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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 140, 01-07-27Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 140, 27 July 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT GUNMEN'S LEADER AGAIN INSISTS KILLINGS 'NOT PREMEDITATED'Testifying during his ongoing trial in Yerevan, Nairi Hunanian again insisted on 25 July that the shootings by himself and four other gunmen of eight senior officials in the Armenian parliament on 27 October 1999 were undertaken spontaneously in self-defense, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 May 2001). Relatives of the murdered men remain convinced that the killings were premeditated and that the gunmen acted not on their own initiative, as Hunanian claims, but at the behest of senior figures within the Armenian leadership. LF[02] ARMS CACHE FOUND AT REGIONAL OFFICE OF FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTYThe head of the Vanadzor branch of the Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh), Ashot Manukian, has been arrested after Armenian National Security officials discovered quantities of grenades, detonators, and ammunition on 23 July at the party's Vanadzor office and a second location in the town, Mediamax reported the following day. Commenting on that find on 25 July, the pro-government daily "Hayots ashkharh" accused the HHSh of plotting "large-scale terrorist acts" in a bid to overthrow the present leadership and return to power. LF[03] U.S. EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER IRANIAN THREAT TO AZERBAIJANU.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker on 25 July told journalists that Washington is "particularly concerned" by the 23 July incident in which an Iranian warship and military aircraft forced two Azerbaijani oil- survey ships leased by BP to leave an offshore deposit in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian, Turan reported. He termed the Iranian action "inconsistent with the peaceful process underway...in terms of demarcating the Caspian Sea," and called for disputes between littoral states to be resolved peacefully. LF[04] CHEVRON'S FIRST AZERBAIJANI CASPIAN TEST WELL NOT VIABLEA spokesman for U.S.-based Chevron oil said on 25 July that the first test well drilled at the Apsheron oil field did not yield hydrocarbons in commercially viable quantities. Chevron has a 30 percent stake in the consortium to exploit that field, which at the time the contract was signed to develop it four years ago was said to have estimated reserves of 120 million metric tons of oil and 400 billion cubic meters of gas (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 August and 12 November 1997). Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR has a 50 percent stake in Apsheron and Total-Fina-Elf the remaining 20 percent. LF[05] UN SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES ABKHAZIAThe UN Security Council on 25 July discussed the latest report by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the situation in Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. That report expresses concern at the recent upsurge of murders and abductions in Abkhazia, and at "attempts to hold the peace process hostage to political demands." It called on the Abkhaz authorities to reconsider their consistent refusal to enter into any negotiations on the future status of Abkhazia within Georgia. It did not, contrary to statements attributed by Caucasus Press on 25 July to Abkhaz parliament in exile Chairman Tamaz Nadareishvili, ignore the problem of how to resolve the conflict and expedite the repatriation of Georgian displaced persons, but devotes "much attention" to the issue of restoring the sewage system in the Abkhaz raions of Gali and Ochamchira. It noted in one sentence that 29 schools in Gali, the home of many of the Georgian displaced persons, lack heating, water, and sanitary facilities. LF[06] JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES APPEAL TO GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT FOR PROTECTIONFollowing a total of over 80 attacks on its members by followers of defrocked Georgian Orthodox priest Basil Mkalavishvili, the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Georgia has appealed to the Georgian parliament to "compel state agencies to uphold the law and constitution" and prevent further such assaults on religious freedom, Caucasus Press reported on 25 July. LF[07] GEORGIA AVOIDS BUDGET SEQUESTER (FOR NOW)The recommendations, presented to the Georgian government on 24 July, of a visiting IMF delegation do not include sequestration of this year's budget despite the budget deficit for the first six months of the year, Tax Incomes Minister Mikhail Machavariani told journalists in Tbilisi on 25 July. Between January-June 2001, budget revenues