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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-07-22
CONTENTS
[01] FRANCE BACKS RUSSIA ON KALININGRAD...
[02] ...AS KEY PLAYERS EXPRESS CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM
[03] OFFICIAL: IRAN NOT PART OF 'AXIS OF EVIL'
[04] FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION NOT GOING WELL...
[05] ...AS GOVERNMENT CALLED POWERLESS BEFORE 'FISH MAFIA'...
[06] ...AND NAZDRATENKO CONTINUES TO FRUSTRATE HIS SUPERIORS
[07] DISSIDENT HERO DIES IN PARIS
[08] SUPREME MUFTI DETAILS FINANCIAL TIES WITH FOREIGN ISLAMIC GROUPS
[09] CHINESE, FAR-EASTERN RUSSIAN OFFICIALS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR OVER
[10] PIONEERING JOURNALIST DIES IN BASHKORTOSTAN
[11] MOSCOW ACADEMICS ATTACKED
[12] RADAR SYSTEM CAPABLE OF DETECTING LAND MINES?
[13] HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS PROTEST NEW ALTERNATIVE-SERVICE LAW
[14] PUTIN WISHES HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST HAPPY BIRTHDAY
[15] AND HER MIDDLE NAME IS FEDERATION?
[16] CHECHEN PRESIDENT NAMES BASAEV TO HEAD DEFENSE COMMITTEE
[17] PUTIN AGAIN CALLS FOR HALT TO VIOLENCE AGAINST CHECHEN CIVILIANS
[18] OFFICIAL MURDERED IN DAGHESTAN FOR DECRYING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
[19] AZERBAIJAN EXTRADITES SUSPECTED TERRORIST TO RUSSIA
[20] COURT REJECTS APPEALS BY AZERBAIJANI BANDIT GROUP
[21] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER FIRES LAND FORCES COMMANDER
[22] ABKHAZ-GEORGIAN WORKING GROUPS MEET...
[23] ...AS GEORGIAN PRESIDENT'S ABKHAZ ENVOY THREATENS TO RESIGN
[24] MISSING GEORGIAN BUSINESSMAN FOUND
[25] TENSIONS AGAIN RISING ON KAZAKH-UZBEK BORDER
[26] ANTITERRORISM COALITION IN KYRGYZSTAN AT FULL STRENGTH
[27] TWO MILITANTS SENTENCED IN TAJIKISTAN
[28] U.S. LAUNCHES TRAINING COURSE FOR UZBEK MILITARY
[29] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER HARVESTS...
[30] ...URGES CRACKDOWN ON 'VIOLATIONS' OF MEDIA LAW
[31] BELARUS, IRAQ REPORTEDLY MULL ECONOMIC COOPERATION
[32] UKRAINE HOSTS GUAM SUMMIT
[33] METHANE BLAST KILLS SIX UKRAINIAN MINERS, WOUNDS 18
[34] UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL WANTS MELNYCHENKO TAPES TO BE
[35] ESTONIA WEIGHS POSSIBILITY OF RAISING TAX-EXEMPT INCOME RATE
[36] SELL-OFF OF LATVIA'S VENTSPILS NAFTA POSTPONED
[37] LITHUANIA NOT TO SIGN CFE TREATY BEFORE JOINING NATO
[38] POLISH PRESIDENT OFFERS 'GATEWAY' TO U.S. BUSINESSES...
[39] ...ATTENDS BUNDESWEHR SWEAR-IN CEREMONY
[40] FORMER HEAD OF RFE POLISH SERVICE MOVES BACK TO POLAND
[41] US-DEU TO FIELD CANDIDATES FOR OVER HALF OF CONSTITUENCIES IN
[42] CZECH PREMIER MEETS LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT
[43] CZECH AUTHORITIES REGISTER FORMER PRAGUE MAYOR'S NEW PARTY
[44] CZECH SKINHEADS CHARGED FOR DISTRIBUTING SUDETEN LEAFLET
[45] SLOVAK COURT ORDERS LEXA INTO CUSTODY
[46] U.S. SOLDIERS TRAINING IN SLOVAKIA
[47] HUNGARIAN PREMIER TO APPEAR BEFORE INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
[48] HUNGARIAN CENTER-RIGHT MOVEMENT GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR REFERENDUM
[49] LABUS CONFIRMS DECISION TO RUN FOR THE SERBIAN PRESIDENCY
[50] SERBIAN COMMISSION LOOKS INTO 'PAVKOVIC AFFAIR'
[51] MILOSEVIC AIDE REFUSES TO TESTIFY
[52] SERBIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF PROMISES NEW APPROACH
[53] MONTENEGRO TO VOTE ON 6 OCTOBER
[54] WHAT WAS UNDER DISCUSSION BETWEEN STEINER AND THE MONTENEGRINS?
[55] POWER-PLANT FIRE IN KOSOVA
[56] CROATIA REJECTS SERBIAN CENSUS CHARGE
[57] CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER TO ANNOUNCE CABINET SOON
[58] IMF WARNS BIG-SPENDING BOSNIANS
[59] RULING ETHNIC ALBANIAN PARTY OFFICIALLY REGISTERED IN MACEDONIA
[60] MIGRANTS DEAD IN COLLISION OFF ALBANIAN COAST
[61] ROMANIAN PREMIER REITERATES DETERMINATION TO CLEANSE OWN PARTY OF
[62] ROMANIAN RULING PARTY, ALLY EXTEND PACT
[63] UDMR SETS CONDITIONS ON AMENDING ROMANIAN CONSTITUTION...
[64] ...WHILE PRM WITHDRAWS FROM COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL
[65] INTERIM ROMANIAN LIBERAL LEADER PLEDGES LOYALTY TO DOCTRINE
[66] FLOODS RAVAGE ROMANIA
[67] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT UNDER RUSSIAN PRESSURE ON OSCE DRAFT?
[68] GOVERNMENT APPROVES PRESIDENTIAL DRAFT ON TELERADIO MOLDOVA
[69] RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION AGAIN PROTESTS BULGARTABAC
[70] ...WHILE BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS RUSSIAN CLAIMS UNFOUNDED
[71] There is no End Note today.
22 July 2002
RUSSIA
[01] FRANCE BACKS RUSSIA ON KALININGRAD...
