today of stepping up their terror campaign against Muslims and other minorities living in Serb-held northern Bosnia. About 300 mostly Muslim civilians fled the area around Banja Luka, a Serb stronghold in northern Bosnia, last Thursday and Friday, said Kris Janowski of the UNHCR. It was the biggest round of ethnic purges since Dec. 31, when Serbs signed an agreement that was to have halted such activities. UNHCR officials estimate that only 30,000 Muslims and Croats are still living in the Banja Luka region, compared with 500,000 non-Serbs before the war. Janowski said the 490 remaining Muslims in the village had asked for UN evacuation. "The atrocities subsided somewhat in the fall and early '95, but now they seem to be picking up," Janowski added. NATO -- UN disagree over report SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Feb 24) UN sources say that NATO investigation has failed to resolve a disagreement with the United Nations over a report that cargo planes had flown over government-held territory in Bosnia. UN military officers twice this month either saw or heard a cargo aircraft escorted by fighter jets flying over Tuzla air base in territory held by the Bosnian government army. NATO, which enforces the no-fly zone over Bosnia, said reconnaissance aircraft and allied patrols found no evidence of any cargo aircraft over the weekend of February 10. A NATO source said NATO had planes in the air over Bosnia on both occassions, including two A-6s rehearsing close air support. The source said NATO believed the peacekeepers were hearing allied warplanes policing the no-fly zone. UN sources agreed with NATO that there was no conclusive evidence that aircraft landed or actually made any delivery. Bosnian army blockades UN in central Bosnia SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Feb 24) Bosnian army set up four checkpoints in and around the central town of Gornji Vakuf, placing anti-tank mines on the road in protest against the stationing of Serb liaison officers at the British UN compound, said Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Coward, a spokesman for the UNPROFOR. The roadblocks against UN traffic were set up on Friday on a road leading to the towns of Gornji Vakuf, Bugojno and Travnik. The two officers of separatists Serb army, Colonel Slavko Guzvic and Captain Vladimir Runjic, arrived at the peacekeeping base last month. The Bosnian government army opposed the deployment of Serb liaison officers on their territory, saying the UN had failed to consult them properly about the issue. USA troops -- UN pullout WASHINGTON, United States (Feb 25) The Clinton Administration has concluded that it may have to send thousands of USA troops to the Balkans within weeks because of the threatened collapse of a UN peacekeeping mission, the Washington Post reported Saturday. Quoting unidentified administration officials, the Post said both USA Secretary of State Warren Christopher and USA Defence Secretary William Perry had recommended to President Bill Clinton that he approve the operation to provide cover for a UN withdrawal from Croatia. But deputy White House Press Secretary Ginny Terzano said that "while no decisions have been made to withdraw, NATO and the UN are doing contingency planning to support...withdrawal from both Croatia and Bosnia, should it become necessary." The officials were quoted as saying Clinton had withheld endorsement so as not to give the impression that a UN withdrawal was inevitable. Akashi -- Milosevich SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Feb 24) UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Friday to discuss the situation in Croatia, where the imminent pull-out of UN troops could bring new war between Serbs and Croats. They also considered the military and humanitarian position in Bosnia's Bihac enclave, also seen as a potential flashpoint for reigniting war across the Balkans. "Portrait" of a Serb Leader WASHINGTON, United States (24 Feb) Beneath a cherubic exterior, Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic is a man of "extraordinary coldness" who helped organize some of the atrocities Serbs have committed during the Bosnian war, the last USA ambassador to Belgrade says. "I never saw him moved by an individual case of human suffering. For him, people are groups (Serbs, Muslims) or simply abstractions. Nor did I ever hear him say a charitable or generous word about any human being, not even a Serb," writes Warren Zimmerman, who served as ambassador from 1989-92. Zimmerman's unflattering portrait of Milosevic appears in the March-April edition of Foreign Affairs magazine. It comes at a time when Milosevic is at the center of a major effort by American and other international mediators to achieve a settlement of the conflict in Bosnia, where three years of warfare have produced substantial Serb gains and left millions either dead, detained or displaced from their homes. Zimmerman notes that Milosevic gained prominence in the late 1980s by leading a Serb effort to wrest control of Kosovo from the Albanian majority there. One example of Milosevic's "habitual mendacity," says Zimmerman, is his distortion of Serb behavior during that period. "For Milosevic, truth has only a relative value," he writes. "If it serves his objectives, it is employed; if not it can be discarded." ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Feb. 26, 1995 ========================================== CHICAGO TRIBUNE Copyright Chicago Tribune 1995 DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 SECTION: NEWS PAGE: 4 SOURCE: Associated Press. U.S. URGED TO HELP UN IN CROATIA CLINTON MULLS SENDING TROOPS TO AID PULLOUT President Clinton is being urged to approve an operation under which U.S. troops could help United Nations forces withdraw from Croatia if the peacekeeping mission there collapses, administration officials said Saturday. Clinton has made no decision, and the administration hopes that Croatian President Franjo Tudjman will reconsider his decision to expel the UN troops after their mandate expires at the end of March, the White House said. "While no decisions have been made to withdraw, NATO and the UN are doing contingency planning to support (UN) withdrawal from both Croatia and Bosnia should it become necessary," said spokeswoman Ginny Terzano. "We're concerned by Croatia's decision to end the mission of the UN forces. . .and we are urging the Croatian president to reconsider his decision." A senior administration official said contingency planning for a UN withdrawal from Bosnia had been going on for some time and that readying for a possible withdrawal from Croatia has speeded up in recent weeks. Asked about a Washington Post report Saturday that thousands of U.S. troops could be involved, the official said, "It's hard to say whether the large ground force commitment. . .is going to be needed." The official said that top administration officials have advised Clinton that the U.S. "should be prepared to participate" if it is asked to help in a UN withdrawal. In Bosnia, meanwhile, UN aid workers said that Bosnian Serbs have renewed their campaign of beating and robbing Muslim civilians, creating a new wave of refugees from the north. About 300 civilians, mostly Muslims, fled the area around Banja Luka, a Serb stronghold in northern Bosnia, late last week, said Kris Janowski of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. It was the biggest round of ethnic purges this year. "We have reports about attacks with grenades, machine guns and severe beatings," Janowski said. The UNHCR estimates there are only about 30,000 Muslims and Croats still living in the northern region surrounding Banja Luka, compared to a prewar non-Serb population of more than 500,000. UN military observers, meanwhile, reported a cache of heavy weapons was discovered in a Sarajevo suburb, in violation of a UN resolution barring such arms from the capital. A UN source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were "a considerable number of heavy weapons" in the heavy weapons exclusion zone, but that only the most senior UN officials knew how many. The zone was created in February 1994 under the threat of NATO airstrikes, but fear for peacekeepers' safety has all but eliminated the use of such air power against the Serbs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Feb. 26, 1995 ========================================== NATO prepares for Bosnia role MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany, (Feb 23) NATO's rapid reaction corps troops could be ready to evacuate UNOPROFOR from Bosnia, in around a month if ordered into action. "I think that within 35 days we would have a pretty good handle on what forces we have got and what they are going to do," said its commandert British Lieutenant General Michael Walker. NATO officers held computer-simulated war games in Germany to practise operations for pulling 22,000 UN peacekeeping troops out of the former Yugoslav republic. Walker said the exercises showed the corps, set up in 1992 as NATO's response to new challenges in the post-Cold War era, was basically ready for what would be its first mission. NATO has asked member countries for informal commitments about the troops and military equipment and it would seek concrete pledges if the Security Council asked it to act for any Bosnian operation. Akashi met Milosevic SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Feb 24) UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi met Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic on Friday after a week of secretive efforts to persuade a key player in the Balkans conflicts to help avert fresh fighting. Few details emerged either from Akashi's talks or from those the previous day with envoys from Britain, France and Germany. Serbian news agency "BETA" said the European envoys left with "mixed feelings." It quoted sources as saying it was "quite certain" that a complete lifting of sanctions was not offered to Milosevic. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic, in an interview published by the state news agency Tanjug, said that Belgrade was against a new Serb-Croat war but would not discount the possibility of stepping in to help fellow Serbs if they were attacked. ============================================ DATE=2/25/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=U-N BOSNIA (L) BYLINE=DOUGLAS ROBERTS DATELINE=SARAJEVO INTRO: AFTER A LULL OF SEVERAL MONTHS, SERB FORCES IN BOSNIA APPEAR TO HAVE RESUMED A CAMPAIGN AIMED AT EXPELLING MUSLIM CIVILIANS FROM THE NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. DOUGLAS ROBERTS IN SARAJEVO REPORTS THIS COULD BE THE FINAL STAGE OF A SERB ATTEMPT TO CLEANSE THE AREA OF ALL REMAINING MUSLIMS. TEXT: SINCE THE BOSNIAN CONFLICT BEGAN NEARLY THREE YEARS AGO, AROUND HALF A MILLION MUSLIMS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN OUT OF NORTHERN BOSNIA IN A CAMPAIGN OF INTIMIDATION AND TERROR BY SERB MILITIAMEN. U-N OFFICIALS ESTIMATE THAT NO MORE THAN 30 THOUSAND MUSLIMS REMAIN IN NORTHERN BOSNIA, AND THEY HAVE BEEN THE TARGETS OF THE LATEST ATTACKS BY SERB FORCES. KRIS JANOWSKI, SPOKESMAN FOR THE U-N HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES HERE, SAYS THE WORST INCIDENTS OF THE PAST MONTH TOOK PLACE IN THE TOWN OF GRADISKA, NEAR BOSNIA'S BORDER WITH CROATIA. CITING U-N REPORTS FROM THE SCENE, MR. JANOWSKI SAYS SERB MILITIAMEN HAVE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY RANSACKING AND LOOTING MUSLIM HOMES IN THE AREA, TERRORIZING THE OCCUPANTS. AT LEAST TWO MUSLIM'S, HE SAYS, WERE SHOT AND WOUNDED IN GRADISKA. OTHERS WERE BEATEN, WOMEN WERE THREATENED WITH RAPE AND ALL HAVE BEEN ROBBED OF THEIR MONEY, JEWELRY AND OTHER VALUABLES. MR. JANOWSKI SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN SIMILAR RAIDS OVER THE PAST TEN DAYS ON THE NEARBY VILLAGE OF DZUBA, WHERE THE ENTIRE POPULATION HAS ASKED FOR U-N ASSISTANCE TO EVACUATE THE AREA. THE SPOKESMAN SAYS THERE HAS BEEN A STEADY FLOW OF MUSLIMS LEAVING NORTHERN BOSNIA OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS. MORE THAN 200 CROSSED INTO GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED TERRITORY LAST THURSDAY ALONE. BOSNIAN TELEVISION SHOWED TWO BUS LOADS OF REFUGEES ARRIVING IN THE CENTRAL TOWN OF TRAVNIK ON