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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]                 
            Vol. 1, No. 201                              16
October 1995



KARADZIC DEMANDS SCAPEGOATS . . . The Bosnian Serb parliament
met in BanjaLuka on 15 October following a gathering of the
ruling Serbian DemocraticParty. Civilian leader Radovan Karadzic
continued his apparent power-playwith military commander General
Ratko Mladic, demanding that the armyleadership "bear the
consequences . . . for a considerable loss ofterritory and
military defeats. Army commanders must look each other in
theeyes and see which of them was taking brigades out [of
battle] without anorder or approval. Those unable to respond to
enemy attacks must be eitherreplaced or they must change their
attitude." The International HeraldTribune and Nasa Borba ran
the story on 16 October. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI,Inc.



. . . BUT ONLY A MINOR LEADER GOES. Independent legislator
Milorad Dodigand seven colleagues have demanded a purge of both
the civilian andmilitary leaderships, AFP noted. Other deputies
have urged the sacking ofGeneral Milan Gvero and three other
commanders. Mladic, who can usuallycount on the backing of his
generals and of Belgrade, simply called for a"decisive battle,"
the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung added. But in theend, the
legislature left both internationally wanted war
criminals,Karadzic and Mladic, in power. The only "resignation"
was that of PrimeMinister Dusan Kozic, a relatively minor
figure. Meanwhile, as Serbianrefugees continue to flee in
northwest Bosnia, the legislature took stepsto shore up the
Serbian position there. Although it rejected a motion tomove the
capital from Pale to Banja Luka, it did agree to place the
suprememilitary command there and to call for a reorganization
of regionaldefenses. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



BOSNIAN BATTLEFIELD UPDATE. International media on 16 October
reported thatthe military situation is stabilizing. Serbian
military sources theprevious day said the Banja Luka front is
firming up 50 km west and 35 kmsouth of the town. The Serbs
charged on 13 October that allied forcesshelled Prijedor, where
Karadzic was visiting. He called on the U.S. to useits influence
with the allies to make them stop. A UN spokesman said
that40,000 Serbs fled Prijedor on one day alone, Reuters noted.
Croatian Radioon 15 October quoted Bosnian Foreign Minister
Muhamed Sacirbey as urgingSerbian civilians not to abandon their
homes. Elsewhere, AFP quoted BosnianGeneral Atif Dudakovic as
saying that peace will be made only on thebattlefield, and that
"the Serbs must be stopped with the only languagethey know." --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.



BOSNIAN SERBS REOPEN CONCENTRATION CAMPS. Bosnian Croats and
Muslimsexpelled from the Banja Luka area claim that the Bosnian
Serbs havereopened two concentration camps near the northwestern
city, AFP reportedon 16 October. The Manjaca camp held between
4,500 and 6,000 people, mostlyMuslims, at the beginning of war
in 1992; it was later shut down underinternational pressure.
Meanwhile, Moslem authorities in Sanski Most,recently recaptured
from the Serbs, have found the corpses of 85 peoplekilled during
the Serbs' retreat. They fear that 160 may still be found.Some
1,000 Moslem men are missing in Sanski Most, and the
authoritiessuspect they are being held by Serbs at the Manjaca
camp. -- Daria SitoSucic, OMRI, Inc.



SHALIKASHVILI'S BALKAN TOUR. U.S. army General Chief of Staff
JohnShalikashvili began a tour of Albania, Macedonia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, andCroatia on 12 October, international
media reported. He attended theclosing ceremony of a joint
U.S.-Albanian military exercise and promisedU.S. assistance in
building a military training center in Albania, whichhas
provided NATO with port and air facilities. Shalikashvili met
withparliamentary chairman and acting President Stojan Andov in
Skopje on 13October, saying he supports Macedonia's ambitions to
join the Partnershipfor Peace program. Shalikashvili the next
day met with government andmilitary leaders in Sarajevo to
review NATO plans to send 60,000 troops,including 25,000
Americans, to supervise the implementation of a Bosnianpeace
settlement. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.



ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ON YUGOSLAV-RELATED LOSSES. Ion Iliescu,
speaking tojournalists on 15 October in La Valletta, said the UN
economic embargoagainst the rump Yugoslavia has cost his country
some $8 billion. He alsosaid that international loans granted
Romania are no compensation for thoselosses. Iliescu arrived in
Malta on 14 October to attend a Crans Montanaconference of
countries from Europe and the Mediterranean on possible waysto
ease the sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro, Radio
Bucharestreported. The next day, he began a two-day official
visit to Tunisia at theinvitation of his Tunisian counterpart,
Zine al-Abidine ben Ali. -- DanIonescu, OMRI, Inc.



GREECE LIFTS BLOCKADE ON MACEDONIA. Greece on 14 October
officially openedits border with Macedonia, international
agencies reported. While Greeksources say the border was indeed
opened that day, Macedonian reports saythat only a Macedonian TV
crew was allowed to cross following theintervention of Greek
colleagues. The next day, individuals on foot andpassenger cars
were reported crossing the border, but no trucks.
Macedoniantourists will be given a Greek visa stamped on white
sheets of paper.Greece imposed the embargo in February 1994 in
order to force Macedonia tochange its name, flag, and
constitution. Under an accord signed on 13 September 1995,
Greece agreed to lift the embargo within 30 days. -- StefanKrause





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

"Drifting Into Bosnia" - Editorial

Wall Street Journal - Oct. 13, 1995



So a cease-fire has been reached in Bosnia, with Bosnian

 government forces seizing key road and rail junctions to
consolidate

 their territory, and Serbian forces continuing "ethnic
cleansing"

 rapes and murders to evict non-Serbian residents from their
territory.

