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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 5, 97-01-08

Open Media Research Institute: Daily Digest Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>

Vol. 3, No. 5, 8 January 1997


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] HUNDREDS OF VEHICLES STILL STUCK IN GEORGIAN MOUNTAIN PASS.
  • [02] FRANCE BECOMES CO-CHAIR OF KARABAKH NEGOTIATIONS.
  • [03] RUSSO-AZERBAIJANI TALKS "USEFUL AND CONSTRUCTIVE."
  • [04] TROUBLE IN TAJIKISTAN'S "WILD WEST."
  • [05] FLOUR ENTITLEMENTS DOWN IN TURKMENISTAN.
  • [06] LAW ON POLITICAL PARTIES IN UZBEKISTAN.

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [07] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LAUNCHES CHRISTMAS "CHARM OFFENSIVE."
  • [08] BELGRADE PROTESTS CONTINUE.
  • [09] SERBIAN OPPOSITION SEEKS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT.
  • [10] BOSNIAN FEDERATION PRIME MINISTER THREATENS MINERS WITH "REPRESSION."
  • [11] TEAR GAS THROWN DURING ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS SERVICE IN SARAJEVO . . .
  • [12] . . . AND EXPLOSION DAMAGES CATHOLIC CHURCH IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.
  • [13] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT VOWS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION.
  • [14] CONTROVERSY AROUND ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER'S VISIT TO BUDAPEST.
  • [15] UPDATE ON BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT FORMATION.
  • [16] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT, ARMY CHIEF DISCUSS CORRUPTION.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] HUNDREDS OF VEHICLES STILL STUCK IN GEORGIAN MOUNTAIN PASS.

    More than 200 vehicles remain blocked in a mountain pass connecting Georgia and Russia, ITAR-TASS reported on 7 January. The pass has been closed since 26 December following an avalanche in the Caucasus Mountains (see OMRI Daily Digest, 2 January 1997). Georgian traffic workers continue to clear the most difficult section of the road, using tractors and snow-plows, while rescue helicopters evacuate people trapped in the Georgian mountain resort of Gudauri. According to ITAR-TASS, Georgian authorities expect traffic to resume "in the near future." -- Emil Danielyan

    [02] FRANCE BECOMES CO-CHAIR OF KARABAKH NEGOTIATIONS.

    The OSCE has named France as the new co-chair of the deadlocked negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, RFE/RL reported on 7 January. France, beating out an active U.S. bid, succeeds Finland, which held the office for 20 months. The other co-chair is Russia, whose post is permanent. The chief French negotiator will be Jacques Blot. -- Lowell Bezanis

    [03] RUSSO-AZERBAIJANI TALKS "USEFUL AND CONSTRUCTIVE."

    Following two days of talks, Russia and Azerbaijan agreed to improve trade and economic ties, signing protocols on trade in major commodities in 1997 as well as the development of transport and metro building, Russian media reported on 7 January. The head of the Russian delegation, Valerii Serov, termed the meetings constructive and useful, noting that it was the "first time" the two sides had agreed on specific joint actions. Serov also noted that the two sides continue to hold differing views on the Caspian Sea, and on mutual debts. While both Serov and Azeri officials were upbeat about moving Azeri oil through Chechnya soon, Chechen sources, cited by Reuters the same day, claim Russia is dragging its feet in oil negotiations it was to have completed by 1 December. -- Lowell Bezanis

    [04] TROUBLE IN TAJIKISTAN'S "WILD WEST."

    Elements of Tajikistan's First Brigade moved toward the western city of Tursun Zade during the night of 7-8 January, ITAR-TASS reported. The brigade is under the command of Col. Mahmud Khudaberdiyev, who last January led one of two mutinies which for two weeks threatened the capital Dushanbe. The other mutiny was led by the former mayor of Tursun Zade, Ibodullo Baimatov. Like Khudaberdiyev, Baimatov returned to his base following concessions by the government. Since then, control of Tursun Zade, the site of the largest aluminum plant in Central Asia, has been contested by several criminal groups. Baimatov was ousted by late summer 1996 but the city remained outside the jurisdiction of the government. Khudaberdiyev mended relations with the Tajik government and sources from the brigade's headquarters say this latest move is an attempt to restore order in Tursun Zade. -- Bruce Pannier

    [05] FLOUR ENTITLEMENTS DOWN IN TURKMENISTAN.

