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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 166, 00-08-29Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 166, 29 August 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO PARLIAMENT BLOCStepan Minasian, a spokesman for the People's Party of Armenia (HZhK), told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 28 August that his party believes that "sound forces" exist capable of resolving the tensions between the HZhK and the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), its partner in the majority Miasnutiun parliamentary bloc. "Miasnutiun is our inherited capital. If it still can serve the people, we must do everything to preserve it," Minasian said. Prime Minister and HHK leader Andranik Markarian had warned last week that the HZHK risks being stripped of its remaining government posts if the perception persists that it seeks to align with the opposition nationalist Right and Accord bloc (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 August 2000). LF[02] ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI EDITOR DECLARES HUNGERSTRIKERauf Arifoglu, editor of the opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat," announced on 28 August that he will begin an indefinite hunger strike to protest his arrest on suspicion of involvement in an abortive plane hijack, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2000). Arifoglu's lawyer told journalists on 28 August that his client is being held in solitary confinement. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI POPULAR FRONT THREATENED WITH EXCLUSION FROM PARLIAMENTARY POLLThe Presidium of the Supreme Council of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front (AHCP) plans to picket the Central Electoral Commission on 1 September to protest that body's refusal to register the party for the 5 November parliamentary elections, Turan reported on 28 August. The Central Electoral Commission has said it will register the AHCP only if the party ends the infighting between its two rival factions (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report,"Vol. 3, No. 34, 24 August 2000). Also on 28 August, AHCP First DeputyChairman Ali Kerimov told Nikolai Vulchanov of the OSCE'S Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights that he believes the inner-party differences could be resolved provided that the rival wing abandons its "insubordination" to the party's ruling body. Kerimov proposed drafting a new list of AHCP parliamentary candidates based on that compiled last month by AHCP chairman Abulfaz Elchibey. LF[04] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION LEADER CONDEMNS OFFICIAL HARASSMENTOpposition Musavat Party Chairman Isa Gambar said on 28 August that the intensification of official pressure on opposition parties is aimed at preventing their participation in the 5 November parliamentary poll. He said that Musavat still hopes to participate in that ballot and to form an alliance with the AHCP to contend the 25 mandates to be allocated under the proportional system. LF[05] AZERBAIJANI POLICE THWART DEMONSTRATION BY OUSTED PRESIDENT'S SUPPORTERSPolice in Baku on 28 August forcibly dispersed 30-50 supporters of exiled former President Ayaz Mutalibov who tried to stage a picket outside the Russian embassy, ITAR-TASS and Turan reported. The picketers want the Azerbaijani parliament to enact legislation formalizing Mutalibov's status as former president and to shelve legal proceedings against him. Mutalibov is accused of theft of arms and ammunition, instigating and participating in mass public disturbances, and complicity in the alleged coup attempts against President Heidar Aliev in October 1994 and March 1995. LF[06] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT TO RUN FOR THIRD TERMAddressing the first Congress of Teachers in Bishkek on 28 August, President Askar Akaev finally announced his intention to seek re-election in the 29 October presidential poll, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Several initiative groups have already collected the 50,000 signatures in Akaev's support needed to register his candidacy. LF[07] TRIAL OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST CONTINUESThe trial resumed on 28 August in Bishkek's Pervomai District Court of Topchubek Turgunaliev and seven other defendants accused of planning to assassinate President Akaev last year, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 May 1999 and 3 August 2000). Three National Security Ministry officials told the court on 28 August that the prosecution has failed to demonstrate that the accused had formed an armed group capable of carrying out the assassination. LF[08] KYRGYZ TROOPS REPEL NEW INVASION ATTEMPTAfter a battle lasting six or seven hours, Kyrgyz government forces repelled a group of some 60 gunmen who attempted to cross from Tajik territory into Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken Oblast near the Jyluu-Suu border post during the night of 27-28 August, Reuters and RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported, quoting a presidential press spokesman. One of the invaders was captured. No casualty figures were made public. LF[09] MINISTER DENIES UZBEK MILITANTS IN TAJIKISTANAt a press conference in Dushanbe on 28 August, Tajikistan's Minister for Emergency Situations Mirzo Ziyoev denied that members of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan operate from bases in Tajikistan, Reuters and Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Ziyoev said a Tajik government commission recently visited the eastern regions of Tajikistan bordering on Uzbekistan and ascertained that there are no militants' bases there. Ziyoev also rejected as untrue Russian press allegations that members of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) are abetting the