RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 234, 99-12-03

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From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 234, 3 December 1999

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIA, BULGARIA REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR EURASIAN TRADE

[02] ABKHAZ PRESIDENT, NEW UN REPRESENTATIVE MEET...

[03] ...AS FIVE KILLED IN ANOTHER TERRORIST ATTACK

[04] RUSSIAN, U.S. OFFICIALS DISCUSS KAZAKH OIL EXPORT PIPELINE

[05] NEW EXODUS OF RUSSIANS FROM KYRGYZSTAN

[06] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY SUES MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

[07] TAJIK PRESIDENT SIGNS DECREES ON DEMOCRATIZATION, ECONOMIC

[08] TURKMENISTAN TO PUBLICIZE POLICE CRIMES

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[09] KFOR COMMANDER WANTS CONCRETE HELP

[10] ARTEMIJE SAYS SERBS LIVE IN 'CONCENTRATION CAMPS'

[11] ALBANIA SEES KOSOVA'S FUTURE IN REGIONAL INTEGRATION

[12] NUMBER OF MILITARY POLICE IN MONTENEGRO ON THE RISE

[13] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND DECISION ON ELECTIONS

[14] SERBS RETREAT FROM BOSNIAN COOPERATION AGREEMENT...

[15] ...BUT WILL THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?

[16] CROATIAN GOVERNING PARTY AGREES ON TOP CANDIDATES

[17] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN BUCHAREST

[18] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT VOIDS COMMUNIST PRISON SENTENCES

[19] MOLDOVAN LEADERS AGREE ON 'GOVERNMENT PROFESSIONALISM'

[20] WORLD BANK APPROVES LOAN FOR BULGARIA

[C] END NOTE

[21] OBSERVERS EXAMINE UKRAINE'S MEDIA AFTER PRESIDENTIAL POLL

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIA, BULGARIA REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR EURASIAN TRADE

Visiting Yerevan on 1-2 December, Bulgarian

President Petar Stoyanov reached agreement with his Armenian

counterpart, Robert Kocharian, on boosting trade and economic

cooperation within the framework of the EU's TRACECA project,

RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. That project envisages a

transport corridor linking Central Asia and the Caucasus with

Europe. The two presidents both underscored that Bulgaria's

geographic location enables it to serve as a gateway to

Europe for Armenia. They signed a series of agreements,

including a joint statement in which bilateral relations are

positively assessed and Bulgaria pledges to promote Armenia's

acceptance into full membership of the Council of Europe. A

number of other inter-governmental cooperation agreements

were also signed. LF

[02] ABKHAZ PRESIDENT, NEW UN REPRESENTATIVE MEET...

in Sukhumi on 2 December with Dieter Boden, the new UN

Special Representative for Georgia, Abkhaz President

Vladislav Ardzinba called for the immediate signing of the

agreement on peace and the non-resumption of hostilities,

Caucasus Press reported. That draft agreement, together with

a protocol on the repatriation of displaced persons, was

prepared in June 1998 by Abkhaz and Georgian representatives,

but Tbilisi repeatedly declined to sign them. Ardzinba said

the signing of the peace agreement would end the deadlock in

relations between Abkhazia and the central Georgian

authorities. Ardzinba also reaffirmed that he will not sign

any constitutional power-sharing agreement with Georgia,

according to Interfax. LF

[03] ...AS FIVE KILLED IN ANOTHER TERRORIST ATTACK

police colonel and four civilians were killed on 1 December

when the car in which they were travelling hit a radio-

detonated landmine in Abkhazia's Ochamchira Raion, Caucasus

Press and Interfax reported the following day. Such

incidents, for which the Abkhaz authorities say Georgian

guerrillas are responsible, occur frequently in Gali Raion,

south of Ochamchira, but only occasionally in Ochamchira

itself. LF

[04] RUSSIAN, U.S. OFFICIALS DISCUSS KAZAKH OIL EXPORT PIPELINE

December with leading members of the Caspian Pipeline

Consortium, including LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov and

Chevron Oversea President Richard Matzke, Interfax reported.

Alekperov told the meeting that construction of the 1,580-

kilometer pipeline from Tengiz to Novorossiisk will be

completed on schedule in June 2001 and that it will be able

to handle all Kazakhstan's current and export requirements.