amounted to only 356.4 million laris ($172 million) instead of the planned 417 million laris. LF[08] BRANCH OF NATIONAL UNIVERSITY TO OPEN IN SOUTHERN GEORGIAA branch of Tbilisi State University will open in September in the predominantly Armenian-populated region of Akhalkalaki in southern Georgia, Caucasus Press reported on 25 July, quoting presidential representative to the region Gigla Baramidze. The academic staff will be recruited locally; it is not clear whether the language of instruction will be Georgian, or Armenian or Russian, which are the two languages most widely used in that part of southern Georgia. The opening of the university is intended to halt the outmigration of young people from the region. LF[09] KAZAKHSTAN MAY COMPETE WITH RUSSIA TO STORE NUCLEAR WASTEKazakhstan has the facilities to store low- and medium-active nuclear waste from abroad and will use the fees from doing so for the reclamation of territories contaminated by industrial activities, ITAR-TASS quoted Kazatomprom President Mukhtar Dzhakishev as telling journalists in Astana on 25 July. Dzhakishev said Astana needs some $1.1 billion for that purpose. But he ruled out the storage of highly radioactive nuclear waste, according to Interfax. LF[10] CONFUSION OVER SHOOT-OUT ON KYRGYZ BORDER...General Bolot Djanuzakov, the secretary of the Kyrgyz National Security Service, told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau on 25 July that it is not certain whether the gunmen who opened fire on a Kyrgyz border post on the frontier between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan late the previous day were members of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) as earlier reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 2001). Djanuzakov said they may have been drug traffickers. LF[11] ...AS TAJIKISTAN SAYS NO THREAT FROM ITS TERRITORYAlso on 25 July, Tajik Security Council Secretary Amirqul Azimov told Asia Plus-Blitz that there are no members of the IMU on Tajik territory, nor is there any threat to Kyrgyzstan from Tajikistan. He dismissed as "groundless" Russian media reports that Islamic militants were assembling on the Tajik side of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] MACEDONIAN ALBANIAN GUERRILLAS BEGIN WITHDRAWALAP and dpa reported on 26 July that fighters of the National Liberation Army (UCK) have begun withdrawing from positions they recently assumed near Tetovo (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 2001). The move comes in the wake of a government ultimatum and as a result of negotiations between the UCK and NATO representatives. Defense Ministry officials acknowledged that the UCK is withdrawing, adding that ethnic Macedonians who fled the area will be bussed back to their homes later in the day. Reuters reported, however, that one UCK officer, Commander Leka, is reluctant to withdraw his forces lest he "leave civilians unprotected." PM[13] ROBERTSON, SOLANA ON 'LAST-DITCH' MISSION TO MACEDONIAPolitical talks are expected to resume soon, AP reported from Skopje on 26 July. NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson; EU security policy chief Javier Solana; and Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, who holds the OSCE rotating chair, are expected to meet with political leaders in Skopje later in the day, Reuters reported. Robertson said: "If we can help to get the negotiations back on track, then I hope we will save this country from the killing and carnage that has become the hallmark of Balkan civil wars." PM[14] MACEDONIAN SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC LEADER BLASTS JINGOISTSBranko Crvenkovski said in Skopje on 25 July that "waging war with the whole world will not save Macedonia. [Such a conflict] will be lost before it even starts," Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 2001). Crvenkovski added that "our priority must be gaining international support...That's the job of a responsible government and not to offer the people suicidal politics... Today, Macedonia is not defended by destroying shops or beating up journalists. It is defended in Tetovo. The chance for a political solution is defended in Tetovo. If Tetovo falls, it will be a defeat for all Macedonia." PM[15] BUSH CALLS FOR 'LEADERSHIP' IN MACEDONIAU.S. President George W. Bush believes that time has come for politicians in Macedonia to "show leadership" and seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis, dpa reported from Washington on 25 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001). His spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said that "the president does not believe there is any military solution to the problem in Macedonia, there is only a peaceful solution. There is no alternative to a political dialogue in Macedonia." PM[16] U.S. WARNS MACEDONIA