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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 163, 00-08-24
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 4, No. 163, 24 August 2000
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN PREMIER MARKS FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE
[02] ARMENIA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION
[03] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT JEERED AT PREDECESSOR'S FUNERAL...
[04] ...AS HIS SON SET TO ENTER NEW PARLIAMENT
[05] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS PLAN PROTEST MEASURES
[06] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY FEARS IT MAY BE BARRED FROM PARLIAMENTARY
POLL
[07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT MONETARY EMISSION
[08] THIRD KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FAILS MANDATORY LANGUAGE TEST
[09] TEMPORARY LULL REPORTED IN KYRGYZ BORDER FIGHTING
[10] KYRGYZ HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLS FOR MEDIATION BETWEEN UZBEK
GOVERNMENT, ISLAMIC MILITANTS
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[11] YUGOSLAV ARMY SETS UP 'BLOCKADE' IN MONTENEGRO
[12] YUGOSLAV ARMY DISCIPLINES PILOTS OVER ALLEGED MONTENEGRIN COUP
[13] MAJOR DEAL TO MODERNIZE MONTENEGRIN HOTELS
[14] KOSOVAR MODERATES ANNOUNCE DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE
[15] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR END TO KOSOVA VIOLENCE...
[16] ...WHILE ALBRIGHT URGES SERBS TO VOTE
[17] FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER HAILS TAKEOVER OF KOSOVA MINING COMPLEX
[18] NATO ARRESTS FORMER KOSOVAR GUERRILLAS
[19] TWO PEACEKEEPERS INJURED IN KOSOVA GRENADE ATTACK
[20] SERBIAN POLICE HARASS HUNGARIAN TELEVISION CREW
[21] DROUGHT RAVAGES SLOVENIAN ARGRICULTURE
[22] FIRES SWEEP CROATIA
[23] CROATIAN SHIPPING LINE TO EXPAND
[24] IMF MISSION VISITING ROMANIA
[25] LEADING MEMBERS OF ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY LEAVE
[26] INTENSE POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY IN ROMANIA
[27] BUSINESSMAN SAYS EXPULSION FROM BULGARIA POLITICALLY MOTIVATED
[C] END NOTE
[28] There is no end note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN PREMIER MARKS FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE
Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 23 August to mark his first
100 days as prime minister, Andranik Markarian dismissed speculation that
President Robert Kocharian may soon replace him in that post with Defense
Minister Serzh Sarkisian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Markarian also
played down suggestions that his Republican Party of Armenia may be left
without a majority in the parliament if the People's Party of Armenia
(HZhK) quits the majority Miasnutiun bloc, which the two parties formed to
contest the parliamentary poll in May 1999. But he warned that he may fire
more HZhK representatives in the government if that party continues to
criticize government policy (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report,"
Vol. 3, No. 34, 24 August 2000). LF
[02] ARMENIA CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION
President Kocharian and Prime Minister Markarian both issued statements
marking the 10th anniversary on 23 August of the declaration by Armenia's
first non-Communist dominated legislature of the country's independence,
Noyan Tapan reported. Kocharian termed the principles outlined in
that declaration "a guiding force for both the country's internal processes
and its foreign policy," acknowledging that not all the goals outlined in
that document have been attained. Markarian said Armenians "have remained
loyal" to the principles enshrined in the declaration of independence,
adding that there is "no alternative" to independence. ITAR- TASS reported
on 23 August that the former ruling Armenian Pan-National Movement, which
dominated the parliament elected in 1990, planned to hold a reception to
mark the anniversary at which former President Levon Ter-Petrossian (the
speaker of the 1990 parliament) would make one of his rare public
appearances. LF
[03] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT JEERED AT PREDECESSOR'S FUNERAL...
Tens of thousands of people paid their last respects on 23 August
to former President Abulfaz Elchibey, who died of cancer the previous day,
Reuters and RFE/RL's Baku bureau reported. Crowds filed past the coffin as
it lay in state at the Academy of Sciences. Mourners began chanting hostile
slogans at the appearance of current President Heidar Aliev, who
immediately left the building to face jeers from a crowd of an estimated 50,
000 outside. Parliamentary speaker Murtuz Alesqerov was similarly shouted
down when he attempted to speak. LF
[04] ...AS HIS SON SET TO ENTER NEW PARLIAMENT
Ilham Aliev's name is the first on the list of candidates from the pro-
presidential Yeni Azerbaycan party to contest the 25 seats in the new
legislature to be allocated under the proportional system, "Nezavisimaya
gazeta" reported on 24 August. Ilham Aliev was elected one of several
deputy chairmen of Yeni Azerbaycan at the party's first congress last
December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 December 1999). The Moscow newspaper
predicted that Ilham will be elected parliamentary speaker after the 5
November poll. Under the Azerbaijani Constitution, the parliamentary
speaker assumes the duties of the country's president if the latter becomes
incapacitated or dies in office. LF
[05] AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS PLAN PROTEST MEASURES
Meeting in Baku on 23 August, the heads of 15 Azerbaijani media outlets
agreed to hold a three-day "strike" beginning on 24 August, Turan reported.
