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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-03-19
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT ON GLOBAL SECURITY THREATS
[02] MOSCOW STRESSES ECONOMIC TIES WITH BAGHDAD
[03] DUMA TAKES HARD LINE ON KURILES
[04] RUSSIA PREPARES TO BUILD UP ITS OWN ANTIMISSILE SYSTEM...
[05] ...AS DEFENSE COMMITTEE HEAD WANTS TO LIVE BY THE SWORD
[06] RUSSIAN DEFENSE CONTRACTOR HOPES TO SELL MISSILES TO BOEING
[07] MILITARY PAY RAISE COULD SABOTAGE RUSSIAN BUDGET
[08] SPY'S BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON KREMLIN'S COLD WAR POLICIES...
[09] ...CLAIMS STALIN SUPPORTED PEARL HARBOR ATTACK, USED DOLLARS TO
[10] PRIMAKOV'S MEDIA CREDENTIALS QUESTIONED
[11] GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS REFORM OF EES...
[12] CHUBAIS TELLS DEFENSE MINISTRY OFFICIALS THEIR TIME IS UP...
[13] ...AS ULYANOVSK APPEALS TO PUTIN FOR HEAT, ELECTRICITY
[14] TUVA PRESIDENT GETS THIRD TERM
[15] REGIONAL PARDONS COMMISSIONS NOT DOLING OUT MANY PARDONS
[16] KREMLIN 'FIXER' VISITS KAZAN...
[17] ...AS ANOTHER STRUGGLE OVER LEADERSHIP OF UNIFIED RUSSIA CHAPTER
[18] NEW FEDERATION MINISTER NIXES REOPENING PASSPORT AND NATIONALITY
[19] BURYATIA LEADER ASKED TO SEEK THIRD TERM
[20] CHECHEN WARLORD APPEALS SENTENCE
[21] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY AGAIN REJECTS OPPOSITION DRAFT
[22] ...AS PARTY LEADERS WARNS AGAINST FALSIFICATION OF ELECTIONS
[23] ACCUSED SAYS HE DID NOT ANTICIPATE ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT BLOODSHED
[24] FORMER AZERBAIJANI STATE ADVISER REJECTS PRESIDENT'S OFFER OF NEW
[25] AZERBAIJANI POLICE BREAK UP OPPOSITION RALLY
[26] PRESIDENT SEEKS EU MEMBERSHIP FOR GEORGIA...
[27] ...AND CONTINUED COOPERATION WITH NATO
[28] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CLAIMS ARMENIAN POPULATION DOES NOT
[29] CIS PEACEKEEPERS ABDUCTED IN GEORGIAN CONFLICT ZONE
[30] DEATH TOLL IN KYRGYZ CLASHES RISES...
[31] ...AS PRESIDENT ACCUSES OPPOSITION, FIRES LOCAL OFFICIAL...
[32] ...AND INTERIOR MINISTER SAYS POLICE CANNOT AFFORD TEAR GAS
[33] BEKNAZAROV'S TRIAL POSTPONED INDEFINITELY
[34] TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS IRAN
[35] TURKEY TO PROVIDE MILITARY AID TO UZBEKISTAN
[36] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER JAILED FOR 10 DAYS
[37] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST ASKS FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN POLAND
[38] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT WANTS MILITARY COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA...
[39] ...STRESSES NEED FOR 'ORGANIZED FORCE' IN PARLIAMENT
[40] OUR UKRAINE CAMPAIGNER REPORTEDLY BEATEN BY POLICE
[41] UKRAINIAN CITY GIVES COMBATANT STATUS TO FORMER SS DIVISION
[42] LACK OF TRAINING GROUNDS IMPERILS MAJOR NATO EXERCISE IN ESTONIA
[43] LATVIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS RUSSIA'S REPROACHES OVER RUSSKOYE
[44] LITHUANIAN PREMIER'S REPORT CRITICIZED
[45] POLISH PRESIDENT VOICES SUPPORT FOR ESTONIA'S NATO BID
[46] POLISH GOVERNMENT, EPISCOPATE AGREE ON CHURCH CHARITY ACTIVITIES
[47] WAS POLISH MINISTER CAUGHT MOLESTING FEMALE INTERPRETER AT EU
[48] CZECH ANTICHEMICAL WARFARE UNIT LEAVES FOR KUWAIT
[49] SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS NATO TO UNDERGO TRANSFORMATION AT PRAGUE
[50] CZECH ODS CHAIRMAN SAYS CSSD'S TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT IS
[51] CSSD CHAIRMAN PREDICTS CZECH PREMIER WILL RETURN TO POLITICS
[52] EU LEADERS TELL SLOVAK PREMIER NO LEGAL PROBLEMS ARE BARRING
[53] U.S. OFFICIAL IS OUTSPOKEN ON MECIAR RETURN, BENES DECREES
[54] MAIN HUNGARIAN PARTIES CLOSE TO AGREEMENT ON DEBATES BETWEEN
[55] ...BUT NO AGREEMENT IN THE OFFING FOR ORBAN-MEDGYESSY DEBATE
[56] HUNGARY'S TOCSIK CASE RENEWED BEFORE APRIL ELECTIONS...
[57] ...PROMPTING COMMENTS FROM POLITICIANS
[58] SERBIAN DEPUTY PREMIER RESIGNS...
[59] ...AS YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SAYS PERISIC GUILTY OF ESPIONAGE
[60] U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS YUGOSLAVIA CONTINUES TO OBSTRUCT THE
[61] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SAYS HE'LL RESIGN IF SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
[62] YUGOSLAV RAIL WORKERS GO ON STRIKE
[63] MACEDONIA AND UNMIK TO RESOLVE BORDER ISSUES
[64] ALBANIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL DISMISSED...
[65] ...AS ACCUSATIONS MOUNT...
[66] ...HIGHLIGHTING RIFT WITHIN RULING SOCIALIST PARTY
[67] FIRST HAGUE INDICTEE PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY'
[68] CROATIAN AMBASSADOR DEMANDS THAT BOSNIA STEM REFUGEE FLOW
[69] SFOR AGAIN ASKS FOR CITIZENS' HELP IN APPREHENDING KARADZIC
[70] CROATIA WANTS NEW DEAL WITH IMF
[71] GERMAN BANK HANDS OVER $90 MILLION, BUT CROATIAN GOVERNMENT LEFT
[72] CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CRACKS DOWN ON IDLE CIVIL SERVANTS
[73] MACEDONIAN POLITICAL LEADERS AGREE ON ELECTION DATE
[74] ROMANIAN PREMIER SAYS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOLOCAUST MUST BE
[75] ...ANNOUNCES LEGISLATION AGAINST EXTREMISM, ANTONESCU CULT...
[76] ...JUST AS SOCCER CLUB COMPLAINS OF RACIST ATTACK
[77] FORMER PRM DEPUTY CHAIRMAN REPLACED AS PARLIAMENTARY QUESTOR
[78] LEBANESE PREMIER IN ROMANIA
[79] KURDISH MINORITY IN ROMANIA CANCELS RALLY
[80] MOLDOVAN PPCD LEADER SAYS RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR DISPLAYS UNDIPLOMATIC
[81] RUSSIA TO DELIVER CHEAP ELECTRICITY TO MOLDOVA
[82] TELERADIO MOLDOVA STRIKERS TO APPEAL TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE
[83] OSCE URGES AVOIDING CONFLICT ESCALATION IN GAGAUZ-YERI
[84] BULGARIA GETS POSITIVE SIGNALS FROM EU...
[85] ...AND NATO
[86] OPPOSITION PREDICTS END TO GOVERNMENT SHOULD NATO ACCESSION FAIL
[87] BULGARIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OPPOSES GOVERNMENT PLAN TO REDUCE
[88] There is no End Note today.
19 March 2002
RUSSIA
[01] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT ON GLOBAL SECURITY THREATS
Addressing a group of foreign ambassadors assembled at the Kremlin to
present their diplomatic credentials on 18 March, President Vladimir
Putin said one of the main goals of the antiterrorist coalition must be
the elimination of the organizational structure and financial base of
international terrorism, ITAR-TASS reported on 18 March. In addition to
terrorism, the civilized world should face the challenge of additional
threats such as nuclear proliferation, regional conflicts, ecological
crises, drug trafficking, and economic inequality, which the president
said threatens global security. Ambassadors from Afghanistan, South
Korea, Kazakhstan, Greece, Romania, and Lesotho attended the ceremony.
