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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-06-05
CONTENTS
[01] CHINESE LEADER ARRIVES FOR SHANGHAI GROUP SUMMIT
[02] PUTIN FIRM ABOUT RUSSIA'S CIS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE...
[03] ...BUT NOT WORRIED ABOUT U.S. PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA...
[04] ...AND SAYS ECONOMIC GROWTH DEPENDS ON STABILITY
[05] SPEAKER AND RANKING COMMUNIST DEPUTIES EXPELLED FROM PARTY...
[06] ...AS SELEZNEV REMAINS DEFIANT...
[07] ...AND MANY COMMUNISTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND LEADERS' MOVE
[08] BULGARIAN, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTERS TALK TRADE
[09] 'KURSK' FRAGMENTS RECOVERED, INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
[10] GOVERNMENT MAKES PROGRESS ON DEPOSIT-INSURANCE PROGRAM...
[11] ...WORLD BANK REPORTEDLY URGING SBERBANK TO PRIVATIZE...
[12] ...AND DUMA PASSES LAW ON CENTRAL BANK
[13] MOSCOW THREATENS EU WITH TRADE WAR
[14] MINISTER DENIES REPORTS OF NUCLEAR-WASTE IMPORTS...
[15] ...AS RADIATION FOUND NEAR MILITARY BASE
[16] SHOTS FIRED AT REGIONAL FSB OFFICE
[17] ACTIVISTS ALARMED BY ANTI-EXTREMISM BILL
[18] MASS GRAVE FOUND AT SITE OF LATEST RUSSIAN SWEEP IN CHECHNYA
[19] CHECHEN WARLORD'S LAWYER UNABLE TO FILE APPEAL
[20] PARLIAMENT DEPUTY SHOT DEAD IN KARACHAEVO-CHERKESSIA
[21] DATA ON ARMENIAN LEADERS' INCOMES MADE PUBLIC
[22] ARMENIAN ARMY OFFICERS SENTENCED IN MISSILE-THEFT CASE
[23] ARMENIA DENIES AZERBAIJANI ACCUSATION OF BORDER SHOOTING
[24] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION CONDEMNS POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST VILLAGERS
[25] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT OPENS BAKU OIL-AND-GAS EXHIBITION...
[26] ...AS EBRD SAYS IT WILL CO-FINANCE EXPORT PIPELINE FOR AZERBAIJANI
[27] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT HOPES FOR COOPERATION WITH OPPOSITION...
[28] ...AS CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION YIELDS TO DEMANDS FOR RECOUNT IN
[29] GEORGIAN SECURITY MINISTRY DENIES ACCUSING ARMENIA OF TERRORISM
[30] U.S. GENERAL VISITS GEORGIA
[31] FORMER RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN GEORGIA REOPENS
[32] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT ASSESSES TASKS FACING NEW SECURITY
[33] FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS KYRGYZSTAN
[34] TAJIK HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETS
[35] CLASHES WITH POLICE MARK OPENING OF JOURNALISTS' TRIAL IN BELARUS
[36] OSCE WITHDRAWS ANOTHER OFFICIAL FROM BELARUS
[37] UKRAINE SEEKS EXTRADITION OF FORMER EESU EXECUTIVES
[38] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES MORE DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN UKRAINE
[39] ESTONIA, JAPAN SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL
[40] LATVIAN PRESIDENT BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO IRELAND
[41] LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW REFERENDUM LAW
[42] FORMER PRESIDENT SAYS EU 'OWES' POLAND GOOD ENTRY TERMS
[43] CZECH SUPPORT FOR EU ENTRY FALLING
[44] CHARGES AGAINST CZECH TV HEAD DROPPED
[45] CZECH ENVOY SAYS 9/11 HIJACK SUSPECT MET IRAQI SPY
[46] CZECH PRESIDENT SAYS ZEMAN GOVERNMENT HARMING CZECH FOREIGN
[47] COALITION SEEKS ALLIANCE WITH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS
[48] SWEDEN IS NEW DESTINATION FOR SLOVAK AND CZECH ROMA
[49] SLOVAKS DON'T LIKE FOREIGN POLITICIANS TELLING THEM FOR WHOM TO
[50] COMMON EU AND SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE DOES NOT ADOPT FINAL
[51] HUNGARIAN DEMOCRATIC FORUM DEPUTY CHAIRMAN RESIGNS TO WORK FOR
[52] BUDAPEST MAYORAL CANDIDATE TO GIVE UP AMBASSADOR POST
[53] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT PASSES AMNESTY FOR PRESEVO REBELS
[54] YUGOSLAVIA SIGNS $85 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK
[55] STRIKING SERBIAN TAXI DRIVERS BLOCK TRAFFIC IN BELGRADE
[56] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT WANTS YUGOSLAVIA DISSOLVED QUICKLY
[57] KOSOVAR SERB LEADER CHALLENGES STEINER'S PLAN FOR DIVIDED CITY
[58] INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, BOSNIAN LEADERSHIP SEEK REGIONAL
[59] CROATIAN EXPERT SAYS GRACAC FINDINGS DO NOT INDICATE 'MASS WAR
[60] IMMIGRANTS KILLED IN MACEDONIA IDENTIFIED
[61] NATO CALLS OFF CONFERENCE IN MACEDONIA AFTER PRIME MINISTER'S
[62] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES MEDIA OUTLETS
[63] RESITA WORKERS RENEW PROTESTS IN ROMANIA
[64] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CONSIDERS PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION A THREAT TO
[65] ...WHILE PPCD CHAIRMAN THREATENS TO RENEW ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS
[66] MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT TO SELL MAJORITY SHARE IN MOLDTELECOM
[67] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT PLANS TO CREATE 50,000 JOBS
[68] BULGARIAN-BASED MULTINATIONAL BRIGADE, U.S. SERVICEMEN PARTICIPATE
[69] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS LEAD OPINION POLL
[70] There is no End Note today.
5 June 2002
RUSSIA
[01] CHINESE LEADER ARRIVES FOR SHANGHAI GROUP SUMMIT
Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in St. Petersburg on 5 June to
attend a 7 June summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),
Western and Russian news agencies reported. Russia, China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan founded the original "Shanghai Five" in
April 1996. Uzbekistan became a member in 2002, when the organization
changed its name to the SCO. At the summit this week, leaders are
expected to endorse the group's charter and to set up a joint
antiterrorism body, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko was
quoted by AP as saying. Jiang is expected to hold bilateral talks with
President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. RC
[02] PUTIN FIRM ABOUT RUSSIA'S CIS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE...