    The amount of wheat flour available to Turkmenistan's citizens at subsidized rates has been decreased by presidential decree, according to a 7 January Interfax report monitored by the BBC. As of 1 February 1997, citizens whose average monthly income does not exceed 200,000 manats (about $40) are entitled to six kilos of flour at 25 manats per kilo. In rural areas the eight kilo ration will remain in effect. -- Lowell Bezanis

    [06] LAW ON POLITICAL PARTIES IN UZBEKISTAN.

    Uzbekistan's law on political parties came into force on 7 January, according to Uzbek media monitored by the BBC. The law prohibits parties based on ethnic or religious lines and those advocating war or subversion of the constitutional order. Prospective parties must submit details of at least 5,000 members spread over eight provinces. Applications for registering a party are to be directed to the Justice Ministry and the Supreme Court has the right to suspend or ban them if they are found guilty of persistent legal violations. Parties have the right to take part in elections, publish newspapers, and establish parliamentary and local groups. -- Lowell Bezanis

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [07] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LAUNCHES CHRISTMAS "CHARM OFFENSIVE."

    Tens of thousands of Serbs attended public demonstrations on 7 January, which is Serbian Orthodox Christmas, AFP and CNN reported. In a new tactic, people kissed the riot police, who are President Slobodan Milosevic's last bastion of defense. Opposition leader Vuk Draskovic appealed to the police: "Even Tito's communist regime did not make its police turn out onto the streets for Christmas. The young people in police uniforms are also part of the people. It's Christmas for you too, do you know that? [The authorities] are sending you here today to provoke bloodshed. But Christmas is the biggest Christian festival ... and therefore, I say to the police, divine peace, Christ is born." -- Patrick Moore

    [08] BELGRADE PROTESTS CONTINUE.

    Opposition representatives and other observers suspect that the explosion at the headquarters of a tiny party run by President Milosevic's wife was a provocation by the authorities themselves (see OMRI Daily Digest, 7 January 1997). Opposition leader Vesna Pesic likened it to the Reichstag fire incident of 1933, Nasa Borba reported on 8 January. Protest plans for today center on a campaign to block government telephone lines by calling officials and then leaving the phone off the hook. Lists of government phone numbers, including Milosevic's, have been distributed. Draskovic also appealed to citizens to stage another protest by traffic jam. In other Serbian news, a new law has come into effect that allows employers to fire workers at their own discretion, thereby removing some job protection rights. -- Patrick Moore

    [09] SERBIAN OPPOSITION SEEKS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT.

    Zoran Djindjic of the opposition Zajedno (Together) coalition has appealed to foreign countries to put more pressure on President Milosevic to recognize the 17 November local election results. He told a German radio station: "This is at the moment probably the only thing that can make [Milosevic] move," AFP reported. EU and U.S. flags are prominent at opposition rallies, which reflects popular appreciation for foreign support. The independent media closely follow foreign coverage of Serbian affairs, and opposition leaders frequently give interviews in English or German to Western media. All of this is in stark contrast to the xenophobic tone of the Milosevic regime and its media, which were particularly anti- U.S. and anti-German in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, in Bonn, Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel endorsed opposition demands and called for continuing the suspension of EU financial benefits for Serbia, Nasa Borba wrote on 8 January. He nonetheless warned against any expectations that Milosevic himself could be ousted soon, AFP noted. -- Patrick Moore

    [10] BOSNIAN FEDERATION PRIME MINISTER THREATENS MINERS WITH "REPRESSION."

    Edhem Bicakcic, the newly-appointed prime minister of the mainly Muslim- Croat Federation, said on 6 January that the federation's coal miners are free to go on strike, but they are prohibited from blocking the movement of traffic through the country, Oslobodjenje reported the next day. At a meeting with representatives of coal miners from central Bosnia and Tuzla, Bicakcic said the Tuzla miners receive their salaries regularly thanks to revenues from production and reserves, which is not the case in central Bosnia, Onasa reported. He said the mines must secure their own resources through the commercial sale of coal. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [11] TEAR GAS THROWN DURING ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS SERVICE IN SARAJEVO . . .

