Visit our archive of Documents on The Cyprus Problem Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923) Read the Convention Relating to the Regime of the Straits (24 July 1923)
HR-Net - Hellenic Resources Network Compact version
Today's Suggestion
Read The "Macedonian Question" (by Maria Nystazopoulou-Pelekidou)
HomeAbout HR-NetNewsWeb SitesDocumentsOnline HelpUsage InformationContact us
Thursday, 28 March 2024
 
News
  Latest News (All)
     From Greece
     From Cyprus
     From Europe
     From Balkans
     From Turkey
     From USA
  Announcements
  World Press
  News Archives
Web Sites
  Hosted
  Mirrored
  Interesting Nodes
Documents
  Special Topics
  Treaties, Conventions
  Constitutions
  U.S. Agencies
  Cyprus Problem
  Other
Services
  Personal NewsPaper
  Greek Fonts
  Tools
  F.A.Q.
 

RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 248, 00-12-27

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. 4, No. 248, 27 December 2000

President Putin told journalists in Moscow on 26 December that interim Chechen administration head Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov is "the only center of authority" in Chechnya, Interfax reported. In a bid to end speculation that Kadyrov will soon be replaced (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 41, 20 October 2000 and No. 43, 3 November 2000), Putin said Kadyrov will continue in that post "until we go over to other methods of settling political problems of this kind -- to the election of head of the [Chechen] republic." He said that military operations aginst the Chechen fighters will be continued by "special units" formed of "professionals." LF

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIA HOPES FOR EVENTUAL EU MEMBERSHIP
  • [02] FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY HOLDS CONGRESS
  • [03] RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN
  • [04] OUSTED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF OPPOSITION PARTY
  • [05] GEORGIA PEGS RUSSIAN BASES COMPROMISE TO CONCESSIONS ON ABKHAZIA
  • [06] LAND TAX IN KYRGYZSTAN INCREASED BY 40 PERCENT
  • [07] REVIEW OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST'S ACQUITTAL RESUMES
  • [08] INVESTIGATION INTO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT COMPLETED IN TAJIKISTAN
  • [09] TURKMEN PRESIDENT DECLARES AMNESTY
  • [10] UZBEKISTAN WARNS KYRGYZSTAN OVER GAS DEBTS
  • [11] UZBEK POLICE SEIZE ARMS CACHE

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [12] SERBS REPUDIATE MILOSEVIC IN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE...
  • [13] ...BUT HARDLINERS MAKE DEMANDS
  • [14] MILOSEVIC MAY BE CHARGED, ARRESTED
  • [15] DJINDJIC BECOMES PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE
  • [16] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WELCOMES SERBIAN POLL OUTCOME
  • [17] BELGRADE FIRES OFFICERS IN MONTENEGRO
  • [18] THREE-QUARTERS OF SERBIA WITHOUT POWER
  • [19] KFOR EXPECTS IMPROVED TIES WITH BELGRADE
  • [20] VOTE SEEN DEEPENING DIVISIONS IN KOSOVA
  • [21] BELGRADE THREATENS UNILATERAL ACTION ON KOSOVO BUFFER ZONE
  • [22] IVANIC NOMINATED BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER
  • [23] UNHRC REGISTERS DELINE IN BOSNIA REFUGEE FIGURES
  • [24] CROATIAN BANK BUYS LARGE BOSNIAN BANK
  • [25] MACEDONIA SELLS MAJORITY STAKE IN MOBILE PHONE NETWORK
  • [26] MACEDONIAN POLICE DEPORT SLAVIC PROSTITUTES
  • [27] SLOVENIA MARKS INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
  • [28] NASTASE SUBMITS GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAM...
  • [29] ... AND GOVERNMENTAL LINE-UP
  • [30] CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ENVISAGED IN ROMANIA
  • [31] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT GIVES 'GREEN LIGHT' TO PARLIAMENT DISSOLUTION
  • [32] 'MEIN KAMPF' TRANSLATION PUBLISHED IN BULGARIA

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [33] There is no End Note today.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIA HOPES FOR EVENTUAL EU MEMBERSHIP

    Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a press conference in Yerevan on 26 December that EU membership is one of Armenia's longterm foreign policy objectives, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. "We believe that it is time for the European Union and its member countries to formulate a clear stance on the Caucasus and determine whether they are prepared to see the Caucasus as a part of the EU some time in the future," Oskanian said. He added that the Armenian leadership plans to raise the issue during a February visit to Yerevan by EU Foreign Affairs Commisioner Javier Solana and Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lund. Sweden takes over the EU rotating presidency on 1 January. LF

    [02] FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY HOLDS CONGRESS

    The Armenian Pan-National Congress (HHSh) held its 12th congress in Yerevan on 22-23 December, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Deputies elected former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian as chairman of the movement's board, replacing former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian who fled Armenia in April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 7 April 2000). Deputies rejected, however, a proposal to rename the HHSh the Liberal Party of Armenia, according to Noyan Tapan. In the presence of former President Levon Ter- Petrossian, Arzoumanian accused the present Armenian leadership of being incapable to resolve the country's probelems. He argued that the HHSh should form a united front with other center-right parties that had split from its ranks during the 1990s. LF

    [03] RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN

    Visiting Baku on 25-26 December, Igor Sergeev held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart General Safar Abiev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, parliament speaker Murtuz Alesqerov and President Heidar Aliev, Turan and ITAR-TASS reported. Topics discussed included Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Azerbaijan next month, the security situation in the South Caucasus, the Karabakh conflict, and the Gabala radar station. Interfax quotd Sergeev as saying after his talks with Abiev that he is "120 percent convinced" that there will be no resumption of hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Sergeev also said that the investigation into supplies of Russian weaponry to Armenia in 1994-1996 has been completed, and that "there were no illegal deliveries." Interfax quoted Aliev on 26 December as saying that he hopes Putin's upcoming visit will mark the beginning of a "new stage" in bilateral relations and contribute to solving outstanding problems between the two countries. LF

    [04] OUSTED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF OPPOSITION PARTY

    The Civil Unity Party elected exiled former President Ayaz Mutalibov as its chairman at the party's second congress, which took place in Baku on 23 December, Turan reported. The party was founded in April 2000 to support Mutalibov, who has lived in Moscow since fleeing Azerbaijan in May 1992. "Azadlyq" on 26 December quoted him as saying that he intends to run in the Azerbaijani presidential elections due in 2003. LF

    [05] GEORGIA PEGS RUSSIAN BASES COMPROMISE TO CONCESSIONS ON ABKHAZIA

    The fifth round of bilateral talks on the closure of Russia's four military bases in Georgia, which took place in Tbilisi on 21-23 December, failed to yield a firm agreement on the terms of and timetable for the closure of the Russian bases at Batumi and Akhalkalaki. Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili told journalists in Tbilisi on 24 December that the Georgian leadership rejected a Russian proposal not to close those bases for 15 years. He said the bases will remain for an unspecified period acceptable to both countries. Menagharishvili also rejected as exaggerated the Russian claim that the closure of the bases and redeployment of Russian forces to Russia will cost some $700 million. Interfax, however, quoted Russian Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who headed the Russian delegation, as saying that during a meeting with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze agreement had been reached "in principle" that the two Russian bases should remain for a further 15 years. But Shevardnadze reportedly made that extension conditional on unspecified concessions from Moscow in resolving the Abkhaz conflict, Interfax reported. LF

    [06] LAND TAX IN KYRGYZSTAN INCREASED BY 40 PERCENT

    The lower chamber of Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted on 22 December to increase the land tax by 40 percent, from an average of 225 soms to 315 soms ($6.5) per hectare RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. President Askar Akaev had called for a165 percent hike, to 596 soms per hectare (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 and 15 December 2000). The average monthly salary in Kyrgyzstan in $20. LF

    [07] REVIEW OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST'S ACQUITTAL RESUMES

    The Bishkek City Military Court on 22 December resumed its review of the August decision by the same court to acquit former Deputy President and opposition Ar-Namys Party leader Feliks Kulov, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Kulov was arrested in March and charged with abuse of his official position while serving as National Security Minister. He was acquitted in early August, but the board of the Kyrgyz Military Court annulled that ruling in September and called for a review of the case (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 August and 12 September 2000). That review began in early October but was suspended six days later later because of the indisposition of the presiding judge. LF

