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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-10-31
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIA ISSUES WARRANT FOR CHECHEN PRESIDENT...
[02] ...AND WEBSITE WONDERS WHO ISSUED ZAKAEV'S PASSPORT...
[03] ...AS POLITICIANS DEMAND ZAKAEV'S EXTRADITION
[04] FSB PUBLICIZES DETAILS OF HOSTAGE TAKING...
[05] ...AND HEALTH MINISTER DENIES NEGLIGENCE IN TREATING FORMER
[06] YAVLINSKII CRITICIZES FAILURES OF SECURITY SYSTEM...
[07] ...WHILE COMMUNIST DEFENDS PUTIN, BLAMES OLIGARCHS
[08] ALLEGED CHECHEN FIGHTER ARRESTED IN MOSCOW WITH EIGHT KILOS OF
[09] OLIGARCHS UNION, GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE AID TO FORMER HOSTAGES AND
[10] RUSSIA ACCUSES TURKEY OF BIASED COVERAGE OF CHECHNYA
[11] DUMA SPEAKER LASHES OUT AT MEDIA'S HOSTAGE COVERAGE
[12] SOME JOURNALISTS EMBRACE CALL FOR MEDIA-ETHICS CODE
[13] RUSSIA-EU SUMMIT RELOCATED TO BRUSSELS
[14] TAGANROG MAYOR MURDERED
[15] COURT AUTHORIZES BEREZOVSKII'S ARREST
[16] DUMA GIVES INITIAL NOD TO VOTING MACHINES...
[17] ...AND REDUCES LEGAL MARRIAGE AGE
[18] CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE PASSES UPPER HOUSE
[19] RICH STILL GETTING RICHER
[20] NEW HEAD FOR CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE NAMED
[21] WORKING GROUP PREPARES LAW ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
[22] BURNED VLADIVOSTOK LAWYER DIES
[23] BARAEV SUBORDINATES KILLED IN CHECHNYA
[24] ARMENIA CONFIRMS EXISTENCE OF NEW KARABAKH PEACE PROPOSAL
[25] RUSSIAN AUDIT CHAMBER HEAD VISITS AZERBAIJAN
[26] AZERBAIJAN, RUSSIA DISCUSS DEFENSE COOPERATION
[27] RUSSIAN STATE DUMA RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON AZERBAIJANI RADAR STATION
[28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT, BUSINESS
[29] AZERBAIJANI, IRAN PLEDGE COOPERATION IN OIL, GAS SECTORS
[30] BTC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETS IN GEORGIA
[31] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER URGES INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR PROTECTING
[32] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ADVOCATES RESTRICTIONS ON RUSSIAN
[33] ABDUCTED BRITISH BANKING CONSULTANT NO LONGER IN GEORGIA?
[34] OSCE CHAIRMAN IN OFFICE VISITS KAZAKHSTAN...
[35] ...AND UZBEKISTAN
[36] PROTESTS IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN GATHER MOMENTUM
[37] KYRGYZ HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FINED
[38] BELARUSIANS HONOR VICTIMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSION
[39] NATO NOT TO INVITE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TO PRAGUE SUMMIT...
[40] ...AS KYIV SUGGESTS NATO 'MANIPULATION' OF UKRAINE
[41] TAIWAN TO OPEN TRADE REPRESENTATION IN ESTONIA
[42] LATVIAN PRESIDENT VISITS SWITZERLAND
[43] LITHUANIAN LIBERALS, MODERN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS CONSIDER MERGER
[44] WARSAW MAYOR TO BE DECIDED IN RUNOFF
[45] CZECH PROSECUTORS TO ASK SENATE TO APPROVE SENATOR-ELECT'S
[46] ...WHILE CULTURE MINISTER WANTS TO DRAW LESSON FROM THE CASE
[47] CZECH FARMERS PROTEST EU SUBSIDIES DECISION, DEMAND STATE
[48] CZECH ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY SETS LIMITS ON CHEMICAL PLANT'S
[49] CZECH PRESIDENT RESUMES REGULAR WORK
[50] SENIOR CZECH, SLOVAK POLITICIANS DISCUSS BENES DECREES
[51] SLOVAK CABINET APPROVES AUSTERITY MEASURES
[52] HUNGARIAN PREMIER PRESENTS VISION FOR FUTURE TO PARTY
[53] ...AND SOLICITS OPPOSITION ASSISTANCE ON EU ACCESSION TERMS
[54] ROMANY AFFAIRS COUNCIL FORMED IN HUNGARY
[55] HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES MINORITY AFFAIRS WITH OSCE
[56] BRITAIN CALLS ON YUGOSLAVIA TO HALT ARMS SALES TO IRAQ...
[57] ...AS CROATIA CHARGES FOUR IN THE 'BOKA STAR' AFFAIR...
[58] ...AND ASHDOWN TELLS BOSNIAN SERBS: IT'S BRUSSELS OR BAGHDAD
[59] HAGUE PROSECUTOR SLAMS YUGOSLAVIA AS OBSTRUCTIONIST
[60] NO BAIL FOR TWO SERBIAN LEADERS
[61] SERBIAN POLICE CHIEF WARNS GANGSTERS
[62] U.S. WRAPS UP MILITARY PROGRAM IN BOSNIA
[63] KOSOVAR LEADER HAILS DECISION TO POSTPONE DECENTRALIZATION TALKS
[64] MYSTERIOUS GRENADE ATTACK ON MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT...
[65] ...BEFORE AN IMPORTANT SESSION
[66] MACEDONIAN TV DIRECTOR RESIGNS
[67] IRAQ BANS ROMANIA FROM PARTICIPATING IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR
[68] FITCH HIKES ROMANIA'S RATINGS
[69] HUNGARIAN PARTY IN ROMANIA OPPOSED TO EARLY ELECTIONS
[70] ROMANIAN OFFICIAL CRITICIZES LEVEL OF MINORITY REPRESENTATION
[71] EU-BULGARIA JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ASSESSES ROMANY
[72] ...AND THE NUCLEAR QUESTION
[73] BULGARIAN FINANCE MINISTRY TO PROVIDE MONEY FOR NEW STATE AIRLINE
[74] There is no End Note today.
31 October 2002
RUSSIA
[01] RUSSIA ISSUES WARRANT FOR CHECHEN PRESIDENT...
Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinskii said on 31 October that an
international arrest warrant for Aslan Maskhadov has been issued,
Interfax reported. Arrest warrants have also been issued for Kazbek
Makhashev and Khozh-Akhmet Nukhaev, both of whom are members of
Maskhadov's government. Fridinskii also said that Russia will demand
the extradition of former acting Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev
from Qatar. Presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembskii said on 31 October
that the Kremlin wants to "wipe out" all members of Maskhadov's
leadership, Russian news agencies reported. VY/RC
[02] ...AND WEBSITE WONDERS WHO ISSUED ZAKAEV'S PASSPORT...
