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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 201, 99-10-14Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 201, 14 October 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] FRONTRUNNER IN ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS VOTE DENIES GOVERNMENTBACKINGArchbishop Garegin Nersisian, the most likely candidate for the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has rejected allegations by rival clerics that the Armenian authorities are actively lobbying for his victory in the upcoming ecclesiastical election, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 13 October. Nersisian said those allegations negatively affect preparations for the election. He also noted that President Robert Kocharian recently assured bishops that the state will not interfere in the election (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 and 11 October 1999). Nersisian rejected criticism of the decision to include in the Ararat diocese delegation to the election the Yerevan mayor and the Ararat police chief, saying that "Our Church does not differentiate between its faithful and does not separate them by position and circumstances." LF [02] ARMENIA RECEIVES NEW IMF LOAN TRANCHEThe IMF has releasedthe final tranche, worth $29 million, of a three-year ESAF loan, Interfax reported on 13 October. The fund and the Armenian government reached agreement on the terms for disbursement last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 September 1999). The release of the tranche, originally expected in June, was delayed until the Armenian government unveiled its proposals for covering the budget deficit, which was higher than anticipated. LF [03] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS PROTEST TV STATION CLOSURESome 50journalists staged an unsanctioned picket outside the Ministry of Justice in Baku on 13 October to protest the closure of the independent Sara TV station, Turan reported. The stations was closed on 9 October after broadcasting an appeal by opposition party leaders to participate in a demonstration that day against the Azerbaijani leadership's Karabakh policy (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 1999). The Geirat, Vahdat, and Independent Azerbaijan Parties as well as the Party of Democratic Entrepreneurs have followed the example of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party and the Azerbaijan National Independence Party and issued statements condemning the closure. LF [04] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS TRY TO NEGOTIATE UN HOSTAGES' RELEASEGeorgian Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze on 13 October cutshort his visit to Ukraine and returned to Tbilisi. The following day, he traveled to the Kodori gorge in western Georgia where unidentified gunmen seized seven hostages the previous day, Caucasus Press reported. Five of the hostages are members of the UN observer mission and are citizens of Uruguay, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece, and the Czech Republic. The others are an interpreter and a German doctor. Georgian Interior Minister Kakha Targamadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 13 October that the Georgian authorities are negotiating with the kidnappers, who are demanding a $200,000 ransom for the hostages, Interfax reported. Both he and Tevzadze said the Georgian army will launch an operation to free the hostages if those negotiations fail. The Russian Foreign Ministry offered the assistance of the Russian peacekeeping force deployed in western Georgia in securing the hostages' release, Interfax reported. LF [05] POLLSTERS PREDICT COMMUNIST WIN IN KAZAKH ELECTIONS...Bakhytzhamal Bekturganova, who is president of the AlmatyAssociation of Sociologists and Political Scientists, told journalists in the former capital on 13 October that a survey conducted by the association suggests that the Communist Party won the 10 October elections to the lower house of parliament, Interfax reported. Bukturganova said exit polls conducted in 16 cities and encompassing one -third of all constituencies suggested that the Communist Party garnered 27.7 percent of the vote, the pro-presidential Otan party 16 percent, and the Civic Party 12.3 percent. She added that under the association's methodology, the survey results are likely to differ from official returns by no more than 15 percentage points and that a discrepancy of more than 10 percentage points would suggest vote falsification. LF [06] ...AS CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION REJECTS COMPLAINTS"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 14 October thatKazakhstan's Central Electoral Commission has investigated more than a dozen complaints of violations of voting procedure on polling day. The commission rejected all of them, saying the violations in question could not have affected the outcome of the poll. LF [07] KAZAKH PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW DEFENSE MINISTERNursultanNazarbaev on 13 October named Lieutenant General Sat Tokpakbaev as head of the Defense Ministry, replacing Mukhtar Altynbaev, who was fired in August following revelations of the unsanctioned sale of MiG-21 fighters to North Korea, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 August 1999). Tokpakbaev, who is 60, previously headed the National Security Council and the presidential bodyguards. Nazarbaev also issued a decree on renaming or merging several government ministries. The Agency for Economic Planning is upgraded to the status of Ministry of the Economy, and the financial and economic functions of the former Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms are transferred to it. The remaining departments of that agency are subordinated directly to the