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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 6, 01-01-10Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 6, 10 January 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] DETAINED BUSINESSMAN'S WIFE PUBLISHES HIS APPEAL TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENTElena Vartanian, whose businessman husband Arkadii is in detention in Yerevan on charges of calling for the overthrow of the Armenian leadership (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 November 2000 and 9 January 2001), has published an open letter he addressed to Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Noyan Tapan reported on 9 January. In that letter, Vartanian expresses concern that during a conversation last spring, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian adduced numerous arguments in favor of resolving the Karabakh conflict by means of an exchange of territories in which Armenia would cede its southern Meghri region to Azerbaijan. Vartanian inferred from those arguments that it had been decided even before the 1994 Karabakh ceasefire to resolve the conflict by means of such a territorial exchange, which Kocharian and other senior officials have denied that they would ever agree to. Elena Vartanian also told journalists on 9 January that in mid-December a relative of a senior Armenian official offered to mediate her husband's release in exchange for a payment of $1.7 million to the Hayastan Fund and a building Vartanian owns in Yerevan worth at least $5 million. LF[02] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RESHUFFLES GOVERNMENTPresident Kocharian issued a decree on 8 January splitting the Ministry of Urban Development and Territorial Administration into two separate entities and naming David Lokian as Minister of Urban Development, Noyan Tapan reported. Hovik Abrahamian, who previously headed the ministry, retains responsibility for territorial administration. Lokian is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation--Dashnaktsutiun (HHD), which has hitherto criticized the government of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian. HHD party official Armen Rustamian told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 9 January that the party will only shoulder responsibility for Lokian's actions and will not endorse cabinet decisions which he opposes. Also on 8 January, Kocharian dismissed Transport and Communications Minister Eduard Madatian, a member of the Kayunutiun (Stability) parliament faction, and appointed as his successor Yervand Zakharian, who had previously held that portfolio in 1998- 1999. LF[03] SAFETY STANDARDS IMPROVED AT ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTInternational nuclear energy experts said at a 9 January meeting at the Armenian resort of Tsaghkadzor that maintenance work conducted during a four-month stoppage last fall at Armenia's Medzamor nuclear power station has resulted in a "marked improvement" in the plant's safety, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Atomic Energy Security Council chairman Adolf Bierkhofer said that as a result, Medzamor could safely continue to operate beyond the 2004 deadline for its closure agreed in 1998 between Armenia and the EU. President Kocharian, who chaired the Tsaghkadzor meeting, said Medzamor will be closed by that date only if Armenia finds an alternative source of energy by then. In 2000 Medzamor produced 34 percent of the total electricity generated in Armenia. LF[04] SECOND DEFENDANT DENIES FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER"S ALLEGED ROLE IN KARABAKH ASSASSINATION BIDErik Paramazian, one of 15 men currently on trial on charges of attempting to assassinate the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arkadii Ghukasian, denied on 9 January that the plot to do so was masterminded by his brother-in-law, former Karabakh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan, a correspondent for RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Paramazian told the court in Stepanakert that his earlier testimony implicating Babayan had been given under duress. The prosecutors rejected that statement and denied that Paramazian had been tortured during the pre-trial investigation. Paramazian's co-defendant Sasun Aghadjanian had similarly denied last month that Babayan had masterminded the 22 March attack on Ghukasian (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 December 2000). LF[05] AZERBAIJANI, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS PLEDGE TO BUILD 'STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP...'Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Baku on 9 January on a two-day visit intended to mark a new chapter in bilateral relations. Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev told journalists after his two-hour talks with Putin that "we have reached mutual agreement on all the questions we have discussed, and this gives me great satisfaction," RFE/RL's Baku bureau reported. Aliev and Putin signed the "Baku Declaration," which outlines the foundations for expanding bilateral political, economic and military relations over the next 10 years and stresses their readiness to develop long-term military cooperation. They did not, however, sign an agreement regulating the terms for Russia's continued use of the Gabala radar-station, although Russian presidential chief of staff Sergei Prikhodko told Interfax the two sides' positions on that issue have become closer and that failure should not be over-dramatized. LF[06] ...DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT, ARMS...Putin said after his talks with Aliev that Russia is ready to mediate a solution to the Karabakh conflict "without victors or vanquished," and will act as a guarantor of any peace agreement reached, Interfax reported. He said the optimum approach to resolving the conflict is to continue the "realistic and sensible" dialogue between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, according to Turan on 10 January. That position corresponds fully to that of the OSCE Minsk Group, whose Russian co-chairman Nikolai Gribkov accompanied Putin to Baku. Putin characterized as "a forced measure" the transfer to Russia's military base in Armenia of weaponry withdrawn from its Vaziani base in Georgia, which is to be closed by 1 July 2001, Interfax reported. He told journalists that the revised CFE treaty allows Russia to maintain a certain amount of weaponry in the region. He reasoned that since "Russia's military presence in the Caucasus is still necessary," Moscow has "no choice" but to deploy those arms in Armenia if it can no longer to do in Georgia. LF[07] ...NARROW DIFFERENCES ON CASPIAN DIVISIONThe second key statement signed by the two presidents registered their shared conviction that the seabed of the Caspian should be divided between the five littoral states along the modified median line, while the waters should remain in common use, ITAR-TASS reported. The statement also noted that each littoral state will have exclusive rights to the mineral resources on its sector of the sea. That phrasing suggests that Russia has abandoned its proposal of last summer, which Azerbaijan had rejected, that in cases where two states dispute ownership of hydrocarbons deposits, as do Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, they should reach an agreement on the joint exploitation of those deposits (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 July 2000). The two presidents expressed support for Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov's proposal to convene a summit of Caspian littoral states in March to discuss the legal status of the Caspian Sea. LF[08] LUKOIL TO EXTRACT, REFINE, SELL AZRERBAIJANI OILOn the sidelines of Putin's visit to Baku, the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR and Russia's Lukoil signed an agreement under which Lukoil will develop the Hovsani-Six onshore oilfield outside Baku. That field has estimated reserves of 20 million metric tons. The oil will be refined in Baku into gasoline for sale at Lukoil's chain of petrol stations in Azerbaijan, Platt's reported on 20 December. LF[09] KAZAKHSTAN'S PREMIER CASTIGATES ABSENTEE MINISTERSAddressing a cabinet session in Astana on 9 January, Qasymzhomart Toqaev warned that he intends to punish cabinet ministers who regularly leave Astana to spend a three-day weekend in the former capital, Almaty, without good reason, Interfax reported. Reuters suggested that one of the reasons why so many ministers do so is that winter temperatures in Astana average minus 33 degrees Celsius, whereas in Almaty they rarely dip below freezing. LF[10] KAZAKHSTAN'S TOP SPACE OFFICIAL HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCEMeirbek Moldabekov, who heads Kazakhstan's Aerospace Commitee, told journalists in Almaty on 9 January that the country plans to launch its own "medium-sized" communications satellite at a cost of $110-$150 million, Reuters reported. Moldabekov also said that Moscow paid the full agreed rent of $115 million in 2000 for the use of Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome. He said the launch of Proton rockets from that facility, which was suspended after two separate rockets exploded in 1999, will be resumed under special supervision, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 July and 29 October 1999). Moldabekov also said that Russian and Kazakh officials are trying to resolve problems faced by Kazakh citizens employed at Baikonur who, unlike their Russian colleagues, are not protected by Russian law. LF[11] NEW KYRGYZ PREMIER CHAIRS FIRST CABINET SESSIONOn 9 January, Kurmanbek Bakiev chaired the first session of his new cabinet, which was devoted to the country's energy sector, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Bakiev told colleagues that Kyrgyzstan's hydro-electic power- stations and high voltage power lines will not be privatized. He said that the country's main energy concern, Kyrgyzenergo, which is 93 percent state- owned, will be divided into four parts before privatization which, he added, would be a lengthy process. Bakiev's predecessor Amangeldy Muraliev had said that Kyrgyzenergo would be privatized in 2001. The head of Kyrgyzstan's State Energy Committee, Ularbek Mateev, told the session that Kyrgyzenergo made a profit in 2000 of some 800 million soms ($16 million) and exported some 3 billion kW hours of electricity. LF[12] KYRGYZSTAN POSTS MODEST GDP GROWTH IN 2000The government press service released on 9 January the main economic results of the past year, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau report. GDP rose 5.1 percent compared with 1999 to 62 billion soms ($1.27 billion), of which the gold sector accounted for 60 percent. Commodity prices increased by 10 percent, and the average monthly salary amounted to 1,121 soms ($23). Exports rose by 10 percent to $455 million, while imports fell by 4 percent to $496 million. LF[13] THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN TAJIKISTANThe military collegium of Tajikistan's Supreme Court on 9 January handed down the death sentence on three members of a criminal group charged with three murders, robbery, banditry and hostage-taking, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Four other members of the same gang, all of whom were captured in April 1999, were jailed for between 20-25 years. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[14] BOSNIAN SERBS' PLAVSIC FACES GENOCIDE CHARGES IN THE HAGUEWar crimes tribunal chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said on 10 January that former Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic arrived in the Netherlands the previous day to face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in a secret indictment (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 January 2001). "I confirm that Biljana Plavsic surrendered voluntarily, having been advised of the existence of an indictment against her," AP quoted Del Ponte as saying. Krstan Simic, Plavsic's lawyer, added that his client "is aware this is the only place she can legally prove her innocence or guilt." He added that Plavsic "surrendered as soon as she heard of the indictment," issued on 7 April 2000. Plavsic has long argued that indicted persons should go to The Hague voluntarily and that there is no need for peacekeepers to take them there by force. PM[15] WHY HAS BOSNIAN SERBS' PLAVSIC GONE JUST NOW?Even if the actual indictment against Plavsic was issued only in April 2000, rumors of a secret indictment have appeared in the regional media for years (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). Speculation in the mid- to late- 1990s was that the international community ensured Plavsic's safety because she played a moderating role in Bosnian Serb politics. Since her political marginalization in recent years, her friends in the West have presumably had less reason to keep her out of The Hague. "Danas" wrote on 10 January that she may testify against her former colleague Momcilo Krajisnik, whom peacekeepers forcibly took to The Hague in April 2000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 4 April 2000). Serbian media have suggested in recent weeks that she may tell what she knows about the role of former President Slobodan Milosevic's role in the Bosnian conflict in return for leniency in her own case. It is possible that Plavsic agreed to testify against Milosevic now that he is out of power and no longer able to use the security forces against her and her family. PM[16] ALBRIGHT HAILS PLAVSIC'S MOVESpeaking in Washington on 9 January, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that "she made this decision to do this. I agree with it obviously and I'm sure that it was an incredibly difficult decision and she was courageous to take it," Reuters reported. Albright added: "I respect her for living up to what we think is an international obligation and that she is going to do the right thing." Albright supported Plavsic during her presidency, calling her and Prime Minister Milorad Dodik "a good ticket." PM[17] YUGOSLAV FOREIGN MINISTER PRESSURES NATO ON BORDER ZONEGoran Svilanovic said at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 10 January that his country and the Atlantic alliance "are not enemies any more," AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 January 2001). NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson added that "this is an important, indeed an historic day...[NATO's 1999] air campaign was never directed against the Serbian people." Svilanovic argued that the change in the nature of the relationship between Belgrade and NATO should enable the two sides to renegotiate their 1999 Kumanovo accords on the size of the demilitarized zone on Serbia's border with Kosova in the Presevo area (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 December 2000). Robertson replied that both sides want to "reduce the level of violence and minimize the provocation that might be caused by certain [ethnic Albanian] extremists in that area." He and Svilanovic also agreed to share information regarding depleted uranium. Serbian military and medical officials have said that they have no evidence of increased cancer rates in Serbia (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 5 January 2001). PM[18] KOSOVA'S RUGOVA HINTS AT RUSSIAN ROLE IN 'URANIUM SCARE'AP reported from Prishtina on 9 January that moderate Kosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova regards the current controversy over depleted uranium as an orchestrated anti-NATO campaign (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 5 January 2001). The correspondent suggested that Rugova feels that "the depleted uranium scare in the Balkans is being misused by those who opposed NATO intervention in Kosovo, in hopes it will lead to the withdrawal of the NATO- led peacekeeping force." The news agency added that "Rugova named no countries, but appeared to be alluding to Russia." In Rugova's words: "One of the aims of the whole issue is the will of some people to take NATO out of Kosova... [The scare campaign is the work of] those circles that were against NATO intervention in Kosova." PM[19] KOSOVAR LEADER CALLS CONTROVERSY 'PROPAGANDA'Hajredin Kuci, who is vice president of the Democratic Party of Kosova, said in Prishtina on 9 January that the uranium scare is "more a propaganda issue than something based on fact," AP reported. He added