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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 196, 01-10-16

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. 196, 16 October 2001


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] FORMER INTERIOR MINISTRY OFFICIAL CHARGED OVER ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SHOOTING ALLEGATIONS
  • [02] RUSSIAN COMPANY QUALIFIES FOR ARMENIAN ENERGY TENDER
  • [03] ARMENIAN DISTRICT GOVERNOR OFFERS TO COOPERATE WITH NEIGHBORING AZERBAIJANI DISTRICT
  • [04] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT POSTPONES PLANNED VISIT TO RUSSIA
  • [05] U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT REFUELS IN AZERBAIJAN?
  • [06] FIGHTING CONTINUES IN KODORI GORGE
  • [07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS VIOLENCE 'LAST RESORT'...
  • [08] ...BUT ABKHAZ PREMIER SAYS TALKS POINTLESS BEFORE FIGHTING ENDS
  • [09] COULD ABKHAZIA BECOME AN 'ASSOCIATE MEMBER' OF THE RF?
  • [10] CHAIRMAN OF GEORGIAN RULING PARTY'S PARLIAMENT FACTION QUITS
  • [11] KAZAKHSTAN DENIES IT HAS BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
  • [12] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SIGNS ELECTION LAW AMENDMENTS
  • [13] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE REVIEWS BUDGET PARAMETERS FOR 2002
  • [14] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT ON GAS SUPPLIES
  • [15] TAJIKISTAN REINFORCES FRONTIER WITH AFGHANISTAN
  • [16] UN APPEALS FOR FOOD AID FOR TAJIKISTAN
  • [17] UZBEKISTAN UNVEILS NINE-MONTH ECONOMIC RESULTS

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [18] ETHNIC ALBANIAN PARTIES TO BOYCOTT MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
  • [19] YUGOSLAV MEDIA TYCOON FLEES COUNTRY
  • [20] TALKS FAIL, SERBIAN UNIONS TO STRIKE
  • [21] MONTENEGRO BEGINS SWITCH TO EURO
  • [22] BOMB DESTROYS LOCAL OFFICES OF TWO BIGGEST KOSOVAR PARTIES
  • [23] BOSNIAN INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS AMID POLITICAL PRESSURE
  • [24] CROATIAN OFFICIALS BLAME U.S.-MADE FILTERS IN DIALYSIS DEATHS...
  • [25] ...PROMPTING MANUFACTURER TO PULL THEM FROM WORLD MARKET
  • [26] CROATIA NUDGES UP ON CORRUPTION INDEX
  • [27] ALBANIA OPENS INTERNATIONAL ANTITRAFFICKING CENTER
  • [28] ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER, KFOR COMMANDER PLEDGE BORDER COOPERATION
  • [29] ROMANIAN PREMIER IN FINLAND
  • [30] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY
  • [31] ROMANIAN JUSTICE MINISTER OFFICIALLY ASKS SENATE TO STRIP TUDOR OF IMMUNITY
  • [32] RACIST LEAFLETS DISSEMINATED IN TRANSYLVANIAN TOWN
  • [33] ROMANIAN RADIO CHAIRMAN SAYS CONSPIRACY AIMS TO REMOVE HIM
  • [34] ROMANIA NOT CONTEMPLATING ANTI-MOLDOVA SANCTIONS
  • [35] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT WARNS OF DEBT DEFAULT
  • [36] U.S. PRESIDENT THANKS STOYANOV, SAXECOBURGGOTSKI FOR SUPPORT
  • [37] BULGARIAN SOCIALIST DAILY TO RESUME PUBLICATION

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [38] There is no end note today

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] FORMER INTERIOR MINISTRY OFFICIAL CHARGED OVER ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SHOOTING ALLEGATIONS

