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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 195, 01-10-15

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. 195, 15 October 2001


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION QUESTIONS MILITARY PROSECUTOR'S SHIFT ON PARLIAMENT SHOOTINGS...
  • [02] ...AS MORE POLITICAL GROUPS CALL FOR PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
  • [03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS
  • [04] AZERBAIJAN HONORS LUKOIL PRESIDENT
  • [05] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS SEEK TO DEFUSE TENSIONS IN RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA
  • [06] ABKHAZ LEADERS, OSCE WARNS AGAINST WITHDRAWAL OF CIS PEACEKEEPERS
  • [07] FIGHTING CONTINUES IN KODORI GORGE
  • [08] GEORGIA REJECTS ABKHAZ CHARGES OF AGGRESSION
  • [09] KAZAKH PRESIDENT DENIES TWO MINISTRIES TO BE MERGED
  • [10] HEAD OF KAZAKHSTAN'S URANIUM MONOPOLY DISMISSED
  • [11] OPPOSITION PARTY SAYS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST KAZAKH PRESIDENT'S SON-IN- LAW TRUE
  • [12] KAZAKHSTAN ASSESSES CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE AFGHAN REFUGEES
  • [13] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN AGAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER GAS SUPPLIES
  • [14] NEW KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT FACTION TO OPPOSE BORDER AGREEMENT WITH CHINA
  • [15] U.S. MILITARY SPECIALISTS ARRIVE IN TAJIKISTAN
  • [16] TAJIKISTAN HALTS REBROADCASTING OF ORT
  • [17] UZBEKISTAN, U.S. UNVEIL COOPERATION AGREEMENT

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [18] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON REFERENDUM DESPITE PROTESTS
  • [19] EU NAMES FRENCH DIPLOMAT AS NEW MACEDONIA ENVOY
  • [20] AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR CALLS FOR DEBT RELIEF FOR YUGOSLAVIA
  • [21] MARKOVIC: REFORMISTS OFFERED ME MONEY TO BLAME MILOSEVIC
  • [22] KOSOVA POLICE DETAINED IN YUGOSLAVIA RELEASED
  • [23] BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADER IZETBEGOVIC STEPS DOWN...
  • [24] ...AS SDA PARTY PASSES MANTLE TO TIHIC
  • [25] CROATIAN CABINET HOLDS CRISIS MEETING OVER 23 DIALYSIS DEATHS
  • [26] CROATIAN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TO CONTINUE 19 OCTOBER
  • [27] OSCE CALLS ON ALBANIAN OPPOSITION TO DROP BOYCOTT
  • [28] ROMANIAN PREMIER ANNOUNCES INCREASED BORDER SURVEILLANCE...
  • [29] ...DISAGREES WITH PLAN TO BUILD SPECIAL ROMA NEIGHBORHOODS
  • [30] ROMANIAN PYRAMID SCHEME MASTERMIND TO AVOID PRISON
  • [31] ROMANIAN PROFESSOR SAYS HE HAS ANTHRAX ANTIDOTE
  • [32] ROMANIAN PREMIER MAKES PUBLIC LETTER TO VORONIN...
  • [33] OSCE MISSION HEAD TO END MOLDOVA MISSION
  • [34] SIX CANDIDATES CONTEST BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [35] There is no End Note today.

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION QUESTIONS MILITARY PROSECUTOR'S SHIFT ON PARLIAMENT SHOOTINGS...

    Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 12 October, opposition Hanrapetutiun party leader Albert Bazeyan noted that Chief Military Prosecutor Gagik Djahangirian, who heads the ongoing investigation into the October 1999 parliament shootings, was initially convinced that President Robert Kocharian masterminded them, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Eight senior officials died in the shooting, including Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian and parliament speaker Karen Demirchian. Djahangirian announced last week that he is no longer seeking to establish a connection between Kocharian and the five gunmen currently on trial for the killings. LF

    [02] ...AS MORE POLITICAL GROUPS CALL FOR PRESIDENT TO RESIGN

    Leaders of several Armenian organizations representing retired military personnel announced at a press conference in Yerevan on 12 October that they have aligned to create the Homeland and Honor Association, Noyan Tapan reported. The association intends to play an "active role" on the Armenian political scene and to demand the resignation of both President Kocharian and the present leadership, which they accused of patronizing a "clan system" that has plunged the country into a profound economic crisis. Also on 12 October, the Hayots tun (Armenian House) party called for a nationwide referendum on holding preterm parliamentary elections in order to replace Kocharian, Noyan Tapan reported. LF

    [03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS

    Meeting in Yerevan on 11 October with a group of visiting journalists from Azerbaijan, Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian acknowledged that some citizens of Armenia serve in the Defense Army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, adding that the fewer the number of people who consider that army to be "separatist," the better, Noyan Tapan reported. He said that Armenia is the guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakh's security, adding that "I dream that the Karabakh conflict will be settled and a peace agreement signed," Arminfo reported. Sarkisian also pointed out that although Armenia's annual $70 million defense budget is only half that of Azerbaijan. Armenia's defense potential is significantly higher and mortality within the armed forces much lower. Sarkisian accused Baku of exceeding the quantities of certain types of military hardware it is permitted to deploy under the revised CFE Treaty. LF

    [04] AZERBAIJAN HONORS LUKOIL PRESIDENT

    Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev presented LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov on 12 October with Azerbaijan's prestigious Honor Award in acknowledgment of his "significant contribution to the development of economic relations" between Azerbaijan and Russia, Turan reported. LUKoil is a participant in five separate consortia engaged in exploiting Azerbaijan's oil deposits. Alekperov was born in Baku, where he graduated from the Oil and Chemical Institute. LF

    [05] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS SEEK TO DEFUSE TENSIONS IN RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA

    Speaking on Georgian state television on 12 October, President Eduard Shevardnadze criticized as "unfair" the resolution adopted the previous day by the Russian State Duma blaming the deterioration of bilateral relations on Georgia, Russian and Georgian agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 2001). Shevardnadze argued that Georgia's and Russia's interests largely coincide, and vowed that "normal good-neighborly relations will prevail" provided Russia "does not get in our way" in Abkhazia, Reuters reported. Shevardnadze, his spokesman Kakha Imnadze, and Minister of State Gia Arsenishvili on 13 October all positively assessed Russian President Vladimir Putin's 12 October statement that Moscow will support Georgia's territorial integrity and will not intervene in territorial conflicts in Georgia. Interfax on 12 October quoted Arsenishvili as predicting that the crisis in bilateral relations will blow over within a few days. Also on 12 October, the Georgian parliament adopted a statement rejecting the allegations in the Duma resolution that Georgia protects terrorists and follows "an aggressive anti-Russian policy," Caucasus Press reported. The Georgian statement attributed those accusations to the influence of disinformation propagated by the Russian media. LF

    [06] ABKHAZ LEADERS, OSCE WARNS AGAINST WITHDRAWAL OF CIS PEACEKEEPERS

    Abkhaz Prime Minister Anri Djergenia told journalists in Sukhum on 13 October that he does not think the CIS peacekeepers currently deployed along the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia should be withdrawn as the Georgian parliament is demanding (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 2001). On the contrary, Djergenia argued, the peacekeepers' mandate should be expanded. Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba's spokesman, Astamur Tania, told Reuters the same day that "we are categorically opposed to a withdrawal." Characterizing the peacekeeping force as "the only guarantee of peace and stability in the region," Tania said its withdrawal could trigger "large-scale military operations." Abkhaz Defense Minister Vladimir Mikanba similarly predicted that the peacekeepers' withdrawal "will inevitably lead to a large-scale war," Interfax reported. He said that if that force does leave, the Abkhaz army will occupy the positions it currently holds on the right bank of the Inguri River in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion, which has a Georgian population of some 60,000-70, 000. In Tbilisi, Minister of State Arsenishvili said on 13 October after meeting with a visiting OSCE delegation that that organization considers the withdrawal of the CIS peacekeepers ill advised, and had raised the question of who would fill the vacuum left by their departure. Also on 13 October, Georgian parliament's Committee for Defense and Security Chairman Giorgi Baramidze said Tbilisi should ask NATO to send a peacekeeping force to replace the CIS contingent, Caucasus Press reported. LF

