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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 163, 00-08-24

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 163, 24 August 2000


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN PREMIER MARKS FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE
  • [02] ARMENIA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION
  • [03] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT JEERED AT PREDECESSOR'S FUNERAL...
  • [04] ...AS HIS SON SET TO ENTER NEW PARLIAMENT
  • [05] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS PLAN PROTEST MEASURES
  • [06] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY FEARS IT MAY BE BARRED FROM PARLIAMENTARY POLL
  • [07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT MONETARY EMISSION
  • [08] THIRD KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FAILS MANDATORY LANGUAGE TEST
  • [09] TEMPORARY LULL REPORTED IN KYRGYZ BORDER FIGHTING
  • [10] KYRGYZ HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLS FOR MEDIATION BETWEEN UZBEK GOVERNMENT, ISLAMIC MILITANTS

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [11] YUGOSLAV ARMY SETS UP 'BLOCKADE' IN MONTENEGRO
  • [12] YUGOSLAV ARMY DISCIPLINES PILOTS OVER ALLEGED MONTENEGRIN COUP
  • [13] MAJOR DEAL TO MODERNIZE MONTENEGRIN HOTELS
  • [14] KOSOVAR MODERATES ANNOUNCE DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE
  • [15] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR END TO KOSOVA VIOLENCE...
  • [16] ...WHILE ALBRIGHT URGES SERBS TO VOTE
  • [17] FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER HAILS TAKEOVER OF KOSOVA MINING COMPLEX
  • [18] NATO ARRESTS FORMER KOSOVAR GUERRILLAS
  • [19] TWO PEACEKEEPERS INJURED IN KOSOVA GRENADE ATTACK
  • [20] SERBIAN POLICE HARASS HUNGARIAN TELEVISION CREW
  • [21] DROUGHT RAVAGES SLOVENIAN ARGRICULTURE
  • [22] FIRES SWEEP CROATIA
  • [23] CROATIAN SHIPPING LINE TO EXPAND
  • [24] IMF MISSION VISITING ROMANIA
  • [25] LEADING MEMBERS OF ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY LEAVE
  • [26] INTENSE POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY IN ROMANIA
  • [27] BUSINESSMAN SAYS EXPULSION FROM BULGARIA POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [28] There is no end note today.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN PREMIER MARKS FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

    Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 23 August to mark his first 100 days as prime minister, Andranik Markarian dismissed speculation that President Robert Kocharian may soon replace him in that post with Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Markarian also played down suggestions that his Republican Party of Armenia may be left without a majority in the parliament if the People's Party of Armenia (HZhK) quits the majority Miasnutiun bloc, which the two parties formed to contest the parliamentary poll in May 1999. But he warned that he may fire more HZhK representatives in the government if that party continues to criticize government policy (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report,"

    Vol. 3, No. 34, 24 August 2000). LF

    [02] ARMENIA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION

    President Kocharian and Prime Minister Markarian both issued statements marking the 10th anniversary on 23 August of the declaration by Armenia's first non-Communist dominated legislature of the country's independence, Noyan Tapan reported. Kocharian termed the principles outlined in that declaration "a guiding force for both the country's internal processes and its foreign policy," acknowledging that not all the goals outlined in that document have been attained. Markarian said Armenians "have remained loyal" to the principles enshrined in the declaration of independence, adding that there is "no alternative" to independence. ITAR- TASS reported on 23 August that the former ruling Armenian Pan-National Movement, which dominated the parliament elected in 1990, planned to hold a reception to mark the anniversary at which former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (the speaker of the 1990 parliament) would make one of his rare public appearances. LF

    [03] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT JEERED AT PREDECESSOR'S FUNERAL...

