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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 83, 00-04-27Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 83, 27 April 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT BACKS AWAY FROM IMPEACHMENT...Members ofthe Miasnutiun parliament majority faction on 26 April postponed a formal decision on proceeding with impeachment proceedings against President Robert Kocharian, AP and ITAR- TASS reported. Kayunutiun faction leader Vartan Aivazian told Reuters that parliament deputies want to meet with Kocharian to seek "a compromise." He did not elaborate. But deputies nonetheless circulated an unsigned document listing a dozen alleged offenses committed by the president and claiming that he was not eligible to run for the presidency in 1998, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. And 21st Century Party leader David Shahnazarian expressed support for Kocharian's impeachment, saying that his attempt to prevent Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian from testifying at parliament hearings of the 27 October shootings was "illegal" and a violation of the constitution, Snark reported. Representatives of three small parliamentary factions-- Orinats Yerkir, the Right and Accord bloc, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun--told RFE/RL that they will oppose any bid to impeach the president. LF [02] ...AS PRESIDENT REJECTS MILITARY PROSECUTOR'S RESIGNATIONKocharian on 26 April refused to accept Jahangirian'sresignation, which the latter had submitted in protest at Kocharian's attempt to prevent him from testifying, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. But in a written statement, Kocharian again stressed that he considers the "politicization" of the investigation into the parliament shootings unacceptable. Also on 26 April, Prime Minister Aram Sargsian told journalists after meeting with Miasnutiun faction leaders that he believes Jahangirian acted correctly in submitting his resignation, although he hoped that the president would not accept it. LF [03] ITERA RENEWS NORMAL GAS SUPPLIES TO ARMENIADuring talks inMoscow on 25-26 April, Armenian Energy Minister Davit Zadoyan and Igor Markov, president of the Gazprom subsidiary ITERA, reached agreement on restructuring Yerevan's debt to the company for supplies of natural gas, Interfax reported. Yerevan will pay $1 million of the $11 million it owes in hard currency before the end of April and the remainder no later than July, First Deputy Energy Minister Karen Galstian said on 25 April. ITERA on 26 April increased gas deliveries to Armenia which it had cut by half on 15 April. Zadoyan told Interfax that Yerevan does not believe there was any connection between the Armenian government exclusion of ITERA from a tender for privatization of four energy distribution networks and ITERA's subsequent threat to cut gas supplies to Armenia completely. He said ITERA could still participate in the tender in alliance with one of the four remaining companies. LF [04] OSCE OFFICIAL INSPECTS GEORGIAN-CHECHEN BORDERHelle Degn,who is president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, told journalists in Tbilisi on 26 April that she would like to see OSCE observers deployed on the Russian side of the border between Georgia and Chechnya, Caucasus Press reported. Degn had inspected that border the previous day. At present there are 12 OSCE observers deployed on the Georgian side of the border; their number is to be increased to 42 next month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). LF [05] MORE SHOOTINGS IN ABKHAZIAThree Abkhaz customs officialsand a civilian were shot dead by unidentified attackers on 26 April in Abkhazia's Gali raion, Caucasus Press reported. Those deaths raise to at least 20 the number of people shot dead in southern Abkhazia since the beginning of this year. LF [06] GEORGIAN WAGES, PENSIONS ARREARS SKYROCKETGeorgianparliamentary Budget Office chairman Roman Gotsiridze told members of the majority Union of Citizens of Georgia faction on 27 April that the government currently owes between 350- 400 million lari ($175-200 million) in unpaid wages and pensions, Caucasus Press reported. The pensions backlog alone has increased by 100 million lari since 1 January 2000 as a result of the budget revenue shortfall. Gotsiridze said it is "unrealistic" to burden the budget by paying salary and pension debts for last year. LF [07] RUSSIA AGAIN UNDERSCORES INTERESTS IN CASPIAN...Addressingthe opening session of the Eurasia-2000 Economic Forum in Almaty on 26 April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko warned that international projects to exploit Caspian oil and gas reserves "cannot be decided without the participation of Russia," Reuters reported. He added that it is natural that the interests of various states engaged