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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-01-23
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN DISCUSSES TV-6 SITUATION WITH PARLIAMENTARIANS
[02] COMMUNIST PARTY PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE EARLY STATE DUMA ELECTIONS
[03] RUSSIA INSISTS ON JOINT COORDINATION EFFORTS FOR MIDDLE EAST
[04] ...AND DEFENDS ITS INTERESTS IN IRAN
[05] PUTIN RECEIVES AWARD FROM RUSSIAN PATRIARCH...
[06] ...AS WELL AS HONOR FROM PRO-KREMLIN JOURNALIST GROUP
[07] RUSSIAN AIR FORCE GETS NEW COMMANDER
[08] GOVERNMENT PROPOSES REGULATIONS ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG MARKET
[09] RUSSIA PLANS TO WITHDRAW FROM BAIKONUR
[10] RAILWAYS MINISTRY CUTS MORE 'GEOPOLITICAL' PROJECTS
[11] PRIME MINISTER MEETS BARONS TO DISCUSS OIL GLUT
[12] RIA-NOVOSTI SHUNNED FOR USING PORN
[13] ONCE-CELEBRATED CRIMINAL CASE ENDS QUIETLY
[14] ADVERTISING MARKET SURGED IN 2001...
[15] ...BUT HAS YET TO FULLY RECOVER FROM 1998 CRISIS
[16] RUSSIA IS READY TO HELP IN KOZLODUY CLOSURE
[17] CHECHEN LEADERS, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS RECONSTRUCTION
[18] PRESIDENTIAL AIDE REJECTS MASKHADOV'S DENIAL OF TIES TO AL-QAEDA
[19] MOSCOW PROTESTS ZAKAEV'S MEETINGS IN LONDON
[20] CHECHEN ENVOY OUTLINES PROPOSALS FOR PEACE TALKS
[21] DEPUTY MAYOR SHOT DEAD IN DAGHESTAN
[22] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR FREEZING CONSTITUTIONAL
[23] ARMENIAN NATIONAL AIRLINE SUSPENDS FLIGHTS TO EUROPE
[24] NEW PROTEST IN AZERBAIJAN
[25] COUNCIL OF EUROPE INSISTS AZERBAIJAN MEET ITS COMMITMENTS
[26] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PEACEKEEPING FORCE WITH UN ENVOY...
[27] ...AS RUSSIA WARNS GEORGIA MUST NOT RENEGE ON ABKHAZ
[28] ...AND GEORGIAN GUERRILLAS MINE INTERNAL BORDER
[29] KYRGYZSTAN PAYS OFF GAS DEBTS TO UZBEKISTAN
[30] TAJIK, FRENCH PRESIDENTS DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN
[31] TAJIKISTAN, CHINA HAIL BORDER AGREEMENT
[32] U.S., UZBEKISTAN SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[33] NEW PACE HEAD SEES BELARUS AS 'PROBLEM'...
[34] ...WHILE WIVES OF MISSING FIGURES APPEAL FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE
[35] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT PLEDGES TO HEED SCIENTISTS WHILE REFORMING
[36] U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST UKRAINE OVER CD PIRACY TAKE EFFECT...
[37] ...WHILE KUCHMA DECRIES THEM AS 'PRESSURE'
[38] BLOC LEADER SAYS UKRAINE TO HAVE NEW POLITICAL 'STRUCTURE' AFTER
[39] UKRAINE'S TYMOSHENKO, MEDVEDCHUK TO SPAR ON RFE/RL
[40] SIIM KALLAS APPROVED AS NEW ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER
[41] LATVIA INVITED TO TAKE PART IN ANTITERRORISM OPERATION IN
[42] LITHUANIA AND SLOVAKIA SIGN DEFENSE COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[43] LITHUANIAN LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO BE FOUNDED
[44] POLISH POLICE INVESTIGATES SUSPECTED TRADING IN CORPSES
[45] POLAND'S UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
[46] AUSTRIAN COALITION BREAKING UP OVER STANCE ON CZECH EU ACCESSION?
[47] CZECH PRESIDENT SAYS ELECTIONS SHOULD BE HELD IN MAY
[48] CZECH ODA READY TO MEET FREEDOM UNION-DEMOCRATIC UNION PROPOSAL
[49] CZECH TEENAGERS RECORDED DESECRATION OF JEWISH CEMETERY
[50] SDL THREATENS TO LEAVE SLOVAK COALITION
[51] SLOVAK PRESIDENT BACKS MECIAR ON NEED FOR WALL-TO-WALL PARTY UNITY
[52] FORMER HUNGARIAN PREMIER ASKS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TO KEEP OUT OF
[53] HUNGARIAN KONTROLL GROUP DENIES POLITICAL BIAS
[54] MIEP CANDIDATE SUSPENDED FROM HUNGARIAN CIVIL SERVICE
[55] ALBANIA CLAMPS DOWN ON ALLEGED AL-QAEDA NETWORK...
[56] ...IN THE FIRST INDICATION OF A LINK
[57] U.S. PRISONER FROM BOSNIA IS TOP AL-QAEDA MAN
[58] BOSNIAN SERBS' GENOCIDE TRIAL STARTS IN THE HAGUE
[59] HAGUE INVESTIGATORS QUESTION FORMER TOP SERBIAN OFFICIAL
[60] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT FILES CHARGES AGAINST 47 OLD REGIME OFFICIALS
[61] SPLIT IN SERBIAN COALITION OVER AUTONOMY...
[62] ...PITS KOSTUNICA AGAINST DJINDJIC
[63] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER FOR 'PARALLEL STRUCTURES' IN KOSOVA
[64] SERBIA SEEKING ARMS COOPERATION WITH -- URDMURTIA
[65] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT WANTS SPRING REFERENDUM
[66] EU EYING BIGGER ROLE IN THE BALKANS?
[67] ROMANIAN PREMIER ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT DECISIONS
[68] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TO MEDIATE IN ARMAGEDDON II CONFLICT?
[69] NATO COMMANDER ENDS ROMANIAN VISIT
[70] ROMANIA PROTESTS 'SUSPENSION' OF MOLDOVAN PARTY
[71] ...AS MOLDOVA CLARIFIES EXTENT OF SUSPENSION
[72] FORMER MOLDOVAN PREMIER CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT
[73] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE IN PRESENCE OF FOREIGN GUESTS...
[74] ...AS HE DISAGREES WITH PREMIER ON KOZLODUY
[75] There is no End Note today.
23 January 2002
RUSSIA
[01] PUTIN DISCUSSES TV-6 SITUATION WITH PARLIAMENTARIANS
At a meeting with State Duma parliamentary group leaders on 22 January,
President Vladimir Putin discussed a draft law presented by Union of
Rightist Forces (SPS) head Boris Nemtsov, ntvru.com reported. The
parliamentarians offered to draft a new media law that would forbid
shareholders, including the Kremlin, to hold more than a 25 percent
share in media companies. Nemtsov made several comments in support of
TV-6 journalists and criticized the government, saying the decision to
close the TV-6 channel "is a stupid thing to do and a major mistake,"
Interfax reported the same day. "President Putin is fighting Berezovsky
and the victims are TV viewers and journalists," he added. Nemtsov said
TV-6 could remain a private entity if its team and Russian or foreign
investors decide to take part in the upcoming tender for the station's
broadcasting rights. However, according to Nemtsov, none of the
potential investors should have a controlling stake, Interfax reported.