    Former senior Interior Ministry department head Mushegh Saghatelian was arrested in Yerevan on 12 October and formally charged on 15 October with providing false information, using forged documents, hooliganism, and other offenses, Noyan Tapan reported. Convicted felon Harutiun Grigorian, a police informant who shared a cell with two of the defendants in the parliament shootings case, had testified that Saghatelian offered him $50, 000 if he claimed that the October 1999 Armenian shootings were masterminded by President Robert Kocharian and Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, and then manufactured evidence to substantiate that claim. Saghatelian told a press conference in Yerevan on 3 October that he "has grounds to believe" that Kocharian was responsible for arranging the shootings. LF

    [02] RUSSIAN COMPANY QUALIFIES FOR ARMENIAN ENERGY TENDER

    The Armenian government commission responsible for overseeing the privatization of four energy distribution networks concluded on 13 October that Russia's Unified Energy Systems (EES) qualifies for the final stage of the tender, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 15 October. The commission had earlier twice ruled that the documentation submitted by EES was incomplete and demanded additional information on the company's financial situation. EES is the only foreign bidder whose participation in the tender has been confirmed to date. An earlier attempt to sell off the four networks ended in failure in April when none of the four companies shortlisted submitted a bid (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 April 2001). LF

    [03] ARMENIAN DISTRICT GOVERNOR OFFERS TO COOPERATE WITH NEIGHBORING AZERBAIJANI DISTRICT

    Armen Goularian, governor of Armenia's Tavush district, which has a 300- kilometer common border with Azerbaijan, has submitted to the Armenian government a proposal drafted by the regional administration to establish cooperation with the neighboring district of Azerbaijan in various economic fields, nature protection, and the use of water resources, Noyan Tapan reported on 15 October. Meeting four days earlier with a group of visiting Azerbaijani journalists, Goularian pointed out that some 10,000 hectares of arable land along the two countries' common border are not being used because of the unresolved Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijani officials regularly reject Armenian proposals to begin economic cooperation, arguing that they are not prepared to do so until the conflict is formally resolved. LF

    [04] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT POSTPONES PLANNED VISIT TO RUSSIA

    President Heidar Aliev's visit to Russia, which was scheduled to take place shortly before the 30 November CIS summit, has been postponed until late January or early February 2002, Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliev told Turan on 16 October. Quliev said that documents that are to be signed during that visit require unspecified amendments. LF

    [05] U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT REFUELS IN AZERBAIJAN?

    A U.S. Air Force Hercules transport aircraft was spotted coming in to land at Baku on 14 October, Turan reported the following day, quoting unnamed eyewitnesses. The plane is believed to have taken off again after refueling. Defense Ministry officials contacted by Turan denied any knowledge of the flight. LF

    [06] FIGHTING CONTINUES IN KODORI GORGE

    Abkhaz troops continued to engage groups of presumed Chechen militants and Georgian guerrillas in the vicinity of the Sugar-Loaf mountain on 15 October, Caucasus Press reported. Abkhaz Defense Minister Vladimir Mikanba told journalists in Sukhum that operations to round up the remaining intruders are likely to last for several days, according to Caucasus Press and Interfax. He confirmed Russian reports that a new group of several hundred fighters entered the gorge from the upper, eastern end on 15 October, but said that it would take them several days to descend to where the fighting is currently underway. Interfax on 15 October quoted the Abkhaz Defense Ministry as estimating losses since the fighting began 12 days ago at 15 Abkhaz and some 60 intruders killed. In Sukhum, Abkhaz officials denied on 15 October Georgian media claims that fierce gun battles were underway both in Sukhum and in the Black Sea town of Gagra to the north, Reuters reported. There has been no Abkhaz reaction to Georgian claims to have shot down a helicopter on 15 October near Eshera. LF

    [07] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS VIOLENCE 'LAST RESORT'...