in the Caspian should collide. On 21 April, Russian President- elect Vladimir Putin had similarly warned that Russia has failed adequately to protect its interests in the Caspian and intends to do so more aggressively in future (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). At a meeting the same day with Kazakh Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev, Khristenko discussed the possibilities for cooperation in the northern Caspian, which Russia and Kazakhstan agreed on dividing into national sectors in 1998. Khristenko also encouraged Kazakhstan to increase the amount of oil it exports via Russian pipelines. LF [08] ...AS KAZAKHSTAN CALLS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION, WESTERNINVESTMENTKazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev told the opening session of the Eurasia-2000 Forum that the states of Central Asia must consolidate their independence and emerging economies and strive for greater regional cooperation, according to Interfax. Nazarbaev said the TRACECA program constitutes a basis for integration and increased international investment in the region. He called on the UN and OSCE to do more to end the war in Afghanistan, which he termed "the biggest stability problem on the Eurasian continent." LF [09] KAZAKHSTAN, CHINA RESOLVE OIL REFINERY DISPUTEChina andKazakhstan have resolved "misunderstandings" that arose after the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) acquired a 60 percent stake in Kazakhstan's Aqtobemunaigaz oil production company in 1997, Interfax reported on 26 April. Some 2,000 Kazakh employees of that company who were dismissed a year ago and had still not received their due compensation had appealed to President Nazarbaev two months ago to annul the contract with the CNPC (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 March 2000). LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] RUSSIAN, CHINESE UN OFFICIALS MEET MILOSEVICRussianAmbassador to the UN Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Deputy Ambassador Shen Guofeng met Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade on 26 April. The Serbian leader told his visitors that the UN civilian administration's (UNMIK) "project on alleged elections in [Kosova] before a political solution is achieved...is only a transparent attempt to legalize crimes committed by NATO and Albanian terrorist gangs," Reuters reported. Milosevic charged that KFOR and UNMIK are to blame for the "unbearable situation in the province and ethnic cleansing" of Serbs and other non- Albanians. The two ambassadors' visit comes on the eve of a trip to Kosova by an eight-member team from the Security Council, which will tour key cities and towns as well as meet with prominent individuals in the province. PM [11] MIXED REACTIONS TO BELGRADE SLAYINGSerbian Justice MinisterDragoljub Jankovic said in Belgrade on 26 April that the slaying of Yugoslav Airlines Director Zika Petrovic "is obviously a specific kind of state terror imported from abroad. I think it is a perfidious attempt to destabilize the present authorities and topple this state," the "Financial Times" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). But Dragan Covic of the Democratic Alternative called for the resignation of Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic. Covic said that "it is absurd that there have never been more policemen in Serbia and never so little security." The New Democracy party said in a statement that "there are 120,000 policemen in Serbia who are guarding 120 ruling politicians and their undemocratic regime. The lives of the other 9 million Serbs are not worth a penny," AP reported. PM [12] DRASKOVIC TO SUE OVER ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONOfficials ofVuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement said in Belgrade on 26 April that they will launch legal proceedings against several top officials whom they charge with obstructing the investigation of a fatal car accident involving Draskovic last October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 October 1999). The officials specifically mentioned Belgrade prosecutor Andrija Milutinovic and customs chief Mihalj Kertes. They charged Kertes, who is a close ally of Milosevic, with concealing the identity of the person who imported the truck that killed four of Draskovic's companions in the accident. Draskovic has charged that the accident was an attempt by the regime to assassinate him. PM [13] TRAP FOR 'SERBIAN ROBIN HOOD'?Relatives and politicalsupporters of Bogoljub "Maki" Arsenijevic said that they fear that the Serbian Supreme Court's recent decision to drop charges against him is a trick to entice the flamboyant painter to leave his refuge in the Republika Srpska and come home, "Vesti" reported on 27 April. Maki led violent anti- government protests in Valjevo