RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 112, 00-06-09

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 112, 9 June 2000 Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 21, 26 May

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] NEW ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT UNVEILS PROGRAM

[02] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT PARDONS TWO PRISONERS

[03] GEORGIAN SECURITY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON SMUGGLING...

[04] ...AS DISPLACED PERSONS' LEADER DENIES HE IS INVOLVED

[05] CHECHEN REFUGEES WANT TO MOVE FROM GEORGIAN BORDER REGION

[06] CENTRAL ASIA PREMIERS PUSH AHEAD WITH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

[07] RUSSIAN 'SEPARATISTS' SENTENCED IN KAZAKHSTAN

[08] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT PROMISES NEXT ELECTIONS WILL BE

[09] ...AS OSCE ADVOCATES ANOTHER ROUNDTABLE

[10] NEW TAJIK OPPOSITION ALLIANCE FORMED

[11] TWO TAJIK SECURITY OFFICIALS SENTENCED ON ESPIONAGE CHARGES

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[12] SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER SETS THREE GOALS

[13] KOSOVA'S THACI, RUGOVA DENOUNCE ATTACKS ON SERBS

[14] ANNAN CALLS ATTACKS 'ORCHESTRATED'

[15] SOLANA SEEKS BETTER SECURITY IN KOSOVA

[16] ALBRIGHT HAILS NATO ACHIEVEMENTS IN KOSOVA

[17] KOSOVA LINK IN ATHENS KILLING

[18] CLARK CALLS ATTACK ON SERBIAN MEDIA CENTER 'NECESSARY'

[19] NATO, SERBIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS BORDER INCIDENTS

[20] OFFICE OF MILOSEVIC'S WIFE'S PARTY SACKED

[21] MILOSEVIC USING GRAIN TRADE

[22] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER: 'WE DO NOT GIVE IN TO BLACKMAIL'

[23] ROMANIAN SENATE REJECTS OPPOSITION MOTION

[24] ANOTHER ANTONESCU STATUE FOR ROMANIA

[25] MOLDOVA, CHINA TO JOIN EFFORTS AGAINST 'SEPARATISTS'

[26] PROMINENT MOLDOVAN POLITICIAN RESIGNS FROM PARTY

[27] EGYPT PROMISES HELP IN BULGARIANS' TRIAL IN LIBYA

[C] END NOTE

[28] WHICH FORMULA CAN GUARANTEE SECURITY FOR THE SOUTH CAUCASUS?

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] NEW ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT UNVEILS PROGRAM

public on 8 June, Andranik Markarian's government pledges to

double GDP over the next seven to eight years while

preserving macro-economic stability, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

reported. It also gave priority to the creation of new jobs,

eradicating poverty, and restructuring the civil service as

part of "a merciless fight against corruption." The new

government also promised to simplify tax legislation and to

help local businesses find markets abroad. At the same time,

the statement admitted that in the light of 0.3 percent first

quarter GDP growth, Armenia may not meet its planned target

of 6 percent growth in 2000. It also expressed concern that

continuing revenue shortfalls may result in a total budget

deficit of 45 billion drams ($85 million) by the end of the

year. LF

[02] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT PARDONS TWO PRISONERS

Aliev on 8 June signed decrees pardoning two men sentenced on

charges of participating in two separate alleged coup

attempts, Turan and AP reported. Kenan Gurel, a Turkish

businessman who has Austrian citizenship, was sentenced in

September 1996 to 15 years in prison for his role in the

alleged coup launched in March 1995 by OPON (special police

force) commander Rovshan Djavadov. Hajimurad Saddadinov, who

was the driver of former army Chief of Staff General Shahin

Musaev, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his alleged

participation in a second coup planned by Musaev and other

senior military officers earlier that year. LF

[03] GEORGIAN SECURITY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON SMUGGLING...

Eduard Shevardnadze chaired a session of the Georgian

National Security Council on 8 June to discuss ways to

counter smuggling and counterfeiting that are costing

millions of lari in lost tax revenue, Caucasus Press

reported. Participants agreed to amend the tax code and to

introduce special tax and customs regulations in post-

conflict zones. An official from western Georgia informed a

parliamentary committee the same day that vast quantities of

cigarettes and fuel are smuggled into Georgia daily from

Abkhazia. He said 800 tons of fuel and 100,000 packs of

cigarettes entered Georgia via that route last month alone.

