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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 0, No. 0, 01-07-12
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 0, No. 0, 12 July 2001
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] DONORS PLEDGE $620 MILLION IN AID FOR ARMENIA
[02] MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN HOLD TALKS IN KARABAKH...
[03] ...EXPRESS CONCERN AT CALLS FOR NEW HOSTILITIES
[04] GEORGIAN GUERRILLAS MURDER FOUR ABKHAZ, TAKE SIX MORE HOSTAGE
[05] GEORGIAN RULING PARTY, OPPOSITION FAIL TO REACH CONSENSUS ON LOCAL
ELECTIONS
[06] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT URGES MORE DOMESTIC INVESTMENT IN OIL SECTOR...
[07] ...COMMENTS ON CAPITAL AMNESTY
[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S ECONOMY BOOMING
[09] ISRAELI MINISTER VISITS KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN
[10] KYRGYZSTAN, BELARUS SEEK TO EXPAND RELATIONS
[11] TAJIK-RUSSIAN ECONOMIC COMMISSION MEETS
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[12] MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT ASKS OSCE FOR MORE OBSERVERS
[13] MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS PUT FORWARD COUNTERPROPOSAL...
[14] ...WHILE MEDIATORS TRY TO OVERCOME THE DEADLOCK
[15] GREEK-MACEDONIAN BORDER BLOCKED BY MAKPETROL TANKER TRUCKS
[16] BOSNIAN MASSACRE COMMEMORATION PASSES PEACEFULLY
[17] BOSNIAN MUSLIM GIRL SHOT DEAD
[18] SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE FOR PREVLAKA
[19] BUDISA RESIGNS AS HEAD OF CROATIAN PARTY
[20] SPLIT IN SERBIAN COALITION OVER YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT MAKEUP
[21] KOSTUNICA: BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAV FEDERATION MEANS NEW ELECTIONS
[22] SERBIAN MILITARY BASE IN PRESEVO
[23] MONTENEGRIN OPPOSITION AGREES TO TALKS
[24] ROMANIAN PREMIER WELCOMES EU PARLIAMENT'S AMENDMENT ON STATUS LAW
[25] ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY SANCTIONS DISSIDENTS
[26] ILASCU INTERVIEWED ON RFE/RL
[27] FORMER BULGARIAN KING TO BE PREMIER
[28] BULGARIA READY TO CURB ROMANY EXODUS TO NORWAY
[C] END NOTE
[29] There is no End Note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] DONORS PLEDGE $620 MILLION IN AID FOR ARMENIA
A two-day conference in Paris of donor states and organizations approved a
new three-year, $620 million loan and assistance package to support
economic reform in Armenia, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported on 1 July.
Most of the funds will be provided by the U.S. government, the IMF, and the
World Bank. The aid is linked to the successful implementation of a three-
year Armenian government program aimed at reducing poverty. Prime Minister
Andranik Markarian told the conference on 10 July that his cabinet will
seek to raise living standards primarily through higher rates of economic
growth. He also repeated earlier pledges to crack down on endemic
corruption. LF
[02] MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN HOLD TALKS IN KARABAKH...
The French and U.S. co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group and Russian First
Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov held talks in Stepanakert on
10 July with Arkadii Ghukasian, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-
Karabakh Republic (NKR), ITAR-TASS and Mediamax reported. Ghukasian
expressed confidence that talks on resolving the Karabakh conflict will
continue despite "changes in the dynamics of the negotiating process."
