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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 180, 99-09-15Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 180, 15 September 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETVagharshakHarutiunian and Safar Abiev met on the northern frontier between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 14 September to discuss strengthening border security and preventing violations of the cease-fire that took effect in 1994, Reuters and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The two countries' presidents agreed to the meeting last month during talks in Geneva (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 1999). Speaking at a press briefing in Yerevan on 14 September, presidential press spokesman Vahe Gabrielian said that at their most recent meeting in Yalta on 10 September, Robert Kocharian and Heidar Aliev agreed that peace talks under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group should be resumed, according to Noyan Tapan. They also agreed on unspecified confidence-building measures in the border zone and in the vicinity of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. LF [02] AZERBAIJAN CONDEMNS ALLEGED ARMENIAN CLAIM ON NAKHICHEVANAzerbaijan's State Foreign Policy Adviser Vafa Guluzade hassaid that a recent statement by Armenians from the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan constitutes an Armenian government claim on Azerbaijani territory, Noyan Tapan reported on 15 September. Guluzade hinted that Baku might respond to that claim by demanding the return to Armenia of some 200,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis who fled in 1988. Meeting in Yerevan on 11 September, representatives of an estimated 400,000 Armenians who originated from Nakhichevan formed a National Council of Nakhichevan Armenians. That council adopted an appeal to the Armenian parliament to declare invalid the provision of the 1921 treaty whereby Nakhichevan was designated part of the Azerbaijan SSR. The region had formerly been part of the Yerevan province of the Tsarist Empire and of the independent Armenian Republic in 1918-1920. Presidential spokesman Gabrielian pointed out that the National Council of Nakhichevan Armenians is a public organization, not an official government body. LF [03] UN MEDIATOR TRIES TO KICKSTART ABKHAZ TALKS...UN specialrepresentative in Georgia Liviu Bota held talks with Georgian Minister of State Vazha Lortkipanidze in Tbilisi on 13 September but reportedly failed to set a date for further talks between Tbilisi and Sukhumi on resolving the Abkhaz conflict, Caucasus Press reported. The following day in Sukhumi, Bota met with Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba, who backed Bota's proposal to convene a session of the Georgian-Abkhaz Coordinating Council before the end of this month to discuss security issues, according to Interfax. Arzdinba told Bota he had written to Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze expressing concern at reports that Georgian guerrillas plan subversive activities in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion in the runup to the Abkhaz presidential elections on 3 October. Tbilisi does not recognize the validity of that poll, in which Arzdzinba is the sole candidate. Bota, who has been appointed Romania's representative to the OSCE, extended his term in Georgia after Russia vetoed all other candidates proposed to succeed him as the UN Secretary-General's special representative there. LF [04] ...AS NATO RULES OUT KOSOVA-STYLE INTERVENTIONChrisDonnelly, who is an adviser to NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, told the Georgian parliament's Defense and Security Committee on 13 September that NATO will not intervene in Abkhazia, Interfax reported. Donnelly explained that NATO's intervention in Kosova was launched only after it became clear that all other peace efforts had failed and that the situation in the former Yugoslavia threatened European security. By contrast, Interfax quoted Donnelly as saying, NATO does not consider Abkhazia such a danger. He added that it is time to work out a model for resolving conflicts in the South Caucasus. Leading Georgian politicians have for months been campaigning for NATO military intervention in Abkhazia. LF [05] KAZAKHSTAN RETRACTS ORDER FOR FORMER PREMIER'S ARRESTKazakhstan's Prosecutor-General Yurii Khitrin on 14 Septemberretracted the order for the arrest of Akezhan Kazhegeldin, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. The Russian authorities had rejected that request, saying the charges brought against Kazhegeldin are not adequately documented. The former premier is accused of tax evasion and illegal possession of property abroad. The Russian OMON guards outside Kazhegeldin's room at the Barvikha sanatorium, where he is under observation after suffering a suspected heart attack, were removed late on 14 September. In Almaty, members of Kazhegeldin's People's Republican Party of Kazakhstan who tried to stage a protest demonstration outside the Russian Embassy on 14 September to demand his release were immediately dispersed by police. Six of them were arrested, fined, and warned that they would receive labor camp sentences if they participated in further such unsanctioned demonstrations. LF [06] KAZAKHSTAN HOSTS REGIONAL SECURITY CONFERENCEForeignministers from 16 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Palestine, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan) signed a declaration on the principles of mutual relations at a conference in Almaty on 14 September. Observers from 10 other countries also attended. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev told participants that the problem of ensuring regional security is of special significance for Asian states, since the region accounts for two-thirds of the world's population and 55 percent of global GDP. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov stressed that security in Asia is a key priority of Russia's foreign policy. The conference is intended to function as an Asian security body modeled on the OSCE (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 June 1999). LF [07] KAZAKH AUTHORITIES ARREST MIG SALE SUSPECTKazakhstan'sNational Security Committee has arrested a man suspected of acting as intermediary in the sale of some 30-40 MiG-21 fighter aircraft to North Korea, AP and Interfax reported on 14 September. AP quoted National Security Committee press spokesman Kenzhebulat Beknazarov as saying that the man was paid $1.8 million for his services. Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Toqaev on 12 September denied that the Kazakh government had any knowledge of the sale (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 September 1999). LF [08] UZBEK GUERRILLAS AGREE TO TALKS WITH KYRGYZ MILITARYKyrgyzhuman rights activist Tursunbek Akunov told an RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service correspondent in Batken on 14 September that Yunus Abdurakmanov, the leader of the Uzbek guerrillas holding a group of hostages in southern Kyrgyzstan, has agreed to talks with Kyrgyz officials and will not demand a ransom for the hostages. Interfax quoted Akunov as saying that the guerrillas are prepared to negotiate with the commanders of Kyrgyz troops deployed in the region but that those troops cannot agree to such talks until they receive permission to do so from the government in Bishkek. LF [09] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT ENDS VISIT TO GERMANYOn a three-dayofficial visit to Germany, Askar Akaev met in Berlin on 13 September with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to discuss bilateral economic cooperation, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. President Akaev thanked Germany for its support during the first stage of economic reform in Kyrgyzstan and requested German financial support for construction of a new hydro-power station and in exporting electricity to neighboring China. Akaev also requested a DM 75 million ($40 million) loan to support small business in Kyrgyzstan and an additional DM 20 million in technical help. In addition, Akaev held talks with President Johannes Rau. In Bonn on 14 September, two cooperation agreements were signed between the German and Kyrgyz governments. Under one of those accords, Germany will grant Kyrgyzstan a DM 60 million low-interest loan for improving the health care service and reconstruction of the energy system. LF [10] INTERNATIONAL WATCHDOG CALLS FOR INVESTIGATING TURKMENDISSIDENT'S JAIL DEATHHuman Rights Watch on 14 September called on the government of Turkmenistan to launch an investigation into the circumstances of the death of Khoshali Garaev, who was found dead in his prison cell last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 September 1999). The Turkmen authorities claim he committed suicide. Garaev, who was 37, had recently written to relatives saying he was in good health and hoped to be amnestied by the end of the year. Also on 14 September, Amnesty International issued an appeal on behalf of Mukhametli Aymuradov, who was sentenced in 1995 with Garaev on charges of "anti-state crimes." Aymuradov is 53 and in poor health. LF [11] FIVE PARTIES TO CONTEST UZBEK PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONSAspokesman for Uzbekistan's Central Electoral Commission told journalists in Tashkent on 14 September that five political parties have received permission to contend the 5 December parliamentary elections, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 1999). They are the People's Democratic Party (the former Communist Party of Uzbekistan), the Adolat (Justice) party, the National Revival Party, the For the Progress of the Motherland Party, and the Fidorkorlar (Selfless Ones). LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[12] RETURNING SERBIAN REFUGEES AMBUSHED IN KOSOVAUnidentifiedattackers fired at a convoy of returning Serbian refugees near Ranilug, in the U.S. sector of Kosova, on 14 September, AP reported. One unidentified person was killed and two Serbs injured. Elsewhere, KFOR soldiers found two elderly Montenegrin women killed in their home in Peja. In Prishtina, unidentified attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a Serbian cafe, injuring three