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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 46, 00-03-06Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 46, 6 March 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO PRESIDENT...In a statement adopted on 3 March in the presence of PrimeMinister Aram Sargsian, the Miasnutiun parliament bloc demanded that President Robert Kocharian fire his chief of staff, Serzh Sarkisian, and Armenian National Television Director Tigran Naghdalian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The statement accused the two men, who are among Kocharian's closest political allies, of misrepresenting and obstructing the ongoing investigation into the "attempted coup d'etat," by which it meant the 27 October parliament shootings. On 2 March, lawyers for presidential aide Aleksan Harutiunian and Naghdalian's deputy, Harutiun Harutiunian, both of whom are charged with complicity in the shootings, had criticized the conduct of the investigation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 March 2000). The statement calls on the president to "create normal conditions" for the activities of the state body responsible for conducting that investigation. Sargsian, whose brother and predecessor as premier, Vazgen, died in the attack, said that both he and the family of a second victim, parliamentary speaker Karen Demirchian, have absolute trust in the investigators. LF [02] ...WHILE ONE OF PROPOSED VICTIMS REJECTS THAT DEMANDNaghdalian told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 4 March that hewill not resign, saying that the demand that he be fired constitutes a threat to freedom of speech in Armenia. He said it is "absurd" to victimize him for National Television's coverage of the two lawyers' 2 March criticisms, which were widely reported by other media. Naghdalian denied that Presidential Chief of Staff Sarkisian controls or dictates media coverage of the investigation into the parliament shootings. He added that the president is not empowered to order his dismissal. Only the board of directors of National Television is empowered to appoint or dismiss its director. LF [03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY INSTITUTE RENAMED AFTER SLAINPREMIERThe Defense Ministry's Military Institute has been renamed after Vazgen Sargsian, who served as defense minister before being named premier last year, ITAR-TASS reported on 5 March. President Kocharian and military leaders laid wreaths at Sargsian's tomb on 5 March, which would have been his 41st birthday. LF [04] TALKS ON TRANS-CASPIAN GAS PIPELINE CONTINUE IN BAKU...Edward Smith, president of the PSG corporation, toldAzerbaijani officials in Baku on 3 March that since Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov signed an agreement with Turkey last year to export 16 billion cubic meters of gas annually via the planned Trans-Caspian pipeline, Niyazov could permit Azerbaijan an export quota of only 5 billion cubic meters, Turan reported. Azerbaijan is demanding 50 percent of the pipeline's throughput capacity. Smith, whose corporation is to operate the planned Trans-Caspian gas export pipeline, said talks are continuing on a transit treaty to be signed by Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan and four separate agreements between PSG and those four countries. On 4 March, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov said that Baku will present new proposals to Ashgabat within one week, Caucasus Press reported. Sharifov said that PSG is seeking permission to manage the entire Azerbaijan gas pipeline system but that Baku will not agree to that demand. LF [05] ...AS AZERBAIJAN SEEKS ALTERNATIVE EXPORT POSSIBILITIESAzerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev and top managers from theAzerbaijan International Operating Company and from BP/Amoco attended a presentation in Baku on 4 March at which Azerbaijan sought to interest investors in the reconstruction and extension through Georgia of an existing pipeline to export to Turkey natural gas from the Shah Deniz field, A similar presentation was held in Ankara one week earlier. Commenting on 3 March on BP's interest in that project, PSG President Smith said on 3 March that construction of one large pipeline rather than two smaller ones would lower construction costs, according to Interfax. LF [06] ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJANToomas HendrikIlves and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Vilayat Guliev, signed an inter-governmental agreement on trade and economic cooperation in Baku on 2 March, ITAR-TASS reported. Ilves held talks with Guliev and with Parliamentary Speaker Murtuz Alesqerov on strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation, and also met with President Aliev, Turan reported. Ilves advocated a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict and expressed his support for the accession of both Azerbaijan and Armenia to the Council of Europe as full members. LF [07] RUSSIA DEMANDS CLOSURE OF CHECHEN REPRESENTATION INGEORGIA...Georgia's ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on 3 March and informed of Moscow's demand that the Georgian authorities immediately