Trubnikov stressed that any solution to the conflict must be acceptable to
all parties, in the first instance to the population of the unrecognized
republic. "We would not like the people here to get the impression that the
mediators are trying to impose solutions," he said. The NKR is not
officially represented at the "Three-plus-Two" talks between the three
Minsk Group co-chairs and the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 11
July, the Minsk Group representatives, together with the NKR Foreign and
Defense Ministers, visited the formerly predominantly Azeri-populated town
of Shusha, where they noted that contrary to Azerbaijani claims, the town's
mosque has not been vandalized, according to Snark, as cited by Groong. LF
[03] ...EXPRESS CONCERN AT CALLS FOR NEW HOSTILITIES
Later on 11 July, the Minsk Group mediators crossed in Fizuli Raion, close
to the Azerbaijani border with Iran, the Line of Contact separating the
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. In a
communique released as they crossed the Line of Contact, the mediators
expressed concern at the fragility of the current state of "no peace, no
war," and warned against "irresponsible" and "bellicose" statements and
calls for a resumption of hostilities. They said such statements exacerbate
tensions and increase the risk of new fighting. LF
[04] GEORGIAN GUERRILLAS MURDER FOUR ABKHAZ, TAKE SIX MORE HOSTAGE
A Georgian guerrilla group operating out of the Kodori gorge has murdered
four Abkhaz residents of the village of Azanta in Gulripsh Raion and
abducted six others, Caucasus Press reported on 12 July, quoting an
official from the local Prosecutor's Office. An Abkhaz Defense Ministry
official accused the Georgian intelligence service of instigating the
killings. LF
[05] GEORGIAN RULING PARTY, OPPOSITION FAIL TO REACH CONSENSUS ON LOCAL
ELECTIONS
At a session on 11 July of the parliamentary Committee for Regional Policy
and Local Self-Administration, opposition representatives rejected a
revised draft proposal on the principles of local government presented by
the head of the presidential service for regional policy, Badri Khatidze,
Prime News and Caucasus Press reported. That new draft provided for the
election on the majoritarian principle of local village and town councils,
elections on the proportional principle to raion councils, and the
appointment by the president of regional administrators and the mayors of
major cities from among the members of those councils. The opposition wants
those latter positions to be elective (see "RFE/RL Newsline," Vol. 4, No.
24, 28 June 2001). LF
[06] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT URGES MORE DOMESTIC INVESTMENT IN OIL SECTOR...
Addressing Kazakh businessmen in Astana on 11 July, President Nursultan
Nazarbaev urged them to become "socially active" participants in major
economic projects, including the development of the country's oil resources,
Russian agencies reported. He said that while in the years immediately
following independence in 1991 there was no alternative to inviting foreign
companies to exploit major oil and gas fields, Kazakhstan's business
community has now accumulated the capital required to do so. He noted that
of some 200 blocks on the Caspian Sea shelf, only 18 are being developed by
international consortia. LF
[07] ...COMMENTS ON CAPITAL AMNESTY
Nazarbaev also pledged that anyone who violates the confidentiality
principles under which the current repatriation of shadow capital is
proceeding will be subject to prosecution, Interfax reported. He added that
the importance of the amnesty lies not so much in the sums that it is hoped
will be brought back to Kazakhstan and invested in the local economy, but
in breaking with dubious past practice and starting a new era in which the
business community "will work in an honest and transparent way." LF
[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S ECONOMY BOOMING
Nazarbaev also said at the 11 July meeting that industrial production
increased by 13.6 percent during the first six months of this year compared
with the same period in 2000, Interfax reported. The highest growth (11.6
percent) was in the manufacturing sector. Inflation for the first half of
2001 was 3.7 percent. In Ashgabat last week, Nazarbaev said that GDP growth
during the first six months of this year amounted to 11.2 percent. Annual
GDP growth in 2000 was approximately 10 percent (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16
January 2001). LF
[09] ISRAELI MINISTER VISITS KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN
Israel's Minister for Infrastructure, Avigdor Lieberman, held talks in
Astana on 9 July with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev, and
also met with Kazakh businessmen, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. It was
announced in the course of his visit that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon will visit Kazakhstan in November. Trade turnover between Kazakhstan
and Israel last year amounted to almost $17 million, or more than double
the total for 1999. On 11 July, Lieberman traveled to Bishkek, where he met
with Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev and Foreign Minister Muratbek
Imanaliev to discuss expanding trade and economic cooperation, RFE/RL's
Bishkek bureau reported. LF
[10] KYRGYZSTAN, BELARUS SEEK TO EXPAND RELATIONS
Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akaev met in Bishkek on 10 July with a
visiting Belarusian parliamentary delegation headed by speaker Alyaksandr
Vaytovich to discuss expanding both political and economic cooperation,
Interfax and RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Voitovich expressed
willingness to supply Kyrgyzstan with agricultural machinery and coal-
mining equipment in return for raw materials for Belarus's light industry.
