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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 157, 01-08-20

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. 5, No. 157, 20 August 2001


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES TO COOPERATE IN BID TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT
  • [02] TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS TO ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CUT
  • [03] ARMENIAN MEDIA ASK PARLIAMENT TO EXPEDITE DEBATE ON DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW
  • [04] AZERBAIJAN, IRAN CLOSER TO RESOLVING DIFFERENCES...
  • [05] ...OR PERHAPS NOT?
  • [06] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SAYS HE WILL RUN FOR THIRD TERM...
  • [07] ...AMNESTIES PRISONERS
  • [08] POLICE STATION ATTACKED, MONUMENT DESTROYED IN NORTHERN AZERBAIJAN
  • [09] U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY POSTPONES GEORGIA VISIT
  • [10] POLICE CHIEF IN GEORGIAN CAPITAL RESIGNS
  • [11] PROSECUTOR FAILS TO PROVE CHARGES OF TAX EVASION AGAINST FORMER PREMIER...
  • [12] ...WHO AGAIN SAYS TRIAL UNFAIR
  • [13] JAILED KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER RELEASED

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [14] MACEDONIAN ALBANIAN GUERRILLAS PROMISE TO DISARM
  • [15] NATO COMMANDER ARRIVES IN MACEDONIA
  • [16] MACEDONIAN RED CROSS LOOKS AT CIVILIAN DISPLACEMENT
  • [17] GOVERNMENT CRISIS IN SERBIA...
  • [18] ...AS CONFIDENCE VOTES LOOM
  • [19] SERBIAN CASH RESERVES UP
  • [20] CROATIA TO SEEK EXTRADITION OF SERB FROM GERMANY
  • [21] ALBANIAN PLEDGES ANTICRIME MEASURES
  • [22] SLOVENIAN MINISTER SLAMS 'CAMPAIGN' AGAINST NATO MEMBERSHIP
  • [23] ROMANIA PROTESTS STATEMENT BY HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOFIA
  • [24] ROMANIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES SPEAKER HINTS THAT UDMR MIGHT BE OUTLAWED
  • [25] ROMANIAN DISSIDENT PEASANTISTS ENVISAGE NEW PARTY
  • [26] FORMER ROMANIAN PRIVATIZATION OFFICIAL RELEASED FROM DETENTION
  • [27] TRANSDNIESTER PROTESTS RUSSIAN MILITARY SCRAPPING
  • [28] BULGARIAN PREMIER OUTLINES REFORMS
  • [29] MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BULGARIA

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [30] There is no End Note today.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES TO COOPERATE IN BID TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT

    Leading members of four Armenian opposition parties, including the Communist Party of Armenia, told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 18 August that there are "good chances" that they will align with other opposition groups to seek to impeach President Robert Kocharian. But they added that it is too early to speak of an antipresidential coalition. Some newspapers have reported that former President Levon Ter-Petrossian is seeking to engineer the creation of such a coalition. People's Party of Armenia Chairman Stepan Demirchian said his party is cooperating with other opposition parties, including Hanrapetutiun, which is headed by former Prime Minister Aram Sargsian, and the National Unity Party. Sargsian for his part said he is holding talks with pro-Russian National Accord Front head Ashot Manucharian and with the "Officers' Honor" group that comprises some 200 members. LF

    [02] TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS TO ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CUT

    Armenia's telecommunications monopoly ArmenTel on 16 August cut telephone lines to Armenia's Medzamor nuclear power in retaliation for the plant's unpaid 12 million dram ($21,000) phone bill, according to Arminfo on 16 August. One line to the office of the plant's director remains in operation, AP reported on 17 August. LF

    [03] ARMENIAN MEDIA ASK PARLIAMENT TO EXPEDITE DEBATE ON DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW

    Some 20 independent Armenian media outlets on 15 August addressed an open letter to parliament Chairman Armen Khachatrian expressing concern at the legislature's failure to schedule a debate on draft amendments to Armenia's media law, Noyan Tapan reported. They noted that the Council of Europe has called for amendments in the existing law, which was passed in October 2000. In January, the Constitutional Court deemed some of its provisions anticonstitutional and several media outlets temporarily suspended broadcasting to protest it (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 January 2001). LF

    [04] AZERBAIJAN, IRAN CLOSER TO RESOLVING DIFFERENCES...

