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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 165, 98-08-27Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 165, 27 August 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA TO BE REPRESENTED AT TURKISH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONTurkish President Suleyman Demirel has invited his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, to attend the 75th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 26 August, quoting presidential public affairs adviser Gassia Apkarian. Apkarian said that Kocharian has accepted the invitation on behalf of Armenia and will soon announce who will represent the country. Demirel was one of numerous heads of state who congratulated Kocharian on his election as president in March. Turkey and Armenia currently do not have diplomatic relations, and Turkey has said the opening of a border crossing with Armenia is conditional on the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territory adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh and on Yerevan's recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over the disputed enclave. LF[02] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN IRANDuring a visit to Tehran on 24-25 August, Vartan Oskanian met with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, parliamentary speaker Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Noyan Tapan and IRNA reported. Oskanian described bilateral relations as "excellent," while Khatami termed them "deep, historical, and strong." The talks focused on expanding bilateral trade, transport ties, and economic cooperation, including laying a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia and the construction of a highway from Meghri (on Armenia's southern frontier with Iran) via Georgia to the Black Sea port of Poti. Oskanian and Kharrazi also discussed the prospects for resuming talks on resolving the Karabakh conflict and for trilateral cooperation between Iran, Armenia and Georgia, and between Iran, Armenia and Greece. The Iranian, Armenian, and Greek foreign ministers will hold talks in Tehran on 7 September. "Yerkir" on 27 August quoted Artashes Baghumian, an ethnic Armenian deputy of the Iranian parliament, as saying that the Kocharian government has "great confidence in the Iranian government." LF[03] AZERBAIJAN, TURKMENISTAN HOLD FURTHER TALKS ON CASPIANAn Azerbaijani government delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov and including Foreign Minister Tofik Zulfugarov met with President Saparmurat Niyazov and other officials in Ashgabat on 24 August to discuss, among other issues, the delineation of the dividing line between the two countries' respective sectors of the Caspian Sea, ITAR-TASS and ANS-Press reported. Baku and Ashgabat have held two rounds of lower- level talks on dividing the Caspian, most recently in late March. Azerbaijani officials expressed their disapproval and concern when the U.S. oil company Mobil won a tender in June to develop the disputed Kyapaz/Serdar field. Both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan claim ownership of that field. LF[04] MAYOR OF WESTERN TAJIK CITY KILLEDAn attack on the mayor's office in Tursunzade on 27 August left six people dead and four others seriously wounded, RFE/RL correspondents reported. Among those killed was the mayor of the city, Nurullo Khairullaev, and the head of his administration. Armed men in masks and camouflage uniforms opened fire outside the building, also killing two guards and a policeman. One of the attackers was also killed. The Tajik president's spokesman, Zafar Saidov, said the attack was politically motivated. Tursunzade was a haven for criminal groups during Tajikistan's five-year civil war and has frequently witnessed shootouts. BP[05] TAJIK GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION, UN ENVOY HOLD TALKSUN special envoy to Tajikistan Jan Kubis met with United Tajik Opposition (UTO) leader Said Abdullo Nuri and parliamentary deputy Abdumajid Dostiyev on 26 August to discuss the peace process, ITAR-TASS reported. Nuri again mentioned the fate of the more than 200 UTO fighters still awaiting transport back to Tajikistan from northern Afghanistan. Kubis said the UN will help once the UTO hands over four people located in UTO-held territory and suspected of killing UN employees in Tajikistan in late July. Nuri said that the order has been given to send them to Dushanbe but that for "technical reasons," it has not been possible as yet. Nuri said the suspects will arrive in Dushanbe in the "next few days." BP[06] U.S. EMBASSY GUARDS IN DUSHANBE ACCUSED OF OVERSTEPPING BOUNDSThe Russian Embassy in Dushanbe has complained about increased security measures at the U.S. Embassy in the Tajik capital, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported on 26 August. Both the Russian and U.S. Embassies are located in the Oktyabr Hotel. The previous day, U.S. Embassy guards demanded to search the car of an Iranian diplomat who wanted to visit the Russian Embassy. The Iranian official refused to allow them to do so and returned to his embassy. Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Yevgenii Belov complained to U.S. charges d' affaires Patricia Campeter over the incident. Campeter sent apologies to both the Russian and Iranian Embassies, saying the guards are new and not yet acquainted with proper protocol. BP[07] TURKMENISTAN, PAKISTAN INSIST U.S. COMPANY FULFILL CONTRACTPakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Kanju and Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov agreed on 26 August that they will insist U.S. company UNOCAL fulfill its part of a planned pipeline project, Interfax reported. UNOCAL owns 56 percent of shares in the Centagaz consortium, which plans to build a pipeline from Turkmenistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan. The U.S. company announced it had suspended its participation in the project following last week's attack by the U.S. on terrorist positions in Afghanistan. BP[08] CORRECTION:In the "End Note" entitled "Improving Economy Has Yet To Affect Living Standards In Armenia" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 1998), the last two sentences of the sixth paragraph should read as follows: "Negotiations are under way on the release of the last $45 million tranche, Anayiotos told RFE/RL. Yerevan has reason to expect that it will receive the loan, as it is on schedule to meet most ESAF targets for 1998. "[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[09] MOLOTOV COCKTAIL THROWN AT U.S. OFFICE IN PRISHTINAUnknown persons threw a Molotov cocktail at the United States Information Center in Prishtina on 26 August, causing some damage to the entrance of the building. U.S. officials then asked Serbian police to increase their protection for the office and the hotel where most of the staff lives, which the Serbs agreed to do, Reuters reported. An unnamed Western diplomat said that "we take [the attack] as a message," but he declined to speculate as to who might be behind it. He added that local Serbs and ethnic Albanians alike are generally friendly toward the staff. The center functions as the de facto U.S. diplomatic representation in Kosova, and U.S. officials frequently meet with Kosovar political leaders there. Assistant Secretary of State Julia Taft is slated to arrive in Prishtina on 27 August. PM[10] SYSTEMATIC RIGHTS ABUSES IN KOSOVA?London's "Financial Times" wrote on 27 August that "evidence is mounting of systematic human rights abuses against ethnic Albanians arrested in [Kosova] on suspicion of links with separatist rebels. Police have released the bodies of four men who have died in custody since last month, but many others are missing." The newspaper noted that officials of the UN and of the Hague-based war crimes tribunal "are investigating widespread allegations of torture and abuses of the [Serbian] judicial system." One unnamed investigator added that "the UN is very concerned. [Evidence of abuse of rights] is starting to be fairly systematic." PM[11] BUKOSHI LAUDS UCKKosovar shadow-state Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi said on Albanian Television on 26 August that Kosovars are "undergoing the most difficult moments of their history." He charged that "Belgrade butchers [have launched] a total war of extermination" against the Kosovars, who have no choice but to "institutionalize their self-defense" around the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK). Bukoshi called the UCK "an expression of the inalienable right of a peace-loving and freedom-loving people to defend themselves and oppose the most anti-human regime that post-World War II Europe has seen." The prime minister criticized the international community's response to the crisis in Kosova as "inadequate" and warned that those unidentified foreigners who deny the Kosovars the right to self- determination may some day regret having taken that position. Bukoshi nonetheless said the role of the U.S. in mediating and eventually "guaranteeing" a political settlement is "indispensable." PM[12] DEMACI SAYS FREEDOM MUST BE WONAdem Demaci, who is the leading political spokesman for the UCK, told the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" of 27 August that the UCK fighters have returned to a policy of engaging in classical guerrilla hit-and-run tactics (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 1998). When asked if the UCK intends to engage in terrorism, he replied: "It is not terrorism when one fights for freedom or when one attacks representatives of the enemy, such as spies or agents." Demaci criticized shadow- state President Ibrahim Rugova as "not suitable for his office. He is a weak person, who lacks courage, talent and knowledge," Demaci charged. He added that Kosovars elected Rugova because they thought he could deliver U.S. support for Kosovar independence. Demaci concluded that now Kosovars realize that they must fight for independence, because that "is the only way to bring the Serbs to the conference table." PM[13] DODIK, DJUKANOVIC CALL FOR DEMOCRACY...Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic told a conference in Alpbach, Austria, on 26 August that the keys to peace in the Balkans are open borders, free trade, democratization, and educating a new generation in a spirit free of nationalism. Dodik stressed that nationalism has led the Bosnian Serbs into almost total isolation but that now democracy must be built from the ground up, "Die Presse" reported. He appealed to the EU to help educate at least 500 to 600 Bosnian Serb future leaders as an investment in the democratization process. Djukanovic argued that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has brought Yugoslavia to the brink of ruin through "catastrophic" economic policies and by indulging in "nationalist mysticism." The Montenegrin leader stressed that Yugoslavia is suffering from a lack of democracy. PM[14] ...BUT DIFFER ON KOSOVADjukanovic said in Alpbach on 26 August that