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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 98, 99-05-21Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 98, 21 May 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] CIS DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET IN YEREVANThe defense ministers of the six CIS states that have confirmed their continued adherence to the 1992 CIS Collective Security Treaty (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) attended a session of the CIS Defense Ministers' Council in Yerevan on 20 May chaired by Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau and Russian agencies reported. Georgia and Ukraine were represented by deputy ministers, while Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan did not send representatives. The ministers discussed adapting the Collective Security Treaty to the present geopolitical situation and also tackled problems arising from the establishment of unified CIS military systems, including the air defense system, of which Armenia is a member. Sergeev told journalists that his fellow ministers expressed support for Russia's insistence that the Kosova conflict must be resolved by political, not military means, according to Interfax. LF[02] ARMENIA DENIES PURCHASING CHINESE ROCKETSBoth Armenian Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian and his Russian counterpart, Sergeev said in Yerevan on 20 May that Azerbaijani claims that Armenia has acquired Chinese Typhoon rocket systems are untrue, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 20 May 1999). Sargsian said "nothing of the sort has taken place," while Sergeev dismissed the allegations as "nonsense." LF[03] ARMENIA, BELARUS SIGN DEFENSE COOPERATION AGREEMENTOn the sidelines of the CIS defense ministers' meeting, Vazgen Sargsian and his Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Chumakou, signed an intergovernmental agreement on military and military-technical cooperation, ITAR-TASS and Noyan Tapan reported. Chumakou termed that agreement, which had been negotiated for a long time, "a great historical event." He also praised Armenia's role within the CIS Collective Security Treaty. LF[04] WORLD BANK ASSESSES IMPLEMENTATION OF LOAN FOR ARMENIA'S ENERGY SECTORWorld Bank officials said at a press conference in Yerevan on 20 May that Armenia's energy sector will need more than $1 billion in capital investment over the coming decade to replace obsolete infrastructure and phase out financial losses, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The first tranche, worth $21 million, of a $52 million World Bank loan, released in March 1999, will be used to help cut down losses during transmission, which are one of the reasons for Armenia's high energy tariffs. Privatization of Armenia's power grid may push prices even higher, according to a World Bank officials. But the inability of not only private consumers but also many state-run enterprises to pay their electricity bills has already resulted in huge debts to the energy sector. LF[05] U.S. CONCERNED ABOUT LOCAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJANMeeting on 20 May with Azerbaijani parliamentary International Relations Committee Chairman Rza Ibadov, U.S. Ambassador Stanley Escudero asked whether the parliament will be able to enact by October legislation on municipalities and on municipal elections, Turan reported. Those elections were due two years ago. Also on 20 May, Turan's Washington correspondent quoted exiled former Azerbaijani parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliev as saying that in recent meetings he and U.S. Congressional leaders agreed on the need for renewed efforts to ensure free and fair elections in Azerbaijan. But Musavat Party Chairman Isa Gambar told Turan he believes the bill on municipal elections currently under discussion in the parliament is undemocratic. He argued that the opposition should boycott the polls. LF[06] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN TO MEDIATE WITH REBEL COLONEL?Zurab Zhvania may meet with rebel Colonel Akaki Eliava to discuss the terms on which the latter is prepared to surrender to the Georgian authorities, Caucasus Press reported on 20 May, citing "Alia." Eliava has been in hiding in western Georgia since launching an abortive insurrection in October 1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 20 October 1998). He recently said that talks with Deputy Security Minister Levan Kenchadze on his possible surrender were a failure, claiming that Kenchadze had threatened to kill him. Eliava then appealed to Zhvania either to meet with him personally or to name a group of parliamentary deputies to conduct further negotiations. Eliava believes that Zhania, who, like Eliava, comes from Mingrelia in western Georgia, has a better understanding of, and greater sympathy for, the problems facing that region's inhabitants, according to RFE/RL's correspondent in Zugdidi. LF[07] KAZAKH PRESIDENT CALLS FOR AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW...Nursultan Nazarbaev has called for changes to the draft law on the media to preclude the suspension or closure of media outlets, except at the discretion of the owner or following a court ruling, Interfax reported on 20 May, citing the presidential press service. Nazarbaev said that gradual democratization is impossible without free media. Opposition politicians have argued that the draft law, which is currently under discussion in the parliament, will restrict freedom of speech and of the media (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 April 1999). LF[08] ...RULES OUT FURTHER SUBSIDIES FOR AGRICULTUREMeeting with farmers in Akmola on 20 May, Nazarbaev warned that the leadership will phase out direct subsidies to the agricultural sector, Interfax reported. But he added that the