RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 230, 99-11-29

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 230, 29 November 1999 Report," Vol. 2, No. 46, 18 November

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CRITICIZED OVER ARMORED

[02] OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY GRENADE EXPLOSION AT RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN

[03] ARMENIAN COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER DIES

[04] AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL, OPPOSITION DEBATE OSCE

[05] AZERBAIJAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER CONCLUDES MOSCOW VISIT

[06] GEORGIAN, AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS DISCUSS GAS EXPORTS

[07] GEORGIA CONTINUES TO DENY ABETTING CHECHENS

[08] NEW TERRORIST ATTACKS IN ABKHAZIA

[09] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT VISITS CHINA...

[10] ...COMMENTS ON RUSSIAN SEPARATIST ARRESTS

[11] KAZAKH MINISTER CLARIFIES STANCE ON TENGIZCHEVROIL STAKE

[12] KYRGYZ DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST CUT IN GAS SUPPLIES

[13] TAJIK GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION CLOSER TO AGREEMENT ON ELECTION

[14] ANOTHER RUSSIAN OFFICER SHOT DEAD IN TAJIKISTAN

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[15] MACEDONIAN COURT ORDERS PARTIAL REPEAT OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

[16] CROATIAN PRESIDENT'S CONDITION 'VERY GRAVE'

[17] CROATIA TO VOTE ON 3 JANUARY...

[18] ...AMID OPPOSITION PROTESTS

[19] CROATIAN POLICE ARREST 'MAFIA' LEADERS

[20] SERBIAN AUTHORITIES BLOCK FUEL OIL SHIPMENTS

[21] SERBIAN OPPOSITION SAYS MILOSEVIC PLAYING POLITICS WITH OIL

[22] BELGRADE CHARGES U.S. WITH 'MEDIA AGGRESSION'

[23] KOSOVARS CELEBRATE FLAG DAY

[24] KFOR CONDEMNS ATTACK ON SERBS

[25] BOSNIAN SERBS PHASE OUT YUGOSLAV DINAR

[26] ALBANIA TO SPEED UP PRIVATIZATION

[27] JAIL TERM FOR LEKA

[28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY 'NEVER MORE SECURE'

[29] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT THREATENS TO DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT

[30] BULGARIAN ROMA DEPUTY SEEKING ASYLUM IN U.K.

[C] END NOTE

[31] BULGARIA AFTER CLINTON'S VISIT

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CRITICIZED OVER ARMORED

Armen Khachatrian, who was named early this month

to succeed murdered Karen Demirchian as parliamentary

speaker, refused on 25 November to yield to pressure from his

People's Party of Armenia (HZhK) to replace an armored BMW

limousine acquired for his personal use with a cheaper,

Russian-manufactured vehicle, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

reported. Khachatrian argued that his personal security is

paramount following the 27 October Armenian parliament

shootings, in which he was wounded. He said he will seek

donations to cover the cost of the car, rather than charge it

to the national budget. Khachatrian had earlier said that the

BMW cost only $75,000 rather than an estimated $265,000, but

critics within the HZhK argued that even the lower sum is

exorbitant. LF

[02] OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY GRENADE EXPLOSION AT RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN

Armenian and Russian authorities on 26 November

opened a joint investigation into an incident the previous

day in which a hand grenade was thrown at the Russian embassy

building in Yerevan. The blast shattered windows but caused

no injuries. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ara Papyan

on 26 November expressed regret at the incident, which

occurred shortly before the arrival in Yerevan of Russian

Atomic Energy Minister Yevgenii Adamov. Both Papyan and his

Russian counterpart, Vladimir Rakhmanin, said they do not

expect the grenade attack to have a negative impact on

relations between the two countries. LF

[03] ARMENIAN COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER DIES

career Communist Party official who headed the Communist

Party of Armenia since 1994, died in Moscow of a heart attack

on the night of 25 November, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

reported. Badalian, who was 52, unsuccessfully contested the

Armenian presidential elections in 1996 and 1998. LF

[04] AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL, OPPOSITION DEBATE OSCE

