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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 164, 00-08-28Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 164, 28 August 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT FACTION SEEKS MORE GOVERNMENT POSTSThe 18 members of Kayunutiun (Stability), the second-largest faction in the parliament, announced on 25 August that they will demand greater representation in Prime Minister Andranik Markarian's cabinet in acknowledgement of their continued support for the government's policies, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 25 August. Kayunutiun representatives will meet this week with Markarian to discuss that demand. Observers predict that Markarian, for his part, is seeking broader support within the parliament in anticipation that the People's Party of Armenia will eventually quit the Miasnutiun coalition, of which Markarian's Republican Party of Armenia is the senior partner (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 34, 24 August 2000). LF[02] CONCERN GROWS OVER ARREST OF AZERBAIJANI NEWSPAPER EDITORAzerbaijani investigators on 25 August again searched the editorial offices of "Yeni Musavat," the organ of the opposition Musavat Party, and examined computers for evidence connected with the failed 18 August attempt by a Musavat party member to hijack an Azerbaijani Airlines plane, Turan reported. Rauf Arifoglu, the editor of "Yeni Musavat," was arrested on 22 August on suspicion of involvement in the hijack. Amnesty International, the OSCE's media representative, international journalists' organizations, and EU states' ambassadors in Baku have all registered their concern over his arrest. Also on 25 August, the Prosecutor- General's Office issued a statement saying that Arifoglu's arrest was not connected with his journalistic activities. Investigators have also questioned up to 10 members of the Musavat party and promised to help them find employment if they agree to quit the party. LF[03] AZERBAIJAN TO JOIN CIS AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMAzerbaijan will join the CIS air defense system, ITAR-TASS on 26 August quoted Defense Minister Safar Abiev as saying in Astrakhan. Abiev was observing the joint exercises undertaken by the seven CIS states aligned in the common air defense system (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine). LF[04] HOSTAGES RELEASED IN ABKHAZIASix Georgians taken hostage in Abkhazia's Gali Raion on 23 August were released unharmed three days later as a result of mediation by members of the UN Observer Mission and the CIS peacekeeping forces, Caucasus Press reported. The 5,000 lari ($2,050) ransom that the Abkhaz hostage- takers had initially demanded was not paid. The brother of the leader of the hostage-takers was recently killed by Georgian guerrillas. LF[05] GEORGIAN JOURNALISTS UNION TO BE EVICTED FROM OFFICE?The Tbilisi city authorities are attempting to evict the Georgian Union of Journalists from the offices it rents in the city, Caucasus Press reported on 25 August, quoting the union's chairman, Tamaz Bibiluri. LF[06] EXPLOSION DAMAGES GEORGIAN MONASTERYA bomb blast during the night of 26-27 August damaged an iron cross erected by a religious sect near Mtskheta and blew out windows in a nearby monastery, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported. Transmitters belonging to the Georgian Ministry of Communications were also damaged. Members of the sect told police that shortly before the blast, unknown men forced them into a bus and drove them to a neighboring village. The Georgian Orthodox Church views the sect with mistrust, and a criminal investigation into its activities is under way. LF[07] BUSINESSMAN CLAIMS TO HAVE GIVEN BRIBE TO FORMER KAZAKH PREMIERThe Prosecutor-General's Office is to investigate a claim by businessman Grigorii Luchanskii that he gave a $100 million bribe to Akezhan Kazhegeldin, who served as Kazakhstan's premier from October 1994 until October 1997, Interfax reported on 25 August. The Kazakh authorities have accused Kazhegeldin of tax evasion, bribery, and abuse of his official position. LF[08] KAZAKH PREMIER MEETS WITH CHINESE DELEGATIONQasymzhomart Toqaev met in Astana on 25 August with a visiting delegation of the Chinese Communist Party to discuss the prospects for expanding trade and economic relations, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Toqaev extended an invitation to Zhu Rongji, China's State Council premier, to visit Kazakhstan, according to ITAR-TASS. LF[09] FOURTH KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL FAILS LANGUAGE TESTBatken Oblast Vice Governor Yryslan Toichubekov failed the mandatory language test for presidential candidates on 25 August, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He was the fourth person to do so. Members of the Central Electoral Commission's Linguistic Commission said that while Toichbekov speaks Kyrgyz fluently, he cannot write grammatically. Also on 25 August, a Central Electoral Commission official told RFE/RL that Professor Kubanychbek Apas cannot register to contend the poll as he has lived in Moscow for the past 15 years. Apas has twice been jailed while visiting Kyrgyzstan for criticizing incumbent President Askar Akaev. LF[10] PENSIONS RAISED IN KYRGYZSTANPresident Akaev issued a decree on 25 August raising pensions by 20 percent, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The minimum monthly pension for civilians is now 120 soms (about $2.5) and for retired military personnel 240 soms. LF[11] RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTER IN TAJIKISTANVisiting Dushanbe on 24-25 August, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo discussed with his Tajik counterpart, Khumdin Sharipov, and President Imomali Rakhmonov the recent fighting between Uzbek and Kyrgyz government troops