RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 211, 00-10-31

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 211, 31 October 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] DEMONSTRATORS CALL FOR ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S RESIGNATION

[02] FORMER BAKU MAYOR SAID TO HAVE LEFT AZERBAIJAN

[03] IRAN CUTS POWER SUPPLIES TO AZERBAIJANI EXCLAVE

[04] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY FACTIONS CONDEMNS VIOLENCE

[05] GEORGIA IN LINE FOR NEW IMF CREDITS?

[06] NEW COMMANDER OF CIS PEACEKEEPING FORCED IN GEORGIA NAMED

[07] OSCE SAYS KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL POLL FAILED TO MEET

[08] ...WHILE ELECTION COMMISSION CHAIRMAN DENIES, THEN CONCEDES

[09] KAZAKHSTAN ALLOWS TRAIN TO COLLECT STRANDED TAJIKS

[10] AFGHAN FUGITIVES GATHER ON BORDER WITH TAJIKISTAN

[11] THREE TAJIKS CHARGED IN KOREAN CHURCH BOMBING

[12] UZBEK TERRORISM TRIAL OPENS

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[13] RUGOVA'S MODERATE PARTY DECLARED WINNER OF VOTE IN KOSOVA...

[14] ...AS THACI ACCEPTS RESULTS

[15] U.S. PRAISES VOTE, SAYS 'NO' TO INDEPENDENCE

[16] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT CLOSE TO BEING FORMED

[17] OUTGOING YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT CHALLENGES APPLICATION FOR UN

[18] SURVEY SUGGESTS MAJORITY OF MONTENEGRINS SUPPORT

[19] CROATIAN PREMIER DENIES COALITION IN TROUBLE

[20] OSCE SAYS REFERENDUM BY BOSNIAN CROATS IMPERMISSIBLE

[21] SERBIAN OFFICIALS BURY UNIDENTIFIED WAR VICTIMS

[22] ALBANIA RATIONS ELECTRICITY

[23] ROMANIAN PARTY WANTS TO STOP PRIVATIZATION PROCESS

[24] GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER AGAINST LIFTING VISA REGIME FOR

[25] HACKERS PUT ILIESCU ON FBI'S MOST WANTED LIST

[26] LUCINSCHI OPPOSES FOREIGN FINANCING OF MEDIA

[27] IMF PREPARED TO RESUME CREDITS TO MOLDOVA

[28] TRANSDNIESTER VIEWS BADEN MEETING AS PREMATURE

[29] MOLDOVANS ILLEGALLY ABROAD BEING EXTRADITED HOME

[30] BULGARIAN STABILITY PACT COORDINATOR QUITS

[C] END NOTE

[31] RUGOVA EMERGES VICTORIOUS IN KOSOVA LOCAL ELECTIONS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] DEMONSTRATORS CALL FOR ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S RESIGNATION

10,000 people attended a three-hour demonstration in central

Yerevan on 30 October at which Arkadii Vartanian, millionaire

businessman and leader of the 21st Century Association, laid

the blame for the country's economic problems and the ensuing

mass emigration on President Robert Kocharian, and called on

the latter to resign, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The

demonstrators then marched to the presidential palace, where

they submitted a letter demanding Kocharian's resignation.

The demonstration was the culmination of a one-month campaign

by Vartanian, who aspires to succeed Kocharian as president,

despite being a Russian citizen. Vartanian was summoned to

the Yerevan police headquarters earlier in the day and warned

not to make calls for violence. He said the city's police

chief threatened to launch criminal proceedings against him

unless he stops his campaign. During the evening of 30

October, police forced entry into Vartanian's Yerevan home

and took him into custody for 10 days for having organized an

unsanctioned march on the presidential palace, Noyan Tapan

reported on 31 October. LF

[02] FORMER BAKU MAYOR SAID TO HAVE LEFT AZERBAIJAN

Allakhverdiev, one of the deputy chairmen of the ruling Yeni

Azerbaycan Party, has left Azerbaijan to avoid reprisals

after criticizing numerous fellow senior members of the

country's leadership, Turan reported on 28 October (see

"RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 42, 28 October 2000).

