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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 67, 01-04-05Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 67, 5 April 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI TALKS CONTINUE IN KEY WESTTalks between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev continued in Key West on 4 April, Western agencies reported. But there were no reported breakthroughs, although the head of the U.S. negotiating team, Ambassador Carry Cavanaugh, suggested to the press that progress has been made. PG[02] ARMENIA'S KOCHARIAN UNDECIDED ON SECOND TERMPresident Kocharian has not decided whether he will seek a second term in office, Noyan Tapan reported on 4 April. Kocharian made his comments in an interview published in "Golos Armenii" on the occasion of his third full year in office. PG[03] MOSCOW WANTS CHECHEN OFFICE IN AZERBAIJANIgor Zadvornov, the representative of the Russian Ministry for Federation Affairs, Nationalities and Migration Policy, on 4 April called for the opening of "an official representation of the Chechen Republic in Azerbaijan" to facilitate the return of refugees who migrated to Azerbaijan from the war-torn republic, Turan reported. PG[04] IRAN REJECTS AZERBAIJANI CHARGES ON PKK CAMPSThe Iranian Embassy in Baku said that a statement by Azerbaijan's State Security Ministry that Iran hosts Kurdish PKK training camps is totally groundless, the Trend news agency reported on 4 April. Baku had said that two Kurds, two Russians, and a Kazakh had undergone training at camps for Kurdish militants in Iran before being apprehended by Azerbaijani border guards. PG[05] GEORGIAN LEADER SAYS EVEN 'STOLEN' FUNDS CAN HELP PROMOTE TOURISMPresident Eduard Shevardnadze said on 4 April that promoting tourism is so important that he is prepared to see "stolen money" used to build tourist facilities, Prime-News reported. Shevardnadze said that those who legalize illegal funds in this way may even be given state decorations. PG[06] GEORGIA WARNED RUSSIA ABOUT CAUCASUS BLASTSA spokesman for the Georgian State Security Ministry on 4 April told Prime- News that Tbilisi had warned Russian officials in advance about bombings in Mineralnie Vody, Yessentuki, and Karachai-Cherkessia on 24 March. And consequently, he said, the Russian side has only itself to blame for failing to act on that information. Meanwhile, Georgian security officials again denied Russian claims that Chechen fighters are now on Georgian territory, the news agency said, but the officials acknowledged that there were approximately 1,000 men of military age among the 7,000 Chechen refugees now in Georgia. PG[07] GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN VISA REGIME AFFECTS PRISONERS TOOThe newly established visa regime between Georgia and Russia has led to the return of some Georgians who were incarcerated in Russian prisons, Caucasus Press reported on 4 April. The returnees said the transfer from Russian prisons to Georgian ones was like going from "hell" to "heaven" because of the abuse they suffered at the hands of their Russian jailers. PG[08] GEORGIAN BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION WORRIES IMFThe International Monetary Fund expressed its concern in a letter to the Georgian Tax Ministry about what it described as the nonimplementation of the Georgian budget during the first quarter of 2001, Caucasus Press reported on 4 April. Georgian officials said that the budget deficit seen so far this year will be made up in the second quarter. PG[09] KAZAKH WORKERS BLOCK ROUTE OF PRIME MINISTERMore than 1,000 Kazakh workers blocked the motorcade of Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Tokaev in western Kazakhstan on 3 April to protest what they said was discrimination against them by foreign companies, ITAR-TASS reported the next day. Tokaev said he would help them and issued a ban on the hiring of foreign workers at a gas complex in the region. PG[10] NO BOMB FOUND AT U.S. EMBASSY IN KAZAKHSTANInformation that a bomb had been placed in the U.S. Embassy in Almaty did not prove to be true, city police officials told Interfax-Kazakhstan on 4 April. PG[11] KAZAKHSTAN PROBED 311 CORRUPTION CASES IN 2000Kozykorpesh Karbuzov, head of the Kazakh National Security committee's investigations department, told Interfax-Kazakhstan on 4 April that his agency investigated 311 cases of corruption during 2000. He said that over the same period, 141 officials were convicted of various offenses. PG[12] KAZAKH PRESIDENT IN NORWAY, LITHUANIAPresident Nursultan Nazarbaev on 3 April signed a friendship accord with Norway before departing for Lithuania, Interfax-Central Asia reported. In Lithuania, Nazarbaev cancelled a visit to Kaunas because of an unspecified illness, but his aides said that he will complete the official part of his visit, including talks with President Valdas Adamkus, ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported. PG[13] WATER-SUPPLY PROBLEMS CAUSE ILLNESSES IN KAZAKHSTANKazakh health officials told Interfax-Kazakhstan on 4 April that more than 40 percent of the water-supply system in that country is broken or has been contaminated, and as a result many people are suffering from intestinal diseases. PG[14] KYRGYZSTAN SPENT 13 PERCENT OF BUDGET FIGHTING INSURGENTSThe Kyrgyz parliamentary Security Committee