RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 33, 00-02-16

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 33, 16 February 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIA'S KOCHARIAN VISITS LEBANON

[02] IRAN WELCOMES ARMENIAN SECURITY PROPOSAL

[03] KURDS DEMONSTRATE IN ARMENIAN CAPITAL

[04] AZERBAIJAN'S ALIEV IN U.S. TO DISCUSS PIPELINE, KARABAKH

[05] BAKU TO DEFEND INTERNET AGAINST ARMENIAN HACKERS

[06] AZERBAIJANIS DON'T VIEW IRAN AS FRIEND

[07] GEORGIAN EMBASSIES FACE CASH CRUNCH

[08] GEORGIA'S SHEVARDNADZE DOES NOT EXPECT A CLINTON VISIT

[09] KAZAKHSTAN, RUSSIA REACH ACCORD ON BAIKONUR

[10] KAZAKHSTAN DEMANDS IMMEDIATE DEMARCATION OF UZBEK BORDER

[11] TWO THOUSAND TO OBSERVE KYRGYZ ELECTIONS

[12] RUSSIA TO HELP FORM TAJIK EMERGENCY MINISTRY

[13] TAJIKSTAN WELCOMES HOME TAJIKS FROM KYRGYZSTAN

[14] TURKMENISTAN WANTS TO SELL MORE GAS TO RUSSIA

[15] U.S. CALLS ON UZBEKISTAN TO MODIFY OR DROP RELIGION LAW

[16] UZBEKISTAN'S KARIMOV SAYS ECONOMIC TARGETS MET

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[17] MILOSEVIC APPOINTS INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL AS DEFENSE MINISTER

[18] KILIBARDA LEAVES MONTENEGRO FOR BOSNIA

[19] MORE EU OIL FOR SERBIAN CITIES

[20] BELGRADE PROTESTS TO BUCHAREST OVER CYANIDE SPILL...

[21] ...GIVES NO CREDIT TO OPPOSITION OVER FLIGHT BAN SUSPENSION

[22] REINHARD SAYS MILITARY NOT SOLUTION IN MITROVICA

[23] BALKAN COUNTRIES AGREE MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPTION

[24] SFOR TAKES SERBIAN WEAPONS

[25] NEW HEAD OF CROATIAN SECRET SERVICE

[26] CROATIA GETS 'OBSERVER STATUS' IN PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE

[27] CROATIAN MONEY FOR HERZEGOVINA

[28] HAGUE TRIBUNAL WANTS TUTA

[29] ROMANIA REPLACES CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF

[30] EUROPEAN COMMISSION BELIEVES ROMANIANS 'SOMEWHAT OPTIMISTIC'

[31] MOLDOVA, RUSSIA SIGN MILITARY ACCORD

[32] MOLDOVA TEMPORARILY HALTS ISSUING BIRTH CERTIFICATES

[33] NATO COMMANDER PRAISES BULGARIA

[C] END NOTE

[34] ONE MONTH WITHOUT NEWS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIA'S KOCHARIAN VISITS LEBANON

arrived in Beirut on 15 February for his first official visit

there, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Iraq announced that it has

established diplomatic relations with Armenia. PG

[02] IRAN WELCOMES ARMENIAN SECURITY PROPOSAL

Iranian Embassy in Yerevan said that Tehran welcomes Armenian

President Kocharian's proposal to create a regional security

system that would involve at least Iran, Russia, Georgia,

Armenia, and Turkey, Interfax reported on 15 February. The

spokesman added that Tehran is willing to serve as a mediator

in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute if all sides "consider it

necessary." PG

[03] KURDS DEMONSTRATE IN ARMENIAN CAPITAL

Armenian Kurds rallied in Yerevan on 15 February in support of

PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is currently being held by

Turkey, ITAR-TASS reported. Shouting "Liberty to Ocalan, Peace

to Kurdistan," the demonstrators marched on the U.S. embassy

and then dispersed. The Caucasus office of the Kurdistan

National Liberation Front said that the arrest of Ocalan had

been "the result of a murky and mean conspiracy by rapacious

barbarians." And it added that "the PKK can lead us through

any trials to a final victory." PG

[04] AZERBAIJAN'S ALIEV IN U.S. TO DISCUSS PIPELINE, KARABAKH

15 February to discuss expanding cooperation in developing the

Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and increasing U.S. involvement in

seeking a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with

Armenia, AP reported. Aliev told reporters that his meeting

with Clinton would give "additional impetus to a final

settlement." In other remarks, Aliev called for the repeal of

Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which limits U.S.