Meanwhile, SPS deputy Vladimir Semenov's proposal to invite Media
Minister Mikhail Lesin to explain the TV-6 situation to Duma members
has been rejected by the parliamentarians. VC
[02] COMMUNIST PARTY PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE EARLY STATE DUMA ELECTIONS
The Communist Party considers it plausible that elections to the State
Duma will be held at the end of 2002 or in early 2003, Interfax
reported on 22 January, quoting Duma deputy Valentin Kuptsov. Kuptsov,
a former CPSU Central Committee ideology secretary who is currently the
deputy leader of the KPRF, said many Communist deputies insisted at
that party's extraordinary meeting held in Moscow on 19 January that
preparations be made for such a scenario. VC
[03] RUSSIA INSISTS ON JOINT COORDINATION EFFORTS FOR MIDDLE EAST
PEACE...
In a telephone conversation with President Putin on 21 January,
Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat urged Russia to help prevent
the ongoing conflict with Israel from becoming more intense, Interfax
reported. Putin advocated coordinated international efforts to bring
Israel and Palestine back to the negotiating table. The same day,
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a ministry press
release that Palestine should "cut short any action that endangers
Israel's security and the lives of its citizens, and arrest and bring
to justice all those involved in terrorist activity, provocations, and
arms smuggling... Israel, in turn, must give up the policy of
destroying Palestine and undermining the positions of its leadership,
as well as the exclusive use of forceful methods." On 23 January,
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov stressed that Russia, the United States,
the EU, and the UN must stand on a common platform based on the
Mitchell plan as an initial phase in the political dialogue between the
conflicting sides, RIA-Novosti reported. VC
[04] ...AND DEFENDS ITS INTERESTS IN IRAN
During talks in Moscow on 21 January with Ambassador John Wolf, the
U.S. special adviser on the Caspian, on efforts to halt the spread of
weapons of mass destruction, Russia defended its exports of technology
to Iran, "The Moscow Times" reported on 23 January. Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Georgii Mamedov called on Washington to lift sanctions
against Russian companies and research institutes, which were imposed
because the United States believed they sent banned technology to Iran,
Reuters and "The Moscow Times" added. VC
[05] PUTIN RECEIVES AWARD FROM RUSSIAN PATRIARCH...
On 22 January, Patriarch Aleksii II awarded President Putin with the
prize of the International Fund of Unity of Orthodox Peoples,
RIA-Novosti reported. The annual prize is generally offered for
outstanding activity in strengthening the unity of Orthodox peoples.
Patriarch of Serbia Pavle, National Assembly of Armenia Chairman Armen
Khachatrian, and Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Isam Fares, were
likewise recipients of the award for 2001. VC
[06] ...AS WELL AS HONOR FROM PRO-KREMLIN JOURNALIST GROUP
The Moscow Union of Journalists headed by "Moskovskii komsomolets"
Editor in Chief Pavel Gusev announced that it has awarded its annual
prize "For Openness in Press" to President Putin, ITAR-TASS reported on
19 January. Gusev added that the prize was awarded to Putin in
recognition of "his sincere desire to bring the state reforms to each
Russian." Gusev also said similar prizes were awarded to Defense
Minister Sergei Ivanov and Deputy Prime Ministers Ilya Klebanov and
Valentina Matvienko. VY
[07] RUSSIAN AIR FORCE GETS NEW COMMANDER
President Vladimir Putin appointed 58-year-old Colonel General Vladimir
Mikhailov as the new commander in chief of the Russian air force on 22
January, RIA-Novosti reported. Mikhailov had served as deputy to former
Commander in Chief Anatolii Kornukov, who has retired. Mikhailov is
considered to be one of Russia's greatest pilots, and has logged more
than 6,000 flight hours. "Profil," No. 3 commented that Putin likes
Mikhailov because he was directly involved in a special operation
conducted by Russia's secret services and air force in which former
Chechen President Djhokhar Dudaev was killed in 1996 by a guided
missile. Mikhailov was named a Hero of Russia for his role in that
operation. VY
[08] GOVERNMENT PROPOSES REGULATIONS ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG MARKET
Deputy Prime Minister Matvienko announced on 22 January that the
government has made recommendations for the introduction of measures to
control the Russian prescription drug market, RIA-Novosti reported. The
government has recommended that the Health Ministry cancel licenses of
pharmacies that sell prescriptions at 30 percent markups over wholesale
costs. In addition, product labels would be affixed with the maximum
allowed sale price along with the wholesale price paid by retailers.
According to Matvienko, in Russia there are over 7,000 medical
distributors, and markups on some products reach 800 percent. In order
to better control the situation, the government would like to see the
number of distributors reduced to seven to eight networks, "as it is
accepted in civilized countries," she added. VY
[09] RUSSIA PLANS TO WITHDRAW FROM BAIKONUR
President Putin visited the Khrunichev State Research and Production
Center on 22 January and told its personnel that Russia cannot met its
defense and security needs without first developing its space
potential, "Vremya novostei" reported. In this context, he said that
Russia plans to gradually phase out its use of the Soviet-built
Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, and use the military launch pad in
Plesetsk instead. According to the president, renting Baikonur from
Kazakhstan not only costs Russia $115 million per year, but also puts
the country's "space sovereignty" in question. To remedy the situation,
the government plans to invest some 5 billion rubles ($167 million) to
develop the Plesetsk site. VY
[10] RAILWAYS MINISTRY CUTS MORE 'GEOPOLITICAL' PROJECTS
Railways Minister Gennadii Fadeev continues to slash "geopolitical"
transport projects initiated by his predecessor, Nikolai Aksenenko, in
an effort to cut costs (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 and 18 January 2002),
"Vedomosti" reported on 21 January. New victims of the axe include the
extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway westward into Poland and the
Czech Republic, as well as agency offices in Germany, Finland, Hungary,
the Czech Republic, and North Korea, which will be closed. VY
[11] PRIME MINISTER MEETS BARONS TO DISCUSS OIL GLUT
Mikhail Kasyanov met with the heads of the largest Russian oil
companies on 22 January to discuss the oversupply of oil products in
the Russian market that has negatively affected Russia's energy export
sector, RBK reported. Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, LUKoil Vice
President Leonid Fedun told Kasyanov that the mild winters in the
United States and Europe have led to a drop in the demand for oil, and
that refineries in Russia are filled to capacity and domestic oil
prices have fallen to about $5 per barrel. Fedun asked Kasyanov to
order state-run pipeline operator Transneft to cut off export supplies,
but the premier said such a move is impossible due to Russia's
obligations to OPEC and consumers. However, Kasyanov suggested that the
oil companies could cut their own exports. "Without this, the Russian
state budget -- 20 percent of which comes from taxes on oil companies'
revenues -- will experience serious tension," Kasyanov said. VY
[12] RIA-NOVOSTI SHUNNED FOR USING PORN
The Internet site of state-run RIA-Novosti (http://www.rian.ru) was
excluded from the popular "Top 100" web-rating list compiled by the
Russian portal Rambler because the news agency used links to
pornographic websites to increase its number of hits recorded by the
portal, "Izvestiya" reported on 22 January. RIA-Novosti web manager
Aleksei Bessudnov admitted to the daily that the agency had indeed made
use of inframe coding that led to pop-up windows of pornography sites
when readers of the portal hit RIA-Novosti's banner. Bessudnov said
rian.ru turned to pornography because of the stiff competition it has
encountered on the Internet. VY
[13] ONCE-CELEBRATED CRIMINAL CASE ENDS QUIETLY
The criminal case involving fraud at the St. Petersburg company Russkoe
Video and the Channel 11 television station ended quietly on 16
January, "Gazeta" reported the next day. In June 2000, Media-Most head
Vladimir Gusinsky was arrested in connection with alleged fraudulent
transactions that allowed Media-Most to gain control of Channel 11.
