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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 99, 99-05-24Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 99, 24 May 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] U.S. ENVOY VISITS ARMENIA...Stephen Sestanovich, who is special adviser on the Newly Independent States to the U.S. Secretary of State, met with leading Armenian officials in Yerevan on 21 May to discuss the U.S.'s mediation role in the Karabakh conflict, the prospects for Armenia's increased participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, greater military cooperation with the U.S., and the upcoming parliamentary elections, Caucasus Press and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Sestanovich also met with Defense Ministry officials to discuss U.S. proposals for control over the transportation of raw materials that could be used for the manufacture of nuclear weapons. LF[02] ...AND AZERBAIJANThe following day, Sestanovich held talks in Baku with Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Foreign Minister Tofik Zulfugarov, and Defense Minister Safar Abiev, Russian and Azerbaijani agencies reported. State Foreign Policy Adviser Vafa Guluzade told Interfax that the issues discussed included the Balkan crisis, the Karabakh conflict, bilateral relations, and the ongoing dispute between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan over ownership of several offshore Caspian oilfields. Sestanovich told journalists that the U.S. supports both the mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and further personal contacts between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in order to resolve the Karabakh conflict. LF[03] AZERBAIJAN HOSTS ECO FOREIGN MINISTERSMeeting in Baku on 20-21 May, foreign ministers or their deputies from the nine member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) discussed expanding regional cooperation, in particular the development of a network of export pipelines for oil and gas and the implementation of the 1998 agreement on transit cooperation, ITAR- TASS and AP-Blitz reported. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Zulfugarov, who was elected rotating chairman of the ECO foreign ministers' council, noted that such cooperation would serve to promote political stability. LF[04] GEORGIAN SECURITY OFFICIALS FORESTALL ATTACK ON PRESIDENTGeorgian Interior and Security Ministry officials arrested eight people in Tbilisi during the night of 22 May on suspicion of preparing a series of terrorist acts, including an assassination attempt against President Eduard Shevardnadze. Weapons, including machine guns and grenade launchers, were seized. Georgian officials have so far declined to comment on unconfirmed reports that the arrested men were in possession posters of former Security Minister Igor Giorgadze, who is wanted in connection with the 1995 attempt to assassinate Shevardnadze. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze confirmed on 24 May that senior Defense Ministry official General Gudjar Kurashvili was among those arrested. In his weekly radio broadcast, Shevardnadze said on 24 May that the organizers of the thwarted assassination attempt are abroad, in the first instance in Moscow, according to Caucasus Press. LF[05] GEORGIA WANTS TWO RUSSIAN BASES CLOSEDGeorgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili said in Tbilisi on 23 May that it is unlikely that the treaty allowing Russia to maintain military bases in Georgia will ever be ratified in its present form, ITAR-TASS reported. He noted that the treaty allows Russia to maintain in Georgia a larger number of troops than is permitted under the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, adding that Tbilisi insists that all signatory states comply with that treaty. Menagharishvili said that it has not yet been decided which Russian bases in Georgia should be closed. But Rezo Adamia, chairman of the parliamentary Defense and Security Committee, told journalists in Tbilisi on 21 May that Georgia will demand the closure of the Gudauta and Vaziani bases. He noted that the Russian base in the predominantly Armenian-populated district of Akhaltsikhe provides employment for much of the local population, according to Caucasus Press. LF[06] GEORGIAN WARLORD AMNESTIEDFormer Defense Minister Tengiz Kitovani was released from prison on 22 May under an amnesty for 99 prisoners signed by President Shevardnadze the previous day, Reuters and Caucasus Press reported. Kitovani was sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence in 1996 for allegedly attempting to launch an insurrection. He went on hunger strike in February to demand a review of his case (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 6, 10 February 1999). Kitovani told journalists after his release that he intends to return to