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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-08-27
CONTENTS
[01] DEFENSE MINISTER AGAIN DENIES RUSSIAN PLANES BOMBED GEORGIA...
[02] ...AS PUTIN FAILS TO REPLY TO GEORGIAN COUNTERPART
[03] PUTIN SAYS THAT FAR EAST'S GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE HAS GROWN...
[04] ...AND THAT GOVERNMENT IS PREPARING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL-PROTECTION
[05] DUMA BRACES FOR BUSY FALL SESSION
[06] MOSCOW TO RAZE DAMAGED APARTMENT BUILDING
[07] ASSASSINATED DEPUTY ALLEGEDLY WORTH $100 MILLION
[08] LIBERAL NEWSPAPER BECOMES CONSERVATIVE
[09] GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS ON PROPERTY TAXES
[10] PUTIN PLEDGES TO RESTORE NAVAL STRENGTH...
[11] ...AS PACIFIC FLEET WELCOMES NAVY'S PATRON SAINT
[12] OIL, GAS PRODUCTION UP
[13] INVESTIGATION OF PETERSBURG DEPUTY GOVERNOR CLOSED
[14] ORTHODOX CHURCH LOBBIES TO INCLUDE CONFESSIONAL PREFERENCE IN
[15] ...BUT GOVERNMENT DISAGREES...
[16] ...AS TWO-THIRDS OF RUSSIANS PROFESS FAITH IN GOD
[17] NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF SCHOOLS TO BE ONLINE BY 2003
[18] RUSSIA PROVIDES FLOOD ASSISTANCE TO CZECH REPUBLIC
[19] MILITARY ARRESTS SUSPECT IN HELICOPTER DOWNING...
[20] ...AND CLAIMS TO HAVE KILLED ANOTHER CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER
[21] RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS OPPOSE TALKS WITH CHECHEN PRESIDENT
[22] INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS QUESTION SALE OF ARMENIAN
[23] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION AGAIN CLAIMS REFERENDUM OUTCOME
[24] ...AS U.S. EXPRESSES CONCERN
[25] POLICE DETAIN AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER'S SON
[26] SPOKESMAN DENIES AZERBAIJANI ARMY HIT BY MALARIA
[27] TENSIONS AGAIN ON THE RISE IN NORTHERN AZERBAIJAN?
[28] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT DEMANDS WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS AND
[29] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY DEMANDS INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR AIR
[30] SPOKESMAN SAYS OPPOSITION POLITICIAN EXAGGERATED COST OF GEORGIAN
[31] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT REFUSES TO CUT STATE CHANCELLERY STAFF
[32] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM...
[33] ...AND FOR TESTING HIS STAFF'S PROFICIENCY
[34] KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT MOVES TO STAMP OUT SHADOW ECONOMY
[35] TAJIK PRESIDENT, U.S. GENERAL DISCUSS SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN
[36] TURKMEN PRESIDENT VAUNTS 'COOPERATION' WITH NEIGHBORS...
[37] ...EMPOWERS PEOPLE'S COUNCIL TO PROPOSE PRESIDENTIAL
[38] ...NAMES NEW MINISTERS, AMBASSADOR
[39] UZBEK GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES MACROECONOMIC REFORM WITH INTERNATIONAL
[40] BELARUSIAN TRADERS PROTEST ECONOMIC POLICIES
[41] OUR UKRAINE CALLS FOR NATIONAL FORUM OF DEMOCRATIC FORCES...
[42] ...WHILE SOCIALIST PARTY WANTS POLITICAL REFORM WITHOUT KUCHMA
[43] NORDIC-BALTIC-EIGHT AGREE TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
[44] ESTONIAN MINISTER SAYS U.S. LOCOMOTIVES ARE DANGEROUS
[45] CANDIDATE STRICKEN FROM ELECTION LIST FILES APPEAL IN LATVIA
[46] POLISH DEFENSE MINISTRY MULLS BILL ON MILITARY-PERSONNEL POLICY
[47] CZECH PREMIER WANTS EUROPEAN VIEWS CONSIDERING IRAQ TAKEN INTO
[48] ...AS CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER WANTS POSITION ON MIDDLE EAST TO BE
[49] CZECH GOVERNMENT POSTPONES DECISION ON PURCHASING FIGHTER JETS
[50] WORKERS PUMP CHEMICALS FROM FLOODED CZECH FACTORY
[51] SECRET GOVERNMENT BUNKER IN PRAGUE INUNDATED DURING FLOOD
[52] CZECH POLICE COMBINE SRBA INVESTIGATIONS
[53] SLOVAK PRESIDENT DIAGNOSED WITH GALLBLADDER PROBLEMS
[54] DATE SET FOR SLOVAK LOCAL ELECTIONS
[55] FORMER HUNGARIAN MINISTERS REACT TO 'MAGYAR HIRLAP' REVELATIONS
[56] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONDEMNS KILLING OF MACEDONIAN
[57] ...AS DO POLITICAL PARTIES -- IN PRE-ELECTION STYLE
[58] KOSTUNICA CANCELS A MEETING...
[59] ...AS SERBIAN-MONTENEGRIN CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS GOES AHEAD
[60] SERBIAN-AUSTRALIAN TENNIS STAR ENDORSES EXTREMIST
[61] CROATIAN-SLOVENIAN EXCHANGES READY FOR 'BELIEVE IT OR NOT'
[62] CROATIAN-BOSNIA BORDER CROSSING FINALLY OPENED
[63] BOSNIA CLOSER TO JOINT DEFENSE MINISTRY?
[64] MASSIVE SACKING OF BOSNIAN POLICE LOOMS
[65] ALBANIAN PYRAMID-SCHEME BOSS ARRESTED
[66] ROMANIAN SOLDIERS JOIN COMBAT ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN
[67] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT FIRM ON NOT SEEKING ADDITIONAL TERM...
[68] ...AND CONGRATULATES NEW PNL CHAIRMAN
[69] ROMANIAN ROMA WARN FRANCE, EU AGAINST 'COLLECTIVE INCRIMINATION'
[70] HAS MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT BEEN TRAPPED BY MALICIOUS COUNSELING?
[71] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT TO BUY UP WHEAT HARVEST
[72] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO SYRIA
[73] There is no END NOTE today.
27 August 2002
RUSSIA
[01] DEFENSE MINISTER AGAIN DENIES RUSSIAN PLANES BOMBED GEORGIA...
Sergei Ivanov, who is currently visiting Buryatia, told journalists on
26 August that Russian planes did not bomb Georgian territory on 23
August and that Georgia has not furnished any concrete evidence to the
contrary, Russian news agencies reported. Ivanov added that his
ministry is ready to conduct a joint investigation of the disputed air
strike, in which several people were reported killed (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 25 and 26 August 2002). Ivanov implied that the Georgian
armed forces themselves might have been responsible for the bombing.
