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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 131, 99-07-08

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 131, 8 July 1999


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR NKR LEADERSHIP
  • [02] IMF DELAYS LOAN TRANCHE FOR ARMENIA
  • [03] GEORGIAN-SOUTH OSSETIAN TALKS POSTPONED
  • [04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT CLEMENCY FOR JAILED WARLORD
  • [05] GEORGIA TO REPAIR TURKMEN JET FIGHTERS
  • [06] DEVOTEES WANT STALIN REBURIED IN GEORGIA
  • [07] KAZAKH PRESIDENT SETS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION DATES...
  • [08] ...MEETS WITH TURKISH COUNTERPART
  • [09] CONFUSION OVER KAZAKH BAN ON BAIKONUR LAUNCHES CONTINUES
  • [10] TAJIK INTERIOR MINISTRY SPOKESMAN SHOT DEAD
  • [11] TAJIK OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED TO SENIOR DEFENSE POST
  • [12] TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HOSTAGE-TAKING IN UZBEKISTAN
  • [13] UZBEK PRESIDENT CHAIRS MEETING ON SECURITY

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION ISSUES CALL OF 'NOW OR NEVER'
  • [15] DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE IN LESKOVAC
  • [16] SERBIAN PETITION DRIVE MOVES AHEAD
  • [17] U.S. SAYS MILOSEVIC'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED
  • [18] ETHNIC ALBANIANS PROTEST PARTITION OF MITROVICA
  • [19] KOSOVARS PROTEST AGAINST RUSSIAN DEPLOYMENT
  • [20] WHAT DOES PODGORICA WANT FROM BELGRADE?
  • [21] NEW JUDGE FOR THE HAGUE
  • [22] ARBOUR STRESSES LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY
  • [23] BOSNIAN REFUGEE RETURN HALTED
  • [24] CROATIA TALLIES WAR'S IMPACT ON TOURISM
  • [25] MACEDONIAN CHURCH LEADER DIES
  • [26] ALBANIA, MACEDONIA SIGN ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT
  • [27] GREECE EXPELS 2,000 ALBANIANS
  • [28] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ROMANIA
  • [29] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ENDS TURKEY VISIT
  • [30] ROMANIAN COURT ALLOWS 'MULTICULTURAL' UNIVERSITY
  • [31] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT ONCE AGAIN POSTPONES DEBATE ON SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSIT
  • [32] EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS EXAMINES CASE OF DETAINED MOLDOVAN DEPUTY
  • [33] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES RUSSIAN OVERFLIGHTS
  • [34] LEBANON CONSIDERS CANCELING BULGARIAN FLIGHTS TO BEIRUT
  • [35] SECOND BULGARIAN JOURNALIST ATTACKED WITHIN ONE MONTH

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [36] Three Thoughts on Democracy in Serbia

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR NKR LEADERSHIP

    Presidential press secretary Vahe Gabrielian told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 7 July that "Armenia will not act as an indifferent observer with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh if any illegal attempts are made against its legitimate authorities." Tensions between Arkadii Ghukasian, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and Defense Minister Samvel Babayan rose after Ghukasian sacked the premier and cabinet on 24 June following the discovery of an electronic surveillance device in his office (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 and 29 June 1999). Police in Stepanakert were placed on full alert for several hours on 5 July. But the same day, the enclave's new prime minister, Anushavan Danielian, met with Babayan and asked him to join the new cabinet. Ghukasian reportedly met with senior army officers on 6 July for what one of them subsequently told RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent was a "useful dialogue." LF

    [02] IMF DELAYS LOAN TRANCHE FOR ARMENIA

    Armenian Finance Minister Levon Barkhudarian said on 7 July that the IMF has delayed the release of the final $32 million tranche of a three-year $154 ESAF loan, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He listed as the most important reasons for the delay over-optimistic projections by the previous government of anticipated growth rates and budget revenues for 1999, which have not been met. The lasting impact on Armenia of the Russian economic crisis was also underestimated. An IMF mission met in Yerevan on 7 July with Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian to discuss the economic situation, and a decision on the final tranche is to be made by 19 July, according to Interfax. The World Bank has also delayed a $15 million payment from a $65 million loan package it approved in December 1998 and which is intended to cover Armenia's anticipated 1999 budget deficit. LF

