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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-08-06
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN SUGGESTS MAKING LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS MORE TRANSPARENT...
[02] ...AS LAID-OFF WORKERS GO ON HUNGER STRIKE FOR UNPAID WAGES
[03] OPEC SECRETARY SEEKS COMPROMISE ON QUOTAS, PRICES
[04] LEBED'S BROTHER BOWS OUT OF KRASNOYARSK RACE
[05] LUKOIL HEAD WANTS TO EXPAND IN EUROPE...
[06] ...AND ADMITS COMPANY CONTROLLED BY STATE
[07] RUSSIAN CUSTOMS LIBERALIZES EXPORT OF PERSONAL ITEMS
[08] IDEOLOGUE OF GLASNOST COMMENTS ON SERVILITY OF RUSSIAN
[09] ...AND HOLDS OUT LITTLE HOPE FOR THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
[10] SIBUR OFFICIALS TO REMAIN IN CUSTODY
[11] INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY THEFT AT EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS
[12] URALS METALS OLIGARCH SAID TO BE NEXT SEASON'S POLITICAL LEADER
[13] SON OF AFRICAN DIPLOMAT BEATEN BY YOUTHS...
[14] ...AND MORE THAN A DOZEN ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS TALLIED ACROSS
[15] ...AS ANOTHER CEMETERY IN ST. PETERSBURG DAMAGED
[16] GOVERNOR INTRODUCES PRICE CONTROLS ON BREAD
[17] FINAL AMENDMENTS MADE TO DRAFT CHECHEN CONSTITUTION
[18] CORRECTION
[19] ARMENIAN POLITICIAN ABDUCTED
[20] SENIOR AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS MEET WITH NARDARAN RESIDENTS
[21] PRESIDENT ORDERS RE-SUBORDINATION OF AZERBAIJANI SECURITY AGENCIES
[22] GEORGIAN BORDER GUARDS APPREHEND MORE CHECHENS...
[23] ...BUT GEORGIA REFUSES TO EXTRADITE THEM TO RUSSIA
[24] RUSSIA SENDS ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO GEORGIAN BORDER
[25] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DOUBTS UN WOULD ENDORSE RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTION
[26] ...REJECTS CALLS TO SHOOT DOWN INTRUDING RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT
[27] KAZAKH OPPOSITION ENDORSES FORMER PREMIER'S PROPOSED TACTICS
[28] KAZAKH PRESIDENT PROPOSES LIQUIDATING UNVIABLE VILLAGES
[29] SUPPORTERS PROTEST LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT
[30] TAJIKISTAN TO VET ISLAMIC CLERICS
[31] INDEPENDENT-NEWSPAPER OFFICE BURGLARIZED IN BELARUS
[32] UKRAINIAN COMMUNISTS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANTIPRESIDENTIAL PROTESTS,
[33] FIRST CASPIAN OIL FLOWS INTO ODESA-BRODY PIPELINE
[34] U.S.-DONATED HELICOPTERS ARRIVE IN ESTONIA
[35] LATVIAN PRESIDENT VISITING ESTONIA'S SAAREMAA ISLAND
[36] KALININGRAD GOVERNOR SUPPORTS LITHUANIAN SUGGESTION ON TRANSIT ID
[37] POLAND'S SELF-DEFENSE, MINOR PARTY SIGN COOPERATION ACCORD
[38] POLISH AGRICULTURE MINISTER WANTS LARGER GRAIN PROCUREMENT
[39] CZECH GOVERNMENT APPROVES POLICY PROGRAM...
[40] ...AND REJECTS SENATE-SPONSORED AMENDMENT ON FREE ACCESS TO
[41] ...AND BANS TOBACCO ADVERTISING
[42] CZECH POSTELECTION POLL SHOWS 'WHO DESERTED WHOM'
[43] SMER CANDIDATE OUTLINES HIS VISION FOR SLOVAK PREMIERSHIP...
[44] ...AS FORMER SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER'S CHANCES APPEAR TO BE
[45] HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION WALKS OUT OF COMMISSION HEARINGS...
[46] ...AND CALLS ON MECS TO RESIGN
[47] FIDESZ ACCUSES HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT OF CENSORING MEDIA
[48] HUNGARIAN PREMIER BLASTS PREDECESSOR ON EU MEMBERSHIP
[49] HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AMBIGUOUS ON TRIANON TREATY, BENES
[50] SFOR SEARCHES BOSNIAN SERB BASE
[51] ASHDOWN WARNS AGAINST PESSIMISM ON BOSNIA...
[52] ...AND CITES THREE IMPORTANT CHANGES
[53] ELECTION SEASON BEGINS IN BOSNIA
[54] NO EU INTEREST IN COMBATING ILLEGAL PROSTITUTION IN BOSNIA?
[55] TOUGH TALKS FOR SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
[56] NO RETURN TO SERBIAN PARLIAMENT FOR KOSTUNICA'S DEPUTIES?
[57] YUGOSLAV BANK CHIEF SAYS KOSTUNICA BELONGS TO THE PAST
[58] KOSTUNICA'S ADVISER BLAMES 'ALBANIAN LOBBY' FOR BELGRADE'S POOR
[59] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT WARNS SORE LOSERS IN BUJANOVAC
[60] MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT CHARGES PARLIAMENTARY COALITION WITH SPOOK
[61] INTERIOR MINISTRY HANDS OUT PASSPORTS TO MACEDONIANS ABROAD...
[62] ...AND PROVOKES PROTEST BY ALBANIAN PRESIDENT
[63] ALBANIAN COMMANDOS FOR AFGHANISTAN
[64] ROMANIAN THINK TANK WARNS AGAINST GROWING PERCEPTIONS OF PRM AS
[65] ROMANIAN LIBERALS DEMAND 'SUSPENSION' OF IASI PREFECT
[66] MOLDOVAN OFFICIAL KIDNAPPED IN CHISINAU
[67] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS OSCE PLAN CAN SERVE AS BASIS FOR
[68] ...AS SEPARATIST LEADER PRAISES IT
[69] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO LEBANON
[70] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT RETURNS ENVIRONMENTAL-PROTECTION BILL
[71] BULGARIAN PRIVATIZATION AGENCY ASKS BULGARTABAC BIDDERS FOR
[72] There is no End Note today.
6 August 2002
RUSSIA
[01] PUTIN SUGGESTS MAKING LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS MORE TRANSPARENT...
At a government meeting on 5 August, President Vladimir Putin called
for making public the details of regional budgets and regional-level
backlogs of unpaid wages to state-sector workers, ITAR-TASS reported.