close the Chechen "Representation Office" and "Information Center" in Tbilisi, Caucasus Press reported the following day, citing a Russian Foreign Ministry statement. The statement said the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi is the sole legitimate Russian representation in Georgia. It claimed that the two Chechen offices, which together employ more than 100 people, are engaged in funding bandit groups, and organizing supplies of arms and ammunition to Chechnya and the transportation of wounded fighters to other countries for medical treatment. By tolerating the presence on its territory of those offices, the statement said, the Georgian leadership is acting counter to its expressed wish to improve relations with Russia. LF [08] ...PROTESTS GERMAN DIPLOMATS' FILMING OF RUSSIAN BASEThepress service of the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus issued a statement in Tbilisi on 4 March accusing two German diplomats of taking photographs and videos of the Russian military base at Vaziani, near Tbilisi, earlier that day, ITAR-TASS and Caucasus Press reported. The statement termed those actions illegal. But a Georgian Defense Ministry spokesman commented later that day that neither Georgian nor international law prohibits photographing the exterior of either Russian or Georgian military bases on Georgian territory. LF [09] POLL INDICATES LOW LEVEL OF TRUST IN GEORGIAN POLITICIANSApoll recently conducted among 400 Tbilisi residents indicates that President Eduard Shevardnadze enjoys the highest level of trust among respondents, with a rating of 24 percent, Caucasus Press reported on 6 March. Parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania came second with 9 percent, followed by Union of Citizens of Georgia parliamentary faction leader Mikhail Saakashvili (8 percent) and former Communist Party leader and presidential candidate Djumber Patiashvili (7 percent each). Eighteen percent of respondents said they do not trust any Georgian political figure. LF [10] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION DISCUSSES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST STATEMEDIA...Leaders of several Kyrgyz opposition parties decided at a roundtable discussion in Bishkek on 3 March to form a coordinating group, of which Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan chairman Djypar Djeksheev was elected head, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Participants discussed the possibility of recruiting a group of lawyers to initiate legal action against those state-controlled media that slandered opposition candidates during the runup to the 20 February parliamentary elections. Some participants also demanded the convening of a session of the outgoing parliament at which Central Electoral Commission Chairman Sulaiman Imanbaev would be required to report on election violations. LF [11] ...AS KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER EXCLUDED FROM RUNOFF POLLAlocal election commission in Bishkek ruled on 3 March that El (Bei Bechara) Chairman Daniyar Usenov may not participate in the runoff after a rival candidate claimed that Usenov failed to mention in his income declaration that he owns apartments in Bishkek and the town of Kara-Balta, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Usenov told the commission that he sold the Kara-Balta apartment in 1994. LF [12] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIALCANDIDACYFormer Bishkek Mayor Feliks Kulov, who last year founded the opposition Ar-Namys (Dignity) Party, told participants at the 3 March opposition meeting that he intends to contest the presidential poll due in December 2000, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Kulov said he advocates abolishing the presidency and declaring Kyrgyzstan a parliamentary republic. The Central Electoral Commission has not yet clarified whether Kulov qualifies for the runoff elections in single-mandate constituencies to be held on 12 March. LF [13] TAJIK, KAZAKH PRESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT AFGHAN ESCLATIONIna telephone conversation on 4 March, Imomali Rakhmonov and Nursultan Nazarbaev expressed concern over the recent intensification of fighting in Afghanistan and support for proposed measures to strengthen protection of the southern borders of the CIS (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 March 2000), ITAR-TASS reported. Fighting was reported that day at a distance of only 7-8 kilometers from the Afghan-Tajik border. On 3 March, the Russian Foreign Ministry had issued a statement calling on the international community to take urgent measures to effect an immediate cessation of the new hostilities, which it blamed wholly on the Taliban and their supporters, Interfax reported. LF [14] TURKMEN PRESIDENT OUTLINES CLEMENCY PROPOSAL FOR DISMISSEDMINISTERNiyazov on 3 March offered former Deputy Premier and Energy and Industry Minister Saparmurat Nuryev the choice of facing prosecution or repaying the $2.5 million he is accused of having embezzled from the state treasury, Interfax reported. Nuryev was accused of nepotism and abuse of office and dismissed as deputy premier in January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January 2000). Niyazov has also instructed the Turkmen parliament to draft legislation that would allow convicts to perform penal servitude in outlying regions of the country rather than serve a jail sentence, Interfax reported on 3 March. Niyazov explained that proposal by pointing to the Turkmen "traditions of justice and humanism," but observers note that the country's prisons are very overcrowded. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[15] NATO FORCES ARREST BOSNIAN SERB ACCUSED OF WAR CRIMESSFORtroops arrested Dragoljub Prcac near Prijedor on 5 March and transferred him to the war crimes tribunal at The Hague. NATO said in a statement that the arrest marks "another step in NATO's drive to arrest the remaining war crimes indictees." It was the fourth arrest of an alleged war criminal in Bosnia in the past three months. Prcac was a deputy commander of the Omarska prison camp in 1992. Thousands of inmates were reportedly tortured, raped, and murdered at the Omarska, Keraterm, and Trnopolje camps during the Bosnian war. PB [16] BOSNIAN SERB GOVERNMENT MEMBERS EXPELLED FROM PARTYFourmembers of the Republika Srpska government were expelled from the Bosnian branch of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party on 3 March, AP reported. The four had refused the party's order to resign from the government of Srpska acting Premier Milorad Dodik. The party said the four were expelled because they considered being in power "more important than membership in the Socialist Party." PB [17] CROATIAN OFFICIALS CRITICIZE BLASKIC JAIL SENTENCE...Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan said on 3 March that the45-year jail sentence given by the Hague tribunal to former Bosnian Croat General Tihomir Blaskic is "very harsh," Croatian Radio reported. Racan said the sentence "will have to be re-examined in the appeals process." Croatian Defense Minister Jozo Rados called the sentence "exceptionally stiff, given what the Croatian public knows about Blaskic and his activities during the war in Bosnia." The harshest criticism came from Drazen Budisa, the head of the Social Liberal party and the runner-up in the recent presidential election, who said he considered Blaskic an "innocent man" and added that "this is a terrible punishment that brings into question the credibility of the Hague tribunal." Racan and President Stipe Mesic have pledged to fully cooperate with the Hague court. PB [18] ...WHILE U.S. APPROVESThe U.S. State Department said on 3March that it welcomes the sentence given to Tihomir Blaskic, an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported. Spokesman James Rubin said Blaskic was found responsible for having ordered atrocities in central Bosnia and that the verdict shows that the Hague tribunal is making progress in bringing justice to the victims of war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war. Mirza Hajric, who lost 20 members of his family at Ahmici in the bloodiest massacre in the Lasva Valley, said "when you think of all the killings that took place here, then [the 45-year-sentence] is not a lot." PB [19] CALM REPORTED IN MITROVICA AFTER ETHNIC ALBANIANS RETURNNATO-led peacekeepers said that the divided Kosovar city ofMitrovica was calm on 4 March, one day after some 40 ethnic Albanians were moved back to their homes in the Serb- dominated northern part of the city, Reuters reported. The ethnic Albanians were escorted by a convoy of armored troop carriers and had to fend off a mob of Serbs before bringing them to three apartment towers, which are being guarded by French peacekeepers. Serbs also live in those apartment blocks. The city has been the scene of constant clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, which have resulted in 10 deaths. PB [20] SUSPECTED MURDERER OF RUSSIAN KFOR SOLDIER ESCAPES DETENTIONAn ethnic Albanian suspected in the murder of a Russianpeacekeeper in Kosova escaped from prison on 5 March, just two days after being captured, Reuters reported. Major Kristian Kahrs, a spokesman for Kosova Force (KFOR), said the suspect is 15 years old. He gave no details of the escape. Russian soldier Igor Korshunov was killed on 29 February in Srbica. PB [21] THOUSANDS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF SLAIN UCK COMMANDERTens ofthousands of ethnic Albanians gathered in the small village of Prekaz on 5 March to commemorate the 1998 killing of a founder of the rebel Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), Adem Jashari, Reuters reported. Some 50 people--including several women and children--were killed in an attack by Serbian security forces in an attempt to capture Jashari. Some 20 members of his family were also killed in the assault, which took place just 40 kilometers southeast of Prishtina. The attack is considered by many to have been a turning point in the conflict in Kosova because large numbers of ethnic Albanians either joined or rallied behind the UCK after the incident. PB [22] FIGHTING BETWEEN ETHNIC ALBANIANS AND SERBS OUTSIDE OFKOSOVAFighting erupted on 4 March between ethnic Albanians and Serbian police in the village of Dobrosin, AFP reported. Some 175 ethnic Albanians fled into Kosova after gunshots were exchanged in the village, which is in a demilitarized "border zone" with Kosova. The town is part of an area where a new rebel group, the Liberation Army of Procovo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac, has emerged. It claims to be protecting the some 70,000 ethnic Albanians in the area from harassment by Serbian security forces. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said in Prague on 5 March that she is "very concerned" by the violence and urges both sides not to incite tensions there. In other news, 25 ethnic Albanians were released by Serbian officials from a prison near Pozarevac. They were accused of belonging to the UCK. An estimated 1,700 ethnic Albanians are still being held in Serbia on similar charges. PB [23] SERB OPPOSITION AGREES ON ANTI-MILOSEVIC PROGRAMSerbianopposition leaders agreed in Belgrade on the need for free, democratic elections and urgent political and economic reforms, Beta reported on 3 March. The numerous opposition parties and alliances failed, however, to agree on a date for holding mass demonstrations against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Secretary of State Albright said in Prague on 5 March that Serbian opposition groups must work together in order to create a democratic alternative to Milosevic. In other news, the unemployment rate in Yugoslavia grew to 27.3 percent last year, up from 25.2 in 1998, according to the Group of 17 independent economists on 5 March. The official Belgrade estimate is much lower. PB [24] BELGRADE READY TO RESUME RELATIONS WITH BOSNIA--CONDITIONALLYThe Yugoslav government said it is willing to resume diplomatic relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina if Sarajevo drops the charges it has filed against Belgrade at the International Court of Justice, Reuters reported on 3 March. Hajrudin Somun, the spokesman for the Bosnian Foreign Ministry, said Belgrade is ready to start talks if Bosnia drops the charges, which were filed in 1993 for Yugoslavia's part in the Bosnian war. Bosnia was Serbia's top trading partner last year. PB [25] SERBIAN POLICE TIGHTEN BLOCKAGE AGAINST MONTENEGROSerbianpolice have reportedly stopped some Yugoslav army trucks from carrying food into Montenegro, Montenegrin newspapers reported on 5 March. The daily "Glas Javnosti" said the food was for Yugoslav troops based in Montenegro and that the situation caused angry exchanges at the Montenegrin-Serb border. PB [26] CHIRAC PRAISES MACEDONIAFrench President Jacques Chiracpraised Macedonia on 3 March for being a stabilizing force in the Balkans during the Yugoslav air strikes last year, AP reported. Chirac made his comments to Macedonian Premier Ljubco Georgievski, who is on a visit to Paris. The EU is negotiating a "stabilization and association" pact with Macedonia. PB [27] ROMANIAN COALITION RIFT DEEPENS...The National CoordinatingCouncil of the Democratic Party has accused "a group within the National Liberal Party" (PNL) of violating the coalition agreement, which gives the Democrats the right to appoint the defense minister. The council said on 3 March that this means the PNL has "renounced its political alliance" with the Democratic Party, adding that from now on Democrats' representatives in the legislature will cooperate with the ruling coalition only on legislation linked to budgetary issues and the bid to join the EU. Democratic Party leader Petre Roman said that by procrastinating over the replacement of Victor Babiuc as defense minister, Prime Minster Mugur Isarescu, who is an independent backed by all coalition members, risks becoming identified with just one party. A spokesman for Isarescu said the premier continues to regard Babiuc's replacement as "a political decision that must be taken by the coalition leadership." MS [28] ...AS LIBERAL LEADER ACCUSED OF BACKING BABIUCDemocraticParty Deputy Chairman Stelian Dutu said on 5 March that the group in the PNL that "encouraged the deserter Victor Babiuc" is led by Valeriu Stoica, PNL deputy chairman and Justice Minister, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Also on 5 March, PNL Deputy Chairman Horia Rusu said his party is "keeping all options open" for the fall parliamentary elections. Rusu said it cannot be ruled out that the PNL might decide to run on separate lists from the Democratic Convention of Romania in that ballot, as it will do in the local elections. He also said that after the election, it cannot be ruled out that the PNL will agree to form a governing coalition with the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), provided that the PDSR accepts the Liberals' "fundamental conditions." MS [29] OSCE MISSION ENDS VISIT TO MOLDOVAA five-member fact-finding delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly wrapped up a two-day visit to Chisinau and Tiraspol on 3 March, RFE/RL's bureau in the Moldovan capital reported. Delegation head Kimmo Kiljunen told journalists that the delegation has invited representatives of the separatists to participate as members of the Moldovan delegation in an assembly meeting scheduled to take place in Bucharest in July 2000. He said the OSCE hopes that by then, the two sides will have reached an agreement on the definition of a "common state." Such an