RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 233, 99-12-02

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. 233, 2 December 1999

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DID NOT COMMIT ARMENIA TO MEMBERSHIP OF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[02] MACEDONIAN COALITION TO SURVIVE AFTER ALL?

[03] DJUKANOVIC SAYS MILOSEVIC SHOULD GO TO HAGUE

[04] THOUSANDS MASS FOR PRISHTINA FUNERAL

[05] RUSSIA ANGRY WITH KFOR

[06] BELGRADE CONTINUES TO BLOCK OIL DELIVERIES

[07] SREBRENICA SURVIVORS TO SUE TOP UN OFFICIALS

[08] CROATIAN OPPOSITION DRAFTS JOINT PROGRAM

[09] RETAIL SALES PEOPLE PROTEST IN ZAGREB

[10] SLOVENIA TIGHTENS VISA REQUIREMENTS

[11] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT BOOED ON NATIONAL DAY...

[12] ...WHILE GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION TRADE ACCUSATIONS

[13] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER RE-NOMINATED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

[14] VORONIN SAYS MOLDOVA WON'T RUSH TO BUILD SOCIALISM

[15] TRANSDNIESTRIAN LEADER VETOES OSCE DECISIONS

[16] CIS TO PARTICIPATE IN MOLDOVAN CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

[17] BULGARIAN ARMS PLANT WORKERS PROTEST LAYOFFS

[C] END NOTE

[18] RUSSIA'S GROWING NETWORK OF PRIVATE ASSOCIATIONS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DID NOT COMMIT ARMENIA TO MEMBERSHIP OF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[02] MACEDONIAN COALITION TO SURVIVE AFTER ALL?

on 1 December, leaders of the small Democratic Alternative

distanced themselves from their previous threats to leave the

governing coalition (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 1999).

Party leader Vasil Tupurkovski said "we don't want to burden

the already complicated political and economic situation in

the country. The talks about the survival of the coalition

will continue after the elections" on 5 December, Reuters

reported. Party spokesman Ljuben Paunovski told reporters

that he sees "no reason" for the coalition to collapse,

adding that there "is room for everyone in the government."

PM

[03] DJUKANOVIC SAYS MILOSEVIC SHOULD GO TO HAGUE

President Milo Djukanovic said in Danilovgrad on 1 December

that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic should appear

before the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, which indicted

him in May for crimes against humanity. The Montenegrin

leader stressed that "Milosevic should go to the Hague

tribunal and try to remove a burden from his nation's back.

People [in Serbia] are suffering bitterly [under sanctions]

because of his irresponsibility." Djukanovic repeated his

charges that Milosevic has carried out unspecified

"subversive activities against Montenegrin democratic and

economic reforms." He added that "the Montenegrin government

will be exceptionally cautious in its future policy towards

Serbia. However, Montenegro's future is in its citizens'

hands," AP reported. PM

[04] THOUSANDS MASS FOR PRISHTINA FUNERAL

filled the streets of Prishtina on 2 December for the

reburial of 19 local ethnic Albanian men killed by the

Serbian forces during the fighting earlier this year.

"Dozens" of uniformed members of the new Kosova Protection

Force provided an honor guard, Reuters reported. The dead men

were fighters in the former Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) and

had previously been buried at various sites elsewhere in

Kosova. PM

[05] RUSSIA ANGRY WITH KFOR

Ordzhonikidze said in Moscow on 2 December that the UN's

Bernard Kouchner and NATO's General Klaus Reinhardt are

responsible for continuing violence in Kosova, AP reported.

Referring to the violence that accompanied recent Albanian

Flag Day celebrations in Prishtina, Ordzhonikidze accused

KFOR of "inaction [that] bordered on connivance" with the

ethnic Albanians who attacked innocent Serbian civilians (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 29 November 1999). He added that that

Russia will raise the issue at the next meeting of the UN

Security Council and wants a "clear explanation." PM

[06] BELGRADE CONTINUES TO BLOCK OIL DELIVERIES

officials said that they are continuing to deny entry to 14

trucks carrying EU heating oil for Nis and Pirot on the

grounds that the truck drivers do not have documents to prove

that the shipment is one of humanitarian aid, RFE/RL's South

Slavic Service reported on 2 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"

