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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 102, 99-05-26Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 102, 26 May 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] SALE OF ARMENIAN BRANDY PLANT FINALIZEDRepresentatives of the Armenian government and France's Pernod Ricard group signed an agreement in Yerevan on 25 May finalizing the French concern's purchase of the Yerevan Brandy Factory, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Pernod Ricard won a tender for the factory in 1998, but opposition parliamentary deputies, protesting that the $30 million price tag was too low, tried unsuccessfully to block ratification of the sale. In December 1998, Pernod Ricard requested a six-month postponement in finalizing the deal, saying that the Russian financial crisis had seriously affected the market in Russia for Armenian cognac. A spokesman said on 25 May that Pernod Ricard no longer has any doubts about the factory's economic viability. LF[02] AZERBAIJAN'S LIBERAL PARTY WITHDRAWS FROM OPPOSITION ALLIANCEThe Liberal Party of Azerbaijan issued a statement on 25 May saying it considers "inexpedient" its continued membership in the Movement for Electoral Reform and Democratic Elections, created one year earlier, Turan reported. The statement said the movement's members have become mired in disputes among themselves. Musavat Party Isa Gambar, Democratic Party chairman Ilyas Ismailov, and Azerbaijan Popular Front Party first deputy chairman Ali Kerimov all expressed regret at the decision. LF[03] AZERBAIJAN PARLIAMENT DEPUTY CALLS ON OPPOSITION TO JOIN DEBATE ON ELECTION LAWFazail Agamaly on 25 May requested parliamentary deputy speaker Arif Ragimzade to ask the 17 opposition Democratic Bloc deputies to participate in the second reading, scheduled for that day, of the draft Law on Municipal Elections, Turan reported. The Democratic Bloc, which has been boycotting parliamentary proceedings for almost a month to protest alleged restrictions on its activities, criticized that bill as "reactionary" and "undemocratic" after its first reading (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April and 17 May 1999). Meanwhile more than 60 deputies have appealed for an emergency parliamentary session to be convened on 1 June. They fear the municipal elections bill will not be passed before the end of the spring session, on 31 May. Those elections were scheduled to have been held two years ago. LF[04] MORE ALLEGED COUP PLOTTERS ARRESTED IN GEORGIAInterior Minister Kakha Targamadze told parliamentary deputies on 25 May that 12 people have now been arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts and the assassination of President Eduard Shevardnadze with the aim of seizing power, Interfax reported. At least four of them are former Security Ministry officials, according to Caucasus Press, quoting Prosecutor- General Djamlet Babilashvili. Targamadze added that the police have secured evidence of contacts between the plotters and former Security Minister Igor Giorgadze. Security Minister Vakhtang Kutateladze declined to comment on allegations that some Russian servicemen based in Georgia were involved in the conspiracy. LF[05] ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS GEORGIAVictor Babiuc met with President Shevardnadze in Tbilisi on 25 May, Caucasus Press reported. The two discussed ways of expanding ties between the countries' Defense Ministries, the situation in the Balkans, and the need to strengthen ties between GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and NATO. According to unconfirmed reports, Romania, along with Poland, may be interested in joining that alignment (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 May 1999). The previous day, Babiuc and his Georgian counterpart, Davit Tevzadze, had discussed cooperation prospects, including the training of Georgian officers in Romania and cooperation between the two countries' military-industrial complexes. LF[06] FORMER KAZAKH PREMIER SUMMONED TO COURTAkezhan Kazhegeldin has been summoned to appear at the Almaty City Court on 1 June, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. Kazakh National Security Committee chairman Nurtay Abyqaev told "Kazakhstanskaya pravda" that two criminal cases have been opened against Kazhegeldin, one in connection with alleged tax evasion and the other to determine the origins of Kazhegeldin's allegedly huge fortune in foreign banks. The 31 Kanal Almaty TV channel reported that the National Security Committee has created a special team to investigate Kazhegeldin's case. LF[07] KAZAKH CENTRAL ELECTION COMMITTEE CHAIRWOMAN MEETS POLITICAL PARTY LEADERSZaghipa Balieva met with representatives of Kazakh political parties and movements in Almaty on 25 May to discuss the new election law, RFE/RL correspondents reported. Balieva said that any one of 43 minor offenses could disqualify potential candidates from participation in elections