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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 194, 00-10-06Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 194, 6 October 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL MEETS WITH ARRESTED KARABAKHOFFICIALArmenian presidential human rights commission chairman Paruyr Hairikian met in Stepanakert late last month with Karen Babayan, former Stepanakert mayor and brother of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's former army commander and Defense Minister Samvel Babayan, Noyan Tapan reported. Both brothers are charged with involvement in the 22 March attempt to assassinate the unrecognized enclave's President Arkadii Ghukasian. Hairikian told his commission on 5 October that Karen Babayan informed him that during the six months he has been held in custody he has been systematically deprived of the right to take exercise or receive food brought by his relatives. Also on 5 October, the Armenian government newspaper "Hayastani Hanrapetutiun" criticized the conduct of Samvel Babayan's ongoing trial, noting that persons who have no connection with the attempted killing are being called as witnesses. LF [02] ARMENIA DENIES HOLDING 1,474 AZERBAIJANI PRISONERSTheArmenian National Security Ministry issued a statement in Yerevan on 5 October refuting claims made by Azerbaijani National Security Minister Namik Abbasov last month, Noyan Tapan reported. At a meeting on 21 September between Abbasov and representatives of local human rights organizations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Abbasov had accused the ICRC , the OSCE and the UN of "indifference" to the fate of Azerbaijani prisoners of war in Armenia, whose number he gave as 1,474. The ICRC walked out of that meeting to protest Abbasov's statement. Abbasov further accused Armenia of reneging on an earlier "all for all" agreement to exchange prisoners of war. The Armenian statement noted that Yerevan has released 10 Azerbaijani POWs this year, adding that two more Azerbaijanis are currently being held, one of whom it said is a "terrorist" who "offered his services" to the Armenian side. LF [03] U.S. SAYS RESTRICTIONS ON TWO AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES'POLL PARTICIPATION SHOULD BE LIFTEDSpeaking in Washington on 5 October, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker criticized the decision by Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission to bar the opposition Musavat Party and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan from contesting the 5 November parliamentary poll under the proportional system, dpa and Reuters reported. He said that exclusion "seriously jeopardizes the potential for the conduct of free and fair parliamentary elections," adding that "the participation of all major opposition parties is essential in offering the voters of Azerbaijan a real choice." He urged the Azerbaijani authorities to allow the two parties to compete through proportional lists as well as in single mandate constituencies. Reeker apparently did not mention the other five opposition parties, including the small but respected Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, that have been barred from competing under the proportional system. LF [04] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT AMNESTIES 64 PRISONERSHeidar Alievhas decreed the release of 64 prisoners, including 42 found guilty of staging attempted coups in 1994 and 1995, ITAR-TASS and AP reported on 5 October quoting the presidential press service. Five of those amnestied are associates of former Prime Minister Suret Huseinov, who is serving a life sentence for allegedly leading a coup against Aliev in October 1994. Aliev amnestied 87 prisoners serving sentences for similar crimes against the state in late June, just days before the decision was due to be taken on admitting Azerbaijan to full membership of the Council of Europe (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June 2000). LF [05] GEORGIA UNVEILS SECURITY, FOREIGN POLICY CONCEPTSpeaking on5 October in Tbilisi at the opening of an international conference on strategic cooperation, Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili listed as the key tenets of Georgia's national security policy the adoption of universal human values, defining Georgia's role in the process of globalization, and protection of its national identity and cultural legacy, Caucasus Press reported. He further listed as foreign policy priorities integration with the EU, cooperation with the UN in conflict resolution, expanding economic cooperation within the framework of GUUAM, the CIS, and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and reforming the country's defense potential to bring it into compliance with international standards. LF [06] GEORGIA SUFFERS MAJOR POWER OUTAGEEastern Georgia,including Tbilisi, was without electricity for four hours early on 6 October following a failure at the main Tbilisi switching center, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported. The outage affected radio, TV, transport and water supplies. LF [07] BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN AIM TO EXPAND BILATERAL TRADEKazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev discussed thepotential for expanding bilateral economic cooperation with his visiting Belarusian counterpart Uladzimir Yarmoshyn in Astana on 5 October, Interfax reported. Both men agreed that bilateral trade could and should be expanded from the present annual level of $60 million. Yermoshin said Belarus is ready to provide Kazakhstan with farm machinery and trucks, and to cooperate in the spheres of light industry and high technology. The two countries' first deputy premiers, Aleksandr Pavlov and Alyaksandr Papkou, signed inter- governmental agreements on economic and information cooperation, according to ITAR-TASS. LF [08] KAZAKH-U.S. OIL CONSORTIUM OUTLINES PLANNED PRODUCTIONGROWTHNick Zana, Ddrector of the Eurasia Department of U.S. Chevron Overseas, told the annual international oil and gas conference in Almaty on 5 October that the Tengizchevroil consortium in which his company owns a 50 percent stake, plans to produce 10.4 million tons of oil in 2000, Interfax reported. Zana said that production will rise to 12 million tons in 2001 and to 17 million tons within the next two-three years. LF [09] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT DESIGNATES OSH SECOND CAPITALKyrgyzPresident Askar Akaev on 5 October issued a decree designating the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan the country's second capital, Interfax reported. As such, Osh will house a second presidential residence. The city is currently celebrating the 3000th anniversary of its foundation. LF [10] MASSOUD MAY BE ALLOWED TO RETREAT TO TAJIKISTANAccording tosenior Russian Federal Border Service official Lieutenant General Vladimir Makarov, anti-Taliban Northern Alliance units commanded by Ahmed Shah Massoud may be allowed to retreat from northern Afghanistan into Tajikistan if the Tajik government gives its permission for them to do so, Russian agencies reported quoting the 5 October issue of "Rossiiskie vesti." Makarov added that he does not believe the Taliban will launch an attack on neighboring CIS states in the near future. Also on 5 October, First Deputy Chief of Russian Army General Staff Colonel General Valerii Manilov said he sees no need to strengthen the Russian troop contingent in Tajikistan, Interfax reported. Manilov also said he does not think the Taliban are preparing to advance beyond the borders of Afghanistan, but warned that "we must consider all possible developments...so the situation does not take us by surprise." LF [11] TURKMENISTAN, UKRAINE AGREE ON DEBTVisiting UkrainianPresident Leonid Kuchma assured his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat on 5 October that Kyiv will implement investment projects in Turkmenistan in payment of its 1999 debt for Turkmen natural gas, Interfax reported. He also invited Niyazov to visit Ukraine in May 2001. Also on 5 October, Ukrainian First Deputy Finance Minister Petro Hermanchuk and Turkmenistan's Central Bank chairman Seitbai Kandymov signed an agreement that sets Kyiv's state debt to Turkmenistan at $281 million. Negotiations on how that debt is to be repaid will resume after Niyazov's visit to Ukraine next year and after Kyiv reaches agreement with its Paris Club creditors. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] KOSTUNICA GREETS CITIZENS AS YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT...Crowds ofsome 500,000 people amassed in Belgrade on 5 October to end the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (see "End Note" below). In the evening, opposition presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica addressed the crowd from the balcony of the parliament building and hailed what he called "liberated Serbia." "Serbia is running a victory lap at this moment and along that track there is no Slobodan Milosevic. Serbia hit the road of democracy and where there is democracy there is no place for Slobodan Milosevic," he added. Kostunica stressed that he is proud to be a Serb and a member of the Orthodox Church. PM [13] ...OUTLINES PLANS AND VISION AT HOME...In the evening of 5October, Kostunica said in an interview on state-run television that "we don't need violence to communicate. I have a vision of a country without inner tensions... I guarantee that we will live in a normal state where there will be no revenge and there will be a normal dialogue between people of different opinions." He noted that he plans to name a Montenegrin as prime minister (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 October 2000). PM [14] ...AND ABROADTurning to foreign affairs, Kostunica on 5October hailed what said were the plans "of the EU" to lift sanctions against Serbia as early as 9 October. He referred to "the friendly peoples of Europe, the Greeks, the French, the Norwegians." He ruled out any cooperation with the Hague- based war crimes tribunal, which he called "an instrument for maintaining American influence and a NATO presence in the Balkans." Kostunica nonetheless added that he wants his country to be "open to the international community. Our life day after day, hour after hour, was too exciting and people now want