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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 248, 00-12-27
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 4, No. 248, 27 December 2000
President Putin told journalists in Moscow on 26 December that interim
Chechen administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov is "the only center of
authority" in Chechnya, Interfax reported. In a bid to end speculation that
Kadyrov will soon be replaced (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 41,
20 October 2000 and No. 43, 3 November 2000), Putin said Kadyrov will
continue in that post "until we go over to other methods of settling
political problems of this kind -- to the election of head of the [Chechen]
republic." He said that military operations aginst the Chechen fighters
will be continued by "special units" formed of "professionals." LF
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIA HOPES FOR EVENTUAL EU MEMBERSHIP
[02] FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY HOLDS CONGRESS
[03] RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN
[04] OUSTED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF OPPOSITION PARTY
[05] GEORGIA PEGS RUSSIAN BASES COMPROMISE TO CONCESSIONS ON ABKHAZIA
[06] LAND TAX IN KYRGYZSTAN INCREASED BY 40 PERCENT
[07] REVIEW OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST'S ACQUITTAL RESUMES
[08] INVESTIGATION INTO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT COMPLETED IN TAJIKISTAN
[09] TURKMEN PRESIDENT DECLARES AMNESTY
[10] UZBEKISTAN WARNS KYRGYZSTAN OVER GAS DEBTS
[11] UZBEK POLICE SEIZE ARMS CACHE
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[12] SERBS REPUDIATE MILOSEVIC IN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE...
[13] ...BUT HARDLINERS MAKE DEMANDS
[14] MILOSEVIC MAY BE CHARGED, ARRESTED
[15] DJINDJIC BECOMES PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE
[16] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WELCOMES SERBIAN POLL OUTCOME
[17] BELGRADE FIRES OFFICERS IN MONTENEGRO
[18] THREE-QUARTERS OF SERBIA WITHOUT POWER
[19] KFOR EXPECTS IMPROVED TIES WITH BELGRADE
[20] VOTE SEEN DEEPENING DIVISIONS IN KOSOVA
[21] BELGRADE THREATENS UNILATERAL ACTION ON KOSOVO BUFFER ZONE
[22] IVANIC NOMINATED BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER
[23] UNHRC REGISTERS DELINE IN BOSNIA REFUGEE FIGURES
[24] CROATIAN BANK BUYS LARGE BOSNIAN BANK
[25] MACEDONIA SELLS MAJORITY STAKE IN MOBILE PHONE NETWORK
[26] MACEDONIAN POLICE DEPORT SLAVIC PROSTITUTES
[27] SLOVENIA MARKS INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
[28] NASTASE SUBMITS GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAM...
[29] ... AND GOVERNMENTAL LINE-UP
[30] CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ENVISAGED IN ROMANIA
[31] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT GIVES 'GREEN LIGHT' TO PARLIAMENT
DISSOLUTION
[32] 'MEIN KAMPF' TRANSLATION PUBLISHED IN BULGARIA
[C] END NOTE
[33] There is no End Note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIA HOPES FOR EVENTUAL EU MEMBERSHIP
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a press conference in
Yerevan on 26 December that EU membership is one of Armenia's longterm
foreign policy objectives, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. "We believe
that it is time for the European Union and its member countries to
formulate a clear stance on the Caucasus and determine whether they are
prepared to see the Caucasus as a part of the EU some time in the future,"
Oskanian said. He added that the Armenian leadership plans to raise the
issue during a February visit to Yerevan by EU Foreign Affairs Commisioner
Javier Solana and Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lund. Sweden takes over the
EU rotating presidency on 1 January. LF
[02] FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY HOLDS CONGRESS
The Armenian Pan-National Congress (HHSh) held its 12th congress in Yerevan
on 22-23 December, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Deputies elected
former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian as chairman of the movement's
board, replacing former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian who fled Armenia
in April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 7 April 2000). Deputies rejected,
however, a proposal to rename the HHSh the Liberal Party of Armenia,
according to Noyan Tapan. In the presence of former President Levon Ter-
Petrossian, Arzoumanian accused the present Armenian leadership of being
incapable to resolve the country's probelems. He argued that the HHSh
should form a united front with other center-right parties that had split
from its ranks during the 1990s. LF
[03] RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN
Visiting Baku on 25-26 December, Igor Sergeev held talks with his
