RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 16, 00-01-24

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 16, 24 January 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] U.S. DIPLOMATS DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT IN ARMENIA...

[02] ...AND AZERBAIJAN

[03] GUUAM DEFENSE MINISTERS' MEETING SHELVED

[04] GEORGIA, RUSSIA DISCUSS ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES

[05] KAZAKHSTAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER REVIEWS CRIME SITUATION

[06] FORMER KAZAKH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DIES

[07] KYRGYZ PROSECUTOR DENIES OPPOSITION LEADER'S ARREST

[08] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTIES TO ALIGN

[09] UZBEK PRESIDENT SWORN IN

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[10] CROATIANS ELECTING A NEW PRESIDENT

[11] SLOVENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER QUITS

[12] MONTENEGRIN COALITION: NO PARTICIPATION IN YUGOSLAV

[13] SESELJ REELECTED PARTY CHIEF

[14] SERBIAN PARTY SKEPTICAL OF ARKAN MURDER ARRESTS

[15] PERISIC URGES YUGOSLAV ARMY TO ACT AGAINST PARAMILITARIES

[16] BREAKTHROUGH IN RELATIONS BETWEEN UN, KOSOVA SERBS?

[17] UN FIRM ON NO MILITARY RANKS FOR KOSOVA CORPS

[18] CONTINUED THREATS TO ROMAN CATHOLICS IN KOSOVA

[19] ALBANIAN OPERA PERFORMERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

[20] BALKAN LEADERS CALL FOR MORE EFFECTIVE SANCTIONS AGAINST

[21] ...DISCUSS YUGOSLAV PROBLEM...

[22] ...AND COMPLAIN ABOUT SLOW IMPLEMENTATION OF STABILITY PACT

[23] THOUSANDS OF ROMANIANS ATTEND POLITICIAN'S FUNERAL

[24] MOLDOVA FACES DEFAULT?

[C] END NOTE

[25] Slovak Premier Announces Controversial New Party

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] U.S. DIPLOMATS DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT IN ARMENIA...

Assistant Secretary of State Steven Sestanovich and the U.S.

co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Carey Cavanaugh, met in

Yerevan on 21-22 January with President Robert Kocharian,

Prime Minister Aram Sargsian and other senior officials to

discuss how to speed up the stalled Karabakh peace process,

RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He said that to that end,

the Minsk Group is preparing a new peace proposal, but did

not divulge details. Sestanovich told journalists in Yerevan

on 22 January that the unresolved Karabakh conflict remains

an obstacle to improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations. LF

[02] ...AND AZERBAIJAN

flew to Baku for talks with President Heidar Aliev and other

senior officials, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. Aliev greeted

the news that the Minsk Group is preparing a new peace

proposal, and expressed his hope that the conflict will be

resolved by the end of this year. LF

[03] GUUAM DEFENSE MINISTERS' MEETING SHELVED

for early this year of the defense ministers of the five

GUUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan

and Moldova) has been postponed indefinitely, ITAR-TASS

reported on 21 January, quoting the Georgian Defense

Ministry. The meeting was originally to have taken place in

Tbilisi on 28-30 January, but then rescheduled for 24-25

January on the sidelines of the CIS summit in Moscow. Western

observers have suggested that the reason for the postponement

may be the recent rapprochement between Uzbekistan and

Russia. LF

[04] GEORGIA, RUSSIA DISCUSS ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES

Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo held talks in Tbilisi on

22-23 January with his Georgian counterpart Kakha Targamadze

and with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, Interfax and

ITAR-TASS reported. Rushailo told journalists that his talks

focused on the situation in Chechnya and the North Caucasus,

on cooperation with Georgia in fighting crime and terrorism,

and that he had provided Tbilisi with lists of wanted Chechen

"terrorists." Also on 22 January, the deputy head of the

Georgian National Security Ministry's Anti-Terrorism

Department, Giorgi Mandaria, told Caucasus Press that the

ministry has information that Shevardnadze may be the object

of a terrorist attack in the immediate future. LF

[05] KAZAKHSTAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER REVIEWS CRIME SITUATION

Astana that the crime rate fell by 1.9 percent in Kazakhstan

in 1999 compared with the previous year, while the incidence

of serious crime declined by 11.5 percent, Interfax reported.

