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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 178, 00-09-14Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 178, 14 September 2000Vol. 3, No. 16, 21 April 2000), told a news conference atCONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA HOPES FOR TURKISH SHIFT ON 1915The Armenian leadership hopes that Turkey will eventually drop its refusal to recognize the 1915 extermination of more 1 million ethnic Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire as genocide, presidential spokesman Vahe Gabrielian told journalists in Yerevan on 13 September. In his 7 September address to the UN Millennium Summit, Armenian President Robert Kocharian had said that "Turkey's continuing denial of the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire has only been intensifying our aspirations for historical justice." Kocharian expressed confidence that "a constructive dialogue with Turkey will allow us to jointly pave the way toward cooperation and good neighborly relations between our two peoples." Turkish President Akhmet Necdet Sezer in his speech to the summit expressed "great regret" that Kocharian had broached the issue, saying the "assessment of history should be left to historians," according to the Anatolia News Agency, as cited by Groong. LF[02] ARMENIA CONCERNED OVER POSSIBLE DELAY TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEMBERSHIPMeeting in Yerevan on 13 September with a visiting European Parliament delegation, President Kocharian and Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Martirosian both expressed concern that Armenia's full membership in the Council of Europe may be made conditional on developments in neighboring Azerbaijan, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Delegation head Ursula Schleicher had repeated the European view that Armenia and Azerbaijan should be granted full membership simultaneously. Azerbaijan's chances of such membership depend, however, on an end to harassment of journalists and whether the parliamentary elections scheduled for 5 November are free, fair, and democratic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 September 2000). Parliamentary speaker Armen Khachatrian assured the delegation that Armenia will meet all the preconditions set by the Council of Europe for full membership, Noyan Tapan reported. LF[03] ARMENIA WILL NOT SHUT DOWN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WITHOUT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCESKhachatrian also told the European Parliament delegation on 13 September that Yerevan cannot meet a 2003 deadline set by the EU for closing the Medzamor nuclear power plant unless alternative energy sources are available by that date, according to Armenpress, as cited by Groong. Medzamor currently produces some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. Shmavon Shahbazian, who heads the Armenian parliament's foreign relations department, told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 12 September that Yerevan expects a commitment from the EU to assist in the planned construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia and to lobby for the lifting of the Turkish and Azerbaijani energy blockades of Armenia, which he said threaten Armenia's energy security. LF[04] AZERBAIJAN SIGNS ANOTHER OIL CONTRACTThe Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR signed a contract in Washington on 12 September with the U.S. oil company Moncreif Oil International and with Turkey's Petoil, Turan and ITAR-TASS reported. The contract is to develop the Kelameddin-Mishovdag onshore field in the Shirvan steppe, which has estimated reserves of 20-30 million metric tons. Moncreif will be the project operator with a 49.7 percent stake, while Petoil will take 35.3 percent and SOCAR 15 percent. LF[05] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER, RUSSIAN MILITARY COMMANDER MEETDuring a four-hour meeting in Tbilisi on 13 September, Georgian Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze, Chief of General Staff Djoni Pirtskhalaishvili, and the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, Colonel General Gennadii Troshev, discussed cooperation between the Russian and Georgian military in the Caucasus as well as the ongoing withdrawal of Russian military equipment from Georgia and the planned closure of its bases there, ITAR-TASS and Caucasus Press reported. They also discussed the fighting in Chechnya and Russian allegations that Chechen fighters use the Pankisi gorge in northern Georgia as a base. Pirtskhalaishvili again rejected those claims, saying that the Georgian military and Interior Ministry have the situation in the gorge "under control." Tevzadze told journalists after the talks that agreement was reached on "practically all" issues discussed. LF[06] GEORGIA FAILS TO RESCHEDULE GAS DEBT TO TURKMENISTANDuring visits to Ashgabat in early September, Georgian Minister of State Gia Arsenishvili and a Georgian government delegation headed by Deputy Minister of State Levan Dzneladze failed to reach agreement with the Turkmen leadership on rescheduling Georgia's $348.8 million debt for gas supplies in 1993-1994, Caucasus Press reported on 13 September. Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Avtandil Napetvardize told journalists that Tbilisi proposed two approaches to covering that debt, both of which would entail providing consumer goods to meet part of the sum owed and rescheduling the remaining amount. The Turkmen side, however, rejected both proposals. LF[07] SLAIN GEORGIAN INSURGENT LEADER'S SUPPORTERS INDICTEDThree supporters of rebel colonel Akaki Eliava who were arrested in Zestafoni in July after Georgian security officials gunned him down in cold blood (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 and 13 July 2000) have been charged with kidnapping, Caucasus Press reported on 13 September. Two of the three have also been charged with participation in the abortive uprising Eliava led in October 1998. LF[08] GEORGIA DENIES CLOSING AIRSPACE TO RUSSIAN MILITARY AIRCRAFTGeorgian aviation officials denied on 13 September that Tbilisi barred Russian military aircraft from entering Georgian airspace in retaliation for non-payment of Russia's debt, ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 13 September 2000). They said Russia has been asked to submit a schedule for repayment of that debt. LF[09] INTERNATIONAL MILITARY MANEUVERS BEGIN IN KAZAKHSTANThe annual Centrazbat military exercises began at the Ile training ground near Almaty on 13 September and will continue for one week, Interfax and RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. Some 2,000 troops from Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the U.S., the U.K., Russia, Mongolia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are participating. At the opening ceremony, Kazakhstan's Defense Minister General Sat Toqpaqbaev read out a message to participants from Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who underscored the relevance to the current situation in Central Asia of those war games, which focus on combating terrorism and extremism. But Toqpaqbaev stressed that the maneuvers were not organized in response to the incursions by fighters from the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan into southern Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. LF[10] MORE EXCHANGES OF FIRE REPORTED IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTANA spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's Defense Minister told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau on 13 September that Islamic militants made three attempts to cross the Tajik-Kyrgyz border during the night of 12-13 September but were repelled by Kyrgyz government troops. He put the number of Kyrgyz servicemen killed since fighting began in mid-August at 33. Also on 12 August, a police official from Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken Oblast told RFE/RL that exchanges of fire between Kyrgyz government forces and militants have become a daily occurrence. He added that the Kyrgyz forces are currently combing the Zardaly and Kojo-Ashkan passes on the Kyrgyz- Tajik border. LF[11] JAPANESE DIPLOMAT VISITS TAJIKISTANTajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov assured visiting Japanese Foreign Ministry official Kazuko Togo on 13 September that the political situation in Tajikistan is stable and its foreign policy aimed at strengthening peace and stability in Central Asia, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Togo said that Japan is considering opening an embassy in Dushanbe. The two men also discussed the situation in Afghanistan. Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmonov had met with Japanese Premier Yoshiro Mori on 7 September in New York on the sidelines of the UN Millennium Summit and thanked him for Japanese contributions of humanitarian aid to Tajikistan and for Japanese participation in post-conflict rehabilitation projects, including the reconstruction of Khujand airport. Rakhmonov accepted an invitation to visit Japan next year LF[12] UZBEKISTAN APPEALS FOR DROUGHT RELIEFThe government of Uzbekistan has appealed to international organizations for help in countering the damage to agriculture by this summer's severe drought, especially in the Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast in the west of the country, Interfax reported on 13 September. Uzbekistan is the fifth former Soviet republic to request such help, after Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Tajikistan. A UN official warned earlier this month that the failure of 90 percent of all crops in Karakalpakia could lead to famine and spark social unrest (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2000). LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[13] BALKAN CONTACT GROUP TO DEBATE YUGOSLAV ISSUESDiplomats from the U.S., U.K., Russia, Germany, France, Italy, and the EU will discuss prospects for "democratic change" in Yugoslavia at the UN on 14 September, Reuters reported. It will be the first meeting of the group since the 1999 Kosova crisis. Italian diplomats prepared a preliminary draft calling for free and fair elections in Yugoslavia on 24 September. The draft added: "Democratic change is the only avenue to ensure that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be able to reinstall [sic.] its position in the international community and within the family of European countries." It is unclear whether the text will be acceptable to Russian diplomats. PM[14] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT DETERMINED TO DEMOCRATIZEMilo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 13 September