    The 16 August telephone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Vilayat Quliev succeeded in resolving "some differences" arising from the recent clash of interests between the two countries over the division of their respective sectors of the Caspian, AP reported on 17 August, quoting IRNA. In response to a request by Quliev, Kharrazi agreed that his deputy Ali Ahani will travel to Baku later this month to discuss that issue. Also on 17 August, Interfax reported that Azerbaijan's National Security Minister Namig Abbasov will visit Iran before the end of this month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 August 2001). LF

    [05] ...OR PERHAPS NOT?

    On 19 August Kharrazi expressed concern over the announcement the previous day that a squadron of 10 Turkish military aircraft will participate in a military parade in Baku on 23-25 August, Turan reported. That parade will coincide with an official visit to Baku by Turkish Army Chief of General Staff General Hussein Kivrikoglu. Kharrazi stressed the need to prevent what he termed the "militarization" of the Caspian Sea. LF

    [06] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT SAYS HE WILL RUN FOR THIRD TERM...

    Speaking at a 19 August ceremony to mark National Border Guards Day, President Heidar Aliev said he will contest the next presidential election in 2003, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported. A leading member of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party announced 10 days earlier that the party will propose Aliev as its candidate in 2003 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 August 2001). Azerbaijan's Constitution does not at present allow for one individual to serve more than two consecutive presidential terms. Aliev was first elected to that post in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. LF

    [07] ...AMNESTIES PRISONERS

    On 17 August, Aliev signed a decree granting an amnesty to 95 prisoners, Turan reported. They include seven Karabakh war invalids sentenced last month for clashes with police during a hunger strike earlier this year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2001), 10 people convicted for their role in disturbances in the town of Gyanja in the fall of 1994, and 39 people sentenced for their role in the standoff between army troops and Interior Ministry OPON forces in March 1995. Former National Security Minister Nariman Imranov, who was serving a life sentence for abetting the escape in late 1994 of four prisoners from a National Security Ministry jail, had his sentence reduced to 15 years imprisonment. LF

    [08] POLICE STATION ATTACKED, MONUMENT DESTROYED IN NORTHERN AZERBAIJAN

    A group of armed men attacked and seriously wounded five policemen in the town of Zakatala, in northern Azerbaijan, early on 19 August, Turan reported. Police have named six suspects in that shooting attack and an earlier one on 30 July. The six are also believed to be responsible for planting a bomb that on 17 August totally destroyed a monument in a neighboring village to Sheikh Shamil, who led the 19th century resistance to Russian expansionism in Daghestan. LF

    [09] U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY POSTPONES GEORGIA VISIT

    A visit to Georgia by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld scheduled for 24-25 September has been postponed until November, ITAR-TASS and Prime News reported on 18 August. LF

    [10] POLICE CHIEF IN GEORGIAN CAPITAL RESIGNS

    Soso Alavidze, who has served as Tbilisi police chief since 1997, has submitted his resignation, Caucasus Press reported on 20 August. Alavidze was one of several senior officials whom Justice Minister Mikhail Saakashvili on 8 August publicly accused of corruption. Interior Minister Kakha Targamadze has named one of his deputies, Major General Kakha Bakuradze, to succeed Alavidze. LF

    [11] PROSECUTOR FAILS TO PROVE CHARGES OF TAX EVASION AGAINST FORMER PREMIER...