Putin suggested that such a measure is necessary so that the public can
know the real state of affairs, Interfax reported. Trade union leaders
have been suggesting for some time that greater transparency of
regional government finances might help eliminate situations in which
regional governments use money earmarked for the wages of teachers and
doctors for other purposes (see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 17
March 1999). They have argued that if information about budget
transfers from Moscow was reported in local newspapers, then it might
be possible to track how the money is spent. Also at the meeting,
Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matvienko reported that 16 regions are
currently behind in paying wages. However, she added, these backlogs
will be completely paid off by 1 September. JAC
[02] ...AS LAID-OFF WORKERS GO ON HUNGER STRIKE FOR UNPAID WAGES
Seven workers who were dismissed from the Lenarchenergo enterprise
several days ago have launched a hunger strike until back wages worth
more than 13 million rubles ($412,000) are paid, ITAR-TASS reported.
One of the strikers, Aleksei Chernigovskii, who started his fast 10
days ago, is in critical condition. The enterprise is based in Ust-Kut
in Irkutsk Oblast, the same city where 14 doctors who worked for the
local emergency service also staged a hunger strike for back wages
earlier in the month. JAC
[03] OPEC SECRETARY SEEKS COMPROMISE ON QUOTAS, PRICES
OPEC Secretary-General Alvaro Calderon arrived in Moscow on 6 August
for talks with Energy Minister Igor Yusufov, Russian and Western news
agencies reported. Calderon said that he wants to minimize the current
disagreements over the volume of Russia's oil exports and the ideal
global market price for oil, RTR reported. Calderon told journalists
that while OPEC believes that oil should cost from $22-$28 a barrel,
Russia prefers a lower range of $20-$25. However, Calderon believes
that compromise is possible, as both sides are united in their desire
to stabilize prices. VY
[04] LEBED'S BROTHER BOWS OUT OF KRASNOYARSK RACE
Khakasia President Aleksei Lebed will not participate in the 8
September gubernatorial election in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian news
agencies reported on 6 August. Lebed made the announcement at a press
conference in Krasnoyarsk, claiming that he was bowing out because the
election campaign had become too dirty. "I don't want to participate in
this," Lebed said. He added that he believes plans to honor his
brother, former Krasnoyarsk Krai Governor Aleksandr Lebed who died in a
helicopter accident on 28 April, by naming a local street after him are
being held up in Moscow by bureaucrats who oppose Aleksei Lebed's
candidacy. Recent opinion polls showed Aleksei Lebed running in fourth
place with a high negative rating (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 July
2002). RC
[05] LUKOIL HEAD WANTS TO EXPAND IN EUROPE...
LUKoil head Vagit Alekperov said his company participated in the tender
to privatize the oil refinery in Gdansk, one of the biggest in the
country, gzt.ru and "Vedomosti" reported on 5 August. However,
Alekperov added that the Polish authorities are -- "without reason" --
suspicious of LUKoil's bid and might ignore it. He added that LUKoil
does not intend to purchase any other refineries in Europe and is
concentrating on its program of buying gasoline stations throughout
Central and Eastern Europe. "Vedomosti," citing Bloomberg, reported
that LUKoil is seeking to expand its presence on the Spanish market and
wants to purchase Austria's Avanti International, which owns 329 gas
stations in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria,
and Hungary. VY
[06] ...AND ADMITS COMPANY CONTROLLED BY STATE
In the same interview with "Vedomosti," Alekperov said that he approves
the government's recent decision to postpone the sale of a 5.9 percent
state-held stake in LUKoil (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 August 2002). "We
are proud that the state is the biggest shareholder in our company and
do not want it to leave," Alekperov said. He also said that he does not
see any reason to create state reserves of hydrocarbons. The goal of
such a reserve is to provide oil in case of a critical shortage.
However, Alekperov argued, Russia presently has more oil than it needs
and excess production capacity. VY
[07] RUSSIAN CUSTOMS LIBERALIZES EXPORT OF PERSONAL ITEMS
The State Customs Committee as of 4 August eased the procedure for
declaring goods exported from and imported into Russia for values less
than 500 euros ($490), polit.ru reported on 5 August. Goods in this
value range that are intended for personal consumption are now free
from custom duties and other levies. Previously, only 100 euros worth
of goods could be imported or exported duty free. VY
[08] IDEOLOGUE OF GLASNOST COMMENTS ON SERVILITY OF RUSSIAN
JOURNALISTS...
Aleksandr Yakovlev, the ideologue of former Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev's policy of liberalizing the mass media and a former
Politburo member, told "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 5 August that freedom
of speech in Russia is going through a difficult time both because of
government policies and the behavior of journalists. "I am enraged by
certain ursine actions of the government toward the mass media, but one
should not expect anything else. It is much more unpleasant, however,
to see how some journalists themselves are trying to serve the
authorities, to line up with them. This is a real misfortune," said
Yakovlev, who is now a member of the board of trustees of the TVS
television company. Another powerful blow against freedom of the press
came in the 1990s when the mass media were involved in a "war of
kompromat" among financial clans, Yakovlev continued. "If journalists
write and tell lies, freedom of speech is perceived as the freedom to
lie," Yakovlev noted. "Aggressive cynicism murders freedom of speech."
VY
[09] ...AND HOLDS OUT LITTLE HOPE FOR THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
In the same interview, Yakovlev said that Russia has neither a
pluralism of opinions nor a pluralism of interests but a pluralism of
demagoguery, and that this situation is encouraged by existing election
laws. Yakovlev decried the influence of money in election campaigns,
saying that efforts to buy votes merely encourage apathy among the
electorate. He admitted that he himself did not vote in last December's
Moscow City Council election because he "understood that all the
mandates had already been handed out." RC
[10] SIBUR OFFICIALS TO REMAIN IN CUSTODY
A municipal court in Moscow on 6 August refused to release from jail
any of the defendants in the Sibur trial, despite the fact that the
original plaintiff in the case, Gazprom, has dropped its complaint and
stated that it has no claims against them, gazeta.ru reported. Former
Sibur officials Yakov Goldovskii, Yevgenii Koshits, Larisa Abramenko,
and Austrian citizen Boris Blagerman are accused of embezzlement,
fraud, money laundering, and abuse of office (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 2
July 2002). Their lawyers had asked that they be released on bond
pending their criminal trial in view of Gazprom's decision to drop its
civil complaints. The website reported that a spokesman for Sibur,
which is a Gazprom subsidiary, repeated earlier statements that the
company had suffered no losses as a result of the activities of the
accused. The trial will continue with the testimony of witnesses on 7
August. RC
[11] INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY THEFT AT EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS
Forty percent of all musical compact discs produced in Russia are
illegal, pirate copies, RosBalt reported on 5 August, citing an Ekho
Moskvy interview with the head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry's intellectual property commission, Oleg Gordiiko. Gordiiko
said that this represents enormous losses for the Russian economy.