    [07] FIGHTING CONTINUES IN KODORI GORGE

    Abkhaz Defense Minister Mikanba said on 13 October that a group of some 100 Chechen fighters have broken through the Abkhaz forces surrounding them near Sugar-Loaf mountain after fighting near the village of Ablukhvara in which six of the intruders and two Abkhaz were killed, Interfax reported. Presidential aide Tania said that group, which was believed to include Chechen field commander Ruslan Gelaev, was retreating northward pursued by Abkhaz forces. On 14 October, isolated fighting between Abkhaz troops and the intruders, who had apparently split up into small groups, was continuing, Deputy Defense Minister Garri Kupalba told Caucasus Press on 15 October. He said that Abkhaz army used artillery and aircraft to bomb one group of fighters who were heading northeast up the Kodori gorge to the region controlled by the Georgian military. Also on 15 October, Kupalba denied, as his Georgian counterpart Gela Bezhuashvili did the previous day, that Abkhaz troops have exchanged fire with the Georgian army forces sent to the Kodori gorge on 11 October, Caucasus Press reported. LF

    [08] GEORGIA REJECTS ABKHAZ CHARGES OF AGGRESSION

    The Abkhaz parliament has called upon the legislatures of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia to condemn the Georgian leadership for protecting terrorists and for resorting to violence in an attempt to resolve the Abkhaz conflict, Interfax reported on 13 October. But Georgian presidential spokesman Imnadze told that Russian agency the following day that Georgia "has not taken any aggressive steps" against Abkhazia. Arsenishvili for his part told Interfax on 12 October that Tbilisi is ready to resume talks with the Abkhaz leadership under the aegis of the United Nations. He blamed the upsurge of fighting on unnamed "forces that oppose closer ties between the Georgians and Abkhaz." LF

    [09] KAZAKH PRESIDENT DENIES TWO MINISTRIES TO BE MERGED

    Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev denied on 12 October rumors of a planned merger of the Finance Ministry with the State Revenues Ministry, Interfax reported. Nazarbaev said he is "satisfied" with the work of the latter ministry. LF

    [10] HEAD OF KAZAKHSTAN'S URANIUM MONOPOLY DISMISSED

    Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev has dismissed Mukhtar Dzhakishev from his post as president of Kazatomprom, which is Kazakhstan's monopoly importer and exporter of uranium, Interfax reported. No reason was given for his dismissal. LF

    [11] OPPOSITION PARTY SAYS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST KAZAKH PRESIDENT'S SON-IN- LAW TRUE

    Amirzhan Qosanov, the chairman of the executive committee of the opposition Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan, on 12 October confirmed that President Nazarbaev's son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev controls numerous media outlets and is guilty of abuse of his official position as deputy head of the Committee for National Security (the former KGB), RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. On 11 October staff members of one of the TV companies said to be controlled by Aliyev denied that he owns the company. The original charges against Aliyev were made in an open letter addressed to President Nazarbaev by parliament deputy Tolen Toqtasynov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 and 12 October 2001). Qosanov said his party plans to make public a "White Book" containing details of Aliyev's repressive actions against it. LF

    [12] KAZAKHSTAN ASSESSES CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE AFGHAN REFUGEES

