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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 61, 01-03-28Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 61, 28 March 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES U.S. FIRM HASQUIT ENERGY TENDERArmenian government sources denied on 27 March that the U.S. firm AES Silk Road has withdrawn from the tender for the privatization of four Armenian energy distribution networks, the winners of which are to be announced on 29 March, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Democratic Party of Armenia (HDK) chairman Aram Sarkisian had claimed that AES pulled out of the tender because of the tough antimonopolist conditions set by the Armenian government. But Noyan Tapan on 27 March quoted the Armenian Energy Ministry as saying that AES has merely asked for the tender deadline to be extended for a further two weeks. The HDK is one of some 25 left-wing parties and movements that last week aligned in a bid to prevent the privatization of what they term a "strategic sector" of the country's economy (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 March 2001). LF [02] ARMENIA SAYS NATO BASE IN AZERBAIJAN WOULDTHREATEN REGIONAL STABILITYThe Russian military base in Armenia "creates a balance which ensures a fragile but stable peace" in the South Caucasus, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dziunik Aghadjanian told Reuters in Yerevan on 27 March. She said Azerbaijan's eagerness to violate that balance by hosting a NATO military base could pose a threat to regional stability. Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Safar Abiev and Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliev have both recently argued that it is the Russian military base in Armenia which threatens stability, and that a NATO presence in the region is needed to counter that threat (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 March 2001). LF [03] RUSSIA'S CASPIAN ENVOY SAYS ACCORD WITHAZERBAIJAN REMAINS IN FORCEVisiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and special envoy for the Caspian Viktor Kalyuzhnyi told Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev in Baku on 27 March that the declaration on the Caspian Sea signed in Moscow two weeks earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 March 2001) does not alter or supercede the Baku Declaration signed by Putin and Aliev in January, as some Azerbaijani officials had claimed, Turan reported. Kalyuzhnyi noted that Tehran's insistence that each of the five Caspian littoral states should have a 20 percent share of the sea runs counter to the position shared by Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan that the sea should be divided on the basis of the median line. Kalyuzhnyi called for expediting a solution to the problem of deciding on the status of the Caspian and dividing it into national sectors. LF [04] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION SEEKS TO CREATEPARLIAMENT FACTIONParliament deputies from the Civil Solidarity Party and the reformist wing of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AHChP), together with two opposition independent deputies, met in Baku on 27 March to discuss creating an opposition parliament faction, Turan reported. Sabir Rustamkhanli (Civil Solidarity) said that even if refused registration as a faction, the deputies would function as one. A minimum of 25 deputies are required to form a parliament faction, but Asim Mollazade (AHChP Reformist wing) said that up to 20 lawmakers have signaled their interest in joining the group. The opposition Musavat Party and the conservative wing of the AHChP are boycotting the parliament, arguing that violations during the 5 November parliamentary elections deprive it of legitimacy. LF [05] CHECHEN REFUGEES APPEAL TO AZERBAIJANIPRESIDENTRepresentatives of Chechens who have fled to Azerbaijan have written to President Aliev protesting the extradition of many of their number to the Russian Federation and arbitrary reprisals by Azerbaijani police against those still in Azerbaijan, Turan reported on 27 March. The signatories, who include the late Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudaev's widow Alla, appealed to Aliev as a fellow Muslim to ensure that they are treated with greater compassion. Glasnost-North Caucasus on 3 February estimated the number of Chechens in Azerbaijan at 8,000. LF [06] SUSPECT IN KILLING OF GEORGIAN BORDER GUARDSDETAINEDOne member of a "criminal gang" that shot the two Georgian border guards whose bodies were discovered on 25 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 March 2001) has been apprehended, and the identity of the other four is known, Caucasus Press reported on 28 March quoting an unnamed police official. The previous day, Caucasus Press quoted a member of the team investigating the killings