|
|
|
RFE/RL Newsline, 02-03-20
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIAN STATE DUMA CONFIRMS IGNATIEV AS CENTRAL BANK CHAIRMAN...
[02] ...AFTER OUTLINING FINANCIAL-SECTOR REFORMS...
[03] ...AS RAISING COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER'S IRE
[04] IGNATIEV ENVISIONS NO REVOLUTION FOR CENTRAL BANK...
[05] ...AS GERASHCHENKO URGES CONTINUED CENTRAL BANK AUTONOMY
[06] RUSSIAN GDP CONTINUES TO GROW
[07] RUSSIAN OIL-EXPORT CUTS TO STAY FOR NOW
[08] FOREIGN MINISTER SOFTENS RUSSIA'S POSITIONS...
[09] ...AS RUSSIA AND BRITAIN CREATE JOINT ANTITERRORISM GROUP
[10] IRAQ-RUSSIA COOPERATION CONTINUES
[11] RUSSIA WELCOMES SAUDI PEACE INITIATIVE
[12] RUSSIA AND ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON COMBATING TERRORISM AND
[13] PUTIN DISCUSSES DEFENSE STRATEGY
[14] 'DIFFICULT' TALKS OPEN IN GENEVA...
[15] ...AND NEW U.S.-RUSSIAN STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP TO BE CONSIDERED
[16] RUSSIAN DEFENSE CONTRACTORS CLASH OVER CHINESE CONTACTS
[17] LOOMING SHAKEUP IN THE RESEARCH SECTOR
[18] RUSSIAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS SUTYAGIN APPEAL
[19] BEREZOVSKY SEEKS POLITICAL ASYLUM IN BRITAIN
[20] DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS CONTINUES
[21] STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS TO COME NEXT MONTH
[22] CANADA SATISFIED WITH KNYAZEV VERDICT
[23] FRANKS IN MOSCOW FOR BRIEFINGS
[24] NEW MODEL FOR CIS ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
[25] SLOVAK PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN MOSCOW
[26] PUTIN WOOS JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS
[27] DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SAYS DRUGS ARE A POLITICAL PROBLEM
[28] REFLECTIONS ON VOLOSHIN
[29] SPS OFFICIALLY REGISTERED AS PARTY
[30] ANOTHER DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER NAMED
[31] ENVOY PUBLICLY CLASHES WITH GREF...
[32] ...AS KIRIENKO SAID TO HAVE PLAYED ROLE IN CENSUS CONTROVERSY
[33] KRASNODAR OFFICIALS ROLL OUT THE UNWELCOME MAT FOR REFUGEES
[34] LOCAL BUSINESSMEN CONTINUE TO PROTEST SINGLE SOCIAL TAX
[35] ROSTOV TELEVISION STATION UNDER PRESSURE
[36] RUSSIAN TROOPS LAUNCH NEW SEARCH OPERATION IN CHECHNYA
[37] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT POSTPONES DEBATE ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
[38] ARMENIAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP TO DISPUTE CAFE KILLING VERDICT
[39] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT RATIFIES RADAR STATION AGREEMENT
[40] ABDUCTED RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS EXCHANGED FOR GEORGIAN GUERRILLAS
[41] GEORGIAN SECURITY MINISTER DOUBTS CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER IS IN
[42] KAZAKHSTAN, TURKEY DISCUSS OIL EXPORT PIPELINE AND ECONOMIC
[43] CHINA GIVES AID TO KAZAKH, KYRGYZ ARMED FORCES
[44] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT DEPUTY RELEASED...
[45] ...AS PREMIER SEEKS TO CALM PROTESTS...
[46] ...AND INTERIOR MINISTER BLAMES OPPOSITION LEADER FOR UNREST
[47] TAJIKISTAN REVIEWS PROSPECTS FOR INCREASED ECONOMIC COOPERATION
[48] NATO TO EXPAND COOPERATION WITH UZBEKISTAN
[49] UZBEK GOVERNMENT ISSUES DECREE ON TIMELY PAYMENT OF WAGES
[50] BELARUS TO BOOST ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAQ
[51] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT WANTS PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY BASED ON HIS BLOC
[52] OUR UKRAINE HEAD POINTS TO 'INTERFERENCE' BY RUSSIAN OFFICIALS IN
[53] ...AS ACTIVIST ACCUSES MOSCOW OF FANNING 'ANTI-WESTERN HYSTERIA'
[54] UKRAINIAN NEWSPAPER ACCUSES U.S. OF INTERFERING IN ELECTION
[55] UKRAINIAN TAX AUTHORITY SAYS 1,500 ELECTION CANDIDATES MADE FALSE
[56] ESTONIA SEEKS HIGHER QUOTAS INSTEAD OF SUBSIDIES IN EU AGRICULTURE
[57] LATVIA'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OVERTURNS RESTRICTIONS ON FULL
[58] LITHUANIA ACCEPTS UKRAINIAN OFFER OF ADVICE ON NUCLEAR PLANT
[59] POLISH CABINET ADOPTS LABOR CODE CHANGES DESPITE TRADE UNION
[60] POLISH DEPUTY PREMIER CRITICIZES EU FARM AID PROPOSAL
[61] CZECH DEFENSE MINISTER 'CORRECTS' CHIEF OF STAFF
[62] GERMAN IRREDENTIST POSTERS IN KARLOVY VARY
[63] CZECH MINISTER OUTRAGED OVER U.S. SECURITY CHECKS
[64] SLOVAK PREMIER TELLS EU PARLIAMENT COMMISSION MECIAR WILL NOT
[65] ...SAYS BENES DECREES DISPUTE SHOULD NOT 'PLAY INTO NATIONALIST
[66] ...AND REITERATES OPPOSITION TO HUNGARIAN STATUS LAW
[67] SLOVAK OPPOSITION DEPUTY ELECTED AS OMBUDSMAN
[68] SLOVAKIA'S JEWISH COMMUNITIES SAY HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS ON THE RISE
[69] HORN SAYS HUNGARY'S CENTER-RIGHT JEOPARDIZES EU ENTRY
[70] HUNGARIAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS SZDSZ COMPLAINT
[71] CHINA SUMMONS HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR
[72] AUSTRIA PAYS COMPENSATION TO HUNGARIAN SLAVE LABORERS
[73] FIRST HUNGARIAN-ROMANY BIBLE PRINTED
[74] MONTENEGRIN PARTY HAPPY WITH BELGRADE-PODGORICA UNION...
[75] ...WHILE YUGOSLAV'S CENTRAL BANK CHIEF SAYS SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
[76] DINKIC SAYS YUGO DINAR TO BE CONVERTIBLE IN MAY
[77] EU GRANTS LOAN TO BELGRADE TO REPAIR RAIL LINE
[78] DOCTORS TO DECIDE ON RESUMPTION OF MILOSEVIC TRIAL
[79] BOSNIAN POLICE RAID ISLAMIC CHARITY IN TERRORISM CRACKDOWN...
[80] ...AS SECURITY IS BEEFED UP AT U.S. EMBASSY IN SARAJEVO
[81] SLOVENIA WEIGHING APPEAL TO WTO IN DISPUTE WITH CROATIA
[82] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT 'ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY' FOR PRIVATIZATION
[83] ...AFTER DEFEATING ONE MORE OPPOSITION MOTION
[84] GERMAN PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA
[85] ROMANIANS WANT DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
[86] MOLDOVAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS RELATIONS WITH ROMANIA 'WILL NOT
[87] IPI 'CONCERNED' ABOUT SITUATION AT TELERADIO MOLDOVA...
[88] ...AS JOURNALISTS SUE TELERADIO MOLDOVA IN STRASBOURG
[89] RUSSIA, OSCE COMPLETE PREPARATIONS FOR DESTROYING TRANSDNIESTER
[90] HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN BULGARIA ALMOST UNCHANGED
[91] RETIREMENT AGE REDUCTION FOR BULGARIAN OFFICERS POSTPONED
[92] BULGARIAN POLICE SENT TO TURKISH BORDER TO PREVENT KURDISH
[93] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER APPROVES OF LEGAL SYSTEM REFORM
[94] There is no End Note today.
20 March 2002
RUSSIA
[01] RUSSIAN STATE DUMA CONFIRMS IGNATIEV AS CENTRAL BANK CHAIRMAN...
The Duma on 20 March confirmed Sergei Ignatiev as the new chairman of
the Russian Central Bank by a vote of 290-40, Western and Russian news
agencies reported. Ignatiev, who formerly served as first deputy
finance minister, replaces Viktor Gerashchenko, who resigned suddenly
on 15 March. He was nominated by President Vladimir Putin (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 18 March 2002). Earlier in the day, the Duma approved
Gerashchenko's resignation and awarded him an honorary certificate in
appreciation of his cooperation with the Duma, ITAR-TASS reported.
Speaking to lawmakers, Gerashchenko promised to assist Ignatiev. RC
[02] ...AFTER OUTLINING FINANCIAL-SECTOR REFORMS...
