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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 61, 00-03-27Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 61, 27 March 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] KARABAKH PRESIDENT'S ATTACKERS UNDER ARRESTThe Prosecutor-General's Office of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic issued a statement on 27 March saying that three of five men arrested in connection with the 22 March attempt to assassinate the enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian, are bodyguards of former Karabakh Defense Minister General Samvel Babayan, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. The previous day, the Prosecutor-General's Office had said that the attackers had confessed, but did not identify them. On 25 March, the Karabakh government press service had criticized representatives of two Armenian parliamentary factions, Miasnutiun and the "Right and Accord," for expressing doubt that Babayan was involved in the attack. On 24 March, supporters of Babayan, who was also taken into custody on 22 March, called for his release, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. Two Karabakh parliamentary deputies said the same day that the attack on Ghukasian was intended to remove both him and Babayan from the political arena and thus destabilize the political situation in the enclave. LF [02] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION TAKES ISSUE WITH PRESIDENTOppositionparty leaders have condemned as "incorrect" Heidar Aliev's 22 March comment that the attempt to assassinate Ghukasian was "Armenia's internal affair," according to ANS TV on 23 March, as cited by Groong. Azerbaijan Popular Front First Deputy Chairman Ali Kerimov said that no issue related to Karabakh can be termed Armenia's internal affair. In an interview published in "Noratert" on 24 March, the unrecognized enclave's foreign minister, Naira Melkumian, commented that "Azerbaijan is gradually recognizing that Karabakh is an independent country, over which it has no influence." LF [03] NEW AZERBAIJANI RAID REPULSEDMore than 10 Azerbaijanservicemen were killed in a 21 March pre-dawn attempt to break through the northern section of the Line of Contact, which demarcates Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani territory, Snark reported on 25 March. Servicemen of the Defense Army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic drove back the attackers without incurring any losses. LF [04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT OUTLINES ELECTION PROGRAMEduardShevardnadze on 24 March unveiled his program for re-election under the motto "From Stability to Prosperity," Caucasus Press reported. The program prioritizes overcoming poverty, reducing unemployment, ensuring the timely payment of wages and pensions, reforming the education system, combating corruption, and strengthening a market economy and Georgian statehood. The primary foreign-policy focus is on "integration into the political, economic, social and security system of a united Europe," according to AP. "Alia" on 27 March quoted Tbilisi Mayor Ivane Zodelava as forecasting that Shevardnadze will receive 77-78 percent of the vote in the capital. Zodelava also predicted that wide- ranging personnel changes will take effect after the poll, together with a reduction in the number of government ministries. LF [05] FORMER GEORGIAN MINISTER ON HUNGER STRIKEFormer GeorgianFinance Minister Guram Absandze, who is being tried on charges of involvement in the February 1998 assassination attempt against Shevardnadze, has embarked on a hunger strike to demand the release of all political prisoners in Georgia and to protest what he termed the "biased" approach of the court, Caucasus Press reported on 25 March. The Central Electoral Commission last month rejected Absandze's bid to register as a candidate for the 9 April presidential election. On 27 March, "Kviris palitra" quoted arrested Chechen field commander Salman Raduev as having implicated Georgian opposition parliamentary deputies Djemal Gamakharia and Vakhtang Bochorishvili in that attack. Raduev said both men, together with Manana Archvadze-gamsakhurdia, widow of the late Georgian president, attended a meeting in Grozny two years before the assassination bid of the Confederation of Peoples of the Caucasus at which the assassination plans were discussed. LF [06] TURKISH DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS GEORGIASabahattinCakmakoglu held talks in Tbilisi on 25 March with his Georgian counterpart, Davit Tevzadze, and Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili, AP and Caucasus Press reported. Describing Georgia as "an important partner" for Turkey, Cakmakoglu said his country is helping Georgia to bring its armed forces in line with NATO standards. Tevzadze, for his part, said that goal will be attained by 2004, according to ITAR-TASS. In recent years Turkey has provided training for Georgian military personnel and almost $10 million to Georgia for financing construction of a military hospital and firing range and the purchase of communications and computer equipment. LF [07] ARRESTED KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST BEGINS HUNGER-STRIKE...Ar-Namys Chairman Feliks Kulov declared a hunger strike on 23 March to demand his release from custody on condition that he does not leave Bishkek, Reuters and RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Kulov was detained on 22 March and charged with abusing his former position as national security minister (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 March 2000). On 24 March, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that Kulov's arrest appears to be "politically motivated," and "a continuation of the Kyrgyz government's use of judicial proceedings to prevent prominent opposition candidates from participating in and/or winning office in the just-completed parliamentary elections." LF [08] ...AS DEFAMATION CAMPAIGN CONTINUES...On 24 March, a 25-minute documentary film on Kulov's alleged crimes was screened in Bishkek. "Vremya novostei" suggested in its 24 March issue that the rationale for Kulov's arrest is that the Kyrgyz authorities are planning to bring forward the presidential poll from December 2000 to May and might propose to the parliament amending the constitution so that the president is elected by parliamentary deputies, not by universal ballot . "Nezavisimaya gazeta" the same day quoted investigator Ikram Aitkulov as saying that Kulov will be tried by a closed military court. Also on 24 March, presidential press spokesman Osmonkun Ibraimov told journalists in Bishkek that President Askar Akaev tried to delay Kulov's arrest in order to enable him and other opposition politicians to contend the poll, Interfax reported. LF [09] ...AND SUPPORTERS DEMAND HIS RELEASESeveral hundred peoplecontinued to demonstrate in Bishkek on 24-26 March to demand Kulov's release and the annulment of the 12 March parliamentary runoff in Kara-Buura, in which Kulov was defeated, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Bolot Djanuzakov met with the demonstrators on 25 March and proposed creating a commission, which he would chair, to discuss their demands, but the protesters rejected that suggestion. Kyrgyz Human Rights Movement Chairman Tursunbek Akunov, however, told RFE/RL that he and several other members of his movement have agreed to sit on the commission. On 26 March, the protest participants rejected an invitation by Talas Oblast Governor Kengesh Karachalov to discuss their grievances. LF [10] LOCAL PROTESTERS IN KYRGYZSTAN TRIED, SENTENCEDIn a one-dayhearing on 24 March, a local court in Kara-Buura sentenced 11 participants in the local protest against Kulov's apparent election defeat to between seven and 15 days imprisonment, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The same day the court rejected a legal action brought by Kulov against former Kara- Buura district administration head Ilimbek Murzaliev, whom Kulov accused of falsifying the poll outcome. The reason given for the rejection was Kulov's failure to appear personally in court. Kulov's lawyer Nina Zotova told RFE/RL that she will appeal the Kara-Buura court's ruling in the Supreme Court. Murzaliev, meanwhile, has tendered his resignation. LF [11] TAJIKISTAN'S NATIONAL RECONCILIATION COMMISSION DISSOLVEDThe National Reconciliation Commission, which was establishedin the summer of 1997 to implement the provisions of the peace agreement that ended the civil war, held its final session on 26 March, Reuters and dpa reported. The final provision of that peace agreement was holding parliamentary elections, which took place on 27 February and 23 March. Commission chairman and opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri told the 26 March session that while the commission has fulfilled its mandate, some problems remain unresolved. He pointed to the repatriation of an estimated 108,000 Tajik refugees, the integration into the Tajik armed forces of Tajik opposition fighters, and the allocation to opposition politicians of 30 percent of the posts in national and local government bodies, according to Interfax. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] MACEDONIAN INTERIOR MINISTER BLAMES MILOSEVIC FOR BOMBATTACKSDosta Dimovska said in Skopje on 25 March that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's secret police are responsible for three separate bomb attacks on Macedonian police stations since the beginning of January. She added that Milosevic's secret "services are trying to destroy one of Macedonia's foundations--good ethnic relations," AP reported. She did not provide details. Ethnic Albanians make up about 23 percent of Macedonia's population. Meanwhile in Rome, NATO's Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark warned that Milosevic is preparing new tensions and conflicts in the Balkans, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 26 March. PM [13] KFOR SEARCHES FOR WEAPONS IN MITROVICAFrench peacekeepersblocked off the ethnically mixed Little Bosnia section of Serb-controlled northern Mitrovica on 27 March to search for weapons. The previous evening, a grenade exploded in the area, following which KFOR detained two ethnic Albanians and four Serbs, AP reported. An unnamed French officer said that the weapons search did not constitute an extension of the "security zone" that KFOR has established in the center of Mitrovica (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 March 2000). Local Serbs told Reuters that they fear the arms search is a prelude to extending the zone, a move they equate with a loss of Serbian control. PM [14] OGATA URGES BETTER SECURITY FOR KOSOVA'S MINORITIESTheUNHCR's Sagato Ogata said in Prishtina on 26 March that KFOR and Kosova's majority ethnic Albanians should do more to protect the security of the province's minorities. She noted that "especially with regard to some communities--the Roma communities and the Serb communities--I do not think the security is solid. I'm not saying that KFOR is not making all the efforts. But the end result is that people are leaving, and