RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 50, 00-03-10

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 50, 10 March 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] OSKANYAN SAYS ARMENIA'S TROUBLES STALL KARABAKH TALKS

[02] AZERBAIJAN, TURKMENISTAN AGREE ON GAS SHIPMENTS

[03] HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SAYS AZERBAIJAN'S DEATH ROW PRISONERS

[04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT APOLOGIZES FOR SALARY DELAYS

[05] GEORGIA CRITICIZES RUSSIAN MILITARY'S ACTIONS AS

[06] KAZAKHSTAN GOVERNOR BANS JOURNALISTS FROM MEETINGS

[07] KAZAKHSTAN EXPANDS TRADE WITH IRAN

[08] OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN AIDE DETAINED IN KYRGYZSTAN

[09] KYRGYZSTAN PRESIDENT REVOKES LAND TAX INCREASE

[10] ETHNIC RUSSIANS LEAVING KYRGYZSTAN

[11] UZBEKISTAN, EU DISCUSS COOPERATION

[12] TURKMEN-RUSSIAN GAS TALKS BEGIN

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[13] KFOR TROOPS CONFISCATE WEAPONS NEAR SERBIAN BORDER

[14] POLICE DEPUTY TRANSFERRED AFTER CRITICISM OF FRENCH

[15] KOSOVAR ALBANIAN STUDENT LEADER PUT ON TRIAL FOR TERRORISM

[16] YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN MORE BROADCAST STATIONS

[17] DRASKOVIC MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY CRACKDOWN

[18] CHINESE JUDGE APPOINTED TO HAGUE COURT

[19] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT SAYS WEST TO HELP IF YUGOSLAVIA

[20] CROATIA, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AGREE TO INCREASE REFUGEE RETURN

[21] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL REJECTS CROATIAN PROPOSAL FOR TRIAL IN

[22] EU OFFICIALLY UPGRADES TIES WITH CROATIA

[23] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS GREEK VILLAGES IN ALBANIA

[24] BABIUC RESIGNS, ROMANIAN COALITION CRISIS INTENSIFIES

[25] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN

[26] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTON

[27] BULGARIA REJECTS MACEDONIAN CRITICISM

[28] RUSSIA EXTRADITES SUSPECT IN LUKANOV MURDER

[C] END NOTE

[29] STRONG AND WEAK

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] OSKANYAN SAYS ARMENIA'S TROUBLES STALL KARABAKH TALKS

that the October 1999 assassinations in the parliament and

ensuing events have almost "closed down" talks about

resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, Noyan Tapan

reported on 9 March. Meanwhile, head of the Armenian

Democratic Party Akop Akopyan told the same agency that

"everything done by the former ruling party--the Armenian

Pan-National Movement--for 10 years" had led to the

"Lebanonization" of Armenia. PG

[02] AZERBAIJAN, TURKMENISTAN AGREE ON GAS SHIPMENTS

telephone conversation on 9 March, Azerbaijan President

Heidar Aliev and Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov

agreed to pump Turkmen natural gas to Turkey via a pipeline

to be constructed across the Caspian Sea, ITAR-TASS

reported. PG

[03] HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SAYS AZERBAIJAN'S DEATH ROW PRISONERS

Eldar Zeyanalov, the director of

the Azerbaijani Human Rights Center, told "525 gazet" on 8

March that 50 of the 128 people sentenced to death in

Azerbaijan between 1992 and 1998 died in prison before

their sentences could be carried out. PG

[04] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT APOLOGIZES FOR SALARY DELAYS

