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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 235, 00-12-06

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 235, 6 December 2000


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIA, CHINA MAP OUT FUTURE COOPERATION
  • [02] EBRD ACQUIRES SHARE IN ARMENIAN ENERGY DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS
  • [03] AZERBAIJAN'S PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER SAYS OPPOSITION DEPUTIES SHOULD ATTEND SESSIONS
  • [04] MAVERICK AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL PLANS PROTEST MARCH
  • [05] SUSPECTED MURDERER OF U.S. CITIZEN ARRESTED IN AZERBAIJAN
  • [06] VISA REQUIREMENT CAUSES CHAOS ON GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN FRONTIER...
  • [07] ...AS GEORGIA QUESTIONS RUSSIA'S RATIONALE
  • [08] PRESIDENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN EASTERN GEORGIA
  • [09] U.S. HAILS KAZAKHSTAN'S COMMITMENT TO BAKU-CEYHAN...
  • [10] ...AS KAZAKHSTAN'S STATE OIL COMPANY PLANS TO EXPAND PRODUCTION, EXPORT
  • [11] KYRGYZSTAN SEEKS FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM TURKEY
  • [12] KYRGYZ PENSIONERS DEMAND AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT BUDGET
  • [13] DISTRIBUTION OF DROUGHT AID UNDERWAY IN TAJIKISTAN

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [14] BELGRADE REPORTS SNIPING ALONG SERBIAN-KOSOVA BORDER
  • [15] UN SETS NEW RULES FOR KOSOVA BORDER CRACKDOWN
  • [16] U.S. SEEKS ELECTIONS IN LEAD-UP TO KOSOVA TALKS
  • [17] KOSOVA'S 'CYBER MONK' TO LEAVE POLITICS?
  • [18] OSCE FINES KOSOVAR DAILY
  • [19] EU MONEY FOR SERBIAN OPPOSITION
  • [20] AMNESTY CALLS ON YUGOSLAV LEADER TO MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
  • [21] YUGOSLAV CURRENCY DEVALUED
  • [22] HEATING CUTS IN SERBIA
  • [23] MACEDONIA'S 'TAIWAN EXPERIMENT' ABOUT TO END?
  • [24] CHINESE AID FOR ALBANIA
  • [25] AUSTERITY FOR CROATIAN GOVERNMENT WORKERS?
  • [26] BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADER WRITES MEMOIRS
  • [27] SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT SET TO BEGIN WORK?
  • [28] NASTASE COMMENTS ON NEGOTIATIONS WITH ROMANIAN OPPOSITION
  • [29] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST WANTS 'STADIUM JUSTICE'
  • [30] MOLDOVA, BULGARIA BAN EU BEEF IMPORTS
  • [31] BULGARIAN, GREEK LEADERS DETERMINED TO OVERCOME DELAYS IN PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [32] LUKASHENKA CONDUCTS 'ETHNIC CLEANSING' AMONG SECURITY OFFICIALS

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIA, CHINA MAP OUT FUTURE COOPERATION

    Meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Zhu Rongji, in Beijing on 4 December, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markarian pledged to expand both political and economic ties, to maintain high-level contacts, and "to expand friendly and cooperative relations in all spheres," Xinhua and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. In a joint communique released after the talks, Armenia pledges support for Beijing's "one China" policy, reaffirming that it will not establish official ties with Taiwan. China, for its part, expresses support for the territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan and the hope that the Karabakh conflict can be resolved "in a just and reasonable way...in line with the relevant international principles." LF

    [02] EBRD ACQUIRES SHARE IN ARMENIAN ENERGY DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS

    The Armenian government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed an agreement in Yerevan on 5 December whereby the bank acquired a 19.9 percent stake in four electricity-distribution companies currently up for international tender, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The winner of the tender to acquire a 51 percent stake in those companies will be announced in March 2001. The price the EBRD will pay for its stake will depend on the sum offered by the future owners to acquire the four companies. LF

    [03] AZERBAIJAN'S PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER SAYS OPPOSITION DEPUTIES SHOULD ATTEND SESSIONS

