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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 173, 99-09-06

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 173, 6 September 1999


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMAN
  • [02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA...
  • [03] ...AND GEORGIA
  • [04] PUBLICATION OF ARMENIAN NEWSPAPER SUSPENDED...
  • [05] ...AS JOURNALISTS, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST SENTENCE ON
  • [06] DEFEATED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CALL FOR REPEAT
  • [07] BAKU MAYOR BANS PLANNED DEMONSTRATIONS BY AZERBAIJANI
  • [08] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT EXHORTS FOREIGN INVESTORS
  • [09] KYRGYZ FORCES EXPEL SOME UZBEK GUERRILLAS...
  • [10] ...WHO INFORM KYRGYZ LEADERSHIP OF THEIR DEMANDS
  • [11] TURKMENISTAN, IRAN MOVE AHEAD ON BORDER DAM PROJECT
  • [12] UZBEK PRESIDENT OPENS ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN TASHKENT

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [13] VIOLENCE CONTINUES THROUGHOUT KOSOVA
  • [14] KOUCHNER CALLS ON KOSOVA CITIZENS TO 'BREAK THE LAW OF
  • [15] KOSOVA SERB LEADER WANTS KOUCHNER TO GO
  • [16] COMMANDER SAYS UCK MUST ADJUST TO PEACETIME
  • [17] KFOR FINDS LARGE ARMS CACHE NEAR ALBANIAN BORDER
  • [18] VOJVODINA LEADER CHALLENGES DRASKOVIC TO DEBATE
  • [19] DRASKOVIC DENIES MEETING WITH RULING PARTIES
  • [20] SERBIAN 'CITIZENS' PARLIAMENTS' LINK UP
  • [21] EU BACKING FOR OPPOSITION'S IDEALS, NOT POLITICIANS
  • [22] MONTENEGRO WELCOMES LIFTING OF SANCTIONS
  • [23] HIGH-RANKING RUSSIAN DELEGATION VISITS BELGRADE
  • [24] KLEIN: UN LOST NO MONEY IN BOSNIAN CORRUPTION
  • [25] SLOVENIAN TRUCKERS BLOCK ROADS
  • [26] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT
  • [27] CONTROVERSIAL ROMANIAN POLITICIAN LEAVES PARTY CHAIRMANSHIP
  • [28] MOLDOVAN PARTY PROPOSES 'COMPROMISE' ON PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM
  • [29] SUSPECT IN BULGARIAN PREMIER'S MURDER EXTRADITED
  • [30] BULGARIAN PROSECUTOR DENIES OPPOSITION DEPUTY BEATEN IN

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [31] RUSSIA'S GOVERNORS PROVING TO BE UNPREDICTABLE POLITICAL

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMAN

    Robert

    Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met in Yerevan

    on 3 September with Carey Cavanaugh, the newly appointed U.S.

    co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's

    Yerevan bureau reported. Cavanaugh told journalists after

    those talks that he believes the talks between Kocharian and

    his Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, that took place in

    July and August in Geneva "have shown a commitment by both

    sides" to finding a solution to the deadlocked Karabakh

    conflict. LF

    [02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA...

    Igor Ivanov

    arrived in Yerevan on 3 September to meet with Kocharian,

    Oskanian, and Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian. Ivanov later