VY
[02] MOSCOW STRESSES ECONOMIC TIES WITH BAGHDAD
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said after meeting on 18 March
with Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid that Moscow is pleased
with its economic ties with Baghdad and will continue to support Iraq
politically, Interfax and RIA-Novosti reported. "We are against any
coercive scenario for solving the Iraqi problem," Ivanov said. Rashid,
in Moscow for a meeting of the Iraqi-Russian commission for trade,
economic, and scientific cooperation, told journalists that his country
has already signed more than 300 contracts worth $500 million with
Russian oil traders under the framework of the UN's oil-for-food
program, and hopes to sign an additional long-term bilateral trade
agreements program during the commission's session. Rashid added that
more than 400 Iraqi oil engineers have been sent for training in
Russia, including 80 to Gazprom and 240 to Tatneft. VY
[03] DUMA TAKES HARD LINE ON KURILES
Speaking at the parliamentary hearings on the fate of the Kurile
Islands on 18 March, State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev said that for
Russia its territorial integrity is more important than a peace treaty
with Japan, Russian news agencies reported. Meanwhile, the Duma's
International Relations Committee head, Dmitrii Rogozin, said that the
controversy surrounding "the disputed islands is an invention of
Japanese diplomacy," and that the economic significance of the Kuriles
is so crucial that Russia must "toughly and actively reinforce its
sovereignty over the territory." Aleksandr Gurov, the head of the
Duma's Security Committee, added that the islands are strategically
vital for Russia "especially [considering the] current geopolitical
advance of the United States." Eventually, the participants of the
hearings adopted recommendations asking Putin's administration to "drop
the idea of a peace treaty with Japan as...confrontational, and build
bilateral relations on other bases." VY
[04] RUSSIA PREPARES TO BUILD UP ITS OWN ANTIMISSILE SYSTEM...
Within the next few years, Russia will completely restore its national
early warning system for preventing missile attacks, "Izvestiya"
reported on 18 March. Speaking the same day at the collegium of the
Russian Agency for Guidance Systems (RASU), agency director Vladimir
Simonov said Russia has already finished assembling the Volga radar
station near Baranavichy in Belarus, modernized the central control
station of the Space Troops at Serpukhov-15, and successfully tested
its S-400 air-defense missile system. Simonov also said that his
agency's budget was increased last year by 25 percent. "Izvestiya"
commented that the measures show that Russia is about to deploy its own
antimissile defense system to counter that planned by the United
States. VY
[05] ...AS DEFENSE COMMITTEE HEAD WANTS TO LIVE BY THE SWORD
"The United States is deploying its national antimissile defense to
dictate its will to the world, and Russia should look for adequate
measures" to counter it, Duma Defense Committee head General Andrei
Nikolaev said on 18 March, RIA-Novosti reported. "One such measure must
be to increase the threat from our side, which means that if U.S. is
building up its nuclear shield, we should build up our nuclear sword,"
Nikolaev said. Nikolaev proposed that a council composed of Russia's
top strategic weapons designers be created and serve as a consulting
organ to the Russian government on military-technical issues. VY
[06] RUSSIAN DEFENSE CONTRACTOR HOPES TO SELL MISSILES TO BOEING
Vympel General Director Gennadii Sokolovskii has announced that
Russia's federal committee for military-technical cooperation with
foreign countries is reviewing a purchase request from Boeing,
"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 18 March. The Russian state-owned
defense contractor produces air-to-air missiles. The daily commented
that if the U.S. aerospace giant were to place an order it would
signify a significant step forward for joint military production
cooperation, as U.S. defense contractors have traditionally only been
interested in obtaining samples of Russian military hardware to gain
technical know-how. VY
[07] MILITARY PAY RAISE COULD SABOTAGE RUSSIAN BUDGET
Speaking at a meeting of the government on 18 March, President Putin
called on Mikhail Kasyanov's cabinet to implement the military
personnel salary increase approved by the State Duma on 14 March,
ITAR-TASS reported. Putin said that under the new concept the state
will halt the practice of offering financial privileges to soldiers,
and instead introduce an across-the-board 50 to 100 percent pay raise
beginning on 1 July 2002. The new military payment system will be equal
to that of the civil service, and most social benefits such as free
transportation and medical care will be retained, explained Putin.
Polit.ru commented on 18 March that the Finance Ministry is unsure of
how the president's wish can be fulfilled, because such measures would
require a state budget increase of at least 10 percent. VY
[08] SPY'S BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON KREMLIN'S COLD WAR POLICIES...
The Moscow publishing house Olma-press has released a book written by
the late Soviet super-spy Pavel Sudoplatov that contains several
revelations on the role of the foreign intelligence under former Soviet
dictator Joseph Stalin's regime, "Nezavisimoe voennoe obozrenie" wrote
in a review on 15 March. The former deputy of Stalin's secret police
chief Lavrentii Beria requested in his will that the book be released
after Sudoplatov's death, which occurred in 1996. In his book,
Sudoplatov repeats his claims that J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director
for Los Alamos research for the U.S. Manhattan Project, was a member of
the U.S. Communist Party's covert network that was completely
controlled by Soviet intelligence. Second, he writes that on 22
December 1945, Stalin received in the Kremlin one of the leading
figures of the U.S. atomic bomb project, Professor James Bryant
Connant, who traveled to Moscow to seek contacts with Soviet nuclear
scientists. Sudoplatov writes that during this meeting Stalin
ironically offered a toast to "the health of American physicists." VY
[09] ...CLAIMS STALIN SUPPORTED PEARL HARBOR ATTACK, USED DOLLARS TO
REBUILD USSR
In addition, the book claims that a week before Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Stalin secretly conveyed to the
Japanese imperial government a message that Moscow "fully supports
Tokyo's plans to defeat Anglo-American imperialism in the Pacific."
Furthermore, Sudoplatov writes that with the help of excellent
intelligence contacts inside the U.S. government, his organization
obtained equipment from the U.S. Treasury 1945-1948 that provided the
USSR with the means to print much-needed dollars for restoring its own
as well as satellite economies ruined by the war. VY
[10] PRIMAKOV'S MEDIA CREDENTIALS QUESTIONED
"Yezhenedelnii Zhurnal," No. 9, carried a long report on the TV-6
affair and the effort to form an alliance of oligarchs to support the
team of journalists headed by former TV-6 General Director Yevgenii
Kiselev. According to the weekly, several members of Kiselev's team
refused to participate in the new project when they learned that they
would not be able to avoid being subordinated to Chamber of Commerce
and Industry head Yevgenii Primakov. The weekly noted that when
Primakov was a prime minister under former President Boris Yeltsin, he
"used to be scolded even by Boris Yeltsin for his bad relations with
the media." It also notes that "political experts do not doubt that the
political heavyweights [such as Primakov and Russian Union of
Entrepreneurs and Industrialists head Arkadii Volskii] have been
commissioned by the Kremlin in order to conduct ideological monitoring
of the disfavored NTV/TV-6 journalistic team." "Yezhenedelnii Zhurnal"
was started by former "Itogi" Editor Sergei Parkomenko, who left when
that publication was taken over by Gazprom-Media. JAC
[11] GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS REFORM OF EES...
Viktor Kudryavii, a deputy energy minister and board member of Unified
Energy Systems (EES), has said that he is opposed to dividing EES into
two separate companies for distribution and energy production because
such reform is "premature," polit.ru reported on 18 March. Kudryavii
admitted that in an EES board vote on 17 March he voted against
restructuring the company because "there is no sufficient legal base
for the reform of the electrical energy sector." Kudryavii added that
the government's decision to deregulate EES is not an end in itself,
and that hasty reforms could discriminate against other generating
companies that produce about one-third of the electrical power in the
country, including Rosenergoatom, Tatenergo, and Bashkirenergo. VY
[12] CHUBAIS TELLS DEFENSE MINISTRY OFFICIALS THEIR TIME IS UP...
EES issued a press release on 18 March noting that an earlier
moratorium on limiting electricity supplies to military facilities ran
out on 15 March, lenta.ru reported the same day. According to the
website, the company said that budget-funded organizations owe it some
4.7 billion rubles in unpaid bills just for the first two months of
2002. The Defense Ministry is supposedly one of the biggest offenders
-- its indebtedness to regional branches of EES increased by 1.1
billion rubles ($35.3 million) from the first of the year. Also on 18
March, Ulyanovskenergo started to limit heat and electricity supplies
to military facilities in Ulyanovsk Oblast. Affected was the military
city of Polivino. JAC
[13] ...AS ULYANOVSK APPEALS TO PUTIN FOR HEAT, ELECTRICITY
Meanwhile, NTV reported on 18 March that more than 100,000 people in
Ulyanovsk Oblast have been living without heat and hot water for almost
a week, and Ulyanovsk Mayor Pavel Romanenko has sent a letter to
President Putin asking that "measures be taken to protect Ulyanovsk
residents." Prime Minister Kasyanov visited Ulyanovsk last month in
part to deal with the region's continuing energy problems (see "RFE/RL
Russian Federation Report," 27 February 2002). JAC
[14] TUVA PRESIDENT GETS THIRD TERM
Incumbent Tuva Republic President Sherig-ool Oorzhak was re-elected on
17 March, Interfax-Eurasia reported. According to preliminary results
the next day, Oorzhak has more than 53 percent of the vote -- more than
50 percent was required in order for him to win in just one round.