    Murtuz Alesqerov called on opposition parliamentary deputies on 5 December to end their boycott of the newly-elected legislature, Turan reported. He argued that as those deputies were elected by the country's population, "they must attend parliamentary sessions and express their opinion. They must not hold rallies and demand someone's resignation every day." The opposition decided shortly after the 5 November poll to refrain from participating in the new legislature, claiming that the outcome of the poll was falsified. Also on 5 December, Alesqerov asked independent television journalists filming the parliament proceedings to leave the chamber after 30 minutes on the grounds that they were "disturbing" deputies. Cameramen for Azerbaijan state television were permitted to continue filming. On 6 December, deputy parliamentary speaker Zakir Zeynalov collapsed in the parliament and died of heart failure, Turan reported. He was 62. LF

    [04] MAVERICK AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL PLANS PROTEST MARCH

    Former Baku Mayor Rafael Allakhverdiev announced on 5 December that he plans to organize a march by Baku city bus drivers from the border town of Astara to the Azerbaijani capital to protest the Azerbaijani customs' refusal to allow the import of 900 Mercedes buses he had leased from an Iranian company for use in the capital, Turan reported. Allakhverdiev, who resigned in September amid disagreements with other founding members of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 40, 14 October 2000, and No. 42, 27 October 2000), blamed the customs' decision on Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasi-Zade, one of his bitterest rivals. LF

    [05] SUSPECTED MURDERER OF U.S. CITIZEN ARRESTED IN AZERBAIJAN

    A person suspected of having murdered John Michael Alvis, the head of the U.S. Republican Institute's Azerbaijan program, was detained on 3 December, Turan quoted Baku police chief Major-General Magerram Aliev as saying on 5 December. Alvis was found stabbed to death in his Baku apartment on 30 November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000). Aliev did not divulge the suspect's identity, but Glasnost-North Caucasus on 5 December said that the person held is believed to be a woman. LF

    [06] VISA REQUIREMENT CAUSES CHAOS ON GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN FRONTIER...

    As the visa requirement for Georgian citizens traveling to the Russian Federation took effect on 5 December, Russian border guards began refusing entry to Georgian drivers who did not have the relevant documentation, AP reported. Some Georgians prevented from entering Russia to sell agricultural produce there reportedly blamed their predicament on Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze who, they believe, alienated Russia by his pro-Western orientation. ITAR-TASS on 5 December quoted officials at the Russian consulate in Tbilisi as complaining that their workload has increased as hundreds of Georgians apply for visas. LF

    [07] ...AS GEORGIA QUESTIONS RUSSIA'S RATIONALE

    Also on 5 December, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze said that the Georgian government will not permit the opening of Russian consulates in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both of which border on Russia. Antadze argued that Moscow's decision to exempt residents of those regions from the visa requirement until the end of this year undercuts its argument that the visa requirement is needed for security purposes. He pointed out that "criminal elements" will be able to enter Russian unhindered from both regions. Interfax on 5 December said that at the CIS summit in Minsk four days earlier, Georgia rejected an offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dispense with the visa requirement if Georgia agreed to joint military action with Russia against Chechen fighters ensconced on Georgian territory, especially in the Pankisi gorge. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said that agreeing to such military actions would turn Georgia into "a platform for a major Caucasian war. We would be sucked into a bloody conflict," Reuters on 5 December quoted him as saying. LF

    [08] PRESIDENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN EASTERN GEORGIA

    Georgian President Shevardnadze has declared a state of emergency in the country's eastern region of Kakheti, Caucasus Press reported on 6 December. Speaking at a cabinet session, Shevardnadze said that move was prompted by rising crime in the region, and expressed confidence that the local population will support measures to stabilize the situation. The region includes the Pankisi gorge, home to some 7,000 ethnic Chechen citizens of Georgia and an estimated 5,000 Chechen refugees from the Russian Federation. Earlier on 6 December, Georgian police, assisted by local Chechens, secured the release in eastern Georgia of Georgian businessman Valeri Samkharadze, who was taken hostage five days earlier, Caucasus Press reported. Two Spanish businessmen also abducted last week are still being held hostage in the Pankisi gorge. Three Red Cross officials were abducted in the Pankisi gorge in August but later released unharmed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 August 2000). LF

    [09] U.S. HAILS KAZAKHSTAN'S COMMITMENT TO BAKU-CEYHAN...

