RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 103, 00-05-29

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 103, 29 May 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT RATIFIES OIL PIPELINE AGREEMENT

[02] FORMER AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT OPENS WEBSITE

[03] RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTER VISITS GEORGIA

[04] DEPUTIES FROM ABKHAZIA QUIT GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY

[05] CHINESE DELEGATION TARGETED IN KYRGYZSTAN

[06] PUTIN PRAISES KYRGYZ LAW ON RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

[07] TURKMENISTAN REDUCES ACCESS TO INTERNET

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[08] MILOSEVIC ACCEPTS INVITATION TO VISIT MONTENEGRO

[09] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS MONTENEGRO

[10] MONTENEGRIN DELEGATION HURRIES HOME

[11] KOUCHNER: MILOSEVIC DESTABILIZING KOSOVA

[12] GEORGIEVSKI, THACI PLAN COOPERATION

[13] RYZHKOV: SITUATION IN KOSOVA 'GETTING WORSE'

[14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS RECEIVED IN RUSSIAN FOREIGN

[15] MILOSEVIC'S POLICE ARREST STUDENT ACTIVISTS

[16] OTPOR PRESENTS DEMANDS TO SERBIAN OPPOSITION

[17] BOSNIAN MUSLIM PARTY ELECTS NEW LEADERS

[18] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES NEW TAX PACKAGE

[19] ROMANIA'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY CRITICIZES PREMIER

[20] ROMANIAN INITIATIVE ON TRANSDNIESTER PRISONER REJECTED BY

[21] BULGARIA'S PARLIAMENT ENDORSES NATO MEMBERSHIP BID

[C] END NOTE

[22] SECURITY PROBLEMS IN KUKES

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT RATIFIES OIL PIPELINE AGREEMENT

ratify the package of agreements on construction of the Baku-

Ceyhan oil export pipeline, Interfax and Turan reported.

Those agreements were signed by the presidents of Azerbaijan,

Georgia, and Turkey in November 1999 and earlier this month

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 November 1999 and 11 May 2000). The

Georgian parliament is to debate ratification of the

agreement on 30 May, and its Turkish counterpart by 10 June.

Western oil company representatives met in Tbilisi last week

with Georgian officials to discuss four possible routes for

the Georgian sector of the pipeline, according to Caucasus

Press. Experts from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey gathered

on 29 May to prepare for joint military exercises, to be held

next month, on guarding the pipeline once it is completed.

Once a consortium to finance the 1,730 km pipeline has been

created, construction time is estimated at three years. LF

[02] FORMER AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT OPENS WEBSITE

who has lived in Moscow since the Azerbaijan Popular Front

thwarted his bid to regain power in May 1992, has launched

his personal website at , Turan

reported on 27 May. The same day, several hundred members of

the political parties aligned in the United Azeri Forces

congregated at the memorial on the outskirts of Baku to

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic leader Memed Emin Rasulzade to

mark the 82nd anniversary of the proclamation of Azerbaijan's

independence. They carried banners proclaiming their support

for Mutalibov and demanding democratic reforms, free and fair

elections, and the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. LF

[03] RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTER VISITS GEORGIA

26-27 May, Vladimir Rushailo met with his Georgian

counterpart, Kakha Targamadze, and Georgian President Eduard

Shevardnadze, ITAR-TASS and Caucasus Press reported. The two

ministers focused on joint measures to combat organized crime

and drug-smuggling and signed a cooperation program for the

period 2000-2001. Rushailo told journalists that several

"odious figures" from Chechnya are currently living in

Georgia's Pankisi gorge, which borders on Chechnya. He said

that Georgian and Russian law enforcement agencies are

working together to prevent Chechen fighters crossing into

Georgia under the guise of refugees. Rushailo also affirmed

Moscow's readiness to enter a dialogue with any Chechen

figures who have the authority to end the current fighting,

according to ITAR-TASS. LF

[04] DEPUTIES FROM ABKHAZIA QUIT GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY

The 17 deputies from the Abkhazeti faction, which

represents the ethnic Georgians forced to flee Abkhazia

during the 1992-1993 war, decided on 27 May to quit the

Georgian parliament majority faction, Caucasus Press

reported. In the future the Abkhazeti faction will seek to

represent the interests of those displaced persons, and may

to that end transform itself into a political party, but it

will not join the parliamentary opposition, faction member

Gia Gvazava said. It is not clear whether the proposed new

party will merge with the Party for the Liberation of

Abkhazia formed in late 1999 by Abkhaz parliament-in-exile

chairman Tamaz Nadareishvili. Nadareishvili announced his

resignation from that post last week to protest the Georgian

government's approach to resolving the Abkhaz conflict (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 2000). Following Abkhazeti's

decision, the Union of Citizens of Georgia and the

"Majoritarian" faction together have a 135 majority in the

235-member legislature. LF

[05] CHINESE DELEGATION TARGETED IN KYRGYZSTAN

gunmen opened fire in Bishkek late on 25 May on a car

carrying three ethnic Uighur members of a delegation from

China's neighboring Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Reuters and

AP reported. One of the three was killed, and the other two

injured. The three men had traveled to Bishkek to investigate

an arson attack earlier this month on the city's Chinese

market. An ethnic Uighur citizen of Kyrgyzstan was shot dead

in Bishkek two months ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 March

2000). LF

[06] PUTIN PRAISES KYRGYZ LAW ON RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

President Vladimir Putin telephoned his Kyrgyz counterpart

Askar Akaev on 26 May to express his approval of the law

adopted the previous day that designates Russia an official

language in Kyrgyzstan, Interfax reported. A member of

Putin's press service said the Russian president considers

that legislation the outcome of joint efforts to protect the

rights of Kyrgyzstan's ethnic Russian population. The law is

intended to stem the increasing emigration of Russians from

Kyrgyzstan. Until recently, ethnic Russians, who held many

senior economic and administrative posts, played an important

role in defusing tensions in southern Kyrgyzstan between

local Kyrgyz and the region's sizable Uzbek minority. The

prospect of an escalation in such tensions, together with the

earlier language law that Russians considered discriminatory,

contributed to the increase this year in ethnic Russian

emigration. LF

[07] TURKMENISTAN REDUCES ACCESS TO INTERNET

government has rescinded the licenses of all the country's

private Internet providers as of 29 May, RFE/RL's Turkmen

Service reported. State-owned Turkmentelekom is the sole

remaining company providing Internet access. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[08] MILOSEVIC ACCEPTS INVITATION TO VISIT MONTENEGRO

Bulatovic, who is vice president of the pro-Belgrade

Socialist People's Party (SNP) of Montenegro, said in

Podgorica on 28 May that Yugoslav President Slobodan

Milosevic has accepted the SNP's invitation to visit

Montenegro (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 2000). Bulatovic

did not specify when or where Milosevic will go. Bulatovic

added that the trip will "create problems" for the reformist

government of President Milo Djukanovic because he

"cooperates with the [Hague-based war crimes] tribunal and

will have to keep his promise to arrest all war crimes

suspects, including the Yugoslav president," "Danas"

reported. Bulatovic added that Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic

was "wise" when he said that Montenegro will only detain

those indicted persons whose arrests will not harm "civil

peace" in the republic, Reuters reported. PM

[09] YUGOSLAV ARMY WARNS MONTENEGRO

who commands the Second Army, said in a statement that the

command has outlined a series of steps to heighten the army's

military preparedness, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported

on 27 May. Among others, the measures include shutting down

airports built without Belgrade's approval and arresting

persons who urge others not to cooperate with the military.

PM

[10] MONTENEGRIN DELEGATION HURRIES HOME

President Dragisa Burzan and other members of the Montenegrin

delegation unexpectedly left a regional conference on Kosova

in Prishtina on 27 May and returned home. The Montenegrins

said simply that they had to "attend an urgent meeting in

Podgorica," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

[11] KOUCHNER: MILOSEVIC DESTABILIZING KOSOVA

who heads the UN's civilian administration in Kosova, told

the regional conference in Prishtina on 27 May that Milosevic

is "continuing his efforts at destabilizing Kosova," RFE/RL's

South Slavic Service reported. Kouchner added that

Milosevic's actions serve to destabilize "the entire region."

