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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 183, 00-09-21Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 183, 21 September 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER'S DISMISSAL IMMINENT?Prime Minister Andranik Markarian and other leading members of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) informed President Robert Kocharian on 19 September that they intend to push for the dismissal of parliamentary speaker Armen Khachatrian, an unnamed HHK source told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 20 September. Khachatrian, who is a member of the People's Party of Armenia (HZhK), the HHK's junior partner within the majority Miasnutiun parliament bloc, has been subjected to increasing criticism since early this year (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 37, 15 September 2000). The HHK reportedly wants one of its members, deputy speaker Tigran Torosian, to succeed Khachatrian. Kocharian is reported to have urged Markarian to try once again to resolve his party's differences with the HZhK, which on 14 September pledged its support for further cooperation with the HHK within the Miasnutiun bloc (see "RFE/RL Armenia Report," 15 September 2000). LF[02] ARMENIAN MEDICAL PERSONNEL STRIKEThousands of Armenian doctors staged a six-hour strike on 20 September to protest the government's failure to meet its own deadline for paying wage arrears, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Many doctors have not been paid for 10-12 months. LF[03] NEW CHARGE BROUGHT AGAINST ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI EDITORA fourth charge has been brought against opposition "Yeni Musavat" editor Rauf Arifoglu, Turan reported on 20 September quoting Arifoglu's lawyer Elton Guliev. Arifoglu is now also accused of calling for a coup d'etat. Last month he was charged with illegal weapons possession, participation in a hijack attempt, and involvement in a terrorist act in connection with the abortive 18 August Nakhichevan plane hijack (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 August 2000). LF[04] ANOTHER AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY BARRED FROM PARLIAMENTARY POLLAzerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission has rejected the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan's (DPA) application to register to contend the 5 November parliamentary election, Turan and Interfax reported on 20 September. The commission ruled that of the 53,000 signatures the party had submitted in support of its application, 4,000 were forged. A minimum of 50,000 valid signatures are required for registration. On 19 September, the trial opened in Baku of 18 people, including DPA chairman Rasul Guliev, who are accused of the theft of oil products worth millions of dollars (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 September 2000). LF[05] AZEEBAIJAN, TURKEY SIGN AGREEMENT ON DEFENSE INDUSTRY COOPERATIONThe defense ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Safar Abiev and Sabahaddin Cahmagoglu, signed an agreement in Baku on 20 September on military- industrial cooperation between their respective ministries, Turan reported. Cahmagoglu, who is on a three day visit to Baku, will also meet with Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliev. LF[06] GEORGIAN COMMUNISTS PREVENTED FROM MEETING WITH VISITING CHINESE DELEGATIONThe Georgian Communist Party's (SKP) request for a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China was denied on the grounds that the delegation had a heavy program during its 19-20 September visit to Tbilisi, Caucasus Press reported on 20 September, quoting SKP secretary Vilgelm Makharadze. The Chinese delegation met with parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania and Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Shota Dogonadze to discuss expanding bilateral economic cooperation and trade. LF[07] UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE HOLDS TALKS WITH ABKHAZ LEADERSHIP...Abkhaz Premier Vyacheslav Tsugba and Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba assured visiting UNHCR representative Ekber Menemencoglu that the Abkhaz leadership has no objections to the repatriation to Abkhazia of Georgian displaced persons who fled during the 1992-1993 war, Caucasus Press reported on 20 September. They agreed that the UN-sponsored Coordinating Council for Refugees should resume its work next month. But Shamba warned that the security of those who return can be guaranteed only if the Abkhaz authorities succeed in neutralizing the "terrorists and guerrillas" currently operating in southern Abkhazia. The UN has been reluctant to encourage displaced persons to return to Abkhazia on the grounds that the Georgian guerrillas pose a threat to stability in the region. LF[08] ...AS DISPLACED PERSONS CALL FOR EXPEDITING SETTLEMENTAlso on 20 September, the Union of