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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 104, 98-06-03Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 104, 3 June 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] AZERBAIJAN SIGNS NEW OIL, GAS CONTRACTSAzerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR on 2 June signed two contracts with international consortia to explore and develop off-shore Caspian oil fields. A $2.5 billion agreement provides for production-sharing at the Kyurdashi field, whose reserves total an estimated 100 million metric tons. The participants are SOCAR (50 percent), Italy's Agip (25 percent), Japan's Mitsui (15 percent), Turkey's TPAO (5 percent), and Spain's Repsol (5 percent). The other agreement applies to the South-West Gobbustan field, with estimated reserves of 50 million metric tons. The partners are SOCAR (40 percent), the British-Canadian Commonwealth Oil and Gas (40 percent), and Union Texas Petroleum (20 percent). An accord was also signed on exploration rights for the onshore Kyursangi and Karabaghli oil and gas deposits. SOCAR has a 50 percent stake in the undertaking, Frontera Resources 30 percent, and the Saudi-U.S. Delta-Hess 20 percent. LF[02] ABKHAZ, GEORGIAN ENVOYS MEETAbkhaz presidential envoy Anri Djergenia and Georgian ambassador to Russia Vazha Lortkipanidze began talks in Moscow on 2 June to prepare for a meeting between President Eduard Shevardnadze and his Abkhaz counterpart, Vladislav Ardzinba, Interfax reported. The previous day, Lortkipanidze said it is hoped such a meeting could take place later this month. But this is unlikely, since Tbilisi insists such a meeting is contingent on the repatriation of the 30,000-40,000 ethnic Georgians forced to flee Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion during last month's fighting. LF[03] GEORGIAN ARMY "NOT COMBAT-READY"Meeting with journalists in Tbilisi on 2 June, President Shevardnadze said that the Georgian armed forces are not combat-ready because Russia has not yet fulfilled agreements on providing Georgia with arms to replace those withdrawn from the country in 1991-1993, Interfax reported. Shevardnadze said the low level of combat-readiness was one of the reasons why the Georgian armed forces were not sent into Abkhazia to protect the Georgian population during last month's fighting. Georgian human rights activists, however, claim that the reason for the low level of combat- readiness within the Georgian army are the appalling conditions under which conscripts serve. A platoon of Georgian cadets left for the U.S. on 2 June to participate in maneuvers within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. LF[04] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SAID TO OPPOSE PRE-TERM PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONSArmenian parliamentary speaker Khosrov Harutiunian told journalists on 2 June that President Robert Kocharian is opposed to pre-term parliamentary elections and wants the current National Assembly to complete its four-year term, which expires in summer 1999, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Harutiunian said both he and Kocharian believe that the parliament should be dissolved only if there is a "political crisis" in the country. He added that it is unlikely the parliament will pass new a new election law before the summer recess. The majority Yerkrapah group wants a maximum of 40 seats in the 131-member parliament allocated on the basis of proportional representation, but other parties want the majority of seats allocated under that system. LF[05] TAJIK COMMISSION FORMED TO DEAL WITH CONTROVERSIAL LAWFollowing a meeting with United Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri on 2 June, President Imomali Rakhmonov signed a decree forming a "conciliation commission" tasked with resolving the problems arising from the passage last month of a law banning religious political parties, ITAR- TASS reported. The commission has 20 days to find an acceptable compromise after complaints by the UTO, the UN Security Council, the Iranian and Russian Foreign Ministries, and the U.S. State Department that the law contravenes the Tajik peace accord signed last year. Nuri said that he hopes the prohibition will be lifted and does not believe it will take 20 days to do so. Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Yevgenii Belov responded to the formation of the commission by saying that "a light has appeared at the end of the tunnel." BP[06] RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTER SAYS FUNDAMENTALISM "A CIS PROBLEM"Sergei Stepashin, attending a conference of CIS interior ministers in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, said "expressions of fundamentalism...or Wahhabism...have become a serious issue throughout the CIS," Interfax reported. He said an agreement has already been reached with Azerbaijan on "studying expressions of Wahhabism in Dagestan" and that Uzbekistan has shown interest in participating in that project. He added that a data base has been set up that lists criminal groups with connections in other countries. He said the data base already has 250,000 entries. Stepashin also stressed the need to cooperate in combating drug trafficking. BP[07] WOMAN DIES FROM CYANIDE POISONING IN KYRGYZSTAN...A woman on 3 June died in a hospital in the eastern town of Karakol from cyanide poisoning, RFE/RL correspondents reported. She is the first person to die as a result of the spill last month of 1.7 tons of sodium cyanide into the Barskoon River, which flows into the southern part of Lake Issyk- Kul. More than 1,000 people have received medical treatment following the accident. The full extent of the damage is still unknown. RFE/RL correspondents report that at the end of May, tourists on the north shore of Issyk-Kul received little, if any information, about the toxic spill and were still swimming in Issyk-Kul. BP[08] ...CAMECO PRESIDENT SAYS CONTAMINATION REPORTS EXAGGERATEDMichel Bernard, the president of Canada's CAMECO Corp., said on 3 June that the spill into the Barskoon River does not pose a serious threat to residents of the area or nearby Lake Issyk-Kul. CAMECO is the foreign partner of Kyrgyzstan's Kumtor Gold Mining Company. Bernard said reports in the Kyrgyz and CIS media have exaggerated the seriousness of the spill. He argued that "well-respected experts" say the leak will not endanger the Issyk-Kul environment as most of the chemical has settled at the bottom of the river which feeds into Issyk- Kul. A special government commission supported Bernard's claim, saying the amount of sodium cyanide in the lake does not exceed the norm. BP[09] NEW UZBEK LAND LAW PUBLISHEDUzbekistan's new land law was published on 2 June, Reuters reported. According to that legislation, land is the property of the state and cannot be sold, bought, traded, presented as a gift, or used as collateral. Land may be leased to Uzbek citizens engaged in agriculture or wishing to construct a private house after obtaining permission from the local authorities; foreigners, however, require special permission from the government to lease land. Reuters quotes a World Bank official as saying the free purchase and sale of land, as well as its use as collateral, may still be "premature" issues for Uzbekistan. The law takes effect on 1 July. BP[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] SHELLING DIES DOWN, EXODUS TO ALBANIA CONTINUESThe concentrated shelling by Serbian forces of several villages in western Kosova is reported to be winding down, according to AFP and Reuters on 2 June. The Serbian Interior Ministry said police have "eliminated a large terrorist group of Albanian separatists" near the village of Crnobreg, Tanjug reported. It added that one policeman was killed in a clash with ethnic Albanians on a road between Decani and Djakovica. Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that thousands of people have been displaced or left homeless within Kosova and that Serbian forces are denying UN aid workers access to the area. An Austrian military attache in Tirana, Wilhelm Figl, told Austrian Radio on 2 June that he observed from the Albanian border how Serbian forces systematically destroyed villages. No independent casualty figures from the area are available. PB[11] ALBANIA EXPECTS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF REFUGEESRefugees continue to pour into the northern Albanian Tropoja district. According to an Interior Ministry spokesman, more than 3,000 refugees have arrived in that district but up to another 20,000 are expected, "Koha Jone" reported. The same day, Prime Minister Fatos Nano told the government Albania is considering breaking diplomatic ties with Yugoslavia and asking the international community to further increase its pressure on Belgrade. FS[12] RUGOVA ASKS UN FOR NO-FLY ZONE OVER KOSOVAUN Security Council President Antonia Monteiro said in New York on 2 June that Kosovar shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova has requested that a "no- fly zone" be established over Kosova, AFP reported. Rugova explained his request by pointing to the heavy use of Serbian helicopters in the ongoing violence in ethnic Albanian towns in the northwestern part of Kosova. Rugova also repeated an appeal that a UN human rights office be established in Prishtina. Belgrade has so far refused to allow such an office to open there. On 1 June, Rugova met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. PB[13] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT LOOKS FOR REACTION FROM MILOSEVICMilo Djukanovic called on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to respond positively to the victory of Djukanovic's coalition in the Montenegrin parliamentary elections, dpa reported on 2 June. Djukanovic told Belgrade's Radio Index that Milosevic must recognize the "new Montenegrin political reality." He said Yugoslavia