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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 53, 97-03-17
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 53, 17 March 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA & CENTRAL ASIA
[01] SHEVARDNADZE COMMENTS ON INTERCEPTION OF TURKISH FISHING VESSELS.
[02] RUSSIAN, AZERBAIJANI REACTION TO ARMENIAN ARMS DISCLOSURE.
[03] SOLANA ENDS CENTRAL ASIAN TOUR.
[04] KAZAK, KYRGYZ, UZBEK PRIME MINISTERS MEET.
[05] JOINT OPERATION CAPTURES TAJIK TERRORIST.
[06] UN OBSERVER-FORCE MANDATE IN TAJIKISTAN EXTENDED.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] ALBANIAN UNREST PERSISTS.
[08] BOSNIAN SERBS ENDORSE AGREEMENT WITH YUGOSLAVIA.
[09] CROATIAN PRESIDENT IN MOSTAR.
[10] $75 MILLION DONATED FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF EASTERN SLAVONIA.
[11] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES DRAFT BUDGET.
[12] ROMANIA'S HUNGARIANS CELEBRATE 1848 REVOLUTION.
[13] ROMANIAN BANK DIRECTOR UNDER POLICE INVESTIGATION.
[14] ANTI-NATO COMMITTEE IN TRANSDNIESTER.
[15] FORMER BULGARIAN PREMIER TO BE PROSECUTED.
[16] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA & CENTRAL ASIA
[01] SHEVARDNADZE COMMENTS ON INTERCEPTION OF TURKISH FISHING VESSELS.
The Turkish government demands the return of the Turkish fishing vessel
intercepted by Russian coast guards on 12 March for poaching in Georgian
territorial waters, Turkey's ambassador to Georgia told Georgian President
Eduard Shevardnadze on 14 March. Criminal proceedings have been brought
against the owner of the vessel, according to ITAR- TASS. Shevardnadze
expressed his regrets at the death of one of the Turkish crew when the
Russian coast guards opened fire, adding that "the Georgian authorities
have had serious problems with Russian border guards working on Georgian
territory," according to Reuters quoting the Georgian presidential press
service. Also on 14 March, Shevardnadze proposed to a session of Georgia's
National Security Council that "we should clarify relations with Russian
border guards once for all," and urged the Georgian parliament to pass a
related law that is currently under discussion, ITAR -TASS reported. -- Liz
Fuller
[02] RUSSIAN, AZERBAIJANI REACTION TO ARMENIAN ARMS DISCLOSURE.
The head of the Russian Army's General Staff, General Viktor Samsonov, and
the chairman of the Russian Duma's Defense Committee, Lev Rokhlin, both
told Russian TV (RTR) on 14 March that they thought Defense Minister Igor
Rodionov had acted "absolutely correctly" in confirming the allegations of
illicit Russian arms transfers to Armenia. Samsonov added that the
investigation into the allegations had been conducted by the Presidential
Main Control Department. Also on 14 March, Azerbaijan's parliament appealed
to Yeltsin and to the Russian parliament to investigate the allegations,
punish those responsible, and ensure that the weaponry in question is
withdrawn from Armenia, ITAR-TASS reported. Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister
Hasan Hasanov summoned foreign ambassadors on 15 March and read a statement
calling for an international inspection of Armenia's military hardware
under the terms of the 1990 CFE Treaty, Turan reported. Responding to
U.S. Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, Hasanov dismissed as "an outrageous
lie" Armenian claims that Azerbaijan had received arms, including hundreds
of tanks, since 1994.-- Liz Fuller
[03] SOLANA ENDS CENTRAL ASIAN TOUR.
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana visited Uzbekistan on 13-14 March,
holding talks with government officials, Western and Russian sources
reported. Solana focused on NATO's new Atlantic Partnership Council, an
extension of the Partnership for Peace program. Uzbek Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Kamilov brought up Russia's concerns about NATO expansion saying
"without Russia, there can be no real European security," but added that
the decision on joining any alliance is a "sovereign right of any state."
Solana moved on to Turkmenistan on 14 March. Confronted with questions
about NATO expansion or participation in a multi- country military exercise
scheduled for September in Kazakstan, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov
again stressed Turkmenistan's neutrality and added "(NATO) expansion
westward or eastward doesn't worry us." Turkmenistan will not send troops
to the September military exercise. -- Bruce Pannier
[04] KAZAK, KYRGYZ, UZBEK PRIME MINISTERS MEET.