That charge was dropped in July 2000 after he signed an infamous secret
agreement, certified by Media Minister Lesin, to sell a controlling
stake in Media-Most to Gazprom (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 29
September 2000). However, Russkoe Video General Director Dmitrii
Rozhdestvenskii remained in pretrial detention for many months on
charges that he received $1 million in exchange for allowing Media-Most
to take control of Channel 11. Prosecutors eventually reduced the
charge to the alleged misuse of $10,000. The judge convicted
Rozhdestvenskii and sentenced him to three years imprisonment, but
immediately amnestied him. In the same trial, the general director of
Channel 11 was acquitted of purchasing an automobile with company
funds. LB
[14] ADVERTISING MARKET SURGED IN 2001...
Advertising in Russian media totaled the ruble equivalent of some $1.5
billion in 2001, up approximately 43 percent from the previous year,
"Vremya-MN" reported on 17 January, citing data compiled by the
research firm Russian Public Relations Group. According to the group's
executive director, Andrei Fedotov, the fastest growth (63 percent) was
in the television sector, which suffered the largest decline in
advertising after the ruble devaluation of 1998. Spending on outdoor
advertisements such as billboards rose by some 50 percent in 2001,
newspaper advertisements increased by 20 percent, and spending on radio
commercials was up by 11 percent. Among domestic firms, prosperous
oil-refining companies are among the most active advertisers, along
with producers of food and drink, especially beer, juice, ketchup, and
sauces, Fedotov said. Vladimir Yevstafev, the president of the Russian
Association of Advertising Agencies, refused to comment on the figures
released by Fedotov, citing methodological differences, but he agreed
that the advertising market expanded in 2001. Foreign companies that
curtailed their advertising in Russia after the 1998 ruble devaluation
also contributed to last year's growth, Yevstafev noted. LB
[15] ...BUT HAS YET TO FULLY RECOVER FROM 1998 CRISIS
Despite the healthy growth in 2001, Fedotov told "Vremya-MN" that
annual spending on advertising in Russia is still below the estimated
$2.5 billion level attained before the economic crash that began in
August 1998. The daily added that the level of advertising in Russia
(about $10 per capita annually) is low by international standards. In
per capita terms, Romania's advertising market is about the same size
as Russia's. However, advertising in some former communist countries
totals $30 per capita each year, and in the U.S., the world leader in
advertising, the comparable figure is $400 per capita. LB
[16] RUSSIA IS READY TO HELP IN KOZLODUY CLOSURE
Visiting Russian Deputy Premier Nikolai Vasiliev and Russian Atomic
Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev reached an agreement on 22 January
under which Russia will help shut down four out of the six nuclear
reactors at the Soviet-built Kozloduy nuclear power plant, ITAR-TASS
reported (also see Bulgarian item in "Southeastern Europe"). Vasiliev
told a meeting of Russian and Bulgarian businessmen the same day that
LUKoil is one of the largest investors in Bulgaria and the country's
largest taxpayer. The Russian agency also reported from Sofia that five
companies, among them Russia's MiG Corporation, are competing in a
tender launched by the Bulgarian Defense Ministry on 22 January for the
modernization of Bulgaria's fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets. MS
[17] CHECHEN LEADERS, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS RECONSTRUCTION
Chechen administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov and Prime Minister
Stanislav Ilyasov met on 22 January in Moscow with Russian President
Putin and federal Minister for Chechen Affairs Vladimir Yelagin to
discuss economic reconstruction in Chechnya, including providing
permanent housing for displaced persons now living in camps in
neighboring Ingushetia whose homes were destroyed in the fighting,
Russian agencies reported. Kadyrov said he wanted to prove to Putin
that Chechnya is not "a black hole" into which funds for reconstruction
disappear without trace. Ilyasov said over 200,000 displaced persons
returned to Chechnya in 2001. He also predicted that the
"antiterrorism" operation currently underway will be ended within six
months. LF
[18] PRESIDENTIAL AIDE REJECTS MASKHADOV'S DENIAL OF TIES TO AL-QAEDA
Russian presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembskii rejected as untrue
denials by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and his envoy Akhmed
Zakaev of any links with members of Al-Qaeda, Russian agencies
reported. Yastrzhembskii said that the U.S. magazine "Newsday" has
acquired in Kabul a videotape that reportedly features both field
commander Khattab and Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden. But "Moscow
News" reported on 23 January that the tape does not show the two men
together. LF
[19] MOSCOW PROTESTS ZAKAEV'S MEETINGS IN LONDON
The Russian Foreign Ministry has formally protested to British
Ambassador Sir Roderick Lyne the meeting in London on 18 January
between Chechen President Maskhadov's envoy Zakaev and British Foreign
Office officials, Interfax and AP reported. The protest said that
meeting, which reportedly took place at Zakaev's request, runs counter
to the spirit of cooperation and partnership and reflects double
standards by categorizing some "terrorists" as "good" and others as
"bad." LF
[20] CHECHEN ENVOY OUTLINES PROPOSALS FOR PEACE TALKS
At a press conference in London on 22 January, Zakaev outlined
President Maskhadov's proposals for peace talks, Chechenpress reported
the following day. They are that Moscow recognize Maskhadov as
Chechnya's legitimate president; that Maskhadov and Putin decree the
creation of working groups to promote a cessation of hostilities; an
immediate halt to "mopping up" operations by Russian troops; and the
beginning of talks on a cessation of hostilities and the repatriation
of displaced persons. LF
[21] DEPUTY MAYOR SHOT DEAD IN DAGHESTAN
The deputy mayor of Makhachkala, Akhmad Aliev, and his wife were shot
dead outside their home on 22 January, "Moskovskii komsomolets"
reported the following day. Aliev was a close associate of Mayor Said
Amirov, who has survived several assassination attempts in recent
years. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[22] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR FREEZING CONSTITUTIONAL
REFORM
National Democratic Union (AZhM) Chairman Vazgen Manukian proposed on
22 January that plans for a referendum on constitutional reform should
be suspended, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Manukian argued that
neither of the two packets of draft amendments currently under
consideration is likely to muster the support of the minimum one-third
of registered voters and over half of those who participate in the
referendum. He suggested that the vote would have to be manipulated for
the amendments favored by President Robert Kocharian to be approved.
