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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 237, 00-12-08Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 237, 8 December 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIA MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF 1988 EARTHQUAKEPresident Robert Kocharian and other senior officials have visited the northern town of Gyumri, which was devastated by an earthquake in 1988 that killed an estimated 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 7 December. In an appeal coinciding with the anniversary, Prime Minister Andranik Markarian acknowledged that "problems and difficulties" with reconstruction persist, adding that "eliminating the notion of a 'disaster zone'...is a matter of honor for our state, our government and all of us," according to Armenpress. Only 55 percent of damaged and destroyed homes have been rebuilt to date, and an estimated 26,000 families in Gyumri and its surrounding districts still live in temporary housing. Also on 7 December, Noyan Tapan quoted Russian seismologist Aleksei Nikolaev as claiming that the Armenian earthquake, together with those that devastated Ashgabat in 1948 and Tashkent in 1966, were triggered by Soviet nuclear weapons tests. LF[02] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY REJECTS AZERBAIJANI VERSION OF RECENT KARABAKH TALKSArmenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Vilayat Guliev, did not discuss during their recent talks in Vienna the possibility of resurrecting the first of the Karabakh peace proposals made by the OSCE Minsk Group in 1997, Noyan Tapan reported on 7 December, citing an Armenian Foreign Ministry statement published in "Azg." In a recent interview with Mediamax News Agency, which observers claim is controlled by Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, Guliev was quoted as saying that Oskanian had proposed reviving that proposal "with certain reservations" and that the two ministers had agreed to suggest that option to their respective presidents. "Azg" also denied that Oskanian proposed not reviving discussion of the most recent Minsk Group proposal, made in November 1998, envisaging that Azerbaijan and the unrecognized Nagorno- Karabakh Republic form a common state. Azerbaijan rejected that proposal. "Azg" quoted the Armenian Foreign Ministry as saying that Yerevan's position remains unchanged and that Armenia will consider as a basis for negotiation any proposal that does not stipulate that Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan, according to Noyan Tapan. LF[03] AZERBAIJANI CUSTOMS ALLOWS IMPORT OF IRANIAN BUSESFirst Deputy Baku Mayor Eldaniz Laidjev told Turan on 7 December that customs officials have now raised their objections to the import of some 900 Iranian buses leased by former Baku Mayor Rafael Allakhverdiev for use in the capital. Laidjev said that President Heidar Aliev had intervened to instruct Prime Minister Artur Rasizade to give the go-ahead to import the vehicles. Allakhverdiev had threatened to lead a protest march of bus drivers from the Azerbaijan-Iranian border to Baku if the buses were not allowed into the country (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 December 2000). LF[04] MOSCOW RATIONALIZES IMPOSITION OF VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GEORGIARussia is doing all in its power to minimize the inconvenience to Georgia arising from the introduction of a visa requirement for citizens of that country wishing to enter the Russian Federation, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement of 7 December summarized by ITAR-TASS. The statement repeated Russia's "constructive" proposal to open more consulates in Georgia to process visa applications, which Tbilisi has already rejected. Also on 7 December, Interfax quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Udovenko as rejecting the argument that the imposition of the visa requirement constitutes interference in Georgia's internal affairs. The EU and a U.S. State Department spokesman have both criticized Moscow's decision to exempt from the visa requirement residents of Georgia's breakaway Republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. LF[05] GEORGIAN POLICE APPREHEND ARMED CHECHENSAfter establishing an additional 10 roadblocks in the Kakheti district of eastern Georgia, police on 7 December detained three heavily-armed Chechen fighters at the entrance to the Pankisi gorge, Caucasus Press reported. Russian observers have for months claimed the gorge is controlled by Chechen field commanders, while Georgian officials have systematically rejected those claims. But Georgian presidential press secretary Kahka Imnadze told Interfax the same day that Georgian police will not "comb" villages in the region searching for Chechen militants, in the way that Russian