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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 65, 99-04-02Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 65, 2 April 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] MORE ARMENIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIANS TO BOYCOTT ELECTIONTwelve members of the former ruling Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh) and four members of the Liberal-Democratic Party, which also belonged to the former ruling Hanrapetutiun coalition, issued a statement in Yerevan on 1 April declaring their "flat refusal to participate in this election farce, " Noyan Tapan reported. Two of those 16 had appended their signatures to an earlier statement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 1999). By the 30 March deadline, 15 parties and six electoral blocs informed the Central Electoral Commission of their intention to contest the poll and are currently collecting the required 50,000 signatures in order to register. LF[02] GEORGIA REHEARSES RESPONSE TO PIPELINE EMERGENCYThe Georgian Pipeline Consortium, which is responsible for operating the Georgian sector of the Baku-Supsa oil export pipeline, conducted the first of a planned series of exercises on 31 March aimed at dealing with the aftermath of sabotage or accidental damage to that pipeline, Caucasus Press reported. Two days later, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry delegation arrived in Tbilisi to develop plans for joint exercises by the Georgian- Ukrainian-Azerbaijani force that is to be created to guard the pipeline. LF[03] KAZAKH OFFICIAL SAYS IMPOUNDED MIGS INTENDED FOR BOSNIAAskar Gabdullin, director-general of the Metallist plant in Kazakhstan, told Interfax on 1 April that the six obsolete MiG-21s the plant sold to the Czech firm Agroplast were destined for Bosnia. He added that the sale contract had been approved by the government of Kazakhstan. The MiGs were impounded in Baku on 19 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 March 1999). CTK on 1 April quoted RFE/RL's Slovak Service as reporting that since 1993, Agroplast has used Bratislava airport (the alleged destination of the Russian cargo plane that transported the MiGs) for illegal arms shipments. It added that Agroplast has delivered arms from unnamed CIS states to third countries. LF[04] LAWYERS STRIKE IN KAZAKHSTANA spokesman for Kazakhstan's lawyers announced on 1 April that some 2,500 of his colleagues will not work for the state until the government pays their back wages for the past six months, AP reported. He estimated the total wage arrears at some 80 million tenge ($919,000). Addressing a joint session of Kazakhstan's parliament the previous day, President Nursultan Nazarbaev claimed that both pensions and state employees' wages in Kazakhstan are paid on time, in contrast to other CIS states. Also on 1 April, 400 police in the town of Kentau prevented some 100 women from beginning a march to Almaty to protest the authorities' tardiness in paying child benefits, RFE/RL's Almaty bureau reported. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[05] SERBS STEP UP DEPORTATIONSSerbian forces continue to "systematically empty Prishtina at gunpoint," the BBC reported on 2 April. The previous day, Serbs sent thousands of refugees to the Macedonian border after packing them into at least two trains. Serbian officials took from the deportees money as well as passports and other documents proving Yugoslav citizenship. In Geneva, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on 2 April that the situation has reached "nightmare proportions." She noted that 40,000 Kosovars arrived on the Macedonian frontier the previous day alone. She stressed that "people were...crammed onto the trains like sardines." PM[06] REFUGEES FLOOD INTO ALBANIAMore than 22,000 refugees crossed the border into Albania on 1 April, bringing the total there to more than 120,000, representatives of the UNHCR told Reuters in Tirana. A lack of transport has slowed down plans to ease the chaotic situation in the remote town of Kukes, which is swollen with 90,000 refugees. An OSCE spokesman said that "we urgently need 200 trucks to move these people elsewhere." To date, the government has transported some 40,000 refugees out of the border region aboard requisitioned buses. Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta warned that "the overall number [of refugees] will climb to 200,000 if things go on at this rate." He added that aid and equipment is too slow in arriving in the area. Meanwhile, some 700 refugees arrived in Shkodra from Montenegro, Albanian public television reported. FS[07] ALBANIA CALLS FOR HELPPrime Minister Pandeli Majko told local representatives of the IMF, the World Bank, and the EU in Tirana on 1 April that his country needs urgent help to support its trade balance. He warned that the humanitarian catastrophe will turn into an economic and financial crisis unless the international community gives Albania financial support. Meanwhile, 16 planes loaded with aid supplies arrived at Tirana airport at the beginning of a major international air supply operation. French Cooperation Minister Charles Jossein promised to send four or five planeloads daily. An Italian navy supply vessel laden with water-carrying trucks and military field kitchens arrived in Durres, Reuters reported. Sweden sent a plane loaded with blankets, tents, and cans of drinking water. In Seattle, William Gates Sr., who is the father of Microsoft's Bill Gates, said that their family's foundation will donate $1.5 million for Kosovar refugee relief. FS[08] BRITAIN: MILOSEVIC PREPARING COUP IN MONTENEGROBritish Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in London on 1 April that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic should not try to destabilize the Montenegrin government of President Milo Djukanovic: "Milosevic should know now not to create trouble in Montenegro. He already is in enough trouble himself. He does not have the resources or the time to fight on another front. Do not think of trying to open up another front in Montenegro." In Washington, State Department spokesman James Rubin said: "A Belgrade