 Now, the US and NATO will seek to forge a permanent peace by

 intermediating between indicted war criminals and their victims.



In this exercise, 25,000 American troops would be just right, the

 Clinton Administration tells us. But lifting the arms embargo
that

 paved the way for the initial Serbian conquests would be too
much.

 And anyone with any doubts is an isolationist.



The Bosnian troops commitment plan betrays the ad hoc nature of

 this administration's foreign policy. Important commitments are

 made as part of a presidential rhetorical exercise or White
House

 improvisation, unified by one principle: Get Bosnia off the
front

 pages until after November 1966. Once made, great-power

 commitments are not easily withdrawn, however deficient in 

rigorous thought or strategic vision.



At the urging of European allies suffering acute embarrassment in

 trying to implement UN peacekeeping in Bosnia, Mr. Clinton last

 year promised US troops to help enforce any peace agreement

 or, failing that, aid a UN withdrawal. That ultimately mutated
into

 active mediation by US Assistant Secretary of State Richard C.

 Holbrooke, hardening up expectations that US troops will be

 committed if something that looks like a peace plan is finally

 agreed to by all sides. Thus, instead of a serious plan leading
to

 a commitment, a rather off-hand commitment has led to an 

attempt to develop a serious plan.



When asked about what exactly the American troops are intended

 to do, Secretary of Defense William Perry sounds a bit fuzzy.

 They would help enforce a peace plan, but they also would help

 the Bosnians bring their army up to a level that would enable

 them to defend their territory.



The Administration's assurances to the Bosnians that the US

 intends to help them secure a level playing field sounds a bit

 suspicious, as the Bosnians obviously think. It has brought

 them to the peace table, but they already have seen how faithful

 their enemies are to the cease-fire agreement. Helping build the

 Bosnian army so it can defend itself against Serbia and possibly

 Croatia is as desirable objective as giving that army air
support

 But it can't be done with US troops as peacekeeping hostages

 and it doesn't require 25,000 troops. The commitment, by the

 way, is actually at least 75,000 men since troop rotation
requires

 about that many for maintaining 25,000 on the ground.



Sending US combat troops into the middle of somebody else's

 war is a serious matter. Fighting troops are trained to fight,
not

 to offer themselves as targets for war criminal Ratko Mladic's

 thugs. If this is to be the role of the US troops Mr. Clinton is

promising, Congress has every right, indeed responsibility, to

 challenge the President.



Now the Administration is trying to put the Republicans, and

 Bob Dole in particular, on the defensive. If Congress supports

 the troop insertion it will be awarded the blame for any
failures

 or embarrassments. If it doesn't, Republicans will be accused

 of a lack of feeling for the war's victims and, as Secretary of

 State Warren Christopher already had made clear, risking the

 future of the NATO alliance. Republicans need not to bow to

 this kind of pressure. They should ask tough questions.



Where will the US troops be stationed? Will they be authorized

 to shoot violators of the peace accord and, if so, will their
guns

 be a match for, say, the Serbian 105mm howitzers? How will 

they interact with the troops the Russians want to insert,
clearly

 to defend the interests of the Serbs? If their role is to
strengthen

 the Bosnian army, does that mean they will line up with the

 Bosnians against the Serbs and the Russians should there be

 some further difficulties between the two sides? What if the

 Croats get grabby or engage in beastly acts? Do we take

 them on as well? When will we know when the mission is 

completed? Will troops be there forever?



We ask these questions not because we are turning isolationist, 

but precisely because we believe the American superpower has

 interests in and responsibilities to peace in the world. Because

 we fear a successful Serbian aggression would encourage all

 the wrong forces in the former Soviet Union, we would certainly

 support a SENSIBLE intervention in the Balkans, lifting the

 arms embargo and using US air power where appropriate. This

 need not require American ground troops; a few arms and a

 little training produced dramatic gains for the Croats and 

Bosnians. Seen objectively, indeed, the mission of the 25,000

 Americans would seem to be preserving the fruits of Serbian

 aggression.





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



OMRI Daily Digest 

19.10.1995



KARADZIC SAYS FRENCH AIRMEN "KIDNAPPED..." Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan

Karadzic told reporters on 18 October that the two French pilots
shot down

on 30 August have been kidnapped by unknown men. The pilots were
allegedly

undergoing medical treatment for injuries sustained in the crash
when the

mysterious abductors arrived. Karadzic suggested the kidnappers
might be

Muslims but did not indicate how a Muslim band might have gotten
through

what was presumably a tight secuirity net. He also promised an

investigation. The VOA on 19 October said it was the first
admission by the

Bosnian Serbs that they held the pilots. * Patrick Moore



.. BUT FRANCE CALLS HIS STATEMENT "GROTESQUE." Liberation
reported on 19

October that the issue of the airmen had been at the top of the
agenda of

Foreign Minister Herve de Charette when he arrived in Belgrade
the previous

day. The paper quoted unnamed French officials as saying that
they felt

that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic "knows nothing about
the fate of

the pilots and that is rather disturbing." Another called
Karadzic's story

"grotesque," adding that "either the two pilots are dead and
Karadzic does

not want to say, or they are mocking us." * Patrick Moore



KARADZIC CALLS TERRITIORIAL MAP THE MAIN ISSUE. Nasa Borba on 19
October

quoted the Bosnian Serb leader as again stressing that "the map"
remains

the key question for a future settlement. He added that Pale's
ties to

Belgrade have been "normalized" and that his own relations with
Bosnian

Serb commander General Ratko Mladic are "good." The Daily
Telegraph quoted

Karadzic as rejecting any claims that territorial gains by the
allied

armies in recent months mean that the Serbs will get less than
the 49% of

the republic's territory specified in the current partition
plan. "We won't

accept the result of this aggression," he declared in Banja
Luka. The

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stated that Bosnian Croat forces
hold 30.6%

of the total land area and government troops 21%. * Patrick Moore



BOSNIAN SERBS CONTINUE TO ARREST FOREIGN JOURNALISTS. 

