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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 176, 99-09-09

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. 176, 9 September 1999


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN, GREEK, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET
  • [02] NAGORNO-KARABAKH PARLIAMENT THWARTS ATTEMPT TO LIFT DEPUTY'S
  • [03] ANOTHER AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST SENTENCED
  • [04] AZERBAIJAN'S RULING PARTY EXPELS CRITIC
  • [05] 13 BLOCS TO CONTEND GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
  • [06] GEORGIA SEEKS TO CONTAIN ANTHRAX THREAT
  • [07] KAZAKH OFFICIAL SAYS FORMER PREMIER'S LAWYER WON'T REPRESENT
  • [08] KAZHEGELDIN CASTS DOUBT ON AUTHENTICITY OF VORONOV
  • [09] ...PROTESTS REFUSAL TO REGISTER HIM AS PARLIAMENTARY
  • [10] KYRGYZ OFFICIALS DENY NEGOTIATING WITH GUERRILLAS
  • [11] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT WANTS RUSSIAN AIR POWER
  • [12] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT DEBATES HOSTAGE CRISIS
  • [13] UZBEK PRESIDENT SAYS GUERRILLAS PART OF 'INTERNATIONAL

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [14] PLANS SHAPE UP FOR KOSOVA CORPS
  • [15] EX-UCK SOLDIERS URGED TO JOIN CIVILIAN POLICE
  • [16] SERBS WERE TARGETS OF KOSOVA SHELLING
  • [17] EBU APPOINTS DIRECTOR OF PRISHTINA RADIO AND TELEVISION
  • [18] KOUCHNER TO LAUNCH PREPARATIONS FOR ELECTIONS
  • [19] SERBIAN REFUGEES RESUME MARCH
  • [20] STUDENT PROTEST IN BELGRADE
  • [21] SERBIAN PRESIDENT REAPPEARS
  • [22] BERN: NO EVIDENCE OF MILOSEVIC FORTUNE
  • [23] PETRIC URGES NATO NOT TO FORGET BOSNIA
  • [24] IZETBEGOVIC: NO EVICTIONS FOR REFUGEES
  • [25] BOSNIAN SERBS BOYCOTT MILITARY TALKS
  • [26] MORTAR SHELLS FALL NEAR RETURNING REFUGEES
  • [27] CASSESE TO LEAVE HAGUE COURT
  • [28] CROATIA TO EASE VAT
  • [29] ALBANIA'S POLLO WANTS TO UNITE OPPOSITION
  • [30] OSCE SAYS GAGAUZ-YERI ELECTIONS 'FAIR'...
  • [31] ...WHILE URGING FASTER WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN WEAPONS FROM

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [32] KULIKOV SAYS MONEY SCANDAL COULD SPUR DUMA INTO ACTION

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN, GREEK, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET

    Meeting in

    Yerevan on 8 September for the third annual session of the

    trilateral economic cooperation group established in 1997,

    Vartan Oskanian, George Papandreou, and Kamal Kharrazi signed

    a memorandum of understanding outlining joint projects in the

    energy, transport, and other sectors, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

    reported. At a subsequent press conference, all three

    ministers expressed satisfaction with the present level of

    trilateral cooperation, stressing that it is not directed

    against any third party. Papandreou expressed Greece's

    interest in participating in the planned $120 million gas

    pipeline project from Iran to Armenia. He also suggested that

    Iran could participate in the EU's TRACECA program for

    developing a network of road and rail links across Asia to

    Europe. The ministers discussed regional problems, including

    the Karabakh conflict, only at bilateral talks, according to

    ITAR-TASS. Armenian President Robert Kocharian met separately

    with both Papandreou and Kharrazi on 7 September, Noyan Tapan

    reported. LF

    [02] NAGORNO-KARABAKH PARLIAMENT THWARTS ATTEMPT TO LIFT DEPUTY'S

    IMMUNITY

    Deputies to the parliament of the unrecognized

    Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 8 September rejected a request

    by the enclave's prosecutor-general to strip Murad Petrosian

    of his deputy's immunity, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent

    reported. Petrosian, who formerly headed the parliament's

    Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, was charged with

    having assaulted a police officer two years ago. He is a

    close ally of former Karabakh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan

    and, like Babayan, espouses a hard line on how to resolve the

    Karabakh conflict. Prosecutor-General Mavrik Ghukasian told

    RFE/RL that the parliament "had no legal grounds" to reject

    his request and that he will continue to seek Petrosian's

    prosecution. LF

    [03] ANOTHER AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST SENTENCED

    A Baku district

    court on 9 September handed down a one-year suspended

    sentence on Irada Huseynova, a journalist for "Bakinskii

    bulvard," whose trial resumed on 6 September, Turan reported

    (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 1999). Huseynova was charged

    with slander for an article she published in that newspaper

    last November referring to Djalal Aliev, the brother of the

    Azerbaijani president, as "the gas station king." Djalal

    Aliev brought a civil case against Huseynova last year, after

    which "Bakinskii bulvard" published an apology. LF

    [04] AZERBAIJAN'S RULING PARTY EXPELS CRITIC

    Siyavush Novruzov, a

    leading member of the Yeni Azerbaycan party, told Turan on 8

    September that Abbas Mustafaev has been expelled from the

    party for activities aimed at causing a split within its

    ranks and for leveling groundless accusations against party

    and national leaders. Mustafaev, who headed a Baku district

    branch of Yeni Azerbaycan, last year accused Labor Minister

    and Yeni Azerbaycan deputy chairman Ali Nagiev of corruption.

    More recently, he claimed that Nagiev was trying to split

    Yeni Azerbaycan in order to found a political party of his

    own (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 34, 26 August

    1999). Novruzov added that Yeni Azerbaycan will hold a party

    congress in October. That congress was originally scheduled

    for early summer and then postponed until September. LF

    [05] 13 BLOCS TO CONTEND GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

    A total

    of 13 electoral blocs and 37 political parties have applied

    for registration with Georgia's Central Electoral Committee

    to contest the 30 October parliamentary elections, according

    to Caucasus Press. The deadline for blocs to register was 6

    September; individual political parties must do so by 6

    October. The electoral alliances include the Batumi-based

    Union for Georgian Revival and two Communist/Stalinist blocs.

    But the anticipated election alliance between the ruling

    Union of Citizens of Georgia and Tamaz Nadareishvili's Party

    for the Liberation of Abkhazia has not materialized (see

    "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 33, 19 August 1999). LF

    [06] GEORGIA SEEKS TO CONTAIN ANTHRAX THREAT

    Georgia has imposed

    stringent controls on the transport of meat and dairy

    products to Tbilisi in order to combat the spread of a major

    outbreak of intestinal anthrax, Caucasus Press reported on 8

    September. All cattle and sheep in eastern Georgia are to be

    vaccinated against the disease. The first cases of anthrax

    were reported in the village of Gachiani in Garadabani Raion,

    southeast of Tbilisi, in August. At least 10 people from that

    village and the nearby industrial town of Rustavi have been

    hospitalized suffering from anthrax. One case has been

    reported in Tbilisi. LF

    [07] KAZAKH OFFICIAL SAYS FORMER PREMIER'S LAWYER WON'T REPRESENT

    HIM ANY LONGER

    At a news conference in Almaty on 8 September

    Central Election Commission chairwoman, Zaghipa Balieva

    produced what she claimed is an official statement addressed

    to the commission by Vitalii Voronov, a lawyer representing

    former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, RFE/RL's bureau in

    the former capital reported. In that statement, Voronov said

    he intends to sever all connections with both Kazhegeldin and

    the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan, which

    Kazhegeldin heads. He accused Kazhegeldin of caring more

    about his personal ambitions than the real needs of the

    country. The leadership of the Republican People's Party held

    an emergency session in Almaty later on 8 September to

    evaluate Balieva's claims. Khabar-TV, which is headed by

    President Nursultan Nazarbaev's daughter, showed footage on 8

    September in which Voronov confirmed that he had sent the

    statement in question to the Central Electoral Commission. LF

    [08] KAZHEGELDIN CASTS DOUBT ON AUTHENTICITY OF VORONOV

    STATEMENT...

