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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 207, 98-10-26Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 207, 26 October 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ALIEV URGES NATO TO HALT 'MILITARIZATION OF ARMENIA'Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev told visiting NATO officials on 24 October that Russia is "arming Armenia against" the Western alliance and suggested that NATO should make a "serious effort" to prevent the "militarization of Armenia," ITAR-TASS reported. Aliev said that various Russian officials had told him that Moscow is supplying weapons to Armenia not to help Yerevan in its fight with Azerbaijan but rather to counter NATO. "If Russia is arming Armenia against NATO," the Azerbaijani leader said, "this should make you think." Speaking in Moscow on 25 October, Armenian Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian suggested that there is a balance of forces in the region now, but he said that Azerbaijan might try to gain military superiority "given its close contacts with Turkey and NATO, " Interfax reported. PG[02] AZERBAIJAN, KAZAKHSTAN EXPAND COOPERATIONDuring a visit to Baku on 23 October, Kazakh Prime Minister Nurlan Balgimbayev signed three intergovernmental agreement with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Artur Rasizade, that will increase economic cooperation between the two Caspian states, ITAR-TASS reported. The accords call for Kazakhstan to double the amount of oil it exports via Azerbaijan as well as increase the exports of metals, grain, and other goods to Azerbaijan. On 25 October, President Aliev announced that the EU plans to extend a 30 million ecu ($25.4 million) loan to Azerbaijan to promote the TRACECA corridor project, which is intended to link Europe and Asia through the Caucasus, Interfax reported. PG[03] AZERBAIJANI PREMIER RECONFIRMED BY PARLIAMENTThe Azerbaijani parliament on 23 October reconfirmed Artur Rasizade as prime minister, ITAR-TASS reported. An oil engineer with long ties to President Aliev, Rasizade has been prime minister of Azerbaijan since November 1996. PG[04] AZERBAIJANI DEMONSTRATORS CALL FOR NEW ELECTIONSAn estimated 2,000-3,000 people rallied in Baku on 24 October to demand that the 11 October vote be declared invalid and new elections held, ITAR-TASS reported. First Deputy Chairman of the People's Front Party Ali Kerimov called on all opposition groups to close ranks and the prosecutor- general to launch criminal proceedings against Aliev and other officials for "vote rigging." Other speakers said they will continue their protests until Aliev resigns. They added that they wanted all foreign governments and companies to know that a post-Aliev government may not honor agreements they have reached with the current Baku authorities. PG[05] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT NOT TO ATTEND TURKISH CELEBRATIONSCiting pressure of work, President Robert Kocharian has announced he will not visit Ankara on 29-30 October to take part in the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, Interfax reported on 23 October. PG[06] ARMENIA CONCERNED BY COUNCIL OF EUROPE DELAYKhosrov Arutyunyan, the speaker of the Armenian parliament, on 24 October telephoned Bruno Haller, the secretary-general of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to say that Yerevan does not understand why the assembly has agreed to Azerbaijan's request that hearings on the Karabakh conflict, scheduled for 3 November, be delayed for at least another month, ITAR-TASS reported. Officials from Yerevan and Stepanakert had confirmed that they would attend the meetings in Strasbourg, which originally had been scheduled for November. PG[07] GEORGIA FIRES TOP GENERAL AFTER MUTINY ATTEMPTThe Georgian Defense Ministry on 24 October dismissed General Zaur Uchade as commander of the western group of Georgian armed forces for failing to prevent the 19 October mutiny in his region, ITAR-TASS reported. The Georgian military also relieved two other senior officers as it continued its hunt for mutiny leader Akaki Eliava, who is thought to be in hiding somewhere within Georgia. More than 30 other people involved in the mutiny have been arrested, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 October. PG[08] EBRD TO DOUBLE ASSISTANCE TO GEORGIAA delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development told President Eduard Shevardnadze on 24 October that the bank will double its financial assistance to Georgia next year, ITAR-TASS reported. The new assistance is intended to help Georgia improve its ability to serve as a transit corridor and to rehabilitate the Ingouri hydroelectric station. Shevardnadze said that "close cooperation" with the EBRD is "one of the main guarantors of Georgia's stability." He pledged to increase tax collections and fight corruption. PG[09] UZBEK TAX COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN SACKED, JAILEDMurudulo Kurolov, who was dismissed by presidential decree on 21 October, was taken into custody three days later, ITAR-TASS reported. Kurolov was sacked for "serious violations," which Uzbek