UNPROFOR officials in Sarajevo have  confirmed that in addition
to two Turkish journalists captured by Bosnian Serbs on 13
October and kept in a military prison near Sarajevo,  Bosnian
Serb police have detained one British and two American
journalists at Pale, Slobodna Dalmacija reported on 19 October.
Negotiations on their release have already started through the
mediation of UNPROFOR and the International Committee of the Red
Cross. Serbia has made the Turkish journalists' release
conditional on the freeing of two Serbian journalists held by
Bosnian government forces. But acccording to SRNA, the Serbian
journalists have been killed in prison, BETA reported on 19
October.  No independent sources have confirmed this story.
Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke told Oslobodjenje that
Sarajevo should not become a new divided Berlin, while the BBC
on 19 October quoted Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic as
saying that Sarajevo must remain undivided. *  Daria

Sito Sucic



RUMP YUGOSLAVIA, BOSNIA TO OPEN LIAISON OFFICES. Nasa Borba on
19 October reported that U.S. envoy Holbrooke announced in
Sarajevo that Bosnia and rump Yugoslavia have agreed to open
"liaison offices" in each other's capital. The announcement
comes in the wake of Holbrooke's talks in Sarajevo with Bosnian
President Alija Izetbegovic and in Belgrade with Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic. Holbrooke described this latest
move as "a small step" toward improving ties between the two
countries, which have had no official relations since war broke
out in Bosnia in 1991. Belgrade has a similar and relatively
long-standing "liaison" with Zagreb, but the arrangement has
failed to produce any diplomatic breakthroughs.

* Stan Markotich



RUMP YUGOSLAV ARMY TESTS COMBAT PREPAREDNESS. Tanjug on 17
October reported that the Yugoslav Army General Staff issued a
statement acknowledging that the Novi Sad Corps, based in
Serbia's northern Vojvodina province, was holding maneuvers to
test combat readiness. Reportedly involved in the exercise were
infantry, mechanized, air, and maritime (river) units. Tanjug
said troops were "well-trained" and "highly motivated." * Stan
Markotich



NATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR THE LIBERATION OF KOSOVO CALLS FOR
RESISTANCE.

According to Gazeta Shqiptare on 19 October, the National
Movement for the

Liberation of Kosovo in its publication Clirimi has called for
an armed

uprising to gain independence and to end the current deadlock.
The

movement, however, is rather isolated within the Kosovar
political scene

and does not represent the majority of Kosovar Albanians, who
support the

policy of peaceful resistance pursued by shadow-state President
Ibrahim

Rugova. * Fabian Schmidt



MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT TO LEAVE HOSPITAL "VERY SOON." Medial
sources in

Skopje were quoted by AFP on 18 October as saying that Kiro
Gligorov will

be able to leave hospital "very soon." Gligorov, who was
seriously wounded

in an assassination attempt on 3 October, is still undergoing
treatment,

but doctors say his "condition has been fine for several days."
Gligorov is

scheduled to have talks with outgoing UN Special Envoy for the
former

Yugoslavia Yasushi Akashi on 18 October at the hospital.
Meanwhile,

delegations from Macedonia and Greece are continuing their talks
in Athens

on the opening of liaison offices in each other's country. *
Stefan Krause



HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN CROATIA. Gyula Horn, during an official
visit to

Zagreb on 18 October, met with President Franjo Tudjman and
Prime Minister

Nikica Valentic, Croatian and Hungarian newspapers reported the
next day.

The two premiers said after their meeting that discussion
focused on the

current situation in the region, with special attention given to
bilateral

economic relations. Horn said Hungary is willing to participate
in the

reconstrution of the Croatian and Bosnian economies by offering
assistance

worth $1 billion. * Zsofia Szilagyi

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

DATE=10/20/95

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-187199

TITLE= BOSNIA/KILLINGS (S)

BYLINE= DOUGLAS ROBERTS

DATELINE= GENEVA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:



INTRO:  THERE ARE GROWING INDICATIONS OF MORE MASS KILLINGS IN

NORTHERN BOSNIA.  REFUGEES EXPELLED FROM THE AREA DURING THE PAST

MONTH HAVE TOLD U-N AND U-S OFFICIALS THAT HUNDREDS AND PERHAPS

THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY SERB PARAMILITARY

GROUPS.  VOA'S DOUGLAS ROBERTS REPORTS FROM GENEVA.



TEXT:  MORE THAN EIGHT THOUSAND MUSLIMS -- WOMEN, CHILDREN AND

ELDERLY PEOPLE -- HAVE BEEN EXPELLED FROM NORTHERN BOSNIA DURING

THE PAST FEW WEEKS, BRINGING WITH THEM HARROWING ACCOUNTS OF

BEATINGS, RAPES AND ROBBERIES AT THE HANDS OF SERB PARAMILITARY

FORCES.



THE REFUGEES ARE ALSO ACCUSING THE SERBS OF MASS MURDER.



ONE EYE-WITNESS REPORT, CITED BY U-N OFFICIALS AND U-S ASSISTANT

SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN SHATTUCK, SAYS THAT UP TO 100 MUSLIM

CIVILIANS WERE SHOT DEAD AFTER THEY REFUSED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES

IN THE TOWN OF BOSANSKI NOVI, NEAR BOSNIA'S NORTHERN BORDER WITH

CROATIA.