active politics and run in this fall's parliamentary elections. According to Interfax, Kitovani also called for the release of fellow warlord Djaba Ioseliani, who is suffering from bone tuberculosis. Ioseliani is serving an 11-year sentence for terrorism and attempting to assassinate Shevardnadze in 1995. The Georgian Supreme Court recently rejected Ioseliani's appeal for clemency (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 May 1999). LF[07] ABKHAZ PARLIAMENT WANTS OBSERVER STATUS IN RUSSIA-BELARUS UNIONParliamentary deputies of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia voted on 21 May to request observer status for Abkhazia within the Russia-Belarus Union, Caucasus Press reported, citing Abkhaz television. They also addressed an appeal to the Russian government to declare invalid the results of the 16 May presidential runoff in the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. The Abkhaz are ethnically close to the Cherkess and Abazins, who constitute approximately 10 percent of that republic's total population. Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba has called on the Karachaevo-Cherkessia authorities to take measures to preserve stability, while Ingush President Ruslan Aushev has called for legal action against anyone who advocates a violent solution to the standoff. LF[08] KAZAKHSTAN PLANS TO EXPORT MORE OIL VIA AZERBAIJANAttending the ECO foreign ministers' meeting in Baku, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kazymzhomart Toqaev said his country hopes to increase the amount of crude exported via Azerbaijan and Georgia from 1 million tons to 5 million tons in 1999, and possibly to 10 million tons annually, ITAR-TASS reported. Toqaev said Kazakhstan may acquire its own oil tankers to transport the oil across the Caspian, as the desired construction of an underwater oil pipeline from Aktau to Baku is problematic in the absence of a final agreement among Caspian littoral states on the legal status of the sea. LF[09] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARY DEPUTY WANTS NEW COMPENSATION AGREEMENTSpeaking at a news conference in Bishkek on 21 May, Jypar Jaksheev argued that the January 1999 agreement concluded by the Kyrgyz government and the Kumtor Operating Company on compensation for victims of the May 1998 ecological disaster in Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul region should be revoked, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Four people died and thousands suffered from poisoning after a Kumtor-owned lorry spilled toxic chemicals into a local river. Jeksheev accused the Kyrgyz government and the Canadian company Cameco, which owns Kumtor, of failing to pay the promised compensation. And he hinted that he will take the case to international courts. Under the January 1999 agreement, Cameco was to pay the Kyrgyz government $4.6 million, of which $3 million was earmarked as compensation for the victims of the spill. LF[10] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSES CURRENCY CRISISFirst Deputy Prime Minister Boris Silaev, Finance Minister Marat Sultanov, and acting Chairman of the National Bank Ulan Sarbanov took part in a session of the parliamentary committee on economic and budgetary issues on 21 May, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The participants expressed concern that the som has lost 40 percent of its value over the past two months, and they blamed the depreciation on currency speculation by commercial banks. The current exchange rate is 42 soms to the $1, compared with 17 soms in July 1998 and 30 soms in early March 1999. LF[11] KAZAKHSTAN RESUMES GAS SUPPLIES TO KYRGYZSTANNorthern regions of Kyrgyzstan began receiving gas from Kazakhstan on 22 May after the Kyrgyz government paid the first installment, worth $25, 000, of its $2.2 million back debt to Kazakhstan's Intergaz company, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Intergaz cut off supplies to those regions last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 May 1999). LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] MACEDONIA BACKS DOWN IN REFUGEE STANDOFFRepresentatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees persuaded Macedonian authorities at Blace on 24 May to admit 3,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosova who had spent the night in the rain at the border. The UNHCR representatives also convinced the Macedonian authorities to drop plans to send to Albania at night-time at least three busses filled with Kosovars, AP reported. One UNHCR aid worker said that this was the third time recently that he went to the border "in the middle of the night" to convince Macedonian officials not to deport Kosovars. He did not elaborate. He stressed that any deportation would constitute a violation of existing agreements between the UNHCR and Macedonia. At least 