No. 140, Part II, 20 July 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

REACTION TO VIOLENCE AT UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH'S FUNERAL.
Metropolitan Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Kiev
Patriarchate, and nationalist lawmakers denounced Ukraine's leadership
the day after riot police used tear gas and beat mourners and clergy
with truncheons as they tried to bury Patriarch Volodymyr in the grounds
of St. Sophia's Cathedral, international agencies reported 19 July.
Filaret, widely seen as Volodymyr's successor, accused the government of
trying to crush Ukraine's largest independent Orthodox Church by
brutally attacking the funeral procession. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime
Minister Roman Shpek said an investigation was under way. Interior
Minister Yurii Kravchenko said the Church was at fault for allowing
uniformed members of the extremist nationalist group UNA-UNSO to play a
prominent role. Eight members of the group were detained. A leader of
the Russian Orthodox Church told Russian TV that the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church's decision in 1992 to split from the Moscow Patriarchate was to
blame. -- Chrystyna Lapychak, OMRI, Inc.

SOROS NO LONGER TO ISSUE GRANTS IN BELARUS. The Soros Foundation has
announced it will no longer give grants in Belarus because President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka has refused to exempt the foundation from taxes
and import duties, Reuters reported on 19 July. According to Soros
spokeswoman Veronika Begun, an agreement was reached between
philanthropist George Soros and Lukashenka on granting the fund charity
status, but the fund was omitted from the official list of charities,
making it liable to a 40% tax. Belarusian presidential spokesman
Uladzimir Zamyatalin dismissed the foundation's complaint as an
"artificial conflict." He said some of its activities were tax exempt
but its call for importing equipment duty-free was unjustified. The
Soros Foundation has distributed grants worth $4 million over the past
two years in Belarus and was intending to issue $5 million this year. --
Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.

LATVIAN GOVERNMENT PASSES BANKING BILLS. The Latvian government on 18
July passed three bills regulating the banking sector on their first
reading , BNS reported. The draft laws cover commercial banks,
supervision over banks in general, and compensation for people who lose
deposits through banks' bankruptcy. The Saeima's Budget and Finance
Committee the previous day rejected the government's intention of
passing the bills, and proposed submitting them to the parliament for
consideration. Under the Latvian Constitution, the cabinet has the right
to pass regulations with the force of law in urgent cases when the
Saeima is not in session. BNS also reported that Eizens Cepurnieks, the
prime minister's adviser on economics, said that IMF credits will not be
used to provide compensation for personal deposits in insolvent Latvian
banks. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.

LATVIA'S DEFENSE BUDGET. The Latvian Ministry of Defense has announced
it will have a balanced budget as of 1996, BNS reported on 18 July.
Einars Vaivods, director of the Defense Ministry's finance department,
said that 36 million lats would be spent on 15 priority programs in the
National Armed Forces. These include 2.5 million lats ($12.5 million)
for Latvia's participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
Money will also be spent on equipment and weapons for the armed forces,
which have received insufficient funding in recent years. Latvia's
participation in peacekeeping operations in former Yugoslavia is
considered part of a government program, and Vaivods said the government
should fund those operations from the state budget. -- Ustina Markus,
OMRI, Inc.

UNCLEAR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES IN POLAND. The Polish press has published
the results of presidential primaries organized on 1 July by St.
Catherine's Convent, a committee uniting 14 right-of-center political
groups and the Solidarity trade union. According to Father Maj, the
convent's trustee, former Prime Minster Jan Olszewski won the primaries,
with Polish National Bank President Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz a close
second and Confederation of Independent Poland leader Leszek Moczulski
coming in third. But according to Teresa Skupien, the convent's
spokesperson, Gronkiewicz-Waltz came first and Olszewski a close second.
Gronkiewicz-Waltz said her candidacy, as yet undeclared, is very
probable, Polish dailies reported. She has received more than 10% of the
vote in recent opinion polls. -- Jakub Karpinski, OMRI, Inc.

