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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 147, 99-07-30Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 147, 30 July 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] NAKHICHEVAN OFFICIAL SAYS AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION SPREADINGDISINFORMATIONNakhichevan senior Foreign Ministry official Azer Alesqerov told journalists on 29 July that activists of the Musavat, Azerbaijan National Independence, and Azerbaijan Popular Front parties are to blame for the 13 July clashes at the Sadarak customs post on the border between the Azerbaijani exclave and Turkey, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 and 28 July 1999). He added that 99 percent of the information on the clashes published in the Azerbaijani opposition press is untrue and aimed at exacerbating tensions. Alesqerov denied opposition allegations that the head of the Sadarak customs post was responsible for the clashes. LF [02] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PROTESTS ALLEGED ELECTION LAW CHANGESThe 20 opposition parliamentary deputies who constitute theDemocratic Bloc issued a statement on 29 July calling for an emergency session of the parliament to discuss the changes they believe were made to the law on municipal elections after its adoption by the parliament, Turan reported. They also demanded that those responsible for making those changes be punished. Parliamentary speaker Murtuz Alesqerov on 25 July denied that any such changes were made (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 July 1999). LF [03] RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTER IN TBILISIVladimir Rushailo andhis Georgian counterpart, Kakha Targamadze, agreed during talks in Tbilisi on 29 July to set up joint groups to seek the release of Russian and Georgian citizens held hostage in Chechnya, Caucasus Press reported. They also agreed to cooperate more closely in stamping out trade in counterfeit goods. LF [04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SUGGESTS POSTPONING RELIGIOUS ARTIFACTEXHIBIT IN U.S.Eduard Shevardnadze has proposed postponing for several years the planned exhibit in three U.S. and one Italian city of Georgian religious artifacts and manuscripts, Caucasus Press reported on 29 July. Senior Georgian clerics oppose allowing the relics to be taken out of the country. Dozens of students took part in a hunger strike in late April to protest the planned exhibit (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 5 May 1999), prompting Shevardnadze to create a special commission, composed of prominent academics and clerics, that is to rule on the advisability of proceeding with the exhibit. In response to an appeal by the opposition Ilia Chavchavadze Society, a Georgian district court on 29 July issued a ban on taking the artifacts out of Georgia. LF [05] BP AMOCO TO QUIT KAZAKH PROJECTA senior official for BPAmoco told Interfax on 29 July that the company will sell its 9.5 percent stake in the Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company (OKIOC), even if the first test well yields hydrocarbons. Kazakhstan's national oil company threatened in June to end relations with the consortium because of delays in drilling the first test well. Drilling is now expected to begin next month. Hydrocarbon reserves in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea are estimated at 12 billion tons. LF [06] KAZAKHSTAN DISCUSSES PURCHASE OF TURKMEN NATURAL GASAKazakh government delegation held talks in Ashgabat on 29 July on purchasing Turkmen natural gas and cooperating in exporting it to European markets, ITAR-TASS reported. Kazakhstan's Minister for Power Engineering, Industry, and Trade Mukhtar Ablyazov said that regions of southern Kazakhstan need to purchase up to 2 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas annually in order to meet demand, adding that Astana might also purchase a further 1 billion cubic meters for resale to Kyrgyzstan. Also discussed was the possibility of exporting oil from Kazakhstan via the Pavlodar-Chimkent-Seidi pipeline and the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi. LF [07] KYRGYZ LEADERS DISCUSS CORRUPTION, ECONOMYAddressing anational conference of police officers in Bishkek on 29 July, President Askar Akaev proposed drafting a 10-year program to combat corruption and economic crime, Interfax reported. Akaev said that the shadow economy accounts for approximately 10-12 percent of GDP, adding that some experts believe the true figure is 25-26 percent. He said that losses to the budget from economic crime over the past year amount to 600 million soms (some $15 million), and he termed corruption "one of the most dangerous threats" to the country. Also on 29 July, Prime Minister Amangeldy Muraliev chaired a cabinet meeting called to discuss the economic situation, at which it was announced that the planned 10 percent increase in agricultural output for 1999 will not be met. Unpaid wages are estimated at 808 million soms, pensions at 265 million soms, and other benefits at 167 million soms. LF [08] KYRGYZSTAN VALUES DEFENSE COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA, CISEchoing Akaev's assertion in his 7 July interview with"Nezavisimaya gazeta" that Russia and Kyrgyzstan are "strategic partners" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 July 1999), Kyrgyzstan's Defense Minister Colonel-General Myrzakan Subanov told the same newspaper on 29 July that Russia is his country's main partner in defense cooperation. Subanov also noted the importance to Kyrgyzstan of participation in the CIS Collective Security Treaty and of cooperation with the other member states of the Central Asian Union in upholding regional security. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[09] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT REJECTS HAGUE COURT'S CHARGES AGAINSTTUDJMANThe Croatian government on 29 July denied that President Franjo Tudjman and other top Croatian officials were responsible for atrocities in central Bosnia in 1993 (see "RFER/RL Balkan Report," 27 July 1999). The government statement charged that recent remarks by a Hague tribunal prosecutor on Croatia's alleged involvement in the Bosnian conflict are incorrect and politically motivated. Elsewhere, Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic said "we reject all insinuations against President Tudjman." Separovic added that his ministry is continuing negotiations with the court over documents regarding Croatian military operations in Krajina in 1995 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 July 1999). PM [10] BALKAN SUMMIT OPENS IN SARAJEVOHeads of state or governmentfrom 39 countries and representatives of 17 international organizations meet in the Bosnian capital on 30 July to discuss Balkan reconstruction. The previous day, a smaller group of leaders from Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, and Montenegro heard an appeal by Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari to put an end to old hatreds and work together for a better future. Ahtisaari, whose country holds the rotating EU chair, warned that "the ability of countries within the region to cooperate and establish good neighborly relations...will be an important criterion for evaluating their prospects of full integration with the EU," the "Financial Times" reported. He added that "the EU and NATO will not look favorably at anyone dashing headlong towards Brussels without even a backward glance" at their neighbors. The daily noted that this is a criticism of Slovenia. In separate remarks, EU aid coordinator Bodo Hombach stressed the need to formulate and implement practical programs. PM [11] ATTENTION FOCUSES ON SUMMIT'S 'EMPTY CHAIR'U.S. NationalSecurity Adviser Sandy Berger said in Washington on 28 July that Serbia will be the only Balkan country not represented by its leaders at the summit. He stressed that Serbia cannot take part in international reconstruction efforts as long as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic remains in office. The conference organizers invited as guests respected Serbian banker Dragoslav Avramovic and several opposition leaders, including Zoran Djindjic and Nenad Canak, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 29 July. When questioned by a BBC reporter the following day, Avramovic refused to say whether he thinks the organizers are justified in excluding Milosevic's representatives. Avramovic stressed that the conference will not deal with concrete proposals and that therefore it is unimportant whether Belgrade's representatives attend (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 July 1999). PM [12] SUMMIT NOT TO CONDEMN MILOSEVIC?"The Daily Telegraph"reported on 30 July that "a row between Russia and the NATO countries...frustrated [U.K.-led] attempts...to secure a [final resolution] insisting on an end to the Milosevic regime before any aid can flow to Serbia." The text will simply "call on the people of Serbia to embrace democratic change," the daily reported. An unnamed diplomat told the newspaper that "this [formulation] is woolly even by the standards of international organizations." PM [13] SKEPTICISM SURROUNDS SUMMITAlso on 30 July, "The DailyTelegraph" noted that many experts are skeptical whether the summit will go beyond "wordy exhortations" and lead to any practical results. The daily reported that unnamed "senior officials from Britain, France, and Finland, which is organizing the summit, say the whole affair is a waste of time." It also quoted an unnamed diplomat as saying that the "Germans dreamt up this thing, got [U.S. President Bill] Clinton to agree, and then dumped it into the lap of the Finns. It's too soon [after the Kosova crisis] and too vague, and the Bosnian government is such a shambles that it doesn't deserve a summit." PM [14] KOSOVARS CHEER 'MOTHER' ALBRIGHTSome 2,000 ethnic Albanianswelcomed U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Prishtina on 29 July. Members of the crowd cheered her as "nona," or mother, a term ethnic Albanians often reserve for the late Mother Teresa. Albright told the Kosovars that she hopes that "never again will people with guns come in the night, never again will houses and villages be burned, and never again will there be massacres and mass graves," AP reported. She met with the Kosova Liberation Army's (UCK) Hashim Thaci, with representatives of Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova (LDK), and with local Serbian leaders Momcilo Trajkovic and Serbian Orthodox Archbishop Artemije. Some 200 pro-Milosevic demonstrators heckled both her and Artemije after their meeting. PM [15] RUGOVA RETURNS TO KOSOVALDK leader Ibrahim Rugova arrivedwithout fanfare at Prishtina airport on 30 July. He later told AP that he and his family will stay in the province (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 July 1999). PM [16] UCK DENIES POWER-GRAB IN KOSOVAThe "International HeraldTribune" reported on 30 July that the UCK has taken power in much of Kosova by setting up government bodies in a "fait accompli." The