Ivanov again demanded that Georgia either round up and kill Chechen
militants on its territory or detain them and extradite them to Russia,
rather than simply pressuring them to return to Chechnya. LF
[02] ...AS PUTIN FAILS TO REPLY TO GEORGIAN COUNTERPART
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on
26 August that he has not yet received a response to a letter he sent
two weeks ago to President Vladimir Putin outlining ways to improve the
strained relations between their two countries, Caucasus Press and
Interfax reported. Following the disputed air raid on the Pankisi Gorge
on 23 August, Shevardnadze appealed to Putin to desist from "raids on
Georgian villages." But on 26 August, Shevardnadze said that he is
certain it was not Putin who gave the orders for the 23 August bombing.
LF
[03] PUTIN SAYS THAT FAR EAST'S GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE HAS GROWN...
Speaking to scientists after visiting the Far East Marine Wildlife
Reserve, President Putin said that globalization has substantially
increased the geopolitical importance of the Far East for Russia,
Russian news agencies reported on 26 August. "No other part of Russia
has the same conditions as we have here," Putin was quoted as saying.
"Here there are year-round seaports, and the province is situated close
to the rapidly developing and economically active Asian-Pacific
region." Putin called for measures to stimulate the economy of the
region, but added that this activity must be balanced with a stronger
commitment to protect the environment. VY
[04] ...AND THAT GOVERNMENT IS PREPARING NEW ENVIRONMENTAL-PROTECTION
LAW
The Kremlin is drafting a new federal law on protecting the
environment, President Putin told journalists in Vladivostok on 27
August, according to Russian news agencies. The new law "will expound a
system of measures and responsibilities for causing harm to the
environment," Putin was quoted by RosBalt as saying. He noted that
environmental protection in the Far East must be carried out in
cooperation with neighboring countries including China, Mongolia,
Japan, and North and South Korea. "The government will assist in this
through the Interior Ministry and other agencies," Putin said. Putin
said that ecological issues connected with exploiting the Sakhalin oil
reserves must be addressed. VY/RC
[05] DUMA BRACES FOR BUSY FALL SESSION
Deputy State Duma Speaker Lyubov Sliska told reporters on 26 August
that there are 472 bills awaiting consideration by the Duma in its fall
session, which opens on 11 September, dni.ru and other Russian news
agencies reported. One hundred twenty-seven of the bills are considered
to be high priority, Sliska said, and more than half of the
high-priority bills have been introduced by the government. She added
that the "centrist majority" in the Duma supports the government's
draft budget for 2003 and she expects that consideration of the budget
can be conducted "without political ambitions." She was skeptical,
though, that the Duma would actually consider all the pending bills,
noting that in a typical session, the body debates 200-220 items. RC
[06] MOSCOW TO RAZE DAMAGED APARTMENT BUILDING
The Moscow apartment building where an explosion on 20 August killed
nine people will most likely be demolished, Russian news agencies
reported on 27 August. Mayor Yurii Luzhkov's press secretary, Sergei
Tsoi, said that the building will be torn down and a new, larger one
built in its place. Tsoi added, however, that the order to tear down
the building has not yet been signed. Authorities maintain that the
explosion was caused by a natural-gas leak. Following the 1999
apartment-building blasts in Moscow and other Russian cities, the
authorities were widely criticized for quickly razing the damaged
buildings and possibly destroying evidence. RC
[07] ASSASSINATED DEPUTY ALLEGEDLY WORTH $100 MILLION
Former State Duma Deputy Vladimir Golovlev, who was shot to death
outside his Moscow home on 21 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 22
August), was worth an estimated $100 million when he died, Russian news
agencies reported on 27 August, citing Chelyabinsk Oblast Prosecutor
Anatolii Bragin. According to izvestia.ru, prosecutors investigating
the matter have allegedly uncovered bank accounts in Golovlev's name in
Cyprus, the Virgin Islands, Germany, Great Britain, and the United
States. Prosecutors are investigating accusations that the money was
acquired illegally during the early 1990s when Golovlev headed the
Chelyabinsk Oblast State Property Committee, which privatized a number
of major enterprises. Bragin also said that he is certain that Golovlev
died as a result of a contract hit, RIA-Novosti reported. In an
interview with strana.ru on 19 November 2001, Golovlev said: "Most
likely, all of this [investigation] really will end with investigators
going after a slew of people who are well known in Moscow, and not just
people from Chelyabinsk." RC
[08] LIBERAL NEWSPAPER BECOMES CONSERVATIVE
The liberal weekly newspaper "Obshchaya gazeta," which suspended
publication after it was sold to St. Petersburg businessman Vyacheslav
Leibman at the end of May (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 and 31 May 2002),
will be relaunched this week under the name "Konservator," Russian news
agencies reported on 27 August. According to rtr-vesti.ru, the paper
will initially be a 32-page weekly and the first issue will appear on
30 August. The new paper will be edited by Leonid Zlotin, who in
1997-98 edited the conservative daily "Russkii telegraf." According to
"The Moscow Times," Leibman views the paper as the beginning of the
Leibman Media Group, which will augment his other business interests in
oil trading and hotel management. "The publishing business is logical
and understandable within the framework of a holding company. There are
corporate interests that need to be both protected and promoted,"
Leibman was quoted as saying. He also said that he will personally take
a "most active part in forming the editorial policy," according to the
daily. RC
[09] GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS ON PROPERTY TAXES
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry has drafted its concept for
reforming Russia's property-tax legislation, "Vedomosti" reported on 27
August. According to the report, the tax rate for individuals will be
reduced by 95 percent. However, taxes will be based on the market value
of the property rather than on its state-registered value. As a result,
Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said, revenues from
property taxes should increase by a factor of 13. Gref conceded that
the new tax system could leave many Russians on the verge of
bankruptcy, "Vedomosti" reported, and said that therefore the changes
will be phased in gradually. According to ministry statistics, the
state-registered value of residential property nationally is 2.4
billion rubles ($774 million). The market value is estimated at at
least 35.6 billion ($11.5 billion). RC
[10] PUTIN PLEDGES TO RESTORE NAVAL STRENGTH...
