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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 247, 98-12-29Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 247, 29 December 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN MOSCOWVartan Oskanian held talks in Moscow on 28 December with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Vadim Gustov, and the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yurii Yukalov, ITAR- TASS reported. Speaking at a joint news conference, Oskanian and Ivanov positively assessed cooperation and bilateral relations in 1998. Ivanov said that he and Oskanian had discussed the possibility of "direct talks" on resolving the Karabakh conflict "with the assistance of the OSCE and with Russia's participation." (Such talks would presumably involve Armenia, Azerbaijan and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, although Ivanov did not say so explicitly.) Ivanov said there are no "ready formulae" for resolving the conflict, and the "political will" to do so is essential. Both ministers denied that Russian-Armenian military cooperation is directed against any third country. Oskanian said that cooperation is "absolutely transparent" and implemented within the framework of the CFE treaty. LF[02] TOP ARMENIAN OFFICIALS RECEIVE SALARY INCREASEThe Armenian parliament passed legislation on 28 December quadrupling the salaries of leading government, parliament and judiciary officials, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The president, prime minister, ministers and their deputies, heads of government departments and parliament leadership will in future receive an average monthly salary of 187,500 drams ($370). Parliament also passed legislation requiring top officials to complete an annual declaration of their income and property, ITAR-TASS reported. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR CONDEMNS RUSSIAN 'NEO- IMPERIALISM'Vafa Gulu-zade told Turan on 28 December that a statement by Duma deputy speaker Sergei Baburin during last week's debate on ratification of the Russian-Ukrainian Treaty is "a manifestation of the imperial ambitions of Russia's political elite." Baburin had recalled that Russia "ceded Kars and other Armenian territories" to Turkey in the 1920s. Gulu-zade also condemned deliveries to Armenia of Russian weaponry, which he said included S-300 missiles. He equated the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict with "the long- drawn-out Russian-Turkish conflict, in which Armenia implements its master's will," and said that "the Azerbaijani people have fallen victim to the Russian national idea of world domination," according to Interfax. LF[04] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT DELEGATION VISITS IRANAn Azerbaijani parliament delegation headed by chairman Murtuz Alesqerov held talks in Tehran on 22-23 December with Iranian parliament chairman Ali Akper Nateq Nouri and former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Turan reported. The talks focussed on improving bilateral relations, regional conflicts and the status of the Caspian Sea. The Azerbaijani delegation then travelled to Meshed, where the possibility of beginning regular flights between that city and Baku was discussed. On 25 December the delegation visited Tabriz, the second largest city in Iran and the cultural center of that country's large Azerbaijani minority. It was the first visit to Tabriz by a delegation from the Azerbaijan Republic. LF[05] AZERBAIJAN ANNOUNCES SELECTIVE AMNESTYPresident Heidar Aliev has submitted to the Azerbaijani parliament a bill that would amnesty up to 12,000 prisoners, Turan reported on 25 December. Those eligible include World War II veterans, persons unjustly repressed in the Stalinist period, refugees and internally displaced persons, and persons over 60. But as Azerbaijan Popular Front Party member Alimamed Nuriev pointed out to Turan, persons convicted for slander, violating public order, insulting the president and giving false evidence are not eligible for amnesty. LF[06] CHEVRON REAFFIRS COMMITMENT TO KAZAKH DEVELOPMENTSenior Chevron Corporation official Kenneth Derr told Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev at a 28 December meeting in Astana that his company will increase production at the Tengiz field despite the fall in world oil prices, Interfax and RFE/RL's Astana bureau reported. Derr said the Tengizchevroil joint venture plans to raise annual output from 8.6 million metric tons in 1998 to 12 million tons by mid-2000. Derr told journalists after the meeting that measures to scale down production costs at Tengiz, including cutting transportation costs, were also discussed. LF[07] KYRGYZ PREMIER'S POWERS TO BE BROADENEDPresidential press secretary Kanybek Imanaliev said in Bishkek on 28 December that President Askar Akayev will shortly