Delegations from Kosova, Macedonia, Albania, and--at least at

the outset--Montenegro, attended the conference. PM

[12] GEORGIEVSKI, THACI PLAN COOPERATION

Minister Ljubco Georgievski and Kosova Protection Corps

commander Hashim Thaci spoke in Prishtina on 27 May about the

possible opening of representative offices in each other's

capitals. The two leaders also discussed ways to facilitate

the improved exchange of people and goods between Kosova and

Macedonia, as well as the future of Albanian-language higher

education in Macedonia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 April

2000). PM

[13] RYZHKOV: SITUATION IN KOSOVA 'GETTING WORSE'

spokesman said in Prishtina on 27 May that there have been

four violent incidents involving attacks on Russian

peacekeepers in recent days (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 24 May

2000). Nikolai Ryzhkov, who heads a Russian State Duma

commission that just visited the province, said in Belgrade

on 27 May that the situation there is "getting worse" and

that "there is no order nor is there any kind of authority"

in Kosova. Ryzhkov added that Kouchner "follows a clearly

Western policy" in the province, RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported. PM

[14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADERS RECEIVED IN RUSSIAN FOREIGN

Vuk Draskovic, Zoran Djindjic, and Vojislav

Kostunica met with officials of the Balkan department of the

Foreign Ministry in Moscow on 29 May. Draskovic told

reporters that Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will speak with

the Serbian delegation later in the day, ITAR-TASS reported.

Draskovic added that Ivanov confirmed the meeting "10 days

ago." It is not clear why, if this is indeed the case,

Serbian and international media reported down to that very

morning that it is not clear whether Ivanov will see the

opposition leaders. The Serbs want Russia to use its

influence in Belgrade to persuade the regime to cease

repression and hold new elections. PM

[15] MILOSEVIC'S POLICE ARREST STUDENT ACTIVISTS

the Otpor (Resistance) student movement said in Belgrade on

29 May that police arrested four activists in Nis and eight

in Subotica in the early hours of the morning. The spokesman

added that "Otpor is now the regime's primary target because

it is so widespread, it's everywhere in Serbia," AP reported.

He added that "with every new arrested student activist, a

hundred more join Otpor." PM

[16] OTPOR PRESENTS DEMANDS TO SERBIAN OPPOSITION

sent the leaders of the opposition parties a proposal to draw

up a "strategy of national defense against violence and

repression," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Otpor

asked for a reply by 31 May. The students want a strategy

meeting on 1 June in Belgrade that will include

representatives of all cities and communities. The students

stressed to the fractious parties that "if you are not

willing to take steps [for a joint action program], we will

do it alone," London's "The Observer" reported. An Otpor

spokesman told a rally of 15,000 people in Belgrade that too

much time has been wasted on "senseless meetings." "Vesti"

noted on 29 May, however, that most people remain afraid of

the regime and its police and are reluctant to attend mass

rallies. PM

[17] BOSNIAN MUSLIM PARTY ELECTS NEW LEADERS

committee of the Party of Democratic Action voted in Sarajevo

on 27 May to elect Edhem Bicakcic and Sulejman Tihic as vice

presidents. They replace Ejup Ganic and Halid Genjac, who

recently lost a vote of confidence following the party's poor

showing in local elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 May

2000). PM

[18] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES NEW TAX PACKAGE

approved a series of measures on 26 May aimed at creating

jobs by shifting the burden of taxation "from production to

consumption," "Jutarnji list" reported. Taxes on cigarettes,

alcohol, gasoline, and coffee will rise, while some taxes

that companies pay will drop. Critics say that the measures

will fuel inflation and hit consumers in a country where the

average wage is about $450 per month. PM

[19] ROMANIA'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY CRITICIZES PREMIER

