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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 218, 00-11-09Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 218, 9 November 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA HAILS FRENCH SENATE GENOCIDE VOTEIn a statement issued on 8 November, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ara Papyan welcomed the vote earlier that day by the upper chamber of the French parliament recognizing the 1915 killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as genocide, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He said that the vote "reaffirms historical truth" and that it will enable Armenia and Turkey to "overcome difficult issues inherited from the past" and will facilitate regional cooperation. The lower chamber of the French parliament had passed a virtually identical bill in 1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 June 1998), which the Senate at that time failed to endorse under pressure from the Turkish government. The new bill must now be approved by the French National Assembly. LF[02] ARMENIAN PREMIER DENIES HE PLANS TO RESIGNAndranik Markarian told journalists in Yerevan on 8 November that he has not submitted his resignation, nor does he intend to do so, according to Snark on 8 November as cited by Groong. He also denied rumors of an imminent cabinet reshuffle. The newspapers "Hayots ashkhar," "Aravot" and "Haykakan Zhamanak" have all suggested that Finance and Economy Minister Levon Barkhudarian, Culture Minister Roland Sharoyan, Education Minister Eduard Ghazarian, Agriculture Minister Zaven Gevorgian, Telecommunications Minister Eduard Madatian and National Security Minister Karlos Petrosian may lose their posts. LF[03] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT POSTPONES VOTE ON VANISHED DEPUTYParliamentary deputies voted on 8 November to postpone for two weeks a debate on whether deputy Vano Siradeghian should be stripped of his mandate, according to Snark cited by Groong. A former minister of internal affairs, Siradeghian fled Armenia in April after his immunity was lifted to enable police to take him into custody for the remainder of his trial on charges of having ordered a series of contract killings (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 7 April 2000). The Armenian parliament committee for state and legal affairs ruled last month that his protracted absence is "unacceptable" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 October 2000). Parliamentary speaker Armen Khachatrian said that although Siradeghian has failed to participate in recent votes, the debate on stripping him of his mandate must be announced seven days in advance to enable him to attend. That debate can take place in his absence only if Siradeghian twice fails to appear to participate in it. LF[04] KARABAKH ASSASSINATION TRIAL ADJOURNED INDEFINITELYThe trial of 15 men charged with the failed 22 March attempt to assassinate Arkadii Ghukasian, president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was adjourned indefinitely on 8 November at the request of lawyer Eduard Agadjanian in order to permit his client, Suren Aghadjanian, to undergo a further medical examination, Snark reported. Suren Aghadjanian is the former chief bodyguard of ex-Karabakh Army commander Samvel Babayan, who is accused of master-minding the assassination attempt. Aghadjanian had undergone a psychiatric examination in Yerevan, where doctors pronounced him mentally fit to stand trial. He appeared in court for the first time on 2 November. But his attorney called for a second psychiatric examination, claiming that Aghadjanian is insane. LF[05] COUNCIL OF EUROPE SETS CONDITIONS FOR ADMISSION OF ARMENIA, AZERBAIJANFollowing a heated two-day discussion, representatives of the Council of Europe Foreign Ministers voted late on 8 November to admit both Armenia and Azerbaijan to that body, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Earlier the same day, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian had told the Armenian parliament that Armenian membership in the council this year was unlikely due to the flagrant violations during the 5 November Azerbaijani parliamentary elections. The council had ruled in June that the two countries should be accepted as full members simultaneously (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 June 2000). But it made Azerbaijan's membership contingent on clarification of international criticism of the parliamentary ballot and the adoption of amendments to the constitution and laws on elections and the media, according to Turan. Armenia must also amend its election and media laws. Both countries are urged to intensify efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict. LF[06] AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS INSIST PARLIAMENTARY POLL WAS FREE, FAIR, AND DEMOCRATICAli Ahmedov, who is executive secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party (YAP), told journalists in Baku on 8 November that the parliamentary ballot three days earlier was free, fair, and democratic, Turan reported. He