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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 92, 96-05-13
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 92, 13 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] PRIMAKOV IN THE TRANSCAUCASUS.
[02] IRAN FINALLY AGREES TO STAKE IN SHAH-DENIZ.
[03] HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON UZBEKISTAN.
[04] NAZARBAYEV IN TEHRAN.
[05] "JUNCTION FOR PLANET' OPENS ON TURKMEN-IRANIAN BORDER.
[06] "FIERCE" FIGHTING IN TAVIL-DARA.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] CROATIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OVERRULES TUDJMAN.
[08] CROATIAN, BOSNIAN LEADERS MEET.
[09] HOLBROOKE WARNS ABOUT PARTITION OF BOSNIA.
[10] BELGRADE CALLS FOR IMF, WORLD BANK TALKS . . .
[11] . . . WHILE BANK GOVERNOR CALLS FOR PREMIER'S RESIGNATION.
[12] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST PARTY TO LAUNCH OWN RADIO, TV.
[13] TIRASPOL HAMPERS IMPLEMENTATION OF RUSSIAN-MOLDOVAN AGREEMENT.
[14] NEW BULGARIAN INTERIOR MINISTER APPOINTED.
[15] ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS COMPLAIN ABOUT "CLIMATE OF TERROR."
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] PRIMAKOV IN THE TRANSCAUCASUS.
Russian Foreign Minister Yevgenii Primakov traveled from Yerevan to Baku on 10
May, taking with him 67 Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages released by
the Armenian authorities, Russian media reported. During talks with
Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev, both men affirmed their commitment to
maintaining the existing two-year ceasefire in Karabakh. On 12 May, Primakov
flew to Tbilisi, where he held talks with Georgian President Eduard
Shevardnadze on South Ossetiya and Abkhazia. Shevardnadze subsequently praised
Russia's mediating role and Russian-Georgian relations, according to ITAR-
TASS. -- Liz Fuller
[02] IRAN FINALLY AGREES TO STAKE IN SHAH-DENIZ.
Iran has finally accepted Azerbaijan's offer of a 10% stake in the
international consortium formed to develop its Shah-Deniz off-shore Caspian
oil and gas deposits, Natik Aliev, chairman of Azerbaijan's state oil company,
said in an Interfax report cited by AFP on 12 May. The offer was made last
year as compensation for the Azerbaijani government's withdrawal, under U.S.
pressure, of a previous offer to Iran to participate in the Western consortium
formed to exploit the Shirag, Azeri, and Gyuneshli fields. -- Liz
Fuller
[03] HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON UZBEKISTAN.
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki has issued a report on Uzbekistan in which it
states that while "well-publicized arrests, detentions, and beatings of
political dissidents" have "decreased markedly," basic civil liberties "remain
suspended," Reuters reported on 13 May. Surveillance of individuals and media
censorship are still commonplace. In particular, the organization expressed
its concern over measures taken against members of the country's Islamic
community. The report comes at a time when foreign governments, including the
U.S., have noted an improvement in Uzbekistan's human rights record. -- Roger
Kangas
[04] NAZARBAYEV IN TEHRAN.
Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Tehran on 12-13 May to sign
an agreement with his Iranian counterpart, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, whereby
Kazakhstan will export crude oil to Iran in exchange for help in refining and
transporting Kazakhstani oil through Iranian ports, Russian and Western media
reported. Oil exports are expected to amount to 2 million metric tons per year
in the initial stages, with an expected increase to 6 million tons in 10
years. This is the latest in a series of pipeline deals that Kazakhstan has
signed, including a deal signed on 27 April with Russia (see ). -- Roger
Kangas
[05] "JUNCTION FOR PLANET' OPENS ON TURKMEN-IRANIAN BORDER.