The Prime Ministers of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan met in the
Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on 14 March, RFE/RL and Radio Mayak reported. The
three were seeking to broaden cooperation in the Economic Union the three
countries formed in 1994. At the conclusion, 13 agreements were signed
covering industrial cooperation, a legal base for the free movement of
labor among the three countries, coordination on migration, and others. The
most important document was on the creation of a common economic area
during 1997-1998. The presidency of the Economic Union shifted from
Kazakstani Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin to his Kyrgyz counterpart,
Apas Jumagulov. -- Bruce Pannier and Naryn Idinov
[05] JOINT OPERATION CAPTURES TAJIK TERRORIST.
Bahrom Sadirov, whose group was responsible for taking 16 foreigners
hostage in February and 23 people hostage in December 1996, was captured on
14 February, in a joint operation by forces of the Tajik government and the
Tajik opposition, Russian and Western sources reported. Sadirov ransomed UN
workers and Russian journalists for the return of his brother from
Afghanistan. The action was notable for being the first instance when
government troops worked together with forces loyal to the United Tajik
Opposition. Sadirov's brother Rezvon was not caught and his whereabouts are
unknown. -- Bruce Pannier
[06] UN OBSERVER-FORCE MANDATE IN TAJIKISTAN EXTENDED.
The UN Security Council voted on 14 March to extend the mandate of its
military observer mission in Tajikistan by another three months, ITAR-TASS
and Reuters reported. The council noted great progress in the situation in
Tajikistan, particularly the military protocol signed in Moscow during the
28 February-8 March talks between representatives of the Tajik government
and the United Tajik Opposition. -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] ALBANIAN UNREST PERSISTS.
EU officials are due in Tirana on 17 March to assess Albania's needs after
a countrywide spree of rioting and looting, international agencies
reported. EU foreign ministers decided to send advisers to Tirana but
failed to agree on any peacekeeping or military intervention. Tirana's
airport remains closed and tensions high. Though periods of calm returned
on 16 March, most cities remain largely in the hands of armed
civilians. Newly free opposition leader Fatos Nano says he supports the
recently formed coalition government that is trying to restore order. But
the Socialist Party leader says he will not cooperate with President Sali
Berisha. Nano had been in a Tirana jail since 1993; he managed to escape
during the unrest which swept the capital and was subsequently pardoned by
Berisha. Berisha announced a new coalition government and elections, but
his grip on power remains tenuous. -- Michael Shafir
[08] BOSNIAN SERBS ENDORSE AGREEMENT WITH YUGOSLAVIA.
The Republika Srpska parliament on 15 March ratified a treaty establishing
special relations between Bosnian Serbs and the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, despite Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic's initial
urging against it, international and local media reported. Out of 72
deputies, 61 voted for the agreement, which was signed last month by the
Bosnian presidency's Serbian member, Momcilo Krajisnik, and Yugoslav
President Zoran Lilic. The pact was controversial because it was signed by
Krajisnik rather than Plavsic, who is the president of the Bosnian Serb
entity. Serb nationalists said that Krajisnik's signature de facto concedes
that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a single state. Plavsic had said the pact was
against the Serbian constitution and the Dayton peace agreement. Under
pressure from other deputies, however, Plavsic backed down and agreed to
the pact. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[09] CROATIAN PRESIDENT IN MOSTAR.
Franjo Tudjman on 15 March was a guest at the dedication of an aluminum
factory south of the divided town of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, local and
international media reported. He also visited Medjugorje, the Catholic
shrine in Herzegovina, where some 7,000 Croat teenagers were bused in to
cheer him, according to AFP. Tudjman praised the Croats of
Bosnia-Herzegovina for their part in fighting Serbs and "other extremists
who wanted to endanger this area," referring to the Croat-Muslim war. He
said Bosnian Croats in many ways set an example for all Croatians.
Meanwhile, the deputy high representative in Mostar, Sir Martin Garrod,
walked out of the factory- dedicating ceremony because of insulting remarks
about the EU and Hans Koschnick, a city former EU administrator, by the
factory's president, Mijo Brajkovic, a former mayor of the Croat-held part
of Mostar. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] $75 MILLION DONATED FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF EASTERN SLAVONIA.
An international donor conference held on 14 March in Zagreb promised a
further $21.8 million toward the reconstruction of eastern Slavonia, the
last Serb-held region of Croatia, bringing the total amount pledged to $75
million, Novi List reported on 17 March. But the aid is less than the
international officials were hoping for. Croatian Reconstruction and
Development Minister Jure Radic said about $2 billion is necessary for
reconstruction and for the return of displaced persons, Hina reported.