takeover in Montenegro would destroy the most credible and potent democratic force in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and have negative implications throughout the region." The next day in London, a Defense Ministry spokesman said: "We have evidence to show that he is preparing a coup against Montenegro." Milosevic recently replaced the top army commander in Montenegro, where rumors of a coup have been rife for some time (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 April 1999). PM[09] CLINTON TELLS MILOSEVIC TO RELEASE SOLDIERSPresident Bill Clinton on 1 April called on Milosevic to release the three captured U.S. soldiers immediately. A Defense Department spokesman said that the Yugoslav authorities should treat the three as prisoners of war under the terms of the Geneva Convention. He objected to plans of the Yugoslav military to try the three before a military court on 2 April, which he called a "kangaroo court." Defense Secretary William Cohen said "there should not be a trial. They should be entitled to have the Red Cross or some other organization visit them. I think it's very clear from the photographs at least one has been beaten." Serbian officials say the three were captured on 31 March on Serbian territory and may be tried for espionage, which can carry the death penalty. NATO officials maintain that the three were 2 miles inside Macedonian territory. PM[10] DID VILLAGERS PLAY ROLE IN CAPTURE?Many of the people who live in the area of Macedonia where NATO says the three U.S. soldiers were captured are either ethnic Serbs or pro-Serbian Macedonian nationalists, AP reported on 1 April. Other soldiers told the news agency that many of these locals often threw stones at or showed other unfriendly attitudes toward U.S. military vehicles after they recently were repainted from the white of the former UN peacekeeping mission to a military green. PM[11] MILOSEVIC 'HOSTS' RUGOVASerbian state-run television reported on 1 April that "Milosevic has received [Kosovar leader] Ibrahim Rugova in Belgrade. They discussed the problems in [Kosova]. They came to a joint stand on a mutual commitment to a political process and [agreed] that problems can be resolved successfully and in the long-term only through political means." The footage also showed a document with both men's signatures. It is unclear what is in the text. Serbian police have been holding Rugova under "protection" in Prishtina. PM[12] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT, UCK DENOUNCE MEETINGA government spokesman told Reuters on 1 April in Tirana that "if Rugova has held this meeting of his own free will, then he has acted in an irresponsible manner." But President Rexhep Meidani said he has doubts that the meeting was "genuine," adding that "it is hard to believe" that Rugova would have met Milosevic unless he were under duress. Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) leader Hashim Thaci told public television in Tirana that Rugova's participation in a meeting with Milosevic, if voluntary, was tantamount to "treason." Thaci also said the UCK is close to putting together a new Kosovar "government" in which he will be prime minister. FS[13] ALBANIAN PREMIER SUGGESTS INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVAMajko told Reuters on 1 April that independence from Yugoslavia has become a serious option for Kosova in response to "one of the most radical ethnic cleansings that the world has ever seen." He stressed that "this is an option that can be discussed very clearly now." Asked if Albania will support the UCK, he said "we will support people who are suffering genocide. " FS[14] U.S. EXTENDS GUARANTEES TO CROATIAForeign Minister Mate Granic said in Bonn on 1 April that unnamed U.S. officials gave him guarantees of NATO support if the conflict in Kosova spreads elsewhere in the region, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. During that same recent trip to Washington, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Granic that Croatia must reform its election law if it wants to join NATO's Partnership for Peace Program. Granic replied that he hopes that the government and the opposition can agree on new legislation within six weeks, "Novi List" reported. PM[15] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON KOSOVA CONFLICTAndrei Plesu told RFE/RL on 1 April that as a result of the NATO intervention in Kosova, "we can expect...changes in international law that will see us enter the next millennium with a different legal background and a different political philosophy than the one in place today." Greek Defense Minster Akis Tsochatzopoulos told journalists that in talks with his Romanian counterpart, Victor Babiuc, there was agreement that the crisis in Kosova necessitates a political solution guaranteeing autonomy within existing borders and that military intervention "cannot provide a lasting solution." Babiuc said both sides "support the NATO action aimed at stopping ethnic cleansing" and "ending the humanitarian catastrophe we are now facing." Also on 1 April, the government decided to grant Macedonia $600,000 in aid for the Kosova refugees. MS[16] MOLDOVAN COMMUNISTS BLOCK PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON KOSOVAA special all-party parliamentary commission set up to formulate a declaration on the Kosova conflict failed to reach agreement on 1 April, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Vasile Nedelciuc, who was the commission representative of the Party of Moldovan Communists, opposed including in the draft a section expressing "regret" that the Yugoslavs had "rejected the peace accords, despite the efforts of the international community" to persuade them to do so. MS[17] NATO OFFICIAL VISITS BULGARIA, ROMANIAGeneral Rupert Smith, deputy commander of NATO's Allied Forces in Europe, met with President Petar Stoyanov and Defense Minister Georgi Ananiev in Sofia on 1 April, BTA reported. Smith told Stoyanov that incidents such as the landing on Bulgarian territory of two NATO missiles, "will not reoccur." He and Ananiev agreed to "exchange operative information" on NATO's actions to avoid the recurrence of such incidents and to dispatch for this