

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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                     Vol. 1, No. 251, 29 December 1995



YELTSIN SUSPENDS SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP YUGOSLAVIA. On 28
December,

President Yeltsin issued a directive ordering the suspension of
UN economic

sanctions against rump Yugoslavia, Russian and Western agencies
reported.

The directive was issued in accordance with UN Security
Resolution 1,022,

passed on 22 November, which suspends the sanctions as part of
the Dayton

agreement. The directive does not suspend Russian participation
in

sanctions against the Serb-held areas of Bosnia, however, which
remain in

place until Bosnian Serb military forces withdraw behind
demarcation lines

laid out in the Dayton accord. Meanwhile, in New York, Russian
UN Delegate

Sergei Lavrov called on the Security Council to adopt a
resolution

condemning the "gross and mass violations of human rights" by
Croatian

authorities in Krajina, citing a recent report on the issue by
the UN

secretary general. -- Scott Parrish



UKRAINE WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN BOSNIAN PEACE FORCE. Ukraine has
informed

the NATO peace Implementation Force (IFOR) that it would not be
able to

participate in its operations in Bosnia because of financial
difficulties,

AFP reported on 28 December. IFOR chief-of-staff Lt. Gen.
William Carter

said Ukraine's withdrawal should not be a setback for the
NATO-led force

since other countries have come forward with greater
contributions than

anticipated. Ukraine will continue to provide Antonov transport
craft for

the Bosnian operations. -- Ustina Markus



U.S. LIFTS SANCTIONS AGAINST RUMP YUGOSLAVIA. U.S. President
Bill Clinton

announced on 28 December that Washington has suspended its
sanctions regime

against Belgrade. The suspension, which went into effect
immediately,

opened the way for fuel supplies and mechanical equipment to
flow from the

U.S. to Serbia, halted by presidential orders issued from June
1992.

Clinton said in his statement that "we insisted on a credible
reimposition

mechanism to ensure no backsliding on the commitments made by
the Serbs."

Nasa Borba on 29 December reported that on the previous day
Russia also

suspended sanctions against the rump Yugoslavia. -- Stan
Markotich



NATO PLEASED WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF BOSNIAN TREATY. The
commander of NATO

ground forces, Lieutenant General Sir Michael Walker, said that
"it appears

that all parties are demonstrating a spirit of cooperation in
complying

with the peace agreement . . . We are [however] in [the] early
days, it is

a honeymoon period." He added that the first 30 days would be
decisive

because all three sides must disarm their militias and civilians
by 20

January. IFOR commander Admiral Leighton Smith echoed Walker's
optimism,

saying that he was "very happy at what has been achieved in the
first week

of the mission." The International Herald Tribune and the
Frankfurter

Allgemeine Zeitung carried the reports on 29 December. --
Patrick Moore



TOP NATO OFFICIAL IN BELGRADE. NATO commander for Europe, U.S.
General

George Joulwan, arrived in Belgrade on 28 December and met with
several

rump Yugoslav officials, including army chief of staff Momcilo
Perisic and

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Following his two-hour
talks with

Milosevic, Joulwan said the meetings were "very productive" and
conveyed

"appreciation for the transit of IFOR, particularly American
aircraft here

in Belgrade, and allowing forces to transit through Serbia to
Bosnia."

Joulwan was accompanied on his visit by 54 U.S. soldiers, who
shall become

the first NATO troops to cross into Bosnia from the rump
Yugoslavia. --

Stan Markotich



WEATHER PROVES TO BE IFOR'S BIG ENEMY. NATO troops have been
having to deal

with threats not from the locals but from the elements (See OMRI
Daily

Digest, 28 December 1995). International media reported on 29
December that

U.S. efforts to build a 310-meter pontoon bridge over the Sava
River for

U.S. troops have been held up by the floods. The waters also hit
their camp

at Zupanja after destroying a protective barrier. Senior U.S.
and Croatian

army officers have agreed to work together on the construction
of the

bridge. Meanwhile, the Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes said that
American

soldiers are preparing for a longer stay than planned at their
bases in

Hungary. -- Patrick Moore and Daria Sito Sucic



BOSNIAN SERBS WAIT FOR SMITH'S DECISION. In accordance with the
Bosnian

Serbs' request to IFOR commander Admiral Leighton Smith, asking
for about a

year's delay in the transfer of authority of the Serb-held parts
of

Sarajevo to the Bosnian government (See OMRI Daily Digest, 27
December

1995), Bosnian Serb Parliamentary Speaker Momcilo Krajisnik said
at Pale

that they will wait for the decision until 30 January. "If [the]
response

is negative, we'll still have enough time to displace people,
property and

state enterprises," Beta quoted Krajisnik as saying on 29
December.

