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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 209, 98-10-30Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 209, 30 October 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] FIVE PRESIDENTS SIGN 'ANKARA DECLARATION'...Meeting in Ankara on 29 October on the sidelines of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the presidents of Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan signed a declaration affirming their support for routing the so-called Main Export Pipeline for Caspian oil from Baku to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The document notes the possible risks entailed in transporting oil via the Turkish straits, which is one of several alternative export routes. It also affirms that the Baku-Ceyhan route is commercially viable, which many experts dispute. U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson also signed the document, but Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov did not. The U.S. is hoping that the oil companies currently engaged in oil extraction in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will opt for the Baku- Ceyhan route for the MEP. Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan dispute ownership of several offshore Caspian oil fields. LF[02] ...WHILE RUSSIA EXPRESSES DISPLEASUREIn a clear allusion to the U.S.'s aggressive lobbying for the Baku-Ceyhan route, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 29 October warning against the "excessive politicizing" of the choice of route for the MEP, Interfax reported. The ministry argued that the choice of route should depend on "economic expediency and diversity." It denied that Russia is seeking "a monopoly" on the transportation of Caspian oil via its territory, while affirming that Turkish threats to bar an increase in tanker traffic through the Turkish straits are a violation of international norms. At present, the only functioning pipeline through which Azerbaijan's Caspian oil is being exported is that from Baku via Chechnya to the Russian Black Sea terminal at Novorossiisk. LF[03] GEORGIAN EX-SECURITY MINISTER SAYS PRESIDENT STAGED MUTINYIn an interview with "Obshchaya gazeta" on 29 October, Igor Giorgadze claimed that Georgian President Shevardnadze staged the 19 October mutiny in western Georgia to deflect attention from waning domestic support for his leadership, Interfax reported. Giorgadze added that Shevardnadze was also behind the August 1992 invasion of Abkhazia and the August 1995 car bomb attack, in which Shevardnadze sustained minor injuries. Giorgadze fled Georgia days after that attack, which Shevardnadze accuses him of organizing. Affirming that Georgia is ruled "by the Komsomol and Communist mafia," Giorgadze predicted that Shevardnadze will never resign voluntarily but "will be carried out." LF[04] IRAN DENIES FUNDING AZERBAIJANI ELECTION BOYCOTTThe Iranian embassy in Baku issued a statement on 29 October denying that Iranian intelligence services had provided $14 million to the opposition Movement for Democratic Elections and Electoral Reform, Turan reported. Four Azerbaijani newspapers recently published those claims, quoting one of the leaders of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA) chairman Mir Mekhti Huseinov. Haji Mekhti Shamilli, chairman of the Supreme Council of the IPA, told Turan that the articles were malicious slander intended to compromise his party. Many of the IPA's leaders were arrested in 1996 and sentenced to lengthy jail sentences on charges of espionage for Iran. The party renewed its activities in 1997 and concluded a cooperation agreement with the Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, whose leader, Lala Shovket Gadjieva, was one of those political figures who boycotted the 11 October presidential election. LF[05] ARMENIA, IRAN REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR HIGHWAY PROJECTMeeting in Yerevan on 28 October, Armenian Prime Minister Armen Darpinian and Iranian Deputy Transport Minister Massoud Khansari reaffirmed their respective governments' support for plans to build a major new highway linking Iran with Georgia's Black Sea ports via Armenia, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. They also agreed to create a joint working group to implement construction of a transport terminal in Armenia, according to Noyan Tapan. Meanwhile, outgoing Iranian Ambassador Hamidreza Nikkar Esfahani met with Armenian President Robert Kocharian, parliamentary speaker Khosrow Harutunian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, all of whom positively assessed the state of bilateral relations but proposed expanding both interparliamentary ties and economic cooperation, according to Noyan Tapan. LF[06] RUSSIAN PRESS QUESTIONS 'FAIRNESS' OF KAZAKH ELECTIONS"Kommersant-Daily" on 28 October commented that President Nursultan Nazarbayev's election team has shown "it is prepared to do all so that he will be the only candidate in the elections." A Medeu court recently made a ruling against former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 29 October 1998), which may bar his participation in the elections, and Kazhegeldin's public relations officer and press secretary have both been beaten. Moreover, the editor's office of the pro- Kazhegeldin newspaper "21st Century" was firebombed. Meanwhile, "Noviye izvestiya" on 29 October also reported that the opposition figures Petr Svoik and Dos Koshim were beaten "by members of law enforcement agencies" when they were imprisoned (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 October 1998). BP[07] SWISS PULL OUT OF UN MISSION TO TAJIKISTANSwitzerland has announced it will recall its four citizens from UN operations in Tajikistan owing to "problems that have arisen not only with security but also with discipline," "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 30 October. None of the Swiss workers has