15,000 refugees arrived at the Blace border crossing during the weekend of 22-23 May. Observers noted that this was the largest single wave of new arrivals in several weeks. On 24 May, Reuters reported that the UNHCR expects another 7, 000 refugees to arrive in the course of the day. PM[13] FREED KOSOVAR REFUGEES ARRIVE IN ALBANIA 'EMACIATED'...Two groups of male Kosovar refugees whom Serbian authorities recently freed from Smrekonica prison arrived in Albania over the weekend. According to UNHCR officials, 523 men arrived in Morina on 22 May and 506 the following day. Aid workers described the men as being the most haggard and emaciated they had seen, adding that many of them were traumatized. Some of the men appeared to be teenagers, Reuters added. The BBC reported on 24 May that many of the men believed they were going to be killed until they saw the Albanian flag over the border crossing. None was wearing Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) uniform. A UNHCR official said in Tirana on 23 May that Serbian forces abducted most of the men in mid-April when the latter were fleeing Mitrovica with their families. It is unclear why the Serbs freed the men. FS[14] ...REPORTING ATROCITIESThe men reported that Serbian forces had systematically beaten the prisoners' hands, lower abdomen, and knees. They said that each day they spent in captivity, between five and 20 fainted or were seriously injured as a result of the beatings. On the basis of the numbers on their registration cards, the men estimated that the prison held between 2,000 and 3,000 inmates. Some said they were forced to fight with one another using broomsticks, Reuters reported. One man said that the Serbian forces "treated us like animals. They beat us. They cut off some men's ears." He added that the prisoners received no food during the first four days and were given one piece of bread a day thereafter. Some 450 were forced to live in a room measuring some 144 square meters, in which they had space to sit but not to lie down. FS[15] REFUGEES REFUSE TO MOVE FROM KUKESNATO officials on 21 May again urged the evacuation of the border town of Kukes, saying they "do not want a humanitarian disaster where the Serbs shell one of the refugee camps." The following day, refugees in an Italian-run camp organized their first press conference, stressing they do not want to move from Kukes, Reuters reported. Spokesman Rrahim Imeri told journalists that the dangers for refugees in northern Albania are not higher than they are for the locals. He added that most refugees are traumatized by their ordeal and that they want to stay close to Kosova. Italian camp head Dominico Riccio told Reuters that the conditions in the camp are good. Meanwhile, more than 4,000 refugees from Kosova arrived in Kukes over the weekend. Only 63 had arrived the previous week, a UNHCR spokesman told dpa in Tirana. FS[16] THACI INVITES RUGOVA TO TIRANAProvisional Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci sent a letter to Kosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova on 21 May inviting him to Tirana and asking him to recognize the provisional government. Prime Minister Pandeli Majko suggested setting up a National Security Council composed of all Kosovar leaders who participated in the Rambouillet talks, including Thaci, Rugova, and nationalist writer Rexhep Qosja. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sent a letter to Majko on 22 May saying: "I want to welcome and encourage your efforts to bring the [Kosovar] political leadership together, and in particular your concept of a 'National Security Council'," Reuters reported. The following day, Thaci, Majko, and Qosja visited a refugee camp in Mullet near Tirana. FS[17] ANTI-WAR PROTESTS CONTINUE IN SERBIAPolice on 23 May prevented a demonstration in Cacak, where a self- proclaimed Citizens' Parliament recently issued a declaration against Belgrade's policies in Kosova (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 May 1999). At least 5,000 people--primarily Yugoslav army conscripts and their families-- demonstrated in Krusevac on 23 May to demand that the army demobilize draftees and send them home from Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Reservists and civilians staged smaller protests in Aleksandrovac, Raska, and Baljevac over the weekend, Montenegrin Television noted. General Nebojsa Pavkovic, who commands the Yugoslav Third Army, spoke to reservists' families in Raska on 22 May. Two days later, "The Independent" wrote that the Yugoslav army has not yet formulated a clear policy on desertions by reservists. PM[18] DJUKANOVIC SAYS ARMY CARRYING OUT 'SILENT PUTSCH'Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 23 May that "it is evident that in the past 15 days the Yugoslav army [stationed in Montenegro]...has placed itself in the service of the Belgrade