issue a decree giving newly- appointed Prime Minister Jumabek Ibraimov greater authority in appointing government officials and regional leaders, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Hitherto all ministerial appointments have been the exclusive prerogative of the president, according to Interfax. But Imanaliev added that the delegation of additional powers from the president to prime minister will only be temporary, without specifying for how long a time period. LF[08] TURKMENISTAN SHELVES TRANS-IRANIAN GAS PIPELINEThe President of BP-Dutch Shell, Hank Dajkgraaf, told journalists in Ashgabat on 24 December after meeting with President Saparmurat Niyazov that plans to proceed with construction of a gas export pipeline from Turkmenistan to Turkey via Iran have been postponed indefinitely, Interfax and Turan reported. Dijkgraaf said that the Turkmen leadership prefers the alternative Trans-Caspian route, and that "it is impossible to implement simultaneously two large-scale gas pipeline projects oriented towards the Turkish market." BP-Dutch Shell holds the exclusive rights to create a consortium to construct a gas export pipeline from Turkmenistan to Turkey. LF[09] NEW POLITICAL PARTY FOUNDED IN UZBEKISTANThe founding congress of the Fidokorlar national democratic party was held in Tashkent on 28 December, RFE/RL's bureau in the Uzbek capital reported. Participants at the congress elected the former deputy director of the Uzbekistan Strategic Research Institute, Erkin Norbotaev, as party general secretary, and approved the party program and statutes and the founding of a party newspaper. Meeting earlier this month with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, the party's founders assured him of their "progressive views" and ability "to assume responsibility for democracy, justice and the happiness of the people," according to Interfax. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] RUGOVA WANTS NATO ROLE IN KOSOVA...Shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova said in Prishtina on 28 December that the "civilian Albanian population is threatened" by the Serbian military and police presence and operations in the Llap region near Podujeva, KIC news agency reported. A stepped-up international, including NATO, engagement is needed to force Belgrade to end its aggressive policy of ethnic cleansing, Rugova added. Meanwhile in the Podujeva area, the latest cease-fire held on 28 and 29 December against a background of fog and freezing temperatures (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 December 1998). The fighting over the long weekend led to a total of 14 killed and four wounded, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[11] ...AS DOES ALBANIAN PARLIAMENTThe Albanian legislature in a special session on 28 December passed a resolution charging Belgrade with "openly [committing] ethnic cleansing [and violating] Security Council Resolutions" in Kosova. The resolution says that NATO intervention is needed to prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe" and to speed up a political solution. The declaration also urged the international community to organize an international conference at which the future status of Kosova will be negotiated. Parliament asked the government to give "strong support" to the Kosovars and called on all political forces in Albania and Kosova to find a common platform on the issue, "Zeri i Popullit" reported. The opposition Democratic Party did not participate in the session. Legislator Vili Minarolli from the Democrats told the Enter news agency that his party prefers to discuss the resolution at a multi-party round table. FS[12] UCK SAYS SERBIAN FORCES THREATEN KOSOVARS, FOREIGNERSThe Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) said in a statement in Prishtina on 28 December that Kosovars and international employees alike face increasing danger from Serbian security forces in the Llap region. KIC quoted the UCK as stating: "having been defeated by the UCK forces on 24 December, the Serbian occupation forces took revenge against the [ethnic] Albanian civilian population and threatened OSCE observers and international media representatives." The guerrillas pledged that "international institutions, governmental and non-governmental, as well as media representatives, will in no way face obstructions by the Albanian people and the UCK. They will in no way be harmed by us, but rather welcomed." The UCK urged foreign representatives not to assign equal blame to the "criminal and the victim We are confident you have not sent your representatives to approve the Belgrade regime's crimes," the text concluded. PM[13] UNHCR LOOKS FOR DISPLACED PERSONSA spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in Geneva on 28 December that efforts are under way to locate the up to 5,000 persons who fled their