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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 146, 99-07-29

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. 146, 29 July 1999


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN PREMIER OUTLINES AUSTERITY MEASURES
  • [02] AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY AT ODDS OVER OIL EXPORT PIPELINE
  • [03] KAZAKH OPPOSITION LEADER ACCUSED OF INSULTING PRESIDENT
  • [04] GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE COMPLETED IN KYRGYZSTAN
  • [05] OPPOSITION IN KYRGYZSTAN PLANS JOINT COUNCIL
  • [06] MORE ANTHRAX CASES REPORTED IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN
  • [07] DEMILITARIZATION, REFERENDUM PREPARATIONS ON TRACK IN

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [08] GENEROUS PLEDGES FOR KOSOVA
  • [09] ALBRIGHT ARRIVES IN KOSOVA
  • [10] ITALY URGES RUGOVA TO RETURN TO KOSOVA
  • [11] KOSOVAR LEADER 'PIQUED' AT EXCLUSION FROM SUMMIT
  • [12] KFOR JAILS THREE MEN FOR KOSOVA MURDERS
  • [13] TWO KEY YUGOSLAV RADIO STATIONS RESUME BROADCASTING
  • [14] SERBIA'S DJINDJIC TURNS TRIAL INTO PROPAGANDA COUP
  • [15] ANTI-MILOSEVIC PROTESTS CONTINUE IN SERBIA
  • [16] YUGOSLAV COLONEL BLASTS PRO-MILOSEVIC GENERALS
  • [17] ALBANIA'S MAJKO CALLS ON UN TO TAKE CONTROL OF YUGOSLAV ARMY
  • [18] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT TELLS COURTS TO 'STAND UP' TO CRIMINALS
  • [19] TAIWAN ANNOUNCES INDUSTRIAL ZONE IN MACEDONIA
  • [20] HAGUE COURT SEEKS LIFE SENTENCE FOR CROAT
  • [21] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CANCELS PRIVATIZATION LAW
  • [22] BULGARIA HAS LOWEST BIRTH RATE IN EUROPE

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [23] ALBANIA'S NEW ENVIRONMENT

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN PREMIER OUTLINES AUSTERITY MEASURES

    In his first

    television address since his appointment as prime minister

    last month, Vazgen Sargsian on 28 July explained his proposed

    measures to overcome Armenia's budget crisis, RFE/RL's

    Yerevan bureau reported. Sargsian said that budget revenues

    for the first half of 1999 were 33 billion drams ($61

    million) less than planned, which is equal to some 10 percent

    of projected government spending for 1999. Characterizing the

    situation as "extremely difficult but not hopeless," Sargsian

    vowed to raise some taxes, crack down on tax evasion, and

    increase excise duties on cigarettes and gasoline. He said

    those measures will help to bridge the budget shortfall

    without seriously affecting the poor and the middle class.

    During talks in Yerevan last week, IMF representatives gave

    the Armenian government until late August to bridge the

    budget gap, which has delayed disbursement of planned IMF and

    World Bank loan tranches totaling some $55 million. LF

    [02] AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY AT ODDS OVER OIL EXPORT PIPELINE

    Azerbaijan's State Oil Company SOCAR issued an official

    statement on 27 July saying that talks between Azerbaijani

    and Turkish working groups have failed to reach agreement on

    four draft documents that would constitute the legal basis

    for the construction and use of the planned Baku-Ceyhan oil

    export pipeline, "Izvestiya" reported on 29 July.

    Representatives of the two countries had signed a protocol in

    Istanbul in April pledging to finalize and sign the four

    documents in question by the end of July. The points of

    disagreement, according to "Izvestiya," are over transit

    tariffs and the requirement that Turkey meet additional

    construction costs if the total cost of building the pipeline

    exceeds $2.4 billion. Turkey is demanding a tariff fee of $21

    per metric ton of oil, while Azerbaijan and Western oil

    companies engaged in the Caspian refuse to pay more than $18-

    19. LF

    [03] KAZAKH OPPOSITION LEADER ACCUSED OF INSULTING PRESIDENT

    Seydakhmet Quttyqadam, who heads the Orleu (Progress) Party,

    told journalists in Almaty on 28 July that he has been

    formally charged with insulting President Nursultan

    Nazarbaev, an RFE/RL correspondent in the former capital

    reported. Quttyqadam had said at a rally in February that he

    considered that Nazarbaev has failed to fulfill his

    obligations as president and should resign, adding that

    Kazakhstan needs a "strong leader" like Ataturk or de Gaulle.