on 4 April said Bishkek spent $30 million, or 13 percent, of its annual budget over the last year fighting insurgents, AP reported. Anticipating even more attacks this year, the parliament increased allocations to defense from $17.5 million last year, to $20 million. PG[15] KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT OPPOSES END TO INSULT LAWSProsecutors and the Supreme Court oppose an effort by parliamentarians to repeal the insult laws that are often used by officials to attack media outlets, deputy Azimbek Beknazarov told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service on 4 April. The judicial and executive branch officials said that it is "too early" to eliminate these laws, Beknazarov said. PG[16] KYRGYZSTAN TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OVER RELIGIONThe Kyrgyz cabinet on 3 April ordered the creation of a special council to devise expanded control over religious missionaries and sectarian groups, Kyrgyz-Press reported. Among the tasks assigned to the Interior Ministry by the cabinet in support of that council is to investigate the source of funds for the construction of mosques in Kyrgyzstan. PG[17] TAJIKISTAN TO TIGHTEN MIGRATION CONTROLPresident Emomali Rakhmonov issued a decree calling for the establishment of tighter migration controls at the border, Asia-Plus reported on 4 April. Meanwhile, the same agency reported that the number of Tajiks seeking to serve in Russian army units in that country has tripled over the last year, largely because of relatively high pay and access to food in those units, Tajik officials said. PG[18] TURKMEN PRESIDENT MEETS TURKISH, IRANIAN OFFICIALSPresident Saparmurat Niyazov met with visiting Turkish parliament speaker Omer Izgi on 4 April to discuss expanding cooperation, especially in the area of historical research, Interfax-Central Asia reported. On the same day, Niyazov also met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Akhani to discuss the status of the Caspian Sea, the Russian agency said. PG[19] TURKMEN PRESIDENT CREATES MEDIA COUNCILPresident Saparmurat Niyazov on 4 April set up a coordinating television and radio broadcasting council, "Neitralnyi Turkmenistan" reported according to Interfax. The council is to supervise electronic media in Turkmenistan in place of the now-dismantled Turkmenia National TV and Radio company. Niyazov said that the formation of new television and radio challenges "will add lively competition to them, bring in a spirit of renovation and new creative energy." PG[20] UZBEK PRESIDENT VISITS GERMANYPresident Islam Karimov met with German Chancellor Gerhard Shroeder and other senior German officials on the third day of Karimov's visit to that country, Uzbek television reported on 4 April. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund on 4 April said that it will continue to cooperate with Tashkent following a declaration by Karimov that his government will continue to liberalize the national economy. PG[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[21] HAGUE TRIBUNAL DELIVERS MILOSEVIC ARREST WARRANT IN SERBIAHans Holthuis, who is registrar of The Hague-based war crimes tribunal, presented the indictment of, and arrest warrant for, former President Slobodan Milosevic to Serbian Justice Minister Vladan Batic, AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2001). Speaking to reporters in Belgrade on 5 April, Holthuis said: "I want to be sure [that the documents] are served to Mr. Milosevic." Tribunal spokesman Jim Landale told Reuters that "Milosevic is now in custody, he is under [the Belgrade authorities'] control, so they will be obliged to present the warrant to him with due diligence, without undue delay." Landale added that "the tribunal has primacy over national proceedings. If we perceive time-wasting, the tribunal...can take appropriate measures. But we are not at that stage. We are here to push the process of cooperation forward in legal and technical ways." PM[22] COOK: WEST EXPECTS SERBIAN RECIPROCITY FOR AIDYugoslav Justice Minister Momcilo Grubac said in Belgrade on 4 April that the law on cooperating with The Hague contains 33 articles and will be ready by the end of May, "Danas" reported. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook spoke with his Yugoslav counterpart Goran Svilanovic and said that the projected international donors' conference should go ahead despite U.S. reservations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April 2001). Cook added that "the donors' conference should proceed and we should assist in reconstruction. But this is a parallel process. There is a limit to the extent we can proceed in our assistance if that partnership is not reciprocated." PM[23] WHERE IS SERBIA'S IVAN STAMBOLIC?The Belgrade daily "Danas" reminded its readers on 5 April that it has been 223 days since the disappearance of former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic (see www.gdejestambolic.org). He is widely believed to have been kidnapped by Milosevic loyalists and killed. The new Belgrade authorities pledged to give the case priority but do not appear to have made any progress thus far (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001). PM[24] MILOSEVIC BACKERS DEMONSTRATE OUTSIDE PRISONSome 200 supporters of Milosevic demanded his release at a demonstration outside Belgrade's Central Prison on 4 April, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Their slogans included: "Slobo, come back" and "To arrest Slobo is to arrest all Serbs." PM[25] AID FOR PRESEVOU.