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Thursday, 15 August 2024
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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 21, 00-01-31Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 21, 31 January 2000 Report," Vol. 3, No. 1, 6 January 2000 and"RFE/RL Newsline,"CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] U.S. REGISTERS PROGRESS IN KARABAKH PEACE PROCESSA seniorU.S. State Department official said in Davos on 28 January that "there is clearly movement" in the Karabakh peace process, AP and Reuters reported. "We are further ahead than before," he added. Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, met for talks the previous day on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, and on 29 January held separate meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. No details of those talks were revealed. Kocharian and Aliev, together with Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akaev, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev, and the Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers, also participated in a 28 January roundtable during which participants unanimously agreed that the Silk Road Project to revive east-west trade routes will have a positive impact on the situation in the region. LF [02] AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS SWISS INVESTMENT IN KARABAKHAzerbaijan's Foreign Ministry on 25 January lodged anofficial protest with its Swiss counterpart in connection with the stated intention of two Swiss companies to begin the production of clocks and jewelry in the unrecognized Nagorno- Karabakh Republic and to embark on banking and agricultural projects there, Armenian news agencies reported on 29 January quoting the enclave's Foreign Minister Naira Melkumian. The Azerbaijani statement termed the Swiss companies' plans an encroachment on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and appealed to the Swiss government to prevent their implementation. Representatives of Switzerland's Frank Muller company visited Nagorno-Karabakh in July 1999. Armenian President Robert Kocharian met in Davos on 29 January with the head of the second Swiss company planning to begin operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Armenian Television reported. LF [03] TWO GEORGIAN WARLORDS DISCUSS JOINING FORCESFormer GeorgianDefense Minister Tengiz Kitovani and Colonel Akaki Eliava, meeting in the west Georgian town of Senaki on 29 January, agreed that Georgia can regain control of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia only by means of a military operation in which Georgia's armed forces participate, Caucasus Press reported. Kitovani was jailed in 1995 for organizing a spontaneous military campaign to reconquer Abkhazia. Eliava has been in hiding in western Georgia since he led an unsuccessful coup attempt in the fall of 1998 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 20 October 1998). The two men told journalists after their talks that their interests, including winning back Abkhazia, coincide but that it is too early to talks of joint actions. LF [04] THREE MORE GEORGIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES APPLY FORREGISTRATIONThe number of persons who wish to contest the 9 April presidential poll has risen to six, Caucasus Press reported on 29 January, citing the Central Electoral Commission. In addition to the incumbent, Eduard Shevardnadze, and two political unknowns who last week announced their intention to run (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January 2000), National Ideology Party chairman Zurab Gagnidze, former Finance Minister Guram Absandze and Davit Aghmashenebeli Party chairman Roin Liparteliani have applied to the commission to register as candidates. Absandze is implicated in the February 1998 attempt to assassinate Shevardnadze. Liparteliani was barred from registering as a candidate in the 1991 presidential election, and polled only 0.2 percent of the vote in the 1995 presidential poll. LF [05] KAZAKHSTAN, CHINA SEEK TO RESOLVE OIL COMPANY DISPUTEKazakhstan's Premier Toqaev met in Davos on 29 January withChinese Vice Premier Wu Bangguo to discuss Kazakhstan's Aktobemunaigaz company in which the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) purchased a 60 percent stake in the fall of 1997, Interfax reported. One year later, the CNPC dismissed 2,000 employees of the company, but to date has neither paid them compensation nor offered them alternative employment. Toqaev said this failure risks compounding social tensions in Aktobe Oblast. The two ministers also discussed the planned construction of a gas export pipeline from Kazakhstan to China. Agreement on that project was reached in late 1997, but