Serbs, Reuters reported. Tanjug reported that 13 prisoners in Mitrovica--11 Serbs, one Montenegrin, and one ethnic Albanian--went on a hunger strike to protest what they called "total disregard" of Serbian criminal law in proceedings that the recently established UN court has launched against them. In an open letter, the prisoners said they were jailed on the basis of "unfounded reports and testimonies" by anonymous ethnic Albanians. FS [13] ETHNIC ALBANIAN REPRESENTATIVES AGREE ON DEMOCRACY PLANAgroup of 39 ethnic Albanians representing four political parties, various social organizations, and media outlets in Kosova agreed in Washington on 14 September on "a framework of basic principles, practices, and procedures to help guide Kosova during and after its transition to democratic self- rule," Reuters reported. The Kosovars, including the Kosova Liberation Army's Hashim Thaci, were invited by the U.S. Institute of Peace at the State Department's request. In a 10-page document, the Kosovars agreed to support a "multi- ethnic society that includes equal opportunity for all." U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told the delegation: "You must combat the temptations of revenge, corruption, and criminality.... Evidence of unchecked criminality would lose you the support of the international community and the trust of your people." FS [14] PRODI URGES BALKAN PEOPLE TO OVERCOME HATREDPresident-designate of the European Commission Romano Prodi told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 14 September that the people of the Balkans must overcome conflicts among themselves in order to be included in the process of European integration, an RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent reported. The parliamentary commission on Southeastern Europe, headed by German legislator Doris Pack, is scheduled to submit a proposal to the European Parliament on 15 September on financing Kosova's reconstruction. The plan envisages annual expenses of 500 million euros ($519.5 million) up to the year 2004. Pack recently voiced sharp criticism of the EU agency for the reconstruction of Kosova and demanded that the EU office in Prishtina become largely independent of its counterpart in Thessaloniki (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 July 1999). FS [15] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SETS UP FUND FOR SERBIAN REFUGEESTheEuropean Parliament has agreed to set up a special fund to help Serbian refugees from Kosova, Vladan Batic of the opposition Alliance for Change told the Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" of 15 September. Batic added that the alliance recently proposed setting up the fund. Strasbourg's approval is the first success of the alliance on the international stage, he noted. PM [16] NO SERBIAN JUDGES ON KOSOVA COURTUN Special RepresentativeBernard Kouchner swore in five judges and two prosecutors for a newly formed court of appeals in Prishtina on 14 September, Reuters reported. All are ethnic Albanians and some are legal professionals whom Milosevic fired in 1989. Kouchner said that he has been unable to find any Serbs who are qualified for jobs with the appeals court. He added that he will continue to look for suitable applicants and "hold open" an unspecified number of positions for Serbs. PM [17] ANNAN 'ALARMED' OVER HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN SERBIAUNSecretary-General Kofi Annan is "alarmed" over the "deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Serbia, his spokesman said in New York on 14 September. He noted that "the sharp contraction of the economy in 1999, coupled with inflation, is compounding severe pension and salary problems and dramatically reducing the population's resources. There is a real threat of rising food prices and dwindling drug supply, problems which will be exacerbated by plummeting household income, partly due to a dramatic increase in unemployment." This is the first time that Annan has raised such concerns in public, AP reported. PM [18] SERBIAN PREMIER TELLS OPPOSITION NOT TO EXPECT OUTSIDE AIDPrime Minister Mirko Marjanovic said in Belgrade thathyperinflation will not return (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 September 1999). He called unnamed opposition leaders "Lilliputians" whom NATO is using to "destroy the government," "Danas" reported on 15 September. He added that the government "does not have time to respond to mindless criticism from compromised politicians and leaders of tiny political parties." Marjanovic stressed that only the government is working for the benefit of Serbia's population. He warned opposition-controlled cities and towns not to expect any reconstruction aid from abroad. The EU recently pledged aid to "democratically controlled" cities and towns (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 September 1999). PM [19] CLINTON AND CO. FAIL TO APPEAR IN NISJudge Miloje Micic ofthe Nis County Court canceled a hearing on war crimes on 14 September because 14 indicted persons failed to respond to their respective summonses. The 14 included U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State