    [03] GEORGIAN-SOUTH OSSETIAN TALKS POSTPONED

    Talks between representatives of the central Georgian government and the leadership of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia that were to have been held in Djava on 7-8 July have been postponed at the request of the South Ossetian side, Caucasus Press reported on 8 July citing "Dilis gazeti." South Ossetian President Lyudvig Chibirov told the newspaper that because of the May parliamentary elections the South Ossetian leadership had no time to create a working group to prepare for those talks, which were to discuss an interim agreement on temporary status for South Ossetia within Georgia, according to "Svobodnaya Gruziya" of 2 July. LF

    [04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT CLEMENCY FOR JAILED WARLORD

    Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 5 July that the preterm release from prison of Mkhedrioni leader Djaba Ioseliani "is not on the agenda," Caucasus Press reported. Members of the Georgian intelligentsia are collecting signatures to lobby for the ailing Ioseliani's release from jail. He was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment in November 1998 on charges of terrorism, murder and a failed attempt to assassinate Shevardnadze, but denies all those charges (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 July 1999). LF

    [05] GEORGIA TO REPAIR TURKMEN JET FIGHTERS

    The governments of Georgia and Turkmenistan have concluded a contract whereby the Tbilisi Aviation Plant will repair 45 Turkmen SU-45 fighter aircraft at a cost of $46 million, Caucasus Press reported on 7 July. But Turkmenistan will pay for those repairs only after Georgia repays its $400 million debt for supplies of Turkmen natural gas. LF

    [06] DEVOTEES WANT STALIN REBURIED IN GEORGIA

    Grigol Oniani, chairman of Georgia's Stalin Society, told journalists in Tbilisi on 7 July that he has discussed with Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov the possibility of exhuming Stalin's remains from the Kremlin wall and transporting them to Georgia for reburial at an undisclosed location, Caucasus Press reported. LF

    [07] KAZAKH PRESIDENT SETS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION DATES...

    In a decree made public on 7 July, President Nursultan Nazarbaev scheduled elections to the upper and lower chambers of Kazakhstan's new parliament for 17 September and 10 October respectively, RFE/RL's Astana correspondent reported. Addressing parliament on 31 March, Nazarbaev had assured deputies that the election to the lower house would take place in October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 April 1999). Some observers had nonetheless predicted that they would be held in December 1999, four years after the previous parliamentary poll. Earlier on 7 July, several leading opposition parties and movements, including the Communist Party, the Republican People's Party headed by former premier Akezhan Kazhegeldin, the Orleu movement, the Association of Russian, Slavic and Cossack Associations, and some trade unions, announced the creation of a pre-election coordinating bloc that will target "the entire protest electorate," according to Interfax. The parties will not compete against each other in the 67 single- mandate constituencies. LF

    [08] ...MEETS WITH TURKISH COUNTERPART

    Nazarbaev, who left Astana on 5 July for a brief vacation in Turkey, has met with Suleyman Demirel to discuss bilateral relations, unspecified regional problems and the export of Kazakhstan's oil and gas, Interfax reported on 7 July. The two presidents also pledged to take steps to double bilateral trade, which currently stands at approximately $500 million. LF

    [09] CONFUSION OVER KAZAKH BAN ON BAIKONUR LAUNCHES CONTINUES

    Kazakh officials continue to make contradictory statements about the extent of the temporary ban on launches of Russian rockets from the Baikonor cosmodrome. Interfax on 7 July quoted the Kazakh Foreign Ministry's Press Service as stating that the 6 July protest note to Moscow did not specify what types of rocket are banned, but Science Minister Vladimir Shkolnik told the agency that the ban extends to all launches. A third Kazakh government representative said, however, that the ban extends only to Proton rockets, which burn envirnmentally hazardous heptyl fuel, but not Zenit and Soyuz rockets fuelled by kerosene. A spokesman for the Russian Aviation and Space Agency told Interfax that Moscow will ask the Kazakh leadership to make an exception for the launches of a Ukrainian-Russian satellite scheduled for 8 July and a supply craft bound for the orbiting Mir space station scheduled for 14 July. LF

    [10] TAJIK INTERIOR MINISTRY SPOKESMAN SHOT DEAD

    Lieutenant- Colonel Djumakhon Hotami died shortly after being shot at pointblank range by unidentified attackers near his home in Dushanbe on the evening of 4 July, Russian agencies reported. Unidentified sources told Interfax Hotami may have been killed for having identified members of drug- running gangs on his weekly TV program on crime and corruption. LF

    [11] TAJIK OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED TO SENIOR DEFENSE POST