assistance to his country. Meanwhile, Georgia's Foreign

Minister Irakly Menagarishvili said in Baku that Georgia and

Azerbaijan are making progress in developing the Baku-Ceyhan

pipeline, Interfax reported. PG

[05] BAKU TO DEFEND INTERNET AGAINST ARMENIAN HACKERS

Security Minister Namik Abbasov met with technical experts on

14 February to discuss how to respond to Armenian hacker

attacks on Azerbaijani websites, Interfax reported on 15

February. One Azerbaijani source said that "it can be said

without exaggeration that the entire Azerbaijani [section] of

the Internet is under threat." PG

[06] AZERBAIJANIS DON'T VIEW IRAN AS FRIEND

Azerbaijanis view Iran as a friend of Azerbaijan, while only

9.5 percent think it is important to improve relations with

Tehran, according to a poll conducted by ARG-Caspian Energy

reported in "Zerkalo" on 15 February. According to the poll,

Turkey, Russia, and the U.S. are viewed as the closest friends

of Azerbaijan. PG

[07] GEORGIAN EMBASSIES FACE CASH CRUNCH

Ministry said on 15 February that Tbilisi's diplomats abroad

lack the funds to pay rent and utility bills for Georgia's

embassies, AP reported. The ministry said that some embassies

might have to be closed. PG

[08] GEORGIA'S SHEVARDNADZE DOES NOT EXPECT A CLINTON VISIT

that he does not expect U.S. President Clinton to pay an

official visit to Tbilisi, ITAR-TASS reported. Despite press

reports to the contrary, Shevardnadze said, "Bill Clinton does

not plan to visit southern Caucasus countries soon. As far as

I know, the U.S. president had such a wish but, owing to an

utterly busy schedule, he has been unable to realize it." PG

[09] KAZAKHSTAN, RUSSIA REACH ACCORD ON BAIKONUR

Kazakhstani and Russian officials in Moscow has settled the

dispute over Russian use of the Baikonur cosmodrome, ITAR-TASS

reported on 15 February. The two sides also made progress on

expanding cooperation in the energy and transportation

sectors, the Russian agency said. PG

[10] KAZAKHSTAN DEMANDS IMMEDIATE DEMARCATION OF UZBEK BORDER

Kazakhstan government has told its delegation to border talks

with Uzbekistan to demand the swiftest possible delimitation

of the Kazakh-Uzbek border, Kazakh television reported on 15

February. Prime Minister Kasymzhomart Tokaev said that the

talks were not going smoothly but that they must go on. "No

structures along the border, whatever reasons they are based

on--the fight against terrorism, banditism and so forth--are

possible without the delimitation of the border," he

concluded. PG

[11] TWO THOUSAND TO OBSERVE KYRGYZ ELECTIONS

representatives of international organizations will monitor

the Kyrgyz parliamentary elections on 20 February, the

chairman of that country's central election commission told

ITAR-TASS on 16 February. Meanwhile, that body's head, Sulaima

Imanbaev, rejected a proposal from six opposition groups to

delay the elections until October because of government

interference in the electoral process, Interfax reported on 15

February. And Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev announced that he

would make the fight against poverty a top priority over the

next decade, the Russian agency said. PG

[12] RUSSIA TO HELP FORM TAJIK EMERGENCY MINISTRY

Emergency Situations Ministry will help form its counterpart

in Tajikistan, the Plus news agency reported on 15 February.

Mirzo Ziyoyev, who heads the Tajik ministry, will go to Moscow

to discuss how Russia can help him introduce such a ministry.

PG

[13] TAJIKSTAN WELCOMES HOME TAJIKS FROM KYRGYZSTAN

February welcomed "25 of our fellow citizens who have been

forced to live for long years in Kyrgyzstan," the Blitz news

agency reported. It added that from 1998-2000, some 3,031

Tajikistanis had returned from Kyrgyzstan. PG

[14] TURKMENISTAN WANTS TO SELL MORE GAS TO RUSSIA

President Saparmurat Niyazov said on 14 February that his

country is eager to sell more gas to Russia and cannot wait

for the completion of the Trans-Caspian pipeline, Turkmen

television reported. PG

[15] U.S. CALLS ON UZBEKISTAN TO MODIFY OR DROP RELIGION LAW

Beyrle a representative of the U.S. State Department, told

Uzbek officials in Tashkent that they should modify or even

replace the Uzbek law on religion, Blitz news agency reported

on 16 February. Beyrle said that the law, which he described

as one of the harshest in the world, placed severe limitations

on religious activity by all people of faith in Uzbekistan. PG

[16] UZBEKISTAN'S KARIMOV SAYS ECONOMIC TARGETS MET

Islam Karimov sharply criticized his government's economic

performance but acknowledged that most of its 1999

macroeconomic targets had in fact been met, Interfax reported

on 15 February. He said that GDP grew by 4.4 percent and that

the budget deficit was only 3 percent of GDP. PG

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[17] MILOSEVIC APPOINTS INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL AS DEFENSE MINISTER