FRIDAY. BOSNIAN SERB LEADERS HAVE DENIED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ATTACKS ON MUSLIM CIVILIANS, BLAMING WHAT THEY CALL ROGUE ELEMENTS. BUT MR. JANOWSKI SAID SERB FORCES HAVE DONE NOTHING TO STOP THE RAIDS. U-N SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER IVANKO SAYS THE ATTACKS CONSTITUTE A CLEAR VIOLATION OF THE NEW YEAR'S TRUCE ACCORD IN BOSNIA, WHICH CALLS ON ALL SIDES TO PROTECT MINORITIES IN AREAS UNDER THEIR CONTROL. MR. IVANKO SAYS THE U-N PLANS TO RAISE THE ISSUE WITH TOP SERB LEADERS. U-N-H-C-R SPOKESMAN JANOWSKI SAYS THE SERB ATTACKS MAKE A MOCKERY OF THEIR COMMITMENTS IN THE TRUCE ACCORD AND DEMONSTRATE A TOTAL DISREGARD FOR BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS. 25-Feb-95 1:48 PM EST (1848 UTC) Source: Voice of America =============================================== OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 41, 27 February 1995 SERBS START "FRESH TERROR CAMPAIGN AGAINST MUSLIMS." Reuters on 25 February reported that Bosnian Serb forces are completing their campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in the Gradiska area of northern Bosnia. Their methods include robbery, beatings, intimidation, and threat of rape or execution. UN representatives said they hold the Bosnian Serb authorities directly responsible: "We are not buying excuses that these are rogue elements or . . . people out of control." Elsewhere, Vjesnik noted continued Serbian helicopter flights over Bosnia and attacks on Croatian units there. The Independent on 26 February said that the U.S. is arming the Muslims through clandestine flights to Tuzla. The BBC's Serbian Service reports on growing tensions between UNPROFOR and Bosnian government forces, whose blockade of UN troops in Gornji Vakuf has entered its third day. Meanwhile, Vjesnik on 27 February notes yet another example of clerics active across battle lines, namely the visit two days earlier by Roman Catholic Cardinal Vinko Puljic to Serb-held Banja Luka. There have been a number of cross-border visits by Catholic and Serbian Orthodox figures in recent days, often in connection with charity groups and relief work. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. TUDJMAN ADDRESSES PARTY CONVENTION. Vjesnik on 27 February carries the text of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's speech to the party faithful of his Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). The convention marked the fifth anniversary of the HDZ's founding and provided Tudjman with the opportunity to take stock. He stressed that the party's policies have been consistent and correct and that the HDZ remains a party of the center that rejects extremism from either the Right or the Left. He identified upcoming tasks, including the reintegration of Serb-held territories and of the Serb population, but did not explicitly refer to the top issue in Croatia today, namely his decision to cancel UNPROFOR's mandate and the possibility of a new Croatian-Serbian war as a result. Novi list on 25 February nonetheless reported on a meeting of the Defense and National Security Council, which discussed the possibility of keeping on "international observers" once UNPROFOR's stay is formally ended. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. AKASHI MEETS MILOSEVIC. Nasa Borba on 25-26 February reported that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi, meeting in Belgrade on 24 February, discussed the humanitarian and military situation in the northwest Bihac pocket of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as conditions in Croatia, from where UN peacekeeping troops may withdraw soon. According to a Reuters report on 24 February, "Akashi's trip was the latest in a week of secretive efforts to persuade Milosevic...to help avert fresh fighting." Milosevic also met with representatives of the international Contact Group on 23 February. -Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. SITUATION IN MACEDONIA REMAINS TENSE. Supporters of the self-proclaimed Albanian-language university in Tetovo have continued their protests, Flaka reported on 27 February. Some 1,000 people gathered the previous day to honor Abdylselam Emini, who died in a shooting incident between Albanian students and Macedonian police on 17 February. The meeting was attended by representatives of all ethnic Albanian parties and the Albanian Writers Union of Macedonia. According to Flaka, the Albanians are preparing a "quiet civic revolt." The Senate of the Albanianlanguage university said it has found ways to continue the university's work. Meanwhile, Macedonian parliament deputies from Tetovo have denounced the university as illegal and unconstitutional. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. Compiled by Victor Gomez The OMRI Daily Digest offers the latest news from the former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe. It is published Monday through Friday by the Open Media Research Institute. The Daily Digest is distributed electronically via the OMRI-L list. To subscribe, send "SUBSCRIBE OMRI-L YourFirstName YourLastName" (without the quotation marks and inserting your name where shown) to LISTSERV@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU No subject line or other text should be included. The publication can also be obtained for a fee in printed form by fax and postal mail. Please direct inquiries to: Editor, Daily Digest, OMRI, Na Strzi 63, 14062 Prague 4, Czech Republic or send e-mail to: omripub@omri.cz Telephone: (42 2) 6114 2114 Fax: (42 2) 426 396 ==================================================== TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS Ref: C2XJ2978 Date: 02/28/95 From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader) Time: 03:49pm \/To: ALL (Read 12 times) Subj: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA UPDATE Turkish President Suleyman Demirel planned to meet yesterday with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, but cancelled the meeting and flew to Zenica to meet with Turkish Army peacekeepers. Two bullets hit a U.N. aircraft carrying Turkish officials to Sarajevo on Saturday, and the