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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 129, 96-07-03
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 129, 3 July 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ALIEV IN BONN.
[02] FEARS OVER "MAD COW" BEEF SALE IN KAZAKHSTAN.
[03] WORLD BANK LOAN TO BOOST KAZAKHSTAN'S OIL PRODUCTION.
[04] CHINESE PRESIDENT ENDS VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN.
[05] INDIA MAY BUY TANKER AIRCRAFT BUILT IN UZBEKISTAN.
[06] RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS IN TAJIKISTAN DETAIN OPPOSITION FIELD COMMANDER.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] UPDATE ON MOSTAR ELECTION RESULTS.
[08] EU WANTS MOSTAR MANDATE PROLONGED.
[09] STANDOFF BETWEEN PALE, WASHINGTON OVER KARADZIC.
[10] BOSNIAN SERBS TURN BACK WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATORS.
[11] TRIAL OF SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER BEGINS.
[12] RUMP YUGOSLAVIA, UNHCR SIGN ACCORD.
[13] CROATIAN UPDATE.
[14] MACEDONIAN ROUNDUP.
[15] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT TO COMPENSATE FOR PRICE HIKES.
[17] MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION PARTY CRITICIZES PACT WITH DNIESTER REGION.
[18] BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION UPDATE.
[19] U.S.-ALBANIAN UPDATE.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ALIEV IN BONN.
Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev, on the second day of a four-day official
visit to Germany, met in Bonn with Chancellor Helmut Kohl on 2 July, ITAR-TASS
reported. Kohl affirmed his country's support for democratic and market
reforms in Azerbaijan and for the ongoing efforts of the OSCE's Minsk Group,
of which Germany is a member, to mediate a political settlement of the
Karabakh conflict. -- Liz Fuller
[02] FEARS OVER "MAD COW" BEEF SALE IN KAZAKHSTAN.
Kazakhstan's health officials are seeking to confiscate large quantities of
Irish beef, believed to have been infected by the "mad cow" virus, which has
been illegally brought into the country, ITAR-TASS reported on 2 July.
Almaty's veterinary inspectorate reported that around 100 tons of infected
beef has been smuggled into the country, possibly via Uzbekistan, since June.
About 3.3 tons of infected beef has been confiscated and destroyed so far. --
Bhavna Dave
[03] WORLD BANK LOAN TO BOOST KAZAKHSTAN'S OIL PRODUCTION.
The World Bank will offer a $109 million loan to Kazakhstan to aid the
rehabilitation of the Uzen oil field, the country's second largest after
Tengiz, AFP reported on 2 July. World Bank sources say that due to financial
and operating problems, crude oil output in Kazakhstan has fallen to 17
million tons in 1995 from a peak of 25 million tons in 1991. The Bank predicts
that by developing reserves oil production could be doubled by the turn of the
century. -- Bhavna Dave
[04] CHINESE PRESIDENT ENDS VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN.
Jiang Zemin concluded a two-day official visit to Tashkent on 3 July, which
included meetings with Uzbek President Islam Karimov and Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Komilov, international sources reported. The two sides signed 21
intergovernmental agreements, ITAR-TASS reported, which address trade and
economic relations, transport, and avoiding double taxation. Mutual trade
dropped from $165 million in 1994 to $59 million in 1995 and $37 million for
the first five months of 1996. According to Reuters, Jiang praised
Uzbekistan's role in stabilizing Central Asia and expressed his appreciation
for Karimov's supporting China's policies in Tibet and Xinjiang. Jiang will
also meet with the Presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan before returning to
China on 6 July. -- Roger Kangas
[05] INDIA MAY BUY TANKER AIRCRAFT BUILT IN UZBEKISTAN.
India is interested in buying several Ilyusin-78 airborne refueling tankers,
an official of the Ilyushin design bureau told Reuters on 1 July. The Russian-
designed aircraft, which is a modification of the Il-76 cargo plane, is built
at the Valery Chkalov Aircraft Plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The plane was
offered to the Indians by Tashkent Aviation, a joint venture of Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus, and Uzbekistan. They currently operate 17 Il-76 transports. -
- Doug Clarke
[06] RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS IN TAJIKISTAN DETAIN OPPOSITION FIELD COMMANDER.
