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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 106, 96-05-31
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 106, 31 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ALIEV'S CRITICISM OF TURKEY.
[02] STALEMATE OVER KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA NEGOTIATIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN.
[03] KINKEL VISITS UZBEKISTAN, KAZAKHSTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[04] OPPOSITION AND POLICE CLASH IN SOUTHERN ALBANIA.
[05] ALBANIAN JOURNALISTS PROTEST BEATING.
[06] RUN-OFF IN ALBANIAN ELECTIONS ON 2 JUNE.
[07] CROATIAN GOVERNING PARTY TO SUE WEEKLY PAPER.
[08] DUTCH TO QUERY FRENCH, UN OVER SREBRENICA ALLEGATIONS.
[09] MAYOR OF BANJA LUKA THWARTS ATTEMPT TO SACK HIM.
[10] MOSTAR ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR 30 JUNE.
[11] BOSNIAN SERB SOCIALISTS ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
[12] UN EXTENDS PEACEKEEPERS' MANDATE IN MACEDONIA.
[13] TAIWAN PROTESTS ARRESTS IN ROMANIAN STOWAWAY SCANDAL.
[14] DNIESTER LEFT-WINGERS CALL FOR SUPPORTING ZYUGANOV.
[15] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEW PRICE HIKES...
[16] ....WHILE PROTESTS AGAINST AUSTERITY MEASURES START.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ALIEV'S CRITICISM OF TURKEY.
Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev told a conference in Baku that some groups
in Turkey sympathize with unnamed armed groups and individuals in Azerbaijan
that are determined to undermine the country's stability, Zaman reported on
31 May. He noted that these Turkish groups are injurious to Turkish-
Azerbaijani relations. Aliev made his remarks at a conference organized by the
Turkish Economic Research Foundation, entitled "Azerbaijan-Turkey Economic
Cooperation." Aliev called on Turkish businessmen to put profit "second" in
considering whether to invest in Azerbaijan. -- Lowell Bezanis
[02] STALEMATE OVER KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA NEGOTIATIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN.
Judge Iraida Fadina's efforts to resolve the dispute between the editors of
Komsomolskaya pravda and the Procurator General's Office (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 30 May 1996) have been inconclusive so far, ITAR-TASS reported on 31
May. Fadina said the court hearing, scheduled for 7 June, can be revoked only
if the Procurator General's Office withdraws its petition for a ban on the
newspaper or if Komsomolskaya pravda issues a public apology. Komsomolskaya
pravda denies allegations by the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan and the
procuracy that it incited ethnic tension by publishing the views of Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn. The chairman of the government's National Agency for Press and
Mass Media, Altynbek Sarsenbayev, has endorsed the ban on the Kazakhstani
edition of the Russian newspaper. -- Bhavna Dave
[03] KINKEL VISITS UZBEKISTAN, KAZAKHSTAN.
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel arrived in Almaty after a one-day visit
to Tashkent, Russian and Western media reported on 31 March. Kinkel, who is
accompanied by 20 entrepreneurs and a parliamentary delegation, described
Uzbekistan as a "peaceful center in Central Asia." In Uzbekistan, Kinkel
signed economic cooperation agreements in the field of chemical engineering,
communications, agriculture, and energy, and agreed to take measures to
improve the investment climate. Germany is among the top trading partners for
both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. -- Bhavna Dave
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[04] OPPOSITION AND POLICE CLASH IN SOUTHERN ALBANIA.
Many people were injured during clashes between supporters of the opposition
parties and special police forces in Permet on 30 May, Gazeta Shqiptare
reported. Children and women are among the injured and four people were
hospitalized in critical condition. Two policemen were also hurt. The clashes
developed after thousands of people from the surrounding villages came to the
city to participate in a protest rally against the ruling Democratic Party's
alleged massive manipulation of the elections. The Socialist Party, the
Democratic Alliance, the Social Democrats, the Agrarian Party, the Party of
National Unity, and the Party of the Democratic Right had earlier applied for
permission to hold the demonstration, but the Interior Ministry refused the
authorization. -- Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
[05] ALBANIAN JOURNALISTS PROTEST BEATING.