LF

[04] ...AS DISPLACED PERSONS' LEADER DENIES HE IS INVOLVED

Nadareishvili, chairman of the Abkhaz parliament in exile,

has rejected as "absurd" an allegation by two Georgian

parliamentary deputies that he extends protection to

individuals engaged in smuggling goods from Abkhazia,

Caucasus Press reported on 9 June. Tengiz Jgushia, who

represents the west Georgian district of Zugdidi, had said

that a member of the Forest Brothers guerrilla organization

operating in western Georgia engages in smuggling with

Nadareishvili's patronage. Nadareishvili said such

allegations are intended to discredit him in the eyes of the

Georgian displaced persons who fled Abkhazia in 1992-1993. LF

[05] CHECHEN REFUGEES WANT TO MOVE FROM GEORGIAN BORDER REGION

currently temporarily resident in Georgia's Pankisi gorge,

which borders on Chechnya, appealed to the Georgian

leadership on 8 June to allow them to move to a location

elsewhere in Georgia that would be monitored by the Georgian

authorities and the UN, Caucasus Press reported. Chechen

refugee spokesman Lecha Alisultanov said that the refugees

are tired of being held responsible en masse for isolated

incidents of drug-peddling, hostage-taking, and other crimes.

He added that failure to distribute humanitarian aid fairly

among the refugees could lead to fighting among them. LF

[06] CENTRAL ASIA PREMIERS PUSH AHEAD WITH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

Central Asian Union states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) approved a two-year program of

measures to expedite the creation of a single economic space

and a five-year strategy of economic development and

integration, Interfax reported. The program also envisages

the drafting of inter-governmental agreements on combating

economic crime and the use of water resources. LF

[07] RUSSIAN 'SEPARATISTS' SENTENCED IN KAZAKHSTAN

court in East Kazakhstan Oblast on 8 June handed down

sentences ranging from four to 18 years in prison to 13 men

and one woman charged with plotting to overthrow the regional

authorities and establish an independent "Altai Republic" on

the territory of eastern Kazakhstan, Reuters and

"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported. Twelve of those accused are

Russian citizens, while one is Kazakh and another Moldovan.

Russian media have repeatedly claimed that the charges are

unsubstantiated, while Russian officials have expressed

concern at procedural violations during the investigation and

the 10-week trial (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 and 26 April

2000). LF

[08] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT PROMISES NEXT ELECTIONS WILL BE

Addressing the roundtable gathering of

political parties, NGOs, and government representatives that

opened in Bishkek on 8 June, Askar Akaev vowed that the

presidential poll due later this year will be free and fair,

Reuters and RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He admitted

that he is not satisfied with the present political situation

in Kyrgyzstan and called on political parties to function as

"a constructive, not irreconcilable" opposition in order to

establish genuine democracy. Most opposition parties

boycotted the gathering, while moderate centrist and pro-

government parties attended, as did one of the country's two

Communist Parties. Pensioners Party Chairman Tursunbek

Dooletkeldiev proposed extending the presidential term from

five to seven years and re-electing Akaev. LF

[09] ...AS OSCE ADVOCATES ANOTHER ROUNDTABLE

representation in Bishkek told RFE/RL on 8 June that the OSCE

is preparing for a second roundtable between the Kyrgyz

leadership and the opposition. He expressed his regret that

the Kyrgyz authorities have expanded participation in the

roundtable that began on 8 June from seven to 25

representatives from each group. LF

[10] NEW TAJIK OPPOSITION ALLIANCE FORMED

7 June, a group of young Tajik politicians founded a new

political movement named "For the Promotion of Democracy,"

Asia Plus-Blitz reported quoting RFE/RL's Tajik Service. They

are Adolat va Taraqqiyot (Justice and Unity) Chairman

Ramatillo Zoirov, National Movement of Tajikistan Chairman

Hokim Muhabbatov, and Congress of Popular Unity of Tajikistan

member Shokirjon Hakimov. None of those organizations was

permitted to contend the parliamentary elections earlier this

year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 December 1999). The movement

hopes that the Ministry of Justice will formally register it

within the next few weeks. LF

[11] TWO TAJIK SECURITY OFFICIALS SENTENCED ON ESPIONAGE CHARGES

Abdullo and Shodi Kholmurodov, both low-level Security

Ministry officials, to six and seven years in prison,

respectively, for spying on behalf on an unnamed foreign

power, AP reported on 8 June. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[12] SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER SETS THREE GOALS

Andrej Bajuk said in Ljubljana on 8 June that his government

has three priorities, Vienna's "Die Presse" reported. The

first aim is to speed up Slovenia's admission to the EU and

NATO. At the same time, he wants to clear up difficulties

with Austria and Italy stemming from the aftermath of World

War II and from issues involving minority rights. Bajuk also

wants to settle outstanding issues with Croatia stemming from

the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. The most important

of those issues for Ljubljana is securing a maritime boundary

that will give Slovenia direct access to the open sea.

