RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 195, 99-10-06

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 195, 6 October 1999

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS IN JEOPARDY

[02] ARMENIAN PREMIER REPORTS ON NEW WORLD BANK LOAN

[03] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION AGREES ON VENUE FOR DEMONSTRATION

[04] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION CONDEMNS RUSSIAN BOMBING

[05] AZERBAIJANI CABINET APPROVES 2000 BUDGET INDICATORS

[06] GEORGIAN RULING PARTY UNVEILS ELECTION PROGRAM

[07] CHEVRON EXPRESSES INTEREST IN INCREASING STAKE IN KAZAKH OIL

[08] KYRGYZSTAN ANTICIPATES NEW INCURSION...

[09] ...EXPANDS SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP

[10] BOMBING RAIDS ON TAJIKISTAN CONTINUE

[11] TAJIK PRESIDENT IN MOSCOW

[12] RUSSIA WARNS TURKMENISTAN OVER MERCENARIES

[13] UZBEKISTAN'S PRESIDENT VISITS SOUTH KOREA

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[14] ONE DEAD, SEVERAL INJURED AFTER CLASH IN DIVIDED KOSOVAR

[15] UCK PRESS ORGAN ACCUSES KOSOVAR PUBLISHER OF SPYING

[16] SEVERAL HUNDRED PAY RESPECTS TO OPPOSITIONIST KILLED IN ROAD

[17] ANTI-GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN BELGRADE DWINDLING

[18] SERBIAN MINISTER FILES SUIT AGAINST OPPOSITION LEADERS

[19] UN ENVOY WARNS THAT TROUBLE BREWING IN SANDZAK

[20] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT GETTING IMPATIENT WITH BELGRADE

[21] CROATIA GETS WORLD BANK LOAN

[22] PETRITSCH ORDERS RADICAL PARTY TO RE-REGISTER WITHOUT TOP

[23] FORMER ALBANIAN PREMIER ACQUITTED OF CORRUPTION CHARGES

[24] RECONCILIATION PARK HIGHLIGHTS EMBITTERED ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN

[25] ...AS FATE OF CONTROVERSIAL SCULPTURE GROUP REMAINS UNCLEAR

[26] TRANSDNIESTER SEPARATISTS LOOK FOR ALLIES IN ABKHAZIA

[C] END NOTE

[27] OSCE SEEKS RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS, FAIR ELECTIONS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS IN JEOPARDY

Electoral Commission on 5 October issued a warning that local

courts risk sabotaging 24 October local elections by

registering candidates who are not eligible to participate,

RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The commission has ruled

that a provision in the election law stating that only

candidates who have lived in a community for at least one

year may be elected to its local government bodies has

already taken effect. The author of that law argues that the

ruling takes effect only in March 2000. Under the latter

interpretation, local courts have reinstated dozens of

candidates whom local electoral commissions had refused to

register. On 4 October, members of the Yerevan Municipal

Election Commission failed to agree on how to interpret the

residency requirement and consequently failed to register any

candidates for the poll in two Yerevan districts before the

deadline for doing so expired that evening. LF

[02] ARMENIAN PREMIER REPORTS ON NEW WORLD BANK LOAN

Sargsian told journalists in Yerevan on 5 October that during

his talks last week in Washington with World Bank President

James Wolfensohn, the latter pledged a further $238 million

to fund development projects in Armenia over the next three

years, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The World Bank also

agreed to disburse the third and final tranche, worth $23.5

million, of a structural adjustment credit aimed at helping

offset the country's budget deficit. Sargsian said that in

return, the Armenian government will submit to the bank a

medium-term program outlining economic policy priorities. He

added that talks with the IMF were similarly fruitful and

that the fund is likely to approve the final $28 million

tranche of a three-year loan later this week. Sargsian

confessed to being "very ashamed" by Western leaders'

perceptions of the extent of corruption in Armenia. He vowed

to crack down on it more effectively. LF

[03] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION AGREES ON VENUE FOR DEMONSTRATION

