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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 61, 98-03-30

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] SITUATION REMAINS TENSE IN CENTRAL TAJIKISTAN
  • [02] UZBEK PRESIDENT ON CENTRAL ASIAN UNION
  • [03] KAZAKH COUNCIL ASKED TO REVIEW FREQUENCY AUCTION
  • [04] ARMENIA VOTES FOR PRESIDENT
  • [05] ABKHAZIA AGAINST GEORGIAN APPEAL TO CIS
  • [06] AZERBAIJAN, RUSSIA ANNOUNCE SHIFTS ON CASPIAN

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [07] UCK OFFERS SERBS CHOICE
  • [08] THIRD ETHNIC ALBANIAN DIES FOLLOWING LATEST FIGHTING
  • [09] BELGRADE RAPS FOREIGN MEDIA
  • [10] BULGARIA WARNS ABOUT SITUATION IN KOSOVO
  • [11] MONTENEGRO SLAMS MILOSEVIC...
  • [12] ...AS DOES ALBANIA
  • [13] NATO SENDS EXPERTS TO ALBANIA
  • [14] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER TO STREAMLINE GOVERNMENT
  • [15] CROATIAN SERBS WARN TUDJMAN
  • [16] CIORBEA'S DEPARTURE--NOT IF, BUT WHEN
  • [17] LIBERALS APPROVE DEMAND FOR CIORBEA'S REPLACEMENT
  • [18] INDEPENDENT CABINET MINISTERS WARN AGAINST LINGERING CRISIS
  • [19] MOLDOVA'S DEMOCRATIC FORCES LEADER RULES OUT COALITION WITH COMMUNISTS

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [20] 'BLANK SPOTS' AND 'GRAY ZONES'

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] SITUATION REMAINS TENSE IN CENTRAL TAJIKISTAN

    Opposition fighters led by field commander Pir Muhammad has released 16 government soldiers whom they were holding in the Kofarnikhon region, ITAR- TASS and Reuters reported on 29 March. Two other field commanders continue to hold more than 60 government troops captive, having released some 40 on 30 March. A tentative cease- fire agreement was reached the previous day between the fields commanders and a team of representatives of the government and United Tajik Opposition. That accord provided for the withdrawal of all armed forces from the Kofarnikhon region. But ITAR-TASS reports that fighting broke out again on the evening of 29 March and continued the next day. BP

    [02] UZBEK PRESIDENT ON CENTRAL ASIAN UNION

    Following a meeting of the presidents of Central Asian Union in Tashkent on 27 March, Islam Karimov said Tajikistan had made "a historic decision" in joining the union, whose founding members are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Interfax reported. Karimov added that he hopes Turkmenistan will soon join the organization so that "the Central Asian region will be completely represented." With regard to Russia, which has observer status in the union, Karimov commented that Central Asia "cannot do without Russia, just as Russia cannot do without Central Asia." BP

    [03] KAZAKH COUNCIL ASKED TO REVIEW FREQUENCY AUCTION

    The Kazakh International Bureau on Human Rights has called on the country's Constitutional Council to examine the 1997 auction for frequencies, AFP reported on 27 March. Jemis Turmagambetova, the deputy director of the bureau, said the auction failed to "correspond to the spirit and letter of Kazakhstan's constitution." Turmagambetova also commented that the state "abuses its monopolist rights to own the broadcasting spectrum" in order to regulate the "broadcasting opportunities of certain television and broadcasting companies." Three television and radio stations recently appealed their failed bids at the 1997 auction. BP

    [04] ARMENIA VOTES FOR PRESIDENT

    Armenians go to the polls on 30 March to choose between acting President and Prime Minister Robert Kocharian and former Soviet-era Communist Party leader Karen Demirchyan in a run-off election for president. The campaign ended on 29 March with each of the candidates accusing the other of dishonest behavior and election fraud, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Kocharian also lashed out at the international community for its criticism of the Armenian elections: "We are electing a president for ourselves..., not for the international community," he said. In final campaign appearances, Kocharyan announced he would create a special political council of the heads of Armenia's leading political parties to help guide the country, while Demirchyan said he would devote all his energies to improving the country's economy. Public opinion polls suggest the race may be extremely close. Final results are not expected until 31 March at the earliest. PG

