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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-02-11
CONTENTS
[01] OLIGARCHS CONSIDER BACKING NEW TV CHANNEL...
[02] ...AS EKHO MOSKVY STAFF CONTEMPLATES MOVE TO NEW STATION
[03] RUSSIAN MILITARY THREATENS TO STRIP JOURNALIST OF CREDENTIALS IN
[04] PRESS FREEDOMS GOOD, STURGEON BETTER
[05] RUSSIAN INFLATION RATE TWO TIMES HIGHER THAN EXPECTED
[06] COMPUTER COUNTERINTELLIGENCE GOES PUBLIC
[07] DUMA STRENGTHENS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ECONOMIC CRIMES ON EQUITIES
[08] ...AND REACHES COMPROMISE ON ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
[09] RESIDENTS BLOCK RAILWAY LINE IMPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE...
[10] ...AS YABLOKO TEAMS UP WITH ECOLOGISTS TO DEVELOP ANTINUCLEAR
[11] U.S.-RUSSIA GROUP DISCUSSES AFGHANISTAN, NEW THREATS
[12] AFGHAN FORCES TO USE RUSSIAN ARMS
[13] FATHERLAND, UNITY FADE AWAY
[14] NIKOLAEV CRONY GET NUMBER 2 RATHER THAN TOP SPOT AT DIAMOND FIRM
[15] ONE ENVOY MEETS WITH COSSACKS...
[16] ...WHILE ANOTHER MEETS WITH ITERA
[17] NEW ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF NORTH OSSETIAN MINISTER
[18] CHECHEN CIVILIANS AGAIN PROTEST RUSSIAN SECURITY SWEEP
[19] CHECHEN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES MILITARY STRATEGY
[20] PARTIES INSIST ON DEATH PENALTY FOR ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT GUNMEN
[21] COMMISSION ENDORSES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL
[22] IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER POSTPONES VISIT TO ARMENIA
[23] ARMENIA TO RESCHEDULE GEORGIA'S ENERGY DEBT
[24] TURKISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CRITICIZES AZERBAIJANI-RUSSIAN RADAR
[25] ...PROMPTING AZERBAIJANI COUNTERPART TO PROPOSE JOINT USE
[26] OFFICIALS DENY MEETING BETWEEN AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT, ARMENIAN
[27] GEORGIAN DISPLACED PERSONS END PROTEST PICKET...
[28] ...AS GEORGIAN ENVOY ENDORSES CIS PEACEKEEPERS' PRESENCE
[29] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG CONDEMNS KYRGYZ RESPONSE TO HUNGER STRIKER'S
[30] ...AS KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIANS DEMAND THAT PRESIDENT RESIGN
[31] KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, UZBEKISTAN STRIPPED OF VOTING RIGHTS AT UN
[32] AFGHAN OFFICIALS APPREHEND TAJIK FIELD COMMANDER
[33] TAJIK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH WORLD BANK OFFICIALS
[34] TAJIK OFFICIAL PROPOSES UPGRADING STATUS OF RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
[35] PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN SUPPORT TURKMEN GAS-EXPORT PIPELINE
[36] UZBEKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN SIGN CUSTOMS COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[37] WINTER OLYMPICS MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIES
[38] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT WANTS BETTER PERFORMANCE FROM BANKS
[39] BELARUSIAN LEGISLATURE SAID TO MASSIVELY RUBBERSTAMP PRESIDENTIAL
[40] PRESIDENT WANTS UKRAINE TO JOIN EU BY 2011
[41] UKRAINIAN SPEAKER SAYS NO IMPEACHMENT ON THE AGENDA
[42] UKRAINIAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS MELNYCHENKO'S ELECTION BID...
[43] ...AS PROSECUTOR DISMISSES U.S. EXAMINATION OF MELNYCHENKO'S TAPES
[44] ESTONIA'S PREMIER COOLS OPTIMISM ABOUT RUSSIAN MARKET
[45] LATVIA'S FARMERS UNION HOLDS CONGRESS
[46] CONGRESS OF LITHUANIAN SOCIAL LIBERALS HELD IN VILNIUS
[47] POLISH PREMIER SAYS EU SUBSIDES WILL TURN FARMERS AGAINST
[48] FAULT AT CZECH NUCLEAR PLANT IS 'SERIOUS TECHNICAL PROBLEM'
[49] CZECH PARLIAMENT APPROVES FREE ACCESS TO STB FILES
[50] FOUR PARTY COALITION BECOMES JUST 'COALITION'
[51] CZECH ARMY DELIVERED TRUCKS TO NORTH KOREA
[52] SLOVAK SDL STILL 'UNDECIDED' ABOUT MIKLOS VOTE
[53] SLOVAK CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS PREPARING ANTI-STATUS LAW BILL
[54] SLOVAK SUPPORT FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP GROWING
[55] HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT TO MEDIATE BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES
[56] FIDESZ DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OFFERS GLIB APOLOGY TO 'TRAITORS'
[57] LINEUPS EMERGE FOR FORTHCOMING HUNGARIAN ELECTIONS
[58] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER VOWS INDICTED MEN WILL GO TO THE HAGUE
[59] CRITICISM OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT'S TRIP TO U.S.
[60] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER WANTS IDEAS
[61] RFE/RL JOURNALIST WINS TOP SERBIAN POST
[62] BOSNIAN SERB EX-PREMIER: WAR CRIMINALS MUST GO
[63] BOSNIAN SERB EX-PRESIDENT: 'I'M A DEFENDANT, NOT AN INFORMER'
[64] CONTROVERSY OVER AMENDMENTS TO BOSNIAN SERB CONSTITUTION
[65] PETRITSCH: BOSNIA MUST MOVE BEYOND DAYTON
[66] CROATIAN PRESIDENT: BOSNIAN ROLE ONLY ON OFFICIAL BASIS
[67] FRESH TALK OF SPLIT IN CROATIAN PARTY
[68] EU FAILS TO PRESSURE MONTENEGRO
[69] KOSOVA: INTERNATIONALS DEFEND ANTI-INTERNATIONAL PROTESTERS
[70] BOOBY TRAP KILLS MAN IN MACEDONIA
[71] MACEDONIAN POLICE RETURN TO ADDITIONAL VILLAGES
[72] ROMANIAN PREMIER EXPLAINS INTENDED CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
[73] SERBIAN PREMIER IN ROMANIA
[74] U.S. TO USE ROMANIAN PORT TO SUPPLY KFOR
[75] SUSPENSION OF PPCD LIFTED IN MOLDOVA...
[76] ...AND PPCD CALLS FOR EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
[77] GAGAUZ-YERI ASSEMBLY APPROVES REFERENDUM ON DISMISSING GOVERNOR
[78] TRANSDNIESTER 'FOREIGN MINISTER': NO EVACUATION BEFORE
[79] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT BEGINS DEBATING NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION
[80] WINTER OLYMPICS MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIES
[81] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION MOVES VOTE OF NO-CONFIDENCE -- TO DISCIPLINE
11 February 2002
RUSSIA
[01] OLIGARCHS CONSIDER BACKING NEW TV CHANNEL...
"Vedomosti" reported on 11 February that a group of Russia's most
well-known oligarchs, such as MDM-Bank head Chairman Aleksandr Mamut,
Siberian Aluminum head Oleg Deripaska, Unified Energy Systems head
Anatolii Chubais, former Sibneft head Roman Abramovich, and former
Gazprom-Media head Alfred Kokh, have agreed to invest $20 million in a
bid to win the tender for TV-6's broadcasting license for TV-6 General
Director Yevgenii Kiselev and his team. Yukos head Mikhail
Khodorkovskii and Interros Chairman Vladimir Potanin were involved in
negotiations but decided not to participate, according to the daily,
because they approached the investment purely from a business point of
view. According to the daily, the consortium of oligarchs was formed at
the request of presidential administration head Aleksandr Voloshin.
