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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 243, 00-12-18Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 243, 18 December 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] FORMER ARMENIAN MINISTER SENTENCED ON EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGESA Yerevan district court on 15 December sentenced former Education Minister and failed presidential candidate Ashot Bleyan to seven years' imprisonment on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. An accountant and a cashier at the school of which Bleyan was director before his arrest in May 1999 received six-and two-year sentences, respectively. Bleyan's supporters and some Armenian human rights groups believe the verdict was politically motivated. The dailies "Aravot" and "Haykakan Zhamanak" on 16 December published a statement by several political parties close to Armenia's former leadership condemning the sentence handed down to Bleyan, which they claim "shows that [Armenian President Robert] Kocharian will resort to anything to establish unlimited personal rule." LF[02] SENIOR ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY AVOIDS SPLIT...The center-right National Democratic Union (AZhM) resumed its stormy congress on 16 December, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The congress had adjourned on 3 December to search for ways to overcome the differences between the party's two opposing camps. One faction argues that the party should make clear its strong opposition to the current Armenian leadership while the second, which controls the party's ruling board, advocates cooperation with the leadership to resolve the problems facing the country. Chairman Vazgen Manukian succeeded in drafting a compromise document, which was approved by a majority of delegates. That resolution reaffirms the party's opposition status and lays the blame for "the political, socio- economic, and moral crisis [as well as] corruption and favoritism" on the government. Manukian, nonetheless, argued that the AZhM "must not close the door" to cooperation with the leadership if the latter demonstrates a sincere commitment to reform. LF[03] ...AS COALITION ON VERGE OF DISINTEGRATIONThe Kayunutiun ("Stability") faction, which is the second-largest in the parliament, appeared close to collapse on 15 December, with most of its 20 deputies calling for the group's dissolution, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Differences emerged within Kayunutiun, which is aligned with the majority Miasnutiun bloc, after two of its members were offered portfolios in the cabinet of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, the former Miasnutiun leader, in May. One of them, Transport and Communications Minister Eduard Madatian, is now widely expected to be sacked over corruption allegations. LF[04] ARMENIAN ACADEMICS PROTESTS WAGE ARREARSThe trade union organizations of 42 institutes and seven divisions of the Armenian Academy of Sciences organized a protest action in Yerevan on 15 December to demand payment of salaries arrears totaling 320 million drams ($580,000), Noyan Tapan reported. That sum was not included in a one-off payment of 8 billion drams allocated by the Ministry of Finance and Economy to pay wage arrears within the science sector. LF[05] ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETMeeting on 15 December on the border between Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan, Serzh Sarkisian and Safar Abiev agreed to take unspecified "additional measures to rule out sporadic breaches of the cease- fire regime" that has been in force for the past six-and-a-half years, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. They will maintain constant contact with the aim of precluding sporadic exchanges of fire, and will work out a mechanism for the unconditional exchange of prisoners of war within two to three days of their capture, according to Turan. The two ministers had first met in 1992 during fighting on the northern section of the Karabakh frontline. LF[06] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITIONIST KILLED AS EARTHQUAKE-DAMAGED BUILDING COLLAPSESA four-story building in central Baku that was damaged during the 25 November earthquake collapsed on 15 December, killing Liberal Democratic Party leader Zakir Mamedov, Turan and Reuters reported. Mamedov had entered the building, which had been evacuated as unsafe, to retrieve property from his party's office. LF[07] GEORGIA'S SECOND CITY RESTORES STALIN STATUEA monument to Joseph Stalin that had been removed from public display in 1956 was unveiled on 14 December in a square in Kutaisi, AP and Caucasus Press reported. Local Communists had financed a new plinth for the statue. Several hundred Stalin supporters, his grandson Yevgenii Djughashvili United Communist Party of Georgia chairman Panteleimon Giorgadze attended the unveiling ceremony. LF[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT FOCUSES ON ETHNIC RELATIONSIn a 15 December address to the Assembly of Peoples, which represents all ethnic groups in Kazakhstan, President Nursultan Nazarbaev advocated enacting legislation that would increase the assembly's role in society, Interfax reported.He also proposed that the assembly create its own website and hold an annual telethon. In a move clearly intended to underscore the importance of increased attention to inter-ethnic relations, Nazarbaev also announced the appointment of Imangali Tasmagambetov as deputy prime minister with responsibility for that field. Tasmagambetov previously served as minister of education and culture and most recently as governor of Atyrau Oblast, in western Kazakhstan. LF [09] KAZAKHSTAN INCREASES GOLD PRODUCTIONA senior official of the newly created Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources told Interfax on 15 December that gold production in Kazakhstan grew 