In an exclusive interview to the flagship of the Chinese mass media
"People's Daily" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 June 2002), President Putin
said that "Russia openly states that it has special interests within
[the zone of] the Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS] as far as
the protection of its...national security is concerned," according to
the Russian version of the interview posted on Putin's official website
(http://www.president.kremlin.ru) on 4 June. He stressed that this
aspect of Russia's foreign policy is not intended to dominate or
pressure its neighbors, but is dictated by humanitarian factors. "There
are over 20 million of our compatriots living in CIS countries, and
Russia cannot and will not abandon its responsibility for the way they
live and how their rights are observed," Putin said. VY
[03] ...BUT NOT WORRIED ABOUT U.S. PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA...
In the same interview, Putin said that he is not concerned about the
stationing of U.S.-led forces in Central Asia and believes that each
country in the region has the right to choose its partners in the fight
against international terrorism. However, he added that the presence of
outside forces should not inflame "local or interstate frictions or
destabilize the situation." He added that it is wrong to speak of
conflicts between Moscow and Washington within the CIS because the new
relations between the two countries can be characterized as
"cooperation instead of competition." VY
[04] ...AND SAYS ECONOMIC GROWTH DEPENDS ON STABILITY
Moving on to discuss the economy in the same interview, Putin said that
he is satisfied with the 5-6 percent annual growth that Russia has
experienced for the last two years, as well as the significant
increases in its gold and hard-currency reserves. He added, though,
that he "would like to see more." He noted that there are constraints
to further economic growth, including the state's social obligations
toward the population. "It would be a mistake to conduct a policy that
undermines the trust of the population toward the policy we are
carrying out." He said that the success of reform depends on public
stability based on dialogue, trust, and cooperation between the public
and the state. VY
[05] SPEAKER AND RANKING COMMUNIST DEPUTIES EXPELLED FROM PARTY...
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
(KPRF) voted to expel from the party State Duma Speaker Gennadii
Seleznev and two other Duma leaders for refusing to abandon their
leadership posts, Russian news agencies reported on 4 June. Together
with Seleznev, the party expelled Svetlana Goryacheva, chairwoman of
the Committee for Women, Family and Youth, and Nikolai Gubenko,
chairman of the Committee for Culture and Tourism. Addressing the
Central Committee, party leader Gennadii Zyuganov said that the trio
"did not have enough will to fulfill the party's decision, and now they
should face the consequences." VY
[06] ...AS SELEZNEV REMAINS DEFIANT...
Seleznev called the expulsions "a tragic mistake," and said that he
will carry on his duties as an independent. Sergei Markov, the director
of the Institute of Political Research, said Zyuganov's move indicates
a split in the party leadership and that Seleznev is now positioned to
create a new left-center coalition that could gain significant Kremlin
support. At the opening of the Duma's 5 June session, Seleznev
presented Goryacheva with an honorary diploma for her service. In
response, she said, "as I have served, so I will continue to serve
Russia," RIA-Novosti reported. VY/RC
[07] ...AND MANY COMMUNISTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND LEADERS' MOVE
Communist Deputy Vassili Shandybin told journalists that he "does not
understand" the expulsion decision and thinks that it is "the wrong
move," nns.ru reported on 5 June. He added that "in difficult times,
one should consolidate ranks, not disperse them." Party Press Secretary
Andrei Andreev announced that senior party leaders Valentin Kuptsov,
Anatolii Lukyanov, and Viktor Ilyukhin voted against Seleznev's
expulsion. VY
[08] BULGARIAN, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTERS TALK TRADE
Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski continued his four-day
visit to Moscow on 5 June with a long discussion with his counterpart,
Mikhail Kasyanov, Russian and Western news agencies reported. According
to ITAR-TASS, the discussion mainly covered economic cooperation
initiatives, particularly in the oil-and-gas sector, transport, and
nuclear power. The two leaders also discussed the settlement of the
former Soviet Union's debt to Bulgaria. Russia is Bulgaria's largest
trading partner, accounting for 22 percent of Bulgaria's imports,
according to the news agency. RIA-Novosti quoted Foreign Ministry
spokesman Yakovenko as saying that Russia intends to repeat to
Saxecoburggotski that Moscow views Bulgaria's desire to join NATO as "a
mistake." On 4 June, Saxecoburggotski met with Patriarch Aleksii II. RC
[09] 'KURSK' FRAGMENTS RECOVERED, INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
Several fragments from the first section of the "Kursk" nuclear
submarine were recovered on 4 June, Russian and Western news agencies
reported the next day. Industry and Science Minister Ilya Klebanov told
journalists on 4 June that the fragments will be used by prosecutors
and a special state commission to determine the cause of the 13 August
2000 sinking that killed all 119 men on board, strana.ru reported. The
current recovery operation is expected to be wrapped up by the end of
the month, weather permitting. After the investigation is completed,
all the organizations looking into the matter will issue a joint
statement of their findings, Klebanov said, according to RIA-Novosti.
RC
[10] GOVERNMENT MAKES PROGRESS ON DEPOSIT-INSURANCE PROGRAM...
A 4 June meeting of representatives of the Economic Development and
Trade Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the Central Bank, the State Duma,
and other agencies decided to accelerate the process of drafting a law
on insuring private savings accounts in Russian banks,
"Kommersant-Daily," "Vedomosti," and polit.ru reported the next day. It
was decided that a state corporation will be empowered to insure the
deposits. Banks will have to apply to participate in the system before
1 July 2003 and all banks that have not been accepted by 2005 will lose
their licenses to hold private deposits, "Vedomosti" wrote. Private
deposits up to $20,000 will be fully guaranteed, with a sliding scale
of coverage for larger amounts. According to the deputy chairman of the
Duma's Banking Committee, Pavel Medvedev, a bill could be introduced in
the Duma by the end of this month. Over the last eight years, the Duma
has passed similar bills on three occasions, two of which were defeated
in the Federation Council and one was vetoed by the president. RC
[11] ...WORLD BANK REPORTEDLY URGING SBERBANK TO PRIVATIZE...
