RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 17, 00-01-25

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 17, 25 January 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] TURKEY SOLICITS ARMENIAN SUPPORT FOR REGIONAL STABILITY PACT

[02] WORLD BANK EARMARKS NEW LOANS FOR ARMENIA

[03] ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS MEET IN MOSCOW

[04] AZERBAIJAN LIQUIDATES STATE GOLD COMPANY

[05] KAZAKH OPPOSITION POLITICIAN ON TRIAL

[06] KAZAKH, KYRGYZ PREMIERS MEET

[07] POLICE GUARDS WITHDRAWN FROM KYRGYZ OPPOSITION POLITICIAN'S

[08] THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KYRGYZ CONTRACT KILLING

[09] KYRGYZ, TAJIK PRESIDENTS MEET WITH PUTIN

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[10] MESIC, BUDISA IN CROATIAN RUNOFF...

[11] ...AS THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS

[12] CARROTS FOR MONTENEGRO...

[13] ...AND A STICK

[14] EU RETHINKING SANCTIONS ON SERBIA?

[15] BOSNIAN SERBS WANT SILAJDZIC OUT

[16] POSTWAR KOSOVA OPENS FIRST BANK

[17] RIGHTS GROUP SLAMS MACEDONIAN POLICE

[18] ROMANIAN TEACHERS AND RAILWAY WORKERS GO ON STRIKE...

[19] ...AND GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO BACK DOWN

[20] CRIMINAL CASE LAUNCHED AGAINST CLUJ MAYOR

[21] COMMUNISTS, AGRARIANS WIN IN TARACLIA

[22] ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER IN BULGARIA WANTS CONSTITUTIONAL

[23] BULGARIAN ROMA FILE PETITIONS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY

[C] END NOTE

[24] ANOTHER FORCED DEPORTATION?

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] TURKEY SOLICITS ARMENIAN SUPPORT FOR REGIONAL STABILITY PACT

Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian to urge that Armenia

endorse the Caucasus stability pact that Demirel proposed

during his visit to Georgia earlier this month, RFE/RL's

Yerevan bureau reported on 24 January, quoting Kocharian's

press office (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 January 2000).

Demirel argued that the pact, which is to be guaranteed by

the international community, will "bring peace, stability,

and prosperity not only to the Caucasus region but to the

whole of Eurasia." He expressed confidence that Armenia and

Turkey can act on their shared interests in strengthening

regional peace and stability. It was not clear whether

Demirel's missive made any concrete proposal on establishing

formal diplomatic relations with Armenia. LF

[02] WORLD BANK EARMARKS NEW LOANS FOR ARMENIA

is the World Bank's resident representative in Armenia, told

journalists in Yerevan on 24 January that the bank will grant

Armenia some $85 million in new loans in 2000 provided that

the cabinet continues to implement its previously agreed

program of deregulation and economic reform, RFE/RL's bureau

in the Armenian capital reported. Of that sum, $45 million is

allocated to cover approximately half of the country's

anticipated budget deficit, while the remainder will finance

infrastructure, social, and judicial programs. Saadat said

that a timetable for the release of the funds will be worked

out over the next few months. LF

[03] ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS MEET IN MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired "frank and

substantive" talks in Moscow on 24 January between Kocharian

and his Azerbaijani counterpart Heidar Aliev on the Karabakh

peace process, Russian agencies reported. In a subsequent

statement, Putin underscored the usefulness of, and Russia's

support for, the ongoing dialogue on that subject between the

two leaders who, he added, "are consistently seeking to find

a compromise solution" to the conflict. Putin said Russia

would be prepared to act as guarantor of such a settlement.

Neither Aliev nor Kocharian has made any public statement on

their talks. LF

[04] AZERBAIJAN LIQUIDATES STATE GOLD COMPANY

22 January issued a decree abolishing the Azergyzyl state

gold company and transferring its functions to the State

Commission for Geology and Mineral Resources, Interfax

reported on 24 January. That commission will now be

responsible for implementing the production-sharing agreement

concluded in 1997 with a U.S. company to develop gold and

silver mines close to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 1997). LF

[05] KAZAKH OPPOSITION POLITICIAN ON TRIAL

Gabdullin, who is vice chairman of the executive committee of

the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan and editor-in-

chief of the independent newspaper "XXI vek," opened in

Almaty on 25 January, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former

capital reported. Gabdullin is charged with obstructing a

police officer who in late December entered the premises

where the party's executive committee was meeting and began

making a video recording of the proceedings without

presenting any official documentation allowing him to do so.

