New OMRI Analytical Brief:
-  "Iranians and Foreign Fighters Continue
to Plague Bosnian
   Operation", by Michael Mihalka

Available only via the World Wide Web:
http://www.omri.cz/Publications/Analytical/Index.html

This is Part II of the Open Media Research Institute's Daily Digest.
Part II is a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and
Southeastern Europe. Part I, covering Russia, Transcaucasia and Central
Asia, 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/Index.html

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^TODAY'S TOP STORY^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SOLANA CONFIRMS BOSNIAN SERB COMPLIANCE WITH UN CONDITIONS. NATO
Secretary-General Javier Solana confirmed in a letter to the UN on 26
February that the Bosnian Serbs have withdrawn from "the zones of
separation" delimiting the Bosnian entities under the Dayton peace
accords, international media reported. The sanctions against the Bosnian
Serbs were supposed to be lifted one day after the IFOR commander
confirmed compliance by the Bosnian factions. Two previous letters by
Solana, dated 23 January and 6 February, were returned for
clarification. This time, however, the UN Security Council is expected
to lift the sanctions. Russia lifted sanctions unilaterally on 23
February, which the United States called "premature." Meanwhile, NATO
has decided to postpone until mid-April talks about the withdrawal of
IFOR troops after their one-year mandate expires. -- Michael Mihalka
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

RUSSIAN DELEGATION IN UKRAINE. A Russian parliamentary delegation led by
State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznyov arrived in Kiev on 26 February for
a two-day visit, international agencies reported. The delegation
included head of the Russian Communist Party Gennadii Zyuganov, who
assured Kiev that it did not have to fear any sudden shifts in Russia's
policy toward Ukraine if he is elected Russian president in the summer.
The delegation met with Ukrainian parliamentary speaker Oleksandr Moroz
but not with President Leonid Kuchma. Discussions focused on the treaty
of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, a draft of
which is almost ready, and the settlement of the Black Sea Fleet
dispute. A small group of Ukrainian nationalist demonstrated against
Zyuganov at Kiev airport. -- Ustina Markus

BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT IN RUSSIA. Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived in Moscow
on 27 February on the first leg of a four-day official visit to Russia,
international agencies reported. The purpose of his visit is to increase
economic ties with Russia. Lukashenka met with his Russian counterpart,
Boris Yeltsin, to discuss mutual debts. Belarus owes Russia almost $800
million for energy supplies and another $470 million for outstanding
loans. At the same time, Minsk says Moscow owes it $800 million in
compensation for ecological damage caused by strategic missiles based in
Belarus and $114 million for stationing Russian troops on its territory.
Agreements on trade and economic relations have been drawn up for
signing. -- Ustina Markus

BELARUSIAN PARLIAMENTARY DECISION ON LOCAL COUNCILS. The Belarusian
parliament has passed a resolution lowering the required number of
deputies to legitimize local councils, Belarusian TV reported on 24
February. Despite several rounds of elections, voters have failed to
elect enough deputies to allow the local councils to convene. The
parliamentary resolution lowers the minimum number from two-thirds to
half of the total deputies. -- Ustina Markus

FARMERS' ASSEMBLY TO LEAVE ESTONIA'S RULING COALITION. The Farmers'
Assembly on 26 February decided to withdraw its two parliamentary
deputies, Eldur Parder and Ulo Peets, from the ruling KMU/Reform Party
coalition after elections to the parliament's leadership on 14 March,
ETA and BNS reported. The decision was prompted by the coalition's
failing to take into account farmers' interests during the second
reading of amendments to legislation on land reform. Since parliamentary
regulations do not allow Parder and Peets to join other factions, they
will stay on as independent deputies. Their departure will not affect
the coalition's parliamentary majority, which will drop to 59 out of 100
deputies. -- Saulius Girnius

LATVIA, RUSSIA SIGN BORDER AGREEMENT. Gen. Andrei Nikolaev, head of the
Russian Federal Border Service, and his Latvian counterpart, Leonid
Lasmanis, signed an agreement on 26 February in St. Petersburg, Western
agencies reported. The agreement, which is similar to those Russia had
previously signed with Estonia and Finland, provides for cooperation in
controlling their joint border to prevent smuggling and illegal
immigration. The border services are to exchange information and launch
joint investigations. -- Saulius Girnius