the agreed feasibility study for the project has not yet been undertaken. Kazakh officials last summer cast doubts on that project's economic viability (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 and 18 August 1999). LF [06] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION PARLIAMENT CANDIDATES PROTEST MEDIA POLICYNGOs in Kyrgyzstan on 28 January wrote to the country'sleadership protesting that pro-government candidates for the 20 February parliamentary elections have greater access to the media than do opposition candidates, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Also on 28 January, opposition El (Bei Bechara) Party chairman Daniyar Usmenov, who is being held under arrest in a Bishkek hospital, told RFE/RL that he is not allowed to receive visits from prospective voters. The reason given for that ban is the flu epidemic currently sweeping the city. LF [07] KYRGYZSTAN POSTS MODEST GDP GROWTH IN 1999 BUT FAILS TO PAYFOREIGN DEBTSKyrgyzstan's Deputy Finance Minister Kubat Kanimetov told a cabinet meeting in Bishkek on 28 January that GDP grew by 3 percent and agricultural output by 8.7 percent last year, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. But industrial production fell by 1.7 percent and annual inflation totaled 39.9 percent. In addition, Kanimetov warned that Kyrgyzstan's foreign debt now equals GDP, which is $1.4 billion. He added that Kyrgyzstan failed last year to repay $33 million owed to Russia, Turkey, and Pakistan and must pay $87 million in foreign debts in 2000, which is equal to 44 percent of total budget expenditure. Prime Minister Amangeldi Muraliev said that in conjunction with the National Bank and the World Bank, the government must draft a program for repaying the country's external debt. LF [08] TURKMEN PRESIDENT ACCUSES DEPUTY PREMIER OF CORRUPTION...Speaking at a cabinet meeting on 28 January, SaparmuratNiyazov accused 66-year-old Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry Saparmurat Nuryev of abusing his official position for personal gain, Interfax and ITAR- TASS reported. Niyazov claimed that Nuryev has "practically privatized the energy sector" and appointed relatives to jobs in the energy sector and machine-building and chemical industries, for which he is responsible. Nuryev has been dismissed as deputy premier but will retain his ministerial post until an investigation into his alleged malpractice is completed. LF [09] ...APPOINTS NEW AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIAAlso on 28 January,Niyazov appointed Khalnazar Agakhanov, Turkmenistan's ambassador to Kazakhstan, to serve as ambassador to Moscow, ITAR-TASS reported. Agakhanov was born in 1952 and served from 1991-1999 as minister for trade and economic relations. He replaces Nury Orazmukhammamedov, who will take up the post of ambassador to Moldova. LF [10] UZBEK POLICE CONFISCATE COUNTERFEIT DOLLARSUzbek police on28 January arrested four men from whom they had confiscated a total of 388,000 forged dollars, AP reported. The four men said they purchased the counterfeit currency in the neighboring Kazakh city of Shymkent from a native of the Caucasus. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[11] CROATIAN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ENTERS FINAL WEEK...Leadingpresidential contender Stipe Mesic on 30 January urged voters to cast their ballots for him to prevent the large two-party governing coalition from "having a monopoly on power." Drazen Budisa, his opponent, accused Mesic of engaging in "populist demagogy" typical of the defeated Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from Zagreb. The following day, "Slobodna Dalmacija" published a poll giving Mesic 43.5 percent of the vote and Budisa 34.4 percent. Some 22.1 percent remain undecided. PM [12] ...AS BUDISA, MESIC COMPETE FOR HDZ VOTESBudisa said that,if elected president, he will ask defeated presidential candidates Mate Granic and Slaven Letica to be his foreign and domestic policy advisers, respectively. Budisa added that he would like former General Antun Tus or sociologist Ozren Zuneca to advise him on military matters, "Jutarnji list" reported on 31 January. Letica and Zuneca told the daily that Budisa did not mention the offer to either of them prior to his public statement. They added that they would not like to comment on that statement. Granic told the daily that he appreciates the offer but that he prefers to concentrate on his duties as a member of the parliament. Mesic, for his part, said that he would like Granic to become ambassador to the UN. Observers note that conservative voters who cast their ballots for Granic in the first round of voting on 24 January are likely to decide the contest between Mesic and Budisa (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2000). PM [13] NEW CROATIAN AGENDA FOR BOSNIAForeign Minister ToninoPicula told "Slobodna Dalmacija" of 31 January that the new Croatian government will carry out its obligations toward Bosnia under the 1995 Dayton peace agreement "even if there are certain [unspecified] political realities that we do not like." Picula stressed that Zagreb will try to better the lot of the Croats in the neighboring state but not by calling for a revision of the Dayton agreement, as did the HDZ. Picula added that he hopes a new election law in Bosnia will put an end to ethnic polarization in voting patterns there. He called upon Serbian and Muslim leaders to help end such polarization. The Croatian government will continue to provide financial assistance to the ethnic Croats in the neighboring state but will do so in a completely transparent manner. Picula also said that it is time to put an end to the "political manipulation" of the Herzegovinian Croats. Observers note that this is an apparent reference to the close links between Croatian nationalists in Herzegovina and hard-line HDZ factions in Croatia. PM [14] BOSNIAN SERB GOVERNMENT COALITION BREAKING UP?The governmentof the Republika Srpska voted on 29 January to support Prime Minister Milorad Dodik's decision to sack Deputy Prime Minister Tihomir Gligoric, whose Socialist Party belongs to the governing coalition. Zivko Radisic, who is the ethnic Serbian member of the Bosnian joint presidency and a member of the Socialist Party, said Dodik should stop accusing the Socialists of making trouble and "admit" that he himself will be to blame if the coalition splits. Dodik, who supports the opposition in Serbia, has recently been at odds with the Socialists, whose party is linked to Milosevic's Socialist Party (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 25 January 2000). PM [15] MONTENEGRO SAYS SERBIA USING 'RACKET' AGAINST ITMontenegrinEconomics Minister Vojin Djukanovic said in Podgorica that the Serbian authorities engage in a "racket" to extort money from Montenegrin businesses. Montenegrin companies buying goods in Serbia are forced to pay fees to the Serbian authorities that are the equivalent in German marks of up to $3,500 per truckload of goods. Djukanovic charged that Belgrade uses the money from the Montenegrin companies to "wage a political campaign against the authorities in Podgorica," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 30 January. Meanwhile in Belgrade, Montenegrin Justice Minister Dragan Soc said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has "used up" Kosova as a political issue and is now seeking to make trouble with Montenegro. PM [16] SERBIAN PUBLISHING HOUSE SHUT DOWNA Belgrade court on 28January ordered closed the premises of the independent ABC printing company, AP reported. The court made the move as part of a bankruptcy procedure against the firm. ABC general manager Slavoljub Kacarevic said, however, that the company has reached agreements with its creditors. He charged that the court wants to shut down his company because it publishes the independent daily "Glas javnosti" and other anti- Milosevic publications. PM [17] BELGRADE, BAGHDAD TO PROMOTE TRADEYugoslav Trade MinisterBorislav Vukovic agreed in Baghdad on 30 January with Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan to promote bilateral trade. Ramadan said that Baghdad wants to "confront the aggressive American policy against Iraq and Yugoslavia," Reuters reported. Vukovic replied that "Iraq has great economic potential and [has successfully confronted] arrogant U.S. policy." In November 1999, the two countries concluded a trade agreement in conjunction with Iraq's oil-for-food agreement with the UN. PM [18] CONCERN IN ALBANIA OVER REPATRIATION AGREEMENTSeveralTirana dailies wrote on 30 January that Albania will have difficulty carrying out its recent agreement with Germany to help repatriate 100,000 refugees from Germany to Kosova. "Gazeta Shqiptare" argued that the Albanian police do not have the manpower to protect the convoys of refugees from probable attacks by armed bandit gangs, dpa reported. Elsewhere, an Albanian Defense Ministry spokesman said that Germany has sent $3.5 million worth of military equipment to Albania "in recent years." Observers note that much of it comes from stocks of the former East German army. PM [19] ROMANIAN FORMER PREMIER MOVES TO FORM NEW PARTYRadu Vasileon 28 January announced that he and 10 members of the National Peasants' Party Christian Democratic (PNT-CD) will leave that group and form their own political party. The group of defectors includes PNTC-CD Vice President Sorin Lepsa, who told a gathering of the party's top leadership on 28 January that he is "ashamed" of the way the party has performed in government. The