and fighters from the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, ITAR-TASS reported. Also discussed was cooperation to combat drug trafficking and terrorism. The collegiums of the two ministries held a joint session on 25 August. LF[12] TURKMEN PRESIDENT WILL NOT ATTEND UN MILLENNIUM SUMMITOn the advice of his doctors, Saparmurat Niyazov will not travel to New York to attend the UN Millennium Summit, ITAR-TASS reported on 25 August. Niyazov, who is 60, underwent heart bypass surgery in 1997 and is rumored also to suffer from other health problems. LF[13] POLICE, ISLAMIC MILITANTS CLASH IN EASTERN UZBEKISTANOne police officer and eight "bandits" were killed in a shootout on 25 August in Andijan Oblast, Reuters reported, citing Uzbek State Television. It was not clear whether the gunmen were members of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, whose fighters have repeatedly engaged both Uzbek and Kyrgyz government troops over the past month. On 27 August, General Bolot Djanuzakov, who is secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council, told Interfax that those militants were engaged primarily in reconnaissance activities. He said Kyrgyz forces have sealed off their potential escape routes south into Tajikistan. On 25 August, Defense and Security Ministry spokesmen in Kazakhstan said special troops have been deployed on the country's southern border with Uzbekistan and additional border guard posts are being established. A spokesman for the Russian Border Guards in Tajikistan said on 26 August that those troops thwarted eight attempts by gunmen to cross from Afghanistan into southeastern Tajikistan during the previous week. LF[14] UZBEKISTAN, CHINA DISCUSS MILITARY COOPERATIONChinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian said in Beijing on 24 August, after talks with an Uzbek delegation headed by Uzbek Defense Minister Yuri Agzamov, that China plans to intensify military cooperation with Tashkent, ITAR-TASS reported. Chi said that Beijing will give Uzbekistan military aid worth 3 million yuan ($365,000) "as a goodwill gesture," according to Interfax. The two ministers discussed the recent fighting in Central Asia between Kyrgyz and Uzbek government troops and fighters of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. They also signed a defense cooperation agreement, the details of which have not been made public. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[15] FORMER SERBIAN LEADER 'DISAPPEARS'Ivan Stambolic, whom Slobodan Milosevic ousted as Serbian president in 1987, disappeared while on his daily jog in a park near his Belgrade home on 25 August. His wife, Kaca, said that there has been no sign of him since and that no member of the police has visited the family home, "Vesti" reported on 28 August. Lawyer Nikola Barovic said that neighbors recall recently seeing an unfamiliar white van parked in front of Stambolic's home, "Danas" reported. Barovic added that the silence of the state-run media about Stambolic suggests that there is a political aspect to his disappearance, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The 64-year-old Stambolic was once Milosevic's political mentor but was ousted by his former protege during Milosevic's rise to power. Stambolic then remained aloof from politics for many years but has recently spoken out against Milosevic and his policies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 May 2000). PM[16] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CONCERNED OVER STAMBOLICThe Democratic Alternative said in a statement on 26 August that the disappearance of the former Serbian president shows that "Serbia is sailing in dangerous waters," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic argued that the incident is indicative of the lawless political and social climate in Serbia today, "Vesti" reported on 28 August. The Civic Alliance of Serbia called the disappearance a "dangerous political event" and appealed to those responsible to give proof that "Stambolic is still alive and well." The Serbian Renewal Movement condemned the "abduction" of the former leader as a "terrorist act" and demanded his release. PM[17] KFOR ARRESTS ALBANIAN FOR ASSAULT ON SERBSPeacekeepers arrested an ethnic Albanian south of Prishtina on 27 August in connection with a hit-and-run assault on a group of Serbian young people, which left one child dead and three teen-agers injured, Reuters reported. Swedish peacekeepers said that the man is likely to be charged with vehicular homicide and drunk driving. The Serbian National Council said in a statement that the assault was "motivated by ethnic hatred," but a KFOR spokesman argued that such a conclusion is premature, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Elsewhere, moderate Serbian leader Father Sava described the situation in Kosova as being "between chaos and the road to democracy," "Danas" reported on 28 August. PM[18] CHINA TO OPEN CONSULATE IN MONTENEGROChinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Guchang said after meeting with Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac in Podgorica on 25 August that "we have already assigned a general consul of the People's Republic of China to Podgorica, and he will soon start activities for the opening of the consulate," Reuters reported. Liu told reporters that the consulate "will be very important for overall relations, regular dialogue and will contribute to our cooperation." Among the topics he and Lukovac discussed was the presence of Chinese illegal migrants in Montenegro (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 25 August 2000). Reuters called the Chinese decision to open the consulate "a diplomatic blow for Belgrade." Italy, Russia, Croatia, and Greece currently have consulates in the Montenegrin capital, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[19] MILOSEVIC