Some of those persons whom Allakhverdiev accused are

currently gathering evidence incriminating him, according to

the independent daily "Azadlyg" on 28 October. LF

[03] IRAN CUTS POWER SUPPLIES TO AZERBAIJANI EXCLAVE

Energy Ministry halted power supplies to Nakhichevan on 27

October in retaliation for Azerbaijan's failure to meet a $45

million debt for deliveries, Groong reported, citing Turan

and the "Tehran Times" of 29 October. An Iranian energy

official told Reuters on 26 October that Baku had paid only

$1 million toward the cost of electricity supplied to

Nakhichevan over the past three years. Iran supplied more

than 50 percent of Nakhichevan's electricity. Since 27

October, the town of Nakhichevan has had electricity for only

four hours per day. LF

[04] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY FACTIONS CONDEMNS VIOLENCE

Members of the Union of Citizens of

Georgia's (SMK) parliamentary faction on 30 October condemned

police violence against some 200 supporters of deceased

President Zviad Gamsakhurdia who staged an unsanctioned

demonstration in Tbilisi two days earlier to mark the 10th

anniversary of the parliamentary elections that brought

Gamsakhurdia to power, Caucasus Press reported. The faction

again expressed its dissatisfaction with the work of the

Interior Ministry and with Minister Kakha Targamadze.

Targamadze hinted last month that he has compromising

materials on some SMK deputies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28

September 2000). LF

[05] GEORGIA IN LINE FOR NEW IMF CREDITS?

ministers and IMF official David Owen signed a memorandum on

27 October on the conditions that Georgia must fulfill to

qualify for the release of new tranches of two suspended loan

programs, Caucasus Press and Interfax reported. The funds

suspended those programs last year on the grounds of poor tax

collection and failure to meet planned budget revenues. The

conditions include the publication of a long-awaited

government anti-corruption program, the drafting of measures

to combat poverty, fulfillment of tax collection targets, and

structural economic reform. Owen also discussed with the

Georgian leadership a possible three-year $150 million loan

program to combat poverty. LF

[06] NEW COMMANDER OF CIS PEACEKEEPING FORCED IN GEORGIA NAMED

Ministers' Council named Major-General Nikolai Sidorychev to

succeed Lieutenant-General Sergei Korobko as commander of the

CIS peacekeeping force deployed along the border between

Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia, "Vremya-MN" reported the

following day. Sidorychev previously commanded the CIS

peacekeeping force in Tajikistan. LF

[07] OSCE SAYS KYRGYZ PRESIDENTIAL POLL FAILED TO MEET

In a preliminary assessment

released in Bishkek on 30 October, the OSCE/ODIHR election

monitoring mission said the previous day's presidential poll

did not meet OSCE standards for democratic elections. It said

"the international standards for equal, free, fair and

accountable elections were not met." The statement noted that

although the existing legislation allows for democratic

elections, the flaws that marred the parliamentary poll in

February-March 2000 were not eradicated. It noted

restrictions on the registration of candidates that limited

the field to six candidates and intervention by local

officials in the electoral process. The statement noted the

"remarkable transparency" for tabulation of returns provided

for by the law was "marred by serious violations." LF

[08] ...WHILE ELECTION COMMISSION CHAIRMAN DENIES, THEN CONCEDES

Speaking on national television on the

morning of 30 October, Kyrgyz Central Electoral Commission

chairman Sulaiman Imanbaev denied that any procedural

violations had taken place during the previous day's ballot,

Interfax reported. Following the release of the OSCE/ODIHR

evaluation, however, Imanbaev conceded that such violations

had taken place but "do not merit such a negative assessment

from the OSCE." Imanbaev accused that organization of bowing

to pressure from unnamed political forces to give a negative

evaluation of the presidential poll. LF

[09] KAZAKHSTAN ALLOWS TRAIN TO COLLECT STRANDED TAJIKS

and Tajik railway officials have reached an agreement to

allow one Tajik train to transit Kazakh territory en route

for Russia, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 30 October. The train

will bring back from the Russian city of Volgograd some 800

young Tajiks who were stranded there after Kazakhstan

suspended the passage of further Tajik rail traffic because

of safety considerations and non-payment of debts (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 19 October 2000). No further Tajik trains