    Among the five Tajik opposition representatives appointed by President Imomali Rakhmonov to leading government positions on 6 July was former field commander Gairat Adkhamov, who was named first deputy defense minister, according to Interfax. AP quoted presidential spokesman Zafar Saidov as saying that in accordance with the 1997 peace agreement, opposition nominees will be appointed to 21 of a total of 69 local government posts. LF

    [12] TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HOSTAGE-TAKING IN UZBEKISTAN

    A regional court in the Uzbek city of Khorezm has passed sentence on 16 men found guilty of hijacking a bus and taking the passengers hostage, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported on 7 July. Two of the accused were sentenced to death, and seven more received prison terms of 20 years. The hijackers had sought the release of comrades arrested in connection with the 16 February bombings in Tashkent. Nine people were killed during a shootout on 30 March between the hijackers and police seeking to free the hostages (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 April 1999). LF

    [13] UZBEK PRESIDENT CHAIRS MEETING ON SECURITY

    Also on 7 July, Islam Karimov chaired a session of the National Security Council devoted to the implementation of government decisions aimed at improving security and reorganizing the armed forces and border troops, ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. Particular atention was paid to improving cooperation between the army and interior ministry forces, to preventing terrorist and subversive groups from illegally entering Uzbekistan, and to creating "mobile and well-equipped units capable of safeguarding peace and calm," according to Interfax. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION ISSUES CALL OF 'NOW OR NEVER'

    More than 10,000 people attended a meeting in Uzice on 7 July, which was organized by the opposition Alliance for Change under the slogan "now or never" to demand the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, "Danas" reported. Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic told protesters that, for the fourth time in 10 years, Milosevic has sent tanks into a war with the result that Serbs have fled their homes on tractors. PM

    [15] DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE IN LESKOVAC

    On 7 July, some 2,000 protesters turned out for a third consecutive day in Leskovac to call for the resignations of Milosevic and district governor Zivojin Stefanovic, who had earlier called protesters "traitors, terrorists, and deserters," AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 July 1999). The protesters, whose ranks included an unspecified number of army reservists, demanded that Stefanovic apologize and that the authorities publish a list of all soldiers and police officers from Leskovac who were killed in Kosova. The demonstrators also called for the release of jailed television broadcaster Ivan Novkovic, whose unauthorized call on the air for a protest led to the 5 July demonstration, which attracted 20,000 people in a town not previously know for anti-Milosevic sympathies. According to "Danas" on 8 July, Stefanovic threatened a human rights activist with a pistol and police detained the activist's brother, who was one of the protest's organizers. PM

    [16] SERBIAN PETITION DRIVE MOVES AHEAD

    Representatives of the Alliance for Change said in Belgrade on 7 July that their week-old anti-Milosevic petition drive has already collected some 100,000 signatures, AP reported. Nis Mayor Zoran Zivkovic said that the petition received 3,200 signatures on its first day of circulation in that city. Police told a group of people collecting signatures in Nis that they were engaging in illegal activities but took no action against them, "Danas" reported. The aim of the drive is to pressure legislators to launch proceedings aimed at ousting Milosevic. PM

    [17] U.S. SAYS MILOSEVIC'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED

    State Department spokesman James Foley said in Washington on 7 July that the protests against Milosevic recall those that drove Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos from office or those that ended British rule in India. Foley added: "Milosevic's days are numbered. It's impossible to predict how many numbers there are in those days. Serbia historically has been a part of the West. Its separation from the West has been an anomaly. [Serbs nonetheless] have a lot to catch up on, and I think one can sympathize with the sense of impatience that's growing on the part of opposition leaders and their followers inside Serbia." PM

    [18] ETHNIC ALBANIANS PROTEST PARTITION OF MITROVICA

    About 20,000 ethnic Albanian residents of Mitrovica demonstrated on 7 July against the recent de facto partition of their town, an RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent reported. They marched to the main bridge leading to the northern part of the city, which is currently held by Serbs. French KFOR soldiers and gendarmes guarded the protesters. Serbian inhabitants insulted and shouted at the marchers, saying that Russians forces will soon come to the town. A Kosova Liberation Army commander in Mitrovica told RFE/RL that Serbian paramilitary groups are present in the northern part of Mitrovica. He added, however, that: "We have received guarantees that [KFOR] will ensure the security of the returning citizens. They have given us guarantees that all paramilitaries will be disarmed and will leave Mitrovica." French soldiers arrested one Serbian paramilitary fighter on 7 July. FS

    [19] KOSOVARS PROTEST AGAINST RUSSIAN DEPLOYMENT

    About 3,000 ethnic Albanians protested against the deployment of Russian troops in Rahovec on 7 July, AFP reported. The protesters claimed that Russian volunteers and mercenaries participated in massacres of ethnic Albanians in that area in the spring, and that they do not trust the Russians to protect them now. A total of 750 Russian soldiers will be deployed in Rahovec under German "tactical control," which is a euphemism for de facto command. A Serbian resident there told AFP, however, that "we prefer to be protected by the Russians.... The Germans and Dutch do nothing to protect our houses." About 2,000 Serbs remain in that town. FS

    [20] WHAT DOES PODGORICA WANT FROM BELGRADE?