    Quttyqadam also argued on 28 July that the presidential

    system should be replaced by a parliamentary one and that the

    parliament should be empowered to form a government and to

    appoint regional leaders, according to Interfax. He said that

    the parliamentary elections scheduled for this fall, in which

    he will run in a single-mandate district in Almaty, offer

    "the last chance" for the development of democracy in

    Kazakhstan. LF

    [04] GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE COMPLETED IN KYRGYZSTAN

    Prime Minister

    Amangeldy Muraliev on 26 July presented to the cabinet three

    new ministers appointed to replace those dismissed by

    President Askar Akaev three days earlier, RFE/RL's Bishkek

    bureau reported. Former State Property Fund director Sultan

    Mederov replaces Marat Sultanov as finance minister and is

    himself replaced by former Customs Director Tashkul

    Kereksizov. Jalalabad University rector Tursunbek Bekbolotov

    takes over from Sovetbek Toktomyshev as minister of

    education, science, and culture, and Imankadyr Rysaliev, a

    former presidential administration department head, succeeds

    Mira Jangachareva as minister of labor and social issues.

    Jangaracheva was named deputy governor of Chu Oblast on 26

    July. LF

    [05] OPPOSITION IN KYRGYZSTAN PLANS JOINT COUNCIL

    Meeting in

    Bishkek on 28 July, representatives of five opposition

    parties (Free Kyrgyzstan, the Communist Party, the People's

    Party, the republican Party and "My Country") announced they

    will form a joint political council on which each party will

    have one representative, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported.

    They also expressed their objection to President Akaev's

    proposal to amend the election law passed by the parliament

    in April in order to reduce from 12 months to six the period

    for which a political party must be officially registered

    prior to parliamentary elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3

    May and 22 June 1999). Akaev's proposed amendment is

    presumably intended to facilitate the participation in the

    February 2000 parliamentary elections of the Adilet Party,

    created as a support base for the president. The Jalalabad

    regional branch of Adilet held its founding conference on 24

    July and elected as its head Kubanychbek Djumaliev, the

    governor of Jalalabad Oblast and a former premier. LF

    [06] MORE ANTHRAX CASES REPORTED IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN

    Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Minister of Public Health Viktor

    Glinenko told Interfax on 28 July that six more cases of

    anthrax been reported in Osh Oblast over the past nine days,

    Interfax reported. The victims had eaten infected beef. A

    total of 957 people have been placed under medical

    observation. Meanwhile, 10 people have been hospitalized with

    anthrax in the Bazar-Korgin district of Jalalabad Oblast,

    which borders on Osh, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. LF

    [07] DEMILITARIZATION, REFERENDUM PREPARATIONS ON TRACK IN

    TAJIKISTAN

    United Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri

    told journalists in Dushanbe on 28 July that the opposition

    will meet the 31 July deadline for disarming its forces,

    Reuters reported. That deadline is stipulated in the protocol

    that he and President Imomali Rakhmonov signed on 17 June. Of

    a total of some 6,000 opposition fighters who have been

    screened by the Central Attestation Committee, 4,500 have

    opted for service in either the army or the police.

    Meanwhile, preparations are continuing for the 26 September

    referendum on constitutional amendments that will remove the

    present ban on political parties with a religious

    orientation, AP-Blitz reported on 27 July. Acting UN Special

    Representative Joges Saksena told journalists in Dushanbe on

    27 July he hopes the constitutional amendments will be

    approved, paving the way for a special parliamentary session

    that will schedule new parliamentary elections for January.

    The opposition has retracted its demand that those elections

    be held before the 6 November presidential poll. LF


    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [08] GENEROUS PLEDGES FOR KOSOVA

    Representatives of more than 60

    countries and dozens of aid agencies and regional

    organizations, meeting in Brussels on 28 July, pledged more

    than $2 billion for humanitarian and reconstruction aid for

    Kosova. The largest pledge was the U.S. offer of $500

    million, followed by $200 million from Japan, $190 million

    from Germany, and $145 million from the U.K. Prior to the

    meeting, representatives of several UN agencies and the EU

    said that $564 million is needed for immediate aid needs, AP

    reported. In New York, the General Assembly authorized a

    budget of $200 million to finance UN operations in Kosova.

    Marjatta Rasi, who is Finland's ambassador to the world

    organization and who spoke in the name of the EU, said she

    fears that the UN will not provide enough money for its

    agencies to carry out their respective mandates. PM

    [09] ALBRIGHT ARRIVES IN KOSOVA

    U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine

    Albright arrived in Prishtina on 29 July for a one-day visit.