    Georgia will never reconcile itself to the loss of Abkhazia, but will use force to bring the breakaway republic back under its control only as "a last resort, when all other peaceful means of resolving the conflict have been exhausted," President Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 15 October. Shevardnadze advised the Abkhaz leadership to understand that the Abkhaz people can be saved from a new war only through peace talks and consenting to live together in a single Georgian state. Shevardnadze said he is prepared to meet with Abkhaz Prime Minister Anri Djergenia in Tbilisi or to travel to Sukhum for talks, according to Interfax. Shevardnadze also said he is ready to meet anywhere, at any time, with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Abkhaz situation, acknowledging the role played earlier by Russia both during the 1992-1993 war and in trying to mediate a political settlement since 1994. LF

    [08] ...BUT ABKHAZ PREMIER SAYS TALKS POINTLESS BEFORE FIGHTING ENDS

    Djergenia responded on 15 October to Shevardnadze's proposal by affirming that resuming peace talks with the Georgian leadership is "senseless" before "the bandits and terrorists are either destroyed or driven out of Abkhazia," Caucasus Press reported. Djergenia also hinted that Abkhazia might not oppose the withdrawal, which Tbilisi has demanded, of the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed along the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia, ITAR-TASS reported on 16 October. Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba struck a somewhat more conciliatory note on 16 October, saying that members of the Abkhaz leadership are prepared to meet with Shevardnadze to discuss how to end the fighting in Kodori, Caucasus Press reported. But Shamba stressed that Abkhazia will never agree to autonomous status within Georgia, although it is still ready to discuss entering a federation with Georgia. Georgian parliament speaker Zurab Zhvania had said on 15 October that Tbilisi would offer Abkhazia "the broadest autonomy conceivable," in which the central authorities would control only defense, border protection, and tax collection, allowing Abkhazia complete freedom on all other issues. LF

    [09] COULD ABKHAZIA BECOME AN 'ASSOCIATE MEMBER' OF THE RF?

    It is not clear how Shamba's statement that Sukhum would still consider entering a federation with Georgia is to be reconciled with Djergenia's statement on 14 October on TV-6 that Abkhazia has formally requested to be admitted as an "associate member" of the Russian Federation, meaning that it would be part of Russia's legal system and use the same currency. The Russian ruble, not the Georgian lari, is currently used in Abkhazia. Djergenia said he has not yet received a response from Moscow to that request. On 12 October, President Putin stressed that Russia recognizes Georgia's territorial integrity. LF

    [10] CHAIRMAN OF GEORGIAN RULING PARTY'S PARLIAMENT FACTION QUITS

    Following the disintegration of the Union of Citizens of Georgia (SMK) parliament faction, which with 100 of a total of 235 deputies was the largest, the faction's chairman, Revaz Adamia, has resigned from that position, Caucasus Press reported on 15 October. Merab Tkeshelashvili was elected the same day to succeed him. Adamia had publicly offered to step down in June as he considered himself not suited to that post. LF

    [11] KAZAKHSTAN DENIES IT HAS BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

    Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry released a statement in Almaty on 15 October rejecting as unfounded U.S. media speculation that the country still has biological weapons, and may be connected with the cases of anthrax recently discovered in the U.S. or have supplied anthrax spores to "extremists," Interfax reported. The statement affirmed that Kazakhstan abides by its obligations under international agreements on nuclear disarmament and the destruction of chemical and biological weapons. It added that the U.S. has helped fund the ongoing closure of the Soviet-era Stepnogorsk research and production facility for biological weapons. On 12 October, Reuters reported that U.S. inspectors found anthrax spores inside piping at a former biological weapons facility in Kazakhstan several days earlier. LF

    [12] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SIGNS ELECTION LAW AMENDMENTS

    Askar Akaev signed into law on 15 October the election law amendments passed by the Legislative Assembly (the power chamber of the bicameral parliament) four days earlier, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Also on 15 October, Tolekan Ismailova, the president of the Coalition of NGOs, wrote to parliament protesting the amendments, in particular one that bans any Kyrgyz political party or organization that receives funding from abroad from participating in the monitoring of elections there. She argued that that restriction is aimed at hindering the monitoring of elections and preventing international organizations from funding training programs for would-be election monitors. LF

    [13] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE REVIEWS BUDGET PARAMETERS FOR 2002

    The Kyrgyz parliament's finance and economy committee reviewed at its 15 October session the draft budget for 2002 presented by Finance Minister Temirbek Akmataliev, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The draft projects GDP at 80.19 billion soms ($1.67 billion), which is 4 percent higher than this year's target. Inflation next year is estimated at 8.2 percent, and the budget is predicated on an exchange rate of 49 soms to the U.S. dollar. LF