The AZhM is one of six opposition parties that have drafted alternative
amendments under which Armenia would become a parliamentary republic
(see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 4, No. 42, 20 December 2001). They
argue that Kocharian's proposed changes do not curtail the sweeping
powers invested in the president. Kocharian has rejected the idea of
putting both alternative drafts to a referendum. LF
[23] ARMENIAN NATIONAL AIRLINE SUSPENDS FLIGHTS TO EUROPE
Armenia's national airline has cancelled flights to Europe for an
indefinite period after its sole Airbus that meets the noise
restrictions in force at European airports was grounded on 21 January
with engine problems, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau. The plane reportedly
needs repairs that may cost up to $2 million. LF
[24] NEW PROTEST IN AZERBAIJAN
Some 1,000 residents of the village of Nardaran, 30 kilometers from
Baku, staged a protest on 22 January against chronic cuts in gas and
energy supplies and the lack of employment opportunities, Turan
reported. They also demanded the release of Islamic Party of Azerbaijan
Deputy Chairman Hajiaga Nuriev, whom National Security Ministry
officials detained last November on the border with Iran on suspicion
of attempting to take "suspicious documents" into that country (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 28 November 2001). The villagers threatened to stage
nationwide protests if their demands are not met by 1 February.
Additional police have been sent to the village. LF
[25] COUNCIL OF EUROPE INSISTS AZERBAIJAN MEET ITS COMMITMENTS
Turan on 22 January quoted Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe Secretary-General Walther Schwimmer as saying that Azerbaijan is
obliged to fulfill the commitments it made on being accepted into
membership of the council one year ago. Schwimmer acknowledged that the
Azerbaijani authorities have released some political prisoners, but
added that other cases remain unresolved and should be addressed
quickly. He rejected the assertion that the Parliamentary Assembly is
biased against Azerbaijan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 January 2002). On
23 January, lawyers said the case of Alikram Gumbatov will be reviewed
by the Appeals Court on 24 January and that of Rahim Gaziev on 30
January, Turan reported. The Council of Europe considers both men --
together with former Interior Minister and Iskander Hamidov --
political prisoners, and is insisting that either they be released or
their cases reviewed. LF
[26] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PEACEKEEPING FORCE WITH UN ENVOY...
Eduard Shevardnadze met late on 21 January with Dieter Boden, the UN
secretary-general's special envoy for the Abkhaz conflict, to discuss
the future of the Russian peacekeeping force currently deployed in the
Abkhaz conflict zone under the CIS aegis, Caucasus Press reported.
Boden told journalists after those talks that he considers it possible
to amend the peacekeepers' mandate in accordance with Georgian demands
that they be moved northward from the internal boundary between
Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia to the Galidzga River, which marks the
northern boundary of Gali Raion. Boden again said that at the present
stage the Russian peacekeepers should not be withdrawn from Georgia, as
the UN is not in a position to send a force to replace them. LF
[27] ...AS RUSSIA WARNS GEORGIA MUST NOT RENEGE ON ABKHAZ
AGREEMENTS...
Speaking in Sukhum on 22 January, Russian Foreign Ministry envoy
Vasilii Kolotusha said that "all the agreements signed at
Georgian-Abkhazian negotiations, first and foremost the fundamental
agreement on a cease-fire and separation of forces of May 14, 1994,
must be implemented," ITAR-TASS reported. "That is the stand of the
Russian Federation and all members of the UN Security Council, whose
resolutions on the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict reaffirm the need for
meticulous fulfillment of the agreement," Kolotusha added. Georgian
Minister for Special Assignments Malkhaz Kakabadze said on 21 January
that the Georgian leadership may comply with a demand by the Georgian
parliament to abjure all agreements signed with Abkhazia since 1992,
according to Caucasus Press. LF
[28] ...AND GEORGIAN GUERRILLAS MINE INTERNAL BORDER
Meanwhile, Dato Shengelia, the leader of the "Forest Brothers" Georgian
guerrilla unit, announced on 22 January that his men are mining all
roads leading from the border bridge over the Inguri River north into
Abkhazia's Gali Raion, thereby preventing the passage of UN officials,
Caucasus Press reported. Also on 22 January, an unspecified number of
the estimated 80,000 Georgian displaced persons resident in the west
Georgian town of Zugdidi began marching to the bridge to join their
fellows who began a picket of the bridge on 19 January to demand the
withdrawal of the CIS peacekeeping force. In Tbilisi, Valeri
Gelbakhiani, one of the leaders of the Aghordzineba parliament faction,
told journalists that he believes the Georgian leadership encouraged
the displaced persons' protest at the Inguri bridge for "political
aims." Presidential press secretary Kakha Imnadze dismissed that
suggestion the same day as "absurd," Interfax reported. LF
[29] KYRGYZSTAN PAYS OFF GAS DEBTS TO UZBEKISTAN
Bishkek has repaid its debts to Uzbekistan for natural gas, Kyrgyzgas
General Director Avtandil Sydykov told journalists on 22 January.
Tashkent repeatedly cut gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan last year due to
nonpayment of debts for earlier deliveries, which in October 2001 were
estimated at $500,000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 October 2001). It is
not clear, however, whether agreement has been reached on gas prices
for 2002; Kyrgyzstan has offered to pay $42 per thousand cubic meters,
half in cash and half in commodities, but Tashkent is reportedly
demanding $45. LF
[30] TAJIK, FRENCH PRESIDENTS DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN
During a telephone conversation on 22 January, Imomali Rakhmonov and
Jacques Chirac discussed expanding bilateral cooperation and
postconflict settlement in Afghanistan, ITAR-TASS and Asia Plus-Blitz
reported. Rakhmonov stressed the importance of sustained economic
assistance to Afghanistan, in addition to humanitarian aid. Chirac
again expressed his thanks to the Tajik government for allowing a
French peacekeeping force en route for Afghanistan to use its
facilities. LF
[31] TAJIKISTAN, CHINA HAIL BORDER AGREEMENT
During talks in Dushanbe on 22 January, Rakhmonov and Chinese State
Council delegation head Ismail Amat expressed satisfaction at the
agreement reached earlier this month on the sidelines of the Shanghai
Cooperation Agreement summit in Beijing on the demarcation of their
shared border, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. That agreement will be
legalized "soon," according to a Tajik presidential spokesman quoted by
ITAR-TASS. Amat also met with Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov to
discuss the prospects for expanding bilateral trade and economic
relations. LF
[32] U.S., UZBEKISTAN SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Visiting Tashkent on 22 January, General Tommy Franks, who is in
command of the U.S. antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan, discussed
that operation with President Islam Karimov, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz
Komilov, National Security chief Mirakbar Rakhmankulov, and Defense
Minister Kadyr Gulyamov, AP and Interfax reported. Franks and Gulyamov
signed an agreement outlining future cooperation, which provides for
more frequent contacts between the two sides. But they did not discuss
the long-term presence of a U.S. force at the Khanabad air base.
Karimov said late last month the U.S. presence in Uzbekistan is
open-ended, and no talks had taken place on how many years U.S. troops
might remain in the country (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 January 2002). LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[33] NEW PACE HEAD SEES BELARUS AS 'PROBLEM'...
