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RFE/RL Newsline, 02-12-19
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT ANSWERS PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS
[02] PUTIN SACKS TALKATIVE GENERAL...
[03] ...AS SOME SEE THE MOVE AS PLOY
[04] DUMA ADOPTS 'LIBERAL' RESOLUTION ON CHECHNYA
[05] DUMA PUTS OFF EES REFORMS...
[06] ...AS CHUBAIS AND ILLARIONOV CLASH AGAIN
[07] DUMA APPROVES RESTRICTIONS ON CHANGING ENERGY TARIFFS
[08] IS THE UPPER CHAMBER PLAGUED BY ABSENTEEISM?
[09] CONSEQUENCES OF KASYANOV-FOR-PRESIDENT EFFORT PONDERED...
[10] ...AS LOCAL GOVERNOR DECRIES EFFORT TO CREATE 'CITY OF SCANDALS'
[11] MORE MUNICIPALITIES FACE LABOR UNREST...
[12] ...AS LEADING COMMUNIST CRITICIZES HOUSING REFORMS
[13] KREMLIN OCCUPIES ITSELF WITH PARTY MATTERS, URALS POLITICS
[14] STAROVOITOVA INVESTIGATORS EXTEND DEADLINE AGAIN
[15] FROM TRAFFIC COP TO SENATOR
[16] TVS GETS NEW GENERAL DIRECTOR
[17] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT REVAMPS POWER MINISTRIES
[18] ARMENIAN CENTRAL BANK INSTITUTES NEW MEASURES TO COMBAT TERRORIST
[19] PHILIPPINES DEPORTS ARMENIAN TERROR SUSPECT
[20] GEORGIAN NGO COALITION LAUNCHES CIVIL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN
[21] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VISITS GEORGIA
[22] GEORGIAN SOCIALISTS SEEK NEW RESTRICTIONS ON PARLIAMENTARY
[23] CHECHENS APPEAL TO GEORGIAN PRESIDENT FOR ASYLUM
[24] KAZAKH PRODUCTION ON THE RISE
[25] KYRGYZSTAN TO BOOST TIES WITH RUSSIA IN 2003
[26] KYRGYZSTAN PLANNING MINIMUM-WAGE INCREASE IN THREE YEARS
[27] TAJIK SECURITY OFFICIAL CALLS FOR MORE SOCIAL-WELFARE SPENDING
[28] TURKMEN GOVERNMENT ALLEGES SHIKHMURADOV HID IN UZBEK EMBASSY
[29] TURKMENISTAN TELEVISES CONFESSION BY ACCUSED U.S. CITIZEN...
[30] ...AND BY FORMER TURKMEN OFFICIAL
[31] TURKMENISTAN NEARLY DOUBLES FOREIGN-INVESTMENT FORECAST
[32] ADB LOAN TO IMPROVE UZBEK SCHOOLING
[33] BELARUSIAN LEGISLATURE REJECTS PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
[34] BELARUSIAN KGB REPORTEDLY FOILS FOREIGNERS' ILLEGAL-MIGRANT PLAN
[35] UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION CONTINUES TO BLOCK PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS
[36] ANOTHER LAWMAKER ABANDONS OUR UKRAINE
[37] ESTONIA SETS EU REFERENDUM DATE, ADOPTS EUROPARLIAMENT ELECTION
[38] LATVIA INKS NEW PHARE DEAL
[39] LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT PERMITS RUSSIAN CONSULATE IN KAUNAS
[40] POLISH FINANCE MINISTER SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE OVER
[41] POLISH PREMIER URGES NONPARTISAN SUPPORT IN EU REFERENDUM
[42] FOURTH OFFICIAL CANDIDACY FOR CZECH PRESIDENT SUBMITTED TO
[43] CZECH GOVERNMENT SCORES EU VICTORY OVER OPPOSITION
[44] SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER SATISFIED WITH EU COMMISSIONER'S STANCE ON
[45] SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARY DEPUTIES NOMINATE CUBAN DISSIDENT FOR NOBEL
[46] PARTY CHAPTER DISTANCES ITSELF FROM CALLS FOR FORMER SLOVAK
[47] HUNGARY APPROVES U.S. USE OF AIR BASE TO TRAIN IRAQI
[48] ...AND PASSES STATUS LAW AMENDMENT
[49] HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT SLASHES CONTROVERSIAL BUDAPEST MUSEUM'S
[50] NATO OFFICIAL CRITICIZES EU DECLARATION ON BOSNIA
[51] BOSNIAN COURT FREES THREE SERBS HELD OVER IRAQ ARMS DEALS
[52] PROSECUTION SEEKS UP TO 25-YEAR SENTENCE FOR FORMER BOSNIAN SERB