    The Montenegrin government has not made public the content of its proposals on the future of the federation, which it recently sent to the federal authorities in Belgrade, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 7 July. Montenegrin Labor Minister Predrag Drecun of the People's Party said in Podgorica that he disagrees with recent remarks by Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic, who indicated that Montenegro will enter talks on recognizing the federal government if Montenegro's governing coalition is allowed to name that body's prime minister. Elsewhere, the Montenegrin Interior Ministry said in a statement that it will firmly oppose any attempt by the Belgrade authorities to send their paramilitary police into Montenegro. PM

    [21] NEW JUDGE FOR THE HAGUE

    Officials of the Hague-based war crimes tribunal announced on 7 July that U.S. Judge Patricia M. Wald will replace Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald on the bench on 17 November. McDonald has also served as the tribunal's president. In Washington, Wald said that she regards the court's work as vital because "it establishes what kind of conduct is acceptable, even in times of internal stress." Back in The Hague, a court spokesman also said that Louise Arbour, who is the tribunal's outgoing chief prosecutor, will visit Kosova later this week. In January, Serbian authorities denied her permission to investigate a massacre in Recak. PM

    [22] ARBOUR STRESSES LOCAL RESPONSIBILITY

    Arbour congratulated NATO forces on 6 July on their arrest of the Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radislav Brdjanin (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 July 1999). She stressed, however, that the primary responsibility for arresting war criminals under the Dayton peace agreement lies with the local authorities and not with SFOR. Speaking in Sarajevo, British Defense Secretary George Robertson added: "We look on all of these arrests even- handedly and impartially, and those who have been indicted in any part of the former Yugoslavia must be prepared to face justice. All those who know of them have an obligation to deliver them." PM

    [23] BOSNIAN REFUGEE RETURN HALTED

    Local ethnic Croatian officials and representatives of the international community agreed in Drvar in western Bosnia on 7 July to halt the return of ethnic Serb refugees to that town "temporarily but completely," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The move followed recent clashes between returning Serbs and Croatian displaced persons who had settled in the area since 1992. In Zagreb, representatives of the Croatian and Bosnian governments approved documents delineating the 1,000 kilometer-long boundary between the two states. PM

    [24] CROATIA TALLIES WAR'S IMPACT ON TOURISM

    In Sarajevo, visiting Croatian Tourism Minister Ivan Herak said on 7 July that the conflict in Kosova has led to losses of $1.4 billion to his country's tourist industry, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He added that he will advise the government to cut the VAT for tourist-related purchases from 22 percent to 10 percent. In Zagreb, unnamed officials reported that 202,000 tourists have visited the country so far this year, which is an increase of 15 percent over the corresponding period in 1998. The Croatian authorities have recently sought to attract tourists by slashing prices for hotels and package arrangements. PM

    [25] MACEDONIAN CHURCH LEADER DIES

    Archbishop Mihail of the Macedonian Orthodox Church died in Skopje on 6 July at the age of 88. He died in hospital and had suffered from a heart condition for two years, but the exact cause of his death was not released. Mihail became head of the church in 1991, shortly after Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia, AP reported. It is not clear when the Holy Synod will name his successor. The Macedonian Orthodox Church separated from its Serbian counterpart in 1967. PM

    [26] ALBANIA, MACEDONIA SIGN ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT

    Albanian Privatization Minister Ylli Bufi and Macedonian Economics Minister Mihailo Tolevski signed an economic cooperation agreement in Tirana on 6 July. Under the agreement, the two countries will cooperate in the fields of energy, mining, and trade. Both countries also plan to built new power lines to link border towns. Albania will supply a metallurgy plant in Tetovo with chrome. The two governments also agreed to implement projects aimed at protecting the environment around Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, dpa reported. FS

