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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 43, 01-03-02
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 5, No. 43, 2 March 2001
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN MINISTRY EVACUATED AFTER BOMB ALERT
[02] ARMENIA SETS DEADLINE FOR ENERGY PRIVATIZATION
[03] OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE VISITS AZERBAIJAN
[04] ONE MILLION PEOPLE WANT GEORGIAN PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
[05] BOMB EXPLOSION REPORTED IN WESTERN GEORGIA
[06] THOUSANDS OF HOMES IN GEORGIAN CAPITAL UNSAFE?
[07] MEMORANDUM ON OIL PIPELINE SIGNED IN KAZAKHSTAN
[08] CANADIAN OIL COMPANY OUTLINES FUTURE INVESTMENTS IN KAZAKHSTAN
[09] BREAD, UTILITY PRICE HIKES ANNOUNCED IN FORMER KAZAKH CAPITAL
[10] ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION IN SUPPORT OF KAZAKH CORRUPTION WHISTLE-BLOWER
BANNED
[11] KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[12] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON SENIOR GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS
[13] TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS FRANCE
[14] TAJIK DISTRICT OFFICIAL ESCAPES ASSASSINATION
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[15] PRESEVO TALKS BEGIN
[16] NATO TROOPS TO PRESEVO BUFFER ZONE?
[17] CHIRAC BLASTS 'TERRORISM' ON MACEDONIAN FRONTIER
[18] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES BORDER TREATY WITH BELGRADE
[19] KFOR AIRPLANE UNDER FIRE?
[20] HAEKKERUP WANTS KOSOVA VOTE BY YEAR'S END
[21] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: NO MONEY FOR BELGRADE WITHOUT MILOSEVIC
EXTRADITION
[22] CROATIA FILES AGAINST MILOSEVIC IN THE HAGUE
[23] MONTENEGRO SAYS STATUS QUESTION IS CHIEF PRIORITY
[24] CRITICISM OF HERZEGOVINIAN CROATS' THREAT ON FEDERATION
[25] WORLD BANK PRAISES ALBANIAN REFORMS
[26] ALBANIA TO OPEN ANTI-SMUGGLING CENTER
[27] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT BANS ENVER HOXHA PICTURES
[28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT DECLARES ALL CITIZENS EQUAL
[29] ROMANIA LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO BOOST NATO ACCESSION CHANCES
[30] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CONDITIONALLY ABOLISH VISA REQUIREMENTS
FOR ROMANIANS
[31] FINAL SOLUTION IN INVESTMENT FUND CASE
[32] MOLDOVAN YOUTH PROTEST AGAINST APPROACH TO RUSSIA
[C] END NOTE
[33] There is no End Note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN MINISTRY EVACUATED AFTER BOMB ALERT
The staff of the Ministry for State Revenues was evacuated on 1 March after
an anonymous telephone caller warned that a bomb had been planted in the
building, but a police search failed to locate any such explosive device,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Minister Andranik Manukian, who was named
to that post four months ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 November 2000),
termed the scare "a provocation aimed at disrupting the work of our
ministry." He said he considers unlikely any connection between the bomb
scare and the murder two days earlier of a senior ministry official. LF
[02] ARMENIA SETS DEADLINE FOR ENERGY PRIVATIZATION
The winners of the international tender to privatize four energy
distribution networks will be made public no later than 24 March, the
Armenian government announced on 1 March, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.
