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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 90, 99-05-11Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 90, 11 May 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT LEAVES HOSPITALHeidar Aliev was discharged from the Cleveland Clinic on 10 May, his 76th birthday, eleven days after undergoing cardiac surgery, Reuters reported. Aliev said he is feeling "much better than before the operation," but an Azerbaijani embassy spokesman said the president must undergo further checkups. He declined to specify when Aliev will return to Azerbaijan. In a live television broadcast to Azerbaijanis the previous day, Aliev congratulated his countrymen on the anniversary of the end of World War II. He also said he is conducting telephone conversations with leading Azerbaijani officials and commended their running of the country in his absence, according to Turan. LF[02] U.S. HOPES FOR RELEASE OF IMPRISONED AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTAt a press briefing in Washington on 10 May, U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin expressed disappointment that the Azerbaijani authorities have rejected appeals for the release of Fuad Gakhramanly, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Gakhramanly was sentenced in November last year to 18 months' imprisonment for an unpublished article that the prosecution claimed outlined tactics for overthrowing President Aliev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 November 1998). Rubin said he hopes Gakhramanly will be released under an amnesty to mark Azerbaijan's national independence day on 28 May. The International League for Human Rights has also appealed to President Aliev to release Gakhramanly, Turan reported on 10 May. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST GIVES VARYING EXPLANATIONS OF DETENTION IN IRAN"Ekspress" editor Ganimat Zahidov briefed journalists in Baku on 10 May on the circumstances of his detention by the Iranian authorities at the Astara frontier crossing on 3 May, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 and 10 May, 1999). Zahidov said Iranian officials had objected to his having conducted an interview in Tabriz with a prominent representative of Iran's ethnic Azerbaijani population while he, Zahidov, was travelling on a tourist visa, which, the officials said, did not entitle him to engage in journalistic activities. Zahidov then had to go to Enzeli in order to acquire a valid visa before returning to Baku. Speaking later on 10 May on private ANS-TV, however, Zahidov said that Iranian intelligence operatives had detained him at Astara and taken him to Enzeli, where they threatened him with imprisonment unless he agreed to cooperate with them, including preparing an assassination attempt on former President Abulfaz Elchibey. LF[04] GREEK, GEORGIAN PRESIDENTS DISCUSS COOPERATIONVisiting Tbilisi on 9-11 May, Constantine Stefanopoulos met with his Georgian counterpart, Eduard Shevardnadze, Minister of State Vazha Lortkipanidze, parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, Patriarch Ilia II, and members of Georgia's ethnic Greek minority, Caucasus Press reported on 10 May. Shevardnadze and Stefanopoulos discussed bilateral cooperation within the Council of Europe and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, the conflicts in Kosova and Abkhazia, possible enhanced Greek involvement in the TRACECA transport corridor, and the export via Georgia of Caspian oil. Stefanopoulos said Greece still supports plans for a pipeline from the Bulgarian port of Varna to Alexandropoulis that would bypass the Turkish straits. Two inter-governmental agreements on avoiding dual taxation and on assistance in the field of civil and criminal law were signed on 10 May. LF[05] CIS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY VISITS KAZAKHSTANYurii Yarov flew to Astana on 11 May where he briefed Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev on the implementation of decisions adopted by the 2 April CIS summit, including the creation of a CIS free trade zone, RFE/RL correspondents reported. At a subsequent meeting with journalists Yarov declined to comment on Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's 7 May statement that "the CIS has absolutely no prospects for development..., it doesn't even fulfil the role of a political club" (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 10 May 1999) LF[06] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT MEETS WITH MINISTERSNazarbaev met on 10 May with Justice Minister Baurzhan Mukhamedzhanov, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Serikbek Daukeev, and Transport and Communications Minister Serik Burkitbaev, RFE/RL's Astana bureau reported. The discussions focused on implementation of presidential decrees on combating corruption, expanding natural gas supplies from the North Aral region to the south of the country, which has recently been hit by shortages, and improving the country's telecommunications system. Also on 10 May, First Deputy Prosecutor-General Onalsyn Zhumabekov told ITAR- TASS that the Kazakh authorities have compiled a "black-list" of some 3,000 officials sacked or sentenced for, or merely suspected