Azerbaijani counterpart General Safar Abiev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade,
parliament speaker Murtuz Alesqerov and President Heidar Aliev, Turan and
ITAR-TASS reported. Topics discussed included Russian President Vladimir
Putin's visit to Azerbaijan next month, the security situation in the South
Caucasus, the Karabakh conflict, and the Gabala radar station. Interfax
quotd Sergeev as saying after his talks with Abiev that he is "120 percent
convinced" that there will be no resumption of hostilities between
Azerbaijan and Armenia. Sergeev also said that the investigation into
supplies of Russian weaponry to Armenia in 1994-1996 has been completed,
and that "there were no illegal deliveries." Interfax quoted Aliev on 26
December as saying that he hopes Putin's upcoming visit will mark the
beginning of a "new stage" in bilateral relations and contribute to solving
outstanding problems between the two countries. LF
[04] OUSTED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF OPPOSITION PARTY
The Civil Unity Party elected exiled former President Ayaz Mutalibov as its
chairman at the party's second congress, which took place in Baku on 23
December, Turan reported. The party was founded in April 2000 to support
Mutalibov, who has lived in Moscow since fleeing Azerbaijan in May 1992.
"Azadlyq" on 26 December quoted him as saying that he intends to run in the
Azerbaijani presidential elections due in 2003. LF
[05] GEORGIA PEGS RUSSIAN BASES COMPROMISE TO CONCESSIONS ON ABKHAZIA
The fifth round of bilateral talks on the closure of Russia's four military
bases in Georgia, which took place in Tbilisi on 21-23 December, failed to
yield a firm agreement on the terms of and timetable for the closure of the
Russian bases at Batumi and Akhalkalaki. Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli
Menagharishvili told journalists in Tbilisi on 24 December that the
Georgian leadership rejected a Russian proposal not to close those bases
for 15 years. He said the bases will remain for an unspecified period
acceptable to both countries. Menagharishvili also rejected as exaggerated
the Russian claim that the closure of the bases and redeployment of Russian
forces to Russia will cost some $700 million. Interfax, however, quoted
Russian Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who headed the Russian delegation, as
saying that during a meeting with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze
agreement had been reached "in principle" that the two Russian bases should
remain for a further 15 years. But Shevardnadze reportedly made that
extension conditional on unspecified concessions from Moscow in resolving
the Abkhaz conflict, Interfax reported. LF
[06] LAND TAX IN KYRGYZSTAN INCREASED BY 40 PERCENT
The lower chamber of Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted on 22 December to
increase the land tax by 40 percent, from an average of 225 soms to 315
soms ($6.5) per hectare RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. President Askar
Akaev had called for a165 percent hike, to 596 soms per hectare (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 14 and 15 December 2000). The average monthly salary in
Kyrgyzstan in $20. LF
[07] REVIEW OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST'S ACQUITTAL RESUMES
The Bishkek City Military Court on 22 December resumed its review of the
August decision by the same court to acquit former Deputy President and
opposition Ar-Namys Party leader Feliks Kulov, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau
reported. Kulov was arrested in March and charged with abuse of his
official position while serving as National Security Minister. He was
acquitted in early August, but the board of the Kyrgyz Military Court
annulled that ruling in September and called for a review of the case (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 8 August and 12 September 2000). That review began in
early October but was suspended six days later later because of the
indisposition of the presiding judge. LF
[08] INVESTIGATION INTO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT COMPLETED IN TAJIKISTAN
National Security Minister Khayriddin Abdurahimov told "Sadoi Mardum," the
newspaper of the Tajik parliament, that the investigation into the failed
16 February bid to kill Dushanbe mayor Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloev is being
wrapped up, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 22 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
17 and 21 February 2000). Abdurahimov said all the perpetrators are in
detention and will go on trial shortly. Ubaidulloev is reportedly the
second-most powerful political figure in Tajikistan. On 25 December, Tajik
police announced the detention of five supporters of rebel Colonel Mahmud
Khudoiberdiev on charges of killing a local police chief and a local
government official in two separate incidents in August 1997, AP reported.
