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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 1, No. 75, 97-07-17
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 75, 17 July 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] GUARANTORS OF TAJIK PEACE MEET IN DUSHANBE
[02] BREAD, TRANSPORTATION PRICES RISE IN UZBEKISTAN
[03] MORE HEADS ROLL IN TURKMENISTAN OVER GRAIN HARVEST
[04] PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER IN TURKMENISTAN...
[05] ...AND IN AZERBAIJAN
[06] AZERBAIJAN RECEIVES OBSERVER STATUS IN WTO
[07] IDA APPROVES LOAN TO GEORGIA
[08] IAEA HEAD IN TBILISI
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[09] OPERATION ALBA WINDS DOWN
[10] WHAT FUTURE FOR ALBANIA'S BERISHA?
[11] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CONTESTS MILOSEVIC'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
[12] POWER STRUGGLE CONTINUES IN MONTENEGRO
[13] EXPLOSIONS AT BRITISH BASE IN BOSNIA
[14] MORE ARRESTS OF WAR CRIMINALS IN THE OFFING?
[15] BOSNIAN UPDATE
[16] SYSTEMATIC ROBBERY IN KOSOVO?
[17] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT WRAPS UP JAPANESE VISIT
[18] ROMANIAN PRIME MINISTER ON IMF MEMORANDUM
[19] SWISS DIPLOMAT SUSPECTED OF SPYING FOR ROMANIA
[20] MOLDOVA RATIFIES EUROPEAN CHARTER OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
[21] CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BULGARIA
[22] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT AMENDS INSURANCE LAW
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] GUARANTORS OF TAJIK PEACE MEET IN DUSHANBE
Representatives from countries and organizations that are guarantors of the
Tajik peace process met for the first time in Dushanbe on 16 July,
according to RFE/RL correspondents there. They reviewed the first meeting
of the Tajik Reconciliation Commission, which had taken place in Moscow
earlier this month. They also agreed to meet every Tuesday or more often if
necessary. The group is made up of the Russian and Kyrgyz ambassadors to
Tajikistan; representatives from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; and the
heads of the OSCE mission in Tajikistan. Absent were representatives from
the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan who for "technical reasons" were unable to attend. Uzbekistan
did not sign the April Tehran protocol, nor did it send an official to the
27 June signing of the Tajik National Peace Accord in Moscow.
[02] BREAD, TRANSPORTATION PRICES RISE IN UZBEKISTAN
The prices for bread and transportation have risen by some 40 percent,
according to Interfax on 15 July. At the beginning of July, wages, pensions,
and student grants were all raised. The official minimum monthly wage is
now 750 som ($12) and the minimum monthly pension 1,400 som ($22).
[03] MORE HEADS ROLL IN TURKMENISTAN OVER GRAIN HARVEST
Failure to meet grain quotas has led to more dismissals in Turkmenistan,
according to RFE/RL corespondents in Ashgabat. A presidential decree was
issued on 16 July replacing the leaders of Mary Province, which fulfilled
only 50 percent of the 1997 grain plan. Earlier this month, many officials
from Akhal Province were sacked for failing to meet grain demands. Akhal
and Mary produce the bulk of Turkmenistan's grain.
[04] PAKISTANI FOREIGN MINISTER IN TURKMENISTAN...
Gohar Ayub Khan was Turkmenistan from15-16 July to meet with President
Saparmurat Niyazov, according to ITAR-TASS and Interfax. The two leaders
discussed the situation in Afghanistan and agreed that continued U.S.-
Russian dialogue was essential for securing peace in Afghanistan. They also
discussed the proposed gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, saying
they hope the project would be realized soon. Niyazov said his country
could supply southern and southwestern Asia with "energy supplies for many
years to come." Khan also sought Niyazov's help in mediating Pakistani
disputes with India.
[05] ...AND IN AZERBAIJAN
Khan arrived in Baku on 16 July for a two-day official visit, ITAR-TASS and
Turan reported. In a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Hasan
Hasanov, and with President Heidar Aliev, Khan said his country will
support Azerbaijan's position in the Karabakh conflict both at bilateral
meetings and in international forums. Possible areas for expanding
cooperation were discussed, including the training of Azerbaijani students
and military personnel in Pakistan. Khan proposed that part of Azerbaijan's
Caspian oil could be exported by the planned pipeline from Turkmenistan via
Afghanistan to Pakistan.
[06] AZERBAIJAN RECEIVES OBSERVER STATUS IN WTO
The World Trade Organization granted Azerbaijan observer status on 16 July
and will begin negotiations on granting it full membership, Western
agencies reported. This process is likely to last two or three years. Also
on 16 July, state economic adviser Vahid Ahundov told journalists in Baku
that Azerbaijan's GDP grew by 5.2 percent during the first six months of
1997 and foreign investment by 45 percent, compared with the same period
last year, according to Interfax. In 1996, Azerbaijan registered GDP growth
of 1.6 percent after five consecutive years of decline.