BACKERS ANGRY WITH MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT'S POLICY ON ELECTIONSVice President of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) Predrag Bulatovic said in Podgorica that the government's "ban on [official] media coverage" of the 24 September federal elections is "undemocratic," "Danas" reported on 28 August. In the runup to the election, which the governing coalition is boycotting, the SNP has demanded a special session of the parliament on 12 September to discuss the standard of living, the privatization process, and related issues. Predrag Popovic, who is deputy speaker of the parliament, called the demand a "marketing ploy" aimed at winning votes, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 26 August. PM[20] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT SETS SOCIAL, ECONOMIC PRIORITIESGovernment ministers and trade union leaders ended a four-day meeting at Plitvice Lakes National Park on 27 August with a pledge by the government to create jobs, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac said that there is "no alternative" to job creation. He also outlined the government's budget plans for the next three years, as well as its ideas on tax reform, economic development strategy, and social policy. He added that the government will freeze wages for ministers and legislators while ensuring that workers are paid, "Jutarnji list" reported. The daily quoted three leading economists as saying that the government will have to increase the annual growth rate to more than 3 percent if it wants to promote economic recovery. The daily also noted that labor unrest has plagued every government since 1990 and that only former Prime Minister Nikica Valentic succeeded in temporarily placating the unions, in 1993. PM[21] FIRES TAKE TOLL IN SOUTHERN CROATIAFires continue to threaten much of southern Croatia and have destroyed half of the Arboretum in Trsteno, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 27 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 August 2000). The authorities closed the Adriatic highway near Dubrovnik because of the proximity of the blazes. Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in Split the previous day that he intends to punish those officials responsible for not taking adequate preventive measures against fires. He added that some fires may have been deliberately started by "mentally disturbed individuals," but he does not think that "terrorists" are responsible for the blazes. Elsewhere, the Croatian authorities lent a fire-fighting aircraft to Montenegro in response to that an appeal by the authorities there. In particular, the area of the coast between Petrovac and Rezevici is affected by fires. PM[22] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA'S FIRST NEW MOSQUESome 10,000 Bosnian Muslims attended a ceremony near Prijedor on 26 August to dedicate a new mosque. It is the first Islamic religious building to be constructed in the Republika Srpska since the 1992-1995 conflict. Local officials said, however, that the reconstruction was "illegal" because the Islamic community did not obtain the proper legal documents, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Muslim religious leaders claim that some 170 Islamic religious buildings were destroyed during the conflict, including two historical mosques in Banja Luka that were registered with UNESCO as cultural properties of international importance. PM[23] DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOMINATES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATEAt its congress in Bucharest on 25 August, the junior coalition Democratic Party (PD) formally nominated chairman and Foreign Minister Petre Roman as its presidential candidate, Romanian media reported. Roman told the meeting that his program is centered on "re-establishing the authority of the state" and the rule of law. PD deputy chairman and Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu harshly attacked Roman's rivals, concluding his address to the gathering by saying "You're the best, Petre." Roman, once a close associate of former President Ion Iliescu and the first prime minister after the 1989 change of regime, was forced to step down after miners rampaged in the capital in September 1991. ZsM[24] TRANSDNIESTER OFFICIAL DISMISSES BROAD AUTONOMY AS SOLUTIONValery Litkai, the minister of foreign affairs for the unrecognized Transdniester Republic, said on 25 August that the building of a "common state" between Moldova and the breakaway Transdniester region must be based "on two equal subjects," Infotag reported. Litkai said at a meeting with the presidium of the region's Union of Industrialists, Agrarians, and Entrepreneurs in Tiraspol that the "broad autonomy notion is used practically nowhere any more." He said Transdniester must "sign with Moldova a constitutional act to be duly reflected in the two constitutions." Litkai heads the Transdniester delegation at the Chisinau- Tiraspol status negotiations. PB[25] PUTIN SENDS CONGRATULATIONS ON MOLDOVA'S INDEPENDENCE DAYRussian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his Moldovan counterpart, Petru Lucinschi, on the occasion of the former Soviet republic's day of independence on 27 August, ITAR-TASS reported. Several ceremonies were held in the capital, but Infotag reported that there were no military parades. PB[26] BULGARIA STEPS UP FIGHT AGAINST MONEY-LAUNDERINGInterior Minister Emanuil Yordanov said in Sofia on 25 August that the country is intensifying its battle against money-laundering and other international crimes, Reuters reported. Yordanov's comments come on the heels of the expulsion of 13 foreign businessmen from Bulgaria (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 2000). Yordanov said every attempt to launder money in the country "must be crushed...it is