Browse through our Interesting Nodes on the Balkan Peninsula Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Friday, 29 March 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 101, 99-05-25

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 101, 25 May 1999


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT PREDICTS LIKELY OUTCOME OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
  • [02] AZERBAIJAN SAYS U.S. KNEW OF CHINESE ROCKET SALE TO ARMENIA
  • [03] DATE OF AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT'S RETURN HOME UNCLEAR
  • [04] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS IDENTIFY MORE SUSPECTS IN FOILED ASSASSINATION BID
  • [05] KAZAKH OPPOSITION PARTY REPORTS REPRISALS AGAINST HUNGER- STRIKERS
  • [06] KAZAKH PRESIDENTIAL PARTY LOBBIES FOR ALLIES
  • [07] KYRGYZSTAN CUTS WATER SUPPLY TO KAZAKHSTAN
  • [08] DEATH TOLL IN KYRGYZ ECOLOGICAL DISASTER HIGHER THAN ORIGINALLY REPORTED?
  • [09] TAJIK OPPOSITION THREATENS TO SUSPEND PARTICIPATION IN PEACE PROCESS
  • [10] TURKMEN PRESIDENT RESHUFFLES CABINET

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [11] SERBIAN POLICE ARREST ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS
  • [12] MORE SERBIAN TROOPS SENT TO KOSOVA
  • [13] SERBS SHELL UCK SUPPLY ROUTE IN ALBANIA
  • [14] NATO SPEEDS UP KUKES EVACUATIONS
  • [15] KOSOVA'S QOSJA URGES UNITY
  • [16] BELGRADE: NATO HAS 'NO MORAL RIGHT' IN KOSOVA
  • [17] UN REPORT DETAILS SERBIAN RAPE PRACTICES
  • [18] U.S. SENATE PASSES RESOLUTION ON WAR CRIMES
  • [19] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS MONTENEGRIN AUTHORITIES
  • [20] SLOVENIA READY FOR 'STABILIZATION PACT'
  • [21] LOW PARTICIPATION IN ROMANIAN GENERAL STRIKE
  • [22] ROMANIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS MOLDOVA
  • [23] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT SATISFIED WITH REFERENDUM
  • [24] MOLDOVAN LOCAL ELECTIONS REQUIRE SECOND ROUND IN MANY MUNICIPALITIES
  • [25] BULGARIAN, MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET AT ST. CYRIL'S GRAVE

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [26] NEW ARMS AGREEMENT AIMS TO EASE RUSSIAN FEARS

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT PREDICTS LIKELY OUTCOME OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

    Speaking in the northern town on Dilijan, Robert Kocharian said that depending on the results of the 30 May parliamentary elections, he will invite representatives of the Miasnutyun bloc and the Dashnak Party to form a new government, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 24 May. Most observers believe those two groups will be the largest factions within the new parliament. Kocharian stressed that the next government must reflect the balance of political forces within the parliament. He added the new cabinet should pursue a more forceful economic policy rather than "engage in empty debates." Kocharian had earlier expressed his support for both Miasnutyun and the Dashnaks, and he suggested that he is seeking to defuse tensions between them. He also denied that the popularity of Miasnutyun's two leaders, Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian and former Armenian Communist Party First Secretary Karen Demirchian, constitutes a threat to his own position. LF

    [02] AZERBAIJAN SAYS U.S. KNEW OF CHINESE ROCKET SALE TO ARMENIA

    State Foreign Policy Adviser Vafa Guluzade was quoted by AzadInform on 24 May as rejecting the denials by Armenian Defense Minister Sargsian and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, of Guluzade's allegations that Armenia has acquired eight Typhoon rocket systems from China (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 21 May1999). Guluzade added that the Chinese ambassador in Baku has confirmed that the sale took place and that U.S. envoy Stephen Sestanovich, who visited Baku on 22 May, said that the U.S. has information about the deal. Members of Azerbaijan's Turkic Nationalist Party and that party's youth organization picketed the Chinese embassy in Baku on 24 May to protest both the reported rocket sales and Beijing's oppression of its Uighur minority, Turan reported. The opposition Democratic Bloc, formed by 17 parliamentary deputies, has also demanded that Armenia return the rockets to China, Turan reported on 21 May. LF

