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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 129, 99-07-02Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 129, 2 July 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH OPPOSITION PARTY LEADERRobert Kocharian met with National Democratic Union chairman Vazgen Manukian on 29 June, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 1 July, citing the presidential press office. The subject of their talks is not known. Manukian, who served as prime minister in Armenia's first postcommunist government in 1990-1991, had queried the legitimacy of last year's presidential poll, in which he received only 12 percent of the vote in the first round. On 30 June, "Aravot" quoted Manukian as denying that he has been offered or would be prepared to accept the post of mayor of Yerevan. LF[02] AZERBAIJAN, UKRAINE SIGN AGREEMENTSUkrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk held talks in Baku on 30 June with his Azerbaijani counterpart Tofik Zulfugarov, focusing on more intensive cooperation between NATO and the GUUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova), Ukrainian arms sales to Azerbaijan, and the possible export of Azerbaijan's Caspian oil via Ukraine, Turan and Interfax reported. The following day, the two ministers signed cooperation agreements on motor transportation, sea trade, and tourism. On 1 July, Tarasyuk met with parliamentary speaker Murtuz Alesqerov and with President Heidar Aliev. Describing Ukraine as one of Azerbaijan's most important partners, Aliev expressed support for Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's bid for re-election this fall. Aliev also acknowledged, but declined to divulge the content of, a new Ukrainian proposal for resolving the deadlocked Karabakh conflict, according to Interfax. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS PROTEST BEATING OF COLLEAGUEMeeting in Baku on 1 July, newspaper editors and news agency heads unanimously condemned the incident on 30 June in which "Hurriyet" journalist Kamil Tagisoy (not the newspaper's deputy editor, as incorrectly reported by "RFE/RL Newsline" on 1 July) was forcibly taken from his car and beaten, Turan reported. Several political parties similarly condemned the incident, as did the head of the public- political department within the presidential administration, Ali Hasanov. A Baku district court has opened a criminal case in connection with the assault on Tagisoy. LF[04] SOUTH CAUCASUS PRESIDENTS AGREE TO NEW SUMMITSpeaking at a press conference in Tbilisi on 1 July, Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili said that Presidents Kocharian and Aliev have expressed support for the proposal by their Georgian counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, to hold a summit before the end of this year, ITAR- TASS reported. The date for that meeting has not yet been fixed, but Menagharishvili said it will "probably" be held in Tbilisi. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has written to both Kocharian and Aliev to reaffirm the need for further progress toward implementing the agreement reached by the three Transcaucasus presidents during a meeting in Washington in April on strengthening peace and economic cooperation in the South Caucasus, Noyan Tapan and Turan reported. Albright also stressed the need to resolve the Karabakh conflict on the basis of proposals by the OSCE Minsk Group, according to Noyan Tapan. LF[05] GEORGIA AFFIRMS DESIRE FOR EU, NATO MEMBERSHIPAt the 1 July press conference in Tbilisi, Menagharishvili told journalists that "Georgia's goal is to completely integrate into European economic, political, and defense structures," ITAR- TASS reported. He explained that this aspiration encompasses future membership of the EU and that Georgia considers that European security structures provide a greater guarantee for the country's security than does the CIS Collective Security Treaty, in which Georgia will not renew its participation. Also on 1 July, ITAR-TASS quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Burduli as having told "Svobodnaya Gruziya" that Georgia has requested membership in NATO. But Georgia's eligibility for inclusion in the "second wave" of NATO expansion seems dubious in the light of recent comments by a retired German general and adviser to the Georgian government that both the materiel base and the psychological atmosphere within the Georgian army has deteriorated since 1998. LF[06] GEORGIA, RUSSIA DISAGREE OVER MILITARY COOPERATIONAlso on I July, Menagharishvili admitted that there were "differences of opinion" at the Russian-Georgian talks on military cooperation that took place in Moscow on 29-30 June, according to ITAR-TASS. He explained that Russia wanted those talks to focus on the quotas allocated to the two countries under the amended CFE treaty, whereas Georgia considers any discussion of specific figures and quotas "impossible" at the present time and advocates drafting completely new framework for bilateral cooperation. It is unclear whether the issue of closing two or more of the Russian military bases in Georgia was discussed, as