bad for the country's image." He said Western countries tell him that because of its geographical location, Bulgaria is well suited as a major transit country for international crime syndicates. PB[27] THOUSANDS OF BULGARIAN EMIGRES RETURN FOR CELEBRATIONBulgarian President Petar Stoyanov appealed to thousands of Bulgarian expatriates and many tens of thousands of others gathered at the Rhodope Mountain on 26 August to "not be locked in pessimism," AP reported. Stoyanov had called Bulgarians living abroad to come to the two-day millennium celebration held in conjunction with the traditional Rozhen folk festival. He urged the expats to return to Bulgaria and told his countrymen not to "lose their faith" in the future. Some 700,000 Bulgarians are estimated to have left the country since the fall of communism in 1989. PB[C] END NOTE[28] TOWARD A DIVISION OF POWERSBy Paul GobleRussia can become a genuinely federal state only if Moscow and the regions agree to divide responsibilities, to respect the rights of both sides, and to learn from each other. Otherwise, the country is likely to remain trapped in a zero-sum game--one in which gains by one side will threaten the status of the other and in which Moscow's efforts to recentralize or the regions' bids to achieve independence could point to disaster. This was the disturbing message Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev delivered in media interviews over the weekend. As he has done for more than a decade, the Tatarstan leader struck a middle course between those who favor recentralizing power in Moscow and those who want the regions and republics to gain ever more authority. On the one hand, Shaimiev urged the creation of "a single legal space in Russia," one of the key elements of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin's efforts at recentralizing authority in Moscow. Indeed, the Tatarstan leader added that he fully approves Putin's plans to use federal power to implement political and economic reforms in the country's far-flung regions. Achieving those goals will be impossible, he said, if central authority remains "weak." On the other hand, Shaimiev sharply criticized those in Moscow who "want to rule the regions from the center, like in old times, when we were dictated to about absurd things like the percentage of fat in milk and butter we sold." Many people making that argument, Shaimiev continued, now "call themselves democrats but in financial and economic matters, they represent the central planning system at its worst." And he stressed that his Republic of Tatarstan is now ready, willing, and able to "increase our autonomy" just as it was when it declared its sovereignty and independence from Russia a decade ago. At one level, Shaimiev's argument represents only the latest example of his efforts to steer a middle course, to avoid offending both the powers that be in Moscow and those in his own republic who are more nationalistically inclined. But more important, Shaimiev suggested a way out of the last decade's struggle between Moscow officials who have seen their power decline and regional leaders who have sought to grab as much power as they can over as many issues as possible. Former President Boris Yeltsin initiated that process by telling the leaders of the federation subjects "to take as much sovereignty as you can swallow." In extremely pointed language, the Tatarstan president argued that both the central government and the regional authorities must be strengthened, something possible only if they agree on who is responsible for what rather than fighting over everything. His words justifying an increase in power for Tatarstan are striking in this regard: "Now I think we can increase our autonomy," Shaimiev said, "so that the federal center can deal with strategic problems only, which is what it is supposed to do." If Moscow and the regions can agree to divide responsibilities rather than fight over power, Shaimiev argued, both sides can win and the country can benefit. Moscow will be spared involvement in many local matters that local officials can more effectively address. And the central government can also benefit from regional experiments, such as Tatarstan's law allowing for the private ownership of land. Indeed, Shaimiev said, he and his fellow Tatars had expected that Moscow would do that much earlier, even taking into account Tatarstan's Constitution when the center drafted its own. "Unfortunately," he added, "this did not happen." And the regions will gain as well from this arrangement, Shaimiev insisted. A single legal space will in fact improve the economic conditions of all, not by taking money from the wealthier regions--his own included--but by enlarging the marketplace. Shaimiev's proposal thus represents a plan to overcome one of the most unfortunate features of both the totalitarian past and the efforts of the past decade to escape from it. Under Soviet totalitarianism, no higher organization ever recognized the unique powers and responsibilities of lower organizations. Instead, each institution in the hierarchy had the power to overrule those below it. That frequently meant that decisions were simply bucked up the line, often to the Politburo of the Communist Party Central Committee--even when they concerned very specific local matters. And when Soviet power collapsed, officials at all levels tried to assume the role of the topmost body in the new pyramids rather than dividing responsibilities between themselves and the regions. Shaimiev has simultaneously identified the problem and pointed toward a solution. But the political experiences of both the recent and more distant past make it uncertain that Russians either in Moscow or in the regions will be able to follow his lead. 28-08-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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