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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-10-07
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN, SHEVARDNADZE SOFTEN RUSSIA-GEORGIA DISCREPANCIES
[02] KARAGANOV CHARACTERIZES CIS DECADE AS FIASCO
[03] BEREZOVSKII SAYS COMMUNIST OPPOSITION IS BETTER THAN NONE...
[04] ...CAUSING LIBERALS, COMMUNISTS TO REDRAW LINES
[05] RUSSIAN MILITARY NEARS DEAL FOR DEVELOPING AIR-DEFENSE SYSTEM
[06] PUTIN ASSURES LUKOIL ITS INTERESTS WILL BE PROTECTED IN IRAQ
[07] CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION DECLARES WINNER IN KRASNOYARSK
[08] ...AS PUTIN'S INTERVENTION IS LABELED 'STRATEGIC MISTAKE'
[09] OPPOSITION CONTINUES TO COMPLAIN ABOUT RACE IN KALMYKIA
[10] RESHUFFLE IN SENIOR COMMUNIST RANKS ALLEGEDLY IN THE WORKS
[11] SUTYAGIN TO REMAIN IN PRISON
[12] SPS TO MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT CURBING THIRD TERMS FOR GOVERNORS
[13] KIRIENKO DISCUSSES HIS FUTURE
[14] BLAMING THE WEATHERMAN
[15] MAN'S BEST FRIEND, BUT NOT CENSUS-TAKERS'
[16] ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONIST NOMINATED AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
[17] ARMENIAN OFFICIALS SEEK TO REASSURE COUNCIL OF EUROPE OVER DEATH
[18] SENIOR FRENCH DIPLOMAT VISITS ARMENIA
[19] REFUELING OF ARMENIAN NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT POSTPONED
[20] AZERBAIJANIS CALL FOR PRESIDENT'S RESIGNATION
[21] GEORGIA EXTRADITES FIVE SUSPECTED CHECHEN MILITANTS TO RUSSIA
[22] CHECHEN QUESTIONED OVER BRITISH BANKING CONSULTANT'S ABDUCTION
[23] ABKHAZ CHARGE TWO WITH THEFT OF CESIUM
[24] DEMONSTRATORS IN KYRGYZSTAN PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR ARRESTED OFFICIALS
[25] FOUR CENTRAL ASIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN DUSHANBE
[26] TURKMEN PRESIDENT UNDERGOES MEDICAL CHECK-UP
[27] UZBEK PRESIDENT HOPES FOR EXTENDED U.S. PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA
[28] BELARUSIAN TOP INVESTIGATOR SUSPENDED
[29] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT APPROVES FIVE-YEAR ANTICORRUPTION PROGRAM
[30] BELARUS, IRAN SIGN 14 COOPERATION DEALS
[31] BELARUSIAN NGOS HOLD CONGRESS
[32] UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS MULL GAS CONSORTIUM
[33] POLISH PREMIER PROPOSES TALKS IN WARSAW BETWEEN UKRAINIAN
[34] UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS MOVE TO CREATE TRADE UNION TO RESIST
[35] ESTONIA'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH MAINTAINS DEMAND FOR LEGAL
[36] POLITICAL RIGHT EMERGES STRONG FROM LATVIAN ELECTIONS
[37] LITHUANIA'S CONSERVATIVES TO SUPPORT ADAMKUS FOR PRESIDENT
[38] TWO POLISH RIGHTIST GROUPS INAUGURATE JOINT LOCAL-ELECTION
[39] POLAND OPENS CEMETERY OF WEHRMACHT SOLDIERS
[40] MURDERER OF SOLIDARITY PRIEST SENTENCED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT IN
[41] FORMER CZECH PREMIER RUNS IN CSSD PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
[42] SOCIAL DEMOCRATS FARING WELL AHEAD OF CZECH SENATE ELECTIONS
[43] CZECH PREMIER EXPECTS POSITIVE EU REPORT
[44] CZECH DEFENSE MINISTER HINTS AT DEEP RIFT WITH MILITARY BRASS
[45] SLOVAK CENTER-RIGHT PARTIES AGREE ON COALITION PACT
[46] PRESSURE ON MECIAR GROWING WITHIN HIS OWN PARTY
[47] CZECH, SLOVAK DEFENSE MINISTERS FORESEE 'UNLIMITED COOPERATION'
[48] SLOVAK DAILIES FINED FOR BREAKING PRE-ELECTION MORATORIUM
[49] HUNGARIAN PREMIER REJECTS FIDESZ TACTIC CONCERNING EU LEGISLATION
[50] FIDESZ THREATENS SUIT OVER CRITICISM OF FORMER HUNGARIAN
[51] BUDAPEST MAYOR SUSPECTS SOCIALIST DEAL WITH OPPOSITION CANDIDATE
[52] NATIONALISTS HEADED FOR VICTORY IN BOSNIAN ELECTIONS...
[53] ...AS RETURNS POUR IN...
[54] ...AND INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE REMINDS ALL WHERE THE POWER
[55] FORMER REBEL COMMANDER ARRESTED IN MACEDONIA
[56] MESIC SUPPORTS CROATIAN GOVERNMENT'S APPEAL TO THE HAGUE
[57] SERBIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FORESEES PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS --
[58] SERBIAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SCHEDULED FOR 9 OCTOBER
[59] JOURNALISTS PROTEST POLITICIZATION OF MONTENEGRIN TELEVISION
[60] ROMANIAN PREMIER IN FRANCE
[61] ROMANIA WELCOMES RUMORED EU ACCESSION TIMETABLE
[62] MADL ENDS ROMANIAN VISIT WITH INAUGURATION OF ACADEMIC YEAR IN
[63] CIS SUMMIT STARTS IN MOLDOVA...
[64] ...AS CHISINAU LAWMAKERS REVOKE RESERVATIONS TO CIS ACCORD
[65] RUSSIAN MILITARY CONVOY DEPARTS FROM TRANSDNIESTER
[66] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO TURKEY...
[67] ...AND SPEAKS ABOUT IRAQI QUESTION
[68] BULGARIAN FINANCE MINISTER SAYS FOREIGN DEBT DROPPING
[69] ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER IN BULGARIA PROMISES INVESTMENT IN
[70] There is no End Note today.
