BALKAN_MEDIA_&_POLICY_MONITOR

Issue Number 64, Vol. 4 July 27, 1998


IN THIS ISSUE:



Bosnia and Herzegovina

-Feral Tribune on the renewed candidacy of Alija Izetbegovic for the Bosnian Presidency
- AIM on the agreement of Bosnian opposition in Brussels

Croatia

-Feral Tribune on the internal frictions within the ruling HDZ party
-Feral Tribune on the situation within the Croatian opposition

Kosovo

-Monitor on the background of the Kosovo Liberation Army
-Nezavisni on the American diplomatic efforts in Kosovo
-Vreme on Serbian political stance towards the crisis in Kosovo

Montenegro

-AIM on the political background of Milosevic - Djukanovic agreement

Macedonia

-AIM on the Kosovo refugee situation in Macedonia
-AIM on the forthcoming Macedonian elections
-AIM on inter - ethnic conflicts in Macedonia

Serbia

-Vreme on first hundred days of the new Serbian coalition government
-Nezavisna Svetlost on the takeover of Serbian universities by the government

Vojvodina
-AIM on the political situation in the second Serbian province.





Dear readers,

In the period between the two issues of the "Balkan Media & Policy Monitor," the conflict in Kosovo has dominated almost all political reports from the region. This conflict, which went into an armed conflict phase with the police action in Prekaz in November of last year, and which has intensified at the beginning of this year, has still not been stopped - either through political negotiations, nor through clearer NATO threats, which show more plainly to the sides what is their maneuvering space. Currently, the most visible result of the political, diplomatic and armed actions is the number of displaced persons from the epicenter of the conflict, which is already counted in tens of thousands and a number of killed persons, something both sides are manipulating with. The only certain thing is that this number is growing by the day and that these military activities have taken the shape of an escalated conflict. All in all, as one of the authors we are citing in this issue says:" If the initiated processes in Kosovo get out of hand, a number of dangerous precedents is in sight: that international principles and international legal acts are trampled on for the sake of stability in the region and that current international legal and political approach to regions within one state mainly inhabited by a minority population. All three precedents could bring about unforeseeable consequences, Kosovo itself, and wider on the international scale."(Zoran Lutovac - "Nezavisni").

Kosovo dominates as a main weapon in a political conflict between Serbia and Montenegro, where, even besides the joint stance that Kosovo must remain as part of Serbia, there is an ongoing conflict dealing with which position should Montenegro have within the current Yugoslav federation.

The Kosovo conflict is slowly spilling into Macedonia, where what is currently happening in FRY, will have serious influence on an definitely hot electoral Autumn, and where it is already becoming very hard to subdue radical nationalists, on both, Macedonian and Albanian side.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the preparations for September elections are in full swing, the main SDA candidate, Alija Izetbegovic, has decided to run in the elections after all, while there are signs that the international community will give better opportunities this time around to non nationalist parties.

The most interesting events in Croatia at this moment are the ongoing political processes among the Croatian opposition and whether it can play a more important role in the current conflict within the ruling HDZ between a more liberal faction and hard core nationalists.

In this issue we are also covering the results of the Serbian coalition government after its first hundred days in power, the conflict concerning the new University law in Serbia, as well as the current political situation in the other Serbian province - Vojvodina.

The editor




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