Three Western companies have bid for those networks. Completion of the
privatization, which has been postponed several times (see "RFE/RL Newsline,
" 31 July and 20 October 2000), is a precondition for the release of a $50
million World Bank Structural Adjustment Credit that will cover just over
half this year's anticipated budget deficit. LF
[03] OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE VISITS AZERBAIJAN
Romanian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Mircea Dan Geoana met
in Baku on 1 March with Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev and Foreign
Minister Vilayat Quliev to discuss the Karabakh conflict, Turan ITAR-TASS
reported. Aliev told Geoana that the Azerbaijani leadership is committed to
finding a political solution to the conflict even though many Azerbaijanis
want a new war to bring Karabakh back under Baku's control. As he has done
several times in the past, Aliev criticized the failure of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen to come up with an acceptable peace plan. Aliev also said
that his talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian have failed
to yield any progress because Armenia "is trying to legalize the present
situation" and demands "considerable compromises." Quliev, for his part,
told Geoana that he hopes the OSCE will follow the principle of territorial
integrity in its future efforts to mediate a solution to the conflict. LF
[04] ONE MILLION PEOPLE WANT GEORGIAN PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
The Mdzleveli political organization, whose chairman Avtandil Djoglidze
polled less than 1 percent in the Georgian presidential election in April
2000, has collected one million signatures over the past year on a petition
calling on President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign, Caucasus Press reported
on 27 February. LF
[05] BOMB EXPLOSION REPORTED IN WESTERN GEORGIA
A homemade bomb caused minor damage to the former regional administration
building in Zugdidi on 1 March, Caucasus Press reported. No one was injured
as the staff were at lunch. Two people were killed and the building was
badly damaged by an earlier bomb explosion in August 1998 (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 25 August 1998). LF
[06] THOUSANDS OF HOMES IN GEORGIAN CAPITAL UNSAFE?
Over 2,000 buildings in Tbilisi, which house over 100,000 people, are
unsafe for human habitation, according to the daily "Rezonansi" on 1 March.
Repairs will cost an estimated one billion laris ($490 million), but the
city budget for this year allocates only 3.7 million laris for that
purpose. The municipal council has asked the Georgian government to draft a
five-year program to repair the 50 buildings that are in the greatest
danger of collapse. LF
[07] MEMORANDUM ON OIL PIPELINE SIGNED IN KAZAKHSTAN
Georgian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Kazakh, and U.S. officials signed a
Memorandum of Understanding in Astana on 1 March "On the Transport of Oil
on the route Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan," Reuters reported. That document
could theoretically serve as the foundation for extending the planned Baku-
Ceyhan export pipeline, insofar as it provides the legal foundations for
foreign companies extracting oil in Kazakhstan to use that export route.
But Kazakhstan has made no firm commitment to export a specific amount of
crude via Baku-Ceyhan, and Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev said
Kazakhstan would prefer to export oil via Iran. Kairgeldy Kabyldin, who is
vice president of KazTransOil, told Interfax on 1 March that construction
of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline will be economically viable only if a minimum
of 20 million tons can be transported through it annually. LF
[08] CANADIAN OIL COMPANY OUTLINES FUTURE INVESTMENTS IN KAZAKHSTAN
Canada's Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd. plans to invest $280 million in
projects in Kazakhstan over the next two years, Interfax quoted Marlo
Thomas, who is president of the company's subsidiary in Kazakhstan, as
telling journalists in Almaty on 1 March. Some $30 million of that sum will
be invested in construction of a gas-fired power station that will be
fueled by gas from the Kumkol oil and gas field in southern Kazakhstan,
according to Interfax on 27 February. Hurricane Hydrocarbons extracted some
3.3 million tons of oil in Kazakhstan last year, almost one-third more than
in 1999, and plans to increase output in 2001 to 4 million tons. LF
[09] BREAD, UTILITY PRICE HIKES ANNOUNCED IN FORMER KAZAKH CAPITAL
The price of a loaf of bread in Almaty has been increased from 25-27 tenges
to 30 tenges ($0.20) as of 1 March, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital
reported. Housing utilities are to be increase by 10 percent beginning next
month. LF
[10] ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION IN SUPPORT OF KAZAKH CORRUPTION WHISTLE-BLOWER
BANNED
The city authorities in Shymkent, southern Kazakhstan, refused permission
for a demonstration in the city center in support of Temirtas Tleulesov,
author of two books detailing high-level official corruption in the city
and Shymkent Oblast, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported on 1 March. It was
the second time within two weeks that permission for such a demonstration
was refused (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 February 2001). Tleulesov went into
hiding after a court sentenced him in early February to a two-year
imprisonment on a charge of hooliganism. LF
[11] KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Meeting in Almaty on 1 March, the defense ministers of Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan, Sat Toqpaqbaev and Esen Topev, signed an agreement on military-
technical cooperation, including between their respective military-
industrial complexes, and agreed to exchange information on a regular basis,
Interfax reported. They also agreed that their countries' armed forces will
conduct joint maneuvers later this year, and that Kyrgyz servicemen will
continue to receive training at military colleges in Kazakhstan. Toqpaqbaev
said after the talks that he does not perceive any threat at present to
either country' security, but added that Kazakhstan is ready to assist its
neighbor in the event of a renewed incursion into Kyrgyzstan by Islamic
militants. LF
[12] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON SENIOR GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS
Altai Borubaev, speaker of the People's Assembly (the upper house of the
Kyrgyz parliament), told journalists in Bishkek on 1 March that the
assembly has amended its regulations and in future will put to a formal
vote the candidacies of senior government officials proposed by President
Askar Akaev, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The posts in question
include those of premier, Supreme Court chairman, and prosecutor-general.
