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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 107, 99-06-03Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 107, 3 June 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT REJECTS CRITICISM OF PARLIAMENTARY POLLNoyan Tapan on 2 June quoted presidential press spokesman Vahe Gabrielian as saying that Robert Kocharian does not accept the conclusions contained in a preliminary statement on the 30 May parliamentary elections issued by the National Democratic Institute (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 June 1999). That assessment said that "once again Armenia has failed to meet international standards and commitments." Gabrielian said Kocharian believes that the exclusion of voters' names from voter registers resulted from the abolition of additional registers, as required by the new election law in an attempt to preclude fraud. Meeting on 2 June with representatives of the OSCE Election Observation Mission, Kocharian pledged a "thorough" investigation into the reported irregularities, adding that if local district administrators are found responsible they will be severely punished, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. LF[02] GEORGIA UNABLE TO PAY MEMBERSHIP DUES TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSGeorgia's unpaid membership fees to international organizations amounted to $30 million as of 1 January 1998, Caucasus Press reported on 3 June, citing "Rezonansi." Fees for last year totaled $10 million, plus $2 million for the first quarter of 1999. The state budget allocates only $1 million, which does not cover the combined membership dues for the UN, the Council of Europe, the CIS, UNESCO, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, and the World Trade Organization. The newspaper said the IMF has recommended that the Georgian Foreign Ministry draw up a list of organizations in which the country will terminate its membership, but the ministry is reluctant to do so. LF[03] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT SAYS CONTINUED FOREIGN INVESTMENT VITALSpeaking at a news conference in Almaty following a session of the Foreign Investors Council of Kazakhstan on 2 June, Nursultan Nazarbaev said that this year Kazakhstan plans to maintain the 1998 level of $1.2 billion in direct foreign investment and $2.1 billion in domestic investment, Interfax reported. He added that foreign investment is "an important component in establishing democracy." Addressing foreign investors earlier, Nazarbaev had assured leaders of foreign companies engaged in Kazakhstan that he is ready to meet with them personally in an attempt to resolve any difficulties they encounter, especially with bureaucratic hurdles or requests for bribes, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. LF[04] U.S. OIL COMPANY WANTS TO EXPORT KAZAKH OIL VIA GEORGIAMeeting in Tbilisi on 31 May with Georgian State Minister Vazha Lortkipanidze, senior Texaco representatives expressed the wish to use the Baku-Supsa export pipeline to transport crude the company extracts in Kazakhstan, Turan reported. The Texaco representatives said they have already discussed that option with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, which operates the pipeline. The oil would presumably be transported across the Caspian by tanker to Baku. LF[05] KAZAKHSTAN REPORTS PROGESS TOWARD ASIAN OSCEMeeting in Almaty, experts from 16 states have agreed on a draft declaration of principles for a Eurasian security system to be named the Conference on Inter-Action and Confidence- Building in Asia, Interfax reported on 2 June, citing Kazakh government sources. The foreign ministers of the countries in question, which Interfax did not identify, are expected to sign the declaration in September. The idea of a Eurasian security body was first proposed by President Nazarbaev in March 1994. LF[06] PENSIONERS STAGE PROTEST DEMO IN KYRGYZ CAPITALBetween 1,500-2,000 people, mostly pensioners, picketed the government building in Bishkek on 2 June to protest deteriorating living conditions and demand that pensions be increased and paid on time, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. It was the second such protest in one week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 May 1999). A similar demonstration by some 15 people protesting the recent 30 percent rise in bread prices took place in Jalal- Abad the same day. Also on 2 June, the government press service announced that all outstanding wages for May will be paid by 20 June and that some 277 million soms ($6 million) in social benefits arrears for 1998 will be paid after receipt of a new $20 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. LF[07] TAJIK PRESIDENT INVITES OPPOSITION LEADER FOR DIRECT TALKSImomali Rakhmonov has issued a statement calling on United Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri to meet with him to discuss the opposition's demands, Interfax reported on 2 June. Rakhmonov said the tensions between the government and opposition "pose a real threat" to stability, and he expressed the hope that "reason will prevail and the Commission for National Reconciliation will continue its work." The UTO suspended its participation in the work of that commission last week to protest the government's failure to comply with provisions of the 1997 peace agreement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 May 1999). LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[08] BELGRADE TALKS RESUMERussian special envoy to Yugoslavia Viktor Chernomyrdin and his EU counterpart, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, arrived in Belgrade on 2 June after finalizing a joint position with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott in Bonn (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 June 1999). Ahtisaari said before leaving Bonn that the envoys have made "good progress" in developing a common position. He added, however, that he does not think any documents will be signed during this round of talks in Belgrade. Talbott was also cautious, saying only that the West and Russia have moved closer together. He did not elaborate, Reuters reported. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in Cologne that "there is a substantial measure of progress between NATO and Russia. What is not clear yet is whether [Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic is prepared to agree to the essential demands." The following day, Milosevic began talks with the two envoys in Belgrade. FS[09] CHERNOMYRDIN SUGGESTS SEPARATE KFOR COMMANDSConfusion remains, however, over the command structure of a proposed peacekeeping force for Kosova, known as KFOR, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 2 June. Before leaving Bonn for Belgrade, Chernomyrdin told journalists that it will be possible to send Russian troops into Kosova under Russian command and NATO troops under a separate NATO command. He also said that the envoys have agreed to form a Russian-Western commission that will monitor the withdrawal of Serbian troops. He did not elaborate. After meeting with Milosevic, Chernomyrdin said Belgrade's "choice is difficult but the choice must be made." FS[10] SHEA, COOK REJECT PARTITIONNATO spokesman Jamie Shea, speaking in Brussels on 2 June, noted that units of a Kosova peacekeeping force could have "various areas of command," but he insisted there will be no distinct Russian occupation zone, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 May 1999). In London, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said any deployment of Russian troops in northern Kosova and NATO in the southern part of the country would constitute a de facto partition of the region, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Cook stressed that "any settlement must be acceptable to the refugees and not just to NATO. I want to stress that point in case President Milosevic hasn't got it yet." Cook added: "I want him to know that we will not be fooled by tricks or ploys. This is not a time for playing games with the international community." FS[11] KOSOVA'S BUKOSHI, THACI WARN AGAINST COMPROMISES WITH MILOSEVIC...Kosovar shadow state Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service from Bonn on 2 June that his exile government is "absolutely concerned that the international community does not make any concession to Milosevic [and] does not move away even a little bit from the five key [demands] of NATO." Bukoshi stressed that a "partition of Kosova would be absolutely unacceptable [and] fatal not only for the Albanians but also for the policy [and] values of the West." Meanwhile, his rival Hashim Thaci from the provisional government, which is backed by the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK), said in Brussels that peace and democracy can come to the Balkans only if Milosevic "capitulates," the "Berliner Zeitung" reported on 3 June. FS[12] ...AS DOES ALBANIA'S MAJKOAlbanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko said in a televised address on 2 June said that the government has "reservations about any [possible] move away from the non-negotiable conditions of NATO." Majko warned the international community not to be taken in by "Milosevic's ploys," adding that "one can talk to Milosevic only at a Nuremberg [trial]." He also said, "We do not consider possible mistakes by NATO in its bombing campaign as a problem. We think that this is the price that we have to pay because the price for peace is war." Majko called on Albania's and Kosova's politicians to unite, stressing that "we share responsibility in these difficult historical moments that our nation is going through.... Albania is ready and willing to face up to its responsibilities because it wants to create a new Balkans [without] religious, ethnic, historical, and cultural hatred." FS[13] SERBIAN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR SETTLEMENTThe Serbian Civic League's Vesna Pesic said in Belgrade on 2 June that she hopes the Belgrade talks will bring an end to NATO bombings, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The Social Democratic Party's Vuk Obradovic added: "Nobody has the right to play with the fate of our state and people. If the international community guarantees the territorial integrity of Serbia and Yugoslavia, we must accept its conditions. That does not mean capitulating but rather taking a reasonable and rational step. If someone wants to fight the entire world, let him do that, but not at the expense of someone else and under no conditions with the children of someone else." Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic said that the views of NATO and Russia have never been closer: "Milosevic has always manipulated the international community and is doing so now.... Every day that the war continues there are new victims. Now we have a historic chance to put an end to this bloody war." PM[14] BLAIR FIRM ON AIR STRIKESBlair said in Cologne on 3 June that NATO must continue its bombing campaign until Milosevic accepts the G-8's "essential demands." He added that diplomacy has been effective in dealing with Milosevic in the past only when it was combined with military force. The "Financial Times" reported from London, however, that NATO governments are anxious to put an end to the conflict. In order to do so, the daily continued, the alliance may be willing to accept a de facto partition of the province. PM[15] CLARK SAYS MILOSEVIC 'IN TROUBLE'General Wesley Clark, who is NATO's chief commander, said in Skopje on 2 June that the Serbian military has sustained "great losses in the last few days...on the Albanian border," where NATO aircraft bombed Serbian forces that were fighting units of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK). Clark stressed that the air strikes have cost Milosevic not only men and equipment but also "logistics, command, and