Commenting on a recent letter from U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow
claiming that Russian defense plants, including one headed by Gordiiko
himself, are largely responsible for producing pirate discs (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 1 August 2002), Gordiiko said that U.S. producers
currently have no presence in the Russian market and "they just want to
clean up the market for themselves." RC
[12] URALS METALS OLIGARCH SAID TO BE NEXT SEASON'S POLITICAL LEADER
Yekaterinburg-based political analyst Ilya Gorfinkel is predicting that
Sergei Nosov, the director of the firm Nizhnii Tagil Iron and Steel
(NTMK) and leader of Sverdlovsk Oblast's Unified Russia party, will
occupy one of the top three places on the pro-Kremlin party's list for
the 2003 State Duma elections, regions.ru reported on 5 August.
According to Gorfinkel, the party has a marked deficit of new faces and
the "old" leaders of Unity and Fatherland have noticeably lost the
trust of voters. According to Gorfinkel, members of nearly all social
strata react positively to Nosov, and he is also "photogenic" (for
photo, see http://www.3-millenium.ru/tagil.htm). JAC
[13] SON OF AFRICAN DIPLOMAT BEATEN BY YOUTHS...
Moscow police arrested six drunken youths on 5 August after they
severely beat the son of the first secretary of Cameroon's embassy in
Moscow, ntvru.com and other news agencies reported on 6 August.
Sixteen-year-old Defe Jon Nzale was hospitalized after the attack.
Police said that none of the youths are skinheads and, for that reason,
they are treating the incident as "hooliganism." A spokesman for the
Cameroon Embassy told NTV that the attack was racially motivated.
According to dni.ru, the embassy intends to send a formal note of
protest to the Foreign Ministry. RC
[14] ...AND MORE THAN A DOZEN ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS TALLIED ACROSS
RUSSIA THIS SUMMER...
A box bearing the phrase "Death to yids and Caucasians" was discovered
on the evening of 4 August in the elevator of an apartment building in
Moscow, ntvru.com reported the next day, citing "MK-Novosti." The
building was evacuated, and specialists who examined the box found no
explosives. The website listed more than a dozen similar anti-Semitic
incidents that have occurred across Russia since 27 May. JAC
[15] ...AS ANOTHER CEMETERY IN ST. PETERSBURG DAMAGED
More than 40 graves were damaged at St. Petersburg's Serafimovskoe
Cemetery during the night of 3-4 August, ntvru.com reported on 5
August. The cemetery contains the graves of numerous local heroes,
including those of more than 30 crewmembers of the ill-fated "Kursk"
nuclear submarine and soldiers killed in the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan. The vandals damaged the graves of at least three
firefighters who died putting out a blaze at the Leningrad Hotel in
1991 and those of 10 sailors who died when the merchant ship "Mekhanik
Tarasov" sank in 1982. According to NTV, the police believe it was an
act of hooliganism committed by drunken teenagers. Earlier in the
month, at least 10 Jewish graves were destroyed at the city's
Preobrazhenskoe Cemetery during construction of a railway line (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 9 July 2002). JAC
[16] GOVERNOR INTRODUCES PRICE CONTROLS ON BREAD
Rostov Oblast Governor Vladimir Chub has taken control over the prices
of bread and grain products in his region, Interfax-Eurasia reported on
5 August. The governor issued an instruction creating a special
commission that will control the formation of wholesale prices for
grain, flour, bread, and bread products to ensure the price of bread
does not jump sharply. Included in the commission will be
representatives of the local inspection agency Roskhlebinspektsii, the
oblast's legislature, and various oblast ministries. The current price
of a loaf of bread in the oblast is 6 rubles (19 cents). JAC
[17] FINAL AMENDMENTS MADE TO DRAFT CHECHEN CONSTITUTION
At a session on 5 August, the Chechen government made final amendments
to, and then approved, the republic's new draft constitution, Russian
agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 5, No. 17, 17 May
2002). Participants agreed to remove from the draft the reference to
Chechnya's sovereignty; administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov noted
that the sovereignty granted to Chechnya and other federation subjects
by former President Boris Yeltsin "turned into war, poverty, and
destruction," according to "The Moscow Times" on 6 August. Added to the
draft was a stipulation that presidential candidates must have lived in
Chechnya for the past 10 years, a requirement that may have been
directed specifically against former Russian parliament speaker Ruslan
Khasbulatov, who claims to enjoy wide support among the Chechen
population (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 21, 26 May 2000).
The draft constitution will be published for public discussion and
submitted to a referendum in late October, according to ITAR-TASS.
Kadyrov said presidential elections could then be held in the spring or
summer of 2003. LF
[18] CORRECTION
An item in "RFE/RL Newsline" on 5 August titled "Alleged
American-Soviet Double Agent Dies in Moscow," misidentified the former
head of KGB foreign intelligence who was quoted by "Moskovskii
komsomolets." His name is Leonid Shebarshin.
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[19] ARMENIAN POLITICIAN ABDUCTED
Two armed men wearing military uniforms forcibly abducted Union of
Technocrats Chairman Samvel Sarkisian from his Yerevan apartment on 5
August, according to Arminfo, as cited by Groong. The kidnappers'
motive remains unclear. LF
[20] SENIOR AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS MEET WITH NARDARAN RESIDENTS
Four village elders from Nardaran met on 5 August with senior
Azerbaijani officials to discuss their grievances, zerkalo.az reported
the following day. The villagers had earlier demanded that the
authorities release by 5 August eight residents arrested during or
after the clashes between police and villagers in Nardaran on 3 June.
Some of those detained are suffering from serious health problems. The
two sides agreed not to divulge either details of the talks, which
lasted five hours, or the identity of the Azerbaijani officials
participating. But Gadji-aga Nuriev, a leading member of the Islamic
Party of Azerbaijan who took part in the talks, told "Zerkalo" that the
villagers still insist that the detainees be released. Only after that
are they prepared to discuss other issues, he said. Turan on 6 August
identified the Azerbaijani officials as Interior Minister Ramil Usubov
and Prosecutor-General Zakir Garalov, and said a further round of talks
will take place on 7 August. LF
[21] PRESIDENT ORDERS RE-SUBORDINATION OF AZERBAIJANI SECURITY AGENCIES
President Heidar Aliev signed a decree on 31 July stipulating changes
in the subordination of various security agencies, Turan reported.
Military counterintelligence is in future to be subordinate to the
National Security Ministry, while the border guards service is to be
separated from that ministry and granted independent status. The
ministry was instructed to prepare within one month new proposals on
its revised structure and staffing strength. The opposition newspaper
"Yeni Musavat" on 1 August interpreted that realignment as directed
against National Security Minister Namig Abbasov whose resignation the
paper claims Aliev is seeking to expedite. LF
[22] GEORGIAN BORDER GUARDS APPREHEND MORE CHECHENS...
