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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 187, 00-09-27
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 4, No. 187, 27 September 2000
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN NEW COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[02] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT FAILS TO ENDORSE SPEAKER'S RESIGNATION
[03] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GREETS U.S. MOVE ON GENOCIDE
[04] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SAYS HE WILL LEAVE HOSPITAL TODAY
[05] AZERBAIJAN'S RULING PARTY ACCUSES OPPOSITION LEADERS OF BEING PRO-
ARMENIAN
[06] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS GEORGIA
[07] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS VIOLENCE BY ORTHODOX SPLINTER GROUP
[08] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT PARDONS IMPRISONED OPPOSITIONISTS
[09] KAZAKHSTAN'S FIRST DEPUTY PREMIER HOSPITALIZED IN PRAGUE
[10] KAZAKHSTAN SHELVES PLAN TO BUILD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
[11] TAJIK OFFICIALS CALL FOR HUMANITARIAN AID FOR AFGHANISTAN...
[12] ...AS UZBEK PRESIDENT DOWNPLAYS TALIBAN THREAT
[13] RUSSIAN MILITARY DENIES TALIBAN HAVE REACHED AFGHAN-TAJIK BORDER
[14] TAJIKISTAN, TURKEY SEEK TO EXPAND ECONOMIC TIES
[15] TURKMEN PRESIDENT OUTLINES GAS PRIORITIES
[16] UZBEK PRESIDENT ENDORSES KYRGYZ COUNTERPART'S REELECTION BID
[17] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIES
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[18] SERBIAN REGIME CONCEDES OPPOSITION LEAD IN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
[19] SERBIAN OPPOSITION REJECTS SECOND ROUND OF VOTING
[20] CALLS FOR LIFTING EU SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA FROM GERMANY...
[21] ...AND FRANCE
[22] THACI SAYS SERBIAN FORCES' RETURN WOULD MEAN 'WAR'
[23] BOSNIAN SERB SUPPORTERS OF MILOSEVIC WARN OF 'CIVIL WAR'
[24] SUPPORT FROM BOSNIA FOR KOSTUNICA
[25] CROATIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR HELP FOR DEMOCRACY
[26] U.S., CROATIA HOLD MILITARY EXERCISES IN ADRIATIC
[27] SOME 100 SACKED IN PURGE OF CROATIAN POLICE
[28] CALLS FOR OUSTER OF CONTROVERSIAL CROATIAN POLITICIAN...
[29] ...BUT PASALIC WON'T GO
[30] PATTEN HAILS EU TALKS WITH MACEDONIA
[31] GEORGIEVSKI CLAIMS VICTORY IN MACEDONIAN RUN-OFF VOTE
[32] ALBANIAN POLICE FOIL ATTEMPT AGAINST BERISHA
[33] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES REPORT ON INVESTMENT FUND COLLAPSE
[34] FORMER ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS NOTHING WILL CHANGE IN FOREIGN POLICY
[35] OLYMPIC INCIDENT PLAYS ROLE IN ROMANIAN ELECTORAL STRUGGLE
[36] BLAST AT BULGARIAN ARMS PLANT KILLS ONE
[37] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIES
[C] END NOTE
[38] AN OUTRAGE IN RYAZAN
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN NEW COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Expressing satisfaction at the level of bilateral relations, Robert
Kocharian and Vladimir Putin met in Moscow on 26 September and signed a
Declaration on Cooperation in the 21st Century. Putin said that document
reflects the fact that Armenia is Russia's "traditional ally," according to
"Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 27 September. Speaking at a press conference after
their talks, Kocharian stressed that the aspiration for peace throughout
the South Caucasus requires that regional leaders pursue a responsible
policy. Asked by a Russian journalist what role Russia could play in
resolving the Karabakh conflict, Putin said Moscow has no exclusive right
to mediate a settlement and will not exert pressure "on either side" in
order to achieve one, Interfax reported. He added that Moscow will endorse
any settlement reached by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, according
to ITAR-TASS. Kocharian also met on 26 September with State Duma speaker
Gennadii Seleznev. LF
[02] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT FAILS TO ENDORSE SPEAKER'S RESIGNATION
Only 63 out of a total of 131 deputies, three fewer than the 66 needed for
a simple majority, voted on 26 September to accept the resignation of
parliamentary speaker Armen Khachatrian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.