Shevardnadze on 9 March apologized to Georgians for

"failing to resolve" the delays in salary payments, Prime

News reported. Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission

denied registration to nine of the 17 people who are

seeking to run for president and said it might force more

off the ballot if irregularities in their applications are

found, Interfax reported. PG

[05] GEORGIA CRITICIZES RUSSIAN MILITARY'S ACTIONS AS

Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Grigol

Katamadze lodged a protest with the Russian embassy in

Tbilisi on 9 March over the detention of German diplomats

by Russian military personnel near the Vazianai base on 3

March, Prime News reported. Katamadze told the news agency

that the Russian military's behavior in this case was

"absolutely unacceptable." Meanwhile, Georgian medical

teams continued to vaccinate Chechen refugees in the

eastern part of the country, ITAR-TASS reported. PG

[06] KAZAKHSTAN GOVERNOR BANS JOURNALISTS FROM MEETINGS

journalists from attending government meetings, Khabar TV

reported on 7 March. He said that their presence "deter[s]

many from voicing their critical remarks and proposals to

each other," but he noted that "we will be inviting the

press now to our meetings if there is something officially

interesting that could be shared with them and brought to

the attention of the people." PG

[07] KAZAKHSTAN EXPANDS TRADE WITH IRAN

Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev met an Iranian delegation in

Astana on 9 March to discuss increasing trade between the

two countries, Khabar TV reported. Tokayev said that

Kazakhstan intends to send 300,000 tons of grain to Iran

this year. In addition, the two sides discussed

reconstructing a Kazakhstan port on the Caspian to boost

trade. PG

[08] OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN AIDE DETAINED IN KYRGYZSTAN

arrested the campaign chairman of opposition leader Feliks

Kulov on 9 March, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Emil

Aliev, the deputy chairman of the Ar-Namys (Dignity) Party,

has been accused of fraud in connection with a loan four or

five years ago, Interior Ministry officials told RFE/RL.