    positively assessed all aspects of Russian-Armenian relations

    but added that "more could be done" to expand those ties,

    especially in the trade and economic sphere. Ivanov also

    welcomed the recent direct talks between the presidents of

    Armenia and Azerbaijan as "the best way" to begin looking for

    a solution to the Karabakh conflict. At the same time, he

    stressed that the Minsk Group should find a way to include

    representatives of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

    in the peace process, according to Interfax. He argued that a

    final settlement to the conflict must include guarantees of

    the enclave's security and unimpeded overland communications

    with Armenia but must not impinge on Azerbaijan's territorial

    integrity. Ivanov handed Kocharian an invitation from Russian

    President Boris Yeltsin to visit Russia, which Kocharian

    accepted, Noyan Tapan reported. LF

    [03] ...AND GEORGIA

    The next day, Ivanov held talks in Tbilisi

    with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Menagharishvili,

    parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, and Georgian President

    Eduard Shevardnadze. All three Georgian officials agreed with

    Ivanov's assessment that the present state of bilateral

    relations is unsatisfactory. Revaz Adamia, chairman of the

    parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, told

    Interfax on 5 September that while Ivanov's visit was "very

    important," it failed to resolve serious differences between

    Moscow and Tbilisi. Zhvania told Ivanov that Georgia wants

    the Russian military presence in Georgia reduced in line with

    the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, while Ivanov

    advocated raising the level of bilateral military cooperation

    to that between Russia and Armenia, according to Caucasus

    Press. Ivanov assured Shevardnadze of Russia's willingness to

    play a more active role in resolving the Abkhaz conflict. But

    Ivanov later told journalists that Moscow considers

    unacceptable any "peace enforcement" operation in Abkhazia

    comparable to that in Kosova, Interfax reported. Shevardnadze

    has repeatedly called for such intervention. LF

    [04] PUBLICATION OF ARMENIAN NEWSPAPER SUSPENDED...

    Nikol

    Pashinian, editor of the newspaper "Oragir" and its

    successor, "Haykakan zhamanak," told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

    that Armenia's main publishing house had informed him that

    the 4 September issue of "Haykakan zhamanak" would not be

    printed because of a paper shortage. On 31 August, a Yerevan

    district court sentenced Pashinian to one year in jail on

    charges of obstructing the police, refusing to print a

    refutation of materials published in "Oragir," and slander

    (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 and 2 September 1999). LF

    [05] ...AS JOURNALISTS, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST SENTENCE ON

    EDITOR

    Some 50 journalists and human rights activists staged

    a silent protest close to the presidential palace in Yerevan

    on 3 September against the jail sentence handed down to

    Pashinian, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.

    The protesters termed the sentencing a threat to freedom of

    speech in Armenia. Meeting with the protesters, President

    Kocharian declined to condemn the verdict or to interfere in

    the workings of the judiciary. Kocharian suggested that

    Pashinian should apologize to the persons, including National

    Security Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who had brought lawsuits

    against him. Pashinian later said he sees no reason why he

    should do so. LF

    [06] DEFEATED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CALL FOR REPEAT

    ELECTIONS

    Etibar Mamedov, Nizami Suleymanov, and Ashraf

    Mehtiev issued a joint statement in Baku on 4 September

    calling on the UN and all international organizations to

    withdraw their recognition of the validity of the October

    1998 Azerbaijani presidential election results, Turan

    reported. The three opposition party leaders called for

    repeat elections to be held under UN supervision and argued

    that criminal proceedings should be brought against Central

    Electoral Commission chairman Djafar Veliev. They claim that

    Veliev himself admitted that the poll outcome was falsified.

    The Central Electoral Commission has denied that charge (see

    "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 1999). LF

    [07] BAKU MAYOR BANS PLANNED DEMONSTRATIONS BY AZERBAIJANI

    OPPOSITION

    Rafael Allakhverdiev has issued a decree

    prohibiting mass political demonstrations in the Azerbaijani

    capital between 10-20 September, Turan reported on 3

    September. The decree invoked the law on freedom of meetings,

    which allows for such a ban during international events in

    the capital. Baku is to host a celebration to mark the

    signing in September 1994 of the first major oil contract

    with Western companies. The 23 political parties aligned in

    the Movement for Democracy had planned to begin mass actions

    in Baku on 10 September to protest what they term President

    Aliev's "defeatist" Karabakh policy. LF

    [08] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT EXHORTS FOREIGN INVESTORS

    Speaking at

    a celebration in Atyrau on 3 September to mark the centenary

    of Kazakhstan's oil industry, President Nursultan Nazarbaev

    called upon international investors to respect their

    commitments to specific projects, Interfax reported.

