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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 189, 96-09-30
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 189, 30 September 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] COMMISSION UPHOLDS TER-PETROSSYAN'S ELECTION VICTORY . . .
[02] . . . AND MORE ARRESTS IN YEREVAN.
[03] THIRD CONGRESS OF OSSETIANS CONVENES IN VLADIKAVKAZ.
[04] VIOLENCE IN ABKHAZIA.
[05] NIYAZOV TURNS DOWN LIFE-LONG PRESIDENCY.
[06] FIGHTING ERUPTS ALONG TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] OSCE VALIDATES BOSNIAN ELECTION RESULTS.
[08] SCATTERED VIOLENCE IN BOSNIA.
[09] GERMANY RESOLVED TO SEND BOSNIAN REFUGEES HOME.
[10] FORMER CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR TO LEAD OPPOSITION COALITION IN YUGOSLAV
ELECTIONS.
[11] BOMB ATTACKS ON ARMY BARRACKS IN KOSOVO.
[12] CROATIA PASSES RESOLUTION ON UN MANDATE IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.
[13] WORLD BANK GRANTS MACEDONIA $45 MILLION LOAN.
[14] ROMANIA OPENS OVER THE COUNTER STOCK EXCHANGE.
[15] ROMANIAN, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS TREATY.
[16] IMF, WORLD BANK URGE REFORMS IN BULGARIA.
[17] NINE ALBANIAN COMMUNIST-ERA OFFICIALS SENTENCED.
[18] CENTER POLE TO TAKE PART IN ALBANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] COMMISSION UPHOLDS TER-PETROSSYAN'S ELECTION VICTORY . . .
Armenia's Central Electoral Commission on 29 September released the final
results of the 22 September presidential election in which incumbent Levon
Ter-Petrossyan received 51.75% of the 2,210,189 votes cast and his rival,
National Democratic Union (NDU) chairman Vazgen Manukyan, only 41.29%,
Western agencies reported. Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 27
September, Manukyan's wife, Vardouhi Ishkhanyan, said that the NDU would
hand over evidence that the vote count had been falsified to international
observers within two days. Manukyan is currently in hiding. Also on 27
September, Communist presidential candidate Sergei Badalyan, who received
6.34% of the vote, announced that his faction of eight deputies would no
longer participate in the work of the "undemocratic" National Assembly, AFP
reported. -- Liz Fuller
[02] . . . AND MORE ARRESTS IN YEREVAN.
Three NDU deputies and the sole Dashnak parliamentary deputy were arrested in
Yerevan on 27 September, Noyan Tapan reported. Western diplomats estimate that
in all some 200 people have been detained since the election, including the
chairman of the Artsakh-Hayastan party, Lenser Aghalovyan, who withdrew his
presidential candidacy to support Manukyan, according to Western agencies.
Police are still searching for Democratic Party Chairman Aram Sarkisyan, who
also withdrew his candidacy in Manukyan's favor. The third candidate who
withdrew, Paruir Hairikyan, is under house arrest. Most of the troops and
tanks deployed in Yerevan on 26 September following an attack on the
parliament building by Manukyan's supporters were pulled back on 29 September.
The city was reported to be calm. -- Liz Fuller
[03] THIRD CONGRESS OF OSSETIANS CONVENES IN VLADIKAVKAZ.
Meeting in Vladikavkaz on 27-28 September, representatives of the Republic of
North Ossetiya-Alaniya and the disputed Georgian region of South Ossetia
discussed how to improve the social-economic situation in North Ossetiya and
to overcome the aftermath of the North Ossetiyan-Ingush and Georgian-South
Ossetian conflicts, Radio Rossii reported. Galazov expressed his support for
the normalization of relations with Georgia and for any initiatives aimed at
substantiating the peace process in the North Caucasus. On 24 September, the
South Ossetiyan Supreme Council dismissed Prime Minister Vladislav Gabaraev
for failing to resolve the region's social and political problems, according
to a Kontakt News Agency report monitored by the BBC. Gabaraev may stand in
next month's South Ossetian presidential election. -- Liz Fuller
[04] VIOLENCE IN ABKHAZIA.
There are conflicting reports of violence that erupted on 27 September in
Abkhazia. It seems that several administrative buildings in Gali city were
attacked and artillery shells were lobbed at the town of Ochamchira. Georgian
television attributed these events to infighting among Abkhaz military units
angry at personnel changes; the Abkhaz side, for its part, put the blame for
the violence squarely on Georgian "bandits," and demanded that the Russian
peacekeeping command take action to prevent further acts of "terrorism." The
date 27 September is considered to be the third anniversary of victory for
Sukhumi in its fight with Georgia. Meanwhile, hundreds of ethnic Georgian
refugees from Abkhazia have begun a sit-in near the Inguri River to protest
talks between Tbilisi and Sukhumi and Abkhazia's scheduled November election. -
- Lowell Bezanis
[05] NIYAZOV TURNS DOWN LIFE-LONG PRESIDENCY.
