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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 131, 01-07-13
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 5, No. 131, 13 July 2001
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] PROPOSED ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES UNVEILED
[02] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ACCUSES OSCE OF BETRAYING ITS PRINCIPLES...
[03] ...MEETS WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS
[04] MAVERICK GEORGIAN PRIEST AGAIN ASSAULTS JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
[05] GEORGIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ABKHAZ KILLINGS
[06] KAZAKHSTAN AGAIN SUMMONS EX-PREMIER FOR QUESTIONING
[07] KYRGYZSTAN'S DEBT TO RUSSIA RESCHEDULED
[08] TURKMENISTAN DEMANDS REPAYMENT OF AZERBAIJAN'S DEBTS
[09] U.S. EXPRESSES CONCERN AT DEATH OF UZBEK HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[10] QUICK SOLUTION IN MACEDONIA?
[11] SERBIAN TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY ANGERS NATIONALISTS
[12] DID MILOSEVIC SEEK BOSNIAN SERB'S ARREST?
[13] NEW YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT NEXT WEEK?
[14] SERBIAN ROYALS' PROPERTY RETURNED
[15] CROATIAN ATHLETES PROTEST GOVERNMENT'S COOPERATION WITH HAGUE
[16] BOSNIAN SERBS MOURN VICTIMS OF MUSLIMS
[17] ROMANIA 'WORRIED' ABOUT UKRAINIAN BLACK SEA DRILL
[18] CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION PROPOSAL RESUSCITATES OLD DEBATE IN ROMANIA...
[19] ...AND ROMANIAN NGOS SAYS BASIC DOCUMENT DISCRIMINATES AMONG CITIZENS
[20] MOLDOVA, UKRAINE, APPROVE ACCORD ON SWAPPING TERRITORIES
[21] BULGARIAN PARTIES REACT TO SIMEON'S DESIGNATION AS PREMIER
[C] END NOTE
[22] There is no End Note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] PROPOSED ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES UNVEILED
Constitutional Court Judge Gagik Harutiunian on 12 July briefed journalists
on the changes to Armenia's 1995 Constitution, which he said have been
approved by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, RFE/RL's Yerevan
bureau reported. Under those amendments, which were drafted by a
presidential commission, the head of state would need the parliament's
consent for appointing the prime minister and government ministers and
would no longer be able to veto all cabinet decisions. The president would
also be stripped of his right to dismiss the overwhelming majority of the
country's judges. The package of amendments also seeks to boost legal
safeguards against human rights abuses and envisages the abolition of the
death penalty and a clause prohibiting dual citizenship. The amendments are
to be sent to the National Assembly for consideration later this month and
if approved will be the subject of a nationwide referendum that President
Robert Kocharian hopes to call for next spring. LF
[02] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ACCUSES OSCE OF BETRAYING ITS PRINCIPLES...
Meeting on 12 July in Baku with Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama,
Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev argued that the OSCE, of which Portugal
will assume the rotating chairmanship in 2002, should acknowledge that it
is betraying its professed commitment to protect the territorial integrity
of member states by refusing to condemn Armenia's violations of that
principle, Turan reported. "Impunity creates a bad precedent," ITAR-TASS
quoted Aliev as saying. LF
[03] ...MEETS WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS
President Aliev also met in Baku on 12 July with the OSCE Minsk Group co-
chairmen to discuss the continuing search for a solution to the Karabakh
conflict. Reuters quoted Russian co-chairman Nikolai Gribkov as saying that
Aliev has affirmed his commitment to a peaceful solution. "It is some
irresponsible politicians and reporters who have held the peace process
hostage [by calling for renewed hostilities]," he added. According to ITAR-
TASS, Aliev said that "Azerbaijan is ready to make certain compromises to
ensure peace, although this runs counter the norms of international law,"
emphasizing at the same time that the concessions Armenia is required to
make should be commensurate with those by Azerbaijan. Reuters suggested
that Azerbaijan has demanded the return of the Karabakh town of Shusha, to
which Armenia is unlikely to agree. The Armenian daily "Zhamanak"
speculated on 12 July that Azerbaijan had done so in order to sabotage the
ongoing talks. LF
[04] MAVERICK GEORGIAN PRIEST AGAIN ASSAULTS JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Defrocked Georgian priest Vasili Mkalavishvili and his followers have
launched separate attacks on prayer meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses in a
village near Gori on 9 July and an apartment in Tbilisi on 11 July,
Caucasus Press reported on 12 July. Several people were hospitalized with
serious injuries after the latter incident. Mkalavishvili has led a witch-
hunt against Jehovah's Witnesses since 1999. Meanwhile over 130,000 people
have signed a petition drafted by the Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia
calling on the country's leadership to take steps to end religiously
motivated violence. LF
[05] GEORGIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ABKHAZ KILLINGS
An unnamed senior Georgian intelligence service official on 12 July
rejected as "absurd" Abkhaz claims that that agency was behind the murder
earlier this week -- allegedly by Georgian guerrillas -- of four Abkhaz
villagers, Caucasus Press reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 July 2001).
