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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 10, 01-01-16
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 5, No. 10, 16 January 2001
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN ARMENIA
[02] ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN EXCHANGE POWS
[03] TWO AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES EXPLAIN RATIONALE FOR PARTICIPATION
IN PARLIAMENT
[04] ISRAELI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN
[05] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT HAILS NEW IMF LOAN...
[06] ...AS 'ZERO OPTION' DEBATE CONTINUES
[07] KAZAKHSTAN POSTS SOLID RISE IN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT
[08] NEW KYRGYZ FINANCE MINISTER SOLICITS SUGGESTIONS FOR ANTI-POVERTY
PROGRAM
[09] TAJIK COURT SENTENCES EIGHT ISLAMISTS
[10] TAJIK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH WORLD BANK REPRESENTATIVE
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[11] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT HAS 'NO TIME' FOR DEL PONTE
[12] DEL PONTE HAS 'SEALED INDICTMENTS' FOR YUGOSLAV LEADER
[13] BATIC WARNS YUGOSLAV LEADER AGAINST 'SPITE'
[14] YUGOSLAV OPPOSITION LEADER SLAMS KOSTUNICA-MILOSEVIC MEETING
[15] DEL PONTE 'CLEARS UP MISUNDERSTANDINGS' IN CROATIA
[16] MILOSEVIC MINISTER BEATEN IN SERBIAN CAPITAL
[17] OPEN FILES IN SERBIA?
[18] MONTENEGRIN OPPOSITION REJECTS PLAN FOR ELECTIONS, REFERENDUM
[19] YUGOSLAV, MACEDONIAN EXPERTS EXAMINE BORDER ISSUES
[20] CONCERN IN EU OVER U.S. BALKAN POLICY
[21] UN CRIME FIGHTING FORCE IN KOSOVA
[22] NON-NATIONALISTS TAKE KEY POSTS IN BOSNIAN PARLIAMENT
[23] BOSNIAN SERB PREMIER BANS MINISTERS FROM POLITICS
[24] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES RESTITUTION LAW
[25] ROMANIA REPLIES TO EU ON VISA LIFTING REQUIREMENTS
[26] WORLD BANK MISSION VISITS ROMANIA
[27] FORMER ROMANIAN COURT POET CHANGED PARTIES, NOT POLITICS
[28] INFORMATION MINISTER RESPONDS TO PREDECESSOR'S CRITICISM
[29] MOLDOVAN INTERIOR MINISTER RUNS ON COMMUNIST LISTS
[30] SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARY CHAIRMAN IN BULGARIA
[31] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT TO DISCUSS WATER SUPPLY PROGRAM
[C] END NOTE
[32] There is no end note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN ARMENIA
Lord George Robertson arrived in Yerevan late on 15 January for talks with
the Armenian leadership on further expanding the country's participation in
NATO's Partnership for Peace program, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.
Armenia stepped up its participation in that program last year, increasing
the number of activities in which it participated to more than 30, compared
with 11 in 1997. Robertson told journalists that he will also discuss
regional security in the South Caucasus at what he termed "this critical
time." He declined to comment on the aspirations of neighboring Georgia and
Azerbaijan to join the Alliance, noting that no South Caucasus state has
yet formally applied for NATO membership. Robertson met on 15 January with
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and is scheduled to hold talks on 16
January with President Robert Kocharian and Defense Minister Serzh
Sarkisian before leaving for Baku. LF
[02] ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN EXCHANGE POWS
Meeting on 14 January on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, representatives
of the two countries' armed forces exchanged one captured Armenian
serviceman for three Azerbaijani prisoners, Turan and Noyan Tapan reported
the following day. Both sides linked the exchange to agreements reached
during the meeting last month between the Armenian and Azerbaijani defense
ministers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December 2000). LF
[03] TWO AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES EXPLAIN RATIONALE FOR PARTICIPATION
IN PARLIAMENT
Following a seven-hour discussion in Baku on 14 January, the Supreme
Council of the reformist wing of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AHCP)
voted 61 to five in favor of the participation of the group's six deputies
in the work of the recently-elected parliament -- but only to campaign for
that legislature's dissolution and the holding of new elections, Turan
reported. The Civic Solidarity Party, which is aligned with the reformist
wing of the AHCP and has three deputies in the new legislature, voted the
same day to do likewise. Those two parties, together with several other
influential opposition parties, had signed an agreement on 14 November
abjuring participation in the new parliament on the grounds that the poll
outcome was rigged and therefore invalid (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15
November 2000). Opposition Musavat Party chairman Isa Gambar said the
decision of the AHCP and Civic Solidarity to participate in parliament
proceedings renders "problematic" any future cooperation between those
parties and Musavat. LF
[04] ISRAELI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN
Navaf Masalhu held talks in Baku on 15 January with Azerbaijan's President
Heidar Aliev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, and Foreign Minister Vilayat
Quliev, Turan reported. Those talks focused on the prospects for developing
bilateral economic and cultural ties and on the situation in the Middle
East. It was noted that Aliev has an open invitation to visit Israel. Aliev
had announced in April 2000 his intention of doing so before the end of the
year, but no date has yet been set for that visit. LF
[05] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT HAILS NEW IMF LOAN...
