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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 219, 96-11-12
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 219, 12 November 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] CASPIAN SEA AGREEMENT SIGNED.
[02] PRISONER DIES IN JAIL. Valeri
[03] AZERBAIJAN'S OIL OUTPUT FALLS.
[04] TER-PETROSSYAN INAUGURATED AMID CONTROVERSY.
[05] KAZAKSTANI PRESIDENT INTERVIEWED.
[06] KYRGYZSTAN, CHINA AGREE TO FIGHT SMUGGLING.
[07] RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH IN UZBEKISTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[08] MUSLIM REFUGEES BATTLE WITH SERBS.
[09] MASS GRAVE YIELDS 244 BODIES; MORE EXPECTED.
[10] SACKED BOSNIAN SERB COMMANDERS REFUSE TO GO.
[11] VOTERS TO GO BACK TO THE POLLS IN FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA.
[12] SERBIAN UPDATE.
[13] SLOVENIAN ELECTION FINAL.
[14] VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN MACEDONIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN.
[15] RIVALS IN ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE DUEL ON TV.
[16] ROMANIAN LIBERALS PREPARE FOR UNIFICATION.
[17] PHONE-TAPPING SCANDAL MARS MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
[18] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS MEET TO DECIDE FATE OF PREMIER.
[19] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT IN GREECE.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] CASPIAN SEA AGREEMENT SIGNED.
Representatives from four of the five coastal states of the Caspian Sea signed
an agreement in Ashgabat on 12 November on the status of the sea, ITAR-TASS
and Izvestiya reported. The agreement, granting each state an exclusive
economic zone 45 miles (75 km) off-shore, was recognized by all parties except
Azerbaijan. Every country came into the meeting with their own proposal for
the zone: Iran favored a 10-mile zone; Russia, 20 miles, Turkmenistan, 60
miles; Kazakstan, 80 miles; and Azerbaijan wanted the entire sea divided into
sectors. The signatories regard the resources beyond the 45-mile zone as
subject to "joint ownership." Azerbaijan's oil riches lie beyond the 45-mile
zone and that country's representative did not sign the agreement.
Representatives of the other states promised to review "pinpoint jurisdiction"
in Azerbaijan's case. Izvestiya noted that all of the countries had already
begun developing areas in the Caspian without any clear ruling on its status. -
- Bruce Pannier
[02] PRISONER DIES IN JAIL. Valeri
i Fisyun, who was sentenced to six years' imprisonment last month for his
participation in the abortive march on Abkhazia launched by former Georgian
Defense Minister Tengiz Kitovani in January 1995, has died in a Tbilisi jail
after repeatedly requesting, but being refused, medical attention, RFE/RL
reported on 11 November. -- Liz Fuller
[03] AZERBAIJAN'S OIL OUTPUT FALLS.
Azerbaijan's oil output has declined for the fifth consecutive year, from 15
million metric tons in 1991 to an estimated 9 million tons for 1996, according
to Nezavisimaya gazeta on 11 November. The decline is the result of a lack
of investment and the loss of Azerbaijan's traditional export markets. The IMF
delegation that visited Baku in August made the disbursement of a further $300
million loan contingent on the raising of domestic oil prices. -- Liz
Fuller
[04] TER-PETROSSYAN INAUGURATED AMID CONTROVERSY.
Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossyan was inaugurated for a second five-year
term on 11 November, Armenian and Western media reported. The OSCE questioned
the vote results of the disputed 22 September presidential election, while the
opposition National Accord bloc (AHD) still claims it was robbed of the
victory. The ceremony, which was boycotted by the AHD deputies, took place two
days before the Constitutional Court is to start hearings on the opposition's
appeal to annul the election results. The defeated AHD candidate, Vazgen
Manukyan, described Ter-Petrossyan's decision to take the oath before the
court's ruling as a "violation of ethical principles." According to Reuters,
"Ter-Petrossyan looked grave and seemed to have lost weight." Meanwhile, there
were no results yet from the 10 November local elections. -- Emil
Danielyan
[05] KAZAKSTANI PRESIDENT INTERVIEWED.
Nursultan Nazarbayev refuted assertions that the transfer of the Kazakstani
capital from Almaty to the northern city of Akmola represents an attempt at
"Kazakization" of the predominantly Russian region, in an interview published
in Nezavisimaya gazeta on 11 November. Nazarbayev justified the change on
the grounds that Akmola is a more central location for the country's capital.
Answering a question about the perceived discrimination against non-Kazak,
Russian-speakers, the president said criminals would continue to be held
accountable for their actions. Using the Cossack movement as an example,
Nazarbayev said his country reacts to calls such as "Kazakstan into Russia,"
and "Cossack lands to Cossacks," the same way Russians would react to
"Sakhalin and Kurile islands to Japan." Nazarbayev claimed that in Kazakstan
there is no language discrimination as "in more than 5,000 schools, the
students are taught only in Russian, and in 3,000 in Kazak." -- Bruce
Pannier
[06] KYRGYZSTAN, CHINA AGREE TO FIGHT SMUGGLING.