MR. SHATTUCK, WHO INTERVIEWED NEWLY ARRIVED REFUGEES IN BOSNIA

THIS WEEK, SAID UP TO TWO THOUSAND MEN ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR IN

SERB-HELD TERRITORY, AND IT IS FEARED THAT MANY HAVE BEEN KILLED

OR FORCED TO JOIN WORK GANGS.



MR. SHATTUCK AND U-N OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE REPORTS OF

MASS KILLINGS HAVE  NOT  BEEN CONFIRMED.  BUT THE U-S ENVOY

DESCRIBED THE  EVIDENCE AS SIGNIFICANT AND CREDIBLE.  AND A

SENIOR OFFICIAL OF THE U-N REFUGEE AGENCY HAS APPEALED TO BOSNIAN

SERB LEADERS TO PUT A STOP TO ATROCITIES IN THE REGION.  (SIGNED)



NEB/DBR/MH/CF



20-Oct-95 10:14 AM EDT (1414 UTC)

NNNN



Source: Voice of America







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                     B o s N e t  - Oct. 22, 1995

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 =======



Oct 21 1995

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Implementation of Cease Fire agreement



	UNPROFOR spokesman in Sarajevo Yurij Chizhik said that

representatives of Bosnian Government and nationalist Bosnian
Serbs

agreed to begin to exchange the prisoners. Two Turkish
journalists Ali

Kocsak and Munira Acsim whom Serbs detained five days ago w ill
be

exchanged and two parts agreed to exchange the dead bodies also.

	The President of Bosnian Government's Commission For Exchange Of

War prisoners Amor Masovic said that the representatives of
Bosnian

Government and representatives of Red Cross from so- called
"Yugoslavia"

discussed about the destiny of citizens of Zepa who fled infront
of

Karadjic's forces to Serbia, and Serbian side demanded the
exchange of

citizens of so called "FRY" who are recently captured in the
battles in

Western Bosnia.

	Representative of B-H Government said that the further

implementation of the 5th principle of cease fire agreement will
depend on

readiness of Bosnian Serbs to liberate several thousands persons
captured

in Srebrenica and Zepa.





**********

Oct 22 1995

UNITED NATIONS, New York

Bosnia Peacekeeping (Russia -- US -- NATO)



	In remarks to the UN 50th anniversary celebrations, Russian

President Boris Yeltsin has criticized NATO for by-passing the
Security

Council in using military force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

	Speaking through an interpreter to the 50th anniversary

celebrations in New York City, President Yeltsin said that
"Russia is

concerned at the situation whereby as has recently been the case
in Bosnia

-- the Security Council was relegated to the sidelines of
events.  It

represents an obvious and clear cut violation of the foundations
of the

world organization."

	The Russian leader says it is inadmissible for a regional

organization -- like NATO -- to take decisions by-passing the
Security

Council. He also added that Russia is ready to use its forces to
implement

a peace agreement in Bosnia, but only under the strict mandate
of the

Security Council.



	US Secretary of State Warren Christopher says it will take some

time to resolve the question of Russian participation in a
Bosnian

peacekeeping operation. He said Russian participation in the
Bosnian

peacekeeping operation is on the agenda at a meeting b etween
President

Clinton and Russian President boris Yeltsin Monday near New York
City.

	"I think it is desirable for Russia to have a dignified
substantial

role, but not one that would in any way impair the NATO command
and

control. We have not resolved that problem yet."

	Mr. Christopher said a Bosnian peace agreement must first be

concluded before disagreements about a peacekeeping operation
can be

resolved.



	In a separate interview US Defense Secretary William Perry said

the Bosnian peacekeeping troops must serve under a unitary NATO
command in

order to be militarily effective.

	He also warned that US failure to join the force could unravel
the

NATO alliance and threaten US security interests in Europe.  Mr.
Perry

said although President Clinton hopes to secure Congressional
approval for

the peacekeeping operation, he intends to send US troops to
Bosnia with or

without Congressional assent.





**********

Oct 21 1995

GENEVA, Switzerland

Switzerland Ready To Extradite War Criminals



	Swiss Government made a decision to extradite to the
International

Tribunal in The Hague six persons who are in Swiss prisons and
are accused

of war crimes. This decision followed after several months of
discussion

on weather the neutral Switzerland can recognize the
jurisdiction of UN's

Tribunal. The decision about extradition of six accused for war
crimes -

five from the territory of former Yugoslavia and one from
Rwanda- is

eight years valid.





**********

Oct 21 1995

WASHINGTON, Unites States

Dole: "Milosevic Should Not Be Allowed Into The US"



	Speaking on the Senate floor Friday, the Republican Leader Bob

Dole charged the Administration is making a serious mistake by
giving a

visa to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

	"Mr. Milosevic should not be issued a visa.  If the
Administration

insists on this, at the very least it should ensure that any
visa issued

to Milosevic confines him to Wright-Patterson Air Force base. He
does not

deserve to be treated like other foreign dignitaries," Dole said.

	A State Department spokesman Nick Burns defends the decision to

include Mr. Milosevic, saying it is sometimes necessary to
negotiate with

one's enemies.