    [08] INVESTIGATION INTO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT COMPLETED IN TAJIKISTAN

    National Security Minister Khayriddin Abdurahimov told "Sadoi Mardum," the newspaper of the Tajik parliament, that the investigation into the failed 16 February bid to kill Dushanbe mayor Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloev is being wrapped up, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 22 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 and 21 February 2000). Abdurahimov said all the perpetrators are in detention and will go on trial shortly. Ubaidulloev is reportedly the second-most powerful political figure in Tajikistan. On 25 December, Tajik police announced the detention of five supporters of rebel Colonel Mahmud Khudoiberdiev on charges of killing a local police chief and a local government official in two separate incidents in August 1997, AP reported. LF

    [09] TURKMEN PRESIDENT DECLARES AMNESTY

    As anticipated, President Saparmurat Niyazov marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by proclaiming an amnesty for 12,000 of the country's estimated 19,000 prison population, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 December 2000). Those released the following day included dissidents Nurberdi Nurmamedov and Pirimguli Tanrykuliev. LF

    [10] UZBEKISTAN WARNS KYRGYZSTAN OVER GAS DEBTS

    Tashkent sent a telegram to the Kyrgyz authorities on 25 December warning that it will cut natural gas delivereies within days unless Bishkek pays its outstanding $2 million debt for previous supplies, Kyrgyz government official Saparbek Balkybekov told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau. Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Prime Minister Esengul Omuraliev had said three weeks earlier that Bishkek and Tashkent had reached agreement on rescheduling that debt (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 2000). LF

    [11] UZBEK POLICE SEIZE ARMS CACHE

    Uzbek police have arrested Tashkent resident Leonid Yudin, who divulged the location of a secret arsenal comprising nine firearms, large quantities of ammunition, several grenades and 10 kilograms of explosives, Interfax reported on 25 December quoting the Uzbek Interior Ministry press service. Five other persons including a Syrian and a Russian national who purchased a weapon from Yudin were subsequently arrested. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [12] SERBS REPUDIATE MILOSEVIC IN PARLIAMENTARY VOTE...

    Participants in Serbian parliamentary elections on 23 December gave 65 percent of their votes to the Democratic Opposition of Serbia alliance of new Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and only 14 percent to the Socialist Party of former President Slobodan Milosevic, Western news agencies reported. That translates into 178 seats for the 18 parties of the DOS, which will now form a new government, and only 36 seats for the Socialists. PG

    [13] ...BUT HARDLINERS MAKE DEMANDS

    Borislav Pelevic, the head of the Party of Serbian Unity (SSJ) founded by ultra-nationalist warlord Arkan, said on 26 December that his party, which gained 14 of the 150 seats in the new parliament, will demand that the parliament hold its first session in Kosovo in order to reassert its rights over that region, Reuters reported. He said that he expects other parties to support this and the international community to give its permission. PG

    [14] MILOSEVIC MAY BE CHARGED, ARRESTED

    Prime Minister-designate Zoran Djindjic said on 25 December that his government will launch an investigation that could lead to the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic for crimes in Yugoslavia, AP reported. But officials made clear that Milosevic would have to be tried in Yugoslavia before anyone would consider extraditing him to the Hague to face war crimes charges. As DOS leader Dragolub Micunovic put it on 22 December, sending Milosevic to the Hague right away would in effect mean that he was being pardoned for all he had done in Yugoslavia, ITAR-TASS reported. PG

    [15] DJINDJIC BECOMES PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE

    Zoran Djindjic, a longtime opposition figure known for his pragmatism but also for his past clashes with the country's new president Kostunica, is now the prime minister designate and will name a government by 10 January, Western agencies reported. Djindjic negotiated with Milosevic in 1993 over the possible formation of a government of experts, and he attempted to take control of state enterprises during the October 2000 revolt against Milosevic. PG

    [16] INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WELCOMES SERBIAN POLL OUTCOME

    The European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and most major governments welcomed the outcome of the Serbian parliamentary elections. Michael Steiner, foreign policy advisor to German Chancellor Gerhard Shroeder, spoke for many when he said that the outcome represented "a Christmas present for democracy in Europe," Reuters reported. On 26 December, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker released a statement saying that the elections were "an important milestone in the going demcoratic transition that began with Milosevic's defeat in September's federal presidential elecitons." In the first concrete move, Japan announced in advance of the vote that it would lift the sanctions it had imposed on Belgrade under Slobodan Milosevic, DPA reported. PG

