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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-07-08
CONTENTS
[01] FOREIGN MINISTER TALKS TOUGH ON KALININGRAD...
[02] ...AS MILITARY PREPARES FOREIGN PASSES FOR ITS UNITS
[03] MOSCOW TO EXTEND NUCLEAR COOPERATION IN ASIA
[04] KREMLIN PLANS TO TAKE CONTROL OF VITAL NATURAL RESOURCES FROM
[05] STRANA.RU MAKES IT OFFICIAL...
[06] ...AS STATE RUSSIAN TELEVISION GOES GLOBAL
[07] KGB VETERAN SAYS KALUGIN DIDN'T HELP THE U.S...
[08] ...AS INTELLIGENCE EXPERT CLAIMS RECORD NUMBER OF RUSSIAN SPIES
[09] PUTIN BLAMES FORMER LEADERSHIP FOR PROBLEMS IN ULYANOVSK
[10] ANOTHER ANTI-SEMITIC BOOBY TRAP WOUNDS TWO
[11] MORE LOCAL OFFICIALS SACKED IN THE SOUTH...
[12] ...AS PRIME MINISTER ECHOES PUTIN'S WARNING TO EES
[13] NENETS GOVERNOR REMAINS DEFIANT
[14] MIRONOV STUMPS FOR REGIONAL MERGERS
[15] BREAKING DOWN THE BUREAUCRACY
[16] ANOTHER CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER REQUESTS AMNESTY
[17] MERCENARIES' PAYMASTER REPORTED KILLED IN CHECHEN FLOODING
[18] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT AMENDS ELECTION LAW...
[19] ...APPROVES GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSED DISCIPLINARY MEASURES
[20] COUNCIL OF EUROPE AGAIN WARNS ARMENIA NOT TO RETAIN DEATH PENALTY
[21] ARMENIA POSTS HIGHEST CIS INCREASE IN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT
[22] EU RELEASES FURTHER GRANT FOR ARMENIA
[23] FORMER ARMENIAN NEGOTIATOR SAYS AZERBAIJAN WANTS 'PHASED' KARABAKH
[24] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION DIVIDED OVER REFERENDUM BOYCOTT
[25] POLICE POSTS REMOVED FROM AZERBAIJANI VILLAGE
[26] DEFENSE OFFICIAL DENIES GEORGIA RECEIVED ARMS FROM RUSSIA
[27] RUSSIAN CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS GEORGIAN TROOPS REMAIN IN KODORI
[28] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT PARDONS THREE CONVICTED FOR FAILED
[29] GERMAN BUSINESSMAN REPORTED MISSING IN GEORGIA
[30] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY...
[31] ...INSISTS MEDIA NOT SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS...
[32] ...AS OPPOSITION EDITOR SENTENCED
[33] RUSSIAN, CENTRAL ASIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN KAZAKHSTAN
[34] KYRGYZ POLICE SAY CHINESE DIPLOMAT'S MURDER NOT POLITICAL
[35] KYRGYZSTAN TO MAKE SECOND AIRFIELD AVAILABLE TO ANTITERRORISM
[36] WORLD BANK TO FINANCE THREE MORE PROJECTS IN TAJIKISTAN
[37] TURKMENISTAN INTRODUCES RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL TO IRAN, UZBEKISTAN
[38] UZBEKISTAN BANS USE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY
[39] UZBEKISTAN, RUSSIA DISCUSS ECONOMIC COOPERATION
[40] ITALIAN SPY RELEASED FROM BELARUSIAN JAIL
[41] OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY DENIES BELARUS ONCE AGAIN
[42] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR PROBE INTO CAMERAMAN'S
[43] FIRE KILLS 34 IN UKRAINIAN COALMINE
[44] PISKUN CHOSEN TO BE UKRAINE'S NEW PROSECUTOR-GENERAL
[45] UKRAINE REBUFFED AT COPENHAGEN EU SUMMIT...
[46] ...GETS SUPPORT IN RIGA ON NATO
[47] ESTONIAN ECONOMY MINISTRY DRAFTS ENERGY MARKET ACT
[48] 'VILNIUS 10' PREMIERS MEET IN LATVIA
[49] LITHUANIAN LOCAL, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO BE HELD SIMULTANEOUSLY
[50] POLISH PREMIER BRINGS BACK FORMER FINANCE MINISTER...
[51] ...REPLACES TWO OTHER MINISTERS...
[52] ...AND RULES OUT ZLOTY DEVALUATION
[53] SOCIAL DEMOCRATS AND COALITION TO INK CZECH GOVERNMENT
[54] ...AS FREEDOM UNION LEADER QUITS
[55] COALITION WON'T HAVE VETO POWER OVER POLICY
[56] CZECH PRESIDENT PRAISES SPIDLA, GOVERNMENT NEGOTIATIONS
[57] CZECH AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCE SEIZURE OF PLASTIC EXPLOSIVES,
[58] JAPANESE EMPEROR IN PRAGUE
[59] CONTROVERSIAL CZECH NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT HITS ANOTHER SNAG
[60] HZDS CONGRESS APPROVES LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR SLOVAK ELECTIONS
[61] CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS BECAME PARTNER OF THE EUROPEAN PEOPLE'S PARTY
[62] HUNGARIAN DEMONSTRATIONS CLOG CENTRAL BUDAPEST, LEAD TO SCUFFLES
[63] COLLABORATION ISSUE BACKFIRES ON HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADER...
[64] ...WHO SAYS HE NEEDS TIME TO DEAL WITH REVELATION...
[65] ...AND PRIME MINISTER CONDEMNS 'COLLABORATION' TACK IN POLITICS
[66] HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT TO OFFER CONCESSIONS IN AMENDED STATUS LAW
[67] MESIC LAUNCHES TALKS ON SETTING UP NEW CROATIAN GOVERNMENT...
[68] ...BUT WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR BUDISA?
[69] SFOR SENDS CAPTURED WAR CRIMINAL TO THE HAGUE
[70] HISTORIC MOSQUE REOPENS IN SREBRENICA
[71] BOVINE DIES OF ANTHRAX IN BOSNIA
[72] POLICE DETAIN MAN FOR PLANNING TO SHOOT NATO COMMANDER
[73] EU READY TO TAKE OVER BOSNIAN POLICE MISSION
[74] SARAJEVO SUMMIT FOR THREE EX-YUGOSLAV REPUBLICS
[75] BELGRADE-SARAJEVO AIR LINKS RESTORED
[76] TOP POLITICAL LEADERS MISSING FROM U.S. FOURTH OF JULY PARTY IN
[77] PIRATE CD FACTORY RAIDED IN BELGRADE
[78] SERBIAN COURT ISSUES FIRST SENTENCE FOR KOSOVA CRIMES
[79] BATIC SETS CONDITIONS FOR SERBIAN JUDGES IN KOSOVA
[80] STEINER TELLS SERBS THAT 'METOHIJA' IS NOT A LEGAL DESIGNATION
[81] EIGHT ARRESTED IN KOSOVA CRACKDOWN
[82] MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CONFLICT CONTINUES
[83] ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN PREMIERS DISCUSS RELATIONS...
[84] ...AND COMMENT ON ROMANIAN CENSUS RESULTS...
[85] ...WHILE MEDGYESSY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ETHNIC HUNGARIANS
[86] PRELIMINARY CENSUS RESULTS SHOW CONSIDERABLE DECLINE OF POPULATION
[87] ROMANIAN LIBERALS TO HOLD EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS NEXT MONTH
[88] EXTREMIST ROMANIAN POLITICIAN LAUNCHES HARSH ATTACK AGAINST U.S.
[89] RESITA STEELMAKER RETURNED TO STATE CONTROL
[90] ROMANIAN-MOLDOVAN NEGOTIATIONS ON SCHOOL FELLOWSHIPS BREAK OFF
[91] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS NEW LAW IS NEEDED ON 'BULGARIANS ABROAD'
[92] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER QUELLS REPORTS OF STRAINS IN COALITION
[93] ...AS OUSTED GOVERNORS' PARTY URGES GREATER CONSULTATION
[94] There is no End Note today.
8 July 2002
RUSSIA
[01] FOREIGN MINISTER TALKS TOUGH ON KALININGRAD...