Kazakhstan currently produces some 25 million tons of crude

per year. Kazakhstan has expressed interest in shipping some

oil via the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline if new reserves discovered

exceed the anticipated capacity of the Caspian pipeline. LF

[05] NEW EXODUS OF RUSSIANS FROM KYRGYZSTAN

ethnic Russian have left Kyrgyzstan in recent months,

RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on 2 December quoting a

Russian embassy official. As reasons for the renewed

outmigration, Russia's Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Georgii Rudov

cited deteriorating economic conditions, the hostage-taking

in southern Kyrgyzstan in August-October, and moves by the

Kyrgyz leadership to strengthen the use in public life of the

Kyrgyz language. Of some 900,000 Russians living in

Kyrgyzstan in the early 1990s, some 650,000 remain. LF

[06] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY SUES MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

members of the El (Bei-Bechara) Party told journalists in

Bishkek on 2 December that they have brought legal

proceedings against the Kyrgyz Ministry of Justice for

violating the constitution and the law on political parties,

RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. The ministry

last week advised the Central Electoral Commission not to

register the party to contend the 20 February parliamentary

election on the grounds that the party's founding documents

do not explicitly state its intention to do so. LF

[07] TAJIK PRESIDENT SIGNS DECREES ON DEMOCRATIZATION, ECONOMIC

Imomali Rakhmonov on 1 December signed two decrees

"on expanding the process of democratization of socio-

political life in the republic" and "on Measures for the

further development and enhancing the effectiveness of

economic reforms," Asia Plus-Blitz reported the following

day. The first of those decrees is intended to guarantee

political pluralism and the free participation of all

political parties in elections and in the state

administration. The second is intended to expedite and expand

privatization. It also charges the government with taking

steps to improve the investment climate and with drafting

legislation on the state treasury and national social

security measures to protect the most vulnerable groups of

the population. LF

[08] TURKMENISTAN TO PUBLICIZE POLICE CRIMES

President Saparmurad Niyazov on 2 December issued a decree on

mandatory media coverage of crime committed by police

officers, Interfax reported. National media are also

instructed to give broad coverage to the trials of police

officials on criminal charges. The decree is intended to

deter police, military, and customs and tax officials from

accepting bribes. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[09] KFOR COMMANDER WANTS CONCRETE HELP

told NATO defense ministers in Brussels on 2 December: "I

asked for funds. All we have to date are pledges, but not a

single dollar," AP reported. He noted that $120 million will

be needed to develop a functioning civil service in the

province. Some civil servants have not been paid since June.

An additional $10 million will be required for the police

force, he added. Only the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany

have offered money or materiel for the police. U.S. Defense

Secretary William Cohen said that of the 13,000 former Kosova

Liberation Army (UCK) members who have applied to join the

police force, only 1,700 have passed the qualifying test. He

added that "this is a difficult mental transformation" for

the former guerrilla fighters to make. PM

[10] ARTEMIJE SAYS SERBS LIVE IN 'CONCENTRATION CAMPS'

Orthodox Archbishop Artemije, who is one of the two top

leaders of the Serbs in Kosova, told Slovak Foreign Minister

Eduard Kukan in Gracanica on 2 December that members of

Kosova's dwindling Serbian minority live in "concentration

camps" from which they cannot move freely. He charged that

representatives of the international community have turned a

blind eye toward violence against Serbs. Artemije stressed

that UCK hard-liners play a major role in the province and

that the Serbs "have been deprived of all human rights,

including the right to live, to work, and to enjoy freedom of

movement," AP reported. PM

[11] ALBANIA SEES KOSOVA'S FUTURE IN REGIONAL INTEGRATION

Ilir Meta told Bernard Kouchner, who is the UN's chief

administrator in Kosova, that "Albania sees Kosova's future

in the new Europe, in a Europe in which processes of regional

integration are under way." He added that Albania will

continue to use its influence in Kosova in the interests of

promoting "peace and tolerance." Deputy Foreign Minister Ben

Blushi said that "security and stability in Kosova are

closely linked to security and stability in Albania and in

the entire region," dpa reported. PM

[12] NUMBER OF MILITARY POLICE IN MONTENEGRO ON THE RISE

on 2 December that Belgrade has increased the number of

military police in Montenegro in recent months without the

permission of the Podgorica authorities, RFE/RL's South

Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 November

1999). He added that the Montenegrin authorities are

nonetheless "in full control of the situation" and that there

is "no reason for alarm." The prime minister also said that

the government has not made any decision on calling a

referendum on independence. He stressed that Montenegro

already has "economic sovereignty." In Belgrade, a spokesman

for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party

of Serbia said that recent Montenegrin proposals to redefine

the nature of the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro

are "ten times worse" than Slovenian proposals that preceded

the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in 1991. PM

[13] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND DECISION ON ELECTIONS

on 2 December to demand that the government decide within one

week whether to launch talks with the opposition on holding

new elections for all levels of government, "Danas" reported.

Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) did not join

the agreement. Observers note that many Serbs suspect the SPO

still hopes to strike a deal with the ruling coalition.

Elsewhere, a spokesman for the Socialists said the governing

party sees no reason for early elections except for those for

local government. The opposition currently controls the

administration of over 30 municipalities. PM

[14] SERBS RETREAT FROM BOSNIAN COOPERATION AGREEMENT...

Radisic, who is the Serbian representative on the three-

member Bosnian joint presidency, has distanced himself from a

recent agreement he made with Muslim Alija Izetbegovic and

Croat Ante Jelavic in New York (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16

November 1999). Radisic said in Banja Luka on 2 December that

the declaration on increasing cooperation between the three

ethnic groups was not signed and remains a statement of

intent rather than a binding agreement. Republika Srpska

Prime Minister Milorad Dodik previously said he does not

accept some aspects of the agreement. Many Serbs object in

particular to setting up a multiethnic border police force,

which they regard as a threat to the sovereignty of the

Republika Srpska, AP reported. PM

[15] ...BUT WILL THEY GET AWAY WITH IT?

for U.S. Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke said on 2

December that he considers the agreement to be binding,

despite what she called pressure on Radisic by "hard-liners

in Belgrade." In Sarajevo, a spokesman for the international

community's Wolfgang Petritsch said that "we are all sick and

tired of local politicians and officials who sign up to

declaration after declaration and then fail actually to live

up to the obligations." He noted that Petritsch has the power

to sack officials whom he considers to be obstructing

implementation of the 1995 Dayton peace agreement. PM

[16] CROATIAN GOVERNING PARTY AGREES ON TOP CANDIDATES

the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) agreed in Zagreb on 2

December on the persons who will head the HDZ's list in each

of the 11 districts in the 3 January parliamentary elections.

They are Foreign Minister Mate Granic, party Deputy

Chairwoman Ljerka Mintas-Hodak, parliament speaker Vlatko

Pavletic, deputy speaker Vladimir Seks, Ivan Jarnjak, Vesna

Skare-Ozbolt, Ivica Kostovic, Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa,

Nikica Valentic, Jure Radic, and Milan Kovac. "Jutarnji list"

reported that two leading politicians received second-place

listings although they wanted top spots. They are Ivic

Pasalic and Zlatko Canjuga. The main opposition coalition is

expected to announce its slates on 3 December. Candidates

from the Social Democratic Party will head the lists in seven

districts, while the Social Liberals will take first place in

the remaining four, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported.

PM

[17] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET IN BUCHAREST

ministers of the Southeastern Europe Cooperation Group,

meeting in Bucharest on 2 December, called for the rapid

restoration of democracy and human and minority rights in

Yugoslavia and expressed concern over continuing acts of

intolerance in Kosova, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.

Absent from that meeting was the Yugoslav foreign minister,

who had not received an invitation to attend because a

consensus could not have been reached in his presence,

according to Romanian Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu. The

chief diplomats of Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, and

Turkey, along with a Greek deputy foreign minister, adopted a

joint declaration calling for rapid implementation of the

Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe and for a charter on

good neighborly relations to be signed at a summit in

Bucharest in February. The meeting was also attended by

representatives of 22 other countries. MS

[18] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT VOIDS COMMUNIST PRISON SENTENCES

government on 2 December approved a regulation granting the

status of "fighter in the anti-communist resistance" to

people sentenced by the former regime for political reasons.

A commission will decide to whom that status will apply.

Those eligible for such a status and whose properties were

confiscated by the former regime when they were sentenced

will have those properties restored or will receive

compensation, Mediafax reported. Their sentences are to be

declared null and void. MS

[19] MOLDOVAN LEADERS AGREE ON 'GOVERNMENT PROFESSIONALISM'

Voronin agreed on 2 December that the main criterion for

future ministers must be "professionalism" rather than party

affiliation, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. They said the

cabinet's main task is to continue reforms. Alexandru Mosanu,

leader of the Alliance for Democracy, which includes the

parties that formed the previous cabinet, said on 2 December

that the alliance will not support a cabinet headed by

Voronin. "Responsibility for the attempt to restore

communism...falls squarely on the president and on the

Communist Party," Mosanu argued. MS

[20] WORLD BANK APPROVES LOAN FOR BULGARIA

December approved a $100 million loan to help Bulgaria close

its budget gap, Reuters reported. The loan is contingent on

the country's making "substantial progress" in reforming its

financial, business, and energy sectors. Also on 2 December,

the parliament raised the retirement age in an effort to cut

the costs of supporting pensioners. The retirement age for

men is to be raised incrementally from 60 to 63 and for women

from 55 to 60, AP reported. The country's state pension fund

is registering a deficit and may be unable to pay pensions

beginning next year, Bulgarian media reported earlier this

week. MS

[C] END NOTE

[21] OBSERVERS EXAMINE UKRAINE'S MEDIA AFTER PRESIDENTIAL POLL

Ukrainian presidential elections, which took place in

two rounds in late October and mid November, focused world

attention on the country's media. International watchdogs

from the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Institute for

Media all concluded that Ukraine's television, radio, and

print media were overwhelmingly biased toward one or another

candidate. Thus, they argued, Ukrainians were denied access

to objective information.

