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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 45, 97-03-05
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 45, 5 March 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] HIGH-LEVEL TALKS BETWEEN GEORGIA, SOUTH OSSETIA BEGIN IN MOSCOW.
[02] ARMENIA TO HOLD MILITARY EXERCISES.
[03] CLASH AT ARAL SEA SUMMIT?
[04] ALMATY ON NATO EXPANSION.
[05] NEW KAZAKSTANI CAPITAL CAUSES MORE HEADACHES.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] ALBANIA ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR?
[07] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE.
[08] MACEDONIAN ARMY PLACED ON WAR FOOTING.
[09] BOMB DAMAGES CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SARAJEVO.
[10] SERBS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA TO FORM PARTY AHEAD OF ELECTIONS.
[11] SERBIAN HARD-LINER DEFIES PUBLIC OPINION.
[12] SERBIAN RULING PARTIES LAUNCH THEIR ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.
[13] KING MIHAI TO LOBBY FOR ROMANIA'S EARLY NATO ENTRY.
[14] MOLDOVA AND NATO EXPANSION.
[15] TIRASPOL ATTACKS OSCE MISSION IN MOLDOVA.
[16] CURRENCY-BOARD PURIST BECOMES ADVISOR TO BULGARIAN PRESIDENT.
[17] EUROPEAN COMMISSION EMERGENCY GRANT FOR BULGARIA.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] HIGH-LEVEL TALKS BETWEEN GEORGIA, SOUTH OSSETIA BEGIN IN MOSCOW.
Another round of negotiations between Georgia and its breakaway region of
South Ossetia got under way in Moscow on 4 March, Russian media reported.
Representatives of Russia, the OSCE, and the Russian Republic of North
Ossetia are also attending the talks. The Georgian delegation, which is led
by Foreign Minister Irakli Menagarashvili, wants recognition of Georgia's
territorial integrity but, according to a North Ossetian representative,
may agree to grant South Ossetia an autonomous status. In an interview with
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Kosta Dzugaev, speaker of the South Ossetian
parliament, said a final settlement of the conflict is impossible without
"special relations" between North and South Ossetia. -- Emil Danielyan
[02] ARMENIA TO HOLD MILITARY EXERCISES.
Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisyan, speaking on state TV, said Armenia will
hold military exercises at the end of March to enhance the "combat capacity
and discipline" of its army, ITAR-TASS reported on 4 March. Reserve
servicemen will be mobilized for three days to take part in the exercises.
Sarkisyan complained that both society and Armenians abroad are
"indifferent to possible aggravation of the situation in the region."
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev and his Armenian counterpart,
Levon Ter-Petrossyan, have said they are determined not to preserve the
current cease-fire regime, Russian media reported on 4 March. In a
telephone conversation the previous night, they also discussed stepping up
the OSCE-sponsored Minsk negotiations over Nagorno Karabakh. -- Emil
Danielyan and Lowell Bezanis
[03] CLASH AT ARAL SEA SUMMIT?
According to Nezavismaya Gazeta on 4 March, Central Asian leaders clashed
when discussing the Aral Sea in Almaty on 28 February. Turkmen President
Saparmurat Niyazov reportedly was opposed to making his Uzbek counterpart,
Islam Karimov, head of the International Aral Sea Salvation Fund. -- Lowell
Bezanis
[04] ALMATY ON NATO EXPANSION.
Kazakstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned against the dangers of
NATO enlargement, Russian media reported on 4 March. Nazarbayev said undue
haste in expanding the alliance puts Russia's pro-democracy camp in a tough
position. During recent visits to Moscow, the Kazakstani defense and
foreign ministers as well as the parliamentary speaker all stressed that
NATO expansion should not encroach on Moscow's interests. NATO ties to
Central Asian states--and those countries' views on the alliance's
enlargement--are to be discussed later this month when NATO Secretary-
General Javier Solana visits the region's capitals. -- Lowell Bezanis
[05] NEW KAZAKSTANI CAPITAL CAUSES MORE HEADACHES.
The controversial move of the capital from Almaty to the northern central
city of Akmola is falling behind schedule, RFE/RL reported on 4 March. The
Transportation, Communications, and Agriculture Ministries were moved to
Akmola in December 1996, but 90% of officials at those ministries
reportedly returned to Almaty by January. None of the ministry buildings
has yet been completed. Construction of the new presidential palace and
upgrading rail links to the airport in Akmola will cost an estimated $500
million. Opposition movements in Kazakstan, notably Azamat and the
Communist Party, are calling on the government to first pay wage and
pension arrears, which are approaching $1 billion. -- Bruce Pannier and
Merhat Sharipzhan
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] ALBANIA ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR?