Bajuk's second priority is to further liberalize the economy,

which is affected by high interest rates and remaining

communist-era structures. Bajuk's third goal is to make

Slovenes more self-confident and free of their "collective

inferiority complex." PM

[13] KOSOVA'S THACI, RUGOVA DENOUNCE ATTACKS ON SERBS

Thaci, who is the former head of the Kosova Liberation Army,

and Ibrahim Rugova, who was Kosova's leading politician for

many years in the 1980s and 1990s, said in separate

statements in Prishtina on 8 June that recent attacks on

Serbian civilians must stop (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 June

2000). Thaci argued that "the rising wave of violence in

Kosova is not in the interest of the citizens of Kosova,"

Reuters reported. Rugova noted that "these acts, regardless

of perpetrators, pose a serious threat to the hard-won

freedom, stability, and peace in Kosova and must stop

immediately." James O'Brien, who is U.S. President Bill

Clinton's special Balkans adviser, said after speaking with

the two Kosovar leaders: "The violence that we are seeing

against Serbs...seems to be systematic. We believe that those

responsible should be brought to justice as soon as

possible," AP reported. PM

[14] ANNAN CALLS ATTACKS 'ORCHESTRATED'

to date of violence against Kosova's Serbian minority, UN

Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote in a report to the

Security Council on 8 June that "an upsurge of vicious

attacks on Kosovo Serbs in several areas has undermined

[their] confidence in the future. These attacks appears to be

part of an orchestrated campaign.... The international

community did not intervene in [the province] to make it a

haven for revenge and crime," he added. Annan noted that

"local leaders and the people of Kosovo have made some

encouraging efforts to create a society in which all people

can live without fear," Reuters reported. Annan stressed,

however, that "understanding and tolerance in Kosovo remain

scarce and reconciliation is far from a reality." PM

[15] SOLANA SEEKS BETTER SECURITY IN KOSOVA

the EU's chief official for foreign and security affairs,

said in Prishtina on 8 June that NATO and the UN must do more

to improve security in the province. At the same time, he

called on local Serbs to "participate in the [civilian

political] structures that are being created" by the UN

there, AP reported. He made the remarks after meeting with

Oliver Ivanovic, who is the hard-line Serbian leader in

northern Mitrovica. PM

[16] ALBRIGHT HAILS NATO ACHIEVEMENTS IN KOSOVA

State Madeleine Albright said at the UN on 8 June that NATO's

intervention one year ago put an end to an "impossible"

situation of ethnic cleansing in Kosova. "There is a long way

to go, but I think we also have to remember how far we have

come and how important it was that the international

community took steps for Kosovo. It is something I think we

should all be very proud of," AP reported. PM

[17] KOSOVA LINK IN ATHENS KILLING

group November 17 wrote in a statement to the Athens daily

"Eleftherotypia" of 9 June that it killed British Defense

Attache to Greece Stephens Saunders in Athens the previous

day because of his alleged role in NATO's 1999 campaign to

end Serbian atrocities in Kosova. The statement added that in

Kosova, "English policy...even surpassed the Americans in

provocative qualities, cynicism, and aggression," Reuters

reported. November 17 has embraced nationalist causes as well

as left-wing ones in recent years, the BBC reported. Vatican

Radio suggested that the impetus for the killing may have

come from the recent release of a report by Amnesty

International charging NATO with war crimes in conjunction

with the 1999 conflict (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 June 2000).

PM

[18] CLARK CALLS ATTACK ON SERBIAN MEDIA CENTER 'NECESSARY'

General Wesley Clark, who was NATO's supreme commander in

Europe during the Kosova conflict, rejected Amnesty's charge

that the NATO attack on Yugoslav President Slobodan

Milosevic's radio and television headquarters constituted an

unwarranted strike against a civilian target. Speaking in

Washington on 8 June, Clark said that "the attack on the Serb

media [headquarters]...was a controversial target, but the

Serb media engine was feeding the war. You're always making

trade-offs in these decisions, but in this case it was a huge

step to be able to take out this major instrument of

provocation." The general added that state-run media are "a

crucial instrument of Milosevic's control over the Serb

population [and] exported fear, hatred and instability in the

neighboring regions," Reuters reported. PM

[19] NATO, SERBIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS BORDER INCIDENTS

