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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D1BK2730 Date: 01/07/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 04:45pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 9 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

A U.S. Army soldier suffered an electrical shock from a railway power line
in the Czech Republic and was flown in critical condition to a U.S.
military hospital in Germany, it was reported yesterday. Pvt. Travis Wayne
Bouret, 19, fro, St. Louis, Mo., suffered second and third degree burns
over 40 percent of hid body and was on life support. He was to be flown
from Landstuhl Army Hospital near Kaiserslautern to a special burns unit
at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas. Bourret was injured
Friday in Breclav when he climbed to the roof of a railcar and was hit by
a high-voltage overhead power line. His heart stopped beating for 27
minutes and was revived by an emergency medical team before being taken to
Valtice and then Germany. Bourret was en route to Bosnia. 103 trains of
U.S. equipment and personnel have passed through the Czech Republic.

A Bosnian Croat police officer was shot dead yesterday afternoon in Mostar
by gunfire from the Muslim side. Spanish Army personnel said Muslim police
officers fired. Two Muslim officers were wounded Thursday by gunfire from
the Croat side.

The Bosnian Government said yesterday that Bosnian Serbs had detained four
people travelling through Bosnian Serb territory.

British Army vehicles on patrol were fired on yesterday and returned fire
near Sanski Most. Soldiers jumped off their Warrior series M.C.V.s and
fired 62 small-arms rounds at a bunker in a five minute engagement. No
British soldiers were injured, and the status of the person(s) who fired,
who are not known, is unclear. About 20 rounds were reportedly fired at
the British soldiers.

A French Army soldier was injured in Sarajevo yesterday when he stepped on
a land mine. He was patrolling an area separating Muslims and Serbs.
(A.P./M.J.S. and Reuters and Mike O'Connor/N.Y.T.)

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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                       Vol. 2, No. 5, 8 January 1996



KOSCHNICK SAYS MOSTAR WILL NOT BE ANOTHER DIVIDED BERLIN. EU
administrator

of Mostar Hans Koschnick has rejected a demand by the Croatian
mayor to

divide the town, following a series of incidents between Croats
and

Muslims, Nasa Borba reported on 8 January. Tensions grew with
the killing

of a Muslim teenager on New Year's Day by Croatian police and
continued

through the fatal shooting from Muslim lines of a Croatian
policeman on 6

January. Meanwhile, sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades
were

exchanged over the city's division line. Koschnick told Reuters
on 7

January that the division of Mostar would mean the failure of the

Muslim-Croat federation in Bosnia, and he again threatened both
communities

that he would leave unless they showed greater readiness to
cooperate.

Meanwhile, the Muslim mayor of Mostar asked NATO for help amid
the current

tensions, Reuters said. -- Daria Sito Sucic and Patrick Moore



IFOR UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK IN BOSNIA. Reuters on 8 January
reported that

NATO officials have become increasingly worried about the
security of their

troops after a series of firing incidents. An Italian soldier
was shot near

Sarajevo last week. British troops on 5 January were attacked by
Bosnian

Serbs near Sanski Most. A French plane on 7 January was hit by
bullets near

Sarajevo airport; and British troops were attacked again in
central Bosnia

next day. An IFOR spokesman in Sarajevo said the attacks did not
cause

serious damage or injury and that fire had been returned in most
cases,

Hina reported on 7 January. In another development, Lt.-Gen.
Michael

Walker, who is in charge of IFOR land forces, warned that NATO
troops in

Bosnia lack the manpower to ensure the free movement of
civilians across

ethnic front lines, Reuters said. He was responding to charges
by the

Bosnian government that NATO has not fulfilled its duty to
ensure the safe

passage of civilians under the Dayton peace accord. -- Daria
Sito Sucic



BOSNIAN SERBS LAUNCH PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN. Bosnian Serb Vice
President Nikola

