|
|
|
RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 1, No. 8, 97-04-10
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 8, 10 April 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] RUSSIAN-BELARUSIAN ACCORD AS CORNERSTONE OF NAZARBAEV'S EURASIAN
UNION?
[02] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN YEREVAN.
[03] ALIEV CALLS ON GEORGIA TO CONDEMN RUSSIAN ARMS SUPPLIES TO ARMENIA.
[04] TAJIK TALKS BREAK DOWN ON FIRST DAY.
[05] TURKMENISTAN DENIES HELPING TALIBAN.
[06] KAZAKSTAN TO INCREASE OIL PRODUCTION, EXPORTS.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] ITALY APPROVES ALBANIAN MISSION.
[08] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS AGAIN FOR DEPLOYMENT.
[09] ALBANIA LIFTS PRESS CURBS.
[10] UN NOT TO CUT MACEDONIAN FORCE.
[11] KOSOVO TALKS END IN NEW YORK.
[12] SLAVONIAN SERBS URGED TO VOTE.
[13] SCANDINAVIA ENCOURAGES BOSNIANS TO GO HOME.
[14] ROMANIA, IMF SIGN LETTER OF INTENT.
[15] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST PARTIES CONCLUDE POLITICAL PACT.
[16] IMF DISSATISFIED WITH MOLDOVA'S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE.
[17] OSCE MISSION IN TRANSDNIESTER STILL FACES PROBLEMS.
[18] G-24 ENDORSES BULGARIAN STABILIZATION PROGRAM.
[19] LEADING BULGARIAN BANKERS ARRESTED.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] RUSSIAN-BELARUSIAN ACCORD AS CORNERSTONE OF NAZARBAEV'S EURASIAN
UNION?
Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbaev has rejected suggestions that the
Treaty on Eternal Friendship, which he and Kyrgyz President Askar
Akaev signed earlier this week, is an alternative to the Russian-Belarus
union agreement, Nezavisimaya gazeta reports today. Nazarbaev said that "if
the CIS states unite in Europe, then the countries of Central Asia could
join them and we would have a Eurasian Union." He first floated the idea of
a Eurasian union strengthening integration within the CIS in 1994. Akaev
endorsed that idea in Almaty earlier this week.
[02] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER IN YEREVAN.
Theodoros Pangalos has called for expanding Armenian-Greek economic
relations and for closer cooperation between Greece, Armenia, Georgia, and
Iran in unspecified "areas of mutual concern," Asbarez and Armenpress
reported. Pangalos was in Yerevan yesterday to meet with his Armenian
counterpart, Alexander Arzoumanian, President Levon Ter-Petrossyan, and
Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan. He told journalists later that Greece
supports the right of nations to self-determination, "whether [in the form
of] cultural autonomy or fully-fledged independence." He said he believes
the Karabakh conflict should be resolved in accordance with this principle.
Pangalos also said Turkey's position vis-a-vis Karabakh was destabilizing
and that Ankara should realize that the Ottoman Empire is dead and cannot
be revived.
[03] ALIEV CALLS ON GEORGIA TO CONDEMN RUSSIAN ARMS SUPPLIES TO ARMENIA.
Meeting in Baku yesterday with visiting Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli
Menagharishvili, Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev expressed the hope that
the Georgian leadership will condemn Russian arms shipments to Armenia,
Interfax reported. Aliev intimated that Armenia could use this hardware
against Georgia. Meanwhile in Yerevan, Armenian Defense Minister Vazgen
Sarkisyan said on national TV that the reports on the arms shipments are
aimed at weakening the Armenian army and depriving the country of
aid. Last month, Sarkisyan had implicitly confirmed the reports.
[04] TAJIK TALKS BREAK DOWN ON FIRST DAY.
The latest round of Tajik peace talks broke down in Tehran yesterday
when the Tajik opposition representatives demanded the release of 11 of
their colleagues who, they say, were arrested in Moscow. Ali Akbar
Turajonzoda, head of the opposition delegation to the talks, told RFE/RL's
Moscow bureau yesterday that the men had been arrested immediately before
the talks were scheduled to begin and charged with the murders of Russian
soldiers serving in Tajikistan. He described the arrests as typical Moscow
tactics to discredit the opposition and as pointless in view of an amnesty
signed earlier this year for Tajik opposition fighters. Maxim Peshkov,
head of the Russian observer delegation to the talks, said one of the
detained Tajiks, Abdurahmon Nazarov, was a "Russian citizen. "He denied any
knowledge of the other ten detainees.
[05] TURKMENISTAN DENIES HELPING TALIBAN.
Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry has denied any role in aiding Afghanistan's
Taliban movement, ITAR-TASS reported today. The denial followed an 8 April
interview with Afghan warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum in Komsomolskaya
Pravda in which Dostum said the Taliban are selling narcotics and
receiving weapons via Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan has consistently said that,
as a neutral country, it neither supports nor gives aid to any of the
warring factions in Afghanistan.
[06] KAZAKSTAN TO INCREASE OIL PRODUCTION, EXPORTS.
Nurlan Balgimbaev, head of the new Kazak national oil and gas company,
hopes that oil production in 1997 will reach its previous peak of 26.5
million metric tons, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported yesterday. Balgimbaev
said that Kazakstan plans to export 7 million tons of oil this year via
Russia--1 million by tanker across the Caspian Sea and then by rail from
Baku to Georgia and 1 million via Iran by means of a "swap." The oil swap
with Iran is problematic, however, as Kazak oil contains such a high level
of impurities that it cannot be refined at the Tehran oil refinery, Delovoi
mir reported yesterday. Balgimbaev was ambivalent about Kazakstan
joining the OPEC and expressed doubts that projected pipelines either
through Afghanistan and Pakistan or through China would materialize in the
foreseeable future.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] ITALY APPROVES ALBANIAN MISSION.
The Italian parliament agreed last night to send troops to lead a European
force to Albania. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi made a last-minute
deal with the center-right opposition to clinch a majority vote. Prodi said
that the more than 5,000 troops will start deploying on 14 April. France,
Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Greece also plan to send troops. The
peacekeepers' goal is to restore order and protect the delivery of
humanitarian aid.
[08] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS AGAIN FOR DEPLOYMENT.
Bashkim Fino said in Tirana yesterday that the international force is badly
needed so that his government can concentrate on battling organized crime.
Fino told Reuters that conditions throughout the country remain dangerous
because so many people are armed. Rebel leaders say that they will give up
their weapons only after new elections and only to international
peacekeepers. But the international force's mandate does not include
confiscating arms. Meanwhile, President Sali Berisha says that the June
elections may not go ahead after all, the Vienna daily Die Presse reports.
"We have set the election date for June. But at the moment there is no real
progress because the [rebel] committees are still functioning," Berisha
told the newspaper.
[09] ALBANIA LIFTS PRESS CURBS.
The Albanian parliament voted yesterday to end press restrictions. The
emergency all- party government imposed the press curbs on 2 March at the
height of the armed anarchy. The restrictions require government-appointed
committees to censor articles before publication. The dailies of three main
political parties are the only papers still publishing, after fire
destroyed the offices of the main independent daily, Koha Jone.
[10] UN NOT TO CUT MACEDONIAN FORCE.
The Security Council voted unanimously in New York yesterday to suspend
the planned reduction in its peacekeeping force in Macedonia. The decision
comes in response to unrest in neighboring Albania. The council acted on
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendation that it revoke last
November's decision to reduce the size of the UN Preventive Deployment
Force in Macedonia (UNPREDEP) while extending the force's mandate
until 31 May. The 1,050 peacekeepers include some 500 U.S. troops.
UNPREDEP's main mission is to prevent conflicts elsewhere in the former
Yugoslavia from spilling over into Macedonia.
[11] KOSOVO TALKS END IN NEW YORK.
Inter-communal talks in New York aimed at easing tensions in Kosovo ended
yesterday without significant agreement. But participants described the
discussions as a solid first step toward resolving the decade-old crisis.
They also agreed to meet regularly, although they did not set a date for
the next round of talks. In a final statement, Serbs and ethnic Albanians
said any future agreement must be based on principles of democratization,
mutual respect, respect for human rights, and promotion of regional
stability. Albanians, who make up 90% of Kosovo's population, seek
independence for the region, while Serbs insist it must remain part of
Serbia.
[12] SLAVONIAN SERBS URGED TO VOTE.
Serbian leaders in eastern Slavonia said in Vukovar yesterday that local
Serbs should go to the polls on 13 April to elect representatives, an
RFE/RL's correspondent in Osijek reported. Earlier, the Serbian leaders met
with UN administrator Jacques Klein, who once again urged them to take part
in the elections. Eastern Slavonia is the last Serb-held part of Croatia.
The 13 April ballot is seen as a key step in the UN-administered region's
return to Croatia. The local Serbian leadership had delayed a final
decision on participating in the polls in the hope of winning more
concessions from the UN and the Croatian authorities.
[13] SCANDINAVIA ENCOURAGES BOSNIANS TO GO HOME.
