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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 1, No. 143, 97-10-21Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 1, No. 143, 21 October 1997CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS DISTRIBUTION OF MILITARY PROPERTY UNFAIRIn his Monday radio broadcast, Eduard Shevardnadze affirmed on 20 October that Russia's recent transfer to Georgia of four naval vessels is not adequate compensation for the withdrawal from Georgia from 1991-19933 of former Soviet military property worth several billion dollars, Interfax reported. Shevardnadze said aircraft, tanks, and naval vessels were "quietly" removed from Georgian territory and that no other former Soviet republic has been treated in this way. (Shevardnadze apparently did not add that Georgia, along with Moldova and the Baltic States, did not join the CIS in late 1991.) He argued that Russia's action was "unfair" and that if Moscow truly wishes to co-opt Georgia as a strategic ally, that injustice must be redressed. Shevardnadze added that Russian President Yeltsin "perfectly understands" the importance of a strategic alliance with Georgia.[02] GEORGIA TO RAISE ISSUE OF PEACEKEEPERS AT CIS SUMMITGeorgian presidential adviser Levan Aleksidze told Interfax on 20 October that Tbilisi will ask participants at the upcoming CIS summit in Chisinau to find out why their March 1997 resolution broadening the mandate of the CIS peacekeeping force in Abkhazia has not been implemented. The resolution called for deployment of the peacekeepers in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion to facilitate the repatriation of ethnic Georgians forced to flee the region in 1992-1993. Aleksidze rejected as legally untenable the Abkhaz authorities' statement that the peacekeepers' mandate may not be amended without Abkhaz consent. He urged the summit to set a deadline for implementation of the March resolution, otherwise the peacekeeping force would be withdrawn. Aleksidze further accused Abkhazia of attempting to deadlock the peace process by linking repatriation and the expansion of the security zone to a decision on Abkhazia's future status.[03] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DENIES ANTI-ADJAR PLOTZurab Zhvania on 20 October said that claims made by former Batumi Mayor Tamaz Kharazi on Adjar Television the previous day are "absurd," Interfax reported. Kharazi had accused Zhvania and Rostom Dolidze, the chairman of the Georgian parliamentary Procedural Committee of plotting to oust Adjar Supreme Soviet chairman Aslan Abashidze. Zhvania and Dolidze have described the allegations as slanderous and threatened Kharazi with legal action, Caucasus Press reported on 21 October.[04] LEBANESE PREMIER IN YEREVANA government delegation headed by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was in Yerevan on 20 October for a one-day visit, RFE/RL's bureau in the Armenian capital reported. Hariri and his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharyan, signed an agreement on friendship and cooperation that is intended to create a legal framework for developing bilateral economic ties. Under that accord, a Armenian-Lebanese bank will be set up to facilitate business contacts between the two countries and air traffic will be resumed between the two capitals, according to Interfax. Kocharyan and Hariri told reporters later that bilateral cooperation is most promising in the areas of banking, trade, and tourism.[05] OSCE MILITARY REPRESENTATIVES IN TRANSCAUCASUSA military working group from the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe recently held talks in Stepanakert, Yerevan, and Baku on regional security issues and the deployment of an OSCE peacekeeping force, Russian and Armenian agencies reported. In Yerevan, Foreign Ministry officials informed the OSCE representatives on 18 October of Azerbaijani violations of the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, Interfax reported. Meeting with President Heidar Aliev in Baku two days later, the OSCE representatives affirmed that the organization is prepared to mount a peacekeeping operation for Nagorno-Karabakh. They stressed, however, that the financial resources available for such an operation are limited, ITAR- TASS and Noyan Tapan reported.[06] MOVE TO NEW KAZAKH CAPITAL POSTPONEDPresident Nursultan Nazarbaev told the parliament on 20 October that the move from Almaty to the new capital, Aqmola, will take place on 10 December and not on 23 October as planned, Russian agencies reported. He said an inspection commission has registered numerous unspecified shortcomings. The move had originally been scheduled for mid-October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 October 1997). Nazarbaev stressed that Almaty will remain Kazakhstan's "southern capital," and he signed a decree bestowing special status on that city. The existence of two powerful centers will revitalize the country's economy, he commented. Also on 20 October, Nazarbaev announced that Prime Minister Nurlan Balgimbaev has completed forming his new cabinet. The number of ministers has been reduced from 27 to 18, Reuters reported.[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[07] PRAISE FOR DJUKANOVIC VICTORY IN MONTENEGROA U.S. State Department spokesman called Milo Djukanovic's triumph in the 19 October elections a "hopeful sign," adding that Washington hopes for an improvement in bilateral relations and for greater Montenegrin support for the Dayton peace agreements. In Belgrade, Serbian opposition leaders Zoran Djindjic, Vesna Pesic, and Vuk Draskovic each issued statements praising the Montenegrin election results. Pesic said that Djukanovic's win marked a victory of "the future over the past." Observers in Montenegro noted that Djukanovic owed his triumph mainly to the support of young people, the coastal regions, and the Albanian and Muslim ethnic minorities (see also "End Note" below).