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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 0, No. 0, 00-08-30

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 0, No. 0, 30 August 2000


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] MORE ACCOMPLICES OF FORMER ARMENIAN INTERIOR MINISTER SENTENCED
  • [02] ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI NEWSPAPER EDITOR CHARGED WITH 'TERRORISM'
  • [03] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY BRINGS LAWSUIT AGAINST CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
  • [04] ALLEGED ISLAMIC TERRORISTS ON TRIAL IN AZERBAIJAN
  • [05] RUSSIA, GEORGIA DISCUSS DEBT RESCHEDULING
  • [06] CZECH OWNERS TO PAY GEORGIAN EMPLOYEES' WAGE ARREARS
  • [07] KAZAKHSTAN FINALLY SIGNS TENGIZCHEVROIL SALE AGREEMENT
  • [08] U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY VISITS KAZAKHSTAN
  • [09] KYRGYZSTAN SAYS BORDER SITUATION DETERIORATING
  • [10] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN RULE OUT TALKS WITH 'TERRORISTS'...
  • [11] ...ACCUSE TAJIKISTAN
  • [12] UZBEKISTAN DENIES REQUESTING RUSSIAN MILITARY HELP
  • [13] GERMANY ALLOCATES DROUGHT RELIEF AID TO TAJIKISTAN
  • [14] TURKMENISTAN, IRAN ASPIRE TO 'SPECIAL RELATIONS'

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [15] OPPOSITION CAMPAIGNS IN SERBIAN HEARTLAND
  • [16] HEIR TO SERBIAN THRONE CALLS FOR 'VOTES FOR CHANGE'
  • [17] DRASKOVIC: STAMBOLIC KIDNAPPED TO KEEP HIM OUT OF YUGOSLAV ELECTIONS
  • [18] MONTENEGRIN EX-LEADER: STAMBOLIC MAY NO LONGER BE ALIVE
  • [19] MONTENEGRIN GENERAL: MONTENEGRO TO AVOID WAR
  • [20] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS KOSOVARS
  • [21] CROATIAN PRESIDENT SAYS LEVAR'S KILLERS FEARED TESTIMONY
  • [22] TWO MORE CROATIAN SOCCER CHIEFS ARRESTED
  • [23] MORE REVELATIONS IN CROATIA ON AHMICI CRIMES
  • [24] BOSNIAN KINGPIN TO STAND TRIAL IN CROATIA?
  • [25] BOSNIAN CROAT POLITICAN APPEALS ON BEHALF OF POSAVINA CROATS
  • [26] ROMANIA'S LIBERALS WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR FINANCE MINISTER
  • [27] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT ISSUES DECREE ON LAND RESTITUTION LAW
  • [28] CABINET RESHUFFLE IN TRANSDNIESTER
  • [29] BULGARIA REMINDS MOSCOW THAT WARSAW PACT WAS DISBANDED

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [30] ROMANIA'S LIBERAL PARTY SEEKS TO STAY IN POWER AT ALL COSTS

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] MORE ACCOMPLICES OF FORMER ARMENIAN INTERIOR MINISTER SENTENCED

    Following a year-long trial, 11 former Armenian Interior Ministry officers were sentenced on 29 August to jail terms ranging from five years to 15 years for murder, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Prosecutors say that the men committed two murders on orders from Vano Siradeghian, who in the early 1990s was Armenian interior minister. Siradeghian was stripped of his parliamentary immunity last February to face those charges but disappeared in April and is believed to have fled abroad (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 February and 10 September 1999 and 7 April 2000). Nine men said to have also been members of Siradeghian's death squad were sentenced in July 2000. LF

    [02] ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI NEWSPAPER EDITOR CHARGED WITH 'TERRORISM'

    Rauf Arifoglu, editor of the opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat," has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm, participation in a plane hijack, and terrorism, Turan reported on 29 August, citing "unofficial information" from an undisclosed source. Arifoglu was arrested on 22 August after police searched his apartment and found a pistol that he claims they planted there (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2000). Numerous international human rights and journalists' organizations have written to the Azerbaijani authorities expressing concern at Arifoglu's detention. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said on 28 August that "Washington has urged the government of Azerbaijan to ensure that [Arifoglu's] rights are protected and that the investigation is held in full conformity with Azerbaijan's laws and international standards." Four members of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front (AHCP) detained on suspicion of involvement in the 18 August hijack were released on 26 August, Turan reported. LF

    [03] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY BRINGS LAWSUIT AGAINST CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION

    AHCP First Deputy Chairman Ali Kerimov has brought legal action against the Central Electoral Commission in response to that body's refusal to register the party to participate in the 5 November parliamentary elections, Turan reported. Responding to an oral request from Kerimov's opponents within the AHCP, the commission ruled that it will register the party only if its two rival factions overcome their differences (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 August 2000). Kerimov claims that the refusal violates the election law. LF

    [04] ALLEGED ISLAMIC TERRORISTS ON TRIAL IN AZERBAIJAN

    The trial has begun at Azerbaijan's Supreme Court of members of the Jeyshullah (soldiers of Allah) terrorist organization, Turan reported on 29 August. Identified as "radical Wahhabis," the organization's members are accused of a series of murders and of attacks on a Hare Krishna temple and the Baku office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Jeyshullah is said to have been active in Azerbaijan since 1996. LF

    [05] RUSSIA, GEORGIA DISCUSS DEBT RESCHEDULING

    During talks in Moscow with Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin, Georgian Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli reached agreement to continue negotiations on the rescheduling of Tbilisi's $179 million debt to Russia, Caucasus Press reported on 29 August. The IMF has insisted on Georgia's rescheduling its debts to both Russia and Turkmenistan, Reuters quoted Nogaideli as telling journalists in Tbilisi on 25 August before his departure for Moscow. Also on 29 August, Georgian Fuel and Energy Minister David Mirtskhulava told Caucasus Press that he will travel to Moscow shortly for talks on restructuring Georgia's debts for Russian gas and electricity, which amount to $69 million and $46 million, respectively. LF

    [06] CZECH OWNERS TO PAY GEORGIAN EMPLOYEES' WAGE ARREARS

    The Czech management of the Chiatura Manganese Plant, in western Georgia, reached agreement with the Georgian government on 29 August on a schedule for paying 800,000 lari ($410,000) in back wages to the plant's employees, Caucasus Press reported. The plant will also pay 100,000 lari to the state budget. The plant's employees staged protests earlier this month to protest mismanagement by the plant's new owners and to demand their unpaid wages (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 August 2000). LF

    [07] KAZAKHSTAN FINALLY SIGNS TENGIZCHEVROIL SALE AGREEMENT

    Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov and Nick Zana, managing director of Chevron Overseas Petroleum's Eurasia unit, have signed an agreement whereby Astana will sell to Chevron a 5 percent stake in the Tengizchevroil joint venture, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported on 29 August. Kazakhstan previously held a 25 percent and Chevron a 45 percent stake in that undertaking. Chevron will pay $660 million for its additional share, $450 million in cash and the remainder in the form of funding for development programs in Kazakhstan. A debate has been under way within the Kazakh leadership for the past year over the advisability of selling all or part of Kazakhstan's share in Tengizchevroil (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August and 29 November 1999 and 16 March 2000). Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev said on 29 August that the sale will reduce Kazakhstan's vulnerability to market conditions, according to Interfax. LF

    [08] U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY VISITS KAZAKHSTAN

    Bill Richardson held talks in Astana on 29 August with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev and Prime Minister Toqaev on Caspian hydro-carbon extraction and on U.S. technical assistance in developing the port of Aqtau, Interfax and RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Nazarbaev reaffirmed his country's commitment to export oil via the planned Baku- Ceyhan export pipeline (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 August 2000). Richardson told journalists following his talks with Nazarbaev that Washington considers Kazakhstan "an important partner" not only in oil and gas extraction but also in trade and security. After meeting with Toqaev, Richardson said that the U.S. will help Kazakhstan create a rapid-response system in the event of oil spills in the Caspian. LF

    [09] KYRGYZSTAN SAYS BORDER SITUATION DETERIORATING

    General Bolot Djanuzakov, who is secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council, told journalists in Bishkek on 29 August that the situation on Kyrgyzstan's southern border with Tajikistan worsened over the previous two days, Interfax reported. He said Kyrgyz government forces repelled an attempt by some 70 fighters, presumably from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), to cross into Kyrgyzstan during the night of 27-28 August. Two groups of some 50 fighters each who attacked Kyrgyz border posts near the Yangi-Daban pass and the Abramov glacier during the night of 28-29 August were also driven back, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The Kyrgyz forces suffered no casualties in that operation. Djanuzakov added that Kyrgyz and Uzbek troops have fully blocked the border between Kyrgyzstan's Djalalabad Oblast and the Tashkent Oblast of Uzbekistan and have killed nine Islamist fighters, according to ITAR-TASS. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the fighting in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in a telephone conversation with Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev on 29 August. Also on 29 August, a spokesman for the Russian Border Guard contingent in Tajikistan told Interfax that the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border has deteriorated. LF

    [10] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN RULE OUT TALKS WITH 'TERRORISTS'...