After insisting for months that criticism of his activities was misplaced,
Khachatrian submitted his resignation earlier on 26 September, reportedly
under pressure from the government (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 September
2000). Many deputies reasoned that Khachatrian's resignation would sound
the deathknell for the majority Miasnutiun coalition, which is dominated by
the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), headed by Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian. Khachatrian's People's Party of Armenia is the junior partner in
that coalition. Deputies from the second-largest Kayunutiun (Stability)
faction, the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) and the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, all of which endorsed the demand for
Khachatrian's resignation, expressed support for the creation of a new
majority bloc to supersede Miasnutiun. LF
[03] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN GREETS U.S. MOVE ON GENOCIDE
Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ara Papyan on 26 September
characterized as "a serious step toward determining the truth" the non-
binding resolution passed last week by a U.S. House of Representatives sub-
committee that requires President Bill Clinton to describe the "systematic
and deliberate annihilation" of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in
1915 as genocide, Reuters reported. "We all welcome the decision of the
Congress sub-committee," Papyan said. Turkish officials have deplored the
U.S. move and threatened reprisals against Armenia (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
25 September 2000). LF
[04] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SAYS HE WILL LEAVE HOSPITAL TODAY
Interviewed by the independent Azerbaijani TV station ANS on 26 September,
President Heidar Aliev admitted that he had contracted viral influenza
during his visit to the U.S. but added that he will leave hospital on 27
September and fly the same day to London, where he will spend one day
before returning to Baku. LF
[05] AZERBAIJAN'S RULING PARTY ACCUSES OPPOSITION LEADERS OF BEING PRO-
ARMENIAN
"Yeni Azerbaycan," the newspaper of the eponymous Azerbaijani political
party, which controls the parliament, claimed in its 26 September edition
that opposition Musavat party leader Isa Gambar and Rasul Guliev, the
leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, have embarked on cooperation
with the Armenian lobby in the U.S., Turan reported. Guliev has lived in
the U.S. since late 1996. LF
[06] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS GEORGIA
On a one-day visit to Tbilisi on 26 September, Lord Robertson attended a
conference on the prospects for cooperation between NATO and the South
Caucasus states. He also met with President Eduard Shevardnadze and
parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania to discuss Georgia's participation in
NATO's Partnership for Peace program and regional security. Caucasus Press
quoted Robertson as saying NATO has an interest in promoting stability in
Georgia and that it will try to help Georgia create a modern army as
economically as possible. He rejected any NATO involvement in regulating
the Abkhaz conflict, which he termed an internal Georgian problem, saying
that the UN and OSCE are already engaged in mediation. Robertson said he
intends to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan in January 2001. He had originally
been scheduled to travel from Tbilisi to Yerevan and Baku but cancelled
those visits because of the Yugoslav elections. LF
[07] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS VIOLENCE BY ORTHODOX SPLINTER GROUP
Deputies on 26 September condemned the activities of followers of an
excommunicated Georgian priest, Father Basil, who have repeatedly attacked
members of other denominations, in particular Jehovah's Witnesses, Caucasus
Press reported. On 25 September, Father Basil's followers welded shut the
steel entrance door to the editorial office of the independent newspaper
"Rezonansi" to protest the publication in that newspaper of an article
criticizing their reprisals against Jehovah's Witnesses. Also on 25
September, the first hearings took place to discuss the draft Concordat
between the state of Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church (see "RFE/RL
Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 6, 11 February 2000). LF
[08] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT PARDONS IMPRISONED OPPOSITIONISTS
As part of his proclaimed process of national reconciliation, President
Shevardnadze on 25 September signed a pardon for 11 supporters of former
President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Caucasus Press reported. None of them had
been convicted of homicide. LF
[09] KAZAKHSTAN'S FIRST DEPUTY PREMIER HOSPITALIZED IN PRAGUE
Erzhan Utembaev was taken to hospital in Prague on 25 September complaining
he felt unwell, Reuters reported the following day, citing the Kazakh
Foreign Ministry. Utembaev heads the Kazakh delegation to the annual
meeting of the IMF and World Bank. Czech news agencies had initially
identified the ailing Kazakh minister as Finance Minister Mazhit Esenbaev,
who is currently in Astana. LF
[10] KAZAKHSTAN SHELVES PLAN TO BUILD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
A 26 September cabinet session decided against construction of a nuclear
power plant in Kazakhstan's central Karaganda Oblast on financial grounds
and because of public opposition and a lack of safety guarantees, Interfax
reported. The session also failed to endorse a program for development of
Kazakhstan's nuclear power engineering and uranium industry. LF
[11] TAJIK OFFICIALS CALL FOR HUMANITARIAN AID FOR AFGHANISTAN...