of the Atlantic alliance and the Serbian government met in

Kursumlija in southwestern Serbia on 8 June to discuss a

series of recent incidents in the area. No details are

available, AP reported. The state-run Tanjug news agency

claimed that five Serbian policemen were injured in Konculj

when their vehicle struck a mine planted by "Albanian

terrorists." In another incident, Serbian forces and ethnic

Albanian militants exchanged gunfire for two hours on 6-7

June in Borovac. PM

[20] OFFICE OF MILOSEVIC'S WIFE'S PARTY SACKED

extensively vandalized the Belgrade offices of Mira

Markovic's United Yugoslav Left (JUL) for the second time in

recent days (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 June 2000). JUL said in

a statement that the opposition's "lackeys of the West" were

responsible. PM

[21] MILOSEVIC USING GRAIN TRADE

Group said in a report that the Milosevic regime is boosting

its hard-currency reserves and evading sanctions by forcing

farmers to sell grain cheaply to the state and then disposing

of that grain on the world market at market prices, Reuters

reported from Brussels on 8 June. PM

[22] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER: 'WE DO NOT GIVE IN TO BLACKMAIL'

Milosevic's supporters are trying to force the government

into a situation in which the only alternatives are

submission to Belgrade or declaring independence. He added

that Milosevic will respond to any referendum on independence

by declaring a "military dictatorship through a state of

emergency." The Montenegrin leadership will not submit to

"blackmail" and will hold a referendum only "when we feel

there is no point in talking any longer with Serbia,"

Vujanovic added. Meanwhile in Belgrade, the army command said

in a statement that the Montenegrin government is conducting

a "psychological and media campaign against the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia and its army," RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported. PM

[23] ROMANIAN SENATE REJECTS OPPOSITION MOTION

44, the Senate on 8 June rejected a motion by the opposition

Party of Social Democracy in Romania to dismiss Agriculture

Minister Ioan Avram Muresean, whom the party holds

responsible for the difficulties faced by the agricultural

sector. Trita Fanita, chairman of the Senate's Agricultural

Commission, announced after the vote that he is resigning

from the Democratic Party to protest that party's support for

the ruling coalition in voting down the motion, RFE/RL's

Bucharest bureau reported. In other news, former Premier

Theodor Stolojan on 8 June said he will "definitely return"

to political life but has not yet made up his mind "on which

side." Polls show that Stolojan is among the most popular

politicians, and grass-root groups in several places have

called on him to return to politics. MS

[24] ANOTHER ANTONESCU STATUE FOR ROMANIA

Union of War Veterans on 8 June unveiled a statue of

Romania's wartime leader and Hitler ally, Marshal Ion

Antonescu. The statue is located in Iasi's Letcani military

cemetery, which is called the "Marshal Ion Antonescu Cemetery

of Heroes," Romanian Radio reported. MS

[25] MOLDOVA, CHINA TO JOIN EFFORTS AGAINST 'SEPARATISTS'

Communist Party Chairman Jiang Zemin have agreed to "join

efforts against separatist forces," an ITAR-TASS

correspondent in Beijing reported on 8 June. Jiang, whose

country also faces separatist threats, said China backs

Chisinau's drive to end the conflict with the separatist

Transdniester region. Meanwhile, an OSCE delegation of

parliamentary deputies led by Kimmo Kiljunen of Finland has

arrived in Moldova to establish why Russia has not honored

its pledge to withdraw its troops from the separatist region.

The six-man delegation is to meet with the leaderships in

Chisinau and Tiraspol. MS

[26] PROMINENT MOLDOVAN POLITICIAN RESIGNS FROM PARTY

Democratic Popular Party (PPCD) Deputy Chairman Valentin

Dolganiuc announced on 8 June that he has resigned from that

position and from the party, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau

reported. Dolganiuc accused PPCD leader Iurie Rosca of having

established "an atmosphere of intolerance and a dictatorship"

within the party and of having forced it to abandon

principles in favor of "short-sighted alliances." The recent

alliance with the Communists was "the epitome" of that

approach, he added. MS

[27] EGYPT PROMISES HELP IN BULGARIANS' TRIAL IN LIBYA

do whatever we can to help both parties reach an amicable

solution, bearing in mind the seriousness of the

accusations," Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova on 8 June.

Mihailova had asked her hosts to intervene to secure a fair

trial for the six Bulgarian nationals accused by Libya of

having intentionally infected children with the HIV virus.