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia William Montgomery and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic signed an agreement in Bujanovac on 4 April providing for $400,000 in U.S. assistance for village infrastructure projects in the Bujanovac area. NATO representative Pieter Feith announced that the OSCE will soon open a police academy in Bujanovac to train 400 members of the projected multiethnic local police force, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Feith said that the arrangement was agreed on at a meeting of Serbian and local Albanian representatives in Lucane, the third in a series. Covic told AP that he will "hold [Feith] to his word" that the five Serb hostages held by Albanian fighters will be freed by 10 April. PM[26] ROLE FOR BELGRADE IN KOSOVA ELECTIONS?Hans Haekkerup, who heads the UN civilian administration in Kosova, said in Prishtina on 4 April that he will seek the involvement of the Belgrade authorities in organizing the Kosova general elections widely expected later in the year. He added that he hopes that the Belgrade authorities will help convince local Serbs to take part in the elections and in Kosova- wide institutions, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The political representatives of the ethnic Albanian majority believe that Belgrade has no role to play in Kosova. PM[27] INTERNATIONAL AID FOR MACEDONIAItalian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini told his visiting Macedonian counterpart Srdjan Kerim in Rome on 4 April that Italy will give Macedonia $470 million in direct emergency aid and an additional $940 million through the UN to help displaced women and children, Reuters reported. Dini called on the Macedonian authorities to promote the full political, economic, and cultural integration of the Albanian minority, which makes up 23 percent of the population. Speaking in Skopje, British Foreign Secretary Cook said his country will give Macedonia an unspecified quantity of body armor, mine- and bomb-clearing equipment, and global positioning systems. He urged the Macedonian authorities to "address the legitimate aspirations" of the Albanian minority. On 5 April, the Bulgarian parliament voted 137-0 to make a gift of an unspecified quantity of military equipment to Macedonia, AP reported. Macedonia will be asked to pay only for munitions and weapons. The Defense Ministry provided no details. PM[28] REFUGEES, DISPLACED PERSONS GO HOME IN MACEDONIAKerim said in Rome on 5 April that "in Tetovo, people are going back to their homes, businesses, and schools. In the surrounding villages the security forces are still inspecting buildings and de-mining the area, but in the next few weeks people will return there too." AP reported that some 20,000 people are believed to have fled their homes to avoid the recent violence. Kerim added that a census originally slated for April may be postponed for an unspecified time. PM[29] COOK: MONTENEGRIN REFERENDUM WILL BE RESPECTEDCook said in Podgorica on 4 April that Britain, like the EU, prefers that Montenegro and Serbia retain their common state. He added, however, that London will not call into question the results of any referendum the Montenegrins may hold on their political future, "Vijesti" reported. PM[30] MONTENEGRIN BANK: SERBIA IS FOREIGN COUNTRYThe Montenegrin Central Bank announced on 4 April that money transactions with Serbia are now subject to those rules and regulations affecting such dealings with foreign countries, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Montenegro's legal tender is the German mark, whereas Serbia uses the dinar. PM[31] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER: THERE IS NO 'ALBANIAN QUESTION'Ilir Meta told his Serbian counterpart Zoran Djindjic in Athens on 4 April that there is no "Albanian question" or a program for a Greater Albania. Meta stressed that Albanians in Macedonia, Kosova, and elsewhere must solve their problems within their own respective states, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He ruled out any border changes and said that the future of all peoples in the region lies in Europe. Djindjic said that Meta's statement was the clearest one he has heard from any Albanian prime minister on the subject. PM[32] POWELL TO THE BALKANSU.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will begin a trip to the Balkans on 12 April. He will participate in a meeting of the international Contact Group in Paris and visit Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 4 April. PM[33] UN FIRES CROAT POLICEThe UN mission in Mostar announced on 4 April the sacking of a group of ethnic Croatian police officials who said recently that they no longer recognize the Bosnian federal authorities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2001). Douglas Coffman, who is the UN spokesman in Bosnia, said that any violation of the rules and regulations governing police work will be punished, "Jutarnje novine" reported from Sarajevo. Elsewhere, the UNHCR condemned the recent bomb attack that destroyed a newly rebuilt school in Crni Lug. Some 58 Serbian families had returned to