Interior Ministry troops do in Chechnya. Speaking at a press conference in Tbilisi on 8 December, Interior Minister Kakha Targamadze denied that his men had either conducted negotiations with the persons who abducted two Spanish businessmen last week or paid a ransom to secure their release, according to ITAR-TASS (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000). LF[06] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT DEPUTY ACCUSES SPEAKER OF BUDGET SABOTAGEDavid Gamqrelidze, who quit the ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia (SMK) parliamentary faction three months ago to head the opposition "New Faction, " on 7 December accused the SMK and parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania personally of inflicting economic damage estimated at 300 million lari ($152 million) though the use of budget funds to secure the SMK's victory in the November 1999 parliamentary election, Caucasus Press reported. Gamqrelidze is chairman of the parliamentary commission charged with investigating Georgia's ongoing budget crisis. LF[07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT APPROVES DRAFT CONCORDATEduard Shevardnadze on 7 December approved a draft Concordat to be signed between the Georgian state and the Georgian Orthodox Church, Caucasus Press reported. The agreement, which will be published for nationwide discussion before being submitted to the parliament, recognizes the "leading role" of the Georgian Orthodox Church but imposes no restrictions on the activities of other religious organizations (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 6, 11 February 2000). LF[08] ABKHAZ, RUSSIAN REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSS MILITARY BASEVladislav Ardzinba, president of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia, held talks in Sukhum on 7 December with a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official and two Russian military officers on the planned withdrawal of Russian military equipment from the Russian base at Gudauta, Caucasus Press reported, citing Apsnipress. The commander of the Russian parachute regiment currently stationed at that base said that no agreement has yet been reached with Georgia on the withdrawal from Gudauta of 78 armored vehicles and 11 artillery pieces. Interfax on 6 December, however, quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry statement as saying that the withdrawal of that equipment will begin "within days" and will be monitored by foreign observers. The statement expressed the hope that the Abkhaz leadership will not obstruct that withdrawal and that Tbilisi will facilitate it. LF[09] KAZAKHSTAN, IRAN PLAN TO EXPAND ECONOMIC COOPERATIONKazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Sadyq Kharrazi in Astana on 7 December to discuss expanding trade and economic cooperation, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Interfax quoted Kharrazi as telling journalists after those talks that Tehran considers Kazakhstan, together with the other Central Asian states, "a strategic regional partner" and is interested in expanding so-called "oil swaps" with Kazakhstan. Under such arrangements, Iran receives up to 1 million tons of Kazakh crude for refining at its Tabriz refinery, and exports on behalf of Kazakhstan an equivalent amount from a Gulf terminal. Kharrazi also called for talks between all five Caspian littoral states on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Iran and Turkmenistan currently oppose Russia's most recent proposals, which Kazakhstan has endorsed, on how to structure those talks. LF[10] KAZAKH PARLIAMENT APPROVES BUDGET FOR 2001The parliament on 7 December approved next year's budget in the second and final reading, Interfax reported. The final version of the budget includes the increase in revenues that the opposition had demanded during the first reading but which was rejected by the lower house (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 December 2000). Revenues have thus been increased to 412.45 billion tenges ($2.86 billion) from 406.2 billion tenges (16 percent of anticipated GDP), while expenditures have been increased from 462 billion to 468.25 billion tenges, resulting in a deficit of 55.8 billion tenges, which is equivalent to 2.2 percent of GDP. Prime Minister Toqaev told deputies on 7 December that the government will receive before the end of this year $660 million from the sale to Chevron of a 5 percent stake in the Tengizchevroil joint venture, Interfax reported. LF[11] U.S. PRESENTS KYRGYZSTAN WITH DEFENSE EQUIPMENTA ceremony was held at a military base near Bishkek on 7 December to mark the formal handing over to Kyrgyzstan of military equipment worth $1 million donated by the U.S., RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. The equipment, which includes short-wave radio receivers