    In a statement addressed to the leadership of

    the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan on 8 September, a

    copy of which was faxed to "RFE/RL Newsline," Kazhegeldin

    said that the text of Voronin's alleged statement is worded

    in a way that raises suspicions as to whether he is in fact

    the author and whether he appended his signature to the

    document voluntarily. Kazhegeldin notes that Voronov is bound

    by legal contract to represent his interests and should have

    informed him before breaking that contract. He further

    suggested that Voronov was subjected to either psychological

    or physical pressure by the Kazakh authorities. Kazhegeldin

    affirms that, with or without Voronov, the Republican

    People's Party will continue its struggle for "the people's

    right to choose." LF

    [09] ...PROTESTS REFUSAL TO REGISTER HIM AS PARLIAMENTARY

    CANDIDATE

    In a statement addressed to the Supreme Court of

    Kazakhstan on 8 September, a copy of which was made available

    to "RFE/RL Newsline," Kazhegeldin deplored the refusal of the

    Central Electoral Commission to register him and two leading

    members of the Workers' Party as candidates for the 10

    October election to the lower house of the parliament. In all

    three cases, the Central Electoral Commission based its

    refusal on administrative offenses. Madel Ismailov was

    sentenced to one year in prison for insulting the honor and

    dignity of President Nazarbaev, while Vladimir Chernyshev was

    refused registration for having laid flowers at the foot of a

    monument to Lenin. Kazhegeldin appealed to the judges to

    reverse their decision to enable him to register as a

    parliamentary candidate before the 9 September deadline for

    doing so expires. LF

    [10] KYRGYZ OFFICIALS DENY NEGOTIATING WITH GUERRILLAS

    Presidential press secretary Kanybek Imanaliev and a Security

    Ministry spokesman both denied on 8 September that Kyrgyz

    defense and security officials are conducting talks with the

    ethnic Uzbek militants holding 13 hostages in southern

    Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported.

    But a police official in Osh Oblast told RFE/RL that eight

    Kyrgyz officials, led by Colonel Talant Razzakov from the

    Security Ministry, arrived in the village of Kan by

    helicopter earlier on 8 September to meet with guerrilla

    representatives, who failed to show up. Security Council

    Secretary Bolot Djanuzakov told journalists in Bishkek on 8

    September that talks are being held with the guerrillas, but

    exclusively through the mediation of local officials and

    NGOs. One Kyrgyz soldier was killed and two wounded on 8

    September in an exchange of fire with the guerrillas, ITAR-

    TASS reported. LF

    [11] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT WANTS RUSSIAN AIR POWER

    Speaking live on

    ORT, Askar Akaev said that Russian air support would be the

    most effective weapon against the guerrillas, Interfax

    reported on 8 September. Akaev said that the Kyrgyz armed

    forces are strong enough to drive the militants back into

    Tajikistan but have not attempted to do so in order not to

    endanger the lives of the hostages. LF

    [12] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT DEBATES HOSTAGE CRISIS

    After a one-week

    debate, the Kyrgyz parliament adopted a resolution on the

    situation in Osh Oblast on 8 September, Interfax and RFE/RL's

    Bishkek bureau reported. The contents of that resolution have

    not been made public. But the parliament did vote to provide

    economic aid to victims of the conflict and to amend budget

    spending to provide funds for that purpose and additional

    funds for the Defense Ministry. Deputies voted down a

    proposal to move the capital from Bishkek to the town of Osh,

    according to Interfax. LF

    [13] UZBEK PRESIDENT SAYS GUERRILLAS PART OF 'INTERNATIONAL

    CONSPIRACY'

    Addressing foreign diplomats on 7 September,

    Islam Karimov said that the hostage-taking in southern

    Kyrgyzstan was prepared long in advance and constitutes part

    of a major conspiracy orchestrated by Islamic terrorists who

    aim to establish an Islamic state in Central Asia, Interfax

    reported. "One cannot be complacent and disregard this

    threat," Karimov added. On 8 September, Uzbek Defense

    Minister Khikmatulla Tursunov said that Tashkent has

    tightened control of its borders and placed its armed forces

    on alert in response to the hostage-taking. He described the

    guerrillas as "criminals" who "do not represent any country

    or political party." LF


    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [14] PLANS SHAPE UP FOR KOSOVA CORPS

    NATO ambassadors in Brussels

    on 9 September discussed the plan for the transformation of

    at least part of the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) into a

    Kosova Corps (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 September 1999). A

    high-ranking NATO official told an RFE/RL South Slavic

    Service correspondent that the plan provides for a 3,000-

    strong force that will be organized into a "military

    structure" in six regions of Kosova and will have 2,000

    reservists. Members of the force will wear uniforms but not

    carry arms, with the exception of guards or others exercising

    functions explicitly assigned to them by KFOR. The corps will

    include transport units, rapid reaction forces, medical

    units, and units for protection against chemical and

    bacteriological weapons. It will be subordinated to UN

    Special Representative Bernard Kouchner and maintain

    permanent contact with KFOR through liaison officers.