will be allowed to transit Kazakhstan until Tajik railways

pays its $1.6 million debt to its Kazakh counterpart. LF

[10] AFGHAN FUGITIVES GATHER ON BORDER WITH TAJIKISTAN

Afghans fleeing the ongoing fighting between Taliban and

Northern Alliance forces have congregated at the Pyandj

border crossing between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Interfax

reported on 30 October. Russian border guards in Tajikistan

have thwarted at least one attempt by about 100 of the

fugitives to enter Tajikistan. The Tajik authorities fear

that a mass influx of Afghan refugees would destabilize the

domestic political situation. LF

[11] THREE TAJIKS CHARGED IN KOREAN CHURCH BOMBING

Tajikistan have charged three students from the Dushanbe

Islamic Institute with terrorism in connection with the bomb

that killed seven members of a Korean Christian congregation

in the city earlier this month, AP reported on 30 October

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 and 23 October 2000). Three further

suspects have been arrested in connection with the bombing,

the motives for which are as yet unclear. LF

[12] UZBEK TERRORISM TRIAL OPENS

Uzbekistan's Supreme Court of 12 men charged with committing

a series of terrorist acts, including the February 1999 car

bombings in Tashkent, that killed more than 50 people,

Russian agencies and RFE/RL's Tashkent bureau reported. Nine

of the accused, including banned Islamic Movement of

Uzbekistan leaders Takhir Yuldash and Djuma Khodzhiev, are

being tried in absentia. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[13] RUGOVA'S MODERATE PARTY DECLARED WINNER OF VOTE IN KOSOVA...

Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) has won 58

percent of the vote, with 90 percent of the votes counted,

Reuters reported. The party of former Kosova Liberation Army

(UCK) commander Hashim Thaci, the Democratic Party of Kosova

(PDK), was trailing with 27 percent of the vote. The Alliance

for the Future of Kosova, an ultranationalist group made up

of many UCK leaders, is currently in third with some 8

percent of the vote. The results give the LDK control of 21

municipalities, while the PDK has six and three are still

undecided. Daan Everts, the OSCE mission head in Kosova, said

"we can confirm that the election took place without fraud

and incidents." He said turnout was about 80 percent. Reports

did not indicate, however, if that figure relates only to

ethnic Albanians or also includes the ethnic Serbs, who

overwhelmingly boycotted the vote. One count showed that some

1,100 Serbs had registered to vote in the election. There are

an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Serbs living in Kosova (see

also "End Note" below). PB

[14] ...AS THACI ACCEPTS RESULTS

October that his party accepts the results of the election

and will cooperate with the LDK, Reuters reported. "We did

not expect such a result...[but] the PDK will recognize the

final result of the municipal election." He said that the

election was made possible only because of the earlier

military resistance of the UCK. Thaci echoed Rugova's call

for independence for the province: "Citizens of Kosova should

have no doubts about their future. We are here to continue to

work for an independent and democratic Kosova." PB

[15] U.S. PRAISES VOTE, SAYS 'NO' TO INDEPENDENCE

Department hailed the municipal elections in Kosova, saying

that "all indications are that they were free and fair,"

Reuters reported. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher

said LDK leader Rugova's demands for independence will have

to wait because the province's final status, according to UN

resolution 1244, can be determined only after the province

"develops democratic institutions in the interim period."

While Yugoslav and Serbian officials continued to criticize

the election because it was boycotted by ethnic Serbs, the

moderate Serb National Council of Kosovo, based in the

Orthodox Serb monastery in Gracanica, said it viewed the

result with "cautious optimism." PB

[16] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT CLOSE TO BEING FORMED

Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said on 30 October that

they have agreed to a cabinet lineup, Reuters reported.

