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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-12-16
CONTENTS
[01] RUSSIA SLAMS IRAQ OVER LUKOIL CONTRACT...
[02] ...AS COMMENTATORS SAY BAGHDAD IS PUSHING MOSCOW TOWARD WASHINGTON
[03] IMPRISONED CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER DIES MYSTERIOUSLY...
[04] ...AS MEDIA SPECULATES THAT HE WAS KILLED
[05] GOVERNMENT TO PUT SLAVNEFT ON THE AUCTION BLOCK...
[06] ...AS DUMA TRIES TO CUT THE CHINESE OUT
[07] U.S. BEGINS RETURN OF HISTORIC STALIN-ERA ARCHIVE
[08] FSB DIRECTOR DETAILS U.S. SPYING IN RUSSIA
[09] ALL SPORTS, ALL THE TIME
[10] ELECTRONIC-VOTING BILL GETS SECOND NOD
[11] 'AWARD' FOR BAD JOURNALISM INAUGURATED
[12] KAMCHATKA STRIKE ENTERS FOURTH WEEK
[13] REGIONAL MEDIA TOLD TO KEEP MUM ABOUT PUTIN'S PHONE CHAT
[14] AGRARIAN LEADER IN DUMA TO MAINTAIN ALLIANCE WITH COMMUNISTS
[15] REPORT DISCUSSES MEDIA CONTROL, SELF-CENSORSHIP IN DAGHESTAN
[16] AUDIT CHAMBER TO REVIEW AFFAIRS IN KRASNOYARSK
[17] PUTIN MEETS WITH CHECHEN LEADERS
[18] KARABAKH PRESIDENT MEETS WITH OSCE REPRESENTATIVE
[19] FIRST U.S.-TRAINED GEORGIAN COMMANDO BATTALION GRADUATES
[20] THREE DETAINED IN GEORGIA FOR KIDNAPPING LUKOIL EXECUTIVE'S FATHER
[21] GEORGIAN OFFICIAL REJECTS BRITISH CONSULTANT'S ABDUCTION
[22] PROSPECTS FOR RESOLVING SOUTH OSSETIAN CONFLICT IMPROVE
[23] UN REPRESENTATIVE MEETS WITH GEORGIAN PRESIDENT
[24] KYRGYZ OMBUDSMAN TAKES UP DUTIES
[25] KYRGYZ-TAJIK INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION MEETS
[26] EU OFFICIALS VISIT TAJIKISTAN
[27] IMF APPROVES POVERTY-REDUCTION LOAN FOR TAJIKISTAN
[28] FORMER PARLIAMENT SPEAKER IMPLICATED IN TURKMEN ASSASSINATION BID
[29] U.S. DIPLOMAT VISITS UZBEKISTAN
[30] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION GROUP REMAINS DIVIDED OVER 2003 LOCAL
[31] CONVICTED BELARUSIAN JOURNALIST TO BEGIN SERVING TWO-YEAR TERM
[32] OUR UKRAINE LEADER PLEDGES TO STAND BEHIND NATIONAL BANK
[33] ...WANTS UNITED OPPOSITION FRONT
[34] BALTIC STATES SATISFIED WITH EU ACCESSION TERMS
[35] BALTIC ASSEMBLY SESSION SETS PRIORITIES FOR 2003
[36] LATVIAN RIGHT-WING PARTY ELECTS NEW CHAIRMAN
[37] POLISH PREMIER SEALS EU DEAL AFTER TALKS DRAG OUT IN
[38] ...DRAWING WIDESPREAD PRAISE AT HOME...
[39] ...BUT GETS CRITICISM FROM EURO-SKEPTICS
[40] CZECH OPPOSITION PARTY ELECTS SUCCESSOR TO KLAUS...
[41] ...WHO APPEARS UNHAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME
[42] CZECH CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS CHOOSE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
[43] FORMER GUARD AT CZECHOSLOVAK CONCENTRATION CAMP DIES
[44] CZECH PREMIER SATISFIED WITH OUTCOME OF EU SUMMIT...
[45] ...INCLUDING FUTURE COMMITMENTS...
[46] ...AS ARE SLOVAK LEADERS
[47] SENIOR POLITICIAN HINTS AT EXIT FROM SLOVAK OPPOSITION PARTY
[48] HUNGARY ACCEPTS EU OFFER, IS INVITED INTO UNION...
[49] ...AMID OPPOSITION CRITICISM
[50] HUNGARIAN NATIONALISTS STAGE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST PRIME MINISTER
[51] HEARING FOR FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER BEGINS IN THE HAGUE...
[52] ...AMID WIDESPREAD ATTENTION
[53] NEW NATO MISSION LAUNCHED IN MACEDONIA
[54] ALBANIAN AND MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET
[55] UN DELEGATION HAILS PROGRESS IN KOSOVA
[56] YUGOSLAV AND SERBIAN OFFICIALS VISIT ALBANIA
[57] SERBIAN LOBBY GROUP SETS UP POLITICAL PARTY
[58] CROATIA RESUMES CONTROL OF STRATEGIC PENINSULA
[59] STABILITY PACT HEAD CALLS ON EU TO HELP BALKANS
[60] EUROPEAN COUNCIL SETS 2007 AS TARGET ACCESSION DATE FOR ROMANIA,
[61] ...AS ROMANIAN LEADERS EXPRESS SATISFACTION WITH RESULT
[62] ROMANIA BEGINS NEGOTIATIONS ON NATO ACCESSION
[63] GREATER ROMANIA PARTY LEADER WANTS POPE TO HEAD UNITED EUROPE
[64] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT 'COUNTS ON U.S. BACKING' FOR SOLVING
[65] ...AND APPOINTS REINTEGRATION MINISTER
[66] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT HAILS EU DECISIONS...
[67] ...AS DOES PARLIAMENT -- AFTER TRADING ACCUSATIONS
[68] BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST IRAQI ARMS DEALER
[69] AFGHAN PRESIDENT MOVES AGAINST WARLORDS
[70] HIZB-I ISLAMI SEES NO NEED FOR FOREIGN TROOPS...
[71] ...AND DENIES AL-QAEDA LINK
[72] TEHRAN CLOSES AFGHAN HIZBULLAH OFFICES
[73] IRANIAN STATE RADIO CLAIMS ISRAELIS ACTIVE IN AFGHANISTAN
[74] POLLSTER'S HEARING TO BE HELD IN CAMERA
[75] IRANIAN COURT DENIES RECEIVING AGHAJARI'S APPEAL
[76] HRW MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IRAN-EU DIALOGUE
[77] JUDICIARY OFFICIAL DESCRIBES HUMAN RIGHTS INTERACTION IN IRAN
[78] IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL QUITS
[79] IRANIAN LEGISLATURE APPROVES TORTURE BAN
[80] GUARDIANS COUNCIL DOWNPLAYS CONCERN ABOUT REJECTION OF LEGISLATION
[81] KERMAN STUDENTS ARRESTED
[82] 'BEAN' BASHER BUSTED AGAIN IN IRAN
[83] IRAQI PRESIDENT'S HALF-BROTHER ESCAPES INDICTMENT IN SWITZERLAND
[84] IRAQI OPPOSITION CONFERENCE MAKING PROGRESS...
[85] ...AND SEEKS TO FORM POSSIBLE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
[86] SYRIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PIPELINE...
[87] ...AS INTELLIGENCE INDICATES NEW PIPELINE IN OPERATION
[88] INSPECTORS ATTEMPT FRIDAY PROBE OF DISEASE-CONTROL CENTER IN
[89] ...AS UNMOVIC RETURNS TO ATOMIC ENERGY ORGANIZATION
[90] BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST IRAQI ARMS DEALER
[91] There is no End Note today.
16 December 2002
RUSSIA
[01] RUSSIA SLAMS IRAQ OVER LUKOIL CONTRACT...
The Russian government expressed bewilderment on 15 December over
Iraq's decision to cancel a contract with LUKoil to develop the West
Qurna oil field (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 December 2002), polit.ru
reported. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the decision
is "a step that does not correspond to the friendly relations between
our two countries." The statement also drew attention to the fact that
Baghdad made the decision even as Moscow is expending considerable
effort to find a peaceful solution to the Iraq situation. LUKoil Vice
President Leonid Fedun said his company does not believe the Iraqi
decision is irreversible, polit.ru reported. He said the contract
states that the sides must apply to an international court if the
contract's terms are violated, and added that LUKoil believes the
contract remains in force until a court rules otherwise. VY
[02] ...AS COMMENTATORS SAY BAGHDAD IS PUSHING MOSCOW TOWARD WASHINGTON
Political analyst Vyacheslav Nikonov, head of the Politika Foundation,
said that Iraq has made a serious mistake by "playing hardball" with
Russia, polit.ru reported on 15 December. He noted Russia has been very
conservative in its approach to Iraq and it has used its influence to
restrain the United States. In doing so, Russia has been counting on
the Iraqi leadership's willingness to defend Russia's economic
interests. Commenting on the decision, Nikonov said, "This is not the
tone with which one speaks to the Russian Federation." TV Tsentr
commentator Aleksei Pushkov said on 14 December that the only reason
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is still in Baghdad is because of the
political backing of Russia, China, and France. However, Moscow has
never concealed that its position is determined largely by its own
economic interests. By ignoring those interests, Hussein "has pushed
Russia into America's embrace," Pushkov said. VY
[03] IMPRISONED CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER DIES MYSTERIOUSLY...
