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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-09-27
CONTENTS
[01] ARMY CLAIMS GALASHKI FIGHTING IS OVER...
[02] ...AS DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS THE BATTLE MIGHT BE THE LAST STRAW...
[03] ...AND REPORTS OF CASUALTIES VARY
[04] LEADING CHECHEN OFFICIAL CRITICIZES GEORGIAN LEADERSHIP...
[05] ...AND INGUSH OFFICIAL SAYS FIGHTERS CAME FROM CHECHNYA
[06] PIPELINE EXPLODES, OFFICIAL KILLED IN DAGHESTAN
[07] PUTIN CALLS FOR SPEEDY RETURN OF UN INSPECTORS TO IRAQ...
[08] ...AS POLITICAL SCIENTIST EXPLAINS PUTIN'S TACTICS
[09] PRIME MINISTER DISMISSES EU'S KALININGRAD PROPOSALS
[10] FOREIGN MINISTRY DISCOUNTS TALK OF CHINESE EXPANSION...
[11] ...AS ENVOY SAYS NOT ALL TIMBER TRADE WITH CHINA IS IN RUSSIA'S
[12] MORE NEW FACES FOR THE FEDERATION COUNCIL
[13] FORMER SENATOR TAKES A PARTING SHOT...
[14] ...AND YET ANOTHER REP TO LEAVE AFTER LESS THAN A YEAR
[15] NIZHNII ELECTIONS AS PROTOTYPE...
[16] ...AS KREMLIN STRIVES FOR LESS SPONTANEITY IN PUBLIC REALM
[17] LARGE PROTEST VOTE EXPECTED IN NIZHNII
[18] PROSECUTOR-GENERAL STILL DOESN'T LIKE TATARSTAN'S CONSTITUTION
[19] LATEST SURVEY RANKS POLITICIANS, PARTIES
[20] PRESIDENT NAMES NEW STATE COUNCIL PRESIDIUM
[21] SECOND WRITER TO FACE PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
[22] AIR FORCE OFFICER MURDERED; SECRET PAPERS MISSING
[23] ROLE OF HANDICAPPED IN RUSSIA REVIEWED
[24] PUTIN FOR SALE
[25] PUTIN MEETS WITH CHECHEN ADMINISTRATION HEAD
[26] COUNCIL OF EUROPE WARNS ARMENIA OVER DEATH-PENALTY ABOLITION
[27] MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN HOLD TALKS WITH ARMENIAN LEADERS...
[28] ...AS AZERBAIJANIS ISSUE ULTIMATUM
[29] COUNCIL OF EUROPE SLAMS AZERBAIJAN'S FAILURE TO MEET COMMITMENTS
[30] DETAINED AZERBAIJANI VILLAGE LEADER BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE
[31] GEORGIAN OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR 'CONSOLIDATION'
[32] EDITORS OF KAZAKH ECONOMIC PUBLICATION PROTEST HARASSMENT
[33] FORMER KYRGYZ VICE PRESIDENT ADDRESSES APPEALS COURT
[34] TAJIKISTAN WELCOMES NEW RUSSIAN ANTI-DRUG TRAFFICKING BODY
[35] UZBEK SENTENCED FOR ESPIONAGE IN TAJIKISTAN
[36] COUNCIL OF EUROPE REMINDS BELARUS OF CONDITIONS FOR ENDING
[37] BELARUS'S DEMOCRATIC TRADE UNIONS BACK CONVICTED JOURNALISTS
[38] LUKASHENKA MAKES HIMSELF SOLE TAX BENEFACTOR OF BELARUSIAN
[39] BELARUSIAN OFFICIAL CONVICTED FOR ATTEMPT TO BETRAY SECRETS TO
[40] MORE THAN HALF OF BELARUSIANS WANT TO BE IN EU, ONE-THIRD IN
[41] UKRAINIAN PRO-PRESIDENTIAL GROUPS PROCLAIM FORMATION OF
[42] ...BUT ITS PRACTICALITY MAY BE DUBIOUS
[43] ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER PRESENTS 2003 DRAFT BUDGET TO PARLIAMENT
[44] LATVIA ADOPTS LAW CHANGING SUPERVISION OVER STATE-OWNED COMPANIES
[45] FINNISH PRESIDENT SUPPORTS LATVIA ON AGRICULTURE QUOTAS
[46] LITHUANIA, AZERBAIJAN SIGN PROGRAM ON INFORMATION EXCHANGE
[47] POLAND, RUSSIA SIGN DEAL TO UPGRADE MIG AIRCRAFT
[48] POLISH PARLIAMENT PASSES CONTROVERSIAL TAX AMNESTY
[49] CZECHS MIGHT SEND COMBAT TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN
[50] AGREEMENT NEAR ON NEXT SLOVAK CABINET
[51] BUSH, BLAIR, PRODI CONGRATULATE SLOVAKS ON ELECTORAL OUTCOME
[52] HUNGARY WORKING TO PERSUADE HUSSEIN TO CEASE WEAPONS-DEVELOPMENT
[53] HUNGARIAN PREMIER EXPECTS COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE TO END BY
[54] MECS CLAIMS 'PARTIAL SUCCESS'
[55] CONTENDER FOR SERBIAN PRESIDENCY HOLDS FINAL RALLY
[56] ULTRANATIONALIST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DENIED ENTRY INTO KOSOVA
[57] BELGRADE COURT CONVICTS MILOSEVIC'S DAUGHTER
[58] YUGOSLAVIA, UNICEF SIGN REFORM-MINDED DEAL
[59] EU'S SOLANA URGES REFORM VOTE IN BOSNIA
[60] CROATIAN CONSERVATIVES CALL FOR PRESIDENT'S IMPEACHMENT...
[61] ...AS CROATIAN DIPLOMACY SEEKS TO FEND OFF INTERNATIONAL SCORN...
[62] ...AND BRITISH GOVERNMENT CALLS ON CROATIA TO COMPLY
[63] HAGUE CHIEF PROSECUTOR FAILS TO SWAY MACEDONIA TO GIVE UP WAR
[64] ROMANIA 'SALUTES' U.S. HOUSE EUROPE SUBCOMMITTEE RESOLUTION ON
[65] PRESIDENT DOES NOT ENVISION REQUEST FOR ROMANIAN TROOPS IF IRAQ IS
[66] ROMANIAN PREMIER TOLD ICC STAND WILL NOT AFFECT EU REPORT ON
[67] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES QUIT BUCHAREST CITY COUNCIL
[68] ROMANIAN ROMANY EXODUS FROM FRANCE TO SWITZERLAND
[69] TRANSDNIESTER CONFLICT NEGOTIATIONS ONCE AGAIN AT IMPASSE...
[70] ...AND RUSSIAN NEGOTIATORS IN TIRASPOL HARDLY DO ANY BETTER
[71] PACE SAYS HALF-EMPTY MOLDOVAN GLASS MUST BE FILLED
[72] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT REAPPOINTS NATIONAL BANK CHAIRMAN
[73] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS BILL TO STEM FINANCING OF TERRORISM
[74] STATE PRIVATIZATION AGENCY DIRECTOR INSISTS ON PRIVATIZATION OF
[75] BULGARIA COMPLETES DESTRUCTION OF SS-23 WARHEADS
[76] There is no End Note today.
27 September 2002
RUSSIA
[01] ARMY CLAIMS GALASHKI FIGHTING IS OVER...
Lieutenant General Valerii Gerasimov, commander of the 58th Division in
the North Caucasus, said his troops have destroyed most of the Chechen
detachment reportedly led by Chechen field commander Adul-Malik near
the Ingush village of Galashki (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 September
2002), Russian news agencies reported. He added that the rest of the
Chechen band has dispersed into a forested area along the border
between Ingushetia and Chechnya. Gerasimov added that Russian troops
had captured six fighters, two of whom are Arabs. The prisoners
reportedly said the unit had been based in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge and
had entered Russia by paying $7,000 to local residents. They reportedly
said that field commander Ruslan Gelaev was in overall command of the
operation. Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinskii said his office
has opened a criminal investigation into the Galashki fighting,
Interfax and other Russian news agencies reported on 26 September.
