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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 88, 00-05-05Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 88, 5 May 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY UNDECIDED ON PARTICIPATION INNEW GOVERNMENTThe Miasnutiun bloc and its ally, the Yerkrapah Union of veterans of the Karabakh war, continued to discuss on 4 May whether Miasnutiun should propose new candidates for premier and ministers in the new government but failed to reach any decision, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Parliamentary deputy speaker Tigran Torosian told journalists he thinks Miasnutiun should begin consultations on potential candidates with the president. But observers believe Yerkrapah is reluctant to allow Kocharian's 2 May sacking of Prime Minister Aram Sargsian and Defense Minister Vagharshsak Harutiunian to go unchallenged. Also on 4 May, President Robert Kocharian, who has assumed the duties of acting prime minister, convened a cabinet meeting that focused on social and economic issues. LF [02] ARMENIA, IRAQ DISCUSS ECONOMIC COOPERATIONArmenian ForeignMinister Vartan Oskanian met on 4 May in Yerevan with visiting Iraqi First Deputy Foreign Minister Nuri Issmail Taha al-Weiss to discuss expanding economic cooperation and opening embassies in Yerevan and Baghdad, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. They identified industry, energy, and trade as the most promising sectors for such cooperation. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ara Papian told RFE/RL that the planned cooperation does not run counter to UN sanctions against Baghdad. LF [03] ARMENIAN CENTER-RIGHT FORMS NEW ALLIANCEFour small center-right parties that split from the former ruling Armenian Pan- National Movement (HHSh) on 3 May aligned in a new opposition Union of Right-Wing Forces, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported the following day. They are former parliamentary speaker Hrant Bagratian's Azatutiun, former parliamentary speaker Babken Ararktsian's Armat, former National Security Minister Davit Shahnazarian's 21st Century party, and former Yerevan Mayor Vigen Khachatrian's Liberal Democratic Party. They pledged to seek the "constitutional" removal of the current Armenian leadership, which they accused of rolling back political and economic reform, bullying the opposition, and pursuing an "aggressive foreign policy." The new grouping will strive to restore "constitutional order," to achieve "the irreversibility of democracy," and ensure Armenia's "active participation" in regional integration processes, its leaders said. LF [04] THREE CANDIDATES IN RUNNING FOR GEORGIAN MINISTER OF STATEGeorgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists inTbilisi on 4 May that "most probably" Gia Arsenishvili, who is governor of the east Georgian region of Kakheti, will be appointed to head the next Georgian government. As possible alternative candidates Shevardnadze named Tbilisi Mayor Vano Zodelava and the governor of Imereti in western Georgia, Temur Shashiashvili. In a lengthy open letter to Shevardnadze last year, Shashiashvili had threatened to resign from that post to protest the central government's neglect of the regions (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 44, 7 November 1999). LF [05] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT DEPUTY SAYS FORMER GOVERNMENT SHOULD BEPROSECUTEDKoba Davitashvili, who is deputy chairman of the parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, told fellow deputies on 4 May that he has asked the prosecutor-general to begin legal proceedings against the outgoing Georgian government for its failure to fulfill the state budget, Caucasus Press reported. A professional lawyer, Davitashvili said the failure, which resulted in a budget deficit of 300 million lari ($150 million), constitutes a criminal offense punishable by three to five years in prison. LF [06] IRAN PROTESTS AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER'S STATEMENTIran's Foreign Ministry has summoned Azerbaijan's ambassadorin Tehran to protest a statement Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliev made last week in the U.S., Reuters reported on 4 May, citing IRNA. Guliev had claimed that Iran's ethnic Azerbaijanis have no access to education in their mother tongue. Tehran condemned that statement as "irresponsible and meddlesome" as well as "anti-Iranian." Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev is scheduled to travel to Tehran next month to attend an Economic Cooperation Organization summit. LF [07] KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES, OPPOSITION MEETRepresentatives ofseveral Kyrgyz opposition parties and NGOs met in Bishkek on 3 May with Security Council Secretary Bolot Djanuzakov and presidential adviser Askar Aitmatov to discuss preparations and the agenda for a planned roundtable between the two sides, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. The opposition demanded that topics for discussion include the outcome of the parliamentary elections held earlier this year, the arrest of opposition Ar-Namys party leader Feliks Kulov, how to ensure that the upcoming presidential poll is fair and democratic, and the social and economic situation in the country. They also insist that President Askar Akaev attend the roundtable. LF [08] KYRGYZ TRADE UNIONS PROTEST PRICE INCREASESThe Federationof Kyrgyz Trade Unions has appealed to the cabinet on 4 May to take "emergency measures" to counter what it terms "a devastating social and economic crisis," Interfax reported. The trade unions noted that the average monthly wage, which is the equivalent of $20, is the lowest in the CIS and that prices for food, gas, and electricity have risen by 300-500 percent over the past year. They demanded payment of public- sector wage arrears and the suspension of new electricity tariffs. Speaking on state television the same day, however, President Akaev said the most recent increases in energy prices are "inevitable" if the country is to live within its means. He instructed the cabinet to begin talks with the country's donors, including the World Bank, on the possibility of freezing energy prices until the end of the year. LF [09] UZBEK ISLAMISTS LEAVING TAJIKISTAN?Armed detachmentssubordinate to banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader Djuma Namangani are heading for the Tajik-Afghan border via Dushanbe under the escort of Tajik Defense Ministry forces, ITAR-TASS and "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 4 May. The detachments will join the main contingent of Namangani's men, who are currently in Kunduz Province. Namangani had pledged last week to leave Tajikistan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS OPPOSITIONThe Yugoslav Army issued whatReuters called an "unprecedented statement" on 4 May, telling the opposition that it will not permit any "threats" against President Slobodan Milosevic. According to the statement, "brutal attacks on the institution and personality of the president of Yugoslavia have culminated in primitive threats to brutally liquidate [him].... The army must objectively react to such attacks and threats, which are aimed at undermining the defense and threatening the security of the country," the statement concluded. PM [11] WHOM DOES THE ARMY HAVE IN MIND?The statement appears to bea response to a speech that Vojvodina Social Democratic leader Nenad Canak made in Belgrade at the opposition rally on 14 April, in which he called for Milosevic to be tried and punished (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). In Novi Sad, Canak told Reuters on 4 May that "the regime will explore reactions to see whether it's wise to arrest me. If they don't arrest me, they will show weakness and if they do, different problems will occur. I'm sure the regime knows that it will be a turning point after which there will be a lot of non-parliamentary methods of struggle," Canak added. He did not elaborate. The army statement also claimed that "especially prominent in unprincipled speculation and unfounded criticism [of Milosevic] are incompetent leaders of certain marginal political parties and some former army employees." This appears to refer to former Generals Momcilo Perisic and Vuk Obradovic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 May 2000). PM [12] OPPOSITION CALLS FOR PROTEST IN MILOSEVIC'S HOME TOWNLeaders of the Otpor (Resistance) student movement called fora demonstration in Pozarevac on 9 May to protest the recent arrest of three of its members on charges of attempting to kill four friends of Milosevic's son Marko (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 May 2000). Otpor spokesman Branko Ilic urged Belgrade residents to demonstrate at the central prison on 5 May, adding that "we are ready to pay any price" to go ahead with the protests, "Vesti" reported. Referring to the Pozarevac demonstration, Alliance for Change leader Vladan Batic said: "We shall go into this bastion of violence and terror and show our support for the students.... Milosevic's regime cannot arrest or put on trial the entire population," AP reported. PM [13] REGIME SLAMS OTPORIn Belgrade on 4 March, indicted warcriminal and Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic called Otpor a "fascist formation," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj said that Otpor is an "illegal, fascist organization" bent on making trouble, AP reported. Other regime supporters have described Otpor as funded by the CIA and NATO. In related news, the authorities fined Studio B Television $6,200 on 4 May for reporting "false news" in conjunction with the incident in Pozarevac. A $10,000 fine was recently handed down to Studio B Television on similar charges (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 May 2000). On 5 May, station director Dragan Kojadinovic told Reuters that Studio B will not pay the fines. "We will not pay, they will have to block our accounts. We will have three trials in 30 hours. We will no longer appear at these trials. We don't want to waste our strength and our energy," he added. PM [14] PRISON PROTESTS IN KOSOVAOn 3 May, a court in Nissentenced14 ethnic Albanians from Suhareka to prison terms ranging from 20 months to 12 