He said that more than 360 organized criminal groups were

neutralized in 1999. But Sulaimanov expressed concern at the

frequency of weapon thefts by army personnel from Defense

Ministry depots. He said that such thefts are the main source

of arms for criminal groups. LF

[06] FORMER KAZAKH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DIES

23 January at the age of 50, two and a half months after

suffering a brain hemorrhage, RFE/RL's Almaty bureau

reported. A member of the OTAN party, he had been tipped last

fall as a possible successor to Prime Minister Nurlan

Balghymbaev. LF

[07] KYRGYZ PROSECUTOR DENIES OPPOSITION LEADER'S ARREST

Deputy Prosecutor General Japar

Mukashev told a press conference in Bishkek on 21 January

that the arrest of El (Bei Bechara) Party Chairman Daniyar

Usenov was not politically motivated, RFE/RL's bureau in the

Kyrgyz capital reported. Usenov was placed under arrest in a

Bishkek hospital late on 19 January for having ignored a

court summons which he said he never received (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 21 January 2000). The summons was in connection

with charges of assault and battery brought against Usenov in

1996 but shelved after an initial investigation. Also on 21

January, some 200 Kyrgyz opposition supporters demonstrated

for the second consecutive day in Bishkek to protest Usenov's

arrest. LF

[08] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTIES TO ALIGN

parties issued a statement in Bishkek on 22 January

announcing their intention to join forces in order to protect

democracy and constitutional rights and freedoms, Interfax

reported. They claimed that in the runup to the parliamentary

elections scheduled for 20 February the Kyrgyz authorities

are harassing opposition parties and their leaders and the

independent media. The five parties are the People's Party,

the Republican Party, El (Bei Bechara), the Democratic

Movement of Kyrgyzstan, and the Ar-Namys party. The latter

two parties created a bloc earlier this month to contest the

party list seats in the 20 February poll (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 6 January 2000). LF

[09] UZBEK PRESIDENT SWORN IN

Tashkent on 22 January, Islam Karimov pledged further moves

towards market liberalization and towards making the

country's currency fully convertible, Reuters reported.

Karimov also hinted that the current authoritarian system may

be relaxed, saying that "we must clearly understand the power

of a government is not in excessive concentration of

authority within a state system used as a mechanism of

suppression and coercion." He also hinted that the leadership

may agree to dialogue with the opposition. The new Uzbek

parliament elected on 12 December also held its first session

on 22 January. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[10] CROATIANS ELECTING A NEW PRESIDENT

Croatia at 7 a.m. on 24 January in the first round of voting

for a successor to President Franjo Tudjman, who died in

December. Leading in the polls is Stipe Mesic of the small

four-party opposition coalition (see "End Note," "RFE/RL

Newsline," 21 January 2000). He is followed by Drazen Budisa

of the larger two-party coalition, which includes Prime

Minister-designate Ivica Racan's Social Democrats as well as

Budisa's Social Liberals. The only other candidate with a

serious chance of being elected is Foreign Minister Mate

Granic of the Croatian Democratic Community, which governed

the country from 1990 until its defeat in the 3 January

parliamentary elections. There are few, if any, substantial

policy differences between the three leading candidates.

Interest in the election centers on the prospective future

power relationship between the government and the presidency.