A two-day, informal summit in Sochi between President Vladimir Putin
and French President Jacques Chirac ended on 20 July following
wide-ranging discussions of international and bilateral issues, Russian
and Western news agencies reported. The two leaders urged the staging
of an international conference on the crisis in the Middle East. The
presidents also announced that Aeroflot will purchase 18 Airbus
aircraft in a deal worth about $600 million. Chirac offered his support
in Russia's dispute with the European Union over the Kaliningrad
exclave, saying it would be "unacceptable" to require Russians to get
visas "to go from one part of Russia to another." "There are no
technical problems without a solution, and this solution should not be
humiliating for Russia," Chirac told a press conference on 19 July. RC
[02] ...AS KEY PLAYERS EXPRESS CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM
In a long roundtable discussion broadcast on Ekho Moskvy on 20 July
featuring the EU's representative in Russia Richard Wright, President
Putin's representative on the Kaliningrad issue Dmitrii Rogozin, Duma
Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov, and Danish Ambassador to Russia Lars Vissing,
participants expressed cautious optimism that a solution can be found
within the next few months. "The European Union wants and is prepared
for cooperation with Russia to improve the situation on the border with
Kaliningrad, and we are ready to offer technical and financial
support," Wright said. Rogozin also expressed hope that a solution will
be found. "The situation is, let's say, dramatic. And I am absolutely
convinced...[and] I can now affirm that we all want to find a solution
together. We will find it. In this, I am an optimist," Rogozin said. RC
[03] OFFICIAL: IRAN NOT PART OF 'AXIS OF EVIL'
Speaking to reporters after two days of consultations in Teheran, First
Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov said Iran should not be
considered part of an "axis of evil," as U.S. President George W. Bush
has labeled it, ITAR-TASS reported on 21 July. Trubnikov said his talks
touched on a wide range of issues, including the situation in
Afghanistan, and that he believes Iran is interested in expanding and
deepening its relations with Russia. Trubnikov said Iran is working to
ensure stability and security in Afghanistan and is promoting regional
cooperation. He also said that he discussed with his Iranian
counterparts upcoming Russian naval exercises on the Caspian Sea. RC
[04] FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION NOT GOING WELL...
State Duma Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin said on 21 July that
the Prosecutor-General's Office is working to curtail state corruption,
but that its efforts are meeting stiff resistance, rtr-vesti.ru
reported, citing Interfax. Stepashin called for a revision of existing
legislation that makes it difficult to prosecute corrupt officials. He
also said that the bureaucracy must be sharply reduced since "the more
bureaucrats there are, the more sources of corruption there are." He
also called for the adoption of measures to reduce the influence of the
bureaucracy over the economy. In the same interview, Stepashin said he
will not run for governor of St. Petersburg, as some analysts have
speculated. RC
[05] ...AS GOVERNMENT CALLED POWERLESS BEFORE 'FISH MAFIA'...
In the third and final article in a series on the so-called "fish
mafia," or organized criminal group in charge of Russia's fishing
industry, on 19 July, "Izvestiya" concluded that the group is active on
a variety of fronts, eluding all government control. Generally, the
group acts quietly, but one recent exception was the assassination of
General Vitalii Gamov, head of the Federal Border Guard Service
directorate in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 July
2002). Among the incidents discussed in the article is an alleged $1
million bribe from Dalmoreprodukt President Yurii Didenko to "a group
of people" in the government and the State Fisheries Committee to help
him "resolve some problems." Didenko extended the bribe at a time when
Dalmoreprodukt workers had not received their wages for five years (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 21 May 2002). The daily also presented what it calls
"documentary evidence" of the helplessness of the government in the
area of regulating supertrawlers. JAC
[06] ...AND NAZDRATENKO CONTINUES TO FRUSTRATE HIS SUPERIORS
Without reference to sourcing, the daily quoted from memos, orders, and
conversations illustrating that a long line of prime ministers from
Yevgenii Primakov to Mikhail Kasyanov have been wrestling ineffectively
with the sector. President Putin reportedly ordered Kasyanov to
implement a suggestion of presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal
District Konstantin Pulikovskii with regard to strengthening control
over supertrawlers but, according to the daily, Kasyanov has ignored
this order. Kasyanov, in turn, has complained to Putin about the
current leadership of the State Fisheries Committee, which is headed by
former Primorskii Krai Governor Yevgenii Nazdratenko. The daily alleges
that Nazdratenko and his apparat "have done everything possible to
disrupt the work of supertrawlers in the current year...For example,
four supertrawlers of Vostokrybflot spent only nine of 36 days fishing
and sustained huge [financial] losses." JAC
[07] DISSIDENT HERO DIES IN PARIS
Renowned Soviet-era dissident and writer Aleksandr Ginzburg, one of the
founders of the samizdat tradition in the Soviet Union, died in Paris
on 19 July at the age of 65, Russian and Western news agencies
reported. In 1959, Ginzburg founded the literary journal "Syntaksis,"
of which only three issues appeared. He was arrested and sent to a
labor camp in 1960. In 1966, Ginzburg collected and published documents
relating to the persecution and trial of fellow writers Andrei
Sinyavskii and Yulii Danil. The next year, Ginzburg was arrested again
and sentenced to another five years in the camps. After his release, he
joined forces with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn to organize a support fund
for political prisoners that was financed largely by proceeds from the
sale of Solzhenitsyn's epic "The Gulag Archipelago." This work led to
Ginzburg's third arrest in 1977 and to his exile to France in 1979. In
recent years, Ginzburg wrote for the emigre newspaper "Russkaya mysl"
and actively campaigned against human rights abuses in Chechnya. RC
[08] SUPREME MUFTI DETAILS FINANCIAL TIES WITH FOREIGN ISLAMIC GROUPS
In an interview with "Nezavisimaya gazeta-religii" on 17 July, Talgat
Tadzhuddin, the supreme mufti of Russia and the European countries of
the CIS, commented on allegations regarding his meeting in 1991 with