Krajisnik also claimed that an agreement on certain corrections
of Dayton's

territorial maps was reached with the "Muslim side" relating to
swaps of

some Muslim and Serb villages in eastern Bosnia. -- Daria Sito
Sucic



MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES BUDGET WITH SMALL DEFICIT. The
Macedonian

parliament on 27 December approved the 1996 budget, which will
be in

deficit by about 3 billion denars ($79 million), about 4.5% of
the GDP,

Nova Makendonija reported the next day. The shortfall will be
covered

entirely by credits from international financial institutions.
The budget

is based upon a macroeconomic framework assuming 6% inflation,
an exchange

rate of 27 denar/DM, 2% growth of social product, a freeze of
salaries in

the budget sphere at the level of August 1995, the abolition of
vacation

pay, a reduction in the number of social welfare recipients, and
continued

reform of the banking system and customs service. In
parliamentary

discussions, cuts in agricultural subsidies and social welfare
spending

sparked the most controversy. -- Michael Wyzan





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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: CGYM0582 Date: 12/29/95
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 06:09pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 11 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

U.S. forces opened a new route into Bosnia yesterday through Belgrade.
Four aircraft landed in Belgrade yesterday with equipment and an
advance party from the Second Brigade, First Armored Division.

Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Serb forces withdrew from frontline positions
in Sarajevo yesterday. In addition, warring parties have been abandoning
their checkpoints. Some have been bulldozed by French Army and British
Army units.

The rising Sava River flooded several tents yesterday and halted efforts
to bridge the area.

Two French Air Force pilots recently released by the Bosnian Serbs after
three and a half months of being held were starved, beaten and tormented
with mock executions, according to a classified French military report
published yesterday in France by the weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchan.
The Bosnian Serb military commander, GEN Ratko Mladic, personnally
threatened the pilots with torture and death, the newspaper said. French
Defense Minister Charles Millon said yesterday that they had been
"brutally treated" but offered few details. A father of one of the pilots
called the report "very precise." The report has stirred controversy
because a French general, reportedly to avoid angering the Bosnian Serbs,
told the two not to speak of their ordeal after their release. The
newspaper also questioned the mission in which the pilot's Mirage 2000 D
was shot down Aug. 30 near Pale by a S.A.M. It said the three Royal Air
Force aircraft leading dropped their bombs as planned but that the six
U.S. Air Force F-15 series Eagles and F-16 series Fighting Falcons that
followed suddenly pulled out of formation. The two French aircraft
proceeded with their attack on an ammunition dump. The report implies that
because the U.S. pilots did not share the information that led them to
abort the attack and did not explain the action, the French pilots were
confused and continued.

LT Jos Souvignet and CAPT Frdric Chiffot each broke a leg on landing
and were surrounded by armed Bosnian Serbs who beat them and broke
Chiffot's nose, the report says. The two were interrogated soon after by
Mladic and before treated for their injures, were forced to visit the
wards of wounded at the Pale hospital telling then "here's what you have
done" and "you have also killed children." The newspaper says Mladic told
the two that they would have to see the other tortured and would then be
executed. The report continues that a hospital employee deliberately
struck Chiffot's nose and knocked him unconscious several times. They were
locked in a bunker and held in solitary confinement most of the time with
few clothes with guards throwing in food every three days. Mock executions
were staged and several times guards started to strangle them and kicked
their broken legs. The newspaper said the two were told to say they were
treated "in keeping with the Geneva Convention" by a French general while
flying to France. (Raymond Bonner and Marlise Simons/N.Y.T.)

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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: CG^N0742 Date: 12/31/95
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 07:12pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 7 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

A U.S. Army M998 H.M.M.W.V. ("Humvee") hit an anti-tank mine yesterday
just before 1430 on a sideroad east of the main route linking the Sava
River and Tuzla. The vehicle was one of four carrying soldiers from the
709th Military Police Battalion on a reconnaisance mission. It was the
lead vehicle. Spec. Martin Jon Begosh, of Rockville, Md., was injured and
treated at the scene by a Swedish physician before being medevaced to a
U.S. mobile hospital at Zupanja. Begosh suffered a fractured right lower
leg, injured right foot and reportedly, unspecified internal injuries. He
is in stable condition. The M998 hit a TMM-1 near Bejela, about 18 miles
south of the Sava River in Bosnian Government territory.