the solution to the Kosova crisis is a negotiated settlement, "Die Presse" reported. Dodik, however, suggested that animosities between Serbs and Kosovars may have become too deep to permit reconciliation and that the two peoples may have to go separate ways. Addressing the same conference, Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, who holds the OSCE chair, urged Russia to end its support for Milosevic on Kosova. Austria's Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel, who holds the EU chair, called for an international conference to end the Kosova dispute. He said that such a gathering should be modeled on the 1995 Dayton conference that ended the Bosnian war. PM[15] ALBANIA, YUGOSLAVIA EXCHANGE CHARGES OVER CHURCH BOMBINGThe Albanian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 26 August rejecting a federal Yugoslav protest over a bomb that destroyed an Orthodox Church building in Shkodra last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 August 1998). The Yugoslavs had called the blast "an attack on the human and religious rights of ethnic Serbian and Montenegrin minorities." The Albanian statement countered that "the Orthodox church in Shkodra is owned by the Orthodox community, which is composed, first and foremost, of [ethnic] Albanians." The statement added that the Albanian authorities have no evidence as to who was behind the bombing, but it hinted that the blast might have been organized by Serbian intelligence services: "The attack was the work of a devilish mind that tried to provoke conflict among religious communities in this city." FS[16] US AMBASSADOR CONCERNED OVER INDEPENDENCE OF ALBANIAN JUDICIARY...U.S. Ambassador to Albania Marisa Lino told VOA's Albanian-language service that Washington is "very concerned about the democratic process in Albania" following the arrest of six former high- ranking officials who now belong to the opposition (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 1998). She said Albanian political parties should abide by the rule of law, stressing that the courts are "a place for justice, not a place for politics, and that there is no point in perpetuating a cycle of revenge." Socialist Prime Minister Fatos Nano has denied that the arrests were politically motivated. Albanian politics are sharply polarized between supporters of the Socialists and backers of the opposition Democrats. FS[17] ...WHILE TENSIONS MOUNTOn 26 August, spokesmen for the opposition Democratic Party in Tirana called on the U.S., the EU, and the OSCE to investigate those arrests. An OSCE spokesman said his organization is monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, Democratic legislator Azem Hajdari called on supporters during a rally in Tirana "to seize weapons and to die for freedom," ATSH reported. Former President Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party added that "in addition to our peaceful protests, we shall use all other means until our demands are fulfilled." He called for the resignation of the government. The next day, Tirana police banned an opposition rally slated for 27 August. Police spokesmen said that they feared that "terrorist acts" would be committed at the rally if it went ahead. FS[18] ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN TENSIONS IN OFFINGForeign Minister Andrei Plesu on 26 August told the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee that the teaching of Romanian in minority schools in Ukraine is to be replaced by the teaching of the "Moldovan language." He said textbooks printed in Romanian are to be replaced by ones using the Cyrillic alphabet in response to a proposal made by the chairman of the Association of Ukrainian Romanians. Plesu said he has asked Romania's Department for Minorities to present counter-proposals, which will then be handed to the joint Romanian-Ukrainian Commission on Minority Problems. The same day, the opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania protested the Ukrainian decision, saying it is a "continuation of the de- nationalization policies pursued by the former Soviet authorities." MS[19] ROMANIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO BE FINANCIALLY SELF-SUFFICIENTThe Senate on 26 August approved a law aimed at increasing the financial independence of local government, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. According to the law, 50 percent of taxes on wages will go to the state budget, 40 percent to the local government, and 10 percent to the county councils. Since the Chamber of Deputies has approved a different version of that law, a mediation commission will have to find a formulation acceptable to both houses. In other news, the largest miners' union on 26 August said that pending negotiations with the government, it is revoking its decision to call an indefinite strike MS[20] UKRAINIAN PEACE KEEPERS TO TRANSDNIESTER SECURITY ZONEThe Joint Control Commission, which is observing the truce in the security zone in the Transdniester, has approved bringing 10 Ukrainian peace keepers to the security zone, Infotag reported on 26 August. The decision to bring the Ukrainian peacekeepers was taken at the March summit in Odessa, but Chisinau and Tiraspol both failed to approve the plan until now. MS[21] MOLDOVA DISCUSSES DOUBLE CITIZENSHIPThe Moldovan Supreme Security Council, meeting on 26 August, discussed the issue of double citizenship. According to a press release by the presidential office, parliamentary chairman Dumitru Diacov, Deputy Prime Minister Nicolae Andronic, and