Georgian border guards apprehended late on 4 August a second group of
seven Chechen militants who had just crossed into Georgian territory
from the Kerigo Gorge in southern Chechnya, Russian agencies and
Caucasus Press reported the following day. The first such group of
seven Chechens, who were detained on 3 August, have been charged with
entering Georgia illegally and illegal possession of arms and
explosives, Caucasus Press reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 August
2002). Several of them are being treated for wounds in a Tbilisi
hospital. They have formally requested that they not be sent back to
Russia. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists in
Tbilisi on 5 August that they will be handed over to Moscow only if the
Russian authorities furnish evidence that they are "criminals and
terrorists," Interfax reported. LF
[23] ...BUT GEORGIA REFUSES TO EXTRADITE THEM TO RUSSIA
Addressing a government session on 5 August, Russian President Vladimir
Putin called for the speedy extradition to Russia of the detained
Chechens, stressing that the Russian leadership will judge how
seriously the Georgian authorities intend to crack down on terrorism by
how long it takes Tbilisi to deliver up the Chechens to Russian
justice, Reuters reported. Later on 5 August, Putin discussed the
Chechens' extradition with Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov, who
flew to Tbilisi on 6 August to discuss the Chechens' extradition with
his Georgian counterpart Nugzar Gabrichidze. Gabrichidze told
journalists after his meeting with Ustinov that the latter had failed
to furnish documentary evidence that the 14 Chechens had engaged in
terrorist activities in Russia, and for that reason they would not be
extradited, unlike Adam Dekkushev who was handed over to the Russian
authorities last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 July 2002). Also on 5
August, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a formal proposal to Georgia
to establish a joint commission to investigate how the first group of
detained Chechens managed to cross the Russian-Georgian frontier
undetected, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[24] RUSSIA SENDS ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO GEORGIAN BORDER
The newly appointed commander of Russia's Combined Federal Forces in
Chechnya, Lieutenant General Sergei Makarov, has ordered the dispatch
to the Chechen-Georgian frontier of an additional 500 servicemen,
Interfax reported on 5 August. Also on 5 August, an unnamed officer of
the Russian armed forces General Staff denied that plans are being
drafted to mount a military operation in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge,
Interfax reported. That source said the Defense Ministry hopes that
Georgia will acknowledge Moscow's concern over the presence of Chechen
militants in Pankisi and will intensify its efforts to prevent them
from returning to Chechnya. LF
[25] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DOUBTS UN WOULD ENDORSE RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTION
IN PANKISI...
Speaking at a press briefing in Tbilisi on 5 August, President
Shevardnadze predicted that Moscow will not formally request a mandate
from the UN Security Council to launch a military operation against
"terrorists" in Pankisi, Interfax reported. And if Moscow did make such
a request, it would be refused, Shevardnadze added. Two Russian
Federation Council officials have suggested in recent days that Russia
might raise with the UN the question of an international operation
against "terrorists" in Pankisi (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 August 2002).
Shevardnadze said Georgian law enforcement agencies are preparing to
launch an operation against "criminals" in Pankisi, and that "a
breakthrough" in restoring order in the district will be achieved
within four to six weeks, Caucasus Press and Interfax reported. LF
[26] ...REJECTS CALLS TO SHOOT DOWN INTRUDING RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT
Speaking at the same 5 August press briefing, Shevardnadze said he does
not consider it appropriate to take "extreme measures" against repeated
violations of Georgian airspace by Russian military aircraft, as no
human casualties have been registered in the three such incursions
registered since 29 July, Caucasus Press reported. Georgian National
Security Council Secretary Tedo Djaparidze told journalists earlier on
5 August that parliament should amend existing legislation to empower
the Georgian Air Force to shoot down aircraft that violate Georgian
airspace. LF
[27] KAZAKH OPPOSITION ENDORSES FORMER PREMIER'S PROPOSED TACTICS
In an open letter posted on forumkz.org on 2 August, Gulzhan Ergalieva,
a leading member of the United Democratic Party (ODP) and the
opposition movement Democratic Choice for Kazakhstan (DVK), hails the
proposals outlined last month by self-exiled former Prime Minister
Akezhan Kazhegeldin in response to the passage of Kazakhstan's new law
on political parties (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 2002). Ergalieva
said that leaders of most opposition parties support Kazhegeldin's call
not to comply with the mandatory reregistration stipulated in that law.
She added, however, that she does not doubt that the ODP would succeed
in collecting the required minimum 50,000 signatures required for
reregistration. She expressed support for Kazhegeldin's call for the
opposition to close ranks and coordinate its actions. Finally,
Ergalieva appealed to Kazhegeldin to help establish an international
committee for the defense of political prisoners in Kazakhstan that
would lobby for the annulment of the criminal charges brought against
leading DVK members Mukhtar Abliyazov and Ghalymzhan Zhaqiyanov. LF
[28] KAZAKH PRESIDENT PROPOSES LIQUIDATING UNVIABLE VILLAGES
In a proposal reminiscent of arbitrary Soviet-style planning, President
Nursultan Nazarbaev has proposed liquidating small villages and
settlements and resettling their inhabitants in larger rural
communities, Interfax reported on 5 August. Nazarbaev argued that it is
not cost-effective to provide education and medical services and water
and electricity to all the country's small settlements. LF
[29] SUPPORTERS PROTEST LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT
DEPUTY
Some 100 people attended a meeting in Naryn on 5 August in support of
their parliament deputy Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, who heads the independent
"Kyrgyzstan" parliament faction, akipress.org reported. Kadyrbekov went
on trial in a Bishkek district court the same day on charges of
slander: 76 residents of a city hostel claim he insulted them by
referring to them during a parliament session as having no fixed abode.
The protesters have drafted an appeal to President Askar Akaev and
Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev calling for the case against Kadyrbekov
to be dropped and for a halt to pressure on the independent media,
including RFE/RL (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 July 2002). LF
[30] TAJIKISTAN TO VET ISLAMIC CLERICS
A commission comprising members of the governmental Council on
Religious Affairs and the Council of Islamic Scholars has embarked on
its annual assessment of the professional knowledge of Islamic clerics
and teachers at Islamic schools and universities, Asia Plus-Blitz
reported on 6 August. This year for the first time clerics' familiarity
with Tajikistan's laws relating to religious practice will also be
tested. The commission is to focus this year on clerics in Sughd Oblast
in northern Tajikistan. Visiting Sughd last month, President Imomali
Rakhmonov criticized the construction of unsanctioned mosques and the
activity in the region of militant Islamic groups (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 11 July 2002, and "RFE/RL Central Asia Report," Vol. 2, No.
