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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 9, 97-01-14
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 9, 14 January 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] GEORGIA READY TO WAIVE IMMUNITY FOR DIPLOMAT.
[02] OIL DEAL SIGNED DURING ALIEV'S VISIT TO FRANCE.
[03] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH APPEALS TO KYRGYZ PRESIDENT.
[04] UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN UPDATE.
[05] AGREEMENT TO REPATRIATE TAJIK REFUGEES.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] NEW DEMONSTRATIONS, UPCOMING GENERAL STRIKE IN BULGARIA.
[07] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS AGREE "IN PRINCIPLE" TO EARLY ELECTIONS.
[08] BELGRADE MASS PROTEST USHERS IN NEW YEAR.
[09] BOSNIAN FEDERAL ARMY TAKES SHAPE.
[10] IS SERBIA'S PRESIDENT SINCERE ABOUT MAKING CONCESSIONS?
[11] BRITAIN WARNS BOSNIA ON RECONSTRUCTION AID.
[12] SLAVONIAN UPDATE.
[13] KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING ALBANIAN.
[14] CONSERVATIVE LEADER OPEN TO COOPERATION WITH SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER.
[15] TENSION IN ROMANIA'S RULING COALITION.
[16] ROMANIAN NATIONALISTS OPPOSE HUNGARIAN CONSULATE IN CLUJ.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] GEORGIA READY TO WAIVE IMMUNITY FOR DIPLOMAT.
President Eduard Shevardnadze said on 12 January that he is ready to waive
diplomatic immunity for Georgi Makharadze, the Georgian envoy in Washington
involved in the 3 January car accident that caused the death of a 16-year-
old American girl, so that he can face charges in the U.S., international
agencies reported. Shevardnadze said he took the decision with a "heavy
heart" while arguing that "moral principles" were more important than
international conventions. U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns
hailed the move as "courageous and unusual in modern diplomacy."
Shevardnadze's decision followed a letter from U.S. Secretary of State
Warren Christopher (see OMRI Daily Digest, 10 January 1997), who asked
him to allow for Makharadze's prosecution. Burns denied that the U.S. made
any threats of sanctions against Georgia. -- Emil Danielyan
[02] OIL DEAL SIGNED DURING ALIEV'S VISIT TO FRANCE.
French oil companies Elf Aquitaine and Total have reached agreement with
Azerbaijan's State Oil Company, Socar, to develop two offshore fields in
the Caspian Sea, Western and Russian media reported on 13 January. The deal,
with an estimated value of $1.5 billion, involves the exploitation of a
roughly 420 square km area, known as the Lenkoran and Talysh Deniz fields,
some 300 km from Baku. Elf Aquitaine, with a 65% share of the deal, will
operate the consortium; Socar retains a 25% interest while Total will take
10%. Other firms, possibly the U.S. company Mobil and Germany's Deminex,
are expected to join them. Estimates of the size of the deposit range from
50 to 100 million metric tons of oil. The landmark deal was signed during
the visit to France of Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev. -- Lowell
Bezanis
[03] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH APPEALS TO KYRGYZ PRESIDENT.
Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev on 13
January, asking him to overturn a court decision jailing Topchubek
Turgunaliyev and Timur Stamkulov. In the letter, obtained by OMRI, HRW
argues that the $10,000 Turgunaliyev allegedly embezzled from the Bishkek
University for the Humanities was in fact a loan which Turgunaliyev
promised to return with interest. The university's chief accountant said
the university has no financial claims against Turgunaliyev. HRW noted that
the procurator's office insisted this trial be held in a criminal court,
and the case was reopened six times since 1994. Previous attempts to hold a
criminal trial were struck down by the investigators' insistence that the
case be handled in a civil court. HRW considers the 10-year jail sentence
on Turgunaliyev as "wholly disproportionate" to the alleged crime and that
the timing represented "the government's desire to silence Mr.
Turgunaliyev's reinvigorated political dissent." -- Bruce Pannier
[04] UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN UPDATE.
Japan's Mitsui and NEC companies will build a modern telephone network in
Uzbekistan, ITAR-TASS reported on 13 January. The $138 million deal was
described as the largest project with Japanese participation in Central
Asia. In other news, the European Union is planning to provide Turkmenistan
with 10 million ECU in structural food aid annually over the next three
years, according to a 9 January Turkmen radio report as monitored by the
BBC. The monies are to be used for agricultural reform and to create
strategic reserves of grain and flour. -- Lowell Bezanis
[05] AGREEMENT TO REPATRIATE TAJIK REFUGEES.