A second round of voting will take place on 7 February if, as

expected, no candidate secures more than 50 percent in the

first round. PM

[11] SLOVENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER QUITS

Ljubljana on 21 January that he is leaving office. He cited

personal reasons as well as repeated attacks in the media

against him and his policies. In particular, he has been

criticized for failing to clear up a long-standing series of

problems with Croatia. Some writers also claim that he gave

too much ground to the Vatican in recent negotiations for a

treaty with the Holy See that will return some property to

the Roman Catholic Church and reinstate religious instruction

in public schools, AP reported. The Church enjoyed a

politically powerful position in pre-communist Slovenia, but

society is now highly secular after 45 years of communist

rule. PM

[12] MONTENEGRIN COALITION: NO PARTICIPATION IN YUGOSLAV

A spokesman for the three-member parties of the

governing "For a Better Life" coalition told the private Beta

news agency on 22 January that they will not participate in

any Yugoslav-wide general elections until Belgrade and

Podgorica redefine the terms of their relationship. PM

[13] SESELJ REELECTED PARTY CHIEF

Serbian Radical Party on 23 January in Belgrade re-elected

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj as party chair

and Tomislav Nikolic as his deputy. In his address, Seselj

lambasted the opposition as lackeys of the U.S. Guests of the

congress included Serbian Orthodox Bishop Filaret, former

Russian Deputy Duma Speaker Sergei Baburin, and a delegation

from France's National Front. Elsewhere, a bus carrying party

delegates from Prokuplje to Belgrade went off the road,

killing one and seriously injuring 15, RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported. PM

[14] SERBIAN PARTY SKEPTICAL OF ARKAN MURDER ARRESTS

Democracy party said in a statement in Belgrade on 23 January

that the arrest by Yugoslav police of three men the day

before for the recent murder of Zeljko Raznatovic "Arkan"

leaves more questions open than it answers (see "RFE/RL

Balkan Report," 18 January 2000). The statement added that

the three men are most likely only pawns of the individuals

or groups who really planned the murder, but that the police

said nothing about those plotters, RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported. The arrested men are Dobrosav Gavric (23),

Dejan Pitulic (33), and Vujadin Krstic (36). Gavric and

Pitulic are former policemen, Reuters reported. A police

spokesman said that "beyond any doubt, we have those who

committed the crime," AP reported. He added that Gavric had a

history of underworld connections even while serving as a

policeman. PM

[15] PERISIC URGES YUGOSLAV ARMY TO ACT AGAINST PARAMILITARIES

Movement for a Democratic Serbia, said in Belgrade on 23

January that the authorities are preparing to use

paramilitaries against the civilian population in Serbia and

Montenegro. He did not elaborate. He called on the army to

prevent the establishment of paramilitary formations,

RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Elsewhere, Perisic

repeated his call that the opposition must be prepared to

fight the regime "both inside and outside political

institutions," "Blic" reported on 24 January. The former army

chief-of-staff also urged the opposition to solve Serbia's

problems itself and not to depend on the West to do so. PM

[16] BREAKTHROUGH IN RELATIONS BETWEEN UN, KOSOVA SERBS?

Orthodox Archbishop Artemije, who is one of the leaders of

the Kosova Serbs, said in Prishtina that local Serbian

representatives are discussing possibilities for self-rule

with the UN civilian administration in the province, "Vesti"

reported on 23 January. He suggested that Serbs will

participate in the UN's interim councils if they receive a

"certain degree of local self-government," but not until

then. The UN has repeatedly rejected Serbian calls for a

"cantonization" of the province to enable Serbs and other

non-Albanians to rule the areas in which they form a

majority. The next day in Rahovec, UN and NATO officials

opened an information office in hopes of providing local

Serbs and Roma a place to go when they have problems.

Artemije, his assistant Father Sava, and political leader

Momcilo Trajkovic took the UN's Bernard Kouchner and NATO's

General Klaus Reinhardt on a tour of Serbian and Romany homes

in the area. PM

[17] UN FIRM ON NO MILITARY RANKS FOR KOSOVA CORPS

in Prishtina, General Reinhardt swore in 44 former officers

of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) as officials in the new

civilian Kosova Protection Corps (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20

January 2000). Two days later, a KFOR spokesman said that the

corps' commander, General Agim Ceku, is the only member of

that body entitled to use a military title. The former UCK

regional commanders are now to be known as "regional

directors," the spokesman added. Ceku is a career military

officer who served in the Yugoslav and especially Croatian

armies. PM

[18] CONTINUED THREATS TO ROMAN CATHOLICS IN KOSOVA

spokesman said in Belgrade on 23 January that Roman Catholic

buildings and individuals are coming under increasing threat

in Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He did not

elaborate, but said that the unnamed attackers appear to have

singled out clergy and their families as particular targets

of violence. Vatican Radio recently blamed "Muslim

extremists" for the violence (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13