27, 18 July 2002). LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[31] INDEPENDENT-NEWSPAPER OFFICE BURGLARIZED IN BELARUS
The office of the Minsk-based private weekly "Zhoda" (Accord) was
burglarized early on 5 August, Belapan reported. "Zhoda" Editor in
Chief Alyaksey Karol told the news agency that the thieves stole hard
discs, video adapters, and memory modules from four computers, as well
as a modem, but did not take money, video cameras, or other expensive
equipment in the office. Karol did not rule out that the burglary may
have been masterminded by Belarus's secret services, noting that it
would fit well into a broader context of relations between the
government and the independent press. "Zhoda" was established in 1992
by Belarusian social-democratic activists, but now it is an independent
periodical with a circulation of 3,000 copies per week. JM
[32] UKRAINIAN COMMUNISTS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANTIPRESIDENTIAL PROTESTS,
BUT WITH CONDITIONS
Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko has listed conditions for the
participation of his comrades in the opposition protest actions planned
for this fall (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 July 2002), UNIAN reported on
6 August. According to Symonenko, the protests should focus on forcing
early presidential elections and forming a "democratic and efficient
political system" in Ukraine. Symonenko stressed that the Communist
Party has different "strategic goals" than the right-wing opposition
and added that the Communists are not going to decide "at the present
stage" on an opposition presidential candidate for a possible early
ballot. Symonenko said he is aware that Our Ukraine and the Yuliya
Tymoshenko Bloc as well as the Socialist Party will support Viktor
Yushchenko for the post of Ukraine's president. According to Symonenko,
the promotion of Yushchenko as a presidential candidate during the
planned protest would run "counter not only the needs of the leftist
movement but, first and foremost, those of the Ukrainian people."
Simultaneously, Symonenko warned opposition parties against attempts by
"the ruling regime to use ideological differences between opposition
groups [to pursue] its dirty and greedy interests." JM
[33] FIRST CASPIAN OIL FLOWS INTO ODESA-BRODY PIPELINE
A tanker carrying 30,000 tons of Caspian oil arrived at the Southern
(Pivdennyy) oil terminal in Odesa on 4 August and began unloading the
following day, UNIAN reported on 5 August. This is the first oil
received by the Southern terminal of the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline,
which are part of Ukraine's ambitious Eurasian Oil-Transporting
Corridor for supplying Caspian oil to Europe. JM
[34] U.S.-DONATED HELICOPTERS ARRIVE IN ESTONIA
Estonian Air Force commander Colonel Teo Kruuner said that the four
U.S.-made Robinson R44 helicopters that were delivered to Estonia on 2
August are an important gift to the entire country, ETA reported on 5
August. Two of the helicopters are equipped with photo, video, and
infrared cameras and will be used for search-and-rescue missions as
well as police work. Kruuner said that six pilots, two of them women,
received training at Robinson Helicopter Co.'s production plant in
Torrance, California, and that two more pilots will be trained in
Estonia. The helicopters are unarmed, but can be fitted with machine
guns if necessary and will likely participate in the international
Baltic Eagle military exercises in September. SG
[35] LATVIAN PRESIDENT VISITING ESTONIA'S SAAREMAA ISLAND
Accompanied by her husband Imants Freibergs, President Vaira
Vike-Freiberga began a three-day working visit to Estonia's largest
island, Saaremaa, on 5 August, LETA reported. Estonian President Arnold
Ruutel, who was born on Saaremaa, invited his Latvian counterpart to
visit the island and the presidents agreed that future presidential
meetings should occur more often outside their respective capitals in
order to draw attention to regional development and tourism. The two
presidents also discussed the need for a common stance in agriculture
negotiations with the European Union. Jaanus Tammkivi, the mayor of
Saaremaa's capital Kuressaare, discussed with Vike-Freiberga the
possibilities of launching regular ferry service between Latvia and
Saaremaa. Saaremaa Governor Juri Saar later told the presidents about
projects for establishing regular ferry traffic between the Estonian
islands and Finland. SG
[36] KALININGRAD GOVERNOR SUPPORTS LITHUANIAN SUGGESTION ON TRANSIT ID
CARDS
Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast Governor Vladimir Yegorov said on 5 August
that Russia and the EU should resolve potential problems in
implementing Schengen visa requirements for travel between Russia and
its western exclave by accepting Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus's
suggestion of issuing ID cards, BNS reported. During a recent meeting
with Yegorov in Palanga, Adamkus proposed issuing five-year visas or
magnetic ID cards to Kaliningrad residents in order to ease
border-crossing problems after Lithuania ends its visa-free policy next
year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 August 2002). Yegorov said, "The most
promising way of resolving the issues of cargo transit and movement of
people is to get away from the word 'visa' in the negotiating process."
He suggested that it should not be very difficult to issue ID cards to
the 1 million Kaliningrad residents as well as other Russian citizens
wishing to travel to the region. SG
[37] POLAND'S SELF-DEFENSE, MINOR PARTY SIGN COOPERATION ACCORD
The radical and populist Self-Defense farmers' trade union led by
Andrzej Lepper on 5 August signed an agreement on cooperation in
pursuing common goals with the Polish Economic Union (PUG), PAP
reported. Lepper said his organization intends to attract parties and
groups that are close to its program, and added that the pro-business
PUG is one such group. Lepper said that Self-Defense wants to bring
about an agreement between all who want neither capitalism nor
communism in Poland. "A new road is necessary that places top priority
on man, family, work, and decent life," he said. PUG leader Wojciech
Kornowski said his party considers many of Self-Defense's ideas to be
very good. JM
[38] POLISH AGRICULTURE MINISTER WANTS LARGER GRAIN PROCUREMENT
Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Jaroslaw Kalinowski said
on 5 August that next week he will propose to the cabinet to increase
the quota of grain purchases by the government-run Agricultural Market
Agency (ARR) in order to alleviate long delays for farmers unloading at
grain elevators, PAP reported. Kalinowski wants the ARR to immediately
purchase the quota of 300,000 tons of grain planned for November and
December along with an additional 400,000 tons. The same day,
Self-Defense leader Lepper called on Prime Minister Leszek Miller to
dismiss Kalinowski and "his team" over what Lepper believes to be "the
worst-prepared harvest campaign" Poland has experienced. "If they are
unable to resolve such a simple problem as grain procurement, give them
pitchforks and teach them to remove manure from cowsheds," Lepper said.
JM
[39] CZECH GOVERNMENT APPROVES POLICY PROGRAM...
The government on 5 August unanimously approved its four-year policy
program, CTK and international news agencies reported. The program
mentions as priorities EU accession, implementing the "principles of a
European welfare state," and combating crime and corruption, according
to CTK. The program also says the government will pay special attention
to the integration of the Romany minority in Czech society and launch
programs aimed at solving Romany housing and unemployment problems. The
cabinet pledges to gradually reduce budget deficits, which should be
between 4.9 and 5.5 percent of GDP by the end of its term in 2006. The
cabinet headed by Vladimir Spidla has a slim 101 majority in the
200-seat Chamber of Deputies. MS
[40] ...AND REJECTS SENATE-SPONSORED AMENDMENT ON FREE ACCESS TO
INFORMATION...
