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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 31, 00-02-14Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 31, 14 February 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS...Inan interview with Armenian National Television on 11 February, Robert Kocharian said that he and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, have discussed "all possible variants and questions" relating to a possible solution to the Karabakh conflict but that over the past year they have not yet reached agreement on a concrete formula for resolving that issue, ITAR-TASS reported. Kocharian said if it proves impossible to do so in direct talks, the two presidents will solicit the help of international mediators, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Responding to statement one week earlier by the Yerkrapah union of veterans of the Karabakh war warning against a settlement that would require the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territory (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 February 2000), Kocharian said any draft peace settlement should be approved by the governments of Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and might also be submitted to a nationwide referendum in Armenia. LF [02] ...RULES OUT TERRITORIAL EXCHANGEKocharian also said duringhis 11 February interview that the OSCE mediators have proposed an exchange of territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan as one way of resolving the Karabakh conflict but that he rejected that proposal, Caucasus Press and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Such an exchange would have enabled Yerevan to retain Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor linking it with Armenia, while Armenia would have ceded its southern Meghri region, which lies between Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhcichevan. The Yerkrapah union had made clear its opposition to such an exchange of territory. LF [03] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION DIVIDED OVER KARABAKH REFERENDUMPROPOSALThe newspaper "Haykakan Zhamanak," which is sympathetic to former President Levon Ter-Petrossian and the Armenian Pan-National Movement, commented on 12 February that Kocharian's referendum proposal indicates that his leadership is not ready to accept responsibility for resolving the Karabakh conflict. The newspaper added that a referendum would be easier to falsify than either presidential or parliamentary elections. On 10 February, Arshak Sadoyan of the opposition National Democratic Union told parliamentary deputies that it would not be "correct" to ask the Armenian people to evaluate and approve a "highly complex" document on resolving the conflict. But Artur Baghdasarian, leader of the Orinats yerkir party, which is sympathetic to Kocharian, expressed support for the idea of a referendum, reasoning that "no one, not even the president," should take sole responsibility for a peace settlement, Armenpres reported. LF [04] OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER RELEASED IN NAKHICHEVANHuseinDjavadli, the leader of the Nakhichevan branch of the Azerbaijan Popular Front, was released from detention late on 10 February, Turan reported the following day, citing "Yeni Musavat." Djavadli had been detained several days earlier and severely beaten. Representatives of several opposition parties had picketed the office of the Nakhichevan prosecutor-general on 10 February to demand his release. LF [05] SEVERAL INJURED IN GEORGIAN BLASTAccording to variousagency reports, between two and four people were injured on 14 February when either a bomb or a grenade exploded in a Tbilisi metro station. It is unclear whether the Georgian authorities hold terrorists responsible for the blast. LF [06] PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT REACHED ON LINEUP OF GEORGIAN ELECTORALCOMMISSIONThe inter-factional group charged with approving proposed amendments to Georgia's election law reached tentative agreement on 10 February on the future composition of the Central Electoral Commission, Caucasus Press reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 5, 4 February 2000). Under the compromise proposal, which must be approved by both majority and minority parliamentary factions, seven of the 16 members of the commission will be selected by the parliament majority faction and another seven by opposition parties, including those not represented in parliament. Abkhazia and Adjaria will each be represented by one member. All members of the commission must be elected by a two-thirds majority, while the commission chairman will be a member of the majority nominated by President Eduard Shevardnadze. LF [07] THIRTEENTH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NOMINATED IN GEORGIATheCommunist Party of Georgia on 11 February nominated 46-year- old Ivane Tsiklauri as its candidate for the 9 April presidential election, Caucasus Press reported. By 29 February, Tsiklauri and his fellow nominees must collect and submit to the Central Electoral Commission at least 50,000 signatures in their support. LF [08] GEORGIAN NON-PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION FORMS NEW ALLIANCETwenty-two right-wing political parties that are notrepresented in the Georgian parliament elected last October have aligned in a bloc named For Freedom and Democracy, Interfax and "Kommersant-Daily" reported on 10 February. Those parties, including the Labor Party and the National Independence Party of Georgia, are demanding that the 9 April presidential elections be postponed and a census conducted to determine the precise number of people in Georgia entitled to vote. The Labor Party says that its failure in last October's poll to surmount the 7 percent minimum required for representation in the parliament can be attributed to vote falsification by the ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia. On 14 February, Shevardnadze said that postponing the elections would be unconstitutional. He added that a postponement could jeopardize the granting of new loans by international financial organizations, Caucasus Press reported. LF [09] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[10] NATO ARRESTS 40 AFTER MITROVICA VIOLENCEA KFOR spokesmansaid in Prishtina on 14 February that peacekeepers arrested 39 ethnic