Internally Displaced Persons demanded that the Georgian parliament convene an emergency debate on Abkhazia at which President Eduard Shevardnadze would speak on the peace process, Caucasus Press reported. The union's leader Murman Beria complained that no progress has been made towards resolving the conflict since the 1994 cease-fire. He said those responsible for delaying a political settlement should be brought to account. LF[09] KAZAKH INTERIOR MINISTER CONDUCTS FIRST-HAND BRIBERY INVESTIGATIONQairbek Suleymenov told a press conference in Astana on 19 September that he was forced to pay 36 separate bribes totaling 32,200 tenges ($226) to traffic police and customs officers in order to transport a truck-load of watermelons incognito from Shimkent to Astana, Reuters and RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported on 20 September. The acceptance of the bribes was filmed by video camera, and all the officials involved have been dismissed. LF[10] KULOV TO BACK PARLIAMENT DEPUTY SPEAKER IN KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL POLLSpeaking at a joint press conference in Bishkek on 20 September, former Vice President and opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov said he has formed an alliance with Omurbek Tekebaev and will back the latter's candidacy in the 29 October presidential election, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Tekebaev, who is speaker of the lower house of the Kyrgyz parliament and chairman of the socialist Ata-Meken Party, said that if he wins the poll he will name Kulov prime minister. He said that he is in favor or Kyrgyzstan's becoming a parliamentary republic in which the president does not have the power to dismiss the premier at will. Tekebaev is one of seven candidates registered to contest the ballot, from which Kulov was barred after refusing to sit the mandatory Kyrgyz language proficiency test (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 September 2000). LF[11] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER MAY BE FORCED TO PUBLISH ABROADThe opposition weekly "Delo Nomer" published a statement in its 20 September edition warning that its staff may be forced to leave Kyrgyzstan and publish the newspaper abroad unless official harassment ends, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Deputy editor Svetlana Krasilnikova was summoned to the National Security Ministry for interrogation the same day. On 19 September, employees of that ministry had searched the newspaper's premises for documents detailing the ministry's attempts to infiltrate opposition parties (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 September 2000). LF[12] LIBEL SUIT BROUGHT AGAINST KYRGYZ NGOKyrgyz parliamentary deputy Alymbai Sultanov has brought a libel suit against the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations of Kyrgyzstan and is demanding 5 million soms (about $100,000) in damages, the coalition's chairwoman, Tolekan Ismailova, told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau on 20 September. The coalition had criticized the Kyrgyz authorities' announcement that Sultanov won the run-off election in March in the Kara- Buura constituency where Feliks Kulov gained a majority in the first round of voting. The coalition also noted widespread procedural violations during that ballot. LF[13] TAJIK PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ENHANCING CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY AGREEMENTDuring talks in Dushanbe on 20 September with Valerii Nikolaenko, who is general secretary of the CIS Collective Security Treaty, President Imomali Rakhmonov called for strengthening the role of that pact in guaranteeing regional security, Russian agencies and Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Rakhmonov noted the existing regional division of responsibilities among signatories to the treaty, whereby Russia and Armenia are responsible for the Caucasus and Russia and Belarus for Eastern Europe. He underscored the key role played by Tajikistan in guaranteeing security in Asia, given that Tajikistan borders on Afghanistan. Rakhmonov added that the ongoing creation of regional rapid-deployment forces will likewise provide for a more effective response to international terrorism. LF[14] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIESThrough 20 SEPTEMBER CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal Russia48820 Azerbaijan1001 Georgia0011 Kyrgyzstan0011 Armenia0000 Kazakhstan0000 Tajikistan0000 Turkmenistan0000 Uzbekistan0000[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[15] TENS OF THOUSANDS CHEER KOSTUNICA IN BELGRADE...A crowd of some 150,000 people cheered Vojislav Kostunica, the leading opposition candidate in the upcoming Yugoslav presidential election, at a campaign rally in central Belgrade on 20 September, AP reported. Kostunica, who is backed by a coalition of 18 opposition parties, said "May God help us to have enough