====================================================

NEWS : EVENING BULLETIN



SKEPTIC VIEWS OF NATO STRIKES



Sarajevo, Sept 10, 1995 (Press TWRA) - In the statement issued

for B-H TV A. Izetbegovic has said that results of NATO & RRF

strikes on Karadzic's Serbs are overestimated: "Great damage,

according to our and B-H army assessments, have been inflicted

only to chetnik infrastructure. Movable targets mainly have not

been damaged. By movable targets I mean tanks and artillery being

little damaged but the machinery for killing Sarajevo is not

destroyed, so we are only relatively satisfied with the current

situation."

     Monitors in Sarajevo skeptically watch the present results

and prospects of NATO strikes in Bosnia. Since the operation

began late last month, 2,5OO flights have been performed, more

than half being bombardment and strikes on Serb positions. It has

not substantially undermined Serb military potential that could

have been done in a shorter period of time. Passing time makes

Moscow furious, and western public more sympathetic with Serbs,

encourage public protest against air strikes (C.Buildt). As

previous  NATO strikes on a tractor or tank should show that air

force is not enough to stop Serbs, the same should be proved by

more spectacular strikes.



    New York - Albert Wihlstetter comments in "The Wall Street

Journal" the operation "Deliberate force" as a bargaining in

service of "political settlement", being Orwellian diplomatic

expression for giving Serbia the territory gained by violence.

The aim is not actual lifting the siege of Sarajevo and Bosnia

but temporary relief for civilians. Proposed solution based on

old British-French and new US policy, retains the siege and turns

Bosnian into a small Muslim ghetto without the access to sea,

cleansed from loyal Serbs, Croats and Jews who would choose

coexistence with Bosniaks in plural democracy. There is no chance

for US, French and British peace envoys, with unbiased mandate to

endlessly defend that ghetto and its way to the world trade

without which it cannot exist. Wohlstetter warns that strikes 

are not likely either against targets in Serbia although the

integrated anti aircraft defence system is placed in Belgrade or

against the centres whose forces are threat to Bosnian towns.



     Split - Mario Galic writes in "Slobodna Dalmacija" that only

NATO planes benefit from bombardment of Serb radars while for B-H

army would be more useful to target commands at a lower level,

e.g. Serb brigades, not at a high level like the main command

posts of Serb paramilitary. Among the targets are Serb arms and

ammunition dumps, large barracks what might be decisive if B-H

army had the same military arsenal like Serbs did. Serb can make

up for the loss from the untouched depots including underground

depots or those in Serbia. "NATO strikes the targets which do not

influence change at the battlefields as it wants to force Serbs

to greater tolerance during the political negotiations. The B-H

Army must not be given any advantage as it might cause Bosniaks

give up the negotiations and resolve the issue at the front. NATO

strikes would be counter productive in that case. 





=========================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 178, 13 September 1995



NATO PLANES HIT SERBS AGAIN. Clear skies on 12 September enabled
NATO

aircraft to resume their attacks on Bosnian Serb military
targets. Nasa

Borba on 13 September said the munitions complex at Vogosca near

Sarajevo was especially hard hit. In Tito's Yugoslavia, much of
the

defense industry was centered in Bosnia-Herzegovina and was
subsequently

taken by the Serbs. NATO therefore has a wealth of targets,
including

the air defense system, which was based in Banja Luka as a key
component

of Tito-era strategy. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



HOW FAR WILL NATO GO? NATO officials denied comments by the
Bosnian

foreign minister to the effect that the alliance's aircraft are
ready to

hit Bosnian Serb troops, Nasa Borba said on 13 September. The

International Herald Tribune quoted a UN officer as saying that
"if we

hit individual fighting units, we become a warring faction."
Meanwhile,

Italy has threatened not to allow U.S. Stealth bombers to be
based on

its soil until Rome is given a full-fledged role in the peace
process.

It had only observer status at the 8 September Geneva talks but
wants a

larger role as a regional power. AFP on 12 September said that
U.S.

negotiator Richard Holbrooke told Foreign Minister Susanna
Agnelli that

Italy should be content to stay quiet and sit behind EU mediator
Carl

Bildt. Agnelli replied that "as long as I am foreign minister no
Italian

will sit behind anyone." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



PESSIMISM ON BOSNIA, OPTIMISM ON SLAVONIA. Holbrooke on 12
September

appeared to dampen expectations that the vague declaration
signed in

Geneva could quickly lead to a concrete settlement. AFP quoted
him as

saying a particular problem is "the way the parties avoid
committing

themselves to individual parts of the agreement. They can all at
any

time renege on anything they've agreed to." He also noted the
presence

of "almost completely incompatible positions." Meanwhile, U.S.
Secretary

of State Warren Christopher said he was optimistic that a
peaceful

solution could be found in eastern Slavonia, Serbia's richest
and only

remaining conquest in Croatia. Christopher urged Croatia to show

"flexibility and statesmanship," Reuters reported. AFP quoted UN

mediator Yasushi Akashi as saying that "very intensive, quiet
diplomacy

is going on." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



DONJI VAKUF FALLS TO ALLIED FORCES. Akashi also confirmed that
Croatian,

Bosnian Croat, and Bosnian government troops took Donji Vakuf
from the

Serbs. Croatian Television on 12 September said that Bosnian
Croat

troops pushing east from Drvar took the strategic mountain pass
of

Mliniste and the key peaks of Demirovac and Vitorog. Meanwhile,
Bosnian

government troops continue to advance in the central Mt. Ozren
area. AFP

on 13 September reported that President Alija Izetbegovic
congratulated

his men in the newly taken town of Vozuca, telling them: "you
have

broken the backbone of the Chetnik [Serb] enemy. You show the
way . . .

