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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 79, 99-04-26Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 79, 26 April 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA MARKS GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARYHundreds of thousands of Armenians, together with foreign diplomats and leading members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, walked to the 1915 genocide memorial in Yerevan on 24 April to commemorate the killings under the Ottoman Empire of more than 1 million Armenians, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. In a separate ceremony the previous day, a handful of soil from the grave of Henry Morgenthau, who was U.S. ambassador in Istanbul during the tragic events, was laid in the Tsitsernakaberd memorial. Morgenthau was among first Western officials to condemn the tragedy as the deliberate "extermination" of the Ottoman Empire's ethnic Armenian subjects. At a news conference in Yerevan on 24 April, a group of Turks from Germany urged the Turkish government to acknowledge the 1915 killings and deportations as genocide. The leader of the group, Ali Ertem, said more than 10,000 Turks have signed a petition, addressed to the Turkish parliament, in support of that demand. LF[02] OPPOSITION FACTION TO BOYCOTT AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT SESSIONSThe Democratic Bloc, which is composed of 17 opposition deputies, has declared its intention to boycott parliamentary sessions until its request is met for a debate on the work of the legislature and its speaker Murtuz Alesqerov, Turan reported on 22 April, citing "Yeni Musavat." The following day, the newspaper quoted Ali Kerimov, who is first deputy chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AzPFP), as saying he is conducting negotiations with an undisclosed number of independent deputies and deputies from the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan party who wish to join the AzPFP. LF[03] TRANSCAUCASUS PRESIDENTS MEET WITH NATO FOREIGN MINISTERSRobert Kocharian, Heidar Aliev, and Eduard Shevardnadze met in Washington on 25 April with the foreign ministers of the U.S., France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, and Turkey to discuss ways to resolve deadlocked conflicts in the region without bloodshed, Reuters reported. U.S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright stressed that such solutions must be based on respect for the territorial integrity of all three countries, willingness to grant the maximum autonomy to ethnic minorities, international security guarantees, and the right of refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes. She reaffirmed the desire of the international community to help the conflict parties to reach such solutions but warned that "there are limits to what we can do" without a firm commitment from the countries involved. LF[04] UZBEKISTAN JOINS GUAMAt a ceremony in Uzbekistan's Washington embassy on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Uzbekistan formally became the fifth member of the Georgia- Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova alignment, ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported on 24 April. The grouping will now be known as GUUAM. The presidents of the five countries issued a joint statement affirming their support for one another's territorial integrity. They also backed both regional cooperation, including the creation of regional transport corridors, and cooperation within the framework of international organizations such as the Euro- Atlantic Partnership Council. The statement stressed that their cooperation is not aimed against third countries or groups of countries. ITAR-TASS quoted an unidentified diplomat from one of the five member states as saying that GUUAM does not intend to supplant the CIS, nor do any of its five members intend to leave the commonwealth. LF[05] ORGANIZERS OF UZBEK BOMBINGS APPREHENDED?Not only the perpetrators but all the organizers of the 16 February bomb attacks in Tashkent have been arrested, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 23 April, quoting Uzbek First Deputy Prosecutor- General Azimzhon Ergashev. Speaking at a news conference in Tashkent four days earlier, President Islam Karimov had said that while the perpetrators of the attacks have been apprehended, the organizers remain on the run outside Uzbekistan, according to Interfax. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[06] DRASKOVIC TELLS BELGRADE TO 'STOP LYING'Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic told Belgrade's non-government Studio B Television on 25 April that "the men running this country" must stop "lying to the people" about the current conflict with NATO and its likely outcome. He took issue with the optimistic line espoused by top Belgrade officials, saying that "the people should be told that NATO is not facing a breakdown, that Russia will not help Yugoslavia militarily and that the world public opinion is against us." Draskovic added that "if some forces and individuals in Serbia say we...must defeat the whole world, not only NATO, the Serbian people should tell them 'no.' The people who lead this country must say clearly where we stand. They must make clear what will be left of Serbia in 20 days if the bombing continues," AP quoted him as saying. PM[07] WHAT LIES BEHIND HIS REMARKS?The BBC on 26 April quoted Draskovic as saying his remarks were not directed against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Observers noted that Draskovic has sometimes publicly taken issue with the views of hard- line Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj. But Draskovic's statement is the clearest indication to date of differences within the Serbian leadership. On 24 April, the BBC reported that persistent but unconfirmed reports suggest that several top Yugoslav army generals are under house arrest in Belgrade. Recently, NATO officials have mentioned there is unspecified evidence of growing splits within the Serbian leadership. PM[08] NATO PLEDGES BACKING FOR BALKAN STABILITYLeaders of NATO's 19 member states devoted much of their time at the Washington summit to the crisis in Kosova and its ramifications for the region as a whole (see also above). On 25 April, NATO leaders told their counterparts from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, and Slovenia that the alliance is committed to a long-term program for regional stability. Earlier, NATO leaders discussed among themselves the possibility of cutting off oil supplies to Serbia at sea as well as how to engage Russia in the peace process. Observers noted that the regional stability plan, if fleshed out and put into effect, would be the first such international undertaking for Southeastern Europe as a region. PM[09] CLINTON WARNS SERBIAU.S. President Bill Clinton said in Washington on 25 April that "the nations of the region have risked and even faced armed confrontation with Serbia by facilitating and supporting our campaign to end the bloodshed... If Belgrade challenges its neighbors as a result of the presence of NATO, we will respond." NATO Secretary- General Javier Solana added that "the NATO allies are grateful for the support which countries in the region have provided. Such solidarity and support of the international community's objectives...is a sure sign of our eventual success." Observers pointed out that NATO officials did not indicate whether they had discussed the possibility of sending ground troops into Kosova. PM[10] DRNOVSEK UPBEAT ON NATO...Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said in Washington on 25 April that he is confident that his country will be the "first candidate" for NATO membership when the alliance decides to admit the next group of applicants, AP reported. He argued that his country has "behaved more like a NATO ally" than as merely a member of the Partnership for Peace Program throughout the current crisis. Drnovsek added that Slovenia will support any NATO oil embargo against Belgrade. He called for sending a UN force "to stabilize the region" but did not elaborate. Drnovsek argued that Milosevic "miscalculated badly" by not accepting the Rambouillet plan in March. The Slovenian leader added that Milosevic probably assumed that NATO countries would not be able to maintain a united front against him for very long. The Zagreb daily "Vecernji list" reported on 26 April that Drnovsek called for Croatia to be admitted to the Partnership for Peace program but that Solana said Croatia is not yet ready. PM[11] ...BUT GLIGOROV IS BITTERMacedonian President Kiro Gligorov said in Washington on 25 April that he is disappointed that NATO officials have not invited his country to join the alliance and instead "put it in last place." He charged that NATO has not shown appreciation for the efforts Macedonia has made to meet the demands that the alliance has placed upon it in the course of the current crisis, AP reported. Gligorov said that Western countries should contribute more money for refugee relief and take more refugees out of the region. He stressed that "NATO cannot expect Southeastern Europe to change [from] an economic, political and social point of view unless a helping hand is extended to this region. I believe this is the best response to the super nationalism which has reigned in this area," Gligorov concluded. PM[12] MORE REPORTS OF ATROCITIES IN KOSOVAA spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees told Reuters in Blace, Macedonia, on 25 April that Serbian paramilitaries killed some 56 Kosovars north of Ferizaj in mid-April. He added that persistent but unconfirmed reports by refugees indicate that the Serbian forces regularly engage in rape and robbery as part of their policy of ethnic cleansing. A prosecutor for the Hague-based war crimes tribunal told AP in Brazda that Serbian forces have set up rape camps at Gjakova, Peja, and an unspecified arms factory. She stressed that Serbian forces use systematic rape to accelerate the process of ethnic cleansing. A refugee woman added that the Serbs use rape in order to destroy the foundations of ethnic Albanian society. The previous day, the BBC reported that Serbian forces used Yugoslav army trucks to remove televisions