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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 21, 98-02-02Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 21, 2 February 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN RALLY DEMANDS 'RETURN TO COMMUNISM'More than 10,000 people on 31 January participated in a communist-led rally calling for the restoration of the communist system and the resignation of the current government, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Sergei Badalian, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party, said that President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his government must resign and be replaced by one that will end privatization and restore social security benefits. In another indication of the problems facing Armenia, Yerevan Mayor Vano Siradegyan has resigned, ITAR-TASS reported on 1 February. Because Siradegyan is also the head of the ruling Armenian National Movement party, his departure will further complicate Ter- Petrosyan's political standing. PG[02] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: IMPROVED U.S.-IRANIAN TIES KEY TO PEACEHeidar Aliev told visiting RFE/RL President Thomas Dine on 31 January that he believes an improvement in U.S.-Iranian relations can contribute to peace and stability in the Caucasus, RFE/RL reported. In other remarks, he reaffirmed Baku's willingness to accept the OSCE Minsk Group plan for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, and he urged the U.S. to lift its restrictions on aid to his country. The Azerbaijani leader indicated that he expects to win reelection in October, Interfax reported. PG[03] UN EXTENDS MANDATE FOR OBSERVER MISSION IN GEORGIAThe United Nations Security Council on 30 January extended the mandate of the UN observer mission in Georgia for another six months, ITAR-TASS reported 31 January. The mission monitors the situation in and around Abkhazia. In extending this mandate, the council called on all the parties of the conflict to redouble their efforts to find a peaceful solution. PG[04] GERMAN PRESIDENT VISITS KYRGYZSTANGerman President Roman Herzog arrived in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on 1 February for a three-day visit, RFE/RL correspondents and dpa reported. Herzog and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev were present at the signing of a cooperation agreement in the fight against drug trafficking. The German president will also meet members of the German community in Kyrgyzstan, whose numbers have fallen from 120,000 in 1989 to some 20,000. According to dpa, Herzog is the first head of state from a western country to visit Kyrgyzstan since it gained independence. BP[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[05] NEW BOSNIAN SERB GOVERNMENT TAKES OFFICEPrime Minister Milorad Dodik's government was sworn in on 31 January in Banja Luka at the third session of the new parliament. Serbian hard-liners belonging to Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) left the hall at the start of the ceremony. Muslim and Croatian deputies walked out when the Serbian Orthodox religious part of the inauguration began. The legislature later voted to annul 33 laws passed by the SDS-dominated former parliament after Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic dissolved that body last summer. Dodik, for his part, pledged to reorganize Bosnian Serb Radio and Television "in accordance with the requirements of the Office of High Representative [Carlos Westendorp]... to develop into a professional, independent and responsible network, open to everybody." PM[06] BANJA LUKA TO BE BOSNIAN SERB CAPITALSome 56 out of 83 deputies voted in Banja Luka on 31 January to move the Republika Srpska's capital from Pale, the headquarters of Radovan Karadzic and his hard-line allies, to Banja Luka, the power base of Plavsic and Dodik. The new capital is one of Bosnia's major towns with a population of about 200,000, while Pale is a ski resort of about 20,000 inhabitants. The move is one more sign of the decline of the influence of Karadzic and his allies. It also marks the end of Karadzic's hope that the Serbs might some day have part of Sarajevo as their capital. PM[07] CROATIA OPTIMISTIC ON REPUBLIKA SRPSKA, NATOForeign Minister Mate Granic announced in Zagreb on 29 January that Croatia hopes to open a consulate in Banja Luka and is waiting for the approval of the Bosnian joint presidency to do so. The next day, Defense Minister Gojko Susak said after returning from Washington that Croatia may be able to join NATO's Partnership for Peace program by the end of 1998. Susak said he is now more confident of U.S. support for Croatia's integration into Euro- Atlantic structures. U.S. officials have repeatedly made such integration contingent on Croatia's implementation of the Dayton agreement and on its fair treatment of its Serbian minority. PM[08] HOME OF MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT'S BACKER BOMBEDA bomb severely damaged the house of Djoko Klikovac, a supporter of President Milo Djukanovic, in Bijelo Polje near Podgorica during the night of 31 January-1 February. Klikovac is a leader of the local branch of the Democratic Socialist Party and a wealthy businessman who made his money in the fuel trade during the 1991-1995 war. This is the third explosion in 10 days involving property of close supporters of Djukanovic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January 1998). PM[09] RUGOVA CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL PROTECTORATEKosovo shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova has again urged that the troubled Serbian province be made an international protectorate in order to defuse tensions and help clarify its future status. Rugova stated in Pristina on 30 January that the majority ethnic "Albanians would accept a transitional period of two years under an international protectorate during which a referendum on its status will be organized." Belgrade maintains that Kosovo is an internal Serbian affair and has firmly rejected outside attempts at mediation, including Rugova's long-standing campaign to "internationalize" the issue. PM[10] ALBANIAN, SERBIAN BORDER POLICE CELEBRATE BAJRAMA delegation of five Serbian border police joined Albanian officials in Kukes to celebrate Bajram, the day that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, "Gazeta Shqiptare" reported on 31 January. The Serbs, who are from Prizren, also appeared on Albanian