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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 24, 00-02-03Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 24, 3 February 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AGAIN POSTPONES PLANNED VISIT TOTURKMENISTANRobert Kocharian's visit to Turkmenistan scheduled for 7 February has been postponed at Ashgabat's request because of the illness of Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov, Noyan Tapan reported on 2 February, citing the Armenian Foreign Ministry's Public Information Department. No new date for the visit has been announced. Kocharian had originally planned to visit Turkmenistan in early November but postponed the trip following the 27 October Armenian parliament shootings. LF [02] SLOVAK GOVERNMENT DELEGATION VISITS AZERBAIJANVisiting Bakuon 1-2 February with a delegation of Slovak businessmen, Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan and Economy Minister Lubomir Harach met with President Heidar Aliev, parliamentary speaker Murtuz Alesqerov, and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, TASR and Turan reported. The talks covered expanding bilateral relations and trade, with special focus on possible purchases of Azerbaijani crude oil and the participation of Slovak firms in the construction of export pipelines from Azerbaijan. Also discussed was Azerbaijan's role in international organizations and the prospects for resolving the Karabakh conflict. Harach and Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Namiq Nasrullaev signed an agreement on trade- economic and scientific-technical cooperation, while Kukan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Vilayet Guliev, signed a protocol on cooperation between their respective ministries. LF [03] GEORGIAN CUSTOMS CONFISCATE MEDICATIONS DESTINED FOR CHECHENREFUGEESGeorgian customs officials at Tbilisi airport have confiscated 1 ton of drugs, including narcotic substances, ordered by Chechnya's official representative in Georgia, Khizri Aldamov, and another citizen of Chechnya, Caucasus Press reported. The medicines were intended for wounded Chechen guerrillas undergoing medical treatment in Georgia and for Chechen refugees. Customs officials said some of the drugs are not approved for use in Georgia, except in the event of epidemics and natural disasters. LF [04] KAZAKHSTAN REVIEWS DRAFT MILITARY DOCTRINEMeeting in Astanaon 2 February, Kazakhstan's National Security Council reviewed the country's new draft military doctrine, which will be amended and submitted for signature to President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Russian agencies reported. The document is based on the national security strategy adopted in November 1999 and is "purely defensive in nature," Interfax reported, quoting Security Council Secretary Marat Tazhin. It focuses on military security, conflict prevention, and the development of the country's armed forces. Tazhin also told the council that a program for reforming the armed forces will be drafted during the first six months of this year. He added that President Nazarbaev has agreed that beginning in 2001, annual defense spending will be at least 1 percent of GDP and will not be subject to sequester. Present defense spending is equivalent to 0.57 percent of GDP. LF [05] PREMISES OF INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER VANDALIZED IN KAZAKHSTANThe premises in the town of Oral, western Kazakhstan, of theindependent newspaper "Edil-Zhayiq" were broken into last weekend, RFE/RL's Almaty correspondent reported on 3 February. All the newspaper's equipment was destroyed and some documents stolen. LF [06] KYRGYZSTAN CREATES FOUR NEW FRONTIER POSTSA spokesman forKyrgyzstan's Defense Ministry said in Bishkek on 1 February that four new frontier posts have been set up in Batken Oblast at Batken, Leilek, Chong-Alai, and Haidarken, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Some 800 people have been recruited to staff those posts, most of them retired Kyrgyz who previously served in the Russian border guards service. Batken was the target of incursions last year by ethnic Uzbek guerrillas who took several dozen people hostage. Batken Oblast Head Maksat Mergenov told RFE/RL on 2 February that border guard units in the villages of Zardaly and Kojo-Ashkan are currently training intensively in anticipation of further such incursions this spring. Mergenov expressed confidence that such attacks would be successfully repulsed. He added that the Kyrgyz government has not yet provided a single som of the 65 millions soms ($1.4 million) it promised last year to strengthen security in the oblast. LF [07] SEVEN KILLED IN BUS EXPLOSION IN TAJIK CAPITALSeven peoplewere killed and 20 injured in an explosion in a bus in Dushanbe on the morning of 2 February. Tajik Interior Minister Khumdin Sharipov initially attributed the blast to a defective gas cylinder carried by one of the passengers, but a second official later said the blast was a terrorist act caused by 400 grams of explosive. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[08] MONTENEGRO PRIME MINISTER APPEALS FOR HELPFilip Vujanovicsaid in Washington on 2 February that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic wants to destabilize Montenegro by fomenting social unrest in order to have an excuse for military intervention. The prime minister stressed that his reform-oriented government needs approximately $65 million in financial assistance to help shore up monetary reform, import food supplies and other key products, secure investments, and promote independent media. Vujanovic added that "if the monetary and economic reforms do not succeed, faith in democracy will fade very quickly. Support will rise for failed concepts from the past, such as neocommunism and autocracy," Reuters reported. If the West invests in promoting reforms in Montenegro, it will also be investing in preventing further conflicts in the region, he concluded. PM [09] CONFUSION CONTINUES OVER KOSOVAR SHADOW-STATEIbrahim Rugovaof the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) told reporters in Prishtina on 2 February that the parliament and other institutions of the shadow-state ceased to exist as of 1 February, in keeping with his promise to the UN's Bernard Kouchner (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 February 2000). He added that he will turn over to the UN money that the shadow-state collected over the years. AP wrote that this could amount to some $250 million. Reuters reported that it is unclear, however, whether Rugova has the authority to speak for the parliament, which adjourned on 31 January and announced it will meet again "within 10 days." The influential independent Prishtina daily "Koha Ditore" wrote on 2 February that Rugova has shown again that he does not keep promises or stick to a decision. The commentary referred to the parliament, which has played no political role in post-conflict Kosova, as a "joke." PM [10] ROCKET ATTACK ON CIVILIAN BUS IN KOSOVAUnidentified personsfired an anti-tank rocket at a UN bus in which 49 Serbs were riding, killing two elderly people and wounding three other passengers, Reuters reported from Vitak on 2 February. KFOR commander General Klaus Reinhardt called the incident a "terrorist act" aimed at killing and injuring innocent civilians. Speaking in Zagreb, where she arrived from Moscow on 2 February, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called the attack "cowardly" and urged the Kosovar Albanian leadership to condemn it. PM [11] CALLS FOR MORE POLICE FOR KOSOVASven Frederiksen, who headsthe UN civilian police in Kosova, said in New York on 2 February that the member states of the Security Council must send more police to the province if they want the UN's mission there to succeed. He noted that only 1,970 police have arrived although some 40 countries promised a total of 4,780 police. In Washington, NATO's General Wesley Clark told the Senate's Armed Services Committee that NATO is "desperately, urgently in need of civilian police." Several senators stressed that European countries must do more to promote stability in Kosova and send more police. PM [12] ALBANIA SEEKS EU SUPPORTForeign Minister Paskal Milo toldpublic television in Tirana on 2 February that the government has launched an "intensive campaign with the EU and its bodies" to promote Albanian integration with and eventual membership in the EU. He made the remarks on the eve of a trip to Portugal, which holds the EU's rotating chair, and to Brussels. The government of poverty-stricken Albania hopes that integration into Euro-Atlantic structures will speed up economic development and contribute to prosperity. PM [13] BOMB EXPLODES IN MACEDONIAA bomb went off near thecourthouse in Kumanovo, northeast of Skopje, on 2 February. Reuters reported that there were no injuries. It is unclear whether the explosion is linked to recent incidents in the nearby ethnic Albanian village of Aracinovo (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 January 2000). PM [14] ALBRIGHT HAILS NEW CROATIAN GOVERNMENTSecretary of StateAlbright said in Zagreb on 2 February that the new government of Prime Minister Ivica Racan "truly represents the will of the people." She stressed that under the previous rule of the Croatian Democratic Community, "the veneer of democracy was too long maintained and its soul stifled." Albright expressed the hope that Croatia can "set an example for the democratic forces in Serbia," who want to oust Milosevic. Referring to U.S.