that "we still need to check the health of our citizens, to check radioactivity, regardless of what is being said and written about it." The controversy comes at a time when Belgrade is seeking to improve its ties to the West. It also comes at a time of year that journalists know to be a predictably slow period for news, when a sensational story of general interest is likely to capture headlines. PM[20] BELGRADE PREPARES OFFER TO MONTENEGROIn consultation with Serbian Prime Minister-designate Zoran Djindjic, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica will shortly make public his response to Montenegro's "platform" on redefining relations between Belgrade and Podgorica, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 9 January. Slobodan Samardzic, who is an aide to Kostunica, said that the proposal will limit joint functions to foreign policy, defense, a common market, a customs union, and a single currency. The biggest stumbling block appears to be Podgorica's view that the two republics must first become independent states with their own respective seats in the UN and then negotiate the basis of their future ties (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 January 2001). Djindjic has called this unacceptable. PM[21] EX-YUGOSLAV BASKETBALL TEAMS SET UP JOINT LEAGUEBasketball teams from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro have formed a joint Adriatic League that will begin competition in September, dpa reported from Zagreb on 10 January. Bozo Milicevic, director of Croatia's Cibona club, stressed that the individual national leagues are too small to turn a profit. He added: "We hope that within a year or two, our league will become a Central European one, covering a market of some 40 million people," including Serbia and Hungary. Basketball is highly popular in the former Yugoslavia, which has produced more than its share of international stars. Many people play basketball as a hobby, including Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic. PM[22] MODERATE BOSNIAN POLITICAL ALLIANCE SEEKS SUPPORTThe Social Democratic Party said in a statement in Sarajevo on 9 January that it hopes that the international community will help create the legal conditions for the new moderate Alliance for Change to succeed. The statement stressed that it is crucial that Serbs, Muslims, and Croats alike be treated as "constituent peoples" in both halves of Bosnia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Currently the Serbs are the only constituent people in the Republika Srpska, while the Croats and Muslims alone are constituent peoples in the federation. PM[23] BOSNIAN REFUGEE RETURNS UPUNHCR Chief of Mission Werner Blatter said in Sarajevo on 9 January that some 59,000 refugees or displaced persons returned to their homes in 2000. He stressed that the UNHCR hopes to promote additional returns in 2001, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[24] NEW YUGOSLAV AMBASSADOR TO MACEDONIAYugoslav Prime Minister Zoran Zizic said in Podgorica on 9 January that the new ambassador to Macedonia will be Rade Filipovic of Montenegro's Socialist People's Party, Makfax news agency reported. Zizic stressed that Macedonia is a key partner for Serbia, and that it is important to fill the ambassador's post there as soon as possible. The former ambassador was one of a dozen or so Milosevic-era political appointees whom the new government quickly sacked. PM[25] ROMANIAN PEACE-KEEPERS TO UNDERGO RADIATION TESTSSome 1,500 Romanian soldiers who served as peace-keepers in Bosnia will be re-tested for radiation exposure, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau and AP reported on 9 January. General Petru Chertic, chief of the Defense Ministry's medical services, said all 1,448 Romanian military who at different stages had served in Bosnia will be re-tested, although they underwent medical examinations on their return. Romania at present has 97 peace-keepers in Bosnia and earlier the ministry said no signs of the "Balkan syndrome" were reported among the Romanian peace-keepers. MS[26] ETHNIC HUNGARIANS PROTEST CLUJ LOCAL GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTSSandor Konya Hamar, chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) Cluj local branch, on 9 January warned that the UDMR might withdraw its support of a Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) candidate for the post of county council chairman. That post became vacant after its incumbent, Ioan Rus, was appointed Interior Minister. Konya Hamar was reacting to a statement by PDSR county chairman Grigore Zanc, who told Mediafax that his party has not reached any agreement with the UDMR on nominating a UDMR representative as Cluj county deputy prefect. Konya Hamar said the UDMR wants outgoing deputy prefect Gyula Smoggy to be re-appointed to that position (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 January 2001). MS[27] ROMANIANS MAY SEE OWN SECURITATE FILESAs of this week, any Romanian citizen may request from the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives access to his or her secret police file, AP reported on 9 January. The agency cited political scientist and fiction author Stelian Tanase as saying that he wants to "see who among my colleagues, friends, neighbors and relatives, spied on me." Tanase criticized the law passed by the parliament last year because it provides no lustration or other sanctions for the informers of the former secret police. He also warned that the files are still