dictatorship" of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 May 1999). Djukanovic did not elaborate. He stressed that there will be no peace in the Balkans as long as Milosevic remains in power. And he argued that, in the past, the West should have concentrated on promoting democracy in Serbia rather than on negotiating with Milosevic. In Cetinje on 21 May, some 5,000 people staged Montenegro's first rally against the Yugoslav army since the Kosova conflict began. The next day, Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic demanded that the army withdraw from Cetinje, which is the traditional political stronghold of Montenegrins favoring independence from Serbia. PM[19] CLINTON ARGUES 'MILOSEVIC HAS FAILED'President Bill Clinton wrote in the "New York Times" of 23 May that "the problem [in the Balkans] is not simply ethnic hatred or even ethnic conflict.... The intolerable conditions that the region finds itself in today are the result of a decade-long campaign by Slobodan Milosevic to build a greater Serbia by singling out whole peoples for destruction because of their ethnicity and faith.... We cannot respond to such tragedies everywhere, but when ethnic conflict turns into ethnic cleansing where we can make a difference, we must try." Clinton stressed that "Milosevic has failed...[in his] strategy to outlast [NATO] by dividing the alliance.... Instead of disunity in Brussels, there are growing signs of disaffection in Belgrade: Serbian soldiers abandoning their posts, Serbian civilians protesting [Milosevic's] policies." Clinton added that he will continue pursuing NATO's present strategy but does "not rule out other military options." PM[20] THACI URGES NATO TO CONTINUE BOMBINGThaci said in Tirana on 23 May that NATO's attack on the UCK base at Kosare the previous day was the result of a "technical error." He stressed that the Atlantic alliance "must continue, even intensify, the air strikes." Another UCK spokesman told "The Guardian" of 24 May in Kukes that "Kosare was the result of friendly fire. We have to accept losses in war.... We cannot and must not lose faith in our friends." On 22 May, a NATO air strike on a military complex at Istok killed 19 at a prison there, including some UCK fighters. A NATO spokesman in Brussels said that the prison was part of a "legitimate military target" and suggested that Serbian forces had placed the Kosovars there as human shields. PM[21] TUDJMAN FOR PARTITION OF KOSOVA?Croatian President Franjo Tudjman told the G-8 ambassadors to Croatia in Zagreb on 22 May that Serbian forces should withdraw to the northern part of Kosova, where foreign troops, including units from Russia, should also be stationed. Tudjman added that NATO troops should go to southern Kosova to help refugees return to their homes there. On 24 May, the independent daily "Novi List" charged that Tudjman's proposal amounts to "a Yalta agreement"--or partition--for Kosova. The remarks to the ambassadors constituted Tudjman's first public statement on the current conflict, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Observers note that Tudjman has long favored a partition of Bosnia between Serbia and Croatia. PM[22] ROMANIAN WORKERS STAGE GENERAL STRIKEThousands of Romanian workers on 24 May stopped work in a 24-hour general strike called by the country's four largest trade unions. Taking part in the action were employees from numerous key sectors of the economy, including industry, health, transportation, mining, energy, navigation, agriculture, and the chemicals industry. The unions threatened to stage an unlimited general strike if the government does not meet their demands for improved social welfare and lower taxes by 31 July, AP reported. In other news, the Romanian government on 21 May issued a decree to "prevent corporate insolvencies," dpa cited Rompres as reporting on 21 May. The decree states that all companies in the country must submit within 30 days detailed financial statements about their debt situation to the Industry Ministry, which will "balance" those debts. VG[23] ORTHODOX, CATHOLIC LEADERS RECEIVE STAR OF ROMANIARomanian President Emil Constantinescu on 21 May awarded the Star of Romania to Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist and Catholic Cardinal Alexandru Todea, AP reported on 21 May. The awards come on the heels of a visit to the country by Pope John Paul II (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 May 1999). VG[24] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTIAL REFERENDUM INVALID?Preliminary results of Moldova's non-binding referendum on increasing presidential powers suggest that the 23 May vote will be declared invalid owing to low turnout. Presidential spokesman Anatol Golea said early results indicated that turnout was about 56 percent. In order to be valid, the referendum required at least 60 percent of the electorate