sometimes fleeing," Reuters reported. She warned against creating "new enclaves" inhabited by only one ethnic group. The Japanese diplomat also urged Western European governments not to force all 100,000 Kosovars still abroad to return at once, lest the returnees put too much strain on local basic services, AP reported. PM [15] YUGOSLAVIA, MONTENEGRO SET UP JOINT KOSOVA BORDER POSTOfficials of the Yugoslav Army and the Montenegrin policesaid in a joint statement in Podgorica on 25 March that they will soon set up a joint checkpoint on the Pec-Rozaje road to help prevent smuggling and "terrorism" from Kosova. PM [16] SERBIAN AUTHORITIES GIVE BACK TV TRANSMITTEROfficials ofthe federal Telecommunications Ministry and the city of Kraljevo have reached an agreement whereby the ministry will return a transmitter to a local television station (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 March 2000), "Danas" reported on 27 March. The agreement followed seven days of protests, involving some 10,000 people, against the seizure of the transmitter. PM [17] THREE BALKAN STATES AGREE ON JOINT STRATEGYThe financeministers of Albania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia agreed in Tirana on 25 March to support one another's requests for money to support infrastructure projects. An EU Balkan donors' conference is slated for 29-30 March in Brussels. The three ministers agreed that they will be more successful working together than if they act independently of each other. "With this mutual support, the chances of gaining financing...will be much greater," Macedonian Finance Minister Nikola Gruevski told Reuters. One key project involving all three countries is an east-west highway linking Albania's Durres with Istanbul via Macedonia and Bulgaria. PM [18] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER SLAMS U.S. CONGRESSMENParty ofSocial Democracy in Romania First Deputy Chairman Adrian Nastase said on 24 March that Congressmen Frank Wolf and Christopher Smith are "notorious electoral agents" of President Emil Constantinescu and that the Romanian people are "fed up with commissars, either Soviet or American," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Nastase was responding to the 23 March statements made by the two congressmen to the U.S. Congress Helsinki Commission. Wolf said a return to power of former President Ion Iliescu would "send the wrong signal" to the West and that he would resign his membership on the Helsinki Commission rather than see an Iliescu-led Romania take over the OSCE rotating chairmanship in 2000. Smith said that a return to power of the "old communist guard" would hinder the process of combating corruption that has been successfully launched by Constantinescu. MS [19] TWO ROMANIAN PARTIES AGREE ON DATE OF LOCAL ELECTIONSThepresident of the National Peasants' Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD), Ion Diaconescu, said on 24 March that he has reached an agreement with the leadership of the National Liberal Party on confirming that local elections will take place on 4 and 16 June, Mediafax reported. The two parties also agreed that the first round of the local elections would not be repeated if the turnout is less than 50 percent. PNTCD General Secretary Remus Opris said the two parties will compete in the elections "in the spirit of non-aggression" and that the best candidate will be supported in the second round. In other news, Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania Chairman Bela Marko complained on 26 March that parties in the Romanian governing coalition are not on equal terms because his party is not represented in the Interior Ministry or the Romanian intelligence service, Hungarian Radio reported. VG [20] ROMANIAN PREMIER: WE DON'T HAVE A FUNCTIONAL MARKET ECONOMYMugur Isarescu said on 24 March at a general meeting of theNational Association of Exporters and Importers that Romania does not have a functional market economy but rather a "substitute with many malfunctions," Mediafax reported. He said a functioning market economy requires institutions and a flow of information. "We have neither," he said. Isarescu said it will take patience to "undo" laws passed by previous governments. He said the country has too many laws related to taxes and duties and too many government agencies. VG [21] ROMANIA, MOLDOVA TO SIGN CITIZENSHIP ACCORDRomanian ForeignMinister Petre Roman and his visiting Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Tabacaru, said in Bucharest on 24 March that their countries will draft an agreement on dual citizenship, Rompres reported. The number of Moldovans applying for Romanian citizenship has increased dramatically since Romania was invited to start accession negotiations for membership in the EU. At present, Romanian law allows dual citizenship, but Moldovan law does not. Roman said Romania will not refuse to allow Moldovans to enter the country after it becomes a member of the EU. He also said Bucharest does not plan to introduce visa restrictions for Moldovans. Roman added that both countries agreed to increase border security. VG [22] BULGARIA'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SOARSBulgaria's unemploymentrate increased by 5 percent from January to February to reach 18.14 percent, BTA reported on 24 March. The news agency said the increase resulted from the closing down of loss-making state firms, staff reductions in the state administration, and fewer jobs in the seasonal sector. VG [23] BULGARIA JOINS ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVEBulgaria'snational coordinator for the Stability