at any level. LF[08] KAZAKH HUNGER-STRIKERS RECEIVE INTERIM PAYMENTSerik Umbetov, governor of Zhambyl Oblast in southern Kazakhstan, has distributed some 50,000 tenges ($450) among workers at the Phosphorus Producing Plant in Taraz who have been on hunger strike for almost three weeks to demand the payment of back wages, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 1999). After Umbetov had promised to pay all outstanding wages by 10 June, the protesters agreed to suspend their hunger strike until that date. LF[09] KYRGYZSTAN PASSES NEW LAW ON POLITICAL PARTIESThe Legislative Assembly--the lower house of Kyrgyzstan's parliament-- passed a law on political parties on 25 May, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported, citing the parliamentary press service. That law no longer designates political parties as public organizations and reduces from 500 to10 the minimum number of persons who need to found a party. Those amendments are unlikely, however, to affect the outcome of the parliamentary elections in February 2000, as only parties that were registered with the Ministry of Justice one year before those elections are eligible to participate. LF[10] KYRGYZ FOREIGN MINISTER IN CHINAMuratbek Imanaliev held talks in Beijing on 25 May with China's Minister of Foreign Trade Zhang Xiang, ITAR-TASS reported. Both sides expressed their wish and determination to expand economic ties. Imanaliev predicted that in the 21st century, China will become Kyrgyzstan's main trading partner. LF[11] TAJIK GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS OPPOSITION ULTIMATUMThe Tajik government issued a statement on 25 May dismissing as "unacceptable" conditions that the United Tajik Opposition stipulated the previous day for its continued participation in the peace process, Reuters and Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 1999). Those conditions include the naming as defense minister of opposition field commander Mirzo Zioev and the holding of parliamentary elections before the presidential poll, which the Tajik government had said will take place before 6 November. The statement blamed the lagging implementation of earlier agreements on the recent two-month absence from Tajikistan of UTO Chairman Said Abdullo Nuri. Earlier on 25 May President Imomali Rakhmonov met with ambassadors from the eight countries, including Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, that are guarantors of the peace process. LF[12] TURKMENISTAN TO TERMINATE BORDER AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIAThe head of the Russian border guard contingent in Turkmenistan, Vladimir Konovalov, told Reuters on 25 May that Ashgabat has informed Moscow it plans unilaterally to revoke the open- ended treaty it signed with Russia in 1993, which allows for Turkmen and Russian border troops jointly to guard Turkmenistan's frontiers with Iran and Afghanistan. Konovalov commented that he considers the Turkmen move justified, as the country's border service is fully capable of performing that task without the assistance of the 300 Russian border guards currently serving in Turkmenistan. LF[13] UZBEKISTAN, U.S. DISCUSS DEFENSE COOPERATIONU.S. special envoy to the Secretary of State for the Newly Independent States Stephen Sestanovich attended a session of the U.S.- Uzbek Joint Commission in Tashkent on 24-25 May. Sestanovich and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov signed six documents, including a two-year program for defense cooperation and agreements on combating terrorism and the demilitarization of some Uzbek chemical plants that previously contributed to the Soviet chemical weapons program. The U.S. agreed to grant Uzbekistan some $30 million to implement that demilitarization program and to pursue market reform. A joint press release issued after the session noted that the U.S. welcomes Uzbekistan's pledge to make its currency freely convertible next year. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[14] NEW WAVE OF REFUGEES HEADED FOR MACEDONIASome 2,000 Kosovars arrived on the border with Macedonia on 25 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 May 1999). In Geneva, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that some 150,000 refugees may soon arrive in Macedonia. There is room in existing refugee camps there for only an additional 15,000, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported. Some observers suggested that the latest wave may be a result of a "final push" by the Serbian authorities to remove the last ethnic Albanians from Kosova. Other observers said the Serbian authorities may be seeking to "flood" Macedonia with refugees in order to force NATO troops there to concentrate their time and energies on humanitarian tasks and not on preparations for an eventual occupation of Kosova. PM[15] THUNDEROUS RECEPTION FOR RUGOVAThousands of Kosovar refugees greeted ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova at the Stenkovec refugee camp