Speaking aboard the antisubmarine ship "Marshal Shaposhnikov" on 26
August, Putin said Russia's Pacific Fleet is the guarantor of Russian
interests not only regionally, but across the Pacific Ocean, Russian
news agencies reported. Putin said that although the navy had been
neglected for a long time, the government has now adopted a new program
for rearming it and bringing it to a new technological level, ITAR-TASS
reported. He also pledged that the Pacific Fleet will soon hold a major
exercise, comparable to the one held on the Caspian Sea earlier this
month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 and 9 August 2002). Finally, he added
that the Nautical Collegium was recently created to oversee problems
relating to the navy and merchant shipping. VY
[11] ...AS PACIFIC FLEET WELCOMES NAVY'S PATRON SAINT
A special aircraft arrived in Vladivostok on 27 August carrying the
relics of the 18th-century admiral, Fedor Ushakov, who was canonized by
the Orthodox Church last year, RTR reported. The relics were
accompanied by the archbishop of Saransk and Mordova, who said that
some of the saint's relics had already been given to the Baltic and
Black Sea fleets. Ushakov (1744-1817) was an innovative naval commander
who won major battles against the Turks and Napoleonic France. He is
widely considered never to have lost a battle. VY
[12] OIL, GAS PRODUCTION UP
Russian oil production reached 360-62 million tons in the first seven
months of the year, an increase of 8.3 percent over the same period
last year, ABNews reported on 27 August, citing Deputy Energy Minister
Igor Matlashov. Natural-gas production increased 3.3 percent over the
same period to 214.4 million tons, according to the reported. RC
[13] INVESTIGATION OF PETERSBURG DEPUTY GOVERNOR CLOSED
A criminal investigation of St. Petersburg Deputy Governor Aleksandr
Potekhin has been closed, RosBalt reported on 26 August. According to
Deputy Prosecutor-General Vladimir Zubrin, some of the charges against
Potekhin were dropped because they fell under the terms of Duma
amnesties. Others were dismissed because the statute of limitations had
expired. Potekhin was being investigated for allegedly engaging in
commercial activity while serving as a public official. Potekhin was
one of several close associates of St. Petersburg Governor Vladimir
Yakovlev -- including former Deputy Governor Valerii Malyshev and
Deputy Governor Anatolii Kagan -- to be investigated by federal
prosecutors on a range of corruption charges. "Society must become
accustomed to respecting the presumption of innocence," Yakovlev's
spokesman, Aleksandr Afanasiev, was quoted as saying. "The Kagan case
will turn out just the same, as did the Malyshev case." RC
[14] ORTHODOX CHURCH LOBBIES TO INCLUDE CONFESSIONAL PREFERENCE IN
CENSUS DATA...
Antonii Ilin, spokesman for the Foreign Relations Department of the
Moscow Patriarchate, has said that the Russian Orthodox Church has a
"direct interest" in including a question about citizens' religious
confessions in the questionnaire of the national census, which will be
conducted in October, strana.ru reported on 27 August. Ilin said such a
question would be "very useful because it would highlight the real
percentage of [the population espousing] traditional confessions in
Russia." Ilin added that not including questions about citizens'
religious adherence would deprive the census of its "spiritual and
cultural significance." VY
[15] ...BUT GOVERNMENT DISAGREES...
However, Vladimir Zorin, the government minister who oversees
nationalities policy, said there is no urgent need to include this
question, the website reported. Such data is already available at the
Justice Ministry, which he said is responsible for registering
religious organizations. Zorin noted that no religious confession --
except for the Orthodox Church -- has advocated including this question
in the census, and it was not asked during the last few censuses
conducted during the Soviet era. VY
[16] ...AS TWO-THIRDS OF RUSSIANS PROFESS FAITH IN GOD
More than two-thirds of respondents to a recent survey by the
All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) claimed to
be adherents to one or another religious confession, "Izvestiya"
reported on 25 August. According to the survey, 58 percent of
respondents declared themselves Orthodox believers, while 5 percent
said they were Muslims and less than 2 percent said they belonged to
non-Orthodox Christian confessions. Thirty-one percent declared
themselves atheists. Of those who said that they believe in God, 60
percent said that they had never read any biblical text. Of those who
claimed to be Orthodox believers, 42 percent said that they had never
been in an Orthodox church, while another 31 percent said that they
went to church "not more than once a year." "The biggest difference
between believers and nonbelievers is not how often they go to church,
but whether or not they pray to God," said VTsIOM sociologist Aleksandr
Golov. RC
[17] NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF SCHOOLS TO BE ONLINE BY 2003
By the middle of 2003, 31 percent of Russian schools will be connected
to the Internet, strana.ru and other Russian news agencies reported on
27 August. Education Minister Vladimir Filippov made the announcement
at a Moscow Internet conference. According to Filippov, 10.3 percent of
schools are already connected. He also said that a number of regions
have adopted measures to encourage teachers to incorporate new
technologies into their programs. In Krasnodar Krai, Filippov said,
teachers who do so can earn bonus worth up to 50 percent of their base
salaries. "The Internetization of primary education in Russia is
extremely important," Filippov said. RC
[18] RUSSIA PROVIDES FLOOD ASSISTANCE TO CZECH REPUBLIC
The Emergency Situations Ministry has sent 45 tons of humanitarian aid
to the Czech Republic, which is recovering from historic flooding
earlier this month, ITAR-TASS and other Russian news agencies reported
on 27 August. The assistance includes thermal ventilators used to dry
out flooded buildings, nine tons of chlorine tablets for purifying
drinking water, and other supplies. The assistance is worth an
estimated 14 million rubles ($450,000). In addition, a team of Russian
engineers arrived in Prague on 27 August to assess damage to the Czech
capital's metro system and to assist in repairs. RC
[19] MILITARY ARRESTS SUSPECT IN HELICOPTER DOWNING...
An unidentified Chechen militant has been detained on suspicion of
firing the missile that caused the 19 August crash of a military
helicopter at Khankala in which 118 people died, AP and ITAR-TASS
reported on 26 August. Said-Selim Peshkhoev, who heads the Interior
Ministry's branch in Chechnya, said the suspect, whom he did not name,
was detained during a special operation and is suspected of having
committed other serious crimes. LF
[20] ...AND CLAIMS TO HAVE KILLED ANOTHER CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER
Field commander Aslanbek Alikhadzhiev was killed on 25 August in a
special operation by Russian forces in Shali Raion, Russian news
agencies claimed on 26 August, quoting Lieutenant General Vladimir
Moltenskoi, who commands the joint federal forces in Chechnya.
Moltenskoi claimed Alikhadzhiev was a close associate of Shamil Basaev
and had participated in the raid Basaev led on the south Russian town
of Budennovsk in June 1995. LF
[21] RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS OPPOSE TALKS WITH CHECHEN PRESIDENT
Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alekseeva told a press conference
in Moscow on 26 August that she favors talks on ending the conflict in
Chechnya, ITAR-TASS reported, But she said that the Chechen
representative to those talks should be "anyone except [Chechen
President Aslan] Maskhadov," because, she argued, Maskhadov does not
speak for the entire Chechen population. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[22] INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS QUESTION SALE OF ARMENIAN
POWER GRID
The Armenian government on 26 August endorsed the sale two days earlier
of an 81.1 percent stake in the country's power-distribution network to
a little-known offshore company with no proven experience in the energy
sector, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26
August 2002). But a spokesman for the World Bank's Yerevan office
hinted that the bank may withhold the release of a $20 million
budgetary loan that was contingent on the successful sale of the power
grid, while an IMF official in Yerevan similarly expressed
"reservations" about the deal on the grounds that Midland Resources,
which was the sole bidder in the tender, "does not have the necessary
experience or international standing." The European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, which was expected to acquire the
remaining stake, is no longer prepared to do so, an unidentified
official told RFE/RL. He added that President Robert Kocharian
unequivocally supported the sell-off. LF
[23] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION AGAIN CLAIMS REFERENDUM OUTCOME
FALSIFIED...