The greatly publicized rail link between Turkmenistan and Iran was officially
opened on 13 May, according to Western and Russian sources. The 300 km line,
agreed to in 1991, will for the first time connect Iran to the Central Asian
rail network, and is expected to cut travel time between Europe and southeast
Asia by up to 10 days. Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his
Turkmen counterpart, Saparmurad Niyazov, hosted an opening ceremony for the
line attended by 12 heads of state and 700 other officials and journalists.
The $216 million Meshhed-Sarakhs-Tedzhen railway will be used by some 500,000
passengers and 2 million metric tons of goods in its first year of operation,
and those figures are expected to rise in the near future, Reuters reported. --
Bruce Pannier
[06] "FIERCE" FIGHTING IN TAVIL-DARA.
Tajik government troops and opposition fighters have been locked in "fierce"
combat for several days, according to ITAR-TASS. The fighting, which began on
8 May, has spread and the opposition has now reportedly took the town of Tavil-
Dara on 12 May. The opposition claims to have killed 45 government soldiers
and taken 10 more prisoner, and captured several military vehicles and
artillery pieces. The Tajik government has not confirmed any of these claims. -
- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] CROATIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OVERRULES TUDJMAN.
The highest Croatian judicial body on 10 May ruled six-to-four in favor of an
opposition suit against President Franjo Tudjman's recent dissolution of the
Zagreb city council, international and Croatian media reported. The opposition
coalition won a majority on the council last October, but Tudjman has since
vetoed all four of its proposed candidates for mayor and otherwise tried to
hamstring the council's work. He charged that he would not allow the capital
to be run by "enemies of state policy." After formally dissolving the city
council on 30 April, Tudjman called for a referendum in what was widely seen
as an attempt to postpone new council elections that his Croatian Democratic
Community (HDZ) seemed likely to lose. The latest court decision appears to be
a milestone display of independence by the judiciary, which has generally been
regarded as an instrument of the HDZ. That party may now find itself forced to
take up the opposition's previous offer of power-sharing in return for the
HDZ's recognition of an opposition candidate for mayor. -- Patrick
Moore
[08] CROATIAN, BOSNIAN LEADERS MEET.
President Franjo Tudjman on 11 May hosted a meeting in Zagreb with his Bosnian
counterpart, Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic,
Bosnian Federation President Kresimir Zubak, and federal Vice President Ejup
Ganic. They reached an agreement on a pilot program for the return of refugees
to four central Bosnian towns: Muslim-held Bugojno and Travnik, and Croat-held
Stolac and Jajce. Another measure called for Bosnia to have a temporary duty-
free outlet to the sea through Ploce in Croatia and for Croatian vehicles to
be able to transit Bosnia's coastal strip at Neum, which cuts Croatia into
two. Izetbegovic told Onasa, moreover, that Bosnians do not need visas for
Croatia. All sides sounded optimistic after the meeting, international and
regional media reported. But these latest accords sound very similar to
previous measures that were agreed upon but remained dead letters due to
mistrust and the opposition of local warlords. -- Patrick Moore
[09] HOLBROOKE WARNS ABOUT PARTITION OF BOSNIA.
The man most responsible for the Dayton accords, former U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, said that the Dayton structure could
collapse resulting in the partition of Bosnia-Herzegovina. He blamed the
Serbian, Muslim, and Croatian sides, but singled out the Serbs for not
removing from power indicted war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko
Mladic. He doubts that fighting will resume but feels that "the Europeans"
have incapacitated the civilian side of Dayton by insisting on multiple chains
of command, AFP reported on 12 May. -- Patrick Moore
[10] BELGRADE CALLS FOR IMF, WORLD BANK TALKS . . .
Rump Yugoslav authorities have requested the "urgent resumption" of talks with
the IMF and World Bank, Reuters reported on 12 May. At a meeting of federal
authorities the previous day, federal Premier Radoje Kontic asked that IMF and
World Bank officials be invited to Belgrade as soon as possible to reopen
lines of communication. Dialogue with international financial institutions
collapsed in April 1996 when Belgrade demanded that rump Yugoslavia be
recognized as the sole successor state of Tito's Yugoslavia as a precondition
for continued dialogue. -- Stan Markotich
[11] . . . WHILE BANK GOVERNOR CALLS FOR PREMIER'S RESIGNATION.