    She is slated to meet with KFOR's General Sir Mike Jackson

    and the UN's Bernard Kouchner. The previous day in Rome,

    Albright called on Washington's allies to show "the same kind

    of cooperation in peace as we had during the war." She and

    her Italian counterpart, Lamberto Dini, said that the

    reconstruction process is proceeding too slowly. PM

    [10] ITALY URGES RUGOVA TO RETURN TO KOSOVA

    Foreign Minister Dini

    told a press conference in Rome on 28 July that the Italian

    government has "taken note of the fact that [Rome-based,

    Kosovar shadow-state] President [Ibrahim] Rugova has not been

    playing an active role since the arrival of KFOR in

    Prishtina. The Italian government has been encouraging Rugova

    to return to the region and play the role that his own

    election [as president entitles] him to play. He [should

    become] more active than he has been so far. We have

    encouraged him to take part in meetings with KFOR and UN

    administrators, which he has shied away from, and we expect

    him to go back to Prishtina soon to resume his political

    role," Reuters reported. PM

    [11] KOSOVAR LEADER 'PIQUED' AT EXCLUSION FROM SUMMIT

    Rugova said

    in Rome on 28 July that he is "piqued" that his Democratic

    League of Kosova (LDK) was not invited to the 29-30 July

    Balkan reconstruction summit in Sarajevo. He played down

    reports of tensions between the LDK and the Kosova Liberation

    Army, saying: "We discuss. There is no war between us."

    Reuters reported that "sources close to [Rugova's] entourage

    in Rome" told the news agency that Rugova has no plans to

    return to Kosova soon (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 July 1999).

    In Prishtina, Kouchner told "Corriere della sera" that "there

    can never be real change" in Kosova without Rugova. PM

    [12] KFOR JAILS THREE MEN FOR KOSOVA MURDERS

    A spokesman for

    British peacekeepers said in Prishtina on 29 July that KFOR

    has jailed three of the five men whom peacekeepers recently

    questioned about the murder of 14 Serbian farmers in Staro

    Gracko (see "RFE/RL Newsline,' 26 July 1999). KFOR released

    the other two men. The spokesmen did not elaborate. In Staro

    Gracko, Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle conducted a funeral

    service for the 14 men. He said that "the only good thing

    about this misfortune is that you left the world not as

    criminals but as innocent victims." Kosova Serb leader

    Momcilo Trajkovic stressed that the international community's

    mission in Kosova will fail if KFOR does not prevent ethnic

    Albanians from killing Serbs. Several hundred Serbs attended

    the funeral, which KFOR troops guarded. Kouchner also

    attended. PM

    [13] TWO KEY YUGOSLAV RADIO STATIONS RESUME BROADCASTING

    Radio

    Prishtina went back on the air on 28 July for the first time

    since NATO's springtime bombing campaign damaged its

    facilities. The broadcast began with an address by Kouchner.

    Programs made under UN supervision were in Albanian, Serbian,

    and Turkish. In Belgrade, the private radio station B-92

    resumed broadcasting under the name of B2-92. A spokesman

    said that the station will broadcast only music until 2

    August, when it will resume newscasts. He stressed that any

    interference by the authorities with the station will lead to

    "abandoning the project," AP reported. B2-92 broadcasts on a

    frequency assigned by the Belgrade city council to Studio B

    Television, which is close to Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal

    Movement. The Serbian authorities shut down B-92 on 2 April.

    PM

    [14] SERBIA'S DJINDJIC TURNS TRIAL INTO PROPAGANDA COUP

    Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic told a Belgrade

    military court on 28 July that he never received the army

    call-up notice that the authorities maintain they sent him

    during the conflict in Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service

    reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 July 1999). He stressed

    that the proceedings are a "political trial" and vowed to

    continue his demands for Yugoslav President Slobodan

    Milosevic to resign. The court decided not to arrest

    Djindjic, nor did it set a date for a second hearing. A

    Democratic spokesman told AP that Djindjic must appear before

    a Belgrade local court on 3 August to face charges that he

    failed to report a change of residence to the authorities. PM

    [15] ANTI-MILOSEVIC PROTESTS CONTINUE IN SERBIA

    Some 4,000 people

    attended a rally sponsored by the opposition Alliance for

    Change in the southern spa town of Vrnjacka Banja on 28 July.