At a closed presentation of the World Bank's annual report on Russia,
the bank recommended that the government and the Central Bank take
immediate action on developing a strategy to reform Sberbank, the
state-owned bank that has a virtual monopoly over private deposits,
utro.ru reported on 5 June. The website quoted the report as saying
that shares of the bank's retail network should be sold and that buyers
should be "strategic investors with solid reputations," and not
"insiders or organizations controlled by, for example,
financial-industrial groups." Representatives of Sberbank and the
Central Bank were quoted as saying that the World Bank's recommendation
de facto means that the Sberbank shares should be sold to foreign
interests. Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Andrei Kozlov told the
website that instead of privatizing Sberbank, it would be better to
create several other banks to compete with Sberbank in the
retail-banking sector. RC
[12] ...AND DUMA PASSES LAW ON CENTRAL BANK
The State Duma on 5 June passed in its third reading amendments to the
law on the Central Bank intended to make the bank's operations more
transparent, Russian news agencies reported. The vote was 310 for,
three against, and two abstentions. The bill will now be passed to the
Federation Council, where it is expected to be adopted promptly. RC
[13] MOSCOW THREATENS EU WITH TRADE WAR
Agriculture Minister Aleksei Gordeev said that Russia will retaliate in
response to increased European Union duties on grain imports from
Russia, nns.ru reported on 5 June. Gordeev said that Europe buys from 2
million to 3 million tons of Russian grain each year, representing
about half of Russian grain exports. The new EU barriers will
practically eliminate Russia from the European market and, therefore,
the government is considering similar barriers to EU milk and meat
imports to Russia. VY
[14] MINISTER DENIES REPORTS OF NUCLEAR-WASTE IMPORTS...
Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev told Radio Mayak on 5 June
that Russia has not imported a single kilogram of spent nuclear fuel
since a law allowing such imports was passed in June 2001 (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 7 June 2001), RIA-Novosti and regions.ru reported the next
day. Rumyantsev categorically denied all media reports to the contrary.
RC
[15] ...AS RADIATION FOUND NEAR MILITARY BASE
An unidentified high-level source of radiation was discovered at an
unauthorized garbage dump next to a military base in the southern city
of Volgograd, RIA-Novosti and regions.ru reported on 5 June. According
to RIA-Novosti, which quoted the director of the municipal
environmental-protection department, radiation at the site was measured
at 2,000 times normal levels. The source of the radiation has not yet
been determined, and an investigation and cleanup are under way. RC
[16] SHOTS FIRED AT REGIONAL FSB OFFICE
Shots were fired by an unknown gunman at the local department of the
Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Irkutsk Oblast city of Bratsk on
4 June, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. The shots were reportedly
fired from a 20-millimeter automatic rifle. No one was injured, but the
interiors of some offices were damaged. A criminal investigation has
been opened under a charge of "hooliganism with a firearm," but
investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the assault might
be linked to the agency's counterintelligence functions, the news
agency reported. VY
[17] ACTIVISTS ALARMED BY ANTI-EXTREMISM BILL
Human rights activists on 4 June came out in opposition to a
government-sponsored bill on extremism that is due to come before the
State Duma on 6 June, Russian news agencies reported. The activists
argued at a Moscow press conference that the bill gives too much leeway
to law enforcement authorities to abuse their authority under the
pretext of combating nationalist and racist violence. One definition of
extremism contained in the bill includes "any illegal activity" aimed
at "hindering the legal activities" of local governmental structures,
which -- activists say -- could include any number of protest
activities. Justice Minister Yurii Chaika urged lawmakers to pass the
bill, saying, "after this law is passed, law enforcement bodies will
obtain an effective tool" against extremism. Liberal State Duma Deputy
Sergei Kovalev was quoted as saying that existing laws are sufficient,
but that they are poorly enforced by police, prosecutors, and the FSB.
RC
[18] MASS GRAVE FOUND AT SITE OF LATEST RUSSIAN SWEEP IN CHECHNYA
The bodies of some 25 people, including two women, were found on 4 June
in a mass grave between the villages of Tsotan-Yurt and Mesker-Yurt,
chechenpress.com reported on 5 June quoting Chechen human rights
activists. The victims had been shot. Mesker-Yurt remains cordoned off
by Russian troops who launched a search operation there last week for
Chechen fighters (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 May 2002). Ali Alavdinov,
deputy premier in the pro-Moscow Chechen government and a native of
Mesker-Yurt, condemned the killings as a crime against humanity. LF
[19] CHECHEN WARLORD'S LAWYER UNABLE TO FILE APPEAL
Salman Arsanakuev, who represented Chechen field commander Salman
Raduev at his trial in Makhachkala last December, has been trying for
two months, without success, to obtain from the Russian Supreme Court
the documents necessary to appeal Raduev's life sentence, Interfax
reported on 4 June. The Supreme Court upheld the Daghestan Court's
verdict in April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2002). LF
[20] PARLIAMENT DEPUTY SHOT DEAD IN KARACHAEVO-CHERKESSIA
Unidentified assailants armed with assault rifles gunned down
parliament deputy Rasul Atabiev in Cherkessk on 4 June, Interfax
reported. The car in which they fled was later found abandoned. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[21] DATA ON ARMENIAN LEADERS' INCOMES MADE PUBLIC
The Armenian government made available to RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 4
June details of the mandatory income and property declarations filed by
members of the country's leadership in January. President Robert
Kocharian gave his annual income in 2001 as 3.2 million drams ($5,700),
less than that of his 21-year-old student son, whose income was given
as $7,000. Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who is believed to control
several of the most lucrative sectors of the Armenian economy, gave his
income as 1.68 million drams, National Security Minister Karlos
Petrosian claimed 3.4 million drams, and Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian 2.47 million drams. LF
[22] ARMENIAN ARMY OFFICERS SENTENCED IN MISSILE-THEFT CASE
A Yerevan District court passed sentence on 4 June on nine men in
connection with the theft of missiles from several army units, Noyan
Tapan reported. Seven Armenian Army officers and one warrant officer
received sentences of between three and seven years' imprisonment,
while Artur Melikian, who masterminded the thefts with the aim of
selling the missiles abroad, received a 15-year sentence on that charge
and two counts of murder. LF
[23] ARMENIA DENIES AZERBAIJANI ACCUSATION OF BORDER SHOOTING
The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied that troops at an Armenian
Army post close to the border with Azerbaijan shot and killed a
24-year-old Azerbaijani fishing on Lake Mazam, according to Arminfo on
4 June, as cited by Groong. The shooting incident was reported by ANS
on 3 June. LF
[24] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION CONDEMNS POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST VILLAGERS
In statements released on 4 June, Azerbaijan's opposition parties
slammed the police violence against residents of the village of
Nardaran the previous evening in which one village resident was killed
and dozens of people, including police officers, were injured, Turan
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 4 June 2002). The Azerbaijan
National Independence Party and the Liberal Party of Azerbaijan both
blamed the clashes on the Azerbaijani government's "talentless"
policies that have led to widespread poverty and the deterioration of
infrastructure. The Interior Ministry has set up a group to investigate
the clashes that its spokesman Colonel Sadik Gezalov suggested were
politically motivated and backed by "emissaries of the secret services
of a number of foreign states," according to ITAR-TASS. Gezalov accused
the villagers of planning to install an Islamic fundamentalist local
administration. On 5 June, the official newspaper "Yeni Azerbaycan"
accused the opposition of being behind the standoff in Nardaran, noting
that Musavat Party leader Isa Gambar visited the village on 29 May,
Turan reported. LF
[25] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT OPENS BAKU OIL-AND-GAS EXHIBITION...