In his inaugural speech in Strasbourg on 22 January, Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Peter Schieder said
that "Belarus remains a problem," the council's website quoted him as
saying. And he added: "On the one hand, the attitude of the
presidential regime has not changed and remains totally unacceptable in
terms of democratic and human rights standards. On the other hand,
isolation does little to change the status quo. The assembly will have
to pursue its delicate diplomatic balancing act, between support for
progressive forces in Belarus and the need to avoid condoning the
dictatorial attitude of the present regime." PACE Political Affairs
Committee head Roman Jakic said the same day that the question of
whether Belarus will regain its special guest status in PACE will
depend on the findings of a special commission that is to be set up
shortly within his committee, Belapan reported. JM
[34] ...WHILE WIVES OF MISSING FIGURES APPEAL FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE
The wives of prominent figures who have been jailed, died, or
disappeared in Belarus have appealed to PACE to urge the Belarusian
authorities into allowing an independent investigation with the
participation of international experts into the death of politician
Henadz Karpenka and the disappearances of opposition politicians Yury
Zakharanka and Viktar Hanchar, as well as those of businessman Anatol
Krasouski and journalist Dzmitry Zavadski. The Charter-97 website
reported on 22 January that the appeal was publicized by Belarusian
United Civic Party leader Anatol Lyabedzka at a recent meeting of the
PACE Liberal, Democratic, and Reformers' Group in Strasbourg. The
appeal suggests that the PACE Sub-Committee on Human Rights hold a
hearing on the deaths, disappearances, and incarceration of opposition
figures in Belarus. JM
[35] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT PLEDGES TO HEED SCIENTISTS WHILE REFORMING
ACADEMY
Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with members of the National Academy of
Sciences on 22 January to discuss ways of reforming Belarus's science
sphere, Belarusian media reported. The president is currently preparing
a decree intended to transform the National Academy of Sciences into "a
state management body," Belapan reported. "Decisions have not been made
yet, and your opinion may have a determining significance," Belarusian
Television quoted Lukashenka as saying at the meeting with
academicians. Last October, Lukashenka appointed former presidential
administration head Mikhail Myasnikovich as the president of Belarus's
Academy of Sciences without seeking advice from scientists. JM
[36] U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST UKRAINE OVER CD PIRACY TAKE EFFECT...
The previously announced U.S. trade sanctions against Ukraine for its
inability to curb compact disc piracy took effect on 23 January. The
Ukrainian parliament on 17 January hastily passed a law regulating the
production of CDs. UNIAN quoted Kenneth Fairfax, an official from the
U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, as saying that the U.S. authorities received the
text of the law on 21 January and are currently analyzing it. Fairfax
said the sanctions may be lifted in time if the law satisfies the
United States. Fairfax said, however, that the adopted law provides for
"insignificant penalties," adding that "they will come as no more than
an irritation for those who make millions of dollars annually" from CD
piracy, STB Television reported. Under the sanctions, the U.S. will
apply higher duties on $75 million worth of metals, shoes, and other
goods exported from Ukraine. JM
[37] ...WHILE KUCHMA DECRIES THEM AS 'PRESSURE'
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma told journalists on 22 January that
he is inclined to sign the recently passed bill on the production of
CDs in Ukraine, Interfax reported. At the same time he said that "no
country in the world has the kind of law the U.S. is demanding from
us." And he added: "So what is it? Cooperation or simply pressure? I
regard this as pressure." JM
[38] BLOC LEADER SAYS UKRAINE TO HAVE NEW POLITICAL 'STRUCTURE' AFTER
ELECTION
Presidential administration head Volodymyr Lytvyn, who leads the For a
United Ukraine election bloc, said in Lviv on 22 January that the
upcoming parliamentary election should give rise to "a new structure of
the political system" in the country, Interfax reported. Lytvyn added
that Ukraine has not yet developed "a civilized party system." In his
opinion, out of the 124 parties registered in Ukraine only 11 may claim
to have a countrywide character. JM
[39] UKRAINE'S TYMOSHENKO, MEDVEDCHUK TO SPAR ON RFE/RL
Two fierce political opponents, Fatherland Party leader Yuliya
Tymoshenko and Social Democratic Party (United) leader Viktor
Medvedchuk, will hold a live debate in an evening program of RFE/RL's
Ukrainian Service on 23 January. JM
[40] SIIM KALLAS APPROVED AS NEW ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER
By an unexpectedly large margin of 62 to 31, the parliament approved
the candidacy of Reform Party Chairman Siim Kallas as prime minister on
22 January, ETA reported. He received support from all the deputies of
the Reform, Center, and Estonian United People's parties as well as
from most members of the People's Union. Deputies from his former
coalition partners, the Pro Patria Union and the Moderates, voted
against him. Kallas has seven days to present his cabinet to President
Arnold Ruutel who in turn has to officially approve it within three
days. Kallas said that he expects the new cabinet to hold its first
meeting on 29 January. He told the parliament that the main objectives
of the new government will be to reduce domestic political tensions,
pursue a growth-oriented economic policy, and maintain continuity in
foreign policy. SG
[41] LATVIA INVITED TO TAKE PART IN ANTITERRORISM OPERATION IN
KYRGYZSTAN
The Defense Ministry received an invitation from its Danish counterpart
to take part in the U.S.-led antiterrorism operation "Enduring Freedom"
with a mission of 10-12 soldiers, LETA reported on 22 January. The
soldiers would likely be based at the Manas international airport in
Kyrgyzstan from February until the end of June. Defense Minister Girts
Valdis Kristovskis and National armed forces Commander Raimonds Graube
told reporters that the invitation indicates that Denmark has been
satisfied with the performance of Latvian soldiers in joint
peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia. Denmark sent similar
invitations to Estonia and Lithuania, and the matter was to have been
discussed at a scheduled meeting of the three Baltic defense ministers
in Vilnius on 23 January, which was postponed due to the formation of
the new Estonian government. SG
[42] LITHUANIA AND SLOVAKIA SIGN DEFENSE COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Defense Ministers Linas Linkevicius and Josef Stank signed a military
cooperation agreement in Vilnius on 22 January, ELTA reported. In talks
the previous day, the ministers noted the many similarities between the
defense policies of their countries, the most important of which is the
desire to receive an invitation to join NATO at the fall summit meeting
in Prague. Both countries have been reforming their military structures
to create comparatively small but well-trained armed forces capable of
serving in international units. Stank noted that Slovakia plans to
reduce its armed forces from 42,000 to 23,000 troops. One of the
results of the agreement will be the training of two Slovak officers at
Lithuania's Karmelava air control center, which meets NATO standards.