    [17] BELGRADE FIRES OFFICERS IN MONTENEGRO

    The Yugoslav Supreme Defense council on 26 December fired Col.Gen. Milorad Obradovic, Admiral Milan Zec and Colonel Luka Kastratovic, all of whom had been servinvg in Montenegro, AP reported citing Podgorica dailies. Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has long sought these dismissals and he is quoted as saying that he is "generally happy" with the Supreme Defense Council's actions. PG

    [18] THREE-QUARTERS OF SERBIA WITHOUT POWER

    Officials declared a state of emergency in Cacak and other cities went dark as Serbia's energy crisis worsened over the last week, local and Western wire services reported. On 26 December, more than three-quarters of the country was suffering significant power outages, with officials promising relief only when temperatures rise, wire services reorted. Dragan Batalo, the deputy director of Serbia's power grid, told Radio B92 that the power shortage reflected both the failure of the Milosevic regime to make repairs especially after the NATO bombardment and the fact that Belgrade is no longer illegally importing power from abroad. PG

    [19] KFOR EXPECTS IMPROVED TIES WITH BELGRADE

    Shawn Sullivan, the political advisor to KFOR commander Lieutenant General Carlo Cabigiosu, told Reuters on 26 December that the peacekeeping force expects "a more positive and helpful approach" from Belgrade now that the elections have taken place. "We need Serbs to participate in administrative structures here [in Kosovo] and we need the release of Albanian prisoners," he said. PG

    [20] VOTE SEEN DEEPENING DIVISIONS IN KOSOVA

    Speaking of an election most ethnic Albanians boycotted, Naim Jerliu, the vice president of the moderate ethic Albanian party LDK, said on 25 December that the vote "was an attempt to destabilize Kosovo and its aim was to deepen the division in Kosovo." Kosova's Serbs, who alone across Serbia voted for Slobodan Milosevic's party, "confirmed that they continue to dream about another state," Jerliu said. "They showed they do not want to be integrated in Kosovo's society and institutions. They voted against Kosovo." PG

    [21] BELGRADE THREATENS UNILATERAL ACTION ON KOSOVO BUFFER ZONE

    The Yugoslav Supreme Defense Council on 25 December called on the UN Security Council to set a deadline for Albanian rebels to leave the buffer zone along the Kosova boundary, AP reported. If they fail to do so, the Belgrade government said, it would act unilaterally to remove them. This ultimatum followed a series of events over the last week. On 22 December, Yugoslav officials and diplomats toured the Presevo valley during which U.S. Ambassador William Montgomery praised "the non-violent position of the Yugoslav government." Then on 24 December, Yugoslav forces took control of the strategic St. Ilija hilltop. And on 25 December, Serbian police reported that four Serbs are missing in the region, AP said. PG

    [22] IVANIC NOMINATED BOSNIAN SERB PRIME MINISTER

    Mirko Sarovic, the newly elected president of the Bosnian Serb republic, nominated Mladen Ivanic to be prime minister, Reuters reported. Ivanic, 42, who heads the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), said he seeks to gain support from Western governments, but admitted that may not be possible. Earlier Ivanic said that a stable government would not be possible without the participation of the nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS). The SDS was founded by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who has been indicted for war crimes, and the United States and other Western governments have indicated that they oppose any participation by his followers in the government. PG

    [23] UNHRC REGISTERS DELINE IN BOSNIA REFUGEE FIGURES

    Werner Blatter, head of the Bosnia office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told Reuters on 22 December that the number of Bosnian Muslim, Serb and Croat refugees has declined significantly since 1995. The number of registered refugees, he said, has fallen from an estimated 845,000 in 1996 to only 518,252 now. PG

    [24] CROATIAN BANK BUYS LARGE BOSNIAN BANK

    Zagrebacka Banka on 22 December purchased slightly more than 95 percent of the shares of Bosnia's Universal Banka, AP reported. PG

    [25] MACEDONIA SELLS MAJORITY STAKE IN MOBILE PHONE NETWORK

    Skopje on 22 December sold a 51 percent stake in the country's mobile telephone network to Hungary's Matav telecommunications company, AP reported. Matav paid less than Greece's OTE had offered, but Macedonian Finance Minister Nikola Gruevski said that "the best choice was made and both sides are satisfied." PG