The Belarusian delegation also met with Prime Minister Bakiev and Foreign
Minister Imanaliev and with the speakers of both chambers of Kyrgyzstan's
bicameral legislature. LF
[11] TAJIK-RUSSIAN ECONOMIC COMMISSION MEETS
Speaking in Dushanbe on 11 July, Russian Minister of Industry, Science and
Technology Aleksandr Dondukov said the fifth session of the intergovernmental
Tajik-Russian Economic Cooperation Commission, which ended the previous day,
"surpassed all expectations," according to ITAR-TASS. Dondukov is co-
chairman of that commission. The session focussed on joint ventures in the
military-industrial complex, the creation of joint energy and metallurgical
companies, and the possible joint exploitation of a wolfram deposit north
of Dushanbe. LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[12] MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT ASKS OSCE FOR MORE OBSERVERS
The Macedonian Coordinating Body met on 10 July to discuss the security
situation, the Skopje daily "Vest" reported. Tihomir Ilievski, the
spokesman of this new government institution, said afterward that the
government will ask the OSCE to increase the number of its observers in
Macedonia. The main task of the additional OSCE observers will be to
monitor the cease-fire. Harald Schenker of the OSCE mission in Skopje said
it is not yet clear how many additional observers will be involved. UB
[13] MACEDONIAN ALBANIANS PUT FORWARD COUNTERPROPOSAL...
In response to the international community's draft document containing a
legal framework for the rights of the Albanian minority in Macedonia, the
Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSH) has come forward with a rival text,
Reuters reported on 11 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 and 10 July 2001).
The most controversial point of the new PDSH proposal is the demand for a
broad veto right for the Albanians on almost every government decision.
U.S. envoy James Pardew and PDSH leader Arben Xhaferi had clashed already
at earlier meeting (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 12 July 2001). In an
attempt to explain his request for the veto right, Xhaferi said: "[The
Macedonians] have an aggressive policy within my land, and I have a
defensive policy." For his part, President Boris Trajkovski was "outraged"
by the Albanian proposals, the discussion of which is certain to prolong
the negotiations, dpa reported. UB
[14] ...WHILE MEDIATORS TRY TO OVERCOME THE DEADLOCK
In an effort to overcome the stalemate, the envoys of the international
community are trying to find ways to bring the Albanians around to accept
the proposals in the original document, the Skopje daily "Dnevnik" reported
on 12 July. The paper speculates that Pardew and his European counterpart
Francois Leotard might offer concessions on linguistic or other issues in
return for an Albanian climb-down on political matters. According to the
daily, the Macedonian side especially fears that the international
community might allow the local police to be controlled by Albanian
political parties. UB
[15] GREEK-MACEDONIAN BORDER BLOCKED BY MAKPETROL TANKER TRUCKS
Some 78 tanker trucks of the biggest Macedonian oil retailer, Makpetrol,
blocked the two main border crossings with Greece at Dojran and Bogorodica,
AP reported on 11 July. Makpetrol wants an end to a deal allegedly struck
by the current government with the Greek oil company OKTA. In 1999, OKTA
bought the largest Macedonian oil refinery. In addition, it was granted the
privilege of importing crude oil at the exceptionally low customs duty of
only 1 percent, while other oil importers have to pay 21 percent.
Allegations that Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski personally
profited from the deal have never been put to rest. On 1 June, Macedonia
signed a trade agreement with the European Union that prohibits such
special rights, and Makpetrol now wants a speedy end to OKTA's privilege.