During a seven-hour session on 24 November, the

Azerbaijani presidential council acclaimed as "historic" the

previous week's OSCE Istanbul summit, Turan reported. But

neither President Heidar Aliev nor Foreign Minister Vilayat

Guliev revealed any details of Aliev's various meetings in

Istanbul to discuss the prospects for resolving the Karabakh

conflict. Aliev, however, again ruled out the use of force to

resolve the conflict, according to Interfax. Also on 24

November, the Democratic Bloc of some 20 opposition

parliamentary deputies issued a statement terming the summit

"another defeat for Azerbaijani policy." The statement noted

that the final declaration affirmed respect for the

territorial integrity of Russia and Georgia but not that of

Azerbaijan. On 25 November, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

issued a statement accusing the U.S. Congress of double

standards in refusing to allocate financial aid to Azerbaijan

while continuing to do so to Armenia, Reuters reported. LF

[05] AZERBAIJAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER CONCLUDES MOSCOW VISIT

Abiev returned to Baku on 26 November after three days of

talks in Moscow with Russian officials and his Armenian

counterpart, Vagharshak Harutiunian, Turan reported. Those

talks focused on the ongoing investigation into Russian arms

deliveries to Armenia from1994-1996, which Abiev said are now

deployed on Azerbaijani territory controlled by Armenian

forces. The terms for Russia's continued leasing of the

Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan also featured prominently

on the agenda. The importance of that facility to Moscow will

increase if the U.S. opts out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile

Treaty, the agency noted. After meeting with Abiev on 25

November, Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev expressed his

thanks for Azerbaijan's refusal to allow arms or mercenaries

bound for Chechnya to enter Russia from Azerbaijani

territory. The following day, Abiev and Russian Deputy

Premier Ilya Klebanov discussed cooperation in military

technology. LF

[06] GEORGIAN, AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS DISCUSS GAS EXPORTS

one-day visit to Baku on 25 November, Georgian Minister of

State Vazha Lortkipanidze discussed with President Aliev and

Azerbaijani Premier Artur Rasizade the prospects for

repairing the Kazi-Magomed-Kazakh-Tbilisi gas pipeline to

allow Georgia to import an annual 400-500 million cubic

meters of Azerbaijani natural gas, Caucasus Press reported.

ITAR-TASS quoted Rasizade as estimating that such supplies

could begin only in 12-18 months. LF

[07] GEORGIA CONTINUES TO DENY ABETTING CHECHENS

Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 27 November rejecting

as "open blackmail" statements made the previous day at a

press conference in Moscow by Russian First Deputy Chief of

General Staff Colonel-General Valerii Manilov, Caucasus Press

reported. Manilov had told journalists that Chechen gunmen

have opened a hospital and are setting up a satellite

communications center on Georgian territory close to the

border with Chechnya. The Georgian statement said Manilov's

accusations were aimed at coercing Tbilisi to agree to joint

patrols of the Chechen-Georgian frontier. The Georgian Border

Service has also issued a statement denying Manilov's

allegations. It also refuted repeated Russian reports that

mercenaries and weapons are transported to Chechnya via

Georgia. LF

[08] NEW TERRORIST ATTACKS IN ABKHAZIA

and an Abkhaz policeman were killed and eight people wounded

on 24 November when an armored personnel carrier hit a

landmine in Abkhazia's Gali Raion, Caucasus Press reported.

The previous day, a UNHCR official was wounded on 25 November

when the car in which he was travelling was shot at in Gali,

Caucasus Press reported. LF

[09] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT VISITS CHINA...

23-24 November, Nursultan Nazarbaev met with his Chinese

counterpart, Jiang Zemin, and signed a declaration on

continuing bilateral cooperation in trade, technology

transfers, ecology, and combating extremism, terrorism, and

separatism. The two leaders also signed a communique noting

that the process of demarcating the countries' 1,700

kilometer joint border has been completed, Reuters and

Interfax reported. Nazarbaev told journalists in Beijing on

24 November that a 10-year economic cooperation program

between the two countries is being drafted. He added that

China reaffirmed its commitment to the 1997 agreement to

build a 3,000 kilometer oil export pipeline from western

Kazakhstan to western China. Kazakh officials had recently

implied that Astana no longer believes that project is

viable. The estimated cost of the project is $3-3.5 billion

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 and 18 August 1999). LF

[10] ...COMMENTS ON RUSSIAN SEPARATIST ARRESTS

told journalists in Beijing that he considers the recent

arrest in eastern Kazakhstan of a group that reportedly

intended to establish an independent Russian province on

Kazakh territory to be a criminal, rather than a political

case, Reuters reported. He added that he does not believe

Kazakhstan's relations with Russia will be affected. The

governor of East Kazakhstan Oblast, Vitalii Mette, denied on

25 November that any local residents had supported the group,

according to Interfax. Earlier reports had claimed that the

plotters had enjoyed such support (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23