    [14] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT ON GAS SUPPLIES

    Talks in Tashkent last weekend between Kyrgyz and Uzbek government officials failed to resolve the current disagreement over gas and water supplies, Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev told journalists in Bishkek on 15 October, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 October 2001). Tanaev said that Uzbekistan has accused Kyrgyzstan of failing to honor an agreement signed last December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 December 2000) whereby Kyrgyzstan would provide Uzbekistan with 2.2 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectricity in return for oil and gasoline. Uzbekistan is threatening to suspend supplies of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan in retaliation for that failure, which Kyrgyz Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev has acknowledged. LF

    [15] TAJIKISTAN REINFORCES FRONTIER WITH AFGHANISTAN

    A special 300-man unit of border guards was dispatched on 12 October to reinforce Tajikistan's southern border with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan against a possible attack by Taliban forces, Asia Plus-Blitz and Interfax reported on 15 October, quoting Border Guard commander Lieutenant General Saidanvar Kamolov. LF

    [16] UN APPEALS FOR FOOD AID FOR TAJIKISTAN

    The UN World Food Program launched an appeal on 16 October for some 67,000 tons of emergency food supplies worth $36 million to be distributed among 1 million residents of mountainous regions of Tajikistan most severely affected by the second consecutive year of drought, Reuters reported. The World Food Program's representative in Dushanbe said that many of those affected face starvation. LF

    [17] UZBEKISTAN UNVEILS NINE-MONTH ECONOMIC RESULTS

    Uzbekistan's GDP grew by 4.5 percent year-on-year during the first nine months of 2001, while industrial production increased by 7.6 percent over the same time period, Interfax reported on 15 October quoting Macroeconomics and Statistics Minister Rustam Azimov. The targets for 2001 as a whole are 4.5 and 5.8 percent respectively. In 2000, GDP growth was 4 percent, industrial production grew by 6.4 percent, and agricultural output by 3.2 percent. LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [18] ETHNIC ALBANIAN PARTIES TO BOYCOTT MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE

    Parliament speaker Stojan Androv scheduled debate on nine of the 15 constitutional amendments agreed on in the Ohrid peace plan for 18 October, despite threats to boycott the debate by the two main ethnic Albanian parties, AFP and Reuters reported on 15 October. The two parties demand that parliament debate all 15 amendments at once. Ilias Talini of the Democratic Party of Albanians and vice president of the parliament, said: "I am surprised that the president of the parliament is arranging a session without consulting the vice president. He is accusing us of obstructing the parliament. The obstruction is being made by the president of the state. The president of the state should not violate the Ohrid agreement because he is one of those who signed it." President Boris Trajkovski attacked the two parties, who he said were obstructing the work of the parliament. "If this blockade by some parliamentary groups continues, I will regard it as an attempt to dictate the issue, and I will not accept that," Trajkovski said. DW

    [19] YUGOSLAV MEDIA TYCOON FLEES COUNTRY

    Bogoljub Karic and his family, who own the largest private company in Serbia, fled the country to an undisclosed location out of fear for their lives, Western and Yugoslav news agencies reported on 15 October. A statement released by Karic's BK TV television said the family is "currently under the protection of the police of a foreign state," and that "snipers with infrared aiming devices" were seen near the family's house in Belgrade. Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic said, "If they had felt threatened in any way they should have informed the police." Last week the Serbian government stepped up pressure on Karic and his business interests, demanding $30 million in taxes on wealth he allegedly gained from Milosevic- era privileges. Also, the Yugoslav central bank appointed an administrator for the Astra Bank owned by the family and Serbian police began investigating the family's stake in the Mobtel mobile telephone operator on 12 October. Zivkovic said Karic was not under investigation and was free to leave the country. DW