Prior to his confirmation, Ignatiev told journalists after
consultations with the leaders of several Duma factions on 19 March
that he has sketched out for lawmakers his program of financial-sector
reforms, RIA-Novosti and Prime-TASS reported. Ignatiev's proposal
includes the gradual deregulation of currency controls, the
revitalization of the banking system, the adoption of accepted
international accounting and auditing standards, and a state-guaranteed
deposit-insurance system. VY
[03] ...AS RAISING COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER'S IRE
Gennadii Raikov, the leader of the People's Deputy faction, said on 19
March that his faction -- together with lawmakers from Unity, Russian
Regions, the Union of Rightist Forces, and Fatherland-All Russia, which
together make up a majority in the State Duma -- would vote to confirm
Ignatiev on 20 March. However, Gennadii Zyuganov, leader of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation, said his party planned to
boycott the vote because "Ignatiev is an accomplice of [former acting
Prime Minister] Yegor Gaidar, who ruined the Russian economy," polit.ru
reported on 19 March. VY
[04] IGNATIEV ENVISIONS NO REVOLUTION FOR CENTRAL BANK...
New Central Bank Chairman Ignatiev said on 20 March that there will be
no personnel revolution at the bank, ITAR-TASS reported. Gerashchenko,
however, stated that the composition of the bank's board of directors
will only be known in September, following the expiration of the terms
of most of the current members. Gerashchenko said there are already
vacancies on the 13-member board and that spots might be filled by the
bank's current staff or by "skilled specialists." He also expressed
confidence in his successor. "I am confident that there will be no new
default, and if there are problems, I hope the State Duma, the
government, and the president will be able to make the proper
decisions," he said, according to ITAR-TASS. Gerashchenko headed the
Central Bank from 1992-1994 and again beginning in September 1998. RC
[05] ...AS GERASHCHENKO URGES CONTINUED CENTRAL BANK AUTONOMY
Former Central Bank Chairman Gerashchenko told journalists on 20 March
that he plans to continue to work to prevent any encroachment on the
independence of the Central Bank, ITAR-TASS reported. "I will use my
experience to see to it that the revised Law on the Central Bank of
Russia does not get amendments that might undermine its independent
status," he said. He also recalled that President Putin has stated on
at least three occasions that the bank must remain independent. RC
[06] RUSSIAN GDP CONTINUES TO GROW
A top official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on 20
March that Russia's gross domestic product will grow by less than 4
percent this year and by more than 4 percent in 2003, Interfax reported
the same day. Speaking to a conference in Moscow, IMF First Deputy
Managing Director Anne Krueger said Russia should aim for annual GDP
growth of 5 to 6 percent over the next 10 to 15 years. While in Moscow,
Krueger is expected to meet with senior officials, including the newly
confirmed Central Bank Chairman Ignatiev. RC
[07] RUSSIAN OIL-EXPORT CUTS TO STAY FOR NOW
Following a meeting in Moscow with Russian oil majors on 20 March,
Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stated that oil-export cuts implemented
in January will be maintained in the second quarter of the year,
Interfax reported. However, he emphasized that the government will
continue to monitor the markets and may change its policy. "After a
certain time, if we see that the oil market is stabilizing and oil
prices are tending to rise, the Russian government and the oil
companies will look again at the question of maintaining the export
cuts" in the second half of the year, Kasyanov said, according to AFP.
In London, oil prices fell below $25 per barrel on news of Russia's
lukewarm commitment to the cuts. Russia, the world's second-leading oil
producer, agreed to cut exports by 150,000 barrels per day in January
in order to help the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies
(OPEC) prop up world oil prices. RC
[08] FOREIGN MINISTER SOFTENS RUSSIA'S POSITIONS...
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told journalists in London after talks
with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on 19 March that the two had
discussed the situations in Afghanistan and the Middle East, as well as
Russia's evolving relationship with NATO, Western and Russian news
agencies reported. Ivanov unexpectedly stated that Russia would not
leave the global antiterrorism coalition even in the event of Western
military action against Iraq. "Participation in the international
campaign against terror and Iraq are two different issues," he said.
Russian special envoy to the Middle East Andrei Vdovin, however, was
quoted on ORT television on 19 March as saying that "the use of force
for resolving the problem of Iraq is unacceptable and any settlement of
the Iraqi issue must be reached on the political and diplomatic
levels." Equally unexpectedly, Ivanov stated that Moscow would "only
welcome any effective military assistance Britain can provide to
Georgia to fight terrorist groups on its territory." VY
[09] ...AS RUSSIA AND BRITAIN CREATE JOINT ANTITERRORISM GROUP
In Moscow on 19 March, the Foreign Ministry announced the formation of
a joint Russian-British working group on international terrorism,
Interfax reported. The group will be headed by Russian First Deputy
Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov and British Deputy Undersecretary
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Stephen Wright, and will include
diplomats, intelligence officials, and military and law enforcement
officers from both countries. It will be modeled on a similar
U.S.-Russia task force on Afghanistan headed by Trubnikov and U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. VY
[10] IRAQ-RUSSIA COOPERATION CONTINUES
Iraqi Petroleum Minister Amer Rashid left Moscow on 20 March following
the fourth meeting of an intergovernmental commission on commercial,
scientific, and technical cooperation, ITAR-TASS reported. Rashid
assessed the meeting as "useful and constructive." "There exists
complete understanding on all questions between Moscow and Baghdad," he
said, according to the news agency. Rashid noted that the commission
had endorsed a long-term plan for broadening ties between the two
countries that will be formally signed at a meeting in Baghdad in
April. Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov said that the program,
which includes 67 projects in the oil, gas, transport, and
telecommunications sectors, "will show the whole world the intention of
Moscow and Baghdad to cooperate on a long-term basis." The total value
of the contracts is estimated at $2 billion, the news agency reported,
and the implementation of many of them will require the approval of the
UN Sanctions Committee. RC
[11] RUSSIA WELCOMES SAUDI PEACE INITIATIVE
Russian special envoy to the Middle East Vdovin said in Jeddah after
talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Faisal on 18 March that
Moscow has a positive view of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's initiative
concerning Arab-world recognition of Israel in exchange for the
resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Vdovin said the initiative "could give a new impetus to efforts to
overcome the Arab-Israeli confrontation," according to Interfax on 19
March. VY
[12] RUSSIA AND ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON COMBATING TERRORISM AND
ORGANIZED CRIME
Israeli Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau and Russian Interior
Minister Boris Gryzlov on 19 March signed a cooperation agreement
between their respective agencies for combating terrorism and organized
crime, strana.ru reported. The accord includes closer cooperation in
fighting drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as the exchange
of intelligence about organized-crime groups, their finances, new types
of drugs, and individuals involved in illicit arms trading. The two
agencies also agreed to intensify their activities combating illegal
emigration and to organize regular professional exchanges. VY
[13] PUTIN DISCUSSES DEFENSE STRATEGY
President Putin chaired a Defense Ministry meeting on 20 March at which
the country's overall defense strategy was discussed, ITAR-TASS
reported the same day. Senior defense officials attended the meeting,
at which Putin stressed that Russia must be capable of responding
rapidly to serious geopolitical changes. The president said he intends
to hold further talks on the same topic regularly with defense-industry
leaders and prominent scientists. He said the meetings were prompted by
"the need for preparation and the use of conceptual documents recently
adopted," according to the news agency. "The Defense Ministry is the
central agency that determines the tasks in the field of defense
building. It is the customer of the defense sectors of the economy, and
it determines the strategy of the defense sector as a whole," Putin
said. RC
[14] 'DIFFICULT' TALKS OPEN IN GENEVA...
U.S. and Russian arms-control delegations will meet in Geneva on 21
March to discuss the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), ITAR-TASS
reported on 20 March. A high-ranking member of the Russian delegation
was quoted as saying the talks will be "difficult." "The positions of
the sides on several principal questions...markedly differ," he said.
