No. 71, Part II, 10 April 1995

This is Part II of the Open Media Research Institute's Daily Digest.
Part II is a compilation of news concerning East-Central and
Southeastern Europe. Part I, covering Russia, Transcaucasia and Central
Asia, and the CIS, is distributed simultaneously as a second document.
Back issues of the Daily Digest, and other information about OMRI, are
available through OMRI's WWW pages: http://www.omri.cz/OMRI.html

EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE

IMF APPROVES CREDITS TO UKRAINE. The IMF on 7 April voted to approve
credits worth $1.96 billion to Ukraine, international agencies reported.
The decision follows the Ukrainian parliament's approval the previous
day of the state budget, which provides for a deficit amounting to 7.3%
of GDP. The IMF credits include a $1.5 billion stand-by credit and $392
million, which is the second installment of a systematic transformation
facility, the first part of which was released last fall. Reports say
that France had been opposed to releasing the credits. The IMF decision
paves the way for other credits, including $500 million, from the
Export-Import Bank and $150 million from Japan. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI,
Inc.

UKRAINE AND CHINA SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Ukrainian Defense
Minister Valerii Shmarov, during a visit to China on 6 April, signed a
military cooperation agreement with his Chinese counterpart Chi Haotian,
AFP reported the next day. China is Ukraine's largest trade partner
after Russia, with a total turnover of $837 million in 1994. Shmarov
also discussed balancing trade between the two countries. Currently, the
balance is in Ukraine's favor, which exports 90% of the total turnover
and imports only 10%. Most of Ukraine's exports are chemicals and
metals. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.

OVER A THIRD OF CRIMEAN DEPUTIES SUPPORT KIEV. Interfax on 7 April
reported that 35 of the Crimean parliament's 98 members have written to
Kiev supporting Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's resolutions on
Crimea's legislation. Deputies who signed the letter include the Tatars
and several independents. The message also criticized the "Russia"
alliance in Crimea's parliament for aggravating the situation between
Kiev and Simferopol. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS BALTIC STATES. Klaus Kinkel, at the end
of a two-day tour of the Baltic States, met with Lithuanian President
Algirdas Brazauskas, Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius, and Foreign
Minister Povilas Gylys in Vilnius on 7 April, Western agencies reported.
Kinkel called for the creation of a new European security system that
would include the Baltic States. He met the previous day in Tallinn with
President Lennart Meri, Prime Minister Tiit Vahi, and Foreign Minister
Juri Luik, saying that Bonn will press for the Baltic States to become
full members of the European Union as a way of bolstering their
security. Kinkel told a press conference that the major obstacle barring
visa-free travel between Germany and the Baltic States was the absence
of an agreement on readmitting illegal immigrants. He then flew to Riga
for meetings with President Guntis Ulmainis, Prime Minister Maris
Gailis, and Foreign Minister Valdis Birkavs. -- Saulius Girnius, OMRI,
Inc.

REPORT ON "ESTONIA" SINKING. The international commission from Sweden,
Finland, and Estonia investigating the sinking of the ferry "Estonia"
off the coast of Finland on 28 September has issued a partial report of
its conclusions, Western agencies announced on 7 April. According to the
report, the ship sank because the locks on its front cargo ramp broke,
letting in water. The locks were apparently not strong enough to
withstand constant pressure. Foul weather and the ship's speed and
course contributed to the disaster, in which some 859 of the estimated
996 people on board perished. German shipbuilder Meyer-Werft disputed
the findings. The ramp visor had been "substantially weakened by
corrosion, previous mechanical damage, and missing stiffeners."
Moreover, the captain had not reacted quickly enough to banging noises
in the bow area. -- Saulius Girnius, OMRI, Inc.

FORMER POLISH PRESIDENT INDICTED OVER 1970 SHOOTINGS. The Polish Justice
Ministry on 7 April announced that prosecutors have filed an indictment
against former President Wojciech Jaruzelski as well as 11 other former
senior communist officials over 1970 shootings in the Baltic ports of
Gdansk and Gdynia, Reuters reported. Ministry spokesman Andrzej Cubala
told PAP that Jaruzelski and the others former officials are charged
with acting as "guiding perpetrators" in the shooting by security forces
of 44 protesters. Jaruzelski was serving as defense minister at the time
of the riots, and he later became prime minister, communist party first
secretary, and president. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.

CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS U.S. WON'T ALLOW NATO EXPANSION TO BE
VETOED. Josef Zieleniec, after meeting Secretary of State Warren
Christopher and other senior officials in Washington on 7 April, said
the U.S. will not allow any third party to veto the expansion of NATO,
Czech media reported on 10 April. Zieleniec said he had the impression
President Bill Clinton will make this clear to Russian President Boris
Yeltsin when they meet in Moscow next month. Lidove noviny reports that
the U.S. is prepared to tell Russia that the expansion of NATO has
already been decided. Zieleniec said the likelihood is growing that the
Czech Republic and Poland will precede other countries in being admitted
to NATO. But American officials stress that admission to NATO is a "very
individual" process, the Czech foreign minister added. -- Steve Kettle,
OMRI, Inc.

SLOVAK NATIONALISTS PREPARE LAW ON PROTECTION OF REPUBLIC. The Slovak
National Party, a member of the governing coalition, on 7 April proposed
amendments to provisions of the criminal law on the protection of the
republic, Narodna obroda reported the next day. According to its
proposals, punishment would be inflicted against anyone involved in
undertakings that could endanger the country's constitutional order,
territorial integrity, defense capability, or autonomy. The definition
of criminal activity would also be expanded to include the dissemination
on Slovak territory or abroad of information threatening the security of
the republic. SNP Chairman Jan Slota said the SNP also wants to prepare
a law on the state language and to reestablish the death penalty. --
Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT NEWS. The Slovak parliament on 7 April voted in favor
of amendments to the election law and supported the removal of Miroslav
Kocnar, a breakaway deputy from the Association of Workers of Slovakia,
from his post as chairman of the parliament's Mandate and Immunity
Committee. The new chairman is another AWS member, Anton Poliak. Three
deputies representing the AWS, including Kocnar, announced they were
leaving the party's parliament caucus, Pravda reported on 8 April. The
Party of the Democratic Left announced that it viewed these developments
with great anxiety, noting that the government is trying to create an
authoritarian regime. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

CONTINUED FIGHTING IN NORTHERN-BOSNIA . . . Bosnian radio reported
continued intense fighting between government and Bosnian Serb forces on
9-10 April in northern Bosnia around Tuzla and in Bihac. Bosnian
government forces say they captured the strategically important Mount
Vlasic, including a TV relay station north of Travnik, from the Bosnian
Serbs on 9 April. Bosnian commander Mehmet Alagic is quoted as saying
that this is one of the government's biggest victories in the war,
international agencies reported on 9 and 10 April. He said government
troops could now advance into Serb-held territory from several
directions. Elsewhere, Hina reported on 9 April that Bosnian Federation
Vice President Ejup Ganic has said the Bosnian government will not
invite former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to undertake another mediating
mission. Ganic is quoted as saying: "There is no need for Mr. Carter to
visit Sarajevo again." -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

.. . . AND IN SARAJEVO. Artillery shelling in the Bosnian capital killed
at least three people and wounded seven in the night from 9 to 10 April,
international agencies reported. Several people had been wounded in
mortar attacks on the capital in previous days. The UN blamed Serbian
forces for the shelling, which involved large mortars fired from inside
a NATO-declared exclusion zone. A UN spokesman said it appears that the
Serbs are deliberately targeting civilians. The shelling prompted the UN
to ask for a show of force by NATO, which responded by sending planes
over Sarajevo. Meanwhile, the city's airport remained closed on 9 April
after gunfire from Serb-held territory hit a cargo aircraft as it was
landing the previous day. A UN spokesman said the Serbs refused to
guarantee the safety of aircraft landing there. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI,
Inc.