Speaking on ORT on 7 July, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that "if
somebody in the West has the idea of tearing Kaliningrad from Russia,
he will fail." Russia's leadership will never leave oblast residents
without support, he continued. Ivanov also said that the European Union
position on Kaliningrad "is very weak." The EU argues that the
organization's borders must be secure after Poland and Lithuania join
in order to prevent Kaliningrad from serving as a conduit for organized
crime, drugs, and AIDS. However, Ivanov argued, Russia is also
threatened by these dangers and is equally interested in combating
them. VY
[02] ...AS MILITARY PREPARES FOREIGN PASSES FOR ITS UNITS
Meanwhile, Captain Anatolii Lobskii, head of the press service of the
Kaliningrad-based Baltic Fleet, said that navy command has begun
preparations for issuing foreign passes to service personnel stationed
in the region, strana.ru reported on 5 July. Lobskii noted that the
documents must be ready by 1 January 2003, the date on which Lithuania
plans to introduce visa requirements for Russian citizens. VY
[03] MOSCOW TO EXTEND NUCLEAR COOPERATION IN ASIA
Speaking in Beijing on 8 July, Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr
Rumyantsev said that Russia will increase its transfer of
nuclear-energy technologies to China, India, Iran, and other Asian
states, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. Addressing the Russian-Chinese
Commission on Nuclear Cooperation, Rumyantsev noted that his agency
will take part in the bidding to build two additional reactors for the
Tianwan nuclear-power plant on China's eastern coast, where his
ministry has already installed two reactors. Russia is also
constructing two blocks at India's Kudamkulan plant and plans to
complete the nuclear-power plant in Bushehr, Iran, in 2004-05. VY
[04] KREMLIN PLANS TO TAKE CONTROL OF VITAL NATURAL RESOURCES FROM
REGIONS
Dmitrii Kozak, deputy chief of the presidential administration, is
ready to introduce a bill that would transfer control over the most
valuable natural resources -- including oil, natural gas, gold,
diamonds and ferrous and non-ferrous ores -- to the federal government
and declare them federal property, "Ekspert," No. 24, reported. This
new bill would amend the existing law on mineral wealth and the Tax
Code and will leave the regions control only over relatively
insignificant resources such as gravel, sand, and underground water,
the weekly noted (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 June 2002), noted the
weekly. Under the amendments, revenues from the exploitation of natural
resources would go to the Kremlin, which will then distribute them
among the regions. The government expects strong opposition from the
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansii Autonomous Okrug,
Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the republics of Komi, Sakha (Yakutia),
Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan, which are rich in natural resources.
However, the Kremlin believes its majority in the Duma is strong enough
to overcome this resistance. VY
[05] STRANA.RU MAKES IT OFFICIAL...
Gleb Pavlovskii, head of the Effective Policy Foundation and an
influential political consultant, has sold his website strana.ru and
its affiliated projects -- including vesti.ru, smi.ru, ukraina.ru,
inopress.ru, and kavkaz.strana.ru -- to the state broadcasting company
VGTRK, "Vremya novostei" and other Russian media reported on 4 July.
Although several sources said the sale was motivated by the poor
financial condition of Pavlovskii's projects, "Kommersant-Daily" and
polit.ru speculated that the real reason might be Pavlovskii's loss of
influence within the Kremlin. According to "Kommersant-Daily,"
Pavlovskii's colleagues in the Internet business are convinced that the
so-called St. Petersburg group in the Kremlin, of which Pavlovskii is
not a member, demanded an audit and arranged a hold on all expenditures
on his projects. Staff of strana.ru confirmed that the foundation's
media projects have been financially strapped and that they haven't
received their wages for three months. RFE/RL's Russian Service
commented on 5 July that the merger has a certain logic. Under General
Director Oleg Dobrodeev, VGTRK -- which runs RTR television, Radio
Mayak, and other broadcast outlets -- is now making major inroads into
the Russian Internet. It has been estimated that strana.ru and its
related projects represent as much as 25 percent of the news-related
Russian Internet. VY/JAC
[06] ...AS STATE RUSSIAN TELEVISION GOES GLOBAL
VGTRK announced that two of its channels -- RTR and Kultura -- are
available free of charge as of 1 July to audiences in Western Europe
and the Middle East via the new Ekspress-3A telecommunications
satellite, Russian news agencies reported on 2 July. The Ekspress-3A
was launched last month. According to a VGTRK statement, the goal of
the "RTR-Planet" project is to make Russian state television accessible
to the widest possible Russian-speaking audience. In September or
October, the channels will also be available via satellite in the
Western hemisphere, including the United States and Canada. The project
is similar to one launched in the 1980s by Soviet state television
called "Moscow-Global." VY
[07] KGB VETERAN SAYS KALUGIN DIDN'T HELP THE U.S...
. A veteran of the KGB's foreign intelligence service, Colonel Leonid
Kolosov, said that former KGB General Oleg Kalugin -- who was sentenced
in absentia on 26 June to 15 years in prison for treason (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 26 June 2002) -- could not have revealed the identities of
undercover agents to U.S. intelligence, "Ekspress-gazeta" reported on 4
July. Kolosov said that most of agents that work under deep cover only
work for about 10 years and those who worked under ordinary diplomatic
cover have already retired. Therefore, he and Kalugin have no knowledge
of the current generation of spies. Kolosov also said that now that
Russia and the United States are cooperating closely to share
information about common threats, Russian counterintelligence should be
most wary of Eastern and Middle Eastern secret services, apparently
referring to China and Israel. VY
[08] ...AS INTELLIGENCE EXPERT CLAIMS RECORD NUMBER OF RUSSIAN SPIES
DEFECTED TO U.S.
Writing in "Moskovskii komsomolets " on 4 July, intelligence expert
Aleksandr Khinshtein said that over two dozen Russian intelligence
officers and diplomats defected to the United States during the 1990s,
including several senior officials with the Foreign Intelligence
Service's counterintelligence department. Among the defectors,
Khinshtein also mentioned several senior Foreign Ministry officials,
including Vladislav Potapov, an aide to the foreign ministry, who had
information about Russian intelligence officers working under
diplomatic cover around the world. VY
[09] PUTIN BLAMES FORMER LEADERSHIP FOR PROBLEMS IN ULYANOVSK
During a visit to Ulyanovsk on 7 July, President Vladimir Putin
criticized local leaders for the poor state of city utilities, Russian
agencies reported. "The rate of the growth of tariffs for housing,
electricity, and heat has risen from 7 1/2 to 11 times more than in the
country as a whole. This is what they call shock therapy.
Unfortunately, it is the result of the neglect of the oblast leadership
in past years," Putin said, adding that "as usual, the guilty are
nowhere to be found." However, Putin also criticized current officials,
noting that while the number of city officials working only on the
problems of public utilities has increased to 15,000 people, their
effectiveness has not been high, according to Interfax. The oblast's
current governor, Vladimir Shamanov, a former military commander in
Chechnya, was supported by the Kremlin during his effort to unseat the
previous Communist governor, Yurii Goryachev, who had kept prices on a
variety of goods and services capped (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 January
2000 and 16 February 2001). JAC
[10] ANOTHER ANTI-SEMITIC BOOBY TRAP WOUNDS TWO
A booby-trapped anti-Semitic sign exploded on 8 July near the Siberian
city of Tomsk, slightly injuring the two men who were trying to remove
it, AP reported the same day. The sign was the latest in a series of
such incidents since a booby trap severely injured a woman near Moscow
on 27 May. On 4 July, police sappers removed a similar sign in the Far
Eastern city of Vladivostok, although no explosives were found. RC
[11] MORE LOCAL OFFICIALS SACKED IN THE SOUTH...
In an interview with RTR on 4 July, Emergency Situations Minister
Sergei Shoigu said that two raion administration heads in Krasnodar
Krai have been dismissed along with two raion administration heads in
Stavropol Krai for their inadequate handling of the aftermath of severe
flooding in their regions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 June 2002). "Now
the position of the head of a city is being considered [for dismissal].
I won't say for the time being which city," he added. According to the
station, Shoigu also criticized the State Construction and Housing
Committee for its slow work in restoring damaged homes. Meanwhile, more
people are returning to their homes: The ministry told ITAR-TASS on 7
July that more than 80,000 out of 102,000 local residents evacuated as
a result of floods in Russia's Southern Federal District have returned
to their homes. As of 6 July, the death toll from the recent flooding
had reached 104 people, according to Interfax. JAC
[12] ...AS PRIME MINISTER ECHOES PUTIN'S WARNING TO EES
On 5 July, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov warned Russia's natural
monopolies against raising their rates to cover their extra
expenditures to repair infrastructure harmed during the recent floods,
Interfax reported. Earlier, President Putin criticized a Unified Energy
Systems (EES) official for proposing raising local rates to cover
repair costs (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 July 2002). JAC
[13] NENETS GOVERNOR REMAINS DEFIANT
In an interview with "Izvestiya" on 4 July, Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Governor Vladimir Butov said that he does not plan to resign before his
term is up, despite his current battle with local and federal
prosecutors (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 June and 2 July 2002). Butov
accused local law enforcement structures of "fighting for power" in the
region and trying to force both the executive and legislative branches
to submit to their domination. On his conflict with LUKoil, Butov said
that he continues to believe that "different companies must operate in
the region" and not just appear to operate, but engage in actual oil
exploration or give up their licenses. JAC
[14] MIRONOV STUMPS FOR REGIONAL MERGERS
Following a visit by Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov and
presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District Sergei Kirienko to
both Perm and Kudymkar, Perm Governor Yurii Trutnev told reporters on 5
July that "for the first time in Russia, the process of merging two
territories has been launched," "Izvestiya" reported on 5 July.