and field glasses, was the first consignment of some $3 million worth of equipment promised by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during her visit to Bishkek in April. LF[12] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY REFUSED PERMISSION TO CONVENE ROUND TABLEFormer Vice President Feliks Kulov's Ar-Namys Party was forced to cancel a planned roundtable in Bishkek on 7 December after no organization in the capital would allow it the use of premises for that purpose, RFE./RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The focus of the roundtable, which will now take place in the open air on 9 December, will be government and judicial reform. LF[13] U.S. DIPLOMAT SAYS CENTRAL ASIAN STATES CONCERNED AT SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN...Visiting Tashkent on 6-7 December, Stephen Sestanovich, who is adviser to the U.S. secretary of state on the Newly Independent States, said that Central Asian countries are concerned by the situation in Afghanistan, Interfax reported. He advocated further discussions among the so-called "Six-Plus-Two" group on how to end the Afghan civil war. That group comprises Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as Russia and the U.S. Sestanovich said the U.S. will propose to the UN Security Council new sanctions against the Taliban that are intended to prevent an intensification of "terrorists'" activities in Afghanistan. Russia will also urge the UN Security Council to increase pressure on the Taliban, Interfax reported on 7 December, citing a Russian Foreign Ministry statement. Sestanovich met in Tashkent with President Islam Karimov, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov, Deputy Premier Rustam Azimov, and National Security Council Secretary Mirakbar Rakhmankulov. LF[14] ...BUT TURKMEN PRESIDENT DOWNPLAYS DANGERAddressing heads of diplomatic missions in Ashgabat on 7 December, Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov said that the situation in Afghanistan does not pose any threat to neighboring countries, according to Interfax. He said ultimatums, military actions, or the isolation of Afghanistan will only increase the suffering of that country's population. Niyazov again invited representatives of the warring Taliban and the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani to travel to Ashgabat to participate both in celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of Turkmenistan's neutrality and talks aimed at ending the civil war. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[15] SERBIAN LEADER CALLS ON KOSOVARS TO TAKE PART IN YUGOSLAV POLITICSYugoslav Prime Minister Zoran Zizic told a joint session of the two houses of the Yugoslav parliament on 7 December that he hopes the Kosovar Albanians will take part in the political life of Yugoslavia. He added that he expects the international community to remove the threat from Kosovar guerrillas to "elementary freedoms and rights of citizens" in the Presevo valley, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He stressed that "we won't allow a single bit of our land to be taken away." His remarks appear made for Yugoslav domestic political consumption. The Kosovars have for years refused to have anything to do with Serbian politics on the grounds that their future lies in independence. NATO and the UN have recently stepped up measures to prevent ethnic Albanian guerrillas from infiltrating into Serbia from Kosova (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 December 2000). PM[16] SOME 1,500 GUERRILLAS IN SOUTHWEST SERBIA?Yugoslav Defense Minister Slobodan Krapovic told the upper house of the parliament on 7 December that up to 1,500 guerrillas have entered the demilitarized zone on the Kosova-Serbian border, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[17] KOSOVAR LEADERS WARN AGAINST HOLDING SERBIAN VOTE IN KOSOVAModerate leader Ibrahim Rugova and former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci said in Prishtina on 7 December that they are opposed to holding the 23 December Serbian parliamentary elections in Kosova. Adem Demaci, who was a leading communist-era dissident and now heads the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service that holding the Serbian elections in Kosova could lead to renewed bloodshed. Elsewhere, KFOR's General Carlo Cabigiosu confirmed that voting will take place in Serbian enclaves in the province. PM[18] KOSTUNICA: YUGOSLAV RELATIONS WITH WASHINGTON AWAIT NEW ADMINISTRATIONYugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica told the Belgrade daily "Glas javnosti" of 8 December that his country's relations with the U.S. have improved considerably since the beginning of the year. He added that Washington has increasingly responded positively to the EU's lead in improving ties to Belgrade. He hopes that the advent of a new