MORE ARRESTS IN HUNGARIAN DEATH TRUCK CASE. Bulgarian police on 19 July
arrested Plamen Trifonov, a businessman who hired the truck in which 18
Sri Lankans were found dead in Hungary (see OMRI Daily Digest, 17 July
1995). International agencies reported that Trifonov was put under 24-
hour preliminary arrest in Kardhzali and was transferred to Sofia where
he will be questioned. He was arrested in 1992 for trying to smuggle 24
Asians to Italy, but investigations were halted. The owner of the truck
was arrested on 16 July, and according to Trud on 20 July, three more
people were arrested by Bulgarian police on 19 July. -- Stefan Krause,
OMRI, Inc.

HUNGARY REACHES AGREEMENT ON JEWISH PROPERTY ISSUE. The Hungarian
government on 19 July reached an agreement with the World Jewish
Restitution Organization and Hungarian Jewish groups on establishing how
to restitute property seized from Jews during World War II, Reuters
reported. Two sub-committees are to be set up in Hungary: one to settle
the legal and technical aspects of compensating former owners, the other
to examine restitution claims. The committees will present reports by
the end of September. Israel Singer, co-chairman of the WJRO and
secretary-general of the New-York based World Jewish Congress, said the
accord is a major breakthrough. "Hungary will be the first country in
central and eastern Europe to look at this issue in a very overall and
comprehensive way," he added. Like Hungary, Slovakia last year reached
an agreement in principle on restituting former Jewish property.
Negotiations with the Polish government are still under way. -- Jan
Cleave, OMRI, Inc.

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

HAS ZEPA FALLEN? Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic said the
civilian authorities in the besieged UN-designated "safe area"
surrendered during the evening of 19 July. He added that wounded Muslims
will be evacuated to Sarajevo and that other civilians "who want it"
will start to be transported to government-controlled Kladanj on the
afternoon of 20 July. International media reported, however, that
Mladic's statement, which was carried by SRNA, has not been confirmed.
Reuters said that the picture from Sarajevo is confused, while AFP
quoted Ukrainian peacekeepers in Zepa as saying that the town has not
fallen. The Serbs have previously claimed that towns have surrendered
when this was not the case. BETA quoted the mayor of Zepa as saying that
panic has broken out. Meanwhile, Krajina Serb forces continue to pound
Bihac with the help of troops loyal to local Muslim renegade Fikret
Abdic. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

"GENOCIDE" IN SREBRENICA. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 20 July
reported on a controversy in Holland over blunt remarks by Minister for
Economic Development Pronk following his return from Tuzla. Pronk told
the media that "we should not allow ourselves to be treated as fools by
people who say that nothing [about atrocities by Serbs in Srebrenica]
has been confirmed.... There were real massacres. We knew that this
could happen. The Serbs have done this many times. That which is going
on is genocide." Other politicians have criticized Pronk for violating
the "policy of restraint" lest the Serbs take revenge on Dutch
peacekeepers. UN special envoy Yasushi Akashi said that he knows nothing
about genocide in Srebrenica. Nasa Borba reported that the new Serbian
authorities there are restoring utilities and have invited Serbian
families who fled in 1992 to return. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

FRANCE WANTS U.S. TO FACE UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITIES. President Bill
Clinton on 19 July had telephone conversations with other Western
leaders, but they have yet to agree on a joint approach to keep the
Serbs out of Gorazde and Sarajevo. All agree that something must be
done, but the Americans favor massive air strikes against a variety of
targets while the French want U.S. helicopters to ferry 1,000 of their
troops into Gorazde. The White House is afraid of Americans being killed
or captured by the Serbs, who would certainly target the helicopters.
Washington also faces problems, however, if nothing is done and UNPROFOR
withdraws, since it is committed to providing ground troops to help the
evacuation. French officials say that the U.S. must stop dodging its
international responsibilities and bear a fair share of the burden in
Bosnia. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

KARADZIC SAYS HE'S NOT AFRAID OF ARMS FOR BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT. The VOA on
20 July reported that Senator Bob Dole will postpone a vote on his
measure to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian government until
after Western security officials meet on 21 July. BETA quoted Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as saying that he is not worried about "the
Muslims" getting more arms, since they already have good weapons but are
still poor fighters. The independent Belgrade news agency also reported
that Bosnian Croat leader Kresimir Zubak denied French charges that he
is "sabotaging" deployment of the new Rapid Reaction Force. Zubak, who
is also president of the Croatian-Muslim federation, accused the troops
of haughtiness and said that "we are neither bandits nor a colony." He
added that the RRF must have and respect a clearly defined mandate. --
Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.