Heidar Aliev formally opened the Ninth Baku Oil and Gas Exhibition on 4
June, reaffirming his country's openness to foreign investment in the
oil-and-gas sector. U.S. State Department adviser on Caspian energy
issues Steven Mann read to participants a message from U.S. President
George W. Bush reaffirming Washington's support for the Baku-Ceyhan
oil-export pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline which,
Bush said, will promote the integration of Azerbaijan and Georgia into
the world economy and lessen U.S. dependence on hydrocarbons from the
Middle East, Interfax reported. Some 300 companies from 31 countries
are participating in the exhibition, within the parameters of which the
U.S. Embassy in Baku is holding a special seminar for U.S. companies
seeking to strengthen their position in the Caspian, Caspian News
Agency reported. LF
[26] ...AS EBRD SAYS IT WILL CO-FINANCE EXPORT PIPELINE FOR AZERBAIJANI
OIL
Thomas Moser, who heads the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development's Baku office, announced on 31 May that the bank will
provide $300 million, or just over 10 percent of the estimated total
costs, toward construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline,
Caucasus Press and Caspian News Agency reported on 3 June. He said the
bank will provide half that sum in cash and half in bank syndicate
deposits. Negotiations with potential lenders are proceeding without
problems and the bank should raise the funds by the end of this year,
Moser added. The British Petroleum-led consortium created to implement
the project plans to hold the official ceremony marking the beginning
of construction on 19 June, Caucasus Press quoted Turkish Energy
Minister Zeki Cakan as saying on 3 June. It is hoped that the pipeline
will be completed in 2005. LF
[27] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT HOPES FOR COOPERATION WITH OPPOSITION...
In his traditional weekly radio address, Eduard Shevardnadze said on 4
June that he is ready to work with the opposition parties that won
election to local councils in the 2 June ballot provided that those
parties abide by the Georgian Constitution, Caucasus Press and Interfax
reported. But at the same time he warned that he will not allow
"disturbances or chaos," an allusion to the affirmed intention of some
opposition political leaders to mobilize popular discontent in order to
pressure Shevardnadze to resign. Shevardnadze acknowledged that the
extremely poor election showing by the former ruling Union of Citizens
of Georgia that supports him was the logical consequence of the
Georgian leadership's failure to deliver on promises made to the
population. He said he has asked the Interior Ministry to investigate
the 2 June theft of ballot papers being transported from Tbilisi to
Rustavi (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 June 2002). LF
[28] ...AS CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION YIELDS TO DEMANDS FOR RECOUNT IN
TBILISI
The Georgian parliament embarked on a debate of the local elections on
4 June, but failed to adopt a declaration condemning the widespread
violations that took place, Caucasus Press reported. The debate could
not be continued on the morning of 5 June for lack of a quorum. Late on
4 June, the Central Election Commission agreed to opposition demands
for a recount of the vote in Tbilisi. That decision was greeted with
outrage by the Labor Party, the winner in Tbilisi with an estimated
25.96 percent of the vote. Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili
accused unnamed rival parties of trying to "steal" his party's victory.
He threatened to mobilize 10,000 supporters to picket the Central
Election Commission headquarters in protest. Speaking at a press
conference in Tbilisi on 5 June, Natelashvili demanded that the recount
be televised live and that representatives of all parties that
participated in the vote be present, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[29] GEORGIAN SECURITY MINISTRY DENIES ACCUSING ARMENIA OF TERRORISM
Georgian National Security Ministry spokesman Nikoloz Laliashvili told
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau by telephone on 4 June that a report printed
last week in "The Georgian Times" citing a Georgian intelligence
service report that claimed Armenia is planning terrorist attacks in
southern Georgia is "an absurd lie that smacks of provocation" (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 3 June 2002). Laliashvili denied that any such
confidential document exists and described "The Georgian Times" article
as part of an "information war" aimed at destabilizing the situation in
Georgia. "The Georgian Times" is believed to have connections with
opposition political figures out to discredit and topple Shevardnadze.
LF
[30] U.S. GENERAL VISITS GEORGIA
General Joseph Ralston, who is U.S. Supreme Allied Commander Europe and
commander in chief of U.S. European Command, arrived in Tbilisi on 4
June to monitor the recently launched U.S. Train and Equip program,
which is aimed at providing some 2,000 elite Georgian troops with
antiterrorism training. Ralston told journalists he is "very pleased"
with the reports he received from the U.S. instructors conducting the
training program, AP reported. Ralston also met on 4 June with
Shevardnadze, whom he thanked for Georgia's support for the U.S.-led
antiterrorism campaign, and with Defense Minister Lieutenant General
David Tevzadze. LF
[31] FORMER RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN GEORGIA REOPENS
Tevzadze and Lieutenant General Unal Onsipahioglu, who is a senior
member of the Turkish Army General Staff, attended the formal reopening
on 4 June of the Vaziani military base near Tbilisi from which Russia
withdrew last year, Caucasus Press reported. Tevzadze expressed his
gratitude to Ankara for having contributed $1 million toward the cost
of renovating the base to bring it up to NATO standards. LF
[32] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT ASSESSES TASKS FACING NEW SECURITY
CONFERENCE
Nursultan Nazarbaev told the first summit of the Conference on
Cooperation and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CCCBMA) in Almaty
on 4 June that in light of the considerable diversity between its 16
Asian members in terms of development and economic potential, that
organization will face greater difficulties in reaching a consensus
than did the OSCE, Interfax reported. He said the CCCBMA could benefit
from the experience of the CIS Collective Security Organization and of
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). But strana.ru pointed out
on 3 June that while the SCO has clearly structured mechanisms for
practical cooperation between its members, including in the military
sphere, the CCCBMA is intended to function primarily as a forum for
dialogue. LF
[33] FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS KYRGYZSTAN
Michele Alliot-Marie met in Bishkek on 3 June with President Askar
Akaev to discuss bilateral military cooperation, the situation in
Central Asia and the antiterrorism campaign in Afghanistan, Russian
agencies reported. The following day, Alliot-Marie visited the French
Air Force contingent based at the Manas airport near Bishkek, from
which they fly sorties into Afghanistan. She said that the French Air
Force contingent will remain in Kyrgyzstan until the very end of the
antiterrorism operation, but will not be increased above its current
strength of some 400 military and support personnel. Alliot-Marie met
on 4 June with her Kyrgyz counterpart Esen Topoev, whom she presented
with some 30 tons of military-technical aid including blankets,
rucksacks, and rubber boots. LF
[34] TAJIK HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETS
A commission established earlier this year by the Tajik government to
monitor the country's compliance with its human rights commitments held
its first meeting in Dushanbe on 4 June, Asia Plus-Blitz reported.