LF

[06] KAZAKH, KYRGYZ PREMIERS MEET

Muraliev headed a government delegation to Astana on 21

January to attend a session of the Kyrgyz-Kazakh

intergovernmental council, Interfax and RFE/RL's Bishkek

bureau reported. Muraliev also met separately with his Kazakh

counterpart Qasymzhomart Toqaev to discuss bilateral

economic, military, trade, and customs relations. The two

premiers were also scheduled to sign an agreement on the

joint use of hydroelectric power stations on the Chu and

Talas rivers, while the two countries' defense ministers were

to sign a bilateral cooperation agreement. LF

[07] POLICE GUARDS WITHDRAWN FROM KYRGYZ OPPOSITION POLITICIAN'S

The Interior Ministry guards posted in

parliament deputy and opposition El (Bei Bechara) Party

Chairman Daniyar Usenov's hospital ward were withdrawn on 23

January, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported the following day,

quoting the parliamentary press service. The police had been

deployed last week after Usenov failed to comply with a court

summons (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 January 2000). LF

[08] THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KYRGYZ CONTRACT KILLING

death sentence on three people found guilty of the March 1997

murder in Bishkek of the head of the LUKoil-Kyrgyzstan

company, Yusup Kolbaev, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. A

fourth man received a nine-year prison sentence for his role

as the killers' driver. LF

[09] KYRGYZ, TAJIK PRESIDENTS MEET WITH PUTIN

Askar Akaev met with acting Russian President Putin in Moscow

on 24 January on the eve of the CIS summit, Russian agencies

reported. Akaev requested that repayment of his country's

huge debt to Russia be rescheduled, presidential deputy chief

of staff Sergei Prikhodko said. That debt was estimated last

summer at $132.8 million, and Kyrgyzstan must pay $30 million

in interest in 2000 alone. Agreement was reached on

postponing until May 2000 a state visit to Moscow by Akaev

originally scheduled for February. Tajik President Imomali

Rakhmonov met with Putin the same day to discuss economic and

military-technical cooperation, the situation in Afghanistan,

and the threat posed by international terrorism, according to

ITAR-TASS. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[10] MESIC, BUDISA IN CROATIAN RUNOFF...

votes counted, Stipe Mesic of the coalition of four small

parties leads the 24 January Croatian presidential election

with 42 percent of the votes. Drazen Budisa of the coalition

of two larger parties trails him with 28 percent. Mate Granic

of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), which ran Croatia

from 1990 until its defeat in the 3 January parliamentary

elections, finished third with 22 percent. Granic's defeat

ends the last hope of his party to hold on to at least one

key office at the national level. Mesic and Budisa will face

a runoff on 7 February. Reuters reported that "there is

little love lost between the two and [their] advisers

predicted a tough and dirty campaign." PM

[11] ...AS THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS

January by accusing the secret services of attempting to

sabotage his bid for the presidency. "All those who joined

the campaign against me will have to account for their

action, those in the intelligence services, the generals who

behaved in the way that had some of the hallmarks of an

imminent coup d'etat," Reuters reported. HDZ hardliners have

previously attempted to use the secret services for political

purposes. Elsewhere, Prime Minister-designate Ivica Racan

spoke in favor of his ally Budisa. Racan stressed that his

government will be able to carry out its program more

effectively if Budisa is president. For his part, Mesic said

that he will work with the government to achieve common

goals, adding that he will also make sure that it keeps its

promises. PM

[12] CARROTS FOR MONTENEGRO...

told visiting Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic that

democracy in Serbia is the key to Montenegro's future.

Speaking in London on 25 January, Blair said: "I believe

Montenegro has now begun the same transition process that has

produced greater prosperity and democracy elsewhere in

central and eastern Europe.... But we can only be sure of

that when we have democratic change and a democratic

government in Belgrade," Reuters reported. "The current

Belgrade leadership is still a factor for instability in the

Balkans. And Montenegro itself will never be fully secure

until there is democracy and economic reform in Serbia,"

Blair concluded. PM

[13] ...AND A STICK

NATO diplomat told Reuters that Montenegro should not expect

military support from the Atlantic alliance if Podgorica

declares independence. The diplomat noted that keeping

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic from provoking a

confrontation with Montenegro is a "dilemma facing all of

us." The envoy added, however, that Djukanovic "should be

very careful not to provoke a showdown because he shouldn't

count on being rescued by the U.S. or its allies." PM

[14] EU RETHINKING SANCTIONS ON SERBIA?