how we could continue with the aim of liberating our country." --

Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



SERBIAN RENEWAL MOVEMENT CRITICIZES BOSNIAN SERBS. BETA on 13
September

reported that the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) has
sharply

criticized the Bosnian Serb authorities. According to SPO
spokesman Ivan

Kovacevic at a press conference in Belgrade, the Bosnian Serb
leaders of

the Republic of Srpska are alone responsible for "carrying out
the war

against NATO and against the whole world." Kovacevic singled out
Bosnian

Serbian military leader Ratko Mladic for criticism because of
Mladic's

willful refusal to remove heavy weapons from around Sarajevo. --
Stan

Markotich, OMRI, Inc.



ROMANIA AND NATO. North Atlantic Assembly chairman Karsten
Voigt, at an

improvised press conference in Bucharest, responded to a
question about

Romania's chances of admission to NATO by saying "in the Warsaw
Pact it

was easy to get in, but difficult to get out. It's the other way
around

with NATO." He noted that the main purpose of his visit was to
discuss

with Romanian officials about Romania's future in Euro-Atlantic

structures for a report under preparation. He said Romania's
chances

depended to a great extent on its progress on reform. Asked
whether

Budapest and Bucharest could be admitted into NATO at the same
time,

Voigt diplomatically said "If they develop in similar manner and
fulfill

the same conditions, then this is possible." Meanwhile, AFP,
citing the

daily Cronica romana, reported on 12 September that a group of
Romanian

farmers who were apparently unaware that a NATO military
exercise was

taking place near the Transylvanian town of Sibiu (see OMRI Daily

Digest, 11 September 1995) grabbed pitchforks and axes to rush
to the

rescue of Romanian troops. Officers reasssured the farmers and
the

exercise was able to continue. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.



ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH CLINTON. Sali Berisha and U.S.
President

Bill Clinton on 12 September discussed Albania's economic and
political

development as well as the Balkan conflict, AFP reported the
same day.

Berisha said the NATO air attacks on Bosnian Serbs are the
"right way to

contribute to peace and stability." With regard to the Kosovo
crisis, he

told journalists that Clinton assured him "that the United
States will

fully support the restoration of human and national rights of
Albanians

in Kosovo." Clinton praised Berisha for the country's economic
and

democratic reforms and urged him to make more progress on
Greek-minority

rights. He also offered to help establish a training program for
judges,

prosecutors, and police and to equip and outfit the Albanian

peacekeeping contingent under the NATO Partnership for Peace
program. --

Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



ALBANIA PROTESTS SERBS' USE OF KOSOVO MEMORIAL CENTER FOR
REFUGEES. The

Albanian government strongly protested the settling of Krajina
Serb

refugees into the facilities of the 1878 Pristina League Memorial

Center, Montena-fax reported on 12 September. The Albanian
statement

called the Serbian authorities' move a "heavy provocation by the
Serbian

occupying forces" and "an open attack on a symbol of the Albanian

people's resistance and their culture." The memorial is under
UNESCO

protection. The International PEN center also protested the
move. --

Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS FAIL TO GET OFF THE GROUND. Direct talks

scheduled for 12 September between the foreign ministers of
Greece and

Macedonia, Karolos Papoulias and Stevo Crvenkovski, were
postponed

several times and finally did not take place, AFP reported the
same day.

An unnamed UN diplomat said the two spent the day "niggling over
the

tiniest things" in meetings with UN mediator Cyrus Vance. The
main

sticking point seems to be the timing of the lifting of the Greek

embargo. Macedonia wants the embargo lifted as soon as the
accord is

signed and will then change its flag and constitution within 30
days.

Greece insists that those changes take place simultaneously with
the

lifting of the embargo. Papoulias and Crvenkovski decided to put
off a

face-to-face meeting until their differences are resolved. --
Stefan

Krause, OMRI, Inc.





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Reply-To: bosnews@doc.ic.ac.uk
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.bosnet
Subject: BosNet NEWS - 18 September 1995 - OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 18:36:59 +0100
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950918133046.3845A-100000@casper>

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OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 181, 18 September 1995



NATO GIVES SERBS 72-HOUR REPRIEVE. International media on 18 September

reported that the Atlantic alliance the previous night agreed to

continue suspending its air attacks on Bosnian Serb positions until

10:00 p.m. on 20 September. The decision came after the Serbs pulled

some 150 of 300 pieces of heavy weaponry out of the Sarajevo exclusion

zone by the 17 September deadline and said that the rest would go

shortly. The VOA reported that the Rapid Reaction Force will nonetheless

stay to reassure the Bosnian government because mortars smaller than 82

mm or anti-aircraft guns may remain. Sarajevo airport has reopened, as

have at least some land supply routes. It is unclear what the Serbs are

doing with the artillery they remove, and the BBC said they may need the

guns in the west of the republic. There Serbian forces are apparently in

full retreat and are abandoning their big guns. -- Patrick Moore



BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT, CROATS PRESS ON IN CENTRAL BOSNIA. Sanski Most,