Among the priorities outlined by participants were ensuring that
officials respect and observe human rights, providing information on
human rights, and bringing Tajik legislation into line with
international norms in the human rights sphere. Ivo Petrov, who heads
the UN Mission in Tajikistan, pointed out in a recent interview with
centrasia.ru that Dushanbe has not yet provided information on its
compliance with such international obligations, with the exception of
the Convention on Children's Rights. In its annual report issued last
week, Amnesty International noted that Tajikistan has not abolished
capital punishment and that reports of police brutality are widespread.
LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[35] CLASHES WITH POLICE MARK OPENING OF JOURNALISTS' TRIAL IN BELARUS
Following a number of delays, the trial against former Editor in Chief
Mikola Markevich and journalist Pavel Mazheyka of the newspaper
"Pahonya," which was closed in 2001, began in Hrodno in western Belarus
on 4 June, Western and Belarusian news agencies reported the same day.
The two are charged with defaming Belarusian President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka in the run-up to the 2001 presidential elections in an
article that questioned whether Lukashenka should be allowed to run for
re-election while he was widely suspected of causing the disappearance
of his rivals. The two face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Clashes with police broke out during a break in the proceedings when
police prevented a number of journalists and supporters of the
defendants from reentering the courtroom, citing a lack of space.
Mikhail Pastukhov, a representative of the Belarusian Journalists
Association, said police beat dozens of people who were unable to make
their way inside, according to Reuters, while AP reported that one
woman was hit on the head by a police officer. A senior police official
said police officers did not use force during the incident. Judge
Tatyana Klimova adjourned the trial until 5 June. CB
[36] OSCE WITHDRAWS ANOTHER OFFICIAL FROM BELARUS
Following the 3 June expulsion of Andrew Carpenter, the acting head of
the OSCE Advisory and Monitoring Group in Minsk, the OSCE withdrew a
second staff officer on 4 June, Belapan reported the same day (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 3 June 2002). The OSCE said that its human rights
specialist in Belarus, Meaghan Fitzgerald of the United States, has
been recalled to OSCE headquarters in Vienna for consultations. Her
Belarusian visa will expire next month. The latest staff withdrawals
follow the expulsion of the former acting head of the mission Michel
Rivollier, who left Belarus on 15 April when Minsk refused to renew his
visa (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 April 2002). The only international
staff member remaining at the OSCE mission in Minsk is a Moldovan
administrative officer. CB
[37] UKRAINE SEEKS EXTRADITION OF FORMER EESU EXECUTIVES
Ukraine is seeking to extradite four former executives of the energy
supplier Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine (EESU) who were arrested in
the Turkish resort town of Antalya last week, Reuters reported on 4
June. The four include Hennadiy Tymoshenko, the former general director
of the company and father-in-law of Ukrainian opposition politician
Yuliya Tymoshenko; former Chief Executive Officer Yevhen Shaho; and two
former financial officers, Lydiya Sokolchenko and Antoniya Palyura (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 4 June 2002). Ukrainian prosecutors accuse them of
hiding hard-currency profits and stealing state assets. Yuliya
Tymoshenko said on 3 June said the extradition efforts are a
politically motivated attack against her opposition activities in
parliament and she asked Turkish authorities to grant the four asylum.
CB
[38] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES MORE DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN UKRAINE
In a speech before the Ukrainian parliament on 4 June, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised Ukraine for its moves toward
European integration, but he also urged the former Soviet republic to
continue with democratic reforms, AP reported the same day. "One of the
great challenges to humankind today is to make not just the principle
but the practice of democracy equally universal," Annan told the
Verkhovna Rada. The UN secretary-general also called on the
international community to help Ukraine ensure that "democracy cannot
be subverted in insidious ways, through the slow accretion of abuses,"
alluding to allegations of corruption and election rigging that have
been leveled against Ukrainian officials. International observers
reported irregularities in Ukraine's 31 March parliamentary elections
and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has also faced a number of
accusations, including corruption, illegal arms trading, money
laundering, and abuse of power. CB
[39] ESTONIA, JAPAN SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL
In Tokyo on 4 June, Foreign Ministers Kristiina Ojuland and Yoriko
Kawaguchi signed a cooperation protocol between their countries'
foreign ministries, laying the groundwork for regular political
consultations, ETA reported. Ojuland called for increasing economic
relations and trade. Trade between the countries last year totaled 3.91
billion kroons ($236 million), of which only 570 million kroons were
Estonian exports. Ojuland also met with Deputy Foreign Minister Shigeo
Uetake, who recently visited Estonia, and Japanese House of
Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Koichi Yoshida. The
talks focused on European Union and NATO expansion and the Kyoto
Protocol, which the Estonian government sent to the parliament for
ratification the same day, while the Japanese parliament ratified it.