Working consultations on the issue of strategic missile defense will
also be held simultaneously in Geneva. RC
[15] ...AND NEW U.S.-RUSSIAN STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP TO BE CONSIDERED
The Geneva meetings will also consider draft declarations on new
strategic relations between Russia and the United States, in
preparation for U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Russia on
23-26 May. A member of the Russian delegation said Russia's position
proceeds from the assumption that any agreement "should be a legally
binding document ensuring a real cut in offensive strategic weapons,"
according to ITAR-TASS. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton, who
heads the U.S. delegation in Geneva, told ITAR-TASS that a major
problem will be finding "precise parameters of cuts in offensive
strategic weapons," and ensuring compliance and transparency of any
agreement. The Russian expert said discussions on these issues will be
held at an upcoming meeting between Foreign Minister Ivanov and U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell expected to be held in Spain or
Germany. RC
[16] RUSSIAN DEFENSE CONTRACTORS CLASH OVER CHINESE CONTACTS
Prime Minister Kasyanov has ordered a switch in the main contractor
supplying 40 Su-3 fighter aircraft to China under the terms of a
$1.5-billion deal, "Vedomosti" reported on 19 March. Kasyanov's
directive orders that the entire contract go to the Sukhoi aircraft
company, taking it away from the Komsomolsk-na-Amure aircraft
manufacturing plant in Khabarovsk Krai. Khabarovsk Krai Governor Viktor
Ishaev was quoted as saying that he would appeal to President Putin to
reverse Kasyanov's order because the lost jobs would be extremely
disruptive to his region. The row is the second case of clashes between
defense contractors over Chinese arms purchases. Last week, the
government awarded a $1.5-billion contract to build two destroyers for
the Chinese navy to St. Petersburg's Severnaya Verf, taking the order
away from cross-town rival Batiiskii Zavod, "Kommersant Daily" reported
19 March. VY
[17] LOOMING SHAKEUP IN THE RESEARCH SECTOR
Ineffective research institutions may face closure, even as state
funding to those remaining is expected to increase five-fold by 2010,
an official told reporters on 20 March. Vladislav Sherstyuk, first
deputy secretary of the Security Council, said the issues were
discussed earlier that day at a joint meeting of the presidium of the
State Council, the Security Council, and the Presidential Science
Council, according to ITAR-TASS. Sherstyuk said that 60 research
institutions currently receive budgetary funding, and that the number
of researchers decreased by 50 percent over the last 10 years as a
result of the brain drain. Some 200,000 researchers have emigrated
abroad, he said. Experts decided at the 20 March meeting to concentrate
on nine research areas, including areas such as telecommunications and
electronics, aviation and space, new materials and chemistry, advanced
armaments, production technologies, transportation, and energy
conservation. The group also listed 54 "vitally important technologies"
on which state funding will be concentrated. RC
[18] RUSSIAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS SUTYAGIN APPEAL
The Russian Supreme Court on 20 March rejected an appeal by researcher
Igor Sutyagin that espionage charges pending against him be dropped,
Western and Russian news agencies reported the same day. The court
refused to overturn a lower-court ruling made in December authorizing
prosecutors to hold Sutyagin indefinitely while they build their case
against him. "We feel like we're trapped, with no way out," defense
lawyer Anna Stavitskaya said after the ruling, according to AP. "We
have filed a lot of complaints and made arguments, not arguments pulled
out of the sky but based in law, but no one is responding to us on that
level." Sutyagin, a scholar at the Russian Academy of Sciences'
Institute of the U.S.A. and Canada, was arrested in October 1999 on
charges of passing secret information on Russia's combat readiness to
the United States. He maintains that all his reports were based on
publicly available information. His attorney, Boris Kuznetsov, said he
will file a protest to the chairman of the Supreme Court and that
Sutyagin also intends to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
RC
[19] BEREZOVSKY SEEKS POLITICAL ASYLUM IN BRITAIN
Embattled magnate Boris Berezovsky told "Moskovskie novosti," No. 12,
that he has applied for political asylum in Great Britain because the
Russian prosecutor-general has prevented his return to Russia by
issuing an international warrant against him. "The fate of my business,
as well as that of all Russian business [has become] the exclusive
prerogative of the Russian president, and he will not stop until he has
gained complete control not only over politics and information, but
over the economy as well," Berezovsky said, noting that 60 percent of
his business interests lie within Russia. VY
[20] DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS CONTINUES
Health Minister Yurii Shevchenko, speaking before a ministry collegium
attended by more than 1,000 doctors and pharmacists in Moscow on 20
March, said that Russia's death rate exceeds the birth rate by 70
percent and that this is one of the most acute problems facing the
country. Shevchenko stated that the average lifespan has fallen to 65
years from a peak of 70 years in 1980, ITAR-TASS reported. The minister
also reported some encouraging trends such as that the number of
perinatal deaths has been reduced by more than 10 percent over the last
two years, and the incidence of infant deaths fell from 15.3 per 1,000
newborns in 2000 to 14.7 in 2001. Shevchenko also said the incidence of
whooping cough and measles has been reduced, and progress is being made
in combating the spread of tuberculosis, syphilis, and hepatitis-B. RC
[21] STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS TO COME NEXT MONTH
President Putin will deliver his state of the nation address to the
legislature in April, according to Aleksandr Kotenkov, the president's
representative in the Duma. "I cannot name a more precise date,"
Kotenkov said, according to an Interfax report on 20 March. RC
[22] CANADA SATISFIED WITH KNYAZEV VERDICT
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister John Manley expressed satisfaction with
the results of the Moscow hearings into the criminal case against
former Russian diplomat Andrei Knyazev, stemming from a fatal Ottawa
traffic accident in January 2001, ITAR-TASS reported on 20 March. The
court determined last week that Knyazev was drunk at the time of the
accident, which killed one woman and seriously injured another, and
sentenced him to four years in prison. Relatives of both victims, who
attended the hearing, said they were satisfied with the investigation
and the verdict, according to the news agency. RC
[23] FRANKS IN MOSCOW FOR BRIEFINGS
U.S. General Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan,
arrived in Moscow on 19 March to brief officials on the latest
developments in the conflict in Afghanistan, ITAR-TASS reported on 20
March. Franks met with First Deputy Foreign Minister Trubnikov,
according to sources at the Foreign Ministry. He also met with Defense
Minister Sergei Ivanov and the chief of Russia's General Staff, General
Anatolii Kvashnin. RC
[24] NEW MODEL FOR CIS ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
The National Economic Council has proposed a new model of economic
integration of member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), ITAR-TASS reported on 20 March. The model is intended to
facilitate the shaping of a common market throughout the CIS and to
speed the introduction of a common customs union, said Eduard Rossel,
secretary of the council and governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, after a
meeting of the council on 20 March, according to the news agency. The
council's plan calls for developing the transportation infrastructure
of the region and for taking advantage of the CIS's geographic position
by creating competitive transportation corridors for interstate and
transit traffic. The National Economic Council was founded in 1996 and
is made up of leading economists, financiers, and businesspeople from
the region. RC
[25] SLOVAK PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN MOSCOW
Russian President Putin, welcoming Slovak President Rudolf Schuster to
the Kremlin for a one-day working visit on 19 March, lauded relations
between their two countries, Russian news agencies reported. Schuster
told journalists he intends to discuss several crucial economic
projects with Putin, including routing a new gas pipeline from Russia
to Western Europe through Slovakia and Russian participation in the
construction of a subway in Bratislava. VY
[26] PUTIN WOOS JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS
President Putin extended his best wishes for the upcoming Passover
holiday to representatives of Jewish organizations during a 19 March
reception at the Kremlin, Russian news agencies reported. Putin
expressed his gratitude for the "significant contributions the Jewish
community is making toward Russia's development, as well as for its
support of [his administration] in sensitive foreign policy action,"
according to the news agencies. Putin also expressed gratitude to the
American Jewish community for its efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress
to lift the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a Cold War measure that restricted
the export of high technology to Russia. Putin said he appreciates the
initiative of one U.S. Jewish organization that asked U.S. President
George W. Bush to replace "some of [the United States' traditional oil
suppliers with Russia." Most of the Jewish leaders who attended the
meeting with Putin belong to the Federation of Jewish Communities of
Russia, an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jewish congregations
headed by Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar. VY
[27] DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SAYS DRUGS ARE A POLITICAL PROBLEM
Speaking at a Moscow conference on social issues on 19 March, Valentina
Matvienko said the official number of drug addicts in Russia now
exceeds 1.5 million, and this figure has increased eight-fold over the
last decade, ITAR-TASS reported. She noted that in 44 Russian regions
the number of addicts exceeds 100 persons per 100,000 population.
Matvienko expressed particular concern over the increase in drug use
among young people, and over the fact that increased drug use is
directly connected to the growing number of HIV-infection cases. The
magnitude of these problems means that drug addiction has become a
political issue, Matvienko concluded. VY
[28] REFLECTIONS ON VOLOSHIN
Writing in "Moskovskii komsomolets" on 19 March, commentator Aleksandr
Budberg noted that over the course of just three years Aleksandr
Voloshin has gone from being an economic adviser to former President
Boris Yeltsin to managing the presidential administration, which he
transformed into "the main political organ of the country." According
to Budberg, Voloshin is a "workaholic" who has the ability to see
situations systemically and whose prognoses usually turn out to be
correct. Budberg noted that the verbal attacks on Voloshin began almost
a year ago but only came out into the open last November (see "RFE/RL
Russian Political Weekly," 5 December 2001). "Sooner or later he will
leave [office], but only in the instance that the president lets him
go," Budberg wrote. "The greatest danger for Voloshin is not from his
competitors. A far greater danger for him in the near term is if he
fails to promote [some] large political projects that are necessary to
realize... Voloshin is not so much a big politician but a prominent
political manager...and if he loses, he won't be the only one." JAC
[29] SPS OFFICIALLY REGISTERED AS PARTY
The Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) has officially registered as a party
with the Justice Ministry, TV-Tsentr reported on 18 March. According to
the station, it is the seventh political party to be registered. SPS
leader Boris Nemtsov told reporters in Moscow that the recent decline
in the party's opinion poll ratings is a temporary phenomenon. Nemtsov
then went on to criticize President Putin's rule as "alarming." He said
SPS aims to protect the interests of men who do not want "to go to the
president and beg for something"; who dislike "Chekist methods of rule,
the elements of censorship [that have been] introduced into the
country, and the concentration of power," "Kommersant-Daily" reported
the next day. The daily concluded that SPS has now become an
"opposition party." JAC
[30] ANOTHER DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER NAMED
President Putin has appointed Sergei Razov to the post of deputy
foreign minister, Interfax reported on 19 March, citing the
presidential press service. Razov was most recently Russian ambassador
to Poland; former Russian ambassador to France Nikolai Afanasyevskii is
expected to replace him, according to the agency. Razov will be in
charge of Russia's relations with CIS countries. JAC
[31] ENVOY PUBLICLY CLASHES WITH GREF...