could "crumble from within" if Milosevic continues to subjugate Montenegro to Serbia. Predrag Bulatovic, the deputy chairman of Montenegro's Socialist People's Party, which supports Milosevic, said that Djukanovic and his supporters will be given" 100 days to prove it can fulfill promises." Yugoslav Premier Momir Bulatovic, a Djukanovic rival, was summoned to Belgrade the same day for talks with Milosevic. PB[14] CROATIAN, BOSNIAN SERB PREMIERS DISCUSS REFUGEESCroatian Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa and Bosnian Serb Premier Milorad Dodik, meeting in Zagreb on 2 June, agreed that refugees have the right to choose to return to their pre-war homes or to sell or even exchange their property and settle elsewhere, SRNA reported. The meeting aimed to help resolve the situations of tens of thousands of ethnic Serbian refugees who fled Croatia in 1995. Some 50,000 relocated to the Republika Srpska. Many Bosnian Croats driven from the Republika Srpska now live in vacated Serbian homes in Croatia. The same day in the strategically located town of Brcko, Dodik met with Ejup Ganic, the Croatian member of the Bosnian presidency, and Robert Farrand, the international community's supervisor of Brcko. The meeting, which Farrand described as "historic," also centered on the return of refugees. PB[15] GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER TO SUPPORT REFUGEE RETURNVolker Ruehe said in Sarajevo on 2 June that Bonn will encourage more investment in Bosnia-Herzegovina to aid the return of refugees from Germany, Reuters reported. Ruehe made his comments after talks with Edehem Bicakcic, a Bosnian deputy prime minister. Some 150,000 Bosnian refugees still live in Germany. In other news, Milojica Kos, a Bosnian Serb accused of committing crimes against humanity at the Omarska prison camp in northwestern Bosnia, pleaded innocent at The Hague to all 11 charges against him. PB[16] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT DECREES DISMISSAL OF 15 GENERALSRexhep Meidani has issued a decree dismissing 15 army and police generals in accordance with a proposal by his adviser and former Defense Minister Sabit Brokaj and current Defense Minister Luan Hajdaraga. Brokaj accused the generals of having ordered troops to use violence to put down the March 1997 anti-government rebellion. The troops refused to obey the orders, which were issued at a time when anarchy reigned in the country. Among those dismissed are former Police Chief Agim Shehu and former General Chiefs of Staff Adem Copani and Sheme Kosova. FS[17] MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN ROMANIABlagoj Handziski and his Romanian counterpart, Andrei Plesu, said in Bucharest on 2 June that they support a "U.S. [military] presence in southeastern Europe under NATO auspices" in order to prevent "the possible extension of the crisis in Kosova." They added that they also support "an extended [form of] autonomy" for Kosova "within the Yugoslav Federation," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Plesu later announced that the two countries are to conclude a basic treaty and a free trade agreement in the near future. A military accord will also be signed following Defense Minister Victor Babiuc's visit to Macedonia in June. Prime Minister Radu Vasile praised Macedonia's policy toward the Vlach minority, which is closely related to the Romanians. MS[18] ROMANIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL APPOINTED CHIEF JUSTICESorin Moisescu on 2 June was appointed by presidential decree chief of the Supreme Court of Justice , Mediafax reported. Also on 2 June, the Chamber of Deputies approved a law on combating money laundering. The law, which has yet to be debated in the Senate, stipulates the setting up of a National Office for Combating Money Laundering that would be subordinate to the government and would have control over banks, insurance companies, and casinos. Banks would have to inform the office of any deposit exceeding 10,000 ecu ($11,600). Concealing information from the office would constitute a criminal offense punishable by between three and 12 years in prison. MS[19] MOLDOVAN PREMIER ON ECONOMIC SITUATIONIn a televised address on 2 June, Ion Ciubuc said that the five months that preceded the March elections damaged the country's economy beyond "the blackest expectations." Ciubuc, who also headed the previous government, said that during that period, the executive had "worked just formally" and "ties with the IMF and the World Bank were practically disrupted, while foreign investments ceased." He also said the government unjustifiably forgave "huge debts" of many state enterprises and made "populist reductions of tariffs for energy consumption," BASA-press reported. Under these circumstances, he said, public spending must now be "radically cut." MS[20] BULGARIAN ROM SETS HIMSELF ON FIREA Bulgarian Rom on 2 June set himself on fire after a two-week protest fast over discrimination