    [03] DATE OF AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT'S RETURN HOME UNCLEAR

    Heidar Aliev arrived in Ankara on the evening of 20 May to undergo a further medical examination at the military hospital where he was treated for bronchitis in January, ITAR-TASS reported. On 23 May, Aliev traveled to the resort of Antalya to recuperate from recent heart by-pass surgery, where he will remain for some 10 days, Reuters reported on 24 May, quoting presidential administration member Ali Hasanov. On 22 May, Reuters had quoted an unnamed presidential aide as saying that Aliev hopes to return to Baku for Azerbaijan's Independence Day, on 28 May. LF

    [04] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS IDENTIFY MORE SUSPECTS IN FOILED ASSASSINATION BID

    Interior Minister Kahka Targamadze on 24 May said that "several dozen" parliamentary deputies and members of the Defense and National Security Ministries were involved in the foiled plot to kill President Eduard Shevardnadze and seize power in Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. Prosecutor-General Djamlet Babilashvili named former National Security Minister Igor Giorgadze as having masterminded the plot. Giorgadze fled Georgia after having been accused of an attempt to kill Shevardnadze in August 1995. His whereabouts are unknown. Intelligence Department head Avtandil Ioseliani said that the Georgian authorities were aware late last year that a new coup was being planned, but he denied that the CIA was the source of that information. LF

    [05] KAZAKH OPPOSITION PARTY REPORTS REPRISALS AGAINST HUNGER- STRIKERS

    Unnamed leaders of the Orleu Party said after visiting the southern city of Taraz that 12 employees of the town's phosphorus plant who launched a hunger strike to demand the payment of back wages were dismissed from their jobs on 20 May, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported on 25 May. Two of the strikers were fined, one jailed for five days, and the remainder reprimanded by the local court. In Karaganda, 10 inmates of a local prison stabbed themselves in the stomach in a protest at allegedly intolerable conditions, AP reported. LF

    [06] KAZAKH PRESIDENTIAL PARTY LOBBIES FOR ALLIES

    Former Prime Minister Sergei Tereshchenko, who now heads the OTAN party, which serves a support base for President Nursultan Nazarbaev, has repeatedly tried to persuade the leadership of the Pokolenie (Generation) movement, which seeks to defend the interests of the elderly, to join a bloc that would contend the parliamentary elections later this year, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Pokolenie leader Irina Savostina said she declined the invitation as the movement does not wish to participate in elections. LF

    [07] KYRGYZSTAN CUTS WATER SUPPLY TO KAZAKHSTAN

    First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Silaev announced in Bishkek on 24 May that the water supply to the Jambyl and Chimkent regions of neighboring Kazakhstan from the Kara-Bura reservoir in Kyrgyzstan was halted a week ago, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. According to Silaev, the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan agreed last year that Kazakhstan would supply Kyrgyzstan with 560,00 metric tons of coal in 1999 in return for water from the Kara-Bura reservoir, but Kazakhstan has not sent any coal to Kyrgyzstan so far this year. Nor has the Kazakh leadership informed Kyrgyzstan when those deliveries will be made. Kazakhstan cut gas deliveries to Kyrgyzstan for several days last week to protest Kyrgyzstan's failure to pay outstanding debts (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 May 1999). LF

    [08] DEATH TOLL IN KYRGYZ ECOLOGICAL DISASTER HIGHER THAN ORIGINALLY REPORTED?