    Djanuzakov told journalists on 29 August that the Kyrgyz government will not embark on negotiations with the IMU fighters, Russian agencies reported. "No dialogue can be maintained with gangs who attempt to break into Kyrgyzstan by means of military operations since they are criminals against humanity," ITAR-TASS quoted him as saying. He described the fighters as "common criminals rather than representatives of the Uzbek armed opposition." In Tashkent, Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov similarly ruled out talks with IMU leaders Djuma Namangani and Takhir Yuldashev, branding them "bandits" and "terrorists." Karimov rejected an offer by Said Abdullo Nuri, leader of Tajikistan's Islamic Renaissance Party to mediate between the Uzbek government and the IMU, Interfax reported. Karimov said Nuri's offer shows that "he is guiding and assisting the terrorists and that he is not a politician but a puppet in the hands of international centers." LF

    [11] ...ACCUSE TAJIKISTAN

    Djanuzakov told journalists on 29 August that all the groups of fighters with whom Kyrgyz government forces have clashed over the past month entered Kyrgyz territory from Tajikistan and retreated into that country after being repelled, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He cast doubt on Tajik officials' claims that Dushanbe is taking unspecified "special measures" against the militants. Djanuzakov had earlier criticized Dushanbe's refusal to allow Kyrgyz and Uzbek forces to pursue the retreating militants onto its territory (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 August 2000) Tajik Security Council Deputy Secretary Nuralisho Nazarov on 29 August accused Kyrgyz officials of disinformation, saying that the militants have a base on Kyrgyz territory near the village of Zardaly in Batken Oblast. He said that Tajik Security Council Secretary Amirkul Azimov is currently in eastern Tajikistan and that there are no rebel bases there. President Karimov on 29 August also lashed out at Dushanbe, accusing the Tajik leadership of connivance with the Islamists. Karimov said Tajik denials that the IMU has bases in Djirgatal, Tavildara, and Garm are "unserious." LF

    [12] UZBEKISTAN DENIES REQUESTING RUSSIAN MILITARY HELP

    ITAR-TASS and Interfax on 29 August quoted unnamed "military-diplomatic sources" in Moscow as saying that Uzbekistan has addressed an official request to the Russian leadership for military assistance to combat the IMU threat. Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, who heads the International Military Cooperation Department within the Russian Defense Ministry, told Interfax the same day that Tashkent had asked for a small amount of a specific type of military hardware. He did not elaborate. Ivashov added that there is "no question" of sending either Russian troops or military experts to Uzbekistan. During Russian-Uzbek talks at deputy foreign minister level in Moscow on 28 August, a Russian official said Russia is ready "to provide the necessary assistance to Uzbekistan and other members of the Commonwealth in their struggle against the subversive activities of extremists," Interfax reported, citing a Russian Foreign Ministry statement. LF

    [13] GERMANY ALLOCATES DROUGHT RELIEF AID TO TAJIKISTAN

    The German government has allocated 1.35 million German marks ($600,000) to purchase flour, vegetable oil, and other emergency food supplies for those members of the Tajik population hardest hit by this summer's drought, ITAR- TASS reported on 29 August. UN agencies last month estimated that half of Tajikistan's 6 million population is threatened by hunger, but Economy and Foreign Relations Minister Yahyo Azimov dismissed that figure, saying "there will be no famine" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 July and 4 August 2000). LF

    [14] TURKMENISTAN, IRAN ASPIRE TO 'SPECIAL RELATIONS'

    Former Turkmen Foreign Minister and currently presidential special envoy Boris Shikhmuradov travelled on 27 August to Tehran where he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, according to Caucasus Press- Caspian and "Vremya novostei" of 29 August. In a joint statement, the two men affirmed their countries' shared aspirations to build "special relations" and to broaden cooperation, particularly in the Caspian. According to "Vremya novostei," Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov sent a personal message to his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Khatami, expressing support for Iran's proposal to divide the Caspian Sea into five equal national sectors. The three other littoral states--Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan--advocate leaving the present demarcation lines in force. Shikhmuradov also endorsed Iran's proposals for ending the civil war in Afghanistan. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [15] OPPOSITION CAMPAIGNS IN SERBIAN HEARTLAND