Also on 5 August, the cabinet rejected a Senate-sponsored amendment to
the law on free access to information under which people would have
easier access to information they demand from the authorities, CTK
reported. Under the rejected amendment, costs individuals have to cover
for information demanded from civil servants would have been
substantially reduced and civil servants would not have been allowed to
refuse information on the grounds of protecting business secrets or
personal data. MS
[41] ...AND BANS TOBACCO ADVERTISING
The cabinet also approved on 5 August a ban on all tobacco advertising
and the sponsorship of events by tobacco firms, Reuters reported. The
Chamber of Deputies in May approved a law to do so, but the law was
rejected by the Senate several weeks later. MS
[42] CZECH POSTELECTION POLL SHOWS 'WHO DESERTED WHOM'
A public-opinion survey conducted by the CVVM polling institute shows
most of the new votes in support of the Communist Party of Bohemia and
Moravia (KSCM) in the June elections came from people who four years
earlier voted for the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), CTK reported. The
KSCM emerged from the ballot as a virtual winner, garnering 18.5
percent and 41 seats in the lower house, which is 17 seats more than it
won in 1998. Of the votes lost by the opposition Civic Democratic
Party, 10 percent went to the CSSD and almost 15 percent to the
Coalition. MS
[43] SMER CANDIDATE OUTLINES HIS VISION FOR SLOVAK PREMIERSHIP...
Robert Fico, leader of Smer (Direction), said in an interview with CTK
on 5 August that if he becomes Slovakia's next prime minister, he will
strive to include in the cabinet people who have never served as
ministers. Fico also said that those included in the cabinet would have
to resign from the parliament if they were also elected as deputies. He
said that Smer intends to implement in practice its program, which is
called "100 decisions in 100 days." Fico also said that Slovakia's next
government should resign after one year if it has not managed to
implement the main points in its program by then. The Smer leader said
a cabinet headed by himself would see as its first priorities cutting
the number of civil servants and reforming the tax system. MS
[44] ...AS FORMER SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER'S CHANCES APPEAR TO BE
PLUMMETING
A public-opinion poll conduced by the DICIO polling institute in July
shows that backing for Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia (HZDS) has dropped by nine percentage points, CTK reported.
The agency said the drop was mainly due to the setting up of the
Movement for Democracy (HZD) by former parliamentary speaker Ivan
Gasparovic a few weeks earlier. The poll has the HZDS still winning the
September elections, but with a meager 18.7 percent support as opposed
to 27.7 in June. The HZDS is closely followed by Smer, which would
garner 15.8 percent if the elections were conducted today. The Alliance
for a New Citizen headed by media mogul Pavol Rusko is third (11.8
percent) and the Hungarian Coalition Party is fourth (9.7 percent). The
poll also suggests that the Christian Democratic Movement (7.7 percent)
and the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (7.6 percent) will gain
parliamentary representation. Neither of the two extreme nationalist
parties, the Slovak National Party and the Real Slovak National Party,
is likely to reach the legislature in September, according to the
poll's findings. MS
[45] HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION WALKS OUT OF COMMISSION HEARINGS...
Members of FIDESZ and the Democratic Forum on 5 August walked out of a
meeting of the parliamentary commission probing possible links of
current and former ministers with the communist secret services,
Hungarian media reported. The deputies said they no longer trust the
commission and refuse to "participate in its unlawful proceedings." The
two opposition parties say the Socialists are only using the commission
to divert attention from Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy's past and that
the procedure for handling state secrets was violated. FIDESZ and the
Democratic Forum charge that the commission's chairman, Free Democrat
Imre Mecs, spent a holiday in a non-NATO country and during that time
he left classified documents in the hands of a commission secretary.
The documents, they claim, were leaked to the media. Mecs has denied
that in a telephone conversation from his vacation spot he authorized
releasing the information to the MTI news agency. MS
[46] ...AND CALLS ON MECS TO RESIGN
The opposition daily "Magyar Nemzet" on 5 July reported that FIDESZ and
the Democratic Forum are calling on Mecs to resign over his handling of
the secret information. FIDESZ parliamentary deputy Robert Repassy said
a complaint will be filed with police against an unidentified
perpetrator in connection with the leak, accusing him or her of
disclosing state secrets. Socialist parliamentary deputy Karoly Toth
said the commission can continue to work without the FIDESZ and
Democratic Forum representatives but will not be able to cast a vote on
its final report. MS
[47] FIDESZ ACCUSES HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT OF CENSORING MEDIA
FIDESZ parliamentary deputy Maria Szalai on 5 August said the
government is engaging in "intellectual machine-gunning" reminiscent of
the darkest communist period, Hungarian media reported. Szalai said
there is strong censorship by the two governing parties at Hungarian
Television (MTV) and at Hungarian radio. Meanwhile, "Nepszabadsag" on 6
August reported that personnel changes are continuing at MTV, and
"Magyar Nemzet" reported that the editor in chief of a morning talk
show has been fired without explanation. MS
[48] HUNGARIAN PREMIER BLASTS PREDECESSOR ON EU MEMBERSHIP
Prime Minister Medgyessy on 5 August told a Budapest meeting of
Hungarian diplomats posted abroad that there might be life outside the
EU, but Hungary must choose the path leading to the union, Hungarian
media reported. Medgyessy was alluding to a remark made by his
predecessor, Viktor Orban, who said earlier this year that while
Hungary wants to join the EU, it should not do so at any costs and it
should remember that there is "life outside the EU" as well. Medgyessy
said accession talks should be conducted so as to benefit the average
Hungarian after their successful completion, adding that the majority
of Hungarians support joining the union. Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs
told the same meeting that Hungary must concentrate on concluding the
negotiations by the end of 2002 rather than worrying how many
candidates will be admitted in the expansion. He also said Hungary must
be granted identical rights, obligations, and competition terms as
those of current EU members and that a transition period on
agricultural subsidies must not extend beyond 2006. MS
[49] HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AMBIGUOUS ON TRIANON TREATY, BENES
DECREES
Foreign Minister Kovacs also said at the same forum that international
debates should begin over the significance of the Trianon Treaty and
the Benes Decrees, but at the same time he added that "past grievances
must not spill over [into] today's political discourse," Hungarian
media reported. He stressed that Hungarian politics must show "no trace
of nationalist rhetoric." Kovacs also said that ethnic Hungarians in
neighboring countries should enjoy full minority rights and be able to
preserve their national identity while pursuing well-being in their own
homeland. MS
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[50] SFOR SEARCHES BOSNIAN SERB BASE
NATO-led peacekeepers searched a Bosnian Serb military base known as
No. 711 near Foca late on 5 August, Deutsche Welle's Bosnian Service
reported. SFOR did not give a reason for the search or explain what the
troops did or did not find. NATO helicopters flew over the area during
the night. PM
[51] ASHDOWN WARNS AGAINST PESSIMISM ON BOSNIA...