[08] BELGRADE CHALLENGES DJUKANOVICYugoslav Justice Minister Zoran Knezevic said in Belgrade on 20 October that the Montenegrin presidential vote was "a farce." He added he does not "believe [the official election results reflect] the choice of the citizens of Montenegro." Meanwhile in Podgorica, outgoing president and defeated presidential candidate Momir Bulatovic said he will challenge the results on account of unspecified irregularities. Bulatovic's office issued a statement saying that "as long as doubts over the poll's regularity have not been lifted, we will not recognize [poll] and we will call for it to be scrapped." Observers said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his allies in Montenegro want to exert pressure on Djukanovic, either to force him from office or to compel him to tone down his opposition to Milosevic.[09] PROTESTS IN BELGRADE OVER MURDER OF ROMSome 1,000 people demonstrated in Belgrade on 20 October to protest the murder of Dusan Jovanovic, a Romani teenager, by skinheads two days earlier. The protesters charged that the killing was the latest example of increasing violence by skinheads against Roma. They also accused the police of not providing sufficient help. A spokesman for the Belgrade-based Roma Congress Party said the murder highlights the growing insecurity felt by Roma across Federal Yugoslavia. Spokesmen for the Belgrade Center for Human Rights and the Antiwar Campaign said the killing mirrors what they called the general social decline brought about by the current political system, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Belgrade. Meanwhile, police have detained two 17-year-olds in connection with the murder.[10] KOSOVAR LEADER OFFERS DIALOG WITH BELGRADEKosovo shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova said in Pristina on 20 October that the current situation in the province is difficult and could become worse, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Pristina. Rugova singled out what he called the provocative and aggressive behavior of the Serbian police for criticism. He called for talks with the Belgrade authorities aimed at finding a lasting solution to the Kosovo problem, but only with the participation of the U.S. and the EU. Observers noted that the Serbian authorities reject any foreign involvement in the Kosovo issue, which Belgrade considers an internal Serbian matter.[11] UN CALLS FOR "MORE PROGRESS" IN EASTERN SLAVONIAThe UN Security Council on 20 October urged Croatia to implement its obligations on the return of refugees and on other matters related to the transfer of Serb-held eastern Slavonia to full Croatian control. The Council added that Zagreb has enough time to meet its obligations by the projected 15 January deadline for UN administration of the region to end. Croatian Ambassador to the UN Ivan Simonovic said he is glad that the resolution mentions the 15 January deadline. In Vukovar, UN administrators said they welcome the Croatian government's recent appeal to the local media to show more tolerance and balance in covering interethnic relations in eastern Slavonia, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Vukovar.[12] NATO USES AIRCRAFT TO BROADCAST TO BOSNIAN SERBSSFOR began using a special aircraft on 19 October to jam a frequency normally used by hard-line Pale TV in eastern Bosnia. Broadcasts from the plane over the same frequency told television viewers that NATO took Pale TV off the air because of its bias and hate-mongering. The NATO broadcast added that Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic's Banja Luka TV will soon be seen throughout Bosnian Serb territory. SFOR spokesmen in Sarajevo noted this was the first time that NATO had used such an aircraft to jam unwanted television transmissions and to broadcast its own message. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Carlos Westendorp, the international community's chief representative in Sarajevo, has warned Pale TV against trying to get back on air by using pirate transmitters (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 October 1997).[13] ALBANIAN MILITARY CHIEF SAYS BERISHA PLANNED "MASSACRE"General Aleks Andoni, the Socialist-appointed head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Tirana on 20 October that former President Sali Berisha and his top military officials gave orders to use air strikes and other means of force to quell the unrest earlier this year. Addressing a meeting on the disintegration of the military at the time of the anarchy, Andoni claimed that Berisha planned a "massacre" of civilians. Prime Minister Fatos Nano praised soldiers and pilots who disobeyed Berisha's orders to attack civilians. He added that the authorities should take legal measures against those individuals responsible for the disintegration of the army.[14] ALBANIAN COURT DROPS CHARGES AGAINST LAST COMMUNIST CHIEFA Tirana court on 20 October dropped charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against former President Ramiz Alia and other former communist leaders. The Supreme Court recently recommended that the charges be dropped because the men's actions were not criminal under the law in force at the time (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 October 1997). Alia left office in 1992 and was subsequently jailed on two occasions. He fled prison and the country during this year's anarchy. Alia's friends in Tirana have said he will return to Albania once he has recovered from eye surgery in Sweden.[15] ROMANIAN 'REVOLUTIONARIES' STRIKE WIDENSMembers of the UNORD "revolutionaries" association on 20 October joined the hunger strike launched twelve days earlier by other "revolutionaries" protesting the government's decision to amend the law granting benefits to participants in the 1989 uprising. UNORD members went on hunger strike in 11 towns after the government annulled the protocol signed with their organization (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 October 1997).