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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 237, 99-12-08Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 237, 8 December 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN MINISTER AGAIN CALLS FOR PRESIDENT'SRESIGNATIONMinister for Industrial Infrastructure Vahan Shirkhanian told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 7 December that President Robert Kocharian should step down as he has failed to present a "comprehensive program" to bring the country out of the crisis into which it was plunged by the 27 October killings of Premier Vazgen Sargsian and other senior officials. Shirkhanian had earlier called for Kocharian's resignation in his 4 December address to a congress of the Yerkrapah Union of veterans of the Karabakh war. Kocharian had responded to that statement by accusing Shirkhanian of aspiring to the premiership and possibly also to the presidency. But on 7 December Shirkhanian told RFE/RL that "I could never think of myself as premier after Vazgen Sargsian. It's impossible." LF [02] KARABAKH PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON POLITICALSITUATIONArkadii Ghukasian told journalists in Stepanakert on 7 December that there is no political opposition in the unrecognized republic, Noyan Tapan reported. He conceded that former Defense Minister Samvel Babayan is still seeking to influence economic and defense policy, adding that Babayan should limit himself to his duties as commander of the Defense Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic rather than interfere in matters in which he has no expertise. Ghukasian also said that the Karabakh Armenian leadership will do its best to help defuse the "certain internal tension" that has arisen in Armenia following the 27 October parliament shootings, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. LF [03] ABKHAZ PRESIDENT INAUGURATEDVladislav Ardzinba wassworn in on 6 December for his second term as president of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. He was re-elected in a 3 October poll whose validity the international community rejects. Ardzinba pledged to do everything in his power to restore peace and prosperity and to guarantee the human rights and civil liberties of the unrecognized republic's multi-ethnic population. Abkhaz parliamentary speaker Sokrat Djindjolia told the daily "Respublika Abkhaziya" that Ardzinba's main objective during the next five years is to achieve international recognition of Abkhazia as an independent state, according to Caucasus Press on 8 December. LF [04] GEORGIA WANTS PIPELINE AGREEMENT AMENDEDLessthan three weeks after the signing in Istanbul of legal agreements on the operation of the planned Baku-Ceyhan oil export pipeline, Georgian International Oil Company President Giorgi Chanturia told journalists in Tbilisi on 7 December that Georgia wants those agreements revised, Caucasus Press reported. Chanturia said that Georgia wants changes introduced in the sections of those agreements dealing with the ecological safety of the pipeline and the distribution of responsibility for its operation between the companies using the pipeline and the states across whose territory it runs. He said Georgia specifically considers "unacceptable" an article under which Georgia would bear sole financial responsibility for ecological damage caused by a rupture of the pipeline on its territory. LF [05] KAZAKHSTAN'S ECONOMY MINISTER PREDICTS STEADYGROWTH...Zhaqsybek Kulekeev told journalists in Almaty on 7 December that Kazakhstan's GDP is set to grow by 5 percent in 1999, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. He said that figure would have been higher but for the repercussions of last year's Russian financial crisis. He predicted that the Kazakh economy will grow steadily over the next few years, according to Interfax. LF [06] ...RULES OUT SALE OF TENGIZCHEVROIL STAKEKulekeevalso told journalists on 7 December that Astana has decided not to sell its stake in the Tengizchevroil consortium in the near future, RFE/RL's Almaty correspondent reported. The proposal to do so, which was made last summer, gave rise to heated disagreements within the Kazakh leadership and resulted in the firing of Kazakhoil President Nurlan Qapparov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August and 3 September 1999). LF [07] KAZAKHSTAN'S NATIONAL BANK CHAIRMAN GREETSFINANCIAL STABILIZATIONGrigorii Marchenko told journalists in Almaty on 7 December that the situation on the financial market finally stabilized in November, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. Marchenko said that the tenge has now stabilized at a rate of 137.9 to $1, compared with 142.2 in early November. Kazakhstan's gold and hard-currency reserves rose by 6.5 percent in November, Interfax reported on 6 December. LF [08] UZBEK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES UNVEIL PROGRAMSIncumbent President Islam Karimov and People's DemocraticParty chairman Abdulkhafiz Djalalov have published their respective programs for the 9 January presidential poll, Interfax reported on 7 December. Karimov's program prioritizes political and economic development and provides for raising the minimum salary by 250 percent and the average wage by 80-100 percent over the next five years. He also pledges to provide natural gas to 82 percent and drinking water to 85 percent of the population by 2005. Djalalov similarly focuses on promoting economic liberalization. He calls for stronger public control over state authority and greater media freedom. In foreign and security policy, he advocates broadening mutually advantageous cooperation, above all with other Central Asian states. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[09] EU OIL CLEARS SERBIAN CUSTOMSAll 14 trucks carryingEU fuel oil for Nis and Pirot left the customs area at Nis airport for the two cities' respective power plants on 7 December, the Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" reported. Nis Mayor Zoran Zivkovic said he is happy that the "citizens of Nis and Pirot have received aid from the EU." An EU spokesman said in Belgrade that Brussels is already planning additional deliveries of heating oil to unspecified municipalities controlled by the opposition. PM [10] DRASKOVIC SUES SERBIAN STATE SECURITYVukDraskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) has filed charges in a Belgrade court against the state security forces, Reuters reported on 7 December. A spokesman for the SPO said that the party is convinced that the security services are the owner of the truck that Draskovic believes tried to kill him on 3 October (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 12 October 1999). Elsewhere, unnamed members of the SPO formed the Serbian Defense Movement (which also has the acronym SPO) to "fight state terrorism," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [11] TRAJKOVIC: ONLY DEMOCRACY CAN HELP SERBS INKOSOVAMomcilo Trajkovic, who is one of the two principal leaders of the Kosova Serbs, said that only the democratization of Serbia can lead to a significant improvement in the situation of Serbian minority in the troubled province, Montenegrin Television reported on 8 December. He took issue with the Belgrade regime's view that KFOR shares responsibility for the ongoing violence against Serbs. Trajkovic said that those responsible are the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and "the Albanian separatists." PM [12] SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH APPEALS FOR SUPPORTThe Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church has issued astatement calling on other Orthodox Churches and on international cultural bodies such as UNESCO for support in helping preserve the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosova, "Vesti" reported on 8 December. The statement noted that some 80 monasteries and churches have been "destroyed" in recent months, including some buildings dating back to the 14th century. The Synod appealed for an "end to crimes aimed at wiping out everything that is Serbian" in the province. Observers note that Serbian forces during the 1991-1995 Croatian and Bosnian wars systematically sought to destroy Roman Catholic and especially Muslim religious buildings in areas under their control, including two Ottoman mosques in Banja Luka that were registered with UNESCO. PM [13] MONTENEGRIN MINISTER INDICTEDAn Italian court hasindicted Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Perovic for having links to the Sicilian mafia, the BBC's Serbian Service reported on 8 December. Perovic allegedly developed connections to the mafia to smuggle cigarettes and other goods into Montenegro during the 1991-1995 Croatian and Bosnian wars. It is an open secret in Montenegro that both the current leadership and the opposition include many persons who made fortunes in smuggling during that time. It is unclear why the court singled out Perovic. PM [14] TUDJMAN'S CONDITION DETERIORATESAn unnamedofficial of the governing Croatian Democratic Community told Reuters in Zagreb on 8 December that President Franjo Tudjman's condition is "the gravest it has been so far." In a statement, Tudjman's doctors described his condition as "very critical," adding that he requires "most intensive care." Tudjman has been in the hospital since 1 November and is widely believed to be in the final stages of cancer. PM [15] ARE SECRET SERVICES BUGGING CROATIA'S ACTINGPRESIDENT?Parliamentary speaker Vlatko Pavletic, who is also carrying out Tudjman's duties because the president is incapacitated, said he wants a written statement from Interior Minister Ivan Penic as to whether the security services have bugged his offices, "Jutarnji list" reported on 8 December. The weekly "Nacional" recently claimed that the security services listen to Pavletic's conversations. He is taking the charges very seriously, the Zagreb daily noted. There have been several scandals regarding the misuse of the intelligence services for political purposes since Croatia became independent in 1991 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 February 1999). PM [16] PETRITSCH NAMES BOSNIAN TV BOARDThe internationalcommunity's Wolfgang Petritsch appointed 21 persons to four-year terms on the new Administrative Council, which will supervise the work of public television in the mainly Muslim and Croatian federation. He