October, Azerbaijani opposition representatives accepted

Mayor Rafael Allakhverdiev's proposal to hold their planned 9

October demonstration at the motor sports stadium on the

northern outskirts of Baku, Turan reported. Last month, the

opposition had rejected holding a mass rally at the stadium

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 September 1999). The 9 October

demonstration is intended to protest the Azerbaijani

leadership's stated willingness to accept a compromise

solution of the Karabakh conflict. Smaller demonstrations

will be held in seven other cities. LF

[04] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION CONDEMNS RUSSIAN BOMBING

The Democratic Bloc, which is composed of 20

opposition parliamentary deputies, issued a statement on 5

October condemning the "inhuman" bombing of Chechen towns and

villages and calling on the Russian leadership to put a stop

to the attacks, Turan reported. The deputies advocated talks

between the Russian and Chechen leaderships in order to

preclude further civilian casualties. They noted that the

Russian government had responded inappropriately to the

invasion of Daghestan by armed groups not subordinate to the

Chechen leadership. And they condemned "all acts of terrorism

connected with the conflict in the North Caucasus." The same

day, parliamentary deputies adopted a statement addressed to

the Russian State Duma protesting the 1 October bombing by a

Russian aircraft of Azerbaijan's Zakatala Raion and reprisals

against ethnic Azerbaijanis in Moscow, Turan reported. LF

[05] AZERBAIJANI CABINET APPROVES 2000 BUDGET INDICATORS

next year's budget, Interfax reported three days later. The

2000 budget foresees GDP growth of 8 percent, increases in

industrial output and agricultural production of 3 percent

and 4.5 percent, respectively, a 10.5 percent increase in

investment, 3 percent annual inflation, and a budget deficit

equivalent to 2.6 percent of GDP. LF

[06] GEORGIAN RULING PARTY UNVEILS ELECTION PROGRAM

Georgian Minister of State Vazha Lortkipanidze and President

Eduard Shevardnadze outlined the main tenets of the Union of

Citizens of Georgia's program for the 31 October

parliamentary elections, Interfax and Reuters reported.

Lortkipanidze affirmed that "we have overcome crisis and

stopped collapse." In an apparent contradiction, he went on

to pledge that "we will finally get over the economic crisis,

create an effective fiscal system, increase wages to 200-230

lari ($127) and increase pensions three-fold," Reuters

reported. The current minimum pension is 10 lari. LF

[07] CHEVRON EXPRESSES INTEREST IN INCREASING STAKE IN KAZAKH OIL

Kenneth Derr, outgoing chairman of the U.S. oil

company Chevron, told journalists in Astana on 5 October

after a meeting with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan

Nazarbaev that Chevron may acquire part of Kazakhstan's

equity share in the Tengizchevroil project if the Kazakh

government decides to sell part of its 25 percent stake,

Interfax reported. He added that Kazakhstan is considering

selling a 5 percent or 10 percent stake and has received

offers from several companies. "Vedomosti" had reported on 4

October that the only company that has officially expressed

an interest in acquiring a share is Russia's LUKoil, which

together with ARCO already has a 5 percent stake in

Tengizchevroil. LF

[08] KYRGYZSTAN ANTICIPATES NEW INCURSION...

Council Secretary General Bolot Djanuzakov told journalists

in Bishkek on 5 October that "international terrorist groups"

based in Afghanistan and Pakistan are ready to enter Kyrgyz

territory in order to regain control of drug-smuggling

routes, Interfax reported. He added that Kyrgyz troops have

closed in on the base where ethnic Uzbek guerrillas are

believed to be holding hostages in the south of the country,

leaving the guerrillas no option but to retreat into

neighboring Tajikistan. LF

[09] ...EXPANDS SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP

the composition of the Security Council was broadened to

include the mayor of Bishkek and the heads of the country's

seven oblasts, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The former

Batken Raion of Osh Oblast was granted oblast status the same

day and will incorporate the Lyalyak and Kadamjai Raions of

Osh Oblast. Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akaev on 5 October