added that the number of votes garnered by the various Azerbaijani political parties accurately reflects their relative popularity. YAP reportedly received 70 percent of the vote under the proportional system. Also on 8 November, Central Electoral Commission Chairman Mazahir Panahov similarly argued that the failure of all but two parties to win the minimum 6 percent of the vote required for representation under the proportional system shows that other parties "lack a social base." Panahov said he does not doubt international election monitors' claims that they witnessed "some" procedural violations, but he added that he doubts such "irregularities" occurred nationwide. LF[07] GEORGIAN GUERRILLA LEADER RELEASED FROM CUSTODYDato Shengelaia, leader of the "Forest Brothers" guerrilla movement operating in western Georgia, was released from detention on 8 November, nine days after declaring a hunger strike, Caucasus Press reported. Shengelaia was arrested in September and sentenced to three months detention for assaulting a local official in the west Georgian town of Zugdidi (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 and 13 September 2000). He is widely believed to have engaged in smuggling across the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. LF[08] GEORGIAN DEMONSTRATION PARTICIPANT DIESAn unnamed participant in the 28 October Tbilisi demonstration by supporters of deceased Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia has died in hospital, Caucasus Press reported on 8 November. Vakhtang Bochorishvili, leader of the 21st Century parliament faction, has called for an investigation to ascertain whether the demonstrator died of injuries received when police used violence to disperse that protest (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2000). LF[09] CYANIDE LEAK AT GEORGIAN GOLD PRODUCER 'NORMALIZED'Georgian presidential representative in eastern Georgia Levan Mamaladze said on 8 November that a cyanide leak at the Georgian-Australian gold- producing joint venture in Madneuli was halted before the poison reached the nearby River Mashvera, which is a tributary of the Kura, Caucasus Press reported. He ruled out any large-scale ecological damage as a result of the leak. LF[10] KAZAKHSTAN'S 2001 DRAFT BUDGET UNVEILEDThe lower chamber of the parliament began debating next year's draft budget on 8 November, ITAR-TASS reported. Characterizing the draft as "realistic and stable," Finance Minister Mazhit Esenbaev told deputies that it projects GDP at 2,535 billion tenges (approximately $17.7 billion) and GDP growth at 4 percent. Revenues are estimated at 406.2 billion tenges, or 16 percent of GDP, and expenditures at 462 billion tenges, resulting in a budget deficit of 55.8 billion tenges, which is equal to 2.2 percent of GDP. Interfax reported that planned expenditures include some 148 billion tenges for social needs, which will allow the minimum wage to be raised by 30 percent. Esenbaev said an exchange rate of 152.7 tenges to $1 is envisaged for next year. On 7 November, National Bank chairman Georgii Marchenko had argued for a slight revaluation of the tenge from the present exchange rate of 142.7 to 144 to $1, according to Interfax. LF[11] TAJIK PRESIDENT VISITS IRANImomali Rakhmonov visited Iran on 7-8 November at the head of a government delegation that included the ministers of defense, economy, and foreign economic relations, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 9 November. Rakhmonov discussed with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Khatami, the prospects for expanding bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the spheres of hydroelectric-energy and highway construction, and possible military- technical cooperation. In particular, they focused on a possible Tajik- Iranian-Russian project to construct the Sangtudin hydro-electric power station, which is being partly financed by an Iranian credit. The two presidents also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, agreeing that a military victory in the ongoing civil war is impossible and that the UN should mediate talks on establishing a coalition government. LF[12] TAJIKISTAN, RUSSIA DISCUSS MILITARY-TECHNICAL COOPERATIONA Russian delegation headed by Zinovii Pak, director-general of the Russian Munitions Agency, met in Dushanbe on 8 November with Tajik Prime Minister Aqil Aqilov to discuss cooperation between the two countries' military- industrial complexes, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. The Russian delegation is to visit defense plants in Kulyab and Dushanbe. LF[13] TAJIK SUPREME COURT HANDS DOWN TWO MORE DEATH SENTENCESShomakhmad Khasanov (also known as Mowgli) and Validjon Khalilov were sentenced to death on 8 November for committing six murders, Asia Plus- Blitz reported. Khasanov and Khalilov belonged to an armed criminal gang that committed more than 50 attacks and robberies in the Kofarnihon and Lenin Raions in 1998-1999; four other members of that gang received prison terms. Two days earlier, the Supreme Court had passed death sentences on three members of a second criminal gang that had operated in the town of Tursunzade and the Shakhrinau and Gissar Raions, killing three people. A total of nine death sentences have been handed down over the past month. LF[14] NUMBER OF HOMELESS IN TAJIK EARTHQUAKES LESS THAN ORIGINALLY REPORTEDA member of the Tajik presidential administration told Asia Plus-Blitz on 9 November that a visit by Prime Minister Aqilov to the southeastern regions of the country hit by last week's earthquakes had revealed that the number of people left homeless is far fewer than the original estimate of 17,000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 November 2000. According to the agency, 2,135 people are said to have lost their homes. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[15] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT REJECTS INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVAVojislav Kostunica said in Belgrade on 8 November that Kosovar Albanian leaders' calls for the Serbian province of Kosova to become independent are "unacceptable," AP reported. Kostunica said in a statement released by his Democratic Party of Serbia that the demand "recently made by the leader of the strongest political party of Kosovo Albanians [Ibrahim Rugova], is unacceptable." It added that Rugova's push for independence "only increases tensions in the province." Rugova urged Belgrade, the U.S., and the EU on 7 November to recognize Kosova as an independent state. Rugova has ruled out discussing autonomy within Yugoslavia. PB[16] SERBIAN INTERIOR MINISTER FILES CHARGES AGAINST SECURITY SERVICE DIRECTORStevan Nikcevic filed charges on 8 November against the head of Serbia's secret service, Rade Markovic, AP reported. Nikcevic, who is one of three officials serving as interior minister within the Serbian transitional government, said Markovic is accused of endangering Serbia's security, jeopardizing the safety of the public, and issuing personal threats. Nikcevic said "I feel I cannot do my duty...with a man such as Markovic heading the secret service." Nikcevic said Markovic, who is a longtime ally of former President Slobodan Milosevic, has said in public that "he is a man with 'specific influence' among persons in the underworld whose 'assistance' he may have to enlist." Serbian reformist members of the new government have insisted on Markovic's resignation from the government before they will participate in it. PB[17] FRANCE APPOINTS AMBASSADOR TO BELGRADE...France has nominated Balkan expert Gabriel Keller as ambassador to Yugoslavia, Reuters reported on 8 November. The government said the appointment marks the re-establishment of diplomatic relations and said it is up to France to approve Keller's nomination. France and Yugoslavia have traditionally had close ties. PB[18] ...WHILE U.S. TO RESTORE TIES SOONThe U.S. said the same day that it will restore relations "very soon" and will not wait for repairs to its damaged embassy before doing so. The State Department said inspectors sent to Belgrade reported that it will take several months of repairs to the embassy before it is functional. PB[19] YUGOSLAV INFORMATION MINISTER CONCERNED JOURNALISTS WERE DENIED VISASSlobodan Orlic said he is concerned by a report that five U.S. journalists were denied visas to visit the country, AP reported. Orlic said he received a call from Freimut Duve, the head of media freedom at the OSCE, who said that the journalists were denied visas, despite filing the appropriate documents. Orlic said "the old regime's practice of blacklisting certain foreign reporters and declaring them undesired...is continuing." He said he will look into the incident and appealed to officials to issue the visas. PB[20] TENSIONS AT SERBIAN PRISONS EASINGSerbian officials said on 8 November that discussions with inmates who have taken control of three Serbian prisons have improved the situation there, Reuters reported. Sead Spahovic, one of three heads of the Serbian Justice Ministry, said the violence of the first days of the riots has subsided (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 November 2000), although there are reports of hunger strikes and disobedience at two other correctional facilities. He said prisoners are being "cooperative and fair. They are acting in a sensible fashion." One group of prisoners said some of their demands have been met. The Belgrade daily "Glas Javnosti" suggested on 9 November that the riots were planned from outside the prisons by leaders of Yugoslavia's secret services. PB[21] SLOVENIA'S STATE SECRETARY ARRESTED FOR TAKING BRIBEBoris Sustar was arrested on 8 November for allegedly accepting a $100,000 bribe, AP reported. Sustar was caught with two other men in a Ljubljana suburb with $35,000 in his briefcase. Sustar, a well-known economics professor, oversaw the privatization of former state-owned companies and the harmonization of Slovenian and EU legislation. PB[22] FINANCIAL POLICE OFFICERS DISMISSED IN BOSNIAThe office of Bosnia High Commissioner Wolfgang Petritsch criticized on 8 November the dismissal of two financial police inspectors who had been working on important cases, Reuters reported. Petritsch's