    Jengish Jylkybaeva, a physician at the National Hospital in Bishkek, told RFE/RL last week that she recently visited Barskoon, the site of the spill of toxic chemicals in May 1998. Jylkylbaeva said that local records indicate that 22 people have died in the village over the past year, compared with a total of 40 deaths in the preceding four years. In two cases, the cause of death was given as cyanide poisoning. The Kyrgyz authorities say that only four people died as a result of the disaster. Speaking at a press conference in Bishkek on 24 May, First Deputy Premier Silaev defended as "adequate" the compensation agreement signed in January 1999 bu the Kyrgyz government and the Canadian Cameco Corporation, whose Kumtor subsidiary was responsible for the spill of chemicals. Parliamentary deputy Jypar Jeksheev argued last week that $3 million was insufficient to compensate all victims (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 May 1999). LF

    [09] TAJIK OPPOSITION THREATENS TO SUSPEND PARTICIPATION IN PEACE PROCESS

    In a statement issued on 24 May, the United Tajik Opposition said that its further participation in the Commission for National Reconciliation "is meaningless" unless the Tajik leadership immediately meets several key demands, ITAR-TASS and AP-Blitz reported. One of those demands is to increase the UTO's share of posts in national and local government bodies to the 30 percent provided for in the 1997 peace accord. The UTO is also demanding 30 percent representation in banks and foreign embassies; naming UTO commander Mirzo Zioev as defense minister; legalizing opposition political parties and media outlets; and releasing 93 jailed opposition fighters. Several of those demands were contained in an earlier ultimatum to President Imomali Rakhmonov by UTO chairman Said Abdullo Nuri, who returned to Dushanbe from Iran on 21 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 May 1999). The UTO also proposed a timetable for compliance with its demands by mid-July. LF

    [10] TURKMEN PRESIDENT RESHUFFLES CABINET

    Saparmurat Niyazov named a civilian, Batyr Sardjaev, as defense minister on 24 May, replacing General Gurban Kasymov, who has been appointed minister of justice, ITAR-TASS reported. Sardjaev oversaw the military and law enforcement agencies from 1994-1996, when he was placed in charge of the oil and gas sector. Niyazov termed the Turkmen army one of the best armed in the entire CIS, but he added that the quality of training of its troops requires improvement. Niyazov also named Deputy Premier Yelly Kurbanmuradov to take over Sardjaev's former duties overseeing the oil and gas sector and former Central Bank chairman Khudaiberdy Orazov as deputy premier with responsibility for the banking system, according to Interfax. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [11] SERBIAN POLICE ARREST ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS

    Police in Cacak arrested at least four members of the self-proclaimed Citizens' Parliament on 24 May and took them to police headquarters for an "informative conversation," which is the official term in Serbia for an interrogation. The four have been charged with taking part in an "illegal meeting," Reuters reported. Cacak Mayor Velimir Ilic has gone into hiding and is being sought by the police. In Krusevac, where anti-war protests have also taken place in recent days, tension remains high, "The Guardian" noted. Police there have refrained from breaking up demonstrations and arresting protesters "for fear of igniting a bigger revolt," the London-based daily added. "The New York Times" quoted one resident of Aleksandrovac as saying: "This is not a political protest. It is simply people who are trying to save their necks." PM

    [12] MORE SERBIAN TROOPS SENT TO KOSOVA

    NATO officials said in Brussels and Washington on 24 May that the Yugoslav army has sent 10,000 additional troops into Kosova since NATO air strikes began in late March. The officials added that Belgrade may be seeking to improve its defensive position should NATO ground troops invade Kosova or to strengthen its negotiating position during eventual peace talks. In Washington, State Department spokesman James Rubin noted that Serbian forces are increasingly taking up stationary positions. Major- General Charles Wald, whom AP describes as a "senior U.S. military planner, " noted that stationary troops cannot easily battle a guerrilla force such as the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK). He added that the Serbian forces "don't have good places to go to sleep. They're living in the field." PM

    [13] SERBS SHELL UCK SUPPLY ROUTE IN ALBANIA

    Serbian forces fired about 50 artillery shells into Albanian territory near Tropoja on 24 May in an apparent attempt to close a supply corridor used by the UCK. The route links Tropoja with the UCK-held Kosovar village of Koshare, which overlooks the plains of Junik and Decani. Elsewhere, Kosovapress reported that the UCK was involved in heavy fighting around Junik. In Tirana, Albanian Defense Minister Luan Hajdaraga said the Albanian army has begun reinforcing its borders with tanks and heavy weapons. FS