Presidential envoy to the Siberian federal district Leonid Drachevskii
has accused Minister German Gref's Economic Development and Trade
Ministry of not having fulfilled Prime Minister Kasyanov's order to
create a program for the strategic development of Siberia to the year
2020, Interfax-Eurasia reported on 18 March. Drachevskii's office
together with Siberian-based academics worked out the program at
President Putin's request (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 March 2002).
Drachevskii has sent a telegram complaining to Kasyanov, according to
the agency. Drachevskii added that he is hoping that the differences
between the authors of the original document and the ministry can be
worked out during a government session. JAC
[32] ...AS KIRIENKO SAID TO HAVE PLAYED ROLE IN CENSUS CONTROVERSY
A 15 March meeting at the Moscow-based Russian Ethnology and
Anthropology Institute reportedly highlighted objections by the
country's territorial entities regarding the nationalities list
proposed by the institute for the upcoming national census, RFE/RL's
Kazan bureau reported on 18 March. Ethnology Professor Damir Iskhakov
told RFE/RL that the issue of "Baptized Tatars" and "Kryashens" was the
most disputed item on an agenda that included issues regarding the
Tatarstan, Daghestan, and Komi republics. Iskhakov asserted that the
institute's Valerii Tishkov agreed with Tatarstan's arguments over
including such ethnic subgroups as Mishers, Tiptyers, and Siberian
Tatars in the Tatar ethnic family -- thus responding to protests made
by Tatar leaders across the Russian Federation. Radical Kryashen
leaders who joined the meeting, supported by the Russian Orthodox
Church and Russian presidential envoy to the Volga federal district
Sergei Kirienko, managed to include the nationality in the census
questionnaires despite protests from the Tatar side. JAC
[33] KRASNODAR OFFICIALS ROLL OUT THE UNWELCOME MAT FOR REFUGEES
At a recent meeting on migration policy in Krasnodar Krai, more than
400 heads of cities and raions, law enforcement officials, and
migration service workers, including krai Governor Aleksandr Tkachev,
came up with a number of suggestions on how to reduce the number of
migrants in the krai, "Izvestiya" reported on 19 March. Tkachev
suggested that the fine for persons caught without registration be
increased to 6,000 rubles ($192). "This will encourage illegal migrants
to leave the krai's territory," Tkachev explained. Other proposals
included creating "filtration points" through the raion-level Interior
Ministry departments that would deport migrants after three days;
organizing monthly charter flights from Krasnodar to Tashkent to ship
out Meskhetian Turks; and conducting negotiations with Armenian
President Robert Kocharian on the subject of repatriating Armenians for
"the preservation of friendly relations with the republics in the
Caucasus." JAC
[34] LOCAL BUSINESSMEN CONTINUE TO PROTEST SINGLE SOCIAL TAX
About 500 managers of small and medium businesses in Voronezh gathered
on 18 March in a central square to protest the single social tax, which
they say will bankrupt them, NTV reported. The next day, the leaders of
the Kaluga Oblast Trade and Business Chamber sent an appeal to the
president of the chamber, Yevgenii Primakov, the State Duma, and
Federation Council, rosbalt.ru reported. Earlier, businessmen in
Khabarovsk and Ulyanovsk also organized similar street protests (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 22 February 2002). JAC
[35] ROSTOV TELEVISION STATION UNDER PRESSURE
The State Property Committee in Volgodonsk in Rostov Oblast is trying
to take over the independent TV company Volgodonsk TV (VTV), NTV
reported on 19 March. VTV General Manager Anatolii Gorbunov said the
committee is trying to reacquire a 60 percent stake in the company,
which would put the station under the control of city authorities. The
station has aired reports critical of the policies of the city
administration and Mayor Sergei Gorbunov. JAC
[36] RUSSIAN TROOPS LAUNCH NEW SEARCH OPERATION IN CHECHNYA
The hunt for Chechen fighters in the village of Serzhen Yurt in Shali
Raion, southeast of Grozny, entered its third day on 20 March,
chechenpress.com reported. RFE/RL's Russian Service reported on 19
March that the village has been cordoned off by Russian armored
vehicles. Some 100 residents have been detained, of whom 60 were
subsequently released after having been severely beaten. A further 23
are being held at the Shali police department, while 17 more have
disappeared without a trace, according to RFE/RL. Speaking in
Copenhagen on 19 March, Chechen Foreign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov said
the situation in Chechnya has deteriorated since the 11 September
terrorist attacks in the U.S., AP reported. "This conflict is only
getting worse. We see no way of how to end it," Akhmadov said. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[37] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT POSTPONES DEBATE ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Following a weeklong debate on the alternative draft constitution
prepared by six opposition parties (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 March
2002), the leadership of the Armenian parliament decided on 19 March to
postpone indefinitely an analogous debate on the package of
constitutional amendments drafted by an ad hoc presidential commission,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. That decision triggered protests by
the opposition parties, who claimed that under a procedural agreement
reached late last month the presidential draft was to be put to debate
immediately after the opposition one. Deputy parliament speaker Tigran
Torosian told RFE/RL that President Robert Kocharian needs at least one
month to consider "numerous proposals" by deputies concerning the
package of amendments, and that the debate is therefore unlikely to
take place before mid-April. LF
[38] ARMENIAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP TO DISPUTE CAFE KILLING VERDICT
In what may be a bid by the resurgent right-wing opposition to
discredit the current Armenian leadership, the Public Council in
Defense of Basic Human Freedoms and Rights demanded on 19 March that
Prosecutor-General Aram Tamazian challenge the verdict handed down last
month by a Yerevan district court to a member of President Kocharian's
bodyguard found guilty of manslaughter, according to Arminfo, as cited
by Groong. Aghamal Harutiunian received a two-year suspended sentence
in connection with the death in a Yerevan cafe last September of an
Armenian from Georgia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 February 2002). The
Public Council criticized the sentence as too mild. It plans to
organize a protest demonstration outside the Prosecutor-General's
Office and collect signatures in support of its demand. The Public
Council was founded in November 2001 by former Education Minister Ashot
Bleyan, and was endorsed by the former ruling Armenian Pan-National
Movement, the Liberal Democratic Party, the People's Party of Armenia,
and several smaller organizations. LF
[39] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT RATIFIES RADAR STATION AGREEMENT
Deputies ratified on 19 March by a vote of 93-11 the agreement
concluded in January 2002 granting Russia the use for a 10-year period
of the Gabala radar station, Turan and ITAR-TASS reported. Both during
the 19 March debate and during a discussion of the agreement by the
parliament commission for international relations the previous day,
opposition deputies criticized the agreement. Ali Kerimli, leader of
the reformist wing of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, recalled that
10 years ago the Azerbaijani parliament voted in favor of demanding the
station's closure on the grounds that it damages the environment. He
also warned that there are no guarantees that Russia will not pass data
gathered at the station to Azerbaijan's enemy, Armenia. The Gabala
branches of four opposition parties issued a statement last month
similarly calling for the station to be shut down. LF
[40] ABDUCTED RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS EXCHANGED FOR GEORGIAN GUERRILLAS
Emergency talks were held on 19 March between representatives of the
Georgian Interior and National Security ministries, the UN Observer
Mission in Georgia, and the Russian peacekeeping force deployed under
the CIS aegis in the Abkhaz conflict zone on how to secure the release
of four Russian peacekeepers abducted on 18 March by Georgian
guerrillas, Interfax and Caucasus Press reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 19 March 2002). The Russian Foreign Ministry, which had
earlier issued a sharply worded statement demanding that Georgia take
measures to ensure the hostages' immediate release, then asked the
Abkhaz authorities to release two Georgian guerrillas apprehended by
the Russian force on 14 March and handed over to the Abkhaz. After the
Abkhaz complied with that request, the four Russians were released.