    [20] TALKS FAIL, SERBIAN UNIONS TO STRIKE

    Talks between the Serbian government and trade union leaders fell through on 15 October and the union heads said the general strike scheduled for the next day would go ahead, local media reported. Trade Union Federation head Milenko Smiljanic said that even though some agreement had been reached, the main condition -- the withdrawal of the Labor Code -- had not been met, which led to the decision to go through with the strike. DW

    [21] MONTENEGRO BEGINS SWITCH TO EURO

    Businesses in Montenegro began listing prices in German marks and euros on 15 October in preparation for the introduction of the euro as the official domestic currency, dpa reported. Montenegro is set to officially switch over to the currency on 31 March 2002. The smaller of Yugoslavia's two republics adopted the German mark as legal tender in 1999. DW

    [22] BOMB DESTROYS LOCAL OFFICES OF TWO BIGGEST KOSOVAR PARTIES

    An explosion and fire destroyed the offices of the two biggest ethnic Albanian parties in the southern town of Suva Reka in the early morning hours of 16 October, AP and Reuters reported. A suspected grenade explosion in the offices of Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosova started a fire that spread to the offices of the second-largest party, the Democratic Party of Kosova. No injuries were reported. This is the first report of violence against a party in the two weeks since the campaign for the 17 November general elections began. DW

    [23] BOSNIAN INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS AMID POLITICAL PRESSURE

    The interior minister for Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation, Muhammed Besic, resigned on 12 October following threats by political opponents that they would conduct a public review of his tenure, AP reported on 15 October, citing information from government leaders. The federation's government said it will appoint a new interior minister at its next session on 24 October, the agency added. Besic's work has been repeatedly praised by international officials, AP said, prompting local reports that U.S. officials in Sarajevo expressed concern over his departure in a letter to federation officials. U.S. Embassy representatives declined to comment on those reports for AP. Besic was one of the leading figures in the government's antiterrorism team and worked closely with U.S. officials in trying to locate people with links to global terrorism in Bosnia, AP said. The vice president of the Muslim-Croat federation, Safet Halilovic, had complained that Besic made serious errors, including a decision to hire a wartime bureaucrat suspected of granting citizenship to Islamic fighters during Bosnia's 3 1/2-year conflict. Halilovic had also complained about Besic's remarks to the press, including a pledge to make "hell on Earth" for Taliban fighters reportedly headed to the country to hide out. AH

    [24] CROATIAN OFFICIALS BLAME U.S.-MADE FILTERS IN DIALYSIS DEATHS...

    Croatian Health Minister Ana Stavljenic-Rukavina said "it is clear that something was wrong with the filters" manufactured by U.S.-based Baxter International Inc. and used by more than 20 dialysis patients who died in that country in just over a week, AP reported on 15 October. She added that it is "unclear what it was at the membrane that caused the clinical symptoms that led to the patients' deaths," the agency added. Initial reports referred to 23 deaths (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 October 2001), but Stavljenic-Rukavina said two of those patients' deaths were not linked to dialysis machines. Meanwhile, the Croatian government held a crisis meeting on 15 October and ordered a comprehensive investigation. Stavljenic- Rukavina said no new related deaths have been reported in Croatian hospitals after the dialyzers were replaced. AH

    [25] ...PROMPTING MANUFACTURER TO PULL THEM FROM WORLD MARKET

    While the company has categorically denied any responsibility for the deaths, the president of Baxter International in Central and Eastern Europe, Vincente Belenguer, said on 15 October that the company is temporarily pulling its "A" series dialysis filters from world markets, Hina reported. Belenguer was speaking in Zagreb, where he is cooperating with the investigation into the tragedies. AH

    [26] CROATIA NUDGES UP ON CORRUPTION INDEX

    Transparency International ranked Croatia 47th among 91 countries ranked in its annual corruption index released on 15 October, Hina reported. That places the country alongside regional neighbors Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, the agency said. Croatia placed 74th in 1999 and 51st in 2000, Hina added, marking a gradual but consistent improvement. The section of the report focusing on Central and Southeast Europe and Baltic countries said the development of a transparent democracy in Croatia is still in its infancy, Hina reported. AH