    Kazakhstan's Security Council Secretary Altynbek Sarsenbaev told journalists in Almaty on 13 October that Kazakhstan cannot accommodate a large number of new refugees in the event of upheaval in Afghanistan, ITAR- TASS reported. He noted that Kazakhstan has already taken in 9,000 refugees from Tajikistan and 11,000 from Chechnya. He added that refugees are likely to pose a more serious problem for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, both of which border on Afghanistan. LF

    [13] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN AGAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER GAS SUPPLIES

    Uzbekistan's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Alisher Salahitdinov, warned Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev on 12 October that Tashkent may suspend natural gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan unless Bishkek pays back debts for previous deliveries, which a Kyrgyz official estimates are $659,000 in cash and commodities to the value of $1.5 million, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Tanaev responded by suggesting that Kyrgyzstan would respond by reducing water supplies to Uzbekistan. Bakirdin Sartkaziev, director-general of the state-run Kyrgyzenergo, left for Tashkent on 13 October to try to reach agreement with the Uzbek government. Kyrgyzgas Deputy Director General Mahamatdjan Yusupkhanov told RFE/RL that Kyrgyz consumers owe his company some 250 million soms ($5.2 million) in unpaid bills. Uzbekistan cut supplies of gas to Kyrgyzstan early this year over a similar disagreement over debts (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January and 27 February 2001). LF

    [14] NEW KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT FACTION TO OPPOSE BORDER AGREEMENT WITH CHINA

    A group of Kyrgyz parliament deputies plan to align in a new faction to be named Public Front of Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on 12 October. The group's primary objective will be to campaign for the annulment of border agreements under which Kyrgyzstan cedes tracts of territory to China (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 June, 3 July and 7 August 2001). LF

    [15] U.S. MILITARY SPECIALISTS ARRIVE IN TAJIKISTAN

    A group of six U.S. officers arrived in Dushanbe on 12 October to discuss with Tajik officials the possible use of Tajik airspace and military facilities by the United States within the framework of the antiterrorism strikes against Afghanistan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 and 10 October 2001), Russian agencies reported. LF

    [16] TAJIKISTAN HALTS REBROADCASTING OF ORT

    Tajikistan has suspended retransmission of Russia's ORT television and reduced by five hours rebroadcasts of a second Russian TV station, RTR, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 12 October. Tajik Communications Minister Nuridin Muhiddinov told that agency that the ORT's predecessor Ostankino owes his ministry a total of 5.5 million rubles ($184,000) in unpaid fees dating back to 1997, and RTR owes a similar amount. "We cannot afford to broadcast Russian TV for free," he explained. On 14 October, a Tajik Interior Ministry spokesman announced the arrest in Dushanbe of two men who have confessed to the March 1996 murder of ORT journalists Viktor Nikulin, ITAR-TASS reported. LF

    [17] UZBEKISTAN, U.S. UNVEIL COOPERATION AGREEMENT

    Under an agreement signed on 7 October, the governments of Uzbekistan and the United States agree on the nature of the threat posed by international terrorism and pledge to raise bilateral relations to a qualitively new level to meet that threat and ensure long-term regional stability, according to a joint statement by the two governments made public on 12 October, AP and Russian agencies reported. That statement also reaffirms Uzbekistan's readiness to make one of its air bases available for use in humanitarian or search-and-rescue operations during the U.S.-led antiterrorist strikes against Afghanistan. On 15 October, ITAR-TASS reported that U.S. military specialists are already installing equipment at the Khanabad air base, which is some 145 kilometers from the Uzbek-Afghan border. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [18] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON REFERENDUM DESPITE PROTESTS

    The Macedonian parliament was set to meet on 15 October to vote on submitting constitutional changes agreed upon in the August peace agreement to a popular referendum, a move that could endanger the peace process, Reuters and dpa reported. Western envoys have urged the parliament to reject the idea, as it was not included in the Ohrid peace plan and could bring the fragile agreement to an end. "We are coming to a crucial stage of the political process. It will be tense, nasty, and frustrating in the next couple of weeks," one Skopje-based Western diplomat said. Representatives of the ethnic Albanian parties also condemned the vote. "The referendum has the tendency to block the peace process -- it's unacceptable for us," said Aziz Polozani of the Democratic Party of Albanians. DW