President Slobodan Milosevic has appointed General Dragoljub

Ojdanic to succeed Pavle Bulatovic, who was recently

assassinated. Milosevic also appointed General Nebojsa

Pavkovic to replace Ojdanic as chief of staff, RFE/RL's South

Slavic Service reported on 15 February. Pavkovic commanded

Serbian forces in Kosova during the 1999 conflict. Ojdanic and

Pavkovic are widely regarded as politically loyal to

Milosevic. Serbian Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic told

Reuters that Milosevic "still keeps his personal power

garnished with a few obedient people, taking them from the

same small circle and reshuffling them from one position to

another." In Podgorica, the steering committee of the

governing Democratic Party of Socialists noted that Ojdanic's

appointment means that a post formerly held by a Montenegrin

is now occupied by a Serb. PM

[18] KILIBARDA LEAVES MONTENEGRO FOR BOSNIA

Prime Minister Novak Kilibarda resigned that post on 15

February to become his republic's "representative" in Sarajevo

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 February 2000). He also gave up his

post as head of the People's Party. Kilibarda is an outspoken

critic of Milosevic and of Montenegrin ties to Serbia. PM

[19] MORE EU OIL FOR SERBIAN CITIES

in Brussels on 15 February to extend its Energy for Democracy

program to include Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Novi Sad, Sombor, and

Subotica in addition to Nis and Pirot. The commission plans to

make up to 15,000 additional tons of heating oil available for

the project. PM

[20] BELGRADE PROTESTS TO BUCHAREST OVER CYANIDE SPILL...

February, the Yugoslav government formally protested to

Romania over the cyanide pollution of the Danube and Tisza

Rivers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 February 2000). The Belgrade

authorities also decided to seek compensation for the damage

to Serbian agriculture and the killing of thousands of fish.

PM

[21] ...GIVES NO CREDIT TO OPPOSITION OVER FLIGHT BAN SUSPENSION

February that the EU's decision the previous day to suspend

the flight ban against Serbia came as the result of pressure

from public opinion and business interests in EU member

states. The statement made no mention of the key role played

by the Serbian opposition in persuading Brussels to lift the

ban (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 February 2000). PM

[22] REINHARD SAYS MILITARY NOT SOLUTION IN MITROVICA

commander General Klaus Reinhardt told a press conference in

Prishtina on 15 February that his troops cannot solve all the

problems of the divided city of Mitrovica. "Whatever we do as

military, we only can lay the ground [work] for a security

situation. I cannot solve the economic and social problems,"

Reuters reported. He stressed that Mitrovica needs economic

development. Referring to recent attacks on KFOR in that city,

Reinhardt said: "We are still investigating and as long as I

don't have the entire picture, as long as I have only bits and

pieces, I will not disclose them because that would not be

fair. I need more information," he added. Reinhardt described

the recent incidents as "very strange and bizarre." PM

[23] BALKAN COUNTRIES AGREE MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPTION

Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, and Romania agreed in

Sarajevo on 15 February on a package of measures to combat

corruption. Alpo Rusi chaired the session in his capacity as

deputy to Bodo Hombach in the administration of the EU's

Balkan Stability Pact. Bosnian Deputy Defense Minister Gvozden

Bosko told the session that his country will cut defense

spending by 15 percent in 2000 and that he hopes other Balkan

countries will do likewise, Reuters reported. PM

[24] SFOR TAKES SERBIAN WEAPONS

unspecified quantity of weapons from a Bosnian Serb military

storage depot at Bratunac on 16 February. Experts will examine

the weapons to determine whether they were used in the

massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim males after the fall of

Srebrenica in 1995 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 1999).