spokeswoman, Alexandra Stiglmayer, said "the financial police have been working very effectively and are currently conducting important investigations." The daily "Dnevni Avaz" reported on 8 November that chief inspector Zufer Dervisevic and his deputy, Miroslav Vidovic, had been relieved of their duties in a letter from Bosnian Premier Edhem Bicakcic. The U.S. embassy called on the government to review a decision "that works against the interests of the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina," and it praised the financial police for their fight against organized crime and corruption. PB[23] CROATIAN POLICE ARREST HUMAN TRAFFICKERSPolice on 8 November arrested four Croatians suspected of being involved in the trafficking of 22 illegal immigrants from China and Turkey, AP reported. The four were caught near the Sosice border crossing with Slovenia together with 18 Chinese and four Turkish citizens. The four face up to five years in jail. Croatian customs officers have detained more than 5,000 people trying to illegally cross the border in the first six months of this year. PB[24] ALBANIAN PREMIER RESHUFFLES CABINETIlir Meta announced on 8 November that he has reshuffled his cabinet and that the changes have been approved by President Rexhep Meidani, AP reported. Meta said the move is intended to increase "the efficiency of our work in governing the country." Interior Minister Spartak Poci will be replaced by Ilir Gjoni, whose post as defense minister will be filled by Ismail Lleshi, a Socialist Party veteran. Ilir Zela, the minister of public works, will be replaced by Spartak Poci. Gjoni is the son of Xhelil Gjoni, a former secretary of the Communist party's Central Committee. Xhelil reportedly has close ties to former Albanian President Sali Berisha, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. Meta, who at 31 is the youngest premier in Europe, has reshuffled his cabinet three times since taking office one year ago. PB[25] EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT CRITICIZES ROMANIA..."Romania cannot be considered a functioning market economy and is not yet able to respond, in the medium term, to the competitive pressures that exist on the EU market," according to the European Commission's annual report on the progress of candidate countries toward meeting the criteria for EU membership. The EC's annual report for 2000 puts Romania last among the 12 states seeking EU membership. It notes the Romanian government is determined to solve the problem of orphaned and institutionalized children and says that democratic institutions exist but are not working properly. The report adds that there is still much to be done with regard to the economy, while the agriculture sector must undergo far-reaching structural reform and public administration must be decentralized. EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said Romania still has a long way to go to gain membership but noted that the Romanian government's target of joining the EU by 2007 is a realistic one. ZsM[26] ...WHILE ISARESCU QUESTIONS ITS FINDINGSPrime Minister Mugur Isarescu said the country's economic situation is better than suggested by the report, noting that the EU used data supplied by the IMF, Romanian media reported. He said he will send letters both to the IMF and the European Commission explaining that Romania has made real progress in economic terms. The first deputy chairman of the main opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania told BBC's Romanian Service that the report does in fact reflect the real situation in the country. ZsM[27] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT WILL NOT STAND FOR RE-ELECTIONPetru Lucinschi does not plan to run for re-election when the parliament votes for a new president on 1 December, ITAR-TASS reported on 7 November, citing the president's press service. Lucinschi will leave for Minsk on 1 December to attend a CIS summit. According to the Russian news agency, Lucinschi "does not plan to run because he is strongly against his powers being limited by deputies and their decision to elect the president in the parliament." ET[28] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT AGAIN PROTESTS AGAINST EU VISA RESTRICTIONSPetar Stoyanov said on 7 November that the EU's visa requirements for Bulgarians are not warranted and must be removed, AP reported. Stoyanov told students at Sofia's Economic University that the visa regime is "humiliating." He said "we have to achieve a positive solution through negotiations and persuasion and not by pressure, whimpering, and being angry." Stoyanov's comment was in response to calls by some members of the ruling Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) who have called for Sofia to withdraw from the EU-sponsored Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe unless the visa requirements are removed. PB[29] BULGARIAN MINISTER REPRIMANDED FOR HITTING JOURNALISTBulgarian Premier Ivan Kostov refused calls on 7 November for him to sack Justice Minister Teodossyi Simeonov, who punched a newspaper photographer three days earlier, Reuters