and stereos from abandoned homes in southern Kosova. PM[13] CLARK SAYS AIR CAMPAIGN 'RIGHT ON SCHEDULE'General Wesley Clark, who is NATO's supreme commander in Europe, said in Tirana on 25 April that the bombing campaign against Serbian forces is advancing "right on schedule" and that Milosevic knows he is losing the war, Reuters reported. Clark visited support troops preparing the deployment of 24 Apache helicopters, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Tirana. The general said that NATO does not plan a ground invasion of Kosova. A spokesman for Albanian President Rexhep Meidani told RFE/RL the same day in Tirana that U.S. officials in Washington assured him of support in the event of a military confrontation with Yugoslavia. The previous day, Pentagon officials in Washington told dpa they will increase the number of U.S. forces in Albania by 2,000 to 5,300. The additional troops will be responsible for ground security for helicopters and missile batteries. FS[14] UCK OFFERS TO LEAD GROUND INVASIONA spokesman for the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) said at a press conference in Kukes on 25 April that the guerrillas are willing to lead a NATO ground offensive against Serbian forces in Kosova. The BBC quoted the spokesman as saying that the UCK holds areas in northern Kosova and has established a corridor linking those areas with Albania. According to Reuters, however, he stressed that "we are short of weapons, food and other supplies...and we are fighting an army of 40,000 Serbian police and paramilitaries." The spokesman also reported that the Serbian authorities have turned Kosova into "one big concentration camp...with killings, massacres and rapes." He added that the UCK has unspecified new evidence of mass killings of 61 people in the village of Poklek, 51 in Koliq, and more than 160 in the Izbica district of Skenderaj. He gave no further details. FS[15] YUGOSLAV ARMY HARASSES JOURNALISTS IN MONTENEGROMiodrag Perovic, who heads the independent weekly "Monitor" and Antenna M Radio, said in Podgorica on 25 April that he is going into hiding to avoid capture and possible torture by the Yugoslav army. He added that his magazine and radio will stop work rather than submit to military censorship. Radio Free Montenegro's editor Nebojsa Redzic is also in hiding, Reuters reported. The army has issued arrest warrants against both men. The army is holding one Croatian and two French journalists on espionage charges. PM[16] PRIVATIZATION BEGINS IN BOSNIABosnian and international officials attended a ceremony in Sarajevo on 23 April to mark the issuing of the first privatization vouchers to some of Bosnia's 1.9 million citizens, Reuters reported. The vouchers represent compensation for frozen pre-war bank accounts as well as unpaid wages and pensions. The total value of assets to be privatized in the mainly Muslim and Croatian federation is $26 billion. Representatives of the international community stressed that the project is essential to revive the Bosnian economy and encourage the war-torn country to stand on its own feet and avoid becoming dependent on foreign aid. PM[17] CROATIAN BANKS SAVE TISAKGovernment officials brokered a deal in Zagreb on 23 April according to which five banks will bail out Tisak, the company that has a near monopoly on the distribution of newspapers. The banks will have a controlling stake in Tisak as part of the $16.5 million deal. Elsewhere, "Vecernji list" reported on 26 April that the Croatian Company for Pension Insurance faces major financial difficulties. PM[18] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SUPPORTS POSSIBLE OIL EMBARGO AGAINST BELGRADEAndrei Plesu said on 24 April in Washington that although Bucharest supports the NATO proposal to impose an oil embargo against Yugoslavia, Romania should be reimbursed for the resulting losses it would suffer, Rompres reported. Plesu said Romania could join NATO in the "strategic efforts" of setting up the embargo. Since Hungary and Bulgaria have also said they would abide by such an embargo, only shipments to Montenegro would be left as a route for Russian deliveries of oil, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Premier Radu Vasile said the previous day that the first month of the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia has cost Romania some $730 million. A report outlining these costs has been sent to the World Bank and the IMF. Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, who was also in Washington for the NATO summit, called for a broad reconstruction of southeastern Europe and "not just the war zone." PB[19] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ALSO BACKS POSSIBLE OIL EMBARGOPetar Stoyanov said on 24 April that Bulgaria fully supports the possible oil embargo against Yugoslavia, an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported. Stoyanov said "not a single drop of oil will go through Bulgaria on its way to Yugoslavia." He said Bulgaria anticipated the call for the embargo and has already closed oil pipelines to Yugoslavia. Stoyanov repeated that Bulgaria suffered immense financial losses each day that the conflict continued and appealed to the EU and the U.S. for government- backed investment in Bulgaria. He also said Sofia hoped for fast and early accession to NATO in return for its support of the alliance. On 23 April, a Bulgarian customs patrol intercepted a Ukrainian ship attempting to smuggle in fuel near the town of Ruse. PB[20] NATO PLANES VIOLATE BULGARIAN AIR SPACETwo NATO fighter planes reportedly violated Bulgarian air space on 24 April, BTA reported. The planes flew over the town of Tran, some 30 kilometers inside Bulgaria before heading toward Macedonia. The Bulgarian government has said it will allow NATO planes to fly within a corridor along the country's western border, but the decision is not valid until the parliament approves it. A parliamentary debate and vote on the issue is expected early this week. Meanwhile, both pro- and anti-NATO protests took place in Sofia on 25 April. PB[C] END NOTE[21] LUZHKOV AIMS TO JOIN REGIONAL LEADERSBy Floriana FossatoMoscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov seems to have strengthened his political position in Russia as a result of two significant developments last week. On 21 April, the Federation Council rebuffed for the second time the Kremlin's request to replace Prosecutor- General Yurii Skuratov. Luzhkov, a presidential hopeful whose intervention reportedly influenced the house's decision, thereby dealt a new blow to President Boris Yeltsin. Shortly after, Luzhkov announced that the leadership of the party he founded last year, Otechestvo (Fatherland), had approved his proposal to join a new political bloc called Vsya Rossiya (All Russia), which includes16 influential regional leaders, such as Presidents Mintimer Shaimiev of Tatarstan, Murtaza Rakhimov of Bashkortostan and Ruslan Aushev of Ingushetia as well as the governors of Khabarovsk, Astrakhan, Perm, and Khanty-Mansiisk. Another politician aiming at playing a key role in the bloc is Oleg Morozov, the leader of the Russian Regions faction in the State Duma. Luzhkov, who unexpectedly showed up at the first meeting of the Vsya Rossiya organizing committee on 22 April, added that the political council of his party had taken the decision to join the new bloc the previous evening. Officials close to Luzhkov told Russian media that the fact that the decision came on the heels of the vote in the Federation Council was a "pure coincidence," but few believed that assertion. NTV commercial television, for its part, commented that "the outcome of the vote on the prosecutor-general has clearly changed Luzhkov's tactics." Samara Governor Konstantin Titov, the leader of another regional bloc, Golos Rossii (Voice of Russia), has said he may also join Vsya Rossiya. Sergei Markov, director of the Moscow Institute of Political Studies, says regional leaders of centrist political orientation aim at funding broad coalitions that would allow them to increase their influence in State Duma, so far dominated by the Communists and their allies. "They would like to create a 'party of power' from below, based on parties of power concretely existing, that they have already built up in their regions," he argues. In this way they would consolidate what they already have and get more." For the regional leaders, an alliance with Luzhkov's Otechestvo, which has said it wants to become Russia's future 'party of power,' could help them build a strong faction in the next Duma. For Luzhkov, the possible benefits of such an alliance are even more evident. Luzhkov enjoys broad popularity in Moscow. However, his ability to attract votes in the regions, where many people resent Moscow's higher standard of living, has remained untested. Many observers have warned that resentment toward Moscow could hamper Luzhkov's effort to obtain enough support either for Otechestvo in the parliamentary elections or for himself in the presidential ballot. Pooling efforts with powerful regional leaders would clearly help Luzhkov expand his appeal in the provinces. Luzhkov and Shaimiev, who is seen as Vsya Rossiya's most influential leader, so far have pledged to coordinate efforts ahead of parliamentary election scheduled for December. But some political analysts are raising doubts about whether the alliance can achieve more. Markov argues that if the different blocs "manage to join forces all together, this will be the political force that could win both parliamentary and presidential elections. But for them to get together will be difficult, because there are serious obstacles. One is the problem of leadership. It is not that they will fight for leadership. The leader can clearly be only one: Yurii Luzhkov." Markov adds that another problem is that Luzhkov's style is such that he does not tolerate partners, but only subordinates. And it is not a given that other governors will want to join forces with him on such a basis. And he also points out that the presidents of national republics have very different ideas as to what Russia's federal structure should be. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Moscow. 26-04-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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