The weapons will then be returned to Bratunac. PM

[25] NEW HEAD OF CROATIAN SECRET SERVICE

Tomcic appointed Ozren Zunec of the Social Democratic Party to

head the Croatian Intelligence Service (HIS). Zunec replaces

Miroslav Tudjman, who resigned recently and who is the son of

late President Franjo Tudjman. The younger Tudjman quit

ostensibly to protest a joke that President-elect Stipe Mesic

made to "Le Monde" about the late leader. Under President

Tudjman, the governing party used the HIS and other

intelligence services for political purposes. Following the

recent change of government, Miroslav Tudjman's sacking had

been widely expected. PM

[26] CROATIA GETS 'OBSERVER STATUS' IN PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE

Secretary-General Lord Robertson told Croatian Prime Minister

Ivica Racan in Brussels on 15 February that Croatia has been

granted "observer status" in NATO's Partnership for Peace

program. The move is widely seen as a gesture by the Atlantic

alliance to the new Croatian government. President Tudjman

long sought NATO membership for his country. The alliance,

however, denied Croatia membership even in Partnership for

Peace because of Tudjman's authoritarian rule and his policies

in Bosnia. PM

[27] CROATIAN MONEY FOR HERZEGOVINA

pledged to respect Bosnian independence but will nonetheless

pay $30 million to the Herzegovinian Croat authorities by the

end of March, "Jutarnji list" reported on 16 February. The

previous government promised the money, which will go to the

Herzegovinian military and victims of the 1991-1995 war. The

new Croatian authorities have "no idea" as to precisely what

the Herzegovinians will do with the money. The independent

Zagreb daily added that there is a discrepancy of more than

$40 million between the amount that former Prime Minister

Zlatko Matesa claims that the government recently paid the

Herzegovinians and the lesser sum that the Herzegovinian

leadership acknowledges. PM

[28] HAGUE TRIBUNAL WANTS TUTA

crimes tribunal said on 16 February that Chief Prosecutor

Carla Del Ponte will soon send a team of medical experts to

Zagreb. They will determine how indicted war criminal Mladen

"Tuta" Naletilic may be brought to The Netherlands without

risk to his health, AP reported. Tuta suffers from a heart

condition and has recently undergone surgery. His doctors

claim that travel could endanger his life. PM

[29] ROMANIA REPLACES CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF

Degeratu was replaced on 15 February by Major General Mircea

Chelaru as army chief of staff, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau

reported. Degeratu was appointed presidential counselor for

defense, national security, and public order, replacing Dorel

Marian, who will now co-ordinate the staff of the presidential

office. Marian rejected media reports that he will oversee

President Emil Constantinescu's campaign for the fall 2000

presidential elections. MS

[30] EUROPEAN COMMISSION BELIEVES ROMANIANS 'SOMEWHAT OPTIMISTIC'

opening of official membership negotiations with Romania in

Brussels on 15 February, said the EU will help Romania

"identify the weak points" in its membership quest and will

extend financial help to overcome them. Verheugen and other EU

officials consider Romania's target to join the union in 2007

"somewhat optimistic," Romanian media reported on 16 February.

Foreign Minister Petre Roman said Bucharest is ready to open

negotiations on six chapters of the EU charter. Negotiations

will begin on 28 March. MS

[31] MOLDOVA, RUSSIA SIGN MILITARY ACCORD

Gamurari and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, have

signed in Moscow an accord on military cooperation, Romanian

radio reported on 15 February. The accord stipulates, among

other things, that the two armies will hold a joint military

exercise in Moldova in summer 2000. The Russian side repeated

that it intends to withdraw its conventional arsenal from the

Transdniester by 2001 and its troops from the region by 2002.

MS

[32] MOLDOVA TEMPORARILY HALTS ISSUING BIRTH CERTIFICATES

Justice Ministry said on 15 February that it has temporarily

stopped issuing duplicates of birth certificates--a step that

observers believe is connected with the increasing number of

requests by Moldovan citizens to acquire Romanian citizenship.

Romanian authorities request such certificates to start the

procedure (see also "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 February 2000). MS

[33] NATO COMMANDER PRAISES BULGARIA

Bulgaria's active role in southeastern Europe" Supreme Allied

Commander General Wesley Clark told Foreign Minister Nadezhda

Mihailova in Brussels on 14 February, BTA reported. He noted

that Bulgaria makes an important contribution to enhancing

regional and European security. Mihailova, who is heading the

Bulgarian delegation to the Brussels talks on EU enlargement,

also discussed with Clark her country's preparations for

joining the organization and the military reforms under way in

the Bulgarian armed forces. MS

[C] END NOTE

[34] ONE MONTH WITHOUT NEWS

Russian acting President Vladimir Putin's assertion on 15

February that he has asked Russia's security services to

ensure the safety of missing RFE/RL correspondent Andrei

Babitskii could either constitute a breakthrough in this case

or be nothing more than another instance of obfuscation and

delay.