country's leadership is considering alternative ways of supporting the sector, which he termed crucial to the development of the economy as a whole. Nazarbaev said he hopes legislation on private ownership of farm land, which is currently before the parliament, will contribute to the revival of agriculture. LF[09] KYRGYZSTAN COMMEMORATES 1998 ECOLOGICAL DISASTERSome 1,000 residents of the village of Barskoon held a meeting on 20 May to mark the first anniversary of the accident in which a lorry belonging to the Canadian-owned Kumtor Operating Company spilled toxic chemicals into the Barskoon river, which flows into Lake Issyk-Kul, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. No local or national officials attended the ceremony. But at a session of the Karakol regional assembly the same day, the chairman of the regional commission on the aftermath of the accident announced that Kumtor has promised another $7,000 in compensation for thousands of villagers affected by the toxic spill. Victims of the spill took local officials hostage earlier this month to protest the alleged embezzlement of earlier finds Kumtor had paid in compensation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 May 1999). LF[10] INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTANJaswant Singh met with Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov in Tashkent on 19 May to discuss bilateral relations, Interfax reported. Karimov noted the potential for expanding trade and economic relations between the two countries. The following day, Singh traveled to Ashgabat, where he met with President Saparmurat Niyazov to discuss bilateral relations and regional cooperation. Singh told Interfax that "complete mutual understanding" was expressed on all issues discussed. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[11] ALBRIGHT SEES NATO, RUSSIA EDGING CLOSER. U.S.Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in Washington on 21 May that there is a "narrowing of gaps" between Brussels and Moscow on resolving the Kosova crisis, ITAR-TASS reported. Albright made that comment after speaking with Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, who is in Moscow for talks with Russian special envoy to Yugoslavia Viktor Chernomyrdin and Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, the EU's Kosova envoy (see Part I). Albright said the biggest remaining differences are over the makeup of the peacekeeping force for Kosova as well as the scale of the Serbian military's withdrawal from the province. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said after talks with Albright that greater preparations need to be made for a force to escort the refugees back into Kosova. In London, British Premier Tony Blair and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana pledged to press on with the air campaign. PB[12] AIR STRIKES CONTINUE...NATO air strikes continued on 20- 21 May, with the largest attack on Belgrade since the Chinese embassy was accidentally hit two weeks ago. Fuel depots in Belgrade as well as military barracks outside the capital were struck. The effects of one blast broke the windows at several foreign embassies and residences, including the Swiss ambassador's, which is in the same neighborhood where a hospital was damaged the previous day. Yugoslav officials say three people died and several were injured in the hospital incident. Fuel storage facilities in the northwestern towns of Sombor and Smederovo were also hit, as were ammunition depots in Vrdnik and Sremska Mitrovica. The British Defense Ministry said the air campaign has destroyed a significant amount of Serbian military hardware. It also dismissed an article in "The Times" that said Serbian forces have suffered only light casualties, though the bombardment has severely restricted their movement. PB[13] ...AS MORE REFUGEES CROSS INTO MACEDONIAThe UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that between 2,000 and 3,000 Kosovar Albanians fled to Macedonia on 20 May, AFP reported. The UNHCR said many of them arrived by train and were from the suburbs of Kosova's capital, Prishtina, while others came from Urosevac. Some said they left because of miserable conditions, while others said they were forced to leave the province by Serbian forces, the UNHCR said. PB[14] CACAK CITIZENS CALL ON MILOSEVIC TO END THE WARThe self- proclaimed Citizens' Parliament of Cacak on 20 May urged Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to "stop the war immediately," the Serbian news agency Beta reported. The parliament, formed by 20 prominent citizens of the town on 18 May, said in a letter to the president that "at this moment, you are deciding the fate of all people of Yugoslavia." It asked him to end the "terrible suffering of all the people...whom you lead." NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said the setting up of the parliament is evidence of "an expanding mood of war weariness." Anti-government protests have also taken place in the nearby towns of Krusevac and Alexandrovac. The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, has denied reports that more than 1,000 troops deserted after hearing of the protests in the towns. PB[15] ANNAN APPEALS TO BELGRADE TO WITHDRAW ITS FORCESUN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 20 May urged Yugoslavia to withdraw its forces from Kosova and allow the rapid deployment of an international military force that would permit the Kosovar refugees to return before winter, AP reported. Annan made that appeal while visiting Kosovar refugee camps in the northeastern Albanian town of Kukes together with Albanian President Rexhep Meidani and Foreign Minister Paskal Milo. Annan said the "breathtaking stories" he had heard from refugees "puts pressure on all of us to intensify our efforts to find a political solution." He also noted that all sides