AGAINST 'BALKAN CONSPIRACY THEORIES'State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said in Washington on 25 July that some Macedonian authorities are wrong in suggesting that the U.S. aids and abets the guerrillas, RFE/RL reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 2001). "The allegations that have been made in some quarters about our supporting ethnic Albanian extremists are unfair, they're inaccurate, and they are wrong. This is not the time for Balkan conspiracy theories, this is the time for all of the leaders in Macedonia of all ethnicities to work together on a political solution." Reeker added that "the abuse by armed extremists of the cease-fire to improve their military positions is unacceptable. And we condemn the cease-fire violations by the so-called National Liberation Army [UCK] and its continuing pursuit of territorial gain in blatant violation of the cease-fire pledge." PM[17] GOVERNING COALITION SPLITS FORCES IN SERBIAN PARLIAMENTLegislators from the governing Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition lost their majority in the Serbian parliament because deputies from three parties left the DOS faction, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 26 July, quoting "Politika." The three parties are the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Movement for a Democratic Serbia (PDS), and New Serbia (NS). The previous day, Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic rejected charges by the DSS, which is headed by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, that the government is corrupt and must be reorganized. Djindjic called on the DSS to provide evidence to support its charges. DSS leader Dusan Prorokovic published an open letter to the government on the subject of corruption in the Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" on 26 July. PM[18] VOJVODINA LEADERS TO 'INTERNATIONALIZE' ISSUE?Nenad Canak, Miodrag Isakov, and Jozef Kasza, who head the three largest parties in Vojvodina, called on DOS to clarify the autonomous status of the province by 3 August, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 25 July. If the parties do not receive an acceptable response from DOS, the leaders will seek to "internationalize the problem of Vojvodina." They did not elaborate. Vojvodina, like Kosova, enjoyed considerable autonomy under the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution until former President Slobodan Milosevic abolished that status more than a decade ago. PM[19] YUGOSLAV EMBASSY STAFF MARKS 'HAPPIEST DAY'Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle blessed the Yugoslav Embassy in Washington, "Vesti" reported on 26 July. Ambassador Milan Protic said that the patriarch's visit is "the happiest day in the life of all employees of the Yugoslav Embassy in Washington." Pavle rebuffed criticism from some observers in Serbia that the church is seeking to play a role in state affairs. The patriarch stressed that the church does not act without an invitation from the authorities, adding that he hopes that "people themselves will see what has to be done." The Podgorica daily "Vijesti" called the developments at the Washington Embassy "scandalous." Supporters of the church argue that Serbia needs to return to its roots and to undergo a moral renewal. Critics say that the church has no place in the political life of a modern multiethnic and multireligious society (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 18 and 25 January and 26 July 2001). PM[20] BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON HAGUE COOPERATIONThe legislature in Banja Luka approved on 25 July a draft law on cooperation with The Hague-based war crimes tribunal, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. All 31 legislators from Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) voted for the measure, which will become law on 15 September. Justice Minister Biljana Maric said that "the Republika Srpska will no longer be an enclave that does not cooperate with the tribunal in The Hague." The Republika Srpska authorities have not handed a single indicted war criminal over to the tribunal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 and 23 July 2001). PM[21] MONTENEGRO TAKES CROATIAN JOURNALISTS TO COURTThe government of Montenegro and President Milo Djukanovic filed a lawsuit in Zagreb on 25 July against four journalists from the private weekly "Nacional," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. In a recent series of articles, the four charged that Djukanovic and Djindjic are part of a regional cigarette-smuggling ring. PM[22] CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER FORMALLY ANNOUNCES BORDER DEAL WITH SLOVENIAPrime Minister Ivica Racan said in Zagreb on 25 July that "resolving open issues in relations with our neighbors