Salman Raduev, one of the most notorious Chechen field commanders, died
suddenly on 14 December in a labor camp in Perm Oblast from "internal
bleeding of uncertain origin" after a one-week hospitalization, ORT and
other Russian news agencies reported. Raduev, 35, was captured in
Chechnya by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2000 and sentenced to
life in prison after being convicted of terrorism, including 1996 raids
on Kyzlyar and Pervomaiskoe, during which several dozen civilians were
killed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 December 2001). Deputy Justice
Minister Yurii Kalinin said an autopsy revealed "no evidence of
violence." He added that he does not know the cause of Raduev's
"internal bleeding," but speculated that it might have been caused by
his numerous combat wounds or by a blood disease from which he
reportedly suffered since childhood. An unidentified Justice Ministry
official said the fatal illness might have been brought on by Raduev's
strict observance of the fast during the month of Ramadan. He also said
Raduev's body will not be turned over to his relatives, but would be
buried in the prison camp's cemetery. Chechen Deputy Prime Minister and
National Security Minister Turpal-Ali Atgeriev died in prison in
August, reportedly of leukemia, although prior to his conviction he had
enjoyed perfect health (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 2002). LF/VY
[04] ...AS MEDIA SPECULATES THAT HE WAS KILLED
Raduev died as the result of a severe beating, "Kommersant-Daily" wrote
on 16 December. According to unidentified sources within the labor
camp's administration, Raduev failed to obey a prison warden's command
and was severely beaten with a nightstick, dying several hours later.
The daily noted that Raduev's death comes shortly after he gave
testimony against Chechen Vice Premier Akhmed Zakaev that was used as
part of Russia's unsuccessful case to secure Zakaev's extradition from
Denmark. Russia is currently seeking Zakaev's extradition from the
United Kingdom, and the loss of such an important witness could
seriously hamper Russia's case as Zakaev's defenders will now argue
that the Russian secret services forced Raduev to testify and then
killed him to prevent him from changing his story, the daily commented.
VY
[05] GOVERNMENT TO PUT SLAVNEFT ON THE AUCTION BLOCK...
The government has announced that a 75 percent stake in the oil giant
Slavneft that is owned by the governments of Russia and Belarus will be
sold at auction on 18 December, Russian news agencies reported on 15
December. The starting price for the share package is $1.7 billion, but
many brokers expect the final price to be more than $2 billion.
According to the Antimonopoly Ministry, 12 bidders have been authorized
to participate in the auction, including Russian oil giants Tyumen Oil
Company and Sibneft and the state-owned Chinese National Petrochemical
Corporation (CNPC). VY
[06] ...AS DUMA TRIES TO CUT THE CHINESE OUT
The State Duma on 15 December adopted a non-binding resolution calling
upon the government to ban CNPC from participating in the Slavneft
auction, nns.ru and other Russian news agencies reported. Lawmakers
argued that allowing CNPC to buy Slavneft will harm Russia's economic
interests, as the company might then ship crude oil directly to China,
bypassing Russian refineries. Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) leader
Boris Nemtsov supported the resolution and said that selling such a
vitally important national asset to China would be a political mistake.
He added that although there has been a lot of criticism of fellow SPS
leader Anatolii Chubais and his early 1990s privatization campaign, at
least Chubais never sold important state assets to foreigners. VY
[07] U.S. BEGINS RETURN OF HISTORIC STALIN-ERA ARCHIVE
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow attended a ceremony at the
Culture Ministry on 13 December to turn over to Russia the famous
"Smolensk archive," Russian and Western news agencies reported. The
archive, which includes 541 files comprising 20,000 pages, is part of
the archive of the Smolensk regional committee of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union from 1917-38, which was captured by German troops
in 1941 and ended up in the United States. It is one of the most
important historical sources for the study of Stalin-era communism and,
especially, the Great Purge of the 1930s. The United States offered to
return the archive to the Soviet Union in 1958, but the communist
government refused to acknowledge that the documents were genuine and
denounced them as a CIA fabrication. President Jimmy Carter's national
security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski was one of the first people to
study the Smolensk archive at Harvard University in the 1950s. The
documents "gave us a truly authentic worm's-eye view of the social and
institutional ugliness" of Soviet life at the time, Brzezinski was
quoted by "The Washington Post" as saying. "I hope [President Vladimir]
Putin enjoys reading it all," Brzezinski added. "You know, his
grandfather was one of Stalin's security guards. And Putin was very
close to his grandfather." Most Stalin-era secret-police and Communist
Party archives in Russia remain closed to the public, and the Federal
Security Service (FSB) has refused to assist human rights activists who
are seeking mass graves of Stalinist purge victims (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 20 September and 1 October 2002). RC
[08] FSB DIRECTOR DETAILS U.S. SPYING IN RUSSIA
Speaking to the heads of Russia's main television channels and news
agencies, Nikolai Patrushev said that his agency uncovered a U.S.
intelligence operation in 2002 and arrested two Russian citizens on
suspicion of gathering secret military information, ORT and other news
agencies reported on 16 December. Patrushev said that many
representatives of aid and religious organizations are "working for
American intelligence," mentioning especially the U.S. Peace Corps.
This year, the FSB instigated the refusal to renew the visas of 30
Peace Corps volunteers working in Russia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13
August 2002). He added that some Turkish and Azerbaijani organizations
and citizens are also conducting intelligence work. He said that an
Azerbaijani general who worked on the CIS staff for military
cooperation was arrested and expelled earlier this year. At the same
time, Patrushev emphasized that the FSB is cooperating closely with
Western intelligence services to combat international terrorism and
that through this cooperation several internationally wanted Islamic
extremists were arrested in Russia in 2002. VY
[09] ALL SPORTS, ALL THE TIME
Russia will have its own dedicated all-sports television channel within
the next two to three months, lenta.ru and other Russian news agencies
reported on 16 December. State Sports Committee Chairman Vyacheslav
Fetisov made the announcement following a 15 December meeting of the
committee that was attended by President Putin. Russian Olympic
Committee head Leonid Tyagchev emphasized that Putin supports the idea
of creating such a channel. Putin told the committee that in 2003, the
government will double its spending on athletics and sports. Putin also
said he believes the composition of the State Sports Committee should
be expanded to include at least one representative of an organization
for handicapped athletes, strana.ru reported. RC
[10] ELECTRONIC-VOTING BILL GETS SECOND NOD
The State Duma on 15 December passed in its second reading a bill on
the use of electronic voting machines, RosBalt reported. The vote was
266 for and 136 opposed. The bill has provoked controversy, with some
politicians and experts arguing that it will make it easier for the
government to manipulate election results (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31
October and 6 November 2002). RC
[11] 'AWARD' FOR BAD JOURNALISM INAUGURATED
The Union of Journalists and the Duma's Subcommittee on the Youth Press
have announced the creation of a prize for the most unreliable press
report, RosBalt reported on 15 December. The Golden Duck (Zolotaya
utka) award will be presented annually, and "anyone who feels they have
been victimized by incorrect information published in the press" can
make a nomination, said subcommittee Chairman Andrei Vulf (SPS).
Organizers hope that the publicity will encourage greater journalistic
accuracy and responsibility. RC
[12] KAMCHATKA STRIKE ENTERS FOURTH WEEK
The number of striking municipal workers in the Far Eastern city of
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii continues to grow despite concessions on the
part of the Kamchatka Oblast Council, Russian news agencies reported on
16 December. Street cleaners and other municipal workers in the city
have been striking since 25 November seeking wage arrears, salary
increases, distribution of benefits guaranteed by the law on northern
territories, and the dismissal of several municipal officials. On 16
December, the oblast council voted to transfer responsibility for the
workers from the city to the oblast administration and to finance a 5.3
million ruble ($171,000) wage increase in 2003 from the oblast budget,
gazeta.ru reported. On 9 December, the legislature also allocated 12.3
million rubles from the oblast budget to pay the wage arrears.
