RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 124, 00-06-27

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 124, 27 June 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY REJECTS ENERGY EMBEZZLEMENT

[02] COUNCIL OF EUROPE OFFICIAL SEES NO OBSTACLES TO ARMENIAN,

[03] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT ADMITS PRESENCE IN GEORGIA OF CHECHEN

[04] ...RULES OUT ACCESSION TO RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION

[05] ABKHAZIA AGAIN STAKES CLAIM TO RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT

[06] ADJARIA ADOPTS OWN CONSTITUTION

[07] GEORGIAN DISPLACED PERSONS CALL FOR NEW ELECTIONS

[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S MUSLIMS CHOOSE NEW MUFTI

[09] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION APPEALS FOR KULOV ON EVE OF TRIAL

[10] KYRGYZ PARTY ANNOUNCES ITS ALIGNMENT WITH RADICAL OPPOSITION

[11] TAJIKISTAN MARKS THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE AGREEMENT

[12] WORLD BANK GRANTS FURTHER CREDITS TO TAJIKISTAN

[13] UZBEKISTAN, RUSSIA SIGN NEW MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENTS

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION ON WAY TO JOINT SLATE

[15] SABAC OPPOSITION PROTESTS BEATING OF RFE/RL CORRESPONDENT

[16] MILOSEVIC BACKERS SLAM DJUKANOVIC

[17] BELGRADE RESENTS EXCLUSION FROM UN DEBATE

[18] VOTER REGISTRATION PROCEDING APACE IN KOSOVA

[19] KOSOVA TORTURE VICTIMS CALL FOR FORGIVENESS

[20] INTERNATIONAL AID AGENCIES WON'T BE KOSOVA'S 'SITTING DUCKS'

[21] SOLANA HAILS SERBIAN RETURN TO KOUCHNER'S COUNCIL

[22] BRITISH TROOPS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR THEFT

[23] WHO'S AFRAID OF 'BOTA SOT'?

[24] U.S. BLASTS PRESSURE ON SARAJEVO DAILY

[25] NEW MAYOR FOR BANJA LUKA

[26] ISARESCU READY TO CONTINUE AS ROMANIAN PREMIER

[27] COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST NEW BUCHAREST MAYOR FOR

[28] DUTCH PREMIER IN ROMANIA

[29] BULGARIA TO PURCHASE U.S. JET FIGHTERS?

[C] END NOTE

[30] CONTRADICTORY EXPANSIONS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY REJECTS ENERGY EMBEZZLEMENT

In a statement issued in Yerevan on 26 June, the

Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh) charged that the ad hoc

Armenian parliamentary commission that recently accused the

previous, HHSh administration of condoning massive

embezzlement in the energy sector was acting on instructions

from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun,

Noyan Tapan reported. The HHSh statement, signed by vice

chairman of the party's board and former Foreign Minister

Alexander Arzoumanian, said the accusations are "a political

manipulation" intended to deflect attention from the

"complete failure" of the present administration's domestic

and foreign policy. LF

[02] COUNCIL OF EUROPE OFFICIAL SEES NO OBSTACLES TO ARMENIAN,

Lord Russell Johnston, who is

chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of

Europe, said in Strasbourg on 26 June that he anticipates

that the council will decide later this week to admit both

Armenia and Azerbaijan to full membership, RFE/RL's Armenian

Service reported from Strasbourg. He said that admitting both

countries simultaneously will help to resolve the Karabakh

conflict. Some observers had anticipated that Azerbaijan's

admission might be made contingent on whether the

parliamentary elections to be held in November are free,

fair, and democratic (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 3,

No. 21, 26 May 2000). LF

[03] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT ADMITS PRESENCE IN GEORGIA OF CHECHEN

Speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi on 26

June, Eduard Shevardnadze admitted that some 200 Chechen

fighters who have undergone medical treatment in Georgia and

elsewhere are still in Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. He

noted that during the recent visit to Tbilisi of Russian

Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov the possibility of

forming a Russian-Georgian joint commission to expedite the

return of those fighters to Chechnya was discussed. LF

[04] ...RULES OUT ACCESSION TO RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION

President Shevardnadze told a news conference in Tbilisi on

26 June that Georgia has no intention of joining the Russia-

Belarus union, which he described as "radical," Caucasus

Press reported. He added that Georgia will give preference to

bilateral relations in pursuing further integration within

the CIS. LF

[05] ABKHAZIA AGAIN STAKES CLAIM TO RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Republic of Abkhazia, told Caucasus Press on 26 June that

