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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 88, 99-05-07Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 88, 7 May 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA DENIES ASPIRING TO NATO MEMBERSHIPIn an interview published on 6 May in the Armenian- and Russian-language government dailies, Deputy Defense Minister Vahan Shirkhanian said that Armenia does not intend to join the alliance but will continue to participate in the Partnership for Peace and other programs that contribute to strengthening national security, according to ITAR-TASS and Asbarez-on- Line. He also denied that Armenia's participation in last month's NATO summit in Washington could have a negative impact on Russian- Armenian relations. LF[02] ARMENIAN COURT REJECTS TRADERS' APPEALA Yerevan district court rejected on 6 May the suit brought by the Armenian Traders Union against the Armenian government, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The traders had claimed that they had been wrongfully fined for failing to comply with a government ruling requiring them to input all transactions into cash registers, beginning on 1 February (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 April 1999). No fines should have been imposed prior to 1 April for failure to do so. The district court refused to hear the traders' appeal, claiming that only the Constitutional Court is empowered to challenge government rulings. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PROTESTS JOURNALIST"S ARREST IN IRANIndependent organizations representing Azerbaijani journalists issued a statement on 6 May condemning the detention three days earlier of Ganimat Zahidov, editor of the newspaper "Ekspress," by Iranian customs officials, Turan reported. Zahidov was returning from a trip to Iran during which he conducted a 10-hour interview with Mahmudali Chehragani, who is a professor at Tabriz university and a representative of Iran's ethnic Azeri community. The Iranian officials claim Zahidov was smuggling a pair of binoculars, but they also confiscated his tapes of the interview with Chehragani. LF[04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CRACKDOWN ON ECONOMIC CRIMEAddressing a government session on 6 May, Eduard Shevardnadze said that more than 1,000 cases of corruption and economic crime have been registered in Georgia since the beginning of 1999, Caucasus Press reported. Shevardnadze added that some 400 police, customs and tax officials have been dismissed for various crimes. Georgian Internal Minister, Kakha Targamadze noted that 12 people have been arrested since January for attempting to circulate a total of more than $2 million in counterfeit bills. LF[05] ARE THERE MOLES WITHIN THE GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY?"Alia" on 6 May quoted senior Georgian Defense Ministry official Gogi Gogashvili as saying that he believes unnamed ministry staff slated for redundancy in personnel cuts aimed at bringing the ministry's structure into conformity with NATO standards have been coopted by Russian intelligence. A second newspaper, "Rezonansi," reported the same day that unnamed Georgian generals are seeking to engineer the sacking of West Point-trained Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze and the appointment of a pro- Russian replacement. LF[06] GEORGIA ACCUSES ABKHAZIA OF NEW TROOP BUILDUPA spokesman for the Abkhaz Security Ministry in exile, which represents the Georgian population forced to flee Abkhazia in 1992-3, said on 6 May that the Abkhaz government deployed an additional 86 troops, including some ethnic Armenians, in Gali Raion on 5-6 May in order to secure the region's borders in the event of the withdrawal of the CIS peacekeeping force, Caucasus Press reported. LF[07] FORMER KAZAKH PREMIER AGAIN DENIES TAX EVASION CHARGESAkezhan Kazhegeldin has written an open letter to Prosecutor- General Yurii Khitrin again saying that the accusations of tax evasion leveled against himself and his wife are "groundless" RFE/RL's Almaty bureau reported on 7 May. The open letter was published in the 7 May edition of the newspaper "XXI vek" (21st Century). Khitrin announced last month that criminal proceedings are to be opened against Kazhegeldin, at which time the latter denied the charges (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 29 April 1999). LF[08] HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN KAZAKHSTAN EVOKES U.S. CONCERNSpeaking at a congressional hearing on 6 May, U.S. congressman Christopher Smith expressed concern at Kazakhstan's apparent retreat from democratization, noting that the January 1999 presidential elections were "neither free nor fair," an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported. A senior State Department official added that Kazakhstan should bring its electoral legislation into line with international standards, schedule elections far enough in advance to give the opposition adequate opportunity to prepare for them, register new political parties promptly, and include non-government representatives on central and local electoral commissions. Kazakhstan's