Nonetheless, on 16 December workers from the Tsentralnyi Municipal
Enterprise joined the strike and those from the Dalnyi Municipal
Enterprise announced they will begin striking on 19 December. According
to a spokesman for the Kamchatka Oblast governor's office,
electrical-sector workers might also join the strike in the near
future, as the city owes Kamchatskenergo 33 million rubles. The
spokesman said that Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii's embattled mayor, Yurii
Golenishchev, has refused to provide the oblast administration with any
information about the status of the municipal budget, gazeta.ru
reported. RC
[13] REGIONAL MEDIA TOLD TO KEEP MUM ABOUT PUTIN'S PHONE CHAT
Oleg Dobrodeev, chairman of the All-Russian State Television and Radio
Company (VGTRK), has directed personnel at regional state-owned
television companies not to release any information about preparations
for President Putin's upcoming live call-in show, regnum.ru reported on
15 December, citing Svetlana Voitovich, the director of the Novosibirsk
television studio. State television and radio will broadcast Putin's
answers to questions collected from across the Russian Federation on 19
December. Voitovich told regnum.ru that only representatives of VGTRK
in Moscow are authorized to comment on preparations for the call-in
program. Putin answered 47 questions during a similar live program last
December; commentators said that show had been rehearsed extensively in
advance (see "RFE/RL Russian Political Weekly," 31 December 2001). LB
[14] AGRARIAN LEADER IN DUMA TO MAINTAIN ALLIANCE WITH COMMUNISTS
The Agrarian Party plans to campaign for the State Duma independently
in 2003, but Agro-Industrial Duma faction leader Nikolai Kharitonov
told Ekho Moskvy on 14 December that rural dwellers and workers linked
to the agrarian sector will not support the party under its current
leadership. Kharitonov campaigned for the Communist Party during the
1999 parliamentary elections, and in a lengthy interview he predicted
the rural electorate will continue to support the Communist-led
Popular-Patriotic Union of Russia. He blamed Agrarian Party leader
Mikhail Lapshin for betraying his "ideological convictions" and
consequently losing popular support during the 1995 and 1999
parliamentary campaigns. Even if Agriculture Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Aleksei Gordeev replaces Lapshin as Agrarian Party leader,
Kharitonov argued the rural electorate will view Gordeev as a
representative of the government that proposed legislation to allow the
purchase and sale of farmland. LB
[15] REPORT DISCUSSES MEDIA CONTROL, SELF-CENSORSHIP IN DAGHESTAN
In the Republic of Daghestan, apparently complete freedom of speech
masks the "complete absence" of that freedom, according to a new report
prepared by the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations. Available
at http://www.cjes.ru/bulletin/special/016.php, the report reviews the
media landscape in Daghestan and describes the tactics used by the
regional authorities, and to a lesser extent by local religious
leaders, to maintain obedience from journalists even though Daghestan
has no overt censorship and no media laws that contradict federal
legislation. The author notes that "not a single newspaper that
criticized the government has survived," and journalists who in theory
can criticize anyone and anything are instead "fearful," preferring to
"live harmoniously" with the powers that be. The center also posted
similar reports on the press in Chechnya and Ingushetia. LB
[16] AUDIT CHAMBER TO REVIEW AFFAIRS IN KRASNOYARSK
The Audit Chamber will in January 2003 conduct a comprehensive audit of
affairs in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Radio Mayak reported on 14 December,
citing an RIA-Novosti interview with Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei
Stepashin. Stepashin observed that the krai, once a thriving,
revenue-generating region, is now bankrupt, owing some 4 billion rubles
($125 million) to the federal treasury. He also said the Audit Chamber
has completed a thorough review of Magadan Oblast, the results of which
will shed light on the assassination of Governor Valentin Tsvetkov in
October. LB
[17] PUTIN MEETS WITH CHECHEN LEADERS
President Putin met in Moscow on 15 December with Chechen
administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov and with Chechen Prime
Minister Mikhail Babich to discuss the socioeconomic situation in
Chechnya, Russian agencies reported. The talks focused specifically on
the creation of a banking system and the upcoming appointment of a
Chechen interior minister. Babich also said that beginning in January
2003, inspection teams will be established to monitor the use of funds
allocated for reconstruction in Chechnya. There are persistent rumors
that huge sums of money earmarked for that purpose are embezzled (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 3 December 2002). LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[18] KARABAKH PRESIDENT MEETS WITH OSCE REPRESENTATIVE
Arkadii Ghukasian met in Stepanakert late on 12 December with Andrzej
Kasprczyk, personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, to
discuss the situation on the Line of Contact between Armenian and
Azerbaijani forces, according to Mediamax on 13 December as cited by
Groong. There were several reported exchanges of fire along the Line of
Contact last week, in one of which an Armenian lieutenant was shot
dead. LF
[19] FIRST U.S.-TRAINED GEORGIAN COMMANDO BATTALION GRADUATES
The first 558 Georgian commandos trained by U.S. instructors within the
parameters of the U.S.-funded Train and Equip program graduated on 15
December in the presence of President Eduard Shevardnadze, U.S.
Ambassador Richard Miles, and Georgian Defense Minister
Lieutenant-General David Tevzadze, AP and Russian news agencies
reported. Shevardnadze again expressed his gratitude for the U.S. help
in raising the efficiency of Georgia's armed forces. The instructors
who conducted the first training course are to return to the United
States, but U.S. Marines will take over the training program in
February 2003, Interfax quoted Miles as saying. Georgian National
Security Council Secretary Tedo Djaparidze said at the graduation
ceremony on 15 December that the U.S.-trained Georgian commandos will
be responsible for the security of the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
export pipeline, Caucasus Press reported on 16 December. LF
[20] THREE DETAINED IN GEORGIA FOR KIDNAPPING LUKOIL EXECUTIVE'S FATHER
Georgian police detained three people on 13 December in connection with
the abduction 12 days earlier of Sadi Sharipov, father of LUKoil Vice
President Vagit Sharipov, from his home in Georgia's southern Dmanisi
Raion, Caucasus Press and Russian news agencies reported. Two of the
three men reportedly confessed to the kidnapping, telling police that
the reason they did not demand a ransom was that their 79-year-old
captive died of heart failure one hour after he was snatched from his
home (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 December 2002). The three men are
reportedly all Svans who fled Abkhazia during the 1992-93 war. LF
[21] GEORGIAN OFFICIAL REJECTS BRITISH CONSULTANT'S ABDUCTION
ACCUSATIONS
Georgian State Security Ministry spokesman Nika Laliashvili on 14
December rejected as "groundless" British banking consultant Peter
Shaw's statement to a Georgian investigator that Agriculture Minister
David Kirvalidze and businessman Gocha Pipia were behind his abduction
in Tbilisi in June, Caucasus Press and Russian news agencies reported.
Shaw said that in his former capacity as head of Georgia's
AgroBusinessBank he had arguments with the two men. Laliashvili said
Shaw is clearly still suffering from stress following his five months'
captivity. Shaw was seized in Tbilisi in June and released, reportedly
as the result of an operation mounted by Georgian security officials,
on 6 November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 November 2002). LF
[22] PROSPECTS FOR RESOLVING SOUTH OSSETIAN CONFLICT IMPROVE
Socialist Party leader Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, whom President
Shevardnadze recently named his special envoy for the conflict with
South Ossetia, held talks in Tskhinvali on 15 December with the
unrecognized republic's President Eduard Kokoyty, to whom he presented
unspecified proposals for resolving the region's decade-long standoff
with the central Georgian government, Caucasus Press reported on 16
December. Interfax on 15 December quoted Rcheulishvili as saying that
he has established good, business-like relations with the South
Ossetian leadership and that the key to resolving the conflict lies in
Moscow. Rcheulishvili's Socialist Party aligned last month with the
former ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia, Shevardnadze's erstwhile
power base (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 November 2002). LF
[23] UN REPRESENTATIVE MEETS WITH GEORGIAN PRESIDENT
During talks in Tbilisi on 13 December, Heidi Tagliavini, who is the UN
secretary-general's special envoy for the Abkhaz conflict, told
President Shevardnadze the UN thinks that economic cooperation in
Abkhazia should not be considered separately from the search for a
political solution to the status of Abkhazia within Georgia, Caucasus
Press reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 5, No. 39, 12
December 2002). Meanwhile Abkhaz First Deputy Interior Minister Valerii
Lagvilava told Interfax on 15 December that the Abkhaz authorities
anticipate a renewed offensive by Georgian guerrillas in southern
Abkhazia in the run-up to the New Year festivities. LF
[24] KYRGYZ OMBUDSMAN TAKES UP DUTIES
Tursun Bakir Uulu was sworn in as Kyrgyzstan's first ombudsman on 13
December and met the following day in Bishkek with representatives of
international human rights organizations, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
reported. He said he is considering the choice of three deputies and
hopes to open offices in every region of Kyrgyzstan, but that the 4
million soms ($87,000) allocated by the government for his budget is
inadequate for that purpose. LF
[25] KYRGYZ-TAJIK INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION MEETS
The first meeting for five years of the Kyrgyz-Tajik intergovernmental
commission on trade and economic cooperation took place in Bishkek on
12-13 December, Russian news agencies and RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
reported. The participants focused on establishing a free-trade regime,
the joint exploitation of hydroelectric resources, and simplifying the
process of obtaining citizenship by nationals of one country living in
the other. They also agreed to hold a meeting of the joint commission
on border delimitation and demarcation from 23-28 December. The last