in Macedonia on 26 May. Reuters reported "wild celebrations" during his 10-minute visit. It was Rugova's first appearance in a refugee camp since he left Kosova on 5 May. Critics charge that he has since spent too much time talking to foreign politicians and diplomats and that he has not spent time with the refugees and other Kosovar leaders (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 19 May 1999). PM[16] MORE KOSOVAR DETAINEES ARRIVE IN ALBANIASeveral hundred male refugees arrived in Albania via the border crossing of Morina on 25 May, Reuters reported. They said that Serbian forces released them from the prison in Smrekonica where paramilitaries had held up to 3, 000 men hostage in recent weeks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 May 1999). Apart from visible emaciation and malnourishment, the men were suffering from exposure to the sun. A witness reported that the prison guards were not police but paramilitaries. He added: "They treated us like animals, they beat us, some people in the head, everywhere." Medical aid workers said that the men have bruises from the beatings they received to the abdomen, hands, feet, ribs, and, in some cases, the head. FS[17] EU OFFICIALS PROMISE ALBANIA PREFERRED TRADE STATUSHans van den Broek, the EU commissioner in charge of foreign affairs, told Albanian Prime Minister Majko Pandeli in Brussels on 25 May that the EU is willing to grant Albania "preferential trade terms," dpa reported. He added that the EU Commission on 26 May will also discuss the timetable and steps to be taken for the possible admission of Albania and Macedonia into the union. FS[18] PROSTITUTION RACKETEERS KILL REFUGEE GIRL IN KIDNAP ATTEMPTGangsters belonging to a prostitution ring in Vlora killed a 16-year-old girl in a kidnap attempt on 24 May, Reuters reported. The refugee girl was living with her father in a rented house in the outskirts of the city. The father told police that the gangsters fired shots at both the girl and himself after he had tried to drive them back. Police surrounded the area immediately after the incident and arrested five suspects. Relief agencies have warned that gangs are trying to kidnap young girls from Kosova to send them as prostitutes to Italy or Greece. FS[19] RED CROSS CONVOY REACHES KOSOVAA spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said in Geneva on 26 May that five Red Cross relief trucks reached Prishtina the previous night. The arrival there of eight ICRC staff on 24 May marked the return of that organization to the province. The relief organization withdrew its 19 staff members from Kosova on 29 March. The Serbian authorities recently gave the ICRC permission to return. PM[20] YUGOSLAV TROOPS ABDUCT KOSOVAR MALESMembers of the Yugoslav army removed 50 males from a group of about 500 ethnic Albanian refugees as they were attempting to cross into Montenegro on 25 May, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The soldiers took the Kosovars to an unknown destination. PM[21] SERBIAN POLICE SEAL OFF KRUSEVACParamilitary and local Serbian police barred roads leading into and out of Krusevac on 25 May. The police prevented busses and river ferries from running and restricted the movement of vehicles within the town, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. A mother of a soldier serving in Kosova told RFE/RL from Krusevac by telephone that coffins containing dead Serbian soldiers arrive in the town "constantly." She added: "The mothers are not afraid of either the politicians or the police. The mothers will go [to Kosova], and find their children." And in Cacak, which was also the scene of recent anti-war protests, one of the recently arrested protesters said that her arrest is an attempt by the Serbian authorities to intimidate those who oppose the war (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 1999). PM[22] MORE NATO TROOPS FOR KOSOVA FORCENATO officials agreed in Brussels on 25 May to increase the size of Operation Joint Guardian from some 28,000 soldiers to up to 45,000, the "Berliner Zeitung" reported. In London on 26 May, British Defense Secretary George Robertson said that he hopes the additional troops will go to the Balkans "in the next few weeks." He added that the force may face "a hostile environment," by which he presumably meant that they might enter Kosova without Serbian permission. Some 24,000 NATO troops are already stationed in or near the Balkans as part of Operation Joint Guardian. More than half of those soldiers are in Macedonia. The operation, which NATO officials often call KFOR-Plus, is intended to be a peace- keeping force in Kosova to ensure that the refugees can return home safely as part of an eventual peace settlement. Observers note that KFOR-Plus could easily form the core of a large force to invade Kosova if NATO decides to embark on such a course. PM[23] FISCHER WARNS ABOUT SANDZAKGerman Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in Washington on 25 May that if NATO fails