Vladan Batic, a leader of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia

(DOS) bloc, said the federal parliament will meet on 3

November, "when the new government will be voted on and then

constituted." The DOS is to provide some 10 ministers in the

new government, which is expected to be reduced from the

current 28 ministries to 15 or so. Batic said the DOS will

have Miroljub Labus, an expert from the G-17 Plus group of

economists, as deputy premier in charge of foreign economic

relations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 October 2000). PB

[17] OUTGOING YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT CHALLENGES APPLICATION FOR UN

The cabinet of former Yugoslav President Slobodan

Milosevic said on 30 October that President Kostunica does

not have the authority to file an application for UN

membership (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2000), AP

reported, citing Tanjug. Tomislav Nikolic, Yugoslav deputy

premier, said the request is "unauthorized" since "the

federal government, not the president of Yugoslavia, is in

charge of foreign policy." But DOS official Batic said the

same day that Yugoslavia could be admitted to the UN--where

its status has been in limbo since 1992--within days. He

added that objections from Montenegro, which wants Belgrade

to refrain from joining international bodies until the

federation's status vis-a-vis Montenegro is resolved, will

not hold up the process. Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko

Lukovac said on 29 October that Podgorica will not contest

Yugoslavia's application to join the UN. PB

[18] SURVEY SUGGESTS MAJORITY OF MONTENEGRINS SUPPORT

A poll published in the Montenegrin daily

"Vijesti" on 30 October showed that a majority of respondents

would favor independence if a referendum on the topic were

held, although a majority also favored some future

association with Serbia, Reuters reported. Conducted by

Montenegro's Center for Democracy and Human Rights, the poll

found 48.1 percent of respondents would vote for independence

and 38.9 would vote against it. But more than half of those

polled said they want some kind of alliance with Serbia.

Montenegrin Premier Filip Vujanovic said on 27 October that

both republics should be internationally recognized but that

some functions could be shared. PB

[19] CROATIAN PREMIER DENIES COALITION IN TROUBLE

30 October downplayed differences between members of his

coalition as a "normal occurrence in coalitions and

democracy," AP reported. "Where there is no fighting, there

is no love," he told journalists. But speculation continues

that differences between Racan's Social Democrats and the

Social Liberal Party over posts in state offices, economic

policy, and amending the constitution could lead to the

government's fall. The main point of contention is changes to

the constitution, with the Liberals complaining that Racan

and his party are trying to shift powers currently held by

the president to the cabinet instead of to the parliament.

Racan has ruled out calling new elections, despite his

party's increased popularity in opinion polls. PB

[20] OSCE SAYS REFERENDUM BY BOSNIAN CROATS IMPERMISSIBLE

OSCE said that a proposed referendum by nationalist Bosnian

Croat political parties would violate election rules, AP

reported. Luke Zahner, the OSCE's spokesman in Sarajevo, said

"we are not even calling it a referendum, but an expression

of opinion and a political party activity. If they go through

with it on election day, they would be in violation of

election rules." Party activities are prohibited one day

before an election begins and one day after the election

ends. Kresimir Zubak, leader of the moderate New Croat

Initiative, said the Croatian Democratic Community's call for

the referendum is "an effort to realize their permanent idea

of the division of the country," the Sarajevo daily "Dnevni

Avaz" reported. PB

[21] SERBIAN OFFICIALS BURY UNIDENTIFIED WAR VICTIMS

in Banja Luka began burying the bodies of some 450

unidentified victims of the Bosnian wars, AP reported on 29

October, citing the daily "Glas Srpski." The bodies had been

laid out in a factory for more than five years. DNA samples

are being taken before burial. The head of the Association of

Killed and Missing Soldiers and Civilians, Nedeljko Mitrovic,

said some 900 Serbian soldiers and about 5,000 civilians

remain missing following the war. PB

[22] ALBANIA RATIONS ELECTRICITY

October that electricity in the country is being reduced to

five hours a day owing to the severe drought, which has

lowered water levels at hydroelectic power plants, AP

reported. Households are also experiencing water shortages

because of insufficient energy supplies to pump water. PB

[23] ROMANIAN PARTY WANTS TO STOP PRIVATIZATION PROCESS

of Social Democracy in Romania's (PDSR) first deputy

chairman, Adrian Nastase, announced that the PDSR will put

forward a motion in the parliament to reduce the prerogatives

of the current government, Romanian media reported on 27

October. The PDSR wants the government to undertake only

administrative work until the parliamentary elections on 26

November. Nastase explained that PDSR wants to stop the

government from privatizing large companies. Prime Minister

Mugur Isarescu responded the next day by saying the PDSR's

move is part of that party's electoral campaign and violates

existing legislation and agreements with the World Bank

Meanwhile, the opposition Party of Romanian National Unity

has put forward a draft bill that would stop the government

from continuing the privatization process. ZsM

[24] GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER AGAINST LIFTING VISA REGIME FOR