administration in Washington will lead to a change in personnel that, in turn, will further contribute to an improvement in relations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 November 2000). Kostunica also noted that he has had an easier time improving his country's standing in the international community than he has in dealing with fellow Serbian politicians. PM[19] NEW YUGOSLAV DIPLOMATIC LINEUP READY?"Vesti" reported on 8 December that leaders of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia have agreed on who will fill the most important ambassadorial posts after the 23 December elections. According to the daily, newly elected Belgrade Mayor Milan Protic will leave that job to become ambassador to the U.S. Protic is a historian who studied in that country. He is at home with the idiom and culture of the U.S. in a way that few, if any, opposition leaders can match. Montenegro's Miodrag Lekic will go to Rome, while Radomir-Backo Diklic will represent his country in Paris. The ambassador to Germany will be Milovan Bozinovic. Professor Vladeta Jankovic, who is the deputy chief of Kostunica's party, will go to London, the daily added. PM[20] NEW DEPUTY CHIEF OF YUGOSLAV NATIONAL BANKAfter weeks of political in-fighting over the choice of a deputy head of the National Bank, both houses of the parliament approved the appointment of Radivoje Rasovic to the post, "Danas" reported on 8 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000). PM[21] EFFORTS MADE TO FIND MISSING SERBIAN LEADERA telephone hot-line has been set up in Serbia to support opposition efforts to find missing communist-era leader Ivan Stambolic, "Danas" reported on 8 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 November 2000). The number is 063-8042800. In addition, a website has been set up at www.gdejestambolic.org. Stambolic has been missing for 105 days and is widely believed to have been kidnapped by agents of the regime of former President Slobodan Milosevic. PM[22] PROMINENT YUGOSLAV COMMUNIST-ERA LEADER DIESSvetozar Vukmanovic-Tempo died at his home in rural Montenegro on 7 December, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Tempo was a leader in Josip Broz Tito's Partisans during World War II and subsequently entered politics from time to time. In the past two decades, he was best known as a writer and publicist. PM[23] CROATIAN PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS LAUNCH WARNING STRIKE"Thousands" of public service workers took part in a one-day warning strike at various places throughout Croatia on 8 December, AP reported. The workers want a 8.5 percent wage hike and a Christmas bonus (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 December 2000). Some 200,000 people work in the state sector. Half of them are represented by the six unions staging the strike. The government is committed to an austerity program. PM[24] CROATIAN MEDIA BOSS TO SUE MINISTERAn attorney for Ninoslav Pavic said that Pavic is suing Interior Minister Sime Lucin in conjunction with the police's recent decision to detain Pavic and supervise a search of his home, dpa reported from Zagreb on 8 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 2000). In a statement released by his office, Lucin said that "everything was done according to the law" in the Pavic case. PM[25] SERBIAN GUNNER ON THE LOOSE IN CROATIAA lone Serbian rebel, who has refused to accept the 1995 victory of the Croatian army over the Krajina forces, is believed to have killed four people in the Sisak area since 1996, Reuters reported on 8 December. Police have found three of the bodies in recent days. The police are conducting an "intensive" search for suspected gunman Zivko Korac, who is believed to be hiding in the woods of Zrinska Gora. PM[26] VETERAN CROATIAN POLITICIAN DIESVlado Gotovac died in Rome on 7 December after a long bout with liver cancer, which stemmed from medical problems he acquired during long years in communist-era prisons. In independent Croatia, the former dissident was best known as a journalist and politician. He was active first in the Social Liberal Party and later in the Liberal Party, but most of all, he relished the role of political gadfly and free spirit. "Jutarnji list" suggested that he could have played a moral role in Croatian politics similar to that of President Vaclav Havel in the Czech Republic had he become president of Croatia. PM[27] PETRITSCH SAYS EU LACKS VISION FOR BOSNIAWolfgang Petritsch, who is the international community's high representative in Bosnia, told Vienna's "Die Presse" of 7 December that at no time in the past five years has Bosnia been as free from the threat of war as it is now. Petritsch said he fears, however, that the international community is focusing its assistance too much on Serbia and to a lesser extent on Kosova to the detriment of Bosnia. He