Meanwhile, National Bank Governor Dragoslav Avramovic has called for Kontic's
resignation, Nasa Borba reported on 11 May. Avramovic has since early April
been in open conflict with members of the government over rump Yugoslav
relations with international financial institutions. Avramovic alleges in a
letter that Kontic flagrantly lied when he remarked that Avramovic had
abandoned government policy in talks with IMF officials at the beginning of
April. Avramovic advocates obtaining international loans as soon as possible
to keep the rump Yugoslav economy from ruin, while federal authorities contend
that international financial institutions must first recognize rump Yugoslavia
as the successor to Tito's Yugoslavia. -- Stan Markotich
[12] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST PARTY TO LAUNCH OWN RADIO, TV.
The leader of the extremist Greater Romania Party (PRM), Senator Corneliu
Vadim Tudor, in Bucharest on 10 May said his party will launch its own radio
and TV station "at whatever cost," claiming that the state-run media do not
properly reflect the PRM's activities, Radio Bucharest reported on the same
day. In a related matter, President Ion Iliescu commented on accusations that
the BBC's Romanian-language program is broadcasting propaganda for the
opposition in the forthcoming elections (see the ). He said the BBC was the
only foreign station with numerous programs broadcast locally and therefore it
should attach "more importance to objectivity." He added that Romania should
possibly use the BBC's stations to make Romanian positions known, saying that
the matter was one of "reciprocity." -- Michael Shafir
[13] TIRASPOL HAMPERS IMPLEMENTATION OF RUSSIAN-MOLDOVAN AGREEMENT.
The Transdniestrian authorities have insisted on talks with Russia to discuss
the transfer of Russian military equipment stationed in the breakaway region,
and they have refused to recognize the Moldovan-Russian accord on the issue,
BASSA-Press reported on 9 May. The Tiraspol leader, Igor Smirnov, on 8 May
demanded the talks at a meeting with Vladimir Kitayev, the Russian special
ambassador and head of the Russian delegation for talks with Moldova. Stefan
Chitac, a military advisor to Smirnov, said none of the Moldovan-Russian
military accords on the transfer of the Russian equipment will be carried out.
-- Michael Shafir
[14] NEW BULGARIAN INTERIOR MINISTER APPOINTED.
Bulgaria's parliament on 10 May voted to replace Lyubomir Nachev with Nikolai
Dobrev, Bulgarian state radio reported the same day. Opposition deputies
abstained from the proceedings, saying the government had acted with
impropriety by holding the vote without prior debate. Opposition members, some
of whom also called for Premier Videnov's resignation, alleged that Dobrev, a
high-ranking member of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party, was predisposed
to working toward a "totalitarian unification of party and state." Nachev
resigned following the 3 May slaying of three police officers in Sofia (see
the ). -- Stan Markotich
[15] ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS COMPLAIN ABOUT "CLIMATE OF TERROR."
The Socialists accused the ruling Democratic Party of political manipulation
prior to the 26 May elections, Reuters reported on 10 May. They said police
illegally detained more than 30 Socialist supporters and destroyed their
banners and flags. The Socialists' General Secretary Gramoz Ruci claimed that
his party's candidates have been obstructed from meeting with voters. Prime
Minister Aleksander Meksi reacted to the charges by saying that "those who
complain create the incidents themselves," Albania reported on 12 May.
Meanwhile, an unknown culprit smashed the windows of the office of the
Socialists' Vice President Luan Hajdaraga, Koha Jone reported the same day.
The Socialists claimed that police cars and Democratic Party supporters on 11
May blocked a road, preventing Tirana Socialist leaders from attending an
election campaign rally in Durres. -- Fabian Schmidt
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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