1 December 1999). The mayors of the two opposition-run cities

denied the charge, saying that the truck drivers presented

customs officials with the necessary documentation several

days earlier. In Nis, some 10,000 people protested on 1

December to demand that the authorities allow the trucks to

deliver the oil. PM

[07] SREBRENICA SURVIVORS TO SUE TOP UN OFFICIALS

group Mothers of Srebrenica and Podrinje has hired a U.S.-

based lawyer to bring charges in The Hague against several

persons who were top UN officials at the time of the 1995

Srebrenica massacre, a spokesman said in Sarajevo on 1

December. He added that the officials knew that the Serbian

forces under General Ratko Mladic planned to kill the town's

male population but did nothing to stop the Serbs. Those on

the list include former Secretary-General Butros Butros

Ghali, his successor Kofi Annan, special envoy Yasushi

Akashi, and others, "Oslobodjenje" reported. The association

also demands an investigation to determine the responsibility

for the fall of Srebrenica of Bosnian President Alija

Izetbegovic and army commander General Rasim Delic. PM

[08] CROATIAN OPPOSITION DRAFTS JOINT PROGRAM

the coalition of six opposition parties agreed in Zagreb on 1

December that their parties will form a parliamentary

coalition and government should they win the 3 January

parliamentary elections. The six parties also agreed on a

program of reforms they will enact soon after forming a

government. Measures include a reform and review of the

privatization process carried out by the Croatian Democratic

Community (HDZ), which has held power since 1990. The

privatization process is widely regarded as having enriched

hundreds of people close to the HDZ. PM

[09] RETAIL SALES PEOPLE PROTEST IN ZAGREB

employees of the large Nama department store chain

demonstrated in Zagreb on 2 December to demand payment of

back wages. Officials of the Croatian Privatization Fund said

the previous day that they can pay only half of the sum due

to some 2,000 Nama employees. PM

[10] SLOVENIA TIGHTENS VISA REQUIREMENTS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in Ljubljana on 1 December

that Slovenia will require entry visas for citizens of

Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey in the near future.

He added that Slovenia will require visas for Russian

citizens, effective immediately. The new regulations are part

of Slovenia's efforts to bring its regulations into line with

those of the EU in order to speed up its entry into that

organization. In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in

a statement on 2 December that Russia will require visas of

Slovenian citizens traveling to Russia, effective

immediately, AP reported. PM

[11] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT BOOED ON NATIONAL DAY...

people carrying banners of the opposition Party of Social

Democracy in Romania (PDSR) booed President Emil

Constantinescu in Alba Iulia on 1 December during ceremonies

marking Romania's national day, an RFE/RL correspondent in

the town reported. Constantinescu was forced to abandon the

stage. He later said that the incident "once more proves that

instead of unity and tolerance, we are ruled by hatred and

violence." He added that it is "regrettable" that in a

country where unlimited freedom of expression exists, those

who booed him chose to do so at a ceremony that was primarily

a religious and military one, thus offending both the Church

and the army. MS

[12] ...WHILE GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION TRADE ACCUSATIONS

National Peasant Party Christian Democratic accused the PDSR

of displaying "communist-like intolerance," while the Defense

and Interior Ministries similarly denounced the incident.

PDSR Deputy Chairman Adrian Nastase said the protest was

prompted by "exaggerated security measures" and that "those

who jeered Constantinescu are the same people who cheered him

three years earlier" and are now protesting declining living

standards. He also said Constantinescu "offended" the

Romanian people by claiming that the jeering was directed at

the Church and the army. MS

[13] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER RE-NOMINATED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

November re-nominated former Premier Victor Ciorbea as its

candidate in the 2000 presidential elections, Mediafax

reported. On 22 October, Ciorbea said he did not intend to

run for that post but appears to have since accepted the

nomination. MS

[14] VORONIN SAYS MOLDOVA WON'T RUSH TO BUILD SOCIALISM

in the parliament after his appointment as premier-designate,

Party of Moldovan Communists leader Vladimir Voronin said his

new cabinet "will not be rushing into building socialism on

the morrow of its approval by the parliament." He said that

he does not intend to change the present international image

of the country and that his cabinet will continue the "path

of democratic development and [promoting] market economic

conditions." The cabinet's lineup will not reflect the

political strength of parties represented in the parliament,

he stressed, but he added that he will "insist that it

include a significant number of Communist Party members."

Voronin also commented that the priorities of the government

will be economic development, the struggle against organized

crime and "protectionism," and cooperation with international

financial institutions, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. MS

[15] TRANSDNIESTRIAN LEADER VETOES OSCE DECISIONS

leader Igor Smirnov on 1 December said the recent OSCE

summit's decisions on Russia's withdrawal from the

Transdniester were taken without consulting representatives

of the breakaway region and are therefore "invalid." In a

telegram to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Smirnov

said that in Istanbul, Russia assumed obligations that are

"contrary to its previous statements on the importance of

synchronizing the troop withdrawal with the settlement of the

Transdniester problem." Smirnov is asking Putin to conduct

joint consultations before implementing the obligations

undertaken in Turkey, ITAR-TASS reported. In a telegram to

Russian contingent commander Valerii Yevnevich, Smirnov said

the destruction of Russian military arsenal stationed in the

Transdniester has been "resolutely halted." MS

[16] CIS TO PARTICIPATE IN MOLDOVAN CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Ministry official Iurie Bodrug told journalists on 1 December

