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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 121, 99-06-22Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 121, 22 June 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT GIVES INTERVIEW TO TURKISH NEWSPAPERIn an interview published by "Milliyet" on 16 June and circulated by Noyan Tapan on 21 June, Robert Kocharian downplayed the importance of Armenia's ongoing military cooperation with Russia, noting that in the economic sphere Armenia gives priority to cooperation with Europe. He expressed concern that the establishment of a Turkish military presence in Azerbaijan would provoke a reaction from Russia and Iran and thus lead to "additional tensions" in the region. Kocharian said there has been a minimal easing in relations with Turkey since his election as president in March 1998, but expressed regret at Ankara's insistence on setting conditions for establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said the absence of such relations was the reason why he had not accepted an invitation to the 1998 celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, adding that he will definitely attend the OSCE summit in Istanbul this fall. LF[02] UN AGENCY DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ARMENIAN VOTER LIST ERRORSIn a statement released on 21 June, the Yerevan office of the United Nations Development Program rejected charges that the software it provided to the Central Electoral Commission to computerize voter registers contributed to widespread omissions from voter lists, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Tens of thousands of people were prevented from casting their votes in the 30 May parliamentary elections because their names had not been included in the voter lists (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 May 1999). The UNDP said that the computerization of voter lists was carried out under the supervision of CEC officials and that the completed lists were endorsed by local authorities. Also on 21 June, the Constitutional Court annulled the voting in a constituency in the northern city of Gyumri because of inaccuracies in the vote tally and stripped the Communist Party deputy of his mandate. LF[03] RUSSIA DENIES VIOLATION OF GEORGIAN AIRSPACEThe press service of the Russian Air Force informed ITAR-TASS on 21 June that no Russian fighter or other aircraft penetrated Georgian air space on 18 June. The Georgian Defense Ministry had issued a statement on 19 June saying that four Russian fighters overflew Georgia the previous day en route from an air base in Rostov to Armenia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 June 1999). LF[04] GEORGIANS INCREASINGLY INTOLERANT OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSESGeorgians of widely varying political persuasions have advocated banning or restricting the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia, arguing that those activities undermine Georgia's statehood and the position of the Georgian Orthodox church, Caucasus Press reported. In the south Georgian district of Akhaltsikhe, some 100 local Christians picketed the local police headquarters last week to demand the destruction of six tons of religious tracts and video cassettes produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses that were confiscated by customs officers on the Georgian-Turkish frontier in late April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 April 1999). LF[05] KAZAKH GOVERNMENT, PARLIAMENT ON COLLISION COURSEBoth houses of Kazakhstan's parliament rejected on 21 June the budget cuts proposed by the government following the devaluation of the tenge in April, Interfax reported. Prime Minister Nurlan Balghymbaev responded, as Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Oraz Dzhandosov had warned last week that the government would, by demanding a confidence vote in his cabinet. Meeting with deputies from the Aul faction on 15 June, Dzhandosov had said that the amount by which the budget must be sequestered is not negotiable, although compromise is possible over the specific items of spending to be targeted. Balghymbaev also denied that the budget cuts were dictated by the IMF as a condition for assistance. Under the constitution, if two thirds of all parliament deputies vote no confidence in the cabinet, the president must decide within ten days whether to dismiss the government or dissolve parliament. LF[06] KAZAKH PARLIAMENT AMENDS ELECTION LAWKazakhstan's parliament passed on 21 June in the first and second readings amendments proposed by President Nursultan Nazarbaev to the election law, Interfax reported. Those amendments abolish the penalties hitherto incurred by involvement in unregistered public organizations, which disqualify persons who have incurred such reprimands from running as candidates in elections at any level. Nazarbaev also proposed reducing by half the registration fee for parliamentary candidates from 132,000 to 66,000 tenges ($4,100). LF[07] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT PROPOSES RELAXING ELECTION REQUIREMENTSAskar Akaev has appealed to both chambers of the Kyrgyz parliament to consider amending Article 92 of the new election law passed last month, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on 21 June, citing the presidential press service. Akaev proposed reducing from 12 to six months the minimum period prior to parliamentary elections for which a political party must be officially registered. A presidential spokesman said the present requirement infringes on the interests of newly-created parties by rendering impossible their participation in the parliamentary elections due in early 2000. Former Bishkek Mayor Feliks Kulov, who on 21 June published an appeal to citizens of Kyrgyzstan to join his new movement Ar-Namys, had stated his intention of appealing to the Constitutional Court to abrogate that article of the election law as unconstitutional (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 16 June 1999). LF[08] TAJIK COURT HANDS DOWN DEATH SENTENCES ON TWO INSURGENCY PARTICIPANTSTwo close associates of rebel Colonel Makhmud Khudoiberdiev were sentenced to death on 21 June on charges of treason and attempting to seize power for the role in the abortive uprising in Khujand in November 1998, ITAR-TASS reported. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[09] BELGRADE BANS PROTESTSPolice on 21 June broke up a demonstration in Belgrade by some 200 Kosova Serbs for the second day in a row. Police spokesmen said that mass gatherings are illegal under the legal "state of war," which remains in force in Yugoslavia. Two leaders of the protests each received a 30-day jail sentence. Several protesters told journalists that they had no choice but to leave Kosova, that the authorities have done nothing for them since they left, and that the authorities are now trying to force them to return. An RFE/RL correspondent reported from Belgrade that the protesters want the UN to set up a civilian authority in Kosova as soon as possible so that the Serbian refugees can go back to their homes and not to Serbian government refugee camps (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 June 1999). Fewer than 2,000 Serbs have returned to Kosova under government pressure in recent days. PM[10] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR PROTESTSSpokesmen for the Alliance for Change, which is a coalition of opposition groups, said in Belgrade on 21 June that the opposition will "gather in Cacak and Kraljevo [on 26 June] to demand early elections on all levels, as well as freedom of the media," "The New York Times" quoted Vladan Batic as saying. Spokesman and Balkan affairs expert Milan Protic added: "this is the last minute to reverse the present political course in Serbia and to demand the responsibility of those who have had unlimited power in the decision-making process over the last 10 years." PM[11] GOVERNMENT NEWSCASTS MANDATORYThe Serbian authorities recently began forcing all radio and television stations to broadcast newscasts prepared by state-run Radio-Television Serbia. The non-government Association of Independent Electronic Media said in a statement in Belgrade on 21 June that the move is illegal. PM[12] ARTEMIJE RETURNS TO KOSOVABishop Artemije, who is the leading Serbian Orthodox cleric in Kosova and an opponent of Milosevic, returned to Kosova recently (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 June 1999). He appealed on 21 June to an unspecified number of Serbian villagers at Velika Hoca, near Rahovec, to stay. Accompanied by a British army chaplain, he said that "NATO has brought safety and security here." Artemije added that he intends to return to his rectory in Prizren, Reuters reported. Unknown persons looted and desecrated at least one Serbian monastery complex in that area recently, the BBC reported on 19 June. In Peja, some 50 Serbian refugees returned under Italian KFOR escort from Montenegro on 21 June. PM[13] NATO TO ACCELERATE ORGANIZED REFUGEE RETURNNATO officials said in Durres on 21 June that they plan to begin the organized return of refugees as early as 1 July, an RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent reported. The return will be organized for those refugees who have no means of transportation and who do not prefer to wait until the situation in Kosova has further stabilized. NATO is thus responding to the large-scale unorganized refugee returns over the last week. NATO will bring refugees from throughout Albania to Kukes, from where about 5,000 people will travel daily into Kosova accompanied by NATO forces. A UNHCR spokeswoman said in Skopje on 21 June: "We are now aware the desire to return is far greater than the threat of insecurity...and we are trying to expedite things," indicating that an organized return from Macedonia could start later this month. FS[14] KUKES CAMPS ALMOST EMPTYA UNHCR spokesman told an RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent in Tirana that "the departures [from Kukes] have been enormous and rapid. Two of the camps are officially closed, [including] the Medecins sans Frontieres camp. Four camps remain but with very few people." Most of the estimated 6,500 remaining refugees are elderly. Only one week earlier, there were about 100,000 refugees in Kukes. Albanian public television began broadcasting information spots about the danger of landmines, and UNICEF has begun to distribute mine-awareness leaflets. FS[15] GLIGOROV REJECTS THACI'S PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENTMacedonian President Kiro Gligorov said in Prague on 21 June that "NATO forces [must] stay a certain time in [Kosova] in order to create a situation in which...democratic elections [can be held and] representatives...elected [to] form legitimate bodies," CTK reported. Gligorov thus rejected the participation of Hashim Thaci's provisional government in the new civilian administration for Kosova. Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski recognized Thaci's provisional government last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline" 18 June 1999). FS[16] ANNAN APPOINTS TWO KOSOVA ADMINISTRATORS...A UN spokesman said in New York on 21 June that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Dominique Vian, currently the prefect of French Guyana, as his deputy special representative for interim civilian administration in Kosova. Vian will be responsible for various tasks, including police, telecommunications, and public transport. Annan also appointed Dennis McNamara, currently the UNHCR's special envoy for the region, as his deputy special representative in charge of refugee return and humanitarian assistance, AP reported. Under a plan that Annan unveiled on 14 June, the UN administration in Kosova will have four deputies serving under a special representative. FS[17] ...BUT NO SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVEAnnan said on 20 June in Paris that his special representative for Kosova will be a European, thus ending speculation about a possible appointment of Jacques Klein, the U.S. deputy to the international community's High Representative Carlos Westendorp in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Currently, UN Undersecretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil holds that position, pending a final appointment. Also open are the positions of the deputy special representatives for reconstruction--to be filled by an EU representative--and institution building, which will go to the OSCE. Neither body has proposed its candidate. FS[18] HAVEL CALLS FOR ACTION ON BALKANS...Czech President Vaclav Havel told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service in Prague on 21 June that he welcomes the international community's decision to hold a series of conferences on rebuilding the Balkans in the region itself (see "End Note" below). He added that the first conference to be held in Sarajevo next month could mark the beginning of a stable peace and peaceful coexistence among the ethnic groups of former Yugoslavia. They are proud peoples who would not easily accept their fate being decided far away, he said. Havel reiterated his intention of visiting Kosova soon, saying he feels some responsibility for the NATO bombing and wants to find out what must be done to create normal, dignified living conditions there. The president argued that the hard task now facing the international community is to break the "seemingly endless cycle of bloodshed, revenge and counterrevenge." SW/PM[19] ...WARNS ON MILOSEVICHavel also told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service on 21 June that it will be very difficult to restore peace and harmony to the Balkans while Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic remains in power. Havel recalled that Milosevic is the man behind four Balkan wars over the past decade. Those conflicts resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, and the Hague-based war crimes tribunal has charged Milosevic with atrocities over the actions of Serbian forces in Kosova. SW/PM[20] SLOVENIA LAUDS NATO INTERVENTION...President Milan Kucan and Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek praised their guest, U.S. President Bill Clinton, for NATO's intervention in Kosova. Speaking in Ljubljana on 21 June, Drnovsek said: "We have been witnessing a war that was fought for the values that we want to defend and to protect minorities. [It was a war that] was fought for peace. [NATO used] force to protect the weakest, not to give benefits and profits to the stronger. This is a [vindication] for Slovenia, for our partnership and for our role in this part of the world." PM[21] ...WHILE CLINTON HAILS SLOVENIAN MODELClinton said in Ljubljana on 21 June that "the whole world admires Slovenia's success in building freedom and prosperity and now we look to you to play a crucial role as we build a better future for all of Europe." He called the Alpine republic "an excellent candidate for NATO." Citing Slovenia's progress in moving from a communist to a democratic system, the president added: "Slovenia can lead the way [for other countries of the region], and America will help." PM[22] CLINTON URGES SERBIA TO CHOOSE DEMOCRACYThe U.S. president also said in Ljubljana on 21 June that "we want Serbia to be a part of the new Europe, but Serbia must reject the murderous rule of Mr. Milosevic and choose the path that Slovenia has chosen, where people reach across the old divides, and find strength in their differences and their common humanity." Clinton noted that Serbia will not receive "a penny" in reconstruction aid so long as Milosevic remains in power. He added that he "can't wait for the day" that a democratic leader replaces the indicted war criminal. Clinton also appealed to ethnic Albanians not to take revenge on the Serbs of Kosova. Elsewhere, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said that NATO hopes that domestic support for Milosevic will wane once Serbs come to realize "the real truth of what went on" in Kosova since the spring. PM[23] U.S. SUPPORT FOR DJUKANOVICDuring his stay in Ljubljana on 21 June, Clinton met with Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, who is a staunch opponent of Milosevic and who seeks to democratize Yugoslavia. Clinton's spokesman Lockhart noted that Washington wants to show "our support for democratic efforts in Montenegro and our willingness to work" with democrats there. Lockhart added that "we need to make sure that the democratic movement there is fostered and the moves that [Djukanovic] has taken are rewarded rather than punished. But it is a difficult issue because clearly aid to Montenegro could have the ability to aid Serbia." Both the U.S. and the U.K. firmly reject any aid to Serbia so long as Milosevic remains in office. PM[24] ROMANIAN POLL RECONFIRMS