Previously, the assembly approved candidates to those posts by a simple
show of hands. LF
[13] TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS FRANCE
During recent talks in Paris, Talbak Nazarov discussed with his French
counterpart Hubert Vedrine the possibility of expanding bilateral relations,
including the opening of a French diplomatic representation in Dushanbe,
Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 2 March. Vedrine said the EU plans to resume
its assistance to Tajikistan within the framework of the TACIS program.
Nazarov also met with heads of UN organizations and aid agencies. LF
[14] TAJIK DISTRICT OFFICIAL ESCAPES ASSASSINATION
Ismaildzhon Gulov, the district administration head in Kofarnihon, east of
Dushanbe, escaped injury early on 1 March when three men opened fire on his
car, Russian agencies and Asia Plus-Blitz reported. His bodyguard was
severely injured. Gulov is a member of the People's Democratic Party headed
by President Imomali Rakhmonov. LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[15] PRESEVO TALKS BEGIN
Talks involving representatives of NATO, Belgrade authorities, and local
Albanians began in Bujanovac on 1 March. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister
Nebojsa Covic said that "time and patience" will be required, "Danas"
reported. Presevo Mayor Riza Halimi expressed optimism. But Covic began by
rejecting several key Albanian demands, including a discussion of autonomy
and moving the negotiations to Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported. He also rejected any participation by members of the Liberation
Army of Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac. PM
[16] NATO TROOPS TO PRESEVO BUFFER ZONE?
French officials have raised the question of providing NATO protection for
EU monitors in the Presevo demilitarized zone, Reuters reported from Paris
on 1 March. An unnamed NATO official told the news agency, however, that
"an international military presence is not envisaged, period." In
Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher noted that "the
buffer zone is not occupied by NATO... We've seen some reports of
statements about an international military presence inside southern Serbia.
That is not our intention, either. An international presence is not
envisaged by us," RFE/RL reported. PM
[17] CHIRAC BLASTS 'TERRORISM' ON MACEDONIAN FRONTIER
President Jacques Chirac told visiting Macedonian President Boris
Trajkovski in Paris on 1 March that "France condemns these acts, which
amount to terrorism. We want a maximum number of measures to be taken to
control and eradicate every form of terrorism in the region" (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 1 March 2001). Trajkovski noted that "we are opposed to the idea
of creating ethnically pure regions," AP reported. In Skopje, Deputy Prime
Minister Bedredin Ibrahimi, who belongs to the Democratic Party of the
Albanians, called the presence of armed gangs in Tanusevci "a provocation
by extremists who want to destabilize Macedonia. It's definitely against
the interests of ethnic Albanians here," the "Financial Times" reported. PM
[18] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES BORDER TREATY WITH BELGRADE
A majority of legislators voted on 1 March to ratify the border treaty with
Belgrade (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 20 and 27 February 2001). The
Democratic Party of the Albanians, which belongs to the governing coalition,
supported the proposal. Opposition ethnic Albanian legislators from the
Party of Democratic Prosperity, as well as two independent ethnic Albanians,
opposed the measure on the grounds that the Kosovars were not consulted,
Deutsche Welle reported. Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said
that the treaty settles once and for all any questions about the border, AP
noted. He added, however, that the treaty could be re-examined and
reaffirmed if Kosova's political status were to change, the "Financial
Times" reported. PM
[19] KFOR AIRPLANE UNDER FIRE?