    The Interior Ministry of the Bosnian Federation said on 7 January that tear gas was thrown into a Sarajevo church by an unknown person during a Christmas day service for Orthodox Serbs the same day, AFP reported. There were no casualties among some 40 people who attended the service. Meanwhile, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, the Roman Catholic archbishop, joined a group of Orthodox Serbs celebrating Christmas in Sarajevo's oldest church in a show of ecumenical unity. His visit follows that of Serb Archbishop Nikolai to Sarajevo's Catholic cathedral for the Catholic Christmas service. In other news, a mosque in the Sarajevo suburb of Hrasnica was sprayed with machine- gun fire on 6 January by an unknown person, AFP reported. In news from Mostar, another Muslim has been evicted from the Croat-held part of the town. The elderly woman, who was illegally evicted from her home, was found dead in an abandoned building, while a Croat soldier moved into her apartment. -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [12] . . . AND EXPLOSION DAMAGES CATHOLIC CHURCH IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.

    UN spokesman Philip Arnold said on 7 January that a Catholic church was damaged by an explosion a day earlier in the town of Ilok in eastern Slavonia, the last Serb-held part of Croatia, AFP reported. No one was hurt in the blast. The same church was besieged by Serb demonstrators from the area on 24 December as some 200 Croat returnees celebrated Catholic Christmas eve (see OMRI Daily Digest, 30 December 1996). -- Daria Sito Sucic

    [13] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT VOWS TO COMBAT CORRUPTION.

    Emil Constantinescu on 7 January vowed to combat rampant corruption and organized crime, saying they pose a direct threat to national security, Romanian media reported. Constantinescu, who was speaking at an extraordinary meeting of Romania's Supreme Defense Council, proposed the creation of a national council to deal with the problem. Also on 7 January, the president's office rejected the accusations of nepotism that have been leveled against Constantinescu in the media. A statement said that the prefect of Arges is not Constantinescu's brother-in-law, as assumed by some newspapers. The accusations multiplied after the son of Constantinescu's counselor for foreign and internal affairs, Zoe Petre, was appointed to the post of presidential counselor. -- Dan Ionescu

    [14] CONTROVERSY AROUND ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER'S VISIT TO BUDAPEST.

    Independent and opposition newspapers have accused Adrian Severin of allegedly giving in to Hungarian requests for the re-establishment of the former Hungarian Bolyai University in Cluj and the reopening of a Hungarian consulate in the same city during his recent visit to Hungary. Former President Ion Iliescu said the opening of the Cluj consulate would be a sign of the "weakness of Romanian diplomacy." According to President Emil Constantinescu, Severin was not mandated to discuss the university problem or the issue of bilingual inscriptions in minority areas. Severin said those topics were not on the agenda of his talks with Hungarian officials. In other news, Constantinescu urged Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to accept the opposition's local election victories and defuse the crisis in that country, Reuters reported. -- Zsolt Mato

    [15] UPDATE ON BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT FORMATION.

    The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and its tiny coalition partners -- the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union "Aleksandar Stamboliyski" and the Political Club Ekoglasnost -- on 7 January continued to discuss the formation of a new government. The BSP that day nominated Interior Minister Nikolay Dobrev for prime minister, and the leaderships of all three parties are expected to vote on the proposal today. An unnamed BSP leader said Ekoglasnost will support Dobrev and not parliamentary speaker Blagovest Sendov, whom they proposed originally. In return they demand the Interior Ministry for Ekoglasnost leader Stefan Gaytandzhiev, Duma reported. According to Trud, Sendov may also stand in today's election at the insistence of the BSP's partners. BSP Chairman Georgi Parvanov did not rule out such a possibility, Standart noted. The daily also noted that the ruling coalition will not be enlarged. The opposition Union of Democratic Forces said a new BSP-led government will be a "tragedy for Bulgaria." -- Stefan Krause

    [16] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT, ARMY CHIEF DISCUSS CORRUPTION.

    Zhelyu Zhelev and the chief of staff of the Bulgarian army, Gen. Tsvetan Totomirov, met on 7 January to discuss recent charges of corruption in the armed forces, RFE/RL reported. No details about their meeting were released. It was prompted by a letter published earlier in Bulgarian newspapers and signed by "a group of officers from Sofia." The authors complained that the Defense Ministry is spending large sums of money on lavish foreign trips for top military officials, expensive cars, and new German-made computers, while at the same time "hungry, ill-dressed soldiers" are forgotten and wages are not paid. The letter praised Totomirov, a Zhelev appointee. Analysts believe the letter is linked to the split between hardliners and reformers in the BSP and may aim at preventing the renomination of current Defense Minister Dimitar Pavlov. -- Stefan Krause

    This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague, Czech Republic.
    For more information on OMRI publications please write to info@omri.cz.


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