7 October 2002
RUSSIA
[01] PUTIN, SHEVARDNADZE SOFTEN RUSSIA-GEORGIA DISCREPANCIES
Ahead of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit that began
on 7 October in Chisinau, President Vladimir Putin met with his
Georgian counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze on 6 October, Russian and
Western news agencies reported. Putin said after the meeting that the
two leaders discussed the main problems that exist between their
countries as well as cooperation in combating terrorism. Putin told
journalists that relations between the two countries have recently
fallen to their lowest level in the post-Soviet era, adding that he and
Shevardnadze agreed to appoint permanent special envoys for resolving
bilateral issues. Putin also announced agreement on intensifying
contacts between the countries' secret services and on cooperation
between their border-guard services, including jointly patrolling their
common border. Putin expressed his satisfaction with the talks and said
the "quality of bilateral relations" has improved, RIA-Novosti
reported. However, the official press release issued by the Russian
presidential press service following the talks stated, "Moscow reserves
for itself the right to individual or collective self-defense if
Georgia does not put an end to bandit assaults on the neighboring
regions of Russian territory." VY
[02] KARAGANOV CHARACTERIZES CIS DECADE AS FIASCO
On the eve of the CIS summit, Sergei Karaganov, the chairman of the
influential Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, told strana.ru of 7
October that the CIS has failed as an alliance and that the only role
it played was to dampen the shock following the collapse of the Soviet
Union. He said the CIS cannot play the role of an integrating mechanism
because all CIS states have their own political and
economic-development priorities and are in various stages of economic
reform. He noted that while integration would presumably envisage
economic expansion, the CIS states have over the last decade
experienced a shrinking of their economies. At the summit beginning on
7 October, the leaders of 11 of the 13 CIS member states, including
President Putin, are expected to focus primarily on cooperation in
combating both terrorism and the trafficking of illegal drugs, and in
jointly protecting their borders, according to Russian media. The
two-day meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the CIS. VY
[03] BEREZOVSKII SAYS COMMUNIST OPPOSITION IS BETTER THAN NONE...
An interview with Boris Berezovskii was published in "Zavtra," No. 40,
in which the self-exiled media magnate and oligarch expresses his
desire to support the left and the antipresidential opposition,
including the Communist Party. Aleksandr Prokhanov, the publisher of
the anti-Western and pro-imperial weekly, conducted the interview.
Berezovskii touted the role that he played in defeating the Communists
in the 1996 presidential elections and his self-described part in
selecting Putin as former President Boris Yeltsin's successor in 1999.
Berezovskii said he believes he made a mistake as far as Putin is
concerned because Putin's victory was "not a victory of an ideology or
a variant of [national] development, but a victory of the special
services, and a victory of the special services is a tragedy for any
nation." Berezovskii said that all opposition is suppressed under
Putin, leading him to the conclusion that the Communist Party is not
the greatest danger to Russia and that it is better to have Communist
opposition in the country than none at all. Berezovskii repeated his
long-standing claim that the Federal Security Service (FSB) provoked
the second Chechen war in 1999, a hypothesis shared by Prokhanov in his
book "Gospodin Geksogen" ("Mr. Gexogen") (see "RFE/RL Security and
Terrorism Watch," 12 June 2002). VY
[04] ...CAUSING LIBERALS, COMMUNISTS TO REDRAW LINES
Sergei Yushenkov, the leader of the Berezovskii-supported Liberal
Russia party, said he and his colleagues have decided to expel
Berezovskii from the leadership of their party because any cooperation
with the Communist Party is unacceptable to them, NTV and other Russian
media reported on 5 October. Meanwhile, "Ekho Moskvy" quoted
Berezovskii as saying the same day that he understands Yushenkov's
position, as he has had difficulties in registering his party (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 23 September 2002), but that he will continue to
provide financial support to Liberal Russia despite his differences
with the party leadership. Meanwhile, in an interview published on 4
October by the Berezovskii-controlled "Nezavisimaya gazeta," Communist
Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) leader Gennadii Zyuganov harshly
criticized Putin. Zyuganov said Putin has compromised the entire
electoral system in Russia and has failed as guarantor of the Russian
Constitution. "Putin cannot guarantee anything to anybody, except war
in Chechnya, smog over Moscow, a split with Belarus, new threats to
Georgia, and unfettered crime," Zyuganov said. VY
[05] RUSSIAN MILITARY NEARS DEAL FOR DEVELOPING AIR-DEFENSE SYSTEM
"Kommersant-Daily" reported on 7 October that Russia is close to inking
a $4 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates that would help finance
the next generation of the Russian air-defense system. According to the
daily, the UAE would provide funds to Russian defense contractor Almaz
for research and development of a unique antiaircraft system that would
be supplied exclusively to the Russian military and the UAE. In order
to carry out such a large contract, Russia plans to create a new
defense concern called Antei-Almaz, which would be under the
supervision of the deputy chief of the presidential staff, Viktor
Ivanov, according to the newspaper. VY
[06] PUTIN ASSURES LUKOIL ITS INTERESTS WILL BE PROTECTED IN IRAQ
President Putin has assured the management of LUKoil, which has several
billion dollars' worth of contracts with Iraqi oil companies, that even
if Saddam Hussein's regime is toppled, the company's interests in Iraq
will not be damaged, the "Financial Times" quoted LUKoil President
Vagit Alekperov as saying, rusenergy.ru reported. Meanwhile, LUKoil
spokesman Mikhail Dolgov confirmed that the Russian government has
promised that during its negotiations with the United States over the
Iraq issue, it will defend LUKoil's interests as the "top national
priority," pravda.ru reported on 7 October. The website also quoted
Dolgov as saying the Iraqi government has tried to persuade his company
to restart suspended projects before UN sanctions are lifted but that
LUKoil "does not want to compromise Russia's status as a member of the
UN Security Council." VY
[07] CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION DECLARES WINNER IN KRASNOYARSK
RACE...
The Central Election Commission (TsIK) decided unanimously on 4 October
to cancel an earlier decision of the Krasnoyarsk Krai election
commission to annul the results of the krai's 22 September
gubernatorial elections, Russian news agencies reported. However, the
TsIK stopped short of disbanding its regional counterpart. TsIK
Chairman Aleksandr Veshnyakov said the central commission is preparing
an appeal to dismiss the krai commission that will be sent to a
Krasnoyarsk court, according to Interfax. The TsIK also confirmed
Aleksandr Khloponin's election as governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai.
Khloponin was named acting governor by President Putin on 3 October
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 October 2002). JAC
[08] ...AS PUTIN'S INTERVENTION IS LABELED 'STRATEGIC MISTAKE'
Meanwhile, a number of Moscow-based analysts and policymakers told
Yenisei-Inform that they consider President Putin's decision to
intervene personally in the conflict a mistake, regions.ru reported on
4 October. Oleg Sysuev, first deputy chairman of the board of directors
of Alfa-Bank and former first deputy presidential administration head,
said Putin made a "big strategic mistake." According to Sysuev, the
Kremlin has tried to explained its actions by saying, "'We didn't
interfere [initially], and look how illegally everything happened.'"