such talks took place two years ago. On 12 December, Interfax also
announced the two countries are drafting a treaty on
confidence-building measures in the region of their common border and a
defense-cooperation agreement. LF
[26] EU OFFICIALS VISIT TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmonov met in Dushanbe on 13 December
with visiting EU officials Kurt Juul and Alan Waddams, Asia Plus-Blitz
reported. Noting that at present the EU's relations with Tajikistan are
confined to commerce, investment, and humanitarian aid, Juul said the
union is prepared to begin a political dialogue with Dushanbe,
ITAR-TASS reported. The following day, Juul told ITAR-TASS that the
September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States impelled the EU
to focus more clearly on Central Asia as a whole with the aim of
promoting peace and stability there. A third EU official, Bryan Toll,
told ITAR-TASS on 15 December that Tajikistan's commitment to the
international struggle against terrorism has positively affected EU
attitudes toward that country. LF
[27] IMF APPROVES POVERTY-REDUCTION LOAN FOR TAJIKISTAN
The IMF Board of Directors has approved a new three-year Poverty
Reduction and Growth Facility loan of some $87 million for Tajikistan,
according to an 11 December IMF press release summarized on 13 December
by ITAR-TASS. IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chairman Eduardo
Aninat noted that over the past 18 months Tajikistan has achieved
strong economic growth and reduced inflation and that fiscal
performance has likewise been strong. He added, however, that the
government should pay greater attention to monetary policy and
extensive structural reforms, including the privatization of state
farms. LF
[28] FORMER PARLIAMENT SPEAKER IMPLICATED IN TURKMEN ASSASSINATION BID
Turkmen parliament speaker Ovezgeldy Ataev told a parliament session on
13 December that the Prosecutor-General's Office has established that
his predecessor, Tagandurdy Khallyev, together with another parliament
deputy, was one of the organizers of the 25 November bid to assassinate
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, Interfax and turkmenistan.ru
reported. Ataev claimed that Khallyev met with the perpetrators on 24
November and promised them that if they succeeded in killing Niyazov he
would endeavor to enlist the support of other parliament members for
the planned new leadership. Khallyev was dismissed as parliament
speaker in early November after serving in that position for less than
six months (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 November 2002). LF
[29] U.S. DIPLOMAT VISITS UZBEKISTAN
On a one-day visit to Tashkent on 13 December, U.S. Under Secretary of
State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson met
with President Islam Karimov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for
Macroeconomics and Statistics Rustam Azimov to discuss broadening
bilateral economic cooperation and expanding market reforms in
Uzbekistan, uzreport.com reported. Larson told journalists after those
talks that he expressed appreciation of Uzbekistan's contribution to
the war against terrorism and of Karimov's insights into the situation
in Afghanistan. He called for increased cooperation between Uzbekistan
and the IMF, which he said would help to reassure potential foreign
investors, and suggested that legalizing private ownership of
agricultural land would contribute to increasing productivity. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[30] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION GROUP REMAINS DIVIDED OVER 2003 LOCAL
ELECTIONS
The Conservative Christian Party (KKhP) of the Belarusian Popular
Front, which is led by exiled Zyanon Paznyak from Poland, has called on
Belarusians and the international community to boycott next spring's
local election in Belarus, Belapan reported on 15 December. "The
existing regime has established a system of control and falsification
of elections that guarantees it the result needed irrespective of the
outcome of any election," the KKhP said in a public appeal. According
to the KKhP, the only way out of Belarus's political crisis is
immediate presidential voting under the supervision of the UN and other
international organizations. Meanwhile, the other wing of the
Belarusian Popular Front, which is led by Vintsuk Vyachorka, has
approved a list of 200 activists who will seek registration as
candidates in next spring's local elections. "We regard the local
elections as a good opportunity for a massive political campaign,"
Vyachorka's group said in a statement. The Belarusian Popular Front,
the country's largest opposition group in the 1990s, split into
Paznyak's and Vyachorka's factions in 1999. JM
[31] CONVICTED BELARUSIAN JOURNALIST TO BEGIN SERVING TWO-YEAR TERM
Viktar Ivashkevich, editor in chief of the Minsk-based independent
newspaper "Rabochy" and deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front
(Vyachorka's faction), has been ordered by police to arrive by 17
December to a labor colony in Baranavichy (Brest Oblast), where he must
serve a sentence of two years of "restricted freedom" for defaming
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Belapan reported on 13 December.
Ivashkevich's case stems from an article titled "Thief Must Be In
Prison" in a special edition of the newspaper published during last
year's presidential campaign. The edition never reached readers, since
all copies were seized by police. The story implicated Lukashenka and
his entourage in serious economic crimes. JM
[32] OUR UKRAINE LEADER PLEDGES TO STAND BEHIND NATIONAL BANK
GOVERNOR...
Our Ukraine head Viktor Yushchenko on 14 December said the opposition
will do everything possible to prevent the dismissal of National Bank
Governor Volodymyr Stelmakh, UNIAN reported. "[Stelmakh] is our last
bastion, and we will not move away," Yushchenko said. Following two
abortive attempts to vote Stelmakh out of his post in the parliament,
President Leonid Kuchma has filed a third motion to the Verkhovna Rada
to replace Stelmakh with Serhiy Tyhypko. Meanwhile, Yuliya Tymoshenko,
leader of the eponymous opposition bloc, has announced that the
parliamentary opposition is ready to make "compromises" with the
pro-government majority on some unspecified legislative issues if
Stelmakh retains his post. JM
[33] ...WANTS UNITED OPPOSITION FRONT
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko on 14 December called on Ukraine's opposition
forces to unite, UNIAN reported. "On behalf of the 10 political forces
constituting the Our Ukraine bloc, we are conducting negotiations with
opposition forces regarding [their] consolidation and agreement,"
Yushchenko said at a congress of the Sobor Party in Kyiv. Tymoshenko
stressed at the same congress that the consolidation of opposition
forces is necessary to challenge authorities efficiently in the next
presidential election. "Today, power [in Ukraine] is exercised by
cynical and pragmatic people who control enormous material and
informational resources. Therefore, we should prevent the opposition
from dissipating in the presidential election, as happened during the
[March] parliamentary elections," Tymoshenko said. JM
[34] BALTIC STATES SATISFIED WITH EU ACCESSION TERMS
The presidents and prime ministers of the three Baltic states joined
representatives of seven other candidate states at the EU summit in
Copenhagen on 12-13 December, where they received invitations to join
the EU in 2004, BNS reported. The financial terms improved the final
day when, primarily due to Polish demands, the EU agreed to offer an
additional $442 million, mostly for agricultural subsidies. On a
per-capita basis after subtracting payments to the EU budget, Lithuania
will receive more assistance than any of the other candidates in the
first three years -- 387 euros, followed by Estonia (357 euros) and
Latvia (348 euros). Estonian officials, however, noted that aid to
Lithuania is not fully comparable, since that figure includes
expenditures for closing a nuclear-power plant at Ignalina and Russian
transit subsidies with the Kaliningrad Oblast via Lithuania. SG
[35] BALTIC ASSEMBLY SESSION SETS PRIORITIES FOR 2003
The Baltic Assembly session in Riga on 13 and 14 December adopted final
documents, several resolutions, and a 2003 budget, BNS reported. Among
the most important changes approved were extending the term of the
Baltic Assembly presidency from six months to one year, timing the
sessions to coincide with meetings of the Baltic Council of Ministers,
and organizing annual conferences about issues of major importance to
the Baltic states. The resolutions dealt with Baltic integration into
NATO, antidrug measures, and greater cooperation in the areas of
science and research. The presidency will pass to Lithuania at the end
of the year, with Giedre Purnaveckiene heading the new presidium. The
next Baltic Assembly session will take place on 28-30 November in
Vilnius. SG
[36] LATVIAN RIGHT-WING PARTY ELECTS NEW CHAIRMAN
The congress of the For the Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK elected former
parliamentary Chairman Janis Straume the party's new chairman in Riga
on 14 December, LETA reported the next day. Maris Grinblats resigned as
chairman after the parliamentary elections in October, in which the
party lost 10 of its 17 seats. The 466 delegates at the congress gave
Straume 309 votes and Riga City Councilman Valdis Kalnozols 134 votes.
The congress also elected Janis Birks, Juris Boldans, Einars Cilinskis,
Juris Dobelis, Maris Grinblats, Janis Grube, Guntars Krasts, Girts
Valdis Kristovskis, Inese Vaidere, and Roberts Zile to a 10-member
executive board. SG
[37] POLISH PREMIER SEALS EU DEAL AFTER TALKS DRAG OUT IN
COPENHAGEN...
Premier Leszek Miller held several rounds of talks with Danish Premier
Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the EU summit in Copenhagen on 13 December
over a span of 11 hours, the most conspicuous holdout in negotiations
on financial supports to candidate countries upon EU membership, Polish
and international media reported. "All the postulates with which we
came to Copenhagen have been accepted," Miller told a news conference
immediately after the talks ended. Under a deal brokered by Poland,
farmers in new member countries will receive 55 percent of the amount
of the EU's current direct subsidies in 2004, 60 percent in 2005, and
65 percent in 2006 (some 40 percent of these subsidies will be paid
from domestic budgets, however, rather than EU funds). Poland also is
to receive 1.5 billion euros ($1.53 billion) in financial assistance
from Brussels in 2004-06. Other concessions won by Warsaw include 108
million euros in EU additional funds for border protection, maintaining
a reduced, 7 percent value-added-tax rate on homes, and an annual
wholesale-milk quota of 8.5 million tons. JM
[38] ...DRAWING WIDESPREAD PRAISE AT HOME...
