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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 239, 99-12-10Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 239, 10 December 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] GUNMAN TAKES HOSTAGES IN ARMENIAN INSTITUTEA17-year-old sportsman identified as Artem Minasian armed with two hunting rifles briefly took a group of students hostage at Yerevan's Pedagogical Institute on 9 December, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He suffered serious gunshot wounds when police entered the building to disarm him. Noyan Tapan quoted the Prosecutor-General's Office as saying that the gunman hoped to pressure the Armenian government into ensuring that his sporting achievements were entered in the Guinness Book of Records. But student hostages quoted the gunman as saying he wanted to protest the government's policies and as demanding that President Robert Kocharian come to negotiate with him personally. Minasian also said that two of his associates were on standby to blow up seven buildings in the city in the event of his death or arrest. Kocharian negotiated with the five gunmen who killed eight people and held deputies hostage in the Armenian parliament in late October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October 1999). LF [02] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER WARIN CHECHNYAParliamentary deputies adopted a resolution on 9 December describing Russia's ongoing military campaign in the North Caucasus a threat to peace and stability in Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. The statement affirmed Georgia's recognition of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation and Georgia's desire for friendly relations with all neighboring states, including Russia. But it also rejected Russian demands for permission to launch operations against Chechen militants from Georgian territory and called on the Russian government to negotiate an end to the conflict. Also on 9 December, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze convened a meeting of power ministers to discuss the situation on the Georgian-Chechen border and to assess Russian allegations that the intelligence services of unnamed countries are planning to perpetrate terrorist acts in Georgia in order to destabilize that country's internal political situation. LF [03] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT CONCLUDES VISIT TO JAPANVisiting Tokyo on 5-8 December, Nursultan Nazarbaev heldtalks with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and with Foreign Minister Yohei Kono. Nazarbaev and Obuchi signed a joint statement on friendship and partnership in the 21st century. Japan agreed to advance $1.2 million in credits for eight construction projects, including repair of highways in western Kazakhstan, modernization of the Atyrau oil refinery, and construction of an oil pipeline from Atyrau to Kenkiyak. LF [04] OPPOSITION PARTY IN KAZAKHSTAN COMPLAINS OFHARASSMENTLawyer Oleg Sunkov, who represents the Azamat Party, told journalists in Almaty on 10 December that tax police searched his office earlier this week and confiscated materials on the activities of the pro-presidential Civic Party, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. The previous day, Temirtas Tleleusov, author of a book detailing the illegal activities of some members of the leadership of the South Kazakhstan Oblast, was attacked and badly beaten in the town of Shymkent. His son told RFE/RL that he has been hospitalized. Local police deny any knowledge of the attack. LF [05] TAJIK PARLIAMENT PASSES ELECTION LAWLawmakerson 10 December passed the law on parliamentary elections agreed on by the government and opposition last week, Asia Plus-Blitz reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 1999). Also on 10 December, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" noted that despite President Imomali Rakhmonov's recent decree calling for measures on political liberalization, the Supreme Court has annulled the registration by the Justice Ministry of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (Tehran Platform) on the grounds that the information provided by that party of the number of members in its local branches was inaccurate. The Supreme Court earlier banned the Agrarian Party and the Party of National Unity and annulled the registration of both the Justice and Development and the Renaissance of Tajikistan parties. The Justice Ministry has refused to register the Party of the National Movement of Tajikistan. LF [06] OSCE DECLINES TO MONITOR TURKMEN PARLIAMENTARYELECTIONAn OSCE spokesman said in Vienna on 9 December that the organization will not send even a "limited assessment" mission to monitor the 12 December parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. President Saparmurat Niyazov had requested a full monitoring mission during talks in Ashgabat in October with OSCE Chairman In Office Knut Vollebaek. But the OSCE said that the election framework "falls far short of what is required for democratic elections." Specifically, he noted that no provision has been made for non-government political parties to contest the poll, the executive controlled the nomination of candidates, and