November 1999). Mette's name topped a list of officials whom

the plotters planned to assassinate, according to Interfax on

24 November. Presidential Press Secretary Asylbek Bisenbaev

told journalists on 25 November that there will be no

intensified surveillance of the activities of groups

representing Kazakhstan's Slavic population, according to

Reuters. But a security official in the east Kazakhstan city

of Ust-Kamenogorsk told ITAR-TASS the same day that security

precautions in the city have been stepped up. LF

[11] KAZAKH MINISTER CLARIFIES STANCE ON TENGIZCHEVROIL STAKE

Kazakhstan's Finance Minister Mazhit Esenbaev told

journalists in Astana on 24 November that the sale of part or

all of Kazakhstan's stake in the Tengizchevroil joint venture

will not be necessary immediately if the World Bank releases

two separate tranches totaling $275 million before the end of

this year, Interfax reported. A heated debate has been under

way for months over the advisability of selling part of

Kazakhstan's stake (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 September and 5

October 1999). Esenbaev also said Kazakhstan has met all the

IMF's requirements for signing a new three-year cooperation

plan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 August and 7 October 1999).

Those requirements include endorsing the draft budget for

2000 and abolishing the requirement that exporters sell to

the state half of their foreign-currency earnings. LF

[12] KYRGYZ DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST CUT IN GAS SUPPLIES

of Bishkek blocked one of the city's main highways on 26

November to protest the government's failure to reach

agreement with Uzbekistan on the resumption of gas supplies,

RFE/RL's bureau in the capital reported. Uzbekistan halted

gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan on 16 November in retaliation for

Kyrgyzstan's failure to pay an estimated $4 million for

previous deliveries. Some buildings in Bishkek are already

without heating, and electricity supplies are subject to

frequent interruptions. LF

[13] TAJIK GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION CLOSER TO AGREEMENT ON ELECTION

Meeting in Dushanbe on 25 November, government and

opposition representatives on the Commission for National

Reconciliation came closer to resolving their disagreements

over several articles of the draft election law, Asia Plus-

Blitz reported. In particular, the two sides were reportedly

close to agreement on a 5 percent, rather than 10 percent,

threshold for parliamentary representation and on the

documentation that candidates must submit to register for the

poll. The two sides still differ, however, over the optimum

size of the two chambers of parliament and the dates of and

sequence for elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 and 22

November 1999). LF

[14] ANOTHER RUSSIAN OFFICER SHOT DEAD IN TAJIKISTAN

serving with the Russian border guards in Tajikistan was shot

dead in Dushanbe on 25 November, ITAR-TASS reported. Earlier,

two senior Tajik military officials were murdered in the

capital over the last two months (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18

October and 10 November 1999). On 25 November, President

Imomali Rakhmonov ordered power ministry officials to take

tougher measures against violent crime, according to ITAR-

TASS. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[15] MACEDONIAN COURT ORDERS PARTIAL REPEAT OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

28 November that the recent presidential election contested

by Boris Trajkovski of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary

Organization (VMRO) and the Social Democrat Tito Petkovski

must be repeated at 221 polling stations involving 160,000

voters. The ballot will take place on 5 December and could

overturn Trajkovski's victory, which he won by 70,000 votes.

Most of the polling places in question are in western

Macedonia, where ethnic Albanians form the majority. Social

Democratic leaders hailed the decision. VMRO spokesman Ljuben

Paunovski told Reuters that his party regrets that the

Supreme Court shares the Social Democrats' view that

"Albanians are not needed to elect the president."