of, corruption or economic crime and who will be barred from holding government posts. LF[07] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT DEPUTY REPORTS ON AFTERMATH OF BARSKOON DISASTERJypar Jeksheev briefed journalists in Bishkek on 10 May about his trip the previous week to the Issyk-Kul region, scene of the May 1998 spill of toxic chemicals that caused four deaths, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Jepsheev said that some 60 local residents are still suffering from the symptoms of poisoning and that the local authorities ignored a 6-9 May picket by residents demanding help. LF[08] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ASSESSES SITUATION IN TAJIKISTANIn a letter to the UN Security Council on 10 May, Kofi Annan recommended extending for a further six months the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Tajikistan, which expires on 15 May, ITAR-TASS reported. Annan noted that progress in implementing the 1997 Tajik peace agreements has been complicated by the "deeply-rooted mistrust" between the government and the opposition. He added that tensions between the government and the United Tajik Opposition have delayed the involvement of other political forces in the peace process. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[09] UNHCR SPOKESMAN SAYS SERBS ABDUCTED HUNDREDS OF MEN...Chris Janowski, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in Geneva on 10 May that Serbian troops have overrun several villages close to the Kosovar towns of Peja and Istog, driving out thousands of refugees in what appeared to be a well-planned offensive. He said that 8,000 refugees crossed into Albania within the past 24 hours. Janowski added that "we don't have proof, but according to what newly arriving refugees are saying, it looks as if indeed a great number of men have been abducted. Dozens have been killed." FS[10] ...WHILE REFUGEE INFLUX TO MACEDONIA DECLINESOnly a few people crossed into Macedonia on 10 May. The border is open, according to Macedonian authorities. UNHCR spokeswoman Paula Ghedini told an RFE/RL correspondent in Tirana that some 10,000 refugees who were turned back by Serbian police at the Macedonian border over the weekend are believed now to be on their way to Kukes. Only 600 people in badly overcrowded Macedonian refugee camps have so far volunteered to be transferred to a new camp in the Albanian town of Korca that can accommodate 6,000 people. FS[11] YUGOSLAV ARMY OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE PARTIAL TROOP WITHDRAWALOfficials from the Yugoslav Army's Supreme Command told Tanjug on 10 May that they have ordered a partial troop withdrawal from Kosova and will reduce the remaining forces to "peacetime levels prior to the NATO aggression" when an agreement is reached on deploying a UN mission in Kosova. They added that "actions against the [Kosova Liberation Army] have been completed." They did not specify, however, how many soldiers will leave Kosova. FS[12] WESTERN OFFICIALS SAY YUGOSLAV OFFER INSUFFICIENTU.S. State Department Spokesman Joe Lockhart told Reuters in Washington on 10 May that "we have seen no evidence at all of any withdrawal." He added that the announcement indicates that the position of Milosevic is weakening. Lockhart concluded that "he now knows with all certainty that this air campaign will continue. He knows the damage that it's done to his forces...and he perhaps is looking for a way out of this." U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Belgrade's decision is "a half-measure" and not sufficient to fulfill the five key NATO demands. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in London repeated the demand for a full troop withdrawal. French President Jacques Chirac stressed in Helsinki on 11 May that "we now expect a complete change of attitude from the Serbian authorities." FS[13] NATO CONTINUES AIR CAMPAIGNIn the night of 10 to 11 May, NATO continued to bomb strategic targets in Yugoslavia and Kosova, Reuters reported. Helped by good weather, alliance planes flew 623 sorties to strike at airfields, bridges, military radio sites, petroleum storage facilities, and Yugoslav forces in Kosova. NATO hit army barracks near Belgrade and Pancevo as well as special police headquarters at Valjevo. FS[14] YUGOSLAVIA TAKE NATO COUNTRIES TO COURTYugoslav officials have filed charges against 10 NATO countries at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Belgrade wants those countries to end the air campaign against Yugoslavia immediately and pay compensation for the damage. Yugoslav Foreign Ministry official Rodoljub Etinski told the court that the bombings are "illegal [and] constitute a violation of human rights and the perpetration of...genocide," dpa reported. He argued that that the military campaign violates the Geneva convention on the protection of civilians and the UN Charter. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said in Brussels that the charges are "particularly cynical" and added that Milosevic himself has violated international law and UN regulations, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Brussels. The BBC noted on 11 May that Yugoslavia joined the court only "a few weeks ago." FS[15] RUGOVA MEETS WITH POPEKosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova met with Pope John Paul II in Rome on 10 May. Rugova told AP that without an international peacekeeping force "Kosova will remain the victim of the extremists in Belgrade." He stressed that the peace-keeping forces should include NATO countries, Russia, and other states. For the first time since he left Yugoslavia, Rugova spoke publicly, but reluctantly, of his meeting with Milosevic in Belgrade in April. Rugova said that "I don't want to go back into it and into the things that happened to me there." He added that "I held on to my position always, as I did then, before and now. I can say there was clearly the pressure of the situation for both sides, but personally, I don't like to talk about it." Rugova concluded that "certainly, the best thing is independence for Kosova." FS[16] RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS WARN OF EPIDEMIC IN ALBANIAInternational relief organizations warned in Tirana on 10 May of possible diarrhea and cholera epidemics, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Aid officials said the diseases may spread during the summer months. Colonel Helge Erikson, spokesman of the NATO operation "Allied Harbor," said that it is difficult to convince the refugees in Kukes to leave the northern town for other regions in Albania. He warned that if NATO cannot evacuate the bulk of the refugees, an emergency situation will arise in the northern city. The main reason for the reluctance of refugees to move on is the hope of establishing contact with relatives whom they expect to arrive in Kukes. FS[17] NATO PREPARES NEW CAMPS IN ALBANIANATO forces have recently begun to build new refugee camps in Elbasan, Korca, Vlora, Fier, and other Albanian cities, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Tirana. They have also begun to repair key roads in the area of the Rinas airport and between Puka and Kukes. British Defense Secretary George Robertson said in London on 10 May that Britain will send another 1, 200 troops to Albania to build new camps. Of these, 1,000 will come from Macedonia and 200 from Britain. The same day, NATO troops began reconstructing the military airport of Gjader, near Lezha. FS[18] POPLASEN CALLS NATO 'OCCUPATION FORCE'The ousted Bosnian Serb hard-line president, Nikola Poplasen, speaking on 10 May in Banja Luka, called the NATO campaign against Yugoslavia an "aggression." He added that "we are expected to be obedient, while the [NATO led] Stabilization Force (SFOR) in [Bosnia] is growing into an occupation force," AP reported. The International Community's High representative Carlos Westendorp fired Poplasen in March for obstructing the implementation of the Dayton agreement. Meanwhile in Madrid, Westendorp warned that "if we want negotiations [in Kosova], inevitably they will have [to include] Milosevic, but his presence afterwards as a guarantor of the agreements could cause us problems." He stressed that "one of the errors that the international community committed in Bosnia was to think that Milosevic was part of the solution to the problem, when really he was the problem." FS[19] SURVIVOR DECLINES TO TESTIFY AGAINST CROATIAN DEATH CAMP COMMANDEREduard Sajer, a witness in the trial of Dinko Sakic, a World War II commander of the Jasenovac death camp, declined to appear in court on 10 May. In a letter sent to the Zagreb County Court, Sajer said that he was recently admitted to a cardiological clinic in Belgrade and that he is "physically and mentally unfit" to attend the trial, AP reported. Meanwhile, police officials said they have arrested 13 right-wing extremists on 8 May after they interrupted annual V-day celebrations in Zagreb, injuring three people. FS[20] FORMER ROMANIAN SOCCER COACH SENTENCEDA Romanian military court has sentenced the former head coach of Dinamo Bucharest to 12 years in prison for embezzlement, Reuters reported on 10 May. The court also ordered Vasile Ianul to pay $1.2 million in damages. Ianul, who is also a former Interior Ministry colonel, was found to have embezzled $2.3 million from the club between 1991 and 1994. He admitted to having paid bribes to secure victories for his team and to having financed Interior Ministry activities in the early 1990s. Ianul said he never personally profited from his financial activities, adding that he is "shocked" by the severity of the sentence, AP reported on 10 May. VG[21] ORTHODOX GROUP ATTACKS BAPTISTS IN MOLDOVASome 700 Orthodox Christians led by seven priests on 10 May attacked a group of 20 Baptists who were building a prayer house in a Moldovan village, AP reported. The Orthodox group threw stones at the Baptists, injuring seven of them, and tore down the incomplete prayer house. Moldovan Orthodox priest Teodor Rosca apologized for the incident, but he added that it took place because the Baptists were "proselytizing" in the village. VG[22] MOLDOVA RECEIVES MONEY FROM WORLD BANKThe World Bank has disbursed the second $35 million tranche of its credit line to Moldova, BASA-press reported on 10 May. The disbursement had been delayed owing to the government crisis in Moldova. Government officials in Chisinau said they will use the money to reduce the budget deficit and pay foreign and domestic debts. In