Russia should ask Denmark to determine what kind of travel documents
Chechen Vice Premier Akhmed Zakaev was using prior to his arrest in
Copenhagen on 30 October, strana.ru wrote the same day. An unidentified
Russian security official looking into the matter told the website
there is a thriving black market for passports in Moscow for anyone who
has problems getting one through official channels. Such documents cost
from $50 to $2,000, and the classified-advertising sections of Russian
newspapers are full of advertisements for such services. Therefore, the
website concluded, before making claims on foreign states, Russia
should look into its domestic situation and "stop the practice of
members of illegal Chechen armed formations traveling abroad on Russian
passports." VY
[03] ...AS POLITICIANS DEMAND ZAKAEV'S EXTRADITION
First Deputy Foreign Minister Valerii Loshchinin, Duma International
Affairs Committee Chairman Dmitrii Rogozin, and Russian Security
Council Deputy Secretary Valentin Sobolev all argued on 30 October that
Denmark should extradite President Maskhadov's personal envoy Zakaev,
who was arrested in Copenhagen earlier that day, Interfax reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002). The Prosecutor-General's Office
has submitted a formal extradition request. LF
[04] FSB PUBLICIZES DETAILS OF HOSTAGE TAKING...
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on 31 October, Federal Security
Service (FSB) Deputy Chairman Vladimir Yeremin said the Chechen
fighters who took over a Moscow theater on 23 October had more than 30
explosive devices with them that were "of the highest professional
construction," ORT reported. The hostage takers set up two 150
millimeter artillery shells packed inside containers of ball bearings
in the center of the theater hall. If the terrorists had managed to
detonate those explosives, they would have destroyed the entire
building and killed everyone inside as well as a large number of the
security troops surrounding the theater, Yeremin said. At the same news
briefing, Interior Ministry Migration Service Director Andrei Chernenko
said his agency has arrested 40 people suspected of providing
assistance to the hostage takers. Moscow Oblast Governor Boris Gromov
said that, according to his information, some of the fighters worked
for months at a construction site adjacent to the theater and they used
the site to accumulate and store explosives and weapons, polit.ru
reported on 29 October. VY
[05] ...AND HEALTH MINISTER DENIES NEGLIGENCE IN TREATING FORMER
HOSTAGES
Speaking to reporters in Moscow on 30 October, Yurii Shevchenko said
the gas used during the 26 October storming of the Moscow theater where
Chechen fighters were holding more than 800 hostages was an opiate
derivative based on fentanyl, mednovosti.ru and other Russian news
agencies reported. Shevchenko did not provide the precise name of the
gas. The minister denied accusations that his ministry was negligent
and failed to coordinate its activities with those of the security
forces in order to provide prompt and effective treatment to the former
hostages. He said he had been warned in advance about the impending use
of the anesthetic, and the Health Ministry had prepared 1,000 doses of
antidote. Nonetheless, the high number of casualties stemmed from the
poor condition of the oxygen-starved former hostages after more than 50
hours of stressful captivity with extremely limited food, water, and
movement. German doctors in Munich alleged after conducting blood tests
on one former hostage that the gas was halothane, RIA-Novosti reported,
citing Munich coroner Professor Ludwig von Meyer. VY
[06] YAVLINSKII CRITICIZES FAILURES OF SECURITY SYSTEM...
Yabloko leader Grigorii Yavlinskii released a written statement on 30
October charging that the penetration of a large detachment of heavily
armed Chechen fighters into the capital was a serious failure for the
security services and the law enforcement system, regions.ru reported
on 30 October. Yavlinskii alleged that the main cause of this failure
is corruption within the ranks of the security community and that it is
impossible to guarantee the security of Russian citizens without
rooting out corruption. He also said the hostage taking again
demonstrated the necessity of reaching a political settlement to the
conflict in Chechnya and called for "an end to the harassment and to
the unending physical violence that is essentially a cruel war aimed at
the destruction of an entire nation." VY
[07] ...WHILE COMMUNIST DEFENDS PUTIN, BLAMES OLIGARCHS
Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov, visiting Italy on 30 October,
told "La Stampa" that the hostage taking represented a failure of
Russian intelligence, but also charged that certain oligarchs are
interested in destabilizing the country in order to expand their
control over its natural resources, regions.ru reported. He said police
should look for the main instigators of the incident in Moscow. "During
the last couple of weeks, a governor was killed, a car bomb exploded,
three helicopters crashed, and 800 hostages were taken in downtown
Moscow," Zyuganov noted. He described these incidents as part of a
strategy to destabilize Russia by weakening President Vladimir Putin
and strengthening the positions of the oligarchs and the so-called
Family from the era of former President Boris Yeltsin. VY
[08] ALLEGED CHECHEN FIGHTER ARRESTED IN MOSCOW WITH EIGHT KILOS OF
MERCURY
Fillip Zolotnitskii, a spokesman for the Moscow Interior Ministry's
Economic Crimes Department, said on 31 October that his agency has
arrested an alleged member of Chechen field commander Shamil Basaev's
group and confiscated from him eight kilograms of poisonous mercury,
newsru.com reported. Zolotnitskii identified the suspect as Sergei
Krymgerei, a Tatar who fought with Basaev in Abkhazia in 1991-92, and
alleged that Krymgerei intended to sell the mercury. The arrest took
place "several days ago," and Krymgerei has refused to answer
questions. VY
[09] OLIGARCHS UNION, GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE AID TO FORMER HOSTAGES AND
THEIR FAMILIES
The Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) will donate 30
million rubles ($1 million) to the victims of the 23-26 October hostage
crisis in Moscow, RosBalt reported on 30 October. RSPP President
Arkadii Volskii called on the Russian business community to join in the
effort to provide aid. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said at a
cabinet meeting on 31 October that the federal government and the
Moscow municipal government are preparing a package of "psychological,
material, and social" support for victims of the hostage taking and
their families, strana.ru and other Russian news agencies reported.
"Such measures are the government's debt to those who died," Kasyanov
said. RC
[10] RUSSIA ACCUSES TURKEY OF BIASED COVERAGE OF CHECHNYA
Russian Ambassador to Turkey Aleksandr Lebedev handed an official note
of protest to the Turkish government on 30 October charging local media
with biased coverage of developments in Chechnya, RIA-Novosti reported
on 30 October. "Turkish newspapers and television have one standard for
covering the fight against terrorism in Russia and another for covering
it in Turkey," the note charges. It also said that the Turkish press
covers "atrocities committed by Russian troops, but does not mention
that Chechen fighters and Arab bandits have decapitated captured
hostages." Moscow has also asked Turkey to close the mission
representing Chechen President Maskhadov in Istanbul, Ekho Moskvy
reported on 30 October. Russia has sent similar requests to Estonia and
several other countries, AFP reported the same day. VY
[11] DUMA SPEAKER LASHES OUT AT MEDIA'S HOSTAGE COVERAGE
Speaking to reporters in Rostov-na-Donu on 30 October, Gennadii
Seleznev criticized Russian television for showing the actions of
security forces during the 23-26 October Moscow hostage crisis,
ITAR-TASS reported. "It is bad when they show the specific methods of
fighting with terrorists," Seleznev said. "I did not like many things
in the coverage. There are limits that the mass media should not
transgress." Meanwhile, polit.ru reported on 30 October that Duma
Information Policy Committee Chairman Konstantin Vetrov (Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia) had called for the creation of a Duma
commission to study the media's performance during the crisis. Vetrov
also expressed concern that several television channels are currently
preparing programs about the crisis that will reflect badly on the
government. RC
[12] SOME JOURNALISTS EMBRACE CALL FOR MEDIA-ETHICS CODE
"Rossiiskaya gazeta" on 31 October published a lengthy transcript of
remarks by journalists, state officials, and media experts who attended
a 29 October roundtable to discuss the lessons of the recent hostage
crisis. Speaking at that roundtable, presidential aide Sergei
Yastrzhembskii urged journalists to develop an unwritten code of
conduct for crisis situations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002).