Osama bin Laden's brother Tariq bin Laden, RFE/RL's Kazan bureau
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 and 13 December 2001). According to
Tadzhuddin, the Federal Security Service investigated the visit and did
not find any proof that Tariq bin Laden gave money to any leaders of
Russia's Muslim community. Tadzhuddin did confirm that he has received
financial aid from foreign Islamic organizations such as the Islamic
Bank for Development in the early 1990s, which allocated $400,000 for a
loan to design school curricula. In addition, the money was also used
to begin construction of the Qol Sherif Mosque in Kazan and the
Lyala-Tyulpan Mosque in Ufa. Also in the early 1990s, various foreign
funds provided money to construct some 20 other mosques. JAC
[09] CHINESE, FAR-EASTERN RUSSIAN OFFICIALS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR OVER
ISLANDS
Plans by Khabarovsk Krai authorities to build a pontoon bridge linking
the disputed Bolshoi Ussuriiskii Island in the Amur River with the krai
may provoke a diplomatic crisis with China, which considers that island
and neighboring Damanskii Island its territory, "Izvestiya" reported on
19 July. According to the daily, Chinese officials have already lodged
an official protest against the Khabarovsk Krai legislature's decision
to build the bridge. In the meantime, Chinese workers are trying to
fill in the Kazakevich Channel, which runs between China and the
island. Krai legislators are hoping the construction of the bridge,
which would be opened twice a day for half an hour for boats to pass
through, will force the Chinese not to fill the channel, but to deepen
it. "The more water there is between China and the islands, the firmer
will be Russia's sovereignty over them," said Yurii Yefimenko, chairman
of the public committee for the retention of the islands. JAC
[10] PIONEERING JOURNALIST DIES IN BASHKORTOSTAN
Firat Valeev, editor in chief of one of the only opposition newspapers
in Bashkortostan, "Vechernii Neftekamsk," has been found dead,
VolgaInform reported on 20 July. According to the agency, some
observers believe there might have been a political motive behind
Valeev's death, although the agency provided no details about how
Valeev died. Valeev's paper was well-known for its critical coverage of
President Murtaza Rakhimov, who tried on several occasions through
legal and economic pressure to close it. Most recently, the newspaper
called for mayors and the heads of raion administrations to be directly
elected rather than appointed and for the republic's laws to be brought
into conformity with federal legislation. JAC
[11] MOSCOW ACADEMICS ATTACKED
A professor in the law department of Moscow State University (MGU) was
beaten on 20 July in the entrance to his apartment building in the
Yugo-Zapadnyi Raion of Moscow, "Izvestiya" reported on 22 July. Aleksei
Ispolinov became the fourth academic to be attacked in the district in
the last six months. According to the report, Ispolinov was struck from
behind with a blunt object, and his bag with documents was stolen.
However, Ispolinov refused to cooperate with police in the
investigation or to say specifically what was in the stolen bag.
Ispolinov also declined to speak to journalists. Previously, Andrei
Brushlinskii, director of the Academy of Sciences' Institute of
Psychology, was beaten to death on 31 January. On 8 February, just one
block away, Valerii Korshunov of the microbiology department of the
Russian State Medical University was killed in the entrance to his
apartment building when he was struck from behind with a blunt object.
On 19 March, the dean of the MGU history department, Sergei Karpov, was
attacked and beaten by a group of youths near his home in the
neighborhood. No arrests have been made in connection with any of the
incidents. RC
[12] RADAR SYSTEM CAPABLE OF DETECTING LAND MINES?
The Central Radiotechnical Research Institute has developed a radar
system capable of detecting explosives, ITAR-TASS and other Russian
news agencies reported on 22 July. According to the institute's deputy
director, Oleg Melnichuk, the compact system is called "Rodnik" and it
is capable of locating land mines and other explosives in a wide range
of environments and conditions. The Moscow-based institute develops
radio-based reconnaissance and radio-electric jamming equipment, as
well as special antiterrorism equipment. RC
[13] HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS PROTEST NEW ALTERNATIVE-SERVICE LAW
A group of activists in Voronezh organized on 21 July a protest against
the new law on alternative civil service recently passed by the State
Duma and Federation Council, NTV reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28
June 2002). Protestors are collecting signatures for an appeal to
President Putin that asks him not to sign the new draft law and instead
to send it back for revision. According to the news account, activists
from the Youth Human Rights Movement and Amnesty International object
to the fact that the length of alternative service is longer than that
of ordinary military service and that draft boards, which are composed
of officers from military commissariats, judge whether a potential
recruit's beliefs and principles allow him to take up arms. JAC
[14] PUTIN WISHES HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST HAPPY BIRTHDAY
President Putin has sent birthday wishes to Lyudmila Alekseevna,
president of the International Helsinki Federation and chairwoman of
the Moscow Helsinki Group, Interfax reported on 20 July. "Your firm
beliefs, principles, and courage in defending free thinking draw
sincere respect," Putin said, noting that Alekseevna continues to
"strengthen Russia's institutions of civil society." Earlier in the
month, Alekseevna's group, along with other Russian human rights
organizations, announced that they were no longer prepared to
participate in discussions in Grozny with representatives of the
Russian government and military on the human rights situation in
Chechnya (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 July 2002). The groups claimed that
the dialogue was being used to deflect attention from flagrant human
rights violations by the Russian military. JAC
[15] AND HER MIDDLE NAME IS FEDERATION?
Aleksei and Lyudmila Shramkov in Nizhnii Tagil named their newborn
daughter "Rossiya," ntvru.com reported on 20 July. The happy parents
said that the registration workers tried to talk them out of the exotic
name, but the parents believe that Russia will grow and will soon stand
on its own two legs, as will their little "Rosya." JAC
[16] CHECHEN PRESIDENT NAMES BASAEV TO HEAD DEFENSE COMMITTEE
Aslan Maskhadov convened a weeklong session of the Chechen Defense
Council from 27 June to 3 July, chechenpress.com reported on 22 July.