Which members of the Georgian government, which claims to have no
contacts with or leverage over the Georgian guerrillas, liaised with
them on this occasion is not clear. LF
[41] GEORGIAN SECURITY MINISTER DOUBTS CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER IS IN
ABKHAZIA
Valeri Khaburzania told Caucasus Press on 20 March that he has no
evidence to substantiate claims that Chechen field commander Ruslan
Gelaev in currently in Abkhazia. Gelaev's men were identified as among
the mysterious band of fighters that launched an attack on Abkhazia
last fall. On 19 March, ITAR-TASS quoted unnamed officers among the
Russian troop command in Chechnya as saying that "small groups" of
fighters loyal to Gelaev have been sighted on the outskirts of the
village of Samashki and in the Achkhoi Martan and Urus Martan districts
of western Chechnya. LF
[42] KAZAKHSTAN, TURKEY DISCUSS OIL EXPORT PIPELINE AND ECONOMIC
COOPERATION
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, who is visiting
Kazakhstan at the head of a government delegation, held talks in Astana
on 19 March with Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Imangaliy Tasmaghambetov
and with President Nursultan Nazarbaev, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
reported. Topics discussed included the possible export of Kazakh crude
via the planned Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and ways to expand trade and
economic ties. Nazarbaev described as "fruitful" bilateral cooperation
in unspecified "strategic industries," the military-technical sphere,
and education, according to Interfax. He also expressed satisfaction at
the participation of numerous Turkish companies in construction and
other projects in Kazakhstan. LF
[43] CHINA GIVES AID TO KAZAKH, KYRGYZ ARMED FORCES
Kazakh Defense Minister General Mukhtar Altynbaev and the visiting
deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation
Army, Xiong Guangkai, signed an agreement in Astana under which Beijing
will provide Kazakhstan's armed forces with $3 million worth of various
types of equipment, including communications and special-forces
equipment, ITAR-TASS reported on 19 March. He had signed a similar
agreement allocating aid worth $1.2 million to Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on
15 March. The two sides also discussed international and regional
security, military contacts within the framework of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization -- of which both China and Kazakhstan are
members -- and the fight against international terrorism. In an
expression of Beijing's unease at the U.S. military presence in
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Xiong remarked at a press conference in
Astana on 18 March that China, together with the rest of the world, is
watching to see for how long the international antiterrorism coalition
will keep its forces in Central Asia, Interfax reported. Xiong also met
on 18 March with President Nazarbaev. LF
[44] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT DEPUTY RELEASED...
Following two days of violence between police and protesters in
Djalalabad Oblast, Kyrgyz authorities released parliament deputy
Azimbek Beknazarov from detention in Toktogul on 19 March and escorted
him to the village of Kerben, the scene of the previous day's clashes,
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Beknazarov told RFE/RL in Toktogul
that the charges against him have not been dropped and that he has
pledged not to leave Kyrgyzstan. He also confirmed that he was beaten
while in custody, but was pressured to deny this in a statement on
Kyrgyz State Television (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 20 February
2002). Beknazarov also again said that the charges and trial against
him were unlawful, stressing that his superiors approved his decision
in 1995 to close an investigation into a case of manslaughter. The
prosecution now claims that decision constitutes dereliction of duty.
LF
[45] ...AS PREMIER SEEKS TO CALM PROTESTS...
Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev, accompanied by Prosecutor-General
Chubak Abyshkaev, traveled on 19 March to Kerben where he informed
protesters that Beknazarov had been freed and promised that an
investigation would establish who is responsible for giving the order
to police on 17 March to open fire on demonstrators, Interfax and
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Bakiev also promised that the
families of the five people killed during clashes on 17 and 18 March
will each receive 50,000 soms (about $1,000) in compensation. The
estimated 6,000 protesters, who on 19 March were demanding that
President Askar Akaev resign, disbursed after Beknazarov's release, and
police also released 36 people detained the previous night during the
second wave of clashes in Kerben. Also on 19 March, local residents
ended their blockade of the main Bishkek-Osh highway. LF
[46] ...AND INTERIOR MINISTER BLAMES OPPOSITION LEADER FOR UNREST
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Temirbek Akmataliev told a press
conference in Bishkek on 19 March that "the entire blame for the
instability and mass clashes, and also the responsibility for the
bloodshed, is on the conscience of the leader of the Kyrgyz human
rights movement, Tursunbek Akunov, and the people who support him,"
Interfax and RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Akunov was one of the
participants in the march on 17 March from Kyzyl-Tuu to Kerben that
police forcibly halted before opening fire. Akmataliev added that but
for the "correct and well-organized" police response, the number killed
and injured would have been much higher. LF
[47] TAJIKISTAN REVIEWS PROSPECTS FOR INCREASED ECONOMIC COOPERATION
WITH ARMENIA, BELARUS
First Deputy Prime Minister Hadji Akbar Turadjonzoda chaired a meeting
on 19 March to discuss expanding economic cooperation with Belarus and
the preparations for Armenian President Kocharian's planned visit to
Dushanbe in early April, according to Tajik Television First Channel,
as cited by Groong. LF
[48] NATO TO EXPAND COOPERATION WITH UZBEKISTAN
NATO Deputy Secretary-General Daniel Speckhard told journalists in
Tashkent on 19 March following talks with Uzbek Defense Minister Kadyr
Gulyamov that the Atlantic alliance is ready to help Tashkent
reorganize its armed forces, ITAR-TASS reported. Speckhard added that
bilateral cooperation also extends to such spheres as environmental
protection, coping with natural disasters, and scientific research. He
also said NATO will provide research grants for 70 scientists from
Uzbekistan. It is not clear what kind of research projects will be
involved. LF
[49] UZBEK GOVERNMENT ISSUES DECREE ON TIMELY PAYMENT OF WAGES
A government decree issued on 19 March instructs all enterprises and
organizations in Uzbekistan, whether budget-funded or privately owned,
to ensure that employees' salaries are paid in full and on time, the
Uzbekistan National News Agency reported. The decree also bans the
payment of wages in the form of goods, except for food products, and
then only if employees provide written agreement to such payment. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[50] BELARUS TO BOOST ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAQ
Iraqi Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Hikhmat Azzavi on 19 March
wound up his five-day visit to Minsk, during which he discussed
bilateral economic cooperation with Belarusian officials, Belarusian
media reported. Belarusian presidential administration deputy chief
Anatol Kozik said Belarus expects to double its trade turnover with
Iraq this year from some $26 million last year. He added that both
sides agreed on nearly all discussed "long-term projects," which
included assembling Belarusian trucks and tractors in Iraq,
constructing glass factories and power plants, installing a water
supply for a Baghdad neighborhood, and involving Belarusian specialists
in the Iraqi oil sector. Kozik stressed that Belarusian firms will be
in a good position when the UN sanctions imposed against Iraq after its
1990 invasion of Kuwait are lifted. Belarusian President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka, who met with Azzavi on 19 March, spoke in favor of lifting
the sanctions against Iraq and against a possible military intervention
in that country. JM
[51] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT WANTS PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY BASED ON HIS BLOC
Leonid Kuchma said on 19 March that he believes a parliamentary
majority in the new Verkhovna Rada will be created around the For a
United Ukraine election bloc led by presidential administration chief
Volodymyr Lytvyn, UNIAN reported. "I do not see any other political
force around which a majority could be created in the future
parliament, regardless of whether someone likes this or not," Kuchma
noted. He said the state should be run by professionals, adding that
"the time when the state was governed by female cooks has passed."
Kuchma voiced the need for amending the law on political parties in
order to prevent their "cloning," and noted that "having 140 parties in
the country is an absurdity." He also spoke in favor of introducing a
higher voting barrier -- around 7 percent -- for blocs of parties
seeking parliamentary mandates. JM
[52] OUR UKRAINE HEAD POINTS TO 'INTERFERENCE' BY RUSSIAN OFFICIALS IN
ELECTION...
Our Ukraine election bloc leader Viktor Yushchenko said on 19 March on
local radio and television in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast that the
statements of some Russian officials are "unfriendly" and constitute
"direct interference in Ukraine's internal affairs and electoral
process," UNIAN reported on 20 March. Yushchenko was apparently
referring to a recent pronouncement by Russian presidential
administration chief Aleksandr Voloshin, who reportedly said that For a
United Ukraine, the Social Democratic Party (United) of Ukraine, and
the Communist Party of Ukraine are the blocs that promote strengthening
Russian-Ukrainian relations. "Unfortunately, [Our Ukraine] includes
political forces that have overtly anti-Russian positions," UNIAN
quoted Voloshin as saying. Yushchenko stressed that Our Ukraine is not
a radical bloc and does not harbor anti-Russian sentiments. JM
[53] ...AS ACTIVIST ACCUSES MOSCOW OF FANNING 'ANTI-WESTERN HYSTERIA'
IN UKRAINE
Roman Bezsmertnyy, a political coordinator of the Our Ukraine bloc, has
said some Russian politicians and spin doctors are trying to influence
the election campaign in Ukraine by provoking anti-Western sentiment,
UNIAN reported on 20 March, quoting the Our Ukraine press service.
