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<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="7">Events of June
1996 </FONT></FONT></P>
<HR SIZE="1">
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="5"> Anne D. Baylon
</FONT></FONT></P>
<DIV ALIGN="center">
<CENTER><I><FONT SIZE="+1"> with Deb Hammels</FONT></I></CENTER></DIV>
<DIV ALIGN="center">
<CENTER><ADDRESS>
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<A NAME="CENTRAL EUROPE">
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<FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="5"><B><I>CENTRAL EUROPE
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</I></B></FONT></FONT></A></ADDRESS> </CENTER></DIV>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Czech
Republic </I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 2</B> In
parliamentary elections, the Civic Democratic Party of Prime Minister Václav
Klaus (a center-right coalition) narrowly loses its parliamentary
majority, winning 99 of parliament’s 200 seats while the opposition
center-left Social Democrats increase their seats from 24 to 61. The vote
reflects a desire to slow the quick pace of reforms introduced by Mr.
Klaus, who has successfully moved towards a market economy by introducing
privatization programs, cutting inflation, and keeping unemployment low.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center">
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<A NAME="EASTERN EUROPE">
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<FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="5"><B><I>EASTERN EUROPE
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</I></B></FONT></FONT></A>
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</P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Russia
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 4</B> Aware
that his poll ratings for the upcoming presidential elections are sinking,
Communist Party candidate Gennadi Zyuganov seeks alliances with other
presidential candidates, such as liberal economist Grigory Yavlinsky,
whose perspectives sharply differ from his own. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 5 </B>Using
lures such as promises to end the draft and lower education costs,
President Yeltsin campaigns to win the votes of young Russians in the
18-30 age group. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 6</B>
President Yeltsin orders the Central Bank of Russia to transfer $1 billion
to the federal budget. The move, which bank officials criticize as “undermining
the bank’s independence” and economists qualify as “potentially
inflationary,” will permit Mr. Yeltsin to deliver on his campaign
promises to teachers, doctors and, the military. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 8</B> The
Central Bank agrees to give Mr. Yeltsin the funds he requested. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 10</B> In
order to offset the potential inflationary consequences of its recent
transfer of $1 billion to President Yeltsin, the Central Bank takes steps
to reduce the amount of money in circulation by increasing the amount of
money commercial banks must keep in reserve at the Central Bank. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 11
(reported in NY Times, June 13)</B> An explosion destroys a Moscow subway
car, killing four and severely wounding 12 others. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 12</B> With
the elections only four days away and with tighter security measures (due
to the June 11 bombing), over 100,000 people celebrate Russia’s
declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 with a festive
rock concert for President Yeltsin. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 14</B>
Determined to gain the support of the military, President Yeltsin promotes
the top five military chiefs to the elite four-star level. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 16</B> In
the first presidential election of an independent Russia, President
Yeltsin leads with 35% of the votes, followed closely by his Communist
rival Gennadi Zyuganov (32%) while Gen. Aleksandr Lebed receives an
unexpectedly strong 15%.  Since no candidate obtained the necessary
50% of the votes to win, Mr. Yeltsin and Mr. Zyuganov will face each other
in a runoff election to be held within 30 days. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 17</B> Back
on the campaign trail, President Yeltsin seeks the support of the losing
candidates, in particular that of his former rival Aleksandr Lebed.  Eager
to maintain the momentum that resulted in a high turnout of voters for the
first round of the elections, Mr. Yeltsin also to move up the runoff
election to July 3. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 18</B>
President Yeltsin replaces his unpopular Defense Minister Gen. Pavel
Grachev with Gen. Aleksandr Lebed as his top national security adviser.
The move bolsters Mr. Yeltsin’s political position since he can now
claim the 15% of the electorate who supported Gen. Lebed. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 20</B>
Claiming that “they began assuming too much authority, and producing
too few results,” President Yeltsin dismisses three of his senior
advisers—Chief of Presidential Security Maj. Gen. Aleksandr
Korzhakov; the head of the agency that replaced the K.G.B., Gen. Mikhail
Barsukov; and a Deputy Prime Minister in charge of overseeing Russia’s
military-industrial complex, Oleg Soskovets. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 24</B> As
he faces the prospect of defeat, Communist leader Gennadi Zyuganov
positions himself in the role of leader of the opposition, proposing the
establishment of a national peace accord among opposing parties and the
creation of a coalition government. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 25</B>
President Yeltsin continues his “political purge” by dismissing
seven top generals who had associations with ousted Defense Minister Gen.