    Stephen Sestanovich, who is the U.S. State department's special envoy for the Newly Independent States, met in Astana on 5 December with Kazakhstan's National Security Council Secretary Marat Tazhin and Foreign Minister Erlan Idrisov to discuss regional security, energy and economic cooperation, and democratization, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Turan on 6 December quoted Sestanovich as expressing approval of the Kazakh government's stated interest in exporting oil via the planned Baku-Ceyhan export pipeline, which, he suggested, could ultimately be renamed Aktau-Baku-Ceyhan. Visiting Baku last month, U.S. special envoy for the Caspian John Wolf had advocated that the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline be extended to Aktau (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 November 2000). Pending construction of that pipeline, Kazakhstan and the U.S. will step up cooperation in exporting oil by barge across the Caspian from Aktau to Baku and from there by rail via Georgia to Western markets, according to Interfax. LF

    [10] ...AS KAZAKHSTAN'S STATE OIL COMPANY PLANS TO EXPAND PRODUCTION, EXPORT

    Nurlan Balghymbaev, who is president of Kazakhstan's national oil company KazakhOil, told the lower chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament on 4 December that KazakhOil plans to increase production to 9.9 million tons in 2001, compared with an estimated 5.5 million tons this year, Interfax reported. Kazakhstan's total oil production for the first 10 months of 2000 was 31.86 million tons. Balghymbaev said that much of KazakhOil's planned increase will be sold to Ukraine for refining at the Kherson Oil refinery. KazakhOil has stated its intention to participate both in the privatization of that refinery and in construction of the planned Odesa-Brody oil pipeline. Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev, however, had publicly stated his opposition on 16 November to KazakhOil's participation in the former project, which he termed "not rational." Toqaev argued that it would be more profitable to refine Kazakh oil at the Pavlodar Oil Refinery in northern Kazakhstan. LF

    [11] KYRGYZSTAN SEEKS FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM TURKEY

    Visiting Ankara on 5 December, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Muratbek Imanaliev solicited additional political and economic support, which Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said Ankara will gladly provide, according to the "Turkish Daily News" on 6 December. This year, Turkey rescheduled Kyrgyzstan's foreign debt. LF

    [12] KYRGYZ PENSIONERS DEMAND AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT BUDGET

    One of the leaders of the Public Association for the Social Protection of the Population told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau on 5 December that her organization has appealed to the People's Assembly (the upper house of parliament) not to approve the draft budget submitted by the cabinet. She noted that the draft does not provide for the quarterly indexing of pensions to prices that President Askar Akaev had promised during his campaign for re-election this fall. LF

    [13] DISTRIBUTION OF DROUGHT AID UNDERWAY IN TAJIKISTAN

    The Dushanbe office of the UN's World Food Program began on 5 December distributing aid to those Tajiks most severely hit by last summer's drought, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Some 280,000 people in Khatlon Oblast will be provided with food over the next three months. Almost half the country's 6.2 million population are affected by the failure of this year's grain harvest. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [14] BELGRADE REPORTS SNIPING ALONG SERBIAN-KOSOVA BORDER

    Belgrade-based Yuinfo Television, which had strong links to the government of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, reported on 5 December that ethnic Albanian militants fired on Serbian police in the village of Lucane for the second day in a row. Elsewhere, the Yugoslav authorities asked the UN Security Council to hold a special meeting on the crisis along Serbia's border with Kosova. Belgrade officials again suggested that KFOR has not been doing enough to cut the supply of weapons and fighters from Kosova to the Presevo valley (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000). The Yugoslav authorities called on KFOR to fulfill its obligations "so that the situation can be resolved in a peaceful manner," AP reported. PM

    [15] UN SETS NEW RULES FOR KOSOVA BORDER CRACKDOWN

    UN civilian authorities in Prishtina issued new rules on 5 December that will help enable police and KFOR peacekeepers to curb the flow of weapons and guerrillas from Kosova into Serbia, Reuters reported. Under the new policy, persons suspected of engaging in violent behavior can be banned from a given area for 30 days. They face two months imprisonment if they violate the ban. A UN spokeswoman stressed that the new rules will "be very useful [for KFOR in curbing the activities of] known troublemakers who are going across the border all the time." PM

    [16] U.S. SEEKS ELECTIONS IN LEAD-UP TO KOSOVA TALKS

    James O'Brien, who is the Clinton administration's top adviser on the Balkans, told VOA on 5 December that general elections should take place in Kosova "sooner rather than later." He stressed that elections are necessary to provide "legitimacy" for the Kosovar leaders before they represent their people in any talks about the province's political future. "That's a productive path that has the possibility of creating sustained democracy in the region," he added. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic told VOA that Belgrade first wants preliminary talks regarding future elections and other issues affecting Kosova's political status. He added that any elections held before such talks took place would "pre-define" the province's status, presumably meaning in the direction of independence, Reuters reported. All ethnic Albanian leaders categorically reject any negotiations with the Serbian authorities on the political future of the province. They seek talks with the international community in preparation for independence. PM

    [17] KOSOVA'S 'CYBER MONK' TO LEAVE POLITICS?