Islamists. He said such claims are intended to undermine Tajik-Russian relations. Ziyoev, who is a former UTO field commander, has been identified as one of the key figures supporting the Uzbek militants. Ziyoev admitted that he met in April with one of the IMU leaders, Djuma Namangani but added that Namangani left Tajikistan shortly after that meeting (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April and 5 May 2000). LF[10] AGA KHAN VISITS TAJIKISTANTajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmonov met in Dushanbe on 28 August with the visiting spiritual head of the world Ismaili community, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. The two men discussed the implementation of an agreement signed during the Aga Khan's visit to Dushanbe in September 1998 whereby the Aga Khan Development Network undertook to provide humanitarian aid and to fund various programs in the health and education sectors. They also signed an agreement on creating a Central Asian University in Dushanbe, for which the Aga Khan will provide $5 million. Construction of the university will begin in 2002 and cost an estimated $150 million. LF[11] UZBEK PRESIDENT DECREES AMNESTYPresident Islam Karimov has issued a decree granting an amnesty to an unspecified number of prison inmates, Interfax reported on 28 August. The amnesty is pegged to the anniversary of Uzbekistan's 1991 declaration of independence. Eligible for amnesty are World War II veterans, people over 60, Chernobyl victims, minors, the disabled, and foreign nationals. The amnesty does not extend to persons convicted for terrorism, crimes against the constitutional system, extremism, or inciting ethnic or civil strife. Nor does it apply to members of extremist or other illegal organizations. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CANDIDATE BLASTS MONTENEGRIN GOVERNMENTVojislav Kostunica, who is the Yugoslav presidential candidate of a coalition of Serbian opposition parties and who leads most public opinion polls, blasted the recent decision of the Montenegrin authorities not to cover the campaign for the 24 September presidential and parliamentary elections in the state-run media (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2000). He said that "both Serbian and Montenegrin regimes are doing all they can to narrow the space in which all political parties and options can be heard [and] to limit the normal expression of views in public life in favor of one side," Reuters reported from Belgrade on 28 August (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 18 August 2000). Elsewhere, Kostunica called on the Montenegrin leadership to be specific about its plans for the future of the federation, "Blic" reported. "Vreme" of 26 August includes a poll giving Kostunica 35 percent of the vote and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic 25 percent. The other two main candidates have 5 percent each. PM[13] SERBIAN OPPOSITION TO MAKE DEAL WITH MONTENEGRIN OPPOSITION?Mladjan Dinkic, who heads the G-17 group of independent economists, said that the Montenegrin government of President Milo Djukanovic has "left the Serbian opposition in the lurch" with its ruling on media coverage of the elections, "Vesti" reported on 29 August. He added that Djukanovic has made a political mistake by not risking a direct electoral contest with his rivals, the pro-Milosevic Socialist People's Party (SNP). Dinkic said that the Serbian opposition must look to its own interests and that this could mean a post- election deal with the SNP. PM[14] MONTENEGRO BECOMING ISSUE IN SERBIAN ELECTIONS?Vojislav Mihajlovic, who is the candidate of Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement, told Montena-fax in Podgorica on 28 August that Milosevic is mistaken if he thinks he can forcibly keep Montenegro in the Yugoslav federation. Mihajlovic stressed that the Yugoslav federation must be based on equality of the two republics and openness to the outside world. PM[15] STILL NO WORD ON MISSING SERBIAN EX-LEADERKaca Stambolic, who is the wife of former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, told "Vesti" of 29 August in Belgrade that she still has no word regarding the whereabouts or safety of her husband, who "disappeared" recently (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2000). She added that she remains optimistic, noting that her husband is no longer a political figure. Opposition political leaders, for their part, are increasingly treating Stambolic's disappearance as a political crime. Opposition leader Dusan Batakovic described the incident as "yet another cheap ploy in the runup to the elections." The Democratic Opposition of Serbia said in a statement that the case is a "political abduction." The opposition demanded that the official media end their silence and report on the incident, Reuters reported. PM[16] MILOSEVIC HAILS YUGOSLAV-RUSSIA TRADE PACTMilosevic said in Belgrade on 28 August that a trade deal concluded by Yugoslav and Russian delegations will greatly benefit both sides. He added: "The agreement is a big step in improving mutual ties...which will in turn contribute to economic stability in both countries.... Economic cooperation is of vital interest to Russia and Yugoslavia and...