that "our strategy is development of democracy, further improvement of human rights and preservation of a multiethnic harmony," Reuters reported. "This is our strategy, and whether it will be implemented in Montenegro as an independent state or as part of a redefined Yugoslavia--a far more flexible alliance than envisaged by the present constitution--is an important but not a vital issue," he added. Djukanovic stressed that democracy and not independence is his government's primary goal. He added, however, that the government may hold a referendum on independence if Serbia does not agree to constitutional reforms. Montenegro is prepared to defend itself if Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic chooses violence, Djukanovic added. The Montenegrin leader said that he believes that Milosevic will try "to steal the elections" in the first round, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[15] MONTENEGRIN RULING PARTY SAYS YUGOSLAV ARMY STAGING INCIDENTSThe Democratic Party of Socialists said in a statement in Podgorica that troops have recently staged several incidents aimed at fueling political tensions in the mountainous republic. The statement referred specifically to an incident in Danilovgrad on 11 September in which some 50 drunken troops allegedly jumped on cafe tables, taunted passers-by, and shouted "this is Serbia" as well as insults about Djukanovic, the daily "Vijesti" reported on 13 September. PM[16] YUGOSLAV ARMY WANTS TROOPS TO BACK MILOSEVIC?Army spokesman Colonel Svetozar Radisic said in Belgrade on 13 September that he expects military personnel to vote "for those who will help most in reorganizing the army,...securing conditions for a better and stronger defense system, and resolving social issues of active and retired officers and veterans." He did not specify which candidates he meant, but Reuters noted that top officers have recently attended rallies of Milosevic's election coalition. Defense Minister General Dragoljub Ojdanic and Chief-of- Staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic, in particular, are widely regarded as political appointees. PM[17] TENSIONS, VIOLENCE MARK SERBIAN CAMPAIGNThe Serbian authorities are preparing to deny a prominent NGO the right to monitor the elections, the Belgrade Center for Free Elections and Democracy said in a statement on 13 September. Justice Ministry officials searched the center's office in what the statement called a preliminary move to disqualify the NGO from monitoring the vote. Center director Slobodanka Nedovic told Reuters on 14 September that ministry officials told her they will not accredit her organization. Foreign monitors are already banned except for those from "friendly countries." In the Vojvodina town of Kljajicevo, police arrested a supporter of the Democratic Party who had allegedly stabbed a pro-Milosevic off-duty border policeman for political reasons, Reuters reported. Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic said "politics should not be a cause for violence." Local Democratic officials are investigating the incident. PM[18] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO CAMPAIGN IN KOSOVAVojislav Kostunica attended a Serbian Orthodox religious service at the historical Studenica monastery on 14 September. He then left for Kosova to campaign among local Serbs. He told Reuters: "We are going to give them our message there in the same way as we are doing throughout Serbia. People in Kosovo are aware of what they have lost in these 10 years of Milosevic's rule. It is important to encourage people to stay there, to encourage them to bring the refugees back to Kosovo," Kostunica added. In Belgrade on 13 September, Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj said that he will not recognize the results of the elections if they include votes from Kosova. He said that he believes that the regime will stuff the ballot boxes there, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[19] ROBERTSON: KOSOVA OFF LIMITS TO MILOSEVICIn Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said on 13 September that peacekeepers will arrest Milosevic and send him to The Hague if he tries to campaign in Kosova. Robertson added that the elections "will not be free and they will not be fair," Reuters reported. In Goedoeloe, Hungary, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan expressed similar views about the elections, Reuters reported. He is attending a meeting of the prime ministers of Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. The four issued a statement calling for fair and free elections monitored by international observers. PM[20] KOSOVAR LEADER LAUNCHES ELECTION CAMPAIGNDemocratic Party of Kosova leader and former guerrilla commander Hashim Thaci opened his campaign for the 28 October local elections in Prishtina on 13 September. He told several thousand cheering supporters that his party will win because it "deserves to," Reuters reported. In an interview with the news agency, he said the election pits supporters of independence against those he claims want to keep Kosova part of Yugoslavia. It is unclear to whom he was referring, because all Kosovar parties support independence. PM[21] JOURNALIST MISSING IN KOSOVAThe organization of independent Serbian broadcasters, ANEM, said in a statement on 12 September that Marijan Melonasi, a journalist with the Serbian-language