originally intended. LF[07] GEORGIAN OPPOSITION HUNGER-STRIKE GATHERS MOMENTUMInmates of three Georgian prisons have joined the hunger-strike declared last month by supporters of deceased former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Caucasus Press reported on 1 July. Some 180 people have gathered in Gamsakhurdia's family home in Tbilisi and are fasting to demand President Shevardnadze's resignation and the reinstallment of Gamsakhurdia's government. LF[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT ASSESSES ECONOMIC PROBLEMSResponding to questions from a RFE/RL correspondent, on 1 July President Nursultan Nazarbaev told journalists in Salzburg, where he is attending the annual Central and East European Economic Forum, that reduced spending on social issues in the 1999 budget does not affect pensioners or state-sector employees. He also said that the campaign launched last month in Almaty Oblast to collect gold jewelry to boost the country's dwindling hard- currency reserves was not organized by the Kazakh government. Nazarbaev said he believes the worst of Kazakhstan's economic crisis is over and that the economic situation will begin to improve before the end of 1999. Nazarbaev also met in Salzburg with Russian Prime Minister Stepashin to discuss economic and trade issues, ITAR-TASS reported. LF[09] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER FEARS COMMUNIST BACKLASHBakyt Beshimov, chairman of the People's Party of Kyrgyzstan, whose membership he estimates at 45,000, told Interfax on 1 July that the rapidly deteriorating social and economic situation could facilitate the return to power of the Communist Party in the parliamentary elections due early next year. He said his party intends to form a "strong opposition" to the present authorities, uniting all those forces that support social democracy, democratic institutions, and a market economy, in order to prevent the return to power of the Communists, who, he said, "could lead the country into even greater deadlock." LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] NATO TROOPS ARREST YUGOSLAV SOLDIERSA spokesman for British KFOR peacekeepers said in Prishtina on 2 July that KFOR recently arrested five Yugoslav army soldiers and six suspected members of the paramilitary police near Kosova's northern border with Serbia proper. The armed men were in Kosova in violation of the peace agreement, under which all Serbian forcers should have withdrawn from the province. The armed Serbs told KFOR that they were part of a border patrol unit. The previous day, U.S. Brigadier General John Craddock said that KFOR's mission "is not going to be a quick fix. There are still too many acts of violence. There are still too many homes burning at night," AP reported. PM[11] UN CALLS FOR END TO VIOLENCEUN Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello told a press conference in Prishtina on 2 July that the situation "has stabilized at a fairly high level of insecurity in certain parts of [Kosova,] and this cannot be allowed to persist. Every effort must be made...for the [Kosovar and Serbian] leaderships to contribute to the reduction of tensions." He added that he hopes to set up a multi-ethnic "transitional council" next week. Vieira de Mello stressed that he wants the council's members "to agree on a strong statement and possibly to deliver it together, condemning all forms of violence and appealing to all communities for restraint." PM[12] GANGS TERRORIZE PRISHTINA"Gangs rule on the streets of Prishtina [and] are becoming an increasing headache for British soldiers trying to restore peace," "The Daily Telegraph" reported on 2 July. The newspaper goes on to describe the young men as "the violent underclass from [Kosova] and Albania intent on profiting from the chaos." Some of the men work in well-organized gangs, while others are "free-lancers." Their victims include ethnic Albanians as well as Serbs. The daily quoted several ethnic Albanians as saying that they live in fear of the gangs and that they are pleased when they learn that KFOR has arrested one or more of the toughs. The role of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) in relation to the gangs is ambiguous, the newspaper noted. An additional source of difficulties is the presence of numerous displaced rural Kosovars, whose homes have been destroyed and who come to Prishtina seeking to occupy flats. PM[13] VOLLEBAEK OUTLINES KOSOVA POLICE RECRUITMENTOSCE Chairman Knut Vollebaek said in Vienna on 1 July that the 700-member OSCE mission to Kosova will recruit and train the 3,000 local members of a planned 6,000-strong, internationally supervised police force (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 July 1999). The additional 3,000 policemen will be from other countries. Vollebaek added that "to create a real democracy...we have to recruit [policemen] from as broad a sector as possible.... Of course, we should not have people charged with criminal activity. We have to create a secure environment and then we have to establish trust in these policemen. [Therefore,] we will have to recruit from environments, groups that have been