SG
[40] LATVIAN PRESIDENT BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO IRELAND
President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, accompanied by Agriculture Minister
Atis Slakteris, Minister for State Reform Affairs Janis Krumins, Riga
Mayor Gundars Bojars, and a delegation of more than 30 businessmen and
farmers, began the first-ever official visit by a Latvian President to
Ireland on 4 June, LETA reported. It began with a welcoming ceremony
hosted by Irish President Mary McAleese. Vike-Freiberga also held talks
with Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and the heads of the Irish Senate and
House of Representatives, and delivered a speech at the European
Affairs Institute. Vike-Freiberga is expected to remain in Ireland to
participate in a summit on global achievements organized by the
"Academy of Achievement." The summit will be attended by 150 young
people from 50 countries. Other speakers at the summit will include
former U.S. President Bill Clinton, UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Mary Robinson, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and Nobel Prize
winners John Hume, Henry Kissinger, and Jose Ramos-Horta. SG
[41] LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW REFERENDUM LAW
By a vote of 47 to four, with nine abstentions, the parliament passed a
new referendum law on 4 June, BNS reported. It provides for two types
of referendums, obligatory and consultative. Obligatory referendums
will be organized concerning amendments to articles of the
constitution, the amendment of the Constitutional Act "On Non-Accession
of the Republic of Lithuania to Post-Soviet Eastern Unions," and on the
participation of Lithuania in international organizations when it
involves the partial transfer of duties of state bodies to institutions
or jurisdictions of international organizations. Consultative
referendums will be held on other matters. Referendums will be
considered valid if more than half of all eligible voters participate
in them. The law will go into effect beginning on 1 January 2003. The
parliament also adopted a new Labor Code. SG
[42] FORMER PRESIDENT SAYS EU 'OWES' POLAND GOOD ENTRY TERMS
In an interview with Reuters on 5 June, former Polish President Lech
Walesa said the European Union "owes" Poland good terms for joining the
union and attacked the government for failing in expansion
negotiations. "Who started World War II? Who sold us out to the
communists? These are debts the West owes us. We have a right to expect
equal treatment to present EU members," the 58-year-old Nobel Peace
Prize winner said. "We must level the playing field with the West." He
said Poland and other candidates were not able to benefit from the
U.S.-backed rebuilding of Western Europe after World War II, and
deserve similar aid to make good the damage done by nearly half a
century under communism. DW
[43] CZECH SUPPORT FOR EU ENTRY FALLING
The number of Czechs opposed to their country joining the European
Union has increased by 12 percent since March, CTK reported on 3 June,
citing a poll conducted in May by the TNS Factum agency. According to
the poll, about one-half of Czechs favor their country joining the EU
and about one-third are opposed. Some 20 percent of the population is
undecided. The GfK polling agency reported in April that 41 percent of
those surveyed were for the Czech Republic's EU entry and 36 percent
were against. BW
[44] CHARGES AGAINST CZECH TV HEAD DROPPED
All criminal charges launched against Czech Television General Director
Jiri Balvin have been dropped, Czech media reported on 3 June. In May,
Balvin was charged with purchasing broadcast equipment in July 2001
without holding a public tender. Czech Television was fined 2.5 million
crowns ($77,346) as a result. Balvin has insisted that all transactions
made under his supervision were legal. BW
[45] CZECH ENVOY SAYS 9/11 HIJACK SUSPECT MET IRAQI SPY
Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations
Hynek Kmonicek has said that 11 September hijack suspect Mohammad Atta
met in Prague with an Iraqi intelligence agent, despite claims in the
U.S. media that the liaison never took place, "The Prague Post" of 4
June reported. "The meeting took place" between Atta and Iraqi Embassy
Second Consul Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani, the English-language
weekly quoted Kmonicek as saying. "At the time, I was in Prague,"
Kmonicek said. "I was the person who had to expel al-Ani." Kmonicek was
serving as a deputy foreign minister when he alleges the two men met in
April 2001. U.S. media, including "Newsweek," "The Washington Post,"
and "The New York Times," have cited unidentified U.S. officials as
saying there is no evidence the meeting took place. Czech officials,
including Interior Minister Stanislav Gross, have maintained that Atta
and Al-Ani met in Prague. BW
[46] CZECH PRESIDENT SAYS ZEMAN GOVERNMENT HARMING CZECH FOREIGN
RELATIONS
President Vaclav Havel said the government of Prime Minister Milos
Zeman is responsible for a deterioration of the Czech Republic's
foreign relations, CTK reported on 4 June. "We had been weaving a kind
of fragile foreign political relations for many years and now all of a
sudden all this is broken within a few weeks," Havel said. The Czech
president, whose final term expires in January 2003, has criticized
Zeman for referring to Czechoslovakia's Sudeten German minority as
traitors and "Hitler's fifth column." Havel also criticized Foreign
Minister Jan Kavan for canceling a planned meeting with Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat on 25 May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 May 2002). BW
[47] COALITION SEEKS ALLIANCE WITH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS
A leading member of the Coalition electoral bloc said he would prefer
that the bloc form an alliance with the Social Democratic Party (CSSD)
after the Czech Republic's general elections on 14-15 June, CTK
reported on 4 June. Deputy Senate Chairman Jan Ruml, a member of the
Freedom Union, said he would prefer forming a coalition government with
the governing CSSD to an alliance with the opposition Civic Democratic
Party (ODS). The Coalition electoral bloc consists of Ruml's Freedom
Union and the Christian Democratic Party (KDU-CSL). Ruml's comments
came a day after Czech media reported that ODS leader Vaclav Klaus has
met with KDU-CSL leader Cyril Svoboda to discuss forming a postelection
coalition (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 June 2002). BW
[48] SWEDEN IS NEW DESTINATION FOR SLOVAK AND CZECH ROMA
Sweden is the latest country to experience a wave of Roma requesting
asylum, TASR reported on 4 June. In May alone 74 Czech and 206 Slovak
Roma requested asylum in Sweden, approximately the same number as all
of last year. Swedish officials believe that the mass immigration of
Roma from East European countries is organized, citing as evidence the
fact that the Roma seem to know what they should say and what routes to
avoid so they are not questioned when they enter the country. None of
the Roma from the Czech Republic or Slovakia have received asylum in
Sweden thus far. AS
[49] SLOVAKS DON'T LIKE FOREIGN POLITICIANS TELLING THEM FOR WHOM TO
VOTE
Some 50.8 percent of Slovaks perceive statements by foreign leaders
expressing concern over the possible participation of the Movement for
a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) in the government following the September
elections as interference in the free competition of political parties
in Slovakia, TASR reported on 4 June. According to a survey conducted
by Slovak Radio, nearly 47 percent of respondents believe that such
statements are pressuring voters and infringe on their right to freely
decide for whom to vote. Almost 41 percent does not agree with this
opinion. More than half of those questioned in the survey do not
consider Western politicians' opinions of the HZDS to be helpful for
the progress of democracy. AS
[50] COMMON EU AND SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE DOES NOT ADOPT FINAL
DECLARATION
For the first time the common parliamentary committee of the European
Union and Slovakia on 4 June did not approve the proposed final
declaration and recommendations pertaining to the country's efforts to
join the union, Slovak newspapers reported. Only half of the European
parliamentarians supported the suggested text. One of the reasons for
its rejection was the fact that it did not include an appeal to Slovak
voters to vote in the September elections. According to some European
members of the committee, the declaration should have mentioned that
the membership of Slovakia must be ratified by all EU member states and
that all must be certain that Slovakia has fulfilled the political
criteria for membership of the union. This formulation was rejected by
the Slovak members of the committee, with its co-Chairman Peter Weiss
saying that such a requirement would have returned Slovakia to the same
situation it faced in 1997, when Slovakia was criticized for not
fulfilling the political criteria because of the policies of then-Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar. AS
[51] HUNGARIAN DEMOCRATIC FORUM DEPUTY CHAIRMAN RESIGNS TO WORK FOR
FORMER PREMIER
Csaba Hende resigned on 4 June as deputy chairman of the Hungarian
Democratic Forum (MDF) to work for former Prime Minister Viktor Orban
in helping organize "civic groups," Hungarian dailies reported.