program on RTV Kosova, disappeared in Prishtina on 9 September. He previously worked for the multi- ethnic Radio Kontakt. The statement appealed to the UN administration and KFOR to create secure working conditions for journalists. PM[22] SULFURIC ACID SPILL IN KOSOVASulfuric acid from a tank containing 600,000 liters of the substance has entered the Sitnica River, despite efforts of peacekeepers and fire- fighters to contain the leak. The UN civilian administration said in a statement on 13 September that the acid was from the battery factory at the Trepca complex. The Serbian news agency Tanjug blamed the UN and NATO for the incident. Observers note that aging industrial installations that are ecologically unsafe can be found throughout much of the former Yugoslavia. PM[23] BOSNIAN LEADER STILL AILINGAlija Izetbegovic, who is the Muslim member of the Bosnian joint presidency, was released from a New York hospital on 12 September, the Bosnian UN mission said in a statement the following day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 September 2000). The statement added that he delayed his return to Bosnia because "otherwise his situation could have critically deteriorated." Izetbegovic, whose health has been poor for several years, entered the hospital after showing early symptoms of pneumonia. PM[24] SECOND HERZEGOVINIAN CROAT WAR CRIMES SUSPECT TURNS SELF INZoran Soldo of the Mostar Five group of indicted war criminals surrendered to police in the Herzegovinian city on 13 September. His colleague Erhard Poznic turned himself in on 8 September. Members of the Mostar Five are wanted for atrocities committed against Muslims in 1993. In a statement, the UN welcomed the move and called on local Croatian police to arrest Croatian war criminals, AP reported. PM[25] SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT BEGINS LAST SESSIONThe legislature on 13 September began its final, three-day session before the opening of the parliamentary election campaign immediately thereafter, "Delo" reported. The legislative agenda includes passage of several bills necessary to bring Slovenian laws into line with those of the EU. PM[26] IMF CRITICAL OF ROMANIA'S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCEIMF chief negotiator for Romania Emmanuel Zervoudakis told journalists on 13 September, at the end of a two-week visit to Romania, that the government is still moving too slowly in privatizing state-owned companies and has failed in its pledge to curb inflation, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. This year's inflation rate is expected to be around 40 percent instead of the 27 percent pledged by the government. The IMF is to decide whether to release the next tranche of a $540 million loan but the decision will be postponed until after a meeting between cabinet members and IMF representatives in Prague in September. Zervoudakis also said that Romania has made little progress in reducing debts between state-owned companies and has seen an "unjustified increase in state-sector wages." MS[27] ROMANIAN PREMIER REJECTS PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION CRITICISMMugur Isarescu rejected as "unfounded and inaccurate" criticism of a parliamentary commission that investigated the reasons for the collapse of the National Investment Fund (FNI) earlier this year. The commission said that the National Bank, which earlier Isarescu had headed, failed to properly supervise the activities of the private fund, but Isarescu said such activities did not come under the bank's jurisdiction at the time he was its head. The committee also blamed political leaders for the collapse and recommended that investors be partly compensated, because investments were guaranteed by the CEC state savings bank, Mediafax and AP reported. MS[28] ILIESCU DENIES ROMANIA BROKE YUGOSLAV EMBARGOFormer President Ion Iliescu has denied that under his presidency, Romania broke the UN oil embargo against Yugoslavia. Speaking to a forum at RFE/RL's Washington office on 13 September, Iliescu said no "smuggling" was undertaken with the knowledge of the government. (The same day, the Senate's Judicial Committee in Bucharest rejected on procedural grounds the Prosecutor-General's Office demand that the parliamentary immunity of former Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu and former Interior Minister Doru Ioan Taracila be lifted on suspicion of involvement in the embargo break.) Iliescu, who is running again for president, also denied he supports the drive to rehabilitate wartime fascist leader Marshal Ion Antonescu. MS[29] TIRASPOL PRISONER JOINS ROMANIAN EXTREMIST PARTYIlie Ilascu, who has been in prison since 1992 after being sentenced to death by the Tiraspol authorities, has joined the extremist Greater Romania Party (PRM), Mediafax reported on 13 September. PRM leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor said Ilascu, who is now a deputy in the Moldovan parliament, will run on the PRM lists in the Romanian parliamentary elections in November. Tudor also said his party has asked the Foreign Ministry to start legal proceeding to grant Ilascu Romanian citizenship. Tudor said he has written to Russian State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev telling him that if Ilascu is elected a PRM senator, he will represent the party in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. MS[30] SHARP