    Some 10,000 people turned out in Cacak on 29 August to support Serbian opposition presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica and leaders of the G- 17 group of independent economists. The politicians presented to the voters both their election program and a "White Book" outlining the record of the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. After the meeting, police briefly detained several opposition supporters. On 30 August, Kostunica is slated to hold a rally in Pozarevac, which is the home and power base of the Milosevic family. The opposition will officially launch its campaign on 1 September with a convention of 15 parties in Belgrade's Sava Center. PM

    [16] HEIR TO SERBIAN THRONE CALLS FOR 'VOTES FOR CHANGE'

    Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic said in a statement from his London office on 29 August that it is the patriotic duty of all Serbs to vote for the united opposition's Yugoslav presidential candidate--by which he meant Kostunica--in the 24 September Yugoslav and Serbian elections. Aleksandar noted that the royal family does not take an active role in politics, but he stressed that the united opposition offers the best hope for needed change. He regretted that the Montenegrin authorities plan to boycott the elections. The elections will affect the future of Montenegro as well as that of Serbia and Kosova, Aleksandar said. PM

    [17] DRASKOVIC: STAMBOLIC KIDNAPPED TO KEEP HIM OUT OF YUGOSLAV ELECTIONS

    Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) leader Vuk Draskovic said in Nis on 29 August that former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic was kidnapped recently to prevent him from running in the presidential elections, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 August 2000). Draskovic stressed that the Milosevic regime fears that the entry of new candidates into the presidential race will diminish Milosevic's chances of winning. In recent days, SPO supporters have collected some 25,000 signatures to place Stambolic on the ballot as the candidate of an independent citizens' initiative, "Vesti" reported on 30 August. PM

    [18] MONTENEGRIN EX-LEADER: STAMBOLIC MAY NO LONGER BE ALIVE

    Momcilo Cemovic, who heads the Montenegrin Monetary Council and is a former prime minister and federal Yugoslav cabinet member, said in Berane on 29 August that he fears Stambolic may no longer be alive. Cemovic added that Stambolic deserves the respect of all Montenegrins, Montena-fax reported. Cemovic argued that those who kidnapped Stambolic want to eliminate one of Serbia's most capable politicians from the political scene. In Belgrade, the private daily "Danas" noted on 30 August that the police have yet to release any findings from their investigation into the Stambolic case. The regime daily "Politika" reported that the police are intensifying their efforts to solve the mystery of Stambolic's disappearance. PM

    [19] MONTENEGRIN GENERAL: MONTENEGRO TO AVOID WAR

    General Radosav Martinovic told AP in Podgorica on 29 August that the people of Montenegro have learned from Milosevic's wars over the past 10 years the importance of preserving peace. "After these bitter lessons,...I am convinced we will resist all provocations that could lead to another Balkan abyss," Martinovic added. PM

    [20] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS KOSOVARS

    Joschka Fischer told a news conference in Prishtina on 29 August that recent violence against Serbian children must stop. The violence is "unacceptable and it must be condemned in the strongest way by all political parties," Reuters quoted him as saying. Fischer added: "It's a political issue, how the majority deals with minorities." He said that he had been unable to meet with local Serbian leaders "for security reasons," AP reported. PM

    [21] CROATIAN PRESIDENT SAYS LEVAR'S KILLERS FEARED TESTIMONY

    Croatian President Stipe Mesic said in Gospic on 29 August that those who killed war crimes witness Milan Levar are those who feared his testimony, "Novi List" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 August 2000). Croatian police experts meanwhile confirmed that the explosion that killed Levar was cause by a bomb. PM

    [22] TWO MORE CROATIAN SOCCER CHIEFS ARRESTED

    Police have arrested two former top officials of the Hajduk-Split soccer club, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 29 August. Zeljko Kovacevic and Petar Reic are two of several people from Croatian sports charged in recent months with misusing their positions and embezzling money under the late President Franjo Tudjman. PM

    [23] MORE REVELATIONS IN CROATIA ON AHMICI CRIMES

    Paul Risley, who is a spokesman for the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, said that five Croats implicated in the 1993 atrocities in the Bosnian village of Ahmici will most likely stand trial in Croatia, "Jutarnji list" reported on 30 August. Risley was commenting on recent reports in the Croatian press that the Interior Ministry has compiled sufficient evidence to prosecute the men, whom Croatian police have suspected since 1995 of complicity in the massacres of Muslims. The government received a police report on Ahmici on 21 August, "Novi List" reported. The document allegedly contains "state secrets" and has not been made public. The Rijeka daily added that the report is likely to show that the persons responsible for the crimes were top-level Croatian political leaders and not General Tihomir Blaskic, who is on trial in The Hague. PM

    [24] BOSNIAN KINGPIN TO STAND TRIAL IN CROATIA?