U.N. requested security guarantees from Bosnian Serbs. After Bosnian Serbs didn't make an guarantees, Demirel skipped the Sarajevo stop. Bosnian Serb forces opened fire on the Sarajevo Airport 20 minutes after his aircraft was to have arrived. (A.P./N.Y.T.) ======================================== OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 42, 28 February 1995 DEMIREL'S VISIT TO SARAJEVO IS OFF. International media reported on 27 February that Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's trip to Sarajevo was canceled after Bosnian Serb forces refused to guarantee his safety. This is what happened in July when Demirel wanted to visit the besieged Bosnian capital; and the problem came to the forefront again on 25 February, when unidentified gunners hit an aircraft carrying Demirel's advance party. Turkish Television carried a report suggesting, however, that Demirel himself is still ready to go to Sarajevo but that the UN prevented him, giving reasons such as "the pilots won't fly" or "this is a no-fly zone." He nonetheless went ahead with plans for visiting Zenica, where Turkish UNPROFOR troops are stationed, and Croatia. As the anticipated date of Demirel's arrival neared, sniper fire increased in Sarajevo, leaving four wounded in the most recent outburst, according to the BBC's Croatian and Serbian Services on 28 February. Turkey maintains excellent relations with both Bosnia and Croatia, but most Serbs regard it as the heir to their traditional Ottoman enemy. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. COUNCIL OF EUROPE HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP IN ZAGREB. Croatian media on 27 February reported that the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly opened a two-day session in Zagreb. The meeting is part of a process to review how well Croatia meets the standards of the Council, which it is anxious to join. The Croatian authorities prepared a tight program for the participants, who have some tough questions of their own about minority rights and freedom of expression. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Feb. 28, 1995 ========================================== Frontlines, Bosnia and Herzegovina SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Feb 26) Four people were wounded in Sarajevo Monday when separatist Serb forces opened fire on one of the city trams. Two of the inmjured suffered bullet wounds and two other were hit by glass. UN officials said that two teenage boys (Mirza Alihodzic, 14. and Halid Aliti, 13) were wounded by sniper fire in suburb of Dobrinja. Late Sunday a Bosnian Army soldier was wounded in another neighborhood and a woman was killed in a shelling attack. The Bosnian government army blockaded British peacekeepers at their base in central Bosnia for a third day running on Sunday in a row over the presence of separatist Serb liaison officers who arrived there last month under the current ceasefire accord. UN officials and Western diplomats say the stricter attitude reflects the government's growing confidence in its army and a wish to exert more authority over its own territory, especially outside Sarajevo. The Bosnian Serbs have never allowed peacekeepers to set up bases on their territory and UN officials say the Govenrment are now reluctant to allow UN troops to see their preparations. Elsewhere, separatist Serbs told UN officials they were holding a Sarajevo-based journalist, Shanaat Nahrawand, for use in a prisoner swap. He was detained Thursday at a separatist Serb checkpoint on the road from the UN-controlled Sarajevo airport to the city center. Turkish President Unable To Visit Sarajevo SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Feb 27) Turkish President Suleyman Demirel said on Monday he had been ready to risk visiting Serb-besieged Sarajevo but UN chartered pilots refused to take him in to the Bosnian capital, Bosnian state radio reported. Demirel arrived in the Croatian coastal city of Split on Monday morning and had planned to fly to Sarajevo, but the company that operates the UN flights refused to due to fly him there because of security concerns, UN officials said. Demirel cancelled a proposed trip to Sarajevo last July after Bosnian Serb forces refused to guarantee his safe passage. He indicated he still wanted to try to visit the city. "We will be back to Split and try once more to go to Sarajevo," he said. UN Said There Was No Evidence Of Planes Landing ZAGREB, Croatia (Feb 28) The departing UN Commander in former Yugoslavia, General Bertrand de Lapresle, said a joint investigation showed there was no evidence of planes landing or unloading cargo in the town of Tuzla in northern Bosnia. A UN spokesman said at least two aircraft -- one cargo-type plane and one fighter-type jet -- were seen in the air by a three-man forward air controller team as well as a Norwegian air crew at a UN helicopter base near Tuzla. NATO, which enforces the no-fly zone above Bosnia with high-tech monitoring planes known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems), said it had no evidence of the flights. De Lapresle told a press conference in the Croatian capital on Tuesday that an initial UN report of Bosnian government army getting supplies from the air was "speculation" on the basis of what the UN personnel on the ground heard and saw. Hurd to meet Milosevic VIENNA, Austria (Feb 27) Major powers have not given up hope of persuading Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to back the latest Bosnia peace plan and will meet him again this week, British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said on Monday. Hurd, who earlier met officials of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, told reporters that officials of the so-called five-nation "contact group" would return to Belgrade on Wednesday for more talks with Milosevic. Details of the meeting were kept secret but European diplomats said on Monday that Milosevic had rejected the deal. Diplomats said Milosevic wants all sanctions lifted first, something the major powers are not prepared to offer. Pakistani Defense Minister To Visit Bosnia ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Feb 28) Pakistani Defence Minister Aftab Shaaban Meerani left for Bosnia on Tuesday to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with Pakistani troops serving there as part of the UNPROFOR. Meerani will then travel to Sarajevo for talks with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic. It was not clear if Meerani, who is scheduled to use UN transport to reach Sarajevo, would face problems similar to those met by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel this week. A Defence Ministry spokesman said Meerani would also visit Albania and Croatia during his ten-day Balkan tour. Croatia Defends Its Decision GENEVA, Switzerland (Feb 27) Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic defended on Monday Croatia's decision to end the mandate of UN peacekeepers and said it would do its best to prevent a new Balkan war. In a speech to the UN Human Rights Commission, Granic said his government planned to intensify negotiations with Serbs who hold one third of Croatian territory so that the lands could be peacefully reintegrated into Croatia. He also outlined a "new model" providing for the orderly withdrawal of the UN Protection Force from Croatia while at the same time allowing it to continue to operate in Bosnia. He said UNPROFOR had not been able to control Croatia's borders or implement the 1992 Vance Plan which laid out the steps towards a political settlement of the conflict. He said that since UNPROFOR arrived more than 600 Croats had been killed, 12,000 Croats and non-Serbs expelled from Serb-held areas, 26 women raped and more than 1,600 people tortured by Serb militias. Granic said Croatia was already working on a "new model," a series of proposals which it would present when they were ready. The plan would have three key elements, first among them the "safe, orderly and dignified withdrawal of UNPROFOR personnel." The plan also involved "exerting all efforts to prevent the eruption of wider hostilities in the area" while moving towards the reintegration into Croatia of Serb-held areas. Granic said that would entail securing Croatia's external borders, apparently with an international force, and monitoring the implementation of existing agreements. The final element was that UNPROFOR should continue to function in Bosnia "from the territory of Croatia, which extends the offer for the use of locations for the headquarters and logistical bases on its territory." NATO and UN sources said allied officers based in Germany would be visiting Zagreb in the next few weeks to help plan the withdrawal of peacekeepers from Croatia. UN officials expect the United States to send troops to help with the withdrawal. USA President Bill Clinton is considering sending American troops but still hopes to persuade Tudjman to change his mind. UN spokesman Michael Williams said he was expecting 2,000 German troops and up to 12,000 USA troops to assist the UN pullout from Croatia. Croatia is believed to have 36 MiG-21 fighter jets, compared to three before, and 12 attack helicopters where they had none. They've built their warship fleet to six, from one. According to Jane's, the Croats have 320 main battle tanks, over 2,000 artillery pieces and over 3,000 anti-tank weapons. Their troop strength is estimated at 100,000, with reserves of up to 180,000. Romanian Border Guards Seized Smuggled Petrol BUCHAREST, Romania (Feb 27) Romanian border guards have seized 30 tonnes of petrol from petty smugglers trying to supply neighbouring Yugoslavia in defiance of a UN embargo. Border guards used patrol boats and a helicopter in the Berzeasca-Pescari area on the River Danube border with Serbia in a swoop over the weekend. Romanian news media have reported fuel prices in the border regions skyrocketing in recent months as supplies have been diverted for smuggling across the Danube -- feeding hundreds of freelance fuel suppliers in former Yugoslavia. ============================================= DATE=3/1/95 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-174879 TITLE=YUGO SITREP UPDATE (L) BYLINE=WAYNE COREY DATELINE=VIENNA CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: EUROPEAN DIPLOMATS HAVE HAD ANOTHER MEETING WITH THE SERBIAN PRESIDENT IN THE HOPE OF GETTING AN AGREEMENT ON A NEW PEACE INITIATIVE FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, SERB AND MUSLIM REBEL FORCES HAVE LAUNCHED HEAVY ATTACKS ON GOVERNMENT POSITIONS IN THE MUSLIM ENCLAVE OF BIHAC. V-O-A'S WAYNE COREY REPORTS FROM OUR CENTRAL EUROPEAN BUREAU IN VIENNA. TEXT: BRITISH, FRENCH AND GERMAN DIPLOMATS MET IN BELGRADE WITH SERBIAN PRESIDENT SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC. THEY DISCUSSED A POSSIBLE FORMULA FOR YUGOSLAV RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA AND CROATIA. IN RETURN FOR THAT RECOGNITION, INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA WOULD BE GRADUALLY EASED. BUT, PRESIDENT MILOSEVIC WANTS THE SANCTIONS COMPLETELY LIFTED FIRST. THE BIG POWER CONTACT GROUP ON BOSNIA, WHICH IS MADE UP OF BRITAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY, THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, WILL MEET IN PARIS ON THURSDAY. THE YUGOSLAV NEWS AGENCY, TANJUG, SAYS IT HAS LEARNED THAT THE UNITED STATES IS PREPARED TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE ABOUT EASING SANCTIONS AGAINST BELGRADE IF THREE CONDITIONS ARE MET. ONE CONDITION IS SAID TO BE SOME FORM OF YUGOSLAV RECOGNITION OF BOSNIA AND CROATIA. THE SECOND IS A COMMITMENT BY YUGOSLAVIA NOT TO GET INVOLVED IN ANY NEW CONFLICT IN CROATIA. THE THIRD CONDITION, ACCORDING TO THE TANJUG REPORT FROM WASHINGTON, IS THAT YUGOSLAVIA MUST MORE EFFECTIVELY SEAL ITS BORDERS WITH BOSNIA AND CROATIA. AS MEMBERS OF THE CONTACT GROUP PURSUED THEIR DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVE, SARAJEVO RADIO REPORTED THAT VIRTUALLY ALL BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT DEFENSE LINES IN THE MUSLIM ENCLAVE OF BIHAC HAVE COME UNDER ATTACK. MUSLIM REBELS, BACKED BY BOSNIAN AND CROATIAN SERB FORCES, CLAIM SOME GAINS IN FIGHTING IN THE BIHAC REGION OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS. BUT