According to the daily, Mironov traveled to the region to promote the
merger of Perm Oblast with the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, whose
capital is Kudymkar. Trutnev, Mironov, and Kirienko met with okrug
Governor Gennadii Savelev, who is reportedly not opposed to a closer
association between the oblast and okrug but wants to preserve the
autonomy of the Komi-Permyak peoples. Oganes Oganyan, a representative
of the okrug in the Federation Council, told the daily that the upper
legislative chamber "is ready to act as a guarantor...of the interests
of the united territories and the people living there." He added that
he thinks that in the "near future the Federation Council will adopt a
special resolution on the question of merging the okrug and oblast."
JAC
[15] BREAKING DOWN THE BUREAUCRACY
The State Statistics Committee announced on 4 July that over the past
18 months, the largest growth in the number of state officials has
occurred in the legislative branch, which saw a 25 percent increase,
"Izvestiya" reported the next day. The number of judges and prosecutors
also increased --as was expected because of the judicial reforms -- but
by less than 25 percent. Overall, according to the daily, there are
1.14 million state officials in Russia, which represents a slight
decrease over the past year and a half. The newspaper concludes that
there are eight officials at various levels of government per 1,000
Russian citizens. JAC
[16] ANOTHER CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER REQUESTS AMNESTY
Abu Arsanukaev, who headed former Chechen President Djokhar Dudaev's
security service from 1992 until Dudaev's death in April 1996, has
petitioned Chechen administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov for a
pardon, Interfax reported on 3 July. After meeting with Arsanukaev,
Kadyrov set in motion an investigation of whether Arsanukaev, who
served in 1999 as first deputy prosecutor-general under President Aslan
Maskhadov, has committed any serious crimes. According to Kadyrov,
Arsanukaev has pledged "full support" for Chechnya's present
leadership. LF
[17] MERCENARIES' PAYMASTER REPORTED KILLED IN CHECHEN FLOODING
Abu Al-Walid, who reportedly inherited the duties of commander of the
contingent of Arab mercenaries fighting in Chechnya after the death in
March of Saudi-born field commander Khattab, was drowned while trying
to ford a river on horseback late last month, Interfax reported on 5
July, quoting Chechen human rights activists. His body was later found
near the village of Tsa-Vedeno. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[18] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT AMENDS ELECTION LAW...
Deputies passed controversial amendments to the election law on 3 July
in the second and final reading by a vote of 71 in favor, three
against, and three abstentions, Noyan Tapan reported. Forty deputies
did not participate in the vote. The amendments, which opposition
deputies argue are intended to increase the majority Republican Party
of Armenia's chances of a victory in the parliamentary elections due in
May 2003, change the ratio of mandates awarded under the majoritarian
and proportional systems from 37:94 to 56:75, thereby reversing changes
adopted in December 2000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 December 2000). LF
[19] ...APPROVES GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSED DISCIPLINARY MEASURES
Deputies also approved on 3 July a slightly softened version of the
measures proposed by the government empowering the parliament speaker
to summon police to remove unruly deputies from the parliament chamber,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 and 28 June
2002). LF
[20] COUNCIL OF EUROPE AGAIN WARNS ARMENIA NOT TO RETAIN DEATH PENALTY
In a 6 July interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Council of Europe
Secretary-General Walther Schwimmer warned that Armenia will face
unspecified "serious political consequences" if it ends its moratorium
on the execution of persons sentenced to death. Council of Europe
officials have repeatedly insisted that Armenia must not make any
exceptions to its commitment to the council to abolish the death
penalty. Parliament nonetheless last month adopted a new Criminal Code
that retains the death penalty for serious crimes committed before the
code takes effect. That loophole was intended to create a legal
foundation for the execution of the five gunmen who shot eight senior
officials in the parliament chamber in October 1999 (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 21 and 25 June 2002). LF
[21] ARMENIA POSTS HIGHEST CIS INCREASE IN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT
Industrial output in Armenia grew by 11.2 percent during the first six
months of 2002, the highest increase recorded in the CIS, according to
Armenian television on 3 July, as cited by Groong. Finance and Economy
Minister Vartan Khachatrian told a news conference on 4 July that GDP
growth over the same period is likely to be between 10-12 percent,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Khachatrian also announced a 14
percent increase in tax revenues and predicted that "if things continue
like this, we will be able to fully implement the 2002 budget and
perhaps achieve more." He added that the government will spend an
additional 1.5 billion drams ($2.56 million) on repaying outstanding
debts. LF
[22] EU RELEASES FURTHER GRANT FOR ARMENIA
The European Union has released the second and final tranche of its
annual $9.4 million budgetary subsidy to Armenia, RFE/RL's Yerevan
bureau reported on 4 July, citing the EU's Yerevan office. The
subsidies are intended primarily to finance the Armenian government's
social and agricultural programs. LF
[23] FORMER ARMENIAN NEGOTIATOR SAYS AZERBAIJAN WANTS 'PHASED' KARABAKH
PEACE AGREEMENT
Zhirair Libaridian, who served from late 1994 until October 1997 as
then-Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrossian's senior foreign policy
adviser, said in Yerevan on 4 July that the Azerbaijani leadership
wants a "phased" agreement on resolving the Karabakh conflict that
would postpone indefinitely a final ruling on the disputed enclave's
status, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 5 July. Libaridian, who is
a U.S. citizen and traveled to Baku last months for talks with
Azerbaijani leaders, said Azerbaijan is willing to open its border with
Armenia if Karabakh Armenian forces withdraw from four of the seven
Azerbaijani districts to the south and west of the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic that they currently occupy. The present
Armenian leadership, however, has always insisted on a "package" peace
deal that would resolve all aspects simultaneously. LF
[24] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION DIVIDED OVER REFERENDUM BOYCOTT
The leadership of the opposition Azerbaijan National Independence Party
(AMIP) decided on 3 July to boycott the planned 24 August referendum on
President Heidar Aliev's proposed amendments to the Azerbaijani
Constitution, Turan reported on 4 July. AMIP Chairman Etibar Mamedov
said on 4 July his party will deploy observers to monitor voter
participation in the referendum, which he predicted will be no higher
than 10 percent. Some other opposition leaders, however, are undecided
whether a boycott is the most appropriate countermeasure. Musavat Party
chairman Isa Gambar said on 4 July his party would not support a
boycott. But the 24 parties aligned in the United Opposition Movement
nonetheless agreed the same day to convene mass protests beginning in
early August against the proposed amendments, which they consider
unconstitutional (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 5, No. 23, 1 July
2002). It is not yet clear whether voters must approve the 39 proposed
amendments as one package or individually. LF
[25] POLICE POSTS REMOVED FROM AZERBAIJANI VILLAGE
The seven police control posts set up on the outskirts of the village
of Nardaran near Baku following clashes early last month between police
and villagers were removed on 6 July, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 and 5 June and 2 July 2002). On 5 July, members of the
Committee for the Rights of Nardaran Residents picketed the Supreme
Court in Baku to demand that the police who opened fire on Nardaran
villagers, and those officials who approved the use of force, be
punished. The Azerbaijani authorities have not yet taken any action to
meet villagers' demands, which include the release of all those
detained in the wake of the clashes, improvements to the local
infrastructure, and the chance to transport their agricultural produce
to Baku for sale in the city's markets. LF
[26] DEFENSE OFFICIAL DENIES GEORGIA RECEIVED ARMS FROM RUSSIA
A senior Georgian Defense Ministry official on 3 July rejected as
untrue a Russian Defense Ministry statement the previous day that
claimed that between 1992-95, Russia gave Georgia 12 helicopters, more
than 350 armored vehicles, more than 400 field guns and other military
hardware together with more than 47,000 guns and ammunition, Caucasus
Press reported. But former Georgian Defense Minister Tengiz Kitovani
told a Georgian radio station on 3 July that Georgia did receive
Russian armaments at that time, including tanks and 600 trainloads of
ammunition, but that most of those arms were then sold or exchanged for
drugs, Interfax reported. Former Mkhedrioni paramilitary head Djaba
Ioseliani said on 3 July that the Russian Defense Ministry overstated
the quantities of arms, but that Georgia did receive nearly 100 armored
vehicles and dozens of pieces of ordnance in the summer of 1992,
Interfax reported. Georgian officials have for years claimed that
Russia did not give Georgia any share of the hardware of the former
USSR's armed forces. LF
[27] RUSSIAN CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS GEORGIAN TROOPS REMAIN IN KODORI
In a written response to a query from the Russian State Duma, Russian
armed forces Chief of General Staff General Anatolii Kvashnin said that
Georgian Army troops and local militiamen remain in the upper,
Georgian-controlled reaches of the Kodori Gorge in what he termed a
gross violation of the agreement reached earlier this year that all
such troops should be withdrawn, Interfax reported on 3 July (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 2, 3, and 11 April 2002). On 6 July, Abkhaz Foreign
Minister Sergei Shamba similarly claimed that some 900 Georgian troops
remain in the upper reaches of the Kodori Gorge, Caucasus Press
reported. He said Sukhum will ask the new UN special representative for
the Abkhaz conflict, Heidi Tagliavini, to persuade Tbilisi to agree to
the establishing of a CIS peacekeeping post in the upper reaches of the
gorge. LF
[28] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT PARDONS THREE CONVICTED FOR FAILED
ASSASSINATION BID
Eduard Shevardnadze has signed a decree pardoning three men convicted
on charges of participating in the car-bomb attempt on his life in
August 1995, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported on 6 July. They
include former Interior Minister Temur Khachishvili, who was sentenced
to 15 years' imprisonment, and Giga Gelashvili, a former leading member
of Mkhedrioni (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 November 1998). LF
[29] GERMAN BUSINESSMAN REPORTED MISSING IN GEORGIA
German businessman Klaus Draege disappeared from his Tbilisi office on
2 July, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on 6 July.
Despite the discovery of blood stains in Draege's office, Georgian
Interior Minister Koba Narchemashvili said on 4 July he doubts Draege
has been either kidnapped or murdered, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[30] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY...