FOUR YEARS OF ANTI-WAR ACTION IN SERBIA. The Center for Anti-War Action,
located in Belgrade, is marking its fourth anniversary, Nasa Borba
reported on 20 July. Since its founding, the center has been involved in
creating a network of activists opposed to Belgrade's regional war
policies. It has evolved into a pressure group linking journalists,
human rights activists, social workers, and refugee aid workers. Also,
it has helped establish the Internet e-mail network "Zamir." -- Fabian
Schmidt and Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT SNUBS PALE. Montena-fax on 19 July reported that
the Montenegrin government recently refused demands by Serbian
authorities in the self proclaimed Republic of Srpska in Bosnia to
forcibly mobilize ethnic Serb refugees from outside the rump Yugoslavia
who have fled to Montenegro. Montena-fax also notes, however, that
uneasy feelings run rife through the refugee community in Montenegro.
Members of Pale's police force have been spotted on Podgorica streets,
causing refugees to "live in fear" of being kidnapped for military
service. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

ROMANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RETURNS RESTITUTION LAW TO PARLIAMENT. The
Constitutional Court on 19 July unanimously voted to return to the
parliament a law on the restitution of property passed by the
legislature last month. The court said two articles in the law violate
the constitutional rights of freedom of travel and owning property,
Radio Bucharest and Reuters reported. The law would limit restitution to
Romanian residents, excluding citizens who live abroad. It also does not
distinguish between property legally seized by the state and property
taken by the Communists without title. The court argued that property
illegally seized would have to be returned. Under the law, only people
residing in properties they once owned would be entitled to get them
back. Restitution would extend only to one property per owner. Non-
resident owners would be entitled to cash payouts well below the value
of their properties. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BUCHAREST. Laszlo Kovacs on 19 July began
talks in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Melscanu.
Romanian media and Reuters reported that the two men discussed bilateral
relations and points of disagreement over the basic treaty. Melescanu
said Romania made several proposals on the inclusion of Recommendation
1201 in the treaty and that Kovacs commented on those proposals. "We
have narrowed down the points of disagreement," he said. Kovacs said
that the two sides must now find "new formulas with the help of
experts." In an interview with Duna television cited by Radio Bucharest
on 20 July, Kovacs said four points have to be clarified before the
basic treaty can be signed: the right of ethnic Hungarians to conduct
official business in their mother tongue; their right to set up ethnic
parties; the inclusion in the basic treaty of internationally accepted
documents, particularly Recommendation 1201; and what was termed as the
"problem of the censorship mechanism." -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

OPINION POLL SHOWS INTERETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN ROMANIA. According to an
opinion poll conducted by the Bucharest-based Institute for Marketing
and Social Research (IMAS) and published in Adevarul on 18 July, 56.9%
of Romania's ethnic majority have a "bad opinion" of the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR); 53.5% of ethnic Hungarians have
a "good opinion" of that formation. The UDMR was perceived as a party
that "defends the interests of the Magyars" by 80% of Romanians, while
only 40% of Hungarian ethnics were of this opinion. Only 8% of
Hungarians believe that the positions of the UDMR are "anti-Romanian,"
but 80% of Romanians shared this view. Nearly two in three Romanian
ethnics (65%) believe the UDMR is serving the interests of neighboring
Hungary, a view shared by 20% of Hungarian ethnics. Two Hungarian
ethnics in five (40%) think that the UDMR puts its own party interests
above those of its electorate, and 70% of Romanian respondents are of
the same opinion. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

UKRAINE TO STUDY PARTICIPATION IN TRANSDNIESTRIAN CONFLICT SETTLEMENT.
Yevhen Levitsky, Ukraine's charge d'affairs in Moldova, told Infotag on
17 July that an official Ukrainian delegation will soon arrive in
Moldova to study the possibility of Kiev's participation in the
settlement of the Transdniestrian conflict. He said President Leonid
Kuchma reacted positively to the joint Moldovan-Transdniestrian
invitation to take part in the negotiation process. -- Michael Shafir,
OMRI, Inc.

MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN BULGARIA. A Moldovan parliament
delegation headed by parliament chairman Petru Lucinschi ended a three-
day official visit to Bulgaria on 19 July, Bulgarian media reported the
same day. The visitors met with President Zhelyu Zhelev, Prime Minister
Zhan Videnov, parliament chairman Blagovest Sendov, and Foreign Minister
Georgi Pirinski. They also held talks with the leaderships of all
parties represented in the Bulgarian parliament, discussing, among other
things, the situation of the Bulgarian minority in Moldova. Lucinschi
commented that there are no "dark pages" in relations between the two
countries. It was the first official visit of a Moldovan parliament
delegation to Bulgaria since the country gained independence in 1991. --
Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

SENIOR OFFICIALS AT BULGARIAN PRIVATIZATION AGENCY SACKED. Veselin
Blagoev, executive director of the Privatization Agency, on 19 July
dismissed five of the agency's senior officials, the Bulgarian press
reported. Two deputy directors, the secretary-general, and two
department directors were sacked "in the interest of [the agency's]
work." Blagoev blamed them for the slow privatization process in the
first half of 1995. According to Standart, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Economic Development Rumen Gechev was not consulted about
the personnel changes. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

ALBANIAN SUPREME COURT HEAD BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST FINANCE MINISTER. Zef
Brozi, head of the Albanian Supreme Court, has brought charges against
Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni for failing to fulfill his ministerial
duties, BETA reported on 19 July. Brozi claims that for seven months,
Vrioni blocked the release of the court's budget in an attempt to
diminish the independence of the country's courts (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 17 July 1995). -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

VAN DER STOEL IN ALBANIA, MACEDONIA. Max van der Stoel, OSCE high
commissioner on national minorities, visited Albania and Macedonia on 19
July, Flaka and BETA reported. In Tirana, he was received by Albanian
President Sali Berisha, who called on the OSCE to "actively protect the
human and national rights of the Albanians in Kosovo." Berisha praised
Van der Stoel for his efforts to help solve the conflict in Macedonia
over higher education in Albanian. In Macedonia, Van der Stoel met with
Abdurrahman Aliti, leader of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic
Prosperity, and discussed ways of interpreting Article 48 of the
Macedonian Constitution so as not to ban higher education in Albanian.
-- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

KOSOVAR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT MEETS WITH ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS. Leaders of
the Albanian Socialist Party met in Tirana on 19 July with Mark
Krasniqi, leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo. The
Socialists stressed that "it is necessary to unite all Albanians and
political parties in Albania and Kosovo around the national question."
Krasniqi earlier met with Albanian President Sali Berisha and Pjeter
Arbnori, speaker of the Albanian parliament, BETA reported. -- Fabian
Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.

TURKEY ARRESTS BULGARIAN CITIZENS. Turkish police have arrested between
1,200 and 1,500 ethnic Turkish Bulgarian citizens who were living
illegally in Istanbul and detained them in a former army camp, the
Bulgarian press reported on 20 July. Under Turkish law, they have to be
expelled within 24 hours, but Turkey seems to fear the consequences of a
mass expulsion to Bulgaria. Standart quotes Bulgarian Consul-General
Kiril Momchilov as saying he has no information about the case. An
agreement between the two countries states that the Bulgarian mission is
to be informed about police action against illegal immigrants from
Bulgaria. Relations between Turkey and Bulgaria were described as good
by both sides during Turkish President Suleyman Demirel's visit to
Bulgaria in early July. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

The OMRI Daily Digest offers the latest news from the former Soviet
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