56 percent this year, compared with 1999, to 15 metric tons. Last year's figure of 9.6 metric tons represented an 8 percent increase over 1998. Also on 15 December, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Viktor Shkolnik said uranium production in 2000 rose by 30 percent in 2000, Interfax reported. Kazakhstan produced 1,588 tons of uranium in 1999. LF[10] KAZAKH PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSES PROPOSED LAND LAWMembers of the Committee on Regional Development and Self-Government of the Kazakh Parliament's Upper Chamber (Senate) held a heated discussion on 15 December of the draft law on land approved by the parliament's lower chamber earlier this month. Some senators argued that the draft bill fails to take into account that 70 percent of Kazakhstan's territory is desert or steppes. Those areas are populated by ethnic Kazakhs. President Nazarbaev has reportedly called for the swift passage of the draft bill, while most opposition political parties reject it (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 November and 1 December 2000). LF[11] WORKERS MOVEMENT ACTIVIST ON HUNGER-STRIKE IN KAZAKHSTANSakhip Zhanabaeva, one of the leaders of the Workers Movement of Kazakhstan, declared a hunger-strike on 14 December after being sentenced to five days detention for participating in an unsanctioned demonstration on 30 November, RFE/RL's Almaty bureau reported, quoting Pokolenie Movement chairwoman Irina Savostina. Zhanabaeva had been detained and severely beaten by police on 12 December. LF[12] KYRGYZSTAN MOVES TO ABOLISH MORATORIUM ON LAND SALESThe Legislative Assembly, the lower chamber of Kyrgyzstan's parliament, has approved in the first reading a bill lifting the moratorium imposed two years ago on the sale and purchase of land, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on 15 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 November and 14 December 2000). Interfax quoted the head of the presidential administration department for agricultural issues, Bekbolot Talgarbekov, as telling deputies that land reform will not be feasible unless the moratorium is abolished. He said the new legislation will enable farmers to mortgage, buy, and sell land, but he added that the right to do so will be restricted to those who have lived in rural areas for two years. Foreigners cannot purchase land but can lease it for up to 50 years. LF[13] TAJIK REGIONAL LEADER COMPLAINS OF SPREAD OF RADICAL ISLAM FROM UZBEKISTANQosim Qosimov, who is governor of Tajikistan's Sughd Oblast, told Asia Plus- Blitz on 14 December that activists of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir Islamic Party who settled in the Ferghana, Andijan, and Tashkent region of neighboring Uzbekistan in 1992-1994 are systematically seeking to recruit young men in northern Tajikistan. He complained that the lack of controls on the border between the two countries makes it easy for Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists to infiltrate Tajikistan. The Tajik media regularly report the arrest of people suspected of membership in Hizb-ut-Tahrir. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[14] NATO REINFORCES TROOPS IN TENSE KOSOVA BORDER AREAA NATO spokesman said in Prishtina on 18 December that 150 British KFOR troops have been sent to the border area between Kosova and southwestern Serbia. The previous day, people believed to be ethnic Albanian guerrillas fired on a joint U.S.-Russian patrol, which was seeking to prevent guerrillas and supplies from crossing from Kosova into Serbia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 December 2000). On 17 December, some 200 Serbs in Leposaviq set fire to a police station, threw stones at cars, and briefly held seven Belgian soldiers captive. Two Serbs died and one was wounded in the violence, AP reported. The protests were in response to the arrest of a Serbian motorist. PM[15] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT BLAMES 'ENEMIES OF PEACE' FOR VIOLENCEYugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica slammed "those who do not want a peaceful solution to Kosovo's problems" for the latest violence in the province and along its border with Serbia, AP reported on 17 December. He added that "it's no coincidence that this is happening just before Serbia's elections" slated for 23 December. Kostunica called on Serbs, Albanians, and representatives of the international community not to "fall into the trap of those who do not want peace." Supporters of former President Slobodan Milosevic and Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj have charged that the present government is not capable of defending Serbian interests in the region. PM[16] YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT SEEKS WESTERN HELP AGAINST KOSOVA INDEPENDENCEYugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic wants officials from the five permanent member countries of the UN Security Council, as well as from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Macedonia, to hold a series of conferences to determine the future political status of Kosova, of which they would then be the guarantors, the "Washington Post" reported on 18 December 2000 (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 15 December 2000). He argues that independence for the province would "destabilize" the region. Svilanovic told the daily that he realizes that holding such a conference "would amount to stacking the deck against Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority." He nonetheless added that he hopes that unnamed "moderate" Albanians will agree to a deal with Belgrade. Moderate leaders Ibrahim Rugova and Veton Surroi have, however, said repeatedly that Kosovars see no future with Serbia and are interested only in independence. PM[17] BELGRADE AUTHORITIES SHOW FLAG IN SERBIAN BORDER REGIONMembers of the Yugoslav and Serbian governments held a "symbolic" joint