stressed that Bosnia must have more direct investment if it is to cease being dependent on aid. In particular, Petritsch charged that the EU is "too bureaucratic" and does not have "enough vision" to be of effective assistance to Bosnia. PM[28] BOSNIA SETS CONDITIONS FOR RELATIONS WITH BELGRADEThe joint presidency agreed on 7 December to proceed with efforts at establishing diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 2000). As a precondition to setting up ties, the presidency wants an agreement on resolving the division of properties and assets of the former Yugoslavia. It also seeks an agreement on determining individual responsibility for war crimes and on settling disputes between citizens of the individual countries. PM[29] BOSNIA INTRODUCES VISA REQUIREMENT FOR IRANIANSBosnian Prime Minister Martin Raguz said in Sarajevo on 7 December that the government has introduced a visa requirement for Iranian citizens, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The move is part of an effort to deter Iranian citizens from using Bosnia as a point of illegal entry into Western Europe. Bosnian Muslim leaders earlier introduced visa-free travel in recognition of Teheran's support for the Muslim cause during the 1992-1995 war. PM[30] ROMANIAN POLLS SHOW ILIESCU LEADING AT DISTANCEThree public opinion polls released on 7 December show that ahead of the 10 December presidential runoff, the candidate of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) has a comfortable lead over Corneliu Vadim Tudor, head of the Greater Romania Party (PRM). According to the Institute for Public Opinion Polling, Ion Iliescu is backed by 69 percent and Tudor by 31 percent. A Data Media poll shows Iliescu ahead of Tudor with 67.91 percent backing, compared with 32.09 percent. And a Center for Urban and Social Research poll gives Iliescu a 70 percent lead over Tudor, whose backing it puts at 30 percent, Mediafax reported. MS[31] ROMANIANS MARCH AGAINST EXTREMISMSome 800 participants in the December 1989 uprising marched in Bucharest on 7 December to warn of the danger of extremism, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The same day several hundred students staged a march of their own, and the Federation of Jewish Communities released a statement condemning Tudor's allegations in his electoral address on Romanian television the previous day. The PRM leader claimed that he has received letters of support from officials of the community. The federation said Tudor had been "a staunch enemy of the Jews" in Romania for many years and has repeatedly displayed anti-Semitism and xenophobia. It also condemned the PRM leader's "aggressive stance" against members of the Hungarian and Romany minorities. MS[32] LOOMING CONFLICT OVER ROMANIAN PREMIER'S FUTUREGovernment spokeswoman Gabriela Vranceanu-Firea announced on 7 December that Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu will chair the last meeting of his cabinet on 12 December, following which "he will return to his post as governor of the National Bank." The announcement seems to be in response to a PDSR statement earlier that day that the party will seek to "change the management of the National Bank" and the legislation that governs that bank's activity, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Isarescu accepted the premiership last year on condition that he be allowed return to his post at the end of the cabinet's mandate. The parliament approved that condition at the government's request. MS[33] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UPHOLDS LUCINSCHI COMPLAINTThe Constitutional Court on 7 December upheld President Petru Lucinschi's complaint against a law on citizens' initiatives to amend the constitution, which the parliament passed in May, Flux reported. Lucinschi vetoed the law arguing that it was unconstitutional, but the legislature overrode his veto. The court agreed that the law's provision stipulating that the parliament can declare null and void citizens' initiatives to amend the basic document infringes on citizens' constitutional rights. Lucinschi also said the provision stipulating that at least 200,000 eligible voters must back such an initiative and at least 33 deputies must support including it on the parliament's agenda is "too prohibitive." MS[34] BULGARIA AGAIN REBUFFED OVER PIRATE SOFTWAREInternational software manufacturers have warned that Bulgaria's integration into the Western economy may be jeopardized by its continued failure to act against CD and software piracy, AFP reported on 7 December. Velizor Sokolov, the Bulgarian representative of the Business Software Association (BSA), said that the two major problems that Bulgaria faces are corruption and failure to protect intellectual property. BSA Deputy Chairwoman for Central and Eastern Europe Marjia Laitinen met earlier this week with senior