But, Sysuev continued, Russia is in the process of trying to build a
civil society, which entails trusting the electorate, and the Kremlin's
intervention and rationale undermine this process. Aleksandr Gerasimov,
director of the analytical publication "24," commented that, "Putin
intervened to show that he is master of the house. There is no other
explanation -- there was no necessity to intervene." Communist Deputy
Viktor Ilyukhin concurred, noting that Putin acted in order to "show
that he controls everything in Russia." JAC
[09] OPPOSITION CONTINUES TO COMPLAIN ABOUT RACE IN KALMYKIA
One of 11 presidential candidates in the 20 October presidential
election in Kalmykia, Nikolai Ochirov, who is the general director of
Nikoil-Kalmykia, told reporters in Moscow on 4 October that
"unprecedented violations of election law" are taking place in the
republic, and he called on central authorities to exert tighter control
over the proceedings, RIA-Novosti reported. According to Ochirov, local
television and newspapers "show only one face" -- that of Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, the incumbent president who is seeking re-election,
polit.ru reported. According to Ochirov, only three of the 11
candidates are actually opposition candidates to Ilyumzhinov, while the
remainder "have conducted open or secret negotiations with the
authorities." Meanwhile, in an interview with Radio Mayak the next day,
Veshnyakov commented that "everyone understands that there is a lack of
democratic tradition in Kalmykia." He added that the commission has had
"to cancel decisions of the Kalmykian election commission twice to
bring them into line with federal law" and that now the commission's
representatives "have to stay there all the time to avoid another silly
mistake, causing enmity to be stirred up." JAC
[10] RESHUFFLE IN SENIOR COMMUNIST RANKS ALLEGEDLY IN THE WORKS
"Komsomolskaya pravda" reported on 5 October that Communist State Duma
Deputy Sergei Glaziev, who recently finished third in Krasnoyarsk Krai
gubernatorial elections, might head the Communist Party's list of
candidates for the State Duma, while the party's current leader,
Gennadii Zyuganov, would be offered the second spot. According to the
paper, it is reportedly hoped that Glaziev, who is 41 years old, would
attract younger voters. The newspaper also alleged that General Vitalii
Pavlov, a former Russian Army aviation commander in Chechnya, along
with the current Black Sea Fleet commander, Admiral Vladimir Komoedov,
may also be included among the party's top five candidates. According
to TV-6, Glaziev, Pavlov, and Komoedov have discounted the paper's
report. JAC
[11] SUTYAGIN TO REMAIN IN PRISON
The Moscow City Court ruled on 4 October to extend the imprisonment of
Igor Sutyagin, a researcher at the Moscow-based Institute of the U.S.A.
and Canada, beyond 8 October, despite a 2 October Supreme Court ruling
that his detention is illegal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 October 2002).
Sutyagin was arrested in October 1999 on suspicion of treason.
According to the website http://www.case52.org, the city court's
decision to consider Sutyagin's case so quickly after the Supreme
Court's ruling was unexpected; however, the FSB, which leveled the
original accusations, was fully prepared for the hearing and argued in
court that Sutyagin has "an open visa to Italy" that he could possibly
use to flee the country. Sutyatin's lawyers plan to appeal the city
court's ruling. JAC
[12] SPS TO MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT CURBING THIRD TERMS FOR GOVERNORS
In an interview with "Gazeta" on 4 October, Boris Nadezhdin, the first
deputy head of the Union of Rightist Forces faction in the Duma, said
he has prepared a new bill that would ban third terms for governors.
According to Nadezhdin, the bill will be introduced to the Duma soon. A
similar bill was passed by the State Duma last year but failed in the
Federation Council. Nadezhdin said that "time is on his side" because
there are no longer any governors left in the upper legislative chamber
who are directly interested in a third term. According to the daily,
Nadezhdin is counting on winning support from the Kremlin for his bill,
since the last bill also had the backing of the presidential
administration. JAC
[13] KIRIENKO DISCUSSES HIS FUTURE
In an interview with TV-6 on 6 October, presidential envoy to the Volga
Federal District Sergei Kirienko revealed that he plans to leave
politics for a job in Russian industry within "three or four years."
Kirienko said he has "no such ambition" as being president and would
like in the future to be "a manager of a business." He said he would
not be interested in running Unified Energy Systems (EES), adding that
"the job would need to be interesting." Kirienko said he considers
"what happens at the Gorkii Automobile Works [GAZ] to be exceptionally
interesting." Kirienko also commented on how he came to be appointed
presidential envoy. He said that in May 2000, he had a conversation
with President Putin in which he announced he was planning to run for
governor of Nizhnii Novgorod Oblast, and three days later he was
offered a job as envoy for the newly created federal districts. JAC
[14] BLAMING THE WEATHERMAN
Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinskii has filed criminal charges
of negligence against Novorossiisk Mayor Valerii Prokhorenko and Yansen
Danilchuk, the head of the weather forecasting service in
Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Russian news agencies reported on 4 October.
Fridinskii told reporters that both officials displayed carelessness
and performed their duties in an inappropriate manner during the floods
that affected the Southern Federal District last summer (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 3 July 2002). According to Interfax, Fridinskii added that
more than 20 criminal cases have been prepared and some people have
been convicted of theft and marauding during the floods. JAC
[15] MAN'S BEST FRIEND, BUT NOT CENSUS-TAKERS'
ORT reported on 4 October that as Russia gears up for its first
nationwide census in more than a decade, some census-takers are
refusing to do their jobs because they have been menaced by unleashed
dogs. State Statistics Committee Chairman Viktor Sokolin said, "Some
people may find this funny, but it's a problem that is afflicting more
and more of our census-takers." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mikhail
Kasyanov has urged all regional authorities to assist in the
census-taking process and to promote public participation. JAC
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[16] ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONIST NOMINATED AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
At a congress in Yerevan on 5 October, the National Unity Party
nominated its chairman, Artashes Geghamian, as its candidate for the
February presidential election, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.
Accepting that nomination, Geghamian vowed that he will not under any
circumstances agree to step down in favor of a rival candidate
representing the 16 opposition parties that agreed in principle in late
August to field a single candidate in that ballot (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 30 August 2002). Leaders of the other 15 parties attended
the congress but played down the significance of Geghamian's
nomination. LF
[17] ARMENIAN OFFICIALS SEEK TO REASSURE COUNCIL OF EUROPE OVER DEATH
PENALTY
During talks in Yerevan on 3 October, Armenian President Robert
Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian assured Council of
Europe Human Rights Commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles that Armenia will
indeed abolish capital punishment completely and unconditionally by the
June 2003 deadline set by the council, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan
bureau reported on 4 October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 September 2002
and 4 October 2002). Parliamentary deputies -- including deputy speaker
Togran Torosian, who also met with Gil-Robles -- object to scrapping a
legal loophole that would provide for handing down the death penalty to
the five gunmen currently on trial for shooting eight senior officials
in the parliamentary chamber in October 1999. LF
[18] SENIOR FRENCH DIPLOMAT VISITS ARMENIA
On the final leg of his tour of the South Caucasus states, Renaud
Muselier, who is French Foreign Ministry state secretary, met on 4
October with senior Armenian officials to discuss bilateral relations
and France's ongoing participation as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group in efforts to mediate a solution to the Karabakh conflict, Noyan
Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Muselier said he is "very
optimistic and confident" about the prospects for reaching a solution
to the conflict. He also noted that Armenia has made considerable
progress on the path of democratization over the past decade. LF
[19] REFUELING OF ARMENIAN NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT POSTPONED
Gagik Markosian, who is acting director of the Medzamor nuclear-power
plant, told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 5 October that the planned
shutdown of the plant to prepare for refueling, originally scheduled
for 11 October, has been postponed for one week. But he denied that
decision is due to problems over wage arrears owed to the plant's
personnel, who last year threatened to strike to demand their unpaid
salaries (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 and 29 June and 3 August 2001). LF
[20] AZERBAIJANIS CALL FOR PRESIDENT'S RESIGNATION
Participants at a march in Baku on 5 October called for the resignation
of President Heidar Aliev and the annulment of the results of the 24
August referendum on constitutional amendments, Turan and Reuters
reported. They condemned Aliev's administration as corrupt and
powerless to resolve the Karabakh conflict. Estimates of the number of
participants ranged from 4,000-10,000. Although the city authorities
granted permission on 4 October to hold the march, students at the
state and some private universities in Baku were warned not to attend,
according to Turan. No clashes were reported between demonstrators and
police who watched the march. LF
[21] GEORGIA EXTRADITES FIVE SUSPECTED CHECHEN MILITANTS TO RUSSIA
On 3 October, Georgia extradited to Russia five of the 13 suspected
Chechen gunmen detained in early August after having illegally crossed
the frontier from Chechnya into Georgia, Interfax and Caucasus Press
reported the following day. The men have been charged with attempting
to murder police, membership in illegal armed formations, illegal
possession of weapons, and leaving the Russian Federation illegally,
Interfax reported on 5 October. Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General
Sergei Fridinskii said the same day that he expects the remaining eight
Chechens to be extradited shortly. Some 200 Chechen refugees and local
Kists from villages in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge staged a demonstration
on 5 October to protest the extraditions, Interfax reported. The
participants said they fear the men will be executed without trial. LF
[22] CHECHEN QUESTIONED OVER BRITISH BANKING CONSULTANT'S ABDUCTION
Khizri Aldamov, who is the unofficial representative in Georgia of
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, was summoned on 4 October to the
Georgian Prosecutor-General's Office for questioning regarding the
abduction in June in Tbilisi of British banking consultant Peter Shaw,
Interfax reported. Also on 4 October, Caucasus Press quoted Georgian
Interior Ministry spokesman Paata Gomelauri as saying an unspecified
number of people whom he did not identify have been arrested in
connection with Shaw's kidnapping. LF
[23] ABKHAZ CHARGE TWO WITH THEFT OF CESIUM
The Abkhaz National Security Service has arrested two people on
suspicion of stealing radioactive cesium from an Academy of Sciences
research facility two months ago, Caucasus Press reported on 4 October
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 and 2 July 2002). The two detainees have
confessed to the theft. Speaking in Tbilisi on 4 October, Giorgi
Gachechiladze, leader of Georgia's Greens, claimed that the level of
background radioactivity in Abkhazia exceeds the permitted norm by a
factor of 30 to 150, Caucasus Press reported. Gachechiladze also
claimed the Abkhaz leadership plans to build an underground vault to
store radioactive waste from Russian and Armenian nuclear-power plants.
But a Georgian Environment and Natural Resources Ministry official on 5
October cast doubt on Gachechiladze's claims, Caucasus Press reported.
He said that two months ago his ministry supplied the unrecognized
republic with equipment to monitor radiation levels "and they voiced no
concern." LF
[24] DEMONSTRATORS IN KYRGYZSTAN PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR ARRESTED OFFICIALS
Between 350-600 people took part in two demonstrations in Djalalabad
Oblast on 4 October to demand that charges against local officials for
their alleged role in the shooting of five demonstrators during
protests in Aksy on 17-18 March be dropped, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
reported. In a missive addressed to President Askar Akaev and Prime
Minister Nikolai Tanaev, the protesters warned that they will launch a
protest march to Bishkek unless the men are released by 10 October. The
trial, scheduled for 30 September, of six men accused in connection
with the Aksy deaths, has been postponed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 and
3 October 2002). LF
[25] FOUR CENTRAL ASIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN DUSHANBE
The presidents of the Central Asia Cooperation member states
(Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) met in Dushanbe on
5-6 October to discuss removing customs barriers, expanding cooperation
in the energy sector, and the rational use of the region's water
resources, Russian news agencies reported. They proposed establishing a
UN commission to study ways of preventing the death of the Aral Sea and
agreed to hold an international forum in September 2003 on the use of
water resources. Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov suggested again reviewing
the possibility of diverting Russian rivers to Central Asia "if Russia
agrees," Interfax reported on 6 October (see "End Note," "RFE/RL
Newsline," 30 September 2002). LF
[26] TURKMEN PRESIDENT UNDERGOES MEDICAL CHECK-UP
Saparmurat Niyazov is in very good health and his cardiovascular system
functions normally, according to German cardiac specialist Professor
Hans Meissner, who performed bypass surgery on Niyazov five years ago.
Meissner has traveled to Ashgabat to conduct follow-up examinations at
four- to six-month intervals since then (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29
January 2002). LF
[27] UZBEK PRESIDENT HOPES FOR EXTENDED U.S. PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Arriving in Dushanbe on 5 October to participate in the Central Asian
Cooperation summit (see above), President Karimov said that the United
States "must remain [in Central Asia] as long as it's needed to
guarantee peace and stability...and to secure peace and mutual
understanding in Afghanistan," AP reported. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[28] BELARUSIAN TOP INVESTIGATOR SUSPENDED
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has temporarily suspended Deputy
Interior Minister Leanid Hlukhouski, the head of the ministry's
investigation department, from performing his duties, Belapan reported
on 7 October. Lukashenka's decision follows the 5 October conference
the president held with Security Council Secretary Henadz Nyavyhlas,
Prosecutor-General Viktar Sheyman, State Monitoring Committee head
Anatol Tozik, and other officials regarding corruption in state bodies.
Belarusian Television said the conference confirmed that "some
officials, including those in law enforcement bodies" are involved in
"lobbying interests of commercial structures." JM
[29] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT APPROVES FIVE-YEAR ANTICORRUPTION PROGRAM
President Lukashenka has issued a decree authorizing a state
anticorruption program for 2002-06, Belapan reported on 6 October. The
program envisages the regulation of public servants' activities in
order to prevent corruption in government agencies; the introduction of
administrative penalties for compromising government agencies and
practicing lucrative protectionism; the introduction of criminological
examinations of draft regulations regarding legal relations in the
financial, economic, environmental, educational, healthcare, and
social-security spheres; and the development of an efficient system of
public control over the government, among other measures. JM
[30] BELARUS, IRAN SIGN 14 COOPERATION DEALS
Belarus and Iran signed 14 agreements during a joint
economic-commission meeting in Minsk last week, IRNA reported on 6
October, quoting Iranian Trade Minister Mohammad Shariat-Madari. The
two sides agreed on a $20 million line of credit for Belarusian traders
conducting business with Iran, a $100 million construction project in
Minsk, and the joint production of some 2,500 buses annually in Iran.