Bosanska Krupa, and possibly Prijedor have fallen to the advancing

allies over the weekend, the BBC said on 17 September, quoting Belgrade

media. The Bosnian Serbs at first denied the reports, but their leader,

Radovan Karadzic, later conceded "big losses," although he claimed his

new front was holding, Nasa Borba reported on 18 September. He also sent

his "foreign minister" to Moscow for "military assistance." Mlada fronta

dnes said that 100,000 Serbs have fled toward Banja Luka, and the VOA

noted that they are clogging roads in what appears to be a rout and a

humanitarian crisis. The panicked Serbs are abandoning even positions

assigned them by the current partition plans, and Mlada fronta dnes

reported that their losses now amount to 3,000 sq km. The road to Banja

Luka seems open, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted that the

allies are only 50 km from that goal. -- Patrick Moore



BOSNIAN AUTHORITIES URGE REFUGEES TO COME HOME. Bosnian Television on 17

September continued to run footage of victorious Bosnian and Croatian

forces on the move as well as of happy refugees going home. General

Mehmed Alagic told viewers: "Dear Bosnians, come home! The time has

come, your homes are free and waiting for you," news agencies noted.

Silajdzic defended the offensive, saying "this is the Republic of Bosnia

and Herzegovina and we are entitled to liberate our territory." British

Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, however, condemned the advance after

meeting on 18 September with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in

Belgrade. Rifkind said only a negotiated settlement is possible, while

rump Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic told AFP that "we are

very concerned about this offensive and that is not part of the peace

process." But his Bosnian counterpart, Muhamed Sacirbey, told VOA that

"the best diplomacy is created on the ground." -- Patrick Moore



CROATS TO HAND OVER INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL. The Frankfurter Allgemeine

Zeitung on 18 September reported that the Bosnian Croats will deliver

Ivica Rajic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former

Yugoslavia in The Hague. He is wanted in conjunction with the massacre

of Muslim civilians in Stupni Do on 23 October 1993. The same paper on

15 September quoted the head of the tribunal, Judge Richard Goldstone,

as warning against granting immunity to any internationally wanted war

criminals as part of a peace package. The Serbs have charged him with

partisanship because virtually all of the indicted men are Serbs,

including Karadzic, his military commander General Ratko Mladic, and

Krajina leader Milan Martic. -- Patrick Moore



ANOTHER ANTI-NATO RALLY IN BELGRADE. As many as 3,000 people gathered

outside the U.S. embassy building in Belgrade on 15 September to protest

NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serbs and the U.S.'s backing of NATO,

international media reported the same day. Protesters "besieged" the

embassy, shouting abuse aimed at various political leaders and members

of the NATO alliance. This latest rally comes on the heels of a similar

event on 13 September, which attracted only several hundred

participants. -- Stan Markotich



PERRY PRAISES SLOVENIA. US Secretary of Defense William Perry, at the

start of his tour of Central Europe, said on 17 September in Ljubljana

that Slovenia is just as qualified as the Czech Republic, Hungary, and

Poland to join NATO, international media reported. "Of all of these

countries, I believe that Slovenia has made perhaps the greatest

progress in the transition to democracy, the transition to a market

economy and the smooth turnover of the military to civilian control," he

commented. Perry the previous day expressed "cautious optimism" that the

arms embargo against Slovenia will be lifted this year. -- Michael

Mihalka



BULGARIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR "MINI-MARSHALL PLAN." Zhelyu Zhelev on 15

September called for a program funded by the West to help Balkan states

recover from the losses suffered during the former Yugoslav conflict,

Reuters reported the same day. Meeting with the ambassadors to Bulgaria

of the EU and NATO member countries, Zhelev said a "mini-Marshall plan

should include all Balkan states which have suffered economic losses

from the Yugoslav conflict, among which is Bulgaria." Standart on 16

September reported that the government supported Zhelev's position.

International institutions estimate Bulgaria has lost trade worth $1.4

billion as a result of the sanctions. -- Stefan Krause



ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER OFFERS BASES FOR STEALTH BOMBERS. Alfred

Serreqi has offered air bases for stealth fighter-bombers that the U.S.

wants to use in Bosnia, AFP reported on 14 September. Italy earlier

refused to provide bases for the F-117 jets, demanding that Rome be

allowed to participate in the Bosnian peace process. Three U.S.

reconnaissance planes have been based at the Gjader base since mid-July.

Elsewhere, Albanian and U.S. military units on 14 September started

their seventh joint military exercise, code-named "Peaceful Eagle,"

Reuters reported. The exercise aims at training Albanian units to be

deployed in future UN peacekeeping missions. -- Fabian Schmidt



Compiled by Jan Cleave





RUSSIA HAILS POSSIBLE BOSNIA SETTLEMENT. In remarks much milder in tone

than recent Russian declarations, Foreign Minster Andrei Kozyrev told

journalists on 15 September that the U.S.-brokered deal to end the siege

of Sarajevo offers a "real chance" of resolving the Bosnian conflict,

Western and Russian agencies reported. On 17 September, a nationalist

demonstration against the NATO air strikes, staged outside the U.S.

embassy in Moscow, gathered only a few hundred protesters. -- Scott

Parrish



PREPARATIONS FOR JOINT U.S.-RUSSIAN EXERCISE SUSPENDED. Preparations for

Russian participation in a joint Russian-U.S. peacekeeping exercise have

been suspended because of Russia's displeasure with the NATO bombing of

the Bosnian Serbs, Interfax reported on 15 September. A team of Russian

officers was scheduled to fly to the U.S. on 16 September to prepare for

exercise "Peacekeeper-95," to be held in October at Fort Riley, Kansas.