the area, which is under Croatian control, Reuters reported. PM[34] BOSNIAN SERB LEADERS MAKE HAGUE DEBUTBiljana Plavsic and Momcilo Krajisnik appeared together in The Hague's war crimes court for the first time on 4 April. Lawyers are seeking the temporary release of the two pending their trial. Both have been indicted on all nine counts of war crimes within the tribunal's jurisdiction, Reuters reported. The trial marks a shift in the tribunal's attention from dealing primarily with those who carried out other people's orders to those who helped draw up the grand strategy of ethnic cleansing. Plavsic's lawyer said that it will take him 34 years working 365 days per year and 8 hours per day to read the estimated 3 million pages of documents regarding the case against Plavsic, who would be 104 at the end of that time. PM[35] HAGUE OFFICIALS ARRIVE FOR CROATIAN INVESTIGATIONA group of experts from The Hague has arrived in Sibenik to carry out investigations of alleged war crimes committed by Croatian forces during the "Oluja" (Storm) offensive against Serbian rebels in the Krajina region in 1995, "Slobodna Dalmacija" reported on 5 April. PM[36] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TO SEND CONTROVERSIAL LAW BACK TO PARLIAMENT...President Ion Iliescu will not promulgate the controversial State Secrets Law recently approved by the parliament and intends to send the law back to legislators for reconsideration, Romanian Radio reported on 5 April, citing Mediafax. Iliescu believes the law must be "correlated" with pending legislation on free access to information. The president says "more clarity" is needed in defining which information should be considered as "classified" or constituting a "state secret" and is "concerned" that the law may infringe on the constitutional right of free access to information. He says he has consulted several NATO states on the matter and has received "a number of suggestions" on how the law should be improved. The government had justified the law on NATO's demand that legislation be passed ensuring that NATO secrets are safeguarded if and when Romania joins the organization. MS[37] ...AFTER U.S. EXPRESSES 'CONCERN' ABOUT THE LAWIn a letter sent to the parliament on 4 April, the Foreign Ministry said the legislation might negatively impact Romania's image and efforts to join Euro-Atlantic structures, Mediafax and AP reported. The ministry says the U.S. State Department is concerned about the possible "abusive limitation of the right to free access to information" and about infringements of "the right to privacy." The latter refers to the provision in the law obliging citizens to report to police the presence of foreign visitors staying with them for longer than 15 days. According to AP, the U.S. and other foreign diplomats are "angered" by the appointment of Ristea Priboi, a former Securitate official alleged to have been in charge of communist operations against RFE/RL, as chairman of the parliamentary commission overseeing the activity of the Foreign Intelligence Service. MS[38] ROMANIA TO DEMILITARIZE POLICEThe government on 4 April approved the final version of a draft bill on the status of people serving with the police and a draft bill on the organization and functioning of the police, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Police are defined in the law as being "civil servants with special status." The Romanian police force is thus undergoing demilitarization. Governmental spokesman Claudiu Lucaci said the law will be sent to the parliament to be debated in "urgency procedure." Lucaci also said the legislation is in line with "international and European legislation specific to countries with a democratic tradition." MS[39] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES CRITICIZE JUSTICE MINISTERThe National Liberal Party (PNL), the Democratic Party, and the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania on 4 April criticized Justice Minister Rodica Stanoiu, accusing her of infringing on the independence of the judiciary, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The criticism was prompted by a recent letter sent by Stanoiu to judges, in which she calls on them to give priority in their rulings to the rights of tenants when owners appeal to courts to have tenants evacuated from recently restituted properties. Prime Minister Adrian Nastase on 3 April rejected accusations that the government and Stanoiu are infringing on the independence of the judiciary, saying the letter only draws attention to existing legislation. Viorica Costiniu, chairwoman of the Romanian Magistrates' Association, said the letter questions the impartiality of judges. MS[40] ROMANIAN MINISTER FAILS TO BRIDGE DIFFERENCES IN RESITA...Protests were renewed in Resita on 5 April, after the failure of Privatization Minister Ovidiu Musatescu to bridge difference between the unions and representatives of the U.S.