Nursultan Nazarbaev told journalists in Astana on 5 July that
Kazakhstan will not retreat from democracy, Interfax reported. But he
stressed that the government's primary concern is to preserve political
stability. Also on 5 July, Interfax reported that Nazarbaev has
submitted to the Constitutional Court the controversial new law on
political parties drafted by the OTAN party that supports him. That law
raises to 50,000 the minimum number of members a party must have to
qualify for compulsory reregistration (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24, 26,
and 27 June 2002). The court is to rule whether the new law contravenes
Kazakhstan's Constitution. LF
[31] ...INSISTS MEDIA NOT SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS...
Nazarbaev told the same press conference in Astana on 5 July that 90
percent of the country's media are privately owned and that they are
free to criticize the authorities without risk of reprisals, Interfax
reported. He added that such criticism "is normal," Reuters reported.
Nazarbaev denied that any foreign journalists are restricted in their
activities. LF
[32] ...AS OPPOSITION EDITOR SENTENCED
On 4 July, an Almaty district court sentenced Irina Petrushova, editor
of the opposition newspaper "Respublika-delovoe obozrenie," to 18
months' imprisonment on charges of illegal business activities,
Interfax reported. Petrushova intends to appeal the sentence, even
though the court ruled that she qualifies for an amnesty and will
therefore not be jailed. The premises of "Respublika-delovoe obozrenie"
were firebombed in May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23, 24, and 29 May
2002). LF
[33] RUSSIAN, CENTRAL ASIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN KAZAKHSTAN
Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Aqtau in Kazakhstan on 6
July for a "working meeting" with his counterparts from Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, Interfax reported. The talks
focused primarily on the situation in Afghanistan and cooperation in
the export and use of oil and natural gas. Nazarbaev told journalists
that he could not say why Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov,
who was also invited, failed to attend the gathering. LF
[34] KYRGYZ POLICE SAY CHINESE DIPLOMAT'S MURDER NOT POLITICAL
Police in Bishkek said on 4 July that the shooting five days earlier of
a Chinese diplomat was not politically motivated, Reuters and the
"Financial Times" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 and 2 July 2002).
The intended target, in whose car the diplomat was traveling, was a
Uighur businessman killed because of his involvement in illegal
activities. Four Uighurs, three from China and one Kyrgyz citizen, have
been arrested in connection with the murders. Kyrgyz Interior Minister
Bakirdin Subanbekov told journalists on 4 July the killers will be
tried in Kyrgyzstan, rather than extradited to China, Interfax
reported. LF
[35] KYRGYZSTAN TO MAKE SECOND AIRFIELD AVAILABLE TO ANTITERRORISM
COALITION
The Kyrgyz authorities have reached agreement with the United States on
placing an airfield in the town of Kant, 25 kilometers east of Bishkek,
at the disposal of the international antiterrorism coalition, ITAR-TASS
reported on 3 July, quoting an unnamed Kyrgyz Defense Ministry
official. There is already a sizable U.S. presence at Manas
international airport in Bishkek, which military aircraft from some 11
other countries also use. LF
[36] WORLD BANK TO FINANCE THREE MORE PROJECTS IN TAJIKISTAN
Under an agreement signed at the World Bank's newly opened Almaty
office on 3 July, the bank will provide three loans totaling $32.5
million to finance projects in Tajikistan, Interfax and Asia Plus-Blitz
reported. They are Tajikistan's second Poverty Reduction Project;
modernization of the Dushanbe water supply system; and the Pamir-1
hydroelectric plant. LF
[37] TURKMENISTAN INTRODUCES RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL TO IRAN, UZBEKISTAN
President Niyazov announced on 4 July the introduction of a new $6 exit
visa for Turkmen citizens wishing to travel to Iran or Uzbekistan,
ITAR-TASS reported. In addition, persons wishing to travel to Iran must
declare the purpose and duration of their journey, and a special mark
will be stamped in their passport. Niyazov said the reasons for the
restrictions, which will remain in place for at least two years, was to
prevent attempts by Turkmen to smuggle drugs to Iran, or gasoline to
Uzbekistan. But the restrictions on travel to Uzbekistan are likely to
further antagonize Turkmenistan's already disaffected Uzbek minority.
LF
[38] UZBEKISTAN BANS USE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY
President Islam Karimov has signed a decree banning the use of foreign
currency to pay for any goods or services, AP and ITAR-TASS reported on
3 July. The move is intended to strengthen the som and suggests the
Uzbek government may finally remove the existing restrictions on its
free convertibility. LF
[39] UZBEKISTAN, RUSSIA DISCUSS ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Visiting Tashkent on 4-5 July, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor
Khristenko met with Uzbek Prime Minister Utkir Sultanov and with the
leadership of Uzbekneftegaz to discuss cooperation in the oil-and-gas
sphere, in particular possible Russian investment in developing
oil-and-gas deposits in Uzbekistan, Interfax reported. Khristenko also
met with President Karimov to discuss the potential for expanding
bilateral economic cooperation and trade. Annual trade turnover in 2001
amounted to $1 billion. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[40] ITALIAN SPY RELEASED FROM BELARUSIAN JAIL
Angelo Antonio Piu, an Italian businessman sentenced to 4 1/2 years in
prison in September 2001, was pardoned by Belarusian President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka and released from a maximum-security prison
outside Minsk on 5 July, Reuters and AP reported the same day. Piu was
handed over to Italian officials who then put him on a plane for
Warsaw. Piu, who first came to Belarus in 1999 to work for an Italian
humanitarian organization, was arrested and convicted after the
Belarusian secret service, the KGB, said he was caught exchanging
military documents with his interpreter and girlfriend, Irina Ushak,
who was convicted of treason, though later pardoned. After leaving
prison, Piu said he wanted to get on with his life and marry Ushak.
Belarusian authorities, however, have still not decided whether to
issue Piu another visa to enter the country or to allow Ushak to leave.
KGB spokesman Fedor Kotov said the pardoning showed the strength of
Lukashenka. "Only the president of a powerful state could show this
kind of mercy," he said. CB
[41] OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY DENIES BELARUS ONCE AGAIN
The OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly once again denied the membership
request of the Belarusian National Assembly at a weekend meeting in
Berlin, ITAR-TASS reported the same day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 July
2002). A spokesman for the Parliamentary Assembly told RFE/RL on 8 July
that its standing committee "postponed its decision until its winter
meeting in Vienna in February." The Parliamentary Assembly has refused
to accept the Belarusian National Assembly since President Lukashenka
dismissed the country's democratically elected parliament in 1996.