Poland's largest dailies, "Gazeta Wyborcza" and "Rzeczpospolita,"
hailed the EU concessions negotiated by Miller in Copenhagen as a major
achievement by the Polish premier, in particular, and Poland in
general. "It is difficult not to have cause for satisfaction," Maciej
Plazynski, a leader of the opposition Civic Platform, commented on the
Copenhagen summit. But he added that Poland is entering the EU on
"difficult" terms. "[The Copenhagen deal] opens for us potential
opportunities for a real catch-up on the many years of losses in the
economic sphere," Roman Catholic Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek said. "I am
pleased that the Polish delegation managed to obtain so much in the
last day [of EU negotiations]. I think this is a good result," Poland's
first non-Communist premier, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, noted. JM
[39] ...BUT GETS CRITICISM FROM EURO-SKEPTICS
Roman Giertych, a leader of the anti-EU League of Polish Families, said
Miller's tactics on 13 December "changed nothing," adding, "It was
already obvious a week ago that it would not be possible to win
anything more," PAP reported on 13 December. According to Giertych,
Miller "manipulated" public opinion by not telling the media what
portion of direct subsidies to farmers will be coming from the EU and
what portion from the Polish budget. "It is known that at least half
[of the concessions comprise] what we will have to pay ourselves,"
Giertych added. The "Nasz Dziennik" daily, linked to the ultra-Catholic
Radio Maryja, wrote in a commentary on 14 December that on 13 December
1981, when communist authorities imposed martial law, Poles had their
mouths shut "for their own good." The daily added that on the 21st
anniversary of the imposition of martial law, "these same people are
signing promises in Copenhagen that will deprive us of a sovereign
state...'for our own good.'" JM
[40] CZECH OPPOSITION PARTY ELECTS SUCCESSOR TO KLAUS...
Senator Mirek Topolanek on 15 December was surprisingly elected the
opposition Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) new chairman at a congress
held in Frantiskovy Lazne, CTK and AP reported. He replaces ODS founder
and outgoing chairman, former Premier Vaclav Klaus, who in October
announced his intention to run for Czech president. Topolanek's
election to the post signals a "turn toward change" in the party and a
desire to reunite the political right, the weekly "Respekt" wrote on 16
December. Topolanek, a deputy president of the Senate, was elected in
the second round of voting, receiving 179 votes in a secret ballot. In
the first round, Topolanek placed second, receiving 109 votes, seven
less than Petr Necas, whom many regarded as the favorite. Necas
received 168 votes in the second round of the secret ballot. He was
later elected as a deputy chairman, as were Petr Bendl and Miroslava
Nemcova. The post of ODS first deputy chairman went to Jan Zahradil. MS
[41] ...WHO APPEARS UNHAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME
Outgoing Chairman Klaus said after Topolanek's victory that it is not
the personality of his successor that bothers him but he fact that
Topolanek will not be capable of fulfilling expectations. Klaus and
Topolanek have crossed swords several times in the past. Klaus
described himself as "a more sober person" than Topolanek, who is
famous in the party for his joviality. In a speech delivered to the
forum before the vote, Topolanek said the ODS "does not need a new
ideology, as its ideology is Klausism." After his election, he told
journalists that his relations with Klaus were never bad, adding, "If
we clashed, it is because we are radically different types of
personalities, rather than due to differences of opinion." He said his
priorities will be to preserve party unity and prepare the ODS for
victories in the regional and Senate elections of 2004, as well as in
the elections to the European Parliament. Topolanek also stressed that
the party is open to "independents, members of other center-right
parties, and former members of our party as well." MS
[42] CZECH CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS CHOOSE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
Senate President Petr Pithart was selected on 14 December as the
Christian Democratic Union-People's Party's (KDU-CSL) candidate for the
presidential elections scheduled for January, CTK and AP reported.
President Vaclav Havel's second term expires in early February. In
related news, Ivan Pilip, acting chairman of the center-right Freedom
Union-Democratic Union (US-DEU), said on 14 December that the survival
of the coalition government will be threatened if former Premier Milos
Zeman becomes president, CTK reported. US-DEU Deputy Chairman Petr
Mares recently said that if that happened, the US-DEU would leave the
three-party coalition that is led by the Social Democratic Party, of
which Zeman is a member. MS
[43] FORMER GUARD AT CZECHOSLOVAK CONCENTRATION CAMP DIES
Anton Malloth, a former Nazi guard at the Theresienstadt (Terezin)
concentration camp who last year was sentenced to life in prison by a
Munich tribunal, died of cancer on 31 October, CTK reported on 13
December. Malloth was released from prison shortly before his death for
health reasons. He was 90. MS
[44] CZECH PREMIER SATISFIED WITH OUTCOME OF EU SUMMIT...
Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said on 14 December on his return from
the Copenhagen summit -- where his country was one of 10 officially
invited to join the EU -- that he is satisfied with the outcome of the
negotiations that made a breakthrough possible, CTK reported. The
expansion agreement came after the organization accepted the Danish
Presidency's proposal that the EU contribute 40.83 billion euros ($42
billion) in farm and other subsidies for the 10 new member states --
about 420 million euros more than the initial Danish offer, according
to AFP and other news agencies. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic
were the last aspirants to accept the agreement, according to
international media reports. Spidla said his country will receive 83
million euros more from the EU budget than initially offered. The
government also may subsidize farmers from its own budget beyond the EU
subsidies. Czech farmers will be eligible for 55 percent of the
subsidies offered to current EU members in 2004, rising to 60 percent
in 2005 and 65 percent in 2006. MS
[45] ...INCLUDING FUTURE COMMITMENTS...
Spidla also said it is not realistic to expect the Czech Republic to
adopt the euro sooner than 2009-11. Spidla met in Copenhagen with
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and they agreed that a joint
declaration on the safety of the controversial Temelin nuclear power
plant should be attached to the EU accession treaty. The declaration is
to mention the obligation of the sides to respect the so-called Melk
agreement of 2001 between Schuessel and former Premier Zeman. MS
[46] ...AS ARE SLOVAK LEADERS
Slovakia's citizens could not possibly give themselves a better present
for the 10th anniversary of their country's independence than the
recent invitations to join NATO and the EU, Prime Minister Mikulas
Dzurinda said on his return from Copenhagen on 14 December, TASR
reported. Slovakia, he said, has now become "a part of the
Euro-Atlantic security and economic structures." Dzurinda thanked a
number of officials for their contributions, saying he is also grateful
for opposition support during accession negotiations. He said
Slovakia's referendum on EU membership should be held in early June.
According to TASR, in the first three years of membership, Slovakia is
to receive $838 million more than it contributes to the EU's budget,
including some $23 million more than the initial EU offer in farm
subsidies, $90 million for rural development, and $48 million for
securing its eastern border. President Rudolf Schuster said in a
statement cited by CTK on 14 December, "Slovakia is marching on the
path that within a few years will markedly improve the quality of life"
and the country will contribute to "the enrichment of united Europe."
MS
[47] SENIOR POLITICIAN HINTS AT EXIT FROM SLOVAK OPPOSITION PARTY
Vojtech Tkac, deputy chairman of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
(HZDS), said on 15 December that he does not rule out the possibility
of leaving the HZDS and setting up a different party, TASR and CTK
reported, citing TV Markiza. He said "collective decision-making has
ceased to exist" in the HZDS and the party has been turned into a
one-man show -- that of Vladimir Meciar. MS
[48] HUNGARY ACCEPTS EU OFFER, IS INVITED INTO UNION...
Hungary, among the last candidate countries to accept the EU's
financial package in Copenhagen on 13 December, received an invitation
to join the EU on 1 May 2004 along with nine other candidate states.
Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy offered his thanks to the experts
working on the accession talks and to previous governments that worked
toward EU accession. Medgyessy also said he is certain the 12 April
referendum will give him a mandate to sign the accession treaty in
Athens on 16 April. Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs announced that
Hungarian farmers will receive EU direct subsidies together with a
supplement from the national budget, which in 2004 will represent 55
percent of what is available to their EU counterparts, "Nepszabadsag"
reported on 14 December. "Magyar Nemzet," however, quoted unidentified
Hungarian delegation members saying direct agricultural subsidies from
the EU will remain at the original 25 percent levels, while the extent
of state funding will rise from the initially planned 20 percent to 30
percent in 2004, to 35 in 2005, and to 40 in 2006. In the next three
years, Hungary will obtain 56 million euros ($57 million) in budgetary
compensation, compared to 420 million euros originally requested,
"Magyar Hirlap" reported. MSZ
[49] ...AMID OPPOSITION CRITICISM
Former Prime Minister Viktor Orban on 14 December told reporters that
while Hungary's EU accession is of historic significance, the Hungarian
delegation conducted "weak and abortive talks" over the last few days
with the EU, Budapest dailies reported on 16 December. Orban said that
while Poland and the Czech Republic achieved considerable results at
the very last moment, Hungarians "can present nothing." He added, "We
only succeeded in getting approval to spend our own money." Opposition
Democratic Forum deputy Sandor Lezsak said there is a danger that a
considerable portion of Hungarian farmland will end up in foreign hands
upon accession. MSZ
[50] HUNGARIAN NATIONALISTS STAGE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST PRIME MINISTER
The World Federation of Hungarians and other civic groups staged a
demonstration in downtown Budapest on 15 December, calling for the
resignation of Premier Medgyessy for celebrating Romania's national day
with his Romanian counterpart Adrian Nastase on 1 December (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 2, 4, and 12 December 2002). The demonstrators also
criticized the Hungarian government's policy toward ethnic Hungarians
abroad, "Magyar Nemzet" reported. In other news, the same daily
reported that former Premier Orban was awarded the Julianus Prize for
his role in establishing the Sapientia Hungarian-language university in
Transylvania. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[51] HEARING FOR FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER BEGINS IN THE HAGUE...
