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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 0, No. 0, 00-09-01
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 0, No. 0, 1 September 2000
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIA, GREECE PLEDGE TO CONTINUE DEFENSE COOPERATION
[02] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SHOOTING SUSPECT'S DEATH IN DETENTION CONFIRMED
[03] LAWYER OF ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI EDITOR'S LAWYER ACCUSED OF VIOLATIONS
[04] AZERBAIJAN CONCLUDES OIL THEFT INVESTIGATIONS
[05] GEORGIA MAY ASK OSCE TO MONITOR BORDER WITH INGUSHETIA
[06] KAZAKH INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATE REJECTS ACCUSATIONS OF TAX EVASION
[07] KAZAKHSTAN TO CLOSE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
[08] PROSECUTORS DEMAND 17-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST
[09] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT PLEDGES TO REPEL ISLAMIC MILITANTS
[10] PAKISTAN ENDORSES TURKMEN PEACE PLAN FOR AFGHANISTAN
[11] UZBEK PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING OF NATIONAL UNITY
[12] FOREIGN MINISTER DENIES UZBEKISTAN HAS REQUESTED OUTSIDE HELP
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[13] DOES ARREST AWAIT MILOSEVIC IN KOSOVA?
[14] OSCE SLAMS YUGOSLAV VOTE
[15] YUGOSLAV MILITARY EXTEND DETENTION OF WESTERNERS
[16] SERBIAN POLICE HOLD UP EU BITUMEN FOR SUBOTICA
[17] ANTI-ROMA FEELINGS ON THE RISE IN SERBIA?
[18] SOLANA EXPRESSES UNDERSTANDING FOR MONTENEGRIN ELECTION BOYCOTT
[19] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER: ELECTIONS NO REASON FOR VIOLENCE
[20] CROATIAN BALKAN SUMMIT SET FOR 24 NOVEMBER
[21] CROATIAN PRESIDENT SLAMS KILLERS OF LEVAR
[22] HERZEGOVINIAN CROAT NATIONALISTS WANT 'PURE' UNIVERSITY
[23] ROMANIAN DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION REBORN
[24] FORMER ROMANIAN OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION
[25] STUDY BLASTS ROMANIAN BUREAUCRACY
[26] MOLDOVA CELEBRATES ROMANIAN LANGUAGE
[C] END NOTE
[27] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY...
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIA, GREECE PLEDGE TO CONTINUE DEFENSE COOPERATION
During a four-day official visit to Armenia that ended on 31 August, Greek
Army Chief of Staff General Manousos Paraioudakis met with his Armenian
counterpart, General Mikael Harutiunian, President Robert Kocharian,
Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian to
discuss expanding bilateral military cooperation, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau
reported. Both Kocharian and Markarian characterized Armenian-Greek
relations as "a strategic partnership," but Kocharian stressed that
cooperation between the two countries is not directed at any third country
(meaning Turkey), Noyan Tapan reported. Paraioudakis and Harutiunian
specifically discussed ways of expanding Armenia's participation in NATO's
Partnership for Peace Program and the training of Armenian military
personnel in Greece. Agreement was also reached on creating a working
group that will consider possible joint defense industry projects. LF
[02] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SHOOTING SUSPECT'S DEATH IN DETENTION CONFIRMED
Armenian Interior Ministry official Artak Vartazian confirmed on 31 August
that Norayr Yeghiazarian, who was under investigation for having allegedly
sold assault rifles to the five gunmen who perpetrated the 27 October
Armenian parliament shootings, was found dead in his cell on 29 August,
RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 August 2000).
Vartazian said the cause of Yeghiazarian's death has not yet been clarified
but that he may have inadvertently electrocuted himself with a device for
heating water. LF
[03] LAWYER OF ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI EDITOR'S LAWYER ACCUSED OF VIOLATIONS
Vidadi Mahmudov, the defense lawyer of arrested opposition newspaper "Yeni
Musavat" editor Rauf Arifloglu, was warned on 31 August by officials from
the Prosecutor- General's Office that action may be taken against him for
violating the confidentiality of the investigation of Arifoglu's case,
Turan reported. Arifoglu, who has declared a hunger strike, is refusing to
give evidence. He has appealed to fellow Azerbaijani media editors to
abandon their stated intention to call on the Council of Europe not to
grant Azerbaijan full membership in retaliation for its harassment
of Arifloglu and of the opposition Musavat Party. Also on 31 August, the
deputy editor of "Yeni Musavat," Gabil Abbasoglu, appealed to the leader of
Azerbaijan's Muslims, Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazade, to try to secure
Arifoglu's release. LF
[04] AZERBAIJAN CONCLUDES OIL THEFT INVESTIGATIONS
The Azerbaijani Interior Ministry Investigation Department has concluded
two separate investigations into the embezzlement in 1992-1994 of oil
products valued at $76 million, Tutan reported on 31 August. A total of 16
people are implicated in those thefts, including former parliamentary
speaker Rasul Guliev and former Ministers for Foreign Economic Relations
Hafiz Babaev and Rauf Garaev. Many Baku observers believe the arrests in
March of Babaev, Garaev, and the former director of the Bakinskii Rabochii
plant, Mamed Veliev, were intended to substantiate the case against Guliev.