    Father Sava Janjic has resigned his membership in the Serbian National Council and his position as spokesman for the province's Serbian minority, "Vesti" reported on 6 December. Father Sava, who is known for his excellent English and his work on promoting the Serbian cause in Kosova on the Internet, will devote himself to his religious duties at the Decani monastery. The reasons for his decision are not clear. PM

    [18] OSCE FINES KOSOVAR DAILY

    The OSCE has fined the Prishtina Albanian-language daily "Bota Sot" $22,000 for spreading "religious and ethnic intolerance," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM

    [19] EU MONEY FOR SERBIAN OPPOSITION

    The EU has pledged some $750,000 to support the independent media and NGOs in the runup to the 23 December Serbian elections, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from Belgrade on 5 December. Brussels also pledged more than $1 million for the longer-term work of unspecified Serbian and Montenegrin NGOs aimed at developing the civil society. In related news, the Society of Journalists of Serbia expelled Milorad Komrakov from membership. The Milosevic-era television news editor was charged with having spread "disinformation over a long period of time and with deceiving the public in a way incompatible with the journalistic profession." PM

    [20] AMNESTY CALLS ON YUGOSLAV LEADER TO MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

    The London-based human rights organization Amnesty International said in a press release on 5 December that "Kostunica must order the arrest of indicted suspects--including...Milosevic--and their transfer" to the Hague- based war crimes tribunal. The statement also called on Kostunica to "address the culture of impunity...not only for violations of international humanitarian law, but also for violations of both domestic criminal codes and of international standards." Other concerns include investigating and bringing to justice police and other officials suspected of mistreating citizens during the Milosevic era. Amnesty also calls upon Kostunica to act on "an amnesty law for conscientious objectors, issues relating to the unfair trials of Kosovo Albanian prisoners held in Serbian jails, and the rights of refugees and internally displaced people in the country." PM

    [21] YUGOSLAV CURRENCY DEVALUED

    The Yugoslav National Bank has made official the existing exchange rate of 30 dinars to the German mark in place of the previous official rate of 20 dinars to the mark (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000). National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic said that the government "invites" the numerous black-market currency dealers in Belgrade, Novi Pazar, and elsewhere to register their businesses with the authorities and become legal exchange offices, AP reported. PM

    [22] HEATING CUTS IN SERBIA

    A strain on the power grid caused by "record consumption levels" led the authorities to announce power cuts in Serbia on 5 December, AP reported. Low gas pressure resulting from cuts in Russian gas deliveries resulted in cuts in heating supplies amid freezing temperatures (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 December 2000). PM

    [23] MACEDONIA'S 'TAIWAN EXPERIMENT' ABOUT TO END?

    The government of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski may reconsider its diplomatic ties with Taiwan following the recent departure of the Democratic Alternative and its leader, Vasil Tupurkovski, from the governing coalition (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000). Tupurkovski was the politician most responsible for Skopje's decision in 1999 to switch relations from Beijing to Taipei. The Liberal Party, which recently joined Georgievski's coalition, is anxious to restore ties to Beijing, the Makfaks news agency reported on 5 December. Tupurkovski hoped for massive investments from Taiwan, which failed to materialize. PM

    [24] CHINESE AID FOR ALBANIA

    Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan ended a two-day visit to Albania on 5 December after discussing ways to promote economic cooperation with President Rexhep Meidani and Prime Minister Paskal Milo. The previous day, Tang and Milo signed an agreement on a Chinese $1.25 million grant to Albania. Tang also pledged to help support market reforms in the host country, dpa reported. Construction will soon begin on a hydroelectric project in northern Albania, on which the two governments previously agreed. Many of the projects built with Chinese aid in the 1960s and 1970s now lie in ruins due to neglect or looting. Some Chinese experts have written in recent years that the former dictator Enver Hoxha pressured his allies to build prestige projects that the Chinese knew to be economically or ecologically unsound. The chief tangible legacy of the once close relationship between China and Albania is the occasional Chinese-built tractor or bicycle seen on Albanian roads. PM

    [25] AUSTERITY FOR CROATIAN GOVERNMENT WORKERS?