At a press conference in Baku on 26 August, the chairmen of four major
opposition parties that coordinated monitoring of the voting in the 24
August referendum on constitutional amendments again rejected as
falsified the authorities' claims of overwhelming support for those
changes, Turan and Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August
2002). They claimed that voter participation was no higher than 15
percent, rather than over 88 percent as the Central Election Commission
claimed, and charged that the authorities resorted to threats,
violence, and bribery to create the impression of backing for the
planned changes. Members of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party responded
to those allegations with shouts of "liars," according to Reuters. The
opposition condemned the referendum as "illegal," and said they will
contest it in court, including the European Court for Human Rights. LF
[24] ...AS U.S. EXPRESSES CONCERN
Speaking in Washington on 26 August, U.S. State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher said that reports from the U.S. Embassy in Baku suggest
"widespread irregularities, such as voter-list fraud, multiple voting,
and ballot-box stuffing" during the course of the 24 August vote,
Reuters reported. Boucher said those reports raise concern that "this
referendum did very little to advance democratization or to lay the
groundwork for a presidential election in the fall of 2003 that can
meet international standards." LF
[25] POLICE DETAIN AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER'S SON
Traffic police detained Samir Hadjiev, the only son of Civic Solidarity
Party Chairman Sabir Hadjiev, on 25 August and are holding him under
administrative arrest for three days, Turan reported the following day.
The Civic Solidarity Party backs former President Ayaz Mutalibov; one
of its Baku members was detained on 21 August and charged with
resisting the police (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 2002). LF
[26] SPOKESMAN DENIES AZERBAIJANI ARMY HIT BY MALARIA
A spokesman for Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied on 23 August a
report by Turan the previous day that cited health-service officials in
the exclave of Nakhichevan as saying that up to 17 Azerbaijani
servicemen have been hospitalized with malaria, Turan reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2002). LF
[27] TENSIONS AGAIN ON THE RISE IN NORTHERN AZERBAIJAN?
Eleven "militants," some of them residents of neighboring Daghestan,
were arrested in the Balakan Raion of northern Azerbaijan on 21 August,
Turan reported on 23 August, quoting the newspaper "Azadlyg." The paper
commented that the situation remains tense in Balakan and the
neighboring Zakatala Raion, where police last year apprehended an armed
group, three of whose members were sentenced to death in April for
murder and banditry (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 April and 20 July 2002).
LF
[28] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT DEMANDS WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS AND
CLOSURE OF BASES
Meeting in emergency session on 26 August, parliament deputies passed
by 81 votes to two a resolution condemning Russian "aggression" against
Georgia, Caucasus Press and "Vremya MN" reported. The resolution also
demanded the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping force deployed
under the CIS aegis in the Abkhaz conflict zone and that the Georgian
government pressure Moscow to close its two remaining military bases in
Georgia. Deputies deleted from the resolution initial demands for
severing diplomatic relations with Russia and for Georgia's withdrawal
from the Commonwealth of Independent States. LF
[29] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY DEMANDS INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR AIR
DEFENSE
In the wake of the 23 August air raid, the Defense Ministry has asked
for 12.8 millions laris ($5.81 million) to make the country's
air-defense system more effective, Caucasus Press reported on 26
August. Also on 26 August, "Akhali taoba" quoted parliament deputy
Nodar Djavakhishvili (Revival Union) as arguing that a defense minister
who is constrained to admit that he cannot afford to buy guns to shoot
down enemy aircraft should resign. Djavakhishvili added that a country
that cannot afford military equipment should not attempt to maintain a
35,000-man army. The same paper also quoted Deputy Defense Minister
Gela Bezhuashvili as saying that Georgia has begun talks with Ukraine
and the Czech Republic on establishing an air-defense system, but that
doing so would be extremely expensive. LF
[30] SPOKESMAN SAYS OPPOSITION POLITICIAN EXAGGERATED COST OF GEORGIAN
PRESIDENT'S SECURITY
The annual cost of ensuring President Shevardnadze's personal security
is 6.83 million laris, not 80 million-90 million laris as claimed by
opposition National Movement leader Mikhail Saakashvili, and
Saakashvili, who is a former government minister, should have been
aware of this, a spokesman for the presidential security service told
Caucasus Press on 26 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 2002). LF
[31] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT REFUSES TO CUT STATE CHANCELLERY STAFF
President Shevardnadze has rejected proposals by Minister of State
Avtandil Djorbenadze to streamline the state chancellery, reducing
personnel by some 100 people, Caucasus Press reported on 26 August,
quoting an unnamed informant. Shevardnadze reportedly said he is
unwilling to dismiss people who have worked with him for more than 10
years, which suggests that at least some of those likely to be affected
are people whose ties with Shevardnadze date back to his tenure as
Georgian Communist Party First Secretary from 1972-85. Shevardnadze
returned to Georgia from Moscow in March 1992. LF
[32] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM...
Askar Akaev has signed a decree on creating a constitutional council
that on 4 September will embark on the process of drafting
constitutional reforms, akipress.org and RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
reported. In a television and radio address on 26 August, Akaev
proposed that all political parties represented in parliament be
included in the council, and invited other political parties to propose
representatives, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. He also said that
the clashes in March in Aksy between police and demonstrators testified
to the existence of serious communication failures within the executive
branch and in its interaction with other branches of power. He said the
constitutional amendments will expand the powers of the prime minister,
the government, and local authorities. LF
[33] ...AND FOR TESTING HIS STAFF'S PROFICIENCY
President Akaev has also signed an ordinance establishing tests for all
members of his staff to assess their knowledge, ability, and prospects
for promotion, according to ITAR-TASS on 26 August. A commission
chaired by Security Council Secretary Misir Ashyrkulov will draft those
tests, the schedule for which has not yet been made public, and which
will be "much tougher" than comparable tests for members of the civil
service, according to the presidential press service. LF
[34] KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT MOVES TO STAMP OUT SHADOW ECONOMY
Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev has established a commission chaired by
Deputy Premier Djoomart Otorbaev and Finance Minister Bolot Abdildaev
that is charged with drafting within one month a program to legalize
the shadow economy, Interfax reported on 26 August. According to the
National Statistics Committee, the shadow economy accounts for a
minimum of 13 percent and possibly as much as 40 percent of GDP. LF
[35] TAJIK PRESIDENT, U.S. GENERAL DISCUSS SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN
Imomali Rakhmonov met in Dushanbe on 26 August with visiting U.S.