    The Sarajevo daily "Avaz" reported on 30 August that it has learned that Croatian authorities will try Fikret Abdic for war crimes. It is not clear when proceedings will begin against the former kingpin of the Bihac pocket in northwestern Bosnia. The Sarajevo government previously indicted Abdic for war crimes and wants Croatia to extradite him. Croatian law forbids extradition, but the new Croatian government is reportedly willing to put him on trial itself. Abdic gained fame as a businessman, convicted criminal, successful politician, and folk hero who broke with the Muslim leadership of Alija Izetbegovic soon after the outbreak of the war in 1992. The Sarajevo authorities then charged that he collaborated with Serbian and Croatian forces alike. After the 1992-1995 conflict, Abdic found refuge in Croatia, where he is believed to have enjoyed special protection from Tudjman. PM

    [25] BOSNIAN CROAT POLITICAN APPEALS ON BEHALF OF POSAVINA CROATS

    Kresimir Zubak, who heads the moderate New Croatian Initiative (NHI), told "Avaz" of 30 August that he recently told President Mesic that the new Croatian government has done no more for the Croats of the Posavina region of northern Bosnia than the Tudjman government did. Zubak added that for the Croats of Bosnia-Herzegovina, there does not appear to be much difference between the new Croatian government and its predecessor. Observers note that Zubak, who is a Bosnian Croat from the Doboj region, may be seeking votes in the 11 November elections from people of Posavina. Many Croats suspect that Tudjman gave up control over Posavina, which lies across the Sava River from Croatia, as part of a secret deal with Bosnian Serb leaders. Few Posavina Croats have been able to return to their pre-war homes, which they are entitled to do under the 1995 Dayton agreement. PM

    [26] ROMANIA'S LIBERALS WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR FINANCE MINISTER

    The Central Standing Bureau of the National Liberal Party (PNL) on 29 August withdrew its support for Finance Minister Decebal Traian Remes, Romanian media reported. The move came after Remes had refused last week to accept a PNL extraordinary congress decision endorsing Theodor Stolojan as the party's presidential candidate. The minister and other PNL dissidents subsequently declared support for Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu's presidential candidacy. Isarescu on 29 August answered a PNL request to distance himself from Remes's support by saying he will maintain his political independence. This way, he argued, he will be able to preserve "the cabinet's cohesion and efficiency." Isarescu refused to dismiss Remes on political grounds (see also "End Note" below). ZsM

    [27] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT ISSUES DECREE ON LAND RESTITUTION LAW

    The Romanian government on 29 August issued an urgent ordinance on the land restitution law, adopted in July 1999, "Ziua" reported. The decree set 31 December 2001 as the deadline for land restitution. Only 10,000 hectares of land have been returned to former owners so far, while another 300,000 or so hectares remain to be returned. The Agricultural Ministry predicts that by the end of next year, a total of some 800,000 hectares confiscated by the communist regime will have been returned to their owners. ZsM

    [28] CABINET RESHUFFLE IN TRANSDNIESTER

    Igor Smirnov, the leader of Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region, announced on 28 August that a new government has been formed, Infotag reported. Absent from the new cabinet are Finance Minister Sergei Gradinari, Economy Minister Anna Kirova, Minister of Industry and Energy Yurii Ganin, and Deputy Premier Pavel Tsymai. The next day, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry sent a letter to all foreign embassies in Chisinau requesting that they do not take part "in any way" in the upcoming celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the "Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic." A delegation from the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic plans to attend those celebrations, Noyan Tapan reported on 29 August. PB/LF

    [29] BULGARIA REMINDS MOSCOW THAT WARSAW PACT WAS DISBANDED

    The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry rejected Russian charges that the expulsion of four Russian businessmen was politically motivated, BTA reported on 28 August. The Russian Foreign Ministry had said that the reasons for the expulsions were political (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 29 August 2000) and that if the four were involved in illegal business dealings, then Bulgaria should have informed Russia. The ministry in Sofia replied that: "We find it necessary to recall that the Warsaw Pact does not exist. Bulgaria...has put an end to the practice of sharing its national security considerations with other states." PB

    [C] END NOTE

    [30] ROMANIA'S LIBERAL PARTY SEEKS TO STAY IN POWER AT ALL COSTS

    By Zsolt-Istvan Mato

    The National Liberal Party (PNL) is "the only party that can reform the Romanian political system," PNL First Deputy Chairman and Romanian Justice Minister Valeriu Stoica said recently. Indeed, his party seems to be up and coming at the moment.