DROP REGISTERED IN BULGARIAN LIVESTOCKBulgaria's livestock fell sharply in the first half of 2000, after authorities closed down meat and dairy farms that failed to meet EU veterinary standards, Reuters reported. The decline in the livestock is also attributed to shrinking domestic consumption of meat. Data released by the National Statistic Institute show that the number of pigs declined by 20 percent, poultry by 6.9 percent, sheep by 10.5 percent, and cattle by 0.9 percent. By the end of August, 192 dairy farms and 352 livestock units had been closed down, according to the National Veterinary Service. Of the farms still operating, only 12 meat and dairy producers have been licensed to export to the EU. MS[C] END NOTE[31] CHECHENS IN UKRAINE: A DIASPORA IN THE MAKING?By Lily HydeThe meeting around a table cluttered with lemonade bottles and food plates was rowdy. A young Chechen warrior wanted to boast about his fighting exploits in Chechnya. A Ukrainian from Crimea pledged his undying respect for the Chechens, while a Ukrainian nationalist took issue with the Crimean's use of the Russian language. At the head of the table, a delegation of war veterans recalled the forced evacuation of Chechens from their republic in the Stalinist era. And from the next room, the plaintive sound of the Muslim call to prayer was heard. The two dozen or so people had been brought together under the auspices of the Muslim Community in the town of Cherkassy, south of Kyiv. The group unites about 3,000 Muslims in the region, mostly Tatars, Azerbaijanis, and natives of Central Asian states. A network of such organizations across Ukraine represents 2 million Muslims. On 6 September, they gathered at the behest of their newest members, Chechens, to mark the Chechen day of independence, which was declared in 1991 but is still far from being a political reality. Estimates of the number of Chechens in Ukraine vary from 2,000 to 5,000. Official statistics do not exist, since only a small fraction of the Chechens are registered and have received formal refugee status. Refugees have found it hard to get the Ukrainian government to recognize them. Rakhman Khamtsuyev, a Chechen whose wife is Russian, arrived in Cherkassy with his family and his brother's all- Chechen family. The brother's family did not receive permission to stay and had to return to their home town just outside the capital, Grozny. According to Mamed Khataev, a Chechen who heads the Cherkassy Muslim community, this is the usual Ukrainian procedure with all-Chechen families, who are given no chance to live legally in Ukraine by the authorities: "They come and go, but no one registers you. [The authorities] can, they say they will, but it's only on paper. They appear on TV and say we have a good attitude to these people, we accept them--but its all on paper and on TV. In fact, there's an unofficial order that no Chechens are registered for any price, they are sent out of Ukraine." The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine acknowledges that an "unwritten rule" does indeed prevent local immigration services from accepting many refugees from Russian republics like Chechnya. The official reason is that such refugees are Russian citizens and therefore from a country that respects human rights. Nevertheless, Khamtsuyev is grateful to Ukraine, where he says the media offer a more balanced picture of events in Chechnya that their Russian counterparts. Ukrainian authorities have also allowed Chechen information centers to operate, despite the objections of the Russian government. Most important, Khamtsuyev has been able to escape the horrors of life just outside Grozny. Chechens in Ukraine are linked by unofficial or social organizations, like the Muslim communities, where they have found a welcome and some support. But the Cherkassy community cannot do much for the seven Chechen families who have moved into the town. The community rents only two rooms in an apartment, one of which it uses as a mosque, the other as a study room for Arabic and religion classes and social gatherings, such as the Chechen independence celebration. The Cherkassy Muslim community head Khataev insists the group is purely a spiritual and social movement and does not engage in politics. Leaders of the Chechen diaspora in Crimea cooperate with the Crimean Tatar political organization Mejlis to find Chechen families accommodation and support. And they also stay in touch with Chechen information centers around the country. Not everyone at the 6 September gathering had a Muslim background. Some ethnic Ukrainians also support the Chechen cause, including nationalists, who see it as another opportunity to oppose what they consider Russian imperialism, and women who have married Chechen men. Yuri Lepechin is from Crimea but grew up in Grozny and is now actively helping the Crimean diaspora organize. "Our goal is to found a diaspora and, with its help, send the children and old people in Crimea for health treatment," he told RFE/RL. Through the diaspora, we are also organizing the education of a cadre of Chechens. We're preparing Chechnya for freedom-- I would say, free Ukraine is preparing Chechnya for freedom." <i>The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Ukraine.</i> 14-09-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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