"They have steered toward stopping Ukraine's advance to Euro-Atlantic
structures by artificially fanning anti-Western hysteria," Bezsmertnyy
noted. According to Bezsmertnyy, "short-sighted political forces" in
Ukraine allow Russian spin doctors "to use some [Ukrainian] television
channels to implement their long-term geopolitical plans." JM
[54] UKRAINIAN NEWSPAPER ACCUSES U.S. OF INTERFERING IN ELECTION
"Fakty i Kommentarii," the Kyiv-based pro-presidential daily tabloid,
has accused the U.S. of leading an effort to boost the election chances
of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine and opposition parties, as well as of
sponsoring some 300 NGOs in order to obtain an election result that
would suit Washington. "As for longer-term plans...the Americans seem
to continue cherishing the hope of fragmenting Ukraine by strengthening
breakaway and extreme movements... The U.S. used this scenario more
than once in neighboring post-socialist countries. Therefore, the U.S.
attempts, direct or indirect, to create a system of alternative public
and political centers that could 'intercept' power amid 'crisis
development' seem quite logical," the newspaper wrote on 16 March. JM
[55] UKRAINIAN TAX AUTHORITY SAYS 1,500 ELECTION CANDIDATES MADE FALSE
INCOME DECLARATIONS
State Tax Administration head Mykola Azarov told journalists on 20
March that 637 candidates running for parliamentary seats on party
lists and 870 candidates registered in one-seat constituencies provided
the Central Electoral Commission with false information about their
incomes and possessions, UNIAN reported. Azarov added that checking
candidates' declarations is the only form of participation of the State
Tax Administration in the election campaign. Asked if he is aware that
the Central Election Commission "selectively" uses information supplied
by his institution, Azarov said he is not, adding that he does not
intend to verify this allegation. Last week, the Central Election
Commission disqualified more than 100 candidates from the election
race, citing false income declarations as the reason. JM
[56] ESTONIA SEEKS HIGHER QUOTAS INSTEAD OF SUBSIDIES IN EU AGRICULTURE
TALKS
After a meeting of the agriculture ministers of the EU and candidate
states in Brussels on 19 March, Estonian Agriculture Minister Jaanus
Marrandi said there is little chance the EU will increase its proposed
agricultural subsidies to candidate countries, and Estonia should thus
focus on obtaining higher production quotas, "Postimees" reported the
next day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 March 2002). He explained the low
quotas offered by the EU on the unwillingness of larger EU member
states to incur additional expenses. The quotas are based on recent
years when production levels were particularly low, and do not reflect
the country's agricultural potential, according to Marrandi. Former
Agriculture Minister Ivari Padar countered the EU's assertion that
granting equal subsidies to farmers from current EU member countries
and new EU member states alike would increase living standards for the
latter too abruptly. He argued that farmers in the new EU states will
have to make far greater investments than their counterparts, and thus,
"the higher subsidies would be fully justified." SG
[57] LATVIA'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OVERTURNS RESTRICTIONS ON FULL
BENEFITS FOR WORKING PENSIONERS
The court ruled on 19 March that the pension law articles that reduced
the pensions of working pensioners contradict the constitution, LETA
reported. They will thus become null and void after the decision is
officially published. The restrictions were introduced by the previous
government led by Andris Skele in order to reduce pension expenditures.
"Diena" on 20 March estimated that about 4.6 million lats ($7.4
million) will be needed this year to cover the additional costs
resulting from the ruling. Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK parliament
deputy and former Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnacs viewed the ruling
as the "right decision," and said it is up to the government to decide
where to obtain the funds for its implementation. SG
[58] LITHUANIA ACCEPTS UKRAINIAN OFFER OF ADVICE ON NUCLEAR PLANT
CLOSING
In Vilnius on 19 March, Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas and his
Ukrainian counterpart Anatoliy Kinakh discussed the closure of the
Ignalina nuclear power plant, ELTA reported. Brazauskas gladly accepted
Kinakh' s offer to share Ukraine's expertise on dismantling equipment,
the storage of used materials, and other issues. The premiers also
spoke about their common desire to expand bilateral economic
cooperation and trade. They agreed to form a joint working group to
discuss ways to increase the transit trade of both countries, and
Ukrainian trade through the port of Klaipeda in particular. If
Lithuania joins the EU, it will have to end its free-trade agreement
with Ukraine. Kinakh mentioned that Ukraine plans to become an
associated member of the EU in 2007, and be prepared for membership
obligations by 2010-2011. In later talks with President Valdas Adamkus,
Kinakh expressed his support for Lithuania's efforts to join NATO. SG
[59] POLISH CABINET ADOPTS LABOR CODE CHANGES DESPITE TRADE UNION
PROTESTS
The government has adopted amendments to the Labor Code in a bid to
encourage entrepreneurship and fight the 18 percent unemployment rate,
Polish media reported on 19 March. The proposed changes make it easier
for companies to hire and fire workers, lower overtime costs, and cut
administrative red tape. Despite prolonged consultations, the
government failed to gain the trade unions' approval for the
amendments. Labor Minister Jerzy Hauser said the package of 30
legislative changes, which need to be approved by the parliament,
should take effect as of 1 January 2003. "In changing the Labor Code,
we are adapting it to the patterns that are in force in countries with
fast economic growth," Premier Leszek Miller said in a televised
address to the nation the same day. "Exceptional situations require
exceptional measures. And the situation on the labor market is
undoubtedly an exceptionally difficult one," he added. JM
[60] POLISH DEPUTY PREMIER CRITICIZES EU FARM AID PROPOSAL
Speaking to EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on 19 March, Polish
Deputy Premier and Agriculture Minister Jaroslaw Kalinowski said the
European Commission's proposals concerning farm aid to new EU members
are unacceptable to Warsaw (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine
Report," 19 February 2002), Polish Radio reported. According to
Kalinowski, a 10-year transition period for making equal conditions for
new and current EU member countries means that, within this period,
intensive agricultural production will remain almost the sole domain of
the current 15 EU members, while the new members will have to
extensively develop "agriculture, supplemented with a considerable
amount of social policy." JM
[61] CZECH DEFENSE MINISTER 'CORRECTS' CHIEF OF STAFF
The Defense Ministry on 19 March said it has made no request to
Slovakia to send personnel for the field hospital dispatched to
Afghanistan by the Czech Republic, although such an offer is "under
consideration," CTK reported. The ministry thus corrected a statement
made the previous day by Chief of Staff General Jiri Sedivy (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 19 March 2002). Slovak Defense Ministry State
Secretary Rastislav Kacer earlier told CTK that he was surprised to
have learned about the alleged Czech offer from news reports. MS
[62] GERMAN IRREDENTIST POSTERS IN KARLOVY VARY
About 40 posters calling for the return of the Sudetenland to Germany
were discovered on 17 March in Karlovy Vary, CTK reported on 19 March,
citing the local police chief. The text of the posters read: "The
Sudetenland was German and will be German again." Similar posters were
discovered in February in a Prague metro station. In related news,
Pavel Telicka, the chief negotiator with the EU, on 18 March told
journalists in Prague that lawyers in the Czech Republic working on an
analysis of the Benes Decrees have concluded that the decrees are not
in contradiction with current EU legislation, CTK and Reuters reported.
MS
[63] CZECH MINISTER OUTRAGED OVER U.S. SECURITY CHECKS
Education Minister Eduard Zeman told the daily "Lidove noviny" on 19
March that he has written to U.S. Ambassador Craig Stapleton to
complain about security checks he was submitted to during a recent trip
to the U.S. despite his possession of a diplomatic passport, AP and dpa
reported. Zeman said his suitcase was searched several times, he was
forced to remove his coat and shoes, and had to board planes in his
socks. "Even in the U.S. they should know what a diplomatic passport
is," Zeman said. Stapleton responded that Zeman should understand that
the tight security measures were prompted by last year's terrorist
attacks on the United States. MS
[64] SLOVAK PREMIER TELLS EU PARLIAMENT COMMISSION MECIAR WILL NOT
RETURN TO POWER...
Mikulas Dzurinda told members of the European Parliament's Foreign
Affairs Commission in Brussels on 19 March that after the autumn
elections Slovakia will have "a fully democratic and entirely
acceptable government," CTK reported. Dzurinda added that four or five
democratic parties in the parliament will be able to form the next
coalition, and that he is confident that, as a result, "Slovakia will
be invited to join NATO" at the Prague summit of the alliance in
November. Western politicians have expressed serious concern that
former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar could return to power after the
elections, and have warned that this would hinder Slovakia's NATO and
EU accession efforts. MS
[65] ...SAYS BENES DECREES DISPUTE SHOULD NOT 'PLAY INTO NATIONALIST
HANDS'...