A Defense Ministry source told the agency that the team's departure had

been "postponed for an indefinite period." The same source indicated

that the exercise might be canceled. A similar exercise took place in

Russia in September 1994. It too was subject to several delays. -- Doug

Clarke



Compiled by Victor Gomez





      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:  info@omri.cz



      Copyright (C) 1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc.

                All rights reserved. ISSN 1211-1570



_________________________________________________________________________





Opinions expressed/published on BosNews/BosNet-B do NOT necessarily

always reflect the views of (all of the members of) Editorial Board,

and/or moderators, nor any of their host institutions.



              Zeljko Bodulovic <ZelB@dwe.csiro.au>

              Dzevat Omeragic <Dzevat@ee.mcgill.ca>

              Davor  Wagner  <DWagner@mailbox.syr.edu>

              Nermin Zukic  <N6Zukic@sms.business.uwo.ca>









================================================================



ALLIES NOW CONTROL 60% OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. Croatian, Bosnian,
and

Bosnian Croat forces hold 60% of Bosnia. The 20 September
Frankfurter

Allgemeine Zeitung added that it has been confirmed that the
Croats have

taken Bosanska Kostajnica and Bosanska Dubica, while the Bosnian
Fifth

Corps has moved into Bosanski Novi. The fate of Prijedor remains
unclear.

Reuters on 19 September noted that government troops have also
made major

gains in the Ozren salient and that "the new line runs from
Rjecice, north

of Maglaj, to Bosansko Petrovo in the east." The BBC reported
that Croatian

and Bosnian authorities have agreed on who will administer the
various

territories "regardless of who liberated them." Meanwhile around
Sarajevo,

Bosnian Serbs continued to pull their heavy weapons out of the
exclusion

zone. In New York, the UN Security Council condemned the Serbs
for the

death of two Danish peacekeepers near Bihac. * Patrick Moore



BOSNIA, CROATIA AGREE TO HALT OFFENSIVE. International media on
19

September reported that Croatian President Franjo Tudjman met in
Zagreb

with his Bosnian counterpart Alija Izetbegovic and Bosnian Croat
leader,

Kresimir Zubak. The two countries' foreign ministers were also
present,

along with the Croatian defense minister and the Bosnian
chief-of-staff.

The two sides agreed to suspend their military advance to allow
U.S. envoy

Richard Holbrooke, who was also present, an opportunity to
explore the

chances for a political solution. The diplomat said that things
were coming

along "step by step." U.S. Senate majority leader Bob Dole
stated that

despite his great admiration for the U.S. negotiators, the
actions on the

ground were having a greater impact than "all the skills of the
U.S.

diplomats put together," Croatian media noted. * Patrick Moore



FATE OF BANJA LUKA HANGS IN THE BALANCE. Bosnian Foreign
Minister Muhamed

Sacirbey told AFP on 19 September that his troops would not
enter Banja

Luka in order to facilitate a peaceful settlement and to prevent
panic.

Reuters the next day said, however, that Bosnia still insists on
"the

effective surrender" of the Serbian stronghold. The BBC quoted
Prime

Minister Haris Silajdzic as warning the Serbs that an attack
could come if

they continued to resist reintegration into the republic. Nasa
Borba said

on 20 September that "there is no [Bosnian Serb] state without
Banja Luka."

Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stated that his forces will
"take

revenge" now that they have "consolidated their defenses." His
"vice

president," Nikola Koljevic, told AFP that his people would
reject

Sacirbey's offer of dialogue and that the allied advance was
"very bad for

the peace process." * Patrick Moore



CROATIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES ELECTION LAW. Croatian media
continue to report

that the Sabor is discussing a bill introduced by the ruling
Croatian

Democratic Community (HDZ). President Franjo Tudjman is expected
to call

early elections to the lower house by the end of the year to
enable the HDZ

to capitalize on the popularity of the army's recent successes
against the

Serbs. The bill would reduce the number of seats from 138 to
127, of which

80 would be elected by party lists and only 28 by a direct
district vote.

An additional 12 deputies would be elected by party lists among
the 420,000

registered voters working abroad. A party would need 5% of the
total vote,

instead of the current 3%, to gain entry into the parliament.
All these

measures are expected to favor the HDZ, which also enjoys
control over the

most important media as well as substantial funds.





=======================================================

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 196, 9 October 1995



SERBS SHELL REFUGEE CAMP TWICE. Bosnian Serb forces shelled the
Zivinice

refugee camp just south of Tuzla on 8 and 9 October and the
northern

Bosnian village of Tesnjaka on 8 October. The combined death
toll is 17,

with an additional 100 wounded. The Serbs attacked at least
seven places

in northwest Bosnia on 9 October in what Reuters described as an
"armor

and infantry [offensive] across a broad front." Reacting to the
shelling

of Zivinice, President Alija Izetbegovic called the Serbs
"terrorists"

and demanded that NATO knock out the Serbian guns responsible.
Planes of

the Atlantic alliance attempted a strike during the night but
turned

back because of bad weather. NATO spokesmen said they would try
again,

and Izetbegovic said his government might leave the "peace
process" if

they did not. -- Patrick Moore



SACIRBEY PRAISES COMMON MUSLIM, CROATIAN INTERESTS. Bosnian
Foreign

Minister Muhamed Sacirbey told Vecernji list on 9 October that
the

Muslims and Croats are not engaged in a marriage of convenience
but that

they have key mutual interests and will continue to have them
once the

war is over. He noted that Croatia and Bosnia will "go into
Europe"

together and that Serbia and Montenegro have degenerated into
"new

fascism." The vitality of the alliance was shown again on the

battlefield over the weekend, and AFP reported that Bosnian and
Croatian

forces were fighting in a joint action at Bosanska Krupa. Novi
list on 7

October quoted Croatian President Franjo Tudjman as confirming
that

regular Croatian troops are still in Bosnia. Vjesnik on 9
October said

that the Bosnian army has requested the help of Bosnian Croat
forces.