EU member states are considering lifting the ban on direct

air links to Serbia as a gesture of good will toward the

Serbian opposition, "Vesti" reported from Brussels on 25

January. The daily added that British and Dutch diplomats are

softening in their refusal to lift any sanctions so long as

Milosevic remains in power. The opposition stresses that

sanctions should be aimed directly at members of the regime

and should not include blanket measures that primarily affect

ordinary Serbs. PM

[15] BOSNIAN SERBS WANT SILAJDZIC OUT

Minister Milorad Dodik and the moderate governing Sloga

coalition appealed to the international community's Wolfgang

Petritsch to remove Bosnian Muslim leader Haris Silajdzic

from his post as co-chairman of the central government.

Speaking in Banja Luka on 24 January, Dodik said that

Silajdzic should go because of his recent remarks calling for

the revision of the Dayton peace agreement. Silajdzic had

argued that Dayton preserved an order "based on genocide" and

ethnic cleansing dating back to the 1992-1995 conflict.

Petritsch's spokesman, James Ferguson, said that Silajdzic's

remarks were not "particularly helpful," adding there is a

need for further implementation of Dayton rather than a

revision of the peace treaty. Ferguson noted, however, that

there is "no question" of removing Silajdzic. Petritsch has

the authority to remove officials who he considers to be

obstructing the implementation of Dayton. The Bosnian Serb

leadership regards Dayton as legitimizing the continued

existence of the Republika Srpska. PM

[16] POSTWAR KOSOVA OPENS FIRST BANK

opened in Prishtina on 24 January, the first bank launched in

the province since the end of Serbian rule in June 1999.

Funded primarily by the German and Dutch governments, the

bank is an attempt by the international community to revive

economic life in Kosova. Board chairman Ajri Begu told AP

that it will be an uphill fight to "win back the lost faith

of the citizens in the banking system." PM

[17] RIGHTS GROUP SLAMS MACEDONIAN POLICE

for Human Rights said in Skopje on 24 January that Macedonian

police used excessive force and violated citizens' property

rights in investigating the recent killing of three policemen

in an ethnic Albanian village (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13

January 2000). PM

[18] ROMANIAN TEACHERS AND RAILWAY WORKERS GO ON STRIKE...

and 25 January, respectively. Tens of thousands of teachers

on strike are demanding a minimum wage of 1.5 million lei

($81.65) and bonuses for 1999. They are also calling on the

government to respect a protocol it signed in September 1998

concerning the education sector and wages. Some 90 percent of

teachers have reportedly joined the strike. Meanwhile,

railway workers went on an indefinite strike on 25 January to

demand a 56 percent wage rise. But, a lawyers' union on 24

January suspended a planned five-hour strike after reaching

agreement with the Justice and Finance ministries to begin

negotiations on 26 January, Rompres reported. The lawyers are

protesting a 40 percent profit tax for self-employed

professionals, while companies pay just 25 percent, an RFE/RL

correspondent reported. VG

[19] ...AND GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO BACK DOWN

Minister in charge of the economy Mircea Ciumara said on 24

January that he will not talk to trade unions that are on

strike, Reuters reported. Both Transport Minister Traian

Basescu and officials at the Education Ministry said no

agreements on wage increases can be made until the state

budget is approved. Basescu said the same day that the

railway strike would "bring nothing to the employees" in the

public's eyes, Mediafax reported. He said he suspects the

strike is actually aimed at scuttling the recently announced

restructuring of the country's national railway company. The

strikes come at a time when IMF officials are in Romania to

assess the country's economy in light of a $547-million

standby agreement which expires in March. VG

[20] CRIMINAL CASE LAUNCHED AGAINST CLUJ MAYOR

prosecutor of a regional appeals court on 24 January indicted

Cluj Mayor Gheorghe Funar on suspicion of abusing his public

position and harming private interests. The government has

suspended Funar from his position pending an investigation.

The indictment relates to a legal dispute in which the

private company Alimentara claims the mayor gave it a permit

to build a supermarket and then withdrew it. Funar, who also

chairs the chauvinist Greater Romania Party, said the

indictment is part of a political campaign against him,

Hungarian TV reported. He said he will organize

demonstrations in Cluj and Bucharest against his suspension.