Reversing his position, the Commander of the opration, ADM Leighton W.
Smith Jr., U.S. Navy, said yesterday that he does not have the authority
to delay the Bosnian Government's takeover of territory near Sarajevo now
controlled by the Bosnian Serbs. Last Tuesday, when Bosnian Serbs asked
Smith to delay the takeover at least nine months, he said he had the power
to extend the Feb. 3 deadline and would consider it. In a letter
yesterday, Smith said he could not extend it, except for a very short
period because of unforeseen problems, such as bad weather. (Ian

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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D11K0885 Date: 01/01/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 04:14pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 11 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

The 650 yard long bridge across the Sava River opened yesterday, with U.S.
Army forces rolling across beginning in the early afternoon. About 150
armored vehicles, artillery pieces, M998 H.M.M.W.V.s ("Humvees") and
trucks carrying boxes of food and latrines have crossed from Croatia. The
bridge carried about 450 soldiers across yesterday as well. The pontoon
ribbon bridge is in two sections. One is more than 230 yards long, from
the Croatian side where the base camp was flooded to the riverbank, and
the other more than 380 yard span crosses the Sava proper. The 85 sections
(each 24 feet long by 13.5 feet wide and 11,700 pounds) are held in place
by about six boats in the day and dissasembled into the two sections at
night. The bridge between Zupanja and Orasje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is
the largest river bridge built by the U.S. Army since March, 1945, when a
400 yard pontoon bridge went into service across the Rhine River at
Remagen, Germany.

The commander of U.S. forces in Bosnia, MAJ GEN William L. Nash, visited
Spec. Martin John Begosh yesterday at the U.S. Army mobile field hospital
in Zupanja. Begosh, who suffered injuries to his right leg and foot in an
anti-tank mine explosion on Saturday, was awarded the Purple Heart by
Nash. The road on which the M998 H.M.M.W.V. hit the mine in Bijela was
marked on both sides as being mined, but the road itself was not marked as
mined. The damaged vehicle, as well as a second one that crashed after the
explosion, remain on the road, with personnel first searching for other
land mines. Begosh was told he will be flown back to his base in Germany.
(Ian Fisher/N.Y.T.)

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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D12J0966 Date: 01/02/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 03:16pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 2 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

About 50 U.S. Army vehicles crossed the Sava River yesterday, about a
third the number that crossed Sunday. N.A.T.O. said the flow easedo
avoid creating a traffic jam. The bridge, meanwhile, needs some repair. An
offshore island has turned into a quagmire. A plastic grid will be laid
and covered with gravel. Construction of a second pontoon bridge will
begin soon. A European bridge-building firm has been hired to inspect and
begin restoring the permanent bridges across the Sava. (Eric
Schmitt/N.Y.T.)

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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                      Vol. 1, No. 252, 2 January 1996



UKRAINE TO PARTICIPATE IN BOSNIA OPERATIONS. Ukraine's Foreign
Ministry has

announced that a Ukrainian contingent will participate in
peacekeeping

operations in Bosnia-Herzegovnia, Ukrainian TV reported on 30
December.

Since Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it was unclear whether
the unit

would be subordinated to NATO commanders or would have its own
command.