The paper also quoted UN sources as denying Serbian reports that
Kljuc

had fallen to Bosnian Serb troops. Serbian propaganda has been
trying

doggedly to discredit the Croatian-Muslim alliance. -- Patrick
Moore



CENTRAL EUROPEAN INITIATIVE AGREES ON NEW MEMBERS. The Central
European

Initiative, convening in Warsaw on 7 October, agreed to accept
Albania,

Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine as members at a foreign

minister's conference in early 1996. international agencies
reported.

The group urged the international community to support post-war

reconstruction of Bosnia and Croatia. Some members, including
Italy and

Slovenia, initially opposed enlargement because they felt it
would

divert the group from one of its initial purposes--to facilitate

membership to such West European institutions as the EU. --
Michael

Mihalka and Dagmar Mroziewicz



BELGRADE WELCOMES LATEST CEASEFIRE DEAL. Rump Yugoslav state-run
and

pro-government media report that officials have welcomed the
latest

Bosnia ceasefire accord, signed on 5 October and slated to go
into

effect on 10 October. Politika Ekspres on 6 October lauded
Serbian

President Milosevic's "decisive" role in the process, observing
that

"Milosevic was the first one to put his signature on this
historic

agreement." Tanjug the following day quoted Socialist Party of
Serbia

spokesman Ivica Dacic as saying the accord was regarded by his
party as

a step toward lasting peace in Bosnia. Montenegrin Premier Milo

Djukanovic, quoted by Serbian Radio on 6 October, added his
voice to the

list of officials backing the accord, saying it was
"encouraging." --

Stan Markotich



MONTENEGRIN PREMIER CRITICAL OF BELGRADE. Milo Djukanovic on 6
October

criticized federal rump Yugoslav authorities for their alleged
failure

to honor commitments to deliver fuel supplies and for running up
debts

on the republic's pension fund, AFP reported that same day. The
report

suggests this is yet another move on the part of the Montenegrin
premier

to distance his republic from Serbia and that the premier may in
effect

be announcing his intention "to play a more active role in the
foreign

policy of the region." But Djukanovic's ambitions may be
counterbalanced

by Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, who has given no sign
of

wanting or aiming to rupture ties with Serbian President Slobodan

Milosevic. -- Stan Markotich



MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT'S CONDITION SAID TO BE IMPROVING. Vecher on
9

October reported that Kiro Gligorov is conscious and received
visits

from his family and state officials over the weekend. Macedonian
Radio

had reported two days earlier that Gligorov's condition was
improving,

adding that his respiratory system is functioning normally and
the

condition of his right eye is "satisfactory." Medical sources
said a

team of French ophthalmologists arrived in Skopje on 8 October to

examine him further and prepare for a second operation.
Meanwhile, a

second person--Hristo Hristomanov, a minister of agriculture in

socialist Macedonia--died on 7 October from injuries sustained
in the

assassination attempt, Nova Makedonija reported on 9 October. No
one has

yet claimed responsibility for 3 October car bomb. Experts from
the

U.S., Great Britain, and Germany have arrived in Macedonia to
help with

the investigation. -- Stefan Krause



GRACHEV AND PERRY MAKE PROGRESS ON BOSNIA FORCE. Slow progress
has been

made towards the formation of a joint NATO-Russian peace
implementation

force for Bosnia in recent days. Following an 8 October meeting
in

Geneva with U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, Defense
Minister Pavel

Grachev said the two sides had reached an agreement in principle
on

Russian participation in a Bosnian peace implementation force,
although

many differences over the mission and command structure of the
proposed

joint force remain unresolved. He added that the force would not
be

commanded exclusively by NATO thereby fulfilling a key Russian
condition

for participation. Grachev said a delegation of Russian officers
will go

to NATO headquarters in Brussels this coming week to discuss
details of

the joint operation. -- Scott Parrish



RUSSIA TO TAKE PART IN JOINT EXERCISE AFTER ALL. Russia will
participate

in the joint military peacekeeping exercise that begins later
this month

in the U.S., ITAR-TASS reported on 8 October. Defense Minister
Pavel

Grachev agreed on Russian participation at his meeting that day
in

Geneva with U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry. Last month,
Russia had

suspended preparations for the exercise in reaction to NATO air
strikes

on Bosnian Serb positions. -- Doug Clarke





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                     B o s N e t  - Oct. 10, 1995

=================================================================
=======



Tue, 10 Oct 95

Cease-fire may see light of day

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina



	UN officials say all utilities have been restored to Sarajevo,
and

they hope to arrange for a ceasefire in Bosnia and Herzegovina
to begin

Wednesday one-minute after midnight.

	Haris Muratovic, Bosnia's minister for relations with the UN,
said

on Tuesday that Bosnians, Serbs and the U.N., "did their best to
fulfill

conditions. Unfortunately, we cannot say that Russia did what it
was

obliged to do."