and unpaid social benefits, RFE/RL's Sofia bureau reported. The man, one of the 17 Roma who are staging a hunger strike in Lom, suffered only slight injuries, as police put out the fire. Minister of Public Administration Mario Tagarinski later arrived in Lom for talks with the protesters, who threatened to set themselves ablaze one after the other every hour. Meanwhile, AFP reported on 2 June that exiled Princess Marie-Louise, sister of former King Simon II, has arrived for a 17-day visit of her homeland at the invitation of President Petar Stoyanov. She is scheduled to tour the country and visit orphanages, monasteries, and hospitals. MS[C] END NOTE[21] UNCERTAINTY PERSISTS ABOUT UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC PROSPECTSby Viktor LuhovykThe Ukrainian government last week announced its intention to cut the planned budget deficit for 1998, saying the move marks the beginning of a new wave of reforms. But the announcement stopped short of providing details, leading to doubt whether the measures will ever be fully implemented. The 29 May announcement said that the deficit will be cut to 2.3 percent, down from the 3.3 percent level approved by the parliament in December. Officials said more reforms will follow immediately, as the cash- strapped government tries to qualify for a three-year $2.5 billion loan from the IMF. The decision to cut the deficit was prompted by the rapidly worsening financial situation. The IMF and the World Bank suspended their aid programs in April, after the budget deficit in the first three months of this year doubled the planned target of 3 percent. Most affected has been the market for Treasury bills (T-bills), issued by the Finance Ministry to finance the budget deficit. The ministry's payments for maturing T- bills have exceeded the funds raised from issuing the new debt this year, reflecting foreign investors' reluctance to purchase the T- bills. Last year, foreign investors had held half of Ukraine's T-bill market but were purchasing only 10-25 percent of the securities in recent months. Unable to restore foreign investors' interest in the T- bill market, the government borrowed more than $1 billion internationally in February and March at a high 16 percent interest rate to cover budget losses and pay off some wage arrears in the run-up to 29 March parliamentary elections. The exodus of foreign investors from the T-bill market forced the National Bank to spend up to $1 billion to prevent the hryvna from falling. But many observers say the government must start now raising more than $2.5 billion to pay off mature T-bills and foreign debt in the next three months. This could lead to a drop in the value of the hryvna after 20 June, when first debt payments have to be made. The Finance Ministry can now sell only T-bills whose maturity period does not go beyond 1998, and analysts say that the government may again try to borrow at a high interest rate to cover its outstanding obligations amid growing concerns that the country may eventually go bankrupt. "The government behaves like the passengers of the 'Titanic,'" said Volodymyr Dubrovsky of the Harvard Institute for International Development, alluding to the government's persistent policy of acquiring new loans to pay off old debt. Meanwhile, serious structural reforms are still only being talked about. "We started talking about liberalization of foreign trade, bankruptcy regulations, and new taxation policies five years ago," said Vitaly Migashko of ING Bank Ukraine. "Can anyone say today that at least some of these measures were introduced adequately?" At the beginning of the year, the government announced plans to lay off thousands of government employees by the end of the year to reduce budget expenditures and implement a number of deregulation measures. However, many of these measures are still to be put into effect months after they were first discussed. "What dominates the current cabinet is concern with its own interests," said former Economy Minister Viktor Suslov. Having won election to the parliament, Suslov resigned from the cabinet last month, after criticizing the anti-reform stance of its many departments. The situation may be further exacerbated by tense relations between the government and the legislature. "The newly elected parliament is not likely to be more friendly toward the government than the previous one," says liberal lawmaker Serhy Teryokhin, who was among the proponents of a radical tax reform discussed by the previous legislature. "And with the government being politically and professionally weak, there are no reasons to believe in financial stability." The government measures aimed to avert the financial crisis have to be approved by the parliament. But the legislature so far seems unwilling to do anything of the kind. The author is a Kyiv-based RFE/RL correspondent. 03-06-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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