After the severe beating of Bardhok Lala, a Dita Informacion journalist, the
Association of Professional Journalists sent a letter of protest to President
Sali Berisha requesting a meeting. In previous days, dailies published
pictures of Lala, who was beaten all over his body and face on 28 May. Koha
Jone on 31 May published an interview with Lala in which he said the
kidnappers were members of the secret service (SHIK) who wanted him to become
a collaborator. He added that they held a gun to his head five times
threatening to shoot him. -- Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
[06] RUN-OFF IN ALBANIAN ELECTIONS ON 2 JUNE.
Koha Jone on 31 May published the list of the 10 electoral districts in
which a run-off between two candidates will take place. Election results from
the first round indicate that the Democratic Party is likely to win all
districts, which would give them 104 out of 115 direct seats in the 140-member
parliament. Right-wing Balli Kombetar and the Republican Party members will
most likely vote for the Democrats' candidate. The Socialists announced they
will boycott the elections. None of the Democrats received less than 41% of
the vote in the first round. -- Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
[07] CROATIAN GOVERNING PARTY TO SUE WEEKLY PAPER.
The Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) said it will sue the independent
muckraking weekly Globus over a story the paper ran alleging that the HDZ
intends to launch a smear campaign against 50 opposition politicians. The
weekly recently wrote that the HDZ is anxious over its prospects in upcoming
local elections because polls show it will lose control of some cities and
perhaps take only 20% of the total vote. Voters have grown impatient with the
HDZ over recurrent reports of corruption, authoritarianism, and strong-arm
tactics. There is also a feeling that Croatia has put the war behind it and
must now build a multi-party democracy, Reuters reported on 28 May. Globus
is one of the few independent papers with a nation-wide circulation and made
its name with wartime battlefield coverage, investigative journalism, and a
sensationalist approach aimed primarily at young male readers. -- Patrick
Moore
[08] DUTCH TO QUERY FRENCH, UN OVER SREBRENICA ALLEGATIONS.
The Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo said he intends to press Paris on
recent British TV reports that the French allowed Srebrenica to fall as part
of a deal with Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic last summer. "The French have
already denied it... but I will certainly approach the French government for
more information on the matter," Reuters quoted the minister as saying on 30
May. Until now, blame has chiefly been placed on Dutch peacekeepers, whose
alleged cowardice was believed to have ultimately led to Europe's worst
atrocity since World War II. Mierlo's own D66 party called for an
international investigation into the events leading up to the fall of the
"safe area," while the opposition Christian Democrats said that the
Netherlands was bypassed in the decision-making process. -- Patrick
Moore
[09] MAYOR OF BANJA LUKA THWARTS ATTEMPT TO SACK HIM.
Predrag Radic, who is widely regarded as a moderate and a rival to the hard-
line Bosnian Serb leadership in Pale, has dodged an attempt by his own
governing Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) to remove him. Radic successfully
argued that the proposal before the city council was invalid because it was
not included on the legislative agenda, Nasa Borba reported on 31 May. The
mayor has frequently been at odds with the SDS, which took virtually all of
the Bosnian Serb vote in the 1990 elections. Banja Luka was known for some of
the most vicious ethnic cleansing during the war but has increasingly
presented itself as a rival to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his
colleagues in Pale. Opposition parties are counting on a large share of the
vote in Banja Luka in the elections slated for this fall. -- Patrick
Moore
[10] MOSTAR ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR 30 JUNE.
EU Administrator in Mostar Ricardo Peres Casado announced that the city
municipal elections will be held on 30 June, Oslobodjenje reported on 31
May. Casado met with Croatian and Muslim officials on 30 May to discuss the
details of the elections and to agree on a new date, AFP reported. Refugees
from Mostar who left the town involuntarily will be allowed to vote in four
European countries if they are unable to return to Mostar on the day of the
vote. But, on the insistence of the Croatian party, Mostar's Serbian citizens
will be able to vote only in Mostar. Serb representatives in Mostar protested
the decision and asked that Mostar Serbs be allowed also to vote in the
Republika Srpska and rump Yugoslavia. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[11] BOSNIAN SERB SOCIALISTS ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.