defectors also accused the PNT- CD leadership of cronyism and adopting "dictatorial" stances. PNT-CD President Ion Diaconescu said at the meeting that Vasile has "proved his incapacity" as prime minister. Delegates elected Agriculture Minister Ioan Muresan as PNT-CD vice president and Remus Opris as secretary-general, Rompres reported. VG [20] ROMANIA'S MAIN RULING PARTY SUPPORTS PRESIDENTThe PNT-CDannounced on 30 January that it will support President Emil Constantinescu for a second term in office, AP reported. Constantinescu, who was present at the party's meeting on 30 January, thanked the delegates. But he added that the PNT-CD must clarify allegations by some party members of corruption within the PNT-CD. He also said the alleged "profiteers" should "leave now." In other news, the former leader of the Democratic Agrarian Party, Victor Surdu, has announced his membership in the Party of Social Democracy in Romania, Mediafax reported on 28 January. And the previous day, the Federation of Rail Unions signed a protocol with the national railway company management whereby wage increases are tied to the company's monthly revenues. VG [21] REPUBLICA MOVEMENT OFFICIALLY SUPPORTS MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTThe Republica social movement announced at its generalassembly on 29 January that it supports President Petru Lucinschi's intention to modify the country's constitution, BASA-Press reported. Republica submitted to the president lists containing some 500,000 signatures in support of the president's aims. Former Interior Minister Mihai Plamadeala, who was elected chairman of the Republica Presidium at the general assembly, said the organization wants all political forces in the country to sign a "pact of social consensus." In addition to calling for a "tightening" of executive power, Plamadeala called for revoking parliamentary deputies' immunity, the establishment of a national anti-corruption program, and an increase in local authorities' powers. Lucinschi, who attended the meeting, said Republica's ideas "perfectly coincide" with his own. In other news, Romanian President Constantinescu on 28 January granted Lucinschi The Star of Romania award for his contribution to "fraternal relations" between their two countries and also in recognition of the Moldovan leader's 60th birthday, Infotag reported. VG [22] BULGARIAN PREMIER MEETS WITH KOSOVA ALBANIAN LEADERHashimThaci, the head of the former Kosova Liberation Army, on 29 January said he is confident Kosova will eventually gain its independence from Serbia through a referendum, Reuters reported. Thaci, who heads the Democratic Progress Party of Kosova, made his comments after meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov in Sofia. Thaci said he believes that "Bulgaria under Kostov will continue to be a stabilizing factor in the Balkans." Arben Xhaferi, the leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians in Macedonia, said "we need the support of important external factors like Bulgaria and Kosova for the stabilization of Macedonia." Both ethnic Albanian leaders stressed that they want closer ties with Bulgaria but added that such ties should not be based on what Thaci described as "anti-Serbian feelings." VG [23] BULGARIAN ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER WANTS TO CHANGE CONSTITUTIONThe leader of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights andFreedoms (MRF), Ahmed Dogan, on 30 January repeated his recent call for the Bulgarian Constitution to be changed to recognize ethnic minorities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 January 2000). Dogan made the comment after being re-elected leader of the MRF at a party congress on 30 January. Thaci and Xhaferi attended that meeting. In other news, Bulgarian parliamentary deputies on 28 January approved agreements with NATO on Bulgaria's participation in KFOR, BTA reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January 2000). VG [24] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT EXPLAINS VETOESPetar Stoyanov on 28January explained his decision to veto recent amendments to the Penal Code dealing with punishments for violating libel laws and committing crimes under the influence of drugs, BTA reported. Stoyanov said that while he agrees with the parliament's decision to abolish prison sentences for libel and defamation, he believes the fines that have been imposed instead are too high. He added that amendments dealing with the punishment of crimes committed under the influence of drugs are not consistent with the trend of liberalization in Bulgaria. VG [C] END NOTE[25] CROATIA TURNS ITS BACK ON TUDJMAN LEGACYBy Andrej KrickovicThe ruling Croatian Democratic Community's (HDZ) resounding defeat in the recent parliamentary and presidential