Radio reported to be "excessive vanity, pomposity..., contempt for national customs and traditions, disgracing the honor and authority as a leader, and abusing his post." His assistant, Masur Zakirov, committed suicide by jumping from a fifth floor window the day Kurolov was arrested. BP[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] BREAKTHROUGH IN BELGRADE?British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in Luxembourg on 26 October that NATO Generals Wesley Clark and Klaus Naumann made a "significant advance" during their talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and army chief-of- staff General Momcilo Perisic in Belgrade during the two previous days. Cook added that top alliance officials will discuss the results of those talks in Brussels on 27 October, but he stressed that it remains to be seen whether Milosevic will keep his word to the two generals. On 25 October in Belgrade, an unnamed diplomat accompanying Clark and Naumann said that the two were not conducting "negotiations" with the Serbs "but rather discussions on [Serbian] compliance with UN Security Council directives," Reuters reported. A NATO deadline for Serbia to comply with UN Security Council resolution 1199 or face air strikes is slated to expire on 27 October. PM[11] U.S. SAYS SERBIA NOT COMPLYINGSecretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said in separate television interviews on 25 October that Milosevic has not met UN demands that he withdraw his paramilitary police forces from Kosova. Berger added that General Clark has the authority to "take military action" against Serbia if NATO concludes that Milosevic has not met his obligations. The following day, OSCE observers told Reuters that both the Serbs and the Kosova Liberation Army are continuing to "build up [their forces] in some sensitive areas." AP quoted ethnic Albanian refugees as saying that Serb-led forces withdraw when diplomatic monitors appear and then return to harass civilians after the foreigners leave. PM[12] UN PASSES COMPROMISE RESOLUTION ON KOSOVAOn 24 October, the Security Council passed a resolution that allows NATO to take action to protect and evacuate international monitors in Kosova in case of an emergency. In response to Russian and Chinese objections, the council earlier deleted references in the original draft resolution that permit NATO to take "appropriate steps" to ensure that Milosevic carries out the provisions set down in resolution 1199 in September. British and U.S. diplomats said in New York that NATO nonetheless has the right to ensure compliance. In Prishtina on 25 October, shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova said in a statement that the latest resolution is "inadequate" and that the Kosovars expect tough measures against the Belgrade authorities, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[13] NATO PLANS BASE IN MACEDONIAMacedonian Defense Minister Lazar Kitanovski said in Skopje on 23 October that NATO experts spent the previous two days inspecting the military airfield at Kumanovo, which is northeast of Skopje, as a possible base for 100 to 150 NATO personnel. Kitanovski added that NATO wants the facility to support its aerial surveillance mission over Kosova and the 2,000 unarmed civilian monitors there. The minister did not specify if NATO wants to base fighter aircraft or "rapid reaction" troops there to rescue monitors who are taken hostage or who otherwise become endangered. Nor is it clear whether NATO has discussed its plans with officials of the opposition coalition, which won the first round of parliamentary voting on 18 October and appears likely to form a new government after the second round on 1 November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 October 1998). PM[14] SERBIA CONTINUES MEDIA CRACKDOWNSerbian government officials raided the offices of the Belgrade independent daily "Dnevni Telegraf" during the night of 25-26 October, the VOA reported. On 24 October, government officials imposed a fine of $230,000 on the weekly "Evropljanin." Editor-in-chief Slavko Curuvija, who also heads "Dnevni Telegraf," said that he does not have the money and would not pay if he did. Curuvija is charged with violating the new law regulating the independent media, which expands an earlier decree that the authorities used to shut down several independent dailies and broadcasters (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 October 1998). Spokesmen for the independent media said that the authorities are also planning to ban those media from posting on the Internet. Meanwhile in Opatija, some 60 members of the Croatian Journalists' Society signed a declaration in support of their Serbian colleagues, "Vjesnik" reported on 26 October. PM[15] U.S. URGES CROATIA TO REFORM MILITARYRobert Gelbard, who is the U.S. special envoy for the former Yugoslavia, said in Zagreb on 23 October that he is pleased with his talks with new Defense Minister Pavao Miljavac but will judge Miljavac by his deeds. Gelbard stressed that Croatia must scale down the size of its military establishment and make its affairs more transparent. He added that Croatia cannot expect to joint