"Izvestiya" television critic Irina Petrovskaya similarly cited the
"completely obvious" need to work out rules for covering extraordinary
situations, but she emphasized that such a system should be
self-imposed by journalists, not enforced by censors. The Union of
Journalists has long promoted a general "journalist's code of ethics."
Various documents containing recommendations for journalists working in
"hot spots" or covering wars have been published in Russia as well (see
the website of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations,
www.cjes.ru). LB
[13] RUSSIA-EU SUMMIT RELOCATED TO BRUSSELS
The Russia-EU summit previously planned to be held in Copenhagen on 11
November has been relocated to Brussels, strana.ru and other Russian
news agencies reported on 31 October, citing presidential aide
Yastrzhembskii. The relocation came at the request of the Russian
government in protest against Denmark's decision to host the 28-29
October World Chechen Congress. The key issue to be discussed at the
summit is the status of the Kaliningrad exclave following expected EU
expansion to include Poland and Lithuania. RC
[14] TAGANROG MAYOR MURDERED
Taganrog Mayor Sergei Shilo was shot dead by an unknown assailant near
his home on the evening of 30 October, Russian news agencies reported
on 31 October. Shilo was struck by two bullets in the chest and his
driver, who is hospitalized in critical condition, was hit three times,
newsru.com reported. According to the website, the murder was carried
out with a gas pistol equipped with a silencer, and police recovered
the weapon at the scene. Gazeta.ru, citing anonymous police sources,
reported that Shilo had actively moved against local corruption in
recent months and that the murder might have been ordered because this
campaign "made life complicated" for local criminal groups. RC
[15] COURT AUTHORIZES BEREZOVSKII'S ARREST
A Moscow district court on 30 October issued an arrest warrant for
self-exiled tycoon Boris Berezovskii and two close business associates,
Badri Patarkatsishvili, former deputy chairman of the board of LogoVAZ
and former LogoVAZ Deputy General Director Yulii Dubov, lenta.ru
reported. All three men are currently living abroad and are charged
with "large-scale fraud and theft" in connection with an allegedly
bogus automobile-sales scheme (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 September and
23 October 2002). According to the indictment, in 1994-5 the accused
bought real estate and shares in ORT, TV-6 and the Ogonek publishing
house on proceeds from the scam. Andrei Borovkov, a lawyer for the
accused, said he will appeal the court's decision. VY
[16] DUMA GIVES INITIAL NOD TO VOTING MACHINES...
The Duma on 30 October approved in its first reading a bill on the use
of electronic voting machines, RosBalt reported. The bill was
introduced by the Central Election Commission (TsIK) and includes
provisions regulating the use of electronic voting machines and
approving the vote protocols that they generate. Deputy Anatolii
Lukyanov (Communist), who headed the opposition to the bill, charged
that the use of electronic voting machines would make it easier for
officials to falsify election results, while TsIK Chairman Aleksandr
Veshnyakov, defending the bill on the floor of the Duma, said the new
system would make falsification more difficult. Deputy Boris Nadezhdin
(Union of Rightist Forces) said the bill lays the groundwork for
completely automating the country's voting system and predicted that in
the near future, Russians will be able to vote from their homes via the
Internet. RC
[17] ...AND REDUCES LEGAL MARRIAGE AGE
Deputies on 30 October also unanimously approved in its third and final
reading an amendment to the Family Code that would reduce the legal
marriage age from 16 to 14 with the permission of the local executive
branch. Although the amendment requires mayors to consider the opinions
of the parents of prospective newlyweds, it does not obligate them to
heed those opinions. The amendments must now be adopted by the
Federation Council and signed by President Putin. RC
[18] CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE PASSES UPPER HOUSE
The Federation Council on 30 October unanimously approved the new Civil
Procedure Code, polit.ru and other Russian news agencies reported. The
code was passed by the Duma on 23 October (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 24
October 2002). The new code, which regulates labor and family disputes,
is considered a landmark in Russian legal reform and strictly limits
the role of prosecutors in civil disputes. It also establishes strict
deadlines for each phase of a civil dispute, a move that is intended to
prevent long, drawn-out cases. If signed by the president as expected,
the new code will take effect on 1 February. RC
[19] RICH STILL GETTING RICHER
The richest 10 percent of Russians received 32 percent of all cash
income during the first three quarters of 2002, ITAR-TASS reported on
30 October, citing the State Statistics Committee. The poorest 10
percent of the population received just 2.3 percent of the national
income. These figures are virtually unchanged from last year. RC
[20] NEW HEAD FOR CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE NAMED
Colonel General Nikolai Koshman, who served from 1999-2000 as the
government's representative to Chechnya, has been appointed to replace
Anvar Shamuzafarov as chairman of the State Construction Committee,
Russian news agencies reported on 30 October. Last week, unidentified
Kremlin sources were cited as saying that Yabloko leader Grigorii
Yavlinskii would be named to replace Shamuzafarov (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 24 October 2002). According to polit.ru, Yavlinskii met in
the Kremlin with President Putin on 30 October and the two might have
discussed the appointment. Strana.ru commented the same day that
Koshman's appointment might signal that the government considers "the
reform of the housing sector to be no less important than regulating
the situation in the [North] Caucasus." Shamuzafarov was reportedly
replaced as a result of his conflict with Emergency Situations Minister
Sergei Shoigu, who sharply criticized the construction committee's work
in the wake of this summer's flooding in the Southern Federal District.