charged Djanuzakov with overseeing government actions to

strengthen the guarding of the country's borders, reforms in

the army, fighting against organized crime and international

terrorism, and monitoring the religious situation in the

country. LF

[10] BOMBING RAIDS ON TAJIKISTAN CONTINUE

dropped bombs on the Djirgatal district of eastern Tajikistan

on 5 October for the fourth consecutive day, Reuters reported

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 5 October 1999). National

Reconciliation Commission spokesman Akhmadsho Kamilzoda told

the agency that the aircraft in question belonged to

Uzbekistan and that the death toll in those raids has risen

to five. United Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri

issued an official statement on 6 October condemning the

bombing and demanding that Uzbekistan stop such attacks, Asia

Plus-Blitz reported. ITAR-TASS quoted an unnamed senior Tajik

government official as saying the previous day that

Tajikistan "will respond in an appropriate way" once an

investigation into the raids is completed. LF

[11] TAJIK PRESIDENT IN MOSCOW

addressed the UN General Assembly last week, Tajikistan's

President Imomali Rakhmonov made a stopover in Moscow for

talks on 4 October with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

on regional security and military cooperation, Asia Plus-

Blitz reported. Rakhmonov also met with St. Petersburg

Governor Vladimir Yakovlev to discuss establishing trade,

economic, and scientific ties. LF

[12] RUSSIA WARNS TURKMENISTAN OVER MERCENARIES

Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told journalists in

Moscow on 5 October that Russia hopes Turkmenistan is taking

measures to prevent Afghan mercenaries transiting its

territory en route for the North Caucasus, Interfax reported.

Rakhmanin said that Moscow has received a note from the

Turkmen Foreign Ministry protesting reports in several

Russian newspapers of an alleged plan to create a "window" on

the Afghan-Turkmen border to enable Afghan mercenaries to

cross into Turkmen territory. LF

[13] UZBEKISTAN'S PRESIDENT VISITS SOUTH KOREA

on 5 October, Islam Karimov and his South Korean counterpart,

Kim Dae-Jung, pledged to expand trade and economic

cooperation between their countries, AP reported. South Korea

is one of the leading foreign investors in Uzbekistan,

focusing primarily on the automobile and textile industries.

The two presidents also agreed to expand cooperation in other

fields, including culture, education, sport, and tourism. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[14] ONE DEAD, SEVERAL INJURED AFTER CLASH IN DIVIDED KOSOVAR

One Serb was killed and 15 peacekeepers injured after

fighting broke out in Mitrovica between Serbs and ethnic

Albanians on 5 October, AP reported. The clash occurred when

a group of Serbs drove by a memorial service for 18 ethnic

Albanians found in a mass grave last week. The service was

attended by several thousand ethnic Albanians, who clashed

with the Serbs upon leaving the funeral. A Serbian man was

stoned to death. Four Russian and at least 10 French

peacekeepers were injured trying to separate the sides.

Officials from the former Kosova Liberation Army (UCK)

arrived at the scene and restrained the ethnic Albanians. The

northern part of Mitrovica is controlled by the Serbs, while

ethnic Albanians are in the southern part of the town. French

peacekeepers separate the two. PB

[15] UCK PRESS ORGAN ACCUSES KOSOVAR PUBLISHER OF SPYING

disbanded UCK, accused two prominent ethnic Albanians of

being spies for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on 5

October. Publisher Veton Surroi, a member of the Kosova

transitional council, and Aton Haxhiu, the chief editor of

the Kosovar daily "Koha Ditore," were called "dregs" for

"spying and cooperating with Milosevic's regime." Surroi said

the accusation comes after he recently said that "fascists

are in power in Kosova now and what is being done to the

Serbs [in Kosova] is a form of fascism." Surroi and his

newspaper, "Koha Ditore," have consistently spoken out

against the treatment of Serbs in Kosovar since the return of

ethnic Albanians after NATO troops took control of the

province. Surroi said the condemnations are "an invitation to

kill both me and Haxhiu." PB

[16] SEVERAL HUNDRED PAY RESPECTS TO OPPOSITIONIST KILLED IN ROAD

Several hundred people attended the funeral on 5

October of Veselin Boskovic, the adviser and brother-in-law

of Serbian opposition leader Vuk Draskovic, AP reported.