also appointed Tadej Labernik, who is a Slovene, to a key administrative post in public television, "Dnevni avaz" reported on 8 December. PM [17] WORLD BANK TO FUND ALBANIAN ROADCONSTRUCTIONUnnamed officials of the World Bank said in Washington on 7 December that the bank has approved a 40-year, $13.65 million credit for roads linking Durres with Kosova and Berat with Corovode. Both roads were damaged by NATO vehicles and refugee convoys during the Atlantic alliance's Balkan campaign earlier in 1999. Most roads in Albania are far below European standards. PM [18] THOUSANDS OF WEAPONS HELD ILLEGALLY IN ALBANIANeritan Ceka, who heads the parliament's Committee on PublicOrder, said in Tirana on 8 December that in its campaign to buy illegally-owned weapons, the government has succeeded in acquiring only about 70,000 out of 600,000 such weapons. Many of the illegal weapons taken from government arsenals during the 1997 anarchy found their way to Kosova during the recent crisis, but many others remain in Albania, dpa reported. The UN has offered local communities aid for schools and roads in return for handing in illegal weapons. For centuries, gun ownership has been an integral part of the macho culture that prevails in much of the Western Balkans. PM [19] ROMANIAN INTELLECTUALS CALL ON PEOPLE TOSUPPORT CONSTANTINESCUHundreds of leading Romanian intellectuals and artists have signed a declaration calling on the public to support President Emil Constantinescu. The declaration was published as a one-page spread in several Romanian daily newspapers on 8 December. It praises Constantinescu's efforts to bring the country closer to European structures, saying he has managed to turn the country into an "active partner for the Western world." The appeal was signed by leading writers, academics, writers, and actors in the country. In other news, the Romanian railway strike continued into its third day on 8 December, blocking more than 60 percent of railway traffic in the country. VG [20] ROMANIAN, ALBANIAN PRESIDENTS MEETConstantinescuand his visiting Albanian counterpart, Rexhap Meidani, decided to reactivate a joint economic council to promote bilateral trade, Rompres reported on 7 December. Meidani said he appreciates Romania's role in cooperating with NATO on the Kosova crisis. VG [21] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS PROPOSEDGOVERNMENT...Lawmakers on 7 December failed to give a necessary vote of confidence to Prime Minister-designate and Communist leader Vladimir Voronin's cabinet, BASA-Press reported. Voronin's cabinet received the support of only 48 out of 101 deputies, four short of the required number. President Petru Lucinschi said after the vote that he will resume his search for a new prime minister-designate. If the parliament does not approve a new government by 27 December, the president can dissolve the legislature and call new elections. VG [22] ...WHILE VORONIN PLEDGES TO CONTINUE TALKSVoronin said his party will resume negotiations with Lucinschion forming a new cabinet. He said the Communists are not afraid of early elections, but he added that such a ballot would be a "catastrophe for the Moldovan economy." Christian Democratic Popular Front leader Iurie Rosca said only an "outstanding and surprising candidate with all the qualities of a competent and honest person" would be able to secure the support of the parliament. VG [23] BULGARIAN MINISTER ASKS GREECE TO HELP HIJACKEDCREWBulgarian Transport Minister Wilhelm Kraus has asked his country's Foreign Ministry to request that the Greek government help ensure the safety of the Bulgarian crew of a cargo ship that appears to have been hijacked in the Aegean Sea, BTA reported on 7 December. Bulgaria says the crew of the ship, which set sail from Burgas on 29 November, has been taken hostage by a group of about 250 illegal migrants. Earlier, a report by Greece's ANA Agency claimed that the migrants paid large sums of money to get on the boat while it was in a Turkish port. VG [24] BULGARIAN PREMIER MEETS SOCIALIST OPPOSITIONLEADERSBulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov on 7 December said that he and Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Georgi Purvanov held a "successful" meeting on the country's strategy for obtaining membership in the EU, BTA reported. Kostov noted that the country's EU accession negotiations will require a political consensus on achieving legislative changes as well as amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution before the next elections. VG [25] BULGARIA, TURKEY SIGN SECURITY COOPERATIONPROTOCOLTurkish Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan and his visiting Bulgarian counterpart, Bogomil Bonev, on 7 December signed a cooperation protocol on various security issues, BTA reported. The protocol includes pledges to cooperate in fighting terrorism, drug trafficking, and the robberies of tourists passing through either country. VG [C] END NOTE[26] OSCE RELEASES REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONSIN KOSOVABy Roland Eggleston Hundreds of atrocities, against both ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs, have been recorded by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The