Oorzhak's closest competitor was local legislative speaker Sholban
Kara-ool, who had 24 percent of the vote. RFE/RL's Kyzyl correspondent
reported that the election was one of the dirtiest and most
scandal-ridden in the republic's history: one candidate, Vyacheslav
Darzha, the head of the republican legal department (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 March 2002) survived an assassination attempt; and the
incumbent Oorzhak was accused of using administrative resources in his
campaign -- a charge which the republican Supreme Court examined the
day before the election and dismissed. In addition, another candidate,
Stanislav Pivovarov, said that his main goal in participating in the
election was to raise the issue of launching a criminal investigation
against Oorzhak. Darzha also said on local television that he possessed
compromising materials about Oorzhak (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28
February 2002). JAC
[15] REGIONAL PARDONS COMMISSIONS NOT DOLING OUT MANY PARDONS
Robert Tsivilev, the head of the presidential administration's
department on pardons, has said that the new pardons commissions in
Russian regions are recommending the rejection of a majority of appeals
that they consider, strana.ru reported on 14 March. He said that in
Tatarstan, the local pardons commission has approved only eight of 96
appeals, the commission in the Saratov Oblast two of 18, in Voronezh
Oblast one of five, and in Murmansk Oblast one of two. Meanwhile, in
the Nizhnii Novgorod and Ulyanovsk oblasts, commissions denied all of
the two and three appeals they considered, respectively. In addition,
the pardons commission recently established in the Jewish Autonomous
Oblast rejected all three pardon applications at a recent session,
Interfax-Eurasia reported on 18 March. JAC
[16] KREMLIN 'FIXER' VISITS KAZAN...
Vladislav Surkov, deputy head of the presidential administration,
completed a one-day visit to Tatarstan on 14 March, strana.ru reported
the next day. According to the website, Surkov met with Tatarstan
President Mintimer Shaimiev, with whom he reportedly discussed the
function of the Unified Russia party. The bulk of Surkov's trip was
reportedly devoted to the task of familiarizing himself with the
process of building political parties in the republic. Surkov was
accompanied by Unified Russia General Council Chairman Aleksandr
Bespalov. Bespalov has been preoccupied of late with overseeing the
process of merging local chapters of Unity and Fatherland (see "RFE/RL
Russian Political Weekly," 14 March 2002). JAC
[17] ...AS ANOTHER STRUGGLE OVER LEADERSHIP OF UNIFIED RUSSIA CHAPTER
IS WAGED
Meanwhile, in Kemerovo Oblast, the oblast administration issued a press
release on 18 March announcing that the regional branch of the Unified
Russia party is in danger of being dissolved, strana.ru reported.
According to the website, the party's General Council suggested Yurii
Zakharov, rector of Kemerovo State University, as head for the local
party branch -- a candidate that Kemerovo Oblast Governor Aman Tuleev
reportedly also supports. However, according to the website, Zakharov
managed to attract only 89 votes from the 218 delegates at a party
gathering in the oblast on 16 March. A meeting on 1 March also resulted
in insufficient votes cast in favor of Zakharov. According to
strana.ru, delegates to the meeting said that Tuleev is trying to
preserve his control over the new party by supporting Zakharov. JAC
[18] NEW FEDERATION MINISTER NIXES REOPENING PASSPORT AND NATIONALITY
DEBATE
Vladimir Zorin, the federal cabinet minister who oversees questions of
nationalities policy, told Interfax on 18 March that he does not
support Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov's suggestions that
Russian passports include an entry for the bearer's ethnicity. "This
question has already been widely discussed by the public, including in
the State Duma, when the new passports were introduced," he said. JAC
[19] BURYATIA LEADER ASKED TO SEEK THIRD TERM
A group of workers at a locomotive and train car repair factory in
Ulan-Ude have called on Buryatia's president, Leonid Potapov, to seek a
third term, strana.ru reported on 15 March. Potapov himself has so far
not announced whether he plans to seek re-election in the ballot
scheduled for 23 June 2002. JAC
[20] CHECHEN WARLORD APPEALS SENTENCE
Salman Raduev and three of his henchmen have filed an appeal with the
Russian Supreme Court against the sentences handed down to them last
December by the Supreme Court of Daghestan in connection with their
role in the January 1996 hostage taking in the town of Kizlyar,
Interfax reported on 18 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 December
2001). Raduev was sentenced to life imprisonment and his three
subordinates to terms ranging from five to 15 years. All four men are
asking that their sentences be reduced. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[21] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY AGAIN REJECTS OPPOSITION DRAFT
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS...
At the close of a weeklong debate, it is clear that most factions in
the Armenian parliament still oppose the opposition proposal that the
alternative draft constitution prepared by six opposition parties be
put to a nationwide referendum at the same time as the package of
constitutional amendments drafted by a presidential commission,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 18 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
14, 15, and 19 February 2002). No date has yet been set for a debate on
the pro-presidential draft amendments. Once deputies approve those
amendments, they must be put to a referendum within two months. But on
14 March, President Robert Kocharian said the referendum should take
place only when it will be impossible to use the outcome to score
political points during an election campaign, Noyan Tapan reported on
15 March. Presidential and parliamentary elections are due next year.
LF
[22] ...AS PARTY LEADERS WARNS AGAINST FALSIFICATION OF ELECTIONS
If the 2003 elections are rigged as was the case with past ballots,
Armenia's statehood may be endangered, Artur Baghdasarian warned in
Yerevan on 16 March, according to Noyan Tapan and Arminfo, as cited by
Groong. Baghdasarian is chairman of the Orinats Yerkir party that
supports President Kocharian. Baghdasarian expressed his backing for
the presidential package of constitutional amendments, arguing that the
current sweeping powers of the president should be curbed. He also
advocated adopting a law on political parties that would provide an
incentive for consolidation, on the grounds that 106 political parties
is an excessive number for a country as small as Armenia. LF
[23] ACCUSED SAYS HE DID NOT ANTICIPATE ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT BLOODSHED
Vram Galstian, the uncle of Nairi Hunanian, who led the October 1999
attack on the Armenian parliament in which eight senior officials died,
told a Yerevan court on 18 March that the attack was intended as a
bloodless coup, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He added that
Hunanian had undertaken to rally a crowd of supporters in front of the
parliament building before storming it. Two other accused, Derenik
Bejanian and Edik Grigorian, have also testified that the group did not
agree beforehand to kill anyone. The eight victims were all shot by
Nairi Hunanian and his brother Karen. LF
[24] FORMER AZERBAIJANI STATE ADVISER REJECTS PRESIDENT'S OFFER OF NEW
POST
Vafa Guluzade, who retired in October 1999 as adviser to President
Heidar Aliev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 October 1999), has rejected an
offer Aliev made publicly at a reception at the U.S. Embassy in Baku to
return to government service, Turan reported on 18 March. The
opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat," as cited by Groong, quoted
Guluzade as saying Aliev's proposal was meant simply as an
acknowledgement of his contribution to the development of
U.S.-Azerbaijani relations. LF
[25] AZERBAIJANI POLICE BREAK UP OPPOSITION RALLY
Police dispersed a rally attended by some 2,000 people in Baku on 17
March, Turan reported the following day. The demonstration, organized
by the opposition Civic Unity Party, which backs former President Ayaz
Mutalibov, was sanctioned by the municipal authorities. Police
intervened after one of the speakers denounced the current Azerbaijani
leadership as "a mafia," and demanded the return to Azerbaijan of
Mutalibov, whom he termed the legitimate president. Participants also
called on the government to take steps to resolve the Karabakh conflict
and improve socioeconomic conditions. LF
[26] PRESIDENT SEEKS EU MEMBERSHIP FOR GEORGIA...