Boskovic was killed in a traffic accident on 3 October, which

Draskovic and other members of his Serbian Renewal Movement

have termed an assassination attempt (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"

4 October 1999). Draskovic said at the service that President

Milosevic's government has "destroyed our state and caused

the death of millions...let them be damned, the devils who

have built their happiness on other people's misery for 10

years." Three other people were killed in the accident.

Neither the owner nor the driver of the truck that veered

into the cars carrying the SPO members has been identified.

PB

[17] ANTI-GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN BELGRADE DWINDLING

thousand people took part in opposition led protests against

the government on 5 October, the 15th straight day of

marches, Reuters reported. The crowd was one of the smallest

since the protests began on 21 September. Some 10,000 people

protested in Novi Sad and about 5,000 in Nis, the country's

second-and third-largest cities. Demonstrations were also

held in more than a dozen other towns. Around 400 employees

of the Zastava Namenska weapons plant in Kragujevac walked

off the job and rallied to demand higher wages and the

resignation of the Yugoslav government. PB

[18] SERBIAN MINISTER FILES SUIT AGAINST OPPOSITION LEADERS

leaders of the opposition movement the Alliance for Change

(SZP) on 5 October, AFP reported. Bojic complained that he

had been ridiculed at a mock trial held during a Belgrade

demonstration and is suing 11 people for 10 million dinars

($1 million) for the "moral damage" inflicted on him. Vuk

Obradovic, an SZP official who is being sued, said he will

not appear at court on 7 October because the proceedings are

illegal and he has not been allotted the eight days usually

given to prepare a defense. Vladan Batic, another SZP leader,

said "we should be the ones suing the regime for all the

insults and humiliation, not the other way around." PB

[19] UN ENVOY WARNS THAT TROUBLE BREWING IN SANDZAK

Dienstbier, the UN special commissioner for human rights in

the former Yugoslavia, said on 5 October that there is a

"certain danger" in the mostly Muslim region of Sandzak that

Yugoslav President Milosevic could exploit, CTK reported.

Dienstbier, speaking in the Sandzak capital of Novi Pazar,

said Milosevic could use the Sandzak Muslims in his political

struggle against Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. He

noted that while 80 percent of the city's residents are

Muslim, about 95 percent of the police force is Serbian.

Similar proportions exist in other spheres, including health

care, according to Dienstbier, adding that "there are 1,000

little things which, if put together and incited, could lead

to a conflict." The same day in Podgorica, Montenegrin

Premier Filip Vucanovic rejected a call from a Sandzak group

for the region--which lies partly within Montenegro--to be

given a special status. PB

[20] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT GETTING IMPATIENT WITH BELGRADE