Norway is offering two-year residency permits to its 12,000 Bosnian
refugees if they now agree to go home, an RFE/RL correspondent in
Copenhagen reported yesterday. Denmark will give its 16,000 Bosnians $2,500
each if they leave and, beginning 1 May, Sweden will raise departure
payments to its 60,000 Bosnians from $300 per individual to $3,000 per
adult and $2,000 per minor. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung yesterday quotes
Swedish Development Minister Pierre Schori as saying his government is not
trying to encourage the Bosnians to leave but rather make things easier for
them if they want to go. Most Bosnians in Denmark and Sweden have permanent
residency status and show little interest in going home.
[14] ROMANIA, IMF SIGN LETTER OF INTENT.
Finance Minister Mircea Ciumara, National Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu, and
chief IMF negotiator for Romania Poul Thomsen yesterday signed a letter of
intent for an IMF loan. RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported that the
agreement, which provides for a $400 million loan to support reforms, is to
be approved by the IMF's board later this month. Prime Minister Victor
Ciorbea said the World Bank is also expected to approve a $600 million loan
on 22 April. He added that Bucharest anticipates funds this year from the
EU and donor countries totaling some $1 billion. Most of those funds will
be channeled to the social welfare system, restructuring industry and
agriculture, road construction and repairs, and environmental protection.
Meanwhile, Citibank has announced it will grant credits worth $157 million
to help the state-owned RAIF agricultural company purchase U.S.-made
agricultural machines.
[15] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST PARTIES CONCLUDE POLITICAL PACT.
The Greater Romania Party (PRM) and the extraparliamentary Socialist Labor
Party (PSM) have formed a political alliance, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau
reported yesterday. The PRM will represent PSM standpoints in the
parliament. The agreement also provides for joint candidates in local by-
elections scheduled for next month. PRM chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor said
that given the current political situation, the alliance's doctrine "is
neither of the left nor of the right, but Romanian." The PSM failed to win
representation in the legislature last autumn.
[16] IMF DISSATISFIED WITH MOLDOVA'S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE.
The IMF says that Moldova's economic performance is "unsatisfactory" and
that it will not release the remaining installments of a May 1996 loan
worth a total of $195 million, the Romanian independent news agency
Mediafax reported yesterday. Only two installments worth $16.25 million
each have so far been released. An IMF delegation is to visit Chisinau
later this month to discuss measures needed to improve the Moldovan
economy. A recent IMF statement says the Moldovan government has not yet
implemented measures agreed on early last year.
[17] OSCE MISSION IN TRANSDNIESTER STILL FACES PROBLEMS.
Infotag reported yesterday that another car transporting OSCE mission
members was stopped by Tiraspol law enforcement officials on the outskirts
of Bendery-Tighina. This was the third such incident in three weeks
preventing the OSCE from participating in a meeting of the Joint Control
Commission, which is overseeing the truce in Moldova's Transdniester
breakaway region. Tiraspol began last month voicing objections to the
OSCE's participation in the commission meetings, claiming the agreement on
the commission, which expired in early February, must be renewed. Besides
the OSCE officials, the members of the commission are representatives of
Moldova, Russia, and Tiraspol.
[18] G-24 ENDORSES BULGARIAN STABILIZATION PROGRAM.
The G-24 group of donor nations and organizations has agreed to grant loans
and credits to cover Bulgaria's external financing obligations for 1997-98.
RFE/RL's Washington bureau that the group said in Brussels yesterday that
Bulgaria's caretaker government has shown "strong commitment to
implementing a bold macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform
despite exceptionally difficult circumstances." The IMF is expected to
approve tomorrow a new stand-by loan of some $659 million. In addition,
Bulgaria will be allowed to draw about $29 million from a special facility
the fund maintains for countries experiencing a temporary export shortfall
or a sudden increase in cereal imports.
[19] LEADING BULGARIAN BANKERS ARRESTED.
The Interior Ministry yesterday announced the arrest of three top bankers
for allegedly granting bad loans totaling some 100,000 million leva ($65
million). An RFE/RL correspondent in Sofia reported that three more bankers
have been put under police surveillance and made to post bail. One of those
under surveillance is former deputy director of the National Bank
Emil Harsev, who is known to oppose IMF involvement in the country. Harsev
told RFE/RL's Bulgarian service that the prosecutor's decision was a
politically motivated move before the 19 April elections. He rejected any
accusations of mismanagement. All six bankers were on the board of
directors of Mineral Bank, which declared bankruptcy last year.
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
|
