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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 225, 98-11-23Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 225, 23 November 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] AZERBAIJAN REJECTS OSCE KARABAKH PEACE PLAN...Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Tofik Zulfugarov told the French, Russian, and U.S. ambassadors on 20 November that his country cannot accept the concept of a "common state" comprising the Azerbaijan Republic and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic proposed in the most recent OSCE peace plan, Azerbaijani agencies reported. Zulfugarov said that Baku is prepared to resume peace negotiations on the basis of the proposals made by the OSCE Minsk Group in September 1997. Karabakh has rejected that plan, and Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian's willingness to accept it precipitated his resignation under pressure early this year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 February 1998). Russia's ambassador in Baku, Aleksandr Blokhin, told journalists on 21 November that the latest peace plan attempted to "balance the interests of the two warring sides" and that Azerbaijan's rejection of it would hinder the peace process, according to Turan. LF[02] ...WHILE OSCE EXPRESSES 'DISAPPOINTMENT'An OSCE spokesman told RFE/RL on 23 November that the organization is disappointed with Azerbaijan's rejection of the latest peace proposal but hopes that some elements of it can be salvaged. He added that the OSCE also hopes that at the OSCE summit in Oslo in early December it will be possible to announce that peace talks will resume. Polish Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman Bronislaw Geremek, who is currently in Tbilisi, will meet in Baku with Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev on 26 November and attempt to persuade him to take a more positive approach, the spokesman said. On 20 November, Geremek had appealed to all three conflict parties "to demonstrate the political will to negotiate and compromise in the interests of achieving a mutually acceptable resolution of the conflict." A French Foreign Ministry spokesman said on 23 November that Azerbaijan's rejection of the plan is not unexpected. He said it is uncertain how much more the OSCE can do to try to resolve the conflict. LF[03] AZERBAIJAN SAYS BAKU-CEYHAN VIABILITY DEPENDS ON TURKEYSpeaking at a news conference in Washington on 20 November, Azerbaijani State Oil Company Vice President Ilham Aliev said that the anticipated cost of building the Baku-Ceyhan export pipeline for Caspian oil could be reduced if Turkey cuts transit fees and contributes to the cost of the construction, an RFE/RL correspondent in the U.S. capital reported. The Azerbaijan International Operating Company has repeatedly postponed making a commitment to that route, which it estimates will cost $4 billion The Turkish government puts that figure at $2.5 billion. Aliev said that the Azerbaijani leadership "cannot wait forever" if the AIOC fails to make a definite commitment to the Baku-Ceyhan route within the next two months. Turkish energy officials told Reuters on 20 November that Turkey will limit purchases of crude from AIOC members British Petroleum and Amoco to protest the consortium's delay in making a decision on the Baku-Ceyhan route. LF[04] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER STRENGTHENS POWER BASE...Vazgen Sargsian on 21 November presided over the formal establishment of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. That party is the result of a merger, announced in July, between the Republican Party and the political wing of the Yerkrapah union of veterans of the Karabakh war, of which Sargsian is chairman (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 July 1998). Addressing supporters on 21 November, Sargsian said the HHK will serve as President Robert Kocharian's main support base. He characterized the HHK's ideology as "centrist" and vowed that it will reject the "wild liberalism" espoused by Armenia's first post-communist leadership in 1990. Of Yerkrapah's estimated 6,000 members, some 1,000 have joined the HHK; the others will remain members of Yerkrapah, which will continue to function as an NGO protecting the interests of war veterans and their families. LF[05] ...BUT DOES NOT ASPIRE TO PREMIERSHIPOn 20 November, Albert Bazeyan, who heads the majority Yerkrapah parliamentary group, told journalists in Yerevan that both he and Sargsian consider the latter is "in the right place serving as defense minister," RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Bazeyan said there is no guarantee that Sargsian would perform better as prime minister. On 13 November, opposition parliamentary deputy Ashot Bleyan had argued that Sargsian should take over the premiership from Armen Darpinian. LF[06] ARMENIAN CENTRAL BANK WILL NOT PROP UP DRAMCentral Bank chairman Tirgan Sarkisian said on 20 November that the bank will not intervene to prevent further fluctuations in the dollar/dram