Dzurinda also said the Benes Decrees "have been fading away" and "do
not provide any basis for the new legal realities," CTK reported. He
said the issue has been turned into an electoral one in Hungary,
Germany, and Austria, and warned that "we must be cautious lest we play
into the hands of nationalists." Dzurinda told the commission's members
that "the path to the past is not the path to the EU." MS
[66] ...AND REITERATES OPPOSITION TO HUNGARIAN STATUS LAW
Dzurinda also said that the Hungarian Status Law has provisions
implying "extraterritoriality" and is "discriminatory." He said the law
is "unacceptable" in Bratislava. The Slovak premier said organizations
claiming to represent ethnic Hungarians have already set up 11 offices
issuing Hungarian ID cards, which he said is "at variance with Slovak
legislation." He denied that Slovakia's law on relations with ethnic
Slovaks living abroad is in any way similar to the Status Law, and
expressed the hope that the dispute with Budapest will be settled after
next month's Hungarian elections. MS
[67] SLOVAK OPPOSITION DEPUTY ELECTED AS OMBUDSMAN
The parliament on 19 March elected Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
parliamentary deputy Pavol Kandrac to be the country's first ombudsman,
CTK reported. Of the 130 deputies present, 68 cast their ballots for
Kandrac in a secret vote. Kandrac, who ran against ruling coalition
candidate Jan Hrubala, said he was surprised by the outcome of the
vote, which apparently resulted from renewed infighting in the ruling
coalition. Slovak media reported that some deputies from the Party of
the Democratic Left, which is part of the coalition, apparently cast
their vote for Kandrac. MS
[68] SLOVAKIA'S JEWISH COMMUNITIES SAY HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS ON THE RISE
In a statement released on 19 March, the Central Association of Jewish
Communities in Slovakia said denial of the Holocaust is becoming
increasingly common in the country, CTK reported. The statement was
released ahead of 25 March, which marks the day of the first
deportation of Slovak Jews to Nazi extermination camps. Some 70,000
Slovak Jews were deported to the camps, the majority of whom perished.
The statement said, "the Holocaust has a strange continuation" in
Slovakia, with growing numbers denying it "despite a large number of
witnesses, archives, ...documentaries, newspaper articles, and mass
graves." It said Holocaust denial is part of the struggle of
negationists for "controlling the past in order to master the future."
The murdered Jews "cannot be killed again, [but] the last thing that
can still be taken from them is the forgotten shadow of their
existence," the report stated (see "RFE/RL East European Perspectives,"
20 March 2002). MS
[69] HORN SAYS HUNGARY'S CENTER-RIGHT JEOPARDIZES EU ENTRY
Former Hungarian Socialist Prime Minister Gyula Horn told reporters in
Budapest on 19 March that the FIDESZ government is endangering the
country's EU accession hopes "by flirting with the far right" ahead of
the April general elections, Hungarian and international media
reported. Horn said the Viktor Orban-led government, through
implementation of the Status Law and criticism of the Benes Decrees,
has created tensions with neighboring countries, which could negatively
affect Hungary's chances of joining the EU by 2004. He harshly
criticized state-run MTV television, saying it is outrageous to see it
becoming a "FIDESZ mouthpiece financed with public funds." Horn said he
has sent a letter to the head of MTV, asking him to put an end to the
"election manipulation." FIDESZ Chairman Zoltan Pokorni said in
response that the Socialists must be "in big trouble" if Horn is
desperately trying to "repaint the sky" and rewrite the past. MSZ
[70] HUNGARIAN SUPREME COURT REJECTS SZDSZ COMPLAINT
The Supreme Court on 19 March rejected the opposition Alliance of Free
Democrats' (SZDSZ) appeal over the National Election Commission's
rejection of the party's request that it guarantee balanced election
coverage on MTV (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 and 14 March 2002). The court
ruled that the SZDSZ's objections to the MTV election coverage plan
were not well founded, and upheld the commission's ruling that it had
no jurisdiction in the matter. In other news, the Prosecutor-General's
Office on 19 March appealed the rulings handed down by the Metropolitan
Court a day earlier on lawyer Marta Tocsik and other defendants in
Hungary's biggest privatization scandal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19
March 2002). The office seeks heavier sentences for the defendants and
is also appealing against the acquittal of others. MSZ
[71] CHINA SUMMONS HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR
Hungary's ambassador to China was summoned to the Chinese Foreign
Ministry in Beijing to hear China's objections to the visit to Budapest
of Taiwanese Vice President Annette Lu, who plans to attend the annual
conference of the Liberal International, "Nepszabadsag" reported. The
Chinese Foreign Ministry on 19 March called on countries to strictly
adhere to the "One China" principle. China also warned that the
reception of politicians from Taipei who call for independence could
foment tension and undermine talks between Beijing and Taipei,
according to the daily (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 March 2002). MSZ
[72] AUSTRIA PAYS COMPENSATION TO HUNGARIAN SLAVE LABORERS
The Austrian government on 18 March made the first compensation
payments to five Hungarian nationals who were forced to work for the
Nazi regime in Austria during World War II, Hungarian media reported.
Ludwig Steiner, president of the Austrian Reconciliation Fund, handed
over payments at a ceremony at the Austrian ambassador's residence in
Budapest. Those who were forced into slave labor will be paid 107,000
Austrian schillings ($6,850), enforced industrial laborers will receive
35,000 schillings, and enforced agricultural workers 20,000 schillings.
The fund has a total of 435 million euros ($383 million) at its
disposal to provide compensation to survivors and their descendants
from all over Central and Eastern Europe, of which 50 million euros
have been allocated for Hungarian compensation claims. MSZ
[73] FIRST HUNGARIAN-ROMANY BIBLE PRINTED
A New Testament Bible in both Hungarian and the primary Romany dialect
was published in Budapest on 18 March, Hungarian media reported. This
is the first full translation of the New Testament into the Lovari
dialect. The translator, Zoltan Farkas Vesho, said he strove to use the
"clean" Lovari dialect, free of the words Roma incorporate from other
languages, and that as a result Roma all over the world will be able to
read the Bible. MSZ/MS
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[74] MONTENEGRIN PARTY HAPPY WITH BELGRADE-PODGORICA UNION...
Predrag Bulatovic, the leader of Montenegro's opposition Socialist
People's Party (SNP), said that the accord creating the state of
"Serbia and Montenegro" was his party's main goal, Tanjug reported.
Bulatovic, speaking outside of Podgorica in Danilovgrad, said the
agreement on Serbia-Montenegro will enable the two republics to enter
the EU faster than if they were separate, "so that nobody will think
about the referendum [on Montenegrin independence] any more." SNP Vice
President Zoran Zizic said on 19 March that he "is certain" that the
accord will be ratified by the Montenegrin parliament. PB
[75] ...WHILE YUGOSLAV'S CENTRAL BANK CHIEF SAYS SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
UNION DOOMED
Mladjan Dinkic said in Belgrade that the state of Serbia and Montenegro
will have a short existence, Reuters reported on 19 March, citing
Studio B TV. Dinkic said that "what you have here is de facto two
separate states in a semblance of a single state." Dinkic said that
since Montenegro will continue using the euro while also maintaining a
separate banking system and other financial laws, Serbia will follow
suit by redesignating Yugoslav institutions as Serbian. "The National
Bank of Yugoslavia will be renamed the National Bank of Serbia," he
said, and "the same will happen with all the federal laws from the
economic sphere that Serbia does not yet have." Dinkic said: "there is
a minimal chance things will go differently but my prediction, with 99
percent certainty, is that we are going toward two separate states." PB
[76] DINKIC SAYS YUGO DINAR TO BE CONVERTIBLE IN MAY
Yugoslav National Bank Governor Dinkic said on 19 March in Belgrade
that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will declare the Yugoslav
dinar to be convertible in May, Tanjug reported. Dinkic said that a
draft law on foreign exchange transactions -- key for the IMF
declaration -- is likely to be adopted by parliament soon. Dinkic said
the dinar has already achieved some measure of "de facto
convertibility" because of international recognition of the currency.
PB
[77] EU GRANTS LOAN TO BELGRADE TO REPAIR RAIL LINE
The Yugoslav government and the EU signed an agreement on 19 March for
a 85 million euro ($77 million) loan to be used to reconstruct the
country's major train route, AP reported. Some 70 million euros will go
to Serbia and the rest to Montenegro for work on a 140-kilometer
railway line in need of major repairs. The loan is to be repaid over 20
years. PB
[78] DOCTORS TO DECIDE ON RESUMPTION OF MILOSEVIC TRIAL
The UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague said a decision on when to
resume the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will
be made on 20 March, Tanjug reported, after the defendant is examined
by doctors. Milosevic's trial was postponed on 18 March because he was
sick with the flu. PB
[79] BOSNIAN POLICE RAID ISLAMIC CHARITY IN TERRORISM CRACKDOWN...