kept in the Romanian Intelligence Service archives where "they can be manipulated or truncated." MS[28] ROMANIA STIFFENS PENALTIES FOR PETROL THEFTThe Chamber of Deputies' Judicial Commission on 9 January approved an emergency ordinance of the government stiffening penalties for theft of petrol, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The theft of crude, gasoline and other petrol products and the damaging of oil pipelines or tankers is to be punished with up to 18 years in prison. The same penalties will apply to those who steal or otherwise damage irrigation pipelines and railway, ground transportation and airway traffic safety systems. In its attempt to combat the phenomenon, the government has also ordered an inquest on punishment handed down by judges to such offenders in the past, apparently suspecting corruption. The cabinet has in the last few days dismissed and replaced several Interior Ministry officials, local police chiefs and the head of the border police. MS[29] TWO MOLDOVAN PARTIES DECIDE TO RUN ALONE...The Popular Party Christian Democratic (PPCD) and the Party of Rebirth and Conciliation (PRAM) decided to run on their own in the early elections scheduled for February, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The PPCD National Council also decided to apply the "rotation principle" to deputies elected on its lists, who will have to resign from the parliament after two years, being replaced by those next in line on the PPCD lists. The PRAM National Council said it will propose to other center-right formations an agreement whereby they would avoid mutually attacking one another during the electoral campaign, which will officially start on 12 January. The threshold for parliamentary representation is 6 percent. MS[30] ...BUT OTHER FORMATIONS ARE CONTEMPLATING ALLIANCESThe extra-parliamentary Social Democratic Party "Furnica" (Ant) and the "Plai natal" (Native Region) formation signed an agreement to set up a joint electoral bloc in the forthcoming elections, Flux reported on 9 January. Infotag reported on 9 January that Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis may agree to head this ticket. The Oazu Nantoi-headed Social Democratic Party may also join the alliance, but the latter party is also negotiating an electoral coalition with the Democratic Party headed by Dumitru Diacov. MS[31] MOLDOVAN JOURNALISTS PROSECUTEDEugen Pascari, editor-in-chief of the Russian language "Vremya" newspaper, told journalists on 9 January that the 29 December decision of the Prosecutor General's Office to start criminal proceedings against himself and journalist Iulia Korolkova is "groundless," Flux and Infotag reported. The proceedings were launched following a complaint by the Club of Graduates of Romanian and Western Universities (CAIRO), according to which an article by Korolkova "insulted national dignity and fomented inter- ethnic hostility." Korolkova wrote that the bulk of smuggling operations in Moldova are masterminded by members of the ethnic majority. Pascari said Korolkova "just noted the nationality" of those involved but did not "insult the Moldovan people." MS[32] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS SOFIA DIDN'T RECEIVE NATO WARNING ON DEPLETED URANIUMPetar Stoyanov said on 9 January in Sofia that Bulgaria never received NATO warnings concerning the possible effects of depleted uranium ammunition, BTA reported. Stoyanov made his comments in the presence of the chief of the army's General Staff, General Mikho Mikhov, and Defense Minister Boyko Noev after a meeting between Mikhov and the army supreme command. Stoyanov said part of the interpretation of the issue by the public is based on a misconception "that we have instilled in ourselves over the course of many years, namely that the military is always hiding something from civilians." Stoyanov said that NATO has morals, and one reason Bulgaria seeks to join the military alliance is because it "does not sweep the problems under the carpet, as was the practice within another military machine that counterbalanced NATO a decade ago." Noev said he sees no reason to convene a meeting of Bulgaria's Security Council on the subject until NATO provides more information. PB[C] END NOTE[33] STATUS OF RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AGAIN THREATENS UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONSby Taras KuzioOn 3 January, the Russian Foreign Ministry again raised the question of the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, an issue that has bedeviled bilateral relations since Leonid Kuchma's re-election for a second term as president in November 1999. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the Ukrainian State Committee for Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting (Derzhkominform), led by long time leading Rukh member and writer Ivan Drach, is insisting that all television and radio in Ukraine be aired only in the Ukrainian language. Two days later, Derzhkominform issued a counter statement that its intention has never been to totally remove Russian from Ukraine's media. At issue is Derzhkominform's insistence on implementation of Article 9 of the law "On Television Broadcasting," which states that programs broadcast throughout Ukraine be only in the state language (Ukrainian). The exception to this is in regions where national minorities "live compactly." Derzhkominform has submitted changes to the law to the Ukrainian parliament (Rada) that define what "compactly" means and whether