Pavel Grachev. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 28</B> For
the third time  in less than a week, President Yeltsin cancels a
public meeting, causing the public to worry about his failing health and
stock prices to fall. Mr. Yeltsin’s aides videotape the President in
the Kremlin to prove that he is fine. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Russia/Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Georgia </I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 3 </B>President
Yeltsin holds a summit meeting with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia,
and Georgia, reaffirming his support for the cease-fire in Chechnya
despite recent attacks on Russian soldiers that breached the cease-fire.
Mr. Yeltsin’s goal is to reassure Russian voters that he is the best
candidate to bring peace to the Caucasus and to promote closer ties with
the other former Soviet republics. </FONT></FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Russia/Chechnya
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 1 </B>Although
the May 27 treaty to end the war in Chechnya is to take effect on June 1,
clashes are reported in the southeast near the town of Shali. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 9 </B>A
Chechen spokesman at the Russia/Chechnya peace talks (a part of the May 27
cease-fire) reveals that the two sides have tentatively agreed on a
withdrawal of Russian troops by Aug. 30. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 10</B>
Russian officials and Chechen separatists sign two accords covering the
issues of Russian military withdrawal, Chechen rebel disarmament, war
prisoner release, and Chechen election postponement. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 11</B>
Despite the less than a day old accords and the beginning withdrawal of
Russian troops from Chechnya, two explosions rock a convoy of Chechen
rebel leaders who were returning from the peace talks with Russian
officials. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Ukraine
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 4 </B>Ukraine
ships to Russia the last of 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads, completing a
three-year process to give up the nuclear arsenal it inherited from the
Soviet Union. The defense ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S.
(Pavel Grachev, Valery Shmarov, and William Perry, respectively)
symbolically plant sunflower seeds at the site of a former Soviet missile
silo. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 29</B>
Ukraine adopts its first post-Soviet constitution. Parliament’s
approval comes after months of resistance by the Communists—the
largest faction in parliament—who had opposed the constitution’s
provisions that allow private ownership of land and factories. </FONT></FONT></P>
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<FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="5"><B><I>THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
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<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Bosnia
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 1 </B>Although
national elections to build joint federal institutions in Bosnia are
scheduled for Sept. 14, OSCE reports about human rights abuses in Bosnia  call
into question the  country’s ability to hold free and fair
elections in the fall. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 4 </B>At
the urging of the U.S. and several European governments that want the
elections to proceed as planned, Robert Frowick, the U.S. diplomat who
heads the Bosnian mission of the OSCE that will decide on the feasibility
of fair elections, instructs his staff to focus on reporting positive
developments rather than on conditions that could impede free elections.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3">French troops rescue
American NATO troops blocked by a crowd of angry Serbs in a Sarajevo
police station. The Americans had attempted to confiscate weapons in a “zone
of separation” (i.e., a zone dividing the former warring parties)
since weapons are forbidden there. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 5 </B>Moderate
Bosnian Serbs who hoped for reconciliation with Muslims and remained in
Sarajevo suburbs returned to the control of the Muslim-dominated Bosnian
government are being threatened, abused, and expelled by Muslim groups
intent on preventing the ethnic unification of the country. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 6 </B>Antonio
Cassese, the President of the international war crimes tribunal, announces
that he will request U.N. sanctions against Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic and the Bosnian Serbs if the two indicted top Bosnian Serb
leaders, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, are not arrested. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 7</B>
Striving to ensure optimal election conditions, Swiss Foreign Minister
Flavio Cotti—the chairman of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, which must determine the fairness of the Bosnian
elections- resists pressure from the U.S. to approve the elections, saying
that, “If even minimal conditions are not met, then I believe it will
be better to delay elections.” </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 8 </B>The
Bosnian Serb-controlled television station in Pale has been using
propaganda to foster support for the two indicted leaders, Radovan
Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, and convince viewers that the Bosnian Serbs
have been abused by outside groups, including NATO and the Muslims.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 12</B>
Intent on preventing a disintegration of the fragile peace into civil war
again, U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry announces that American
peacekeeping troops may remain in Bosnia far beyond the original deadline
date of Dec. 19. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 13</B> The
Bosnian government extradites two indicted war criminals accused of
multiple murders and rapes at the Celebici prison camp in southern Bosnia.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 14</B> In
an important step of the peace accord, Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslims,
along with the governments of Croatia and Yugoslavia, sign in Florence an
arms control agreement that restricts the number and type of weapons that
each party can possess. The five parties, which have 16 months to comply,
will all be subjected to international inspections. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 18</B> The
U.N. Security Council votes to lift the embargo of heavy weapons it
imposed in 1991 on the former Yugoslav republics. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 25</B>
Despite serious concerns about the possibility of holding free and fair
national elections in Bosnia, Foreign Minister Flavio Cotti defers to the
wishes of the U.S. and Europe and announces that the elections will occur
in September as scheduled. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 27</B> The
war crimes tribunal in The Hague indicts eight Bosnian Serb officers for
raping 14 Muslim women during the war in southeastern Bosnia. It is the
first time that sexual assault is treated as a war crime. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 28
(reported on June 30)</B> Although the June 28 municipal elections in the
divided city of Mostar are meant to culminate efforts by the European
Community (which administers the city) to unify its Serb, Croat, and
Muslim population, they appear to have intensified ethnic divisions and
have left many skeptical of holding nationwide elections in September.