Russia, however, supported the Belarusian bid and State Duma Chairman
Gennadii Seleznev demanded that the issue be resolved in the next six
months. CB
[42] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR PROBE INTO CAMERAMAN'S
DISAPPEARANCE
Belarusian opposition activists rallied in front of President
Lukashenka's office in Minsk on 5 July, demanding an international
investigation into the disappearance of television cameraman Dzmitry
Zavadski two years ago, AP reported the same day. About 100 people
staged a peaceful protest on Minsk's October Square to mark the 7 July
anniversary of Zavadski's disappearance. In a statement distributed at
the rally, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also
called on Belarusian authorities to agree to an international inquiry
into the case. In March, a Belarusian court sentenced a former
policeman to life in prison for several crimes, including the
kidnapping of Zavadski. Zavadski's family, however, doubts the man
convicted was actually the perpetrator. An investigator who worked on
the Zavadski case fled Belarus last year and sought political asylum in
the United States. He said that the Belarusian government created a
special agency charged with killing the regime's critics. President
Lukashenka, however, has repeatedly denied these claims. CB
[43] FIRE KILLS 34 IN UKRAINIAN COALMINE
A fire killed 34 Ukrainian coalminers in the eastern Ukrainian city of
Ukrainsk near Donetsk on 7 July. According to "The Independent" on 8
July, the fire started before dawn around a conveyor belt some 570
meters underground where 107 miners were working. Even in the early
stages of the blaze, officials quoted by the daily said there was
little hope of finding the miners alive. As rescuers tried to bring
victims at the mine to the surface, a government commission led by
Deputy Prime Minister Oleh Dubyna headed to the Donetsk coal-mining
region to investigate the fire. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma sent
condolences to the families of those who died. In a separate incident,
Reuters cited Ukrainian media as reporting that a fire broke out on the
night of 6-7 July at a coalmine further west, near Krivih Rih, in which
60 men were rescued. Ukraine's Labor Safety Committee reported that 116
miners were killed in industrial accidents in Ukraine from January-June
this year. Some 300 miners were killed in mining accidents last year,
according to Reuters. RK
[44] PISKUN CHOSEN TO BE UKRAINE'S NEW PROSECUTOR-GENERAL
President Leonid Kuchma on 6 July signed a decree appointing Svyatoslav
Piskun as Ukraine's new prosecutor-general, Interfax reported. The
Ukrainian parliament overwhelming approved Piskun's candidacy on 4 July
with 347 votes in favor, Ukrainian media reported. In addition to the
pro-presidential For a United Ukraine election bloc, which unanimously
voted for the Kuchma-proposed candidate, Piskun was supported by 73
members of the Our Ukraine faction led by Viktor Yushchenko, 60
Communist Party members, and 10 independent deputies. The Yuliya
Tymoshenko Bloc was the only faction that voted against Piskun. Piskun
is a former lieutenant-general of the Tax Police and had served as
deputy head of the Tax Administration since May 2002. The post of
prosecutor-general became vacant in April 2002 when Mykhaylo Potebenko
(Communist Party) was elected to parliament. During his meeting with
parliamentarians prior to the vote, Piskun promised to solve the murder
journalist Heorhiy Gongadze "in six months" and vowed to stamp out
corruption in the country. RK
[45] UKRAINE REBUFFED AT COPENHAGEN EU SUMMIT...
The European Union reiterated on 4 July at the European Union summit in
Copenhagen that it welcomes Ukraine's interest in joining the EU, but
said more reforms are needed before it can join, AP reported. "There is
a need for adjustment in Ukraine in relation to the European Union,"
said Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark, which currently
holds the six-month rotating EU Presidency. Javier Solana, the EU's
chief of foreign and security policy, also took part in the meeting.
Through an interpreter, Ukrainian President Kuchma told reporters that
"by 2011, we want to be ready to meet the standards." Fogh Rasmussen
said the EU also supports Ukraine's desire to enter the World Trade
Organization. "It is of interest for both of us," he said. "The best
way to combat poverty is to stimulate economic prosperity." RK
[46] ...GETS SUPPORT IN RIGA ON NATO
Meanwhile, at a meeting of prime ministers of NATO-aspirant countries
held in Riga on 5-6 July (see "Latvia" below), "The Declaration of
Riga" was adopted. According to the summit's website
(http://www.rigasummit.lv), the declaration stated: "We [the "Vilnius
10"] are proud that our reforms and commitment to democracy may serve
as a guide for other nations in Europe and beyond who are seeking a
closer partnership with Euro-Atlantic institutions. We are particularly
delighted to welcome Ukraine as a guest at this summit. We have been
impressed by Ukraine's decision to build closer ties with European
structures and we look forward to our close cooperation in the future
to advance this commendable goal." RK
[47] ESTONIAN ECONOMY MINISTRY DRAFTS ENERGY MARKET ACT
The Economy Ministry has prepared and sent to the government a new
Energy Market Act, ETA reported on 7 July. The act takes into account
Estonian negotiators' success with the European Union in postponing
until 2008 the EU's requirement that 35 percent of the energy market be
deregulated by 2003. At present, only those consumers who use more than
40 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year can freely select their
electricity provider; thus, the Estonian market is only about 10
percent deregulated. The energy market is dominated by Narva Power
Plants' two shale-oil plants, which are in need of major renovation. SG
[48] 'VILNIUS 10' PREMIERS MEET IN LATVIA
The prime ministers of the countries in the "Vilnius 10" group, which
is composed of the nine NATO aspirant countries plus Croatia, held a
two-day summit meeting in Riga on 5-6 July, BNS reported. For the nine
official candidates -- Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia -- it was their last meeting
before the NATO summit in Prague in November at which many of then
expect to receive invitations to join the alliance. U.S. President
George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent videotaped
greetings to the meeting in which they spoke favorably about NATO
expansion in Prague -- although they did not specifically mention any
countries. U.S. Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott stressed at the
meeting that the question of NATO expansion is not "whether" but
"when." Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski suggested a new
association of countries combining the Vilnius 10 and the three
Visegrad countries, Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic, which have
already gained NATO membership. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national
security adviser to U.S. President Jimmy Carter who attended the Riga
summit, spoke on 6 July about the possibility for future NATO expansion
that could include Ukraine, as well as the need for more cooperation
with Russia. SG
[49] LITHUANIAN LOCAL, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO BE HELD SIMULTANEOUSLY
By a vote of 56 in favor to 20 against, with two abstentions, the
parliament decided on 5 July at the last meeting of its spring session
to hold elections to local councils concurrently with presidential
elections on 22 December, BNS reported. The local-council elections
were originally scheduled for February-March 2003 before the terms of
the current local councils end in April. The ruling coalition of Social
Democrats and Social Liberals as well as the Liberal Democrats and
Christian Democrats supported the change, noting that it will result in
savings of about 10 million litas ($2.8 million) and higher voter
turnout. Opponents argued that the presidential elections will detract
attention from the local elections. Owing to recent amendments to the
constitution, new council deputies will serve for four years instead of
three. SG
[50] POLISH PREMIER BRINGS BACK FORMER FINANCE MINISTER...
Prime Minister Leszek Miller on 5 July named Grzegorz Kolodko to
replace Marek Belka as finance minister, Western and Polish media
reported. "He is an excellent, well-known economist who successfully
served as finance minister and deputy premier in the 1990s," Miller
told reporters. Kolodko was finance minister from 1994-97 and is a
fierce critic of National Bank head Leszek Balcerowicz. Miller went on
to assure financial markets that Kolodko will keep spending in check by
sticking to borrowing guidelines agreed just before Belka quit (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 3 July 2002). "The 2003 budget assumptions were
approved by the cabinet as a whole and will not change after the
appointment of the new finance minister," he said. DW
[51] ...REPLACES TWO OTHER MINISTERS...
In a surprise announcement, Miller also unveiled two new ministerial
appointments on 5 July, Western and Polish media reported. Justice
Minister Barbara Piwnik was fired and replaced by the chairman of the
Sejm's Justice Committee, Grzegorz Kurczuk, while Culture Minister
Andrzej Celinski resigned and was replaced by Waldemar Dabrowski, the
head of the National Opera and a former deputy culture minister from
1990-94. Miller gave no reason for the changes. DW
[52] ...AND RULES OUT ZLOTY DEVALUATION
As markets continued to view the appointment of Kolodko as finance
minister with some trepidation, Miller announced on 6 July that the
government has no plans to devalue the zloty, dpa reported. "The
question of devaluation has not been considered by the government,"
Miller said. In an article in the pro-government daily "Trybuna,"
Kolodko proposed weakening the zloty by 15 percent to spur exports in
step with cutting interest rates. "The views of the minister are
important, but a decision to devalue the zloty would have to be made by
the entire government, not one minister," Miller said. DW
[53] SOCIAL DEMOCRATS AND COALITION TO INK CZECH GOVERNMENT
BLUEPRINT...