homes in sub-zero temperatures during the past week's fighting (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 December 1998). The spokesman added that most displaced people have probably fled to the homes of friends and relatives nearby, but also that some are living rough in the nearby hills. Some Serbs and Montenegrins as well as ethnic Albanians have fled their homes in recent days. PM[14] BOSNIAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS UNITERepresentatives of the two strongest non-nationalist opposition parties agreed in Tuzla on 28 December to merge the Social Democratic Party and the Social Democrats of Bosnia-Herzegovina as of 27 February. The new party will be called the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The two parties are the direct descendants of the former League of Communists and have their strongest bases of support in Sarajevo and Tuzla. The two parties together have 25 seats out of 140 in the federation's lower house. Representatives of the international community and West European Social Democrats have been working for over one year to bring about the merger in an effort to counterbalance the strength of the nationalists. PM[15] BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY NOMINATES NEW GOVERNMENT LEADERSThe three- member joint presidency agreed in Sarajevo on 28 December to keep Muslim politician Haris Silajdzic as one of the two co-prime ministers and to replace hard-line Serb Boro Bosic with moderate Svetozar Mihajlovic for the other position. The Croatian Democratic Community's Neven Tomic will keep his deputy premiership. The joint parliament must now vote on the nominations, as well as on a proposal to increase the number of ministries. PM[16] POPLASEN TO PUSH INTEGRATION WITH BELGRADEHard-line Republika Srpska President Nikola Poplasen told the Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" of 28 December that the Bosnian Serbs will seek closer integration with federal Yugoslavia "in the near future." He stressed that the Bosnian Serbs are entitled to better ties with Belgrade as a quid-pro-quo for their having accepted the Dayton agreement. Critics of the peace treaty have said that one of its basic flaws is that it recognizes a single Bosnian state, but gives broad powers to each of the two entities. The Republika Srpska maintains its own relations with Belgrade, while the federation has special ties to Zagreb. PM[17] TUDJMAN TAKES STOCK OF 1998Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said in Zagreb on 28 December that the high points of this past year for his country were the reintegration of eastern Slavonia, the papal visit, and the signing of an agreement on special relations between Croatia and the Bosnian federation. Tudjman spoke at a reception for 2,000 people at his official residence. PM[18] CROATIA TO REVIEW COOPERATION WITH HAGUE?Ivic Pasalic, who is Tudjman's top aide and regarded by many as the second most important man in Croatia, told "Jutarnji list" of 28 December that Zagreb may reconsider or even stop its cooperation with the Hague- based war crimes tribunal if the court indicts persons who are currently top commanders of the Croatian army. The unnamed generals may be sought for atrocities they allegedly committed during the successful Croatian offensives of 1995, Pasalic suggested. Pasalic, who comes from Herzegovina, argued that no Serb or Muslim has been charged with crimes against Croats in conjunction with the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that some Serbs indicted for atrocities in Croatia are living openly in Serbia. Tudjman recently suggested in a speech that the court has secretly indicted up to six Croatian generals. PM[19] ALBANIAN POLICE TEAR DOWN KIOSKSPolice began tearing down over 37 unlicensed kiosks on central Tirana's Skanderbeg Square on 26 December. City officials said that they want to erect a monument for Mother Teresa on the site, where a statue of dictator Enver Hoxha stood until 1991. Some owners of the kiosks threatened to start a hunger strike, saying they have lost their only source of income and that the police action also made them homeless. Meanwhile, Croatian- Albanian businessman Vebi Velija, who owns the property, demanded that he be allowed to build a high-rise building there. He told the "Albanian Daily News" of 29 December that the government has for years denied him a building permit and warned that the authorities are sending a wrong signal to foreign investors. FS[20] ITALIAN BANK WINS ALBANIAN PRIVATIZATION TENDERPrivatization Ministry official Vasil Pano told "Albanian Daily News" of 29 December that Milan's Banca Intermediazione Mobiliare has won a World Bank tender to consult Albania's government on the privatization of five key industries, including oil, mining and telecommunications. The privatization process is scheduled to