Addressing a cabinet meeting in Dushanbe on 26 September, Tajikistan's
President Imomali Rakhmonov appealed to the international community to
provide humanitarian aid for the increasing number of Afghans whose homes
have been destroyed in the civil war, Reuters reported. Rakhmonov said that
the current hostilities close to the Afghan-Tajik border pose a threat to
peace and security in Tajikistan and throughout Central Asia. Foreign
Minister Talbak Nazarov similarly appealed for aid for Afghan displaced
persons who might otherwise try to flee to Tajikistan, ITAR-TASS reported.
Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani estimated last week that some 200,000
people have been displaced by the latest fighting. LF
[12] ...AS UZBEK PRESIDENT DOWNPLAYS TALIBAN THREAT
President Islam Karimov told journalists on his arrival in Bishkek on 26
September for a two-day visit that the media should not exaggerate the
threat posed to Central Asia by the Taliban in general and the current
fighting specifically, Russian agencies reported. "I do not think the
Taliban...are inevitably going to cross the frontiers of the CIS tomorrow,"
ITAR-TASS quoted him as saying. Karimov argued that irrespective of Central
Asian attitudes toward the Taliban, it is up to the people of Afghanistan
to decide what kind of government they want. He suggested that creation of
a coalition government on which both the Taliban and the Rabbani's North
Alliance would be represented could end the ongoing strife. LF
[13] RUSSIAN MILITARY DENIES TALIBAN HAVE REACHED AFGHAN-TAJIK BORDER
Media reports that Taliban forces have reached the Pyandj River, which
forms the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, are untrue, an unnamed
Russian Federal Border Service official told Interfax on 26 September. He
added that the Taliban remain some 5-7 kilometers from the border. Speaking
in Dushanbe the same day, an Afghan embassy official similarly told ITAR-
TASS that the Taliban claims to control large expanses of Afghan territory
are exaggerated. He said Northern Alliance forces regained control over a
number of strategic localities in the northern province of Samangan over
the previous three days. In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Aleksandr Losyukov told Interfax on 26 September that Russia has not
changed its position vis-a-vis the Taliban and will not recognize them as
Afghanistan's legitimate rulers. Also on 26 September, a spokesman for the
Afghan Embassy in Moscow denied that President Rabbani was in the Russian
capital, ITAR-TASS reported. The Afghan diplomat said Rabbani is currently
in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan Province, which borders on
Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. LF
[14] TAJIKISTAN, TURKEY SEEK TO EXPAND ECONOMIC TIES
On a visit to Tajikistan from 20-25 September, Turkish Minister of State
Abduhalik Cay met with Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov and Economy and Foreign
Economic Relations Minister Yahyo Azimov to discuss expanding economic
cooperation in the fields of heavy industry, food processing, construction,
and power engineering, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Cay and Azimov signed a
long-term cooperation agreement on industrial cooperation. Cay also
attended the first session of the joint Tajik-Turkish commission on trade
and economic cooperation and traveled to the Tursunzade, Leninabad, and
Khatlon Oblasts. Turkey's EximBank is considering an $8 million loan to the
Tursunzade Aluminum Plant, which is Tajikistan's largest industrial
enterprise. LF
[15] TURKMEN PRESIDENT OUTLINES GAS PRIORITIES
In an interview published in "Vremya novostei" on 26 September, Saparmurat
Niyazov said that Ashgabat has not rejected outright any of the proposed
gas export pipelines currently under discussion, including the Trans-
Caspian pipeline. But he added that proceeding from "national interests,"
the Turkmen leadership will implement only those pipeline projects that