THE UNITED NATIONS COMMAND IN SARAJEVO SAID THE REBEL GAINS HAVE BEEN LIMITED. MEANWHILE, THE BOSNIAN SERBS APPEAR TO BE SLOWLY CUTTING OFF SARAJEVO FROM INTERNATIONAL RELIEF SUPPLIES AGAIN. THE SERBS HAVE TOLD THE UNITED NATIONS NO U-N AID CONVOYS WILL BE PERMITTED TO REACH THE CITY NEXT WEEK. AT THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER PLANE, FLYING INTO SARAJEVO, HAS BEEN HIT BY GROUNDFIRE. THE RENEWED THREAT TO AIRCRAFT COULD FORCE THE SARAJEVO AIRLIFT TO BE SUSPENDED. THAT WOULD POSE NO IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS BECAUSE THE UNITED NATIONS HAS BUILT UP ITS STOCKS OF RELIEF SUPPLIES IN THE BOSNIAN CAPITAL. (SIGNED) NEB/WC/BD/LWM 01-Mar-95 5:54 PM EST (2254 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America---------------------------------------------------------- --------. ================================================= DATE=3/1/95 TYPE=CLOSEUP NUMBER=4-08151 TITLE=U-S/EAST EUROPE/WEAPONS BYLINE=MAXIM KNIAZKOV TELEPHONE=619-3615 DATELINE=WASHINGTON EDITOR=PHIL HAYNES CONTENT= // ACTUALITIES AVAILABLE IN S-O-D // INTRO: UNITED STATES ARMS SALES POLICY TOOK A SIGNIFICANT TURN LAST MONTH WHEN THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DECIDED TO AUTHORIZE SOME OF THE FORMER COMMUNIST BLOC COUNTRIES TO PURCHASE CERTAIN ADVANCED U-S WEAPONS. THOUGH NO SPECIFIC DEALS ARE REPORTED TO BE IN THE WORKS, ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE POLICY CHAGE WAS LARGELY INTERPRETED AS A STAGE SETTER FOR CLOSER MILITARY COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE NEW CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN DEMOCRACIES. V-O-A'S MAXIM KNIAZKOV HAS MORE ON WHAT THE NEW POLICY MAY HOLD FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA'S INTERESTS THE REGION AND THE EUROPEAN SECURITY AS A WHOLE. TEXT: THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION SIGNALED ITS READINESS TO PROBE NEW MARKETS FOR U-S ARMS LESS THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER THE LAST RUSSIAN SOLDIER WITHDREW FROM CENTRAL EUROPE. AND IN THE WORDS OF PENTAGON SPOKESMAN MAJOR TOM LAROCK, THE DECISION TO LIFT THE BAN ON LETHAL ARMS SALES TO THE REGION IS MEANT TO ADDRESS NEW REALITIES IN EUROPE IN THE WAKE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS THAT CONSIGNED THE WARSAW PACT TO HISTORY. TAPE CUT#1 LAROCK "IT [THE DECISION] PARALLELS THE CHANGE IN OUR BILATERAL RELATIONSHIPS, OBVIOUSLY IS TIED TO THE PARTICIPATION BY THESE COUNTRIES IN THE PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE. IT GOES ALONG WITH THEIR STRONG INTEREST IN JOINING ESTABLISHED EUROPEAN SECURITY AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. IT PARALLELS THE PROGRESS THAT THE COUNTRIES HAVE MADE IN IMPLEMENTING DEMOCRATIC AND MARKET REFORMS AND, BASICALLY, PARALLELS LEGITIMATE DEFENSE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN ARMED FORCES." TEXT: THE NEW POLICY GIVES THE GREEN LIGHT TO U-S ARMS MANUFACTURERS TO OFFER SOME OF THEIR MOST SOPHISTICATED WEAPONRY TO POLAND, HUNGARY, THE CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, ROMANIA, BULGARIA, ALBANIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND ESTONIA. MAJOR LAROCK SAYS THESE COUNTRIES' SHOPPING LISTS CAN NOW INCLUDE A BROAD RANGE OF AMERICAN-MADE ARMAMENTS -- FROM MODERN WARPLANES TO MISSILE SYSTEMS. BUT HE EMPHASIZES EACH SALE WILL HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY THE GOVERNMENT ON THE CASE-BY-CASE BASIS. TAPE: CUT#2 LAROCK "IT CERTAINLY IS NOT A SIGNAL OF A UNITED STATES DESIRE TO SELL INDISCRIMINATELY HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED ARMAMENTS IN THE REGION. AGAIN, WE WILL APPLY TO THIS REGION THE SAME STRINGENT POLICY GUIDELINES THAT GOVERN DECISIONS ON ALL OTHER U-S ARMS SALES." TEXT: MOREOVER, MOST ANALYSTS VIEW THE U-S POLICY SHIFT AS A DECLARATION OF INTENT RATHER THAN A PRELUDE TO SPECIFIC ARMS EXPORTS TO THE WEST'S FORMER FOES. ALTHOUGH DURING A RECENT VISIT TO WASHINGTON A HIGH-LEVEL POLISH DEFENSE DELEGATION DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF ACQUIRING F-16 FIGHTER-BOMBERS, AND HUNGARY WAS REPORTED TO BE EYEING A U-S AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM, EXPERTS SAY THESE AND OTHER CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES CURRENTLY LACK THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO MAKE SUCH EXPENSIVE PURCHASES. HOWEVER, EVEN WITH NO CONCRETE SALES IN SIGHT, THE POLICY CHANGE, ANALYSTS SAY, SIGNALS WASHINGTON'S DESIRE TO MARKET U-S WEAPONS IN WHAT WAS ONCE VIEWED AS MOSCOW'S EXCLUSIVE PRESERVE, AND AT THE SAME TIME HELP THE EMERGING DEMOCRACIES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO MOVE CLOSER TO THE WEST. A FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE U-S NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, RETIRED GENERAL WILLIAM ODOM, SUGGESTS THE NEW POLICY IS OBVIOUSLY LINKED TO NATO'S STATED DESIRE TO EXPAND EASTWARD TO INCLUDE SOME OF THE FORMER WARSAW PACT STATES. BUT HE STATES EMPHATICALLY THESE PLANS POSE NO THREAT TO RUSSIA. TAPE: CUT#3 ODOM "IF WE ARE GOING TO EXPAND NATO TO INCLUDE THREE OR FOUR CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, IT [THE NEW ARMS EXPORT POLICY] MIGHT BE CONNECTED WITH THAT. BUT THE EXPANSION OF NATO TO THREE OR FOUR COUNTRIES THERE HAS LITTLE OR NOTHING TO DO WITH DEFENDING AGAINST RUSSIA. IT HAS A GREAT DEAL TO DO WITH TRYING TO STABILIZE AND PREVENT THE FAILURE OF THE ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITIONS IN THOSE COUNTRIES." TEXT: ANALYSTS SAY THE U-S DESIRE TO PICK UP WHERE THE SOVIETS LEFT OFF IS ALSO IN LINE WITH THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY OF AGGRESSIVELY PROMOTING ARMS SALES ALL OVER THE WORLD. WHILE ALWAYS A BIG-LEAGUE PLAYER ON THE WORLD'S ARMS MARKET, THE UNITED STATES HAS NOW EMERGED AS THE UNCONTESTED LEADER IN THE TRADE, COMMANDING A WHOPPING 70 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S WEAPONS SALES. SINCE THE COLLAPSE OF THE BERLIN WALL IN 1989, SIGNALLING THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE, U-S OVERSEAS ARMS EXPORTS HAVE TOTALED 82-POINT-FOUR BILLION DOLLARS. THAT FAR EXCEEDS THE