LITHUANIA'S LITIMPEKS BANK RESUMES PARTIAL OPERATIONS. The Litimpeks
Bank on 26 February resumed settlement operations in litai following a
two-month suspension, BNS reported. The Bank of Lithuania allowed the
resumption of activities on the basis of the so-called zero variant.
Funds in Litimpeks accounts continue to be frozen, but the bank is
renewing agreements with its clients and carrying out money
transactions. Former bank chairman Gintautas Preidys said he thought
that about 70% of the clients would return to the bank. Settlement
operations in hard currencies are likely to be resumed after 1 March.
Preidys anticipates that the bank will be allowed to accept deposits and
offer loans beginning 1 July. -- Saulius Girnius

COMMITTEE REJECTS POLISH SECURITY CHIEF'S RESIGNATION. The Political
Advisory Committee at the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 26 February
rejected Gen. Gromoslaw Czempinski's resignation in January as chief of
the Polish State Security Office. Czempinski said he was resigning
because of his inability to stop classified information leaking to the
press, particularly on espionage allegations against former Prime
Minister Jozef Oleksy. The committee's decision is binding neither on
the internal affairs minister, who must submit a motion to accept the
resignation, nor on the prime minister, who must sign it. Polish dailies
on 27 February reported unofficial sources as saying Internal Affairs
Minister Zbigniew Siemiatkowski supports Czempinski's resignation. --
Jakub Karpinski
CZECH INTERIOR MINISTER TO PROPOSE BANNING COMMUNIST PARTY. Jan Ruml
will propose to the government "in the next few days" that the Party of
Czechoslovak Communists (SCK) be outlawed for promoting the return to a
communist regime, Czech media reported on 27 February. The small SCK,
headed by former leading communist functionary Miroslav Stepan, is
regarded as Stalinist and shunned by even the official Communist Party
of Bohemia and Moravia. Ruml said the SCK at a recent congress advocated
a return to the policies of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, which
was in power from 1948 to 1989. Such activities violate legislation
declaring the communist regime to have been illegal and criminal and
making promotion of its principles a crime. -- Steve Kettle

UPDATE ON EXPLOSION AT SLOVAK STEEL PLANT. State Secretary Pavol Kacic,
head of a government commission investigating the VSZ explosion in
October, which killed 11 people, confirmed on 26 February that none of
the firm's high-level managers will be held responsible, Novy Cas
reported. The commission, which is charged with investigating both the
reasons for the explosion and those responsible for the deaths, is
expected to present its report in late March. Kacic said that neither
his commission nor the police has found anyone who can be given direct
responsibility for the deaths. Only two regular employees have been
charged so far. -- Sharon Fisher

HUNGARIAN PREMIER NOMINATES MEDGYESSY AS FINANCE MINISTER. Gyula Horn on
26 February announced he is nominating Peter Medgyessy to replace
departing Finance Minister Lajos Bokros, Hungarian dailies reported. The
Socialist Party presidium and the junior coalition partner, the Alliance
of Free Democrats, have both supported Medgyessy's nomination. Horn said
previously that Medgyessy has laid down no conditions for accepting the
nomination, except that the cabinet's economic committee be given
greater decision-making powers. Opposition Democratic Forum leader Ivan
Szabo said he respects Medgyessy's professional skills, but both he and
other opposition parties criticized Horn for choosing someone from the
Socialist elite of the 1980s. Medgyessy was finance minister in 1987 and
served as deputy prime minister in charge of economic policy until 1990.
The Budapest Stock Exchange Index rose by 122 points, mostly due to
interest among foreign investors who felt reassured by Medgyessy's
nomination, Vilaggazdasag reported. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

UN CHARGES SERBS WITH LOOTING PUBLIC PROPERTY. Serbs are continuing to
pillage their Sarajevo suburbs as they leave. UNHCR spokesman Kris
Jankowski told Reuters on 26 February that reports were coming in daily
of, among other things, thefts of furniture from the municipal office
building and the movie theater in Ilijas. He added that "Serb police
were there but did nothing to stop the theft. We're going to share our
concerns with NATO." The population in Ilijas has shrunk recently from
about 17,000 to 2,000 as the Serbs flee with the help of the Bosnian
Serb army. When federal police arrive on 29 February, Muslims and Croats
who were "ethnically cleansed" in previous years are expected to return.
Nasa Borba said on 27 February that federal authorities arrived in a
series of suburbs the previous day only to find them deserted. AFP
reported that Sarajevo Serbs are being sent to the strategic Brcko area,
the future of which is to be decided by international arbitration.
Bosnian Presidency member Ivo Komsic called the Serbian tactics a form
of "ethnic cleansing," Onasa noted on 26 February. -- Patrick Moore