Ukraine will also offer use of military transport aircraft to
countries

participating in the operation. Kiev took part in UN
peacekeeping missions

in Bosnia over the past three-and-a-half years, but when NATO
announced

that operations would have to be funded by each participant,
Ukraine

considered pulling its troops out. The Foreign Ministry
acknowledged that

it will have to provide funding for the Ukrainian contingent and
said it is

seeking financial aid from other participants. -- Ustina Markus



HUNGARIAN TROOPS PREPARE FOR MISSION TO BOSNIA, CROATIA.
Hungary's

400-member peacekeeping contingent of army engineers is
preparing to join

NATO forces in mid-January, Reuters reported on 29 December.
According to

unit spokesman Major Emil Varadi, the Hungarian contingent will
build

bridges over the Sava River and roads in northern Bosnia. The
Hungarian

unit, which will be equipped with light weapons, will work with
British

troops and help defend them if they come under attack. -- Sharon
Fisher



U.S. BRIDGES SAVA RIVER. Engineers on 30 December finished
installing a

pontoon bridge over the raging river that forms a border between
Croatia

and Bosnia. The BBC said the bridge is 500 meters long and the
largest one

to be built by the U.S. army since World War II. AFP on 2
January reported

that some 200 vehicles had crossed into Bosnia already and that
the flow

was deliberately slowed in order not to overtax the roads on the
Bosnian

side. As this new route into Bosnia was opened, another began
closing: four

years and thousands of tons of food after it was first launched,
the

Sarajevo airlift is about to come to an end. Finally, news
agencies on 31

December reported that one U.S. soldier was wounded by a land
mine, making

him the first American casualty in the peace mission. -- Patrick
Moore



NO DELAY IN HANDOVER OF SERBIAN SUBURBS. IFOR commander Admiral
Leighton

Smith said on 30 December that he has no authority to grant the
80-day

extension to the deadline for the transfer of the Serb-held
Sarajevo

suburbs as requested by the Bosnian Serb leadership. The BBC
said he wrote

parliament speaker Momcilo Krajisnik that IFOR would nonetheless
provide

security for the Serbs. The broadcast called Smith's decision "a
major

setback for the Bosnian Serb leadership." -- Patrick Moore



GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER LINKS AID TO COOPERATION WITH TRIBUNAL.
Klaus

Kinkel issued a statement on New Year's Day saying that
reconstruction aid

to the various sides in the Bosnian conflict should be tied to
their

willingness to assist the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former

Yugoslavia based in the Hague, international media reported. To
date, seven

Croats and 45 Serbs have been indicted, the most important of
whom are

Bosnian Serb civilian leader Radovan Karadzic and his military
counterpart,

General Ratko Mladic. Kinkel added that "reconstruction aid must
if

necessary be linked to legal action taken against war criminals
who, if

they fall into the hands of the troops of the NATO peace
Implementation

Force, must be arrested and handed over to the relevant
authorities. For

the establishment of a stable and lasting peace it is important
that

justice be done [on behalf of] the victims of war crimes and
that the

latter appear before a tribunal as defendants. Maintaining the
accused in

their present jobs would jeopardize the peace process." --
Patrick Moore



BOSNIAN SERBS RESCUE U.S. HELICOPTER CREW. IFOR has not written
off a

possible threat from foreign Islamic fighters still in Bosnia,
but the

Serbs, Croats, and Muslims have been going out of their way to
be helpful.

Reuters reported on 28 December that Bosnian Serb villagers from
Sibovska

in northern Bosnia provided a U.S. helicopter crew and guards
with heat and

shelter that saved them from a brutal blizzard after the
helicopter landed

because of transmission problems. The Americans declined offers
of local

plum brandy but praised the Serbs as "heroes." One Serb said he
hoped the

encounter on Christmas Day would show foreigners that the Serbs
are not

"the barbarians we are made out to be," while another added that
"we are

civilized people and we act like normal people." -- Patrick Moore



DID SARAJEVO SERBS SEIZE 11 CIVILIANS? Bosnian government
minister Hasan

Muratovic on 1 January said that Serbs from Ilidza, a Serb-held
Sarajevo

suburb, have in the past week seized 11 civilians who were
traveling on

roads around Sarajevo opened recently by NATO, Reuters reported.
Their fate

is not known. NATO said it knew nothing about the incidents and
noted that

civilian police authorities were responsible for launching
investigations.

Muratovic called for a change in the IFOR mandate that would
allow the

force to deal with terrorism. He added that the Bosnian
government may ban

its citizens from passing through Ilidza until those captured
are released

and IFOR gives guarantees of safety, the BH news agency
reported. -- Daria

Sito Sucic



SERBIAN PRESIDENT PROMISES RECONSTRUCTION IN 1996... Slobodan
Milosevic, in

his New Year's address, has promised the public that 1996 will
usher in a

period of economic stability and renewal, AFP reported on 30
December,

citing official Tanjug reports. "Peace has been achieved. . . .
I expect

the next year to be a year of economic revival, increased
employment, and

an increase in the standard of living," he said. Milosevic added
that 1996

will witness a crusade against "criminality" and a crackdown on
those

elements that have profited from violating sanctions. Hinting at
how

Belgrade will deal with the question of refugees who flooded
into the rump

Yugoslavia, he said "I expect . . . [the refugees'] return will
become

especially intense following the first free and democratic
elections in the

Serbian Republic and the Muslim-Croat federation." -- Stan
Markotich



. . . WHILE MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT PLEDGES UNITY. Meanwhile,
Momir Bulatovic