According to eyewitness reports, tensions and violence continue unabated
throughout southern Albania. Citizens have ignored a curfew and appear bent
on venting frustration against President Sali Berisha's government. Armed
civilians on 5 March fought with army forces in Fiari, a village some ten
kilometers outside Sarande. At least four people have been injured in the
incident, AFP reported, citing Greek television. The fighting reportedly
broke out when four military trucks arrived in the village and soldiers
deployed. Civilians then attacked the military personnel with automatic
weapons and grenades. For his part, Berisha met with political opponents on
4 March in order to resolve the crisis, but government sources have
publicly admitted that the port cities of Vlora and Sarande remain firmly
out of government control. Security forces deployed from Tirana have orders
to shoot on sight those failing to surrender their arms. -- Stan Markotich
[07] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE.
Sali Berisha is coming under increasing international criticism for his
handling of the domestic situation. Among the most recent critics has been
British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, who on 4 March in an interview
with BBC radio, said "We are not prepared to give support when [Berisha]
acts in an authoritarian and dictatorial way and that, sadly, has been an
increasing feature of his regime ... The Albanian government has not been
properly respecting either the rule of law or fundamental democratic
principles of free media and free activity for the opposition." Countries
bordering Albania have voiced their own concerns about the gravity of the
domestic Albanian situation. CNN on 5 March reported that Greece has
deployed along its border with Albania and fears a possible flood of
refugees. -- Stan Markotich
[08] MACEDONIAN ARMY PLACED ON WAR FOOTING.
Macedonia has reacted to the ongoing chaos in southern Albania by putting
its military in a state of war-preparedness, effective from the evening of
2 March, Nova Makedonija reported on 5 March. The move was motivated by
concerns over possible waves of illegal immigrants pouring in from Albania
or armed attacks on posts along the border. Coincidentally, the UN observer
mission closed one of three posts on the Albania border (near Debar) on 3
March, as part of a scaling back of the number of its soldiers in Macedonia
from 1,050 to 750. All three posts are scheduled for closure, as are three
of the six on the Serbian border. So far there are no signs of an influx of
would-be Albanian refugees; only 124 people tried to enter Macedonia
illegally from Albania in January and February. -- Michael Wyzan
[09] BOMB DAMAGES CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SARAJEVO.
A Catholic church in downtown Sarajevo was rocked by an explosion that
damaged windows and nearby cars on 4 March, international and local media
reported. The blast was the latest in a series of attacks on Catholic
churches in the Croat-Muslim federation that started after the violent
incident in Mostar on 10 February. A hand grenade was thrown at another
Catholic church and a convent in Sarajevo, and a church in the central
Bosnian town of Gornji Vakuf was mined and damaged last week. The Bosnian
Federation government announced special police protection of Catholic
churches during a period preceding the visit of Pope John Paul II to
Sarajevo. Sarajevo cantonal police suspended the four officers who were
guarding the church damaged in yesterday's blast. Croatia's Deputy Foreign
Minister Hido Biscevic asked Bosnia's Muslim authorities to stop the
pressure and violence against Croats, Hina reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] SERBS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA TO FORM PARTY AHEAD OF ELECTIONS.
Serbs in eastern Slavonia will on 5 March form their own political party
that will run in Croatia's local vote scheduled for 13 April, AFP reported,
citing Tanjug. The new Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) will be
based in Vukovar, a major town of this still Serb-held region slated to
revert to Croatia's legal authorities, and registered in Zagreb. Meanwhile,
the UN said that eastern Slavonia Serbs were unlikely to stage a referendum
on their electoral status, because their demand for a single district had
already been rejected by both the Croatian government and the UN Security
Council, Reuters reported on 4 March. Serbs want the region to have a
status of a single territorial unit within Croatia, but Zagreb wants it
divided into two counties. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[11] SERBIAN HARD-LINER DEFIES PUBLIC OPINION.
Dragutin Velickovic, the pro-Milosevic rector of Belgrade University, on 4
March brushed aside student demands for his resignation, Nasa Borba
reported the following day. Speaking at a press conference, Velickovic not
only openly defied student protesters by categorically announcing his
refusal to leave his post but also countered with his own demand that the
institute heads and 13 faculty deans who openly supported the student
demonstrators be sacked. Student representative Dusan Vasiljevic summed up
Velickovic's press conference remarks with the observation that "the whole
thing is another of Velickovic's sick jokes," Reuters reported. In another
development, Nasa Borba on 5 March reported that the previous day a group
of about 150 student protesters crashed a reception for diplomats and
members of the press hosted by Serbia's new Information Minister Radmila
Milentijevic, chanting "Red Bandits" and at one point forming a circle
around Milentijevic. -- Stan Markotich
[12] SERBIAN RULING PARTIES LAUNCH THEIR ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.
