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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 34, 01-02-19Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 5, No. 34, 19 February 2001CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] POPE RECALLS ARMENIAN 'MARTYRDOM'In anapostolic missive made public on 17 February to mark the 1,700th anniversary of Armenia's adoption of Christianity, Pope John Paul II noted the "unheard of violence" to which Armenians were subjected to in Ottoman Turkey in 1915, Reuters and AP reported. The Pope observed that "the whole Armenian culture and spirituality has been pervaded by boldness characterized by the supreme sign of giving one's life in martyrdom." The following day, the Pope presided over a mass to mark the anniversary and stated his "great desire to make a pilgrimage of hope" to Armenia. LF [02] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SUMS UPPRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO FRANCESpeaking to journalists at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport on 16 February, President Robert Kocharian characterized his official visit to France last week as having raised bilateral ties to "a qualitatively new level," according to Snark as cited by Groong. Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian similarly said the five-day visit was very successful" and "crucial in several respects," Noyan Tapan reported. Oskanian said the visit contributed to the further development of bilateral economic ties and the search for a solution to the Karabakh conflict. "Hayots ashkhar" on 17 February quoted Oskanian as saying that French President Jacques Chirac did not present "detailed written proposals" on resolving the conflict during his talks with Kocharian, but that the two presidents and Azerbaijani Heidar Aliev had discussed "general principles" for doing so in Paris last month that Oskanian said could yield "serious progress." Oskanian said that expanded Armenian- French relations could serve as "the main driving force" towards stronger ties between Armenia and the EU. LF [03] GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT DELEGATION VISITSARMENIA...A Georgian government delegation headed by Minister of State Gia Arsenishvili held talks in Yerevan on 17 February with senior Armenian officials, including President Kocharian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. In a joint statement, Arsenishvili and Markarian expressed satisfaction at the general level of bilateral relations, but called for more intensive economic cooperation, especially in the spheres of transport and energy. Most of Armenia's external trade is conducted via Georgian Black Sea ports. Also discussed was the repayment of Georgia's $25 million debt to Armenia. LF [04] ...AS FORMER ARMENIAN RULING PARTY WARNSAGAINST JEOPARDIZING TIESThe administrators of two districts in Georgia's southern Djavakheti region whose population is predominantly Armenian accompanied the Georgian government delegation to Yerevan. Some members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation -- Dashnaktsutiun recently called for those districts to be given autonomous status within Georgia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 February 2001). The former ruling Armenian Pan- National Movement has issued a statement condemning such calls as "inflammatory and provocative," Noyan Tapan reported on 17 February. The statement expressed understanding for the aspiration of the region's Armenian population to preserve their ethnic identity and said the Armenian leadership should help them do so, but in such a way as to avoid jeopardizing Armenian-Georgian relations. LF [05] ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER STATION BACK ONLINEThe nuclear reactor at Armenia's Medzamor atomic power station resumed operation late on 15 February, some 24 hours after it was shut down following damage to an external power line, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001). The plant's deputy director, Slava Danielian, told RFE/RL on 16 February that the accident did not involve any leakage of radiation, and there was no damage to the environment. Armenian Nuclear Radiation Authority official Vladimir Kurghinian said that the shutdown ranked as zero on the International Atomic Energy Agency's seven-point scale for evaluating the seriousness of accidents at nuclear power stations. LF [06] TURKEY PROPOSES TRIPARTITE TALKS WITHARMENIA, AZERBAIJANSpeaking on 17 February at an Istanbul conference on stability in the South Caucasus, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem proposed that Ankara chair a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani officials to discuss how to reach a solution to the Karabakh conflict, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. But Armenian Foreign Ministry official Samvel Mkrtchian, who attended the conference, expressed reservations, saying he thinks such a meeting unlikely before "first steps are taken" in Armenian-Turkish relations. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yigit Alpogan stressed that the Turkish initiative is intended to complement, rather than undercut, the ongoing Karabakh mediation by the OSCE Minsk Group, of which Turkey is a member. Minsk Group co-chairman Carey Cavanaugh welcomed Cem's proposal. LF [07] AZERBAIJAN CREATES COMMISSION ON WARINVALIDSAs previously announced (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001), the Azerbaijani authorities created a special commission on 16 February to address the problems faced by war invalids, Turan reported. But no members of the Society of Invalids of the Karabakh War, who began a nationwide hunger-strike last month to demand an increase in their pensions and allowances, were included in the commission. Some 19 invalids are continuing a renewed hunger-strike that they began on 15 February. LF [08] SUPPORTERS DENY FORMER AZERBAIJANIPOPULAR FRONT LEADER IMPLICATED INFINANCIAL SCANDAL Fazil Gazanfaroglu, who is a leading member of the conservative wing of the divided Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AHCP), on 16 February dismissed as untrue media reports that the Front's deceased chairman, Abulfaz Elchibey, was involved in the illegal transfer of funds to secret bank accounts belonging to Turkish National Movement Party leader Alparslan Turkesh, Turan reported. Gazanfaroglu said the media reports constitute a smear campaign by the Azerbaijani authorities and the rival, reformist wing of the AHCP. LF [09] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES 'ZEROOPTION'After a five-hour debate, parliament deputies voted on 16 February by 127 to one to ratify the so-called "zero option," whereby Tbilisi forfeits any claim on the assets of the former USSR in return for the rescheduling of its debt to Russia, Caucasus Press reported. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze had warned the previous day that refusal to ratify the "zero option" would lead to economic collapse (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001). Some 30 opposition deputies left the parliament chamber to protest the vote. LF [10] OFFICIALS DENY COMMISSIONING OF KAZAKHPIPELINE WILL BE DELAYEDSergei Gnatchenko, the director-general of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, said in Moscow on 16 February that the schedule for launching the consortium's Tengiz-Novorossiisk oil pipeline remains unchanged, Interfax reported. Speaking in Almaty, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko similarly affirmed that "the first stage of the CPF pipeline will be launched as planned" on 30 June. Consortium official Zinon Abdrakhmanov had said the previous day that the date for the pipeline to become operational could be delayed up to six weeks (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001). It is planned to begin filling the pipeline with oil in March. LF [11] KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION BEGINROUND-TABLE TALKSThe planned round-table discussion between representatives of the Kyrgyz authorities, political parties, media, and NGOs began at the presidential residence in Bishkek on 17 February in the presence of President Askar Akaev, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Reviewing the implementation of resolutions adopted at the first such roundtable in June 2000, State Secretary Osmonakun Ibraimov said Kyrgyzstan needs political stability following last year's controversial parliamentary and presidential elections. Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev called for consolidation to overcome "social tensions." Kyrgyz Human Rights Movement chairman Tursunbek Akunov appealed to the Kyrgyz government to release jailed opposition leader Topchubek Turgunaliev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September and 5 December 2000), while Emil Aliev of the opposition Ar-Namys Party asked Akaev to ensure that the jail sentence handed down last month on the party's leader, Feliks Kulov, is fairly reviewed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 January 2001). Police dispersed some 20 Kulov supporters who attempted to picket the presidential residence shortly before the roundtable began. LF [12] KYRGYZ PAPER PRINTS INTERVIEW WITH JAILEDOPPOSITION LEADERThe independent daily "Asaba" published an interview with Kulov on 16 February in which he said that the rationale behind the new criminal cases filed against him was that the international community has cast doubt on the legality of the seven-year sentence he received on charges of abuse of his official position, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Kulov accused President Akaev of having a personal interest in "finishing him off," adding that he had learned from "a reliable source" that the Kyrgyz authorities are hoping that his health will deteriorate and he will die before completing his sentence. Kulov also criticized as illegal the sentence handed down last September on Turgunaliev for allegedly plotting to assassinate Akaev. LF [13] TAJIK NGOS APPEAL ON BEHALF OF AFGHANFUGITIVESAn unspecified number of Tajik NGOs have appealed to the international community to