[07] IDA APPROVES LOAN TO GEORGIA
The International Development Association (IDA) has approved a $20.9
million loan to Georgia to help decentralize government functions,
according to an RFE/RL correspondent. Most of the loan will be used to
improve roads, drainage, lighting, water supplies, clinics, schools, and to
build revenue-generating facilities such as markets and transport
facilities. The remainder will be used to speed up the decentralization
process and help local governments to program, finance, and manage
facilities and deliver public services.
[08] IAEA HEAD IN TBILISI
Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Hans Blix,
during his official visit to Tbilisi from 15-16 July, was scheduled to meet
with President Eduard Shevardnadze and parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania,
according to ITAR-TASS. The main topic of discussion was the Georgian
nuclear reactor at Mtskheta. Zhvania expressed concern over the danger to
Georgia in the event of an accident at Armenia's Medzamor nuclear power
plant, "Rezonansi" reported on 16 July, as cited by the Caucasian Institute
for Peace, Democracy, and Development. The Medzamor plant shut down in 1989
and reopened in 1995. It is shortly to be closed for routine maintenance.
Blix is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on 17 July.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[09] OPERATION ALBA WINDS DOWN
The 7,000 foreign troops who began arriving in Albania in April started to
return home on 16 July. Some 390 Romanian soldiers left Gjirokaster for the
port of Durres, and some Italian contingents will also depart shortly. Many
leading Albanian politicians and Franz Vranitzky, the OSCE's chief envoy to
Albania, want the force to stay on, however. They argue that it has
provided a basic degree of security and stability that could break down
without the foreigners' presence.
[10] WHAT FUTURE FOR ALBANIA'S BERISHA?
A meeting of the leadership of the Democratic Party decided in Tirana on 14
July that Secretary-General Genc Pollo will act as interim party leader. He
replaces Tritan Shehu, who resigned in the wake of the party's crushing
defeat in the 29 June elections. News agencies report there is opposition
to making President Sali Berisha party chief, since many Democratic Party
members blame him for the defeat. Some leaders prefer Eduard Selami, whom
Berisha purged from the party in 1995 and who then left for the U.S.. Some
members of the Central Election Commission have meanwhile called on Berisha
either to resign the presidency--as he said he would do if the DP lost the
elections--or give up his claim to the parliamentary seat he won in the 29
June vote. They argue that he cannot legally hold both offices at the same
time.
[11] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CONTESTS MILOSEVIC'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Federal Yugoslav parliament speaker Dragan Tomic said in Belgrade on 16
July that he will cease to be acting federal president on 23 July. On that
day, Slobodan Milosevic is expected to assume the federal presidency and
resign that of Serbia, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the Serbian
capital. But opposition leaders on 16 July lodged an appeal with the courts
against Milosevic's election by the parliament the previous day. The
complaint alleges that under the law, the vote should not have taken place
before 23 July. Observers charge that Milosevic sought to get the election
out of the way quickly before the Montenegrin parliament held a scheduled
meeting on 22 July. Milosevic's backers have been losing ground in
Montenegro's governing party recently (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 July
1997).
[12] POWER STRUGGLE CONTINUES IN MONTENEGRO
President Momir Bulatovic held a meeting with his closest supporters near
Podgorica on 16 July to launch a petition drive for his reelection to the
presidency. His recent ouster as president of the governing Democratic
Socialist Party (DPS) has cast his political future in doubt. Meanwhile in
Podgorica, the members of the DPS Steering Committee that ousted Bulatovic
reconstituted themselves under the name of Coordinating Committee, an
RFE/RL correspondent reported from the Montenegrin capital.
[13] EXPLOSIONS AT BRITISH BASE IN BOSNIA
Western officials said in Banja Luka on 17 July that four hand grenades
were tossed into a British base during the night. British troops detained
several suspects, but the extent of damage or injuries is unclear. This is
the latest in a series of attacks against Western personnel in the
Republika Srpska following NATO's recent direct intervention against
indicted war criminals (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 July 1997). SFOR
spokesmen said in Sarajevo on 16 July that they have no evidence that the
incidents against Western personnel are related, but media in the former
Yugoslavia suggest they are part of a Serbian campaign to discourage
further arrests of war criminals. Meanwhile in Pale, Momcilo Krajisnik, the
Serbian member of the Bosnian joint presidency, urged Serbs not to act
against foreign personnel.
[14] MORE ARRESTS OF WAR CRIMINALS IN THE OFFING?
U.S. and French officials in their respective capitals have denied press
reports that France is opposed to apprehending war criminals (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 16 July 1997). In Zagreb, the weekly "Globus" suggested that
NATO may be planning to catch Croatian war criminals soon. Many individuals
linked to atrocities against Muslims and Serbs are living openly in
Herzegovina, and some have moved to Croatia. In Vienna, the daily "Die
Presse" reported from Banja Luka that many Serbs would like to see war
criminals arrested but are afraid to say so publicly. The newspaper quoted
a Bosnian Serb professor as saying that Croats and Muslims should be
arrested as well as Serbs to counter the Serbian view that the Hague-based
tribunal is anti-Serb.