Representatives of the EU and the OSCE had said that the

election was basically free and fair, despite sporadic

irregularities. PM

[16] CROATIAN PRESIDENT'S CONDITION 'VERY GRAVE'

Franjo Tudjman described his condition on 28 November as

"very difficult, demanding continued intensive treatment."

The independent daily "Jutarnji list" quoted an unnamed aide

to the president as saying that Tudjman's "vital functions

are rapidly failing." Tudjman is widely believed to be in the

final stages of cancer, from which he has been suffering

since at least 1996. The independent weekly "Nacional"

recently wrote that Tudjman's wife, Ankica, has carefully

controlled the flow of information to the public about her

husband's condition since he entered the hospital on 1

November. The newspaper charged that she deliberately hid

from the public the true extent of her husband's illness. PM

[17] CROATIA TO VOTE ON 3 JANUARY...

approved a bill introduced by the governing Croatian

Democratic Community (HDZ) to enable the Constitutional Court

to declare the president temporarily incapacitated for a

period of 60 days, which can be extended for another 60 days.

The bill passed with the support of right-wing opposition

deputies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 November 1999). The next

day, the parliament formally asked the court to declare

Tudjman temporarily incapacitated, which the court did on 26

November. The court named parliamentary speaker Vlatko

Pavletic acting president. Pavletic announced that

parliamentary elections will take place on 3 January. PM

[18] ...AMID OPPOSITION PROTESTS

bill, saying that it contains many ambiguities, the

"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on 26 November.

Opposition leaders also criticized the early election date,

which they said will enable the HDZ to seek a "sympathy vote"

for Tudjman and deny the opposition sufficient time to

campaign. Observers noted that the HDZ wants the elections

during the holiday season because many politically

conservative emigrant workers will be visiting their home

country. Pavletic and HDZ spokesmen have stressed that the

elections will be free and fair. PM

[19] CROATIAN POLICE ARREST 'MAFIA' LEADERS

in a statement in Zagreb on 28 November that police arrested

10 alleged key figures in the criminal underworld. An

additional two suspects remain at large. The statement did

not give any names. PM

[20] SERBIAN AUTHORITIES BLOCK FUEL OIL SHIPMENTS

who is the EU's commissioner for external relations, said in

Brussels on 28 November that the "Yugoslav authorities are

preventing the delivery [of 350 tons of EU heating

oil]...which could be [in Nis and Pirot] within hours" (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 24 November 1999). The delivery "is

obviously being delayed for political reasons," Patten added.

He concluded that "the events of the last few days underscore

once again why political change is so badly needed in Serbia

to deliver a government genuinely interested in the welfare

of its people," AP reported. Earlier, he had described the

Serbian government's reasons for delaying the customs

clearance of the 14 trucks carrying the heating oil as

"Kafkaesque." PM

[21] SERBIAN OPPOSITION SAYS MILOSEVIC PLAYING POLITICS WITH OIL

President Slobodan Milosevic is endangering the health and

safety of "thousands" of people in the city by holding up the

oil delivery. The mayor stressed that Serbia's third-largest

city is down to its last reserves of heating oil. Zivkovic

told AP that the city authorities have begun to use oil from

the reserves belonging to the central government without

asking Belgrade's permission. In Pirot, the city government

said in a statement that Belgrade is holding up the oil

shipment for political reasons. Elsewhere, Serbian human

rights activists told the BBC that they fear Milosevic will

introduce power cuts in opposition-controlled areas during

the winter. PM

[22] BELGRADE CHARGES U.S. WITH 'MEDIA AGGRESSION'

Information Ministry said in a statement on 28 November that

the U.S. government is carrying out "media aggression"