provide urgent medical assistance for the more than 13,000 Afghans who fled to the Afghan-Tajik border to escape ongoing hostilities between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 16 February. At least 40 of the displaced persons have died since October of disease or wounds. LF [14] TURKMEN PRESIDENT SETS DEADLINE FORLEAVING OFFICESaparmurat Niyazov, whose presidential term was extended for an indefinite period in December 1999 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 December 1999), told the annual session of the Turkmen legislature on 18 February that he will leave office no later than 2010, when he will turn 70, Reuters and Interfax reported. He said open elections should then be held in which several younger candidates would contest the presidency, but that only persons who have held public office for 5-10 years and whose candidacy is approved by parliament will be eligible, according to Interfax. In addition, candidates must have lived in Turkmenistan for 10 years prior to the presidential ballot, a restriction that rules out former Foreign Minister Avdy Kuliev, who currently lives abroad. The parliament duly approved a law on holding presidential elections in 2010. Niyazov had told foreign ambassadors on 16 February that legislation on the election of regional administrators and the president will be passed in 2008. LF [15] TURKMENISTAN, RUSSIA CONCLUDE NEW GASSALES AGREEMENTThe Turkmen government and the ITERA energy corporation signed an agreement in Ashgabat on 16 February whereby Turkmenistan will sell Russia 10 billion cubic meters of gas in 2001, the same amount as last year, ITAR-TASS reported. Russia will pay $40 per thousand cubic meters compared with $36-38 last year, of which half will be paid in hard currency and half in commodities. Also on 16 February, President Niyazov said Turkmenistan will conclude a long-term agreement on the sale of natural gas to Ukraine "very soon," ITAR-TASS reported. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[16] TENSE WEEKEND IN KOSOVAUnidentified personsblew up a bus carrying Serbian civilians near Podujeva on 16 February (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001). No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, which was caused by a bomb placed under the road on which the bus was traveling with a Swedish escort vehicle. KFOR arrested several ethnic Albanians on the spot. Casualties stand at seven Serbs dead and 43 injured, but local Serb leaders said they expect the death toll to rise, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. On 17 February, hundreds of Serbs staged protests in Mitrovica, on the Skopje-Prishtina road, and at some other locations in Kosova. Speakers slammed KFOR and the UN civilian administration (UNMIK) and called for the resignation of KFOR's commander, General Carlo Cabigiosu. A similar demonstration took place in Gracanica the following day. PM [17] PRESEVO FIGHTERS CONDEMN BUS BOMBINGAMID RENEWED VIOLENCEJonuz Musliu, who is a spokesman for the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja, and Bujanovac (UCPMB), condemned the bus bombing in remarks to reporters in the Presevo Valley on 18 February. He said that the incident will set back the UCPMB's efforts to resolve its problems with Serbian forces in the area, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, near Lucane, three Serbian police died when their van hit one or more anti-tank mines. It is not clear whether the van was deliberately targeted. AP reported that local ethnic Albanians denied responsibility. NATO officials say there are three groups of armed ethnic Albanian fighters present in the area without any central command. Some fighters and Serbian forces exchanged mortar and machine gun fire into the following day. Musliu said that a local Albanian commander was killed in the fighting. PM [18] KOSOVAR ALBANIAN LEADERS SLAM VIOLENCEThe leader of the Democratic League of Kosova,Ibrahim Rugova, issued a statement in which he strongly condemned the Podujeva attack, "Koha Ditore" reported on 18 February. He stressed that the bombing was directed "against stability, peace, and democracy in Kosova" and "undermines all efforts of the people of Kosova and the international community to built a tolerant and democratic society for all citizens of Kosova." Hashim Thaci, the former guerrilla leader who heads the Democratic Party of Kosova, issued a statement saying that "this inhumane act works only in favor of destabilizing and weakening the political position of Kosova and has been committed by dark circles who want to present Kosova as a permanent source of crisis and trouble in the region." Thaci added that the attack is "a violation of our word of honor, which we gave to the international community, and has nothing to do with Albanian tradition." Ramush Haradinaj, who is president of the Alliance for the Future of Kosova, called the attack "a terrorist act directed at Serbs." FS [19] KOSOVA'S SURROI CALLS ATTACK 'TERRORISM'Kosovar publisher Veton Surroi wrote an editorial in"Koha Ditore" on 18 February, in which he stressed