Tajik government and opposition representatives signed an agreement on 13
January aimed at repatriating thousands of Tajik refugees, Western and
Russian press reported. It was the first agreement signed between the two
sides at peace talks in Tehran. UN Special Envoy to Tajikistan Gerd Merrem
called it a "happy occasion" and said it was "another building stone to
create a multi-faceted national accord." By some estimates there are up to
700,000 Tajik refugees, most living in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Responding to a question about those refugees who may have criminal records,
Nazarov said "if the agreement is implemented appropriately the Tajik
government will declare a general amnesty." -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] NEW DEMONSTRATIONS, UPCOMING GENERAL STRIKE IN BULGARIA.
Between 30,000 and 100,000 people took to the streets in Sofia on 13
January to support opposition demands for early elections, Bulgarian media
and AFP reported. Their rally was preceded by a student's demonstration
that passed by the embassies of Italy, Austria, and the U.S. The students
handed out appeals to the diplomats asking them not to support a new
Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) government. "We don't want to fill the
immigration lists of your countries," students said in the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of Labor "Podkrepa" announced that it had
scheduled a nationwide strike for 15 January. Members of the "Promyana"
alliance have already started striking in the Burgas and Varna harbors and
in Bulgaria's largest fuel plant, Neftohim Burgas. The Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria was the last major union to join the
general strike. All striking activities will be coordinated by the
opposition. -- Maria Koinova in Sofia
[07] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS AGREE "IN PRINCIPLE" TO EARLY ELECTIONS.
The BSP Executive Bureau on 13 January "agreed in principle to the idea of
holding early parliamentary elections in the context of the implementation
of a national anti-crisis program," Bulgarian and Western media reported.
The Socialists said they are ready to start talks with the opposition on
early elections and on the "character and composition" of a new government
which they insist must be led by the BSP. The BSP said its premier-
designate, Interior Minister Nikolay Dobrev, is non-negotiable. BSP leaders
also said that early elections should not be held before the end of the
year. The Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) leadership will meet on 14
January to discuss the offer. SDS Chairman Ivan Kostov accused the
Socialists of tactical delays since only the BSP Supreme Council--rather
than Executive Bureau--is authorized to make a final decision on the issues
at stake. -- Stefan Krause
[08] BELGRADE MASS PROTEST USHERS IN NEW YEAR.
Demonstrators gathered in Belgrade for one of the largest protest marches
so far on 13 January as the country celebrated the Christian Orthodox New
Year's Eve, Nasa Borba reported. According to some estimates, as many as
500,000 demonstrators flooded into Belgrade's streets to protest against
the regime of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and to demand that the
authorities recognize opposition victories in the 17 November runoff of the
municipal elections. Riot police, who had assumed a high public profile in
recent weeks, remained for the most part in their barracks, international
media reported. Mass demonstrations also took place in other cities across
Serbia, marking the 55th consecutive day of the ongoing protest. -- Stan
Markotich
[09] BOSNIAN FEDERAL ARMY TAKES SHAPE.
The planned structure of the new mainly Croatian and Muslim joint army was
announced in Sarajevo on 13 January, two days after presidency members
Kresimir Zubak and Alija Izetbegovic signed an agreement. The new force
will include 14 brigades divided among four corps--three [Muslim] and one
Croat--plus two rapid-reaction battalions. There will also be a combined
artillery division and other combined units for air-defense, logistics,
training, and helicopters, AFP reported. The two nominal allies fought a
brief but vicious war in 1993, which was ended only thanks to vigorous U.S.
political and economic pressure on both sides. A major problem has
subsequently been to overcome mutual mistrust and local power interests in
order to make the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina a reality. Nowhere
has real cooperation proven more difficult than in military and police
affairs. -- Patrick Moore
[10] IS SERBIA'S PRESIDENT SINCERE ABOUT MAKING CONCESSIONS?
According to a 14 January report in Dnevni Telegraf, Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic is preparing to recognize the Zajedno opposition
coalition's electoral victories in 13 municipalities. He is not expected,
however, to make concessions on the Belgrade Municipal Assembly but may
recognize opposition wins in a handful of Belgrade's municipal districts.
The newspaper speculates that Milosevic may attempt such a move as a way of
putting a stop to the ongoing mass demonstrations across Serbia. It would
also provide him with a pretext for resorting to force should the
demonstrations continue. -- Stan Markotich
[11] BRITAIN WARNS BOSNIA ON RECONSTRUCTION AID.