that for the first time, the CIS has expressed the intention

to participate in the settlement of the Transdniester

conflict, Infotag reported. Bodrug said that a delegation led

by CIS Executive Committee chairman Simion Cherkezishvili has

arrived in Chisinau to familiarize itself with the

negotiation progress and discuss the CIS's possible

involvement in the mediating structures. MS

[17] BULGARIAN ARMS PLANT WORKERS PROTEST LAYOFFS

day in a row, workers from the VMZ arms manufacturer in

Sopot, central Bulgaria, blocked the road between Sofia and

Bourgas to protest wage arrears and the management's

intention to lay off workers, AP reported. The company owes

58 million leva ($38 million) in taxes and for electricity

supplies. Its chief executive said at least one third of the

9,500 jobs must be cut. Wages have not been paid since

September. MS

[C] END NOTE

[18] RUSSIA'S GROWING NETWORK OF PRIVATE ASSOCIATIONS

There is a widespread belief in Russia that the rigors

of post-communist life--including the non-payment of salaries

and pensions, inadequate social care, sluggish courts, and

corrupt police--have taught Russians to rely only on

themselves. But some Russians say the idea that Russians

reject all community action is no longer true.

Ella Pamfilova is a former Russian minister of health

and social affairs. She acknowledges that after communism

collapsed in 1991, most Russians felt themselves to be on

their own. But she told RFE/RL that the rejection of

collective action is fading: "I think that period is coming

to an end. There has always been our tradition, our

mentality, pulling us toward compassion and sympathy. [We

Russians] remain drawn to the idea of overcoming a difficult

situation together. And this mentality is now breaking

through." Many analysts believe that, traditionally, a

Russian will rely first on pulling strings or giving bribes

to overcome a bureaucratic hurdle. They say Russians will

turn to public initiatives--through courts or an association-

-only as a last resort. But for Pamfilova, the key question

is understanding that in the long run collective action can

be more effective than individual solutions.

Pamfilova thinks that positive models for action, such

as the success of the Soldiers' Mothers Committee, have

encouraged Russians to turn to collective solutions. That

group first successfully lobbied then Soviet President

Mikhail Gorbachev to exempt students from the obligatory two

years of military service. Then, under Russian President

Boris Yeltsin, the committee campaigned against the first war

in Chechnya (1994-1996) and acted as a mediator for the

exchange of Russian and Chechen prisoners of war. It also

denounced Russia's drug- and violence-ridden armed forces,

counseling 18-year-olds on how to dodge the draft.

Valentina Melnikova, one of the committee's leaders,

says that over the years "the Mothers"--as the group is often

called in Russia--won support even inside the army. She says

that some officers came to understand that the committee was

not set on working against the military but rather pursued a

cooperative effort to turn the Russian army into a "real army

that does not murder its own soldiers."

Pamfilova points out, however, that--unlike the Mothers-

-most Russian collective initiatives today play a local or

regional role, not a national one. "I know of a lot of

examples of [collective] influence on local authorities in

sectors like [social] rehabilitation or the environment. So

there is some effect on a local level. But nationwide,

[collective initiatives are] not significant. For the moment,

our authorities, our elite neglect public opinion."

In Moscow, non-governmental organizations greatly

contributed to breaking the Soviet mindset on ostracizing

mentally and physically disabled youngsters. The communist

system rejected such children, who were often locked away at

home or in far-away institutions.

One parent, Galina Khokhlova, has a 21-year-old

daughter, Sveta, who has severe motor deficiencies. Before

perestroika, Khokhlova told our correspondent, many parents

did not know what to do with their disabled children and

simply kept them locked up at home. She says it is thanks to

non-governmental organizations that many parents have learned

that their disabled children can still learn, develop, and

enjoy life.

In Moscow, one of the first such organizations for

disabled children was The Circle, which is run by Nataliya

Popova. Ten years ago, dissatisfied with the rehabilitation

and education that state institutions offered such children,

Popova began her own classes. Today, she teaches music,

dance, and theater to some 110 disabled children. She says

there are more than 30 organizations doing the same kind of

work in the Russian capital.

Popova is convinced that non-governmental organizations

have a real impact on Russian society. "NGOs have the

advantage of being more flexible, more adaptable, and more

sensitive to people's needs than the state," she commented.

"They manage to slip by bureaucratic hurdles and can

establish contact more easily with the West." She also

believes that some official Russian bodies have ceased to

regard NGOs as an enemy that exists to expose the state's

failings. "The authorities take us into account," Popova

says. "They even send us specialists for training."

Former Health Minister Pamfilova feels that achieving

such cooperation between individuals and government is the

most difficult hurdle to overcome because of Russia's long

history as a state conceived to use, but not to serve, its

citizens: "From a state that is an enemy, we have to make a

state that is a friend. It's not so easy, you have to

understand that--getting rid of the fear inside us. Because

for many years, the state nourished this fear by its

harshness. It wasn't only in Soviet times. Things were the

same before the [1917] revolution and probably go back to the

time of serfdom."

Pamfilova stresses that her organization's objective is

to revive a desire for civic dignity. She concludes that "one

person's efforts are fine, but they're not enough."

The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Moscow.

02-12-99

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

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