!@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Friday, April 28, 2000 6:11:07 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 84, Part II, 28 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 6:11:07 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 84, Part II, 28 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 84, Part II, 28 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * SLOVAKIA TO RETURN CHURCH PROPERTY * CONTROVERSY OVER BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER * MOLDOVA, ROMANIA, INITIAL BASIC TREATY END NOTE: SERBIA AFTER THE PROTEST xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE FORMER BELARUS PREMIER MAY FACE JAIL. Prosecutors in Minsk have charged former Prime Minister Mikhail Chyhir with abuse of office and negligence, ITAR-TASS reported on 27 April. They said that his actions had led to damages to the state of some $4.1 million. If he is convicted, Chyhir could face five years in prison. PG WORLD BANK SAYS UKRAINE PLAN COULD LEAD TO RENATIONALIZATION. A group of World Bank experts have concluded that a Ukrainian plan to reform the country's energy sector could lead to the renationalization of energy companies there, Interfax reported on 27 April. The plan, which the experts characterized as ineffective, could make these firms less profitable and thus less attractive to outside investors. Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshkeno responded that Kyiv had improved its plan in response to earlier World Bank criticism. PG UKRAINE, GAZPROM AGREE ON DEBT RESTRUCTURING. Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian vice premier in charge of the energy sector, told ITAR-TASS on 27 April that Kyiv and Gazprom have agreed to restructure Ukraine's debt for Russian gas over the next three years. She said that Kyiv is exploring the possibility of extending that restructuring period over five years. PG YUSHCHENKO HAS NO PLANS TO RESIGN. Vladimir Litvin, the chief of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration, told ITAR-TASS on 27 April that Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko has not submitted his resignation despite rumors that he had done so. "No one knows where the reports of this kind come from," Litvin said, but he did not rule out the possibility that the rumors had been spread by those who want to force Yushchenko out. PG KYIV MAYOR WARNS OF GRAIN SHORTAGES. Oleksandr Omelchenko, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, told Interfax on 27 April that his city will run out of grain this summer unless it receives supplies from state reserves. Omelchenko appealed to the parliament to release half of the country's grain reserves to support Kyiv's needs. He said that the shortages had been triggered by the purchases of Kyiv-subsidized bread by those from other regions of the country where bread is not subsidized. PG UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT TO CONSIDER CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on 27 April sent to the parliament a draft bill to amend the constitution according to the wishes of the voters that were expressed in the 16 April referendum, AP reported. The measures, which include reducing the size of the Verkhovna Rada from 450 to 300 seats, creating an appointed upper house, and lifting deputy's immunity, face significant opposition in the parliament. PG LANDSBERGIS SEEKS REVIEW OF TRADE ACCORD WITH UKRAINE. In Kyiv on an official visit, Lithuanian Parliament Speaker Vytautas Landsbergis told Ukrainian President Kuchma that trade relations between the two countries need to be reviewed and improved, ITAR-TASS reported on 27 April. Landsbergis said there are some "misunderstandings" between the two countries and that these have cost Lithuanian firms more than $500,000 in unfair duties, AP reported. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yushchenko said that Kyiv will address this trade dispute in the near future. Kuchma also told Landsbergis that "I can assert that our strategic goal is membership in the EU," and added that Ukraine is only an associate member of the CIS. PG UKRAINE, IRAN TO BUILD AN-140 PLANES IN ISFAHAN. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Sadeq Kharrazi and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk announced in Ukraine on 27 April that the two countries will begin to assemble An-140 planes in Iran later this year, ITAR-TASS reported. The An-140 is intended to replace the older An-24. PG FINNS TO TAKE OVER THIRD LARGEST ESTONIAN BANK... Central bank Deputy Governor Peter Lohmus confirmed on 27 April that Sampo Finance will purchase the central bank's stake in Optiva Pank, ETA reported. The Finnish financial group will take the 57.9 percent stake held by the central bank since a 1998 banking crisis left the former-Forekspank in poor condition. The two sides hope to seal the deal by 30 June, and Sampo Finance, which is co-owned by Finnish insurers Sampo and Kaleva, would make offers to other Optiva Pank shareholders. In unrelated news, would-be central bank Governor Vello Vensel confirmed on 27 April in an open letter that he stepped down due to health reasons and not any of the other rumors circulating in the press. Vensel said his blood pressure is extremely high and that he made that decision after receiving a second opinion from doctors. MH ...BUT LATVIAN CENTRAL BANK FOILS ANOTHER TAKEOVER. Negative opinion voiced by the Latvian central bank caused both parties to cancel the plan by Estonian real estate tycoon Ernesto Preatoni to acquire Latvia's Saules Banka on 27 April, BNS reported. Preatoni, who also owns his own bank in Estonia, signed the purchase agreement with Estonia's Uhispank, the full owners of Saules Banka, in December 1999. However, as the deal was dependent on the approval of the Latvian central bank, it was annulled. However, a day earlier, the central bank gave Hansabanka--the Latvian affiliate of Estonia's Hansapank--permission to fully acquire VABB, a Ventspils regional bank. MH LATVIAN PREMIER-DESIGNATE DISCUSS POSSIBILITIES... Andris Berzins told the press on 27 April that a new government model may be ready as soon as 28 April, though its confirmation would unlikely be completed by 4 May--the 10th anniversary of the declaration of the restoration of independence. Berzins added that negotiations are still continuing among the four parties in the proposed coalition and no assignments of cabinet posts have been made, LETA reported. However, Berzins has said he does not want former prime ministers to serve in his cabinet. Berzins also stressed the need to divorce business interests and politics, citing the public feud between outgoing Premier Andris Skele and Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs. MH ...BUT POLITICIANS CONTINUE TO SQUABBLE. Outgoing Prime Minister Andris Skele voiced displeasure at Berzins's plan to keep former premiers out of the cabinet, calling it an "unacceptable political principle," BNS reported. Skele's People's Party has said it wants either the foreign affairs or transport portfolio, though Latvia's Way--which currently holds both--has insisted on retaining them. MH GERMANY'S SCHROEDER BACKS POLISH EU BID. After meeting with Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek in Gniezno on 27 April, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that he is "confident" that Poland will be ready to join the European Union by 2003, Western agencies reported. He said that Germany "will work hard to help Poland achieve EU membership" but that "Poland's task is to get prepared." Schroeder concluded that "there cannot be an economically integrated Europe which ends on the eastern border of Germany." PG POLAND CONCERNED ABOUT CZECH SPY CASE. On 26 April, the Warsaw daily "Zycie" said that deputies from the Polish parliament's secret service oversight committee will visit Prague to discuss a 1998 case in which a Czech agent attempted to recruit a Polish army officer. The Czech Foreign Ministry has played down the affair, saying that current relations between the two countries are "very good, probably the best in history," CTK reported on 27 April. PG POLISH INTERIOR MINISTER SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE CHALLENGE. Interior Minister Marek Biernacki survived a no-confidence vote in the Polish parliament by a vote of 240 in his favor to 155 against, Reuters reported on 27 April. The SLD party had brought the measure to a vote following reports this month about serious problems with Poland's law enforcement system. PG CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER TO 'COORDINATE, NOT MANAGE' INTELLIGENCE SERVICES. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ales Pospisil, responding to criticism from the opposition, said on 27 April that Foreign Minister Jan Kavan will not manage but coordinate the activity of the country's secret services as head of the proposed Committee for Intelligence Activities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). He emphasized that Kavan will be appointed to this position as deputy premier in charge of foreign and security policy, rather than as foreign minister. Earlier, Jan Klas, the Civic Democratic Party chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' commission that monitors the activity of the Counter Intelligence Service, said Kavan would be "perceived differently" by his foreign minister colleagues in Europe if he were to be in charge of the secret services, adding that such an example does not exist anywhere in Europe. MS GERMAN TELEVISION REPORTS ON CZECH NEO-NAZIS. The Czech Interior Ministry on 27 April said it could not confirm that members of German far-right groups are training in a former military compound in Mitrovice, northern Bohemia, CTK reported. The claim was made in a documentary aired on German television one day earlier. Former minister without portfolio in charge of the secret services, Jaroslav Basta, said on the program that violence against foreigners has become common and that the Czech Republic is "a very racist country." He said police officers have sympathies for the far right and even train neo-Nazis. "It is a historic irony that the Czech Republic, where Nazism produced 80,000 victims, has now 6,000 persons registered in neo-Nazi organizations and 10 times as many sympathizers," the anchorman commented. MS CZECH REPUBLIC SEEKS COMPROMISE WITH EU IN SLOVAK CUSTOMS UNION PROBLEM. Foreign Minster Kavan told journalists on 26 April that the Czech Republic is no longer insisting on having the EU accept its customs union with Slovakia after Prague's accession to the organization and seeks a compromise solution instead. Kavan said the Czech Republic could recommend having Slovakia included in the Schengen Agreement on the free movement of citizens before Slovakia became part of the EU itself. MS SLOVAK PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION ON INTERIOR MINISTER. Only 51 out of 128 present deputies supported the motion of no-confidence in Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner submitted by the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia and the Slovak National Party, CTK reported on 27 April. Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda earlier told lawmakers that the use of force to detain former Premier Vladimir Meciar was a last resort, decided by Pittner only after Meciar had repeatedly refused to answer a police summons to testify in the ongoing inquiry into the abduction of the son of former President Michal Kovac. MS U.S. PAYS FOR SLOVAK SCRAPPING OF SS-23 MISSILES. Chief of Staff General Milan Cerovsky and Douglas Hengel, charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Bratislava, signed a memorandum on 27 April providing for U.S. financing of the destruction of the last six SS-23 missiles in Europe by the end of October, CTK reported. The 400-kilometer range Soviet- made missiles built in the 1980s were deployed in Slovakia after Czechoslovakia's split in 1993. Their life service expired in 1998, but Slovakia did not have the funds to scrap them. Under the memorandum, the U.S. will cover the 16 million crown (some $385,000) cost of the operation. MS SLOVAKIA TO RETURN CHURCH PROPERTY. An agreement providing for the return of church property confiscated during the Communist era was signed on 27 April in Presov by Deputy Premier Pal Csaky and Roman Catholic Bishop Jan Hirka, CTK reported. Csaky said a similar agreement is likely to be soon signed with the Orthodox Church. MS AUSTRIA'S SCHUESSEL WELCOMED IN HUNGARY. Hungary and Austria are "stable partners, looking forward to good perspectives for cooperation," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters on 27 April after talks with visiting Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel. Orban said Budapest regards its relationship with Vienna as a "strategic issue," and is separating its decisions from the "political storm hanging over Austria." Schuessel said his cabinet remains committed to the basic principles of Austria's policy, such as democracy, human rights, and EU enlargement. According to opposition Socialist Party Chairman Laszlo Kovacs, "inviting Schuessel to Budapest has shown that the Hungarian government does not give a damn about the EU sanctions against the Austrian government." Free Democrat Istvan Szent-Ivanyi, chairman of the parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, said the visit shows that the government "sees nothing wrong with a party entering into a coalition with the far right." MSZ HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT NOMINATES CANDIDATE FOR PROSECUTOR. After consultations with all six parliamentary parties, Arpad Goncz on 27 April nominated deputy ombudsman Peter Polt for the post of prosecutor-general, saying that Polt's candidacy is likely to be approved by the parliament. Polt is supported by FIDESZ, the Independent Smallholders and the extreme right Hungarian Justice and Life Party. Coalition member Democratic Forum and the two opposition parties, the Socialists and the Free Democrats, favored Gabor Heidrich, prosecutor of Csongrad County. The prosecutor general is elected by a simple majority in the parliament. The vote is scheduled for 2 May. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE CONTROVERSY OVER BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER. The governing Sloga (Concord) coalition in Banja Luka said in a statement on 27 April that it will demand the resignation of Zivko Radisic as the Bosnian Serb representative on the joint presidency. Sloga said that Radisic nominated former Bosnian Serb Deputy Prime Minister Tihomir Gligoric to head the new, expanded joint cabinet without consulting Sloga, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 April 2000). Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party said it will support Gligoric only if it has a representative or representatives in the cabinet. Alija Izetbegovic's Party of Democratic Action, for its part, approved Gligoric. Finally, the Social Democrats announced that they will decide whether to back the new prime minister once they see his program. PM BOSNIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES REFORM PACKAGE. On 27 April, the House of Nations passed a package of recommendations from the EU on promoting political and economic reform. Passing the measures is one of the EU's preconditions for holding another donors conference. Several representatives of the international community have repeatedly warned that foreign money for Bosnia will dry up unless key reforms are implemented. PM MUSLIMS EXHUME MASS GRAVES. Forensics experts working for the Muslim Commission for Missing Persons have exhumed 83 bodies from several mass graves in eastern Bosnia, AP reported on 28 April. The bodies found in the Bratunac area are believed to be those of some of the 6,000 Muslim males killed by Serbian forces after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995. Jasmin Odobasic, who is the deputy head of the commission, said that investigations will continue at Bratunac and other sites throughout Bosnia in the coming week. PM BOSNIAN SERB PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY' TO 80 CHARGES. Dragan Nikolic, the Bosnian Serb prison commander recently arrested by SFOR troops, entered a blanket plea on 28 April of not guilty to all 80 counts against him of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and violations of the laws or customs of war (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). It was the first time in the history of the tribunal that anyone has entered a blanket plea rather than respond to each charge individually, Reuters reported. The 80 counts against Nikolic are the highest number in any public indictment that the tribunal has announced to date. PM CROATIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES LAWS ON MINORITY EDUCATION. The lower house of the parliament on 27 April approved two bills regulating the education of ethnic minorities and their right to use their respective native languages and alphabets. Legislators from the Croatian Democratic Community and the far-right Croatian Party of [Historic] Rights opposed the bill, "Slobodna Dalmacija" reported. Meanwhile, the government approved a measure to amend the constitution to list all legally recognized minorities and to drop references to two autonomous districts, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Under late President Franjo Tudjman, references to the Muslim and Slovenian minorities were dropped from the constitution, although some numerically far smaller minorities retained their legal status. The governments in Sarajevo and Ljubljana protested the change. More recently, some critics have called for dropping all references to ethnic groups and stressing instead that Croatia is a state of all its citizens. PM KUCAN, HAVEL STRESS NO DELAYS IN EU ENLARGEMENT. After their meeting in Brdo Pri Kranju in Slovenia on 27 April, President Milan Kucan and his guest Czech President Vaclav Havel said that they hope that political troubles in current member states will not hold up the process of EU enlargement. Kucan added bluntly: "A delay, making up new conditions or allowing special bilateral conditions, may cause candidates to question if they are truly wanted in the EU.... [The same would be true if the applicants come to sense that] they are only interesting to the EU as a market, as consumers, and on condition that they will not increase labor competition towards member states," Reuters reported. Kucan's statement follows recent remarks by German businessmen that they foresee no enlargement before 2004, as well as periodic statements by Austrian Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider and others of his party opposed to enlargement. PM HAVEL CALLS FOR GREATER SLOVENIAN ROLE IN KOSOVA. Havel said in Ljubljana on 27 April that Slovenia is ideally suited to act as a bridge between Central Europe and the Balkans. CTK quoted him as saying: "It seems to me that Slovenia, which is closest to [the crisis region] not only geographically but also owing to its insight and understanding, can play an important role in this field as the international community is a bit helpless on many points.... Why could not the contribution of Slovenia, a stable democracy in the former Yugoslav region, be [a factor] enriching the general conscience and bringing new ideas?" Observers note that following independence in 1991, Slovenia took great pains to identify itself with Central Europe rather than with the other former Yugoslav republics, except to regain its former markets there. EU and especially NATO member states have made it clear to Ljubljana, however, that they expect it to do its part to promote stability and development in the region. PM KFOR COMMANDER SLAMS ATTACKS ON RUSSIANS. General Juan Ortuno said in Prishtina on 27 April that peacekeepers will not tolerate a spate of recent attacks on Russian personnel. These included three incidents on 26 April, one of which led to the death of a Russian soldier, AP reported. Ortuno added: "An attack against one soldier is an attack against us all." he said. "We are one force and such acts will not be tolerated." Many ethnic Albanians regard all Russians as pro- Serbian and believe that Russian volunteers and mercenaries took part in the Serbian crackdown prior to NATO's intervention in 1999. PM ANOTHER SHOOT-OUT IN BELGRADE. Zoran "Skole" Uskokovic, whom Reuters describes as "a Yugoslav businessman," was killed by unidentified gunmen following a car chase in the Belgrade suburb of Vidikovac on 27 April. A second, unidentified individual was also killed. Some Serbian press reports had linked Skole to the slaying of Zeljko "Arkan" Raznatovic at the start of the year. Two days earlier, an explosion rocked the building where Skole has his flat. PM YUGOSLAV AIRLINES CHIEF BURIED. In Pozarevac on 27 April, hundreds of mourners including top government ministers and Yugoslav Airlines personnel attended the funeral of Zika Petrovic, who was gunned down two days earlier (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his wife did not attend but sent a wreath. In Athens, a Greek government spokesman said that Serbia needs to become more democratic and that street killings are not the way to solve problems, "Vesti" reported. PM SERBIAN SOCCER STAR WARNS AUTHORITIES. Sinisa Mihajlovic, who plays for the Italian team Lazio, said in Rome on 27 April that he will no longer play for the Yugoslav national team unless the Belgrade authorities deny a recent report in the regime press that he has joined Milosevic's Socialist Party. He gave the authorities a deadline of three days to meet his conditions. Mihajlovic stressed that he recently signed a document naming him as a "sports ambassador" of his country and not as a member of a political party. PM MOLDOVA, ROMANIA, INITIAL BASIC TREATY. Visiting Romanian Foreign Minister Petre Roman and his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Tabacaru, initialed the basic treaty between their countries in Chisinau on 28 April, the RFE/RL bureau in the Moldovan capital reported. The treaty must now be approved by the two countries' parliaments. Roman said the treaty defines relations between the two countries as a "privileged partnership" and "is of historic significance for the two Romanian states," while also contributing to European stability. Tabacaru said that the treaty includes "all the elements that must be included in such a document" while also "codifying the special relationship between the two countries." MS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT SAYS PEOPLE 'MUST NOT PANIC.' In an appeal to "all forces in society," the government on 27 April said Moldova is undergoing "one of its most difficult periods in modern history" and faced the danger of "relapsing into the second or third layer of states in the world." The government called on citizens "not to panic" but "consolidate [instead] all intellectual, physical, material, and spiritual forces" of the nation. It said the cabinet will "soon" undertake "urgent measures" for overcoming the crisis, relaunch the economy, strengthen "social discipline," liquidate corruption, and fight organized crime. "Now and in the future, the Republic can count on itself alone, and development cannot be achieved only on the basis of foreign credits. At the same time, we cannot imagine an autarchic economy," the appeal said, in reference to the recent IMF and World Bank decisions to stop lending to Moldova. MS BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION ORGANIZATION MEETS IN CHISINAU. The foreign ministers of members in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, gathering in Chisinau on 27 April, decided to establish a permanent seat for the organization's secretariat in Istanbul, Romanian radio reported. Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis expressed the hope that the forum will help his country's quest to become a member of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe. Roman, who will be the next rotating chairman of the organization, told the gathering that the organization must improve efficiency and turn itself into one "ready for the 21st century." He said attention must concentrate on regional projects financed by the Black Sea Bank and international organizations, above all the EU. MS MOLDOVAN CENTRIST PARTIES FORM ELECTORAL BLOC. Leaders of the Democratic Party of Moldova, the Party of Revival and Conciliation, and the Party of Democratic Forces signed an agreement in Chisinau on 27 April on setting up an electoral bloc, Infotag reported. They said this is "a strategic partnership for all forthcoming electoral campaigns." Democratic Party leader Dumitru Diacov said the three parties will support a joint candidate in the next presidential elections. MS BULGARIANS DETAINED IN AIDS SCANDAL MAY LEAVE LIBYA. Six of the 17 Bulgarians detained last year in Libya in connection with the accusation that they deliberately infected children with the HIV virus have been released and can leave the country, the BBC reported on 26 April, citing BTA. MS BULGARIAN EMIGRES GATHER IN SOFIA. More than 500 Bulgarian emigres from the West held a meeting with representatives of the government on 26 April to discuss ways of generating international support for Bulgaria's efforts to join the EU, AP reported. Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, who initiated the meeting, told the forum that before Bulgaria can join the EU it must solve the problem of "economic backwardness and low incomes." MS END NOTE SERBIA AFTER THE PROTEST By Patrick Moore The opposition has been congratulating itself on a successful mass demonstration. The question now is: where will Serbian politics go from here? The feuding leaders of Serbian's opposition--most notably the Serbian Renewal Movement's Vuk Draskovic and the Democratic Party's Zoran Djindjic--managed to bury their hatchets for at least a few hours on 14 April to stage one of the largest demonstrations Belgrade has seen. Estimates in the independent and private media ranged up to 200,000 participants. Shortly thereafter, the opposition began congratulating itself on a job well done, despite the fact that Draskovic was soon criticizing Djindjic in public, much to the delight of the regime media. For its part, the Belgrade independent daily "Danas" wrote of the "therapeutic effect" of the harmony that the opposition displayed at the rally. Germany's "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" went perhaps a step further and spoke of a "pre-revolutionary situation." The paper pointed to the results of recent polls to conclude that a large segment of the population supports the opposition. Some 46 percent of the respondents would back a joint opposition slate, while only 19 percent would choose the regime. At the rally, the paper added, the majority of the citizens showed that they were tired not only of the regime but also of the divisions within the opposition. The protesters' message to their leaders was clear: unite and provide the leadership to channel the growing frustration across the country. Whether the opposition will be willing and able to do so is anybody's guess. Your editor has the gut feeling that the long-term future (at any rate) belongs to the educated professionals of the G-17 group and the Alliance for Change. Djindjic, by contrast, may prove to be a spent force. There remains, moreover, often precious little substantive difference between Draskovic's people and those of the regime, especially where nationalism and anti-Westernism are concerned. One German diplomat commented to "RFE/RL Balkan Report" that the common link between Draskovic and the regime is anti-modernism, which vents itself as anti-Americanism. In any event, Draskovic knows well how to play upon the confusion and ignorance of many voters. Like Djindjic, he has every intention of becoming Serbia's next leader. The regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, for its part, still has teeth, although some observers feel that its behavior is increasingly that of a cornered animal. The wheels of repression continue to turn, and rarely do a day or two pass without news of one or another independent or private media outlet being hit with a stiff fine for violating the Kafkaesque 1998 media law. Similarly, Milan Protic and other opposition leaders face libel suits filed by Milosevic's followers. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj, the United Yugoslav Left's Mira Markovic, and their respective minions regularly slam the opposition as traitors and NATO's bootlickers. One would be inclined to laugh these hard- liners off as pathetic political dinosaurs--except for the fact that Serbia remains a country where political violence is not unknown. Just three days before the latest protest, independent journalists and human rights activists held several commemorative meetings in Belgrade to mark the first anniversary of the killing of publisher Slavko Curuvija. At the site of the murder, friends and colleagues of Curuvija unveiled a memorial plaque, which reads that he was "killed for his tough and critical words" against the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whom he had once supported. A friend of Curuvija's said at the meeting that the late journalist "was not killed; he was executed," "Vesti" reported. Seselj, true to form, called Curuvija a "criminal," "Danas" noted. The authorities have remained silent on the killing. Another unresolved mystery is the fire that swept some offices in Novi Sad on 6 April. These rooms were located on the upper floors of a modern office building. They just happened to house the editorial boards or bureaus of key independent media outlets: TV Duga, TV Melos, TV Montenegro, Radio 021, Radio Signal, and "Danas." The weekly "Vreme" recently concluded that unless the authorities produce a convincing explanation for the fire and do so soon, one may most likely assume that the MUP, or the Ministry of the Interior, knows more about the fire and its origins than it cares to admit. The question remains as to where things are headed in Serbia. Even if the opposition manages to maintain a healthy degree of unity and parlay popular discontent into a real citizens' movement, it is difficult to see where such a movement can go. But former General Momcilo Perisic has called for further demonstrations across Serbia to serve as a "referendum" on the opposition's demand for early elections. Under the present circumstances, one may not realistically expect that any elections could be free and fair. This is true both for the local vote that the regime wants in order to oust the opposition from their provincial strongholds, and for the general elections that the opposition seeks in order to "turn the rascals out." In the fall of 1998, several independent Serbian journalists participated in a roundtable at RFE/RL headquarters in Prague. Someone asked one of the Serbs what he thought the political landscape would look like in six months. The journalist replied that nobody in Serbia knows what the situation will be in six days, let alone in six months. Those words seem to ring as true now as they did then. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. 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For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Zsolt-Istvan Mato RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Thursday, April 27, 2000 4:50:53 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 83 Part I, 27 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2000 4:50:53 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 83 Part I, 27 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 83, Part I, 27 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * GOVERNMENT PRESSES DUMA TO PASS TAX CODE QUICKLY * TEN RUSSIAN TROOPS KILLED IN NEW CHECHEN AMBUSH * ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT BACKS AWAY FROM IMPEACHMENT END NOTE: COURTING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN KYIV xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA GOVERNMENT PRESSES DUMA TO PASS TAX CODE QUICKLY... "The Moscow Times" reported on 26 April that the government of President-elect Vladimir Putin is trying to rapidly push the second part of the Russian tax code through the lower legislative house. According to Interfax-AIF the previous day, the tax subcommittee of the State Duma's Budget Committee has started its examination of the second part of the code, having decided to suspend its months-long debate over amendments to the first part of the code. First Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov told reporters last week that his ministry hopes that the second part of the tax code is passed before deputies go on vacation in July. "This will allow us to prepare the budget for the year 2001 on the basis of the new tax system," he said. JAC ...AS DOUBTS EXPRESSED ABOUT LEGISLATION. The deputy chairwoman of the Duma's budget committee (People's Deputy), Oksana Dmitrieva, told Interfax that she doubts whether the Duma can substantially improve the tax code in its current form. She suggests that the number of taxes be substantially reduced or taxpayers will continue to experience "torture." Scott Antel, a tax attorney with Arthur Andersen, also expressed his doubts, telling "The Moscow Times" that "What frightens me most is [that] the government appears to be passing tax reform for the sake of showing the world that they are doing something and not for the sake of a good policy." In an interview with "Izvestiya" on 27 April, Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovskii praised the passage of the first part of the code but added that he is "surprised that the government is apparently out to return us to the Stone Age with its amendments" to the first part of the code. JAC TEN RUSSIAN TROOPS KILLED IN NEW CHECHEN AMBUSH. The first deputy chief of the Russian Army General Staff, Colonel- General Valerii Manilov, said on 27 April that at least 10 Russian troops were killed the previous day in an ambush near Serzhen-Yurt, southeast of Grozny, Reuters reported. Chechen sources claim that 20 Russians died in that attack, which was the second in four days (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). LF RUSSIAN OFFICIALS DISCOUNT RUMORS THAT CHECHEN PRESIDENT MAY SURRENDER. A spokesman for Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) refused on 26 April to comment on Russian media speculation that Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov may soon step down or surrender, Interfax reported. Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii and Ingush President Ruslan Aushev both dismissed such speculation as "absurd" and totally incompatible with Chechen psychology. Aushev further denied that Maskhadov has left Chechnya either for Ingushetia or elsewhere. But he said that there is disagreement within Maskhadov's entourage over whether "to fight to the last Chechen" or to try to reach a political settlement of the conflict. The Chechen website http://www.qoqaz.net reported on 26 April that Maskhadov has denied ordering a unilateral ceasefire (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000) and has issued orders to all Chechen fighters to step up their attacks on Russian troops. LF PUTIN ORDERS SALE OF TELECOM PROVIDER. President-elect Putin has ordered the sale of a 25 percent stake minus two shares of the national telecommunication holding company, Svyazinvest, Communications Minister Leonid Reiman announced on 26 April. According to Reiman, a tender for the stake will be held "in the foreseeable future," when shares could be sold for a better price than they would currently fetch, RIA- Novosti reported. According to "Segodnya" on 27 April, experts estimate that the 25 percent stake would now sell for only $800 million compared with the $1.9 billion that a 25 percent plus one share stake sold for in 1997. At the beginning of the month, Svyazinvest General-Director Valerii Yashin said that the company had only managed to recover from the 1998 financial crisis last year and that its first goal is to raise its capitalization. JAC RUSSIA DISPLAYS PART OF HITLER'S SKULL... An exhibit featuring a section of Adolf Hitler's skull opened in Moscow on 26 April. The body parts were retrieved from the site where Hitler, his mistress Eva Braun, and the Goebbels family were cremated, Interfax reported. Federal Archive Service head Vladimir Kozlov explained at the opening of the exhibition that Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and KGB head Yurii Andropov decided in 1970 to exhume Hitler's body from where it was buried in 1946 at an army compound in Magdeburg, Germany and cremate it. The cremation was carried out at night to avoid the attention of the local population. Also included in the display is part of the blood-splattered couch on which Hitler and Braun committed suicide, according to "The Independent." The exhibition is being held to mark the 55th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. JAC ...AS GERMAN, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS PREPARE FOR PARTIAL TROPHY SWAP. Meanwhile, the respective culture ministers for Germany and Russia, Michael Naumann and Mikhail Shvidkoi, and other officials will meet on 28-29 April to exchange valuable "war trophies" seized during World War II, dpa reported. Russia will return 101 paintings taken from the Bremen Art Museum and Germany will present an amber chest taken from the Amber Room of the Summer Palace outside of St. Petersburg. "Moskovskii komsomolets" reported on 27 April that the law on trophy art which the State Duma passed unanimously the previous day specifies a date by which a complete list should be published of all works of art that were taken to Russia after the war (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). JAC U.S. CONGRESSMAN PLEDGES COOPERATION ON MONEY-LAUNDERING FIGHT... Addressing a roundtable on money laundering in Moscow on 26 April, U.S. Representative James Leach (Republican) called on Russia and the U.S. to coordinate their efforts to combat money laundering, Interfax reported. Leach, who is chairman of the House Banking Committee, also promised that the U.S. Treasury will pass the data that it has compiled on money laundering in offshore zones to Russia. In response to criticism that the Bank of New York scandal in the U.S. had become highly politicized, Leach said to the contrary: in the U.S. the issue was primarily a legal one with only slight political overtones. JAC ...AS RUSSIAN BANKS COMPLAIN OF BLANKET DISCRIMINATION. At the same event, Sergei Yegorov, president of the Association of Russian Banks, complained that following the scandal the correspondent accounts of a majority of Russian banks on U.S. territory were closed. He suggested that the U.S. Federal Reserve System adopt a more varied approach to Russian banks by introducing a system of accreditation for Russian banks that would check their creditworthiness and exclude the possibility of money laundering, "Segodnya" reported on 27 April. Duma Deputy (Union of Rightist Forces) Irina Khakamada also complained that Russian businesses are now having to pay for the crime of one married couple by being shut out of the U.S. banking sector, "The Moscow Times" reported on 27 April. JAC RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PRAISES BUSH'S INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE. On an official visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met with U.S. Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush Jr. According to ITAR-TASS, Ivanov and Bush discussed prospects for economic cooperation and investment between Russia and the U.S. and a variety of arms control issues. Ivanov described the conversation as "frank" and "engaged," adding that he does not have "the smallest doubt" that Bush has a command of international issues. According to AP, Bush was accompanied at the meeting by his chief foreign policy adviser, Condolezza Rice, and former Defense Department Undersecretary Paul Wolfowitz. JAC RUSSIA CRITICIZES NEW U.S. SANCTIONS. Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 26 April questioning the U.S.'s decision to impose sanctions on Yuri Savelyev, Rector of the Baltic Technological University, for allegedly helping Iran develop a missile program (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). According to the ministry, the U.S. sanctions "go against the main principles of international law" and constitute "an obvious attempt to call into question the efficacy of measures already taken by Russian authorities against the rector," ITAR-TASS reported. According to the agency, Savelyev received a personal reprimand but none of his activities were found to require criminal or administrative punishment. JAC FURTHER DECLINE IN BLACK GOLD EXPORTS EXPECTED. Russia will be able to export only 60-80 metric tons of black caviar this year--one-third of the amount that it exported last year, State Fisheries Commission deputy head Vladimir Izmailov announced on 26 April. Russia's caviar production and exports have steadily declined in recent years. At the end of the third quarter last year, Russia had caught less than half of the amount of sturgeon compared to the previous year in part due to smaller fishing quotas in the Caspian Sea and widespread poaching (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 November 1999). JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT BACKS AWAY FROM IMPEACHMENT... Members of the Miasnutiun parliament majority faction on 26 April postponed a formal decision on proceeding with impeachment proceedings against President Robert Kocharian, AP and ITAR- TASS reported. Kayunutiun faction leader Vartan Aivazian told Reuters that parliament deputies want to meet with Kocharian to seek "a compromise." He did not elaborate. But deputies nonetheless circulated an unsigned document listing a dozen alleged offenses committed by the president and claiming that he was not eligible to run for the presidency in 1998, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. And 21st Century Party leader David Shahnazarian expressed support for Kocharian's impeachment, saying that his attempt to prevent Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian from testifying at parliament hearings of the 27 October shootings was "illegal" and a violation of the constitution, Snark reported. Representatives of three small parliamentary factions-- Orinats Yerkir, the Right and Accord bloc, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun--told RFE/RL that they will oppose any bid to impeach the president. LF ...AS PRESIDENT REJECTS MILITARY PROSECUTOR'S RESIGNATION. Kocharian on 26 April refused to accept Jahangirian's resignation, which the latter had submitted in protest at Kocharian's attempt to prevent him from testifying, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. But in a written statement, Kocharian again stressed that he considers the "politicization" of the investigation into the parliament shootings unacceptable. Also on 26 April, Prime Minister Aram Sargsian told journalists after meeting with Miasnutiun faction leaders that he believes Jahangirian acted correctly in submitting his resignation, although he hoped that the president would not accept it. LF ITERA RENEWS NORMAL GAS SUPPLIES TO ARMENIA. During talks in Moscow on 25-26 April, Armenian Energy Minister Davit Zadoyan and Igor Markov, president of the Gazprom subsidiary ITERA, reached agreement on restructuring Yerevan's debt to the company for supplies of natural gas, Interfax reported. Yerevan will pay $1 million of the $11 million it owes in hard currency before the end of April and the remainder no later than July, First Deputy Energy Minister Karen Galstian said on 25 April. ITERA on 26 April increased gas deliveries to Armenia which it had cut by half on 15 April. Zadoyan told Interfax that Yerevan does not believe there was any connection between the Armenian government exclusion of ITERA from a tender for privatization of four energy distribution networks and ITERA's subsequent threat to cut gas supplies to Armenia completely. He said ITERA could still participate in the tender in alliance with one of the four remaining companies. LF OSCE OFFICIAL INSPECTS GEORGIAN-CHECHEN BORDER. Helle Degn, who is president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, told journalists in Tbilisi on 26 April that she would like to see OSCE observers deployed on the Russian side of the border between Georgia and Chechnya, Caucasus Press reported. Degn had inspected that border the previous day. At present there are 12 OSCE observers deployed on the Georgian side of the border; their number is to be increased to 42 next month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). LF MORE SHOOTINGS IN ABKHAZIA. Three Abkhaz customs officials and a civilian were shot dead by unidentified attackers on 26 April in Abkhazia's Gali raion, Caucasus Press reported. Those deaths raise to at least 20 the number of people shot dead in southern Abkhazia since the beginning of this year. LF GEORGIAN WAGES, PENSIONS ARREARS SKYROCKET. Georgian parliamentary Budget Office chairman Roman Gotsiridze told members of the majority Union of Citizens of Georgia faction on 27 April that the government currently owes between 350- 400 million lari ($175-200 million) in unpaid wages and pensions, Caucasus Press reported. The pensions backlog alone has increased by 100 million lari since 1 January 2000 as a result of the budget revenue shortfall. Gotsiridze said it is "unrealistic" to burden the budget by paying salary and pension debts for last year. LF RUSSIA AGAIN UNDERSCORES INTERESTS IN CASPIAN... Addressing the opening session of the Eurasia-2000 Economic Forum in Almaty on 26 April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko warned that international projects to exploit Caspian oil and gas reserves "cannot be decided without the participation of Russia," Reuters reported. He added that it is natural that the interests of various states engaged in the Caspian should collide. On 21 April, Russian President- elect Vladimir Putin had similarly warned that Russia has failed adequately to protect its interests in the Caspian and intends to do so more aggressively in future (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). At a meeting the same day with Kazakh Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev, Khristenko discussed the possibilities for cooperation in the northern Caspian, which Russia and Kazakhstan agreed on dividing into national sectors in 1998. Khristenko also encouraged Kazakhstan to increase the amount of oil it exports via Russian pipelines. LF ...AS KAZAKHSTAN CALLS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION, WESTERN INVESTMENT. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev told the opening session of the Eurasia-2000 Forum that the states of Central Asia must consolidate their independence and emerging economies and strive for greater regional cooperation, according to Interfax. Nazarbaev said the TRACECA program constitutes a basis for integration and increased international investment in the region. He called on the UN and OSCE to do more to end the war in Afghanistan, which he termed "the biggest stability problem on the Eurasian continent." LF KAZAKHSTAN, CHINA RESOLVE OIL REFINERY DISPUTE. China and Kazakhstan have resolved "misunderstandings" that arose after the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) acquired a 60 percent stake in Kazakhstan's Aqtobemunaigaz oil production company in 1997, Interfax reported on 26 April. Some 2,000 Kazakh employees of that company who were dismissed a year ago and had still not received their due compensation had appealed to President Nazarbaev two months ago to annul the contract with the CNPC (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 March 2000). LF END NOTE COURTING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN KYIV By Jan Maksymiuk Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma scored several impressive political victories in the past two weeks. The major one was of course the overwhelming approval of all four questions in the 16 April constitutional referendum, which is widely expected to give him considerable additional levers of control over the parliament as soon as the will of the people is reflected in appropriate constitutional amendments. However, the two high-level visits to Kyiv shortly before and after the referendum--one by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on 14 April and another of Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 18 April--turned out to be no lesser successes for the Ukrainian leader than the plebiscite. Albright moved up her trip to Kyiv, which had been originally planned for 20-21 April, thus giving rise to much speculation in Ukrainian and Russian media that she wanted to be in Kyiv before Putin in order to prevent Kuchma from making too many concessions to the Kremlin's energetic ruler. In particular, those media suggested that Albright would persuade Kuchma to stop paying the Russian gas debt with strategic bombers and cruise missiles. Also, Albright reportedly informed Kuchma about Washington's concern that he continue the course of reform and keep reformist Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko in office as long as possible. In exchange for Kuchma's agreement, Albright reportedly pledged U.S. massive political and financial support to Kyiv. Albright did not spare praise for Kuchma and his renewed pledges to put Ukraine on a reform path. "I was very impressed by President Kuchma's dedication to this [reform] process and his desire to move the reform process forward, and by the work the prime minister is undertaking," she told journalists. Ukraine is expected to receive $219 million in U.S. aid this year. Albright also said she was "heartened" when Kuchma reaffirmed his intention to close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant this year. And she expressed support for the constitutional referendum, which is, however, regarded by the Council of Europe as dangerous to Ukraine's fledgling democracy. There was no mention, at least in official pronouncements, of what is believed to be a thorn in U.S.- Ukrainian relations--namely, Ukraine's pervasive corruption that hinders both the Ukrainian government and U.S. investors in promoting market reforms and generating economic growth in the country. Ukraine's National Bank has recently been checked by international auditors in connection with the charges of misusing IMF loans. Some commentators concluded that the audit, whose results are purportedly known to Washington, is not expected to do much damage to Kyiv. On the other hand, Putin's visit promised a lot of unpleasant moments for Kuchma. In contrast to lumpish and jovial Yeltsin, who was guided primarily by Moscow's Soviet- era patronage in "no neckties" contacts with his "younger brother" from Kyiv, Putin is believed to be a cold pragmatist. Ukraine's gigantic gas debt to Russia was to be the main topic of the Kuchma-Putin talks in Kyiv. Some Russian and Ukrainian left-wing politicians expected that Putin would use economic leverage to persuade Kuchma into making some steps toward to the "Slavic" union of Russian and Belarus. However, Putin's visit turned out to be a reconnoitering rather than an attack. Officially it was said that both leaders discussed a variety of important bilateral issues, but no decision was taken and no document was signed. Putin's sharpest pronouncement with regard to Kyiv was at a news conference in Sevastopol, when he noted that Russia and Ukraine "should quit barter in mutual settlements and increase payments in cash to one another." To which Kuchma duly responded that "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow" he will see to this problem. Some Russian media speculated that Putin reiterated to Kuchma Russia's former demands that Ukraine pay its gas debt with shares in privatized companies. But others suggested that this plan has already been dropped because of Kyiv's strong objection. A special bilateral commission has to work out a mutually acceptable solution to the Ukrainian gas debt dilemma by the end of May. In other words, one more time Kuchma has demonstrated his unshakable position as the leader of a geostrategically important country that permanently balances on the verge of economic collapse but nevertheless successfully maneuvers its political course through the conflicting interests of Washington and Moscow. Taking into account the latest outburst of popular love for and confidence in the president during Ukraine's constitutional referendum, Kuchma may be said to be one of the most successful politicians on the post-Soviet territory. Will he ever be held accountable for Ukraine's disastrous economic performance? At present such a development does not seem too likely. The first thing Kuchma did after the visits of Albright and Putin was to harshly criticize Viktor Yushchenko's government for a slow reform pace. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Zsolt-Istvan Mato RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Friday, April 28, 2000 6:10:05 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 84 Part I, 28 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 6:10:05 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 84 Part I, 28 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 84, Part I, 28 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * U.S., RUSSIA REMAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER ABM * SPLIT IN COMMUNIST RANKS PREDICTED * TAJIK PRESIDENT DECLARES WAR ON CRIME xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA U.S., RUSSIA REMAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER ABM... After meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on 27 April, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told reporters that Russia continues to see the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty as the cornerstone of strategic stability in the world, Reuters reported. During his trip, Ivanov proposed as an alternative to modifying the ABM treaty that the U.S. install a system of missiles with a shorter range than those outlined in the U.S.'s plan for a National Missile Defense. In addition, he suggested that the two countries act together to reduce rogue states' access to technology, applying diplomatic and political pressure. However, Albright called Ivanov's proposed alternative insufficient because it would not adequately address the threat emerging from countries far from U.S. territory such as North Korea and Iran. Ivanov also said on 27 April that both Russia and the U.S. "are firmly intending to do everything they can to ensure the Moscow summit is a major event in Russian-American relations." JAC ...AS SUMMIT PLANS MOVE FORWARD. U.S. President Bill Clinton will visit Moscow on 4 and 5 June. Ivan Safranchuk of the Center for Policy Studies told "The Moscow Times" on 27 April that Clinton and President-elect Vladimir Putin could sign a memorandum at the summit modifying the ABM Treaty if the U.S. agrees to deep START III cuts, as Moscow has proposed, and pledges not to expand its National Missile Defense once it is deployed. However, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (Republican) declared that "any modified ABM Treaty" will be "dead on arrival" at his committee. Also on 27 April, Condolezza Rice, the foreign policy advisor for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush Jr., said that Russia should have little influence over the type of defense system that the U.S. builds. Bush said earlier that he would also try to renegotiate the treaty but that the U.S. would withdraw "after a reasonable amount of time." JAC SPLIT IN COMMUNIST RANKS PREDICTED... "Vremya Novostei" reported on 27 April that an inaugural congress of a new political association called the Union of Peoples of Russia will take place in the near future. A number of well known members of the Communist Party, such as State Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev, former First Deputy Prime Minister Yurii Maslyukov, and Communist Duma deputies Nikolai Ryzhkov and Anatolii Lukyanov are reportedly prepared to join the new grouping in part because of their dissatisfaction with the performance of Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov. Seleznev told ITAR-TASS on 26 April that he is ready to head the new movement but he does not believe that it should become an alternative to the Communist Party. He added that members of the Communist Party are free to join the new movement. Lukyanov, on the other hand, said he knows nothing about the upcoming congress and that rumors of such are "an attempt to discredit the Communists." JAC ...AS LACK OF OPPOSITION TO REGIME DEEMED DANGEROUS. In an interview with "Trud" on 28 April, Sergei Karaganov of the Institute of Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences argues that the Communist Party as an opposition movement has weakened considerably. He suggests that it is effective neither from an organizational point of view nor from an ideological point of view: It has fewer seats in the Duma than previously and it's "has lost its customary passion." Karaganov concludes that the lack of an effective opposition to the current government is dangerous because Putin "will be too free" without an opposition or free press and with a "demoralized political elite, an easily controllable parliament, and a weak civil society." He predicts that the "regime will grow even more unpredictable and authoritarian, and even less effective." JAC RUSSIAN GENERAL SLAMS UN RESOLUTION ON CHECHNYA. Russia's first deputy chief of the Army General Staff, Colonel-General Valerii Manilov, told journalists in Moscow on 27 April that the resolution adopted two days earlier by the UN Human Rights Commission condemning the "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of Russian military force" in Chechnya is "anti-Russian," Interfax reported. Manilov said that the military campaign in Chechnya will continue "until normal conditions are established for Russian citizens on Chechen territory." The Russian Foreign Ministry had issued a statement on 26 April condemning the resolution as "dictated exclusively by political considerations" and "formulated in the best traditions of the Cold War," according to dpa. Deputy Premier Sergei Shoigu termed it a "distressing" manifestation of "double standards," Interfax reported. LF ADVISOR RECOMMENDS PENSION REFORM CHILEAN STYLE. Presidential advisor Andrei Illarionov told reporters on 27 April that one of Russia's top economic priorities must be a thorough reform of the pension system. According to Illarionov, Russia spends nearly 8 percent of its GDP on pensions and this is "a heavy burden for the federal budget." Illarionov proposed that Chile can provide a model for reforming Russia's pension system. The chief architect of the Chilean reform, Jose Pinera, head of the International Center for Pension Reform, told journalists at the same news conference that the chief obstacle for implementing a Chilean style reform in Russia is employers' lack of trust of the domestic financial system. Pinera added that a dictatorship such as that which existed under former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet is not a necessary ingredient and that "reforms can take place under democratic rule. What is important is the leadership and the right ideas." JAC GAS PRICES SET TO RISE. Domestic prices for natural gas will increase in Russia on 1 May, rising some 20 percent for industrial customers, 40 percent for power stations, and 15 percent for households, Mezhregiongaz head Valentin Nikishin announced on 26 April. The Federal Energy Commission passed an earlier decision to raise gas prices 21 percent on average, which is 14 percent less than Gazprom had requested, ITAR-TASS reported. Gazprom executives claim that they need higher prices in part so that they can spend more on exploration and development of new gas fields. JAC JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER DEPARTS FOR INFORMAL SUMMIT. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori flew to St. Petersburg on 28 April for an informal summit with President-elect Putin the next day. Before his departure, Mori promised that Japan would continue to provide untied loans to assist the Russian government's reform efforts. Mori also said that he is prepared for "close cooperation with [President-elect] Putin in concluding a peace treaty" and that the lack of a peace treaty between the two countries is "strange." However, unidentified Russian officials preparing for Mori's visit told Interfax that a peace agreement will not be a major focus of talks because the format of Mori's visit "does not envision the discussion of such a serious problem." According to Putin's deputy chief of staff, Sergei Prikhodko, Mori and Putin will also discuss preparation for the July Group of Seven plus Russia summit in Okinawa and making "bilateral contracts more intensive, particularly in the energy sector." JAC RUSSIAN TANKER TO LEAVE GULF. Oman has granted the Russian tanker "Akademik Pustovoit" permission to leave its territorial waters after its oil has been pumped into another tanker, Interfax reported on 27 April. The tanker had been detained early in the month by U.S. patrol ships on suspicion of involvement in smuggling Iraqi oil (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). The tanker's captain, Anatolii Timochenko, said that the ship will leave the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, government newspaper "Rossiiskaya gazeta" reported on 27 April that the Russian navy will send a group of battleships to the Mediterranean for the first time in four years. According to the newspaper, a similar unit of attack forces would be "desirable" in the gulf as well but the navy keeps bumping up against financial problems. JAC LARGE PRISONER AMNESTY PROPOSED. Former Justice Minister and State Duma Legislation Committee Chairman (Union of Rightist Forces) Pavel Krasheninnikov has submitted a bill to the Duma that would extend amnesty to prisoners who have committed minor offenses, "Trud" reported on 28 April. According to Krasheninnikov, the bill, which will be considered by the Duma on 17 May, would grant amnesty to some 100-120,000 people. The newspaper notes that in addition to alleviating crowding in Russia's prisons, another reason for the amnesty is traditional: a new ruler customarily starts his period in office by pardoning some lawbreakers. According to RFE/RL's Moscow bureau, the average inmate in Russia's jails has a living space smaller than the size of a coffin--about 60 square centimeters. Prisoners take turns lying or sitting on bunks. The overcrowding has helped fuel a tuberculosis epidemic affecting every tenth prisoner in Russia. JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH PARLIAMENT FACTIONS. Robert Kocharian met on 27 April with members of the Kayunutiun parliament faction to discuss the deteriorating political situation, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau. Kayunutiun is closely aligned with the majority Miasnutiun bloc that on 25 April had considered demanding Kocharian's impeachment. Kocharian expressed his concern at the parliament's 25 April vote to halt the tender for privatization of four energy-distribution networks. Also on 27 April, Hrant Voskanian, who heads the Communist Party of Armenia (CPA) parliamentary faction, told Noyan Tapan that Kocharian had met the previous day with CPA members to discuss their proposed amendments to the constitution, which he rejects, and the possibility of holding a nationwide referendum on Armenia's accession to the Union of Belarus and Russia (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 16, 21 April 2000). LF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER PROPOSES NEW GOVERNMENT. Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 27 April, National Democratic Union chairman Vazgen Manukian warned that a definitive victory by either side in the ongoing power struggle between the president and the parliament majority aligned with Prime Minister Aram Sargsian would only compound the difficulties Armenia currently faces, Noyan Tapan reported. Manukian advocated creating a new government with broader powers that would enjoy the trust of both those players. Then, Manukian said, a new constitution should be adopted as a prelude to the holding of pre-term parliamentary and presidential elections, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He further warned that uncertainty whether Armenia's primary foreign policy orientation should be pro-Western or focused on eventual accession to the Union of Belarus and Russia aggravates internal political tensions. LF RUSSIAN TROOPS TO RELOCATE FROM GEORGIA TO ARMENIA? Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian, who traveled to Moscow on 27 April with Prime Minister Sargsian, will discuss with his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, the logistics of relocating to Armenia the Russian forces to be withdrawn from Russia's four military bases in Georgia, Caucasus Press reported on 27 April quoting an unnamed Russian Defense Ministry official. On 26 April, "Kommersant-Daily" published what it claims is the full text of a secret protocol signed after the Russian-Georgian talks in Moscow on 20-21 April at which agreement was reached on the Russian withdrawal from Georgia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). LF IMPRISONED KARABAKH JOURNALIST RELEASED. Vahram Aghajanian, a journalist with the opposition newspaper "Tasnerord nahang," was released on 27 April and his sentence suspended for two years, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. Aghajanian was sentenced on 12 April to one year of jail on charges of slandering the prime minister of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Anushavan Danielian, in an article he published last November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). LF BAKU MAYOR BANS AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION DEMO. A spokesman for the Baku Municipal Council told Turan on 27 April that the rally which opposition parties plan to hold on 29 April on the city's Fizuli Square is "inexpedient." The 10 opposition parties aligned in the Democratic Congress decided on 26 April to hold the demonstration at that location after refusing an offer by the Baku city authorities to convene at a motorcycle racetrack on the city's outskirts. The protesters will demand amendments to the election law to ensure that the parliamentary poll scheduled for November 2000 is truly free and democratic. LF NATO OFFICIAL SAYS GEORGIA MAY EVENTUALLY JOIN ALLIANCE. Italian Admiral Guido Venturoni, who is chairman of NATO's Military Committee, said after talks in Tbilisi on 27 April with President Eduard Shevardnadze that Georgia has good prospects of eventually joining the alliance, according to AP. But he implicitly called into question Shevardnadze's prognosis that Georgia "will knock on NATO's door" in 2005, noting that Georgia's accession will be a "long, drawn out" and "step-by-step" process. On 26 April, Venturoni discussed with Georgian Defense Minister David Tevzadze Georgia's ongoing participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program. U.S., Georgian, Azerbaijani, and possibly also Armenian forces will participate in maneuvers to be held in Georgia later this year within the framework of that program, ITAR-TASS quoted Tevzadze as saying. LF GEORGIA, RUSSIA AGREE TO RESCHEDULE GAS DEBTS. During talks in Moscow on 27 April, Georgian Deputy Minister of State Vano Chkhartishvili and Fuel and Energy Minister David Mirtskhulava agreed that by 5 May Tbilisi will pay the Gazprom subsidiary ITERA part of its outstanding $70 million debt for gas supplies, Interfax and Caucasus Press reported. Tbilisi will also draw up a schedule for meeting remaining repayments. ITERA cut deliveries to Georgia by half on 15 April. ITERA agreed to resume gas supplies to Tbilisi in May, but supplies to other areas of Georgia will be resumed only after consumers repay their debts. The two sides also agreed to establish a joint working group to discuss ITERA's participation in the privatization of Georgia's gas distribution network. LF KAZAKHSTAN SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS DISCUSS TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told the Eurasia-2000 summit in Almaty on 27 April that the TRACECA transportation network should be expanded to include a north- south transportation link running through Russian territory, Caucasus Press reported. A Russian scholar had recently called for making the route though the Caucasus the hub of any new Eurasian transport system (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 10, 10 March 2000). Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko, for his part, said that a single Eurasian transport system should include an east-west route from China across the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Poland to Germany, according to Interfax. Khristenko also pushed for a single investment system within the CIS in order to strengthen stability and economic development. LF IRAN WARNS AGAINST CONFRONTATION IN CASPIAN... Addressing the Eurasia-2000 forum in Almaty on 27 April, Iranian Vice President Hasan Habibi warned that competition for influence in the Caspian region, in particular by the U.S., could compound instability in the area, Reuters and AFP reported. Habibi said conflicts in the Caucasus and the war in Afghanistan pose a threat to regional security. He also called for a speedy decision on defining the legal status of the Caspian Sea, but stressed that that decision must be taken by the five Caspian littoral states. He said Iran does not support the agreement reached in 1998 between Russia and Kazakhstan delimiting their respective sectors of the northern Caspian. But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Khristenko told journalists after talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev on the sidelines of the summit that Moscow welcomes Kazakhstan's offer to revise that delimitation agreement, according to Interfax. LF ...BIDS FOR OIL EXPORT ROLE. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Hossein Adeli told the Eurasia-2000 forum on 28 April that the choice of export routes for Caspian hydrocarbons should not be constrained by political factors, Reuters reported. He argued that a pipeline running south from Kazakhstan through Iran to the Persian Gulf "is the cheapest, shortest, most economically viable way to take 1.8 million barrels per day of oil over 1,500 km." He estimated the cost of construction of such a pipeline at $1.2 billion, less than half the estimated cost of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline which the U.S. and Turkey support. Some analysts say a firm commitment by Kazakhstan to export some oil via the Baku- Ceyhan pipeline is needed for that project to be economically viable, but a Kazakh oil sector official said earlier this month that Kazakhstan is unlikely to produce enough oil to require access to that pipeline before 2008 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). LF IS KAZAKHSTAN'S NEW CAPITAL A POTEMKIN VILLAGE? Deputy Premier Danial Akhmetov told a cabinet session on 27 April that the majority of the buildings in the new capital, Astana, including some constructed by international companies, are of such low quality that they do not meet international standards, RFE/RL's Almaty bureau reported. He ordered the State Construction Committee and State Standards Commission to review the situation and identify international companies that do not have the requisite licenses. Western visitors to Astana have termed it a "Potemkin village." LF KYRGYZSTAN REGISTERS MINIMAL FIRST QUARTER GDP GROWTH. Deputy Finance Minister Kubat Kanimetov told a cabinet session in Bishkek on 27 April that GDP grew by only 1 percent during the first three months of 2000 compared with the same period in 1999, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Agricultural production rose by 3.6 percent and the volume of construction by 10.8 percent, according to Interfax, but industrial output during the first quarter declined by 4.5 percent, and foreign trade turnover at $221 million was down 7 percent on the 1999 figure. GDP growth for 1999 as a whole was 3 percent (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January 2000). LF TAJIK PRESIDENT DECLARES WAR ON CRIME. In an "emotional" address to the first joint session of both chambers of the newly-elected Tajik parliament on 27 April, Imomali Rakhmonov vowed to "declare war" on crime and drug smuggling, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Referring to the anti-crime campaign launched earlier this month, he said a new decree will be issued banning the wearing of camouflage uniforms and carrying weapons except by military personnel on duty. He also announced that the government will soon draft a national military doctrine. Rakhmonov specifically lauded the contribution of the National Reconciliation Commission and its chairman, Said Abdullo Nuri, to the peace process. Rakhmonov singled out industrial development and market reform as crucial for the country's economic development, noting the need to appoint qualified specialists to implement those reforms. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2000 4:52:17 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 83, Part II, 27 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 83, Part II, 27 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * UKRAINE TO SET CHORNOBYL CLOSURE AFTER TALKS * RUSSIAN, CHINESE UN OFFICIALS MEET MILOSEVIC * DRASKOVIC TO SUE OVER ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION END NOTE: COURTING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN KYIV xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN MARCHES: ONE PEACEFUL, ONE NOT. More than 10,000 people marched from Minsk's center toward Bangalore Square without incident on 26 April to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Chornobyl accident, ITAR-TASS reported. Some of the demonstrators carried placards calling for Belarusian independence and opposing union with Russia. Meanwhile, Belarusian police broke up a small demonstration staged by the Belarus Conservative Christian Party at Yakub Kolos Square, dpa reported. Four participants were reportedly beaten and one was arrested. PG LUKASHENKA LASHES OUT AT DEMONSTRATORS... Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka said on 26 April that the opposition march in Minsk "will be reduced to chanting 'Belarus in Europe without Luka!' That is the only slogan they carry in the street," Reuters reported. Speaking at a helicopter pad in southern Belarus, he added that the demonstrators will assemble "after snacks and a substantial drink and having received Western help--for this money they will march in crowds." PG ...HOPES TO RESETTLE CHORNOBYL-HIT AREAS. During his visit to southern Belarus, Lukashenka announced that he wants to set up a resettlement area in radiation-contaminated areas and that he will give automatic Belarusian citizenship "within one week" to anyone from a Commonwealth of Independent States country who settles there, dpa reported on 26 April. In other comments, Lukashenka noted that he keeps the distribution of the $150 million annual fund for victims of Chornobyl under his personal control, ITAR-TASS reported. He further said that Minsk stands ready to offer its experience and expertise to any place that might suffer a nuclear accident in the future. PG UKRAINE TO SET CHORNOBYL CLOSURE AFTER TALKS. On the 14th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said that "it is too early yet to give the exact date" for the final closure of the plant, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 April. And Environment and Natural Resources Minister Ivan Zayets said that "it will be very, very hard for Ukraine to close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant without proper funding, including from abroad." But Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko said that a closure date will be announced after consultations with Western donor countries are completed. Kyiv currently estimates the damage from the accident at $140 billion; so far, it has received only $5 billion in domestic and foreign funds to handle the cleanup and health problems. PG KUCHMA PLEDGES TO RESOLVE GAS DEBT PROBLEM. President Leonid Kuchma said on 26 April that he will meet with Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 3 May in Prokhorovka in Russia's Belgorod region to try to resolve Ukraine's gas debt to Russia. "In May, we need to solve the problem of our gas debts," he said, adding that "we at least need to know how much Ukraine owes Russia for gas, because even I receive different figures every day." PG EXPERTS URGE BAN ON MISSILE TESTS NEAR POPULATED AREAS. A group of non-government experts appealed to the Ukrainian government to ban the testing of any missiles near nuclear and other power stations, large bodies of water, and major cities, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 April. The appeal came after a missile veered off course last week and killed three people while wounding five others in a Kyiv suburb. PG REACTIONS TO ESTONIAN CENTRAL BANKER QUITTING. Politicians reacted with surprise at the decision by central bank governor-elect Vello Vensel on 26 April to not assume the post just days before he was due to take over. Bank spokeswoman Kaja Kell said they had no information to give, adding that "officials of that magnitude cannot say that their health is their personal business," ETA reported. Vensel earlier cited health concerns as the reason of not taking the post (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). Kell called the news "amazing and sudden," saying that the bank has received inquiries from foreign investors concerned about possible problems. Members of the bank's governing board said that acting-Governor Peter Lohmus could be elected to the post, while outgoing Governor Vahur Kraft has also expressed an interest in staying, "Eesti Paevaleht" reported. Finance Minister Siim Kallas blamed the governing board for selecting an unfit candidate, "Postimees" added. MH DRAFT OF LATVIAN GOVERNMENT DECLARATION REVEALED. An early draft in the new Latvian coalition's declaration stresses the need to create an information society in Latvia, the preservation of national identity, and the need to make Latvia commercially competitive in the world, LETA reported on 26 April. The draft document, which is being circulated between the four potential coalition partners, also discusses the need to modernize the constitution, especially in light of joining the EU. The draft also placed heavy emphasis on combating crime and corruption, including the creation of a powerful vice squad. The declaration predicts GDP growth of 5-7 percent starting in 2001, adding that the budget deficit will not exceed 2 percent this year and 1 percent in 2001. Consultations on forming the new cabinet under Premier-designate Andris Berzins will continue through the weekend, as well as negotiations on a final government declaration. MH LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT AGAINST MOVING DEFENSE FUNDS TO EDUCATION. The government on 26 April decided not to support an amendment on redistributing defense funding to education, which was initiated in a public petition, ELTA reported. The bill, championed by the head of the New Alliance (Social Liberals), Arturas Paulauskas, called for diverting about 148 million litas ($37 million) from defense spending in this year's budget to education. Paulauskas managed to collect all the needed signatures in a public petition drive confirmed in early April (see "RFE/RL Baltic States Report," 3 April 2000). The government explained the rejection due to its "negative aftermath" on long-term security, adding that the education sector receives over 6 percent of GDP compared to defense, which gets less than 2 percent. The bill will go to the parliament for debate in May. MH POLISH SENATE REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO EUROPE. By a vote of 80 to 0, with one abstention, the Polish Senate on 26 April passed a resolution reaffirming the country's commitment to "a Europe of sovereign and equal states, open, universal, and based on solidarity," AP reported. The vote came on the 1,000th anniversary of the Gniezno Congress, a meeting that declared the existence of Polish statehood, and two days before Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek will host regional leaders at Gniezno on the 10th anniversary of the collapse of communism. PG EU NEGOTIATOR GIVES POLAND 'POSITIVE' MARKS. Eneko Landaburu, the chief enlargement negotiator for the European Union, said in Warsaw on 26 April that he is pleased with Poland's efforts to bring its laws into line with EU standards, Reuters reported. "On the question of negotiations, the scorecard is positive," Landaburu said in his first official visit to an EU candidate country. Francoise Gaudenzi, the EU official responsible for Poland, said that "we have seen a speeding up of legislative activity which pleases us very much." Earlier this week, the parties in the Polish cabinet reached an agreement to move more quickly and in a unified way toward EU membership. PG POLISH GOVERNMENT REMAINS UNPOPULAR. A new poll by Demoskop found that 66 percent of Polish voters do not support the government coalition in Warsaw, a slight improvement from last month's record 74 percent disapproval, Reuters reported on 26 April. Some 30 percent of voters said they approve of the work of Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, up from 25 percent in March, with 70 percent of respondents saying they support President Aleksander Kwasniewski. PG CZECH REPUBLIC DOES NOT SUPPORT RUSSIA'S EXPULSION FROM CE. Foreign Minister Jan Kavan told the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on 26 April that Prague will not support the proposal to expel Russia from the Council of Europe over human rights violations in Chechnya. The daily "Hospodarske noviny" on 27 April says Kavan told the committee that Russia's isolation could foster "even more radical policies" being pursued by Moscow. Kavan said that the Czech position must not be viewed as "a policy of concessions, but an effort to reach a dialogue. We must sharply criticize Russia...but this makes sense only if the criticized side is present," he said. MS FORMER CZECH PREMIER 'CANNOT REMEMBER' DETAILS OF FINANCING SCANDAL. Testifying on 26 April in the trial of former Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Deputy Chairman Libor Novak, ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus said he "does not remember any details" concerning illegal party donations made in 1996. Novak is suspected of having registered the donations under fictitious names to avoid paying taxes. Klaus said he cannot remember from whom and how he learned about the donations having been falsified and that he discussed with the ODS leadership only the media impact of the affair and not the problem of avoiding taxation, "which did not occur to us in this context." Also on 26 April, President Vaclav Havel told journalists he does not intend to stop Novak's trial by granting him a pardon, as suggested by ODS Senator Jiri Vyvadil. MS HAVEL APPROVES NEW MINISTERS. President Havel on 26 April appointed Petr Lachnit as Local Development Minster and Jaromir Schling as Transportation Minster, after dismissing--at the request of Premier Milos Zeman--Jaromir Cisar and Antonin Peltram, respectively, from those positions, CTK reported. He told journalists that "whether justified or not, a suspicion is in the air that these changes were carried out in exchange for [ODS] support for the budget, and this is not good." For his part, Zeman dismissed the suspicion, saying the cabinet changes were not carried out as a result of ODS pressure. He said if he had given in to that pressure, he would have had to dismiss First Deputy Premier and Finance Minster Pavel Mertlik and Trade and Industry Minster Miroslav Gregr. MS FOUR-PARTY ALLIANCE TO RUN ON JOINT LISTS FOR CZECH SENATE ELECTIONS. The four-party alliance comprising the Christian Democratic Movement (KDU-CSL), the Freedom Union, the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), and the Democratic Union (DEU) on 26 April officially announced that it will run on joint lists for senate elections scheduled for later this year. Twenty-seven out of the Senate's 81 seats will be contested and the alliance agreed that the KDU-CSL will nominate 11 candidates, the Freedom Union 13, and the ODA and the DEU one each. One place on the joint lists will be slotted for university professor and former ODA Senator Josef Jarab, who will represent the Impulse 99 civic movement. MS CZECH GOVERNMENT ALLOTS FUNDS TO COMPENSATE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS. The government on 26 April allocated 300 million crowns ($7.5 million) for the Foundation Fund, which was set up by the Czech Federation of Jewish Communities to compensate Holocaust victims, CTK reported. The money allotted to the fund will be used to compensate people whose property was not returned under existing legislation. This legislation deals with restitution to people who lost property after the 25 February 1948 communist takeover, but does not address the loss of property under Nazi occupation between September 1938 and 8 May 1945. MS SLOVAK GOVERNMENT DEFENDS INTERIOR MINISTER. In a statement issued ahead of the 27 April vote in the parliament on Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner's possible removal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000), the cabinet on 26 April said it considers the no-confidence vote in Pittner "unfounded," Reuters reported. It said that force would have "certainly not been used" against former Prime Minster Vladimir Meciar if he "had accepted a police summons and voluntarily turned up for questioning." Also on 26 April, chief police investigator Jaroslav Ivor told CTK that Meciar may be charged with perjury in connection with his refusal to testify on the abduction of former President Michal Kovac's son. Ivor said that perjury is committed not only by those who give false evidence, but also by those who deliberately withhold information. He said the law allowed witnesses to refrain from testifying only if this would damage them or family members. MS SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE RUSSIAN, CHINESE UN OFFICIALS MEET MILOSEVIC. Russian Ambassador to the UN Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Deputy Ambassador Shen Guofeng met Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade on 26 April. The Serbian leader told his visitors that the UN civilian administration's (UNMIK) "project on alleged elections in [Kosova] before a political solution is achieved...is only a transparent attempt to legalize crimes committed by NATO and Albanian terrorist gangs," Reuters reported. Milosevic charged that KFOR and UNMIK are to blame for the "unbearable situation in the province and ethnic cleansing" of Serbs and other non-Albanians. The two ambassadors' visit comes on the eve of a trip to Kosova by an eight-member team from the Security Council, which will tour key cities and towns as well as meet with prominent individuals in the province. PM MIXED REACTIONS TO BELGRADE SLAYING. Serbian Justice Minister Dragoljub Jankovic said in Belgrade on 26 April that the slaying of Yugoslav Airlines Director Zika Petrovic "is obviously a specific kind of state terror imported from abroad. I think it is a perfidious attempt to destabilize the present authorities and topple this state," the "Financial Times" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 April 2000). But Dragan Covic of the Democratic Alternative called for the resignation of Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic. Covic said that "it is absurd that there have never been more policemen in Serbia and never so little security." The New Democracy party said in a statement that "there are 120,000 policemen in Serbia who are guarding 120 ruling politicians and their undemocratic regime. The lives of the other 9 million Serbs are not worth a penny," AP reported. PM DRASKOVIC TO SUE OVER ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION. Officials of Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement said in Belgrade on 26 April that they will launch legal proceedings against several top officials whom they charge with obstructing the investigation of a fatal car accident involving Draskovic last October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 October 1999). The officials specifically mentioned Belgrade prosecutor Andrija Milutinovic and customs chief Mihalj Kertes. They charged Kertes, who is a close ally of Milosevic, with concealing the identity of the person who imported the truck that killed four of Draskovic's companions in the accident. Draskovic has charged that the accident was an attempt by the regime to assassinate him. PM TRAP FOR 'SERBIAN ROBIN HOOD'? Relatives and political supporters of Bogoljub "Maki" Arsenijevic said that they fear that the Serbian Supreme Court's recent decision to drop charges against him is a trick to entice the flamboyant painter to leave his refuge in the Republika Srpska and come home, "Vesti" reported on 27 April. Maki led violent anti-government protests in Valjevo in 1999 for which he was imprisoned (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2000). His escape to Bosnia in March captured public imagination, prompting the independent weekly "Vreme" of 18 March to dub him the "Serbian Robin Hood." PM EAGLEBURGER: MILOSEVIC WON'T TEMPT FATE IN MONTENEGRO. Former U.S. Secretary of State and Ambassador to Yugoslavia Lawrence Eagleburger told RFE/RL on 26 April that he doubts that Milosevic will start a war in Montenegro because he knows that Western countries are opposed to that. He added, however, that he does not think that recent political changes in Croatia will have any significant impact on political developments in Serbia or Bosnia. PM BAJUK FALLS SHORT AGAIN IN SECOND SLOVENIAN VOTE. Andrej Bajuk, who is the center-right candidate to become prime minister, received 43 out of 90 possible votes in the Slovenian parliament on 26 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000). Since he fell short of the necessary 46-vote minimum, the parliament will meet on 28 April to decide whether to hold a third vote, which requires only a simple majority. Franc Zagozen, who heads the coalition that nominated Bajuk, said that they will put the economist's name forward for a third time. Reuters reported from Ljubljana, however, that the legislators will most likely decide to call new elections rather than take a third vote. President Milan Kucan has said that new elections are necessary to ensure the formation of a credible government. He stresses that it is not possible to put together a broadly-based government in the current parliament. PM CROATIAN BANK CHIEFS QUIT. Marko Skreb, who is governor of the National Bank, and the seven members of the bank's governing council, submitted their resignations to the parliament on 26 April. Skreb has been under pressure to resign for some time. The resignations came in the wake of recent criticism in the parliament of how the bank functions, "Jutarnji list" reported. Critics have charged that Skreb, who until recently was a member of late President Franjo Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), took too long to investigate a series of bank failures. Many Croats believe that bad loans to HDZ loyalists lie at the root of most of the bank failures. PM CROATIAN AUTHORITIES MOVE AGAINST ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION. On 26 April, a government demolition squad destroyed a seven-story apartment building under construction in Zagreb. Some 525 buildings are slated to be pulled down because they were built without permits or are unsafe, AP reported. PM BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY PICKS PRIME MINISTER. The three-member joint presidency elected former Bosnian Serb Deputy Prime Minister Tihomir Gligoric to head the new, expanded joint cabinet. He belongs to the Socialist Party of the Republika Srpska and was nominated by fellow Socialist Zivko Radisic, who is the Serbian representative on the joint presidency. Serbian, Croatian, and Muslim ministers will rotate on an eight-month basis. In addition to the previous ministries of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and civilian affairs and communications, three new posts will be added. They deal with refugees and human rights, European integration, and joint government finances. PM 'CATASTROPHIC' AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN BOSNIA. Meeting in a special session on 26 April, the House of Representatives of the mainly Croat and Muslim federation approved a 17-point program to bolster agriculture. Among the measures the deputies called for is a package of new legislation to promote agriculture, forestry, and village development. The legislators also want better control of border crossings that have been used to bring in illegal agricultural imports, "Oslobodjenje" reported. It was noted, for example, that Italian peaches are being imported into the federation, while the peach crop in Herzegovina has not found markets. PM KLEIN: SFOR NEEDED TO KEEP BOSNIAN PEACE. Jacques Klein, who is a U.S. army general and head of the UN mission in Bosnia, told "Vjesnik" of 27 April that war would break out in Bosnia "within six months" if NATO peacekeepers left the country. He noted that the continued existence of separate Muslim, Croatian, and Serbian armies remains a key problem for peace and security. PM ROMANIA'S DEMOCRATS ROCKING THE BOAT ONCE MORE? The Democratic Party on 26 April criticized Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu, accusing him of declining to "involve himself with the country's real economic problems" in the debates preceding the approval of the 2000 budget, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The Democrats say the premier "lacks an overall vision of the economy" and has avoided taking a position on irregularities in the activities of the State Property Fund or the unwarranted restructuring of the debt owed to the budget by loss-making state companies. They said they had nevertheless supported the budget in the parliament because Romania could not face its problems without an approved budget. In response, Isarescu said he believes the most important thing for the country now is to ensure economic growth in order to raise living standards. MS 'HOT LINE' DOCUMENTS ARE TROUBLE FOR FORMER ROMANIAN PRESIDENT. Members of the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on 26 April said after examining secret documents on the Moscow-Bucharest "hot-line" debate that they confirm former President Ion Iliescu gave the "green light" to negotiating between Romania and Russia the installation of such a line. These negotiations were interrupted after Iliescu lost the presidential election of 1996. In other news, the Central Electoral Bureau on 26 April decided that all candidates in the June local elections must submit declarations attesting that they did not collaborate with the communist secret police. Those submitting false statements will be liable to prosecution. MS MOLDOVA, ROMANIA, TO INITIAL BASIC TREATY IN CHISINAU... Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicolae Tabacaru and his Romanian counterpart Petre Roman will initial the basic treaty between their countries on 28 April in Chisinau. Before departing for the Moldovan capital, Roman told journalists that the treaty is "far beyond" a regular treaty on good neighborly relations. He said the document "confines the special, privileged relationship " between the two states, and emphasizes their "community of history, civilization, culture, and language." Roman also said the treaty stipulates that the two countries will mutually support each other in their quest for European integration and that Romania will rally behind "all Moldovan international efforts to secure sovereignty and territorial integrity." MS ...WHILE BASIC TREATY WITH RUSSIA FACES NEW HINDERS. Boris Pastukhov, who ended a three-day visit to Moldova at the head of a mediating mission of the CIS Parliamentary Assembly on 26 April, said representatives of the Transdniester separatists must be represented in the drafting of the pending Russian-Moldovan basic treaty, ITAR-TASS reported. He said the treaty must take into consideration the interests of people living in the breakaway region. MS MOLDOVAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN THE U.S. Boris Gamurari on 26 April met in Washington with Defense Secretary William Cohen to discuss bilateral military cooperation, Flux and ITAR-TASS reported. Cohen said the U.S. intends to further contribute to Moldova's becoming a "stability and security factor in southeast Europe." Gamurari also met Assistant Defense Secretary Ted Warner, discussing with him military reform in Moldova, U.S. aid to implement it, and collaboration within the Partnership for Peace program. MS BULGARIA DECLARES COMMUNIST RULE 'CRIMINAL.' The parliament on 26 April approved a law declaring the former communist regime "criminal," Reuters reported. The law says the Bulgarian Communist Party that came to power in 1944 with the help of a "foreign force" had by 1989 brought the country to a "national catastrophe." It says the Bulgaria Communist Party was a "criminal organization, as were other organizations based on the same ideology [elsewhere], which in reality was aimed at oppressing human rights and the democratic system." The law has no immediate practical implications. Socialist Party (BSP) leader Georgi Parvanov accused the government of attempting to "push the country towards destabilization" in order to "hide in the turmoil the tracks of your multiple crimes." He said the BSP will walk out of the parliament so as "not to take part in the tragicomedy" and will return with a motion of no-confidence in the cabinet. MS BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES LAW TO FIGHT CORRUPTION AMONG OFFICIALS. The parliament on 26 April approved a law that would make public the income, expenses, and property of senior state officials, AP reported, citing BTA. Under the law, the Chamber of Accountancy, Bulgaria's central auditing institution, will compile and produce records of the income and expenses of the country's president, premier, ministers, deputies, senior government and judiciary officials. The records will be made public in the media. MS END NOTE COURTING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN KYIV By Jan Maksymiuk Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma scored several impressive political victories in the past two weeks. The major one was of course the overwhelming approval of all four questions in the 16 April constitutional referendum, which is widely expected to give him considerable additional levers of control over the parliament as soon as the will of the people is reflected in appropriate constitutional amendments. However, the two high-level visits to Kyiv shortly before and after the referendum--one by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on 14 April and another of Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 18 April--turned out to be no lesser successes for the Ukrainian leader than the plebiscite. Albright moved up her trip to Kyiv, which had been originally planned for 20-21 April, thus giving rise to much speculation in Ukrainian and Russian media that she wanted to be in Kyiv before Putin in order to prevent Kuchma from making too many concessions to the Kremlin's energetic ruler. In particular, those media suggested that Albright would persuade Kuchma to stop paying the Russian gas debt with strategic bombers and cruise missiles. Also, Albright reportedly informed Kuchma about Washington's concern that he continue the course of reform and keep reformist Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko in office as long as possible. In exchange for Kuchma's agreement, Albright reportedly pledged U.S. massive political and financial support to Kyiv. Albright did not spare praise for Kuchma and his renewed pledges to put Ukraine on a reform path. "I was very impressed by President Kuchma's dedication to this [reform] process and his desire to move the reform process forward, and by the work the prime minister is undertaking," she told journalists. Ukraine is expected to receive $219 million in U.S. aid this year. Albright also said she was "heartened" when Kuchma reaffirmed his intention to close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant this year. And she expressed support for the constitutional referendum, which is, however, regarded by the Council of Europe as dangerous to Ukraine's fledgling democracy. There was no mention, at least in official pronouncements, of what is believed to be a thorn in U.S.-Ukrainian relations--namely, Ukraine's pervasive corruption that hinders both the Ukrainian government and U.S. investors in promoting market reforms and generating economic growth in the country. Ukraine's National Bank has recently been checked by international auditors in connection with the charges of misusing IMF loans. Some commentators concluded that the audit, whose results are purportedly known to Washington, is not expected to do much damage to Kyiv. On the other hand, Putin's visit promised a lot of unpleasant moments for Kuchma. In contrast to lumpish and jovial Yeltsin, who was guided primarily by Moscow's Soviet-era patronage in "no neckties" contacts with his "younger brother" from Kyiv, Putin is believed to be a cold pragmatist. Ukraine's gigantic gas debt to Russia was to be the main topic of the Kuchma-Putin talks in Kyiv. Some Russian and Ukrainian left-wing politicians expected that Putin would use economic leverage to persuade Kuchma into making some steps toward to the "Slavic" union of Russian and Belarus. However, Putin's visit turned out to be a reconnoitering rather than an attack. Officially it was said that both leaders discussed a variety of important bilateral issues, but no decision was taken and no document was signed. Putin's sharpest pronouncement with regard to Kyiv was at a news conference in Sevastopol, when he noted that Russia and Ukraine "should quit barter in mutual settlements and increase payments in cash to one another." To which Kuchma duly responded that "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow" he will see to this problem. Some Russian media speculated that Putin reiterated to Kuchma Russia's former demands that Ukraine pay its gas debt with shares in privatized companies. But others suggested that this plan has already been dropped because of Kyiv's strong objection. A special bilateral commission has to work out a mutually acceptable solution to the Ukrainian gas debt dilemma by the end of May. In other words, one more time Kuchma has demonstrated his unshakable position as the leader of a geostrategically important country that permanently balances on the verge of economic collapse but nevertheless successfully maneuvers its political course through the conflicting interests of Washington and Moscow. Taking into account the latest outburst of popular love for and confidence in the president during Ukraine's constitutional referendum, Kuchma may be said to be one of the most successful politicians on the post-Soviet territory. Will he ever be held accountable for Ukraine's disastrous economic performance? At present such a development does not seem too likely. The first thing Kuchma did after the visits of Albright and Putin was to harshly criticize Viktor Yushchenko's government for a slow reform pace. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 5:20:45 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 82 Part I, 26 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 82, Part I, 26 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * PUTIN SPEAKS OUT IN FAVOR OF REGIONAL SOLUTION TO LAND QUESTION * RUSSIA CONTINUES TO PRESS CASE ON ABM TREATY * ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MOVES TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT END NOTE: Chornobyl's Continuing Political Fallout xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA PUTIN SPEAKS OUT IN FAVOR OF REGIONAL SOLUTION TO LAND QUESTION. On a visit to Orel Oblast on 25 April, President- elect Vladimir Putin called for the passage of a basic law establishing the right to own land while the degree of freedom to pursue this right is determined by each region individually, Interfax reported. He added that at the local level "residents and the leadership are more familiar with the conditions of agricultural production." He noted that in Orel Oblast, "an individual can be a landowner but the right to dispose of the land is limited." Putin also praised Orel for being "an example for reform--reform in the necessary direction, carefully, cautiously, and in the direction of the market." Last month, Putin had his presidential representative to the State Duma, Aleksandr Kotenkov, postpone discussion of the draft Land Code so that legislators and the government could continue working on it. JAC RUSSIA CONTINUES TO PRESS CASE ON ABM TREATY... In his meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton on 25 April, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov repeated Russia's assertion that it wants to keep the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in its present form. Ivanov told reporters after the meeting that Russia's position is that its "security will be better protected if the treaty is kept intact." U.S. National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said that Clinton stressed that it is "important for Russia to seize the opportunity to accelerate economic reforms." He added that Clinton and Ivanov did not discuss their differences over Chechnya. Clinton will visit Moscow on 4-5 June. According to Reuters, during his visit to the U.S., Ivanov is also expected to meet with Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush Jr. JAC ...AS START-III CONSULTATIONS BUMPY. Unidentified Russian diplomatic sources told Interfax on 25 April that U.S. and Russian officials expressed significant disagreements during consultations held last week on START-III in Geneva. Russia insisted not only on a more drastic reduction in the number of both sides' nuclear warheads but also that a provision be included in the treaty requiring a reduction of submarine- based cruise missiles and limiting the U.S. anti-submarine activity in areas neighboring Russian territorial waters. At the same time, the U.S. expressed its desire to re-equip submarine-based ballistic missiles so that they turn into non-nuclear weapons, while retaining the right to restore their capability to bear nuclear warheads, which Russia opposes. "Itogi" (no. 16) reported that some experts believe that if START-III is not concluded "by 2007, when the last Russian heavy missiles are removed from active service, the U.S.'s numerical superiority in warheads will turn into a quantitative advantage." JAC RUSSIA EXTENDS ITS NUCLEAR UMBRELLA OVER BELARUS. "Vremya novostei" reported on 24 April that the main difference in Russia's new military doctrine from the previous version is that now Russia, in the words of the doctrine itself, is "implementing a common defense policy with the Republic of Belarus, coordinating with it activities in the sphere of military construction, development of the armed forces of Union [of Belarus and Russia] countries, the use of military infrastructure, and taking other measures necessary to maintain the defense capacity of the Union." President-elect Putin signed a decree approving the new doctrine on 22 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). The daily concludes that the new doctrine guarantees a place under Russia's nuclear umbrella to other countries from the former Soviet Union, provided that they also establish a special relationship with Moscow. JAC RIVALS WARN CHECHEN PRESIDENT AGAINST PEACE TALKS WITH MOSCOW. Chechen field commanders Shamil Basaev and Khattab have threatened to kill members of President Aslan Maskhadov's family if Maskhadov embarks on peace talks with Moscow, ITAR-TASS reported on 25 April quoting a member of the Russian federal command in the North Caucasus. There has been no confirmation from Chechen representatives of that claim, or of Russian media reports on 26 April that Maskhadov may resign and surrender. The first deputy chief of Russia's Army General Staff, Colonel-General Valerii Manilov, and the commander of the combined federal forces in Chechnya, Colonel-General Gennadii Troshev, rejected any peace talks with Maskhadov on 25 and 23 April, respectively. LF RUSSIAN PAPER REPRIMANDED OVER MASKHADOV INTERVIEW. On 21 April, Russian First Deputy Media Minister Mikhail Seslavinskii warned "Kommersant-Daily" that the publication in its issue for that day of an interview with Maskhadov in which he was quoted as having ordered a unilateral ceasefire constituted a violation of Russian legislation on the media and on combatting terrorism, according to Interfax. LF GANTEMIROV PROMOTED, WITHDRAWS RESIGNATION. Pro-Moscow Chechen militia commander Beslan Gantemirov was promoted on 22 April to the rank of army lieutenant-colonel, Russian agencies reported. The chief of Russia's Army General Staff, Colonel-General Anatolii Kvashnin, personally presented Gantemirov with his new epaulettes. The following day, Gantemirov acquiesced to a request by the Assembly of Peoples of Chechnya in Grozny to withdraw his resignation as first deputy to the Russian government representative in Chechnya, Nikolai Koshman (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 21 April 2000). Gantemirov is to travel to Moscow for talks with the Russian leadership, possibly including President-elect Putin, Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii told journalists in Moscow on 24 April, according to ITAR-TASS. Yastrzhembskii noted that "Gantemirov has his own political interests and goals," adding that "he will play a significant role in the political process in Chechnya." LF MORE CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDERS CAPTURED, ONE SURRENDERS. The North Caucasus anti-organized crime directorate apprehended the brothers Abu and Apti Yukhigov in the Chechen town of Shali on 21 April, Russian agencies reported the following day. Interfax quoted a senior Russian Interior Ministry official as saying that a third field commander, whose name he refused to divulge, was also captured. On 24 April, Lom- ali Vaisugorov, identified as a former section head within the Chechen presidential administration, surrendered to Russian law enforcement officials and offered to hand over his section's records to investigators, Interfax reported. LF DUMA PASSES TROPHY ART LAW AGAIN. Duma deputies voted on 26 April to pass in its third reading a law on art that was looted from Germany during World War II. The vote was 355 in favor with zero opposed. According to Interfax, changes had been introduced into the law in keeping with the ruling of the Constitutional Court last July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 July 1999). The court had ruled that cultural valuables seized from Nazi Germany at the end of World War II and now located on Russian territory should not be returned to former "aggressor countries." At the same time, it said that countries that fought against Hitler as well as victims of the Holocaust and the Hitler regime are entitled to the restitution of their cultural heritage. The law will now go to the Federation Council for approval. JAC CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SAYS TOP THREE RULE INVALID. The Constitutional Court ruled on 25 April that the provision of Russia's election law granting the Central Election Commission the right to ban electoral associations from participating in State Duma elections if one of their top three candidates withdraws from the race is unconstitutional. According to ITAR-TASS, the court's judgment does not affect the results of 19 December State Duma elections and may not serve as grounds for challenging these results. Last December, the Central Election Commission forbade Vladimir Zhirinovskii's Liberal Democratic Party and the Russian Conservative Party from participating in State Duma elections because one or more of their top three candidates had been disqualified. JAC PUTIN SAYS NEW CABINET ALREADY FORMING. President-elect Putin said on 25 April that the structure of his new cabinet will take shape towards the end of the week. He told reporters that "all deputy prime ministers have made their proposals and we have discussed specific appointments, which are, however, largely up to the new prime minister." The previous day, governmental staff head Dmitrii Kozak said that Putin will present a new prime minister for confirmation by the State Duma on or before 10 May, three days after Putin's inauguration. A favorite for the post of prime minister, First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, said on 24 April that he does not think that the government's new structure will include a deputy prime minister in charge of the fuel and energy industries. That post is currently held by Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko. However, unidentified sources told Interfax that Khristenko, who also oversees interbudgetary relations, is likely to retain his position. JAC FIRST DRAFT OF ECONOMIC PROGRAM COMPLETED. Deputy Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin told reporters on 25 April that the think-tank charged with composing an economic program for President-elect Putin, the Strategic Development Center, has completed the first version of its long-term economic strategy for Russia. He added that the strategy will be submitted to ministries and presidential staff in order "to be finalized and discussed." Last month, Putin called on the center to complete its draft by the end of April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). JAC BEREZOVSKII ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL AID FOR HIS CONSTITUENCY. Visiting the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia on 20-21 April, businessman Boris Berezovskii insisted that he has made good on the assurances he gave prior to his election as the republic's deputy in the Russian State Duma, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 22 April. Berezovskii specifically noted that he has established two separate funds of $1 million and $500,000 to support small and medium businesses, and to help families with low incomes. Earlier this month the hitherto unknown Council of Elders had announced that it had begun collecting signatures on a petition to demand Berezovskii's recall on the grounds that since his election he had done nothing to alleviate the republic's economic problems (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). LF MORE REPAIR DUTY FOR MIR COSMONAUTS. Small amounts of air are leaking into the "Mir" space station as the station's is losing altitude, Interfax reported on 25 April. Deputy flight chief Viktor Blagov told the agency that the leakage is very small and Mir's air supplies are substantial enough to maintain pressure within acceptable limits. He added that the resulting decline in air pressure on the station is extremely low and is much lower than on U.S. space shuttles. The two cosmonauts aboard the vessel located one source of the leak and are continuing to search for more leaks by disconnecting and reconnecting numerous cables and air ducts. Last September, Russian cosmonauts carried out repairs inside the airless Spektr module and rejoining two cables that had loosened (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 September 1999). JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MOVES TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT. The Miasnutiun and Kayunutiun parliament factions, which together account for 80 of the 127 parliament deputies, decided late on 25 April to begin formal proceedings to impeach President Robert Kocharian, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. That decision was prompted by Kocharian's orders earlier that day to Military Prosecutor Gagik Jahangirian not to testify at parliament hearings on the ongoing investigation into the 27 October Armenian parliament shootings, which Jahangirian heads. Kocharian had warned on 20 April that he will no longer tolerate Jahangirian's involvement in "political processes." Parliament deputies rejected Kocharian's ban on Jahangirian's testimony as unconstitutional. But it is unclear whether it constitutes grounds for impeachment, which the Armenian Constitution allows only if the president commits "high treason" or unspecified "grave crimes." A vote to impeach the president must be taken by a two-thirds majority of all deputies and endorsed by the Constitutional Court. LF ARMENIA'S MILITARY PROSECUTOR GENERAL TENDERS RESIGNATION. Jahangirian on 25 April submitted his resignation to President Kocharian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Jahangirian said that he did so because "I cannot become involved in the political intrigues" surrounding the ongoing investigation into the parliament shootings, according to Noyan Tapan. The military prosecutor's office sought unsuccessfully earlier this month to overturn a court ruling releasing Kocharian's aide Aleksan Harutiunian from custody. Harutiunian was detained in December on charges of inciting the parliament shootings. LF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT DOES U-TURN ON ENERGY PRIVATIZATION. Deputies on 25 April passed in the first and second readings a draft bill sponsored by the majority Miasnutiun parliament faction suspending the ongoing tender for the privatization of four state-run energy distribution companies, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The Armenian government last week had excluded a subsidiary of Russia's Gazprom from the tender, eliciting protests from Moscow (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 April 2000). Miasnutiun had earlier defeated opposition bids to halt the selloffs (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000), and had reportedly affirmed their support for the ongoing privatization at a meeting with President Kocharian on 21 April. Completion of the energy network privatization is a precondition for disbursement of a $46 million World Bank loan that is earmarked to cover approximately half the anticipated budget deficit for 2000. LF NEW AZERBAIJANI PROSECUTOR-GENERAL APPOINTED. Parliament deputies on 25 April endorsed President Heidar Aliev's nomination of Gyanja City Prosecutor Zakir Garalov to the post of prosecutor-general, Turan reported. Garalov was born in Georgia in 1956 and since graduating from the law faculty of Baku State University has served as deputy prosecutor and then prosecutor in several cities in Azerbaijan. He replaces Eldar Hasanov, who told "525 gazeti" on 25 April that he intends to return to academic life following his dismissal, together with his two deputies, on 22 April. Garalov told Turan on 25 April he has been instructed by Aliev to implement "serious reforms" both in the prosecutor-general's office and in the law enforcement agencies in general. LF GEORGIA DENIES MERCENARIES CONCENTRATING ON BORDER. A senior Georgian State Security Ministry official on 25 April rejected Russian claims that groups of mercenaries are concentrated on Georgian territory ready to cross the border into Chechnya, Caucasus Press and Interfax reported. He said that the Chechen refugee community in Georgia's Pankisi gorge includes some 500 Chechen men of military age, but denied that those individuals plan to return to Chechnya to fight. Speaking in Moscow earlier that day, the first deputy chief of Russia's Army General Staff, Colonel-General Valerii Manilov, had claimed that 400-500 mercenaries are waiting on Georgian territory. A Russian military official told Interfax on 25 April that one of the groups in question consists of Arabs trained in Lebanon in sabotage. Manilov also claimed that up to 1,000 Chechen fighters are concentrated in lowland areas of eastern Chechnya ready to launch a new attack on Daghestan. LF GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT ASSESSES FISCAL CRISIS. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told a government session on 25 April that all Georgian citizens must pay their taxes in order to eliminate the ongoing budget crisis, Caucasus Press reported. He said that at present budget revenues derive almost exclusively from taxes on the legal sale of cigarettes and gasoline, which as a result of widespread smuggling constitute only a small proportion of sales of those products. Tax collection during the first quarter of 2000 was less than during the corresponding period last year. Shevardnadze called for the drafting of a special presidential decree raising the responsibility of local governors for ensuring fulfillment of the budget. He also pledged support and unspecified assistance for Minister of Taxes and Incomes Mikhail Machavariani. Machavariani had threatened on 24 April to resign unless "cardinal changes" are made in the composition of the government. He also backed Shevardnadze's call for an all-out struggle to eradicate corruption. LF FORMER KAZAKH PREMIER'S BODYGUARDS SENTENCED. After a two- week trial, an Almaty City Court judge on 25 April handed down labor camp sentences of 3 1/2 years to Petr Afanasenko and Satzhan Ibraev, who served as bodyguards to former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. The two men both say that the charges against them of illegal possession and storing of firearms were politically motivated (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 February and 11 April 2000). A fourth criminal charge was recently brought against Kazhegeldin, who has lived in exile in Europe for the past year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000). LF MORE RUSSIAN PROTESTS OVER TRIAL OF 'SEPARATISTS' IN KAZAKHSTAN. Russian Human Rights Commissioner Oleg Mironov has appealed to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev to show clemency towards the Russian citizens currently on trial in Ust-Kamennogorsk on charges of planning to establish an independent Russian Altai Republic by force on the territory of eastern Kazakhstan, ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 March and 20 April 2000). Russian lawyers have been banned from attending either the investigation or the trial. On 24 April, representatives of Slavs from Kazakhstan picketed Kazakhstan's embasssy in Moscow to protest alleged procedural violations and the use of torture during the pre- trial investigation. They too called on Nazarbaev to intervene. LF U.S. EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER PLANNED MEDIA CRACKDOWN IN KAZAKHSTAN. U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin told journalists in Washington on 25 April that the U.S. is "disappointed" by two recent speeches in which President Nazarbaev warned journalists not to abuse media freedom, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 25 April 2000). Rubin recalled that U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had stressed the importance of media freedom during her tour of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan earlier this month. He said U.S. representatives intend to raise the issue with Nazarbaev "very soon." LF KYRGYZ PRESIDENT PROPOSES INCREASING PARLIAMENT'S POWERS... In a 25 April address to both chambers of parliament and to the Kyrgyz people, Askar Akaev again said that the parliamentary elections in February-March were democratic and praised the work of the Central Electoral Commission, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. But Akaev conceded that mistakes were made during the election campaign, and said a commission has been created to amend the election law in order to preclude such shortcomings during the presidential elections, which he said will take place in December. In response to questions from deputies, Akaev said that the parliament should have greater powers, especially in naming members of the government. He said a referendum on amending the country's constitution to increase the parliament's powers may be held after the presidential poll. He also said that Russian will be granted the status of an official language, a measure which he said will curb the ongoing emigration of the Russian-speaking population. LF ...CALLS FOR REFORMS. Akaev conceded in his 25 April address that reforms of the judicial system and tax system are urgent priorities, as are cuts in the bureaucracy and measures to combat corruption, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He also noted the need for creating a stable banking system and called on the National Bank to improve its supervision of the commercial banking sector. Akaev said that annual inflation in 2000 should not exceed 20 percent, according to Interfax. Meeting the previous day with a visiting World Bank delegation headed by Vice President Johannes Linn, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Amangeldy Muraliev said that his government is drafting a 10-year Development Program that will shortly be published for public discussion, Interfax reported. LF ANOTHER KYRGYZ OPPOSITION POLITICIAN SENTENCED. A district court on 24 April sentenced 61-year-old Beishaly Kenebaev, head of the Djalalabad regional branch of the opposition Ar- Namys Party, to seven years' imprisonment for failing to repay a personal loan, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. An Ar-Namys spokesman said the trial was politically motivated. Meanwhile some 100-150 people continued their picket in central Bishkek on 24 and 25 April to protest the arrest last month of Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov and to demand the annulment of the parliamentary runoff poll in which, according to official returns, Kulov was defeated. Also on 25 April, opposition politicians met with an advisor to President Akaev to discuss Akaev's participation in the proposed roundtable discussion between the opposition and the country's leadership, and whether that initiative should be held under the aegis of the OSCE (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000). LF TAJIK LEADERSHIP NEGOTIATES WITH UZBEK ISLAMIST LEADER. The Tajik leadership is seeking to persuade Djuma Namangani, one of the leaders of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and his estimated 400 armed supporters, to leave eastern Tajikistan as he had pledged to do last October. Tajikistan's minister for emergency situations, former opposition military commander Mirzo Ziyoev, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service on 25 April that he recently met with Namangani, who promised to leave Tajikistan but did not say where he would go. President Imomali Rakhmonov has also charged Islamic Renaissance Party leader Said Abdullo Nuri with studying the situation in eastern Tajikistan, according to "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 25 April. On 24 April, Tajik Security Council secretary Amirkul Azimov told ITAR-TASS that he had returned the previous day from an inspection of the region and seen no evidence that any illegal armed groups were based there. LF END NOTE Chornobyl's Continuing Political Fallout By Paul Goble Fourteen years ago today, an explosion and fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine spread a cloud of radioactive fallout over a large part of Eastern Europe and triggered a series of political developments which continue today. On that day, the explosion of the no. 4 reactor sent radioactive dust over the Western portions of what was then the Soviet Union as well as over its East European satellites. Initially, Soviet officials reacted as they always did before, first with silence and then with denial. But because the radioactivity also spread to Western Europe and because Soviet authorities were unable to prevent people in its empire from learning the facts about the accident, Moscow changed its approach and began to release some information about the tragedy. That marked the real beginning of "glasnost," the policy of openness that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev used to defeat his conservative opponents but also one that made a major contribution to the destruction of the country over which he and the Communist Party ruled. At the time, that political fallout of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster attracted almost as much attention as the radioactive kind. But since then, its medical impact--the increased incidence of cancers among those exposed, the mounting number of deaths, and the continuing environmental degradation--has attracted most of the attention. Given the scope of these medical consequences, that is entirely appropriate. But just as was the case 14 years ago, the Chornobyl disaster continues to have three kinds of political fallout which still affect both the people and the governments of this region. First of all, the Chornobyl accident remains in the minds of many as a symbol of Moscow's insensitivity to the dangers of nuclear power and its willingness to put Ukrainians, Belarusians, and others at particular risk. Only a few weeks before the accident, Soviet authorities gave a cash award to an engineer in Belarus who said that Soviet reactors were so safe that there was no need to build containment walls around them. And at the time of the accident, Moscow had concentrated nuclear power plants in Ukraine, Belarus, and western portions of the Russian Federation. Ostensibly, Moscow did so to position itself to sell electricity to its East European satellites, but many in Ukraine and Belarus have said that they believed Moscow chose to do so to put Ukrainians and Belarusians at risk should something go wrong. Both Moscow's handling of the accident at the time and its unwillingness to help out significantly with the consequences of the accident have only further deepened the anger of many Ukrainians at what they see as the latest example of a Russian policy directed at them. Second, Western Europe's insistence that Ukraine close down Chornobyl and its unwillingness to provide the assistance Kyiv believes necessary to create an alternative source of power have infuriated many in Ukraine and in Belarus who expected that the West would help them to recover from this most dramatic of Soviet-era disasters on their territory. No Ukrainian politician suffered as much from this combination of Western insistence and failure to pay as did former Belarusian President Stanislau Shushkevich, a nuclear physicist who exposed Soviet duplicity on Chornobyl in his republic and who campaigned on the expectation that the West would help him clean up this disaster. But the doubts many Ukrainian leaders already had about the willingness of the West to help were only exacerbated by this series of events, and these doubts in turn have affected the attitudes these Ukrainian leaders have adopted on other issues as well. And third, the Ukrainian authorities themselves have suffered a loss of popular support because of their failure to find the funds to help overcome the Chornobyl disaster. Ukrainian officials say that they need to spend approximately $830 million a year just to help the victims of Chornobyl but that they have only $290 million in this year's budget to do so. As a result--and unless something is done soon--ever more Ukrainians, Belarusians, and others are likely to be angry not only at Moscow and at the West but at Kyiv as well, a pattern of political fallout that does not bode well for either the Ukrainian government or the Ukrainian people in the future. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. 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For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 5:24:38 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 82, Part II, 26 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 82, Part II, 26 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * PRESIDENT NAMES RIGA MAYOR AS PREMIER-CANDIDATE * ANOTHER MILOSEVIC CRONY SHOT DEAD IN BELGRADE * OSCE TO SET UP KOSOVA WAR CRIMES COURT END NOTE: Chornobyl's Continuing Political Fallout xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE COMPROMISE OPENS WAY FOR OPPOSITION MARCH IN MINSK. The Belarusian authorities lifted their earlier ban on a demonstration by those opposed to Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Reuters reported on 25 April, after the opposition agreed to stage the march in the outskirts of Minsk rather than in the city center. Lukashenka said that "I will hold negotiations with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, with Chirac, with Clinton should they so wish. But I am not going to talk to the opposition. They have only one goal--to topple the president." Meanwhile, the trial of two opposition figures--Nikolau Statkevich, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, and Valery Shchukin, a member of the parliament that Lukashenka dissolved--continue in the Belarusian capital. PG BELARUS HAPPY WITH RESULTS OF FIRST UNION COUNCIL OF MINISTER MEETING. Belarusian Prime Minister Vladimir Yermoshin told ITAR-TASS on 25 April that the first meeting of the council of ministers of the Union of Belarus and Russia, which took place in Moscow on 25 April, reflects the progress Minsk and Moscow have already made in bringing their two peoples back together. The meeting discussed the creation of a common currency and the formation of a legal basis for the further unification of the two republics. The German press agency dpa reported that the joint council of ministers has a 2000 budget of 2.2 billion rubles (approximately $77 million). One of the places the two sides may increase funding is support for victims of the 1986 Chornobyl explosion, ITAR-TASS reported. PG ILO SAYS UKRAINE IN DEEP ECONOMIC CRISIS. The International Labor Organization on 25 April concluded that Ukraine has sunk into a deep economic crisis and is suffering from massive unemployment, Reuters reported. In issuing this report, ILO economist Guy Standing said that "if Ukraine were not in Europe, it would be rightly called a developing country." The ILO report said that monthly income had dropped in real terms from $37 in 1998 to $25 in 1999, that life expectancy had declined sharply, that industrial firms are now operating at less than 44 percent capacity, down from 66 percent in 1995, and that approximately one-third of the workforce is effectively unemployed, a statistic which makes "a mockery of the official rate of registered unemployment." PG UKRAINE TO SEEK NEW IMF LOANS. Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko will travel to Washington in early May to press the International Monetary Fund to resume loans to Ukraine, Interfax reported on 25 April. The IMF had blocked a loan package to Ukraine in 1999 because of concerns about Kyiv's failure to adopt needed economic reforms. Yushchenko told reporters in the Ukrainian capital that he will also press for more funds to help close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, Reuters reported. PG RUSSIAN NAVY BLAMES UKRAINIAN SHIP FOR MISHAP. The Russian Black Sea command on 25 April said that the captain of a Ukrainian ship damaged by a Russian dummy missile on 24 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000) was to blame for the incident because he had strayed into waters that both Russian and Ukrainian officials had declared off-limits during a naval exercise, ITAR-TASS reported. PG ESTONIAN CENTRAL BANK CHIEF QUITS BEFORE APPOINTMENT. The newly-elected head of the Bank of Estonia, Vello Vensel, surprisingly relinquished his appointment to the post on 25 April, BNS reported. Vensel, elected to the post by the central bank's governing board on 30 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000) and due to take over the post this week, cited health reasons for his resignation. The central bank's deputy governor, Peter Lohmus, will take over on an interim basis. Vensel is reported to be in hospital for high blood pressure, according to "Eesti Paevaleht." The press speculated whether Vensel perhaps resigned due to skeletons in his closet or maybe due to opposition from current board members. MH LATVIAN PRESIDENT NAMES RIGA MAYOR AS PREMIER-CANDIDATE. Vaira Vike-Freiberga proposed Riga Mayor Andris Berzins for premier on 25 April. Saying that she believes Berzins has a realistic approach to the situation in the country, Vike- Freiberga expressed hope that this government will last until the end of this parliamentary term (in 2002). Berzins has the support of Latvia's Way, the People's Party, For Fatherland and Freedom, and the New Party, which hold a total of 69 seats in the 100-seat parliament. Berzins said that he wants to "eliminate the split between state power and society" and to "restore" the people's confidence in the state, BNS reported. MH LATVIAN WAR CRIMINAL RELEASED ON APPEAL. During an appeals hearing on 25 April, the Latvian Supreme Court released convicted war criminal Vasilii Kononov from custody on his own recognizance. The court found that Kononov is in need of medical care, and has received guarantees from Kononov that he will remain in his abode, BNS reported. The court also ruled that several issues need further investigation, mainly historical and circumstantial issues during wartime, and has issued a request to the prosecution. Prosecutor Ausma Rubene called the decision a "step of compromise" and expressed fears that Kononov would flee to Russia. Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Udaltsov confirmed that Kononov received his Russian passport and Kononov hinted that he will relinquish his Latvian passport, LETA reported citing ITAR-TASS. MH LATVIA AND AUSTRALIA AGREE ON WORDING OF EXTRADITION TREATY. Officials from Latvia and Australia have reportedly agreed to the wording of a draft extradition treaty, BNS reported on 25 April. The document, now under review by both governments, could be signed as early as June and go into effect by year's end, according to officials. Acting Prosecutor-General Rudite Abolina said the agreement is a standard one, and has no specific provisions relating to the case of suspected Nazi war criminal Konrads Kalejs. However, the negotiations on the treaty took on an added impetus after international attention was focused on the Kalejs case (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2000). MH LITHUANIAN NAZI WAR CRIMES TRIAL RESTARTS... A Vilnius district court on 25 April ruled that the trial of suspected Nazi war criminal Kazys Gimzauskas (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000) should be restarted. The case against the 92-year old Gimzauskas was suspended in February 1999 due to the defendant's failing health. His attorney argued that even with the use of closed-circuit monitors, the defendant's health condition is so poor that the trial would likely kill him, ELTA reported. The court will decide on 26 April whether to conduct a medical examination on Gimzauskas to assess his capacity to continue the trial, even in absentia, which was made legal earlier this year. MH ...ALSO TRIAL OF PRIEST'S MURDERERS. The trial of men accused of murdering Reverend Ricardas Mikutavicius for his prized art collection also began in a Vilnius district court on 25 April. Three of the defendants have confessed to killing Mikutavicius, though they accuse co-defendant Vladas Beleckas of masterminding the murder and with the theft of the collection, which has been appraised at 5.1 million litas ($1.28 million), ELTA reported. Mikutavicius was murdered in the summer of 1998, though the body of the slain priest was not identified until nearly a year later in the highly publicized and embarrassing case for authorities, which included the exhumation of the previously unidentified body. MH POLISH COALITION AGREES TO 'NON-AGGRESSION' PACT ON EU. Poland's chief European Union entry negotiator, Jan Kulakowski, told Reuters on 25 April that the leaders of the parties in the governing coalition have struck "a non- aggression" accord on Warsaw's drive to join the EU by 2003. He noted that infighting among these leaders had delayed passage of many pieces of legislation needed to bring Polish laws into conformity with EU standards. And he said that the recent appointment of Jacek Saryusz-Wolski to head the committee coordinating EU entry preparations will accelerate the process. Because of earlier disagreements, Kulakowski said, that post had remained vacant for 16 months. PG CRIME RATE IN POLAND HAS DOUBLED SINCE 1989. According to a report in "Gazeta Wyborcza" on 25 April, there were 1.1 million crimes committed in Poland in 1999, a 104.8 percent rise over the last decade. The paper said that the authorities had identified perpetrators in only 45 percent of these cases and that police officials hope to drop investigations of minor crimes if there appears to be little chance of an arrest. PG CZECH COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE SERVICE SAYS LEFT EXTREMISM ON THE RISE... Extremist groups in the Czech Republic are changing tactics and reducing "radical activities" in order to gain representation, an unnamed representative of the Counter Intelligence Service (BIS) cited by CTK told a forum on state security strategy on 25 April. The BIS says neo-Bolshevik and other left-extremist groups are converging around the idea of pan-Slavism and the number of supporters of these groups far exceeds that of supporters of right-wing extremism. The goal of these groups is to bring about East-Central Europe's reincorporation into the Russian sphere of influence, and the BIS says that such groups enjoy the support of Russian and Belarusian "official structures." These extreme-left groups oppose EU integration, display strong xenophobic and anti- Semitic postures, and reject democratic pluralism and the market economy. MS ...RIGHT EXTREMISM POSING AS LAW-ABIDING. The BIS also says the far-right oriented extremism is not primarily made up by the largely unorganized skinhead groups, but by groups whose ideology is old or neo-Nazi, and which behave as if they respect existing legislation. Groups such as the National Alliance have applied for registration as political parties and, unlike the past, they now announce rallies in advance. The BIS also says there is a danger of clashes between anarchist and far-right groups. The BIS representative also told the forum that organized crime in the Czech Republic is most often linked to people who speak Russian. MS CZECH SECRET SERVICES TO BE COORDINATED. The National Security Council (BRS) on 25 April recommended that the government set up a Committee for Intelligence Activities within the BRS to coordinate the work of the country's different secret services, CTK reported on 25 April, citing Foreign Minister Jan Kavan. Kavan told journalists that if the government approves the proposal, the committee's work will be supervised by the deputy premier in charge of foreign and security policy--that is, by himself. MS CZECH ROMA TO ELECT RECOGNIZED LEADER. Czech Romany organizations are preparing to elect a leader who would be entitled to speak for all Roma, the daily "Lidove noviny" reported on 25 April, citing Romany representatives. The representatives said the many divisions among the Roma weakens their ability to fight discrimination. Ondrej Gina, from the Association of Romany Regional Representatives, said that the Roma want to "be headed by someone elected...whom we will be able to respect and will therefore be authorized to act in our name." Gina said that Roma in every region will elect representatives and a nationwide conference of the regional representatives will then elect one person representing the whole Romany minority. MS SLOVAK OPPOSITION MOVES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE IN MINISTER. The Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the Slovak National Party on 25 April officially submitted a motion for a no-confidence vote in Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner over last week's brief detention of HZDS leader Vladimir Meciar (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000), Reuters reported. The HZDS also wants Prime Minster Mikulas Dzurinda to explain the reasons for the detention to the parliament, Reuters reported. The vote is to be held on 27 April. HZDS secretary Jozef Grapa on 25 April told journalists that a "state of terror has been established in the country" and that "Slovakia has become a police state." Grapa cited an unnamed diplomat from an EU country as saying that the police operation against Meciar shows that "Slovakia is turning into Pakistan," CTK reported. MS MOST SLOVAKS BELIEVE THEY WERE BETTER OFF UNDER COMMUNISM. Three-fifths of Slovaks polled said they consider their personal situation to have deteriorated since 1989 and 53 percent believe the communist system was better than what followed it, the Czech daily "Hospodarske noviny" reported on 25 April, citing the findings of a poll conducted by the Institute for Public Affairs. MS HUNGARY THREATENS TO DELAY EU MEASURES. The government will postpone some measures required for EU membership if the union delays enlargement, cabinet spokesman Gabor Borokai announced on 25 April. He said measures that are disadvantageous for Hungary should be taken at the time of EU accession, not by the end of 2002, as originally planned. The government's announcement came in reaction to a report by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to which none of the prospective new members will be ready to join the EU by 2003. Measures in which delays are possible include market liberalization and border control systems, Borokai concluded. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE ANOTHER MILOSEVIC CRONY SHOT DEAD IN BELGRADE. Two or three unidentified gunmen killed Zika Petrovic (62) as he was walking his dog near his Belgrade home late on 25 April. The gunmen, who used automatic weapons with silencers, disappeared into the night. Petrovic was the director of Yugoslav Airlines (JAT). He was an old friend of the family of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and, like them, comes from Pozarevac. Petrovic belonged to the United Yugoslav Left (JUL), which is the hard-line party led by Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic. The killing is the fourth this year of a prominent person in Serbia with links to the regime. None of the cases has been solved. On 26 April, police said in a statement that the killing of Petrovic is a "terrorist act." Some observers suggest that Petrovic may have been involved in shady business dealings in oil or other goods. PM KOSOVARS STAGE MASSIVE PROTEST FOR PRISONER RELEASE. Some 10,000 mainly ethnic Albanians demonstrated peacefully in Prishtina on 26 for the release of the at least 2,000 Kosovars believed to be held in Serbian jails. Local Albanian activists say that the number of prisoners is closer to 7,000. Demonstrators told reporters that they believe that people such as student leader Albin Kurti and human rights activist Flora Brovina are being held simply because they are ethnic Albanians (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 March 2000). The protesters appealed to the international community to do more to free the prisoners. PM OSCE TO SET UP KOSOVA WAR CRIMES COURT. Rols Welberts, who is the OSCE's director for human rights and rule of law in Kosova, told Reuters in Prishtina on 26 April that the OSCE will set up a court in June to investigate war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 conflict. The new body will take some of the caseload off the fledgling Kosova judicial system and pass the results of its findings on to the Hague- based war crimes tribunal. Welberts added that "handling such [ethnically-motivated] crimes has been the weakest link in the new judiciary, which is [compromised] by the ethnic bias of local personnel and the communal pressure on otherwise qualified local judges who feel a gun in their back." Reuters noted that many local jurists are reluctant to take on cases that could put them or their families in physical danger. PM NATO ROUNDS UP WEAPONS IN KOSOVA. KFOR peacekeepers detained four ethnic Albanians and seized automatic weapons in each of two separate incidents on 25 April. One incident took place near Gjakova and the other in central Kosova. Peacekeepers seize illegal weapons on a daily basis in Kosova, Reuters reported. Some weapons remain from the recent conflict, while others have been brought in from Albania and elsewhere by criminal gangs. In Kosova as in much of the Balkans, gun ownership is traditional among males. PM MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES ABDUCTION OF SOLDIERS TO KOSOVA. The government faced criticism in the parliament on 25 April for allegedly swapping an ethnic Albanian warlord for four Macedonian soldiers, whom unidentified men had captured near the border and taken into Kosova (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski defended his actions, AP reported. He asked his critics: "Would it have been better to deal with a terrorist group threatening us with ultimatums and to have four [dead] bodies in Macedonia? Would you have been happier if the Macedonian leadership had said it would not hand over the prisoner?" The men who detained the soldiers demanded the release of Xhavit Hasani, a Macedonian-born Albanian whom many Kosovars regard as a hero of the 1999 conflict. The UN authorities in Kosova previously deported Hasani to Macedonia, where he is wanted for murder. The four Macedonian soldiers were freed on 3 April after Hasani was let out of prison on $100,000 bail and allowed to return to Kosova. PM DJUKANOVIC TO VISIT ALBANIA. Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic told visiting Albanian Foreign Minister Paskal Milo in Podgorica on 25 April that he will be happy to visit Albania at an unspecified future date (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). Milo and his hosts signed an agreement on economic, trade, and cultural cooperation, as well as a protocol on cooperation between the two foreign ministries. "We have opened a new era in relations between our two countries and created the institutional basis for future cooperation," Reuters quoted Milo as saying. Milosevic broke off relations with Albanian in 1999 in response to NATO air strikes against Serbian targets. Montenegro seeks to improve relations with Tirana in several areas. The two countries plan to open a second frontier crossing at an unspecified future date and are cooperating on several joint projects within the EU's Stability Pact. PM CLARK WARNS MILOSEVIC ON MONTENEGRO. Outgoing NATO Supreme Commander in Europe General Wesley Clark said in Sarajevo on 25 April that Milosevic "should know that NATO is watching, NATO understands what he is" doing regarding Montenegro. The Serbian leader "should also recognize very well what NATO capabilities are. We made sure everyone understands that forces in [Kosova] are very capable, they are very well commanded, they are very well prepared to do whatever is necessary," Reuters reported. Turning to Montenegro, Clark noted that Milosevic has brought in "paramilitary thugs" and placed his political cronies in key positions in the army in that republic. "He deployed forces on the border, he's run exercises, intimidation, he tried to take control of the airport and other facilities there," Clark continued. Meanwhile in Podgorica, the Yugoslav Second Army issued a statement saying that it is simply carrying out its duties as specified in the constitution, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM MESIC NAMES NEW HEAD OF CROATIAN COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE. In a fresh show of his determination to keep control over key appointments to the intelligence services, President Stipe Mesic on 25 April named Davor Biscan to replace Zarko Pesa as head of the Security Information Service (SIS). Pesa had been backed by Defense Minister Jozo Rados, within whose ministry the SIS functions. There is a fundamental conflict between Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan over the powers of the president and the control of the intelligence agencies. Racan believes that the government must control the services. Mesic holds that the president must ensure that the agencies remain independent of the government. Under the late President Franjo Tudjman, some elements in the governing Croatian Democratic Community used the intelligence services against their political rivals. PM ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES 2000 BUDGET. With a vote of 236 for, 56 against, and 10 abstentions, the parliament on 25 April approved the 2000 budget, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The budget's main provisions are a 3 percent deficit, 1.3 percent economic growth, and an inflation rate of 27 percent. Before voting on the budget as a whole, the parliament rejected proposals to postpone a 30 percent raise in the salaries of its own members until 1 November. The IMF chief negotiator for Romania, Emmanuel Zervoudakis, on 26 April begins meetings in Bucharest to review whether a resumption of loans is possible. The IMF suspended a stand-by accord for a $576 million loan after releasing its first $73 million tranche, concluding that its provisions were not respected by the Radu Vasile cabinet. MS ROMANIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY PROTESTS REVIVAL OF FASCIST MOVEMENT. The Federation of Romanian Jewish Communities, in a letter to President Emil Constantinescu, the government, and the parliament, on 25 April protested against the revival of the fascist Legionary Movement in Romania, Mediafax reported. The federation demands that legal stipulations prohibiting the activity of extremist and chauvinist parties, as well as incitement to racial hatred, be applied to the Legionary Movement. To circumvent that legislation, the movement has not registered as a political party, but as a "cultural organization," the federation says. It has set up several so- called "nests" and publishing houses, it disseminates tapes with interwar Legionary music and has succeeded in building up a following among students and high school pupils. MS MOST ROMANIAN PARTIES BACKING BASIC TREATY WITH MOLDOVA. Foreign Minister Petre Roman on 25 April said after a meeting with representatives of parliamentary parties that most political formations back the basic treaty with Moldova agreed to by diplomats representing the two countries. Roman said Romania's purpose in agreeing to the treaty, which speaks of a "privileged partnership," is to "draw Moldova closer to Romania in the long term." He said not all stipulations that Bucharest would have liked to see in the treaty are in the document because "it takes two to agree." Roman declined to specify when the treaty might be initialed by him and his Moldovan counterpart Nicolae Tabacaru. On 26 April Roman begins a visit to Chisinau, where Romania is to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. MS CIS DELEGATION HEAD SAYS WEAPONS WITHDRAWAL BY 2001 'UNREALISTIC.' State Duma CIS Affairs Committee Chairman Boris Pastukhov, who heads a CIS Parliamentary Assembly mediation mission to Moldova, on 25 April said it would be "unrealistic" to expect the Russian withdrawal of weapons from the Transdniester to be completed by the end of 2002, as decided at the 1999 OSCE summit in Istanbul. Pastukhov, who visited the Russian contingent in the separatist region, said each train transporting the weapons cannot carry more than 10 freight cars and the loading must be done "by hand," which is very time consuming, Infotag reported. Pastukhov later met with separatist leader Igor Smirnov and Transdniester Supreme Soviet chairman Grigorii Marakutsa. MS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT SAYS IT FOUND 'ALTERNATIVE RESOURCES' FOR COVERING BUDGET DEFICIT. The government on 25 April said after an extraordinary meeting that it has found "alternative resources" for covering the deficit caused to the 2000 budget by the IMF and World Bank decisions to suspend loaning to Moldova. The cabinet said the resources will come from privatizing the energy grid and the Moldtelcom company, as well as from closing down loss-making state companies. It said revenues of some $119 million could be generated through these measures. President Petru Lucinschi said Moldova will not be in a position to default on its foreign debt, Flux reported. A Romanian radio report said Finance Minister Mihai Manole was "skeptical" on the feasibility of the envisaged measures. MS BULGARIAN PROSECUTOR COMMITS SUICIDE. A Bulgarian prosecutor who recently clashed with Prosecutor-General Nikola Filichev over personnel decisions killed himself in his office on 25 April, AP reported. Nikolai Dzhambov, who worked in a high court, last month blamed Filichev for reshuffling prosecutors without the requisite approval of the Supreme Judicial Council, a body of senior magistrates empowered to hire, fire, promote, and demote legal officials. Dzhambov complained that Filichev had twice temporarily demoted him for unknown reasons. He accused Filichev of creating a climate of fear and tension and said that Filichev and his associates had pressured him into withdrawing his complaints. Police said a note was found near the body but did not disclose its contents. MS BULGARIA EXPECTS LARGE TRADE DEFICIT. Deputy Trade Minister Hristo Mihailovsky on 24 April said Bulgaria's trade deficit in 2000 is likely to be similar to that of the previous year- -$1 billion. Mihailovsky said the deficit in the first two months of 2000 was $247.8 million, although a $29.7 million surplus had been registered in trade with the EU, which is Bulgaria's main trade partner. Also on 24 April, leaders of Bulgaria's largest private business companies set up the Association of Employers in Bulgaria, which will represent business interests in domestic politics and will try to restore the country's lost export markets in the former Soviet republics and the Middle East. The association demanded that the UN lift sanctions against Iraq, which owes Bulgaria more than $2 billion. MS END NOTE Chornobyl's Continuing Political Fallout By Paul Goble Fourteen years ago today, an explosion and fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine spread a cloud of radioactive fallout over a large part of Eastern Europe and triggered a series of political developments which continue today. On that day, the explosion of the no. 4 reactor sent radioactive dust over the Western portions of what was then the Soviet Union as well as over its East European satellites. Initially, Soviet officials reacted as they always did before, first with silence and then with denial. But because the radioactivity also spread to Western Europe and because Soviet authorities were unable to prevent people in its empire from learning the facts about the accident, Moscow changed its approach and began to release some information about the tragedy. That marked the real beginning of "glasnost," the policy of openness that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev used to defeat his conservative opponents but also one that made a major contribution to the destruction of the country over which he and the Communist Party ruled. At the time, that political fallout of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster attracted almost as much attention as the radioactive kind. But since then, its medical impact--the increased incidence of cancers among those exposed, the mounting number of deaths, and the continuing environmental degradation--has attracted most of the attention. Given the scope of these medical consequences, that is entirely appropriate. But just as was the case 14 years ago, the Chornobyl disaster continues to have three kinds of political fallout which still affect both the people and the governments of this region. First of all, the Chornobyl accident remains in the minds of many as a symbol of Moscow's insensitivity to the dangers of nuclear power and its willingness to put Ukrainians, Belarusians, and others at particular risk. Only a few weeks before the accident, Soviet authorities gave a cash award to an engineer in Belarus who said that Soviet reactors were so safe that there was no need to build containment walls around them. And at the time of the accident, Moscow had concentrated nuclear power plants in Ukraine, Belarus, and western portions of the Russian Federation. Ostensibly, Moscow did so to position itself to sell electricity to its East European satellites, but many in Ukraine and Belarus have said that they believed Moscow chose to do so to put Ukrainians and Belarusians at risk should something go wrong. Both Moscow's handling of the accident at the time and its unwillingness to help out significantly with the consequences of the accident have only further deepened the anger of many Ukrainians at what they see as the latest example of a Russian policy directed at them. Second, Western Europe's insistence that Ukraine close down Chornobyl and its unwillingness to provide the assistance Kyiv believes necessary to create an alternative source of power have infuriated many in Ukraine and in Belarus who expected that the West would help them to recover from this most dramatic of Soviet-era disasters on their territory. No Ukrainian politician suffered as much from this combination of Western insistence and failure to pay as did former Belarusian President Stanislau Shushkevich, a nuclear physicist who exposed Soviet duplicity on Chornobyl in his republic and who campaigned on the expectation that the West would help him clean up this disaster. But the doubts many Ukrainian leaders already had about the willingness of the West to help were only exacerbated by this series of events, and these doubts in turn have affected the attitudes these Ukrainian leaders have adopted on other issues as well. And third, the Ukrainian authorities themselves have suffered a loss of popular support because of their failure to find the funds to help overcome the Chornobyl disaster. Ukrainian officials say that they need to spend approximately $830 million a year just to help the victims of Chornobyl but that they have only $290 million in this year's budget to do so. As a result--and unless something is done soon--ever more Ukrainians, Belarusians, and others are likely to be angry not only at Moscow and at the West but at Kyiv as well, a pattern of political fallout that does not bode well for either the Ukrainian government or the Ukrainian people in the future. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 4:49:12 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 81, Part II, 25 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 81, Part II, 25 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * HUNGARIAN PREMIER SAYS EU CRITICISM OF AUSTRIA UNJUSTIFIED * IVANOVIC ANNOUNCES FIRST PLANNED RETURN OF SERBS * SERBIAN OPPOSITION SETS UP COUNCIL xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE LUKASHENKA NAMES NEW INTERIOR MINISTER. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka named Mikhail Udovikau as his interior minister on 22 April after releasing Yuriy Sivakau "for reasons of health" the day before, DPA reported. Sivakau had recently fallen out of favor for his use of force against demonstrators, journalists, and OSCE observers during a demonstration on 25 March. Meanwhile, the Belarusian opposition announced plans to go ahead with a rally on 26 April despite not having received official permission to do so. PG NO JOINT RUSSIAN-BELARUSIAN COMMAND PLANNED. Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 21 April said that Moscow will assist Belarus as needed but that he did not favor the creation of a joint Russian-Belarusian armed force, ITAR-TASS reported. "The Belarusian armed forces will only be under the control of their Ministry of Defense," Putin said, "and the Russian forces under the command of their leadership." PG MISSILES GO AWRY IN UKRAINE. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk on 24 April confirmed suspicions that an explosion in Kyiv on 20 April had been caused by a stray Ukrainian Tochka-U missile, ITAR-TASS reported. Also on 24 April, a stray Russian dummy missile slammed into a Ukrainian passenger ship during a Black Sea training exercise, Reuters reported. That was the second such Russian missile misfire in one day; in Kazakhstan, a Russian Strizh-3 rocket spun out of control after launch and exploded in the western region of that country (see related item in Part I). PG CHORNOBYL SURVIVORS MARCH IN KYIV. Approximately 1,500 survivors of Chornobyl marched in Kyiv on 23 April to mark the 14th anniversary [the explosion took place on 26 April] of the accident at that nuclear power plant, wire services reported. Yurii Andreev, the head of the Chornobyl Union, told Reuters that the Ukrainian government's contribution "to the invalids, widows, and orphans of Chornobyl" is "offensive." Meanwhile, Ukrainian health officials reported an increase in the death rate among those who were exposed to radiation during the clean-up after the accident, AP reported. And the German Environment Ministry pledged to provide additional assistance to Ukraine to "modernize" its energy sector, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 April. PG UKRAINIAN CABINET BACKS DRAFT LAND CODE. Ukraine's cabinet on 21 April approved a draft land code which would abolish most restrictions on the private ownership of land, Interfax reported. The draft will now be sent to the parliament for possible adoption. PG UKRAINIAN CENTRAL BANK MAY CLOSE 30 BANKS. Yaroslav Soltis, the deputy chairman of Ukraine's Central Bank, told Reuters on 21 April that the bank might close most of the country's 38 commercial banks currently under Central Bank supervision. "There will be 122 or 125 working banks left," he said. "If a bank is ill with such a disease as illiquidity or insolvency, then it should be closed." PG UKRAINE, RUSSIA DISCUSS ENERGY COOPERATION. Gazprom chairman Viktor Chernomyrdin met with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to discuss energy cooperation between the two countries, ITAR-TASS reported on 21 April. Chernomyrdin played down the importance of Ukraine's gas debt, saying that "there are other more important problems in the development of production and cooperation." But Ukrainian Prime Minister Yushchenko said on the same day that Kyiv will work out a mechanism for serving that debt within 30 days. PG ESTONIAN GOVERNMENT ADOPTS EDI. Four cabinet ministers-- Interior Minister Tarmo Loodus, Agriculture Minister Ivari Padar, Transport Minister Toivo Jurgenson and Finance Minister Siim Kallas--signed on 24 April an agreement on the implementation of an electronic data interchange (EDI) system, ETA reported. The agreement establishes the infrastructure of electronic data transmission, which the government hopes will reduce paperwork, fraud, corruption, and will make Estonia more competitive. The program will begin when the law on digital signatures, passed earlier this year, comes into effect in December. The system should be fully functional by the end of 2001 at a cost of 15 million kroons ($900,000), Jurgenson told BNS. MH LITHUANIAN CONSUL EXPELLED FROM GULF STATE. Lithuania's consul to the United Arab Emirates, Gvidas Kerusauskas, was declared persona non grata by the Gulf state and was officially recalled by Foreign Minister Algirdas Saudargas on 20 April. Though Saudargas refused to point at the cause of the expulsion, local press attributed it to public intoxication in the Muslim country, ELTA reported. MH CLARK PRAISES POLISH CONTRIBUTION TO NATO. In Warsaw on 21 April as part of his farewell tour of NATO capitals, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, General Wesley Clark, praised Poland's contribution to the alliance and reiterated that NATO is the "pre-eminent" basis for European Security, Western wire services reported. PG NEW POLISH SOCIAL SECURITY, PRIVATIZATION LAWS. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski on 21 April signed into law mreasures increasing social security payments and channeling funds from the sale of state-owned enterprises to Polish citizens, AP reported. The new privatization measure sets aside 10 percent of the stake in privatized companies to fund pension increases, 7 percent to provide benefits to Poles not covered by the first provision, and 5 percent to provide money for restitution to those who lost property during the Nazi or Communist eras. PG CHORNOBYL EFFECTS CONTINUE IN POLAND. Researchers in southeastern Poland, the region most affected by the April 1986 Chornobyl nuclear accident, have found thyroid changes in every second young woman and in 10 percent of all young people, PAP reported on 24 April. In the towns of Kolno, Sejny, and Suwalki, up to 70 percent of the population have enlarged thyroid glands. The Bialystok Medical Academy plans to publish a full report later this year. PG CZECH MINERS END STRIKE. A 22-day sit-in strike at the Kohinoor brown coal mine ended on 21 April with an agreement reached between representatives of the striking miners and the Mostecka uhelna spolecnost company that owns the mine, CTK reported. The miners renounced their demand that the mine be sold to a company that would guarantee jobs and that its management be dismissed. Under the agreement, 450 out of the 950 employees are to be made redundant by the end of 2000 and the continuation of the mine's operation will depend on the government's subsidy. Those made redundant will receive severance pay amounting to three monthly wages, instead of two as provided by the law. MS CZECH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS SAY 'OPPOSITION AGREEMENT' VIOLATED... Zdenek Skromach, leader of the Social Democratic Party's (CSSD) parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies, on 21 April said the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) is violating the January 2000 extended version of the "opposition agreement," CTK reported. Under the agreement, the ODS pledged to support the establishment of a State Fund for Housing, aimed at building low-rent apartments and financing repairs to existing ones, as well as improving infrastructure. Skromach said his group will initiate a meeting between the two parliamentary groups and if that meeting fails to reach agreement, the leaderships of the two parties will have to meet in line with the "opposition agreement." ODS deputies say the money slated for the fund is not provided for in the budget and that similar attempts in the past to solve the chronic housing problem have failed. MS ...WHILE KLAUS CRITICIZES ZEMAN OVER 'TUNNELING' ALLEGATION. ODS leader Vaclav Klaus on 21 April sharply criticized Prime Minister Milos Zeman over a statement alleging that the trade unions at the Nova Hut steelworks plants were involved in illegal privatization deals, colloquially known as "tunneling," CTK reported. Klaus said the statement was "outrageous" and "pushed the Czech Republic back from Central to Eastern Europe." Union leaders at Nova Hut also protested the statement. The Petricle company, established by Nova Hut management, has bought shares in the Nova Hut steelworks and Zeman claims union representatives were aware of the deal. Petricle, in turn, was recently bought by British Central European Consultants, which allegedly intends to tender for a majority stake in Nova Hut. Zeman said the management of Nova Hut must step down as a condition for the government to participate in the search for a solution to the company's problems. MS MECIAR SUPPORTERS TURN LEADER INTO 'JESUS CHRIST.' Some 2,500 supporters of former Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar on 21 April (Good Friday) demonstrated in Bratislava against the brief detention of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) leader on 20 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 and 21 April 2000), comparing the Mikulas Dzurinda cabinet with the Nazi Gestapo and using anti-Semitic slogans, CTK, AP, and Reuters reported. One banner read "The Jews crucified Christ and Dzurinda and company want to crucify Meciar." HZDS deputy Dusan Jarjabek told the protesting crowd that "Just a few days before the anniversary of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, they broke into his house" in "an act of state terrorism," and an 80-year old protester said that "Christ was captured on Thursday, and they captured Meciar on Thursday." MS ROMANY ASSOCIATION PROTESTS BELGIAN DEPORTATION OF SLOVAK ROMA. The Budapest-based European Center for Romany Rights (ERRC) voiced concern in a letter to Belgian Premier Guy Verhofstadt on 21 April over reports that the authorities are about to start expelling Romany asylum-seekers from Slovakia, CTK reported. The ERRC said collective deportations are an infringement of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms of which Belgium was a signatory. Meanwhile, Belgian Interior Minister Antoine Duquesene on 21 April called on the municipal councils of Tienen and Gent to start deporting some 800 Slovak Roma who stayed in these towns despite receiving notification that their requests for asylum had been rejected. MS HUNGARIAN PREMIER SAYS EU CRITICISM OF AUSTRIA UNJUSTIFIED... Prime Minister Viktor Orban on 22 April told the "Neue Kronenzeitung" that the new Austrian cabinet "has so far done nothing to justify the criticism of the [other] 14 EU members," the BBC reported. Orban spoke ahead of the 27 April visit by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to Budapest. Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi had a different explanation of the visit. In an interview with the Italian daily "Il Sole 24 Ore" on 23 April, he said that Hungary did not introduce sanctions against Austria because Hungary is "not in the same position as the 14 EU countries and cannot adhere to the same procedure." Martonyi also said that the visit had been initiated by Vienna and stressed that it will be "a short one, lasting just a few hours." MS ...DESCRIBES FLOODS AS 'WORST FIVE DAYS IN DECADES.' Orban on 24 April said on national radio that "critical days are still ahead" in the struggle to cope with the floods caused by the Tisza River but that "we are over one of the hardest four to five-day periods we have known in decades," AP reported. Despite the Easter holidays, work continued on reinforcing dikes and sealing leaks in dozens of villages along the river. MS SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE KFOR DETAINS MITROVICA SERB LEADER. NATO peacekeepers detained Oliver Ivanovic for two hours on 24 April as he was heading to Leposaviq. That town is to the north of the divided city of Mitrovica, where he is the hard-line political leader of local Serbs. Peacekeepers said that Ivanovic's documents had expired and that they "wanted to take a picture to renew his papers." Ivanovic insisted that his papers were still valid, and showed Reuters a KFOR pass good until the end of June. Some 200 Serbs gathered to protest the detention of Ivanovic and dispersed only when a Belgian peacekeeper fired a warning shot. Previous to his detention, Ivanovic met with his counterpart in southern Mitrovica, Bajram Rexhepi, and with the international community's negotiator for the divided city, William Nash. PM IVANOVIC ANNOUNCES FIRST PLANNED RETURN OF SERBS. Ivanovic told Reuters in Mitrovica on 25 April that he is planning the organized return of up to 1,500 Serbs to Kosova. He stressed that he will need the support of the UN civil administration, KFOR, and the UNCHR. "We have to [first] get insurance [sic] from KFOR that everything will be safe. We will need supplies. The Albanians cut the water, electrical, [and] telephone supplies in the area. They have to be repaired by KFOR before we send in the first group. If they do that and secure the area, it's enough for the start. It will be the first organized return of Serbs" to Kosova, he said. PM KURTI, BROVINA PROTEST IMPRISONMENT. Student leader Albin Kurti and human rights activist Flora Brovina told journalists at Pozarevac prison on 22 April that they are being "unjustly held behind bars," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Kurti stressed that he had been sentenced "simply because I am an [ethnic] Albanian" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 March 2000). PM KOUCHNER HAS NO ANSWER FROM MILOSEVIC. Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN's civilian administration in Kosova, said on 22 April that he has not had an answer from the Belgrade authorities about his proposal for ethnic Serbian refugees from Kosova to participate in the local elections expected later this year. Kouchner had suggested that Serbian refugees could vote where they are currently living, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM SERBIAN OPPOSITION SETS UP COUNCIL. Some 100 delegates representing the Serbian opposition as well as Serbs in Kosova, Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro met on 21 and 22 April in Athens under the sponsorship of Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic. Participants agreed to form a Council of Democratic Forces of Serbia under the leadership of Aleksandar and Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, "Vesti" reported on 25 April. After the session, opposition leaders met with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who said that from them he "heard a different vision of Serbia, [namely] a democratic one open to the broader European family" of nations, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM SHOW TRIAL IN SERBIA. The trial began in Nis on 24 April of three men from Krusevac, who are charged with plotting the assassination of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and army chief-of-staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic. The military court heard the men confirm that they are members of the shadowy "Serbian Liberation Army (OSA)." Some observers have suggested that OSA and other alleged conspiratorial groups with names such as Spider are really the invention of Milosevic's intelligence services. The regime seeks to divert attention, sow confusion, create an atmosphere of uncertainty, and supply pretexts for future crackdowns, the observers conclude. PM MONTENEGRO DEVALUES DINAR. Beginning 21 April, the National Bank of Montenegro devalued the Yugoslav dinar by 15 percent against the German mark. The government introduced the mark on its own initiative as a parallel currency to the dinar in November 1999 in an effort to ensure stability and insulate Montenegro from inflationary trends in Serbia. The Belgrade authorities subsequently declared this move illegal but have not regarded it as a reason to consider the Montenegrin government in open rebellion. This is partly because the German mark has been the unofficial second currency throughout the former Yugoslavia for decades. PM ALBANIA, MONTENEGRO DEEPEN TIES. Albanian Foreign Minister Paskal Milo arrived in Podgorica on 24 April in the latest of a series of moves by Albania and Montenegro to promote closer relations despite Montenegro's continued membership in Milosevic's Yugoslav federation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). Milo met with Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic and Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac to discuss joint initiatives under the EU's Stability Pact (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 25 April 2000). PM TOP ALBANIAN AWARD FOR CLARK. President Rexhep Meidani gave General Clark, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, the Order of Skanderbeg, which is the highest Albanian award that a foreigner can receive. Meidani said at the ceremony in Tirana on 24 April that Clark played a key role in the "triumph of humanism and democracy, the protection of human lives, and the restoration of dignity and human rights of oppressed people in Kosova." PM KFOR SEND INDICTED WAR CRIMINAL TO HAGUE. NATO peacekeepers seized Dragan Nikolic on 21 April on Bosnian Serb territory and sent him the next day to The Hague. The tribunal has indicted him on more than 80 counts, including several of murder, stemming from his time as commander of a Serbian prison camp at Susica, near Vlasenica, in 1992. Nikolic was indicted in 1994 in the first Bosnian war crimes indictment. PM 'CREEPING PARTITION' IN BRCKO? Muslim politician Mirsad Djapo, who is president of the Brcko district legislature, told "Dnevni avaz" of 25 April that the area is in danger of undergoing a de facto partition. He said that the widespread view that the city proper is Serbian while the surrounding district is Muslim is helping hold up the return of many refugees. Djapo called for a strong role for the international community to offset the influence of nationalists. PM KUCAN WANTS EARLY ELECTIONS. Slovenian President Milan Kucan said on television in Ljubljana on 21 April that early elections are necessary to ensure the formation of a credible government. He stressed that it is not possible to put together a broadly-based government in the current parliament (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000). PM FRENCH EUROPEAN AFFAIRS MINISTER IN ROMANIA. Pierre Moscovici, on a two-day visit to Romania, on 24 April met with President Emil Constantinescu, Premier Mugur Isarescu, Foreign Minister Petre Roman and other officials, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. He stressed that France continues to support Romania's integration into the EU and NATO and said that when his country takes over the EU rotating presidency from Portugal, it will act to bring about the abolition of visa requirements for Romanian citizens traveling within the EU. Moscovici also said Paris will support opening negotiations with Romania on more chapters of the aquis communautaire and announced that it will grant Romania aid aimed at extending help to people affected by the recent floods in Transylvania. MS NATO SPOKESMAN ON POSSIBLE POLITICAL CHANGE IN ROMANIA. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea on 24 April said all states admitted to NATO "must be democratic countries" and in a democracy "the change of government means a change of internal, not foreign policy," Romanian radio reported on 25 April. Shea was answering a journalist's question, who asked if "the possible return to power of [the opposition] Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) would pose obstacles to the development of NATO-Romanian relations." The spokesman added that PDSR leader Ion Iliescu has "emphasized in clear terms that his political orientation favors Romania's integration into NATO." MS ROMANIA, MOLDOVA, AGREE ON BASIC TREATY. Roman is meeting on 25 April with leaders of parties represented in the parliament to brief them on the basic treaty with Moldova, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The document describes the relations between the two states as a "privileged partnership." Moldovan Deputy Premier Andrei Cucu and Roman on 24 April signed in Bucharest an agreement for collaboration between the two governments. Roman said that Romania will continue to aid Moldova in its quest for European integration. But Cucu was unsuccessful in convincing his partners in Bucharest to renew electricity deliveries. Premier Isarescu said that the resumption of deliveries depends on signing a commercial accord and Industry Minister Radu Berceanu rejected a Moldovan proposal that Romania take over shares in Moldova's electricity grid about to be privatized as "insufficient" to cover Moldova's debt to Romania. MS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT, STUDENTS, REACH AGREEMENT. Representatives of the students who rioted for four days in Chisinau and representatives of the government on 21 April reached an agreement that will end the conflict, RFE/RL's bureau in the Moldovan capital reported. The agreement stipulates that students will be entitled to two cross- country yearly trips on state-owned transportation at half price and that the proportion of students entitled to a scholarship will rise from 25 to 35 percent. Due to the food penury and the high prices, many students bring foodstuff from their villages and cannot afford the travel costs. MS CIS COMMISSION VISITS MOLDOVA. A peacemaking commission of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly headed by State Duma deputy chairman Boris Pastukhov on 24 April met with President Petru Lucinschi, Premier Dumitru Braghis, and parliament chairman Dumitru Diacov, discussing ways of solving the conflict with the Transdniester separatists, Infotag and Flux reported. Lucinschi welcomed the CIS initiative to mediate in the conflict and said Moldova is ready to accept a "reasonable compromise" provided its territorial integrity is respected. Diacov said that Moldova is ready to grant Tiraspol broad autonomy provided that the sovereignty and indivisibility of Moldovan territory is recognized by the separatists. The commission is to travel to Tiraspol for talks with Igor Smirnov and other Transdniester separatist leaders. MS BULGARIAN PREMIER REJECTS DEMANDS THAT HE STEP DOWN... Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, speaking in parliament on 21 April, rejected opposition demands that he resign in view of the large-scale corruption scandal in the country (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000). He told Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov, who said the country is being ruled by "the most corrupt government in its history," that "nothing you want to happen will happen." Kostov said he will "continue to sack from office immediately people against whom there are solid and proved suspicions of breaching the law." In an allusion to former Interior Minister Bogomil Bonev, whom Kostov sacked from the cabinet in December 1999 and who has called for the premier's resignation, Kostov said that "the only development that can be described as dangerous is the attempt to attain political goals by discrediting opponents," Reuters and AP reported. ...PLEDGES TO INCREASE POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY... Kostov said in an interview on 23 April with Bulgarian Radio that he intends to "remove or reduce the [parliamentary] immunity of lawmakers" and possibly also the immunity of magistrates, in an effort to increase the fight against corruption, AP reported. Kostov said he believes lawmakers must enjoy immunity only for statements made in the parliament. He also said his Union of Democratic Forces (FDS) will introduce a bill obliging state officials to declare their wealth at the start and end of political office. Reuters reported on 21 April that former President Zhelu Zhelev, in an interview with "24 Chasa," accused the FDS of being "fraught with mega-corruption." Zhelev defended Bonev as being "the only person brave enough to tell Kostov the truth" and said the FDS had "blackmailed" business to finance its local elections campaign in 1999, "while incumbents took part in privatization through stooges." MS ...GETS WORLD BANK FUNDS TO FIGHT CORRUPTION. The World Bank's director for Bulgaria and Romania, Andrew Vorkink, announced on 21 April in Sofia that the bank is providing a $7.5 million loan for Bulgaria to fight corruption and improve customs operations, DPA reported. On 23 April, Orthodox Patriarch Maxim, speaking at the Palm Sunday mass in the Saint Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia, called on the government to introduce mandatory religion classes in schools to protect youth from "sinful temptations," AP reported. Maxim said that "in order to grow honest, fair, affectionate, and compassionate," young people need religious instruction, which must be taught "at equal footing with other school subjects." MS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Zsolt-Istvan Mato RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 4:45:44 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 81 Part I, 25 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 4:45:44 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 81 Part I, 25 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 81, Part I, 25 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * NEWSPAPER SAYS REAL COST OF CHECHEN CAMPAIGN DOUBLE ESTIMATE * DUMA PASSES ANOTHER ARMS CONTROL TREATY * UZBEK SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS SIGN ANTI-TERRORISM TREATY END NOTE: Energy Disputes May Mar Russian-Armenian Partnership xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA NEWSPAPER SAYS REAL COST OF CHECHEN CAMPAIGN DOUBLE ESTIMATE. "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 22 April that First Deputy Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's recent statement that Russia's military campaign in Chechnya is costing 2.5 billon rubles ($88 million--not $262 million as was incorrectly calculated in a "Newsline" item last week) a month underestimates the war's real cost by at least half (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 April 2000). The daily suggested that the cost of weapons, military hardware, and ammunition alone must be higher than 2.5 billion rubles a month, noting that the federal budget owes some 20 billion rubles to the military-industrial complex. According to Igor Buzuev of the Chelyabinsk Interior Troops Department's press service, local "sponsors" have covered half of their general costs: For example, local enterprises recently sent four KamAZ vehicles to Chechnya. Business magnate Boris Berezovskii owns a controlling interest in "Kommersant-Daily." JAC CHECHENS AGAIN AMBUSH RUSSIAN CONVOY. A group of some 50 Chechen fighters led by an Arab mercenary attacked a Russian convoy near the southern village of Serzhen-Yurt on the evening of 23 April killing 13 Russians and wounding a further six, Russian agencies reported, quoting senior Russian military officials. In contrast to earlier such attacks, Russian army troops, not Interior Ministry personnel, were targeted. Colonel General Gennadii Troshev, who had been confirmed two days earlier as commander of the combined federal forces in the North Caucasus, told journalists in Khankala, near Grozny, on 24 April that the Russian commanders were not to blame for the attack. The earlier ambushes were blamed on reconnaissance failures (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 6 April 2000). LF DUMA PASSES ANOTHER ARMS CONTROL TREATY... State Duma deputies voted on 21 April to approve the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by a vote of 298 in favor with 74 opposed and three abstentions. According to Interfax, Russia signed the treaty in September 1996, and President Boris Yeltsin first presented it to the Duma in November 1999. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov hailed the Duma's action, stating that ratification should be seen as a "serious claim by the new Russian leadership to an active foreign policy in the field of disarmament." The Foreign Ministry also called on other states who have signed the treaty but not ratified it--such as the U.S.-- to do so. "Kommersant-Daily " concluded on 22 April that Russia is trying to involve the U.S. in a "disarmament race," adding that ratification of the treaty gives Russia a "certain moral advantage in its argument with the U.S. over the ABM treaty." JAC ...AS U.S. FEELS THE PRESSURE? Reacting to news of the ratification, U.S. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart told reporters that "the U.S.'s leadership on arms control [and] nonproliferation is unparalleled" and that U.S. President Bill Clinton "is confident that ultimately the [U.S.] Senate will see this [issue] the way he does and will ratify the treaty." In an interview with "Die Welt" on 22 April, Former German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said the most important thing about the Duma's ratification of the treaty is that it will force the U.S. to consider this step. U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan also praised the Duma's ratification of the treaty and called on the U.S. and China to also ratify the treaty. JAC RUSSIA USES NPT CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS WITH ABM. While attending the sixth conference on the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty in New York on 25 April, Foreign Minister Ivanov again slammed the U.S. for its desire to amend the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, declaring that it "could irreparably harm all nuclear pacts signed over the last 30 years and destroy international stability forever." However, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the previous day that "the treaty has been amended before, and there is no good reason it cannot be amended again." In an article published in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 22 April, Yurii Kapralov, director of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Security and Disarmament Issues, said that on the eve of the treaty conference "Russia is confirming with concrete actions its commitment to the letter and spirit of the [Nuclear Non- Proliferation] Treaty." JAC NEW MILITARY DOCTRINE COMES INTO USE. President-elect Putin signed a decree on 22 April approving Russia's new military doctrine, which the Security Council had approved in February (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 February 2000). The new doctrine replaces one approved by then President Yeltsin in 1992, Interfax reported. According to a Kremlin statement, the new doctrine states that "the Russian Federation envisages the possibility of using all forces and means at its disposal including nuclear weapons, when all other means of settling a crisis have been exhausted or have proven ineffective." U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters on 21 April that the U.S. doesn't believe that the doctrine constitutes "a major departure." However, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, General Wesley Clark, said earlier in the month that the new doctrine is a "step in the wrong direction" because it "represents a turning away from the previous policy of increased openness and cooperation with the West, which the Russian military put in place in the early 1990s." JAC RUSSIA PLEDGES TO DEFEND ITS INTERESTS IN CASPIAN... Addressing a session of the Russian Security Council on 21 April, President-elect Putin said that Russia must strengthen its position in the Caspian and defend its interests there. He said the interest shown in the region by the U.S., Turkey, and the U.K. was the consequence of Moscow's "inactivity." But at the same time, Putin stressed that Moscow does not intend to exclude any other country from the region, or to turn the Caspian into "a zone of confrontation," according to Caucasus Press. Putin announced the creation of a special group within the Foreign Ministry charged with proposing solutions to the problems connected with the Caspian. He also said that the post of Russian presidential advisor for the Caspian has been created, and will be filled after the new Russian government is unveiled next month. LF ...AND AZERBAIJAN WANTS CLARIFICATION. Azerbaijani Presidential administration official Novruz Mamedov on 21 April told Turan that "it is too early" to comment on Putin's statement concerning Russia's interests in the Caspian, but he added that "it is clear" that Azerbaijan does not infringe on those interests as it operates only within its own sector of the sea. A second Azerbaijani official told Turan that Putin's statement is in line with his earlier comments on foreign policy. But retired state foreign policy adviser Vafa Guluzade termed Putin's statement "worrying," noting that "defense of Russia's interests" was the rationale adduced for the Red Army's intervention in Azerbaijan in 1920. He proposed "a tenfold strengthening" of Azerbaijan's military capability and "serious negotiations" with Turkey and the U.S. LF U.S. TO LIFT SOME SANCTIONS, IMPOSES NEW ONES FOR AIDING IRAN. The U.S. State Department announced on 24 April that the U.S. will impose sanctions against the rector of Russia's Baltic State Technical University, Yurii Savelev, for helping Iran develop a missile program. At the same time, the U.S. announced that it will lift restrictions imposed on two Russian organizations, the INOR Scientific Center and the Polyus Scientific Production Association because the two organizations have ceased their "proliferant behavior," AFP reported. According to the State Department, Savelev "is believed to have violated Russian export controls and attempted to export goods or services that could contribute to the construction of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction." Last month, Savelev was suspended as rector on suspicion of having allowed students from abroad, including Iran, to study "subjects related to missile technology," according to one Russian newspaper (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). JAC UNITY WANTS TO BE CALLED 'RULING PARTY'... At a meeting of the pro-Kremlin bloc Unity's political council on 22 April, Unity faction leader Boris Gryzhlov called on Unity to become a "ruling party" in words and actions. Unity leader and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Shoigu also instructed reporters to call Unity a "ruling party" rather than a "party of power," "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" reported on 25 April. Shoigu said that Unity members will run in elections of all levels throughout the country and place their representatives in power whenever possible. According to the daily, more than 200 regional Unity representatives came to the meeting in Moscow to discuss the issue of transforming Unity into a political party at its congress on 27 May. The party will reportedly be constructed on the basis of regional organizations under the supervision of Unity's political council. JAC ...AS NEW 'LIBERAL' MOVEMENT ORGANIZED. A new political movement was formed under the name "Liberal Russia" at a constituent congress held on 23 April, Interfax reported. Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) deputy Sergei Yushenkov told reporters that participants in the Congress decided that they will have "co-chairmen" rather than leaders. These co- chairpersons will be Yushenkov, deputy (SPS) Viktor Pokhmelkin, deputy (Fatherland-All Russia) Sergei Shokhin, and Boris Zolotukhin and Galina Sartan of the Democratic Choice of Russia party. Yushenkov said that the formation of the new movement was necessary because existing liberal- democratic parties defend the interests of oligarchs. "Nezavisimaya gazeta," which is financed by Berezovskii's LogoVAZ group, described on 25 April the formation of Liberal Russia as a split within the ranks of SPS in part to protest the influence of Unified Energy Systems head Anatolii Chubais over that group. JAC STEPASHIN PROMISES MORE COOPERATION ON MONEY-LAUNDERING INVESTIGATIONS. The newly-elected head of Russia's Audit Chamber, Sergei Stepashin, met with U.S. Representative (Republican) Jim Leach, who heads the House of Representatives' Banking Committee, on 24 April to discuss the Bank of New York (BONY) scandal and other issues. According to Interfax, Stepashin agreed to exchange more documents on the subject of money-laundering with U.S. authorities although he charged that "there is a political tinge" to the BONY case. Stepashin also said that he will seek more assistance from Russian security and law enforcement agencies. JAC FORMER ALUMINUM TITAN AND WOULD-BE POLITICAL REFUGEE RETURNS. The former head of Krasnoyarsk Aluminum, Anatolii Bykov, was flown from Budapest to Russia on 21 April to face charges of money-laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. Bykov had unsuccessfully fought extradition from Hungary, claiming that he was unfairly targeted by law enforcement officials in Krasnoyarsk due to his opposition to Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). ITAR- TASS reported on 25 April that the legislature of Krasnoyarsk Krai will have to give its consent in order for Bykov to be prosecuted since he was elected to that body and therefore has legislative immunity from criminal prosecution. On the other hand, Bykov's term is due to expire in a year and a half and an unidentified local law enforcement officer told the agency that investigation of the charges against him could take that long. JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIA COMMEMORATES GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY. Tens of thousands of Armenians, including the country's entire leadership, marched in silence on 24 April to the Yerevan monument to an estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed in Ottoman Turkey in 1915, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. In a televised address to the Armenian people, President Robert Kocharian said that Armenia will continue to try to persuade the international community to formally acknowldge the killings as genocide. At the same time, he called for reconciliation and for "a new kind" of relationship between Armenia and Turkey which, he said, is crucial to maintaining stability and developing regional cooperation. LF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT REJECTS DEMAND FOR INTERIOR MINISTER'S DISMISSAL. President Kocharian on 22 April rejected a call by Prime Minister Aram Sargsian the previous day for the firing of Interior Minister Hayk Harutiunian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Sargsian argued that Harutiunian is responsible for the escape from justice of his one of his predecessors, Vano Siradeghian, who is currently on trial on charges of ordering a series of contract killings. Kocharian had suggested on 19 April that some members of the Interior Ministry staff had helped Siradeghian flee the country after parliament deputies voted to lift his immunity from detention (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 11 April 2000). But a presidential spokesman quoted Kocharian on 22 April as noting that Harutiunian was not in Armenia on 3 April, the date of Siradeghian's disappearance. LF ARMENIAN DEMONSTRATORS CALL FOR ACCESSION TO RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION. Some 10,000 mostly elderly people participated in a 21 April demonstration in Yerevan to demand that Armenia join the Union of Belarus and Russia, RFE/RL's bureau in the Armenian capital reported. Armenian Communist Party leader Vladimir Darpinian argued that joining the union would resolve Armenia's economic problems, according to AP. Right and Accord bloc parliament deputy Aghasi Arshakian said that 38 out of a total of 131 parliament deputies support Armenian membership in the union (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 16, 21 April 2000). LF GEORGIA, RUSSIA DISCUSS WITHDRAWAL OF BASES. Following talks in Moscow on 20-21 April, Georgian and Russian government delegations signed a protocol under which Moscow agreed to reduce the amount of equipment at its military bases in Georgia by the end of 2000 and to close the bases in Vaziani, near Tbilisi, and Gudauta, in Abkhazia, by 30 June 2001, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported. The Georgian delegation reportedly proposed that all four bases be closed within three years, while the Russians advocate abiding by the bilateral agreement signed in November 1999, which left open the date for closure of the two remaining bases (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 November 1999). The two delegations also agreed to draft a program of bilateral military cooperation, according to Caucasus Press. Moscow further returned to Georgia military equipment and uniforms confiscated in Moscow last year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 and 24 November 1999). LF chancellery ABKHAZIA PROTESTS POLICE KILLINGS... The Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia on 22 April issued a statement condemning the shooting four days earlier of seven Abkhaz police officers and calling on the CIS peacekeeping force and UN Observer mission in Abkhazia to require Georgia to abide by earlier agreements on a cessation of hostilities, Caucasus Press reported. The Abkhaz statement accused Tbilisi of failing to curtail guerrilla activities in Abkhazia. On 24 April, UN Observer Mission head General Anis Ahmed Baiwa said that the situation on the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia has deteriorated as a result of the shootings. He expressed regret that "political considerations" frequently hinder the investigation by a joint Abkhaz-Georgian-Russian-UN working group of such killings. LF ...ACCUSES UKRAINE OF BIAS. Also on 22 April, Ukraine's ambassador to Georgia, Stepan Volkhovetskii, told Caucasus Press that during talks with Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba, the latter had accused Ukraine of favoring Georgia. Ardzinba also again expressed his opposition to the inclusion of Ukraine in the Friends of the UN Secretary-General group that is trying to mediate a solution of the Abkhaz conflict (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 January 2000). LF MAN WHO FEIGNED ATTACK ON GEORGIAN PRESIDENT DIAGNOSED AS PARANOID. Artem Bagdiev, who was briefly taken into custody on 20 April after throwing a bag of knitted woolen hats at President Eduard Shevardnadze's limousine, has been diagnosed as "paranoid" and will be held for two weeks observation in a psychiatric hospital, Caucasus Press reported on 25 April. Bagdiev had said after the incident that his sole objective had been to draw attention to his hat-making skills, and promised to refrain from similar actions in future. LF GEORGIAN PENSIONERS DEMAND OVERDUE ALLOWANCES. Some 150 pensioners and former Interior Ministry personnel staged a demonstration outside the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi on 24 April to demand their allowances for the past 11 months, Caucasus Press reported. The following day, a group of mothers of large families demonstrated outside the state chancellery to demand that child allowances be raised from the present 12 lari ($6) per month. As Georgian Communist Party first s ecretary in the early 1980s, Shevardnadze had promoted a policy of encouraging women to bear 4-6 children. LF RUSSIAN ROCKET CRASHES IN KAZAKHSTAN. A Russian test missile fired from the Ashuluk military testing range in Astrakhan Oblast went out of control and crashed on 21 April near the village of Primore in western Kazakhstan, Reuters and ITAR- TASS reported. Although no one was injured by the crash, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov summoned Russia's ambassador, Yuri Merzlyakov, on 24 April and demanded an explanation of the accident. Idrisov told journalists the same day that the Kazakh government will ask Moscow to suspend rocket tests at the Ashaluk range. LF KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT MARKS 10 YEARS IN OFFICE. In a 24 April address marking the 10th anniversary of his election as president, Nursultan Nazarbaev stressed that his country had succeeded in avoiding political instability and interethnic tensions following the collapse of the USSR and that his economic reforms are already bearing fruit, Reuters reported. He said the country's priorities for the immediate future are to strengthen independence, to preserve political stability, and to encourage economic growth. At the same time, Nazarbaev warned journalists against abusing press freedom and criticized unnamed foreign states for attempting to sow tensions between Kazakhstan and neighboring Russia and Uzbekistan. LF KAZAKHSTAN, UZBEKISTAN PLEDGE TO RESOLVE BORDER DISPUTES. Also on 24 April, Kazakh Foreign Minister Idrisov and Uzbekistan's ambassador to Kazakhstan, Turdykul Butayarov, told journalists in Almaty that working groups from the two countries will meet next week to begin demarcating their 2,150 km common border, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. Unilateral attempts by Uzbekistan to do so earlier this year gave rise to protests and tensions in southern Kazakhstan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January and 8 March 2000). LF KAZAKHSTAN HOPES FOR FURTHER COOPERATION WITH GAZPROM. Kazakhstan's prime minister, Qasymzhomart Toqaev, told visiting State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev in Astana on 21 April that increased economic cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan, including the possible creation of a common economic space, could contribute to resolving problems in bilateral relations and does not necessarily entail Kazakhstan's loss of statehood and independence, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Toqaev reportedly also said that Kazakhstan would welcome the return of Gazprom to Kazakhstan following the withdrawal of the Belgian company Tractebel, which in 1997 acquired a 20 year concession to manage Kazakhstan's gas distribution network. LF CHINESE DELEGATION VISITS KYRGYZSTAN. Following talks in Bishkek on 21 April between Kyrgyz Prime Minister Amangeldi Muraliev and a 17-person Chinese delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade Jiang Syang, it was announced that Beijing will give Bishkek 5 million yuan ($600,000) in aid towards implementing economic reforms, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. LF UZBEK SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS SIGN ANTI-TERRORISM TREATY. Meeting in Tashkent on 21 April, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan signed a 10-year treaty on joint efforts to combat terrorism, political and religious extremism, transnational organized crime, and other threats to security and stability, Interfax reported. Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov and Tajikistan's Imomali Rakhmonov told journalists after the signing that one of the main threats to regional stability is the war in Afghanistan. Meeting in Moscow the same day, the interior ministers of the so-called Bishkek group comprising the five signatory states to the Shanghai Agreement (Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) adopted an appeal to their respective heads of state containing specific proposals on cooperation in combatting crime, Interfax reported. LF END NOTE Energy Disputes May Mar Russian-Armenian Partnership By Emil Danielyan A dispute over energy issues is threatening to jeopardize the generally cordial relationship between Armenia and Russia. Russia's Gazprom monopoly is threatening to halt natural gas deliveries to Armenia if Yerevan fails to repay debts it has accumulated over the last few years. The threats coincided with the exclusion of a Gazprom-controlled company from the ongoing international bidding for Armenia's electricity distribution network, a move that Russian diplomats have warned may adversely affect bilateral economic cooperation. Armenian Energy Minister David Zadoyan flew to Moscow on 21 April to try to win a reprieve for his country, which would face a crippling energy crisis should the Russians shut the tap on the pipeline running through Georgia. Thermal power stations, which primarily use Russian gas, account for a large part of the power generated in Armenia. Gazprom has already cut its supplies from the usual 3.5 million to 1.3 million cubic meters a day. It gave the Armenian government until 24 April to clear $16 million in unpaid bills. That debt was rescheduled last August, but officials in the Armrosgaz venture, which handles gas imports, complain that Armenian consumers still fail to pay up. Gazprom, together with its subsidiary, ITERA, effectively controls Armenia's natural gas infrastructure through a 55 percent stake in Armrosgaz. The prospect of a gas cut-off rekindles Armenians' memories of the dark days of the early 1990s when they had just a few hours of electricity a day amid severe energy shortages. Gazprom's deadline for Armenia raises a number of questions among local observers. The size of the debt, they say, is fairly large but other former Soviet republics owe much more to the Russians. And Armenia is not the worst defaulter. As gas-rich Turkmenistan's ambassador in Yerevan noted on 20 April, Armenia (which still owes his country $14 million for earlier fuel deliveries) meets its payment obligations far better than other ex-Soviet states. Ambassador Toyli Kurbanov told reporters: "It is important to note that of all our debtor-states the Republic of Armenia was and is the most diligent and punctual payer." The Gazprom demands came as ITERA was left out of a short-list of foreign companies participating in an international tender for four Armenian electricity companies. Deputy Energy Minister Karen Galustian announced on 18 April that ITERA does not qualify because it failed to submit findings of an internationally certified audit that would show its financial situation. A government commission handling the tender left four bidders in the race: the Electricite de France giant, Swiss-Swedish group ABB, Spain's Union Feroza, and the U.S. operator AES Silk Road. Earlier this year, Armenian press reports said Yerevan was under Russian pressure to declare a consortium of the Gazprom subsidiary and the Rosenergoatom concern winner of the tender. Although Armenian officials denied those claims, the World Bank urged them last February to ensure the fairness and transparency of the process. Furthermore, senior World Bank executives argued strongly against giving ITERA, which is registered in the U.S., ownership rights, citing its financial inadequacy. ITERA has never been engaged in energy distribution and was repeatedly accused by some Russian media of serving as a tool for Gazprom to channel its huge revenues to offshore accounts. Pressure from the World Bank, Armenia's leading creditor, and from other Western agencies may have been instrumental in ITERA's exclusion from the tender, which Russia's ambassador to Armenia, Anatolii Dryukov, promptly deplored. Dryukov was quoted by local news agencies as saying on 20 April that the decision to reject the Russian bid runs counter to Russian-Armenian agreements on deepening economic cooperation. In a statement released on 21 April, Rosenergoatom accused the Armenian government of taking a discriminatory approach toward the Russian firms. It said the U.S. government is lobbying hard for the interests of America's AES, which already owns the power grid in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. With ITERA officials unavailable for comment, it is not clear whether the drastic reduction of Russian gas supplies is related to the Armenian energy sector privatization. But it appears that the latest development in the bidding will complicate Yerevan's efforts to keep the vital fuel streaming in. Meanwhile, "Kommersant-Daily" on 19 April noted that Yerevan may be subject to new pressure from Rosenergoatom, which is the sole supplier of fuel for Armenia's nuclear power station. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Zsolt-Istvan Mato RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 5:03:39 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 77, Part I, 18 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 5:03:39 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 77, Part I, 18 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 77, Part I, 18 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * PUTIN EXUDES CONFIDENCE IN LONDON * NEXT U.S.-RUSSIA SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR JUNE * KYRGYZ SECURITY OFFICIALS REJECT KULOV'S EXPLANATIONS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA PUTIN EXUDES CONFIDENCE IN LONDON. During his first foreign trip as president-elect, Vladimir Putin adopted an upbeat mood in meetings with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "The elections in Russia, presidential and for the Duma, have already created a very good basis for the future development of our cooperation with our foreign partners," Putin told a Confederation of British Industry Seminar. He said that "Russia is determined to fulfill all [of its] financial commitments," will seek to attract back capital that has fled abroad, and promised that there will not be any renationalization of privately-held assets, Russian and Western agencies reported. Speaking to journalists later, Putin said that he will continue the fight against organized crime not because the Russian economy is run by gangsters but to increase the efficiency of the market, ITAR-TASS reported. PG PUTIN OFFERS OPENING ON ABM. After British Prime Minister Blair emphasized the differences between Moscow and Washington on the future of ABM programs, Russian President- elect Putin noted that "our legislation strictly links" maintenance of the ABM treaty with START-II, adding that "but I want to draw your attention to the fact that at the time, at the proposal of the American side, we have drawn a line between strategic and non-strategic defense. In this context, we are ready to conduct a dialogue." British commentators immediately suggested that American plans for an ABM system directed at rogue states rather than Russia might pass muster in Moscow, Reuters reported. In other comments, Putin reiterated that Moscow is prepared to cut its arsenal to 1,500 warheads, instead of plans for cuts to 2,000-2,500 now on the table, Interfax reported. PG PUTIN DEFENDS CHECHEN POLICY, SAYS MOSCOW RETURNING 'CIVILIZATION' TO CHECHNYA. Acknowledging his differences with British Premier Blair on the issue of Chechnya, President-elect Putin said that Moscow is returning "civilization" to that republic, ITAR-TASS reported. He added that Moscow's efforts there are directed at protecting all of humanity from terrorism and suggested that Western countries do not yet understand how such terrorism could affect them. And he argued that Moscow's policies are promoting human rights, not violating them. PG NEXT U.S.-RUSSIA SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR JUNE. The U.S. White House announced on 17 April that President Bill Clinton will hold his first summit with President-elect Putin on 4-5 June in Moscow. According to the White House, Clinton will also speak with other members of Russia's political elite: "The president also hopes to use his visit to speak to a broad spectrum of Russian leaders who are building new democratic institutions, civil society and a market economy." Interfax reported earlier that Clinton and Putin might also meet before the Group of Seven plus Russia meeting in Okinawa, Japan in mid-July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). JAC ZYUGANOV SAYS DUMA WOULD CONFIRM KASYANOV. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov told Ekho Moskvy on 17 April that he believes the Duma would confirm First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov if President-elect Putin nominated him, ITAR-TASS reported. He said that his party has not considered any possible candidates of its own and would support someone such as Kasyanov with a "good knowledge of finance." PG MOSCOW SCHOLAR SAYS PUTIN'S DEATH OR INCAPACITY WOULD POSE CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES. Now that the Russian president- elect has begun to travel abroad, his physical well-being has become a political question, Reuters reported on 17 April. While few in the Russian capital are prepared to discuss what would happen in the event of Putin's death or incapacity, Moscow University legal faculty head Suren Abakyan said that such developments could pose serious problems for Russia because there is no constitutionally mandated succession until a new prime minister is confirmed, Reuters reported on 17 April. Abakyan said that he believes First Deputy Prime Minister Kasyanov would take office simply to salvage the situation but acknowledged that this would not really be constitutional. PG PUTIN, IVANOV SUGGEST TIMEFRAME FOR CHECHEN ELECTIONS. Russian President-elect Putin said in London on 17 April that a new Chechen leader will probably be elected within 12-18 months, but no later than two years from now, Interfax reported. Putin also said that the Russian government and the State Duma are jointly drafting a bill on a temporary administration for Chechnya (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," No. 15, 14 April 2000). Meanwhile Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told CNN that in August elections will be held for a Chechen representative to the Russian State Duma. LF FOREIGN MINISTRY, MILITARY DISAGREE OVER END OF HOSTILITIES. Ivanov also stated unequivocally in his CNN interview that "the military operation in Chechnya is over," according to Interfax. But Colonel-General Gennadii Troshev, acting commander of the Russian federal forces in the North Caucasus, told journalists in southern Chechnya on 17 April that it is "premature" to say that the war is over, Russian agencies reported. He conceded that some Chechen detachments, including that headed by Ruslan Gelaev, have been destroyed, but noted that the formations headed by Shamil Basaev and Khattab are still capable of "subversive and terrorist actions." LF CHECHEN MUFTI MAKES BID FOR CHECHEN LEADERSHIP. Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov told journalists in the eastern Chechen village of Tsentoroi on 17 April that "I can and must lead the Chechen people out of this situation," Interfax reported. Kadyrov said that it is up to President-elect Putin to name an interim Chechen leader, but added that the person selected should be "someone from Chechnya, not one of those who watched what was going on there from the outside." Kadyrov suggested that a referendum should be held in two years to determine Chechnya's future status, warning that if the Chechen people are deprived of the possibility to decide on that status themselves, a new "imam" will emerge in 30, 40, or 50 years and call upon the Chechen people to build an independent state. LF FSB OFFICER SHOT DEAD IN CHECHNYA. An officer of the Federal Security Service (FSB) was shot dead on 16 April in the Chechen town of Argun, east of Grozny, Interfax reported the following day. The officer had been detailed to check out an apartment in the town, the occupants of which opened fire on his approach. A police officer was also killed and three injured in the shooting. LF KHASBULATOV NAMED CHAIRMAN OF NORTH CAUCASUS COUNCIL. Former State Duma speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov has been named chairman of the newly-created Public Council for the North Caucasus, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 18 April. The council's objectives are to contribute to a peaceful solution of the fighting in Chechnya and to restore "normal living conditions" throughout the North Caucasus. A group of prominent pro-Moscow Chechen political figures had appealed to President-elect Putin to establish such a council and appoint Khasbulatov to chair it (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). LF MOSCOW SETS UP CHECHNYA COMMISSION... Pavel Krasheninnikov, a former justice minister and current chairman of the Duma's legal committee, said on 17 April that Moscow had established a new commission to examine human rights issues in Chechnya both during the 1994-96 conflict and more recently, Western agencies reported. Krasheninnikov said that the commission would be "public and independent" and thus not biased toward either Russian or Chechen forces, ITAR-TASS reported. He added that "our job will be to provide an objective and public assessment of the situation in Chechnya and of the events that were played out there in the 1990s." And he added "we know that the situation is more or less at a dead end and that the military path has scarcely any prospect." PG ...FOR WHICH PUTIN GIVES BLAIR CREDIT... Speaking to the press in London at the conclusion of his meeting with British Premier Blair, President-elect Putin said that it was not accidental that the decision to create the commission had taken place on that date. "This is what Blair called for," Putin said. PG ...BUT NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY ABOUT IT. Meanwhile, Russia's presidential human rights representative in Chechnya, Vladimir Kalamanov, on 17 April came out against "any commissions" being set up to check on violations of human rights in Chechnya, ITAR-TASS reported. He noted that "there are special state institutions that investigate crime in the republic" and that "if there is no confidence in such institutions, it means that there is no confidence in the president either." Kalamanov concluded that "none of the commissions except professionals is capable of properly investigating violations if any are found." PG DUMA TO CONSIDER RATIFYING ANOTHER TREATY. The State Duma's International Affairs Committee voted on 17 April to recommend that the lower legislative house discuss ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on 21 April, Interfax reported. According to the agency, the Duma's Security and Defense Committees made similar recommendations. International Affairs Committee Chairman Dmitri Rogozin (People's Deputy) told reporters that 10 members of his committee voted in favor of the recommendation, while six Communists declined to take part in the voting until the entire Communist faction determines its position on the treaty on 18 April. JAC FEDERATION COUNCIL BEGINS START-II DEBATE. The upper house of the Russian parliament on 17 April began consideration of the START-II nuclear arms reduction treaty, ITAR-TASS reported. Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroyev said that he is sure that the upper house will ratify the treaty "without complications" because it has "no intention" of aggravating relations with the United States. Meanwhile, the Duma's International Affairs Committee voted to recommend to the whole Duma ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty, Interfax reported. PG KASYANOV SEES WEST NOW "MORE POSITIVE" TO RUSSIA. First Deputy Premier Kasyanov told a Moscow press conference on 17 April that the West's attitude toward Russia has become "more positive than last year," ITAR-TASS reported. He suggested that this shift reflected the outcome of the recent elections in Russia. He added that if the Russian government pursues "realistic and practical goals," Western countries and international financial institutions will "be ready to render more active assistance to Russian economic reforms." PG MOSCOW TO SEEK MORE CLEARLY DIRECTED AID. Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko said in Washington on 17 April that Moscow is now hopeful for additional assistance from the West and will seek improved transparency and focus in aid projects, ITAR-TASS reported. He said loans for general purposes are "practically unmanageable" but that loans for specific tasks such as the transformation of key industries could play a useful role. PG RUSSIAN STOCK MARKET SLIPS FOLLOWING JITTERY NASDAQ. Russia's benchmark stock market index, the RTS, lost 7.49 percent of its value on 17 April compared with 14 April, AFP reported. Finance Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told reporters on 17 April that some kind of drop was expected in Russian markets because of the decline in world markets but the drop would not be as substantial as the sharp decline that occurred in 1998. JAC GOVERNMENT DEBT TO STATE BANK TO GROW BY $1 BILLION IN 2000. The Russian government announced on 17 April that it plans to owe the Central Bank $7.4 billion by end of 2000, up from $6.4 billion at the start of the year, Interfax reported. PG ARBITRATION COURT OVERRULES BANKRUPTCY FINDING. The Moscow Arbitration Court's appeal board on 17 April overruled a May 1999 decision by the full court declaring the Imperial Bank bankrupt, Interfax reported. PG GOVERNMENT APPROVES NEW MONTHLY WAGE. The Russian government on 17 April approved a new average monthly wage for the first quarter at 1,257 rubles ($41), ITAR-TASS reported. That constitutes a 7 percent increase and will be extended across the economy, the Russian agency said. PG SERGEEV SEES BASIS FOR COOPERATION WITH NATO. Speaking in Kyiv on 17 April, Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev said that Moscow and NATO could cooperate in specific areas, such as fighting terrorism, as long as Russia "is not just the object of talks and consultations" but "can take part in decision-making" within the alliance, Western agencies reported. If that does not happen, Sergeev warned, Russia will seek to expand the defense relationships it has with Belarus and Ukraine. Military relations with Ukraine, he added, are improving and there is every basis to assume that issues arising from Russia's naval base at Sevastopol will be resolved quickly. PG IRAQI DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS MOSCOW. Iraqi Defense Minister Lt.-General Sultan Hashim Ahmed visited Moscow on 14-16 April for talks with his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, the official Iraqi News Agency reported on 17 April. Russian agencies followed with reports on the same day. INA said that the talks had focused on "bilateral relations in military fields" as well as on "the unjust sanctions imposed on Iraq." PG EXPLOSIVE DEVICE FOUND IN ST. PETERSBURG. Police in St. Petersburg found and neutralized an explosive device that had been planted in an apartment house in the northern section of the city, ITAR-TASS reported on 17 April. The self-made device consisted of an RGD-5 grenade attached to a fire alarm switchboard. Officials said it contained an estimated 50 grams of TNT. PG PROSECUTORS MAY SEEK TO REVERSE NIKITIN ACQUITTAL. The office of the Russian Prosecutor-General is considering a response to the Supreme Court's acquittal of Aleksandr Nikitin, ITAR- TASS reported on 17 April. Spokesman Ilya Yerokhin said that prosecutors have demanded that the Nikitin case again be sent back to the Federal Security Service for further investigation. Nikitin was charged with espionage for providing materials to Norwegian environmentalists on the Soviet military's contamination of the Arctic Sea. PG ACTOR PYOTR GLEBOV DIES. Pyotr Glebov, a Russian actor who won fame for his portrayal of Grigorii Melekhov in Mikhail Sholokhov's epic "And Quiet Flows the Don," died on 17 April at the age of 85, ITAR-TASS reported. Only three days earlier, President-elect Putin awarded him the Merit to the Fatherland award for his contribution to Russian stage and film. PG AMBER ROOM REMNANTS TO RETURN TO RUSSIA. Russian Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi told Interfax on 17 April that fragments of Catherine the Great's Palace's Amber Room, stolen by the Nazis during World War II, will be returned to Russia before the end of the month. PG TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIA RELEASES TWO MORE POWS. The Armenian government on 17 April handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross two Azerbaijani servicemen held as prisoners of war in Armenia for the past 18 months, ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported. Late last month Azerbaijan had released what it claimed was the last Armenian prisoner it was holding. A further 11 Azerbaijani prisoners of war are believed to be held in Armenia. LF KARABAKH LEADERSHIP HINTS AT CLEMENCY FOR JAILED JOURNALIST. In a statement released on 15 April in Yerevan, Arkadii Ghukasian, president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, said that the enclave's law enforcement agencies should respect press freedom and citizens' dignity, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The recently formed Karabakh political movement Democratic Artsakh has similarly called for a "softening" of the one-year prison sentence handed down last week to Karabakh opposition journalist Vahram Aghajanian for allegedly slandering the enclave's premier, Anushavan Danielian. Journalists in Yerevan staged a protest outside the Karabakh representation on 17 April to protest that sentence (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). The Karabakh Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Aghajanian's appeal later this week. LF GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER PROPOSES NEW ELECTION LAW... Zurab Zhvania proposed at a 17 April session of the Georgian parliament bureau that work be started on drafting a new election law, Caucasus Press reported. He said the new law must take into account the opinion of international organizations, including the OSCE and NDI, and NGOs. LF ...AS DEFEATED GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OUTLINES FUTURE PLANS. Djumber Patiashvili told a press conference in Tbilisi on 17 April that he thinks all opposition political forces in Georgia should unite to "save the country" from the crisis into which it has been plunged by the ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. Patiashvili said that at some unspecified juncture he will relinquish his post as leader of the parliamentary opposition to concentrate on contesting the next local, parliamentary, and presidential elections due in 2003 and 2005, respectively. LF MURDER IN ALMATY LINKED TO MIG SALES SCANDAL? Talgat Ibraev, the head of Kazakhstan's state-owned arms export company, was shot dead in Almaty late on 15 April, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. A source who asked to remain anonymous told RFE/RL that the murder may be connected with the illicit export last year of obsolete MiG fighters to North Korea. LF KYRGYZ SECURITY OFFICIALS REJECT KULOV'S EXPLANATIONS. Senior Kyrgyz security officials have cast doubts on an attempt by arrested Kyrgyz opposition leader and former Kyrgyz Vice President Feliks Kulov to demonstrate that the charges brought against him are groundless. In an article published in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 13 April, Kulov said that the transfer of military equipment to Tajikistan in 1992 and the sale for scrap metal of obsolete weaponry were both approved by President Askar Akaev. Two days later, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" quoted senior Kyrgyz security officials as rejecting Kulov's claims, and suggesting that he may constitute the "link" between a still unsolved murder and the theft by one of Kulov's subordinates of $18 million from the state budget. LF UPPER CHAMBER OF TAJIK PARLIAMENT HOLDS FIRST SESSION. President Imomali Rakhmonov on 17 April inaugurated the first session of the upper chamber of parliament elected last month, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 March 2000). Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidullaev, who represents the majority National Democratic Party of Tajikistan (the former Communist Party), was elected speaker in a secret ballot, Interfax reported. Deputies also voted to convey deputy status on former President Qahhar Mahkamov. The lower chamber of parliament, which was elected in February, held its opening session in late March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2000). LF ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TO ALLOCATE $120 MILLION TO TAJIKISTAN. Following talks in Dushanbe on 14 April, Tajikistan's Premier Akil Akilov and an Asian Development Bank delegation signed a Memorandum of Understanding whereby the bank will provide Tajikistan with new low-interest loans totaling $120 million in 2001-2003, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Those loans will be used to finance infrastructure improvements, the development of agriculture and the social sector, education, and health care. LF TWO UZBEK POLITICAL PARTIES MERGE. Leaders of two of Uzbekistan's five officially-registered non-opposition political parties, Fidorkorlar and Vatan Tarakkieti, announced at a joint congress in Tashkent on 14 April that the two organizations will merge, Interfax reported. The new party, which will be named Fidorkorlar, has an estimated combined membership of 50,000 and a total of 54 parliament deputies, making it the second largest parliamentary faction. Its leader is Erkin Norbutaev. A working group has been set up to draft the party's new program and statutes. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 4:54:58 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 78, Part II, 19 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 4:54:58 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 78, Part II, 19 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 78, Part II, 19 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS ACCOMPLISH LITTLE * SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON PRIME MINISTER * RACAN: TUDJMAN, AIDES INVOLVED IN 'ROBBERY' END NOTE: GETTING PRIORITIES STRAIGHT IN CROATIA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUS DENIES PRESS REPORT ON MILITARY DEAL WITH IRAQ. The Security Council has denied a report by Great Britain's "Sunday Telegraph" that a Belarusian company is to upgrade Iraq's air defense, Belapan reported on 18 April. The "Sunday Telegraph" said Russian military officials have negotiated a $90 million deal with Iraq in which Belarus's state company Beltekheksport will upgrade Iraq's anti-aircraft batteries by extending their range from 18 km to 27 km. The paper added that Iraq's anti-aircraft artillery will be overhauled and Iraqi air defense crews will be sent to Belarus to become familiar with the latest Russian electronic warfare systems. The Security Council said it is disappointed that "such a prestigious periodical has published false information which misleads the public and discredits the peace-loving foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus, which has always strictly abided by UN decisions and the standards and principles of international law." JM UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS ACCOMPLISH LITTLE. Talks between Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Kyiv on 18 April ended without the signing of any documents or offering any specific solutions to urgent problems in bilateral relations, news agencies reported. Putin noted that the main goal of Russian- Ukrainian relations is to strengthen both countries' strategic partnership. The sides discussed Ukraine's gas debt to Russia, bilateral trade, and military cooperation. Kuchma and Putin announced the creation of a commission to resolve the gas debt problem within a month. Kuchma officially admitted for the first time that Ukraine siphons off Russian gas and pledged to stop that practice. Both presidents visited Sevastopol where they were greeted by pickets of ethnic Russians with placards reading "Putin, don't forget that Crimea and Sevastopol are Russia." JM UKRAINE ENDS FOREIGN DEBT RESTRUCTURING, ISSUES NEW FOREIGN BONDS. The Finance Ministry on 18 April said Ukraine has concluded the restructuring of a $2.37 billion debt due to be paid in 2000-2001 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 March 2000), Interfax reported. Under the restructuring plan, the ministry annulled old bonds, issued new eurobonds with a seven-year maturity period, and repaid $220 million in interest. Simultaneously, Ukraine has issued $2.24 billion worth of new foreign loan bonds nominated in euros and dollars and due to be paid in 2007. JM ESTONIA TURNS DOWN POLISH TANKS. Defense Minister Juri Luik said that Estonia will not accept a gift of 10 tanks from Poland. Luik made the decision public during a meeting with Polish Ambassador Jakub Wolasiewicz on 14 April, ending months of speculation about the fate of the 10 T-55AM tanks, "Postimees" reported. The parliament's Defense Committee, which passed a resolution on accepting the tanks, called for an emergency session to hear both sides of the debate. Committee chairman Tiit Tammsaar told BNS that "I hope that such a decision by the government will not cause any diplomatic problems between Estonia and Poland," adding that newer tanks like the Leopold-1 would be better for the Estonian military. Defense Minister Luik said he will send an official confirmation letter soon. MH ESTONIAN TRANSPORT MINISTRY TO EMBRACE HIGH TECH. Toivo Jurgenson, head of the Ministry for Transport and Communications, said on 18 April that the ministry will soon change its name to reflect the importance of the information technology sector. The ministry will have under its competence all issues relating to information technology, including state policies and development plans. Due to the cut in the 1999 budget, the government halted the planned merger of the Transport Ministry into the Economics Ministry. MH LITHUANIAN RULING PARTY REBELS EXPELLED. The ruling Conservatives on 18 April acted upon their threat and expelled nine members of a breakaway wing of their party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). The expulsion of the parliamentary deputies, who included former cabinet ministers, lowers the number of seats held by the party's faction to 49, BNS reported. The nine expelled members are part of the Moderate Conservatives, a faction loyal to former Premier Gediminas Vagnorius, who himself "suspended" his membership in the Conservatives. The opposition has been calling for a confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, as the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats--which make up the government--now hold a minority of seats. MH CASE AGAINST LITHUANIAN EX-PREMIER DROPPED. The Vilnius regional prosecutor's office on 18 April dropped its long- running case against former Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius on abuse of power in regards to the collapsed Lithuanian Stock Innovation Bank (LAIB), ELTA reported. Slezevicius was accused of abuse of his role in getting higher interest rates, but is best remembered for withdrawing all his funds from the bank days before it collapsed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 October 1997). Slezevicius had maintained his innocence. MH EU SAYS PER CAPITA GDP IN CANDIDATE COUNTRIES FAR BELOW ITS AVERAGE. Eurostat, the EU Statistical Office, on 18 April released figures showing that between 1995 and 1997, per capita income in 48 out of 50 regions in different candidate countries was 75 percent of the EU average. The richest regions in the 10 candidate countries were the Prague region in the Czech Republic and the Bratislavsky region in Slovakia, which recorded figures of 119 percent and 96 percent, respectively. The lowest figure, in the Polish region of Swietokryskie, was 24 percent of the average EU per capita GDP. The 10 poorest regions comprised five out of Poland's 16 regions, three regions in Bulgaria, the northwestern region of Romania, and one in Latvia. MS POLISH POLICE DEMAND HIGHER PAY. Several hundred police trade unionists on 18 April staged pickets outside the main police headquarters and the prime minister's offices in Warsaw to demand higher wages and outlays for the police force, PAP reported. "Poorly paid policemen are ill-trained and easy to corrupt. Our authorities always infringe trade unions law and do not consult [on] wage policies with us," the police union's executive committee head, Antoni Duda, told the agency. A recent police study showed that one-fourth of police families live below the poverty level, which is estimated at 325 zlotys ($76.25) a month per family member. JM SOLIDARITY LEADER OFFERS 'NON-AGGRESSION PACT' TO COALITION PARTNER IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE. Marian Krzaklewski has proposed a "non-aggression pact" to the Freedom Union, a coalition partner of the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), in this fall's presidential elections, PAP reported on 18 April. According to his proposal, the ruling coalition would have to support a single presidential candidate in the anticipated second round of elections. Meanwhile, three components of the AWS--the Polish Party of Christian Democrats, the Conservative Peasant Union, and the Christian National Union- -continue to demand that a single right-wing presidential candidate be selected in primary elections. It is also not clear whether Krzaklawski will not be confronted by former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa in the presidential ballot. Walesa has formerly suggested his intention to run. JM ZEMAN COMPLETES RESHUFFLING CZECH CABINET. Prime Minister Milos Zeman on 18 April asked President Vaclav Havel to dismiss Transport Minister Antonin Peltram and Local Administration Minister Jaromir Cisar, replacing them with Jaromir Schling and Petr Lachnit, CTK reported, citing presidential spokesman Martin Krafl. Schling is a parliament deputy of Zeman's Social Democratic Party and Lachnit is a deputy chairman of that formation. The agency said the changes will probably be postponed until May, because Havel is now on vacation abroad and is scheduled to make foreign visits at the end of the month. It also said the reshuffle completes the cabinet's reorganization agreed with the opposition Civic Democratic Party as part of the "extended opposition agreement" of last January. MS CZECH ROMANY FAMILIES TAKE GOVERNMENT TO EUROPEAN COURT. The Budapest-based European Roma Rights Center on 18 April filed suit at the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg on behalf of 18 Roma families complaining of discrimination, CTK and international agencies reported. The parents turned to the Strasbourg court after their complaint was rejected by a Czech court six months ago. They say their children, all from the Ostrava area, were placed in schools for the mentally deficient because of their race after failing tests that were biased against Roma. Romany school children outnumber non- Romanies in such schools by a 27 to 1 ratio. Lawyers told journalists in Prague that the lawsuit could be the first of many similar suits throughout Central and Eastern Europe. MS CZECH PARLIAMENT AMENDS LABOR CODE. The Chamber of Deputies on 18 April passed a government-sponsored amendment to the Labor Code, strengthening the position of employees unions and harmonizing the Czech law with EU legislation, CTK reported. The amendment extends annual holidays from three to four weeks, obliges employers to discuss mass layoffs with employees' representatives, and sets a maximum overtime limit. Also on 18 April, the chamber passed a government- sponsored amendment to the law on wages, raising minimum wages by some 40 percent. MS CZECH MINING COMPANY CALLS OFF AGREEMENT ON MINE SALE. The management of Mostecka uhelna spolecnost (MUS), owner of the brown coal Kohinoor mine in Marianske Radcice, has cancelled the letter of intent on selling the mine to SHD-Peel, CTK reported on 19 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2000). The management says the letter lost its validity after the striking miners failed to emerge from their underground striking spot, some 365 meters deep. The miners' union said earlier that the letter does not address their demand that the company's management be dismissed. They also say they want to set up an emergency committee to start immediate negotiations with MUS and the government. The strike is now in its 20th day. MS MECIAR CALLS ON SLOVAKS TO PROTEST. Former Premier Vladimir Meciar is calling on Slovaks to protest on 1 May against the government's economic policies, CTK reported, citing the opposition daily "Slovenska Republika." Meciar says this will be "the right time to take it to the streets and tell the government we do not want it...We do not want [Prime Minister Mikulas] Dzurinda!" He also says there is a possibility that the coalition will split and a new cabinet will be formed. Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) has collected 350,000 signatures on a petition for a referendum on early elections, but has not submitted it to President Rudolf Schuster. A public opinion poll conducted by IVVM last month shows the HZDS leading in party preferences with 25.5 percent, followed by Robert Fico's new Smer (Direction) party, with 23.2 percent. MS LUXEMBOURG FOLLOWS SUIT ON VISAS FOR SLOVAKS. Luxembourg Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Gandel said on 18 April that his country is reintroducing visa requirements for Slovak citizens as of 20 April, CTK reported. Belgium reintroduced the requirement on 13 April in an attempt to stop the influx of Slovak Roma asking for political asylum. MS SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON PRIME MINISTER. The parliament begins discussions on the afternoon of 19 April on the candidacy of center-right opposition candidate Andrej Bajuk to succeed Janez Drnovsek as prime minister (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). The ballot is expected on 20 April at the latest. If Bajuk does not win the necessary 46 out of 90 votes, President Milan Kucan and the various political parties have three more days to nominate other candidates or to renominate Bajuk. If the legislature fails to elect a new prime minister by 8 May, Kucan must bring elections forward from the fall to June or July. Bajuk is expected to obtain not more than 44 votes, Reuters reported. Political power in Slovenia is centered in the parliament. Several parties other than Drnovsek's Liberals want new election legislation based on proportional representation. PM FONTAINE: SLOVENIA TO EU IN FIRST GROUP. Nicole Fontaine, who is president of the European Parliament, said in Ljubljana on 18 April that she does not expect the current Slovenian government crisis to delay the Alpine republic's admission to the EU (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). She added that she expects Slovenia to be among the next group of new members admitted. "I believe Slovenia could be among countries that will participate in the 2004 election to the European Parliament," Reuters quoted her as saying. PM FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLICS SIGN ITALIAN COMMERCIAL PACT. Representatives of the five former Yugoslav republics signed a multilateral agreement in Trieste to promote economic contacts between each other and with Italy, "Jutarnji list" reported on 19 April. This is the first such agreement since the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia began in 1991 and is sponsored by Confcommercio, or the Italian Chamber of Commerce. The agreement contains few concrete pledges but paves the way for cooperation between firms in the various former Yugoslav republics with the backing of Italian money. PM WAR CRIMES TRIALS TO TAKE PLACE IN CROATIA? Forensics experts from the Hague-based war crimes tribunal discovered an unspecified quantity of human bones at a suspected mass grave at Obradovic Varos near Gospic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 18 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2000). Deputy Justice Minister Ranko Marijan suggested that suspects might eventually be tried in Croatia rather than in The Netherlands. He added: "Under our constitutional law, the [Hague-based] tribunal should have jurisdiction, but given the recent talks between the government and the chief prosecutor, [Carla Del Ponte,] it is not unlikely that the war crimes cases will be tried in Croatia," Reuters reported. "It is in the vital interest of Croatia and its citizens that the suspects stand trial here," Marijan added. If any trials do take place in Croatia, it would be the first time that the tribunal has agreed to hold trials outside The Netherlands. PM BANKING SCANDALS WEIGH HEAVILY ON CROATIA'S BUDGET. Central Bank Governor Marko Skreb said in Zagreb on 18 April that the costs of resolving problems stemming from some 25 bank failures will amount to $5.5 billion, or two-thirds of the 1999 state budget. Some of the costs will be covered by selling off the banks' assets and the rest from the state budget, AP reported. Critics have charged that Skreb, who until recently was a member of late President Franjo Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), took too long to investigate the bank failures. Many Croats believe that bad loans to HDZ loyalists lie at the root of most of the bank failures. PM RACAN: TUDJMAN, AIDES INVOLVED IN 'ROBBERY.' Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in Zagreb on 18 April that recordings of conversations between Tudjman and some of his aides indicate that they were involved in "robbery" in the sale of the mass-circulation daily "Vecernji list," "Jutarnji list" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2000). Deputy Prime Minister Zeljka Antunovic added that this was not the only privatization of a firm to be directed by the president's office. Parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic is expected to make further recommendations in the case in the course of 19 April. Rijeka's "Novi List" called the scandal "Croatia's Watergate affair." The independent daily also speculated as to whether Ivic Pasalic, who heads the Herzegovinian lobby and was Tudjman's top domestic advisor, will wind up in jail once the case goes to court. He currently enjoys parliamentary immunity. Speculation has centered on the possibility that Pasalic and one of Tudjman's sons actually controlled "Vecernji list." PM GRANIC ALSO IN THE DOCK? The Croatian Interior Ministry is preparing criminal charges against Mate Granic, who is a former foreign minister and HDZ presidential candidate, "Jutarnji list" reported on 19 April. Granic allegedly illegally transferred some $1.75 million over an unspecified period of time to foreign bank accounts. The money then returned to Croatia to finance the construction of Granic's house and other projects. He called the charges an example of politically-motivated "revenge-seeking." Granic recently left the HDZ to form the more moderate Democratic Center, which leads the HDZ in popularity polls. PM UN SLAMS SERBIA OVER HUMAN RIGHTS. Members of the UN's Human Rights Commission voted 44-1 to condemn Belgrade for repression of the independent media and political opposition, as well as for the misuse of justice for political purposes. Russia cast the sole vote against. The measure also noted that in Kosova there had been "systematic targeting and terrorization of the civilian population...by Serbian forces, mass forced displacement, expulsion, group massacres, and summary executions, torture, arbitrary detention," as well as rape, widespread destruction of homes, and the repression of the expression of political views, AP reported. PM SERBIAN COURT FINES BETA. A Belgrade court on 18 April fined the private news agency Beta $6,900 at the black market rate in a libel suit filed by Yugoslav Information Minister Goran Matic. A similar suit was dismissed against the daily "Blic" on the grounds that it had simply reprinted a Beta story linking Matic to the 1999 murder of independent journalist Slavko Curuvija rather than report the charge on its own. Beta Director Radomir Diklic told Reuters that he expects to lose the case. "They will fine us for certain, because the [media] law exists so that they can collect their bounty," he added. PM DJINDJIC: SERBIA HEADING FOR GENERAL STRIKE. Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic said that the "final scenario" in the political action begun with the 14 April Belgrade protest meeting will be for two million citizens to turn out in a "kind of general strike," "Danas" reported on 19 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). He added that Yugoslav Prime Minister Slobodan Milosevic is now frightened of defections from the ranks of his supporters. PM MILOSEVIC BACKERS IN MONTENEGRO CLOSE RANKS. The Montenegrin branches of the Serbian People's Party and Vojislav Seselj's Radicals have joined an electoral coalition recently formed by Milosevic's supporters in that republic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 18 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). PM HUGE GOLD DEPOSIT FOUND IN ROMANIA. A huge gold deposit, believed to be the biggest in Europe, has been found in central Romania, according to a report published on 18 April by the U.S. Pinock Allen and Holt Company, AFP reported. The deposit is near the town of Rosia Montana and is believed to contain over 250 tons of gold and 1,370 tons of silver spread over 20 square kilometers. Frank Timis, head of the Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources, which holds a 65 percent stake in the joint venture behind the find, said his company has spent $20 million on feasibility studies for the find and plans to invest up to $250 million in the project, convinced that "we will be able to extract 85-90 percent" of the precious metals. The project will employ some 2,000 workers in a region hit hard by unemployment. MS ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT RAISES PENSIONS. The government on 18 April decided to gradually raise pensions beginning on 1 May. The smallest pensions will be raised by as much as 50 percent. The cabinet said the move was made possible by its decision to tax economic activities that previously went untaxed. The cabinet also decided to restructure the state- owned ROMGAZ company, breaking the monopoly into five independent companies. MS CHISINAU STUDENTS WIN ROUND... Chisinau Mayor Serafim Urechean on 18 April told some 20,000 students demonstrating in the Moldovan capital that the mayoralty has decided to annul its decision depriving them of the right to free travel on public transportation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2000). Urechean also said that the students detained one day earlier after clashes with the police had been freed. But he added that the decision on free public transportation may be revised, depending on government subsidies. After his announcement, most demonstrators withdrew but several thousand gathered on one of the town's main streets where skirmishes with police forces reoccurred. They blocked traffic, but dispersed after further parleys with the police, RFE/RL's bureau in the Moldovan capital reported. Parliamentary Chairman Dumitru Diacov said "provocateurs" identified to be President Petru Lucinschi supporters had been spotted among the demonstrators. MS ...AND RENEW DEMONSTRATIONS. Some 7,000 students gathered on 19 April in Grand National Assembly Square to protest against their peers having been beaten up by police in a student hostel the previous night. The students claim policemen locked up students in a hostel, beat them and said they should stop participating in the protests. A police spokesman said an investigation has been launched. MS STOYANOV SAYS BULGARIA VICTIM OF YUGOSLAV CONFLICTS. President Petar Stoyanov, currently visiting Germany, said on 18 April in an interview with the daily "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" that the Yugoslav conflicts over the past nine years "caused Bulgaria great losses" and deprived it of being "a transit country for west European goods to southeastern Europe." Stoyanov said investors have also been scared off and the wars in general have threatened the success of Bulgaria's economic reforms. He said that the Bosnia war of 1992-1995 cost Bulgaria "at least $5-6 billion" and the Kosova war also "caused damages in the billions." Further losses are now produced by the blocking of navigation on the Danube River as the result of the NATO air strikes, he said. MS UN RESOLUTION ON ANGOLA MAY AFFECT BULGARIA. The UN Security Council on 19 April approved a resolution warning that it will consider imposing penalties against countries found to have 89iolated an arms embargo and economic sanctions against Angolan rebels. The council set a six-month period to further investigate how the UNITA rebels were able to fuel their war and said it will decide in November whether to take action against violators. An independent panel of experts earlier said Bulgaria had been the main supplier of arms to the rebels, though a number of African countries and Belgium were also involved. Bulgaria has called the report "distorted," Reuters reported. MS IOM LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST WOMEN SEX SLAVERY IN BULGARIA. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 18 April launched a campaign aimed at preventing the export of women as sex slaves, AP reported. A similar campaign was launched, also on 18 April, in Slovakia. The IOM says some 10,000 Bulgarian women, mostly under 18, have fallen prey to the sex trade, being lured into going abroad by promises of jobs as models and dancers, and even marriages to Westerners. Village girls as young as 14 have also been kidnapped and smuggled over the border. MS END NOTE GETTING PRIORITIES STRAIGHT IN CROATIA Real politics have come to Croatia this year. No more leaden statements by officials of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) alternating with pathetic cries from a seemingly helpless opposition. The HDZ has split and its remaining leaders feud in public. It is true that HDZ-backed newspapers like "Vecernji list," "Slobodna Dalmacija," and "Vjesnik" have lost their government insider's edge and furthermore face an uncertain future. But the independent "Jutarnji list" and the independent weeklies make for exciting reading as HDZ leaders fight each other and scandals from the previous 10 years emerge on an almost daily basis. But that is not the only excitement in the Croatian press these days. Something else that crops up almost every day are verbal pot-shots exchanged between President Stipe Mesic and members of the government, usually Prime Minister Ivica Racan or Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic. It is to be expected that the two sides do not see eye-to-eye about the issues surrounding the reduction of the president's constitutional powers. Opinion polls, moreover, suggest that most voters are pleased with both the president and the government, and that they find the ongoing tension between them normal and healthy. In fact, Mesic is the country's most popular politician, and right behind him comes Racan. But one area of seemingly constant sparring is more an embarrassment than anything else, namely how they deal with The Ghost of Franjo Tudjman. This does not refer to the question of cutting the president's constitutional powers. The issue is the pains to which politicians go to show themselves as breaking with Tudjman's fondness for official pomp and circumstance. If Tudjman's strutting about flanked by young men in "historical" comic-opera uniforms was unintentionally funny, the same might be said of the current sparring over the legacy of government-by-show. Specifically, "issues" have arisen regarding the home of the president and other officials, and the proper protocol to be shown at airports. Last month, Mesic was furious that the government offered him a "luxury villa" as his official residence. He refused the house, calling the offer a ploy to make him look extravagant in the eyes of average Croats. It appears that many people were indeed angry that their president would live in the lap of luxury, but a look at the photos of the home suggested that it was anything but of international presidential quality. The author knows any number of U.S. professors or German businessmen who live in much more comfortable or spacious surroundings, and the list need not stop there. In the end, Mesic did not take the house. (Whether the building's pre-1941 owners will get it back is another matter.) For good measure, it might be noted that the prime minister lives in an ordinary flat, with guards outside his apartment block on a parking lot shared by several other modern buildings. This self-enforced modesty recalls tales of the blue- blooded former British Labour minister who shunned his aristocratic title and allegedly painted rust spots on his car to give himself a more close-to-the-people image. But not all modesty is a matter of personal choice. Mesic and Granic openly sparred in the press over the degree of protocol to be shown to the president when he leaves on or returns from an official visit, such as the one Mesic made to Bosnia- Herzegovina in March. Mesic argued that his demands are far from Tudjman's pomp and in keeping with the practices of such democracies as Slovenia and Bulgaria. He felt that the Racan government virtually ignored his visit and that such behavior amounted to an insult. But Granic was not to be budged in his role as the defender of modesty in government. He recently sought not to have to ride in the same car from the airport as a visiting Thai princess, in contradiction to protocol. Questions of protocol also arose over the issue of the presence of a military band--de rigeur under Tudjman--to greet her. In the end, Racan and the government went along with internationally accepted standards of protocol in receiving the visiting dignitary. But this is unlikely to be the end of the matter. Croatia certainly has more substantial problems than the legacy of pomp and circumstance. It will take a while before a truly functioning democracy takes root, including the establishment of really independent media. The government certainly cannot afford to forget that a main reason that it attracted voter support in January was popular anger over the HDZ's corruption and misuse of the privatization process, but this will take long years to set right. Issues of housing, unemployment, and the cost of living require immediate attention, although here, too, there are no easy answers. Perhaps more profoundly, there is a general social malaise and ethical vacuum that one finds in many post-communist societies. How these aspects of life will be brought up to "European norms" is anybody's guess. In short, Croatia has its tasks more than cut out for it. The example of Slovakia shows that even a determined opposition with its own agenda can squabble and falter after it comes to power, making a return of the old regime a very real possibility. In such circumstances, one does not know whether to laugh or cry when Croatia's top elected officials fight publicly over issues such as the size of the president's work room or the color of a carpet at an airport. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 4:42:05 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 78, Part I, 19 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 78, Part I, 19 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * FEDERATION COUNCIL MARCHES TO PUTIN'S ORDERS * COMMUNIST TIPPED FOR CABINET POST * TURKEY ALLOCATES FURTHER GRANT FOR GEORGIAN MILITARY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA FEDERATION COUNCIL MARCHES TO PUTIN'S ORDERS. Members of Russia's Federation Council approved the dismissal of suspended Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov on 19 April by a vote of 133 in favor, 10 against, and six abstentions. Former President Boris Yeltsin had failed to persuade the upper legislative house to dismiss Skuratov on three occasions. The previous day, Mikhail Prusak, Novgorod Oblast Governor and chairman of the council's committee on international affairs, told reporters that "no one" will oppose President-elect Vladimir Putin on the issue of Skuratov's dismissal. And on the day of the vote, Magadan Governor Valentin Svetkov declared that "Now is not the time for debate on such an issue. Now is the time to support our president and consolidate society," while Yaroslavl Governor Anatolii Lisitsyn concluded that "Russia now has a real, solid president and it needs a full-blooded, working prosecutor." JAC COMMUNIST TIPPED FOR CABINET POST. All current members of Putin's cabinet will be dismissed on 7 May, the day of Putin's inauguration, although "the law does not require a complete purge," "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 18 April. However, the daily added that the dismissal will be only temporary for some. "Moskovskii komsomolets" reported the next day that a likely replacement for Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo, whose departure has been predicted by a number of media and analysts, is Deputy Interior Minister Petr Latyshev. Latyshev is reportedly on good terms with Dmitrii Kozak, head of the governmental staff. Meanwhile, "Segodnya" reported on the same day that the Education Ministry may have a new head, a member of the Communist faction in the State Duma, deputy Ivan Melnikov. Melnikov is chairman of the State Duma's education committee and is a former secretary of the party's Central Committee. "Moskovskii komsomolets" is considered close to Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov, while "Segodnya" is owned by Vladimir Gusinskii's Media Most Group. JAC NEW ALUMINUM GIANT CREATED WITH GOVERNMENT'S BLESSING. Two rival companies in Russia's aluminum sector announced on 17 April the creation of a new holding, Russian Aluminum, that will control an estimated 70-80 percent of the Russian aluminum market (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). Oleg Deripaska, the head of Siberian Aluminum, has been named acting head of the new company. Last week, Anti-Monopoly Minister Ilya Yuzhanov said the merger meets Russia's national interests because of developments on the world aluminum market. He added that foreign companies such as the U.S.'s Alcoa have tried to take over Russia's aluminum market. JAC TAX POLICE GET MORE POWERS. President-elect Putin signed into law on 19 April a law providing the tax police with additional powers, ITAR-TASS reported. Under the new law, the tax police will have the power to investigate violations of almost 20 articles of the Criminal Code; previously it had the authority to pursue cases only under two articles. The deputy head of the Federal Tax Service's chief investigation division, Aleksandr Kikin, said that the additional powers will raise the efficiency of the struggle against corruption. JAC AS OIL PRICES SLIP, EXPORTS RISE. The volume of Russian oil exports rose 12 percent in the first two months of 2000 compared with the same period last year, according to the State Statistics Committee on 18 April. Exports of refined products also rose 5 percent. According to the State Customs Committee, the share of fuel and energy exports in the overall export mix rose 17 percent to total 58 percent of all exports, ITAR-TASS reported. JAC STOCKS SAG, BUT RUBLE WILTS. Russia's benchmark stock index dropped only slightly--0.21 percent--on 18 April compared with the previous day. According to the website, http://www.polit.ru, traders said the market opened with prices climbing higher but stabilized in the afternoon. On the same day, Aleksandr Livshits, presidential envoy to the Group of Seven industrial nations, said that the effect of the crisis in global stock markets on Russia "will not last long, and most of it has already passed." Meanwhile, the ruble fell against the dollar on 18 April, dropping from 28.60 rubles per dollar to 28.78 rubles/dollar, following a similar drop the previous day, AP reported. Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko dismissed the significance of the slide, predicting that "everything will be stable." JAC RUSSIA STILL ANNOYED AT NORWAY. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned on 18 April that Norway may be participating in activities that violate and undermine the ABM treaty, ITAR- TASS reported. The Foreign Ministry is referring to the radar station built by the U.S. on Norwegian soil near the town of Vardoe which is close to the Russian border. According to the Foreign Ministry, "the 1972 ABM treaty forbids deployment of such stations beyond the United States." Last February, Russian Defense Ministry officials said that U.S. radar installations in Norway constitute a threat to Russian national security (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 February 2000). JAC NUMBER OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN ON THE RISE. Russia has officially registered 600,000 disabled persons under the age of 16, ITAR-TASS reported on 18 April. According to the agency, the number of handicapped children has increased tenfold compared to 1980 and the increase has been recorded in most regions of Russia. More than 300 family planning centers have been opened to prevent the birth of handicapped children, Deputy Health Minister Olga Sharapova announced at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Handicapped on 18 April. Earlier in the month, perinatal doctors made a public appeal for special medical equipment to try to reduce the high death rate of prematurely-born infants (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). JAC WOMEN CANDIDATES FARE POORLY IN REGIONAL, NATIONAL RACES. "Vek" reported in its issue no. 15 that the number of women legislators is low not only in the State Duma but in parliaments across Russia. As of June 1997, women made up only 9 percent of deputies in legislatures across Russia, while the parliaments in Ryazan, Kursk, Omsk, and Tomsk oblasts do not have a single female deputy. In December's State Duma elections, no women were registered as candidates in 74 of the more than 200 single-mandate election districts. Currently, only one regional leader is a woman: the governor of Koryak Autonomous Okrug. In the current State Duma, only 7.9 percent of deputies or 35 legislators are women, while some 11 percent of deputies in the last Duma were women (see also "RFE/RL Russia Election Report," 7 January 2000). JAC EXPERT PREDICTS 40 PERCENT RISE IN INTERNET USAGE IN RUSSIA. Robert Farish, a research manager for the Russian operations of International Data Corp., an international information technology consulting group, has predicted that Russia will experience a 40 percent growth in usage of the Internet this year in part because the "proportion of people who are nontechnical using the Internet has been increasing and will continue to increase," "The St. Petersburg Times" reported on 18 April. Parish also estimated that as many as 2 million people in Russia are currently using the Internet. A Gallup Media survey conducted last fall indicated that only 21 percent of Internet activity takes place in Russian homes, while workplaces account for 54 percent. JAC CHURCH SAYS TAX MINISTRY'S PLANS NO LONGER SATANIC. Following a meeting with Patriarch of All Russia and Moscow Aleksii II on 18 April, Tax Minister Aleksandr Pochinok told reporters that his ministry will not use bar codes on identity cards for Russian taxpayers in order to respect the wishes of religious believers, Interfax reported. Last month the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed its concern about the plans of the Tax Ministry to issue individual taxpayer numbers, because such numbers might include three sixes, the number symbolizing the Antichrist (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 March 2000). Pochinok added that a system alloting each taxpayer an identification number will still be introduced. Aleksii II said that no one has objected to numbers on passports so issuing tax documents without bar codes should resolve most of the controversy. At the end of the meeting, Aleksii gave an icon of the Apostle Matthew to the Moscow Tax Service, noting that Matthew was also a "tax inspector." JAC MOSQUES IN TATARSTAN TO USE RUSSIAN FOR LITURGY. Tatarstan's mufti, Gusman khazrat Iskhakov, has agreed that Russian should be used for some divine services at mosques in Kazan, RFE/RL's Kazan bureau reported on 18 April citing "Vremya i dengi." That decision was made at the request of the city's Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, and Afghan minorities. Several days earlier, Iskhakov told Tatarinform that it had been decided to introduce a standard curriculum at all of Tatarstan's Muslim secondary and high schools. LF NORTH OSSETIA TO SEND REFUGEES BACK TO GEORGIA. North Ossetia's Deputy Prime Minister Stanislav Baskaev told a cabinet session on 19 April that Ossetian refugees who fled to North Ossetia in the early 1990s to escape ethnic violence in Georgia's former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast should be sent back to Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. Baskaev said that an estimated 15,000 refugees from Georgia have for eight years occupied sanatoria and tourist facilities in North Ossetia, thereby depriving the republic of millions of rubles in income. Participants at the meeting agreed on a program of financial incentives to expedite the gradual repatriation of the refugees. LF GANTEMIROV RESIGNS. Beslan Gantemirov told Russian Television on 18 April that he is resigning as first deputy to the Russian government representative in Chechnya, Nikolai Koshman, AP reported. Gantemirov said his decision was prompted by dissatisfaction with the role allocated to the pro-Russian Chechen militia (which he simultaneously heads) in restoring law and order in the "liberated" districts of Chechnya, and with the ongoing identity checks of residents in those districts. Also on 18 April, three Chechen fighters were detained in the village of Guchum-Kale with documentation identifying them as members of Gantemirov's militia, according to ITAR-TASS. Speaking in Grozny two days earlier, Gantemirov had said that his militia will step up its operations within the next few weeks, and will participate in "special operations" in the foothills south of Grozny together with Russian Interior Ministry forces, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported. LF TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT, ITERA AT ODDS. Deputy Energy Minister Karen Galstian told journalists in Yerevan on 18 April that the Gazprom subsidiary ITERA has been excluded from the short-list of five foreign companies whose tenders for four Armenian energy distribution networks are currently under consideration, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Galstian explained that ITERA does not qualify because its partner in the bid, Rosatomenergo, failed to submit the findings of a compulsory international audit clarifying its financial situation. Four international companies, from France, Spain, the U.S., and a Swedish-Swiss group, remain in the running. One day earlier, ITERA announced that it had cut gas deliveries to Armenia by half because of nonpayment of bills for previous deliveries. The director of the Armrosgaz joint venture, Roland Adonts, told ITAR-TASS that non-payment of debts totalling millions of dollars incurred by Armenian power plants and private consumers preclude his organization's paying its own debts to ITERA. LF TURKEY ALLOCATES FURTHER GRANT FOR GEORGIAN MILITARY. Major- General Sherafeddin Teliasan, who heads the Financial Department of the Turkish Armed Forces General Staff, and Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Giorgi Katamadze signed an agreement in Tbilisi on 19 April under which Ankara will provide a further $4 million for the Georgian armed forces, Caucasus Press reported. Katamadze told journalists that most of that sum is earmarked for reorganizing the 11th brigade of the Georgian army, for measures to raise standards to comply with NATO requirements, and to finance the opening of a NATO office in Georgia. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has said on several occasions that Georgia will make a formal bid no later than 2005 for membership in the alliance. Turkey allocated $5.5 million for the Georgian armed forces in 1998 and an additional $3.8 million in 1999. LF RUSSIA TO STEP UP SECURITY ON BORDER WITH KAZAKHSTAN? RFE/RL correspondents in Kazakhstan on 19 April cited the KODA news agency as reporting that Moscow will deploy troops and Cossack units to guard its border with Kazakhstan beginning next month. Both the Kazakh Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Kazakhstan have refused to comment on that report. "Nezavisimaya gazeta-regiony" reported in issue No. 6 of this year that the Volgograd authorities have asked Moscow to establish a frontier zone encompassing six raions of Volgograd Oblast to put a halt to purchases of land in those districts by residents of Kazakhstan and to an upsurge in smuggling and other cross-border crime. LF KAZAKHSTAN WANTS TO LURE ITS ETHNIC GERMANS BACK. Following a meeting between Kazakhstan's deputy premier, Erzhan Utembaev, and a German government representative, it was announced that Kazakhstan will launch a campaign to persuade ethnic Germans who emigrated from Kazakhstan to return, "Inostranets" reported in issue No. 14. Kazakhstan will offer financial aid to those who wish to do so. Over the past 11 years Kazakhstan's ethnic-German population has shrunk from almost 1 million to 350,000. LF WORKER PROTEST IN SOUTHERN KAZAKHSTAN ENTERS SECOND WEEK. Hundreds of current and former employees of the Taraz Phosphorous Plant in Kazakhstan's southern Zhambyl Oblast are continuing the protest they began on 11 April to demand payment of overdue salaries and pensions, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported on 18 April. An unknown number of protesters are on hunger strike, of whom five have been hospitalized. As of 13 April, 20 protesters had been arrested. LF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION DEMANDS KULOV'S RELEASE. Some 200 opposition representatives staged a march in central Bishkek on 18 April to demand the release from pre-trial detention of opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov, Interfax reported. Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan leader Jipar Jeksheev said that the protest was intended to reassure the public that the authorities cannot "destroy democracy." LF CRIME BOSS SHOT DEAD IN TAJIKISTAN. Tajik law enforcement officials killed Nurullo Isaev, whom they identified as head of a major criminal gang, in a shootout east of Dushanbe on 17 April, Reuters reported the following day. One police officer was also killed in the exchange of fire. Isaev's gang was reportedly responsible for the murder in 1999 of the head of the Tajik Interior Ministry's department for the struggle against organized crime. LF UZBEK PRESIDENT REJECTS U.S. CRITICISM OVER HUMAN RIGHTS. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told journalists in Tashkent on 18 April after her talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov that the latter categorically rejected U.S. criticism of human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, AP and Reuters reported. Albright also noted that Uzbekistan is delaying serious market reform, in particular in making its currency fully convertible. But she stressed that the U.S. regards Uzbekistan as a friend, and is prepared to assist Tashkent in combatting any spillover of Islamic extremism from Afghanistan or elsewhere in Central Asia. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 5:25:52 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 80, Part II, 21 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 80, Part II, 21 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * MECIAR'S PARTY LAUNCHES PROTESTS * BAJUK FALLS SHORT IN SLOVENIAN VOTE * HAGUE PREPARING BIGGER THINGS FOR CROATIA END NOTE: FORMER SLOVAK PREMIER ARRESTED, RELEASED xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE MINSK AUTHORITIES BAN MARCH ON CHORNOBYL ANNIVERSARY. The Minsk City Executive Committee has banned opposition organizations from staging any marches in the city on 26 April, the 14th anniversary of the Chornobyl accident, and allowed only a rally on the outskirts on Minsk, Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported on 20 April. Tens of thousands of people have marched in downtown Minsk every year since 1989 to mark the world's worst nuclear accident. "[The authorities] cut benefits to Chornobyl victims, sow contaminated fields and harvest contaminated crops, which are then offered to Belarusians. The authorities apparently want to let the people of Belarus die out silently without a single protest," scientist Ivan Nikitchanka, head of the march's organizing committee, said. The organizers announced that the march will take place despite the ban. Parliamentarians from Germany, the Czech Republic, and Russia are expected to monitor the demonstration. JM BELARUSIAN TRADE UNIONS URGE GOVERNMENT TO STOP POVERTY. Belarus's Federation of Trade Unions on 20 April adopted a resolution urging the government to stop the decline in living standards of the population, Belapan reported. "Even highly-skilled specialists are unable to support their families and themselves. Forty-seven percent of families in the country live below the official subsistence budget," the federation noted. The resolution demands that the government repay all wage arrears by mid-2000, bring the purchasing power of wages up to the 1990 level in four to five years, minimize the gap between wages in the government-subsidized sector and industry, exempt low-income groups from paying income taxes, and take decisive steps to improve the financial and economic position of enterprises. JM UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT URGES FIGHT WITH CORRUPTION... Leonid Kuchma told the presidential Coordinating Committee for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption on 20 April that all that has been "stolen" from the people and the state must be returned, Interfax reported. Kuchma added that there should be "no untouchables, no double standards, no double morals" in dealing with crime and corruption. The president said he is concerned with the situation in the energy and banking sectors and named the United Energy Systems and the bank Slovyanskyy as entities that have evaded payments to the state budget. He also noted that privatization "remains a favorable sphere for corruption and economic crime" and demanded that the government ban "privatization of Ukrainian entities through offshore zones." JM ...WHILE MAIN TAX INSPECTOR POINTS TO PARLIAMENT. State Tax Administration chief Mykola Azarov said at the same meeting that parliamentary deputies and their enterprises control 25 percent of imports and 10 percent of exports in Ukraine, the "Eastern Economist Daily" reported. Azarov added that 364 deputies are involved in economic activities and the number of organizations they control exceeds 3,000. According to his data, in 1999 these companies imported and exported 18.4 billion hryvni ($3.4 billion) worth of goods, failing to pay 4.1 billion hryvni in taxes and other dues to the state budget. Azarov also said only some 30 Ukrainian citizens declared incomes exceeding 1 million hryvni in 1999, while more than 5,000 citizens purchased Mercedes worth between $100,000 and $300,000. JM LAWYER SAYS LATVIAN WAR CRIMINAL ASKED FOR RUSSIAN CITIZENSHIP. Aleksandrs Ogurcovs, the attorney for convicted war criminal Vasilii Kononov, told LETA on 20 April that Kononov did indeed request Russian citizenship on his own. "Kononov admitted to the court that he himself had requested Russian citizenship, and I don't know who has spread the rumor as if Kononov had denied having written a petition," Ogurcovs said. This contradicts earlier press reports in which Kononov insists he did not apply for Russian citizenship (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 17 April 2000). However, Ogurcovs discounted the importance of the citizenship question, saying "Kononovs is charged with a crime committed in the territory of Latvia and it is all the same." Earlier, the Naturalization Board suggested that if Kononov requested Russian citizenship he could lose his Latvian citizenship as Latvia does not permit dual citizenship. MH LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT BLASTS GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC POLICY... President Valdas Adamkus delivered his second annual report on the country's progress during a parliamentary session on 20 April. Calling 1999 an "ordeal," Adamkus said past governments "failed" to deal with the fallout of the Russian economic crisis by drafting a sensible budget or "to rectify it timely," ELTA reported. However, concerning long-term economic growth, Adamkus called for improving the business climate, castigating former governments for not doing so. Adamkus also challenged politicians to admit current rural policy is a "failure" and to develop a sensible version, saying the government has no right to leave farmers "deceived, angry, and seeing no prospects." MH ...WARNS AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM IN KAUNAS. During the speech Adamkus also issued warnings against growing radicalism in Lithuania, especially anti-Semitism displayed by the new Kaunas Mayor Vytautas Sustauskas. Adamkus said, "By no means can we tolerate anti-Semitism or hatred of other cultures and differently thinking people," Reuters reported. The president continued, "I am convinced that their manifestation in Kaunas, the former provisional capital, is a passing phenomenon and that our people reject them." The Israeli embassy earlier said it was "concerned" over the Sustauskas election in Kaunas. Sustauskas earlier voiced objections against the sale of property to foreigners and accused a "Jewish mafia" of running Kaunas, APF added (see "End Note," "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES NUCLEAR SHUTDOWN BILL. The parliament on 20 April passed a law by 1 71 to 16 vote that calls for the partial shutdown of the controversial Ignalina nuclear power plant. The law provides the legal basis for closing the first unit at the plant by 2005. Those opposed to the bill criticized its adoption before the issue of its funding has been settled, ELTA reported. However, EU officials warned that the shutdown bill needs to be passed before the donors' conference scheduled for 21-22 June. The parliament passed a medium-term energy policy paper in 1999 that outlined the partial shutdown of Ignalina, which won praise from the European Commission (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 October 1999). MH POLISH DEFENSE OFFICIALS CLAIM SUCCESS IN TRANSFORMING ARMY. "We have restored Poland's armed forces to the Polish nation and severed our old Warsaw Pact ties. Today our army is what it should be--an instrument of the state's policy," PAP quoted Defense Minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz as saying on 20 April. Onyszkiewicz held a joint press conference with parliamentary Defense Committee head Bronislaw Komorowski devoted to their appointment to the Defense Ministry 10 years ago. In 1990 both politicians were appointed deputy defense ministers under communist-era Minister Florian Siwicki and entrusted with reforming the army. They were the first civilians appointed to the ministry's upper echelons after the war. "It could be felt that they [in the ministry] were looking at me as a CIA agent, while I was looking at them as KGB agents," Komorowski noted. JM CZECH REPUBLIC REJECTS CUBAN ACCUSATIONS. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ales Pospisil on 20 April rejected as "total nonsense" Cuban accusations that Czech diplomats stationed in Havana had engaged in "subversive activities" in Cuba, CTK reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000). Pospisil said the Cuban authorities had "misunderstood" the essence of the Czech-sponsored UN Commission for Human Rights resolution. He said the resolution was "in a way, an offer for a dialogue with the Cuban authorities, which could bring about an improvement [of their record] on human rights." He also said the Czech Republic's own experience in democratization could serve as a possible future model for Cuba for the democratization of its own regime. MS CORRECTION: "RFE/RL Newsline" on 19 April cited the EU Statistical Office Eurostat as saying that between 1995 and 1997, per capita income in 48 out of 50 regions in different candidate countries was 75 percent of the EU average. The correct citation should have spoken of per capita GDP levels being below 75 percent of the EU average in those ten regions. That average is currently used to assess which regions are entitled to aid in the EU itself. CZECH PREPARATIONS FOR EU MEMBERSHIP PRAISED. A joint Czech- European parliamentary committee on 19 April said it is satisfied with the pace of Prague's preparation for EU membership, which it said has accelerated since fall 1999. The committee is also hopeful that a timetable for the admission of first-wave candidates to the union will be announced by the end of 2000, CTK reported. On the same day, Gunter Verheugen, EU commissioner for enlargement, said in Brussels that he hopes that the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland will "access the EU en bloc." Also on 19 April, Deputy Premier Pavel Rychetsky called on the Czech Parliament to pay attention to the compatibility of new Czech legislation with EU laws when discussing new bills. MS CZECH CIVIC INITIATIVES CALL FOR REFERENDUM ON TEMELIN. A coalition of 74 civic initiatives calling itself Referendum 2000 announced on 19 April that it is launching a petition to hold a referendum on the controversial Temelin nuclear power plant in south Bohemia, CTK reported. Referendum 2000 says the power station will affect the lives of a large number of citizens and politicians do not have a accession to decide on its completion, scheduled for May 2001. It also says it hopes to forge a two-thirds majority in the two chambers of the parliament in support of the referendum. MS SLOVAK POLICE RELEASE MECIAR... Police released former Premier Vladimir Meciar on 20 April after four hours of detention, CTK and Reuters reported. He was charged with abuse of powers and fraud while in office, crimes which carry jail terms of between 3 and 10 years (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000). Meciar was also fined 10,000 crowns ($225) for refusing to answer questions on the abduction of former President Michal Kovac's son in 1995. After his release, Meciar said the police investigators are in "complete ignorance" of the law. He said the bonuses paid to ministers, for which he was charged with abuse of powers, were legal at the time and both former Premier Jozef Moravcik and Meciar's successor, Mikulas Dzurinda, have paid bonuses to ministers without being prosecuted for it. And he repeated that he will not testify on the abduction inquiry because he had granted an amnesty to those involved in the kidnapping. (See "End Note" below.) MS ...WHOSE PARTY LAUNCHES PROTESTS AGAINST HIS DETENTION. Supporters of Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) are demonstrating on 21 April in central Bratislava against their leader's detention and the "brutal" use of force by police in arresting him, CTK reported. At the request of the HZDS and the Slovak National Party, the parliament has been convened for an extraordinary session on 27 April and it is expected that the two opposition parties will demand the dismissal of Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner. President Rudolf Schuster said on 20 April that he thinks Meciar has made a mistake in refusing to answer the police summons, but that he disagrees with the way police acted, which, he said, was "in a rush." MS SLOVAK COALITION TO STICK TOGETHER--UNLESS IT DOESN'T. The leadership of the ruling coalition, meeting on 20 April, agreed that the coalition must remain intact, AP reported. However, according to CTK and Reuters, Party of Democratic Left (SDL) leader Jozef Migas said after the meeting that the SDL continues to insist that the cabinet must be restructured. He said the SDL wants the number of cabinet members to be cut by three or four and that the posts of deputy premiers in charge of the economy, legislation, and European integration, to be abolished. "The coalition agreement is valid--for now," Migas said, adding: "We want the government to continue, but with changed policies, which would be convincing for the citizens." MS UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN HUNGARY. Visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk and his Hungarian counterpart Janos Martonyi on 20 April told journalists that "no controversial issues" exist between their countries, Hungarian media reported. He and Martonyi agreed that Ukraine will service half of its $1 million debt to Hungary in the form of financing projects aimed at aiding the Hungarian minority in the Subcarpathian region in Ukraine. Martonyi said the funds will go to Hungarian-language schools and cultural institutions. They also discussed ways of cutting red tape blocking commercial exchanges, noting that bilateral trade rose by 20 percent in the first months of 2000. Martonyi said Budapest supports Ukraine's "ideas on Euro- Atlantic integration" and thanked Tarasyuk for Kyiv's assistance in combating the floods. Earlier, Tarasyuk visited the floods area in Szolnok, where he was received by Premier Viktor Orban. MS SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE BAJUK FALLS SHORT IN SLOVENIAN VOTE. Andrej Bajuk, who is the center-right candidate to become prime minister, received 44 out of 90 possible votes in the Slovenian parliament on 20 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 April 2000). Since he fell short of the necessary 46-vote minimum, his supporters said they will select a different candidate for a second round. Should no one gain a majority in that vote, a third round will take place in which only a simple majority of legislators is necessary to select a prime minister. Center- right leaders are confident that they can win in the third round, Reuters reported. A spokesman for the Liberal Party of outgoing Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said, however, that those legislators who did not vote for Bajuk favor early elections, AP reported. President Milan Kucan also wants an early ballot in order to provide a government with a clear mandate. PM CROATIAN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF QUITS. Ozren Zunec, who heads one of Croatia's key intelligence services (HIS), resigned on 20 April after complaining that appointees of President Stipe Mesic are interfering with his work (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). He stressed that Mesic's people are blocking his attempts to institute necessary reforms in the HIS, "Globus" reported on 14 April. The dispute reflects a deeper conflict between Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan over the powers of the president and the control of the intelligence agencies. Racan believes that the government must control the services. Mesic holds that the president must ensure that the agencies remain independent of the government. Under late President Franjo Tudjman, some elements in the governing Croatian Democratic Community used the intelligence services against their political rivals. PM TUDJMAN AIDE DENIES CHARGES IN 'VECERNJI LIST' AFFAIR. Ivic Pasalic, who was chief domestic affairs adviser to President Tudjman, told "Slobodna Dalmacija" of 21 April that Mesic is trying to subject him to a "public lynching" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 20 April 2000). Pasalic denied having ever discussed with Tudjman the sale of "Vecernji list," which is the daily with the largest circulation in Croatia. He stressed that any charges to the contrary are a "fabrication." Referring to an alleged recording of Tudjman and Pasalic discussing the sale of the newspaper--which Mesic said he found in Tudjman's offices--Pasalic said that Tudjman's recordings are private property and that their publication or use by others is illegal. PM HAGUE PREPARING BIGGER THINGS FOR CROATIA? "Slobodna Dalmacija" of 21 April quoted Paul Risley, who is a spokesman for the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, as saying that the ongoing exhumations at Gospic are "only the beginning" of the court's investigations of war crimes committed in Croatia against ethnic Serbs and others (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2000). The tribunal will give priority to finding evidence about atrocities that were systematically planned with the involvement of the central authorities, the paper added. Elsewhere, Mesic said that recent protests by war veterans against the Gospic exhumations were much smaller than the organizers had hoped for. He argued that the poor turnout showed that the opponents of war crimes investigations are a spent force and that most Croats want to discover the truth. PM FINAL RESULTS IN BOSNIAN VOTE CONFIRMS NATIONALIST STRENGTH. A spokeswoman for the OSCE's election commission said in Sarajevo that the outcome of the 8 April local and municipal elections "reflected an increased plurality throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina," Reuters reported. She apparently sought to draw attention to the fact that the multiethnic Social Democrats won in 15 municipalities, up from only one in the previous vote. The Social Democrats did particularly well in Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Gorazde. But elsewhere, the nationalist parties remain firmly in control. Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party won in 49 municipalities, while the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) took 25. The Muslim Party of Democratic Action won in 23 by itself and in 11 more in coalition with the more moderate Party for Bosnia- Herzegovina. PM HDZ PURGE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. In Mostar on 20 April, HDZ party chairman Marko Tokic announced the sackings of several local HDZ officials in areas such as Siroki Brijeg and Mostar, where many voters stayed away from the polls on 8 April. Tokic suggested that several thousand people who had voted for the HDZ in previous elections did not vote this time in order to show displeasure with officials "who misused their positions," Hina reported. He said that many unnamed officials at higher levels will also lose their posts soon. Since the routing of the HDZ in the Croatian elections earlier this year and the party's subsequent split, the Herzegovinian HDZ has begun to prepare for a future without the active support from Zagreb that it enjoyed in the past. PM SERBIAN REGIME CONTINUES TO HARASS OPPONENTS. A Belgrade court on 20 April conducted a hearing in the libel suit brought by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Milovan Bojic against Alliance for Change leader Milan Protic, "Danas" reported. Elsewhere, officials of the mass-circulation private daily "Blic" said that they will help the private Beta news agency pay its fine in a gesture of solidarity (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 April 2000). Finally, former General Momcilo Perisic, who heads the small Movement for Democratic Serbia, called for mass meetings in towns and cities across Serbia that would constitute a "referendum" on behalf of early elections and against the regime. PM DEMONSTRATIONS FOR KOSOVA ACTIVIST BROVINA. Protests took place in Prishtina and Belgrade on 20 April to demand freedom for imprisoned Kosovar poet and rights activist Flora Brovina, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 November 1999). PM SERBIAN PRESIDENT LEAVES HOSPITAL. Milan Milutinovic left a Belgrade hospital on 21 April, Tanjug reported. Independent media recently noted that he had a triple-bypass operation on 10 April and was originally scheduled to leave the hospital some time ago. The Hague-based war crimes tribunal indicted him in May 1999 along with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and three other top Belgrade leaders in conjunction with atrocities committed in Kosova. Persistent but unconfirmed reports have suggested that he has meanwhile had a falling-out with Milosevic and has spent at least some time under house arrest. The regime media have denied such reports. PM AN OLIVE BRANCH FROM DJUKANOVIC TO BELGRADE? Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 20 April that he has not been to Belgrade since early 1999 because the authorities there showed no serious interest in discussing the future of the federation. He stressed, however, that he would be willing to go to Belgrade if there were a political reason to do so. He is fully aware of "all the dangers that such a move would involve," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM MONTENEGRIN LEGISLATURE APPROVES PRIVATIZATION PLANS. The parliament in Podgorica voted on 20 April to proceed with the voucher privatization of some 242 firms in the course of 2000. Among those companies affected are Telekom, Elektroprivreda, Montenegrin Railways, and the Port of Bar. The legislature is still debating a separate proposal to set up a committee to oversee the privatization process (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000). PM ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES MILITARY STRATEGY. The cabinet on 20 April decided to raise military spending from $710 million in 2000 to $1.19 billion by 2006 as part of Romania's NATO accession quest, Reuters reported. The decision is part of the military strategy endorsed at the meeting. The strategy provides for reductions of armed forces personnel from 180,000 at present to 112,000 troops and 28,000 civilian employees by 2000. It still has to be approved by the parliament before becoming law. MS ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE DENIES PACEPA 'RE-ACTIVATED.' Horia Vasioiu, chief of Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) told the parliamentary commission overseeing the activities of the service on 20 April that a general recently re-integrated in the service by presidential decree is not Ion Mihai Pacepa (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000). Vasioiu told the commission that general Pacepa, now 72, cannot be re-integrated, since the law mandates a maximum age of 64 for those in service. He also said opposition leader Adrian Nastase had "unfortunately done a great disservice to SIE" by spreading "press speculations." The commission, however, decided to summon SIE chief Catalin Harnagea for further clarifications. Opposition members on the commission said Vasioiu had been unable to confirm that Pacepa is not working for SIE "as a civilian," Mediafax reported. MS ROMANIAN INDUSTRIAL MAMMOTH TO BE PRIVATIZED. Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu on 20 April told a meeting of the cabinet that the huge communist-era steel maker SIDEX is in a "very difficult financial situation" due to both its debt and "management errors" and that the government must "make a political decision" that would make possible the privatization of the giant as early as possible, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. State Property Fund chief Radu Sarbu told the cabinet that SIDEX, which now employs some 28,000 workers, owed some $1 billion at the end of 1999. He said that two foreign companies have expressed an interest in SIDEX's privatization and that the "optimist" outlook is for the company to be privatized by September 2000, while the "pessimist" one is to conclude the deal by spring 2001. MS UN REPORT SAYS ROMANIAN POLLUTION DUE TO FAULTY DESIGN, WEATHER CONDITIONS. A UN Environment Program report says the January spill of cyanide from the Aurul gold mine in Romania that polluted the Tisa and Danube rivers was due to "a combination of inherent design deficiencies in the industrial process involved, inadequate operating conditions, and bad weather," Reuters reported on 20 April. The report also warned of possible "chronic health impacts" from the spill, in view of the fact that it occurred in an area "already contaminated with heavy metals due to a long history of mining and metal processing." It said that the region's "large number of poorly maintained and operated plants and flotation ponds containing dangerous substances--many of which continue to leak--are the source of a chronic pollution problem." MS MOLDOVAN STUDENTS 'SUSPEND' STRIKE, DEMONSTRATIONS. Students in Chisinau on 20 April decided to "suspend" their protest demonstrations and strike while delegating a few representatives to continue negotiations with the authorities. They said the demonstrations will resume on 24 April if their demands are not met by then, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Among those demands are the nullification of fines imposed on students detained during the demonstrations, the abrogation of an April 1999 government decision to reduce the number of scholarships, and a 50 percent cut in fees paid by students for interurban public transportation. Meanwhile, the authorities announced that 149 persons were detained during the violent three days of demonstrations. All of those arrested were released except for two who have previous criminal records. MS WORLD BANK FOLLOWS IMF ON MOLDOVA. The World Bank on 20 April "suspended" delivery of a second $20 million tranche from a structural adjustment loan, Infotag reported. The bank's Chisinau representative, Carlos Elbirt, said Moldova has failed to meet some of the conditions linked to the loan, above all the privatization of its wine and tobacco industries. Also on 20 April, the international rating agency Moody's downgraded Moldova's foreign currency country ceiling for bonds and the rating for a $75 million Eurobond due to mature in 2002, from B2 to B3. MS BULGARIAN PREMIER ADMITS 'MISTAKES' IN STRUGGLE AGAINST CORRUPTION. Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, speaking on national television on 20 April amid the growing scandal on corruption among his party and government officials (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000), said "I know that I have made mistakes, but I also know that you [i.e. the people] will forgive me." Kostov said he does not intend to "drop my responsibilities as prime minister" and resign, AP reported. He denied that his Union of Democratic Forces is about to split and cause a governmental crisis, but spoke of "evident errors" having been made in local and central administration and of "insolence in our ranks." A poll recently conducted by Gallup International shows that 52 percent of Bulgarians do not trust the government--more than double the 25 percent figure of May 1997. MS END NOTE Former Slovak Premier Arrested, Released By Jolyon Naegele Former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar had resisted efforts by Slovak authorities to question him for months, repeatedly refusing to accept a subpoena. On 20 April, members of a masked special police unit used explosives to gain entry to Meciar's villa in the western Slovak spa town of Trencianske Teplice. Meciar, who was expecting the arrest, had invited Slovak TV reporters to record the event from inside the villa. "The police, to violate my freedom, have to find some way of getting in here. It is for them to decide what means to use. As for me, I don't expect I'll attack the police, but if they try to take me away, I'll resist." In the end, Meciar surrendered without a struggle and was taken in a convoy of 10 vehicles to Bratislava for questioning. The chief investigator, Interior Ministry General Jaroslav Ivor, says Meciar has been charged with abuse of power and fraud for having made illegal payments to members of his cabinet despite repeated warnings by Slovakia's Supreme auditing office. Meciar had not left his villa, a former trade union hotel, since March 26, when police tried but failed to serve him a summons after a television debate with Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda in Bratislava. That summons was to answer questions in connection with the 1995 abduction to Austria of the son of then-President Michal Kovac. Ivor says Meciar is also suspected of having committed "sabotage" in connection with a secret annual report in 1995 of the Slovak Intelligence Service, or SIS. For his part, Dzurinda says police did not consult with him before picking up Meciar. He says the law must be applied equally to all regardless of position or party affiliation. Meciar's populist party, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, or HZDS, has issued a statement saying Meciar's detention is an unprecedented, illegal act that "confirms [that] the Slovak Republic has become a police state with elements of state terror." The deputy chairman of the Party of the Democratic Left, Peter Weiss, rejects the HZDS reaction as "inappropriate." In recent days, Meciar has said that if he were detained he would not answer investigators' questions. He has insisted the investigation into the Kovac abduction is illegal and unconstitutional. Meciar, while serving as interim head of state, amnestied those who were allegedly involved in the abduction. Dzurinda subsequently repealed those amnesties, a move that Meciar rejected. The Slovak Constitutional Court has also ruled that repealing amnesties is unconstitutional. Nevertheless, Slovak authorities have continued to investigate Meciar and his former secret police chief. Meciar remains simultaneously the most popular and the most unpopular politician in Slovakia. Slovaks either love him or hate him. His populist opposition party HZDS continues to lead in the opinion polls. Since losing parliamentary elections in September 1998 and presidential elections last year, Meciar has largely remained out of the public eye. However, in recent weeks, he has launched a petition campaign to force early elections, a move that does not guarantee him a fourth return to office but does put him back in the public eye. So does getting detained in one's own home. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Zsolt-Istvan Mato RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Friday, April 21, 2000 5:21:16 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 80 Part I, 21 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 5:21:16 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 80 Part I, 21 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 80, Part I, 21 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * MOSCOW DISMISSES MASKHADOV'S PEACE INITIATIVE * PRIVATE ECONOMISTS SAY GOVERNMENT OVERSTATING GROWTH FIGURES * GEORGIA, RUSSIA FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT ON VISAS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA MOSCOW DISMISSES MASKHADOV'S PEACE INITIATIVE. The Kremlin's Chechnya spokesman, Sergei Yastrzhembskii, on 21 April dismissed as a "manifestation of demoralization" the unilateral ceasefire announced the previous day by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, AFP reported. In an interview published in "Kommersant-Daily" on 21 April, Maskhadov said he had ordered a unilateral cessation of hostilities as part of a peace proposal he had sent to Moscow. He added that he has also given orders for the unconditional release of all Russian soldiers held captive in Chechnya, Reuters reported. Speaking in Moscow on 21 April, Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow had received peace proposals from Maskhadov, but had not yet received a response to amendments it had suggested to them. He did not elaborate but said Moscow is ready to help Maskhadov neutralize Chechen fighters whom Moscow considers "terrorists." LF GANTEMIROV'S RESIGNATION NOT FINAL. Colonel General Valerii Manilov, who is first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told journalists in Moscow on 20 April that the Russian government's first deputy representative in Chechnya, Beslan Gantemirov, was scheduled to meet that day with his superior, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Koshman, to discuss his announced resignation, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 20 April 2000). Manilov called for "an objective assessment" of the contribution by Gantemirov's pro-Moscow militia during the war in Chechnya. Koshman, for his part, said that Gantemirov's resignation had been totally unexpected, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 21 April. Manilov also said that the Defense Ministry will not hand over command of military operations in Chechnya to the Interior Ministry in the immediate future. LF FINANCE MINISTER UPS ESTIMATE OF CHECHNYA COSTS BY QUARTER. First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told Russian Public Television that the military campaign in Chechnya cost 2.5 billion rubles ($262 million) each month since the beginning of 2000--or 7.5 billion rubles during the first quarter of the year, ITAR-TASS reported on 21 April. He acknowledged that the cost of the military effort had increased from the previous year. On 3 April, Kasyanov said that the operation cost only 6 billion rubles during the first quarter of the year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). JAC TWO RUSSIAN SERVICEMEN SENTENCED FOR SELLING WEAPONS. A military court in Vladikavkaz on 20 April sentenced two Russian soldiers serving in Chechnya to jail terms of six and three years, respectively, for stealing arms and selling them to Chechens, ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. LF PRIVATE ECONOMISTS SAY GOVERNMENT OVERSTATING GROWTH FIGURESŠ Independent economists are skeptical about President-elect Putin's recent claim that the Russian economy had grown by 8 percent in the first quarter of 2000, "The Moscow Times" reported on 21 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 April 2000). Natalya Orlova, an economist with Alfa Bank, told the daily that their estimates "show that gross domestic product in the first quarter stood at close to 4 percent. Six percent is the maximum figure that could sound more or less realistic." On the same day as Putin's announcement of first quarter GDP, Economics Minister Andrei Shapovalyants said that Russia could experience 15 years of strong economic growth if the government followed his ministry's recommendations. According to the newspaper, the ministry recommends eliminating the state subsidy for private housing, passing the Tax Code as soon as possible, depreciating the ruble with a 15-20 percent lag to inflation, and restructuring the energy sector to boost gas production. JAC ...AS RETURN OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC ADVISORS TOUTED. "Vedomosti" reported on 20 April that President-elect Putin will meet with five foreign economic experts on 21 April. According to the daily, the experts also met with President Boris Yeltsin in the early 1990s and "they are not remembered fondly." The newspaper also reported that the U.S. Agency for International Development is funding the experts' trip, and that they have already met with Central Bank Deputy Chairwoman Tatyana Paramonova. The five experts are University of California Professor Arnold Harberger, Florida University Professor James Guartney, Lima University (Peru) Professor Carlos Bologna, Richard Wedder, a former senior economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, and James Carter, also a former official with the Joint Economic Committee. "Vedomosti" is published by the "Wall Street Journal," the "Financial Times," and Independent Media, a Dutch publisher. JAC PUTIN TO MEET WITH SCHROEDER IN JUNE. President-elect Putin will meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on 15-16 June. According to AFP, the meeting will be the first for Putin in a series of bi-annual consultations between top officials of both countries. Putin will meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton on 4-5 June in Moscow (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 April 2000). JAC BATTLE ENSUES FOR FUTURE OF UNITY. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on 19 April that the pro-Kremlin movement Unity will be transformed into a political party at its upcoming conference on 27 May. According to "Segodnya" on 20 April, two groups are fighting to impose their vision on the new party. One group is composed of members of Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov's Fatherland movement and is headed by Aleksandr Vladislavlev of Fatherland. The other group is headed by Shoigu and Unity faction leader Boris Gryzhlov. Shoigu and others would reportedly like to transform Unity into a "party of power" with President-elect Putin as its general-secretary. They have offered former Our Home is Russia faction leader Vladimir Ryzhkov the post of leader of the Unity youth movement. Vladislavlev and others, on the other hand, are advocating a broad coalition of pro-Putin parties based on Unity, Fatherland-All Russia, the Union of Rightist Forces, Russian Regions, and People's Deputy factions. "Segodnya" is published by Vladimir Gusinskii's Media-Most Group. JAC UNION OF RUSSIA AND BELARUS TO COST RUSSIA $80 MILLION IN 2000. "Izvestiya" reported on 21 April that after First Deputy Prime Minister Kasyanov met with Belarusian Finance Minister Mikalay Korbut on 20 April, the budget for the Union of Russia and Belarus was announced. According to the daily, the union's budget in 2000 will be 2.23 billion rubles ($80 million). Russia will provide 1.45 billion rubles and Belarus the remainder. JAC RUSSIA RESTARTS EXPORTS OF PLATINUM. Norilsk Nickel announced on 20 April that it has resumed exporting platinum and rhodium. Norilsk is the world's largest producer of platinum, usually providing some 20 percent of the world's supply. However, it had stopped exporting because a law deprived Almazyuvelireksport--Russia's sole exporting agency for precious metals and gems--the right to export platinum-group metals, Reuters reported. Yevgeny Ivanov, vice chairman of Rosbank, part of the Interros financial-industrial group that controls Norilsk, told reporters on 20 April the company did not plan to flood the market with platinum and rhodium; however, the price of the metals fell immediately after the announcement that Norilsk had resumed trading. In February, Norilsk Nickel head Yurii Kotlyar warned that the world palladium market might collapse because of the Russian government's restrictive policy regarding exports of that metal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 February 2000). JAC FSB SAYS BUSINESSMAN SOUGHT DATA ON SPEEDY UNDERWATER MISSILES. The Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed on 20 April that U.S. businessman and retired Navy captain Edmond Pope, who was charged earlier this month with spying, was seeking plans for a new kind of underwater missile fired by submarines (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). These missiles can reportedly achieve speeds of up to 100 meters a second. Pope, who is currently confined in Lefortovo prison, could face a jail sentence of up to 20 years. JAC MINISTRY VERSUS MINISTRY. The Anti-Monopoly Ministry has brought a legal action against the Railways Ministry for violating the law on competition and monopolistic activity in commodity markets, the website http://www.polit.ru reported on 20 April. The Anti-Monopoly Ministry objected in particular to a recent instruction of the Railways Ministry that its customers requiring international cargo transportation have at least 60 percent of the average cost of their transportation charges in their individual accounts. JAC RUBLE RECOVERS SOME FIRMNESSŠ The ruble regained some strength vis-a-vis the dollar on 20 April. It rose 0.1 percent that day to 28.5862 rubles per dollar. A trader told Reuters that the ruble firmed mainly because exporters started to sell revenues. The ruble fell at the beginning of the week following the sharp fall in international stock markets (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). The same day, Economics Minister Andrei Shapovalyants announced that the ruble would likely average 35 rubles per dollar in 2001. JAC LARGER HARVEST FORECAST FOR 2000. Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Shcherbak, who oversees the work of the Agriculture Ministry, told reporters on 20 April that Russia will harvest 70-80 million tons of grain in 2000. He admitted that as much as 7.5 to 8 percent of the harvest may be lost in processing and storing. Last year, the harvest was predicted to total about 60 metric tons (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 October 1999). JAC AIDS-ONLY PRISON OPENS IN SIBERIAŠ The federal Justice Ministry announced on 20 April that a new prison facility housing only inmates infected with HIV will open in Irkutsk Oblast, ITAR-TASS reported. A ministry official told the agency that some 900 inmates are currently housed in different facilities across the region. According to the agency, the only other prison housing only HIV-infected inmates is in Kaliningrad Oblast. Both Irkutsk and Kaliningrad are among the regions of Russia with the highest number of cases of HIV-infection (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 March 2000). JAC ŠAS EXPERT PREDICTS HIV-CASES TO REACH ONE MILLION BY 2003. Vadim Pokrovskii, head of the Russian Center for the Prevention of AIDS, told reporters on 20 April that the number of AIDS cases in Russia will reach 1 million within two years. He explained that only one-fifth of all HIV cases are registered and as many as 80 percent of all HIV-infected persons are between 15-25. TATAR NATIONALISTS REJECT 'GUBERNIYA' SYSTEM FOR RUSSIA. The moderate nationalist Tatar Public Center issued a statement on 20 April expressing alarm at support among some Russian regional leaders for replacing the current territorial- administrative division of the Russian Federation with the "guberniya" model used in Tsarist Russia, RFE/RL's Kazan bureau reported. As an alternative, the statement called for the creation of a confederation of Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples living in the Volga basin and the Urals. It said such a confederation should have its own parliament. LF TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA TRIAL OF FUGITIVE ARMENIAN MINISTER ADJOURNED. A Yerevan district court on 20 April suspended the ongoing trial of former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Siradeghian, who is accused of ordering several contract killings in the mid-1990s, is believed to have fled the country early this month after a court ruled that he be taken into custody for the remaining duration of the trial (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 7 April 2000). At the same time, the court separated Siradeghian's case from that of 11 co-defendants charged with plotting or committing murder at his behest. LF AZERBAIJAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY CONDEMNS PLANNED KARABAKH POLL. In a statement issued in Baku on 20 April, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry charged that the planned 18 June parliamentary elections in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic constitute "a crude violation of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity," and "another attempt on the part of the Armenian separatists to legitimize the occupation of...an inseparable part of Azerbaijan," Interfax reported. The statement said that fair elections in Karabakh can be held only on the basis of proposals put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group, and only after a solution of the conflict and the repatriation to Karabakh of ethnic-Azerbaijani displaced persons. Also on 20 April, NKR parliament chairman Oleg Yesaian rejected as "completely groundless" an 18 April statement by Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission arguing that the planned poll violates Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and creates new obstacles to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. LF EU CRITICIZES CONDUCT OF GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. The EU on 20 April expressed "regret" that the 9 April Georgian presidential poll, in which incumbent President Eduard Shevardnadze was re-elected for a second five-year term, "did not take place in accordance with the commitments given by Georgia as a participating state of the OSCE and the Council of Europe," Reuters reported. It specifically deplored "serious irregularities," including ballot stuffing, media bias, and lack of transparency in the vote count. The OSCE observer mission noted similar procedural violations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). The EU nonetheless extended congratulations to Shevardnadze on his re-election and expressed the hope that his tenure in office will contribute to the stability and the furthering of political, economic, and judicial reforms, with a view to establishing a democratic and market-oriented society in Georgia," the statement said. LF GEORGIAN PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES AMNESTY FOR POLITICAL OPPONENTS. In his first address to parliament since his re-election, President Shevardnadze announced on 20 April an amnesty for 279 prisoners, including 69 supporters of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia and members of the Mkhedrioni paramilitary found guilty of the car bomb attack on Shevardnadze in August 1995. It had been widely rumored during the runup to the presidential poll that he would do so. Shevardnadze also called, as he had done in the summer of 1992, for "national reconciliation," Reuters reported. In a unanimous vote, deputies also adopted a resolution designating Gamsakhurdia's ouster in January 1992 as "the illegal overthrow of [the country's] legitimately elected authorities." LF AMNESTIED PARAMILITARY LEADER TO CLAIM DAMAGES. Mkhedrioni leader Djaba Ioseliani, who played a key role in Gamsakhurdia's ouster, said on 20 April that he will demand $2 million in compensation from the Georgian authorities for his trial and imprisonment, Caucasus Press reported. Ioseliani, who is 72, was arrested in November 1995 while he still theoretically had immunity as a parliament deputy. He was sentenced in 1998 to 11 years' imprisonment for his alleged role in masterminding the 1995 attempt to assassinate Shevardnadze (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 November 1998). His request last year for clemency on the grounds of ill health was rejected (see "RFE./RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 2, No. 24, 17 June 1999). LF GEORGIA, RUSSIA FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT ON VISAS. Georgian and Russian working groups held consultations in Tbilisi on 18-19 April, but failed to reach any concrete agreement on the introduction of visas for citizens of the two countries, Caucasus Press reported. The talks focused on whether Moscow's insistence on visas for Georgian citizens violates the CIS agreement on visa-free travel; on the visa regime for Russian military servicemen stationed in Georgia; and the regime of visas for residents of conflict zones and the legal status of refugees from Georgia in Russia and from Russia in Georgia, according to ITAR-TASS. Georgia considers the introduction of visas "inexpedient," while Moscow is reportedly insisting upon it, according to Interfax. Then Russian Premier Vladimir Putin proposed introducing a visa regime for Georgia and Azerbaijan in November 1999 in order to prevent Chechen fighters entering the Russian Federation from those countries (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 November 1999). LF KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT SAYS MEDIA LACK OBJECTIVITY. Addressing a conference on crime held in Astana on 19 April, Nursultan Nazarbaev accused the media in Kazakhstan of depicting the situation in the country as far worse than in really is, and of exacerbating interethnic tensions, Reuters and Interfax reported the following day. Nazarbaev said that freedom of the press is sacrosanct, but warned that the right to freedom of speech "must not be turned into an instrument for settling personal scores, misinforming society, and discrediting the state." He called for an investigation into the ownership and financing of individual media outlets, which, he suggested, could reveal "interesting" connections with unspecified hostile organizations abroad. LF KAZAKHSTAN'S PREMIER REJECTS CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS. A spokesman for Qasymzhomart Toqaev on 20 April rejected allegations of corruption leveled against the premier by parliament deputies, Reuters reported. He denied that Toqaev, who served for five years as foreign minister before being appointed premier last October, has any connections with business circles either in Kazakhstan or abroad. Toqaev's dismissal had been rumored two months ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 February 2000). LF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION HOLDS UNSANCTIONED DEMONSTRATION. Some 700 supporters of opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov staged a demonstration in Bishkek on 20 April to demand his release, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. They also called for the annulment of the 12 March parliamentary runoffs in Kara-Buura, where Kulov was defeated, and in Issyk-Kul. Meanwhile opposition representatives have agreed to convene a roundtable discussion under the aegis of the OSCE to discuss internationally accepted norms for the conduct of the presidential elections to be held later this year. The roundtable will take place before 5 May, but the opposition has not yet decided whether to invite President Askar Akaev to attend. Akaev, for his part, told participants in a media conference on 20 April that his administration will hold a round table with the opposition in the next two weeks. The opposition had earlier refused to participate in such a gathering unless it was held under OSCE aegis. LF TAJIK EX-PREMIER CALLS FOR DIALOGUE WITH LEADERSHIP. Opposition "One Tajikistan" party leader Abdumalik Abdulladjonov, who is believed to be in exile in Uzbekistan, has addressed an appeal to the heads of the Central Asian Union states on the eve of their Tashkent summit to facilitate a dialogue between the Tajik leadership and exiled opposition figures, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 20 April. Abdulladjonov said such a dialogue should focus on ways to enable opposition members to return to Tajikistan and participate in building a civil society there. LF UZBEK, KAZAKH PRESIDENTS MEET. Islam Karimov and Nursultan Nazarbaev met in Tashkent on 20 April on the sidelines of the Central Asian summit to discuss bilateral relations and regional security issues, Interfax reported. Government delegations from the two countries met simultaneously to discuss economic cooperation. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Zsolt-Istvan Mato RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Monday, April 17, 2000 4:21:24 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 76, Part I, 17 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Monday, April 17, 2000 4:21:24 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 76, Part I, 17 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No.76, Part I, 17 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * CLINTON, PUTIN TO MEET IN JULY * TALKS ON START-III, NPT TO START * ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIDE RELEASED FROM DETENTION xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA CLINTON, PUTIN TO MEET IN JULY. U.S. President Bill Clinton called Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 15 April to congratulate him on the Duma's ratification of the START-II treaty. Clinton said that the vote was an "important step toward the reduction of nuclear arms" and that now the two countries can work towards START-III. According to a White House spokesman, the two leaders also discussed economic reform, nuclear non-proliferation, and the conflict in Chechnya. During the telephone conversation, the two agreed to meet in Okinawa, Japan on 21 July before the Group of Seven plus Russia summit, Interfax reported on 16 April citing unidentified Kremlin sources. Speaking from Kyiv on 14 April, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that the U.S. is very glad that the START II Treaty was ratified and that now is the time for an entirely new U.S.- Russian relationship, different than that which existed during the Cold War. (See also Part II for an item on Putin's visit to Minsk.) JAC ...AS FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS BALL IN U.S. COURT. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told journalists in Moscow on 14 April that "the ball is now in the court of the U.S.," which must "take reciprocal steps" regarding the ABM treaty, according to Interfax. Russian Security Council secretary Sergei Ivanov explained the next day that the leaders of Russia and the United States will exchange ratification documents of START II only after the U.S. Congress ratifies the 1997 ABM accords. Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said that the U.S. is "not proposing to...throw away the ABM treaty. We are proposing modest amendments. And President Putin has indicated, most recently to Secretary Albright in a face-to-face meeting, that he is prepared to discuss those issues with us." JAC TALKS ON START-III, NPT TO START. Russian and U.S. negotiators are scheduled to meet for two days in Geneva this week to discuss launching START-III negotiations on deeper cuts, Reuters reported. On the issue of START-III, Putin repeated on 14 April that Moscow is willing to cut its strategic offensive weapons to a lower level than what was originally envisioned--to 1,500 warheads instead of 2,000-2,500. However, according to Foreign Minister Ivanov, formal Russian-American talks on START III will not start before both sides complete the START II ratification process in full. On the same day, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan predicted that ratification of START-II would likely have a "positive effect" on the conference to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which starts 24 April. JAC DUMA APPROVES RESOLUTION ON NUCLEAR FORCES... The State Duma also approved on 14 April a resolution on maintenance of Russia's Strategic Nuclear Force, ITAR-TASS reported. A total of 289 deputies voted for the resolution, four voted against, and one abstained. The resolution calls on the Russian president to draft legislation ensuring that the force receives priority financing and maintains its combat readiness in any development of the military-strategic situation. JAC ...AND PASSES BILL ON ABM TREATY. On the same day, deputies also approved a bill to ratify documents related to the ABM treaty. The vote was 413 votes in favor with eight against and one abstention, according to Interfax. The documents include two statements on the treaty, an agreement on confidence-building measures on defense systems against non-strategic ballistic missiles, a memorandum of understanding dealing with questions of legal succession with regard to the ABM treaty and approving the new list of countries who are party to the treaty, and the statute containing the rules of work of the standing consultative committee, which is the body controlling the observation of the treaty. JAC ZHIRINOVSKII BACKS START-II TREATY. In the START-II vote on 14 April, the Communist and Agro-Industrial factions voted against ratification of the treaty, while the Unity, People's Deputy, Fatherland-All Russia, Union of Rightist Forces, Liberal Democratic Party, Yabloko, and Russian Regions factions all voted in favor. Vladimir Zhirinovskii, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, had said that his faction would oppose the treaty, however that decision was reversed at the last minute (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). Of the 19 independent deputies, seven voted in favor of the treaty including Boris Berezovskii and Sibneft head Roman Abramovich, Interfax reported. JAC MOSCOW APARTMENT BOMBING SUSPECTS ARRESTED. The Federal Security Service said on 15 April that nine people have been arrested in the North Caucasus town of Mineralnie Vody and in the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia in connection with the apartment building bombings last summer in Moscow and Vlogodonsk, Interfax reported. Four of those detained were identified as "members of a terrorist group." Quantities of arms and detonators were confiscated from the detainees. LF OSCE CALLS FOR DIALOGUE TO RESOLVE CHECHEN CONFLICT... OSCE Chairwoman and Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on 15 April that Moscow should embark on a dialogue "with the participation of all the people" living in Chechnya, Reuters reported. She said "the OSCE would support any dialogue, with or without international participation, including that of the OSCE." Ferrero-Waldner was speaking in Moscow after visiting Chechnya and Ingushetia the previous day. She said the OSCE mission to Chechnya, which was evacuated from Grozny to Moscow last year, may reopen next month in the Chechen village of Znamenskoye, where it will serve "as a platform for the work of humanitarian organizations," according to ITAR-TASS. She said that the destruction in Znamenskoye and Gudermes was not as bad as in Grozny, where she described it as "terrible." LF ...BUT RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SETS CONDITIONS. In a statement issued on 14 April, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Chechen peace talks can be conducted only with those Chechen representatives who recognize the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation and who have not participated in "terrorist acts," according to ITAR-TASS. Those conditions would appear to exclude Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, who said in a 10 April interview with Deutsche Welle that he is ready for unconditional peace talks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). The statement also ruled out any truce in the fighting in Chechnya "when the destruction of the bandit formations has reached the final phase." Also on 14 April, Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii said that Moscow is ready for contacts with Maskhadov on condition that the Chechen fighters lay down their arms and hand over "terrorists," according to Interfax. But Yastrzhembskii ruled out any foreign mediation in such talks. LF CHECHEN ORGANIZATION DENIES KILLING AZERIS. The Nokcha, a society representing the Chechen community in Irkutsk, has denied any role in the 10 April killings of several members of the city's Azerbaijani Birlik cultural center, Turan reported on 14 April quoting "Ekspress" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). Nokcha rejected Russian media suggestions that the killings were prompted by ongoing tensions between the Azerbaijani and Chechen communities. It termed such speculation an attempt by Russian Security Services to provoke further clashes between the two ethnic groups. In Baku, the Union of Azerbaijani Forces wrote to President-elect Putin and State Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev complaining that the killings are part of a deliberate campaign of measures directed against Azerbaijanis in Russia. The statement expressed the hope that the perpetrators will be found and punished. LF G7 URGES RUSSIA TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON REFORMS... Following their meeting on 15 April in Washington, D.C., finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations issued a statement which touched on Russia. The G7 urged Russian authorities to take action on several "critical economic challenges," such as establishing an "impartial rule of law" and "implementing structural reforms," and it stressed that multilateral and bilateral support should increasingly be focused on these areas. The G7 ministers also stated that they expect Russia to implement a program that would undertake structural reforms in the banking system and reduce the role of barter in the economy. They also highlighted the need to "intensify the fight against corruption and money laundering," and urged the Russian authorities "to follow through on commitments to pass a strong anti-money laundering law." JAC ...AS U.S. SOUNDS SIMILAR NOTE. After meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers the previous day, First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told reporters on 15 April that Russia's "American colleagues advise us to pay serious attention to the banking sector" as one of the government's priorities for reform. The other priorities, according to Kasyanov, are reducing the role of barter in the economy and tax reform. JAC IMF MISSION EXPECTED AT END OF MAY. Finance Ministry official Anton Siluanov told Interfax on 14 April that a full IMF mission is expected to arrive in Moscow at the end of May. He predicted that the joint statement for economic policy between the Central Bank and government for 2000 will be signed in July. Interfax also cited unidentified government sources who said that under any new cooperation program with the IMF, the amount of new money extended would likely be smaller than Russia's payments on old debts to the fund. Meanwhile, IMF acting Managing-Director Stanley Fischer told reporters in Washington on the same day that he came back from his recent trip to Moscow "impressed with the increasing extent of the consensus there on the need to restart the reform program and the political conjuncture in Russia that should make that possible," RFE/RL's Washington bureau reported. JAC SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS NIKITIN ACQUITTAL. The Supreme Court upheld on 17 April the earlier acquittal by a lower court of retired Russian naval Captain Aleksandr Nikitin (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 December 1999). Nikitin had been accused of espionage and treason in connection with his efforts to publicize the Russian Navy's environmentally hazardous handling of nuclear waste. Nikitin revealed last month that he had been refused a passport for foreign travel until the Supreme Court ruling was made. Nikitin told RIA Novosti that finally he is a "free person whose rights as a citizen have been restored." JAC SECURITIES COMMISSION TO TAKE EXTRA MEASURES TO PROTECT INVESTORS. In an interview with "Kommersant-Daily" on 14 April, Igor Kostikov, head of the Federal Securities Commission, said his agency plans to introduce a corporate governance code that would not be legally binding but would educate Russian market participants on rules of corporate governance and protection of shareholders' and investors' rights. Kostikov believes that the code might help to attract much-needed investment. Kostikov also pledged that his commission will tighten control over share issues and other stock market activity in order to eliminate insider trading and fraud. As an additional measure to protect investors, the commission plans to require that brokers' place their own capital and their own funds in separate accounts. JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIDE RELEASED FROM DETENTION. Aleksan Harutiunian, foreign policy aide to Armenian President Robert Kocharian, was released from pretrial detention on 15 April, RFE/RL's bureau in Yerevan reported. Haruitunian had been taken into custody in mid-December and charged with inciting the five gunmen who shot eight leading officials in the Armenian parliament on 27 October. A Yerevan court ruled on 10 April that there are no grounds to keep Harutunian in custody, but the charges against him have not yet been dropped, and he has pledged in writing not to leave the country until the trial is over. LF ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH JAILED COLLEAGUE... Organizations representing Armenia's mass media issued a statement on 13 April deploring the one-year jail sentence handed down the previous day on Vahram Aghajanian, a journalist with the opposition Karabakh newspaper "Tasnerord nahang," Noyan Tapan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000). The statement appealed to President Kocharian "to prevent injustice and violence" against Aghajanian and announced plans to hold a protest on 17 April outside the Yerevan representation of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In solidarity with Aghajanian, six Armenian newspapers on 14 April reprinted the article on the basis of which he was charged with slandering the unrecognized enclave's premier, Anushavan Danielian. LF ...AS HIS PAPER SUSPENDS PUBLICATION. The editorial board of "Tasnerord nahang" issued a statement on 15 April saying that is suspending publication indefinitely following Aghajanian's "unfair" trial and sentence and because Karabakh "society is not prepared" for an opposition publication, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. It is not clear whether the authorities of the unrecognized enclave pressured the paper to cease publication. "Tasnerord nahang" was reportedly sponsored by former Karabakh Defense Minister and Defense Army commander Samvel Babayan, who is currently in detention on suspicion of masterminding the 22 March attempt to assassinate the enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian. Also on 15 March, the newly-created political movement "Democratic Artsakh" held its founding congress in Stepanakert and expressed its support for Ghukasian's leadership. A delegation from the Armenian majority parliament bloc Miasnutiun attended the congress, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. LF OPPOSITION LEADERS ACCUSE AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENT OF MURDER, EMBEZZLEMENT. Speaking at a press conference in Baku on 14 April, National Statehood Party leader Neimat Panakhly accused Azerbaijan's president, Heidar Aliev, of ordering the murder in 1994 of Shahmardan Djafarov, a member of the Nakhichevan branch of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front, Turan reported. In 1993-1994, Panakhly served as an aide to Aliev. Also on 14 April, former Azerbaijani parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliev issued an appeal to the Azerbaijani people from his U.S. exile, Turan and RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported. Guliev accused Aliev and his family of embezzling a total of $4 billion over the past seven years, mostly from the sale of oil. LF AZERBAIJAN'S PRESIDENT SLAMS AIRPORT IRREGULARITIES. Chairing a meeting of aviation sector officials on 13 April, President Aliev criticized customs officials and the management of Baku international airport for inefficiency, corruption, and charging foreign airlines inflated fees for refueling and other services, Turan reported. Air transport procurator Vagif Iskendarov confirmed two days later that serious irregularities had occurred and that Azerbaijan had violated the Chicago Convention on civil aviation. At least two international airlines have halted flights to Azerbaijan because of corruption, and others, including Lufthansa, are reportedly considering doing so. LF MORE ALLEGATIONS MADE OF GEORGIAN POLL FRAUD. The Georgian umbrella movement Patriot, which unites 22 left-wing political parties, hopes to prove that the outcome of the 9 April presidential poll was falsified, Caucasus Press reported on 15 April. Former Georgian Communist Party First Secretary Avtandil Margiani told the news agency that voter turnout was only 51 percent, not 68 percent as claimed by the Central Electoral Commission. Margiani added that opposition candidate Djumber Patiashvili garnered 72 percent of the vote. Patiashvili has said he does not recognize the validity of the official data, according to which incumbent President Eduard Shevardnadze polled over 80 percent of the vote (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). LF MORE KILLINGS IN ABKHAZIA. Several Abkhaz police were killed or wounded on 14 April in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion, Caucasus Press reported. A security official of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia said three police were killed and three more wounded. He blamed the shooting on Georgian guerrillas. A spokesman for the Abkhaz government in exile in Georgia gave the number of those killed as 10. A joint Georgian-Abkhaz-Russian-U.N. commission has been set up to investigate the killings, according to Caucasus Press on 17 April. LF ALBRIGHT VISITS KAZAKHSTAN... U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright flew from Kyiv to Astana on 15 April where she assured President Nursultan Nazarbaev of the U.S.'s ongoing support and promised an additional $3 million for measures to bolster Kazakhstan's security. Albright also told Nazarbaev that Washington hopes Kazakhstan will make a commitment to exporting oil via the planned Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. A Kazakh oil sector official said earlier this month that his country is unlikely to be in a position to do so before 2008 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). Albright expressed "surprise and disappointment" at the recent promotion of a senior Kazakh security official who played a key role in the illegal sale last year to North Korea of decommissioned Kazakh MiG fighters, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). Albright also met for over an hour with leading members of several pro-government and three Kazakh opposition parties, RFE/RL's Astana bureau reported. LF ...AND KYRGYZSTAN. Albright flew from Astana to Bishkek on 16 April where she met with President Askar Akaev and senior security officials to discuss bilateral relations and the threat to Central Asia posed by international terrorism, organized crime, and drug-trafficking, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. At a subsequent joint press conference, Albright said she informed Akaev of the U.S.'s concern at procedural violations before and during the recent parliamentary elections. She also described as "a huge mistake" the arrest and detention of opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov, according to AP. Akaev for his part pledged to ensure that no such violations occur during the presidential elections later this year. Meeting later with representatives of political parties and NGOs, Albright repeated her concern over violations during the parliamentary elections. She said that Akaev promised that Kulov will be released before the presidential poll, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. LF KAZAKHSTAN ABOLISHES LIMITATIONS ON OIL EXPORTS. Kazakhstan's cabinet on 14 April canceled the limit of 22 million tons imposed late last year on oil exports for 2000, Interfax reported quoting the Energy Ministry. Albright the following day hailed that decision as "a symbol of Kazakhstan's intention to improve the climate for foreign and domestic investment," Reuters reported. Also on 15 April, Interfax quoted Kazakhstan's State Statistical Agency as reporting that oil extraction during the first quarter of 2000 totaled 7.017 million tons, which is an increase of 16.4 percent compared with the same period for 1999. LF NEW KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT UPPER HOUSE ELECTS SPEAKER. At its first session on 14 April, deputies to the Legislative Assembly elected as their chairman Abdygany Erkebaev, who previously chaired the lower chamber of parliament, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Erkebaev, one of the leaders of the pro-government Union of Democratic Forces, received 38 votes, while his rival, Communist Party chairman Absamat Masaliev, polled 13. Erkebaev, who is 45, is a member of the Academy of Sciences and a former deputy prime minister and governor of Osh Oblast. In a message to the session, President Akaev termed the parliamentary poll "a useful lesson on the road to democracy," and said that the new legislature should work "in a manner of true democracy...in a civilized constructive way in order to strengthen the rule of law and facilitate social and economic progress," Reuters reported. LF ALBRIGHT WARNS AGAINST REPRESSION IN UZBEKISTAN. On the third and final leg of her Central Asian tour, U.S. Secretary of State Albright warned in a 17 April speech at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent that "indiscriminate government censorship and repression can cause moderate and peaceful opponents of a regime to resort to violence," RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported. She added that in Uzbekistan as elsewhere in Central Asia "governments remain too involved in the economy and the daily lives of individuals." She called for greater media freedom and respect for human rights, and for swifter and more effective economic reform. Describing neighboring Afghanistan as "a huge problem for regional stability," Albright also pledged $10 million in aid for counterterrorism and border guard training and to combat drug smuggling, AP reported. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 5:07:24 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 77, Part II, 18 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 5:07:24 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 77, Part II, 18 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 77, Part II, 18 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * UKRAINE'S MAJORITY LEADER FORESEES PROBLEMS IN AMENDING CONSTITUTION * TWO VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN CENTRAL PRISHTINA * 'MONSTER TRIAL' BEGINS IN NIS END NOTE: Ukrainians Support Giving President More Powers xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT LIKES LIBERAL ECONOMY? Alyaksandr Lukashenka told Russian Deputy State Property Minister German Gref in Minsk on 17 April that he supports all forms of ownership and a liberal economy, provided that it develops not chaotically or spontaneously but based "on serious studies by competent people," Belapan reported. Lukashenka noted that priority in Belarus's relations with Russia should be given to economic integration. Lukashenka thanked Gref for the latter's consent to stay for some time in Minsk in order to study processes under way in the union state of Belarus and Russia. JM UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SATISFIED WITH REFERENDUM RESULTS. Leonid Kuchma on 17 April said he is satisfied with the 16 April referendum vote which overwhelmingly approved all four questions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000), Interfax reported. According to Kuchma, the voters expressed their assessment of "a majority of political parties that opposed the referendum." The president promised to submit "specific proposals" to the parliament to introduce constitutional amendments in line with the referendum as soon as its results are official. Kuchma noted that "the people's will needs to be not only respected but also implemented." He said the question about the introduction of a bicameral parliament was "purely political" and pledged to set up a group composed of lawmakers, government officials, and "experts" to prepare proposals on how to form and put in operation a two-house legislature. (See End Note below.) JM UKRAINIAN COMMUNIST LEADER SAYS PARLIAMENT TO LOSE INDEPENDENCE. Petro Symonenko said on 17 April that the parliament "will totally lose its independence" and become "subordinated to the Presidential administration and the Cabinet of Ministers" following the introduction of constitutional amendments approved in the referendum, Interfax reported. According to Symonenko, local authority representatives interfered with the preparation of the referendum and "grossly" violated civil rights and freedoms during the voting. "This referendum is another step toward dictatorship and the destruction of democratic institutions in our country," he noted. Symonenko added that the Central Electoral Commission has proven unable to ensure the observance of law during the plebiscite and demanded a change of the commission's composition. Symonenko predicts an ouster of the current cabinet and early parliamentary elections as a result of the referendum. JM UKRAINE'S MAJORITY LEADER FORESEES PROBLEMS IN AMENDING CONSTITUTION. Leonid Kravchuk, leader of the parliamentary majority, told Interfax on 17 April that the executive and legislative branches "are entering into a very harsh controversy if not a conflict" over the implementation of the referendum results. According to Kravchuk, the parliamentary majority has only 265 deputies and cannot guarantee the introduction of all constitutional amendments approved in the referendum. In his opinion, the parliament will likely pass without problems the amendments regarding the reduction of deputy seats from 450 to 300 and the abolition of deputies' immunity from criminal prosecution. Kravchuk foresees "difficulties" in approving the amendments about the president's right to dissolve the parliament and the introduction of a bicameral legislature. JM LATVIAN GENOCIDE SUSPECT DIES OF HEART FAILURE. Vasilii Kirsanov, charged in Latvia with genocide, died on 17 April of heart failure. The 85-year old former KGB major is linked by prosecutors to 32 cases of Soviet prosecution soon after the 1940 occupation, mostly of former national guardsmen and scouts. Among the group two were executed. Kirsanov had been in custody since November. MH POLAND PLEDGES FRESH IMPETUS IN EU BID. Premier Jerzy Buzek on 17 April promised a "great leap" in the next few months to speed up the adjustment of Polish laws to EU standards to achieve the goal of membership by 2003, PAP reported. According to Buzek, by September Poland should catch up with those EU aspirants that "have already successfully absorbed EU legislation." The premier made his pledge while presenting Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, newly appointed head of the government's European Integration Committee. Saryusz-Wolski said his immediate priorities include drafting EU-related bills more quickly, improving coordination of work with other ministries, and launching a better information policy to revive public support for Poland's EU membership. JM POLISH FARMERS THREATEN SUICIDE OVER SALE OF SUGAR PLANTS. Twenty-two farmers have threatened to commit suicide to protest the sale of sugar refineries to foreign companies, Polish Radio reported on 17 April. Janina Piekarz, chairwoman of a strike committee at the Silesian Sugar Holding, told the station that the farmers decided to take cyanide. "They want to do this in the following manner: they want to wash themselves, put on nice clothes, lie down in beds, and do it the moment the Polish government announces that it sold sugar refineries to foreign capitalists," Piekarz said. She added that after Easter the farmers will hand in their personal identity cards because they do not want to be citizens of a state that does not care about its people. JM FORMER CZECH PARTY OFFICIAL PLEADS INNOCENT IN TRIAL. Libor Novak, former executive deputy chairman of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) pleaded innocent on 17 April at the beginning of his Prague trial for tax evasion, CTK reported. He is alleged to have committed the crime in 1995. Novak said he had signed the ODS tax returns but did not know they contained false information. Novak is accused of having split a gift to the ODS from businessman and former tennis star Milan Srejber between two fictitious sponsors, depriving the state of some 170,000 crowns (some $4,460) in taxes. ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus said that he is worried that the trial's outcome might be influenced by political pressure. Justice Minister Otakar Motejl described Klaus's statement as "fundamentally unfortunate and inappropriate." MS EU REPORT ON CZECH REPUBLIC TO SHOW 'SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS.' Michael Leigh, chief EU negotiator with the Czech Republic, on 17 March told Foreign Minister Jan Kavan in Prague that the 2000 annual report on candidates for EU admission will be "a lot more positive" on the Czech Republic than in the two previous years, CTK reported. Leigh also denied that the EU is slowing down the enlargement process and said that, on the contrary, the integration pace has been intensified in the case of the Czech Republic. He said Prague's 2003 target-date for accession was "optimistic, but realistic." MS CUBANS TO MARCH ON CZECH EMBASSY IN HAVANA. Cuba has called for a march by 100,000 demonstrators on the Czech embassy in Havana to protest on 18 March Prague's sponsorship of a draft resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission censuring Cuba's human rights record. A statement read on Cuban television said "patriots from all sectors [of society], waving our glorious flag, will march on the Czech embassy" in protest against "that repugnant symbol of betrayal and lackeyism" and in "an energetic protest against the foul maneuvers of imperialism, its allies, and its puppets," Reuters reported. MS CZECH MINE SALE AGREEMENT TO END COAL MINERS STRIKE? Representatives of the Mostecka uhelna spolecnost (MUS) company and SHD-Peel on 18 April signed a letter of intent on the sale of the MUS subsidiary Dul Kohinoor mine to SHD-Peel, CTK reported, citing MUS Senior Manager Petr Pudil. Pudil expressed the hope that the agreement will lead to the end of a Kohinoor miners' strike, which has entered its 19th day. The strikers are at a depth of 365 meters and are supported by colleagues above ground, demanding that the sale to SHD- Peel be carried out. SPD-Peel promised to continue operating the mine, which otherwise would have been phased-out within five years, according to an agreement between MUS and the government in December 1999. MS SLOVAK PREMIER REJECTS CABINET RESHUFFLE DEMAND. Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda on 17 April rejected parliamentary chairman and Party of Democratic Left (SDL) leader Jozef Migas's demand that the cabinet be reshuffled (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 and 17 April 2000). "I cannot see the slightest reason for that. If someone sees any, let him submit it [to debate] and propose a solution," CTK cited him as saying. Dzurinda said Migas's call amounted to "a violation of the coalition agreement" and that the SDL leader must explain how the coalition can work in the future. Deputy Premier and Party of Civic Understanding leader Pavol Hamzik said after talks with EU commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen in Brussels (see below) that Migas's proposal might harm Slovakia's effort to join the EU. The Hungarian Coalition Party also criticized the SDL leader. MS EU COMMISSIONER SAYS SLOVAKIA MAY BE AMONG FIRST TO JOIN. Verheugen on 17 April told Hamzik that Slovakia is "on course" to catch up with the front-runners in the race to join the EU and could be among the first group of former communist countries to join the union, AP reported. Verheugen said he wants Slovakia to join alongside Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic by 2003, but added that "this cannot be guaranteed." More cautious, Hamzik said his governments sees 2004 or 2005 as "realistic" dates for membership, but stressed that Slovakia wants to join "as soon as possible." Hamzik also said the Czech-Slovak customs union problem must not be "dramatized," as both countries will probably enter the EU together, CTK reported. MS SLOVAKIA CRITICIZES BELGIAN VISA CLAMPDOWN. In an interview with Reuters on 17 April, Hamzik criticized Belgium's recent decision to suspend the visa-free agreement with Slovakia to curb the influx of Romany asylum seekers. Hamzik said the decision is "restrictive for the movement of people, tourists, and business" and was probably prompted by Belgian domestic political considerations. Also on 17 April, Pascal Smet, head of the Belgian government's immigration task force, said on 17 April that asylum seekers from Slovakia are being warned to leave the country voluntarily or face deportation, Reuters reported. Smet said about 1,500 people, mostly Slovak Roma, have had their asylum claims rejected. He said those who choose to leave voluntarily will have their flight to Slovakia covered and will receive a small resettlement sum. MS HUNGARY TO TRY IMPROVING SITUATION OF ROMA. Improving conditions for the Romany minority is one of the Hungarian government's main priorities and would receive special attention even if the EU did not demand it, Justice Minister Ibolya David and Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi on 17 April said at a joint press conference. David said the government does not intend to initiate an anti-discrimination law, but will spend some 4.7 billion forints ($17.4 million) this year on the integration of Roma. The Justice Ministry has earmarked 100 million forints ($370,000) in its budget for the education of Romany students, while the Ministry of Interior intends to support minority schools with 300 million forints, she added. David and Martonyi spoke at the launching of an English-French publication by the Foreign Ministry titled "State Measures for the Social Integration of Roma in Hungary." MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE TWO VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN CENTRAL PRISHTINA. Unknown persons fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an apartment building close to the Grand Hotel late in the night of 17 April. Two ethnic Albanians were slightly injured. Serbs living in a nearby flat were "evacuated for their safety," Reuters reported. It is not clear what the motive for the attack might have been. KFOR troops at a nearby checkpoint detained the driver of a vehicle that contained several rockets. Earlier, Besim Mala, who is a former commander of the Kosova Liberation Army, was shot dead in unclear circumstances not far from the site of the subsequent grenade incident. Observers note that violence is no rarity in Kosova, but that it is unusual in central Prishtina. It is also rare that it involves well-known personalities. PM GENERAL REINHARDT LEAVES WITH PRESEVO ON HIS MIND... KFOR's outgoing commander, General Klaus Reinhardt, told his farewell press conference in Prishtina on 17 April that the 39,000 peacekeepers have achieved much since they arrived in the province in June. He stressed, however, that he fears that violence in southwestern Serbia--which is outside KFOR's mandate--could destabilize the situation in Kosova. He noted that armed Albanian rebels continue to train in the village of Dobrosin despite recent pledges to seek a political solution to their grievances against Belgrade. Serbian media reported an incident on 15 April in which a Serbian police checkpoint was hit by hand-grenades from Dobrosin. There has been no independent confirmation of the incident. PM ...AS GENERAL ORTUNO ARRIVES WITH EUROCORPS. Spanish General Juan Ortuno took over as KFOR commander from Reinhardt on 18 April for a six-month mandate. He heads Eurocorps, which consists of troops from France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg. London's "The Guardian" writes that the force is "French-sponsored" and that Ortuno's command marks "the first time in NATO's history that the alliance has entrusted an external operation to a unit which is not part of its integrated, U.S.-dominated command structure.... Eurocorps is a politically-driven creation from which Britain has kept its distance on the grounds that it is potentially divisive and more symbolic than militarily effective.... KFOR will revert to an integrated NATO command after six months," the London- based daily added. The paper also noted that France is expected to step up its campaign for a greater European security role separate from that of the U.S. after 1 July, when France takes the rotating EU chair. Most European countries have had difficulties finding enough troops for existing multinational units and projects as it is. PM 'MONSTER TRIAL' BEGINS IN NIS. Some 146 Kosova Albanians are on trial in Nis for "terrorism" and "hostile activities," "Die Presse" reported on 18 April. The Vienna-based daily cites Natasa Kandic, Serbia's best-known human rights activist, as calling the event a "monster trial" and the biggest such event in the history of the Yugoslav court system. Lawyers from her Center for Human Rights are defending the Kosovars. She noted that all the defendants are civilians whom Serbian forces took from their homes or from refugee convoys in 1999 and sent to Serbia. She added that an additional 200 Kosovars continue to be held in Serbian jails without charges, even though Serbian law specifies a maximum detention of three days without charges. Kandic suggested that the authorities could put the matter behind them by freeing the inmates in an amnesty to mark the 26 April state holiday. PM KOSOVA SERB MODERATES IN MOSCOW. A delegation of moderate Serbian political leaders arrived in Moscow on 17 April on an unofficial visit. They are headed by Momcilo Trajkovic and Archbishop Artemije. The Serbs will hold talks with representatives of the state Duma and Patriarch Aleksii. It is not yet clear whether the Serbs will meet with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, "Danas" reported. PM VOJVODINA BRACES FOR FLOODS. Flood preparations are well advanced in Vojvodina communities along the Tisza River, whose water-levels in Hungary have reached record highs of up to 10 meters. Hungarian experts say that the worst danger is over in their country and that the brunt of the problem is shifting to Serbia, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM MACEDONIAN-MONTENEGRIN TRANSPORT TALKS BEGIN. Svetozar Marovic, who is the speaker of Montenegro's parliament, arrived in Skopje on 17 April. The two republics plan to open consulates in each other's capitals. The main topic on Marovic's agenda will be opening a transportation corridor from Macedonia to Montenegro via Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM HAGUE COURT PLEASED WITH CROATIAN COMPLIANCE. War crimes tribunal spokesman Paul Risley said in The Hague on 17 April that the court is very pleased with the cooperation it is getting from the new Croatian government, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service noted. Court spokesman Graham Blewitt pointed out that the tribunal wants to investigate several sites of possible war crimes in Croatia, "Vecernji list" reported. Near Gospic, war crimes investigators began exhumations aimed at finding the remains of dozens of Serbian civilians allegedly killed by Croatian forces in 1991 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 and 14 April 2000). Many local residents and the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) object to the exhumations as a witch-hunt aimed at blackening the memory of Croatia's war for independence. The government has pledged to get to the truth of the matter. President Stipe Mesic said on state-run television on 17 April that "nobody ever received the right to kill someone's children in the name of the Croatian state." A poll published in "Jutarnji list" on 18 April suggests that 91 percent of the population feels that all who committed war crimes should be punished. PM MESIC CALLS NEWSPAPER SALE 'FRAUD.' President Mesic said on state-run television on 17 April that the sale of the Zagreb mass-circulation daily "Vecernji list" by the HDZ was a "fraud" that involved the top leadership of the former ruling party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 2000). He said that the parliament's investigation into the matter is not "just politics" but an uncovering of gross abuse of office. Mesic added that he doubts that the two businessmen whom the paper says are the owners are anything more than front men for the politicians who really control the paper, which has the largest circulation in Croatia. Meanwhile, "Vecernji list" reported on 18 April that it will soon be owned by Austria's Styria company, which publishes "Die Presse" and several other newspapers. PM ROMANIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS REFUSE 'AUSTERITY' FOR THEMSELVES. A joint session of Romania's two chambers of parliament on 17 April rejected a proposal by the parliament's Standing Bureau to resume debates on a decision to raise salaries of deputies and senators by 50 percent, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The vote was 118 against, 97 for and 34 abstentions. The bureau had proposed revising the 13 April decision, pointing out that the budget currently under debate is one of austerity. Spokesmen for all formations represented in the legislature called for a revising of the decision, but the parliamentarians were obviously unimpressed by what their own parties had to say on the matter, not to mention the media. MS ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN IN CHISINAU. Ion Diaconescu, chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, told his counterpart Dumitru Diacov in Chisinau on 17 April that Romania is ready to share its experience with Moldova on accessing the EU and that "Europe cannot be herself without having both Romania and Moldova in it." He said it is possible that the two countries will join the EU at the same time, by 2007. Diaconescu also said that as a start on the road to collaboration, "our parliamentarians should pay fewer visits to South Africa and more visits to Chisinau." Diaconescu also met with President Petru Lucinschi. MS MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS LAW ALLOWING GOVERNMENT TO PRIVATIZE. The parliament on 17 April rejected a draft law that would have granted the Dumitru Braghis cabinet the right to approve legislation on privatizing the tobacco and wine industries, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Only 19 deputies supported the draft. Earlier, Party of Moldovan Communists Chairman Vladimir Voronin said an extraordinary meeting of his party's Central Committee decided not to change the party's rejection of those laws, which Voronin defined as "the greatest robbery committed against the state." Prime Minister Braghis said in reaction that the decision deprives Moldova of IMF funding and that the government must examine the decision's consequences at its meeting on 18 April. He said he does not rule out the cabinet's resignation. But presidential spokesman Anatol Golea said the cabinet will not resign and will look for alternative means of financing the budget deficit. MS POLICE, STUDENTS CLASH IN CHISINAU. Four policemen and one student were hospitalized with injuries and about 60 demonstrators were detained on 17 April when police clashed with several thousand students in Chisinau, RFE/RL's bureau in the Moldovan capital reported. The students were protesting a decision by the mayoralty to scrap free travel for students on public transportation. Students threw bottles, eggs, and vegetables at the town hall and broke several windows. Flux reported on 18 April that the students have resumed their protests, this time in front of the parliament. MS CAMPAIGN TO END SEX SLAVERY IN BULGARIA. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 17 April launched a campaign to prevent thousands of Bulgarian women from becoming sex slaves abroad. The IOM coordinator for Central Europe, Irena Voyachkova, said the project, which is funded by the U.S. State Department, is being launched because trafficking in women is a growing threat and an issue of concern for the entire region. Bulgarian human rights groups estimate that some 10,000 Bulgarian women, many under 18, are trapped in the sex industry abroad. Many are lured by newspaper advertising promising well-paid work as models, dancers, shop assistants, or even marriage with foreigners. Other women, mainly from small villages, are kidnapped and smuggled over the border. CTK reported that the IOM campaign has also been launched in Slovakia. MS END NOTE Ukrainians Support Giving President More Powers By Askold Krushelnycky Electoral commission results on 17 April showed that Ukrainians gave overwhelming backing for President Leonid Kuchma's proposals in a referendum. Nearly 29 million people--about 80 percent of those eligible to vote--took part in the referendum, which officially began on 6 April and ended with its heaviest day of polling on 16 April. Between 80 and 90 percent of respondents voted the way Kuchma hoped they would on the four referendum issues. Voters supported giving the president increased powers to dissolve the parliament; to lower the number of parliamentary deputies from 450 to 300; to remove deputies' immunity to criminal prosecution; and to create a second parliamentary chamber. The president would appoint members of the second chamber, which is intended to represent the interests of the regions. Kuchma said the referendum was needed to end years of infighting among parliament deputies and a deadlock between the presidency and parliament. He said the deadlock had crippled attempts to introduce vital economic reforms and had prolonged the country's decline into poverty. But his opponents from across the political spectrum criticized the referendum, saying it undermined parliament. They said the referendum was unconstitutional, although Ukraine's Constitutional Court ruled it could go ahead. The Council of Europe, the 41-nation body that monitors democratic and human rights standards, also criticized the referendum. It has said Ukraine's membership could be suspended if Kuchma tries to impose the referendum's results without parliament's approval. The Council of Europe and other international bodies did not send observers, and some accusations of vote-rigging have surfaced. The Election Commission said it is investigating, and added that any violations were few in number. But parliament has such a poor reputation among many Ukrainians, who regard most of its members as corrupt and incompetent, that an outcome against parliament was almost a certainty. Indeed, the questions that gained the highest popular approval were for reducing the number of deputies and stripping them of their immunity from prosecution. But although Kuchma has convincingly won the first battle--to hold the referendum and secure the results he wanted--he could now face months of feuding with parliament to implement those results. The very threat of the referendum prompted parliament to reorganize itself last January into a majority that has been supporting Kuchma's reform proposals. But he says the majority is unstable and the referendum results must be implemented. But to do that, a parliamentary majority must first vote in favor of a bill proposing the amendments. Next, a two- thirds majority of parliament must vote in favor of each of the actual amendments. To get a two-thirds majority is going to be extremely difficult. But Ukrainian legal experts are not sure whether deputies may vote against constitutional changes legally approved by Ukrainian voters. Also unclear are what steps, if any, the president may take if deputies reject the results of the referendum. If he tries to impose them against parliament's will, that could not only provoke suspension from the Council of Europe but, more important, could again wreck Ukraine's chances to press ahead with essential economic reforms. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 5:34:02 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 75, Part II, 14 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 75, Part II, 14 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * SLOVAK GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION * DEL PONTE WANTS 'ALL FUGITIVES' SENT TO HAGUE * BELGRADE AUTHORITIES NERVOUS ON EVE OF RALLY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE OPPOSITIONISTS WARN ABOUT 'OCCUPATION' OF BELARUS. Vintsuk Vyachorka, leader of the Belarusian Popular Front, has said the plan to create a 300,000-strong Russian-Belarusian military force (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000) is an attempt to restore the "Russian empire," Belapan reported on 13 April. "If this crazy plan of bringing Russian troops into Belarus is implemented, the pro-independence forces will regard this step as an occupation with all [its] consequences," Vyachorka added. Supreme Soviet Chairman Syamyon Sharetski, currently in exile in Lithuania, has also said the plan amounts to an "occupation." "Belarus is already practically governed by an occupation administration, the top posts of which are taken by people from Russia," BNS quoted Sharetski as saying. The creation of a Russian-Belarusian military force was announced by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on 11 April and confirmed by Moscow Military District Commander Igor Puzanov the following day. JM UKRAINIAN POLITICIANS DIVIDED OVER 16 APRIL REFERENDUM. Former President Leonid Kravchuk, Social Democrats (United) parliamentary caucus leader Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Ukrainian Popular Rukh leader Yuriy Kostenko have told Interfax that they will vote in the 16 April constitutional referendum. Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko, Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz, and Progressive Socialists leader Natalya Vitrenko have all declared that they will not vote. The three leftist leaders believe that the referendum was launched on a presidential rather than a popular initiative and that the people do not need such a vote. Moroz said the authorities "are today forcing people to [vote in] the referendum" in order to "ensure the necessary results." The referendum will be valid only if at least 50 percent of eligible voters take part. JM UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL SAYS IMF NOT LIKELY TO RENEW LOAN BEFORE JUNE. First Deputy Premier Yuriy Yekhanurov said on 13 April that the IMF will not consider resuming the $2.6 billion loan program for Ukraine before June, Interfax reported. IMF mission head Julian Berengaut did not name any date for the loan resumption. Berengaut is currently in Kyiv to examine Ukraine's compliance with earlier programs and the results of an audit by the National Bank in connection with allegations of the misuse of IMF funds. The same day, the government approved a resolution to issue foreign loan bonds in 2000. Neither the volume nor the conditions of this issue have been made public. JM BALTIC SEA PREMIERS MEET IN DENMARK. Prime ministers from the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) met in Kolding, Denmark on 12-13 April to discuss boosting regional cooperation. The group was joined by European Commission President Romano Prodi, who promised rapid movement toward EU enlargement, BNS reported. Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said that Russia is a "complementary and important partner" in the Baltic Sea region, but he noted that the "Chechnya question" must be resolved in "an acceptable manner" for a normalization of relations between Europe and Russia, Reuters added. CBSS members are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Latvia was represented by Aivars Baumanis, ambassador to Denmark, following the resignation of Prime Minister Andris Skele earlier this week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). MH PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF ESTONIAN CENTRAL BANK. Lennart Meri on 13 April formally appointed statistics professor Vello Vensel as governor of the Bank of Estonia. Vensel was unexpectedly elected to that post late last month by the bank's board (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). Vensel has said in several interviews that there will be no significant changes in the operations of the central bank under his leadership. MH LATVIAN COMMITTEE PRESENTS REPORT ON SCANDAL. An ad hoc parliamentary commission investigating alleged government involvement in the so-called pedophilia scandal issued its report on 13 April. The report echoed claims by the commission chairman, Janis Adamsons, that well-known public figures are involved (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 February 2000), BNS reported. Each of the named officials has denied the charges. Four members of the commission, meanwhile, said the final report is biased, noting that their objections were not included in it, LETA added. Prosecutor Modris Adlers, however, said that the current investigation, which has led to several arrests, has produced no evidence supporting allegations made in the report. Also on 13 April, the parliament voted not to debate a draft resolution seeking to revoke the mandate of Adamsons, whom a court found to have been linked to the KGB during the Soviet era. KGB operatives are not allowed to serve as parliamentary deputies. MH RUSSIAN CITIZENSHIP AWARDED TO CONVICTED LATVIAN WAR CRIMINAL. Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin on 12 April granted Russian citizenship to Vasilii Kononov, a former Soviet partisan convicted of war crimes in Latvia, AP reported. However, Kononov told an appeals court the next day that he has no documents confirming his Russian citizenship, BNS reported. Kononov added that he has not renounced his Latvian citizenship. He told the court that his conviction should be reviewed by an international commission of experts as "it is almost impossible to understand war situations looking from the vantage point of peaceful times," Reuters reported. MH CORRECTION: "RFE/RL Newsline" on 13 April incorrectly reported that For Fatherland and Freedom has 14 out of the 100 seats in the Latvian parliament. The correct figure is 16 out of the 100. RADICAL ELECTED MAYOR OF KAUNAS. Vytautas Sustauskas, leader of the radical Freedom Union, was elected mayor of Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city, on 13 April. In the 41-seat council, the vote was 23 to 17 in favor of Sustauskas, who is best known for organizing radical campaigns and rowdy protests (see, for example "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 January 2000). All 60 local councils have now elected mayors, following ballots not only in Kaunas but also in Marijampole and Palanga on 13 April. The Democratic Labor Party, the Farmers Party, and the New Alliance (Social Liberals) each have 11 mayoralities, the Center Union eight, and the Liberal Union six. Four are ruled by the Social Democrats, the Conservatives, Christian Democrats, and Polish Electoral Action parties each have two, and the Freedom Union, the Democratic Party, and the Nationalist Union each rule one. MH POLAND MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF KATYN MASSACRE. Poland on 13 April observed the 60th anniversary of the massacre of some 15,000 officers and 7,000 civilians who had been taken prisoner by Soviet troops in 1939. The Kremlin officially admitted this crime, known as the Katyn massacre, only in 1990. President Aleksander Kwasniewski said at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw that the Katyn massacre "was an atrocity committed by an inhuman system for which we cannot and we do not want to blame the entire [Russian] nation." In a resolution passed the same day, the parliament paid tribute to "the finest sons of the nation" who were murdered by the NKVD. The parliament expressed the hope that the memory of Katyn "will serve to heal past wounds and shape friendly relations between the Polish Republic and the Russian Federation." JM POLISH PREMIER SAYS HE WILL NOT RUN FOR PRESIDENT. Jerzy Buzek on 13 April reaffirmed that he will not seek the presidency in this fall's elections, PAP reported. He expressed hope that the "right wing" will soon select a "proper" presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) leader Marian Krzaklewski admitted that there have been "informal talks" about his appointment as prime minister and Buzek's nomination as a presidential candidate. Krzaklewski added that the AWS has not yet taken any decision. JM CZECH PARLIAMENT ELECTS NEW MEMBERS TO TV BOARD. The Chamber of Deputies on 13 April elected seven new members to the Council of Czech Television, Czech media reported. Those members were elected from lists of nominees submitted by the political parties in the chamber. Three of the new members were nominated by the Civic Democratic Party, two by the governing Social Democratic Party, one by the Christian Democrats, and one by the Freedom Union. Two more members are due to be elected on 14 April, and most observers expect at least one of them to come from among the Social Democratic nominees. The council is charged with approving the budget of state-owned Czech Television and has the power to name and dismiss the station's manager. VG SLOVAK GOVERNMENT SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION... The government of Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda survived a 13 April no-confidence motion submitted to the parliament by the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, Slovak media reported. The motion was supported by 60 deputies of the 141 deputies present, while 72 voted against it and nine abstained. Five deputies from the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL), which is a member of the coalition government, supported the motion, as did Robert Fico, a former SDL deputy chairman who now leads the Smer (Direction) party. VG ...WHILE PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN VOTES AGAINST CABINET. Before the vote, parliamentary chairman and SDL leader Jozef Migas announced that he would vote against the cabinet, which he said is responsible for "impoverishing and polarizing" Slovak society. Migas said he wants the current coalition of parties to form a new government that would maintain the country's Western orientation but also ensure better "communication with the opposition." The vote highlighted a split within the SDL's ranks. Many observers suggested that Migas is trying to shore up his own weakened position within the SDL, whose popularity has plummeted since the 1998 elections. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Pavol Kanis, who heads an informal opposition faction within the SDL, voted against the motion, along with five other SDL members. VG SLOVAK PRESIDENT MEETS WITH U.S. DEFENSE OFFICIAL. Major-General Joseph Garrett, the chief of the U.S. Defense Department for European and NATO Policy, noted during talks with Slovak President Rudolf Schuster on 13 April that Slovakia does not have sufficient financial resources to implement the Action Plan for NATO membership, TASR-SLOVAKIA reported. Schuster said that he is hoping that some of next year's budget can be used to help the country meet its requirements in this area. VG TWO-MEMBER PARLIAMENTARY GROUP FORMED IN HUNGARY. Independent parliamentary members Sandor Cseh and Attila Szabo on 13 April announced the formation of their own parliamentary group, Hungarian media report. The two recently founded the Alliance for Eastern Hungary party, saying that residents of that part of the country receive nothing but promises from political parties. As a parliamentary group, the two will have a monthly budget of 600,000 forints ($2,200) and will be entitled to nominate members to the boards of trustees of state-run media. Szabo formerly belonged to the major coalition partner FIDESZ, while Cseh was a member of the opposition extreme-right Hungarian Justice and Life Party. Parliamentary speaker Janos Ader admitted that there is no legal obstacle to the new parliamentary group, but its foundation will be examined by the parliament's procedural committee. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE DEL PONTE WANTS 'ALL FUGITIVES' SENT TO HAGUE. Carla Del Ponte, who is the Hague-based war crimes tribunal's chief prosecutor, told NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson on 13 April that she wants NATO's help in arresting all indicted war criminals in the former Yugoslavia. She said: "Thanks for the arrests [of Bosnian Serb leader Momcilo Krajisnik and other war crimes suspects], but it's not enough. I'm asking for the arrest of all fugitives. How long is it going to take?" (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 4 April 2000.) Robertson replied that the indicted war criminals will be arrested "as soon as possible," Reuters reported. He called on them to "come to The Hague rather than face the rough justice of the Balkans," recalling the Belgrade murder in January of Zeljko "Arkan" Raznatovic. Robertson noted that arresting war crimes suspects will be a dangerous task. "There are risks because these people are violent. The forces of SFOR and KFOR are willing to take those risks.... There is a lot of creativity involved," Robertson added. PM SERBIAN REGIME DETAINS FOREIGNERS. Serbian officials detained six foreign journalists and three Spanish trade union officials at Belgrade airport on 13 April. The foreigners had come to attend a rally to support early general elections the following day. A spokesman for the independent Serbian trade union Nezavisnost (Independence) called the detentions a "primitive act of revenge" by the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, AP reported. PM BELGRADE AUTHORITIES NERVOUS ON EVE OF RALLY. Speaking in Belgrade on 13 April, indicted war criminal and Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic said that the opposition is responsible for making sure that the rally passes without incident. He added that he fears that the meeting's organizers may "carry out terrorist acts," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He did not elaborate. Milosevic's Socialist Party said in a statement that holding a rally "is just another attempt at dragging citizens into carrying out the task of destabilizing Serbia," AP reported. Elsewhere, a Belgrade court handed down a ruling against the Serbian Renewal Movement in a slander case stemming from 1994. The party was fined $100,000 in the long-dormant case. A party spokesman called the ruling a "monstrous witch-hunt," Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Milosevic-run TV Politika announced plans to show "The Matrix" and other current Hollywood hit films at the same time as the rally is taking place. PM SERBIAN DEMONSTRATORS WARN REGIME, OPPOSITION. Some 200 young protesters left Novi Sad on foot for Belgrade on 13 April. A spokesman for the student organization Otpor (Resistance) told Reuters that the young people's message is "good-bye" both to Milosevic and his regime and to the fractious opposition leaders. A second protester added that "we are going to show everybody that only united can we succeed." Belgrade University Professor Gordana Naunovic said of the opposition leaders: "Friday will be a big test for them. I think this is their last chance" to show that they are worthy of citizens' trust. PM BELGRADE PROTEST LEADERS URGE CALM, ORDER. Speaking in Belgrade on 13 April, Alliance for Change leaders Milan Protic, Vladan Batic, and Goran Svilanovic called on all citizens of the capital to come to the rally in Republic Square. Batic said that he expects the meeting to take place "without incident," adding that his main fear is that the authorities will try to intimidate people into not attending, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM PRINCE ALEKSANDAR URGES SERBS TO ATTEND RALLY. In London on 13 April, Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, who is the claimant to the Serbian throne, said in a message that "all Serbs and citizens of Yugoslavia [should] come together and establish a broad mass movement for democracy and change. This will bring the nation a rebirth, order, and progress." He added that "this is the moment when the fate of the nation will be decided." PM KOUCHNER DOES NOT WANT TOO MANY REFUGEE RETURNS. Bernard Kouchner, who is the UN's chief civilian administrator in Kosova, urged countries hosting refugees from there not to send back too many people too soon. Speaking in Prishtina on 13 April, he stressed that there are infrastructure and security problems in the province (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000). Kouchner said: "The returns are just starting, and we already have problems with too many [people] arriving simultaneously and with a lack of regard for the dangers to ethnic minorities. It is crucial that we put things right quickly. Otherwise, the tens of thousands of returnees expected this year will swamp the capacity to absorb them." He urged unnamed countries to minimize forced returns of Serbs, Roma, and other minorities, as well as to help the authorities in Kosova integrate returnees, Reuters reported. PM MONTENEGRO, ALBANIA COOPERATE AGAINST CRIME. In yet another move by Montenegro to strengthen ties to neighboring countries despite Belgrade's objections, regional police chiefs from Montenegro and Albania met in Podgorica on 13 April. They agreed on measures to exchange information on criminals and to fight prostitution and smuggling, Reuters reported. Shkoder police chief Bilbil Mema noted that this was the first time "in 50 years" that police from the two countries agreed to cooperate. He stressed that the agreement "means that people who commit crimes in Albania and seek refuge in Montenegro to cover their tracks will be identified by Montenegrin police and vice versa." PM SLOVENIAN MINISTER HOPES TO KEEP ON EU SCHEDULE. European Affairs Minister Igor Bavcar said in Ljubljana on 13 April that he believes that the parliament will pass the necessary legislation to meet EU deadlines despite the current political crisis (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). He noted that European issues enjoy a broad consensus among parties, Reuters reported. PM DID THE 1991 CROATIAN GOVERNMENT KNOW OF MASSACRES? Franjo Greguric, who was prime minister of Croatia's 1991-1992 wartime government of national unity, said in Zagreb that there were neither concentration camps nor "liquidations" on the Croatian side during that time (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000). He added that there was no "official information" within the government about executions of Serbian civilians, "Jutarnji list" reported on 14 April. Greguric stressed that his cabinet even had one Serb in it and that one should recall that it operated under wartime conditions. Urging "more understanding and objectivity," he argued that charges of atrocities against Serbs call into question whether it was necessary to establish an independent Croatia. One should always remember that Croatia had no choice but to leave Milosevic's Yugoslavia, Greguric concluded. PM SERBIAN POLITICIAN SAYS 'YES.' Elsewhere in Zagreb, Milan Djukic of the Serbian People's Party argued that Greguric, President Franjo Tudjman, and other top leaders did indeed know of the 1991 killings in Gospic. Among the others Djukic mentioned who are still active in politics: Stipe Mesic, Drazen Budisa, Zdravko Tomac, Mate Granic, and Josip Manolic, "Novi List" reported on 14 April. PM LATEST BOSNIAN VOTE TALLY. Preliminary results in all 145 municipalities confirm the sweep of nationalist parties in the 8 April local elections. Thousands of absentee ballots remain to be counted, but "Oslobodjenje" of 14 April gives the following vote totals to date: the Serbian Democratic Party leads in 52 districts, the Croatian Democratic Community in 28, the Muslim Party of Democratic Action in 24, and the civic-based Social Democratic Party in 18. PM BOSNIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES KEY LAW. The Council of Nations of the joint parliament passed legislation on 13 April that expands the size and powers of the joint Council of Ministers. Serbian, Croatian, and Muslim ministers will rotate on an eight-month basis. In addition to the previous ministries of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and civilian affairs and communications, three new posts will be added. They deal with refugees and human rights, European integration, and joint government finances, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR 'FLEXIBILITY' IN RUSSIAN TREATY TALKS... Petre Roman on 13 April said his country is prepared to show "flexibility" in talks with Moscow on the pending basic treaty and "expects a similar approach" from the Russian side, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Roman said a condemnation in the treaty of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact of 1939 is less important than the restitution of the Romanian state treasury held in Moscow since World War I. And he added that "compromise" could be reached on the condemnation, based on a resolution passed in 1991 by the Congress of People's Deputies of the former Soviet Union in 1991, which also condemned the pact. MS ...WHILE SHOWING LACK OF FLEXIBILITY TOWARD HUNGARY. Roman also said that the opening of a Hungarian consulate in the Transylvanian town of Miercurea Ciuc would be "unsuitable in the present political context" but that Romania would "welcome" the opening of a Hungarian consulate in Constanta, "a town with large economic perspectives." Observers note that while Miercurea Ciuc is in the heart of an area with a large ethnic-Hungarian population, the Black Sea port of Constanta has only a small Hungarian minority. Romanian Radio cited Hungarian Radio as reporting on 14 April that the two countries' premiers had agreed in Budapest last month that consulates would be opened in both towns. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban begins a visit to Bucharest on 14 April and is expected to discuss, among other things, the Hungarian proposal to open the two new consulates. MS TRANSYLVANIA MAKES HEADLINES IN ROMANIA AGAIN. Some 1,000 ethnic Romanians demonstrated in the Transylvanian town of Sfintul Gheorghe on 13 April against what they called the local council's discriminatory policies against the Romanian minority and against discrimination of Romanians in the heavily Magyar-populated counties of Harghita and Covasna, Mediafax reported. The demonstrators were received by Sfintul Gheorghe Hungarian Mayor Albert Almos, who rejected accusations that his policies are anti-Romanian. In Targu Mures, Hungarian Mayor Imre Fodor was questioned at the local prosecutor's office on suspicion of abusing his office. Elod Kincses, chairman of the local branch of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania, said Fodor's interrogation was part of a plan to prevent him from running in the upcoming local elections. The opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania said it is "worried" about the infringement of Romanians' "natural rights" in Harghita and Covasna. MS BULGARIAN-ROMANIAN BLACK SEA MILITARY EXERCISE ENDS. The Bulgarian-Romanian Storm 2000 joint naval exercise on the Black Sea came to an end on 13 April, BTA reported. Bulgarian Naval Chief of Staff Petar Petrov praised the exercise and described it as important for "mutual trust and stability in the Black Sea region." VG MOLDOVAN LEADERS FAIL TO CONVINCE COMMUNISTS TO SUPPORT KEY PRIVATIZATION. President Petru Lucinschi and Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis failed on 13 April to convince the Communist faction in parliament to support a bill on the privatization of the country's wine and tobacco industries, BASA-Press reported. After a closed-door meeting which Lucinschi and Braghis attended, the Communists announced that they would not support the bill. The privatization of the two industries is one of the key conditions set by the IMF for the approval of more credits to Moldova. At present, only the Christian Democrats have offered unconditional support to the privatization bill. In other news, the parliament on 13 April adopted the social insurance budget with revenues and expenditures of 1.227 billion lei ($97.5 million), Flux reported. Passage of the budget is another of the conditions set by the IMF. VG BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES AMENDMENTS TO JUDICIARY LAW. The Bulgarian legislature approved an amendment to the law on the judiciary that will strip the Supreme Judicial Council of its power to initiate disciplinary proceedings against judges, prosecutors and investigators, BTA reported. The presidents of the Supreme Cassation and Supreme Administration courts as well as the prosecutor-general will retain those powers in their respective areas. The justice minister will also retain the right to launch disciplinary proceedings against any magistrate. VG BULGARIAN PREMIER EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN ECONOMY. Ivan Kostov said on 13 April that the indicators of the Bulgarian economy "are good, irrespective of some negative tendencies," BTA reported. Kostov was responding to preliminary figures released by the National Statistics Office, which indicate that the country's foreign trade deficit in 1999 exceeded $1 billion. However, exports have increased 20 percent in January and February and the trade deficit fell by 43 percent from December 1999 to January 2000, AFP reported. Official statistics also indicate that the unemployment rate is now at 18.2 percent and that some 40 percent of Bulgarians live below the poverty line. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 4:18:47 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 73, Part I, 12 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 73, Part I, 12 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * CHECHEN PRESIDENT AFFIRMS READINESS FOR PEACE TALKS * PUTIN GOVERNMENT FORGES COMPROMISE BETWEEN BATTLING MONOPOLIES * AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN WAR GAMES xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA CHECHEN PRESIDENT AFFIRMS READINESS FOR PEACE TALKS... In an interview with Deutsche Welle on 10 April, Aslan Maskhadov affirmed that he is ready to fulfill the conditions set by Russian leaders for any peace talks, provided that Moscow also abides by those conditions. Those conditions included the immediate cessation of hostilities and the release of all hostages currently held in Chechnya, which Maskhadov said he will make every effort to secure. He attributed Russia's consistent refusal to conduct such peace talks to Russian leaders' failure to comprehend what is in Russia's best interests. Maskhadov blamed the war on Russian oligarchs who wanted to raise Putin's popularity and engineer his election as president and on the August 1999 incursion into Daghestan led by field commander Shamil Basaev and former Chechen Foreign Minister Movladi Udugov. He characterized the latter as a private individual in opposition to the Chechen leadership and Udugov's Website as not reflecting the official position of either the president or the Chechen leadership. LF ...WHILE YASTRZHEMBSKII REDEFINES CONDITIONS... Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii told journalists on 11 April that "a transition to some sort of political process" in Chechnya is possible, provided that certain conditions are fulfilled, Interfax reported. Those conditions include the "complete disarmament" of all Chechen fighters and the punishment of field commanders Basaev, Khattab, and Ruslan Gelaev. Ingush President Ruslan Aushev, who is currently in Kuala Lumpur, told Interfax by telephone on 11 April that Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin should respond to Maskhadov's "reasonable proposal." On 12 April, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported that an aide to Tatarstan's President Mintimer Shaimiev declined either to confirm or deny reports that Shaimiev had met with Udugov to discuss the possibilities for a political solution to the Chechen war. LF ... AND DAGHESTAN QUESTIONS HIS SINCERITY. Daghestan's Minister for Nationalities, Information, and External Relations Magomedsalikh Gusaev told ITAR-TASS on 11 April that Maskhadov's condemnation of Basaev's August 1999 raid on Daghestan "has come a little bit too late." He noted that Maskhadov has chosen to distance himself from Basaev precisely when reports are surfacing that the latter is preparing a new attack on Daghestan. On 8 April, "Kommersant-Daily" quoted Russian State Duma deputy from Daghestan Gadzhi Makhachev as accusing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) of double standards in condemning Russian human rights violations in Chechnya but failing to condemn Basaev's attack on Daghestan. LF EU URGES RUSSIA TO PROBE REPORTED MASS KILLINGS IN CHECHNYA... The EU on 11 April submitted a resolution to the UN Commission on Human Rights calling on Russia to investigate reports of mass killings and other alleged violations by Russian troops in Chechnya, Reuters reported. Portuguese ambassador to the UN Alvaro Mendonca e Moura, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, urged Moscow to set up an "independent, wide-ranging and national commission of inquiry." Canada co-sponsored the motion, while Reuters quoted a State Department official in Geneva as saying that the U.S. is considering whether to back it, too. JC ...WHILE IVANOV SAYS MOSCOW 'NOT AVOIDING DIALOGUE' ON CHECHNYA. Speaking after a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on 11 April, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that Moscow is "not avoiding a dialogue" on Chechnya and is eager to find a settlement to this issue, AP and Interfax reported. According to the Western news agency, he qualified that statement by adding that Moscow envisages an "eventual political settlement" with Chechen leaders "who do not put forward unacceptable conditions and who recognize the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation." Interfax quoted Ivanov as saying that the issue of international observers in Chechnya was not discussed at the meeting. Before Ivanov's arrival in Luxembourg, the EU had issued a statement welcoming Russian President-elect Putin's stated desire to seek "a strategic partnership" with the EU but noting this would be possible only if Moscow engages in an "open and frank dialogue" on such issues as Chechnya. JC MOSCOW TO RESETTLE TEREK COSSACKS IN CHECHNYA? Representatives of the pro-Russian Chechen administration met with some 300 members of the Terek Cossacks in the Chechen village of Naurskaya on 11 April to discuss the possibility of repatriating to Chechnya's Nadterechnyi and Shelkovskii Raions the Cossack, Nogai Tatar, and Kumyk communities who previously lived there, ITAR-TASS reported. The Terek Cossacks had demanded last year that Moscow create for them an autonomous district in Chechnya comprising those two raions (see "RFE/RL Newsline." 3 December 1999). It was decided to establish a branch of the Terek Cossack Troop in Naurskaya. The Cossack presence in lowland Chechnya dates from the late 16th century. The Terek Cossacks were responsible for some of the worst pogroms during the Russian Civil War and were mostly resettled elsewhere in the North Caucasus in the late 1920s. LF KOVALEV EXPLAINS WHY HE SUPPORTED PACE RESOLUTION. In an interview with "Kommersant-Daily" on 11 April, State Duma deputy (Union of Rightist Forces) and human rights activist Sergei Kovalev--the only member of the Russian delegation to PACE who voted for the resolution proposing the suspension of Russia from the council--said that the PACE vote is "useful not only for the international community as a whole but for Russia as well." He added, however, that this is only the case "if we approach the issue without any absurd pseudo-patriotic ambitions but from the standpoint of conscience." "Our generals," he said, "cannot fail to understand what is happening when weapons created for the destruction of huge areas are used in a residential district." And he added that while President-elect Putin is "only a colonel," he must realize the consequences for civilians of using such weapons. JC DRAFT DODGERS MULTIPLY SINCE LATEST CHECHEN CAMPAIGN. Colonel General Vladislav Putilin, head of the operation and mobilization department of the Armed Forces' General Staff, announced on 11 April that the number of draft dodgers has increased by 50 percent since the beginning of the campaign in Chechnya last fall, ITAR-TASS reported. Putilin put the figure at 49,000. According to Reuters, he remarked that "for the first time in the last four years, the army will feel a lack of conscript resources." The General Staff recently released data showing that nearly half of all conscripts called up last year had neither studied nor worked before entering the military (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). JC PUTIN GOVERNMENT FORGES COMPROMISE BETWEEN BATTLING MONOPOLIES... Unified Energy Systems (EES) head Anatolii Chubais told reporters on 11 April that Gazprom has agreed to a compromise on the issues of gas supplies to the electricity monopoly during the second quarter of this year. Chubais said that EES had initially asked for 26 billion cubic meters of gas while Gazprom had offered only 22 billion cubic meters. On 11 April, Gazprom head Rem Vyakhirev announced that it would supply 24.2 billion cubic meters. Also on 11 April, Tatarstan's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Kogogin announced that Gazprom will cut gas supplies in the current year to the republic by some 14 percent, from 14 billion cubic meters of gas to 12 billion cubic meters, Interfax reported. JAC ...AS MORE LOCATIONS IN THE DARK. Chubais also said on 11 April that because there is still a shortfall, EES will soon reach a decision about cutting off electricity to those enterprises that do not pay bills. Later the same day, an EES spokesman told reporters that due to a shortfall in gas deliveries his company will have to cut electricity supplies to several cities and regions, including Nizhnii Novgorod, Samara, Yaroslavl, Kostromo, Tver, Tula, Volgograd, Rostov, Chuvashiya, Orenburg, and Sverdlovsk, ITAR-TASS reported. He added that the shortage of gas is being experienced most acutely in the power systems of central and southern Russia and in the Volga and Urals regions. JAC YELTSIN DECISION DEEMED ILLEGAL. The appeals board of the Russian Supreme Court ruled on 11 April that the dismissal last December of Moscow Police Chief Nikolai Kulikov by then President Boris Yeltsin was illegal, ITAR-TASS reported. At the time, Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov had claimed Kulikov's firing was part of an orchestrated Kremlin strategy to pressure the city head. Last December, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Luzhkov to invalidate the presidential decree dismissing Kulikov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 December 1999). According to Interfax, after the verdict guards at Moscow police headquarters were told by acting police chief Viktor Shvidkin not to let Kulikov into the building. JAC POLITICAL STATEMENT ON ABM TO ACCOMPANY START-II RATIFICATION? Chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs Dmitrii Rogozin was quoted by ITAR-TASS on 11 April as saying it will "probably be necessary" to approve a political statement at the same time as ratifying the START-II treaty in order to "make clear Russia's stand on the U.S.'s possible withdrawal" from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The State Duma is scheduled to debate ratification of the treaty on 14 April. JC WORLD BANK PREDICTS SLOWER GROWTH. The World Bank's annual report "Global Development Finance 2000" predicts that Russia, along with the other countries of the former Soviet Union, will experience slow growth in 2000. It puts the figure at 1.3 percent, followed by 2.3 percent in 2001 and 2.5 percent in 2002. According to "The Moscow Times," the report's pessimistic predictions contrast sharply with other recent forecasts of Russian GDP. For example, the Brunswick Warburg investment bank and Goldman Sachs recently revised their forecasts for to up to 5 percent GDP growth this year. And on 12 April U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told reporters that Russia's near term economic prospects are bright. According to the World Bank report, Russia's recovery, which has been led by import substitution, could be "short-lived" since there has not been a full recovery of domestic demand. The report also points to the continuing flight of capital from the country. JAC NEW GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT REACHED IN KEY EXPORT SECTOR? Moscow-based analysts told Reuters on 11 April that despite the recent shift in ownership of key assets in Russia's aluminum sector, export volumes are not expected to change because all of Russia's plants are operating at capacity and are all export-oriented. Last week, Siberian Aluminum and Sibneft, the new owners of controlling shares in major aluminum smelters, reached an agreement to cooperate. And on 10 April, Siberian Urals Aluminum, Russia's fourth-largest aluminum producer, announced it is joining forces with Bogoslovskii, the sixth-largest. United Financial Group analyst Mikhail Seleznev said the new smaller grouping "will not have a substantial share of the market, so the bigger one will let it live to show that it is not a monopoly, as it has a competitor." JAC RUSSIA WANTS TO IMPORT 20,000 TONS OF NUCLEAR WASTE. Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgenii Adamov announced on 11 April that Russia wants to import some 20,000 tons of spent fuel rods from civilian nuclear power plants in Europe and Asia, which would be recycled at the Mayak facility in Central Russia, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. According to Adamov, Moscow expects the earnings from such a project to total $21 billion over 10 years. Discussions on importing nuclear waste for financial gain have been under way for several years, but current Russian legislation prohibits such imports (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 1999). JC LEGISLATIVE GOALS OUTLINED. In an interview with "Parlamentskaya gazeta" on 11 April, Duma Legislative Committee Chairman Pavel Krasheninnikov said that his committee's first priorities will be to modernize outdated laws, particularly the criminal and civil codes. He added that the recently adopted Civil Code needs amendments and "corrections." He explained that it is necessary to reduce the number of inmates in detention cells since conditions in jails meet neither domestic nor international standards. JAC TAX MINISTRY TO EXTEND ITS RULE TO WEB PUBLICATIONS. The Tax Ministry is proposing that the Internet versions of newspaper, magazines, and new agencies be registered, licensed, and taxed, "Moskovskii komsomolets" reported on 11 April. According to the daily, Russia is the first country to consider such a measure. JAC FEDERATION COUNCIL OFFERS YELTSIN CONDITIONAL WELCOME. Federation Council deputy speaker Oleg Korolev and Chairman of the Federation Council's Committee on Constitutional Legislation Sergei Sobyanin said on 10 April that members of the upper legislative house would welcome the idea of making former President Yeltsin a member of the Federation Council. However, both legislators suggested that the Russian Constitution would have to be revised. Duma Legislation Committee Chairman (Union of Rightist Forces) Krasheninnikov said earlier in the month that he will submit an amendment to the law on the formation of the Federation Council that will make Russia's former presidents automatically members of that body. According to "Komsomolskaya pravda" on 12 April, senators have suggested that Yeltsin be made an honorary member in order to avoid having to amend the constitution. JAC FOUR AZERIS KILLED, TWO INJURED IN IRKUTSK. Four Azerbaijanis were killed and two injured on 10 April when a group of unidentified masked men forced their way into the Azerbaijani cultural center in Irkutsk and opened fire, Turan and ITAR-TASS reported. The attackers escaped. The motives for the attack are unclear. LF CORRECTION: "RFE/RL Newsline" on 11 April reported that Russia's "minimum monthly wage will be 132 rubles from 1 June, 280 rubles from 1 October, and 300 rubles from 1 January 2001." This should have read the "minimum monthly wage will increase by 132 rubles from 1 June, 280 rubles from 1 October and 300 rubles from 1 January 2001." TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA KARABAKH JOURNALISTS PROTEST COLLEAGUE'S ARREST. A group of leading journalists from the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has issued a statement condemning the arrest of Vahram Agadjanian, a journalist with the Karabakh opposition newspaper "Tasnerort nahang," Noyan Tapan reported on 12 April. Agadjanian was taken into custody shortly after the abortive 22 March attempt to assassinate the enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2000). He has been charged with "defamation" for an article published in November 1999 that harshly criticized Karabakh Premier Anushavan Danielian, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported on 10 April. LF AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN WAR GAMES. In a statement issued in Baku on 11 April, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry implied that the joint maneuvers conducted in Armenia late last month were intended as preparation for military action against Azerbaijan, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 March and 3 April 2000). The statement noted that one of the stated objectives of the maneuvers was to improve the performance of both countries' troops in wooded and mountainous terrain. Baku regards the conduct of such exercises as a destabilizing factor in the South Caucasus and as undermining confidence between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the 1994 cease-fire, the statement continued. The statement termed the exercises counter to Russia's professed policy of furthering stability and security in the South Caucasus. It urged Moscow to suspend such exercises until a final solution to the Karabakh conflict is reached. LF AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION PARTY GRANTED PERMISSION FOR BAKU DEMO. Baku Mayor Rafael Allakhverdiev has agreed to a request by the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party for permission to convene a picket in the capital on 13 April, Turan reported. The action is intended to protest the eviction of the party from its Baku headquarters in 1994 and to demand either the return of those premises or a new office in the capital. LF TWO AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION PARTIES SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Azerbaijan National Independence Party chairman Etibar Mamedov and Democratic Party of Azerbaijan co-chairman Ilyas Ismailov signed an agreement in Baku on 11 April pledging to coordinate their efforts to end by constitutional means the present "authoritarian" and "anti-national" regime, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No.13, 31 March 2000). They also vowed to liberate the Azerbaijani territories currently occupied by Armenian forces. The two parties will try to consolidate all democratic forces to contend jointly the parliamentary elections due in November. LF SON OF EXTRADITED LOCAL AZERBAIJANI POLICE CHIEF ACCUSES AUTHORITIES. Yuksel Efendiev, whose father, Natig, was expedited from Turkey to Azerbaijan in January, has appealed to the Azerbaijani leadership to desist from what he terms the systematic persecution of all male members of his family, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 4, 28 January 2000). Natig Efendiev's brother was sentenced in 1998 to three-and-a-half years in jail, and his cousin was arrested in 1996. All other male members of the family are either in hiding or have left Azerbaijan. Natig Efendiev was dismissed from his post as police chief of the city of Gyanja in September 1996, after his patron, parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliev, had lost his post. Both men subsequently left Azerbaijan. LF DEFEATED GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGER CLAIMS FRAUD. Djumber Patiashvili, who according to official data placed second in the 9 April Georgian presidential poll with 17 percent of the vote, has rejected that figure, Reuters reported on 11 April. Patiashvili claimed that the vote tally was systematically falsified, with the authorities adding 300-500 votes for incumbent Eduard Shevardnadze at every polling station. He said his supporters are collecting evidence of that falsification, which he will submit to the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Also on 11 April, "Dilis gazeti" quoted Georgian Socialist Party leader Vakhtang Rcheulishvili as saying that the participation in the poll of both Patiashvili and Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze gave rise to major tensions within the opposition Batumi Alliance, of which both men are leading members. Abashidze withdrew his candidacy on 8 April. LF KAZAKHSTAN'S PREMIER CRITICIZES APPROACH TO PRIVATIZATION. Addressing a cabinet session in Astana on 11 April, Qasymzhomart Toqaev called for an investigation into the activities of the previous heads of the Finance Ministry's State Property and Privatization Committee, Interfax reported. Stressing that there can be no question of re-nationalizing already privatized enterprises, Toqaev nonetheless expressed concern at the "erosion" of state property, which he said "must be curbed." He added that "the most sophisticated approaches," including psuedo-bankruptcy and deliberate undervaluation, are being used to undertake the "robbery" of the country's industrial base. On two earlier occasions this year, Toqaev had called for expediting the privatization of state-owned companies, including two oil companies and several metallurgical giants (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 February 2000). LF KAZAKHSTAN'S COMMUNIST PARTY JOINS CALLS FOR POLITICAL REFORM. Communist Party leader Serikbolsyn Abdildin told a news conference in Almaty on 11 April that his party has proposed abolishing the presidency and establishing a parliamentary republic in Kazakhstan, Interfax reported. Abdildin also advocated that beginning in 2000, local governors should be elected, rather than appointed by the country's leadership. He added that the constitution should be amended to prevent regional governors adopting what he termed "separatist policies." LF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ENDS HUNGER STRIKE. Kyrgyz Security Ministry spokesman Talant Razzakov said in Bishkek on 11 April that at the insistence of ministry doctors, detained opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov ended on 10 April the hunger strike he had begun 17 days earlier, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Kulov has been charged with embezzlement and abuse of office when he headed the Security Ministry in 1996-1998. Meanwhile some 100 protesters continued their picket in central Bishkek to demand Kulov's release. On 11 April, a second leading member of Ar-Namys, Omurbek Subanaliev, said in Bishkek that the party will participate in the planned round-table discussion between the opposition and the Kyrgyz leadership if that discussion is held under the aegis of the OSCE, but not if it is organized by the presidential administration. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Monday, April 17, 2000 4:26:38 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 76, Part II, 17 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 76, Part II, 17 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * UKRAINIAN REFERENDUM APPROVES MORE POWERS FOR PRESIDENT * MILOSEVIC'S MONTENEGRIN ALLIES CLOSE RANKS * SERBIAN OPPOSITION PLEASED WITH RALLY END NOTE: A Red-Brown Coalition In Lithuania xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE IN MINSK, PUTIN STRESSES ECONOMIC TIES IN UNION WITH BELARUS. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, in Minsk on 16 April to discuss the implementation of the Russian-Belarusian Union treaty, Belapan and ITAR-TASS reported. Putin said before the meeting that economic ties should lie at the root of both countries' integration. Following the meeting, Putin told journalists that the talks concerned "the synchronization of our plans" in the political, economic, and military spheres. Putin added that "defense and political plans cannot be built on a shaky economic foundation." According to him, Russia and Belarus should primarily tackle problems related to the single tax policy and customs area, and joint tariff regulations. Lukashenka commented that "Vladimir Putin and I made a weighty contribution to the fulfillment of the union treaty in the military-technical, military, and economic aspects," but provided no details. JM UKRAINIAN REFERENDUM APPROVES MORE POWERS FOR PRESIDENT. Ukrainians overwhelmingly approved all four questions in the 16 April referendum, giving President Leonid Kuchma more levers to control the country's parliament, news agencies reported. The Central Electoral Commission said on 17 April that the referendum turnout was nearly 79 percent, far above the 50 percent required to make the poll valid. Of those voting, more than 84 percent gave the president the right to dissolve the parliament if it fails to pass a budget within one month or form a majority within three months. More than 90 percent wanted to cut the number of lawmakers from 450 to 300, and 81 percent supported the introduction of a bicameral legislature. The abolition of deputies' immunity from criminal prosecution was backed by 89 percent of voters. JM U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE BACKS UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT IN REFORM BID. Madeleine Albright praised President Leonid Kuchma in Kyiv on 15 April, saying his re-election last year has given fresh impetus to reforms in Ukraine. "I was very impressed by President Kuchma's...desire to move the reform process forward and by the work the prime minister, [Viktor Yushchenko], is undertaking," AP quoted Albright as saying. The U.S. government granted $195 million in aid to Ukraine last year and requests $219 million for 2000. Albright said she was "heartened" by Kuchma's reiterated pledge to close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant this year, adding that "it would be very useful to have the date set." According to the "Eastern Economist Daily," Albright pledged $78 million to build new power production capacities at Ukraine's other nuclear plants as compensation for closing Chornobyl. JM NATO COMMANDER IN ESTONIA. NATO's outgoing supreme commander in Europe, General Wesley Clark, made a final visit to Estonia on 14-15 April to discuss NATO integration. Clark praised Estonia's efforts in international cooperation, but added that efforts to harmonize legal issues in the defense sphere should be accelerated. On the issue of Russian objections to NATO enlargement, Clark stated that he tells his Russian colleagues "the best security guarantee to Russia's security is NATO enlargement," reaffirming that enlargement is not aimed against Russia, "Postimees" reported. General Clark also received the I Class Order of the Cross of the Eagle, the country's highest military award, from President Lennart Meri. MH RIGA MAYOR NOMINATED FOR PREMIER. Riga Mayor Andris Berzins has been nominated as the next Latvian prime minister by his party, Latvia's Way, BNS reported. A party conference on 16 April chose Berzins from a field of six candidates. Latvia's Way plans to introduce the idea to possible coalition partners during the early part of the week, though potential partners earlier expressed that the premier's post should be held by someone from Latvia's Way (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000), which holds 21 seats in the 100-seat parliament. The People's Party (24 seats) noted its satisfaction with the choice, and both For Fatherland and Freedom (16 seats) and the New Party (8 seats) have also indicated their support. However, For Fatherland and Freedom has expressed interest in taking over the Riga mayoral post in the case of a Berzins government. MH LITHUANIAN CHURCH APOLOGIZES FOR SILENCE DURING HOLOCAUST. The Catholic Church in Lithuania issued an apology for past mistakes, including silence during the Holocaust, and begged for forgiveness, BNS reported. Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius, chairman of the Lithuanian Bishops Conference, presented on 14 April the letter drafted by the conference. Citing Pope John Paul's extraordinary message of the same nature in mid-March, the letter regretted that "some children of the Church had failed to show compassion to persecuted Jews during World War II, for their failure to use all available means to defend them, and what's more, for showing lack of determination to influence those who collaborated with the Nazis." The letter also warned that "Some people lacking Christian love and compassion are trying to incite once again all past anti-Semitic manifestations still painfully haunting the Church's memory today." The conference made an apology earlier this year for its collaboration with the KGB during Soviet rule. MH SOLIDARITY LEADER ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL BID. Marian Krzaklewski, leader of the Solidarity trade union and the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) ruling coalition, announced on 15 April that he will run in this year's presidential elections, Polish media reported. "I believe that for the people of Solidarity nothing is impossible to achieve, that is why I have consented," Krzaklewski commented, following the AWS Social Movement party's request to announce his bid. A recent poll showed that 61 percent of respondents support the presidential bid of the incumbent, Aleksander Kwasniewski, while Krzaklewski can count on 12 percent of votes. The AWS National Council still has to approve Krzaklewski as the coalition's official candidate. Some parties in the AWS are demanding U.S.-styled primaries in order to select a single candidate. JM POLISH PARLIAMENT RATIFIES ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY. By a vote of 257 to 117 with 33 abstentions, the parliament on 14 April voted to authorize the president to sign a protocol to the European Human Rights Convention that abolishes the death penalty. The move bans Poland from reintroducing capital punishment, which was formally dropped with the introduction of the post-communist penal code on 1 September 1998. Poland suspended executions by hanging in 1988. "This symbolic act brings us into a group of modern European states. We are no longer in an infamous group of countries such as Albania, Russia, or Turkey which have not ratified the convention," Justice Ministry spokeswoman Barbara Makosa-Stepkowska said. JM CZECH POLICE DETAIN ANTI-GLOBALIZATION DEMONSTRATORS. Several participants in an anti-globalization demonstration were detained by police in central Prague on 16 April, CTK reported. The demonstration was organized to coincide with the protest against the IMF and World Bank gathering in Washington. An official of AMI Communications, which is organizing the forthcoming annual IMF-World Bank meeting in Prague in September, said the demonstration proves that some non-governmental organizations are prepared to violate the law and said Prague should be prepared for similar demonstrations in September, when some 20,000 IMF and World Bank opponents are expected to descend on the Czech capital. Zdenek Hruby, government commissioner for the annual meeting, who was in Washington during the demonstrations there, said Prague police will use the example of the preventive action of U.S. police and that he does not think army reinforcements will be necessary. MS GERMAN AUTHORITIES ENLISTING CZECH LEGAL AID IN NAZI PROSECUTION. The Bavarian state prosecutor in Munich has asked the Czech Republic to aid in the prosecution of former SS officer Anton Malloth, who is suspected of having committed atrocities as guard at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, CTK reported on 17 April. The investigation against Malloth, aged 87, was reopened in February. In 1999, the Dortmund state prosecutor stopped the investigation on grounds of lack of convincing evidence by witnesses. The Czech authorities say they can now provide new evidence. Malloth was convicted in absentia by a Czechoslovak court and sentenced to death, but the verdict was overturned in 1968. MS ODD CZECH WEEKEND DEVELOPMENTS MAKE HEADLINES. Police in Vojtanov, west Bohemia, on 14 April detained two Vietnamese men aged 25 and 32, who were charged with infringing copyright laws and "promoting a movement aimed at suppressing the rights of citizens," CTK reported. The two Vietnamese were selling neo-Nazi propaganda in a market near a Czech-German border crossing. One day earlier, police in Cheb, also near the German border, brought charges against a Vietnamese woman selling neo-Nazi recordings at a market. Totalitarian propaganda of a different kind may, however, be lawfully returning in another west Bohemian town. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia's representatives on the Karlovy Vary town council have proposed creating an "open-air museum" where statues of Stalin, Lenin, and former Czechoslovak Communist leader Klement Gottwald, which were placed in storage after 1989, could again be displayed, CTK reported. MS SLOVAK MAVERICK POLITICIAN ENDORSED BY OWN PARTY. The Steering Committee of the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL), meeting in Bojnicky, west Slovakia, on 16 April, approved a speech delivered last week in the parliament by its chairman, Jozef Migas. Migas, who called for a government reshuffle, supported the no-confidence vote against the Mikulas Dzurinda cabinet, as did four other SDL deputies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). No committee members proposed that Migas resign as SDL chairman or as chairman of the parliament, although some members had earlier criticized him. His opponents in the SDL proposed that an SDL conference slated for October be held earlier, but the proposal was rejected. The committee also expressed dissatisfaction with the activity in the government of the six SDL members. MS SLOVAK PRESIDENT IN FRANCE. President Rudolf Schuster on 14 April met in Paris with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac, who pledged France's support for Slovakia's accession to the EU, NATO, and the OECD. CTK reported. The two presidents also discussed relations with Austria--and the forming of the controversial coalition in that country--and Schuster supported the French position, saying "one has to be severe from the start, and not wait till things get worse." In an interview with the daily "Le Monde" on 14 April, Schuster said Slovakia wants to enter the OECD by the end of the year and appealed to EU and NATO leaders to "remember" that his country had been a candidate to join those organizations before Meciar's politics deprived it of that status. He emphasized that the "Meciar episode is over." MS BELGIUM OFFICIALLY SUSPENDS VISA-FREE AGREEMENT WITH SLOVAKIA. The Belgian Foreign Ministry on 14 April officially announced that it has "suspended" the agreement with Slovakia on visa-free entry in view of the number of asylum-seekers from that country, CTK reported. The Belgian government decided to suspend the agreement on 6 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000) but did not say then when the new regulation will be enforced. MS THOUSANDS EVACUATED FROM FLOOD AREA IN HUNGARY. More than 500 people were evacuated and another 3,000 ordered to evacuate their towns along the Tisza River as the crest of an ongoing flood flowed south, Hungarian media report on 17 April. The parliament on 14 April voted unanimously to extend a state of emergency in the flooded region until 25 May. Transport, Telecommunications, and Water Management Minister Kalman Katona estimated the costs of flood protection at 7.7 billion forints ($28 million) to date. Some 20,000 people are working on make-shift dikes, helped by soldiers, fireman, police, and border guards. MSZ HUNGARY'S SECOND ROUND OF BY-ELECTION PRODUCES VALID RESULTS. In the second round of parliamentary by-elections held on 16 April, one coalition and one opposition candidate emerged victorious. Janos Lengyel, joint candidate of the Independent Smallholders and FIDESZ, was elected in Fehergyarmat with 49.1 percent of the votes, ahead of Socialist candidate Istvan Nemes with 34.9 percent. In Szekesfehervar, Socialist Albert Molnar won with 50.9 percent of the votes, followed by ruling coalition candidate Peter Miko, with 47.4 percent. Miko was also backed by the extreme-right Hungarian Justice and Life Party. The turnout in Fehergyarmat was 50 percent, while in Szekesfehervar it was only 28.52 percent. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE MILOSEVIC'S MONTENEGRIN ALLIES CLOSE RANKS... The Steering Committee of Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic's Socialist People's Party (SNS) voted in Podgorica on 15 April to form a coalition with two hard-line Serbian parties for upcoming local elections in Herceg Novi and Podgorica. The SNS agreed to form the "Coalition Yugoslavia-SNS-Momir Bulatovic" together with Vojislav Seselj's Radicals and the United Yugoslav Left of Mira Markovic, who is the wife of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The Steering Committee said in its declaration that "Yugoslavia is our goal above all others," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Bulatovic later said that the coalition is open to all similarly-minded political groups, "Vesti" reported on 17 April. He downplayed recent press reports of divisions within the SNS over the planned coalition. PM ...AS HIS ARMY CHIEF WONDERS ABOUT MONTENEGRIN POLICE. Yugoslav Army Chief-of-Staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic told a pro-Milosevic television station that he wonders why the Montenegrin leadership of President Milo Djukanovic has 20,000 men in its police force, up from an earlier total of 3,000 men, "Vesti" reported on 17 April. He did not specify how long the alleged buildup lasted. He added that the army's military police are organized in the Seventh Battalion, which is a long-standing unit. It has simply been upgraded with fresh professional soldiers, most of whom are from Montenegro, Reuters reported. Pavkovic stressed that "the army will never go against the people." He also said that unspecified "special units" within the army have been equipped or will be equipped with the latest equipment "as good as that of the armies of neighboring countries." He did not elaborate. PM SERBIAN OPPOSITION PLEASED WITH RALLY... "The people proved that Serbia has an opposition," wrote the independent Belgrade daily "Danas" on 17 April of the opposition's rally three days before. Some 200,000 people turned out in central Belgrade to demand new elections in one of the biggest crowds Belgrade has seen, Reuters reported. Serbian Renewal Movement leader Vuk Draskovic stressed that the rally was important because "the citizens crossed the psychological barrier [and showed that they no longer] fear the authorities." He and his arch rival, Zoran Djindjic, shook hands in public for the first time in years. Observers note that it remains to be seen whether the opposition will maintain its unity. Shortly after the rally, Draskovic accused Djindjic of breaking January's unity agreement. PM ...WHILE REGIME SLAMS 'TRAITORS.' Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic dismissed the demonstration, saying that the authorities "will not talk with traitors," "Vesti" reported on 16 April. Mira Markovic added that the opposition seeks "peace with the foreign occupiers while making war on its own people." Serbian parliamentary speaker Dragan Tomic called the opposition representatives "of the blackest fascism." They offer their people only "blood and evil," he added. Police did not admit RFE/RL's correspondent to the meeting in Sabac at which Tomic spoke, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 15 April. PM MILOSEVIC ALLY COMMITS SUICIDE. Vojislav Zivkovic, who headed Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia in Kosova in 1999, shot himself in Smederevo in the night of 16-17 April, AP reported. He was a delegate to the failed Rambouillet peace talks and a former Kosova correspondent of the Belgrade daily "Politika." PM KOSOVA SERB MODERATES WANT RESULTS. Father Sava, who is a spokesman for Serbian Orthodox Archbishop Artemije and a leading moderate political figure in his own right, said in Gracanica on 16 April that Artemije and his Orthodox backers will leave the UN's civilian advisory council if Serbian civilian refugees do not begin returning to the province in "substantial numbers" within that time, AP reported. Father Sava added that he cannot speak for Serbian leaders outside the Orthodox Church, including Rada Trajkovic, who was the only Serb to attend the council's meeting on 11 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). Father Sava called the return of the refugees a test "for the international community...and a test for the ethnic Albanian leaders." PM U.S. CALLS FOR RESETTLING SERBS. Unidentified U.S. officials said in the Kosovar town of Istok that they want to launch a pilot project to return about 700 Serbs to the area this summer, "The Washington Post" reported on 17 April. One official stressed that "conditions are never going to be perfect, and there is never going to be a perfect moment. This is something that has to start, even on a small scale." U.S. officials noted that they have the backing of Januz Januzi, who was a founder of the Kosova Liberation Army and is the mayor of the village of Osojane. He believes he can "sell" to his people the idea of letting the Serbs return in peace, the officials claimed. The UNHCR and Bernard Kouchner, who is the UN's chief official in Kosova, have argued that it would be counterproductive to send refugees back before security and infrastructure are ready (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April 2000). PM KOSOVARS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF EXODUS. Some 3,000 Kosovars crossed into Albania on 16 April in a symbolic gesture to mark the first anniversary of the flight of tens of thousands of refugees into Albania under the pressure of Milosevic's Operation Horseshoe campaign. The Kosovar joined 7,000 local people for a concert in a stadium in Kukes. PM BERISHA REPEATS CALL FOR ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT OUSTER. Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha told several thousand supporters in Durres on 16 April that he will soon step up protests to force the government to resign and call early general elections. He made his statement despite repeated calls by representatives of the international community to Albanian politicians to "respect the rule of law" and concentrate on the business of government, dpa reported. Genc Pollo and other officials of the Reform Movement within Berisha's own party have repeatedly urged him to stop "diverting our people's attention by repeatedly calling for [early] elections, thus wasting our people's energy [in endless,] senseless street demonstrations." Pollo wants the party to concentrate on preparing for local elections due in the fall, the Reform Movement said in a recent statement. PM MACEDONIA TO DENATIONALIZE PROPERTY. Macedonia's parliament voted on 14 April to return property expropriated by the communists over 50 years ago. Speaker Savo Klimovski said that "with this act, we have taken the first important step in establishing the sacred right to private property." The move will cost the government of the impoverished republic some $735 million, Reuters reported. Among the first beneficiaries are the Orthodox and Islamic religious communities. PM CROATIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES HAGUE COOPERATION STATEMENT. The parliament in Zagreb passed a government-backed measure on 14 April outlining policy on cooperation with the Hague-based war crimes tribunal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000). Two days later, Prime Minister Ivica Racan stressed that he will firmly oppose any attempts by the opposition Croatian Democratic Community to obstruct implementation of the measure. PM POLITICAL IMBROGLIO OVER CROATIAN NEWSPAPER OWNERSHIP. "Vecernji list," which has the largest circulation of any Croatian daily and is close to the HDZ, revealed on 16 April that its owners are the Croatian car dealership Zubak and Montmontaza, which is a German-based construction firm. The revelation ends a long-standing mystery about the identity of the paper's owners. "Jutarnji list" reported on 17 April that a political furor continues surrounding the circumstances over which the paper was sold during the HDZ's rule. The daily calls attention to the role of Ivic Pasalic, who leads the HDZ's Herzegovinian faction. PM SLOVENIAN PARTIES NAME CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER. The People's Party and the Christian Democrats have formed a center-right coalition called "SLS + SKD, the Slovenian People's Party," Vienna's "Die Presse" reported on 17 April. The coalition holds 29 out of 90 seats in the parliament and is chaired by Professor France Zagozen. The coalition and the rightist Social Democrats agreed on 15 April in Ljubljana to nominate economist Andrej Bajuk as their joint candidate for prime minister. Bajuk's backers can muster only 44 votes in parliament, however, thereby making early elections likely. On 14 April, President Milan Kucan called for early elections to end the current government crisis. PM HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN ROMANIA. Viktor Orban on 14 April met with his Romanian counterpart Mugur Isarescu, President Emil Constantinescu, and other Romanian officials, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. They discussed ways to improve trade between their countries. Orban urged his hosts to ratify a treaty on the environment that stipulates that countries affected by disasters are entitled to compensation from the countries in which the accidents occur. Isarescu told journalists after meeting Orban that the decision on opening new Hungarian consulates will be postponed until after the elections to avoid charging the atmosphere. Orban said ties with Romania have improved considerably since Constantinescu took office. After meeting with Orban, Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania Chairman Bela Marko said he is dissatisfied with the lack of progress on setting up a Hungarian-language state university in Romania. MS ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT PARTIALLY LIFTS OIL EMBARGO ON YUGOSLAVIA. The government on 14 April decided to lift the oil embargo on seven Serbian cities controlled by the opposition in Yugoslavia, Reuters reported. The move is in line with a EU decision made in February. MS MOLDOVAN 'MOVEMENT' BECOMES POLITICAL PARTY. The For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova Movement (PMDP) decided on 14 April to transform the movement into a political party called the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM). Party chairman Dumitru Diacov told the congress the PDM is no longer a party in "in the presidential pocket" and that the PMDP has objected to Petru Lucinschi's intention to introduce a presidential system. Diacov also said parleys are underway with the other members of the centrist Alliance for Democracy and Reform for backing a joint candidate in the next presidential elections and that the PDM might propose former Prime Minister Ion Sturza for that office. Meanwhile, a splinter group of the PMDP that backs Lucinschi and is headed by Eugen Gladun, set up a party calling itself the Moldovan Centrist Union on 14 April, Flux reported. MS MOLDOVAN COMMUNISTS TO DECIDE FATE OF IMF LOANS. Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) leader Vladimir Voronin on 15 April said an emergency plenum of the PCM will decide on 17 April whether to change the party's position that rejects the IMF-demanded laws on the privatization of the tobacco and wine industries, Flux reported. A closed-door meeting of Lucinschi with the parties backing the government on 14 April has failed to reach agreement. Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis told the parliament on 14 April that an IMF mission is ready to come to Moldova on 19 April if the laws are passed and that he does not "want even to think what will happen" if the laws are again rejected by the legislature. MS BULGARIAN PREMIER SAYS ROAD TO EU 'LONG...' Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, in an interview with the daily "24 Chasa" on 14 April, said that the "euphoria" triggered by the EU decision to open accession talks with Bulgaria has given way to "the realization of the vastness of the challenge," Reuters reported. He also said he is "not interested" in opinions in the West about Bulgarian political developments. "I am interested in the people of Bulgaria...So, with all due respect for the West, I am listening only to the opinions of those [Western] structures that finance Bulgaria. Whatever the others say is of no importance." In an interview with the local Darik Radio on the same day, Kostov said Bulgaria's accession might come only in 2007, 2008, or even 2010. MS ...SAYS HE WILL FIGHT STRUGGLE AGAINST 'POLITICAL CLIENTELISM.' Kostov also told Darik Radio that he intends to personally head the struggle against "political clientelism" and to wage that struggle first in his own Union of Democratic Forces. He said Bulgaria cannot join the EU before it has "European-style parties." Kostov said the opposition Socialist Party will not be able to return to power before it transforms itself into such a European party by undergoing genuine reform. MS END NOTE A Red-Brown Coalition In Lithuania By Paul Goble Extreme nationalist and openly anti-Semitic leaders increasingly are taking office in post-communist countries with the support of parties linked to the old party nomenklatura and its successors. That pattern raises the specter of the populist anti-Semitic nationalism of the 1920s and 1930s. Moreover, it seems certain to make it more difficult for these countries to integrate into the West. And it calls into question left-right typologies for post-communist politics. The latest such case happened on 13 April in Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city. There, a politician with a history of anti-Semitic outbursts won election as mayor only because a party closely tied to the old Communist party and security elite voted for him. Vytautas Sustauskas won election as mayor even though his party, the Lithuanian Freedom Union, won less than one-quarter of the popular vote and gained only 11 of the 41 seats in the city council. He gained three more seats from the equally populist Young Lithuania Party. But he won only because the New Alliance, headed by Arturas Paulauskas, a former presidential candidate and son of a KGB colonel, cast its eight votes for him. Three things about this election are striking and have more general application. First, Sustauskas has a history of open anti-Semitism and yet he won a quarter of the vote in a university city which served as the cosmopolitan prewar capital. Like his Russian counterpart Vladmir Zhirinovskii, Sustauskas has frequently claimed that the Jews are responsible for most if not all of Lithuania's problems. Even after the elections, he said publicly that many Kaunas businesses "are in the hands of the Jewish mafia." Not surprisingly, local Jewish groups are horrified by his rise: Masa Grodnikiene, the deputy chairman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, said that "it is a tragedy when people like Sustauskas are elected to such posts." But many Lithuanians are horrified as well. More than 75 percent of Kaunas electors did not vote for Sustaukas. And Laima Andriekiene, the parliamentary leader of Lithuania's Homeland Party, was one of many who denounced the city's selection of an anti-Semite as mayor. Second, Sustauskas' anti-Semitism is part and parcel of a broader populist message of blaming Lithuania's current problems on "outsiders" and opposing that country's integration into broader Western institutions like the European Union and NATO. Most attention to Sustauskas so far has focused on his anti-semitism. Agence France Presse, for example, noted that Lithuania already has "a public relations problem" on the question of anti-Semitism and that Sustauskas' election will only make that worse. But Sustauskas' anti-Semitism is only part of this broader populist message of blaming outsiders for Lithuania's troubles. He has argued that Western capitalism is destroying Lithuania's traditional way of life and that the higher defense spending NATO requires will not give Lithuania more security. Such positions play well in a country where many people are suffering economically. And, even more, they provide the basis for Sustauskas' alliance with Paulauskas' party which opposes the same things and which also includes people with anti-Semitic views. Indeed, a preliminary analysis of the votes these two parties received suggests that Sustauskas' populist message attracted votes while Paulauskas' organization provided much of the muscle for this takeover of Kaunas. And third, this alliance between Sustauskas and Paulauskas raises questions about the meaning of "left" and "right" in the politics of post-communist countries. Sustauskas is always identified as an extreme right-wing nationalist, but Paulauskas is invariably described as being center-left. But on this key vote in Kaunas, the two were on the same side, supporting the same things. And that, in turn, suggests that they occupy the same portion of the political spectrum rather than being at opposite ends. A recognition of this commonality is not trivial either for the people of post-communist countries or for the West. On the one hand, it suggests that both groups should evaluate parties less by their own characterizations of where they stand on the political spectrum than by what they say on specific issues. And on the other hand, it implies that the return or rise of mass politics in these post-communist countries is likely to find some of the same alliances between what are usually called left and right parties that first appeared in Europe after World War I. Because of the dangers such a development would create, the alliance of Sustauskas and Paulauskas in the Kaunas city council has broader implications. It is one that poses a challenge to Lithuania, her neighbors, and all those who hope for a genuinely democratic future for all the countries of the region. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Friday, April 14, 2000 5:32:43 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 75, Part I, 14 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 5:32:43 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 75, Part I, 14 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 75, Part I, 14 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * DUMA RATIFIES START-II * IVANOV SAYS TALKS UNDERWAY WITH CHECHEN LEADERS * ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS KARABAKH End Note: ARMENIA SEEKS TO ACCOMMODATE RUSSIAN, U.S. INTERESTS IN SOUTH CAUCASUS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA DUMA RATIFIES START-II. The Russian State Duma ratified the START-II nuclear arms reduction treaty on 14 April, Reuters reported. The vote was 288 in favor and 131 against. President-elect Vladimir Putin attended the State Duma debate--which was closed to the press--and urged the parliament to ratify the treaty. He said Russia cannot afford a new arms race, which could be worse than it was during the Cold War. The treaty would cut U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads from 6,000 to no more than 3,500 in each country by 2007. The U.S. has ratified the treaty but Communist deputies have blocked approval in the Duma for years. Both the Russian foreign and defense ministries have also been lobbying for ratification. Included in the ratification is the adoption of three protocols submitting Russia's implementation of the treaty to three conditions. Two conditions are based on 1997 agreements between Russia and the U.S. to postpone the reduction until 2007 and committing themselves to upholding the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM). The U.S.'s proposed National Missile Defense system is seen by Moscow as a violation of the ABM Treaty. PB/PG PUTIN CALLS FOR PROSECUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CHECHNYA. President-elect Putin issued a statement on 13 April calling for the prosecution of those guilty of human rights abuses in Chechnya, Russian news agencies reported. He said that the situation in Chechnya is "our pain and misfortune," noting that the Dzhokhar Dudaev regime had "turned Chechnya into a criminal and terrorist enclave dominated by arbitrariness, lawlessness, and neglect of basic human rights." While not mentioning current Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov by name, the statement noted that criminal investigations have been opened into the killings of Russian civilians in the villages of Meken and Chervlennaya. Maskhadov has been summoned by the Russian Prosecutor-General's North Caucasus office in connection with the Meken deaths (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 December 1999). Putin said he will appoint a special presidential envoy for human rights and freedoms to work with experts of the Council of Europe. PG/LF IVANOV SAYS TALKS UNDERWAY WITH CHECHEN LEADERS. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told journalists in Moscow on 13 April following his meeting with OSCE Chairwoman Benita Ferrero-Waldner that Moscow has "for a long time" been engaged in a "direct dialogue" with Chechen representatives on a political settlement of the conflict, AP and Interfax reported. He expressed confidence that the dialogue "will lead to concrete results." Ivanov did not name the individuals involved on either side, nor is it clear whether the Chechens in question represent President Aslan Maskhadov. He added that the Russian leadership "has always advocated dialogue and never closed the door on anybody." Also on 13 April, "Segodnya" reported that in a letter to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze offering congratulations on the latter's 9 April reelection, Maskhadov said that Chechnya is counting on Shevardnadze's "state wisdom" to mediate between Grozny and Moscow. LF CORRECTION: "RFE/RL Newsline" incorrectly reported on 13 April that Chechen businessman Malik Saidullaev was one of 18 prominent Chechens who have signed an appeal to President-elect Putin calling for the creation of a state commission to resolve the Chechen conflict. According to "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 14 April, neither Saidullaev nor Chechen Mufti Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov signed the appeal to establish such a commission, which the signatories propose should be chaired by former State Duma speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov. MOSCOW CLAIMS TO HAVE CAPTURED ANOTHER CHECHEN LEADER. Apti Batalov, who heads Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov's administration, was captured by the FSB in Shali on 13 April and has been transported to Moscow's Lefortovo prison, ITAR-TASS reported on 14 April. LF PUTIN CALLS FOR SIMPLIFIED TAX CODE. President-elect Putin told his cabinet on 13 April that the Russian tax code must be simplified and made "more transparent, comprehensible, and capable of working," Interfax reported. He called on the cabinet to cooperate in developing new legislation in this area to reduce pressure on small- and medium-sized businesses. And he suggested that tax regulations of banks be revamped to ensure that depositors get their money when they want it. PG ILLARIONOV DENIES BEING ULTRALIBERAL. Speaking on Russian Public Television on 12 April, newly-appointed presidential economic adviser Andrei Illarionov denied that he is extremely liberal. The next day, Illarionov told Interfax that he believes the Russian economy "goes better without IMF loans than with them," but he refused to discuss other economic matters, arguing that citizens will have to wait for the appointment of a new prime minister. On 13 April, First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov added that Illarionov's appointment was a natural step for President-elect Putin to take, Interfax reported. Kasyanov said that Putin wants a range of economic advice "from liberal to liberal-conservative." PG EES, GAZPROM CONFLICT REPORTEDLY RESOLVED. Following meetings with President-elect Putin and Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko, United Energy Systems head Anatolii Chubais and Gazprom's Rem Vyakhirev have resolved their differences over supplies, price policies, and cut-offs for non-payment of bills for the second quarter, ITAR-TASS reported on 13 April. Meanwhile, Arkadii Volskii, the president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, called for the greater use of fuels, other than gas, in the production of power, according to the Russian news agency. PG RUSSIAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP SHARPLY. Industrial production in the Russian Federation increased by 11.9 percent in the first quarter of 2000 compared with one year earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister Kasyanov said on his departure for Washington to hold meetings with G-7 officials, Interfax reported. He added that Moscow would welcome a $1 billion loan from international financial institutions in the second half of this year. But he suggested that Russia's economic situation is "not so bad, and we will be able to live through the second half of this year without financial support." Meanwhile, the IMF's director for Russia, Andrei Bugrov, said he expects that loan to be forthcoming. PG RUSSIA CHARGES U.S. BUSINESSMAN WITH SPYING. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on 13 April that U.S. businessman and retired Navy captain Edmond Pope has been charged with spying. Pope was detained, along with an unidentified Russian citizen, last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 and 10 April 2000). AP cited Russian television reports as saying that Pope was detained for allegedly paying his Russian contact for the plans of a submarine-launched missile. If convicted, Pope could face a jail sentence of up to 20 years, an FSB spokesman said. JC MOSCOW DEMANDS RELEASE OF OIL TANKER. The Russian Foreign Ministry on 13 April demanded the immediate release of the Russian oil tanker "Akademik Pustovoit," which was detained in the Persian Gulf last week on suspicion of transporting Iraqi oil in violation of UN sanctions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). The previous day, U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin had said in Washington that no new information was available on the origins of the tanker's cargo. Both Russian officials and the Royal Dutch/Shell Oil company, which chartered the vessel, have said that the oil comes from Iran. JC BALTIC UNIVERSITY RECTOR REINSTATED. "The St. Petersburg Times" reported on 14 April that the federal Education Ministry has reinstated Yurii Savelev as rector of the St. Petersburg-based Baltic State Technical University (BGTU). Savelev was suspended in early March on suspicion of having allowed students from abroad, including Iran, to study "subjects related to missile technology" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). State Duma deputy (Communist) Viktor Ilyukhin told journalists in St. Petersburg that despite "strong pressure from the Security Council," a majority of officials at the Education Ministry were opposed to Savelev's suspension, which Ilyukhin described as "politically motivated." According to earlier reports, the U.S. State Department had accused the BGTU of offering foreign students instruction in subjects related to missile technology. JC PUTIN URGES LARGER OSCE ROLE. Following a meeting with OSCE head and Austrian foreign minister, Ferrero-Waldner, Russian President-elect Putin said that he would like to see the role of the OSCE enhanced to "deal not only with the problems of European provinces but with Europe itself," Interfax reported on 13 April. Putin specifically suggested that the OSCE might play a more prominent role in the former Soviet republics and in Kosova. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov said that Russia opposes sanctions such as those threatened against Austria for the inclusion in its cabinet of representatives of a far-right extremist party. PG COUNCIL OF EUROPE SEES RUSSIA PLAYING FULL ROLE. In a statement released on 13 April, the Council of Europe said that the Russian Federation should continue to play a full role in the OSCE and Council of Europe, Reuters reported. But the statement added that Moscow should make it possible for humanitarian and other international organizations to visit Chechnya. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov said that Moscow is considering asking the OSCE for humanitarian assistance in Chechnya, AP reported. PG 50 PERCENT OF RUSSIANS REJECT PACE FINDINGS. A poll conducted by the Agency of Regional Political Surveys found that 50 percent of Russians reject the recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to start procedures to suspend Russia's membership in the council, Interfax reported on 13 April. Only 8 percent said the finding was just, while 15 percent said they did not care and another 17 percent were unaware of the PACE action. The same poll found that up to 60 percent of all Russians want the military to continue its campaign in Chechnya. PG DUMA REJECTS INCREASE IN MINIMUM PENSION RATE. The Russian parliament on 13 April rejected in the first reading a bill proposed by Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii to raise the minimum pension from 410 rubles ($14) a month to 900 rubles ($32) a month, ITAR-TASS reported. PG DUMA COMMITTEE WANTS STEPASHIN AS AUDIT HEAD. The Duma's Budget Committee on 13 April recommended that the lower house appoint former Premier Sergei Stepashin as head of the auditing chamber, Interfax reported. Stepashin said that he believes the chamber should "cooperate more closely" with the Duma and the Federation Council. PG MOSCOW REJECTS AZERBAIJANI COMPLAINT. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 13 April dismissing an Azerbaijani protest about the joint Russian-Armenian military maneuvers held in Armenia last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 12 April 2000) and Moscow's alleged responsibility for "an aggressive policy" in the southern Caucasus, Interfax reported. PG RUSSIA LIKELY TO GET EXTENSION FOR DESTRUCTION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on 13 April said that the body will probably allow Russia to miss an April deadline calling for the destruction of chemical arms and obtain more assistance to complete this task, AP reported. But officials there said that Russia will nonetheless have to meet the next deadline in two years' time by destroying 8,000 tons of chemical weapons. Russia has repeatedly said that it is unable to meet the April 2000 deadline. PG RUSSIA PLANS INCREASED MILITARY SALES IN ASIA. Russian firms will sell advanced military jets to China and hopes to sell them to South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, Interfax reported on 13 April. PG MOSCOW WELCOMES NON-ALIGNED MEETING. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 13 April welcoming the 7-9 April meeting of the foreign ministers of non-aligned countries in Cartagena, Columbia, as "a major event in international life," Interfax reported. PG COMMUNIST WORKERS PARTY PULLS ST. PETERSBURG CANDIDATE. The Russian Communist Workers Party on 13 April withdrew Yurii Terentev, its candidate for St. Petersburg governor, saying that it "does not see any sense in competing with incumbent Governor Vladimir Yakovlev," ITAR-TASS reported. PG BEREZOVSKII FACES THREAT OF RECALL FROM DUMA. A hitherto unknown group in the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia has begun collecting signatures for a petition demanding that Boris Berezovskii be stripped of his mandate to represent the republic in the State Duma, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 14 April. The petition criticizes Berezovskii for ignoring the republic's economic problems and focusing instead on trying to mediate the ongoing dispute between the republic's president, Vladimir Semenov, and his defeated rival in last year's presidential poll, Stanislav Derev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 and 16 March 2000). The petition argues that Berezovskii should spend at least one week a month in Karachaevo-Cherkessia. LF TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS KARABAKH. Robert Kocharian traveled to Stepanakert on 13 April, where he met amid tight security with senior members of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's leadership, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Unconfirmed reports say Kocharian was accompanied by Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian. Kocharian also met with units of the Karabakh Defense Army, whose former commander, Samvel Babayan, is currently in detention charged with masterminding the 22 March assassination attempt on the enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian. LF AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION PARTY DEMANDS RETURN OF HEADQUARTERS. Only 50 or so people participated in a sanctioned picket outside the Baku mayor's office on 13 April, Turan reported. The picketers were demanding the return of the Azerbaijan Popular Front headquarters, from which the party was evicted in early 1994. Members of Mayor Rafael Allakhverdiev's staff advised the picketers to address their request to the Ministry for State Property. LF OSCE TO INCREASE MONITORING OF GEORGIAN-CHECHEN BORDER. Meeting in Vienna on 13 April, the OSCE Standing Council decided to increase to 42 the number of its observers deployed along the border between Georgia and Chechnya, ITAR-TASS reported. The observers' mandate was extended until 15 November. The following day, ITAR-TASS quoted Georgian Border Guard Service spokesman Gela Khutsishvili as saying that Tbilisi "views with understanding" Moscow's decision to plant landmines on the most easily accessible paths leading to the Chechen-Georgian border. On 11 April, a senior official of the Russian Border Guards Service had admitted in Moscow that Russian border guards cannot control the entire length of that border. LF KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT REJECTS U.S. CRITICISM OF ELECTIONS. Twenty-three newly-elected deputies to the Kyrgyz parliament have addressed an open letter to the U.S. Helsinki Commission, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on 13 April. The deputies reject as untrue statements "by foreign radio stations and local opposition newspapers" claiming that the parliamentary poll was undemocratic and its outcome falsified. The deputies affirm that the poll was democratic and that they "will not depart from the democratic path." The letter rejects the commission's criticism of the conduct of the election in Kara-Buura, where opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov was apparently defeated in the 12 March runoff. It also denies that Kulov's arrest last month was politically motivated. The open letter was published in the state-run Russian-language newspaper "Slovo Kyrgyzstana" on 13 April. LF OPINION POLL INDICATES KYRGYZ SEE LITTLE HOPE FOR DEMOCRACY. A recent survey conducted in Kyrgyzstan by an independent research group indicates that only 13 percent of an unspecified number of respondents consider that a democratic society has emerged in Kyrgyzstan, and 26 percent believe that in present conditions the creation of a democratic society is impossible, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 13 April. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they are not happy with the way the country is currently ruled, and 47.8 percent said they believe that decisions are taken by a small group of bureaucrats who have little contact with the population at large. LF ANOTHER RADICAL ISLAMIST ARRESTED IN TAJIKISTAN. A second member of the banned Islamist organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir has been detained in Leninabad Oblast, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 14 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 April 2000). Both detainees have been charged with disseminating subversive literature and planning to overthrow the Tajik government. LF END NOTE ARMENIA SEEKS TO ACCOMMODATE RUSSIAN, U.S. INTERESTS IN SOUTH CAUCASUS By Harry Tamrazian Over the past few years, Armenia has abandoned its primarily Russia-centric foreign and security policy in favor of a more balanced and multifaceted approach. One of the fundamental principles of its new foreign policy, as expounded by the country's top diplomats, is that of "complementarity." That same principle was introduced in the EU's Maastricht Treaty of 1992 to denote coordination and cooperation between member states and the union's executive body. In Armenia's foreign policy, complementarity means cooperating and maintaining good relations with all countries that are willing to establish and maintain friendly and mutually beneficial relations with Yerevan. Thus while remaining a close ally of Russia and a trading partner of Iran, Armenia has nonetheless managed to maintain strong relations with the U.S. Yerevan also wants to establish diplomatic ties and start economic cooperation with its traditional foe, Turkey, which is vying with Russia and Iran for influence in the South Caucasus. With regard to Armenia's immediate neighbors in the South Caucasus, complementarity has two dimensions: non-interference in those countries' foreign relations and promoting the maximum degree of economic and security cooperation on a regional level. "We are not playing on the differences and rivalries between major regional powers in Caucasus. Armenia should not be a place where the interests of major powers collide, but rather a country where the interests can be balanced, complemented," Armenian diplomats say in their press briefings. So far, Armenia has been quite successful in keeping a delicate foreign-policy balance. In a bold move last year, when NATO warplanes were bombing Serbia and Russia was threatening to cut ties with the West, Armenian President Robert Kocharian joined fellow South Caucasus Presidents Eduard Shevardnadze and Heidar Aliev in travelling to Washington to celebrate NATO's 50th anniversary with Western leaders. But that was then. Today, there are new questions to consider. Specifically, will Vladimir Putin's victory in last month's Russian presidential election herald a fundamental change in Russia's behavior toward the South Caucasus? Will Moscow be more assertive towards rival and friends alike? What will happen if, for example, Russia pressures Armenia to join its union with Belarus? Armenian diplomats believe they can resist any such tough calls from the Kremlin. In an interview with RFE/RL two weeks ago, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Martirossian said President-elect Putin will observe the status quo in the South Caucasus because he was hand-picked as a successor by former President Boris Yeltsin himself. But if Yerevan takes its policy of complementarity too far, it may risk precipitating a cooling of relations with Moscow. Armenian President Robert Kocharian's recent proposal to create a security system in South Caucasus with the participation of Russia, Turkey, and Iran and with the support of the US and the EU--which is a prime example of the complementarity that Armenia wants to introduce in the region--has already engendered negative comment from some Russian leaders. And Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey each have a different idea of how to make the South Caucasus a more secure place. The leaders of those countries have their own security projects in which Russia does not play a major role. During his visit to Tbilisi in March, for example, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel unveiled his security project for the South Caucasus. Russia was invited to participate in Demirel's Security project as one of several neighboring countries. The principle of complementarity is a workable diplomatic concept if the two major players in the region, the U.S. and Russia, are not in a confrontational mood and at least formally remain partners within the OSCE and other international organizations engaged in peace-making missions in the South Caucasus. Armenian diplomats believe that U.S. President Bill Clinton was right when he suggested Putin will seek to cooperate with the West at least in the spheres of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and other global issues. That approach would make it possible for Armenia to continue its policy of complementarity. But will Russia try to extend that cooperation with the West in the unstable South Caucasus? Many senior officials and experts in the region are skeptical. In an interview last week with the Azerbaijani newspaper "Zaman," former Azerbaijani state adviser Vafa Guluzade warned that Russia is preparing for a war in South Caucasus. But not everyone agrees with that doomsday scenario. Some analysts even suggest that Russia might change its priorities and expand the list of its friends in the South Caucasus to include Azerbaijan. The author is deputy director of RFE/RL's Armenian Service. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2000 3:42:52 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 72, Part II, 11 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2000 3:42:52 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 72, Part II, 11 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 72, Part II, 11 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * POLL SAYS UKRAINIANS READY TO APPROVE THREE REFERENDUM QUESTIONS * KUCAN BEGINS TALKS ON NEW SLOVENIAN GOVERNMENT * MILOSEVIC TAKES FURTHER MEASURES AGAINST MEDIA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION TO HOLD CHORNOBYL ANNIVERSARY RALLY. Opposition representatives have applied to the Minsk City authorities for permission to hold the traditional "Chornobyl Way" march along Minsk's main avenue on 26 April to commemorate the anniversary of the 1986 Chornobyl power plant accident, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service. The organizers are planning to hold the march under environmental and political slogans and will demand, in particular, "real negotiations" between the authorities and the opposition. According to head of the organizing committee Ivan Nikitchanka, more than 1.8 million Belarusians currently live in areas that are contaminated with radioactivity. According to Henadz Hrushavy, head of the Children of Chornobyl charitable fund, the Belarusian authorities conceal information about the health of people living on the contaminated territory. They have also failed to implement a program for dealing with the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster and obstruct the shipment of Western humanitarian aid to Belarus, he added. JM POLL SAYS UKRAINIANS READY TO APPROVE THREE REFERENDUM QUESTIONS. A poll conducted last month by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology among 1,900 respondents throughout Ukraine found that 63 percent want to take part in the 16 April constitutional referendum, 26 percent will not vote, and 11 percent are undecided, Interfax reported on 10 April. According to the poll, the question on whether to grant the president the right to dissolve the parliament will find support among 63 percent and will be opposed by 19 percent. The abolition of lawmakers' immunity from criminal prosecution will be backed by 83 percent of voters and opposed by 12 percent. Ninety-two percent of Ukrainians are expected to approve the reduction of parliamentary seats from 450 to 300, while only 3 percent are likely to oppose it. The introduction of a bicameral parliament was supported by 23 percent of respondents and opposed by 25 percent. JM PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHAT TO DO AFTER REFERENDUM. First deputy speaker Viktor Medvedchuk told Interfax on 10 April that the parliament is obliged to consider only the implementation of the question about the introduction of a bicameral parliament if it is approved in the referendum. According to him, consideration of any of the other three questions would constitute a "usurpation of power" on the part of the parliament. Medvedchuk said that the right to change the constitutional system belongs exclusively to the people, adding that the parliament should not "duplicate" referendum decisions. Meanwhile, deputy speaker Stepan Havrysh said the same day that the parliament may once again ask the Constitutional Court to provide legal "explanations" following the referendum. He added that the court's 29 March ruling is not "clear-cut" and cannot be dealt with "absolutely unambiguously." The court ruled that referendum results should be binding on state bodies. JM UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL SAYS 'CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS' POSSIBLE AFTER REFERENDUM. Roman Bezsmertnyy, permanent presidential representative in the parliament, told Interfax on 10 April that Ukraine may face a "constitutional crisis" following the 16 April referendum. According to Bezsmertnyy, there are two conflicting positions in Ukraine: that of the Constitutional Court, which says that referendum results should be binding, and another maintaining that the parliament should decide on whether to introduce the constitutional amendments approved in the referendum. Asked what might happen if the parliament does not comply with the referendum results, Bezsmertnyy noted that "this is exactly what I call a constitutional crisis, in which virtually no resolution exists." JM ESTONIA AND LATVIA TO BUY WEAPONS TOGETHER. Latvian Foreign Minister Indulis Berzins was in Estonia on 9-10 April to meet with his counterpart, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, to discuss various bilateral issues, including the joint acquisition of military arms. Ilves said following the meeting that "as we have similar tasks in defense, we should promote cooperation in weapons and other purchases as buying in bulk is cheaper," ETA reported. The two ministers also discussed EU integration and Latvia's controversial pork tariffs (see below). MH ESTONIAN MINISTER SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION. An opposition-sponsored motion of no confidence in Finance Minister Siim Kallas failed on 10 April by a vote of 36 to 45. The opposition, which had submitted the motion on 5 April, criticized Kallas for holding onto a ministerial portfolio while facing a criminal charge. A Tallinn court has suspended hearings on the charge that during his term as governor of the central bank Kallas provided false information. The opposition also tried late last year to oust Kallas (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 November 1999). MH COALITION PARTY RENOMINATES SACKED LATVIAN MINISTER. For Fatherland and Freedom on 10 April renominated Vladimirs Makarovs for the post of economics minister, LETA reported. The same day, Prime Minister Andris Skele met with the party's parliamentary faction to explain the reason for Makarovs's sacking (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 7 April 2000). However, faction leader Andrejs Poznarovs called the explanation "questionable." Skele also said he will propose to keep Latvian Privatization Agency (LPA) head Janis Naglis in that post, but For Fatherland and Freedom again said it will not support Naglis. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Anatolijs Gorbunovs suggested that the policies of Finance Minister Edmunds Krastins, especially cuts in road spending, be taken into consideration during the vote of confidence in Skele, Krastins, and Education Minister Maris Vitols scheduled for 13 April. MH LATVIA PLANS TO LIFT CONTROVERSIAL PORK TARIFFS. Agriculture Minister Aigars Kalvitis on 6 April proposed lifting the controversial import tariffs on pork and introducing subsidies in their place. Kalvitis suggested that the EU could otherwise retaliate by imposing restrictions for Latvian dairy exports, LETA reported. During his 9-10 April visit to Tallinn, Foreign Minister Berzins supported the proposal, saying that the tariffs might be lifted by 1 July. Also on 10 April, President Vaira Vike-Freiberga lambasted Kalvitis for suggesting that trends in Latvian agriculture would hinder the country's entry into the EU. Vike-Freiberga called it "shocking" and "openly contradictory to everything stated by the Latvian government so far," BNS reported. MH POLISH JOURNALISTS CONDEMN ROMA ATTACK ON COLLEAGUE. Journalists from Poland's leading media outlets have signed an open letter condemning the attack on Dorota Kania, a journalist of the Warsaw-based "Zycie" daily. Kania was severely beaten by a group of unidentified Roma women in Warsaw on 8 April and treated for concussion in a hospital. The police believe the motive for the beating is Kania's reports on the alleged fraud committed by Roman Kwiatkowski, a leader of the Roma Association in Poland, in securing compensation payments to Roma survivors from Nazi- era concentration camps. "The attackers did not conceal that the direct cause of aggression was our colleague's articles. We condemn the act of force and terror," the journalists said in the letter. JM POLAND'S MINISTER ANNOUNCES SECOND STAGE OF SCHOOL REFORM. Education Minister Miroslaw Handke said on 10 April that in the fall of 2002 the second stage of educational reform will begin, Polish media reported. That reform was launched last year. Under the proposed plan for the second stage, students will choose between a three-year high school or a two-year vocational school, following nine years of compulsory education. According to Handke, 80 percent of students are expected to choose high school. Handke noted that the new school system will help increase the number of graduates seeking university-level education. JM BELGIUM CONCERNED ABOUT ROMANY EMIGRATION FROM CZECH REPUBLIC. The Belgian Foreign Ministry has officially told Czech Ambassador to Belgium Katerina Lukesova that it is concerned about the growing number of largely Romany asylum- seekers entering the country from the Czech Republic, CTK reported on 10 April. The ministry reportedly told Lukesova that Prague should "do something" about that situation. Lukesova, for her part, said she informed the ministry of Prague's efforts to integrate Romany citizens into society and suggested that Belgium's asylum policies are too lax. She added that the Belgian authorities did not threaten to impose visas on Czechs as they did on Slovaks recently (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). A total of 354 Czech citizens applied for asylum in Belgium last year. VG SPANISH PREMIER VISITS SLOVAKIA... Jose Maria Aznar on 10 April expressed his country's support for Slovakia's efforts to enter the EU, TASR-SLOVAKIA reported. In a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, Aznar said that until Slovakia's economy is stabilized, it will be impossible to create the proper environment for the development of enterprises or expect a drop in the country's high unemployment rate. Earlier, Dzurinda said he is impressed by the fact that Aznar managed to create his People's Party out of a coalition of seven groups, adding that he would like to do the same in Slovakia. VG ...WHILE SLOVAK MAYORS, SOCIAL WORKERS VISIT SPAIN. A delegation of Slovak mayors and social workers from municipalities with sizeable Romany populations arrived in Spain on 10 April for a week-long fact-finding visit, TASR- SLOVAKIA reported. Carlos Robles of the Spanish Foreign Ministry welcomed the visitors and said that Belgium's recent imposition of visas on Slovaks should be taken as an "alarm" signal, indicating the need to resolve the problems of Romany citizens in Slovakia. The visit is taking place at the invitation of the Spanish General Secretariat of the Romany Association. Spain has a Romany minority numbering some 700,000. VG HUNGARIAN CABINET APPROVES $138 MILLION FOR FLOOD RELIEF. Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced in the parliament on 10 April that the cabinet has reduced the budget of each ministry by 2.1 percent, thereby obtaining 37.3 billion forints ($138 million) for flood relief and prevention, The Defense Ministry, however, reportedly hopes that "little or nothing" will be deducted from its budget, as Hungary has pledged NATO that it will increase its annual defense budget, according to "Vilaggazdasag." Meanwhile, the level of the Tisza River has reached a new record high at the town of Tokaj. Nearly 2,000 buildings are threatened and 398 people have been evacuated so far. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE KUCAN BEGINS TALKS ON NEW SLOVENIAN GOVERNMENT. President Milan Kucan discussed the formation of a new government with outgoing Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek and parliamentary speaker Marjan Podobnik, who heads the People's Party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). No statement was issued after the meeting, which took place on 10 April in Ljubljana, AP reported. Podobnik and Lojze Peterle of the Christian Democrats are willing to form a coalition government with the rightist Social Democrats, but the three parties would be three seats short of a parliamentary majority of 46. The far- right National Party is willing to provide the necessary three additional votes but on the condition that it receives the Interior Ministry. Podobnik and Peterle stress that they would like the National Party's support but will not accept any conditions. Peterle said that "it would be better to have new elections than [Zmago] Jelincic as interior minister." Observers suggest that new elections in June or July are the most like way out of the apparent deadlock. PM POLITICAL CRISIS TO AFFECT SLOVENIA'S EU TIMETABLE? A spokesman for the EU Commission said in Brussels on 10 April that Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, who is in charge of matters pertaining to EU expansion, has postponed a visit to Slovenia from 16 April to an unspecified date in May. The spokesman added that the "visit would be overshadowed by [domestic political] events, so we do not think this is the best time to go," Reuters reported. Many Slovenian political observers and business leaders are concerned lest a prolonged government crisis delay Slovenia's timetable for EU admission. To stay on schedule, the parliament must pass some 60 pieces of legislation by the end of the year 2000. Some business leaders also expressed concern that the government crisis could hold up a major privatization program involving the two largest banks, Telekom, some large insurance firms, and several power companies. PM SLOVENIAN SECRET SERVICE BUGGED BISHOP. Workers found several microphones planted in the offices of Maribor Bishop Franc Kramberger and one of his aides, Vatican Radio reported on 10 April. The listening devices were discovered in September 1999 just before the visit by Pope John Paul II. Church officials did not publicize the discovery until the fall of the Drnovsek government lest the news spoil attempts to improve Church-state relations, the broadcast added. The Slovenian leadership includes many former Communists and others who fear that the Roman Catholic Church wants to regain the wealth and political power it enjoyed before 1945. Slovenian society after 45 years of communism is largely secular. PM MESIC PROPOSES CROATIAN PRESIDENTIAL REFORM. President Stipe Mesic sent a document on 10 April to Prime Minister Ivica Racan and parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic in which Mesic outlined his proposals to curtail the powers of the presidency. The suggestions go far to reduce the sweeping powers of the late President Franjo Tudjman in keeping with the wishes of all political parties. Under his proposals, Mesic would remain commander-in-chief of the armed forces, play a role in shaping foreign policy, and appoint the chiefs of the intelligence services. Mesic has repeatedly charged that the government wants to reduce his powers to a ceremonial level and humiliate him personally. He argues that the president needs to retain several key functions as a check on the government. The government is preparing its own proposals. PM TUDJMAN BACKER OUSTED AT CROATIAN TELEVISION. The governing council of Croatian Television (HTV) voted on 10 April to sack Obrad Kosovac as editor-in-chief of television programming, "Jutarnji list" reported. He will be replaced by Neda Ritz, who previously supervised HTV's cultural broadcasts. She stresses that HTV must become a public broadcaster on the West European model. Under Kosovac and others in the previous management, HTV was a mouthpiece of Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). PM CROATIAN STRIKE ENDS. Management paid workers at the Pik agricultural enterprise some $950,000 in back wages on 10 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). The workers called off their strike shortly before their planned blockage of the Zagreb-Budapest railway line, "Jutarnji list" reported. PM BOSNIAN VOTE COUNT CONTINUES. Preliminary local election results from 30 out of 145 Bosnian municipalities show the Serbian Democratic Party ahead in 11 of them. The HDZ leads in seven, the Muslim Party of Democratic Action in six, and the Social Democrats in three, "Oslobodjenje" reported on 11 April. Final results may take several weeks to tally because of some 500,000 ballots mailed in by refugees. Mail votes could reduce the lead of nationalist parties, especially in the Republika Srpska, where most refugee votes are from Muslims. PM MILOSEVIC TAKES FURTHER MEASURES AGAINST MEDIA. More than 10,000 persons demonstrated in Nis on 10 April after a court fined the independent "Narodne novine" some $7,000 at the black market rate, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The daily wrote in February that the army has been increasing the number of call-ups. In Belgrade, Studio-B Television director Dragan Kojadinovic said that his station will have nothing further to do with the "judicial circus" by which the government fines the private and independent media, the "Los Angeles Times" reported. Kojadinovic stressed that his station will not pay a $15,000 fine stemming from a libel suit filed by Belgrade police chief Branko Djuric. The station, which is linked to Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), now faces the possible confiscation of its equipment. Elsewhere, a spokesman for the independent daily "Danas" told reporters that the government is closing off official sources of information to non-state media, Reuters reported. PM BELGRADE'S ARMY, POLICE MAKE PLANS. Army Chief-of-Staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic met in Belgrade on 10 April with top officials of the Serbian Interior Ministry. They said in a statement that the agenda included "defining tasks for preserving the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order of the country, as well as public order, peace, and the security of citizens' persons and property," RFR/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The document did not contain further details. PM SERBIAN PRESIDENT UNDERGOES HEART SURGERY. Milan Milutinovic underwent a previously scheduled heart operation in Belgrade on 10 April, hospital spokesmen said. The operation took place "without complications," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM ROMANIA SEEKS HELP TO DEAL WITH FLOODS. Defense Minister Sorin Frunzaverde on 10 April said his country has asked an ad hoc crisis center at NATO's headquarters in Brussels to assist Bucharest in dealing with massive floods in the northwestern part of the country, Reuters and Rompres reported. Seven people have died and more than 60,000 hectares of farmland have been damaged in massive floods caused by heavy rains and melting snow over the last few days. Frunzaverde and Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu, who have been visiting the flooded regions, have blamed much of the flooding on the fact that work on harnessing rivers has been neglected over the past 10 to 15 years. President Emil Constantinescu has called a meeting of the country's Supreme Defense Council for 11 April. VG ROMANIA TO DEMAND EXTRADITION OF SENTENCED GENERAL. The Bucharest Military Tribunal on 10 April asked Justice Minister Valeriu Stoica to start extradition procedures for General Victor Stanculescu, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in quashing the anti-communist uprising in Timisoara in December 1989 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 February 2000), RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Stanculescu is believed to be in the U.K., where he was undergoing medical treatment at the time of his sentencing. General Mihai Chitac, who was also sentenced to 15 years, has begun serving his sentence and is in a prison hospital. Chitac's lawyer said he will demand that his client be released on health grounds. MS FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER'S PARTY REGISTERED. The Bucharest appeals court on 10 April overturned an Bucharest municipal tribunal's ruling not to register the Popular Party headed by former Premier Radu Vasile (see "RFE/RL "Newsline," 13 March 2000), Mediafax reported. That decision is final. In related news, the parties and civic organizations belonging to the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR) have signed new protocols for the local and parliamentary elections. The protocol on local elections stipulates that the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic and the Romanian Ecologist Party will run as part of the CDR in the local ballot, while the National Liberal Party and the Romanian Ecological Federation will each run on separate lists. All four parties are to run as part of the CDR in the parliamentary elections. MS ROMANIAN NATIONAL BANK REBUKES STANDARD & POOR'S. The National Bank on 10 April said Romania does not run the risk of being unable to service its foreign debt "in the foreseeable future," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The bank said its reserves in hard currency and gold exceed $2.5 billion. The bank was responding to a 27 March warning by the international rating agency Standard & Poor's that that Romania, along with the Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe, might default on its foreign debt this year. MS MOLDOVA MUST MEET IMF CONDITIONS BY 12 APRIL. Moldovan Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis said on Moldovan Television over the weekend that the IMF will decide on 12 April whether to send a mission to Moldova, Infotag reported on 10 April. Braghis said that by then, the parliament must pass five bills that the IMF has set as a condition for extending new credits to Moldova. The IMF has already extended the deadline for the passage of that legislation from the end of March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). Parliamentary speaker Dumitru Diakov said on 10 April that the legislature cannot meet that deadline. He said this means Moldova may not be able to meet its foreign-debt payment commitments this year. VG MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT AGAIN REJECTS RUMOR ABOUT RUSSIAN BASES. Petru Lucinschi told the OSCE's mission head in Moldova, William Hill, on 10 April that he categorically refutes all rumors that his country plans to allow Russia to set up a military base in the breakaway region of Transdniester (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 and 10 April 2000). VG xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 4:25:01 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 73, Part II, 12 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 4:25:01 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 73, Part II, 12 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 73, Part II, 12 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * LATVIAN PREMIER RESIGNS * SLAIN SERBIAN JOURNALIST HONORED * IS MILOSEVIC SEEKING PRETEXT FOR CRACKDOWN? End Note: DOUBTS REMAIN OVER UKRAINE'S 16 APRIL REFERENDUM xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT REAFFIRMS ECONOMIC PRIORITIES... In his annual address to the Belarusian legislature on 11 April, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said the country's national economy priorities are the same as four years ago: increase exports, construct housing, and develop the agricultural sector, Interfax and Belapan reported. Lukashenka noted that Belarus "is building a new, integrated system of sociopolitical and economic development, which is regarded as the Belarusian model." He admitted, however, that "the considerable foreign trade deficit, the shortage of hard currency, the intensive printing of money, and the multiplicity of currency exchange rates" provoked a "surge" in inflation last year (350 percent). JM ...WARNS WEST AGAINST PRESSURIZING BELARUS... Lukashenka noted that the low level of foreign investment in the Belarusian economy results from the West's political pressure on Belarus and its calls on foreign companies to abstain from cooperation with Belarus. Western investors, he said, have all necessary conditions for developing business in Belarus, which, he added, has created more free economic zones than are even necessary. Lukashenka said his political course is supported by the people, and he warned the West against interfering in Belarus's affairs. "We cannot be intimidated by either blackmail or direct pressure, including from the so-called teachers of democracy. We know their policy of double standards," he said. JM ...PLEDGES SUPPORT TO CURRENT DEPUTIES IN 2000 ELECTIONS... Lukashenka said parliamentary elections in 2000 are the main political task of the year. He pledged state support during those elections to the current deputies of the Chamber of Representatives, whom he handpicked in 1996 from among the ranks of the dissolved Supreme Soviet. He added that those deputies need no money for their re-election campaign. "We will provide you with full access to the people," he said, promising "to put in full operation the forces of our vertical public information [service]." He added that "we can win without any falsification." Lukashenka also said he sees the need to switch from "the futile wrangling with the so-called opposition" to supporting an ever increasing number of "constructive organizations" in Belarus. JM ...VOWS TO CREATE 300,000-STRONG FORCE WITH RUSSIA. Lukashenka said the development of "union relations" with Russia remains the top priority of Belarus's foreign policy. He added that both states should maintain their sovereignty and remain "international juridical subjects." In his opinion, NATO's recent expansion to Belarus's border, escalating regional conflicts, and international terrorism require the development of a Russian-Belarusian defense system. "We are creating a very powerful joint force on the border of Belarus and Russia, which will have the Belarusian army at its core. [The force] will have some 300,000 troops, equipped with the newest arms of the latest generation," Lukashenka told the legislature. He added that he will discuss this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk later this week. JM UKRAINIAN PREMIER PLEDGES TO PAY PENSION ARREARS THIS YEAR. Viktor Yushchenko pledged on 11 April that the government will repay all overdue pensions within "five to seven months," Interfax reported. Yushchenko said pension arrears are "the greatest disgrace for the authorities," adding that the debt has now reached some 1.2 billion hryvni ($220 million). JM UKRAINE ISSUES NEARLY $1 BILLION WORTH OF DOMESTIC T-BILLS. The government has approved the issue of 5,17 billion hryvni ($954 million) worth of domestic Treasury bills, Interfax and UNIAN reported on 11 April. The issue is the main source of state budget revenues in 2000, which are expected to be used to reduce foreign loans and help implement the zero-deficit budget. The face value of one bill is 100 hryvni. JM UKRAINE, RUSSIA AGREE ON GAS DEBT SUM. Ukraine's Naftohaz monopoly head Ihor Dydenko on 11 April said Kyiv and Moscow have officially agreed that Naftohaz's debt to Gazprom for gas deliveries amounted to $1.38 billion as of 1 April, Interfax reported. Dydenko added that this sum does not include the "disputed" fine of $60-80 million for Ukraine's failure to pay for Russian gas in 1998. JM ESTONIAN PREMIER IN FRANCE. During his three-day visit to France from 9-11 April, Mart Laar discussed Estonia's integration into the EU and NATO with his counterpart Lionel Jospin, who expressed support for both bids, ETA reported. In a speech at the French Institute for International Affairs, the prime minister said his government will ensure that Estonia is ready for EU membership by 1 January 2003, BNS added. Accompanied by a business delegation, Laar also met with prominent French businessmen and invited them to invest in Estonia. MH LATVIAN PREMIER RESIGNS. Prime Minister Andris Skele resigned on the morning of 12 April after the ruling coalition had collapsed the previous evening. Both junior coalition partners--For Fatherland and Freedom (TB) and Latvia's Way--withdrew their support for Skele as prime minister, AP reported. However, both expressed interest in creating a new government with the same coalition partners, albeit without Skele as its head. The previous day, Skele had rejected the renomination of Vladimirs Makarovs as economics minister by TB, while the cabinet, without the support of TB, voted to retain Janis Naglis as head of the Latvian Privatization Agency (LPA) until that agency's dissolution in January 2001. MH POLAND'S LEFTIST UNION PROTESTS UNEMPLOYMENT. Several thousand demonstrators picketed provincial governors' offices throughout Poland on 11 April to demand government action to reduce the country's 13.9 percent unemployment rate (2.5 million people), PAP reported. The protest was organized by the leftist National Trade Union Accord (OPZZ). OPZZ leader Jozef Wiaderny said the protest was a success, adding that "we have shown to the public opinion that OPZZ is the only defender of jobless people in the country." JM POLAND LETS ZLOTY FLOAT FREELY. The National Bank on 11 April announced it will allow the national currency to float freely as of 12 April, Polish media reported. Until now, the zloty has been fixed to a basket consisting of the dollar and the euro and has devalued at a rate of 0.3 percent a month. The decision is seen as an important step on Poland's path to join the EU and make its currency freely convertible against the euro. JM EC REPRESENTATIVE PRAISES CZECH PROGRESS, CALLS FOR JUDICIAL REFORM. Ralf Dreyer, a representative of the European Commission delegation in Prague, said on 11 April that the Czech Republic has made great progress in passing EU-related legislation over the past six months, CTK reported. However, Dreyer added that the country should increase its efforts to reform the court system and step up the public debate on the merits of membership in the EU. VG CZECH SENATORS PRESS CHARGES AGAINST PUBLISHER OF 'MEIN KAMPF.' Michael Zantovsky and Daniel Kroupa, both senators for the small Civic Democratic Alliance, have filed criminal charges against the publisher of a Czech translation of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 March 2000), CTK reported. Kroupa said the publication of the book "without commentary or a disclaimer" constitutes a criminal act in the Czech Republic because it amounts to the promotion of an ideology that advocates the suppression of human rights. VG SLOVAK GOVERNMENT EXPECTED TO SURVIVE CONFIDENCE VOTE. The Slovak coalition government is expected to survive a confidence vote called by 52 opposition deputies, Slovak media reported. Parliamentary chairman Jozef Migas has scheduled the vote for a legislative session beginning on 13 April. Top members of the various parties in the governing coalition say they will not support the no-confidence motion. Even representatives of the Party of the Democratic Left, which has been critical of relations within the coalition and Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda's governing style, say they will not back the motion. VG MORE THAN HALF OF SLOVAKS SUPPORT NATO ENTRY. A poll by the Slovak Markant agency carried out between 15 and 27 March found that 51.2 percent of respondents are in favor of NATO membership, TASR-SLOVAKIA reported. It is the first time since last year's NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia that a poll has found more than half of Slovaks in favor of joining the Atlantic alliance. The Markant poll also found that 73 percent of Slovaks are in favor of EU membership. In other news, the cabinet unanimously approved a concept for the decentralization of the state administration and the creation of 12 regional units in Slovakia. Government officials say elections to the new regional governments could be held as early as 2001. VG HUNGARIAN SOCIALIST ACCUSES TORGYAN OF CORRUPTION. Socialist parliamentary member Tibor Szanyi has submitted a report accusing Agricultural Minister Jozsef Torgyan, chairman of the Independent Smallholders Party (FKGP), of abuse of office, Hungarian media reported on 11 April. Szanyi claimed that the Agricultural Ministry transferred at least 500 million forints ($1.85 million) to a company partly owned by FKGP parliamentary member Gyula Balogh. He also alleged that a cooperative run by Janos Lengyel, FKGP candidate in the Fehergyarmat by-elections, received 480 million forints. Both Torgyan and Balogh said they will charge Szanyi with slander. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE SLAIN SERBIAN JOURNALIST HONORED. Independent journalists and human rights activists held several meetings in Belgrade on 11 April to mark the first anniversary of the killing of publisher Slavko Curuvija (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). At the site of the murder, friends and colleagues of Curuvija unveiled a memorial plaque, which read that he was "killed for his tough and critical words" against the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whom he had once supported. A friend of Curuvija's said at the meeting that the late journalist "was not killed; he was executed," "Vesti" reported. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj called Curuvija a "criminal," according to "Danas." The authorities have remained silent on the killing. PM SERBIAN PRIVATE WEEKLY FINED FOR 'LIBEL.' In the latest of a series of actions against the private media, a Belgrade court fined "Vreme" $8,000 at the black market rate on 11 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000) The staff of the weekly learned of the case less than 24 hours earlier, Reuters reported. Serbian Culture Minister Zeljko Simic brought the suit after the magazine wrote that he had fired the director of the National Theater. Simic said that it was the government that ordered the sacking. The minister added: "I wanted to make those journalists aware of the legal framework they are working in here." PM NOVI SAD BROADCASTER APPEALS FOR HELP. The editorial board of the private Radio 021 appealed on 11 April to other journalists for "professional solidarity" and help in buying a new antenna so that the radio can resume its broadcasts, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. A fire swept the offices of Radio 021 and other non-state media the previous week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). PM IS MILOSEVIC SEEKING PRETEXT FOR CRACKDOWN? A bomb exploded outside the offices of Milosevic's Socialist Party offices in Belgrade's Vracar district late on 11 April. No one was injured. Local Socialist official Branislav Ivkovic linked the blast to a rally by Serbian opposition parties slated for 14 April. He called the bombing "a terrorist act by those who are an extended hand of NATO," AP reported. A spokesman for the Democratic Party said that the blast "leaves open the question as to who benefits from this incident" and suggested that the "regime may be looking for a pretext" to crack down on the opposition ahead of the rally. Meanwhile in Novi Sad, two unidentified men beat Social Democratic activist Radoje Cvetkov. The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina said in a statement that the incident shows the authorities are resorting to "vulgar repression." The statement added that "Milosevic's regime, with its worn-out slogans about fighting 'traitors'..., is creating a criminalized society in which force is the main law." PM MILOSEVIC MOVES TO SECURE POWER. Serbia's parliament on 11 April passed a law whereby deputies will be elected to the upper house of the federal legislature on a proportional basis rather than by majority vote. The measure will enable Milosevic and his political allies to control the Council of the Republic at the expense of the Serbian opposition and the governing coalition in Montenegro, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Some observers suggested that Milosevic will now seek changes to the Yugoslav or Serbian constitutions to enable him to remain in office after his current term ends in 2001. PM U.S. DENIES REPORT OF RENEWED TIES TO BELGRADE. State Department spokesman James Rubin on 11 April denied recent media reports that Washington is seeking to renew diplomatic ties with Belgrade (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 11 April 2000). Rubin stressed that Washington-Belgrade relations will improve only after Milosevic leaves office. PM KOSOVA SERBS RETURN TO UN COUNCIL. Rada Trajkovic represented Kosovar Serbian moderates as an observer at the UN's interim advisory council in Prishtina on 11 April. She stressed that her main interest is to improve the security situation for Kosova's Serbian minority and returning refugees. She called the meeting "a beginning for solving problems," AP reported. Also participating in the council session were chief UN civilian administrator Bernard Kouchner, as well as ethnic Albanian leaders Hashim Thaci, Ibrahim Rugova, and Rexhep Qosja. The agenda included the return of Serbian refugees, security issues, student elections, and regulations affecting the electronic media as well as agriculture. Thaci called the atmosphere "very good" and added that Serbs and Albanians must live together. PM NATIONALISTS BUILDING LEAD IN BOSNIAN ELECTION RETURNS. Preliminary, unofficial returns for 91 out of 146 municipalities in Bosnia's 8 April local elections suggest that nationalist parties are heading to victory in all areas except for several cities and towns with Muslim majorities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). The civic-based Social Democrats lead in only nine areas. The Muslim nationalist Party of Democratic Action is ahead either by itself or in a coalition in 24 areas. The Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) leads in 34 municipalities, and the Croatian Democratic Community in 20, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM DODIK RULES OUT COALITION WITH KARADZIC PARTY. In Banja Luka on 11 April, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik ruled out local coalitions between his Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and the SDS, "Vesti" reported. He stressed that the SNSD will seek local coalitions with its current moderate allies. He also did not rule out the possibility of local coalitions with civic-based parties, whose support come mainly from Muslim and Croatian voters, the daily added. PM KUCAN TO ANNOUNCE RESULTS OF TALKS. Slovenian President Milan Kucan said on 11 April that he will inform the parliament by 15 April about the results of his current talks aimed at ending the political crisis (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). He stressed that the crisis has come at a crucial time in the process of securing Slovenia's admission to the EU and NAT. RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM CROATIAN LEADERS FIGHT OVER SECRET SERVICES. Ozren Zunec, who heads one of Croatia's key intelligence services (HIS), said in Zagreb that he wants to resign because Tomislav Karamarko, who heads another intelligence agency (UNS), is obstructing his attempts at making personnel changes, "Vecernji list" reported on 12 April. President Stipe Mesic, Prime Minister Ivica Racan and parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic will deal with the issue on 15 April, "Jutarnji list" added. The dispute reflects a deeper conflict between Mesic and Racan over the control of the intelligence agencies, "Slobodna Dalmacija" argued. Racan believes that the government must control the services, while Mesic argues the president must ensure that the agencies remain independent of the government. Under the late President Franjo Tudjman, some elements in the governing Croatian Democratic Community used the intelligence services against their political rivals. PM ROMANIAN PRESIDENT PROMISES AID FOR FLOODS. Emil Constantinescu has said that beginning on 12 April, 6 billion lei ($305,000) from the Solidaritatea national fund will be disbursed to the flooded regions of western Romania, Rompres reported on 11 April. He said other urgent measures for dealing with the flood will be discussed at a meeting of the country's Supreme Defense Council on 12 April. Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu said the same day that the flood-stricken regions would receive special funds for the construction of dams. VG MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT PASSES 2000 BUDGET. The Moldovan legislature on 11 April passed the state budget for 2000, with 58 deputies in the 101-seat legislature backing the bill, Infotag reported. The budget was supported by the Christian Democrats and Communists as well as some members of the For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova bloc and some independent deputies, BASA-Press reported. The budget, which anticipates a deficit of 380 million lei, was one of the conditions set by the IMF for resuming credits to Moldova. Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis said the vote demonstrates Moldova's "intention to follow the path of reform and its readiness to meet commitments undertaken before international financial organizations and the Moldovan people." He noted, however, that the legislature must still fulfill other IMF conditions, including the privatization of the wine and tobacco industries, the amendment of the law on notary services, and the approval of the social insurance budget for this year. VG MOLDOVAN COURT SAYS PARLIAMENT MUST RESPECT REQUEST FOR REFERENDUM. The Moldovan Constitutional Court on 11 April ruled that the parliament must call a referendum if such a vote is demanded by a petition of at least 200,000 citizens, Infotag and BASA-Press reported. In so doing, the court has ruled that those sections of the electoral law that state that the parliament can ignore such petitions are unconstitutional. The case was launched by President Petru Lucinschi, who wants to hold a referendum on altering the constitution. VG BULGARIAN WORKERS STAGE ROADBLOCK ON KEY HIGHWAY. Up to 2,000 workers from the Vazov group of weapons plants staged a roadblock on the main road linking Sofia to the Black Sea port of Burgas on 12 April, Reuters reported. The workers are demanding the payment of wage arrears and protesting against planned job cuts. Meanwhile, police said another key road has been blocked by workers from a plastics factory. VG END NOTE DOUBTS REMAIN OVER UKRAINE'S 16 APRIL REFERENDUM by Jan Maksymiuk The Constitutional Court's 29 March resolution to strike two questions from Ukraine's 16 April constitutional referendum appears to have alleviated fears of an immediate introduction of authoritarianism in the country. The court ruled that questions on the vote of no confidence in the parliament and on the possibility of adopting the country's constitution via a referendum are unconstitutional. The four remaining questions were deemed constitutional and, if approved in the plebiscite, will be binding. The ruling, however, has not dispelled the many other doubts, both abroad and at home, about the possible consequences of the 16 April ballot. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recommended earlier this month that President Leonid Kuchma postpone the plebiscite until the parliament adopts a new law on referenda. Kuchma decreed the current referendum on the basis of a Soviet-era law that does not take into account the legal and political realities of independent Ukraine. Second, PACE warned Kyiv that it may seek suspension of Ukraine's membership in the council if the referendum results are implemented by unconstitutional means. PACE's warning was clearly based on the suspicion than Ukraine's Supreme Council might be reluctant to approve constitutional amendments limiting lawmakers' rights and prerogatives, particularly stripping them of immunity from criminal prosecution. Even if the current parliamentary majority unanimously supported possible constitutional amendments, it would still be some 30 votes short of the 300 needed to change the constitution. Thus not without reason, PACE feared that Kuchma might seek to amend the constitution by decree, as Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka had done in 1996, following a constitutional referendum of a consultative nature. Some Ukrainian commentators also point to ambiguities in the formulation of referendum questions, which may lead to tensions between the parliament and the president. In particular, the questions about reducing the number of lawmakers to 300 and introducing a bicameral parliament in Ukraine do not specify to which entity that number applies--the parliament in its entirety or its lower chamber. There is also no mention on the referendum ballots of how the second chamber should be formed if Ukrainians decide on a bicameral legislature. Many sarcastic comments have been elicited in the Ukrainian media by the court's decision to approve the question about stripping lawmakers of their immunity from criminal prosecution. The question proposes leaving in place the constitutional formulation that Ukrainian lawmakers' immunity "is guaranteed" but excluding the provision that people's deputies may not be tried for criminal offenses, detained, or arrested without the approval of the Supreme Council. How much is such "immunity" worth if a police officer can arrest a people's deputy at any time and under any pretext, many Ukrainian publications have wondered. There is also a discrepancy between the current constitution and the court's ruling that referendum results should be binding. According to the constitution, only the Supreme Council can change the country's basic law. On the other hand, the Supreme Council is a sovereign branch of power and no Ukrainian court has the right to order the legislature to approve any laws. Is there a way to untangle this web of contradictions? The easiest way would be to regard the 16 April referendum as consultative. Such an option has been suggested by PACE and would be the best approach for Ukraine, which urgently needs political accord following the parliament's approval of the ambitious reformist program of Viktor Yushchenko's cabinet. Too much is at stake now, and any further political confrontation could easily extinguish the glimmer of hope Ukrainians perceived this year. The worst scenario would be the parliament's refusal to comply with the referendum (which is expected to approve at least three of the questions) and Kuchma's possible decision to dissolve the legislature and call for new parliamentary elections. In such a case, the country, beleaguered by social and economic problems, would once again be plunged into a election campaign that might alter the balance of power but would hardly result in any economic improvement for the pauperized population. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: rferl[SMTP:RFERL@MAIL.THENERVE.COM.CRITICALPATH.NET] > Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2000 4:06:14 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 74, Part II, 13 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 74, Part II, 13 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * EU SUSPENDS FARM TRADE TALKS WITH POLAND * CROATIAN GOVERNMENT SETS TERMS OF COOPERATION WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL * MILOSEVIC'S MONTENEGRIN ALLIES ABOUT TO SPLIT? End Note: WHAT FUTURE FOR CROATIA'S HDZ? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE EUROPE POSTPONES DECISION ON OBSERVERS IN BELARUSIAN ELECTIONS. Hans Georg Wieck, head of the OSCE Consultative and Monitoring Group in Minsk, told Belarusian opposition parties on 12 April that a decision on whether the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and other European organizations will send observers to Belarus's parliamentary elections will not be taken until September, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported. He said the decision will depend on the Belarusian authorities' willingness to discuss amendments to the electoral code with the opposition, to allow the opposition access to the state media, and to change the powers and functions of the lower house, the Chamber of Representatives. Wieck expressed the joint stance of 10 European organizations that gathered in Vienna earlier this week to discuss Belarus's elections and sending observers to them. JM UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS MAKE CONFLICTING APPEALS OVER REFERENDUM. Parliamentary speaker Ivan Plyushch has appealed to Ukrainians to take part in the 16 April referendum, Interfax reported on 12 April. According to Plyushch, there is "nothing new" in the four referendum questions. Ukrainians, he said, "must not make a tragedy" of the plebiscite. Meanwhile, Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko has called for a boycott of the referendum. "If the issues of the referendum are implemented, the parliament will lose its independence," Symonenko told Reuters on 12 April. A poll held by the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences in early April found that 76.5 percent of Ukrainians know about the referendum and when it will take place, 17.6 percent have heard about it but do not know its date, while 5.9 percent are totally unaware of it. The poll said 63.8 percent of Ukrainians will take part in the referendum and approve all four questions. JM BRITAIN PLEDGES MILLIONS FOR CHORNOBYL REPAIRS. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said in Kyiv on 12 April that Britain will allocate 10.5 million pounds ($16.8 million) to strengthen the concrete and steel sarcophagus covering the damaged reactor of the Chornobyl power plant, Interfax reported. Cook took President Leonid Kuchma's side in the controversy between Kyiv and the Council of Europe over the 16 April referendum. "As far as the referendum is concerned, it is a matter for the Ukrainian people to decide," Cook noted. During his meeting with Premier Viktor Yushchenko, Cook said Great Britain is ready to assist Ukraine in implementing economic reforms. "I have learned with joy about the first successful results of Ukrainian reforms, which were reflected in high economic growth rates in the first quarter," Interfax quoted Cook as saying. JM UKRAINE REPORTS ECONOMIC GROWTH. The State Statistics Committee on 12 April reported that the country's GDP in January-March grew by 5.6 percent, compared with the same period last year. Industrial production increased by 9.7 percent, while it registered a 2.5 percent slump in the same period last year. JM LATVIAN PARTIES PONDER NEXT MOVE. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Andris Skele on 12 April, the country's political parties began jockeying for position in the formation of a new government. The three parties of the current coalition--People's Party (24 seats in the parliament), Latvia's Way (21 seats), and For Fatherland and Freedom (14 seats)--have agreed they should all be in the new ruling coalition and have voiced support for Latvia's Way to nominate a prime ministerial candidate. Latvia's Way held a non-binding poll among its faction members that found deputy Aija Poca to be the favorite for that post among five candidates. Latvia's Way has also suggested inclusion in the coalition of the center-left New Party, with which it has a cooperation agreement for the 2001 local elections. Meanwhile, Janis Naglis has been officially reregistered as head of the Latvian Privatization Agency (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). MH LITHUANIAN FARMERS THREATEN ACTION OVER PROTEST. Leader of the Farmers Party Ramunas Karbauskis has threatened to organize mass protests if sugar beet farmers are fined for their recent protests. Karbauskis, speaking on 12 April, applauded President Valdas Adamkus for making inquiries into the aftermath of the earlier protests. Officials said that damage caused to highways during those protests totaled 150,000 litas ($37,500), while other losses were sustained by Lithuanian and foreign carriers unable to transport goods because of road blocks, BNS reported. For some two weeks, sugar beet farmers had protested on the Via Baltica highway, near the Polish border. Karbauskis also voiced objections to Lithuania's current EU integration program, saying "we are against joining the union under present terms." He called the government's rural strategy "a misunderstanding rather than a scheme," ELTA added. The Farmers Party came second in the 19 March local elections, gaining 11 mayoralties out of 60. MH POLISH PRESIDENT RECEIVES CALL FROM PUTIN OVER KATYN MASSACRE. Aleksander Kwasniewski received an "unexpected" telephone call from Russian President Vladimir Putin on 12 April over the massacre of Polish officers by the NKVD in 1940, PAP reported. Kwasniewski's office said in a statement that Putin spoke of "the discovery of new graves near Smolensk" and invited Polish prosecutors "to participate in actions that will lead to uncovering the truth." The two presidents also pledged to strengthen Polish-Russian ties and agreed to meet within the next two months. The killing of 15,000 Polish officers in April and May 1940, which is also known as the Katyn massacre, became a symbol of Soviet crimes against Poland. "These were not only Polish officers, Poland's elite, who were buried in the Katyn graves. For many years, Polish sovereignty was buried there as well," Premier Jerzy Buzek told the upper house the same day. JM EU SUSPENDS FARM TRADE TALKS WITH POLAND. The EU has suspended talks with Poland on liberalizing trade in farm products, Reuters reported on 12 April. "Yesterday we suspended talks because we did not see any flexibility from the Polish side.... We are talking about liberalization, we cannot accept the Poles going in exactly the opposite direction," the agency quoted Gregor Kreuzhuber, spokesman for the EU farm commissioner, as saying. Kreuzhuber added that the deadlock could have a negative impact on Poland's EU accession talks. The European Commission offered to phase out subsidies on farm exports to Poland and increase preferential quotas for the import of Polish produce. In exchange, it wants Poland to scrap higher customs duties on such goods as sugar, dairy products, and meat that were introduced last year after protests by Polish farmers. JM CZECH COURT THROWS OUT PARLIAMENT DECISION ON WALL. The Czech Constitutional Court on 12 April overruled parts of the Chamber of Deputies resolution last year that annulled a decision by the Usti nad Labem and Nestemice city councils to approve the construction of a wall separating ethnic Czechs from Romany residents, CTK reported. The ruling comes one week after the court threw out a law enabling the parliament to overrule decisions by municipal councils (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). The court did not throw out the declarative section of the parliamentary resolution, which condemned the wall as a symbol of racism. VG CZECHS SAY CUSTOMS UNION WITH SLOVAKS ENDANGERED. The Czech Republic's chief negotiator with the EU, Pavel Telicka, has said his country may have to give up its customs union with Slovakia if it is accepted into the EU before its neighbor, Czech media reported on 12 and 13 April. The EU has reportedly rejected a Czech proposal to preserve the customs union if the Czech Republic enters the EU before Slovakia. Instead, Telicka said Prague could continue to offer Bratislava certain advantages in agricultural trade. VG MECIAR SAYS HE IS WILLING TO TOLERATE GOVERNMENT... Vladimir Meciar, the leader of the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), said in a 12 April Slovak Radio interview that his party is willing to tolerate the current coalition government, provided that Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda is not its head. He suggested that Slovakia should imitate the so-called "opposition agreement" in the Czech Republic between the Social Democrats and the Civic Democrats. He also said the 13 April no-confidence vote in the government should be held by secret ballot. All parties in the current coalition have said they will not support the HZDS motion (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). VG ...WHILE SLOVAK PREMIER DISMISSES OFFER. Later in the day, Dzurinda told TASR-SLOVAKIA that he "absolutely does not care what Meciar says. He is not a trustworthy politician." The prime minister said Meciar should instead emerge from his self-imposed exile in his bed and breakfast establishment in Trencianske Teplice and submit to police questioning about the abduction of former President Michal Kovac's son. "Let him get out, let him be a man, a citizen, a politician who respects the law," said Dzurinda. Meciar has not left his bed and breakfast for several days, despite the fact that the police have called him to testify as a witness in the Kovac case. Meciar told Czech Television on 12 April that he is not hiding but merely trying to finish writing a book. VG SLOVAK CABINET APPROVES ESTABLISHMENT OF CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY. The Slovak cabinet on 12 April approved a bill on the establishment of a Catholic university in the central Slovak town of Ruzomberok, TASR-SLOVAKIA reported. The university will be managed by the Slovak Bishops' Conference. VG HUNGARIAN SUPREME COURT ORDERS NEW TRIAL IN TOCSIK CASE. The trial of those involved in a major corruption scandal will resume once the Supreme Court has rejected lawyer Marta Tocsik's acquittal and ordered the Metropolitan Court to launch new proceedings, Hungarian media reported on 13 April. The Tocsik affair became public in October 1996, when it was revealed that the State Privatization and Holding Company (APV) paid Tocsik an 804 million forint ($5.4 million at that time) commission fee for negotiating with local governments about state compensation for privatized assets. The Supreme Court ruled that the Metropolitan Court must establish whether Tocsik did, in fact, perform any work in negotiating on behalf of the APV. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT SETS TERMS OF COOPERATION WITH HAGUE TRIBUNAL. Prime Minister Ivica Racan said in Zagreb on 13 April that his government has prepared a declaration of cooperation with the Hague-based international war crimes tribunal, AP reported. Racan stressed that his government wants to cooperate with the tribunal, as demanded by the international community, but without damaging the legacy of the 1991-1995 war against Serbian rebels and the Yugoslav army. Racan added: "We cannot allow our independence war to be sullied by hiding certain war crimes and their perpetrators." Officials of the Hague tribunal recently began excavations in several caves in Gospic, where Croatian forces or paramilitaries are believed to have dumped bodies of Serbian civilians after killing them in late 1991. Milorad Pupovac, who is a leader of Croatia's Serbian minority, said that probably more than 100 Serbs died in the killings, "Jutarnji list" reported on 13 April. Commanders Tihomir Oreskovic, Mirko Norac, and Tomislav Mercep may have played key roles in the killings, "Globus" reported on 7 April. PM NO INDICTMENTS AGAINST TOP CROATIAN BRASS? Justice Minister Stjepan Ivanisevic said that on her recent visit to Zagreb, the tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, denied press reports that there are secret indictments against top Croatian officers, RFE/RL'S South Slavic Service reported on 12 April. During Del Ponte's visit, government spokesmen would neither confirm nor deny reports that she was looking for specific documents about wartime Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, Ivan Korade, and Mirko Norac (see "RFRE/RL Newsline" 5 April 2000). PM NATO OPTIMISTIC ON KOSOVA REFUGEE RETURNS... An unnamed official of the Atlantic alliance told Reuters in Brussels on 12 April that NATO expects some 25,000 Serbs to return to Kosova "in the coming months." He noted that many Serbian refugees who fled to Serbia are less than happy with their treatment there. Many such individuals now prefer to "put their faith in the international community and the economic lift-off that will eventually happen" in Kosova," the official added. He admitted that security will be a problem in some areas where interethnic relations are particularly tense, but he added that "we can't delay this forever or until everything's perfect. We have got to start somewhere." NATO will closely monitor the refugees to ensure that they are, in fact, Serbs from Kosova. Alliance officials will also try to keep out "people controlled by Belgrade," the official added. He noted that NATO expects some 18,000 ethnic Albanians to return to Kosova "in the coming months." PM ...WHILE KOUCHNER IS LEARY. Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN's civilian administration in Kosova, said in Prishtina on 12 April that the governments of Australia and unnamed Western European countries should not force refugees from Kosova to go home "too early," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Kouchner warned that there is no purpose in sending refugees back to Kosova before the infrastructure to support them is in place. PM BELGRADE WEEKLY WILL NOT PAY FINE. Dragoljub Zarkovic, who is one of the three directors of the independent weekly "Vreme," told a press conference on 12 April that his publication does not have the money to pay the several fines imposed by the government, "Danas" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). In a related development, "Danas" noted that a court case against the newspaper will open on 10 May. The state-run Tanjug news agency and its director, Dusan Djordjevic, are suing the independent daily for "misuse of free, public information" and several other offenses. The Milosevic regime has long sought to hound the independent media out of existence by bringing court cases against them and imposing stiff fines for violating Serbia's draconian media laws. PM DJINDJIC BLAMES SERBIAN SOCIETY FOR ITS PROBLEMS. Serbian Democratic Party leader Zoran Djindjic told Vienna's "Die Presse" of 13 April that Serbia's main problem is that its society has neither grown nor developed during the 10 years that President Slobodan Milosevic has been in power. The authorities have had no trouble in politically manipulating such a society, he added. Djindjic stressed that observers place too much blame for Serbia's problems on divisions within the opposition. No opposition can do much if "millions of people do not know whether they want to fight for their rights or not." He called for less talk about divisions within the opposition and more attention by the opposition to the social and economic problems of ordinary people. The main single obstacle to opposition success is not Serbian Renewal Movement leader Vuk Draskovic or any other opposition figure but rather Milosevic, Djindjic added. PM MILOSEVIC'S MONTENEGRIN ALLIES ABOUT TO SPLIT? The Podgorica daily "Vijesti" reported on 12 April that two top officials of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) will soon quit that organization, which is the most important Montenegrin political party loyal to Milosevic. Predrag Bulatovic and Zoran Zizic are unhappy about a decision by party leaders to contest upcoming elections in Herceg Novi together with two-pro Milosevic parties based in Serbia. Bulatovic and Zizic feel that the SNP does not need to work with the United Yugoslav Left (JUL) of Mira Markovic or Vojislav Seselj's Radicals. Meanwhile in Niksic, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said he believes that reports of a split in the SNP are greatly exaggerated, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM NATIONALIST SWEEP IN BOSNIA CONTINUES. Preliminary unofficial returns from 128 out of 145 municipalities in the 8 April local elections give Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party the lead in 51 areas. The Croatian Democratic Community is ahead in 24 localities, the Muslim Party of Democratic Action in 21, and the Social Democrats in 17, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 12 April. PM ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT BEGINS BUDGET DEBATE. Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu told the two chambers of the legislature on 12 April that the 2000 budget is geared toward halving inflation to 27 percent and at promoting 1.3 percent growth, while keeping the deficit at 3 percent of GDP, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Isarescu warned against increasing expenditures beyond the envisaged 3 percent deficit, saying this may affect Romania's ability to service its foreign debt. He added that by staying within those limits, Romania will demonstrate that the credibility of the international Standard & Poor's rating agency is questionable (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). In related news, Mediafax reported that in its semi-annual "World Economic Outlook" released on 12 April, the IMF predicts 1.5 percent growth in the Romanian economy in 2000 but notes that the country's economy as a whole continues to be "fragile." MS ROMANIAN PRESIDENT WARNS AGAINST ECOLOGICAL NEGLECT. Emil Constantinescu told a 12 April meeting of the National Defense Supreme Council that if ecological accidents become a regular recurrence, Romania's chances of integration into the EU will be negatively affected, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The council approved a number of "urgent measures" for the prevention and combating of ecological disasters. Constantinescu said Romania must continue bringing its ecology legislation into line with European standards but added that implementation of existing laws, rather than new legislation, is the main problem for Romania to cope with. MS JOINT ROMANIA-HUNGARIAN PEACE KEEPING UNIT ENDS EXERCISE. The recently-established Romanian-Hungarian peace-keeping battalion has ended its first military exercises, which took place in the Arad county, Mediafax reported on 12 April. The battalion simulated freeing hostages and "negotiating with mercenary troops." The exercise was conducted under the auspices of the OSCE. The battalion is to become operative in the fall. MS RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR WANTS CLOSER ECONOMIC TIES WITH MOLDOVA. Russia's Ambassador to Moldova Pavel Petrovskii said on 12 April that Russia wants to increase its economic ties with Moldova, Infotag reported. He said there are many "unused reserves" in those ties and praised a recent agreement to reschedule Moldova's debt to Russia as well as a proposal to introduce contract prices for Russian gas. Petrovsky said he did not discuss with any Moldovan officials the possibility of establishing a Russian military base in Transdniester (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). He said Moscow respects Moldova's Constitution, which states that it is a neutral country. VG BULGARIAN MINISTER ENCOURAGED AFTER MEETING NATO AMBASSADORS. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova said on 12 April that NATO's assessment of Bulgaria's progress in its efforts to gain membership in the alliance is "encouraging," BTA reported. Mihailova was speaking after a meeting with NATO ambassadors in Sofia. She said the assessment stresses Bulgaria's policy in the Balkans, the country's support for NATO's bombing campaign in Yugoslavia last year, and the country's political and economic stability. Defense Minister Boyko Noev, who also attended the meeting, said Bulgaria does not need any funding from NATO's accession programs to reform its army. On 14 April, the North Atlantic Council is scheduled to discuss Bulgaria's progress in Brussels. VG END NOTE WHAT FUTURE FOR CROATIA'S HDZ? By Christian Buric Things are changing quickly in Croatian politics. Perhaps the biggest question is: where will the once-mighty Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) find itself when the dust settles? Most Croats welcomed the recent change of government and the end of an authoritarian political culture. After the coalition of six parties came to power in January, scandals and revelations about old intrigues involving the HDZ elite began to appear almost daily in the press. The HDZ itself has begun to split, and it is unclear whether Franjo Tudjman's party will be in a position to play any kind of constructive opposition role in the near future. If open feuding between leading figures of the party continues, the HDZ will be hard-pressed to create a new political strategy and a readily identifiable image. In that case, there will be no clear political alternative to the governing coalition. Should Croatia lack a robust opposition, its transition to a truly Western-style democracy will be delayed. Former Foreign Minister Mate Granic founded a new party, the Croatian Democratic Center (HDC), in March. Granic, formerly known as the leader of the so-called liberal wing in the HDZ, wanted to distance himself from the HDZ's right wing, which is lead by Ivic Pasalic. Pasalic is of Herzegovinian origin and was Tudjman's most influential adviser in his final years. Vladimir Seks and Branimir Glavas from Slavonia play key roles in the HDZ, too. In 1989 they founded the party, together with Franjo Tudjman, and are now two top hard-liners. Significantly, even the right wing of the HDZ is no longer united. Pasalic told "Vecernji list" of 30 March that the political alliance between Glavas and Seks is shaky. As for Pasalic and Seks, they have long been feuding in public. But the birth of the HDC and mistrust within the right wing of the HDZ are not the only problems for the party. There is also a faction that calls itself the "Club of the Founding Fathers." Pasalic mentioned that the existence of this faction is not in line with party regulations. He even fears that old-timers like Josip Manolic or Hrvoje Sarinic could take control of the faction and try to destroy the party from within. Both me were once very prominent in HDZ affairs. Manolic left the party in 1994, together with Stipe Mesic, who is now president of the country and until recently was a member of the People's Party. The main reasons for their departure were Tudjman's policies against the Muslims in Bosnia and his tendency to act as if the Croatian state were his personal property. Sarinic left the HDZ in 1998. He was opposed to the power of the hard-liners, Zagreb's growing international isolationism, and the misuse of the secret service for political ends. Since Tudjman's death in December, a fight has become public between some of the hard-liners--who are often dubbed the Herzegovinian lobby-- and the moderate "technocrats." The feud is being played out in a press dispute over the so-called "white book" about INA, Croatia's biggest oil company. The white book is really a pamphlet, the authors of which are unknown. It alleges the existence of a Russian-Jewish conspiracy against the Croatian oil sector. Davor Stern, who was once director-general of INA and is of Jewish origin, belongs to the technocratic faction of the HDZ. He interprets the white book as an attempt by the HDZ's right wing to destroy the party's more moderate elements. In a recent interview with "Globus," Stern said that the goal of the white book is to show that not only the hard-liners are prone to scandals and corruption. The white book affair reflects the internal situation of the party and the difficulties it will encounter rising above its past and developing a new, modern image. A party congress at the end of this month is expected to deal with such questions and decide on a new leadership. If the process of self-destruction goes on, it seems unlikely that HDZ will be able to deal with these key issues and mount an effective opposition to the coalition. And the government has already shown itself to be in need of a serious opposition. The Istrian Democratic League (IDS), which belongs to the governing coalition, wants the government to support the troubled Istarska Banka, though the National Bank found "significant irregularities" in its activities. When Prime Minister Racan was still in opposition to Tudjman, he often criticized the HDZ for its "political meddling" in the banking sector. Now he has to prove to what extent he can stay true to his principles, despite pressures from the IDS. And if he does not, then at least some of the parties in the coalition should call him and the IDS to account. Pointing out governmental hypocrisy is also part of the role of a healthy opposition--in this case, the HDZ. President Mesic is another possible check on shady dealings by the government. He and Racan are currently locked in a dispute over how many of Tudjman's sweeping presidential powers should be transferred to the government or parliament. This discussion, too, clouds the political landscape. Parliamentary speaker and head of the Peasants' Party Zlatko Tomcic recently told "Globus: "These are no easy questions." The author is a free-lance writer based in Munich (christian.buric@gmx.de) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Monday, April 10, 2000 4:48:01 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 71, Part I, 10 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 71, Part I, 10 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * DUMA TO RATIFY START-2 BY MONTH'S END? * BOSNIAN MUSLIMS TURN TO SOCIAL DEMOCRATS * POLITICAL CRISIS IN SLOVENIA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA DUMA TO RATIFY START-2 BY MONTH'S END? In an interview with Reuters on 7 April, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott revealed that Moscow has told Washington the State Duma might ratify the START-2 treaty before Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov visits the U.S. capital at the end of April. "The Russians continue to assure us, including in the last 24 hours, that the process of ratifying START-2 in the Duma is under way," Talbott commented. With regard to START-3, he noted that the U.S. would like to see progress toward its ratification "continue and even accelerate," adding that such a position is "quite consistent" with the need to adjust the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty so that "both sides can deal with a new problem, which is the proliferation of ballistic missiles." Russia has repeatedly rejected any changes to the ABM treaty. JC PUTIN TO PROPOSE 'POLITICAL PLAN' FOR CHECHNYA... One day after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) moved to suspend Russia's membership in the council (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000), President-elect Vladimir Putin told Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Moscow that he will announce a "political plan" for Chechnya later this week. The Kremlin's spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembskii, hastily clarified that this "plan" deals with creating "a system of authority" in the republic, while Kremlin sources stressed that Putin did not discuss a "settlement" to the conflict in Chechnya, Interfax reported. Yastrzhembskii also noted that Moscow does not intend to impose direct presidential rule, adding that "this formula has no legal basis" (see also "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). JC ...INTENT ON DEVELOPING TIES WITH EU. At the start of the same meeting, Putin remarked that Russia will continue to strive for closer ties with the EU. He added that Moscow "welcomes" the enlargement of the union but hopes that it will "not hurt in any way" Russia's relations with those countries aiming for EU membership. Meanwhile, Javier Solana told "Vremya MN" of 8 April that while the EU considers Russia's behavior in Chechnya "unacceptable" and will maintain pressure on Moscow, "the discussion about sanctions is over." Solana explained that "we are pragmatic and need a permanent dialogue with Russia." EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Luxembourg on 10-11 April for a meeting expected to focus on EU relations with Russia in light of the ongoing military campaign in Chechnya. JC PACE MEMBERS NOT TO RECEIVE VISAS FOR CHECHNYA. Kremlin spokesman on Chechnya Yastrzhembskii said on 7 April that following PACE's decision to move toward suspending Russia's membership in the council, Moscow has decided to end all visits to Chechnya under the aegis of PACE, including visits by its leaders. While PACE had until now been able to play a "certain role" in the processes taking place in Russia, "this door has now been slammed shut," he added. Meanwhile, EU foreign-policy chief Solana remarked after his meeting with Putin the same day that he, Gama, and EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten are tentatively planning to visit Chechnya on 13-14 April. JC U.S. SAYS CHECHNYA IS ISOLATING MOSCOW. U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said on 7 April that Washington understands the decision of PACE to move to suspend Russia's membership unless "it improves its human rights record in Chechnya," Reuters reported. He added that "the world is increasingly concerned" by Moscow's approach and that "hopefully at some point the calculus in Moscow will change." Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac on 8 April telephoned Russian President-elect Putin to urge him to seek a negotiated settlement in Chechnya, AP reported. PG MOSCOW PLANS NEW CHECHEN DETENTION CENTER. Deputy Justice Minister Yurii Kalinin told ITAR-TASS on 7 April that the Russian authorities will open another detention center in Chechnya in late April or early May. The new center will be located in Grozny and will supplement the work of the Chernokozovo site. He said that 89 people are currently being held at the latter site, including the leader of one rebel unit. PG MILITARY FEARS REBELS WILL RETURN WITH REFUGEES. An unnamed military source told ITAR-TASS on 7 April that "it is not ruled out that militants and foreign mercenaries might come back to Chechnya together with refugees." Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman on Chechnya Yastrzhembskii reported that 146,993 refugees have now returned to Chechnya. Moscow officials said the same day that approximately 76,000 refugees remain in Ingushetia, but Ingush leader Ruslan Aushev said that the number is 207,000, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. PG RUSSIAN MILITARY ADOPTS GUERRILLA TACTICS. NTV reported on 9 April that the Russian military "is starting to use the tactics of partisan war--that is, a tactic that corresponds to what the fighters are doing." In what the station said was a fundamental change in strategy, Russian troops are now dividing up into small groups rather than remaining concentrated. This shift, the station said, is in response to Chechen tactics. Meanwhile, Russian air strikes continued against suspected Chechen concentrations in the south of the republic. PG DID WEST SUPPLY MOSCOW WITH INTELLIGENCE ON CHECHNYA? Citing German government sources, the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" reported on 8 April that following the spate of bomb attacks on Russian cities last year, U.S., German and other Western secret services supplied Russia with information about suspected Chechen "terrorists." Reuters quoted the weekly "Der Spiegel" as saying that German and Russian agents swapped "low-grade intelligence" on whether Chechens were receiving funds from international Muslim groups. The same report said that other countries, including the U.S., Britain, and France, gave "much more precise data." JC PUTIN DROPS BY GAZPROM... President-elect Putin paid a visit to Gazprom headquarters on 7 April where he met with Gazprom head Rem Vyakhirev. Putin told reporters that he is "confident" that "state interests" will unite Gazprom and Unified Energy Systems (EES), which have been feuding. He added that the companies are "natural partners and rivals." Earlier in the week, EES Chairman Anatolii Chubais announced that Russia's electricity monopoly will cut electricity supplies by 25 percent because of a dramatic drop in supplies from Gazprom (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). However, on 7 April Fuel Minister Viktor Kalyuzhnii told reporters that "Gazprom has met all of its commitments to EES in the first quarter...at the moment there is a drop in gas supplies. But it is a routine occurrence and cannot be news to EES." He added that there is no conflict between the two companies. The next day, "Kommersant-Daily" agreed, noting that the two company heads have agreed to blame Kalyuzhnii for the current crisis. JAC ...AS FAR EASTERN RESIDENTS FIND SPRING CHILLY. The press service of Dalenergo announced on 7 April that the heating season in Vladivostok may end on 10 April, Interfax-Eurasia reported on 7 April. According to the utility, fuel reserves will last only until that day and the company's current financial difficulties make it unlikely that it will be able to purchase new supplies. According to the agency, local temperatures are currently reaching highs of only 2-3 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii in Kamchatka Oblast is again without heat, "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 8 April. According to the daily, the heating season in that city should not finish until 15 June. Local newspapers noted that energy shortages were a common occurrence in the area until the start of the presidential campaign: since the beginning of the year neither heat nor light had been cut off once. JAC PUTIN TO TRY TO RESOLVE SKURATOV QUESTION. Ekho Moskvy reported on 7 April that according to an unidentified source in the presidential administration President-elect Putin will ask the members of the Federation Council to dismiss suspended Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov at its next session on 19 April. Earlier, former President Boris Yeltsin tried three times to have that body dismiss Skuratov, but the senators resisted on each occasion. "Segodnya" speculated on 8 April that the Putin administration is in a hurry to resolve the Skuratov question because the latter's continued presence in that position is a "symbol of governors' willfulness." Speaking on Ekho Moskvy, Skuratov promised to give senators new information on 19 April about his investigations of the Kremlin, which led to his suspension. Skuratov ran in the recent presidential elections in which he finished ninth in a field of 11, attracting only 0.43 percent of the total vote. JAC PUTIN ALTERS STATUS OF SECURITIES COMMISSION. President-elect Putin signed a decree on 3 April raising the status of the Federal Securities Commission (FKTs) to that of ministry, "Rossiiskaya gazeta" reported on 6 April. The decree also created within the commission a special commission to investigate violations of investors' rights. "The Moscow Times" reported on 8 April that the decree will allow the newly appointed head of the FKTs to dismiss senior members of the commission; previously, deputy heads of the commission were nominated directly by the Russian president. According to the daily, major participants in Russia's stock markets have been drafting their own proposals for governing the markets, which will be discussed by the Duma on 6 June. A state program on the securities markets is scheduled to be unveiled in mid-June after the government reveals its full economic program. JAC ANOTHER RUSSIAN TANKER HALTED IN PERSIAN GULF. A U.S. Navy ship belonging to the Multinational Interception Force (MIF) in the Persian Gulf halted the Russian oil tanker "Akademik Pustovoit" last week. The crew of the U.S. vessel boarded the tanker, which is to remain anchored in international waters until an analysis of oil samples has been concluded. An RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported that the Royal Dutch/Shell Oil company says it owns the oil aboard the tanker and that the country of origin of that cargo is Iran. Earlier this year, MIF vessels intercepted and detained another Russia tanker in the Gulf. That tanker was found to be transporting Iraqi oil, but Russian officials denied that was the case (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 7 February 2000). JC ALLEGED U.S. SPY IDENTIFIED. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow announced on 7 April that the U.S. citizen taken into custody earlier last week on suspicion of spying is 53-year-old Edmond Pope. ABC television later reported that Pope was a retired U.S. navy captain who had worked for a long time in naval intelligence, while AP reported that after retiring from the Navy, he had worked with Pennsylvania State University's Applied Research Laboratory, developing contacts between Russian and U.S. research institutes and working on converting technology for commercial uses. No formal charges have yet been brought against Pope. JC EMBATTLED FAR EAST POLITICAL FIGURE TO ENTER DUMA. The Central Election Commission on 7 April rejected an earlier resolution of the district election commission in Primorskii Krai declaring invalid the 26 March election of former Vladivostok Mayor Viktor Cherepkov to the State Duma. According to the central commission, the local commission had no legal right to make such a declaration. According to "Kommersant-Daily" on 8 April, Cherepkov has vowed to join the Duma's committee on local self-rule, where he will continue the struggle against violations of law and arbitrary rule of authorities, including in Primorskii Krai. According to Interfax, Cherepkov said that he will not join any particular group or faction within the Duma. JAC DUMA BUDGET CHAIRMAN SUGGESTS PROFIT TAX TO BE LOWERED. Duma Budget Committee Chairman (Russian Regions) Aleksandr Zhukov told Ekho Moskvy on 7 April that the second part of the Tax Code must be adopted before the end of the year. He noted that the second part had been approved in its first reading by members of the old Duma, who had proposed "thousands of new corrections" to the code. However by May 1999, legislators started to look at the code with "different eyes." He added that during the discussion of the second part of the tax code, the question of lowering the tax on profits by some five points will be "seriously considered." JAC DUMA ASKS FOR CHECK INTO ALUMINUM SECTOR TRANSACTIONS. State Duma deputies on 7 April voted to send a parliamentary inquiry to the Anti-Monopoly Ministry, requesting that the ministry check the legality of the recent acquisitions of shares in the Krasnoyarsk, Novokuznetsk, and Bratsk aluminum factories and the Achinsk metals conglomerate, "Kommersant-Daily" reported the next day. According to the daily, which is funded by Boris Berezovskii's LogoVAZ group, deputy Konstantin Remchukov (Union of Rightist Forces), who introduced the inquiry in the lower legislative house, is an adviser to Siberian Aluminum head Oleg Deripaska. The newspaper also reported that on 13 April all deputies will be given documents relating to the ministry's investigation and the next day Anti-Monopoly Minister Ilya Yuzhanov will discuss the ministry's investigation (see also "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). JAC ALUMINUM OLIGARCH DISCUSSES CAPITAL FLIGHT. Siberian Aluminum head Oleg Deripaska published an article in "Vremya novostei" on 10 April on the topic of capital flight. Deripaska spoke out against a general "amnesty" for capital that has fled Russia because such a policy would have negative consequences for business morale. In addition, he argued, a general amnesty would equate the capital of companies seeking shelter from high Russian taxes with criminal capital. Instead he suggested a "personal" amnesty for specific companies and individuals after their capital has been returned and invested in the Russian economy. Only this way, Deripaska suggested, can that capital be legalized. "Vremya novostei," a new newspaper, revealed earlier that it is seeking investment from Siberian Aluminum (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 March 2000). JAC KARABAKH PARLIAMENT SETS ELECTIONS. The government in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh has called for elections on 18 June, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported on 8 April. Votes will take place in 33 single-mandate districts. Meanwhile, the parliament has approved a new budget for the next year. PG TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA AZERBAIJAN'S SOCAR TO RESUME OIL EXPORTS. SOCAR's press service told Interfax on 9 April that the state oil company will resume oil exports next week via the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline. It plans to export approximately 2 million tons of oil by that route this year. So far this year, however, SOCAR has used this route for only three days in mid-January, pumping approximately 7,000 tons of oil. Meanwhile, SOCAR President Natik Aliev said that Baku does not look to Iran as a major market for selling its gas. He suggested that Turkmenistan would dominate that export sector. PG ALIEV, NAZARBAEV HOPE FOR CIS IMPROVEMENTS. Meeting on 8 April in advance of the scheduled Turkic summit, Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev said that they hope the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia will make the CIS "a more efficient" body, Interfax reported. Aliev noted that the CIS has so far failed to live up to expectations. PG TURKIC SUMMIT CALLS FOR COOPERATION ON OIL, CRIME. The leaders of six Turkic-language countries--including the presidents of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan as well as the parliamentary speakers of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan--met in Baku on 8 April for their annual summit, ITAR-TASS reported. They agreed to work more closely to export raw materials, particularly oil, and to fight crime and international terrorism. Azerbaijani President Aliev said that this sixth Turkic summit (the first was in 1992) will help boost trade, economic, and cultural ties among the six. PG TURKIC COUNTRIES MARK 1300TH ANNIVERSARY OF LITERARY MONUMENT. Representatives from around the Turkic world met in Baku on 9 April to mark the 1300th anniversary of the Turkic epic Kitab-i Dede Qorqut, generally considered to be the first literary monument in Turkic, ITAR-TASS reported. The original manuscript is in Dresden, Germany, but Azerbaijan was recently given a facsimile copy. PG SHEVARDNADZE OVERWHELMINGLY WINS SECOND TERM. With most votes counted, Eduard Shevardnadze won a second five-year term as Georgian president in the 9 April elections. He received more than 80 percent of the vote, with his nearest competitor, Dzhumber Patiashvili, garnering only 16 percent. Turnout was reported at 70 percent. Shevardnadze's victory came after two of his opponents, including Adjari's Aslan Abashidze, withdrew at the last moment. The day before the vote, Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin telephoned Shevardnadze to wish him luck, ITAR-TASS reported on 8 April. PG VIOLATIONS MAR GEORGIAN VOTE. The campaign office of defeated presidential challenger Patiashvili said that there were numerous violations of the electoral law, a charge the Georgian Central Election Commission denied on 9 April. But at least some of the 150 foreign observers also noted violations. One, OSCE representative Hans Gutbod, was ejected from a polling station in Western Georgia when he attempted to investigate ballot box stuffing and other violations of the law, ITAR-TASS reported. PG GEORGIA SEEKS EXPANDED OSCE PRESENCE ON CHECHEN BORDER. A Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman told dpa on 8 April that Tbilisi would like the OSCE to expand its presence on the Georgian-Chechen border. Tbilisi is concerned that with the coming of spring, Chechen fighters will cross the mountains into Georgia. Currently, the OSCE has 12 observers there, ITAR-TASS reported. PG KAZAKHSTAN TO INCREASE PRODUCTION, EXPORT GAS VIA RUSSIA, AZERBAIJAN. Kazakhoil President Nurlan Balgimbaev announced on 9 April that his company may double production over the next two years and is considering exporting natural gas to Turkey via both Russia and Azerbaijan. To handle these increased exports, he said, Kazakhstan is vitally interested in the construction of a new pipeline to the West. PG KAZAKHSTAN'S GDP UP 7 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER. Kazakhstan's GDP grew by 7 percent in the first quarter of 2000, compared with the same period in 1999, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 7 April. PG KAZAKHSTAN'S NAZARBAEV PROMISES HELP FOR UZBEKISTAN. Kazakhstan President Nazarbaev said in Baku on 8 April that his country will regard actions directed against Uzbekistan as actions directed against Kazakhstan and will do what it can to oppose terrorism in the Central Asian region, Interfax reported. He said that he has information that extremists "operating under the cover of religion" plan to try to destabilize Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan officials again denied any involvement with a truck allegedly carrying radioactive materials, Reuters reported on 8 April. PG KYRGYZSTAN FEARS FURTHER DESTABILIZATION IN SOUTH. Kyrgyzstan Security Council secretary Bolot Dzhanuzakov told ITAR-TASS on 8 April that "the danger of a new aggravation of the situation in the south of the country and of a new attack by international terrorists from outside are real." He said that "we know for sure that international terrorists are being trained in special camps in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and some other countries. They are buying weapons and combat equipment, including transport means." And he called for regional cooperation to "do everything for the physical destruction of terrorists who pose a serious threat not only to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, but to the entire Central Asian region." PG CIS SECURITY TREATY GROUP MEETS IN TAJIKISTAN. Secretaries of the Security Councils of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Tajikistan met in Dushanbe on 8-9 April, ITAR-TASS reported. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Ivanov told the group that they must work together to fight the spread of narcotics, illegal migration, and terrorism. He added that he cannot rule out "pre-emptive strikes" against terrorist groups in Afghanistan. His comments were echoed by Tajikistan President Imomali Rakhmonov, who welcomed the group to his country. PG UN CLOSES OFFICE IN NORTHERN TAJIKISTAN. The UN mission in Tajikistan closed its last office in the northern part of the country on 7 April, ITAR-TASS reported. Earlier, the mission had shut down its offices in the south. The mission is slated to complete its work in Tajikistan before 15 May. PG U.S. FBI DIRECTOR IN TASHKENT. Louis Freeh, director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, visited Tashkent on 8-9 April for discussions on cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism not only in Uzbekistan but in Central Asia as a whole, ITAR-TASS reported. He reportedly will discuss how the U.S. can cooperate in Uzbekistan's struggle "against extremism and religious fanaticism," the Russian news agency reported. PG xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Friday, April 07, 2000 4:35:37 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 70, Part II, 7 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 07, 2000 4:35:37 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 70, Part II, 7 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 70, Part II, 7 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * UKRAINE SLAMS PACE OVER APPEAL TO DELAY REFERENDUM * SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES GOVERNMENT'S FUTURE * BOSNIA VOTES IN LOCAL ELECTIONS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN OCTOBER? Ivan Pashkevich, deputy head of the Belarusian presidential administration, told Reuters on 6 April that the campaign for parliamentary elections is likely to start on 7 August. Under Belarus's electoral code, campaigning for the elections can begin two months before voting, meaning that the ballot might take place on 7 October. Pashkevich expressed hope that despite the opposition's call for a boycott, anti- presidential parties will take part in the vote. "Presidential supporters will beyond a doubt win the elections, but the opposition also has a chance to be elected to the parliament. If it understands that politics are not made in the back streets, it will come to the polls," Pashkevich said. JM CIS VISAS WILL NO LONGER BE VALID FOR TRANSIT THROUGH BELARUS. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikalay Barysevich said on 6 April Belarus will start demanding transit visas from non-CIS foreigners as of 1 May, Belapan reported. Minsk decided to suspend the provision of a 1992 CIS agreement on the mutual recognition of visas, which allowed foreigners possessing a visa from any signatory country to that agreement to travel through Belarus without a Belarusian transit visa. Meanwhile, Russia's recent decision to introduce customs controls on the Belarusian-Russian border of shipments by third countries was a "total surprise" for Minsk, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service commented. Barysevich stressed that the decision does not spell the end of the Russia-Belarus Customs Union, adding that it resulted from Russia's "domestic political problems." The same day a Belarusian delegation was in Moscow to discuss the reintroduction of customs controls, but the outcome of those talks is not known. JM UKRAINE SLAMS PACE OVER APPEAL TO DELAY REFERENDUM. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on 6 April that the appeal by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to postpone the 16 April constitutional referendum (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000) is "unacceptable and inadmissible," Interfax reported. According to the ministry, PACE's recommendation to suspend Ukraine's membership in the Council of Europe if Kyiv moves to implement the referendum results by unconstitutional methods "does not reflect the real situation in Ukraine and is a manifestation of disrespect for [Ukraine's] people, constitution, and legislation, [as well as] all [its] branches of power." The ministry noted that the referendum will be a milestone on Ukraine's path toward European integration. Meanwhile, early voting in the referendum has begun for those Ukrainians who are unable to vote on 16 April. JM UKRAINIAN PREMIER SAYS APPROVAL OF CABINET PROGRAM SHOWS 'POLITICAL UNITY.' Viktor Yushchenko said on 6 April that the parliament's approval of the government program for 2000-2004 demonstrated "the political unity of power branches" in Ukraine (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000), Interfax reported. He added that there has been "no more socially oriented budget and program in the history of independent Ukraine" than those proposed by his cabinet. Yushchenko said he counts on cooperation with the legislature, adding that the government has submitted 48 bills for urgent parliamentary approval. The adoption of the government program implies that the parliament has agreed not to seek the government's resignation for one year. JM UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT RAISES MINIMUM WAGE. The Supreme Council on 6 April voted by 304 to two to raise the minimum wage from the current 74 hryvni ($13.5) to 90 hryvni as of 1 April and to 118.3 hryvni as of 1 July, Interfax reported. JM ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTON. Toomas Hendrik Ilves arrived in the U.S. capital on 3 April for talks on bilateral ties. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Ilves discussed economic ties, with Talbott promising improvements in bilateral trade. They also discussed issues related to the energy sector, particularly the ongoing talks with U.S. company NRG Energy on the privatization of two large power plants, ETA reported. Ilves also met with several Congressmen to discuss various topics, including NATO enlargement. And he addressed the Council on Foreign Relations, focusing on Estonia's foreign-policy goals. MH ESTONIA CATCHES UP WITH OTHER EU FRONT-RUNNERS. The European Commission on 6 April provisionally closed another four negotiating chapters with Estonia, meaning the country is now even with others in the "Luxembourg group" (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and Cyprus). Chapters on foreign relations, fisheries, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the commercial code were closed, while two chapters--on regional policies and fiscal supervision--were opened. A total of 12 of the 25 chapters that have been opened for talks with Estonia have thus been provisionally closed. Chief negotiator Alar Streimann told BNS that he hopes the remaining chapters, which include agriculture and free movement of labor, will be opened during the current Portuguese presidency of the EU. MH LATVIAN ECONOMICS MINISTER SACKED. Prime Minister Andris Skele on 6 April sacked Economics Minister Vladimirs Makarovs over a protracted dispute about the leadership of the Latvian Privatization Agency (LPA). Makarovs, a long-time critic of LPA director Janis Naglis, had signed an order the previous day revoking Naglis's right to sign documents on behalf of the LPA, arguing that Naglis's term in office had expired (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 March 2000). Skele accused Makarovs of going about his business "in a roundabout way," noting that the majority of the cabinet did not share Makarovs's view on Naglis's status, BNS reported. Skele has temporarily assumed the portfolio. The opposition Social Democrats, meanwhile launched a no-confidence motion against Skele and two of his party's ministers. MH MAYORAL ELECTIONS FAIL IN TWO LITHUANIAN CITIES. Mayoral elections on 6 April failed in Kaunas and Panevezys, with competing factions in both cities failing to secure a majority. In Kaunas, where 21 votes are needed for a majority, Vytautas Sustauskas of the radical Freedom Union gained 16 votes while Gediminas Zemaitis of the New Alliance (Social Liberals) received 10, ELTA reported. In Panevezys, where 16 votes are needed for a majority, Centrist Valdemaras Jakstas garnered 14 votes and incumbent Conservative Vitas Matuzas 12. If a council fails to elect a mayor within two months, the council is dissolved and rule imposed by the central government. On the other hand, incumbent Eugenijus Gentvilas of the Liberal Union was re-elected mayor of Klaipeda by 26 out of 31 votes following an agreement among the various parties to cooperate. MH POLISH PREMIER CLAIMS TO DISPEL 'DOUBTS' OVER EU ENTRY. Following talks with European Commission head Romano Prodi in Brussels on 6 April, Jerzy Buzek said he has dispelled "doubts" about Poland's "speedy" entry into the EU, Polish Television reported. The two agreed that the EU and Poland will open all the remaining negotiation chapters this year. Buzek pledged that Warsaw will be able to conclude those negotiations next year, adding that in that case, Poland would be ready for EU entry on 1 January 2003. Prodi noted that he "would be very happy to see Poland in the first group of countries to join" the EU, but he mentioned no date. "We cannot even imagine not being in the first group," Buzek responded (see also "End Note," "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). JM CZECH PARLIAMENT RATIFIES CZECH-SLOVAK PROPERTY AGREEMENT. The Czech Chamber of Deputies has ratified an agreement between the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the division of the former Czechoslovakia's property, CTK reported on 6 April. The agreement was signed last November by the prime ministers of both countries (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 November 1999). Also on 6 April, the Czech Chamber of Deputies passed in the first reading an amendment to the electoral law drawn up by the two "opposition agreement" parties--the Social Democrats and the Civic Democratic Party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 March 2000). VG BELGIUM IMPOSES VISA REQUIREMENT ON SLOVAKIA... The Belgian government has imposed a visa requirement on Slovakia "on a temporary basis" in response to an increase in asylum seekers from that country, TASR reported on 6 April. The Belgian Interior Ministry said the country has received 366 asylum applications from Slovak citizens since the beginning of this year--most of which were from Roma. Observers noted that the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which belong to the Benelux agreement with Belgium, are likely to impose visa requirements on Slovakia as well. Britain, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, and Norway recently imposed such restrictions on Slovakia. VG ...WHILE SLOVAK PRESIDENT CLAIMS TO BE 'PUZZLED.' Rudolf Schuster said he is "puzzled" by the Belgian decision, given that Slovakia is doing its best to meet all criteria for EU accession. He suggested that other Western European countries follow Britain's example by tightening their asylum laws. The Slovak Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it acknowledges Belgium's right to impose visas but adding that such a decision "will not make the solution to problems in Slovakia, or anywhere else, easier." Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan told Slovak Radio that he had not expected the move but said the two countries discussed the issue of the asylum seekers "frequently" in recent days. Frantisek Sebej, the chairman of the parliamentary committee for EU integration, blamed the situation on "false" asylum-seekers who are going to Belgium and other countries to seek "economic advantages." VG HUNGARY'S EU ACCESSION TALKS REACH DELICATE STAGE. Endre Juhasz, Hungary's ambassador to the EU, complained to reporters in Brussels on 6 April that the EU "keeps meticulously silent" about which economic data it aims to use as a basis for assistance to Hungarian regions. He said he expected a more detailed explanation at ongoing accession talks. EU economic and financial commissioner Pedro Solbes said after signing a joint EU-Hungarian report that the Hungarian government's economic program is ambitious but "too optimistic" as regards inflation. The Hungarian delegation indicated that it has modified its target date for accession from 1 January 2002 to 2003, Hungarian media reported. MSZ UN RAPPORTEUR RELEASES REPORT ON RACISM IN THREE COUNTRIES. The UN's special rapporteur for contemporary racism, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, has released a report on racial discrimination against Roma in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania, CTK reported on 6 April. Glele-Ahanhanzo cited various cases of racial discrimination, legal discrepancies, and incidents of racially motivated violence and made various recommendations for programs and legislation to improve the situation. At the same time, he noted that in their efforts to gain membership in the EU, the governments of all three countries are making efforts to implement reforms to help their Romany minorities. VG SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE SLOVENIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES GOVERNMENT'S FUTURE. The legislature on 7 April began a debate on the proposed new cabinet of Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek following the recent resignation of nine ministers from the People's Party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). The parliament will vote by 9 April on whether to approve the new government. Drnovsek has said he will resign and call early elections if he does not receive a vote of confidence for his minority cabinet, Montenegrin Television reported. Elections are due in the last quarter of 2000. The parliament is the center of political power in Slovenia. PM KRAJISNIK PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY.' At the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, Momcilo Krajisnik pleaded "not guilty" on 7 April to charges of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and grave breaches of the Geneva conventions, including counts of extermination, murder, willful killing, and inhumane acts, AP reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 4 April 2000). The former deputy to Radovan Karadzic added "no, no" for emphasis when denying the charge of genocide. The judge denied his request "to say a few words in my defense." Krajisnik could face up to life in prison if convicted on any of the various counts. He is the highest-ranking defendant to appear before the court to date. Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte called for the arrest of Karadzic so that he can stand trial together with Krajisnik, Reuters reported. PM BOSNIA VOTES IN LOCAL ELECTIONS. On 8 April, some 2.5 million Bosnian citizens are entitled to cast their votes at 3,500 polling stations in elections for local and municipal officials, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Some 68 parties and coalitions, as well as 18 independent candidates, will appear on the ballot. The OSCE is supervising the vote, and some 6,500 foreign and domestic monitors will be present. On 6 April, OSCE election organizers disqualified a small Croatian nationalist party from the vote on the grounds that it is opposed to the Dayton agreement. PM U.S. AMBASSADOR WARNS BOSNIAN VOTERS. U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Thomas Miller said in Sarajevo on 6 April that voters in the 8 April local elections should think carefully before voting for the nationalist parties that have held sway in Bosnia for a decade. Miller stressed: "I'm not interested in recommending to my bosses in Washington that they put any money into areas where you have people who are doing all they can to obstruct Dayton implementation. But if we can show some achievement this year, we have the decent chance to convince the American people and leaders to continue the [economic, military, and political] assistance," AP reported. One analyst suggested, however, that most voters "will say to themselves: 'I'm more afraid of the other nationality than of my own crooks'" and will cast their ballots for one of the three main nationalist parties. PM HERZEGOVINIAN LEADER THREATENS MIGRATION TO CROATIA. Ante Jelavic, who is the Croatian member of the Bosnian joint presidency and head of that republic's Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), said in Mostar that the government of Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan is trying to destroy the power of the HDZ in Bosnia at the urging of the international community. Jelavic noted that the Croatian authorities have held up or are threatening to cut pensions to Herzegovinian war veterans. He said that the only solution for the Herzegovinians might be to move en masse to Croatia, "Jutarnji list" reported on 7 April. Croatia recognizes ethnic Croatian citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina as Croatian citizens. PM KFOR, MILOSEVIC BACKERS CLASH AT MONASTERY... Up to 200 Kosova Serb supporters of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic attacked the Gracanica monastery with axes and pitchforks on 6 April in a second day of protest against a decision by moderates to attend meetings of the UN's provisional council as observers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). One Serb was wounded in the leg when Swedish peacekeepers fired shots to disperse the angry crowd. Pro- Milosevic Serbs plan further demonstrations on 7 April. PM ...AS KOSOVA SERB MODERATES APPEAL FOR CALM. Father Sava, who is one of the moderate Serb political leaders cooperating with the UN, said at Gracanica on 6 April that KFOR troops unnecessarily angered the protesters by using dogs against them, "Vesti" reported. Sava added that he had been afraid that enraged protesters would set fire to the 16th century Serbian Orthodox building complex. Moderate spokesman Aleksandar Vidojevic said the protesters fear that the moderates will agree to independence for Kosova, adding that it is easy for the Belgrade regime to "manipulate their fears," AP reported. PM FIRE SWEEPS OFFICES OF SERBIAN INDEPENDENT MEDIA. Seven people were injured and one killed in a 6 April blaze destroyed the Novi Sad offices of independent Radio 021, two private television stations, and the bureaus of Montenegrin television and the Belgrade daily "Danas," Reuters reported. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Opposition leader Nenad Canak said, however, that "it means something that it happened in the offices of the only independent electronic media in Novi Sad." PM PROTESTS IN VOJVODINA'S SECOND CITY. Some 1,000 people demonstrated in Zrenjanin on 6 April to protest the detention by police of one opposition city council member and the sacking of two others. Some 25 members of opposition parties spent the night in the council offices to protest what they called the "illegal" detention and sackings, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM U.S. CRITICIZES AUSTRALIA OVER EMBASSY APPOINTMENT. A U.S. embassy spokesman said in Canberra on 7 April that Australia is wrong to name a new ambassador to Belgrade at a time when most Western governments are trying to isolate the Milosevic regime. A spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade defended his government's decision. He said that "we have an ambassador [in Belgrade] because we have a large Australian Serbian community and we recognize states, not governments," Reuters reported. The spokesman also denied press reports that Australia named the new ambassador as part of a deal in 1999 to secure the release from a Serbian jail of two Australian aid workers and their translator (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 September 1999). PM BELGRADE'S AMBASSADOR TO VATICAN TO STAY IN ROME. Dojcilo Maslovaric, who is Yugoslavia's ambassador to the Vatican, said in Rome that he will not return to Serbia even though his diplomatic appointment ended several days ago, "Vesti" reported on 7 April. He said that he will remain in Rome "temporarily" because of what he called "private reasons." When asked if his decision is linked to that of former Yugoslav Ambassador to Italy Miodrag Lekic to remain in Rome, Maslovaric stressed that "everyone has his reasons for not going back" to Yugoslavia. Maslovaric pointed out that Lekic is a "career diplomat and a Montenegrin." PM ROMANIAN PRESIDENT REBUKES STATE UTILITIES MONOPOLIES. President Emil Constantinescu told journalists on 6 April that it is "inadmissible" for the state utilities monopolies to regularly raise prices while paying "enormous salaries" to some of their employees. Saying the population is regularly subjected to "arbitrary hikes," he asked Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu to examine as quickly as possible the methods of calculating prices used by these companies as well as their economic performance. Constantinescu also said that only the breaking up of monopolies can bring about a free-market, competitive system based on genuine economic performance, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES LOCAL ELECTION HURDLE. The cabinet on 6 April approved an ordinance setting a 5 percent electoral hurdle for gaining representation on local councils, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Local elections are scheduled for June 2000. MS ROMANIAN SUPREME COURT BACKS CLUJ MAYOR. The Supreme Court on 6 April rejected Cluj prefect Vasile Salcudean's appeal against a Cluj tribunal ruling that reinstated controversial Mayor Gheorghe Funar. The government had suspended Funar pending an investigation of allegations that he abused his position and harmed the interests of the Alimentara company (see "RFE/RL Newsline, 25 and 27 January 2000). The Supreme Court's ruling is final, Romanian Radio reported. MS MOLDOVAN PREMIER RESPONDS TO RECOMMENDATIONS ON RUSSIAN BASES. A civic organization called "The Republic" has suggested that Russia be allowed to maintain a military base in the breakaway region of Transdniester and that Moldova should adopt Russian as the country's second official language, AP Flux reported, citing "De Facto." The newspaper quoted Moldovan Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis as saying in an unofficial interview that he does not rule out the possibility of Russia's maintaining a base in the Transdniester in exchange for natural gas and other products. Nevertheless, Braghis noted that such a deal would run counter to the OSCE resolution on the Russian troop withdrawal and the Moldovan government's own declarations concerning neutrality and demilitarization. He ruled out the possibility of recognizing two official languages in Moldova. VG BULGARIAN ENVOY MEETS WITH IMPRISONED MEDICS IN LIBYA. Hristo Danov, an envoy of Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, has met with the six detained Bulgarian medical workers accused of intentionally infecting 393 Libyan children with the HIV virus, BTA reported on 6 April. He said the medical workers, who say they are not guilty, are in good spirits and are hoping for a "fair and just trial." Danov informed them that Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy has assured Stoyanov that the trial will be fair. The trial is scheduled to begin on 30 April. VG xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Thursday, April 06, 2000 4:56:02 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 69, Part II, 6 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 4:56:02 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 69, Part II, 6 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 69, Part II, 6 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES GOVERNMENT PROGRAM * FRENCH LEADERS DETERMINED TO ARREST KARADZIC * MACEDONIA WANTS KFOR TO BETTER CONTROL BORDER End Note: POLAND RECEIVES MIXED SIGNALS OVER EU ENTRY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE NGO LISTS RIGHTS VIOLATIONS DURING 25 MARCH CRACKDOWN IN MINSK. The Belarusian Helsinki Committee said on 5 April that the Belarusian authorities' crackdown on the opposition rally in Minsk on 25 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2000) violated a number of human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is a signatory, Belapan reported. In particular, the authorities denied citizens the right to hold demonstrations, unnecessarily brought in troops and armored vehicles into the capital, and resorted to random arrests and beatings of demonstrators and journalists. The committee also said that police officers fabricated testimonies "on a mass scale" at the trials of those arrested. Committee chairwoman Tatsyana Protska told RFE/RL that under such circumstances the dialogue proposed by the authorities is a "cynical and unprincipled phenomenon." JM UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES GOVERNMENT PROGRAM. The parliament voted on 6 April by 261 to 103 to approve Premier Viktor Yushchenko's ambitious program for 2000-2004, AP reported. The program foresees GDP growth of up to 2 percent in 2000 and up to 6.5 percent annually from 2002-2004. It also provides for the creation of 1 million new jobs, a decrease in annual inflation from the 19 percent expected in 2000 to 7 percent from 2002-2004, and growth in the population's real income of up to 9 percent in 2004. "Today we are not talking of the program's faults or virtues but of voicing political support for the cabinet," Yushchenko told the parliament before the vote. JM U.S. URGES REFORM IN UKRAINE... U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Alan Larson said on 5 April that relations with Ukraine are a priority in U.S. foreign policy, while noting that Washington wants Kyiv to speed up market reforms, Reuters reported. Larson said the U.S. expects Premier Yushchenko's government to press ahead with cash privatization, including sell-offs of electricity distribution companies. Larson welcomed Ukraine's commitment to promote land reform, which, he said, would eventually provide for the free purchase and sale of land. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will visit Ukraine on 20-21 April. JM ...AS DOES WORLD BANK. Luca Barbone, the World Bank's director for Ukraine and Belarus, said in Kyiv on 5 April that the bank will change its strategy in Ukraine and demand reform before granting loans. "We strongly support the efforts of Yushchenko's government in many areas, but our level of financial support will depend on the successful implementation of the government program," the "Eastern Economist Daily" quoted Barbone as saying. Barbone noted that the bank will look for signs of the program's success in improvements of the population's living standards and the development of business activities. Part of the World Bank's new strategy will be to increase its presence in education, health, and social assistance. JM POLAND, LITHUANIA HAPPY WITH BILATERAL TIES. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and his visiting Lithuanian counterpart, Valdas Adamkus, have expressed satisfaction with Polish-Lithuanian relations, PAP reported on 4 April. "[Our relations] are not only good but possibly the best ever in history," Adamkus noted in Warsaw during his three-day official trip. Kwasniewski agreed but added that both states also face much-publicized, though minor problems. One of those problems is Lithuania's education reform, which, according to the 260,000-strong Polish minority, is threatening that minority's schools in Lithuania. Both presidents signed accords on combating terrorism and on mutual assistance in natural disasters and emergencies. Adamkus thanked Poland for its support for Lithuania's NATO bid, saying that Vilnius could not lose that bid as long as it has "such an advocate [as Poland]." On 5 April in Krakow, Adamkus encouraged Polish businessmen to invest in Lithuania. Last year's Polish-Lithuanian trade turnover reached $600 million. JM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORTS ON RACISM IN CZECH REPUBLIC. The London-based human rights organization Amnesty International reports that Roma continue to be at risk of racist attacks in the Czech Republic and that law enforcement authorities do not provide them with appropriate protection, CTK reported on 5 April. In its report on the human rights situation in the Czech Republic during the second half of 1999, the organization noted that Czech police often do not intervene to protect Romany citizens from violent attacks and that the courts have a tendency to give the attackers light sentences. The Council of Europe also recently criticized racism in the Czech Republic (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 March 2000). VG CZECH COURT SCRAPS PARLIAMENT'S RIGHT TO OVERRULE MUNICIPALITIES. The Czech Constitutional Court on 5 April threw out a legal provision that enables the lower house of the parliament to overrule decisions of city councils, Czech media reported. The city councils of Usti nad Labem and Nestemice had launched the appeal in connection with a decision last year by the Chamber of Deputies to overrule the local councils' approval of the construction of a wall to separate ethnic Czech from Romany residents on Maticni Street. The ruling will not have any effect on the subsequent decision to tear down the wall. VG WORKERS DEMONSTRATE IN NORTH OF CZECH REPUBLIC. More than 7,000 workers from the Nova Hut steel plant demonstrated outside the company's headquarters on 5 April to demand that the management and the state act quickly to resolve the plant's financial problems, Czech media reported. Union members from other cash-strapped industrial companies in the Ostrava region, which has an unemployment rate of more than 16 percent, also attended the demonstration. VG SLOVAK PRESIDENT 'PROUD' OF HIS COMMUNIST PAST. Rudolf Schuster met on 5 April with representatives of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS), which does not have any seats in the parliament, TASR reported. The KSS representatives, who said they hope the meeting will contribute to their party's wider acceptance in Slovakia, gave Schuster a bottle of "Stalin's Tears" vodka. After the meeting, Schuster said: "I am proud of what I did under the former regime." During the communist era, Schuster served as mayor of Kosice and a member of the Communist Party's Central Committee. He denied that the meeting dealt with a potential presidential pardon for former communist functionary Vasil Bilak, who has been charged with treason in connection with the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. VG AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CRITICIZES POLICE IN SLOVAKIA. Amnesty International released a report on 5 April expressing concern at raids conducted by Slovak police against Romany citizens, CTK reported. The report documents instances in which the police have entered Romany homes without warrants, damaged their property, and insulted, physically abused, and even tortured Roma. The organization called on Slovakia to launch investigations into various incidents of police aggression against Romany citizens. VG HUNGARY ENDORSES CHECHEN WAR. "Chechnya is part of Russia and all states have the right to take whatever action is necessary against all forms of terrorism," Hungarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabor Horvath told Hungarian media on 5 April. However, the excessive use of military force against the civilian population is not desirable, he noted. In other news, a recently released 1999 NATO report on the Hungarian army warns that a significant part of the army's technology is obsolete, "Nepszabadsag" reported on 6 April. According to the report, if Hungarian units are unable to meet the alliance's expectations, they may harm NATO's credibility. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE FRENCH LEADERS DETERMINED TO ARREST KARADZIC. French President Jacques Chirac said in Paris on 5 April that top war criminals should be arrested in Bosnia, adding that "justice must be done." Defense Minister Alain Richard told a cabinet meeting that "France believes that arresting [former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan] Karadzic is a major goal and remains an objective to which it is determined to contribute," Reuters reported. Richard also noted that French peacekeepers are participating in the arrest of war criminals "at least as much as the British and Americans." French troops led the operation on 3 April to arrest Karadzic's former deputy, Momcilo Krajisnik (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 4 April 2000). PM KARADZIC'S WIFE APPEARS AT RALLY. Ljiljana Zelen-Karadzic attended a rally of her husband's Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) in Pale on 6 April. AP reported that it was her first appearance "in years at such a large public gathering." Supporters chanted her husband's nickname, "Rasko." She told reporters that her family fears for her husband's arrest but added, "We have confidence in God and we pray." She lamented the arrest of Krajisnik, adding that "a man who signed the Dayton Peace Agreement [in 1995] together with [U.S. President Bill] Clinton was arrested in the way they arrest Mafiosi. But the Americans can only do it that way. We, however, are decent people and will wait for the [8 April local] elections. The results will show our victory," Zelen- Karadzic added. PM BELGRADE WANTS HAGUE TRIBUNAL ABOLISHED. Acting in the name of the federal government, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic sent an appeal from Belgrade to the UN Security Council demanding that the UN abolish the Hague-based war crimes tribunal. Jovanovic stressed that the tribunal has "no legal basis" and that its sole purpose is to conduct "genocide against the Serbian people." In related news, Krajisnik telephoned his brother Mirko in Pale from The Hague to arrange the hiring of defense lawyers. Momcilo told Mirko that he does not want to deal with any papers from the tribunal without a lawyer, "Danas" reported on 6 April. PM MORE INCIDENTS AGAINST ALBANIANS IN SERBIA. An unknown sniper shot and killed Ismet Aliu in the Dobrosin area of southwestern Serbia's Presevo Valley on 4 April, AP reported two days later. A NATO spokesman in Prishtina gave no details of the incident, but "Koha Ditore" reported that Aliu was "on patrol" when he was shot. The Dobrosin area is part of a demilitarized zone in which ethnic Albanian guerrillas are active. In another incident, police "abducted" and briefly detained Fahri Musliu, who is an ethnic Albanian correspondent for Voice of America, in Belgrade on 6 April. Sonja Biserko, who heads the Serbian Helsinki Committee, said that he had recently received threatening telephone calls and that several unidentified men had tried to enter his flat the night before he was abducted. This is the first recent case in Serbia of an abduction of a journalist working for a foreign broadcaster, AP added. PM FATHER SAVA WARNS CRITICS. Father Sava, who is a spokesman for Serbian Orthodox Archbishop Artemije and a leader of Kosova Serbs opposed to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, said at Gracanica monastery on 5 April that pro- Milosevic Serbs have a right to visit the monastery and make their political views known. He warned them, however, that they must behave appropriately when visiting a monastery and not swear or smoke there, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Sava spoke after some 100 pro-Milosevic Serbs staged a protest at Gracanica against Sava's and Artemije's recent decision to participate in the UN's provisional advisory council in Kosova as observers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). Elsewhere, Sava appealed to the Serbian diaspora to act responsibly in their support of political causes in the former Yugoslavia. He said that it is all too easy to engage in militant rhetoric if one is sitting "in a comfortable chair" in Western Europe far from the harsh realities of Kosova, Bosnia, or Krajina, "Vesti" reported on 6 April. PM SERBIAN OPPOSITION REMAINS HAMSTRUNG. Leaders of the factious Serbian opposition have still not agreed among themselves who will speak and in which order at the mass protest meeting slated for 14 April in Belgrade, "Vesti" reported on 6 April. Such seemingly petty questions of precedence and status have for years prevented the opposition leaders from sinking their differences and working together to oust Milosevic. PM SESELJ SUPPORTERS OUST PRIVATE MEDIA FROM LEGISLATURE. Officials of the Serbian parliament ordered out of a session of the Culture and Information Committee an unspecified number of reporters from the dailies "Danas," "Glas javnosti," and "Blic" at the request of deputies from Vojislav Seselj's Radical Party. The ban on 5 April also affected reporters from the Beta and Fonet news agencies and Studio B television, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM DJUKANOVIC SAYS MONTENEGRO WILL NOT BE PROVOKED. Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said in Brussels on 5 April that "we are conscious that time is on our side...and that's why we are trying very hard to avoid all the pitfalls that the Belgrade regime has created for us. We are confident that any escalation would play into their hands and would be to our detriment. I'm confident that we'll succeed." Djukanovic stressed that Montenegro's government is "trying to be a responsible government, which will not make nervous moves or provoke instability," Reuters reported. PM MACEDONIA WANTS KFOR TO BETTER CONTROL BORDER. President Boris Trajkovski's office sent a statement to KFOR commander General Klaus Reinhardt on 5 April calling on peacekeepers to better control the Kosova-Macedonian border and prevent incidents. The move came several days after unidentified persons briefly detained four Macedonian soldiers after they strayed into Kosova on 2 April, Reuters reported. In Prishtina, Reinhardt said that he "will not allow [Kosova] to become a safe haven for bandits and criminals." The men who detained the soldiers demanded the release of Xhavit Hasani, a Macedonian-born Albanian whom many Kosovars regard as a hero of the 1999 conflict. The UN authorities in Kosova recently deported Hasani to Macedonia, where he is wanted for murder. The four Macedonian soldiers were freed on 3 April after Hasani was let out of prison on $100,000 bail and allowed to return to Kosova, AP reported. PM DEL PONTE PRAISES CROATIAN GOVERNMENT. Carla Del Ponte, who is the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based tribunal, said in Zagreb that she is "very happy" about the new government's cooperative attitude toward the tribunal. She said that she "got a lot of documents" during her visit (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). She refused to provide any details of possible sealed indictments of high-ranking Croatian officials. Del Ponte added, however, that she spoke to Justice Minister Stjepan Ivanisevic about an unspecified number of sealed indictments and that he knows the names of those indicted, "Jutarnji list" reported. PM CROATIAN PARTIES AGREE ON APPONTMENTS. Leaders of the six governing parties agreed in Zagreb on 5 April to soon make appointments to leading government agencies, in which each party will have a prescribed percentage of top jobs. The agencies involved deal with military affairs, privatization, the police, the railways, the posts and telecommunications, and the state insurance firm, "Jutarnji list" reported. PM ARMENIAN PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA. During a three-day visit to Romania, Robert Kocharian met with his Romanian counterpart, Emil Constantinescu, on 5 April to discuss bilateral economic relations, collaboration within the framework of the TRACECA and INOGATE projects, and Romanian support for Armenia's quest to join the Council of Europe. They also touched on the role Romania might play in seeking a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict when it takes over the OSCE rotating chairmanship in 2001. The two presidents agreed that Romanian free zones can serve as transit-bases for Armenian exports to Europe. Robert Nazarian and Traian Basescu, who head the joint inter- governmental commission, signed two agreements on agricultural cooperation, Mediafax reported. MS ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY. Petre Roman met with his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, on 5 April to discuss ways to improve economic cooperation as well as Romania's bid to join the EU, the Balkan Stability Pact, and the blockage of shipping on the River Danube since the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia. The two ministers also discussed German aid to Romania to deal with environmental problems, an RFE/RL correspondent in Berlin reported. MS FORMER ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DENIES ROLE IN 'HOT LINE' TALKS WITH KREMLIN. Alliance for Romania (APR) Chairman Teodor Melescanu, who was foreign minister in Nicolae Vacaroiu's cabinet, has denied reports that he played any role in the talks with Russia on establishing a "hot line" between Bucharest and Moscow. Melescanu, who is the APR candidate in the 2000 presidential contest, said the fact that presidential counselor Constantin Degeratu revealed on the eve of the election campaign that such discussions had taken place proves that Constantinescu is attempting to manipulate the electorate and "inflate" the scandal. Melescanu also backed the Party of Social Democracy in Romania's demand that a parliamentary investigative commission be set up to find out how secret documents were leaked from the Foreign Ministry to Constantinescu and were used by him in his 1996 presidential campaign, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported on 5 April. MS ROMANIAN SUPREME COURT CHAIRMAN DIES. Sorin Moisescu died of a heart attack on 6 April at the age of 61, AP reported. During the 1990s, Moisescu held several top legal positions, including that of prosecutor-general. He was appointed to head the Supreme Court in June 1998. VG MOLDOVAN CABINET APPROVES PRIVATIZATION BILLS. The Moldovan government on 5 April approved plans for the privatization of the wine and tobacco industries, BASA-Press and Flux reported. The plans call for the sale of 51 percent of shares in the wine and tobacco companies. The state is to retain a 34 percent stake in each company and 15 percent will be sold to each company's employees at a nominal price. The IMF has set the privatization of these two industries as a pre- condition for granting credits to Moldova. VG BULGARIA TO RECEIVE AID FROM GERMANY. Germany will provide Bulgaria with DM 30.3 million ($14.9 million) to support economic reforms, BTA reported. Bulgarian Deputy Economy Minister Hristo Mikhaylovski was in Germany on 4 April to sign a protocol on that assistance. In other news, the Irish- American company Cable Bulgaria will invest $200 million over three years in the development of a national cable television and Internet service in the Balkan country, AP reported. Cable Bulgaria is owned by Ireland's Ganley Group and Catamount Partners L.P., a U.S. investment fund controlled by the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. VG END NOTE POLAND RECEIVES MIXED SIGNALS OVER EU ENTRY By Breffni O'Rourke By virtue of its spectacular progress in economic reform and its enthusiastic desire to join Western structures, Poland has always been regarded as a leading candidate for quick entry into the EU. Already a member of the NATO alliance, Poland has set its own target date of January 2003 for accession to the EU. It is one of five Central and East European "front-runners" that have been negotiating with Brussels for the past two years. (The others are Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovenia.) For its part, the EU's Executive Commission has always declined to set an entry date for any of the candidates, although it maintained a generally encouraging tone. But there have recently been confusing signals about the position of Poland. Guenter Verheugen, the EU's commissioner for enlargement, said in an interview with "Uniting Europe" last week that Poland is not "predetermined" to be in the first wave of accession. Theoretically seen, he said, "Poland could even be the last of all to join." In diplomatic circles where words are weighed, such a formulation is striking. It follows Verheugen's comments the month before in Warsaw when he said Poland could miss the 2003 deadline, as it had fallen behind in developing its legislative program. Also in Warsaw, Ricardo Levi, the spokesman for Commission President Romano Prodi, mused aloud about the possibility of a first-wave entry without Poland. Verheugen has since made an effort to backtrack, in an evident attempt to smooth ruffled feathers. In an interview with the "Financial Times" on 4 April, he said it is his personal objective to ensure that Poland is among the first new members. He said there is no change in the commission's strategy and no one need be nervous. The enlargement process is "irreversible," he commented. So why the sudden swing in tone? Poland's Ambassador to the EU Jan Truszczynski told RFE/RL that there is "no reason to believe that Poland has ceased to be one of the leaders in the league of candidates." He admitted that there are delays of "several months," in legislation in some important areas, including telecommunications but stressed that work is now being speeded up. The ambassador, like other Polish officials, says it is "unthinkable" that Poland should be left out of the first wave. So what has caused EU officials to think the unthinkable? The most likely answer is agriculture. EU member states have not yet been able to decide how--or even whether- -the terms of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can be extended to Eastern candidates. The CAP is an extremely expensive instrument of financial support for EU farmers. It consumes half the entire EU budget and is deeply unpopular in international trade circles, where it is seen as posing unfair trade competition. Extending the system to Poland's 2 million farms, most of them smallholdings worked at subsistence level, would probably bring the CAP to the point of collapse. Moreover, present member states would revolt at having to pay so much for Poland. Verheugen foreshadowed the difficulties when he said last month that member states will not be able to formulate a full, common negotiating position on agriculture until at least the end of this year, despite the fact that negotiations with Poland and the other front runners are set to open this June. Verheugen has moved to put the ball in Warsaw's court, by saying the Polish government will have to come up with a clear concept on restructuring its agriculture. But as Ambassador Truszczynski says, the EU, too, must do its part. He says Brussels is reluctant to get down to the hard talking: "They have to start proposing the solutions they have been signaling for quite some time already. We have to start discussing substance, this substance has not yet been the subject of discussion, the member states preferring until now to ask additional questions, to demand additional explanations from all the candidates." One possible solution in Poland's case would be to consider most of the farms not to be farms at all in terms of the CAP. Fewer than half a million farms in Poland are considered commercially viable. These could be subsidized under the CAP, while the other 1.5 million properties, which are often not much more than family plots, could be helped under other EU funds, for instance for social development in rural areas. What now appears clear, for Poland and for the other candidates, is that the agriculture issue is one with a potential to upset previous perceptions about who is leading in the EU accession stakes. The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent based in Prague. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Thursday, April 06, 2000 4:47:28 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 69, Part I, 6 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 4:47:28 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 69, Part I, 6 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 69, Part I, 6 APRIL 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * CHECHENS AMBUSH ANOTHER RUSSIAN CONVOY * NEW SPY SCANDAL IN MOSCOW * COURT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER RESUMED, SUSPENDED xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA CHECHENS AMBUSH ANOTHER RUSSIAN CONVOY. Chechen fighters ambushed a convoy of Russian Interior Ministry troops on 5 April, killing one Russian and wounding eight more, AP and dpa reported. The column was on its way from the village of Mesker-Yurt, just east of Grozny, to the southern town of Oktyabrskoe when the Chechen attacked it with small arms fire and grenade-launchers. Also on 5 April, a spokesman for the Russian Prosecutor-General's North Caucasus office told Interfax that he queries the Chechen claims to have executed nine Russian Interior Ministry servicemen captured in an ambush in Zhani-Vedeno on 29 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). LF UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER REPORTS ON CHECHEN TRIP... Addressing the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on 5 April, Mary Robinson said that accounts she heard during her recent trip to the North Caucasus justify pressure on Russia to establish a national commission to probe the extent of and responsibility for human rights abuses in Chechnya, Reuters reported. Robinson stressed that the Chechens have equal rights with Russians, saying that "it would be a grave injustice to demonize a group of people because of crimes committed by some," according to AP. Russian Ambassador Vasilii Sidorov said some of Robinson's statements "distort the true state of affairs," but he pledged that Moscow is ready "to work together with all those with a sincere interest in resolving the problems" in Chechnya. LF ...AS MOSCOW EXPRESSES CONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR INVESTIGATION. In Moscow, Russia's commissioner for human rights in Chechnya, Vladimir Kalamanov, told Interfax that the Russian leadership generally supports Robinson's proposal for a national commission to investigate reported human rights abuses in Chechnya. But he added that the mandate of that commission should encompass not only recent developments but also "crimes against humanity committed in Chechnya under [presidents] Djokhar Dudaev and Aslan Maskhadov," including the plundering of the republic's economy and the attack launched by Chechen radicals on Daghestan in August 1999. Kalamanov argued that the most important aspect of human rights in Chechnya at present is to provide housing, food, and jobs for the population. LF EVERY SECOND CONSCRIPT UNEDUCATED, INEXPERIENCED. According to data released by the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, nearly half of all conscripts called up last year had neither studied nor worked before entering the military. In Ingushetia, the corresponding figure was 96.1 percent and in Moscow, 10 percent. Only 3.7 percent of those drafted had a higher education. The same data showed that some 33 percent of all potential draftees are deemed unfit to serve for medical reasons, while half of those drafted have some kind of impairment to their health. Last fall, 38,000 people, or 18.6 percent, of those called up dodged the draft, compared with 19,600 in the same period in 1998. This spring, a total of 191,612 people are being called up, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 5 April. JC NEW SPY SCANDAL IN MOSCOW. The Federal Security Service (FSB) on 5 April detained a U.S. citizen on charges of espionage. According to an FSB statement, the detainee, identified only as a businessman and former intelligence officer, had "intentionally developed contacts with Russian scientists in Moscow, Novosibirsk, and other [Russian] cities...with the goal of gathering state secrets of Russia." Also arrested was a Russian defense expert suspected of divulging state secrets. Late last year, Russia expelled U.S. diplomat Cheri Leberknight on charges of spying, whereupon Washington declared persona non grata a Russian envoy accused of gathering information by means of a listening device planted in the State Department. More recently, Moscow detained a Russian citizen accused of spying for Britain (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 November 1999 and 16 March 2000). JC MATVIENKO PULLS OUT OF ST. PETE BALLOT. Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matvienko told her supporters in St. Petersburg on 5 April that she has decided not to run for the governor's seat in that city. That statement came one day after President-elect Putin had asked her to withdraw from the race (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). Putin, for his part, told journalists in Murmansk that he considers Matvienko "one of the best deputy prime ministers for social affairs we have had for years" and that is why he wants her to take part in the formation of the next government. On his way to Murmansk, where he met with members of the Northern Fleet, Putin stopped over in St. Petersburg and reportedly held talks there with Governor Vladimir Yakovlev. Sources close to Putin had ascribed the stopover to poor weather conditions, but independent NTV, among others, suggested the real reason was political rather than meteorological. JC NONE OF THE ABOVE FINISHES SIXTH... The Central Election Commission issued the final results for the 26 March presidential elections on 5 April. Differences in the figures announced the day after the election were only slight, with President-elect Putin gaining 0.3 percent of the vote and Communist Party Gennadii Zyuganov losing 0.13 percent (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). The final tally for the bottom seven candidates in the field of 11 is Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii 2.70 percent, Samara Governor Konstantin Titov 1.47 percent, Movement for Civil Dignity head Ella Pamfilova 1.01 percent, film director Stanislav Govorukhin 0.44 percent, suspended Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov 0.43 percent, Spiritual Heritage head Aleksei Podberezkin 0.13 percent, and Moscow businessman Umar Dzhabrailov 0.10 percent. The percentage of voters who voted against all candidates was 1.88 percent. JAC ...AS ELECTION COMMISSION WANTS ITS MONEY BACK. Candidates who did not collect 3 percent of the vote will have to repay the money that the Central Election Commission allocated to them for their campaigns. According to "Kommersant-Daily" on 5 April, the candidates have just 30 days to comply with this rule. However, "Moskovskii komsomolets" reported on 4 April that 12 of the coalitions or organizations that failed to poll more than 2 percent of the vote in the State Duma elections on 19 December have not yet returned their funds to the commission. The daily reported that one organization, the Russian Conservative Movement, appeared to "mock" the commission by transferring only 50 rubles ($1.70) to the election commission's bank account, while it owes 220,000 rubles. JAC YELTSIN GOES ON PENSION. In front of national television cameras on 5 April, Pension Fund head Mikhail Zurabov handed former President Boris Yeltsin his pension book allowing him to draw out his 11,250 rubles ($339) per month pension. Yeltsin said that even in his capacity as a pensioner, he will continue to serve Russia as much as his strength allows. Rather than receiving an official pension, Yeltsin is getting 75 percent of his presidential salary, according to the decree signed on 31 December by then acting President Putin. In an interview with "Segodnya" on 6 April, Duma Legislation Committee Chairman (Union of Rightist Forces) Pavel Krasheninnikov disclosed that he will submit an amendment to the law on the formation of the Federation Council that will make Russia's former presidents automatically members of that body. Krasheninnikov is a former justice minister in Yeltsin's government. JAC INFLATION CONTINUES TO DROP. Inflation in March slid to 0.6 percent, compared with 1.0 percent the previous month and 2.3 percent in January, according to the State Statistics Committee on 6 April. During the first quarter, consumer prices rose 4.1 percent, compared with a 16 percent increase during the first quarter of 1999. Services registered the biggest increase, rising by 8 percent in the first quarter, while food prices increased only by 2.7 percent. JAC GOVERNMENT CLAIMS TAX COLLECTION PROCEEDING WELL. Tax Minister Aleksandr Pochinok told reporters on 5 April that his ministry collected 127 billion rubles ($4.4 billion) or 44 percent more in tax revenues in the first quarter than had been forecast. He also said that the amount of taxes paid in cash--47 billion rubles or 37 percent--is increasing. Customs duty collections of 74 billion rubles also exceeded the first-quarter target of 66 billion rubles. Gazprom paid 8 billion rubles in taxes in the first three months of this year. JAC U.S.-FUNDED CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION LAB OPENS IN MOSCOW. U.S. and Russian officials opened in Moscow on 5 April a laboratory to help Russia in the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles. Reuters put the cost of the laboratory at $18.5 million. Zinovy Pak, the head of Russia's Munitions Agency, noted that while Moscow will not meet the deadline of destroying 400 tons of weapons by the end of this month, it will "do everything" to meet the second deadline of disposing of 8,000 tons by 29 April 2002. JC DUMA REJECTS SANCTIONS AGAINST LATVIA. State Duma deputies rejected a bill that would have imposed economic sanctions against Latvia for its policies discriminating against ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. Fatherland-All Russia faction leader Yevgenii Primakov noted that the bill was drafted two years ago and requires amendments to address changes in the situation. He added that the rights of ethnic Russians in Latvia are still being violated and that deputies "are indignant about what is being done to their compatriots." The bill has been returned for a second reading, Interfax reported. Deputies also rejected a bill that would have provided humanitarian assistance to Russian citizens and ethnic Russians living in Latvia. JAC RUSSIA'S PARLIAMENT TO HOLD ITS OWN BONY HEARINGS. The State Duma will hold hearings on the Bank of New York scandal on 25 April, ITAR-TASS reported on 5 April. Banking Committee Chairman (People's Deputy) Aleksandr Shokhin said that the hearings will be attended by a delegation of U.S. congressmen, including U.S. House of Representatives Banking Committee Chairman (Republican) Jim Leach. According to the agency, representatives from the FBI, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Treasury Department are also invited. Shokhin explained that Russian legislators "are not interested in the criminal side of the scandal" but want to discuss the more fundamental problems of capital flight, money-laundering regulations, and the protection of investors' rights. JAC DOCTORS POINT TO URGENT PROBLEM WITH PREMATURE BABIES... Members of the Russian Association of Perinatal Medical Specialists held a press conference on 5 April at which they made an urgent appeal for purchasing equipment for Russian hospitals to assist in the care of premature babies, Interfax reported. According to the specialists, the infant death rate in Russia is 1.5-2 times higher than that of economically developed countries, while the death rate of premature babies is even higher. More than 70 percent of premature babies die during their first week of life and about 50 percent during their first year, according to the agency. The total number of births in Russia has decreased by 3.2 million in the last five years. JAC ...AS ARTICLE CALLS FOR PROGRAM TO BOOST NUMBER OF RUSSIANS. Writing in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" the same day, Professor and former Mayor of Moscow Gavriil Popov argued that the Russia's chief challenge in this century is to raise the number of Russians by two to three times. He told his potential critics that while there may be little money for such a program now, there will be even less if there are fewer Russians. JAC BANKS CONTINUE SLOW RECOVERY. Sberbank, Russia's largest commercial bank, posted a net profit of 8.2 billion rubles ($285 million) last year, a 24 percent increase from the previous year, Interfax reported on 5 April. Last month, a Central Bank official told delegates to a conference in London that while the real level of assets and banking obligations in the Russian banking system is only 60 percent of what it had been before August 1998, the systems' combined capital could reach its pre-crisis level by the end of 2000. JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER'S BODYGUARD COMMITS MANSLAUGHTER. Arbak Babasian, a relative of parliamentary speaker Armen Khachatrian and head of his bodyguard service, shot and killed a man during an argument on the street in Yerevan during the night of 4-5 April, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Babasian was subsequently detained by police. Khachatrian left Armenia on the evening of 4 April for an official trip to Australia. Since his appointment five months ago, he has been repeatedly criticized for incompetence and inappropriate behavior (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 14, 6 April 2000). LF AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY SIGN FURTHER MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Azerbaijani Deputy Defense Minister Colonel Mamed Beydullaev and Colonel General Baha Tuzuner, who is commander of the Turkish ground forces, signed a protocol in Baku on 5 April on training military personnel, Interfax and Turan reported. LF ARMENIAN MINORITY CALLS ON GEORGIA TO ACKNOWLEDGE 1915 GENOCIDE. Some 200 representatives of the majority ethnic Armenian population of Samtskhe-Djavakheti in southern Georgia held a protest demonstration in the regional center of Akhalkalaki during Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's election campaign visit there on 4 April, Caucasus Press reported on 5 April, citing "Rezonansi." The protesters called upon the Georgian leadership to acknowledge as genocide the killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. They also demanded measures to improve social and economic conditions in the region (see "End Note," "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 September 1999). LF ADJAR LEADER TO QUIT GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE? Georgian state television reported on 5 April that Aslan Abashidze, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Adjar Autonomous Republic, will announce on 6 April his decision to withdraw his candidacy in the 9 April Georgian presidential poll, according to Caucasus Press. Abashidze had held talks on 5 April in Batumi with Georgian parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, whom former Batumi Mayor Tamaz Kharazi had accused in 1997 of plotting to oust Abashidze (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 and 22 October 1997). Shevardnadze is scheduled to travel to Batumi on 6 April, where he will meet with Abashidze. LF WORKERS MOVEMENT LEADER ARRESTED IN KAZAKHSTAN. Workers Movement leader Madel Ismailov was arrested in Almaty on 6 April and will be charged with participating in the unsanctioned pensioners' protest in that city on 30 March, RFE/RL's bureau in the former capital reported. Meanwhile Irina Savostina, who heads the Pokolenie movement to defend pensioners' rights, told RFE/RL that she intends to request political asylum in the Russian Federation because of the increasing oppression of opposition activists by the Kazakh authorities. LF KAZAKHSTAN LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN ON CUT-PRICE OIL SALES. Kazakhstan's Premier Qasymzhomart Toqaev said on 4 April that the ongoing investigation into the sale of oil below world prices is encountering fierce resistance from oil companies, Reuters reported. Losses to the state budget from such sales in the past are estimated at several hundred million dollars. Toqaev had announced in February the creation of a commission, which he chairs, to investigate such abuses (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 February 2000). LF KAZAKHSTAN DRAFTS PROGRAM TO CUT UNEMPLOYMENT. Kazakhstan's government plans to finalize within 10 days measures to reduce poverty and unemployment, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 5 April. Prime Minister Toqaev told a cabinet session the previous day that it is planned to reduce unemployment by 21 percent by the end of 2002, from 13.5 percent to 9 percent of the able-bodied population. First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Pavlov had said earlier that priority will be given to ensuring that at least one member of every household has a job, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 1 April. Toqaev also said that the percentage of budget spending on unemployment and other social benefits will be raised from 0.8 percent to 1 percent. He said that the government must not incur any arrears in such payments. LF COURT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST KYRGYZ OPPOSITION LEADER RESUMED, SUSPENDED. A Bishkek district court on 5 April opened proceedings against opposition El (Bei Bechara) chairman Daniyar Usenov for assaulting a businessman at Bishkek airport in 1996, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. That case had been closed last fall after the businessman withdrew his suit against Usenov but was reopened in February 2000. The 5 April court proceedings were suspended after 30 minutes when Usenov rejected the defense lawyer proposed by the court and was arrested on charges of obstructing the course of justice. He was released on 6 April, however, reportedly on instructions from Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev. U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin had called on 5 April for Usenov's immediate release. LF KYRGYZ PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE GUILD FORMED. Meeting in Bishkek on 5 April, Kyrgyz human rights activists formed the Guild of Prisoners of Conscience of Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Oppositionist Topchubek Turgunaliev, who has been designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was chosen to head the guild's Coordinating Council. LF TAJIK, BELARUS PRESIDENTS SIGN FRIENDSHIP, COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Imomali Rakhmonov and Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed a friendship and cooperation agreement in Dushanbe on 5 April, together with other accords intended to create a legal basis for expanded cooperation in the spheres of the economy, science, technology, transport, and communications, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Rakhmonov accepted an invitation to visit Belarus next month. The two presidents had met for one hour the previous day to discuss bilateral relations. Also on 5 April, the two countries' defense ministers, Colonel General Sherali Khairulloev and Aleksandr Chumakov, met to discuss military cooperation both within the CIS Collective Security Treaty and on a bilateral basis. Belarus is currently training Tajik air force specialists in the use of air defense weapons. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2000 3:40:55 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 72, Part I, 11 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 72, Part I, 11 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * START-II SLATED FOR PASSAGE * PUTIN CALLS FOR PENSION HIKE * INTERNATIONAL MONITORS CRITICIZE GEORGIAN ELECTION VIOLATIONS End Note: THE ANGOLA VARIANT xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA START-II SLATED FOR PASSAGE. State Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev said on 10 April that the Duma Committees for International Affairs and Defense will call on deputies to consider ratification of the START-II treaty on 14 April. Earlier on 10 April, the International Affairs Committee voted 11-7 in favor of ratification of the treaty. According to Interfax, observers believe that the treaty will attract more than the 226 votes needed to pass. Fatherland-All Russia faction leader Yevgenii Primakov supports the treaty, and his faction is expected to cast all of its 47 votes in favor. Unity, People's Deputy, Yabloko, Union of Rightist Forces, and most of the Russian Regions faction are also expected to support the treaty, while the Communists and Agro-Industrial Group will likely vote to reject it. Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii said that his faction, which has 17 members, will vote against the treaty, but his group often changes its position just before voting. JAC SECURITY COUNCIL CHIEF HINTS AT RUSSIA'S OWN MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM. ITAR-TASS quoted Security Council Secretary Sergei Ivanov as saying that a 10 April meeting of the council discussed START-II as part of a "package" including a possible "non-strategic missile defense system." Such a system, according to Ivanov, would be used to defend against attacks by non-nuclear states that could develop nuclear weapons "in the foreseeable future." Ivanov stressed that this proposal is "not related" to the discussions on the 1972 Anti-ballistic Missile treaty. The U.S. has proposed changes to that treaty to allow it to install a limited national defense system, but Russia has repeatedly opposed amending the document. Echoing Moscow's position, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a meeting of Western businessmen in Moscow on 10 April that the climate in which economic cooperation between Russia and the U.S. develops depends "to a large extent on the long-term resolution of issues related to strategic stability." JC WAS GERMAN FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE CHIEF IN CHECHNYA? The Russian Federal Security Service has neither confirmed nor denied reports that Western secret services supplied Russia with information about suspected Chechen "terrorists" following the bomb attacks on Russian cities last summer (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000), according to "The Moscow Times" on 11 April. It also refused to comment on reports that the head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND), August Hanning, was in Gudermes last month. According to dpa, citing German government sources, Hanning had wanted to see for himself the situation in Chechnya, while "Der Spiegel" reported that he offered Russian security services information about Islamic groups outside Russia that might have links to the Chechens. JC PUTIN CALLS FOR PENSION HIKE... President-elect Vladimir Putin has asked the Pension Fund to prepare a plan for raising pensions, ITAR-TASS reported on 10 April. First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said it will be necessary to complete calculations before announcing by how much pensions will be raised. However, "Segodnya" reported on 11 April that Putin had promised in May to increase average pensions by up to 1,000 rubles ($35) a month by raising the special coefficient according to which pensions are calculated. Under the current plan, the daily added, the coefficient would be 0.8, meaning that the majority of pensioners would see their monthly pension check increase by 100 rubles. According to "Vremya MN" on 8 April, the average pension is 650 rubles a month. The same day, "Segodnya" reported that State Duma deputies voted on 7 April to approve an amendment to the 2000 budget that would increase the minimum monthly wage by more than 100 percent in three stages. JAC ...AS DUMA VOTES FOR WAGE INCREASE. Under the bill, the minimum monthly wage would be 132 rubles ($4.6) from 1 June, 280 rubles from 1 October, and 300 rubles from 1 January 2001. However, First Deputy Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin called the legislation completely unrealistic because the federal treasury cannot afford such an expenditure. According to "Segodnya," the bill will be approved by the Federation Council so that Putin will have to veto it in order for it not to become law. Meanwhile, Duma deputies also voted on 7 April to reject in its first reading a bill proposed by the government that would have suspended implementation of several acts of legislation not funded by the 2000 budget. According to Interfax AFI, many deputies expressed the opinion that the bill would deprive the majority of the poor of their social benefits. JAC CABINET MINISTERS TOLD TO RESOLVE BATTLE BETWEEN ENERGY MONOPOLIES. First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told reporters on 10 April that President-elect Putin has ordered Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko and Fuel Minister Viktor Kalyuzhnii to resolve the problems between Gazprom and Unified Energy Systems (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 April 2000). "Vedomosti" reported the next day that the potential shortage of electricity could begin to affect enterprises in the Republic of Tatarstan as well as Nizhnii Novgorod and Volgograd Oblasts in the near future. In St. Petersburg and Ekaterinburg, tram and metro services have already been halted. That newspaper concludes that the crisis came about in part because of a misguided government policy that has not reformed the tariff systems for electricity and gas. JAC INTERNATIONAL CREDIT RATING AGENCY LIKES PUTIN VICTORY. Moody's Investors Service has raised its ratings for Russia's foreign-currency bonds and bank deposits from stable to positive, Interfax reported on 10 April,. The rating also applies to certain types of Eurobonds and ruble-denominated bonds of the Russian Federation. According to the agency, Moody's analysts believe that the outcome of the 26 March presidential elections has enhanced political stability in Russia. They also predict that Russia's major economic indicators for 2000 and 2001 will show considerable improvement. JAC SHOIGU GETS NEW POSITION. President-elect Putin signed a decree on 4 April appointing Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Shoigu secretary of the Migration Policy Committee, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 8 April. Federal Migration Service head Sergei Khetagurov was appointed Shoigu's deputy. Representatives of the Transportation Ministry and Finance Ministry as well as other federal entities were also included on the staff of the committee. JAC FATHERLAND LOSSES TALLIED. State Duma deputy and member of Fatherland's Political Council Andrei Isaev told ITAR-TASS on 8 April that Fatherland has lost 9,000 members in recent months. He said the movement now has 380,000 members and may be transformed into a political party at Fatherland's congress in September-October. JAC RUSSIAN TEENS LIKE EMPIRES, DOLLARS, CLOSED BORDERS. In a survey of 1,600 teenagers at schools in Moscow, more than 50 percent said they would prefer Russia to have the same boundaries as either the Russian empire before the 1917 revolution or the Soviet Union, "Kommersant-Vlast" reported on 4 April. However, only 13 percent consider the Soviet regime quite acceptable. More than 50 percent approved of the circulation of foreign currency on Russian soil and would like to be paid in dollars, while "the number of teenagers who believe that Russia should be entirely open to refugees drops to zero" by the final year of high school. The survey also found that students of wealthier and more educated parents tend to favor the "predominance of the interests of the country's ethnic majority." The survey was conducted by the Center of Educational Sociology of the Russian Academy of Education. JAC TWO SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR DAGHESTAN BOMBING. The Supreme Court in Makhachkala on 10 April sentenced two men to life imprisonment for a car bomb explosion in Makhachkala in September 1998 in which 17 people were killed, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 September 1998). Four other defendants received prison terms ranging from four to 25 years. LF TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN POLICE SEEK INTERPOL'S HELP IN LOCATING EX-MINISTER. Armenia's Interior Ministry on 10 April formally requested Interpol to help them locate and detain former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Siradeghian is believed to have fled the country after his fellow parliamentary deputies last week voted to allow him to be taken into custody until sentence is passed in his ongoing trial (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and 7 April 2000). Siradeghian is charged with ordering several contract killings in 1992-1996. Meanwhile a senior member of the opposition Armenian Pan-National Movement, whose board Siradeghian heads, told RFE/RL that Siradeghian's home was searched on 8 April and some 20 of his close associates were briefly held for questioning. LF DETAINED ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIDE MAY BE RELEASED. A Yerevan court declined on 10 April a request from the Military Prosecutor's office to extend for two months the detention of presidential foreign policy adviser Aleksan Harutiunian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Harutiunian was taken into custody in December and charged with "inciting" the 27 October parliament shootings in which eight senior officials were killed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 December 1999). Harutiunian has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killings. LF KARABAKH PARLIAMENT SETS ELECTION DATE. Meeting in Stepanakert on 8 April, the parliament of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic scheduled elections to a new 33- deputy legislature for 18 June, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. All seats will be contested in single-mandate constituencies. Deputies also approved the enclave's draft budget for 2000, which is largely dependent on loans and subsidies from Armenia. The budget envisages 15.4 billion drams ($29 million) in expenditures, but only 5.4 billion drams in revenues. LF GEORGIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT OUTLINES PRIORITIES. Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 10 April, one day after his re-election, that he plans to reshuffle the government, firing corrupt ministers and possibly bringing opposition representatives into the cabinet, Caucasus Press reported. With some 80 percent of all ballots counted, Shevardnadze had 80.4 percent of the vote, compared with 16.6 percent for his closest rival, Djumber Patiashvili, AP reported. Turnout was officially estimated at 68 percent, although a representative of the Georgian NGO Fair Elections disputed that figure, claiming his organization has documentary evidence that the actual figure was far lower, Interfax reported. Shevardnadze also denied on 10 April that during their talks in Batumi on 6 April, he and Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze had discussed the latter's election participation or had reached any preliminary agreement on regulating the strained relations between the central Georgian government and Adjaria. LF INTERNATIONAL MONITORS CRITICIZE GEORGIAN ELECTION VIOLATIONS. In a preliminary statement issued in Tbilisi on 10 April, the OSCE election observers' mission expressed concern about violations of voting procedure and the vote count, AP and Reuters reported. Those irregularities included ballot stuffing, tampering with votes and protocols, denying access to election observers, and the unauthorized presence of police at polling stations. The statement also said that the Georgian authorities "did not behave impartially and gave strong support to the incumbent." Noting that an ambiguous election law had been applied selectively in many cases, it called for a vigorous investigation of election-related breaches of the criminal code. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which also monitored the vote at some 600 polling stations, said it witnessed no "major violations," according to AP. Shevardnadze, too, denied any "serious violations," while Patiashvili claimed massive fraud. LF RENEGADE GEORGIAN COLONEL DEMANDS INDEPENDENCE FOR MINGRELIA. Colonel Akaki Eliava, who led the abortive insurrection in western Georgia in October 1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 and 21 October 1998), has demanded either independence or formal autonomous status for the west Georgian region of Mingrelia during President Shevardnadze's second presidential term, Caucasus Press reported on 11 April citing "Alia." Eliava said that the Georgian Central Electoral Commission's claim that 90 percent of the region's electorate cast their ballots is a lie and that the true figure does not exceed 10 percent. Eliava had earlier pledged his support for Patiashvili. LF TRIAL OF FORMER KAZAKH PREMIER'S BODYGUARDS OPENS. Two bodyguards of former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin went on trial in Almaty on 10 April on charges of illegal possession of arms, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 December 1999 and 24 February 2000). Both men say they are innocent of those charges, which they claim are politically motivated. On 11 April, Amirzhan Qosanov, a leading member of Kazhegeldin's Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan, said the two accused were subjected to psychological pressure during the pre-trial investigation. LF KAZAKHSTAN OIL EXPORT PLANS DETAILED. Nurlan Balghymbaev, who heads Kazakhstan's state oil company Kazakhoil, told Turan on 10 April that Kazakhstan considers the Caspian pipeline across the Russian Federation to Novorossiisk to be the "priority route" for oil exports. That pipeline is due to be completed next year. He added that Kazakhstan has reached agreement with Russia's Transneft to export approximately 1 million tons of crude via the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline. Balghymbaev said that Kazakhstan would not produce enough oil to require access to the planned Baku-Ceyhan export pipeline before 2008. He said only oil from offshore deposits where extraction has not yet begun would be exported by that route. Many experts believe that Azerbaijan alone cannot extract enough crude to render Baku-Ceyhan commercially viable. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev said in Baku on 8 April that Kazakhstan will export no more than 2 million tons of oil by rail from Baku to Batumi in 2000 because Azerbaijan's rail transport tariffs are too high, according to Caucasus Press. LF TURKISH PRESIDENT CANCELS VISIT TO KAZAKHSTAN. An official visit to Astana on 12 April by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel has been cancelled, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov told journalists on 10 April. Idrisov said that during talks in Baku last week on the sidelines of the Turkic summit, Demirel had accepted an invitation from President Nazarbaev to visit Kazakhstan as a private individual after his presidential term expires in May. LF KAZAKHSTAN DENIES UZBEK SMUGGLING CHARGES. Kazakhstan's ambassador to Tashkent, Umurzak Uzbekov, told journalists in Tashkent on 7 April that Uzbek allegations that a truck that entered Uzbekistan from Kazakhstan on 30 March was carrying a radio-active cargo are groundless, Reuters and ITAR-TASS reported. Uzbek officials had said that the truck was carrying 10 containers of a radioactive substance (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 4 April 2000). Uzbekov said that the lorry was bearing scrap metal, part of which had been contaminated by radioactivity. LF KYRGYZ PROTESTS CONTINUE. Some 100 protesters in Bishkek continue to demand the release of arrested opposition Ar- Namys party leader Feliks Kulov, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported on 10 April. The next day, opposition parties appealed to Kulov to abandon the hunger strike he began two weeks earlier. Also on 11 April, some 300 people staged a picket in the southern town of Batken to protest a local court ruling annulling the parliamentary election victory in Batken of opposition politician Dosbol Nur Uulu. LF NEW MUFTI, PROSECUTOR-GENERAL APPOINTED IN KYRGYZSTAN. Abdysatar-hadji Mazhitov resigned as Kyrgyzstan's chief mufti at an "urgent" meeting of the Council of Ulemas in Bishkek on 8 April, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Kimsanbai-hadji Abdyrakmanov was elected as his successor. Abdyrakmanov had served in that post until his dismissal and replacement by Mazhitov in December 1996. Under a presidential decree published on 10 April, Asanbek Sharshenaliev was dismissed from the post of prosecutor- general, which he had held since 1993. Chu Oblast governor Kubat Kozhonaliev was appointed to replace him. LF RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIDE VISITS UZBEKISTAN. On a one-day visit to Tashkent on 10 April, Sergei Yastrzhembskii called Uzbekistan Russia's "strategic ally" and pledged that Russia will help Tashkent rebuff any attack on its territory by international terrorists, Russian agencies reported. Yastrzhembskii's talks with President Islam Karimov focused on joint measures to combat terrorism, banditry, religious extremism, and drug trafficking; the situation in Central Asia; and bilateral relations. LF END NOTE THE ANGOLA VARIANT By Paul Goble Governments of countries that earn most of their income through the export of a single raw material often are unwilling to promote human rights or social welfare. But at the same time, these states are very much prepared to spend money on the military, both to justify their existence and to keep the current authorities in power. And because their exports--especially oil--are so valuable to many other governments, these states often are able to escape significant criticism of their policies, a pattern that the historical record suggests may create precisely the instability that both the exporters and those who purchase their raw materials say they want to avoid. That is the clear lesson of recent developments in the African country of Angola, but it is one that appears to have a clear application to several post-Soviet states that are benefiting from the recent rise in oil prices to finance military activities or which hope to power their economic development through the export of petroleum or some other raw materials. According to an analysis published on 9 April by "New York Times" journalist Blaine Harden, Angola suffers from "the paradox of plenty": Its enormous and apparently increasing oil wealth has permitted the government in Luanda to enrich itself while allowing the majority of Angolans to fall into ever more terrible poverty. And this wealth has also allowed the government there to escape serious criticism from Western oil purchasers. As a result, Harden points out, the Angolan government has become ever more corrupt, its reliance on security forces to keep the population in line has increased, and its need to continue a military campaign against insurgents, rather than seek an accommodation with them, has grown. And because of these factors, Harden notes, Angola has remained "impervious to the greater openness now seen across much of Africa." Harden's conclusions about Angola clearly apply elsewhere as well. Buoyed by an increase rise in oil prices and the income generated for the Russian government, Moscow conducted a war in Chechnya that it could not otherwise have paid for. Moreover, with this new source of income, the Russian authorities became dismissive of any Western criticism by the West, noting that they can make it without Western loans. Last week, for example, one Russian official after another noted that Moscow would like to get more assistance from the West but that it would not significantly change its policies in order to do so. Several Russian commentators argued that Europeans would soon be forced to moderate their criticism of Moscow's Chechen policy because they need Russian gas and oil. But there is an even more disturbing parallel with the Angola variant: Ever more Russian officials are calling for building up the country's national defense, even though it faces no clear threat and even though money spent on the military will not be available to alleviate the social and economic problems of the population as a whole. As in Angola, such a strategy may be popular initially but is likely to lose support over time, potentially leading the government to rely on the constant generation of new enemies to justify this approach and possibly to employ ever more repressive means to keep itself in power. In several other post-Soviet states that are or hope to become major exporters of oil or gas, the danger of an Angola variant may be even greater. In all too many cases, the governments of these countries have not adopted policies designed to diversify the economy and spread the wealth, as some oil exporters in other parts of the world have begun to do. Instead, they have chosen to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few, an arrangement that almost always contributes to both corruption and repression in the short term and to instability over the longer haul. Moreover, many of these countries have escaped the kind of Western criticism for their social policies and human rights shortcomings that neighboring countries without oil to export have regularly received. And that in turn has made both the exporters and the non-exporters more cynical than ever about whatever human rights criticism there has been. Many people in the Russian Federation and other post- Soviet states have regularly talked about a "Latin American variant" for their futures: an authoritarian regime that could manage the transition from instability to a more open and just future. But the Angola variant serves as a reminder that any reliance on authoritarianism supported by the export of raw materials can have another and much less positive result, one that neither the exporters nor the importers of these raw materials ultimately are likely to be satisfied with. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Monday, April 10, 2000 4:59:39 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 71, Part II, 10 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 71, Part II, 10 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SAYS NO REFORM OF KOLKHOZ SYSTEM * BOSNIAN MUSLIMS TURN TO SOCIAL DEMOCRATS * POLITICAL CRISIS IN SLOVENIA End Note: MONTENEGRO TO EXPAND ITS DIPLOMATIC PRESENCE ABROAD xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SAYS NO REFORM OF KOLKHOZ SYSTEM... Alyaksandr Lukashenka told a conference of agricultural managers and leaders on 7 April that Belarus's collective farm system will "always" be a basis for agricultural production in the country. "In difficult moments nobody destroys or reforms things. Reforming means a lot of money, which we unfortunately do not have," Lukashenka said in a two-and-a-half hour speech broadcast on national radio. He admitted that 25 percent of Belarusian farms are "utterly worthless" but recommended that they be "affiliated" with enterprises that are doing better, rather than be reformed. According to Lukashenka, reform in the Belarusian agricultural sector is being urged by "those abroad" who want to "destroy our agriculture" and gain a market for their own products in Belarus. JM ...SETS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TARGETS FOR 2000. At the same conference, Lukashenka set agricultural production targets for this year. In particular, the agricultural sector was ordered to harvest 2,500 kilograms of grain per hectare (1,450 in 1999), 17,000 kilograms of potatoes per hectare (11,400 in 1999), and 30,000 kilograms of sugar beet per hectare (21,400 in 1999). He noted that he can find no "objective reasons" why these targets should not be achieved. Belarus's agricultural sector nearly collapsed last year, when it harvested only 3.7 million tons of grain instead of the planned 6 million tons. Owing to the acute shortage of forage, the country's livestock was severely decimated during the winter. "I appeal to villagers: Stop killing calves. The state will buy those calves from you and will fatten them," Lukashenka said at the conference. JM RALLIES PROTEST, SUPPORT UKRAINE'S REFERENDUM. More than 1,000 demonstrators in Odesa on 8 April protested the 16 April constitutional referendum, AP reported. The demonstrators issued an appeal to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, claiming that President Leonid Kuchma is seeking to create a totalitarian state through the referendum. Meanwhile, the same day more than 3,000 members of the pro-presidential Zlahoda association held a rally in Sevastopol in support of the referendum, Interfax reported. The rally appealed to Sevastopol residents to take part in the plebiscite and say "yes" to all four referendum questions. JM UKRAINE'S CONSTUTUTIONAL COURT HEAD SAYS REFERENDUM IS 'OBLIGATORY.' Viktor Skomorokha said on 7 April that the results of the 16 April referendum will not be "consultative" but "obligatory," Interfax reported. Skomorokha added, however, that possible constitutional amendments should be introduced by the parliament, as stipulated by the current constitution. He declined to speculate what would happen if the parliament refused to amend the constitution in line with the referendum. "I am not a clairvoyant, I do not want or have the right to speak beforehand," Skomorokha noted. JM UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT APPEALS TO ACCEPT GOODS AS PAYMENT FOR TURKMEN GAS. Kuchma has appealed to his Turkmen counterpart, Saparmurat Niyazov, to accept Ukrainian commodities and construction services as payment for Turkmen gas deliveries in 1999, Interfax reported on 7 April. Turkmenistan delivered $315 million worth of gas to Ukraine last year and suspended deliveries in May. Ukraine pledged to repay 40 percent of deliveries in hard currency and 60 percent in goods but has so far paid only $8.7 million. For resuming its gas deliveries, Ashgabat demands that Kyiv make a one-time payment of $30 million in cash. JM POLITICAL CRISIS CONTINUES IN LATVIA. For Fatherland and Freedom is considering its options following the sacking of Economics Minister Vladimirs Makarovs, a member of that party. Juris Dobelis, co-chairman of the party, said members will "slowly and scrupulously analyze" whether to support the upcoming confidence vote in Prime Minister Andris Skele and two cabinet ministers, dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). Leaders of Latvia's Way have repeatedly said the current three-party coalition is the best possible combination, but party chairman Andrejs Pantelejevs told BNS on 8 April that the upcoming confidence vote on Skele's government is no longer binding on its members. People's Party parliamentary faction leader Gundars Berzins summed up the situation by saying that "Everybody's fate is in his/her owns hands." MH LITHUANIAN GDP REGISTERS SHARP DECLINE IN 1999... The Statistics Department on 7 April announced that in 1999 Lithuania's GDP dropped by 4.1 percent. Each quarter of that year registered a decline of 2.3 percent, 1.4 percent, 6.6 percent, and 5.0 percent respectively, ELTA reported. Per capita GDP in 1999 was 7,374 litas ($1,843), with the total volume of GDP reaching 42.59 billion litas at year's end. The two previous years had registered economic growth: 7.4 percent in 1997 and 5.2 percent in 1998. However, quarterly GDP has been in decline since the fourth quarter of 1998, ELTA reported. MH ...AS TRADE ALSO FALLS. The Statistics Department also reported that the trade deficit in 1997 was 7.3 billion litas ($1.825 billion), down by 12.2 percent from 1998. However, a massive drop in trade was the cause of that decrease: exports totaled 12 billion litas, down 19 percent, and imports 19.3 billion litas, down 16.6 percent, ELTA reported. The largest decline was in trade with the CIS: exports fell by 58.7 percent and imports by 17.8 percent. Meanwhile, the central bank announced that the current account deficit in 1999 stood at 4.776 billion litas, or 11.2 percent of GDP, down from 12.1 percent in 1998. MH GENDER DISCRIMINATION ALLEGED IN LITHUANIA'S CANCER CARE. Lithuania's equal opportunities ombudsman, Ausrine Burneikiene, has begun an investigation into alleged gender discrimination in cancer care following a letter signed by some 400 individuals, ELTA reported on 7 April. The letter charges that the main breast cancer drug is fully covered under the national health service, while its prostate cancer counterpart requires the patient to foot 20 percent of the cost. Burneikiene has asked Health Minister Raimundas Alekna to investigate the charges. Noting that 1,236 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in 1999, compared with 823 cases of prostate cancer, the letter argued that there is less focus on diagnosis and awareness of the latter type of cancer. MH POLAND PRAISES UKRAINE'S REFORMIST COURSE. Polish Premier Jerzy Buzek told his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, in Warsaw on 7 April that the Ukrainian cabinet has begun implementing reforms "very well," Interfax reported. According to Buzek, the recently approved cabinet program and the stable national currency promise the success of those reforms. Yushchenko also held talks with President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, both of whom assured him of Poland's intention to maintain visa-free traffic with Ukraine as long as possible, according to PAP. JM CZECH GOVERNING PARTY ELECTS NEW DEPUTY CHAIRS... The Central Committee of the governing Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) on 9 April elected Stanislav Gross and Jitka Kupcova to fill two vacancies for deputy chair of the party, Czech media reported. Gross, who was recently appointed interior minister, replaces Zdenek Skromach as a deputy chair (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). Kupcova replaces Petra Buzkova, who announced her resignation from the post in January in protest against a series of agreements signed by the CSSD with the Civic Democratic Party earlier this year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January 2000). VG ...WHILE SOME MEMBERS CRITICIZE LEADER. Also at the CSSD meeting in Hradec Kralove, a few members criticized CSSD chairman Milos Zeman's leadership style. CSSD parliamentary deputy Michal Kraus appeared to have been the most aggressive in his criticism, describing Zeman as "having fallen ill with power [and] surrounding himself with a glass wall of aides." Earlier in the month, Zeman described Kraus and another deputy as "cowards" and "lazy" for making critical remarks about him and the party in the media. Outgoing Deputy Chairwoman Buzkova also reportedly criticized Zeman, but she did not make her statements public. The meeting was closed to the press. VG SLOVAK PRESIDENT SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY INFLUENCING TELEVISION. Rudolf Schuster on 7 April suggested that the Democratic Party is influencing state-owned Slovak Television to reduce its coverage of his activities, TASR reported. The Democratic Party is a member of the governing Slovak Democratic Coalition. Schuster alleges that STV is not reporting his official trips, is giving more coverage to the prime minister and the parliamentary chairman, and is covering all public activities of certain ministers. "They have on numerous occasions blocked the broadcast of certain shots," he said, adding that the coverage of Slovak Radio is more balanced. Democratic Party Deputy Chairman Peter Zajac rejected Schuster's allegations, saying they reflect a communist mind-set that strives to control all of the media. VG SLOVAK MINISTERS MEET NATO AMBASSADORS. Slovakia's Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan and Defense Minister Pavol Kanis met in Brussels with NATO's ambassadors on 7 April to discuss the country's progress in its efforts to gain membership in NATO, TASR reported. After the meeting, Kukan said the 19 NATO ambassadors gave the country a "positive" assessment overall. Among other things, the ambassadors were reportedly interested in the country's political stability, public support for NATO membership in Slovakia, and the situation of the country's Romany minority. VG SLOVAK PREMIER SAYS EU UNDER INFLUENCE OF MEDIA IN ROMANY ISSUE. Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said on 9 April that Slovakia had underestimated the influence of the media on the EU's assessment of the situation of the migration of Roma to Western countries, TASR reported. He said the cabinet will have to do a better job of "selling" its efforts in this area, following the Belgian government's decision to impose visas on Slovaks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Pal Csaky said he will meet with representatives of Amnesty International to discuss that organization's recent criticism of Slovak police aggression against Roma. VG HUNGARY DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN FLOOD AREA. Prime Minister Viktor Orban on 8 April declared a state of emergency along rivers in Eastern Hungary following extensive flooding along the Tisza River, Hungarian media reported. Orban appointed Transport, Telecommunications, and Water Minister Kalman Katona as government commissioner in charge of flood protection and has given him unlimited power to order police and army units to defense work. More than 100 people had been evacuated from their homes. Some 7,500 people are engaged in rescue work in the flooded area. Katona estimated that about 10.5 billion forints ($39 million) will be needed in the next 30 days to cover expected costs of dealing with the flood. MSZ HUNGARY TO ESTABLISH GERMAN-LANGUAGE UNIVERSITY. The government plans to found a German-language university in Budapest, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban announced on 7 April in Munich. Foreign Ministry State Secretary Zsolt Nemeth said the location of such a university is a mere technicality but he did not specify when or from what funds the plan could be implemented. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE CROATS, SERBS CHOOSE NATIONALISTS IN BOSNIAN VOTE... Some 70 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the 8 April municipal and local elections. Voters in some areas had difficulty finding polling stations, but international observers said that the vote was generally free and fair and without serious incident. Preliminary returns suggest that the nationalist Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) won in all predominantly Croatian areas. Radovan Karadzic's Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) has "swept" most areas in the Republika Srpska, "Vesti" reported on 10 April. Some observers said that the large vote for the SDS reflected many Serbs' anger over the recent arrest of prominent politician Momcilo Krajisnik and his deportation to The Hague (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). Spokesmen for Prime Minister Milorad Dodik's Independent Social Democrats told Reuters that they are confident that their party will finish second in the Republika Srpska. Former President Biljana Plavsic's Serbian People's League and the Socialists appear headed for a "real catastrophe," "Vesti" reported. PM ...WHILE BOSNIAN MUSLIMS TURN TO SOCIAL DEMOCRATS. In contrast, many Muslim voters turned away from the nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and gave the Social Democrats control of up to 20 municipalities, including Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bihac, and Gorazde. A spokesman for the SDA conceded losing a majority in only six municipalities, VOA's Croatian Service reported. Several representatives of the international community, including U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Thomas Miller, hailed the Social Democrats' gains as the start of a "new era" in which voters will increasingly opt for issue-oriented, civic-based parties rather than nationalist ones based on ethnicity. Social Democratic leader Zlatko Lagumdzija called the election results the "biggest change since the [1995] Dayton" peace agreements. He added that "Bosnia has risen to its feet." Complete election results are expected in the course of 10 April. PM POLITICAL CRISIS IN SLOVENIA. Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek lost a vote of confidence on 8 April, ending his eight years in office (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). One observer said that the result is Slovenia's biggest political crisis since independence in 1991, AP reported. Marjan Podobnik, who heads the conservative People's Party, asked his party colleague Franci Demsar to try to put together a right-of-center government. Such a cabinet is expected to consist of the People's Party, the Christian Democrats, and the rightist Social Democrats, but they will lack a majority without the support of the far-right National Party of Zmago Jelincic. Jelincic has said that he will support Demsar only in return for the Interior Ministry portfolio. President Milan Kucan must call elections for no later than mid-July if Demsar fails to form a government within 30 days. PM IS WASHINGTON SEEKING TIES TO MILOSEVIC? "The Sunday Times" on 9 April wrote that "there is a lot of bargaining going on at the moment" between Washington and Belgrade. The Yugoslav government of President Slobodan Milosevic wants to overcome its isolation. The U.S. State Department hopes to restore diplomatic ties to Belgrade in order to be better informed about what is happening inside Serbia, the British weekly added. The U.S. also concerned about expanding links between Serbia and China (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 16 and 23 March 2000). Russia and Greece acted as intermediaries in setting up contacts between the U.S. and Serbia, the newspaper noted. PM U.S. DISCIPLINES CIA EMPLOYEES OVER BELGRADE EMBASSY BOMBING. The CIA has fired one employee and reprimanded six others in connection with the bombing by U.S. aircraft of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade on 7 May 1999, AP reported on 9 April. U.S. officials claim that the bombing was a mistake and the result of faulty intelligence information. PM JOURNALISTS DEMAND RESULTS OF SERBIAN MURDER PROBE. The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia issued a statement on 9 April in which it demanded that the Yugoslav Interior Ministry publish the results of its investigations into the murder of Slavko Curuvija. Unidentified gunmen killed the publisher of the banned daily "Telegraf" and weekly "Evropljanin" on 11 April 1999 in Belgrade after a pro-Milosevic newspaper accused him of supporting NATO air strikes. PM FRENCH SEPARATE CROWDS IN MITROVICA. French peacekeepers used tear gas to prevent some 100 angry Serbs from crossing into primarily Albanian southern Mitrovica on 9 April. The Serbs were upset over a previous incident in which three ethnic Albanian employees of the OSCE crossed into northern Mitrovica and took photos. The Serbs were also concerned about large crowds forming on the Albanian side in conjunction with a soccer game. In a separate development, a Serb who escaped arrest by U.S. peacekeepers in southern Kosova the previous week turned himself in (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). Local Serbs accused U.S. forces of "blackmail" by allegedly withholding escorts for Serbian convoys through Albanian areas until the man surrendered, Reuters reported. PM CROATIA AGREES TO EXAMINATION OF MASS GRAVE. The Croatian government on 9 April gave the Hague-based war crimes tribunal permission to examine a reported mass grave of ethnic Serbs in the Gospic area. The Serbs are believed to have been killed by Croatian nationalists in 1991 solely on the basis of their ethnicity. PM CROATIA ONE STEP CLOSER TO NATO. Javier Ruperez, who is chairman of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly, told Croatian parliamentary speaker Zlatko Tomcic in Zagreb on 10 April that Croatia has been admitted to the assembly as an observer. PM STRIKE EXPANDS IN CROATIA. Workers at the Pik agricultural enterprise are continuing their protest for back wages by blocking roads in the Vrbovec area. The protest action began several days ago. Union representatives said in Zagreb on 10 April that workers will block the Zagreb-Budapest railway line at two unnamed places if they do not receive their wages by mid-day. Workers told "Jutarnji list" that they must continue their protest because "people are hungry." PM MOLDOVAN POLITICIANS DISMISS 'REPUBLIC' PROPOSALS. Moldovan parliamentary chairman Dumitru Diakov on 7 April rejected recent proposals by the Republic movement on how to solve Transdniester problems as "purely provocative," Infotag reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 April 2000). Presidential spokesman Anatol Golea said on 7 April that the head of state is open to any suggestions that do not contravene the constitution, which stipulates that Moldova is a neutral state. Golea said Republic's proposal is just one of many "extravagant" suggestions that have been made public recently. VG MOLDOVA, RUSSIA SIGN DEBT RESCHEDULING. Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Cucu said on 7 April that Moldova has signed an agreement with Russia to reschedule Moldova's $122 million state debt for 20 years with a five-year pardon period and an interest rate of 7.5 percent, BASA-Press reported. He said the two sides also initialed an agreement on the delivery of Russian gas, which is to be signed in two weeks. In other news, former Prime Minister Ion Sturza has said that he had "a relationship" with the former Soviet KGB between 1983 and 1990, when he worked in institutions connected to foreign relations, Infotag reported. VG BULGARIAN POLICE ARREST SUSPECT IN MURDER OF LUKANOV. Bulgarian police on 7 April arrested a Ukrainian man in connection with the 1996 murder of Andrei Lukanov, who was a top Socialist Party member. The Ukrainian citizen, Aleksandr Russov, is the sixth suspect to be arrested in connection with the murder of Lukanov. VG BULGARIA WANTS COMMON INFORMATION STRATEGY FOR EU CANDIDATES. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova said on 9 April that the countries aspiring to EU membership should adopt a common information strategy to publicize the challenges involved in joining the EU and to clarify their political positions and strategies, AP reported. Mihailova made her proposal at a conference in Sofia that was attended by delegates from countries striving for EU membership. VG BULGARIA URGES EU TO APPOINT CHIEF NEGOTIATOR. A Bulgarian Foreign Ministry official said on 7 April that his country is concerned about the fact that the EU has yet to appoint a chief negotiator for membership talks with Bulgaria, Reuters reported. The official said it could be another two or three months before the EU appoints a negotiator, which, he argued, "is too slow." He added that the country fears that the delay will "not have a positive effect on the talks." VG End Note : MONTENEGRO TO EXPAND ITS DIPLOMATIC PRESENCE ABROAD By Patrick Moore The Montenegrin leadership has been prudently pursuing a political framework that will enable it to develop its own democracy and economy. It is now preparing to gradually extend its activities on the diplomatic front. Last year, Podgorica proposed a concrete set of measures for redefining the terms of the federation with Serbia. It soon became clear that Belgrade was not willing to talk seriously and was more interested in undermining the leadership of President Milo Djukanovic through local Milosevic supporters, the military, and an economic blockade. Podgorica consequently continued with its gradualist approach toward what will certainly be all but independence. The gradualism is the result of a variety of considerations. First, Djukanovic and his team know what is possible and what is not. They know that they need the economic, political, diplomatic, and perhaps military support of the EU and U.S. if they are to succeed. Brussels and Washington, however, have made it clear that they do not relish the prospect of the further disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. Instead, they want Montenegro to stay within Yugoslavia and support the cause of democracy in Serbia. The Montenegrin leaders are under no illusions about what they can do for Serbia. They have said repeatedly and publicly that only the Serbs can reform and regenerate Serbia. But as long as the international community frowns upon Montenegrin independence, Djukanovic speaks of a referendum on the subject only in vague terms as something for the future. A second reason why he does not press ahead is that he does not have the strong domestic support for independence that Slovenia's Milan Kucan and Croatia's Franjo Tudjman had in 1991. The key issue is that there has never been a clear consensus among Montenegrins as to whether they are a distinct, separate people or a special branch of the Serbian nation. This problem has bedeviled Montenegrin politics since the 19th century and will not be resolved soon. It is the basic question that underlies the current dispute with Belgrade. Thus it is not surprising that Djukanovic won the presidency in late 1997 with barely half the vote. He defeated the pro-Milosevic Momir Bulatovic only with the support of the Muslim and Albanian minorities. Public opinion polls suggest that there is still no clear backing for independence, despite two years of provocations by Bulatovic's followers and by pro-Milosevic activities by the army. Bulatovic knows that and has sought to shore up his position. He and his supporters have sought to make political capital out of the fact that Djukanovic needed minority votes to get elected. The pro-Milosevic camp has also cynically noted cases of corruption and mafia-like activities among Djukanovic's backers, knowing full well that the two camps had not yet separated at the start of the Wars of the Yugoslav Succession in 1991 and both profited handsomely from sanctions-busting in the following years. Milosevic's supporters have also sought to consolidate their backing among the "clans" and other people in the northern and mountainous territories that were added to the historical Montenegrin kingdom during or after 1878. People in this area tend to support union with Serbia. But not all matters are black and white. Djukanovic told "RFE/RL Balkan Report" in Prague in October 1999 that opinion in the north is changing and that, in any case, "we have things under control." In the long run, Podgorica is counting on growing support for its policies as voters increasingly come to perceive the link with Milosevic's Serbia as detrimental to Montenegro's and to their own personal economic interests. In the meantime, Djukanovic has been taking concrete steps. In November 1999, he introduced the German mark as a parallel currency to the Yugoslav dinar to guard Montenegro against exported inflation from Serbia. He and his lieutenants frequently go abroad and make their views known to the international media. His latest move is to expand Montenegro's fledgling diplomatic presence. His backers argue that Montenegro has the oldest tradition of statehood of any country in today's Balkans and that the demise of the Montenegrin kingdom at the end of World War I does not change previous history. They say it is only natural for Montenegro to have its own representatives abroad, as do, for example, many U.S. or German federal states. On 6 April, Foreign Minister Branko Lukovac was even more blunt. He charged that Belgrade's "diplomatic network does not serve the interests of [Montenegro]. Since Montenegro has great need for international cooperation and since the world is interested in supporting Montenegro to help it develop, we must establish our own state bodies and a network abroad." Podgorica already has missions in Washington, London, Ljubljana, and Brussels. Lukovac now wants to add New York, Moscow, Skopje, and Sarajevo to the list. And certainly an office in the Zagreb of President Stipe Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan cannot be far off. Lukovac stressed that "we are also interested in establishing the best possible relations with Croatia." The main issue on the agenda for Zagreb-Podgorica relations involves Croatia's Prevlaka peninsula, which controls the entrance to Montenegro's Kotor Bay. Located there is the Yugoslav navy's only deep-water base. Podgorica has suggested that Montenegro and Croatia should quickly solve the problem between themselves, since Belgrade has shown little interest in doing so. So far, Zagreb has dealt with the federal government. That may not be the case for long. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Friday, April 07, 2000 4:33:46 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 70, Part I, 7 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Friday, April 07, 2000 4:33:46 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 70, Part I, 7 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 70, Part I, 7 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * PACE MOVES TO SUSPEND RUSSIA * KOSHMAN EXCLUDES PRESIDENTIAL RULE IN CHECHNYA * SURVEY SUGGESTS SUPPORT FOR INCUMBENT WANING ON EVE OF GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL POLL End Note: UNANSWERED QUESTIONS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA PACE MOVES TO SUSPEND RUSSIA. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 6 April voted to suspend Russian membership in the council if Moscow does not halt human rights violations in Chechnya. Reuters quoted the text of the passed motion as saying that suspension procedures against Russia should be started if "substantial, accelerating and demonstrable progress" is not made "immediately." Council of Europe foreign ministers are due to meet on 10 May to debate Russia's suspension, according to AP. Also on 6 April, PACE voted to suspend the voting rights of Russia's 18-strong delegation. That move prompted the Russian delegation to walk out of the assembly, while one Russian delegate reportedly exchanged blows with a Chechen representative. JC IVANOV SAYS RUSSIA 'BEWILDERED' BY PACE DECISION. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on 7 April that Moscow is "bewildered by and deeply regrets" PACE's decision to move toward suspending Russia. The assembly was "misled by members who still think in terms of the Cold War," Interfax quoted him as saying. Ivanov was speaking at the start of a meeting in Moscow with Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The previous day, Gama had said that Russia should view PACE's decision as a "warning message." He added that he hopes Russia will respond to that decision in "a positive manner." JC RUSSIA'S RIGHTS CHIEF WARNS OF NEW 'IRON CURTAIN'... Russian Human Rights Commissioner Oleg Mironov told Ekho Moskvy on 6 April that he regards PACE's move to suspend Russia as an "improper" approach "because it will create a new 'iron curtain' between Russia and Europe." "The [Chechen] guerrillas," he said, "are acting in an unconstitutional and illegal manner. The Russian troops are acting within the framework of the [federal] Constitution and the law." JC ...WHILE COMMUNISTS, NATIONALIST REMAIN DEFIANT. State Duma speaker (Communist) Gennadii Seleznev responded to PACE's 6 April decision by saying that Russia will manage without the "European masters," Interfax reported. The assembly, he said, is making a "historic mistake" that amounts to an act of revenge on an "economically weakened Russia." Communist leader Gennadii Zyuganov called the decision "hypocritical and unfair" and said he is sure Russia will not "sit around in Strasbourg and listen to all those reprimands." Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii, meanwhile, was quoted by Reuters as saying before the vote that Russia should pull out of the council before suspension procedures begin. "I know the real situation [in Chechnya]," he said, "and think that Russia needs to be more cruel [there]." JC KOSHMAN EXCLUDES PRESIDENTIAL RULE IN CHECHNYA. The Russian government representative in Chechnya, Nikolai Koshman, told ITAR-TASS on 7 April following talks with Russian President- elect Vladimir Putin that presidential rule will not be imposed in Chechnya. He said that Putin has ordered the drafting of proposals on reforming the Russian government mission in Chechnya and sending representatives of unspecified ministries to join that mission. Koshman had said in late March that he believes presidential rule in Chechnya is needed for at least two years. Other Russian political and military figures concurred with that view, although some politicians had objected that the Russian Constitution does not set clear guidelines for establishing such rule. A "Nezavisimaya gazeta" correspondent reported on 1 April after touring "liberated" regions of Chechnya that the local population unanimously supports the prospect of presidential rule as "essential and the only correct step." LF SECOND DETENTION CENTER TO BE OPENED IN CHECHNYA. Deputy Justice Minister Yurii Kalinin told journalists in Grozny on 7 April that a further detention center will be opened in the Chechen capital, in addition to the filtration camp at Chernokozovo, ITAR-TASS reported. He gave the number of people currently in detention at Chernokozovo as 89. LF PUTIN PLEDGES TO ANNOUNCE ECONOMIC PROGRAM. President-elect Putin told Interfax in Murmansk on 6 April that he will announce his economic program in a speech to the Duma. He said that the preparation of his policy was "in its final stage." And he provided some clues as to what the new policy will consist of, noting that the state will retain its role in several key areas including defense and the development of the Russian North, while scrupulously obeying the law in other areas. During his trip to the north, Putin watched an underwater ballistic missile test in the Barents Sea and spent the night of 5-6 April on a submarine in the company of naval officials. PG PUTIN UPBEAT ABOUT RUSSIA-IMF RELATIONS... President-elect Putin told acting IMF Managing Director Stanley Fischer in Moscow on 6 April that Russia is determined to develop relations with international financial organizations in general and the IMF in particular. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko, Putin and Fischer agreed that a joint program for expanding relations between Russia and the IMF will be drawn up by July. In an 6 April interview with "Kommersant-Daily," Russian Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stressed that Moscow needs "only $1.5 billion from the IMF, [that is] two standard installments" if it is to meet its foreign debt obligations this year. Kasyanov commented that without this money, "the government's intention to pay its foreign debt in full will not be realized." At the same time, he commented that "nothing dramatic will happen" if there are no external sources of money. JC ...WHILE FISCHER URGES SPEEDIER REFORMS. Fischer, for his part, said Russia must speed up structural reforms if it is to sustain economic growth. Speaking at an international investment conference in Moscow on 6 April, the IMF acting head said that reforms in Russia have been "incomplete, imperfect, and [their] implementation spotty," Reuters reported. According to "The Moscow Times" the next day, Fischer identified six priority areas, including industrial restructuring; elimination of the non-payments system; the restructuring of the banking system; reform of the Central Bank and tax system, and strengthening of the social safety net. JC RUSSIAN ECONOMIC NUMBERS IMPROVE. Inflation in Russia fell to 0.6 percent in March, the lowest rate since the August 1998 financial crisis, ITAR-TASS reported on 6 April. Meanwhile, officials announced that the primary surplus of the federal budget reached 3.8 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2000, and the Russian Finance Ministry said that the government does not intend to borrow funds from the Central Bank in the second quarter, the Russian news agency reported. PG PUTIN'S FIRST FOREIGN TRIPS TO KYIV, MINSK, LONDON. The Foreign Ministry is preparing working visits for President- elect Putin to Minsk, Kyiv, and London, Interfax reported on 6 April, The visits will take place in mid-April. The Russian leader also plans working visits this year to Germany, Italy, India, and China and said that a meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton is under consideration as well. PG NO MAJOR CHANGES EXPECTED IN RUSSIAN CABINET. Unidentified Kremlin sources told Interfax on 6 April that there are unlikely to be major changes in the country's government in the near future, but these sources also said that "the most probably candidate" for prime minister to replace Putin is First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. PG EXIMBANK GIVES FORMAL APPROVAL TO TYUMEN LOAN. The U.S. Export-Import Bank on 6 April officially approved a $500 million loan guarantee to Russia's Tyumen Oil Company, AP reported. The 4-0 vote of its directors followed the decision of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to back the loan guarantees. PG SAMARA LEGISLATURE ACCEPTS TITOV'S RESIGNATION. The Samara regional legislature on 6 April accepted the resignation of Governor Konstantin Titov, Interfax reported. After garnering only 20 percent of the vote in his home region when he ran for president, Titov said he can no longer "work normally" "because he cannot explain to everyone that he is a respected governor." A new governor will be elected on 2 July, the legislature said. PG MANILOV LASHES OUT AT NATO COMMANDER. General Valerii Manilov, the first deputy head of Army General Staff, told Interfax on 6 April that NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clarke does not understand Russia's new military doctrine. "Clarke seems to have read that document inattentively or else he had an incorrect translation," Manilov said. As a result, he has failed to understand the "pivotal place" that partnership plays in the new Russian doctrine. PG DRASKOVIC CONDEMNS NATO OPERATION IN KOSOVA. On a visit to Moscow, Serbian opposition leader Vuk Draskovic condemned NATO's peacekeeping operation in Kosova and demanded that Serbian forces be allowed to return there, ITAR-TASS reported on 6 April. "Everything that has happened in Kosovo in the past 10 months is a disgrace for the international forces," the agency quoted him as saying. Draskovic met with Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov and other officials. PG CITROEN TO MANUFACTURE CARS IN TAGANROG. France's Citroen company and the Russian financial industrial group Doinvest have reached agreement on the assembly of 3,000 cars in Taganrog this year, Interfax reported on 6 April. The cars will be sold in Russia for $8,000-$10,000. PG BOMBING SUSPECT DETAINED. The Federal Security Service has detained 25-year-old Larisa Romanova on suspicion of participation in the April 1999 bombing of Russia's main security service building, Interfax reported on 6 April. Romanova reportedly is a member of a group called the New Revolutionary Alternative Movement. Four other members of this group were detained earlier in connection with the same bombing. PG SUSPECTED CONTRACT KILLER ARRESTED. Moscow police have arrested an unidentified man on suspicion of participation in the apparent contract murder of St. Petersburg businessman Gennadii Ivanov, ITAR-TASS reported on 6 April. Ivanov was gunned down on a main street in the northern capital the previous day. PG TOP HUNGARIAN COURT REJECTS BYKOV'S PLEA. The Hungarian Supreme Court has rejected former Krasnoyarsk Aluminum head Anatolii Bykov's application for refugee status, AP reported on 6 April, quoting Bykov's lawyer. Hungary's justice minister must now decide whether to grant Russia's request for Bykov's extradition. Bykov is suspected of money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. He has been at loggerheads with Krasnoyarsk Krai Governor Aleksandr Lebed, who, Bykov claims, "persecuted" him (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January 2000). JC LIFE ON 'MIR' AGAIN. Two Russian cosmonauts docked with the "Mir" space station on 6 April, some eight months after the station was left to orbit the Earth unmanned. Sergei Zalentin and Aleksandr Kaleri reported that the station appeared to be in "good shape" and was "dry, clean, and quite warm," according to AP. Meanwhile back on planet Earth, the Amsterdam-based MirCorp, which is helping fund the mission, and Russia's Energia company, the operator of the station, signed an agreement to continue work on "Mir" in the second half of 2000, Interfax reported. JC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIA ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR MISSING EX-MINISTER. Armenian police on 6 April issued an international arrest warrant for former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The same day, the Yerevan district court where Siradeghian is being tried for having ordered a series of contract killings suspended proceedings for seven days. Siradeghian is believed either to have left the country or gone into hiding after his fellow parliamentary deputies voted on 4 April to lift his immunity from detention (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). Members of his family have denied any knowledge of his whereabouts and expressed concern for his safety. LF AZERBAIJAN REPEAT LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS PUBLISHED. The Central Electoral Commission announced on 7 April that repeat municipal elections held on 26 March were valid in 74 out of 75 districts, Turan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2000). A total of 556 deputies were elected, representing 10 political parties and four public organizations. Voter turnout was 48.2 percent. Commission chairman Djafar Veliev said he believes the poll was free and fair. LF SURVEY SUGGESTS SUPPORT FOR INCUMBENT WANING ON EVE OF GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL POLL. Caucasus Press on 7 April cited the findings of recent opinion polls that indicate that incumbent President Eduard Shevardnadze may not win the 50 percent of the vote needed for an outright, first-round victory in the 9 April presidential election. Support for Shevardnadze is said to have slipped by 11.3 percent over the past two months to 43.1 percent, while his closest rival and successor as Georgian Communist Party first secretary, Djumber Patiashvili, has seen his backing leap from 5.7 percent to 20 percent. Adjar parliamentary chairman Aslan Abashidze now has only 4.3 percent support compared with 12.4 percent two months ago. The chances of the remaining four candidates are regarded as minimal. Shevardnadze met with Abashidze in Batumi on 6 April, but no details of their talks were revealed (see also "End Note"). LF MORE SHOOTINGS IN ABKHAZIA. A Georgian civilian bystander and an Abkhaz customs official were killed in an exchange of fire between the Abkhaz patrol and Georgian guerrillas near the village of Chuburkhindji early on 6 April, Interfax and Caucasus Press reported. A second customs official was wounded. LF KAZAKH OPPOSITION PROPOSES REFERENDUM ON NEW ELECTIONS. Galym Abelsiitov, chairman of the opposition Azamat party, told a press conference in Almaty on 6 April that Azamat wants a nationwide referendum to be held in fall 2000 on removing President Nursultan Nazarbaev from office and disbanding the parliament, Interfax reported. The party is also demanding that the governors of Kazakhstan's 14 oblasts be elected, rather than appointed, by the president. Abelsiitov characterized his party's "main task" as "creating a truly multi-party system" in Kazakhstan. He expressed skepticism that the various opposition factions would be able to unite and coordinate their activities. LF KAZAKH OPPOSITION LEADER SENTENCED. An Almaty district court on 6 April sentenced Workers Movement leader Madel Ismailov to 15 days' imprisonment for participating in an unsanctioned demonstration in that city on 30 January, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 April 2000). LF KYRGYZ PROTESTERS MOVE PICKET TO U.S. EMBASSY. Some 100 protesters who were forcibly removed by police from the square in front of the government building in Bishkek late on 4 April have taken up position outside the U.S. embassy, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Protest participant Kural Usubaliev, a retired policeman, was sentenced by a district court in Bishkek on 6 April to five days' imprisonment on charges of resisting the police. LF KYRGYZ PRESIDENT CREATES WORKING GROUP TO AMEND ELECTION LAW. Askar Akaev issued a decree on 6 April setting up a working group charged with drafting amendments to the existing election law by 1 July, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The groups comprises the chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, a member of the presidential administration, and deputies to the parliament elected in February-March, some of whom represent moderate opposition parties. The new parliament will meet for its first session on 14 April. LF END NOTE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS By Liz Fuller No one doubts for a second that incumbent President Eduard Shevardnadze will be re-elected for a second term in the 9 April presidential poll in Georgia. But many of those who vote for Shevardnadze will do so not because they approve of his policies or because they believe his election promises. Rather, they fear that a victory by any of the six alternative candidates would result in even greater economic hardship and a return to instability. The conduct of the election campaign has highlighted numerous problems and weaknesses in the Georgian political system that Shevardnadze has so far proved powerless to solve. They include tensions between the central government and the regions (including Georgia's three autonomous formations); corruption, which Shevardnadze has been vowing for years to eradicate, without success; and the marginalization of all but a handful of political parties, partly as a result of the flawed law under which last October's parliamentary elections were conducted. Equally serious are the economic problems that the country faces: an external debt of $2.39 billion, which is equal to 85 percent of last year's GDP, pensions and wage arrears amounting to millions of dollars (Shevardnadze said last month that paying pensions arrears would raise his share of the vote by 20 percent), and massive unemployment (despite Shevardnadze's 1995 presidential election campaign pledge to create 1 million new jobs). None of Shevardnadze's six rival candidates has an election program that offers convincing solutions to any of those problems. Indeed, only two of those rivals stand even a remote chance of polling more than 10 percent of the vote. They are Shevardnadze's successor as Georgian Communist Party first secretary, Djumber Patiashvili, and Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze. Both men are leaders of the so-called Batumi Alliance of five disparate opposition parties, which is the second-largest parliamentary faction. Patiashvili is still compromised in the view of many Georgians, as he himself admits, for his as yet unclarified role in the attack by Russian troops on demonstrators in Tbilisi on 9 April 1989. Under the rubric "We can and will give people back a better, dignified life," his election program focuses on reducing budget spending to fund social programs and on abolishing what he terms the "anti- constitutional" institution of regional governors appointed by the president. His foreign-policy program combines continued cooperation with the West and improved ties with Russia. The authoritarian Abashidze, widely regarded as Russia's stalking horse, has not campaigned beyond his native turf and was rumored on 6 April to have decided to withdraw his candidacy. Of the remaining four candidates, Tengiz Asanidze is in jail in Batumi, Abashidze having refused to release him, despite an amnesty from Shevardnadze. National Political Union of Georgia "Mdzleveli" leader Avtandil Djoglidze is a political unknown, as is Vazha Zhghenti, chairman of the obscure Progressive Party, who believes Georgia should turn its back on imported economic and political models and create a new "national" ideology and laws. By contrast, the seventh candidate, Chairman of the Corporation of Lawyers of Georgia Kartlos Gharibashvili, is a presidential election veteran: in 1991, he failed to collect the requisite number of signatures to run against Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and in the 1995 election he placed joint fourth in a field of six candidates with less than 1 percent of the vote. Gharibashvili told RFE/RL on 3 April that his program has nothing in common with those of the other candidates, being "that of a lawyer, not of a Communist Party official." He said that the main focus of that program is human rights, which he described as "as alien to a Communist Party leader as the kiwi fruit is to Georgia." The election campaign has been marred by voter apathy and by resentment on the part of several would-be candidates rejected by the Central Electoral Commission. (One of those rejected, former National Security Minister Igor Giorgadze, who is accused of masterminding the failed 1995 attempt to assassinate Shevardnadze, still ranks as the "wild card" in Georgian politics. He claims to enjoy the secret support of 60-70 percent of the army and of the Interior and Security Ministries.) At the same time, there appears to be little support for calls by an alliance of some 25 extra-parliamentary parties to boycott the poll unless the authorities agree to postpone voting until after a census that would determine the exact number of potential voters and thus remove the potential for falsification of the outcome. Some segments of society have, nonetheless, signaled that they would not vote for Shevardnadze if he did not deliver on earlier promises: those groups include the 500,000-strong population of the west Georgian region of Mingrelia (a stronghold of sympathy for deceased President Gamsakhurdia) and the ethnic Georgian displaced persons from Abkhazia, who are demanding payment of their monthly $12 subsistence allowances. The key question left unanswered by the 9 April poll is not how many and which specific voters will reject Shevardnadze's candidacy but what he can realistically do in his second term to galvanize the economy, crack down on the most egregious manifestations of corruption, restore Georgia's control over its breakaway autonomous formations, and prepare a new leadership team in which the population has at least some degree of trust. The chances for a democratic and peaceful transition of power at the close of the Shevardnadze era depend in large part on his successful accomplishment of those tasks. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 4:06:44 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 67, Part I, 4 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 4:06:44 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 67, Part I, 4 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 67, Part I, 4 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * FORMER FOES COOPERATE TO CARVE UP KEY INDUSTRY * TITOV RESIGNS * ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SANCTIONS FORMER MINISTER'S DETENTION End Note: KALININGRAD'S FUTURE WHEN THE EU EXPANDS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA FORMER FOES COOPERATE TO CARVE UP KEY INDUSTRY... Officials from Siberian Aluminum and the Sibneft oil company are engaged in talks on forming a aluminum holding company that would control some 7 percent of the world aluminum market, Russian media reported on 3 April. The new "superholding" would be called Russian Aluminum, Interfax reported. According to "Segodnya" and "Kommersant-Daily" on 4 April, the Alfa Group, which controls an aluminum facility in Irkutsk Oblast, is also taking part in the negotiations. Until recently, Siberian Aluminum and Sibneft had been at loggerheads, with the former asking the government to investigate recent deals in which Sibneft acquired controlling shares in at least two major aluminum smelters. An unidentified official at Sibneft explained to "The Moscow Times" that the new truce was motivated by Siberian Aluminum's desire to avoid a media war and that its shareholders have the same political base as Sibneft. Media magnate Boris Berezovskii is one of the founders of Sibneft. JAC ...AS GOVERNMENT LOOKS THE OTHER WAY. Russia's Anti-Monopoly Ministry asked Siberian Aluminum and Sibneft on 3 April for documents explaining the consequences for the Russian market of forming their new holding company. Anti-Monopoly Minister Ilya Yuzhanov is due to report on the ministry's analysis of the industry to the State Duma on 14 April. Also on 3 April, First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said that recent deals on the aluminum market "comply with Russian law." He continued that "no one can doubt government control over such deals from the standpoint of anti-trust requirements." He also noted that "it's good that we have a single Gazprom, which is Europe's 10th largest company of its kind." Kasyanov also declared that he has "no concrete ties with any financial-industrial groups in Russia" and meets with Berezovskii only once every six months and Unified Energy Systems head Anatolii Chubais more frequently. Chubais is an ally of Siberian Aluminum head Oleg Deripaska. JAC TITOV RESIGNS. Konstantin Titov resigned his post as governor of Samara Oblast on 4 April, Interfax reported. Titov recently ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency, finishing sixth in a field of 11 candidates and polling 1.5 percent of total votes cast. Titov also performed poorly in his home region, attracting only 20.5 percent of the vote, compared with 44 percent for Vladimir Putin and 29 percent for Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov. Late last month, Titov expressed his willingness to serve in Putin's new government (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). Unidentified sources close to Titov told Interfax that Titov resigned because he was dissatisfied with his results in Samara in the recent election. RIA Novosti agency quoted Titov as saying that he might run again for governor "if the people express their confidence." According to Interfax- Eurasia, if Titov decides to run again he might face such competitors as former first deputy head of the presidential administration Oleg Sysuev and chairman of the board of AvtoVAZ Vladimir Kadannikov. JAC FINANCE MINISTER SAYS NO LOANS, NO PROBLEM... First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kasyanov told reporters on 3 April that despite the lack of foreign loans anticipated in the 2000 budget, the Russian economy managed to perform well in the first quarter. He said that budget revenues totaled 218 billion rubles ($7.6 billion) and spending 210 billion rubles, resulting in a deficit that is the equivalent of 2 percent of GDP. He said that inflation was only 0.6 percent in March and 4.1 percent for the first quarter. Kasyanov added that the government may not even have to borrow from the Central Bank in the second quarter of the year. He predicted that GDP growth will exceed 3 percent in 2000 while the ruble will not fall below an exchange rate of 30 rubles per dollar. JAC ...AS TOP IMF OFFICIAL DUE TO VISIT MOSCOW. IMF Acting Managing Director Stanley Fischer is expected to meet with President-elect Putin and several ministers this week in Moscow, Kasyanov announced. Interfax AFI reported the same day that the IMF's Moscow representative Martin Gilman said that the Fischer's visit should not be considered a "mission in the traditional sense of the word," but he added that fund officials will be able to gather information during their stay. According to Dow Jones and Prime-TASS, the fund will send a mission to conduct negotiations on a new cooperation program in May or June. On 31 March, State Duma deputies approved in the first reading amendments to a law on the Central Bank, a law on banks and banking activity, and a law on insolvency and bankruptcy of credit institutions. Reuters reported that the laws are among legislation recommended by the IMF. JAC UNEMPLOYMENT DECLINES. At the end of February 2000, the number of unemployed people registered in Russia totaled 9,124,000, a drop of 12.3 percent compared with the same period the previous year, according to the State Statistics Committee, "Finansovaya Rossiya" (No. 12) reported. JAC GOVERNMENT REVEALS COST OF CHECHNYA OPERATION. First Deputy Prime Minister Kasyanov told reporters on 3 April that during the first quarter of 2000, Russia spent 6 billion rubles ($210 million) on its military campaign in Chechnya. According to Kasyanov, this amount includes soldiers' wages as well as fuel purchases for troops stationed there. "Novaya gazeta" (No. 9) reported that parents of servicemen killed in action receive a one-time payment equivalent to 120 times a soldier's monthly wage, or about 50,160 rubles, and an insurance payout of 31,400 rubles. The journal concluded that since "by most conservative estimates some 1,400 servicemen have been killed in Chechnya the cost to the Defense Ministry is close to $4 million." It noted, however, that it is not known whether these payments have been made. JAC UN OFFICIAL ADVOCATES INQUIRY INTO HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHECHNYA... UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson issued a statement in Moscow on 4 April urging the Russian leadership to set up an independent national commission to investigate reports of human rights abuses in Chechnya, Reuters reported. Robinson said on her return from a three- day visit to Chechnya and Ingushetia that she is "very concerned" about reports she heard of the scale and magnitude of such abuses. Robinson met in Moscow on 3 April with First Deputy Chief of Army General Staff Colonel General Valerii Manilov and the following day with Justice Minister Yurii Chaika and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. Her request for a meeting with President-elect Putin was ignored. Ivanov accused Robinson on 4 April of a "propaganda offensive" against Moscow, adding that the hostilities in Chechnya should not be used as leverage to try to influence "internal affairs of state," according to Interfax. LF ...AS KALAMANOV DENIES HER ACCESS RESTRICTED. Russia's human rights commissioner for Chechnya, Vladimir Kalamanov, who accompanied Robinson to Chechnya, said on their return to Moscow on 3 April that Robinson was not denied access to localities she had wished to inspect there, Interfax reported. Kalamanov said a planned visit to Aldy on the outskirts of Grozny, where Russian troops are believed to have executed civilians, was called off for security reasons. Kalamanov also denied reports that "thousands" of Chechens are currently detained in filtration camps. He said no more than 890 people are currently under investigation in Chechen prisons, according to ITAR-TASS. Kalamanov added that since it opened one month ago, his office has received some 2,500 complaints about human rights abuses in Chechnya, on the basis of which 129 criminal cases have been opened. LF TYPHOID SPREADING IN WESTERN CHECHNYA. Some 75 people in the village of Lermontovo in Achkhoi-Martan Raion have contracted typhoid, which is spread by contaminated drinking water, ITAR-TASS reported on 4 April. Nineteen patients have been hospitalized. Last week, the number of persons to have contracted the disease was put at 19. LF PACE TO CONSIDER SUSPENION OF RUSSIA'S VOTING RIGHTS. Following a proposal by a group of center-right parties, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will consider later this week suspending the Russian delegation's voting rights. According to Reuters on 3 April, however, that proposal should not prevent Russia from voting in a debate scheduled for 6 April on a report suggesting that proceedings begin this summer toward suspending Russia from PACE over human rights abuses in Chechnya. The news agency reports that the proposal must first go to the organization's political committee and then be submitted to the assembly after the debate on the Chechnya report. JC RUSSIA'S CULTURAL ELITE LAMENTS 'WESTERN BIAS' OVER CHECHNYA. Twenty-one Russian cultural figures and intellectuals have signed an appeal expressing disappointment that their Western counterparts have joined the "anti-Russian campaign" over events in Chechnya, Interfax reported on 3 April. Responding to the view expressed by "numerous Western intellectuals" in "Le Monde" on 26 March, Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov said that Western media generate "one-sided information" that creates the image of a "horrible state and terrible people" and Western intellectuals have accepted that information "uncritically." The appeal, whose signatories include Mikhalkov, Academy of Sciences Vice President Nikolai Laverov, and pianist Nikolai Petrov, called on the West to respect the fact that Russians have elected as their president Vladimir Putin, "the man who took responsibility for the Chechen operation." JC NATO SAYS RUSSIAN MILITARY DOCTRINE IS 'STEP IN WRONG DIRECTION.' NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark said in Vilnius on 3 April that Russia's new military doctrine "represents a turning away from the previous policy of increased openness and cooperation with the West, which the Russian military put in place in the early 1990s." That document, which was approved by the Security Council in early February but has not yet been signed by President-elect Putin, notes that Russia would be unable to repel a NATO attack without nuclear weapons (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 February 2000). Clark commented that "a revision of this doctrine to restore to a more prominent place the policy of increased cooperation...would be welcome," Reuters reported. JC BEREZOVSKII SAYS OLIGARCHS ARE FOREVER. In an interview with the German weekly "Stern," Boris Berezovskii expressed his doubts that oligarchs in Russia could be stripped of their proximity to power, Interfax reported on 4 April. "It is impossible," he said. "Big capital will always be in power as we live in a modern society. If [Putin] eliminates one oligarch, another will appear." Berezovskii also said that he likes the fact that Putin is a "reformer with a strong will" and that "this is absolutely necessary for the strengthening of Russia. [But] this doesn't mean that we will have a dictatorship." JAC COSMONAUTS ON THEIR WAY TO REVIVE 'MIR.' A Soyuz rocket carrying cosmonauts Aleksandr Kaleri and Sergei Zaletin lifted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on 4 April bound for the "Mir" space station. The two cosmonauts expect to spend at least 45 days on board the station, which has been unmanned since last August. The station's new lease on life came after the Amsterdam-based MirCorp pledged some $20 million for the commercial rights on the station. However, plans to film scenes for a movie aboard "Mir" were scrapped when the filmmakers failed to produce the multimillion-dollar fee. JC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SANCTIONS FORMER MINISTER'S DETENTION... Deputies voted overwhelmingly on 4 April to lift the immunity of former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian to allow him to be taken into custody, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). Prosecutor-General Boris Nazarian said the measure is necessary because Siradeghian is threatening witnesses and trying to prolong his trial, which began in September 1999. He is charged with ordering several contract killings during the early 1990s. Siradeghian was not present at the 4 April parliamentary session. His close associates told RFE/RL he had left the country the previous day, anticipating the outcome of the vote. LF ...GIVES GO-AHEAD FOR ENERGY PRIVATIZATION. On 3 April, deputies finally defeated a long-standing opposition initiative to halt the ongoing privatization of the country's four regional energy distribution networks, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. That privatization is one of the preconditions for continued disbursement of World Bank loans. Five international companies are participating in the tender for those networks, which are to be sold in two packages, First Deputy Energy Minister Karen Galstian told journalists the same day. Galstian said no single bidder will be permitted to acquire more than a 51 percent stake in either package, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will purchase up to 20 percent, according to Noyan Tapan. The majority Miasnutiun parliamentary faction was divided over the merits of privatization. Most deputies from the Republican Party of Armenia voted against the opposition bill, regarding it as a challenge to Prime Minister Aram Sargsian's economic policies, but their colleagues from the People's Party of Armenia supported the opposition initiative. LF ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS UNION PROTESTS KARABAKH COLLEAGUE'S ARREST. The Union of Journalists of Armenia issued a statement on 3 April expressing concern at the arrest of Vahram Aghajanian, a journalist for the opposition Karabakh newspaper "Tasnerord nahang," Armenpress reported. The law enforcement agencies of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic have not said why Aghajanian was detained in Stepanakert last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2000). But a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said he was taken into custody for "obstructing the implementation of martial law," which has been in force in the enclave since 1992. The statement said that Aghajanian's earlier criticism of the Karabakh authorities does not constitute grounds for his detention. Also on 3 April, deputies from the Armenian parliament's Right and Accord faction, which supports arrested former Karabakh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan, told a Yerevan press conference that the Karabakh authorities are attempting to muzzle Aghajanian because they disapprove of his reporting, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. LF AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT POSTPONES PLANNED VISIT TO TURKEY. Heidar Aliev will not visit Turkey on 17-18 April because the planned celebration of the 700th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire has been postponed, Turan reported on 3 April, quoting presidential administration official Novruz Mamedov. LF RUSSIAN MILITARY DELEGATION POSTPONES TALKS WITH GEORGIA. A delegation from the Russian Ministry of Defense has postponed indefinitely talks in Tbilisi on handing over to the Georgian authorities properties that belong to the Russian military, Caucasus Press reported. Fourteen properties were to be selected from a list of 44 , agreed on during talks last year between Georgian Defense Minister David Tevzadze and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 August 1999). But implementation of that agreement has been delayed by Russia's reluctance to hand over a military airfield to the Georgian side. LF GEORGIA, GREECE SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Georgian and Greek Defense Ministry officials have signed an agreement on cooperation in 2000 within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace program and on the participation of officers from each country acting as observers during maneuvers in the other country, Caucasus Press reported on 3 April. Greece undertook to cover all expenses involved in that participation. LF VETERAN GEORGIAN OPPOSITION FIGURE ASSAULTED. National Independence Party of Georgia Chairman Irakli Tsereteli was attacked and beaten in Tbilisi on the night of 3-4 April while returning home after giving an interview to Georgian National television, Caucasus Press reported. Tsereteli is one of the leaders of the Center for Georgia's Freedom and Independence, which advocates a nationwide boycott of the presidential elections scheduled for 9 April. LF CHINESE OFFICIAL VOWS TO RESOLVE OIL COMPANY DISPUTE WITH KAZAKHSTAN. Hu Yaobin, vice president of the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), told journalists in Almaty on 3 April that the ongoing dispute between that corporation and sacked employees of the Aqtobe-Munaigaz company in northwest Kazakhstan will be resolved in the near future, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. Some 2,000 workers at that facility are demanding compensation and/or reinstatement after being dismissed when the CNPC acquired a 60 percent stake in Aqtobe-Munaigaz in 1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January and 2 March 2000). Also on 3 April, a senior Aqtobe-Munaigaz official told Interfax that the company plans to increase output from last year's 2.3 million tons, of which 370,000 were exported to China, to 2.5 million tons this year and 3 million tons in 2001. LF KAZAKH OPPOSITION NEWSPAPERS CRITICIZED. The latest issue of the newspaper "Altyn orda," which is the mouthpiece of the pro-presidential OTAN party, has published harsh criticism of several opposition newspapers, including "Soldat" and XXI vek," RFE/RL's Almaty bureau reported on 4 April. Those papers are accused of bias toward former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin and of receiving financial support from him. LF KYRGYZ LEADERSHIP REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIZATION... Presidential spokesman Osmonakun Ibraimov told journalists in Bishkek on 3 April that President Askar Akaev intends to draw lessons from the shortcomings of the February-March parliamentary poll in order to ensure that they are not repeated during the presidential election later this year, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Ibraimov said that Akaev remains committed to further democratization. Also on 3 April, Akaev's adviser Askar Aitmatov told journalists that preparations are under way for a round-table discussion under the aegis of the OSCE between the country's leadership and the opposition. LF ...AS ARRESTED OPPOSITION LEADER CONTINUES HUNGER STRIKE. Ar- Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov told two Russian television channels on 3 April that his health is deteriorating as a result of the hunger strike he began on 22 March, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Kulov said he is allowed to meet with his lawyer, but not with members of his family. LF UZBEK SPECIALISTS SAY CONTRABAND RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL NOT WEAPONS-GRADE. Nuclear scientists in Tashkent said on 3 April that the 10 containers of radio-active material intercepted on the Kazakh-Uzbek border four days earlier could not be used to manufacture nuclear weapons, Interfax reported. The materials were destined for Pakistan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). RFE/RL's Almaty bureau reported that the cargo was loaded by a private Kazakh company in Shymkent, southern Kazakhstan. LF END NOTE KALININGRAD'S FUTURE WHEN THE EU EXPANDS By Ahto Lobjakas The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, once a favored Soviet bridgehead, spent most of the 1990s in quiet, decaying isolation. Though home to nearly 1 million inhabitants, it has been largely ignored by both Moscow and the EU. When the EU admits Poland and the three Baltic states, the presence of a Russian island in the union will be a unique problem. "The Kaliningrad Puzzle," a report commissioned by the Finland-based think-tank Aland Islands Peace Institute, looks at how the EU should treat the Russian exclave. Pertti Joenniemi of the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute, who presented the report in Brussels last week, told RFE/RL that Kaliningrad's relative isolation in recent years means its problems are not easy to resolve. "Seen from a European Union perspective," he said, "one of the major problems is that there is no firm political leadership to lead Kaliningrad out of its crisis. There is a clash between the [local] government and the Duma opposition and that seems to stop any kind of progress." Kaliningrad's problems are manifold. Joenniemi lists corruption, smuggling, and drug trafficking as endemic in Kaliningrad, and the exclave has seen the rapid spread of AIDS. Many of the problems, according to the report, result from the years of neglect by the federal government in Moscow. In 1991, a free economic zone was established in Kaliningrad, but the region's poor starting position and uncompetitive economy left it increasingly dependent on imports. Kaliningrad's first post-Soviet governor, Yurii Matochkin, sought--unsuccessfully--to promote economic reform and open Kaliningrad to other countries in the region. The current governor, Leonid Gorbenko, has favored a largely isolationist course and has taken no steps to initiate much-needed structural reforms. Foreign direct investment in Kaliningrad, while higher than in Russia as a whole ($70 per capita annually in the exclave, compared with $63 in Russia) is still much lower than in the neighboring Baltic states (for example, $563 per capita in Lithuania in 1999). According to Joenniemi, the EU has regarded Kaliningrad as external to the union. Poland and Lithuania have responded to EU requirements for candidate countries by tightening their visa and trading policies toward the Russian exclave. But the report warns that EU policies of isolation and indifference risk leaving Kaliningrad an economic backwater and a source of instability. To avert that risk, Joenniemi argued, the EU needs to develop a long-term strategy for Kaliningrad. "My proposal is that Kaliningrad [should be] provided with both a long-term and a short-term perspective," he told RFE/RL. "That it will in the long run approach the European Union, maybe even reach EU membership of some sort. I don't mean Russia as a whole, but Kaliningrad separately." In the short term, the report says, the EU will need to find ways of providing Kaliningrad with development aid beyond the fairly limited ambit of TACIS, the aid program aimed at Russia and the CIS. Border policy must be amended to allow residents of Kaliningrad to travel more easily both to the east and west. The idea that Kaliningrad could one day have a closer relationship to the EU than the rest of Russia is gaining ground beyond academic circles. Last year, during its presidency of the EU, Finland promoted closer cooperation with Kaliningrad. Sweden has promised to do the same during its presidency next year, and perhaps even go further. Last week, Swedish Trade Minister Leif Pagrotsky raised the issue of eventual EU membership for Kaliningrad in an article published in a leading Swedish daily. And Russia itself seems not too averse to allowing greater cooperation between Kaliningrad and the EU. A 1999 official strategy paper for the development of relations with the EU says that while Kaliningrad must be recognized as part of Russia, it could also become a "pilot region" for Euro- Russian cooperation in the 21st century. The author is RFE/RL's correspondent in Brussels. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Monday, April 03, 2000 4:17:23 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 66, Part I, 3 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 66, Part I, 3 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * PUTIN PRESSES FOR START-2 RATIFICATION * UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER IN NORTH CAUCASUS * KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY TO 'GO UNDERGROUND' End Note: ATTACK ON KARABAKH PRESIDENT EXACERBATES POLITICAL TENSIONS IN YEREVAN xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA PUTIN PRESSES FOR START-2 RATIFICATION. Speaking in the city of Snezhinsk (formerly Chelyabinsk-70) on 31 March, President-elect Vladimir Putin announced that he has ordered the Foreign and Defense Ministries to step up consultations with the parliament on ratifying the START-2 treaty. "We are setting the task of freeing the world from piles of excessive weapons," AP quoted him as saying. At the same time, Putin noted that Russia must strengthen its nuclear weapons complex and make it more safe and effective, but he added that Moscow is not planning to "build up" that complex. With regard to the conversion of the nuclear industry to civilian production, Putin commented that "thoughtless restructuring and layoffs" should be avoided. JC UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER IN NORTH CAUCASUS. Mary Robinson travelled on 1 April to Ingushetia, where she visited two camps for displaced persons from Chechnya and held talks with Ingushetia's President Ruslan Aushev. The following day, Robinson visited Grozny, inspecting a hospital and jail and speaking with city residents. But she did not visit the notorious detention camp at Chernokozovo, and her spokesman, Jose Diaz, told Reuters that Russian authorities had refused her access to several Chechen villages on the grounds that hostilities were under way. Robinson said she is aware of "unacceptable violence and human rights violations" by Chechen fighters, but at the same time called on the Russian authorities to make "a credible response" to reports of widespread war crimes and atrocities committed by Russian troops. On 31 March, the OSCE had similarly issued a statement urging Russia to prosecute soldiers responsible for human rights violations in Chechnya, Reuters reported. LF MISSING INTERIOR MINISTRY TROPS FOUND KILLED. The bodies of 32 Interior Ministry servicemen reported missing in action after an ambush by Chechen fighters on 29 March in Zhani- Vedeno have been found, Interfax reported on 2 April. Speaking in Dushanbe the same day, Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev called for an investigation into the incident, which he blamed on inefficiency (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000). Meanwhile, pathologists in Mozdok have not yet determined whether a body recovered in the south Chechen village of Itum-kale is that of Interior Ministry General Gennadii Shpigun, who was abducted from Grozny airport 13 months ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 March 1999). As recently as 20 March, Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo told Interfax that reports indicated that Shpigun was still alive. LF TWO MORE CHECHEN COMMANDERS APPREHENDED. North Caucasus police detained Chechen field comander Idris Matsalgov in Shatoi on the night of 30-31 March, Interfax reported. Matsalgov, who served in the Interior Ministry under President Djokhar Dudaev, is currently under interrogation. On 31 March, Russian security officials also captured Brigadier General Movladi Khamzatov at a roadblock in the village of Goity, ITAR-TASS reported. Speaking in Moscow on 31 March, First Deputy Chief Of Army General Staff Colonel General Valerii Manilov claimed that Russian forces now control the whole of Chechen territory, according to Interfax. LF RUBLE SAGS. The ruble's exchange rate vis-a-vis the dollar fell 33 kopeks on 31 March, and the previous day it dropped by 19 kopeks. According to "Segodnya" on 1 April, traders believe that the fall is linked not to the decline in world oil prices but to the Central Bank's failure to intervene to support the ruble in the currency market. The daily cites Andrei Dronov, an economist at BIN-Bank, as saying the bank wants the ruble to fall in order to support domestic producers and exporters. On 31 March, Deputy Finance Minister Mikhail Motorin told reporters that "the slide in the ruble rate is normal. It supports exporters." JAC BANKER/OLIGARCH CALLS ON PUTIN TO BECOME PINOCHET. In an interview with the British newspaper "The Guardian" on 31 March, Alfa Group head Petr Aven proposed that President- elect Putin resort to dictatorial controls in order to push through economic reform. "The only way ahead is for fast liberal reforms, building public support for that path but also using totalitarian force to achieve that," Aven said. "I'm a supporter of Pinochet, not as a person but as a politician who produced results for his country.... He supported his team of economists for ten years." Aven added that Putin should "use force to suppress" Russia's regional leaders since they are certain to defend their fiefdoms ruthlessly. In late February, "Novaya gazeta" published an extensive article detailing how the Alfa Group has systematically infiltrated the Kremlin, the State Duma, and regional administrations by placing key personnel in these structures and providing "financing" when needed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 March 2000). JAC PUTIN COMMENTS ON POSSIBILITY OF COALITION GOVERNMENT... President-elect Putin told reporters on 1 April that a government formed on the coalition principle "is hardly likely in the classical meaning [of this term]" but "it is not out of the question that representatives of different political circles will become members of the government." He continued, "There is only one criterion: professionalism." Putin also said that the main principles on which the government will be based are "strengthening of the state and continuation of market reforms." JAC ...SAYS WEST MISUNDERSTANDS HIM. According to Interfax, Putin also said on 1 April that the West has misinterpreted his previous statements about building a strong state in Russia to mean that an increasing role will be played by law enforcement agencies and security services. Instead, he said, he means "an effective state capable of guaranteeing the rules of the game translated into laws for everyone." JAC IRAN WANTS THREE MORE NUCLEAR REACTORS FROM RUSSIA. According to Atomic Energy Minister Yevgenii Adamov, who accompanied Putin to Snezhinsk, Iran is preparing to place orders with Russia for another three nuclear reactors for its Bushehr power plant, Interfax reported on 31 March. Russia's involvement in the construction of that plant has repeatedly raised concerns in the West that Russia is helping Iran develop nuclear weapons technology. Moscow has denied this is the case. Adamov also announced that a contract to supply India with five reactors is expected to be closed at the start of 2001. JC DUMA URGES PUTIN TO PUSH FOR LIFTING OF SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ. The State Duma on 31 March voted by 259 to 75 in favor of a non-binding resolution asking President-elect Putin to "step up efforts aimed lifting all economic sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Iraq," Interfax reported. The resolution, which was initiated by Duma deputy speaker and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii, notes that the sanctions have led to a "very significant" drop in living standards in Iraq and have done "a lot of harm" to Russia's economic interests. Among the resolution's most prominent supporters was former Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov. JC NOVAYA ZEMLYA TO BECOME OFFSHORE ZONE? Defense Minister Sergeev revealed in Snezhinsk on 31 March that government plans for the nuclear industry include the possibility of turning the nuclear testing region of Novaya Zemlya into a closed administrative-territorial establishment (ZATO), Interfax reported. "Segodnya" the next day quoted State Duma deputy (Communist) Ivan Nikitchuk, who visited Novaya Zemlya in 1998, as questioning the feasibility of such a plan, which, he notes, would require "a great deal of money." According to Nikitchuk, there is no infrastructure on the archipelago, and only a few of the deserted barracks remain habitable. Last month, Tax Minister Aleksandr Pochinok called for considering the abolition of offshore zones, if not worldwide at least within Russia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 March 2000). JC RUSSIA APPEALS FOR MORE AID TO DESTROY CHEMICAL WEAPONS STOCKPILE. Within the framework of a conference organized by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Lieutenant General Valerii Kapachin, the head of Russia's chemical weapons destruction program, estimated that $6 billion are required to destroy Russia's weapons stockpiles and production facilities, AP and Reuters reported on 31 March. Kapachin admitted that Russia has so far destroyed none of these weapons because its lacks the financial resources to proceed with its program and because promises of aid from the West are insufficient. AP quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying that Canada and Norway recently joined seven other donor countries in pledging assistance to Russia in disposing of its chemical weapons arsenal. JC U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR OIL COMPANY LOAN. The U.S. State Department is withdrawing its objections to the Export-Import Bank's provision of loan guarantees for the Tyumen oil company, RFE/RL's Washington bureau reported on 1 April. Last December, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had objected to the bank's guaranteeing $480 million worth of loans because Western oil companies had complained that they were cheated by the Tyumen company. State Department spokesman James Foley said the department has conducted an extensive review of the case and now believes that Tyumen is properly addressing the needs of its creditors. JAC G-7 WANTS RUSSIA TO GET LESS MONEY. "Financial Times Deutschland" reported on 3 April that finance ministers from the G-7 industrial countries want to reduce the amount of money lent to Russia because of evidence that such monies have been misused, according to Reuters. The daily reported that these ministers decided to consider a tighter credit policy toward Russia at a meeting last January and that the policy may get a final okay at upcoming talks in Washington. Meanwhile, Paris Club members did not object to moving the deadline for Russia's reaching a bilateral debt restructuring deal with the 18 members of the club from 31 March to 30 June, an unidentified source at the Russian Finance Ministry told Interfax on 31 March. According to the source, Russia has reached agreement on servicing its debt with Austria and Spain and hopes to reach similar deals with Australia, France, and Switzerland soon. JAC LYSENKO RESIGNS. Anatolii Lysenko has resigned his position as chairman of the Moscow city government's media committee, "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 1 April. Lysenko was also a member of the board of directors of Moscow's TV-Tsentr. According to the newspaper, Lysenko, who has spent much of his recent career in television, wants to devote himself to the "rebirth of book distribution in Russia." JAC FSB LOSES APPEAL IN SOIFER CASE. A court in Primorskii Krai ruled on 3 April that the seizure of materials and documents from the apartment of noted scientist Vladimir Soifer by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers last year was illegal, Interfax-Eurasia reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 July 1999). In response to an appeal lodged by the FSB, the krai level court upheld the decision of a lower court in Vladivostok that had called the seizure illegal back in February 2000. The FSB has accused Soifer of misusing classified documents in his research on the ecological effects of a nuclear submarine accident in 1985. According to Interfax-Eurasia, no criminal proceedings have so far been launched against Soifer. JAC APRIL OPENS WITH THIEVING FALCONS, SPYING TOILETS. Russia media reported a number of unusual developments on April Fool's Day. "The Moscow Times" wrote about a crime ring in Moscow that had trained falcons to snatch expensive fur hats off unsuspecting victims. The story quoted two victims, Irina Vorobeva and Vika Lastochkina ("vorobei" and "lastochka" mean "sparrow" and "swallow" in Russian, respectively), and one police officer, Vyacheslav Popugayev ("popugai" means parrot) as saying that Moscow city security forces were responding by launching "Operation Big Bird" on 1 April. The same day, NTV reported that a seaside resort in Belgium has developed a new kind of automatic toilet that examines users' urine, providing a complete health assessment, according to Reuters. However, the television station continued, Russian diplomats are reportedly worried that the new device is part of a radar network launched by NATO, whose headquarters are in Brussels. JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN OPPOSITION LEADER AGAIN CALLS FOR NEW ELECTIONS. Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 30 March, National Democratic Union Chairman Vazgen Manukian again advocated pre-term parliamentary and presidential elections, Armenpress and Noyan Tapan reported. He had called on President Robert Kocharian to resign in mid-January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 January 2000). Manukian argued that Armenia is "on the verge of disaster" as a result of the "process of destruction" embarked upon by individuals "of a low intellectual level" long before the 27 October parliament shootings. Manukian also repeated his doubts that Samvel Babayan, the former defense minister of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was involved in the 22 March attempt to assassinate the enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian (see also "End Note" below). LF ARMENIA, RUSSIA CONCLUDE WAR-GAMES. Some 2,000 Armenian and Russian troops on 31 March wrapped up four days of military maneuvers at a training ground west of Yerevan, RFE/RL's bureau in the Armenian capital reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 March 2000). The commander of the Russian Group of Forces in the Transcaucasus, Lieutenant General Vladimir Andreev, who directed the maneuvers, denied that the exercise was connected with or aimed to duplicate Russia's ongoing military campaign in Chechnya. But Armenian General Mikael Harutiunian said the Armenian armed forces are looking into elements of Russia's tactics against veteran Chechen fighters in mountainous terrain in order to improve their performance in mountainous or wooded areas. LF ARMENIAN POW RELEASED. An Armenian serviceman who had been held prisoner in Azerbaijan for five months was released on 31 March in what an Armenian Security Ministry official termed "a goodwill gesture" on the part of Azerbaijan's President Heidar Aliev, ITAR-TASS and Turan reported. Armenia still holds 10 Azerbaijani prisoners. LF RUSSIAN MINISTER VISITS AZERBAIJAN. Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu held talks with President Aliev in Baku on 31 March, focusing on responses to natural disasters and on measures to prevent landslides such as the one that caused major damage in Baku on 6 March, ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 March 2000). Aliev assured Shoigu of his country's continued support for Russia's military action in Chechnya and called for greater Russian input in resolving conflicts on the territory of CIS member states. He said resolving such conflicts is a prerequisite for greater regional cooperation between Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. LF GEORGIA EXTRACTS FIRST OIL. A U.S.-Georgian joint venture that began drilling its first well at Taribana in eastern Georgia four months ago extracted its first oil on 1 April in the presence of Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, Caucasus Press reported. According to the news agency, Shevardnadze, having sampled the oil, said the taste is reminiscent of Georgian red wine. Taribana's reserves are estimated at 1 million tons. LF GEORGIAN OPPOSITION CONVENES ANTI-ELECTION DEMO. Some 350-400 supporters of deceased Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia attended a demonstration in Tbilisi on his birthday, 31 March, AP reported. Participants called on the Georgian electorate to boycott the 9 April presidential election. Also on 31 March, a 49-year-old woman set fire to herself near the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi to protest the authorities' refusal to amnesty political prisoners, Caucasus Press reported. The previous day, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights wrote to President Shevardnadze to draw his attention to the condition of four prisoners who have declared a hunger strike to demand such an amnesty (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 March 2000). The letter noted that when Georgia joined the Council of Europe one year ago, it undertook to review the cases of some 100 imprisoned Gamsakhurdia supporters but has not yet begun to do so. LF KAZAKHS STAGE PROTEST ON BORDER WITH UZBEKISTAN... Some 200 residents of the Sary-Aghdash district of South Kazakhstan Oblast gathered on the border with Uzbekistan on 31 March to protest the planned construction of additional customs points on the Uzbek side of the border, RFE/RL's Almaty correspondent reported. Local officials from the two countries agreed to postpone the beginning of construction work. Speaking in Astana on 1 April, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Erlan Idrisov denied that any tensions exist along unpopulated stretches of the border that are currently being demarcated, but he admitted that demarcation is proving more problematic in populated areas, ITAR-TASS reported. Idrisov said that the Kazakh authorities have reached agreement with their Uzbek counterparts that no unilateral actions wll be taken on the border until the demarcation is complete. LF IS KAZAKHSTAN PLANNING TERRITORIAL-ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM? RFE/RL's Almaty correspondent quoted "unofficial sources" on 3 April as saying that the Kazakh leadership is considering abolishing the 14 oblasts into which the country is currently divided and creating in their place five larger regions. The five would be Western Kazakhstan, comprising the present Atyrau, Oral, Mangystau, and Aqtobe Oblasts; South Kazakhstan, comprising Qyzyl-Orda, Zhambyl, and South Kazakhstan Oblasts and some districts of Almaty and the former Taldy-Qorghan Oblast; Eastern Kazakhstan, comprising the rest of Taldy-Qorghan as well as the former Semey and Eastern Kazakhstan and Pavlodar Oblasts; Northern Kazakhstan, comprising the present North Kazakhstan, Qostanay, and Kokshetau Oblasts; and Central Kazakhstan, comprising Aqmola, Qaraghandy, Zhezkazghan, and Torghay Oblasts. LF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARTY TO 'GO UNDERGROUND.' Some 150 delegates to a 2 April emergency congress of the opposition Ar-Namys party voted to go underground in response to ongoing persecution by the Kyrgyz authorities, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. The delegates also appealed to the international community to exert pressure on the Kyrgyz leadership to give detained Ar-Namys chairman Feliks Kulov and the head of Kulov's election campaign team, Emil Aliev, the official status of political prisoners. Meanwhile, several hundred people continued their picket in central Bishkek to demand Kulov's release and the annulment of the parliamentary election results in the constituency where he lost the 12 March runoff vote. LF COURT IMPOSES NEW PENALTIES ON KYRGYZ OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER. A Bishkek district court on 31 March imposed a 40,000 som (about $850) fine on the opposition weekly "Res Publica" for libel, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. The newspaper's chief editor and a journalist were fined 5,000 soms each. The newspaper has suspended publication as it has still not paid a fine imposed by a previous court ruling for slandering the chairman of the National Radio and Television Corporation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 January 2000). LF TAJIK PRESIDENT, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER CALL FOR COOPERATION TO FIGHT TERRORISM. Imomali Rakhmonov and Igor Sergeev on 2 April appealed to Russia and the CIS states, specifically the states of Central Asia, to cooperate in the battle against international terrorism, Russian agencies reported. The two men were speaking on the final day of the first stage of military exercises in Tajikistan, in which some 13,000 troops from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan took part. Belarus and Armenia have sent observers. With the aid of 40 tanks and armored vehicles, those troops were called upon to simulate the elimination of a terrorist group that had crossed into the territory of one of the Central Asian states. The second stage of the maneuvers begins in Uzbekistan on 3 April. LF TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN PREPARE TO DEMARCATE COMMON BORDER. The presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Saparmurat Niyazov and Islam Karimov, agreed during a telephone conversation on 31 March to draft an agreement on demarcating the border between their two countries, Russian agencies reported. The agreement will also focus on the shared use of waters from the Amu-Darya River, which forms part of that frontier. LF UZBEKISTAN INTERCEPTS RADIO-ACTIVE MATERIALS ON BORDER WITH KAZAKHSTAN. Uzbek customs officials on 31 March confiscated 10 lead containers with radio-active material from an Iranian-registered truck at the Kazakh-Uzbek border, Russian agencies reported on 2 April. The truck was headed for Pakistan, and its driver had documentation claiming that his cargo consisted of stainless steel scrap. LF END NOTE ATTACK ON KARABAKH PRESIDENT EXACERBATES POLITICAL TENSIONS IN YEREVAN By Liz Fuller Investigators in Stepanakert announced on 27 March that the botched attempt five days earlier to assassinate Arkadii Ghukasian, president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was planned and carried out by persons close to Samvel Babayan, the enclave's former army commander and defense minister. Babayan is the most formidable political opponent Ghukasian, who dismissed Babayan as defense minister last July, triggering protests by other senior generals and precipitating a political standoff that was defused only by the intervention of Armenian President Robert Kocharian. Five months later, in December 1999, Ghukasian also replaced Babayan as commander of the Karabakh Defense Army. But Babayan nonetheless remained one of the unrecognized republic's most influential political figures, enjoying the support of many local parliamentary deputies and of the Karabakh-based Armenian National Democratic Party. Three of the five persons named on 27 March as having confessed to the attack on Ghukasian are members of Babayan's bodyguard, and a fourth is his wife's brother. Babayan was taken into custody within hours of the attack, as was his brother Karen, who has since been suspended as mayor of Stepanakert. As of 30 March, neither brother had been charged with involvement in the assassination bid. But the unrecognized enclave's prosecutor-general told RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent the same day that other charges could brought against Samvel Babayan, in addition to illegal arms possession, abuse of power, and tax evasion. Senior officials in Stepanakert and Yerevan say that the motives for the attack on Ghukasian are to be sought in the local political situation. The unrecognized republic's foreign minister, Naira Melkumian, was quoted by Armenpress on 24 March as saying that "I do not think that there is a force outside Karabakh and Armenia that was interested in the elimination of President Ghukasian." Speaking in Tbilisi on 28 March, Armenian President Kocharian attributed the attack to "internal processes that take place in post-war countries and regions when order is being restored." In view of his months-long standoff with Ghukasian, Babayan was the most obvious suspect in the attack on the Karabakh president. Babayan's extensive power can be partly attributed to his control over dubious economic interests on which Ghukasian now plans to crack down. The attack on Ghukasian thus presented the Karabakh leadership with a cast- iron excuse to detain the renegade general and, by extension, hamstring the opposition to Ghukasian in the runup to this summer's elections for the enclave's new parliament, which Babayan's supporters stood a good chance of winning. Noyan Tapan's veteran political commentator David Petrosian observed that the primary beneficiary of the attack is Karabakh Premier Anushavan Danielian, who would have lost his post in the event of an election victory by Babayan's supporters. Danielian is currently discharging the duties of Karabakh president. But whether despite or precisely because of the fact that Babayan was the most obvious suspect, an increasing number of Armenian politicians from across the political spectrum are expressing doubt at his personal involvement in the attack and are warning against making him a scapegoat. Those skeptics include not only leading members of the nationalist "Right and Accord" bloc, which supports Babayan and is believed to receive funding from him, but also Kim Balayan, a Karabakh-born member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation--Dashnaktsutiun, National Democratic Union chairman Vazgen Manukian, who characterized Babayan as too intelligent to issue direct orders for an attempt on Ghukasian's life, and Andranik Markarian, head of the Miasnutiun majority parliamentary bloc. If Babayan is formally charged with the assassination bid, President Kocharian's failure unequivocally to condemn that charge could exacerbate the rift that already exists between the Armenian president and Miasnutiun, and broaden it into one between Ghukasian and Kocharian, on the one hand, and Babayan's sympathizers and supporters in Yerevan and Stepanakert, on the other. But if Kocharian were to fail to endorse Babayan's indictment, the ensuing perceived lack of solidarity between Yerevan and Stepanakert could, at the very least, negatively affect the ongoing search for a political settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Meanwhile, the circumstances of the attack, specifically the use of automatic rifles against a moving target, raise the question of whether the intention was in fact to eliminate Ghukasian or simply to create a pretext for neutralizing Babayan. Like some other observers, Lenser Aghalovian, chairman of a small Armenian party composed mainly of Karabakh-born intellectuals, reasoned that if an experienced warrior like Babayan had indeed wanted to get rid of Ghukasian, the latter would not have survived. A single shot from a grenade-launcher would have left Ghukasian with no chance of survival, Aghalovian told "Haykakan Zhamanak." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 4:11:31 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 67, Part II, 4 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 67, Part II, 4 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * POLAND'S LUSTRATION COURT HEAD RESIGNS * U.S. HAILS ARREST OF KRAJISNIK * BULGARIA, ROMANIA CALL FOR RAPID CLEAN-UP OF DANUBE End Note: KALININGRAD'S FUTURE WHEN THE EU EXPANDS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUS RATIFIES ACCORDS ON CUSTOMS UNION, CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY. The Chamber of Representatives on 3 April ratified an agreement on establishing a legislative basis for the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan and their single economic space, Belapan reported. The Belarusian legislature also ratified the country's adherence to a protocol on prolonging the CIS Collective Security Treaty of 15 May 1992. Earlier, the treaty was prolonged by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan did not renew their participation in the treaty. JM EU CONDEMNS USE OF FORCE AGAINST 25 MARCH RALLY IN MINSK. The EU, condemning the Belarusian authorities for using force to break up the 25 March opposition rally, has demanded the release of demonstrators still in detention, Reuters reported on 3 April. The EU called upon Minsk to investigate the police's "mishandling of the march," including reports that some people were detained before the march began and that some detainees were subsequently beaten. JM PACE UNLIKELY TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON UKRAINE OVER REFERENDUM. Lord Russel-Johnston, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, told journalists in Strasbourg on 3 April that "in his opinion" PACE will not impose any sanctions against Ukraine over the 16 April constitutional referendum, Interfax reported. Russel-Johnston welcomed the ruling by Ukraine's Constitutional Court that excluded two questions from the referendum ballot (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 April 2000), adding that the ruling "has doubtless changed the political climate in Ukraine." PACE is scheduled to discuss Ukraine's referendum on 4 April. JM UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT WON'T APPROVE REFERENDUM RESULTS? Deputy speaker Viktor Medvedchuk told journalists in Kyiv on 3 April that the Supreme Council may not endorse constitutional amendments approved in the 16 April referendum, Interfax reported. Medvedchuk said the parliamentary majority currently has 276 deputies, while constitutional amendments should be approved by no less than 300 votes. "Today it is impossible to say unambiguously what happens if the parliament fails to implement the results of the 16 April nationwide referendum," Medvedchuk added. JM OUTGOING NATO CHIEF IN BALTICS. NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark made a farewell visit to Latvia and Lithuania on 2-3 April. After meeting with Clark, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga told journalists that the Baltic states' membership in NATO "would help ensure stability in this part of Europe and...in no way poses threats to Russia," BNS reported. Clark also expressed his satisfaction with NATO integration efforts by both Latvia and Lithuania and said that Latvia is a "real competitive contender" for NATO membership, AP added. In Lithuania, Clark praised the increase in defense spending but warned that the total economic picture must also be taken into account, according to ELTA (see also Part 1). MH LITHUANIAN RULING PARTY GIVES ULTIMATUM TO EX-PREMIER. The ruling Conservatives on 3 April told former Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius and other breakaway members to return to the fold by 16 April or be expelled, ELTA reported. Immediately after local elections last month, a dozen parliamentary deputies who support the former premier established the Moderate Conservatives faction in the parliament The supervisory committee of the Conservative Party accused Vagnorius of evading his responsibilities and "causing a critical situation inside the party and country." However, the breakaway faction said its action constituted an "internal cleansing" of the party. MH POLAND'S LUSTRATION COURT HEAD RESIGNS. Jan Krosnicki has resigned and asked to be transferred to the Penal Department of the Appeals Court in Warsaw, "Zycie" reported on 3 April. According to the daily, Krosnicki has been warning his superiors over the past several months that the work of the Lustration Court could be halted unless more judges are found to fill the vacancies in his department. Krosnicki complained in February that he had 10 vacancies and only two applicants for the jobs. Krosnicki told PAP that judges of the Lustration Court are poorly paid and have to work under "huge stress." JM CANDIDATE PROPOSED TO HEAD POLAND'S INSTITUTE OVERSEEING COMMUNIST-ERA FILES. The Board of the National Remembrance Institute, which is to oversee public access to the Communist-era secret service files, has proposed Jerzy Polaczek as its chairman, PAP reported on 3 April. Polaczek, a parliamentary deputy from the Solidarity Electoral Action, is unlikely to be approved by the required three-fifths majority in the parliament, since both the opposition Democratic Left Alliance and the coalition Freedom Union (UW) have refused to support him. The UW had proposed its own candidate, Deputy Interior Minister Bogdan Borusewicz, to head the institute. JM CZECH OPPOSITION PARTY CRITICIZES HAVEL. The Executive Council of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) said on 3 April that President Vaclav Havel's 29 March statement that "mafia- like capitalism" has emerged in the Czech Republic was "unfortunate" and "tarnished the image of the state he heads." ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus told journalists that Havel has "insulted hundreds of thousands and even millions of people in our country." The same day, representatives of the four-party opposition coalition met with Havel, saying they backed his rejection of "mafia-like capitalism." Also on 3 April, ODS Senator Jiri Pavlov left the party to protest its "opposition agreement" with the ruling Social Democrats (CSSD). MS CZECH COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE REPORTS TO HAVEL ON 'POLICE DESTABILIZATION.' The Counter Intelligence Service (BIS) has submitted a secret report to President Havel on possible attempts to destabilize elite police squads. Havel had requested that the BIS conduct an investigation into the matter. Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek said Havel is "convinced that the results of the investigation will help ward off destabilization attempts." According to "Mlada fronta Dnes" cited by CTK on 3 April, Havel suspects former detective and current lawyer Josef Doucha of being linked to the Russian mafia and of seeking to paralyze police efforts against organized crime through his contacts with influential CSSD members. MS EU SAYS SLOVAK GOVERNMENT STABILITY VITAL. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen and Slovak Finance Minister Brigita Schmognerova, meeting in Brussels on 3 April, agreed that the ongoing reform process in Slovakia must continue. Verheugen said it is "vital" to ensure the political stability needed for structural changes and privatization. The Slovak government, he said, "must stay together and do what it has pledged to." Schmognerova said foreign investment is far below what the government expected and this makes it difficult to maintain the pace of reform. She told journalists that Verheugen said he would like to see Slovakia join the EU in 2005, at the same time as the Czech Republic, CTK reported. MS HUNGARY, NEIGHBORS AGREE ON ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION. The Environmental Ministers of Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Hungary met in Budapest on 3 April to sign an agreement on preventing future transnational ecological disasters. The four countries will pinpoint potential sources of ecological damage, involve international experts in damage assessment, and form joint monitoring teams. Romanian Environmental Minister Romica Tomescu, however, rejected a proposal for "integrated pollution prevention and regional development." His Hungarian counterpart, Pal Pepo, said the Romanian state's responsibility in the recent cyanide spill cannot be avoided. "According to our laws, the polluter pays, but there is nothing about the Romanian state's responsibility in any bilateral international agreement," Tomescu replied. MSZ HUNGARY UNVEILS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN. Economics Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy has presented an ambitious plan designed to boost the country's economy, Hungarian media reported on 3 April. Under that plan, the budget will allot 434 billion forints ($1.6 billion) over the next two years, of which $1 billion will be earmarked in the 2001 budget. The plan includes a 120 billion forint highway project, measures to boost tourism, and the construction of 35,000-40,000 new homes a year. Matolcsy remarked that the plan "will not cure all our ills" and that total spending on the program will depend on the economy's performance. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE U.S. HAILS ARREST OF KRAJISNIK. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke, who was also the architect of the 1995 Dayton Bosnian peace agreement, called SFOR's arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Momcilo Krajisnik on 3 April "the best news in five years" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). Holbrooke noted that Krajisnik's extradition to The Hague "is a major blow to the separatists, racists, and murderers who have been trying to thwart the concept [of Bosnia as a single nation] that is at the heart" of the Dayton agreement, Reuters reported. In Washington, State Department spokesman James Rubin noted that only by assigning "individual responsibility [for war crimes] can collective responsibility be expunged." He added that "today's arrest sends a message to Mr. [Radovan] Karadzic that time is against him and that the international community will not let up in its efforts to bring him to justice," AP reported. Karadzic, who is one of the two most senior Bosnian Serb war criminals still at large, should "get even less sleep [following Krajisnik's arrest] than he's been getting up to now," Rubin said. PM BELGRADE SLAMS 'GENOCIDE AGAINST SERBIAN PEOPLE.' The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 3 April that the arrest of Krajisnik "clearly shows that NATO continues its policy of genocide against the Serbian people," Reuters reported. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party (SPS) said in a statement that "by this act, SFOR showed itself to be a mere occupation force directed against the interests of the Republika Srpska and the Dayton peace accord." The SPS argued that NATO used "cowboy principles" to strengthen the position of Bosnian Serb moderates led by Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. PM MIXED REACTION FROM SERBIAN OPPOSITION. Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) said that the 3 April arrest is "worthy of condemnation from a legal, political, and any other kind of standpoint," "Vesti" reported from Belgrade. Referring to the fact that Krajisnik's arrest was based on a secret indictment, the SPO added that such indictments are not used as the basis for arrests "in any single Western country." The party called attention to the timing of the arrest, which took place shortly before the 8 April Bosnian local elections. But Vladan Batic of the Alliance for Change said that everyone must recognize that the Hague-based war crimes tribunal is a "cruel reality" of political life in the former Yugoslavia. He noted that the Dayton agreement commits all signatories to cooperating with The Hague and that Milosevic is among the signatories. Batic wondered when Milosevic, whom the tribunal has indicted for war crimes, will be arrested and sent for trial. PM BOSNIAN SERBS SHAKEN BY KRAJISNIK'S ARREST. Dodik said in Banja Luka on 3 April that he had nothing to do with the arrest of Krajisnik or its timing. He suggested that responsibility lies with Krajisnik's own Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), for which he had been campaigning, "Vesti" reported. Dodik stressed that the SDS has been a constant source of trouble in Bosnian politics, adding that he hopes the party will soon "meet its end." Bosnian Serb Vice President Mirko Sarovic said that the arrest of Krajisnik violates "all resolutions and other measures [approved by] the UN's Security Council" on Bosnia. He added that in making the arrest, SFOR showed that it "is not preserving the peace but rather violating the basis of human rights and freedom" in Bosnia. Jovan Mitrovic of former President Biljana Plavsic's Serbian National Alliance said the arrest was "directed against the Serbian people." The SDS said in a statement that it has responded to the latest developments "peacefully and with dignity." Zivko Radisic, who succeeded Krajisnik on the Bosnian joint presidency in 1998, wondered "who is next" on The Hague's list, "Oslobodjenje" reported. PM WARM WORDS FROM SARAJEVO FOR SFOR. Adnan Jahic, who is a spokesman for Alija Izetbegovic's Party of Democratic Action, said in Sarajevo on 3 April that Krajisnik's arrest gives one reason to hope that the arrest of Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic is not far off, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Jacques Klein, who is the UN's chief representative in Bosnia, called Krajisnik "the most persistent extremist and xenophobic individual with whom I had to deal," Reuters reported. Klein added that Krajisnik "robbed his own people.... He personally profited [from war and suffering through his business deals]. It is always easy to mislead people under the [banner] of nationalism," Klein concluded. PM MIXED FEELINGS AMONG ELECTION MONITORS, KOSOVARS. A spokeswoman for the OSCE, which is organizing and monitoring the 8 April elections, said in Sarajevo on 3 April that "we believe that the people from the Republika Srpska want elections free of violence. People should just go and vote." But in Split, OSCE officials said privately that they fear for the safety of their several hundred monitors in the Republika Srpska. In Prishtina, one Kosovar spokesman told "RFE/RL Newsline" that Krajisnik's arrest means that "there is one [war criminal] off to The Hague, but what about the rest?" A second spokesman said that he fears the international community will now concentrate its efforts on arresting Bosnian war criminals and will neglect bringing to justice those responsible for atrocities in Kosova in 1998 and 1999. The spokesman added: "Milosevic has the blood of two million people on his hands. When will NATO go after him?" PM PETRIC SACKS HERZEGOVINIAN POLICE CHIEF. Wolfgang Petritsch, who is the international community's chief civilian representative in Bosnia, has fired Ante Barisic as chief of police in Canton 10, which includes the Livno region, a Croatian nationalist stronghold. Petritsch charged that the ethnic Croatian police chief did nothing over a period of many months to stop attacks on Serbs and Muslims, "Oslobodjenje" reported on 4 April. PM IS DJUKANOVIC COOPTING MILOSEVIC'S MILITARY OPPONENTS? The "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" reported on 4 April that the three generals who are advising the Montenegrin leadership on military affairs are opposed to Milosevic, who previously sacked them on account of their political views (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). Former deputy air force chief General Blagoje Grahovac advises President Milo Djukanovic, while General Radoslav Martinovic, who formerly commanded the Second Army in Montenegro, works with Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic. Former military intelligence chief Nedeljko Boskovic advises Vukasin Maras, who is Djukanovic's police chief. In addition, some 300 "middle-ranking" army officers have applied to join Djukanovic's paramilitary police, the Munich-based daily added. PM ROMANIAN PREMIER SAYS 'NO SECOND TERM IN OFFICE.' Mugur Isarescu told Antena 1 private television channel on 3 April that he will not agree to head another cabinet after the elections scheduled for this fall, Romanian Radio reported on 4 April. Isarescu said he might return to the post of National Bank governor but might also "go the private sector, possibly the media." MS ROMANIAN GENERAL SENT TO PRISON FOR 1989 SOLDIERS' DEATHS. The Supreme Court on 3 April sentenced Dumitru Draghin to eight years in prison for "negligence" and "manslaughter," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. On 22 December 1989, the military unit defending the Bucharest international airport under Draghin's command opened fire against another unit that had responded to its call for reinforcement. Apparently, Draghin's unit had feared a "terrorist attack" during the first day of the anti-Ceausescu uprising. Fifty soldiers were killed and 13 wounded. The court ruled that Draghin should have ensured that the two units were aware of each other's position. It also ruled that Draghin and the Defense Ministry must pay 1.5 billion lei ($77 million) to relatives of the deceased as compensation. The ministry said it will appeal that part of the sentence. MS MAIN ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTY CONCLUDES AGREEMENT WITH FRINGE LIBERALS. Ion Iliescu, leader of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania, and Radu Campeanu, who heads the extra- parliamentary National Liberal Party-Campeanu Wing, signed an agreement on 31 March to join forces for the local elections scheduled for this summer. Under the agreement, the two formations will support the best-placed candidate in runoffs but will run separately in the elections. They will also examine the possibility of cooperating in the parliamentary elections scheduled for the fall, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. MS BULGARIA, ROMANIA CALL FOR RAPID CLEAN-UP OF DANUBE. In a 2 April letter to the EU and NATO, Prime Minister Ivan Kostov and his Romanian counterpart, Isarescu, called on the two organizations to help rapidly clean up the River Danube, AFP reported. The two leaders wrote that they "insist" that the re-establishment of Danube shipping, which has been blocked by rubble from bombed bridges since the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, must be regarded as an issue separate from the sanctions imposed on that country. Kostov and Isarescu noted that 70 percent of Bulgarian and 80 percent of Romanian river boats are out of service as a result of the blockage and that their countries have "suffered more than Yugoslavia." MS LIBYA AGAIN POSTPONES BULGARIANS' TRIAL. Libya has postponed for the second time the trial of six Bulgarian medical workers charged with intentionally infecting children with the HIV virus, Reuters reported on 3 April, citing Bulgarian Foreign Ministry sources. The postponement follows a request by the Libyan lawyer representing the defendants, who said he needs more time to study the indictment and prepare his defense. MS END NOTE KALININGRAD'S FUTURE WHEN THE EU EXPANDS By Ahto Lobjakas The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, once a favored Soviet bridgehead, spent most of the 1990s in quiet, decaying isolation. Though home to nearly 1 million inhabitants, it has been largely ignored by both Moscow and the EU. When the EU admits Poland and the three Baltic states, the presence of a Russian island in the union will be a unique problem. "The Kaliningrad Puzzle," a report commissioned by the Finland-based think-tank Aland Islands Peace Institute, looks at how the EU should treat the Russian exclave. Pertti Joenniemi of the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute, who presented the report in Brussels last week, told RFE/RL that Kaliningrad's relative isolation in recent years means its problems are not easy to resolve. "Seen from a European Union perspective," he said, "one of the major problems is that there is no firm political leadership to lead Kaliningrad out of its crisis. There is a clash between the [local] government and the Duma opposition and that seems to stop any kind of progress." Kaliningrad's problems are manifold. Joenniemi lists corruption, smuggling, and drug trafficking as endemic in Kaliningrad, and the exclave has seen the rapid spread of AIDS. Many of the problems, according to the report, result from the years of neglect by the federal government in Moscow. In 1991, a free economic zone was established in Kaliningrad, but the region's poor starting position and uncompetitive economy left it increasingly dependent on imports. Kaliningrad's first post-Soviet governor, Yurii Matochkin, sought--unsuccessfully--to promote economic reform and open Kaliningrad to other countries in the region. The current governor, Leonid Gorbenko, has favored a largely isolationist course and has taken no steps to initiate much-needed structural reforms. Foreign direct investment in Kaliningrad, while higher than in Russia as a whole ($70 per capita annually in the exclave, compared with $63 in Russia) is still much lower than in the neighboring Baltic states (for example, $563 per capita in Lithuania in 1999). According to Joenniemi, the EU has regarded Kaliningrad as external to the union. Poland and Lithuania have responded to EU requirements for candidate countries by tightening their visa and trading policies toward the Russian exclave. But the report warns that EU policies of isolation and indifference risk leaving Kaliningrad an economic backwater and a source of instability. To avert that risk, Joenniemi argued, the EU needs to develop a long-term strategy for Kaliningrad. "My proposal is that Kaliningrad [should be] provided with both a long-term and a short-term perspective," he told RFE/RL. "That it will in the long run approach the European Union, maybe even reach EU membership of some sort. I don't mean Russia as a whole, but Kaliningrad separately." In the short term, the report says, the EU will need to find ways of providing Kaliningrad with development aid beyond the fairly limited ambit of TACIS, the aid program aimed at Russia and the CIS. Border policy must be amended to allow residents of Kaliningrad to travel more easily both to the east and west. The idea that Kaliningrad could one day have a closer relationship to the EU than the rest of Russia is gaining ground beyond academic circles. Last year, during its presidency of the EU, Finland promoted closer cooperation with Kaliningrad. Sweden has promised to do the same during its presidency next year, and perhaps even go further. Last week, Swedish Trade Minister Leif Pagrotsky raised the issue of eventual EU membership for Kaliningrad in an article published in a leading Swedish daily. And Russia itself seems not too averse to allowing greater cooperation between Kaliningrad and the EU. A 1999 official strategy paper for the development of relations with the EU says that while Kaliningrad must be recognized as part of Russia, it could also become a "pilot region" for Euro- Russian cooperation in the 21st century. The author is RFE/RL's correspondent in Brussels. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 4:13:44 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 68, Part I, 5 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 68, Part I, 5 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * FINANCIAL PRESSURE INCREASES ON MEDIA-MOST * PUTIN WON'T BACK LOSING HORSE * KARABAKH PROSECUTOR SAYS FORMER MINISTER PLANNED ATTACK ON PRESIDENT End Note: TURN OF THE SCREWS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA FINANCIAL PRESSURE INCREASES ON MEDIA-MOST. Gazprom has demanded that Vladimir Gusinskii's Media-Most holding group pay debts totaling $211.6 million, according to Russian media on 4 April. "Kommersant-Daily" reported that on 14 March Gazprom sent Media-Most a formal letter--the type that usually precedes court action--demanding that the money be repaid. However, the press spokesman for Gazprom said his company is not currently considering any legal moves. A Media-Most press spokesman accused the Kremlin of trying to pressure Gazprom and "drive a wedge between" Media-Most and Gazprom. Last month, Media-Most First Deputy Chairman Igor Malashenko said that the Kremlin is pressuring Gazprom to interfere in the company's editorial policies, while "Segodnya," a Media-Most publication, printed a story accusing deputy presidential administration head Vladislav Surkov of starting "a campaign to prepare the public for the crushing of the independent media, starting with Media-Most." JAC ANOTHER GOVERNOR FINDS NEW WAY TO FIDDLE WITH ELECTION DATE? "Izvestiya" reported on 5 April that new gubernatorial elections will likely be held in Samara in June because local law requires that they take place between 70 and 180 days after the resignation of the governor (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). The newspaper speculated that Governor Titov resigned the previous day in order make sure he was elected for a second term as soon as possible rather than wait for possible administrative reforms to occur or for the Kremlin to come up with an alternative candidate to compete against him. If he had not resigned, Titov would have faced re- election in December 2000. Titov told Russian Public Television that he will think about running again and will also consider working for a private company or writing his memoirs. JAC PUTIN WON'T BACK LOSING HORSE. President-elect Vladimir Putin has asked Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matvienko not to run in the May gubernatorial ballot in St. Petersburg, saying he wants her to take part in talks on forming a new government. Matvienko revealed this turn of events to the press on 4 April following a meeting with Putin. Early last month, she had announced that Putin backs her bid for the governor's post. The latest VTsIOM opinion poll, however, shows that Matvienko has only 13 percent backing, compared with the 55 percent support that incumbent Governor Vladimir Yakovlev enjoys. Yakovlev, for his part, has noted that before Matvienko's announcement of Putin's support, the now president-elect had backed Yakovlev's candidacy. And a recent article in "Segodnya" suggested that Yakovlev has reached a secret deal with businessman Boris Berezovskii under which, among other things, Berezovskii-controlled Russian Public Television would refrain from any negative coverage of Yakovlev (see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 5 April 2000). JC CHECHENS CLAIM TO HAVE EXECUTED NINE RUSSIAN POLICEMEN. Nine Russian Interior Ministry troops have been summarily executed after the Russian military refused to exchange them for a Russian officer charged with raping and murdering a Chechen girl, according to an announcement posted on a Chechen Internet site on 5 April, dpa and Reuters reported. The Russians had been captured on 29 March during fighting in the east Chechen village of Zhani-Vedeno (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 and 31 March 2000). LF CHECHEN PRESIDENT REJECTS MOSCOW'S CONDITIONS FOR TALKS. In a statement released in Strasbourg on 4 April by former Chechen Foreign Minister Akhyad Idigiov, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov said Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii is aware that the preconditions he has repeatedly set for peace talks with the Chechen leadership are unacceptable to the latter, Interfax reported. Those conditions include releasing all hostages currently held in Chechnya. Maskhadov added that "the West's position enables Russia to continue hostilities against Chechnya." Also on 4 April, ITAR-TASS quoted Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroev as telling journalists that Maskhadov's wife and family are currently in North Ossetia under the protection of local security bodies. Stroev added that North Ossetian President Aleksandr Dzasokhov is in daily contact with Maskhadov (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2000). LF RUSSIAN MUSLIM ORGANIZATION PROPOSES MODEL FOR RESOLVING CHECHEN CONFLICT. The Russian political movement Refakh has drafted a proposal for resolving the Chechen conflict, which it plans to present to President-elect Putin, Refakh leader and State Duma deputy Kurban Amirov told a press conference in Moscow on 4 April, according to "Nezavisimaya gazeta." The plan envisages the introduction of presidential rule in Chechnya for several years, followed by a referendum on the optimum status for Chechnya within the Russian Federation. In addition, it foresees Chechnya's being granted special economic status "as a sort of Russian Hong Kong" to encourage Western investment. LF TWO KILLED IN DAGHESTAN BOMBING. Two people were killed and three injured on the evening of 3 April when a bomb exploded on a passenger bus travelling from Daghestan's Novo-Laak Raion to neighboring Chechnya, Interfax reported the following day. On 4 April, ITAR-TASS quoted Russian military spokesmen in the North Caucasus as saying that Chechen reconnaissance groups have been spotted in three western raions of Daghestan. Those spokesmen believe Chechen field commander Khattab plans to move his men to Daghestan and then leave Russia "using fake documents and local guides." LF MOSCOW REJECTS NATO'S CRITICISM OF MILITARY DOCTRINE. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko told Reuters on 4 April that NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark's criticism of Russia's new military doctrine was "entirely without foundation." Clark had said the document is a step in the wrong direction and should be revised (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). According to Yakovenko, First Deputy Chief of Army General Staff Colonel General Valerii Manilov, who reportedly helped draft the doctrine, will hold a press conference later this week to respond to Clark's comments. JC KARAGANOV CALLS FOR MOSCOW TO REJECT 'SUPERPOWER PHANTOM.' In an interview with "Segodnya" on 4 April, Sergei Karaganov, head of the influential Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, urged Moscow to give up pursuing a foreign policy that smacks of the "superpower" policies that the Soviet Union pursued during the Cold War. Instead, he called for a foreign policy that avoids confrontation, "particularly with the countries on which global development depends," and promotes integration. With regard to the concept of a "multipolar world," to which both Russia and China have repeatedly subscribed, Karaganov commented that it is drawing Moscow into the stand-off between the United States and China. Now China is "sound economically," he said, it can "afford" the concept of a multipolar world, particularly since Russia, rather than China, has been actively promoting that concept. And he added that as far as the concept is concerned, "we are only an instrument wielded by China...and it's time we recognized it." JC IT'S OFFICIAL. Russia's Central Election Commission released on 5 April the officials results of the 26 March presidential elections. President-elect Putin received 52.94 percent of the vote, while Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov came in second with 29.21 percent. Yabloko leader collected 5.8 percent of the vote and Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleev, 2.95 percent. Putin's inauguration will take place on 7 May. JAC ZYUGANOV CHARGES OUTRIGHT VOTING FRAUD IN NINE REGIONS. Communist Party leader Zyuganov repeated his charge on 4 April that voting results in the recent presidential elections were falsified. He said that serious violations of the election law occurred in 25 regions, and in nine of them the results were completely falsified. According to "Moskovskii komsomolets" on 5 April, Zyuganov singled out the republics of Bashkortostan, Mordovia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia and Tatarstan as well as Kaliningrad and Saratov Oblasts. He claimed that in Bashkortostan, people stood by the ballot box and told voters how to vote, while in Tatarstan 3 million extra ballot papers were printed in order to boost the number of votes cast for Putin. Central Election Commission Chairman Aleksandr Veshnyakov said on 4 April that no concrete complaints or statements have yet been submitted to the commission. Writing in "Novaya gazeta" (No. 12), Boris Kagarlitskii of the Institute for Comparative Politics alleged that more than 50 percent of all eligible voters did not participate in elections, compared with the official figure of some 35 percent. JAC ELECTRICITY MONOPOLY SET FOR OVERHAUL. The board of directors of Unified Energy Systems (EES) agreed at a meeting on 4 April to restructure the energy monopoly, Interfax reported. EES Chairman Anatolii Chubais said that the new concept for restructuring has two goals: to "recreate a single energy network in which regions are linked together by electric power lines" and to create a single Russia-wide tariff system. According to "The Moscow Times" the next day, the new tariffs will inevitably be higher. Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko told journalists on 4 April that "EES is not as efficient as the government would like it to be both in terms of its core activity and its fulfillment of social obligations." "Rossiiskaya gazeta" reported on 5 April that because Gazprom had reduced gas supplies to the nationwide electric power stations by three times and to regional systems by 1.7 times, EES will reduce electricity supplies by 25 percent in April. JAC RUSSIA WINS PLACE AMONG WORLD'S MOST CORRUPT. Russia placed in the top 20 most corrupt countries in the world, according to a recent Gallup International poll, AFP reported on 4 April. The poll was conducted through interviews with senior bankers, business leaders, and government officials in each country. Russia finished on a par with Ecuador. JAC ANOTHER BLOW FOR MICROSOFT? Russia's military-industrial enterprises have allegedly received "secret instructions" from the Defense Ministry requiring them to use Russian software instead of systems and programs produced by Microsoft, "Vremya MN" reported on 4 April. According to the daily, the order is intended to guarantee information security. The next day, "The Moscow Times" reported that draft legislation regulating the Internet has been leaked from the State Duma. According to the daily, the draft is very rough and would likely require significant revision before it could be considered. Among its provisions are a ban on spam or junk e-mail, granting the government the right to register domain names, and substituting invented Russian words for foreign terms such as Internet (interset) and computer (eletronnovychislitelnaya mashina). JAC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA KARABAKH PROSECUTOR SAYS FORMER MINISTER PLANNED ATTACK ON PRESIDENT. Mavrik Ghukasian, prosecutor-general of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, told a news conference in Stepanakert on 4 April that the enclave's former defense minister, Samvel Babayan, has been formally charged with masterminding the 22 March assassination attempt on President Arkadii Ghukasian, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. Mavrik Ghukasian said that the charges were read to Babayan in the presence of his lawyer after the former minister had admitted his guilt. He added that there is "sufficient evidence" that Babayan planned to install an interim military government after the president's demise and then assume the leadership. LF FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY CONDEMNS 'PERSECUTION' OF EX- MINISTER. The Armenian Pan-National Movement issued a statement on 4 April condemning the Yerevan district court ruling of the previous day empowering the country's prosecutor-general to ask the parliament to allow the detention of parliamentary deputy and former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian, Noyan Tapan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). The statement characterized the measures against Siradeghian as "persecution" and a manifestation of the "wave of terror" sweeping the country. It said the court ruling demonstrates that the Armenian judiciary is not independent of the executive. Also on 4 April, parliamentary deputy speaker Gagik Aslanian said he thinks it unlikely that Siradeghian has fled the country to avoid being taken into custody, according to Armenpress cited by Groong. LF FORMER GEORGIAN NAVAL COMMANDER SENTENCED. A Tbilisi district court on 4 April handed down a two-year prison sentence to Naval Captain Otar Chkhartishvili, former commander of the Georgian navy, for abuse of office and misappropriating 78,000 lari ($40,000), Caucasus Press reported. The prosecution had demanded a 12-year jail term. Chkhartishvili refused to testify during his trial, which lasted over a year. He had been fired by Defense Minister David Tevzadze in spring 1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 May 1998). LF KAZAKHSTAN'S PREMIER ANTICIPATES RISE IN GDP. Addressing a cabinet session in Astana on 4 April, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev said that GDP growth during the first quarter of 2000 is likely to exceed 8 percent, compared with the previous year, Interfax reported. He said industrial output for the first quarter of the year increased by 14.5 percent, compared with the first three months of 1999. Toqaev also noted a marked improvement in tax collection. In an interview published in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 1 April, Toqaev's first deputy, Aleksandr Pavlov, noted that Kazakhstan has finally overcome the after-effects of the 1998 Russian economic crisis, and he predicted a stage of "steady growth." LF COMPROMISED KAZAKH SECURITY OFFICIAL MOVES TO FOREIGN MINISTRY. Prime Minister Toqaev has named Nurtai Abyqaev to the post of first deputy foreign minister, Interfax reported on 4 April. Abyqaev was dismissed in August 1999 from his post as head of the National Security Committee for his involvement in the clandestine sale to North Korea of obsolete MiG fighters (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 August 1999). He had previously served as head of the presidential administration and as Kazakhstan's ambassador to the U.K. LF POLICE DISPERSE KYRGYZ PROTESTERS. Some 200 police used force to disperse participants in the ongoing picket in central Bishkek during the late evening of 4 April, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Fifteen picketers who had embarked on a hunger strike to protest the 22 March detention of opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov were forcibly hospitalized. Kulov had appealed to them earlier that day to abandon their fast. On 31 March the Bishkek City administration had issued a ban on pickets and demonstrations, except on one city square at a greater distance from the government building. LF BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TAJIKISTAN. Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived in Dushanbe on 4 April at the head of a delegation that also included the Belarusian defense, industry and finance ministers and the secretary of the country's Security Council, ITAR-TASS reported. Lukashenka stressed the unused potential for expanding by up to 10 times bilateral trade, which declined by 40 percent last year, according to Interfax. He said Belarus is interested in importing cotton, aluminum, and tobacco from Tajikistan and exporting agricultural equipment, fertilizers and oil products. LF END NOTE TURN OF THE SCREWS by Julie A. Corwin As Russia and the rest of the world waits for President- elect Vladimir Putin to make some decisive policy moves, leaders in Russia's far-flung regions already know what to expect. During his three months as acting president, Putin initiated changes in how Moscow manages its relations with the periphery. And in a marked contrast to how he began his tenure at the helm of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Putin is making no assurances that a major overhaul will not occur. Consider Putin's words at his first press conference when he took over as director of the FSB in 1998. He promised that "there will practically be no new approaches to work with the regions." He declared that control in the regions "will be strengthened but no extra tightening of the screws (zakruchivaniye gaek) will take place." Before his FSB assignment, Putin headed the Kremlin's Control Department, where, among other things, he uncovered 9,000 cases in which federal money totaling some 3 trillion rubles ($104 billion at the current exchange rate) had been spent by the regions for purposes other than those intended. Putin's rise to power made regional leaders understandably nervous. Now, as then, regional leaders' anxiety is almost palpable. Governors of all political stripes moved with breakneck speed to back Putin's presidential campaign and form their own branches of the Putin-backed Unity movement. Some even suggested that the presidential term be lengthened and the federation reformed into a smaller number of more manageable units. But rather than reassuring the fretful regional poo-bahs, this time Putin started promising change from the very beginning. Less than a month after taking over from former President Boris Yeltsin, Putin called for declaring a war against the "legal chaos" existing in regions where local laws often conflict with federal legislation. Later, he spoke about the need to place "all subjects of the Russian Federation in the same economic conditions vis-a-vis the federal center," noting that "several subjects have certain privileges that others do not." So far, Putin's only concession to maintaining the status quo was rejection of the idea of appointing--rather than electing--governors, as some regional heads had suggested. The president-elect noted that the Russian population has "gotten used to its right to influence who will be its leader." But more important than Putin's words have been his actions and that of his government. One month after his appointment as acting president, Putin dismissed more than 20 presidential representatives to Russian regions, replacing them with his own appointees. In the weeks that followed, the Justice Ministry announced the formation of a commission to check the compliance of regional laws with federal legislation; the Interior Ministry reorganized its structure, subordinating all of its regional criminal police units to Moscow headquarters; the Finance Ministry announced stricter controls over regional finances; and the Tax Ministry announced expansion of its project to maximize information about the regions' tax-paying capabilities. And only last week, German Gref, the head of the Center for Strategic Research, the think tank charged with drafting Putin's economic program, told reporters that the relationship between the federal government and regional governors will be revised. What all these diverse policies have in common is a tightening of control by the center over the regions. And it may be reasonable to assume that in the future Putin will seek to maximize control by supporting those regional heads who not only express loyalty but can themselves control outcomes on their territories and deliver on their promises to the center. Those leaders who did not get the vote out for Putin in presidential elections may find themselves in a vulnerable position vis-a-vis Moscow. One example might be Primorskii Krai, where Governor Yevgenii Nazdratenko was one of the first governors to support Unity. There, Putin barely scraped a victory with some 40.08 percent of the vote, compared with Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov's 36.36 percent. Similarly, in Buryatia, Putin also performed poorly next to Zyuganov, 41.96 percent versus 40.53 percent. This occurred. despite the fact that three deputy prime ministers in the republic's government took three-month vacations so that they could head the local election headquarters for Putin. Since Putin has rejected the notion of appointing governors, he may have to rely on less obvious means of controlling regional leaders. "Vedomosti" suggested last month that new legal measures being introduced to tighten federal control over regional finances may make regional leaders "docile" without the necessity of more overt administrative measures. After all, only a handful of Russia's 89 regions contribute more in revenue to the center than they get in return. But previous attempts at recentralizing Russia have generally failed--stymied in part by the sheer size of the federation. Putin may have one advantage that his predecessors since Stalin lacked: fear. Putin's conduct of policy in Chechnya and in the presidential elections suggests he has a tendency toward "overkill" and is uncomfortable leaving anything to chance. In 1998, when Kalmykia's President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov challenged the then weak Yeltsin leadership by announcing that his republic considered itself outside of the federation and would no longer transfer its federal taxes, Moscow responded harshly, dismissing its federal treasury official there and suspending all aid. What is the likelihood that Ilyumzhinov or one of his peers will risk making even a less dramatic statement and discovering President Putin's reaction? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 4:18:15 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 68, Part II, 5 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 4:18:15 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 68, Part II, 5 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 68, Part II, 5 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * PACE ASKS UKRAINE TO DELAY 16 APRIL REFERENDUM * SERBIAN OFFICERS REVEAL 'SICKENING ATROCITIES' IN KOSOVA * DEL PONTE SEEKS EVIDENCE IN CROATIA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN LEGISLATURE ENDORSES BILL ON BANKRUPTCY. The Chamber of Representatives has passed in the first reading a bill on bankruptcy, Belapan reported on 4 April. The bill lists the grounds on which debtors may be declared bankrupt, describes bankruptcy procedures, and regulates other aspects of the insolvency, reorganization, and liquidation of economic entities. The bill applies to non-state companies, cooperatives, and foundations. Meanwhile, Supreme Economic Court Deputy Chairman Viktar Kamyankou told the legislature that as of 1 February, 40 percent of state-run companies were loss-making and 46 percent are currently insolvent, of which only 14 percent have a chance to recover solvency within six months. He added that 4 percent of such companies are virtual bankrupts. JM PACE ASKS UKRAINE TO DELAY 16 APRIL REFERENDUM... The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has asked Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to postpone the 16 April constitutional referendum until the parliament has adopted a new law on referenda, Reuters and AP reported on 4 April. PACE also warned that it will consider suspending Ukraine's membership if the referendum is conducted unconstitutionally or if referendum results are implemented unconstitutionally. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk commented in Strasbourg the same day that PACE's recommendation is "unjust and unfair." The same day the EU welcomed the Ukrainian Constitutional Court's ruling that gave the go-ahead to the referendum. "This decision is a positive development, which provides encouraging evidence of the effective functioning of Ukrainian democratic institutions," the EU said in a statement. JM ...WHILE KUCHMA SAYS REFERENDUM WILL BE HELD 'UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.' Commenting on PACE's recommendation, the Ukrainian president said the referendum will take place on the scheduled day "under any circumstances," Interfax reported on 4 April. "If someone is regarding Ukraine as a colony, then he is mistaken," Kuchma added. The main question in the plebiscite, he commented, is the one on giving the president the right to disband the parliament if it fails to approve a budget or form a majority. Meanwhile, Central Electoral Commission head Mykhaylo Ryabets reported the same day that the printing of referendum ballots has been completed. A total of 160 million have been printed, since each of the referendum's four questions has been put on a separate ballot (Ukraine has some 38 million voters). JM UKRAINE DISMISSES RUSSIA'S CRITICISM OF CHECHEN INFORMATION CENTER. Foreign Minister spokesman Ihor Hrushko on 4 April said the ministry is surprised by Russia's "inadequate reaction" to the opening of an information center by the Free Caucasus committee in Lviv, Interfax reported. Hrushko added that the opening of the center was initiated by the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA), which is a legally registered association. "Ukraine, as a legal democratic state, considers it impossible to implement any sanctions against citizens who are using their right to freely express their stance without violating national laws," Hrushko noted, adding that the center does not reflect the government's official viewpoint. ITAR-TASS on 3 April quoted an official from Russia's Foreign Ministry as saying that the inauguration of Lviv's Chechen center is an "openly unfriendly step with regard to Russia." JM ESTONIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES AMENDMENTS ON SCHOOL INTEGRATION. After a heated session on 4 April, the parliament voted by 38 to 29 to approve a package of amendments on the integration of schools. Under the new regulation, a secondary school with 60 percent of its curriculum in Estonian would be considered an Estonian-language school. All secondary schools must start the transition to that status by the 2007/2008 academic year, BNS reported. Parliamentary deputy Marju Lauristin said that schools will have flexibility as regards the remaining 40 percent of their curriculum. ETA added that instruction in the mother tongues of minorities will remain in force for primary education (up to grade nine) under the amendments. MH ESTONIA, RUSSIA AGREE ON LONG-TERM VISAS FOR BORDER REGIONS. Negotiators from Estonia and Russia, meeting on 4 April in Haapsalu, agreed on restructuring the visa regime for residents of border regions. At Estonia's request, the current practice of simplified border crossings for all border area residents has been terminated so that Tallinn can adhere to EU integration measures. Currently the simplified crossing procedures apply to about 19,300 residents. The two sides agreed to issue long-term multiple-entry visas for those who have close family and property across the border and/or attend religious services in the other country, "Eesti Paevaleht" reported. In addition, both sides pledged to offer 4,000 of the visas free of charge. The abolition of simplified border crossings had worried, above all, the small Setu minority, whose settlement was severed in half under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. MH POLISH LEADERS SLAM SECRET SERVICE FOR INTERNET REPORT. Aleksander Kwasniewski and Jerzy Buzek on 4 April criticized Poland's State Protection Office (UOP) for publishing on its official Website a report listing major threats to the country's security, Polish media reported. Both Kwasniewski and Buzek said the report should remain confidential. In particular, the report says the major threats to Poland are Russia's continued spying operations and instability in post-Soviet countries. It also suggests that the Lithuanian government is conducting a policy of assimilation of ethnic Poles in Lithuania. "Gazeta Wyborcza" commented the same day that the report contradicts the official line of the Foreign Ministry, which is seeking to improve Polish-Russian ties. A UOP spokeswoman said the report appeared online as the result of a "misunderstanding," but she did not elaborate. JM POLISH RADICAL FARMERS' LEADER ARRESTED, RELEASED. Andrzej Lepper, leader of the Radical farmers' union Self-Defense, was arrested at a Polish-Czech border checkpoint on 4 April under an arrest warrant issued by a court in Lodz last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). However, the Lodz court the same day revoked its warrant and Lepper was released. "This action [to arrest] me has greatly discredited the judicial system," PAP quoted Lepper as saying. Lepper has been charged with slandering government officials and last week failed for the second time to appear in the court. A fierce opponent of Poland's bid for EU entry, Lepper has announced he will run in this year's presidential elections. JM CZECH LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL ON BUSHEHR CONTRACT AGAIN. The Chamber of Deputies has once again passed a bill on banning exports to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, Czech media reported on 4 April. The chamber rejected a Senate amendment to the bill calling for the state to compensate any companies that had contracts to supply Bushehr before 1 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 March 2000). VG CZECH PRESIDENT NAMES NEW INTERIOR MINISTER. Vaclav Havel on 4 April accepted outgoing Interior Minister Vaclav Grulich's resignation and named Stanislav Gross to replace him, Czech media reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 April 2000). Earlier, Gross had resigned as deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies and as head of the Czech Social Democratic Party's group of deputies in the parliament. CSSD deputy chairman Zdenek Skromach will replace Gross in the latter post, while Gross is expected to assume Skromach's position in the party leadership. The exchange appears to have been concocted in order to enable Gross to hold on to his political influence within the governing party. VG SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER RECALLS FICO FROM EUROPEAN COURT. Eduard Kukan on 4 April decided to recall Robert Fico from his position as Slovakia's representative on the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission for Human Rights, TASR reported. Kukan, who was acting on a recommendation from Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky, said Fico was recalled because he recently became the leader of the Smer political party. "There are no agents of other countries who are leaders of political parties," said Kukan. VG SLOVAK BROADCASTING COUNCIL FINES TV MARKIZA. The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting on 4 April fined the private television station TV Markiza 2 million crowns ($49,000) for broadcasting an interview with rock musician Richard Mueller during which he said drugs inspire him, Slovak media reported. Mueller had also said he has used marijuana and cocaine. Police have charged Mueller with the promotion of drugs. If found guilty, he could face up to eight years in prison. VG HUNGARIAN CABINET COMPLAINS OF BBC DISTORTION. The government's National Image Center has sent letter to the board of the BBC World Television a complaining about the "distorted" picture of Hungary presented in a recent BBC documentary, the daily "Nepszabadsag" reports on 5 April. The letter says it is "regrettable" that the 17 March documentary, on the spread of global organized crime was based on errors. The film charged that the professional standards, moral levels. and salaries of Hungarian police are low and claimed that there is a "tidal wave" of corruption and organized crime in Hungary. The letter said the film was based on events that took place from 1994-1997 but were presented as current. And it concluded that the least "excusable error " was that Hungary's 1999 budget was put at $400 million, while the correct figure is $14.6 billion. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE SERBIAN OFFICERS REVEAL 'SICKENING ATROCITIES' IN KOSOVA. A new internal Yugoslav army report details numerous Serbian officers' revulsion at the atrocities they saw fellow Serbs commit against defenseless Albanian civilians in Kosova in 1999, London's "The Independent" reported on 5 April. One commander of a tank unit said that "for the entire time I was in [Kosova], I never saw a single enemy soldier, and my unit was never involved in firing at military targets." He added that "tanks, which cost $2.5 million each, were used to slaughter Albanian children. I am ashamed," the British daily added. A second officer described how he watched with his "own eyes as a reservist lined up 30 Albanian women and children..., crouched down behind an anti-aircraft machine- gun, and pulled the trigger. The half-inch bullets just tore the bodies apart," he said. The army compiled the study in January and February to "gauge morale against the backdrop of growing tension between Serbia and Montenegro." Most officers were "appalled" at the prospect of a conflict with Montenegro and were "traumatized" by what they saw in Kosova, the daily added. PM YUGOSLAV ARMY REJECTS SPECIAL LINKS TO MONTENEGRO. The army said in a statement in Belgrade on 4 April that it communicates directly with civilian authorities and does not need any go-betweens, "Danas" reported. The statement added that three former generals whom the Montenegrin government has hired as advisers were fired from the military because they "lost the trust" of the army (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 April 2000). PM ROBERTSON SAYS KOSOVA MISSION ON 'RAZOR'S EDGE.' NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said in Washington on 4 April that the alliance's mission in Kosova is "still on that razor's edge between success...or failure--failure of political will, a failure to put in the right resources. We have to succeed for a whole series of reasons, but most of all because we want to create a model...for what the international community can do in stopping evil and rebuilding a healthy, [multi-]ethnic, [and] democratic society," AP reported. PM KOSOVA VILLAGES QUIET AFTER CLASH. Several Serbian-inhabited villages in the Sara National Park area on the Kosova- Macedonian border were quiet on 5 April after a clash between some 150 local Serbian civilians and KFOR troops the previous day, Reuters reported. The clash involved "shoving, clubs, dogs, and rubber bullets," AP added. The confrontation began when peacekeepers tried to confiscate illegally-held grenades from a Serbian home and arrested one Serb. The man subsequently escaped and was not recaptured. Some 11 U.S. troops, one Polish soldier, an interpreter, and up to 14 Serbian civilians sustained light injuries. PM CROATIAN POLICE ARREST ALLEGED SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL. Police in Sisak arrested Nebojsa Jelic on 4 April after he returned from Serbia. The ethnic Serb is wanted for allegedly "maltreating and torturing" 16 Croatian policemen and a civilian in Glina in 1991, AP reported. Jelic, who belonged to a paramilitary unit during the Krajina Serb uprising, confessed his crimes to police. He added that he felt he would be better off "in a Croatian prison than living as a free man in Serbia," the news agency added. PM DEL PONTE SEEKS EVIDENCE IN CROATIA. The Hague-based war crimes tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, arrived in Zagreb on 4 April from Slovenia. She met with President Stipe Mesic and is slated to hold talks with Prime Minister Ivica Racan and Justice Minister Stjepan Ivanisevic on 5 April. Her main goal is to obtain key documents regarding the Croatian offensives in Krajina in 1995 and their aftermath. Mesic said that Croatia wants to cooperate with the tribunal because the government knows that the country can be absolved of collective guilt for war crimes only by establishing the guilt of specific individuals, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Government spokesmen would neither confirm nor deny reports that Del Ponte is looking for specific documents about wartime Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, Ivan Korade, and Mirko Norac, "Novi List" reported on 5 April. PM IS PLAVSIC ON HAGUE'S ARREST LIST? Several Bosnian Serb legal experts say that virtually all Bosnian Serb leaders during the 1992-1995 war have been indicted by the Hague-based tribunal, either openly or in sealed indictments. Allegedly included on the list is former Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic, who has long broken with the hard-liners, "Vesti" reported on 5 April. The newspaper also notes that NATO recently refused to guarantee the safety of General Manojlo Milovanovic, who consequently refused to go on a planned trip to Brussels. PM PETRITSCH CALLS FOR 'CHANGE' IN BOSNIAN VOTE. Wolfgang Petritsch, who is the international community's chief representative in Bosnia, said in a statement in Sarajevo on 4 April that he hopes voters will choose "change" when they cast their ballots in local elections on 8 April. He specifically urged voters to consider voting for "open lists" instead of traditional one-party slates, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The international community's representatives in Bosnia want to break the 10-year grip of nationalist parties on the electorate. The nationalists, for their part, have accused the foreigners of interfering in the electoral process. In addition, Petritsch warned that Bosnia may soon face a deep "economic crisis" unless its legislators quickly introduce key reforms and work seriously to fight corruption, "Oslobodjenje" reported. PM SERBIA BANS CORRESPONDENT. The Serbian authorities on 4 April banned Carlotta Gall, who is a correspondent for the "New York Times," from visiting Serbia for one year. Gall's visa had long expired. The ban also applies to Edward Testa, who is a photographer working for the same daily, AP reported. In New York, Gall's editor Andrew Rosenthal said that his newspaper has asked the Serbian authorities to "look into this." PM LARGEST MACEDONIAN BANK SOLD. The National Bank of Greece, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Financing Cooperation bought some 65 percent of the shares of Stopanska Banka for $46.5 million on 4 April. Some 80 percent of the foreign-held assets belong to the National Bank of Greece. PM ALBANIAN FORMALLY ENDS DEATH PENALTY. Prime Minister Ilir Meta signed documents at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 4 April confirming that his country has abolished capital punishment, "Die Presse" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 December 1999). PM ITALY, ALBANIA AGREE ON MIGRANT LABOR. The Italian Embassy in Tirana said in a statement on 4 April that Italy has agreed to accept 6,000 seasonal workers in an effort to halt illegal immigration. To apply for a visa, the workers need only an invitation from relatives already working legally in Italy, dpa reported. Previously, legal migrants had to find a job in Italy before applying for a visa. Tirana and Rome want to end the lucrative traffic in illegal immigrants from Albania to Italy. In related news, the Albanian Foreign Ministry on 5 April issued a statement appealing to Greece not to shoot at ships carrying illegal immigrants. The previous day, Greek patrol boats allegedly fired at a high-speed boat carrying illegal immigrants from Albania to Corfu, Reuters reported. PM SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER IN ROMANIA. Eduard Kukan and his Romanian counterpart, Petre Roman, said in Bucharest on 4 April their countries will support each other's efforts to gain membership in the EU and NATO as well as temporary seats on the UN Security Council, Rompres and TASR reported. Roman invited Slovakia to participate in the construction of the new seaport Constanta-South and accepted Slovakia's offer to take part in building a second bridge across the River Danube. Meanwhile, in Bratislava, Slovak Environment Minister Laszlo Miklos said his country will seek compensation from Bucharest for damage caused by two recent incidents of pollution on the Tisza River. Miklos said Bratislava will coordinate its efforts to obtain compensation with other countries in the region. VG MULTICULTURAL UNIVERSITY IN ROMANIA GIVEN 'GREEN LIGHT.' Overturning a decision by the Bucharest Appeals Court, the Supreme Court on 4 April paved the way for the setting up of the Petofi-Schiller "multicultural" university, Mediafax reported. The government had appealed the lower court's decision, which had ruled at the request of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania and the Party of Romanian National Unity that the institution was "illegal." The government had decided on 30 September 1998 to establish the university. The decision of the Supreme Court is final and cannot be appealed. MS ROMANIAN COURT APPROVES ROYAL RESTITUTION. A court in Arad has approved former King Michael's request that the Savarsin castle in Transylvania be restituted to him, Romanian Radio reported on 4 April. The castle is, in fact, a large hunting lodge. MS MOLDOVAN OFFICIAL SAYS RUSSIA TO SUBMIT TIMETABLE FOR TROOP WITHDRAWAL. Moldovan Foreign Ministry official Ion Stavila said on 4 April that Russia has promised to submit a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops from the breakaway region of Transdniester by the end of April, BASA-press and Infotag reported. He said Moldovan and Russian negotiators agreed to this during talks in Chisinau last weekend. VG BULGARIA AGAIN REJECTS UN REPORT. Bulgaria on 4 April again rejected a recent UN report saying the country violated international sanctions against the sale of arms to Angola's UNITA rebels (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 March 2000), an RFE/RL correspondent reported. The Bulgarian mission at the UN has sent a letter to the UN Security Council describing the report as a "distortion and misinterpretation" of the facts. The UN Security Council is expected to consider a resolution based on the report in about two weeks. VG BULGARIAN LEFTIST PARTIES TO COOPERATE. The Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Euro-Left have agreed to cooperate in Bulgaria's next parliamentary elections, Bulgarian Radio reported on 4 April. Meanwhile, the Green Party has announced that it will leave the Alliance for National Salvation to form a new parliamentary group. VG xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. For subscription problems or inquiries, please email listmanager@list.rferl.org ________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at: http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/ _________________________________________________ LISTEN TO NEWS FOR 25 COUNTRIES RFE/RL programs are online daily at RFE/RL's 24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio. http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html _________________________________________________ REPRINT POLICY To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 202-457-6992 _________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF * Paul Goble, Publisher, GobleP@rferl.org * Liz Fuller, Editor-in-Chief, CarlsonE@rferl.org * Patrick Moore, Coordinator for Balkan Analysis, MooreP@rferl.org * Jan Cleave, CleaveJ@rferl.org * Julie A. Corwin, CorwinJ@rferl.org * Jan Maksymiuk, MaksymiukJ@rferl.org * Michael Shafir, ShafirM@rferl.org FREE-LANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS * Asta Banionis, Pete Baumgartner, Victor Gomez, Mel Huang, Dan Ionescu, Jolyon Naegele, Fabian Schmidt, Matyas Szabo, Anthony Wesolowsky, Martins J. Zvaners, Mato Zsolt-Istvan RFE/RL Newsline Fax: (420-2) 2112-3630 _________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC !@#$%^&*()****** MAIL SEP ******!@#$%^&*() From: RFE/RL List Manager Date: Monday, April 03, 2000 4:21:19 PM Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 66, Part II, 3 April 2000 )((*&^%#@!****** PART SEP ******)((*&^%#@! Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: RFE/RL List Manager[SMTP:LISTMANAGER@LIST.RFERL.ORG] > Sent: Monday, April 03, 2000 4:21:19 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 66, Part II, 3 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 66, Part II, 3 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part II * CZECH INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS * NATO TROOPS ARREST EX-BOSNIAN SERB CHIEF * KOSOVA'S SERBS RETURN TO UN COUNCIL xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION MARKS 'UNIFICATION DAY' WITH MEMORIAL SERVICE. Some 500 people marked the anniversary of the 2 April 1997 pact on the creation of a Belarusian-Russian union state with a memorial service for those who fought for Belarus's independence in the past, Belapan reported. The service took place at the monument in Minsk to Belarusian poet Yanka Kupala. The police did not intervene even though the meeting was not authorized. The anniversary is an official holiday in Belarus called "Unification Day of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia." JM BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SAYS 25 MARCH CRACKDOWN WAS 'MISTAKE.' Alyaksandr Lukashenka has said that the 25 March police action in Minsk, which led to the arrest of several hundred people, including some 40 journalists, was a "misunderstanding and mistake" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2000). Lukashenka pledged to journalists to "sort out" the circumstances surrounding the incident and "draw conclusions," Belarusian Television reported on 31 March. On 25 March, Lukashenka was on an official trip to the United Arab Emirates. Interior Minister Yury Sivakou told Belarusian Television after the 25 March arrests that Lukashenka had instructed him "to ensure order and security during his absence," adding that the ministry "complied with this instruction." JM UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT DECREES AMNESTY FOR UNTAXED CAPITAL. Leonid Kuchma has signed a decree whereby untaxed capital of individuals is to be legalized by submitting a revenues declaration to the State Tax Inspectorate without indicating the source of those revenues, the "Eastern Economist Daily" reported on 3 April. The decree intends to boost investments in the Ukrainian economy, improve tax revenues, and stop the outflow of capital from the country. Kuchma also ordered the cabinet to draft a law that would ban officials from seeking information about the declared capital's origin and include a promise that the "earnings legalized under this law would not be confiscated in the future," AP reported. JM EU COMMISSIONER SEES ESTONIA IN 'FIRST ROUND' OF NEW MEMBERS. During a visit to Tallinn on 31 March, European Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said he sees no reason for Estonia not being in the first wave of EU enlargement. He added that key decisions on the timetable for enlargement will be made later this year, BNS reported. Verheugen told journalists that the Baltic countries constitute "economically a very dynamic region, with thriving economic growth, strong potential," but he added that "investment possibilities have not been used 100 percent," according to ETA. He also touched upon the possibility of one Baltic country joining before the others: "It is extremely advisable for geographic and political regions to stay together but it is not obligatory." MH INVESTIGATOR CLEARS LATVIAN PROSECUTOR. Supreme Court justice Voldemars Cizevskis, who was charged with investigating the conduct of outgoing Prosecutor-General Janis Skrastins, has cleared the official of any wrongdoing, LETA reported on 31 March. Cizevskis said Skrastins has neither violated the law nor been negligent in carrying out his duties, a charge brought by members of the parliament. A total of 57 parliamentary deputies signed a petition asking the Supreme Court to investigate Skrastins (see "RFE/RL Baltic States Report," 7 February 2000). Skrastins had resigned in early January, citing the debate over new legislation on prosecutors politicizing his position. MH TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN LATVIA NEAR $6 BILLION. The Statistics Department on 31 March announced that as of 1 January 2000, a total of 3.51 billion lats ($5.91 billion) had been invested in Latvia, BNS reported. As of that date, accrued total foreign direct investment in Latvia was 1.1 billion lats, or 453 lats per capita. Total foreign direct investment for 1999 reached 214 million. In all, 777 million lats have been invested from abroad in registered capital of Latvian- incorporated companies: Denmark tops the list at 107 million lats (14 percent), followed by the U.S. with 76 million lats (10 percent) and Germany with 65 million lats (8 percent). The largest investors in 1999 were Sweden (19 million lats), Estonia (15 million lats), and Finland and Germany (9 million lats each). MH CZECH PREMIER OFFERS SUPPORT TO LITHUANIA. Milos Zeman stressed his country's support for Lithuania's NATO and EU aspirations during his visit to Vilnius on 31 March. Zeman, in a meeting with his counterpart, Andrius Kubilius, expressed the desire for closer cooperation in economic, political and military spheres, ELTA reported. Several bilateral agreements were signed during his visit. Zeman also offered assistance on agricultural reform, saying that in the Czech Republic the number of people working in agriculture has dropped from 15 percent to 4 percent, although the transition was "painful." MH POLISH COURT ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR RADICAL FARMERS' LEADER. The regional court in Lodz, central Poland, has issued a warrant for the arrest of Andrzej Lepper, leader of the radical farmers' trade union Self-Defense, after he failed to appear in the court for a second time on charges of slander, Polish media reported on 1 April. Prosecutors filed charges following statements by Lepper last June referring to the government as an "anti-Polish, inhuman regime" and to a deputy prime minister as a "bandit." Lepper, who is currently in India, told a radio station on 1 April that he is innocent and not afraid to return to Poland. If found guilty, he could face a two-year prison sentence for slandering state bodies. JM POLISH MINISTER DENIES HE URGED RUSSIA TO STOP SPYING. Janusz Palubicki, Poland's minister in charge of special services, denied on 31 March that he threatened "further steps" if Russia does not stop spying activities in Poland (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000), PAP reported. Palubicki said journalists misinterpreted his words. Palubicki's denial followed Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek's statement that he is unaware of any Russian spying in Poland and President Aleksander Kwasniewski's demand that Premier Jerzy Buzek provide explanations for Palubicki's statements. JM POLISH EUROSKEPTIC ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL BID. Jan Lopuszanski, leader of the right-wing nationalist "Polish Agreement" parliamentary group, has said he will run in this year's presidential elections, Polish media reported on 31 March. Lopuszanski said he had opposed Poland's joining NATO and will now oppose Poland's EU bid. JM CZECH INTERIOR MINISTER RESIGNS... Vaclav Grulich told journalists on 31 March that he has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Zeman and President Vaclav Havel, effective 4 April. Grulich, who had long been tipped to be among the "victims" of the reshuffle agreed between his own Social Democratic Party (CSSD) and the Civic Democratic Party, said his enforced resignation was "politically motivated," CTK reported. Grulich is likely to be replaced by Stanislav Gross, leader of the CSSD parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies. Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek said Havel has no objection to Gross replacing Grulich. Hinting at the recent dispute between Havel and members of the government over the alleged politicization of the police, Gross said on 31 March that if he takes over the ministry he will not let anyone "meddle" in his decisions on personnel matters. MS ...OUTLAWS EXTREMIST ORGANIZATION. Before submitting his resignation, Grulich announced he has banned the far-right National Alliance. He told Czech Radio he revoked the organization's legal registration owing to repeated violations of the law, Reuters and CTK reported. Vladimir Skoupy, leader of the alliance, was taken into police custody in February and charged with the propagation of fascism and displaying Nazi symbols. Alliance spokesman Zbynek Rais said that the group will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. He added that the alliance has officially applied to be registered as a political party and expects the registration to be approved this week. At the same time, he said, it wants to preserve its status as a "civic association" because many of its members are under 18. Under Czech law, members of a party must be at least 18, while the minimum age for members of a civic association is 16. MS U.S. PILOTS TRAINING IN SLOVAKIA. Twelve F-16 U.S. air force fighter planes landed on 1 April at the Slovak Kuchnya air force base, where they will carry out training flights until mid-April, CTK reported. The equipment used during training will remain at the base and will also be used by the Slovak air force, although no joints flights are planned. MS CHARGES AGAINST TISO PLAQUE PROMOTERS DROPPED IN SLOVAKIA. A police investigator said on 31 March that charges have been dropped against Zilina's municipal councilors, who had decided to put up a memorial plaque honoring fascist war-time Slovak leader Josef Tiso (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 March 2000), CTK reported. The investigator said the town council has revoked that decision, and there is thus no reason to continue with criminal proceedings. MS HUNGARIAN BY-ELECTIONS TO BE REPEATED IN TWO WEEKS. Two parliamentary by-elections will have to be repeated on 16 April. In Szekesfehervar on 2 April, only 28 percent of eligible voters turned out. The opposition Socialist Party candidate Albert Molnar garnered 40.8 percent of the vote, followed by Peter Miko, the joint candidate of the FIDESZ, the Independent Smallholders and the Christian Democratic Federation. The same day in Fehergyarmat, turnout was over 50 percent, but none of the candidates received more than half of the votes. FIDESZ-Smallholder candidate Janos Lengyel came first with 42 percent backing, followed by Socialist Istvan Nemes with 27 percent. MSZ SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE NATO TROOPS ARREST EX-BOSNIAN SERB CHIEF. SFOR troops arrested Momcilo Krajisnik in Pale on 3 April under a "sealed indictment" from the Hague-based war crimes tribunal. The former Serbian representative on the Bosnian joint presidency is "the highest-ranking person" arrested and sent to The Hague so far, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said in Brussels. Krajisnik faces charges of "genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, including murder, willful killing, extermination, complicity in genocide, deportation, and inhumane acts," according to Robertson. He added that the arrest of the former top aide to Radovan Karadzic "is good news for justice and good news for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. To those individuals who remain at large I will repeat...the net is closing. It is time to give yourselves in." Robertson praised the "courage, professionalism, and dedication" of the troops who carried out the arrest. PM KRAJISNIK'S FAMILY DESCRIBES ARREST. Krajisnik's son Milos (21) told AP on 3 April that an unspecified number of NATO troops "took my dad away. Some of them spoke Serbian, some English, but mostly French." He said he counted seven or eight soldiers before they bound him and his brother Njegos and turned their faces toward the floor. Krajisnik's father, Sretko, told reporters that the troops used unnecessary force when they destroyed the door to the Krajisnik home with explosives prior to making the arrest. "If they had knocked on the door, I would have opened it," the elderly man said. PM CLARK SAYS NATO WATCHING MONTENEGRO. NATO's Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark said in Riga on 2 April that the Atlantic alliance is carefully monitoring possible moves by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to undermine the Montenegrin leadership under President Milo Djukanovic. "I can tell you that NATO remains concerned, we are very watchful. We have seen over the past...months long development of various capabilities that could be employed to threaten Mr. Djukanovic," Reuters reported. He did not elaborate (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2000). Meanwhile in Podgorica, Prime Minister Filip Vujanovic said that three Yugoslav generals have been appointed as advisers to Djukanovic and the government as a means of improving communication between the Montenegrin authorities and the army, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM MESIC WARNS OF IMPENDING BALKAN CONFLICT. Croatian President Stipe Mesic told the German weekly "Der Spiegel" of 3 April that "Milosevic is like a bicyclist who can keep going only as long as he moves in the direction of war." The possibility of a new war in the Balkans is great, and the West knows that a number of danger signals are already present. "Violence can erupt at any time," Mesic stressed. Montenegro and Macedonia are possible flashpoints, but Kosova and southwestern Serbia are more likely, the Croatian president continued. In any event, the West must let Milosevic know beyond any doubt that "if you attack Montenegro militarily, then your days are numbered." Montenegro needs international support to develop its democracy and a free economy. This, in turn, can serve as a model for Serbia. Mesic warned, however, that "it is a waste of time to wait for democracy to come to Serbia" at any time soon. PM KOSOVA'S SERBS RETURN TO UN COUNCIL. Father Sava Janjic, who is a spokesman for the Serbian National Council (SNV), said in Gracanica on 2 April that SNV leaders have agreed to return to the UN's provisional advisory council for Kosova as observers. Sava stressed that the Serbs' return after a boycott of several months will be on a three-month trial basis to see what the council can achieve in promoting "security, housing, and the return of refugees," AP reported. If the results are not adequate after three months, it "will not be possible to continue our participation within the interim administration," Reuters added. Sava argued that "we are at the door. We need the door opened a bit." Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN civilian administration, said that the Serbs' decision was "courageous." He added that "now the real work can start on setting up the administration." Pro- Milosevic Serbs in Mitrovica called the Gracanica decision "catastrophic." The SNV opposes the Belgrade leadership. PM TERRORIST ATTACK FOILED IN PRISHTINA? NATO troops took "unprecedented" security measures around the alliance's headquarters and U.S. diplomatic offices in Prishtina on 2 April, Reuters reported. Alliance officials feared a guerrilla attack after raiding a nearby house that until recently was used by the Joint Relief Committee, a Saudi Arabian charity. A NATO spokesman said that "people in the house had obviously been observing our facilities and U.S. facilities. And they obviously left in a hurry." Members of the former Kosova Liberation Army "had staked out the [house] for months and reported the movements of its staff to U.S. officials," the news agency added. U.S. officials suspected the charity of having links to Osama bin Laden, who is wanted in connection with previous terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities. Spokesmen for the charity denied any links to terrorism. One noted that "people react strangely to Saudi Arabians." PM SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER NAMES NEW CABINET MEMBERS. Janez Drnovsek said in Ljubljana on 3 April that he has proposed eight experts who do not belong to any political party to join his cabinet following the resignation of nine ministers from the People's Party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 March 2000). He added that he will resign if the parliament rejects his nominees. The legislature has until 7 April to decide, AP reported. Drnovsek's Liberals hold only 25 out of 90 seats in the parliament and need the support of their former coalition partners to govern. Elections are due by the end of the year, but many observers believe that an early ballot will be necessary following the decision of the People's Party to leave the government. PM ROMANIAN ROMA DENOUNCE RACIST STATEMENT BY OPPOSITION LEADER. The Romani CRISS-Roma Center for Social Intervention and Studies asked on 31 March that international institutions involved in the protection of human rights protest a recent racist comment by Alliance for Romania Deputy Chairman Mugurel Vintila. The center said Vintila told the daily "National" of 28 March that "Western chancelleries" are preparing Romania's "transformation into a Gypsy state" and that according to information he had received from "a diplomat posted in the West," there are plans to bring Roma from other countries to Romania and create on its territory "a Gypsy state." Vintila added that the Roma in Romania are financed from abroad in order to "penetrate the [country's] power-structures." MS PLANNED ANTONESCU STATUE AGAIN RAISES CONTROVERSY. Cluj prefect Bogdan Cerghizan on 31 March said the town's municipal authorities have begun construction for a planned statue of wartime leader Marshal Ion Antonescu. His predecessor, Vasile Salcudean, had appealed to an administrative court against the decision to erect the statue. That appeal is still pending and Cerghizan says that if construction works are not immediately stopped, he will demand that a criminal investigation be launched against the local authorities, Mediafax reported. MS ROMANIA CUTS OFF ELECTRICITY SUPPLIES TO MOLDOVA. Romania ceased supplying electricity to Moldova at midnight 31 March. Romanian Industry and Trade Minister Radu Berceanu said on Romanian Television that Moldova owes Romania $36 million. The current contract for electricity supplies expired on 31 March and a new one has not been negotiated. Moldovan Premier Dumitru Braghis said on 1 April that the cut resulted from a "misunderstanding." He explained that the former Moldtranselectro company, which negotiated the supplies, has been restructured and the Romanian side fears that its three successor-companies will not take over the debt. In a telephone conversation with his Romanian counterpart, Mugur Isarescu, Braghis proposed that the debt be taken over by the Moldovan state. Romania supplies some 20 percent of Moldova's electricity. MS BULGARIAN PRESIDENT QUESTIONS BILL ON COMMUNIST REGIME UNLAWFULNESS. Petar Stoyanov told journalists on 31 March that the bill on the unlawfulness of the communist regime, which the parliament had passed in the first reading one day earlier, poses some problems and that he hopes lawmakers will look at it once more before the second reading (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 March 2000), BTA reported. Stoyanov said that the bill is accurate in describing "the misanthropic theory and practices of the communist regime" but "it is another matter whether the legal formulations employed in it and the timing of its passage are the right ones." The bill lifts the statute of limitations on crimes committed by the Communists. MS BULGARIAN PREMIER DENIES FLOATING IDEA OF SERBIA'S FEDERALIZATION. Ivan Kostov denied in the parliament on 31 March that at the 17-18 March meeting in Budapest of countries neighboring Yugoslavia, he promoted the idea of transforming that country into a six-state federation, BTA reported. Kostov said that the idea "was not his"; rather, it had been floated by the Social Democratic League in Vojvodina, and "we only drew attention that such an idea exists." MS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word subscribe as the subject of the message. HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE Send an email to newsline-request@list.rferl.org with the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message. 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Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > ---------- > From: rferl[SMTP:RFERL@MAIL.THENERVE.COM.CRITICALPATH.NET] > Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2000 3:59:29 PM > To: newsline@list.rferl.org > Subject: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 74, Part I, 13 April 2000 > Auto forwarded by a Rule > RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 74, Part I, 13 April 2000 A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Headlines, Part I * RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT-ELECT TAPS ULTRA-LIBERAL ECONOMIST * OIL PRICE DROP CAUSES CONCERN * NEW CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST FORMER KAZAKH PREMIER xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RUSSIA PRESIDENT-ELECT TAPS ULTRA-LIBERAL ECONOMIST... Vladimir Putin on 12 April appointed economist Andrei Illarionov, head of the Institute for Economic Analysis, as one of his advisers. Moscow-based Renaissance Capital investment bank described Illarionov as "one of the most liberal and competent macroeconomists in Russia," according to AFP. "Kommersant-Daily" on 13 April called Illarionov an ultra-liberal (sverkhliberal) economist, noting his experience working under then acting Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar in 1992. Illarionov earlier called on Russia to stop borrowing from international financial institutions such as the IMF. In 1992-1993 he was the first deputy head of the Working Center of Economic Reforms under the Gaidar government. In 1993 he was appointed adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and head of the Center of Analysis and Planning, subordinated to the premier. JAC ...AS SPECULATION ON CABINET CONTINUES. Three ministers in Putin's government widely tipped by Russian media for ouster are Fuel Minister Viktor Kalyuzhnii, Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo, and Railways Minister Nikolai Aksenenko. "Tribuna," which is funded by Gazprom, reported on 12 April that Aksenenko has reportedly launched a mini public-relations effort to promote the impression that he was "the main collector of funds for Putin's presidential campaign." JAC PUTIN CLOSES SOME LOOPHOLES. President-elect Putin signed an order tightening regulations governing the mandatory conversion of hard currency into rubles. Published in "Rossiiskaya gazeta" on 12 April, the order closes 46 loopholes that allowed exemptions to the requirement for some metals and oil companies. Analysts told AP that the move appears to be a symbolic first step toward eliminating cronyism and perks. However, some loopholes remain. JAC OIL PRICE DROP CAUSES CONCERN...The price of a barrel of Russian Urals crude dropped to $19 on 11 April, according to "Kommersant-Daily" the next day. The daily noted that the 2000 budget is based on an average oil price of $18 a barrel. First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said that $19 a barrel does not pose a threat to the budget, provided the price does not decline further. He admitted that if the prices continue dropping, Russia may face problems fulfilling this year's budget. According to "Kommersant-Daily" on 12 April, the government has another concern: it must reach an agreement with the Paris Club and IMF on repaying Russian debts, and a continued drop in oil prices might cause Russia's creditors to question the viability of its national budget. JAC ...AS GOVERNMENT STILL SAYS IT CAN GO IT ALONE. However, speaking to reporters on 13 April, Kasyanov said that it is important for Russia to have its new economic program "supported and accepted by the world community" but that Russia "could survive the second half of 2000 without financial support." JAC START-II SET TO CLEAR LEGISLATIVE HURDLES BEFORE MAY. Mikhail Prusak, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee and governor of Novgorod Oblast, said on 12 April that if the State Duma ratifies the START-II treaty, the upper legislative house will consider the treaty at its next session on 19 April. The Duma is expected to debate the treaty behind closed doors on 14 April, Interfax reported. JAC IMF ECHOES WORLD BANK'S PROGNOSIS... In its semi-annual "World Economic Outlook" released on 12 April, the IMF concluded that the Russian economy will grow only by 1.5 percent in 2000 compared with 3.0 percent last year. The fund also predicted that consumer prices will rise by 20 percent in 2000 and 16 percent in 2001. And it concluded that Russia's economic recovery has been built on an unsustainable base, which includes the "higher prices of energy exports, ongoing import compression, and, associated with this, increases in industrial production driven mainly by import substitution." The World Bank predicted recently that Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union will experience growth of only 1.3 percent in 2000 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). JAC ...AS RUSSIA PROVES TO BE ONE OF FUND'S BEST CUSTOMERS. Russia is the IMF's largest debtor, Interfax reported on 12 April. As of 29 February, Russia owed the IMF $14.207 billion. The fund's next largest debtors are Indonesia ($10.348 billion), Brazil ($8.613 billion), and South Korea ($5.977 billion). JAC DUMA SAYS PACE DECISION 'GROUNDLESS AND UNFAIR.' The Duma on 12 April issued a statement saying that last week's decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to strip Russia of its voting rights was both "groundless and unfair." Full-scale cooperation with the assembly will be possible only after PACE has reconsidered that "discriminatory decision," the statement added. While condemning violations of human rights in Chechnya and noting that the Duma will insist on investigations into such cases, the statement rejected "attempts to ignore the fundamental difference between acts of terrorists and [the actions] of those who have to fight this evil." The vote in favor of the statement was 383 to three with one abstention. "The Moscow Times" cited NTV as reporting that the final version of the text was significantly milder than earlier drafts. JC RUSSIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS WERE A BARGAIN. The 19 December elections to the State Duma cost Russian taxpayers $33 million--one quarter of the amount estimated by the former head of the Central Election Commission, Aleksandr Ivanchenko, "Segodnya" reported on 12 April. Expressed in terms of the cost of each vote (total cost divided by the number of voters), 30 cents, the Russian election was 16 times cheaper than an election in the U.S., the newspaper reported. JAC PRO-MOSCOW CHECHENS APPEAL TO PUTIN. A group of prominent Chechen political figures has appealed to Russian President-elect Putin to establish a commission to resolve the conflict in Chechnya, ITAR-TASS reported on 12 April. The signatories, potential rivals for the post of the next pro-Moscow elected Chechen leader, include Salambek Khadzhiev, who headed the pro-Moscow Chechen government in 1995, Umar Avturkhanov, leader of the Provisional Council that sought to depose then President Djokhar Dudaev in 1994, former Grozny Mayor Beslan Gantemirov, Chechen State Council Chairman Malik Saidullaev, former Russian State Duma speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, and Aslanbek Aslakhanov, founder of the Moscow-based Union of Peoples of Chechnya. LF YASTRZHEMBSKII DISMISSIVE OF CHECHEN PEACE TALKS PROPOSAL. Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii told journalists in Bishkek on 12 April that Moscow has no reason to trust Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, Interfax reported. Yastrzhembskii cast doubt on Maskhadov's assertion in his 10 April interview with Deutsche Welle that he can count on the loyalty of "almost all" Chechen field commanders. Yastrzhembskii commented that "there is no leadership in Chechnya," otherwise Maskhadov would have been able to prevent the August 1999 incursion into Daghestan by field commanders Shamil Basaev and Khattab, ITAR-TASS reported. Speaking in Moscow on 12 April, Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroev also cast doubts on Maskhadov's sincerity, accusing the Chechen president of trying to "please the West" and of "doing everything possible to continue" the war with Russia, according to Interfax. LF TATARSTAN DENIES TALKS WITH UDUGOV. Presidential press secretary Irek Murtazin and State Counselor Rafael Khakimov on 12 April denied Russian media reports that Tatarstan's President Mintimer Shaimiev has met with Chechen emissary Movladi Udugov, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). Murtazin stressed that Shaimiev does not plan any meetings with Udugov or Chechen field commanders, who he said are "beyond the law." Khakimov added that Tatarstan does not at present have any formal relations with Chechnya, although the agreement on economic cooperation signed two years ago remains in force. LF BEREZOVSKII TO FACE NEW CRIMINAL PROBE? "Segodnya," which is owned by Vladimir Gusinskii's Media-Most group, reported on 12 April that Boris Berezovskii will soon be facing criminal charges of fraud and money-laundering, according to the newspaper's unidentified sources in the Office of the Prosecutor-General. The daily also reported that its unidentified sources in the Kremlin say Berezovskii has been seeking an urgent meeting with President-elect Putin. Berezovskii's "influence has not evaporated to such an extent that he has to submit a written request," "Segodnya" commented. As a State Duma deputy, Berezovskii has immunity from criminal prosecution. JAC THREE MORE VACANT DUMA SEATS TO BE FILLED BEFORE FALL. Repeat elections for the State Duma will be held in August in the Republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia and in Murmansk Oblast, ITAR-TASS reported on 12 April. Murmansk deputy Gennadii Luzin died in plane crash shortly after the 19 December State Duma elections, while Ingushetia's representative, Mikhail Gutseriev, was named president of Slavneft, a position that prevents him from being a deputy. JAC LEBED FOE HEADED FOR TRANSFER BACK TO RUSSIA. Hungary's Justice Ministry announced on 12 April that former head of Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Anatolii Bykov will be extradited to Russia, where he is wanted on suspicion of money-laundering. Bykov had applied for refugee status because he claimed his political enemies, such as Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed, were persecuting him in Russia, but that request was denied. JAC PUTIN PREFERS 'MIR' OVER INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. Speaking on Cosmonauts' Day, President-elect Putin told a gathering of cosmonauts and space officials that Russia will fulfill its commitments to the International Space Station but will "not forget the national industry," which he noted "must be our priority." He added that the "Mir" space station will be included in the 2001 space budget. According to Interfax, the 2000 budget earmarks 3.4 billion rubles ($119 million) to the space program, while 1.5 billion rubles in additional budget revenues are to go toward keeping "Mir" in orbit. Following his address, Putin laid a wreath at the Kremlin wall in memory of Yurii Gagarin, who on 12 April 1961 became the first human being to be launched into space. JC U.S., RUSSIA TO LAUNCH FIRST SPACE-BASED TV STUDIO. Citing NTV, AFP reported on 12 April that the U.S. and Russia are planning to launch the first-ever television studio based in space. The studio is to be located in a module attached to the International Space Station, according to an official from the U.S. company SPACEHAB, which is reported to be organizing the project. The two sides plan to launch the studio in 2002; however, the International Space Station project is running two years behind schedule and is now hoped to be completed in November 2004. JC NOT EVERYONE IS AMUSED BY PUTIN'S ROYAL AUDIENCE. Human rights groups have condemned the Russian president-elect's scheduled visit to the U.K. early next week, saying that Britain should not host Putin as long as Russia is facing international criticism over its campaign in Chechnya. Putin's trip to the U.K., sandwiched between short visits to Minsk and Kyiv, is his first tour abroad as president-elect. Last month, British Premier Tony Blair became the first Western leader to meet with Putin in the latter's capacity as acting head of state (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 March 2000). During his two-day visit to the U.K., Putin will have a 30-minute audience with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. JC TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS POLITICAL SITUATION STABILIZING... Vartan Oskanian told a press conference in Yerevan on 12 April that the political situation in the country "is stabilizing day by day" and no longer constitutes an obstacle to the resumption of talks on resolving the Karabakh conflict, RFE/RL's bureau in the Armenian capital reported. One month earlier, Oskanian had said domestic political tensions had brought the mediation process to a standstill (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 March 2000). Oskanian said that the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group have not set a date for their next visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, but he predicted that the peace process will gather momentum in the next few months. He confirmed media speculation that the possibility of a territorial exchange between Armenia and Azerbaijan (the so-called "Goble Plan") was raised during talks between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, but said the Armenian side did not accept it as a basis for negotiation, Noyan Tapan reported. LF ...DOWNPLAYS AZERBAIJANI STATEMENTS. Oskanian on 12 April dismissed an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry statement the previous day criticizing as "destabilizing" the recent joint military maneuvers in Armenia by Russian and Armenian troops, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 April 2000). He also said that Yerevan "does not take seriously" statements by a group of retired Azerbaijani military officers calling for a new war to return Nagorno-Karabakh to the control of the Azerbaijani central government (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 March 2000). Oskanian said such statements do not reflect the official position of the Azerbaijani leadership. LF KARABAKH JOURNALIST SENTENCED. A Stepanakert court on 12 April sentenced journalist Vahram Aghajanian to 12 months in prison following a one-day hearing, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported. Aghajanian was accused of slandering Anushavan Danielian, prime minister of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, in an article published in November 1999 in the Karabakh opposition newspaper "Tasnerort nahang." Aghajanian's lawyer said the charge of slander was based on "false facts" presented by prosecutors. He added that the judge refused to question a key witness who could confirm the information contained in the article. LF AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION REPEATS DEMAND FOR NEW ELECTION LAW... Mais Safarli, chairman of the Democratic Congress, which unites 10 opposition parties, told Turan on 12 April that the congress plans to convene a protest action in Baku on 29 April unless the parliament begins discussing a new draft election legislation prepared by the opposition. The Democratic Congress argues that the laws on elections and the Central Election Commission preclude holding democratic and fair elections. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Director Gerard Stoudmann was quoted by Turan earlier this month as saying that his organization is working with the Azerbaijani authorities on drafting a new law on the election commission, which he hopes will be ready by mid-May. Stoudmann said it is "extremely important" that the new law provide for representation on the commission of opposition political parties, according to Turan. LF ...AS UN SAYS IT CANNOT SUPERVISE AZERBAIJANI POLL. The UN office in Azerbaijan has issued a statement explaining that that organization cannot become directly involved in the organization of the Azerbaijani parliamentary elections due in November 2000, Turan reported on 12 April. Several left-wing opposition parties had called earlier this year for that poll to be held under the aegis of the UN. They argued that doing so is the only way to ensure that the vote is free and fair. The UN statement said that organization is willing to provide electoral assistance only if the Azerbaijani government or election bodies request such help. LF AZERBAIJAN ELECTION OFFICIAL CONDEMNS PLANNED KARABAKH ELECTIONS. Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission chairman Djafar Veliev has termed the 18 June parliamentary elections in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic "a political show" that violates the Azerbaijani Constitution, Turan reported on 12 April (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 April 2000). Veliev predicted that no country will recognize the poll as valid. LF KAZAKHSTAN TO ASK RUSSIA TO INCREASE OIL EXPORT QUOTA. Kazakhstan's Deputy Energy Minister Nurlan Qapparov told journalists in Astana on 12 April that Kazakhstan will ask Russia to increase by 1 million tons the amount of oil it may export via Russian pipelines this year, Interfax reported. This would bring the total to 11 million tons. Qapparov said that oil should be exported via the Atyrau-Samara pipeline, which has an annual throughput capacity of 11.5 million tons. He added that a feasibility study is being prepared on reconstruction of the pipeline at an estimated cost of $30 million to increase throughput capacity to 15 million tons. Visiting Astana on 11 April, Russian Deputy Fuel and Energy Minister Vladimir Stanev and Transneft President Semen Vainshtok proposed to Kazakhstan's Premier Qasymzhomart Toqaev that Kazakhstan export up to 3 million tons of oil annually via the newly-completed Chechen bypass pipeline. Doing so would entail shipping the oil by barge across the Caspian to Makhachkala. LF NEW CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST FORMER KAZAKH PREMIER. Kazakhstan's tax police have opened another criminal case against former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, Reuters reported on 12 April. Kazhegeldin is accused of abusing his position in 1995 by temporarily granting a sports club exemption from the tax on imported goods. That exemption reportedly deprived the Almaty city budget of "hundreds of millions of tenge," according to Kazakhstan state television. Kazhegeldin, who left Kazakhstan early last year, is also wanted on charges of tax evasion, money-laundering, and illegal weapons possession. LF RUSSIAN EMISSARY DISCUSSES REGIONAL SECURITY IN KYRGYZSTAN. Visiting Bishkek on 11-12 April, Kremlin Chechnya spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii met with President Askar Akaev to discuss joint measures by Russia and the states of Central Asia to combat terrorism, religious extremism, and drug-trafficking. He argued that there is a link between the fighting in Chechnya, the assassination attempts in 1998 and 1999 against the presidents of Georgia and Uzbekistan, and last summer's incursion of Islamic fighters into Kyrgyzstan, attributing those events to "forces...that would like to see new Afghanistans arising in post-Soviet Central Asia," according to Reuters. Yastrzhembskii affirmed that as a "strategic partner" and a signatory to the CIS Collective Security Pact, Russia would "immediately" assist Kyrgyzstan in the event of a new terrorist incursion. He also expressed approval of Kyrgyzstan's treatment of its dwindling ethnic Russian minority, according to ITAR-TASS. LF KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT ASSESSES ELECTIONS AS FREE AND FAIR. The government issued a statement on 12 April describing the parliamentary elections on 20 February and 12 March as fair, democratic, and lawful, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. The statement also deemed as lawful the arrest of opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov and accused unnamed opposition politicians and parties of using illegal methods in pursuit of their objectives. Also on 12 April, some 100 protesters continued their picket in Bishkek to demand Kulov's release and the annulment of the election results. LF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION ACCUSE GOVERNMENT OF AVOIDING DIALOGUE. Several Kyrgyz opposition politicians, human rights activists, and journalists wrote to Jerzy Wienclaw, the OSCE representative in Bishkek, on 11 April to complain that the Kyrgyz authorities are trying to restrict any dialogue with the opposition, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. They said that the Kyrgyz leadership wants to restrict the talks to a discussion of amendments to the election law, rather than conducting a broad dialogue. The signatories called on the OSCE not to sponsor such a narrow round-table discussion. LF 'RELIGIOUS EXTREMIST' ARRESTED IN TAJIKISTAN. Police in Khojand on 12 April arrested and charged with anti-government propaganda a man whom they identified as a member of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir Islamic extremist party, Asia Plus-Blitz reported, citing the Tajik Interior Ministry. The man's name is given as Sharifullo Aliev, and he is said to be a resident of Gafurov in Leninabad Oblast. He was detained for disseminating Islamic literature calling for the overthrow of the Tajik government and the founding of an Islamic state. LF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright (c) 2000 RFE/RL, Inc. 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