The session was attended not only by field commanders but also by
Chechen Republic Ichkeria government ministers, parliament deputies,
and unnamed local administration heads. Participants agreed to
establish a Defense Committee, to be headed by field commander Shamil
Basaev, which will coordinate the activities of the various
sub-formations of the Chechen armed forces. Maskhadov also appointed
Basaev deputy commander in chief of the Chechen armed forces. He
further named Deputy Prime Minister Akhmed Zakaev to head a new
Information Committee. LF
[17] PUTIN AGAIN CALLS FOR HALT TO VIOLENCE AGAINST CHECHEN CIVILIANS
Speaking on 19 July in Sochi following his talks with French President
Chirac, President Putin again said Russia should put an end to human
rights violations committed by Russian troops during search operations
in Chechen villages, Russian agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
25 June 2002). He said this could be achieved by gradually handing over
to the embryonic Chechen police force responsibility for apprehending
suspected resistance fighters. Putin admitted that violations of human
rights have taken place during such search operations, but claimed that
they "are not as awful" as they seem, Interfax reported. Meanwhile more
than 100 people were detained in such search operations in the Shali,
Kurchaloi, and Urus-Martan raions and on the outskirts of Grozny on
20-21 July, AP reported, quoting a member of the pro-Moscow Chechen
leadership. LF
[18] OFFICIAL MURDERED IN DAGHESTAN FOR DECRYING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
Police in Daghestan have arrested a businessman Kurban Magomedov and
charged him with gunning down Tsumada Raion administration head Magomed
Magomedov in Makhachkala on 19 July, Interfax reported. Kurban
Magomedov said his friend and former classmate had reproved him for
consuming too much alcohol. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[19] AZERBAIJAN EXTRADITES SUSPECTED TERRORIST TO RUSSIA
A Russian citizen detained last month without papers on Azerbaijan's
border with Daghestan has been extradited to Russia, Turan reported on
19 July. The man has been identified by police in Tatarstan and
Bashkortostan as the head of a group that blew up the Perm-Nizhnii
Novgorod gas pipeline in 1999. LF
[20] COURT REJECTS APPEALS BY AZERBAIJANI BANDIT GROUP
Azerbaijan's Appeals Court has declined an appeal by 23 men sentenced
in April for murder, banditry, and membership of an illegal armed
formation, Turan reported on 19 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 April
2002). Three of the men were sentenced to death. The court reduced the
prison terms of two underage members of the group from seven and 10
years, respectively, to six. LF
[21] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER FIRES LAND FORCES COMMANDER
Georgian Defense Minister Lieutenant General David Tevzadze has fired
Nika Djandjgava as commander of Georgia's Land Forces following the
latter's 19 July announcement that he and 101 other officers and NCOs
of the crack Kodjori battalion had resigned their commissions to
protest inadequate financing and incompetent commanders, Caucasus Press
reported on 19 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2002). Reuters on
19 July quoted Tevzadze as saying he has rejected the other 101
resignations and that the officers in question remain at their posts
and "the incident is over." Reports differ as to whether the Kodjori
battalion, said to be "Tevzadze's brainchild," will be dissolved.
Caucasus Press said other factors that may have influenced Tevzadze's
decision to fire Djandjgava, including criticisms the latter is said to
have made of the U.S.-funded "Train and Equip" program and a feud
between Djandjgava and National Guard Commander Koba Kobaladze. LF
[22] ABKHAZ-GEORGIAN WORKING GROUPS MEET...
The UN Coordinating Council working groups dealing with security issues
and the repatriation of displaced persons to Abkhazia met separately on
20 July in Gali Raion, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported. The
Georgian delegation told the working group of security issues that it
has withdrawn its regular army troops from Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge in
compliance with a 2 April agreement. In a 10 July letter to the UN
Security Council, U.S. Secretary General Kofi Annan said there are
currently 370 Georgian border guards, 540 local National Guard
reservists, and 17 members of a Georgian Defense Ministry coordinating
group still in the gorge. The Abkhaz delegation headed by Foreign
Minister Sergei Shamba called for the complete demilitarization of the
gorge. The working group for displaced persons appealed to the UN to
dispatch to Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion a team of international
experts to determine whether the situation there is stable enough for
Georgian displaced persons to return. LF
[23] ...AS GEORGIAN PRESIDENT'S ABKHAZ ENVOY THREATENS TO RESIGN
Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze has warned that he may
resign as Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's special envoy for
Abkhazia in the light of belligerent statements by Abkhaz parliament in
exile Chairman Tamaz Nadareishvili, Caucasus Press reported on 22 July,
quoting "24 saati." Nadareishvili has reportedly called for a new
Georgian guerrilla offensive to bring Abkhazia back under the control
of the Georgian central government (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July
2002). Nadareishvili told journalists in Tbilisi on 19 July that three
members of the Abkhaz government in exile will attend the planned 31
July UN Security Council session on Abkhazia and submit to the council
a petition with 1.5 million signatures calling for the withdrawal from
Abkhazia of the CIS peacekeeping force and a UN peace-enforcement
operation there. Speaking in Tbilisi on 22 July, Shevardnadze said
Abashidze has not been able to cope with his duties as special envoy
for Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[24] MISSING GEORGIAN BUSINESSMAN FOUND
Vita-Bank President Temur Datikashvili, who was reported missing last
week, has reappeared in Tbilisi, Caucasus Press reported on 19 July
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2002). LF
[25] TENSIONS AGAIN RISING ON KAZAKH-UZBEK BORDER
Leading members of the opposition Azat Party told a press conference in
Almaty on 19 July that tensions are again on the rise in the villages
of Baghys and Turkestanets on the Kazakh-Uzbek border, RFE/RL's Kazakh
Service reported. Activist Aidar Abdrakhmanov, who was detained by
Uzbek officials in December 2001 after residents proclaimed the village
of Baghys an "Independent Baghys Republic," was again arrested
following a new protest on 15 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 7
January 2002). LF
[26] ANTITERRORISM COALITION IN KYRGYZSTAN AT FULL STRENGTH
The international troops stationed at Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport will
not be increased from their present strength of over 1,800 men except
in "exceptional circumstances," ITAR-TASS quoted the new commander of
those forces, Brigadier General Robert Patrick, as saying on 19 July.
Meanwhile the "Financial Times" reported on 22 July that Kyrgyzstan's
President Askar Akaev has publicly acknowledged that his Kazakh
son-in-law Adil Toigonbaev is engaged in selling jet fuel to the base.
The coalition forces have spent some $13 million on jet fuel since
December 2001, the paper added. LF
[27] TWO MILITANTS SENTENCED IN TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan's Supreme Court has passed sentence on two members of the
gang headed by Rakhmon Sanginov that was routed a year ago, Asia
Plus-Blitz reported on 22 July. One man was sentenced to death and a
second to 22 years' imprisonment. The separate trial is continuing of
82 other members of Rakhmonov's band on charges of murder, banditry,
hostage-taking and robbery (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 May 2002). LF
[28] U.S. LAUNCHES TRAINING COURSE FOR UZBEK MILITARY
Instructors from the FBI have launched a two-week course to train 31
Uzbek Army and security officers to cope with attacks or accidents
involving chemical or nuclear weapons, AP and Interfax reported on 18
and 19 July, respectively. The U.S. contingent will also present
Uzbekistan with specialized equipment for that purpose valued at
$270,000. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[29] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER HARVESTS...