Stank also met with Deputy Defense Minister Giedrius Cekuolis, as well
as with parliament Deputy Chairman Arturas Skardzius and National
Security and Defense Committee Chairman Alvydas Sadeckas. SG
[43] LITHUANIAN LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO BE FOUNDED
Former Prime Minister and Liberal Union Chairman Rolandas Paksas told a
news conference on 22 January that he and the other parliament deputies
who were expelled from the Liberal Union after they withdrew from its
faction plan to form a new political party to be called the Liberal
Democratic Party, ELTA reported. This was decided at a meeting the
previous evening in Raseiniai. The founding congress of the new party
will be held in May and working groups are already drafting its program
and statutes. Paksas said that the party program will be similar to
that of the Liberal Union, but will devote more attention to government
problems, social policy, and rural issues. SG
[44] POLISH POLICE INVESTIGATES SUSPECTED TRADING IN CORPSES
The "Gazeta Wyborcza" and Radio Lodz on 23 January revealed that
prosecutors are investigating links between doctors in emergency wards
of numerous hospitals in Lodz (a city in central Poland) and funeral
firms in the city. According to "Gazeta Wyborcza" on 23 January,
doctors from Lodz's ambulance teams occasionally kill patients in order
to sell their bodies to local funeral homes. Doctors reportedly use
drugs to "gain" bodies for sale. The newspaper said the dead bodies are
known as "skins" in the slang used by both doctors and funeral homes
staff. The newspaper also said funeral homes pay kickbacks to doctors
ranging between $300-$430 per "skin." JM
[45] POLAND'S UNEMPLOYMENT HITS RECORD HIGH
The Main Statistics Office (GUS) reported on 22 January that the
unemployment rate in December was 17.4 percent, an increase of 0.6
percent or 94,000 jobless from the record high in November. The new
figure translates into 3.1 million unemployed people in the country of
39 million. The rate is roughly twice the EU average. According to GUS,
first-time job seekers under the age of 24 account for nearly 30
percent of all the unemployed. The TNS OBOP polling agency found in a
poll conducted on 12-14 January that 65 percent of Poles believe that
developments in Poland have taken a wrong turn. JM
[46] AUSTRIAN COALITION BREAKING UP OVER STANCE ON CZECH EU ACCESSION?
Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) said on 22 January that it is
ready to end its coalition with Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's
conservative People's Party after the chancellor ruled out vetoing
Czech entry into the EU, international news agencies reported.
Schuessel earlier told journalists that the results of the petition
drive initiated by the FPO (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 January 2002)
showed that most Austrians favor EU enlargement, which he described as
"the core of the government's policy." Schuessel added that "if this
core is missing...then [the coalition] will not work any more." In a
statement whose signatories included Carinthia Premier Joerg Haider and
Vice Chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer, the FPO called on Schuessel to
clarify what he meant. It also said that if Schuessel "wants to end the
coalition and start an election campaign over the EU and Temelin, then
the FPO is certainly ready." MS
[47] CZECH PRESIDENT SAYS ELECTIONS SHOULD BE HELD IN MAY
Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek told CTK on 22 January that
President Vaclav Havel will soon meet with Premier Milos Zeman to
discuss holding the elections for the Chamber of Deputies in May. The
president will meet the premier after his return from his convalescence
in the Canary Islands, Spacek said, adding that Havel would "be glad if
the elections would take place as soon as possible." In line with the
constitution, the ballot should be held between 25 May and 15 June, and
under a recently passed amendment it must take place on a Friday and a
Saturday, with the most likely dates being 31 May and 1 June. Havel has
yet to sign that amendment into law. MS
[48] CZECH ODA READY TO MEET FREEDOM UNION-DEMOCRATIC UNION PROPOSAL
Civic Democratic Party (ODA) Deputy Chairman Oldrich Kuzilek told
journalists on 22 January that the ODA is ready to meet the proposal
made by the Freedom Union-Democratic Union on how the ODA should settle
its debt to insurer Ceska Pojistovna, CTK reported. The ODA is ready to
meet the demand of the Freedom Union-Democratic Union to disclose the
names of the persons who lent it 12 million crowns ($333,333) to help
the party cover its debt, and to submit a timetable for repaying the
debt in annual installments of 5 million crowns. MS
[49] CZECH TEENAGERS RECORDED DESECRATION OF JEWISH CEMETERY
Police spokesman Radek Galas said on 22 January that police have
discovered a group of teenagers who vandalized the old Jewish cemetery
in Uhrineves, some 15 kilometers southeast of Prague. The group
videotaped the act of destroying some 50 tombstones, AP reported. The
boys, aged 14 to 16, later showed the videotape to friends. Galas said
the action was "planned in advance" and the perpetrators "knew well
what they were doing." The videotapes show them jumping on the
tombstones and shouting "Judenmord" (Murder of Jews) and "Sieg Heil,"
the Nazi victory cry. Galas said only two of the group will be
prosecuted on grounds of "defamation of a race" and "incitement to
hatred" because the others are underage. The charges can result in a
sentence of up to three years imprisonment, but due to their young age
the two face a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison, if convicted.
MS
[50] SDL THREATENS TO LEAVE SLOVAK COALITION
The Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) threatened on 22 January to
leave the ruling coalition after Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda
refused to dismiss Finance Minister Brigita Schmognerova, international
agencies reported. Dzurinda said he "sees no grounds" to replace
Schmognerova, an SDL member, with Frantisek Hajnovic, as the SDL
leadership decided on 21 January. SDL Chairman Pavel Konkos said his
party will "not participate in coalition activities" until Dzurinda
forces Schmognerova to resign or she volunteers to do so. This means
that the SDL will not support the coalition in the parliament, where it
would lose its majority. Konkos also said the party might leave the
government if the problem is not solved to its satisfaction.
Schmognerova said in response that she was surprised and thankful for
Dzurinda's defense of her performance. MS
[51] SLOVAK PRESIDENT BACKS MECIAR ON NEED FOR WALL-TO-WALL PARTY UNITY
ON NATO MEMBERSHIP
Rudolf Schuster and opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
(HZDS) Chairman Vladimir Meciar called on all political parties on 22
January to pledge their support of NATO accession after the
parliamentary elections scheduled for the autumn of 2002, CTK reported.
Meciar criticized the members of the current coalition for having
rejected an earlier HZDS initiative to pledge joint support, and said
that Dzurinda "lacks the tolerance to sit at the same table with people
of different opinions." Schuster said he "welcomes the initiative aimed
at guaranteeing that after the elections our strategic orientation will
not change." MS
[52] FORMER HUNGARIAN PREMIER ASKS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TO KEEP OUT OF
HUNGARIAN POLITICS
Former Socialist Prime Minister Gyula Horn sent an open letter to
Archbishop Istvan Seregely, the chairman of the Conference of Hungarian
Catholic Bishops, asking him to keep his church and priests out of the
election campaign, Hungarian media reported on 23 January. Horn claims
that some Catholic leaders and priests argue against the Socialist
Party and in favor of FIDESZ even in the confessional. "It is possible
for citizens to be both religious and left-wing in thinking," he wrote.