The ruling Socialists and their communist allies in the Yugoslav United
Left (JUL) on 4 March de facto launched their campaign for republican
presidential and parliamentary races to be held later this year (on a date
yet to be determined). It is apparent that the main focus will be on
attacks against the opposition Zajedno parties. A statement issued by the
ruling left, and reported by Tanjug, maintained that the "state will
protect its citizens from all political parties that are financed and
instructed from abroad with the aim to topple the legal authorities and
jeopardize the independence and sovereignty of the country." -- Stan
Markotich
[13] KING MIHAI TO LOBBY FOR ROMANIA'S EARLY NATO ENTRY.
King Mihai on 4 March pledged to do "all he could to help Romania" in its
bid for quick integration into NATO, Radio Bucharest reported. The former
monarch met President Emil Constantinescu, who asked Mihai to support
Romania's diplomatic efforts in NATO member countries, especially those
with constitutional monarchies. In related news, Italian Foreign Affairs
Undersecretary Piero Fassino on 4 March said in Bucharest that his country
would back Romania's efforts for quick NATO entry, Reuters reported.
According to Fassino, Italy favored a "simultaneous beginning of talks
between NATO and all candidates," in order to avoid "feelings of exclusion
or frustration." Meanwhile, Senate Chairman Petre Roman, who is paying a
visit to Spain, said that Madrid would also like to see Romania in the
first group of countries to be admitted to NATO, Romanian television
reported. -- Zsolt Mato
[14] MOLDOVA AND NATO EXPANSION.
Moldova's ambassador to the U.S., Nicolae Tau, says his country has one
major concern about NATO expansion: it does not want to end up as a buffer
zone with Russian troops on its territory, RFE/RL reported on 4 March
citing the Washington Times. The statement is ill-timed for Romania,
which is pressing hard for NATO membership, but may well serve Russian
interests opposing the expansion. Moldova, though participating in the
Partnership for Peace Program, is not applying for membership and wants to
stay neutral. That position was stressed again by Foreign Minister Mihai
Popov in an interview with Infotag on 4 March. He added that the country's
foreign policy under President Petru Lucinschi will not change, but more
emphasis will be laid on the strive for European integration. -- Michael
Shafir
[15] TIRASPOL ATTACKS OSCE MISSION IN MOLDOVA.
Moldovan agencies reported on 4 March that the Transdniester delegation to
the Joint Control Commission refused to participate in the commission
scheduled meeting in protest of the position of Donald Johnson, the head of
the OSCE mission to Moldova. At the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in
Vienna on 19 February, Johnson said that OSCE representatives do not have
free access to military sites in the security zone; criticized the
introduction there of a modified GRAD truck-mounted rocket- launcher
system; reminded that the Tiraspol authorities had not allowed
participation in the Moldovan presidential election; and came against the
intention to sign the memorandum for long-term settlement of the conflict,
which had been agreed on last year between Chisinau and Tiraspol. Also on 4
March, a visiting delegation of the CIS Parliamentary Assembly preparing a
conference on conflict settlement in the CIS met with Johnson and Moldovan
officials. -- Michael Shafir
[16] CURRENCY-BOARD PURIST BECOMES ADVISOR TO BULGARIAN PRESIDENT.
Steve Hanke, the world's best known advocate of currency boards, has become
an advisor to Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, Pari reported on 5
March. Hanke advocates a pure form in which the currency is more than 100%
backed by foreign currency and the national bank does not take reserve
deposits from commercial banks nor buy and sell foreign currency with the
public. That form is practiced only in Hong Kong and Brunei, while Estonia,
Lithuania, and Argentina have softer versions. He also recommends that the
lev be tied to the dollar and that the board be introduced at once and not
in stages. Meanwhile, the IMF -- citing the strengthening lev and the
primary budget surplus -- is willing to provide fresh credits to Bulgaria
within two weeks, while the World Bank is taking a wait-and-see attitude,
according to Pari. -- Michael Wyzan
[17] EUROPEAN COMMISSION EMERGENCY GRANT FOR BULGARIA.
The European Commission will make a 1.1 million ECU emergency grant to
Bulgaria to help overcome shortages of food and medical material, RFE/RL
and AFP reported on 4 March. The commission said the aid should help
hospitals cope with the constant rise in prices of medical material, which
is no longer subsidized by the government. Prices in Bulgaria rose by 44%
in January alone, while the overall inflation in 1996 stood at 310%. In
other news, the 20 million ECU from another recently made European
Commission's social assistance grant will be distributed among 500,000 most
needy Bulgarians as of 18 March. -- Maria Koinova
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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