Addressing a large crowd in Budapest on 7 May, Orban urged his FIDESZ
supporters to organize themselves in small civic groups so they could
be mobilized if needed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 May 2002). Hende said
he has informed MDF Chairwoman Ibolya David about his decision.
However, "Nepszabadsag" reported on 4 June that the news came as a
surprise to the MDF leadership, as the party's senior politicians have
yet to take part in Orban's political rallies or in organizing civic
groups. MSZ
[52] BUDAPEST MAYORAL CANDIDATE TO GIVE UP AMBASSADOR POST
Pal Schmitt, the chairman of the Hungarian Olympic Committee and
Hungarian ambassador to Switzerland, said on 4 June that he considers
his candidacy for mayor of Budapest such a great challenge that he will
give up his ambassadorial post in Bern, Hungarian media reported.
Schmitt announced the previous day that he had accepted a request from
14 intellectuals and will challenge incumbent Budapest Mayor Gabor
Demszky in the local elections this fall. He said he is pleased that he
was not nominated by a party, as he would lose the credibility of
neutrality. FIDESZ, however, has invited Schmitt to its forthcoming
leadership meeting. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[53] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT PASSES AMNESTY FOR PRESEVO REBELS
Yugoslavia's parliament passed a law on 4 June granting amnesty to
ethnic Albanian rebels who fought against Serbian forces in the Presevo
Valley region in 2001, AP reported. The law was approved with 70 votes
in the 138-seat lower house, 26 against, and 42 absent. The
parliament's upper house passed the bill in April. Yugoslav Deputy
Prime Minister Miroljub Labus told the assembly that the law is a
crucial part of the peace deal in Presevo. "We told [the rebels] to
give up their guns and we would give them amnesty," he said before the
vote. "It may have been a flawed settlement, but it brought peace."
Following the vote, Yugoslav Justice Minister Savo Markovic said, "This
law will contribute to confidence-building measures in southern
Serbia." DW
[54] YUGOSLAVIA SIGNS $85 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK
The Yugoslav federal government signed an agreement on 4 June with the
World Bank for credits of $85 million to help restructure its economy,
AP reported. Deputy Prime Minister Labus said the money will be used to
bolster the deficit-plagued budget of the Serbian republic by
jump-starting small businesses and restructuring its outdated banking
system. Last week, the bank agreed to loan $15 million to the
Montenegrin government for restructuring the economy in the smaller
republic in Yugoslavia. DW
[55] STRIKING SERBIAN TAXI DRIVERS BLOCK TRAFFIC IN BELGRADE
Taxi drivers in Belgrade blocked city streets to demand lower taxes and
a clampdown on illegal drivers on 4 June, Reuters reported. Several
hundred taxis lined up in front of city hall, main intersections in the
city were blocked, and cars were backed up at the main bridge over the
Sava River, where only one lane out of the city was open. "No one has
been paying attention to our demands so we have to get what belongs to
us in an unpopular way," said taxi dispatcher Dobrica Petrovic. Drivers
at the main taxi firms want the authorities to clamp down on illegal
drivers who do not pay taxes and who give legal companies a bad name by
not using the standard tariffs. Petrovic said if the authorities do not
accept their demands, taxi drivers and private transport firms in
Belgrade and 30 other towns in Serbia will stage a strike on 10 June.
DW
[56] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT WANTS YUGOSLAVIA DISSOLVED QUICKLY
Milo Djukanovic said on 4 June in Podgorica that he is seeking a speedy
implementation of the agreement that will end Yugoslavia and create the
Serbia and Montenegro entity, Tanjug reported. Djukanovic, speaking
after meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Yugoslavia Yoshiki Mine, said
the agreement will create the conditions necessary for continued
reforms and increase investment in Montenegro. The agreement, which was
forged by the European Union, was approved by the Yugoslav parliament
last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 May 2002) and was earlier passed
by the Serbian and Montenegrin parliaments. PB
[57] KOSOVAR SERB LEADER CHALLENGES STEINER'S PLAN FOR DIVIDED CITY
Milan Ivanovic, the leader of northern Kosova's Serbian National
Council, said on 5 June that Michael Steiner, who heads the UN civilian
administration in Kosova (UNMIK), does not fully understand the
situation in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Tanjug reported.
Ivanovic, speaking in Mitrovica, made his comments in response to
reports that Steiner has developed a plan to unite the town. Ivanovic
said that "the situation is a lot worse than Mr. Steiner [thought]." He
added that Steiner "is not a governor of Kosovska Mitrovica and he can
neither unite nor disunite" the town. Ivanovic added that it is
"absurd" to discuss a multiethnic Mitrovica when "not a single Serb"
lives in Prishtina or Peje. PB
[58] INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, BOSNIAN LEADERSHIP SEEK REGIONAL
MINI-SUMMIT
Paddy Ashdown, the international community's new high representative in
Bosnia, and the Bosnia-Herzegovinian Presidency on 4 June proposed a
meeting in Sarajevo to include the presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and
Yugoslavia, Hina reported. The announcement followed the first working
meeting between Ashdown and Presidency Chairman Beriz Belkic.