exchange rate, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The dram fell to 529 to $1 on 19 November, but rebounded to 523 the next day, having traded at 510-515 last month. Analysts attribute the fall to the repercussions of the Russian financial crisis and expect cuts in the government's 1998 budget. But Sarkisian blamed speculators, urging the population not to overreact. He said that the Central Bank's chief priority is to maintain the current single-digit level of annual inflation, adding that financial stability is more vital than what he described as "risky economic growth." LF[07] ARMENIA, GEORGIA PLEDGE CLOSER COOPERATIONVisiting Tbilisi on 20-21 November for the first time as Armenian president, Robert Kocharian held talks with his Armenian counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, and with Georgian parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, Caucasus Press reported. The two presidents agreed to cooperate on projects within the TRACECA transport network and on integration within the CIS as well as within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, Interfax reported. Zhvania told journalists after the talks that the two countries should create a common economic space and that their parliaments could expedite such a development by coordinating legislation on investments. Hovhannes Aivazian, chairman of the Djavakhk Union, which represents the interests of southern Georgia's Armenian community, said he hopes Kocharian's visit will promote greater regional cooperation, including the creation of a free economic zone on the Georgian-Armenian frontier, Caucasus Press reported on 19 November. LF[08] ABKHAZ ENVOY IN TBILISIAnri Djergenia met with Georgian Minister of State Vazha Lortkipanidze on 22 November to discuss a draft protocol on the repatriation to Abkhazia of ethnic Georgian displaced persons and a draft agreement "on peace," ITAR- TASS reported. Those documents are to be signed at the upcoming meeting between Shevardnadze and Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba. In his weekly radio broadcast on 23 November, Shevardnadze said that the meeting will "most probably not" take place this month as originally planned, Caucasus Press reported. Zurab Samushia, commander of the White Legion Georgian guerrilla formation operating in Abkhazia, has threatened to prevent the Ardzinba-Shevardnadze meeting. Samushia has demanded the release of two ethnic Georgians abducted last week in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion and an end to the persecution of the local Georgian population. LF[09] KYRGYZSTAN SEEKS TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL CURRENCYKyrgyz Prime Minister Kubanychbek Jumaliev told journalists on 20 November that his government will take a number of measures in an attempt to stabilize the som, RFE/RL correspondents and ITAR-TASS reported. Jumaliev said that the 1999 budget will have to be revised and financial controls on enterprises tightened to make sure they all pay taxes. Jumaliev promised the state will continue paying interest on Treasury bills and meet its obligations on paying its foreign debt. A number of free economic zones in Kyrgyzstan will be closed down, he added. National bank chairman Marat Sultanov said his bank has the means to stabilize the market, noting that there are $175 million and 2.8 billion som ($90 million) in the bank's reserves. He added that controls over the country's banks need to be strengthened. RFE/RL correspondents on 23 November reported that many vendors at Bishkek's Dordoi Bazaar, the city's largest market, are asking for payment in dollars. BP[10] UZBEK BATTALION NOT TO RETURN TO TAJIKISTANThe Uzbek motorized rifle battalion that was withdrawn from the CIS peacekeeping forces serving in Tajikistan will not return to that country for financial reasons, ITAR-TASS reported on 20 November. The unit arrived back in Uzbekistan on 16 November to take part in military exercises along the Uzbek-Afghan border. Bahodyr Umarov, the press secretary of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, noted that Uzbek units have served in Tajikistan for six years. He added that the Tajik peace accord removes the main reason for Uzbek troops to be deployed in the neighboring country. BP[11] UNEMPLOYMENT GROWS IN TAJIKISTANAccording to the State Statistics Agency, unemployment in Tajikistan grew by 18 percent in the first nine months of this year, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 November. Some 64,800 people are registered as unemployed, of whom some 53 percent are women. Unemployment is also rising sharply among the country's youth, many of whom have a higher education but cannot find work. BP[12] TURKMEN PRESIDENT READY FOR 'OPEN DISCUSSION'Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov will go on national television and radio on 20 December to answer questions put to him by Turkmen residents, ITAR-TASS reported on 20 November. Questions should be about the development of the country or society and must be sent to the president's press service or the