freedoms necessary for any level of political activity were severely restricted. A total of 102 candidates, some independents and some representing the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, are competing for the 50 mandates in the new parliament. LF [07] TURKMENISTAN ASKS EBRD TO RECONSIDER LOANTurkmenistan has asked the EBRD to reconsider providing a$50 million loan for the reconstruction of the Ashgabat-Mary highway, Interfax reported on 8 December quoting an unidentified government source. Turkmenistan rejected the EBRD's terms for that loan last month, saying it will raise alternative funding for the project. On 9 December, Interfax reported that President Niyazov had completed a visit to western regions of the country, during which he witnessed the beginning of construction of the Geoktepe-Turkmenbashi highway. That project, which will cost an estimated $525 million, is being implemented by a Turkmen-Iranian joint venture and financed by Turkmenistan's state transport and communications fund. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[08] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS MONTENEGRO OVER AIRPORT...The Yugoslav army said in a statement on 9 December thatMontenegro's leaders should not do anything to challenge the army's authority in the military areas of Podgorica airport (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 December 1999). The army command warned against further attempts by Montenegrin police to build a hangar for their helicopters on what the army regards as its property. According to the statement, "attempting to perform work in this manner, and provoking a situation likely to lead to an incident, could have unfathomable consequences for peace and stability in Montenegro." The army "will continue to prevent illegal usurpation attempts against its property and land," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [09] ...AS DOES SESELJIn Belgrade on 9 December, SerbianDeputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj also warned the Montenegrin authorities: "The Podgorica airport is both civilian and military. It is of strategic importance for the defense of the country.... The federal air control [sic] must have all authority in Montenegro as far as air traffic is concerned and control of all [air] entries into the country," AP reported. PM [10] MONTENEGRO PLAYS DOWN INCIDENTMontenegrinForeign Minister Branko Perovic told the BBC on 10 December that his government reached an "arrangement" the previous day with the Yugoslav military, which led to the reopening of the airport without further incident. He denied that the government has backed down from its intention to take full control of the airport, saying that a decision on that issue will be announced at the next meeting of the cabinet. He added, however, that that session has been "postponed" because of unspecified "other reasons." Perovic thanked Western leaders for their warnings to Belgrade over the incident, adding that such statements should be made "every day." PM [11] U.S., NATO EXPRESS CONCERNSecretary of StateMadeleine Albright told a news conference in Egypt on 9 December that "we have concerns about what is going on" in Montenegro, AP reported. She stressed U.S. support for Podgorica. In Washington, NATO commander U.S. General Wesley Clark noted that "the situation is very tense in Montenegro. We know that there are pressures and intimidation coming from Serbia and [Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic. We are watching this very, very closely.... It has been made very clear to Mr. Milosevic that he should not--and must not--interfere" in Montenegro. PM [12] BELGRADE REGIME'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST OPPOSITIONCONTINUESThird Army Commander General Nebojsa Pavkovic said that former army chief-of-staff General Momcilo Perisic "worked for a long time in the interest of the Western powers" before Milosevic fired him in November 1998. Pavkovic characterized Perisic's behavior toward the EU and NATO as "servile," the Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" reported on 10 December. Perisic now heads a small opposition party, the Movement for a Democratic Serbia. In Belgrade on 9 December, an unspecified number of police forced their way into the offices of Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement. They "were looking for" three of Draskovic's aides who had previously accused the authorities of conducting "state terrorism" against their leader, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [13] SERBIAN COURT SENTENCES KOSOVAR RIGHTS ACTIVISTJudge Marina Milanovic told her court in Nis on 9 Decemberthat she has sentenced Kosovar medical doctor and human rights activist Flora Brovina to 12 years in prison for providing aid and comfort to "terrorists" of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) during the recent conflict in the troubled province. Brovina has denied the charges and called the trial "political." Gradimir Nalic, who leads an organization of Yugoslav human rights lawyers, said that the sentence will only encourage Albanian judges in Kosova to pass tough sentences on Serbs. He added that Milanovic's ruling "reveals the state's negligence towards Serbs" in Kosova. In