In his traditional Monday radio broadcast, Eduard Shevardnadze expressed
satisfaction on 15 January at the IMF directors' approval, announced three
days earlier, of a new $141 million, three-year anti-poverty loan for
Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. Shevardnadze said the Fund's decision
"means Georgia is a normal country with long-term prospects of development,
" according to AP. He added that the first $12.5 million tranche will be
disbursed "within days." Announcing the Fund's decision, Deputy Managing
Director Shigemitsu Sugisaki said Fund directors urge Georgia to reach
agreements with creditors on rescheduling its large foreign debts,
particularly those for energy. LF
[06] ...AS 'ZERO OPTION' DEBATE CONTINUES
Georgian Minister of State Gia Arsenishvili told journalists in Tbilisi on
16 January that by relinquishing any further claim on the assets of the
former USSR, as the IMF has urged it to do, Georgia would gain the
possibility of having its energy debts to Russia written off, according to
Caucasus Press. Moscow has offered the so-called "zero option," whereby
Georgia abandons its claims on Soviet assets in return for the
restructuring of its debts to Russia. Arsenishvili called on the Georgian
parliament to ratify the "zero option." Meanwhile, on 12 January, Georgian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Avtandil Napetvaridze denied that Ukraine, which
like Georgia has not yet relinquished its claim on a share of Soviet assets,
had asked the Georgian leadership not to ratify the "zero option."
Parliament deputy Koba Davitashvili had said on 11 January that the
Ukrainian embassy in Tbilisi had made such a request to the Georgian
leadership (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 January 2001). LF
[07] KAZAKHSTAN POSTS SOLID RISE IN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT
Kazakhstan's industrial output in 2000 grew by 14.6 percent compared with
the previous year, Interfax reported on 15 January, quoting the National
Statistics Agency. Output in the mining sector rose by 21.5 percent, while
processing industries registered 15.6 percent growth. Refined gold and
silver production grew by 20 percent and 39 percent, respectively, to reach
11,515 kilograms and 895,077 kilograms. LF
[08] NEW KYRGYZ FINANCE MINISTER SOLICITS SUGGESTIONS FOR ANTI-POVERTY
PROGRAM
Newly-appointed Finance Minister Temirbek Akmataliev, whom "Nezavisimaya
gazeta" on 13 January predicted will ultimately succeed Kurmanbek Bakiev as
premier, convened a meeting in Bishkek on 15 January to discuss proposals
for a three-year national anti-poverty program, RFE/RL's bureau in the
Kyrgyz capital reported. Lidiya Fomova, the chairwoman of the Public
Association for the Social Protection of the People, again proposed
increasing the minimum monthly pension of 120 soms ($2.5). In his re-
election campaign last fall, President Askar Akaev promised that pensions
would be adjusted quarterly beginning in 2001, but this year's budget
failed to include funds for such an increase (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6
December 2000). LF
[09] TAJIK COURT SENTENCES EIGHT ISLAMISTS
Tajikistan's Supreme Court on 15 January handed down prison terms of
between one and six years on eight members of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir
organization, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. The men are employees of a state
farm near Dushanbe who joined Hizb-ut-Tahrir in late 1999 and had
distributed literature calling for the overthrow of the country's
leadership and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. They were,
however, found guilty only of inciting racial and religious hatred, but not
of membership in a criminal group or calling for the overthrow of the
regime. LF
[10] TAJIK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH WORLD BANK REPRESENTATIVE
Imomali Rakhmonov held talks in Dushanbe on 15 January with the World Bank
director for Central Asia, Kiyeshi Kodera, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Those
talks focused on implementation of projects sponsored by the World Bank,
Tajikistan's draft anti-poverty program, and on the terms for release of
the second tranche of a loan for structural reforms. Rakhmonov had
discussed the latter issue last fall with the Bank's vice president for
Europe and Central Asia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 October 2000). LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[11] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT HAS 'NO TIME' FOR DEL PONTE
Aleksandar Popovic, who is deputy head of President Vojislav Kostunica's
Democratic Party of Serbia, said in Belgrade on 15 January that his chief
has no time to meet Carla Del Ponte, the chief prosecutor of the Hague-
based war crimes tribunal. She is slated to visit Belgrade on 23 January.