Albanians and one Serb following several days of violence in primarily Serbian northern Mitrovica (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 February 2000). Two ethnic Albanians died-- including one sniper--and a total of at least 15 people were injured on 13 February. They include French peacekeepers, Serbs, and Albanians. The authorities imposed a curfew from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. until further notice. The UN and KFOR said in a joint statement that "the only people who have benefited from this shameful day are those who have an interest in preventing the return of peace and order." The spokesman stressed that the latest clashes marked "the first time that we were a target of such widespread attacks," Reuters reported. Observers note that this was the most violent confrontation between KFOR and ethnic Albanians. NATO intervened in Kosova in 1999 primarily to protect the lives and safety of the province's ethnic Albanian majority. PM [11] FRANCE'S VEDRINE DENIES PRO-SERBIAN BIASFrench ForeignMinister Hubert Vedrine said in Paris on 14 February that France does not have a policy of its own vis-a-vis Kosova, stressing that it carries out the common policy of all countries participating in KFOR, AP reported. Vedrine noted, however, that the situation in Mitrovica is more tense than in most cities in the province because a large Serbian population has remained there. He argued that "our objective is not to guarantee the ethnic homogeneity of [Kosova] solely on an Albanian basis. We should make this clear. We also have to protect the rights of the Serbs who have remained." He was responding to charges by ethnic Albanians that France follows a pro-Serbian policy in Mitrovica by condoning the de facto partition of the city into Serbian and Albanian halves. The Albanians oppose partition, which they see as part of a Serbian plan to divide all of Kosova. PM [12] EU PREPARES TO SEND MORE POLICE TO KOSOVAUnnamed EU sourcestold Reuters in Brussels on 14 February that EU foreign ministers will soon agree to send another 400 police to Kosova. Spain, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and Germany will thereby fulfill or increase their earlier pledges. The UN's Bernard Kouchner and NATO's General Klaus Reinhardt have frequently complained that they need more police and that many countries have not made good on their pledges to send police. Only 2,055 police out of a total of 4,718 promised are currently serving in the province. In related news, the ministers are expected to agree to a six-month suspension of a ban on civilian air flights to Serbia. The ministers are also slated to meet with Ivica Racan, who is Croatia's new prime minister. PM [13] ANOTHER UNDERWORLD FIGURE GUNNED DOWN IN BELGRADEUnknowngunmen in a passing car killed Mirko "Bosanac" Tomic, 28, in the Novi Beograd section of the Serbian capital on 13 February. Tomic was a well-known gambler and underworld personality. His death is the latest in a series of gangland- style killings in Belgrade (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 8 February 2000). PM [14] SERBIA WANTS COMPENSATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE...TheSerbian government will appeal to the International Court of Justice at The Hague for compensation for losses caused by the recent pollution of the Tisa and Danube rivers, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 13 February. The Serbian authorities fear long-lasting damage to agriculture in Vojvodina as a result of cyanide and heavy-metal pollution that originated in a mining accident in northwestern Romania. Spokesmen for the Australian Green Party told the BBC that safety conditions at the mine, which is half Australian- owned, do not meet Australian standards. PM [15] ...LASHES OUT AT 'MEDIA TERRORISM'Yugoslav InformationMinister Goran Matic said in Belgrade on 13 February that unnamed independent media and NGOs receive financial support "from the same aggressors who bombed us" during the 1999 Kosova conflict (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 February 2000). He drew attention to recent remarks by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj against the independent media (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 February 2000). In Vienna, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights called on the Serbian public prosecutor's office to "take legal action" against Seselj. The Vienna-based NGO's statement stressed that Seselj had "threatened" civil society in Serbia when he warned several independent media and NGOs that "you can't really think that you will survive our possible liquidation." PM [16] BURZAN SEES MONTENEGRIN FUTURE WITHOUT SERBIAMontenegrinDeputy Prime Minister Dragisa Burzan told Reuters in Banja Luka on 13 February that "there is no possibility for Montenegro and Serbia to co-exist in any functioning federation." The previous day, he told the private Serbian news agency Beta: "I don't think that a civil war is possible in Montenegro, as it was in Bosnia, but even if something like that happens, it would be a series of local incidents." PM [17] MACEDONIA RETIRES OLD-GUARD MILITARYPresident BorisTrajkovski announced the retirement of army chief General Trajce Krstevski and two other top commanders on 12 February. General Jovan Andreevski replaces Krstevski, who was close to former President Kiro Gligorov and who opposed Macedonia's cooperation with NATO during the 1999 Kosova conflict. Trajkovski also named General Sava Janev as deputy chief-of- staff, AP reported. General Djordji Karakutovski will head the First Corps and General Ilija Nikolovski the Second Corps. PM [18] BALKAN NEIGHBORS SIGN CHARTER IN BUCHAREST...Attending thethird meeting of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process, President Emil Constantinescu and the premiers of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, and Turkey signed a 21-point "Charter on Good-Neighborly Relations, Stability, Security, and Cooperation in Southeast Europe," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported on 12 February. Yugoslavia, which is a member of the organization, was not invited to attend, but the participants expressed the hope that the country will resume participation when it has "democratically elected leaders." The participants pledged to promote the principles of the UN charter and to