Horn's letter comes one week after Hungary's Catholic, Calvinist, and
Lutheran churches issued statements in support of the Status Law. The
Socialist candidate for prime minister, Peter Medgyessy, said Horn's
opinion is not that of the party, and therefore the Socialists will not
comment on his letter. Several provincial priests called Horn's remarks
"incredible and unfounded." MSZ
[53] HUNGARIAN KONTROLL GROUP DENIES POLITICAL BIAS
The research organization Kontroll Group, made up of university
students, denied on 22 January that the right wing influenced its study
published in the 9 January issue of "Magyar Nemzet" regarding foreign
correspondents working in Budapest. In the study the group argued that
Budapest-based foreign correspondents are biased against the government
and Prime Minister Viktor Orban and have left-wing or liberal party
preferences. The group's spokeswoman, Reka Horvath, denied in
"Nepszabadsag" that the group has any connection with right-wing
radical journalist Istvan Lovas, who has recently defended the group
and its study. Foreign correspondents have already written to Foreign
Minister Janos Martonyi objecting to comments about them, saying that
the analysis is not based on facts. MSZ
[54] MIEP CANDIDATE SUSPENDED FROM HUNGARIAN CIVIL SERVICE
Interior Minister Sandor Pinter suspended Laszlo Grespik as head of the
Budapest Administrative Office on 22 January and initiated disciplinary
proceedings against him for making political statements (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 22 January 2002). The action came after Grespik, speaking on
Hungarian television, called on undecided voters to vote for the
extremist Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIEP). "As the person who
appoints me is Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and I am on the MIEP
national list, a kind of FIDESZ-MIEP cooperation is being implemented
through me," he remarked. Grespik, who will be running for parliament
as an MIEP candidate, refused to accept his suspension document, saying
the decision is unjustified. MIEP Chairman Istvan Csurka said the
"series of attacks" against his party and Grespik's suspension "assume
political significance." MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[55] ALBANIA CLAMPS DOWN ON ALLEGED AL-QAEDA NETWORK...
Prime Minister Ilir Meta told the parliament on 22 January that "we
have identified the financial entities active in our country that are
financially linked to the Al-Qaeda network. Our prosecutors are at
work," Reuters reported. He added that the government has frozen
several accounts belonging to unnamed Arab companies and one individual
in the Arab-Albanian Islamic Bank and the International Commercial
Bank. A spokesman for the Prosecutor-General's Office told the news
agency that the individual is Saudi construction kingpin Yassin Kadi.
He is co-owner of the 15-story "twin towers" project in central Tirana.
PM
[56] ...IN THE FIRST INDICATION OF A LINK
The prosecutor-general's spokesman also said in Tirana on 22 January
that it appears that Kadi laundered at least $10 million in Albania in
conjunction with Al-Qaeda activities, Reuters reported. Kadi's
whereabouts are unknown, however, and he may have left Albania.
Following the fall of communism a decade ago, numerous business,
charitable, and religious groups from the Muslim world set up
operations in Albania, where perhaps 70 to 80 percent of the population
is of Islamic heritage. Meta's government has pledged to clamp down on
undesirable foreigners and their financial dealings. This is his first
statement confirming an Al-Qaeda presence in Albania, Deutsche Welle's
Albanian Service reported. PM
[57] U.S. PRISONER FROM BOSNIA IS TOP AL-QAEDA MAN
"The New York Times" reported on 23 January that one of the six
Algerians recently extradited from Bosnia to the U.S. "has been
identified as a European lieutenant in Al-Qaeda, who was ordered to
carry out attacks on American targets in the Balkans after 11
September, [unnamed] law enforcement and military officials" said in
Washington (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 January 2002). Bensayah Belkacem
"had numerous conversations on cellular telephones last fall with
leaders of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan," the report added. The prisoners,
who are now in Guantanamo, have been the subject of much comment in
Sarajevo since their extradition. The New York daily noted that "the
handover has been denounced as illegal by human rights groups and by
United Nations officials. Bosnian officials have defended their
decision, noting that the five suspects with Bosnian passports were
stripped of their citizenship before they were turned over to the
United States and were not entitled to the due-process rights of
citizens." In related news, the Bosnian authorities have revoked the
citizenship of a further 41 foreigners, dpa reported from Sarajevo.
Most are Egyptians or Algerians. PM
[58] BOSNIAN SERBS' GENOCIDE TRIAL STARTS IN THE HAGUE
General Momir Talic and his political ally Radoslav Brdjanin went on
trial in The Hague on 23 January, AP reported. They are charged with
being part of a "joint criminal enterprise" that engaged in war crimes,
including genocide against Muslims and Croats in the Krajina area
during the 1992-1995 war. The two played a role in setting up the
Republika Srpska in 1992. The indictment says: "The creation of the
Serbian state entailed a campaign designed to permanently remove by
force, or fear, the non-Serb population from areas designated as part
of the state." Brdjanin became deputy prime minister of the Republika
Srpska under its founder, Radovan Karadzic (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report,"
15 January 2002, and "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 10 and 17 January
2002). PM
[59] HAGUE INVESTIGATORS QUESTION FORMER TOP SERBIAN OFFICIAL
UN investigators on 22 January began a four-day questioning of Mihalj
Kertes in Belgrade, AP reported. He is a former top aide to Slobodan
Milosevic and is widely regarded as a key figure in the corruption and
smuggling rackets associated with that regime. Much of the money
allegedly went to finance paramilitary groups in Croatia, Bosnia, and
Kosova, which were central elements of the ethnic cleansing campaigns.
Kertes' lawyer said that his client is being questioned as the possible
subject of an indictment and not as a witness. The lawyer did not
elaborate. PM
[60] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT FILES CHARGES AGAINST 47 OLD REGIME OFFICIALS
The Serbian Finance Ministry has filed criminal charges against 47 top
officials of Milosevic-era governments, including 11 cabinet ministers,
AP reported from Belgrade on 23 January, citing the daily "Blic." Those
charged include former Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic, former
Justice Minister Arandjel Markicevic, and former Minister for Science
and Technology Branislav Ivkovic. If found guilty, those charged could
face prison sentences of up to 15 years. The Milosevic regime rested
heavily on networks of crime and corruption. PM
[61] SPLIT IN SERBIAN COALITION OVER AUTONOMY...
The Serbian parliament began a debate on 22 January on a demand by the
Vojvodina legislature for the return of many of its powers that were
scrapped by Milosevic in 1990, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December 2001).
Officials of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party
of Serbia (DSS) said that the DSS is opposed to autonomy for only one
region and wants instead a "Spanish solution" for regional autonomy in
general. Deputies from the New Serbia movement (NS) argued that
autonomy can be considered only after a new constitution is adopted.
Both the DSS and NS belong to the governing Democratic Opposition of
Serbia (DOS) coalition. DOS is also in power in the Vojvodina
government. PM
[62] ...PITS KOSTUNICA AGAINST DJINDJIC
In the debate on autonomy in the Serbian parliament on 22 January,
Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said that the package of legislation he
has introduced is aimed at meeting DOS's previous promises to the
voters, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported.
He added that the legislation is a first step toward establishing
autonomy for Serbia's regions. He chided unnamed legislators for paying
lip service to autonomy but opposing it in practice. Nenad Canak, the
speaker of the Vojvodina parliament, said Djindjic's package is an
absolute bare minimum of what is acceptable. He called on the lawmakers
to pass it as a "gesture of goodwill." Canak warned that postponing a
decision on autonomy will only make matters worse. PM
[63] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER FOR 'PARALLEL STRUCTURES' IN KOSOVA
Djindjic said in Belgrade that his government wants to become a formal
candidate for EU membership in 2004, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor"
reported on 21 January. He added that two unresolved questions that
must be dealt with by then are relations with Montenegro and the status
of Kosova. Djindjic suggested that the only "realistic concept" for
Kosova is to establish "parallel institutions on an ethnic basis." PM
[64] SERBIA SEEKING ARMS COOPERATION WITH -- URDMURTIA
Despite periodic upbeat statements from Kostunica and his aides that
Belgrade is succeeding in talking its way back to international
prominence and respectability, the hard truth remains that Serbia is an
economic basket case with few customers for its rust-bucket industries.