Kiselev has so far refused to comment on any negotiations regarding the
tender. "Kommersant-Daily" also reported on 9 February that an oligarch
consortium is being formed to bid for TV-6, but that report said the
initiator was Chubais. JAC
[02] ...AS EKHO MOSKVY STAFF CONTEMPLATES MOVE TO NEW STATION
Gazprom-Media General-Director Boris Jordan and Ekho Moskvy Editor in
Chief Aleksei Venediktov met on 11 February to discuss Venediktov's
announcement on 8 February that he will resign if the station's board
of directors is changed. Venediktov told RFE/RL's Moscow bureau that
day that he received a document from a Cyprus-based sister company of
Gazprom-Media, Leadville Investments, that proposes a change of the
board of directors of Ekho Moskvy so that it includes only
representatives of Gazprom-Media and NTV. According to Venediktov,
former Gazprom-Media head Kokh promised earlier that the board would
have three seats for Gazprom, three for Vladimir Gusinsky's
representatives, and three for journalists from Ekho Moskvy (see also
"Russian Political Weekly," 11 February 2002). Venediktov told
listeners on 9 February that he and his staff will seek to form a new
station. Gazprom-Media press secretary Aelita Yefimova told RIA-Novosti
that she could not specify what the results, if any, were of the 11
February meeting. JAC
[03] RUSSIAN MILITARY THREATENS TO STRIP JOURNALIST OF CREDENTIALS IN
CHECHNYA
"Novaya Gazeta" journalist Anna Politkovskaya is in danger of losing
her press accreditation to work in Chechnya, RIA-Novosti reported on 11
February, citing the operational headquarters of the Russian military
in Chechnya. Politkovskaya arrived in the Shatoi Raion in southern
Chechnya on 9 February, whereupon she was detained by Russian military
officials for violating the rules under which she has press
accreditation to work in that area, ntvru.com reported on 11 February.
The next day, she went off in an unknown direction without the
permission of military commanders. Politkovskaya was detained almost a
year ago by Russian military officials for traveling in Chechnya
without required documents (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 February 2001).
In October of 2001 she fled to the West because of threats she received
in connection with an article she wrote suggesting that a helicopter
full of senior Russian military officials was shot down by a Russian
serviceman (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 October 2001). Politkovskaya's
recently published book, "A Dirty War" (Harvill Press: 2001), was
critical of Russian military officials' conduct in Chechnya. JAC
[04] PRESS FREEDOMS GOOD, STURGEON BETTER
Speaking at the international conference "Power of Press and Pressure
of Power" in Moscow, which was organized by Harvard University and
Moscow State University along with the Union of Rightist Forces, Media
Minister Mikhail Lesin said he "would tolerate opposition mass media in
the country providing that every journalist acted responsibility." The
BBC commented on 9 February that only the Western participants were
serious about the topic of the conference. The spirit of the Russian
side was better expressed by the head of the National Association of
Broadcasters, Eduard Sagalaev, who said he "likes freedom of press, but
sturgeon more," polit.ru reported on 9 February. VY
[05] RUSSIAN INFLATION RATE TWO TIMES HIGHER THAN EXPECTED
The optimistic prognosis made by the government at the beginning of the
year concerning the reduction of Russia's inflation rate from 18
percent to 12-14 percent was groundless and will certainly be revised
upward based on January's economic indicators, "Ekspert," No. 6,
reported. The monthly said that the rise in inflation in January was
stimulated by the increase of utilities tariffs by up to 150 percent in
some cases. Meanwhile "Kommersant-Daily" wrote on 8 February that
inflation in January reached 30 percent, and that Prime Minister
Mikhail Kasyanov privately asked the mass media not to circulate the
news in order to prevent the "wrong interpretation" of the situation.
VY
[06] COMPUTER COUNTERINTELLIGENCE GOES PUBLIC
In his first public appearance, Dmitrii Chepchugov, the head of the
Moscow Interior Ministry's department responsible for investigating
cyber crimes, said that his unit along with the Federal Security
Service (FSB) is playing a "computer counterintelligence" role by
monitoring criminal activity on the Internet, "Nezavisimaya gazeta"
reported on 8 February. He said his officers recently exposed a group
of highly sophisticated hackers who sold fictitious economic rating
reviews of Russian timber-export companies over the Internet. Members
of the group also broke into credit card institutions' computer systems
abroad, stole clients' identifications, and took money. In cooperation
with their counterparts in the U.S., Canada, France, and Britain,
Chepchugov's department arrested the hackers and recovered several
hundred thousand dollars from them, he added. VY
[07] DUMA STRENGTHENS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ECONOMIC CRIMES ON EQUITIES
MARKET...
The State Duma approved in the final reading the amendment to the
Criminal Code increasing legal responsibility for abuse of investment
information on the securities market, ITAR-TASS reported on 8 February.
According to the amendment, the release to the public of any type of
intentionally distorted information on securities would be punishable
by financial penalties of up to 700 minimal salaries, or by prison
sentences of up to two years. VY
[08] ...AND REACHES COMPROMISE ON ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
The government has reached a compromise with the military on the issue
of alternative military service according to which the appropriate bill
will be presented to the Duma not by the chief of the General Staff,
Anatolii Kvashnin, but by Labor Minister Aleksandr Pochinok, Ekho
Moskvy reported on 8 February. Pochinok's bill allows draftees to
perform alternative service near the place of their residence. The bill
also clearly defines the economic sectors and professions in which a
draftee can opt for alternative service. Finally, the bill postulates
that draftees should receive adequate salaries for their service and
preserve their rights to be enrolled in higher education institutions
while serving. VY
[09] RESIDENTS BLOCK RAILWAY LINE IMPORTING NUCLEAR WASTE...
About 500 residents of the town of Sosnovoborsk in Krasnoyarsk Krai
blocked a railway line along which nuclear waste is being imported on 9
February, Interfax reported, citing Greenpeace Rossiya. According to
Greenpeace, 41 tons of spent nuclear fuel from the Kozloduy nuclear
power plant in Bulgaria was transported to the town of Krasnoyarsk 26
along this railway line. The protestors are demanding that the waste be
taken back to Bulgaria and that a referendum on making their region
free from nuclear waste be held. They submitted more than 40,000
signatures in support of the referendum to the krai's regional election
commission on 7 February -- 5,000 more signatures than required by law.
A previous attempt to hold a national referendum on the import of
nuclear waste and other environmental issues failed when the Central
Election Commission said that more than 600,000 of some 2.5 million
signatures were invalid (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 November and 26
October 2000). According to the law, 2 million signatures are needed.
JAC
[10] ...AS YABLOKO TEAMS UP WITH ECOLOGISTS TO DEVELOP ANTINUCLEAR
WASTE REFERENDUM
Yabloko Deputy Chairmen Sergei Mitrokhin and Igor Artemiev announced on
9 February that they have reached agreement with human rights and
ecological organizations to work together to call for a national
referendum against the import of nuclear waste to Russia, Ekho Moskvy
radio reported. Yabloko, along with the Moscow Helsinki Group,
Memorial, Socio-Ecological Union, and Greenpeace Rossiya, agreed that
such a referendum must be preceded by regional referenda -- especially
in localities earmarked to host treatment and storage sites. VY
[11] U.S.-RUSSIA GROUP DISCUSSES AFGHANISTAN, NEW THREATS
In a joint statement published after a meeting of the U.S.-Russia
Working Group on Afghanistan held in Washington on 8 February, the
group co-chairmen -- Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav
Trubnikov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage -- said
they discussed the ongoing reconstruction of Afghanistan, RIA-Novosti
reported the same day. Trubnikov and Armitage said that they discussed
further measures to fight international terrorism, drug trafficking,
and emergence of new terrorist threats in such regions as the Balkans.