Fridinskii said that preliminary evidence indicates the detachment of
about 200 fighters crossed the Russian-Georgian border on 15 September.
VY
[02] ...AS DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS THE BATTLE MIGHT BE THE LAST STRAW...
Speaking to journalists in Warsaw, Sergei Ivanov said that if it is
confirmed that the Chechen fighters entered Russia from Georgia, it
might consume the "last drop of Russia's patience," Western and Russian
news agencies reported on 27 September. "We will use all the avenues
accepted by international law and United Nations resolutions on
combating international terrorism," Ivanov said. Presidential aide
Sergei Yastrzhembskii reacted to a statement by Georgian Deputy
Interior Minister Lasha Natsvlishvili, who told RTR on 26 September
that his country's main task is to get rid of "unwanted guests" on its
territory. "If they want to go back to where they came from, we find
that natural and cannot prevent them from doing so," Natsvlishvili
said. "Natsvlishvili's statement attests to either complete
helplessness or extreme arrogance," Yastrzhembskii retorted. Gazeta.ru
commented on 27 September that the Ingushetia fighting is a godsend for
Russian generals who have been seeking a pretext for a military
incursion into Georgia. VY
[03] ...AND REPORTS OF CASUALTIES VARY
Ivanov also said that 14 Russian servicemen were killed in the fighting
and that about 40 Chechen fighters had been killed or wounded.
Meanwhile, Chechen sources also reported that the fighting has subsided
and that the fighters are retreating to their bases. According to
chechenpress.com, about 30 Russian troops were killed or wounded during
the fighting. The website also claims that seven pieces of heavy
equipment were destroyed, as was one helicopter. The website also
claimed that the Chechens attacked a group of Federal Security Service
(FSB) officers near the village of Guni, killing five and wounding
seven. RIA-Novosti reported that the FSB acknowledged the loss of four
officers near Vedeno in Chechnya. Chechenpress.com also said that
losses among the Chechen fighters amounted to seven killed and 10
wounded. VY
[04] LEADING CHECHEN OFFICIAL CRITICIZES GEORGIAN LEADERSHIP...
Commenting on the 26 September fighting in Ingushetia, Chechen deputy
administration head Tauz Dzhabrailov condemned Georgia's tolerance of
"international terrorists" on its territory, which he termed the
primary reason why the "antiterrorism" operation in Chechnya has lasted
so long, Interfax reported. Dzhabrailov claimed that only prompt action
by the Russian military prevented the Chechen fighters from crossing
into Chechen territory where, he claimed, they planned acts of sabotage
and terrorism. LF
[05] ...AND INGUSH OFFICIAL SAYS FIGHTERS CAME FROM CHECHNYA
As more and more increasingly contradictory details of the 26 September
fighting in Galashki emerge, Ingushetian officials and Chechen Vice
President Akhmed Zakaev have both denied official Russian claims that
the fighters reached Ingushetia from the Pankisi Gorge. "Vremya MN" on
27 September pointed out that Galashki is 60-70 kilometers from the
Georgian-Ingushetian border and questions how the fighters managed to
travel so far north undetected. It quotes other, unidentified Ingush
officials as saying the Chechens enterer Ingushetia from Chechnya. The
same paper, referring to the website ingushetia.ru, quoted Ingushetian
presidential administration official Alikhan Dudarov as saying the
Chechen fighters numbered only 10-15 men and that the Russian
helicopter was not shot down but crashed due to a technical
malfunction. "Kommersant-Daily" on 27 September quoted Chechen Vice
Premier Zakaev as pointing out that Galashki is almost 200 kilometers
from the Pankisi Gorge. Zakaev asserted that claims that the Chechen
fighters reached Galashki from Pankisi are simply "a pretext for
Russian aggression against Georgia." LF
[06] PIPELINE EXPLODES, OFFICIAL KILLED IN DAGHESTAN
A natural-gas pipeline exploded on 26 September outside of Makhachkala,
Russian and Western news agencies reported the next day. More than 400
villages and settlements were left without gas, although no one was
reported injured in the explosion. Authorities are investigating the
cause of the incident and have not ruled out that it was a terrorist
act. On 27 September, Colonel Akhberdilav Akilov, the head of the
Interior Ministry's antiterrorism unit in Daghestan, was killed by
unidentified gunmen who strafed his car in downtown Makhachkala, AP and
Russian news agencies reported. Akilov, his driver, and a female
passerby were killed instantly in the attack. Akilov had earned a
reputation for his campaign against kidnapping and terrorism in the
region. RC
[07] PUTIN CALLS FOR SPEEDY RETURN OF UN INSPECTORS TO IRAQ...
During a Kremlin reception for foreign ambassadors, including the
ambassador from Iraq, on 26 September, President Vladimir Putin said
Russia is for "the rapid settlement of the Iraq problem by political
and diplomatic means on the basis of United Nations resolutions,"
Russian news agencies reported. He added that Baghdad's recent decision
to allow UN weapons inspectors to return "has opened up a real
opportunity for such progress," and he called for Iraq to implement the
decision as quickly as possible. The same day, Putin discussed Iraq
with French President Jacques Chirac, rusenergy.ru reported. The
leaders discussed France's intention to submit its own resolution on
Iraq to the UN Security Council, which France views as an alternative
to a harsh U.S.-drafted resolution calling for the rapid forced
disarmament of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime. The draft
French resolution calls for "the gradual, multistage resolution of the
Iraq crisis," according to rusenergy.ru. VY
[08] ...AS POLITICAL SCIENTIST EXPLAINS PUTIN'S TACTICS
As the United States pushes its initiative to remove President Hussein,
Russia should adopt the tactic of buying time, said Yurii Fedorov,
director of the Moscow Institute of Applied International Studies,
speaking to the BBC on 27 September. On the one hand, because of its
strong pro-Iraq lobby, Russia cannot vote in favor of the
U.S.-sponsored resolution on Iraq. On the other, Putin cannot allow
himself to antagonize the United States by voting against it. Russia's
best tactic is to avoid voting at all, which is why Moscow is calling
for a settlement based on existing resolutions, Fedorov said. VY
[09] PRIME MINISTER DISMISSES EU'S KALININGRAD PROPOSALS
Mikhail Kasyanov, on a visit to Finland, said on 27 September that
Russia cannot accept the latest European Union proposals regarding
access to the Kaliningrad exclave after Poland and Lithuania join the
union, RIA-Novosti reported. EU Commission Chairman Romano Prodi sent
the proposals, which envisage issuing free EU transit documents to all
residents of Kaliningrad Oblast and to Russian citizens who travel
frequently between the exclave and the rest of Russia, to President
Putin on 18 September. According to the proposals, the travel documents
would be issued to all citizens appearing on a list compiled by the
Russian government. However, Kasyanov said, "This offer, in fact,
solves nothing and is just a well-packaged multiple-entry visa." Putin
telephoned Prodi on 26 September and called on him to join "a joint
search for a solution to the Kaliningrad problem despite existing
differences," Russian news agencies reported. VY
[10] FOREIGN MINISTRY DISCOUNTS TALK OF CHINESE EXPANSION...