benefit Turkmenistan, noting that financial guarantees are required before
a final agreement can be signed on the Trans-Caspian project. Niyazov said
that Ashgabat has agreed to a Russian request to increase gas exports this
year from 20 billion cubic meters to 30 billion cubic meters but that
Russia has not yet agreed to Turkmenistan's proposed price hike from $36 to
$38 per 1,000 cubic meters. He hinted that Turkmenistan will renege on the
preliminary agreement negotiated two months ago by Ukrainian Deputy Prime
Minister Yuliya Timoshenko, whereby Ukraine will pay $36 per 1,000 cubic
meters of Turkmen gas, of which only 40 percent will be paid in cash (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 27 July 2000). Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma was to
have traveled to Ashgabat this month to finalize that agreement. LF
[16] UZBEK PRESIDENT ENDORSES KYRGYZ COUNTERPART'S REELECTION BID
Arriving in Bishkek on 26 September for a two-day official visit, President
Karimov expressed support for the candidacy of his Kyrgyz counterpart,
Askar Akaev, candidacy in the 29 October presidential poll, Interfax
reported. Karimov added that the threat of armed Islamist incursions that
both countries have apparently successfully repelled this summer has
"greatly clarified our bilateral relations," by which he presumably meant
that Kyrgyzstan has realized that it cannot risk alienating its large and
powerful Western neighbor. In that context he advocated greater bilateral
cooperation in hydro-electric projects that would enable Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan to export cheap energy to other Central Asian states. Karimov
further noted that the construction of a planned highway from Uzbekistan
via southern Kyrgyzstan to China "will bring millions every year" to
Kyrgyzstan and will provide Uzbekistan with an export outlet to the markets
of China and South Asia, ITAR-TASS reported. LF
[17] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 1 COUNTRIES
Through 27 SEPTEMBER
CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Russia18162155 Georgia0033
Armenia0022
Kazakhstan1102
Azerbaijan1001
Kyrgyzstan0011
Tajikistan0000
Turkmenistan0000 Uzbekistan0000
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[18] SERBIAN REGIME CONCEDES OPPOSITION LEAD IN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
The Election Commission published its first preliminary official election
results on 26 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 September 2000). For the
first time since the ballot two days earlier, an official body admitted
that opposition presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica received more
votes than President Slobodan Milosevic. The official figures gave
Kostunica 48 percent to Milosevic's 40 percent. Opposition leader Zoran
Djindjic said, however, that these figures represent a loss of 200,000
votes for Kostunica and a gain of 400,000 for Milosevic in comparison with
the opposition's tally. Djindjic said that the opposition will demand to be
allowed to study the voting lists to determine the truth of the matter,
RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM
[19] SERBIAN OPPOSITION REJECTS SECOND ROUND OF VOTING
Kostunica said in Belgrade on 26 September that he won the presidency in
the first round of voting and that the commission's call for a second round
on 8 October is an "insult to the voters," the BBC reported. Opposition
spokesmen announced a rally in central Belgrade for the evening of 27
September to demand that the regime respect the opposition's first-round
victory. Leaders of the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, the EU, and several
other countries or organizations have called on Milosevic to accept defeat
and leave office. Greece, however, has not acknowledged the opposition
victory, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported 26 September. PM
[20] CALLS FOR LIFTING EU SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA FROM GERMANY...