to secure the safe return of refugees to Kosova, the conflict could spread and the Balkans remain unstable for many years, Reuters reported. He argued that "if [Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic can continue [with his program of ethnic cleansing], we can see next what will happen in the Sandzak..., you will see an overthrow of [the democratic government in] Montenegro. You will see that Albanian nationalism will explode. And this will have severe consequences for stability in the whole region, especially in Macedonia." PM[24] FOREIGN MONEY FOR BOSNIAA spokesman for the World Bank said in Sarajevo on 25 May that Bosnia will need $2.6 billion in development and reconstruction assistance for the period 2000- 2004. Elsewhere, a spokesman for the international community's Carlos Westendorp noted that $760 million of the $1.05 billion approved last week by an international donors' conference will be allocated for reconstruction projects. The balance will go for peace implementation costs and support for the state budget and balance of payments. Representatives of the international community have stressed in recent months that Bosnia must make a transition from depending on foreign aid to attracting foreign investments. To do that, the Bosnian authorities must do more to end corruption, the foreign experts warn. PM[25] GRENADES HIT PEACEKEEPERS' HOUSESUnknown persons on 26 May fired rocket-propelled grenades at two houses in Zvornik inhabited by SFOR peacekeepers, NATO said in a statement issued in Tuzla. SFOR officials are investigating the incident, in which no one was injured. The text did not identify the nationality of the troops. Zvornik is in the Republika Srpska. SFOR troops there are under U.S. command. PM[26] ILIESCU WARNS AGAINST RUSSIAN PRESENCE IN BALKANSFormer Romanian President Ion Iliescu called on the U.S. not to give Russia a chance to re-establish its domination in the Balkans by participating in a peacekeeping mission after the conflict in Kosova, Mediafax reported on 25 May. In an article entitled "Moscow on the Danube: Bad News After Kosovo," which was published in "The Washington Post" on 23 May, Iliescu said Russian military involvement in the Balkan peace process could destabilize the region. VG[27] ROMANIAN SENATE ADOPTS LANGUAGE BILLThe Senate on 25 May adopted a language bill stating that in districts where ethnic minorities form at least 20 percent of the population, those minorities have the right to use their own languages in dealings with local authorities, according to a Mediafax report cited by the BBC. The bill has yet to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies. VG[28] COMMUNISTS WIN IN ELECTIONS IN MOST MOLDOVAN COUNTIESCommunist candidates won majorities in six of Moldova's nine counties in the 23 May local elections, according to preliminary results cited by BASA- Press on 25 May. Communist deputy Victor Stepaniuc said his party had been "expecting much more." Vasile Soimaru, a deputy from the Party of Democratic Forces, described the election results as a "victory of the extreme left." Ion Neagu of the Christian Democratic Convention said the results reflect the frustration of the people over the government's mismanagement of state affairs. VG[29] BULGARIAN PREMIER MEETS WITH D'ALEMA...Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema said his country will lobby in favor of negotiations on Bulgaria's accession to the EU beginning in December, according to a 24 May BTA report cited by the BBC. D'Alema's comments came after he met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov in Rome. Kostov, who had earlier met with Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, said Macedonia urgently requires humanitarian assistance to deal with the influx of refugees from Kosova. He added that so far Macedonia has not received any "concrete financial assistance." He also said that work should begin immediately on plans for the return of the Kosova refugees to their homes once the conflict in Yugoslavia is over. VG[30] ...SEES KEY ROLE FOR BULGARIA IN BALKANSKostov told the Italian ADN-Kronos agency that his country will be "a useful partner" for NATO in maintaining stability in the Balkans and preventing any future conflicts. He pointed out that disputes still exist between Greece and Turkey, between Greece and Macedonia, and between the Turkish government and that country's Kurdish minority. Kostov also said the conflict in Yugoslavia demonstrates that his country needs more access routes to Central Europe and Italy. VG[31] BALKAN DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET IN SOFIAThe deputy defense ministers of seven Southeastern European states as well as delegations from Italy and the U.S. discussed the Kosova conflict at a 25 May meeting in Sofia, Bulgarian Radio reported. The deputy ministers said an international peacekeeping force should be charged with securing the return of the Kosova refugees to their homes and another