    Kouchner will present the plan to UN Secretary-General Kofi

    Annan on 9 September. FS

    [15] EX-UCK SOLDIERS URGED TO JOIN CIVILIAN POLICE

    An RFE/RL

    South Slavic Service correspondent in Brussels quoted a

    unnamed NATO official as saying on 8 September that many UCK

    soldiers who are not included in the Kosova Corps will be

    able to apply for jobs with the civilian police. In addition,

    international organizations clearing mines in Kosova have

    reserved 190 jobs for former UCK members. Kouchner's UN

    Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has also received pledges of 300

    university stipends from several different countries for

    those UCK soldiers who interrupted their studies when war

    broke out. FS

    [16] SERBS WERE TARGETS OF KOSOVA SHELLING

    The victims of the

    recent shelling of Donja Budriga, near Gjilan, were all Serbs

    (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 September 1999). U.S. Colonel Steve

    Hicks told AP on 8 September that the shells came from an

    ethnic Albanian village and struck two Serbian ones. BBC

    Television noted the next day that the shells were of Chinese

    manufacture and that the UCK has much Chinese-made weaponry.

    In Prishtina, a KFOR spokesman noted that ethnic tensions are

    on the rise in the Gjilan area, in southeastern Kosova,

    following a recent series of incidents. On 9 September, a

    KFOR spokesman said that a 65-year-old Serbian woman died in

    Prizren after a beating by members of the UCK, AP reported.

    PM

    [17] EBU APPOINTS DIRECTOR OF PRISHTINA RADIO AND TELEVISION

    The

    European Broadcasting Union (EBU), meeting in Geneva on 8

    September, appointed Erik Lehmann as the new head of

    Prishtina Radio and Television. Lehmann is currently

    president of Swiss Public Radio and Television. FS

    [18] KOUCHNER TO LAUNCH PREPARATIONS FOR ELECTIONS

    Kouchner told

    the Kosova Transitional Council in Prishtina on 9 September

    that he will hold a large meeting of all Kosovar political

    parties at the end of September, after the demilitarization

    of the UCK is complete. He said that the meeting will be the

    first step toward organizing elections next year. The

    Transitional Council also set up a commission to seek the

    release of more than 2,000 ethnic Albanians from Serbian

    prisons. Kouchner later promised about 200 ethnic Albanian

    protesters who had gathered outside the UN headquarters that

    KFOR will ensure the return of ethnic Albanians to the

    Serbian-dominated northern part of Mitrovica in the near

    future. Kouchner said that he is optimistic about the

    successful demilitarization of the UCK, the reconstruction of

    Kosova, and the holding of new elections, saying "I hope--

    inshallah--to organize the whole thing." FS

    [19] SERBIAN REFUGEES RESUME MARCH

    Police on 8 September blocked

    a road leading from Kraljevo to Belgrade, forcing 350

    refugees from Kosova to abandon plans to march on the

    capital. The refugees wanted to protest what they called the

    government's indifference to their plight. They resumed their

    march the following day. Local officials recently evicted

    them from their quarters in a school building so that fall

    classes could begin. AP reported that "the refugees were

    offered a windowless, roofless ruin with no electricity or

    water as alternative shelter. They refused and embarked

    instead on a protest march to Belgrade." Some 20,000 refugees

    from Kosova are officially registered in Kraljevo, but there

    are perhaps as many as 10,000 unregistered refugees there.

    The town lies directly north of Kosova on a main road linking

    it to Mitrovica and Prishtina. PM

    [20] STUDENT PROTEST IN BELGRADE

    An unspecified number of

    students belonging to Otpor (Resistance) demonstrated in

    front of the Belgrade military court on 8 September. They

    called for an end to legal proceedings against young men who

    did not respond to call-up orders during the Kosova conflict

    in the first half of 1999, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service

    reported. Several Serbian human rights groups say that legal

    proceedings have begun against 3,800 youths and that the

    number could eventually reach 20,000. PM

    [21] SERBIAN PRESIDENT REAPPEARS

    Milan Milutinovic met in

    Belgrade on 8 September with a delegation from the Zastava

    automobile plant. This was his first public appearance for

    some time (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 September 1999). The next