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

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

 No. 207, Part II, 24 October 1995



 CROATIA TALKS WITH REBEL SERBS. Croatian and rebel Serb
negotiators

 emerged from talks in Osijek on 23 October agreeing that
"significant"

 steps had been taken in averting conflict and accepting
reincorporation

 of the occupied territories of eastern Slavonia under Croatian

 authority, international media reported the same day. Croatian

 negotiator Hrvoje Sarinic, echoing sentiments expressed by UN
envoy and

 talks co-chairman Thorvald Stoltenberg, said that "the
principle of a

 peaceful reintegration was accepted [by the Serb side], though
some

 matters must still be discussed." A draft agreement calling for
the

 peaceful reintegration of occupied eastern Slavonia into
Croatia was

 presented at the meeting, and talks are slated to resume on 25
October.

 -- Stan Markotich



 BOSNIAN SERB LEADER SHOWS SOLIDARITY WITH ARKAN. Bosnian Serb
civilian

 leader Radovan Karadzic on 23 October inspected troops led by
Serbian

 accused war criminal Zeljko Raznatovic, alias Arkan. Arkan and
the

 roughly 300 men under his command have said they would travel to

 Croatia's eastern Slavonia but that their original departure
date of 22

 October had to be delayed for "technical reasons." Following the

 inspection ceremony in Bijeljina, Karadzic, who is also an
accused war

 criminal, remarked that Arkan's paramilitary "Tigers" will
always be

 "welcome" on Bosnian Serb territory, AFP reported on 23
October. -- Stan

 Markotich



 BOSNIAN SERBS APPOINT KASAGIC AS NEW PREMIER. The self-styled
Bosnian

 Serb parliament has named Rajko Kasagic, mayor of Banja Luka,
the new

 premier and has asked him to form a government, SRNA reported
on 23

 October. Premier Dusan Kozic resigned on 15 October in the wake
of

 legislators' demands that civilian and military leaders
responsible for

 Bosnian Serb battlefield losses be held accountable and purged.
(See

 OMRI Daily Digest, no. 201, 16 October 1995.) -- Stan Markotich



 LEADING MUSLIM PARTY ANNOUNCES NEW NEGOTIATING POSITIONS . . .
The Party

 of Democratic Action (SDA), the leading Bosnian Muslim Party,
accepted

 new negotiating positions for the upcoming Ohio talks on Bosnia-

 Herzegovina at a session held on 20 October in Fojnica, near
Sarajevo,

 BBC reported on 22 October. Bosnian President and SDA Chairman
Alija

 Izetbegovic underscored the poor functioning of the Muslim-Croat

 Federation and proposed that the issue of Sandzak (a part of
rump

 Yugoslavia with an ethnic-Muslim majority) should be included
in the

 peace process. Nikola Koljevic, the deputy president of the
Republic of

 Srpska, said the new platform is "a time bomb for the peace

 negotiations," Nasa Borba reported on 23 October. The SDA also
proposed

 partial demobilization of soldiers to provide a work force to
revive the

 economy. -- Daria Sito Sucic



 . . . AND SO DO BOSNIAN SERBS. The Bosnian Serb platform for

 negotiation, discussed in Bijeljina on 23 October, calls for a
Union of

 Bosnia-Herzegovina which "can only be a federation of states,"
BBC

 reported the next day. The Republic of Srpska's delegation
deputy

 speaker, reporting on the 19 October meeting with Serbian
President

 Slobodan Milosevic, claimed his full support of Bosnian Serb
requests in

 the peace negotiations scheduled for 31 October in Ohio. --
Daria Sito

 Sucic



GREEK-MACEDONIAN TALKS ON NAME TO START SOON. Greek government
spokesman

 Tilemachos Hytiris announced on 23 October that Greek and
Macedonian

 diplomats will hold separate talks with UN mediator Cyrus Vance
to set a

 timetable for negotiations on Macedonia's name, AFP reported
the same

 day. Greek Ambassador to the UN Christos Zacharakis will meet
Vance on

 24 October, and Greek-Macedonian talks are expected to start in
late

 October or early November. Greece objects to the name
Macedonia, which

 it says implies a claim on its northern province of that name.

 Meanwhile, international media report that Australia on 23
October

 established official diplomatic relations with Macedonia. --
Stefan

 Krause



EAST-WEST HIGHWAY TO BE BUILT IN THE BALKANS. The presidents of
Albania,

 Bulgaria, and Turkey, Sali Berisha, Zhelyu Zhelev, and Suleyman
Demirel,

 respectively, and the acting Macedonian president and parliament

 speaker, Stojan Andov, agreed on 23 October to build a
trans-Balkan

 highway, Bulgarian daily 24 chasa reported the next day. The
road, which

 will cost an estimated $1 billion, will link the Albanian port
of Durres

 with the Turkish city of Istanbul, via Skopje and Sofia. AFP
cited a

 Turkish presidential statement that construction is scheduled
to take

 four years. -- Stefan Krause



 SHOOTOUT IN KOSOVO. Unidentified gunmen ambushed a police car
and

 seriously injured three Serbian policemen in Batlava, in the
Kosovo

 region of Serbia, on 23 October, international media reported
the same

 day. Following the attack, police started intensive raids on
private

 homes and arrested a number of ethnic Albanians. Eight
Albanians were

 detained; three were later released. -- Fabian Schmidt





-----------------------------------------------------------------
-------

                   B o s N e t  - October 25, 1995

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



OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 207, 25 October 1995



SERBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS NO PEACE CONFERENCE WITHOUT
SANCTIONS

SUSPENSION. Tanjug on 24 October reported rump Yugoslav Foreign
Minister

Milan Milutinovic as saying that Belgrade's participation in a
peace

conference on Bosnia, slated to be held in Dayton, Ohio, on 31
October,

is conditional on the lifting of international sanctions against
his

state. Milutinovic said that no conference can take place
"without a

suspension of the sanctions." Meanwhile, AFP reported the same
day that

a senior U.S. official has asked Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's

assistance in locating several hundred Bosnian Muslim and Croat

civilians in Bosnian Serb-occupied territory around Banja Luka.
-- Stan

Markotich



BOSNIAN SERBS MEET WITH MILOSEVIC. Nasa Borba on 25 October
reported

that a delegation of Bosnian Serbs arrived in Belgrade the
previous day

for meetings with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
Representing the