If Putin's statement leads to Babitskii's safe return to

Moscow, the acting president is certain to get enormous credit

both at home and abroad. And he is likely to do so despite his

own government's role in arresting Babitskii in the first

place and then handing him over to people his regime calls

"criminals" and "bandits" in exchange for Russian prisoners of

war.

But if Putin's words do not yield that result, then they

will only serve to call still greater Russian and

international attention to the many contradictory statements

other Russian officials have made during the past month about

Babitskii.

Speaking to journalists in Moscow on 15 February, Putin

said he is in constant contact with officials in the Russian

security services and the Office of the Prosecutor-General

concerning Babitskii's fate and that they are doing "all they

can" to ensure that Babitskii remains alive and is set free.

At the same time, Putin appeared to undercut his own remark by

saying that "as far as I understand the situation, [Babitskii]

already feels free."

Such an expression of interest in Babitskii's fate at the

highest level is certain to be welcome news to Babitskii's

family, friends, and colleagues, whose overriding interest is

in his safe return.

It is also likely to be welcomed by Western governments

interested in justifying their close contacts with the Putin

government and to those concerned about what Russian treatment

of Babitskii may imply about the future of democracy there.

But Putin's remarks do not necessarily point to a quick

and happy resolution of the situation. Moreover, neither they

nor any such resolution can expunge the events of the past

month, in which there has been no news from Babitskii, a

Russian citizen and a war correspondent distinguished by his

accurate and even-handed reporting. Nor can the acting Russian

president's words end concern about his commitment to

democracy and freedom of the press. The record of the last

month is simply too revealing.

On 16 January, Russian officials detained Babitskii, and

on 27 January they formally arrested him. For more than a

week, they denied that they had any information on his

whereabouts, acknowledging his detention only after Russian

and international media began asking questions.

Russian officials in both Chechnya and Moscow kept

changing their story as to why he was under arrest. Some

suggested that he was involved with "illegal armed

formations." Others said he had failed to secure the necessary

press credentials.

Throughout this period, Babitskii was not allowed to

contact his wife or his lawyer, a clear violation of Russian

law.

Then on 3 February, Russian officials produced a film

clip that purported to show Babitskii being handed over to

Chechen fighters, an action that clearly violates the

provisions of the Geneva Convention.

Some Russian officials said that Babitskii had

volunteered to be exchanged. Others--including Interior

Minister Vladimir Rushailo--claimed the exchange was entirely

legal and proper. And still others asserted that with this

exchange, Moscow no longer had any responsibility for

Babitskii's fate.

Such Russian claims sparked a firestorm of criticism by

media and human rights groups in the Russian Federation and

abroad as well as demands by international organizations and

some Western governments that Moscow find Babitskii and

restore him to his family and colleagues.

Moreover, pro-independence Chechen officials, who would

have had every interest in producing Babitskii to the world

and thus embarrassing Moscow, repeatedly denied that any

exchange had taken place or that Babitskii was in areas under

their control.

In the face of this pressure, Moscow changed its line

once again. Since 6 February, Russian officials have

repeatedly asserted that Babitskii is alive but that they do

not know where he is. Indeed, Putin's 15 February statement is

simply the latest in a long line of similar Russian claims.

But his remarks, like those of other Russian officials,

contain an inherent contradiction. If Putin and other Russian

officials in fact know that Babitskii is alive, then they must

know who is holding him and where he is. If they do not know

that, then they cannot possibly know what condition he is in;

and their assertions to the contrary must be treated with

skepticism.

This record is troubling enough, but even if Putin's

statement does lead to Babitskii's return, it is nonetheless

worrisome for three reasons:

First, Putin's intervention implies that Russian

democracy continues to depend on the will of one man rather

than on institutions like constitutions and laws, a less than

ideal foundation for democracy.

Second, Putin's words sound more like damage control than

like the actions of someone whose oath requires him to defend

the Russian Constitution at all times. His remarks came only

after Russian and Western media demanded that he do something.

And third, Putin's words suggest something disturbing

about his approach to such matters. They appear to indicate

that he believes he can always talk his way out of bad past

actions and that such an approach will work both with Russians

and with his foreign interlocutors.

If Putin is able to produce Babitskii soon, some may

indeed forget these lessons of the last month. But this past

month without news is certain to continue to matter for the

cause of human freedom and the future of Russia.

16-02-00

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

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