The hearing for crimes against humanity in the case of former Bosnian
Serb President Biljana Plavsic opened in The Hague on 16 December,
RFE/RL reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 October 2002). Chief
prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said the "hearing is of unusual importance
in bringing to light what occurred during the conflict in Bosnia and
Herzegovina [in 1992-95]. It is the first time in the history of this
tribunal that a senior figure in the former Yugoslavia indicted in a
top leadership role has admitted responsibility for horrific crimes
committed during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Del Ponte
added, "In her dealings with my office, the accused has not sought to
gain personal advantage or to evade responsibility for what she herself
has done. But the fact of the [guilty] plea in itself must be an
important step towards reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina." PM
[52] ...AMID WIDESPREAD ATTENTION
Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, former U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, and former Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad
Dodik are expected to be among the witnesses at Plavsic's hearing,
Reuters reported on 16 December. The news agency noted that while many
Muslims and Croats hailed her decision to plead guilty, they want her
to receive at least some punishment for her prominent role in former
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's inner circle during the war.
Other charges against Plavsic were dropped when she entered her guilty
plea on one charge of crimes against humanity in October. Plavsic
turned herself in to the war crimes tribunal after being publicly
indicted by that body in 2000. After nine months of detention, she was
released to Serbia pending her trial. PM
[53] NEW NATO MISSION LAUNCHED IN MACEDONIA
NATO'S Operation Amber Fox ended on 14 December and was succeeded by
the 450-strong operation called Allied Harmony the next day, dpa
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 and 16 October, 15 and 28 November,
and 12 December 2002 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 15 February, 8 March,
3 May, 16 August, and 15 November 2002). The new mission will focus on
advising the Macedonian military and helping prepare that country for
NATO membership (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 22 November 2002). Allied
Harmony will also support international observers of Macedonia's peace
process and maintain contacts with local authorities. Macedonian
President Boris Trajkovski said in Skopje, "The new mission will be
able to focus more on giving advice and assistance, which will enable
Macedonia to fully safeguard its territory." In September 2001, NATO
launched Operation Essential Harvest with about 3,500 troops to collect
weapons. Amber Fox followed with about 700 troops to protect
international monitors. PM
[54] ALBANIAN AND MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET
Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his Macedonian counterpart
Branko Crvenkovski met in the eastern Albanian town of Liqenas on 14
December, RFE/RL's Macedonian broadcasters reported. Their talks
focused on the two countries' efforts aimed at EU accession as well as
on the rights of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Albania. "We must
not wait for other countries to take initiative. Macedonia and Albania
will do this themselves [in seeking] to join NATO and the EU as early
as possible," Crvenkovski said. Nano promised that Albania will improve
the educational, cultural, and human rights of its Macedonian minority.
The two leaders also agreed that military and police officials from the
two countries will meet soon to discuss ways of controlling smuggling
across their common border, dpa reported. UB
[55] UN DELEGATION HAILS PROGRESS IN KOSOVA
Norwegian Ambassador to the UN Peter Kolby and a delegation of 15
ambassadors from the UN Security Council arrived in Prishtina on 14
December, dpa reported. After concluding their visit two days later,
Kolby said: "Compared to what we saw here 18 months ago, there has been
substantial progress." He added, however, that "much more" remains to
be done in the province to make it a truly "multiethnic and democratic
society." Kolby said his group will not recommend any changes to
Resolution 1244, which governs the terms of the UN mission in Kosova.
The visit was overshadowed by a bomb blast in central Bill Clinton
Square that left 32 people injured. President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime
Minister Bajram Rexhepi condemned the bombing, which police are
investigating. PM
[56] YUGOSLAV AND SERBIAN OFFICIALS VISIT ALBANIA
Rasim Ljajic, who is Yugoslav minister in charge of minority rights
issues, and Nebojsa Covic, who is Serbian deputy prime minister and
Belgrade's point man for Kosova and southern Serbia, discussed
bilateral relations in Tirana with Ilir Meta, who is foreign and deputy
prime minister, Hina reported on 15 December. Meta stressed that
Belgrade and Tirana cannot directly decide Kosova's future but can work
to promote better interethnic relations there. PM
[57] SERBIAN LOBBY GROUP SETS UP POLITICAL PARTY
The lobby group known as G 17 Plus has reorganized itself as a
political party, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported on 15 December. The group is widely considered a
nongovernmental organization, but it contains a number of top
government officials, including Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub
Labus -- who will head the new party -- and National Bank Governor
Mladjan Dinkic. Several members of the original 1997 group of
independent economists, called G 17, quit that group in 1998 after a
split with Dinkic, who reorganized the lobby group under a similar
name. PM
[58] CROATIA RESUMES CONTROL OF STRATEGIC PENINSULA
UN observers formally ended their mandate in Croatia's Prevlaka region
on 15 December, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 December 2002). PM
[59] STABILITY PACT HEAD CALLS ON EU TO HELP BALKANS
Erhard Busek, who heads the EU-led Stability Pact for Southeastern
Europe, said in Vienna that the EU must not forget the Balkan countries
that remain outside the new round of enlargement, RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported on 15 December. He stressed the
Balkan countries need to know what the next step in enlargement will
be, including the possible admission of Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania
in 2007. Busek also called for clarification of the status of Kosova
and Bosnia. PM
[60] EUROPEAN COUNCIL SETS 2007 AS TARGET ACCESSION DATE FOR ROMANIA,
BULGARIA...
The EU Presidency conclusions of the 12-13 December Copenhagen European
Council state that the EU's objective is to welcome Bulgaria and
Romania as members in 2007. The statement calls on both countries to
fulfill and implement their commitments undertaken in the accession
negotiations. It stresses the importance of judicial and administrative
reform that will facilitate the two countries' overall preparation for
membership. The European Council also decided to provide Bulgaria and
Romania with a "road map" for accession and to substantially increase
the aid those two countries are to receive from the EU to facilitate
their accession efforts. The presidency, which is currently headed by
Denmark, called on Bulgaria and Romania to use the funding made
available "in a flexible way, targeting the priorities identified,
including in key areas such as Justice and Home Affairs," one of the
chapters of the EU acquis communautaire. According to the conclusions,
Bulgaria and Romania are participate in the next EU Intergovernmental
Conference as observers. UB
[61] ...AS ROMANIAN LEADERS EXPRESS SATISFACTION WITH RESULT
President Ion Iliescu said on 14 December in Copenhagen that Romania
"achieved all it could possibly achieve under the current conditions,"
Mediafax reported. Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, who also attended the
summit, said that one of the main achievements is the stipulation that
Romania and Bulgaria are to negotiate the conditions of their accession
under the same conditions as the 10 states that will join in 2004. The
council's decision "gives us a chance to enjoy the same rules of the
game as other candidate countries," Reuters quoted Foreign Minister
Mircea Geoana as saying. MS
[62] ROMANIA BEGINS NEGOTIATIONS ON NATO ACCESSION
The first round of negotiations between Romanian and NATO
representatives on joining the organization was held in Brussels on 13
December, Romanian Radio and Mediafax reported. The talks focused on
the military and political obligations to be assumed by Bucharest once
it joins the Atlantic alliance. The Romanian delegation was headed by
its co-chairmen, Defense Ministry State Secretary George Cristian Maior
and Foreign Ministry State Secretary Mihnea Motoc. They pledged that
their country intends to fully fulfill all the military obligations
deriving from the North Atlantic Treaty regarding collective defense,
security, and peacekeeping, as well as the political obligations
stemming from promoting and defending the values of democracy,
individual freedom, and a state based on the rule of law. The next
round of negotiations is to be held on 9 January 2003. MS
[63] GREATER ROMANIA PARTY LEADER WANTS POPE TO HEAD UNITED EUROPE
Greater Romania Party Chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor said on 13 December
that he believes the capital of a united Europe should be in Rome and
that its "supreme chief" should be the pope, whom he called "the one
and single moral authority capable of leading that Europe of different
nations without serving the interests of a single country or of a group
of states." Tudor, whose parents were neo-Protestant, usually expresses
fundamentalist nationalist Romanian Orthodox views, but last week he
pledged to tone down his own political discourse in order to improve
the country's international image. MS
[64] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT 'COUNTS ON U.S. BACKING' FOR SOLVING
TRANSDNIESTER CONFLICT...
