Browse through our Interesting Nodes for Internet Searching Tools & Sources Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Sunday, 22 December 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 234, 96-12-05

Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>

Vol. 2, No. 234, 5 December 1996


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ENERGY TARIFFS TO RISE IN ARMENIA.
  • [02] HELSINKI WATCH PROTESTS TO ALIEV.
  • [03] TAJIK FIGHTING CONTINUES, MOVES CLOSER TO CAPITAL.
  • [04] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BLASTS TAJIKISTAN, KYRGYZSTAN.
  • [05] RUSSIAN STATION PULLED FROM AIR IN KAZAKSTAN.

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [06] SERBIAN PROTESTS CONTINUE TO GROW . . .
  • [07] ...WHILE MILOSEVIC TAKES SOME MEASURES.
  • [08] LONDON CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA OPENS . . .
  • [09] . . . BUT DELEGATES THINK MAINLY OF SERBIA.
  • [10] FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR MISSING PERSONS THREATENS BOSNIAN PEACE.
  • [11] DEMONSTRATION IN VUKOVAR AFTER TUDJMAN'S VISIT.
  • [12] NEW MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT URGES WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN TROOPS.
  • [13] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES TREATY WITH UKRAINE.
  • [14] ONE MILLION BULGARIANS SUPPORT NATIONWIDE STRIKE.
  • [15] BULGARIAN ARMY FACES FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ENERGY TARIFFS TO RISE IN ARMENIA.

    Prime Minister Armen Sarkisyan on 4 December said the government will raise energy tariffs by 40% starting in January, Noyan Tapan reported the same day. Sarkisyan said the decision was taken in accordance with the 4 March agreement with the World Bank which made its loans to Armenia contingent on bringing energy prices closer to world ones. Armenia has undergone severe energy shortages and winter rationing since the war in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1992. The crisis has been substantially alleviated by the reopening of the Medzamor nuclear plant in summer 1995. -- Emil Danielyan

    [02] HELSINKI WATCH PROTESTS TO ALIEV.

    The Helsinki Watch human rights organization has sent a letter to President Heydar Aliev protesting the handling by the Azerbaijani authorities of the criminal case against former Defense Minister Rahim Ghaziev, Turan reported on 4 December. The letter said that Gaziev was repeatedly not allowed to meet with his relatives or his lawyer, who so far has only had one meeting with his client. Gaziev was Azerbaijan's defense minister in the government of former President Abulfaz Elchibey, and fled to Russia after Aliev came to power in June 1993. Gaziev was charged with the "surrender" of the Shusha and Lachin towns to Armenian forces in May 1992 and sentenced to death in absentia. He was extradited by Russia in April 1996 at Azerbaijan's request. -- Emil Danielyan

    [03] TAJIK FIGHTING CONTINUES, MOVES CLOSER TO CAPITAL.

    An attempt by Tajik government forces to retake the city of Garm has been repelled by opposition forces who captured the city last week, Russian sources report. Opposition forces used artillery and tanks to drive back government troops. Attacks have also been reported as close as 13 kilometers from the capital Dushanbe. A Russian helicopter came under gun and grenade fire at Dushanbe airport on 4 December. -- Bruce Pannier

    [04] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BLASTS TAJIKISTAN, KYRGYZSTAN.

    In its seventh annual human rights survey, the organization Human Rights Watch notes a dramatic deterioration of democratic principles in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL reported on 5 December. On Kyrgyzstan, HRW pointed to government repression of the media, suspension of freedom of speech and association, the continued existence of residence permits and internal passports, and the "alarming" consolidation of power by President Askar Akayev. HRW also questioned the constitutionality of the rescheduled presidential elections of December 1995. Tajikistan, which has been criticized for the last five years for its record on human rights, was described as having its "worst year" in 1996. The report also condemned decisions by the IMF and World Bank to lend money to Tajikistan despite the country's disregard for human rights. -- Bruce Pannier

    [05] RUSSIAN STATION PULLED FROM AIR IN KAZAKSTAN.

    The Kazakstani National Agency for Press and Mass Media decided to stop airing the Russian Television (RTR) station, according to 4 December reports from ITAR-TASS and Radio Mayak. The reason given was lack of funding. The Russian Public Television station (ORT) will continue to have its programing shown in Kazakstan. -- Bruce Pannier

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [06] SERBIAN PROTESTS CONTINUE TO GROW . . .

    With mass demonstrations in Belgrade well into their third consecutive week, local media report that the largest number of people so far took to the streets on 4 December. Nasa Borba estimates that 150,000 people gathered in the capital city, while other estimates put the number at more than 200,000. Students held a peaceful demonstration outside the presidential residence to demand that the state-run media give coverage to the protest actions. At a mass rally downtown, student protesters demanded that independent media be allowed to cover the demonstrations. They distributed pamphlets saying that "Enough is enough: You have closed [Radios] B-92 and Index, shameless in your arrogance, but in fact you are afraid that you won't be able to steal any more or send other peoples' children to war." -- Stan Markotich

    [07] ...WHILE MILOSEVIC TAKES SOME MEASURES.

    In what may be a move to appease the demonstrators, Milosevic has fired the hard-line head of the Socialist Party of Serbia branch in Nis, state radio and TV reported on 4 December. Beta and Nasa Borba reported that Milosevic intends to sack other officials, including the Serbian Information Minister Aleksandar Tijanic, following the closure of independent Radio B 92. According to some reports, Tijanic has already resigned. There are also reports that the government has closed down another independent radio station--BOOM 93, based in Milosevic's hometown of Pozarevac. Meanwhile, CNN on 4 December reported that police are arresting protesters, at least in Belgrade, and sentencing them to 25 days in prison. Finally, 90 Serbian justices are formally protesting the nullification of the results of 17 November elections. -- Stan Markotich

    [08] LONDON CONFERENCE ON BOSNIA OPENS . . .