The pilot of a KFOR light observation plane flying near the Kosova-
Macedonian border believed that unknown persons shot at him on 28 February
and forced him to take "evasive action," a KFOR spokesman said in Prishtina
on 2 March, Reuters reported. PM
[20] HAEKKERUP WANTS KOSOVA VOTE BY YEAR'S END
In an apparent modification of his previous views, Hans Haekkerup, who
heads the UN civilian administration in Kosova, told the OSCE in Vienna on
1 March that holding elections for new institutions will be crucial in
order to bring progress to and stabilize Kosova, Reuters reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 15 January and 27 February 2001, and "RFE/RL Balkan
Report," 16 January and 23 February 2001). He now wants elections by the
end of the year, provided that a legal framework for the new government is
in place and the new central institutions are clearly defined by law.
Haekkerup said that it will take at least six months to prepare for a
Kosova-wide election. He wants to launch preparatory talks with political
leaders in Kosova by 6 March. PM
[21] HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: NO MONEY FOR BELGRADE WITHOUT MILOSEVIC
EXTRADITION
Amid Belgrade press reports to the effect that the arrest of former
President Slobodan Milosevic may be imminent, Human Rights Watch said in
New York on 1 March that Washington should make future aid to Belgrade
contingent on the extradition of Milosevic to The Hague. Executive Director
Holly Cartner said in a statement that "the U.S. government must be firmer
than ever about the need to cooperate with the international tribunal. The
Bush administration must send a clear message to the authorities in
Belgrade that no money except humanitarian aid will flow from Washington
until they start handing over indictees to The Hague," AP reported. The EU
has indicated that it will not link assistance to cooperation with the
tribunal (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 6 February 2001). PM
[22] CROATIA FILES AGAINST MILOSEVIC IN THE HAGUE
Croatia has filed documents with the International Court of Justice --
which is located in The Hague but is separate from the tribunal --
demanding that the Belgrade authorities extradite Milosevic. The Croatian
government charges that Belgrade is violating "the international convention
on genocide by not punishing perpetrators of genocide" in Croatia between
1991 and 1995, Reuters reported. PM
[23] MONTENEGRO SAYS STATUS QUESTION IS CHIEF PRIORITY
The government said in a statement in Podgorica on 1 March that redefining
the republic's political and legal status will be its chief goal over the
coming six months, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. In Vienna, U.S.
Ambassador to the OSCE David T. Johnson said that Montenegro should set
higher legal thresholds for "participation and approval" in any referendum
on independence. He noted that current legislation requires only 50 percent
of registered voters to participate for a referendum to be valid. A simple
majority among those casting their ballots is sufficient to pass the
measure. PM
[24] CRITICISM OF HERZEGOVINIAN CROATS' THREAT ON FEDERATION
A spokesman for High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch said in Sarajevo on
1 March that ethnic Croat leader Ante Jelavic's threat to leave the
federation with the Muslims is "unconstitutional and [would] violate the
Dayton agreement," Reuters reported. In Zagreb, Zdravko Tomac, who is
deputy speaker of the parliament, called Jelavic's statements "not in the
interests of Croats" and a "catastrophic choice," RFE/RL's South Slavic
Service reported. President Stipe Mesic charged that Jelavic and his
Croatian Democratic Community want changes that would lead to a
"ghettoization of the Croats" and be highly damaging to them. PM
[25] WORLD BANK PRAISES ALBANIAN REFORMS
World Bank Director Christiaan Poortman said in Brussels on 1 March that
Albania's reforms are "based on sound policies," dpa reported. He and
European Commission representatives agreed, however, that Albania has much
to do to improve the electricity supply, public administration, and
judicial reform. PM
[26] ALBANIA TO OPEN ANTI-SMUGGLING CENTER
Interior Ministers from Greece, Italy, and Germany said in Tirana on 1
March that they support Albania's plans to open a regional center in Vlora
to combat smuggling and human trafficking, AP reported. The center, which
will be located in a villa that once belonged to dictator Enver Hoxha, will
be staffed by Albanian police (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 February 2001). PM