    [27] ALBANIA OPENS INTERNATIONAL ANTITRAFFICKING CENTER

    Albanian Prime Minister Ilir Meta inaugurated an antitrafficking center in the southern port city of Vlore on 15 October amid increased international pressure on his government to do more to fight organized crime and the trafficking of drugs, people, and arms. The center will be jointly operated by Albanian, German, Greek, and Italian police and should help coordinate efforts to stem illegal flows from East to West, dpa reported. Meta vowed the facility will help raise the fight against trafficking and organized crime "to a higher level," the agency reported. Housed in the resort villa of Albania's former communist dictator Enver Hoxha, the center is equipped with sophisticated monitoring and communications equipment. It will be used primarily to stop dinghies used by criminals to shuttle drugs and illegal immigrants to Italy's southern coast. The OSCE recently issued a report urging Albania to do more to curb crime (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 October 2001). AH

    [28] ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER, KFOR COMMANDER PLEDGE BORDER COOPERATION

    The commander of NATO's peacekeeping forces in Kosova, General Marcel Valentin, met with Albanian Defense Minister Pandeli Majko in Tirana on 15 October and pledged intensive cooperation in trying to control mutual borders, the Albanian news agency ATA reported. Majko stressed the importance of openness in information and communications and praised the role of KFOR troops in ushering in peace and security in Kosova and the region. He called NATO's role indispensable and a determining factor, ATA reported. AH

    [29] ROMANIAN PREMIER IN FINLAND

    On 15 October Prime Minister Adrian Nastase began a two-day visit of Finland, meeting his Finnish counterpart Paavo Lipponen and President Tarja Halonen, Romanian radio reported. Lipponen said Finland backs Romania's quest for EU membership, as well as the cancellation of visa requirements for Romanian citizens traveling within the Schengen agreement space as of 1 January next year. Nastase told journalists the terrorist attack on the U.S. amply demonstrates the need for NATO to acquire more partners through enlargement. "We are all facing the same common threat," Nastase emphasized. MS

    [30] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY

    Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana has also received strong backing for the cancellation of visa requirements for the EU. Geoana met on 15 October in Berlin with Interior Minister Otto Schilly and later discussed with his German counterpart Joschka Fischer the European joint struggle against human trafficking. After the talks with Fischer, Geoana said that the German-Romanian bilateral relations "have become a strategic political and economic partnership," and that Romania can "look into a future in which it will occupy its natural place as a NATO and EU member," Romanian radio reported. Geoana attended a conference in Berlin on this struggle in his capacity as OSCE rotating chairman. Premier Nastase wrote in a letter he sent via Geoana to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that the relations between their countries in the last three months have registered a "spectacular evolution." MS

    [31] ROMANIAN JUSTICE MINISTER OFFICIALLY ASKS SENATE TO STRIP TUDOR OF IMMUNITY

    Justice Minister Rodica Stanoiu asked Senate Chairman Nicolae Vacaroiu on 15 October to start proceedings for lifting the parliamentary immunity of Greater Romania Party Chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor on the grounds that Tudor disseminated false information, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. In line with existing Senate procedure, the file will now be examined by the Judicial Commission, who must make its recommendation to the Permanent Bureau. Upon receiving that recommendation, the bureau must convoke a debate within 15 days. Tudor called the move "political abuse." He added that he does not fear a trial, and that he will use the occasion to make "shocking revelations" that will bring about the fall of the cabinet and early parliamentary elections. MS

    [32] RACIST LEAFLETS DISSEMINATED IN TRANSYLVANIAN TOWN

    Racist leaflets warning against "mongering" with Roma and using inflammatory language to denounce this minority, homosexuals, religious sects, and "anyone who is not a Romanian" have been spread in the Transylvanian town of Deva, Romanian television reported on 15 October. The leaflets are signed by the extraparliamentary "New Right" party. Meanwhile Piatra-Neamt Mayor Ion Rotaru announced on 15 October that he has abandoned his plans to build special houses for the town's Romany population because of the protests the plans have caused. Rotaru said ethnic Romanian families will be moved into those apartments and "the Roma can now ask [Social Democratic Party (PSD) Deputy and Romany leader] Madalin Voicu to give them houses instead." Voicu is among the Romany leaders who complained about Rotaru's plans. MS