    [05] ABKHAZIA AGAINST GEORGIAN APPEAL TO CIS

    An Abkhaz Foreign Ministry official told ITAR-TASS on 28 March that any CIS decision on that breakaway republic that did not take Sukhumi's views into account would have serious consequences. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze earlier asked that the CIS presidents seek to come up with a plan for resolving the Abkhaz conflict. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 28 March noting that tensions between Georgia and Abkhazia are growing, Interfax reported. The statement placed most of the blame on Georgia, which has recently introduced additional military equipment into border areas. PG

    [06] AZERBAIJAN, RUSSIA ANNOUNCE SHIFTS ON CASPIAN

    Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev on 27 March called for the demilitarization of the Caspian, ITAR-TASS reported. On a visit to Baku the next day, Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Boris Pastukhov said Moscow now backs the division of the Caspian into sectors, a shift Azerbaijani officials welcomed. But Russian press reports that the two sides have signed a protocol on this point are premature, an RFE/RL correspondent in Moscow reported 29 March. And Pastukhov said Moscow is also prepared to increase the annual capacity of the Baku-Novorossiisk oil pipeline to 17 million tons in the near future, which would allow Azerbaijani oil to flow westward sooner than via Georgia. Both these developments are part of an effort by Moscow to warm relations with Baku, Interfax reported on 28 March. PG

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [07] UCK OFFERS SERBS CHOICE

    A spokesman for the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) told Reuters on 30 March that a peaceful solution is still possible to the Kosovo question provided that Serbian forces leave the province immediately and the Serbian authorities launch talks with the Kosovars. The spokesman added: "We have always favored independence through negotiation but in recent years we started to fight because nothing was changing in our situation and there were no meaningful talks. It's up to the Serbs whether we fight or talk. If they want to negotiate they must first withdraw their police and other forces. We won't walk away from negotiations, but we won't lay down our weapons either." The spokesman stressed that the Serbs "have already lost the war" because the UCK's morale is higher than that of the Serbian paramilitary police. PM

    [08] THIRD ETHNIC ALBANIAN DIES FOLLOWING LATEST FIGHTING

    Spokesmen for the leading Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said in Pristina on 29 March that a third ethnic Albanian has died of wounds he received in last week's fighting in the Djakovica-Decani area. The authorities said on 24 March that one Serbian policeman died as well (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 March 1998). PM

    [09] BELGRADE RAPS FOREIGN MEDIA

    Yugoslav Information Minister Goran Matic said in Belgrade on 29 March that the VOA, CNN, the BBC, Deutsche Welle, "and others" have "massacred the truth in Kosovo" through their reporting on the ongoing Serbian crackdown. He said that domestic Yugoslav radio stations that rebroadcast the foreign stations' reports are guilty of "subversion" and of being "a Fifth Column." Referring to unnamed foreign journalists who have reported on the UCK, Matic added that "our state must establish a clear relationship [with] certain foreign journalists that are in contact with Albanian armed terrorist groups." In Washington, the VOA's Croatian Service denied the charges in its morning broadcast on 30 March. The VOA said it is committed to accurate and objective reporting. PM

    [10] BULGARIA WARNS ABOUT SITUATION IN KOSOVO

    Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova said in Belgrade on 28 March that Kosovo cannot be considered a purely internal affair of Yugoslavia, as the Yugoslav authorities maintain. She stressed that a large number of countries have become involved in finding a solution to the Kosovo question. Mihailova added that Yugoslavia's neighbors fear that events in Kosovo could lead to problems in their own countries and that consequently "Kosovo could become an internal affair of the neighboring countries," RFE/RL reported. PM

    [11] MONTENEGRO SLAMS MILOSEVIC...

    Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic said in Podgorica on 29 March that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic had been both rude and politically unwise in refusing to meet with U.S. special envoy Robert Gelbard two days earlier (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 1998). Vujanovic stated: "If you want to talk to the international community, you don't refuse to receive the emissary of the president of the United States.... We must respect the emissaries of those who have the political and economic power. It is an elementary obligation toward citizens and the economy whose fate depends on what emerges from dialogue with these envoys, and above all it's a question of elementary political decency." PM

    [12] ...AS DOES ALBANIA

    Prime Minister Fatos Nano told a cabinet meeting on 28 March that through his handling of the Kosovo question, Milosevic "has lost a chance to join the civilized world." Nano added that he is optimistic that the efforts of the international community will prevent Kosovo from experiencing the open warfare that Bosnia did. Earlier in Bonn, the prime minister told "Nasa Borba" of 30 March that Kosovo should have the same rights within the Yugoslav federation as Montenegro does. Nano stressed that Kosovo should not have the right to secede from Yugoslavia but that it should be able to "open up to and integrate with countries in the region." PM

    [13] NATO SENDS EXPERTS TO ALBANIA

    A NATO spokesman said in Brussels on 27 March that the alliance will send eight teams of border monitoring experts to Albania over the next two months. The decision follows a recent request by the Albanian government for NATO support in guarding its border with Kosovo (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 March 1998). Each team will consist of seven people, including both civilian and military personnel. The first team is scheduled to arrive this week. The official added that NATO will "consider additional activities in the next months to help Albania." NATO has ruled out sending ground troops to help patrol the border. FS

    [14] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER TO STREAMLINE GOVERNMENT

    Fatos Nano told a government meeting on 28 March said that he will soon announce measures to streamline the government. Pandeli Majko, the leader of the Socialist Party's parliamentary faction, recently requested such a move. Nano called on the current coalition parties to take part in negotiations on the composition of a new, smaller cabinet, "Gazeta Shqiptare" reported. FS

    [15] CROATIAN SERBS WARN TUDJMAN

    Speaking in Zagreb on 30 March, Deputy Prime Minister Ljerka Mintas-Hodak said countries that want Croatia to expedite the return of Serbian refugees should help pay for it. She argued that it is unfair for donor countries to make aid dependent on the successful return of refugees. She asked that aid be given outright, before the returns are completed. Speaking in Vukovar on 29 March, Gelbard warned Croatia that it must enable more Serbs to return in safety if it expects economic and political support from the international community. And in Zagreb, ethnic Serbian leaders Milorad Pupovac and Vladimir Stanimirovic said they will withdraw from the joint commission aimed at confidence-building if President Franjo Tudjman does not take concrete measures by 15 March to ensure the return of more Serbian refugees, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the Croatian capital. PM

    [16] CIORBEA'S DEPARTURE--NOT IF, BUT WHEN

    The Bureau of the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) on 27 March empowered PNTCD leader Ion Diaconescu to start "immediate negotiations" with "all coalition partners" to find a solution to the ongoing political crisis. PNTCD Secretary-General Radu Vasile said the search for a solution does not exclude" forming a new government." But also on 27 March, the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR), said it wants the draft 1998 budget to be submitted to the parliament by Victor Ciorbea's cabinet. The CDR decided that if the National Liberal Party (PNL) congress approves the resolution demanding the premier's replacement, such a move would be viewed as a "PNL proposal to be discussed by the CDR." Following that anouncement, Ciorbea withdrew his demand that the PNL ministers resign. MS

    [17] LIBERALS APPROVE DEMAND FOR CIORBEA'S REPLACEMENT

    A PNL congress on 28 March approved the resolution adopted by the party's bureau demanding that the cabinet be replaced before the budget is submitted to the parliament. The congress also approved the merger of the PNL with the Party of Civic Alliance (PAC) and elected former PAC chairman Nicolae Manolescu as chairman of the PNL National Council. The following day, the Democratic Party welcomed the PNL's decision, and the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania's Executive Council said coalition members must begin negotiations on forming a new cabinet immediately rather than waiting for the passage of the 1998 budget. MS

    [18] INDEPENDENT CABINET MINISTERS WARN AGAINST LINGERING CRISIS

    In an open letter to Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea on 28 March, the three non-party affiliated ministers in his cabinet warned that the ongoing political crisis threatens to have "irreparable results." Finance Minister Daniel Daianu, Reforms Minister Ilie Serbanescu, and Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu said that structural problems are at the root of the crisis, rather than "personalities, programs, or ideologies." They added that there are "neither providential individuals nor miraculous recipes" to solve the crisis, arguing that a solution requires "firm and consistent measures" rather than the "populism, demagogy, and electoral incitement" characterizing the current political discourse. MS