    Tens of thousands of people paid their last respects on 23 August to former President Abulfaz Elchibey, who died of cancer the previous day, Reuters and RFE/RL's Baku bureau reported. Crowds filed past the coffin as it lay in state at the Academy of Sciences. Mourners began chanting hostile slogans at the appearance of current President Heidar Aliev, who immediately left the building to face jeers from a crowd of an estimated 50, 000 outside. Parliamentary speaker Murtuz Alesqerov was similarly shouted down when he attempted to speak. LF

    [04] ...AS HIS SON SET TO ENTER NEW PARLIAMENT

    Ilham Aliev's name is the first on the list of candidates from the pro- presidential Yeni Azerbaycan party to contest the 25 seats in the new legislature to be allocated under the proportional system, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 24 August. Ilham Aliev was elected one of several deputy chairmen of Yeni Azerbaycan at the party's first congress last December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 December 1999). The Moscow newspaper predicted that Ilham will be elected parliamentary speaker after the 5 November poll. Under the Azerbaijani Constitution, the parliamentary speaker assumes the duties of the country's president if the latter becomes incapacitated or dies in office. LF

    [05] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS PLAN PROTEST MEASURES

    Meeting in Baku on 23 August, the heads of 15 Azerbaijani media outlets agreed to hold a three-day "strike" beginning on 24 August, Turan reported. During that period, they will issue a joint newspaper each day whose headlines will call for the release of Rauf Arifoglu, the arrested editor of the opposition Musavat party's newspaper "Yeni Musavat" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2000) and for an end to pressure on the independent press. LF

    [06] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY FEARS IT MAY BE BARRED FROM PARLIAMENTARY POLL

    The opposition Musavat Party issued a statement in Baku on 23 August condemning Arifoglu's arrest as government pressure intended to compromise the Musavat party and suppress the non-government media, Turan reported. It called for Arifoglu's immediate release, and it also expressed concern that the authorities may adduce the abortive 18 August attempt by a Musavat Party member to hijack an Azerbaijani Airlines internal flight (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2000) as grounds for annulling the party's official registration and barring it from contesting the 5 November parliamentary elections. Musavat was barred from contesting the party list seats in the 1995 parliamentary poll on the grounds that many of the signatures collected in its support were allegedly forged. LF

    [07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT MONETARY EMISSION

    Addressing a government session on 23 August that discussed the budget concept for 2001, Eduard Shevardnadze said that regardless of what financial problems Georgia may face, there will be no monetary emission, Caucasus Press reported. He said an emission "would ruin the country." Economy, Industry, and Trade Minister Vano Chkhartishvili had warned that some unspecified provisions of the draft budget might necessitate such a step. Shevardnadze also warned that budgetary funding for enterprises that "have no prospects for development" will be stopped. He called for the drafting of a list of such enterprises. LF

    [08] THIRD KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FAILS MANDATORY LANGUAGE TEST

    The Central Electoral Commission's Linguistic Commission ruled on 23 August to bar former parliamentary deputy Anvar Artykov from contesting the 29 October presidential poll, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The commission said that while Artykov, who is Uzbek, speaks Kyrgyz quite fluently, he cannot write the language. Artykov told RFE/RL he does not consider it worthwhile appealing that ban as "there is no independent judiciary" in Kyrgyzstan. LF

    [09] TEMPORARY LULL REPORTED IN KYRGYZ BORDER FIGHTING

    Defense Ministry and local administration officials said on 23 August that the situation along the Kyrgyz border with Uzbekistan "has stabilized, " RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. But on the morning of 24 August, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan fighters launched a new attack on a Kyrgyz border post in Batken Oblast. Speaking on Uzbek television on 23 August, President Islam Karimov again warned that "the liquidation of the bandits...is a hard task," Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2000). The IMU mounted an attack in or near the city of Andijan in eastern Uzbekistan on the night of 23-24 August, killing one Uzbek servicemen and injuring several. Meanwhile the Turkmen Foreign Ministry informed the Russian ambassador in Ashgabat on 23 August that no IMU fighters have crossed Turkmen territory en route from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan, Interfax reported. LF

    [10] KYRGYZ HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLS FOR MEDIATION BETWEEN UZBEK GOVERNMENT, ISLAMIC MILITANTS

    Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights Chairman Ramazan Dyryldaev issued a statement from his temporary headquarters in Vienna on 22 August arguing that not only military but also political methods should be used to end the ongoing fighting in Central Asia. He called upon the governments of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to embark immediately on negotiations with the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Dyryldaev also appealed to the UN and the OSCE to mediate in such talks. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [11] YUGOSLAV ARMY SETS UP 'BLOCKADE' IN MONTENEGRO