Turkmenistan's socio-economic development through the year 2001 was the main
subject at a joint session of the Turkmen Peoples' Council, the Council of
Elders, and the Movement for National Revival in Bayram-Ali, RFE/RL reported
on 27 September. At the session, Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov said he
would not accept the title "president for life" as had been suggested late
last year, saying such a move would violate the country's constitution. He was
quoted by Russian news agencies as saying "we will decide together" who should
be Turkmenistan's next president when his term expires in 2002. -- Lowell
Bezanis
[06] FIGHTING ERUPTS ALONG TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER.
Russian border guards have repelled an attempt by 300 opposition fighters to
cross over from Afghanistan into Tajikistan, Russian and Western media
reported. The fighting began on 27 September when opposition groups south of
the Kalai-Khumb border posts tried to infiltrate Tajikistan. The opposition
forces were largely unsuccessful in their attempts to penetrate the border,
but ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported that some managed to enter Tajikistan. As
of 29 September, the border guards had pushed them some 10 km back into
Afghanistan. One opposition leader, Ali Akbar Turajonzoda, denied that his
side had started the trouble, saying "in view of the uncertain situation in
Afghanistan, it's not in our interests to provoke the enemy." -- Bruce
Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] OSCE VALIDATES BOSNIAN ELECTION RESULTS.
The OSCE has declared the results of the 14 September Bosnian vote valid, the
BBC reported on 29 September. On 27 September, following widespread criticism
of irregularities including vote totals from individual polling places that
exceeded the number of registered voters, the OSCE's own legal advisory body
had called for a recount. But the OSCE said the isolated irregularities did
not add up to massive fraud; election supervisor Robert Frowick told Reuters
that "it was a reasonably democratic process and a reasonably democratic
result which reflects the will of the people." Critics have accused the OSCE
of yielding to U.S. pressure so that President Bill Clinton can claim the
Dayton agreement is being carried out on schedule. The decision cleared the
way for a meeting of the three-man Bosnian presidency and for sanctions
against Belgrade and Pale to be lifted. -- Patrick Moore
[08] SCATTERED VIOLENCE IN BOSNIA.
Oslobodjenje on 30 September reported the killing in Sarajevo two days
earlier of Nedzad Ugljen, the deputy head of the controversial Bosnian Agency
for Research and Documentation. In Mostar, a hand grenade landed on the
apartment balcony of Josip Jole Musa of the opposition Joint List, causing
material damage. He was recently elected to the Bosnian Federal Assembly.
Along the busy but dangerous Route Arizona in northern Bosnia, a Muslim was
shot and wounded on 27 September when his car was hijacked on Bosnian Serb
territory, Onasa reported. Meanwhile, officials of more than 30 countries met
in Dublin, Ireland, on 28 September to discuss plans for a modern and
democratic police force for Bosnia-Herzegovina. The UN-sponsored conference
sought to raise $99 million, but few countries made firm commitments. The
largest was a $17 million package from the U.S. -- Patrick Moore
[09] GERMANY RESOLVED TO SEND BOSNIAN REFUGEES HOME.
German Interior Minister Manfred Kanther warned that Bosnian refugees who
refuse to repatriate to Bosnia-Herzegovina "will not end up in the Bosnian
winter but in court," AFP reported on 30 September. The interior ministers of
Germany's federal states agreed in September that repatriation of the 320,000
Bosnian refugees currently in Germany should start on 1 October, but they left
it up to each state to decide on timing and procedure. Repatriation is to
start with unmarried people and couples with no children, and refugees may
only be sent back to "safe" regions, with each case to be dealt with on an
individual basis. Vehid Sehic, head of the Tuzla-based Alternative Citizens'
Parliament, said on 28 September that repatriation of refugees is a higher
priority than a civic society and democracy, Nasa Borba reported on 30
September. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] FORMER CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR TO LEAD OPPOSITION COALITION IN YUGOSLAV
ELECTIONS.
Former Central Bank Governor Dragoslav Avramovic announced he would lead the
joint list of the Zajedno coalition in rump Yugoslavia's 3 November
parliamentary elections. Avramovic successfully halted hyperinflation two
years ago but was sacked in May after a dispute with Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic about economic and political reforms. Avramovic said his
coalition wants to liberalize the state-run economy, to enact Western-style
democratic reforms and reduce the size of the federal government. Observers
suggest Avramovic's coalition could cost the ruling Socialists their two-
thirds majority. Zajedno is made up of Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal
Movement, Vojislav Kostunica's Serbian Democratic Party, Zoran Djindjic's
Democratic Party, Vesna Pesic's Citizens Union, and the Independent Trade
Unions. -- Fabian Schmidt
[11] BOMB ATTACKS ON ARMY BARRACKS IN KOSOVO.
Unknown assailants attacked army barracks near Vucitrn with two bombs on 27
September, AFP reported. No one was hurt in the incident, but shots were
reportedly exchanged between soldiers and the attackers. The same day, police
stations on the Belgrade-Podujevo road were sprayed with machine gun fire. --
Fabian Schmidt
[12] CROATIA PASSES RESOLUTION ON UN MANDATE IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.