Gernot Erler, who is deputy chief of the Social Democrats in the German
Bundestag and an expert on Balkan affairs, said that international
sanctions against Serbia should be lifted in the wake of the elections,
Deutsche Welle reported on 26 September. Similar calls came from the Greens
and the Free Democrats. Karl Lamers, who is the foreign-policy spokesman
for the Christian Democrats, said that the sanctions should have been
lifted long ago, the "Frankfurter Rundschau" reported. Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer, however, is more cautious and wants sanctions lifted only
when it is clear that Kostunica will become president. A spokesman for the
ex-communist Party of Democratic Socialism took a very different approach,
arguing that Milosevic won the elections and that reports of fraud are
"undocumented," the Frankfurt daily added. PM
[21] ...AND FRANCE
In Paris, Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine also called on 26 September for
sanctions to be lifted. "In the name of the [EU] presidency, I take the
necessary initiative and [call upon the European] Commission to submit
proposals for the rapid lifting of sanctions against the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia," dpa reported. "The Serbian people have expressed their
confidence in Mr. Kostunica, who represents from now on in the eyes of the
world a new Yugoslavia... He knows and the people must know that they can
count on Europe," Vedrine stressed. He added that "something has happened
with this vote that will not stop. The hour of change has [begun] in
Belgrade... The European Union must revise its policy" of sanctions, AP
reported. Meanwhile in Washington, Congress has approved a $500 million aid
package for Serbia, "Danas" reported on 27 September. PM
[22] THACI SAYS SERBIAN FORCES' RETURN WOULD MEAN 'WAR'
Former Kosova Liberation Army leader Hashim Thaci told AP in Prishtina on
27 September that if anyone "attempts to bring back the Serbian army and
police to Kosova,...that would re-ignite the conflict in Kosova and bring
another war." Kostunica has called for a return of Serbian forces to the
province. Thaci is now the head of the Democratic Party of Kosova and is
campaigning in the 28 October local elections. PM
[23] BOSNIAN SERB SUPPORTERS OF MILOSEVIC WARN OF 'CIVIL WAR'
Milutin Pejic, who is a top official from the Bosnian Serb Socialist Party,
said in Banja Luka on 26 September that "the opposition announced the
possibility of not recognizing election results which do not show them as
the winners, and they will start forming their own government," AP
reported. "This would certainly lead to further tensions in relations that
could result in a civil war," Pejic added. He also warned that foreign
forces could become involved in such a conflict. Pejic said that the flow
of events could lead to a dangerous situation possibly resulting "in a
military intervention into the internal affairs of Serbia and Yugoslavia."
His remarks imply that he agrees with the regime's earlier position that
Milosevic defeated Kostunica. PM
[24] SUPPORT FROM BOSNIA FOR KOSTUNICA
Wolfgang Petritsch, who is the international community's high
representative in Bosnia, told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service in Sarajevo on
26 September that the Serbian people have made it very clear that they want
change. Elsewhere, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
that the "victory of democratic forces...opens possibilities" to clear up
some outstanding problems between Sarajevo and Belgrade. He added that the
Bosnian government is willing to open diplomatic relations with Federal
Yugoslavia. PM
[25] CROATIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR HELP FOR DEMOCRACY
Ivica Racan said in London on 26 September that the international community
should help to establish "full democracy" in Serbia. He stressed that the
time has come to free the region from the "remaining sources of repression,
tyranny, and instability," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM
[26] U.S., CROATIA HOLD MILITARY EXERCISES IN ADRIATIC
Some 400 U.S. sailors and 200 Marines from the amphibious assault ship "USS
Austin" and 400 Croatian soldiers simulated a landing operation on the
Adriatic island of Zirje on 26 September, AP reported. The exercise, code-
named Phiblex 2000, is held under NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
U.S. spokesmen have repeatedly denied any link between the exercises and
the recent elections in Yugoslavia. PM
[27] SOME 100 SACKED IN PURGE OF CROATIAN POLICE
Interior Minister Sime Lucin told Hina on 26 September that some 100 police
have lost their jobs in the past six months as part of a crackdown on crime
and corruption in police ranks. He added that another 500 police are under
investigation for possible complicity in criminal activities, especially
those relating to the lucrative field of human trafficking. PM
[28] CALLS FOR OUSTER OF CONTROVERSIAL CROATIAN POLITICIAN...