    [14] NATO SPEEDS UP KUKES EVACUATIONS

    NATO forces began evacuating some 30,000 refugees from camps in Kukes on 24 May. NATO spokesman Helge Eriksen said that the Atlantic alliance plans to move out up to 1,000 refugees a day. Meanwhile, 1,239 refugees have arrived in Albania via the Morina border crossing. Most were women and children who had been walking for days, but the arrivals also included 164 men whom Serbian forces had held hostage at the prison in Smrekonica, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told Reuters in Kukes (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 May 1999). He said some of the men who arrived that day were in "appalling" condition, with black eyes, damaged ribs, and injured feet as a result of what they said were beatings with rifle butts. FS

    [15] KOSOVA'S QOSJA URGES UNITY

    Rexhep Qosja, who is a nationalist writer and leader of the United Democratic Movement of Kosova, told RFE/RL on 24 May that he welcomes the creation of a Kosovar "National Security Council" (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 24 May 1999). He said that the body "will not sideline the provisional government" of UCK leader Hashim Thaci as Kosova's executive body. He added that the council will function as a legislature and "thus give us the possibility to flesh out our institutional structures until we hold free elections." He stressed that all organizations represented in the Kosovar delegation at Rambouillet must have a place in the council. Qosja suggested that the council be open to other Kosovar organizations as well. He urged all rival Kosovar politicians to bury their differences, saying that: "I call upon everybody to meet, talk and agree. Our people demand that we stay together. Kosova has many big problems to solve." FS

    [16] BELGRADE: NATO HAS 'NO MORAL RIGHT' IN KOSOVA

    Vladislav Jovanovic, who is Yugoslavia's representative to the UN, said in New York on 24 May that NATO countries have discredited themselves "both morally and politically in the eyes of the whole international community" by carrying out air strikes against Yugoslav targets. He added that NATO countries will not have "the necessary moral authority" to participate in any peacekeeping operations in the foreseeable future, AP reported. Jovanovic stressed that "it would be really unthinkable for one sovereign country to allow its own destroyers to play the role of peacemakers or peacekeepers." PM

    [17] UN REPORT DETAILS SERBIAN RAPE PRACTICES

    French psychologist Dominique Serrano-Fitamant has completed a report for the UN Population Fund on the "extensive rapes" of Kosovar women from at least three villages at the hands of Serbian forces, Reuters reported from New York on 24 May. She noted that many of the women were beaten and that the rapes lasted "even for days." The Serbs systematically killed many of their victims, Serrano-Fitamant noted, adding that "any resistance is met with threats of being burned alive." She said that some women told her that they could identify their torturers as followers of "a certain well-known leader." She did not elaborate. Serrano-Fitamant wrote that some of the torturers cut off the ears and noses of young boys before slitting their throats. She also noted: "The torturers sharpened their knives in front of the women. They then cut open the stomachs of many pregnant women and skewed the fetus on their blades." PM

    [18] U.S. SENATE PASSES RESOLUTION ON WAR CRIMES

    The Senate on 24 May approved a text calling for the "vigorous prosecution" of war crimes. Supporters of the resolution stressed that war criminals must be punished even if they are high-ranking Serbian officials. The text's backers added that the international community must not conclude any agreement with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that would grant him immunity from prosecution for war crimes. PM

    [19] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS MONTENEGRIN AUTHORITIES

    The command of the Yugoslav armed forces stationed in Montenegro issued a statement accusing the Montenegrin authorities and media of making "baseless and malicious attacks" on the army, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 24 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 May 1999). The text added that the military stationed in Montenegro are carrying out their duties "in a professional manner...under wartime conditions." PM

    [20] SLOVENIA READY FOR 'STABILIZATION PACT'