that the Kosovar Albanians must ask themselves if they want "terror" to jeopardize their relations with NATO. He also asked whether Kosovars want to implement the ethnically divisive policies of indicted war-criminal Slobodan Milosevic. Surroi argued that "the political message [of the attackers] was directed [not towards the victims but] towards the survivors. And this makes the difference between ordinary murder and terror." He added that "the messageŠis very simple: Kosovar Serbs cannot be citizens of Kosova." Surroi recalled that, in the past, Belgrade tried to deny the Kosovar Serbs their specific local identity, claiming that Kosova is Serbia. Now, he added, "bombs on the bus help everybody who wants to argue for a partition of Serbs and Albanians. [The bombs] help [promote] the development of [ethnically-based] enclaves and those who want to see Mitrovica divided." FS [20] KOSOVAR JOURNALIST WARNS COUNTRYMENPublisher Blerim Shala wrote in his "Zeri" on 17February about the bus bombing that "even without knowing [the identity of] the perpetrators...[the] blame will be put on all of us. It is a blame that will call into question our potential to create a normal society and to guarantee the safety of all citizens of Kosova. It will call into question our ability to govern Kosova," Reuters reported. PM [21] ALBANIA CONDEMNS KOSOVA VIOLENCEForeignMinistry spokesman Sokol Gjoka said in Tirana on 17 February that "such events [as the Podujeva bombing] damage the efforts of Albanian political forces trying to create "a climate of confidence, and they also damage the important [peace] processes linked to the future of Kosova." He added that the Albanian government appeals to the people of Kosova to avoid "the provocations of the extremists, including Albanians," AP reported. "These criminal acts do not serve the stability of Kosova or the region," he added. PM [22] SERBIA TALKS TOUGHAs officials of the regime offormer President Slobodan Milosevic often did, the new Belgrade leaders responded to the latest violence with criticism not only of "Albanian terrorists" but also of KFOR and UNMIK. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic said that "it is not permissible that such attacks continue. We demand specific decisions from the international community," AP reported on 18 February. He did not elaborate. He further stressed that the "terrorist acts" are coordinated. Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic said in a message to NATO Secretary- General George Robertson that "it is obvious that we are dealing with well-planned, premeditated, and synchronized attacks aimed at provoking Yugoslav security forces and creating a much broader conflict. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia cannot allow Albanian terrorists to kill its citizens," Reuters reported. Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said that his ministry is "ready to establish order and peace in that region very quickly," RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM [23] SERBIAN LEADERS PREPARE SECURITY MEASURESTop government and security officials of the Yugoslavand Serbian governments met in Belgrade on 18 February for a closed-door session to discuss the current security situation. Following the meeting, President Vojislav Kostunica said in a statement that unspecified measures will be taken against "terrorism," the BBC's Serbian Service reported. He criticized KFOR and UNMIK while praising the restraint shown by Serbian forces in the face of "provocations" by ethnic Albanians. Kostunica stressed that Belgrade will continue to pursue a diplomatic solution in respect to Presevo and Kosova. Among those attending the meeting were two top officials who are carry-overs from the Milosevic regime. One is army Chief-of-Staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic, who commanded Yugoslav troops in Kosova during the 1999 crackdown. The other is Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, whom the Hague-based tribunal has indicted together with Milosevic for war crimes in conjunction with the 1998 repression in Kosova. PM [24] NATO'S ROBERTSON CALLS FOR DIRECT TALKSRobertson said in a statement in Brussels on 18February that "the problems of the region cannot be solved by violence; they can only be settled through direct negotiations between the parties. Today's events make the urgency of moving ahead with such negotiations all the more clear," Reuters reported. In Prishtina, UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel said that the matter of providing security to all civilians in Kosova is a "delicate matter," the BBC's Serbian Service reported. She noted that UNMIK has more frequent contacts with the Belgrade authorities now than it did during the Milosevic era, and that this makes some Kosovar Albanians "nervous." PM [25] HAGUE'S DEL PONTE: NO COOPERATION FROMYUGOSLAVIACarla Del Ponte, who is the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, told the Athens daily "To Vima" of 18 February that the new Yugoslav government "has not done anything" in terms of cooperating with the court, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. She contrasted Belgrade's behavior unfavorably with that of the governments of other former Yugoslav republics. She added that the Greek authorities have not given her any of the information she requested in October 2000 about their findings regarding the financial dealings of Milosevic and his associates. PM [26] SHOOTOUT ON MACEDONIAN-KOSOVA BORDERSpeaking on the condition of anonymity, aMacedonian Defense Ministry official told AP in Skopje on 17 February that six uniformed ethnic Albanian gunmen exchanged fire with Macedonian border troops in Tanusevci on the frontier with Kosova. The source said that at least one of the Albanians appears to have been wounded in the exchange. The intruders subsequently returned to Kosova. PM [27] MACEDONIAN MINISTER OFFERS RESIGNATIONInterior Minister Dosta Dimovska offered herresignation on 16 February to Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski in order to take "moral responsibility" for the ongoing scandal over alleged ministry wiretaps of top political, media, and business figures, AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 January 2001). It is not clear if Georgievski will accept the resignation of his close political ally, who denied any wrongdoing. Dimovska argued that "old structures" linked to the previous Social Democratic and Communist governments are trying to "politically eliminate me in the interest of foreign countries," Reuters reported. She did not elaborate. PM [28] ROMANIA'S LIBERAL PARTY HAS NEWLEADERSHIPA National Liberal Party congress on 17 February elected Valeriu Stoica as the new chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Stoica was endorsed by 509 delegates, more than any of his four opponents (PNL deputy chairmen Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and Crin Antonescu were endorsed by 248 and 179 delegates, respectively, while Florin Pandele, Ilfov county PNL chairman, received 11 votes). On 18 February, Antonescu and Popescu-Tariceanu were re-elected vice chairmen, alongside Dinu Patriciu, Andrei Chiliman, and Dan Radu Rusanu. Theodor Stolojan is since 17 February the party's new National Council chairman. The congress also approved a resolution to monitor for two months the fulfillment by the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) of the agreement signed with the PNL on the support of the PDSR minority government. MS [29] ROMANIAN NATIONALISTS RALLY AGAINST NEWLAWSome 10,000 people attended a rally in Cluj on 16 February organized by the Greater Romania Party (PRM) against the new Law on Local Public Administration, a local RFE/RL local correspondent reported. Cluj Mayor and PRM General Secretary Gheorghe Funar read a "proclamation" which protests against the law, demands that the PDSR make public "all secret agreements" allegedly signed with the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) and calls on the government to issue an ordinance for "collecting within 48 hours all arms and munitions illegally introduced in Romania with the direct support of the Hungarian government." PRM leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor said the UDMR has "obtained from the PDSR in four weeks what it was unable to obtain in four years" as a member of the 1996-2000 ruling coalition. MS [30] ROMANIA REACTS TO INTERNATIONAL EVENTSThe Foreign Ministry on 17 February said it is"attentively following the course of events in Iraq" after the strike by U.S. and British military craft of targets in and near Baghdad. The ministry said UN Security Council resolutions on Iraq must be "rigorously respected" as the only way to "obtain stability in the region." Also on 17 February, the Romanian government said it "firmly condemns" the Kosova incident in the wake of which seven were killed and over 40 people wounded. The Adrian Nastase cabinet describes the attack as "an attempt directed against the UN, OSCE, and the international community's efforts to help bring about a climate of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Kosova." MS [31] MOLDOVAN COMMUNIST CHIEF SAYS 'NOPRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM'Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) leader Vladimir Voronin on 15 February told journalists the PCM is against changing the parliamentary system into a presidential one, Flux and Infotag reported. Voronin said that the presidential system has led to "autocratic rule" in "many former Soviet states, with the exception of Russia." He said the PCM would, however, support a referendum on whether Moldova should return to electing its president by popular vote. Voronin said the PCM is "unlikely" to support President Petru Lucinschi for a second term and that he "does not rule out" running again himself for that position. He denied as "sheer nonsense" rumors that Russian Communist leader Gennadii Zyuganov will soon come to Moldova to participate in the PCM electoral campaign. "Our legislation prohibits foreign citizens from interfering in the electoral campaign," he said. MS [32] TRANSDNIESTER ORGANIZATIONS