courage and wisdom to win freedom. [Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic] does not want to go. [He] wants to rule at all costs." The crowd responded by chanting "he is finished," in reference to Milosevic. Numerous opinion polls have shown Kostunica with a large lead over Milosevic. Earlier, on Serbian Television, Kostunica criticized the UN war crimes tribunal's indictment against Milosevic. He said that indictment "turned the entire country into a hostage of one policy and one person." He added that "The Hague tribunal is an American, not an international tribunal." PB[16] ...WHILE FAR FEWER COME OUT FOR MILOSEVIC ACOSS TOWNYugoslav President Milosevic accused the Serbian opposition of being "NATO colonizers" at a rally in Novi Belgrade on 20 September attended by some 10, 000 people, Reuters reported. In a fierce attack, Milosevic said "those alleged political parties...are tasked with spreading lies and defeatism, provoking crime and terrorism, [and] inciting chauvinism." Milosevic arrived at the rally in a limousine that drove down closed streets, in sharp contrast to Kostunica, who walked through the throngs of supporters up to the stage. In Washington, U.S. President Bill Clinton said Milosevic is "capable of stealing an election." James O'Brien, a special presidential adviser on the Balkans, predicted that Milosevic will "claim victory," despite losing the vote. PB[17] MILOSEVIC SLAMS 'RATS AND HYENAS' IN MONTENEGROYugoslav President Milosevic greeted some 15,000 cheering supporters in Berane on 20 September. He told his listeners that Montenegro's independent-minded leaders are "rats and hyenas," AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 September 2000). Milosevic called on all Montenegrins to "remain wise and brave in the interest of the survival of Serbs and Montenegrins in their joint state." It was his first visit to Montenegro since 1997. Berane is in the mountainous northeast near the border with Kosova. The army garrison town is considered politically loyal to Milosevic. PM[18] YUGOSLAV MILITARY LEADER SAYS HE WOULD ACCEPT KOSTUNICAGeneral Nebojsa Pavkovic said on 20 September in Podgorica that the Yugoslav armed forces will accept opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica as head of state if he wins the Yugoslav presidential elections on 24 September. Pavkovic's statement was made on Montenegrin state television. Pavkovic said he has never supported any political party. "I only support the president of the state, who is my superior." As for the vote and the possibility of unrest, Pavkovic said "we will not provoke any conflict unless someone attacks us from outside." Beta news agency quoted Pavkovic as saying that "if someone interferes from outside, it will not be quiet." PB[19] SERB SENTENCED FOR KILLINGS IN KOSOVAMilos Jokic was sentenced on 20 September in Gniljane, Kosova, to 20 years in prison for the deaths of two people in the Serbian province last year, Reuters reported. Jokic, 21, was convicted of shooting Rexhep Emrullahu in the village of Vrban on 9 May 1999, of ordering another man killed, of raping and beating a woman, and of heading a paramilitary force that expelled some 2,500 Kosovar Albanians from their homes. A French judge presided over the case along with ethnic Albanian judges. It was the first war crimes trial in Kosova. Several Serbian witnesses refused to testify in the trial, fearing retribution from ethnic Albanians. PB[20] KOSOVAR COMMANDER FOUND MURDEREDA regional commander of the Kosova Protection Corps was found murdered in central Kosova on 20 September, AP reported. Skender Gashi was a commander of the corps' second battalion and had served in the now- disbanded Kosova Liberation Army. PB[21] ETHNIC ALBANIAN GUERRILLAS CLAIM THREE MEMBERS KILLEDThe Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac (UCPMB) said in a statement that three of its members died in a recent clash with Serbian police in Dobrosin in the south Serbian region bordering Kosova, Reuters reported on 20 September. There has been no independent confirmation of the UCPMB report. A NATO spokesman said: "We are watching, and we know pretty much everything that goes on [in the Dobrosin area], but it's a matter of intelligence and we don't comment" on such reports. PM[22] REPUBLIKA SRPSKA PARLIAMENT OVERRULES GOVERNMENT.The parliament passed a law on 19 September indexing payments to pensioners and invalids to salaries of workers. The government previously rejected that approach, saying the size of payments should be linked only to the amount of money that the government has on hand. PM[23] KLEIN: ARRESTED CROATIAN GENERAL CHIEF SUSPECT IN BOMBINGJacques Klein, who is the UN's chief representative in Bosnia, said that a general recently arrested in the Croatian government's dragnet against war criminals and gangsters is the main suspect in the 1999 car bomb slaying of a leading Bosnian crimefighter, "Jutarnji list" reported on 20 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 September 2000). Klein said that since early this year, investigators have been looking into the theory that General Ivan Andabak was the man behind the killing of Bosnian Deputy Interior Minister Jozo Leutar. Klein noted that Bosnian police recently arrested three men whom they believe carried out Andabak's orders in the killing. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said the authorities in unspecified "other countries" have linked Andabak to organized crime there. PM[24] CROATIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH VOJVODINA CROATSPresident Stipe Mesic and Foreign Minister Tonino Picula discussed the problems of the Vojvodina Croats with a delegation of leaders of that community. Issues included the Croatian minority's general lack of rights, the widespread poverty in Serbia, and difficulties in maintaining ties to Croatia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[25] ALBANIA ARRESTS SIX FOR CORAL SMUGGLINGA police spokesman said in Tirana on 20 September that four French citizens and two Italians are under arrest for attempting to smuggle 87 kilograms of coral out of the country, AP reported. Police found the coral in the suspects' hotel rooms after a tip-off from villagers in the Saranda area. Albania's coral reefs are protected by law. PM[26] ROMANIAN OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO REJECT YUGOSLAV ALLEGATIONSPresident Emil Constantinescu, responding to Yugoslav Information Minister Goran Matic's recent allegations that NATO exercises in Romania are in fact preparations to invade his country should the opposition lose the upcoming elections there, said on 20 September that Romania's military doctrine "includes no aggressive intentions against anyone." Foreign Minister Petre Roman said Romania "has no aggressive intentions towards Yugoslavia or any other country." He said Matic's allegations are "a reflection of the dictatorial spirit, which we also knew during [communist dictator Nicolae] Ceausescu's times," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 September 2000). MS[27] ROMANIAN LIBERALS ATTACK PREMIERValeriu Stoica, first deputy chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), said on 20 September that Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu has "lost credibility" as an even-handed, non-party affiliated premier and is following the orders of the "inefficiently governing" National Peasant Party Christian Democratic, which backs his presidential candidacy. He criticized Isarescu for having recently made changes in the administration without consulting the coalition partners. Several PNL members were replaced as a result of the reshuffle. Stoica added that Isarescu was to blame for the recent increase in the popularity of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania's presidential candidate, Ion Iliescu, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS[28] MELESCANU TO MEDIATE IN TRANSDNIESTER CONFLICT?Yevgenii Primakov, head of the Russian state commission for finding a settlement of the Transdniester conflict, has proposed that Alliance for Romania (APR) chairman Teodor Melescanu be appointed mediator in the settlement of the Transdniester conflict, according to first APR deputy chairman Marian Enache. The independent Flux agency, citing Rompres, said that Enache told journalists on 20 September that Primakov made that proposal during Melescanu's visit to Moscow from 18-20 September. The former Romanian foreign minister is now running for president. MS[29] OSCE DENIES TRANSDNIESTER MEETING CANCELEDIn a letter received by Infotag on 20 September, the OSCE denied that a meeting in Vienna on the settlement of the Transdniester conflict has been canceled owing to the refusal of the Transdniester delegation to accept Moldova's conditions for its participation in the gathering (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 September 2000). The OSCE says no such meeting had been scheduled for this week, although preparations are under way for a gathering involving both sides in the conflict, Russian and Ukrainian mediators, and the OSCE. MS[30] VIETNAMESE PREMIER IN BULGARIAPhan Van Khai and his Bulgarian counterpart, Ivan Kostov, met in Sofia on 18 September and discussed boosting bilateral economic ties, which have declined since 1989, AP and AFP reported. The two premiers told journalists they are interested in re- establishing joint ventures in the food and textile industries and creating new joint ventures. Trade between the two countries amounted last year to a mere $16.4 million, down from $30.6 million in 1997. The two premiers signed agreements on cooperation in health, culture, science, education, telecommunications, and maritime navigation. MS[31] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIESThrough 20 SEPTEMBER CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal Romania42410 Ukraine2439 Bulgaria3115 Slovakia1315 