01 March  2002

SFOR Fails Again Friday to Arrest Karadzic in Bosnia

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- For a second straight day Friday (1 March), the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in BiH entered the village of Celebici, in search of Radovan Karadzic, but came away empty-handed. Officials say the forces returned to the village after receiving intelligence information that Karadzic was still the area, despite Thursday’s raid. Mladen Ivanic, the prime minister of Republika Srpska (RS), protested that operation, insisting RS officials should have been informed of it in advance. He warned this would do little to improve co-operation between RS and the UN war crimes tribunal.

In Washington meanwhile, the top US commander in Europe, Gen Joseph Ralston, told a Senate panel Thursday that the number of US forces in Bosnia should be reduced to about 1,800 by this fall. The United States will pull out 500 of his 3,000 men next month. (CNN, Mediapool - 01/03/02; FTV, SRNA, B 92, Tanjug, AP, AFP - 28/02/02)

Montenegrin Official: Federation Talks Wrapped Up by Mid-March

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia -- The final round of federation talks between Serbia and Montenegro would take place in two weeks, according to Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic. He said Thursday (28 February) that if no agreement is reached by then on the future of the Yugoslav federation, an independence referendum would be held.

Meanwhile in Belgrade Thursday, Serbian Economic Co-operation Minister Goran Pitic announced that the government plans to launch a campaign for a second international donor conference in late summer or early fall. He expressed concern over the possibility of reduced EU assistance to Serbia, which would slow reforms. (B92, BBC, Tanjug - 28/02/02)

Milosevic Challenges Validity of Prosecution’s First Exhibit

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Slobodan Milosevic engaged in a heated dispute with a prosecution witness at his trial in The Hague Thursday (28 February), accusing him of producing false evidence. Halit Barani, a Kosovo human rights activist, showed the court his diary, in which he recorded the killings of hundreds of ethnic Albanians. He also presented the first of the prosecution's exhibits, a list of names of ethnic Albanians slated for killing, which had allegedly been compiled by a Serb commander. An angry Milosevic fired back, insisting that the list was an obvious forgery because it contained grammatical and spelling mistakes "no Serb could make". The judges agreed documents must be proved authentic and asked Milosevic to call experts when he presents his case later in the trial.

Earlier this week, several Kosovo Albanian civilians testified, including a doctor, a retired farmer and a woman whose baby starved to death during the exodus from the province. One described a "river of people" heading for the border to escape the Serb onslaught. Milosevic is facing a total of 66 war crimes charges. (AP, AFP, Reuters - 28/02/02)

Croatian Ruling Parties Meet to Decide on Cabinet Shuffle

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Prime Minister Ivica Racan and Drazen Budisa, leader of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), will meet Friday (1 March) to discuss the pending cabinet reshuffle, in the wake of Wednesday’s resignation of five HSLS ministers. HSLS, the second party in the ruling coalition, reportedly will try to nab the post of deputy prime minister for Budisa. Local media is speculating that Racan, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), may seek a confidence vote. He reportedly is certain that the parliamentary majority would back him and he could decide to retain some of the HSLS ministers.

In other news, Vlasta Pavic was elected the new mayor of Zagreb Thursday by the city council. She replaces Milan Bandic who resigned after a drunken driving scandal. (Vecernji List, Jutarnji List, Vjesnik - 01/03/02; HINA - 28/02/01)

Headquarters of Kostunica's Party Attacked

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Two hand grenades were thrown into a hallway in the headquarters of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia shortly before midnight Thursday (28 February). The building was empty at the time, so there were no injuries. Outside, witnesses saw two men leaving the scene. Kostunica said the blast "indicates that our society is in a deep crisis. This is not the first such case, there are many reasons for concern." (BBC, Tanjug, Serbian TV, AFP - 01/03/02)

Bosnian Presidency Nominates Mikerevic as Prime Minister-Designate

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- The BiH Presidency tapped the Serb Dragan Mikerevic as the new prime minister designate Thursday (28 February). A member of the Democratic Progress Party, he currently holds the seat of minister for European integration in the central BiH government. A vote is expected on 15 March, when the term of incumbent Zlatko Lagumdzija, a Bosniak, expires. Under the BiH Constitution, the position rotates among the three constituent nations every eight months. (FTV, FENA, HINA - 28/02/02)

Robertson Urges Modernisation and Army Reform in Bulgaria

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- NATO Secretary General George Robertson made clear Thursday (28 February) that Bulgaria should either modernise its army or lose its chance of obtaining NATO membership at the Prague summit in November. Robertson, who paid a one-day visit in Sofia, stressed that NATO is impressed with reforms undertaken in other sectors. He reiterated that despite rumours to the contrary, NATO has not decided which countries will be offered membership.

On Friday meanwhile, Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov and Chief of Staff Gen Miho Mihov will inspect Bulgarian troops serving with the NATO-led peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. (24 Chasa, Monitor, Sega, Standart - 01/03/02; BTA, Mediapool, BCC - 28/02/02)

Bulgaria, Macedonia Break Up Illegal Trafficking Channel

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Bulgarian and Macedonian authorities have jointly broken up an illegal trafficking ring. Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski announced Thursday (28 February) that investigators have determined that police and customs services officials, as well as criminal elements from both countries, were involved. Boskovski says his ministry has already pressed charges against several Macedonian nationals, and says more arrests may follow as the operation continues. (Mediapool - 01/02/02; Nova Makedonija - 28/02/02)

Russia Offers to Supply Technology For Romanian Nuclear Plant

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Russia wants to supply technology for construction of a new unit at Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear plant. Russian experts made their pitch to Prime Minister Adrian Nastase during his trip to Moscow on 21 February. Russia has already exported four reactors to China and India. Romania built the first reactor at Cernavoda using Canadian technology. Construction of a second reactor requires at least $700m in financing and should be completed in 2005. (Rompres - 28/02/02)