[reaffirms] the friendship of both nations," AP reported. Observers note that Milosevic may be seeking to promote good relations with Russia in the runup to the elections. All four leading presidential candidates espouse nationalist, anti-Western views and stress Serbian- Russian friendship. PM[17] SERBIA WARNS WEST TO STAY OUT OF COURT CASEOn a visit to Havana, Cuba, on 28 August, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic told Western countries not to become involved in the Belgrade court case against four Western nationals (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 2000). He argued that "we consider any pressure, interference not to be [in keeping] with the court procedure.... [The two Britons and two Canadians] are charged with violating the laws of Yugoslavia, and threatening to conduct terrorist actions on the soil of Yugoslavia against Yugoslav [officials].... What is important [is that] they enjoy all rights to [an attorney] and to consular visits, so there are not any reasons for concern, " Reuters reported. The case against the four men and a second case against four Dutch males are widely seen to be part of Milosevic's election campaign. Meanwhile in Belgrade, a judge completed his preliminary investigation in the case of the Britons and Canadians. PM[18] KOSOVA PEACEKEEPERS TO BECOME MORE MOBILEBritish Brigadier General Robert Fry, who heads peacekeepers in Kosova's central military district, has ordered an increase in the number of mobile patrols, Reuters reported from Prishtina on 28 August. The move is aimed at reducing the number of violent incidents, particularly those against innocent civilians (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2000). PM[19] SWISS ARREST KOSOVA ARMS SMUGGLERSPolice officials in Bern said on 29 August that they arrested one Kosovar and one French citizen in July in connection with a major arms smuggling ring to the troubled province, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 29 August. The two were allegedly part of a ring that smuggled anti-tank weapons to Kosova in 1999. Investigations are continuing. PM[20] CROATIAN WAR CRIMES WITNESS KILLED IN EXPLOSIONAn explosion killed Milan Levar in front of his Gospic home on 28 August. A bomb squad from Zagreb is investigating, "Vecernji list" reported. Police have a "very precise tip," Reuters noted. Levar testified in 1997 in The Hague against ex-soldiers regarding Croatian war crimes against Serbian civilians in 1991. His testimony and that of a colleague marked the first instance of Croats testifying against Croats in conjunction with atrocities committed in 1991. Levar, who helped organize the 1991 defense of Gospic against Serbian rebels, recently said that he and his family have been frequently harassed by right-wingers and extremist war veterans. PM[21] CROATIAN POLICE MAKE ARREST FOR ARSONPolice in the Dubrovnik area arrested a man from Trebinje in the Republika Srpska for arson, Reuters reported on 28 August. Police believe he started at least some of the blazes that have swept southern Croatia in recent days (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 August 2000). Also on 28 August, rain began to fall and put out all the fires in the Dubrovnik area, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[22] DOLE OPENS MISSING PERSONS' INSTITUTE IN BOSNIAFormer U.S. Senator Bob Dole, who heads the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP), inaugurated an institute in Sarajevo on 28 August to help trace the fate of those missing since the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. He stressed that "no project is as essential to reconciliation and peace as this one, which can bring [comfort] to thousands of families who have been locked in the torment of the past and unable to move toward the promise of the future," Reuters reported. During the 1990s, Dole was an outspoken supporter of Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosova. PM[23] BOSNIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST CROATIAN WAR CRIMES SUSPECTAfter receiving authorization from the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, Bosnian police arrested Dominik Ilijasevic in Kiseljak on 28 August. He is now awaiting trial in Zenica. The ethnic Croat is wanted by the Sarajevo authorities for war crimes committed against Muslims during the 1992-1995 conflict, "Oslobodjenje" reported. PM[24] SLOVENIAN PRESIDENT HOLDS OFF ON DIPLOMATIC CHANGESPresident Milan Kucan has declined to sign a request by Prime Minister Andrej Bajuk for the replacement of five Slovenian ambassadors, "Delo" reported on 29 August. Kucan argued that any changes in diplomatic representation should be made by the new government that will be elected in the 15 October vote. He wrote Foreign Minister Lojze Peterle to ask how long he expects any ambassador posts might remain vacant and whom he proposes to fill them. The embassies in question are in Buenos Aires, Rome, Tokyo, Strasbourg, and Moscow. Argentina is home to a large Slovenian emigrant community, including, until recently, the Bajuk family. PM[25] ROMANIAN GROUP LAUNCHES ILIESCU'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNThe "For Ion Iliescu" support group has formally launched the presidential election campaign of Ion Iliescu, the former president and current chairman of the main opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), Romanian media reported on 28 August. The Bucharest meeting was held in the absence of Iliescu, who is on an official visit to Germany. PDSR First Deputy Chairman Adrian Nastase read an appeal signed by some 500 Romanian intellectuals harshly criticizing the current governing coalition. Nastase argued that Iliescu would bring "dignity" back to the presidential office, which he said is currently "stained by mediocrity and indecency." The PDSR announced that they have collected some 650,000 signatures in Iliescu's support, more than double the required 300,000. ZsM[26] BULGARIAN TRADE DEFICIT HIGHBulgaria imported some $581.9 million worth of goods more than it exported in the first six months of this year, BTA reported, citing the National Statistics Institute. Bulgarian exports consisted mainly of ferrous and non- ferrous metals and textiles, while major imports were fuels, vehicles, and electrical and industrial machinery. EU member states remain the country's main trading partners, making up some 50 percent of its total trade. The largest partners are Italy, Germany, Greece, and Belgium. PB[C] END