The Croatian parliament on 27 September passed a resolution saying the mandate
of the UN Transitional Authority in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES) "must end on 15
January 1997," AFP reported. Zagreb is stepping up pressure to prevent the
renewal of UNTAES's one-year mandate, as requested by rebel Serbs who still
hold the area of eastern Slavonia. But UN spokesman Philip Arnold responded
that renewal of the UN mandate will "be only a UN Security Council decision."
Meanwhile, the state-run newspaper Vjesnik reported on 30 September that the
UN mandate in eastern Slavonia would most probably end by 15 April 1997, while
the UN forces would withdraw from Croatia by 15 June. -- Daria Sito
Sucic
[13] WORLD BANK GRANTS MACEDONIA $45 MILLION LOAN.
A Macedonian delegation to the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF in
Washington agreed with the bank on 28 September on a $45 million structural
adjustment loan, Nova Makedonija reported. The money will provide balance-of-
payments support. The government agreed to further liberalize its foreign
trade regime and privatize agricultural estates. The credit follows a 1994
economic renewal loan ($40 million) and a 1995 financial and enterprise sector
adjustment credit ($20 million). -- Michael Wyzan
[14] ROMANIA OPENS OVER THE COUNTER STOCK EXCHANGE.
Romania on 27 September inaugurated a long-awaited over-the-counter stock
exchange that would help Romanians trade their shares in state-owned
enterprises slated for privatization, Radio Bucharest reported. The ceremony,
which took place at Bucharest's World Trade Center, was attended by President
Ion Iliescu; Minister of State Mircea Cosea, who heads the government's
Council for Economic Coordination, Strategy, and Reform; and other senior
Romanian officials. The event is seen as the final stage in Romania's large-
scale privatization scheme and a major step forward for the country's
fledgling capital market. -- Dan Ionescu
[15] ROMANIAN, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS TREATY.
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and his Ukrainian counterpart
Hennadii Udovenko on 28 September discussed ways of overcoming the current
impasse in negotiations over a basic treaty, Radio Bucharest reported. The
meeting took place in New York, where the two were attending the 51st session
of the UN General Assembly. The ministers agreed that talks over the draft
document be resumed at legal experts' level in the second half of October. The
two countries have been unable so far to complete the negotiations, mainly due
to Romania's insistence that the document include a formal denunciation of the
1939 Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact that resulted in Romania losing Bessarabia,
northern Bukovina and the Herta region to the former Soviet Union. The last
two territories, as well as southern Bessarabia and the Serpents' Islands, are
currently part of Ukraine. -- Zsolt Mato
[16] IMF, WORLD BANK URGE REFORMS IN BULGARIA.
IMF and World Bank sources said the two organizations will do everything
possible to help Bulgaria get out of its present crisis but urged Sofia to
take strong measures to get reforms back on track, RFE/RL reported on 28
September. They said Sofia must reform its banking system and speed up
privatization. Bulgarian top officials and the IMF and World Bank held talks
in recent days, but no side commented on them. IMF and World Bank sources said
both organizations are working to put aid programs together, but such programs
must await an agreement between the IMF and Bulgaria about the disbursement of
the second installment of a $580 million standby loan. President Zhelyu Zhelev
said he had sent a letter to IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus "with a
personal plea for financial and moral support for reforms in Bulgaria." --
Stefan Krause
[17] NINE ALBANIAN COMMUNIST-ERA OFFICIALS SENTENCED.
Tirana Judge Mehdi Bici on 28 September sentenced nine senior communist-era
officials to prison terms of up to 20 years, Reuters reported. The defendants
were charged with sending dissidents into internal exile. They included Llambi
Gegprifti, Lenka Cuko, and Irakli Vero, the former party leaders in Tirana,
Lushnja, and Fier, respectively; former Kruja party chairman and local judge
Idajet Beqiri, who currently heads the National Unity Party; Agron Tafa,
Sulejmani Abazi, and Veiz Haderi, the secret police chairmen in Kruja, Tropoja,
and Saranda, respectively; and former Interior Ministry department directors
Nazmi Domi and Shkelzen Bajraktari. -- Fabian Schmidt
[18] CENTER POLE TO TAKE PART IN ALBANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS.
The Social Democrats and the Democratic Alliance said they would take part in
20 October's local elections, Reuters reported on 26 September. The two
members of the Center Pole coalition thus abandoned earlier threats of a
boycott. "Our fight should be held at the voting centers," Social Democrat
leader Skender Gjinushi said. Democratic Alliance leader Neritan Ceka will run
for mayor of Tirana. In other news, the Central Election Commission agreed on
the division of TV broadcasting time for all parties in the election campaign.
The governing coalition and the opposition will each receive 50 percent of the
time, Rilindja Demokratike reported on 27 September. -- Fabian Schmidt
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Tom Warner
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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