U.K. Defense Minister Michael Portillo said in Banja Luka on 12 January
that aid will be contingent on the implementation of the Dayton agreement,
Onasa wrote. He added that war criminals must be brought to justice if a
lasting peace is to take root but pointed out that the present peace is no
guarantee that war will not break out again some months hence. In contrast
to many Western official visitors to the region, he spoke bluntly and
refused to paint a rosy picture: "Despite political progress, I don't think
there is much progress in reconciliation... There is precious little sign
of the population wishing to tolerate each other." The following day,
Portillo warned that SFOR's mandate will not be extended after it runs out
in mid-1998. He added that all sides should now concentrate on restoring
basis infrastructure links. -- Patrick Moore
[12] SLAVONIAN UPDATE.
Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic, a Muslim, warned against attempts
to resettle ethnic Serbs from eastern Slavonia into Bosnia when eastern
Slavonia returns to Croatian control this summer. He said that such a
migration would endanger peace in Bosnia, Oslobodjenje on 11 January quoted
him as saying. U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith meanwhile told
eastern Slavonian Serbs that the Croatian army will be stationed in Vukovar
and elsewhere in the area after Croatian officials return on 17 July,
Vecernji list reported. The international community has been urging the
Serbs to stay put, but they have been seeking guarantees that go beyond
existing agreements as a prerequisite to do so. Croatian authorities on 13
January presented a document to the UN outlining future rights for the
Serbs, which the UN administrator Jacques Klein said was very positive and
does indeed go well beyond existing agreements, AFP reported. -- Patrick
Moore
[13] KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING ALBANIAN.
The secretive Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) has claimed responsibility for
the 9 January killing of Maliq Sheholli, international agencies reported on
13 January. Sheholli was a member of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's
Socialist Party of Serbia and a member of the Podujevo City Council. The
UCK said in a statement that the killing "is a warning to all other
collaborators and national traitors." The group called the murder an
"execution," adding it had warned Sheholli to "stop cooperating with
enemies." The group killed eight Serbs and one ethnic Albanian police
officer last year. -- Fabian Schmidt
[14] CONSERVATIVE LEADER OPEN TO COOPERATION WITH SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER.
Slovenian People's Party leader Marjan Podobnik 13 January said he is
considering the idea of joining a coalition led by Liberal Democratic Party
leader Janez Drnovsek, who was recently re-elected prime minister. "We
support a government of national unity in which all or most parliamentary
parties would be included," Reuters quoted Podobnik as saying. Podobnik,
whose party controls 19 of the parliament's 90 seats, had previously ruled
out any cooperation with the legislature's 25 Liberal Democrats. The
parliamentary elections were held on 10 November 1996. -- Stan Markotich
[15] TENSION IN ROMANIA'S RULING COALITION.
Constantin Ticu Dumitrescu, head of the Former Political Detainees'
Association which is affiliated to the coalition party Democratic
Convention of Romania (CDR), suggested on 13 January that Senate Chairman
Petre Roman, the head of the coalition party Social Democratic Union (USD),
shares responsibility with former President Ion Iliescu for the miners'
violent marches on Bucharest in 1990, Romanian media reported. Ion
Diaconescu, chairman of the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic,
said it was "natural" that Roman, who was prime minister at the time, had
to be "on Iliescu's side." Another CDR member, Romania's Alternative Party,
proposed the creation of a technical secretariat to prevent future
"misunderstandings" between the CDR and USD. Meanwhile, the CDR might
exclude the National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention, because its
chairman, lawyer Niculae Cerveni, took over the defense in corruption
cases. -- Dan Ionescu
[16] ROMANIAN NATIONALISTS OPPOSE HUNGARIAN CONSULATE IN CLUJ.
The Local Council of Cluj on 13 January issued a statement calling the
decision to reopen a Hungarian consulate there as "unwelcome and lacking
any pragmatic basis," Radio Bucharest reported. Cluj Mayor Gheorghe Funar,
who heads the extremist Party of Romanian National Unity, said that he
would use all democratic means to fight against what he described as an
"irresponsible" decision. The government coalition councilors walked out of
the extraordinary council meeting in protest. The council's statement came
after news that Foreign Minister Adrian Severin had agreed to the
consulate's reopening during a visit to Budapest in late December. Last
week, all parliamentary opposition parties objected to the reopening. The
consulate was closed down in 1988 under Nicolae Ceausescu. -- Zsolt Mato
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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