[15] BOSNIAN UPDATE
In Zenica, a court on 16 July sentenced two French citizens to 20 years in
prison for murder in connection with a robbery attempt. The two were former
Islamic fighters in the Bosnian army. In Mostar, representatives of Muslim,
Croatian, and Serbian refugees met for the first time. They will meet again
soon to discuss a joint proposal for the return of refugees to their homes
now under the control of another nationality or to provide for compensation
for lost homes and property.
[16] SYSTEMATIC ROBBERY IN KOSOVO?
Unknown persons, including one in a police uniform, robbed passengers on
two tourist busses from Germany on 13 July outside Obilic near Pristina.
The robbers' haul totaled $90,000 in cash and $40,000 in gold. Local ethnic
Albanian journalists said the incident marked the 11th time this year that
busses bringing Kosovars home on visits from Western Europe had been
subjected to armed shakedowns. Ethnic Albanians in previous years have
reported shakedowns by Serbian police at airports as well as on busses.
[17] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT WRAPS UP JAPANESE VISIT
Emil Constantinescu said at a press conference in Tokyo on 15 July that
Romania finds itself now in a situation similar to that of Japan in the
1950s. The successes of the Japanese economy, he said, were not due to any
"outstanding natural resources" but to its "outstanding human resources."
Like Japan at that time, Romania has highly-educated human resources and
good managers, he said. Also on 15 July, Constantinescu was received by
Emperor Akihito. He travelled the next day to Kyoto and Osaka on a prviate
trip to meet with businessmen there. On 17 July, he begins a three-day
visit to Indonesia.
[18] ROMANIAN PRIME MINISTER ON IMF MEMORANDUM
Victor Ciorbea said at a Bucharest press conference on 16 July that his
government has fulfilled all the conditions stipulated in the memorandum
signed with the IMF in April. A delegation from the fund recently arrived
in Bucharest to begin assessing Romania's economic performance since the
signing of the memorandum. The fund's chief negotiator for Romania, Poul
Thompsen, will arrive on 22 July. Ciorbea said the "macrostabilization of
the economy" has become "reality" and that the budget's deficit and the
inflation rate are within the limits agreed on with the IMF. He added that
the volume of foreign-currency reserves exceeds the provisions of the
agreement, RFE/RL's Romanian service reported. Ciorbea also commented that
the "de-Sovietization" of the intelligence services and the Foreign
Ministry must be completed.
[19] SWISS DIPLOMAT SUSPECTED OF SPYING FOR ROMANIA
A Swiss diplomat has been detained by the police in Bern on suspicion of
spying for the Romanian intelligence service, Romanian media reported on 17
July, citing foreign agencies. The diplomat was arrested on 1 July and has
admitted his guilt. He is accused of passing on confidential political and
economic information between 1991 and 1997 in exchange for cash and other
"material rewards."
[20] MOLDOVA RATIFIES EUROPEAN CHARTER OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
The parliament on 16 July ratified the European Charter of Local Self-
Government. The move follows criticism of its failure to do so in a recent
report by the Council of Europe. Moldova had signed the charter in May 1996
but failed to ratify it until now owing to the opposition of parliamentary
deputies who had reservations about some of its articles. Moldova must now
amend legislation on local administration and local elections, Infotag
reported. In other news, the Socialist Unity-Edinstvo faction has added its
voice to those criticizing the inauguration of a private Slavic university
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 July 1997). It called for the opening of a state-
financed Slavic university.
[21] CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BULGARIA
Mate Granic on 16 July met with Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov and
Premier Ivan Kostov, an RFE/RL Sofia correspondent reported. Following
their meeting, Kostov said they had discussed the creation of a free trade
zone and ways to share experience over help from international finance
institutions. The previous day, Granic held talks with his counterpart,
Nadezhda Mihailova. and with premier Ivan Kostov. He is the highest
Croatian official to visit Bulgaria since Croatia declared its
independence. In other news, Foreign Minister Mihailova told a press
conference in Sofia on 16 July that the government has the necessary public
support to implement reforms. She added that "we are optimistic that we
shall soon overcome our economic problems and...reform delays which impeded
our way into the European Union," Reuters reported.
[22] BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT AMENDS INSURANCE LAW
The parliament on 16 July amended the law regulating the activities of
insurance companies to put foreign companies on an equal footing with local
ones, an RFE/RL Sofia correspondent reported. The amendment also bars
insurance companies from engaging in other commercial activities, such as
providing security services. Private insurance companies mushroomed after
the collapse of communism and are widely believed to serve as cover for
organized crime and money laundering. The amended law reflects the hope to
attract foreign insurance companies and break the monopoly of local firms
on the insurance market.
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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