group released details of the human rights abuses earlier this week in two volumes titled "Kosovo--As Seen, As Told." In 760 pages, the report describes individual and mass killings, the rape of women and girls, the killing of children, and the looting and burning of homes and shops. Unlike many such reports, which give a general overview of a situation, this one is very specific: scores of towns and villages are named along with details of incidents that took place there. However, none of the victims or perpetrators is identified by name. The OSCE says it does not wish to expose the victims to retaliation for having spoken out, while it wants to protect the privacy of rape victims. The names of the alleged perpetrators were not revealed for legal reasons, but they have been passed on to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. The reports are almost all from victims or eyewitnesses. The sheer number of allegations made it impossible for the OSCE to investigate each one thoroughly, but the group did try to obtain supporting evidence from other sources, including medical authorities. An OSCE human rights officer, Ian Gorvin, says the organization tried to be balanced in its reporting. "There is data concerning violation of the rights of Kosovo Albanians by Serb and Yugoslav forces, but equally there is data about violations of the rights of Serbs and also of Albanians by the Kosovo Liberation Army," he said. Volume One of the OSCE report details human rights violations in Kosova between December 1998 and March 1999, when the NATO bombing began. It also contains many reports of crimes said to have been carried out by Serbian military and paramilitary forces during the 78-day NATO bombing campaign, which ended in June. The convoys carrying ethnic Albanians to Macedonia and Albania were often raided by Serbian forces, who survivors said committed murder and rape and looted the refugees' few possessions. Volume One also contains a breakdown of events in each of Kosova's 29 municipalities, mostly during the bombing campaign. The report gives eyewitness accounts of Serbian activity in nearly 300 towns, villages, and communities. One recurring theme is the pressure applied to many ethnic Albanians to pay large sums of money in German marks to secure their own release or the release of a son. In several cases, the individual was killed even after ransom money was paid. Volume Two deals with the period after NATO troops moved into Kosova following the bombing campaign. Much of it deals with the revenge taken by ethnic Albanians on Serbs and Roma as well as the political role of the now-disbanded Kosova Liberation Army (UCK). The OSCE says it documented 750 cases of human rights violations in the period from 14 June to 31 October, and investigations are continuing into hundreds more. The report says the hatred of the ethnic Albanians and their desire for revenge created the climate in which the vast majority of human rights violations are taking place. One human rights investigator said the province is completely polarized: "The bitterness in the ethnic Albanian population about their past treatment has led to a situation where the entire remaining Kosovo Serb population is now seen as a target for Kosovo Albanians." The report contains pages of descriptions of the abduction of Serbian men and boys, the burning of property, and discrimination against ethnic Serbs, including the elderly and children. The story is told in the separate reports on the situation in each of the five KFOR zones of Kosova. Volume Two also examines the emergence of rival political factions in Kosova--particularly the now-disbanded Kosova Liberation Army--and the tensions this has provoked in the ethnic Albanian community. "The rights of Kosovo Albanians to freedom of association, expression, thought, and religion have all been challenged by other Kosovo Albanians," the report notes. It also comments on the political ambitions of the UCK, which has imposed itself as a provisional government in many communities, noting that in many cases those who repress the Serbian population claim to be members of the UCK or associated with it. The report acknowledges that the highest levels of the former UCK leadership have publicly stated that their members have no links to violent disturbances. The UCK leadership says criminal elements who were never part of the UCK are now exploiting the UCK umbrella for their own purposes. The two volumes that make up this massive report on human rights violations will be sent to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to assist in the prosecution of those responsible for atrocities. The OSCE will provide the court with its list of those believed to be responsible for murders, rapes, beatings, and abductions. The former chief of the international court, Justice Louise Arbour, sums up the OSCE's hopes for the report in its foreword. Describing the report as a reliable data base, she says it will assist those trying to establish peace and justice in Kosova. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Munich. 08-12-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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