begin in January 1999. Meanwhile, in separate incidents between 26 and 28 December near the southern Italian coast, the Italian Coast Guard intercepted four speed boats carrying a total of over 100 illegal immigrants, most of whom are Kosovars and Kurds. FS[21] LIQUIDATION OF LOSS MAKING STATE COMPANIES INITIATED IN ROMANIAThe State Property Fund on 28 December started legal procedures for the liquidation of 30 loss making state companies, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Radu Sarbu, chairman of the fund, said some 12-15 of these companies may be able to restart operating next spring as private companies because investors have expressed an interest in taking over their debts and investing in technological restructuring. The closure of the companies will affect some 70,000 persons, who will receive the compensation stipulated under the law as soon as the affected companies' administrative boards approve the closures. Sarbu said a total of 49 loss making state companies will be liquidated in the near future. MS[22] ROMANIAN MINERS BRACE FOR STRIKEThe two main unions representing Romanian miners set up a joint committee on 28 December to prepare the strike planned for 4 January in protest against the government's plans to close pits, Mediafax reported. The committee is demanding a meeting with premier Radu Vasile and said the planned strike might be postponed until 11 January, depending on the outcome of the meeting. The committee was empowered to prepare the unification of all unions representing miners. Miron Cozma, the leader of the Jiu Valley miners, said he is prepared to step down in order to facilitate the unification. Cozma and the leader of the Cartel Alfa miners, Marin Condeescu, have long been opponents. MS[23] MOLDOVAN HARD CURRENCY RESERVES HALVED IN 1998National Bank chairman Leonid Talmaci on 28 December told Infotag that Moldova's hard currency reserves were halved in 1998-- from $ 300 million before the August Russian financial crisis to about $ 150 million at present. Talmaci also said he expects the 1998 inflation rate to be about 10 percent and forecast that in 1999 the rate will be 15 percent. MS[24] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DEFINES 1999 TASKSNadezhda Mihailova told BTA on 27 December that Bulgaria's "chief challenge" in the forthcoming year is to prove to its partners in the international community that its 1997-98 progress was part of "a persistent successful policy." She said the reforms that had been carried out are "irreversible" and prove that Bulgaria "can be a worthy member of the European and the Euro-Atlantic community." Priorities in 1999 will concentrate on initiatives connected with the region, regional stability and efforts to find a solution to the Kosova crisis, Mihailova said, adding that Sofia's involvement in finding solutions to Kosova can have "a positive effect on the country's image." She said the crisis has no direct impact on Bulgaria and does not pose an immediate threat to its national security, but has an influence on the region's image that impacts every country and makes foreign investors cautious. MS[25] BULGARIAN PREMIER MEETS FORMER MONARCHIvan Kostov met on 28 December with former King Simeon II, who is spending his Christmas holiday in Bulgaria, AP reported. The government press office said the premier informed Simeon about the costs of maintenance of two palaces, three hunting lodges and two country houses that the monarch is to be restored ownership of in line with a June decision of the Constitutional Court. MS[C] END NOTE[26] LUZHKOV'S "OTECHESTVO" HOLDS FOUNDING CONGRESSby Floriana FossatoThe registration deadline for political movements wishing to contest Russia's next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 19 December 1999, expired at midnight on 19 December 1998. The last movement able to meet that deadline was the newly formed "Otechestvo" [Fatherland], which on the same day held its founding congress and elected Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov as its leader. Russian media called the achievement "impressive." Under Russian law, a political organization must submit to the Justice Ministry both its charter and documentation on its funding in order to obtain formal registration. The ministry then has one month to examine those documents and decide whether to register the movement. In the case of "Otechestvo," just a few hours after the necessary documents had been brought to the ministry, Justice Minister Pavel Kresheninnikov told Luzhkov that registration had been granted. Luzhkov, in turn, thanked Kresheninnikov for his ministry's "business-like approach" and explained that registration had been possible because 59 regional branches of the movement, set up after Luzhkov launched "Otechestvo" in November, had duly provided the requested documentation. The protocol