A group of 11 men were apprehended by Russian border guards near Khorog on
28 June, ITAR-TASS and Russian Independent Television (NTV) reported. The 11,
who were in possession of weapons and drugs, included opposition field
commander Khudoidod. According to the 2 July NTV broadcast, opposition members
surrounded the border post and demanded the release of Khudoidod, threatening
to resort to violence. The commander of the border guards in Tajikistan, Lt.-
Gen. Pavel Tarasenko, flew to the area to negotiate with the opposition. The
Russians finally handed Khudoidod and six others over to Tajik authorities. --
Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] UPDATE ON MOSTAR ELECTION RESULTS.
According to Onasa, the Muslim-dominated List of Citizens for a United Mostar
won the Mostar municipal elections with 28,505 votes. The Croatian Democratic
Community came second with 26,680 votes, while the third largest force, a list
of anti-nationalist parties, received 1,937 votes. Two Croatian right-wing
radical parties received 619 and 386 votes, respectively. The two main parties
each gained the three districts located on their respective side of the
divided city. The figures include the ballots from Oslo, Stockholm, Bonn and
Bern, but official results are not expected until 3 July. EU officials said
the results of the Mostar municipal elections indicate that the deep ethnic
division in Bosnia is likely to remain after the September nationwide ballot,
AFP reported on 2 July. -- Fabian Schmidt
[08] EU WANTS MOSTAR MANDATE PROLONGED.
Meanwhile, EU spokesman Dragan Gasic said Mostar administrator Ricardo Perez
Casado will ask Brussels to extend the EU mandate beyond 23 July, Onasa
reported on 2 July. An EU official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that
"the vote did not give a fair choice to the different candidates." He added:
"I don't know why the September elections are likely to be any better. This is
a fake success.... The result is that the division of the town has been
legitimized." Opposition parties had almost no access to the mass media, which
was controlled by the two nationalist parties. French Foreign Ministry
spokesman Jacques Rummelhardt said that "prolonging the EU action in Mostar
remains subordinate to pursuing the reunification process in the city." --
Fabian Schmidt
[09] STANDOFF BETWEEN PALE, WASHINGTON OVER KARADZIC.
Bosnian Serb Vice President Biljana Plavsic on 2 July said that Radovan
Karadzic has not resigned as president of the Republika Srpska, Nasa Borba
noted. While she did not spell out her own precise function now that he has
formally handed over his duties to her, she added that he will not be sent to
The Hague because that would be against the republic's law, the BBC reported.
Plavsic also firmly refused to cooperate with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, which the Bosnian Serbs regard as a
political instrument against them. The U.S., however, asserted that Karadzic
must leave public office or Pale will face renewed economic sanctions. The
State Department added that it may seek to ban the Serbian Democratic Party
from the September elections if it does not dump Karadzic as its leader, news
agencies reported. -- Patrick Moore
[10] BOSNIAN SERBS TURN BACK WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATORS.
Bosnian Serb police on 2 July barred the way to Finnish forensic experts who
wanted to examine the remains of Muslims lying in a field near Srebrenica,
where the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II took place last July.
The Serbian authorities had earlier given the Finns permission to enter the
area. The BBC said that a Serbian vehicle had been carting off any weapons
lying about and that the incident was yet another humiliation for the
international community at the hands of the Serbs. -- Patrick Moore
[11] TRIAL OF SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER BEGINS.
Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party, went on trial on 2 July for
accusing Serbian Premier Mirko Marjanovic of direct involvement in fraudulent
activities, Beta reported. The charges against the opposition leader stem from
a January 1995 advertisement published in Nedeljni Telegraf, which connected
Marjanovic to a shady plot to sell some 1 million tons of wheat for an
exorbitant profit. AFP added that Nedeljni Telegraf editor Dragoljub Belic
is also standing trial and that representatives from the British, Swiss,
French, German, and Canadian embassies are observing the proceedings. -- Stan
Markotich
[12] RUMP YUGOSLAVIA, UNHCR SIGN ACCORD.
Federal Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslav Buljajic and Margaret
O'Keefe, UN High Commissioner for Refugees mission head in rump Yugoslavia,
signed an accord on 2 July aimed at strengthening cooperation and regulating
the status of the UNHCR in rump Yugoslavia, Tanjug reported. The official news
agency commented that the signing of the agreement represents "recognition" of
Belgrade's compliance with the Dayton peace process. -- Stan Markotich
[13] CROATIAN UPDATE.