[53] UN WANTS BELGRADE TO COOPERATE FULLY WITH THE HAGUE
[54] SERBIAN LEADER PLAYS DOWN CHANCE OF ELECTIONS
[55] POVERTY GRIPS SERBIA
[56] HUMAN-TRAFFICKING SCANDAL LOOMS OVER MONTENEGRO
[57] MACEDONIAN OPPOSITION WARNS GOVERNMENT
[58] ALBANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS KOSOVA
[59] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT, PREMIER AT ODDS ON GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE
[60] GREATER ROMANIA PARTY PROTESTS FOREIGN MINISTER'S STATEMENT
[61] ROMANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION FINALIZES LIST OF AGREED
[62] KING CAROL II TO BE REBURIED IN ROMANIA
[63] MOLDOVAN MILITARY ENGINEERS TO PARTICIPATE IN AFGHANISTAN DEMINING
[64] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH WORLD BANK PRESIDENT, IMF OFFICIAL
[65] NEGOTIATIONS OVER TRANSDNIESTER CONFLICT RESUMED
[66] BULGARIAN SUPREME JUDICIAL COUNCIL URGES PROSECUTOR-GENERAL TO
[67] ...PROMPTING NEGATIVE REACTIONS
[68] U.S. AMBASSADOR SAYS BULGARIAN COURTS SEND WRONG SIGNALS TO
[69] RUSSIA DEMANDS RESTITUTION OF SOVIET PROPERTY IN BULGARIA
[70] AFGHAN VICE PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PIPELINE PROJECT
[71] KONDUZ TELEVISION INAUGURATED, BUT NEEDS HELP
[72] AFGHAN COMMANDER REFUSES TO HAND OVER HIS WEAPONS
[73] PERPETRATORS OF ATTACK AGAINST U.S. TROOPS IN KABUL ARRESTED
[74] IRANIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES POLLSTERS' TRIAL, SECRET DOCUMENTS
[75] SATELLITE TELEVISION BILL GETS SECOND READING
[76] TEHRAN-EU HUMAN RIGHTS TALKS CONCLUDE...
[77] ...AFTER VISIT WITH POLITICAL PRISONER
[78] RUSSIA MIGHT DECIDE ON IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE
[79] IRANIAN PRESIDENT REJECTS NUCLEAR ALLEGATIONS...
[80] ...AND TECHNICALLY HE IS RIGHT...
[81] ...AS MOSCOW SAYS IRANIANS ARE INCAPABLE OF DEVELOPING NUCLEAR
[82] ...AND IAEA CHIEF'S VISIT SCHEDULED
[83] IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER COMPLAINS ABOUT BUDGET
[84] IRANIAN OFFICIAL COMMENTS ON WAR IN IRAQ
[85] UNMOVIC HEAD TO TELL UN THAT IRAQI DECLARATION IS INCOMPLETE...
[86] ...AS IAEA CHIEF SAYS NO EVIDENCE OF IRAQI NUCLEAR-WEAPONS PROGRAM
[87] KDP LEADER URGES NATIONAL RECONCILIATION
[88] IAEA FOCUSES ON RADIOLOGICAL SURVEYS...
[89] ...WHILE UNMOVIC INSPECTS MISSILE-DUMPING GROUND AND OTHER SITES
[90] There is no End Note today.
19 December 2002
RUSSIA
[01] PRESIDENT ANSWERS PUBLIC'S QUESTIONS
President Vladimir Putin on 19 December answered questions from the
public in a live appearance broadcast over national television, radio,
and the Internet, Russian news agencies reported. In a two-hour
session, Putin answered 51 questions covering many aspects of domestic
and foreign policy, as well as questions about his personal
preferences, Interfax reported. The event was announced about two weeks
in advance and in the interim the presidential administration received
1.2 million questions, from which advisers chose the ones they deemed
most topical. Asked about the possibility of restoring the Russian
monarchy, Putin said this is not desirable because Russia has not yet
firmly established a multiparty democracy. "It is true that monarchies
complying with democratic norms exist in countries like Britain,
Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain, but in Russia I cannot imagine how
[democratic] executive authority could be formed," Putin said. VY
[02] PUTIN SACKS TALKATIVE GENERAL...