hostile to each other." Vollebaek also said that he has appointed U.S. diplomat Robert Barry, who now heads the OSCE mission in Bosnia, to coordinate OSCE efforts in the entire Balkans. FS[14] UNHCR LAUNCHES REPATRIATION OF KOSOVARS FROM ALBANIAThe Albanian government and the UNHCR on 1 July began to repatriate the remaining 170,000 Kosovar refugees living in Albania. An RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent reported from Tirana that most refugees travel from central and southern Albania by train to the northern village of Mjeda, where the UNHCR has set up a transit center. Busses and trucks provided by the Albanian government and NATO leave from there to cities in Kosova. UNHCR officials estimate that up to 2,000 refugees will pass through the Mjeda center every day in the coming weeks. NATO troops accompany the refugees on their return trips to Kosova. Elderly people and the handicapped will be transported by helicopter. Around 250,000 Kosovars have already returned home from Albania on their own. FS[15] ROMA REFUGEES FROM KOSOVA FLEE TO ITALYA fishing boat carrying about 250 Kosovar Roma from Montenegro landed on Italy's southern shore on 1 July. The new arrivals included more than 100 children. Another ship carrying 500 Romany refugees arrived in Italy on 29 June. The Italian coast guard brought both ships to the port of Bari. Many Roma say they fear reprisals by ethnic Albanians, who often charge that the Roma collaborated with the Serbian forces during the recent crackdown. FS[16] CLARK CALLS MILOSEVIC 'FORMIDABLE POWER'NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark told a Senate hearing in Washington on 1 July that the Serbian "opposition is fragmented and weak and traumatized by a decade of Milosevic maneuvering against them" (see Part I). The general added that "Milosevic retains formidable power in Yugoslavia, and he's an expert in dividing the opposition." Clark noted that the Yugoslav president continues to pose a threat to the Montenegrin leadership. The general stressed that Milosevic is "stubborn" and is seeking to "relegitimize himself" in Serbian politics despite his recent loss of control over Kosova, the "International Herald Tribune" reported. PM[17] PENSIONERS PROTEST IN BELGRADESeveral hundred pensioners demonstrated on 1 July to remand the payment of back pensions and the doubling of the size of pensions. The older Serbs also called for Milosevic to resign. PM[18] POLICE ARREST OPPOSITION MEMBERSSerbian police in Novi Sad on 1 July arrested four members of the opposition League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina who were passing out leaflets calling on people to join an opposition demonstration in Uzice slated for 2 July, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The protest is organized by the Alliance for Change, which recently held a demonstration in Cacak (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 2 July 1999). PM[19] YUGOSLAV ARMY ISSUES WARRANT FOR DJINDJICRepresentatives of the Office of the Military Prosecutor issued a formal request to the Military Court on 1 July to launch proceedings against Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic. The charge is that Djindjic did not respond to a call- up notice during the recent crisis in Kosova. The opposition leader instead went into hiding in Montenegro. PM[20] MONTENEGRO TO HAND OVER WAR CRIMINALSPresident Milo Djukanovic said in Niksic on 1 July that his government will send to The Hague any persons indicted by the tribunal who are found on Montenegrin territory. He added that Milosevic's policies are "xenophobic" and have led Serbia into isolation and self-destruction. Djukanovic stressed that Podgorica does not recognize the current federal parliament or government. PM[21] CROATIA CHARGES YUGOSLAVIA BEFORE HAGUE COURTThe Croatian government agreed in a closed session on 1 July to charge Yugoslavia with "aggression and genocide" before the UN's International Court of Justice in The Hague. The charges stem from the 1991-1995 war. Bosnia filed similar charges against Yugoslavia several years ago, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[22] PASSENGER TRAIN LINKS SARAJEVO TO PLOCEAfter an interruption of seven years, a passenger train arrived in Ploce from Sarajevo on 1 July. Earlier. goods transport between the Bosnian capital and its natural outlet on the Adriatic were restored. Bosnia's rights to use the Croatian port's facilities have been the subject of years of disputes between Sarajevo and Zagreb. In related news, Bosnian Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic said in Sarajevo that the two countries will sign an agreement delimiting their joint frontier on 7 July. PM[23] DISUINITY AND UNITY IN BOSNIAThe Bosnian federal parliament adopted a new law governing radio and television on 1 July, despite strong objections from the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). The HDZ is expected to block passage of the measure in the federal House of Nations, which is the second house of the parliament, in the near future, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. "Oslobodjenje" wrote on 2 July