Meeting in Brussels on 18 March with EU Foreign Policy Commissioner
Javier Solana, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said he hopes
Georgia will accede to the EU "in the very near future," adding that he
does not believe Georgia's present instability and level of poverty
will prove an obstacle to doing so, Caucasus Press reported on 18
March. Georgia is not among the present 13 candidates for EU
membership, and Solana did not comment publicly on Shevardnadze's
statement, according to dpa. Solana for his part reaffirmed the EU's
interest in the South Caucasus, and said he and Shevardnadze had
discussed bilateral cooperation and U.S. plans to provide military
assistance to Georgia in its struggle with putative Islamic terrorists.
LF
[27] ...AND CONTINUED COOPERATION WITH NATO
Shevardnadze also visited NATO headquarters on 19 March, where he met
with Secretary-General Lord George Robertson, Reuters and AP reported.
Shevardnadze told journalists that Georgia will continue its
cooperation with NATO and aim to bring its armed forces into line with
NATO standards. The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" on 19 March quoted
Shevardnadze as saying that reforms instituted by U.S. experts who will
shortly arrive in Georgia to help train the armed forces constitute a
"preparatory step" toward NATO membership, and as such are more
important than training the army to fight terrorists. He repeated his
earlier pledge that Georgia "will be knocking on NATO's door" in 2005.
Both Shevardnadze and Robertson said they do not see a role for NATO in
protecting the planned oil and gas pipelines from the Caspian via
Georgia to Turkey. Turan on 15 March quoted Steve Mann, who is adviser
to the U.S. secretary of state for Caspian issues, as saying that while
the security of those pipelines is primarily the responsibility of the
countries through which they pass, the U.S. "is ready to provide
assistance" in guarding them. LF
[28] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CLAIMS ARMENIAN POPULATION DOES NOT
FAVOR AUTONOMY FOR DJAVAKHETI
Following her visit on 16-17 March to Georgia's predominantly
Armenian-populated southern region of Samtskhe-Djavakheti, parliament
speaker Nino Burdjanadze said that most of the region's Armenian
population do not support demands that the region be granted autonomous
status within Georgia, according to Armenian agencies cited by Groong
on 18 March. But Mediamax also reported on 18 March that Virk, an
organization representing the local Armenians, is demanding that a
referendum be held to determine how many local residents support the
demand for autonomy. Burdjanadze said the local population does,
however, want the Georgian authorities to take measures to alleviate
the social and economic problems that plague the region, in particular
high unemployment. For that reason, they oppose the closure of the
Russian military base in Akhalkalaki, which is the largest single
employer. Burdjanadze admitted that a comprehensive Georgian-language
instruction program is needed for the region as most Armenians there do
not speak Georgian. LG
[29] CIS PEACEKEEPERS ABDUCTED IN GEORGIAN CONFLICT ZONE
Unidentified men on 19 March seized four members of the Russian
peacekeeping force deployed under the CIS aegis in the Abkhaz conflict
zone from their automobile at a control post in the village of Otobaia
in Gali Raion, Caucasus Press reported. The abductors and their
captives then headed toward the border between Abkhazia and Georgia's
Zugdidi Raion. The leader of the "Forest Brothers" Georgian guerrilla
formation, Dato Shengelia, had threatened on 16 March to exact revenge
on the Russian peacekeepers for having handed over to the Abkhaz
authorities two guerrillas they apprehended two days earlier (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 18 March 2002). But a spokesman for the guerrillas
denied on 19 March that guerrilla fighters were responsible for
abducting the Russian peacekeepers. Also on 19 March, the Russian
Defense Ministry called for the closure of all roads leading from
Abkhazia to the rest of Georgia, Caucasus Press reported, quoting Ekho
Moskvy. LF
[30] DEATH TOLL IN KYRGYZ CLASHES RISES...
One person injured during the 17 March clashes in Kyrgyzstan's southern
Djalalabad Oblast between police and demonstrators died in hospital on
18 March, and a second person died overnight after renewed clashes late
on 18 March between police and protesters in the village of Kerben,
raising the death toll to six, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. The
circumstances of the 18 March fighting remain unclear. Police opened
fire on 17 March on demonstrators who were demanding the release of
parliament deputy Azimbek Beknazarov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 March
2002). The People's Congress of Kyrgyzstan, which comprises four
opposition parties, demanded an independent investigation by
international organizations into the shooting. It also said that the
interior minister, prosecutor-general, and head of the national
security service should step down for the duration of that
investigation. The Kyrgyz government and the Legislative Assembly (the
lower chamber of parliament) have both formed commissions to
investigate. LF
[31] ...AS PRESIDENT ACCUSES OPPOSITION, FIRES LOCAL OFFICIAL...
In an address on National Television on the evening of 18 March that
was also carried on the presidential website (http://www.president.kg),
Askar Akaev condemned the 17 March clashes as "a clear part of a
coordinated campaign by opposition forces to destabilize the situation
in the country, and this has been going on for the last few months,"
Reuters reported. Akaev did not, however, mention any opposition party
or activist by name. Also on 18 March, Akaev fired Shermamat Osmonov,
district administrator in the village of Aksu where demonstrations
continued on 18 March to demand Beknazarov's release. State Secretary
Osmonakun Ibraimov on 18 March repeated official allegations that
police opened fire in self-defense after demonstrators pelted them with
stones. But eyewitnesses told RFE/RL the same day that the
demonstrators did not resort to any aggression against the police, who
opened fire without warning. LF
[32] ...AND INTERIOR MINISTER SAYS POLICE CANNOT AFFORD TEAR GAS
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Temirbek Akmataliev told the Legislative
Assembly on 18 March that the police had no alternative but to open
fire on the demonstrators using live ammunition because the ministry
cannot afford either rubber bullets or tear gas for use in crowd
control, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. A former finance minister,
Akmataliev was named to his present post two months ago (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 22 January 2002). When asked by Ismail Isakov, chairman of
the parliament committee on security, what law empowers the police to
open fire on the population using live ammunition, Akmataliev was
unable to give an answer. LF
[33] BEKNAZAROV'S TRIAL POSTPONED INDEFINITELY
Presiding judge Bolot Mombekov announced on 18 March that he is
suspending for an indefinite period Beknazarov's trial on charges of
dereliction of duty, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. On 13 March, the
prosecution demanded a seven-year sentence; judgment was to have been
pronounced on 18 March. LF
[34] TAJIK FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS IRAN
Talbak Nazarov held talks in Tehran on 17 March with his Iranian
counterpart Kamal Kharrazi and with President Mohammad Khatami, Asia
Plus-Blitz reported the following day. Topics discussed included the
prospects for expanding bilateral economic cooperation, coordinating
measures to counter terrorism and drug trafficking, and possible
cooperation in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. Khatami is
scheduled to visit Tajikistan on a tour of Central Asian states next
month. LF
[35] TURKEY TO PROVIDE MILITARY AID TO UZBEKISTAN
Meeting on 18 March with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, visiting chief
of staff of the Turkish armed forces General Husein Kivrikoglu pledged
a further $1.2 million in assistance to the Uzbek armed forces,
Interfax reported. In addition to bilateral military cooperation, the
two men also discussed the situation in Afghanistan. Kivrikoglu also
met with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov and Defense Minister
Kadyr Gulyamov. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[36] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER JAILED FOR 10 DAYS
A district court in Minsk on 18 March punished Social Democratic Party
leader Mikalay Statkevich with 10 days in jail for organizing an
unauthorized march to commemorate Constitution Day (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 18 March 2002), RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported. JM
[37] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST ASKS FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN POLAND
Opposition activist Valery Hrytsuk has requested that the Polish
authorities grant him political asylum because of political repression
he has suffered in Belarus, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported on 18
March. Hrytsuk, who participated in all major opposition actions in
Belarus in the 1990s, told an RFE/RL correspondent that the Belarusian
authorities have fabricated a criminal case against him for the alleged
theft of a court document. "Most absurd is that the document [I
allegedly stole] was a court resolution that the court was obliged
under the law to pass to me," Hrytsuk said. He believes that his
involvement as a human rights activist was the direct reason for his
persecution. "The authorities became furious after I won a case against
the Minsk police, which was ordered to pay me compensation for moral
damages. This was on 26 April 2001. The police did not pay the money,
but a few days later the criminal case was launched against me,"
Hrytsuk added. JM
[38] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT WANTS MILITARY COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA...
Leonid Kuchma on 18 March visited the state-run Artem military giant
that produces air-to-air missiles, parts for the An-70 and An-140
transport aircraft, as well as some nonmilitary goods including vacuum
cleaners and parts for tractors and combines, Ukrainian media reported.