Finally, in their joint statement Trubnikov and Armitage said the
United States has no intention of creating permanent military bases in
Central Asia. VY
[12] AFGHAN FORCES TO USE RUSSIAN ARMS
Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim arrived with a big military
delegation in Moscow on 10 February for a weeklong visit to hold talks
with senior Russian defense and security officials, Western and Russian
news agencies reported. In an interview with RIA-Novosti, Fahim said
that restoring his country's army based on Russian weaponry is the most
economically acceptable option for Kabul. The previous Afghan army was
armed with Soviet weapons and modeled on the Soviet army, and the new
Afghan army will be modeled after Russia's, Fahim said. Meanwhile, a
Russian Defense Ministry press release said Fahim will meet with the
heads of the weapons export agency Rosoboroneksport and the MiG
aircraft corporation. VY
[13] FATHERLAND, UNITY FADE AWAY
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov's Fatherland party, the All-Russia movement,
and the Unity party all held congresses on 8 and 9 February in Moscow
at which delegates agreed to dissolve their respective political
organizations in favor of forming a new party called Unified Russia,
Russian agencies reported. State Duma deputy (Yabloko) Sergei Ivanenko
told TV-6 on 8 February that the dissolution of the various groups "is
not a political event of national importance but a bureaucratic
redistribution of posts and offices." The same day, "Vremya MN" noted
that the goal of the recently enacted law on political parties, which
was to reduce the number of political parties to two or three, "has not
survived its encounter with reality." Central Election Commission
Chairman Aleksandr Veshnyakov said on 7 February that six parties have
been registered so far in accordance with the law, according to
ITAR-TASS. These parties, which were registered last year, will have to
submit their financial data to tax agencies by 20 March. JAC
[14] NIKOLAEV CRONY GET NUMBER 2 RATHER THAN TOP SPOT AT DIAMOND FIRM
Former Sakha (Yakutia) Republic Prime Minister Vasilii Vlasov has been
nominated for the post of first vice president of Alrosa rather than
president as some news outlets had reported earlier, Interfax reported
on 11 February (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2002). According to
the agency, Vlasov will oversee issues related to regional development.
The current first vice president of Alrosa, Aleksandr Matveev, is now
considered the most likely candidate to fill the vacant spot at the
head of the company. Vlasov is a close associate of former Sakha
President Mikhail Nikolaev and a former head of Sakhaneftegaz. JAC
[15] ONE ENVOY MEETS WITH COSSACKS...
Selected regional and federal government officials met in Nizhnii
Novgorod on 8 February with atamans from Cossack communities in the
Volga federal district, strana.ru reported. Presidential envoy to the
district Sergei Kirienko along with representatives from the Interior,
Defense, Emergency Situations, and Agriculture Ministries, and those
from the Federal Tax Police took part in the meeting. Among the topics
of discussion were laws regulating government relations with Cossacks.
JAC
[16] ...WHILE ANOTHER MEETS WITH ITERA
Presidential envoy to the Urals federal district Petr Latyshev met with
president of the international gas export group Itera, Igor Makarov, on
8 February, Interfax-ANI reported. According to the agency, Latyshev
and Makarov conducted negotiations of the supply of gas to Sverdlovsk
Oblast as well as other Itera business in the Urals district. JAC
[17] NEW ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF NORTH OSSETIAN MINISTER
North Ossetian Interior Minister Lieutenant General Kazbek Dzantiev
escaped serious injury on the morning of 11 February when a bomb
exploded as he was about to get into his car to drive to work,
ntvru.com reported. One of his bodyguards was hospitalized. It was the
second attempt on Dzantiev's life this year; the first took place just
days before the 27 January presidential election (see "RFE/RL Caucasus
Report," Vol. 5, No. 4, 24 January 2002). LF
[18] CHECHEN CIVILIANS AGAIN PROTEST RUSSIAN SECURITY SWEEP
Some 400 residents of the towns of Starye and Novye Atagi, Shali, and
Germenchuk gathered on 9 February outside the republican Prosecutor's
Office in Grozny to demand the release of persons detained by Russian
troops during search operations in those towns over the past two weeks,
AP reported on 10 February. Also on 9 February, FSB spokesman Aleksandr
Zdanovich said Shali was targeted because Chechen fighters have
recently been using the town as a base from which to launch terrorist
attacks on local officials, Interfax reported. Zdanovich said the Shali
search has yielded an underground laboratory for the manufacture of
bombs and detonators. LF
[19] CHECHEN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES MILITARY STRATEGY
Aslan Maskhadov convened a meeting of the Military Council in southern
Chechnya last week to discuss with field commanders his proposed plan
of military action for the spring and summer of this year, Chechenpress
reported on 8 February. Maskhadov expressed confidence that successful
implementation of the measures outlined will result in the withdrawal
of all Russian troops from Chechnya by the end of 2002. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[20] PARTIES INSIST ON DEATH PENALTY FOR ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT GUNMEN
Leading Armenian political parties continue to argue that the five
gunmen who murdered eight senior officials in the Armenian parliament
in October 1999 be sentenced to death, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported
on 8 February. The Armenian government undertook to abolish the death
penalty when the country was accepted into full membership of the
Council of Europe in January 2001, but has not yet done so, and the
Constitutional Court is examining whether abolition is compatible with
the clause in the constitution allowing the death penalty for
"exceptionally grave crimes." Lawmakers argue that the Council of
Europe should "make an exception" in the case of the five gunmen, but
Hovannes Hovannisian, who heads the Armenian delegation to the Council
of Europe, has said he thinks that is highly improbable. LF
[21] COMMISSION ENDORSES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS
The Armenian parliamentary commission for constitutional reform on 8
February approved the amendments proposed by President Robert Kocharian
that envisage a semi-presidential form of government, according to
Arminfo, as cited by Groong. At the same time, the commission rejected
alternative proposals drafted by the opposition (see "RFE/RL Caucasus
Report," Vol. 4, No. 42, 20 December 2001). LF
[22] IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER POSTPONES VISIT TO ARMENIA
Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani has postponed indefinitely a
visit to Armenia planned for 7-10 February, according to Arminfo on 8
February, as cited by Groong. An Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman
had told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 4 February, however, that no date
had been set for Shamkhani's visit. Iran's ambassador to Yerevan,
Mohammad Koleini, said the same day that the two countries'
representatives are already discussing the prospects for military
cooperation. LF
[23] ARMENIA TO RESCHEDULE GEORGIA'S ENERGY DEBT
The Armenian government has agreed to reschedule Georgia's $18 million
debt for electricity supplies, Noyan Tapan and Caucasus Press reported
on 9 February. LF
[24] TURKISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CRITICIZES AZERBAIJANI-RUSSIAN RADAR
AGREEMENT...