German Interior Minister Otto Schilly is opposed

to lifting visa obligations for Romanian citizens, "Adevarul"

reported on 28 October. Schilly argued that statistics show

Romania is the third largest source of illegal immigration to

Germany and that the country's borders are not secured enough

to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants. Schilly added that

many Romanian citizens are part of organized crime in

Germany. Romanian Foreign Minister Petre Roman responded that

Romania knows its obligations and is applying measures in

order to strengthen border controls. Earlier this year both

the European Parliament and the European Commission

recommended the lifting of compulsory visas for Romanians and

Bulgarians, but many European countries expressed doubts

about doing so. ZsM

[25] HACKERS PUT ILIESCU ON FBI'S MOST WANTED LIST

hackers have linked former President Ion Iliescu's official

electoral website to the FBI site of its most wanted

criminals, Reuters reported on 29 October. Anyone who tries

to visit Iliescu's site at www.ioniliescu.com sees the FBI

page instead. Iliescu's aides said they are trying to

discover who was behind the incident. PG

[26] LUCINSCHI OPPOSES FOREIGN FINANCING OF MEDIA

Lucinschi told AP Flux on 30 October that he supports a

legislative proposal that would prohibit the distribution of

newspapers financed by foreign governments. Such a step is

needed, he said, to level the playing field for all

publications. In another move, Lucinschi promulgated the

presidential election law, BASA reported. PG

[27] IMF PREPARED TO RESUME CREDITS TO MOLDOVA

Richard Haas said in Chisinau on 30 October that his

organization is ready to resume its loan program to Moldova

as soon as the IMF leadership agrees to a memorandum of

cooperation with that republic, Infotag reported. Haas said

that the first $12 million of a $150 million credit package

is likely to be extended in December. The IMF froze its

assistance program to Moldova a year ago after Chisinau

failed to approve laws regulating its 2000 budget and

privatizing the country's wine and tobacco sectors. PG

[28] TRANSDNIESTER VIEWS BADEN MEETING AS PREMATURE

Ministry of the separatist Transdniester Republic broadcast a

statement on Tiraspol television on 30 October saying that

OSCE plans to hold a meeting in Baden of all parties to the

dispute over the future of the breakaway region are premature

and that the session should be postponed, Infotag reported on

30 October. The statement suggested that it would be better

to hold a session only after Moldova elects a new president.

PG

[29] MOLDOVANS ILLEGALLY ABROAD BEING EXTRADITED HOME

Moldovan Interior Ministry press service told AP Flux on 30

October that some 2,240 Moldovans who entered other countries

illegally have been extradited back to Moldova in 2000 alone.

Interior Minister Vladimir Tucan said that Chisinau plans to

increase its efforts to prevent this flow of illegal

migrants. PG

[30] BULGARIAN STABILITY PACT COORDINATOR QUITS

Karadimov, Bulgaria's stability pact coordinator, handed in

his resignation on 30 October to protest parliamentary calls

for Sofia to withdraw from the pact if the EU does not end

travel restrictions on Bulgarians, Reuters reported. On 29

October, Assen Agov, the chairman of the parliament's foreign

policy commission, said in a radio interview, that Bulgaria

will withdraw unless EU countries drop their visa

requirements for Bulgarian nationals. Karadimov said he

resigned in order to disassociate himself from those remarks.

PG

[C] END NOTE

[31] RUGOVA EMERGES VICTORIOUS IN KOSOVA LOCAL ELECTIONS

The OSCE announced late on 30 October that Ibrahim

Rugova's moderate Democratic League of Kosova (LSK) won 58.13

percent of the vote in municipal elections two days earlier.

The LDK took 21 of the 27 districts where voting was held.

The OSCE stressed, however, that these are "unofficial

polling station results." Preliminary results are not

expected until later this week.

The big losers were two parties led by former UCK

commanders. Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosova placed

second with 26.95 percent of the vote and Ramush Haradinaj's

Alliance for the Future of Kosova was third with 7.72

percent. Both men have said say they will accept the election

results.