Koljevic appeared on Greek TV on 7 January to launch a new
publicity drive,

the BBC reported. It appears to be part of the campaign to
promote Serbian

interests by political means, which Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic

first announced after the Dayton agreement was signed. The latest

installment involves a fundraising effort to transport 15,000
Serbian

schoolchildren from the Sarajevo suburbs to stay with relatives
in Bosnian

Serb territory, in Serbia, or in Greece. Koljevic said the
Bosnian Serb

authorities wanted the children to spend the rest of the school
year away

from Sarajevo because of the current "period of uncertainty."
Meanwhile in

Kragujevac, Bosnian Serb Prime Minister, Rajko Kasagic, told a
radio

audience that he is "determined" to apply the Dayton accords. He
suggested

that the treaty was necessary in order to free Serbia from the
sanctions.

-- Patrick Moore



WILL INTERNATIONAL POLICE DEAL WITH ISLAMIC FIGHTERS? The
slowness in

setting up the international police force for Bosnia is having

repercussions in Podbrijezje, near Zenica, AFP noted on 5
January. The area

witnessed sharp fighting during the Croatian-Muslim war of 1993,
and now

Turkish peacekeepers keep a sometimes difficult truce. One
problem is the

presence of the Islamic fighters, who must leave under the terms
of the

Dayton agreement. In departing the Croatian village, they are
now carting

off everything they can. Local Croats fear that many will come
back, since

they are not foreigners who are obliged to leave but rather
Bosnian young

men who became Islamic warriors in the course of the conflict.
-- Patrick

Moore



BOSNIAN FACTIONS AGREE ON SETTING UP MILITARY LIAISONS. The
parties to the

OSCE-sponsored talks on confidence-building measures in Vienna
agreed on 5

January to set up military liaisons at each other's military
headquarters

within 10 days, international agencies reported. The
Muslim-Croatian

federation and the Bosnian Serbs also provided preliminary
military data on

the number and location of certain weapons and factory sites but
failed to

agree on the type of weapons and military units that would be
subject to

inspection. Meanwhile, at the talks on arms control in Vienna,
the parties

agreed to provide complete data on their armed forces and
weapons when they

reconvene on 16 January. -- Michael Mihalka



GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTERS DECIDE TO RETURN BOSNIAN REFUGEES. The
Conference

of German Interior Ministers on 6 January decided to return
refugees from

Bosnia by mid-1996, AFP reported the following day. German
Foreign Minister

Klaus Kinkel is expected to discuss the issue in talks with
Bosnian

President Alija Izetbegovic, Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic, and
Foreign

Minister Muhamed Sacirbey in Sarajevo on 8 January. Some 320,000
refugees

would be affected by the decision, which has been strongly
protested by the

German opposition and refugee organizations. -- Fabian Schmidt



SERBIA'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPPORTS SARAJEVO'S SERBIAN COMMUNITY.
Serbia's

nationalist opposition Democratic Party on 7 January issued an
appeal to

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and federal rump Yugoslav
authorities

to press diplomatically for demands made by the Serbian
community in

Sarajevo's suburbs, BETA reported. The appeal said that if the
president

and federal authorities do not [help] create the conditions for
the Serbs

of Sarajevo to safeguard their local autonomy and safety, more
than 100,000

people will flee Sarajevo. Last week, BETA reported that the DS
plans to

establish a branch in the Republic of Srpska. A convention is
slated for

the end of January, when a party leadership and platform are to
be

approved. -- Stan Markotich



KOSOVAR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS REJECT AUTONOMY COMPROMISE. Mark
Krasniqi, head

of the Kosovar Christian Democratic Party, has rejected the idea
of

autonomy for Kosovo, Nasa Borba reported on 8 January. Krasniqi
pointed out

that "the Albanian people will not accept autonomy since they
called for an

independent and neutral Kosovo" in the recent referendum.
Krasniqi also

demanded that Kosovo be demilitarized and made a UN
protectorate. The

Christian Democrats received 3.1% of the vote in 1992 illegal
shadow-state

parliamentary elections and seven mandates in the 125-seat
parliament.