ambassador in Washington, Bolat Nurgaliev, said his country takes "seriously" its obligations to meet OSCE standards, but he added that problems inherited from the Soviet era are an obstacle to democratization (see also "End Note" below). LF[09] KAZAKH POLICE DISPERSE HUNGER STRIKERSSeventeen employees of the Shymkent Phosphorus Plant who began a hunger strike on the town's central square last week to demand payment of their salaries for the past three years were dispersed by police on 6 May, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. The plant, which is bankrupt and up for sale, owes its former workers about 600 million tenges (approximately $5 million). LF[10] KYRGYZ CABINET DEBATES BUDGET CRISISAddressing a cabinet session in Bishkek on 6 May, newly appointed Prime Minister Amangeldi Muraliev said the country's present financial situation is the most serious ever, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He said the cabinet is unable to pay some 500 million soms (about $14 million) in back payments, including wages, pensions and other allowances. Finance Minister Marat Sultanov reported that industrial output declined in 1998 by 39.7 percent, compared with 1997. Agricultural output fell by 12 percent and construction by 48 percent. Revenues from privatization in 1998 also fell short of the anticipated figure. LF[11] IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN UZBEKISTANKamal Kharrazi met with Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov, Prime Minister Utkir Sultanov, and Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov during a two-day working visit to Tashkent on 5-6 May, AFP and Interfax reported. The talks focussed on economic cooperation, the peace process in Tajikistan, and the situation in Afghanistan, AP-Blitz reported from Dushanbe. Karimov and Kharrazi agreed that the UN Security Council should be asked to mediate in the Afghan conflict. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] RUGOVA LEAVES KEY QUESTIONS UNANSWEREDKosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova spoke to the press in Rome for three minutes on 6 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 May 1999). Standing next to Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, Rugova said that international peace-keeping forces, including NATO and others, must be deployed in Kosova. Moreover, he demanded the immediate withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosova. Rugova avoided saying whether he supports the NATO bombing campaign or whether meetings he had with Serb leaders during his five weeks of house arrest were held under duress, AP noted. ANSA quoted him as saying: "I am for peace and non-violent resistance.... The entire Kosova population, including the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), is in favor of a peaceful, political solution." He also thanked Italy for "all its efforts and solidarity with the refugees," and he extended special thanks to Don Vincenzo Paglia of the Roman Catholic Sant'Egidio organization, which helped mediate Rugova's release. FS[13] UCK LEADERS WANT CLARIFICATIONUCK official Visa Reka told RFE/RL from Tirana on 6 May that the guerrillas' "provisional government of Kosova demands that [Rugova] openly declare...his position on the NATO air strikes on Yugoslav targets [and his position towards] the provisional government of Kosova." Reka also said that "we expect a full explanation from Rugova about what happened to him during the time when he was a hostage in Belgrade." The UCK's provisional government of Hashim Thaci and the shadow-state government of Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova do not recognize each other (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 May 1999). Adnan Merovci, a close colleague of Rugova's, told RFE/RL that Rugova "still holds the same position that he always had." He added that "you as journalists know that Rugova is not a person who participates much in polemics...or speculations." FS[14] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT SUSPECTS MILOSEVIC PROPAGANDA MOVEPellumb Xhufi, who is an assistant to Foreign Minister Paskal Milo, told RFE/RL from Tirana on 6 May that "the liberation of Rugova is, no doubt, something that we welcome." He added, however, that "on the very day that Rugova was released, the criminal regime of [Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic continued its [ethnic cleansing] campaign in Kosova. [The release] was a calculated gesture, like all other gestures and actions of Milosevic, with which he tries to divide the international community." He added that Milosevic hopes "to create an environment" in which the international community will agree to "half-measures." Information Minister Musa Ulqini told an RFE/RL correspondent in Tirana that he "will be happy to hear Rugova's opinions from his own mouth." FS[15] NATO TO STRENGTHEN FORCES IN BALKANS...The U.S. will soon send an additional 176 aircraft to join in NATO's efforts in southeastern Europe, bringing the total number of U.S. aircraft in the region to more than 800, AP reported on 6 May. In Bonn the next day, the Bundestag