Abkhazia will not permit arms currently deployed at the

Russian military base in Gudauta to be removed from Abkhaz

territory after the closure of that base (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 19 June 2000). Discussing the terms of that

closure with Georgian leaders in Tbilisi on 24-25 June,

Russian Deputy Premier Klebanov proposed that it be

transformed into a training and leisure camp for the Russian

peacekeepers currently deployed in Abkhazia under the CIS's

aegis (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June 2000). LF

[06] ADJARIA ADOPTS OWN CONSTITUTION

Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjaria on 26 June adopted a

new constitution, flag, and national hymn composed by Supreme

Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze, Caucasus Press reported.

Georgian parliament Committee for Legal Affairs Chairman

Giorgi Meparishvili said that the Adjar authorities did not

consult the central government when drafting the constitution

and that he cannot say whether it contravenes the Georgian

Constitution. But President Shevardnadze said in his

traditional Monday radio address on 26 June that he is

confident the Adjar Constitution does not violate the article

of the Georgian Constitution that defines Georgia as a

unitary state. LF

[07] GEORGIAN DISPLACED PERSONS CALL FOR NEW ELECTIONS

of Abkhaz Refugees, one of several organizations claiming to

represent the interests of Georgian displaced persons forced

to flee Abkhazia during the 1992-1993 war, issued a statement

in Tbilisi on 26 June calling for new Georgian parliamentary

and presidential elections, Caucasus Press reported. The

statement argued that the present Georgian leadership's

policies have brought the country to the verge of catastrophe

and risk precipitating the disintegration of Georgia as a

sovereign independent state. LF

[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S MUSLIMS CHOOSE NEW MUFTI

Muslims of Kazakhstan on 24 June elected as the country's new

mufti Absattar Derbisaliev, a specialist in Arabic philosophy

who previously served as a diplomat at Kazakhstan's embassy

in Saudi Arabia, Interfax reported. His predecessor, Ratbek-

hadji Nysynbaiuly, had been mufti since before the collapse

of the USSR, according to RRE/RL's Kazakh Service. LF

[09] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION APPEALS FOR KULOV ON EVE OF TRIAL

opposition parties--El, Kairan-El, the Republican Party, Ar-

Namys and the Party of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan-

-issued a joint statement on 26 June castigating the Kyrgyz

leadership's rejection of appeals by the Russian State Duma,

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and OSCE

Secretary-General Jan Kubis on behalf of Ar-Namys Party

chairman Feliks Kulov, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported.

Kulov's trial by a closed military court begins on 27 June.

The joint statement said that the reason Kulov's trial is to

be closed is to hide the fact that the charges of abuse of

office brought against him are fabricated. LF

[10] KYRGYZ PARTY ANNOUNCES ITS ALIGNMENT WITH RADICAL OPPOSITION

a press conference in Bishkek that his party, which had

hitherto been a part of the moderate opposition, had decided

two days earlier to align with the radical opposition,

RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He said that step was taken

as a direct response to the anti-democratic policies of the

present Kyrgyz leadership, in particular the arrest of Kulov.

LF

[11] TAJIKISTAN MARKS THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE AGREEMENT

26 June radio address to mark the anniversary of the signing

in Moscow on 27 June 1997 of the peace agreement that ended

the civil war, President Imomali Rakhmonov said the

significance of that document in the country's modern history

is equal to that of its 1991 declaration of independence,

ITAR-TASS reported. He said the 1997 agreement laid the

foundations for an economic and democratic upswing, according

to AP. Rakhmonov also called for renewed international

efforts to end the war in neighboring Afghanistan LF

[12] WORLD BANK GRANTS FURTHER CREDITS TO TAJIKISTAN

Bank has granted Tajikistan two credits of $20 million and

$470,000, Interfax reported on 26 June. The larger sum is

intended for modernizing of the agricultural infrastructure,

including developing irrigation systems, and improving the

quality of drinking water. The smaller credit is to finance a

study on preventing natural disasters. LF

[13] UZBEKISTAN, RUSSIA SIGN NEW MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENTS

Akmazov and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, have

signed further bilateral agreements on military cooperation,

"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 24 June (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 13 December 1999). One of those agreements allows

Uzbekistan to use Russian weapons testing facilities. Further

agreements will be drafted on the training of Uzbek military

personnel in Russia, the repair of all Uzbek military

equipment in Russia, and the establishment of a joint venture

with Russian and foreign participation to manufacture

explosives. Russian Defense Ministry official Lieutenant

General Vasilii Grigorev commented that Uzbekistan currently

participates in all CIS defense initiatives. Uzbekistan

declined last year to renew its participation in the CIS

Collective Security Treaty. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[14] SERBIAN OPPOSITION ON WAY TO JOINT SLATE

most of Serbia's fractious opposition parties and coalitions

agreed in Belgrade on 26 June on a compromise list of

candidates for the local elections expected later this year.

