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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 167, 01-09-04Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 167, 4 September 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA, RUSSIA REACH AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR FUEL SUPPLIESFollowing 10 days of talks in Moscow, Armenian and Russian government representatives reached agreement on the revised timetable for repayment of Armenia's $13 million debt for shipments of nuclear fuel for the Medzamor nuclear power station, in return for which Moscow will supply Armenia with a new consignment of nuclear fuel, Armenian Energy Minister Karen Galustian told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 3 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 and 31 August 2001). Yerevan will pay $4 million immediately, and the remaining $9 million within three months, in accordance with an arrangement reached in June (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 June 2001) that Russia had sought to revise. Galustian said that the Armenian government hopes to negotiate a loan with foreign commercial banks to raise the $9 million. He also said the agreement is the result of the personal intervention of the two co- chairmen of the intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who met in Moscow on 31 August to discuss the agenda for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Armenia later this month. LF[02] MURDER OF ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL SOLVEDIt has been established beyond all doubt that the August 1998 murder of Prosecutor-General Henrik Khachatrian was committed by one of his subordinates, Aram Karapetian, who then shot himself, Justice Council member Robert Avagian told journalists in Yerevan on 31 August, according to Noyan Tapan. Police originally deduced that Karapetian had committed suicide after shooting his superior, but some political figures and observers in Yerevan immediately cast doubts on that hypothesis, suggesting both men had been murdered (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 and 10 August 1998). Avagian admitted that Karapetian's motives remain unclear. LF[03] AZERBAIJAN ADVOCATES PHASED APPROACH TO DIVIDING CASPIANDuring talks in Baku on 31 August with visting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Kalyuzhnii, Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev suggested that the five Caspian littoral states should first reach agreement among themselves on dividing the sea bed into national sectors, and only then proceed to discussion of whether and how to divide the waters and surface, Turan and Interfax reported. Kalyuzhnii expressed regret at the delay in reaching an agreement on the legal status of the sea, and hinted that Azerbaijan should attempt to "meet Tehran halfway," a suggestion that Aliev rejected. Iran's claims on several oil deposits in what is currently regarded as Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian are on the agenda of Aliev's visit to Tehran later this month, a visit that Kalyuzhnii said will prove crucial to resolving the disagreements between littoral states. LF[04] CORRECTION:"RFE/RL Newsline" reported on 27 and 31 August that the World Bank had warned Georgia it should demand higher transit tariffs for Azerbaijani oil exported via Georgia or risk forfeiting further loans from the bank. The tariffs in question are for the natural gas to be exported via the Baku- Tbilisi-Erzerum pipeline, not for Azerbaijani oil exported via Georgia. Azerbaijan is offering to pay $2-3 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, while the World Bank has proposed that Georgia demand $5-10. LF[05] AZERBAIJANI PLANE HIJACKER SENTENCEDFollowing a two-week trial, Azerbaijan's Supreme Court on 30 August sentenced Mehti Huseynli to nine years imprisonment for attempting in August 2000 to hijack an Azerbaijani airlines plane bound from Nakhichevan to Baku, Turan and Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2000). LF[06] AZERBAIJAN, PAKISTAN DISCUSS MILITARY COOPERATIONMeeting in Baku on 3 September, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Safar Abiev and Pakistan's ambassador to Baku, Faiz Mohammed Hos, positively assessed the progress made in bilateral military cooperation since Abiev's visit to Islamabad three months ago, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 2001). Abiev expressed appreciation of Pakistan's support for its position regarding the Karabakh conflict, Turan reported. LF[07] GEORGIA TURNS DOWN CIS DEFENSE POST. U.S.-trained Georgian Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze has rejected the post of deputy head of the Coordinating Staff of the CIS Armed Forces, Caucasus Press reported on 31 August, quoting a Georgian Defense Ministry official. Tevzadze reportedly said that he sees no point in multilateral military cooperation between CIS states. Tevzadze also reportedly criticized the CIS antiaircraft maneuvers in Astrakhan as modeled on a traditional scenario that does not correspond to current threats. LF[08] TWO MEMBERS OF GEORGIAN GUERRILLA LEADER'S FAMILY SHOT DEADArmed men broke into the home of Forest Brothers guerrilla leader Dato Shengelaia in the west Georgian town of Zugdidi late on 2 September, and opened fire, killing his parents-in-law and wounding his brother-in-law, Caucasus Press reported the following day. Shengelaia, who escaped unscathed, blamed the killings on the Abkhaz, as did Georgian parliament Defense and Security Committee Chairman Giorgi