Popovic said: "Mr. Kostunica can receive presidents or prime ministers, and
Madame Del Ponte is neither one nor the other. She is not even a foreign
minister of a country, or an ambassador who brings accreditations. ...Mr.
Kostunica's day has 24 hours, and Madame Del Ponte is not high enough in
some hierarchy for Mr. Kostunica to receive her." When a reporter asked
Popovic why Kostunica can find time for film director Emir Kusturica,
Popovic replied: "He's more important for us than is Carla Del Ponte,"
"Danas" reported. PM
[12] DEL PONTE HAS 'SEALED INDICTMENTS' FOR YUGOSLAV LEADER
Del Ponte said in Zagreb on 15 January that "I hope that President
Kostunica...will find some time to meet me. He is meeting a lot of people.
I don't think that he won't find time to meet the prosecutor of the ICTY
(International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)," Reuters
reported. She told Brussels' "Le Soir" that she wants to give Kostunica an
unspecified number of secret indictments, Reuters reported. "I'll say these
individuals are indicted by the tribunal. Here are the indictments, here
are the arrest orders. Do your duty. I will hand over everything, even the
sealed indictments. A great many of these people are refugees in Serbia.
President Kostunica has the means to cooperate. It's a question of will,"
she added. PM
[13] BATIC WARNS YUGOSLAV LEADER AGAINST 'SPITE'
In Belgrade on 15 January, Serbian Justice Minister-designate Vladan Batic
called Kostunica's decision "politically harmful," AP reported. He told
Radio B-92 that the tribunal is a "fact of life" that cannot be ignored. He
warned official Belgrade to stop acting "in spite" toward The Hague.
Kostunica has previously met with foreign ministers, U.S. Ambassador to the
UN Richard Holbrooke, and aides to top foreign leaders, as well as with
heads of state and government. One person he "did not have time" for was
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28
November 2000). Serbia's macho culture often has difficulties dealing with
powerful, strong-willed women. In any event, the international community
has lost potential leverage over Kostunica by extending early recognition
and aid to his government before getting firm commitments regarding
Belgrade's cooperation with the tribunal (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 1
December 2000). PM
[14] YUGOSLAV OPPOSITION LEADER SLAMS KOSTUNICA-MILOSEVIC MEETING
Momcilo Perisic, who is a leading member of Kostunica's political coalition
and a former head of the General Staff, said in Belgrade that Kostunica
should have arrested President Slobodan Milosevic instead of meeting with
him recently, "Vesti" reported on 16 January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15
January 2001). Predrag Markovic of the G-17 Plus group of economists said
that Kostunica should have asked Milosevic what he did with all the money
he stole instead of talking politics with him. But coalition member Dusan
Mihajlovic (see below) said that he "trusts" Kostunica even if it is not
yet clear why he agreed to meet the former dictator. Mihajlovic added that
Milosevic should, in any event, follow the example of former Republika
Srpska President Biljana Plavsic and turn himself in to the tribunal rather
than engage in politics. PM
[15] DEL PONTE 'CLEARS UP MISUNDERSTANDINGS' IN CROATIA
Speaking in Zagreb on 15 January, Del Ponte said that she has "withdrawn
the invitation" for General Petar Stipetic, who heads the General Staff, to
testify before the tribunal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 December 2000). She
added, however, that Stipetic has "offered" to "be interviewed" by the
court, Reuters reported. Del Ponte concluded that "we think now we have
found a solution to all our problems, and from tomorrow our cooperation
[between Zagreb and the tribunal] will be of the best." "Jutarnji list"
quoted her as adding that she brought no new indictments of suspected
Croatian war criminals. She stressed that the court wants to try individual
war criminals and is not seeking a blanket condemnation of the Croatian
army's 1995 offensives against Serbian rebels. Many Croats suspect the
tribunal of taking a much tougher stand toward Croatia than toward Serbia
or the Serbian rebels. PM
[16] MILOSEVIC MINISTER BEATEN IN SERBIAN CAPITAL
Unidentified persons attacked and beat Bratislava Buba Morina in Belgrade
on 15 January, "Glas Javnosti" reported. Her party -- the United Yugoslav
Left (JUL) of Mira Markovic -- called the assault "organized" and suggested
that there was a political motive. Morina was minister for refugee affairs
under the Milosevic regime. JUL is extremely unpopular and did not even win
1 percent of the votes in the recent elections. Many refugees from Croatia,
Bosnia, and Kosova regarded Morina and the regime as cynical and
insensitive toward their plight. PM
[17] OPEN FILES IN SERBIA?