has stressed that relations between Montenegro and Serbia were
sound at the

close of 1995, Montena-fax reported on 31 December. Serbia and
Montenegro

"have to build on their unity . . . ; some 90% of our citizens
want

Montenegro to be in the [rump] Yugoslavia," he said. Bulatovic,
who

previously outlined the benefits of autonomy for Montenegro,
seems intent

on further backtracking from policies that might lead to
conflicts between

Podgorica and Belgrade. -- Stan Markotich



RUGOVA AIMS FOR DIALOGUE. Kosovar shadow-state President Ibrahim
Rugova

said he is working intensively on establishing a dialogue with
Belgrade,

BETA reported on 29 December. He commented that the U.S. will
have to play

a key role in solving the Kosovo conflict and that Tirana also
supports

negotiations taking place under an independent mediator. At the
same time,

he admitted that there are differences between the Albanian
government and

the Kosovar shadow-state but added that these are
"insignificant." Albanian

President Sali Berisha has called for a solution that recognizes

international borders, while the Kosovars have unilaterally
declared

independence from Belgrade. -- Fabian Schmidt



CROATIAN PRESIDENT GRANTS AMNESTY TO 455 PEOPLE. Franjo Tudjman
marked the

holidays by granting an amnesty to 455 persons who were arrested
during and

after Operation Storm in Krajina, Novi list reported on 2
January. They

were released from prisons on 31 December. Those amnestied had
not been

charged with war crimes, while another 244 arrested at the same
time were

not included in the amnesty. The same day, 88 Croatian citizens
were

released from a prison under a separate amnesty. -- Daria Sito
Sucic





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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                      Vol. 1, No. 253, 3 January 1996



RUSSIAN POLICE OFFICERS TO BOSNIA. A Russian official told
ITAR-TASS on 2

January that Russia will be "respectably represented" in the

UN-administered international civilian police force currently
being set up

in Bosnia. The 1,500-strong police force is to help ensure civil
order

during the transition period provided for by the Dayton
agreement. The

official said that "at least 100" Russian police officers would
participate

in the international force, which is to be deployed in Sarajevo,
Tuzla,

Banja Luka, and other towns in both the Muslim-Croat and Serbian
controlled

areas of Bosnia. -- Scott Parrish



ROW OVER MISSING MUSLIMS IN SARAJEVO. Controversy continues over
the 16

Muslims the Bosnian government says were kidnapped by Bosnian
Serbs in the

Serb-held suburbs of Sarajevo (see OMRI Daily Digest, 2 January
1996).

Serbian officials said they included several military men who
had been sent

into the area to frighten Serbian civilians into fleeing and
leaving their

property behind. They charged the government with "Muslim
terrorism" and

trying to destabilize the Serbian communities. The Bosnian
government, for

its part, asked IFOR to intervene and restore freedom of
movement. In a

rare positive reference to UNPROFOR, the government minister for
relations

with NATO, Hasan Muratovic, told the BBC on 3 January that
UNPROFOR at

least managed to keep roads open with its convoys. -- Patrick
Moore



ADMIRAL SMITH SAYS "BANDITRY" IS NOT IFOR'S BUSINESS. AFP quoted
a U.S.

State Department spokesman as calling the reports of the
abductions of 16

Muslims (see Top Story) "troubling." But IFOR's commander,
Admiral Leighton

Smith, told Bosnian Serb television on 2 January that dealing
with missing

persons and freedom of movement are the functions of the

yet-to-be-established police force, not of his troops. Some
observers

suggested, however, that IFOR's mandate is so tough that Smith
could make

the abductions his business if he so chose. The BBC said that
the Serbs are

testing the will of the international community, and that if
they can get

away with a little bit in Sarajevo now, they will get away with
much more

in the towns and valleys later. Reuters reported the next day
that NATO and

Bosnian Serb representatives will meet to discuss the
abductions. --

Patrick Moore



IFOR DEPLOYMENT GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN. Hina noted on 3 January
that the

arrival of U.S. forces is moving along on or ahead of schedule.
Some 3,500

American troops have arrived in Bosnia to date as the countdown
proceeds to

the 19 January deadline for the separation of hostile forces.
Reuters noted

that the various armies are busy removing up to seven million
land mines in

keeping with the Dayton agreement. In his confidence-building
press

conference on Bosnian Serb television, Admiral Smith said that
the foreign

Islamic fighters backing the Bosnian government were leaving in
large

numbers. Reuters also discussed the problems of post-traumatic
stress

disorder among Sarajevans. -- Patrick Moore



IZETBEGOVIC ANGRY OVER NEW YEAR'S FESTIVITIES. Bosnian President
Alija

Izetbegovic said he felt "uncomfortable" watching pictures of
revelry in

restaurants and cafes on state-run television. These included
behavior and

symbols "strange to our people," such as Christmas trees, Santa
Claus

figures, and ornaments on tables sinking with food and drink.
AFP on 3

January quoted him as saying that the hard partying was limited
to a tiny

minority: "only a few impudent and callous ones dared to get
plastered and

to grimace in front of the cameras as if nothing has happened
while the

graves and wounds are still fresh." He also attacked
broadcasters for

allegedly approving of "European vices such as alcohol, drugs and

pornography." Religious conservatives around Izetbegovic may
find it

difficult to convince the Bosnian Muslims -- a secular European
people --

to continue the habits of wartime austerity now that peace has
returned. --

Patrick Moore



CROATIAN OPPOSITION TRIUMPHS IN ZAGREB LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Opposition parties