Kuchma said he is sure that new weapons are needed by the Ukrainian
army and that they will find buyers on the global market. He also
touched upon his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 March 2002). "We discussed the level of our
technical and military cooperation in detail... We do not have any
alternative to the unification of efforts of the Ukrainian and Russian
military-industrial complex, as well as of our other partners that used
to be in the former Soviet Union and are now republics or, rather,
countries of the CIS," Inter Television quoted Kuchma as saying. JM
[39] ...STRESSES NEED FOR 'ORGANIZED FORCE' IN PARLIAMENT
Commenting on the upcoming parliamentary ballot, Kuchma said stability
in the country can be preserved only if the government receives
political support from a future parliament. "If 32 parties...with 14
people from each come into [a 450-strong] parliament, tell me please:
Can they come to terms with each other? Everyone wants to be at the top
and wield the scepter. It took us two months to elect the previous
parliament's head. This will be the case with the next parliament
unless a really organized force comes to power -- or two or three of
them -- which can unite on one platform," Inter Television quoted him
as saying. JM
[40] OUR UKRAINE CAMPAIGNER REPORTEDLY BEATEN BY POLICE
Citing the press service of the Ukrainian Popular Rukh, UNIAN reported
on 18 March that Oleksandra Kravchenko, a campaign activist of Viktor
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine election bloc, was harshly beaten by two
policemen in Sumy (northern Ukraine) on 12 March. According to the
press service, she was attacked by members of the Velyko-Pysarivskyy
District police department in Sumy Oblast: Oleksandr Polyakin, the
deputy head of the department, and Serhiy Korniyenko. Kravchenko has
appealed to the Prosecutor's Office for protection. JM
[41] UKRAINIAN CITY GIVES COMBATANT STATUS TO FORMER SS DIVISION
SOLDIERS
The City Council of Ivano-Frankivsk (western Ukraine) has recognized
veterans of the SS Division Galizien (Halychyna) as participants in
combat for the freedom and independence of Ukraine, UNIAN reported on
18 March, quoting a source in the city authorities. The Halychyna
Division was formed in German-occupied Ukraine in 1943, following a
proposal from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-M, the
faction led by Andriy Melnyk). The OUN-M viewed the division as a
nucleus of a Ukrainian army necessary for winning Ukrainian
independence. More than 80,000 young Ukrainians volunteered for the
division, and some 13,000 of them became soldiers. The Ivano-Frankivsk
authorities granted combatant status to 24 Halychyna veterans living in
the region, of whom most are disabled former prisoners of the Soviet
gulag. Under the council's resolution, they are now entitled to a
pension increase and benefits in paying for public utilities. UNIAN
added that the Russian community of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast has
protested the council's resolution, arguing that the Halychyna Division
could not contribute to the defense of Ukraine since it fought a battle
with Soviet troops in the summer of 1944. JM
[42] LACK OF TRAINING GROUNDS IMPERILS MAJOR NATO EXERCISE IN ESTONIA
Parliament Defense Committee Chairman Tiit Tammsaar asserted that the
lack of proper military training grounds may become a serious problem
for holding the Baltic Eagle 2002 exercises in September, ETA reported
on 18 March. Noting that Latvia and Lithuania have successfully held
similar exercises in the past few years, he accused the Defense
Ministry of not addressing the issue several years ago. Defense
Ministry Chancellor Indrek Kannik said the exercises will take place,
probably at the planned central training grounds near Tapa, but that he
is not sure whether the state will succeed in purchasing 120 privately
owned plots of land for the grounds in time. SG
[43] LATVIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS RUSSIA'S REPROACHES OVER RUSSKOYE
RADIO CASE ARE GROUNDLESS
Foreign Ministry spokesman Vilmars Henins on 18 March defined as
groundless the charges made by the Russian Foreign Ministry that the
Latvian National Radio and Television Council's 7 March decision not to
extend the broadcasting license of Russkoye Radio Riga is a violation
the rights of minorities, BNS reported. He noted that the Supreme Court
ruled in May 2001 that the station had violated copyright laws as well
as several international documents, including the Bern convention on
protection of literary and art works as well as the World Intellectual
Property Organization agreement on copyrights. Henins said: "Russia is
again trying to politicize issues that have completely different form
and content." The station's broadcasts ended on 13 March. SG
[44] LITHUANIAN PREMIER'S REPORT CRITICIZED
Representatives of the opposition Liberal Union, Center Union,
Conservatives, and Modern Christian Democrats registered a draft
resolution on 18 March criticizing Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas's
report on the activities of the government in 2001, "Kauno Diena"
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 March 2002). The resolution stated
that the report was full of statistical information, but lacked a
deeper evaluation of the government's work. They complained that the
premier did not express his opinion on such important issues as the
restoration of savings accounts, compensation for nationalized
property, as well as the future reforms of the education and pension
systems. The parliament budget and finance, economy, and foreign
affairs committees also met the same day and expressed a favorable
opinion of the premier's report. SG
[45] POLISH PRESIDENT VOICES SUPPORT FOR ESTONIA'S NATO BID
Aleksander Kwasniewski assured his Estonian counterpart Arnold Ruutel
in Warsaw on 18 March that Poland supports Estonia's NATO bid and would
like Estonia to be invited to join the alliance at the NATO summit in
Prague this fall, PAP reported. "We are convinced that Estonia fulfils
all criteria required by NATO," Kwasniewski noted. He added that Poland
would also like to see in NATO other Baltic countries as well as those
that are striving for membership, such as Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria,
and Romania. "We are determined on this point," Kwasniewski said. Asked
by journalists about societal support in Estonia for EU integration,
Ruutel said it stood at 30 percent in the beginning of 2001 but added
that now more than 50 percent of Estonians back it. JM
[46] POLISH GOVERNMENT, EPISCOPATE AGREE ON CHURCH CHARITY ACTIVITIES
At its first meeting during the term of Premier Leszek Miller's
cabinet, the Joint Commission of the Government and the Episcopate on
18 March agreed that a planned bill on voluntary charity activities
will put Roman Catholic Church parishes and organizations dealing with
charity on par with NGOs regarding tax benefits, PAP reported. The
sides also discussed integration with the EU and sex education at
schools. Miller commented after the meeting that statements by Primate
Jozef Glemp and other Episcopate representatives clearly indicate that
the Roman Catholic Church in Poland approves of the idea of the
country's joining the EU. Commenting on the discussed issue of sex
education, Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek said, "the government expressed an
opinion similar to that presented by the church," which says that
family is the basis of education and it "has the right not to be
deprived of this task." JM
[47] WAS POLISH MINISTER CAUGHT MOLESTING FEMALE INTERPRETER AT EU
SUMMIT?