against Serbia. The statement charged that RFE/RL and VOA try

to convince the Serbian public that Serbian media are not

free, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The ministry

also blamed the U.S. for what it called the elimination of

Serbian-language media in Kosova. Observers note that the UN,

not the U.S., is in charge of the civilian administration of

Kosova. PM

[23] KOSOVARS CELEBRATE FLAG DAY

ethnic Albanians marked Flag Day, an Albanian national

holiday, in several cities and towns in Kosova. Some 10,000

people attended a rally in Skenderaj, which is a stronghold

of the former Kosova Liberation Army (UCK). General Agim

Ceku, who headed the UCK's general staff and is now commander

of the Kosova Protection Corps, told the crowd that "Serbia

has lost Kosova forever." Moderate Kosovar leader Ibrahim

Rugova said in a statement that "thanks to God, the United

States, Europe, NATO, and the international community, we are

on our own land again to build our future as a free people in

a free world," AP reported. PM

[24] KFOR CONDEMNS ATTACK ON SERBS

confiscated an arms cache they found in a house near Rogova

on 28 November. The stockpile included 300 grenades and

10,000 rounds of ammunition. In Prishtina, members of a crowd

of ethnic Albanians killed an elderly Serbian man and injured

two women after dragging them from their car. A spokesman for

the UN police told Reuters on 29 November that police are

investigating. KFOR commander General Klaus Reinhardt

condemned the attack and urged witnesses to come forward. He

told Reuters that the incident "unveils a basic lack of

humanity by the people in the street and a high degree of

intolerance on the side of the attackers and the bystanders."

PM

[25] BOSNIAN SERBS PHASE OUT YUGOSLAV DINAR

government has decided to withdraw the Yugoslav currency from

circulation pending an agreement with Belgrade on terms

regulating monetary transactions, RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported on 27 November. Soon, only the Bosnian

convertible mark will be legal tender. All dinar bank

accounts will be converted into convertible marks at the rate

of 16-to-one by the end of 1999. The convertible mark is

pegged to its German counterpart and is one of the most

stable currencies in the Balkans. PM

[26] ALBANIA TO SPEED UP PRIVATIZATION

said on 24 November in Tirana that his ministry will soon

review privatization legislation with a view to speeding up

privatization and combating corruption, dpa reported. He

noted that while most small and medium-sized enterprises are

in private hands, many larger enterprises are not. PM

[27] JAIL TERM FOR LEKA

sentenced Leka Zogu in absentia to three years in prison for

his role in a rally in central Tirana in 1997, at which many

participants brandished weapons. The claimant to the throne

returned to exile in South Africa following the incident.

Leka's lawyer said that the court ruling was aimed at

preventing him from returning to Albania and taking part in

politics. PM

[28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY 'NEVER MORE SECURE'

Constantinescu on 26 November said in an interview with

Romanian radio that never has Romania's "sovereignty,

independence, unity, and peace been more secure than in the

three years since I began working for the Romanian people."

Constantinescu said the choice of Romania as a member of the

OSCE's "leading troika" attests to the fact that the country

is perceived abroad as a "model democracy" and a "pillar of

regional stability." He added that it is not in the EU or

NATO's interest that Romania join these organizations but in

Romania's own interest since the conditions for joining both

the EU and NATO promote Romania's prosperity and security. MS

[29] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT THREATENS TO DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT

Lucinschi told journalists on 25 November that if the

parliament again rejects his nominee for premier he will use

his constitutional prerogatives to disband the legislature

and call for early elections. Lucinschi said he believes such

elections are "undesirable" and urged the lawmakers to

quickly agree on a new premier, ITAR-TASS reported.

Parliamentary sources said Premier-designate Valeriu Bobutac

gave up his bid to form a government after the legislature

rejected his nomination on 22 November. However, it is not

being ruled out that Lucinschi will convince him to change

his mind. Other possible candidates for the premiership are

former Security Minister Valeriu Pasat and former Deputy

Premier Ion Gutu. MS

[30] BULGARIAN ROMA DEPUTY SEEKING ASYLUM IN U.K.

parliamentary deputy representing the ruling Union of

Democratic Forces, has asked for political asylum in the

U.K., AP reported on 25 November, citing sources in the

British embassy in Sofia. Those sources said Hristov has a

multiple-entry visa from an earlier visit to the U.K. as a

member of a Bulgarian parliamentary delegation. Interior

Minister Bogomil Bonev was quoted by BTA on 24 November as

saying that Hristov has not attended parliamentary sessions

for a month and did not give prior notification of his

absence. He added that ministry is not trying to track him

down, although "steps for contacting Hristov have already

been taken." MS

[C] END NOTE

[31] BULGARIA AFTER CLINTON'S VISIT

Ten years after Bulgaria began its slow and painful

transition to democracy, the first-ever official visit by a

U.S. president to that country, once considered the most

faithful of all Soviet allies, has taken place. During the

Cold War, the U.S. took a strong stand against human rights

violations in the Soviet bloc even as a handful of U.S.

presidents shook hands and even embraced communist leaders

like Tito and Ceausescu. In the Balkans, Washington's

longstanding strategic alliance with NATO members Turkey and

Greece made those two countries the center-piece of U.S.

policy in the region, with frequent visits by high-level

officials to both states. Bulgaria was the only Balkan

country, with the possible exception of Albania, that was not

honored with a high-profile U.S. visit.