    Near Cacak, 30 reservists blocked a road to intensify demands

    that the government pay their back wages for the weeks they

    spent in Kosova. One reservist told Reuters that they are

    determined to get their back pay before winter. PM

    [16] YUGOSLAV COLONEL BLASTS PRO-MILOSEVIC GENERALS

    Colonel

    Dragan Vuksic, who was a member of the Yugoslav delegation to

    the 1995 Dayton Bosnian peace talks, told the mass-

    circulation Belgrade daily "Blic" of 28 July that unnamed,

    pro-Milosevic "self-styled mouthpieces" have no right to

    speak for the entire army. He said that the unnamed generals

    support the regime only to "defend their positions and

    privileges." This was an apparent reference to recent pro-

    Milosevic statements by Generals Dragoljub Ojdanic and

    Nebojsa Pavkovic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 July 1999).

    Vuksic stressed that "the current regime" has no right to use

    the army "as a means of last resort to stay in power." He

    added that he has resigned from the army rather than remain

    in a situation in which "others speak on my behalf and

    against my beliefs and will." PM

    [17] ALBANIA'S MAJKO CALLS ON UN TO TAKE CONTROL OF YUGOSLAV ARMY

    Prime Minister Pandeli Majko said in Tirana on 28 July that

    the UN should place the Yugoslav army under international

    control. He argued that Belgrade's military "has waged four

    wars [since 1991] and caused much suffering to the region. It

    is the obligation of the international community to take

    measures to reduce Serbia's military capacity and exert

    control over its armed forces," dpa reported. PM

    [18] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT TELLS COURTS TO 'STAND UP' TO CRIMINALS

    The government said in a statement on 28 July that unnamed

    courts have undermined the police and the legal system by

    freeing criminals whom the police have caught red-handed.

    Observers note that many witnesses are afraid to testify

    against often powerful local gang members, which prevents

    courts from convicting the accused. Moreover, criminals are

    sometimes able to intimidate or bribe judges. PM

    [19] TAIWAN ANNOUNCES INDUSTRIAL ZONE IN MACEDONIA

    Peter Cheng,

    who is Taiwan's charge d'affaires in Skopje, said on 28 July

    that Taipei will soon make up for time lost during the Kosova

    conflict and start construction of a special industrial zone

    in Petrovac, near Skopje. The Taiwanese government hopes to

    attract investments that will provide employment for

    Taiwanese-trained Macedonian workers. The government has been

    urging Taiwanese businessmen to produce goods in Macedonia

    for European markets. PM

    [20] HAGUE COURT SEEKS LIFE SENTENCE FOR CROAT

    Prosecutor

    Gregory Kehoe told the Hague-based war crimes tribunal on

    28 July that Croatian General Tihomir Blaskic deserves a

    life sentence for his role in the ethnic cleansing of

    Muslims from the Lasva valley in 1993. This is the first

    time that a prosecutor has demanded the maximum penalty

    from the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,

    Reuters reported. PM

    [21] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CANCELS PRIVATIZATION LAW

    The Constitutional Court on 27 July declared

    unconstitutional a law on the privatization of the

    Moldtelcom company, which passed in 1998 by a simple

    majority of the parliamentary deputies present. The basic

    law stipulates, however, that so-called organic laws, which

    are considered of prime importance, must be passed by a

    majority of all deputies elected to the parliament. The law

    was contested by deputy Victor Cecan, who represents the

    Party of Moldovan Communists, Infotag reported the next

    day. MS

    [22] BULGARIA HAS LOWEST BIRTH RATE IN EUROPE

    Bulgaria's

    population is rapidly sinking and the country now has the

    lowest birth rate in Europe, Reuters reported on 28 July,

    citing the National Statistics Institute. Yordan Kalchev,

    an expert with the institute, told journalists that the

    decline began in 1990. Last year, the birth rate in

    Bulgaria was 7.9 per 1,000, while the mortality rate was

    14.4 per 1,000. In the same year the population decreased

    by 0.6 percent and now stands at 8.23 million. If the trend

    continues, the total population will fall to 6.91 million

    by 2020, Kalchev said, adding that it is also getting

    older. In 1998, every fourth Bulgarian was a pensioner. MS


    [C] END NOTE

    [23] ALBANIA'S NEW ENVIRONMENT

    By Fabian Schmidt

    Following the end of the war in Kosova, Albania has

    begun to return to normality, but its perceptions of both

    itself and its surroundings have changed. The Albanian

    public's friendliness and hospitality vis-a-vis the refugees

    throughout the Kosova crisis and Albania's support for the

    international military and humanitarian effort gave the

    country a very good image abroad, which contrasts sharply

    with its reputation before the crisis of being crime-ridden,

    impoverished, and politically polarized.