Justice Minister Ion Paduraru said the proliferation of the "double citizenship phenomenon" was "abnormal" and that the existing legislation must be amended to provide for loss of Moldovan citizenship for those who do not renounce a second citizenship "within six months." The Russian-language media in Chisinau have lately warned against the "tacit assimilation of Moldova by Romania" through Moldovans' taking up Romanian citizenship, BASA-press reported. MS[22] BULGARIAN PREMIER IN GREECEIvan Kostov, on a two- day visit to Athens, on 26 August discussed with his Greek counterpart, Kostas Simitis, nuclear safety and bilateral relations, Reuters and AP reported. Kostov handed Simitis a report on a nuclear safety program at the controversial Kozloduy plant, which is to be examined by the Greek Atomic Committee. MS[C] END NOTE[23] DIVIDED ON SECURITYby Paul GobleEstonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians agree that they cannot defend themselves and that no one is likely to defend them, but they disagree profoundly about the nature of the threat to their countries and about just how useful various international groups are likely to be in helping them deal with it. Both the points of agreement and those of disagreement are likely to make it increasingly difficult for the three Baltic governments to maintain a common position on their efforts to join NATO and the EU and for the West to treat them as a single bloc, rather than as three very different countries. Earlier this summer, the Estonian Saar polling company interviewed 1,000 adults in each of the three Baltic countries to determine popular attitudes toward a variety of security questions and to find out how people in each think their governments should proceed. Commissioned by NATO and the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, the poll revealed a remarkable pattern of agreement and disagreement along national lines. Huge majorities--76 percent of Estonians, 81 percent of Latvians, and 72 percent of Lithuanians--believe that their countries would not be able to effectively defend themselves in the event of a military attack. And most also believe that the West would be unlikely to help them in the event of such an attack. According to the poll, only 23 percent of Estonians, 15 percent of Latvians, and 15 percent of Lithuanians are confident that Western countries would provide military assistance. Instead, small majorities in all three believe that the West's assistance in such circumstances would be limited to diplomatic activities. Such judgments about the willingness of the West to help, however, apparently do not disturb most people in these three countries. Indeed, the Saar poll found that more than 95 percent of the residents in each country were convinced that their state does not currently face any real military threat from another country. But that is where the unanimity ends and the differences begin. According to this poll, Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians disagree on the nature of the threats facing their countries, on whether they should join NATO, and on what mix of international memberships they believe would best meet their security needs. Estonians believe that the greatest threats to their security come from abroad, but Latvians and, to a lesser extent, Lithuanians believe that the greatest security threats are domestic ones. Only 35 percent of Estonians believe that they face a domestic security threat, while 62 percent of Latvians and 45 percent of Lithuanians hold that opinion. According to the Estonian director of the poll, Andrus Saar, this pattern reflects what he called Estonia's more balanced pattern of economic development, one in which there is much less variation among sectors, as compared with the situation in the other two countries. The three nationalities also diverge, if somewhat less dramatically, over the value of NATO membership for their countries. A bare majority of Lithuanians--51 percent-- support the idea of joining NATO, with only 25 percent opposed to that step. In Estonia, 43 percent want to join the Western alliance, but 25 percent are opposed. And in Latvia, only 37 percent support the idea of membership, with 29 percent opposed. But perhaps most interesting are the differences among the three peoples on the approaches they believe would give them the greatest amount of security. Some 30 percent of Estonians believe that membership in both NATO and the EU would provide the best guarantee, while 29 percent think that neutrality would be the best stance. Among Latvians, 29 percent believe that neutrality would be best, with 26 percent favoring membership in both NATO and the EU, and smaller percentages backing membership in only NATO or only the EU. Finally, 26 percent of Lithuanians believe NATO membership would give their country the best chance for security, with 23 percent backing neutrality and 23 percent backing membership in both the Western alliance and the EU. Obviously, these numbers could quickly change if the geopolitics of the region change or if national leaders expand their own efforts to promote particular security agendas. But the differences this poll reveals suggest that the three countries are likely to move in increasingly different directions and that the international community, long accustomed to thinking of them as the undifferentiated Balts, is going to have to respond to that development. 27-08-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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