    Nazarbaev also invited international investment in pipeline

    projects to export Kazakhstan's oil, terming the Caspian

    Pipeline Consortium "Kazakhstan's first hope." CPC Director

    Viktor Fedotov said that the pipeline, which runs from Tengiz

    to Novorossiisk, will be completed, as planned, by 30 June

    2001. Nazarbaev also said that Moscow and Astana are close to

    agreement on increasing the annual throughput capacity of the

    Atyrau-Samara pipeline from 10 million to 15 million tons. He

    added that Russia and Kazakhstan are also discussing a

    project to export Kazakh oil via Baltic ports. LF

    [09] KYRGYZ FORCES EXPEL SOME UZBEK GUERRILLAS...

    General Bolot

    Djanuzakov, who heads the Defense and Security department

    within the Kyrgyz Presidential Administration, told

    journalists in Bishkek on 4 September that earlier that day,

    Kyrgyz government troops succeeded in dislodging a group of

    ethnic Uzbek guerrillas from the Chon-Alai Raion of Osh

    Oblast, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. The

    militants crossed into the Djirgatal district of neighboring

    Tajikistan, taking five Kyrgyz policemen whom they had seized

    two weeks earlier, Djanuzakov added. He said the militants

    have also surrendered control of two villages in Batken

    Raion, leaving only one village there held by 400 guerrillas.

    That group is still holding hostage four Japanese geologists

    and a Kyrgyz Interior Ministry general. LF

    [10] ...WHO INFORM KYRGYZ LEADERSHIP OF THEIR DEMANDS

    The rebels

    faxed their demands to the Kyrgyz leadership on 3 September,

    RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported the next day, citing the

    presidential press service. In that message, which was

    written in Russian, Zubair ibn Abdurrakim, chairman of the

    political council of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan,

    announced the beginning of a "Holy War" against Uzbekistan

    with the aim of forcing the release of 50,000 Muslims held in

    Uzbek prisons and the reopening of thousands of mosques and

    religious training institutions. The statement calls on

    Bishkek to allow the guerrillas to proceed unimpeded to

    Uzbekistan and not to abet the Uzbek authorities or hand over

    to "[Uzbek President Islam] Karimov's executioners" Uzbeks

    who fled to Kyrgyzstan to escape persecution. The statement

    threatened to launch a holy war against the Kyrgyz leadership

    should it fail to comply with those demands. LF

    [11] TURKMENISTAN, IRAN MOVE AHEAD ON BORDER DAM PROJECT

    During

    talks in Ashgabat last week, Turkmen government and Iranian

    energy officials approved a feasibility study and reached

    agreement on financing construction of a reservoir and dam on

    the Tedzhen River, which marks the border between the two

    countries, ITAR-TASS reported on 3 September. The two

    countries will contribute equally to the estimated $167

    million project, which they first agreed on in May 1996. The

    reservoir will have a capacity of 1.2 billion cubic meters,

    making it possible to irrigate some 20,000 hectares of land

    on each side of the border, according to Interfax. LF

    [12] UZBEK PRESIDENT OPENS ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN TASHKENT

    Islam

    Karimov attended the opening ceremony on 3 September of the

    Tashkent Islamic University, which was established under a

    presidential decree, Interfax reported. Karimov said that the

    university will teach the history and philosophy of Islam,

    Islamic law, economy, and natural sciences, noting that

    instruction will be based "on original sources handed down

    from [our] ancestors." Karimov added that inadequate

    knowledge of Islam "results in delusions among young people

    and tragic consequences." LF


    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [13] VIOLENCE CONTINUES THROUGHOUT KOSOVA