During that period, they will issue a joint newspaper each day whose
headlines will call for the release of Rauf Arifoglu, the arrested editor
of the opposition Musavat party's newspaper "Yeni Musavat" (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 23 August 2000) and for an end to pressure on the independent
press. LF
[06] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY FEARS IT MAY BE BARRED FROM PARLIAMENTARY
POLL
The opposition Musavat Party issued a statement in Baku on 23 August
condemning Arifoglu's arrest as government pressure intended to compromise
the Musavat party and suppress the non-government media, Turan reported.
It called for Arifoglu's immediate release, and it also expressed concern
that the authorities may adduce the abortive 18 August attempt by a Musavat
Party member to hijack an Azerbaijani Airlines internal flight (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 21 August 2000) as grounds for annulling the party's official
registration and barring it from contesting the 5 November parliamentary
elections. Musavat was barred from contesting the party list seats in the
1995 parliamentary poll on the grounds that many of the signatures
collected in its support were allegedly forged. LF
[07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT MONETARY EMISSION
Addressing a government session on 23 August that discussed the budget
concept for 2001, Eduard Shevardnadze said that regardless of what
financial problems Georgia may face, there will be no monetary emission,
Caucasus Press reported. He said an emission "would ruin the country."
Economy, Industry, and Trade Minister Vano Chkhartishvili had warned that
some unspecified provisions of the draft budget might necessitate
such a step. Shevardnadze also warned that budgetary funding for
enterprises that "have no prospects for development" will be stopped. He
called for the drafting of a list of such enterprises. LF
[08] THIRD KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FAILS MANDATORY LANGUAGE TEST
The Central Electoral Commission's Linguistic Commission ruled on 23 August
to bar former parliamentary deputy Anvar Artykov from contesting the 29
October presidential poll, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The commission
said that while Artykov, who is Uzbek, speaks Kyrgyz quite fluently, he
cannot write the language. Artykov told RFE/RL he does not consider it
worthwhile appealing that ban as "there is no independent judiciary" in
Kyrgyzstan. LF
[09] TEMPORARY LULL REPORTED IN KYRGYZ BORDER FIGHTING
Defense Ministry and local administration officials said on 23 August
that the situation along the Kyrgyz border with Uzbekistan "has stabilized,
" RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. But on the morning of 24 August,
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan fighters launched a new attack on a Kyrgyz
border post in Batken Oblast. Speaking on Uzbek television on 23 August,
President Islam Karimov again warned that "the liquidation of the
bandits...is a hard task," Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23
August 2000). The IMU mounted an attack in or near the city of Andijan in
eastern Uzbekistan on the night of 23-24 August, killing one Uzbek
servicemen and injuring several. Meanwhile the Turkmen Foreign Ministry
informed the Russian ambassador in Ashgabat on 23 August that no IMU
fighters have crossed Turkmen territory en route from Afghanistan to
Uzbekistan, Interfax reported. LF
[10] KYRGYZ HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST CALLS FOR MEDIATION BETWEEN UZBEK
GOVERNMENT, ISLAMIC MILITANTS
Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights Chairman Ramazan Dyryldaev issued a
statement from his temporary headquarters in Vienna on 22 August arguing
that not only military but also political methods should be used to end the
ongoing fighting in Central Asia. He called upon the governments of
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to embark immediately on
negotiations with the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Dyryldaev also
appealed to the UN and the OSCE to mediate in such talks. LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[11] YUGOSLAV ARMY SETS UP 'BLOCKADE' IN MONTENEGRO
The Yugoslav army closed all land routes linking the Sandzak town of
Pljevlja and the Republika Srpska on 23 August. Montenegrin Television
reported the next day that the move did "great damage" to the economy and
to the lives of persons dependent on cross-border trade and communications.