The Social Democratic Party (CSSD) and the Coalition were expected to
ink on 8 July an agreement on the new government, CTK reported the same
day. According to the agreement, the CSSD will get 10 cabinet seats,
including the prime minister's post. The Coalition, an alliance between
the Freedom Union-Democratic Union (US-DEU) and the Christian
Democratic Union-People's Party (KDU-CSL), will get a total of six
posts. The CSSD will also hold the chairman's post in the Chamber of
Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament. The CSSD won 70 seats in
the 14-15 June general elections and decided to form a government with
the Coalition, which won 31 seats. The new government will have a
one-vote majority in the 200-seat chamber. The center-right Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) won 58 seats and the Communist Party of Bohemia
and Moravia (KSCM) won 41 seats. BW
[54] ...AS FREEDOM UNION LEADER QUITS
Hana Marvanova, who headed the US-DEU, the smaller of the two parties
in the Coalition, resigned her leadership position on 4 July over
disagreements about the government agreement, Czech media reported on 5
July. Marvanova said she is opposed to concessions by the US-DEU on
lowering the state debt. She also objected to a provision in the
proposed government agreement that would require all CSSD and Coalition
lawmakers to support every piece of legislation introduced by the new
government, CTK reported on 7 July. Some consider such a requirement
unconstitutional. "Deputies can hardly give such a blank check [to the
government] for the whole four-year election term," Marvanova said,
adding, "I will try to persuade the US-DEU leadership to discuss this
question again." Marvanova said she will retain her seat in parliament
with the US-DEU and is ready to vote in favor of the future government
in a parliamentary confidence vote. BW
[55] COALITION WON'T HAVE VETO POWER OVER POLICY
The Coalition will not have the right to veto policies in a future
government with the CSSD, CTK reported on 6 July. The new government
will decide policy by a majority vote. The lack of a Coalition veto,
combined with a provision requiring all Coalition and CSSD lawmakers to
support every piece of legislation the government introduces, would
give the CSSD enormous control over policy. "We discussed the principle
of veto but given the election results it was impossible to achieve
it," the news agency quoted Marvanova as saying. BW
[56] CZECH PRESIDENT PRAISES SPIDLA, GOVERNMENT NEGOTIATIONS
President Vaclav Havel could name CSSD leader Vladimir Spidla as prime
minister as soon as 9 July, Czech media reported on 7 July. In sharp
contrast to Havel's poor relations with former Prime Minister Vaclav
Klaus and outgoing Prime Minister Milos Zeman, the president has
excellent relations with Spidla, "Mlada fronta Dnes," reported on 4
July. "Mlada fronta Dnes" quoted an interview Havel gave to the French
newspaper "Le Figaro," in which the president described Spidla as a
practical, decent, and judicious man. Havel also praised the atmosphere
of the talks on the forming of the new government. "Politicians seem to
realize that they should behave decently and correctly, and that
mistakes made in the past should not be repeated," Havel said. BW
[57] CZECH AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCE SEIZURE OF PLASTIC EXPLOSIVES,
DETONATORS
Police announced on 8 July that they intercepted roughly 33 kilograms
of Semtex, along with hundreds of electric detonators and the highly
flammable chemical rubidium, in a roadside bust in April, Reuters
reported. Two men and one woman were arrested for trying to sell the
cache, apparently at a gas station on the road between Prague and the
Czech second city of Brno, the agency added. Experts estimated that
amount of Semtex, the Czech-made plastic explosive used in the 1988
bombing of a PanAm jet over Lockerbie that killed 270 people, would
suffice to level a 15-story building, a police spokeswoman said. Czech
radio said the three were seeking about $47,000 for the materials,
according to Reuters. The Czech government this year took control of
Explosia, the company that produces Semtex, from oil and chemicals
giant Unipetrol. AH
[58] JAPANESE EMPEROR IN PRAGUE
Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko toured Prague on 7 July,
the second day of their first official visit to the Czech Republic,
Czech and international media reported the same day. The imperial
couple laid a wreath at the statue of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint
of the Czech nation. "Let me present you with the key to the town,
which you may need when you come for your next visit here," AP quoted
Prague Deputy Mayor Petr Svec as telling the royal couple at a ceremony
at the city's Old Town Hall. President Havel and his wife Dagmar were
scheduled to receive Akihito and Michiko at Prague Castle on 8 July.
The couple will leave for Poland on 9 July. BW
[59] CONTROVERSIAL CZECH NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT HITS ANOTHER SNAG
Due to a short circuit in a generator, plans to connect the Temelin
nuclear-power plant's second reactor to the national power grid on 5
July were postponed, CTK reported the next day. Milan Nebesar, a
spokesman for the plant, said it will take several days to determine
the cause of the short circuit, which occurred during tests of the
second reactor's generator. The generator must be cooled before the
cause of the short circuit can be investigated and the damage repaired,
Nebesar said. Austria's Stop Temelin organization subsequently repeated
its demands that the plant be closed down, and Austrian Environment
Minister Wilhelm Molterer called for new talks with the Czech
government over the plant's future, CTK reported on 7 July. BW
[60] HZDS CONGRESS APPROVES LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR SLOVAK ELECTIONS
The opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), the
front-runner ahead of the 20-21 September parliamentary elections, has
approved its list of candidates, SITA reported on 7 July. Left off the
list were Ivan Gasparovic, a former parliamentary speaker and the
second most popular HZDS politician, and former Slovak Information
Service (SIS) Director Ivan Lexa, who is sought by Interpol and whose
whereabouts are unknown. Parliamentary deputy Olga Keltosova was also
left off the list. According to SITA, the closed-door part of the
session of the congress was stormier than expected. The agency reported
that parliamentary deputy Ivan Gasparovic's speech was interrupted by
former Prime Minister and HZDS leader Vladimir Meciar. Meciar told
journalists that the HZDS wants to form a government after the
elections, even if it has to wait. He stressed that the "coalition
potential of the HZDS has improved since 1998," adding that the party
knows what it cannot do -- form a government with the Slovak National
Party (SNS). AS
[61] CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS BECAME PARTNER OF THE EUROPEAN PEOPLE'S PARTY
IN SLOVAKIA
The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) on 5 July became the third
Slovak party to be granted associate membership of the European
People's Party (EPP) at an EPP working group session in Bratislava,
SITA reported the same day. The Slovak Christian Democratic Union
(SDKU) and Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) became associated members in
2002 and 2000, respectively. Wim van Velzen, the vice president of the
European Popular Party's (EPP) group in the European Parliament, noted
that the party has gained significant political power in Slovakia. The
HZDS is also seeking to join the EPP as well; however, van Velzen said
the party is not acceptable in its present form for EPP membership. AS
[62] HUNGARIAN DEMONSTRATIONS CLOG CENTRAL BUDAPEST, LEAD TO SCUFFLES
AND DETENTIONS
Protesters demanding a recount of April election results blocked
Budapest's central Elisabeth Bridge before violence broke out as they
resisted police attempts to clear the road on 4 July, AP reported.
Twenty-two people were detained and one policeman injured in the melee,
which swelled from about 50 to several hundred, according to the
agency. "We are now considering charging several of those detained with
disturbing the peace, assaulting police officers, and traffic
offenses," Budapest police chief Antal Kokenyesi said. "We used the
minimum of force that was required to restore order and allow the other
citizens of the city to get on with their daily lives." The protesters
later regrouped outside the parliament building to demand that the
government resign. Prime Minister Medgyessy during a visit to Rome
condemned the demonstration as unnecessarily violating the law, AP
reported, citing MTI. Opposition FIDESZ Vice President Tamas Deutsch
said afterward that the government was to blame for "not address[ing]
the doubts of many concerning the fairness of the [April] elections" in
which his party lost its place in government. AH
[63] COLLABORATION ISSUE BACKFIRES ON HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADER...
The leader of Hungary's leading opposition party, FIDESZ Chairman
Zoltan Pokorni, resigned on 3 July after he was forced to publicly
acknowledge that his father was a longtime informer for the
communist-era secret police, local and Western agencies reported the
same day. Pokorni, who last month demanded that Socialist Prime
Minister Peter Medgyessy step down after the media reported his ties to
communist-era counterintelligence ("RFE/RL Newsline," 21 June 2002),
said he was "under no moral or political obligation to resign, but I am
doing so," according to AP. "I cannot continue with my work as party
president as I would wish." The agency named former parliamentary
leader Janos Ader as a likely replacement in the party leadership and
tipped Tamas Deutsch to assume Pokorni's role as parliamentary group
leader. AH
[64] ...WHO SAYS HE NEEDS TIME TO DEAL WITH REVELATION...
Pokorni, who has been a key adviser to the staunchly anticommunist
former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, added on 3 July that he needs time
to deal with the emotional strain of the revelation about his father,
AP reported. Pokorni said he knew nothing of the three decades his
father spent as an informer until a 1 July media report by a local
cable broadcaster made the assertion without specifying which
politician it concerned, AP added. On 3 July, the liberal daily "Magyar
Hirlap" followed up with an article pointing the finger at the father
of a "prominent opposition leader," Reuters reported. Janos Pokorni,
74, was offered his freedom from persecution for anticommunist
activities in exchange for collaboration following the suppression of
the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, Zoltan Pokorni was quoted by AP as saying.
AH
[65] ...AND PRIME MINISTER CONDEMNS 'COLLABORATION' TACK IN POLITICS
Prime Minister Medgyessy responded to Pokorni's resignation by
suggesting the latter's political career is not dead, AP reported on 3
July. "We should concentrate on the future and close the past,"
Medgyessy was quoted by the agency. "We need peace in Hungary, not the
proliferation of family tragedies." Medgyessy followed his own
revelations of counterintelligence activities with an assault on those
whose collaboration remains subject to state secrecy, including the
cabinet's discussion of a draft bill to make public any pre-1990
affiliation with the secret services by those seeking public office
("RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 24 June 2002). AH
[66] HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT TO OFFER CONCESSIONS IN AMENDED STATUS LAW
State Secretary Andras Barsony said during a visit to Slovakia on 3
July that the new Socialist-led Hungarian government is prepared to
amend the contentious Status Law, with the result going to a
parliamentary vote in September, Czech news service CTK reported from
Bratislava the same day. He said Prime Minister Medgyessy's government
shuns a piecemeal approach to foreign objections to the Status Law,
adding that bilateral agreements are not enough. "The current Hungarian
government is not interested in concluding individual special
agreements, because partnerships with neighboring countries are just as
important," the agency quoted Barsony as saying after a meeting with
Slovak State Secretary Jaroslav Chlebo. Barsony said a joint commission
of experts will work toward a mutually acceptable agreement over the
summer, CTK reported, noting that such talks are already slated to take
place with Ukraine and Romania. The Status Law, passed last summer, has
been criticized by the European Union and the Council of Europe, in
addition to neighboring Romania, Ukraine, and Slovakia. AH
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[67] MESIC LAUNCHES TALKS ON SETTING UP NEW CROATIAN GOVERNMENT...