national television and radio company before 20 December. BP[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[13] CROATIAN, BOSNIAN LEADERS SIGN AGREEMENTSCroatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnian leaders signed three long- delayed agreements in Zagreb on 22 November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 November 1998). Tudjman and Bosnian Federal President Ejup Ganic signed a text to set up a joint council on cooperation in 14 areas, including military and internal affairs, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Tudjman approved the two additional documents with Alija Izetbegovic, who is the Muslim member of the joint presidency. Zivko Radisic, who is the Serbian member of the presidency and current chair, witnessed the signings. The two documents deal with Bosnian use of Croatia's port of Ploce, which is Bosnia's natural outlet to the Adriatic, and with Croatian transit rights through Bosnia's Neum region, which cuts the Croatian Dalmatian coast in half. Bosnia receives a 30-year lease on a free zone in the port of Ploce, while Croats will be able to transit Neum without going through any border formalities. PM[14] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMS VICTORY IN REFERENDUM...Prime Minister Pandeli Majko congratulated his Socialist-led government in Tirana on what he called a victory in the 22 November referendum on a new constitution, ATA news agency reported the next day. A spokesman for the Central Electoral Commission said that barely 50 percent of the electorate cast their ballots. Officials of the OSCE, which monitored the vote, said that voting took place without any serious incidents. After voting, Majko told reporters that he had "cast his vote for the future." Final results are not expected until at least 24 November. But observers in Tirana said that the outcome is likely to be at least 90 percent in favor because the opposition led by Democratic Party chairman Sali Berisha called on those opposed to the constitution to boycott the referendum. Observers also noted that bad weather and voter apathy may have contributed to the relatively low turnout. PM[15] ...AS DOES BERISHABerisha told his supporters in Tirana on 23 November that only about 30 percent of the electorate voted in the referendum and that the OSCE based its figures of a higher turnout on the "figures of the devil." He called the draft constitution a "corpse" and thanked the Albanian people for "turning down the proposal of the most corrupt government in Europe." He added that "the sovereign people turned the government into a minority.... The sovereign people have been wiser and more courageous than ever in this country's history." Observers in Tirana told "RFE/RL Newsline" that the low turnout, which Berisha sought, together with a likely overwhelming vote in favor of the constitution, which the government sought, means that political deadlock is likely to continue. PM[16] NATO SAYS FORCE IN MACEDONIA THREATENS NOBODYAn unnamed NATO official said in Brussels on 20 November that Yugoslavia has no grounds for claiming that NATO troops stationed in Macedonia would be a source of tension in relations between Belgrade and Skopje, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 November 1998). "The notion that a NATO force of less than 2,000 can threaten Yugoslavia's security is ridiculous," the source added. In Skopje, French Ambassador to Macedonia Jacques Huntzinger said that "it is important for Belgrade to understand that this [French-led] force is not an imposing one.... This force is not aimed at fighting Serbian soldiers or policemen...[It will help extract OSCE monitors] in case of massive hostilities," taking of hostages, need for urgent medical help or problems with land mines, AP quoted him as saying. Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov added that "our government has not taken any decision that [Belgrade could interpret] as a hostile act," "Die Welt" reported. PM[17] KOSOVARS REJECT SERBIAN ALTERNATIVE TO HILL PLANModerate Kosovar spokesman Fehmi Agani said in Belgrade on 22 November that the latest Serbian plan for an interim political settlement in Kosova is unacceptable because it maintains "Serbian domination" over the ethnic Albanian majority. The previous day, the Serbian authorities published an 11-point plan in the Belgrade (but not the Prishtina) edition of the pro- government daily "Politika," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The plan weakens potential Kosovar control over the province by concentrating autonomy at the local rather than at the provincial level, by granting each ethnic group control over its own affairs, by establishing an upper house of the parliament in which each ethnic group has an equal number of deputies, and by giving the "last word" in the province's affairs to the Serbian legislature. EU spokesman Wolfgang Petritsch said that the recent U.S. "proposal is fully supported by the EU. This is not the time to come up with new concepts." PM[18] MONTENEGRO TO BOYCOTT FEDERAL GOVERNMENTThe Montenegrin