as saying that the guards were probably shot in order to steal their machine guns. He added that such weapons are worth up to $300 on the black market. LF [07] GEORGIA CALCULATES ECONOMIC DAMAGE FROMABDUCTIONSThe abduction last November in eastern Georgia of two Spanish businessmen (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 December 2000) has delayed the implementation of three investment projects worth $8 million, Caucasus Press on 27 March quoted Nugzar Sulashvili, president of the International Union of Foreigners' and Immigrants' Rights as saying. Sulashvili said he believes that Russian intelligence was responsible for kidnapping the two Spaniards. LF [08] GEORGIAN SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS ACQUITTALOF NAVAL COMMANDERThe Georgian Supreme Court on 27 March rejected an appeal by the Military Prosecutor's Office to overturn the verdict handed down by a Tbilisi District Court last December on former naval commander Otar Chkhartishvili, Caucasus Press reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 December 2000). That court found Chkhartishvili not guilty of bribery and misappropriation of state property, and ruled that the Military Prosecutor's Office should pay him 300,000 laris ($160,000) in damages. LF [09] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT FORECASTS DOUBLE-DIGIT ECONOMIC GROWTHMeeting in Astana on 27 March with members of the population, President Nursultan Nazarbaev predicted that GDP will grow by 10 percent during the first quarter of 2001 and agricultural output by more than 5 percent compared with the same period last year, Interfax reported. GDP growth year- on-year in 2000 amounted to 9.6 percent. Nazarbaev also announced pay increases of between 33-40 percent for the police. LF [10] KAZAKH PARLIAMENT DEBATES ITS STATUTESA jointsession on 27 March of both chambers of Kazakhstan's parliament engaged in a "very emotional" discussion of, but failed to vote on, proposed amendments to the law on the parliament's statutes, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. The amendments address the rights and duties of parliament factions, but reportedly fail to specify who has the right to create factions. LF [11] KYRGYZ PREMIER SEEKS TO COMBAT POVERTYFinance Minister Temirbek Akmataliev told a cabinet session on 27March that 55.3 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population lives in poverty and a further 23.3 percent in "deep poverty," RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. According to official statistics, the minimal monthly subsistence level is currently 1,205 soms (about $25), while the minimum salary is only 120 soms. Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev characterized the situation as grave, noting that Kyrgyzstan is among the five poorest CIS states. He said a minimum of 5 percent GDP growth for the next five years is needed to improve the situation. GDP growth in 2000 was 5.1 percent. LF [12] FLOOD VICTIMS IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTANDEMAND COMPENSATIONSome 300 residents of Djalalabad's Suzak district staged a demonstration on 27 March to demand compensation for the loss of their homes in flooding two years ago, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Instead of paying compensation or making alternative housing available, the Kyrgyz government offered the flood victims 15-year loans at 4 percent interest, which the victims say they are unable to pay. LF [13] MARKET TRADERS IN KYRGYZ CAPITAL END STRIKETraders at Bishkek's Osh market have ended the strike they beganon 25 March to protest the city's imminent ban on street trading, but are now demanding that the market authorities provide stalls for all street traders, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2001). LF [14] TAJIK, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS CONFERDuring atelephone conversation on 27 March, Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed bilateral relations, regional security, preparations for the June Shanghai Forum summit, and expanding economic cooperation, ITAR-TASS reported. LF [15] TURKMEN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES NATIONAL TV,CULTURE MINISTRYSaparmurat Niyazov has criticized workers in the cultural sphere and the media for a variety of failings, Interfax reported on 27 March citing a source in the presidential administration. He blamed Minister of Culture Oraz Aidogdyev for organizational failings and Kakadzhan Ashirov, who is responsible for theaters and TV and radio broadcasting, for the scarcity of theater performances and for condoning low aesthetic standards and broadcasting programs that "fail to reflect the national features" of the Turkmen people. Niyazov further accused the heads of artistic trade unions for pursuing their own commercial interests rather than encouraging and supporting younger colleagues. LF [16] UZBEK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH TURKISHPARLIAMENT CHAIRMANMeeting in Tashkent with visiting Turkish parliament Chairman Umer Izgi, Islam Karimov gave a positive assessment of contacts between the two countries' parliaments and of the strong historic, political, economic, and cultural ties between the Uzbek and Turkish peoples, Interfax reported. Despite a slight recent decline in bilateral trade, which exceeded $100 million in 2000, Uzbek exports to Turkey have doubled over the past three years, Karimov noted. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[17] MACEDONIAN ARMY BEGINS OFFENSIVE NEARKOSOVA BORDER...Macedonian troops launched a new offensive in hills along the border with Kosova on 28 March in an attempt to clear the area of ethnic Albanian insurgents, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. Mortar fire was reportedly also heard around the village of Gracani, where fighting took place the previous day. The village is just 10 kilometers north of Skopje. Macedonian Defense Ministry spokesman Djordje Trendafilov said on 27 March that no casualties were reported. Macedonia's second city of Tetovo was reported to be quiet, and tanks were being withdrawn from the city. The Interior Ministry said army troops found weapons caches that included antiaircraft guns, heavy machine guns, and antitank mines. PB [18] ...AS FLEEING REBELS DETAINED IN KOSOVA,MACEDONIA...The NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR said on 27 March that its forces had arrested 79 suspected ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosova, dpa reported. A KFOR spokesman said they were all captured in the previous 24 hours and all were detained in the southern sector of Kosova, which is patrolled by German troops. They are being questioned and some will be turned over to Kosova's police force. In Macedonia, KFOR spokesman Colonel Arne Pollei said German troops have detained some 30 suspected insurgents. He said they are being held, and will be transferred to the Kosovar city of Prizren. PB [19] ...BUT MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER NOTSATISFIEDSrgjan Kerim said in Vienna on 28 March that Western countries were "unprepared" for the crisis in Macedonia and that they were "slow and hesitant" to help his country, dpa reported, citing the Austrian Press Agency. In an interview, Kerim demanded that KFOR "close the border from the Kosovo side." Military officials have said repeatedly that a complete closure is impossible because of the terrain. Kerim added that the ethnic Albanian insurgents do not have broad popular support among Macedonia's ethnic Albanian citizens. He said "they tried desperately for 34 days to pull the people with them, but they didn't succeed." He said the rebels are "remnants of the UCK [Kosova Liberation Army]," and that "the war will never be over" for them. Kerim agreed that ethnic Albanians must play a greater role in Macedonia's political and state structures. PB [20] MACEDONIA'S DISPLACED PERSONS STARTING TORETURNThe United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on 27 March in Geneva that some of the estimated 30,000 Macedonians who fled as fighting raged around Tetovo are returning to their homes, Reuters reported. UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said many fled to Skopje and that about two-thirds of the total were displaced within Macedonia. Several thousands of ethnic Albanian villagers are also reported to have fled the fighting, most of them going to villages where there was no fighting or into Kosova. PB [21] CROATIAN PRESIDENT DECIDES AGAINST TRIP TO'PEACEFUL' MACEDONIAStipe Mesic decided on 27 March to postpone his trip to Macedonia "since there is peace," dpa reported. Mesic was going to leave for Skopje on 2 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2001). He said he had spoken to his Macedonian counterpart, Boris Trajkovski, who told him "there's peace now in Macedonia." Mesic said his offer to make a goodwill mission to help resolve the crisis still stands. PB [22] OSCE OFFICIALS DISCUSS MACEDONIAN CRISIS INBUCHARESTOSCE Chairman in Office Mircea Geoana, the organization's High Commissioner for National Minorities Max van der Stoel, and Carlo Ungaro, chief of the OSCE mission in Skopje, on 27 March held consultations in Bucharest over the ongoing crisis and decided to convoke a meeting of the organization's "troika" -- made up by the foreign ministers of Austria, Portugal and Romania -- for 3 April in the Macedonian capital, Romanian media reported. Geoana said that the "military stage" of the conflict is gradually being replaced by a "political stage" and the organization must take advantage of the evolution. The meeting was also attended by Adrian Severin, chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The participants were