Albanian President Sali Berisha recently called for a compromise
solution

to the issue of Kosovar independence. -- Fabian Schmidt



MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE ATTACK.
Kiro

Gligorov on 7 January made his first public appearance since the
attempt on

his life on 3 October 1995, Nova Makedonija reported the next
day. He

attended an Orthodox Christmas mass in Skopje. In an interview
with Nova

Makedonija on 22 December 1995, Gligorov announced he would
resume his

duties at the beginning of 1996. -- Stefan Krause





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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D1CH3309 Date: 01/08/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 01:55pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 2 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

Spec. Martin Begosh, U.S. Army, returned to the United States Saturday
night. Begosh was carried off an aircraft at Andrews A.F.B., Md. Begosh
was the first U.S. soldier wounded in Bosnia.

Muslim officials urged N.A.T.O. yesterday to take over Mostar from the
European Union to avert further violence between Bosnian Croats and
Muslims there. W.E.U. personnel were investigating reports that
authorities had brough militarized police units into the city in violation
of the peace agreement.

A French Air Force transport was hit by small-arms fire over Sarajevo
yesterday. A Greek Air Force transport was reportedly hit over the city
Saturday. (M.J.S.; Mike O'Connor/N.Y.T.)

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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D1CL2976 Date: 01/08/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 05:49pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 1 times)
Subj: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR UPDATE

A correction and additional information relating to the Greek Air Force
transport. A C-130B or C-130H Hercules of 356 Tactical Transport Squadron,
112th Wing, Elefss A.B., Greece, was on final approach Saturday night
into Sarajevo when three nautical miles out, the aircraft observed
small-arms fire and diverted to Tuzla then Zagreb. The aircraft was *not*
hit.

Some additional information on the wounding of a French Army soldier
Saturday. At 1045, a soldier of Second Battalion was injured when he
stepped on a land mine in Dobrinja. He was taken to Sarajevo with a broken
right ankle and was taken to France yesterday.

At 1900 Saturday, French Army vehicles on patrol were fired in Gobaviaca.
The soldiers returned up to 10 rounds of machine-gun fire.

At 1248 Saturday, three high-velocity rounds were fired over the heads of
French Army Second Battalion troops at the TMP factory in Bosanska Krupa.
The rounds impacted on a wall. The shots were apparently fired by a drunk
soldier.

Additional information on the British Army incident Saturday. At 1517, at
grid XK 308645, near the cease-fire line about 7 km north of Sanski Most,
a British Army Spartan FV103 series A.P.C. was fired at by small-arms from
grid XK 31046514 about 700 m away. Sporadic sniper fire continued, and
troops aboard a Warrior series M.C.V. dismounted and fired 62 rounds of
rifle fire at a bunker position. Approaching the bunker was ruled out due
to darkness and the land mine threat. (N.A.T.O.P.A.)

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

TODAY'S ISSUES==> TOPIC: MILITARY & ARMS      Ref: D1DH2997 Date: 01/09/96
From: STEVE SCHULTZ (Leader)                                Time: 01:49pm
/\To: ALL                                                 (Read 3 times)
Subj: U.S. WOULD ACCEPT GOLAN HEIGHTS ROLE

U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry said yesterday that the United
States would be willing to include U.S. troops in a peacekeeping force in
the Golan Heights if they are requested.

At a luncheon yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said that the
troops would act as a monitoring force similar to the force in the Sinai
Desert since 1979. Columbia, Fiji, and the United States maintain a 2,400
member force there while U.S. civilians operate monitoring stations.
(Serge Schmemann/N.Y.T.)