Bosnian Serbs was civilian leader Radovan Karadzic, who was
accompanied

by Vic President Nikola Koljevic and speaker of the self-styled
Bosnian

Serb parliament, Momcilo Krajisnik. Official rump Yugoslav media
have

neither confirmed nor denied that such a meeting took place,
while

independent sources stress that at the top of the agenda were
proposals

and strategies for peace talks slated for 31 October in the U.S.

Meanwhile, AFP on 24 October reported that the Bosnian Serbs
remain

adamant that Bosnia must be partitioned. The French news agency,
citing

Pale television, quotes Krajisnik as saying that "victory for us
is not

to defeat Moslems and Croats but to be divided from them." --
Stan

Markotich



CROATIAN PRESIDENT PROMISES RESTRAINT ON EASTERN SLAVONIA. Franjo

Tudjman has promised that Zagreb will not use force to retake
Eastern

Slavonia from Serbs as long as the peace process is under way,
AFP

reported on 24 October. He was speaking at a meeting in New York
with

his Bosnian counterpart, Alija Izetbegovic, and U.S. President
Bill

Clinton. Clinton urged both leaders "to be flexible, to seek
formulas

that will work and to be very determined" at the negotiations
scheduled

for Ohio on 31 October. He also called for unity between Croatia
and

Bosnia. Earlier, Tudjman had been quoted as saying Croatia might
use

force in eastern Slavonia before the end of the month.
Izetbegovic,

speaking to before the UN General Assembly on 24 October, called
for

"parity of Bosnian Serb and Bosnian government army forces,"
saying this

was the key to long-term stability. But he told CNN the same day
that

the two sides remain "far apart from each other." -- Fabian
Schmidt



EU COMMISSION DROPS CASE AGAINST GREECE. The European Commission
on 24

October withdrew its legal action against Greece over Athens'
trade

embargo on Macedonia, Reuters reported the same day. A spokesman
in

Brussels said legal action was taken in April 1994 to pressure
Greece to

lift the embargo, which it imposed in February 1994. He added
that there

are now "sufficient signs" that the embargo has been lifted.
Greek

officials earlier had demanded that legal proceedings continue
in the

hope that the European Court of Justice would rule in its favor.
--

Stefan Krause



REACTION TO YELTSIN-CLINTON SUMMIT. While Russian state-run
media lauded

the results of the Yeltsin-Clinton meeting in Hyde Park, New
York, as a

"breakthrough," independent media expressed skepticism. Russian
Public

TV (ORT) showed Yeltsin affirming the "strength" of Russian-U.S.

partnership, but the independent station NTV termed the meeting
"warm,

but empty." The NTV report criticized the vague agreement on
Bosnia and

noted that Yeltsin and Clinton had not even mentioned NATO, as
if its

possible expansion were not a major problem in Russian-U.S.
relations.

Izvestiya and Komsomolskaya pravda expressed doubts that the
meeting

would produce any substantive improvement in Russian-U.S. ties.
-- Scott

Parrish





-----------------------------------------------------------------
-------

                     B o s N e t  - Oct. 26, 1995

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



Thu, 26 Oct 95

ZAGREB, Croatia

Envoy Urges Access To Bosnians



	US Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck is making another

tour of Balkan capitals to press Washington's human rights
concerns in

advance of next week's Bosnian peace talks.

	In Belgrade Wednesday, the US envoy said he gave Mr. Milosevic a

partial list of missing Bosnians, and asked him to use his
influence with

Bosnian Serb leaders to ensure that humanitarian organizations,
government

representatives and journalists are allowed into the area.

	Shattuck told reporters he suspected there were additional

unmarked graves in northwestern and eastern Bosnia, where men
were also

separated after the fall of the Srebrenica government enclave
this summer.

	``(Given) the time that has passed since that event, it very
strongly

suggests that all have been killed,'' he said.

	Mr. Shattuck is also continuing to press the Croatian Government

on human rights issues; specifically the fate of the nearly two
hundred

thousand Croatian Serbs who fled the Krajina region last August.
He has

given Zagreb Government authorities lists of around four
thousand Serbs

who have signaled their desire to go back to Krajina, and he has
urged the

Croatian Foreign Ministry to dispatch additional consular
officers to

Belgrade to help process the applications.

	In addition, he called on Zagreb to abolish legal impediments to

the return of the Serbs, including a decree that stipulates that
those who

fled must reclaim their property in Krajina within ninety days.

	US and West European officials have suggested that post-war

reconstruction aid for the Balkans could be withheld from those
who

continue to violate basic human rights.





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

October 26, 1995

WASHINGTON, United States

US, NATO set stage for Bosnian peace talks



	Wednesday, NATO began sending small teams of soldiers to Bosnia
to

survey roads, bridges, and communications in advance of
peacekeeping

efforts, according to Defense Secretary William Perry. He said
the small

engineering units, which include some Americans, will gather
information

to help NATO in its plan to send some 60,000 troops to oversee
the final

peace agreement.

	Perry also said that he will present some "new ideas" to resolve

the dispute with Russia over the role that its troops will play
in the

peacekeeping effort. He is scheduled to meet his Russian
counterpart,

Pavel Grachev, Thursday at the Pentagon.