EU FOREIGN MINISTERS ON BOSNIA. EU foreign ministers, meeting in
Brussels on 26 February, discussed future cooperation with the successor
states of the former Yugoslavia, Nasa Borba reported. Such cooperation,
they said, will be conditional on the free movement of people, goods,
and services. The ministers said they were "sorry to hear of EU Mostar
administrator Hans Kosch-nick's resignation," but they agreed to the
extension of his mandate until a replacement is found. They also said
that economic support for Bosnia, Croatia, and the rump Yugoslavia will
be conditional on their cooperation with The Hague-based International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. -- Daria Sito Sucic

BOSNIA, CROATIA SIGN ACCORDS. Prime ministers Zlatko Matesa of Croatia
and Hasan Muratovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, meeting in Split on 26
February, signed agreements on air traffic, investments and legal
assistance in civil and criminal proceedings, Vecernji list reported.
Reuters reported Croatian radio as saying that Bosnian citizens will no
longer need visas to enter Croatia beginning in March. The two sides
agreed to decide on the status of the Croatian port of Ploce, which the
Bosnians consider vital to the development of their economy, within two
weeks. Repatriation of refugees and the status of Mostar remain
unresolved issues. The same day, a police unit made up of Croatian,
Bosnian, and West European officers began guarding EU headquarters in
Mostar, Hina reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic

SERBIAN MINISTER SAYS REFUGEES SHOULD GO HOME. Serbian minister for
Municipal Planning Branislav Ivkovic, speaking in Subotica on the
weekend, said it is the aim of Serbian and rump Yugoslav authorities
that refugees currently in the rump Yugoslavia return home. TV Serbia on
24 February quoted the minister as saying he expected the international
community to provide guarantees for the safe return of the refugees. The
minister added, however, that the government has developed a program for
those who decide to stay in Serbia whereby all municipalities are to
volunteer information on housing availability, abandoned dwellings, and
uninhabited areas. The minister criticized local authorities in Subotica
for allegedly refusing to comply with his requests. -- Stan Markotich

CROATIAN UPDATE. Novi list reported on 27 February that the railway
workers' strike committee held a press conference the previous day. Its
chairman, Zlatko Pavletic, said that the workers were dropping their
demand for a 100% pay hike and asking for only 60% instead. He also
called for direct talks with President Franjo Tudjman, whom he said had
been misinformed about the strike, which began on 22 February.
Meanwhile, pro-government newspapers on 26 and 27 February praised the
governing Croatian Democratic Com-munity's recent congress as "a
blueprint for the next century." Novi list quoted opposition parties,
however, as calling it "a typical party plenum from the 1950s." --
Patrick Moore

ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES ENERGY CRISIS. A motion accusing Nicolae
Vacaroiu's left-wing government of failing to prevent a crisis in the
energy sector provoked heated debates in the parliament on 26 February,
Romanian media reported. The motion was put forward by the Democratic
Convention of Romania, which said that the cabinet "has shown an
irresponsible lack of interest in securing stocks of fuel for the energy
sector." Vacaroiu, who attended the separate sessions of the Senate and
the Chamber of Deputies, defended his government's policy. While failing
to gather the required number of votes in the Senate, the motion passed
in the Chamber of Deputies thanks to support from the government's
former nationalist and neo-communist allies. -- Dan Ionescu

MOLDOVAN RULING PARTY MOVES TO SET UP LEFT-WING ELECTORAL BLOC. Deputy
Parliamentary Chairman Dumitru Diacov has proposed establishing a left-
wing coalition centered on the ruling Agrarian Democratic Party of
Moldova (PDAM) to nominate a joint presidential candidate, Moldovan
agencies reported on 26 February. Meanwhile, Vladimir Voronin of the
Communist Party of Moldova and Valentin Krylov of the Socialist Unity
told BASA-press that their parties' goal is to set up a bloc of
"patriotic popular forces," which, they said, would be composed of
leftist-centrist parties. Anatol Taran, chairman of the Social
Democratic Party of Moldova (PSDM), did not rule out the possibility of
a PSDM-PDAM coalition, although he said "the PDAM is not a left-wing
party, since it does not defend working people's rights." -- Matyas
Szabo