Euro-Atlantic structures unless it meets Western standards of civilian control over the military. Miljavac said that his main priority is transparency. Some Western diplomats in Zagreb had earlier expressed concern over the appointment of Miljavac, who had to give up his general's commission on being appointed. PM[16] ANKICA TUDJMAN SAYS MONEY IS 'ROYALTIES'Ankica Tudjman, who is the wife of President Franjo Tudjman, said in Zagreb on 24 October that the $130,000 she deposited in an account at the Zagrebacka Banka earlier this year and similar sums she deposited in previous years are royalties her husband received from his books. She maintained that the bank records can verify her statement. This is the first time she has spoken out in conjunction with a growing scandal involving her family's hidden wealth (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 October 1998). The previous day, the parliament passed a law on salaries of state officials. President Tudjman will earn $5,700 per month, which is one-third less than the government originally proposed. The average monthly income in Croatia is $450, and pensioners and some war veterans make considerably less. PM[17] MUSLIM DETHRONED AS MISS CROATIAOrganizers held a new vote for Miss Croatia in Zagreb on 25 October to replace a previous ballot that the organizers claim was invalid. The winner in the original vote was Lejla Sehovic, a Muslim, who charged that her victory was invalidated because of her ethnicity (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 October 1998). The winner in the second vote was Ivana Petkovic, an ethnic Croat. AP described the 25 October ceremony as "surreal" and reported that both Sehovic and Petkovic seemed embarrassed by the developments. PM[18] SUSPECTED EMBASSY BOMBER KILLED IN ALBANIASelam Muhamet Omar Al Sead, a suspected Islamist organizer of the U.S. embassy bombings in eastern Africa in early August, was shot dead in Tirana on 24 October. "Shekulli" reported that the Egyptian citizen committed suicide in the face of imminent arrest. According to dpa, however, unspecified Tirana dailies claim that police killed the suspect in a shoot- out. The police have since issued a statement denying they killed the man and adding that a police officer suffered gunshot wounds from a pistol fired by the suspect. Owing to lax immigration laws, Islamists have been able to use Albania as a base in recent years. Assisted by the CIA, local police launched a crackdown on fundamentalist terrorists in mid-summer (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 August 1998). FS[19] FIRST PRIVATE INTERNET PROVIDER IN ALBANIAThe 2K company has been granted a license by the government's telecommunications licensing body to provide Internet access to private and commercial users. 2K pledged to invest $360,000 in the project, "Albanian Daily News" reported. Previously, only the United Nations Development Program and the Open Society Foundation operated full-fledged Internet servers in Albania. Those servers were accessed only by non-governmental organizations, government agencies, Tirana University, and other educational institutions. FS[20] LOW TURNOUT INVALIDATES BUCHAREST MAYORAL ELECTIONSUnofficial results suggest that low turnout has invalidated the 25 October Bucharest mayoral elections, which are likely to be repeated on 1 November, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported the next day. At least 50 percent plus one must participate in the elections for the ballot to be valid. Turnout at 867 out of a total 1,175 ballot stations is put at 34.2 percent. National Peasant Party Christian Democratic candidate and acting Bucharest Mayor Viorel Lis is leading the field, with 41.7 percent. He is followed by independent candidate George Padure (19.6 percent), Party of Social Democracy in Romania candidate Sorin Oprescu (18.9), Greater Romania Party candidate Nicolae Nitu (6.9), and Democratic Party candidate Alexandru Sassu (4.7 percent). Each of the other 17 candidates gained less than 2 percent of the vote. MS[21] ROMANIA OFFERS PARTICIPATION IN KOSOVA VERIFICATION MISSIONThe Supreme National Defense Council on 25 October offered the dispatch of 2,000 monitors and one Antonov-30 military reconnaissance aircraft to take part in the verification mission in Kosova, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. President Emil Constantinescu chaired the meeting. In other news, visiting French Defense Minister Alain Richard and his Romanian counterpart, Victor Babiuc, signed an agreement on 24 October on bilateral military cooperation. MS[22] KUCHMA PROPOSES SUMMIT ON TRANSDNIESTERUkrainian President Leonid Kuchma said in Chisinau on 23 October that he has proposed to Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi and separatist leader Igor Smirnov that the Transdniester problem be settled at a summit meeting, Infotag and BASA-press reported. Kuchma, who met with Lucinschi and Smirnov, said Moldova, the Transdniester region, Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE must participate in the summit. He also said he has requested that Smirnov pardon Ilie Ilascu, who was sentenced to death by a