    Unidentified attackers

    fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a truck on a road near

    Mitrovica on 5 September, killing the ethnic Albanian driver

    and injuring a woman, AP reported. The previous day,

    attackers fired a similar grenade at a city bus near Gjilan,

    injuring two ethnic Albanians. Unidentified people killed

    three Serbs in the village of Musutisht, near Prishtina. In

    Peja, unidentified attackers fired anti-tank rockets at the

    building of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate but missed

    their target. In Dobrotin, south of Prishtina, other

    unidentified persons fired seven mortar rounds into an

    unspecified neighborhood. On 3 September, a young ethnic Serb

    was killed in an explosion in Prishtina, while five ethnic

    Albanians, including three children, were injured in the

    apparent attack. The Serb who died was known locally for his

    good relations with ethnic Albanians, Reuters reported. FS

    [14] KOUCHNER CALLS ON KOSOVA CITIZENS TO 'BREAK THE LAW OF

    SILENCE'

    UN Special Representative Bernard Kouchner said in

    Prishtina on 4 September that "we will not accept the return

    of blind violence against innocent people." He called on all

    citizens to "break the law of silence" by coming forward with

    information leading to the arrest of criminals. General Agim

    Ceku, who heads the Kosova Liberation Army's (UCK) General

    Staff, also condemned the attack in Prishtina, Reuters

    reported. FS

    [15] KOSOVA SERB LEADER WANTS KOUCHNER TO GO

    Momcilo Trajkovic

    told the Belgrade daily "Blic" of 5 September that Kouchner

    should leave Kosova. Trajkovic, who along with Serbian

    Orthodox Archbishop Artemije is one of the top leaders of

    Kosova's Serbian minority, said Kouchner's unspecified

    "conduct and decisions excluded the Serbian side from any

    form of cooperation and joint work," AP reported. Trajkovic

    did not say whether he will withdraw from Kouchner's civilian

    advisory council. PM

    [16] COMMANDER SAYS UCK MUST ADJUST TO PEACETIME

    General Ceku

    told 3,000 mourners in Negrovc on 5 September that "we have

    finished our first mission, the liberation of Kosova. Our

    second mission is for life in freedom and for the

    independence of Kosova, but now we must bring ourselves into

    line with new [peacetime] conditions," AP reported. He was

    speaking at a graveside reburial ceremony for 34 civilians

    and 17 UCK fighters killed during the recent conflict. In

    Washington, Senator Joseph Biden said that KFOR and the UCK

    are close to a "face-saving" agreement that will transform

    the guerrillas into a civilian service organization, AP

    reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 September 1999). PM

    [17] KFOR FINDS LARGE ARMS CACHE NEAR ALBANIAN BORDER

    KFOR

    soldiers found an arms cache containing 250 Kalashnikov

    rifles, 50 heavy machine guns, as well as other arms and

    ammunition near Rogova on 3 September, AP reported. The

    village is located about 10 kilometers from the Albanian

    border. A KFOR spokesman did not disclose details about the

    origin of the weapons. FS

    [18] VOJVODINA LEADER CHALLENGES DRASKOVIC TO DEBATE

    Nenad Canak,

    who heads the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV),

    said in Novi Sad that he wants to debate with Serbian Renewal

    Movement leader Vuk Draskovic on television, "Danas" reported

    on 6 September. Canak said that Draskovic has frequently made

    unsubstantiated charges against an alliance of opposition

    parties to which the LSV belongs. Canak called for the debate

    to take place on Studio B Television, "which is the only open

    and independent" television station. That station belongs to

    Draskovic. PM

    [19] DRASKOVIC DENIES MEETING WITH RULING PARTIES

    Draskovic said

    in Kragujevac that he has not met recently with any

    representatives of the ruling parties, "Danas" reported on 6

    September. He said that unspecified charges that he has met

    with officials close to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic

    are aimed at discrediting the opposition. Such charges, he

    added, only serve the interests of the regime. Observers note

    that many opposition supporters suspect that Draskovic has

    struck a secret agreement with Milosevic to support early

    elections. Most opposition parties oppose elections as long

    as Milosevic remains in power. PM

    [20] SERBIAN 'CITIZENS' PARLIAMENTS' LINK UP

    Representatives of

    at least nine self-declared opposition "popular assemblies"