    The Yugoslav army closed all land routes linking the Sandzak town of Pljevlja and the Republika Srpska on 23 August. Montenegrin Television reported the next day that the move did "great damage" to the economy and to the lives of persons dependent on cross-border trade and communications. Many families have branches on both sides of the frontier. One local official said: "This was a particularly base and stupid act, which was thought up in the heads of people who do not wish our people well," Montena- fax reported. He added that, if anything, local people need additional border crossings to carry out farming tasks during the current heat wave. The army did not give a reason for the blockade. Observers note that periodic army road blockades are part of the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between Belgrade and Podgorica. PM

    [12] YUGOSLAV ARMY DISCIPLINES PILOTS OVER ALLEGED MONTENEGRIN COUP

    A military court in Belgrade cashiered three pilots for allegedly plotting to take control of a military airport near Podgorica and hand it over to the Montenegrin authorities, the Podgorica daily "Vijesti" reported on 23 August. The trial reportedly took place in July. The pilots allegedly denied the charges, claiming that they were punished for their political views sympathetic to the Montenegrin authorities. It is not clear whether the story is accurate, or whether it is a ploy by the Belgrade authorities to sow confusion over the real state of affairs in and around Montenegro. PM

    [13] MAJOR DEAL TO MODERNIZE MONTENEGRIN HOTELS

    Representatives of the French Akor company signed agreements in Podgorica on 24 August worth some $23 million to modernize six of Montenegro's best hotels on the Budva Riviera. The new management of the hotels will be French, Montenegrin Television reported. Montenegro, like Croatia, has great hopes for the revival of its once highly lucrative tourist industry. Tourism throughout the former Yugoslavia has suffered on account of the conflicts of the past decade. PM

    [14] KOSOVAR MODERATES ANNOUNCE DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE

    Ibrahim Rugova of the Democratic League of Kosova and Father Sava of the Serbian Civic Council agreed in Prishtina on 23 August to declare 9 September a day of protest against violence. Father Sava told Reuters: "We'll try to confirm our strong determination to resist and fight against any form of violence in Kosovo." Christopher Dell, who heads the U.S. diplomatic mission in the province, said: "The violence is not going to end until the people of Kosovo decide that it's time to end it. As the international community, it is extremely difficult for us to get inside of the local society and understand all the currents and all the inter- relationships of what's really in play," he added. The Prishtina meeting was a follow-up to a July gathering in Washington (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 2000). Former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci, who was present in Washington, did not attend the Prishtina session, reportedly because he was abroad. PM

    [15] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR END TO KOSOVA VIOLENCE...

    Ilir Meta said in Washington on 23 August that violence in Kosova serves only the interests of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who wants to destabilize the province. Speaking at a press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, he warned unnamed "Albanian elements" to refrain from violence. "The Albanian government condemns these actions of violence. The best that Albanians can do for themselves in Kosova is to stay away from repeating the same acts that Serbs did against them in the past and they are continuing to commit in the present," AP reported. Albright praised Meta, saying: "We see Prime Minister Meta leading his country into the future, while Slobodan Milosevic drags his further into the past." PM

    [16] ...WHILE ALBRIGHT URGES SERBS TO VOTE

    Albright also told the news conference in Washington on 23 August: "The United States does not believe that next month's Serb elections will be fair, but we do believe that even under Milosevic's rule the opposition can do well and emerge as a movement bringing democracy to all of Yugoslavia. So we encourage the people of Serbia to take advantage of even this flawed opportunity because we look forward to welcoming a democratic Yugoslavia as a full participant in the new Europe," Reuters reported. Observers note that her previous efforts aimed at encouraging the Serbian opposition to unite behind a single candidate and the Montenegrin leadership to take part in the vote did not meet with success. PM

    [17] FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER HAILS TAKEOVER OF KOSOVA MINING COMPLEX

    Alain Richard toured the Trepca mining complex on 23 August, saying that the UN and NATO did the right thing by recently taking over the enterprise and shutting down its smelter, which was the cause of serious levels of lead pollution in the area. "It was even more disgusting and more worrying in terms of working conditions and the safety of the people there than I could have imagined," Reuters quoted Richard as saying. He added that he is optimistic about the future of the complex, which many observers consider a socialist-era white elephant: "It will take several months to make the plant safe and to put it in order. But it appears economically viable--there are not many lead and zinc plants in Europe," he concluded. PM