He attributed the murders to a rivalry between criminal groups. Tamaz
Nadareishvili, the chairman of the Abkhaz parliament in exile, similarly
denied any Georgian involvement in either the killings of the abduction of
six Abkhaz, according to Caucasus Press on 13 July. LF
[06] KAZAKHSTAN AGAIN SUMMONS EX-PREMIER FOR QUESTIONING
The investigation into the criminal case against former Prime Minister
Akezhan Kazhegeldin has been completed, and a summons to him to return to
Kazakhstan to face charges of bribery, abuse of power, tax evasion, and
illegal possession of weapons has been published in the country's media,
Kazakhstan's Deputy Interior Minister Belsultan Sarkesov told journalists
in Astana on 12 July, Interfax and RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported.
Sarkesov said that move was necessary as Kazhegeldin has left Kazakhstan
and "his present whereabouts are unknown." He added that recent amendments
to the criminal code make it possible for Kazhegeldin to be tried and
sentenced in absentia. LF
[07] KYRGYZSTAN'S DEBT TO RUSSIA RESCHEDULED
First Deputy Finance Minister Emirlan Toromyrzaev told journalists in
Bishkek on 12 July that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Chernukhin
signed an agreement in Moscow on 6 July postponing until April 2003 the
beginning of repayments of some $60 million of its total $168 million debt
to Russia. Of that amount, $105 million was due this year. LF
[08] TURKMENISTAN DEMANDS REPAYMENT OF AZERBAIJAN'S DEBTS
Turkmenistan has demanded the swift repayment of Azerbaijan's $59 million
debt for natural gas supplies, Interfax and the independent Azerbaijani
newspaper "525-gazeti" reported on 12 July, quoting an unidentified
Azerbaijani government source. The Turkmen government has threatened going
to arbitration if Baku fails to discharge that debt. LF
[09] U.S. EXPRESSES CONCERN AT DEATH OF UZBEK HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on 12 July that the
U.S. government is deeply concerned by the death in custody of detained
Uzbek human rights activist Shovriq Ruzimorodov, AP reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 9 July 2001). Referring to claims that Ruzimorodov was subjected
to torture in detention, Boucher noted that torture of detained persons
constitutes a violation of both Uzbekistan's Constitution and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[10] QUICK SOLUTION IN MACEDONIA?
EU envoy Francois Leotard and his U.S. counterpart James Pardew said in a
joint statement in Skopje on 12 July that "all the documents are now on the
table. It is up to the leaders [of Macedonia's main political parties] now
to engage in intensive negotiations to reach a political settlement. If the
leaders are willing...a political solution is possible in the next few days,
" dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 13 July 2001). Leotard told
journalists that the talks have been "extremely productive." An unnamed
Western diplomat added that "the positions have narrowed," but that neither
side will get everything it wants, Reuters reported. Another unnamed
Western diplomat was less optimistic. He said that "the talks are
essentially stuck right now because of [mutual] distrust on key issues."