received by Romanian President Ion Iliescu and by Prime Minister Adrian Nastase. MS [23] FIGHTING REPORTED IN PRESEVO VALLEYClasheswere reported on 27 March between ethnic Albanian rebels and Serbian forces in the southern Serbia's Presevo Valley, AP and Reuters reported. Both sides blamed the other for initiating the sporadic gun battles. Sejdullah Kadriu, a member of the political council that backs the insurgents, said that a rebel commander, Nijazi Azemi, was killed in the fighting on 26 March. He described the situation in the area as "very tense." Serbian officials reported no casualties. PB [24] SERBIAN PREMIER SAYS MILOSEVIC ARRESTNEARINGZoran Djindjic said on 27 March that the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was brought "an important step" closer after the detention of seven former Milosevic associates, Reuters reported. Djindjic said "our judiciary is collecting material evidence and I think it will be over pretty soon." Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic said the arrests (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2001) were just the beginning of charges that will be filed against members of the Milosevic regime for corruption and other wrongdoing. PB [25] SERBIA RELEASES MORE KOSOVAR ALBANIANSFROM PRISONThe International Committee of the Red Cross said that Serbian authorities released 25 ethnic Albanian prisoners on 27 March, dpa reported. The Red Cross office in Belgrade said that all of those released returned to Kosova. It said some 436 Kosovar Albanians are still imprisoned in Serbia on charges related to terrorism. Nearly 1,600 have been released since Milosevic was ousted from power last October. PB [26] CROAT TROOPS LEAVE BOSNIAN ARMY...Responding toorders from the hard-line Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), some ethnic Croatian soldiers have abandoned the Croat-Muslim federation army, AP and Reuters reported on 27 March. The federation defense force is made up of about 7,500 Croats and 15,000 Muslim soldiers. The HDZ has called on Croat troops to leave the army as part of its attempts to set up self-rule in Croat- dominated areas. Reportedly, some 1,900 troops in the town of Vitez left their barracks to protest the removal of their commander by Defense Minister Mijo Anic, a Bosnian Croat loyal to the moderate ruling coalition. Anic has said that any soldiers leaving their posts will lose all pay and benefits. DW [27] ...AS BOSNIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEWMEMBERS TO PRESIDENCYThe lower house of parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina approved the two candidates proposed by the multiethnic Alliance for Changes coalition to replace the Muslim and Croat members of the three-member state presidency, Bosnian radio reported. Muslim Beriz Belkic of the Party for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croat Jozo Krizanovic of the Social Democrats were elected to replace Alija Izetbegovic and Ante Jelavic, respectively. Izetbegovic recently retired and Jelavic was fired by High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch on 8 March for attempting to instigate self-rule for ethnic Croat areas within the federation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 March 2001). DW [28] 'HIGH TIME' FOR BOSNIAN SERBS TO DELIVERKARADZICHigh Representative Petritsch said on 27 March that the popular Serb Democratic Party must honor agreements it signed in December to cooperate with The Hague tribunal and at least expel former leader and war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic from the party, Reuters reported. He said the least the party could do was distance itself from the wartime leader, but that "it is high time they deliver Karadzic." He also said he is "expecting quick action on this...because it is simply unacceptable that there are up to 20 alleged war criminals at large in Republika Srpska." Petritsch further called on the Serbian entity to take its lead from Belgrade, as it often has in the past. "Belgrade has delivered and now I am expecting from Banja Luka the same." DW [29] EU REPRESENTATIVE TELLS ROMANIANS TOIMPROVE ECONOMYFokion Fotiadis, EU permanent representative in Bucharest, on 27 March told members of the Romanian parliamentary EU Integration Commission that Romania "continues to meet" the political conditions for joining the organization, but cannot be viewed as having a "functioning marketing economy." Fotiadis said this second condition for joining is "the chief impediment" to Romanian membership. "At the end of the day," he said, "joining the EU will be less influenced by closing all chapters in the aquis communautaire and more by the evaluation of economic performance." Fotiadis recommended that Romania simplify legislation on foreign investments, continue efforts for achieving macroeconomic reform, introduce strict fiscal and