some peace. That's what I felt in the campaign, and saw in the eyes" of people he has met around the country. PM [15] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT SESSION FOR PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATIONThe parliament is slated to meet in the afternoon of 6October to inaugurate Kostunica as Yugoslav president, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. It is expected that Montenegrin deputies will attend. PM [16] NEW YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIES SET UP 'CRISIS COMMITTEE'Theleaders of the democratic opposition have established a committee to deal with pressing issues affecting "public order and peace," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 6 October. The committee includes departments to deal with the army, police, economy, and supply, as well as other, unspecified "vital" matters. Virtually all of the Milosevic- controlled media have deserted him and issued statements pledging to report the news "objectively." The headline of the formerly pro-Milosevic daily "Politika" reads: "Dr. Vojislav Kostunica, President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Addresses The Nation. Serbia Is On The Road To Democracy." PM [17] LAST HURRAH OF MILOSEVIC'S YUGOSLAV ARMY?Top militaryofficials discussed the changing political and security situation well into the night of 5-6 October in Belgrade. The generals did not issue any official statement afterward. Tanjug news agency reported, however, that unnamed "army sources" told it that the army will not use violence if it is not attacked. Observers note that the army consists primarily of conscripts, whom the former regime cannot rely on. Most of the top generals are political appointees of Milosevic and are likely to be replaced very soon. PM [18] SOME SERBS STILL FEAR MILOSEVICSeveral hundreds ofthousands of people remained in Belgrade's streets and squares throughout the night of 5-6 October at the request of opposition leaders, who said that they fear that Milosevic might try to retake control of the capital, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Zoran Djindjic, who is campaign manager of the united opposition, told an RFE/RL correspondent that he does not rule out the possibility that Milosevic might try to launch a "counter-coup." Djindjic stressed, however, that this possibility is becoming increasingly unlikely because most of Milosevic's supporters have deserted him. Djindjic suggested that Milosevic is hiding with his hard-core loyalists in the Bor region of Serbia. PM [19] SOME FOREIGN FRIENDS DESERT EX-YUGOSLAV LEADERCypriotauthorities have ordered that Milosevic be arrested if he flees to Cyprus, Reuters reported from Nicosia on 6 October. Spyros Stavrinakis of the Central Bank of Cyprus added: "We have given instructions to all banks to closely monitor all transactions which are directly or indirectly connected with Yugoslav entities." Cyprus is well known as a haven for Yugoslav bank deposits and companies. In Athens, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said that "Greece will not welcome persons seeking political asylum. Greece does not offer its territory, its airports for visits by elements in Mr. Milosevic's government." An unnamed "senior government official" was even more blunt: "If [Milosevic] arrives in Greece, he will be arrested and handed over [to the Hague- based tribunal] for trial." PM [20] PRAISE FOR NEW YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVREPUBLICS...Rival Bosnian Serb leaders Zivko Radisic and Milorad Dodik both said in Banja Luka on 5 October that the change of government in Belgrade will be good for democracy and the Republika Srpska, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Croatian President Stipe Mesic said in Zagreb, however, that Serbia "needs a catharsis" of its political emotions and to prove to its neighbors that it does not covet their territory, the BBC reported. Mesic stressed that he hopes that Kostunica will be the leader of a "European Serbia" that will pursue the same sort of forward-looking policies as its neighbors. PM [21] ...AND FROM WESTERN LEADERSSpeaking in Washington on 5October, U.S. President Bill Clinton said that the "United States stands with people everywhere who are fighting for their freedom. We believe in democracy. I have said before, the opposition candidate, who according to all unbiased reports clearly won the election, obviously also has strong differences with us. This is not a question of whether he agrees with us. All we want for the Serbian people is what we want for people everywhere: the right to freely choose their own leaders... It's been a hard-core dictatorship... I think the people are trying to get their country back," an RFE/RL correspondent reported. In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that "the prize, not just for the Serbian people, but for the rest of Europe, is the prospect of Serbia being welcomed into the Europe of nations," AP reported. Similar messages of support for the new Belgrade authorities came from Paris and Berlin. PM [22] KOUCHNER RAISES KOSOVA ISSUES WITH NEW YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIESBernard Kouchner, who heads the UN's civilian administrationand whose replacement Kostunica has demanded, said in Prishtina on 5 October that he is in contact with the former opposition, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 6 October 2000). "I intend to start a meaningful dialogue with the new government in Belgrade to begin work on resolving crucial issues facing Kosovo, first of all that of detainees in Serbia and the thousands of missing people," he stressed. He called the changes in Belgrade the "realization of a dream" but argued that "the attention of the international community must not be diverted from the tasks at hand here in Kosovo." Asked whether he thinks the new government can help improve relations between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians, Kouchner replied: "It's difficult to expect a worse relationship" than the one that currently exists between the two peoples. PM [23] ROMANIA REACTS TO YUGOSLAV EVENTSPresident EmilConstantinescu said on 5 October that Romania is "ready to resume dialogue and cooperation with Yugoslavia and to back Serbia's reconstruction as a result of the triumph of the Serbian people's democratic choice," Romanian Radio reported on 6 October. Constantinescu, who is paying a visit to Italy, discussed the situation in Yugoslavia with his Italian counterpart, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. He is also due to meet with Pope John Paul II on 6 October. The same day, presidential counselor General Constantin Degeratu and Defense Ministry spokeswoman Cristina Dumitrescu both denied an AFP report that Romania has agreed to grant Yugoslav military airplanes access to its airspace. Degeratu said that Romania has taken "all necessary measures" to prevent "any threat to its national security as a result of the special situation in Yugoslavia." MS [24] FORMER ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TO SEEK THAT OFFICE AGAINParty ofSocial Democracy in Romania (PDSR) chairman Ion Iliescu on 5 October officially launched his bid to regain the country's presidency, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. In his speech, Iliescu insisted on the need to return to "Romanian values," mentioned the Church and the army as "pillars" representing such values, and called for Romania's "dignified" integration into NATO and the EU. He promised to raise living standards, boost investments, eliminate corruption, reform the tax system, and support medium-sized enterprises. One day earlier, Iliescu had announced that Adrian Paunescu, a former Ceausescu court poet who earlier was deputy leader of the Socialist Labor Party, has joined the PDSR and may run for a seat in the parliament on its lists. MS [25] MOLDOVA 'SURPRISED' AT ROMANIA'S AGREEMENT TO GRANTCITIZENSHIP TO ILASCUMoldova on 5 October said it is "surprised" by the recent decision of the Romanian authorities to grant citizenship to Moldovan deputy Ilie Ilascu, who has been imprisoned by the Tiraspol authorities since 1992 on charges of "terrorism." Presidential spokesman Anatol Golea said Moldova was not informed about the decision in advance and that the parliament must now examine whether the move violates legislation barring foreigners from becoming members of the parliament, Reuters reported. MS [26] MOLDOVAN PREMIER IN U.S.Dumitru Braghis, currently on avisit to the U.S., said after talks with government officials on 5 Octobers that Washington is ready to extend help to "socially vulnerable" sectors of Moldova's population. He said he cannot provide an exact figure but believes approximately $4 million will be granted to partly cover the cost of electricity, gas, and heating supplies to the needy. Braghis also said that IMF officials had "positively reacted" to Moldova's request to restructure the country's debt. He said he will meet again with IMF and World Bank officials to work out details of a proposal that would then be submitted to the parliament for approval, Infotag reported. MS [27] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT ORDERS BORDERS SEALED TO YUGOSLAV WARCRIMINALSPresident Petar Stoyanov, responding to the events in Belgrade earlier on 5 October, has ordered chiefs of the army, police, and border guards to take special measures to prevent suspected war criminals from fleeing across the border from Yugoslavia, AP reported. The agency, citing Bulgarian television, said the government is determined to prevent "any attempt by people who are indicted by The Hague [war crimes tribunal] from slipping into Bulgaria." MS [C] END NOTE[28] SERBIA'S SWIFT REVOLUTIONBy Patrick MoorePeople power has triumphed in Belgrade. Opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica has declared himself Yugoslav president before cheering crowds, and Serbia's new leaders are turning their attention to the business of governing. Some half a million people amassed in Belgrade on 5 October to end the 13-year rule of Slobodan Milosevic. Tens of thousands of Serbs arrived in the capital from the provinces, where many citizens had begun to lose their fear of the regime and its police in recent days. Perhaps the decisive moment came on 4 October, when the miners