that the international community's Carlos Westendorp has indicated that he will enact the measure by decree if the Croats defeat it in the House of Nations. Elsewhere, representatives of Bosnia's Muslim, Serbian, and Croatian handball teams agreed in Sarajevo on 1 July to play in a "joint league" next season, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[24] ZANI RIDES AGAINThe notorious southern Albanian gang leader Myrteza Caushi "Zani" was injured in a shootout between rival gangs in Vlora on 1 July, Reuters reported. Police then tried to arrest Zani in the hospital, but he managed to escape. Three men were killed and three wounded in the shootout, but it remains unclear what triggered the confrontation. A court in Tirana ordered Zani's release from prison on 22 March 1999. He had been in jail since 1997 awaiting trial on charges ranging from robbery to murder. Witnesses declined to testify at his trial, however, and the court o sentenced him only for illegal arms possession (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 March 1999). Zani played a key role in the 1997 armed uprising in southern Albania. FS[25] ROMANIAN OFFICIALS REASSURED ON TRIANON TREATYOn returning from a visit to the U.S., Defense Minister Victor Babiuc said Washington is "not preoccupied with the prospect of Romania's federalization." Babiuc said that at a meeting with Defense Secretary William Cohen, he had raised the issue of the statement attributed to NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark suggesting that the 1920 Trianon Treaty is outdated. Babiuc said he was reassured that the position of the U.S. "remains that expressed by President Bill Clinton, namely that existing European borders must not be changed and borders must not be modified according to ethnic criteria," Mediafax reported on 1 July. One day earlier, U.S. ambassador to Bucharest James Rosapepe told Romanian Radio that Clark's statement has been "misinterpreted"(see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 28 and 29 June 1999). MS[26] ROMANIA, RUSSIA AGREE TO 'RE-LAUNCH' RELATIONSMeeting at the annual Central and East European Economic Forum in Salzburg, Austria on 1 July, Romanian President Emil Constantinescu and Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin agreed to "re-launch economic and political relations" between the two countries, an RFE/RL correspondent in Salzburg reported. They stressed that "urgent measures" are needed to redress Romania's balance of trade with Russia. Bucharest imports $1 billion worth of Russian goods and exports goods totaling $80 million to Russia. Stepashin pledged to clear Russia's $22 million debt to Bucharest by deliveries of Russian machinery. MS[27] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT, PRESIDENT ON COLLISION COURSEThe parliament on 2 July approved a decision stating that referendums cannot take place within less than two years of one another. The decision virtually nullifies President Petru Lucinschi's intention to submit to a referendum in the immediate future the issue of changing to a presidential system, since a non-binding referendum took place in May 1999. On 1 July, Lucinschi signed a decree on setting up the commission whose task is to make recommendations for changing the present system into a presidential one, RFE/RL Chisinau bureau reported. Under the decree, the commission was to present its findings within one month, following which the change would have had to be either approved by a two-thirds parliamentary majority or submitted to a plebiscite. MS[28] MOLDOVAN PREMIER PRESENTS 'HUNDRED DAY RECORD'Presenting the 100-day record of his cabinet to the parliament on 1 July, Ion Sturza said that "if circumstances are favorable," GDP in 1999 may "drop by only 5-7 percent," RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Sturza forecast an inflation rate of 25 percent and a deficit totaling 3 percent of the GDP. He said that in 1998, GDP dropped by 8.6 percent, in comparison with the previous year, and inflation was 18.3 percent. Among the main achievements of his cabinet, he counted the resumption of relations with the IMF and the World Bank. He also said that Moldova has paid two-thirds of the $230 million debt due for payment this year. MS[29] BULGARIA OFFERS TO BE UZBEKISTAN'S 'GATE TO EUROPE'Erkin Khalilov, chairman of the Uzbek parliament, told his Bulgarian counterpart, Yordan Sokolov, in Sofia on 1 July that Uzbekistan regards ties with Bulgaria as a "priority," because of that country's geographical location, namely on the "shortest route [for Uzbekistan] to Europe." Prime Minister Ivan Kostov told Khalilov that the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas may become "Uzbekistan's gate to Europe," BTA reported. Khalilov said that when TRACECA (Europe- Caucasus-Asia Transport Corridor) is developed, his country will indeed use Varna and Burgas. MS[C] END NOTE[30] RUSSIAN DUMA ELECTIONS: THE POLITICSBy Floriana FossatoUntil recently, most top Russian politicians have focused their attention on the June 2000 presidential elections. But with the current lack of a presidential candidate who enjoys President Boris Yeltsin's support, the Russian political situation remains unpredictable. As a result, politicians and their advisers now say that the parliamentary elections due in five months have acquired new importance. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin told a meeting of Federal Security Service (FSB) officials that the composition of the next parliament will greatly affect the outcome of next year's presidential elections. Stepashin said that "a great deal in the future...will depend on whom we elect to the parliament." The establishment of new political movements that will participate in the parliamentary elections is now almost complete. Most of the political groups have held founding congresses in the past few months. Many moderate Russian politicians repeatedly use phrases like "consolidation of forces" and "creation of a constructive opposition" in the new parliament when referring to the creation of these new movements. The moderates are seeking a more centrist-based State Duma to replace the present lower house, dominated by communist and nationalist groups. Leonid Raketskii is the governor of the oil-rich Tyumen region and one of the most influential representatives of the centrist movement Voice of Russia, which is led by Samara Governor Konstantin Titov. In a recent interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service, Raketskii commented that several movements look "very similar, like sister organizations: [Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's] Fatherland, Our Home Is Russia, Voice of Russia, and All Russia. I think all the leaders of these organizations should overcome their own ambitions, stop promoting themselves, and understand clearly that we should create a 'golden' centrist group attractive to the electorate. [We should] not choose political leaders, but candidates for the Duma.... Only after that should leaders be chosen, to compete among themselves before next year's presidential vote." One of the leaders of the Our Home is Russia group, Saratov Governor Dmitrii Ayatskov, foresees the possibility of coalition of centrist and center-right movements. Ayatskov recently told the Interfax news agency that in his opinion. only three or four political blocs are likely to garner the 5 percent of the vote necessary for parliamentary representation. Luzhkov's Fatherland group is not among the movements with which his party is consulting on the formation of a united centrist bloc. He said that consultations with several groups are under way but added that "it is too early to talk about the results." One of the leaders of the center- right Right Cause bloc, economist Yegor Gaidar, made a similar statement last week. In recent days, some Russian media have been speculating that the Kremlin is trying to create its own coalition. They say it would be a kind of new "party of power" that would be called Rossiya and might be led by Stepashin. According to media reports, most moderate blocs would be invited to take part in the new party, with the exception of Luzhkov's Fatherland movement, which the Kremlin is said to actively oppose. Last week, Yeltsin told Stepashin to "consider the place and the role of the government in the next parliamentary election." Stepashin answered that the government "cannot be cut off" from preparations for the parliamentary election campaign. On 29 June, he told FSB officials that Russia's security forces must not allow the Duma elections to be dominated by criminals seeking to influence Russian politics. The daily "Vremya MN" wrote recently that "the recipe for success [in creating a new party] is well-known: [the backing of regional] governors, industrial captains and military men, some small parties and a few intellectuals, plus a lot of money and a huge amount of [television] broadcasting time." But, the newspaper added, Russian politicians have a poor record of agreeing on anything. Also, it said, Russia's bankrupt central government has little to offer to regional bosses. More important, "Vremya MN" noted, in order to create a real "party of power," something else is necessary: "an idea that could unite all [moderate forces]." The newspaper noted that three years ago, the unifying idea was the perceived danger of a communist come-back. But now, it concludes, "this will not work, and for the moment there are no other ideas" that could unite all the possible members of a moderate alliance. Some politicians say that the fragmentation of Russia's centrist and center- right political spectrum could benefit the Communists and their allies in the current Duma. But others doubt that will be the case. According to Ayatskov of Our Home is Russia, substantial differences of opinion are already noticeable among leaders of pro-communist groups. Together with other politicians, Ayatskov believes that the Communist Party "is rapidly losing its political weight, especially after the failed impeachment attempt against Yeltsin." The author is an RFE/RL correspondent in Moscow. This is the first article in a two-part series. 02-07-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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