Washington, the State Department's special Balkan envoy James Dobbins said that the trial was "severely flawed" and urged Belgrade to overturn the conviction. PM [14] STATE DEPARTMENT PUTS KOSOVA DEATHS AT 10,000"The number of victims whose bodies have been burned ordestroyed may never be known, but enough evidence has emerged to conclude that probably around 10,000 Kosovar Albanians were killed by Serbian forces" in the conflict in the first half of 1999. This was the principal finding of the study "Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo: An Accounting," which the U.S. State Department released on 9 December in Washington. PM [15] KOUCHNER 'SUSPENDS' OPPONENT OF FRENCHTELEPHONE DEALOn 9 December, the UN's Bernard Kouchner suspended Agron Dida as head of the post and telecommunications service in Kosova. Kouchner said that Dida was "uncooperative" by refusing to sign an agreement with the French firm Alcatel to establish a mobile telephone system in the province (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 23 November 1999). Dida argued that a rival offer by the German firm Siemens was more advantageous to Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Kouchner is French. PM [16] CROATIAN OPPOSITION SLAMS STATE-RUN TVThe sixmain opposition parties said in a statement in Zagreb on 10 December that state-run television continues its long- standing bias toward the governing Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). The parties charged that broadcasts paint an idyllic picture of the current situation and spread fear of change. The parties called for an end to the bias in the runup to the 3 January parliamentary elections, AP reported. For years, the opposition, EU, U.S., and numerous NGOs at home and abroad have criticized the pro-HDZ orientation of state- run television and demanded that it present more balanced coverage. PM [17] ROMANIAN RAILWAY STRIKE ENTERS FIFTH DAYRomanian railway workers began the fifth day of their strikeon 10 December after union leaders the previous day had again failed to reach an agreement with the Transport Ministry on wage hikes. Prime Minister Radu Vasile took part in the 9 December negotiations. Union leader Gheorghe Sultana said Transport Minister Traian Basescu "showed no understanding for our problems." The unions are calling for a 70 percent raise, while Basescu has offered a 20 percent hike. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on 10 December on the legality of the strike; if it declares the action illegal, railway employees will have to resume work. Meanwhile, an official from the Jiu Valley coal field said that if the strike continues, coal production may have to stop on 11 December owing to a lack of trains to transport cargo, Reuters reported. VG [18] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES RESTITUTION LAWRomanian legislators on 9 December passed a bill on thelimited restitution of farmland seized by the former communist regime. The bill provides for the restitution of up to 50 hectares of farmland and 10 hectares of forest to original owners. The parliament passed the bill in a joint sitting of the lower and upper houses. The bill must now be signed by President Emil Constantinescu. VG [19] ROMANIA SEEKS TO IMPROVE TRADE TIES WITH IRAQRomanian Secretary of State for Trade Sorin Potanc met withthe Iraqi Transport Ministry's senior undersecretary, Jameel Ibrahim, on 9 December in Baghdad for talks on improving trade relations, according to an INA report cited by Reuters. Iraqi Communications and Transport Minister Ahmed Murtada Ahmed Khalil said he hopes Romanian firms can help meet his country's transportation needs as part of the UN oil-for-food deal with Iraq. VG [20] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT NAMES NEW PRIME MINISTER-DESIGNATEPresidential spokesman Antol Golea on 9 December confirmed that President Petru Lucinschi will ask Ion Casian to form a new government, BASA-Press reported. The 49-year-old Casian is the deputy manager of the Ericsson company's office in Moldova and a former communications and information minister. Casian on 9 December said a majority should be formed among the parties in the parliament to support his candidacy, Infotag reported on 10 December. VG [21] U.S. LAUNCHES AID PROGRAM FOR BULGARIAThe U.S. on9 December inaugurated a $4 million aid program for Bulgarian towns along the River Danube that have been affected by the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia earlier this year, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. The towns depend heavily on the Danube as a trade route, but the river has been blocked since the bombing. VG [22] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT PREPARES FOR Y2KTheBulgarian government on 9 December declared 3 January a non-working day in preparation for any potential Y2K problems, AP reported. Meanwhile, the Plama oil refinery announced that it will temporarily suspend operations at the turn of the new year to deal with potential disruptions in electricity and natural gas supplies. In other news, an explosion took place on Sofia's Narodno Subranie Square across from the parliament building, BTA reported. The blast broke the windows of a nearby cafe and bank, but no injuries were reported. Police