elections signals a turning point for Croatia. The country's citizens flocked to the polls to vote out the HDZ with the same sense of urgency and enthusiasm they had in 1990, when they ousted the communist regime and supported Croatian independence. Only a few weeks have passed since the death of President Franjo Tudjman, but the citizens of Croatia have already turned their backs on his legacy with breathtaking speed. It is telling that the candidate who gained the most votes in the first round of the presidential elections, Stipe Mesic, was also the most uncompromising in his criticism of Tudjman's regime. In fact, the three leading candidates--including the HDZ's Mate Granic--all promised to reduce the extensive powers of the presidency, cut aid to the Herzegovinian Croats, and support the return of Serbian refugees who fled Croatia during the war. Tudjman would have regarded such policies as treason. Even Granic sought to distance himself from Tudjman's legacy. When speaking about Tudjman during the campaign, he sought to emphasize the role he himself had played as foreign minister in moderating the late president's nationalism and anti-Western policies. Meanwhile, the HDZ has been paralyzed by Tudjman's failure to organize an orderly succession. Instead, the party shows every sign of rapid fragmentation and may not last as a unified party much longer. Tudjman was very much a nationalist of the old school and an authoritarian at heart. He believed in the sanctity of the nation and nation-state. He regarded the continuation of HDZ rule and his grandiose project to annex a piece of Bosnia-Herzegovina for Croatia to be matters of national survival. And he also surrounded himself with a motley crew of radical emigres (many of whom had ties to the fascist World War II Croatian regime), mediocre nationalist writers, regime journalists, as well as other opportunists and "yes- men" whose loyalty to him was unquestioning. For years, this new elite was able to bully and manipulate the public into backing Tudjman's policies and voting for the HDZ. Any figure of any prominence who opposed these goals was labeled a traitor and could expect to be hounded by the loyalist state press or spied on by the secret police. Ten years ago, Croatia voted in Tudjman and the HDZ on a wave of nationalistic euphoria. Most Croats wholeheartedly backed Tudjman's drive for Croatian independence and even accepted his xenophobic and paranoid statements about foreign anti-Croatian conspiracies during the 1991-1995 war. Such statements were welcomed by those who were frustrated with the West's unwillingness to intervene against Serbian aggression. Yet Tudjman's nationalist message began to lose its appeal in peace time. Citizens became dissatisfied with his autocratic and arrogant style of rule. They were also angered by the financial scandals that dogged the new ruling elite, including Tudjman's own family. But despite the system's increasing public unpopularity and the growth of support for the opposition Social Democrats, the system continued to function as long as the "old man" was still alive but came crashing down like a house of cards when the main player--the man whom it was all designed to serve--left the political scene. In retrospect, it is probable that Tudjman's system of values was never really accepted by a majority of Croatian citizens. The hopes and dreams of most of Croatia's citizens focus on economic prosperity and acceptance as a normal European country. In the end, voters realized that Tudjman's regime could not offer them anything more than economic misery, corruption, and international isolation. The international community now has high hopes for Croatia. The country is the first of the big three (Bosnia and Serbia being the other two) that were involved in the wars of the Yugoslav succession to vote out its nationalist regime. Both the EU and the U.S. hope that democratic and economic reforms in Croatia will provide a shining example for Serbia, Bosnia, and other countries in the region that have lagged behind in the reform process. The road ahead will be difficult. The HDZ has left behind a myriad of social and economic problems. The new government will have to maintain its unity and stick to its course if it wants to solve these problems and keep the confidence of its citizens. If it falters, however, Tudjman's political successors may benefit from a public backlash. Nevertheless, there will be no going back. The arrogant and intractable policies that proved an obstacle to the country's democratic development seem to have been laid to rest with the late president. The author is a Zagreb-based writer (akrickovic@aol.com) 31-01-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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