-based Noble Ventures company, which owns the local CSR steelmaker. Although an agreement was reached on 4 April between the sides on the payment of wage arrears and of the debts owned by Noble Ventures to Romanian electricity and gas companies -- which would have made possible the resumption of production -- the unions insisted on the dismissal of the company's management. Musatescu said this was "not within the government's prerogatives" and that the unions "must now assume responsibility [not only] for the continuation of negotiations, but also for the fate of their members and for salaries that are not paid." MS[41] ...AND PROTESTS BEGIN IN BRASOV. Meanwhile, in Brasov, a large protest by workers of the local Tractorul company against the government's agricultural policies started on 5 April. The protesters accuse the government of failing to encourage acquisition of Romanian-made agricultural equipment locally, which could lead to the company's closure. Some 9,000 workers are marching on Brasov's streets. The protest is backed by some 60 Romanian unions, and workers from the local Roman truckmaker said they may join the labor action. MS[42] VORONIN ELECTED MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT...The parliament elected Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) leader Vladimir Voronin as the country's next president as expected on 4 April, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. All 71 PCM deputies apparently endorsed Voronin in the secret ballot, while the PCM's second presidential candidate, Valerian Cristea, received three votes, apparently from deputies representing the Braghis Alliance. Dumitru Braghis was endorsed by 15 deputies from his own party, while the 11 deputies representing the Popular Party Christian Democratic did not participate in the ballot, although they were present in the parliament. MS[43] ...PROMISES TO ABOLISH PRESIDENCYVoronin said after his election that he intends to strengthen the prerogatives of the president in the short run in order to quickly solve the country's problems, but pledged to introduce a constitutional change abolishing the "bourgeois" post of president, AP reported. He said he regards solving the Transdniester problem as one of his main priorities and invited the leadership and the parliaments of the separatist region and of the Gagauz-Yeri autonomous region to Chisinau for negotiations. He also said Moldova will "cooperate" with Bucharest to bring about the liberation of Romanian Senator-elect Ilie Ilascu and the other members of his group, who are being detained in Tiraspol. The new president also said he plans to nominate the country's new premier next week, promising "a surprise." MS[44] RUSSIA, ROMANIA REACT TO THE ELECTIONRussian President Vladimir Putin phoned Voronin and congratulated him on his election. Putin invited Voronin to visit Russia later this month and the invitation was accepted, ITAR-TASS reported. In Bucharest, presidential spokeswoman Corina Cretu said President Iliescu has "no official statement to make" but added that "nothing changed" in Romania's position after Voronin's election and Bucharest continues to view the relations with Moldova as being "special." The Romanian Senate's Judicial and Foreign Relations commissions on the same day announced that they have drafted a declaration calling on the government to give "priority treatment" to the efforts to bring about Ilascu's liberation and on the Foreign Ministry to call on the Russian and Moldovan governments to "intervene" in order to facilitate his release from detention. MS[45] MOLDOVA'S NATO REPRESENTATIVE 'DISAPPEARS' FROM BRUSSELSColonel Nicolae Turtureanu, Moldova's representative at the NATO Partnership for Peace Program in Brussels, has left his post voluntarily and "disappeared," Infotag reported on 4 April, citing "well-informed diplomatic sources." Turtureanu, who was appointed to his post by former President Petru Lucinschi, ended his mandate in January but was not replaced due to the political situation in Moldova. He disappeared last week, after leaving documents in his office in order and turning the office key and his car over to Moldovan Embassy officials. Infotag said it was unclear whether he sought political asylum in a Western country or is in Ukraine, where his wife was born. Defense Minister Boris Gamurari refused to comment. MS[46] KING SIMEON RETURNS TO BULGARIA TO ANNOUNCE POLITICAL PLANSFormer Bulgarian King Simeon II arrived in Sofia on 4 March, saying that he will make a "very interesting" statement about his political future in the country, Reuters reported. King Simeon II, who was exiled in 1946 and has since made his home in Madrid, said the announcement will be made on 6 March. The recently formed Conservative Union, also known as Ekip (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2001), is hoping to gain the king's support ahead of the 17 June parliamentary elections. Opinion polls show the opposition Socialists running slightly behind the ruling Union of Democratic Forces coalition, with the next most popular party perhaps being a necessary factor in forming a coalition government. Commenting on the Macedonian crisis, King Simeon II said the situation is "extremely complicated" but that the recent NATO-Bulgarian agreement was helpful and "very timely," the daily "Novinar" reported. PB[47] BULGARIAN COURT VOIDS ELECTION OF STATE RADIO CHIEFBulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court invalidated the appointment of Ivan Borislavov as head of state radio, Reuters reported, citing BTA. More than 500 radio employees began nearly two months of protests when Borislavov was named to the position in early February (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 February 2001). Employees