The compromise focused on central Serbia and Sandzak. The

representatives will meet on 2 July to reach an agreement on

Vojvodina, "Blic" reported. Cedomir Jovanovic of the

Democratic Party told the private Beta news agency that the

parties have now done what the public has wanted them to do

"for the past 10 years." The only important opposition group

not present was Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement

(SPO). "Blic" published an opinion poll on 26 June that

showed the united opposition in first place, followed by the

governing coalition of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic

and then the SPO. PM

[15] SABAC OPPOSITION PROTESTS BEATING OF RFE/RL CORRESPONDENT

statement on 26 June to protest the recent beating of

RFE/RL's Hanibal Kovac by bodyguards at a swimming pool and

recreation center owned by a supporter of Vojislav Seselj's

Radicals (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June 2000). PM

[16] MILOSEVIC BACKERS SLAM DJUKANOVIC

daily "Politika" on 26 June criticized Montenegrin President

Milo Djukanovic for his recent apology to Croatian President

Stipe Mesic for Montenegro's role in Milosevic's attack on

Croatia in 1991 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June 2000). The

daily wrote that Djukanovic has given in to "blackmail" and

"soiled the reputation of the proud Montenegrins by dropping

to his knees" before Mesic and the Ustashe. Velizar Nikcevic,

who heads the pro-Milosevic Serbian People's Party in

Montenegro, charged that Djukanovic's "gesture is a

continuation of the policy of servility, treachery, hate, and

provoking conflicts among his own people.... The Montenegrin

regime is entering the last phase of treason," Reuters

reported. Neither Milosevic nor his top aides have made any

public statements on Djukanovic's remarks. PM

[17] BELGRADE RESENTS EXCLUSION FROM UN DEBATE

Foreign Minister Nebojsa Vujovic said in Belgrade on 26 June

that the UN Security Council should have invited his

government's representatives to take part in its discussions

on the Balkans three days earlier, RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported. He said that the decision to exclude

Serbian officials was "politically motivated and

counterproductive." Vujovic stressed that Yugoslavia is a

"factor of regional stability and cooperation." On 23 June in

New York, Russian and Ukrainian delegates stressed that

Serbian representatives should be present for any discussion

on the Balkans. U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke argued that

Milosevic's representatives have no right to participate in

UN discussions, an RFE/RL correspondent reported. PM

[18] VOTER REGISTRATION PROCEDING APACE IN KOSOVA

heads the OSCE's election commission in Kosova, said in

Prishtina on 27 June that some 700,000 people have registered

to vote in the local and municipal elections widely expected

to take place this fall. She said that most who have

registered are ethnic Albanians and that virtually no Serbs

have done so, Reuters reported. Registration ends on 15 July.

Three large and many smaller ethnic Albanian parties as well

as several ethnic minority parties signed up during the party

registration that ended on 11 June (see "RFE/RL Balkan

Report," 27 June 2000). Hume said that the OSCE favors

proportional representation in the elections in order to

encourage all the parties to work together. She called

"unacceptable" a first-past-the-post system, which the three

larger groupings favor. No Serbian party has registered. PM

[19] KOSOVA TORTURE VICTIMS CALL FOR FORGIVENESS

number of victims of torture and others marked the UN's

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture in

Prishtina for the first time on 26 June, AP reported. Adem

Demaci, who spent 28 years in Yugoslav prisons and has been

called the "Kosovar Mandela," called for forgiveness. "The

heart can forgive so that we can get out of this hell we have

in our soul." Veteran Kosovar leader Rexhep Qosja called on

Kosovars not to "inflict the same pain that was inflicted

upon us." Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN's civilian

administration in Kosova, called on people not to forget the

families of torture victims. He appealed for the release of

persons illegally detained and for clarification of the fate

of the missing. PM

[20] INTERNATIONAL AID AGENCIES WON'T BE KOSOVA'S 'SITTING DUCKS'