RC
[21] WORKING GROUP PREPARES LAW ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
A working group including State Duma Deputy Yelena Mizulina (Union of
Rightist Forces) is drafting a law to fight human trafficking,
"Izvestiya" reported on 30 October. The project emerged from a Moscow
conference convened this week by the Duma's Legislation Committee,
presidential envoy to the Central Federal District Georgii
Poltavchenko, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Russia contributes to
both the supply and demand for women and children who are exploited in
the sex trade. Thousands of Russian citizens are smuggled to Western
countries, and many people from other former Soviet republics are
similarly victimized in Russia. Experts say that although several
articles of Russia's Criminal Code in some way touch on the issue, a
separate article that thoroughly describes human trafficking is needed
in order to prosecute those who organize smuggling networks. The
working group hopes to submit a draft law to the Duma by the end of the
year. LB
[22] BURNED VLADIVOSTOK LAWYER DIES
Igor Khrabudskoi, a lawyer who worked for the Vladivostok's mayor's
office and who was severely burned in a murder attempt on 30 October,
died in the hospital on 31 October, newsru.com reported. According to
the same report, the mayor's press service issued a statement saying
the murder was not connected to Khrabudskoi's professional work. Police
are reportedly questioning the people with whom Khrabudskoi spent the
evening of 30 October. RC
[23] BARAEV SUBORDINATES KILLED IN CHECHNYA
In an operation near Argun on 30 October, federal forces killed three
members of the so-called Argun Wahhabi Jamaat, which was headed by
Movsar Baraev, leader of the Chechens who undertook last week's hostage
taking in Moscow, ITAR-TASS reported. Russian military spokesmen said
some 30 Chechen fighters have been killed in 60 separate operations
over the past few days. LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[24] ARMENIA CONFIRMS EXISTENCE OF NEW KARABAKH PEACE PROPOSAL
Speaking in Yerevan on 30 October at a seminar on security problems in
the South Caucasus, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said "a
serious shift is observed in the process of the Karabakh settlement and
these are not mere words any more. Indeed, there is a proposal on the
table now that might be admissible for all sides without jeopardizing
our national interests," Noyan Tapan reported. He did not elaborate. In
an interview that day with zerkalo.az, Russian Audit Chamber head
Sergei Stepashin said Azerbaijan has proposed a new plan for resolving
the Karabakh conflict, but he refused to divulge any details (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002). Oskanian also praised what he
termed Iran's "balanced policy" in the South Caucasus, which he
contrasted with Turkey's "unilateral policy" that, Oskanian said,
played a "negative role" in regional security issues. LF
[25] RUSSIAN AUDIT CHAMBER HEAD VISITS AZERBAIJAN
During talks in Baku on 29 October, Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev
and Russian Audit Chamber head Stepashin discussed cooperation in
fighting terrorism, including control mechanisms at the border between
their respective countries, Turan reported. Stepashin assured
Azerbaijani parliament deputies the same day that Moscow will soon
provide Baku with documentation concerning the transfer by Russia to
Armenia in the mid-1990s of military hardware valued at $1 billion,
according to ANS TV on 29 October, as cited by Groong (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 3, 4, and 23 April 1997). Stepashin also met in Baku with
his Azerbaijani counterpart Namik Nasrullaev and signed an agreement on
cooperation between the two countries' audit chambers. LF
[26] AZERBAIJAN, RUSSIA DISCUSS DEFENSE COOPERATION
On a two-day visit to Moscow on 28-29 October, Azerbaijan's Defense
Minister Colonel General Safar Abiev met with his Russian counterpart
Sergei Ivanov to discuss various aspects of bilateral cooperation,
ITAR-TASS and Azerbaijani news agencies reported. Speaking at a joint
press conference on 29 October, both men said bilateral military
cooperation is assuming increasing importance in light of the growing
threat posed by international terrorism. Ivanov noted Azerbaijan's
participation in joint naval exercises in the Caspian in August, adding
that similar exercises are planned for next year. He also thanked the
Azerbaijani leadership for closing the Chechen representation in Baku
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October 2002). LF
[27] RUSSIAN STATE DUMA RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON AZERBAIJANI RADAR STATION
The State Duma voted on 29 October to ratify the agreement signed in
January on the terms under which Russia will continue to lease the
Gabala radar station in central Azerbaijan, ITAR-TASS reported. The
Azerbaijani parliament ratified the agreement in March (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 16 January and 20 March 2002). LF
[28] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT, BUSINESS
FORUM
Ion Iliescu told Azerbaijani parliament deputies on 30 October that his
country has taken active measures to promote a solution of the Karabakh
conflict, Turan reported. Iliescu spoke highly of the GUUAM alignment,
of which Azerbaijan is a member, and said Romania cooperates with all
its members. Addressing a business forum in Baku the same day, Iliescu
again stressed Romania's willingness to cooperate in transport projects
within the framework of the TRACECA (Asia-Caucasus-Europe transport
corridor) and INOGATE (Interstate Oil and Gas Transport to Europe)
programs. He suggested Azerbaijan could join the Romanian-Georgian
agreement on ferry traffic among the ports of Batumi, Poti, and
Constanta. He further noted that Romania has considerable experience in
manufacturing equipment and pipes for the oil-and-gas transportation
sector, and could therefore participate in construction of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Erzerum export pipelines, Interfax
reported. LF
[29] AZERBAIJANI, IRAN PLEDGE COOPERATION IN OIL, GAS SECTORS
Iran's Cooperatives Minister Ali Sufi arrived in Baku on 29 October to
participate in the fifth session of the Iran-Azerbaijan joint economic
commission, IRNA reported. The two sides signed an agreement on 30
October on cooperation in the oil, gas, and transport sectors, AP
quoted Economic Development Minister Farhad Aliev as saying. They also
discussed the possibility of restoring direct flights between Baku and
the Iranian city of Tabriz, which were discontinued in 1996 due to lack
of demand. Azerbaijan's Trend news agency reported on 30 October,
quoting unnamed Azerbaijani diplomats, that talks on the opening of an
Azerbaijani consulate in Tabriz have been suspended indefinitely.
Visiting Baku in July, Mohammadali Subhanullakhi, the governor of
Iran's East Azerbaijan Province, assured Azerbaijani President Aliev
that the Iranian government had given the go-ahead for the opening of
an Azerbaijani consulate in Tabriz (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 July
2002). LF
[30] BTC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETS IN GEORGIA
The board of directors of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhen (BTC) oil-pipeline
consortium held its first session in Tbilisi on 29-30 October, Caucasus
Press and Prime News reported. The shareholders signed an agreement
under which British Petroleum, the majority shareholder, sold a 2.5
percent stake in the project to ConocoPhillips. Board members also
participated in a Georgian government session on 30 October that
focused on the anticipated ecological impact of the planned pipeline
and on financing security for it. AP quoted Georgian International Oil
Corporation head Giorgi Chanturia and Azerbaijani State Oil Company
(SOCAR) President Natik Aliev as both saying that guaranteeing the
security of the pipeline will require significant financial resources
and special equipment. LF
[31] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER URGES INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR PROTECTING
GEORGIA'S BORDERS
At a 29 October meeting between members of the Georgian parliament's
Defense and Security Committee and the Georgian Border Protection
Department, parliament speaker Nino Burdjanadze called on the relevant
government bodies to come up with new ways to provide adequate funding
for protecting the country's borders, Caucasus Press reported. Border
Protection Department head Lieutenant General Valeri Chkheidze said he
has submitted a request for 26 million laris ($12 million) in funding
for 2003, but he is not certain of receiving it. In a newspaper
interview last month, Chkheidze said budget funding for border
protection is totally inadequate and hinted he may resign unless more
funds are made available (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 October 2002). LF
[32] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ADVOCATES RESTRICTIONS ON RUSSIAN
MILITARY PERSONNEL
Lieutenant General David Tevzadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 30
October that if Georgia wants to expedite the closure of the two
remaining Russian military bases on its territory, it must abolish the
"hothouse conditions" under which those bases currently function,
Caucasus Press reported. He proposed imposing restrictions on the
movement within Georgia of Russian military personnel and on the amount
of supplies they might bring into the country duty-free. Tevzadze
stressed that the Russian bases may negatively affect Georgia's
aspiration to NATO membership, as no NATO member state may host
military facilities belonging to a nonmember state. Foreign Minister
Irakli Menagharishvili told Caucasus Press the same day that Tbilisi
has proposed resuming negotiations with Moscow on the timetable for the
closure of the bases, but has not yet received a response. LF
[33] ABDUCTED BRITISH BANKING CONSULTANT NO LONGER IN GEORGIA?