said that Borislavov -- who had worked for Bulgarian Radio for nearly 20 years as a translator and poet -- was not qualified to head the station. Alexander Tomov, the director of the National Radio and TV Council, the panel that selected Borislavov, said it will appeal the court ruling. PB[48] PREMIER SAYS MACEDONIAN CONFLICT NO THREAT TO BULGARIABulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov told a group of foreign investors in Sofia on 4 April that there is no risk of Bulgaria becoming involved in the violent conflict in neighboring Macedonia, the English-language daily "Monitor" reported, citing the newspaper "Demokratsiya." Kostov said he called the meeting, which included executives from 40 Western companies and banks, because of erroneous reports in the media that Bulgaria could become involved in the conflict. Kostov said he wanted to assure the investors that "there is no threat to Bulgaria's security and no risk for it to be involved in Macedonia's conflict." Deputy Premier Petar Jotev said that sustaining macroeconomic stability and encouraging growth are the government's top economic priorities. PB[C] END NOTE[49] DECLARING WAR ON THE MEDIABy Paul GobleThe move by the state-controlled Gazprom gas company to take over NTV, Russia's only independent television network, this week has been described by that network's defenders as the most serious challenge yet to freedom of speech in Russia. Gazprom, the energy monopoly that is partially owned by the state, on 3 April moved to take control of NTV, a step the Russian government insists that it has nothing to do with but one that both journalists at the network and other media organizations say is clearly intended to rein in the most independent and critical television network in Russia today. Kremlin officials continue to insist that the dispute between Gazprom and embattled media magnate and former NTV owner Vladimir Gusinsky that has now led to Gazprom taking control of the NTV board is a private financial dispute about the debt that Gusinsky, now facing extradition from Spain, owes Gazprom. But many Russians, journalists and non-journalists alike, view Gazprom's assumption of ownership as yet another effort by the Kremlin to silence public criticism of its actions. When the transfer of ownership was announced, NTV journalists dropped normal programming and featured the following message on an otherwise blank screen: "In protest at the illegal attempt to change the board of NTV, only news programs will be broadcast." And the NTV journalists spent the night at the station's headquarters out of concern that Gazprom's media group would seek to impose a new management by force. Even as that confrontation was taking place, journalists and others in Russia and around the world spoke out against this action. NTV General Manager Yevgenii Kiselev directly blamed President Vladimir Putin for Gazprom's action. "Putin unleashed this war against NTV and now makes out as if he has nothing to do with it," Kiselev said. Another Russian journalist, Kseniya Ponomareva, said that "Putin is not an opponent of free speech -- it just strikes him as absurd that someone should have the right to publicly judge his actions." And Oleg Panfilov, the director of Moscow's Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, raised the specter of a return to a Soviet-style past. "It is difficult to say what could happen if there is no NTV," Panfilov said. "In Russia, you will have a return to Central Television of the Soviet Union, which will show only propaganda and which will only talk about the president and say that everything is fine." And former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced that he will continue to try to intervene with Putin on this issue, noting that when he called on 4 April, Putin's aides said that the president was occupied. All of these statements come on the heels of a protest last weekend organized by Yabloko and other democratic parties and groups last weekend in defense of NTV and against government attempts to gain editorial control of that independent network. And they reflect the conjunction of two developments. On the one hand, ever more Russians depend on the electronic media and especially on television as their primary or even only source for news. Except for NTV, the other channels have kept to the government line on critical issues such as the war in Chechnya and human rights. In the absence of alternative sources of information, ordinary Russians are less likely to adopt positions critical of the government, and consequently the population is less likely to have an impact on the actions of the government itself. And on the other hand, this Gazprom move to take over NTV appears to be part of an effort by the Russian government to use nominally private enterprises such as Gazprom to do its bidding. Such an arrangement inevitably tends to deflect outside criticism because it gives those in the government the ability to plausibly deny that they are in fact behind such moves. The fight over NTV is certainly far from over, but the battle that the Kremlin and its allies appear to have won this week means that the backers of a free media in Russia face an uphill struggle in the future. 05-04-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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