    [19] EU NAMES FRENCH DIPLOMAT AS NEW MACEDONIA ENVOY

    The European Union on 12 October named Alain Le Roy to succeed fellow Frenchman Francois Leotard as its special representative in Macedonia, AP and Reuters reported. Le Roy, who has served with the UN in Kosova and then Bosnia, is currently the Foreign Ministry's coordinator for the international Stability Pact in the Balkans. "Mr. Le Roy is a highly talented diplomat with substantial experience of the Balkans," said Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security policy representative. Leotard is to step down from his post on 29 October for personal reasons. DW

    [20] AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR CALLS FOR DEBT RELIEF FOR YUGOSLAVIA

    Kicking off a three-day visit to Belgrade, Wolfgang Schuessel said that his country will support Yugoslavia's efforts to win debt relief from the $12.2 billion it owes to creditor nations and institutions, AP reported on 12 October. He also promised $7 million in aid to go to welfare and to support the development of small- and medium-sized businesses. DW

    [21] MARKOVIC: REFORMISTS OFFERED ME MONEY TO BLAME MILOSEVIC

    The former chief of state security under President Slobodan Milosevic, Radomir Markovic, said at his trial for allegedly arranging an assassination attempt (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 2001) that members of the reformist Serbian government had offered him money to implicate Milosevic, Reuters reported on 12 October. He said he was taken to a government villa four months after his February arrest to meet with Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic and others. "Mihajlovic suggested I should claim responsibility and say Milosevic ordered it," he told the court. "In return I would get immunity from prosecution, I could go to the country of my choice with my family and I would have enough money for the rest of my life," he said. "I rejected it." Mihajlovic denied this. "I have no idea what Markovic is talking about. It's up to him to explain that." DW

    [22] KOSOVA POLICE DETAINED IN YUGOSLAVIA RELEASED

    The six members of the Kosovo Police Service detained by Yugoslav forces in the republic of Yugoslavia on 11 October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 2001), were released after more than 24 hours, dpa reported on 13 October. The release of the five men and one woman was negotiated by the KFOR peacekeeping troops and they were able to return on 12 October. DW

    [23] BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADER IZETBEGOVIC STEPS DOWN...

    Alija Izetbegovic, who led Bosnia's mainly Muslim central government during much of past decade, stepped down as head of the nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA) on 13 October at a party congress, Western agencies reported. "Development of the economy and creation of more jobs must be an imperative of our policy," Izetbegovic said, adding that only a strong and stabile economy can lead Bosnia toward political integrity and stability. The last of the signatories to the 1995 Dayton peace treaty to leave office, the 76-year-old former president had confirmed on 12 October that he would leave politics, citing poor health and age. He was unanimously voted lifelong honorary president of the party he helped form in May 1990. AH

    [24] ...AS SDA PARTY PASSES MANTLE TO TIHIC

    Delegates of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) on 13 October elected Sulejman Tihic to lead the party following Alija Izetbegovic's departure, Western agencies reported. Tihic is the Muslim deputy speaker of the parliament in the Bosnian Serb-run Srpska Republika. Delegates to the third SDA congress also elected Adnan Terzic as the party's vice president and Edhem Bicakcic, Seada Paravlic, Elmir Jahic, and Mirsad Kebo as deputy chairmen, dpa reported. The SDA also made a major decision to move toward the political center from a more right-wing nationalist position, becoming more open to non-Muslim Bosnians, dpa said. The party was originally defined as a political organization "of people from the Muslim cultural- historical circle." The SDA gathering added it will advocate changes and upgrades to the Dayton peace agreement, in hopes of further strengthening Bosnia's integrity. AH