is a priority of this government. With this agreement we are [removing] one of those open issues," Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001). He noted that "to put it literally and figuratively, Croatia's road to Brussels leads through Slovenia, and so does that of numerous tourists on their way to Croatia." Referring to his government's decision to grant Slovenia an outlet to the open sea, Racan argued that "we had to make a compromise somewhere." PM[23] EMIGRATION REDUCES ALBANIA'S POPULATIONOfficials of the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) told a news conference in Tirana on 25 July that the population count in the 2001 census is 3.09 million, down from the 3.18 million people reported in the 1989 population survey. "The 3 percent [population] decrease is a result of the big flux of emigration in these years," INSTAT Director Milva Ekonomi said. PM[24] MAMMOTH ROMANIAN STEEL MILL SOLDRomanian Privatization Authority Minister Ovidiu Mustescu signed in Bucharest on 25 July the contract by which the SIDEX steel mill in Galati will be sold to the British-Indian LNM Holdings company, Romanian media reported. According to the reports, LNM will acquire more than 90 percent of SIDEX shares, and the new company will most likely become a member of the ISPAT group, one of the largest steel producers in the world. Romanian Premier Adrian Nastase, who was present at the ceremony, said the value of the contract exceeds $500 million. LNM is to invest in environmental protection programs in the company and cannot initiate job cuts for five years. In return, the Romanian government is to cancel the $600 million in penalties it had assessed SIDEX for delayed payments. British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a congratulatory letter to Nastase for selling SIDEX to a British company. ZsM[25] EC PRESIDENT, HUNGARIAN PREMIER SPEAK OUT ON STATUS LAWIn a letter addressed to Romanian Premier Adrian Nastase, European Commission President Romano Prodi on 25 July said the Status Law recently approved by the Hungarian parliament does not discriminate against citizens of neighboring countries, Mediafax reported. He added that the EC will continue to monitor the situation. Prodi sent the letter in reply to complaints made earlier by Nastase that the law had been approved without consulting Bucharest. In related news, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban said on 25 July in an interview with Radio Budapest that the implementation of the Status Law is possible, but that it goes against the ways of thinking and practices in today's Europe, Mediafax reported. He added that NATO and EU candidate countries "should accept the values shared by countries [which are] already members of these structures." ZsM[26] MOLDOVA APPRECIATES RUSSIAN EFFORTS TO COMPLY WITH OSCE ISTANBUL SUMMIT RESOLUTIONSA statement released by the Moldovan Foreign Affairs Ministry on 25 July said that the country appreciates Russia's efforts to comply with the November 1999 OSCE Istanbul summit resolutions, Flux reported. The Istanbul summit set the conditions for the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from the breakaway Transdniester region. The press release said that as part of the disarmament process, the Russian army has destroyed 10 of its tanks along with 10 armored vehicles. The statement also condemned the 19 July attack against the OSCE mission office in Tiraspol. ZsM[27] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES NATO IN LONDONPetar Stoyanov met with British Defense Minister Jeff Hoon at the start of a three-day visit to Britain on 25 July, BTA reported. Stoyanov spoke with deputies from the three British parties before meeting with Hoon and briefing him on Sofia's plan to reform the Bulgarian army as well as the government's preparations in working toward NATO membership ahead of the 2002 Prague summit. Stoyanov said NATO membership is an "urgent priority" supported by all Bulgarian political parties and the majority of citizens. The president added that although the military will not have achieved full interoperability with NATO in time for the Prague summit, Bulgaria's membership in the alliance would be a source of stability for the Balkans. Stoyanov, who is being accompanied on the trip by Deputy Premier Nikolai Vassilev, also met with members of the board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EBRD funds some 26 projects in Bulgaria worth 469 million euros (about $420 million). PB[28] BULGARIAN FINANCE MINISTER PROMISES TAX CUTS, NEW DEALS WITH IMF AND WORLD BANKMilen Velchev said on 25 July in Sofia that he will cut taxes to attract investment from abroad and will seek new agreements with the IMF and the World Bank, AP reported, citing BTA. Velchev said that, in an effort to encourage foreign investment, the government