    On the third day of the trial in absentia of former Kazakh Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, the prosecution failed to substantiate charges of tax evasion, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Employees of Halyqtyq Bank confirmed that in 1997 Kazhegeldin received some $100,000 in royalties paid into an account with the bank, but added that, counter to the prosecution's claim, Kazhegeldin belatedly paid the $23,000 tax due on that sum. Kazhegeldin's lawyer Aleksandr Tabarin asked the prosecution to strike the charge of tax evasion from the indictment. After tax officials summoned to give evidence failed to appear to testify, consideration of the tax evasion charge was postponed until 22 August. LF

    [12] ...WHO AGAIN SAYS TRIAL UNFAIR

    In a statement released in London and other Western capitals on 17 August, Kazhegeldin again said that he is innocent of the charges against him, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Kazhegeldin expressed his willingness to appear before "any impartial court abroad," but said he doubts whether he would ever receive a fair trial in Kazakhstan as long as Nursultan Nazarbaev remains president. He suggested that Nazarbaev himself should face trial in connection with allegations that he received multimillion- dollar bribes from Western oil companies. LF

    [13] JAILED KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER RELEASED

    President Askar Akaev on 20 August issued a decree granting "clemency" to imprisoned opposition Erkindik party leader Topchubek Turgunaliev, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Senior Kyrgyz security officials announced Turgunaliev's release at a special press conference in Bishkek. Akaev's decision was reportedly motivated by appeals from Turgunaliev and his wife, and by Turgunaliev's "advanced age" and deteriorating health (Turgunaliev is 60; Akaev, 56). Turgunaliev was sentenced in September 2000 to 16 years imprisonment on charges, which he denies, of masterminding a plot to assassinate Akaev. The Bishkek City Court reduced that sentence in November 2000 to six years imprisonment (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September and 27 November 2000). LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [14] MACEDONIAN ALBANIAN GUERRILLAS PROMISE TO DISARM

    Ali Ahmeti, the political spokesman of the National Liberation Army (UCK), told a 19 August press conference at the guerrillas' headquarters in Sipkovica that the UCK will cooperate with NATO and hand over their weapons, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 August 2001). Ahmeti added: "We guarantee the safety of NATO troops... We remember the past [in Macedonia] as something bitter, but we are going to create conditions for two communities to live in peace. We think that the war is over. We're talking about democracy." "The Guardian" noted that Ahmeti "masterminded a campaign that overwhelmed Macedonians in battle and in diplomacy." "The Times" added that the "UCK press conference contrasted sharply with the Macedonian strategy that has consisted of little more than shelling villages while complaining about the lack of Western support." "The Guardian" noted that the backdrop to the press conference consisted of the flags of Albania, the EU, NATO, and the U.S., but not of Macedonia. PM

    [15] NATO COMMANDER ARRIVES IN MACEDONIA

    U.S. General James Ralston, NATO's commander in chief, arrived in Macedonia on 20 August to assess the stability of the cease-fire, which has generally held except for some isolated firefights. An unnamed Western diplomat told Reuters: "Ralston's primary interest will be the durability of the cease- fire because the political elements of peace are already in place. The state of the truce will be his judgment call. We feel that last night's truce violations [in the volatile Tetovo region] were regrettable but will not be decisive, that they would not stop deployment" (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 17 August 2001). Elsewhere, NATO spokesman Major Barry Johnson said that the 400-strong NATO advance party is ready to carry out its tasks, dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 August 2001). PM

    [16] MACEDONIAN RED CROSS LOOKS AT CIVILIAN DISPLACEMENT

    Officials of the Macedonian Red Cross said in Skopje on 18 August that some 115,000 Macedonian citizens have been displaced by the current conflict, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Only 62,000 of them have received the status of displaced persons officially. Most were ethnic Macedonians from the Tetovo region. PM

    [17] GOVERNMENT CRISIS IN SERBIA...