Rugova, known as the Albanian Gandhi for his advocacy of

non-violence, says the poll was a clear call for Kosova's

independence. At a 29 October news conference at his home in

Prishtina, Rugova called on "Paris, London, Berlin, and

Washington to recognize the independence of Kosova. The

people of Kosova have demonstrated that they are for

democracy and peace and that they know how to lead Kosova.

The proof of this is the massive turnout."

Voter turnout was, in fact, overwhelming, at "around 80

percent," according to OSCE mission head in Kosova Daan

Everts on 30 October. At many polling stations, voters had to

wait hours to cast ballots. Some polling stations remained

open six hours longer than scheduled to cope with the crowds

of eager voters.

The office of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica,

however, issued a statement on 29 October declaring the

Kosova local elections invalid on grounds that the poll

applied only to the province's ethnic Albanians. Most of

Kosova's remaining Serbs, estimated to number between 50,000

and 100,000, chose to boycott the poll. Only about 1 percent

of Serbs registered to vote. Nor did Serbian parties field

candidates.

But the head of the OSCE election process, Jeff Fischer,

told a news conference in Pristina on 29 October that the

vote was free and fair because it represented a matter of

choice. "I believe that the case can be made that this was a

free and fair process because it represented a matter of

choice. There are people in Kosovo who chose to participate.

There are people in Kosovo who chose not to participate. That

was their free choice."

Fischer added that "the door remains open to the Serbian

community to participate in the governance of their

municipalities, and I'm hopeful that the next electoral event

will be more reflective and have greater participation by all

communities within Kosovo."

UN chief administrator for Kosova Bernard Kouchner has

said he will appoint Serbs to sit on local councils and may

call new local elections within months. But Fischer noted

that any decision on new elections will have to be made at

the highest levels of the UN and OSCE.

In Belgrade, pro-Kostunica politicians have welcomed the

victory of Rugova's LDK.

A leading member of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia

(DOS), Social Democratic Alliance chief Zarko Korac, told

RFE/RL that Rugova's victory is "basically a good thing as it

opens up space for the start of a dialogue between

democratically minded Serbs and Kosovar Albanians about the

future." He added that "if Rugova positions himself as the

leading politician of Kosovar Albanians, it will be easier

for the [Serbian] political forces that want dialogue with

the Kosovar Albanians."

The head of another DOS member party, the Democratic

Center's Dragoljub Micunovic, told RFE/RL, "We expect that

Rugova as a moderate politician who has been through all the

changes that Serbia and Yugoslavia have, is working toward

the goal of stability of Yugoslavia, the Balkans and the

region as a whole. As far as we can tell, somewhere sometime

a change of thinking [on the part of the voters] occurred--at

any rate it is a good thing that extremists did not win the

elections."

In contrast to the pro-democracy leaders in Belgrade,

Kosova Serb politicians are taking a more reserved view.

Moderate Rada Trajkovic, a member of the Serb National

Council of Kosova and a member of Kosova's joint

administration council (along with Rugova and Thaci), insists

the conditions did not exist for legal, democratic and free

elections for the Serbian community in Kosova. Trajkovic told

RFE/RL, "You know we certainly do not have freedom of

movement and the Serbian community in this region are denied

their human rights."

Similarly, in the Serb enclave at Gracanica, near

Pristina, Father Sava Janjic, a moderate Serb, said the

significance of the election is overshadowed by the absence

of conditions for Serbs to participate. He told AP that the

legitimacy of Rugova's party will depend very much on its

attitude toward the rights of the Serbs and other minorities

in Kosova.

And the head of the Serbian community in the divided

city of Mitrovica, Serbian National Council chairman Oliver

Ivanovic, said in an interview with RFE/RL that he remains

skeptical over whether Rugova's victory really means a vote

for moderation. "We were expecting some sort of victory by

Mr. Rugova and the Democratic League of Kosova, but not so

convincing," he commented "Today, generally speaking, this

doesn't mean anything at all for Serbs. I think the concepts

of Mr. Rugova and Mr. Thaci in principle are very similar."

The 28 October vote was peaceful and orderly. Making the

next round more inclusive to all the province's communities

may be easier with Rugova's LDK replacing Thaci's UCK

veterans in town councils across Kosova.

The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent based in Prague.

31-10-00

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

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