Paddy Ashdown, who is the international community's high representative
in Bosnia, told Vienna's "Die Presse" of 6 August that he does not
understand why "Europe" always takes a dim view of trends in Bosnia and
feels compelled to lecture Bosnians on how to run their affairs. He
added that Bosnia has achieved much more in many fields, including
refugee return, in the past few years than Northern Ireland managed to
do in 30 years. Ashdown noted the links between political leaders and
organized crime in Bosnia, but added that the situation there is no
worse than it was in Western Europe after World War II, where the
problem was largely overcome. He stressed that the international
community must continue to help Bosnia lest it become a "vacuum" and
open to terrorist elements, as happened in Afghanistan. Ashdown called
on the Bosnian Serb authorities to do more to arrest indicted war
criminal Radovan Karadzic if they want to attract foreign investment to
their impoverished communities. PM
[52] ...AND CITES THREE IMPORTANT CHANGES
Ashdown also told Vienna's "Die Presse" of 6 August that there have
been three major changes in the former Yugoslavia over the past 10
years. The first is that "the two great godfathers of chaos" are gone
from the scene, namely Presidents Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo
Tudjman. Second, the United States has made it clear that it wants to
give up its former leading role in the region to a willing "Europe," by
which he presumably means the European Union. Third, there is a growing
trend among ordinary people in the region to put the past behind them
and look toward the future. Asked if he personally felt any resentment
by Bosnians toward him, he answered that he has not. But the
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported from Sarajevo on 6 August
that Bosnia remains in danger of becoming a long-term dependent of the
international community as long as meaningful change is brought about
only by decrees of the high representative. PM
[53] ELECTION SEASON BEGINS IN BOSNIA
The election commission announced in Sarajevo on 5 August that the
campaign for the 5 October general election has begun, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. Fifty-two parties are
taking part with a total of nearly 7,500 candidates. The offices at
stake are: the three-member presidency; the parliaments of Bosnia, the
Republika Srpska, and the Croat-Muslim federation; the presidency and
vice presidency of the Republika Srpska; and the legislative assemblies
of 10 cantons in the federation. This is the first election since the
war ended at the close of 1995 that will be run by Bosnian authorities
and not the OSCE. PM
[54] NO EU INTEREST IN COMBATING ILLEGAL PROSTITUTION IN BOSNIA?
The UN-led police force's (IPTF) campaign to end forced prostitution in
Bosnian brothels is expected to come to an end when the EU takes
control of police operations in Bosnia from the UN, Hina reported from
Sarajevo on 5 August. The UN campaign has led to 600 raids and the
closure of 124 brothels, but complicity of local police and judges with
the brothel owners has limited the effectiveness of the operations.
Representatives of the IPTF told Hina that the EU "is not interested in
[continuing] the program due to a lack of staff and funding." A British
police officer noted that the brothel owners are aware of this and "not
in the least upset." Belgrade is the main center of human trafficking
in the region. Young women are often sold for between $1,250 and
$1,750. PM
[55] TOUGH TALKS FOR SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
The subcommission tasked with hammering out the Constitutional Charter
for the new loose union of Serbia and Montenegro has concluded its work
on the provisions dealing with foreign affairs, RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported from Belgrade on 5 August. Many
points remain on other issues, however, regarding which Montenegro on
the one hand and Serbia and Yugoslavia on the other hand take opposite
views. Subcommission member Dragan Jocic said that he doubts it will be
possible to work out a mutually acceptable compromise on many issues
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 July and 1 August 2002). PM
[56] NO RETURN TO SERBIAN PARLIAMENT FOR KOSTUNICA'S DEPUTIES?
Bosko Ristic, who heads the Serbian parliament's Administrative
Committee, said in Belgrade on 5 August that the deputies from the
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) cannot reclaim their seats in the
legislature because the DSS has been excluded from the governing
Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition, RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 July
2002). He was apparently responding to suggestions that the DSS could
return to the parliament as part of a deal between it and DOS. PM
[57] YUGOSLAV BANK CHIEF SAYS KOSTUNICA BELONGS TO THE PAST
Mladjan Dinkic, who is governor of the Yugoslav National Bank, said in
Nis on 5 August that President Vojislav Kostunica is a man who belongs
to history, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. Dinkic added that it will mean the end of Kostunica's
political career if he runs for the Serbian presidency on 29 September
and loses. The bank governor formally endorsed the candidacy of
Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus for the Serbian
presidency. PM
[58] KOSTUNICA'S ADVISER BLAMES 'ALBANIAN LOBBY' FOR BELGRADE'S POOR
STANDING IN WASHINGTON
Predrag Simic, one of President Kostunica's advisers for foreign
affairs, told the BBC's Serbian Service on 5 August that well-organized
work by the "Albanian lobby" in Washington is responsible for the tough
attitude of the U.S. government toward Belgrade's failure to cooperate
with The Hague-based war crimes tribunal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5
August 2002). Simic added that the "Serbian lobby" is unable to compete
with its rival because the Serbian diaspora continues to be split into
two rival camps, one linked to the monarchist and Orthodox tradition
and the other associated with the former communist regime. PM
[59] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT WARNS SORE LOSERS IN BUJANOVAC
The government called on citizens of Bujanovac to "refrain from
protests and inciting unrest," RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported on 5 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 August
2002). The government endorsed the polices of its own Coordination
Center for Southern Serbia headed by Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa
Covic, whom some Serbian nationalists in the region have accused of
"selling out" their interests to the local ethnic Albanian majority. PM
[60] MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENT CHARGES PARLIAMENTARY COALITION WITH SPOOK
COUP
The governing Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo
Djukanovic has accused the new coalition of pro-Belgrade and
pro-independence forces that make up the majority in the legislature of
trying to take control of the intelligence services, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. The new coalition plans
to debate its own proposal for parliamentary control over a
reconstituted security agency at the 19 August legislative session. PM
[61] INTERIOR MINISTRY HANDS OUT PASSPORTS TO MACEDONIANS ABROAD...
The Interior Ministry is conducting a campaign of issuing passports to
ethnic Macedonians living abroad, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported
on 5 August. Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski of the nationalist
Interior Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO-DPMNE) said: "This
is only the beginning. As of today, we have handed out some 10,000
passports. We expect to issue about 3 or 4 million passports to people
of Macedonian origin living abroad. For [ethnic Macedonians] living in
Albania, we will issue some 1,600 passports. The process is to be
continued in Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and in Vojvodina." Critics from
the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) accuse
Boskovski of trying to artificially raise the number of voters for the
VMRO-DPMNE during the parliamentary elections slated for 15 September.