On a three-day visit to Baku, Omer Izgi, who is speaker of the Turkish
Grand National Assembly, on 8 February reaffirmed Ankara's support for
Azerbaijan's position on the Karabakh conflict, but at the same time
called for Azerbaijan to sign with Turkey an agreement on economic
cooperation analogous to that it signed in Moscow last month (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2002). Izgi also expressed disapproval of
Baku's decision to lease to Russia for a period of 10 years the
strategic Gabala radar station, which he said will enable Russia to
"monitor" Turkey, according to Azerbaijan's ANS -TV, as cited by
Groong. LF
[25] ...PROMPTING AZERBAIJANI COUNTERPART TO PROPOSE JOINT USE
In response to Izgi's complaint, Azerbaijani parliament speaker Murtuz
Alesqerov said on 8 February he does "not exclude that in future Turkey
could participate in the joint exploitation" of Gabala, or that Turkey
could establish military bases in Azerbaijan, Reuters reported. In
Moscow, an unidentified military-diplomatic source told Interfax the
same day that he doubts Alesqerov's remarks reflect official
Azerbaijani policy. The source added that Moscow would interpret the
opening by a NATO member state of a military base on the territory of a
CIS state as "a further advance of the alliance's military
infrastructure toward Russia's borders." LF
[26] OFFICIALS DENY MEETING BETWEEN AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT, ARMENIAN
REPRESENTATIVE
The independent Azerbaijani newspaper "Ekho" on 8 February quoted
unnamed senior Azerbaijani officials as denying that President Heidar
Aliev met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in New York with
Ara Abramyan, who heads the Armenian disapora community in Moscow.
ITAR-TASS on 6 February quoted Abramyan as saying that he had discussed
during a brief meeting with Aliev how to achieve a peaceful solution to
the Karabakh conflict. LF
[27] GEORGIAN DISPLACED PERSONS END PROTEST PICKET...
Following a meeting with UN special representative for the Abkhaz
conflict Dieter Boden, Georgian displaced persons ended on 9 February
the protest they began on 19 January at the bridge over the Inguri
River that links Abkhazia with the rest of Georgia, Caucasus Press
reported. The displaced persons were demanding that the Russian
peacekeeping force deployed in the Abkhaz conflict zone under the CIS
aegis either be withdrawn or be empowered to protect the local Georgian
population more effectively (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 and 23 January,
and 4 February 2002). LF
[28] ...AS GEORGIAN ENVOY ENDORSES CIS PEACEKEEPERS' PRESENCE
Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze, whom Georgian President
Eduard Shevardnadze named last fall as his special representative for
the Abkhaz conflict, told journalists in Moscow on 8 February following
talks with Russian Foreign Ministry officials that he sees no
alternative to the Russian peacekeepers' continued presence in
Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. Interfax further quoted Abashidze as
telling Russian Public television that he does not think the
peacekeepers should be granted additional police powers to protect
Georgian displaced persons who wish to return to Abkhazia. LF
[29] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG CONDEMNS KYRGYZ RESPONSE TO HUNGER STRIKER'S
DEATH...
On 7 February the Geneva-based World Organization Against Torture
issued a statement condemning the Kyrgyz authorities' harassment of the
relatives of Sherali Nazarkulov, who died the previous day after a
hunger strike to protest the arrest of Kyrgyz parliament deputy Azimbek
Beknazarov, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8
February 2002). The statement noted that Nazarkulov's wife and fellow
human rights activists were not allowed to claim his body for burial or
to attend the autopsy, and that medical personnel at the hospital where
he died were pressured to record the cause of death as a stroke, not
the direct result of his hunger strike. LF
[30] ...AS KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIANS DEMAND THAT PRESIDENT RESIGN
Thirteen parliament deputies issued a statement on 7 February blaming
Nazarkulov's death on President Askar Akaev's failure to respond to
either domestic or international appeals on Beknazarov's behalf,
RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. They argued that by ignoring the
upsurge of protest over Beknazarov's arrest and departing on vacation
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2002), Akaev has forfeited the
"moral right" to remain president, and should therefore resign. LF
[31] KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, UZBEKISTAN STRIPPED OF VOTING RIGHTS AT UN
Kyrgyzstan has been deprived of its right to vote at UN General
Assembly sessions because of its failure to pay membership dues for
2000-2001 amounting to $204,900, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau quoted Foreign
Ministry official Marat Usupov as saying on 8 February. Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan have been similarly penalized for nonpayment of official
dues, according to Asia Plus-Blitz on 5 February. LF
[32] AFGHAN OFFICIALS APPREHEND TAJIK FIELD COMMANDER
Senior Tajik security officials announced in Dushanbe on 9 February
that the Afghan authorities have arrested a Tajik opposition field
commander believed to have been responsible for the murder in July 1998
of three UN officials and their Tajik translator, AP and ITAR-TASS
reported. At the time of his capture last fall the field commander was
reportedly fighting on the side of the Taliban. LF
[33] TAJIK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH WORLD BANK OFFICIALS
Imomali Rakhmonov held talks in Dushanbe on 8 February with a visiting
World Bank delegation, Russian agencies reported. Dennis de Trei, who
is the bank's director for Central Asia, said the delegation submitted
to Rakhmonov proposals for increasing the effectiveness of projects the
bank is financing in Tajikistan. De Trei also expressed concern that
Tajikistan's foreign debt now exceeds $1 billion. LF
[34] TAJIK OFFICIAL PROPOSES UPGRADING STATUS OF RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
Russian should be granted the status of an official language in
Tajikistan in acknowledgement of its role in facilitating communication
between the various peoples of Central Asia, presidential
administration official Gayur Kakharov told ITAR-TASS on 9 February. He
said doing so would not in any way infringe on the status of the Tajik
language. LF
[35] PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN SUPPORT TURKMEN GAS-EXPORT PIPELINE
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on 10 February, visiting
interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and Pakistan's Premier Parvez
Musharraf affirmed their shared conviction that construction of a
pipeline to export Turkmen natural gas via Afghanistan and Pakistan
would be "advantageous not only for our countries but for the entire
region," turkmenistan.ru reported, quoting Reuters. Karzai is to visit
Ashgabat soon to discuss the project with Turkmenistan's president,
Saparmurat Niyazov. Visiting eastern Turkmenistan on 8 February,
Niyazov expressed the hope that the situation in Afghanistan will soon
be conducive to reviving plans for that pipeline, Reuters reported. The
project was shelved during the civil war between the Taliban and the
Northern Alliance. LF
[36] UZBEKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN SIGN CUSTOMS COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Meeting on 8 February at the Khairaton border crossing, Uzbek and
Afghan customs officials signed a protocol that provides for the mutual
recognition of customs documentation and for the exchange of
information and mutual assistance, according to the National
Information Agency of Uzbekistan's website. The Uzbek officials offered
to provide the Afghan side with equipment, and to help train customs
personnel. LF
[37] WINTER OLYMPICS MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIES
Through 10 FEBRUARY
CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Russia0101
Armenia0000
Azerbaijan0000
Georgia0000
Kazakhstan0000
Kyrgyzstan0000
Tajikistan0000
Uzbekistan0000
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[38] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT WANTS BETTER PERFORMANCE FROM BANKS
Alyaksandr Lukashenka said at a meeting with Belarusian bankers on 8
February that the country's banks "fail to meet the needs of the
national economy and our society as a whole," Belapan reported. "The
banking sector does as it pleases today. We know that our banks draw
little investment, credit, foreign currency resources...into the
country. Then let us agree that you will double the amount of resources
you attract this year. You can have it as an agreement, or you can have
it as an order," Lukashenka added. He denied the reports that he has
recently told the banks to scrape up $410 million in loans for
Belarus's ailing agriculture. "We will no longer bend all rules and
economic laws to finance our agriculture or any other sectors," he
said. JM
[39] BELARUSIAN LEGISLATURE SAID TO MASSIVELY RUBBERSTAMP PRESIDENTIAL
BILLS
Ivan Pashkevich, a member of the Chamber of Representatives, told an
international conference in Minsk on 8 February that every one in two
bills passed by the chamber contravenes the constitution, Belapan
reported. Pashkevich noted that making laws is almost the sole
privilege of the Presidential Bill Drafting Center that, according to
Pashkevich, produces draft laws on a "mass scale." He divulged that
lawmakers are not familiar with or do not understand some 95 percent of
the bills passed by the chamber, because they do not have the time to
read them. "Even if [the legislature] postpones some bills, they are
returned [to the chamber] with manic persistence and passed on the
third or fourth try," Pashkevich added. JM
[40] PRESIDENT WANTS UKRAINE TO JOIN EU BY 2011
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma told a government meeting on 8
February that Ukraine must join the European Union by 2011, Interfax
reported. Kuchma noted that to qualify for EU membership, Ukraine
should secure annual economic growth of between 5-7 percent, join the
World Trade Organization by the end of 2003, and create a free-trade
zone with Central and Eastern European countries by 2004, Reuters
reported. JM
[41] UKRAINIAN SPEAKER SAYS NO IMPEACHMENT ON THE AGENDA
Parliamentary speaker Ivan Plyushch on 8 February denied earlier
reports by a number of Ukrainian media outlets that the Verkhovna Rada
put the issue of President Kuchma's impeachment on the agenda of its
current session (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 February 2002), Interfax
reported. JM
[42] UKRAINIAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS MELNYCHENKO'S ELECTION BID...