on 2 January succeeded in electing Goran Granic of the Croatian
Social

Liberal Party (HSLS) mayor of the capital and Zdravko Tomac of
the Social

Democratic Party (the reformed communists) as speaker of the
county

assembly. This followed over a month of obstruction by President
Franjo

Tudjman and deputies from his Croatian Democratic Community
(HDZ). Nasa

Borba wrote on 3 January that it was unexpected that the HDZ
legislators

ended their boycott and let the government get on with its work.
The HDZ is

a minority in both bodies but has enough votes to block a
quorum. Its

leaders apparently realized they had no hope of persuading the
HSLS to join

them in a coalition or in improving their standing by forcing new

elections. Tomac told the Feral Tribune that the future of
Croatian

democracy would be made or broken in Zagreb. -- Patrick Moore



SERBIAN OPPOSITION AHEAD . . . A survey conducted in November
and reported

in Nasa Borba on 3 January showed that opposition leaders and
their parties

are most popular with rump Yugoslav youth who plan to vote in
upcoming

elections. In the poll of some 1,200 college and university
students, 26.8%

of respondents chose Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of
Serbia (DSS).

Zoran Djindjic's Democratic Party (DS) gained 22.8%, Vojislav
Seselj's

ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) 17.5%, and Vuk
Draskovic's

Serbian Renewal Movement 11.5%. Only 6.6% said they would vote
for Serbian

President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS),
while a

mere 2.8% intended to back Mirjana Markovic, Milosevic's wife
and head of a

small leftist party. -- Stan Markotich



. . . OR IS IT? Serbia's youth, however, appear to be out of
step with

broader public opinion. Also conducted in November, and reported
in Nasa

Borba on 19 December under the banner "There's Nothing New in
Serbia," a

survey of some 2,000 people revealed that most of the public
favored the

status quo. Milosevic remained among the most popular political
figures for

50.9% of respondents. Also topping the list were accused war
criminals,

with Bosnian Serb military leader General Ratko Mladic receiving
approval

from 50% of respondents, and his civilian counterpart, Radovan
Karadzic,

36%. The most unpopular figures were opposition leaders Seselj
(65.9%),

Draskovic (60.7%) and Djindjic (57.3%). The ruling Socialist
Party of

Serbia remained the party of choice for most voters. -- Stan
Markotich





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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                       Vol. 2, No. 3, 4 January 1996



U.S. CALLS ON MILOSEVIC TO RELEASE MUSLIMS. "We're calling for
the release

of the 16 people who are now being held by the Bosnian Serbs.
We're making

this known privately to the Bosnian Serb military commanders and
we're now

making it known privately to [Serbian] President [Slobodan]
Milosevic in

Belgrade," Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Burns said on 3 January.
News

agencies added that the U.S. embassy in Belgrade would deliver
the message

to the Serbian leader. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns
noted that

freedom of movement is crucial to the civilian population and
that

Washington is "calling upon the Serb leadership in Pale to
release these

people [and] conform to the Dayton accords." -- Patrick Moore



END TO MUSLIM CRISIS IN SIGHT? The crisis over the Muslims held
by Bosnian

Serbs has developed into a Serbian test of NATO's will. NATO

Secretary-General Javier Solana said the matter was "a harsh
blow . . .

[but] we are prepared to tackle highs and lows." Bosnian
government

minister Hasan Muratovic told Reuters on 4 January that he is
satisfied

that NATO is taking things seriously after he received a letter
from IFOR's

commander, Admiral Leighton Smith. Nasa Borba noted that Bosnian
officials

were using terms like "pure terrorism" to refer to the incident.
On 4

January, three of the detainees were released and Belgrade's
Radio Politika

reported from Pale that all 16 would be freed. The BBC said,
however, that

the Bosnian Serbs wanted to treat the Muslims as prisoners of
war and

exchange them for Serbs later. -- Patrick Moore



PERRY ON NATO IN BOSNIA. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense
William