VG

[21] COMMUNISTS, AGRARIANS WIN IN TARACLIA

Agrarian parties came out on top in the 23 January elections

in Moldova's Taraclia county, BASA-Press reported the next

day. The Communists won 12 of the county council's 27 seats,

the Agrarians took 11 seats, the Plai Natal Movement won two,

and the Centrist Alliance gained only one seat. An

independent candidate won the remaining seat. The election

turnout was reported at 73.6 percent. BASA-Press reported

that the Communists had won three mayoralties, while the

Agrarians won two. A second round of voting will take place

on 6 February in four villages. VG

[22] ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER IN BULGARIA WANTS CONSTITUTIONAL

Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the ethnic Turkish

Movement for Rights and Freedoms, on 24 January said on

Bulgarian state radio that the constitution should be amended

to reflect the existence of minorities in the country, AP

reported. Dogan said the constitution refers to Bulgaria as a

"mononational state," which is "simply not true." Bulgaria's

ethnic Turks comprise about 10 percent of the nation's

population. VG

[23] BULGARIAN ROMA FILE PETITIONS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY

Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Chairman Krasimir Kunev on 24

January announced that five petitions have been filed with

the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg in connection with

allegations of police brutality against Roma, BTA reported.

Kunev said the lawsuits are aimed at jump-starting a debate

on adopting measures to improve the situation. He called for

legislation to more tightly regulate the police's use of

firearms and require investigators to inform the relatives of

a person who has been arrested. In other news, Italy on 24

January expelled eight crew members of a Bulgarian ship after

they had been detained for helping illegal immigrants. The

crew members claim their ship was hijacked (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 8 December 1999). VG

[C] END NOTE

[24] ANOTHER FORCED DEPORTATION?

As Russian forces continue their attacks on Grozny,

Moscow appears to have decided as part of its broader

campaign to render a portion of Chechnya uninhabitable and to

forcibly move people living there to other locations.

At the end of last month, several Western journalists

reported from Moscow that the Russian government had decided

to destroy the villages of highland Chechnya in order to deny

Chechen fighters any sanctuary and thus to accelerate the end

of the conflict.

But because such actions recall some of the worst

features of the Stalinist era, many Western analysts treated

these reports with extreme skepticism. Now, however, a

document, apparently leaked in Moscow and circulating in the

West last week, suggests that Moscow has decided on even more

radical measures.

The document in question consists of a report on the 15

December meeting of the Russian Security Council under the

chairmanship of then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Marked

for official use only, the two-page paper is addressed to

Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev.

According to this report, which several Western analysts

consider authentic, the Russian Security Council on that date

addressed two issues: strengthening Moscow's influence over

the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States

and suppressing the Chechens.

If the decisions concerning the CIS are very much a

continuation of Moscow's recent policies, the Security

Council's conclusions about how to deal with Chechnya

represent a major departure from what Russian officials have

said in public in the past.

According to this report, Russian forces have virtually

completed the second stage of what the document calls "the

anti-terrorist operation for the liquidation of bandit

formations on the territory of Chechnya." And the meeting

thus had to decide what to do in the third phase.

The language of the report is stark: It says that

participants in the mid-December meeting agreed that Chechen

settlements in the mountains do not have "any economic or

other value" and thus "must be completely liquidated."

All structures there--"including cult and historical

ones"--must be viewed as potential hiding places for bandit

formations, the document specifies, and thus they are to be

subject to "total destruction." Such actions, the report

says, will effectively "liquidate forever the basis for the

rise of new bandits and terrorists."

The Security Council report provides additional details

on what that will mean: "the creation of conditions

absolutely unsuitable for human habitation in the future" and

"the resettlement of peaceful residents from this part of

Chechnya either north of the Terek River or their

assimilation into other regions of Russia."

And the Security Council adds that "after the completion

of military operations all construction and other materials

are to be removed from this part of Chechnya," thereby making

it impossible that anyone will ever be able to live there

again.

Such draconian measures not only represent a significant

escalation of Moscow's expressed aims of ending Chechen

resistance but inevitably invite comparisons with tsarist

policies in the Caucasus in the 19th century and Stalin's

forcible deportation of the Chechens in 1944.

As tsarist forces marched into the northern Caucasus in

the last century, they routinely destroyed crops and

deforested much of the region as part of their effort to

pacify the population. In most cases, the policy backfired

and left the local population more anti-Russian than before.

Then, in 1944, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin accused the

Chechens of collaborating with the Germans and deported more

than 600,000 of them to Central Asia.

That bitter experience cost more than one-third of them

their lives and left those who remained alive and their

descendants even more determined to return home and

ultimately to escape Russian rule.

But neither the tsarist authorities nor Stalin's secret

police resolved to make an entire portion of Chechnya

uninhabitable and to forcibly move the population living

there to other regions.

That is what Moscow under acting President Putin now

appears prepared to do. But unless this action leads to the

total extermination of all Chechens, it is likely to have an

even more disturbing outcome than did the earlier efforts of

tsars and commissars.

It is likely to generate an even more radical Chechen

national movement, one defined by its hostility to everything

Russian and prepared to engage in precisely the kind of

actions that the Russian authorities have claimed they are

acting to forestall.

25-01-00

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

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