been in Tajikistan since the UN decided to withdraw most of its personnel there following the murders of four UN employees in late July. BP[08] TURKMENISTAN, TURKEY SIGN GAS DEALTurkmenistan and Turkey signed an agreement on 29 October whereby Turkmenistan will deliver 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey annually, ITAR-TASS reported. The 30-year agreement foresees an increase in supplies to 30 billion cubic meters a year in the near future. The gas will be transported via a pipeline that is to be constructed across the bed of the Caspian Sea and then via Azerbaijan and Georgia. Shipments from Turkey to Europe are also foreseen. BP[09] UZBEK PRESIDENT BANS "LAVISH CELEBRATIONS"Islam Karimov has issued a decree banning lavish celebrations, Interfax reported on 29 October. The decree says "excessive pomposity" in celebrations is "at odds with national traditions" and that "false ostentation has a negative effect on the upbringing of our youth." The decree comes one week after two tax officials were sacked for the misuse of funds for festivities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 October 1998). BP[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] KOSOVARS SAY SERBIAN FORCES REMAINOnly a "small number" of Kosovars have returned to their homes in recent days, AP reported from Prishtina on 30 October. Refugees trying to go home said that they found many Serbian police or soldiers still in the area and that the Kosovars' former homes are no longer inhabitable. Spokesmen for shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) said that "there are so many Serbian troops, military and police, as well as combat hardware, that [such a] partial withdrawal cannot create the necessary confidence for the Albanian refugees and displaced persons to return back to their homes." The LDK's KIC news agency noted that some 25, 000 Serbian security forces are allowed to remain in Kosova under a recent agreement between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and NATO generals and that only 4,100 troops were required to leave. KIC argued that a force of 2,500 would be sufficient to maintain order in Kosova. PM[11] SESELJ VOWS TO FIGHT 'TERRORISM'Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj said in Belgrade on 29 October that "all armed terrorists will be disarmed and brought to justice. The withdrawal of police [from Kosova] does not mean the end of the fight against terrorism," by which he meant the fight against the Kosova Liberation Army. In Prishtina, Serbian Orthodox Bishop Artemije and ethnic Serbian political leader Momcilo Trajkovic issued a declaration accusing Milosevic of surrendering Serbian sovereignty over Kosova through his recent agreements with U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke and NATO generals. Artemije and Trajkovic added that Milosevic's policies serve to take Kosova "out of the state of Serbia, abolish state sovereignty and jeopardize the territorial integrity of Serbia in [the province] because they withhold the right of republican and [Yugoslav] federal bodies" to carry out security functions in Kosova. PM[12] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS DRAFT DODGERSGeneral Ratomir Ristic said that the General Staff will take legal measures against young men who do not respond to their induction notices, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from Belgrade on 29 October. He added that the current amnesty law affects only those who disregarded their call- up notices up to the end of 1995. The general did not say how many young men have avoided their draft notices since then. Ristic noted that the army will accept Bosnian and Croatian Serb refugees as recruits and that it has asked the Interior Ministry for information to help the army update its information on potential draftees. PM[13] GERMANY TO TAKE ACTIVE ROLE IN VERIFICATIONDefense Minister Rudolf Scharping said in Bonn on 29 October that Germany will provide an unspecified number of unmanned surveillance aircraft to monitor Serbian compliance with UN demands in Kosova. Some 350 German soldiers will operate the aircraft from bases in Macedonia, dpa reported. Germany has already pledged to contribute 200 persons to the 2,000-strong OSCE civilian verification mission. The government has not yet said what it will contribute to NATO's planned rapid-reaction force, which will rescue the "verifiers" should they find themselves in danger. PM[14] BRIEF BORDER OPENING BETWEEN CROATIA, MONTENEGROThe authorities will open the border crossing at Debeli Brijeg on 1-2 November for the Roman Catholic All Saints' holiday, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from Podgorica. Montenegro's nearby town of Kotor has a Roman Catholic minority. Both Podgorica and Zagreb have been urging the Belgrade authorities for some time to consent to permanently opening the crossing. Belgrade refuses to do so, however. PM[15] CROATIAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS WANT EARLY ELECTIONSIvica Racan, who heads the leading opposition party, said in Zagreb on 30 October that Croatia needs parliamentary elections well before the scheduled date of January 2000 in order to "stop the rot" that has come to characterize the rule of President Franjo Tudjman and his Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). "We want to have a democratic life and not an autocratic president and authorities. We don't want the whole country to depend on the intentions and sometimes even moods of one man.... Tudjman's concept of rule is used up.... The HDZ has run its historic course and used its options. The only thing they can do is generate a crisis and endanger...democracy," Racan added. The ruling establishment has recently been discredited by a series of scandals involving a split in its own ranks, the hidden wealth of Tudjman and his wife, dubious privatization practices, and the parliament's decision to approve high salaries for top