LF
[09] TURKMEN PRESIDENT DECLARES AMNESTY
As anticipated, President Saparmurat Niyazov marked the end of the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan by proclaiming an amnesty for 12,000 of the country's
estimated 19,000 prison population, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 20 December 2000). Those released the following day
included dissidents Nurberdi Nurmamedov and Pirimguli Tanrykuliev. LF
[10] UZBEKISTAN WARNS KYRGYZSTAN OVER GAS DEBTS
Tashkent sent a telegram to the Kyrgyz authorities on 25 December warning
that it will cut natural gas delivereies within days unless Bishkek pays
its outstanding $2 million debt for previous supplies, Kyrgyz government
official Saparbek Balkybekov told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau. Kyrgyzstan's
Deputy Prime Minister Esengul Omuraliev had said three weeks earlier that
Bishkek and Tashkent had reached agreement on rescheduling that debt (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 2000). LF
[11] UZBEK POLICE SEIZE ARMS CACHE
Uzbek police have arrested Tashkent resident Leonid Yudin, who divulged the
location of a secret arsenal comprising nine firearms, large quantities of
ammunition, several grenades and 10 kilograms of explosives, Interfax
reported on 25 December quoting the Uzbek Interior Ministry press service.
Five other persons including a Syrian and a Russian national who purchased
a weapon from Yudin were subsequently arrested. LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[12] SERBS REPUDIATE MILOSEVIC IN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE...
Participants in Serbian parliamentary elections on 23 December gave 65
percent of their votes to the Democratic Opposition of Serbia alliance of
new Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and only 14 percent to the
Socialist Party of former President Slobodan Milosevic, Western news
agencies reported. That translates into 178 seats for the 18 parties of the
DOS, which will now form a new government, and only 36 seats for the
Socialists. PG
[13] ...BUT HARDLINERS MAKE DEMANDS
Borislav Pelevic, the head of the Party of Serbian Unity (SSJ) founded by
ultra-nationalist warlord Arkan, said on 26 December that his party, which
gained 14 of the 150 seats in the new parliament, will demand that the
parliament hold its first session in Kosovo in order to reassert its rights
over that region, Reuters reported. He said that he expects other parties
to support this and the international community to give its permission. PG
[14] MILOSEVIC MAY BE CHARGED, ARRESTED
Prime Minister-designate Zoran Djindjic said on 25 December that his
government will launch an investigation that could lead to the arrest of
Slobodan Milosevic for crimes in Yugoslavia, AP reported. But officials
made clear that Milosevic would have to be tried in Yugoslavia before
anyone would consider extraditing him to the Hague to face war crimes
charges. As DOS leader Dragolub Micunovic put it on 22 December, sending
Milosevic to the Hague right away would in effect mean that he was being
pardoned for all he had done in Yugoslavia, ITAR-TASS reported. PG
[15] DJINDJIC BECOMES PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE
Zoran Djindjic, a longtime opposition figure known for his pragmatism but
also for his past clashes with the country's new president Kostunica, is
now the prime minister designate and will name a government by 10 January,
Western agencies reported. Djindjic negotiated with Milosevic in 1993 over
the possible formation of a government of experts, and he attempted to take
control of state enterprises during the October 2000 revolt against
Milosevic. PG
[16] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WELCOMES SERBIAN POLL OUTCOME
The European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, and most major governments welcomed the outcome
of the Serbian parliamentary elections. Michael Steiner, foreign policy
advisor to German Chancellor Gerhard Shroeder, spoke for many when he said
that the outcome represented "a Christmas present for democracy in Europe,"
Reuters reported. On 26 December, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip
Reeker released a statement saying that the elections were "an important
milestone in the going demcoratic transition that began with Milosevic's
defeat in September's federal presidential elecitons." In the first
concrete move, Japan announced in advance of the vote that it would lift
the sanctions it had imposed on Belgrade under Slobodan Milosevic, DPA
reported. PG
[17] BELGRADE FIRES OFFICERS IN MONTENEGRO
The Yugoslav Supreme Defense council on 26 December fired Col.Gen. Milorad
Obradovic, Admiral Milan Zec and Colonel Luka Kastratovic, all of whom had
been servinvg in Montenegro, AP reported citing Podgorica dailies.