General Tommy Franks, who heads U.S. Central Command, to discuss the
situation in Afghanistan, Russian news agencies and Asia Plus-Blitz
reported. Rakhmonov again argued that the mandate of the International
Security Force should be extended throughout the entire territory of
Afghanistan. Franks told journalists after the meeting that the
security situation in Afghanistan has improved dramatically, although
much still remains to be done. He also repeated his earlier statement
that he is convinced that Djuma Namangani, the leader of the banned
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, is dead, although he added that he has
no evidence to prove it. In May, Afghan Defense Minister Fahim Khan
said while on a visit to Dushanbe that Namangani may still be alive
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 January and 28 May 2002). LF
[36] TURKMEN PRESIDENT VAUNTS 'COOPERATION' WITH NEIGHBORS...
During talks in Ashgabat on 26 August with visiting U.S. State
Department official William Taylor, Saparmurat Niyazov said his country
is expanding cooperation with neighboring states on the basis of
economic expediency where doing so lies in Turkmenistan's interests,
Interfax reported. ITAR-TASS quoted Taylor as saying that the United
States provided $16.4 million in aid for Turkmenistan in 2001, which is
considerably less than for other Central Asian states. Taylor also
expressed support for the planned pipeline to export Turkmen gas to
Pakistan via Afghanistan, Interfax reported. LF
[37] ...EMPOWERS PEOPLE'S COUNCIL TO PROPOSE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATES...
President Niyazov has signed a law "On the Selection of State Leaders
and Public Service Officials" investing the People's Council with the
authority to propose presidential candidates of whose programs it
approves, turkmenistan.ru reported on 26 August. The primary criteria
for selecting presidential candidates and other senior officials will
be their knowledge of the state language, their professional education,
and the impeccable moral probity of both the candidates themselves and
members of their families dating back for several generations,
according to ITAR-TASS on 24 August. LF
[38] ...NAMES NEW MINISTERS, AMBASSADOR
At a government session on 23 August, Niyazov named Turkmenistan's
former Ambassador to Germany Dortkuli Aydogyev as minister for the
textile industry, replacing Djamal Goklenova, who will take up the post
of adviser to the Turkmen Embassy in Moscow, turkmenistan.ru reported.
Niyazov also appointed former Education Minister Annakurban Ashirov
ambassador to Turkey. His replacement as minister is National Institute
of Education Director Mameddurdy Sarykhanov. Imamdurdy Kandymov was
named chairman of the Central Bank, and Nurberdy Bayramov was appointed
to replace him in his previous position as chairman of the board of the
state commercial bank Daykhanbank. LF
[39] UZBEK GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES MACROECONOMIC REFORM WITH INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
Representatives of the Uzbek Central Bank, the World Bank, the IMF, the
Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development met in Tashkent on 21-22 August to evaluate Uzbekistan's
progress in implementing macroeconomic and structural reforms aimed at
expediting the transition to a market economy, uza.uz reported on 26
August. Participants positively assessed the Uzbek government's most
recent reforms and noted sustained macroeconomic stability and
improvements in tax and budget policy, reform of the banking system,
and the agricultural sector. Last week Uzbekistan abolished the
artificially low prices at which farmers were hitherto obliged to sell
cotton to the state, according to AP on 21 August. Domestic cotton
prices will in future be pegged to world prices. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[40] BELARUSIAN TRADERS PROTEST ECONOMIC POLICIES
Some 1,000 traders held an authorized rally in Minsk on 26 August to
protest what they perceive as too many state controls and too much tax
pressure on private businesses in Belarus, Belapan reported. In
particular, the traders are demanding that the authorities halve the
tax on private businesses, revoke regulations requiring them to use
cash registers and keep bank accounts for paying the tax, review
regulations regarding the payment of social-security contributions,
limit the trade-area rent, shorten the list of goods subject to
certification and hygienic registration, and reduce the costs of and
simplify certification procedures. In another resolution, the
protesters appealed to the Belarusian legislature to launch an
impeachment procedure against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Posters
displayed at the rally included the following slogans: "Bolshevism Down
the Drain!" "The State Lives on Robbery," and "Belarusian Economy Model
Copies a Backward State Farm." JM
[41] OUR UKRAINE CALLS FOR NATIONAL FORUM OF DEMOCRATIC FORCES...
The Our Ukraine bloc intends to gather a national forum of democratic
forces to formulate "basic demands" with regard to the authorities,
UNIAN reported on 27 August. Our Ukraine's Political Council at its
meeting on 25 August decided that the bloc will take part in the
antigovernment protests scheduled by the opposition for September. Our
Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko said he regards the planned protests
as "a part of the bloc's political strategy and [I] want to widen the
circle of political participants in the [protest] action." JM
[42] ...WHILE SOCIALIST PARTY WANTS POLITICAL REFORM WITHOUT KUCHMA
The Socialist Party has said the reform of Ukraine's political system
proposed by President Leonid Kuchma in his address to the nation on 24
August (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 27 August
2002) could be implemented much quicker if Kuchma resigned his post,
UNIAN reported on 27 August. The Socialists noted that Kuchma's
proposals to move Ukraine's political system toward a
parliamentary-presidential republic replicate their party-program goals
and stressed that the implementation of those goals has thus far been
blocked by the president. JM
[43] NORDIC-BALTIC-EIGHT AGREE TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Meeting in Tallinn, the foreign ministers of the eight Baltic and
Nordic countries have decided to step up cooperation in the fight
against human trafficking, ETA reported on 26 August. Sweden's Foreign
Minister Anna Lindh authored the proposal. The number of victims of
human trafficking from the Baltic countries has grown in recent years,
BNS reported. The International Organization for Migration (IOM)
estimates that some 2,000 women from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
fall victims to this slave trade annually. The ministers also discussed
impending NATO enlargement and adopted a common position that NATO
enlargement should continue past the Prague summit in November. The
governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania have been meeting on a regular basis over the
last eight years, expanding the traditional Nordic Council to a
five-plus-three framework. A year ago, at the annual meeting of foreign
ministers in Denmark, it was decided to formally adopt the title of
Nordic-Baltic-Eight (NB-8). The next meeting of foreign ministers of
the NB-8 will be in Riga in 2003. AB
[44] ESTONIAN MINISTER SAYS U.S. LOCOMOTIVES ARE DANGEROUS
Estonia's Interior Minister Ain Seppik issued a warning that the heavy
U.S.-made locomotives recently imported by Estonian Railways are
hazardous to railway bridges that were designed for lighter
locomotives, ETA reported on 26 August. Seppik said the "axle loading
of the locomotives is three times higher" than that of previously used
Soviet and Russian equipment. The minister listed nine bridges that
need to be reinforced, one of them in central Tallinn. The minister
criticized the Railway Board and Estonian Railways for ignoring safety
precautions and warned that his ministry may bring charges against
officials for violating railway-safety regulations. AB
[45] CANDIDATE STRICKEN FROM ELECTION LIST FILES APPEAL IN LATVIA
Janis Adamsons, who was recently stricken from the Latvian Social
Democratic Workers Party's (LSDSP) parliamentary election list, filed
an appeal to the Latvian Supreme Court asking for a reversal of the
Riga Central District Court's ruling, LETA reported on 26 August.