other news, presidential press secretary Anatol Golea said Moldova may accept 10 to 15 refugee families from Kosova, Infotag reported on 10 May. Golea added that the Kosova conflict has hurt the Moldovan economy by affecting foreign investment as well as cargo transport on the Danube River. He said Moldova will apply for inclusion in any plan to rehabilitate the region after the conflict. VG[C] END NOTE[23] MORE THAN AUTONOMY, LESS THAN INDEPENDENCEby Paul GobleDiscussions about Kosova's future status, one likely to be more than autonomy but less than independence, call attention to an increasing willingness on the part of the international community to consider political arrangements that the existing state system had seemed to preclude. Most proposals currently on the table about that war- torn land include some kind of international military presence--although disagreements remain about its size, composition, and armaments--that would allow the Kosovars to return to their homes in security. But none of these scenarios calls for the recognition of Kosova as a full- fledged independent state. Indeed, most seem designed to prevent that very outcome. On the one hand, these various proposals to give Kosova a special status reflect an effort by the international community to solve the immediate problem. And most of the governments making them have gone out of their way to insist that arrangements designed for Kosova will not become a precedent either for other ethnic communities seeking greater rights or for an international community interested in defending those rights. But on the other hand, the debate about how to deal with Kosova appears to reflect the convergence of three major shifts in the international system over the last few decades. A Kosova settlement of virtually any kind seems certain to increase those shifts, regardless of what any participant in this debate now says. First, sovereignty no longer means what it did in the past. The heightened role of the UN, particularly since the end of the Cold War, has led ever more states to accept restrictions on activities that they had earlier viewed as their sovereign right to engage in. Government leaders no longer insist that they have unlimited rights with respect either to the treatment of their own populations or in their relations with other states. That has not meant the end of the international system of states. Indeed, far from all countries have accepted these new arrangements. But it has meant that the component parts of that system have changed, even though few of them are prepared to recognize the full magnitude of consequences that these changes entail. Second, the international system, or at least major parts of it, is apparently now prepared to intervene in the affairs of other countries in ways that most of its members earlier had felt were prohibited. Until very recently, neither individual governments nor groups of states were prepared to argue that they had the right to intervene on the territory of another state in the name of protecting human rights or combating crimes against humanity. Now in Kosova, NATO has done just that, intervening to protect the Kosovars but insisting that the Western countries will not, at least not yet, recognize an independent Kosova. Such intervention further limits the meaning of sovereignty not only of Yugoslavia but potentially of other countries as well. That is the foundation of some objections to what NATO is doing, but the crimes against which NATO is acting have overwhelmed these objections in the minds of most people and governments in the West. And third, these two shifts have combined to power a third one: a willingness to accept the possibility that particular territories might enjoy something more than autonomy but less than independence. Most analysts trace the history of the current international system of states to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. That agreement created the system of nation-states by recognizing the power of any given state to be absolute and unquestioned on its territory. That system allowed other states to compete with it externally, but it did not allow any of them to make demands that would lead to shared sovereignty. In fact, that idealized picture never existed, and it has become ever less true in the 20th century. Perhaps the clearest example of the way in which the international system has accepted a kind of shared or restricted sovereignty concerns Taiwan, an island most countries around the world consider to be part of China but which they treat for all practical purposes as an independent country. Yet another concerns the efforts to promote shared Irish and British rule over Northern Ireland, an arrangement that has yet to bear fruit but is seen by many as the only way out of the tragic conflict that has torn that region for much of the past generation. And Kosova represents yet another step in the refashioning of the international state system, a step that is likely to have ever broader consequences in the future. And that is even more likely to be the case if, as now, those taking that step seek to deny that outcome. 11-05-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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