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement to Interfax on 26 September
criticizing domestic and foreign reports about the alleged "Chinese
expansion" into Russia's Far East and the Baikal region. According to
the ministry, the number of Chinese citizens in Russia does not exceed
150,000-200,000, compared with 6 million ethnic Chinese in the United
States. The ministry said press reports claiming otherwise are based on
incorrect statistics. Last June, "Versiya" reported that while the
Interior Ministry estimates that there are 2 million Chinese in all of
Russia, other unnamed sources believe that there are 5 million,
compared with just 250,000 five years ago, according to Carnegie Moscow
Center figures (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 June 2002). JAC
[11] ...AS ENVOY SAYS NOT ALL TIMBER TRADE WITH CHINA IS IN RUSSIA'S
INTERESTS
Meanwhile, in an interview with "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 26 September,
presidential envoy to the Siberian Federal District Leonid Drachevskii
discussed Russian-Chinese economic relations. According to Drachevskii,
the claim that much of China's economic growth over the past few years
has come as a result of trade with Russia is "exaggerated." Trade
between Russia and China amounts to about $10 billion annually -- of
which one-fifth is with the Siberian Federal District. "Therefore it is
natural that many Chinese firms work primarily in the Russian market,"
Drachevskii was quoted as saying. At the same time, he noted there are
many instances of economic cooperation with China that are not in
Russia's interests. For example, he said, West Siberian timber is sold
to China at "extremely low prices." According to trade statistics,
Russia sells timber to China at $52.70 per cubic meter compared with
$80 per cubic meter to Eastern and Western Europe. In addition, he
said, "It is no secret that a significant proportion of Chinese firms'
goods reach Russian territory by illegal means." JAC
[12] MORE NEW FACES FOR THE FEDERATION COUNCIL
The Federation Council confirmed three new members on 25 September,
"Kommersant-Daily" reported the next day. Leonid Lebedev of the
Moscow-based Syntez corporation now represents Chavashia's legislature.
Former First Deputy Governor of Tomsk Oblast Vladimir Zhidkikh replaced
Nikolai Gurdin, who served less than a year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25
September 2002). And Aleksandr Skorobogatko will represent Kaliningrad
Oblast, replacing Valerii Ustyugov. Skorobogatko, who has a higher
degree in law from the St. Petersburg Interior Ministry Academy,
previously represented Karachaevo-Cherkessia in the upper legislative
chamber, the newspaper "Kaskad" reported. JAC
[13] FORMER SENATOR TAKES A PARTING SHOT...
In an interview with "Moskovskii komsomolets" on 26 September, Ustyugov
explained his reasons for leaving the Federation Council. Ustyugov said
that one reason for his departure was that his approach to the issue of
travel to and from Kaliningrad is less hard-line than those of his
colleagues. "Russia insists on visa-free travel, but I believe this
will lead the talks into a deadlock," he said. An additional reason for
his departure is that, in the current Federation Council, no one can be
an "independent" political figure. He added that he believes 80 percent
of his colleagues would not be elected to the upper chamber if free
elections were held. However, the senators are "mainly Moscow
residents," and, according to Ustyugov, they hope that the elections
will be held with 50 percent of the mandates allocated according to
party lists. "Every party is in Moscow," he noted, so those who wish to
return to the upper chamber will maneuver to place themselves on one or
another party list. Ustyugov is former chairman of the oblast's
legislature and served in the previous Federation Council. JAC
[14] ...AND YET ANOTHER REP TO LEAVE AFTER LESS THAN A YEAR
Meanwhile, "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 27 September that legislators
in Primorskii Krai voted on 26 September to recall their
representative, Mikhail Glubokovskii, who is reportedly a close
associate of krai Governor Sergei Darkin. Glubokovskii is a former
State Duma deputy from the Yabloko faction, and he was only appointed
in January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January 2002). According to the
daily, the decision to recall Glubokovskii was only one of a series of
measures by the legislature "expressing a clear anti-gubernatorial
tendency." A new legislature was elected this summer. JAC
[15] NIZHNII ELECTIONS AS PROTOTYPE...
In an article in "Vremya MN" on 26 September, analyst Dmitrii Furman
writes that the present mayoral election cycle in Nizhnii Novgorod can
be viewed as a template for processes occurring nationally. With the
last-minute cancellation of former Mayor Andrei Klimentiev's
registration as a candidate (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 September 2002),
the authorities once again showed they can decide that someone should
not win and that to struggle against them is futile. Some polls showed
Klimentiev leading in the race prior to his exclusion (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 19 August 2002). However, the Kremlin's victory in this
case, according to Furman, will be "Pyrrhic." "In the eyes of Nizhnii
Novgorod residents, whoever becomes the next mayor will be seen as
illegitimate and cannot rule without the support of federal
authorities," Furman concluded. JAC
[16] ...AS KREMLIN STRIVES FOR LESS SPONTANEITY IN PUBLIC REALM
Furman also argues that the federal authorities are striving for more
control and predictability in politics and in elections, but this
attempt "to turn something living -- which is therefore unpredictable,
irrational, and dangerous -- into something dead and safe" is not
likely to succeed. "Society is alive just the same; it changes and
develops," he writes. "Therefore, if from above the surface everything
appears peaceful, then that means the real processes are taking place
underneath the surface." JAC
[17] LARGE PROTEST VOTE EXPECTED IN NIZHNII
Just two days before the second round of voting in Nizhnii Novgorod's
mayoral election, fears that the winner could be "against all" and that
the election will be voided are mounting, "Vremya novostei" reported on
27 September. Former Mayor Klimentiev, whose candidacy was annulled on
the eve of the first round of voting, has called on his supporters to
vote "against all" as a protest. Current Mayor Yurii Lebedev, who
narrowly won the first round, has publicly stated that he will resign
if the election is voided. His second-round opponent, Duma Deputy Vadim
Bulavinov, has been distancing himself recently from presidential envoy
to the Volga Federal District Sergei Kirienko in order "to prove that
he is independent," the daily reported. "If the majority of Nizhnii
Novgorod voters vote 'against all,' the elections will be declared
invalid, and in that case new elections will be scheduled" within six
months, said Central Election Commission member Sergei Danilenko. If
this happens, analysts believe that Klimentiev's chances of winning are
considered good, the paper commented. RC
[18] PROSECUTOR-GENERAL STILL DOESN'T LIKE TATARSTAN'S CONSTITUTION
More than 50 points in the newest version of the constitution of
Tatarstan have been deemed to contradict federal legislation, polit.ru
and RIA-Novosti reported on 26 September. Deputy Prosecutor-General
Aleksandr Zvyagintsev has sent a complete list to the republic's
Supreme Court. The news agency cited him as saying that the republican
legislature refused to consider a similar list that he sent to that
body earlier this month. Zvyagintsev added that although the new
version of the constitution, which was adopted in March, has eliminated
a number of articles pertaining to republican sovereignty, it still
contains problematic articles regarding the separation of powers
between republican bodies and the office of the presidential envoy to
the Volga Federal District. RC
[19] LATEST SURVEY RANKS POLITICIANS, PARTIES
The All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) has
presented the results of its latest survey asking respondents to rate
the performance of leading political figures, polit.ru reported on 27
September. Seventy-seven percent of respondents approve of President
Putin's performance, while 20 percent disapprove. Fifty-one percent
approve of their local governors, while 41 percent disapprove.