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has long sought these dismissals and
he is quoted as saying that he is "generally happy" with the Supreme
Defense Council's actions. PG
[18] THREE-QUARTERS OF SERBIA WITHOUT POWER
Officials declared a state of emergency in Cacak and other cities went dark
as Serbia's energy crisis worsened over the last week, local and Western
wire services reported. On 26 December, more than three-quarters of the
country was suffering significant power outages, with officials promising
relief only when temperatures rise, wire services reorted. Dragan Batalo,
the deputy director of Serbia's power grid, told Radio B92 that the power
shortage reflected both the failure of the Milosevic regime to make repairs
especially after the NATO bombardment and the fact that Belgrade is no
longer illegally importing power from abroad. PG
[19] KFOR EXPECTS IMPROVED TIES WITH BELGRADE
Shawn Sullivan, the political advisor to KFOR commander Lieutenant General
Carlo Cabigiosu, told Reuters on 26 December that the peacekeeping force
expects "a more positive and helpful approach" from Belgrade now that the
elections have taken place. "We need Serbs to participate in administrative
structures here [in Kosovo] and we need the release of Albanian prisoners,"
he said. PG
[20] VOTE SEEN DEEPENING DIVISIONS IN KOSOVA
Speaking of an election most ethnic Albanians boycotted, Naim Jerliu, the
vice president of the moderate ethic Albanian party LDK, said on 25
December that the vote "was an attempt to destabilize Kosovo and its aim
was to deepen the division in Kosovo." Kosova's Serbs, who alone across
Serbia voted for Slobodan Milosevic's party, "confirmed that they continue
to dream about another state," Jerliu said. "They showed they do not want
to be integrated in Kosovo's society and institutions. They voted against
Kosovo." PG
[21] BELGRADE THREATENS UNILATERAL ACTION ON KOSOVO BUFFER ZONE
The Yugoslav Supreme Defense Council on 25 December called on the UN
Security Council to set a deadline for Albanian rebels to leave the buffer
zone along the Kosova boundary, AP reported. If they fail to do so, the
Belgrade government said, it would act unilaterally to remove them. This
ultimatum followed a series of events over the last week. On 22 December,
Yugoslav officials and diplomats toured the Presevo valley during which
U.S. Ambassador William Montgomery praised "the non-violent position of the
Yugoslav government." Then on 24 December, Yugoslav forces took control of
the strategic St. Ilija hilltop. And on 25 December, Serbian police
reported that four Serbs are missing in the region, AP said. PG
[22] IVANIC NOMINATED BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER
Mirko Sarovic, the newly elected president of the Bosnian Serb republic,
nominated Mladen Ivanic to be prime minister, Reuters reported. Ivanic, 42,
who heads the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), said he seeks to gain
support from Western governments, but admitted that may not be possible.
Earlier Ivanic said that a stable government would not be possible without
the participation of the nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS). The SDS
was founded by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who has been indicted
for war crimes, and the United States and other Western governments have
indicated that they oppose any participation by his followers in the
government. PG
[23] UNHRC REGISTERS DELINE IN BOSNIA REFUGEE FIGURES
Werner Blatter, head of the Bosnia office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees, told Reuters on 22 December that the number of Bosnian Muslim,
Serb and Croat refugees has declined significantly since 1995. The number
of registered refugees, he said, has fallen from an estimated 845,000 in
1996 to only 518,252 now. PG
[24] CROATIAN BANK BUYS LARGE BOSNIAN BANK
Zagrebacka Banka on 22 December purchased slightly more than 95 percent of
the shares of Bosnia's Universal Banka, AP reported. PG
[25] MACEDONIA SELLS MAJORITY STAKE IN MOBILE PHONE NETWORK
Skopje on 22 December sold a 51 percent stake in the country's mobile
telephone network to Hungary's Matav telecommunications company, AP
reported. Matav paid less than Greece's OTE had offered, but Macedonian
Finance Minister Nikola Gruevski said that "the best choice was made and
both sides are satisfied." PG
[26] MACEDONIAN POLICE DEPORT SLAVIC PROSTITUTES
Macedonian police expelled 108 prostitutes from Serbia, Ukraine, Belarus
and Russia, the Beta news agency reported on 22 December. Deputy Interior
Minister Rifat Elmazi said that the police intend "to deport all
prostitutes from other countries." PG
[27] SLOVENIA MARKS INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
Slovenia's parliament on 26 December held a special session to mark the
tenth anniversary of the country's declaration of independence, AP
reported. President Milan Kucan told the deputies that "this was a big
historical enterprise that opened the door to the future of Slovenia." The
country's declaration of independence came a day after Slovenes voted
overwhelmingly to pursue a course separate from Yugoslavia, a decision that
sparked a ten-day war with the Yugoslav army. PG
[28] NASTASE SUBMITS GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAM...