in 1999 for which he was imprisoned (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2000). His escape to Bosnia in March captured public imagination, prompting the independent weekly "Vreme" of 18 March to dub him the "Serbian Robin Hood." PM [14] EAGLEBURGER: MILOSEVIC WON'T TEMPT FATE IN MONTENEGROFormerU.S. Secretary of State and Ambassador to Yugoslavia Lawrence Eagleburger told RFE/RL on 26 April that he doubts that Milosevic will start a war in Montenegro because he knows that Western countries are opposed to that. He added, however, that he does not think that recent political changes in Croatia will have any significant impact on political developments in Serbia or Bosnia. PM [15] BAJUK FALLS SHORT AGAIN IN SECOND SLOVENIAN VOTEAndrejBajuk, who is the center-right candidate to become prime minister, received 43 out of 90 possible votes in the Slovenian parliament on 26 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000). Since he fell short of the necessary 46-vote minimum, the parliament will meet on 28 April to decide whether to hold a third vote, which requires only a simple majority. Franc Zagozen, who heads the coalition that nominated Bajuk, said that they will put the economist's name forward for a third time. Reuters reported from Ljubljana, however, that the legislators will most likely decide to call new elections rather than take a third vote. President Milan Kucan has said that new elections are necessary to ensure the formation of a credible government. He stresses that it is not possible to put together a broadly-based government in the current parliament. PM [16] CROATIAN BANK CHIEFS QUITMarko Skreb, who is governor ofthe National Bank, and the seven members of the bank's governing council, submitted their resignations to the parliament on 26 April. Skreb has been under pressure to resign for some time. The resignations came in the wake of recent criticism in the parliament of how the bank functions, "Jutarnji list" reported. Critics have charged that Skreb, who until recently was a member of late President Franjo Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), took too long to investigate a series of bank failures. Many Croats believe that bad loans to HDZ loyalists lie at the root of most of the bank failures. PM [17] CROATIAN AUTHORITIES MOVE AGAINST ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONOn 26April, a government demolition squad destroyed a seven-story apartment building under construction in Zagreb. Some 525 buildings are slated to be pulled down because they were built without permits or are unsafe, AP reported. PM [18] BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY PICKS PRIME MINISTERThe three-memberjoint presidency elected former Bosnian Serb Deputy Prime Minister Tihomir Gligoric to head the new, expanded joint cabinet. He belongs to the Socialist Party of the Republika Srpska and was nominated by fellow Socialist Zivko Radisic, who is the Serbian representative on the joint presidency. Serbian, Croatian, and Muslim ministers will rotate on an eight-month basis. In addition to the previous ministries of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and civilian affairs and communications, three new posts will be added. They deal with refugees and human rights, European integration, and joint government finances. PM [19] 'CATASTROPHIC' AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN BOSNIAMeeting in aspecial session on 26 April, the House of Representatives of the mainly Croat and Muslim federation approved a 17-point program to bolster agriculture. Among the measures the deputies called for is a package of new legislation to promote agriculture, forestry, and village development. The legislators also want better control of border crossings that have been used to bring in illegal agricultural imports, "Oslobodjenje" reported. It was noted, for example, that Italian peaches are being imported into the federation, while the peach crop in Herzegovina has not found markets. PM [20] KLEIN: SFOR NEEDED TO KEEP BOSNIAN PEACEJacques Klein, whois a U.S. army general and head of the UN mission in Bosnia, told "Vjesnik" of 27 April that war would break out in Bosnia "within six months" if NATO peacekeepers left the country. He noted that the continued existence of separate Muslim, Croatian, and Serbian armies remains a key problem for peace and security. PM [21] ROMANIA'S DEMOCRATS ROCKING THE BOAT ONCE MORE?TheDemocratic Party on 26 April criticized Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu, accusing him of declining to "involve himself with the country's real economic problems" in the debates preceding the approval of the 2000 budget, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The Democrats say the premier "lacks an overall vision of the economy" and has avoided taking a position on irregularities in the