	With Bosnian peace talks set to open next week in Dayton, Ohio,

NATO and the United States are busy paving the diplomatic way
for the

arrivals of the two principal players, Serbian President Slobodan

Milosevic and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic. Croatian
President

Franjo Tudjman will probably attend only the first few days of
the talks,

which have been pushed back to November 1. Zagreb asked that the
talks be

moved from the original date of October 25 because of elections
in

Croatia.

	The United States has vowed to keep the Balkan factions at the

Dayton talks until they reach an agreement on dividing Bosnia
into two

parts, 49 percent for the Serbs and 51 percent for the Muslims
and the

Croats.



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

Thu, 26 Oct 95

MOSCOW, Russia

Russia -- Bosnia



	Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigory Karasin Wednesday
said

leaders of Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia would meet President
Boris Yeltsin

at the Kremlin Tuesday.

	A US official who requested anonymity said the Moscow meeting is

designed to help the peace process move ahead. He emphasized
peace

negotiations will not begin until the three Balkan leaders
arrive in the

US the following day.

	The indirect talks in US will be overseen by US mediator Richard

Holbrooke, along with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor
Ivanov, and

European Union negotiator Carl Bildt.





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

Thu, 26 Oct 95

WASHINGTON, United States

"Grave Consequences For US"



	US President Clinton is warning of grave consequences for the

United States, if it does not take part in a NATO peacekeeping
mission in

Bosnia and Herzegovina.

	"If we fail to secure this peace, how can we achieve an
integrated

peaceful and united Europe?  If we fail to secure this peace,
our success

around the world, and much of our success at home, which has
come from

American leadership, would be weakened. If we fail to secure
this peace,

the conflict in the former Yugoslavia could spread to other
nations, and

involve our sons, and daughters in a conflict in Europe."

	The President made his comments at a fundraising dinner in

Washington.





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

Thu, 26 Oct 95

ZAGREB, Croatia

Croatia Arrested 14 Spies



	Croatia arrested 14 people on Tuesday on charges of spying for

Serbian intelligence and the Yugoslav army since Croatia's
secession from

Yugoslavia in 1991, state television said.

	``A search of their premises conducted after the arrest provided

evidence that all concerned were Serbian spies in 1991,'' said
Deputy

Interior Minister Smiljan Reljic.

	Arrest warrants were issued for 15 people, but one was ``out of

reach of police,'' the television said. It did not say where
they were

arrested or what their nationality was.

	The equipment and other evidence found in a former Serb

intelligence centre at Knin showed their brief was to collect
military,

political and economic data and undertake sabotage acts in
Croatia, Reljic

said. Reljic said the evidence that had been collec ted showed
direct

involvement by the Yugoslav army in ``events in Croatia.''





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

OMRI Daily Digest 27.10.1995. 



MORE REPORTS ABOUT MASSACRES ON MUSLIM REFUGEES. UNHCR

spokesman Kris Jankowski on 26 October said he had more evidence,

suggesting that between 2,000 and 3,000 Muslim men from have

been "separated from their families,... perhaps beaten to death,

perhaps killed" earlier the month, Reuters reported. (see OMRI
Daily

Digest 26 October). The UNHCR had questioned refugees from north-

western Bosnia in recent days, who reported about beatings and

killings. Meanwhile, the Washington Post carried a detailed

reconstruction of the events in July, when the Bosnian Serbs

captured Srebrenica. The report says that "significantly less
than half

(of 12,000 Muslim men who tried to flee to Tuzla) ever made it to

safety" and indicates "that the massacres during the week
starting

July 11 were the worst atrocities committed in Europe since World

War II." * Fabian Schmidt



BOSNIAN PRESIDENT ON PEACE PROSPECTS. The New York Times on

27 October reported Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic as
saying a

stable peace cannot be forged for Bosnia-Herzegovia as long as
the

current Bosnian Serb leadership remains in place. "The criminals

have to be removed.... That is the most important question,"

Izetbegovic said, referring to Bosnian Serb civilian chief
Radovan

Karadzic and his military counterpart, General Ratko Mladic. Both

Karadzic and Maldic have been accused of war crimes. Izetbegovic

also remarked that any proposed NATO-led peacekeeping operations

for Bosnia ought not exclude Russia's participation. * Stan
Markotich



WILL BOSNIAN SERBS LIFT SIEGE OF SARAJEVO? The UN on 27

October is to escort five civilian trucks and their cargo of

humanitarian aid some 25 kilometers, from Kiseljak to Sarajevo
and

back, international media reported. If this objective is
reached, the

UN plans to escort busloads of civilians through Serb-held
territory

to Sarajevo on 29 October. In this way, the Bosnian Serb resolve
to

lift the siege of the Bosnian capital and observe the cease-fire
is

likely to be put to the test. The free movement of civilians to
and

from Sarajevo was a key condition of the cease-fire, which went
into

effect on 12 October. * Stan Markotich



 MACEDONIAN INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS. Ljubomir Frckovski on

26 October handed in his resignation to Prime Minister Branko

Crvenkovski, Vecher reported. He said he felt "morally and
politically

responsible" because he had been unable to prevent the

assassination attempt on President Kiro Gligorov on 3 October and

because no arrests have been made in connection with the
incident.