government said in a statement on 21 November that it does not recognize "the illegal federal government nor its illegitimate prime minister," who is Momir Bulatovic, the arch-rival of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. The Montenegrin government issued the statement in conjunction with its refusal to take part in the federal government's celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of Yugoslavia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[19] ANOTHER SERBIAN PERIODICAL FINEDA Belgrade court fined the daily "Glas javnosti" $38,000 on 22 November for slandering Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj. The newspaper recently quoted a former member of Seselj's Serbian Radical Party as telling a press conference that Seselj is a "dictator" who works "against the interests of the Serbian people," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. On 12 November, a court fined the pro-government daily "Politika" $10,000 for libel against opposition leader Zoran Djindjic. Meanwhile, independent dailies have received fines of up to $120,000 under the recent draconian media law. PM[20] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA DENIES REPORT ABOUT DINARThe Bosnian Serb government on 20 November denied media reports that it has given in to Belgrade's demands to change the official exchange rate for the Yugoslav dinar in the Republika Srpska (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 November 1998). In a statement in Banja Luka, the government said that the only decision it has reversed is one raising the price of electricity, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. In other news, the Information Ministry said in a statement that it "has no interest" in forming a joint television station with the Sarajevo-based Radio- Television Bosnia- Herzegovina (RTVBiH). The statement said that Serbian Radio- Television must remain independent and that it would be "illegal" to set up a joint Bosnia-wide company. PM[21] HERZEGOVINA WANTS OWN INSTITUTIONSAnte Jelavic, who heads the Herzegovinian-dominated branch of Croatian President Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Community, said in Mostar on 20 November that the Croats demand unspecified changes in the electoral law in order to increase their political weight as a group. He added that the Croats also want their own "national channel" on RTVBiH as well as a separate Croatian academy of sciences and arts. Jelavic added that he opposes the planned introduction of a joint curriculum in all Bosnian schools, which he called an "attempt to destroy the identity of the Croatian nation in Bosnia and Herzegovina." PM[22] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION TO BOYCOTT PARLIAMENTIon Iliescu, leader of the opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), announced on 20 November that PDSR senators and deputies will boycott the parliament and its institutions until the ruling coalition and the opposition agree on a code of conduct, Romanian radio reported. Iliescu said the code is needed owing to the repeated violation of parliamentary principles. The decision was made by the PDSR's Central Executive Committee. Politicians from the Greater Romania Party (PRM) are also on strike, PRM leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor announced, though they will participate in limited parliamentary activities. Tudor called for early elections to solve the "serious situation facing the country." Meanwhile, Ulm Spineanu, the deputy speaker of the parliament, accused fellow deputies of manipulating the electronic voting system to cast votes for absent colleagues. Spineanu said legislators are using pins and toothpicks to activate voting buttons. PB[23] MOLDOVA FORECASTS LARGE DECLINE IN GDPDeputy Prime Minister Ion Sturza said on 20 November that the Moldovan economy will drop by 6 percent in 1998, dpa reported. Sturza said the economic crisis is Russia has had a devastating effect on Moldova and ruined any chance of it attaining the 5 percent growth predicted for this year. He added that inflation could reach 20-25 percent this year, about double earlier forecasts. On the bright side, he predicted a 1 percent growth in GDP next year. PB[24] BULGARIAN COMMISSION PROPOSES ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTYA parliamentary commission agreed on 20 November to propose legislation that would eliminate capital punishment, BTA reported. Svetoslav Luchnikov, the chairman of the parliamentary legal commission, said the commission will propose on 10 December that life imprisonment with no possibility of parole replace the death penalty. Executions have been suspended in Bulgaria since 1990. Nineteen convicts are on death row. In other news, the National Employment Service reported the same day that unemployment increased last month by 0.3 percent and now stands at 11.1 percent of the work force, down 2.3 percent on the level from one year ago. PB[C] END NOTE[25] THE DEATH OF A DEMOCRATby Paul GobleThe brutal murder of State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova has deprived Russia of its most consistent defender of democracy, human rights, and interethnic cooperation. But more than that, her death on 20 November in St. Petersburg threatens the possibilities of debate in Russia's still fragile democracy, to the same extent that the August 1998 devaluation of the ruble undermined the country's economy. And that threat explains both the vehemence of the reaction of Russian political leaders and Starovoitova's recent anticipation of her own fate and her understanding of the likelihood that those who had made the democratic revolution might soon be cast aside. In the decade before her death, at the age of 52, Starovoitova went from being an ethnographer to being a leader of the democratic movement in Moscow. In both capacities, she was never afraid to criticize others who called themselves democrats if they failed to defend democratic principles. Earlier than almost anyone else, Starovoitova spoke out in defense of the rights of the Karabakh Armenians, a position that led to her 1988 election to the USSR Supreme Soviet from Yerevan and membership in that body's Human Rights Committee. And even before the Soviet Union collapsed, she showed both her courage and commitment: In 1990, she won a libel suit against the Communist newspaper "Pravda," which had accused her of urging extraconstitutional means to change the government. But her concern for these human rights and constitutional rules was not, as some thought at the time, merely a reflection of her ethnographic interests. Instead, it arose from her deeply held belief that every individual and every group has certain rights that must be protected. In 1991-1992, she combined her passion for both ethnography and democracy by serving as President Boris Yeltsin's senior adviser on nationality issues and as co-president of the Democratic Russia Party. And at that time, she also worked closely with reformers like Yegor Gaidar, Anatolii Chubais, and Anatolii Sobchak. But her relations with all of these leaders, as well as others were often stormy, precisely because of her uncompromising commitment to principle. She was among the most outspoken critics of Yeltsin's ill-fated war against Chechnya. She condemned Mayor Yurii Luzhkov's decision to expel "persons of Caucasian nationality" from the Russian capital. And most recently, she denounced her colleagues in the Duma and some members of the Russian government for failing to take a tougher line against the vicious anti- Semitic remarks and activities of Albert Makashov and other Russian nationalists. But perhaps because of her willingness to break with allies when they backed away from their principles, Starovoitova had greater moral than political success. She failed in her bid to run for president in 1996, supposedly for "technical reasons," but more probably because Yeltsin forces did not want her to draw off any reformist votes they felt they needed to defeat communist challenger Gennadii Zyuganov. At the time of her murder, Starovoitova was in St. Petersburg to take part in the Northern Capital political movement, a group she hoped to lead in a liberal challenge to that region's communist governor, Vladimir Yakovlev, in upcoming elections there. Reaction to Starovoitova's death was swift and angry. Her former ally Gaidar, speaking for many who had worked with her, said that Starovoitova had "paid with her life" to advance the cause of democracy in Russia. She believed that "democracy in Russia is possible," Gaidar added, arguing that while this belief might seem "trivial" to some, her death shows that it "still needs to be demonstrated." In a statement, Yeltsin professed himself to be "deeply outraged" by her murder. He pledged that the killers would be brought to justice because "the shots that have interrupted her life have wounded every Russian for whom democratic ideas are dear." The Russian president dispatched his interior minister, Sergei Stepashin, to St. Petersburg to investigate Starovoitova's murder. And Stepashin indicated that her death would be investigated under the country's terrorism statute. But as so often in her short but brilliant life, Starovoitova herself appears to have described what her murder-- the sixth of a Duma deputy since 1993--means. In an interview on Ekho Moskvy a few days before her death, she gave what many are certain to see as her last testament to the country, people, and principles about which she cared most. "Any revolution inevitably devours its own children," Starovoitova said. "We, the democrats, should recognize that this is true even of our peaceful one. But now we want to do what we can to save the gains of our revolution from being erased--the freedom to vote, the parliamentary system, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press." Those who killed her would like to kill those things as well. Those who remember her best will do what they can, now that she is gone, to prevent such efforts from succeeding. 23-11-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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