    The Croatian government decided on 5 December not to cut the salaries of government employees in 2001, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The governing coalition promised pay cuts for government employees during its election campaign one year ago. Railway workers have threatened a warning strike over their demands for a 8.5 percent pay hike. Croatian Railways has been plagued with labor unrest in recent years. PM

    [26] BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADER WRITES MEMOIRS

    Former Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic has completed his memoirs, "Dnevni avaz" reported on 6 December. He stressed that his book will consist of his own recollections and not aspire to be a history of his years in politics. PM

    [27] SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT SET TO BEGIN WORK?

    Leaders of the political parties in the governing coalition have reached an agreement on dividing committee assignments between their respective parties, Ljubljana's Radio 24-Ur reported on 6 December. PM

    [28] NASTASE COMMENTS ON NEGOTIATIONS WITH ROMANIAN OPPOSITION

    Adrian Nastase, whom the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) has designated to form a minority government, said on 5 December that negotiations with the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Party on securing their support in the parliament have been suspended to avoid "ambiguity" ahead of the 10 December presidential runoff, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Nastase said that the PDSR does not want to be perceived by the electorate as intending to set up a "coalition" with "those who have destroyed and plundered the country" in the last four years. He added that the party intends to pursue "its own program" and will under no circumstances set up a coalition with the Greater Romania Party (PRM). If PRM presidential candidate Corneliu Vadim Tudor wins the runoff, he said, the PDSR will go into opposition, which would trigger early elections. MS

    [29] ROMANIAN EXTREMIST WANTS 'STADIUM JUSTICE'

    In an interview with the BBC on 5 December, Tudor said that if he wins the upcoming presidential election, he will send to jail "within 48 hours all bandits in this country " and "confiscate their wealth." He said that the judiciary system in Romania "has ceased to function" and consequently "there will be public trials in stadiums." If the parliament is "hostile" to him, Tudor added, "I shall use [my] constitutional prerogative of dissolving the parliament and calling early elections within six month." The constitution does not, in fact, grant the president that prerogative. Also on 5 December, Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR) chairman Valeriu Tabara announced that the PUNR is leaving the National Alliance, which it set up with the Romanian National Party (PNR), and PNR chairman Virgil Magureanu said his party will seek other allies. MS

    [30] MOLDOVA, BULGARIA BAN EU BEEF IMPORTS

    Moldova on 2 December banned imports of beef and cattle from Germany and Spain in a move to prevent the spread of BSE (mad cow disease), ITAR-TASS reported. On 5 December, Bulgaria announced that it was banning beef imports from Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Spain, AP reported. MS

    [31] BULGARIAN, GREEK LEADERS DETERMINED TO OVERCOME DELAYS IN PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

    Visiting President Petar Stoyanov and Greek Premier Kostas Simitis said on 4 December that they are determined to overcome delays in the construction of a pipeline project that would transport Russian oil from the Black Sea port of Burgas to Alexandropolis in northern Greece, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. The project had been stalled by technical and economic disputes, as well as doubts about its efficiency. Simitis also said Greece backs Bulgaria's quest for EU membership, and he pledged $60 million in aid to Sofia. Stoyanov also met with President Kostis Stephanopoulos and with opposition leader Kostas Karamanlis. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [32] LUKASHENKA CONDUCTS 'ETHNIC CLEANSING' AMONG SECURITY OFFICIALS

    By Jan Maksymiuk

    Belarus's authoritarian president continues to bewilder the public both at home and abroad with his highly unconventional behavior. Last week's developments in Minsk amply justify the widespread perception among political analysts that Alyaksandr Lukashenka belongs to the least predictable of world leaders.

    On 27 November, Lukashenka unexpectedly fired Security Council Secretary Viktar Sheyman, KGB chief Uladzimir Matskevich, and Prosecutor-General Aleh Bazhelka. Sheyman was replaced by Foreign Minister Ural Latypau, whose post was assumed by presidential aide Mikhail Khvastou. Matskevich's position was filled by Leanid Yeryn, chief of the presidential security service and Matskevich's deputy until September. The position of prosecutor-general remained vacant for two days, after which Lukashenka appointed Sheyman to take over that office.