accord, he added, could result in the assembly's adopting a "resolution by consensus" on how to solve the Transdniester conflict. Separatist leader Igor Smirnov told Kiljunen that the OSCE must stop treating the Transdniester "as an unrecognized state." MS [30] BALKAN FOREIGN MINISTERS CALL FOR 'SAFER KOSOVA'Meeting inPlodviv on 5 March, the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey said efforts must be made to ensure "safe living conditions for all ethnic communities" in Kosova, BTA and dpa reported. Nadezhda Mihailova, Georgios Papandreou, and Ismail Cem expressed the hope that the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe will give a strong impetus to the economic development of the entire region. They said they are discussing the possibility of concluding a "non-aggression pact" between their countries. Also on 5 March, the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, departing from its previous position, said it will support Bulgaria's quest to join NATO, dpa reported. MS [31] BULGARIAN QUEEN MOTHER BURIED IN ITALYQueen Ioanna, motherof exiled Bulgarian former monarch Simeon, was buried on 5 March in Assisi, Italy, AFP reported. She died in Portugal on 26 February, aged 92. The Bulgarian royal family, and Queen Ioanna in particular, contributed to efforts to save Bulgaria's Jews during World War II. MS [C] END NOTE[32] BALTICS PREPARE FOR EU MEMBERSHIPBy Breffni O'RourkeThe three Baltic states have all set ambitious target dates for joining the EU. They want to accede to the union within four years at the latest. But the experience of front-runner Estonia may provide a cautionary signal to Latvia and Lithuania, which will open their own substantive negotiations at the end of this month After two years of detailed talks with Brussels, Estonia has finalized only eight of the 31 required chapters of negotiations. In the run-up to the start of talks with Lithuania and Latvia, diplomats in Brussels from all three states spoke to RFE/RL. The head of Estonia's mission to the EU, Ambassador Priit Kolbre, said his country is more than willing to share with its Baltic neighbors the insights gained during two difficult years of negotiations. He said there have been frequent contacts on the subject between the three governments. His personal advice to negotiators is to be "tough," although he admits that "in order to be tough and successful, you should very clearly understand what is behind the EU requirements during the negotiations, and whether they are just positions in principle, or whether there is a substantial interest to maintain." Lithuanian diplomatic mission counselor Zigismund Pavilionis says that advice from Estonia is welcome but that his country is also receiving guidance from other countries. Pavilionis mentioned Poland--which he called Lithuania's "strategic partner"--as well as other advanced Central European candidates and Nordic countries like Finland, that have only recently joined the EU. Pavilionis is optimistic that Lithuania can catch up with Estonia's lead. He predicts that "15 negotiating positions will be ready at the actual start of the talks, though of course we will submit only those positions suggested by the EU, that should be opened during the Portuguese presidency (until 1 July) but in any case we hope that this year we will open more than half of all the negotiating chapters". Latvian diplomatic mission Second Secretary Aldis Austers says his country would like all three Baltic states to enter the EU at the same time. He added that Latvia, too, has prepared i15 chapters for the coming negotiations with the EU and hopes to open as many as eight chapters during Portugal's Presidency. Estonia's envoy Kolbre, however, doubts the likelihood that all three Baltic republics can be ready for accession at the same time. "In theory, the three countries could join together, but looking from the other side, I personally believe that if the EU allows Estonia to continue without any artificial delays in the negotiations, that other countries could not simply catch up [with] two years of negotiations-- it has been very tough work." Ukraine figures in the Baltic states' considerations. Under the EU's internal single-market rules, Estonia and Lithuania will have to terminate their successful free-trade agreements with Kyiv when they accede to the EU. That means a loss both for the Balts and Ukraine, particularly for Kyiv. Lithuania's Pavilionis says Vilnius is in contact with Kyiv and is willing to offer help wherever possible: "As you know, we have historic ties with Ukraine and that's why we would like that that country would find some new relations with the EU, because it is so important in our part of Europe." Estonia's Kolbre notes that there are several years to go before the trade accords with Ukraine must be ended. He says much depends on how quickly businesses in the Baltics and in Ukraine can adjust to the new conditions created by the imposition of EU tariffs. If the adjustment process goes well, he adds, not all trade with Ukraine need be lost. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague. 06-03-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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