Thirty-nine percent approve of the presidential envoys to the federal
districts, while 45 percent disapprove. Asked which politicians they
trust most, 53 percent named Putin, 22 percent named Emergency
Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, 15 percent named Communist leader
Gennadii Zyuganov, and 12 percent named Prime Minister Kasyanov. Moscow
Mayor Yurii Luzhkov was named by 10 percent of respondents, which
represents a 300 percent increase in his popularity compared to a
similar survey taken in the spring. Among political parties, the
communists ranked first with 31 percent support, while Unified Russia
came in second with 28 percent. RC
[20] PRESIDENT NAMES NEW STATE COUNCIL PRESIDIUM
President Putin has signed an order naming the new composition of the
rotating Presidium of the State Council, gazeta.ru reported on 26
September. According to the order, the Presidium will comprise Chukotka
Autonomous Oblast Governor Roman Abramovich, Vladimir Oblast Governor
Nikolai Vinogradov, Vologda Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Pozgalev, Tyumen
Oblast Governor Sergei Sobyanin, Novosibirsk Oblast Governor Viktor
Tolokonskii, Chavash Republic President Nikolai Fedorov, and Rostov
Oblast Governor Vladimir Chub. RC
[21] SECOND WRITER TO FACE PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
Prosecutors have filed a criminal case on charges of disseminating
pornography against writer Kirill Vorobev, who writes under the penname
Bayan Shiryanov, polit.ru and other Russian news agencies reported on
26 September. The case is the second stemming from complaints against
writers filed by the pro-Putin youth movement Walking Together. In
July, similar charges were filed against Vladimir Sorokin (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 11 July 2002). Vorobev was expected to answer prosecutors'
questions on 27 September. Earlier this week, Vorobev filed a complaint
against Walking Together alleging that members of the group publicly
insulted him and threw tomatoes at his photograph during a
demonstration. RC
[22] AIR FORCE OFFICER MURDERED; SECRET PAPERS MISSING
Air Force Colonel Nikolai Panachuk has been murdered in Kaluga Oblast
and unspecified secret documents were stolen from him, gazeta.ru
reported on 26 September. According to the report, Panachuk left his
base near the town of Vorotynsk for Vyazma several days ago, but he
never arrived there. His Mercedes was discovered wrecked and abandoned
on 18 September near the village of Nikolaev. His body was found nearby
two days later, and police suspect that robbery was the motive. RC
[23] ROLE OF HANDICAPPED IN RUSSIA REVIEWED
An international film festival devoted to the problems of handicapped
people will run in Moscow from 26-29 September, RFE/RL's Moscow bureau
reported. Some 140 art films and documentaries from around the world
featuring themes such as discrimination against the handicapped will be
screened. Sergei Miroshnichenko, documentary film director and chairman
of the festival, explained that he hopes the festival will help explain
how WWII veterans, many of whom are disabled, had to learn to readapt
to Russian society. "My father returned from the World War II blind,"
Miroshnichenko said. "And I remember very well his stories about the
huge number of handicapped in our country; that is, people without
hands, noses...They were called 'samovars.' These people were simply
thrown away. In our country for some reason, everywhere health,
strength, and courage are honored -- even at the House of
Cinematography." He explained that the festival could not be held at
that prestigious venue because it is not handicapped accessible. JAC
[24] PUTIN FOR SALE
The former Putin Cafe in Chelyabinsk is for sale for $10,000,
regions.ru reported on 26 September, citing Region-Inform-Perm.
Ntvru.com reported earlier that the owners of the bar were forced by
local officials to change its name because they feared displeasing
federal officials (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 and 9 July 2002). But now
the young cafe owners are moving on and have placed an advertisement
for the cafe on the Internet. JAC
[25] PUTIN MEETS WITH CHECHEN ADMINISTRATION HEAD
President Putin met on 26 September with Chechen administration head
Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov to discuss the economic situation in Chechnya,
Russian agencies reported. Kadyrov told journalists after those talks
that the current pace of reconstruction in Chechnya is not satisfactory
but that steps are being taken to speed it up. He also claimed that
this year's Chechen grain harvest amounted to 340,000 tons, which, he
said, is "unprecedented." LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[26] COUNCIL OF EUROPE WARNS ARMENIA OVER DEATH-PENALTY ABOLITION
In a resolution adopted on 26 September at its ongoing session, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) warned that
Armenia's membership in the Council of Europe might be suspended if its
parliament fails to abolish the death penalty unconditionally before
June 2003, AFP and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Most Armenian
parliament deputies oppose abolishing recent amendments to the Criminal
Code that would provide for handing down the death penalty to the five
gunmen currently on trial for murdering eight senior officials in the
Armenian parliament in October 1999 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 25
June, 8 and 9 July, and 22 August 2002). LF
[27] MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN HOLD TALKS WITH ARMENIAN LEADERS...
The French, Russian, and U.S. co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group
together with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav
Trubnikov met in Yerevan on 26 September with President Robert
Kocharian, who briefed them on his talks last month with his
Azerbaijani counterpart Heidar Aliev on approaches to resolving the
Karabakh conflict, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Trubnikov
described the results of the Aliev-Kocharian summit as "encouraging"
and said the "strategic direction" of the negotiating process remains
unchanged, although upcoming presidential elections in both Armenia and
Azerbaijan are having an impact on it. He also said that both Aliev and
Kocharian remain committed to the so-called "Paris principles" agreed
on last year. In June, Aliev accused Armenia of reneging on those
principles, while Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliev has
denied their existence on several occasions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17
June and 11 July 2002). As widely anticipated, the co-chairmen did not
unveil any new proposals for resolving the conflict. LF
[28] ...AS AZERBAIJANIS ISSUE ULTIMATUM
Some 100 members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization, which
advocates a new war to restore Azerbaijan's hegemony over Karabakh,
picketed the OSCE office in Baku on 26 September to protest the Minsk
Group's failure to mediate a settlement of the conflict, Turan and
Interfax reported. They demanded that the Minsk Group formally
designate Armenia "the aggressor" in the conflict and either radically
change its tactics or abandon its mediation mission. The co-chairmen
are to meet in Baku with the Azerbaijani leadership on 28 September. LF
[29] COUNCIL OF EUROPE SLAMS AZERBAIJAN'S FAILURE TO MEET COMMITMENTS
The PACE session on 26 September adopted a report criticizing
Azerbaijan's failures to met its commitments in the spheres of human
rights and democratization, Turan reported. PACE deputies rejected most
amendments proposed by Azerbaijan's PACE delegation aimed at softening
that criticism. The report, which Azerbaijan's PACE delegation head
Ilham Aliev termed "prejudiced in certain respects," noted the plight
of political prisoners, a lack of progress in developing local
self-government, failure to ensure the independence of the judiciary
and the legislature, and failure to discuss with the OSCE the 39
constitutional amendments put to a national referendum last month (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 20 September 2002). Deputy Georges Clerfeyt rejected
Azerbaijani criticism of Swiss rapporteur for Azerbaijan Andreas Gross,
whom the Azerbaijani government has accused of pro-Armenian bias. LF
[30] DETAINED AZERBAIJANI VILLAGE LEADER BEGINS HUNGER STRIKE
Hadji Djebrail Alizade, the chairman of the Union of Baku and Baku
Villages who was forcibly detained on 20 September (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 20 September 2002), declared a hunger strike on 26 September
to protest his arrest, Turan reported. He has been charged with
involvement in mass disorder, violation of public order, and resisting
officials. LF
[31] GEORGIAN OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR 'CONSOLIDATION'
Former Georgian parliament speaker Zurab Zhvania, who now heads the
opposition United Democrats, appealed on 26 September to fellow
parliament deputies to close ranks behind embattled President Eduard
Shevardnadze, Interfax and Caucasus Press reported. He advocated a
moratorium on discussing domestic political issues in order to focus
exclusively on "resisting Russia's possible military aggression,"
according to Interfax. LF
[32] EDITORS OF KAZAKH ECONOMIC PUBLICATION PROTEST HARASSMENT
The editors of the privately owned newspaper "Economy, Finance,
Markets" have written to Prosecutor-General Rashid Tusupbekov
complaining of illegal actions by customs officials, police, and
national-security officials which, they claim, are intended to prevent
the production and distribution of the newspaper, Interfax reported on
26 September. LF
[33] FORMER KYRGYZ VICE PRESIDENT ADDRESSES APPEALS COURT
In his final statement on 26 September to the Bishkek City Court that
is considering his appeal against a sentence handed down in May, former
Vice President Feliks Kulov said he is not guilty of the charges of
which he was convicted, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He said the
charges were politically motivated. The court sentenced Kulov to 10
years' imprisonment on charges of embezzlement dating from 1993-1997
when he was governor of Chu Oblast (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 May 2002).