Adamsons called the lower court's ruling "absurd" and said he may also
turn to the Constitutional Court. The LSDSP was to stage a rock concert
with popular musicians on 27 August to draw attention to the case. The
party hopes to collect over 15,000 signatures on a petition to the
courts during the concert. On 20 August, Adamson's petition against the
Central Election Commission's decision to strike his name from the
electoral lists for the 8th Saeima was turned down by the district
court in Riga. The court found that Adamsons had worked for the Border
Guards as a political officer under the control of the Soviet security
services, and was therefore ineligible to run for office. AB
[46] POLISH DEFENSE MINISTRY MULLS BILL ON MILITARY-PERSONNEL POLICY
The Defense Ministry will soon submit to the cabinet a draft bill on
the service of career soldiers (as opposed to draftees), PAP reported
on 26 August. "It is high time to change the rules of personnel
policies to make them transparent and simple," Defense Minister Jerzy
Szmajdzinski told journalists. The draft bill provides for the number
of newly employed officers to be equal to that leaving the armed
forces, as well as for close coordination between military ranks and
posts. It is planned that the 150,000-strong Polish military will have
25,000 officers. Some 750 graduates of officers' schools are to join
the ranks and an equal number of servicemen are to leave the military
every year. Earlier this month, a senior Polish officer and commander
accused the Defense Ministry and top brass of implementing
"mafia-style" personnel policies in the Polish armed forces (see
"RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 13 August 2002). JM
[47] CZECH PREMIER WANTS EUROPEAN VIEWS CONSIDERING IRAQ TAKEN INTO
CONSIDERATION...
Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said at a meeting of Czech ambassadors
at the Czech Foreign Ministry on 26 August that "our position
[regarding military intervention in Iraq] should necessarily take the
general European attitude into consideration," CTK reported. Foreign
Minister Cyril Svoboda told the gathering that "we support the idea
that a military operation is not an optimal solution. On the other hand
it is necessary to force Baghdad to enable U.N. arms inspectors to
return to Iraq." Svoboda did not say whether the Czech Republic would
participate in a military operation against Iraq. MS
[48] ...AS CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER WANTS POSITION ON MIDDLE EAST TO BE
MORE BALANCED
Addressing the same forum on 26 August, Foreign Minister Svoboda said
he firmly believes the Czech Republic should "return to our balanced
position [on the conflict in Middle East] and not to a position in
which we would clearly side with one or the other country," CTK
reported. In addition, he said, "it is necessary to persuade our
partners in the Arab world [that this position is sincere]." Svoboda
noted that in the recent past the Czech Republic has taken a
pro-Israeli position. MS
[49] CZECH GOVERNMENT POSTPONES DECISION ON PURCHASING FIGHTER JETS
Svoboda told the meeting of Czech ambassadors on 26 August that the
cabinet has postponed making a decision on the purchase of supersonic
fighters until after the November NATO summit in Prague, CTK reported.
MS
[50] WORKERS PUMP CHEMICALS FROM FLOODED CZECH FACTORY
Workers at the Spolana chemical factory in Neratovice on 26 August
continued pumping chlorine from a damaged tank that has leaked highly
poisonous chlorine gas in the wake of the recent floods, CTK and
international news agencies reported. The operation began on 25 August,
after another chlorine leak was reported the previous day, and was to
continue on 27 August. Interior Minister Stanislav Gross said that the
operation is supervised by firemen and that they are in control of the
situation. The mayors of Neratovice and Libise, central Bohemia, as
well as mayors from other surrounding communities, were informed of the
operation and buses are ready to evacuate local residents if necessary.
The mayors said the residents, who already are stressed by the recent
flood, are following the news about Spolana with great concern. Health
Minister Marie Souckova told the BBC on 26 August that the authorities
will monitor pollution in Neratovice for one month. MS
[51] SECRET GOVERNMENT BUNKER IN PRAGUE INUNDATED DURING FLOOD
The daily "Mlada fronta Dnes" reported on 27 August that a secret
government bunker, which is linked to the Prague metro's Malostranska
Station, was inundated during the recent floods, CTK reported. The
secret shelter was built during the 1950s. A Prague metro official told
the daily that under the communist regime there was always someone on
duty in the bunker, but that the practice was discontinued in the
1990s. The official also said that the metro was not designed to resist
water levels as high as those of the recent flooding, which resulted in
water leakage through some pressure seals. Seventeen out of the metro's
51 stations were flooded and some sections of the subway are likely to
remain closed for a long time. On 26 August, CTK reported that Russia
is sending five experts to help assess the damages and assist in the
metro's reconstruction. The former Soviet Union helped Czechoslovakia
build the metro in the 1970s. MS
[52] CZECH POLICE COMBINE SRBA INVESTIGATIONS
Czech police have decided to combine the investigations on former
Foreign Ministry Secretary Karel Srba, CTK reported on 26 August,
citing Srba's lawyer Miroslav Kriznecky. Srba, who is under detention,
is being investigated on suspicion of having commissioned the murder of
journalist Sabina Slonkova, as well as on suspicion of corruption.
Kriznecky also told CTK that Srba suffers from depression and will be
moved from the Plzen na Borech prison where he is currently held to a
psychiatric prison hospital in Brno. Kriznecky said that after one
month of detention, two weeks of which the lawyer said was in complete
isolation, Srba has exhibited suicidal tendencies and suffers from
claustrophobia. MS
[53] SLOVAK PRESIDENT DIAGNOSED WITH GALLBLADDER PROBLEMS
Tests carried on 26 August on ailing Slovak President Rudolf Schuster
revealed gallbladder problems, TASR reported. The agency said that the
president's doctors nonetheless are unable to explain the bout of fever
Schuster suffered from on 25 August before he was returned to the
hospital. Presidential spokesman Jan Fuele told CTK that Austrian
President Thomas Klestil phoned Schuster on 26 August to offer him
treatment at the Innsbruck clinic where Schuster underwent treatment
two years ago after suffering from post-surgery complications. MS
[54] DATE SET FOR SLOVAK LOCAL ELECTIONS
Parliamentary speaker Jozef Migas announced on 26 August that the
Slovak local elections will take place on 6 and 7 December, TASR
reported. MS
[55] FORMER HUNGARIAN MINISTERS REACT TO 'MAGYAR HIRLAP' REVELATIONS
Imre Boros, a former minister who oversaw PHARE funds in Viktor Orban's
cabinet, on 26 August said he was blackmailed into working with
state-security organizations during the communist era, "Nepszabadsag"
reported. Boros said authorities at that time told him that unless he
cooperated they would "prove" he had committed currency-market crimes.
