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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 87, 99-05-06Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 87, 6 May 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES ELECTION CAMPAIGN...Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 5 May to mark his first year in office, Robert Kocharian expressed his "sympathy" for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutiun (HHD) and for the Miasnutiun (Unity) Bloc that comprises the People's Party of Armenia (HZhK), headed by former Armenian Communist Party first secretary Karen Demirchian and Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian's Republican Party, RFE/RL's bureau in the Armenian capital reported. Observers believe the latter grouping will win the largest number of seats in the 30 May parliamentary elections and that Miasnutiun and the HHD will be represented in a reshuffled cabinet. But Kocharian hinted that other "sound political forces," which he did not name, may also join the government. He expressed satisfaction at the course to date of the election campaign, stressing the importance of ensuring the poll conforms to international standards, Interfax reported. LF[02] ...AND KARABAKH PEACE PROCESSKocharian further predicted that once the Kosova crisis is resolved, the international community will adopt a more serious approach to the Karabakh conflict, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Kocharian predicted that the Balkan crisis will have a positive impact on the prospects for a solution to that conflict, arguing that developments in Kosova show that "the principle of self-determination cannot be realized in countries that have a very basic understanding of democracy. The forcible suppression of a people's right to self-determination leads only to war," he concluded. LF[03] AZERBAIJAN REJECTS IRANIAN CRITICISM OF NEW OIL CONTRACTSAli Hasanov, who heads the social-political department of the presidential administration, said on 5 May that Iranian objections to the three oil contracts Azerbaijan signed with U.S. oil companies last month are "groundless," according to Interfax on 5 May and "Izvestiya" on 6 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 April 1999). Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamidrza Asafi had said that Iran does not recognize the contracts as legal, since some of the oil deposits in question lie in Iran's sector of the Caspian, according to Turan on 1 May. He added that until a new agreement defining the national sectors of the five Caspian littoral states is reached, Tehran will view any development of those deposits as violating its national rights. LF[04] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT REPRIMANDS SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALSNursultan Nazarbaev has criticized Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uraz Zhandosov and Energy, Trade, and Industry Minister Mukhtar Abliazov for inadequate control over their ministries and for failure to implement unspecified presidential decrees, Interfax and RFE/RL's Astana bureau reported on 5 May. Nazarbaev instructed Prime Minister Nurlan Balghymbaev to review the cases in question and to take whatever action proves necessary, including firing those responsible. LF[05] KAZAKH JOURNALIST RELEASED FROM PSYCHIATRIC CLINICArmial Tasymbekov, who was forcibly taken to a psychiatric hospital in Astana last week, was released on 5 May, RFE/RL's Astana bureau reported the following day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 May 1999). A doctor at the clinic told RFE/RL that Tasymbekov had been treated for "a temporary mental disorder" and is now "absolutely sober and healthy." The doctor added that he is "forbidden by law" to reveal the nature of that disorder. Tasymbekov told an RFE/RL correspondent who managed to gain access to the clinic on 3 May that he was interrogated by a colonel of the National Security Committee about the appearance in Astana earlier this year of slogans denigrating President Nazarbaev and extolling former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin. LF[06] KAZAKHSTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER CRITICIZES RUSSIAN MEDIA COVERAGE OF BORDER TALKSIn an interview with ITAR-TASS on 5 May, Kasymzhomart Toqaev complained that Russian media allegations that Kazakhstan has ceded territory to China risk harming not only Sino-Kazakh but also Sino-Russian relations. After four years of negotiations, the presidents of China and Kazakhstan signed an agreement in July 1998 formally demarcating the frontier between the two countries (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 July 1998). Also on 5 May, a Kazakh delegation began talks in Beijing on the optimum division of waters from the Irtysh and Ili Rivers that flow from China through Kazakhstan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 and 20 April 1999). LF[07] KYRGYZSTAN MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF NEW CONSTITUTIONIn a 4 May address on national television to mark the sixth anniversary the following day of the country's constitution, President Askar Akaev said that one of the most crucial tasks facing the country is the timely payment of wages, pensions and other benefits, according to Interfax. He rejected speculation that either the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2000 or the presidential election in December 2000 will be brought forward, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Meanwhile, two Kyrgyz newspapers on 5 May quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry official as saying that the 12 people arrested the previous day, allegedly for preparing terrorist attacks on transport facilities, had in fact been preparing an attempt to assassinate Akaev, kidnap several other senior officials, and stage a coup. LF[08] TAJIK PRESIDENT AGREES TO OPPOSITION AMNESTY PROPOSALIn response to a 4 May appeal by the Commission for National Reconciliation, Imomali Rakhmonov charged senior government officials with drafting a decree on terminating criminal proceedings against Tajik opposition fighters and amnestying those already sentenced for their actions during the civil war, AP-Blitz reported on 5 May. In its appeal, the Commission for National Reconciliation had expressed concern about the slowdown in the peace process over the past three months. Also on 4 May, field commander Mansur Muakalov released the last two of six police officers abducted by his men south of Dushanbe on 28 April, Reuters reported. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[09] MYSTERY SURROUNDS RUGOVA'S ARRIVAL IN ROMEKosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova arrived in Rome on a previously unannounced Italian military flight on 5 May. He had been under house arrest in Prishtina since 31 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 April 1999). Yugoslav Foreign Ministry spokesman Nebojsa Vujovic told Serbian Television in Belgrade on 5 May that Rugova is a free man, but he added that the Kosovar leader will remain involved in negotiations about the Kosova crisis. Italian officials said Rugova and his family are guests of the government. Neither Rugova nor Italian officials have provided any further information. The offices of his Democratic League of Kosova in Stuttgart and the league's Kosova Information Center in London were unable to provide "RFE/RL Newsline" with any further information. Rugova will give a press conference later on 6 May. Observers suggested that his release may have been mediated by the Roman Catholic Sant Egidio Society, which specializes in non-violent conflict resolution and which helped hammer out an education agreement between Belgrade and the Kosovars before the current crisis began. FS[10] CLINTON SAYS AIR CAMPAIGN TO 'INTENSIFY'U.S. President Bill Clinton told U.S. pilots at Germany's Spangdahlem Air Base on 5 May that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's "so-called ethnic cleansing has included concentration camps, murder, rape, the destruction of priceless religious, cultural and historic sites, books and records. This is wrong. It is evil." He added that "we will continue to pursue this campaign [of air strikes] in which we are now engaged. We will intensify it in an unrelenting way until [NATO's] objectives are met." PM[11] CLINTON: PEACE POSSIBLE WITH MILOSEVICClinton told journalists in Frankfurt, Germany, on 6 May that the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosova were the result of a "carefully calculated campaign" to put and keep Milosevic in office. Clinton stressed that NATO's goal is to enable the Kosovars to go home in safety under the protection of an international armed force. He added that NATO wants the Kosovars to enjoy the autonomy "that Mr. [Josip Broz] Tito put in [in 1974] and Mr. Milosevic took away" in 1989. When asked whether this autonomy will be possible with Milosevic still in power, Clinton replied: "Yes... [The alternative would be] for the international community to declare war on Yugoslavia and march on Belgrade, [but] no one has suggested that." Clinton argued that the question of Milosevic's individual responsibility for the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosova--he did not mention those in Slovenia or Croatia--can be decided only by the Hague-based war crimes tribunal. PM[12] CLINTON SEES 'INTEGRATED FUTURE' FOR BALKANSThe U.S. president told the press conference in Frankfurt on 6 May that there must be an "integrated vision" for the Balkans as a whole once the Kosova conflict is over and planning for the future of the entire region can begin. Clinton stressed that Serbia's role in the region will "depend on how the Serbs behave" toward their neighbors. He noted that Romania and other, unnamed countries with a smaller industrial base than Serbia's have made "great efforts" to promote democracy at home and good relations with their neighbors. Clinton cited Romania's efforts to improve its relations with Hungary as an example for other Balkan countries to follow vis-a-vis their respective neighbors. Clinton suggested that Serbia must make similar efforts if it wants the international community to accept it as a full- fledged partner. PM[13] MACEDONIA CLOSES BORDER TO KOSOVARS"Thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees were reported stranded across the border in Serbia on 6 May after Macedonia abruptly closed its frontiers" with Kosova the previous day, according to Reuters. Serbian police used clubs to force some refugees out of the "no-man's land" back into Serbia, splitting up some families in the process. On 6 May, a train containing another several thousand expellees arrived near the border. A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told AP that the Macedonian decision amounts to "blackmail with people's lives." The Macedonian authorities have repeatedly threatened to close the border unless the international community provides more aid and takes at least as many refugees out of Macedonia as arrive there on any given day. There are at least 200,000 Kosovars in Macedonia, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the country's population. PM[14] MORE REFUGEES FROM MACEDONIA EXPECTED IN ALBANIAGovernment officials told an RFE/RL correspondent in Tirana on 5 May that 6, 000 refugees from Macedonia will soon arrive in a newly built camp in the Korca region. Albanian government officials have offered to take in a total of 50,000 refugees from Macedonia over the coming weeks and have called for more international assistance. Albania currently has an estimated total of 420,000 refugees. Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima visited Albania on 5 May to inspect the relief operation by Austrian soldiers overseeing a camp in Shkodra. Meanwhile, in northern Albania, Serbian forces again shelled the village of Letaj. In Padesh, near Tropoja, skirmishes broke out between Serbian forces and the UCK. NATO and the UNHCR continued with evacuations from Kukes, but the number of refugees leaving the town was still lower than the international relief organizations had planned (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 May 1999). FS[15] REFUGEES TELL MORE STORIES OF MASSACRESRefugees told Reuters in Kukes on 5 May that they found the mutilated bodies of many of their relatives with their eyes gouged out or noses cut off after the latter had fled their homes in the village of Studime near Vushtrri. The refugees belonged to a group of about 7,500 who arrived in Albania the previous day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 May 1999). Many refugees said they saw the bodies of about 50 civilian victims. Other refugees told of another massacre near the village of Ceceli, but it was not clear how many victims it had claimed. Eye- gouging is a centuries-old practice in the Balkans that has frequently emerged in the wars in the former Yugoslavia since 1991. FS[16] DJINDJIC: TRY MILOSEVIC FOR WAR CRIMESSerbian Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic told British journalists in Montenegro on 5 May that Milosevic should be tried before an international war crimes tribunal modeled after the Nuremberg court that judged Nazi leaders following World War II. Djindjic appealed to the EU to help bring an end to Milosevic's rule and help create a "European Serbia." He said that he fears for his own safety following the recent murder of independent journalist Slavko Curuvija in Belgrade. Djindjic added that he frequently moves between undisclosed locations in Serbia and Montenegro. He added: "You cannot belong to the democratic opposition in the Balkans without taking risks." Critics in Serbia and abroad have accused Djindjic over the years of being ineffective and opportunistic. PM[17] PEROVIC: MILOSEVIC MEANS END OF YUGOSLAVIAMontenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Perovic said in Podgorica on 5 May that the Yugoslav federation will break up if Milosevic remains in power much longer, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Perovic added that the Yugoslav army in Montenegro "tries to destabilize the government on a daily basis." He argued that popular support for the democratic government of President Milo Djukanovic has so far proven strong enough to enable Djukanovic to resist attempts by the army and local Milosevic supporters to destabilize the government. PM[18] WESTENDORP TO STEP DOWNThe international community's Carlos Westendorp told Sarajevo's "Dnevni avaz" of 6 May that he will leave his post at some point this summer (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 April 1999). He added that he would become "part of the problem rather than part of the solution" if he remained in Bosnia longer. The former Spanish foreign minister noted that his Social Democratic party is counting on him to run for the European Parliament in the 13 June elections. PM[19] CROATIAN BANK FAILURE TIED TO CORRUPTIONThe recent bankruptcy of the Komercijalna Banka is the result of Director Josip Soic's giving or lending the bank's money to individuals, charities, and other institutions linked to President Franjo Tudjman, his family, and the governing Croatian Democratic Community, AP reported on 6 May. In just one case, nearly $250,000 went to a charity run by Ankica Tudjman, the president's wife. Unnamed persons provided the independent weeklies "Globus" and "Nacional" with copies of incriminating bank files. "Thousands" of depositors have been unable to withdraw their money since the bank declared bankruptcy, AP added. It is unclear whether the state will reimburse them for any of their losses. A Zagreb court has launched a criminal investigation against Soic's son, who was a bank executive. Director Soic is currently in a mental hospital, but it is unclear whether he is really ill. PM[20] CROATIAN COURT INDICTS WHISTLE-BLOWERSA Zagreb court on 6 May indicted Ankica Lepej and three former colleagues at Zagrebacka Banka for leaking confidential bank documents to the independent daily "Jutarnji list" in 1998. The court also indicted the journalist who wrote the resulting article about details of Ankica Tudjman's undisclosed bank accounts, which contained several hundred thousand dollars. PM[21] AIRPORT CHIEF SACKED FOR "PAPAL TAX"Romanian Transport Minister Traian Basescu fired Dumitru Parscoveanu, the director of Bucharest's Baneasa airport, for implementing a tax on journalists covering the papal visit later this week, Reuters reported. Basescu said Parscoveanu has been ordered to return any taxes that were already collected. Parscoveanu said that print journalists would have to pay $30 and television reporters $200 for "access" to the airport during the visit of Pope John Paul II. He said the money would help defray the costs associated with the Pope's visit (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 May 1999). Parscoveanu argued after being fired that an airport council had approved the taxes. In other news, Bucharest city officials have banned the sale of alcohol in the parts of the city that the Pope will visit during his 7-9 May stay. PB[22] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BUCHARESTVartan Oskanian held talks with Romanian President Emil Constantinescu and other top officials during a two-day visit to Bucharest on 4-5 May, Rompres reported. Talks centered on boosting bilateral trade and Romania's involvement in the "Silk Road" project. Romanian Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu pledged Bucharest's support for Armenia's bid to join the Council of Europe. Oskanian visited an Armenian Orthodox church and also held talks with the leaders of the Armenian community in Bucharest before leaving. PB[23] RUSSIAN HUMANITARIAN AID LANDS IN SOFIAA Russian plane carrying humanitarian aid landed in Sofia on 5 May, one day later than planned, Reuters reported. The shipment was delayed as the plane awaited clearance from Bulgarian authorities. Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said in Moscow that Eastern and Central European countries should "not forget about older, proven friends." He said he hoped the shipment would not experience any further delays in Bulgaria. A truck convoy will take the aid to Kosova for distribution. PB[C] END NOTE[24] EU, EAST EUROPEAN CANDIDATES REVIEW PROGRESSBy Breffni O'RourkeLast week, the EU held its annual Association Council meetings in Brussels with Slovakia, Romania, and Estonia. German State Secretary Guenter Verheugen, in his capacity as council president, met separately with the foreign ministers of those countries. Though grouped together for one day, the three countries are in quite different situations with regard to their membership prospects. Estonia belongs to the "fast-track" group of candidates, along with Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia, and has already opened membership negotiations with the EU Executive Commission. Romania, its reform effort stumbling, is widely seen as dropping even further behind the leading group. Slovakia is confident that the reforms and democratization pursued by the present government of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda are now reversing years of stagnation that constituted a barrier between it and the EU. The head of the EU Integration Section at the Slovak Foreign Ministry, Jan Kuderjavy, told RFE/RL the association meeting revealed the extent to which relations between Slovakia and the EU have changed since the election of Dzurinda's pro-reform government. He noted that Verheugen showed "appreciation" of the changes that have occurred in Slovakia and welcomed measures undertaken by the new Slovak government, particularly in the political sphere. Kuderjavy said Slovakia expects that on the basis of the EU's next country- by-country progress report, to be issued in the fall, the EU Executive Commission will recommend to the EU Helsinki summit in December that membership negotiations be launched with Slovakia. Romanian Ambassador to the EU Constantin Ene told RFE/RL that Romania considers the association meeting to have been particularly successful. He said that in light of the conflict in Yugoslavia, Romania stressed the positive role the country plays in maintaining stability in the Balkans. And he noted that just one day before the meeting, the EU foreign ministers had issued a statement recognizing the regional role played by both Romania and Bulgaria. Commenting that the EU member countries seemed receptive to Romania's argument that the momentum toward accession should be maintained among the 10 East European candidate countries, Ene said his country hopes that the Helsinki summit will also decide to start negotiations with Romania. He said the EU side gave no immediate response to that suggestion but appeared to take good note of it. Ene acknowledged that his country is not ready for accession and does not expect it anytime soon. But he said that starting negotiations would be a positive political move, demonstrating to the country that it has not been "left outside," particularly considering conditions in the region. He said the same applies to neighboring Bulgaria. The ambassador also put in a plea for other fellow Balkan countries. "Give them a clear perspective that they belong to Europe, [don't] leave them somewhere in a corner of the continent. Certainly Romania and Bulgaria are in a better position because we are already associated [with the EU], but others may have the feeling that they are somehow isolated. Therefore one of the decisions to be implemented will be to raise the status of the EU's existing agreements with Macedonia and Albania and to conclude with them association agreements." Estonia, for its part, discussed with the EU panel its progress towards accession. The head of press relations at the Estonian Diplomatic Mission to the EU, Ann Haermaste, told RFE/RL that there was general satisfaction about the overall level of progress. But she said the Estonian side expressed concern at the problems Estonian ships are having at Finnish ports. Finnish trade unions are blocking the handling of Estonian vessels in protest at the much cheaper wages paid to Estonian crews. They want Estonian sailors to be paid more. The Finnish government has not intervened with this industrial action on the grounds that the labor unions are free of state control. But Haermaste says her country sees this as a matter of competition policy and believes that Finland is in breach of the EU's free competition rules. She said her side has asked the EU commission for an assessment on the situation, adding that the Association Council noted Estonia's concern about the need to preserve free competition in maritime transport in the Baltic Sea region and encouraged continued discussions in order to resolve the dispute. The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent based in Prague. 06-05-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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