control." The general noted that desertions and discontent are on the rise within the Serbian forces. PM[16] CLINTON URGES MILOSEVIC TO 'CUT LOSSES'President Bill Clinton told an audience at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on 2 June that the U.S. will contribute 7,000 troops to the proposed 50,000-strong NATO-led peacekeeping force for Kosova. The president added: "There is a clear choice before [Milosevic]. He can cut his losses now and accept the basic requirements of a just peace, or he can continue to force military failure and economic ruin on his people. In the end the outcome will be the same," he concluded. The president stressed that "some things are worth fighting for," arguing that Milosevic is the "last gasp of aggressive nationalism." On 3 June, Clinton is slated to discuss policy options for Kosova with the joint chiefs of staff. Several leading Pentagon officials want to send in ground troops in order to end the conflict before the harsh Balkan winter sets in, Reuters reported. PM[17] TIRANA: SERBS MASSACRED 130 KOSOVARSAlbanian Ambassador to NATO Artur Kuko said in Brussels on 3 June that Serbian forces in Kosova recently killed 130 Kosovar males and buried them in another village in order to hide evidence of the atrocity. Kuko said: "Yesterday morning the Serbian army transported with trucks the corpses of 130 men they had massacred in the village of Staradran, a couple of days ago. [The Kosovars] were buried separately in the village of Rakosh," AP reported. PM[18] MACEDONIA APPROVES ADDITIONAL NATO FORCEPrime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said in Washington on 2 June that his government will allow the Atlantic alliance to station another 14,000 troops in Macedonia, bringing the total there to 30,000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 June 1999). He made the announcement after meeting with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who promised Macedonia additional economic assistance. It is unclear how much assistance she pledged or what form it will take. PM[19] KOSOVARS WANT TO LEAVE BOSNIAIbrahim Sala, who is a spokesman for the 1,100 Kosovar refugees in a camp near Sarajevo, told the UNHCR's Sadako Ogata in Sarajevo on 2 June that those ethnic Albanians want to leave for a third country, as many refugees in Macedonia and Albania have done. She replied that she will look into the matter but added that refugees in Macedonia and Albania have priority for resettlement. Some 75,000 refugees from Serbia, Kosova, and Sandzak are currently in Bosnia, which is still struggling to overcome the devastation and impoverishment brought on by the 1992-1995 war. PM[20] ROMANIAN LABOR UNREST CONTINUES...Workers in Brasov continued their protest on 3 June as the government convened to discuss an agreement that Finance Minister Decebal Traian Remes and trade unions representing the workers had reached the previous day, Romanian Radio reported. Under the agreement, the government will provide a 1 billion lei ($ 6.3 million) credit to the Roman truck factory and reschedule the company's debts to the state budget. The agreement also provides for a 500 million lei credit to Tractorul to enable the tractor plant to pay for deliveries and raw materials, as well as another large credit intended to facilitate exports. The Rulmentul ball-bearing factory is to have its debts to the state budget rescheduled and partly written off. Meanwhile, another labor protest turned violent when workers at the Tepro factory in Iasi threw stones at the prefect's office and broke windows. MS[21] ...WHILE BUCHAREST METRO WORKERS 'SUSPEND' STRIKEBucharest metro workers on 3 June returned to work announcing that they have "suspended" their strike. The decision to return to work had been taken the previous day, just hours ahead of a ruling by the Supreme Court that the strike must be suspended until 31 August and negotiations conducted by the Bucharest metro company and the unions before that date. MS[22] BUCHAREST HAS 'PRAGMATIC RESERVATIONS' OVER NATO GROUND FORCERomanian Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu on 2 June told the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies that Bucharest has "pragmatic reservations" about an intervention by NATO ground forces in Yugoslavia. He added that Romania has not been asked to deploy troops in such an operation and that any further speculation "lacks substance." The same day, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry announced that NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Wesley Clark's visit to Romania planned for 4 June has been postponed owing to the "unpredictability" of the situation in Yugoslavia. MS[23] WORLD BANK DEPUTY PRESIDENT MEETS MOLDOVAN LEADERSJohannes Linn met with President Petru Lucinschi, Prime Minister Ion Sturza, and parliamentary chairman Dumitru Diacov in Chisinau on 2 June. Linn told Diacov that the bank is "well aware" of the problem Moldova is facing and "hopes" to be in a position to render help "to overcome the situation." He clarified that World Bank aid depends on "a sustained pace of implementing reforms." Lucinschi said Moldova will "do its utmost" to meet its foreign and internal debt obligations, but he asked for the country's debt to the World Bank to be rescheduled. Linn said international financial organizations are willing to "negotiate" the matter "in view of Moldova's difficult economic situation." MS[24] BULGARIA, NATO NOT NEGOTIATING LOGISTIC SUPPORT YETBulgarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Radko Vlaikov told journalists on 2 June that his country and NATO are "not yet conducting negotiations" over an agreement on Bulgarian logistic support for a possible NATO peacekeeping force in Kosova, BTA reported. He was responding to reports in the press claiming that government departments are coordinating such support. Vlaikov acknowledged that some NATO officials are now in Bulgaria to familiarize themselves with the sites that could be used in rendering that support. He also noted that if an agreement with NATO is reached, it will have to be approved by the parliament. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova "categorically" denied reports published in Bulgaria that an agreement being negotiated with NATO provides for the participation of Bulgarian ground forces in NATO ground operations. MS[25] UNIDENTIFIED MISSILE HITS BULGARIAN VILLAGEThe Interior Ministry on 2 June said that an unidentified missile hit the village of Govezhda, in northwestern Bulgaria. Reuters said that no injuries or damage were reported. MS[C] END NOTE[26] THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE NATO CAMPAIGNby Christopher WalkerAmong the broad range of difficult issues to be resolved in the post- conflict period in Yugoslavia, one that has been largely overlooked is the environmental damage caused as a result of NATO bombing. During Operation Allied Force, besides hitting military targets, NATO has consistently bombed strategic sites such as oil refineries, fuel storage depots, petrochemical and fertilizer plants, and numerous other industrial complexes. The destruction of these facilities is raising concerns about the impact of the war on the natural environment of Yugoslavia as well as neighboring Balkan countries. The media controlled by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, moreover, have devoted extensive coverage to real or imagined environmental damage in order to help galvanize public opinion against NATO. Included among the targets blasted during the thousands of sorties flown by NATO planes are the petrochemical facility in Pancevo, the oil refinery in Novi Sad, and the pharmaceutical complex in Galenika. Numerous attacks on petroleum storage sites in Nis, Sombor, and other locations throughout Yugoslavia have been reported. Five weeks ago, NATO planes struck the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plants of the HIP Petrochemija facility in Pancevo, 15 kilometers outside Belgrade. PVC, of which VCM is the parent compound, is a plastic resin used in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. Exposure to certain levels of these materials, which are carcinogens, poses potential health threats to humans. Reports from Yugoslav sources indicate that there have been significant amounts of toxic discharge generated both by the bombing of the plants and as a result of the emptying of storage tanks at the facility by controlled burning. Yugoslav and international authorities are now starting to determine what environmental damage may be occurring as a result of the bombings. The UN, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the EU are among the groups seeking to examine the situation more closely. For the time being, continuing hostilities are hampering a precise assessment of possible damage, but there are indications that considerable environmental impact may turn out to be an ugly byproduct of this conflict. In mid-May, a UN working group arrived in Yugoslavia to assess possible environmental harm caused by NATO air strikes. The study is being conducted by the UN Environment Program and the UN Center for Human Settlements. Among other issues, the UN working group will investigate possible water and air contamination. The petrochemical plant in Pancevo was among the first facilities visited by the group. Early last month in Weimar, Germany, EU environment ministers discussed environmental issues relating to the Kosova conflict. The ministers emphasized the importance of taking measures facilitating a swift assessment and cleaning up of any environmental contamination. The WWF has warned of environmental damage to the River Danube ecosystem and the Black Sea. The group reported that one oil slick was detected last month in the river, but there are concerns that other toxins have spilled into it as a result of the bombing of the oil refinery in Novi Sad and the chemical and fertilizer plant in Pancevo. The Danube is a source of drinking water for some 10 million people in the region. With regard to the River Danube, WWF's Danube-Carpathian program director Philip Weller told the author that the "WWF believes the potential damage could be significant and that an immediate assessment of the situation is needed with expanded monitoring of the river in Bulgaria and Romania and to the extent possible in Yugoslavia." He added that "a longer-term assessment and action plan to reduce environmental damage needs to be taken at the conclusion of hostilities." There are also concerns in Bulgaria about potential effects on the Kozloduy nuclear plant. The facility lies on the southern bank of the River Danube in northern Bulgaria and is roughly 100 kilometers downstream from the Serbian border. Bulgarian officials have noted that oil pollution in the Danube could affect the Kozloduy plant, which uses river water for its cooling procedures. As a precaution, Bulgarian authorities have installed oil booms near the plant. Should the conflict in Yugoslavia continue for an extended period, further bombing could exacerbate environmental harm already done. At the same time, ongoing hostilities will restrict independent monitoring and delay comprehensive remediation of any environmental damage. The reconstruction of Serbia's infrastructure and social system, as well as the development of open and accountable public institutions, will undoubtedly take a very long time. Should some of the more dire predictions come true, lingering environmental problems may prove another thorny obstacle to Serbia's renewal. That is one reason why the international community has already begun planning comprehensive post-war reconstruction and development projects for the entire Balkan region. The author is a New York-based analyst specializing in East European affairs (intrel@aol.com) 03-06-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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