purpose two liaison officers to the Bulgarian air staff. Also on 1 April, Smith met in Bucharest with Defense Minister Victor Babiuc, with whom he "exchanged views on the present situation in Kosova," and with chief of staff General Constantin Degeratu, Mediafax reported. MS[18] KOZLODUY INCREASES PRECAUTIONS AGAINST DEBRIS FROM SERBIAKozloduy nuclear plant director Krasimir Nikolov on 1 April said a floating barrier has been installed in the River Danube to divert any possible oil slicks and other debris from the nuclear plant, Reuters reported. The cooling system of the plant's reactors use Danube water, while Serbia's main oil terminals are at Belgrade's industrial suburb of Pancevo. That area has been targeted in several NATO bombardments and cruise-missile strikes. MS[C] END NOTE[19] NATO'S EMBRACE OF FORMER ENEMIESby Michael J. JordanIn the shadowy world of espionage, there is no fool-proof system for preventing the betrayal of an Aldrich Ames, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, or, now, allegedly, of Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee, who has been accused of leaking nuclear-warheads research to China. Such a system would require the technology to read an individual's thoughts. So it was with a leap of faith last month that NATO-- which stared down the Soviet Union during 40 years of the Cold War--admitted three ex-Soviet satellites as new members: Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. This strategic embrace of former enemies, one decade after the collapse of Communism, means that the three countries' military and political elite are now privy to NATO's deepest, darkest secrets. And though these countries have purged most of their hard-line Communist officials, their historical ties and geographic location make them perhaps more vulnerable to infiltration than, say, some NATO officials. Many Warsaw Pact military officers were trained in places like Moscow and Kyiv. Trade relations at that time were cozy with countries such as Iraq, Iran, and Libya. Not surprisingly, then, when NATO officials speak privately of "hostile" intelligence agencies, they identify three regions- -Russia, the Middle East, and the Balkans--as the primary threats. "There's still the residue of contacts and relationships between Central Europe and those parts of the world," said one NATO official in Budapest. "You can presume that if Russia, for example, wished to seize classified NATO material, it might be easier to do it here than, say, in London or Paris." But there is a second side to this coin, says Tamas Wachsler, a state secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Defense. "While these countries know us, we also know them and their tactics," said Wachsler. "So from this standpoint, NATO shouldn't view us as a deficit, but as an asset." Today, much of what was once secret is now easily accessible on the Internet. Yet the most sensitive NATO data continue to be those on the alliance's weapons of mass destruction, air-defense system, storage depots of fuel and ammunition, and communication and transportation systems. So despite their new status as "full and equal" partners of NATO, the Central Europeans will learn NATO secrets in line with the "need-to-know" principle. And under instructions from NATO, each newcomer has taken both legal and practical steps in recent months to do what it can to prevent classified material from falling into the wrong hands. According to NATO specifications, all three established new systems for the handling of classified material--such as secure telephone lines and storage facilities--and a screening process for those who will have access to such material. Candidates submit to a rigorous questionnaire and interviews. These probe for potential liabilities like family, financial, or psychological problems that might expose the candidate to bribery or blackmail. But after six years of intensive cooperation, NATO officials already seemed satisfied with their new partners. "It's like a marriage," said another Western officer in Budapest. "Hopefully, from that first day you have the same level of trust, and it continues to grow.... If the trust and confidence weren't there, they never would have been invited to join." When it the time comes to keep a NATO secret, national pride will be at stake, according Lt. Gen. Lajos Urban, the number two in Hungary's armed forces. "We want to be seen as contributing to NATO's strength and trusted as a new military ally," said Urban, who was trained in Moscow during the communist era and in London and Rome since 1989. A further motivation is to avoid the national humiliation that befell France last November, when it was revealed that a French major working at NATO headquarters in Brussels had passed along to Serbia NATO's plans for military strikes in Kosova. So, if even longtime NATO allies are vulnerable, what about the Central Europeans, who continue to unearth their share of skeletons? Polish Prime Minister Jozef Oleksy, for example, resigned in January 1996 amid charges he had been a long-time spy for the Soviet KGB. The case was ultimately dropped for lack of evidence. Another issue is the fate of those Hungarian, Czech and Polish agents who for years operated covertly in the West. Are they still active, or have they found new employers? Either way, it seems accepted as a given. "You think there aren't American agents in Paris or French agents in London? Everybody still needs good intelligence," said a third NATO official. "Why should they stop? It's completely natural to want to confirm information you receive. Yes, we're allies and partners, but in other areas we're also competitors." The NATO neophytes will be under pressure not only to meet NATO's expectations but to perform well enough to enable a second wave of expansion eastward. "NATO has never rejected an alliance member," said one of the NATO officials in Budapest. "But if a member brought the alliance into ill- repute or dragged it down, there's no reason why we wouldn't." The author is a U.S. journalist based in Budapest (michaeljjordan@csi.com). 02-04-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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