Baramidze. LF[09] ADJAR SUPREME COUNCIL CHAIRMEN TO SEEK RE-ELECTIONAslan Abashidze, the authoritarian ruler of the Republic of Adjaria, will run in elections for the chairman of the republic's parliament scheduled for 4 November, Caucasus Press reported on 30 August. The daily "Akhali taoba" on 30 August quoted Aziz Akhlvediani, who heads the Adjar branch of the ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia, as saying that his party will not propose a rival candidate to Abashidze as doing so "could prove fatal." Other political parties have come to the same conclusion, according to "Rezonansi" on 31 August. LF[10] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT AIMS TO DOUBLE GDP...In his annual address to both houses of Kazakhstan's parliament on 3 September, Nursultan Nazarbaev said the country must double GDP by 2010 from last year's level of 2.59 trillion tenges ($13.8 billion), Interfax reported. Noting that GDP growth during the first six months of 2001 amounted to 14 percent, he stressed that Kazakhstan must preserve its "leading position" among CIS members states in terms of economic growth. Nazarbaev also called for increased domestic investment in the economy as a means of improving living standards, and pledged to raise the pensions of persons who retired before 1994 by 25 percent next year, according to Reuters. He pledged to continue the process of democratization, including delegating greater powers to regional government. LF[11] ...INCREASE DEFENSE SPENDING...Nazarbaev also announced on 3 September that defense spending in 2002 will be increased by 8 billion tenges (approximately $54.5 million) from this year's level of 25 billion tenges, Russian agencies reported. He identified as threats to the country's security instability on its southern borders and terrorism, adding that the most effective means of countering those dangers lies in cooperation within the framework of the CIS Collective Security Treaty and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. LF[12] ...AND REVIEW INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTSNazarbaev also asked legislators on 3 September to review "strictly" the approximately 350 international agreements the country has acceded to over the past decade in order to determine whether they truly correspond to Kazakhstan's national interests, and if necessary to annul them, ITAR-TASS reported. He noted that "it is no secret" that such agreements may be used to exert pressure on a country and its economy. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[13] MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTER GRUDGINGLY ENDORSES PEACE PACKAGE...Speaking before the parliament on 3 September, Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said that the political settlement agreed on recently in Ohrid "was made under direct pressure of violence and terror," by which he meant the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (UCK), dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 17 and 21 August 2001). He stressed that "changing the constitution will not bring peace." Georgievski argued that, in approving the package, "we are sending a great gift to all terrorists or all those who want to be terrorists all over the world. The message [is] that terrorism pays off." He added, however, that Macedonia must agree to the package out of economic necessity. The session of the parliament was interrupted over the weekend of 1-2 September when speaker Stojan Andov adjourned the legislature to demand security for displaced ethnic Macedonian civilians to return to their homes. He agreed to reconvene the session under heavy international pressure and once he received a pledge from President Boris Trajkovski that the displaced persons could return home safely, "The Guardian" reported. PM[14] ...SLAMS U.S., NATOGeorgievski told the parliament on 3 September that it should approve the peace package because "it is obvious that we shouldn't gamble with the authority of NATO," Reuters reported. He slammed the Atlantic alliance for "mounting a mission [costing] 1 billion German marks...to collect weapons worth two million [marks]," dpa reported ($1.00 equals 2.15 German marks). Georgievski argued that the U.S. "did nothing against the terrorists, apart from publishing a list of those disallowed from entering its territory." He said that the conflict in "Macedonia is collateral damage of the 1999 NATO intervention in Yugoslavia... We cannot expect those who made a mistake then to admit it now. On the contrary." He did not mention that his government allowed NATO to use Macedonian territory in 1999 and took in thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosova in return for pledges of aid and assistance. In the run-up to the January 2002 general elections, Georgievski has sought to revive his sagging poll ratings by slamming Albanians, the U.S., and NATO (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 August 2001). PM[15] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT PREPARES FOR VOTEThe legislature is scheduled to vote on 4 September in what AP called a "symbolic gesture" to give the green light for NATO to continue to collect UCK weapons and for discussions to continue on the peace settlement. The measure is expected to pass. The previous day, Georgievski said that the parliament should "look reality in the eye." Social Democratic legislator Radmila Secerinska said: "Let us have no illusions: we need courage and wisdom... We face a huge responsibility before our country, our descendants." She noted that the settlement does not