work for creating "conditions for the prosperity of our nations in an environment of peace, security, good-neighborliness, and stability." MS [19] ...WHILE ROMANIA, BULGARIA SIGN DEFENSE COOPERATION ACCORDMeeting in Bucharest on 11 February, the premiers of Romaniaand Bulgaria signed an accord to cooperate in seeking to expedite their countries' integration into NATO and to boost bilateral political-military cooperation. Mugur Isarescu and Ivan Kostov said consultation mechanisms will be set up, joint exercises conducted, and cooperation in air-defense, logistics, and improving compatibility with NATO promoted. The two countries' defense industries will also cooperate. Isarescu and Transportation Minister Traian Basescu met with Bodo Hombach, EU coordinator of the Stability Pact, to discuss how to improve access routes to a second bridge over the River Danube, which is to be built by Bulgaria. Hombach said the construction of the bridge will begin this year. MS [20] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL IN MOLDOVALord Robertson toldjournalists on 11 February after talks with President Petru Lucinschi, Premier Dumitru Barghis, and other government officials that NATO does not intend to play a role in settling the Transdniester conflict, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Rather, he said, this role must be "primarily" played by the OSCE. Robertson praised Moldova's participation in the Partnership for Peace program. He also said it was "up to each neutral country," such as Moldova, to define how it envisages its collaboration with NATO, adding that it is important to work toward "extending the zone of European stability" to as many countries as possible. Responding to Lucinschi's statement that Moldova wants to become a member of the South East European Stability Pact, Robertson pointed out that such a decision is not within the competence of NATO, but of the EU. MS [21] BULGARIAN PREMIER SETS NEW CHALLENGEAddressing theparliament on 11 February, Prime Minister Ivan Kostov said that by having secured an invitation to start accession talks with the EU, his cabinet has fulfilled the main objective of its medium-term program, BTA and AP reported. Kostov said the next challenge is to increase competitiveness of the economy, achieve sustainable economic growth, and increase living standards. He said during its two-and-a half years in office, the cabinet has privatized 70 percent of state assets and restored 95 percent of communist-nationalized land. The parliament later approved the government's report by a vote of 125-76 but recommenced it take measures to improve living standards. MS [C] END NOTE[22] LITHUANIA ASKS KGB COLLABORATORS TO CONFESSBy Ahto LobjakasIn general, the Baltic experience of coming to terms with Communist collaborators sharply contrasts with that of the rest of Eastern Europe. Countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary had their own secret services. The post-communist governments of those countries set up procedures to make the files available to the public. The Baltic countries, on the other hand, were Soviet republics and fell within the jurisdiction of the KGB. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate and the KGB withdrew from the Baltic region, it took with it a large part of the Estonian, Latvian, and, to a lesser extent, Lithuanian secret files. Since the Baltic countries had no access to the bulk of the KGB records, they have had to seek out collaborators. Both Estonia and Lithuania have passed laws requiring collaborators to come forward and register themselves. As of 1 February, all Lithuanian citizens who collaborated with the KGB have six months to report to a special commission. Lithuania's deputy minister of justice, Gintaras Svadas, explained to RFE/RL how this process will work: "Those citizens who took part in the secret activities of the KGB are required, as it were, to use any means to inform the commission of that fact. They will then have to visit the Committee of National Security of the Republic of Lithuania, where they will fill out a special form providing details of their collaboration with the KGB." Svadas said that the identities of those who come forward will not be revealed. But collaborators who do not come forward within six months risk having their names disclosed to the public. Some of their identities are known to the authorities from salvaged KGB files, while others may be identified by other collaborators. Dalia Kuodite, the director of Lithuania's Genocide and Resistance Research Center, which is represented on the special commission, says the law will be an important means of setting the historical record straight. But she says that from a practical point of view, it may come too late either to limit the effect of collaborators on society or to punish them. Last November, the Lithuanian parliament adopted a law banning former KGB operatives from certain government positions. The new law on collaborators is expected to help monitor compliance with that ban. RFE/RL's Lithuanian Service Director Kestutis Girnius says Lithuania took so long to address the role of collaborators because, after independence, the Communist Party transformed itself into a major force in the country. The often dominant role of that party in the 1990s has hindered the process of lustration. In contrast to Lithuania's Communists, Estonia's local Communist Party was widely seen as an agent of Russification. When the country regained independence in 1991, the party found itself out of favor, and Estonia swiftly passed a law banning former KGB operatives from high office. Alone among the Baltic states, Estonia requires anyone seeking such office to take an "oath of conscience," declaring that they did not collaborate with the KGB. The ban expires in 2002. Lithuania's new law on collaborators follows the example set by Estonia five years ago, when Estonia passed a law requiring people those who collaborated with the security services of any occupying power to register themselves with the security police within a year. The information gleaned from collaborators was treated as confidential, and those who did not comply faced public exposure. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent currently based in Prague. 14-02-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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