said on 26 June that international agencies will not return

to Serb-held northern Mitrovica until they receive

unambiguous guarantees of their safety from local Serbian

authorities. She said that recent statements by local Serb

leader Oliver Ivanovic do not go far enough. She argued that

"there is a feeling of impunity among [Serbian] mobs, they

feel they can get away with anything," Reuters reported. She

fears that "we will have somebody killed" if the agencies go

back without guarantees. "We are not going to send in [our

staff], thinking that they are sitting ducks again," Ghedini

added. PM

[21] SOLANA HAILS SERBIAN RETURN TO KOUCHNER'S COUNCIL

Solana, who is the EU's chief official for security issues,

said in Brussels on 26 June that the only way for people to

improve the situation in Kosova is to participate in the work

of the UN civilian administration there. He praised the

recent decision of the Serbian National Council to rejoin

Kouchner's advisory body (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 June

2000). PM

[22] BRITISH TROOPS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR THEFT

the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are under investigation by

British military authorities in response to charges by ethnic

Albanian civilians that the soldiers stole money and

valuables from them, "The Guardian" reported on 27 June. PM

[23] WHO'S AFRAID OF 'BOTA SOT'?

of the Albanians (PDSH), which is part of Macedonia's

governing coalition, confiscated and destroyed "all" copies

of the Tirana-based daily "Bota Sot" in the largely ethnic

Albanian towns of Gostivar and Tetovo on 26 June, Reuters

reported. The activists were angered by a recent article in

"Bota Sot" alleging that the PDSH and its leader, Arben

Xhaferi, have done nothing to help establish an independent

Albanian-language university in Tetovo since the government

was formed in November 1998. Xhaferi and other top party

officials denied that they ordered the confiscation of the

newspaper. Observers note that "Bota Sot" does not enjoy a

reputation for the highest journalistic standards. PM

[24] U.S. BLASTS PRESSURE ON SARAJEVO DAILY

spokesman Philip Reeker said on 26 June that "the United

States strongly condemns efforts by the government of the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to intimidate the free

press." He was referring to recent measures taken by the tax

police against the Sarajevo daily "Avaz" (see "RFE/RL Balkan

Report," 23 June 2000). Bosnian Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic

has called the tax investigation "routine," adding that some

70 companies are currently under scrutiny, Reuters reported.

PM

[25] NEW MAYOR FOR BANJA LUKA

Independent Social Democrat Dragoljub Davidovic as mayor of

the Republika Srpska's capital on 26 June. Wolfgang

Petritsch, who is the international community's high

representative, and Robert Berry, who heads the OSCE mission

in Bosnia, sacked former Mayor Djordje Umicevic last fall

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 November 1999). PM

[26] ISARESCU READY TO CONTINUE AS ROMANIAN PREMIER

June said Prime Minister Mugur Isarescu is ready to

continue as premier after the fall elections because "he

would like to see through the objectives he has undertaken

to accomplish." On 24 June, the leadership of the National

Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNLCD) discussed the

possibility of nominating a "presidential-premier tandem"

before the elections and said the Emil Constantinescu-

Isarescu team might be a suitable choice. The proposal,

however, was not discussed at a 26 June meeting between the

PNTCD leadership and that of the National Liberal Party to

discuss the future of the Democratic Convention of Romania.

No decision was taken, but the two sides agreed that the

electoral hurdle must be raised from 3 percent to 5

percent. MS

[27] COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST NEW BUCHAREST MAYOR FOR

Party of Social Democracy in Romania First

Deputy Chairman Adrian Nastase is filing a complaint

against new Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu for "insulting

comments and defamation," Romanian Radio reported on 27

June. In an interview with the daily "Evenimentul zilei,"

Basescu had used vulgar language in describing Nastase's

alleged sexual preferences. Basescu says he had asked the

reporter to keep the remarks "off the record" and

apologized for having made them. Meanwhile, on 26 June,

Basescu's Democratic Party officially nominated Anca

Boagiu, director in the Transportation Ministry, as

Basescu's successor to the portfolio. Aged 31, Boagiu will

be the youngest government member. She will also be the

only woman serving in the cabinet. MS

[28] DUTCH PREMIER IN ROMANIA

26 June said after talks with Isarescu that he is convinced

Romania "is now in good hands" and that Dutch investors are

interested in Romania. After talks with Constantinescu, Kok

also expressed support for Romania's bid to join NATO and

the EU, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. On 27 June, Kok

addressed a joint session of the Romanian parliament. MS

[29] BULGARIA TO PURCHASE U.S. JET FIGHTERS?