Yevgeni Taranov of Ar-Namys said that Aliev's arrest

destroys their election campaign. He added that party

officials have been unable to make contact with Aliev since

his arrest. PG

[09] KYRGYZSTAN PRESIDENT REVOKES LAND TAX INCREASE

has revoked a government decree doubling the tax on land

and announced a series of measures to help peasants with

the spring planting, Interfax reported on 9 March. PG

[10] ETHNIC RUSSIANS LEAVING KYRGYZSTAN

months of this year, 8,000 ethnic Russians indicated that

they plan to leave that country for the Russian Federation,

Information-Blitz reported on 10 March. However, only 200

have filed applications to do so. PG

[11] UZBEKISTAN, EU DISCUSS COOPERATION

visited Brussels to discuss expanding cooperation with the

EU, Information-Blitz reported on 10 March. The two sides

focused on questions of financial transparency and the

fight against narcotics trafficking. PG

[12] TURKMEN-RUSSIAN GAS TALKS BEGIN

Turkmenistan and Russia over gas deliveries began in Moscow

on 10 March, ITAR-TASS reported. The talks are likely to be

contentious because the Russian side objects to the price

Turkmenistan currently charges and Gazprom chief Rem

Vyakhirev has expressed doubts about Turkmenistan's ability

to deliver the amount of gas it has promised. PG

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[13] KFOR TROOPS CONFISCATE WEAPONS NEAR SERBIAN BORDER

led peacekeepers (KFOR) seized a horde of weapons at two

locations near Kosova's border with southern Serbia on 9

March, dpa reported. A KFOR spokesman said the grenades,

guns, ammunition, and military uniforms were found in a

home belonging to an ethnic Albanian as well as in Serbian-

owned homes in northern Kosova. In a separate incident in

the Kosovar Serb village of Grabovac, north of Mitrovica, a

scuffle broke out between Danish peacekeepers and Serbs

during a house-to-house weapons search. Some 300 villages

began stoning the peacekeepers, alleging the soldiers had

caused damage during their search. Three Serbs were injured

in the incident. PB

[14] POLICE DEPUTY TRANSFERRED AFTER CRITICISM OF FRENCH

The UN said on 9 March that the deputy chief of

police in Mitrovica, British policeman John Adams, has been

transferred to Prishtina after making comments the previous

day that were critical of French KFOR soldiers, Reuters

reported. Adams charged that the French soldiers impeded a

UN police investigation after clashes on 7 March in

Mitrovica in which 40 people were injured. He added that

the soldiers also destroyed evidence that could have been

used in prosecuting the perpetrators. A Western diplomat

said that given "the nature of [Adam's comments] and the

depth of French feeling on the matter it was impossible for

him to remain in Mitrovica." PB

[15] KOSOVAR ALBANIAN STUDENT LEADER PUT ON TRIAL FOR TERRORISM

city of Nis on 9 March that he is a citizen of the Republic

of Kosova and that he does not recognize Serbian or

Yugoslav courts, Reuters reported. Kurti, a leader of the

Independent Union of Albanian Students who worked for

Kosovar Albanian leader Adem Demaci, is accused of

"associating with others for hostile activities related to

terrorism" and could serve 20 years in jail. He said the

court "is in the service of the fascist regime of [Yugoslav

President] Slobodan Milosevic and has nothing in common

with truth and justice." Kurti was arrested in April and is

one of some 1,300-1,700 Kosovar Albanians being held by

Serbian officials outside of Kosova. Several human rights

organizations are attending the trial. PB

[16] YUGOSLAV OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN MORE BROADCAST STATIONS

Yugoslav Telecommunications Ministry closed the Nemanja

Television and Tir radio stations on 9 March, Reuters

reported. Owner Radisa Milosavljevic said ministry

officials "took away all the equipment--transmitters, radio

links, and a radio transmitter." Milosavljevic said he was

told his broadcasting license was not in order. The TV

station has been operating since 1995 and had up to 1

million viewers, he said. PB

[17] DRASKOVIC MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY CRACKDOWN

opposition leader Vuk Draskovic pledged on 9 March that

"all criminals in power" and others linked to President

Milosevic's government will be brought to justice, AP

reported. Draskovic was speaking at the ninth anniversary

of the government's suppression of an anti-government rally

in which several people were injured and two others killed

in subsequent violent clashes. Draskovic said that "with

evil and misfortune, [Yugoslav officials] perpetrate their

power today." PB

[18] CHINESE JUDGE APPOINTED TO HAGUE COURT

ambassador to Jamaica, Liu Daqun, has been named as a judge

at the international war crimes tribunal at The Hague,

Reuters reported on 9 March. The UN said Liu will complete

the unfinished term of Chinese judge Wang Tieya, who

resigned for health reasons. The term ends in November

2001. PB

[19] MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT SAYS WEST TO HELP IF YUGOSLAVIA

Milo Djukanovic said after talks with U.S.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Sarajevo on 9

March that the West would come to Montenegro's aid in the

event of an attack by Yugoslav forces, Reuters reported.

Djukanovic said Albright "reiterated the readiness of the

Western democratic world to offer...help." Djukanovic said

his republic is in no hurry to secede from Yugoslavia but

he noted that it does not have equal status within the

federation. He said that his government hopes "that after

all the lessons [Milosevic] should have drawn from previous

defeats in former Yugoslavia he will not be ready to start

another war adventure." But if he does, Djukanovic said,

"we will have the potential to protect ourselves." PB

[20] CROATIA, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AGREE TO INCREASE REFUGEE RETURN

Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik pledged in Banja Luka on 9

March to increase the scale of the repatriation of refugees

to their prewar homes, an RFE/RL correspondent reported.

The initiative calls for the return of 2,000 people from

each side within three months and will work to develop

settlements for Bosnian Croats who choose to stay in

Croatia and for Serbs from Croatia choosing to remain in

the Republika Srpska. Secretary of State Albright said the

U.S. will grant $7 million to the Srpska government this

year, of which $1 million will be used to facilitate the

refugee returns. PB

[21] WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL REJECTS CROATIAN PROPOSAL FOR TRIAL IN