    [27] GREECE EXPELS 2,000 ALBANIANS

    Greek police deported about 2,000 Albanians during the first week of July, Reuters reported. The wave of deportations peaked on 6 July, when Greece expelled about 1,000 immigrants. Many claimed they were wrongfully deported given that their visas and residence permits were in order. Gezim Gjermeni, the Albanian deputy police chief at the Kakavia border crossing, confirmed their claims: "We checked the papers of some 200 and found that half of them had regular papers." Greece usually deports about 60 illegal immigrants a day, but on 1 July the Greek authorities suddenly increased the number of deportees. Some of them said police beat them in prison. Others quoted Greek police officers as saying: "Go and emigrate to Kosova. Now there is only room for immigrants from Serbia here. Let NATO employ you." FS

    [28] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL IN ROMANIA

    Javier Solana on 8 July met with Romanian President Emil Constantinescu at the end of a one-day visit to Romania. Solana thanked Romania for its stance during the Kosova crisis and said Bucharest had "led the way" toward achieving stability in the region. He also said that Romania will play a "major part" in the proposed stability and reconstruction pact for the region. He said Romania is "very close" to NATO, but he avoided using the words "NATO membership." In an attempt to soothe recent Romanian anxieties, Solana said NATO supports the principle of respect for minority rights but stressed that "European borders must not be changed." On 7 July, Solana met with Prime Minister Radu Vasile and Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu. MS

    [29] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ENDS TURKEY VISIT

    Constantinescu on 7 July ended a two-day visit to Turkey after a meeting in Istanbul with a group of Turkish businessmen. On 6 July, Constantinescu met with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, and other officials. Romanian and Turkish delegations signed five agreements on economic cooperation, scientific research, and social security. Demirel said the Kosova crisis demonstrated the need for Romania and Bulgaria to be admitted into NATO. In turn, Constantinescu expressed support for Turkey's full membership in the EU, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. MS

    [30] ROMANIAN COURT ALLOWS 'MULTICULTURAL' UNIVERSITY

    The Supreme Court of Justice on 7 July overturned an earlier ruling by a Bucharest court which had rejected as unconstitutional the government's decision to set up the Petofi-Schiller "multicultural" university (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 December 1998). The government had brought the appeal to the Supreme Court, while the earlier verdict was the result of a case brought to the court by the Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR). PUNR chairman Valeriu Tabara--who on 3 July was designated as PUNR's candidate in the 2000 presidential elections--described the Supreme Court's ruling as having resulted from "political pressure." The Supreme Court has yet to rule on other appeals by the government against similar verdicts delivered in cases brought to court by the opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania and the Greater Romania Party. MS

    [31] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT ONCE AGAIN POSTPONES DEBATE ON SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSIT

    The leadership of the governing coalition on 7 July decided to postpone indefinitely a parliamentary debate on ratifying the 1997 agreement on the transit of spent nuclear fuel from the Bulgarian Kozloduy nuclear plant (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 June 1999). If it actually takes place, the debate could cause the current government to collapse, since three of the four parties in the governing coalition are opposed to the transit, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The Party of Moldovan Communists has hinted that it might join the coalition's pro- presidential For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova Bloc in supporting the deal's ratification. MS

    [32] EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS EXAMINES CASE OF DETAINED MOLDOVAN DEPUTY

    The European Court of Human Rights has started examining the case of parliamentary deputy Ilie Ilascu who has been sentenced to death in Tiraspol for alleged terrorist acts in 1992, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The lawyers representing Ilascu filed the suit against both Russia and Tiraspol, arguing that Moscow is supporting the separatist regime which has imprisoned their client. The suit had to be brought against Russia because the European court only has jurisdiction over states that are members of the Council of Europe. MS

    [33] BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES RUSSIAN OVERFLIGHTS

    The cabinet on 7 July approved the transit of Russian KFOR peacekeepers through Bulgaria's airspace and asked the parliament to endorse the decision, Reuters reported. Parliament chairman Yordan Sokolov said the legislature may require 72 hours to debate the approval. Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova said that the parliamentary debate may extend past the dates that Moscow has requested for the transit of its troops. MS

    [34] LEBANON CONSIDERS CANCELING BULGARIAN FLIGHTS TO BEIRUT

    Lebanon is considering canceling all flights by Bulgaria's national airline to Beirut because the company was recently sold to two Israeli companies, AP reported. A consortium of the Zeevi Group Knafaim and Arkia Holdings bought a 75 percent stake in the debt-ridden Balkan Airlines in late June for $150,000 and a commitment to invest $100 million in the airline. MS