    A government spokesman said in Ljubljana on 24 May that Slovenia is ready to participate in the international community's proposed "stabilization pact" for southeastern Europe once the Kosova crisis is over. The spokesman stressed, however, that Slovenia's role will not be that of an aid recipient but that of a provider of advice and economic assistance, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

    [21] LOW PARTICIPATION IN ROMANIAN GENERAL STRIKE

    Fewer union members than had been expected took part in a 24-hour work stoppage in Romania on 24 May. Union leader Pavel Tudoran said the turnout had been "below expectations" and that the impact on public services had been limited, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. In other news, the fifth round of talks between Ukraine and Romania on border issues, which was scheduled to begin on 24 May, has been postponed at the request of the Romanian side, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 May. VG

    [22] ROMANIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS MOLDOVA

    Radu Vasile on 24 May called on international organizations to include Moldova in any regional reconstruction effort following the resolution of the Kosova conflict. Vasile, who is on a two-day visit to Moldova, said his country has agreed to increase electricity supplies to Moldova and to open a new border crossing between the two countries at Costesti, according to a 24 May Romanian Radio report cited by the BBC. Vasile and his Moldovan counterpart, Ion Sturza, agreed to hold regular meetings in the future. The Romanian leader praised Moldova's "clear and categorical" openness to European values. VG

    [23] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT SATISFIED WITH REFERENDUM

    Petru Lucinschi is satisfied with the results of the non-binding referendum on expanding presidential powers, despite the low turnout, his spokesman Anatol Golea told Infotag on 24 May. With just 55 percent of voters taking part, the referendum was short of the 60 percent required to be considered valid. Nevertheless, Golea said that some 60 percent of those who cast ballots supported Lucinschi's initiative to increase presidential powers. He refused to comment on the fact that 20 percent of the ballots cast in the referendum had been declared invalid. Another 20 percent voted against Lucinschi's initiative. Golea said the president would use this "clear signal" of support to press on with reform. He said a constitutional commission will be set up to draft a law on amending the constitution. And he did not rule out the possibility of a second referendum on the proposed constitutional changes in the fall. VG

    [24] MOLDOVAN LOCAL ELECTIONS REQUIRE SECOND ROUND IN MANY MUNICIPALITIES

    Many of the municipal and regional elections that took place in Moldova on 23 May will have to be repeated because no candidate won the necessary 50 percent of the vote, an RFE/RL correspondent reported on 24 May. In the capital, Chisinau, acting Mayor Serafim Urecheanu won 47 percent of the vote, compared with 24 percent for Communist candidate Vasili Ivov, BASA- Press reported on 24 May. The two candidates will face each other in a runoff. The Interior Ministry reported that the elections took place without any major violations of the electoral law. However, a Council of Europe observation group noted that uniformed police were present in many voting areas and that a "great number" of ballots were declared illegal, BASA-Press reported. VG

    [25] BULGARIAN, MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET AT ST. CYRIL'S GRAVE

    Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov and his Macedonian counterpart, Ljubco Georgievski, jointly attended a ceremony at the grave of St. Cyril in Rome on 24 May to mark the Day of Slavic Letters, according to a BTA report cited by the BBC. Kostov described the meeting as "historic" since it was the first time that leaders from Bulgaria and Macedonia had attended a joint ceremony on the holiday, which is recognized in both countries. In previous years, delegations from the two countries had kept apart. Kostov added that it would have been "ridiculous" for the two sides to continue past arguments in the face of the current conflict in the Balkans. Georgievski said the ceremony would promote friendship between the two countries. VG

    [C] END NOTE

    [26] NEW ARMS AGREEMENT AIMS TO EASE RUSSIAN FEARS

    By Roland Eggleston

    The U.S., Russia, and 28 other countries are putting the finishing touches on a new European security agreement intended to limit the possibility of a surprise military attack with conventional weapons.

    The basic agreement, reached in Vienna on 30 March after years of negotiations, places restrictions on the deployment of battle tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles in individual European countries from the Atlantic to the Urals. The final text is expected to be signed in Istanbul in November by heads of government attending an OSCE summit meeting.