"There are no differences in the political views of the leaders of our
countries. There are no topics that are off-limits for cooperation," AP
quoted Belarusian President Lukashenka as saying at a meeting with
Shariat-Madari in Minsk on 4 October. JM
[31] BELARUSIAN NGOS HOLD CONGRESS
A congress of the Assembly of Democratic Nongovernmental Organizations
in Minsk on 5-6 October elected 26 NGO leaders and activists to the
assembly's "working group," Belapan reported. This group will
reportedly be expanded with representatives of those NGOs that were
unable to take part in the congress. The congress ended with the
adoption of a resolution on human rights and civil society in Belarus,
and of a statement in defense of the country's independence. Some
raised objections to the validity of resolutions adopted during the
congress, arguing that 190 delegates attended the forum on its first
day and only 64 on the second. The Belarusian Association of
Journalists (BAZh) called on NGOs at the congress to participate in the
collection of signatures for a BAZh petition to annul the Criminal
Code's articles that penalize the slandering and insulting of the
president and other government officials. JM
[32] UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS MULL GAS CONSORTIUM
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and President Putin met in
Zaporizhzhya on 6 October to mark the 70th anniversary of the
Soviet-built Dniprohes hydropower station, Ukrainian and international
news agencies reported. Putin said talks on forming an international
gas-pipeline consortium in Ukraine are "not advancing easily," but he
added that Russia is still interested in taking part in the deal. "If
Russia stays out of this project, we will search for other options by
building other pipelines; but doing so without taking into account
Ukraine's national interests would be absolutely foolish," AP quoted
Putin as saying. Kuchma said that an agreement on the consortium will
be signed on 7 October, during a CIS summit in Chisinau. Some 300
representatives of the Socialist Party, the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc, and
the Communist Party demonstrated against Kuchma in Zaporizhzhya under
the slogan "Putin, Don't Give a Hand to Kuchma," UNIAN reported. JM
[33] POLISH PREMIER PROPOSES TALKS IN WARSAW BETWEEN UKRAINIAN
GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION
Polish Premier Leszek Miller proposed in Lviv on 4 October that
Ukraine's ruling and opposition circles meet in Warsaw on 15-16 October
at an international conference devoted to Ukrainian prospects amid NATO
and EU enlargement, Polish and Ukrainian media reported. Miller, who
attended an economic forum in Lviv, met with Ukrainian Premier Anatoliy
Kinakh as well as with opposition Socialist Party leader Oleksandr
Moroz and Our Ukraine activists Viktor Pynzenyk and Borys Tarasyuk. "We
will take part in this conference [in Warsaw] and are ready for
discussion," UNIAN quoted Kinakh as saying. Our Ukraine reportedly said
it is also ready to conduct a dialogue with the authorities outside
Ukraine with the mediation of European leaders. JM
[34] UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS MOVE TO CREATE TRADE UNION TO RESIST
CENSORSHIP
More than 100 journalists from various Ukrainian media outlets met in
Kyiv on 5 October and formed a working group for creating an
independent journalists' trade union to combat official coercion, an
RFE/RL correspondent reported. "I know that only the top people have
come today because the disaffection in journalists' circles with what's
happening is very large. Therefore, I believe that in this hall we can
have not just 100 people, but thousands of journalists who want to
change things for the better," said television journalist Andriy
Shevchenko, who resigned his job in September over what he said was
official meddling and censorship. The meeting decided that apart from
tackling the censorship issue through talks with the government, the
new organization will provide legal and financial help to journalists
who lose their jobs as a result of official pressure. The meeting
demanded that parliament hold hearings on government censorship and
that the prosecutor-general begin criminal investigations into
government attempts at censorship. JM
[35] ESTONIA'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH MAINTAINS DEMAND FOR LEGAL
SUCCESSION
Metropolitan Cornelius, head of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the
Moscow Patriarchate, said on 4 October that his church is not
abandoning its demand to be recognized as the legal successor to the
Orthodox Church that existed in Estonia before World War II, BNS
reported. He expressed satisfaction, however, with the government's
official handover that day of 18 churches and congregational buildings
to be used for 50 years for a symbolic rent of one kroon per month. The
Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which Estonia has recognized as the
legal successor, is subordinate to the Constantinople Patriarchate. It
ceded to the government the de facto use of the 18 buildings in
exchange for government aid of 35.5 million kroons ($2.2 million) to
renovate 28 of its churches. SG
[36] POLITICAL RIGHT EMERGES STRONG FROM LATVIAN ELECTIONS
More than 72 percent of eligible voters, or about 990,000 people,
turned out for elections to the Latvian parliament on 5 October and
cast their ballots for 20 tickets and 1,019 candidates, LETA reported
on the same day. According to preliminary results from LETA on 6 and 7
October, six parties cleared the 5 percent threshold for seats in the
100-member parliament. They include: New Era won 26 seats; For Human
Rights in a United Latvia (PCTVL), 24; People's Party, 21; the Union of
Greens and Farmers (ZZS), 12; Latvia's First Party, 10; and For the
Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK, seven seats. All are right-of-center
parties except the leftist PCTVL, which also enjoys strong support
within the Russian minority. Voters cast 16.07 percent of the ballots
for parties that did not gain seats, the news agency reported,
including two that were represented in the previous parliament: the
right-of-center Latvia's Way (4.88 percent) and the leftist Latvian
Social Democratic Workers' Party (4.02 percent). New Era Chairman
Einars Repse is expected to be asked to form the next government, but
it is still unclear who might participate in the ruling coalition. SG
[37] LITHUANIA'S CONSERVATIVES TO SUPPORT ADAMKUS FOR PRESIDENT
A conference of the Homeland Union (Conservatives of Lithuania) in
Vilnius on 5 October decided, with no dissenters and just six
abstentions, to support the candidacy of incumbent Valdas Adamkus for
president, BNS reported. On 3 October, the Central Election Commission
accepted the candidacies of 17 people, but they still must gather the
signatures of at least 20,000 eligible voters to gain official
registration. The Conservatives as well as the Modern Christian
Democrats are helping to gather signatures for Adamkus. The same day,
the second Lithuanian Rightists' Union Congress elected former Interior
Minister Vidmantas Ziemelis as the party's new chairman but did not
officially support any candidate for president. The New Union (Social
Liberals) announced that it has already gathered 27,000 signatures for
the presidential candidacy of its leader, parliamentary Chairman
Arturas Paulauskas. SG
[38] TWO POLISH RIGHTIST GROUPS INAUGURATE JOINT LOCAL-ELECTION
CAMPAIGN
On 6 October in Wroclaw, the Civic Platform (PO) and Law and Justice
(PiS) launched their joint local-election campaign, PAP reported.
"Wroclaw is one of the few cities in Poland -- besides Warsaw and the
Tri-City [Gdansk, Gdynia, and Sopot] -- that have never been governed
by the left wing since the [democratic] transformation in 1989-90," a
PO activist told the agency. The PO-PiS coalition agreed on common
lists of candidates to 14 provincial assemblies. In Warsaw, however, PO
leader Andrzej Olechowski will challenge PiS leader Lech Kaczynski in
the race for the mayor's seat. According to a CBOS poll conducted last
month, 58 percent of respondents said they will go to the polls on 27
October, while 17 percent remained undecided. Regarding the election to
provincial assemblies, 25 percent of respondents said they will vote
for the leftist Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union coalition, 15
percent for POPiS, and 8 percent for Self-Defense. Nine percent of
respondents said they will vote for independent candidates. JM
[39] POLAND OPENS CEMETERY OF WEHRMACHT SOLDIERS
A cemetery containing the remains of some 13,000 German soldiers who
died in southwestern Poland during World War II was opened in Nadolice
Wielkie, near Wroclaw, on 5 October in an official ceremony attended by
relatives of some of those killed, Polish and international news
agencies reported. Some 8,500 bodies were identified prior to
reinterment. Poland has 10 other burial sites of former Wehrmacht
soldiers. JM
[40] MURDERER OF SOLIDARITY PRIEST SENTENCED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT IN
POLAND
The Regional Court in Lodz on 4 October sentenced Grzegorz Piotrowski,
the killer of Solidarity Chaplain Jerzy Popieluszko in October 1984, to
eight months in prison for defamation, PAP reported. Piotrowski
compared Polish courts to a "circus" and judges to "clowns" in a
television interview in March 2000, the news agency reported.