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on 21 July ordered his government to
make sure that all grain in the country is harvested by 1 August,
Belapan reported. The previous day, Lukashenka declared "a state of
national emergency" in the agricultural sector. Lukashenka demanded
that the entire agriculture industry work round-the-clock. He stressed
that a harvest failure will result in grain and fodder shortages and
force the country to import grain, thus undermining its economic
independence. The president ordered Prime Minister Henadz Navitski and
presidential administration chief Ural Latypau to set up a special
harvesting headquarters to quickly deal with any problems that might
arise. He also assigned top officials from different government
departments to Belarus's six regions (two per region), giving them
broad powers to manage the harvest. JM
[30] ...URGES CRACKDOWN ON 'VIOLATIONS' OF MEDIA LAW
"Top government members are clearly under attack, and the aim [of this
attack] is to discredit them," President Lukashenka said on 18 July at
a meeting with Prosecutor-General Viktar Sheyman and State Monitoring
Committee Chairman Anatol Tozik, Belapan reported. Lukashenka called
for a crackdown on "violations" of the country's media law. A
correspondent of RFE/RL's Belarusian Service suggested on 19 July that
Lukashenka's pronouncements are connected with a recent publication by
the Minsk-based opposition newspaper "Nasha svaboda," which quotes an
"analytical report" by Russian analysts implying that the Kremlin is
working on scenarios to depose Lukashenka. JM
[31] BELARUS, IRAQ REPORTEDLY MULL ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Belarus's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 19 July that last
week's visit of an Iraqi delegation led by Deputy Premier Abdel-Tawab
Mulla was devoted to discussing bilateral economic cooperation, AP
reported. Iraq reportedly voiced interest in learning from Belarus's
experience in the oil industry. The sides also looked at the prospect
of assembling Belarusian engines and tractors in Iraq. The ministry
said the sides did not touch upon military cooperation issues. "I can
compare [this visit] to a meeting of two bandits who say that they are
going to set up a symphonic orchestra," Alyaksandr Dabravolski, a
leader of the opposition United Civic Party, told RFE/RL's Belarusian
Service on 19 July. "The [Belarusian] authorities...are looking for
possibilities to earn some money from sales of military equipment and
arms," Dabravolski added. Abdel-Tawab Mulla is also Iraqi's minister
for military industry. JM
[32] UKRAINE HOSTS GUAM SUMMIT
The presidents of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova (GUAM) met
in the Crimean resort of Yalta on 19-20 July and signed a number of
accords, including on the creation of a free-trade zone and on
combating money laundering, organized crime, and terrorism, Western and
Ukrainian media reported. GUAM was set up in 1997 as a political,
economic, and strategic alliance designed to seek mechanisms of
interaction outside Russian influence. Uzbekistan joined in 1999, but
announced last month that it was "suspending" its membership (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 14 and 26 June 2002). It was nonetheless represented
at the Yalta summit by the Uzbek ambassador to Ukraine, Shakhmansur
Shakhalilov. JM
[33] METHANE BLAST KILLS SIX UKRAINIAN MINERS, WOUNDS 18
A methane explosion at the Yuvileyna coal mine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
on 21 July killed six miners and wounded 18, UNIAN reported. The blast
came two weeks after a fire killed 34 workers at another Ukrainian mine
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 2002). Since 1991, 3,700 miners have
been killed in job-related accidents in Ukraine. JM
[34] UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL WANTS MELNYCHENKO TAPES TO BE
VERIFIED ABROAD
Svyatoslav Pyskun, Ukraine's newly appointed prosecutor-general, has
ordered a test abroad of secret recordings made by former presidential
bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko in President Leonid Kuchma's office that
link the Ukrainian president to the murder of journalist Heorhiy
Gongadze, Reuters reported on 19 July. "The prosecutor-general has
announced a full authentication in a third country, which has a high
level of modern electronic technology and has not before taken part in
the investigation of the tape," Pyskun said in a statement. He also
ordered new genetic tests on a headless body believed to be that of
Gongadze. JM
[35] ESTONIA WEIGHS POSSIBILITY OF RAISING TAX-EXEMPT INCOME RATE
Leaders of the Estonian Central Trade Unions Association (EAKL) told
Finance Minister Harri Ounapuu on 19 July that they plan to raise the
issue of increasing the monthly tax-exempt income from the current
1,000 kroons ($65) to 1,400 kroons at the next round of three-way talks
with the government and employers' organizations in August, BNS
reported. This would raise all employees' monthly take-home salary by
104 kroons. EAKL is arguing that the higher exemption is needed because
the tax burden has increased and will rise even more with the
implementation of unemployment insurance, compulsory payments into
pension funds, and health insurance. They also noted that in earlier
three-way talks it was agreed that in principle the tax-exempt income
rate should be raised to the level of the national minimum wage (1,600
kroons). Ounapuu noted that such a measure would negatively affect
local governments' income-tax revenue, and would require the state to
provide them compensation. SG
[36] SELL-OFF OF LATVIA'S VENTSPILS NAFTA POSTPONED
Economy Minister Aigars Kalvitis declared on 19 July that his ministry
and the Latvian Privatization Agency has postponed preparations for the
sale of the state-owned 43.62 percent share of Ventspils Nafta (VN),
BNS reported. A 5 percent share is to go to the joint-stock company
Latvijas naftas tranzits (Latvian Oil Transit), which already holds
about 47 percent of VN shares. The remaining 38.62 percent stake is to
be privatized. He noted that in early July the ruling coalition council
backed out of its previous plans to sell part of the company's
state-owned shares for privatization vouchers and that it is likely
that the sale will only be considered again after a new government is
formed following the October parliament elections. The postponement was
prompted by VN's purchase of a nearly 50 percent stake in Latvijas
kugnieciba (Latvian Shipping Co.) (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June
2002), which raised VN's value. SG
[37] LITHUANIA NOT TO SIGN CFE TREATY BEFORE JOINING NATO
Deputy Defense Minister Jonas Gecas said on 19 July that Lithuania does
not intend to sign the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty
before joining NATO, BNS reported. The CFE treaty was signed in
November 1990 by NATO and Warsaw Pact countries, but not by the Baltic
states because they had not yet regained their independence. Gecas's
statement was prompted by recent remarks made in Helsinki by Russian
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov that the entry of the Baltic states into
NATO could destabilize the situation in the Baltic region since there
is a danger that NATO would place large amounts of weapons there.
Russian Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrei Nikolaev had said on 2
July that the Baltic states should sign the CFE treaty before entering
NATO. Parliament NATO Affairs Commission Deputy Chairwoman Rasa
Jukneviciene asserted that the Russian statements were primarily
intended to discourage Western politicians from backing Baltic entry
into NATO. Lithuania is expected to receive an invitation to join the
alliance at the NATO summit in Prague in November. SG
[38] POLISH PRESIDENT OFFERS 'GATEWAY' TO U.S. BUSINESSES...