SERBS DEMAND CONSTITUENT NATION STATUS IN BOSNIAN FEDERATION. The
Assembly of Serbian Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a organization loyal
to the Bosnian government, gathered in Sarajevo on 9 April, Hina
reported the same day. The meeting was reportedly attended by members of
opposition parties from Serbia proper and by Milorad Pupovac, leader of
the Independent Serbian Party of Croatia. The assembly adopted a
declaration calling on the Bosnian federal parliament to guarantee the
Serbs constituent nation status in the Croat-Muslim federation. It
stressed that the government of the self-declared Republika Srpska has
no legitimate right to represent all Bosnian Serbs, since 150,000 Serbs
live on the territory controlled by the federation and some 500,000 who
opposed Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic have been forced to flee
their homeland. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

BELGRADE-BEIJING TIES. Tanjug reported that Chinese Foreign Minister
Qian Qichen on 9 April began a three-day official visit to the rump
Yugoslavia, where he met with his rump Yugoslav counterpart, Vladislav
Jovanovic, and used the opportunity to criticize international sanctions
against rump Yugoslavia. Reuters quoted Qian as saying that "We consider
that sanctions do not solve anything and that they only further
complicate the situation in this area. They must be softened and then
fully lifted." But he stopped short of saying that China, the only
Security Council member not to have supported the imposition of
sanctions, would actively campaign to have sanctions removed. Qian is
also expected to meet with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

ZAGREB ON OPPOSITION TO PEACEKEEPING MANDATE. Vecernji list on 9 April
reported that Croatian Foreign Minister Mato Granic has acknowledged
that Zagreb may meet with opposition over the implementation of changes
in the UN peacekeepers mandate, as delineated in UN Security Council
Resolution 981. "We expect that there will be an intense political
conflict," Granic said of relations between Zagreb and Croatia's rebel
Serb population in the Krajina area. The Krajina Serbs, however, are not
alone in registering dissatisfaction. Hina reported on 9 April that Mate
Simic, leader of the Croatian Union of Displaced Persons, said his group
"could not accept Resolution 981 without exactly defined implementing
measures for full control of Croatia's internationally recognized
borders." Nasa Borba on 8-9 April reports that Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic has strongly condemned any plans to station
peacekeepers along Croatia's border with Bosnia, noting that such
"pressure from the international community" may force the Bosnian and
Krajina Serbs to forge a political federation in response. -- Stan
Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

MACEDONIA WILLING TO SIGN BORDER TREATY WITH GREECE. Macedonian
President Kiro Gligorov on 8 April said his country is willing to sign a
treaty with Greece on their common border, AFP reported the following
day. In a radio address on the occasion of the second anniversary of
Macedonia's admission into the UN, Gligorov said his country is willing
to solve "irrational conflicts" with Greece and its other neighbors. At
the same time, he regretted that the border between Macedonia and rump
Yugoslavia is still considered an administrative boundary in UN
documents, whereas the borders of the other successor states are
internationally recognized. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

NORTH ATLANTIC ASSEMBLY DELEGATION IN ROMANIA. An NAA delegation met
with Romanian President Ion Iliescu on 7 April to discuss Romania's
relations with NATO, including plans to hold an NAA session in
Bucharest. It also met with Emil Constantinescu, leader of the
opposition Democratic Convention of Romania, who said that Romanians in
general, and their army in particular, firmly supported the country's
integration into NAT0's structures. Radio Bucharest on 9 April reported
that the NAA's standing bureau approved holding the assembly's 1997
autumn session in Bucharest. Romania was represented at the meeting by
Chamber of Deputies member Ion Ratiu of the National Peasant Party-
Christian Democratic. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

ROMANIAN CABINET APPROVES ANTI-TERRORIST BILL. The government on 7 April
approved a bill on preventing and combating terrorist acts. Interior
Minister Doru Ioan Taracila was quoted by Radio Bucharest as saying that
Romania has recently experienced both terrorist attacks and threats, the
latter aimed at creating panic among the population. The bill, which
provides for life imprisonment for convictions on terrorist charges, is
soon to be forwarded to the parliament for emergency debate. Independent
media have criticized the bill as an excuse to restore surveillance
practices reminiscent of the communist era. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

