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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 143, 01-07-31Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 143, 31 July 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] LEADER CLAIMS ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT GUNMEN RETURNED FIRETestifying on 30 July in his ongoing trial, Nairi Hunanian, the leader of the five gunmen who murdered eight senior officials in the Armenian parliament in October 1999, claimed that he and his associates opened fire in response to shots fired from the rear of the parliament chamber and from the corridor behind the presidium, Noyan Tapan reported. Hunanian has repeatedly denied that the killings were premeditated, insisting that the gunmen opened fire in self-defense (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 May and 26 July 2001). LF[02] IRAN AGAIN VIOLATES AZERBAIJANI AIRSPACEIranian military aircraft on 29 July again overflew the disputed Araz-Alov- Sharg Caspian oil field where two survey ships leased by BP had conducted geological surveys until forced by an Iranian gunboat on 23 July to leave the area, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported on 30 July, quoting independent ANS-TV. The Iranian Embassy in Baku and the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry refused to comment on that report, while an Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman said he could not confirm it. LF[03] NEW SCANDAL REPORTED WITHIN AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTRYDeputy Defense Minister Gorkhmaz Garaev and the head of the armed forces' uniform supply service have been dismissed from their posts, Turan reported on 30 July. They are suspected of having sold on the black market a consignment of quality military boots donated by the Turkish government and intended for frontline troops. The dismissals are only the most recent in a series of scandals within the Defense Ministry (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report, " Vol. 2, No. 34, 26 August 1999). LF[04] AZERBAIJAN, TURKMENISTAN FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT ON GAS DEBTSAn Azerbaijani government delegation headed by Deputy Premier Abbas Abbasov returned on 29 July from talks in Ashgabat without having reached agreement with the Turkmen government on the most basic questions related to Azerbaijan's debts, Turan and Russian agencies reported. According to Baku, Azerbaijan's state debt for gas supplies in 1993-1994 amounts to $18.7 million, and Azerbaijani firms owe a further $8 million. Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Kurbannazar Nazarov for his part estimated the total debt at $59.6 million. Turkmen Central Bank Chairman Seyitbay Gandimov accused the Azerbaijani delegation of seeking not to reach a compromise but to delay repayment of the debt. President Saparmurat Niyazov refused to receive Abbasov, who admitted on his return to Baku that the talks were "complicated." LF[05] ARE AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA AT ODDS OVER PLANNED GAS TRANSIT AGREEMENT?Turan and Interfax on 30 July both quoted Western diplomatic sources in Baku as suggesting that the real reason for the last-minute postponement of Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's planned visit to Baku on 27 July was not the murder the previous day of Georgian journalist Giorgi Sanaya but failure to finalize the agreement Shevardnadze and his Azerbaijani counterpart Heidar Aliev were due to sign on the export via Georgia of natural gas from Azerbaijan's Shah-Deniz Caspian field. The two sides have reportedly not yet agreed on transport tariffs. LF[06] THOUSANDS MOURN MURDERED GEORGIAN JOURNALISTBetween 1,000 and 3,000 people lined Tbilisi's main thoroughfare on 30 July to mourn murdered TV journalist Sanaya, Caucasus Press and Western agencies reported. In his customary Monday radio address, President Shevardnadze suggested on 30 July that the killing may have been a deliberate attempt to destabilize the political situation in Georgia. Parliament speaker Zurab Zhvania similarly predicted on 31 July that the political situation in Georgia will deteriorate if the murder is not swiftly solved. But Deputy Interior Minister Zurab Chkhaidze said on 30 July that the circumstances of Sanaya's death suggest the murder was not politically motivated. He said the killer's identity will be known within a few days. LF[07] GEORGIAN GUERILLAS THREATEN TO BURN DOWN SCHOOLS IN ABKHAZIAThe "White Legion" Georgian guerrilla force that systematically targets Abkhaz police officers and civilians, has distributed leaflets in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion warning that it will burn down schools in the district unless the teaching of the Georgian language and history is introduced at the beginning of the new academic year in September, Caucasus Press reported on 30 July, quoting the Tbilisi daily "Akhali taoba." LF[08] KYRGYZ COURT THROWS OUT SUITS AGAINST JUSTICE MINISTRYThe Bishkek City Arbitration Court refused on 30 July to consider two suits brought against the Justice Ministry by the editor of the newspaper "My Capital City" and the founder of the newspapers "Agym," "Techenie," and "Joltiken," RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The ministry registered the newspapers in question in May-June, but subsequently ruled that those registrations were not valid and annulled them (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22, 25, 26 and 27 June 2001). LF[09] MORE NGOS SIGN APPEAL TO KYRGYZ PRESIDENTA further 12 NGOs have appended their signatures to the 27 July appeal to President Askar Akaev expressing concern at new restrictions on the activities of all public organizations, including media outlets, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 July 2001). LF[10] TAJIK INTERIOR MINISTRY CONTINUES PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN AGAINST FUGITIVE FIELD COMMANDERTajik Interior Ministry troops captured 14 more supporters of fugitive field commander Rakhmon Sanginov northeast of Dushanbe on 28-30 July, Interfax reported on 30 July. Interior and army troops have been seeking to neutralize Sanginov's men since they took several hostages last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 June and 9, 16 and 23 July 2001), and to date have killed more than 50 of them and arrested a further 90. Interfax quoted unidentified "independent experts" as saying that other members of the former United Tajik Opposition do not support Sanginov. "Vremya MN" on 28 July quoted Kyrgyz intelligence sources as saying that the remnants of Sanginov's band are trying to make their way to the Kyrgyz border to join forces with detachments of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. LF[11] EU TO PROVIDE TAJIKISTAN WITH HUMANITARIAN AIDThe EU on 30 July announced a 10 million euro (approximately $9 million) humanitarian aid program for Tajikistan intended to alleviate the impact on the rural population of this year's severe drought, AP and dpa reported. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] U.S. DEMANDS MACEDONIAN ALBANIAN REBELS OBSERVE AGREEMENTState Department spokesman Charles Hunter said in Washington on 30 July that the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (UCK) are not keeping their pledge to observe a cease-fire and withdraw from the Tetovo area, dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 and 30 July 2001). He said: "We strongly condemn a pattern of deliberate cease-fire violations by ethnic Albanian armed groups in Macedonia... We expect the ethnic Albanian armed groups to come into full compliance with the terms of the cease-fire agreement. We call on all sides to respect the agreement they signed and to exercise restraint." PM[13] KFOR, ALBANIA CONTINUE CRACKDOWN ON SUPPLIES TO UCKA KFOR spokesman told a press conference in Prishtina on 30 July that peacekeepers have had a considerable record of success in recent weeks in preventing men and supplies from reaching Macedonia from Kosova, dpa reported. He said that 193 suspected guerrillas have been detained and more than 570 rifles, 190 rockets, 1,000 antitank weapons, 1,350 grenades, and 70,000 rounds of ammunition confiscated. On 31 July, a KFOR spokesman said that peacekeepers arrested three men in Prizren for extorting money to support the UCK, Reuters reported. Meanwhile in Tirana, Albanian police officials said on 30 July that they seized a van carrying four surface-to- air missiles that arrived in Durres from Italy. The van's driver was a Macedonian Albanian (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16, 25, and 27 July 2001). PM[14] JANE'S: U.S. ROLE REMAINS DECISIVE IN BALKANSBritain's "Jane's Intelligence Review" published an article in its 31 July issue, in which it stressed that "the vital ingredient to any Balkans peace plan is the symbolic and practical involvement of the U.S." Author Zoran Kusovac notes that this is the central "lesson learned in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo." He adds that "a substantial international presence in post- agreement Macedonia is unavoidable." PM[15] MACEDONIAN TALKS CONTINUEThe political negotiations hosted by President Boris Trajkovski in Ohrid continued inconclusively on 30 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 and 30 July 2001). They are slated to resume on 31 July. PM[16] MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT CHARGES UCK LEADERS WITH WAR CRIMESThe state Prosecutor's Office in Skopje filed charges on 30 July against UCK leader Ali Ahmeti and 10 of his associates, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 July 2001). Charges include: "threatening the territorial integrity of the state," "terrorism and sabotage," and genocide. Observers note that the issuing of such charges may complicate peace talks, in which the ethnic Albanian parties have called for an amnesty for fighters who lay down their arms. PM[17] ALBANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BELGRADEPaskal Milo met with Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic in Belgrade on 30 July, the first visit by an Albanian foreign minister to the Serbian capital in many years, AP reported. The two expressed concern over the situation in Macedonia and condemned the use of violence there. Milo also met with Yugoslav Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic, with whom he discussed bilateral cooperation and regional