Interfax on 30 October quoted Georgian Intelligence chief Lieutenant
General Avtandil Ioseliani as saying that British banking consultant
Peter Shaw, who was abducted four months ago in Tbilisi, may have been
transferred by his captors to a neighboring state, but he did not say
which one. The Georgian Interior Ministry press service told Interfax
that police are still searching for Shaw in the Pankisi Gorge. LF
[34] OSCE CHAIRMAN IN OFFICE VISITS KAZAKHSTAN...
An OSCE delegation headed by Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio
Martins da Cruz arrived in Astana on 29 October for talks with
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev and Foreign Minister
Qasymzhomart Toqaev, according to RFE/RL's Kazakh Service and the 30
October issue of the weekly news bulletin distributed by Kazakhstan's
embassy in Washington, D.C. Da Cruz told journalists after his meeting
with Nazarbaev that their talks focused on economic and security
cooperation, including the fight against drug trafficking and
international terrorism. Terrorism also figured during his meeting with
Toqaev, as did the death penalty (which Kazakhstan has not yet
abolished), human rights issues, the optimum use of Central Asia's
water resources, and the rehabilitation of such ecological disaster
areas as the Semipalatinsk nuclear-test site and the shrinking Aral
Sea. Da Cruz declined to comment to journalists on the situation of the
embattled Kazakh media. LF
[35] ...AND UZBEKISTAN
The OSCE delegation arrived in Tashkent on 30 October and was received
the same day by President Islam Karimov, uza.uz reported. The talks
focused on continued cooperation, human rights, Uzbekistan's
contribution to the international antiterrorism campaign, and aspects
of regional security. Da Cruz also met with Uzbekistan's Foreign
Minister Abdulaziz Komilov. LF
[36] PROTESTS IN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTAN GATHER MOMENTUM
Support is increasing in Osh Oblast for former Deputy Prime Minister
and Agrarian-Labor Party Chairman Usen Sydykov, whom an Osh court
barred four days ago from contesting a 3 November runoff by-election in
Kara-Kuldja, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
30 October 2002). Some 1,000 people congregated on 30 October in front
of the local administration building in Uzgen to demand Sydykov's
reinstatement, while 1,200 more gathered in Kara-Suu with the same
demand. Some 200 residents of Kara-Kuldja, including village
administrator Rustam Anarbotoev, began a protest march to Osh. LF
[37] KYRGYZ HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FINED
A court in Chu Oblast fined Human Rights Movement of Kyrgyzstan
Chairman Tursunbek Akunov 1,000 soms (about $22) on 30 October for
participating in an unsanctioned meeting, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
reported. Akunov was one of some 100 participants in a march on 29
October to mark the 54th birthday of jailed former Vice President
Feliks Kulov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002). Also on 30
October, First Deputy Prime Minister Kurmanbek Osmonov told Interfax
that a special committee has been established to promote Kyrgyzstan's
new image as a country that protects the human rights of its citizens.
LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[38] BELARUSIANS HONOR VICTIMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSION
Some 50 representatives of the opposition United Civic Party and other
public organizations formed a "chain of concerned people" in downtown
Minsk on 30 October, the Day of Memory of Victims of Political
Repression, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service and Belapan reported.
Participants in this unauthorized demonstration held portraits of
individuals persecuted for political reasons in the Soviet era as well
as of Belarusian politicians who disappeared in 1999 and journalists
recently sentenced to prison terms for slandering President Alyaksandr
Lukashenka. The same day, pickets and other events to pay tribute to
victims of political repression were also held in Vitsebsk, Brest, and
Kurapaty near Minsk (the execution and burial ground of victims of
Stalin-era political repression). Police detained eight picketers in
Vitsebsk. JM
[39] NATO NOT TO INVITE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TO PRAGUE SUMMIT...
NATO proposed on 30 October that a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine
Commission be held at the foreign ministers' level during the upcoming
NATO Prague summit on 21-22 November, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
reported. "The [NATO] decision was that a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO
Commission should be held at the level of foreign ministers," NATO
spokesman Yves Brodeur told an RFE/RL correspondent. "Allies, as well,
emphasized their commitment to the broadening and deepening of the
relationship between NATO and Ukraine and, to that end, they also
reiterated their commitment to the development and implementation of
the action plan which we've been discussing with Ukraine," Brodeur
added. Brodeur was asked if the alleged Ukrainian sale of a Kolchuga
radar system to Iraq had something to do with President Leonid Kuchma
not being invited to Prague: "I think that, essentially, we all know
the circumstances that we've been dealing with here and, essentially,
the decision was made taking into account those circumstances," Brodeur
replied. JM
[40] ...AS KYIV SUGGESTS NATO 'MANIPULATION' OF UKRAINE
"Ukraine, as a great European state, cannot be an object of
manipulation," UNIAN quoted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoliy Zlenko
as saying on 30 October. Zlenko was commenting on the NATO proposal
that would exclude the participation of the Ukrainian president in the
Prague summit. "A decision on the format of the Prague meeting should
be adopted while taking into account Ukraine's real place and role in
the current architecture of European security and the attained level of
our cooperation with the alliance," Zlenko said in his written
statement. Zlenko added, "We are thoroughly studying the NATO-proposed
format for a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission as part of the
Prague summit and we will soon inform our partners about our decision."
He also stressed that Ukraine's strategic course toward Euro-Atlantic
integration remains unchanged. JM
[41] TAIWAN TO OPEN TRADE REPRESENTATION IN ESTONIA
After hearing a report by Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland, the
cabinet decided on 29 October to approve Taiwanese plans to open a
trade representation in Tallinn, ETA reported the next day. Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Tiina Maiberg said the Chinese Embassy has been
informed of Taiwan's wish and expressed a neutral position, as China
does not object to relations of a nongovernmental nature between Taiwan
and other countries. The head of a pro-Taiwanese group in parliament,
Pro Patria Union faction Deputy Chairman Andres Herkel, said the
representation will be useful for the state. Estonia's exports to
Taiwan totaled 26.6 million kroons ($1.7 million) and imports 316.4
million kroons in the first half of 2002. SG
[42] LATVIAN PRESIDENT VISITS SWITZERLAND
Accompanied by Economy Minister Aigars Kalvitis, Riga Mayor Gundars
Bojars, Bank of Latvia President Ilmars Rimsevics, and a delegation of
31 businesspeople, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga flew to
Zurich on 30 October for a two-day state visit, LETA reported. She was
welcomed at the airport by Swiss President Kaspar Villiger, with whom
she held further talks in Berne on bilateral relations and global
developments. In an address to the Swiss parliament, Vike-Freiberga
said the common values of democracy, free markets, and human rights
form a basis for friendly relations and mutual respect between their
countries. She welcomed the Swiss decision to join the United Nations
and expressed the hope that economic relations between the two
countries will expand. SG
[43] LITHUANIAN LIBERALS, MODERN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS CONSIDER MERGER
Liberal Union Chairman Eugenijus Gentvilas and Modern Christian
Democrat Union (MKDS) Chairman Vytautas Bogusis signed a memorandum "On
Common Activities in Concentrating Center-Right Parties" in Vilnius on
30 October, BNS reported. It calls for cooperation in parliament, the
formation of joint lists in local council elections slated for 22
December, and a possible merger. In Vilnius, incumbent Mayor Arturas
Zuokas will head the joint list with Bogusis in the second slot.