Ivo Sanader, who heads the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) of the late
President Franjo Tudjman, has called for the ouster of Ivic Pasalic from
his position as one of the deputy speakers of the parliament, "Vecernji
list" reported on 27 September. Procedures have begun within the HDZ to
remove Pasalic from that post in order to "further consolidate and improve
the image of the party," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Pasalic
was Tudjman's top adviser and head of the powerful Herzegovinian lobby in
Croatian politics. His name has appeared in conjunction with numerous
financial and political scandals that have come to light since Tudjman's
death at the end of 1999. Observers note that Sanader has generally been
reluctant to make a clean break with the Tudjman era and seek a new image
for the HDZ. Sanader has instead preferred to hope that the governing
coalition will collapse because of in-fighting, which will in turn prompt
many voters to return to the HDZ. PM
[29] ...BUT PASALIC WON'T GO
Pasalic told "Vecernji list" of 27 September that he has no intention of
quitting and that he is not afraid of political pressure for him to go. He
stressed that the calls for his resignation did not come from the HDZ's
governing body but only from Sanader and parliamentary faction chief
Vladimir Seks, who is a bitter rival of Pasalic and at least as
controversial. Pasalic added that the HDZ should be concentrating its
efforts on acting as the voice of those unhappy with the governing
coalition rather than on wasting its energy on internal feuds. PM
[30] PATTEN HAILS EU TALKS WITH MACEDONIA
Chris Patten, who is the EU's commissioner for foreign relations, said in
Brussels on 26 September that he hopes the EU and Macedonia can sign a
Stabilization and Association Agreement at the EU's Balkan summit in Zagreb
in November. "The fact that Macedonia is the first country with which we
are holding these negotiations is a reflection of the great success of
Macedonia in the last months and years in implementing wide-ranging
political and economic reforms," an RFE/RL correspondent quoted Patten as
saying. Patten spoke after meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco
Georgievski. PM
[31] GEORGIEVSKI CLAIMS VICTORY IN MACEDONIAN RUN-OFF VOTE
The State Election Commission reported on 26 September that Georgievski's
coalition has won 30 out of 40 districts where local election runoffs were
held two days earlier (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 September 2000).
Georgievski said that "this was a victory of democracy and will bring
Macedonia closer to Western democracies," AP reported. The commission has
not yet provided tallies for 14 other districts. Georgievski blamed the
opposition for a series of violent incidents that marred the voting.
International monitors confirmed several cases of irregularities but added
that there were fewer such problems than in the first round. PM
[32] ALBANIAN POLICE FOIL ATTEMPT AGAINST BERISHA
Police in Fier overpowered a man on 26 September as he prepared to throw a
hand grenade at opposition leader Sali Berisha at a rally, dpa reported.
Opposition representatives claimed that the man was an agent of the secret
police. A police spokesman said, however, that the man was a member of
Berisha's own party. In Bajram Curri, opposition supporters forced Prime
Minister Ilir Meta to break off a speech. Local elections will be held in
Albania on 1 October (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 15 and 26 September
2000). PM
[33] ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES REPORT ON INVESTMENT FUND COLLAPSE
Lawmakers on 27 September began debating a report by the special
parliamentary commission that investigated the collapse of the National
Investment Fund earlier this year, Romanian Radio reported. The report,
which names persons and institutions directly or indirectly responsibility
for the fund's collapse, is endorsed only by representatives of the minor
opposition Democratic Party and the main opposition Party of Social
Democracy in Romania (PDSR). Other commission members refused to sign what
observers say is a document that may be geared toward influencing the
outcome of the fall parliamentary elections. In a letter to the parliament
on 26 September, Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu said he is "surprised" that
a document carrying "such a great number of inaccuracies and errors could
be issued under the patronage of the parliament." MS
[34] FORMER ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS NOTHING WILL CHANGE IN FOREIGN POLICY
PDSR Chairman Ion Iliescu, who is running for president, said after meeting
in Brussels with EU officials on 26 September that regardless of the
outcome of the fall elections, Romania's foreign policy will be
characterized by "continuity" and that the country's admission to the EU
and NATO will remain the main objectives of that policy, Reuters reported.
MS
[35] OLYMPIC INCIDENT PLAYS ROLE IN ROMANIAN ELECTORAL STRUGGLE
Isarescu, who is also running for president, signed a decree on 26
September awarding gymnast Andrea Raducan $30,000 from funds that the
premier can use at will, Mediafax reported. Raducan, who was deprived of
one of the gold medals won in Sydney after the team doctor gave her
medication containing a banned substance, was mentioned by Foreign Minister
and Democratic Party leader Petre Roman, another presidential contender, in
a speech in Arad on 26 September. Roman said the Foreign Ministry would
normally not interfere with the decisions of the International Olympic
Committee but will "use its voice in diplomatic channels" to correct a
decision that is so "blatantly unjust." A special Olympic tribunal is to
hear Raducan's appeal on 27 September and will make its decision known the
next day. MS
[36] BLAST AT BULGARIAN ARMS PLANT KILLS ONE
A 26 September explosion at the Arsenal plant, which manufactures Bulgarian
Kalashnikovs, killed one worker and seriously injured three others, Reuters
reported. The explosion occurred during maintenance work at the plant, some
200 kilometers east of Sofia. The management refused to comment on the
extent of the damage caused by the explosion. MS
[37] OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT--PART 2 COUNTRIES
Through 27 SEPTEMBER
CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Romania104418
Ukraine37515
Belarus211013
Bulgaria53210
Poland4419
Czech Rep.2136 Hungary3115
Slovakia1315
Lithuania2024 Slovenia2002
Croatia1012
Latvia1012 Estonia0022
Moldova0101 Yugoslavia0101
Albania0000
Bosnia-Herzeg.0000 Macedonia0000
[C] END NOTE
[38] AN OUTRAGE IN RYAZAN
BY Paul Goble
A group of toughs broke up a Jewish Sunday school last week in the central
Russian city of Ryazan and intimidated a local official into denying that
city's Jewish community any further use of school facilities there.