	A spokesman for Russia's Gazprom company says the gas was turned

on at midnight (Tuesday.) The spokesman said they were waiting
for the

ceasefire to begin before they resumed. A Russian foreign
ministry

spokesman said Monday there were no political obsta cles to the
resumption

of the supply.  He also denied any connection with the slow
start to the

Bosnian Government's unpaid gas bill worth some 100 million
dollars. But

sources in Sarajevo say the Russian Gas Company was holding out
for

payment guarante es. Once payment agreement was reached early
Tuesday, the

pipeline valves were opened and gas flowed quickly towards
Sarajevo.

	The UN officials working on utilities say the final stretch of
the

pipeline into Sarajevo has been pressurized, and some consumers
in the

city are receiving gas.

	Speaking from Tunis on Monday, Bosnian Prime Minister Haris

Silajdzic said the Serbs must remove a checkpoint near Sarajevo.
But

Bosnian Government officials in Sarajevo have downplayed that
demand after

UN officials strongly criticized the attempt to se t additional

pre-conditions for the ceasefire.

	UN officials say they are trying to arrange a meeting between
the

warring sides to agree on a starting time for the ceasefire.
Under the

existing agreement the truce should begin at one-minute past
midnight the

day after utilities are restored to Sarajev o, or in other words,

Wednesday one-minute after midnight.

	Electricity has been on in much of the city since Monday, and

electrically-driven pumps are slowly returning water supplies to
the city.

The people of Sarajevo have reacted cautiously to the return of
utilities.

The initial truce is only scheduled to las t 60-days, and while
many

people expect it to be extended, they know that in the middle of
winter,

energy supplies could be cut faster than they have been restored.





*************

Tue, 10 Oct 95

FRONTLINES, Bosna and Herzegovina



	UN officials in Zagreb say heavy fighting is reported continuing

in parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They say they have
unconfirmed reports

that Bosnian Army troops, with Croatian Army artillery support,
have

entered the strategic town of Mrkonjic Grad.

	The Bosnian Army has not reported the capture of the town, and

fighting is believed still going on there. Nationalist Serbs say
the town

has been heavily shelled by Croatian Army artillery, but they
deny it has

fallen. They have warned they will retali ate against Croatian
towns along

the Croatian-Bosnian border if the shelling does not stop.



*************

Tue, 10 Oct 95

HAGUE, Netherlands

War Crimes



	During the second day of a hearing at the International War
Crimes

tribunal in the Hague, a former prisoner Ibro Osmanovic has
described the

beating and killing of inmates of a Bosnian Serb prison camp. He
testified

about the deaths of two other inmates of a Serb prison camp in
1992. The

hearing precedes the trial in absentia of the alleged prison camp

commander, Dragan Nikolic. In his testimony before three judges,
Ibro

Osmanovic said Nikolic ordered two prisoners out of a building
where more

than 500 prisoners were crowded together and beaten. Mr.
Osmanovic said

he did not see what happened to the two men but he said he heard
screams

and moaning. One of the men returned later, according to the
witness,

unable to speak. The prisoner was said to have died within 20
minutes.

Mr. Osmanovic said the other prisoner died the next day after
pleading

with the camp commander to allow him to see the sun one more
time.

	When the hearing against Dragan Nikolic is completed, the War

Crimes Tribunal is expected to issue an international warrant
for his

arrest. Mr. Nikolic will, presumably, be safe from prosecution
for war

crimes as long as he remains in nationlistic Bosni an Serb
territory or in

so-called "Yugoslavia." Both, the nationalistic Serbs and the
"Yugoslav"

Government have said they will turn over no one to the War Crimes

Tribunal.

	At the same time, the human rights organization, Human Rights

Watch, has accused the UN of condoning Serb genocide in Bosnia
and

Herzegovina. Human Rights Watch issued a report, condemning
alleged UN

passivity in connection with the Serbs' capture of the UN
declared "safe

area" of Srebrenica in July. The nationalistic Serbs are
believed to have

murdered thousands of Muslims who disappeared aft er the fall of

Srebrenica, which the UN was supposed to defend.

	Human Rights Watch says the UN consistently mishandled the
crisis

over Srebrenica, from what the organization calls the craven
decisions of

UN field commanders to the apparent destruction of evidence of
massive

Serb human rights abuses.  Dutch peacekeepe rs are blamed for
allegedly

standing by and not preventing those abuses. The Dutch Defense
Ministry

says the Dutch peacekeepers could do nothing because they were
out-gunned

by the Serbs.  The Ministry also denies that the Dutch
peacekeepers

destroyed a videotape that provided evidence of Serb atrocities.





*************

Tue, 10 Oct 95

WASHINGTON, United States

Bosnia will lobby Congress to agree to U.S. troops



	The Bosnian government will lobby the Congress to try to get an

agreement to dispatch American troops as part of a NATO force to
implement

a peace deal in Bosnia, Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey said
Monday.

	"What we will do is we will lobby for this peacekeeping force to

include the necessary American involvement," Sacirbey said,
speaking

before talks at World Bank headquarters on reconstruction aid
for Bosnia.

	The administration wants to send 15,000-20,000 troops if the

warring factions can agree on a settlement, but the
Republican-controlled

Congress, worried about the cost and potential US casualties,
has been

skeptical of the plan.