The Supreme Court on 8 February upheld the decision of the Central
Election Commission denying the registration of former presidential
bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko, who has been granted asylum in the United
States, as a candidate on the Socialist Party list in the upcoming
parliamentary election, Interfax reported. The court said the
information Melnychenko supplied about his place of residence in the
past five years is "essentially unreliable." Meanwhile, earlier this
month the commission accepted a parliamentary bid by former Ukrainian
banker Viktor Zherdytskyy, who has been in a German jail since 2000
awaiting trial for allegedly embezzling several hundred thousand
dollars intended to assist Ukrainian victims of World War II. JM
[43] ...AS PROSECUTOR DISMISSES U.S. EXAMINATION OF MELNYCHENKO'S TAPES
Deputy Prosecutor-General Oleksiy Bahanets on 8 February said the
results of the recent U.S. examination of Melnychenko's recordings,
which provoked Ukraine's "tape scandal" in 2000, "have no legal force
for the Ukrainian investigation," Interfax reported. Bahanets noted
that, according to Ukrainian legislation, such an examination may be
made only by "a competent expert with an appropriate license." Lawmaker
Oleksandr Zhyr said on RFE/RL on 7 February that Bruce Koenig, a
veteran FBI expert on audio and video recordings, examined samples of
Melnychenko's recordings and concluded that they are authentic and
unaltered (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 February 2002). Ukraine's
Prosecutor-General's Office maintains that Melnychenko's tapes are
doctored. JM
[44] ESTONIA'S PREMIER COOLS OPTIMISM ABOUT RUSSIAN MARKET
In an interview in "Postimees" on 9 February, Siim Kallas advised
business people to pay more attention to boosting exports to the West
and not to expect dazzling prospects in trade with Russia, ETA
reported. His comments were prompted in part by the recent talks held
with President Arnold Ruutel and Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar in which
business leaders urged for the improvement of relations with Russia.
Kallas admitted to the daily that he favors the settlement of the
dispute over the registration of the Estonian Orthodox Church
subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, which has been mentioned as the
primary reason why Russia has not granted most favored nation status
for trade with Estonia. SG
[45] LATVIA'S FARMERS UNION HOLDS CONGRESS
Augusts Brigmanis, the chairman of Latvia's Farmers Union (LZS), told
the party's congress in Riga on 9 February that it is very important
for Latvia to defend its national interests while seeking EU entry,
LETA reported. He said the LZS will protest Latvia's entry into the EU
if subsidies provided by the union to farmers in Latvia are lower than
the subsidies to farmers in current EU member states. Brigmanis also
proposed imposing a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land in
Latvia until 2013, arguing that land prices are too high for local
farmers but ridiculously low for foreigners. He also said Latvia should
follow the example of the new Danish government and permit immigrants
to remain in Latvia only if they have found legal employment. SG
[46] CONGRESS OF LITHUANIAN SOCIAL LIBERALS HELD IN VILNIUS
The 3rd Congress of the New Union (Social Liberals) in Vilnius on 9
February re-elected parliament Chairman Arturas Paulauskas as its
chairman for a four-year term by an unanimous vote of the 364
delegates, "Lietuvos rytas" reported on 11 February. The congress also
elected an 87-member party council whose members Paulauskas had
proposed. The council will meet on 23 February to choose the party's
deputy chairmen from its members. In his report to the congress,
Paulauskas expressed satisfaction that the number of party members has
increased to nearly 4,000, and noted that new members include Social
Security and Labor Minister Vilija Blinkeviciute and Health Minister
Konstantinas Romualdas Dobrovolskis. However, he did not reveal whether
he intends to run for Lithuania's presidency, saying that there is
still a lot of work to be done before an electoral campaign can begin.
SG
[47] POLISH PREMIER SAYS EU SUBSIDES WILL TURN FARMERS AGAINST
INTEGRATION
Leszek Miller told foreign diplomats on 8 February that the European
Commission's plans to limit farm subsidies for Poland will not make it
easier to win over Polish farmers to the idea of European integration,
PAP reported. Miller added that prime ministers of the Visegrad Four
countries will meet in mid-February and try to work out a joint
response to Brussels' proposals. The commission's plan calls for
farmers from Poland and nine other future members to have access to
only 25 percent of the direct agricultural subsidies given to their
Western neighbors in 2004, 35 percent in 2006, with the prospect of
full subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy coming as late as
2013. JM
[48] FAULT AT CZECH NUCLEAR PLANT IS 'SERIOUS TECHNICAL PROBLEM'
The latest malfunction at the Temelin nuclear power plant is a "serious
technical problem" that "must not be allowed to repeat itself," dpa
reported on 10 February, citing Dana Drabova, the chairwoman of the
Office of Nuclear Safety (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 February 2002).
Drabova said the investigation will last "at least one week." MS
[49] CZECH PARLIAMENT APPROVES FREE ACCESS TO STB FILES
The Chamber of Deputies approved a law on 8 February that will allow
adult citizens access to any files of the former communist secret
police, upon written request, CTK and international agencies reported.
Files of foreign nationals, as well as files whose content could
endanger state security or human life, will remain classified. The vote
was 102 in favor and 53 against. The ruling Social Democratic Party's
vote was split, with CSSD Chairman Vladimir Spidla voting against and
Prime Minister Milos Zeman being absent when the vote was taken. While
CSSD Deputy Premier Pavel Rychetsky interpreted the law as giving
access only to those on whom files were kept by the StB, Civic
Democratic Party parliamentary deputy Marek Benda said the law allows
free access to the files to any person aged 18 and over. MS
[50] FOUR PARTY COALITION BECOMES JUST 'COALITION'
Cyril Svoboda, the chairman of the Christian Democratic Party, and Hana
Marvanova, the chairwoman of the Freedom Union-Democratic Union, told
journalists on 8 February that their formations will run in the June
elections on joint lists under the name "Coalition," CTK reported.
Unlike the former Four Party Coalition, the new alliance will have no
joint structures, no joint leader, and no shadow cabinet. Also on 8
February, Roman Catholic priest Tomas Halik told CTK that he will
coordinate a public discussion between the Coalition leaders and
representatives of civic initiatives who might run on the joint lists.