    day, he met with ousted Bosnian Serb President Nikola

    Poplasen. PM

    [22] BERN: NO EVIDENCE OF MILOSEVIC FORTUNE

    The Swiss government

    said in a statement on 8 September that its investigators

    have found no evidence that Milosevic and other top Serbian

    indicted war criminals have deposits in Swiss banks. There

    have been reports in foreign and independent Serbian media in

    recent years that Milosevic and his allies have deposited

    large sums of money in foreign banks. Much of the money is

    thought to be in Russia, Cyprus, or Greece. PM

    [23] PETRIC URGES NATO NOT TO FORGET BOSNIA

    Wolfgang Petritsch,

    who is the international community's new high representative

    in Bosnia, told NATO officials in Brussels on 8 September

    that Bosnia will continue to need peacekeepers to provide

    basic security. He stressed that he realizes the importance

    of Kosova, but at the same time he urged NATO not to deplete

    its forces in Bosnia in order to send them to that province.

    PM

    [24] IZETBEGOVIC: NO EVICTIONS FOR REFUGEES

    Alija Izetbegovic,

    who is the Muslim member of the Bosnian joint presidency,

    told "Dnevni avaz" of 8 September that refugees living in

    Sarajevo flats should not obey court orders that they return

    those flats to their legal owners. He said that it is

    "unacceptable" that people with nowhere to go be told to

    leave their current dwellings. Observers note that the

    refugees are most likely to be Muslims from rural Bosnia. The

    owners of the flats are probably for the most part Serbs or

    Croats. PM

    [25] BOSNIAN SERBS BOYCOTT MILITARY TALKS

    A scheduled meeting of

    the Standing Committee on Military Matters did not take place

    in Sarajevo on 8 September because the delegation from the

    Republika Srpska refused to attend. Bosnian Serb officials

    told SFOR that they are concerned about their officers'

    security (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 September 1999). PM

    [26] MORTAR SHELLS FALL NEAR RETURNING REFUGEES

    Unknown persons

    fired several mortar rounds at a building in Kula Fazlagica

    near Gacko on 8 September. The building is the temporary home

    of 50 Muslims who recently returned to repair their houses

    before winter. The Muslims said that they will remain in the

    village, despite a series of incidents. Kula Fazlagica is

    near the Montenegrin border. It had been mainly Muslim before

    the 1992-1995 war, but Serbian forces drove the Muslims out

    at an early stage of the conflict. PM

    [27] CASSESE TO LEAVE HAGUE COURT

    Tribunal President Gabrielle

    Kirk McDonald wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi

    Annan on 8 September that judge Antonio Cassese will leave

    the court on 1 February 2000 to return to the University of

    Florence. His decision means that the tribunal will lose

    three senior figures within a short time of one another.

    McDonald and chief prosecutor Louise Arbour will leave before

    the end of 1999. PM

    [28] CROATIA TO EASE VAT

    Top Croatian officials agreed in Zagreb

    on 8 September to end value-added tax on some basic

    foodstuffs, some medicines, and books. VAT will soon be

    raised for unspecified "luxury goods," RFE/RL's South Slavic

    Service reported. Observers note that VAT is highly unpopular

    in Croatia, where prices are similar to those in Germany but

    the average monthly wage is far lower. Parliamentary

    elections are expected by early 2000. PM

    [29] ALBANIA'S POLLO WANTS TO UNITE OPPOSITION

    Genc Pollo, who is

    the deputy leader of the Democratic Party and a candidate for

    party chairman, told an RFE/RL South Slavic Service

    correspondent in Tirana on 8 September that he wants to unite

    the right-of-center opposition. Pollo said that he intends to

    improve cooperation with the Republican Party and stressed

    that the political parties on the right must put an end to

    political infighting. The Republicans harshly criticized the

    Democrats during the unrest in 1997, charging party leader

    Sali Berisha with authoritarian behavior. A party congress in

    late September will decided the issue of the chairmanship of

    the Democratic Party. FS

    [30] OSCE SAYS GAGAUZ-YERI ELECTIONS 'FAIR'...