Television to wish viewers a happy holiday. The Tirana daily added that "it is the first time that such a thing has happened in the history of the relations between the two peoples." The Serbs invited their hosts to pay a return visit to celebrate Serbian Orthodox Easter in April. PM[11] ALBANIAN JUDGES END HUNGER STRIKEFollowing mediation by OSCE special envoy Daan Everts, eight judges ended their hunger strike in Tirana on 30 January, "Shekulli" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline" 30 January 1998). The judges and Justice Minister Thimio Kondi agreed that the Council of Europe's Venice Commission will look into claims by the hunger strikers that a recent Socialist-backed law was designed to oust judges trained in accelerated six-month courses in 1993 under the previous Democratic Party government. Meanwhile, a group of hunger-striking ex-political prisoners has also asked for OSCE mediation. They object to a recent softening of the country's lustration law. FS[12] ALBANIAN PYRAMID OWNER ATTEMPTS SUICIDEMaksude Kadena, founder of the Sudja pyramid company, was hospitalized after trying to poison herself with an overdose of various medicines in prison on 31 January, "Bulevard" reported. Meanwhile, government-appointed pyramid administrator Farudin Arapi said that a preliminary report by the auditing firm Deloitte & Touche showed that over 80 percent of the businesses of five pyramid companies are now defunct and that "the companies' mismanaged the creditors' capital." FS[13] REPORTS: PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS STARVED TO DEATH IN ALBANIASome 55 people starved to death in the psychiatric hospital of Elbasan in 1997, as have two so far this year, "Koha Jone" and "Shekulli" reported on 31 January. Local doctors told journalists that there has been a chronic lack of food and heating and added that, despite international aid given since last summer, malnutrition remains the most serious problem. The hospital houses 230 patients. FS[14] DEMOCRATS BOYCOTT ROMANIAN COALITION TALKS...The representatives of the Democratic Party did not participate in the 1 February talks with other coalition partners to find a solution to the stalled government crisis. The boycott follows protests by the Democrats against a press conference organized by the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) on 31 January, with the participation of the chairman of the Christian Democratic European Union, Wim van Velzen. Van Velzen said that Premier Victor Ciorbea is "not responsible" for the problems in the coalition and that these were "probably a reflection of internal conflicts in the Democratic Party." MS[15] ...WHILE INTERNAL CONFLICTS SURFACE IN THE PARTYUpon his return from Lisbon on 31 January, Democratic Party chairman Petre Roman alluded that his party may support a no-confidence vote against the cabinet, saying that he could not see why "a government that is not capable of making the reform, should survive." Democratic Party vice- chairman Victor Babiuc said on 31 January that after van Velzen's declarations the Democrats wonder if they could still support the cabinet, and Traian Basescu, also a vice-chairman of the party, said it was "deplorable" that the PNTCD had "appealed for foreign help." In an interview with the daily "Azi" on 30 January, former Foreign Minister Adrian Severin criticized Roman, saying that he should have made a "personal sacrifice" and negotiated the Democrats' continued participation in the coalition despite the party's National Council opposition to that participation. MS[16] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ON COALITION CRISISIn an interview with Pro TV from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Emil Constantinescu on 1 February said he was "disgusted" with the way Romanian politicians have handled the crisis. Upon his return to Romania the same evening he said he regretted having made that declaration but added that while in Davos he succeeded in convincing political leaders and potential investors that the crisis was not "political" but "governmental," and that the situation is "seriously affecting and threatening Romania's interests." Constantinescu said that he will meet on 2 February with leaders of the coalition and the opposition. In an interview with RFE/RL on 31 January, Constantinescu claimed that the coalition dispute had actually accelerated the reform, allowing parliamentary passage of key reform legislation. MS[17] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT SAYS 'TIME TO THINK IN ECONOMIC TERMS'Petru Lucinschi on 30 January told a meeting of the Moldovan government that it was "high time to start employing the language of finances, speaking in terms of lei [the Moldovan national currency] rather than tons, " Infotag reported. He reproached the government for presenting an optimistic picture of the economy, one showing that "production volumes" were being met "as planned" while financial figures showed a different situation. Lucinschi said both the central government and the local authorities must deal with economic problems rather than involve themselves in politics. He said the signs of "economic stabilization" are encouraging but warned that this year will be more difficult than 1997. Finance Minister Valeriu Chitan told the government that the country's external debt grew by $60.2 million in 1997, reaching a total of $709 million. MS[18] BULGARIAN DEPUTY MINISTER RESIGNS IN BANKING SCANDALDeputy Transportation Minister Kaltcho Hinov resigned on 31 January after his name appeared on a recently published list of about 3,000 persons and companies that owe large debts to banks. Hinov admitted he obtained credits worth hundreds of thousands of dollars as the owner of a private company. He said he had intended to return the money but could not do so because of the sanctions imposed by the UN on Iraq, to which his company planned to export goods, an RFE/RL correspondent in Sofia reported. Hinov is the only senior official in the present government whose name appeared on the list. MS[19] BULGARIA, RUSSIA TO NEGOTIATE GAS DELIVERIESPresident Petar Stoyanov told reporters on his return from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 1 February that his talks at the forum with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin had "removed most of the obstacles" to signing a new agreement for Russian gas deliveries to Bulgaria and the transit of Russian gas through Bulgarian pipelines to third