Law enforcement agents searched the offices and homes of employees of
the Benevolentia International Foundation in Sarajevo and the central
Bosnian town of Zenica on 19 March as part of an ongoing investigation
of groups with possible links to terrorism, AP reported. Citing a
police statement, the agency said documents belonging to the group were
seized and staff interrogated in a UN-monitored operation that targeted
offices and six homes. Authorities have said considerable amounts of
cash were being withdrawn from Benevolentia accounts with no record of
how they were used. On a recent visit to Bosnia, Benevolentia's U.S.
operations head Enaam Mahmoud Arnaout removed all of the charity's
records, police said. "The leading employees of this organization were
questioned and the found documentation was temporarily seized," the
police statement said, according to AP. Officials last week said funds
were missing from Benevolentia and two other Islamic aid organizations
in Bosnia-Herzegovina. AH
[80] ...AS SECURITY IS BEEFED UP AT U.S. EMBASSY IN SARAJEVO
The U.S. Embassy in the Bosnian capital on 19 March announced it is
heightening security "due to unverified threats against this Embassy,"
AP reported. The message was appended to a worldwide warning to U.S.
citizens in the wake of the 17 March attack on a Protestant
International Church in Islamabad, Pakistan. AH
[81] SLOVENIA WEIGHING APPEAL TO WTO IN DISPUTE WITH CROATIA
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said after a discussion with the head
of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Slovenia "cannot exclude the
possibility" of taking a trade dispute with Croatia to the WTO, Hina
reported on 19 March, citing a Foreign Ministry statement. The agency
reported that Ljubljana will take up the issue of hazardous materials
transport with the WTO's trade council on 22 March. "We are trying to
solve the dispute we have with Croatia on the bilateral level," Rupel
is said to have told WTO General Director Mike Moore, according to
Hina. "If we do not succeed, we cannot exclude the possibility of
solving the dispute within the WTO." Croatian officials -- who recently
imposed new rules on the overland transportation of oil and oil
products and other materials (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1, 4, and 14
February, and 11 March 2002) -- said on 18 March that the biggest
problem in resolving the issue is that Slovenia insists on
internationalizing it. AH
[82] ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT 'ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY' FOR PRIVATIZATION
LAW...
Prime Minister Adrian Nastase on 20 March presented to a joint meeting
of Romania's two chambers of parliament a law on accelerating
privatization, Romanian radio reported. The law provides, among other
things, for the sale of unprofitable state enterprises at the symbolic
price of 1 euro ($0.88). It also writes off tax arrears to the state
budget for companies privatized in 2002. The law has been submitted
under the "governmental assumption of responsibility" constitutional
stipulation. Under this procedure, the legislation is considered as
approved by the parliament unless a no-confidence motion in the
government is submitted within three days. The Greater Romania Party
(PRM) and the Democratic Party said they are "considering" whether to
move such a no-confidence motion, while the National Liberal Party
(PNL) and the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania announced they
will not do so. MS
[83] ...AFTER DEFEATING ONE MORE OPPOSITION MOTION
By a vote of 178 against and 82 in favor, the Chamber of Deputies on 19
March rejected a motion submitted by the Democratic Party and the PNL
to debate corruption in local government public administration,
RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS
[84] GERMAN PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA
Visiting German President Johannes Rau expressed "personal support" for
Romania's quest to join the EU and NATO at a meeting on 19 March with
his Romanian counterpart Ion Iliescu, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau
reported. Rau also praised Romania's "diplomatic skills." He
participated in the ceremony of hoisting the German flag at Germany's
new embassy in Bucharest. Rau also met with Premier Nastase to discuss
bilateral, particularly economic relations. On 20 March, he arrived in
Sibiu, a Transylvanian town with a rich German heritage, and the only
town in Romania whose mayor is an ethnic German. MS
[85] ROMANIANS WANT DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
A Gallup public opinion poll conducted between 22 February and 4 March
shows that 90 percent of Romanians are in favor of the current
constitutional provision which provides for direct presidential
elections, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Fifty-one percent would
like to have direct elections of the country's premier as well, and the
same percentage believes the system of bicameral parliamentary
representation should be replaced by a one-chamber system. Sixty-two
percent are in favor of replacing the current proportional electoral
system with a single-constituency system. The poll was conducted
against the background of ongoing debates on constitutional amendments.
A delegation of the Venice Commission has ended a visit to Romania and
said it will make recommendations on the envisaged constitutional
changes. MS
[86] MOLDOVAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS RELATIONS WITH ROMANIA 'WILL NOT
DETERIORATE'
Nicolae Dudau told BASA-Press on 19 March that relations with Romania
"will not deteriorate" in the wake of the 13 March expulsion of
Romanian military attache Ion Ungureanu from Moldova, Mediafax and
Infotag reported. Dudau said the decision to expel the Romanian
diplomat was due to "actions incompatible with his diplomatic status"
and that "international practice does not oblige Moldova to explain
it." He said the incident should be regarded as a "petty quarrel
between neighbors," and expressed confidence that "relations will
gradually normalize." Dudau denied that the Moldovan parliament has
asked him to provide an explanation for the expulsion. "A group of
parliamentary deputies initiated such reporting," he said, "but I shall
provide the information only if officially requested by the parliament
to do so." MS
[87] IPI 'CONCERNED' ABOUT SITUATION AT TELERADIO MOLDOVA...
The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) and its South East
European Media Organization (SEEMO) affiliate wrote on 19 March to
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, expressing "concern" over "the
recent intimidation of the Committee for Press Solidarity" which
represents nearly 500 protesting Moldovan journalists at Teleradio
Moldova, according to a SEEMO press release. It said that despite
Voronin's promise that the situation at Teleradio Moldova will
"improve," there have been "apparent attempts by the managers of
Teleradio Moldova to silence journalists who have shown solidarity with
the protesters." The IPI and SEEMO called on Voronin "to do everything
in your power to ensure that the media workers at Teleradio Moldova are
allowed to report freely and that the government guarantee freedom of
expression in Moldova." MS
[88] ...AS JOURNALISTS SUE TELERADIO MOLDOVA IN STRASBOURG
The Committee for Press Solidarity at Teleradio Moldova on 19 March
asked the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to rule that
Moldova has infringed on the provisions of Article 10 in the European
Convention on Human Rights, which upholds the principle of freedom of
expression, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. MS
[89] RUSSIA, OSCE COMPLETE PREPARATIONS FOR DESTROYING TRANSDNIESTER
AMMUNITION STOCK
Preparations by Russia and the OSCE for destroying the Russian
contingent's obsolete ammunition stock in the Transdniester region are
approaching completion, ITAR-TASS reported on 19 March, citing OSCE
mission head David Schwartz. Schwartz said that the U.S.-made "Donovan
installation" to be used in the process will "soon be delivered to the
region," and that a special German furnace for burning explosives, as
well as Russian equipment for the detonation of the ammunition, will
also be used in the operation. The OSCE will bear the costs of the
operation, which are estimated at around $40 million. Some 40,000 tons
of obsolete ammunition that belonged to the former 14th Russian army
stationed in the Transdniester are stockpiled in the region. Of these,
16,000 tons are to be transported back to Russia. MS
[90] HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN BULGARIA ALMOST UNCHANGED
In an interview broadcast by Bulgarian National Radio on 19 March,
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee President Krasimir Kanev spoke on the
country's human rights efforts. "In 2001, there was progress as well as
setbacks, so the human rights situation in general remained almost
unchanged," focus.bg quoted him as saying. According to Kanev, the
Helsinki Committee has taken note of positive developments, such as the
fact that there were fewer human rights violations recorded in Bulgaria
in 2001 than in previous years, and that the environment for children
and ethnic minorities has improved. However, last year's positive
developments were offset by widespread incidents of excessive use of
force by police -- almost half of the detainees questioned reported
that they were maltreated or even tortured. Kanev described the
situation in some health care institutions as "inhumane and
humiliating." UB
[91] RETIREMENT AGE REDUCTION FOR BULGARIAN OFFICERS POSTPONED
The plan to reduce the retirement age of officers by three years will
be postponed until September, "Monitor" reported. The current
retirement age for generals is 60, and 56 for colonels. Stanimir
Ilchev, the chairman of the parliament's Foreign Policy, Defense, and
Security Committee, announced the decision on 19 March after Chief of
General Staff General Miho Mihov protested the lowering of the
retirement age (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 March 2002). UB
[92] BULGARIAN POLICE SENT TO TURKISH BORDER TO PREVENT KURDISH
PROTESTS
The Interior Ministry has deployed police reinforcement units to the
southern Bulgarian town of Svilengrad in order to prevent Kurdish
demonstrators from staging protests at the Kapitan Andreevo border
checkpoint, "Dnevnik" reported on 19 March. Most of the protestors are
citizens of Western European countries who are participants in a convoy
originating from Brussels and heading to Turkey to demand greater
rights for the Kurdish minority in that country. News.bg reported on 19
March that the Interior Ministry prohibited the convoy from entering
Bulgaria, stranding them at the border. Members of the Kurdish
community in Sofia are expected to stage protests in the city's
Southern Park on 20 March, but it remains unclear whether participants
of the convoy will be allowed to join them. Romanian authorities
stopped the convoy at the Hungarian-Romanian border on 18 March (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 19 March 2002). UB
[93] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER APPROVES OF LEGAL SYSTEM REFORM
Simeon Saxecoburggotski approved of the proposals for reforms in the
legal system presented to him by Justice Minister Anton Stankov on 19
March, "Monitor" reported. The proposals include reforms of public
prosecution entities with the intention of improving the functioning of
the courts, as well as anticorruption measures. UB
END NOTE
[94] There is no End Note today.
|