But one partner has been found, according to an ITAR-TASS report from
Izhevsk on 23 January: "Authorities of Russia's constituent Republic of
Udmurtia and the Yugoslav state enterprise Yugoimport-SDPR have signed
an agreement on cooperation in the field of weaponry and military
technologies. A delegation of Yugoimport-SDPR's top managers made a
three-day visit to Udmurtia at the invitation of its president,
Aleksandr Volkov. The guests have been taken to all the major
industrial facilities in the republic, many of which export their
produce via the Russian state foreign trade company Rosoboroneksport,
the country's largest exporter of weaponry." The two sides signed a
12-month cooperation agreement. No details are available. Udmurtia has
long been a center of weapons production. In Soviet times it was noted
for missiles. PM
[65] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT WANTS SPRING REFERENDUM
Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 22 January that a referendum on
independence will likely take place in April or May, AP reported. He
added that he is convinced that young voters will opt for independence
because "they feel that they belong to Europe" (see "RFE/RL Balkan
Report," 14 December 2001). PM
[66] EU EYING BIGGER ROLE IN THE BALKANS?
Reuters reported from Brussels on 22 January that the EU is considering
taking over the international police functions in Bosnia from the UN
later in 2002 in an effort to demonstrate that it can effectively
manage such an operation. Brussels is similarly considering offering to
take over peacekeeping in Macedonia from NATO at an unspecified future
date. It is not clear how the EU intends to deal with the fact that
Albanians anywhere in the Balkans are likely not to fully trust any
major Western operation that does not include the United States. PM
[67] ROMANIAN PREMIER ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT DECISIONS
Adrian Nastase said on 22 January that the cabinet has decided to take
"social protection measures" aimed at helping the weakest strata in the
population, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Aid is to be extended
to low-income families for meeting heating costs during the winter, and
the government will discuss with the International Monetary Fund the
possibility of expanding the category of those exempt from paying taxes
and instead increase taxes on those with the highest incomes. The
cabinet also decided that the interdiction of membership on companies'
executive boards, which hitherto applied only to ministers, will be
extended to deputy ministers, ministry directors, prefects, and deputy
prefects. Nastase also pledged that the cabinet will abide by a "code
of conduct" and avoid future political polemics. MS
[68] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TO MEDIATE IN ARMAGEDDON II CONFLICT?
Ion Iliescu said on 22 January that it may be "useful" if he mediates
the political dispute provoked by the "Armageddon II" documents and the
cabinet's reaction to those documents (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22
January 2002). Premier Nastase welcomed the proposal, RFE/RL's
Bucharest bureau reported. On 21 January, in an interview with a
private television channel, Nastase admitted he may have "overreacted"
to the allegations included in the document that he is corrupt. In
response to former President Emil Constantinescu's appeal to him,
Iliescu said it is not within the presidential prerogatives to dismiss
the interior minister and the prosecutor-general, and added that he
will "respond" to Constantinescu's letter. The same day, Nastase
submitted to the Prosecutor-General's Office a declaration of his
income and assets, and the office is to check the statement. MS
[69] NATO COMMANDER ENDS ROMANIAN VISIT
On 22 January, Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Joseph Ralston
praised the military reforms in the Romanian army, RFE/RL's Bucharest
bureau reported. General Ralston told Romanian Chief of Staff General
Mihail Popescu that Romania has proved its capability of contributing
to peace and security in the region during the crisis in Macedonia, and
demonstrated its political ability when Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana
was chairman of the OSCE last year. Ralston said the decision of the
2002 Prague summit on NATO expansion will be "mainly a political
decision," but that "as a military expert" he would back Romania's
membership bid. MS
[70] ROMANIA PROTESTS 'SUSPENSION' OF MOLDOVAN PARTY
President Iliescu said on 22 January that the decision of the Moldovan
government to suspend for one month the activity of the Popular Party
Christian Democratic (PPCD) is an indication that the Moldovan
authorities are "regrettably leaving the course of democracy and
engaging in anti-European measures," Mediafax reported. Premier Nastase
said that the suspension of the PPCD has been "a strategic objective"
of the Chisinau authorities, who are engaging in "totalitarian
behavior." The Romanian delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe submitted a draft resolution criticizing both the
decision of the authorities in Chisinau to introduce compulsory
Russian-language classes and the decision to suspend the PPCD. MS
[71] ...AS MOLDOVA CLARIFIES EXTENT OF SUSPENSION
Also on 22 January, Justice Minister Ioan Morei said that in line with
the law, the suspension means not only that the PPCD is prohibited from
participating in elections or organizing demonstrations, but also to
use the media for disseminating information and to conduct financial
transactions at banks. Morei said that if the PPCD ignores the
restrictions, it can be suspended for up to one year. PPCD Chairman
Iurie Rosca said the suspension of his party was an attempt to
"intimidate" it, and vowed to continue the protests. MS
[72] FORMER MOLDOVAN PREMIER CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT
Former Premier Dumitru Braghis said on 22 January that the decision by
the authorities to introduce compulsory Russian-language classes has
"undermined the political and the moral equilibrium in society." The
Braghis Alliance, which is the second opposition party in the
parliament, the same day called on the government to revoke the
decision as well as its intention to make Russian the country's second
official language, Infotag reported. Braghis said that the "populist
and irresponsible policy" pursued by the Party of Moldovan Communists
has "again pushed Moldova into endless and pointless debates." He said
the "language war" is creating favorable conditions for the rise of
extremism. The country's leadership, Braghis said, "should not forget
that Moldova is no longer a Soviet republic, but a sovereign and
independent state that has its own language." MS
[73] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE IN PRESENCE OF FOREIGN GUESTS...
President Georgi Parvanov took office on 22 January in a ceremony
attended by Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Turkish Deputy
Premier Mesut Yilmaz, AFP reported. Parvanov reiterated that his
"strategic objective" is to accelerate his country's entry into NATO
and the EU, and said he will be a head of state "committed to a policy
based on the national interest and the defense of national dignity." MS
[74] ...AS HE DISAGREES WITH PREMIER ON KOZLODUY
Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski told Simitis on 22 January that
Bulgaria will honor its commitment to the EU to close down by 2004 four
of the six nuclear reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, in
line with the agreement reached with the EU, AP and AFP reported. But
Parvanov, in an interview with the daily "Trud" the same day, vowed to
stand firm against EU pressure to close down all the reactors by 2006.
"There are moments when we are obliged to prove our firmness, but not
stubbornness, in order to resolve problems by looking for a
compromise." He said that he "would like to hear the opinion of
Bulgarian and European experts" before the plant is shut down. The
European Commission has proposed that Bulgaria receive 100 million
euros ($88.4 million) in aid if it agrees to the total closure by 2006
(also see related item in "Russia"). MS
END NOTE
[75] There is no End Note today.
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