voted to send 1,000 German soldiers to assist in constructing refugee camps and other humanitarian work in Albania and Macedonia. In February, it voted to send 6,000 soldiers to Italy and Macedonia as part of NATO's efforts in the region. During the night of 6-7 May, allied aircraft pounded targets in Nis, which is Serbia's third- largest city. Serbian media reported that there were casualties and that fire-fighters worked several hours to put out blazes at oil storage facilities. NATO aircraft also hit a bridge on the Belgrade-Bucharest railway line. PM[16] ...CLAIMS GAINS AGAINST YUGOSLAV MILITARYSpokesmen for the Atlantic alliance said in Brussels on 6 May that NATO air strikes in recent weeks have left Serbian forces in Kosova cut off from the rest of Serbia and without one-fifth of their tanks and heavy weapons. They added that Serbian forces are increasingly demoralized and have hidden much of their remaining equipment lest it be attacked. The "Financial Times" the next day quoted several British military experts as saying that NATO has not yet been able to turn the tide on the ground and halt ethnic cleansing. One expert stressed that NATO will need to consider sending in ground troops and arming the UCK if it wants to achieve its aims in the province. He added that the Serbs are hiding troops and equipment because this is in keeping with the Yugoslav army's tradition, dating back more than 50 years, of using guerrilla tactics to resist a stronger enemy. PM[17] MACEDONIAN BORDER 'OPEN' BUT NO ONE IS CROSSINGKris Janowski, who is a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in Geneva on 7 May that the Macedonian authorities have assured the UNHCR that the border to Kosova is open (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 May 1999). He added, however, that UNHCR personnel on the border report that no refugees from Kosova are waiting at the frontier to cross into Macedonia. Janowski said that "it is not clear why they're not crossing. We don't know whether the problem is on the Serbian side or the Macedonian side." "The Chicago Tribune" quoted unnamed UNHCR officials at Blace, Macedonia, as saying that the Serbian authorities in recent days have provided additional train and bus transportation in a major effort aimed at expelling ethnic Albanians from Kosova. The officials added that "as many as half a million" may be expelled "in the next several days." PM[18] MACEDONIA REMAINS TENSEMacedonian authorities told UNHCR officials on 6 May that the international community must take out of Macedonia each day as many ethnic Albanian refugees as arrive in the country during that period. Zarko Jordanoski, who is the editor of the independent daily "Dnevnik," told "The Chicago Tribune" on 7 May that the "invasion [of Kosovar Albanians] is equivalent to the United States being flooded by 20 million Mexicans." The BBC reported that Macedonian soldiers and police have recently used "threats and intimidation" in ethnic Albanian villages to discourage locals from taking Kosovar refugees into their homes. Nearly half of the refugees live in private homes. Arben Xhaferi, who chairs the ethnic Albanian party that is part of the governing coalition, said that the government nearly collapsed on at least one occasion over the issue of Macedonia's taking in refugees from Kosova. He did not elaborate. PM[19] VATICAN: FIRST MAJOR ATROCITY AGAINST ROMAN CATHOLICSVatican Radio reported from Tirana on 7 May that Serbian forces recently killed some 200 Kosovar civilians at an unnamed village. The broadcast noted that Serbian forces have not previously conducted mass killings in Roman Catholic ethnic Albanian communities. There has been no independent confirmation of the report. PM[20] MILOSEVIC HITS AT DOMESTIC OPPOSITIONSerbian state-run television (RTS) on 6 May accused opposition politicians Zoran Djindjic and former General Vuk Obradovic of betraying their country by supporting the NATO bombing campaign in order to further their own respective political careers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 May 1999). The broadcast also accused Obradovic of espionage, AP reported. The hard-line United Yugoslav Left, which is headed by Mira Markovic, who is also Milosevic's wife, said in a statement about the two men: "The public should be informed about anything they do against their country, and then let the people try them." The statement was read on RTS news. PM[21] OBRADOVIC: SERBIA NEEDS PEACEFormer General Obradovic told the private Beta news agency on 6 May that Milosevic is conducting a "pogrom" against those who disagree with him. Obradovic told the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" that the Serbian government must "save" the country by agreeing to admit an international peace-keeping force to Kosova. The force's mandate would have a fixed expiration date and be limited to that province. He stressed that Serbia has nothing to fear from a peace agreement that clearly respects the country's territorial integrity. He suggested that Serbia should not have to withdraw all its forces from Kosova and that it should be allowed to keep at least border troops