Halik's name has been mentioned among those to be considered for
inclusion on the independents' lists. Freedom Union-Democratic Union
Deputy Chairman Ivan Pilip told Czech television on 10 February that
the independents will "under no circumstance" run as a separate bloc on
the joint lists. MS
[51] CZECH ARMY DELIVERED TRUCKS TO NORTH KOREA
At least 250 Tatra army trucks were exported to China and North Korea
between 1993 and 1997, CTK reported on 11 February, citing the daily
"Mlada fronta Dnes." The transaction was aided by Communist deputy
Vojtech Filip via the Kamo firm, which is based in Ceske Budejovice.
The official destination of the delivery was the Hun Chun free-trade
zone, situated in the vicinity of the Chinese-North Korean border, but
the daily said the final destination was Pyongyang. It cites an army
investigator as saying: "We consider it as proved that at least some of
the vehicles ended up in North Korea." A spokeswoman for the Trade and
Industry Ministry confirmed that Kamo had a license for the deal, which
was canceled in 1999. She did not explain the cancellation. MS
[52] SLOVAK SDL STILL 'UNDECIDED' ABOUT MIKLOS VOTE
Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) Chairman Pavol Koncos said on 9
February that the SDL has "not yet decided" how to vote in the 13
February debate in the parliament on a possible no-confidence motion in
Deputy Premier Ivan Miklos, CTK reported. Koncos, who spoke after a
meeting of the SDL National Committee, said that the committee and the
SDL parliamentary group will call a special meeting after the debate
and make its decision then. He said the decision will not depend on the
coalition's postures of selling the state's minority stake in the SPP
energy utility, but on the sale of the state's shares in the VZS
steelmaker, which the SDL would consider to be a "violation of the
law." The motion against Miklos is likely to be formally submitted by
the main opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. MS
[53] SLOVAK CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS PREPARING ANTI-STATUS LAW BILL
The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), a member of the ruling
coalition, is preparing a bill aimed at safeguarding Slovak sovereignty
and countering "controversial provisions" in the Hungarian Status Law,
TASR reported on 8 February, citing KDH Deputy Chairman Vladimir Palko.
Palko said the KDH will submit the bill to the parliament "if the
government does not approve it, or if it does not prepare measures
against the effects of the Status Law." Justice Minister Jan
Carnogursky, who is also a former KDH chairman, said the KDH wants
Slovakia and Hungary to reach an agreement on the law, and that the
bill will be submitted only if such an agreement fails to materialize.
The Czech daily "Hospodarske noviny" wrote on 11 February that the bill
stipulates that Hungarian minority organizations in Slovakia that issue
Hungarian ID cards will be disbanded and their assets will be
confiscated. MS
[54] SLOVAK SUPPORT FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP GROWING
Support for membership in NATO has grown in Slovakia from 51 percent in
November 2001 to 53 percent at present, CTK reported on 8 February,
citing a poll conducted by Focus. Thirty-five percent are against
membership and 12 percent have no opinion on the matter. Opposition to
membership in November was 40 percent. MS
[55] HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT TO MEDIATE BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES
The opposition Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) on 8 February wrote
to President Ferenc Madl asking him to act as mediator between
parliamentary parties on the issues of the Status Law and EU accession,
in view of the "uncivilized tone used in the election campaign." SZDSZ
Chairman Gabor Kuncze recalled that governing party deputies had called
the opposition "traitors," and several people also heard Prime Minister
Viktor Orban utter the word in parliament. Kuncze said it is vital that
Orban apologize to the opposition parties for his remarks. Hungarian
radio reported that Madl said last week during his visit to Kyiv that
he will try to mediate between the leaders of the parliamentary parties
because the Status Law and EU accession have become matters of dispute
and it is "regrettable that the tone of the campaign has become
uncivilized." MSZ
[56] FIDESZ DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OFFERS GLIB APOLOGY TO 'TRAITORS'
Laszlo Kover on 8 February told an election forum in the Hungarian city
of Nagykanizsa that he apologizes to those Socialist Party politicians
whom he called traitors in parliament on 5 February, as "traitors can
only be those who have a country." Kover said opposition politicians
"hate the country in which they live," and, with their continued "mud
slinging," want "a general sense of nausea to bury the parliamentary
elections." Socialist Party Chairman Laszlo Kovacs "is Goebbels' best
disciple," because he is trying to mislead the public with his
"countless reiterated lies," Kover added. Regarding the Socialists, he
said, "if the past cannot be abolished for good, let us at least
abolish them from the future." MSZ
[57] LINEUPS EMERGE FOR FORTHCOMING HUNGARIAN ELECTIONS
On 9 February, the FIDESZ Council approved the FIDESZ-Democratic Forum
national list for the April parliamentary elections, Hungarian media
reported. The list is headed by Prime Minister Orban, followed by
Democratic Forum Chairwoman Ibolya David, Christian Democrat
Co-Chairman Peter Harrach, FIDESZ Chairman Zoltan Pokorni,
parliamentary speaker Janos Ader, FIDESZ Deputy Chairman Laszlo Kover,
and FIDESZ parliamentary group leader Jozsef Szajer. In other news, the
opposition Socialist Party's candidate for prime minister, Peter
Medgyessy, on 8 February introduced Csaba Laszlo, a 39-year-old
economist and vice president of K&H Bank, as his candidate for finance
minister. Laszlo said Medgyessy's program would create sustainable
annual economic growth of 5-6 percent and a lasting improvement in
living standards. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[58] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER VOWS INDICTED MEN WILL GO TO THE HAGUE
Echoing other statements he has made in recent weeks, Zoran Djindjic
told RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service on 10
February that he expects that four former top aides to Slobodan
Milosevic will soon find themselves in The Hague (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 28 December 2001 and 4 February 2002). He said that only
"technical questions" are holding up the departure of the four indicted
men. Djindjic added, however, that one of the men, Serbian President
Milan Milutinovic, enjoys "immunity" by virtue of his office. In
related news, Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic said that indicted
Yugoslav citizens must go to The Hague. He stressed that those
individuals who "bloodied their hands in the name of the Serbian cause
must answer before The Hague tribunal, and before the people and
history." PM
[59] CRITICISM OF YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT'S TRIP TO U.S.
Batic said in Novi Sad on 9 February that the recent visit to
Washington by Vojislav Kostunica represented a "step backward" compared
to the president's trip to the U.S. in 2001, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 15 May
2001). Batic noted that Kostunica did not meet with any important
officials this time. The minister added that the trip seemed to be more
for tourism than for politics, even though Kostunica traveled in his
official capacity. "Vesti" reported on 9 February that Kostunica met
and was photographed with two prominent Yugoslav professional
basketball players, Vlade Divac and Predrag Stojakovic, who play for
the Sacramento Kings in the U.S. National Basketball Association. PM
[60] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER WANTS IDEAS
In a statement to the Frankfurt-based diaspora daily "Vesti" of 9
February, Djindjic appealed to Serbs living abroad to invest in Serbian
companies or set up businesses of their own in Serbia. He called on
members of the diaspora to write him with their ideas on the most
important tasks necessary to get the Serbian economy moving.