January 2000). Some 70,000 Kosovar Albanians are Roman

Catholic. On the average, they tend to be better educated,

wealthier, and better connected abroad than many of their

Muslim neighbors. Many have worked and lived in Croatia and

also hold Croatian passports. PM

[19] ALBANIAN OPERA PERFORMERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

Tirana's National Ballet and Opera Theater began a hunger

strike on 21 January to demand the resignation of Culture

Minister Edi Rama and opera Managing Director Zana Cela. The

conductor, singer, and five musicians charge the two with

mismanagement. They also object to government plans to

privatize the opera. The dispute has split the professional

musical community, dpa reported. Last week, singers performed

Bellini's "Norma" accompanied only by a piano. PM

[20] BALKAN LEADERS CALL FOR MORE EFFECTIVE SANCTIONS AGAINST

The leaders of seven states bordering Yugoslavia

on 22 January called for UN sanctions against Belgrade to be

made more effective at a summit meeting in the Bulgarian town

of Hissar. The meeting was attended by the leaders of

Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,

and Albania as well as high-ranking EU and NATO

representatives. Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov said

the sanctions are "hitting ordinary people" while having

little effect on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. He

added that the poor states in the region are also being hit

by the sanctions. VG

[21] ...DISCUSS YUGOSLAV PROBLEM...

leaders stressed the need to promote democracy in Yugoslavia

and many of them said sanctions against Belgrade are an

"important political instrument," BTA reported. Bosnia-

Herzegovina's Haris Silajdzic warned that if the current

regime stays in power in Belgrade, Yugoslavia will remain a

"black hole" that the rest of the countries will have to

skirt. He also emphasized that NATO must remain in his

country "because Bosnia is a job half done." Macedonian Prime

Minister Ljubco Georgievski noted that Belgrade is a source

of instability in the region, saying "the internal problems

of Serbia have become Macedonian problems." He said he

supports the idea of helping Montenegro serve as an example

to Serbia of the benefits of democracy. VG

[22] ...AND COMPLAIN ABOUT SLOW IMPLEMENTATION OF STABILITY PACT

implementation of the Stability Pact for the Balkan region.

Kostov said the countries of the region demonstrated a

"growing impatience over the pace of progress of the

Stability Pact," BTA reported. Georgievski warned that if the

upcoming donors' conference in March "fails, the Balkan

states will be profoundly dissatisfied." The EU's envoy on

foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, said the EU is

making "extraordinary efforts" to stabilize the region but

added that regional stability is a "responsibility we must

share with the region's states." The summit leaders also

discussed the upcoming meeting of the Danube Commission and

efforts to clear the river of debris from the bridges

destroyed during the NATO bombing campaign last year. VG

[23] THOUSANDS OF ROMANIANS ATTEND POLITICIAN'S FUNERAL

2,500 people attended the funeral of former politician Ion

Ratiu on 23 January in Turda northwest of Bucharest, AP

reported. Ratiu was a diplomat before World War II. He left

Romania in 1940 and settled in Britain. He returned to

Romania after 1989 and ran unsuccessfully for president the

following year. Ratiu died last week in London at the age of

82 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 January 2000). VG

[24] MOLDOVA FACES DEFAULT?

parliament, Iurie Rosca, said on 21 January that Moldova may

default on its debt payments if it does not privatize the

wine and tobacco industries this year, BASA-Press reported.

He said the privatization could bring in some $80 million for

the budget. The communists have expressed opposition to the

privatization. On 20 January, the World Bank's country

director for Moldova, Roger Grawe, said Chisinau could

receive $55-60 million from the bank in 2000 if it meets the

commitments of the previous Moldovan government, which

include the privatization of wine and tobacco companies,

Infotag reported. VG

[C] END NOTE

[25] Slovak Premier Announces Controversial New Party

On 16 January, Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda

held a secret three-hour meeting in his office with several

government ministers and deputies at which 11 of those

present signed a declaration on forming a new political

party--the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU).