OPPOSITION LEADA public opinion poll conducted by the Center for Public Opinion and Marketing Research (CSOP) reconfirms the lead of former President Ion Iliescu and his Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 June 1999). The poll indicates that if elections were to be conducted now, Iliescu would garner 38 percent of the votes, followed by incumbent President Emil Constantinescu (20 percent), Alliance for Romania Party (PAR) leader Teodor Melescanu (15 percent), and Greater Romania Party (PRM) chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor (7 percent). In party preferences, the PDSR (37 percent) is ahead of the Democratic Convention of Romania (24 percent), the APR (10 percent), the Democratic Party (9 percent), and the PRM (8 percent). Nearly half of the respondents (47 percent), however, said they would not know for whom to vote, Mediafax reported. MS[25] ROMANIAN RULING ALLIANCE AT A CROSSROAD?National Liberal Party (PNL) vice chairman Paul Pacuraru on 21 June rejected as "unacceptable" a proposal from the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) for overcoming the conflict in the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR). The PNTCD proposed that before the local elections, the CDR reregister as a two-party alliance, namely of itself and the Romanian Ecologist Party (PER). This would make it possible to meet the PNL's wish to run on separate lists in the local elections. Before the general elections, the CDR would reregister as an alliance including the PNTCD, the PNL, and the PER, which would merge with the Romanian Ecologist Federation. The four-party alliance would thus be reduced to three, lowering the electoral threshold from 14 to 11 percent, PNTCD chairman Ion Diaconescu said. MS[26] ROMANIA WANTS DAM, NOT BRIDGE, OVER DANUBETransportation Minister Traian Basescu said on 21 June that Romania will propose the construction of a dam over the Danube River within the Western- led plans for Balkan reconstruction, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Basescu said the dam would be an alternative to the Bulgarian plan for constructing a second Danube-crossing bridge between Vidin and Calafat and would be more advantageous as it could ease train and road traffic over the river and also provide an alternative source of power to Bulgaria's controversial Kozloduy nuclear plant. MS[27] PRO-PRESIDENTIAL PARTY WANTS LUCINSCHI TO RUN FOR SECOND TERM"If Petru Lucinschi decides to run for another term [as president] in 2000, the Movement for a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova [that] I have the honor to head will back him," parliament chairman Dumitru Diacov told journalists on 21 June. Diacov refuted rumors that he himself or Premier Ion Sturza intend to run for president in the next elections, Infotag reported. Also on 21 June, presidential spokesman Anatol Golea told journalists in Chisinau that Lucinschi considers the achievements of the cabinet headed by Sturza after 100 days in office to be "rather modest" and that the president intends to pursue his drive for a change of the parliamentary system to a presidential one. MS[28] LUCINSCHI MEETS NEW OSCE MISSION CHIEFMeeting William Hill, the new head of the OSCE mission to Moldova on 21 June, Lucinschi said he hopes the OSCE will become more actively involved in the process of alleviating tensions and fighting separatist tendencies all over Europe and added that he is optimistic about finding a solution to the conflict with the Transdniester separatists. According to a press release from the presidential office cited by Flux, Lucinschi said his optimism is based on the results of his last meetings with separatist leader Igor Smirnov and other Transdniester officials. MS[29] CHIEF U.S. DIPLOMAT IN BULGARIAU.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met in Sofia on 22 June with President Petar Stoyanov, Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova, and other members of the cabinet, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Albright told Stoyanov that the U.S. values Bulgaria's stand on the Kosova conflict. Government spokeswoman Nery Terzieva said Albright promised support for Bulgarian reforms in response to Stoyanov's request that his country be fully included in the future Stability Pact for the Balkans. MS[30] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT AGREES TO KFOR TROOPS TRANSITThe cabinet of Premier Ivan Kostov on 21 June approved the transit of KFOR troops through Bulgarian territory, BTA reported. The decision has yet to be approved by the parliament (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 June 1999). The draft agreement approved by the cabinet envisages transit passage by air, land, and through ports, and includes access and stopovers by troops, equipment, and logistic supplies. Also on 21 June, chief of staff General Mikho Mikhov visited the headquarters of NATO's Cooperative Partner '99 exercises taking place near Varna and said the event is a "step forward" in achieving Bulgarian military interoperability with NATO. MS[31] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SUMS UP CHINA VISITUpon returning to Sofia after a five-day visit to China, Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova said on 20 June that the visit had confirmed mutual interest in "the promotion of bilateral relations" and a "dramatic dynamism of reforms in both countries, BTA reported. Mihailova briefed journalists on her meetings with Premier Zhu Rongji, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and other officials. She said both sides concurred on the need to improve