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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 1, No. 104, 97-08-27Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 1, No. 104, 27 August 1997CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] AZERBAIJAN THREATENS COURT ACTION OVER PIPELINEFollowing Chechen Vice President Vakha Arsanov's disclosure in Baku on 25 August that repairs to the Chechen sector of the Baku-Grozny-Tikhoretsk oil pipeline have not yet begun, Azerbaijani officials are considering other options. Natik Aliev, the deputy president of Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, told Interfax that Azerbaijan may choose to refine the oil in Baku or to export it by rail to Batumi. In the latter case, shipping the oil to world markets would depend on Turkey's willingness to allow increased tanker traffic through the Turkish Straits. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will visit Baku in September. Prime Minister Artur Rasi- Zade hinted that Azerbaijan may sue Russia in an international court for breach of contract if the repairs to the pipeline are not completed in time for the export of the first "early" Caspian oil to begin on 1 October.[02] WORLD BANK APPROVES LOANS TO ARMENIAThe World Bank on 26 August announced that it has approved two International Development Association credits to Armenia worth $65 million, Reuters and dpa reported. The first $60 million credit is intended to help consolidate macroeconomic stability and lay the foundations for sustained growth led by the private sector. The second loan is to finance technical assistance to underpin the government's economic reform program.[03] MAYOR FLEES FROM STRIKING MINERS IN GEORGIAThe mayor of the west Georgian town of Chiatura has fled to Tbilisi to escape enraged miners and pensioners, the Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development reported on 26 August, citing "Rezonansi". Several hundred miners from the Chiatura Manganese Joint Stock Company, one of 14 enterprises that have declared bankruptcy, launched a strike on 20 August to protest not having been paid for 15 months. Together with local residents who have not received their pensions, the miners then began blockading the mayor's office and called on President Eduard Shevardnadze to dismiss him. The government has transferred to Chiatura an unspecified sum for payment of back wages and pensions.[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[04] STANDOFF BETWEEN PLAVSIC, BOSNIAN SERB ARMY COMMANDChief-of-Staff Gen. Pero Colic and other members of the General Staff did not attend a meeting with Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic in Banja Luka on 26 August. Colic refused an offer from SFOR troops to bring him from Sarajevo to Plavsic's headquarters. About half of the total membership of the staff met with Plavsic, but there was no official announcement after the meeting. Observers in Banja Luka suggested she may soon fire Colic, who recently accused Plavsic of trying to split the Bosnian Serb state. Likely candidates to replace him are Plavsic loyalists Generals Momir Talic and Novica Simic. Almost all key Bosnian Serb institutions have split into two factions, one loyal to Plavsic and the other to her rival Radovan Karadzic (see "RFE/RL Bosnia Report," 27 August 1997).[05] BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENT REJECTS LOCAL ELECTIONSOnly 45 of the 83 parliamentary deputies attended a 26 August session called by hard-liners near Sarajevo. The Karadzic loyalists rejected holding local elections in September because of what they called a lack of security. They also declared void Plavsic's invitation for the OSCE to monitor the vote and stripped her of her command over the army. The parliament asked the government and Interior Ministry to prepare a plan "for the defense of the constitutional order" within 24 hours. Another resolution called for Plavsic's loyalists to end their independent radio and television broadcasts by 29 August. The deputies accused SFOR of siding with Plavsic and trying to turn the Bosnian Serb republic into a "protectorate" of the international community. The legislature also approved a cabinet reshuffle in which Interior Minister Dragan Kijac became deputy prime minister and Slavko Paleksic replaced Kijac.[06] MILOSEVIC CALLS FOR PRESIDENTIAL, LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS FOR BOSNIAN SERBSYugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic told OSCE envoy Robert Frowick in Belgrade on 26 August that the only way to solve the Bosnian Serb political crisis is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time. It is unclear how Frowick responded. Milosevic made the same proposal on 21 August to German diplomats, who called it "unacceptable." The international community endorses Plavsic's call for parliamentary elections in October but rejects demands by her rivals in Pale for a new presidential vote. In related news, Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle began a peace mission to the rival Bosnian Serb factions in Pale on 27 August. Meanwhile in the area of Mt. Kozara, SFOR intensified patrols around Plavsic's TV relay station on 26 August. In Sarajevo, SFOR commander Gen. Eric Shinseki warned Serbian, Croatian, and Muslim generals to stay out of politics.[07] MORE AID FOR BOSNIAThe German government announced on 26 August that it will resume aid to the Jajce region, which was suspended recently after local Croats chased out returning Muslim refugees. Turkish government spokesmen said that Ankara will provide Bosnia with an additional $10 million in reconstruction aid. The money will help restore the historical Old Bridge in Mostar and provide housing for displaced Muslims.