NOTE[27] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION IN (AT LEAST) TWO MINDS OVER ELECTIONSBy Jan MaksymiukLife has never been easy for opponents of Belarus's ruling regimes, whether in the period before Alyaksandr Lukashenka or after the first Belarusian president took over the reins of power in 1994. But the 15 October elections to the Chamber or Representatives presents a dilemma that the Belarusian opposition seems not to have confronted so far. Currently, there are at least two distinct stances among Lukashenka's opponents on how to approach the upcoming ballot. The "radical opposition," represented by the Christian Conservative Party of the Belarusian Popular Front (led by charismatic Zyanon Paznyak from exile in Poland), rejects any participation in this fall's legislative elections. Paznyak's party argues that the polls are senseless in view of the legislature's illegitimate character and that the opposition's participation in the polls would only legitimize the Chamber of Representatives at the expense of the Supreme Soviet of the 13th Convocation, which is still recognized by all European governments, except Russia and Yugoslavia, as Belarus's lawful parliament. Moreover, Paznyak argues, once the Chamber of Representatives is legitimized, it will set about approving all integration accords signed by Lukashenka with Russia. Thus, he says, the incorporation of Belarus by its eastern neighbor will be accomplished in an apparently lawful manner. In fact, Paznyak accuses the OSCE Minsk mission head Hans Georg Wieck of seeking to obliterate Belarus's independence by pushing the opposition to take part in the elections. The Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces, which until quite recently was called "the democratic opposition," has suffered a split and now refers to itself as "the united opposition." The council's two main pillars are the Belarusian Popular Front Party (led by Vintsuk Vyachorka from Minsk) and the United Civic Party (led by Anatol Lyabedzka also from Minsk). The council loyally cooperates with the OSCE Minsk mission, seeking ways to establish democracy in Belarus. Having failed to organize an OSCE- mediated dialogue with Lukashenka, the council announced an "active boycott" of the 15 October poll. It intends to stage protest rallies under the slogan "Yes to Elections, No to Farce" and collect signatures for a referendum on the OSCE's four requirements to make the electoral process in Belarus more transparent and democratic. The "leftist opposition," represented by the Belarusian Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (a local replica of Vladimir Zhirinovskii's notorious political formation in neighboring Russia), has decided to participate in the elections, even though both groups assert that there are no suitable conditions for a democratic ballot in Belarus. However, what has most thrown the democratic opposition ranks into disarray is the declared intention of more than 50 opposition activists, including such important figures as former Premier Mikhail Chyhir (without party affiliation) and Social Democratic Party leader Mikalay Statkevich, to run in the elections. Each of those activists will run on an independent ticket, that is, each will be fielded by a group of no fewer than 1,000 voters. Statkevich's party was the first to send a highly confusing message to the electorate by announcing it will not participate in the undemocratic ballot but does not forbid its members to do so on an independent ticket. Chyhir and Statkevich have strong arguments to support their decision. Recent independent polls show that some 70 percent of Belarusians want to vote in this fall's elections and that this figure is growing. The polls also suggest that the call for an election boycott--which to succeed will require election turnout to be below 50 percent--may well fail. And some surveys suggest that opposition and independent candidates face virtually the same chances of winning as pro-regime ones. Chyhir and Statkevich argue that it is vitally important for the opposition to gain a foothold in the Chamber of Representatives, even if this body has only limited powers. According to both politicians, this fall's election campaign and the possible establishment of an anti-regime "bridgehead" in the Chamber of Representatives could bring Democrats back into the public spotlight and help them prepare Belarusian voters for the incomparably weightier contest--next year's presidential elections. It is not difficult to foresee that regardless of the outcome of the 15 October ballot, the Belarusian opposition is poised to inflict enormous damage upon itself by campaigning for two opposing objectives--having the electorate go to the polls and stay at home at the same time. This dual campaign will almost certainly deepen the current split in the democratic camp and minimize the chances of fielding a single democratic candidate against Lukashenka in 2001. When the OSCE mission was installed in Minsk to assist Belarus on its tortuous way toward electoral democracy, many assumed that it was, above all, the anti-democratic regime and many ignorant voters who needed enlightenment. Judging by the current electoral situation, the OSCE's lessons were difficult to swallow not just for those elements but also for those identifying themselves as more knowledgeable democrats. This week, the OSCE is expected to make a decision on whether to send its observers to the Belarusian elections. It is generally thought that it will decide against doing so. Given the Belarusian regime's stubborn refusal to make any meaningful concessions to democratic behavior, such a decision appears the only justifiable one. It is unlikely, however, to help the Belarusian opposition achieve its goals- -whatever they might be. 29-08-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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