He will serve that sentence concurrently with one handed down last year
on charges of abuse of his official position when he served as national
security minister in 1997-1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 January
2001). LF
[34] TAJIKISTAN WELCOMES NEW RUSSIAN ANTI-DRUG TRAFFICKING BODY
Rustam Nazarov, who heads the drug-control agency within the Tajik
presidential administration, on 26 September lauded the creation of the
State Committee for Combating Drug Trafficking within the Russian
Interior Ministry, ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25
September 2002). Nazarov admitted that there has been no marked
decrease in the amount of drugs smuggled from Afghanistan into
Tajikistan despite the deployment of additional Tajik and Russian
border guards along Tajikistan's frontier with Afghanistan when
Operation Enduring Freedom got under way last year. He said that during
the first eight months of this year, border guards confiscated 2.5 tons
of heroin illegally imported from Afghanistan, which is marginally less
than during the corresponding period last year. LF
[35] UZBEK SENTENCED FOR ESPIONAGE IN TAJIKISTAN
The Sughd Oblast court has sentenced a 51-year-old citizen of
Uzbekistan to 12 years' imprisonment for espionage, Interfax reported
on 26 September. The man was reportedly apprehended in March in
possession of a map showing ammunition depots in the oblast. He is said
to have attempted to recruit senior regional officials. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[36] COUNCIL OF EUROPE REMINDS BELARUS OF CONDITIONS FOR ENDING
SELF-ISOLATION
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Lydie Polfer, who chairs the Council of
Europe's Committee of Ministers, told the ongoing session of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 26
September that Belarus has thus far not showed any signs that it is
ready to end its self-isolation, Belapan reported. According to Polfer,
the first such sign could be the restoration of relations between
Belarus and the OSCE. She said the Council of Europe would insist that
the Belarusian government abolish the death penalty, give more powers
to the legislature, establish the ombudsman's office, account for the
disappearances of opposition figures, and adopt a new media law. Polfer
also urged Belarus to ensure independence of the judiciary and freedom
of expression as well as to end political persecution. Polfer added
that the Council of Europe will expand contacts with Belarus's civil
society, nongovernmental organizations, and nonstate media. JM
[37] BELARUS'S DEMOCRATIC TRADE UNIONS BACK CONVICTED JOURNALISTS
The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions on 25 September
approved a resolution supporting Viktar Ivashkevich, the editor in
chief of the independent trade-union newspaper "Rabochy," who was
recently convicted of defaming Belarusian President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka and sentenced to two years' confinement, Belapan reported.
The congress vowed to make every effort to ensure that "Rabochy"
continues to be published. Ivashkevich said the newspaper's future
depends on whether the democratic unions need it and are willing to
finance it. Ivashkevich has appealed his sentence, which in the
meantime has been reduced under an amnesty law to one year in an
"open-type corrective labor institution," as in the case of journalists
Pavel Mazheyka and Mikola Markevich. JM
[38] LUKASHENKA MAKES HIMSELF SOLE TAX BENEFACTOR OF BELARUSIAN
BUSINESSES
President Lukashenka has decreed that the president is the only
authority in the country allowed to grant tax breaks and other payment
exemptions to Belarusian businesses, both state-run and private,
Belapan reported on 26 September. "We have around 300,000 companies in
this country," Syarhey Balykin, the head of the pro-business NGO
Alternative XXI, told the agency. "The president will not be able to
pay due attention to all of them. So one may conclude that the
exemptions will be selective and given mostly to large state-run
enterprises or private companies close to the government, rather than
to small businesses." JM
[39] BELARUSIAN OFFICIAL CONVICTED FOR ATTEMPT TO BETRAY SECRETS TO
RUSSIAN COMPANIES
A district court in Minsk has convicted Yauhen Kukushkin, the head of
the Cabinet of Minister's Committee for Securities, for a foiled
attempt at selling state secrets to two Russian companies, NOUFOR and
RosBiznesKonsalting, and sentenced him to five years in prison,
Belarusian Television reported on 25 September. Kukushkin, who was
fired from his government post, will not be allowed to take up state
positions for three years after he served his prison term. A KGB
officer went under cover and arrested Kukushkin as the latter -- while
believing the officer to be a representative of the Russian firms --
tried to sell "several [computer] discs," allegedly containing
information about "the operation of some Belarusian defense
enterprises," for $4,300. JM
[40] MORE THAN HALF OF BELARUSIANS WANT TO BE IN EU, ONE-THIRD IN
RUSSIA
According to a poll of a representative sample of 1,509 adults
conducted earlier this month by the Independent Institute of
Socioeconomic and Political Studies (NISEPI), 53.4 percent of
respondents said they would support their country's accession to the
European Union, Belapan reported on 26 September. Asked if they would
vote for Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to make Belarus a
part of the Russian Federation, 32.3 percent said "yes" and 26.3
percent answered "no." JM
[41] UKRAINIAN PRO-PRESIDENTIAL GROUPS PROCLAIM FORMATION OF
PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY...
Lawmaker Volodymyr Pekhota read a statement in the Verkhovna Rada on 27
September saying that the nine pro-presidential groups -- the Party of
Entrepreneurs-Labor Ukraine, Ukraine's Regions, Social Democratic
Party-united, European Choice, Democratic Initiatives, Popular
Democratic Party, Power of the People, Ukraine's Agrarians, and
People's Choice -- and independent deputies set up a parliamentary
majority that "will assume the responsibility for legislative
activities and the creation of a coalition government in accordance
with the president's proposals regarding the implementation of
political reform," UNIAN reported. The statement threatens that if the
opposition continues to disrupt the work of the parliament, the newly
created majority will reappoint parliamentary committees. Presidential
representative Oleksandr Zadorozhnyy said the majority currently
consists of 226 deputies (the minimum amount required to adopt laws)
and is open for other lawmakers. According to UNIAN, the majority
includes 216 deputies from the pro-presidential caucuses, nine
independent lawmakers, and one legislator from the opposition Communist
Party, Heorhiy Kryuchkov. JM
[42] ...BUT ITS PRACTICALITY MAY BE DUBIOUS
The previous day, the Verkhovna Rada passed several resolutions and
bills with votes of 226-228 from the pro-presidential groups and some
other deputies, but speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has not sent any of them
to the president for approval, UNIAN reported on 27 September. The
parliamentary Regulations Committee, headed by Communist lawmaker
Valentyn Matveyev, protested that some deputies illegally voted for 14
colleagues (using their magnetic voting cards) who are currently either
in official trips or on sick leave. According to Matveyev, the voting
in the parliament on 26 September was invalid. The opposition Communist
Party, Socialist Party, and Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc caucuses as well as
Our Ukraine continue to boycott voting, demanding that the parliament
immediately address the current political crisis in its debate. JM
[43] ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER PRESENTS 2003 DRAFT BUDGET TO PARLIAMENT
In presenting the draft 2003 budget to the parliament on 26 September,
Siim Kallas said that its priorities are state defense, science, and
education, ETA and BNS reported. Unlike previous budgets, it foresees a
deficit of 384 million kroons ($24 million) with expenditures amounting
to 38.7 billion kroons and income of 38.4 billion kroons. Kallas
explained that there is no need for excessive spending and the state
won't spend more than the growth of the economy will allow. Opposition
Pro Patria Union Chairman Mart Laar noted that some of the budget's
articles are wasteful and that "The areas that don't directly bring
votes to politicians in the elections have been shoved to the back
burner." SG
[44] LATVIA ADOPTS LAW CHANGING SUPERVISION OVER STATE-OWNED COMPANIES
The parliament passed a law on state and municipal equity stakes in
state-owned companies on 26 September, BNS reported. It envisages the
elimination of the post of state trustee in these companies beginning
on 1 January 2003. The supervision of companies under the management of
ministries will be conducted by the state secretary of the respective
ministry, while those controlled by local governments will be conducted
by the chairmen of the local councils. Under the new law, these
payments are expected to be about 220,000 lats ($360,000), or only a
third of the 630,000 lats that was paid to the state trustees in 2000.