GREATER ROMANIA PARTY TO QUIT RULING COALITION? PRM Chairman Corneliu
Vadim Tudor said at a press conference on 7 April that party leaders
will hold an extraordinary meeting in early May to decide whether to
withdraw the PRM's support for the current government. He said that
until then, his party considered itself free of any obligations toward
either the cabinet or the Party of Social Democracy in Romania.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Convention of Romania on 7 April launched an
appeal to the opposition to unite in order to resist increasing
government pressure, Radio Bucharest reported. The CDR, formerly
Romania's main opposition alliance, recently lost several member
parties. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

DEMONSTRATORS IN CHISINAU DIVIDED OVER FURTHER PROTESTS. Strikers in
Chisinau decided on 8 April to suspend their three-week-old protest
until 4 May to allow Moldovan President Mircea Snegur to find a solution
that would bring an end to the strike, according to Radio Bucharest. The
same source later quoted Oleg Cernei, leader of the Moldovan Students'
League, as saying that many demonstrators intended to continue their
protest action until the authorities offered firm guarantees for a
compromise. The demonstrators, mainly students and teaching staff, are
demanding that the name of the official language be changed from
"Moldovan" to Romanian. In a related development, students in Bucharest
rallied on 7 April in support of their colleagues in Chisinau. The rally
was organized by youth organizations of the National Peasant Party-
Christian Democratic. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

OSCE AS GUARANTOR FOR NO REPEAT OF 1992 CRISIS IN MOLDOVA? Moldovan
Foreign Minister Mihai Popov said on 7 April that if the conflict in the
Transdniester region were settled, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe might serve as the main guarantor that the 1992
crisis involving separatists would not be repeated. Interfax the same
day quoted Popov as saying that an OSCE report has set the main
parameters for settling the conflict. He added that he counted on the
OSCE to help with the implementation of agreements on the withdrawal of
the Russian 14th Army. However, the head of the OSCE permanent mission
in Moldova, Phillip Han, said he regretted that Russia has given the
"cold shoulder" to the OSCE proposal that it monitor the army's
withdrawal. He added that the main goal of the monitoring would be to
ensure that Russian and Moldovan arms did not fall into "alien hands."
-- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.

BULGARIA'S RADICAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY SPLITS. The RDP's 27th congress on 9
April has effectively led to a split within the party, Bulgarian
newspapers reported the following day. A proposal that the RDP leave the
opposition Union of Democratic Forces was passed by a vote of 131 to
119. But the legality of the vote is doubtful, as the proposal was not
supported by an absolute majority of the 294 registered congress
delegates. Those who voted against the proposal, including Party
Chairman Aleksandar Yordanov, left the congress and asked for a
extraordinary congress to be called within a month to discuss the matter
again. Kiril Boyadzhiev was elected party chairman by the remaining
delegates. In an interview with Trud, Yordanov said he will form a new
RDP that will remain in the UDF. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

CAPE VERDE HOLDS BULGARIAN CARGO PLANE. A Bulgarian cargo plane carrying
100 tons of weapons was detained in Cape Verde on 9 April, Reuters
reported the same day. The arms were discovered when the Air Sofia plane
made a stopover. The plane's flight schedule listed Quito in Ecuador as
its final destination. In an interview with Trud, Lt.-Gen. Simeon
Petkovski, head of the Bulgarian Defense Ministry's economic department,
said Bulgaria does not have airplanes that could transport 100 tons of
material. He insisted that the Bulgarian army knows nothing about talks
or offers to export weapons to South America. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI,
Inc.

HOLBROOKE IN GREECE. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European
Affairs Richard Holbrooke on 9 April ended a two-day visit to Athens,
AFP reported the same day. Talks with Greek Prime Minister Andreas
Papandreou, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, and Defense Minister
Gerasimos Arsenis focused on Greek-Turkish relations. Papoulias said
both sides agreed that progress has to be made on Cyprus in order to
improve relations between Athens and Ankara. Holbrooke and Papoulias
also discussed Greek relations with Albania and Macedonia. Holbrooke
also handed over to Papandreou a letter from U.S. President Bill Clinton
on problems in Greek-U.S. relations. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

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