Dusan Mihajlovic, who is slated to head the police in the new Serbian
government, told "Blic" of 16 January that he wants to open the archives of
the security services. He called such a move "very important." PM
[18] MONTENEGRIN OPPOSITION REJECTS PLAN FOR ELECTIONS, REFERENDUM
Meeting in Podgorica on 15 January, the steering committee of the
opposition Socialist People's Party (SNP) rejected President Milo
Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists' (DPS) call for early elections,
to be followed by a referendum on independence (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9
January 2001). The SNP leaders said that they want elections to be held in
May, after which the new parliament would pass a law on the referendum,
RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Elsewhere, the steering committee
of the Social Democratic Party agreed to the DPS' proposal on the condition
that all parties agree in writing to hold the referendum by the end of
June. PM
[19] YUGOSLAV, MACEDONIAN EXPERTS EXAMINE BORDER ISSUES
Representatives of the Yugoslav and Macedonian governments are slated to
begin four days of closed-door talks on 16 January, Beta reported from
Skopje. The experts will seek to clear up outstanding issues in defining
the two countries' common frontier. Borders between republics were often
poorly defined in former Yugoslavia. Following the split-up of that country,
the Milosevic regime took advantage of Macedonia's military weakness to
occupy several strategic positions on the Serbian-Macedonian frontier. PM
[20] CONCERN IN EU OVER U.S. BALKAN POLICY
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an EU diplomat told dpa in Brussels on
15 January that "we are concerned about the [recent] statement [by
President-elect George W. Bush] that the U.S. may withdraw from its
peacekeeping operations in Kosovo." The diplomat stressed that, "for
military success in the Balkans, a U.S. presence in both Kosovo and Bosnia
is necessary" (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 5 January 2001). Bush told "The
New York Times" of 14 January that "we'd like for [the European allies] to
be the peacekeepers. And they know that." He added that "I'll honor the
agreements that [the Clinton administration] has made. And we've got an
agreement to be in the Balkans. And it's going to take a while [to reduce
the U.S. presence], and I understand that." PM
[21] UN CRIME FIGHTING FORCE IN KOSOVA
UN police spokesman Dimitri Kaportsev said in Prishtina on 15 January that
they have set up a 30-member intelligence unit to deal with the growing
problem of organized crime on a province-wide level, Reuters reported (see
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," 12 January 2001). PM
[22] NON-NATIONALISTS TAKE KEY POSTS IN BOSNIAN PARLIAMENT
The new parliament of the mainly Muslim and Croatian federation held its
constituent meeting in Sarajevo on 15 January, RFE/RL's South Slavic
Service reported. For the first time in a post-communist Bosnian
legislative body, the key offices have gone to members of non-nationalist
parties, namely to members of the 10-party Alliance for Change. The new
speaker is Enver Kreso, and his deputy is Ivan Brigic. The secretary-
general of the House of Representatives is Slavica Gebert. Members of the
nationalist Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) walked out and called a
party meeting for the following day. HDZ leaders argue that their party
received some 90 percent of the ethnic Croatian votes. They demand a
separate Croatian political entity, which the international community has
previously rejected as a violation of the Dayton agreement. Brigic and
Gebert are non-nationalist Croats. PM
[23] BOSNIAN SERB PREMIER BANS MINISTERS FROM POLITICS
Mladen Ivanic said in Banja Luka on 15 January that cabinet members will
not be allowed to engage in partisan political activities, RFE/RL's South
Slavic Service reported. He added that he is trying to find a "solution" to
the international community's objections to the inclusion of a member of
the hard-line nationalist Serbian Democratic party in his cabinet (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 15 January 2001). PM
[24] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES RESTITUTION LAW
The Chamber of Deputies on 16 January approved a law for the restitution of
dwellings nationalized by the communist regime, Mediafax reported. The vote
was 222 in favor and 73 against, with one deputy abstaining. The law was
opposed by the Greater Romania Party. The chamber voted to accept the
version of the law approved last year by a mediation commission of the two
houses of the parliament, after they had separately voted on different
versions. Since the Senate has already approved the mediation commission's
version, the law can be promulgated by President Ion Iliescu, unless an
appeal is launched at the Constitutional Court within five days. MS
[25] ROMANIA REPLIES TO EU ON VISA LIFTING REQUIREMENTS
Prime Minister Adrian Nastase on 15 January sent a letter to European
Commission Chairman Romano Prodi and the government separately replied to
the questionnaire sent by the commission in connection with the 18 December
decision to lift visa requirements on Romanian nationals when Romania meets
the conditions for this decision. Both letters detail the measures Romania
will undertake to secure its borders against illegal immigration, bring
asylum-granting legislation in line with that of the EU, and introduce
standard EU-type passports, as well as provide a precise calendar for the
fulfillment of these EU-imposed conditions, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau
reported. MS
[26] WORLD BANK MISSION VISITS ROMANIA
Andrew Vorkink, World Bank director for Central and Eastern Europe, on 15
January met with Finance Minister Mihai Tanasescu, reviewing the new
cabinet's plans and the extent to which they fit into previous agreements
with the bank on lending to Romania, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.