Frckovski blamed a "financial-economic group of a neighboring

country" for the attempt but refused to specify the country. He
said a

member of the organization built the car bomb, "together with

fanatics and criminals from Macedonia's political underground,"
in

order to eliminate the president and destabilize Macedonia. *
Stefan

Krause



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

OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 211, 30 October 1995



CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION POISED FOR ELECTION VICTORY. Croatian
media on

30 October report that the governing Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ),

led by President Franjo Tudjman, is poised to win the
parliamentary

elections held the previous day. With nearly 43% of the ballots
counted,

the HDZ is in the lead with 43.61%, followed by the opposition
five-

party coalition, United List, with 19.37%. Nearly 70% of the
country's

1.4 million eligible voters turned out. As yet, it is unclear
whether

the HDZ will gain a two-thirds majority in the 128-seat Sabor,
which

will be needed to introduce constitutional changes granting the

President wider powers and revoking autonomy in the regions of
the

country where ethnic Serbs are in a majority. -- Stan Markotich



CONTROVERSY OVER VOTING RIGHTS IN CROATIAN ELECTIONS. The New
York Times

on 30 October reported that Croats living abroad were entitled
to cast a

ballot in the 29 October elections, thanks to a recently passed

electoral law introducing the provision. This constituency will
have 12

seats. The 312,000 or so ethnic Croats in neighboring
Bosnia-Herzegovina

allowed to vote are regarded as strongly pro-HDZ. The U.S. daily

reported that Western observers have commented that
enfranchising this

group may place a strain on the Bosnian-Croatian federation.
Zarko

Puhovski, political philosophy professor at the University of
Zagreb, is

quoted as saying that the move is arguably tied to Croatian

expansionism. "It is the first step toward a Greater Croatia," he

commented. -- Stan Markotich



TALKS WITH REBEL SERBS BREAK DOWN. U.S. Ambassador to Croatia
Peter

Galbraith and UN envoy Thorvald Stoltenberg on 28 October
presented

rebel Serb leaders in Serb-controlled eastern Slavonia with a
set of

proposals for reintegrating the territory into Croatia. Serbian
leader

Milan Milanovic, however, rejected the proposals, saying the
time frame

was unrealistic, Tanjug reported the same day. Meanwhile, the
rump

Yugoslav news agency also quoted Serbian negotiator Slavko
Dokmanovic as

saying he rejected the proposals on the grounds that they
provided for

Croatian police to be stationed along the border with Serbia as
soon as

an agreement was concluded. Zagreb has repeatedly hinted that it
may

employ force to reclaim eastern Slavonia if an acceptable
peaceful

resolution is not found. -- Stan Marktoich



CAUTION OVER BALKAN PEACE TALKS. Assistant Secretary of State
and chief

negotiator Richard Holbrooke, in a 28 October interview with
Reuters,

expressed reservations about the likelihood of a breakthrough at

upcoming peace talks in Ohio, to be attended by Bosnian
President Alija

Izetbegovic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, and Serbian
President

Slobodan Milosevic. "My greatest fear is that bringing [the
presidents]

together will prove to have been a mistake. This was a gamble,"

Holbrooke said. He added that regional peace could not be
achieved if

the Bosnian Serbs pressed ahead with their demands for secession
from

Bosnia-Herzegovina. -- Stan Markotich



MORE EVIDENCE OF BOSNIAN SERB ATROCITIES. The New York Times on
30

October, citing intelligence reports and U.S. government sources,

reports that as many as 6,000 Moslems may have been massacred by
Serbian

forces after the Serbian capture of the Srebrenica enclave on 11
July.

The report also says that the Serbs attempted to cover up their
crimes

by pouring corrosive chemicals on the victims' bodies and moving
corpses

that had initially been dumped into a mass grave. Initial
reports of the

Serbian atrocities came to light in early August, but recent
studies

suggest that more mass burials than originally suspected took
place. --

Stan Markotich



FIRST BUSES LEAVE SARAJEVO ON WESTERN ROUTES. The first
passenger bus to

leave Sarajevo since April 1992 had a UN escort to Kiseljak on 29

October on a road to the west of the town, Reuters reported. It
was

followed by a bus to Zagreb. According to UN officials, the
opening of

the road will create a good atmosphere for the peace talks
beginning in

Ohio on 1 November. The Bosnian government, however, argues that
in

reality, the city remains under blockade, since most civilians
are

afraid to travel via Serb-held territory. Meanwhile, the Bosnian
Serb

army and the Bosnian government exchanged 19 prisoners and five
corpses

in Sarajevo. Elsewhere, international agencies reported that
about 1,000

Muslim refugees returned to their homes in Sanski Most, Kljuc,
and

Mrkonjic Grad. A UN spokeswoman described the situation in
northwestern

Bosnia as "quiet." -- Fabian Schmidt



U.S. HALTS SPY PLANE MISSION OVER BOSNIA. The U.S. will halt
unmanned

reconnaissance flights over Bosnia-Herzegovina as of 5 November,
Reuters

reported on 28 October. Reuters, citing Koha Jone, says that the
three

"Predator" planes that have been stationed at the Gjader air
base in

Albania since July, have recently reduced their number of
flights. U.S.

diplomats in Albania, however, declined to comment on the
report. --

Fabian Schmidt



U.S., RUSSIA REACH PARTIAL AGREEMENT ON BOSNIA. Russia will send
several

thousand non-combat troops to Bosnia as part of a joint
U.S.-Russian

special operational contingent, according to an agreement worked
out on

27 October between U.S. Defense Minister William Perry and his
Russian

counterpart, General Pavel Grachev. According to ITAR-TASS, the
force

will be under the joint command of U.S. General George Joulwan
and

Russian General Leontii Shevtsov. The joint contingent will land
in

Bosnia several weeks after the main disengagement forces have
been

introduced and they will be engaged in construction,
transportation, and

engineering tasks. -- Doug Clarke