President Putin has dismissed Colonel General Gennadii Troshev from his
post as commander of the North Caucasus Military District, Russian news
agencies reported on 19 December. Lieutenant General Vladimir Boldyrev,
commander of the Siberian Military District, was named to replace
Troshev. On 18 December, Troshev was quoted in the media as saying he
had rejected a proposal by Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov that he be
transferred to command the Siberian Military District (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 18 December 2002). Troshev said that accepting the transfer
would be "a betrayal of the Chechen people." Presidential aide Sergei
Yastrzhembskii described Troshev's statements as "unacceptable,"
polit.ru reported. "Generals should not publicly discuss suggestions
and orders from the defense minister," Yastrzhembskii was quoted as
saying. Gazeta.ru reported that the military counterintelligence
service has been ordered to monitor senior officers close to Troshev.
VY
[03] ...AS SOME SEE THE MOVE AS PLOY
Colonel General Troshev's unexpected dismissal could signal the start
of a bid by him to run for president of Chechnya in the election that
was recently announced for next spring, Chechnya's Duma Deputy Aslanbek
Aslakhanov told nns.ru on 19 December. Aslakhanov added that Troshev
has serious ambitions to become the republic's president and could be a
serious candidate in the election. His refusal to accept Defense
Minister Ivanov's proposal gives Troshev the appearance of being in
opposition to the government, repeating a pattern established by other
generals such as Aleksandr Lebed and Lev Rokhlin, "Izvestiya" noted. A
former commander of federal forces in Chechnya, Vladimir Shamanov, was
elected governor of Ulyanovsk Oblast in 2002, and Federal Security
Service (FSB) General Murat Zyazikov was elected president of
Ingushetia in 2001. VY
[04] DUMA ADOPTS 'LIBERAL' RESOLUTION ON CHECHNYA
By a vote of 252-0, the Duma on 18 December approved a resolution
calling on President Putin to publicize a plan for a political
settlement of the conflict in Chechnya, to declare a state of emergency
in the republic, to create a unified civil-military administration
there, to create a government ministry responsible for Chechnya, and to
appoint a deputy prime minister to represent the republic's interests
in the government, polit.ru and other Russian news agencies reported on
18 December. The resolution was sponsored by Valentin Nikitin
(Communist), the head of the Duma's commission on human rights in
Chechnya. Nikitin noted that the declaration of a state of emergency
would strengthen civilian control over the military and protect the
civilian population. The resolution also urges Putin to continue
withdrawing federal forces from the republic. VY
[05] DUMA PUTS OFF EES REFORMS...
Duma Deputy Gennadii Raikov (People's Deputy) announced on 19 December
that the Duma will not consider a package of reforms for the
electrical-energy sector until next year, energy.ru reported. Unified
Energy Systems (EES) head Anatolii Chubais said that delays in
approving the reforms have already cost the country $200 million, RTR
reported on 18 December. He added that market speculators who want to
see a reduction in the price of EES shares are behind the Duma's
decision to postpone consideration of the reforms. VY
[06] ...AS CHUBAIS AND ILLARIONOV CLASH AGAIN
Speaking at the International Energy Forum in Moscow on 18 December,
EES head Chubais said that a group of unnamed influential
businesspeople are buying up EES shares, gazeta.ru reported. Chubais
said that he has no exact information, but that "analysts" believe the
speculators have used their political influence to reduce the price of
EES shares. He said the speculators have purchased about 10 percent of
the company for about $600 million. Presidential economics adviser
Andrei Illarionov said the depreciation of EES shares is not the result
of intrigues, but a natural market reaction to the company's poor
management and the bad restructuring policies implemented by Chubais,
gazeta.ru reported. VY
[07] DUMA APPROVES RESTRICTIONS ON CHANGING ENERGY TARIFFS
The Duma on 19 December passed amendments to the law on energy tariffs
that would make it more difficult to change prices for electricity and
heating fuel, RTR and other Russian news agencies reported. The revised
amendments were worked out by a conciliation commission after the
Federation Council rejected amendments passed by the Duma this summer.
Under the latest amendments, only the government would have the
authority to change energy rates. Furthermore, each year the government
would set maximum energy rates for industrial and residential
customers, and it would be illegal to change tariffs during a given
fiscal year. The bill stipulates that energy prices be set once a year,
immediately prior to the Duma's first reading of the federal budget. VY
[08] IS THE UPPER CHAMBER PLAGUED BY ABSENTEEISM?
Federation Council members marked the occasion of their 100th session
on 18 December by approving a bill passed earlier by the State Duma
that would introduce jury trials in all Russian regions gradually over
the course of four years (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 December 2002).