SG
[45] FINNISH PRESIDENT SUPPORTS LATVIA ON AGRICULTURE QUOTAS
In Helsinki on 26 September, Finnish President Tarja Halonen told her
visiting Latvian counterpart Vaira Vike-Freiberga that she is aware of
and supports Latvia's efforts to achieve higher agricultural quotas in
its negotiations with the European Union, LETA reported. She said that
each country must have the right to produce at least enough farm
products to meet the demand of the local market and that candidate
countries are entitled to a fair offer from the EU. The primary aim of
Vike-Freiberga's visit is to participate in the Helsinki Women Business
Leaders Summit on 27 September, which was to be attended by
businesswomen from the United States, Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, and Russia. SG
[46] LITHUANIA, AZERBAIJAN SIGN PROGRAM ON INFORMATION EXCHANGE
In Vilnius on 26 September, Justice Minister Vytautas Markevicius and
his Azerbaijani counterpart Fikrat Mamedov signed a cooperation program
that envisages the regular exchange of information regarding adopted
legislation and law enforcement structures, BNS reported. Azerbaijan
expressed interest in Lithuania's program under which its citizens are
provided state-guaranteed legal assistance, and will send a delegation
to Lithuania next summer to study its implementation. Lithuania intends
to send a delegation to Baku next year to become acquainted with the
work of Azerbaijan's courts. The two countries previously signed
agreements on legal assistance and the handover of convicted persons to
complete their sentences in their native countries. SG
[47] POLAND, RUSSIA SIGN DEAL TO UPGRADE MIG AIRCRAFT
On 26 September in Bydgoszcz (north-central Poland), Poland and Russia
signed an accord whereby Russia's MiG aircraft manufacturer will
provide spare parts and safety certificates for maintaining and
upgrading Poland's MiG-29 jet fighters at a Bydgoszcz-based aviation
plant, Polish and Russian media reported. Poland currently has 20 MiG
fighters and is soon expected to receive another 23 MiG-29s from
Germany. The signing ceremony was attended by the defense ministers of
both countries, Poland's Jerzy Szmajdzinski and Russia's Sergei Ivanov.
Later the same day, Ivanov told journalists that contacts between the
Kaliningrad-based Russian military group and Poland's Pomeranian
Military District will be a major area of Russian-Polish military
cooperation. "We exchanged views on the course of military reform in
Poland and Russia, and became convinced that we have a lot in common,"
ITAR-TASS quoted Ivanov as saying. JM
[48] POLISH PARLIAMENT PASSES CONTROVERSIAL TAX AMNESTY
The Sejm on 26 September voted by 221-155, with three abstentions, to
adopt a contentious tax-amnesty bill allowing tax dodgers the chance to
come clean and pay a 12 percent tax on any hidden personal income that
is reported to the tax authorities before 2003, Polish media reported.
The parliament increased the rate from the 7.5 percent proposed by
Prime Minister Leszek Miller's cabinet. The tax amnesty does not apply
to state officials. Opponents of the bill proposed amnesty rates of up
to 40 percent (the highest personal-income tax rate in Poland), arguing
that the bill actually rewards fraudulence and punishes honest
taxpayers. JM
[49] CZECHS MIGHT SEND COMBAT TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN
Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said on 26 September that the Czech
Republic has been asked by the United States to dispatch to Afghanistan
an elite unit of 120 troops, dpa reported. Tvrdik said parliament will
be asked to approve funds for the unit, which would operate under U.S.
command as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He said the unit could
be sent to Afghanistan on or about 1 February. Also on 26 September,
CTK reported that Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla will visit Afghanistan
in early October accompanied by Tvrdik. On the same day, the agency
said that Chief of Staff General Jaroslav Sedivy is leaving on 27
September for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to visit Czech troops stationed
in Kuwait and to discuss Czech assistance in training Kuwaiti and Saudi
Arabian troops in antichemical warfare. MS
[50] AGREEMENT NEAR ON NEXT SLOVAK CABINET
Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said on 26 September that an agreement
is "on the horizon" between the four formations that are to set up the
next Slovak coalition, TASR and international agencies reported.
Dzurinda said the leaders of the four parties -- his own Slovak
Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU), the Hungarian Coalition Party
(SMK), the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the Alliance for the
New Citizens (ANO) -- have neared agreement on the division of
portfolios and on assigning individual ministerial seats to their
members. Presidential spokesman Jan Fuele the same day said President
Rudolf Schuster is to entrust Dzurinda with forming the next cabinet on
27 September, as the president is now persuaded that this "reflects the
political reality." CTK reported that the four leaders agreed that
Vladimir Palko (KDH) will replace Ivan Simko (SDKU) as interior
minister but that no decision has yet been made on the post of
parliamentary speaker, which is sought by both SMK Chairman Bela Bugar
and KDH Chairman Pavol Hrusovsky. MS
[51] BUSH, BLAIR, PRODI CONGRATULATE SLOVAKS ON ELECTORAL OUTCOME
U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and
European Commission President Romano Prodi on 26 September
congratulated Dzurinda on his and his party's electoral success, TASR
and CTK reported. Bush said in a letter to President Schuster that he
appreciates the responsible decision of the Slovak electorate and that
he is convinced the electoral outcome will serve the Slovak drive for
Euro-Atlantic integration and the continuation of reforms. Blair wrote
to Dzurinda, congratulating him on the election result and on the high
voter turnout. In Brussels, Prodi said the electoral outcome "clearly
indicated the will of the Slovak people to become members of the EU,"
according to TASR. He added that he has sent a congratulatory telegram
to Dzurinda. MS
[52] HUNGARY WORKING TO PERSUADE HUSSEIN TO CEASE WEAPONS-DEVELOPMENT
EFFORTS
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamas Toth told journalists on 26 September
that his country "is participating in international efforts to persuade
Iraq" to halt its efforts to manufacture weapons of mass destruction,
AP reported. Toth added that Hungary has not received a request from
the United States to participate in a possible attack against Iraq,
"nor have we made any commitment to do so." MS
[53] HUNGARIAN PREMIER EXPECTS COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE TO END BY
2006
Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said on 26 September that he expects
compulsory military service to be ended by 2006, Hungarian media
reported. He said Hungary will have the first fully professional army
in Central Europe and this will enhance NATO's strength in the region.