guarantee peace, but called it "a chance, a huge potential to build a legitimate democracy." PM[16] MACEDONIAN POLL SHOWS DEPTH OF ETHNIC DIVIDEDpa on 4 September quoted the Skopje daily "Utrinski vesnik" as saying that its latest poll suggests that ethnic Macedonians oppose both the settlement and NATO. Some 50.7 percent oppose the plan, while 43.7 approve. Some 57.9 percent of Macedonian respondents said they do not trust NATO, and 3.6 percent said they do. Of ethnic Albanians surveyed, 78 percent support the settlement but 12.9 oppose it. Some 76.3 percent of the Albanians trust NATO, while 23.1 percent "partially trust" it. Regarding the proposed amnesty for UCK fighters, 81.8 percent of Macedonians are opposed, while 98.4 percent of Albanians agree to it. PM[17] U.S. ENVOY: NATO PRESENCE IN MACEDONIA MAY CONTINUEJames Pardew, the U.S. special envoy in Macedonia, told the BBC on 3 September that some NATO troops may stay on in Macedonia after Operation Essential Harvest ends in late September. He noted that NATO has no mandate beyond that mission, but suggested that the alliance may be asked by the OSCE to provide "security" for OSCE monitors, "who will be watching the implementation of the peace agreement." He stressed that monitors "would not be armed, and that does raise the question...whether there should be an extension of the military mandate... But that hasn't been decided by NATO or anyone else at this point." Recently, President Boris Trajkovski suggested that the UN could play a role in keeping the peace in his country, but did not elaborate. PM[18] DISPLACED MACEDONIANS RESUME BORDER BLOCKADEDisplaced civilians from the Kumanovo area blocked the border crossing at Tabanovce on 3 September, dpa reported. They said that they will not allow NATO or KFOR vehicles to pass until the authorities assure them that they can return to their homes, from which the UCK drove them. On 2 September, the displaced persons unblocked the road after a meeting between Todor Petrov -- the president of the Macedonian World Congress -- members of nongovernmental organizations, and the new Union of the displaced persons. Union leader Veljo Tantarov said that "if [recently] kidnapped Macedonians are not be released by [4 September], we will start kidnapping ethnic Albanians and will open a prison in the villages," but did not specify which ones. He added that the union plans more border blockades on 5 September at Stenje, Kafasan, and Sveti Naum. Tantarov stressed that the kidnapped Macedonians are ordinary farmers. "The Sunday Times" reported on 2 September that masked Macedonian paramilitaries have already begun kidnapping Albanian civilians. PM[19] WHO IS BANKROLLING MACEDONIA'S ARMS SPREE?Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva said on a recent tour of European capitals that Western governments owe her country financial assistance and support, but "The Sunday Times" on 2 September reported that Skopje -- or one of its friends -- has ample money to fund an arms buildup. The article reported that Macedonian security forces are "gearing up for all-out war in the autumn," quoting unnamed "Western intelligence sources." The article added that "NATO observation teams watched four cargo planeloads of military hardware and spares arriving in secret flights at Petrovec airport near...Skopje last week. The sources said that...all were from Eastern Europe. The shipments followed the arrival several days earlier of a giant Antonov transport plane from Ukraine, carrying what the sources believed were sophisticated Russian-made SA-13 antiaircraft missile systems." It is not clear why Skopje needs such weapons to fight "terrorists." The article added that the military is seeking to upgrade its SU-25 aircraft to achieve "pin-point accuracy in raids." Ongoing training flights "cost thousands of dollars an hour," one Western expert noted (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 August 2001). PM[20] DEL PONTE SEEKS SERBIAN COOPERATIONFlorence Hartmann, the spokeswoman for Carla Del Ponte, the chief prosecutor of The Hague-based war crimes tribunal, said on 3 September that Del Ponte wants Serbia to extradite additional indicted war criminals to the tribunal, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. On 4 September, Del Ponte began talks in Belgrade with top Serbian government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic, Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, and Justice Minister Vladan Batic. Djindjic said the previous day that Serbian President Milan Milutinovic will not be extradited because his office grants him immunity. Hartmann and some Serbian experts say he does not enjoy immunity, "Danas" reported. Batic has said repeatedly that he wants the tribunal to indict top Kosovar Albanian guerrilla leaders for atrocities committed against Serbs. After talks with Del Ponte on 4 September, Covic told Reuters that they discussed "comprehensive cooperation" but not extraditions. "I did not feel there was even an intention to exert pressure on our authorities, not in one sentence said by Carla Del Ponte or [in] the approach of her aides," he added. PM[21] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT REJECTS MINERS' LEADER'S PARDON REQUESTPresident Ion Iliescu on 31 August rejected the pardon request submitted to him by miners' leader Miron Cozma, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Iliescu gave two reasons for rejecting the plea, namely that Cozma has not expressed any regret for the deeds for which he was convicted in 1998 to 18 years in prison, and that there