UB
[16] BOSNIAN MASSACRE COMMEMORATION PASSES PEACEFULLY
Some 3,000 Muslims marked the sixth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre
on 11 July at a new memorial just outside the Serb-held town, RFE/RL's
South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 July 2001). Reis-
ul-ulema Mustafa Ceric, who heads Bosnia's Islamic religious community,
said: "We come not to indict, but not to free from guilt, either." He also
suggested that Bosnian Serbs risk being collectively blamed for Europe's
worst massacre since World War II unless those directly responsible are
tried for war crimes. PM
[17] BOSNIAN MUSLIM GIRL SHOT DEAD
Late on 11 July, a 16-year-old Muslim woman was fatally shot through a
window in her village home near Vlasenica in eastern Bosnia, Reuters
reported. Her family recently returned to the village. UN officials are
investigating. This is the second attack on returnees there within two
months, AP reported. A UNHCR official said: "This tragedy could have been
prevented with the appropriate actions of the local authorities after the
first attack." PM
[18] SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE FOR PREVLAKA
The UN Security Council voted unanimously on 11 July to extend the mandate
for UN military observers (UNMOP) in Croatia's Prevlaka region for a
further six months, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. A UN press
release added: "Established in January 1996, UNMOP is currently [composed]
of 27 military observers from 25 countries. In addition to monitoring the
demilitarization of the area, the mission holds regular meetings with local
authorities in order to strengthen liaison, reduce tensions, improve safety
and security, and promote confidence between the parties." The peninsula is
Croatian territory but controls access to Montenegro's Kotor Bay, which is
home to Yugoslavia's only deep-water naval base. PM
[19] BUDISA RESIGNS AS HEAD OF CROATIAN PARTY
Drazen Budisa resigned as head of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS),
which is the second-strongest party in the governing coalition, RFE/RL's
South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 July 2001). He did
not give a reason, but an RFE/RL correspondent said that Budisa is unhappy
with the government's decision to cooperate with The Hague-based tribunal.
It is not clear whether the move is a political ploy by Budisa, who has a
history of making political miscalculations and playing the gadfly. PM
[20] SPLIT IN SERBIAN COALITION OVER YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT MAKEUP
The two most important parties in the governing Democratic Opposition of
Serbia (DOS) coalition have taken conflicting stands regarding the
composition of the next Yugoslav government, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported on 11 July. The Democratic Party of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Djindjic hailed a proposal by outgoing Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister
Miroljub Labus that the post of finance minister go to a Serb on the
grounds that Montenegro, which does not recognize the federal government,
does not give it any money. The Democratic Party of Serbia, which is headed
by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, criticized Labus's proposal,
saying that it is "too strong." Elsewhere, a spokesman for the Socialist
People's Party (SNP), which is the Montenegrin coalition partner of DOS,
said that his party will not be unhappy if Labus is not included in the
next government, "Vesti" reported. PM
[21] KOSTUNICA: BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAV FEDERATION MEANS NEW ELECTIONS
Kostunica told "Politika" on 11 July that the breakup of the federation
will necessitate new elections in Serbia. He added that there will "soon"
be a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council to discuss, among other things,
Prevlaka and the extradition of former President Slobodan Milosevic to The
Hague. He stressed that he wants to hear the thoughts of the military on
these issues in detail. Observers note that Djindjic appears to enjoy the
support of the police, while Kostunica is close to the army leadership (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 10 July 2001). PM
[22] SERBIAN MILITARY BASE IN PRESEVO
Army special units and the police will soon acquire a base between Presevo
and Bujanovac capable of housing 2,000 troops, RFE/RL's South Slavic
Service reported on 11 July. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic
said that the base will be set up "on the standards of Western armies,
modeled on KFOR." PM
[23] MONTENEGRIN OPPOSITION AGREES TO TALKS
The SNP has accepted the invitation of Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic for
talks on the upcoming referendum on independence, RFE/RL's South Slavic
Service reported on 11 July from Podgorica (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 July
2001). PM
[24] ROMANIAN PREMIER WELCOMES EU PARLIAMENT'S AMENDMENT ON STATUS LAW
Adrian Nastase on 11 July welcomed as "reasonable" the European
Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee's amendment to the country report on
Hungary, Mediafax reported (see Hungarian item above). Nastase said that in
post-communist modern Europe, "good neighborly relations must be based on
European principles" and added that "the ethnic line must not be over-
emphasized, as demonstrated by the effects of its exaggeration,
particularly in the Balkans." He said that "formulations based on economic
and social discrimination on an ethnic basis cannot but create nervousness
and discontent." Foreign Ministry spokesman Victor Micula on 12 July
announced that Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, who is due to
hold talks on 13 July with his counterpart Mircea Geoana, will "informally
meet" Nastase as well. Hungarian media reports say Martonyi is arriving in
Romania on 12 July and will also meet with Hungarian Democratic Federation
of Romania Chairman Bela Marko. MS
[25] ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY SANCTIONS DISSIDENTS
The leadership of the troubled National Peasant Party Christian Democratic
(PNTCD) on 11 July "suspended" from party membership the leaderships of
five PNTCD county branches and forbade those leaders to run for PNTCD
office, Mediafax reported. The sanctions will be in force for one year.