Transdniester court in 1992 for alleged terrorism and is still in jail. At the end of their summit meeting (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 October 1998), Lucinschi, Kuchma, and Romanian President Emil Constantinescu signed agreements on cooperation in combating organized crime and on setting up a free trade zone in the lower Danube region. MS[23] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NATO AIRSPACE USEThe parliament on 23 October voted by 150-47 to approve a resolution allowing NATO to use Bulgarian airspace if the alliance launches air strikes against Yugoslavia, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. All parliamentary groups, with the exception of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, approved the resolution. Earlier this month, NATO asked Bulgaria to allow unlimited access to its airspace for possible military operations in Yugoslavia. Both the Bulgarian National Security Council, headed by President Petar Stoyanov, and the government approved that request. The parliament's resolution also called for settling the Kosova conflict by peaceful means and said Bulgaria will not participate directly or indirectly in military actions in Yugoslavia. MS[C] END NOTE[24] PROMOTING FEDERALISM, FIGHTING DISEASEby Paul GobleA dramatic rise in the number of tuberculosis cases across the Russian Federation reflects a situation in which Moscow no longer has the administrative responsibility for fighting the disease and the regions do not yet have the resources to do so. Speaking to journalists last week, Aleksandr Khomenko of Moscow's Tuberculosis Institute said that 2.5 million Russians-- or one in every 60 residents of the country--now have tuberculosis. He added that this figure is a 8.5 percent increase on the level at the beginning of this year. One of the reasons for this development is the lack of money available to Russian hospitals and public health institutions. At present, Russia spends approximately 1 billion rubles--some $62 million--a year on treating tuberculosis sufferers. That is equivalent to some $25 dollars and is far below the amount needed. For most strains of tuberculosis, treatment costs between $50 and $10, while for some new killer strains that have appeared in the Russian Federation in the last several years, treatment costs are estimated at $10,000 per person or even more. As a result, many of those infected either remain untreated or not cured and thus continue to spread the highly infectious disease to those with whom they come into contact. Thatmeans that the number of tuberculosis cases in Russia will continue to grow. Indeed, Khomenko said that Russia "can no longer control" this situation. The impact of Russia's declining economic fortunes and state revenues on the health of the population has already drawn a great deal of attention. But Khomenko suggested that the lack of resources has been seriously compounded by a change in the country's administrative arrangements. During the Soviet period, the central Health Ministry directed and paid for the fight against tuberculosis. But since 1991, this situation has changed. The regions are now responsible for combating the disease, and they lack both the personnel and the funding necessary to do the job, Khomenko explained. Moreover, when one region fails in its efforts to combat tuberculosis, an outbreak there can rapidly spread elsewhere, further complicating the battle. The government of Altai Krai, in southern Siberia, recently reported that it no longer has funds to deal with a rising number of tuberculosis cases among children, raising the specter that the disease there will quickly spread. This human tragedy, one that international medical groups in August called on Russian President Boris Yeltsin to address, reflects an underlying and as yet unresolved political problem in the Russian Federation: a growing gap between those with responsibilities for doing something and those with the resources to do it. In the field of public health, this gap is especially critical and obvious. But it is true in many other areas as well, including education, crime fighting, and economic development. Both by decision and default, Moscow increasingly has left to the regions the responsibilities for taking action but has not been willing or able to devolve to the regional governments the resources that these regions need to do the job. That situation helps to explain why many regional governors are pressing Moscow for more resources and why many in Moscow appear increasingly willing to argue that responsibility as well as resources should be returned to the center. In the short term, a return to the more centralized pattern of the past might help to alleviate the human suffering that tuberculosis and other diseases have inflicted on the Russian people. But in the longer term, matching resources with responsibilities at the local and regional level appears more likely to allow Russia to overcome the plague of tuberculosis as well as the other challenges of fiscal and political federalism. 26-10-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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