considering the purchase of an unspecified number of U.S.-

made F-16 jet fighters, AP reported on 26 June. The Defense

Ministry confirmed that Defense Minister Boiko Noev had left

for the U.S. on 25 June but declined to comment on a report

in the daily "24 Chasa" saying the purpose of Noev's trip was

to decide on whether to purchase the fighters. MS

[C] END NOTE

[30] CONTRADICTORY EXPANSIONS

NATO expansion and EU expansion, long assumed to be

complementary processes, are having an increasingly

contradictory impact on those countries seeking to join one

or the other or both, on the current members of these two key

Western institutions, and on those countries like Russia that

are unlikely ever to get into either.

These unintended contradictions, British defense analyst

James G. Sherr concludes in a recent paper released by the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst's Conflict Studies Research

Centre, reflect less the different purposes of the two

organizations--NATO is a security alliance and the EU is an

economic one--than the specific mix of policies they have

adopted over the last decade concerning potential new

members.

Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, Sherr notes,

NATO has done everything it can "to soften the distinction

between members and non-members," thereby successfully

avoiding the drawing of new lines in Europe while extending a

penumbra of security to countries whose national sovereignty

has been at risk.

NATO, Sherr points out, has been willing and able to

tailor its relationships with all Partnership for Peace

countries, developing close links with some countries like

the Baltic states and Ukraine and maintaining somewhat looser

ties with the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia. And

because it is concerned with national defense, NATO has

insisted that fundamental change inside these countries be a

precondition for cooperation.

Indeed, Sherr implies, this willingness of the Western

alliance to accept such diversity in the countries with which

it is cooperating has become one of NATO's greatest

strengths.

The EU has taken a very different approach. Sherr notes

its main focus throughout this period has been the deepening

of the integration of current members. And consequently, it

demands that those countries that want to become members

transform themselves at home and be willing to impose tighter

border controls vis-a-vis their neighbors who cannot or do

not want to join.

In that way, the EU draws precisely the kind of lines in

post-Cold War Europe that NATO has sought to avoid. Moreover,

because the accession process takes so long, this EU approach

has the potential to dramatically expand the size of the gray

zone of political and economic uncertainty between East and

West. That, in turn, undercuts NATO's approach.

Not surprisingly, these differences between NATO and the

EU have had a serious impact on countries interested in

joining one or the other or both. Many of those countries'

leaders view NATO as the primary source of military security

but are increasingly concerned by NATO's efforts to work out

a cooperative relationship with Moscow, whose policies are

the primary reason these countries seek a relationship with

the Western alliance.

At the same time, many aspirant countries see EU

membership as the primary source of economic well-being. But

they are nervous both about the impact of the demands of

membership on their own societies and the tariff and visa

walls the EU requires its members erect. Such tight borders

will often cut these countries off from traditional partners,

even after certain special transitional arrangements are

approved.

But because NATO and the EU have such different

purposes, few in Eastern Europe accept the notion, often

promoted in the West, that the expansion of one is the

equivalent of the expansion of the other. Indeed, they are

ever more sensitive to the distinctions than are current

members or those who oppose both institutions.

These distinctions are having an impact on NATO and the

EU as they exist today. The approach of each of these

institutions often undercuts the approach of the other,

thereby reducing the effectiveness of both NATO's approach

and the common European security and defense policy and also

exacerbating tensions between the two groups.

And this contradictory impact of the two approaches also

has a major impact on countries like Russia, which are

unlikely to join either. That impact is all the greater

because the Russian government does not appear to fully

understand the distinctions.

Focusing on NATO's military past, Russian officials have

largely ignored the alliance's variegated approach and its

efforts to avoid drawing lines. And consequently, they have

been almost unanimous in opposing the eastward expansion of

the alliance, even as the alliance seeks to cooperate with

Moscow.

And focusing on the EU's economic role, these same

Russian officials have largely ignored the tight borders EU

membership requires and the impact such borders might have on

the Russian economy. Not surprisingly, most of them have

welcomed EU expansion as a substitute for NATO growth, even

though EU expansion might be more damaging to some Russian

interests.

As Sherr notes, neither NATO nor EU leaders appear to be

fully aware of the impact of such contradictions. Unless they

consider them in the near future, both organizations will be

helping to create a world in Eastern Europe very different

from the one they and the countries of that region say they

want.

27-06-00

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

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