UN's fledgling civilian administration has not yet extended its authority to many places outside Prishtina, the "Financial Times" added. Thaci told the London-based daily that the UCK "did not exploit the vacuum, which already existed. It took on an obligation to bring back normality and order. If we had not acted, there would have been anarchy ruling Kosova." Observers note that the Kosova peace agreement gives the UN exclusive control over civilian administration. PM [17] SERBIAN MINISTER ADMITS LOSS OF KOSOVASerbian Deputy PrimeMinister Ratko Markovic said that the June peace agreement meant that "Kosova was taken from Serbia," the Belgrade weekly "NIN" reported on 29 July. He compared Serbia's agreement on the loss of the province to the decision of an injured person to have a leg or arm amputated in order to save his life. Observers note this is the first time that a top-ranking Belgrade official has publicly admitted that Serbia lost Kosova as a result of the recent conflict. Officials generally claim that Serbia won the war because Kosova legally remains part of Serbia and because the administration there is in the hands of the UN, not of NATO or the UCK. PM [18] MONTNEGRO GIVES SERBIA SEPTEMBER DEADLINEMontenegrinForeign Minister Branko Perovic told AP at the Sarajevo summit on 29 July that his government will hold a referendum on independence unless the Belgrade authorities agree to changes in the rules governing the Yugoslav federation by early to mid-September. Elsewhere, Montenegrin Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic told the Belgrade daily "Blic" of 30 July that Milosevic must resign. Vujanovic stressed that "the country has no future with a president like Milosevic." The previous day, Vujanovic told the Madrid daily "El Pais" that there is no danger of a pro-Milosevic coup in Montenegro. He said that opposition by "our citizens, state bodies, and the international community" would block any coup attempt. PM [19] MONTENEGRIN RAILWAYS CHIEF SAYS SERBIA BLOCKING KEY PROJECTRajko Medenica, who heads Montenegrin Railways, said inPodgorica on 29 July that the Belgrade authorities are "deliberately blocking" Montenegrin proposals to revive traffic along the Belgrade-Bar railway line. The Montenegrin authorities want to quickly restore transportation along the bomb-damaged line by introducing a combination of rail and bus connections, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The communist authorities built the line linking Belgrade to the coast in the 1980s at great expense. It involves many complex engineering projects through difficult territory. Critics at the time charged that the government built it as a concession to greater Serbian nationalism. PM [20] ROMANIAN PREMIER CRITICIZES IMFIn an interview with Reuterson 29 July, Radu Vasile accused the IMF of using "double standards" and of constantly imposing new conditions on Romania for the resumption of lending. Vasile said Romania is being treated differently from Russia or Ukraine and has been "put in the same basket with Pakistan." He said he is ready to lead the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic into the next elections only if he is elected chairman of the party, noting that he is also willing to form a coalition with leftist parties. The electorate has turned to those parties, he commented, because it is disillusioned with other formations. Bickering among the coalition partners has made matters worse, according to Vasile. MS [21] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN STATE-OWNED BANKIncompliance with one of the IMF's demands, the government on 29 July decided to close down Bancorex, which over the years has issued $1.2 billion in non-performing loans. The bank will be merged into the Romanian Commercial Bank. The government also decided to instruct the Prosecutor-General's Office to open an investigation to find out who is responsible for the bank's "disastrous performance." Meanwhile, Romania is encountering difficulties in meeting the IMF's demand to secure $350 million in loans from private international lenders. Credit Suisse First Boston, which earlier offered a $200 million loan at a 12 percent interest rate, is now demanding an interest rate of 17 percent, Mediafax reported. MS [22] HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN ROMANIAJanos Martonyi, who ison a three-day visit to Romania, told his counterpart, Andrei Plesu, that during the Kosova crisis, Romania behaved like a "real NATO member" and thus considerably enhanced its chances of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. The two ministers said the crisis has had a "positive effect" on Romanian-Hungarian relations. Martonyi also met with Defense Minister Victor Babiuc, whom he informed that Budapest wants to open a consulate in Miercurea Ciuc. Babiuc said that in his opinion the two consulates in Cluj and Constanta adequately cover Hungary's consular needs but that the request will be examined as a "good-will gesture." MS [23] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT APPOINTS NEW PROSECUTOR-GENERALTheparliament on 29 July voted to accept the resignation of Prosecutor-General Valeriu Catana (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 July 1999) and to appoint Mircea Iuga as his successor, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Until now, Iuga has served as a judge at the Supreme Court. MS [24] MOLDOVAN COMMISSION DRAFTS CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE PROPOSALThe presidential commission on amending the constitution hasended its work