Speaking ahead of his visit to the United States scheduled to begin on
17 December, President Vladimir Voronin said in an interview with
"Nezavisimaya Moldova" on 13 December that his country "counts on U.S.
backing" for its efforts to "shape a new image of Moldova -- a unified,
neutral, and demilitarized country," Infotag reported. Voronin said
that although the United States is not a mediator in the conflict with
the separatists, it has contributed to bringing "dynamism" to the
negotiation process and to outlining the options that could serve a
successful outcome. He said Washington is well aware that "as long as
[in Moldova] there are two armies, two customs authorities, and two
currencies," and as long as the Chisinau authorities "cannot control
some 450 kilometers of the national border," a resolution of the
conflict is unlikely. Voronin reiterated that Moldova's relations with
Russia remain "a strategic partnership" that will not be affected by
his talks in Washington. He said the Russian-U.S. partnership is
"developing rapidly" and "it is unthinkable for us to ignore this
cooperation." He added that he has discussed the visit with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, who requested that Voronin "convey his best
regards" to President George W. Bush." MS
[65] ...AND APPOINTS REINTEGRATION MINISTER
President Voronin on 12 December appointed Vasile Sova to the newly
created portfolio of reintegration minister, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau
reported. He is to coordinate the activities of all ministries and
other governmental structures in the "elaboration and implementation of
the process of the country's reintegration," -- by which is meant its
reunification. Sova was Moldovan ambassador to China prior to his
ministerial appointment. MS
[66] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT HAILS EU DECISIONS...
In response to the European Council's decisions at its 12-13 December
Copenhagen summit (see Romanian item above), the government issued a
statement on its official website (http://www.government.bg) hailing
"the progress by the European Council in uniting Europe." "The decision
of the Copenhagen European Council...is the true start for Bulgaria
toward a deserved comeback to the family of European countries," the
statement reads. "The goal declared by the EU member states to welcome
Bulgaria in the EU in 2007 is seen by the Bulgarian government as an
expression of their resolve to guarantee the ongoing and irreversible
process of the fifth enlargement of the union. We are proud of the fact
that the clear expression of this goal happens during our rule."
However, the government also noted that it is aware of the difficulties
that lie ahead. "The time until 2007 will not be easy for Bulgarian
politicians, but it will be a chance for them to prove that they put
the interests of their people above all else. We are working and we are
to work for that cause," according to the statement. UB
[67] ...AS DOES PARLIAMENT -- AFTER TRADING ACCUSATIONS
Parliament adopted a declaration on the results of the European Council
on 13 December, confirming that full EU membership is an unconditional
strategic priority of the Republic of Bulgaria. The declaration
published on the parliament's official website
(http://www.parliament.bg) stated that parliament "considers the member
states' willingness to welcome Bulgaria as a European Union member in
2007 as recognition of the important progress achieved by the country
toward European integration." "[Parliament] confirms Bulgaria's
willingness to fulfill the commitments undertaken in the accession
negotiations and to carry on the hard work toward successful
accession." Before adopting the declaration by a vote of 178-3, with
two abstentions, the ruling majority and the opposition traded
accusations, mediapool.bg reported. The ruling coalition of the
National Movement Simeon II and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights
and Freedoms accused the opposition of trying to hinder the
government's efforts in the EU accession talks, while speakers for both
the opposition United Democratic Forces and the Socialist Party
underscored their parties' positive role in the EU-accession process.
The ruling majority voted down all amendments to the declaration
proposed by the opposition. UB
[68] BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST IRAQI ARMS DEALER
Bulgarian authorities arrested Sahib Abd-al-Amir al-Haddat, an Iraqi
national suspected of arms smuggling, at Sofia's airport on 25
November, BTA reported, citing the German weekly "Der Spiegel" of 14
December. Al-Haddat was arrested on the basis of an outstanding
international warrant issued by German authorities and will be
extradited to Germany. UB
SOUTHWESTERN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
[69] AFGHAN PRESIDENT MOVES AGAINST WARLORDS
President Hamid Karzai has issued a decree banning political leaders
from engaging in military activities, Kabul's Radio Afghanistan
reported on 15 December. The decree, which goes into effect
immediately, was released as Karzai headed for Oslo to participate in a
conference on Afghanistan's reconstruction. The presidential decree
said: " No military or civilian official is allowed to offer dual
services in both military and civil affairs. The governors of the
provinces, authorities, and commanders of the military-police units
should legally operate within the limits of their authority. They have
to strictly abide by the rules and regulations governing their duties."
The independent power exercised by regional leaders -- politically,
economically, and militarily -- is seen as undermining the central
government's authority and power to act. BS
[70] HIZB-I ISLAMI SEES NO NEED FOR FOREIGN TROOPS...
Qutbodin Hilal, a member of the central council of Gulbuddin
Hikmatyar's Hizb-i Islami party, on 16 December told Mashhad radio's
Dari-language service that the deployment of an Afghan national army
would make the presence of foreign forces unnecessary. During a
conference in Petersberg, Germany, earlier this month, Karzai issued a
decree that set out his plan for the creation of a 70,000-strong Afghan
national army. And on 15 December, Kabul's Radio Afghanistan broadcast
an order from Karzai that decreed the creation of a national army as
essential to Afghanistan's reconstruction. The order described a "sound
plan" that was compiled after "comprehensive study and research," and
it said that the army would meet Afghanistan's external and internal
security requirements. BS
[71] ...AND DENIES AL-QAEDA LINK
Hilal added that the Hizb-i Islami has not cooperated with Al-Qaeda in
any fashion because Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization. Nevertheless,
there are persistent reports that Hikmatyar, Al-Qaeda, and Taliban
elements are working together against the Afghan central government. It
should be noted, furthermore, that the Hizb-i Islami has splintered
into several factions, and the faction of which Hilal is a member hopes
to play a role in Afghanistan's transitional government. BS
[72] TEHRAN CLOSES AFGHAN HIZBULLAH OFFICES
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Education and Research Affairs
Alireza Moayeri said on 14 December that the police in Mashhad have
closed the offices of Afghan Hizbullah, IRNA reported. Moayeri added
that this step is in line with the stated Iranian policy of supporting
the central Afghan government of President Karzai. "The operation of
Afghan Jihadi groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran are based on the
permits that the Interior Ministry issues under certain conditions, and
these offices probably did not have such a permit," Moayeri said. BS
[73] IRANIAN STATE RADIO CLAIMS ISRAELIS ACTIVE IN AFGHANISTAN
The Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Pashtu-language external
service claimed on 15 December that Israeli intelligence personnel and
military experts are operating in Afghanistan. Citing an anonymous
Afghan source, the broadcast claimed that these individuals are active
in southwestern Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Similar claims have
appeared before. Afghan executive branch spokesman Fazl Akbar on 27
November denied that there are any Israeli intelligence personnel in
the country, Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported from
Mashhad in Dari. Mashhad radio cited an Egyptian Internet site as the
source of the information about the Israelis' presence. BS
[74] POLLSTER'S HEARING TO BE HELD IN CAMERA
The Tehran Justice Department announced on 14 December that the third
hearing of Ayandeh Research Institute Director Hussein Qazian will be
held behind closed doors, IRNA cited "Hamshahri" as reporting. The
decision is the result of security concerns voiced by Tehran's Ministry
of Intelligence and Security regarding the use of classified documents,
according to a Justice Department announcement. BS
[75] IRANIAN COURT DENIES RECEIVING AGHAJARI'S APPEAL
Saleh Nikbakht, the attorney for political activist and university
Professor Hashem Aghajari, said in the 14 December "Aftab-i Yazd" that
when he contacted the Supreme Court on 11 December it denied receipt of
his client's appeal. Nikbakht said he submitted the appeal to the
Hamedan Court on 3 December, and this was to have been forwarded to the
Supreme Court on 4 December. Nikbakht said he has not been in touch
with his client since 22 November. BS
[76] HRW MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IRAN-EU DIALOGUE
Human Rights Watch in a 14 December press release expressed regret that
delegates from HRW or Amnesty International will not be allowed to
attend the Iran-EU human rights dialogue that begins on 16 December in
Tehran. HRW expressed concern about issues such as arbitrary detention,
torture, and freedom of religion. It called for the release from prison
of attorney Nasser Zarafshan; Berlin conference attendees Akbar Ganji,
Khalil Rostamkhani, Said Sadr, and Hassan Yussefi-Eshkevari; and
journalist Emadedin Baqi. HRW also called for the release of detained
students and the freedom from house arrest of Ayatollah Hussein-Ali
Montazeri-Najafabadi. HRW drew attention to the restrictive press law,
the existence of secret detention centers, discrimination against
minorities, and the forcible repatriation of refugees. BS
[77] JUDICIARY OFFICIAL DESCRIBES HUMAN RIGHTS INTERACTION IN IRAN
Mohammad Javad Larijani, the judiciary's foreign-policy adviser, said
during a 15 December meeting with Italian Deputy Foreign Minister
Alfredo Mantica that Iran has a constructive human rights dialog with
other countries and the UN, IRNA reported. Larijani spoke positively of
the defeat of a draft resolution criticizing the situation in Iran
during the April 2002 session of the UN Commission on Human Rights by a
roll-call vote of 19 in favor to 20 against, with 14 abstentions (see
"RFE/RL Iran Report," 29 April 2002). "Today, the humanity has become
the victim of the illogical and violent policies the U.S. officials are
exercising," Larijani said. "Contrary to that, Iran introduces its own
culture to the world community." "We respect the Western liberalism and
expect the West to respect our own cultural democracy," Larijani added
in a possible reference to acceptable standards of human rights and
what exists instead in Iran. BS
[78] IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL QUITS
Iranian parliamentarian Mohammad Dadfar, who serves on the
legislature's Human Rights Committee, has resigned from the committee
in advance of its talks with EU human rights officials, the ISNA
reported on 15 December. The Human Rights Committee was established two
weeks ago. Dadfar refused to elaborate on his decision, according to
ISNA. BS
[79] IRANIAN LEGISLATURE APPROVES TORTURE BAN
The Iranian parliament on 15 December approved a bill banning torture,
Iranian state television reported on 15 December. Article 38 of the
constitution bans torture already, and the Guardians Council, which
must approve all legislation on Islamic and constitutional grounds,
rejected a previous draft of the bill in June 2002 (see "RFE/RL Iran
Report," 4 November 2002). BS
[80] GUARDIANS COUNCIL DOWNPLAYS CONCERN ABOUT REJECTION OF LEGISLATION
In a statement faxed to IRNA on 15 December, the Guardians Council said
that it is complying with its constitutional obligations when it
determines legislative compatibility with the constitution and with
Islamic law, IRNA reported. One hundred fifty-four members of
parliament signed a letter the previous week in which they said that
the Guardians Council's rejection of some bills violated the law. The
Guardians Council's fax pointed out that such disputes could be
referred to the Expediency Council. The clerical members of the
Guardians Council are ex officio members of the Expediency Council. BS
[81] KERMAN STUDENTS ARRESTED
A rally scheduled to be held outside the Kerman Governorate-General's
Office was cancelled following the arrest of some 90 students from
Kerman's Shahid Bahonar University, "Hayat-i No" reported on 15
December. The students wanted to protest the poor provision of security
for national-religious activist Ezatollah Sahabi when he arrived at
Kerman Airport, and they also objected to being called "outsiders" by
the governor-general. BS
[82] 'BEAN' BASHER BUSTED AGAIN IN IRAN
Hamid Ostad, the leader of the Mashhad branch of the Ansar-i Hizbullah
vigilante group, has been released from jail after being held for one
day, ISNA reported on 14 December. Ostad told ISNA that he was arrested
on 11 December during a lecture at Mashhad's Medical College because he
was protesting the arrest of a friend. While other participants who
were arrested were released fairly quickly, Ostad claimed he was held
longer because the city's police chief lodged a complaint against him.