Premier-designate Adrian Nastase on 22 December submitted to the permanent
bureaus of the two chambers of parliament the program of his government,
which is to be approved by the legislature on 28 December. The program
envisages a 4.5-6 percent growth in the GDP in the period 2001-2004,
cutting the inflation rate and a "transparent" privatization process,
RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The document emphasizes the need to
balance between the "imperatives of a market economy and those of social
protection," while at the same time taking into consideration "suggestions
and recommendations of the EU, the IMF and the World Bank." Outgoing
Premier Mugur Isarescu met with Nastase on 23 December to discuss the
transition to the new executive. Isarescu said the government's program can
be considered to be a continuation of the medium-term development strategy
lunched by his cabinet. MS
[29] ... AND GOVERNMENTAL LINE-UP
The list of cabinet members was also submitted to the two bureaus on 22
December. The government is to have 27 members, three of whom (Foreign
Minister Mircea Geoana, Finance Minister Mihai Tanasescu and Information
Minister Vasile Dancu) are not members of the Party of Social Democracy in
Romania (PDSR). Six of the new ministers served in the Nicolae Vacaroiu
PDSR cabinet between 1992 and 1996. MS
[30] CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ENVISAGED IN ROMANIA
Nastase also submitted to the three parliamentary democratic opposition
parties the draft of the envisaged joint declaration of support for the
PDSR minority cabinet. Among other things, the draft envisages
constitutional changes: the Senate is to be elected in single
constituencies and concentrate its activity in representing county
interests and foreign policy matters, with all other legislation
prerogatives transferred to the Chamber of Deputies. The cabinet's
prerogatives of ruling by governmental orders are to be drastically reduced
and parliamentary immunity is to cover only expression of political
opinion. A new law on political parties is to be drafted so as to reduce
their number and new legislation to be devised to cover parliamentary and
presidential elections and accelerate reforms in the judiciary. MS
[31] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT GIVES 'GREEN LIGHT' TO PARLIAMENT
DISSOLUTION
The Constitutional Court on 26 December ruled that President Petru
Lucinschi has "the right and the duty" to dissolve the parliament, RFE/RL's
Chisinau bureau reported. Lucinschi on 22 December asked the court to rule
whether the parliament's failure to elect a president on that day counts as
the fourth and last attempt provided by the electoral law and if the
legislature's decision to schedule a new round for 16 January 2001 is
constitutional. The court also said Lucinschi is "obligated" to remain in
office until a new president is elected by the new legislature.
Presidential spokesman Anatol Golea said Lucinschi will now dissolve the
parliament sometime between 12 and 15 January. In a televised speech on 26
December, Lucinschi said he will not seek a new term as president. MS
[32] 'MEIN KAMPF' TRANSLATION PUBLISHED IN BULGARIA
Bulgaria's Jewish community on 22 December protested against the recent
publishing and sale of what is being advertised as "the first unabridged
Bulgarian version" of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," AP reported. The 584-
page translation went on sale on 21 December. The volume does not specify
the identity of the translator or the the publisher or the number of
printed copies. The Jewish community called for a ban on its sale.
Translation of Hitler's infamous book recently went on sale in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia as well. MS
[C] END NOTE
[33] There is no End Note today.
27-12-00
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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