Piotrowski was released from prison in August 2001 after serving a
15-year sentence for the Popieluszko murder. JM
[41] FORMER CZECH PREMIER RUNS IN CSSD PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman will run in the primaries being
conducted by the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) to select a candidate
for next year's presidential election, CTK reported on 4 October,
citing CSSD Deputy Chairwoman Marie Souckova. Souckova told the agency
that Zeman, former Justice Minister Jaroslav Bures, Ombudsman Otakar
Motejl, and sociologist Martin Potucek are the only four candidates who
have agreed in writing to run for the post. The primaries will be
conducted between 22 October and 25 November and will be open to
non-CSSD members as well. In an interview with the daily "Lidove
noviny" on 5 October, Senate Chairman Petr Pithart, who is the
presidential candidate of the Christian Democratic Union-People's Party
(KDU-CSL), said he considers Motejl the most suitable candidate for the
post. Also on 5 October, Freedom Union-Democratic Union (US-DEU) acting
Chairman Ivan Pilip told journalists that he thinks the three governing
parties -- the CSSD, the KDU-CSL, and the US-DEU -- should discuss
endorsing the same candidate in the presidential election. MS
[42] SOCIAL DEMOCRATS FARING WELL AHEAD OF CZECH SENATE ELECTIONS
CSSD candidates are leading in 11 of the 27 constituencies that will be
contested in Senate elections scheduled for the end of October and
early November, CTK reported on 5 October, citing a public-opinion poll
conducted by the SC&C polling institute. KDU-CSL candidates are ahead
in five constituencies, while candidates from the opposition Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) are leading in another five constituencies.
Candidates from the US-DEU and the Communist Party of Bohemia and
Moravia (KSCM) will win in one constituency each, the poll suggested.
In the remaining four constituencies, candidates representing
nonparliamentary formations are ahead, according to the survey. MS
[43] CZECH PREMIER EXPECTS POSITIVE EU REPORT
Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said on 6 October that he expects the
European Commission to be mainly positive on the Czech Republic in its
annual assessment of progress in preparations for EU accession due to
be released on 9 October, CTK reported. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda
said in Brussels on 4 October after talks with Danish Foreign Minister
Per Stig Moeller that his country insists on ensuring that Czech
farmers will be in a position to benefit from fair competitive terms
after accession and that Prague will not agree to accession conditions
under which it is initially a net contributor. Svoboda also said the
Czech Republic is insisting on more seats in the European Parliament --
22 rather than 20 -- to match the representation of comparably sized
members, CTK reported. A public-opinion poll released by GfK Praha on 4
October showed that support for EU accession has grown by 12 percentage
points since April and is now 53 percent, while opposition to
membership has dropped from 36 to 25 percent. MS
[44] CZECH DEFENSE MINISTER HINTS AT DEEP RIFT WITH MILITARY BRASS
Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said in an extensive interview with
the daily "Mlada fronta Dnes" of 5 October that he is "at rock bottom"
and suggested he is battling a serious lack of cooperation from his
"subordinates." He said the only advantage he has over elements who
believe that "politicians come and go, but soldiers remain and are
untouchable" is that he has "nothing to lose." Tvrdik, a 34-year-old
Czech military-academy graduate, said the army's leadership structure
is too broad and perpetuates a "stereotypical system that does not
require people to think." Tvrdik told the daily, "We're super in risky
missions abroad, we're managing the floods perfectly, but we are
failing in every other activity." AH
[45] SLOVAK CENTER-RIGHT PARTIES AGREE ON COALITION PACT
A beaming Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda on 4 October announced to
journalists in Bratislava that "from this moment on, Slovakia has a new
government." In talks the same day with leaders of the center-right
parties that are to form the next government, he said, "We agreed on
everything that was necessary to agree on in order for a new coalition
government to emerge," RFE/RL's Bratislava bureau reported. The new
cabinet comprises Dzurinda's own Slovak Democratic and Christian Union
(SDKU), the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), the Christian Democratic
Movement (KDH), and media magnate Pavol Rusko's Alliance for New
Citizens (ANO). Dzurinda also said that KDH Chairman Pavol Hrusovsky is
to become the next speaker of parliament. Hrusovsky said he wants to
restore public confidence in the legislature through "improved
behavior" by its members and better communication among political
parties, TASR reported. MS
[46] PRESSURE ON MECIAR GROWING WITHIN HIS OWN PARTY
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) board Chairman Jan Gabriel
said on TV Markiza on 6 October that he supports a change at the top of
the party and that HZDS Chairman Vladimir Meciar should be replaced by
his deputy chairman, Vojtech Tkac, TASR reported. Gabriel said the HZDS
is facing isolation both at home and abroad, adding that Tkac is one of
the few members of its leadership capable of leading it out of the
wilderness. Gabriel also said "everyone" in the party "wants an
evaluation of the election results and a new strategy for the future,"
according to TASR. He said an extraordinary congress should be called
for this purpose within three-four months. On 4 October, the HZDS
parliamentary group re-elected Tibor Cabaj as its chairman. The
Communist Party of Slovakia the same day elected Ivan Hopta as its
parliamentary group leader, TASR reported. MS
[47] CZECH, SLOVAK DEFENSE MINISTERS FORESEE 'UNLIMITED COOPERATION'
Meeting in Kosice on 5 October, visiting Czech Defense Minister
Jaroslav Tvrdik and his Slovak counterpart Jozef Stank said they are
confident that Slovakia will be invited to join NATO at that
organization's Prague summit in November, CTK reported. Following that
invitation, according to Tvrdik, the "possibilities of further
development of cooperation between the two armies seem to be almost
unlimited." Tvrdik said the two countries could cooperate, among other
things, in joint air defense, CTK reported. He also said Slovakia is
well-prepared for NATO accession because it has begun reforming its
military well ahead of joining the alliance, according to TASR. MS
[48] SLOVAK DAILIES FINED FOR BREAKING PRE-ELECTION MORATORIUM
The Culture Ministry on 5 October imposed a fine of 5,000 crowns ($116)
on the daily "Novy cas" and one of 10,000 crowns on the daily "Pravda"
for breaking a moratorium on election coverage ahead of the voting,
TASR reported, citing TV Markiza. The two dailies can appeal the
decision within 15 days. "Pravda" Editor in Chief Petr Sabata said he
intends to appeal, as he is convinced that his paper broke no law when
it published interviews with SDKU Chairman Dzurinda and Smer
(Direction) Chairman Robert Fico during the moratorium. Sabata said the
two leaders did not engage in electioneering in those interviews.