[08] NEWS FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVIACroatian President Franjo Tudjman on 26 August endorsed a recent British proposal to try some indicted war criminals in Bosnia rather than in The Hague (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 1997). In Ljubljana, the Slovenian government asked representatives of the international community to protect Slovenian citizens' property in Serbia and Montenegro from forcible sale under a new Yugoslav privatization law. Meanwhile in Skopje, Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov urged NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark on 25 August not to reduce the number of peacekeepers stationed in Macedonia. Observers in Skopje said that the Macedonian operation is the first mission in UN history aimed at preventing a conflict from spilling over into a region at peace.[09] ALBANIAN DEMOCRATS' DEMAND FOR AIR TIME REJECTEDThe parliamentary media commission on 26 August rejected a demand by the Democratic Party that one-third of news broadcasting time be given to the opposition. Commission Secretary Nikolle Lesi, an independent parliamentary deputy and owner of the daily "Koha Jone," told "Republika" that the Democrats' proposal, if implemented, would put journalists under pressure to create news artificially and hence would reduce the standards of news reporting. During the run-up to the June parliamentary elections, state television had divided air time among the parties, which led to pressure on journalists to broadcast party statements rather than analysis. Former parliamentary speaker Pjeter Arbnori has, meanwhile, begun his eighth day of a hunger strike to support his party's demands for guaranteed air time..[10] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT LAUNCHES JUDICIAL REFORMRexhep Meidani presented a draft law on 26 August to increase the independence of the nine-member High Judicial Council, which appoints most judges and state prosecutors, "Gazeta Shqiptare" reported. The new law was prepared by the parliamentary commission on the courts and provides for four members to be elected by the legislature, three by the National Association of Jurists, and two by the National Association of Lawyers. Currently, the nine jurists are elected jointly by the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor-General's Office. The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch/Helsinki charged in a 1996 report that the council was a vehicle by which former President Sali Berisha controlled the judiciary.[11] VLORA POLICE WITHHOLDING INFORMATION ON GANGS?During the trial in Tirana of 11 members of the Vlora-based Zani Caushi gang, prosecutors said that special police troops in Vlora failed to provide all evidence available about the accused. Prosecutor Blerim Tominaj said on 26 August that "we will start legal proceedings against [some] police officers" if they do not deliver the missing material, "Gazeta Shqiptare" reported. Meanwhile, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha proposed a multi-party round table about disarming civilians, "Republika" reported. The government had ordered that all weapons looted by rebels or handed out to Democratic Party loyalists by police be surrendered by 25 August, but so far only some 15,000 out of several hundred thousand arms have been returned.[12] ROMANIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE CHIEF APPOINTEDCol. Cristian Dumitru Bernevig has been appointed new chief of military intelligence, Romanian media reported on 26 August. He replaces Gen. Decebal Ilina, who recently resigned (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 1997). The 43-year-old Bernevig was until now deputy chief of the Strategic Planning Directorate of the General Staff.[13] ROMANIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL ON HIS DISMISSALNicolae Cochinescu told a press conference in Bucharest on 26 August that his dismissal as prosecutor-general the previous day was "politically motivated" and "unlawful." He said because he had been appointed by former President Ion Iliescu, members of the present government viewed him as a partisan of the former administration. He dismissed as "inaccurate" accusations that he had blocked investigations into the miners' rampage in Bucharest in 1990-1991 and that he had hindered the investigation into cases of children illegally adopted by foreigners, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. He said that "out of respect" for President Emil Constantinescu, he will not appeal the dismissal.[14] WORLD BANK REJECTS CRITICISM OF FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIERThe Bucharest office of the World Bank on 26 August said former Premier Theodor Stolojan has never been involved in negotiations between the bank and Romania and is not familiar with details of those talks. In an interview with the daily "National" the previous day, Stolojan, who is now a World Bank official, harshly criticized both Victor Ciorbea's cabinet and World Bank negotiators. He said the latest privatization drive is based on concepts that are "outdated" and no longer used by the World Bank in other countries. He also accused Ciorbea's cabinet of deciding which companies to liquidate on the basis of political criteria rather than economic performance, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.[15] MOLDOVAN PARTIES AGAINST POSTPONING ELECTIONSParliamentary chairman Dumitru Motpan has called for postponing the 1998 parliamentary elections and holding them at the same time as the 1999 local elections. Motpan said holding the elections on schedule would "further polarize society and further destabilize the already tense social and political situation" as well as "lead to unnecessary expenditures," Infotag reported. Dumitru Diacov, the chairman of the pro-presidential Movement for Democratic and Prosperous Moldova, said the proposal reflected an "Asian mode of political behavior and contradicts the Moldovan constitution." Nicolae Andronic, the chairman of the Party of Revival and Accord, said Motpan somehow "'forgot'" to explain that the ruling Democratic Agrarian Party of Moldova was responsible for the existing crisis, Infotag and BASA- press reported on 26 August.