On 31 May the Belgrade weekly NIN features an extensive interview with
Dragutin Ilic, head of the Socialist Party of the Republika Srpska (SPRS), who
appears to have used the interview as a platform to launch the opening salvo
of his election campaign. Ilic suggested his party is independent, claiming no
direct ties with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party of
Serbia: "The SPS was created out of the former League of Communists...but the
SPRS was formed as a party... which has no continuity with [any other]." Ilic
also stressed his commitment to Dayton saying, "We uphold the Dayton agreement
to the fullest. That means we will strengthen the statehood of the Serbian
entity to its fullest, and we will work with the other entity insofar as it is
in our interests." Meanwhile, AFP on 30 May quoted Zivko Radisic, SPRS vice-
president, as saying that Karadzic should be allowed to run in the September
elections, so that his defeat may be effected on the political front. -- Stan
Markotich
[12] UN EXTENDS PEACEKEEPERS' MANDATE IN MACEDONIA.
The UN Security Council on 30 May extended UNPREDEP's mandate for six months
till the end of November, Reuters reported. Russia abstained from the vote
saying the mission is too large and expensive and should have been extended
only for four months. Macedonian Ambassador to the UN Denko Maleski said
UNPREDEP should not be restructured or terminated because threats to Macedonia
have not been overcome yet, pointing to Kosovo. UNPREDEP has 1,050 troops, 35
military observers, and 168 civilian police. Some 550 UNPREDEP members come
from the U.S., followed by 362 from Finland. -- Stefan Krause
[13] TAIWAN PROTESTS ARRESTS IN ROMANIAN STOWAWAY SCANDAL.
Taiwan protested the arrest in Canada of seven Taiwanese ship officers accused
of forcing three Romanian stowaways overboard on the high seas, Romanian and
Western media reported on 30 May. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested
the officers the previous day with warrants issued by Romania's Prosecutor-
General. Canada says the seven could be extradited to Romania, where they face
charges of first degree murder. However, the Taiwanese government maintains
that Canada has no jurisdiction in the matter. Eight Filipino crew members
deserted the ship in Halifax last week and disclosed the incident that took
place in March aboard the Taiwanese container ship "Maersk Dubai." It has
aroused a wave of indignation in Romania. -- Dan Ionescu
[14] DNIESTER LEFT-WINGERS CALL FOR SUPPORTING ZYUGANOV.
The Tiraspol branch of the radical left-wing Bloc of Patriotic Forces called
Dniester residents with Russian citizenship to vote for Communist leader
Gennadii Zyuganov in the Russian presidential elections, Infotag reported on
30 May. Albina Gogoleva, Chair of the Dniester Russian Community, said
Zyuganov "is the best candidate able to fulfill the aspirations of most former
Soviet Union residents to live together again," local media reported. There
are some 30,000 Russian citizens living in the breakaway Dniester region. The
Russian embassy in Chisinau said that on 16 June eight polling stations will
be opened in Moldova. -- Matyas Szabo
[15] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEW PRICE HIKES...
The Socialist government of Prime Minister Zhan Videnov on 30 May announced
price hikes and new tariffs, Bulgarian and Western media reported. The VAT was
raised from 18% to 22%, and gasoline prices rose by 75%. Excise duties on
tobacco and alcohol will also increase sharply, Videnov announced. The
government introduced a 5% tariff on imports in order to head off a feared
trade deficit. The tariff will be effective for one year starting on 1 July
and then be lowered by 1% each successive year. Videnov said the price of
electricity, transport, telecommunications, and pharmaceutical products will
go up soon too. The tax and price hikes were agreed on with the IMF. The
government hopes to raise an additional 140 billion leva ($950 million) this
year by implementing a strict austerity policy. -- Stefan Krause
[16] ....WHILE PROTESTS AGAINST AUSTERITY MEASURES START.
Meanwhile, people took to the streets of Sofia to protest the latest
government-imposed price hikes. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in front
of the government building in central Sofia on 30 May, demanding the
government's resignation. The two big trade unions--the Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and the Confederation of Labor "Podkrepa"-
-organized the rally. Union leaders said the meeting is only the start of
nationwide protests. "Podkrepa" Deputy Chairman Dimitar Manolov said
government and trade unions "will meet at the barricades." Several hundred
taxi drivers staged a demonstration outside the parliament building. Protests
were also reported from other towns. The Union of Democratic Forces announced
that it will start proceedings for a no-confidence vote. -- Stefan
Krause
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Deborah Michaels
News and information as of 1200 CET
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media
Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in
Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz.
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