Albright, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and NATO Secretary- General Javier Solana. The judge said that he will announce a new date for a hearing once he has determined that the indicted persons have indeed received their summonses, "Danas" reported. PM [20] DJUKANOVIC TO MEDIATE BETWEEN FEUDING SERBIAN OPPOSITIONLEADERS?Vojvodina opposition leaders Miodrag Isakov and Nenad Canak said that Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has offered to mediate between Serbia's factious opposition leaders, "Vesti" reported on 15 September. The two Vojvodina leaders added that they support Montenegro's proposals for changing the legal relationship between Serbia and Montenegro. On 15 September, Djukanovic said in Budapest that he fully supports the Serbian opposition. He stressed that only Serbs can bring democracy to Serbia. PM [21] KILIBARDA: MILOSEVIC MANIPULATING MONTENEGRIN CLANSMontenegrin People's Party leader and Deputy Prime MinisterNovak Kilibarda said that Milosevic and Momir Bulatovic, who is his chief ally in Montenegro, have "manipulated" several recent meetings of traditional clan organizations for their own political ends. At the clan gatherings, many speakers called for the preservation of unity between Montenegro and Serbia, "Danas" reported on 15 December. Most recently, leaders of the Piper clan said they will secede from Montenegro if the government declares independence from Serbia. The Piper clan officials said that independence would render null and void the 1796 agreement under which the Pipers joined Montenegro. PM [22] MUSLIMS RETURN TO PALESome 30 Muslim families received keysto their rebuilt houses in the Pale area on 14 September, Reuters reported. It was the first organized return of Muslim residents to the ski resort, which became the Bosnian Serb capital during the 1992-1995 war (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 14 September 1999). The UNHCR's Werner Blatter called the return a "breakthrough." PM [23] KARADZIC IN SREBRENICA?Wartime Bosnian Serb leader andindicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic recently gave a speech in Srebrenica in the company of his long-time ally Momcilo Krajisnik, Reuters reported on 15 September. Karadzic praised the "heroism" of Serbian forces during the 1992-1995 war and urged Serbs not to leave the town "where the most glorious pages of Serbian history have been written." Srebrenica was the scene of the largest massacre in post-1945 Europe after Serbian forces captured it from the Muslims in July 1995. An agreement between the international community and Bosnian Serb leaders specifies that Karadzic is not to make any public appearances. Unconfirmed reports occasionally appear in the regional or international media that he has been sighted in Belgrade, Montenegro, or eastern Bosnia. He is one of the most wanted war criminals sought by the Hague-based tribunal. PM [24] BOSNIAN SERBS TO RETURN TO MILITARY TALKSA spokeswoman forthe international community's Wolfgang Petritsch said in Sarajevo on 14 September that Bosnian Serb military officials have agreed to resume attending regular meetings of the Standing Committee on Military Matters with Muslim, Croatian, and international representatives (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31 August 1999). PM [25] MAJKO PROMISES SECURITY IN TROPOJAAlbanian Prime MinisterPandeli Majko, visiting Tropoja on 14 September, promised local inhabitants that he will restore the rule of law there, an RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent reported. Majko said that it is necessary that the government and opposition communicate with each other and put an end to rhetoric of hate and "politics of the street." Majko accepted his administration's responsibility for the delayed implementation of public order in Tropoja region. He stressed that it is unacceptable that Tropoja is becoming an "oasis of crime." Majko rejected the view that in Albania there is antagonism between the north and the south, and he thanked the citizens of Tropoja for helping border guards and refugees during the Kosova conflict. FS [26] ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IS 'NATIONAL' AFTER ALLGovernmentspokeswoman Adriana Saftoiu said on 14 September that Prime Minister Radu Vasile has "used his prerogatives" to send to the parliament a draft law on religious denominations in which the Romanian Orthodox Church is defined as a "National Church." The government last week decided not to grant that status to the Church, prompting a strong protest by Patriarch Teoctist (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 and 13 September 1999). MS [27] MOLDOVAN DEFENSE MINISTRY DENIES MERCENARIES FOUGHT INKOSOVAThe Defense Ministry on 14 September denied that Moldovan mercenaries fought on the side of Yugoslavia during the Kosova crisis, Flux reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 September 1999). The ministry said allegations by the Moldovan Helsinki Committee on Human Rights chairman Stefan Uratu "tarnish the image of Moldova's army and of Moldova as a whole." However, the ministry indirectly confirmed Uratu's declaration the previous day that retired officers