are still other pending cases on the roll against Cozma. Under Romanian law, if Cozma were to be sentenced again in another case, he would have to serve the sentence for which he was pardoned as well. Iliescu said he believes the best option for Cozma is to ask the Prosecutor-General's Office for a retrial. On 2 September, a group of Cozma sympathizers calling itself the Miron Cozma League threatened to start "harsh protest actions" if Cozma is not freed by 15 September. The group said his liberation is "the last chance of the government to prove it is still a center-left formation." But the Jiu valley Trade Union League dissociated itself from the call, saying Cozma League leader Romero Beja has recently been expelled from the union and calling on the authorities not to hesitate to "do their duty if Beja organizes illegal actions." MS[22] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS NATO ACCESSION PREPARATIONS ON HIGH GEARForeign Minister Mircea Geoana on 3 September said Romania has finalized an extensive program aimed at improving the country's chances to be among the states accepted as new NATO members at the organization's 2002 summit in Prague, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Geoana said he believes Romania's chances are "realistic" if economic and military reforms are continued and particularly if "its message is coherent and credible." Geoana said Prime Minister Adrian Nastase will visit Washington and London in the autumn within the framework of accession efforts. MS[23] ROMANIAN PREMIER SAYS NO CHANGE FOR TELEVISION COUNCILPremier Nastase on 3 September told a forum of the Party of Social Democracy (PSD) leadership that the cabinet has decided to leave unchanged the makeup of the Television Council Board, which has been appointed by the previous government. Nastase said that experience has proved that "collaboration with the incumbent board is possible" and that changing the board's structure before its mandate runs out next year will "unwarrantedly produce [political] waves." He said some PSD leadership members are dissatisfied with television coverage of their party, but "so are probably other parties and I do not believe the television as such is subservient to any single formation." MS[24] SMIRNOV BOYCOTTS MEETING WITH MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT...Separatist leader Igor Smirnov on 31 August failed to attend a scheduled meeting with Vladimir Voronin in Holercani, near Chisinau, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Smirnov said he was skipping the meeting in protest against the change of Moldovan custom seals and the introduction of an excise tax by Moldovan custom authorities. He said the measures amount to a declaration of an "economic blockade" on the Transdniester. Voronin dismissed Smirnov's complaint as "mere excuses" aimed at further procrastinating on negotiations for a settlement and said that the introduction of the custom seals is in line with the demands of the World Trade Organization, of which Moldova has recently become a member. He also said Transdniester authorities abused the Moldovan custom seal they were using earlier in order to engage in "illegal transactions." On 2 September, Transdniester custom officials prevented Moldovan custom officers from reaching the new customs posts, which are on Ukrainian territory, and there were reports of squabbles between the sides. On 3 September, Flux reported that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has also protested against the Moldovan measures. Earlier, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Transdniester agreed to set up joint customs points on Ukrainian territory as of 1 September, but Tiraspol never acted on that project. MS[25] ...SIGNS IN MOSCOW AGREEMENT ON WEAPONS SCRAPPINGSmirnov on 31 August told journalists in Moscow that the separatist region's authorities have signed an agreement with Russia on the scrapping of the Russian contingent's weapons stationed in the Transdniester, ITAR- TASS reported. Smirnov said that the agreement "suspends" the liquidation of the equipment until 6 September and that by that time representatives of the two sides will end negotiations on ways for the Transdniester to pay Russia's Gazprom its $400 million debt for gas deliveries. If an agreement is reached, he said, the authorities in Tiraspol will cease hampering the destruction of the weaponry. MS[26] NEW MOLDOVAN FOREIGN MINISTER APPOINTEDPresident Voronin on 3 September appointed Nicolae Dudau as Moldova's new foreign minister, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The 56-year-old Dudau has been ambassador to Belarus and Lithuania since 1988. Dudau replaces Nicolae Cernomaz, who was dismissed by Voronin in July. MS[27] SAXECOBURGGOTSKI SAYS MACEDONIA CONFLICT THREATENS BULGARIA'S STABILITYPrime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski on 31 August said the conflict in Macedonia is threatening stability in his own country, AP reported. Speaking in Plodviv at a ceremony marking the change of command in the Multinational Peace Force Southeastern Europe, the premier said that "Bulgarians know very well that when the neighbor's house is burning, one's own home may also catch fire." He did not elaborate. MS[28] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER OPTIMISTIC AFTER LIBYA TALKSBulgarian parliament speaker Ognyan Gerdzhikov on 2 September told Bulgarian national television from Tripoli that he was "encouraged" following talks with Libyan officials on the pending trial of the six Bulgarian nationals whose sentencing