Interior Ministry officials as well as with police and Justice Ministry officials to discuss the problem. She called on them to close down the Slaveikov Square market in Sofia, where most pirated CDs and other wares are sold. Laitinen said that law enforcement in this area is "low" and even the few individuals who have been arrested were not convicted. Sokolov, for his part, noted "investigations are unreasonably delayed." MS[C] END NOTE[35] ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERSBy Paul GobleA Moscow court decided late last month that the Salvation Army represents a security threat to the Russian government. That ruling may make it impossible for the international humanitarian assistance organization to reregister before the end of this month. If that is the case, it will be forced to suspend operations in Moscow. Kenneth Baillie, the head of the army's Russian operations, said that the Moscow City Court had reached this conclusion on 28 November. "Since we have the word 'army' in our name," he said, the court concluded that "we are a militarized organization bent on the violent overthrow of the Russian government." The Salvation Army, of which Baillie is a colonel, was founded in the 19th century along military lines but without the usual military goals. Its members carry no weapons and have as their mission assistance rather than conquest. The court ruling will make it impossible for the group to register as required by Russian law, and court officials said they would give its officers the official verdict only sometime within the next month--a delay that might make it impossible for the Salvation Army to appeal to a higher court. The Salvation Army has been present in Russia since the collapse of communism. In addition to Moscow, the group operates community centers in 13 Russian cities, providing food, shelter, and clothing to the homeless, the elderly, and others. One 85-year-old participant in the Salvation Army's Russian program told a Moscow newspaper that "this is the only thing that saves us lonely people. Here we get everything we need, love and human contact." And the leader of the Moscow Salvation Army office added that "if we have to close [the office,] the people who have been using it will lose everything. They'll have nothing but their four walls. The Salvation Army's current legal travails began in 1997, when the Russian parliament passed a law requiring religious organizations with less than 15 years of work in Russia to register with the local authorities. The army's Moscow office filed documents in February 1999. In August of that year, Moscow officials refused to register the group. At that time, the Moscow city officials said that the group could not register because its headquarters were outside of the Russian Federation and that it could have only a representative office in Moscow. In response, the army filed suit, and in July 2000 the court upheld the city's position. The current finding against the army was the result of the group's appeal of that decision. These legal appeals, the Salvation Army said, have forced it to spend more than $20,000 in legal fees, money that the group indicated it would have much preferred to spend on those in need. Colonel Baillie told "The Moscow Times" this week that the Moscow court's latest action showed that the Salvation Army has been singled out, although he said it is "unclear" why. But he acknowledged that there's a general wariness and suspicion of foreigners: "That's part of Russian culture and certainly part of the religious culture." No court in any other region of Russia has taken such an action against the Salvation Army, but officials in the regions are likely to be watching to see whether the finding against this group is upheld or overturned. If the court decision stands, many of them may also move against the group. If it is overturned, they are less likely to try to close the army's operations. Regional courts are not the only ones who will be watching to see just what the Russian legal system does. The Salvation Army enjoys near universal support around the world for its longstanding efforts to help those in need, regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation. During this holiday season, when the army's officers stand on the streets of major Western cities to collect money for its charitable activities, such a Russian move against the group will undoubtedly cause many people to draw new conclusions about the direction that Russian political life is taking. But the Salvation Army has pledged to continue to work where it can because its officers have always insisted that they answer to a far higher court than any judicial assembly in any particular city or any particular country. 08-12-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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