session on 16 December in Bujanovac in the troubled border region with Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. General Vladimir Lazarevic told government members that guerrillas of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac (UCPMB) are present in the demilitarized zone along the border with Kosova but have not attacked army units nearby. The participants in the meeting agreed to set up an unspecified "coordinating body" in Bujanovac to demonstrate that the government is closely monitoring tensions in the region. Participants approved a document entitled "Declaration on the Defense of the National and State Interest of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." It said that KFOR and the UN civilian mission in Kosova are "directly responsible" for the "planned and continuing" threat by UCPMB to regional security. The declaration called on the UN Security Council to quickly take unspecified "measures for the withdrawal of Albanian terrorists" from the zone. PM[18] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT HAILS BUSH VICTORYKostunica said in Bujanovac on 16 December that the increase in violence in the border region is due to the "change in the international position" of Serbia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. In Belgrade, he added that he expects that the U.S. will reduce its presence in the Balkans following the election of George W. Bush as president. Kostunica said that he believes that NATO would not have bombed his country in 1999 if the Republicans had been in the White House (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 17 October 2000). PM[19] MONTENEGRO REAFFIRMS CURRENCY EXCHANGE RIGHTSThe Montenegrin authorities have decided that the National Bank of Yugoslavia does not have the right to open its own currency exchange offices in the mountainous republic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from Podgorica on 16 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 December 2000). Only Montenegrin banks and exchange offices that operate in accordance with Montenegrin laws may exchange currency. The authorities also denied claims by Yugoslav National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic that the Montenegrin National Bank has no right to issue its own currency. The German mark is the sole legal tender in Montenegro (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 November 2000). PM[20] MONTENEGRIN LEADER TOPS POLLSPresident Milo Djukanovic is his republic's most trusted politician, according to a poll published in "Pobjeda" on 18 December. He received the confidence of 32.9 percent of the respondents, followed by Predrag Bulatovic of the Socialist People's Party with 9.8 percent. Only 2.9 percent named Momir Bulatovic, who is Milosevic's leading supporter in Montenegro, as the politician they most trust. Some 21.2 percent of the respondents did not answer the question, and 7.9 percent said that they trust no politician. The same poll showed that 43.4 percent of the respondents favor an independent Montenegro, while 23.3 percent want the Yugoslav federation to continue in its present form. Some 16 percent want a loose confederation with Serbia, while 9.3 percent want Yugoslavia to become a unitary, rather than federal, state. PM[21] BOSNIAN SERB STATE GETS NEW PRESIDENTMirko Sarovic was sworn in as president of the Republika Srpska in Banja Luka on 16 December. He said he hopes to put together a government soon. He called cooperation with the Hague-based war crimes tribunal "a challenge and a hard question," Reuters reported. Dragan Kalinic, who also belongs to the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) founded by Radovan Karadzic, was elected speaker of the parliament. The session opened for the first time with the playing of the joint Bosnian anthem. A Serbian Orthodox religious ceremony for deputies took place in a church, "Vesti" reported. It is not clear what policy the international community will have toward Sarovic and other top office-holders who belong to the SDS. PM[22] HUNGARIAN, GREEK FIRMS LEAD IN MACEDONIAN TELECOM RACEThe Macedonian government said on 17 December that Hungary's Matav and Greece's OTE are the top bidders for a 51 percent stake in Macedonia's mobile telephone network, AP reported from Skopje. PM[23] OUTGOING ROMANIAN PREMIER PRESENTS 2001 BUDGET...Mugur Isarescu told journalists on 15 December that the government is finalizing the 2001 budget, which provides for 5 percent growth in GDP, an inflation rate of 25 percent, and a deficit of 3.9 percent of GDP. In 2000, those figures were 2 percent, 42 percent, and 3.5 percent, respectively, according to figures presented by Isarescu. Adrian Nastase, Isarescu's likely successor, responded that he does not trust these figures, and he accused the outgoing cabinet of having added at least 1 percent to the deficit by making pre-election concessions on wage demands. MS[24] ...WHILE LIKELY SUCCESSOR ACCUSES CABINET OF 'FRAUD'Nastase told journalists on 17 December that he "has evidence" that the government is about to "commit fraud" by burning files that show corruption in the State Property Fund's privatization deals. He added that any deals found to have been illegal will be canceled, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Government spokeswoman Gabriela Vranceanu-Firea denied the allegation, and outgoing State Property Fund chief Radu Sarbu said Nastase is indulging in "politicking." On 18 December, President-elect Ion Iliescu told the Executive Bureau of his Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) that he will resign as party chairman on being sworn in as president. Nastase will lead the party until its National Conference early next year, he added. On 15 December, PDSR deputy Valer Dorneanu was elected chairman of the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is to elect a new chairman on 18 December. MS[25] BARBALAT