President Stipe Mesic began formal talks with the leaders of the
political parties and groups represented in the parliament on 8 July,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. His move
follows the resignation of Prime Minister Ivica Racan's government on 5
July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 July 2002). Mesic spoke with Ivan
Jakovcic of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) on Brijuni island on
6 July to urge the small party to return to the governing coalition,
which it left some time ago. Elsewhere, parliamentary speaker Zlatko
Tomcic said that 84 out of 151 legislators have signed a petition
supporting a new government to be led by Racan. Ivo Sanader, who heads
the opposition Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), said he will agree
to Mesic's invitation for talks but will not join any government led by
Racan. Sanader added that Racan is responsible for the country's
current unspecified problems. Anto Djapic of the far-right Croatian
Party of [Historic] Rights (HSP) expressed a similar view. PM
[68] ...BUT WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR BUDISA?
Drazen Budisa, who heads the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), said
in Zagreb on 5 July that he will oust from the party any legislators
who supported the government in the recent vote on an agreement with
Slovenia regarding the Krsko nuclear-power plant, which triggered the
breakup of the coalition, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages
Service reported. The HSLS was the second-largest party in the
five-member coalition, after Racan's Social Democrats (SDP). But four
government ministers belonging to the HSLS said they intend to stay in
Racan's cabinet. They are Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic, Defense
Minister Jozo Rados, Health Minister Andro Vlahusic, and Science and
Technology Minister Hrvoje Kraljevic. Only Economy Minister Hrvoje
Vojkovic said that he will follow Budisa's lead. Ivo Skrabalo, who was
a founding member of the HSLS, said he believes that HSLS legislators
opposed to Budisa may form their own faction in the parliament. Budisa
said he will regard any government formed by Racan as legal but not
legitimate. PM
[69] SFOR SENDS CAPTURED WAR CRIMINAL TO THE HAGUE
On 7 July, approximately 20 SFOR troops arrested Miroslav Deronjic in
Bratunac and sent him to The Hague, Reuters reported. The war crimes
tribunal has indicted him for ordering local Serbian forces to attack
and burn the Muslim-held village of Glogova in May 1992. He was present
when the community fell to Bosnian Serb troops backed by Yugoslav Army
artillery, dpa reported. The village was then destroyed and 60 Muslims
were disarmed and executed. He later became the first Serbian civilian
administrator in Srebrenica after General Ratko Mladic's forces took
the town in July 1995. He negotiated with Dutch peacekeepers to turn
Srebrenica over to the Serbs. Deronjic was indicted for committing
crimes against humanity, including persecution and murder, as well as
violations of the laws and customs of war, including wanton destruction
of cities, destruction of religious institutions, and an attack on an
undefended village. PM
[70] HISTORIC MOSQUE REOPENS IN SREBRENICA
Several hundred Bosnian Muslims attended the reopening of the White
Mosque in Srebrenica on 5 July, dpa reported. The modest new structure
stands in place of one dating from Ottoman times that Serbian forces
destroyed during the 1992-95 war. SFOR troops were on guard for the
reopening, but no serious incidents were reported. The ceremony marked
the beginning of commemorative activities leading up to the seventh
anniversary of the 1995 massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim males by Serbian
forces on 11 July, Reuters reported. PM
[71] BOVINE DIES OF ANTHRAX IN BOSNIA
One bovine has died of anthrax in the Sanski Most region, Deutsche
Welle's Bosnian Service reported on 8 July. The authorities have
announced precautionary measures for people and animals. No additional
cases have been reported. PM
[72] POLICE DETAIN MAN FOR PLANNING TO SHOOT NATO COMMANDER
Local police said in Mostar on 8 July that they arrested an unnamed
31-year-old man from Zenica two days earlier for illegally possessing a
weapon and plotting to kill General John Sylvester, who heads NATO
forces in Bosnia, AP reported. No details about the man are available.
PM
[73] EU READY TO TAKE OVER BOSNIAN POLICE MISSION
The European Commission announced in Brussels on 5 July that it is
prepared to send up to 500 police to Bosnia should the United Nations'
police mission (IPTF) there end as a result of the dispute between the
United States and the European Union over the International Criminal
Court (ICC), dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 July 2002). The
UN's mandate is scheduled to expire on 15 July unless Washington and
its allies find a way out of the legal and diplomatic impasse. The
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" noted on 3 July that unnamed persons
in the German military share Washington's concerns about the ICC, but
the daily reported the next day that the United States is "isolated"
diplomatically. The EU had previously planned to take over the IPTF at
the beginning of 2003. PM
[74] SARAJEVO SUMMIT FOR THREE EX-YUGOSLAV REPUBLICS
The presidents of Croatia and Yugoslavia will meet with the members of
the Bosnian joint Presidency in Sarajevo on 15 July, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported on 7 July. It will be
the first top-level gathering of leaders of the three states since
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic forced the breakup of the former
Yugoslavia in 1991. PM
[75] BELGRADE-SARAJEVO AIR LINKS RESTORED
Air Bosna began flights from Sarajevo to the Serbian capital on 5 July,
restoring air links between the two cities after a break of 10 years,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. Air
Bosna will fly Fokker 50 aircraft, which carry about 50 people, but
will expand to larger planes as the need arises. The airline plans to
fly four round trips weekly between the two cities. PM
[76] TOP POLITICAL LEADERS MISSING FROM U.S. FOURTH OF JULY PARTY IN
BELGRADE
"Vesti" reported on 6 July that Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle,
Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, and numerous persons from Serbian
NGO's were among those attending the Independence Day reception hosted
by the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. Among those absent were Yugoslav
President Vojislav Kostunica, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic,
and Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic. PM
[77] PIRATE CD FACTORY RAIDED IN BELGRADE
A Serbian police spokeswoman said in Belgrade on 7 July that police
have confiscated 750,000 pirated CDs and DVDs, mostly illegal copies of
foreign productions. Police also seized equipment from Bulgaria for
making the pirated editions. It is the biggest such haul in Serbian
history. PM
[78] SERBIAN COURT ISSUES FIRST SENTENCE FOR KOSOVA CRIMES
On 8 July, the district court in Prokuplje sentenced Ivan Nikolic to
eight years in prison for crimes against civilians in Kosova in 1999,
dpa reported. Nikolic, who was a Yugoslav Army reservist during the
conflict, was charged with killing two ethnic Albanian civilians on 24
May 1999. This is the first time that a Serbian court has sentenced a
Serb for war crimes against Albanians in Kosova. PM
[79] BATIC SETS CONDITIONS FOR SERBIAN JUDGES IN KOSOVA
Serbian Justice Minster Vladan Batic said that Serbian judges may
resume work in Kosova if the UN civilian administration in Kosova
(UNMIK) there guarantees them a home, safety, employment for their
families, and employment for additional Serbs in court-related
professions, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported from Belgrade on 7 July. PM
[80] STEINER TELLS SERBS THAT 'METOHIJA' IS NOT A LEGAL DESIGNATION
Michael Steiner, who heads UNMIK, has ruled that the province's legal
name does not include the term "Metohija" because it is not mentioned
in UN Security Council Resolution 1244, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported. Steiner added, however, that Serbs
may use "Kosovo and Metohija" if they wish. A verbal row recently took
place between ethnic Albanian and Serbian legislators over the legal
use of the term "Kosovo and Metohija." Many Serbs prefer Metohija (from
a Byzantine Greek term for monastic estates) to describe western Kosova
and thereby underscore its historic links to Serbia through former land
ownership by Serbian Orthodox monasteries there. Albanians call the
region Rrafsh i Dukagjinit, or the plateau of the medieval Dukagjin
family. PM
[81] EIGHT ARRESTED IN KOSOVA CRACKDOWN
Approximately 90 UN and local police arrested eight ethnic Albanian men
on 6 July in simultaneous raids in Prishtina and Gllogovc, AP reported.