countries, ITAR-TASS reported. He said Bulgarian Deputy Premier Evgeni Bakardzhiev will travel to Moscow for talks on the new agreement this week. Prime Minister Ivan Kostov said that he was prepared to go to Moscow himself for talks with Chernomyrdin. MS[20] STOYANOV PREDICTS ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR BULGARIAPresident Petar Stoyanov on 30 January told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the pace of economic reforms in his country will increase and that the reforms are backed by the population, who realizes that the reforms were stopped by the Socialists for four years. Stoyanov predicted that Bulgaria's GDP will grow by 4 percent in 1988. Deputy Premier Alexander Bozhkov told the forum on 29 January that Bulgaria plans to privatize 70 percent of the state assets by the end of 2000. MS[C] END NOTE[21] POST-COMMUNIST STATES DIVERGE ON HUMAN RIGHTSby Paul GobleDuring 1997, some post-communist governments made significant progress in improving the protection of the human rights in their countries. Others failed to do so or even retreated from earlier gains. But all continue to face challenges in bringing their domestic performance up to their international commitments. That is the conclusion of the U.S. State Department in its annual survey of human rights around the world, a document explicitly used to guide American policy and carefully read by many as an indication of both conditions on the ground and American concerns about particular countries. As has been the case since its inception 20 years ago, this year's report generally avoids any classification of countries according to their political pasts. An exception is the survey's discussion of countries included in a section called "Countries in Transition." But a reading of its chapters on the post-communist countries suggests that the U.S. has reached three more general conclusions about them. First, the report notes a growing divergence in the performance of post- communist states, an acknowledgment by Washington that these countries are moving in this area -- as in so many others -- along very different tracks and at very different speeds. Second, the report explicitly delinks progress toward democracy and progress toward free market reforms, and it notes that many of the problems in these countries stem from the weakness of state structures rather than ill-will on the part of leaders. And third, the report calls attention to the growing fear and suspicion of minority groups in many parts of Europe -- both in the traditional democracies and in former communist countries -- a development that the report suggests is of particular concern. More specifically, the State Department report draws the following conclusions about the countries monitored by "RFE/RL Newsline": RUSSIA. Noting that Russia "continues to be a state in transition," the report says that its democratization is slow, its judiciary weak, and its leaders unable to implement their own laws and commitments. The report sharply criticizes conditions in Russian prisons, targeting by the police of darker-skinned people in general and citizens from the Caucasus in particular, and restrictions on freedom of the press. But it is especially critical of the new Russian law on religion, a law already being used by some officials to harass certain religious groups. TRANSCAUCASUS and CENTRAL ASIA. The report suggests that the three Transcaucasian countries are moving in very different directions, while the five Central Asian states are generally doing more poorly. It says that Azerbaijan has made significant progress toward economic reform but taken few steps toward democracy. It also criticizes conditions in both Armenia and Georgia but notes that in Georgia, an increasingly assertive parliament and population have restrained law enforcement agencies. Across Central Asia, the report suggests that basic freedoms are curtailed by legislatures and judiciaries still subordinate to powerful presidents. But it indicates that conditions in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are not as bad as elsewhere. EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE. The status of human rights also varied widely among the countries in this region, according to the report. It suggested that Belarus, under President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has moved backwards in virtually all areas. The report gives a mixed picture of Ukraine, identifying it as a country in transition with problems arising from the inheritances of Soviet times and flowing from the weaknesses of the country's political structures. It praised the three Baltic countries for progress on most issues but noted their continuing difficulties with prisons and, in the case of Latvia and Estonia, with those ethnic Russians who lack citizenship. The report gave generally high marks to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, while decrying growing popular hostility toward the Roma and other minorities in the latter. It was more critical of conditions in Slovakia. SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE. The State Department report found that the status of human rights in Albania had declined sharply during the country's general breakdown last year and had made only a modest recovery since then. It suggested that Romania generally respects human rights but criticized the government's lack of effective control over the actions of police, poor prison conditions, and ill treatment of women and Roma. It criticized Bulgaria for its inability to control its own officials. Both of these countries, the report said, have passed laws that tend to restrict religious freedoms. Concerning the successor states to Yugoslavia, the report praised Bosnia- Herzegovina for significant progress on human rights. It also gave high marks to Slovenia and Montenegro. But the report said that the record remained mixed in Croatia and Macedonia. And it concluded that the situation in Serbia was extremely bad with serious human rights abuses on virtually every front. As in the past, those governments that received high marks are likely to tout them as a mark of their standing internationally, while those leaders that did not will criticize the report as biased or incomplete. But as this year's report makes very clear, there are no easy answers or final victories in the cause of human rights. 02-02-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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