    [25] CROATIAN CABINET HOLDS CRISIS MEETING OVER 23 DIALYSIS DEATHS

    Government ministers convened on 15 October to respond to the deaths of 23 kidney patients in the past week as investigators sought to determine the cause of the tragedies, dpa reported. All of the patients, 13 women and 10 men in hospitals in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Sibenik, and Pula, were treated using dialysis filters manufactured by a U.S. firm, Baxters, according to Western news agencies. Representatives of that company insisted the dialyzers were independently tested and proven safe, although Spanish authorities still have not cleared use of the filters pending a probe of 10 deaths there of patients who reportedly also used the same company's products, dpa said. Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan told a news conference that his government had been aware of the Spanish cases, but added that Pliva, the Croatian importer, had received written guarantees from Baxter that the imported equipment was safe. Racan said investigations so far have led to suspicion that the filters "could have caused these tragic events." Health Minister Ana Stavljenic Rukavina offered her resignation on 14 October following the recent deaths, though Racan rejected it and instead called for an investigation. AH

    [26] CROATIAN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TO CONTINUE 19 OCTOBER

    The parties to talks on a collective agreement for Croatia's civil servants signed a protocol for negotiations on 12 October, opening the way for renewed bargaining from 19 October, Hina reported. The government and public sector unions have been unable to agree even on the starting point for the talks since the government abandoned the existing agreement as a basis for negotiations. The starting point for the new talks will be two drafts, one from the government and the other from unions, labor leader Ivica Ihas said on 12 October, according to Hina. AH

    [27] OSCE CALLS ON ALBANIAN OPPOSITION TO DROP BOYCOTT

    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's ambassador to Albania has urged that country's opposition Our Union for Victory to call off a boycott of June election results and "take its place in parliament," Reuters reported on 12 October. Geert-Hinrich Ahrens conceded there were serious flaws in the election process, but recommended that politicians "stop the incessant internal political bickering and move ahead." The agency also cited an OSCE report published on 12 October that criticized the election. The report said the vote marked progress over past polls, a reference to 1997 elections held amid anarchy caused by the collapse of pyramid schemes. But it said "serious irregularities in the voting process, including cases of ballot-box stuffing and use of premarked ballots, were noted in a limited number of zones," Reuters reported. The OSCE ambassador also said Albania could and should "act much more vigorously against organized crime, trafficking of drugs, arms and human beings, and corruption," Reuters reported. AH

    [28] ROMANIAN PREMIER ANNOUNCES INCREASED BORDER SURVEILLANCE...

    Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said on 12 October that Romania has increased border surveillance to prevent the possibility of an "influx of Afghan refugees," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The same day, Romanian border police detained 18 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia, Somalia, Bangladesh, and Lebanon who had crossed the border from Moldova. The refugees had been told by their Egyptian guide that they were in Germany and that he would meet them in the next locality. Each had paid $3,000 to the guide to be led across the border, but he disappeared. On 13 October, Romanian television reported that German Interior Minister Otto Schilly, in a letter to his Romanian counterpart Ioan Rus, said Romania has made considerable progress in improving the security of its borders and has fulfilled the EU conditions for lifting visa requirement on citizens who travel within the Schengen system. The same day, Nastase said Romania will fully implement the EU conditions even before the visa requirement is lifted, as is expected, on 1 January 2002. MS

    [29] ...DISAGREES WITH PLAN TO BUILD SPECIAL ROMA NEIGHBORHOODS

    Premier Nastase said on 14 October that he is opposed to Piatra-Neamt Mayor Ion Rotaru's plans to build a separate neighborhood for the town's Roma population, Mediafax reported. "I do not believe one can speak of integration and at the same time perceive solutions in terms of ghettoization," Nastase said. President Ion Iliescu on 13 October said the solution proposed by Rotaru is "unwise" and that the problems of the Roma should be solved through "integration rather than isolation." Meanwhile, Public Information Minister Vasile Dancu visited the envisaged construction site in Piatra-Neamt on 12 October and praised Rotaru's project, saying the intention is to build a "very modern complex, unmatched by any other similar project in Romania, at an absolutely Western-like standard." Roma leaders and the Romani Criss association protested the plan. MS