The eight are wanted in conjunction with the killing of five members of
an ethnic Albanian family in August 2001, including one man who worked
for the Serbian police prior to the entry of NATO forces into Kosova in
June 1999. Three of the arrested men, who have not been identified, are
members of the civilian Kosova Protection Corps (TMK). In related news,
the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on 5 July that a lively
discussion has begun in the Kosovar press over whether there are war
criminals among the Albanians and, if so, whether they should be
punished. Until recently, most Kosovars took the unqualified position
that their struggle against the Serbs in 1998-99 was one of
self-defense for survival, and that self-defense cannot be considered
criminal. PM
[82] MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CONFLICT CONTINUES
The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church stripped Metropolitan
Jovan of the Veles-Vardar region of his church functions and ordered
him to retire to a monastery, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported from Skopje on 6 July. Jovan, who recently
reached an agreement recognizing the authority of the Serbian Orthodox
Church, said he does not recognize the Macedonian Church's decision or
its jurisdiction over him. Irinej, who is the Serbian Orthodox bishop
of Nis, said the Macedonian synod's treatment of Jovan shows that
further talks with the Macedonian Orthodox Church are pointless. The
Macedonian Orthodox Church declared its independence of the Serbian
body in 1967 in a move designed to strengthen Macedonian national
identity and weaken Serbian influence there. The breakaway church has
not been recognized by any other Orthodox church. Talks have been
underway recently between the Serbian and Macedonian churches in hopes
of reaching an understanding and ending the Macedonians' isolation. In
the Macedonian emigration in the United States, some churches owe
allegiance to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, while others are linked
to that of Bulgaria. PM
[83] ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN PREMIERS DISCUSS RELATIONS...
Meeting with his Romanian counterpart Adrian Nastase in the
Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca, newly elected Hungarian Prime
Minister Peter Medgyessy on 6 July presented a set of proposals to
expand bilateral relations, Mediafax reported. At the press conference
following their meeting, Medgyessy, himself of Transylvanian origin,
gave a short speech in Romanian. He said that ethnic minorities "should
feel good in their home countries" and that all involved parties
"should make their own contributions" in that direction. Nastase handed
Medgyessy an aide-memoire called "The Romanian-Hungarian Strategic
Partnership for Europe in the 21st Century." The document is now being
studied by the Hungarian side. The two did not discuss the
controversial Status Law adopted by Budapest last year, because a
bilateral commission is to deal with the subject at its next meeting
due later this month. ZsM
[84] ...AND COMMENT ON ROMANIAN CENSUS RESULTS...
Commenting on the preliminary results of the March 2002 Romanian census
(see below), Nastase said the decline in the number of ethnic
Hungarians in Romania is probably due to "Hungary's attraction." He
added that while the general decline of the country's population is
also due to the fact that many Romanians went to work abroad, the
temptation of working abroad might be stronger among ethnic Hungarians.
Medgyessy said that in light of the census results, his government
intends to examine the problems and the living conditions of Hungarians
from Transylvania. He added that while he is legally only the prime
minister of Hungarian citizens, he has a moral responsibility before
the whole Hungarian nation in the Carpathian Basin. ZsM
[85] ...WHILE MEDGYESSY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ETHNIC HUNGARIANS
During his one-day visit to Cluj-Napoca, Medgyessy also met with the
leadership of the Democratic Union of Hungarians from Romania (UDMR).
He said it is in the Hungarian government's interest that Romania join
NATO as soon as possible, and it will support Romania's accession to
the alliance. UDMR Chairman Bela Marko said the number of Hungarians in
Transylvania over the last 10 years declined alarmingly and asked the
Hungarian government for help for keeping ethnic Hungarian youth in the
region. Medgyessy said he will support Hungarian-language media and
Hungarian investments in the region. He also called for unity among
Hungarians in Romania, adding that Budapest will not impose its will on
the diaspora. Medgyessy also announced that the Permanent Hungarian
Council will convene on 17 July. ZsM
[86] PRELIMINARY CENSUS RESULTS SHOW CONSIDERABLE DECLINE OF POPULATION
Preliminary results of the March 2002 census show a 5 percent decline
in Romania's population over the last 10 years, Romanian Television
reported on 4 July. According to the results, Romania's population is
21.7 million, down from the almost 23 million in 1992. National
Statistics Institute Director Aurel Camara said the two main reasons
for the decline are migration and the fact that the mortality rate
exceeds the birth rate. He added the population is also tending to move
out of the larger cities. Ethnic Romanians make up almost 90 percent of
the population. The ethnic Hungarian population decreased by more than
10 percent, and a similar declining tendency can be found among other
ethnic minorities, with the exception of Roma, which is due to a higher
birth rate and an increased willingness to declare their ethnicity to
census-takers. ZsM
[87] ROMANIAN LIBERALS TO HOLD EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS NEXT MONTH
The 5 July meeting of the Liberal Party's (PNL) National
Representatives Delegation decided to hold the party's extraordinary
Congress on 24-25 August, Romanian Television reported. The congress is
to elect new leadership for the party, which has been torn by internal
strife for several months. Former PNL presidential candidate and PNL
National Council Chairman Theodor Stolojan announced he will not leave
the party and will even consider running for the chairman's office,
pending modifications to the PNL charter and structure. Stolojan had
earlier announced that he would quit the party, embittered by the
internal struggle among party factions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 June
2002). ZsM
[88] EXTREMIST ROMANIAN POLITICIAN LAUNCHES HARSH ATTACK AGAINST U.S.
AMBASSADOR
Extremist politician Corneliu Vadim Tudor, chairman of the extreme
nationalist Greater Romania Party (PRM) launched an attack against U.S.
Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest, "Adevarul" reported. Tudor was
dissatisfied with the fact that Guest did not reply to a PRM invitation
to participate in a ceremony to unveil a statue of former U.S.
President Woodrow Wilson in Cluj-Napoca. In an open letter addressed to
"Mrs. Michaela Guest," Tudor asked the ambassador to "legalize his
relationship with his Latino lover," and then continues with other
offensive statements. The paper says Tudor has thus "offered a new
example of his political irresponsibility and his blind fanaticism."
Political leaders cited by the paper strongly condemn Tudor's letter.
ZsM
[89] RESITA STEELMAKER RETURNED TO STATE CONTROL
On 6 July, the Romanian Privatization Authority formally once again
became majority owner of the Resita-based CSR steel company, Mediafax
reported. The Privatization Authority became majority shareholder with
an 83 percent stake after the company's debt to the state was turned
into shares last April. The rest of the shares remain in the property
of the former majority owner, U.S.-based Noble Ventures, which will
continue to run the factory. In recent months, the company experienced
renewed worker protests because of unpaid wages. ZsM
[90] ROMANIAN-MOLDOVAN NEGOTIATIONS ON SCHOOL FELLOWSHIPS BREAK OFF
Negotiations in Bucharest between representatives of the Romanian and
Moldovan education ministries regarding their cooperation protocol for
the next academic year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 July 2002) were
suspended on 3 July, Romanian Television and Flux reported. The
negotiations apparently broke off due to Moldova's request that Romania
reduce the number of scholarships offered, arguing that the Moldovan
government needs to develop Moldovan education. Romanian Education
Ministry Secretary of State Constantin Corega said the Moldovan
negotiators have a "hostile" attitude and that the number of
scholarship applications is much larger than the number of
scholarships. According to Flux, Moldova asked for a break in order to
consult with Chisinau authorities. Romanian Television reported on 6
July that Moldovan authorities said the protocol will be signed this
week. ZsM
[91] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT SAYS NEW LAW IS NEEDED ON 'BULGARIANS ABROAD'
President Georgi Parvanov told an expatriate audience in Zagreb on 6
July that his country needs legislation to "enable [Bulgarians abroad]
to do business, pursue their studies, and receive medical treatment on
equal terms with Bulgarians living in Bulgaria," BTA reported. He cited
tax breaks to businesspeople who support cultural initiatives of
expatriate Bulgarians, the agency added. "The care of Bulgarians abroad
is an essential commitment of the state," he reportedly said. There are
just 331 Bulgarians in Croatia, according to the latest official
census. AH
[92] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER QUELLS REPORTS OF STRAINS IN COALITION
Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski said on 6 July that the sacking
on 4 July of two regional governors by the Council of Ministers was not
consulted with coalition partners in the ethnic Turkish Movement for
Rights and Freedoms (DPS), BTA reported. The government, which appoints
and dismisses regional governors, ousted Stefan Koradov of Bourgas and
Vladimir Vladov of Shoumen on 4 July. That sparked reports of tension
between Saxecoburggotski's National Movement Simeon II and its
coalition partner, the DPS. But he insisted, "We maintain excellent
relations with the DPS," according to the agency, "[and] the regional
governors' replacements are not something to argue about in the media."
AH
[93] ...AS OUSTED GOVERNORS' PARTY URGES GREATER CONSULTATION
DPS Deputy Chairman Emel Etem said that, as a coalition partner also
responsible for government, his party should be informed of
appointments of regional governors, BTA reported on 5 July. He also
noted the DPS's strong presence in the Bourgas and Shoumen regions
where the firings took place. But Etem distanced his party from the
dismissed officials, saying their appointments were not coordinated
with the DPS. AH
END NOTE
[94] There is no End Note today.
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