-Croatian relations, she said that the change of government in Zagreb marked the "start of a beautiful friendship," VOA's Croatian Service reported. PM [15] NEW ACTING PRESIDENT IN CROATIAThe new parliament on 2February elected Zlatko Tomcic of the Croatian Peasants' Party as its president. Tomcic will also serve as acting president of the country until after the 7 February runoff election. Albright met with Tomcic and with presidential candidates Stipe Mesic and Drazen Budisa. PM [16] MUSLIMS JOIN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA POLICEThirteen Muslim men andone woman have graduated from the Republika Srpska's police academy in Banja Luka, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 2 February. A UN spokesman noted, however, that some 10 ethnic Serbian police have yet to be assigned duty in Drvar, which is in the mainly Muslim and Croatian federation. PM [17] RUPEL RETURNS TO SLOVENIA'S FOREIGN MINISTRYDimitrij Rupel,who was foreign minister when Slovenia gained independence in 1991, returned to that post on 2 February. He replaces Boris Frlec, who resigned in January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 January 2000). PM [18] ROMANIAN PREMIER OUTLINES FOUR-YEAR ECONOMIC STRATEGYSpeaking on national television on 2 February, Prime MinisterMugur Isarescu said the country's economic strategy for 2000- 2004 will be "painful" and will involve large cuts in the civil service and the closure of unproductive state enterprises. A government meeting chaired by President Emil Constantinescu on 3 February is expected to approve the plans, which will be submitted to the EU's Executive Committee later this month and are part of the measures intended to bring Romania closer to EU membership. Isarescu said there is "no reason to expect economic miracles to be dropped...by parachute by Americans or Europeans" and that only Romanians themselves can bring about a miracle by shedding "mentalities left over from Communist times." He said inflation must be brought down from more than 54 percent last year to 27 percent in 2000, 12 percent in 2002, and single-digit figures by 2003. MS [19] ROMANIAN EDUCATION MINISTER TO RECONSIDER RESIGNATION?AndreiMarga told journalists after a 2 February meeting with Isarescu that he will reconsider his resignation, which he submitted last week, only if the government decides on 3 February to allocate 4 percent of GDP to education. His National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) has said it backs the minister's demand. Marga has been urged to reconsider his resignation by President Constantinescu, Premier Isarescu, and the PNTCD leadership. MS [20] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER TO JOIN FAR-RIGHT PARTYRadu Vasileand the 10 parliamentary deputies who last week resigned from the PNTCD will join the far-right extra-parliamentary Romanian Right Party, Romanian media reported on 2 February. Vasile and his followers are attempting to circumvent legislation requiring political parties to gather at least 10,000 signatures before being registered. The Romanian Right is already registered as a political party. The reports said the intention is to later change the Romanian Right's name to the Popular Party (see also "End Note" below). MS [21] MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT RELEASES BUDGET FIGURESPrime MinisterDumitru Barghis and Finance Minister Mihai Manoli told journalists on 2 February that the draft 2000 budget envisages a deficit of 2.9 percent of the GDP. The cabinet expects GDP to grow by 2 percent. Barghis said wages will increase 30 percent in two stages, in April and October, each time by 15 percent, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. MS [22] MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT STILL REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE BESSARABIANCHURCHThe cabinet on 2 February said the European Court of Human Rights' decision to examine the Moldovan authorities' refusal to register the Bessarabian Orthodox Church is "unwarranted." The Bessarabian Church, which is subordinated to the Bucharest Patriarchate, appealed to the court after consecutive Moldovan cabinets since 1993 refused to register it. The Moldovan authorities on 2 February said the Bessarabian Church is not "a separate cult" but came into being as a result of a "schism in the Moldovan Orthodox Church," which is subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate. The authorities said the conflict must be solved through "parleys between the Moscow and the Bucharest Patriarchates," Romanian radio reported. MS [C] END NOTE[23] WILL THE 'HAIDER SYNDROME' SPREAD EASTWARD?By Michael Shafir"Official Romania" has joined the EU in warning about the negative impact the presence in the new government of Joerg Haider's far-right Austrian Freedom Party might have on the union as a whole. In Paris on 31 January, Foreign Minister Petre Roman backed the position of his French counterpart, Hubert Vedrine, that Haider offers "demagogic and populist solutions" that "can bring nothing to Austria's citizens." Two days later, when Austrian Ambassador to Bucharest Karl Vetter von der Lille presented Roman with the program agreed on by the Freedom Party and outgoing Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel's People's Party (in what appeared to signal a campaign to respond to international criticism of the government about to emerge), Roman reminded the ambassador of a "distinction" Haider recently made in one of his xenophobic outbursts. In Austria, the nationalist leader said, "there are two kinds of