in the Kosova conflict have agreed that the UN Security Council should play a major role in resolving the crisis. Annan is to meet with Finnish President Ahtisaari in Stockholm on 22 May. PB[16] DJUKANOVIC SAYS BELGRADE PLANNING COUPMontenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said on 20 May in Podgorica that Belgrade is planning a military coup against his government, Reuters reported. Djukanovic said Yugoslav soldiers have set up checkpoints on all main roads leading into Montenegro. They also have halted aid convoys and prevented raw materials from being imported. Djukanovic said Belgrade wants to install the army as a dictatorial power in Montenegro. He said his government will refrain from opposing the army. The Second Yugoslav Army has some 25,000 troops stationed in Montenegro, while the government claims to have some 12,000 armed police ready to prevent an armed coup. PB[17] INTERNATIONAL DONORS AGREE TO BILLION DOLLAR TRANCHE FOR BOSNIAInternational donors representing some 45 countries and 30 organizations pledged $1.05 billion in aid to Bosnia- Herzegovina for 1999, Reuters reported on 20 May. The conference was co-sponsored by the World Bank and the EU. Carlos Westendorp, the international community's high representative to Bosnia, said he is "very happy because we got more than we expected." It was the fifth donors' conference held since the signing of the Dayton agreement in 1995, bringing the total amount donated to $5.1 billion. In other news, some 50 bodies were exhumed on 20 May near the village of Zijemlje, about 40 kilometers east of Mostar. In the last 10 days, a forensics team has found the bodies of 124 people, mostly civilians, believed to have been killed in 1992 by Bosnian Serb forces. More than 20, 000 people are still officially missing. PB[18] CROATIA SAYS OSCE CRITICISM UNACCEPTABLEThe Croatian government said in a statement on 20 May that an OSCE report criticizing Zagreb for a lack of will to move toward democracy makes conclusions that are "insufficiently corroborated," Reuters reported. The government issued the statement after a closed cabinet session. The OSCE report cited a lack of progress on the return of Serbian refugees to Croatia, stagnation in Croatia's fulfillment of international commitments, and failure to liberalize the media or reform electoral laws. PB[19] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTEThe cabinet survived a no confidence vote in the parliament on 20 May. Parliamentary deputies voted by 286 to 147 to reject a censure motion proposed by three opposition parties in response to the government's package of IMF-inspired economic reforms. Meanwhile, Romania's four largest trade unions announced on 20 May that they will stage a 24-hour general strike on 24 May to demand an easing of austerity measures and changes to legislation. The unions said that if their demands are not met by 31 July, they will launch a full general strike, according to a Romanian Radio report monitored by the BBC. Also on 20 May, metal workers at the Resita steel mill in Transylvania launched an all-out strike, Reuters reported, citing Romanian Radio. VG[20] MOLDOVA DEPRIVED OF UN VOTING RIGHTSMoldova has been deprived of its voting rights at the UN because of its failure to pay membership fees for the past few years, Infotag reported on 20 May. The country owes $200,000 for this year alone and its total debt to the UN stands at more than $3 million. In other news, Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Sturza said on 20 May that Germany supports his country's bid to be included in any post-Kosova conflict stability pact for the Balkans, BASA-Press reported.[21] GAGAUZ ASSEMBLY CRITICIZES MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURTThe Gagauz Popular Assembly has criticized a recent Moldovan Constitutional Court decision that local court appointments can be made without the input of local authorities, Infotag reported on 20 May. The assembly adopted a statement describing the decision as a "gross violation of [the Gagauz- Yeri autonomous region's] constitutional status." VG[22] BULGARIAN OFFICIAL SAYS NUCLEAR PLANT IS SAFEBulgarian Atomic Energy Commission chief Georgi Kaschiev said "serious measures" have been taken to reduce the risk of damage to the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in connection with NATO's bombing campaign in Yugoslavia, Reuters reported on 20 May. Kaschiev was responding to concerns expressed by Greenpeace on 19 May that stray NATO missiles are falling dangerously close to the plant and that oil slicks on the Danube River could block the plant and cause a meltdown. Meanwhile, Bulgarian Interior Minister Bogomil Bonev dismissed reports that two German television journalists and one Bulgarian environmentalist had got into the plant without authorization, according to a 20 May BTA report monitored by the BBC. Bonev said the journalists were accompanied by a security official. VG[23] BULGARIA, GREECE AGREE TO FORM FREE TRAVEL ZONEBulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov announced on 20 May that his government has approved an agreement with Greece on creating a 25-kilometer- wide free movement zone for permanent residents on either side of the Bulgarian-Greek border, according to a BTA report cited by the BBC. Kostov also said his government will provide $50 million leva ($27,000) worth of humanitarian aid to the ethnic Bulgarian minority in eastern Yugoslavia, BTA reported. Also on 20 May, Bulgarian Defense Minister Georgi Ananiev and his visiting Romanian counterpart, Victor Babiuc, said in Sofia that their countries both support the NATO campaign in Yugoslavia but would like to see it end as soon as possible. VG[C] END NOTE[24] SHADOW ELECTIONS IN BELARUSby Jan MaksymiukOriginally, it seemed like a good idea to hold an alternative presidential poll in Belarus. From