Reuters cited Mihailova as saying Bulgaria wants "guarantees

that the testimonies [of the six] had not been obtained by

use of force." The trial is scheduled to begin on 17

September. MS

[C] END NOTE

[28] WHICH FORMULA CAN GUARANTEE SECURITY FOR THE SOUTH CAUCASUS?

The call for permanent peace in the South Caucasus has

never been so urgent and loud as it is now, despite the fact

that six years have passed since formal cease-fire agreements

ended the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh and Abkhazia. But in

neither case has the cease-fire been underpinned by a

political settlement of the conflict, nor do such settlements

appear imminent.

The issue of a security system for the South Caucasus

was first raised by the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan

during the OSCE Istanbul summit last November. In an

unprecedented move, Robert Kocharian and Heidar Aliev called

on the 54 members of that organization to create such a

system for the volatile South Caucasus region.

At the time, however, the international community,

concerned that the war in Chechnya might spill over into

Georgia or Azerbaijan, reacted coolly to the proposal for a

wider-ranging regional security system. But the idea did not

die altogether. Turkey was the first to react positively,

with Ankara indicating that the South Caucasus would become

the second item on its foreign-policy priority list after the

EU, replacing Cyprus and Turkish-Greek relations. And before

leaving office, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel traveled

to Tbilisi in January to launch his last foreign-policy

initiative in the form of a "Caucasus Stability Pact."

Notwithstanding Turkey's concern that the war in

Chechnya could spill over into Georgia and create an influx

of refugees into Turkey, the main goal of Demirel's "Caucasus

Stability Pact" was to create a stable political landscape

for the "energy corridor" that Ankara hopes will bring the

oil riches of the Caspian region to its Mediterranean port of

Ceyhan. Demirel wanted to enlist the U.S. and the EU as

official participants and sponsors of his "Caucasus Stability

Pact." According to Demirel's plan, international financial

organizations such as the IMF and World Bank would also take

part in the project, providing funding to secure the economic

recovery of the region.

The only country conspicuous by its absence from

Demirel's blueprint was Iran, while Russia was accorded a

secondary role. (Iran was likewise not included in Aliev's

draft proposal.)

While Moscow officially welcomed Demirel's proposal, at

the same time senior Russian officials made clear Russia's

discomfort at the prospect of U.S. direct involvement in the

Caucasus. The chief of the Main Department of International

Cooperation at the Russian Defense Ministry, Colonel General

Leonid Ivashov, said that the U.S. and NATO should not be

allowed to participate in the creation of a security system

in the Caucasus. "The involvement of Americans in the South

Caucasus would not improve the security of this region. The

realization of US plans in the post-Soviet republics is very

dangerous, and may explode the situation", the Russian

general said.

Then in late March, Armenian President Robert Kocharian

unveiled a more detailed blueprint based on the so-called

3+3+2 formula, meaning the pact would constitute an agreement

between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, with Russia, Iran,

and Turkey as guarantors and the U.S. and the EU as sponsors.

Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili expressed

approval of that formula, saying Tbilisi "supports all

initiatives aimed at stabilizing the situation in the

Caucasus." But Azerbaijan has meanwhile distanced itself from

the concept of a regional security system, arguing that the

idea is not workable until the Karabakh conflict is resolved.

The most recent and most comprehensive proposal,

entitled "A Stability Pact for the Caucasus," was drafted by

the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS),

which played an important role in shaping the EU's Balkan

Stability Pact and has drafted a solution for settling the

Cyprus problem. After extensive research, CEPS came to the

conclusion that it is possible to solve many problems in the

region by creating a so-called "South Caucasus Community,"

modeled either on the EU or another comparable regional

grouping such as ASEAN. The CEPS Task Force for the Caucasus,

headed by Michael Emerson of London School of Economics,

called on the EU and the U.S. to work closely with Russia in

creating and supporting that South Caucasus Community, which

would have its own parliament (a Parliamentary Assembly with

170 deputies) and its own executive (a Council of Ministers).

CEPS advocates resolving the Karabakh and Abkhaz

conflicts by granting those territories a high degree of

self-government, separate constitutions, horizontal and

asymmetric relations with the state and regional authorities,

the preservation of their own cultural identities, and shared

competence in security issues, external affairs, and economic

policy.

The CEPS Caucasus group is currently engaged in

acquainting the international community and international

organizations with the details of its proposed South Caucasus

plan. It has already made a presentation to NATO and plans to

submit its proposals to an international conference on

Central Asia and the Caucasus in Tehran on 11 June and to the

OSCE in Vienna on 14 June.

The author is deputy director of RFE/RL's Armenian Service.

09-06-00

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

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