In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on 19 July,
President Aleksander Kwasniewski said U.S. businesses could use Poland
as a "wide gateway" for their operations as the European Union expands
eastward and takes on new members, AP reported. Following his speech,
the U.S. and Polish Chambers of Commerce signed a memorandum that
commits both sides to help Polish companies "identify and form business
partnerships with U.S. counterparts." The same day Kwasniewski wrapped
up his three-day visit to the United States (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18
July 2002) with a trip to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he was
shown weapons and gear used in the U.S.-led war on terrorism by
soldiers who have returned from fighting in Afghanistan. JM
[39] ...ATTENDS BUNDESWEHR SWEAR-IN CEREMONY
President Kwasniewski joined German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and
German Defense Minister Peter Struck in an annual ceremony in Berlin on
20 July to commemorate an unsuccessful 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf
Hitler and to swear in Bundeswehr new recruits, dpa and Reuters
reported. Kwasniewski was the first foreign leader invited to speak at
the ceremony. The Polish president noted that Poland and Germany, the
erstwhile enemies, are now allies and good neighbors united in the
common cause of peace and prosperity in Europe. "The very fact that I
am standing here today is the best proof of the fact that our two
peoples have been able to draw the correct conclusions from a tragic
past," he said. JM
[40] FORMER HEAD OF RFE POLISH SERVICE MOVES BACK TO POLAND
Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, the longtime director of the Polish Service of
Radio Free Europe in Munich (1952-76), returned to Poland on 21 July
after 56 years in exile, PAP reported. Following his retirement in
1977, he moved to the United States where he lobbied for an independent
Poland and later for Poland's entry into NATO. Nowak-Jezioranski, 89,
termed his return an "act of optimism and faith in the future despite
the hard time Poland is facing." JM
[41] US-DEU TO FIELD CANDIDATES FOR OVER HALF OF CONSTITUENCIES IN
CZECH SENATE ELECTIONS
The Freedom Union-Democratic Union (US-DEU) wants to field candidates
in 15 out of the 27 constituencies up for election in the Senate polls
this autumn, CTK reported on 20 July, citing US-DEU Deputy Chairman
Robert Kolar. This would leave the Christian Democratic Union-Popular
Party (KDU-CSL) just 12 constituencies in which to field candidates.
Last week, the two formations agreed to run separately in the Senate
elections but to divide the constituencies among them and thus avoid
running against each other. Kolar said the US-DEU should be allowed to
field more candidates than the KDU-CSL, in view of the preferential
voting that boosted KDU-CSL candidates in elections to the Chamber of
Deputies in June. The KDU-CSL elected 22 deputies to the lower house of
parliament, whereas the US-DEU elected just nine. MS
[42] CZECH PREMIER MEETS LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT
Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla told visiting Lithuanian President
Valdas Adamkus on 19 July that his government strongly endorses
Lithuania's bid for NATO membership, CTK reported. Adamkus expressed
Lithuania's appreciation for the support it has received from the Czech
Republic, as well as for the extensive military ties between the two
countries, noting that many Lithuanian officers study at Czech military
academies. In response to a question from Spidla, Adamkus said
Lithuania supports the European Union's position on requiring visas for
Russian citizens transiting Lithuania to and from Russia's Kaliningrad
Oblast, but added that his country is simultaneously searching for
alternative solutions acceptable to both Brussels and Moscow. He added
that Lithuania's relations with the Kaliningrad exclave are better than
is reflected in media reports. MS
[43] CZECH AUTHORITIES REGISTER FORMER PRAGUE MAYOR'S NEW PARTY
The European Democrats, a formation recently set up by former Prague
Mayor Jan Kasl, was registered by the Interior Ministry on 19 July, CTK
reported. Kasl said he was pleased by the speed in which the
registration request was handled and added that now nothing prevents
his formation from running in the November local elections in Prague.
Kasl said the European Democrats will also run in regional elections
and that he expects the party to become active at the national level
within 18 months. MS
[44] CZECH SKINHEADS CHARGED FOR DISTRIBUTING SUDETEN LEAFLET
Two skinheads from Usti nad Labem were charged on 19 July with inciting
racial hatred after distributing leaflets calling for the return of the
Sudetenland to Germany, CTK reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July
2002). Leaflets were found in their homes during a police search. MS
[45] SLOVAK COURT ORDERS LEXA INTO CUSTODY
A Bratislava regional-court judge ordered on 20 July that former Slovak
Information Service head Ivan Lexa be taken into custody, CTK reported.
The judge rejected Lexa's written pledge to cooperate with law
enforcement bodies if he was allowed to be investigated out of custody.
Under current legislation Lexa can be kept in custody for up to three
years. Lexa appealed the decision, which is to be reviewed by the
Supreme Court. MS
[46] U.S. SOLDIERS TRAINING IN SLOVAKIA
Some 200 U.S. soldiers, out of whom 20 are pilots, arrived on 19 July
at the Kuchyna air base in Slovakia, where they are to conduct
technical and navigational exercises, CTK reported, quoting a base
spokesman. The U.S. military has used the base several times in the
past. MS
[47] HUNGARIAN PREMIER TO APPEAR BEFORE INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
Peter Medgyessy announced on 19 July that he will appear on 1 August
before the parliamentary investigative commission probing his past
service in counterintelligence, Hungarian media reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 17 July 2002). The commission also decided to request that
Interior Minister Monika Lamperth rescind the oath of secrecy of anyone
who from 1978 onward headed the then-ministry's counterintelligence
arm, Division III. In other news, the prime minister's office has
compiled a list of about 190 cabinet members who were appointed after
the change of regime, allowing the commission tasked with investigating
cabinet members' past ties with state security services to obtain
relevant data from various authorities based on that list. MSZ
[48] HUNGARIAN CENTER-RIGHT MOVEMENT GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR REFERENDUM
DRIVE
The National Election Commission on 19 July verified and authenticated
the petition sheets of the center-right movement "Hajra Magyarorszag!"