Perry, speaking in Sarajevo on 4 January, said the NATO-led
peacekeeping

force in Bosnia will not act as a "police force." He was
responding to

Bosnian government complaints that NATO is not doing enough to
protect

Muslim civilians. Perry said that while NATO has the
responsibility to

ensure freedom of movement, he felt that the issue of the
Muslims held by

Bosnian Serbs would be better handled by the international UN
civilian

police force, which is expected to arrive in Bosnia later this
month. He

added that in the meantime, NATO "will do what it can to
assist." --

Michael Mihalka



ITALIAN SOLDIER WOUNDED IN SERBIAN SUBURB. News agencies
reported on 4

January that an Italian man was involved in what might be the
first

deliberate attack on NATO troops. The incident took place before
5:00 a.m.

in Vogosca. Meanwhile in Mostar, the UNHCR suspended its convoys
after

local Croatian officials tried to impose a tax of 50 kuna ($10)
per truck.

The Herzegovinian Croats have been notorious for such activities
in the

past, and the incident serves to recall that de facto
check-points continue

to exist, including in Sarajevo. During the night of 3-4
January, Muslims

in Mostar attacked Croatian vehicles, but Hina said nobody was
injured.

Croatian President Franjo Tudjman arrived in Sarajevo on 4
January for

brief talks with Bosnian leaders. Finally, Nasa Borba reported
that

telephone links have been restored between Sarajevo and Belgrade
after a

break of over three years. -- Patrick Moore



MONTENEGRIN POLITICIAN ON "REAL WAR HEROES." Nasa Borba on 4
January

reported that Srdjan Darmanovic, vice president of the Social
Democratic

Party of Montenegro, has come out strongly in favor of
legislation granting

an amnesty to all those who fled the former Yugoslavia to avoid
serving in

the Balkan conflicts. "We believe that the youth who fled in the
wake of

mobilization [campaigns] are the real war heroes . . . and not
those who

actually participated in this filthy war. . . . These were the
people who

were right not to want to fight in a senseless conflict,"
Darmanovic said.

He added that any objectors wishing to return should be
encouraged to do

so. -- Stan Markotich



OSCE TALKS ON ARMS CONTROL BEGIN. OSCE talks on arms control and

confidence-building measures got under way in Vienna on 4
January,

international agencies reported. The negotiations fulfill
requirements laid

down in the Dayton peace accords. Hungary's Istvan Gyarmati is
chairing the

talks on confidence-building measures, which are scheduled to
finish on 26

January. Vigleik Eide from Norway is presiding over the talks on
arms

control, to be completed no later than 6 June. At a news
conference in

Vienna on 3 January, Gyarmati said the first aim of the
confidence-building

talks is to exchange military data and set up military liaisons
between the

Bosnian Serbs and the Muslim-Croatian federation. He added that
this task

would prove "politically and psychologically difficult." --
Michael Mihalka





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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D15J0934 Date: 01/05/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 03:15pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 4 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

Bosnian Serbs yesterday released 16 Bosnians who had been detained while
travelling through Sarajevo suburbs. The group, almost all middle-aged
men, were taken from a jail in Lukavica and left in a nearby restaurant.
Discussions with Bosnian Serbs lasted seven hours before a telephone call
from Belgrade, where the United States and taken up the matter with
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Most of the people were detained
Ilidza on charges of espionage, travelling without permission and black
marketing. Some reported being robbed, beaten and given little food or
water. Late last night, the Bosnian Government said one man reported
missing was not among those released. Earlier, the Mayor of Ilidza,
Nedjeljko Prstojevic, said three men (a Muslim and two Serbs) had not been
released, and may not have been on the Bosnian Government's list. He said
they were found driving a military vehicle with a radio transmitter and
are held elsewhere.

The United Nations reported yesterday that Bosnian Croat officials in
Mostar have been attempting to collect fees from convoys carrying
humanitarian aid. The U.N.H.C.R. has refused to pay the fee, about $10 a
truck, and has halted the convoys. (Mike O'Connor/N.Y.T.)

An Italian Army soldier was wounded yesterday by a Bosnian Serb sniper in
a suburb north of Sarajevo. Other soldiers returned fire with unclear
results.

U.S. Secretary of the Army Togo D. West Jr. announced today that eleven
more U.S. Army Reserve units had received mobilization orders. Among them
is the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion's Support Elements 1-21, 23 and 24
from Green Bay, Wis.