    [30] ROMANIAN PYRAMID SCHEME MASTERMIND TO AVOID PRISON

    A Bihor tribunal on 12 October ruled that Ioan Stoica, who masterminded the Caritas pyramid scheme in which more than 250,000 Romanians lost their savings in 1994, cannot be sent to prison because his crime falls under the statute of limitations, Romanian television reported. Stoica was sentenced to 22 months in prison by a tribunal in Oradea, but appealed the sentence. Stoica was sentenced to six years in June 1995, but the sentence was later reduced and eventually commuted by the Supreme Court. MS

    [31] ROMANIAN PROFESSOR SAYS HE HAS ANTHRAX ANTIDOTE

    Professor Ioan Coman of the Iasi Veterinary Medicine Faculty said he has discovered a new substance capable of annihilating "within one minute" the anthrax bacillus, Mediafax reported on 12 October. Coman said the substance works on both animals and human beings and there are no side effects. MS

    [32] ROMANIAN PREMIER MAKES PUBLIC LETTER TO VORONIN...

    Romanian Premier Nastase on 12 October made public the contents of a letter he addressed on 3 October to Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, Mediafax reported. Nastase reiterated in his letter the accusation that Justice Minister Ion Morei's Strasbourg declarations are "inadmissible" and compared them with the "theses of the former Communist (Bolshevik) Party of the Autonomous Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic." The Romanian premier called on Voronin to dismiss Morei. He also wrote that the Moldovan authorities "refuse" to discuss ways of settling a $32 million debt for electricity deliveries from Romania and to implement agreements on the setting up of joint companies. Nastase on 14 October said Interior Minister Ioan Rus will pay a "technical visit" to Chisinau on 16 October, Mediafax reported. Nastase refused to specify what he means by that or what the purpose of Rus's visit will be, saying only that Bucharest wants to continue "technical relations" with Moldova even following the cancellation of his own visit. MS

    [33] OSCE MISSION HEAD TO END MOLDOVA MISSION

    William Hill, OSCE mission head to Moldova, is ending his mission this week and will be replaced by David Swartz, the former U.S. ambassador to Belarus, Flux reported on 13 October. Hill told the Moldovan agency that some progress has been made in the course of his two-year mission, particularly in dispelling doubt about Russian readiness to implement the decisions of the 1999 November Istanbul OSCE summit, but expressed regret that no agreement could be reached on a special status for Transdniester due to "political reasons." He also said the continued detention in Tiraspol of the three members of the Ilie Ilascu group after Ilascu's own liberation "makes no sense." MS

    [34] SIX CANDIDATES CONTEST BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

    Six candidates will contest the Bulgarian presidential elections on 11 November, BTA reported on 12 October. Apart from President Petar Stoyanov and Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov, the race will include four candidates with slim chances. Former Interior Minister Bogomil Bonev, who became leader of the Citizens' Party after being removed from Ivan Kostov's cabinet in 1999, is running on a ticket with Atanas Zhelezchev, a former deputy representing the Bulgarian Agrarian Union and a deputy chairman of the previous National Assembly. Renata Indjova, a former caretaker premier, is running on the ticket of the Democratic Alliance with former Bulgarian Ambassador to Libya Krutsyo Ilov as her vice presidential candidate. Maverick politician George Ganchev, seconded by former Deputy Vesselin Bonchev, is running as leader of the George Ganchev Bloc. Ganchev has so far contested all Bulgarian presidential elections and has always come in third place. Finally, Peter Beron, who in 1992 was Ganchev's vice presidential candidate, is now contesting the presidential post on the ticket of the Bulgaria Union. His running mate is retired General Stoyan Andreev, a former national security adviser to President Zhelyu Zhelev. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [35] There is no End Note today.

    15-10-01

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


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