CALL TOBOYCOTT MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS"Public organizations" in the separatist region on 17 February called on citizens to boycott the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Moldova, ITAR-TASS reported. The appeal said the electoral programs of all competing parties support Moldova's territorial integrity, and are thus implicitly backing the "liquidation" of the Transdniester as an independent republic. Summing up the electoral competition one week ahead of the elections, Romanian Radio said 12 political parties, five electoral blocs and 10 independent candidates are competing for seats in the 101-seat parliament. The electoral threshold for parties and blocs is 6 percent and for independent candidates 3 percent. MS [33] BALKAN PRESIDENTS CALL FOR END OFVIOLENCE IN SERBIAIn a joint statement published at the end of their two-day meeting in Plodviv (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001), Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, Romanian President Ion Iliescu and Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on 16 February called for an immediate halt to violence in southern Serbia, AFP reported. In what is obviously a pro-Serb posture, they say they "strongly condemn the violent and illegal actions by ethnically-motivated groups in southern Serbia" and call "for an immediate and complete cessation of violence." The three said they supported "a multiethnic and undivided Kosova [and] the protection of interests and rights of all communities." The statement also expressed support for "the process of democratization in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the efforts of the democratic leadership in Belgrade to redefine its strategic orientation towards integration with European institutions." MS [34] NEW BULGARIAN RADIO DIRECTORHOSPITALIZED...In what looks more and more as a replay of the earlier "Czech scenario," Ivan Borislavov, whose recent appointment as new director of state radio triggered the protests of journalists, was hospitalized on 18 February after a heart attack, AP reported. His condition was said to be stable. MS [35] ...WHILE IFJ BACKS BULGARIAN JOURNALISTS'PROTESTThe International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on 16 February said it "shares the worries" of Bulgarian Radio journalists and of the Union of Journalists (Podkrepa) over the procedure that led to the selection of Borislavov as new director-general of Bulgarian Radio. The IFJ said journalists and media staff "should have been fully consulted" over the appointment made by the National Council of Radio and Television and that it supports the journalists' demands "for the reform" of that council to ensure that it ceases to be political and "becomes a truly independent public service broadcaster, in line with European standards" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 February 2001). MS [36] BULGARIA TO SEEK BALKAN AIRLINESPRIVATIZATION REVERSALPrivatization Agency head Levon Hampartsumyan on 18 February told Bulgarian Radio that the government will seek to reverse the 1999 sale of national carrier Balkan Airlines to the Israeli Zeevi Holdings group, AP reported. Hampartsumyan also said planning was under way to fly home hundreds of passengers left stranded across the world when Balkan Airlines was grounded last week at the orders of Zeevi Holdings. The Bulstrad insurance company has asked a court to open bankruptcy proceedings against Balkan Airlines, citing a $512,000 debt owed to it by the airline. Finance Minister Muravei Radev on 17 February said he expects the court to put Balkan Airlines under receivership. MS [C] END NOTE[37] ROMANIA'S NEW PROPERTY LAW FALLS SHORTOF FULL RESTITUTIONBy Eugen Tomiuc Romania's new restitution bill, signed into law two weeks ago by President Ion Iliescu, immediately became the target of fierce criticism from both former owners and tenants of once private property. In general, the law provides for the restitution of state-confiscated property to its rightful owner. But some of the most valuable property nationalized by the communists -- including buildings used by public institutions -- is exempted. Former owners of such property will be compensated by either unspecified sums of money, or by goods, shares in companies, or even services. The amount of compensation to be paid will be determined in the next 18 months. Previous owners say the new law in effect bars them from regaining property already bought by tenants under an earlier law passed six years ago. They argue that even though the new law allows for the annulment of the earlier sales, it also excepts from annulment cases in which tenants bought the houses in what the law calls "good faith." The former owners say it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to prove a lack of "good faith," which is not defined in the law. Maria Teodoru, the head of a group of former owners, says the new law is even more unfair than the previous one because it legalizes abuses committed both before and after the fall of communism. Teodoru says that under the 