    Lukashenka has accomplished "yet another state coup," the Charter-97 website commented, noting that key posts in Belarus are now in the hands of "Russia's open proteges in Lukashenka's entourage." Belarus's premier, deputy premiers and heads of the power ministries, as well as a number of deputy ministers and the speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, are all Russian-born.

    Exiled Supreme Soviet Chairman Syamyon Sharetski echoed Charter-97: "[The shakeup] should not leave any doubt in anybody's mind that, to quote leaders of the Russian Federation, Belarus is witnessing the completion of a 'cleansing' [zachistka] of the regime of Belarusians... In its ethnic composition, our country's dictatorial regime is almost completely Russian and, in relation to Belarus, of an occupational nature."

    Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists on 30 November that he had not known about the security shakeup in Minsk until it took place. Putin added that he believes Lukashenka's assurances that those replacements had been planned "for a long time."

    Russian newspapers, however, suggested that Russia may have a hand in at least one sacking. According to some reports, Moscow had repeatedly insisted on the dismissal of Sheyman, who was in charge of Belarus's arms trade and had allegedly offered Belarusian weapons abroad at "dumping" prices, to the detriment of Russian arms dealers. This explanation seems plausible, inasmuch as Sheyman is widely believed to be Lukashenka's most loyal aide and closest friend and, moreover, is one of the very few members of Lukashenka's 1994 election team still serving the president. Sheyman's appointment as prosecutor-general just two days after his sacking seems to confirm that Lukashenka had initially dismissed him under pressure .

    According to some Belarusian independent newspapers, Sheyman is primarily responsible for providing Lukashenka with security reports that keep the Belarusian president in a perpetual state of suspiciousness and distrust of everyone in the government. Sheyman is also believed to be a strong supporter of continuing Minsk's policy of confrontation with the West.

    Another motive for the security shakeup may be the lack of any conclusive results in the investigation of the disappearance of prominent opposition and public figures in Belarus. Lukashenka himself said that he fired Matskevich, Sheyman, and Bazhelka for "grave dereliction of duty" in investigating crimes, including those that "have had a wide public response." Independent commentators, however, interpret that action differently. Human rights activist Hary Pahanyayla commented that in the runup to the presidential election campaign, Lukashenka intends to conceal the truth about the disappearance of oppositionists in Belarus and has appointed officials who will help him achieve that goal.

    Two weeks ago, a number of Belarusian media outlets received an e-mail from an address on the yahoo.com server accusing Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's Security Service of killing Russian Public Television cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski and opposition politician Viktar Hanchar. The sender, who identified himself as a KGB officer, said the KGB arrested nine people, including five officers of the presidential Security Service, who confessed to having killed Zavadski and buried him near Minsk. According to the sender, the arrested group was also involved in killing Viktar Hanchar, who disappeared in September 1999. Based on this claim, independent commentators assert that Lukashenka carried out the security shakeup to prevent further compromising leaks from the KGB and other law enforcement bodies.

    On one point, independent and official commentators agree--namely, that the replacements are intended to strengthen the president's position before next year's presidential elections. Lukashenka made that clear on 28 November, during a televised meeting with the KGB top leadership. Lukashenka launched into lengthy tirades against his alleged foreign and domestic enemies, in a manner that was significantly more incoherent than on previous occasions. In tone, those tirades verged on the hysterical; in terms of content, they suggested Lukashenka's paranoiac belief in a global plot against the Belarusian president, with NATO playing the most insidious role.

    "Only low-value cards are left in your deck. No matter how you shuffle them, they will not become trump cards," Andrey Sannikau, Lukashenka's former deputy foreign minister, commented in an open letter to the Belarusian president following the security shakeup. While that statement may prove true in the long run, Lukashenka appears, at least for now, to have reinforced his ranks by promoting "foreign legionnaires." It is generally believed in Belarus that the 2001 presidential elections will be a crucial event in the country's political history. According to some observers, Lukashenka distrusts native Belarusians in his government because they are likely to show "emotional weakness" during the struggle for power in the country in which they have ethnic and cultural roots. As for Russian-born politicians, they are apparently more inclined to seek to please the leader who pays them than to care about Belarus's political future or economic well-being.

    06-12-00


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


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