Kyrgyz Interior Minister Omurbek Tukuyev and Chinese Public Security Minister
Tao Siju agreed in Beijing on 11 November to cooperate in combating smuggling,
ITAR-TASS reported. The agreement has special significance for China as a new
road connecting China to Pakistan via Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan opened this
year. Besides bordering on China, Kyrgyzstan also borders Tajikistan where the
ongoing civil war greatly facilitates the smuggling of arms and narcotics. --
Bruce Pannier
[07] RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH IN UZBEKISTAN.
Patriarch Aleksii II of Moscow, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, is
in Uzbekistan to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the establishment of two
eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church in Uzbekistan, ITAR-TASS reported on
11 November. Uzbek President Islam Karimov told Aleksei that new churches had
been built in Bukhara, Kashkadarya, and Syrdarya and that the St. Aleksei
Church in Samarkand had recently been renovated. Aleksii said the visit was
intended to "extend spiritual and moral support to the Orthodox believers who
have found themselves beyond the boundaries of Russia." -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[08] MUSLIM REFUGEES BATTLE WITH SERBS.
A Dutch UN police monitor and a man said to be a Bosnian Serb were wounded in
an exchange of gunfire between Muslim returnees and Serbs in the town of Koraj
in northeastern Bosnia on 11 November, international and local agencies
reported. UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko said the shooting broke out when some
500 Muslims attempted to return to their homes across the inter-entity
boundary line. Muslim refugees who tried to return to their village, Gajevi,
said the Serbs shot at them with pistols, rifles, and grenades. The Bosnian
Serb news agency SRNA, for its part, said the Muslims attacked the village
with grenades and light infantry fire. According to a Muslim refugee, Bosnian
Serbs early on 12 November shelled the village of Gajevi, injuring two people,
AFP reported. UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski blamed Bosnian Serbs and Croats
for blocking refugee returns across Bosnia, but he also said spontaneous
returns were not welcome. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[09] MASS GRAVE YIELDS 244 BODIES; MORE EXPECTED.
Bosnian government experts have unearthed 244 corpses of mostly Muslim
civilians from one of Bosnia's biggest known mass graves near the town of
Kljuc in northwestern Bosnia and expect to find about 50 more, international
agencies reported. The Lanste cave was in Bosnian-Serb territory until late
last year, when it was recaptured by the Bosnian Army. Some 700 people remain
unaccounted for in the area of Kljuc. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] SACKED BOSNIAN SERB COMMANDERS REFUSE TO GO.
The top Republika Srpska military leaders--including indicted war criminal
Gen. Ratko Mladic--have rejected the civilian leadership's attempt to fire
them, CNN reported on 12 November (see ). Ousted Gen. Zdravko
Tolimir told NATO representatives that they must continue to go through him
rather than through the new appointees when IFOR deals with the Bosnian Serb
military, news agencies reported. The cashiered leaders enjoy solid backing
within the ranks, Nasa Borba wrote. The civilian authorities nonetheless
claimed that the officer corps had accepted the sackings, AFP reported. The
rivalry between the established military brass--with their strong ties to
Belgrade--and the civilians based in Pale is of long standing. -- Patrick
Moore
[11] VOTERS TO GO BACK TO THE POLLS IN FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA.
Returns from municipal elections in Serbia show that of the 7,670 seats
available republic-wide (excluding Belgrade), only 2,067 were filled after
first-round balloting on 3 November. Thus far, Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) has taken 59% of the total seats
decided. Runoffs are slated for 17 November, and independent media reports,
such as Nasa Borba's 12 November article "The SPS Is Frightening Voters
With Lies," continue highlighting opposition concerns that the upcoming
balloting will be marred by irregularities. -- Stan Markotich
[12] SERBIAN UPDATE.
Dragoljub Stosic, head of the Belgrade municipal transit union, has been
released from prison, Beta reported on 8 November. Stosic was arrested on the
night of 28-29 October when Belgrade police, including paramilitaries in
combat gear, broke up a transit strike. Stosic had been arrested on charges of
inciting strike violence, and his attorneys had twice appealed unsuccessfully
for his release. In other news, Nasa Borba on 12 November reported Yugoslav
succession talks will resume in Brussels on 12-13 November. -- Stan
Markotich
[13] SLOVENIAN ELECTION FINAL.
Premier Janez Drnovsek's Liberal Democratic Party (LDS) won the most votes and
seats in Slovenia's 10 November general elections, claiming 27.05% of the
popular vote and 25 seats. His former coalition partners, the Christian
Democratic Party (SKD) and the United List of Social Democrats (ZLSD), did
relatively poorly; both have lost popular support and parliamentary seats.