that designation can be applied to a linguistic group (i.e. Russophones), as opposed to only national minorities (Russians are only in a majority in the Crimea). Derzhkominform's insistence that all-Ukrainian programs be broadcast only in Ukrainian is supported by the National Council for TV and Radio (Natsrada), Derzhkominform's joint executive-parliamentary oversight body which is headed by a Kuchma appointee. The policies of Derzhkominform are, moreover, enthusiastically endorsed by center right Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko and his government, in particular by Mykola Zhulynsky, Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for the Humanities and Director of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Ukrainian Language. Zhulynsky is also Chairman of the Council for Language Policy attached to the president, which is helping the National Orthography Commission to return to 1920s Ukrainian language rules that were replaced in the 1930s by Josef Stalin to make Russian and Ukrainian closer in style and syntax. In February 2000, the State Committee for Information Policy and the State Committee for TV and Radio were amalgamated into Derzhkominform, and Drach was appointed its new head. Natsrada has been dominated by three parliamentarians from pro-Kuchma oligarch factions and one anti-Kuchma representative since the left lost control of parliament in early 2000. Yuriy Pokalchuk, a well-known writer and former member of Rukh, represents the United Social Democrats on Natsrada. In October 2000, Derzhkominform issued a warning to newspapers from Russia registered in Ukraine, such as "Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine," to abide by their registration documents; that is, publish material on Ukraine, open offices in Ukraine and use some Ukrainian language in their editions sold in Ukraine. Another complaint rested upon advertising revenues which Ukraine is losing because Ukrainian and Western companies located in Ukraine prefer to place their adverts in Russian newspapers sold in Ukraine, rather than Ukrainian ones, as they then reach both the Ukrainian and Russian markets. Also in October, the Natsrada issued a warning to Ukrainian TV and radio stations that they must obtain a license if they wished to re-transmit programs from Russia. Yet, Natsrada had stopped giving out licenses on the eve of the Ukrainian presidential elections in October 1999. The Russian Foreign Ministry's complaints were based on the fear that TV and radio programs from Russia would no longer be available in Ukraine (the Russian Foreign Ministry purposefully ignored the large number of Russian-language TV and radio programs produced in Ukraine). Under Ukrainian law, 50 percent of programs on TV and radio in Ukraine should be in Ukrainian, a point that is only now being enforced by Natsrada. Derzhkominform refused to register "Kommersant-Ukraina" and forbid further newspapers from Russia registering in Ukraine. Beginning in January 2001, all medicines sold in Ukraine have to have instructions only in Ukrainian. Derzhkominform also sent a draft law to the Rada calling for modifications to the legislation on media that define henceforth Ukrainian newspapers as only those written and published in Ukraine. President Kuchma's draft law in June cutting taxes on Ukrainian-language publications was adopted by parliament on 15 September. At the large book bazaar in Kyiv's Petrivka region, 80 percent of books on sale are from Russia, a reflection of this unfair competition. In 1999 18 million books were published in Ukraine, while 25 million were imported from Russia. In November Kuchma also issued a decree providing financial assistance to Ukrainian book publishing. These moves by Derzhkominform and Natsrada are likely to be supported by Ukraine's parliament and executive because of the catastrophic decline in newspapers published in Ukraine since 1995, when Russia removed all taxes on Russian publications, thereby giving them a big financial edge over those published in Ukraine. Newspapers from Russia circulated in Ukraine and elsewhere in the former USSR are also subsidized by the Russian state budget, meaning they are cheaper to buy. Of the top thirteen newspapers in Ukraine according to print runs, five are from Russia ("Izvestiya-Ukraina," "Trud (Ukraina)," "Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine," "Argumenty i Fakty v Ukraine" and "Moskovskii Komsomolets v Ukraine." Of the remaining seven national newspapers published in Ukraine, only three are in Ukrainian, two are in Russian and another three have separate Russian and Ukrainian editions. Kuchma's support for these moves against the Russian media, which are backed by the pro-presidential oligarchs, are not due to any patriotic support for the Ukrainian language. Kuchma has been a strong opponent of independent media in Ukraine, which he has been accused of undermining. Printed media from Russia are more independent and beyond his control and therefore their removal from Ukraine would be in his interest, particularly as they have been extensively reporting on the "Kuchmagate" scandal since November. Thus, the cultural-linguistic concerns of the national democrats coincide with the financial and authoritarian demands of Kuchma and the centrist oligarchs. Taras Kuzio is a Visiting Fellow, Watson Institute of International Affairs, Brown University 10-01-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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