bilateral trade and insisted that Bulgaria will welcome Chinese investment. MS[C] END NOTE[32] HAVEL--THE PEOPLES OF THE BALKANS MUST DECIDE THEIR OWN FATERemarks by Czech President Vaclav Havel to RFE/RL's South Slavic Service on 21 June 1999.I believe unequivocally that human rights take precedence over state sovereignty. Man is the creation of God and has existed tens of thousands of years. The state is the creation of man and is an administrative unit existing several hundred years in the form we know today. It seems that in the future, in the next millennium, in view of the global nature of our civilization and other factors, the importance of people and their rights will grow in significance over the rights of the state. Many functions now carried out by the state will in the future be handled at a lower level by various civic groups, others will become functions of higher, super-national or transregional units, as is now taking place within the European Union. ... It's absolute nonsense to criticize bombing as one evil trying to stop another evil, namely ethnic cleansing. Alas, the world is such, and people are such that evil has to be checked with fire and sword--evil must be met by force. That's why all countries except Costa Rica have armies. That's the way the world is. In this case, a great evil was met with the relatively least of evils. Not one of the critics offered a better solution, except one Czech who said: "Let them all murder each other, and we should take no notice." If a government takes over a state as in Yugoslavia, the only way to check its evil is to destroy the structures that support it. That means military structures, transport, communications, and others that serve the regime. NATO conducted thousands of raids and hit some civilian targets, regrettably killing innocent civilians. But compared to most previous wars, the percentage of innocent victims was relatively small. It's hard for me to imagine that peace and stability can be established while [Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic remains in power. He was behind several Balkan wars now for more than a decade, resulting in thousands of deaths. I am afraid that with him it would be very hard to build a good peace based on justice and civic co-existence, all the more because he stands accused by the Hague-based war crimes tribunal. This is a court that has no political biases, because it was created by the United Nations on the decision of the Security Council, with the agreement of both the Russian Federation and China. I think that an earlier intervention might have meant fewer victims in this past decade and the bombing need not have been so devastating. ...Of course that's hindsight, and everyone is a general after a battle. NATO must do all it can to create confidence in the international civil administration or protectorate that will be established in Kosova so that people will trust the law and order forces there sufficiently for some Serbs to return to the region, just as some ethnic Albanians are now returning. That is the great task before us. The question is what will be done now and will happen now. There is an endless circle of blood and revenge that must be broken. That is an unusually hard and difficult task. It's hard to explain to Kosova Albanians, who were forced out of their homes at gunpoint. I spoke to some of them in refugee camps, and they said: "We were told you must leave in three minutes or you will be shot and you can take only what you can carry." They thus had to leave with no food, no clothes, nothing. They then had to witness their homes being looted and burned. It is hard to explain [to them] that now that they are back, they cannot steal from abandoned Serbian homes. Nevertheless, it is the duty of the international community to try to do this and stop this endless circle of bloodshed, revenge, and settling of accounts. Kosova must decide its future--by referendum or election--not now, but after heads have cooled and can make reasoned decisions. I think at least three years should go by in negotiations. Then, calmly and sensibly, the decision can be made--but it has to be by Kosovars themselves. I feel some responsibility for the intervention of NATO and the international community in Yugoslavia and Kosova. The action had only one goal, namely to create conditions for civic co-existence and democratic development, as well as to stop human rights violations, murders, and massacres. I feel responsibility for the action and what it led to, regardless of whether or not it achieved its goal. That is why I want to visit Kosova and find out what must be done further to achieve that aim, if it hasn't already been achieved. One can't create a situation through bombing and then lose interest in the situation. On the contrary, now is the time to get interested. The bombing was not an end in itself but merely the means to create conditions for people to live in dignity. The international community must do all within its power to make the Balkans a region of peace and peaceful co- existence among ethnic groups. A beginning could be the planned conferences in the region: the first is supposed to held in Sarajevo. I welcomed the news because I have been saying from the beginning that one cannot decide the Balkans' future in Alaska or Washington or Paris or Moscow. The conferences have to be there in the Balkans. These are proud peoples who would not easily tolerate their fate being decided far away. (Translated from the Czech by Sonia Winter) 22-06-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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