applied to serve in Yugoslavia. The ministry noted that those officers believed the Moldovan peace-keeping force about to be set up under the Partnership for Peace program would be sent there to serve with Yugoslav forces. MS [C] END NOTE[28] TEN YEARS LATER: HOW POLAND LED THE WAYby Jan de WeydenthalTen years ago, the Polish Communists voluntarily stepped down from power, after losing the first partly free elections in a Soviet bloc country. The largest of the East European countries, Poland led the way in bringing about the demise of communism in the region. As Poland took step after step toward democracy without provoking a response from Moscow, other communist countries were emboldened to follow suit. It was in Poland that the Communists were first forced by popular protests to accept a major breach in their power. In September 1980, the labor union, Solidarity, was established as the first independent union in a communist country. Solidarity was suppressed by military force 16 months later, but public opposition to communist rule neither disappeared nor weakened. Solidarity rebounded at the end of the 1980s. It was also in Poland that the Communists were first forced by public pressure to accept free parliamentary elections. Such elections took place in June 1989, and the Communists were declared the losers. And it was in Poland that the first democratic government in East Central Europe took office after decades of communist rule. In fact, the Polish Communists themselves voted it into office on 12 September 1989. In the process, Poland's Communists, who had long claimed for themselves the right to determine all aspects of society's development, were gradually forced into obscurity. They dissolved their party in 1990 and became social democrats. The communists' downfall in Poland was a long time coming. Years of divisiveness, managerial inefficiency, and political corruption had weakened their control. Already in the 1970s, the Communists suffered severe political setbacks twice (in 1970 and 1976) when they were forced to change policies under pressure of workers' protests. Their authority was further undermined when former Cracow Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in October 1978. Less than a year later, the pope, now known as John Paul II, paid a visit to his native country, prompting an outburst of national pride. In the eyes of most Poles, it was the pope, rather than any communist leader, who had the right to guide the nation. But ultimately, communism in Poland collapsed because its proponent did not secure effective support from the Soviet Union. Moscow declined to intervene to put down Solidarity, instead pressing their Polish allies to do so. The Soviet Union merely watched in early 1989 as the Communists in Poland negotiated away political control. And Soviet leaders eagerly opened a dialogue with the first democratic, non-communist Polish government. These developments were not lost on other countries in Central Europe. Dissidents in various countries had kept close contacts with their Polish colleagues. They all took note of Moscow's passive attitude toward Poland. And all were determined to put it to the test in their own countries. Kestutis Girnius, the coordinator of RFE/RL's Baltic services, notes that Soviet passivity toward Polish reform was encouraging to democrats in neighboring Lithuania "Similar processes were taking place in Lithuania, which began to become more free in 1989," he said. "And the fact that Moscow did not resort to violence to stop change in Poland and prevent Solidarity from coming to power encouraged Lithuania to believe that Moscow would eventually let them go." Some analysts say Moscow's paralysis was the result of a conscious policy guided by the widely proclaimed strategy of perestroika. Others say Moscow was unable to intervene because its economy was in decline and its army tied up in the Afghan war. The legendary leader of Solidarity, Lech Walesa, said at the time that communism collapsed because it was simply outdated. In November 1989, he told a press conference in Washington that political changes in the region merely reflected the spirit of the times: "The reforms in Eastern Europe are not happening because [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev or Walesa or somebody else wants them. The irreversibility of reform is based on the fact that those reforms are part of the development of civilization. After satellites, computers, and calculators, we are just following the steps of technology. So there is no question about reversibility or irreversibility of reforms. The question is not if, but how. The question is in what time span and what's the price going to be." Pro-democracy activists in other communist countries supported those moves. Within months of the emergence of a democratic government in Poland, an unstoppable wave of change swept the entire region. And the system that dominated Central European politics, economics and societies for decades became history. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague. 15-09-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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