Veliev's lawyer said in April that the alleged thefts never took place and
that he can prove the innocence of all those detained (see "RFE/RL
Caucasus Report," Vol. 3, No. 15, 14 April 2000). LF
[05] GEORGIA MAY ASK OSCE TO MONITOR BORDER WITH INGUSHETIA
Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Avtandil Napetvaridze told Caucasus
Press on 31 August that Tbilisi may ask the OSCE to extend its monitoring
of the Georgian-Chechen border to Georgia's border with Ingushetia. The
OSCE currently has 42 observers deployed along that border. Those observers
last month affirmed that they have registered no unauthorized border
crossings since beginning their duties in February (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
11 August 2000). Russian officials have repeatedly claimed that Chechen
fighters and foreign mercenaries enter Chechnya from Georgian territory.
More recently, they said that federal forces intercepted a group of such
fighters in Ingushetia who had allegedly entered that republic from Georgia
en route to Chechnya (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 and 28 August 2000). LF
[06] KAZAKH INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATE REJECTS ACCUSATIONS OF TAX EVASION
The directors of six companies aligned in the Eurasia Group issued a
statement in Almaty on 31 August denying allegations by the Kazakh official
media and by President Nursultan Nazarbev that they have systematically
withheld taxes, Reuters and Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 and
9 August 2000). The statement termed such media allegations "distorted
[and] false" and "intended to mislead the president, government and
society. They said the group, which claims to produce almost one quarter of
the country's GDP, paid some 16.6 billion tenges ($139 million) in taxes in
1999. LF
[07] KAZAKHSTAN TO CLOSE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy, Industry and Trade said in a statement
issued on 31 August that the country's sole nuclear power plant, in
Mangyshlak, will be closed down in February 2001, Reuters reported. The
U.S. will provide $3.8 million toward the cost of the closure. The plant
was originally built to provide electricity for a desalination plant to
provide drinking water for the Caspian port of Aqtau. LF
[08] PROSECUTORS DEMAND 17-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR KYRGYZ OPPOSITIONIST
The prosecution in the trial of Topchubek Turgunaliev has demanded a 17-
year prison term for the defendant for his alleged leadership in a
conspiracy to assassinate Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev, RFE/RL's Bishkek
bureau reported on 31 August. Twelve people were arrested last summer in
connection with that alleged conspiracy on the basis of testimony given to
the National Security Ministry that was later retracted. Turgunaliev was
only later linked to the alleged plot. Three National Security Ministry
officials said in court earlier this week that there is no concrete proof
that the accused had formed a team capable of implementing the
assassination (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 August 2000). Turgunaliev is
leader of the Erkindik (Liberty) party and chairman of the Guild of
Prisoners of Conscience. He has twice been imprisoned, in 1995-1996 and
1996-1997, for criticism of President Akaev. LF
[09] KYRGYZ PRESIDENT PLEDGES TO REPEL ISLAMIC MILITANTS
In a speech made in Bishkek on 31 August to mark the ninth anniversary of
Kyrgyzstan's declaration of independence, President Akaev vowed that
"international terrorists" trying to penetrate Kyrgyz territory and to
destabilize Central Asia will be "ignominiously expelled" and destroyed,
RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Police were placed on special alert
for the anniversary celebrations in Bishkek and other cities, and have
intensified surveillance of vehicles, especially in the capital, according
to Interfax. LF
[10] PAKISTAN ENDORSES TURKMEN PEACE PLAN FOR AFGHANISTAN
Meeting in Islamabad on 31 August with visiting Turkmen presidential
envoy Boris Shikhmuradov, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar affirmed
his country's "full support" for Ashgabat's "important initiative for the
restoration of peace in Afghanistan," Reuters reported. Shikhmuradov had
said the previous day that during talks with the Taliban leadership
earlier this week, the latter had expressed willingness to begin
unconditional peace talks with representatives of Ahmed Shah Massoud's
Northern Alliance (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 August 2000). The Taliban had
earlier made such talks conditional on Massoud's recognition of them as the
legitimate government. LF
[11] UZBEK PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING OF NATIONAL UNITY
Lawmakers on 31 August adopted an appeal to the country's population to
close ranks in order to counter the threat posed to Uzbekistan's security
by "international terrorist groups," meaning militants from the banned
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Interfax reported. LF
[12] FOREIGN MINISTER DENIES UZBEKISTAN HAS REQUESTED OUTSIDE HELP
Abdulaziz Komilov told foreign ambassadors in Tashkent on 31 August that
"Uzbekistan has requested no military assistance from any country for the
elimination of terrorists and is not going to do so," ITAR-TASS reported.