    A senior U.S. negotiator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL that one of the main goals of the new agreement is to defuse Russian concerns about a possible concentration of Western tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles in the three new NATO member states: Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. "NATO has made several concessions to ease Russian fears", he said, adding that "there are special restrictions on the number of both national and foreign forces which can be deployed in these countries on a permanent basis."

    On the other hand, the new agreement also prevents Russia from increasing its permanent forces in Kaliningrad Oblast, which borders Poland and Lithuania, or in Pskov Oblast, which borders Estonia. Belarus also accepted restrictions on the military forces that may be deployed on its territory.

    Another part of the agreement allows Kazakhstan to station a limited number of tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles at the northern end of the Caspian Sea to protect its oil installations. Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian country that is a signatory to the treaty, and the area around the north of the Caspian is the only part of the country covered by the document.

    In legal terms, the new agreement is an update of the 1990 Paris Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, which cut the number of battle tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles held by NATO and the former Warsaw Pact.

    Much of the 1990 treaty remains unchanged in the new agreement. But amendments were necessary because it sought to balance NATO and the now defunct Warsaw Pact. The new agreement focuses on individual countries and the number of tanks, artillery. and armored vehicles that may be deployed in them by either national or foreign forces.

    The agreements allow each country both a national ceiling and a so-called "regional" ceiling. The former is the total number of its own forces. The latter is the maximum number of foreign forces that may be deployed on a permanent basis. The same system applies to artillery pieces and armored vehicles.

    Part of the special arrangements made to reassure Russia about the new NATO members is that the "regional" total in these countries will be the same as the "national" total. This restricts the possibilities for deploying foreign NATO forces on their territory. Belarus has accepted a similar restriction, which NATO negotiators believe will prevent a build-up of Russian forces there.

    In addition, the three new NATO members have agreed to reduce the size of their national forces in the next few years.. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic were in any case planning such reductions. A European negotiator told RFE/RL: "The structure of the armed forces in these countries was based on their being units of the Warsaw Pact. As members of NATO, the call is for smaller, more mobile forces."

    NATO, however, insisted on flexibility in these arrangements to allow for rapid assistance in times of crisis. This part of the agreement allows reinforcements to be sent to another country under threat. In most cases, the initial reinforcement would be limited to a single brigade, which, in NATO terms, means about 150 tanks, 100 artillery pieces, and 250 armored vehicles. If the situation worsens, two brigades may be sent.

    The ceiling on the deployment of foreign forces may also be temporarily increased in certain other situations, including joint military exercises under the Partnership for Peace program. In these cases some equipment may be moved from one country to another.

    Restrictions on the number of foreign forces deployed in a single country may also be lifted temporarily for military exercises that are not part of the Partnership for Peace program. But this exception is surrounded by restrictions to ensure that the exercises cannot be turned into a threat against another country.

    The negotiators have also agreed that the normal limits can be exceeded when military forces are supporting peacekeeping operations with a mandate from the UN or the OSCE. In such cases, the size of the forces deployed is determined by the mandate. Finally, the negotiators in Vienna agreed on the thorny issue of the size of the forces that can be deployed in the so- called "flank" areas: St. Petersburg Military District and the Caucasus. Ten countries are affected by the agreement on the flanks.

    Initially, Russia wanted all restrictions lifted on its deployment of forces in these flank regions, particularly the Caucasus. Under the final agreement, in certain circumstances the "territorial" limit of national and foreign forces in these regions can be exceeded by the temporary deployment of one brigade in the region.

    The agreement also allows for temporary arrangements allowing countries in the flank region to amend the limits in favor of another country. Negotiators say that in certain circumstances, this would allow Russia to increase the size of its forces in the flank region but only if other countries reduced their own numbers.

    The author is a senior RFE/RL correspondent based in Munich.

    25-05-99


    Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    URL: http://www.rferl.org


    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    rferl2html v1.01 run on Tuesday, 25 May 1999 - 14:34:41 UTC