Many families have branches on both sides of the frontier. One local
official said: "This was a particularly base and stupid act, which was
thought up in the heads of people who do not wish our people well," Montena-
fax reported. He added that, if anything, local people need additional
border crossings to carry out farming tasks during the current heat wave.
The army did not give a reason for the blockade. Observers note that
periodic army road blockades are part of the ongoing cat-and-mouse
game between Belgrade and Podgorica. PM
[12] YUGOSLAV ARMY DISCIPLINES PILOTS OVER ALLEGED MONTENEGRIN COUP
A military court in Belgrade cashiered three pilots for allegedly plotting
to take control of a military airport near Podgorica and hand it over to
the Montenegrin authorities, the Podgorica daily "Vijesti" reported on 23
August. The trial reportedly took place in July. The pilots allegedly
denied the charges, claiming that they were punished for their political
views sympathetic to the Montenegrin authorities. It is not clear whether
the story is accurate, or whether it is a ploy by the Belgrade authorities
to sow confusion over the real state of affairs in and around Montenegro.
PM
[13] MAJOR DEAL TO MODERNIZE MONTENEGRIN HOTELS
Representatives of the French Akor company signed agreements in Podgorica
on 24 August worth some $23 million to modernize six of Montenegro's best
hotels on the Budva Riviera. The new management of the hotels will be
French, Montenegrin Television reported. Montenegro, like Croatia, has
great hopes for the revival of its once highly lucrative tourist industry.
Tourism throughout the former Yugoslavia has suffered on account of the
conflicts of the past decade. PM
[14] KOSOVAR MODERATES ANNOUNCE DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE
Ibrahim Rugova of the Democratic League of Kosova and Father Sava of
the Serbian Civic Council agreed in Prishtina on 23 August to declare 9
September a day of protest against violence. Father Sava told Reuters:
"We'll try to confirm our strong determination to resist and fight against
any form of violence in Kosovo." Christopher Dell, who heads the U.S.
diplomatic mission in the province, said: "The violence is not going to end
until the people of Kosovo decide that it's time to end it. As the
international community, it is extremely difficult for us to get inside of
the local society and understand all the currents and all the inter-
relationships of what's really in play," he added. The Prishtina meeting
was a follow-up to a July gathering in Washington (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
25 July 2000). Former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci, who was present in
Washington, did not attend the Prishtina session, reportedly because he
was abroad. PM
[15] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR END TO KOSOVA VIOLENCE...
Ilir Meta said in Washington on 23 August that violence in Kosova serves
only the interests of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who wants to
destabilize the province. Speaking at a press conference with U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, he warned unnamed "Albanian
elements" to refrain from violence. "The Albanian government condemns
these actions of violence. The best that Albanians can do for themselves in
Kosova is to stay away from repeating the same acts that Serbs did against
them in the past and they are continuing to commit in the present," AP
reported. Albright praised Meta, saying: "We see Prime Minister Meta
leading his country into the future, while Slobodan Milosevic drags his
further into the past." PM
[16] ...WHILE ALBRIGHT URGES SERBS TO VOTE
Albright also told the news conference in Washington on 23 August: "The
United States does not believe that next month's Serb elections will
be fair, but we do believe that even under Milosevic's rule the opposition
can do well and emerge as a movement bringing democracy to all of
Yugoslavia. So we encourage the people of Serbia to take advantage of even
this flawed opportunity because we look forward to welcoming a democratic
Yugoslavia as a full participant in the new Europe," Reuters reported.
Observers note that her previous efforts aimed at encouraging the Serbian
opposition to unite behind a single candidate and the Montenegrin
leadership to take part in the vote did not meet with success. PM
[17] FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER HAILS TAKEOVER OF KOSOVA MINING COMPLEX
Alain Richard toured the Trepca mining complex on 23 August, saying that
the UN and NATO did the right thing by recently taking over the enterprise
and shutting down its smelter, which was the cause of serious levels of
lead pollution in the area. "It was even more disgusting and more
worrying in terms of working conditions and the safety of the people there
than I could have imagined," Reuters quoted Richard as saying. He added
that he is optimistic about the future of the complex, which many observers
consider a socialist-era white elephant: "It will take several months to
make the plant safe and to put it in order. But it appears economically
viable--there are not many lead and zinc plants in Europe," he concluded.