Suggestions may be sent to: (redaktionvesti@vesti.de). PM
[61] RFE/RL JOURNALIST WINS TOP SERBIAN POST
Milica Lucic-Cavic of RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages
Service was elected president of the Independent Association of
Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) in Belgrade on 9 February. She stressed
that her first priority will be resolving the status of professional
journalists there. PM
[62] BOSNIAN SERB EX-PREMIER: WAR CRIMINALS MUST GO
Returning from a trip to the U.S., Milorad Dodik, who heads the Union
of Independent Social Democrats (SNS), said in Banja Luka on 10
February that one of the chief demands of the international community
to governments in the region is the extradition of all indicted war
criminals, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. PM
[63] BOSNIAN SERB EX-PRESIDENT: 'I'M A DEFENDANT, NOT AN INFORMER'
Biljana Plavsic told "Vesti" on 9 February that she has no intention of
testifying against Milosevic or former Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan
Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic in The Hague, as some press reports
have suggested. She dismissed those reports outright, stressing that
she has enough to do in preparing her own defense. Plavsic suggested
that she would not be in the dock herself if she had important
incriminating evidence against others. PM
[64] CONTROVERSY OVER AMENDMENTS TO BOSNIAN SERB CONSTITUTION
Speaking in Bijeljina on 9 February, Dragan Kalinic, who is speaker of
the Republika Srpska parliament and head of the Serbian Democratic
Party (SDS), said that he is for a "healthy compromise" with parties
from the mainly Croat and Muslim federation about changes to the two
entities' constitutions, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages
Service reported. He added, however, that "there are certain limits and
a minimum of Serbian interests" that he must respect in his ongoing
talks with political leaders from the federation. In Sarajevo,
representatives of four leading NGOs in the federation said that they
do not consider that the proposed amendments to the Bosnian Serb
Constitution go far enough to meet the recent ruling by the Bosnian
Constitutional Court on equality between Muslims, Serbs, and Croats
throughout the country (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2002).
Speaking in Zvornik the next day, Kalinic said that two-thirds of the
deputies to the Bosnian Serb parliament will have to approve any
constitutional changes. He stressed that the size of the respective
ethnic groups according to the 1991 census "is unacceptable to the
Serbs" as a basis for assigning cabinet posts. PM
[65] PETRITSCH: BOSNIA MUST MOVE BEYOND DAYTON
Speaking in Sarajevo on 9 February, Wolfgang Petritsch, who is the
international community's high representative in Bosnia, said that the
1995 Dayton agreement must "expand" and "evolve," RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported. He argued that the days are
over of implementing Dayton according to the strict letter of the text
(see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 21 December 2001). Petritsch did not
elaborate. PM
[66] CROATIAN PRESIDENT: BOSNIAN ROLE ONLY ON OFFICIAL BASIS
In a statement released by his office in Zagreb on 11 February, Stipe
Mesic said that he is willing to help improve the position of Croats in
Bosnia-Herzegovina but only on the basis of governmental institutions,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. He ruled
out working through nonofficial channels, as was the practice during
the rule of the late President Franjo Tudjman. Mesic called for the
return of refugees and for the complete equality of all three peoples
in the neighboring country. He was replying to an earlier letter from
Herzegovinian leader Ante Jelavic. PM
[67] FRESH TALK OF SPLIT IN CROATIAN PARTY
"Jutarnji list" reported from Zagreb on 8 February that a split in the
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) seems to be only a matter of time.
Some of the parliamentary deputies are loyal to party leader Drazen
Budisa, while others do not want the HSLS to leave the governing
coalition, as Budisa wants (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 February 2002). PM
[68] EU FAILS TO PRESSURE MONTENEGRO
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic held talks in Brussels on 10
February with security policy chief Javier Solana, who stressed again
the EU's view that Serbia and Montenegro must remain together in a
joint state, "Vesti" reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 14 December
2001, and "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January, and 4 and 5 February 2002). It
is not clear whether Solana repeated the points that he made in
previous talks with Djukanovic or offered him some new incentives to
stay in a union with Belgrade. Djukanovic said on 11 February that
matters remain unsolved but talks will continue, perhaps until the end
of February, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. In related news, Slobodan Samardzic, who is an adviser to
Kostunica, said that the outcome of the dispute over the future of
Serbian-Montenegrin relations is too difficult to predict, "Vesti"
reported on 9 February. He stressed that a compromise is unlikely and
that there will probably be only winners and losers. PM
[69] KOSOVA: INTERNATIONALS DEFEND ANTI-INTERNATIONAL PROTESTERS
UN police officials said in Prishtina on 10 February that they will not
tolerate attempts by unnamed Kosovars to interfere with protests
against the recent arrest of three former ethnic Albanian guerrillas,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 5 February 2002). Many Kosovars regard the protests
as harmful to relations between the province's ethnic Albanian majority
and representatives of the international community. PM
[70] BOOBY TRAP KILLS MAN IN MACEDONIA
A bobby-trap bomb in a house in the troubled Skopje suburb of Aracinovo
killed Aco Stojanovski and wounded a second man on 10 February. AP
called the incident the most serious in Macedonia in weeks. A police
spokesman told the news agency that the authorities believe that
Stojanovski's brother, who works for the security forces, was the
intended target of the blast. No one has claimed responsibility. In
2001, Aracinovo was a stronghold of the ethnic Albanian rebels (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 25 and 26 June, and 7 August 2001). PM
[71] MACEDONIAN POLICE RETURN TO ADDITIONAL VILLAGES
Members of the ethnically mixed police entered seven villages near
Tetovo and five near Gostivar on 11 February, AP reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 February 2002). Angry ethnic Albanians prevented the
police from entering three additional villages in the Gostivar area,
saying they still do not trust the police. PM
[72] ROMANIAN PREMIER EXPLAINS INTENDED CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
Adrian Nastase said on 8 February that amending the constitutional
prerogatives of the country's president should not be transformed into
a "personalized debate," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. He said
the amendment would not be enforced in the next presidential elections.
Nastase said that an amendment is warranted by the fact that although
Romania has a parliamentary system, the country's president is elected
by popular vote, as in presidential systems. He also said the
prerogatives of Romania's two chambers of the parliament should be
redefined, with each chamber having its own specific and separate
prerogatives. MS
[73] SERBIAN PREMIER IN ROMANIA
Zoran Djindjic, on a one-day visit to Romania on 8 February, met with
his Romanian counterpart Nastase and Senate Chairman Nicolae Vacaroiu,
RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Nastase and Djindjic focused on
bilateral economic relations, and the Serbian premier said a free-trade
agreement is to be signed in the near future. Nastase said Romania has
always backed and will continue backing Yugoslavia's territorial
integrity, and that changing borders in Europe "leads nowhere but to
new conflict breeding grounds." MS
[74] U.S. TO USE ROMANIAN PORT TO SUPPLY KFOR
The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) plans to use the Black Sea port of
Constanta to rotate Kosova KFOR peacekeepers, Reuters reported on 8
February, quoting U.S. Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest. Guest said
Constanta is "more convenient" than the Bulgarian port previously used
for this purpose, and that "this rotation will demonstrate Romania's
ability to support a large military operation involving troops and
equipment." Premier Nastase said the "fact that EUCOM has confidence in
Romania's capacity to fulfill this important task is proof of the
progress we have made toward [NATO] accession." MS
[75] SUSPENSION OF PPCD LIFTED IN MOLDOVA...