and will publish its proposals on 2 August, BASA-press reported. The commission envisages a "radical growth" of presidential prerogatives and a "drastic reduction" of the legislature's, the agency reported, citing commission secretary Raisa Grecu. The cabinet is to be subordinated to the president, rather than to the parliament, and will be entitled to legislate. The president will have the prerogative of dissolving the parliament. The draft also envisages reducing the number of deputies from present 101 to 71 and changing the electoral system. Also, the president is to be elected for five years, instead of the current four. MS [25] CZECH DEFENSE MINISTER IN BULGARIAVladimir Vetchy, who ison a two-day visit to Sofia, met with his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Ananiev, on 29 July to discuss NATO enlargement, BTA and CTK reported. Vetchy said Prague supports NATO's "open-door policy" in general, but he added that it gives priority to Slovakia's candidacy for membership in the alliance. He stressed that candidates need to draw up a clear military-reform program as well as five-year and 10- year programs for its implementation. Vetchy and Ananiev also discussed the situation in Kosova, agreeing that the region must be given autonomy but must remain within Yugoslavia's borders. MS [C] END NOTE[26] RESPONDING TO ANTI-SEMITISM IN RUSSIABy Paul GobleIn the wake of two attacks on Moscow synagogues, a prominent Russian Jewish organization has decried the increasing incidence of such activities as well as what it said are the reasons behind that rise. In a statement released on 27 July, the Russian Jewish Congress said that the mounting number of attacks on Jewish institutions now represents "a threat to all Russian citizens regardless of their nationality" and argued that such crimes "should not remain unpunished." The organization blamed the increase on chauvinistic appeals by some Russian politicians, the indifference of many ordinary Russian citizens to such attacks, and the inability or unwillingness of the government to identify and punish those responsible. The Russian Jewish Congress issued the appeal after a 12 July attack on the Moscow Choral synagogue left Leopold Kaimovskii, the executive director of Moscow's Jewish Arts Center, badly wounded and after reports earlier this week that a bomb had been planted near another Moscow synagogue. The Congress argued that "such incidents cease to be something extraordinary and are committed with the connivance of those who are in charge of the formation of our society's moral climate." It provided three explanations for this increase, which comes after a period in which many Russian Jews felt anti-Semitism there had been declining. First, the Congress put the blame on the increasing number of political figures who have with impunity issued anti-Semitic statements as part of their effort to win popular support. It noted that "there is nothing strange in the escalation of such violence when members of the Federation Council and State Duma deputies make chauvinistic statements," particularly when they escape censure for such statements. Second, the Congress criticized the indifference of many Russians to what is taking place. All too many Russian citizens, the group indicated, have failed to react at all to such outrages against Jewish groups, an indifference that sometimes extends to attacks on other national minorities. This Russian indifference, the Congress noted, has prompted Jews and other minorities to "raise the question of whether it is possible to live on Russian territory" and, in the absence of domestic support, to issue "appeals to the international community" as the only means of defense. And third, the Congress denounced what it said is the "impotence of the Russian authorities" in the face of such acts, an impotence that reflects either their inability or their unwillingness to bring those responsible to justice. The failure of the Russian government to do so, the Congress noted, has only emboldened those responsible for such behavior. To counter these factors, the Congress called on Russian leaders to denounce racists and anti-Semites "no matter how high their posts are." It demanded that the Russian people recognize the danger to themselves of anti-Semitic actions left unpunished. And it called on the authorities to work harder to identify and convict those guilty of such crimes. But it is a measure of the difficulties Jews in Russia now face that this organization has directed its appeal to foreign governments and human rights activists as well, virtually inviting both to put pressure on Moscow to change its current approach. Several Jewish groups and human rights organizations in the U.S. and other Western countries recently have begun campaigns to attract attention to what many people had assumed was no longer a major problem in post-Soviet Russia. The appeal of the Russian Jewish Congress from Moscow is likely to give additional impetus to these Western efforts. And its identification of the sources of the new tide of anti-Semitic violence in Russia is likely to lead ever more people to consider not only why anti-Semitism has re-emerged but also the ways in which it can be combated. To the extent that happens, this appeal may mark a turning point in Russian social development. To the extent that it does not, the appeal may come to be viewed as a barometer of how bad things now are and how much worse they could become. 30-07-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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