[27] ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT BANS ENVER HOXHA PICTURES
Prime Minister Ilir Meta ruled on 1 March that pictures of Hoxha may not be
displayed in government buildings, AP reported. The issue arose when the
Foreign Ministry recently exhibited a picture of the late dictator, who was
briefly foreign minister in 1944, among a collection of portraits of former
foreign ministers. News that the picture was on display provoked outrage
among former political prisoners and Tirana University students. The
students were instrumental in bringing about the overthrow of communism a
decade ago. PM
[28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT DECLARES ALL CITIZENS EQUAL
Ion Iliescu said on 1 March that all Romanian citizens are equal
irrespective of their ethnic origin, Mediafax reported. Answering a
question regarding the debate in the Hungarian Parliament of a law on
ethnic Hungarians living abroad, Iliescu said "any discrimination imposed
by international regulations is certainly not welcome." Iliescu stressed
that Romanian citizens "represent a whole" and they should have " the same
rights and obligations." The law on ethnic Hungarians living outside
Hungary could provide preferential status for ethnic Hungarians travelling
to Hungary. ZsM
[29] ROMANIA LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO BOOST NATO ACCESSION CHANCES
President Iliescu on 1 March said Romania will try to convince NATO member
countries that Romania's acceptance into the military alliance at the 2002
Prague summit is needed for "securing peace and stability in Southeastern
Europe," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Iliescu said after a
government meeting that the Defense Ministry's annual budget will be raised
by 33 percent. In other news, Iliescu declared the sentencing of army
officials for their roles in the December 1989 change of regime "a
political mistake" and judicially unfair. He added that General Victor
Stanculescu should also be judged for his role in securing the victory of
the 1989 revolution. Stanculescu's 15-year sentence for quashing the
December 1989 revolt in Timisoara was suspended on 9 February by Prosecutor-
General Joita Tanase (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 February 2001). ZsM
[30] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CONDITIONALLY ABOLISH VISA REQUIREMENTS
FOR ROMANIANS
The European Parliament in Brussels voted on 1 March in favor of abolishing
visa requirements for Romanians, Romanian media reported. The deputies
amended a Council of Ministers report that proposed the elimination of
visas for Bulgarians, but put several conditions for eventually eliminating
visa requirements for Romanians. These conditions included measures against
illegal immigration from Romania and the repatriation of illegal Romanian
residents in EU member countries. The EU's Council of Interior Ministers is
to adopt an official visa regulation at its 15-16 March meeting. Should the
ministers adopt the original version of the report, Romania would be the
only candidate country whose citizens still require a visa for traveling to
EU member countries. ZsM
[31] FINAL SOLUTION IN INVESTMENT FUND CASE
The Romanian Supreme Court on 1 March rejected an appeal lodged by the
state-owned CEC savings bank and the Finance Ministry in the case of the
collapsed private National Investment Fund (FNI), Romanian media reported.
The court thus made a final decision in admitting that the contract between
CEC and the FNI, in which the CEC was to have guaranteed investments, was
legal. According to the contract, the CEC should pay compensation to
depositors. However, CEC announced that the decision does not oblige it to
do so, as the FNI's collapse was a result of penal activities. After the
court ruling, hundreds of investors ended their protest in Bucharest at
which they demanded compensation. ZsM
[32] MOLDOVAN YOUTH PROTEST AGAINST APPROACH TO RUSSIA
A small group of Chisinau high school students burned the flag of the
former Moldovan Socialist Soviet Republic on 1 March, Moldovan media
reported. The burning was a protest against the intention of the Party of
Moldovan Communists, winner of an absolute majority in parliament (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 26 February 2001), to introduce Russian as the country's
second official language. ZsM
[C] END NOTE
[33] There is no End Note today.
02-03-01
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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