    [35] SECOND BULGARIAN JOURNALIST ATTACKED WITHIN ONE MONTH

    Svetla Asenova, a layout editor for the "Computer World" weekly, was hospitalized with a skull fracture and brain injury on 7 July, after being severely beaten and robbed by unidentified assailants in Sofia, AP reported. A journalist from the weekly "Kapital" was hospitalized after being attacked in late June (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 June 1999). Also on 7 July, a court in Sofia acquitted due to lack of evidence a man accused of throwing acid in the face of Anna Zarkova, a reporter from the daily "Trud," during an attack on her in late 1998. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [36] Three Thoughts on Democracy in Serbia

    By Patrick Moore The legacy of Slobodan Milosevic's four lost wars has recently prompted Western capitals to show an interest in promoting democracy in Serbia. Part of the goal is to eliminate the main source of Balkan instability, once and for all. Much has been written on the subject in recent weeks, and more will no doubt follow. In the ensuing discussion, one might also raise these three points.

    First, democracy comes from the bottom up. The focus of efforts to promote a transformation in Serbia should start with local and grass-roots efforts, including groups from the civil society and independent media. "Danas" wrote on 30 June that the German government plans to help opposition-run cities. That will be well and good if it happens. But one should not forget that previous pledges by the EU and other foreign sources to help Serbian independent media and the civil society have not always materialized, as the "Berliner Zeitung" reported on 28 June.

    Furthermore, in concentrating on local initiatives, one should not waste energy in lamenting the absence of some admirable and dynamic national political leader--a "Serbian Cory Aquino," as Richard Holbrooke recently put it. There are many opposition-party mayors and other local leaders who deserve support. Some of them have been at the forefront of the recent protests that have taken place in several cities and towns. Many prominent Western leaders began their careers in local or regional politics. Might Serbia, some day soon, offer similar examples?

    Second, use the international protectorate over Kosova to make it a safe haven for Serbian democracy, including NGOs and the independent media (see "'RFE/RL Balkan Report," No. 25). One recalls that in Habsburg times the Vojvodina played a similar role in bringing modern European culture and politics to the Serbs of Serbia proper. The Kosova protectorate now provides a golden opportunity both for Serbian democrats and for the international community. Perhaps the time has come for those concerned to seriously discuss the possibilities with each other.

    Before all else, however, Kosova has to be made safe for Serbs. Ending the revenge attacks and restoring an atmosphere of safety and security should be top priorities for KFOR. They are also necessary prerequisites if the international protectorate is to serve as a vehicle for promoting democracy in Serbia proper.

    Third, perhaps time has come for giving serious consideration to the restoration of the Karadjordjevic dynasty in Serbia. The decision to do so will obviously be a matter for the Serbs themselves, but foreign governments might want to think about what role, if any, they might seek to play. They might reflect, for example, on whether they wish to treat Crown Prince Aleksandar as a private citizen or as something else.

    The main argument for the restoration is that a good constitutional monarch could provide a stabilizing and guiding influence in Serbia's transition to democracy. The role of Spain's Juan Carlos in his country's transition comes to mind. The monarchist tradition is strong in Serbia, and among Serbs outside its boundaries. Aleksandar's British education and his exposure to British political culture might be just the qualifications that would best recommend a constitutional monarch in a troubled country like present-day Serbia.

    The main argument against a restoration has been that a majority of Serbs do not support it, at least according to polls in the past. Perhaps in view of the dramatic events of the past few months, however, it's time for some fresh opinion surveys. A democratically elected Serbian parliament might choose to settle the issue by calling a referendum.

    A second set of negative arguments involves Aleksandar personally. Critics charge that he is a man of only average intelligence. They add that his command of Serbo-Croatian is very limited, noting that he was born and raised in Britain and never expected to reclaim the throne.

    Whatever the merits of the first argument, it fails to appreciate that he has apparently shown excellent judgment in selecting good advisors and following their suggestions. And with his British background, Aleksandar may be precisely the sort of individual best suited to serve Serbia in these difficult times.

    As to the language issue, it might be recalled that most of the Balkan countries were ruled at one time or another in the past 100-odd years by foreign-born monarchs who had little knowledge of their people's language. One exception was Serbia, where the two rival dynasties--Karadjordjevic and Obrenovic--were both home grown. Given his family's place in Serbian history, perhaps many Serbs would be willing to forgive Aleksandar on the language issue. In any event, he has two young sons who could still master the intricacies of Serbo-Croatian declensions.

    08-07-99


    Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    URL: http://www.rferl.org


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