there. The former general added that Milosevic will have no choice but to leave office soon "because of what he has done and because of what the country has lived through under his rule." PM[22] MONTENEGRO PREPARES FOR SHOWDOWNPresident Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 7 May that Milosevic was unwise to provoke NATO air strikes. Djukanovic stressed that Montenegro cannot remain in the Yugoslav federation as long as Belgrade continues its present policies at home and abroad. Djukanovic added that Milosevic "will continue to undermine democracy" as long as he is in power. From Cetinje, "The Daily Telegraph" reported that well-organized, armed "vigilantes" opposed to union with Serbia have recently prevented the Yugoslav army from inducting local males into the armed forces. Bozidar Bogdanovic of the Free Montenegro organization told the London-based daily that his organization has 15,000 members, including 200 who are "training in the mountains" under the supervision of former Yugoslav army officers. PM[23] HAGUE COURT MAKES LANDMARK RULINGOn 6 May, the Hague-based war crimes tribunal sentenced Zlatko Aleksovski to two-and-a- half years in prison for violating "laws and customs of war" against Muslim prisoners when he was commander of a Bosnian Croat prison camp in 1993. He has already spent two years and 10 months in prison, both before and during his trial, and is now a free man. The court also ruled that the Muslim-Croat conflict was an internal one and not subject to the Geneva Convention that governs international conflicts. The ruling effectively means that the Croatian authorities in Zagreb cannot be indicted or tried in The Hague for their alleged role in the 1993 Croat- Muslim war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. PM[24] POPE JOHN PAUL ARRIVES IN BUCHARESTRomanian Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist and President Emil Constantinescu greeted Pope John Paul II on 7 May as he arrived in Bucharest for the first papal visit to a predominantly Orthodox country since the Churches split in 1054, an RFE/RL correspondent in Bucharest reported. Pope John Paul said he trusts his visit will "continue healing wounds" which occurred in relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches during the past 50 years. This was a reference to the estimated 2,000 Greek Catholic churches that were taken and given to the Orthodox Church. The Greek Catholics have been trying unsuccessfully to have the churches returned to them. Greek Catholics recognize the Pope's authority but use an eastern rite liturgy. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to see the pope during his three-day visit. PB[25] ROMANIA BANS SALE OF OIL TO YUGOSLAVIAThe Romanian government approved a law on 6 May that will ban the sale or supplying of crude oil or gasoline to Yugoslavia, Reuters reported. A government spokeswoman said the restriction applies to planes and ships as well as to Romanians living outside the country. This effectively outlaws the practice of motorists driving to Yugoslavia and selling the gas in their car for a profit, something that thousands of Romanians have been doing for the past several weeks. PB[26] NATO TO SET UP AIR DEFENSES IN ROMANIARomanian Defense Minister Victor Babiuc said on 7 May that NATO will set up anti-aircraft defense systems in Romania to protect NATO planes using the country's air space in its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, AFP reported. The Romanian parliament voted two weeks ago to allow NATO full access to its air space and airports. PB[27] BULGARIAN OFFICIALS ACCUSE RUSSIAN AGENCY OF FALSE REPORTSColonel-General Mikho Mikhov, the chief of the staff of the Bulgarian Army, denied an allegation made by ITAR-TASS that NATO aircraft used Bulgarian air space to launch attacks against Yugoslavia, BTA reported on 6 May. Two ITAR-TASS correspondents reported the previous day that NATO planes used Bulgarian air space to conduct bombing raids in southern Serbia. Lieutenant-General Stefan Popov, chief of air force headquarters, said on national radio that "the allegations are untrue." Two days earlier, the Bulgarian parliament approved an agreement with NATO allowing it limited use of Bulgarian air space (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 May 1999). PB[C] END NOTE[28] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT OUTLINES POLICY PRIORITIESBy Liz FullerIn an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Astana bureau on 4 May, President Nursultan Nazarbaev outlined his vision of Kazakhstan's domestic political development and relations with its two powerful neighbors, Russia and China. Nazarbaev said that the top priority both for himself and for the entire Kazakh nation is the preservation of Kazakhstan's independence. He warned that the country's independent status could be jeopardized by internal political dissent, in particular by attempts (he did not specify by whom) to use the country's present economic problems to score political points or to stir up tensions between the three main "hordes" or clans. Nazarbaev conceded that the world economic crisis has not spared