Party Chairman Petre Roman on 28 May backed his deputy's

criticism of Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu of two days

earlier, Mediafax reported. Deputy Democratic Party Chairman

Traian Basescu said on 26 May that Isarescu is responsible

not only for the collapse of the National Investment Fund's

(FNI), but also of acquiescing to a "lack of transparency" in

the intended privatization of the Agricultural Bank and

Commerce Bank. He said the two banks have refused to hand him

reports on their assets and that he will resign as

governmental coordinator for parleys with the World Bank

unless they do so, saying that under Isarescu "the mafia

system feels it is protected by the cabinet." MS

[20] ROMANIAN INITIATIVE ON TRANSDNIESTER PRISONER REJECTED BY

Romanian Foreign Minister Petre Roman has

proposed to his Polish counterpart, Bronislaw Geremek, that

Poland assume the judicial retrial of Ilie Ilascu, who has

been sentenced to death and is detained in a Tiraspol prison,

RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported on 26 May. Moldovan

parliamentary chairman Dumitru Diacov has also recently

proposed that the case of the "Ilascu group" be re-examined

by legal experts from an OECD-member country. But Moldovan

legal experts on 27 May told the bureau that the Supreme

Court ruled in 1994 that the decision of the Tiraspol court

was illegal and that there is "no reason" to revise that

ruling. Constitutional Court President Pavel Barbalat, who

chaired the Supreme Court in its 1994 ruling, said the

separatists in Tiraspol will anyhow never agree to have a

third country re-examine the case. MS

[21] BULGARIA'S PARLIAMENT ENDORSES NATO MEMBERSHIP BID

vote of 189 to 3, Bulgaria's parliament on 26 May endorsed a

government-sponsored resolution backing the government's

drive to join the EU and NATO. The opposition Bulgarian

Socialist Party, in a reflection of its recently-held

convention, voted in favor of the resolution, although it

said that it will demand that a referendum be held before

joining NATO, BTA and AP reported. MS

[C] END NOTE

[22] SECURITY PROBLEMS IN KUKES

Albania's remote Kukes region has long been known as a

center of lawlessness and became even more notorious during

the 1999 conflict in nearby Kosova. It has been nearly one

year since peace came to the province, but Kukes's problems

remain.

In an interview with "Koha Ditore" published on 23 May,

Albanian Public Order Minister Spartak Poci acknowledged that

crime poses a serious threat to returning refugees on the

road linking central Albania with the northern town of Kukes

and subsequently with Kosova. The city and district of Kukes,

which includes the main border crossing between Albania and

Kosova, faced the largest influx of refugees during the 1999

war, when hundreds of thousands of people passed through that

city. Since the end of the war, robberies on the roads,

illegal attempts to cross the border between Albania and

Kosova, and smuggling of illicit goods have been frequent.

Poci explained that the rise in crime is not simply the

fault of law enforcement agencies. Rather, he said, it

reflects a broader phenomenon triggered by the war: "Kukes

was a burden that the police could not cope with.Š [The town]

bore the brunt of the entire humanitarian crisis in Kosova,

with all its effects, and witnessed the complete destruction

of the regular police service. Thus it was clear that the

Albanian state--and not only the police--needed time to bring

the entire [security] infrastructure along the border back

into service. But this work is proceeding quickly. Of course

we have used the opportunity to carry out changes and

reorganizations within the local police department and

prefecture. It is important to note that we can already see

results."

Still, many refugees who return voluntarily to Kosova

from western countries are afraid to use the Kukes route. At

present, the main concern of the Albanian authorities is to

safeguard this summer's expected transit of thousands of

voluntary returnees from Germany and Switzerland through

Albania into Kosova. Poci stressed that Albania will not

allow the transit of refugees whom the host countries have

expelled by force. He added:

"We have prepared a plan according to which we will

organize [the refugees'] return. The refugees will travel

only during specified hours, which means in the daytime.

Regardless of whether the people travel in groups or

individually, we will give assistance. The Kosovars will

always be accompanied by Albanian police. In keeping with an

agreement we have with the German and Swiss governments,

those countries will cover the necessary logistical expenses

of this operation. The agreement has not been ratified, but

we expect that it will be in the near future. We will not

allow the transit of the Kosovar refugees through Albania to

begin before all the preconditions have been met."

Poci also predicted that the overall security situation

in the Kukes area will improve in the coming months. He said

that KFOR and UNMIK officials have recently stepped up

cooperation with the Albanian authorities in patrolling the

border. He also shed light on problems within the Albanian

security forces: "This is not an easy task, for several

reasons. In the first place it is necessary to rid the police

of criminals and of those police officers who cooperate with

smugglers. This also applies to other institutions such as

the customs and customs police."

A joint project drawn up by KFOR and the Albanian

government on guarding the Kosova-Albanian border was

presented to the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe at

the beginning of this year. EU and U.S. border experts

launched the project in cooperation with local officials one

month ago. A third roundtable on security will take place at

the beginning of June, and Poci expects that at this point

donor countries will authorize financial support for the

Albanian authorities for specific tasks.

These measures aim primarily at eliminating smuggling

and preventing the emergence of a new contraband corridor

from Eastern Europe through Kosova and Albania into Western

Europe. The Albanian authorities have accordingly developed a

permanent exchange of information and direct cooperation with

KFOR and the UNMIK police. At this point delegations of the

respective authorities maintain these contacts through visits

rather than via permanent liaison offices.

But that cooperation has already resulted in several

cases of the mutual extradition of criminals. Poci stressed:

"We are concerned that organized crime does not spread

throughout Kosova in the absence of authority and a [capable]

police force. Our common struggle aims at creating permanent

institutions of cooperation to prevent the emergence of

organized crime."

29-05-00

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

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