    from different parts of Serbia held the first meeting of the

    Citizens' Parliament of Serbia in Cacak on 4 September, the

    Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" reported. The new body

    will work to promote human rights and aid victims of

    repression. Spokesman Nebojsa Popov said that the new

    organization "is not a forum that passes resolutions and

    laws, nor is it a substitute for political parities, NGOs,

    local governments, or coordinating bodies. [Instead,] the

    Citizens' Parliament is the embryo of the most important

    democratic institution, namely the public." PM

    [21] EU BACKING FOR OPPOSITION'S IDEALS, NOT POLITICIANS

    EU

    foreign ministers agreed in Saariselka, Finland, on 4

    September to support "the democratic values [that the Serbian

    opposition] represents," Finland's Tarja Halonen said. She

    stressed, however, that the EU does not support individual

    opposition politicians. She added that "elections in the

    present unsatisfactory conditions will not necessarily change

    anything" in Serbia. The ministers agreed on a document that

    encourages "constructive dialogue between Serbia and

    Montenegro" and does not endorse Montenegrin independence.

    Prior to the meeting, the EU lifted the embargo on oil

    deliveries and commercial flights to Montenegro and Kosova.

    All sanctions on Serbia remain in place. Germany's Joschka

    Fischer said in Saariselka: "As long as murderers are in

    power in Belgrade, how can there be a dialogue? The longer

    Milosevic remains in power, the more damage he will leave

    behind," AP reported. PM

    [22] MONTENEGRO WELCOMES LIFTING OF SANCTIONS

    Economics Minister

    Vojin Djukanovic told "Vesti" of 6 September that the lifting

    of sanctions will mean "fewer problems" for Montenegro. He

    called the EU's decision a vindication for Montenegro's

    policies. Djukanovic added that the decision is also a rebuke

    to Milosevic and his allies in Montenegro. PM

    [23] HIGH-RANKING RUSSIAN DELEGATION VISITS BELGRADE

    A Russian

    government delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister

    Aleksandr Avdeev and senior diplomat Boris Mayorskii, arrived

    in Belgrade on 5 September, AP reported. Avdeev and Mayorskii

    have scheduled talks with government officials and opposition

    leaders. Unidentified diplomatic sources told Interfax that

    the two will meet with Milosevic and unspecified "warlords."

    They also plan to hold talks with Draskovic and have a

    telephone conversation with Montenegrin President Milo

    Djukanovic. Avdeev and Mayorskii do not plan to visit Kosova.

    FS

    [24] KLEIN: UN LOST NO MONEY IN BOSNIAN CORRUPTION

    Jacques Klein,

    who is the UN's chief representative in Bosnia, said in

    Sarajevo on 5 September that the world organization did not

    lose any money in a recent Bosnian banking scandal (see

    "RFE/RL Bosnian Report," 24 August 1999). He stressed that

    the UN's bank is in New York and that UN agencies working in

    Bosnia closely monitor their finances, RFE/RL's South Slavic

    Service reported. Elsewhere, World Bank President James

    Wolfensohn sent a letter to the Bosnian government saying

    that the bank's programs will continue to stress the return

    of refugees to their former homes. PM

    [25] SLOVENIAN TRUCKERS BLOCK ROADS

    Some 450 truck drivers

    blocked roads linking Ljubljana with Koper, Nova Gorica, and

    Maribor on 6 September. They demand back wages and improved

    working conditions. The drivers also want the government to

    take measures to end what they call corruption in issuing

    permits to take goods abroad, AP reported. PM

    [26] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT

    Victor Ciorbea,

    chairman of the Christian Democratic National Alliance

    (ANCD), announced on 4 September that he will run for

    president in 2000, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. He

    said the decision was taken earlier by his party's National

    Executive Bureau and will be submitted to the ANCD congress

    in November. MS

    [27] CONTROVERSIAL ROMANIAN POLITICIAN LEAVES PARTY CHAIRMANSHIP

    Viorel Catarama on 4 September announced he is "withdrawing"

    from the position of National Romanian Party (PNR) chairman.