1995 law, former owners were able to recover just over 1 percent (3,600) of an estimated 300,000 pieces of property nationalized by the communists. At the same time, she says, almost one-third (88,000 pieces) of the property seized was bought by the tenants occupying them. Teodoru tells RFE/RL that former owners will continue to protest the new law, which they say violates their right to own private property. If the law is not changed, she says, they will ask the help of international institutions such as the Council of Europe. Teodoru says they may also knock on the doors of foreign embassies in Bucharest, which, incidentally, are also included among dwellings whose restitution the new law bars: "If we really come to the conclusion that we live in a country where neither the constitution nor international treaties that Romania has signed are respected -- and that we live in a jungle -- then we will go to the embassies of civilized countries and ask for mass emigration." Under the new law, unless local authorities provide what the legislation calls "adequate" alternative housing, present tenants of property seized by the communists are entitled to remain an additional five years in houses qualifying for restitution. Most of these tenants will pay very low rentals during the five-year period. Those who bought their homes under the 1995 legislation -- and some present tenants -- also find the new law unfair. They fear that its "good faith" provision will work against them. Eugen Plesa, an ultranationalist Greater Romania Party parliamentarian and head of a tenants' association, says the law was tailored to suit the interests of former owners or their successors. He tells RFE/RL that tenants will be "punished," while those he calls "impostors" will try to use the law to their own advantage. "Houses should be given back to those from whom they have been taken. But it is the communists who took them who should be punished, not us [the tenants]. What do they have against us? You cannot change history, you cannot punish or destroy citizens in order to benefit someone who probably did not have any connection with the former owner," he said. But an analyst offers this example to Plesa's last claim: if a grandson did not ever see his grandfather, who was perhaps killed by the communists while in prison, would the grandson have "no connection" with the former owner of the property, who was his grandfather? Plesa says he wants the 1995 law to be reinstated. That law was criticized by many as favoring the tenants of nationalized property, who were allowed to buy the houses at prices considerably below their market value. Furthermore, many of those who bought houses under the 1995 law, including President Ion Iliescu himself, had been members of the former communist elite -- the "nomenclatura" -- who had earlier nationalized the best housing available. Before they did so, they paid very low rents. In the eyes of the former owners, the Biblical injustice of "both killing and inheriting" had thus repeated itself. The current law owes its inception to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, which in 1998 urged Romania to come up with new property restitution legislation. The assembly acted after some 2,000 former owners lodged complaints at the European Court of Human Rights, an important Council of Europe organ. The final language of the new law is considerably different from the draft bill submitted three years ago by National Liberal Party politician Valeriu Stoica, who was then justice minister. Today, Stoica himself acknowledges that the inclusion of the "good faith" clause in the current law is regrettable. But he says a better version was not possible because of the need for compromise with leftist parliamentarians. But despite the law's shortcomings, Stoica tells our correspondent, the current law is a still big step forward. "Compared to the previous 1995 law, this law is -- regardless of its imperfections -- a huge leap toward the reconstruction of the private property system in Romania. That is the reason why Liberals [like myself] agreed with it during debates in the Senate." Applying the law, however, may prove difficult. Unclear compensation rules will likely sow further discord among the original owners and previous or current tenants. And more legal actions can be expected, adding to the cases already before the European Human Rights Court. Last month, President Iliescu, a former communist, spoke out against the right to constitutionally guarantee private property, which he called "a frill." In Iliescu's eyes, the basic document's provision that "property is protected" by the states is more than sufficient. At the same time, as he has often done in the past, Iliescu praised the virtues of collective property. Many analysts says that, whatever the virtues or shortcomings of the new law, Iliescu's remarks do not bode well for the full restitution of once private property in Romania during his four years in office. 19-02-01 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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