activities of the State Property Fund or the unwarranted restructuring of the debt owed to the budget by loss-making state companies. They said they had nevertheless supported the budget in the parliament because Romania could not face its problems without an approved budget. In response, Isarescu said he believes the most important thing for the country now is to ensure economic growth in order to raise living standards. MS [22] 'HOT LINE' DOCUMENTS ARE TROUBLE FOR FORMER ROMANIANPRESIDENTMembers of the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on 26 April said after examining secret documents on the Moscow-Bucharest "hot-line" debate that they confirm former President Ion Iliescu gave the "green light" to negotiating between Romania and Russia the installation of such a line. These negotiations were interrupted after Iliescu lost the presidential election of 1996. In other news, the Central Electoral Bureau on 26 April decided that all candidates in the June local elections must submit declarations attesting that they did not collaborate with the communist secret police. Those submitting false statements will be liable to prosecution. MS [23] MOLDOVA, ROMANIA, TO INITIAL BASIC TREATY IN CHISINAU...Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicolae Tabacaru and his Romaniancounterpart Petre Roman will initial the basic treaty between their countries on 28 April in Chisinau. Before departing for the Moldovan capital, Roman told journalists that the treaty is "far beyond" a regular treaty on good neighborly relations. He said the document "confines the special, privileged relationship " between the two states, and emphasizes their "community of history, civilization, culture, and language." Roman also said the treaty stipulates that the two countries will mutually support each other in their quest for European integration and that Romania will rally behind "all Moldovan international efforts to secure sovereignty and territorial integrity." MS [24] ...WHILE BASIC TREATY WITH RUSSIA FACES NEW HINDERSBorisPastukhov, who ended a three-day visit to Moldova at the head of a mediating mission of the CIS Parliamentary Assembly on 26 April, said representatives of the Transdniester separatists must be represented in the drafting of the pending Russian-Moldovan basic treaty, ITAR-TASS reported. He said the treaty must take into consideration the interests of people living in the breakaway region. MS [25] MOLDOVAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN THE U.S.Boris Gamurari on 26April met in Washington with Defense Secretary William Cohen to discuss bilateral military cooperation, Flux and ITAR-TASS reported. Cohen said the U.S. intends to further contribute to Moldova's becoming a "stability and security factor in southeast Europe." Gamurari also met Assistant Defense Secretary Ted Warner, discussing with him military reform in Moldova, U.S. aid to implement it, and collaboration within the Partnership for Peace program. MS [26] BULGARIA DECLARES COMMUNIST RULE 'CRIMINAL'The parliamenton 26 April approved a law declaring the former communist regime "criminal," Reuters reported. The law says the Bulgarian Communist Party that came to power in 1944 with the help of a "foreign force" had by 1989 brought the country to a "national catastrophe." It says the Bulgaria Communist Party was a "criminal organization, as were other organizations based on the same ideology [elsewhere], which in reality was aimed at oppressing human rights and the democratic system." The law has no immediate practical implications. Socialist Party (BSP) leader Georgi Parvanov accused the government of attempting to "push the country towards destabilization" in order to "hide in the turmoil the tracks of your multiple crimes." He said the BSP will walk out of the parliament so as "not to take part in the tragicomedy" and will return with a motion of no-confidence in the cabinet. MS [27] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES LAW TO FIGHT CORRUPTION AMONGOFFICIALSThe parliament on 26 April approved a law that would make public the income, expenses, and property of senior state officials, AP reported, citing BTA. Under the law, the Chamber of Accountancy, Bulgaria's central auditing institution, will compile and produce records of the income and expenses of the country's president, premier, ministers, deputies, senior government and judiciary officials. The records will be made public in the media. MS [C] END NOTE[28] COURTING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN KYIVBy Jan MaksymiukUkrainian President Leonid Kuchma scored several impressive political victories in the past two weeks. The major one was of course the overwhelming approval of all four questions in the 16 April constitutional referendum, which is widely expected to give him considerable additional levers of control over the parliament