    On 17 August, members of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) quit the cabinet of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of the Democratic Party (DS), RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The next day, Dragan Veselinov, the deputy prime minister and the head of the Vojvodina Coalition, said that unnamed members of Kostunica's staff are responsible for that move. Veselinov added that the DSS's decision to leave the cabinet could start the breakup of the already fragile Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition, an 18-party grouping that replaced the government of former President Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia in October 2000. Veselinov stressed that it would be a tragedy if the DSS and the pro-Milosevic parties toppled Djindjic's government. PM

    [18] ...AS CONFIDENCE VOTES LOOM

    On 19 August, Dragan Marsicanin, the speaker of the parliament and vice president of the DSS, said that his party will call for a vote of confidence by the DOS steering committee in Djindjic and his cabinet, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Former Health Minister Obren Joksimovic of the DSS said that he hopes that his party will call for a vote of confidence by the parliament in the government, adding that he "prays to God" that the government will then fall on the first ballot. "Politika" reported on 20 August, however, that the DOS will have a legislative majority even if the DSS leaves the coalition. "Danas" suggested that the most likely outcome will be either new elections or a cabinet shakeup. The government crisis follows recent insinuations by Djindjic and some persons close to him that there could be a link between Kostunica's office and the recent murder of security official Momir Gavrilovic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 August 2001). Djindjic has also called for those close to Kostunica to prove their repeated charges that the government is corrupt or keep silent. PM

    [19] SERBIAN CASH RESERVES UP

    Mladjan Dinkic, who heads the Yugoslav National Bank, said on 19 August that the bank's hard-currency reserves stand at $930 million, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He noted that the reserves were only $360 million when DOS ousted Milosevic. Dinkic said that it should be clear by the end of September which banks "will remain and which will be closed." He also noted that a 1,000 dinar bank note will be introduced before the end of the year. PM

    [20] CROATIA TO SEEK EXTRADITION OF SERB FROM GERMANY

    The Croatian government will ask the German authorities to extradite Mile Grbic, an ethnic Serb from Croatia, dpa reported from Zagreb on 18 August. Police arrested Grbic in Celle in 2000, acting on an international arrest warrant issued by Croatia. He is wanted there for allegedly being part of a group that massacred Croatian civilians in 1991. PM

    [21] ALBANIAN PLEDGES ANTICRIME MEASURES

    Prime Minister Ilir Meta told a meeting of police chiefs in Vlora that his government will take additional steps to combat smuggling and organized crime, dpa reported on 18 August. Measures will include improved training for police and government prosecutors, tougher punishment for criminals, and setting up an Office Against Organized Crime to coordinate efforts in various parts of the country. He stressed that eliminating organized crime is essential for Albania's stability and its reputation in the eyes of its neighbors, especially Italy. Meta noted that the flow of illegal migrants from Albania to Italy is only one-fifth of what it was one year ago. PM

    [22] SLOVENIAN MINISTER SLAMS 'CAMPAIGN' AGAINST NATO MEMBERSHIP

    The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on 20 August that Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel has criticized those of his countrymen whose frustration with delays in Slovenia's admission to NATO has led them to question the need for membership in the alliance. Rupel said in Ljubljana recently that NATO membership is essential if Slovenia is to break with its communist past. Discontent with NATO has grown in some circles in Slovenian politics recently following remarks by NATO Secretary- General Lord George Robertson that the country is not ready for membership. The article added that the U.S. ambassador-designate has raised eyebrows by saying that Slovenia's admission to NATO may be linked to the restitution of property taken from U.S. citizens of Slovenian origin by the communists after World War II. PM

    [23] ROMANIA PROTESTS STATEMENT BY HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOFIA

    The Foreign Ministry on 18 August said a statement made by Hungarian Ambassador to Bulgaria Bela Kolojzni was "surprising" and "contrary to diplomatic practice," and he instructed the Romanian Embassy in Budapest to demand "clarifications" from the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Mediafax reported. Kolojzni last week said on private Bulgarian Darik Radio that Hungary advises Bulgaria to renounce its decision to work "in tandem" with Romania in efforts to gain accession to NATO and the EU. That decision was made during the 14 August visit to Sofia by Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 August 2001). Kolojzni said that Hungary's success in accession into NATO was due to its having "marched alone" on the road to accession and that the same policy is being pursued by Budapest in its efforts to join the EU. The Romanian Foreign Ministry also said Kolojzni's statement "contradicts earlier declarations by Hungarian officials of support for Romanian and Bulgarian efforts for integration in Euro-Atlantic structures." MS