Minister Izabela Jaruga Nowacka, who deals with matters pertaining to
gender equality, has addressed Premier Miller with a letter asking for
explanations for the behavior of Deputy Foreign Minister Tadeusz
Iwinski at the EU summit in Barcelona last week, PAP reported on 18
March. The private TVN Television on 15 March showed footage of Iwinski
putting his hand on a buttock of an accompanying female interpreter,
slipping it under her jacket, and trying to cuddle her. Iwinski told
journalists in Poland that it might have been a "spontaneous, unaware"
gesture on his part. "I have no doubt that it was a form of sexual
molestation," Wanda Nowicka, the chairwoman of the Federation for the
Matters of Women and Family Planning, told "Gazeta Wyborcza" on 18
March. "I advise that all officials avoid gestures that may be
ill-interpreted, even if they are caused by spontaneous behavior," PAP
quoted President Kwasniewski as saying on 18 March. JM
[48] CZECH ANTICHEMICAL WARFARE UNIT LEAVES FOR KUWAIT
More than 200 Czech soldiers from an antichemical warfare unit left for
Kuwait on 18 March to participate in the Enduring Freedom operation,
CTK and AP reported. They were seen off by President Vaclav Havel and
U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Craig Stapleton. Stapleton read a
message from U.S. President George W. Bush telling the 226 soldiers:
"We are proud to have you as our partners in the coalition against
terrorism." Chief of Staff General Jiri Sedivy, who was also present at
the airport, ruled out that Czech troops could participate in a
possible attack on Iraq. Sedivy told journalists earlier on 18 March
that the Czech Republic has proposed to Slovakia to send "auxiliary
forces" for the field hospital that the Czech army will dispatch to
Afghanistan. Sedivy said Prague is now "waiting for a response" from
the Slovak army. MS
[49] SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS NATO TO UNDERGO TRANSFORMATION AT PRAGUE
SUMMIT
NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson told CTK on 18 March that
at its summit in Prague in November NATO will "try to answer the
crucial question of how to ensure that the organization remains viable
despite the fact that threats and enemies have changed." Robertson said
the summit might also "redefine relations with Russia." He said the
second wave of expansion will certainly be on the summit's agenda,
adding that since the 1997 Madrid summit NATO has learned how to
"better screen" candidates. He said that the acceptance of the Czech
Republic, Hungary, and Poland as new members in 1997 was "without
problems from the political point of view, but brought some trouble
from the military perspective." Robertson praised the reforms underway
in the Czech army and the role played by Defense Minister Jaroslav
Tvrdik in those reforms. MS
[50] CZECH ODS CHAIRMAN SAYS CSSD'S TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT IS
'THEATRICAL GESTURE'
Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus told journalists on
18 March that the announcement of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) on
terminating its "opposition agreement" with the ODS was a "theatrical
gesture" on the eve of the elections. Klaus said that the ODS "does not
accept" such gestures and will "have no part in them." He emphasized
that the agreement will at any rate expire at the end of the current
parliament's mandate. Klaus also said the ODS is "dissatisfied" with
the statement made on the Benes Decrees by Prime Minister Milos Zeman
at the recent EU summit in Barcelona. He said it was not enough to
merely state that the decrees would have no impact on the accession
process, and that Zeman failed to address the question of whether
ownership rights in the Czech Republic will be endangered after the
country joins the EU. MS
[51] CSSD CHAIRMAN PREDICTS CZECH PREMIER WILL RETURN TO POLITICS
Vladimir Spidla said on 18 March that "after some rest," outgoing
Premier Zeman is likely to return to politics "in one way on the
other," CTK reported. Spidla, who will inherit the premiership from
Zeman if the CSSD wins the June elections, said that "Zeman is a great
personality, and great personalities leave [politics] only when they
die." MS
[52] EU LEADERS TELL SLOVAK PREMIER NO LEGAL PROBLEMS ARE BARRING
ACCESSION
EU leaders told visiting Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda in Brussels on
18 March that no "significant legal problems" stand in the way of
Slovakia's accession, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. EU President
Romano Prodi said the EU does not intend to become involved in the
Slovak-Hungarian dispute over the Status Law, adding that this "is a
problem that must be solved between the two countries." Prodi added
that the EU "encourages" the sides to continue parleys and to follow
the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Dzurinda said that the
Status Law will "never" be implemented in Slovakia, but that
discussions with Hungary will continue. EU Enlargement Commissioner
Guenter Verheugen said that the commission is currently examining
whether the property restitution laws passed by the Czech Republic in
the early 1990s have "discriminatory effects," but that no "special
investigation" is envisaged in Slovakia's case. MS
[53] U.S. OFFICIAL IS OUTSPOKEN ON MECIAR RETURN, BENES DECREES
Elizabeth Jones, the head of the U.S. State Department's European and
Euro-Asian Affairs, told Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan in Bratislava on
18 March that there is "no doubt" that the outcome of the parliamentary
elections will influence NATO's decision on whether to invite Slovakia
to join the organization at its Prague November summit, CTK reported.
Jones said NATO is "not only a military alliance, but also a community
of certain values," and that candidates must fulfill not only military,
but also "democratic criteria." Kukan informed Jones about Bratislava's
stand on the "inadmissibility of a revision of the Benes Decrees" and
about the "unfortunate" statement made by Hungarian Premier Viktor
Orban pertaining to the issue. An official communique released after
the meeting said the sides "agree on the inviolability of the
agreements concluded by the victorious powers after World War II at the
Potsdam conference." MS
[54] MAIN HUNGARIAN PARTIES CLOSE TO AGREEMENT ON DEBATES BETWEEN
MINISTERS, CHALLENGERS...
FIDESZ parliamentary deputy Tamas Isepy and Socialist Party Deputy
Chairwoman Ildiko Lendvai on 18 March agreed that public debates
between 16 cabinet members and candidates for ministers of the
Socialist Party will be held at Budapest's Millennium Park between 21
March and 3 April, Hungarian media reported. The two parties agreed to
give the independent media the option to broadcast the debates, and
also agreed that if such networks broadcast summaries they must devote
equal airtime to each party. Half of the audience will be recruited by
FIDESZ, and the other half by the Socialist Party. The parties have yet
to reach agreement on the moderators and the length of the debates.
FIDESZ wants each debate to be two hours long, while the Socialists
want only one-hour discussions. MSZ
[55] ...BUT NO AGREEMENT IN THE OFFING FOR ORBAN-MEDGYESSY DEBATE
Isepy told journalists on 18 March that he has no authorization to
discuss the envisaged debate between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and
his Socialist challenger Peter Medgyessy, but reiterated that Orban
will await Medgyessy at the University of Economics on 5 and 19 April.
FIDESZ Chairman Zoltan Pokorni suggested that the Socialists appeal to
Orban regarding the venue and date of a debate, as the prime minister
is the host. He said it would be good if the Socialists either accept
the 5 April date or make it clear that they do not want to take part in
the debate. MSZ
[56] HUNGARY'S TOCSIK CASE RENEWED BEFORE APRIL ELECTIONS...
The Budapest Metropolitan Court on 18 March sentenced lawyer Marta
Tocsik to four years' imprisonment and ordered her to return 640
million forints ($2.3 million) in assets for her role in Hungary's
biggest privatization scandal to date, Hungarian media reported. In
1995, Tocsik was paid an honorarium of 804 million forints ($6.4
million at the time) for her success in reducing the privatization
revenues paid by the state to local governments for the sale of land
and other assets. Tocsik plans to appeal the verdict to the Supreme
Court. Former head of the State Privatization Agency (APV) Imre Szokai
and Peter Liszkai, the former leading counsel at APV, were each
sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for "abuse of funds." Former
Socialist Party Treasurer Laszlo Boldvai and Gyorgy Budai, a
businessman linked to the Free Democrats, were acquitted. MSZ
[57] ...PROMPTING COMMENTS FROM POLITICIANS
Former Prime Minister Gyula Horn said the verdict clearly shows that
the Socialist Party is not implicated in any corruption cases and "has
been undeservedly dragged through the mud" by FIDESZ for years. Free
Democrat Gabor Fodor said his party believed all along that persons
connected to the Socialists and Free Democrats were innocent, and the
ruling has made that clear. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[58] SERBIAN DEPUTY PREMIER RESIGNS...
Momcilo Perisic, detained on 14 March and accused by the Yugoslav
military secret service of spying for the U.S., resigned on 19 March at
the request of Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic, Reuters reported. In a
letter to Djindjic, Perisic wrote: "I am extending my full cooperation
to the Serbian government regardless of the fact that I am resigning
today." Perisic's resignation means he will lose his parliamentary
immunity and would then be subject to official arrest and prosecution.
Perisic said he was set up and that his detention was part of an
attempt to bring down Djindjic's government. Perisic said the arrest
was "stage managed in the style of the darkest dictatorial regimes. I
will not let them use their showdown with me to topple the Serbian
government at a moment when it represents the only possibility for
carrying out economic and political reforms in the country." PB
[59] ...AS YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SAYS PERISIC GUILTY OF ESPIONAGE
Vojislav Kostunica said on 18 March in Belgrade that the detention of
Perisic and U.S. diplomat John David Neighbor was a "spy affair of huge
proportions" and that the military secret service has evidence to prove
the espionage, AP reported. Kostunica said the secret service showed
him "concrete" evidence that Perisic passed state secrets to Neighbor,
though he said he could not give details because of the ongoing
investigation. He added that "what we have seen was only the tip of the
iceberg...security forces never launch an action unless they have firm
proof." Kostunica insisted the detention of Perisic and Neighbor, who
had parliamentary and diplomatic immunity, respectively, was "conducted
generally correct," adding only that the secret service should not have
released the name and nationality of Neighbor and that the U.S.