years on charges of "terrorism." In Prishtina, several Albanians continued a hunger strike on 4 May to demand freedom for Kosovars held in Serbian jails. In Kosovska Mitrovica's prison, several Serbs are staging a hunger strike to demand that their trials begin. On 4 May, some 2,000 sympathizers demonstrated outside the jail, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [15] ANNIVERSARY OF TITO'S DEATH MARKED IN BELGRADE...JovankaBroz, who is the widow of Josip Broz Tito, laid a wreath at the Belgrade tomb of her husband to mark the 20th anniversary of his death on 4 May. An unspecified number of family members, World War II veterans, and primarily elderly Communists also paid their respects. Josip Broz, who is a grandson of the late leader, denied charges made in recent years that Tito was a dictator, "Vesti" reported. Broz argued that his grandfather allowed the student protests of 1968 to take place and dealt with the issues that the students raised "by political means." He similarly used a political approach to deal with the Croatian Spring, or Maspok, led by Franjo Tudjman in 1971, Broz added. He mentioned that his grandfather told him in 1978 that his "biggest mistake" as Yugoslavia's leader was to allow nationalists to present their views for public discussion. Broz did not say exactly which nationalists his grandfather meant or to which years he referred. PM [16] ...AND ELSEWHERE IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIAThe Belgradecommemoration of Tito's death anniversary on 4 May included delegations from Croatia, Bosnia, and Macedonia, "Vesti" reported. Similar, if smaller, commemorative gatherings took place in several cities and towns in Bosnia. In Tuzla, a bust of Tito was unveiled in the city center, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Some 5,000 mostly elderly people arrived in Tito's home town of Kumrovec in Croatia to pay their respects. They came from various parts of Croatia and also from Bosnia, Slovenia, and Italy, "Novi List" reported. But not everyone shared their enthusiasm. Croatian Social Liberal leader Drazen Budisa, who was a student leader in Maspok, told "Vjesnik": "Don't talk to me about Tito." PM [17] CROATIAN VETERANS DETERMINED TO BLOCK ROADSMarinko Liovic,who heads the association of veterans of the 1991-1995 war known as HVIDRA, said in Zagreb on 4 May that his organization will oppose the government's program to fund the return of Serbian refugees (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 May 2000). He stressed that HVIDRA will go ahead with its plans to block roads, ports, airports, and border crossings to make its point, adding that any tourists who want to come to Croatia will have to force their way through the veterans, "Jutarnji list" reported. Defense Minister Jozo Rados called HVIDRA's plans "horrible" and said that dealing with the protesters will be a matter for the police, "Novi List" reported. Parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic charged that the veterans want to "sow chaos." PM [18] DODIK SLAMS BOSNIAN SERB PARLIAMENTPrime Minister MiloradDodik said in Banja Luka on 4 May that the legislature reduced itself to the level of a "debating society" after it rejected all the proposals that the government put forward, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [19] ROMANIA, IMF AGREE ON 'LETTER OF INTENT'Chief IMFnegotiator for Romania Emmanuel Zervoudakis and Prime Minster Mugur Isarescu have agreed on a "letter of intent" in which the Romanian cabinet will undertake to meet the fund's conditions for extending the 1999 stand-by agreement until February 2001, RFE/RL 's Bucharest bureau reported on 4 May. The executive board of the fund must now discuss and decided whether to approve the new agreement. If it gives its approval, loans to Romania, which were frozen in fall1999, can be resumed. MS [20] HIGH-RANKING ROMANIAN POLITICIANS INVOLVED IN MONEY-LAUNDERING SCANDAL?Two French prosecutors are in Bucharest to investigate, together with their Romanian colleagues, suspicions that high-ranking opposition politicians were involved in money-laundering, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Charges were filed in France against Adrian Costea, who has joint Romanian-French citizenship and is suspected of siphoning public funds on behalf of politicians. The prosecutors want Party of Social Democracy in Romania First Deputy Chairman Adrian Nastase and Alliance for Romania Party Chairman Teodor Melescanu to testify in the case. Funds totaling more than $100 million were reportedly channeled to France ostensibly to pay for the publication of a photographic album on Romania. Both Nastase and Melescanu have denied any involvement in the affair. MS [21] MOLDOVAN POLICE LAUNCH PROCEEDINGS AGAINST 'TROUBLE-MAKING'PROFESSORSInterior Minister Vladimir Turcan on 4 May said police have launched proceedings against seven professors suspected of having "instigated" students to take part in the 17-21 April demonstrations in Chisinau, RFE/RL's bureau in the Moldovan capital reported. Turcan said the Prosecutor- General's Office will decide whether to indict the seven. More than 125 people