as soon as the will of the people is reflected in appropriate constitutional amendments. However, the two high-level visits to Kyiv shortly before and after the referendum--one by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on 14 April and another of Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 18 April--turned out to be no lesser successes for the Ukrainian leader than the plebiscite. Albright moved up her trip to Kyiv, which had been originally planned for 20-21 April, thus giving rise to much speculation in Ukrainian and Russian media that she wanted to be in Kyiv before Putin in order to prevent Kuchma from making too many concessions to the Kremlin's energetic ruler. In particular, those media suggested that Albright would persuade Kuchma to stop paying the Russian gas debt with strategic bombers and cruise missiles. Also, Albright reportedly informed Kuchma about Washington's concern that he continue the course of reform and keep reformist Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko in office as long as possible. In exchange for Kuchma's agreement, Albright reportedly pledged U.S. massive political and financial support to Kyiv. Albright did not spare praise for Kuchma and his renewed pledges to put Ukraine on a reform path. "I was very impressed by President Kuchma's dedication to this [reform] process and his desire to move the reform process forward, and by the work the prime minister is undertaking," she told journalists. Ukraine is expected to receive $219 million in U.S. aid this year. Albright also said she was "heartened" when Kuchma reaffirmed his intention to close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant this year. And she expressed support for the constitutional referendum, which is, however, regarded by the Council of Europe as dangerous to Ukraine's fledgling democracy. There was no mention, at least in official pronouncements, of what is believed to be a thorn in U.S.- Ukrainian relations--namely, Ukraine's pervasive corruption that hinders both the Ukrainian government and U.S. investors in promoting market reforms and generating economic growth in the country. Ukraine's National Bank has recently been checked by international auditors in connection with the charges of misusing IMF loans. Some commentators concluded that the audit, whose results are purportedly known to Washington, is not expected to do much damage to Kyiv. On the other hand, Putin's visit promised a lot of unpleasant moments for Kuchma. In contrast to lumpish and jovial Yeltsin, who was guided primarily by Moscow's Soviet- era patronage in "no neckties" contacts with his "younger brother" from Kyiv, Putin is believed to be a cold pragmatist. Ukraine's gigantic gas debt to Russia was to be the main topic of the Kuchma-Putin talks in Kyiv. Some Russian and Ukrainian left-wing politicians expected that Putin would use economic leverage to persuade Kuchma into making some steps toward to the "Slavic" union of Russian and Belarus. However, Putin's visit turned out to be a reconnoitering rather than an attack. Officially it was said that both leaders discussed a variety of important bilateral issues, but no decision was taken and no document was signed. Putin's sharpest pronouncement with regard to Kyiv was at a news conference in Sevastopol, when he noted that Russia and Ukraine "should quit barter in mutual settlements and increase payments in cash to one another." To which Kuchma duly responded that "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow" he will see to this problem. Some Russian media speculated that Putin reiterated to Kuchma Russia's former demands that Ukraine pay its gas debt with shares in privatized companies. But others suggested that this plan has already been dropped because of Kyiv's strong objection. A special bilateral commission has to work out a mutually acceptable solution to the Ukrainian gas debt dilemma by the end of May. In other words, one more time Kuchma has demonstrated his unshakable position as the leader of a geostrategically important country that permanently balances on the verge of economic collapse but nevertheless successfully maneuvers its political course through the conflicting interests of Washington and Moscow. Taking into account the latest outburst of popular love for and confidence in the president during Ukraine's constitutional referendum, Kuchma may be said to be one of the most successful politicians on the post-Soviet territory. Will he ever be held accountable for Ukraine's disastrous economic performance? At present such a development does not seem too likely. The first thing Kuchma did after the visits of Albright and Putin was to harshly criticize Viktor Yushchenko's government for a slow reform pace. 27-04-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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