	Sacirbey said that Russian forces would be "welcome to be part
of

the force as long as they act as truly an implementation force
under the

proper authority." Sacirbey said he did not want to see Bosnia
divided

up, as Germany was after World War II, int o Russian, American
and other

zones. He also commended NATO for its bombing raid on a Serb
command

bunker near Tuzla after Serb shelling killed at least 16
civilians Sunday

and a Norwegian UN peacekeeper Monday.

	"Our view is that NATO and the UN absolutely needed to respond
to

this terrorist attack," which was "a deliberate means to try to
break down

the cease-fire," he said. "Once the cease-fire is implemented of
course

it'll be more difficult to respond to these kinds of
provocations in view

of the fact that there would be a NATO and U.N. force that may
be more

vulnerable," he added.





=================================================================
=======

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 198, 11 October 1995



ALLIES CLOSE IN ON BANJA LUKA. Reuters on 11 October reported
that the

allied forces of the Bosnian government, the Bosnian Croats, and
Croatia

have taken two key western Bosnian towns. With the fall of
Mrkonjic Grad

and Sanski Most, the way again appears open for a thrust toward
the

Bosnian Serb stronghold of Banja Luka. Novi list quoted the
chief of the

Bosnian general staff, General Ferid Buljubasic, as praising the

effectiveness of the cooperation between the three allies.
Meanwhile in

Sarajevo, water and power have been or are being restored, as
demanded

by the government. The Bosnian Serbs on 10 October said they
were ready

to implement the ceasefire at one minute after midnight on that
day or

the next but had no authorization to accept the government's
offer of

implementation on 12 October. Clarification is expected soon. --
Patrick

Moore



CROATS FIND MASS GRAVE IN KRAJINA. The BBC on 10 October quoted
UN

officials as saying they fear that the Serbs in western Bosnia
will now

panic and flee as they did in Krajina in early August, setting
off

another mass exodus. Novi list on 11 October cited remarks by UN

spokesman Chris Jankowski about his concern that many Muslim and

Croatian men in northern Bosnia have been killed by Serbian
units under

the command of internationally wanted war criminal Zeljko
Raznatovic

"Arkan." Reuters the previous day said that Croatian officials
have

unearthed the mass grave of up to 50 elderly Croats, killed by
the Serbs

in 1991. Two eye-witnesses of the massacre were present at the

exhumation in Petrinja. -- Patrick Moore



YASUSHI AKASHI RESIGNS. The latest UN special negotiator for the
former

Yugoslavia has taken his hat, telling the BBC that he and the UN
have

been made scapegoats for the intractable nature of the conflict.
Akashi

will be replaced by another prominent UN official who has dealt
with the

region, Ghana's Kofi Annan. The Bosnian government welcomed
Akashi's

departure, telling Reuters on 10 October: "Akashi's replacement
can only

bring a change for the better, and it could be the beginning of
a new

phase of better relations between the Bosnian government and the
UN.

Given Akashi's past record, especially his persistence in
equating the

victim and aggressor, one can understand why the Bosnian
government

welcomes this decision." -- Patrick Moore



CROATIAN OPPOSITION BLASTS GOVERNMENT TV. The election coalition
of five

opposition parties held a press conference on 8 October to
protest the

decision by Croatian Television (HRTV) to treat them as a
coalition,

rather than five separate parties. They are now entitled to only
one

bloc of free air-time. Election Commission President Krunislav
Olujic

said that since they have not been legally registered as a
coalition,

the opposition parties have the right to present themselves
individually

in the electronic media, Slobodna Dalmacija reported on 11
October. The

leading opposition Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) also
protested

HRTV's ban on its video clips, which TV officials called
"meaningless,"

HINA reported on 11 October. The HSLS's clips have also been
banned by

the company that owns most movie theaters. -- Daria Sito Sucic



SLOVENIAN-ITALIAN COMPROMISE. Slovenian Foreign Minister Zoran
Thaler

said on Slovenian TV that the contents of a Slovenian-Italian
compromise

proposal could lead to improved bilateral relations, BETA
reported on 10

October. For his part, Thaler remarked that Slovenia was
prepared to

"return to Italy" some 40 housing units that had belonged to
ethnic

Italians forced to leave Slovenia in the wake of World War II.
He added

that a full resolution of all outstanding questions was bound to
the

issue of the status of Italy's ethnic Slovenian minority. -- Stan

Markotich



HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT IN BULGARIA. Arpad Goncz arrived in Sofia on
9

October for an official three-day visit, Bulgarian and Hungarian
media

reported the following day. "Both Bulgaria and Hungary wish to

participate in the post-war reconstruction of the former
Yugoslavia,"

Goncz and his Bulgarian counterpart, Zhelyu Zhelev, said
following the

first day of talks aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. During

discussions on EU membership, Goncz said Hungary would share with

Bulgaria its experience in negotiating with European
organizations and

could assist in Bulgaria's admission to CEFTA and other European

organizations. Zhelev said that, instead of competing, the two
countries

must help each other to achieve integration into European
structures. --

Zsofia Szilagyi and Stefan Krause



GREECE TO LIFT EMBARGO ON MACEDONIA ON WEEKEND. Greek government

spokesman Tylemachos Hytiris has announced that Athens will lift
its

blockade on Macedonia on 15 October, Reuters reported on 10
October.

Talks in Skopje between Greek and Macedonian officials on
measures

regarding trade and the movement of citizens "are being
completed," he

said. Greece has sent police officers to Macedonia to help
investigate

the assassination attempt on Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov.