The Union of Councils for Soviet Jews, which released the first reports
detailing these events, said that 15 men armed with metal chains burst into
the Jewish Sunday school on 17 September, smashed windows and furniture,
and shouted fascist slogans and death threats at the 25 Jewish children and
teachers there. The children and their teachers fled and thus avoided
injury.
But the next day, the UCSJ reports, two neo-Nazis attacked the local
school director, beating her on the legs and demanding to know why she
"deals with Jews." She then told the city's Jewish community that she would
no longer rent it a room for Sunday classes because she fears for her life.
Local police announced earlier this week that they have identified four of
the people involved in the attack. But sources at the oblast Interior
Department were quoted as saying that even though those identified pose
"some social danger, there is no need to take them into custody."
Andrei Blinushov, a Ryazan human rights activist, told UCSJ that "we feel
shame and hurt on behalf of our town. Once again, as it was 50 years ago,
fascist scum, having taken up arms, have let loose a pogrom."
Moreover, he said, some media outlets there have "inflated the themes of
'the uniqueness of the Russian people,' 'zionist violence' and similar
topics," while others have even issued calls for "violent actions against
members of various ethnic groups."
At the very time these events were taking place in Ryazan, Russian
President Vladimir Putin spoke at the opening of a new Jewish community
center in Moscow, a widely-covered event that some Jewish leaders there
suggested "herald a new era for religious democracy in Russia."
The events in Ryazan are far from unique. Elsewhere in Russia and in other
post-communist countries, including the eastern regions of Germany, extreme
nationalist, anti-Semitic and even explicitly neo-Nazi groups have emerged
and sought to use violence to harass and intimidate those whom they have
identified as "enemies" of their own people.
Most senior officials in these countries have denounced such groups, with
Russian leaders like Boris Yeltsin and now Vladimir Putin condemning their
activities as incompatible with the building of Russian democracy. But for
three reasons, such statements have failed as yet to stem the growth of
these groups. Indeed, some observers have suggested that the gap between
what these leaders say and what is happening may help to prepare the ground
for further outrages.
First, despite their repeated denunciations of such actions, officials
across the region often have been unable--or unwilling--to bring those
responsible to justice. That failure primarily reflects the weaknesses of
the law enforcement agencies in these states. But the lack of successful
prosecutions has encouraged some hate groups to conclude that they can act
with impunity.
Second, many officials and even more writers in this region have
increasingly sounded a nationalist theme, praising the dominant group and
condemning its presumed enemies at home and abroad. Few of these statements
have been anti-Semitic, but they have helped to create a climate in which
some are prepared to act against those they believe are to blame for their
problems.
And third, officials in some of the countries of this region have
demonized non-Jewish minorities, thus opening the way to the demonization
of Jews as well. In the Russian Federation, Russian officials have
repeatedly attacked "persons of Caucasus nationality" and even sought to
expel them from some Russian cities. These actions, in turn, have led some
officials, such as the governors of certain southern Russian regions, to
attack Jews as well as North Caucasians.
Concerned about the possibilities of such developments, Russian officials,
including Putin, have explicitly warned against holding the entire Chechen
nation responsible for the actions of only some of its members or blaming
any other people as a whole. And they have criticized those who have gone
further and attacked other groups, including Jews.
But unless the authorities move quickly and arrest those responsible for
events like those in Ryazan last week, the history of this region suggests
there are likely to be more such outrages in the future, a development that
could threaten not only the Jewish community but the prospects for
democracy as a whole.
27-09-00
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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