Justice Minister Ion Morei announced on 8 February that the one-month
suspension of the Popular Party Christian Democratic (PPCD) has been
lifted, which will allow the PPCD to participate in the electoral
campaign ahead of the 7 April early local elections, RFE/RL's Chisinau
bureau reported. Morei said the decision also reflects a "response" to
the concerns expressed by the Council of Europe over the suspension. He
called on the PPCD to stop "actions that may lead to internal strife
and public violence." In response to the decision, PPCD Chairman Iurie
Rosca thanked the European Council for its support and said ongoing
protest demonstrations will continue. Rosca said that some 120,000
signatures have been gathered so far against the decision to introduce
compulsory Russian-language classes in Moldovan schools. MS
[76] ...AND PPCD CALLS FOR EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
On 10 February, the PPCD said it will participate in the early local
elections, but also called for early parliamentary elections, Romanian
radio reported. In a press release, the party said the regime of
President Vladimir Voronin has led to the intensification of cronyism
and corruption, intensified the process of Russification, and enforced
assimilation of the Romanian majority as well as the Ukrainian, Gagauz,
and Bulgarian minorities. At the same time, the PPCD said, the regime
has repeatedly acted against political pluralism and for the
annihilation of the democratic opposition. The PPCD also accused the
regime of having caused a deterioration in relations with Romania and
Ukraine and with the European institutions, describing those relations
as being governed today by "suspicion and hostility." MS
[77] GAGAUZ-YERI ASSEMBLY APPROVES REFERENDUM ON DISMISSING GOVERNOR
The Gagauz-Yeri Popular Assembly on 8 February approved holding a
referendum on 24 February on dismissing the region's governor, Dumitru
Croitor, Infotag reported. The vote was 24 in favor and 12 against.
Infotag said the decision infringes on current legislation, which
stipulates that at least 30 days must pass after the plebiscite's
approval before it can be held. Opponents of the referendum say its
partisans are manipulated from Chisinau and seek to replace the elected
Executive Committee -- the autonomous region's government -- with
communists in order to hold early local elections in Gagauz-Yeri on 7
April. The same day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed "concern"
that the tensions in the region could lead to instability and encroach
on the autonomous status of the Turkish-speaking region's population.
MS
[78] TRANSDNIESTER 'FOREIGN MINISTER': NO EVACUATION BEFORE
COMPENSATION
Transdniester "Foreign Minister" Valerii Litskay told Infotag on 8
February that there will be no further evacuation of the Russian
arsenal from the self-styled republic until both Moscow and the OSCE
settle their "debt" to the Transdniester. Litskay claimed that
together, Russia and the OSCE "owe" the separatists $300 million, and
that Tiraspol demonstrated its "goodwill" by allowing four Russian
train convoys to depart. But he added that there will be "no further
arms evacuation" until the debt is settled. MS
[79] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT BEGINS DEBATING NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION
On 8 February, the parliament began debating the no-confidence motion
submitted by the opposition United Democratic Forces (ODS),
international news agencies reported. The vote is expected on 13
February and observers say it has no chance of being approved, and that
no other party on the benches of the opposition will support the
motion. Nadezhda Mihailova, the leader of the ODS parliamentary group,
told Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski in submitting the motion:
"Your government came to power pledging new morality and new honesty,
but you have been doing just the opposite." Responding to the motion,
Finance Minister Milen Velchev said the ODS has no moral right to
submit it, as every day new evidence emerges on the illegalities
committed by members of the former government (see "End Note."). MS
[80] WINTER OLYMPICS MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIES
Through 10 FEBRUARY
CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Czech Rep.0011
Poland0011
Belarus0000
Bosnia-Herzeg.0000
Bulgaria0000
Croatia0000
Estonia0000
Hungary0000
Latvia0000
Lithuania0000
Macedonia0000
Moldova0000
Romania0000
Slovakia0000
Slovenia0000
Ukraine0000
Yugoslavia0000
END NOTE
[81] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION MOVES VOTE OF NO-CONFIDENCE -- TO DISCIPLINE
ITSELF
By Ulrich Buechsenschuetz
Somewhat surprisingly, the opposition United Democratic Forces (ODS) on
4 January submitted a motion of no-confidence in the cabinet headed by
Simeon Saxecoburggotski. The motion cites the introduction of VAT on
medicines as well as the government's taxation policy in general as
grounds for the vote of no-confidence, which Ekaterina Mihailova, the
chairwoman of the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS), the largest ODS
component, called a "warning sign" for the government.
The date chosen by the ODS to launch its challenge is symbolic -- five
years to the day since the ODS forced the Socialist government to
resign. But even before the vote takes place on 13 February, it is
clear that this time the ODS has almost no chance of success. The
second largest "opposition" party, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP),
has announced that it will abstain from the vote. Although the BSP is
not a member of the ruling coalition, it is represented in the
government by Kostadin Daskalev, the deputy prime minister and minister
for regional development.
In her speech during the parliamentary debate on 8 February, Mihailova
urged the prime minister to resign: "This government started with a
lie, with promises it cannot keep. Mr. Prime Minister, you are
responsible, you have chosen the members of parliament and the
ministers, that is why you hold great responsibility... Go home, this
administration is dangerous for Bulgaria."
But Finance Minister Milen Velchev as well as Economic Minister Nikolai
Vasilev of the ruling National Movement Simeon II (NDSV) dismissed the
opposition's charges. While Velchev called the no-confidence motion an
"attempt to destabilize the country," Vasilev referred to it as "a
tempest in a teapot."
Velchev defended the introduction of VAT on medicine as a further step
in the government's efforts to bring Bulgaria's tax system into line
with that of the EU. He pointed out that the taxation will also help to
abolish the flourishing black market in pharmaceutical products. Prime
Minister Saxecoburggotski said that the introduction of VAT on
medicines was primarily motivated by serious financial problems within
the Bulgarian health system that he blames on the previous ODS-led
government.
Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and
Freedom (DPS), went even further in his critique of the ODS. As
coalition partner of Saxecoburggotski's NDSV, he declined to
participate in the parliamentary debate. Asked by journalists about his
decision, he answered that he is "not used to dealing with opponents
who are not able to articulate the problems." He also rejected
speculation about a government reshuffle.
Already before the parliamentary debate, some media speculated about
the reason why the ODS leadership submitted the motion of no-confidence
at all. Velina Gospodinova and Mitko Mandzhukov of the weekly "Kapital"
recalled that the SDS leadership had planned a motion of no-confidence
for January, but members of the ODS parliamentary faction decided that
the time for a vote of no-confidence had not yet come.
With its decision to move a no-confidence vote now, the SDS leadership
surprised its partners within the ODS -- the Bulgarian National
Agrarian Union (BZNS-NS) and the Democratic Party (DP).
Within the SDS, there were lengthy discussions about the possible
political consequences of such a step. Some legislators feared that the
electorate might perceive the motion as populist; others were afraid
that the BSP might support the SDS. In that case, the SDS could lose
its reputation as a conservative anticommunist party. With the BSP
abstaining from the vote, the SDS would have the chance to present
itself as the sole political alternative in the country, and be able to
present itself as united.
Since the parliamentary elections of June 2001, which brought former
monarch Saxecoburggotski to power, the SDS has been engaged in
political infighting. A power struggle between Ekaterina Mihailova and
the prominent former Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova is likely to
be decided at the party's national conference due next month. However,
that struggle does not seem to be ideological. Ekaterina Mihailova, who
is often described as the "Cinderella" of the SDS, is said to be close
to former party leader Ivan Kostov. But the glamorous Nadezhda
Mihailova is part of the old SDS leadership as well. Many observers
consider the conflict between the two Mihailovas simply one of
personality. After it losing three consecutive elections, some party
members appear to be looking for a more charismatic leadership.
An unnamed commentator of the daily "Standard" analyzed the
parliamentary debate under the headline "It is time for the BSP and the
SDS to unite." He observed that everything seems to be confused in
Bulgaria -- even the political left and right. "With astonishing
political populism the SDS...defended the poor, the hungry, and the
sick. At the same time their main opponent in the former two-pole
political system, the BSP, had to carry out yet another u-turn and
defend the cabinet, despite its marked right-wing, conservative, and
antisocial taxation policy."Ulrich Buechsenschuetz is a freelance
political analyst based in Berlin. He contributes regularly to "RFE/RL
Balkan Report."
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