(Go Hungary!), which seeks to organize a referendum in order to bar
foreigners and domestic or foreign companies from obtaining ownership
of farmland, "Nepszabadsag" reported. Hajra Magyarorszag! submitted the
petition seeking a binding referendum on 17 June. Unless the
commission's decision is challenged before the Constitutional Court
within 15 days, the movement will have four months at its disposal to
collect the 200,000 signatures necessary to call for a referendum. The
commission would then have to verify the signatures, leaving parliament
to decide on staging the referendum. Former Prime Minister Viktor
Orban's chief of staff, Csaba Hende, who is organizing the referendum
drive, said the 150,000-strong Hajra Magyarorszag! will be able to
collect the signatures quickly. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[49] LABUS CONFIRMS DECISION TO RUN FOR THE SERBIAN PRESIDENCY
Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Labus said in Belgrade on 22
July that he will be a candidate in the Serbian presidential elections
scheduled for 29 September, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15
and 19 July 2002). He told a news conference: "I have made the decision
to run for the Serbian presidency and I deeply believe that I will
win.... We find ourselves at a crossroads: we must decide whether to
continue with reforms or drop them. I am convinced that as president of
Serbia I can bring political peace to the country." Polls suggest that
Labus, an ally of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, is the only
candidate with a good chance of defeating Yugoslav President Vojislav
Kostunica for the Serbian presidency. Kostunica, whose present job is
likely to be abolished once Serbian and Montenegrin leaders agree on a
legal framework for their new loose union, said in Belgrade on 19 July
that he is opposed to holding a Serbian presidential vote until that
legal framework has been agreed, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported. PM
[50] SERBIAN COMMISSION LOOKS INTO 'PAVKOVIC AFFAIR'
The Serbian parliament formed a commission on 19 July to investigate
what has become known as the "Pavkovic affair," RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16, 17, and18
July 2002). The commission immediately summoned former Generals Milan
Djakovic, Milen Simic, and Aleksandar Vasiljevic to testify before it
on 22 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 June and 1 July 2002). The
commission also called for testimony from Ljiljana Nedeljkovic, who
heads Yugoslav President Kostunica's office, and Vladimir Popovic, who
heads the Serbian government's communications department. Pavkovic
himself gave a formal disposition to the Belgrade police on 19 July. On
22 July, he repeated his version of developments in 2001 to the
commission, AP reported. Elsewhere, Kostunica's Democratic Party of
Serbia (DSS) said it considers the commission a political instrument of
Kostunica's rivals and is not to be taken seriously, "Vesti" reported
on 21 July. PM
[51] MILOSEVIC AIDE REFUSES TO TESTIFY
Former Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic said in The Hague on 22 July that
he cannot testify against former President Slobodan Milosevic because
he cannot legally discuss state or military secrets, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Service reported. He added that the Supreme Defense
Council must release him from this obligation before he can testify. PM
[52] SERBIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF PROMISES NEW APPROACH
Andrija Savic, who heads Serbia's secret police, told Reuters in
Belgrade on 21 July that the new Security Information Agency will be a
"modern and accountable" intelligence service, depoliticized and
demilitarized. Savic added that the agency "has the support of all
major intelligence services, from the United States and Great Britain
to Russia and China." PM
[53] MONTENEGRO TO VOTE ON 6 OCTOBER
President Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 20 July that general
elections will take place on 6 October, the same date that early local
elections will be held in the capital, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July
2002). This is but the latest addition to a full election calendar in
the former Yugoslavia. Macedonia holds general elections on 15
September, while Serbia chooses a president on 29 September. Bosnia
holds general elections on 5 October, while Slovenia is expected to
select a new president on 10 November. In related news, the OSCE joined
NGOs and Djukanovic's supporters in criticizing the media legislation
passed recently by his opponents in the parliament (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 17 and 18 July 2002). The OSCE agreed that the legislation
appears politically motivated and aimed at influencing the upcoming
election campaign. PM
[54] WHAT WAS UNDER DISCUSSION BETWEEN STEINER AND THE MONTENEGRINS?
Michael Steiner, who heads the UN civilian administration in Kosova
(UNMIK), met on 19 July with Djukanovic in Sveti Stefan, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. After the meeting,
UNMIK said in a statement in Prishtina that the two discussed opening a
customs office at the Kula border crossing on the Peja-Rozaje road. In
Podgorica, however, the Montenegrin authorities said the agenda
centered on refugee return, confidence-building, and the impact "on the
region" of decisions reached by Serbia and Montenegro about their
future relations. PM
[55] POWER-PLANT FIRE IN KOSOVA
Steiner broke off his meetings in Montenegro and returned to Kosova on
19 July because of a major fire at the Kosova B power plant in Obilic,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported.
Lightning struck some cables, thereby starting the blaze. The fire then
touched off five explosions, which killed one Croatian engineer and
injured 34 others. Power outages are no stranger to Kosova, but the
province can now expect more outages than usual in the coming months.
PM
[56] CROATIA REJECTS SERBIAN CENSUS CHARGE
The Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on 19 July
that it considers unacceptable a recent comment by Yugoslav Foreign
Minster Goran Svilanovic about the latest Croatian population census,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 18 and 19 June 2002). Svilanovic said that the
figures for Croatia's ethnic Serbian population show that much of the
Serbian minority has been "ethnically cleansed." PM
[57] CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER TO ANNOUNCE CABINET SOON
Ivica Racan said in Zagreb on 19 July that he expects to name his new
cabinet shortly and that the parliament will vote to confirm it on
either 26 or 27 July, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages
Service reported. PM
[58] IMF WARNS BIG-SPENDING BOSNIANS
The IMF has threatened to withdraw a $100 million stand-by arrangement
from Bosnia if the several parliaments in that country pass spending
measures that exceed the budget, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported from Sarajevo on 19 July. PM
[59] RULING ETHNIC ALBANIAN PARTY OFFICIALLY REGISTERED IN MACEDONIA
The leadership of the Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSH)
announced on 19 July that it was officially registered by the Skopje
Municipal Court on 5 July, the daily "Dnevnik" reported. That court had
refused to register the party for five years because of the party flag
as well as certain allegedly unconstitutional provisions in the party
program. The party flag features a black double-headed eagle against a
red background, similar to the Albanian national flag. "[The court has
now] ruled that it is not the symbol of the Republic of Albania, since
our double-headed eagle in many ways differs from the Albanian national
flag," Deputy Party Chairman Bedredin Ibrahimi said. The PDSH was
founded on 5 July 1997. UB
[60] MIGRANTS DEAD IN COLLISION OFF ALBANIAN COAST
At least two Albanians were killed and many more injured late on 21
July when an Italian coastguard patrol boat collided with a dinghy that
was packed with Albanian illegal migrants, Reuters reported. The
Italian ship was attempting to force the dinghy back to shore just off
Vlora when the accident occurred. PM
[61] ROMANIAN PREMIER REITERATES DETERMINATION TO CLEANSE OWN PARTY OF
CORRUPTION
Addressing a meeting of the Social Democratic Party's (PSD) Central
Executive Bureau on 19 July, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said all PSD
officials involved in corruption affairs must resign from the party,
Romanian television reported. He said that if those officials fail to
do so of their own accord, they will be dismissed from the PSD. The
PSD, he said, will offer no "political protection" for anyone suspected
of involvement in corruption scandals and will "make no exception" when
it comes to respecting the letter of the law. MS
[62] ROMANIAN RULING PARTY, ALLY EXTEND PACT
Nastase and Romanian Humanist Party (PUR) Chairman Dan Voiculescu
signed an agreement on 19 July extending the cooperation pact between
their formations until the end of 2004, Mediafax reported. The PUR ran
on joint lists with the PSD in the 2000 elections. MS
[63] UDMR SETS CONDITIONS ON AMENDING ROMANIAN CONSTITUTION...