are suspected of having helped instigate the students to demonstrate. MS [22] BULGARIAN NATIONAL AIRLINE GROUNDED BY STRIKEBalkanAirlines was grounded on 4 May for the second consecutive day as pilots continued a strike to demand higher wages and an improvement in safety conditions, Reuters reported. A senior official of the company said no pay rises can be considered until the restructuring of the indebted company has been completed. Balkan Airlines was sold in 1999 to the Israeli Zeev Holdings company. MS [23] EU TO AID AGRICULTURAL REFORM IN BULGARIAEU AgricultureCommissioner Franz Fischler, arriving in Sofia to attend a meeting of agricultural officials from 16 countries, said the EU is planning to spend 4 billion euros ($3.6 billion) over the next six years to support farming reforms in countries seeking EU membership, AP reported. Fischler said Bulgaria's annual share of that aid will amount to 52 million euros. MS [C] END NOTE[24] A NEW KIND OF AUTONOMYBy Paul GobleRussia's government has extended extraterritorial cultural autonomy to the country's 1 million Roma, an arrangement that will almost certainly benefit them but could call into question Moscow's commitment to territorial autonomy for other small groups. At the end of last month, the Russian Ministry for Federation and Nationality Affairs publicly announced the creation of a federal national-cultural autonomy arrangement for Russia's Roma. This was the final step in a process that began in November 1999 and was legally registered by the Justice Ministry in March 2000. This kind of autonomy, ministry officials pointed out, is not like the territorial autonomy enjoyed by many other groups. It does not give the Roma control over any particular territory but does strengthen their rights by establishing a special council under the Federation and Nationalities Ministry. For a group like the Roma, who live dispersed in relatively small groups across the entire Russian Federation, such an arrangement is a major step forward. Until now, the Roma have been subject to discrimination in Russia, as in many other countries. They do not have a single school or newspaper using their own language, and their past suffering has often been ignored. Consequently, the establishment of a special council gives them a chance to speak out in defense of their national interests. And that is what they did late last month. Their leaders attacked Romani stereotypes in the Russian media and the failure of the Russian government to acknowledge the murder of Roma in Nazi concentration camps. Even if that is all this council is able to do, the opportunity to speak out will be welcome in a group that has seldom had a chance to make its voice heard at an official level. But the provision of this new kind of extraterritorial autonomy for one group raises the possibility that Moscow or someone else might come to see it as an option for other groups. The territorial autonomies within the Russian Federation are the product of a decision taken by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party before the 1917 revolution and institutionalized by Joseph Stalin after that time. Indeed, the Soviet commitment to territorial autonomy was defined by opposition to the concept of extraterritorial cultural autonomy advanced by Austro-Hungarian Marxists Otto Bauer and Karl Renner. In the early part of the 20th century, Bauer and Renner sketched out a system whereby individuals would enjoy national rights, regardless of their place of residence, rather than only in places where they constituted a majority of the population. Such an arrangement appealed to many dispersed groups, including the Jews of tsarist Russia, but it was opposed by Lenin and others who saw it both as unwieldy administratively and as a threat to the unity of the working class. As a result, the communist authorities always opposed the idea of extraterritorial cultural autonomy for any group, and the Russian Federation until now has continued that Soviet-era opposition. Now, however, Moscow has extended precisely that kind of autonomy to the Roma, and other widely dispersed groups may come to see that as a goal for themselves, especially if they are not one of the nationalities currently enjoying even the limited rights of territorial autonomy. But the extension of extraterritorial cultural autonomy to the Roma could have another consequence for non-Russians in the Russian Federation, one that could threaten the rights and privileges they now have. In 16 of the 22 non-Russian autonomies inside the Russian Federation, the titular nationality forms less than half of the population and in some cases vastly less than half. That has angered many Russians, and at least some might see an extraterritorial arrangement as a way of reducing non- Russian privileges. At the very least, this possibility is likely to provoke debate both in Moscow and in non-Russian regions. And in that debate, ideas born at the turn of the 20th century may structure new thinking about arrangements at the beginning of the 21st. 05-05-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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