    [18] NATO ARRESTS FORMER KOSOVAR GUERRILLAS

    A NATO spokesman said in Prishtina on 24 August that peacekeepers the previous day arrested 10 men as part of a gang dealing in smuggling, extortion, and murder, Reuters reported. Most of the men are former fighters of the Kosova Liberation Army, he said, adding that "all the men were arrested for illegal possession of weapons and [ammunition] and [for] criminal association." The gang was active in the south near the Macedonian border, where the arrests took place. PM

    [19] TWO PEACEKEEPERS INJURED IN KOSOVA GRENADE ATTACK

    Unidentified persons injured two KFOR soldiers from the United Arab Emirates in a grenade attack near Vushtrri on 24 August, dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2000). PM

    [20] SERBIAN POLICE HARASS HUNGARIAN TELEVISION CREW

    On 23 August, police in Milosevic's home town of Pozarevac confiscated film from a three-member Hungarian television crew and detained the journalists for several hours before releasing them. The film was of material "with no political content," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

    [21] DROUGHT RAVAGES SLOVENIAN ARGRICULTURE

    The drought and heat wave that have affected much of southeastern Europe this summer have caused some $115 million worth of damage to Slovenian agriculture, "Delo" reported on 24 August. Less than 10 percent of the population is employed in agriculture, which the government nonetheless protects and heavily subsidizes for a variety of social, economic, and ecological reasons. In other news, "Dnevnik" reported on 24 August that the Slovenian inflation rate this summer is 6.7 percent, compared to just 5 percent in the summer of 1999. PM

    [22] FIRES SWEEP CROATIA

    Croatian fire fighters are currently battling 11 major fires in rural areas, "Vecernji list" reported on 24 August. The Knin and Drnis areas in the south are particularly affected. PM

    [23] CROATIAN SHIPPING LINE TO EXPAND

    Representatives of Jadrolinija said in Rijeka on 23 August that they have reached a major ship construction agreement with representatives of four shipyards. Jadrolinija will commission the construction of 10 passenger ships over the next two to three years, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

    [24] IMF MISSION VISITING ROMANIA

    An IMF mission arrived in Romania on 24 August to review a $540 million standby loan, Reuters reported. The IMF representative in Bucharest, Stephane Cosse, said the mission will undertake a second review of the standby agreement signed in 1999 and extended this spring to February 2001. He added that after the review, the IMF board will consider disbursing a $113 million tranche. The mission will also examine Romania's economic performance, particularly with regard to prices and inflation. ZsM

    [25] LEADING MEMBERS OF ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY LEAVE

    Romanian Finance Minister Decebal Traian Remes and seven other high- ranking National Liberal Party (PNL) members resigned from the party on 23 August, Romanian media reported. The eight disagree with the nomination of Theodor Stolojan as presidential candidate at an extraordinary party congress last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2000) and have announced their support for Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu's candidacy. They refuse to recognize the current PNL leadership and accuse it of driving the party toward "the communist left." The PNL leadership previously threatened Remes with expulsion and the withdrawal of support for him as finance minister. But Adrian Vasilescu, Isarescu's adviser, quoted the prime minister as saying it is "not the time to replace ministers on political grounds." ZsM

    [26] INTENSE POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY IN ROMANIA

    Adrian Nastase, first deputy chairman of the main opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), announced on 22 August that the PDSR has accepted the Alliance for Romania (APR) party's offer to "normalize relations," Romanian media reported. The APR, which was founded in 1997 by PDSR dissidents, failed to secure a cooperation agreement with the government coalition member National Liberal Party and has seen its public support decline over the last few months. Meanwhile, the Romanian Democratic Convention-2000 coalition on 22 August began cooperation talks with former Premier Victor Ciorbea's National Christian Democratic Alliance and the Party of Moldavians. ZsM

    [27] BUSINESSMAN SAYS EXPULSION FROM BULGARIA POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

    Michael Chorny, who last week banned from Bulgaria for 10 years (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2000), said on 23 August that the expulsion is politically motivated, BTA reported. Chorny, who has Russian, U.S., and Israeli passports, said he thinks the expulsions are intended to deflect attention from the "Bug Gate" scandal. Chorny added he has invested some $200 million in Bulgarian companies in telecommunications, machine-building, metallurgy, and real estate. Chorny's lawyer said French attorneys will inform the European Parliament and the European Commission about discrepancies between Bulgarian and European legislation regarding the free movement of people. PB

    [C] END NOTE

    [28] There is no end note today.

    24-08-00

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


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