Ostad related the police chief's antipathy to Ostad's speech against
him during Qods Day (28 November) rallies. Ostad was arrested and tried
in the summer of 2001 because he and his posse disrupted a performance
by Hamid-Reza Mahisefat, who is known as "Iran's Mr. Bean" (see "RFE/RL
Iran Report," 27 August 2001 and 3 September 2001). BS
[83] IRAQI PRESIDENT'S HALF-BROTHER ESCAPES INDICTMENT IN SWITZERLAND
The London-based "Sunday Times" reported on 15 December that Swiss
authorities allowed Barzan Tikriti to return to Iraq in October despite
a request by the London-based human rights group Indict that he be
prosecuted for war crimes. Tikriti is the half-brother of Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein; his daughter is married to Saddam's son,
Uday. Tikriti is a former Iraqi Ambassador to Switzerland who
previously served as director-general of the Iraqi Mukhabarat
intelligence agency. An Indict dossier presented evidence to Swiss
authorities 15 months ago that claimed that Tikriti "had pulled out
fingernails, thrown boiling water over prisoners, beaten them with
cables, and administered electric shocks," the "Sunday Times" reported.
The dossier also detailed the 1980 torture and death of Professor
Muhammad Bakr al-Sadr, a Shiite mullah, who was "murdered with a nail
that was pushed through his head." Other charges against Tikriti
include the disappearance of thousands of males aged 14-70 from one
tribe in northern Iraq; and statements documenting one mass grave
containing up to 350 men near Kirkuk, some of whom were reportedly shot
by Tikriti. "A total of 3,500 to 8,000 are believed to have been
killed," the "Sunday Times" reported. KR
[84] IRAQI OPPOSITION CONFERENCE MAKING PROGRESS...
Iraqi opposition groups meeting in London were expected to issue a
conference declaration on 16 December detailing the achievements of the
conference. Early reports indicate that the various opposition groups
have largely been able to set aside their differences for the greater
good of Iraq. Conference participants agreed on a list of 49 officials
who should face war crimes charges, "and others who should be granted
amnesty," AP reported on 15 December. "This committee will issue a
general amnesty and start national reconciliation after regime change
in Iraq," AP quoted conference spokesman Hamid al-Bayati from the
Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq as saying. Iraqi leaders
listed for trial include President Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay,
Revolutionary Command Council Vice Chairman Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, and
Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan. KR
[85] ...AND SEEKS TO FORM POSSIBLE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
The most important item on the agenda of the 300-delegate conference is
the formation of a leadership committee, which is expected to comprise
some 45 members of the opposition. Some participants have indicated it
could serve as the nucleus of a transitional authority, BBC reported on
15 December. "Our overriding interest is to form a major, broad-based
committee representing all Iraqis," said Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurdish
leader. "It will represent all Iraq but will not constitute a
government in exile," globeandmail.com reported on 16 December. Zebari
added that the committee would allow for extra seats to be filled by
Iraqi dissidents currently inside Iraq. KR
[86] SYRIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PIPELINE...
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has acknowledged that his country
reopened a pipeline in November 2000 between Syria and Iraq. "We
announced over a year ago that we have begun our tests to pump oil from
Iraq to Syria," al-Asad told "The Times" of 13 December. "This pipeline
is almost 50 years old. The maintenance and experimental process has
shown the pipeline to be technically poor and ineffective," he said.
"Since this pipeline is old, we have announced that we will build a new
one." Construction of the new pipeline "will take place with the
cooperation of several European firms," he added. "The talks are in
progress and the project will certainly be in conformity with the UN
resolutions." According to timesonline.co.uk, the pipeline runs from
Kirkuk in northern Iraq to Banias in Syria. KR
[87] ...AS INTELLIGENCE INDICATES NEW PIPELINE IN OPERATION
Meanwhile, intelligence reports indicate that a new pipeline connecting
the Ein Zalah oil field in northern Iraq to the Suwaydiyah oil field in
northeast Syria began operating two months ago and is pumping some
60,000 barrels per day, according to timesonline.co.uk on 16 December.
"Sixty thousand barrels a day over a period of 12 months is estimated
to be worth about $500 million," "The Times" reported. Syrian President
Al-Asad arrived in London on 15 December for talks with British Prime
Minister Tony Blair. His trip marks the first time a Syrian leader has
formally visited the United Kingdom. Al-Asad told timesonline.co.uk on
13 December that the leaders would discuss Iraq as well as Syria's role
in the UN Security Council. In addition, he said bilateral cooperation,
including administrative development, educational exchanges,
technological development, and the privatization of Syrian banks, would
be discussed. KR
[88] INSPECTORS ATTEMPT FRIDAY PROBE OF DISEASE-CONTROL CENTER IN
IRAQ...
UNMOVIC inspectors toured the Communicable Diseases Control Center in
Baghdad on 13 December, according to a joint UNMOVIC and IAEA press
statement. The center is run by the Health Ministry and listed as a
"new" site on the Iraqi declaration list. UNMOVIC reported the
difficulties of the visit due to the fact that Friday is the Muslim
holy day and the center was closed. The statement said: "The site had
only one guard and a duty officer, who is an assistant technician. The
duty officer did not have the keys to the rooms and could not locate
the central key holder. The team then decided to tag seals on several
rooms they wanted to inspect later." A second UNMOVIC team visited the
Al-Mussaib Pesticide Store, which sells ready-to-use pesticides. "On
request the National Monitoring Directorate brought two facility
representatives with keys to all buildings and rooms," UNMOVIC
reported. In addition, IAEA inspectors took water, sediment, and
vegetation samples at "three Major Iraq Surface Water Drainage Basins
of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers" south of the 33rd parallel, UNMOVIC
reported. Another IAEA team conducted a "wide-area gamma survey of the
Baghdad area," including the Karama Sumud missile factory. KR
[89] ...AS UNMOVIC RETURNS TO ATOMIC ENERGY ORGANIZATION
A 22-member UNMOVIC team returned to the Iraqi Atomic Energy
Organization (AEO) in Baghdad on 15 December, Iraq Satellite TV
reported. Dr. Faiz al-Bayraqdar, adviser at the AEO, said that the team
of biologists entered the AEO agricultural, biological, and
environmental facilities at the site. "The AEO installations work in
all areas of research except for the nuclear," he said. "Most of them
[inspectors] know that there are no nuclear materials or equipment (in
Iraq) to work on.... The tags are there just as they left them. The
equipment is still as they left it and where they left it in 1998...the
current activities are just activities that have to do with insects,
plants, and the environment." Meanwhile, another team returned to the
Al-Fatah State Company in Baghdad. KR
[90] BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES ARREST IRAQI ARMS DEALER
Bulgarian authorities arrested Sahib Abd-al-Amir al-Haddat, an Iraqi
national suspected of arms smuggling, at Sofia's airport on 25
November, BTA reported, citing the German weekly "Der Spiegel" of 14
December. Al-Haddat was arrested on the basis of an outstanding
international warrant issued by German authorities and will be
extradited to Germany. UB
END NOTE
[91] There is no End Note today.
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