Pact, Nikola Karadimov, met with representatives of the Council of Europe and the Stability Pact on 24 March to discuss an anti- corruption initiative related to the pact, BTA reported. Karadimov said Bulgaria will implement the initiative that includes commitments to work on preventing the misuse of foreign aid. It will also review public procurement laws and increase the transparency of public spending. The Council of Europe's Alexander Segar said the purpose of the initiative is to give guarantees to donors that foreign aid will not be misused. VG [C] END NOTE[24] A VICTORY NOT A MANDATEBy Paul GobleVladimir Putin narrowly gained a first-round victory in the 26 March Russian presidential election, but his initial comments suggest he recognizes that he did not get the kind of mandate that might have led him to act without taking into account other political forces in the country. If that proves to be the case, then this sobering result of the electoral process may prove to be the most important consequence of what has been anything but an ordinary democratic election. Speaking at his campaign headquarters in Moscow late on 26 March, Putin noted that the Communist Party and its leader, Gennadii Zyuganov, had done far better than the polls had predicted, "even though--let us be direct and honest about this--they did not have many opportunities in the media, especially the electronic media." And he added "there are many people in the country who are not satisfied with the state of things. People are tired, things are tough for them, and they expect better things from me. But, of course, miracles don't occur." On the one hand, Putin's remarks highlight how the election to succeed Boris Yeltsin was substantively undemocratic--even though the actual voting appears to have been more or less procedurally correct. But on the other, Putin's open acknowledgement of the continuing strength of his opponents may lead to a new and different relationship between the executive and legislative branches of the Russian government, one that may not generate more reform but could in the end contribute to the institutionalization of democracy in Russia. Many people both in Russia and the West had expected the Russian presidential vote in 2000 to complete not only the demise of communism but also the institutionalization of democracy. It has done neither. The Communists remain the largest opposition party, entirely capable of playing a major role in the life of the Russian Federation well into the future. And democracy remains far from fully institutionalized as well. Instead of proving to be the first genuinely democratic transfer of power in the history of Russia, the handover from Yeltsin to Putin guaranteed that the 2000 vote would be anything but that. First, Yeltsin's timely resignation allowed Putin to exploit the powers of incumbency and the popularity of the campaign in Chechnya without his opponents being able to rally their forces against him. Second, as Putin himself implicitly acknowledged late on 26 March, the government's ability to control the still largely state-owned electronic media, from which most Russians get their news and information, allowed him to define the terms on which the election would be contested. And third, despite his occasional swipes at regional leaders, the oligarchs, and other members of the party of power, Putin has been able to use the powers of incumbency in ways that have led most of those individuals to back him largely out of a sense on their part that they have no choice to do otherwise. All of which suggests that there are still far too few ccmpetitively available political resources in the Russian political system for it to be called an institutionalized democracy, even though this vote, like others since 1991, could come to represent a step in that direction. The reason for such relative optimism in the end is also contained in Putin's remarks, in his acceptance of the fact that there are other political forces in Russia that he must attend to and work with. Because he referred in the first instance to the Communists, Putin's words may simply presage a further rapprochement between him and the Communists. Putin has already shown himself prepared to move in that direction, for example, when he backed the election in January of a Communist as State Duma speaker. And at least one defeated presidential candidate, Grigorii Yavlinskii, suggested that there is no significant difference between Putin and Communist leader Zyuganov. Such an alliance almost certainly would presage a backing away from some aspects of economic reform. But it would not necessarily mean a retreat from democracy, given that almost 80 percent of the electorate voted for either Putin or Zyuganov. Indeed, it might become the basis for a new and more cooperative relationship between the legislative and executive branches, albeit one that few of those committed to reforms would find attractive. At the same time, however, Putin's newly founded recognition of the power of those who oppose him--nearly 50 percent of the total electorate--could lead him to try to build the kind of coalitions that are the very essence of the process of democratic government, rather than ignoring and isolating those who oppose him, as his predecessor Boris Yeltsin often did. If either of these developments does take place, then the Russian presidential election of 2000 may prove to be a breakthrough, even though so many aspects of it were anything but. 27-03-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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