    [33] ROMANIAN RADIO CHAIRMAN SAYS CONSPIRACY AIMS TO REMOVE HIM

    Romanian Broadcasting Company (SSR) Chairman Andrei Dimitriu told journalists on 15 October that a conspiracy is being forged to bring about his removal before the end of his mandate, Mediafax reported. Dimitriu believes "second-rank" PSD officials are involved in that conspiracy. He said the plot aims to have legal proceedings opened against him on fabricated grounds, which would enforce his being suspended from his position until the accusations are legally clarified. By then, he said, his mandate would have anyhow ended and "some sort of apology will be made when nothing can help any more." Dimitriu was appointed by the previous government and his mandate runs out in 2003. MS

    [34] ROMANIA NOT CONTEMPLATING ANTI-MOLDOVA SANCTIONS

    President Ion Iliescu told an international forum of journalists on 15 October that his country will not impose any "sanctions" on Moldova in the wake of Moldovan Justice Minister Ion Morei's declarations in Strasbourg, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Iliescu said that Romania "cannot sacrifice its relations with Moldova" just because that country has a government whose "ideological criteria" are different from Bucharest's own. Speaking in Helsinki where he is on official visit, Romanian Premier Nastase, in an obvious allusion to Russia, said on 15 October that Bucharest considers it "unacceptable" for any country to have military bases on the territory of another without the consent of that state's authorities. Nastase said Romania is "worried" by the "continuous threat" posed by the Transdniester situation to Moldova's sovereignty, Flux reported. Finally, Mediafax reported on 15 October that Romanian Interior Minister Ioan Rus is to sign a three-year cooperation accord with the Moldovan Interior Ministry in Chisinau on 16 October. MS

    [35] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT WARNS OF DEBT DEFAULT

    President Vladimir Voronin, in an interview with the "Financial Times" on 15 October, warned that his country may be forced to default on its international debt if a rescheduling agreement is not reached with the Paris Club of official creditors, Infotag reported. Next year Moldova must pay $277 million, which is about 20 percent of its GDP. In June 2001, Chisinau was close to defaulting on a $3.7 million interest rate payment on a Eurobond and made that payment only on the last day of a 21-day grace period. Moldova is currently negotiating with the IMF a $142 million loan that is contingent on, among other things, speeding up privatization. Unless that loan is approved, Chisinau will not benefit from credits from the World Bank and the EU, and may thus be forced to default on its international debt. MS

    [36] U.S. PRESIDENT THANKS STOYANOV, SAXECOBURGGOTSKI FOR SUPPORT

    President George W. Bush has sent messages to his Bulgarian counterpart Petar Stoyanov and to Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski, thanking them for the support offered by Bulgaria in the rescue operations after the 11 September terrorist attack, for their messages of condolence and sympathy, and for Bulgaria's swift expression of its readiness to support the U.S. military operations against the terrorists, BTA reported. Bush wrote that the struggle against international terror may be a long one, but the U.S. has the necessary strength and determination to carry it out, thanks in part to the solidarity and support of its friends. MS

    [37] BULGARIAN SOCIALIST DAILY TO RESUME PUBLICATION

    The left-wing daily "Duma," which stopped publication in early July due to financial problems, will re-appear by the end of this month, BTA reported on 15 October, citing Editor in Chief Vyacheslav Tunev. Tunev said the daily will not, however, be a successor to the former "Duma." He said it will have a "Balkan orientation" and will be "independent." The daily was first issued in April 1990, as a successor to the communist "Rabotnichesko delo." Subscribers are to receive it together with "Republika," which was launched on 14 July by a publishing trust close to the Bulgarian Socialist Party after "Duma" suspended publication. MS

    [C] END NOTE

    [38] There is no end note today

    16-10-01

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


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