reported. Kostov said Simeonov's behavior "cast an unfavorable light on the government...which respects the media and public opinion." The ruling UDF called on Simeonov to apologize to the photographer, who works for the newspaper "Sega." Simeonov said he was defending his constitutional right not to be photographed without his permission. Bulgaria's nine largest daily newspapers made a joint declaration that called for Kostov to sack Simeonov. PB[C] END NOTE[30] ANOTHER PRECEDENT FROM KOSOVA?By Paul GobleLatvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga has suggested that NATO's willingness to intervene in Kosova means that the Western alliance will be prepared to come to the aid of Latvia and other East European countries should Moscow threaten them at some point in the future. Speaking to the BBC on 6 November, Vike-Freiberga said that Russian nostalgia for the old Soviet empire continues to cast a shadow on its relationships with its neighbors but that she and other leaders in the region have been encouraged by NATO's willingness to intervene in province. "Kosovo is not a member of the NATO alliance," the Latvian leader noted, "and yet the alliance was able to take action when it felt that, according to the principles on which it is founded, action and intervention [were] necessary." As a result, she said, "I would expect it to do no less anywhere else in Europe." Many who opposed NATO's intervention in Kosova argued that it created a dangerous precedent because the alliance was getting involved in a conflict that NATO itself defined as a civil war. And many Russians were especially concerned that NATO might some day be prepared to intervene in what they view as their country's internal affairs. But now the president of Latvia is arguing that Kosova set yet another precedent, one she and her colleagues in Eastern Europe may welcome but one that Russia may find equally unacceptable and that at least some in NATO may be unwilling to acknowledge. Like many leaders in Eastern Europe, Vike- Freiberga often has expressed concerns about the pace of NATO expansion, fearing that any further delay in the expansion of the alliance will not only enervate the local population but also encourage what those leaders see as the increasingly assertive policies of the Russian leadership under Vladimir Putin. NATO countries have sought to reassure East Europeans that the Western alliance already provides the countries of Eastern Europe with a kind of penumbra of security. They argue that the alliance's Partnership for Peace program, the proximity of alliance members to them, and NATO's efforts to promote a more cooperative relationship with Moscow all serve that end. But East Europeans appear to find such statements less than reassuring, and Vike-Freiberga's comments represent the latest effort to find some basis for believing that the West will in fact defend their countries if they are attacked. There are three problems with the argument that Kosova sets a precedent for future NATO action in the area. First, NATO officials have been explicit that the decision to go into Kosova did not set any precedents for its future action elsewhere--despite what some Russians fear and what some East Europeans clearly hope. The leaders of NATO countries have said repeatedly that they responded in Kosova as they would respond to any particular crisis--in terms of its specific features. Even the NATO Charter's Article 5--which says that an attack on one member will be viewed as an attack on all and which many in Eastern Europe appear to believe requires NATO to respond with force--only requires in fact that NATO countries consult on how they would respond in any particular case. Second, Vike-Freiberga's focus on the meaning of NATO for non-member countries may have some negative consequences for Latvia itself. It may reduce domestic support there for the kind of measures that NATO membership requires. In addition, it may detract attention from the need there for other domestic reform measures that appear likely to be even more critical for that country's future security--and that NATO membership by itself will do nothing about. And third, arguing that Kosova sets the precedent Vike-Freiberga suggests could trigger precisely the kinds of problems she believes that the declaration of such a precedent is intended to preclude. On the one hand, it almost certainly will lead Moscow to take an even harder line against the eastward expansion of the alliance, a line that ever more countries in NATO appear willing to respect. On the other, Vike-Freiberga's claim of a Kosova precedent is likely to force NATO itself to stress that Kosova is not the precedent she hopes for, thus leaving Latvia and her neighbors' position less defensible than it was before such a claim was made. Those twin developments would, in turn, almost certainly leave Latvia and her neighbors less secure than they are today, precisely the opposite outcome that both the Western alliance and regional leaders so clearly want. 09-11-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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