a legal point of view, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's term expires on 20 July 1999. A new constitution introduced by the November 1996 referendum extended his term for another two years and authorized him to disband the democratically elected Supreme Soviet. That referendum was conducted and enforced with such flagrant violations of the law and democratic norms that no European organization has recognized its outcome. All European countries, except Russia, recognized the 50 deputies of the Supreme Soviet who have remained loyal to the abolished 1994 basic law as Belarus's legitimate parliament. Indeed, it was the Supreme Soviet that decided to hold presidential elections on 16 May and to empower the Central Electoral Commission, another body that was democratically and legitimately elected before the 1996 referendum, to organize them. The man in charge of the elections was Viktar Hanchar, head of the commission. Highlighting the extraordinary character of these elections, neither of the two candidates was physically present during either the election campaign or the voting. Zyanon Paznyak, who was granted political asylum in the U.S. in 1996, did not make an appearance in Belarus. The other hopeful, Mikhail Chyhir, was jailed by the authorities six weeks before election day on charges of issuing a dubious bank loan in 1994. As widely expected, the authorities declared the elections illegal and warned the opposition not to "conspire" to depose the legal government. But they seemed to be at a loss about how to respond as the opposition election initiative gained momentum. By mid-April, some 14,000 people had volunteered to take part in regional electoral commissions, most of them from Paznyak's Belarusian Popular Front (BNF). European organizations, including the OSCE, had reservations about the opposition election initiative. Even before NATO's intervention in Yugoslavia, which shifted European attention away from Belarus to the Balkans, it became clear that the OSCE would not send its observers to the elections, nor would the ballot provide an internationally recognized new president for Belarus. But the elections nevertheless offered the opportunity of a "vote of no confidence" in Lukashenka and of dispelling the widespread belief that his regime has strong popular support. Owing to the impossibility of setting up stationary polling stations, Hanchar's commission decided to send pollsters with ballot boxes to voters' homes over the 10 days preceding election day. While the law does not provide for such a method of voting for the electorate as a whole, it was nonetheless deemed expedient and effective, given the unique character of the elections, However, heavy criticism of the voting stemmed not from the authorities but from Paznyak, who argued that the voting procedures were illegal and that the turnout figures had been falsified. Paznyak also accused Hanchar and Chyhir of seeking to implement a Moscow-sponsored plan to replace the "true opposition"--that is, the BNF--with one subservient to the Kremlin. According to Paznyak, Hanchar intended to falsify election results in favor of Chyhir in order to install him as a new opposition leader and eliminate the BNF from Belarus's political scene. Paznyak withdrew his candidacy from the elections on 14 May. While the BNF decided to continue the election initiative, some activists began calling on their regional colleagues to withdraw from the ballot. Hanchar's commission pronounced a somewhat contradictory verdict on 19 May. The elections were deemed valid with regard to turnout: just over 4 million voters, or 53 percent of the total electorate. But Hanchar cited pressure from the authorities, the absence of conditions for free election campaigning, and Paznyak's "violation of the election law" as reasons for declaring the election as a whole invalid. The commission announced it will organize another presidential poll within three months. In the end, the shadow election initiative, which was intended to weaken the autocratic regime in Belarus has significantly damaged the opposition. Many oppositionists have already branded the elections "scandalous." First, it is highly probable that the BNF--the most influential opposition group in Belarus--will split and become mired in mutual recriminations. Second, it seems that the efforts of many thousands of regional election activists--who risked arrest, the loss of their jobs, and other official retributions--have been squandered. It is unlikely that in the near future, the opposition will be able to re-mobilize such a large number of "field operators." Third, Hanchar's political career seems to have ground to a halt. One Belarusian independent newspaper speculated that the "scandalous" outcome of the election was deliberately planned by Hanchar and Supreme Soviet Chairman Syamyon Sharetski. It claimed that after 20 July 1999, Sharetski intends to become head of state (in accordance with the provision of the 1994 constitution dealing with the situation where the country does not have a legitimately elected president) and offer the post of prime minister to Hanchar. A major flaw in this scenario, however, is how Hanchar and Sharetski will persuade Lukashenka to make room for them. Moreover, without the support of the BNF, Hanchar may find there is even less room for him in the Belarusian political arena than there was before the election. Finally, the vote has weakened, rather than strengthened, the opposition's position that the authorities should enter a dialogue with the opposition. Lukashenka has been given a powerful and scathing argument to fend off such a dialogue--namely, that oppositionists should agree among themselves first before seeking to talk to him. 21-05-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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