government officials. PM[16] DISCORD IN BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENTThe opening session of the newly elected 83-member Republika Srpska legislature broke up in the early hours of 30 October after deputies failed to agree on a speaker and two deputy speakers. At the start of the session, some 19 Muslim and Croatian deputies walked out to protest the Serbian Orthodox elements in the swearing-in ceremony. The parliament will reconvene on 4 November to try to elect its own officials. Only after those three persons are elected can the president take office and appoint a prime minister. The moderate faction of outgoing President Biljana Plavsic and the more hard- line one of President-elect Nikola Poplasen have 32 seats each. PM[17] ALBANIA TO FACE CRITICISM AT DONORS' CONFERENCE...Foreign Minister Paskal Milo told "Albanian Daily News" on 29 October that he expects foreign participants at an international donors' conference on 30 October in Tirana to criticize Albania for not meeting all the goals set at previous conferences one year ago. Milo said he nonetheless expects that the conference will approve a six-month emergency program to give Albania's new government time to fulfill those earlier promises. The participants at conferences in Rome and Brussels in 1997 pledged to give up to $600 million to help Albania recover from the anarchy that swept the country early that same year. Only about $200 million of that sum actually was paid to Albania, however, because the Albanian authorities failed to convince donors that the Albanians had a sufficient number of sound programs for which the money could be put to good use. FS/PM[18] ...BUT KEY PROBLEMS REMAINAlbanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko's economic adviser Gramoz Pashko also told "Albanian Daily News" on 29 October that the governing coalition has not still succeeded in creating an administration able to make use of the promised funds. He added that the administration is plagued by corruption and unable to restore security. Albanians have yet "to understand the principles of civil society," he added. Observers note political polarization remains a major problem. In other news, Albanian and EU representatives on 28 October signed an agreement granting Tirana some $34 million to modernize agricultural production, infrastructure, and administration. FS[19] ALBANIAN DEMOCRATS CALL FOR REFERENDUM BOYCOTTThe Democratic Party leadership on 29 October called for a boycott of the 22 November referendum on a new constitution. Party leader Sali Berisha announced the decision at a rally in central Tirana the same day, "Albanian Daily News" reported. He added, however, that Democratic Party members will be present, however, in the polling commissions to observe that the vote is free and fair (see "End Note" below). FS[20] NEW TENSION AMONG ROMANIA'S COALITION PARTNERSNicolae Manolescu, chairman of the National Liberal Party's National Council, has harshly criticized the Democratic Party, saying the Democrats "wish to reform provided that nothing is changed." Manolescu's criticism was prompted by the Democrats' opposition to urgently debate in the Chamber of Deputies a new law on the restitution of nationalized houses and one on the protection of tenants, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported on 29 October. Tensions are also reported over the envisaged restructuring of the government. While the Democrats say they do not oppose a plan for reducing the number of cabinet members, they do oppose a law that would increase the size of restituted agricultural plots from 10 hectares to 50 hectares. They also want a state company for the management of state-owned land to be set up before further land restitution is approved. MS[21] BUCHAREST MAYORAL CANDIDATE WITHDRAWSeveral opposition parties in Bucharest announced this week that they are withdrawing their candidates from the race in favor of Sorin Oprescu, the candidate of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania. The mayoral race ballot is to be repeated on 1 November and will be considered valid regardless of turnout. The Party of Romanian National Unity, the Greater Romania Party, and the Alliance for Romania will all back Oprescu. The candidate of the Social Democratic Party has withdrawn from the race in favor of Democratic Party candidate Alexandru Sassu. On 24 October, acting Mayor Viorel Lis of the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic won 41.6 percent of the vote, but the ballot was invalidated because of low turnout ( 34.3 percent). MS[22] STALEMATE IN MOLDOVA-TRANSDNIESTER TALKS ON SECURITY ZONE...Joint Control Commission co-chairman George Carlan told journalists in Chisinau on 28 October that the commission has failed to reach a compromise with the Tiraspol delegation over how to reduce forces in the security zone, Infotag reported. Carlan said Tiraspol rejected a Moldovan proposal to reduce both personnel and military equipment. A Tiraspol representative said Moldova has more equipment in the zone and that it cannot agree to reduce personnel unless it can increase its military equipment. The March 1998 Odessa accords provide for 500 Moldovan, Russian, and Tiraspol troops each. Chisinau says it has 800 troops in the zone, while the separatists have 1,000 regular soldiers and another 2,000 serving in forces not controlled by the commission. Russia has 500 soldiers in the zone. MS[23] ...AND IN PARLEYS ON TRANSDNIESTER SPECIAL STATUSViktor Garbuzov, deputy head of the Transdniester delegation to talks with Chisinau on the separatist region's envisaged "special status," said on 29 October that "all proposals" submitted by the Moldovan government are "negative." The two teams also submitted proposals on setting up a "joint economic space," the independent FLUX agency reported. The same day, Prime Minister Ion Ciubuc arrived in Moscow for talks on restoring rapidly deteriorating bilateral trade