diplomat's detention should have been "shorter." Dragan Marsicanin, the
deputy president of Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia, said on 18
March that Premier Djindjic has a "moral and political obligation" to
resign. PB
[60] U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS YUGOSLAVIA CONTINUES TO OBSTRUCT THE
HAGUE
Colin Powell said after talks with UN war crimes tribunal chief
prosecutor Carla Del Ponte that Yugoslavia continues to obstruct the
efforts of The Hague court, Reuters reported. Powell noted a "lack of
progress" but said the U.S. will "redouble our efforts to get the kind
of cooperation we need with respect to access to archival material,
with respect to turning over other officials, with respect to putting
in place domestic internal law, ...and other issues." The Bush
administration has set 31 March as the deadline to decide if Belgrade
should get some $40 million in aid from Washington as a reward for
cooperating with The Hague tribunal according to conditions set by
Congress. If Belgrade officials fail to meet the conditions then the
money would be withheld, as could support for Yugoslavia's requests for
loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). PB
[61] YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT SAYS HE'LL RESIGN IF SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
AGREEMENT IS NOT RATIFIED
President Kostunica said on 18 March in Belgrade that he will resign if
deputies do not ratify the agreement signed last week with Montenegro
replacing Yugoslavia with a union called Serbia and Montenegro, AP
reported. Kostunica said that if the accord is rejected, "my withdrawal
as head of state and all its functions" will follow. The Serbian,
Montenegrin, and Yugoslav federal parliaments must ratify the agreement
by June. PB
[62] YUGOSLAV RAIL WORKERS GO ON STRIKE
Some 29,000 railroad workers in Yugoslavia went on strike on 18 March
to demand better pay after talks with government officials ended
unsuccessfully, AP reported. The strike crippled rail traffic in the
country with only international trains and a few domestic routes
continuing to run. Workers are seeking a 15 percent increase in their
wages, though the government offered them a 3 percent increase. The
average monthly salary of a railroad worker is about $150. PB
[63] MACEDONIA AND UNMIK TO RESOLVE BORDER ISSUES
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski and Michael Steiner, the UN
administrator for Kosova, agreed on 18 March in the Macedonian capital
to form a joint team of experts that will work to resolve border issues
between Skopje and Prishtina, dpa reported. Steiner said Serbian
Premier Zoran Djindjic supports the creation of the team. Steiner said:
"we need that joint committee, which should practically solve the
problems of villagers from the Kosovo side of the border who want to
work on their land on the Macedonian side." Trajkovski and Steiner also
agreed on several police cooperation issues regarding organized crime
and the prevention of illegal border crossings. PB
[64] ALBANIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL DISMISSED...
The deepening dispute between factions behind former Prime Minister
Ilir Meta and Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano boiled over on 18 March
when "rebel" deputies joined the opposition and voted out Albania's
prosecutor-general, Western news agencies reported. Nano and 28 of his
supporters left the assembly in a boycott of the vote following seven
hours of intense debate, AP added. The decision to dismiss
Prosecutor-General Arben Rakipi comes amid allegations of incompetence
and links to organized crime, and President Rexhep Meidani has pledged
to act on the basis of the vote by lawmakers. With just 99 of 140
deputies present, Meta's supporters fueled a 78 to 10 vote against
Rakipi, with 11 abstentions. AH
[65] ...AS ACCUSATIONS MOUNT...
Opposition leader and former President Sali Berisha accused Rakipi of
behaving like "a political commissar" in bringing on the no-confidence
vote, dpa reported. "He has collaborated in grave political crimes and
is the protector of the traffickers of thousands of Albanian children,
girls, drugs, criminal activities, and government corruption," the
agency quoted Berisha as saying. Meta said after the vote that "the
parliamentary group voted in an open ballot for the motion to discharge
the prosecutor-general, but not for the same reasons put forward" by
Berisha, ATA reported the same day. Rakipi's position has been tenuous
since one of his closest aides, Sokol Kociu, was arrested as part of a
crackdown against an international cocaine cartel. The ensuing trial
has cast a spotlight on Rakipi, including producing photos of the
prosecutor on holiday with some of Kociu's associates. Rakipi has also
been accused of ignoring a massive trade in Albanian women and children
destined for Western European brothels. AH
[66] ...HIGHLIGHTING RIFT WITHIN RULING SOCIALIST PARTY
The ouster of the prosecutor-general sets the stage for a potentially
divisive struggle in government, as Socialist Party leader Nano has
threatened "rebel" deputies with early elections if they side with the
opposition, according to AP. Nano said the motion against Rakipi is
"antidemocratic and anticonstitutional," calling it "an attack against
the independent state institutions in Albania," dpa reported. Former
Prime Minister Meta and some of his allies are being investigated by
Rakipi's office on charges of abuse of power and corruption, but insist
the probe is politically motivated. Local media on 19 March warned that
the confrontation increases the chances of early elections. AH
[67] FIRST HAGUE INDICTEE PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY'
The first person indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia pleaded innocent to all charges on 18 March, some
five years after being detained in connection with suspected war
crimes, AP reported. Bosnian Serb Dragan Nikolic, 44, is believed to
have run the Susica prison and has been accused of the rape, torture,
and murder of Bosnian Muslim detainees during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Nikolic faces allegations of personal involvement and senior
responsibility for daily beatings and sexual assaults, the agency said.
He was initially charged with 80 counts of war crimes, though many of
those counts have been merged to speed up proceedings. Nikolic has
argued that he was detained under illegal circumstances, claiming he
was kidnapped. It is still unclear when his trial will begin, AP said.
AH
[68] CROATIAN AMBASSADOR DEMANDS THAT BOSNIA STEM REFUGEE FLOW
Zagreb's ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Josip Vrbosic, submitted a
letter to that country's Council of Ministers on 18 March in which he
demanded that officials take adequate steps to prevent a further exodus
of Croat refugees from the western Bosnian town of Drvar, HINA
reported. Letters have also been sent to UN High Representative to
Bosnia Wolfgang Petritsch and the head of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe's mission there, Robert Beecroft, warning of
the seriousness of the situation and urging assistance, the agency
added. The Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it
considers the situation very serious, but not dramatic. "Solutions for
the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina should be sought primarily in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, and only then in Croatia," the statement reportedly
reads. AH
[69] SFOR AGAIN ASKS FOR CITIZENS' HELP IN APPREHENDING KARADZIC
The NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia dropped "K-mark" leaflets in
the Serb-controlled towns of Srebrenica, Vlasenica, and Han Pijesak on
19 March, marking the second effort in six days at enlisting public
help to catch former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, dpa
reported. Helicopters distributed the leaflets, which are part of the
U.S. government's Reward for Justice program and offer up to $5 million
for information leading to the arrest of the indicted war criminal. AH
[70] CROATIA WANTS NEW DEAL WITH IMF
Deputy Premier Slavko Linic said on 18 March that Croatian officials
asked for a new arrangement with the IMF during a visit to the United
States, HINA reported. The delegation included Finance Minister Mato
Crkvenac and the governor of the Croatian National Bank, Zeljko
Rohatinski, the agency reported, and its members discussed Croatia's
economic results from 2001. Linic said negotiations could begin in
early May, while IMF executive directors are expected to evaluate the
current standby facility by the end of this month. Linic said Zagreb
wants a short-term, yearlong arrangement that would be less rigid and
detailed than the current one, HINA reported. AH
[71] GERMAN BANK HANDS OVER $90 MILLION, BUT CROATIAN GOVERNMENT LEFT
WITH BANK SCANDAL
German Bayerische Landesbank (BLB) has agreed to surrender its 60
percent stake in Rijecka Banka in the wake of an estimated $90 million
loss from foreign-exchange trading, a Croatian government official was
quoted by AP as saying on 19 March. The foreign investor "will give up
its share worth 70 million euros ($63 million) to the government, and
the government will repair the damage," Deputy Prime Minister Linic
reportedly told parliament one day after meeting with BLB
representatives. Linic did not elaborate, but said the government's
plan to salvage the bank will not burden taxpayers or interrupt Rijecka
Banka's operations, AP added. "The Croatian government and the central
bank will come to the rescue, and that should be enough assurance
against panic," Prime Minister Ivica Racan told reporters on 18 March.
Thousands of depositors have lined up at the major regional bank's
branches since news of a trading scandal broke last week (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 18 March 2002). AH
[72] CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CRACKS DOWN ON IDLE CIVIL SERVANTS
The Foreign Ministry has imposed new attendance controls on its
employees after an "inspection" by Minister Tonino Picula discovered a
huge number of them away from their desks on a recent, sunny day, the
weekly "Nacional" reported on 19 March, according to dpa. Picula
introduced a digital ID-card system as a result that charts the
diplomatic staff members' arrivals and departures from the office, the
agency added. AH
[73] MACEDONIAN POLITICAL LEADERS AGREE ON ELECTION DATE
The leaders of the four main political parties in Macedonia -- the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for
Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), the Socialist Union (SDSM), the
ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PPD), and the
Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSH) -- agreed to schedule the
parliamentary elections for 15 September, "Nova Makedonija" reported. A
compromise over the borders of the electoral districts also seems to be
within reach. UB
[74] ROMANIAN PREMIER SAYS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOLOCAUST MUST BE
OFFICIALLY ASSUMED...