Former Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi again denied that he worked with
state-security organizations and pledged to take legal action after
"Magyar Hirlap" reported that he is alleged to have done so (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 2002). Bela Kadar, another former cabinet
member listed by "Magyar Hirlap," said he has contacted Imre Mecs,
chairman of the parliamentary commission investigating the
secret-service links of government officials, to find out which
documents implicated him. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[56] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONDEMNS KILLING OF MACEDONIAN
POLICEMEN...
Following the killing of two policemen near Gostivar on 26 August,
representatives of the international community held talks with
President Boris Trajkovski, Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, Interior
Minister Ljube Boskovski, and Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule, "Nova
Makedonija" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 2002). After the
meeting, Ambassador Craig Jenness, the head of the OSCE Mission to
Skopje, said, "We believe all leaders and citizens in this country,
regardless of ethnicity, will join us in condemning this despicable and
cowardly act." The government said in a statement that "the murder of
the two Interior Ministry reservists in Gostivar is a
terrorist-extremist act with political goals and represents a challenge
to the democratic processes and, with that, to the security of
Macedonia," Reuters reported. Deutsche Welle's Macedonian Service noted
that Gostivar is not an area known for political violence. UB/PM
[57] ...AS DO POLITICAL PARTIES -- IN PRE-ELECTION STYLE
While the ruling Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
(VMRO-DPMNE) ascribed the incident to "Albanian terrorists," its junior
coalition partner, the Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSH) did not
comment on the killings. Hard-line VMRO-DPMNE Interior Minister Ljube
Boskovski said: "This incident has a political background and [should
be seen in the context of] the attack on army personnel in front of the
Ilinden barracks [see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 August 2002], the attack
near the village of Kondovo, and the attack on civilians on the
Tetovo-Gostivar road." The Social Democratic Union (SDSM) called on
Boskovski to moderate his words and actions and thereby ensure that the
campaign for the 15 September parliamentary elections can be conducted
peacefully, "Utrinski vesnik" reported. Elsewhere, police arrested
eight persons, three of whom were questioned in connection with the
killings. "Dnevnik" also reported that police found weapons and
explosives in one suspect's home. UB
[58] KOSTUNICA CANCELS A MEETING...
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica cancelled a meeting he had
scheduled for 26 August of the two chairmen of the Constitutional
Commission and the signatories of the March Belgrade agreement to
discuss the proposed Constitutional Charter, the BBC's Serbian Service
reported on 27 August (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 26 August 2002).
He took the step after two key participants -- Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Djindjic and Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus --
refused to attend. Kostunica said their refusal means that the
constitutional process "is back to square one," RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported. PM
[59] ...AS SERBIAN-MONTENEGRIN CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS GOES AHEAD
A spokesman for Labus, who is Kostunica's main opponent in the 29
September Serbian presidential elections, told "Vesti" of 27 August
that Labus prefers meeting with peasants on the campaign trail to
taking part in a "political circus." The spokesman called Kostunica's
proposed meeting a throwback to the futile gatherings held by
republican leaders in the late 1980s and early 1990s aimed at holding
former Yugoslavia together. Meanwhile, in Podgorica, the government
made available texts of the charter as agreed by the two republican
governments, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. In Belgrade, Zoran Zivkovic of Djindjic's Democratic Party
announced that copies of the text had been sent to the commission,
Kostunica, and the European Union. But on 27 August, Serbian Deputy
Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic, who heads the Democratic Alternative,
called the proposed charter "unacceptable" because it represents a
Serbian cave-in to Montenegrin demands. PM
[60] SERBIAN-AUSTRALIAN TENNIS STAR ENDORSES EXTREMIST
Jelena Dokic said in a letter from New York on 27 August that she
supports Radical Party candidate Vojislav Seselj for the Serbian
presidency, dpa reported. She wrote him that "only when you, Mr.
Seselj, win, will I have a place to return" to. Her family members are
refugees from Croatia. The current Serbian authorities recently turned
down a proposal by her father, Damir Dokic, to build tennis courts and
a home on prime land in New Belgrade. PM
[61] CROATIAN-SLOVENIAN EXCHANGES READY FOR 'BELIEVE IT OR NOT'
Jozef Jerovsek, who heads the legislative committee charged with
overseeing the secret services, said in Ljubljana on 26 August that the
reason for the recent incidents in the Bay of Piran is that Croatia
wants to destabilize Slovenia and sabotage its attempts to join
Euro-Atlantic institutions ahead of Croatia, Hina reported (see "RFE/RL
Balkan Report," 23 August 2002, and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 26 August
2002). In response, Josip Paro, who is assistant foreign minister of
Croatia, told Croatian Television that Jerovsek's statement "is so
unbelievable that it must be checked in any case. If its true, I
believe it should be placed in a 'believe it or not' column. This is
absolutely ridiculous. It is in Croatia's interest that all of its
neighbors, including Slovenia, join Euro-Atlantic organizations as soon
as possible." PM
[62] CROATIAN-BOSNIA BORDER CROSSING FINALLY OPENED
The border crossing on the Una River at Kostajnica opened on 26 August,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 7 and 8 August 2002). Officials of the two republics
signed a long-delayed document on border crossings. PM
[63] BOSNIA CLOSER TO JOINT DEFENSE MINISTRY?
Meeting in Sarajevo on 26 August, the three-man joint Bosnian
Presidency approved the controversial Permanent Committee for Military
Affairs, dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 22 August 2002).