The Council of Europe on 2 July invited Croatia to join that organization,
Reuters reported. But it added that "the decision is not immediately effective
as the [Council's ministerial] committee reserved the possibility of
reconsidering it in the second half of September with reference to Croatia's
observance of the Dayton peace agreement and, in particular, its attitude
during the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina." An acrimonious exchange has been
going on for some months between Zagreb and the Council over Croatia's record
on human rights and media policy. Meanwhile, Novi list reported on 2 July that
Croatian TV (HTV) suddenly dropped a popular late-evening news program. No
reason was given, but the authorities later said it would be merged with
another news program as part of summer schedule changes. HTV is tightly
controlled by the governing party, but the banned program had managed to
provide some coverage of stories the authorities would rather not publicize. --
Patrick Moore
[14] MACEDONIAN ROUNDUP.
Macedonia and Slovenia have signed a free-trade agreement covering both
industrial and agricultural products, Nova Makedonija and MILS reported on 3
July. Duties on all Macedonian industrial products will be lifted as of
October, as will those on 60% of Slovenian industrial goods. Duties on the
remainder will be reduced gradually. Free trade of agricultural products on a
quota system will begin in December 1996. Goods exceeding the quota will be
subject to regular duties. In other news, the EU has announced it will ban all
meat imports from Macedonia following the outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease
among cattle in parts of the country. -- Stefan Krause
[15] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT TO COMPENSATE FOR PRICE HIKES.
The government, meeting with representatives of employers' unions and labor
confederations on 2 July, discussed measures to compensate for massive hikes
in the price of energy, fuel, and bread, Radio Bucharest reported. It offered
a compensation payment to employees of 9,340 lei ($3) and an additional wage
indexation of 4%.[16]
Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu said the sharp increases were due to the
recent devaluation of the national currency and the need to import oil,
natural gas, and electricity in order to keep the economy afloat. Chairman of
the Alfa Trade Union Cartel Bogdan Hossu was quoted as saying that the offer
was not sufficient to compensate for the price hikes. Trade unions have
threatened with massive protests against the government's economic policies. -- Dan Ionescu
[17] MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION PARTY CRITICIZES PACT WITH DNIESTER REGION.
The opposition Party of Democratic Forces on 2 July strongly criticized a
draft memorandum on normalizing Moldovan-Dniester relations, Infotag reported.
It expressed concern about "the strange haste with which the document was
drafted at Moscow's insistence." Party leaders also described the memorandum
as "capitulating to both Tiraspol and Moscow," since, they said, it makes so
many concessions to Dniester separatists that it is a de facto acceptance
of Moldova's federalization. The draft was due to be signed in the Kremlin on
1 July, but the signing ceremony was postponed at the last moment until after
the second round of the Russian presidential elections. -- Dan Ionescu
[18] BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION UPDATE.
The Union of Democratic Forces on 2 July decided to ask the Constitutional
Court to clarify whether Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski can be elected
president, Standart reported. Pirinski is to run in the fall elections as
the candidate of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party. Article 93 of the
Bulgarian Constitution stipulates that the president must be a Bulgarian by
birth. Pirinski was born in New York in 1948 into the family of a Bulgarian
emigre who later returned to Bulgaria. The opposition doubts whether this
meets the constitutional requirements, while Pirinski notes that he
relinquished his U.S. citizenship in 1974. -- Stefan Krause
[19] U.S.-ALBANIAN UPDATE.
U.S. press attache Charles Walsh has said that U.S. diplomats stayed away from
the new parliament's opening session to make clear they do not consider
disputes about the 26 May elections to be over, Reuters reported on 2 July. He
added that "it's fairly urgent for the government to address these [election]
irregularities." Virtually all other diplomatic corps attended the ceremony.
Meanwhile, the first shipment of U.S. military equipment pledged by Defense
Secretary William Perry in March arrived in Durres, ATSH reported. The
shipment included 180 trucks, unused weapons, and other supplies mainly from
German bases. -- Fabian Schmidt
Compiled by Steve Kettle and Jan Cleave
News and information as of 1200 CET
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media
Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in
Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz.
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