However, the two parties support different candidates for president
with the MKDS backing Valdas Adamkus and the Liberal Union pushing its
chairman, Gentvilas. The MKDS has three deputies in parliament and is
part of the United faction with the Center Union and the Polish
Electoral Action, while the Liberal Union has 23 deputies in the
141-seat chamber. SG
[44] WARSAW MAYOR TO BE DECIDED IN RUNOFF
Lech Kaczynski from the center-right Law and Justice narrowly missed
election to the Warsaw mayor's post in the 27 October local elections,
receiving 265,994 votes (49.58 percent of the vote), PAP reported on 30
October. Kaczynski will thus face Marek Balicki from the Democratic
Left Alliance (21.85 percent) in a runoff on 10 November. Andrzej
Olechowski, a leader of the Civic Platform, finished third with 13.47
percent of the vote, which is widely regarded as a disappointing
result. Olechowski subsequently announced his withdrawal from politics.
Official results have not yet been announced, partly due to a failure
of the computer system handling the vote count. According to incomplete
results, the ruling Democratic Left Alliance appears to have won the
ballot nationally but with less support than it received in the 1998
local elections. At the same time, center-right moderates (Law and
Justice, Civic Platform) and far-right Euro-skeptics (the League of
Polish Families) appear to have made gains in the polls. JM
[45] CZECH PROSECUTORS TO ASK SENATE TO APPROVE SENATOR-ELECT'S
PROSECUTION...
The Prague State Attorney's Office intends to ask the upper house of
the Czech parliament to consent to the continuation of the prosecution
of media magnate and Senator-elect Vladimir Zelezny, CTK reported on 29
October, citing the daily "Pravo." Zelezny, director of the privately
owned TV Nova, is the only candidate to win a Senate seat outright in
the first round of voting (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October 2002). He
is charged with tax evasion, among other things. Dagmar Lastovecka,
chairwoman of the Senate's Constitutional and Judiciary Commission,
told the daily that the matter must first be discussed by the
upper-house's Mandate and Immunity Commission, which is to make a
recommendation to the plenum after it studies all the evidence against
Zelezny. She added that this would become possible after Zelezny takes
his oath of office, or the end of December at the earliest. Zelezny's
Senate seat grants him parliamentary immunity. MS
[46] ...WHILE CULTURE MINISTER WANTS TO DRAW LESSON FROM THE CASE
Culture Minister Pavel Dostal on 30 October told the daily "Hospodarske
noviny" that the government is preparing legislation to replace the
Council for Radio and Television (RRTV) with a state body that would be
entitled to take measures preventing the use of the media for personal
political aims, CTK reported. Zelezny, who ran as an independent for
the upper house, used his station to support his Senate bid. The
council did not react, arguing that current legislation under which it
exercises its prerogatives makes no stipulation for such cases. Dostal
said the council should be replaced by an office whose presidium and
chairman are appointed by the country's president. Council Chairman
Martin Muchka told the daily he does not agree with that proposal and
that such a move would be particularly damaging since the media chapter
in negotiations with the EU has been successfully closed. The
opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS) said the envisaged legislation
is "a direct attack on an independent body regulating the activity of
the electronic media," CTK quoted ODS Deputy Chairman and former Media
Commission Chairman Ivan Langer as saying. MS
[47] CZECH FARMERS PROTEST EU SUBSIDIES DECISION, DEMAND STATE
COMPENSATION
Several thousand farmers marched on 30 October in central Prague
demanding state compensation for damages stemming from natural
catastrophes and the negotiation of a better deal on farm subsidies
than that offered by the EU, AP reported. The farmers say bad weather
and the August floods caused them losses of 15.5 billion crowns ($492
million) and want the state to pay at least 5 billion crowns in
compensation. They are also opposed to the decision by the EU to offer
its 10 anticipated new members agricultural subsidies initially
amounting to only 25 percent of the subsidies paid to current members.
Those subsidies are to be gradually increased and become equal for all
EU members only by 2013. MS
[48] CZECH ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY SETS LIMITS ON CHEMICAL PLANT'S
REOPENING
The Environment Ministry on 30 October said only those parts of the
Spolana chemical works that are guaranteed as safe can be reopened, dpa
reported. The Spolana plant, north of Prague, was heavily affected by
the August floods, when tons of hazardous chemicals were washed into
the Labe (Elbe) River or released into the air. Environment Minister
Libor Ambrozek, responding to citizens' requests, said he has asked the
plant's director to restart only those operations "that pose the least
security risk and cannot jeopardize the health of the [local]
inhabitants." MS
[49] CZECH PRESIDENT RESUMES REGULAR WORK
Vaclav Havel's office on 30 October announced that he will resume his
regular duties on 31 October, having recovered from his latest bout
with chronic bronchitis, Reuters reported. MS
[50] SENIOR CZECH, SLOVAK POLITICIANS DISCUSS BENES DECREES
Visiting Czech Chamber of Deputies speaker Lubomir Zaoralek on 30
October agreed with Slovak President Rudolf Schuster and Premier
Mikulas Dzurinda that the two countries should coordinate their
responses to demands that the Benes Decrees be abrogated or that
apologies be issued for the expulsion of Sudeten Germans and ethnic
Hungarians following World War II, TASR and CTK reported. Zaoralek told
journalists after meeting Schuster, "In the dispute over interpreting
the past, one should not transform episodes of history into history as
a whole," according to TASR. He said history must be assessed in a
comprehensive way. CTK cited Dzurinda as saying the first Slovak
National Council (parliament) approved an apology for the expulsion of
the Carpathian Germans soon after the fall of the communist regime,
adding that situation is more complicated where Hungarians are
concerned. He said that while one must acknowledge that "something
happened" to the Hungarian minority in Czechoslovakia after 1945, it is
no less necessary to "realize that wrongs were also done to Slovaks
following the 1939 Vienna arbitration and that a lot of Slovaks were
harmed [by Hungary] as a result." MS
[51] SLOVAK CABINET APPROVES AUSTERITY MEASURES
The cabinet on 30 October approved a package of measures aimed at
cutting social spending, raising the price of fuel and of some excises,
TASR reported. Public-transport fees are to be raised on 1 January. In
a symbolic gesture, the cabinet revoked the former government's
decision to buy new limousines for Slovak ministers and government
officials, CTK reported. MS
[52] HUNGARIAN PREMIER PRESENTS VISION FOR FUTURE TO PARTY
COLLEAGUES...