    [19] MOLDOVA'S DEMOCRATIC FORCES LEADER RULES OUT COALITION WITH COMMUNISTS

    Valeriu Matei on 27 March said the "ideological and political barriers" that are dividing his Party of Democratic Forces (PFD) and the Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) are "insurmountable" and that no coalition involving both those formation is feasible. Matei was responding to PCM leader Vladimir Voronin's statement the previous day that a coalition could be formed by the PCM, the pro-presidential For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova (PMPD) Bloc, and "possibly the PFD." Matei said his party continues to opt for a coalition with the PMPD and the Democratic Convention of Moldova , RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [20] 'BLANK SPOTS' AND 'GRAY ZONES'

    by Paul Goble Boris Yeltsin's claim that he and the leaders of France and Germany are in complete agreement about the future of Europe has sent shock waves through the countries situated in the zone between those three great powers. Following an informal summit outside Moscow with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on 26 March, Yeltsin said the three leaders had "agreed on all points. There are no 'blank spots.'" While Yeltsin suggested that this accord pointed the way toward a multipolar world--one in which no country would suffer-- many states lying between NATO and the EU in the West and Russia in the East drew a different conclusion. The countries of this zone--sometimes called "gray" because of its lack of a clear geopolitical definition--have suffered when Russia and the West have disagreed. But they have also suffered when Russia and the West have agreed--especially if the agreement is about them. This last kind of agreement appeared very much in evidence at the so-called "troika" summit outside Moscow. Following Yeltsin's claim of complete unanimity, Kohl took the occasion to adopt a very hard line toward Latvia, a country with which Moscow has been having difficulties. Condemning a recent march by veterans of the World War II-era Latvian Waffen SS Legion, Kohl noted that the EU would evaluate applicant countries according to their human rights record and also according to their relations with their neighbors. The Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, which gave extensive coverage to Kohl's remarks, quoted the French president that he fully agrees with the German chancellor on this point. No one could fault any of the three leaders for being concerned about the human rights records of countries seeking to join Western institutions, but there are three reasons why their comments at the Troika summit have troubled some East Europeans. First, despite Yeltsin's claims, Kohl's comments, and Chirac's apparent agreement, most international agencies and observers have found Latvia to be in compliance with the generally accepted human rights norms. Russian claims to the contrary, including Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov's recent suggestion that the Russian government should use all means "short of force" to defend the rights of ethnic Russians in Latvia, are one thing. But German and French acquiescence with these Russian claims are quite another. Not surprisingly, the stance of Kohl and Chirac is troubling to governments and peoples who remember occasions in the past when Western leaders have deferred to Russian demands with respect to their fate. Second, Kohl's assertion that the EU will evaluate applicant countries in terms of the quality of their relations with their neighbors enhances Moscow's ability to influence not only Eastern Europe but Western Europe as well. On the one hand, Moscow can use its power to define the nature of these relationships as a threat to extract concessions from its neighbors. If those countries do not do what Russia wants, Moscow will say that relations are bad and will limit their chances of entering the West. On the other hand, by accepting this Russian claim, West European countries like Germany and France are in effect accepting the notion that Russia should have an effective veto over just how far east Western institutions should be allowed to move. And third, Kohl's remarks and Chirac's agreement quickly led to reports that the three summit participants have agreed that the Baltic States, as well as perhaps other East European countries, should not be allowed to join NATO. So widespread were such reports that ITAR- TASS even queried Paris on them. An anonymous senior official in the French President's Office said Chirac had not taken a position on Baltic membership in NATO in Moscow because those countries are not yet candidates. But if his words on that point were likely to be reassuring to the Balts, another remark by this unnamed French official seems likely to have an opposite and broader effect. The official suggested that the Moscow meeting demonstrated Paris has dropped its historical policy of using "Russia as a counterweight against Germany and vice versa." A belief that France was still pursuing that approach has animated the foreign policies of many countries in Eastern Europe, some of which assumed that their best course is to play off France against Germany and both of those countries against Russia. But if this latest statement from Paris is correct, then their hopes in this regard have been misplaced. And they may now have to reassess their relations not only with these three powers but with others as well. To the extent that happens, the "troika" summit may prove to be a turning point, one in which the absence of "blank spots" may lead to the darkening of a "gray zone."

    30-03-98


    Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    URL: http://www.rferl.org


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