    [24] ROMANIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES SPEAKER HINTS THAT UDMR MIGHT BE OUTLAWED

    Chamber of Deputies Speaker Valer Dorneanu on 19 August said that if the existing legislation on political parties is amended, "it is not to be ruled out that parties established on ethnic criteria" will no longer be allowed to function, Romanian Radio reported. Dorneanu said the existence of ethnic parties is "an anomaly" because national minorities "enjoy the right of preservation of their own cultural, linguistic, and ethnic identity" and "cannot demand, in addition, the right to a [separate] political identity." MS

    [25] ROMANIAN DISSIDENT PEASANTISTS ENVISAGE NEW PARTY

    The extraordinary congress of the dissident wing in the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) on 18 August elected Vasile Lupu as chairman of the PNTCD and declared all decisions taken by Victor Ciorbea's wing of the party as null and void, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Calin Catalin Chirita was elected the dissident wing's secretary-general. The congress also decided to set up an "initiative committee" whose task will be to set up "within three months" a new political formation, which is to be named the Party of Christian Democracy. Former PNTCD Chairman Andrei Marga was appointed chairman of the initiative committee. MS

    [26] FORMER ROMANIAN PRIVATIZATION OFFICIAL RELEASED FROM DETENTION

    Alin Giurgiu, the former executive director of the State Privatization Fund (FPS), was released from detention on 18 August, AP reported. Giurgiu, a prominent PNTCD member, was detained more than three months ago. Prosecutors revoked his arrest warrant after it was established that Giurgiu suffers from skin cancer. He was detained in connection with suspicions of having facilitated the privatization of a soft-drink company that allegedly defrauded the state of 31 billion lei ($2.2 million). Two other former FPS officials remain in detention under the same suspicion. MS

    [27] TRANSDNIESTER PROTESTS RUSSIAN MILITARY SCRAPPING

    The "Foreign Ministry" in Tiraspol on 17 August released a statement protesting against the continued destruction of Russian military equipment and against the planned new Russian-Moldovan basic treaty, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. According to a report by Flux, the Tiraspol authorities announced they will launch legal procedures against people who participated in the destruction of the Russian equipment and that those who are "guilty" have been detained. Prosecutor-General Viktor Zakharov said legal action has not been launched against the commander of the Russian contingent, General Yevgenii Yevnevich, "personally." Yevnevich said that the operations will continue in line with OSCE decisions. An OSCE spokesman cited by ITAR-TASS said experts from Russia, the OSCE, and the Transdniester have agreed on the scrapping and that studies are now underway to review technology used in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and that Russian ammunition scrapping technology has already been reviewed. MS

    [28] BULGARIAN PREMIER OUTLINES REFORMS

    In a televised address on 19 August, Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski outlined his government's reform program, Reuters and AP reported. He said taxes for the upper-income brackets will be reduced to encourage investments and a zero-profit tax on reinvestment will be enacted from the beginning of 2002. As of 1 October, minimum wages in the public sector will rise by 17 percent, while child-support benefits will be doubled in 2002. A state fund will be set up on 1 October 2001 to boost small private businesses through low-interest loans in poor regions where unemployment is high. Charges for electricity and heating will be raised by up to 10 percent as of 1 October this year to compensate for rising energy prices globally and for an artificial price freeze imposed by the previous government in 1999. Simeon said Bulgaria at present enjoys a good international image "and we have to make the best of it" by showing "more solidarity with those who are economically weak and more optimism for the future of Bulgaria." MS

    [29] MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BULGARIA

    Visiting Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva on 18 August said the agreement signed last week was "a good basis" to end the conflict in her country, but warned the Albanian rebels that "if they continue to pose a threat to security of the country, the Macedonian forces will defend that security," AP reported. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi urged the international community to make larger investments in infrastructure in the Balkans in order to stabilize peace in the region. "Lasting peace depends on the region's prosperity," Pasi told journalists after talks with Mitreva. President Petar Stoyanov gave assurances to Mitreva that Bulgaria is prepared to extend aid to Macedonia. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [30] There is no End Note today.

    20-08-01

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


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