Meanwhile, Marjan Podobnik's rightist Slovenian People's Party (SLS) won the
second-largest amount of seats with 19, and Janez Jansa's ultraconservative
Social Democrats (SDSS) took 16 seats. On 11 November, Podobnik, whose
objectives include slowing down Slovenia's integration into the EU and NATO,
said that a coalition of rightist parties could control 46 of the 90
legislative seats, effectively keeping the LDS out of power, Reuters reported.
"I expect to become the next prime minister," he said. Delo, however, hinted
Drnovsek may be angling for a coalition of the LDS, SLS, and SKD, which would
control 53 seats. -- Stan Markotich
[14] VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN MACEDONIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN.
Supporters of the nationalist Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-
Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (IMRO-DPNME) on 9 November
clashed with supporters of an independent candidate for mayor of Skopje, the
Roma politician Amdi Bajrami, in the Skopje neighborhood of Cair, which is
mainly inhabited by ethnic Turks, Albanians, and Roma, Nova Makedonija
reported on 12 November. Two IMRO--DPNME candidates for the Cair municipal
council were seriously injured in the fight. Supporters of both sides attacked
each other, some of them using baseball bats, when both sides tried to put up
campaign posters for the 17 November local elections. Each sides blamed the
incident on the other. Police did not report the fight until 11 November in an
attempt to prevent an escalation. -- Stefan Krause
[15] RIVALS IN ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE DUEL ON TV.
Incumbent President Ion Iliescu and his countercandidate in the presidential
run-off, Emil Constantinescu, held a debate on 11 November on the private TV
station Antena 1, Reuters reported. Iliescu repeated his accusations against
the newly formed center-right governmental alliance, claiming that a program
proposed by Constantinescu's Democratic Convention of Romania to cut taxes and
improve social benefits is unworkable. Constantinescu held Iliescu responsible
for the corruption present at all levels of the administration. According to
some observers, Iliescu is desperate to retain power after seven years as
president, while most of his former allies are turning their backs on him.
Left-winger Tudor Mohora and ultra-nationalist Gheorghe Funar both support
Constantinescu as the "least bad" of the two. -- Zsolt Mato
[16] ROMANIAN LIBERALS PREPARE FOR UNIFICATION.
Leaders of five liberal formations on 11 November signed a protocol on the
need for unity in Romania's liberal movement, Radio Bucharest reported. The
five parties are the National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention, the
National Liberal Party, the National Liberal Party-Campeanu (named after its
leader, Radu Campeanu), the Liberal Party '93, and the Civic Alliance Party. A
commission will be set up to prepare the unification, which is expected to
take place in the first half of 1997. Representatives of the Party of Romanian
National Unity and the Green Alternative Party-Ecologists also expressed
interest in joining a future liberal bloc. -- Dan Ionescu
[17] PHONE-TAPPING SCANDAL MARS MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
Moldova's incumbent President Mircea Snegur called for an investigation into
the tapping of a telephone conversation involving his election campaign chief,
Infotag reported on 11 November. In a strongly worded statement, Snegur
described the incident as a gross violation of the constitution and asked the
General Prosecutor's Office to take action against those guilty of
broadcasting as well as of taping the illegal recording. On 8 November,
national TV aired a conversation between Nicolae Andronic, Snegur's campaign
chief, and Alexandru Burian, Moldova's ambassador to Germany. The two were
discussing how to ensure a maximum of publicity for Burian's recent
revelations of alleged financial irregularities at the Foreign Ministry. The
tape was reportedly sent to the Teleradio company by two members of Snegur's
security service. Observers believe that the action was aimed at damaging
Snegur's re-election chances. -- Dan Ionescu
[18] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS MEET TO DECIDE FATE OF PREMIER.
A plenary meeting of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Supreme Council and
the BSP parliamentary deputies began on the afternoon of 11 November, RFE/RL
and local media reported. Initially called to discuss the presidential
election loss, the meeting will probably decide the political future of Prime
Minister Zhan Videnov, who asked the party for a confidence vote as premier.
Discussions went on for almost 20 hours and showed a deep split between those
supporting Videnov and those asking for a new government. Participants said
they do not expect big changes before a party congress in December or January.
Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski announced that he will vote against Videnov,
while Nikolay Kamov, chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Politics Committee,
resigned from the BSP Executive Bureau to protest a likely vote for Videnov. --
Stefan Krause
[19] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT IN GREECE.
Leonid Kuchma on 11 November arrived in Athens for a two-day official visit,
ITAR-TASS and Western media reported. Kuchma met with his Greek counterpart,
Kostis Stephanopoulos, and with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis. Simitis and
Kuchma initialed a Ukrainian-Greek friendship treaty. Kuchma stressed the need
for economic and security cooperation and said NATO should sign agreements
both with countries willing to join the alliance and with those who do not
want to "in order to avoid a new division of Europe." Simitis said Greece
backs Ukraine's efforts to find "its own place in the new world order." --
Stefan Krause
Compiled by Steve Kettle and Susan Caskie
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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