multinational contingent should be in charge of the region's infrastructure, BTA reported. They are scheduled to visit the proposed headquarters in Plovdiv for a possible multinational Balkan peacekeeping force. VG[C] END NOTE[32] WEST MAY BE ONLY HOPE FOR POST-MILOSEVIC SERBIABy Andrej KrickovicAs NATO air strikes devastate Serbia's economy and infrastructure, the Serbian opposition is beginning to speak out against Slobodan Milosevic. At the end of April, former Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic criticized Milosevic for lying to the Serbian people and called on him to accept a peaceful solution to the crisis. He paid for his boldness by losing his job and being returned to the ranks of the opposition. Democratic Party President Zoran Djindjic and Social Democratic Party President Vuk Obradovic have taken Draskovic's criticism a step further. Both have called on Milosevic to bow to NATO demands in order to end the bombing, and both have vowed that Democratic forces in the country will unseat Milosevic once the NATO intervention ends. But Western leaders should not take this as a signal that they can cut a deal with Milosevic and that the opposition will take care of him after the bombings. A compromise deal that is more acceptable to the Serbs than Rambouillet would mean a victory for Milosevic, allowing him to continue to play on nationalist sentiment. Like Sadam Hussein, Milosevic could turn defeat into victory by claiming he stood up to the full force of the Western alliance and defended Serbia's vital national interests. And, like Iraq, Serbia could become a pariah state that is a constant threat to regional stability. While NATO has been winning the air war, Milosevic has been busy clamping down on the opposition and silencing independent media. Independent outlets like Belgrade's Radio B92 have been shut down and reopened with pro- government staffs. Others are afraid of the consequences of speaking out and have more or less voluntarily toed the Milosevic line. Many believe that the slaying of Slavko Curuvija, the editor- in-chief of the popular Belgrade daily "Dnevni Telegraf" was intended as a message to would-be critics of the regime. Several anti-Milosevic activists and opposition leaders have fled to Montenegro, including Djindjic. A post-war opposition movement would have to recover from these losses and operate in an atmosphere of fear and brutal repression. Moreover, it is also doubtful that the opposition is capable of leading Serbia into a post-Milosevic era. Draskovic and Djindjic have been proponents of Serbian nationalism and supported the wars in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croatia. At the same time, both have blown their best opportunities. They failed to capitalize on the street protests of 1996- 1997, allowing Milosevic to emerge stronger than ever. Many observers regard them as opportunists, at best. Although Obradovic has been a vocal opponent of Milosevic, his Social Democracy party has only a small following. Most Serbs continue to hold the same nationalist beliefs that have inflicted so much harm on them and their neighbors during this decade. Even Milosevic's most consistent opponents have failed to condemn ethnic cleansing in Kosova, instead focusing their criticism on "NATO aggression." The most independent-minded media, such as the weekly "Vreme," have portrayed reports of massacres in Kosova as NATO propaganda and claimed that the Western alliance is to blame for the hundreds of thousands of refuges fleeing Kosova. Belgrade's students were the backbone of the 1996- 1997 protests. Yet they have failed to show any interest in the suffering of Kosova Albanians and have instead flocked to government-sponsored anti- NATO rallies. The destructive nationalism that Milosevic has manipulated so successfully in the past is still strong among the Serbian people. One would be hard pressed to find a Serb who believes that the Albanians have as much right as the Serbs to live in Kosova or who admits Serbian nationalism is responsible for the wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosova. Most Serbs continue to insist that Kosova is sacred Serbian land and that the Albanians and international community are the ones committing aggression and ethnic cleansing. The international community is unlikely to accept the Serbs "back into the fold" as long as they continue to view themselves martyrs and/or victims of the Albanians or of NATO. Several key Western leaders have suggested that Serbia must purge its media, political culture, and educational system of nationalism before it can return to the ranks of European nations. Such a development will remain impossible while Milosevic is in power. But the Serbs may never be unable to rid themselves of Milosevic if the West allows him to stay in power. The author is a free-lance journalist based in Zagreb 26-05-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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