[16] MOLDOVAN CABINET TO MEET WITH BESSARABIAN CHURCH REPRESENTATIVESVlad Cubreacov, the lawyer who represents the Bessarabian Metropolitan Church, told BASA-press on 26 August that Premier Ion Ciubuc has promised him not to appeal the court decision to register the Bessarabian Church before the government holds talks with representatives of the Church. The Bessarabian Church has proposed that President Petru Lucinschi mediate the talks. Ciubuc told journalists on 24 August that the government will appeal the decision if the registration of the Church poses any danger for the country's stability.[17] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY CRITICIZES TIRASPOLRussian Foreign Ministry spokesman Valerii Nesterushkin on 26 August responded to the recent announcement by the leadership of the Tiraspol breakaway region that it will begin demarcating its state borders (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 1997). Nesterushkin said the announcement "complicates the process" of solving the conflict in the region and "contradicts" the memorandum signed by Chisinau and Tiraspol in Moscow on 8 May. He said that by signing the memorandum, the sides undertook to build relations "within the framework of a single state," ITAR-TASS reported.[18] BULGARIA TO EXTRADITE ILLEGAL KURDISH MIGRANTSBulgarian police have said they will extradite 52 Kurds who were arrested at the Romanian-Bulgarian border on 26 August, BTA reported. The Kurds were trying to reach Germany and had paid $3,000 each to a smugglers' ring. BTA said they were arrested when they stepped out of a truck on the Romanian side of the border to avoid suffocation.[C] END NOTE[19] Albanian Government Makes Personnel Changesby Fabian SchmidtOne month since the Socialist government of Prime Minister Fatos Nano took office, numerous new people have been appointed to top administrative positions. It is not yet clear, however, whether the Socialists are making appointments primarily on the basis of party loyalty or of professional competence. Fundamental changes have taken place in the presidency since the appointment of Rexhep Meidani, a professor of physics, who only recently became a member of the Socialist Party. Meidani has deliberately adopted a mainly ceremonial role as president in keeping with the Socialists' campaign promise to change the form of government from a presidential republic to a parliamentary one. The staff of the presidency has been reduced by one-quarter since Berisha was in office. Meidani's chief advisers, Mentor Nazarko and Prec Zogaj, both worked for the independent daily "Dita Informacion." Nazarko does not belong to any political party, while Zogaj is a member of the small civic-oriented Democratic Alliance party. Interior Minister Neritan Ceka probably has the most difficult task. Regarded by many local observers as a man of democratic principles, Ceka advocated civil liberties, human rights, and rule of law while serving as chairman of the Democratic Alliance before joining the cabinet. As interior minister, he has shown a commitment to crack down on crime. Within a few days of his appointment, he strengthened police control over the south of the country, which has been plagued by lawlessness since March. Moreover, police have collected more than 15,000 weapons looted from army stores and arrested a large number of wanted criminals, including more than 20 members of a particularly notorious gang in the south. Ceka has achieved those successes without major personnel changes in the police force. Observers suggest that he knows he needs the support of a loyal police force to stop the crime wave and that he cannot risk losing support from his employees by carrying out political purges. Major changes, however, seem likely in the secret service. Arben Karkini, a Republican, was replaced as head of the service on 21 August by Fatos Klosi, a professor of pedagogy who does not belong to any party. Karkini was appointed on 30 May by the interim multi-party government, but the new government accused him of failing to reform and depoliticize the service, which had used violence against opposition figures in the past. House-cleaning is already under way in the army. General Chief of Staff Adem Copani was sacked by Socialist Defense Minister Sabit Brokaj, who, in turn, pledged to fire another 25 generals. In an interview with the magazine "Klan," Brokaj argued that Albania's relatively small army does not need as many generals as it currently has. But this appeared to be a justification for political purges, since he had previously criticized unspecified generals for having "violated the constitution" by sending the army against anti-government protesters. The army, however, was primarily involved in protecting government buildings and roads during the unrest and did not move against the rebels in the south until toward the end of the unrest. Other leading appointments at the Defense Ministry include Brokaj's new state secretary and adviser. Perikli Teta is a former defense minister in a 1991 transition government who later joined the Democratic Alliance as a parliamentary deputy. He has a sound reputation as a politician who worked hard to bring the army under civilian control and modernize its structure. Similarly, appointments in the state media indicate that the Socialists have not installed only loyalists in leading positions. The director- general of state radio and television is Albert Minga, a former film director and head of a cultural television program. The heads of the radio and television divisions, respectively, are Eduard Mazi, an experienced radio producer, and Martin Leka, a journalist from the daily "Koha Jone." The state news agency is run by Frrok Cupi from the same daily. Thus the signals are mixed as to whether the Socialists are making appointments on political rather than professional grounds. Government spokesman Vladimir Prela claims that the new government "respects the professionalism of state employees." But in anticipation of possible political purges, the Democratic Party has already opened an office to give legal advice to those dismissed. The author is a Tirana-based Balkan specialist focusing on Albanian, Kosovar, and Macedonian affairs. Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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