to participate. Golea said President Petru Lucinschi will press on with constitutional changes, despite the low turnout. On 23 May, Moldovans also voted in municipal and regional elections across the country. The same day, Oleg Manturov, a mayoral candidate from the Bloc of Communists, Agrarian Democrats, and Socialists, was critically wounded by a gun shot in the village of Kalarashovka, Infotag reported. VG[25] EC WANTS BULGARIAN NUCLEAR REACTORS CLOSED EARLYThe European Commission on 21 May recommended that four Soviet- made reactors at the Kozloduy plant in Bulgaria be closed down earlier than planned to reduce the possibility of a serious accident, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. That day, Bulgarian officials met with commission representatives in Sofia to discuss alternative energy sources for the country. The Bulgarian government would like the reactors to run until the end of their operational life: 2006 for two of the reactors and 2010 for the other two. In other news, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raikov on 23 May said Yugoslav authorities refused to allow entry to two truckloads of humanitarian assistance destined for the ethnic Bulgarian minority in eastern Serbia, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Raikov said the Yugoslav side refused the aid because Bulgaria insisted that its own officials distribute it. VG[C] END NOTE[26] CRISIS DEMONSTRATES ESTONIAN MILITARY'S WEAKNESSby Mel HuangEstonia's defense establishment has been shaken by reports that the leader of one of its elite units was allegedly involved in an armed robbery attempt that left three people seriously wounded. While declining to accept the resignation of Defense Forces commander Lieutenant-General Johannes Kert, President Lennart Meri spoke for many when he said that this incident has seriously harmed the reputation of both the Defense Forces and Estonia itself. Many in the Estonian capital appear worried that the incident points to underlying problems in the defense structure: weaknesses in internal military control, in external civilian oversight, and in the pool of military leaders. These revelations are potentially more damaging to Estonia's efforts to promote itself as a candidate for NATO membership than is low defense spending. On 15 May, local news outlets reported that an armed robbery attempt in Harju County had left three people hospitalized following a shoot-out. Most dismissed this as nothing more than a serious crime. But it rapidly transpired that one of the alleged perpetrators of the crime, Indrek Holm, is the acting head of the military police's Special Operations Group (SOG). On learning about the incident, Defense Minister Juri Luik ordered that the SOG's activities be halted and a special commission, under the chairmanship of Defense Ministry Permanent Under-Secretary Tarmo Mand, be set up to look into the matter. This commission is to answer three questions: Who is in charge of the SOG? Where did the chain of command break down? And what checks are in place to ensure that those recruited into the SOG are reliable? Once the investigation was launched, other problems were quickly discovered by both the government and the press. Enn Tarto, a member of the parliament's National Defense Committee, commented that the highest parliamentary bodies had little information about the SOG, its activities, or its members: "Even the State Defense Committee itself does not know who belongs there and [to whom] it is subordinated," he said in an indication of the lack of vigilance on the part of parliamentary oversight. As these revelations surfaced, Kert submitted his resignation to Meri, but the latter rejected it. The president said that he was pleased that Kert understood "the magnitude of the crime" and argued that the general should be given "another chance." This is the second time Meri has refused to accept Kert's resignation; the first was in 1997 following the death of 14 Estonian soldiers in a training exercise in Kurkse. An influential columnist for "Eesti Paevaleht," Hannes Rumm, suggested that the reason Meri did not accept Kert's resignation is that the military has a weak leadership pool: "It is the good fortune of Johannes Kert and the misfortune of the Estonian state that the schooling of well-educated lieutenants to become a general takes years." Riigikogu Defense Committee Deputy Chairman Trivimi Velliste concurred, pointing out that "we don't have 20 generals in waiting." However, Kert may no longer have the standing and support to push through further military reforms, nor to seriously explore the shortcomings the crisis exposed. In short, Estonia finds itself in a vicious circle in which a hike in defense spending may not be a panacea. 24-05-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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