Djukanovic said on 5 October that Montenegro can only wait so

long for Belgrade to respond to Podgorica's call to redefine

federal relations, dpa reported. Djukanovic said the

government has set a deadline and that if Serbian authorities

fail to address the issue soon, Montenegro "will

democratically go its own way." He added that he "knows the

majority [of Montenegrins] is for independence, but there are

also 40 percent opposing it, and there are warmongers on all

sides." He said "our democratic consciousness obliges us not

to ignore this minority." In Washington, the U.S. State

Department said that Montenegrin leaders have used a

"measured and rational approach" to political and economic

reforms in Yugoslavia but that the U.S. opposes independence

for Montenegro. PB

[21] CROATIA GETS WORLD BANK LOAN

$29 million loan to Croatia, an RFE/RL correspondent reported

on 5 October. The loan will be used to improve the country's

health care system, including training, technical assistance,

and purchasing of medical equipment. It is the 18th loan the

bank has made to Croatia since 1993. PB

[22] PETRITSCH ORDERS RADICAL PARTY TO RE-REGISTER WITHOUT TOP

Wolfgang Petritsch, the high commissioner for

Bosnia-Herzegovina, ordered the Serbian Radical Party to

reapply to participate in next year's elections without its

top three candidates, AP reported. The decision in effect

bars former Republika Srpska President Nikola Poplasen and

two of his aides, Mirko Blagojevic, and Ognjen Tadic, from

participating in politics. The elections are scheduled for 8

April 2000. Petritsch's office said the decision was made

because the three officials have obstructed the

implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. PB

[23] FORMER ALBANIAN PREMIER ACQUITTED OF CORRUPTION CHARGES

of power by a Tirana court on 5 October, dpa reported. A

court spokesman said the court decided that a 12-year

sentence given to him five years ago was not "based on

facts." Nano was arrested in 1993 and sentenced a year later

for allegedly misusing funds given by the Italian government

in 1991, when he was premier. Nano has claimed the charges

were politically motivated. He served three years in prison

and was appointed premier again in July 1997, although he

resigned following unrest in the fall of 1998. PB

[24] RECONCILIATION PARK HIGHLIGHTS EMBITTERED ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN

The foundation stone of the Romanian-Hungarian

reconciliation park is being laid on 6 October in the

presence of a low-level delegation from either side, Romanian

Radio reported. Shortly after Prime Minister Radu Vasile's

decision not to attend, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban

arrived in Arad on 5 October, where he attended a ceremony

commemorating the 13 Hungarian generals executed by the

Austrians in 1848 and a play on the generals staged by the

Oradea Hungarian-language theater. Orban said Vasile's

cancellation was prompted by the desire to avoid a

"confrontation" with Arad local council members who are

opposed to the park. He, too, decided not to take part in the

6 October ceremony and delegated Justice Minister Ibolya

David to attend as a "fittingly appropriate" representation.

On learning of Orban's decision, Deputy Premier Valeriu

Stoica, who was to have represented Vasile, also opted not to

be present. MS

[25] ...AS FATE OF CONTROVERSIAL SCULPTURE GROUP REMAINS UNCLEAR

reconciliation park is to include the "Hungarian Liberty"

group of statues of the 13 generals. The monument was

dismantled in 1925 and kept in storage until recently.

Speaking on Romanian Radio on 5 October, Victor Chiujdea,

governmental state counselor for bilateral relations, said no

decision has yet been taken on displaying the monument in the

park. Romanian nationalists object to such a move, claiming

the monument represents the "executioners" of Romanians in

Transylvania. The Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania

rejects such an interpretation. Party of Social Democracy in

Romania Chairman Ion Iliescu on 5 October said he "warned"

Vasile to stay away from the ceremony, since the Hungarians

are "setting a trap" to make claims on Transylvania. The

Party of Romanian National Unity and the National Romanian

Party have demanded that the generals' monument does not go

on display. MS

[26] TRANSDNIESTER SEPARATISTS LOOK FOR ALLIES IN ABKHAZIA

Transdniester separatists are seeking to establish relations

with other breakaway territories in the former Soviet Union

and is focusing in particular on Abkhazia, Flux reported on 5

October. The agency said delegates from Abkhazia participated

in the ceremonies last month marking the ninth anniversary of

Transdniester "independence." Two Transdniester Supreme

Soviet deputies were present as "observers" during the recent

Abkhaz presidential elections. MS

[C] END NOTE

[27] OSCE SEEKS RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS, FAIR ELECTIONS

On his tour of Central Asia, OSCE Chairman Knut

Vollebaek has urged the five countries to continue their

progress toward full democracy. He asked the governments to

free all those jailed for political offenses. And he called

on them to implement the pledges they have repeatedly made to

make elections fairer.

Fair elections were Vollebaek's main theme in Kazakhstan

on 4 October, the last day of his tour. He expressed the

OSCE's concerns about preparations for Kazakhstan's

parliamentary elections on 10 October.

Vollebaek spoke with reporters in the capital, Astana,

about his talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and other

Kazakh officials. Those talks followed a meeting with non-

governmental organizations (NGOs) active in Kazakhstan that

have been critical of the government.