Bela Marko, chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania
(UDMR), told Mediafax on 20 July that the UDMR will support amending
Romania's Constitution only if one of the amendments allows for the use
of minority mother tongues in courts. Marko said the UDMR is not
satisfied with the document worked out by representatives of the
parliamentary parties stipulating what constitutional changes would be
worked out, and that none of the UDMR's demands are included on that
list. Marko, speaking at a forum of young ethnic Hungarians in
Mitresti, Mures County, also said that one of the main reasons for the
decline of the ethnic Hungarian population in Transylvania is
emigration to Hungary and that the problem can only be solved through
agreements between the two country's governments. He said that while
Hungary can recruit elites from among ethnic Hungarians in neighboring
countries, it should also remember that it has an interest in the
survival of ethnic Hungarian communities in their native lands and that
this can only be ensured through economic and social cooperation
between Hungary and its neighbors. MS
[64] ...WHILE PRM WITHDRAWS FROM COMMISSION ON CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS
The Standing Bureau of the Greater Romania Party (PRM) decided on 19
July to withdraw its representatives from the ad hoc parliamentary
Commission on Constitutional Amendments. A PRM press release cited by
Romanian radio said that the country has "other priorities than
amending the constitution," naming among those priorities "poverty,
criminality, and institutionalized corruption." The constitution, the
PRM said, "must be respected, not modified." MS
[65] INTERIM ROMANIAN LIBERAL LEADER PLEDGES LOYALTY TO DOCTRINE
Theodor Stolojan, the interim leader of the National Liberal Party
(PNL), told journalists on 20 July that if elected PNL chairman he will
not lead the party in a leftist direction, Mediafax reported. Stolojan,
who was premier in 1991-92 in a coalition government dominated by the
leftist National Salvation Front (today's PSD), thus rejected the
criticism recently made regarding his possible election as PNL chairman
by Victor Ciorbea, chairman of the national Peasant Party Christian
Democratic. He said the PNL is a "political adversary, but not the
political enemy" of the PSD and that despite their differences the two
parties can conduct a dialogue on Romania's current and future
problems. "There are [general] interests that go beyond what the PSD or
the PNL believe in," he said, naming NATO and EU integration,
privatization, and combating corruption as issues that "concern Romania
as a whole and not one political party or another." MS
[66] FLOODS RAVAGE ROMANIA
Five people drowned in floods following heavy rain in several areas of
Romania over the weekend and a seven-year-old boy is missing, AP
reported, citing police sources. Flooding has affected northern,
eastern, and southeastern Romania, swamping 4,600 hectares of farmland
and 1,500 homes. Some bridges were swept away by floodwaters, leaving
several roads impassable, while drinking water and power supplies were
cut in about 50 towns. MS
[67] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT UNDER RUSSIAN PRESSURE ON OSCE DRAFT?
Sources close to President Vladimir Voronin told Flux on condition of
anonymity on 20 July that the president's recently expressed support
for the OSCE's plan for settling the Transdniester conflict resulted
from strong pressure from Russia. The sources noted that in his 17 July
message expressing support for the plan, Voronin said the proposal
could be "formulated differently." They said Voronin was forced to
accept the plan, which envisages Moldova's federalization, after a long
meeting with Russia's Ambassador to Moldova Pavel Petrovskii. The
sources also claimed that parallel to that meeting, Yurii Shestak, the
embassy's political counselor, traveled to Tiraspol and met with the
separatist leadership, urging it to accept the proposal. According to
the sources, in contrast to Tiraspol "Foreign Minister" Valerii
Litskay, separatist leader Igor Smirnov and Supreme Soviet Chairman
Grigorii Marakutsa refused to heed the appeal and insisted that Moldova
be a confederation rather than a federal state. MS
[68] GOVERNMENT APPROVES PRESIDENTIAL DRAFT ON TELERADIO MOLDOVA
The Moldovan government on 20 July approved President Voronin's draft
on setting up the "Teleradio Moldova public company," Flux reported.
Justice Minister Ion Morei said the company's denomination is in line
with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe. Morei urged the government to forward the draft to
parliament with the recommendation that it be debated under urgency
procedure. The cabinet approved an amendment to the draft proposed by
Culture Minister Ion Pacuraru that obligates Teleradio Moldova to
promote "the authentic values of national culture and of the cultures
of national minorities." MS
[69] RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION AGAIN PROTESTS BULGARTABAC
PRIVATIZATION...
On 19 July, the presidential administration of the Russian Federation
for the fourth time sent a note to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry
underscoring its claims on Bulgartabac property, "Dnevnik" reported.
According to the newspaper, Russia wants the Bulgartabac tender to be
suspended until the disputed property issue is resolved. Russia claims
that the Soviet Union granted Bulgaria use of the factories under a
1953 lease agreement. In the note, the Russian side warned that should
the privatization process continue, all provisions regarding the
Russian property will be considered null and void by Russia. The Soviet
Union obtained ownership of the factories in 1946 as part of Bulgaria's
war reparations. UB
[70] ...WHILE BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT SAYS RUSSIAN CLAIMS UNFOUNDED
Economy Minister Nikolay Vasilev told parliament on 19 July that
Russia's claims to Bulgartabac property are groundless, "Dnevnik"
reported. Vasilev said that a number of bilateral agreements between
1949-55 handed ownership of the disputed Russian property that houses
12 factories back to Bulgaria. Vasilev said the contents of the
agreements are secret, and thus the Bulgarian government cannot publish
them to provide evidence supporting the state tobacco company's claims
to the property. The bidding process for Bulgartabac ends on 22 July.
UB
END NOTE
[71] There is no End Note today.
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