integration. PM[18] ALBANIAN OPPOSITION PLEDGES LEGISLATIVE BOYCOTTFormer President Sali Berisha, who heads the Democratic Party (PD) and the Our Union for Victory coalition, said in Tirana on 30 July that he does not recognize the Socialists' victory in the recent parliamentary elections (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 20 July 2001). He added that members of his coalition will boycott the parliament. Most foreign observers considered the elections to have been free and fair, with only limited irregularities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 2001). Representatives of the international community have frequently criticized Berisha in the past for his obstructionist tactics. PM[19] CROATIAN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES VETERANS' PROGRAMThe government put forward its program to help veterans of the 1991-1995 war find jobs and job training, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 30 July. Ivica Pancic, the minister for veterans affairs, noted that veterans make up some 10 percent of the unemployed. The government is anxious to improve the social and economic situation of many veterans lest they make common cause with far-right veterans groups, who oppose the government on political grounds. PM[20] ROMANIA CLOSES EIGHTH NEGOTIATION CHAPTER WITH EURomania has closed a new negotiation chapter, on consumer and health protection, its eighth since the beginning of the negotiations for accession to the EU, and its first during the Belgian presidency of the union, Romanian media reported on 30 July. The announcement was made in Brussels by Romania's chief EU negotiator, Vasile Puscas. According to the position paper, Romania did not request any transition period or derogation, only a technical arrangement intended to allow it to apply until 1 January 2010 a threshold of a smaller value than the one provided in EC legislation concerning the liability for defective products. Romania continues to lag behind all other applicants regarding the number of chapters closed thus far. However, the Romanian government wants to open all chapters by the end of 2002, and to finalize the negotiations by the end of 2004. LB[21] OSCE CHAIRMAN MEETS SEEC CHAIRMAN IN BUCHARESTOn 30 July in Bucharest, Romanian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman Mircea Geoana met Albanian Foreign Minister and SEEC Chairman Paskal Milo, Romanian media reported. Their discussion focused on the need to find a quick and peaceful political solution to the conflict in Macedonia. Geoana indicated that Romania, both in its capacity of OSCE chair and as a country in the region, hopes that the two parties solve through negotiations problems related to designating Albanian as an official language and to having the Albanian minority better represented in the Macedonian police. In turn, Milo announced that he hopes that the Macedonian authorities and the Albanian guerrillas can reach a compromise that will end the conflict. Milo stated that the government in Tirana will pursue all necessary efforts to influence the Albanian parties to this end, so that Macedonia will again be a stable country in the region. LB[22] MOSCOW MAYOR VISITS MOLDOVA TO RESUME ECONOMIC TIES"The aim of my visit...is not political, it only wishes to lead to resuming economic ties, especially cooperation of industrial companies," Romanian media quoted Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov as saying on 30 July. Representatives of the two municipalities signed three cooperation agreements -- economic, cultural, and medical -- as well as their implementation protocol. As soon as next week a Moscow team of experts will arrive in Chisinau to evaluate several industrial companies. Luzhkov repeatedly emphasized that "Moldova would miss each and every development opportunity in the future if it rejects the Russian language." LB[23] BALKANS STABILITY PACT COORDINATOR IN BULGARIABodo Hombach, the special coordinator for the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, met with Bulgarian officials in Sofia on 30 July, BTA reported. Hombach will hold meetings during his two-day visit with President Petar Stoyanov, Premier Simeon Saxecoburggotski, and various cabinet members, including Economy Minister Nikolai Vassilev. After meeting with Finance Minister Milen Velchev, Hombach praised the new government and said that after its initial steps "it is looked on favorably by Western governments." Hombach said the inclusion of experts in the Cabinet of Ministers is a "good sign" and said those members' "above-party attitude" will allow the government to work well. Hombach said he hopes that funds from the Stability Pact can help Bulgaria join European organizations and achieve "fast economic growth." PB[C] END NOTE[24] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES LEAVE FLAWS IN DESIGNBy Emil DanielyanThe Armenian government is to debate this autumn a package of constitutional amendments proposed by President Robert Kocharian. The amendments would reduce sweeping presidential powers but still preserve the inherent flaw in the basic law. The country would continue to have two chief executives, one of whom, the president, would remain more powerful but less responsible for the state