Complaints against the publication of the interviews were launched by
the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) and by the Real Slovak National
Party. "Novy cas" published an article on the SDKU election campaign
while the moratorium was in force. MS
[49] HUNGARIAN PREMIER REJECTS FIDESZ TACTIC CONCERNING EU LEGISLATION
Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said in an interview with "Magyar
Hirlap" of 5 October that he is determined to steer Hungary into the
European Union and will "not let anyone blackmail or dictate to me and
set obstacles in the way of our EU accession." Medgyessy added, "I wish
to prove that our feeling of Hungarian identity does not have to be
given up; but in fact we can enrich Europe." Former Premier Viktor
Orban recently called on Hungary's opposition parties to support legal
changes necessary for EU membership only if the Socialist-led cabinet
revives some of his economic initiatives -- such as substantial farm
subsidies and support for small businesses. MSZ
[50] FIDESZ THREATENS SUIT OVER CRITICISM OF FORMER HUNGARIAN
GOVERNMENT
FIDESZ parliamentary group leader Janos Ader on 5 October told
reporters that probes launched by the current Socialist-Free Democrat
government have not discovered any illegal acts carried out by the
previous government, Budapest dailies reported on 7 October. Ader vowed
that his party will sue Socialist Political State Secretary Laszlo
Keller and Free Democrat Chairman Gabor Kuncze over such public
allegations. Ader said an investigation has disproved claims that the
database of the tax office was altered, allegations related to the
opening of the House of Terror museum did not prove true, the State
Audit Office has found no irregularities regarding the Youth and Sports
Ministry's finances, and there are no signs of financial abuse
regarding the construction of highways. MSZ
[51] BUDAPEST MAYOR SUSPECTS SOCIALIST DEAL WITH OPPOSITION CANDIDATE
Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky, a Free Democrat, said there are
"increasing signs" that Socialists in Budapest are backing right-wing
mayoral candidate Pal Schmitt, "Nepszabadsag" reported on 7 October.
Demszky said the situation "has become untenable," and he proposed that
the chairmen of the Socialist and Free Democratic parties reach
agreement on the matter as soon as possible and thus avoid a threat to
their stable parliamentary cooperation. Socialist Party Chairman Laszlo
Kovacs said such speculation is totally unfounded. Schmitt's press
chief, Antal Kiss, has also denied that Schmitt held consultations with
Socialist candidate Erzsebet Nemeth. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[52] NATIONALISTS HEADED FOR VICTORY IN BOSNIAN ELECTIONS...
About 54 percent of the 2.3 million registered voters cast their
ballots in the Bosnian general elections on 5 October, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
4 October 2002). It was the first ballot since the end of the 1992-95
conflict to be conducted by Bosnians rather than by the OSCE. Few
incidents were reported, and international observers generally
described the vote as free and fair. Paddy Ashdown, who is the
international community's high representative in Bosnia, compared the
development of democracy in Bosnia favorably with that in Northern
Ireland. Initial results, however, indicate that the big winners are
not the moderate parties favored by the foreigners but the three
nationalist parties that led their respective communities before and
during the war: the Muslim Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the
Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), and the Croatian Democratic Community
(HDZ). Some observers suggested that voter apathy led to a low overall
turnout but that the nationalists were able to mobilize their hard-core
supporters. Ashdown said the results show a disenchantment with the
outgoing authorities, not a return to the militant nationalism of 1990.
PM
[53] ...AS RETURNS POUR IN...
Mirko Sarovic (SDS) appears to have won the Serbian seat in the joint
Bosnian Presidency, while Dragan Covic (HDZ) has the Croatian seat with
70 percent of the Croatian vote. Dragan Cavic (SDS) appears headed for
victory as the new president of Republika Srpska, according to local
and international media on 7 October. The SDA's Sulejman Tihic has a
slight lead over Haris Silajdzic of the Party for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (SBiH) for the Muslim seat in the Presidency. It was not
clear whether the final returns might give a possible coalition of the
SBiH and the governing Social Democrats (SDP) a working majority among
Muslim legislators, but the SDA was the single largest Muslim
vote-getter. During the campaign, many nationalists faulted the current
authorities for failing to solve the deep-rooted problems of poverty
and unemployment. But some nationalists will have to moderate their
traditional positions on many issues -- including refugee returns -- if
Bosnia is to attract the foreign investment necessary to bring some
measure of prosperity. PM
[54] ...AND INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE REMINDS ALL WHERE THE POWER
LIES
Ashdown issued a series of decisions on 7 October, making it clear that
the international community intends to see Bosnia become a multiethnic
society based on the rule of law, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported. One decree ensures that the three
constituent peoples -- Muslims, Croats, and Serbs -- will be
represented proportionally in cantonal governments in the federation.
This measure ends the practice of some cantonal governments being the
preserve of one group. A second decree prevents minor officials from
escaping justice on the grounds that they enjoy immunity, which from
now on will be reserved only for top officials. Ashdown also appointed
three directors of the Agency for Information and Protection to a
six-year term. Serb Sredoje Novic will be the first to hold the
rotating chair for two years, followed by Muslim Emir Bijedic and Croat
Dragan Lukac. PM
[55] FORMER REBEL COMMANDER ARRESTED IN MACEDONIA
Police arrested former National Liberation Army (UCK) commander Sadul
Duraku in Skopje on 5 October, "Dnevnik" reported. Duraku is a member
of the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) led by former rebel
leader Ali Ahmeti. The arrest overshadowed coalition talks between the
Social Democratic Union (SDSM) and the Democratic Union for Integration
(BDI), which received two-thirds of the Albanian vote in the recent
elections. After the arrest, Interior Ministry officials and BDI
representatives held separate talks with President Boris Trajkovski.
According to the Interior Ministry -- which is still controlled by
hard-liner Ljube Boskovski -- Duraku is charged with high treason and
war crimes. He was arrested on the basis of a warrant issued in
December. "The BDI's position is that the activities Duraku is charged
with are the responsibility of the international war crimes tribunal in
The Hague," BDI Deputy Chairwoman Teuta Arifi said after the talks with
Trajkovski. Interior Ministry spokesman Voislav Zafirovski later
accused Trajkovski of having asked the police to release Duraku. UB
[56] MESIC SUPPORTS CROATIAN GOVERNMENT'S APPEAL TO THE HAGUE
President Stipe Mesic said the government is fully justified in asking
the war crimes tribunal in The Hague to review its indictment of
General Janko Bobetko, Deutsche Welle's Bosnian Service reported from
Zagreb on 6 October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 4 October 2002). PM
[57] SERBIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FORESEES PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS --
IN 2003
Miroljub Labus said in Novi Sad on 5 October that he expects Serbia
will elect a new parliament in 2003, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported. He added that the only question is whether
the vote will take place before or after Serbia receives a new
constitution. Alone among 11 candidates in the recent first round of
presidential voting, Labus has not taken a stand on early elections
until now. All other candidates called for early elections, including
and especially Labus's opponent in the second round slated for 13
October, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. Serbian Prime Minister
Zoran Djindjic, who is Labus's most important backer, opposes early
elections. Djindjic says he fears that frequent elections will deter
foreign investors. But many observers believe his real reason for
opposing an early vote is that he is likely to lose legislative seats
to Kostunica's supporters. PM
[58] SERBIAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SCHEDULED FOR 9 OCTOBER
Labus and Kostunica will hold their one and only televised debate on 9
October, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported
on 5 October. All stations will be allowed to broadcast the proceedings
despite objections by state-run television that it alone should carry
the debate. Kostunica refused calls for a debate by some of his
opponents in the first round, saying that he will debate only in the
second round (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 October 2002). PM
[59] JOURNALISTS PROTEST POLITICIZATION OF MONTENEGRIN TELEVISION
Andjela Nenadovic, who is an anchorwoman of prime-time television news
on state-run Montenegrin television, walked out of the studio in the
middle of a newscast on 3 October rather than read a story she
considered wrong, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported on 5 October. Nenadovic, who quit her job on 4 October, is the
latest of several journalists to leave state-run television in the past
two weeks following the appointment of a nominee of the Liberal
Alliance as editor in chief (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 and 12 September
and 1 October 2002). PM
[60] ROMANIAN PREMIER IN FRANCE
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told visiting Romanian
Premier Adrian Nastase on 4 October that, "France says clearly it
wishes our friend Romania to join the EU quickly, within a set time,"
AP reported. Raffarin said that this should happen "by 2007 at the
latest with, by 2004, the conclusion of an accord between the various
countries of the EU and Romania." Nastase said Romania is "counting on
the aid of France" in its accession preparations. The two premiers also
discussed bilateral ties, and Nastase said there is "a new business
climate" in his country: "We encourage [companies] to invest." They
also signed an accord on cooperation on the protection of underage
Romanians who are smuggled into France and should be returned home,
where they should be placed in orphanages financed in part by France
and nongovernmental organizations. Romanian Television cited Nastase as
saying his country's image in France has been adversely affected by
child beggars and prostitutes illegally smuggled into that country.