budgetary discipline, and act to reduce the rate of inflation, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS [30] PROSECUTOR-GENERAL AGAIN DISPLAYS POLITICALSUBORDINATIONProsecutor-General Joita Tanase is asking the French judicial authorities to return documents pertaining to the involvement of high state officials in the 1992 Adrian Cosea money- laundering scandal, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported on 27 March. Among those who last year were forced to testify on the affair were President Iliescu and presidential counselor Gheorghe Pascu. At the request of the French authorities, prosecutors working for the Section for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (SCCO) passed the documents on to Paris, but Joita says they lack "legal validity" because the documents were not transmitted through the Justice Ministry. Joita is demanding the return of the documents. Citing "judicial sources," Mediafax said the recent changes in the managing structure of the SCCO are connected with this affair. Shortly after his appointment, Joita dropped charges against three of Iliescu's associates in connection with the Cosea affair. MS [31] ROMANIAN MINORITIES COMPLAIN ABOUT RACIALINCITEMENTDeputies from the parliamentary group of national minorities told journalists on 27 March that media attacks and incitement against minorities have recently intensified, and said Romania must bring its legislation in line with that of the EU and stiffen legal provisions against such crimes. Also on 27 March, the Romany Party announced it will hold public protests and demonstrations in Constanta against Mayor Radu Mazare, whom the party accuses of xenophobia and racism. The party says the Constanta media, of which Mazare is a major shareholder in many outlets, promote "intolerance, xenophobia, and racism." The party also says 80 Roma families decided to stop sending their children to local schools after they were beaten by schoolmates shouting anti- Roma slogans commonly encountered in the media. Turkish minority deputy Metin Cerkez also accused Mazare of patronizing publications that display "hatred of the Turkish minority," Mediafax reported. MS [32] EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE TO HEAR ILASCUCOMPLAINTThe European Court for Human Rights will debate "under urgency procedure" the complaint launched by Ilie Ilascu against his imprisonment since 1992 by the Tiraspol authorities, Romanian media reported on 27 March. The court decided to hear the case in full plenum due to its "complexity" and to recognize Romania as a party to the complaint, as Ilascu obtained Romanian citizenship last year. Ilascu, a former Moldovan citizen and parliamentary deputy, was elected to the Romanian Senate last year. MS [33] BRAGHIS TO RUN AGAINST VORONIN FORMOLDOVAN PRESIDENCYOutgoing Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis on 27 March told journalists that he has decided to run for president on 4 April, when the parliament will elect the country's next head of state, Infotag reported. Apart from the Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM), the Braghis Alliance, which has 19 deputies, is the only parliamentary group that has enough deputies to meet the requirement that a candidacy must be backed by 15 lawmakers. The PCM has already announced the candidacy of its leader, Vladimir Voronin. Braghis said his alliance "must use its right to nominate a candidate" and thereby demonstrate that "Moldova does have an alternative, and that we are able to continue economic and democratic reforms." The parliamentary group headed by Braghis discussed the nomination on 27 March, but postponed a decision until the next day. MS [34] BRATISLAVA OSCE MEETING POSTPONED AGAINVasile Sturza, leader of the Moldovan experts' team in thenegotiations on a settlement of the Transdniester conflict, on 27 March told Infotag that the Bratislava OSCE meeting has been postponed again, due to Tiraspol's refusal to attend. This is the third postponement of the meeting. The separatists insist that the gathering can take place only after the election of the next Moldovan president and a meeting of their leader, Igor Smirnov, with the new head of state. MS [35] FINLAND WILLING TO ASSIST IMPROVINGKOZLODUY SAFETYFinnish Premier Paavo Lipponen, on the second day of his visit to Bulgaria, on 27 March said his country is willing to "extend expert assistance" to improve the safety of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, the English-language daily "Monitor" reported. President Petar Stoyanov had earlier asked Lipponen to extend such assistance, in view of the fact that Finland has the same type of Soviet-made nuclear reactors as those at Kozloduy. MS [C] END NOTE[36] There is no End Note today.28-03-01Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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