[16] HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN BUCHARESTMeeting with his Romanian counterpart, Victor Ciorbea, on 20 October, Gyula Horn praised the developing partnership between Budapest and Bucharest. Horn stressed Hungary's readiness to share with Romania its experience on integration in Euro-Atlantic structure. The two premiers also discussed widening economic collaboration and Hungarian investments in Romania. Later the same day, Horn told a crowd in the Transylvanian town of Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepiszentgyorgy) that both countries must act against the "evils of extreme nationalism" that have marred the history of bilateral relations. He added that it is the duty of governments to respect minority rights, which he pledged his government will do, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.[17] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION IN ROMANIAMeeting with a visiting delegation led by parliamentary chairman Dumitru Motpan, Ghiorghi Prisacaru, the head of the Senate's Foreign Policy Commission, said conditions are ripe for concluding "as soon as possible" the basic treaty between the two countries as well as a partnership pact, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Prisacaru said the two sides reached agreement that Moldovan and Romanian experts will resume work on drafting the basic treaty later in October. The delegation also met with Prime Minister Ciorbea, Senate Chairman Petre Roman, and Foreign Minister Adrian Severin.[18] MOLDOVA'S SOCIALISTS PROPOSE ELECTORAL BLOC WITH COMMUNISTSValeriu Seniuc, the chairman of the Socialist Unity--Edinstvo faction in the parliament, told journalists in Chisinau on 20 October that he has sent a letter to Vladimir Voronin, the leader of the Party of Moldovan Communists, proposing that the two parties form an "electoral bloc" for the 1998 parliamentary elections. BASA-press quoted Senic as saying the "left wing" of the Agrarian Democratic Party of Moldova could also join such a bloc.[19] BULGARIA, IMF AGREE ON DRAFT BUDGETBulgaria and the IMF have agreed on a draft budget for 1998, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said on 20 October. He described the proposed budget as an "austerity" one that envisages a deficit of 2.7 percent of GDP, compared with 6.2 percent this year, and an inflation rate of 16-17 percent. An IMF team has been in Sofia over the past two weeks to review the country's economic performance, RFE/RL's Sofia bureau reported. Finance Minister Muravei Radev said Bulgaria has prepared a letter of intent on the government's economic priorities and hopes to receive the fourth installment of a $510 million loan by December, Reuters reported. Also on 20 October, the government approved a list of 66 state enterprises to be sold through foreign investment banks, BTA reported.[C] END NOTE[20] MILOSEVIC'S RIVAL WINS MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENCYby Patrick MoorePrime Minister Milo Djukanovic is the new president of Montenegro. But the only other certainty about his election is that Podgorica's relations with Belgrade will never be what they once were. Milo Djukanovic beat outgoing President Momir Bulatovic in a run-off vote on 19 October by just over 6,000 votes or less than two percent of the total number of votes cast. Turnout was 72 percent. During the campaign, Bulatovic charged that his rivals denied him fair television coverage. Djukanovic, for his part, claimed that Bulatovic's backers manipulated the voting lists and brought in agents from Belgrade to disrupt the elections. The campaign was acrimonious because the stakes were high. The main issue was the future of Montenegro's relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, of which Montenegro and Serbia are the two constituent republics. Bulatovic is a loyal ally of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who until recently was president of Serbia and who now wants to increase the Yugoslav president's powers. To succeed, Milosevic needs to control Montenegro, because Montenegro and Serbia have an equal number of votes in the upper house of the Yugoslav parliament. That body must approve any constitutional changes to increase Milosevic's powers. Djukanovic, for his part, is committed to autonomy for Montenegro, and he described the election as a referendum on that issue. Djukanovic charged that Milosevic's policies have led to Yugoslavia's isolation, which has hit Montenegro especially hard, since that republic is dependent on tourism and shipping. The rivalry between Djukanovic and Bulatovic has dominated Montenegrin politics all year and led to a de facto split in the governing Democratic Socialist Party (DPS). The majority of the DPS's governing body backed Djukanovic, but Bulatovic and his supporters still claim to constitute the "real" DPS. Nonetheless, it seems only a question of time before one or the other faction founds a new party under a new name. According to one theory of how Podgorica's relations with Belgrade will develop, Djukanovic is set to lock horns with Milosevic in a major political fight. The outcome of that struggle could be that Montenegro secedes from Yugoslavia and declares independence rather than accept a strong federal presidency. Or it could be that Milosevic is defeated over the constitutional issue and somehow finds a way to become president of Serbia again in order to maintain power. Another view is that Milosevic will not accept defeat over constitutional change but might precipitate a new ethnic conflict as a means to consolidate his power, should Djukanovic win the upper hand in parliament. According to that view, Milosevic may use the current violence in Kosovo to provoke a Slav-Albanian conflict that could spill over into Macedonia. Others, however, point out that Serbian forces are already in fairly firm control of Kosovo and that Milosevic's credentials as a Serbian nationalist are tarnished after he failed to aid the Serbs of Croatia and Bosnia in 1995. Yet another theory is that Djukanovic's election will not lead to any major changes because he and Milosevic are both reputedly crafty politicians who will strike a deal rather than engage in a political duel. Those who hold this view point out that Djukanovic has not called for full independence and that he worked together with Bulatovic and Milosevic for years. During this time, Djukanovic reportedly built up a fortune through sanctions- busting. 21-10-97 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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