Croatia said on 9 March that the war crimes

tribunal has rejected a proposal for alleged war criminal

Mladen "Tuta" Naletilic to be tried in Zagreb instead of

The Hague, Reuters reported. Croatian Prime Minister Ivica

Racan said "our proposals have unfortunately been rejected

but we shall continue discussions." A tribunal spokesman

said one idea being floated was for Naletilic to make an

initial appearance in Zagreb, at which "charges would be

read out in court in Zagreb and he would enter a plea"

before being transferred to The Hague. PB

[22] EU OFFICIALLY UPGRADES TIES WITH CROATIA

Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said in Zagreb on 9

March that the new Croatian government "shares the values

of the EU and is commited to a process of political and

economic reforms," Reuters reported. Patten said "the

government has a difficult challenge in wiping the slate

clean," but he added that he believes it will grasp the

"golden opportunity." An EU assessment mission will produce

a study on Croatia that, if positive, will lead to

negotiations on a stabilization and accession agreement. PB

[23] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS GREEK VILLAGES IN ALBANIA

ethnic Greek towns in southern Albania on 9 March, AP

reported. Meta said "the future of our region will be very

different from the past we left behind." The two were met

by hundreds of villagers waving Greek flags. Papandreou

told a crowd that "different cultural traditions can be

creative and should not be feared." The status of the Greek

minority in Albania and the illegal migration of Albanians

to Greece in recent years have strained relations between

the two countries. Greece claims there are some 400,000

Greeks living in Albania, though Tirana says there are only

about 80,000. An estimated 300,000 Albanians live illegally

in Greece. PB

[24] BABIUC RESIGNS, ROMANIAN COALITION CRISIS INTENSIFIES

March that Defense Minister Victor Babiuc has tendered his

resignation, which will take effect once the leaders of the

coalition reach an agreement on his replacement. Democratic

Party leader Petre Roman walked out of the coalition

leaders' meeting without signing the agreement. He said

later that the coalition partners are trying to tarnish his

party's image by linking that agreement with one on a

package of reform laws. Roman said that his party has

helped draft those bills and that the coalition partners

would like the Democrats to come across as a "bargaining

party." A meeting of the Democrats' Steering Committee

later the same day decided to convene a party congress on

17 March to decide whether "participating in the ruling

coalition still makes sense." MS

[25] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN

President Petru

Lucinschi on 9 March told Cavey Cavanaugh, special envoy of

the State Department for regional conflicts in the CIS,

that it is "absolutely necessary for international

organizations and the U.S. to become involved" in efforts

to settle the Transdniester conflict, AP reported.

Cavanaugh said the U.S. is ready to support Moldova, and he

noted that the Transdniester conflict is " a special issue

in the political dialogue between Washington and Moscow."

MS

[26] BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTON

Mihailova told journalists after meeting with Deputy

Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and leaders of the

Congress on 9 March that the U.S. is backing Bulgaria's

NATO membership bid, AP reported. Mihailova said that

nearly one year has passed since the Balkan Stability Pact

was launched and the time has come "to transform the pact's

long-term vision of integrating the Balkans into Europe

into a concrete policy, with structured benchmarks backed

by financial resources." MS

[27] BULGARIA REJECTS MACEDONIAN CRITICISM

spokesman Radko Vlaikov on 8 March rejected Macedonia's

criticism of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court's decision

to outlaw the OMO-Ilinden PIRIN party, BTA reported (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 3 March 2000). Vlaikov said that "those

who believe that the Framework Convention for the

Protection of National Minorities offers legal

justification for extremist activities are wrong." He added

that the convention "applies to the rights of existing

minorities but does not sanction setting up new minority

groups." Bulgaria does not recognize the existence of a

Macedonian minority. Vlaikov also said that Bulgaria

guarantees the individual rights of all its citizens but

"cannot tolerate separatist manifestations." And he noted

that Sofia hopes the "excellent relations" with Macedonia

will not be affected by the outlawing of the party. MS

[28] RUSSIA EXTRADITES SUSPECT IN LUKANOV MURDER

extradited Ukrainian citizen Oleg Protsenko to Bulgaria,

ITAR-TASS reported on 10 March. Protsenko is suspected of

having been an accomplice in the assassination of former

Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov in October 1996. MS

[C] END NOTE

[29] STRONG AND WEAK

Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin's repeated

statements that he will work to build a "strong" state have

gained him enormous support among many Russians weary of

the disorder that has prevailed in their country over the

last decade.