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

                            [OMRI Daily Digest]

                       Vol. 2, No. 6, 9 January 1996



HUNGARIAN LOCALS COMPLAIN ABOUT IFOR TROOPS. Several members of
the town

council of the southern Hungarian town of Kaposvar have
complained about

traffic jams caused by IFOR units, increasing air pollution, and
damage to

local roads, Nepszabadsag reported on 9 January. At the same
time, the

daily noted, the arrival of IFOR troops has boosted the economy
of both

Kaposvar and nearby Taszar, where the main air base is located.
The paper

also said that numerous IFOR soldiers have been taken ill and
are now in

quarantine. Both U.S. and Hungarian health experts denied that
the troops

have contracted measles, saying the soldiers picked up some kind
of

influenza virus on their way to Hungary. Hospital sources say
that

laboratory results in the second half of the week will reveal
the nature of

the ailment. -- Zsofia Szilagyi



UN SECURITY COUNCIL SLAMS CROATIA. The top UN body on 8 January
passed a

resolution calling on Zagreb to cease human rights abuses in
Krajina and

work to remedy the situation, Hina reported. "The Security
Council strongly

condemns the violations of international humanitarian law and
human rights

. . . including killings of several hundreds of civilians,
systematic and

widespread looting and arson, and other forms of destruction of
property."

The resolution also accused Croatia of blocking the return of
refugees, not

bringing guilty parties to justice, not handing over indicted war

criminals, and discriminating against remaining Serbian
civilians. It

called on Zagreb to restore Serbian property rights and provide

humanitarian aid for stranded Serbian villagers. The Council
asked the

secretary-general to prepare a report on Croatia's compliance by
15

February. -- Patrick Moore



IS UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT EASTERN SLAVONIA? The BBC on 9 January
called the

UN resolution on Croatia the organization's toughest
condemnation of that

country to date. The broadcast suggested that the council is
under no

illusions about any early or massive return of Krajina Serbs but
is seeking

rather to reassure the Serbs of eastern Slavonia, who are slated
under a 12

November agreement to return to Croatian control within two
years. AFP

reported that Russia may be asked to help beef up the
international

military contingent in eastern Slavonia from fewer than 1,700 to
some 5,000

troops as part of a general upgrading of the UN force in the
region. There

appears to be general concern in the international community
that any

problems in eastern Slavonia could adversely affect
implementation of the

Dayton agreement in Bosnia. Croatia has repeatedly warned that
it reserves

the right to retake the territory by force if the Serbs do not
respect the

current agreement. -- Patrick Moore



SUSAK BACKS DAYTON DEADLINES. EU administrator Hans Koschnick
said in

Mostar on 8 January that Croatian and Muslim officials now seem
anxious to

implement the Dayton agreement. "Both sides, importantly, have
managed to

calm the situation down. As far as I'm concerned things seem to
be getting

better," he told Reuters. U.S. trouble-shooter Robert Gallucci
said in

Zagreb, however, that he was unhappy with current progress on the

implementation of the peace treaty. But Croatian Defense
Minister Gojko

Susak, who is probably the most powerful of the Herzegovinian
Croats,

weighed in solidly on behalf of the Muslim-Croatian federation:
"We have to

go on with the federation. If we want the federation, if we want
to stick

with the Dayton agreement which has certain deadlines, then we
have to have

a much more active approach." AFP reported on 9 January that EU
police

officials in Mostar are nonetheless doubtful that a joint force
can be set

up by the 20 January deadline. -- Patrick Moore



MILOSEVIC SENDS "BEST WISHES" TO BOSNIAN SERBS. Nasa Borba,
citing Tanjug,

on 9 January reported that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic
sent the

Bosnian Serbs his official greetings on the occasion of the
"national day"

of the Republika Srpska. Milosevic observed that this was the
first such

holiday commemorated "in peace," and he added that it is his
hope that the

Bosnian Serbs can look forward "to a successful economic and
cultural

recovery." -- Stan Markotich



HOLBROOKE ASKS MILOSEVIC TO ALLOW U.S. REPRESENTATION IN KOSOVO.
U.S.

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke told VOA on 8
January that

he has held talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and
that the

U.S. is seeking permission to establish an official presence in
Pristina.

The representation will probably be a United States Information
Agency

office, Holbrooke said. He added that it might open "in the very
near

future" and will help reduce tensions in the region. Holbrooke
stressed

that the U.S. was not supporting the Kosovar Albanians' demand
for

independence. But he pointed out that "the oppression of the
people there

by the Serbs has been extremely bad." -- Fabian Schmidt