"We want Hungary to be a racetrack for talented people and a shelter
for the needy," Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy told a meeting of his
Socialist Party's (MSZP) parliamentary group on 30 October, Hungarian
media reported. The cabinet has a vision of the future, as it wants "a
successful European Hungary" and knows how to achieve that, Medgyessy
added. The government aims to follow through on EU accession, he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the 20 October local elections, Medgyessy
said the MSZP won its second elections of the year. He attributed the
victory to a correct campaign, a sound program and decisions, a calm
approach, reliability, sincerity, and trustworthiness. MSZ
[53] ...AND SOLICITS OPPOSITION ASSISTANCE ON EU ACCESSION TERMS
Medgyessy on 30 October sent a letter to former Prime Minister Viktor
Orban asking him to use his position as deputy chairman of the European
People's Party to help Hungary achieve the most favorable terms during
negotiations on EU accession, the Hungarian MTI news agency reported.
Medgyessy reportedly said in the letter that he considers it
particularly important to reduce the 10-year transition period for full
EU agricultural subsidies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002). MSZ
[54] ROMANY AFFAIRS COUNCIL FORMED IN HUNGARY
A Romany Affairs Council presided over by Prime Minister Medgyessy was
formed on 30 October with the aim of integrating Roma into society,
Hungarian media reported. The deputy chairman of the 21-member body is
Laszlo Teleki, political state secretary for Romany affairs in the
prime minister's office. The members of the council are Romany and
non-Romany public figures. Medgyessy said at its inaugural meeting that
the question of whether the "decades-long debt to Roma can be paid off"
and whether their exclusion and lack of equal opportunity can be ended
is a measure of democracy. He said the number of segregated schools has
not decreased in recent years, adding that unemployment is growing
within the Romany population. MSZ
[55] HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES MINORITY AFFAIRS WITH OSCE
COMMISSIONER
Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said after a meeting on 30 October with
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Rolf Ekeus that the
government in early December will submit a motion for amending the
Status Law, Budapest dailies reported. Kovacs briefed his guest on
those amendments, which the Foreign Ministry and the opposition parties
will begin discussing within days and which will be introduced in the
parliament (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October 2002). For his part,
Ekeus argued in favor of continued consultations on amending the Status
Law and said he is pleased there is political will in Hungary to
resolve the issue. Kovacs and Ekeus also discussed the Romany situation
in Hungary and the provision of parliamentary representation to ethnic
minorities. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[56] BRITAIN CALLS ON YUGOSLAVIA TO HALT ARMS SALES TO IRAQ...
Speaking in London on 30 October, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
told his visiting Yugoslav colleague Goran Svilanovic that Britain has
"serious concern" about reported Yugoslav arms sales to Iraq and
Liberia, AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 29 and 30 October 2002 and
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," 25 October 2002). Straw later told reporters
that he "urged Dr. Svilanovic to ensure a thorough investigation into
these arms sales, leading to prosecutions as necessary." Straw also
called on Belgrade to cooperate fully with the war crimes tribunal
based in The Hague. He stressed that Yugoslav authorities must provide
the tribunal with access to archives and witnesses -- including
officials and military personnel -- and arrest indicted war criminals
on Yugoslav territory. In related news, Reuters reported from Belgrade
that the United States has called on Yugoslavia to take action against
several companies that allegedly have been helping Libya develop a
cruise missile capable of striking targets in Israel. The project may
have begun as early as 1996. The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade declined to
comment on the report. PM
[57] ...AS CROATIA CHARGES FOUR IN THE 'BOKA STAR' AFFAIR...
Police in Rijeka have jailed the captain and first mate of the
Montenegrin-owned freighter "Boka Star," which had 200 tons of
explosives on board, possibly destined for Iraq, Reuters reported on 30
October. Police have issued arrest warrants for two members of the crew
who are still at large. PM
[58] ...AND ASHDOWN TELLS BOSNIAN SERBS: IT'S BRUSSELS OR BAGHDAD
Paddy Ashdown, the international community's high representative in
Bosnia, told NATO and EU officials in Brussels on 30 October: "I say to
the [Bosnian Serb] authorities, you have a choice to make in this
matter [of arms exports to Iraq by the Orao company] -- whether to take
the road to Brussels or to Baghdad." He called for more Western
pressure to stop illegal arms trading: "We need to be more muscular
about this. Our assistance...should be rigorously connected to progress
made." Ashdown also said, "The clear message which comes out of Orao is
that mechanisms for civilian oversight of the [Bosnian] military and
the military-industrial complex are hopelessly inadequate. We must now
insist on proper civilian oversight at state level of the
military-industrial complex and also a strengthening of borders, of the
customs service," AP reported. He added that all of those responsible
for the illegal sales must be punished. Meanwhile, in Banja Luka,
Donald Hays, who is one of Ashdown's deputies, said more companies than
just Orao were involved in illicit arms deals, Deutsche Welle's Bosnian
Service reported. Hays called for a thorough investigation. PM
[59] HAGUE PROSECUTOR SLAMS YUGOSLAVIA AS OBSTRUCTIONIST
Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal in The
Hague, told the UN Security Council on 30 October that Yugoslav
authorities are deliberately obstructing the tribunal's work, RFE/RL
reported. She noted that archives are closed, access to witnesses is
blocked, and that the only major extradition of an indicted war
criminal -- that of Slobodan Milosevic -- "is the sole credit of the
Serbian government and was carried out despite the opposition of the
[Yugoslav] authorities." Del Ponte noted that a "revealing remark was
made recently by...President [Vojislav Kostunica] that 'cooperation
with the [tribunal] has already gone too far.'" She stressed, "This
behavior is calculated. It cannot merely be explained away by saying
that the political situation is difficult at the moment. Of course it
is difficult. That is to be expected in any country in the aftermath of
armed conflict and political upheaval." Turning to Bosnia, she
suggested that SFOR form a special unit to catch indicted war criminal
Radovan Karadzic. PM
[60] NO BAIL FOR TWO SERBIAN LEADERS
The war crimes tribunal based in The Hague ruled on 31 October that it
will not permit two high-ranking Serbs to go back to Serbia until their
trials begin in the Netherlands, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Service reported. The men are Nikola Sainovic and former General
Dragoljub Ojdanic, both of whom were close confidants of Milosevic. PM
[61] SERBIAN POLICE CHIEF WARNS GANGSTERS
Speaking in Belgrade on 30 October, Serbian Interior Minister Dusan
Mihajlovic said he hopes his ministry's recent moves aimed at solving a
recent high-profile murder "will be a warning to naive individuals in
politics...not to deal with the underworld," AP reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 30 October 2002). He added, "This is a chance to all those
on various payrolls of some quasi-businessmen to decide which salary
they plan to live on," namely their official salary or that paid by the
underworld. Mihajlovic warned criminals that the hands of the police
"are no longer tied." He did not elaborate. PM
[62] U.S. WRAPS UP MILITARY PROGRAM IN BOSNIA
On 30 October, the United States formally ended its program to train
and equip the armed forces of the Muslim and Croat federation and bring
them up to international standards, dpa reported. The program lasted
over six years and was intended to reduce the gap in professional
quality between the federal forces and their Bosnian Serb counterparts.