Croatia can promise $1 billion, but the rest will have to be collected from
the international community, Radic said. In other news, the U.S. said it
abstained from voting on a new IMF loan to Croatia to send a strong message
of displeasure with Zagreb's failure to turn over indicted war criminals to
the Hague-based war-crimes tribunal, Reuters reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[11] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES DRAFT BUDGET.
The draft of the 1997 budget was approved by the Romanian government on 15
March and will be submitted for parliament's approval on 19 March, the
media reported on the same day. Most of the expenditure in the budget (over
10% of the GDP) will go to social protection, Finance Minister Mircea
Ciumara told the press. The government constructed the budget on the
assumption that inflation in the first half of the year will be 90%,
dropping sharply to 30% in the second half of 1997. -- Michael Shafir
[12] ROMANIA'S HUNGARIANS CELEBRATE 1848 REVOLUTION.
In several towns in Transylvania, Romania's Magyar community on 15 March
marked the anniversary of the 1848 revolution. Unlike in previous years,
when the celebrations met the hostility of the government and of Romanian
nationalists who attribute to the Magyars irredentist intentions over
Transylvania, this year Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea sent a message to the
Romanian Hungarian minority and government officials participated in the
ceremonies. The Party of Social Democracy in Romania, on the other hand,
protested that the government was marking "the anniversary of another
state" and recalled "atrocities" committed by the 1848 revolutionaries
against ethnic Romanians in Transylvania. As expected, the Party of
Romanian National Unity and the Greater Romania Party also protested
against the celebrations. -- Michael Shafir
[13] ROMANIAN BANK DIRECTOR UNDER POLICE INVESTIGATION.
Razvan Temesan, the head of Romania's largest commercial bank, Bacorex, was
detained by police on 14 March on charges of abuse of office. Although
released, he remains under investigation on suspicion of having cost the
state some $100,000 by approving payment of more than $1 million to a
private company at an exchange rate lower than the official rate, Romanian
television reported on 14 and 15 March. Bancorex fired Temesan and his
deputy a few hours before his arrest. In a related development, President
Emil Constantinescu on 14 March told a seminar of police and army officers
that Romania cannot join the Euro-Atlantic structures unless it can stop
organized crime, illegal emigration, and terrorism. -- Michael Shafir
[14] ANTI-NATO COMMITTEE IN TRANSDNIESTER.
The council of war veterans and reservists from Rabnita, in the breakaway
Transdniester region of Moldova, set up a group to create an "anti- NATO
committee," BASA-press reported on 14 March. In a press release, the
council said that "NATO's true purpose is to weaken and diminish the
military and economic potential of the CIS and particularly that of Russia"
and called for anti-NATO groups to be set up in every settlement. A group
representing Cossacks who came to the region to fight on the separatist
side also expressed concern over the possible expansion of NATO and called
on President Boris Yeltsin to renounce his intention to withdraw the
troops. -- Michael Shafir
[15] FORMER BULGARIAN PREMIER TO BE PROSECUTED.
Interior Minister Bogumil Bonev on 16 March told the state radio that
former Premier Zhan Videnov is to be prosecuted for criminal negligence
that resulted in a severe bread shortage, RFE/RL reported. Bonev said both
Videnov and his adviser, Kasimir Raidovsky, have been banned from leaving
the country. He said Videnov neglected problems with the grain balance in
Bulgaria and, when informed about the problem, did not stop exporting
grain. Videnov was forced to resign on 28 December last year. -- Michael
Shafir
[16] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
The Socialist Party has signed a coalition agreement with the left-wing
Agrarians and Ecologists in preparation for the 19 April early elections,
RFE/RL reported on 15 March. Former President Zhelyu Zhelev on 14 March
became chairman of a new seven-party coalition called the Alliance to Save
Bulgaria. The alliance envisions itself as an alternative to the main
anti-Communist opposition coalition led by the Union of Democratic
Forces. In other news, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Walter Slocum, on an
official visit to Sofia, said Washington understands Bulgaria's desire to
join NATO, RFE/RL reported on 16 March. Slocum said all applications of
NATO candidates will be considered "very seriously" and added that the
U.S. supports the efforts of the interim Bulgarian cabinet and President
Petar Stoyanov to reform the economy. Slocum is scheduled to meet
President Stoyanov, Prime Minister Stefan Sofiansky, and Defense Minister
Georgy Ananiev. -- Michael Shafir
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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