Those matters include language rights, representation in the police and
other institutions, and a veto right for the Albanians over political
issues directly affecting them. The news agency added that Albanian leader
Arben Xhaferi has proven to be a tough and "formidable negotiator." PM
[11] SERBIAN TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY ANGERS NATIONALISTS
State-run Serbian Television (RTS) broadcast a BBC Television documentary
on Srebrenica on 11 July. RTS General Director Aleksandar Crkvenjakov told
RFE/RL's South Slavic Service the next day that the station received
"hundreds" of phone calls in which the callers swore and objected to the
broadcast. He added that there were also some favorable messages from
viewers. In the Serbian parliament, legislators from Vojislav Seselj's
Radical Party and some other nationalist groupings accused the governing
Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition of attempting to assign
"collective guilt" for the massacre to all Serbs, which, the Radicals said,
was the message of the BBC program. Speaking for DOS, Cedomir Jovanovic
said that the new government wants to break with the past and not conceal
unpleasant facts from the public (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 12 July
2001 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 17 October 2000 and 5 January 2001). PM
[12] DID MILOSEVIC SEEK BOSNIAN SERB'S ARREST?
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Momcilo Perisic, a former head of the army's
General Staff, said in Leskovac on 12 July that former President Slobodan
Milosevic asked him in 1996 to arrest Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
and deliver him to The Hague-based war crimes tribunal, Reuters reported.
Perisic said that Milosevic wanted to please the Western powers and obtain
the lifting of sanctions. Perisic said that he refused. If his account is
correct, it is not clear why Milosevic, who held absolute power over the
paramilitary police, was unable to find anyone else to do his bidding. PM
[13] NEW YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT NEXT WEEK?
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said in Belgrade on 12 July that the
DOS and the Montenegrin Socialist People's Party (SNP) have reached an
agreement on dividing the seats between them in the new Yugoslav government,
RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He added that the government's main
tasks will be to prepare a new federal constitution, which he "expects"
will be approved by the Serbian and Montenegrin parliaments. Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Djindjic said that a new government could be in place as
early as the week of 16 July. PM
[14] SERBIAN ROYALS' PROPERTY RETURNED
The Yugoslav government on 12 July "placed at the disposition" of the
Karadjordjevic family the White Palace and Old Palace in Belgrade, RFE/RL's
South Slavic Service reported. Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, the heir
to the Serbian and Yugoslav throne, said that he plans to move into the
former royal residences within a few days, adding that he has no political
ambitions. The British-born and educated prince has previously said that he
is "at the disposition of the Serbian people" if they want him as king. PM
[15] CROATIAN ATHLETES PROTEST GOVERNMENT'S COOPERATION WITH HAGUE
Eleven of Croatia's best-known sportsmen sent a joint letter to the
government on 12 July, saying that they are "grieved" that the authorities
plan to send two indicted generals to The Hague to face war crimes charges,
Hina reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 and 10 July 2001). The athletes
said: "Croatia was a victim [in the 1991-1995 conflict], and its generals
were heroes. We were shocked to learn that the government has decided to
hand over two generals to The Hague." Among the signatories is Wimbledon
victor Goran Ivanisevic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 July 2001). PM
[16] BOSNIAN SERBS MOURN VICTIMS OF MUSLIMS
One day after Muslims marked the sixth anniversary of the Srebrenica
massacre, some 2,000 Serbs met near Bratunac to honor 60 Serbs killed by
Muslim forces during the 1992-1995 conflict, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 and 12 July 2001). Those present at the
ceremony included Republika Srpska President Mirko Sarovic and Zivko
Radisic, the Serbian representative on the joint presidency. PM
[17] ROMANIA 'WORRIED' ABOUT UKRAINIAN BLACK SEA DRILL
The Foreign Ministry has issued the Ukrainian Embassy in Bucharest a
"verbal note" expressing its "concern" about the Ukrainian announcement
that a Ukrainian-British company has discovered "commercial oil and
reserves" in the Black Sea and that drilling will soon begin, Mediafax
reported. The ministry draws to the attention of Kyiv that the reserves are
in the vicinity of Serpents Island, and that the negotiations on
demarcating the continental shelf in that zone are still underway, in line
with the provisions of the 1997 basic treaty between the two countries. The
ministry says Ukraine has no right to grant licenses for drilling in the
zone as long as the negotiations have not been concluded. Eight meetings
between the sides have so far taken place to negotiate the issue and a
ninth encounter is scheduled to take place in Kyiv this month (see RFE/RL
Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 10 July 2001). MS
[18] CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION PROPOSAL RESUSCITATES OLD DEBATE IN ROMANIA...
Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) Senator Karoly Szabo on
12 July said the UDMR will propose in the ongoing debate on amending the
constitution to replace its first article, which defines Romania as "a
national and unitary state," with one defining it as a "civic state." The
UDMR also said Romania should have "more than one official language,"
RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The UDMR has opposed Article 1 ever
since it was first debated by the Constituent Assembly in 1991, but has
been overruled on the matter. President Ion Iliescu said in reaction that
Article 148 in the constitution stipulates that neither the national and
unitary state definition nor the country's republican form of government
can be changed. Spokesmen for the National Liberal Party, the Democratic
Party, and the Greater Romania Party also said they are opposed to the UDMR
proposal. MS
[19] ...AND ROMANIAN NGOS SAYS BASIC DOCUMENT DISCRIMINATES AMONG CITIZENS
The Romanian Association of Former Political Refugees (AFRPR) and the
Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Romania-Helsinki Committee
(APADOR-CH) on 12 July told journalists that Romanians citizens who are
also nationals of another country are subject to discrimination, RFE/RL's
Bucharest bureau reported. The protest follows a 3 July ruling of the
Constitutional Court, which rejected the appeal of AFRPR Secretary Adrian
Niculescu against the Defense Ministry's decision to dismiss him. Niculescu
was counselor to former Defense Minister Victor Babiuc, but his contract
was terminated in 2000 on the grounds that he also holds French
citizenship. The AFRPR and APADOR-CH say that the constitution's Article 16,
which prohibits foreign nationals from holding public office, is
discriminatory when applied to holders of dual citizenship, and that the
constitution also stipulates that international legislation on human rights
prevails over internal legislation (Article 20). MS
[20] MOLDOVA, UKRAINE, APPROVE ACCORD ON SWAPPING TERRITORIES
The parliaments of Moldova and Ukraine on 12 July approved the agreement
whereby Ukraine will gain sovereignty over a stretch of the Izmail-Odessa
highway previously on Moldovan territory in exchange for Moldova's gaining
access to a 430-meter stretch of land along the banks of the Danube River
near the village of Giurgiulesti, where it intends to build an oil terminal,
dpa reported. The villagers of Palanca, whose pastures will be now
transferred to Ukraine, demonstrated in Chisinau against the agreement. The
accord stipulates that the villagers will be allowed access to the pastures
without using passports. The opposition Popular Party Christian Democratic
accused the ruling Party of Moldovan Communists of "selling off national
wealth" and "harming national interests." MS
[21] BULGARIAN PARTIES REACT TO SIMEON'S DESIGNATION AS PREMIER
Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) Chairwoman Ekaterina Mihailova on 12 July
said the designation of former King Simeon II as his party's nominee for
premier is "normal political logic...since he is the leader of the
formation that has won the elections and received so much confidence from
Bulgarian voters," BTA reported. Coalition for Bulgaria leader Georgi
Parvanov also called the nomination "normal" and said the majority should
"from now on seek a faster formation of the cabinet." Parvanov, who is also
leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, said the new cabinet "should be a
broadly based coalition, rather than an axis, least of all an axis between
the National Movement Simeon II and the SDS." Kemal Eyrup, a deputy
representing the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, said Simeon's decision
to accept the premiership is "revolutionary" and proved that "what he has
been telling Bulgarian voters is not empty talk." MS
[C] END NOTE
[22] There is no End Note today.
13-07-01
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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