Among those suspended is former First Deputy Chairman Vasile Lupu, who is
chairman of the Valcea regional PNTCD branch. That branch, together with
the now-dissolved county leaderships in Iasi, Neamt, Salaj, and one of the
Bucharest sectors, refused to recognize the new PNTCD leadership and called
for an extraordinary PNTCD congress to be convened in August. Interim PNTCD
Chairman Victor Ciorbea said 30 county branches have so far backed the new
leadership and its decision to call the extraordinary congress in December.
Ciorbea told journalists: "Vasile Lupu may convoke whatever congress he
wishes, but not that of the PNTCD." MS
[26] ILASCU INTERVIEWED ON RFE/RL
Romanian Senator Ilie Ilascu on 10 July told RFE/RL that ever since his
liberation from detention in Tiraspol more than two months ago he never
stopped attempting to secure the liberation of the three members of his
group who are still imprisoned. He said Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin
and Intelligence and Security Services chief Valeriu Pasat told him he had
to leave the country in order to secure the liberation of the remaining
prisoners and that he was promised this would happen by 16 May at the
latest. "I did not leave out of free choice," he said. Ilascu also said his
death sentence in Tiraspol remains in effect and that he was warned by the
Transdniester authorities before his release that the verdict will be
carried out if he ever returns there. MS
[27] FORMER BULGARIAN KING TO BE PREMIER
Former King Simeon II on 12 July was officially nominated by his National
Movement Simeon II (NDSV) to be the country's next prime minister, AP and
Reuters reported. The decision to nominate "Simeon Saxe-Coburgotski" was
announced by NDSV parliamentary group leader Plamen Panayotov after a
meeting with President Petar Stoyanov. After the announcement was made,
Simeon said: "With great emotion, but with my typical sense of
responsibility, and taking into consideration the trust voters placed in me
on 17 June, I accept the nomination." A special parliamentary session will
be held on 24 July to approve the government's lineup. MS
[28] BULGARIA READY TO CURB ROMANY EXODUS TO NORWAY
Stoyan Zahariev, an Interior Ministry official, on 11 July told journalists
that "it would be an act of discrimination to ban people from leaving the
country on ethnic grounds" but that Bulgaria is "prepared to take back" the
refugees requesting asylum in Norway "if they are expelled" and is even
ready to "pay for their trip back," Reuters reported. He said that once the
refugees are back in Bulgaria, under current legislation they will not be
allowed to leave the country for one year. Zahariev said a handful of
Bulgarian travel agencies had lured the asylum-seekers, most of whom are
Roma, with false promises of job prospects and easily obtainable Norwegian
work permits. Police will start investigating those travel firms, he said.
Some 650 would-be refugees have arrived in Norway from Bulgaria since June.
MS
[C] END NOTE
[29] There is no End Note today.
12-07-01
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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