 |
Compact version |
|
 |
        |
|
 |
||
|
Saturday, 21 December 2024
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 217, 00-11-08Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 217, 8 November 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] NEW CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST DETAINED ARMENIAN BUSINESSMANArkadii Vartanian, leader of the 21st Century Association, has been charged with calling for the violent overthrow of the Armenian leadership at a demonstration in Yerevan on 30 October, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 7 November, quoting Interior Minister Hayk Harutiunian. Together with his lawyer, Karo Karapetian, Vartanian, who is a Russian citizen, was detained by police late on 30 October and held for 10 days' administrative arrest. Vartanian's wife and the Armenian Helsinki Group have both condemned Vartanian's detention as politically motivated. LF[02] ARMENIA, WORLD BANK LAUNCH NEW INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMThe World Bank and the Armenian government on 7 November launched a program that will provide a total of $29 million for some 450 small infrastructure projects nationwide over the next five years, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. A similar five-year program begun in 1995 funded 240 projects to provide educational facilities, quality drinking water, irrigation systems, and highway repairs. LF[03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ASSESSES ARMY FUNDINGFunding for the armed forces in 2000 has been "adequate" and will remain "almost the same" next year, Serzh Sarkisian said in an interview with "Hayots ashkhar" on 7 November and reported by Groong. Sarkisian said that while the current level of funding is "satisfactory," it does not allow for the procurement of new weapons systems, noting that the existing ones "may become obsolete tomorrow." He said that the current level of funding is sufficient to ensure that the army is able to perform its duties and that servicemen do not lack food, uniforms, and medical care. But he added that "the army is a structure that can never have a surplus of funds, and there are no superfluous expenditures in the army." LF[04] AZERBAIJANI ELECTION BODY FAILS TO MAKE PUBLIC FURTHER RETURNS...After the OSCE Election Mission's 6 November statement criticizing widespread falsification in the previous day's parliamentary election, Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission released no further results the next day, Turan reported. Instead, it issued a statement saying that complete returns will be made public on 15 November. The statement also pledged that all reports of violations of electoral procedure will be investigated. Commission secretary Ilgar Abbasov told Turan on 7 November that the outcome of the poll may be invalidated in several constituencies. Turan also reported that the staff of the Central Electoral Commission was summoned to the presidential administration on 7 November for several hours of talks with administration head Ramiz Mekhtiev and President Heidar Aliev. LF[05] ...WHILE RULING PARTY STILL HAS LEAD NATIONWIDE...As of late on 6 November, only two parties, the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party (YAP) and the "reformist" wing of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AHCP), had surmounted the 6 percent barrier for parliamentary representation under the proportional system. At that time, with ballot papers from 70 percent of all polling stations processed, YAP had 70.83 percent of the vote, the AHCP 6.4 percent, the opposition Musavat Party 4.71 percent, the Azerbaijan National Independence Party (AMIP) 3.88 percent, the Communist Party 3.05 percent, the Civic Solidarity Party 2.69 percent, the Liberal Party 1.25 percent and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan 1.2 percent. In addition, YAP had 48 seats in single-mandate constituencies and opposition parties six. LF[06] ...AND IN NAKHICHEVANThe Central Electoral Commission of Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic published on 7 November the results of the elections for a new regional legislature that took place simultaneously with the parliamentary ballot on 5 November, Turan reported. Those results give YAP 37 of the 45 seats in the regional parliament, independent candidates seven, and the AHCP one. But local representatives of the AHCP, Musavat, and Democratic parties rejected those results as falsified. They also queried the official claim that voter turnout was 71.3 percent, claiming the true figure was no more than 40 percent. LF[07] MORE AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES REJECT OFFICIAL POLL OUTCOME...Etibar Mamedov, Ali Kerimov, and Lala Shovket--the leaders of AMIP, the reformist wing of the AHCP, and the Liberal Party, respectively--said on 7 November that they cannot accept the "falsified" results of the 5 November ballot, Turan reported. Shovket proposed creating an "alternative" parliament that would campaign for new parliamentary and presidential elections. She has reportedly discussed that suggestion with AMIP, Musavat, and Democratic Party representatives. In Kakh Raion, northwest of Baku, some 6,000 people gathered on 6 November to protest the election results, "Hurriyet" reported on 7 November. LF[08] ...AS U.S. CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF IRREGULARITIESIn a statement issued on 7 