Remedies were also discussed by the French and Romanian interior
ministers, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ioan Rus. MS
[61] ROMANIA WELCOMES RUMORED EU ACCESSION TIMETABLE
European Integration Minister Hildegard Puwak on 5 October welcomed an
expected decision by the European Commission in its forthcoming annual
report to set 1 January 2007 as the deadline for Romania's admission to
the EU, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Puwak said the decision
would be an acknowledgment of the fact that Romanian society at large
and the Romanian government in particular respect the obligations
assumed upon embarking on the accession process. MS
[62] MADL ENDS ROMANIAN VISIT WITH INAUGURATION OF ACADEMIC YEAR IN
TRANSYLVANIA
Hungarian President Ferenc Madl on 4 October attended the inauguration
of the 2002-03 academic year at the Targu-Mures Sapientia private
university, which is financed by the Hungarian government and where
teaching is in the Hungarian language. On 5 October, Madl attended in
Oradea an opening ceremony for the new academic year at Partium
University, another private school with a Hungarian-language
curriculum. Madl also laid a wreath at a monument in Arad in memory of
13 Hungarian generals executed in 1849 by the Austrians. Hungarian
parliamentary speaker Katalin Szili and her deputy, Ibolya David, also
attended the ceremony in Arad, Hungarian media reported the next day.
MS
[63] CIS SUMMIT STARTS IN MOLDOVA...
Leaders of 11 former Soviet republics arrived in Chisinau on 6 October
for a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit that started the
next day, AP reported. The summit is to deal with joint crime fighting,
and AP reported that the leaders are also to seek a common position on
Iraq. Strict security measures were enforced in the Moldovan capital
ahead of the summit. MS
[64] ...AS CHISINAU LAWMAKERS REVOKE RESERVATIONS TO CIS ACCORD
The Moldovan parliament on 4 October withdrew reservations that the
country formulated toward stipulations in the CIS founding document
upon joining that organization, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The
reservations concerned the coordination of foreign policy and of
policies on illegal migration. The climb-down was initiated by
President Vladimir Voronin, who said the reservations had a negative
impact on Moldova's ability to fight terrorism, trafficking, and
illegal migration. Voronin said this struggle is better waged within a
multilateral regional cooperation framework. Foreign Minister Nicolae
Dudau told parliament that the move will promote CIS development and
consolidation without affecting Moldova's integration into EU
structures. Voronin said on 4 October that "many treat the CIS as a
trunk without a handle, which is too heavy to carry but [which] one
does not wish to throw away," Infotag reported. He said the
organization has existed for 10 years and is not going to break apart.
On the contrary, Voronin said, what it needs are new impulses for its
further development, adding that this question will be debated at the
current CIS summit. MS
[65] RUSSIAN MILITARY CONVOY DEPARTS FROM TRANSDNIESTER
A 24-railcar convoy loaded with military hardware ammunition, mainly
152-millimeter artillery shells and some surface-to surface Uragan
missile launchers, departed as scheduled from Tiraspol on 4 October,
ITAR-TASS and Infotag reported. This was the first evacuation of
Russian equipment since late 2001, when the withdrawal was stopped by
separatist authorities. OSCE mission observers, including chief of
mission David Schwartz, monitored the loading of the train and its
departure. The OSCE is partly funding the removal on condition that it
is monitored by its observers. The Russian military command in Tiraspol
said it is ready for a train to depart every third day and that if the
conditions are ensured by the OSCE and Moldovan and Transdniestrian
authorities for the train schedule, this would allow Moscow to meet the
OSCE 1999 summit deadline and remove all its equipment by 31 December.
MS
[66] BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO TURKEY...
During the last days of his visit to Turkey, Prime Minister Simeon
Saxecoburggotski met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in
Istanbul on 5 October, BTA reported. The same day, Saxecoburggotski
held talks with organizations representing ethnic Turkish emigrants
from Bulgaria. Those talks focused on pension regulations for such
emigrants. At present, only emigrants who left Bulgaria after 1989 are
eligible to receive their pensions from Bulgaria. Some 300,000 Turks
who left Bulgaria between 1969-78 are thus denied pensions. The
emigrants also demanded visa-free entry into Bulgaria. UB
[67] ...AND SPEAKS ABOUT IRAQI QUESTION
Speaking upon his return from Turkey, Saxecoburggotski tried to clarify
Bulgaria's position on the Iraqi question on 6 October, BTA reported.
"Instead of talking about strikes, we should rather ask ourselves what
we will find in Iraq after Saddam," he said. "I believe that Bulgaria
should adhere to the decision of the United Nations and internationally
accepted practice. From that point on, we should wait and see what
happens; but I think it is too early to draw conclusions or take
specific steps." In related news, Bulgaria's charge d'affaires in
Baghdad, Svilen Bozhanov, said on 6 October that the country's
diplomatic mission will be reinforced by a military attache by the end
of October, BTA reported. Bozhanov added that one more diplomat will
probably join the mission before the end of this year. UB
[68] BULGARIAN FINANCE MINISTER SAYS FOREIGN DEBT DROPPING
Finance Minister Milen Velchev said in an interview with Bulgarian
National Radio that the country's foreign debt has been reduced by some
$2.02 billion during the past eight or nine months -- leaving it at
about $9.5 billion, BTA reported. The recent figure represents 60
percent of gross domestic product. "This draws us closer to the
requirements for participation in the European process," Velchev said.
UB
[69] ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER IN BULGARIA PROMISES INVESTMENT IN
AGRICULTURE
Speaking in the northeastern town of Dobrich on 6 October, Movement for
Rights and Freedoms (DPS) Chairman Ahmed Dogan said his ethnic Turkish
party harbors hopes of organizing the largest investments in the
country's agriculture sector in decades, mediapool.bg reported. Dogan
did not provide details of an investment program, but he stressed that
the program should enable Bulgarian products to enter Western European
markets. Dogan said he believes Bulgaria could achieve success in the
areas of environmentally friendly agriculture, food processing, and in
the water and energy sectors. UB
END NOTE
[70] There is no End Note today.
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