He added that Uzbekistan has adequate resources to protect its borders.
President Islam Karimov has similarly twice denied that Tashkent has asked
Russia for assistance to repel the Islamists (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 and
31 August 2000). Speaking in Moscow on 31 August, Colonel General Valerii
Manilov, who is first deputy chief of Russian Army General Staff, denied
that any of the Central Asian states has requested help from Moscow to
combat the IMU, Interfax reported. But he added that Moscow's capacity for
responding positively to such a request "is being analyzed." LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[13] DOES ARREST AWAIT MILOSEVIC IN KOSOVA?
Indicted war criminal and Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic
said in Belgrade on 31 August that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic
plans to visit Kosova as part of his campaign in the 24 September
elections. Sainovic did not elaborate. In Washington, State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher said that Milosevic "can...and should be"
arrested in Kosova and sent to the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, which
has indicted him for atrocities in Kosova. In recent weeks, Milosevic
backers in Montenegro have urged him to come to that republic to campaign.
His aides have suggested that he will go to Montenegro but have provided no
other information. The BBC commented on 1 September that the fact that
Milosevic cannot freely travel to Montenegro or Kosova shows how little
of federal Yugoslavia he actually controls. Elsewhere, Bernard Kouchner,
who is the UN's chief civilian administrator in Kosova, consulted with
European and U.S. diplomats about Milosevic's plans to hold the Yugoslav
elections in that province (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 August 2000). PM
[14] OSCE SLAMS YUGOSLAV VOTE
The OSCE has criticized the 24 September Serbian and Yugoslav elections as
being neither free nor fair, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 31
August. The OSCE noted in a statement issued in Vienna that officials of
the Milosevic regime will be in charge both of the polling places and of
the counting of ballots. PM
[15] YUGOSLAV MILITARY EXTEND DETENTION OF WESTERNERS
Military judges in Belgrade extended by four weeks the pre-trial detention
of two Britons and two Canadians on "terrorism" charges, Reuters reported
on 31 August. Canadian Charge d'affaires Angela Bogdan said: "There have
been new developments. They are very distressing to us." The detention
of the four, as well as that of four Dutch citizens, is widely seen as an
anti-Western propaganda ploy by the regime in the runup to the 24 September
elections. PM
[16] SERBIAN POLICE HOLD UP EU BITUMEN FOR SUBOTICA
Serbian police ordered a shipment of bitumen from Norway intended for
Subotica to be placed in a customs warehouse rather than given to the city
authorities, Reuters reported on 31 August. Mayor Jozef Kasza told Reuters
by telephone that "the police did not give any explanation for the move,
but we have the information that the reason is political." The shipment is
part of the EU's "Asphalt for Democracy" program, which is aimed at
enabling opposition-controlled municipalities to repair roads. PM
[17] ANTI-ROMA FEELINGS ON THE RISE IN SERBIA?