president. The Atomic Energy and Space Ministries are removed from the Ministry of Energy, Trade, and Industry and subordinated to a new Ministry for Education and Science. LF [08] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER OUTLINES GOALSIn an interview with"Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 13 October, former Bishkek Mayor Feliks Kulov said the primary objectives of his recently formed Ar-Namys party are establishing constitutional order in a democratic society and removing the five-year moratorium imposed on the private ownership of land, which the electorate approved in a referendum one year ago. Characterizing the present political situation as "closer to anarchy than democracy," Kulov advocated improving the administrative system by initially combining the posts of president and premier, on the grounds that the president is not responsible for the economy and the prime minister does not have the powers to influence economic processes. In the second stage of reform, Kulov argued, the parliament should be elected on a party list system and should then form a government and elect a head of state. LF [09] INFLATION SOARS IN KYRGYZSTANInflation in Kyrgyzstan duringthe first nine months of 1999 reached 32.5 percent, compared with 5.6 percent for the same period in 1998, Interfax reported on 12 October. Food prices rose by 39.7 percent, while consumer goods by 6.8 percent and gasoline by 2.1 percent. LF [10] RUSSIAN MILITARY TO LEAVE TURKMENISTANRussian First DeputyDefense Minister Vasilii Mikhailov told Interfax that the 50 Russian officers who have been stationed in Turkmenistan since 1994 will leave, as their help in creating a new Turkmen army is no longer needed. He was speaking after talks with Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on 13 October. He added that a new bilateral commission for military-technical cooperation will be formed and that Moscow has offered to help upgrade Turkmen military hardware, especially aircraft, in order to prevent other countries from carrying out that task. Turkmen Defense Minister Batyr Sardjaev will visit Moscow early next year, Mikhailov said. LF [11] TURKMENISTAN UNVEILS DRAFT OIL AND GAS PROGRAMTurkmenistan's Ministry for the Oil and Gas Industry on 13October published a new program for the period 2000-2010, which is to be endorsed at the next session of the People's Council in December. The program envisages increasing oil production to 28 million tons in 2005 and to 48 million tons in 2010, with crude oil exports rising to 16 million tons and 33 million tons, respectively. The 10-year draft economic program approved by President Niyazov in July projected that oil output would reach 30 million tons in 2010 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 July 1999). Gas production is to increase by 220 percent over the next decade, to 85 billion cubic meters in 2005 and 120 billion cubic meters in 2010. Investments in the oil and gas sector are expected to increase by more than 250 percent. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] THUGS ATTACK PROTESTERS IN BELGRADEGoran Svilanovic, whoheads the Civic Alliance of Serbia, told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service on 13 October that "some 20 criminals who work for the police" injured at least five anti-government protesters in Belgrade. The thugs arrived at the scene in cars and attacked the demonstrators with sticks. The violence was not as "serious" as that used by police against protesters two weeks earlier, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 October 1999). Nonetheless, the opposition Alliance for Change decided on security grounds to cancel protests slated for the following day in the Novi Beograd and Slavija districts of the capital. PM [13] BELGRADE POLICE 'CHECK OUT' ALBANIANSAn unnamed official inthe large Novi Beograd district, which is controlled by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialists, said that local officials will "check in detail all [ethnic] Albanian residents and tenants in apartment blocs there." AP quoted him on 13 October as saying that "the reason is to prevent bombing attacks such as the recent ones in Moscow, where explosive devices were planted in apartment buildings. We thought that perhaps our Albanian neighbors, under orders from the [former Kosova Liberation Army], could begin such attacks." He added that "many" local ethnic Albanian males were absent from their Belgrade flats during the NATO air strikes in the spring. "I do not wish to speculate whether they were then trained in terrorist or subversive activities. [But] it is our goal to remove everything undesirable," he concluded. PM [14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION READY WITH ELECTION PROPOSALOppositionparties have concluded their agreement on conditions for early elections and will announce those conditions on 14 October, the Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" reported the same day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 October 1999). Democratic Party spokesman Zoran Sami said that in future talks with the government, the opposition will insist on a maximum of eight electoral districts. He added that the opposition has worked out a formula for electing legislators from Kosova, but he did not elaborate. Sami noted that the number of legislators elected in each district in Serbia will depend on the number of voters casting their ballots there. The long-standing opposition demands for changes in electoral and media laws, for revising electoral lists, and for a rigorous monitoring system remain unchanged, he added. PM [15] NIS MAYOR SAYS MILOSEVIC CANNOT STOP OIL DELIVERIESZoranZivkovic, who is the mayor of Nis, said that "there is no legal way for anyone, not even...Milosevic, to prevent" the EU's planned deliveries