    The OSCE on 8

    September issued a statement saying that the 5 September run-

    off in the Gagauz-Yeri elections for governor and for 25

    seats in the People's Assembly was "calm, orderly, free, and

    fair." Five OSCE observer teams visited 57 out of the 62

    voting stations. The OSCE said the observers drew attention

    to some "procedural and technical problems" during voting and

    that "several aspects" in the electoral process "are in need

    of improvement." MS

    [31] ...WHILE URGING FASTER WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN WEAPONS FROM

    TRANSDNIESTER

    Ten states, including the U.S., Germany and

    France, are ready to extend financial aid for the withdrawal

    and destruction of the arsenal of the Russian contingent in

    the Transdniester, Romanian Radio reported on 8 September,

    citing Moldpres. General Ramon Armosa of the OSCE mission in

    the region said that representatives of the 10 states will

    arrive in the Transdniester in the fall to evaluate the costs

    of the evacuation. He said that Russia proposes a five-year

    timetable for the withdrawal but that the OSCE experts

    believe the evacuation can take place more quickly. MS


    [C] END NOTE

    [32] KULIKOV SAYS MONEY SCANDAL COULD SPUR DUMA INTO ACTION

    By Roland Eggleston

    Former Russian Interior Minister Anatolii Kulikov says

    investigations into the reported transfer of billions of

    dollars to a New York bank could spur the Russian parliament

    into approving legislation on money laundering.

    Kulikov, who attended a conference in Germany last week

    on international crime, said Russian law enforcement agencies

    had been pushing for such legislation for six years but had

    failed to persuade parliament to act.

    U.S. and Russian investigators are checking the transfer

    of billions of dollars in Russian money through the Bank of

    New York over the past 18 months. There are suspicions that

    some of the money may be part of a money-laundering scheme to

    conceal the origin of profits made in illegal operations.

    "Our opponents claim that if banks had to provide

    information on their hard currency operations to the

    authorities it would violate the international covenants on

    human and civil rights," Kulikov told RFE/RL.

    "But we take the United States as an example," he

    continued. "The U.S. is a mature democracy, but they do have

    a provision in their law which allows the U.S. government to

    compel banks to disclose information on some activities that

    might seem illegal and on the basis of this legal provision

    they can take on even such a powerful institution as the Bank

    of New York."

    The U.S. began controlling money laundering in 1970 when

    Congress passed a law requiring financial institutions to

    file reports about any transaction exceeding $10,000 and to

    keep those records on file for five years. Later laws imposed

    even stricter regulations. Money laundering is now a criminal

    offense and banks and financial institutions are required to

    report any transaction that they consider suspicious.

    Kulikov said he believes the U.S. laws set an example

    that should be followed by Russian lawmakers. He said

    corruption in Russia is so pervasive that it has serious

    consequences for the national economy.

    "It influences the level of foreign investment in our

    economy," he said. "I know that firms and companies planning

    to participate in various economic projects earmark up to 50

    percent of their investment to bribe government officials.

    This is a very serious problem."

    He said firm government action is needed, adding that

    the fight against corruption can be effective only with the

    political will of the government. "No president or government

    in Russia will succeed in economic reform until it resolves

    the problem of corruption," he argued.

    Kulikov said he still favors the creation of an

    independent anti-corruption panel, which he first proposed in

    1997 but has never been implemented, despite initial support

    from President Boris Yeltsin and then Prime Minister Viktor

    Chernomyrdin.

    "[The commission] would be subordinate to either the

    president or the prime minister," he said. "It would be

    independent of all the other law-enforcement agencies.

    Otherwise it would be impossible to fight corruption within

    these law-enforcement agencies--to act as police of the

    police."

    Kulikov said that his proposal to President Yeltsin in

    late 1997 was made after he received information about money

    laundering and financial activities in foreign countries by

    some Russian government officials. He said his goal was to

    have this money returned to Russia and to create obstacles

    for those wanting to move their money out of the country.

    According to Kulikov, President Yeltsin agreed that the

    commission should be established. He said it was also

    supported by Chernomyrdin and by other officials but never

    implemented.

    Other Russian officials at the crime conference told

    RFE/RL that the flight of capital is an important factor in

    the Russian economic crisis. They estimated that since 1992

    as much as $100-150 billion have been sent abroad by various

    means.

    Russia has regulations against exporting capital. But

    the officials said that in recent years Russians at all

    levels have moved capital and assets abroad with relative

    impunity. The situation is said to have worsened since the

    collapse of the ruble a year ago. Some estimates suggest that

    between $1-2 billion slips out of the country every month.

    While much of it is considered to be flight of capital from

    the Russian economy, some of it is believed to be money

    laundering by criminals.

    The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Munich,

    Germany.

    09-09-99


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


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