    Since early 1997, Albania had become notorious for its

    Kalashnikov-waving adolescents who dominated scenes of

    civilian unrest that broke out after the collapse of pyramid

    investment schemes. But Albania's political leaders seized

    the Kosova crisis as a unique opportunity to show the

    international community Albania's maturity. Now the country

    finds itself on the winning side in what is in effect a large

    international alliance. The post-war order offers Albania a

    serious prospect of long-term regional development and

    prosperity, and it is up to the Albanians to make sure that

    prospect becomes reality.

    Plans for regional cooperation in the Balkans are not

    new, but the presence of the U.S., the EU, the UN, and other

    key international figures instrumental in ending the Kosova

    conflict has removed numerous practical and psychological

    barriers that were blocking the country's regional

    integration with its neighbors.

    The largest barrier to collapse was that between Albania

    and Kosova. This development's significance compares to the

    fall of the Berlin Wall, despite some differences. While

    before 1989 the Berlin Wall served only the East German

    regime in helping it prevent its citizens from fleeing to the

    democratic West, the Albanian-Kosova border, for most of its

    post-1945 history, was a border between two dictatorships

    that were highly suspicious of each other. Furthermore, the

    border dates back to the creation of the Albanian state in

    1913; therefore, it had a more profound impact on the

    cultural and social development on either side of it than did

    the Berlin Wall.

    The Rambouillet accord specifies that there must be free

    movement of goods, services, and people from and to Kosova.

    With the border now open, regional integration between

    Albania and Kosova can take place quickly in terms of

    economy, trade, culture, and other sectors. More so than

    Kosova, Albania will profit from that integration, which will

    allow the remote and underdeveloped mountainous northern

    regions of Bajram Curri and Kukes to link up with their

    Ottoman-era markets in Gjakova and Prizren. Albanian

    legislator Neritan Ceka has already suggested that the

    government draw up plans to build a highway to Kosova.

    Similarly, closer integration with Montenegro is now

    possible. In late June, the Yugoslav federation withdrew its

    border controls between Montenegro and Albania, thus opening

    the way for free movement of people. Now it is up to Tirana

    and Podgorica to regulate the border and customs regime in a

    mutually beneficial way. Both sides have already made clear

    that they want to promote a liberal border regime.

    To the south, Athens is interested in linking its

    Adriatic coastal region with central Europe through a highway

    via Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia. Albanian Foreign

    Minister Paskal Milo and his Greek counterpart, George

    Papandreou, agreed in Athens in early June to put that

    project high on the agenda of the Sarajevo stability summit

    that began on 29 July. The two met shortly thereafter with

    their Macedonian counterpart, Aleksandar Dimitrov, and agreed

    to launch a smaller-scale regional project designed to

    facilitate cross-border travel for people living in the

    frontier region.

    Another result of the crisis has been the substantial

    strengthening of many Macedonians' trust toward both their

    own ethnic Albanian minority and towards Albania. Many

    Macedonian politicians and voters long feared that an

    explosion of the Kosova crisis could lead to a breakup of

    Macedonia. During the crisis, almost a quarter of a million

    Kosovar refugees entered Macedonia. This, however, did not

    lead to any moves by Macedonia's Albanians against the

    Macedonian state, which remained stable. In return, Skopje

    has shown itself willing to make concessions, including

    permitting university education in the Albanian language,

    which the previous Macedonian government had rejected for

    fear of fostering "separatism."

    Albania thus faces a much friendlier neighborhood than

    it did only a short time ago. But Albanians will have to

    show that they are capable of taking advantage of the new

    opportunities. Albania's opposition Democratic Party took a

    first step toward ending the political polarization that

    has long bedeviled Albania. On 17 July, an extraordinary

    party congress voted unanimously to end the party's 10-

    month boycott of the parliament, which the Democrats had

    launched in response to the killing of one of their

    legislators.

    Party leader Sali Berisha told the delegates that:

    "Fulfilling the request of the U.S. government to return to

    the parliament is the least we could do, after all that

    they did for Albanians," indicating that the move was

    linked to the U.S. involvement in ending the Kosova crisis.

    Berisha added that "the Democratic Party commits itself to

    creating a new political climate where nobody will be

    excluded anymore."

    But not all Albanians have proven responsible enough to

    promote a vision for a common future. Another Albanian way of

    returning to "normal" was evident in Vlora on 10 July, when

    local citizens armed with machine guns stormed and looted an

    Italian-run refugee camp. If Albania remains unable to tackle

    the problem of crime, it will be difficult for its neighbors

    to take the next large step of relaxing the border regime or

    establishing a customs union.

    29-07-99


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


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