PM
[63] KOSOVAR LEADER HAILS DECISION TO POSTPONE DECENTRALIZATION TALKS
Kosovar Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi said the decision of Michael
Steiner, who heads the UN civilian authority in Kosova (UNMIK), to put
off decentralization talks with local Serbs is a wise idea, RFE/RL's
South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported from Prishtina on
30 October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October 2002). Rexhepi stressed
that all of Kosova needs an administrative decentralization program,
which should not be based on ethnic criteria. PM
[64] MYSTERIOUS GRENADE ATTACK ON MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT...
Unknown assailants threw a grenade at the entrance of the parliament
building in Skopje on 31 October, causing some material damage, Hina
reported. The parliament met later in the day to debate approval of the
new government, which includes ethnic Albanian former guerrillas (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 24 October 2002). The report of the grenade attack,
like reports of several other recent violent incidents, was made by the
police to journalists. Under the previous government, the Interior
Ministry has been a stronghold of hard-line ethnic Macedonian
nationalists. PM
[65] ...BEFORE AN IMPORTANT SESSION
Addressing the parliament on 31 October, Prime Minister Branko
Crvenkovski said: "A key question for the unity of Macedonia is whether
our Albanian fellow citizens want to be together with us in a united
front in the struggle for the defense of common values and a common
state, or whether they want to be in solidarity with the other side --
the radical structures that fought last year," RFE/RL reported.
Crvenkovski pledged full implementation of the August 2001 Ohrid peace
agreement: "What we Macedonians have to understand whether we like it
or not, is that Macedonia is a state not only for the Macedonian people
-- with everyone else staying on as a necessary evil, a fate that must
be accepted for better or worse. We have to understand and accept that
Macedonia belongs to all of us equally, and that no one has an
exclusive right of ownership over Macedonia." PM
[66] MACEDONIAN TV DIRECTOR RESIGNS
The director-general of state-run Macedonian Radio and Television
(MRTV), Ljubomir Jakimovski, announced his resignation on 30 October,
"Utrinski vesnik" reported. Jakimovski, a high-ranking official of the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO-DPMNE), was
appointed to the position after his party won the 1998 parliamentary
elections. "Even though my mandate expires on 21 January 2002, I feel
that my function should end" following the victory of the Social
Democratic Union (SDSM) in the 15 September parliamentary elections,
Jakimovski said. Representatives of MRTV employees, whose wages have
not been paid since August, have accused Jakimovski of mismanagement.
They called off a planned strike after his resignation was announced.
UB
[67] IRAQ BANS ROMANIA FROM PARTICIPATING IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR
Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi Salih announced on 30 October that
his country has banned Romania from participating in the Baghdad
International Trade Fair because of its "hostile policies" toward this
country, Mediafax reported, citing AFP. MS
[68] FITCH HIKES ROMANIA'S RATINGS
FitchRatings announced on 30 October that it has upgraded Romania's
credit rating for long-term debt in both foreign and local currencies
to BB- and BB, respectively, Romanian radio reported. The agency said
Romania's positive macroeconomic performance, the rise in its
foreign-currency assets, and the fiscal-austerity policy pursued by the
government led to the decision to raise the ratings. The cabinet said
the decision "confirms the substantial progress achieved in the
implementation of economic reforms, which was also acknowledged by the
EU and by international financial organizations. " MS
[69] HUNGARIAN PARTY IN ROMANIA OPPOSED TO EARLY ELECTIONS
The Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) said on 30
October it is opposed to the idea of holding early elections, RFE/RL's
Bucharest bureau reported. UDMR Chairman Bela Marko told journalists
Romania currently enjoys "political stability" and that early elections
are justified only if and when such stability does not exist and as a
"last resort." Prime Minister and Social Democratic Party Chairman
Adrian Nastase recently reiterated that his party might consider the
possibility of early elections. The opposition National Liberal Party
and the Democratic Party have already expressed their opposition to
early elections, which Nastase apparently seeks in order to take
advantage of the electorate's approval of Romania's likely invitation
to join NATO at the alliance's 21-22 November Prague summit. MS
[70] ROMANIAN OFFICIAL CRITICIZES LEVEL OF MINORITY REPRESENTATION
FOLLOWING HUNGARIAN ELECTIONS
Public Information Ministry State Secretary Doru Vasile Ionescu on 30
October criticized the outcome of the local elections held in Hungary
on 20 October, according to a ministry press release. Ionescu, who
oversees issues relating to Romanian minorities abroad, said that, "as
expected," the representation of the Romanian minority in Hungarian
local councils' autonomous self-governments was negatively affected by
the election law's deficiencies, which make possible "ethno-business."
The law does not require proof from those running in the elections that
they belong to the minority for whose seats they are competing. Ionescu
said that, as a result, out of 90 councilors elected in Budapest to
represent the Romanian national minority, only 30 are known to be
ethnic Romanians. The situation is similar in four other localities, he
said. Representation in the autonomous self-governing local councils
brings government subsidies with it, and Bucharest has long complained
that Hungarian Roma take over those seats. MS
[71] EU-BULGARIA JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ASSESSES ROMANY
SITUATION...
During its session in Sofia on 30 October, the joint EU-Bulgaria Joint
Parliamentary Committee assessed the situation of the Romany minority
in Bulgaria, mediapool.bg reported. According to European Parliament
Member Margot Kessler (Germany), large segments of the Romany minority
in Bulgaria are extremely poor and have minimal education, which has
resulted in their low social status. Bulgarian lawmakers were reluctant
to accept Kessler's statement that Bulgaria is not effectively
implementing its otherwise sound program for minority integration.
Cetin Kazak of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, the
junior coalition partner in the government, noted the government's
National Program for Roma Integration and other plans intended to
improve the situation of ethnic minorities. Some lawmakers, such as
Dimitar Abadzhiev of the opposition United Democratic Forces,
reiterated the widespread belief that the Romany minority's problems
stem from their unwillingness to integrate into Bulgarian society. UB
[72] ...AND THE NUCLEAR QUESTION
The joint EU-Bulgarian Parliamentary Committee also discussed the
closure of the Kozloduy nuclear-power plant, BTA reported on 30
October. In their joint final statement, the parliamentarians said a
joint safety review of the plant should be carried out in 2003 by the
Council of the European Union Special Working Group on Nuclear Issues.
European Parliament Member Jose-Maria Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado (Spain)
said he does not believe the European Commission will alter its demand
that blocks No. 3 and No. 4 of the plant be shut down by 2006. Energy
Minister Milko Kovachev defended the Bulgarian government's plans to
extend the lifespan of the reactors in question. "It is difficult, even
impossible to explain to Bulgarian constituents why an installation
with characteristics identical to those of the reactors in Slovakia has
to be closed much earlier, and why this should happen before Bulgaria
becomes a full member of the EU," Kovachev said. UB
[73] BULGARIAN FINANCE MINISTRY TO PROVIDE MONEY FOR NEW STATE AIRLINE
Finance Minister Milen Velchev announced on 30 October that the
government is willing to provide up to $15 million for the planned new
state airline Bulgarian Air Tour, mediapool.bg reported. At a joint
press conference, both Velchev and Transport and Communications
Minister Plamen Petrov declined to say whether employees of the
bankrupt former state airline Balkan Air will be employed by the new
airline (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002). UB
END NOTE
[74] There is no End Note today.
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