Vorkink will continue meetings with Romanian officials until 20 January. An
IMF delegation is also expected to review later this month the provisions
of the budget that the Nastase cabinet intends to submit to the parliament.
Nastase has several time said that he wants to negotiate with the IMF a
larger deficit than that provided in the accords signed with Romania by the
previous coalition. MS
[27] FORMER ROMANIAN COURT POET CHANGED PARTIES, NOT POLITICS
Adrian Paunescu, who has been elected a senator on the lists of the Party
of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), on 15 January demanded that PDSR
parliamentary group chairman Ioan Solcanu provide "clarification" on the
agreement reached by the PDSR with the Hungarian Democratic Federation of
Romania (UDMR) on the appointment of UDMR deputy prefects in several
counties, Mediafax reported. Paunescu, a former Ceausescu court poet,
represented the Socialist Labor Party in the Senate between 1992 and 1996
and has now been reappointed chairman of the Senate's Culture Commission.
Solcanu said the agreement covers Harghita, Covasna, Salaj, Satu-Mare, and
Mures counties. MS
[28] INFORMATION MINISTER RESPONDS TO PREDECESSOR'S CRITICISM
Responding to criticism by Peter Eckstein Kovacs, former minister in charge
of national minorities, Public Information Minister Vasile Dancu said "the
cabinet as a whole," rather than a single minister, is representing the
interests of national minorities in the Nastase cabinet. Eckstein Kovacs on
14 January criticized the decision to subordinate the former Department for
the Protection of National Minorities to the Public Information Ministry.
That department is now called the Department for Inter-Ethnic Relations,
Mediafax reported. The agency also reported that the PDSR and the UDMR have
agreed to support in the Chamber of Deputies the same version of the Public
Administration Law that has already been approved by the Senate. Among
other things, the law allows bilingual signs in localities where 20 percent
or more are members of national minorities and the use of minority
languages in contact with the authorities in those localities MS
[29] MOLDOVAN INTERIOR MINISTER RUNS ON COMMUNIST LISTS
Interior Minister Vladimir Turcan on 15 January told journalists that he is
running on the lists of the Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) in the early
elections scheduled for February, Flux and Infotag reported. Turcan said
his decision to do so does not stem from "ideological considerations." He
explained that: "I have accepted [PCM leader Vladimir] Voronin's
offer...because I share the Communists' viewpoint on the need to strengthen
the law enforcement bodies and impose on the country a dictatorship of the
law." MS
[30] SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARY CHAIRMAN IN BULGARIA
Visiting Slovak parliamentary chairman Josef Migas on 15 January met with
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova and told her Bulgaria's NATO
membership would contribute to stability in southeastern Europe, TASK and
CTK reported. Migas also held talks with his Bulgarian counterpart, Yordan
Sokolov, on the two countries' efforts to gain EU membership. Migas praised
the EU decision to abolish visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens. He
added that it is "paradoxical" that visa requirements for Slovak citizens
have been introduced at a time when Slovakia is nearing EU membership. He
said that Slovakia's "Romany issue" is one reflecting "difficult historic
and social problems" that required close cooperation among all EU members
and associated members and the assistance of the EU as a whole. MS
[31] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT TO DISCUSS WATER SUPPLY PROGRAM
The government will discuss this week a program aimed at coping with
Bulgaria's increasingly difficult problem of water supplies, Environment
and Water Minister Evdokia Maneva said on Bulgarian Radio on 14 January. On
11 January, officials from the ministry said Premier Ivan Kostov's cabinet
is planning to limit daily water consumption to cope with expected
shortages due to the 2000 drought and to chronic leakage problems, AP
reported. The cabinet is planning to revamp the water supply system through
a $2.3 billion investment program. The authorities intend to limit daily
water consumption to 200 liters per person. Due to leakage, per capita
consumption in Sofia now equals some 600 liters, compared to about 150
liters per person in large West European cities. MS
[C] END NOTE
[32] There is no end note today.
16-01-01
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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