immigrants--Romanian pickpockets and others." Thus "official Romania" has echoed concern expressed elsewhere in East Central Europe, though by no means with equal force. While Czech President Vaclav Havel vehemently condemned Haider and what his party stands for, the Czech Foreign Ministry was "more diplomatic" in its reaction, as indeed were statements from both Bratislava and Budapest. In Warsaw, Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek said his country is "disturbed" by the "Austrian situation" and that Poland's "tragic experience in the 20th century" makes it "very sensitive" to "extremist views." He commented that his country's concern also stems from the fact that Haider is known to be opposed to the EU's eastward expansion. Indeed, this appears to be precisely the reason why "official" Hungary and Slovakia have been more subdued in voicing their concern. After all, as a EU member, Austria has "veto power" over deciding which countries can become new members. But observers are advised to pay attention to "unofficial" reactions as well. In Romania, the emerging Popular Party, headed by former Prime Minster Radu Vasile, is reportedly contemplating a merger with the Romanian Right Party. Vasile has been expelled from the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) and 10 of his supporters who are deputies or senators left the party in late January. Vasile seems interested in being able to register his new formation as soon as possible to compete in the elections scheduled for the end of the year. The merger with the Romanian Right would be a short-cut toward achieving that end. Reportedly, the intention is to first implement the merger and then change the party's name. In Vienna, Schuessel, driven by the credo that the "end justifies the means," is attempting to make the Freedom Party into a "respectable" democratic party, which it obviously is not. In Romania, a similar situation existed when the Party of Social Democracy in Romania, led by former President Ion Iliescu, joined forces with the extremist Greater Romania Party (PRM), the Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR), and the Socialist Labor Party. Now, however, Vasile seems ready to go one step further, making a neo-fascist partyIt should be carefully watched.0 what the Germans would call "salonfaehig." The Romanian Right is led by Cornel Brahas, a former informer of the Ceausescu secret police, and by Ion Coja, a Holocaust denier and apologist for the fascist Iron Guard. The party was formed in 1993 under the name of the Party of National Right. Its founder, journalist Radu Sorescu, who embraced wholly the "ethnocratic" doctrines of inter-war writer and philosopher Nichifor Crainic, resigned as leader in 1994 and was replaced by Aurelian Pavelescu, who recruited Brahas after the latter had been expelled from the PUNR. Because Brahas was a parliamentary deputy at the time, the party was briefly represented in Romania's former legislature. But Brahas was soon accused by his new friends of having embezzled election campaign funds and was expelled in 1996. Soon thereafter he set up his own Romanian Right Party, which Coja joined in December 1997. A "political migrant," Coja had represented in the parliament first Iliescu's formation, then the PUNR, and finally the Democratic Agrarian Party, all the while being a deputy chairman of the extreme nationalist Vatra romaneasca, an alleged "cultural" organization. He is also known to have close ties with the neo-Iron Guard "nests" headed by Serban Suru. That the PNTCD had "fundamentalists" within its ranks whose views were not far removed from those of the extreme right was by no means unique. A senator representing that party last year called on the house to observe a minute's silence in memory of Marshal Ion Antonescu, who was executed as a war criminal in 1946-- back in 1991, another senator, from Iliescu's party, had issued a similar call. In Timisoara, where the mayor is a member of the PNTCD, a street was named after the marshal last year. But the PNTCD as a whole is not an extremist formation, and Vasile was believed to have belonged to its "pragmatist," anti-fundamentalist wing. A Romanian proverb quoted by Iliescu to explain his alliance with the PRM says that one "may be the devil's brother in order to cross the bridge". The devil, however, has often proved to have used his "brother" to cross the bridge and then toss the latter into the river. And that lesson is not limited to Romania alone. In Hungary, Justice and Life Party leader Istvan Csurka is an admirer of Haider but lately has been courted by the ruling FIDESZ. In Slovakia, the old-new alliance of Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia and the Haider- admirers from the Slovak National Party is being re-launched with a vengeance. Against the backdrop of the Schuessel- Haider alliance, that pattern may emerge elsewhere in East Central Europe and should be carefully watched. 03-02-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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