MS
[54] MECS CLAIMS 'PARTIAL SUCCESS'
Imre Mecs, chairman of the parliamentary commission that investigated
government officials' secret-service pasts, on 26 September said that
although the commission's final report did not specify any names, its
work was "partially successful," AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26
September 2002). Mecs said that the commission has established that "in
all [postcommunist] governments...there were people who collaborated"
with the communist-era secret services and that this is "a historically
and politically important conclusion." In the report submitted to the
legislature, the commission said that much of the information about
communist-era secret services' activities was difficult to find in the
official archive or had been tampered with or destroyed. MS
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[55] CONTENDER FOR SERBIAN PRESIDENCY HOLDS FINAL RALLY
Miroljub Labus said on 26 September in Belgrade that he will lead
Serbia into the European Union if he is elected president in the
upcoming election, AP reported. Labus, cheered by some 10,000
supporters, said he has the best chance to carry out economic reforms
in Serbia. Labus, an economist and a Yugoslav deputy prime minister, is
in a close race for Serbian president with current Yugoslav President
Vojislav Kostunica. The election, which will be held on 29 September,
is being contested by 11 candidates. Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Djindjic -- an archrival of Kostunica -- stood next to Labus, 55, at
the rally on Belgrade's main square. An election event for Kostunica
the previous day on the same square attracted roughly half of the crowd
that came to see Labus (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 September 2002). PB
[56] ULTRANATIONALIST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DENIED ENTRY INTO KOSOVA
UN police prevented Serbian presidential candidate Vojislav Seselj from
entering Kosova on 26 September, Reuters reported. Seselj was slated to
attend an election rally in the divided city of Mitrovica, which is
populated by ethnic Albanians in the south and Serbs in the north. UN
officials cited security concerns as the reason for denying entry to
Seselj, the leader of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party and
former President Milosevic's choice for president. Kosovar Serb leader
Oliver Ivanovic said UN officials "don't want to have a conflict with
Albanian political leaders." Ivanovic said he expects a high turnout
among the roughly 65,000 Serbs in Kosova who are eligible to vote at
some 292 polling places being set up by Serbian authorities. Serbs who
fled Kosova and live in other parts of Serbia are eligible to cast
their votes where they currently live. PB
[57] BELGRADE COURT CONVICTS MILOSEVIC'S DAUGHTER
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's daughter, Marija, was
convicted on 26 September of disturbing public safety and illegal
possession of weapons connected to gunshots she fired on the night of
her father's detention in April 2001, Reuters and other news agencies
reported. She said she fired "out of despair," according to AP. The
Belgrade court gave Milosevic an eight-month suspended sentence after
she testified that she fired shots into the air following the
consumption of seven or eight tranquilizers and a bottle of brandy,
Reuters reported. Some reports at the time said Milosevic fired in the
direction of the car of a government negotiator during the tense,
26-hour standoff. Milosevic will thus not serve prison time provided
she does not commit a punishable offense in the next two years, AP
reported. AH
[58] YUGOSLAVIA, UNICEF SIGN REFORM-MINDED DEAL
The UN's agency for children and the Belgrade government on 26
September signed a three-year plan that a UNICEF representative said
marks a shift from humanitarian programs toward policy and system
reform, dpa reported. Democratic developments in the country have
allowed UNICEF to concentrate on policies in the social, education,
health and welfare, and juvenile-justice spheres, the news agency
reported, citing UNICEF's Belgrade representative Jean-Michel Delmotte.
"Since 1992, UNICEF programs [in Yugoslavia] have been mostly of
humanitarian nature, as the country was experiencing war, civil
conflict, mass migrations, international sanctions and economic
crisis," Delmotte said. He also said he hoped the "current negative
donor trend will be overcome," according to dpa. AH
[59] EU'S SOLANA URGES REFORM VOTE IN BOSNIA
EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana on 26 September appealed to
Bosnians to turn out for national elections on 5 October, dpa reported.
During a one-day visit to Sarajevo, during which he met with Bosnian
Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, Solana called the vote a "key
element for this country to keep on moving toward Europe." "My appeal
to the citizens of this country is to go to vote and to vote for those
who will continue the process of reforms," he was quoted by the news
agency as saying. He praised the government elected in 2000 and said he
hoped the new government will continue in the same vein. The
international high representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown,
this week also urged voters to "give us a mandate for reform," the
"Balkan Times" reported on 25 September. AH
[60] CROATIAN CONSERVATIVES CALL FOR PRESIDENT'S IMPEACHMENT...
The party established by deceased President Franjo Tudjman on 26
September said it will seek the impeachment of Croatian President Stipe
Mesic, after he urged the country to cooperate with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, dpa reported. The Croatian
Democratic Union (HDZ) would need the support of other parties to win
an impeachment vote in parliament. Mesic provoked the ire of
nationalists and veterans' groups by implicitly calling for the
extradition of indicted former chief of Main Staff General Janko
Bobetko (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 September 2002). The HDZ issued a
statement saying Mesic of "prejudg[ed] that Bobetko is guilty, and
everybody is innocent until proven guilty," dpa reported. Mesic
repeated his position in an interview in the weekly "Slobodna Bosna" on
27 September, adding, "Unfortunately some from the Croatian side
committed crimes, and those who perpetrated them should answer for it."
AH
[61] ...AS CROATIAN DIPLOMACY SEEKS TO FEND OFF INTERNATIONAL SCORN...
Foreign Minister Tonino Picula on 26 September told foreign diplomats
assembled in Zagreb that the Bobetko indictment "could have a
destabilizing effect on Croatia and potentially the wider region," Hina
and AP reported, citing a statement by the Croatian Foreign Ministry.
Picula's reported statements echoed previous warnings of instability
stemming from the Bobetko indictment by Croatia's minister for European
integration, Neven Mimica (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 September 2002).
Picula described the Croatian government's approach as challenging the
legality of the UN tribunal's actions but "in no way discontinuing
cooperation and dialogue with the International Criminal Tribunal in
The Hague," Hina reported. AH
[62] ...AND BRITISH GOVERNMENT CALLS ON CROATIA TO COMPLY
'UNCONDITIONALLY' WITH BOBETKO INDICTMENT
British Foreign Office official Denis MacShane appealed to the Croatian
government to "ensure [General Bobetko's] immediate arrest and transfer
to The Hague" in a strongly worded statement on 26 September that was
quoted by Hina and dpa. "We urge the Government of Croatia to fulfill
its international obligations, and comply unconditionally with the
indictment against General Bobetko," MacShane said in the press
release, according to Hina. The statement reminded Croatians that their
possible entry into the EU and NATO are conditioned on cooperation with
tribunal. AH
[63] HAGUE CHIEF PROSECUTOR FAILS TO SWAY MACEDONIA TO GIVE UP WAR
CRIMES CASES
Speaking at a session of the international war crimes tribunal's
judicial council at The Hague on 25 September, chief prosecutor Carla
Del Ponte urged Macedonian Prosecutor-General Stavre Dzikov to transfer
a number of war crimes cases to The Hague-based tribunal, Macedonian
media reported. Del Ponte substantiated her request with the fact that
under Macedonian jurisdiction there is no provision for witness
protection. She also underscored that war crimes committed during last
year's conflict, which the tribunal is empowered to hear, do not fall
under the amnesty granted by the Macedonian state in late 2001. Dzikov
later described the session as a duel between himself and the chief
prosecutor. "[Del Ponte] wanted to take over all these cases. She even
wanted to take over all future cases that could follow last year's
conflict. I opposed that. In Macedonia, both the prosecution and the
courts work normally," Dzikov told "Dnevnik." UB
[64] ROMANIA 'SALUTES' U.S. HOUSE EUROPE SUBCOMMITTEE RESOLUTION ON
NATO ENLARGEMENT
The Foreign Ministry stated in a press release on 26 September that it
"salutes" a bipartisan resolution passed by the House of
Representatives' Europe Subcommittee on 25 September endorsing seven
countries for NATO membership, Romanian Radio reported. U.S.
Representative Elton Gallegly (Republican, California), who chairs the
Europe Subcommittee, proposed an amendment to the resolution endorsing
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia,
citing "their accomplishments thus far in meeting the criteria
established by NATO for membership," according to a press release on
the representative's website. Romanian media reported extensively on an
article published by "The Washington Post" on 26 September, according
to which NATO has decided in favor of so-called "big-bang expansion"
and will offer invitations to seven countries, Romania included, at its
November NATO summit in Prague on 21-22 November. MS/MES
[65] PRESIDENT DOES NOT ENVISION REQUEST FOR ROMANIAN TROOPS IF IRAQ IS
ATTACKED
President Ion Iliescu said on Romanian Television on 26 September that
he does not expect that his country will be asked to provide troops in
the event that a military intervention is launched against Iraq.