UB
[62] ...AND PROVOKES PROTEST BY ALBANIAN PRESIDENT
President Alfred Moisiu protested Boskovski's visit to the Albanian
town of Liqenas on 4 August, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported.
Moisiu asked the Macedonian government to explain how Boskovski managed
to enter Albania accompanied by his armed bodyguards. After diplomatic
consultations, the Macedonian Foreign Ministry declared on 5 August
that Boskovski's visit was officially announced, the daily "Dnevnik"
reported. During his stay in Albania, Boskovski met with
representatives of the ethnic Macedonian minority. He promised them
Macedonian passports and encouraged them to demand more rights in
Albania. UB
[63] ALBANIAN COMMANDOS FOR AFGHANISTAN
Thirty specially trained commandos from the Albanian armed forces have
joined peacekeeping operations at Kabul airport, an RFE/RL
correspondent reported from Tirana on 5 August. The Albanian platoon
will focus on security at the airport, the site of the assassination of
interim Civil Aviation Minister Abdul Rahman in February. The 30 men
spent two weeks training in Turkey before joining the ranks of the
5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, which is
currently under Turkish command. The mission marks the second time
Albanian troops have participated in Western-led peacekeeping. Albanian
special forces soldiers are also serving in Bosnia with SFOR troops.
Albania wants to broaden the experience of its military and demonstrate
its ability to take part in operations led by NATO, which it hopes to
join in the next round following the expected expansion of the alliance
in November 2002. PM
[64] ROMANIAN THINK TANK WARNS AGAINST GROWING PERCEPTIONS OF PRM AS
'ALTERNATIVE'
An analysis released last weekend by the Bucharest-based Romanian
Academic Society (SAR) warned that the extremist Greater Romania Party
(PRM) is increasingly perceived as a viable alternative to the
governing Social Democratic Party (PSD). In a press release, SAR said
that although only 24 percent of respondents to a survey conducted in
July by the Center for Urban and Rural Sociology (CURS) said they can
envisage another party as a viable alternative to the ruling PSD, a
large plurality among respondents who did so (36.9 percent) singled out
the PRM as being that alternative. The extremist party is followed at
distance by the Democratic Party with 17.4 percent. The SAR said that
general support for the PRM is also growing -- from 15 percent in March
to 17 percent in June and 19 percent in July (in the 2000 parliamentary
elections the PRM took 20.2 percent of the vote). MS
[65] ROMANIAN LIBERALS DEMAND 'SUSPENSION' OF IASI PREFECT
National Liberal Party (PNL) First Deputy Chairman Theodor Melescanu
demanded on 5 July that Prime Minister Adrian Nastase should
"immediately suspend" Iasi Prefect Corneliu Rusu Banu from his
position, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The PNL leader said the
suspension should remain in effect until the parliamentary commission
supervising the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI)
concludes its investigation into the affair. According to media
reports, Banu has said that SRI sources have told him the names of
journalists who allegedly leaked to EU Ambassador to Romania Jonathan
Scheele information regarding comments Banu made suggesting that Roma
be forbidden entrance to public buildings. While denying that he
received such information from Romanian journalists, Scheele has
officially asked whether his telephone calls are being monitored by the
SRI (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 August 2002). MS
[66] MOLDOVAN OFFICIAL KIDNAPPED IN CHISINAU
Piotr Dimitrov, deputy director of the government Information and
Technologies Department, was kidnapped in Chisinau on 2 August,
Moldovan news agencies and ITAR-TASS reported. Dimitrov's son told
journalists that his father left his home to switch off his car's alarm
system after it was set off, and was forced by two people into another
car and driven away. Reports said Piotr Dimitrov's department is
currently introducing a new system aimed at preventing smuggling and
illegal immigration and that police suspect his kidnapping may be
connected with that activity. Criminal investigations have been
launched. MS
[67] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS OSCE PLAN CAN SERVE AS BASIS FOR
TRANSDNIESTER...
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko said on 5 August
that the plan proposed in Kyiv in July by the OSCE for the settlement
of the Transdniester conflict "can be used as the basis" by experts
representing the two sides in working out a "mutually acceptable
version" of the plan, Infotag reported. Yakovenko said the idea of
Moldova's federalization, on which the OSCE plan is based, "has been
welcomed in both Chisinau and Tiraspol." MS
[68] ...AS SEPARATIST LEADER PRAISES IT
Separatist leader Igor Smirnov, speaking on Tiraspol television on 5
August, said that the July meeting in Kyiv has resulted in the
elaboration of "absolutely new conceptual principles concerning the
construction of relations between Transdniester and Moldova" and the
"full rejection of the obsolete views of the Republic of Moldova's
statehood," Infotag reported. Smirnov said the new concepts "correspond
to the stance consistently upheld by Transdniester in the negotiation
process" and added that the dialogue between the two sides must now
proceed. He said remaining differences can be overcome, leading to "a
balanced and responsible political solution for the full-scale
normalization of relations between Transdniester and Moldova. " MS
[69] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO LEBANON
On 5 August, Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski arrived for a
two-day official visit to Lebanon, where he met with his counterpart
Rafiq Hariri, President Emile Lahud, and parliament speaker Nabih
Berri, BTA reported. Saxecoburggotski's trip to Lebanon and Jordan will
focus on the improvement of Bulgarian-Arab relations. UB
[70] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT RETURNS ENVIRONMENTAL-PROTECTION BILL
President Georgi Parvanov on 5 August returned a new bill on
environmental protection and demanded that parliament revise several
provisions of the draft law, news.bg reported. Parvanov criticized
provisions in the bill pertaining to information policy to be followed
by state authorities. The draft law stipulates that citizens will have
to request information about environmental issues, rather than obliging
authorities to provide the public with information on a daily basis.
Parvanov said this could lead to information blackouts on vital issues,
as was the case with Chornobyl in Ukraine. UB
[71] BULGARIAN PRIVATIZATION AGENCY ASKS BULGARTABAC BIDDERS FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The working group for the privatization of the state tobacco company
Bulgartabac that includes representatives from the state Privatization
Agency as well as Economy Minister Nikolay Vasilev and Agriculture
Minister Mehmed Dikme, on 5 August decided to ask the four bidders for
Bulgartabac to answer some 70 additional questions regarding the offers
they submitted, BTA reported. "Clearly, if the candidate buyers do not
revise their bids, we will hardly proceed [with the deal]," Dikme said
before the meeting. Dikme, a member of the ethnic Turkish Movement for
Rights and Freedoms (DPS), has repeatedly criticized the low bids
offered thus far. However, Vasilev denied that the working group
discussed requesting that the bids be revised. UB
END NOTE
[72] There is no End Note today.
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