At the same time, his remarks have generated great

concern among many others both there and in the West about

the impact such a new state might have on Russia's chances

to become a democratic society in which the state protects

rather than tramples on human rights.

But perhaps most fundamentally, Putin's comments have

reignited ongoing debates in both Russia and the West about

whether the state he now heads is weak or strong, about

what such assertions mean, and about what policy

consequences the outcome of this debate has for Russia, her

neighbors, and the world.

Those who argue that the Russian state is weak point

to the government's inability to enforce a coherent policy

line across all its institutions. They note the limits on

the ability of Moscow to enforce its laws, collect taxes,

or pay its employees on a regular basis across the entire

country. And they call attention to the decay or even

collapse of many key institutions, including the forced

downsizing of the Russian army.

Some who argue that the Russian state is weak go even

further. They argue that Russia is now a "failed state," a

term used to describe countries where the nominal central

government lacks the power and authority to give orders to

its own bureaucracy or to subordinate regional authorities.

And they suggest that Moscow must somehow rebuild state

authority or face a future even more dire than the present.

Among those taking the "weak" side in this debate,

some argue that this reconstitution of state power is so

important that both Russians and the West must tolerate

significant deviations from democratic norms. But others

who have concluded that the Russian state is weak

nonetheless insist that the rebuilding of the Russian state

must stay within democratic norms or face another kind of

disaster.

That disaster, these analysts argue, would be the

reconstitution of an authoritarian regime in Russia, which

would be likely to trample on democratic liberties at home

and to pursue a far more aggressive policy toward Russia's

neighbors, particularly the former Soviet republics and the

three Baltic states. And in support of their argument, they

point to the policies of earlier failed states, including

post-World War I Germany.

Those who argue that the Russian state is strong, on

the other hand, point to a very different set of realities.

They note the reviving strength of the Russian military in

Chechnya. They describe the government's power over the

media, over central and regional debates, and especially

Putin's ability to define the terms of public debate in

advance of the presidential poll on 26 March.

And they argue that the Russian state is already

reviving and that the disorder the "weak" state advocates

point to was never as great as the latter group said and is

quickly being overcome by Putin and his new team. Indeed,

most of those who argue that the Russian state is already

strong support what the acting Russian president is doing.

But as in the case of the advocates of the "weak"

position, some of those who believe the Russian state is

already strong argue that neither the Russian political

system nor the West should tolerate violations of

democratic norms and human rights by those who say they

must rebuild a "strong" Russian state. Indeed, this group

suggests, the Russian state may be in danger of becoming

too strong for both democracy and peace.

And in support of their position, they point out that

since the beginning of the Chechen war there has been a new

militancy in Russian political discourse about Russia's

neighbors and about the West's involvement both there and

in Russia itself.

Just like the blind men in the famous story about the

elephant, each of these positions captures an important

truth about the Russian state today. On the one hand, it is

far weaker than earlier Russian states, in terms of its

coordinating ability. But on the other hand, it is much

stronger, at least in terms of the capacity of some of its

institutions, than some both in Russia and the West appear

to believe.

Taken together, the two sides in this debate point to

the importance of moves to strengthen the government's

coordinating role as well as to the significance of having

some of its institutions weaken still further. But both

also highlight something far more important.

If they are read carefully, both the "weak" and the

"strong" positions suggest that if the Russian state tries

to recover its strength by sacrificing human rights and

democratic procedures, any victories Moscow does achieve

will be short-lived. And such Pyrrhic victories almost

certainly will result in fresh disasters for Russia, its

neighbors, and the world as a whole.

10-03-00

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