    Catarama said his decision was prompted by the desire to

    avoid "tarnishing" the party's image in the wake of the

    developments surrounding the Elvila International company,

    which he heads. Elvila International failed to pay back loans

    granted by the recently liquidated Bancorex. Former Romanian

    Intelligence service chief Virgil Magureanu has been

    appointed acting PNR chairman. Magureanu said he will not run

    for the chairmanship at the extraordinary PNR congress that

    will be called to elect a new party leader. Meanwhile, PNR

    leader Ion Menciu was detained a few days earlier under

    suspicion of participating in an arms-smuggling ring led by

    Shimon Naor, an Israeli businessman of Romanian origin. MS

    [28] MOLDOVAN PARTY PROPOSES 'COMPROMISE' ON PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

    The formerly pro-presidential For a Democratic and Prosperous

    Moldova Bloc (PMDP) has proposed a "compromise" between

    introducing a presidential system, as intended by President

    Petru Lucinschi, and a parliamentary system, as advocated by

    Lucinschi's opponents. Under the PMDP's proposal, which was

    made public on 3 September, the president would be granted

    the power to appoint the ministers of foreign affairs,

    interior, and defense. The procedure for dissolving the

    parliament would be simplified and new elections called

    within 40 days, instead of three months, as is currently

    stipulated. At the same time, the proposal includes some

    measures aimed at strengthening the role of the legislature

    and the government vis-a-vis the president, RFE/RL's Chisinau

    bureau reported. MS

    [29] SUSPECT IN BULGARIAN PREMIER'S MURDER EXTRADITED

    Bulgarian

    businessman Angel Vasilev, who is suspected of having ordered

    the murder of former Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov in October

    1996, was extradited from the Czech Republic on 3 September,

    BTA and CTK reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 August 1999).

    AFP cited the Bulgarian daily "Standart" as reporting that

    Vasiliev is suspected of having hired Lukanov's assassins for

    $100,000. Vasiliev's construction company was part of the

    Orion group, which Bulgarian prosecutors suspect of having

    misappropriated funds from several banks. In 1996, Lukanov,

    who had been premier for six months in 1990, denounced his

    own Socialist Party in the parliament for giving Orion

    preferential treatment in contracts. At that time, Orion was

    close to then Premier Zhan Videnov. Vasiliev left Bulgaria in

    1998, after his company ran up a $5.6 million debt to a bank

    that later went bankrupt. MS

    [30] BULGARIAN PROSECUTOR DENIES OPPOSITION DEPUTY BEATEN IN

    DETENTION

    Hristo Angelov has denied that Euro-Left deputy

    Tsvetelin Kanchev was beaten up by police in his Sofia prison

    cell. Angelov told Bulgarian Radio on 3 September that

    Kanchev mutilated himself while in custody and was taken to a

    military hospital, where doctors established that he did not

    require treatment. Kanchev's parliamentary immunity was

    lifted in late July on suspicion of extortion, robbery, and

    battery (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 August 1999). Euro-Left

    deputy Georgi Dilkov-Lorda earlier told BTA that Kanchev had

    been badly beaten and that medical experts suspect brain

    concussion and groin injury. MS


    [C] END NOTE

    [31] RUSSIA'S GOVERNORS PROVING TO BE UNPREDICTABLE POLITICAL

    FORCE

    by Sophie Lambroschini

    The 29 August gubernatorial ballot in Sverdlovsk

    highlights the growing influence of regions in Russian

    politics and shows how unpredictable those politics can be.

    It was no surprise that Eduard Rossel, one of Russia's

    best-known governors since he promoted an independent Urals

    republic in 1993, won the first round and stands a good

    chance of winning the run-off later this month.