    But during the last few months, the activities of PNL leaders have been described using such contradictory attributes as "political pragmatism" and "immorality," "flexibility" and "inconsistency." And when announcing last month that he will not run for a second term, President Emil Constantinescu was alluding to the actions of the PNL when he denounced the "blind struggle for personal or group interests."

    In some respects, the PNL's evolution since its rebirth in 1990 is quite remarkable. Marked by bitter infighting and dissension, the liberal movement initially failed to unite and in the 1992 general elections scored less than the 3 percent threshold required to gain parliamentary representation. By 1996, however, the party had largely achieved internal unity and, in alliance with the National Liberal Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) within the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR), won the ballot and became the main partner in the government coalition. After 1998, as the CDR's popularity waned and the PNL's public image improved, the Liberals asked for equal representation within the CDR leadership and on its parliamentary election lists. When the PNTCD refused to give up its positions in power, the PNL explored other possibilities.

    The PNL's first important move was to run on separate lists for the June 2000 local elections. Gaining slightly better results than the fragmented CDR, the Liberals believed they would be better off without their former allies and began to look for new ones. With opinion polls showing that Constantinescu had little chance of beating Ion Iliescu in the presidential race, the PNL declined to continue backing the incumbent.

    The PNL's first priority was to counter the influence of the opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), which opinion polls say has about 45 percent backing. Stoica announced the objective of creating a "social-liberal" political force to secure a large faction in parliament. Significantly, the PNL did not rule out a post-election alliance with the PDSR, with which it had cooperated in 1991- 1992 under Theodor Stolojan's premiership. But Stoica first turned to former PDSR Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu's Alliance for Romania party (APR) at the suggestion of the Social-Liberal Initiative (ISL), a group that formerly had close ties with the PDSR.

    Perceived as a good technocrat, Stolojan is credited with enjoying great trust among the electorate and is seen as the "miracle solution" for "saving the country" from its economic troubles. This is one of the main reasons why Stoica chose him as the PNL candidate for president. Negotiations with the APR went well, and the press spoke of a Melescanu- Stolojan partnership--the first as presidential and the second as prime ministerial candidate. However, not everyone in the PNL was happy about cultivating close relations with the APR, and PNL National Council Chairman Nicolae Manolescu resigned from the party. Moreover, it became obvious that the party rank-and-file would not accept Melescanu as their presidential candidate. As the ratings of the APR and Melescanu began to drop, the PNL turned away from the APR, too, and decided to run on a separate list for the November parliamentary elections, supporting Stolojan as its presidential candidate.

    Although many questioned both the alliance and the PNL's electoral strategy, the party's 18 August extraordinary congress demonstrated unity and strength. Delegates almost unanimously endorsed Stolojan's candidacy, and they also approved Stoica's strategy and named him campaign manager. Ultimately, the congress confirmed the tendencies within the party in recent months: the so-called Stoica group retained complete control over the party rank-and-file and its agenda. Some even commented that "party democracy" had been replaced with "democratic centralism." Stoica has been setting party priorities for a while, but he saw his position strengthened after the congress and is now considered the real leader of the PNL.

    But there was also strong opposition to these developments, above all from Finance Minister Decebal Traian Remes. A few days after the congress, Remes and several other top PNL members said that by endorsing Stolojan, Stoica and his group had driven the party toward "the communist left." The dissenters set up an initiative group aimed at restoring the "true" PNL and declared their support for Isarescu in the presidential contest. It is still unclear how this group will affect the party, but it seems Stoica will keep the party from disintegrating.

    Most important for the PNL is that it has severed ties with the past and changed its principles. Strong survival instincts and the will to regain power prevail --irrespective of which party the PNL needs to form an alliance. However, the PNL's actions suggest Stoica has little chance to realize his grand project of reforming Romania's political system. Until now, he has succeeded only in reforming the party's values--a move that will have short-term results. But in the long run, the Liberals may well leave pragmatism and flexibility behind and return to the stance of the "old" PNL.

    The author is a free-lance journalist in Cluj, Romania.

    30-08-00


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


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