Belarus0145 Hungary2114 Czech Rep.1034 Poland1102 Croatia1001 Lithuania1001 Yugoslavia0101 Estonia0011 Latvia0011 Albania0000 Bosnia-Herzeg.0000 Macedonia0000 Moldova0000 Slovenia0000[C] END NOTE[32] IMF URGES EU TO EXPEDITE PRE-EXPANSION REFORMSBy Breffni O'RourkeThe International Monetary Fund is urging the European Union to make greater progress on its key internal reforms so as to pave the way to the EU's eastward expansion. It notes that delays in the internal reform of the union have raised what it calls "substantial doubts" about the conditions under which the union's enlargement will occur. And those delays, in turn, have called into question when full membership can realistically be expected for even the first group of applicants. The 15 EU member states have set themselves a target date of the end of 2002 to be institutionally ready to accept new members, and EU officials have spoken of 2005 as the likely--but not promised--date for the first new accessions. The internal reform process is going forward by means of an inter-governmental conference (IGC) currently under way, which is charged with reaching consensus on a reform package in time for a summit of EU leaders in Nice, France, in December. But progress at the IGC is said to be slow, and in its latest survey of the World Economic Outlook, issued in Prague on 19 September, the IMF notes that "substantial" movement forward is still required in a number of critical areas. They include voting procedures, agricultural support policies, and regional funding policies. However, Michael Mussa, the IMF's research director, struck a generally optimistic note in Prague on 19 September. "I don't regard that process [of EU enlargement] as slow at this stage," he said. "We are concerned that it may become slow, but that is a concern more for the future than for what has been accomplished up to this point." The IMF report says any continuing lack of EU progress could present significant risks for the accession process. Membership for the Eastern candidates could be delayed, or new members could be placed in some form of transitional status. This, according to the IMF, could mean a weakening of the candidates' commitment to reforms and of public support for membership, both in the existing member states and among the applicants. In addition, the IMF warns, the transition economies could be subject to political or economic shocks that would distance them from the accession track. Meanwhile, the IMF has assessed the progress that the 13 candidate countries--which include Cyprus, Malta, and Turkey- -need to make. Its report characterizes the overall picture so far as one of substantial progress by the accession countries in economic liberalization and adjustment, including reorienting their trade to the West, strengthening capital markets, and improving macro-economic stability. But the IMF says that all the candidates still face major adjustments, particularly in terms of their mix of jobs and industries, notably agriculture, as well as in trade patterns and in the financial sector. Those changes, it says, will occur more smoothly if markets are able to operate efficiently and convey clear price and wage signals. Thus, the candidates need to continue strengthening the institutions that support market activities, particularly laws and regulations. The IMF also says that by putting in place a legal framework designed for economically advanced economies, the accession countries have the chance to take a major step forward. But to realize that advantage fully, the transition economies must still build up their human capital and administrative capacity to ensure that laws are applied effectively. The IMF's assistant director of research, David Robinson, speaks positively of the progress made so far by Central and East European EU candidate countries. Speaking in Prague on 19 September, he said that "one striking feature of the transition process has been the generally better performance by the countries that are now applying for membership of the European Union. And while that importantly reflects the initial conditions they faced, which were rather more favorable--I would say--than the Commonwealth of Independent States, it also reflects the better progress that they have generally made with structural and institutional reform." Further, the IMF says that while the process of EU accession may be moving too slowly in the opinion of a number of applicant countries, there could be risks for them if they try to join the euro common currency zone too quickly. This is because the EU members' inflation and fiscal discipline under the EU members' drive to harmonize their economies could conflict for some time with the adjustments that the candidate countries will continue to have to make. The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent based in Prague. 21-09-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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