Iliescu said Romania could be asked to allow overflights and to offer
logistic support, as well as to participate in post-action peacekeeping
operations. Earlier in the day, Iliescu told journalists that his
country is determined to be "on the side of the international
community" in the event of a military operation against Iraq. MS
[66] ROMANIAN PREMIER TOLD ICC STAND WILL NOT AFFECT EU REPORT ON
MEMBERSHIP PROGRESS
European Commission President Romano Prodi told Prime Minister Adrian
Nastase in Brussels on 26 September that the accord Romania signed with
the United States under which Romania agreed not to extradite U.S.
citizens to the proposed International Criminal Court (ICC) will not be
reflected in the annual progress report on EU candidates, Reuters
reported. "The ICC is not something that concerns the negotiations. we
never blackmail anybody, it is not our style," Prodi said. But he added
that the EU expects Romania to adhere to the organization's
international policies in the future. He lauded Romania's reforms over
the last 18 months, saying they will be noted in the report, which will
be published on 9 October. Iliescu said in Bucharest on 26 September
that he does not rule out that Romania will renegotiate the accord with
the United States after Washington and Brussels reach agreement on the
issue, dpa reported. MS
[67] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES QUIT BUCHAREST CITY COUNCIL
Bucharest Municipal Councilors representing the opposition Greater
Romania Party, National Liberal Party, and Democratic Party on 26
September announced in a joint press conference that they are
collectively submitting their resignations and that their parties will
not designate replacements, Mediafax reported. The councilors said the
Municipal Council's activity is "paralyzed" by the Social Democratic
Party majority and that the council has ceased to serve the interests
of those who elected it. Public Administration Minister Octav Cozmanca
responded that the gesture is one of "politicking" and that, by law,
collective resignations are not accepted and resignations must be
submitted individually. Cozmanca noted that the Supreme Court is to
examine an appeal by minor opposition parties against the government's
January 2002 decision to dissolve the council and to hold new local
elections in Bucharest. He expressed the hope that the court will rule
in favor of the cabinet's decision, Romanian Radio reported. MS
[68] ROMANIAN ROMANY EXODUS FROM FRANCE TO SWITZERLAND
Some 600 Roma from Romania have recently left France and entered
Switzerland, Romanian Television reported on 26 September. The report
said the exodus is taking place against the background of measures
recently agreed between Bucharest and Paris to curb illegal immigration
and to return illegal Romany immigrants and delinquents in France to
Romania. The Foreign Ministry responded to the report by saying it is
cooperating with the Swiss authorities and that a team of Romanian
experts is to leave for Switzerland to discuss with their Swiss
counterparts how to repatriate the Roma. MS
[69] TRANSDNIESTER CONFLICT NEGOTIATIONS ONCE AGAIN AT IMPASSE...
A new round of negotiations on the Organization for Security and
Economic Cooperation's (OSCE) draft for resolving the Transdniester
conflict ended in Bendery-Tighina on 26 September with no agreement in
sight, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. OSCE mission chief David
Schwartz reiterated after the new round that until "concrete results
are achieved [in the talks], no information will be released." OSCE
mission spokesman Matti Sidoroff told Flux that "several aspects
cannot, for the time being, be solved" and added that "something new
has intervened in the negotiation process." Sidoroff declined to
elaborate further. MS
[70] ...AND RUSSIAN NEGOTIATORS IN TIRASPOL HARDLY DO ANY BETTER
A delegation in Tiraspol headed by Russian Deputy Defense Minister
Vladimir Isakov has failed to reach an agreement with the separatist
leadership on the resumption of the withdrawal of Russian military
equipment from the Transdniester, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 September.
The news agency cited a spokesman for the Russian Army contingent as
saying that the failure was due to the unconstructive position of
Transdniester leader Igor Smirnov's team. The sides agreed, however, on
a one-time train convoy carrying Russian equipment to leave the region
on 2 October. Smirnov rejected a Russian offer to write off $50 million
of the debt owed by Tiraspol for gas deliveries and $50 million from
the interest owed on the debt, which totals $350 million, insisting
that $100 million be written off of the former. The delegation also
included representatives of Russia's natural-gas giant Gazprom and of
the Russian Finance Ministry. MS
[71] PACE SAYS HALF-EMPTY MOLDOVAN GLASS MUST BE FILLED
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 26
September approved a resolution saying that "not all commitments" made
by Moldova after PACE made its April recommendations have been met,
RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The resolution said that while three
recommendations have been fulfilled -- namely, the registration of the
Bessarabian Metropolitan Church, the ending of harassment targeting
opposition deputies, and a moratorium on introducing compulsory
Russian-language and "History of Moldova" classes in schools -- other
recommendations have been met only in part or not at all. The PACE
resolution calls for the Moldovan authorities to amend the law on
transforming Teleradio Moldova into a public company to make the
company genuinely free of government controls, and to refrain from
infringing on the freedoms of press, religion, and association. In
interviews with RFE/RL, Popular Party Christian Democratic Chairman
Iurie Rosca said the resolution marks a victory for his party, while
Party of Moldovan Communists parliamentary group leader Vladimir
Stepaniuc called the resolution "a compromise." MS
[72] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT REAPPOINTS NATIONAL BANK CHAIRMAN
The parliament on 26 September reappointed Leonid Talmaci for an
additional seven-year term as National Bank chairman, Infotag reported.
Talmaci's mandate would have expired on 28 September. Talmaci was the
only candidate for the position. He has headed the bank ever since
Moldova declared independence 11 years ago. Also on 26 September, the
National Bank announced that it has revoked the licenses of the
International Commercial Bank of Moldova and of the Municipal
Commercial Bank. The International Commercial Bank's sole shareholder,
the Commercial Bank of Greece, had earlier announced its intention to
liquidate its investments in Moldova, including in the bank. As for the
Municipal Commercial Bank, a decree signed by Talmaci on 26 September
said that the bank has been involved in very risky operations and has
failed to observe legal regulations and its own charter. MS
[73] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS BILL TO STEM FINANCING OF TERRORISM
Parliament passed on first reading a bill intended to combat the
financing of terrorism, BTA reported on 26 September. The bill bans the
provision of monetary resources, financial assets, property, and
financial services to legal and physical entities suspected of having
links to terrorism. Bulgarian authorities will use information provided
by the UN Security Council as well as other sources to compile a list
of such entities. "Lists compiled by the UN Security Council and the EU
currently include some 260 names of firms and persons, but none of them
is Bulgarian," Deputy Interior Minister Boyko Kotsev said, adding that
"Bulgaria has no information about Bulgarian people or firms that could
be added to these lists." UB
[74] STATE PRIVATIZATION AGENCY DIRECTOR INSISTS ON PRIVATIZATION OF
BULGARTABAC
State Privatization Agency Director Apostol Apostolov said on 26
September that if the recently suspended tender for selling Bulgartabac
fails, the Privatization Agency will prepare a new tender for the
state-owned tobacco company, BTA reported. The Supreme Administrative
Court earlier this month halted the process for selling Bulgartabac
after three bidders challenged the naming of Tobacco Capital Partners
as the winner (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 September 2002). Referring to
recent complaints that bids for the state telecommunications company
BTK are too low, Apostolov said he doubts that a new tender would yield
better results (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 September 2002). UB
[75] BULGARIA COMPLETES DESTRUCTION OF SS-23 WARHEADS
U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria James Pardew attended the destruction of
the last of Bulgaria's SS-23 warheads at the military training area in
Zmeyovo on 26 September, BTA reported. Pardew noted that the
destruction was carried out in a safe and transparent way and that it
will not have any consequences for the local population, which
protested the scrapping of the missiles earlier this year on health
grounds. A controversy over the scrapping of missile engines nearly
paralyzed the Bulgarian government during the summer (see "End Note,"
"RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2002). The warheads of Bulgaria's Frog and
Scud missiles will be destroyed by the end of October, according to an
army representative. UB
END NOTE
[76] There is no End Note today.
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