Adrian Nastase said on 18 March that "history must be known and
[responsibility for its course must be] assumed," RFE/RL's Bucharest
bureau reported. In a message to participants in the first syllabus on
the Holocaust in Romania that started at the National Defense College
the same day, Nastase said that "the future cannot be built on
falsification and mystification," and that the 1941 pogroms in Iasi and
in Bessarabia and Bukovina, as well as the mass deportations of Jews
resulting in "tens of thousands of victims" are "in no way different
from...the Nazi operation known under the name of 'The Final
Solution.'" The course on the Holocaust is taught to senior officers by
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum official Radu Ioanid, who told
the forum that 250,000 Jews perished in the Romanian Holocaust and that
Romania "cannot enter NATO with [Marshal Ion] Antonescu on its
banners." MS
[75] ...ANNOUNCES LEGISLATION AGAINST EXTREMISM, ANTONESCU CULT...
In his message, Nastase also announced that the government has approved
an ordinance prohibiting the display of "racist or fascist symbols,"
the erection of statues or commemorative plaques for those condemned in
Romania or abroad for "crimes against peace" and for "crimes against
humanity," and the naming of streets or other public places after those
personalities. Exceptions are to be made for museums and for
"scientific activities." The ordinance also outlaws organizations "of
fascist, racist, and xenophobe character" that promote such ideas "on
ethnic, racist, or religious grounds," and extends the prohibition to
both registered and unregistered foundations or any other form of
organization consisting of three persons or more. The ordinance
provides penalties ranging from fines to five years in prison for those
who infringe upon the regulation. MS
[76] ...JUST AS SOCCER CLUB COMPLAINS OF RACIST ATTACK
The chairman of a club of supporters of the Bucharest Rapid soccer
team, Andrei Teodor, on 18 March told Mediafax that during the game
between Rapid and Dinamo Bucharest on 17 March, fans of the rival club
carried Antonescu's portrait and shouted "Run off! Antonescu comes
after you!" Many Rapid fans are known to belong to the Romany minority,
some 25,000 of which perished during the Romanian Holocaust. MS
[77] FORMER PRM DEPUTY CHAIRMAN REPLACED AS PARLIAMENTARY QUESTOR
Former Greater Romania Party Deputy Chairman Sever Mesca was replaced
as Chamber of Deputies questor on 18 March by PRM deputy Nicolae
Vasilescu, Mediafax reported. Mesca recently resigned from the PRM,
which threatened to boycott the parliament unless Mesca and other
defectors from the party were not replaced by PRM members. MS
[78] LEBANESE PREMIER IN ROMANIA
Rafiq Hariri, on a three-day visit to Romania, on 18 March discussed
with his counterpart Nastase ways to boost economic relations between
the two countries, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Hariri was also
received by President Ion Iliescu, who presented him with Romania's
highest decoration to honor Hariri's efforts to promote peace in the
Middle East. MS
[79] KURDISH MINORITY IN ROMANIA CANCELS RALLY
The Cultural Association of Kurds Residents of Romania on 18 March
canceled a planned rally in a Bucharest square, Mediafax reported. The
association said the decision was prompted by its willingness to "take
into consideration the sensibilities and interests of the Romanian
government and state." Meanwhile, some 250 Kurds are blocked at the
Nadlac crossing point between Hungary and Romania. The authorities
prohibited the rally and the entry into Romania of a Kurdish automobile
caravan, saying they are organized by the Kurdistan Workers Party and
could negatively affect "order and public safety." MS
[80] MOLDOVAN PPCD LEADER SAYS RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR DISPLAYS UNDIPLOMATIC
BEHAVIOR
Popular Party Christian Democratic (PPCD) Chairman Iurie Rosca said on
18 March that Russian Ambassador to Moldova Pavel Petrovskii is making
statements that are incompatible with the status of a diplomat and
which interfere in internal Moldovan affairs, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau
reported. Rosca was responding to an interview with "Rossiiskaya
gazeta" in which Petrovskii said the protests organized by the PPCD
would "vanish" if Moldova were to unify with Romania. Petrovskii said
that the protest demonstrations were in fact not triggered by the
Moldovan government's decision to introduce compulsory Russian-language
classes, but by the basic treaty signed by Moldova with Russia. Rosca
said Petrovskii's statements "confirm once more that Moldova is an
occupied country," and that its government is "just a tool in Russian
hands." MS
[81] RUSSIA TO DELIVER CHEAP ELECTRICITY TO MOLDOVA
As of 1 April, Russia's Unified Energy Systems (EES) will start
delivering electricity to Moldova at reduced prices, ITAR-TASS reported
on 18 Match, citing a letter sent by EES Chairman Anatolii Chubais to
President Vladimir Voronin. The price charged for the deliveries will
be $23.5 per 1 MW/hour. At present, Moldova purchases electricity from
Ukraine at the price of $29 per 1 MW/hour. The agreement on the
deliveries was reached during Chubais's visit to Chisinau in February.
It is based on the setting up of a joint company, whose stock is 74
percent Russian-owned. MS
[82] TELERADIO MOLDOVA STRIKERS TO APPEAL TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE
The strikers at Teleradio Moldova decided on 18 March to send a letter
to the Council of Europe to draw attention to their continuing
problems, Infotag reported. Journalists Larisa Neagoe and Dinu Rusnac
said they intend to sue the company's management over their
suspensions. The strikers' committee also decided to ask the Chisinau
mayoralty to allow them to air a daily "alternative newscast" in the
National Opera Square. MS
[83] OSCE URGES AVOIDING CONFLICT ESCALATION IN GAGAUZ-YERI
The OSCE mission in Moldova on 18 March urged the leaders of Moldova
and the Gagauz-Yeri Autonomous Republic to avoid an escalation of the
current conflict. Mission official Gottfried Hanne told Infotag that
the sides should await the outcome of the appeal launched by
Gagauz-Yeri Governor Dumitru Croitor against the prosecutor-general's
decision to charge him with thwarting the 24 February referendum. Hanne
said, "the last word should be the word of the court," but added that
if the court were to consider the decision to hold the plebiscite as
legal, it would mean it is "either staffed with weak lawyers or is
[politically] loyal to the referendum's initiators." MS
[84] BULGARIA GETS POSITIVE SIGNALS FROM EU...
After a meeting with Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski, EU chief
negotiator with Bulgaria Mike Leigh said on 18 March that Bulgaria has
made good progress in its efforts to join the union, BTA reported.
Leigh said that if Bulgaria keeps up its current pace in the accession
talks, the European Commission should come up with a positive report on
Bulgaria's efforts. Leigh discussed the alignment of Bulgarian
legislation with EU standards, as well as nuclear safety issues with
Saxecoburggotski and Daniel Vulchev, the chairman of parliamentary
committee on European integration. UB
[85] ...AND NATO
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Joseph W. Ralston visited Bulgaria
on 18 March, where he met with President Georgi Parvanov, Foreign
Minister Solomon Pasi, and the chief of General Staff, Miho Mihov, BTA
reported. In a lecture organized by the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria,
Ralston summed up his positive impressions. He stressed that the
decision on NATO membership will be of a political nature, and it is
possible that a country could be invited to join NATO even though its
military reforms are insufficient. Ralston welcomed the developments in
some areas of the armed services' reforms in Bulgaria, such as the
Plovdiv-based multinational peace force. UB
[86] OPPOSITION PREDICTS END TO GOVERNMENT SHOULD NATO ACCESSION FAIL
In an interview with Bulgarian national radio, Edvin Sugarev -- a
leading member of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) --
announced that the government's demise will be a question of weeks in
the event that it fails to bring the NATO accession talks to a
successful end, focus.bg reported. Sugarev declared that Bulgaria
currently stands a good chance for NATO accession, but the government
is hampering its efforts with ill-considered actions like the delay in
the destruction of Soviet-built SS-23 missiles. He added that the SDS
"will not hinder the government, but we will not give artificial
respiration to it either." UB
[87] BULGARIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF OPPOSES GOVERNMENT PLAN TO REDUCE
RETIREMENT AGE
Chief of General Staff Mihov has criticized government plans to reduce
the retirement age in the Bulgarian army by three years, "Monitor"
reported on 19 March. "Before the law is changed, one needs to assess
how the earlier retirement of generals and colonels influences army
reform. I personally believe that it will not have a positive effect,"
Mihov said. Bulgarian media speculated that the law drafted by Tsonko
Kirov of the ruling National Movement Simeon II (NDSV) aims to reduce
the number and influence of Soviet-trained generals in the Bulgarian
army. UB
END NOTE
[88] There is no End Note today.
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