A Serbian human rights group has registered 90 cases of discrimination
against Roma between October 1999 and July 2000, Vienna's "Die Presse"
reported on 1 September. Anti-Roma violence is often carried out by
skinheads in Belgrade and other Serbian cities. Police frequently detain
Roma as suspects for crimes simply because they are Roma. The daily
suggested that the anti-Roma climate is linked to the widespread social and
economic decline in Serbia over the past decade. One Rom said: "Things were
different when [Josip Broz] Tito was alive." PM
[18] SOLANA EXPRESSES UNDERSTANDING FOR MONTENEGRIN ELECTION BOYCOTT
Javier Solana, who is the EU's chief official for international security
issues, said in Dubrovnik on 31 August that he hopes the united Serbian
opposition will win the elections, Reuters reported. After speaking to
Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic about his decision to boycott those
elections, Solana added that he "respects" the Montenegrin decision, AP
reported. Solana stressed: "I understand the reason why the president has
decided that his party would not participate in these elections." For his
part, Djukanovic said: "We are not for war, but I must say that if
Milosevic continues to jeopardize the stability and security of
Montenegro's citizens, with an aim of provoking a civil war, we are ready
for such an option, to defend Montenegro's statehood and democracy." PM
[19] MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER: ELECTIONS NO REASON FOR VIOLENCE
After a meeting in Podgorica between officials of the governing Democratic
Party of Socialists and the pro- Milosevic Socialist People's Party, Prime
Minister Filip Vujanovic said on 31 August that the government's decision
to boycott the elections need not lead to a "confrontation" between rival
political groupings. He added that leaders of both parties stressed the
need for peaceful dialogue, Montena-fax reported. PM
[20] CROATIAN BALKAN SUMMIT SET FOR 24 NOVEMBER
The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 31 August that the EU
Balkan summit will be held in Croatia on 24 November. The place where the
meeting will be held will be announced later, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported. Participants will include the 15 EU countries, Albania, and all
former Yugoslav republics. Serbia will be represented either by the
democratic opposition or by a new, democratic government, but not by the
Milosevic regime. PM
[21] CROATIAN PRESIDENT SLAMS KILLERS OF LEVAR
Stipe Mesic said in Zagreb on 31 August that the killers of war crimes
witness Milan Levar are people who want to return Croatia to international
isolation, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
31 August 2000). He stressed that police are responsible for what goes on
in their respective zones of responsibility, "Jutarnji list" added. PM
[22] HERZEGOVINIAN CROAT NATIONALISTS WANT 'PURE' UNIVERSITY
The Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) wants to maintain a separate
university "in the Croatian language," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service
reported. The HDZ regards attempts to merge Mostar's Croatian university
with the city's Muslim university as a move toward "ethnic homogenization"
in the runup to the 11 November parliamentary elections. PM
[23] ROMANIAN DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION REBORN
After two months of negotiations, the leaders of five parties signed a
protocol establishing the center-right Romanian Democratic Convention
2000 alliance, Romanian media reported. The founding members are the
National Peasant Party Christian Democratic, the Union of Rightist Forces,
the National Christian Democratic Alliance, the Romanian Ecologist Forum,
and the Party of Moldavians. Alliance members will run on a single list for
the November parliamentary elections and will support Prime Minister Mugur
Isarescu's presidential candidacy. The alliance's symbol remains a key but
is now surrounded by a ring of yellow stars on a blue background--a clear
allusion to the EU flag. ZsM
[24] FORMER ROMANIAN OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION
Romanian prosecutors have asked the parliament and the president to
give the go-ahead to a criminal investigation against former government
members, "Ziua" reported on 31 August. Prosecutors investigating the so-
called Jimbolia case found evidence that members of the Party of Social
Democracy in Romania (PDSR) government might have been involved in the
illegal export of oil products to Yugoslavia before 1996, thus breaching
the UN embargo against the Balkan country. Former Prime Minister Nicolae
Vacaroiu and ministers Doru Ioan Taracila and Aurel Novac can be prosecuted
only if the parliament or president make such a request. ZsM
[25] STUDY BLASTS ROMANIAN BUREAUCRACY
A U.S.-funded study published on 31 August shows that Romania's
"bureaucratic maze" smothers free enterprise and fuels official corruption,
Reuters reported. U.S. Ambassador to Romania James Rosapepe said the study
shows the "bureaucratic impediments to the creation and expansion of the
entrepreneurial system in Romania." Rosapepe said the study can be used as
"a blueprint for war against bureaucracy." He added that the study's
results are "shocking" if Romanian red tape is compared to that of the
U.S.: while it takes one day to register a new business in the U.S., it can
take "anything between 49 and 102 days" in Romania. ZsM
[26] MOLDOVA CELEBRATES ROMANIAN LANGUAGE
Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi marked the Day of Romanian Language on
31 August by laying a wreath at a monument to Moldovan Prince Stefan in
downtown Chisinau, BasaPress reported. Lucinschi said that "along with all
good things that occurred over the last 10 years, we cannot be entirely
satisfied with the place that the state language occupies in public life."
He added that indifference has led to "an obvious stagnation of the
Romanian language." Lucinschi added, however, that he "is proud that more
and more families...send their children to Romanian-language schools." The
language holiday has been celebrated since 1990, when Romanian was declared
the official language and the former Soviet republic reverted back to the
Latin script. PB
[C] END NOTE
[27] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY...
01-09-00
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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