Participants would discuss issues of regional cooperation, according to
Hina. There is no indication of when the suggested meeting might take
place. AH
[59] CROATIAN EXPERT SAYS GRACAC FINDINGS DO NOT INDICATE 'MASS WAR
CRIME'
The head of a government team exhuming bodies of casualties from
Operation Storm in 1995 said on 4 June that remains from the Orthodox
cemetery in Gracac indicate "the bodies were not buried in a mass grave
but in separate graves," Hina reported. The dead were buried along with
military uniforms, documents, and personal belongings, thus suggesting
they were buried in line with the Geneva Convention, he added. Remains
of 93 people have been exhumed as authorities continue a process
requested and supervised by investigators from the International War
Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Zadar County Prosecutor Ivan
Galovic, also a member of the government team, said, "Nothing we have
found so far indicates that a mass war crime was committed here." AH
[60] IMMIGRANTS KILLED IN MACEDONIA IDENTIFIED
The identities of seven men killed by Macedonian police on 3 March have
been confirmed, "The Wall Street Journal" reported on 4 June. The
Macedonian Interior Ministry maintains that the seven were Islamists
with ties to the Al-Qaeda network, but has offered no evidence to back
the allegations. However, the newspaper reported that the seven men had
no ties with terrorism at all. According to the daily's investigation,
the seven men were illegal immigrants from Pakistan and India on their
way to Greece (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 May 2002). "The Wall Street
Journal" reported that among the seven victims there were five Shiite
Muslims, one Sunni Muslim, and one Hindu, and that none of them had any
links with the Al-Qaeda network. The Skopje daily "Nova Makedonija"
published the names of six of the victims on 1 June. UB
[61] NATO CALLS OFF CONFERENCE IN MACEDONIA AFTER PRIME MINISTER'S
ANTI-WESTERN SPEECH
NATO has called off a conference on border problems in the Balkans that
was to held in the Macedonian resort of Ohrid on 16 and 17 July,
"Dnevnik" reported. The daily quoted an unnamed NATO representative as
saying that the conference was canceled because it was poorly organized
and that it could be held at a later date. But an unspecified
diplomatic source in Brussels said the main reason for calling off the
meeting was the anti-Western speech Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski
delivered in parliament on 27 May. In his speech, Georgievski said
unnamed "structures" within the international community are using the
Kosovar government to destabilize the region (see "RFE/RL Balkan
Report," 31 May 2002). The conference was to discuss joint border
controls in order to stop the trafficking of arms, drugs, and humans.
UB
[62] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT CRITICIZES MEDIA OUTLETS
Romanian President Ion Iliescu harshly criticized local media outlets
on 4 June, Romanian Television reported. He said he is "amazed" by
journalists' "talent to distort" his declarations. He added that he
cannot understand the reasons for such behavior, but believes it could
be due to the "lack of information, lack of culture, or malevolence."
Iliescu made the comments in response to repeated questions related to
possible early elections next year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 June
2002). ZsM
[63] RESITA WORKERS RENEW PROTESTS IN ROMANIA
Some 1,000 workers from the Resita CSR steelmaker renewed protests on 4
June asking for their back wages to be paid, Romanian media reported.
The U.S.-based Noble Ventures company, which owns the steelmaker, sent
CSR employees on leave at 75 percent salary, but has failed to pay
those wages since April. The protesters took to the streets and clashed
with police in front of the local prefect's office. Noble Ventures said
the workers will remain out of work until CSR receives a $15 million
credit from the Romanian Commercial Bank, which rejected the initial
loan request. ZsM
[64] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CONSIDERS PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION A THREAT TO
INDEPENDENCE...
Speaking on Moldovan Television on 3 June, Moldovan President Vladimir
Voronin warned citizens that "the parliamentary opposition represents a
blow to Moldova's statehood and independence," Flux reported. He
further harshly criticized the recent anticommunist protest movements
organized by the Popular Party Christian Democratic (PPCD), and
described those who organized them as "uneducated, uncivilized, and
unpatriotic." President Voronin called on authorities to halt any
protest actions if they prove as "insolent" as the recent protests in
Chisinau. ZsM
[65] ...WHILE PPCD CHAIRMAN THREATENS TO RENEW ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS
Replying to Voronin's speech, PPCD Chairman Iurie Rosca said on 4 June
that the president was merely revealing his "incompetence,
aggressiveness, and contempt for democratic values," Flux reported. He
added that Voronin intends to continuously trample "on the principles
of a state of law and on basic human rights." Rosca added that, as he
sees little hope for "taming" the current rulers, the opposition might
have to renew protests in order to "defend democracy" and the rule of
law. ZsM
[66] MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT TO SELL MAJORITY SHARE IN MOLDTELECOM
The Moldovan government has announced that it will privatize the
Moldtelecom phone company, Flux reported on 3 June. The government is
to sell 51 percent of state shares in the company in an international
tender in August. Offers are to be accepted until 2 August. ZsM
[67] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT PLANS TO CREATE 50,000 JOBS
The government plans to create more than 50,000 new jobs this year,
Labor and Social Affairs Deputy Minister Valery Apostolov announced on
4 June at the Investment Forum 2002 in Sofia, news.bg reported. Among
the planned jobs, the Guarantee Fund for Microcrediting would secure
employment for some 6,000 workers, while about 5,000 people would begin
work under the government's Employment Through Support of Business
project. Another 5,000 people would be employed under the Beautiful
Bulgaria project. According to Apostolov, 24 business centers have
already opened in the least-developed regions of the country. The
business centers facilitate the opening of private business and support
the development of small and medium-sized businesses. However,
participants of the forum demanded administrative reforms to improve
the business climate. UB
[68] BULGARIAN-BASED MULTINATIONAL BRIGADE, U.S. SERVICEMEN PARTICIPATE
IN EXERCISE
More than 400 servicemen of the Bulgarian-based multinational
Southeastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) and the U.S. Army are taking part
in "Exercise Cornerstone 2002," which was officially launched in the
southern Bulgarian village of Miryantsi on 3 June, BTA reported.
Cornerstone 2002 is a joint exercise involving the SEEBRIG Engineer
Task Force and engineers units of the U.S. European Command. According
to the exercise scenario, the engineers units will be deployed in the
aftermath of an earthquake. The exercise is intended to enhance the
engineers troops' participation in humanitarian operations. UB
[69] BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS LEAD OPINION POLL
According to an opinion poll conducted by the Noema polling agency, if
elections were held today 39.4 percent of the respondents would vote
for the opposition Socialist-led Coalition for Bulgaria, BTA reported
on 3 June. The ruling National Movement Simeon II (NDSV) would receive
24.3 percent of the vote, while its junior coalition partner, the
ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, would take 5.9
percent. The conservative opposition coalition United Democratic Forces
would garner 13.6 percent of the vote, while the coalition of
Gergyovden and the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
(VMRO) would take 7.9 percent. The Union of Free Democrats led by Sofia
Mayor Stefan Sofiyanski would receive 5.4 percent of the vote. UB
END NOTE
[70] There is no End Note today.
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