    The latest international gathering to assess implementation of the Dayton peace agreement began in London on 4 December. Speakers made the usual admonitions to the former Yugoslavs to keep their promises, and they stressed that more attention must be paid to enabling refugees to go home and to catching war criminals, international media noted. But enforcement of these provisions in 1996 has been lax to say the least, and it is difficult to see how matters can improve next year with a much smaller peacekeeping force present. Some speakers reminded the former Yugoslavs that donations of reconstruction aid will be contingent on good behavior, but so far this carrot has failed to produce the desired results. -- Patrick Moore

    [09] . . . BUT DELEGATES THINK MAINLY OF SERBIA.

    Most attention at the 4 December meeting seemed to be directed toward the dramatic events in Belgrade rather than Bosnia, with speakers warning the Serbian government not to use force. U.S. envoy John Kornblum went further, saying that Serbia's "internal structure and its internal order [are] unacceptable to us." The international community's High Representative Carl Bildt noted that "peace can never be stable in Bosnia if we don't have stability throughout the region. That stability can never be built on repression." NATO's Secretary General Javier Solana, who comes from Spain, said his message for Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was "Adios, amigo, " international media reported. -- Patrick Moore

    [10] FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR MISSING PERSONS THREATENS BOSNIAN PEACE.

    Cornelio Sommaruga, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has said there can be no real peace in Bosnia until the fate of the 16,000 missing people can be established, AFP reported on 5 December. Sommaruga said some 13,000 of the missing are known to have been in the hands of the Bosnian Serbs, including the 8,000 who disappeared from the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, which was taken by the Serbs last year. Another 1,500 people are thought to have been held by Muslims and 1,000 by Croats. Sommaruga said the ICRC, which under the Dayton peace accords has a mandate to reunite families, has faced "aggression" and harassment while seeking to track down the missing people. In other news, a group of 24 Bosnian refugees expelled by Germany on 4 December have returned to Bosnia, AFP reported. Thirteen were immediately detained by the police in Sarajevo on criminal charges. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [11] DEMONSTRATION IN VUKOVAR AFTER TUDJMAN'S VISIT.

    Angry Serbian demonstrators on 4 December forced UN spokesman for eastern Slavonia Philip Arnold and a group of Croatian journalists to cut short their visit to Vukovar, international and local media reported. The incident occurred one day after Croatian President Franjo Tudjman visited the town, which is located in the last Serb-held enclave in Croatia (see OMRI Daily Digest, 4 December 1996). Arnold said some 150-200 Serbs gathered in front of the town's cultural center to protest Tudjman's visit. They prevented Arnold and the Croatian journalists from entering the building. Meanwhile, the Croatian rail unions on 4 December announced that passenger traffic will resume but not commercial traffic, Vecernji List reported the next day. Union head Zlatko Pavletic said the decision was made to help ordinary citizens, but he added that the strike will continue. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [12] NEW MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT URGES WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN TROOPS.

    Petru Lucinschi on 4 December called for the speedy withdrawal of all Russian troops from Moldova, Interfax and international news agencies reported. He urged the Russian side to respect the deadlines set in the October 1994 bilateral accord. That document, however, has not yet been ratified by the Russian State Duma. Lucinschi, who was a high-ranking official during the Soviet era, said he would insist that a Russian- Moldovan basic treaty be signed as soon as possible. Meanwhile, outgoing President Mircea Snegur, speaking at the OSCE summit in Lisbon, also called for the Russian troops to pull out of eastern Moldova. The 6,500-strong contingent in the breakaway Dniester region is the last Russian military unit to be based on foreign territory against the host country's will. -- Zsolt Mato

    [13] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES TREATY WITH UKRAINE.

    The parliament on 3 December ratified a friendship and cooperation treaty with Ukraine, Infotag reported. Moldovan President Mircea Snegur and his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kravchuk, signed the treaty in October 1992. The Ukrainian parliament ratified the document last month, after having insisted that border questions between the two countries be settled before ratification. According to Moldovan Deputy Foreign Minister Aurelian Danila, only a few sections of the border continue to be disputed, including areas near Basarabeasca and Giurgiulesti. -- Dan Ionescu

    [14] ONE MILLION BULGARIANS SUPPORT NATIONWIDE STRIKE.

    According to strike committee data, almost 1 million people supported the nationwide one-day strike on 4 December, national media reported. The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB) organized the strike to press for the government's resignation and to demand guarantees for the socially vulnerable throughout the winter. The other big trade union, Podkrepa, expressed only "moral support," as did some opposition forces. Meanwhile, KNSB leader Krastyo Petkov and Prime Minister Zhan Videnov met in Sofia the same day and reached some "verbal" agreements. Videnov promised compensation in the form of bonds. Trud reported that outstanding wages have been paid retroactively because of the strike. Most newspapers characterized the strike as "weak" and "sluggish." Petkov was jeered at a rally in Plovdiv, and some people in Gabrovo demanded his resignation. -- Maria Koinova

    [15] BULGARIAN ARMY FACES FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.

    Defense Minister Dimitar Pavlov on 3 December acknowledged that the Bulgarian army owes suppliers some 4 billion leva ($10 million), mostly for food and uniforms, Reuters reported. Pavlov said the army cannot rely on government funds to feed the troops over the winter and has to make its own arrangements. Many army units have their own farms and are able to produce most of the meat eaten by their troops. Pavlov said the army needs at least $20 billion over the next 10 years to modernize its equipment, but he added that the state will probably be unable to provide those funds. -- Stefan Krause

    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.


    Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    omri2html v1.01 run on Friday, 6 December 1996 - 3:18:49 UTC