Kazakhstan, but he claimed that his country has overcome the crisis's adverse effects more easily and more smoothly than other neighboring states. He noted that today, all the main decisions, including state budget allocations and new legislation, are based on the main premises of the Kazakhstan--2030 program of long-term economic and social development, which he unveiled in October 1997. Nazarbaev stressed that Kazakhstan must develop its industrial base and encourage the growth of small and medium- sized businesses, rather than rely exclusively on the export of oil or other mineral resources. He also noted the importance of ensuring the timely payment of wages, pensions and other benefits, which he admitted currently poses problems given the fall in world market prices for oil, gas, and non-ferrous metals, which constitute the country's prime exports. Turning to foreign policy, Nazarbaev stressed that Kazakhstan's independent status does not mean that the country should close its borders or retreat into isolationism; on the contrary, he argued that it should pursue a policy of open doors and "increase our relations with neighboring countries in all the possible spheres." He termed Kazakhstan's foreign policy "multivectoral" but owned that it is dictated in the first instance by the country's geographic location between two major powers. With reference to that location, he characterized relations with both China and Russia as "very good, very friendly," describing the two countries as "our main partners in economic development, in market relations and political life. We don't have any kind of demands [on them], neither economic or political." He noted the "historic fact" of Russian assistance in Kazakhstan's social and economic growth during the Soviet period. "If Russia is able to overcome all the economic and other hardships, if it manages to establish a real democratic society with market economy and freedoms, for us in Kazakhstan, this will be a real advantage," he said. "To live with such a great neighbor in peace is very important for us.... Our further cultural development without Russia is not possible... In the last several hundred years, we have got used to this nation." Without elaborating, he conceded that Kazakhstan still has differences with Russia but stressed that they must be resolved by exclusively peaceful means. Nazarbaev likewise emphasized the current, unprecedented harmonious relations with China, as reflected by his own "personal good relations" with Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, with whom he signed a landmark treaty last year demarcating the frontier between the two countries. Nazarbaev added that Kazakhstan also enjoys "very good" relations with the Islamic world, with other Turkophone countries, and with India and Pakistan. Asked about the rationale for Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev's recent meeting with Taliban representatives, Nazarbaev said that it should not be construed either as a gesture of support or as an attempt to "exclude" Russia from the Afghan peace process. He explained "we need peace in Afghanistan. If there is peace in Afghanistan, we shall be able to transport our oil to India through the shortest route." Nazarbaev's remarks on the domestic political landscape were more ambivalent. He greeted the recent amendments to the country's constitution, in particular the decision by the Kazakh parliament that 10 seats in the next parliament be allocated to representatives of political parties under the proportional system, saying this move is the fulfillment of a personal "dream." He noted that he considers it his duty as president to foster political tolerance and the development of democracy. But at the same time he noted that until eight years ago, Kazakhs had always lived under a totalitarian system, implying that democratization should not be rushed. "Our main goal now," he said, " is to give our people roofs over their heads, to give them their jobs and salaries. Those are our main three tasks with which to start democracy." A reversion to CPSU General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of indiscriminate criticism of all shortcomings could, Nazarbaev argued, culminate in the loss of Kazakhstan's statehood. In this context, Nazarbaev made it clear that he envisages very strict constraints on the activities of political parties, which he noted have "rights but also responsibilities and obligations." He warned that any party that proved "unable to continue its activities," or engaged in activities that could pose a danger to the country's independence would be banned immediately. He also made it clear that those constraints and obligations extend to the media. Asked to comment on journalists' recent criticisms that the country's new draft media law restricts press freedom, Nazarbaev said journalists would not be forbidden to criticize either the president or the government. But if they do so, he said, they should "bear in mind the norms and standards recognized elsewhere in the world." 07-05-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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