"We discussed the election, the election laws, the

amendments made, but in maybe a little bit more general terms

with the president," Vollebaek said. "But some of the

specific criticism that came up in the meeting with the NGOs

I raised with the chairwoman of the Central Election

Commission [on 3 October] when I met with her, the minister

of justice and the acting prime minister."

Vollebaek said that during his trip, he told all five

governments that the OSCE insists on the right of every

citizen to express political opinions without fear of

repression: "No government is happy to have its actions

criticized. But unless political opponents commit a criminal

offense, they should not be penalized for their opinions."

Vollebaek said he had told government leaders that democracy

requires a multi-party system and laws that allow all parties

to freely seek election.

Vollebaek said the OSCE is not disheartened at the slow

progress toward these goals in some Central Asian countries

and that the organization will continue its programs to

educate citizens about how democracy works.

In Uzbekistan, Vollebaek asked President Islam Karimov

about reports of repression against Islamic activists. He

also handed over a list of about 12 people whom the OSCE

considers to have been unfairly convicted. He asked for their

cases to be reviewed and for information about four people

who disappeared in recent years.

Vollebaek received reports of other human rights

problems, including the status of women, at a meeting in

Tashkent with members of Uzbek non-governmental

organizations. Among those present was the chairman of the

Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, Talib Jakubov, who was

denied an exit visa to attend an OSCE conference in Vienna

this month.

Jakubov told Vollebaek that among the political parties

now banned from participating in elections are some that

played an important part in winning democratic elections for

Uzbekistan after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He said

there was a return to the Soviet model in the 1994 election.

Vollebaek told the meeting that the OSCE mission in

Uzbekistan will continue to assist political parties whose

activities have been suspended.

In Turkmenistan, the OSCE chairman had a long meeting

with President Saparmurad Niyazov. Niyazov told Vollebaek

there are no political prisoners in the country and no

instruments for oppressing political opponents. According to

people attending the meeting, Vollebaek told Niyazov the OSCE

has details of several cases of people imprisoned for what

appear to be political crimes.

Vollebaek also asked for details about the death of

Khoshali Garaev, who was found dead in his cell last month.

Garaev was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in 1995 on

charges of conducting anti-state activity.

For almost a year, the OSCE and Turkmenistan have been

discussing an agreement that would allow greater OSCE

activity in the country, including election monitoring. OSCE

officials said shortly before Vollebaek arrived in

Turkmenistan that they thought they have an acceptable

agreement, but the government rejected it at the last moment.

OSCE officials said Turkmenistan does not want the OSCE's

department for democratic institutions, known as ODIHR, to

initiate any projects in the country. In other Central Asian

countries, ODIHR holds seminars on the rights of the voter,

the right of all political parties to campaign, and similar

topics. OSCE officials said it is unlikely that monitors will

be sent to the parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan in

December because the elections do not meet the minimum OSCE

standards of democracy.

Despite the differences, Niyazov told journalists

accompanying the OSCE mission that Vollebaek's visit had been

worthwhile. He said 2010 is his personal target date for

introducing what he called a new democratic society in

Turkmenistan.

In Tajikistan, Vollebaek conferred with government and

opposition leaders about upcoming presidential and

parliamentary elections. The elections are part of the

implementation of a peace agreement that ended years of civil

war.

Vollebaek said Tajikistan will remain stable only if the

elections are seen to be fair. He said OSCE monitors have

found many flaws in the conduct of the 26 September

referendum on constitutional changes. Opposition parties have

requested an OSCE presence at the elections. But Vollebaek

said he has not yet decided whether to send monitors because

of doubts whether the elections will be conducted in

accordance with OSCE standards.

At a private meeting, the main opposition leader, Said

Nuri, accused the government of trying to create difficulties

for his group, the United Tajik Opposition.

Vollebaek said his discussions convinced him that the

OSCE must pay more attention to the problems of the Central

Asian states, including their considerable economic problems,

and find ways to offer practical assistance. He added that

Central Asia will be an important issue at the OSCE summit in

Istanbul in November.

The author is a Munich-based RFE/RL correspondent.

06-10-99

Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org

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