TO RUN IN NEXT ROUND OF MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSThe Democratic Party on 15 December again submitted the candidacy of Constitutional Court chairman Pavel Barbalat, who will run in the next round of the Moldovan presidential elections, planned for later this month, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The move follows the failure of the Democratic Party and parliamentary chairman Dumitru Diacov to persuade Party of Moldovan Communists Chairman Vladimir Voronin to withdraw his candidacy. Diacov is reported to have offered to step down as parliamentary chairman in Voronin's favor or secure him a "high government position" if he agrees not to run. Diacov said Voronin's refusal will "unavoidably lead to early elections." The Party of Democratic Forces has already announced it will boycott the next round. It is unclear whether the Democratic Convention of Moldova will participate in the ballot. MS[C] END NOTE[26] OUTLOOK FOR EU EXPANSION IMPROVESBy Ahto LobjakasFor the past five years, EU membership for the 10 Central and East European candidate states has always--in the words of Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski--seemed "five years out of reach." In 1995, the date offered by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was 2000. In 1998, when Poland, together with the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia, opened accession talks, the date was surmised to be 2003. But at the close of this year there are indications the "five-year barrier" may finally be broken. In November, the European Commission issued a report that surprised many by saying advanced candidates could finish accession talks as soon as 2002. Assuming the first accession treaties are signed and ratification by all member states takes 18 months, new members could join by early 2004. That timetable was indirectly affirmed by December's EU summit in Nice. Union leaders said in a declaration that they hope the first new members can join in time to participate in the next elections to the European Parliament, scheduled for June 2004. However, the summit left the timing of any future accessions vague. The optimism was confirmed by the incoming Swedish EU presidency (Sweden takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency from France on 1 January). Sweden's ambassador to the EU, Gunnar Lund, told RFE/RL that by the end of his country's presidency in June, it may be possible to answer questions about which countries will be the first to enter and when. "I would not be surprised if at the end of our presidency we will be able already to discern the final stretch, so to say, for at least a few or a handful of candidate countries," he commented. "And hopefully we could establish this as a fact and even perhaps talk in terms of timetables and road maps." Lund was presumably speaking about the countries that until now have been seen as the leading candidates: Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus. But even that may not be a foregone conclusion, since this year saw remarkable progress by countries previously relegated to the second wave: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Malta. These countries opened accession talks only at the start of the year but have made rapid progress since then. Of the former Communist bloc states, Slovakia and Latvia have especially excelled in negotiations. Slovakia has closed 10 out of a total of 31 chapters, which make up the body of EU legislation candidates must adopt before joining the union. Latvia has closed eight chapters and Malta 12. By comparison, the relative laggards of the first group--Poland and the Czech Republic--have closed talks on 13 chapters. The EU has consistently said that every candidate country will be judged solely on its merits and that all "second wave" countries have a chance to catch up with frontrunners. Indeed, this formal distinction between "first" and "second" waves was buried last month by the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen because, as he noted, at least two "second- wave" countries have already caught up with the "first-wave" ones. The two "are already so close to the countries that have been negotiating [for] more than two years that we simply must give up the concept of groups [that is, waves]. We have already dissolved that concept in our enlargement strategy paper and in our regular [progress] reports," Verheugen explained. The Nice summit also took a decisive step in projecting how the new members would fit into existing decision-making structures. Following days of difficult debate on how members in the future would decide on the most difficult issues, summit participants agreed on a formula to re-weight votes in the important Council of Ministers. All of the candidate states were included in the re-weighting and received relatively favorable treatment in the assignment of votes. Under the formula, Poland will have equal weight with Spain with 27 votes, leaving it just two votes shy of Germany, the EU's most populous country. Romania will have more votes than The Netherlands and other smaller current members--on the basis of the size of its population--and Lithuania will have the same number as Denmark and Ireland. Summit participants also agreed to raise the number of EU commissioners to 27 from the current 20, suggesting that one day each member will have its own commissioner. Candidates are still well advised to keep an eye on developments. Negotiations on truly difficult issues such as agriculture and the free movement of labor have not yet commenced. And before agreement with the candidates can be reached, the EU member countries must agree on changes in the union's own common agricultural policy. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Brussels. 18-12-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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