and economic ties and the situation in the Transdniester, ITAR-TASS reported. MS[24] BULGARIA INTRODUCES ALTERNATIVE MILITARY SERVICEThe parliament on 29 October approved a law allowing for alternative military service for conscripts who object to using weapons. They will be able to choose between serving in non-combatant units or working in public health and social care centers. The law goes into effect on 1 January, AP reported. Alternative service will be allowed only in times of peace and will be twice as long as the standard service (36 months instead of 18). In other news, the government on 29 October announced Bulgaria is ready to participate in the implementation of the Holbrooke-Milosevic agreement with one Antonov-30 reconnaissance aircraft. MS[C] END NOTE[25] POWER GAMES WITH ALBANIA'S NEW CONSTITUTIONby Fabian SchmidtAlbania's Socialist-led coalition government is preparing to hold a referendum on the long-awaited new constitution next month. Observers hope that the document will strengthen the rule of law, increase the powers of local government, and improve the efficiency of the administration by clearly defining the responsibilities of the various agencies. But less than a week after the parliament approved the constitution and announced the referendum, the constitution had become the object of a familiar political power game between the two largest parties. Opposition Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha said at a press conference earlier this week that his party will not approve the document. Repeating calls for new elections, he made it clear that the Democrats will draft their own constitution, which they intend to adopt once they have a majority in the parliament. Berisha said that "the majority of Albanians [was excluded] from the constitution drafting process" since the Socialists had not agreed to a roundtable of all political parties to discuss the document when his party was boycotting the legislature. He also criticized the current law whereby a simple majority of votes is sufficient to approve the constitution. The Democrats argue that a majority of all registered voters should be required to approve the draft. The Socialists reject the opposition charges and stress that it is the Democrats' own fault since they boycotted the parliament for most of this year, thus excluding themselves from the drafting process. They also claim that they repeatedly urged the opposition to participate in that process but the Democrats were unwilling to make their opinion heard. The conflict between the Socialists and the Democrats is one of form rather than of content. Some constitutional experts from the Democratic Party have told journalists in Tirana that the party does not have any substantial complaints about the draft. Furthermore, the Democrats have failed to come forward with concrete suggestions. So what are the main reasons for the dispute? On one hand, the Democrats remain unwilling to take part in the regular parliamentary drafting process because such participation would make it more difficult to continue to question the legitimacy of the legislature. On the other hand, the Socialists, who have a two-thirds majority in the parliament, refuse to subject the issue of the constitution to a multi- party roundtable because acceptance of such a parallel institution to the parliament would imply that the legislature indeed lacks legitimacy. Moreover, agreeing to a roundtable, similar to the one that mediated the creation of a multi-party interim government in spring 1997, would be only the first step toward new elections. The government knows that if it tries to base its policy on too broad a consensus and surrenders power to an all- party roundtable, it would risk becoming paralyzed and unable to tackle the country's urgent problems. A roundtable of sorts, nonetheless, took place on 25 October. But because the content of the constitution was not up for debate, the Democrats declined to attend. Instead, the governing coalition partners and representatives from the smaller center-right Republican Party agreed not to campaign on behalf of the constitution in order to avoid further political polarization of that document. The parties also said they hope that the referendum, which is to be held on 22 November, will not develop into a political battle between parties, agreeing that the parliamentary drafting commission will explain the content of the draft to the electorate through the media. And they suggested that non-governmental organizations, rather than political parties, should be involved in organizing the referendum. But these parties are unlikely to succeed in keeping party politics out of the referendum. The Democrats have made it clear that they will use the run- up to the referendum to acquire leverage against the government and to eventually force new elections. The electorate is therefore more likely to view the plebiscite as a referendum on the current government rather than on the basic law. This is a situation similar to the 1994 referendum, when Berisha, in his capacity at the time as president, proposed a constitution that the electorate turned down. That result was viewed by many as a vote of no confidence in Berisha rather than in the document. The latest draft constitution has already become politicized, and even if it is approved by a popular referendum, it will likely remain a political football among rival politicians. How much this slows down the building of democratic institutions will depend on the electorate. If the voter turnout is high and a clear majority of voters cast their ballot in favor, the document is likely to remain in force for years to come. In such a case, it would be more difficult for subsequent governments to change the constitution whenever they please than if turnout were low and the majority slim. 30-10-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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