|
18 March Latest News
Macedonian Parties Prepare New Bill
on Disarmament
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- The parties in Macedonia's parliament
reportedly are working on draft disarmament measures aimed at getting illegal
weapons off the streets. The local media has quoted officials from the Social
Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) as planning to submit its version to
parliament by the end of the month. SDSM's measure includes a provision to
reregister weapons legally held by citizens. It also reportedly provides for
stiffer penalties for those who maintain illegal weapons. A similar initiative
has been launched by the minor nationalist party VMRO-Macedonian, which suggests
that the new disarmament law should be passed by the beginning of the summer,
well before parliamentary elections. The interior ministry estimates there are
some 500,000 illegal weapons in the country.
Sunday, meanwhile, Bosnia recalled its ambassador to Skopje,
to protest the arrest and alleged beating of two Bosnian nationals in Macedonia.
Omer Avdusinovic and Asim Sefer were arrested last month while en route to
Jordan where they study. Macedonia says they were detained on suspicion of
planning terrorist acts against Western interests, but it has failed to provide
evidence. (Utrinski Vesnik - 18/03/02; Dnevnik, AFP, FTV, NTV Hayat, A1 TV -
17/03/02)
Back to top
Djindjic Hints Government May Not Meet
Deadline for War Crimes Co-operation
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic
implied Sunday (17 March) that the 31 March deadline for co-operation with The
Hague tribunal might not be met. He insisted that Serbia remains committed to
co-operation on war crimes, but suggested it may not be a good idea to add a
time constraint, as the United States has. "I have to wonder whether
something will be done by that date or not," said Djindjic.
His Montenegrin counterpart Filip Vujanovic, meanwhile,
explicitly denied Sunday that wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic might
be hiding in Montenegro. In an interview with the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz,
Vujanovic said Karadzic could not enter the republic without immediate arrest. (FoNet,
MIA - 18/03/02; BBC, Serbian Radio, Dnevni Avaz - 17/03/02)
Back to top
Kosovo Serbs Resolute in Demand for One
More Ministry Position
PRISTINA, Yugoslavia -- The Kosovo Serb coalition Return says
it will not participate in the Kosovo cabinet if it is not given the position of
Minister of Refugees. Oliver Ivanovic, a senior member of Return, says the
coalition made the decision Saturday night (16 March). He adds that it is now up
to UN mission in Kosovo head Michael Steiner to decide "the further
development of democracy and multi-ethnicity in Kosovo". Return
representatives are expected to meet Steiner Tuesday to discuss participation in
the cabinet. The Kosovo Serb bloc has been unhappy that it was granted only the
agricultural ministry. (B92, BBC - 17/03/02)
Back to top
Croatia Accommodates Displaced Families
From Bosnia
KNIN, Croatia -- The state office for refugees and displaced
persons approved Saturday (16 March) accommodation for 16 Croat families from
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The families had to leave Serb houses in Drvar, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, and sought help from Croatian authorities. Representatives of
the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and a local association of
displaced Croats welcomed some of them. At present, some 40 displaced families
with children occupy barracks of the former Yugoslav army in Golubic, near the
town of Knin. Croatian authorities estimated a few days ago that several
thousand Croats from central Bosnia and Republika Srpska might wish to migrate
to the Croatian areas of Knin, Gracacand and Benkovac. Some political leaders in
Croatia criticise Bosnian authorities for failing to accommodate Croat families.
(Vjesnik - 18/03/02; HINA, BBC - 17/03/02)
Back to top
Croatian Opposition Establishes Association
of War Veterans
ZAGREB, Croatia-- The opposition Croatian Democratic Union
founded a new association of war veterans called Gojko Susak Saturday (16
March). The association's purpose is to protect national values linked to the
Croatian military force during the 1991-1995 war. The founders elected retired
Gen Janko Bobetko president of the association. The wife of Croatian Gen Ante
Gotovina attended the first meeting. Gotovina went into hiding last year after
the UN war crimes tribunal charged him with killing Serb civilians and Interpol
issued an international warrant for his arrest. (HIC - 18/03/02; HINA -
16/03/02)
Back to top
Bulgaria, Romania Insist on Speedier
Integration in EU
BARCELONA, Spain -- Bulgaria and Romania are both insisting on
speedier integration into the EU and have asked the EU states meeting in
Barcelona to supply an exact admission schedule for them. Bulgaria's Prime
Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg notes that the EU has said Sofia will not be
included in the first wave of EU candidates, but has set no other date for the
country to target. For his part, Romanian President Ion Iliescu requested that
the EU states supply more active support for efforts to join the EU. Both
countries pledged to continue reforms, especially economic ones, to sooner meet
EU membership criteria. (Dnevnik - 18/03/02; Standart - 17/03/02; Rompres -
16/03/02; BTA - 15/03/02)
Back to top
Bulgaria's Vice President Seeks Forgiveness
From Turkish Minority
SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Bulgarian Vice President Angel Marin used
the occasion of the Forgiveness religious holiday to ask forgiveness for
violence against the ethnic Turkish minority during the so-called revival
process in 1972. Speaking at a commemoration Sunday (17 March) organised by the
party of the Turkish minority Movement for Rights and Freedom, Marin admitted
that all of Bulgaria's people should equally bear the guilt and responsibility
for silently watching the forceful change in the names of the Turkish
population. The meeting took place in the village of Barutin, which was the
centre of the violence.
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Gen Joseph
Ralston, meanwhile, was expected in Sofia Monday to meet with Marin, President
Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg. (Dnevnik, BEF News,
Standart - 18/03/02; Mediapool, BTA - 18/03/02)
Back to top
Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Wins
Re-election as Party Leader
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- Bosnian Serb Prime
Minister Mladen Ivanic was re-elected Sunday (17 March) to a four-year term as
chairman of the Party for Democratic Progress (PDP). He told delegates at the
PDP conference that the party would not form a coalition for the October
elections, but that it would run in BiH's Muslim-Croat entity as well. (AFP -
17/03/02)
Back to top
|