Dzurinda announced the declaration the following day. No

date has been set for the formal establishment of the new

party.

Dzurinda says he envisions the party as the eventual

successor to the ruling Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) in

parliamentary elections in 2002.

"The new political party will clearly carry on according

to the ideals of the SDK, regardless of how it was formed,"

he said. "Its ideals are very clear: first of all to continue

to integrate democratic forces in the country. It is apparent

that the next parliamentary elections will decide once and

for all about Slovak membership in the EU. At the same time,

it upholds the goal of concluding all reform processes."

The SDK was formed two years ago by five opposition

parties: three right-wing parties (the Democratic Party, the

Democratic Union and the Christian Democratic Movement) and

two left-of-center parties (the Social Democrats and the

Greens).

The formula proved successful in winning parliamentary

elections in 1998 and ending the populist rule of Prime

Minister Vladimir Meciar. The vote put the SDK in power with

three other parties (the post-Communist Party of the

Democratic Left, the populist Party of Civic Understanding,

and a coalition of ethnic Hungarian parties). Meciar's

downfall and Slovakia's return to democratic practices

resulted in a rapid turnaround in the attitudes of NATO and

the European Union toward Slovakia. Both bodies now fully

support Slovakia's integration.

The 11 signatories say they oppose breaking up the SDK

right away because that would violate the trust of the

voters. But they say that, over the longer term, the new SDKU

will promote the integration of reform forces in Slovakia and

better serve the needs of voters.

In addition to Dzurinda, the founding members of the

SDKU include Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Simko, and the

ministers of foreign affairs (Eduard Kukan), interior

(Ladislav Pittner), culture (Milan Knazko), health (Tibor

Sagat), and transportation, post and telecommunications

(Jozef Macejko).

One of those at the founding meeting who did not sign

the declaration was Jan Figel of the Democratic Party, a

state secretary at the Foreign Ministry.

Figel says Slovakia already has too many political

parties. He says what the country needs are fewer

functionaries and a greater interest in citizens' needs. He

told reporters in Bratislava that integrating Slovakia into

European structures cannot succeed as long as the country is

splintered and individual and group interests prevail over

those of society as a whole.

No one from the Democratic Party has signed the

declaration. But the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH),

Dzurinda's original party, is split, with nine of its MPs

opposing the new party, three having signed the new party's

declaration, and three expected to support it. KDH Chairman

and Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky was among the first to

criticize formation of the new party.

"It is with regret that the KDH takes note of the

declaration by Mikulas Dzurinda and the other signatories

announcing the foundation of a new political party, SDKU,"

Carnogursky said. "This step further splinters the right in

Slovakia. For the second time in the 10 years of its

existence, the KDH is splintered. This declaration

unilaterally ends the SDK's existence without even informing

the parent parties in advance. It also unilaterally ends the

negotiations on reorganizing relations between the SDK and

its parent parties."

Nevertheless, Carnogursky did pledge to continue to

support both the government and Prime Minister Dzurinda. The

prime minister, for his part, says he intends to resign

shortly from Carnogursky's party.

As Carnogursky suggests, the SDK faction in parliament

appears to be on the verge of an institutional split.

Deputies loyal to SDK want to draw up an agreement on

cooperation with those who back SDKU.

One curious footnote is that the location of the meeting

where the declaration was drawn up (Dzurinda's office)

remained secret for two days, apparently due to ethical

questions over the suitability of the prime minister's office

as a site for founding a political party.

For its part, Meciar's Movement for a Democratic

Slovakia (HZDS) describes the SDKU as signaling SDK's

disintegration and in HZDS's view "confirming once and for

all that SDK was a matter of electoral fraud toward the

citizens, with a single goal: to place parties in parliament

which the voters had already ruled out."

The HZDS is reiterating its call for early elections,

this time on the grounds that as a result of the

establishment of SDKU, the SDK has lost the legitimacy of its

mandate in parliament.

24-01-00

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

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