PM
[18] NATO ARRESTS FORMER KOSOVAR GUERRILLAS
A NATO spokesman said in Prishtina on 24 August that peacekeepers the
previous day arrested 10 men as part of a gang dealing in smuggling,
extortion, and murder, Reuters reported. Most of the men are former
fighters of the Kosova Liberation Army, he said, adding that "all the men
were arrested for illegal possession of weapons and [ammunition] and [for]
criminal association." The gang was active in the south near the Macedonian
border, where the arrests took place. PM
[19] TWO PEACEKEEPERS INJURED IN KOSOVA GRENADE ATTACK
Unidentified persons injured two KFOR soldiers from the United Arab
Emirates in a grenade attack near Vushtrri on 24 August, dpa reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2000). PM
[20] SERBIAN POLICE HARASS HUNGARIAN TELEVISION CREW
On 23 August, police in Milosevic's home town of Pozarevac confiscated film
from a three-member Hungarian television crew and detained the journalists
for several hours before releasing them. The film was of material "with no
political content," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM
[21] DROUGHT RAVAGES SLOVENIAN ARGRICULTURE
The drought and heat wave that have affected much of southeastern Europe
this summer have caused some $115 million worth of damage to Slovenian
agriculture, "Delo" reported on 24 August. Less than 10 percent of the
population is employed in agriculture, which the government nonetheless
protects and heavily subsidizes for a variety of social, economic, and
ecological reasons. In other news, "Dnevnik" reported on 24 August that
the Slovenian inflation rate this summer is 6.7 percent, compared to just 5
percent in the summer of 1999. PM
[22] FIRES SWEEP CROATIA
Croatian fire fighters are currently battling 11 major fires in rural areas,
"Vecernji list" reported on 24 August. The Knin and Drnis areas in the
south are particularly affected. PM
[23] CROATIAN SHIPPING LINE TO EXPAND
Representatives of Jadrolinija said in Rijeka on 23 August that they have
reached a major ship construction agreement with representatives of four
shipyards. Jadrolinija will commission the construction of 10 passenger
ships over the next two to three years, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported. PM
[24] IMF MISSION VISITING ROMANIA
An IMF mission arrived in Romania on 24 August to review a $540 million
standby loan, Reuters reported. The IMF representative in Bucharest,
Stephane Cosse, said the mission will undertake a second review of the
standby agreement signed in 1999 and extended this spring to February 2001.
He added that after the review, the IMF board will consider disbursing a
$113 million tranche. The mission will also examine Romania's economic
performance, particularly with regard to prices and inflation. ZsM
[25] LEADING MEMBERS OF ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY LEAVE
Romanian Finance Minister Decebal Traian Remes and seven other high-
ranking National Liberal Party (PNL) members resigned from the party on 23
August, Romanian media reported. The eight disagree with the nomination of
Theodor Stolojan as presidential candidate at an extraordinary party
congress last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2000) and have
announced their support for Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu's candidacy. They
refuse to recognize the current PNL leadership and accuse it of driving the
party toward "the communist left." The PNL leadership previously threatened
Remes with expulsion and the withdrawal of support for him as finance
minister. But Adrian Vasilescu, Isarescu's adviser, quoted the prime
minister as saying it is "not the time to replace ministers on political
grounds." ZsM
[26] INTENSE POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY IN ROMANIA
Adrian Nastase, first deputy chairman of the main opposition Party
of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), announced on 22 August that the PDSR
has accepted the Alliance for Romania (APR) party's offer to "normalize
relations," Romanian media reported. The APR, which was founded in 1997 by
PDSR dissidents, failed to secure a cooperation agreement with the
government coalition member National Liberal Party and has seen its public
support decline over the last few months. Meanwhile, the Romanian
Democratic Convention-2000 coalition on 22 August began cooperation talks
with former Premier Victor Ciorbea's National Christian Democratic Alliance
and the Party of Moldavians. ZsM
[27] BUSINESSMAN SAYS EXPULSION FROM BULGARIA POLITICALLY MOTIVATED
Michael Chorny, who last week banned from Bulgaria for 10 years (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 21 August 2000), said on 23 August that the expulsion is
politically motivated, BTA reported. Chorny, who has Russian, U.S., and
Israeli passports, said he thinks the expulsions are intended to deflect
attention from the "Bug Gate" scandal. Chorny added he has invested some
$200 million in Bulgarian companies in telecommunications, machine-building,
metallurgy, and real estate. Chorny's lawyer said French attorneys will
inform the European Parliament and the European Commission about
discrepancies between Bulgarian and European legislation regarding the free
movement of people. PB
[C] END NOTE
[28] There is no end note today.
24-08-00
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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