Other factors contributed to that state of affairs.

Bulgaria had been an ally of Germany in two world wars. U.S.

bombs had destroyed downtown Sofia in the winter of 1943-

1944, and several years later, Bulgaria became the first

Soviet-bloc country with which the U.S. broke off diplomatic

relations. Although diplomatic contacts were later restored,

bilateral relations continued to be low-key: USIA-sponsored

exhibitions at Plovdiv's International Fair were the chief

vehicle for disseminating U.S. cultural and political values.

Thus Bulgaria remained relegated to the backyard of U.S.

foreign-policy considerations.

Last week, a large crowd on Alexander Nevski square

welcomed President Bill Clinton, who delivered a message,

long expected by many Bulgarians, that the U.S. is committed

to "supporting Bulgaria over the long run economically,

politically, militarily." A decade-old pattern of constant

reassurances of support from abroad has made Bulgarians

suspicious of the meaning of such phrases, particularly when

the state of the economy continues to decline and living

conditions are currently worse there than those in Hungary,

Poland, or the Czech Republic.

But in the aftermath of the Kosova war, the symbolism of

Clinton's words was obvious: the leader of the most powerful

country in the world pledged assistance and support for the

country, which is aspiring to join NATO and the EU. The

Bulgarian example of building democracy without ethnic

violence was cited by Clinton as projecting abroad a positive

image of stability. Such an image is badly needed by Bulgaria

and its reform-oriented center-right government in the tense

geopolitical situation on the Balkans.

Bulgaria's transition over the past few years has been

marked by a significant change in both the Bulgarian public's

perception of both the East and the West and in the decision-

making process in Sofia. The efforts to establish a pluralist

democracy and market economy broke the decades-old pattern of

close economic and political inter-dependence with the Soviet

Union and Eastern Europe. Bulgaria has not yet found a

reliable substitute for the false sense of stability and

well-programmed foreign-policy agenda of the Communist era.

The drive toward integration with European economic and

political structures has prompted Sofia to redefine possible

foreign-policy options, including the choice between a pro-

European versus a pro-American orientation.

As a result of the end of the Cold War, Bulgaria lost

the national security guarantees it had within the framework

of the Warsaw Pact, and the only available option was some

form of integration within NATO. The collapse of the former

Yugoslav federation and the wars that followed brought heavy

losses for the Bulgarian economy, making public opinion in

Bulgaria highly sensitive to the practical implications of a

policy that followed the moral and political standards set by

the international community and led to sanctions and other

disadvantageous steps. During the Kosova war, Ivan Kostov's

government publicly supported the NATO air campaign,

providing logistical support and allowing the use of

Bulgarian airspace, despite some strong vocal opposition to

that decision. The remarks made by President Clinton last

week are a response to the clear Bulgarian position on the

Kosova crisis, which doubtless paved the way for the high-

level visit to Sofia.

It is to be hoped that following the departure of the

news cameras, Bulgaria will not remain as obscure for the

U.S. public as it once was. Because it is not only George W.

Bush who has problems with the names of presidents of foreign

countries. Judging by the Website of the early edition of

"The New York Times," even the Associated Press got the name

of the Bulgarian president wrong, confusing him with the

prime minister. Fortunately, in today's cyberspace of

international media, a mistake made at 7:10 a.m. EST was

already corrected by 9:50 a.m. Let's keep our fingers crossed

that in the real life of contemporary geopolitics, Bulgaria

itself will emerge just as quickly from its obscurity.

The author is an assistant professor of history at Sofia

University, Bulgaria, and currently visiting Fulbright senior

lecturer in the Department of Government at Wesleyan

University, U.S.

29-11-99

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

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