of the 19 December founding congress was the only document still needed. At "Otechestovo"s founding congress, which took place in the prestigious Column Hall in downtown Moscow, Luzhkov received support from more than 1, 100 delegates, when he detailed his vision for Russia's future. Observers present at the meeting were struck by the organizational efforts, the wide range of the delegates' backgrounds and the security measures. In all of those respects, many thought the gathering reminiscent of Communist Party congresses. Calling for a revival of the defense industry and the country's nuclear forces, Luzhkov told delegates that Russia needs "a modern army and a reliable nuclear deterrence system" in order to restore its role as a leading world power. This need, he said, was illustrated by the U.S.-led attacks against Iraq, which Russia strongly opposed but was unable to stop or influence. Luzhkov also said that he wants to create a state system "based on social democracy, strong state power, and a combination of market-economy methods and social policies." And he commented that to achieve these goals, he wants to draw support from both the right and left of the political spectrum. According to the daily "Vremya-MN," Luzhkov's "declared centrist line" prompted him to use phrases that "should appeal to many...and will probably become a slogan textbook for his supporters." However, another daily,"Segodnya," said that Luzhkov's words illustrate that the movement's election campaigns "will be based on strong criticism of radical-liberal reform and of the results of the activities of governments led first by [Viktor] Chernomyrdin and then by [Sergei] Kirienko." Without naming any names, Luzhkov lambasted reforms carried out in Russia during the last seven years. He commented that "for the second time in this century," Russia has been overtaken by doctrines that are "alien to its culture." "If the situation in the country remains as it was," Luzhkov added, "we will all be up against some serious difficulties." According to Luzhkov, the implementation of reform, which has enriched just a few and left the majority of Russians struggling to make ends meet, has proved a dangerous "experiment." He said that "vulgar monetarism can be implemented, but for this one should choose a country and a people one does not feel sorry for." He concluded by telling delegates that "Now, dear sirs, the experiment is over." Those words were greeted with warm applause from the audience, composed of many industrialists of the early perestroika period as well as by regional bosses and politicians who had earlier suppported President Boris Yeltsin. Luzkhov, who is seen as one of the leading contenders to replace Yeltsin in an election set for the year 2000, also called for "experienced managers" of the Soviet-era to be reinstated in leading positions and for property that had been privatized illegally to be returned to the state. Luzhkov's message is one of patriotism and national unity, both of which have been wounded by the many political and economic crises of the last few years and, in particular, by the fallout of the August financial collapse. Luzhkov's critics, however, argue that it was the very reforms that he now condemns that helped Moscow's growth. Taxes on emerging businesses were largely collected in Moscow to the benefit of the local budget. Luzhkov is popular in the capital and enjoys consistently strong ratings in opinion polls. But many observers question whether there is support for the Moscow mayor in Russia's regions. Over the past 12 months, Luzhkov has been cultivating a network of supporters among regional leaders. The founding congress of "Otechestvo" was crowded with regional bosses. Some, including Nizhnii Novgorod Governor Ivan Sklyarov and his Novosibirsk colleague, Vitalii Mukha, were sitting among presidium members. Others said that Luzhkov has an "excellent chance" to become Russia's next president, adding that they would support "Otechestvo" back home. Still others were more cautious. "Vremya MN" quoted an unnamed regional governor as saying he is waiting to see how developments unfold and to find out whether Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov supports "Otechestvo" Primakov has so far made no public statement on Luzhkov's movement. For his part, President Yeltsin did not send any message to the congress. Kremlin aide Oleg Sysuev, a member of Kirienko's former government, wished the new movement well but distanced himself from Luzhkov's criticism of reforms. Luzhkov responded by saying that Sysuev's comments only show that the presidential administration does not understand the real situation in the country. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Moscow. 29-12-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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