    What was surprising, though, was the relatively poor

    showing of Yekaterinburg Mayor Arkadii Chernetskii. Despite

    support from the powerful Our Fatherland-Russia alliance,

    Chernetskii came in only third.

    Nikolai Petrov, an analyst with the Moscow-based

    Carnegie Fund, says support from Moscow-based parties is not

    enough to guarantee victory in regional elections. He told

    RFE/RL that "more and more, the regions are evolving

    according to a separate logic, where ideology doesn't play

    much of a role." He says increasingly voters are looking to

    regional leaders as "do-ers," as opposed to Moscow

    politicians, who just talk.

    Regional expert Jean-Robert Raviot of the French

    Foundation for Political Sciences says voters take into

    account what works around them--schools, transport, and other

    infrastructure--when they make a decision. These things, he

    says, are more dependent on local authorities. He says that

    voters also notice when pensions are not paid on time, for

    which the federation has to assume responsibility. As

    December's parliamentary elections approach, politicians at

    all levels, including the Kremlin, are looking at how best to

    organize themselves. However, it is uncertain whether they

    are taking into consideration the unpredictability of

    regional voting.

    Political alliances have recently been formed. Tatarstan

    President Mintimer Shaimiev's All Russia includes Saint

    Petersburg Mayor Vladimir Yakovlev, Ingush President Ruslan

    Aushev, as well as leaders from Bashkortostan and Primore.

    All Russia recently hooked up with Moscow Mayor Yurii

    Luzhkov's Fatherland, when it became clear that former Prime

    Minister Yevgenii Primakov would support the union. The

    alliance is widely predicted to do well in the parliamentary

    election.

    A rival group has not fared as well. Samara Governor

    Konstantin Titov's Voice of Russia, reportedly encouraged by

    the Kremlin, has fallen to pieces.

    According to Russian media reports, former Prime

    Minister Sergei Stepashin's last tour in the Volga region a

    few days before his sacking and new Prime Minister Vladimir

    Putin's trip to Siberia shortly after taking office were

    last-ditch efforts by the Kremlin to convince governors to

    support Kremlin-backed candidates.

    "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reports that governors are looking

    beyond the era of President Boris Yeltsin. They want a

    presidential candidate who can guarantee their powers and

    independence. But since none of the main candidates (all of

    whom are from Moscow) supports regional independence, the

    governors decided to choose candidates of their own. However,

    they seemed to have failed in that effort.

    Russia's regional leaders first asserted themselves last

    April when the Federation Council (which groups governors and

    heads of regional legislative assemblies) twice refused to

    dismiss Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov, as ordered by the

    Kremlin.

    After the vote, Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed

    famously announced that the independent stance had led to the

    "collapse" of presidential power.

    Such a slap in the Kremlin's face would have been

    unthinkable a year earlier. The upper house, comprised of

    many Yeltsin appointees, was conceived as a counter-weight to

    the unruly opposition Duma.

    Raviot says the growing independence of the Federation

    Council is explained by the fact that governors are no longer

    appointed but have been elected. He notes it has taken the

    governors some time to define their powers and policies--many

    of which conflict with those of the center.

    Also, last year's economic crisis may have propelled the

    governors toward more autonomous positions. Caught in

    financial and political turmoil, the center de facto

    transferred many federal powers to the governors. Several

    regions, such as Krasnoyarsk and Krasnodar, experimented with

    highly interventionist methods to stabilize their economies.

    Analysts note that the main lesson that Moscow political

    parties and the Kremlin should remember when lobbying

    regional leaders is their overwhelmingly pragmatic approach.

    Oksana Orecheva at the East-West Institute's Moscow

    branch says that governors will make political decisions

    while disregarding ideology. The main tactic of governors,

    she argues, is to gain influence for their regions in the

    State Duma. Oeretcheva notes that in Sverdlovsk, the governor

    ran as an independent and the Yekaterinburg mayor as a

    Luzhkov ally (similar configurations are evident in other

    regions). That way in December, the region is bound not to

    lose, she argues.

    06-09-99


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


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