According to an OSCE official, the municipal elections have turned out to
be a “game manipulated by nationalists to solidify their power and
their privilege.” </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 29</B>
Efforts to oust Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic intensify as Carl
Bildt, the senior civilian overseeing the peace accord, together with the
leaders of the Group of Seven nations, threaten Serbia (which has power
over the Bosnian Serbs) with renewed international economic sanctions if
Mr. Karadzic is not removed from office  before the elections.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 30</B> Carl
Bildt announces Radovan Karadzic’s resignation, but it is denied by
the Bosnian Serbs. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Croatia
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 9 </B>Croatian
authorities arrest a Bosnian Croat charged with murder and mistreatment of
Muslim prisoners. It is Croatia’s first arrest of someone charged
with war crimes (Croatia was denied admission to the Council of Europe in
early June on the grounds that “the arrest of people charged with war
crimes is a requirement for membership that Zagreb must meet”).
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>NY Times, June
22</B> Eastern Slavonia, a region of Croatia that was seized by separatist
Serbs when Croatia declared its independence five years ago, is the last
of three Serbian-held enclaves in Croatia still held by rebel Serbs. Under
an agreement backed by Serbia and Croatia in February, the region came
under U.N. administration as a first phase toward transfer back to Croatia
within two years. But the plan is facing resistance from both the 170,000
Serbs who currently live in the area and from the resentful 80,000 Croats
who were expelled from the land. </FONT></FONT></P>
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<FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="5"><B><I>WESTERN EUROPE / EASTERN
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<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>NATO </I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 3 </B>In
Berlin, NATO ministers approve a plan that would assign “separable
but not separate” European units within NATO to accomplish regional
goals, using American equipment and assets. The idea is to create a purely
European component in NATO, which would give Europeans greater
responsibilities, facilitate France’s reentry into NATO, and allow
the U.S. to “opt out of smaller missions.” </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>NATO/France
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 8 </B>President
Jacques Chirac agrees that France will rejoin all the NATO military
structures from which it withdrew in 1966<B> </B>provided that NATO
complies with its decision to give stronger leadership roles to European
countries. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>Turkey
</I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 6 </B>Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz announces his resignation, ending a three-month-old
conservative coalition government with former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller,
after Mrs. Ciller—Yilmaz’s personal enemy—decides to take
her True Path Party out of the coalition. The decision is hailed by
pro-Islamic Welfare Party leader Necmettin Erbakan, whose party narrowly
won parliamentary elections in December but was blocked from entering
government by Turkey’s secular establishment (for fear that Mr.
Erbakan would take the country away from the West). </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 7</B>
President Suleyman Demirel offers Mr. Erbakan and his Islamic Welfare
Party a chance to form a government, saying that he will give the mandate
to “any leader who proves able to come up with a solid majority
coalition in the fractured Parliament.” </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 8 </B>Warning
that any coalitions established in the hopes of preventing him from
holding power are “doomed to failure,” Mr. Erbakan announces his
intention of forming a government within a month. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 28</B>
Having formed a coalition government with former Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller, the True Path Party leader, Necmettin Erbakan, the Islamic Welfare
Party leader, becomes Turkey’s new Prime Minister. Mrs. Ciller will
serve as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 30</B> The
new Prime Minister strives to gain the support of parliament and gives
assurances that his government will maintain Turkey as a “democratic,
secular and social state based in law and the principles of Ataturk.”
</FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="4"><B><I>U.S.A./United
Nations </I></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="left"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="3"><B>June 19</B>
Viewing U.N. Secretary General Boutros Ghali as “an obstacle” to
reform within the U.N., Washington announces that it will use its veto
power to prevent Mr. Boutros Ghali from being reelected for a second term.
</FONT></FONT></P>
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<P ALIGN="left"><FONT SIZE="+1"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Copyright ©
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