BULGARIA CALLS FOR BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING. Bulgarian Foreign
Minister Georgi Pirinski has invited his counterparts from all Balkan
countries to attend a forum in Sofia later this year, Pari reported on
27 February. The aim of the meeting is to revive the process of Balkan
cooperation, which was interrupted by the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
The ministers will discuss confidence-building measures, the
implementation of the Dayton accords, economic cooperation, and joint
infrastructure projects. Foreign Ministry spokesman Panteley Kara-
simeonov said the meeting is expected to be held by the end of June. --
Stefan Krause

BULGARIAN POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR RACKETEERING. Captain Hristo
Savov, a police officer in Sofia involved in fighting organized crime,
on 26 February was arrested on charges of racketeering and extortion,
Kontinent reported. Savov had offered to "protect" a businessman who had
received life threats. The businessman turned to the police after Savov
asked for $17,000 or the man's flat in return for protection over one
year. Six months ago, the head of the Varna police department fighting
organized crime was arrested on similar charges. -- Stefan Krause

ALBANIAN POLICE ARREST THREE SIGURIMI AGENTS IN CONNECTION WITH BOMB
ATTACK... Albanian police have arrested three communist-era secret
service (Sigu-rimi) agents in connection with the explosion near a
supermarket in central Tirana, Gazeta Shqiptare reported. The explosion,
which killed five people and injured 25, took place on 26 February. The
three are suspected of having links with the Serbian secret service. The
arrests took place only a couple of hours after President Berisha
visited the site and blamed Sigurimi agents for the blast. The
government has issued a reward of 5 million lek ($50,000) for
information leading to the conviction of the perpetrators. -- Fabian
Schmidt

...AND INTERROGATE JOURNALISTS. The same day, police interrogated 33
employees of Koha Jone, which, together with the Socialist daily Zeri i
Popullit, has been accused of receiving funds from the Serbian secret
services. Koha Jone staff members expressed concern that the explosion
may be used to exert pressure on the independent media. Albanian TV
connected the blast to an article in Populli Po last November headlined:
"The car bomb in Skopje could happen in Tirana," referring to the attack
on Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov last October. The supermarket
belongs to Vehbi Alimucaj, regarded as the richest businessman in
Albania with a fortune totaling some $50 million. A spokesman for
Alimucaj said he doubted the store was targeted specifically,
international agencies reported on 26 February. -- Fabian Schmidt
GREECE GETS LUKEWARM SUPPORT FROM EU PARTNERS. The EU foreign ministers
on 26 February backed Greece in its dispute with Turkey but did not
fully endorse Athens' position, Western media reported. Italian Foreign
Minister Susanna Agnelli said "We appealed to [Greece and Turkey] to
begin a dialogue to avoid the threat of war" and to take the question of
the uninhabited island of Imia/Kardak to the International Court of
Justice if necessary. French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette said the
EU Commission "went a little bit beyond its competence" when it
expressed its "full solidarity" with Greece on 8 February. Meanwhile,
Athens said it will review its efforts to block a 375 million ECU ($485
million) EU aid package to Turkey. Voting on the package is scheduled to
take place at the next foreign ministers meeting in late March. --
Stefan Krause

TURKEY SEEKS SUPPORT AMONG EU ALLIES. Turkish caretaker Prime Minister
Tansu Ciller left for Italy on 26 February for talks with her Italian
counterpart, Lamberto Dini, to seek support among Turkey's EU allies,
Turkish and Western media reported the same day. Before leaving, she
said that Greek conduct over aid to Turkey was an "abuse" of its EU
membership. She also said that any delay in granting the aid package
would be "tantamount to a violation of the agreement." Ciller noted that
Turkey "cannot be kept in Europe's waiting room" and would take its
rightful place within the union. -- Lowell Bezanis

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

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            Copyright (c) 1996 Open Media Research Institute, Inc.
                             All rights reserved. ISSN 1211-1570
 
         
     


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