COMBINED INTERNATIONAL SALES OF OTHER ARMS MANUFACTURERS OVER THE SAME PERIOD. IN 1993, THE PENTAGON SANCTIONED ARMS DEALS WITH 146 OF THE WORLD'S 190 NATIONS. HAVING INCLUDED THE 10 CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AMONG THE LIST OF POTENTIAL CLIENTS, THE UNITED STATES, EXPERTS POINT OUT, IS CLEARLY POSITIONING ITSELF TO FURTHER EXPAND ITS LEAD IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARMS TRADE. BUT POSSIBLE POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC IMPLICATIONS OF THIS THRUST INTO WHAT WAS -- AND TO SOME EXTENT STILL IS -- RUSSIA'S TRADITIONAL MARKET WORRY RETIRED ADMIRAL EUGENE CARROLL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR DEFENSE INFORMATION, A WASHINGTON PUBLIC RESEARCH ORGANIZATION. TAPE: CUT#4 CARROLL "THE MOVEMENT OF MODERN WEAPONRY EASTWARD TO THE RUSSIAN BORDER IS PROVOCATIVE IN THE EXTREME. I'M NOT CERTAIN THEY [THE RUSSIANS] WILL VIEW IT SO MUCH AS A NUCLEAR THREAT BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THEY KNOW THAT POLAND, [THE] CZECH [REPUBLIC], HUNGARY DON'T HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS. BUT THEY CERTAINLY WILL SEE NATO ATTEMPTING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CONVENTIONAL FORCES CAPABLE OF ACTUALLY ATTACKING RUSSIA." TEXT: THIS REASONING IS ONE GENERAL WILLIAM ODOM HAS DIFFICULTY AGREEING WITH. TAPE: CUT#5 ODOM "I DON'T THINK THERE IS ANY SUBSTANCE TO THAT KIND OF AN ARGUMENT. THE IDEA THAT THE WEST, AND THE UNITED STATES IN PARTICULAR, COULD PLAN SOME KIND OF ATTACK RIGHT THERE AND BEGIN SET UP THESE KIND OF SCHEMES IS PREPOSTEROUS. NOW, THAT THEY WILL TRY TO SELL WEAPONS AND MAKE MONEY IS NOT PREPOSTEROUS. AND I THINK IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT THE REAL MOTIVES ARE, THEY ARE PROBABLY VERY MUCH CONNECTED TO THE INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS OF THE [WEAPONS] PRODUCERS." TEXT: REMARKABLY, WHILE VEHEMENTLY PROTESTING AGAINST ANY NATO EXPANSION UP TO THE BORDERS OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, MOSCOW HAS THUS FAR KEPT QUIET ABOUT THE U-S ARMS OFFER TO ITS FORMER SATELLITES STATES. WHEN QUERIED BY V-O-A, A RUSSIAN EMBASSY SPOKESMAN IN WASHINGTON HAD NO COMMENT ON THE MATTER. NEB/MK/PCH 01-Mar-95 4:19 PM EST (2119 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America ============================================== OMRI DAILY DIGEST No. 43 1 March 1995 "THE DIRTY JOB HAS STARTED AGAIN." This is how leading UN refugee official Sylvana Foa described the latest wave of Serbian "ethnic cleansing" in the Banja Luka area, where the Muslim population has dropped from 500,000 three years ago to 37,000. She said that "it looks like the mopping up of what is left, mainly old people," AFP reported on 28 February. Vecernji list on 1 March carries a similar report on the fate of the local Croats. Meanwhile, in the Bihac pocket, news agencies reported that fighting increased on 28 February and that unknown gunners subjected nine empty relief trucks to heavy shelling, forcing the crew to take shelter in armored vehicles nearby. Bosnia and Herzegovina marks its third anniversary of independence on 1 March with political, cultural, and sporting events in Sarajevo. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. "VENOMOUS ROW" BETWEEN UN AND NATO OVER TUZLA MYSTERY FLIGHTS. The New York Times on 1 March reported on the deepening feud between the world organization and the Atlantic alliance over at least two flights by unidentified aircraft near Tuzla in mid-February. NATO says they were its own normal patrols or "commercial aircraft on approved airways in Serbian airspace." The UN replies that "the idea that trained officers could mistake a low-flying transporter over Tuzla for a commercial aircraft flying at 35,000 feet in Serbian airspace is frankly ludicrous and insulting." The UN has hinted that the U.S., possibly together with Turkey, is secretly dropping arms to the Muslims, a charge NATO firmly denies. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. IS CROATIA HUNTING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TO UNPROFOR? Nasa Borba reports on repeated hints by Croatia that it is willing to accept some form of international presence on its borders once UNPROFOR's mandate runs out on 31 March. Other accounts suggest that Zagreb is desperate to bring in NATO or WEU patrols as the only means to avoid another war. The problem is that to patrol Croatia's borders, the forces would have to position themselves between Krajina and both Bosnian Serb territory and Serbia proper, which the Serbs generally reject. NATO has also publicly rejected Croatian President Franjo Tudjman's calls for it to form a new international force in Croatia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc. ETHNIC ALBANIAN DEPUTIES BOYCOTT MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT. The ethnic Albanian legislators in the Macedonian parliament have boycotted the parliament's latest session, Flaka reported on 1 March. The legislators, who have four minister posts in the coalition government, are demanding serious negotiations on higher education in Albanian and a solution to the conflict over the self-proclaimed Albanian-language university in Tetovo. They took the decision to boycott the 1 March session following the police crackdown on their university on 17 February. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc. GRAVES DESECRATED IN NORTHERN SERBIA. Tanjug, citing local police sources, reported on 28 February that 63 Roman Catholic graves have been desecrated in the town of Novi Sad, in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. According to police sources, the incidents seemed to be random acts of vandalism, possibly with no connection to ethnically or religiously motivated groups. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- B o s N e t - Mar. 1, 1995 ========================================== FRONTLINES, Bosnia and Herzgovina Separatist Serbs have been continuing the offensive on the Bihac area. Bosnian Government troops came under heavy attack south of Velika Kladusa before dawn Tuesday. Government troops launched a counter-offensive at midday. The fighting, some the fiercest in the Bihac area this year, subsided late Tuesday, UN spokesman, Lt. Col. Gary Coward, reported. A convoy of nine UN aid vehicles had to be abandoned after being caught in Tuesday's cross fire, but there were no reports of injuries, said Maj. Herve Gourmelon, a UN military spokesman. UN aid officials do not know if the drivers were deliberately targeted. According to unofficial sources, in the latest attach on Bihac area five persons have been killed. Vice President Ejup Ganic in speach in Bosnia's Parliament on Monday, accused Serbs of using the cease-fire simply to redeploy troops around Bihac, where the truce has never taken hold. In central Bosnia, Bosnian Government army hattacks have forced the separatist Serbs to evacuate more then 300 people from Serb-held villages near the Government-controlled Travnik. Separatist Serbs opened fire on Sarajevo airport Monday. Gunmen targeted the Sarajevo airstrip 20 minutes after Turkey's president Sulejman Demirel scheduled arrival time, and UN peacekeepers returned fire, said Capt. Myriam Socachy, a UN spokeswoman. Serb forces opened light arms and anti aircraft fire from the direction of Batkusa and Jenjic along the Orasje - Tuzla road last night. Serb scouts were also seen along the middle section of the front. The cease-fire agreement was also violated on the Usora and Livno-Kupres fronts where separatist Serb forces frequently opened mortar, antiaircraft, artillery and light arms fire yesterday. UNPROFOR pullout -- Tudjman meet Cardinal Puljic ZAGREB, Croatia (1 Mar) The Croatian Army Chief-of-Staff, Gen. Janko Bobetko has received French Gen. Bertrand De Lapresle in a farewell visit, and has also met the new UNPROFOR commander Gen. Bernard Janvier. Gen. Bobetko stressed that the war could be averted if Croatia's borders with Serbia and Bosnia were to be effectively monitored with the help of new forces and also if the international community were to put pressure on Serbia to recognise Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina and to accept the Croatian proposal of Human Rights for the Serb minority living in Croatia. President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman received the Bosnian archbishop, Cardinal Vinko Puljic yesterday. They discussed the peace process and the ways of resolving the crisis in Bosnia and Hercegovina. Croatian Firm Selling Diesel To Bosnian Serbs ZAGREB, Croatia (1 Mar) The Croatian Interior Ministry has informed the public of their success in halting the violation of UN resolution 942, which bans the selling of fuel to Bosnian Serbs. This transgression of the resolution was occurring in Lipovljani South and Lipovljani North, where the company "GT Invest" was illegally selling containers full of diesel oil to Bosnian Serbs. Two transport shipments had taken place, while Croatian police caught the offenders in the act on the third occasion. Former Serb Rebels Sentenced ZAGREB, Croatia (1 Mar) A Croatian court convicted four former Serb leaders in absentia Tuesday of war crimes against civilians and sentenced them to 20 years each in prison. The verdict, returned by the district court of Sibenik, followed testimony from 51 witnesses and survivors, the state news agency HINA reported. The convicted men are: Goran Hadzic, onetime leader of the Croatian Serbs; Djordje Bjegovic, former defense minister of the self-appointed Croatian Serb government; Gen. Kosta Novakovic, former commander-in-chief of the rebel Serb forces, and his deputy, Gen. Mile Novakovic. They were found responsible for rocket and artillery attacks on and around Sibenik that caused civilian casualties between March and October 1993, HINA said. The verdict cannot be enforced because the four are in the Serb-held part of Croatia called Krajina. BELGRADE, Serbia (1 Mar) Unresolved murders, bomb attacks, kidnappings and thefts have surged dramatically in Serbia since war broke out in neighboring Croatia in 1991, and in Bosnia the following year. Murders have increased tenfold in the past three years: the 1994 crime rate for Serbia and Montenegro was higher than the rate for all of the former Yugoslavia before four of its republics split. Indepenedent and opposition critics alleged that Serbian and Montenegro's authorities are working with notorious militias to murder, kidnap and harass ethnic minorities and dissidents in todays Yugoslavia. They cite the disappearance of 20 passengers, most of them Muslims, abducted from a Serbian train two years ago. Despite families' pleas to officials, including President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, there has been no word from -- or about -- the missing people. In October 1992, 17 Muslims from the southern Serbian town of Priboj also disappeared. Independent media claimed they were taken off their bus and "brutally slaughtered" by a Serb paramilitary group. Vladan Vasilijevic, a human rights activist, and other activists believe the group's disappearance was organized by the state, as part of a campaign to terrorize non-Serbs who comprise about 30 percent of rump Yugoslavia's 10 million people. Serbia's notorious secret police is widely believed to have organized and trained various paramilitary groups that have terrorized non-Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia. The Serbian Radical Party, which sent its paramilitary "volunteers" to fight in Croatia and Bosnia, publicly boasted that its forces had been equipped and trained by the secret police. The most notorious paramilitary organization is led by Zeljko Raznatovic, or "Arkan," who is wanted in several countries on various criminal charges and has been called a possible war criminal. The crimes and disappearances, coupled with police silence and open repression in the predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo province and Muslim-populated Sandzak region, suggest the state is unable or unwilling to protect its citizens. Vasilijevic said that by using paramilitary groups, the state can pursue its repression of minorities and its goal of creating an ethnically pure Serb state while keeping its involvement invisible.