Gligorov's condition, according to Nova Makedonija on 11 October,

continues to improve and an operation on his right eye went
"according

to plan." He remains in intensive care, however. Meanwhile, the

country's Security Council issued a statement saying the country
is

stable and its politics remain on course--under tightened
security. --

Stefan Krause



Compiled by Jan Cleave



_________________________________________________________________
________



      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:  info@omri.cz



      Copyright (C) 1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc.

                All rights reserved. ISSN 1211-1570



_________________________________________________________________
_______



Opinions expressed/published on BosNews/BosNet-B do NOT
necessarily

always reflect the views of (any/all of the members of)
Editorial Board,

and/or moderators, nor any of their host institutions. No
commercial

redistribution of any materials (articles published "for fair
use only")



              Zeljko Bodulovic <ZelB@dwe.csiro.au>

              Dzevat Omeragic <Dzevat@ee.mcgill.ca>

              Davor  Wagner  <DWagner@mailbox.syr.edu>

              Nermin Zukic  <N6Zukic@sms.business.uwo.ca>



=================================================================
===

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]



                              Vol. 1, No. 200

                              13 October 1995



The OMRI Daily Digest is published by the Open Media Research
Institute. It

is a compilation of news concerning the former Soviet Union and

East-Central and Southeastern Europe. Contributors include
OMRI's 30-member

staff of analysts, plus selected freelance specialists. OMRI is a

nonprofit, public service research organization funded by the
Open Society

Institute, indepdendent grants, and contracts with broadcasting

organizations.



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                            All Rights Reserved.

 If you would like permission to reprint or redistribute
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 receiving written permission from OMRI to reprint or
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                               Daily Digest.

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                            SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE



SHAKY BOSNIAN CEASEFIRE ENDS ITS FIRST DAY. The guns fell silent
throughout

much of Bosnia on 12 October as the latest ceasefire came into
effect. UN

observers said implementation was reasonably good, considering
that it

involved disengaging large bodies of fighters who had been in
combat for

some years. The BBC quoted Bosnian Prime Minister Haris
Silajdzic as saying

the Serbs have finally realized that their attempts to set up a
greater

Serbia have failed. Most problems centered on the area around
strategic

Sanski Most in the northwest. Allied forces are trying to press
the Serbs

back toward Prijedor and Banja Luka, while the Serbs would like
to retake

Sanski Most itself. Meanwhile, the UN expressed concern for the
safety of

40,000 Serbian civilian refugees, who are stranded in open
country without

water or medical supplies. -- Patrick Moore



BOSNIANS FIND ANOTHER MASS GRAVE. AFP reported on 12 October
that Bosnian

government forces have discovered a grave containing 15 bodies
in the

village of Kokic, near Jajce, which the allied armies recently
captured.

The apparent murders took place in 1992, when the Serbs took the
area and

then burned and destroyed all the nearby villages. Meanwhile in
New York,

the Security Council has condemned the latest Serbian wave of
"ethnic

cleansing" directed against the few remaining Muslims and Croats
in

northern Bosnia. It asked about the fate of most of the males,
who are

unaccounted for and presumed to have been killed. -- Patrick
Moore



WESTERN OFFICIALS ON RELATIONS WITH RUMP YUGOSLAVIA. German
Foreign

Minister Klaus Kinkel on 12 October suggested that ties between
Germany and

Serbia ought to improve once a peace settlement is reached in
the Balkans,

AFP reported the same day. "No people in the former Yugoslavia
must be

excluded from such ties, Kinkel reportedly observed in a foreign
policy

speech delivered in Berlin. Meanwhile, Montenegrin President
Momir

Bulatovic and British Minister of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth

Affairs Nicholas Bonsor met in Podgorica on 11 October to
discuss the

regional peace process. Bonsor also used the opportunity to
remark that

relations between Belgrade and London might be "restored" once
sanctions

against the rump Yugoslavia were lifted, Tanjug reported.
Finally, BETA on

12 October reported that EU mediator Carl Bildt has observed
that sanctions

against Belgrade can be suspended once a peace accord is signed.
-- Stan

Markotich



MACEDONIA ADMITTED INTO OSCE. Macedonia has been admitted as a
member of

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, RFE/RL
reported,

citing a statement by the Macedonian Information Ministry on 12
October.

Its membership, which becomes effective on 14 October, follows
Macedonia's

admission into the Council of Europe earlier this month. --
Stefan Krause



BERISHA IN BRUSSELS. Albanian President Sali Berisha, during his
visit to

Brussels on 12 October, met with NATO ambassadors and
Secretary-General

Willy Claes, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 13 October. Berisha
told the

ambassadors that a solution to the Kosovo crisis must be found
within the

framework of any peace settlement in the former Yugoslavia and
demanded it

should be put on the Contact Group's agenda. Berisha also
expressed his

country's desire to become a full member state of NATO. Claes
praised

Albania for playing "an active and positive role by respecting
the embargo"

against the rump Yugoslavia. He also noted the fast-growing
cooperation

between the Albanian military and NATO. On 13 October, Berisha
began a

three-day visit to Italy. -- Fabian Schmidt



TURKISH POLICE TO BIHAC. At the request of the Bosnian and
Croatian

government, Turkey will send 50 policemen to Bihac to help
organize and

oversee the return of displaced Bosnians, AFP reported on 11
October,

citing Turkish police and foreign ministry sources. -- Lowell
Bezanis



[As of 1200 CET]



Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave



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                              ISSN 1211-1570



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