    [26] MACEDONIAN POLICE DEPORT SLAVIC PROSTITUTES

    Macedonian police expelled 108 prostitutes from Serbia, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, the Beta news agency reported on 22 December. Deputy Interior Minister Rifat Elmazi said that the police intend "to deport all prostitutes from other countries." PG

    [27] SLOVENIA MARKS INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY

    Slovenia's parliament on 26 December held a special session to mark the tenth anniversary of the country's declaration of independence, AP reported. President Milan Kucan told the deputies that "this was a big historical enterprise that opened the door to the future of Slovenia." The country's declaration of independence came a day after Slovenes voted overwhelmingly to pursue a course separate from Yugoslavia, a decision that sparked a ten-day war with the Yugoslav army. PG

    [28] NASTASE SUBMITS GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAM...

    Premier-designate Adrian Nastase on 22 December submitted to the permanent bureaus of the two chambers of parliament the program of his government, which is to be approved by the legislature on 28 December. The program envisages a 4.5-6 percent growth in the GDP in the period 2001-2004, cutting the inflation rate and a "transparent" privatization process, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The document emphasizes the need to balance between the "imperatives of a market economy and those of social protection," while at the same time taking into consideration "suggestions and recommendations of the EU, the IMF and the World Bank." Outgoing Premier Mugur Isarescu met with Nastase on 23 December to discuss the transition to the new executive. Isarescu said the government's program can be considered to be a continuation of the medium-term development strategy lunched by his cabinet. MS

    [29] ... AND GOVERNMENTAL LINE-UP

    The list of cabinet members was also submitted to the two bureaus on 22 December. The government is to have 27 members, three of whom (Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana, Finance Minister Mihai Tanasescu and Information Minister Vasile Dancu) are not members of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR). Six of the new ministers served in the Nicolae Vacaroiu PDSR cabinet between 1992 and 1996. MS

    [30] CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ENVISAGED IN ROMANIA

    Nastase also submitted to the three parliamentary democratic opposition parties the draft of the envisaged joint declaration of support for the PDSR minority cabinet. Among other things, the draft envisages constitutional changes: the Senate is to be elected in single constituencies and concentrate its activity in representing county interests and foreign policy matters, with all other legislation prerogatives transferred to the Chamber of Deputies. The cabinet's prerogatives of ruling by governmental orders are to be drastically reduced and parliamentary immunity is to cover only expression of political opinion. A new law on political parties is to be drafted so as to reduce their number and new legislation to be devised to cover parliamentary and presidential elections and accelerate reforms in the judiciary. MS

    [31] MOLDOVAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT GIVES 'GREEN LIGHT' TO PARLIAMENT DISSOLUTION

    The Constitutional Court on 26 December ruled that President Petru Lucinschi has "the right and the duty" to dissolve the parliament, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Lucinschi on 22 December asked the court to rule whether the parliament's failure to elect a president on that day counts as the fourth and last attempt provided by the electoral law and if the legislature's decision to schedule a new round for 16 January 2001 is constitutional. The court also said Lucinschi is "obligated" to remain in office until a new president is elected by the new legislature. Presidential spokesman Anatol Golea said Lucinschi will now dissolve the parliament sometime between 12 and 15 January. In a televised speech on 26 December, Lucinschi said he will not seek a new term as president. MS

    [32] 'MEIN KAMPF' TRANSLATION PUBLISHED IN BULGARIA

    Bulgaria's Jewish community on 22 December protested against the recent publishing and sale of what is being advertised as "the first unabridged Bulgarian version" of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," AP reported. The 584- page translation went on sale on 21 December. The volume does not specify the identity of the translator or the the publisher or the number of printed copies. The Jewish community called for a ban on its sale. Translation of Hitler's infamous book recently went on sale in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [33] There is no End Note today.

    27-12-00

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


    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
    Back to Top
    Copyright © 1995-2023 HR-Net (Hellenic Resources Network). An HRI Project.
    All Rights Reserved.

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute, Inc.
    rferl2html v1.01 run on Wednesday, 27 December 2000 - 15:33:05 UTC