of $5 million worth of fuel oil to opposition-controlled Nis and Pirot (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 1999). He insisted that the opposition has "created a system to prevent even a single litre of oil from falling into [government or criminal] hands," Reuters reported. PM [16] CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS OIL DELIVERIES TO SERBIASeveralSerbian opposition politicians have criticized the EU's decision to deliver oil to only Nis and Pirot as "politically motivated," Reuters reported on 13 October. Cacak Mayor Velimir Ilic said that his town was unfairly excluded from the program. The Belgrade regime has denounced the shipments as interference in Serbia's internal affairs. The U.S. State Department has warned that the oil could easily fall into the wrong hands. An EU spokesman said in Brussels on 13 October that the program has a "political element," but he did not elaborate. In Belgrade, Alliance for Change leader Veran Batic argued that the opposition's relations with the EU are "excellent." He referred to some opposition leaders' recent boycott of an EU foreign ministers' meeting as a "minor glitch." PM [17] ROBERTSON DEFENDS OIL DELIVERIESNATO Secretary-GeneralGeorge Robertson said in Brussels on 14 October that Western countries are justified in using fuel oil deliveries for political purposes. He stressed that it is necessary to show Serbs that "there is a welcome for them in this European family of democratic nations, and there are benefits for them individually and collectively as well as benefits for the whole region, if they reject the regime of Milosevic." Robertson added that "the majority of the people in that country are good and decent people.... We have got to use every means at our disposal to get that message over. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is not Milosevic, Milosevic is not Yugoslavia," Reuters reported. PM [18] BELGRADE PROVOKING EU?The Yugoslav government on 13 Octobernamed Sinisa Zaric as consul in Milan, Italy. Zaric is one of 308 prominent Yugoslav officials banned by the EU from receiving an entry visa. He is currently the director of the Belgrade Trade Fair. PM [19] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR KOSOVA 'TRUTH COMMISSION'Joschka Fischer said in Copenhagen on 13 October that Kosovawill need a "truth commission" on the South African model to promote inter-ethnic reconciliation. He noted that "there is a complete segregation between [ethnic] Albanians and Serbs" in the province. And he argued that it is difficult to envision the two peoples living together again. In Prishtina, NATO commander General Klaus Reinhardt told the private news agency Beta that the Serbs and Albanians should do as the Germans did after World War II and orient themselves toward a new life and the future. PM [20] MORE THAN 400 MASS GRAVES IDENTIFIED IN KOSOVAA spokesmanfor the Hague-based war crimes tribunal said in that Dutch city on 13 October that international forensics experts have found more than 400 mass graves in the province. Some 68 experts are currently working there in five groups. They hope to have completed investigations of 150 sites by the end of October. PM [21] CARDINAL BLASTS CROATIAN GOVERNMENT 'INTERFERENCE'BosnianCardinal Vinko Puljic, who is the only serving ethnic Croatian cardinal in the Balkans, called "unacceptable" a recent attempt by Croatian government representative Vice Vukojevic to decide who could participate in a commemorative Mass for a Croatian emigre in Paris. Puljic made the remarks at the European Bishops' Synod meeting in Rome, "Oslobodjenje" reported on 14 October. The 10 October Mass was in connection with the reburial in Croatia of an anti- communist journalist. PM [22] SERBIAN LEGISLATORS APPEAL TO TUDJMANThe three ethnicSerbian legislators in the Croatian parliament wrote President Franjo Tudjman on 13 October to ask him to block legislation that would reduce from three to one the number of legislative seats reserved for Serbs. Jovan Bamburac, Vojislav Stanimirovic, and Milorad Pupovac wrote that it is "illogical" to reduce the number of seats for Serbs in the wake of the successful reintegration of Serbian-held eastern Slavonia and the beginning of the return of ethnic Serbian refugees, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [23] DUBROVNIK HOTELS ON THE BLOCKThe Croatian government willsoon begin taking bids from interested buyers around the world for 19 Dubrovnik hotels that belonged to the defunct Dubrovacka Banka, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 13 October. Andronico Luksic, who is a Chilean of Croatian origin, has already obtained a 71 percent stake in the Hotel Argentina in the Dalmatian resort town. He previously took control of the Atlas tourist agency. PM [24] ROMANIAN COALITION PATCHES UP DISAGREEMENTS--FOR NOWMeetingon 13 October, the leaders of the governing coalition said they have managed to "clarify malfunctions" in the way the alliance works, and they expressed full support for the economic reforms envisaged by the cabinet. The coalition leaders said the special Senate commissions (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 12 October 1999) will hear testimony not only from the heads of the ministries they are investigating but also from "other ministers." Thereafter, a decision will to be taken on whether the investigation is still "warranted." The Democratic Party stressed at the meeting that its members are not opposed to the law on land restitution sponsored by the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic and currently under debate in the Senate, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS [C] END NOTE[25] EU UNVEILS NEW APPROACH TO EASTWARD ENLARGEMENTBy Breffni O'RourkeThe EU on 13 October announced a radically new approach to the process of enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe. At the core of the new strategy is the decision to recommend the start of negotiations next year with another six countries: Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria as well as Malta. These countries, regarded as the group of less advanced candidates for membership, will therefore join the six so-called first wave countries-- Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia, and Cyprus--which have already opened negotiations with Brussels. In this way, the union will no longer distinguish between first-wave and other candidate countries. Turkey is now also acknowledged as a formal candidate but is not yet admitted to negotiations, on the grounds that key criteria are not yet met. In the new negotiations, each country will progress toward meeting membership requirements at its own individual pace, a principle called "differentiation." The new accession strategy bears the stamp of the EU's first commissioner for enlargement, Guenter Verheugen of Germany. Verheugen says the strategy is aimed at balancing two potentially conflicting objectives: namely speed of accession and quality of preparation. He says speed is essential because of the expectations of the candidates, while quality is vital because the EU does not want "partial members" but new members with full rights and responsibilities. Verheugen also brought more clarity to the vexed question of when new members will be admitted. The report welcomes the fact that some applicants have already set their own target dates and says that the EU Commission will recommend that the EU summit in Helsinki in December commit the EU to be ready to decide from 2002 about the accession of candidates that fulfil the necessary criteria. Among the individual countries that were not included in the first wave, the progress report names Slovakia as having made good progress during the year, both in terms of democratization and economic reform. However, it says that Slovakia does not yet have a fully functioning market mechanism and in addition needs to do more to implement policy decisions and legislation on administration and the judiciary. The head of the EU integration section of the Slovak Foreign Ministry, Jan Kuderjavy, told RFE/RL that "this kind of relatively positive evaluation was badly needed [in Slovakia] and now I think everybody can see that the effort that was employed throughout the whole year, since our [reform] government was established last autumn, is bringing already first fruits." Lithuania, like Slovakia, is not yet regarded as having a full market economy, and in addition is seen as sluggish in adapting its legislation to fit EU norms. Fellow Baltic State Latvia needs to devote serious attention to general public administration and judicial reform but has made good economic progress in the last year. Estonia, which is also doing well economically and is one of the first-wave countries, needs to ensure that its language legislation is implemented in such a way as to comply with international standards. Turning to Bulgaria and Romania, the report finds that neither country met economic criteria. Bulgaria continues to make significant progress and shows sustained effort but started from a very low level. Romania has, at best, stabilized as compared with last year, the report argues. In the case of both those countries, the EU Commission has set conditions before membership negotiations can begin. For Bulgaria, those conditions stipulate that it must continue to make economic reform progress and must decide by the end of this year on an acceptable closure date for the risky nuclear reactors at Kozloduy. For Romania, the terms are that it, too, must make continued economic progress, and in view of the large number of orphans in the country it must implement reform of child-care institutions. The deputy head of Romania's diplomatic mission in Brussels, Viorel Ardeleanu, told RFE/RL that his country will work hard to meet the conditions so that negotiations can begin. He praised the EU's new approach, saying that "the main thing is that all six countries are invited to start negotiations in 2000.... This is an extraordinary signal for the political class and in general for the whole society in Romania." Turkey, with its long-strained relations with the EU, is a special case. The report recommends that Turkey be made a formal candidate, thereby giving it the prospect of eventual EU membership. But at the same time, the EU declines to open negotiations with Turkey and in this context points to failings of democratization in that country. The commission urges Ankara to undertake specific steps. These include enhancing domestic political dialogue, with particular reference to improving human rights, revising the way it handles EU financial assistance, and developing a national program for adjusting its legislation to EU norms. As for the west Balkans, the EU report recommends that EU leaders confirm the prospect of eventual membership for the former Yugoslav states and Albania. But it says that in addition to meeting the usual criteria, those countries will have to recognize one another's borders, settle all issues relating to national minorities, and pursue economic integration in a regional framework. Looking further afield, the report notes that relations with Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus states and the Maghreb countries of North Africa are of strategic importance to the EU. They should go beyond trade and assistance programs and include issues such as the fight against organized crime, drug trafficking, and migration and environmental policies. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague. 14-10-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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