are investigating the incident. VG [C] END NOTE[23] TIMOTHY GARTON ASH DISCUSSES 1989Timothy Garton Ash, the well-known Britishcontemporary historian and a fervent advocate of rapid EU expansion to Eastern Europe, spoke to Elena Nikleva of RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service last month. Garton Ash was in Prague to moderate a high-level conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in the former Czechoslovakia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 November 1999). Asked about the several new dividing lines in Europe that he believes have replaced the Berlin Wall, Garton Ash responded that "there are now many dividing lines instead of one, and I think in 10 years' time there will be still many dividing lines. But I think one of the most dangerous doctrines of the [1990s] has been what I call vulgar Huntingtonism--the idea propagated by the [U.S.] political scientist Samuel Huntington that the great and enduring divide in Europe is precisely between the area that had Western Christianity and the area that had Orthodox Christianity or Islam." Garton Ash said that he has never supported "that sort of cultural determinism and I think it is both analytically wrong and politically misguided. I think it is terribly important that the process of the enlargement of the European Union and of Western structures continues and remains open not just to countries like Bulgaria, but also to parts of the former Soviet Union." Nikleva asked Garton Ash whether he agreed that only politicians--not ordinary people--were celebrating the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Wasn't this another new dividing line, one between elites and the people? "You are absolutely right that the celebrations of the 10th anniversary have been largely media events and political events rather than popular events. Both in Berlin and here in Prague, I think there is a painful contrast between then and now, but that's perhaps not surprising. And of course one of the new divisions which you get, particularly in capitalism, is the division between rich and poor. But I don't think, whatever the odd public opinion poll says, that a majority of East Germans or even a significant minority of East Germans would want the old system back. Nor would I think [does] anyone else in post-communist Eastern and Central Europe." How long does Garton Ash think it will take for the three Baltic States and the Balkan countries to attain full EU membership? "I think that there is a good chance that in the next 10 years southeastern Europe and indeed the Baltic States could come into a larger EU. I think the process of [EU] enlargement will continue and I think that the great challenge of the next 10 years is probably not southeastern Europe actually--because I think that this process has already begun, the process of enlargement--but the former Soviet Union, and there I think you could see a big dividing line between the former Soviet Union and the West of Europe. I believe [that] because of the West's engagement in the Kosovo war most politicians in the West now recognize that we have to get serious about reintegration of the Balkans [into Europe]. Whether deeds will follow words, I'm not sure, but I believe I am going to be cautiously optimistic about that in the medium term." If "Europe" doesn't end in Central Europe, then where in his view does it end? "Europe doesn't end, it fades away. It fades away across the Eurasian continent somewhere between Moscow and Vladivostok. And it fades away into Turkey. These are the two open frontiers of Europe, and only a fool would say Europe ends here and draw a sharp line on the map. Frankly, [in the past] for most West Europeans, Europe ended on the East German border; and even today for many West Europeans, Europe ends on the Polish frontier. That's actually a considerable achievement for those of us who have advocated enlargement--that the definition of Europe even extends this far, and it even includes...Central Europe. My point is that that has set a precedent. And indeed the new European [Union] Executive Commission under [President] Romano Prodi has recognized this fact and they now envisage an EU of 30 to 35 states." Finally, Nikleva asked Garton Ash about the paradox that while there is much talk about the new millennium, there is not much talk about a new morality. Doesn't Europe need a new morality for the new millennium? "Well, it would be very nice, wouldn't it? There is a sense that something is going wrong in the sort of model of consumer democracy that post-communist Europe is taking over from the West--a bad copy of the West. I think in this part of the world--and by this part of the world I mean Bulgaria as well as the Czech Republic [and elsewhere]--you sense this malaise of consumer democracy. My contribution as a writer is to analyze the malaise, to expose it and certainly I think that better political leadership--a leadership that puts the long term before the short term--is one of the answers we need. But we also need more critical intellectuals who point out these problems and try to drag people away from the television screens." 10-12-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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