at Kolubara and thousands of their local supporters refused to yield to police intimidation and prompted the police to withdraw. The protesters in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia demanded that Milosevic recognize Kostunica's victory in the 24 September elections and step down. The Constitutional Court's 5 October decision to annul the election provided the spark that set off the crowds' anger, which in turn saw the revolt through to its successful conclusion. The fact that the demonstrators brought down the regime in less than a day shows how bankrupt Milosevic's rule had become. In any event, the 24 September ballot cost him whatever legitimacy he once had. He has now become politically irrelevant and without any serious source of support. In that respect, it does not matter whether he has fled the country or is in hiding. This is because what were once his main sources of backing have gone over to the opposition, been taken over by the opposition, or chosen to remain silent. The state-run media have switched sides, as have many of the police. Munich's "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" shows a photo of a riot policeman in full gear--sporting an opposition anti-Milosevic "He's finished!" sticker on his shield. The largely conscript army, for its part, remains in its barracks. There are two immediate reasons why this protest succeeded whereas numerous Belgrade demonstrations in recent years had failed. First was the arrival of a critical mass of citizens from the provinces. Those citizens were angry at being cheated out of their vote and intended to put an end to the regime then and there. The people from outside Belgrade gave the democratic movement a broad base that went beyond Belgrade's intellectuals and politicians. Illustrative of this was the fact that the determined crowd apparently ignored the pleas by newly elected Mayor Milan Protic--a U.S.-educated expert on Balkan history--for non-violence. The second reason for the revolution's success was that the army and police did not intervene in any serious fashion. Police were present and used tear gas on more than one occasion. But they soon withdrew or joined the protesters. The police and army may have been under orders not to inflame an already tense situation. But it appears that, in any event, they realized that Milosevic was finished--and that Kostunica would soon be their new boss. Now that the Serbian people have retaken control of their country, its future is entirely in their hands. The government's work must soon begin in earnest. It has a host of tasks ahead of it in both the domestic and external fields. Its first job at home will be to preserve the unity that saw it to victory on 24 September and 5 October. If the former opposition reverts to its former in- fighting, then it will soon prove itself unequal to its tasks. That may give a political opening to forces that are now marginalized, such as the backers of Milosevic, the Radicals' Vojislav Seselj, or the Serbian Renewal Movement's Vuk Draskovic. The new government's second domestic priority will be to carry out its election program, the Contract with Serbia. Some tasks will prove fairly quick or easy, such as depoliticizing the media, military, police, and judiciary. The real difficulty will be implementing deeper political and economic reforms. These will involve taking on solidly entrenched political and economic structures that often date from pre-Milosevic times and frequently have links to organized crime. The third internal issue will be renegotiating the constitutional relationship between Serbia and Montenegro. Both republics now have democratic governments, but the relations between them are frosty. It will take much effort and tact on both sides to reconstruct a mutually beneficial relationship. The most important set of external issues involves the other former Yugoslav republics, as well as Kosova. Kostunica will be hard pressed to square the circle between his desire to keep Kosova a part of Serbia with the determination of the Kosovars to become independent. As to relations with the other former republics, the new government will need to address Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Macedonian demands for a fair division of the former Yugoslavia's assets and properties. Kostunica, in particular, will have to deal with suspicious leaderships in Zagreb and Sarajevo that regard him as a die-hard nationalist and remember his opposition to the 1995 Dayton agreement. And if the new Belgrade government wants good relations with the former Yugoslav republics and with the international community, it will sooner or later have to address the question of cooperating with the Hague-based war crimes tribunal. The international community seems eager to welcome a democratic Serbia back to its ranks with open arms. The new government will need to take advantage of this abundance of good will and show quickly that Serbia has indeed entered a new era. In short, the Serbian revolution has triumphed. Its leaders' work has only just begun. 06-10-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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