November, the U.S. State Department said that Washington concurs with the OSCE Election Mission's assessment that the 5 November Azerbaijani parliamentary poll did not meet international standards, Reuters reported. The statement called on the Azerbaijani authorities to investigate violations that occurred during the voting and ballot count and correct the final tally accordingly. LF[09] IRAN RESUMES, AGAIN HALTS POWER SUPPLIES TO NAKHICHEVANIran on 4 November resumed power supplies to the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan which it had suspended on 27 October in retaliation for Baku's failure to pay debts amounting to $45 million, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 October 2000). But power supplies were again cut on 7 November. Local officials attributed that move to an attack on the Iranian consulate in Nakhichevan the previous day by relatives of an Azerbaijani woman arrested in Iran in May. LF[10] THREE NEWSPAPERS LAUNCHED IN KAZAKHSTANThree non state-controlled newspapers began publication in Kazakhstan on 7 November, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. The Russian-language weekly newspaper "Megalopolis" is owned by Armanzhan Baitasov, chief editor of the Almaty TV station 31 Kanal. The bi-weekly "Bigun-Segodnya" is owned by Nurzhan Mautov, a former member of the editorial board of the embattled "Sol-Dat" weekly. Mautov told RFE/RL that "Bigun-Segodnya" intends to provide the population with unbiased and independent information. A second bilingual newspaper, "Pravda Kazakhstana," which is published by the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, appeared for the first time on 7 November, the anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution. LF[11] KYRGYZ COURT BEGINS HEARING OF JAILED OPPOSITIONIST'S APPEALThe Bishkek City Court on 7 November began reviewing the appeal by opposition Erkindik party leader Topchubek Turgunaliev and six other persons against the jail sentences handed down to them in early September, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The seven men were found guilty, on the evidence of one man, of plotting to assassinate President Askar Akaev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2000). Relatives of the seven, who received sentences of 16-17 years, have been picketing the regional administration in the southern town of Djalalabad since mid-October to protest the sentences (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 and 19 October 2000). LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] YUGOSLAVIA TO DISBAND PARAMILITARY FORCE IN MONTENEGRO?Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica is prepared to dissolve paramilitary troops stationed in Montenegro, Reuters reported on 7 November, quoting an EU diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity. A decision to disband the Yugoslav Army's 7th Military Police Battalion "has been formally agreed," the diplomat said. The battalion, which was formed last year by former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, is reported to number some 1,000 troops. It has been a source of friction between Podgorica and Belgrade. The battalion's dissolution was among the demands made by Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic at last week's Yugoslav Supreme Defense Council meeting (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 November 2000). PB[13] MONTENEGRO SEEKS BETTER RELATIONS WITH CROATIA...Montenegrin Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac said a dispute over Prevlaka, a peninsula in the Adriatic, will not hurt relations between Croatia and Montenegro, AP reported on 7 November. Lukovac made his comments during a meeting in Dubrovnik with his Croatian counterpart, Tonino Picula. "Prevlaka should not be a bone of contention as we do not see it as a territorial question," Lukovac said. Prevlaka, a 3-kilometer-long strip of land, has been monitored by a UN observer mission since 1992. The UN recognizes Prevlaka as part of Croatia but insists on a bilateral resolution of the dispute. Yugoslav government leader Zoran Djindjic said recently that Croatia should cede the territory to Montenegro as a "gentlemanly gesture" to ensure good relations. PB[14] ...ASKS TO ATTEND SUMMIT INDEPENDENTLY OF BELGRADEMontenegrin Foreign Minister Lukovac said during a meeting with Croatian Foreign Minister Picula on 7 November that Montenegro wants to attend an EU summit in Zagreb later this month separately from Serbia, Hina reported. Lukovac said he is counting on Montenegrin President Djukanovic being "invited to the summit to express his views on the situation in Montenegro and Serbia." Picula said organizers of the 24 November summit will try to accommodate that request. Lukovac and Picula met in Zagreb to discuss bilateral relations. PB[15] SERBIAN MINISTER SAYS STATE CAN'T AFFORD ENERGY IMPORTSSerbian Deputy Premier Nebojsa Covic said in Belgrade on 7 November that the state does not have the $200 million needed to buy electricity, fuel, and natural gas imports for the winter, Reuters reported. Covic said "Serbia needs assistance right now and a timely supply of fuel and electricity will consolidate the democratic processes in the country." He said Yugoslav foreign exchange reserves total some $380 million, one-third of which is gold and $180 million of which is needed to repay a loan to China in December. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer pledged in a 7 November meeting with his Yugoslav counterpart, Goran Svilanovic, to grant Belgrade $25 million in emergency aid. And Fischer told Yugoslav Premier Zoran Zizic that Berlin is ready to restore diplomatic relations with Belgrade. PB[16] SERBIAN PRISON CHAOS CONTINUESSerbian inmates at three Serbian prisons prisoners continue to demand better conditions and their inclusion in a general amnesty being drawn up for ethnic Albanian prisoners (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 November 2000), AP reported. Hundreds of ethnic Albanians were evacuated from a prison in Pozarevac after they were threatened by Serbs for not joining in the protests. At a Nis prison, prisoners are wearing guard uniforms and are armed. At least one man has died in the uprising at the prisons and several people are reported injured (see also "End Note" below). PB[17] OSCE RELEASES OFFICIAL RESULTS OF KOSOVA ELECTIONSThe UN administrator in Kosova, Bernard Kouchner, has endorsed the final results of the Kosova municipal elections, AP reported. Figures released by the OSCE showed that Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova won 58 percent of all votes or 504 seats in 27 municipalities. Former Kosova Liberation Army leader Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosova won 27.3 percent of the vote or 267 seats. The hardline Alliance for the Future of Kosova won 7.7 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was put at 79 percent of registered voters. The OSCE mission said results in the Serb-dominated areas of Leposavic, Zubin Potok, and Zvecan should not be validated but that Kouchner should appoint Serbian leaders to those municipalities. PB[18] OSCE BANS NATIONALIST CANDIDATES, CAMPAIGN POSTERS IN BOSNIAThe OSCE said on 7 November that it has banned nationalist posters and four candidates from the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) from running in the 11 November general elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Reuters reported. The four candidates were barred from taking part in the elections for local assemblies in the northern Bosnian town of Odzak after trying to "wield improper influence over the local election commission." The campaign posters, which say "Self-Determination or Extermination," were also banned. The OSCE acknowledged that the late ban on the posters will have a minimal effect on their usage. The HDZ responded by saying the OSCE has made it "impossible" to run a normal campaign, and it accused the organization of favoring the multiethnic Social Democratic Party. PB[19] CROATIAN WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS RELEASEDJosip Nekic and Zeljko Stipic have been acquitted of complicity in war crimes for lack of evidence, AP reported on 7 November. Nekic, who was the head of a regional branch of one of Croatia's secret services, and Stipic, an army officer, were arrested in Zadar two months ago during a government crackdown on war crimes suspects and were charged with providing protection and shelter to four people suspected of committing attrocities against Muslims in the Bosnian village of Ahmici in 1993. PB[20] ROMANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT BANS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATEThe Romanian Constitutional Court on 7 November banned independent candidate Lucian Orasel from running for the presidency, Romanian media reported. The court cited the fact that Orasel also has U.S. citizenship. By 6 November, which was the last day to file a protest against the candidates, the court had received a total of 59 such protests. Meanwhile, an opinion poll reported by "Cotidianul" on 7 November confirms former President and Party of Social Democracy in Romania Chairman Ion Iliescu's lead ahead of the presidential ballot with 37.5 percent backing, while Premier Mugur Isarescu has 19 percent support. Greater Romania Party Chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor and National Liberal Party candidate Theodor Stolojan each received 12 percent. Other candidates have less than 10 percent support. The poll also suggested that of Iliescu's challengers, only Isarescu might be able to defeat him in a run-off. ZsM[21] ROMANIA TO SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO MOLDOVAThe government announced on 6 November that a humanitarian aid package will be sent to Moldova, Mediafax reported on 7 November. According to the Romanian government, Bucharest will send some 1,300 tons of gasoline and mineral oil to Chisinau. The aid comes from Romanian state reserves. ET[22] MOLDOVAN DELEGATION TO NEGOTIATE GAS DELIVERIES WITH GAZPROMA government delegation from Moldova will travel to Moscow next week to negotiate with Russia's Gazprom the conditions for gas deliveries, AP Flux reported on 7 November. Moldovan Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis informed the parliament the same day about the difficulties his government is experiencing in ensuring energy supplies for the winter and paying for gas imports from Russia. Gazprom said earlier in a letter to the Moldovan parliament that it intends to reduce gas deliveries to the former Soviet republic because of outstanding debts. ET[23] DISSIDENT BULGARIAN POLITICIAN DIESPetar Dertliev, a dissident and one of the founders of the ruling Union of Democratic Forces, died in Sofia at age 84, AP reported on 6 December. Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov said the Dertliev's "youth was crushed by the communist labor camps, but no one could crush his spirit." Dertliev was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the communist authorities because of his political beliefs and work with the Social Democratic Party. After the communist regime fell in 1989, he revived the previously banned party and served as its leader until his death. PB[C] END NOTE[24] SERBIAN PRISON UNREST SPREADSBy Jolyon NaegeleSerbia's three main prisons--Sremska Mitrovica, Nis, and Pozarevac--are currently in the hands of rebellious inmates, with the first fatality being reported after nearly 48 hours of unrest. The uprisings represent a major challenge to plans by the fledgling government of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica to amnesty some 800 Kosovar Albanians, whom Serbian forces seized as hostages during NATO air strikes last year. The inmates at the three prisons are demanding an end to poor treatment and the expansion of the proposed amnesty bill for Kosovar Albanian political prisoners in Serbia to include Serbian common criminals. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 7 November called on Kostunica's administration to "take all necessary measures to ensure the security and well-being of all prisoners, and in particular the Kosovar Albanian detainees." The unrest started in Sremska Mitrovica, 75 kilometers west of Belgrade, late on 5 November, before spreading east and south to Nis and Pozarevac. At least four buildings at Pozarevac prison were on fire on the afternoon of 7 November. Prison warden Stipe Marusic says guards shot in the air to calm down the rioters. But inmates contacted by telephone say the guards shot at them, injuring several prisoners. At Nis, a prisoner slipped off the roof of a building, suffered serious head injuries, and later died in hospital. Several hundred riot police armed with sub-machine guns have since surrounded the prison. Unrest at Sremska Mitrovica prison, where before the uprising some 1,300 inmates were incarcerated, including 50 foreigners and six prisoners on death row, resulted in three injuries. But Sremska Mitrovica was reported calm on 7 November. An RFE/RL correspondent in Sremska Mitrovica spoke with several prisoners, including one who said the inmates are demanding that former prison warden Trifun Nivkovic be tried for torturing prisoners and forcing the prisoners to live in "impossible conditions." "We also want an amnesty. Thirty-three percent are political prisoners and 33 percent are first-time offenders, so they should all be covered in an amnesty," the inmate said. At Nis prison, some 300 Albanian prisoners declined an invitation by Serbian inmates to join the revolt. At Sremska Mitrovica, Albanians joined the uprising, but late last night police evacuated several bus-loads of Albanians from the prison. Kosovar Albanian inmate Mehmet Shabani says Albanians joined the Sremska Mitrovica protest as equals with the Serbs: "We have a common goal--Serbs, Albanians, and the others--we are all together. We fully support what our colleagues are demanding. We are political prisoners. There are 167 Albanians here. I don't think we are hurting anyone with our frustration. But even without this amnesty bill, we have expected more from this new government than the little it has offered up to now." One of Serbia's three co-ministers of justice, Dragan Subasic, told RFE/RL that the Justice Ministry considers the prisoners' demands "fully justified, " including the demand for extending amnesty to non-Albanians. Subasic is a member of Kostunica's Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition. "Above all, it is clear these protests are the result of long years of bad and abnormal measures in this prison... This [included] very bad treatment of condemned persons who don't even get health care." Meanwhile, relatives of the prisoners have gathered outside the prisons awaiting news of their family members. The prison revolts in Serbia have a recent historical parallel in Eastern Europe. Shortly after being inaugurated as the first post-communist president of Czechoslovakia in late December 1989, Vaclav Havel issued a sweeping amnesty. Havel himself had spent more than five years in Czechoslovak prisons as a dissident playwright and was convinced that with communism gone, many inmates should be given a second chance. The release of all political prisoners was a key demand of the leaders of the Velvet Revolution, and the communist authorities, which had consistently maintained that there were no political prisoners, finally released all those demanded by the opposition. Weeks before, Havel had been elected by the largely communist parliament. Havel's amnesty did not only cover political prisoners but those who were jailed for non-violent crimes. The amnesty, however, provoked riots among more hard-core criminals not affected by the amnesty, who proceeded to trash and set several Czech and Slovak prisons ablaze. Many of the prisoners released under Havel's amnesty went back to crime and were soon behind bars again. The amnesty permanently damaged Havel's reputation. More than a decade later, it is still perceived by many Czechs and Slovaks as having been Havel's greatest mistake. The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent based in Prague. 08-11-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
All Rights Reserved.