is due later this month, AFP reported. The six are accused of having willfully infected Libyan children with the HIV virus and if convicted may face the death penalty. Gerdzhikov added, however, that the situation remains "extremely complex and delicate." On 31 August, AP reported that Gerdzhikov headed a Bulgarian delegation to the celebrations of the anniversary of the coup that brought to power Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi. As a gesture of goodwill, the delegation included former communist leader Todor Zhivkov's granddaughter Evgenia Zhivkova, a deputy representing the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party. Bulgaria and Libya had closed ties during Zhivkov's rule. Upon returning to Sofia on 3 September, Gerdzhikov said he has seen the six Bulgarian detained in Tripoli and that "they are doing relatively well." Earlier that day he discussed the pending trial with Seif Al-Islam Ghaddafi, one of the president's sons. MS[C] END NOTE[29] SOME SAY 'KURSK' DEATH COMPENSATION UNFAIRBy Francesca MereuThe following is the second of a two-part series, the first of which ran on 31 August 2001. After the "Kursk" submarine sank last year in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 crew members aboard, the Russian government agreed to pay relatively large death benefits to the families. Each family got an apartment and 720,000 rubles -- more than $20,000 -- in compensation. Captain Igor Kurdin, the head of the St. Petersburg Submariners Club, says he believes it is the first time the Russian government provided adequate compensation for victims of a tragedy. But he, like many other Russians, questions the fairness of the payments. Kurdin told RFE/RL that families of sailors who died in other submarine accidents, for example, did not receive any compensation. He says those families are finding the "Kursk" payments hard to accept. "It is the first time in our country that the family of someone who died in the line of duty received decent compensation. [But] what is going on now with the families of the 'Kursk' makes other families [feel bad]. As an example, I can cite the families of submariners who [died in accidents] before the 'Kursk:' the 'APL Komsomolets' [that sank in 1988], 'K219' [that sank in 1986], and many others. They didn't receive a penny [from the state]." The payments to the relatives of "Kursk" victims are especially galling for the families of soldiers killed or wounded in the war in Chechnya. They point out that, while the government does pay out death benefits, the amounts are paltry compared with what relatives of the "Kursk" victims received. Svetlana Filipova works for the Mothers' Rights Foundation, an organization that assists families of Russian soldiers and sailors who die in the line of duty. She says that, according to the law, the family of a soldier who dies in Chechnya receives a standard, one-time payment of 120 times the serviceman's monthly salary. At current pay levels, this represents a benefit of about $2,500, to be divided among the family. In addition, she said that each family member receives an individual payment of 25 times the serviceman's monthly salary, or about $600. Last year, the foundation -- citing the discrepancy with the "Kursk" payments -- accused the state of discriminating against those who lost their relatives in Chechnya. Lyudmila Yefimova from Moscow lost her son in Chechnya. She said that she has asked the state many times for help, but that officials have told her that she is simply seeking to use her son's death to get her apartment repaired. Yefimova said that it is difficult to survive on her monthly pension of around $40, and that the government has forgotten the mothers of the servicemen who are dying in Chechnya. "The federal government didn't give us any help. I mean Putin. Furthermore, local authorities are very rude to us," Yefimova said. Captain Kurdin said the issue of compensation is not clear. In his opinion, the issue is not one of discrimination but simply the fact that the Russian government cannot help all of the families of those who die in uniform. He said that, ironically, the relatively generous "Kursk" compensation packages have not inspired gratitude among the families of the victims, but rather have made them suspicious that the government is trying to hide something regarding the cause of the accident. "Sometimes you have a feeling that the authorities are trying to buy [the 'Kursk' families to pay for their silence]. But it is easier [for the government] to help only the families of the 'Kursk's' crew than all the families of those who died [in the line of duty]," Kurdin said. The Mothers' Rights Foundation said that families of officers killed while serving are often put on a waiting list and have to wait years before getting an apartment. In contrast, Svetlana Baigarina -- the wife of "Kursk" victim Captain Murat Baigarin -- received a three-room apartment in St. Petersburg following the submarine disaster. However, relatives of "Kursk" victims point out that, whatever their amount, death benefits cannot ease the pain of losing a loved one. Baigarina said that she and her two children still live in her parents' apartment, and that her 11-year-old son Sasha does not want to move to the new apartment. "Nobody wants to go [to live] in the apartment [that we received]," Baigarina said. "It is hard. My young son says, 'I don't want this apartment that we paid for with daddy's death.'" 04-09-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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