The committee will consist of the three Presidency members, the
presidents of the two entities, and the country's prime minister and
foreign minister. Voting will be on a majority basis, except on
unspecified "strategic issues," which will require a consensus. It is
not clear what will happen if the fractious Bosnians fail to reach such
an agreement. Zivko Radisic, who is the Serbian member of the
Presidency, opposes a joint Defense Ministry but called the latest
solution "workable." AP called it "half-hearted." NATO insists that
Bosnia must have a unified military and a single Defense Ministry if it
wants to join the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. Also at its 26
August meeting, the Presidency "took note" of a U.S. request for a
bilateral agreement pledging not to turn American citizens over to the
new International Criminal Court (ICC) (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13, 14,
15, 16, and 19 August 2002). PM
[64] MASSIVE SACKING OF BOSNIAN POLICE LOOMS
UN police (IPTF) spokeswoman Kirsten Haupt said in Sarajevo on 27
August that nearly 1,400 police throughout Bosnia could be fired if
they cannot prove by 10 September that they have a legal right to live
where they do, Hina reported. PM
[65] ALBANIAN PYRAMID-SCHEME BOSS ARRESTED
On 26 August, police arrested Rrapush Xhaferri in the village of
Starova, south of Tirana, AP reported. He offered no resistance when
police surprised him during his dinner. He is wanted in connection with
the collapse in 1997 of the Xhaferri's People's Democracy pyramid
scheme and for subsequently fleeing from a prison where he was being
held on fraud charges. He is now in Tirana prison where, as one police
official put it, "he will answer for his sins." PM
[66] ROMANIAN SOLDIERS JOIN COMBAT ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN
Romanian Radio reported on 27 August that the Romanian military
contingent serving in Afghanistan took part the previous day in
"Operation Mountain Trip" aimed at liquidating Al-Qaeda and Taliban
forces in southeastern Afghanistan. This is the first time that the
contingent has taken part in actual combat. The radio said the allied
forces captured 10 prisoners in two clashes, without suffering any
losses. They also discovered five arms cashes, in two of which
documents were hidden. Some 2,000 troops, including U.S. Army Airborne
Rangers and Air Force personnel, as well as Afghan militia,
participated in the operation, which is still ongoing, the radio said.
MS
[67] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT FIRM ON NOT SEEKING ADDITIONAL TERM...
President Ion Iliescu on 26 August said he would not run for an
additional presidential term even if the constitution were amended to
allow it, Mediafax reported. While on a visit to Tulcea, Iliescu said a
"formula must be found based on the premise that Iliescu is not a
candidate in 2004." He said that "the hall of candidates would benefit
from some fresh air." The president said he believes Prime Minister
Adrian Nastase would be the best candidate the Social Democratic Party
(PSD) could name. "Nastase has accumulated experience and I believe a
suitable formula will be found in the end." He also said he believes
the number of presidential terms should not exceed two and that this
provision must not be deleted from the constitution. In response to a
journalist's question, Iliescu said he believes Romania's electorate
"will display enough wisdom" not to vote for Greater Romania Party
Chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor in the event of a Tudor-Nastase
presidential contest. MS
[68] ...AND CONGRATULATES NEW PNL CHAIRMAN
President Iliescu on 26 August congratulated Theodor Stolojan on his
election as chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Romanian
radio reported. Iliescu said in his congratulatory message that he has
good memories of his cooperation with Stolojan during Stolojan's
premiership in 1991-92. He said he hopes their relations will be based
on "mutual respect" and the common duty to serve national interests.
The PSD said in a separate message to Stolojan that it hopes that under
his leadership the PNL will be an "honest political rival" that places
national interests at the top of its list of priorities. Democratic
Party Chairman Traian Basescu said in a message to Stolojan that he
hopes their two parties will "cooperate in opposition" to the PSD and
that he is happy the "turmoil period" in the PNL has come to an end. MS
[69] ROMANIAN ROMA WARN FRANCE, EU AGAINST 'COLLECTIVE INCRIMINATION'
Associations representing Romany organizations in Romania on 26 August
sent a letter to French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy and his
counterparts in the European Union, warning against a "collective
incrimination" of Romanian Roma, Mediafax reported, citing AFP. Against
the background of recent measures taken in France against Roma from
Romania alleged to be involved in human trafficking and in forcing
handicapped Roma into begging in that country, the associations said
the measures intended to curb illegal immigration must not
"collectively incriminate people described as Roma or Gypsies." The
associations also warn that the campaign in the French media might lead
to a growth of interethnic tension in Romania proper. Sarkozy and his
Romanian counterpart Ioan Rus are scheduled to sign an accord in
Bucharest by the end of this month on combating illegal immigration and
the return to Romania of several hundred illegal immigrants, some of
whom are handicapped Roma who were forced into begging in France. MS
[70] HAS MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT BEEN TRAPPED BY MALICIOUS COUNSELING?
The military parade that was to crown Moldova's Independence Day
celebrations of 27 August was canceled on short notice at the request
of the authorities, Romanian radio reported. The parade was replaced by
a ceremony attended by President Vladimir Voronin, Premier Vasile
Tarlev, and other officials, at which a bust representing Romanian
playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912) was unveiled. The unveiling
was originally scheduled for 31 August, when Moldova marks its Language
Day. In his speech on the occasion, Voronin said it was "no
coincidence" that the bust was inaugurated on Moldova's Independence
Day, since Caragiale's ideas "greatly contributed to the social changes
[in Moldova] in the 1980s" and gave an impetus to "the movement of
national rebirth that culminated on 27 August [1991]." Caragiale, a
prominent satirist who had little to do with the Romanian province of
Moldavia and nothing to do with present-day Moldova, would have enjoyed
the occasion, as he excelled in depicting the sort of politicking in
which Voronin has obviously been indulging. MS
[71] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT TO BUY UP WHEAT HARVEST
Agriculture Minister Mehmed Dikme announced on 25 August that the
government will form a grain-commodities fund, BTA reported. The fund
is to purchase some 200,000 tons of wheat at the price of $80 per ton
with the support of the Finance Ministry, and is intended to bypass
traders and middlemen in the wheat trade. "The government is seeking to
stop the present speculation on the grain market," Finance Minister
Milen Velchev said. Dikme added that farmers will also profit from
other measures, including the rescheduling of loan repayments, and
direct subsidies to the State Agriculture Fund for grain storage. In
related news, Sofia Commodities Exchange Executive Director Hristo
Milenkov on 26 August accused organized-crime structures of using the
grain trade for money-laundering operations. "Purchasing grain works
like a washing machine for money. There are people who already in April
could buy 200-300,000 tons of the new wheat harvest at a price of $60
[per ton], but there is no evidence that the banks granted any
credits," "Dnevnik" quoted Milenkov as saying. UB
[72] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO SYRIA
Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi described as "extremely positive" his
meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad on 26 August, BTA
reported. "There is no divergence between the views of Bulgaria and
Syria, especially as regards the view that the Middle East peace
process should be based on the relevant resolutions of the UN Security
Council," Pasi said. He added that the UN, the European Union, the
United States, and Russia play key roles in this process. Regarding
Bulgarian-Syrian relations, Pasi said that "it is an extremely positive
fact that the Syrian prime minister pledged to make arrangements for
the opening of a dialogue on the settlement of Syria's debt to
Bulgaria. Bulgarian firms applying for participation in competitive
biddings in Syria received additional encouragement as a result of this
visit." Pasi's visit to Syria follows recent official contacts with
Libya, Lebanon, and Jordan. It is part of a long-term strategy to
revive Bulgaria's relations with Arab countries after they were reduced
to a minimum under previous governments. UB
END NOTE
[73] There is no END NOTE today.
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