Observers condemned government intimidation of the media

in the form of tax and fire inspections and law suits. They

also lamented the fact that oligarchs own most media outlets

and use them for their political ends.

Some observers, however, think the several reports

produced by human rights and freedom of speech watchdogs were

exaggerated.

The latter view is held by Taras Kuzmov of Internews, an

internationally-funded training project for television and

radio journalists. Kuzmov told RFE/RL that reports focused

overwhelmingly on Kyiv-based media and ignored Ukraine's

extensive regional media outlets. Most broadcasting outlets,

he added, were approached neither by government officials nor

by presidential candidates: "Without question there were some

precedents of pressure on TV companies, but there were many

stations that didn't experience any such pressure."

Vadym Denysenko, chief editor of the national television

channel STB, argued that the reports did not provide

sufficient explanation of their monitoring results, which

recorded the airtime accorded to each candidate and whether

the coverage was positive or negative.

"Basically, Channel X is 99 percent positive about

[incumbent President Leonid] Kuchma and 70 percent negative

about [the challenger, Petro] Symonenko," he remarked. "I

don't see the mechanism, they didn't explain how they

calculated these numbers. It's like I'd say this woman is

beautiful and this woman is not beautiful--it's my personal

subjective view, nothing more, until I explain my

conclusions. And for this reason, I can't absolutely trust

all these reports."

While few would deny that the state of the Ukrainian

media leaves much to be desired, many say that to blame only

government interference is an over-simplification. According

to Denysenko, the single biggest problem facing STB is the

country's economic decline. Prior to the elections, however,

STB complained loudly of what it called government repression

when its bank accounts were frozen by tax inspectors. Its

cause was taken up by the Committee to Protect Journalists

and was cited as an example of state coercion by the Council

of Europe and the OSCE.

After a management reshuffle at STB, and the unfreezing

of bank accounts, the complaints have disappeared. Denysenko

is now keen to downplay any problems with the government. He

told RFE/RL all difficulties have now been solved and that

STB was able to continue objective coverage of news in the

month before the election and since.

But others see STB's new tone as a form of self-

censorship. Kuzmov of Internews says that it is a tactic that

allows Kyiv-based media like STB to remain in business. He

says these media outlets are overwhelmingly dependent on big

business, and the interests controlling them usually back the

ruling power. He says if journalists tried to be completely

objective in their coverage, the outlet would simply go out

of business, so Ukrainian journalists choose pragmatism over

idealism.

"I think the Ukrainian mass media doesn't know what

direct political censorship is," Kuzmov argues. "Instead,

self-censorship exists. One journalist got to the heart of it

when he said Ukrainian journalists have freedom of speech,

but they have the wisdom not to use it."

IREX ProMedia is a sister organization to Internews,

also promoting free media in Ukraine. IREX ProMedia's Tim

O'Connor advocates ownership by foreign media companies as

one possible way of improving standards because a foreign

company is more interested in profit than politics and can

bring international experience. He says two newspapers in

regions of Ukraine have already been bought by a Norwegian

company and are doing well.

O'Connor says that the poor pay given most journalists

is another problem. He says Ukrainian journalists receive

such low wages that some take extra money to write articles

in favor of political candidates. But O'Connor says the

professionalism of many journalists in Ukraine is also

undermined by Soviet press traditions: "[Journalists] very

often see their role as someone who is responsible for

sifting through information and then telling their readers or

viewers what to think about it. They don't actually give them

the information and let them make up their own minds, they

see themselves as the analysts...which is very much a

continuation of the old traditions."

According to O'Connor, Ukrainian journalists "absolutely

did not try to be independent" during the elections. But he

adds the Ukrainian public needs to become more discerning too

and make greater demands on its media.

Kuzmov of Internews, meanwhile, says a lot of talented

young people are working in the Ukrainian media but says the

level of professionalism is still low. He predicts that in

time, there will be so many young journalists that they will

be able to change the whole system.

The author is a Kyiv-based RFE/RL correspondent.

03-12-99

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

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