will offer tax exemptions for firms that reinvest their profits locally. Velchev said an IMF agreement is necessary because "it is a stamp of approval for the government's economic policy." Velchev was to meet with IMF and World Bank representatives on 26 July. Bulgaria's agreements with the two organizations expire in September. Velchev said the government will privatize the State Savings Bank within a year and that the country must also issue Eurobonds. PB[C] END NOTE[29] IS PUTIN LOSING HIS 'SHYNESS?'By Julie A. CorwinRussian President Vladimir Putin has recently taken a number of actions that might prove politically risky, in an apparent shift from the Kremlin's strategy up to this point of trying to maintain Putin's high opinion poll ratings even if that means backing away from desired programs. On 9 July, Putin took a public stance against the death penalty, which polls show most Russians support. And then, on 11 July, he signed a bill allowing imports of spent nuclear fuel, another policy that polls suggest most Russians oppose. Yet another departure from the past was Putin's first official press conference with Russian and foreign journalists at the Kremlin on 18 July. Putin took no new stands at that meeting, allowing himself only a small show of temper on Chechnya, but even that was consistent with past behavior. But in holding such a press conference at all, Putin put himself at risk that someone might ask a question for which he was not prepared. If the Putin administration is changing its tactics or -- at the very least -- is willing to take more risks, the question that immediately arises is, why now? The results of a ROMIR-Gallup poll released on 12 July showed continued high ratings for Putin with a only a slight erosion over the course of the previous month. The percentage of respondents trusting him dropped to 69.3 percent from 71.4 percent, according to Interfax. (The poll was conducted of 2,000 Russian citizens at the end of June and was compared with the data from a similar poll at the end of May.) But political analyst Sergei Kurginyan wrote in "Rossiya" on 18 July that, in contrast to the ROMIR-Gallup poll's findings, in certain parts of the country Putin's ratings are already sagging. Kurginyan claims that Putin's ratings overall have been falling by 3-5 percent per month since February, and in certain cities such as Irkutsk, Magadan, and Yekaterinburg, his support has fallen below 30 percent. If these results are accurate -- and polls in Russia are notoriously problematic -- then Putin may have changed course in the hopes of recovering his earlier standing. Writing in "Vek" on 29 June, analyst Aleksei Bogaturov suggests an alternative explanation for Putin's apparent shift: According to Bogaturov, "as a politician, Putin has stopped being shy," and the period of "political reconnaissance is nearly over," with Putin now starting to pursue "a stable though cautious course of his own." Bogaturov concludes that Putin is changing his style of leadership: "Putin, who has previously been very careful about his reputation, today agrees to take unpopular measures, although he tries to do his best not to allow a mass of critical disappointment to form in the country." If "shyness" is indeed the factor, the Kremlin and government's recent run of success in the State Duma and Federation Council could embolden officials there to continue to take even more political risks in the future. Of course, it is also possible that it is not that Putin or the presidential administration has changed so much as the setting in which they operate. With NTV tamed and the remaining independent media outlets more focused on their own survival than on what the Kremlin is up to, the presidential administration may feel freer to operate. After all, the Kremlin's foes in the last Duma election, Fatherland-All Russia, have been absorbed into a new union with the self-designated pro-presidential Unity party, and the voice of Fatherland leader and Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov as an opposition leader has long been quieted. Other regional leaders, like the independent media, have been more preoccupied with their own survival. They are losing their forum in the Federation Council, and this month they had to face another threat in the form of a bill that would have limited the number of terms the majority of regional leaders could seek to just two. One of the most prominent members of the Federation Council, Chairman Yegor Stroev, who had spoken against the bill allowing imports of spent nuclear fuel, registered this month for re-election in his oblast, as members of the pro-Kremlin Federation group announced that they will be seeking to curb Stroev's powers. 27-07-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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