of affairs. The so-called French constitutional model has had an adverse impact on the democratic process in Armenia and most other former Soviet republics that adopted it 10 years ago. The current Armenian Constitution, based on a distorted version of that model, was enacted after a controversial referendum in 1995. Apart from the perceived illegitimacy stemming from fraud allegations that marred the vote, it has long been branded as undemocratic by most political parties. The forced resignation in February 1998 of President Levon Ter-Petrossian, whose mindset and ambitions it perfectly suited, revealed a broad consensus on the need to put in place a more effective mechanism of checks and balances. Constitutional reform became one of the key pledges of the new President Kocharian, who formed a special multiparty commission shortly after taking office. It was revamped a year later when all politicians were replaced by lawyers holding senior government posts. The long list of draft amendments, unveiled to leaders of the parliamentary parties on July 19, is the result of its two years of work. Kocharian has said all along that while being ready to give up some of his powers, he is against changing the existing system of government. He argues that Armenia needs a powerful head of state to successfully complete its decade-long transition to democracy and the free market. The proposed constitutional package is in line with his beliefs. It does envisage some significant curbs on presidential authority. The president would need the parliament's consent to appoint a prime minister; would no longer have to approve or veto government decisions; and would be allowed to dissolve the parliament only in six specific cases. He must name as prime minister a person suggested by the parliament speaker if his candidates for the job are twice rejected by the National Assembly. The amendments also restrict the president's ability to appoint all judges, except five out of nine members of the Constitutional Court, at will. More importantly, he would lose his right to dismiss those judges, which would become the prerogative of the court. In addition, the constitution would have a new provision listing 37 specific areas to be regulated by laws passed by the parliament. Lawyers from the so-called Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which monitors how Armenia is amending its legislation to bring it into compliance with the council's requirements, have welcomed the proposed changes, concluding in a report that they "ensure the separation of the authorities." Nevertheless, the changes are not as far-reaching as many politicians would like them to be. Some of them leave room for differing interpretations. For example, they stipulate that the president shall name a prime minister "after obtaining the National Assembly's approval." But it is not clarified what concrete form such approval should take. The Venice Commission said it "understands" that the head of state could sack the prime minister only in the event of the latter's resignation or a vote of no confidence from the parliament. But the draft amendments spell out no such limitations. Furthermore, the parliament will be subject to automatic dissolution if it votes no confidence in the executive. The president would even gain some new powers. He would be allowed to dismiss the ministers of defense and foreign affairs without the prime minister's agreement. His authority to appoint the top brass of the armed forces and Interior Ministry troops as well as that to declare martial law and the state of emergency is to be further reinforced. The Venice Commission expressed its reservations regarding the president's right to issue decrees and other executive orders. According to the constitution, these substantial powers are meant to "ensure the normal functioning of the legislative, executive, and judicial authorities." The president is, in a sense, placed above the three branches. The government's executive power would remain limited under the proposed changes. Lacking control of all power levers, the cabinet would still be primarily responsible for what is by far the most difficult policy area -- the economy and social affairs. The amended constitution would allow Kocharian to blame economic failures on ministers, while keeping most of his power reins. The Armenian leader has reason to expect that the increasingly loyal parliament will approve his constitutional package so that he can put it on a referendum, presumably next spring. The referendum will be an important test of his popularity and influence. Some of the amendments in other, less contentious chapters of the Armenian Constitution are quite significant though. They envisage introducing the abolition of the death penalty; more safeguards against human rights abuses; a separate clause on press freedom; the right of noncitizens to vote in local elections; the lifting of the ban on dual citizenship; and the right of foreigners to own land in Armenia. The Venice Commission believes that these changes would "significantly strengthen constitutional guarantees for human rights protections." 31-07-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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