Since the execution of the selected reserve call-up Dec. 8, 1995, the U.S.
Army reports that 72 National Guard units with 2,993 personnel, 21 Army
units with 917 personnel, and 51 Army Reserve units with 2,076 personnel
have been mobilized. 88 percent of the Army'sup authority has been
called up, 3,388 personnel. (DoD)
=========================================================



                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                       Vol. 2, No. 4, 5 January 1996



SARAJEVO ABDUCTIONS IMBROGLIO CONTINUES. International media on
4 January

reported that Bosnian Serbs released the 16 Muslims they had
been holding

in Ilidza. The first three men freed said they had been held in
a converted

toilet and kicked and beaten. The BBC added that some of the 16
blamed IFOR

for leaving them in the lurch. AFP noted that the Serbs appear
to have

achieved at least one thing; namely, intimidating other Muslims
into not

entering their territory despite the Dayton agreement's
stipulations on

freedom of movement. Civilian affairs coordinator Carl Bildt
held talks

with the Serbs on the evening of 3 January. The BBC on 5 January
quoted a

Bosnian official as saying that three more persons have been
captured and

held by the Serbs. AFP said they were a Croat, a Muslim, and a
Serb. --

Patrick Moore



CROATIA, BOSNIA SIGN PACT. Presidents Franjo Tudjman and Alia
Izetbegovic

signed a cooperation agreement in Sarajevo on 4 January, Hina
reported. The

Bosnian leader said the meeting was at times "loud and polemical
but

certainly very useful." Tudjman added that "there is no more
opposition but

there are still problems to be solved." A joint cooperation
council was set

up and will meet in a month to iron out some remaining problems.

Croatian-Muslim relations remain tense in Mostar, however. AFP
said on 5

January that two Muslim policemen were wounded when their car
was sprayed

with machine gun fire from the Croatian sector of the divided
town. --

Patrick Moore



UNHCR RESUMES AID CONVOYS. UN relief officials have returned to
their

mission in central Bosnia after Herzegovinian Croat officials
agreed not to

try to tax their vehicles, Reuters reported on 5 January.
International

media added that both President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul
II plan to

visit Bosnia soon. Nasa Borba on 4 January wondered what the
Americans will

do about investigating the reported massacre of 6,000 Muslims by
the Serbs

in Srebrenica, which is in the U.S. sector. British media said
that the

U.S. military have yet to arrive in Srebrenica and are less than

enthusiastic in becoming involved in what they regard as a
political issue.

-- Patrick Moore



VOJVODINA HUNGARIANS SUPPORT AMNESTY. Nasa Borba on 5 January
reported that

Andras Agoston, leader of the Democratic Community of Hungarians
in

Vojvodina, has pledged he and his party will back proposed
federal

legislation offering an amnesty to individuals who fled the
country rather

than fight in the wars throughout the former Yugoslavia. The
previous day,

the daily had reported that Srdjan Darmanovic, vice president of
the Social

Democratic party of Montenegro, had endorsed such legislation,
saying

conscientious objectors were "not deserters, but the genuine
patriots." --

Stan Markotich



ROCKY START TO OSCE ARMS CONTROL TALKS. Scheduled to begin on 4
January,

the OSCE arms control talks in Vienna did not get under way
until 5 January

after a disagreement over how the participatants were to be
designated,

international media reported. The BBC reported that the Bosnians
objected

to the nameplate given to the Bosnian Serbs, which, they said,
implied that

the Serbs were a separate polity and not part of a common
Bosnian state.

Vigleik Eide, who is chairing the talks, found a solution
acceptable to the

five parties (rump Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the

Muslim-Croatian federation, and the Republika Srpska) by
designating each

as a representative to the "negotiations among the parties to
the Dayton

agreement Annex 1b, Article 4." VOA's Croatian Service quoted
the Croatian

ambassador to the OSCE as noting that the Bosnian Serbs could
not be put on

the same diplomatic level as the internationally recognized
Bosnian

government. -- Michael Mihalka and Patrick Moore



MACEDONIA, TAJIKISTAN ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. The
Macedonian and

Tajik ambassadors to Turkey on 4 January signed a protocol
establishing

diplomatic relations between their countries, MIC reported the
same day.

Meeting in Ankara, they stressed the need to examine the
possibilities of

economic cooperation. -- Stefan Krause





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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D1AJ0551 Date: 01/06/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 03:09pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 6 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

Cpl. Elio Sbordoni, Italian Army, was evacuated to Italy yesterday.
Sbordoni, 20, was slightly wounded in the arm before dawn Thursday outside
an Italian compound in Vogosca. He took cover after someone fired 15 - 20
rounds at soldiers, and the Italian forces fired back.

Two off-duty Muslim police officers were seriously wounded yesterday in
Mostar. The shots reportedly were from the Croat side. (W.P./M.J.S.)