Next month the upper chamber will celebrate another anniversary -- its
first year operating under its new rules of formation, "Komsomolskaya
pravda" reported on 17 December. According to the daily, one of the
chamber's main problems is "work discipline," because many of the
senators are "truants." For example, Sergei Vasilev, representative for
Leningrad Oblast Governor Valerii Serdyukov, reportedly only comes to
Moscow for full council sessions, and the Committee on Financial
Markets and Currency Circulation, which he chairs, is "inactive." The
daily also alleges that banker and oligarch Sergei Pugachev, who
represents the executive branch of the Tuva Republic, and several of
his colleagues are accustomed to leaving council sessions after the
first break. Business trips also frequently take senators away from
Moscow. France has been a popular destination with some 33 trips
already logged. Some senators also traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a
congress of international youth organizations and to Portugal to look
into "security questions in the Western Mediterranean." JAC
[09] CONSEQUENCES OF KASYANOV-FOR-PRESIDENT EFFORT PONDERED...
The political elite continued to puzzle over a conference held in
Nizhnii Novgorod on 17 December to organize the nomination of Prime
Minister Mikhail Kasyanov for president in 2004, Russian news agencies
reported on 18 December. Ivan Melnikov, deputy chairman of the
Communist Party's Central Committee, was quoted by "Kommersant-Daily"
as saying the conference could have been "an attempt to pressure
[President] Putin." Political analyst Mark Urnov told "Nezavisimaya
gazeta" the event was likely the work of the so-called Family, which is
"trying to secure Kasyanov's future in the short term." "On the one
hand, this move makes Kasyanov a major political figure; on the other
hand, it can stir up some scandal if the president should dismiss him,"
he explained. Andrei Ryabov of the Carnegie Moscow Center argued in
"Vedomosti" that while the Nizhnii Novgorod event is unlikely to sour
relations between Putin and Kasyanov, the "seeds of mistrust have been
successfully planted." Analyst Valerii Fedorov, director of the Center
for Political Forecasting, agrees. "Under the present conditions of a
super-presidential republic, the only possibility [for Kasyanov] to
retain his post and, possibly, become Putin's successor, is to be 100
percent loyal. Any unsanctioned attempt to promote himself would mean
automatic dismissal and the loss of any possible political future,"
Fedorov said. JAC/RC
[10] ...AS LOCAL GOVERNOR DECRIES EFFORT TO CREATE 'CITY OF SCANDALS'
Nizhnii Novgorod Oblast Governor Gennadii Khodyrev told strana.ru the
Kasyanov-for-president conference was attended by "25 self-proclaimed
people who weren't elected by anyone." He added that holding the
conference in Nizhnii Novgorod was an attempt to turn the city into "a
city of political scandals" and to "plant doubt [about President Putin]
in the minds and hearts of local residents." RC
[11] MORE MUNICIPALITIES FACE LABOR UNREST...
Workers at the municipal housing and communal-services enterprise in
Kholmsk in Sakhalin Oblast went on strike on 18 December, ITAR-TASS
reported. The 250 workers are demanding payment of six months of wage
arrears. Earlier, the enterprise was declared bankrupt and the head of
the liquidation committee, Vladimir Trikashnyi, told the news agency
that capital repairs on the enterprise's housing stock have not been
made for the last 20 years. The same day, some 3,000 public-utility
workers in Kursk blocked a main road for 30 minutes, demanding that
salary arrears dating to September be paid, Radio Rossii reported.
Also, the monthlong strike of municipal workers in
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii continued to ease as workers at yet another
municipal enterprise agreed on 18 December to return to work,
RIA-Novosti reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December 2002). Workers
at two other firms remain on strike. JAC
[12] ...AS LEADING COMMUNIST CRITICIZES HOUSING REFORMS
State Duma Deputy Sergei Glaziev told reporters in Moscow on 18
December that reforms of the communal-housing and public-utilities
sectors suggested by the government and supported a parliamentary
majority are not reform at all and will neither reduce the indebtedness
of the sectors nor stimulate their modernization, Interfax reported.
Glaziev warned that implementation of the reforms will increase the
number of people dependent on housing subsidies and will increase the
gap in living standards among the regions. According to Glaziev, the
use of worn-out equipment and outdated technology in the housing sector
is causing large cities to lose up to 50 percent of their heat. Yabloko
Deputy Sergei Mitrokhin also criticized the housing reforms in an
interview with "Vremya MN" this week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18
December 2002). JAC
[13] KREMLIN OCCUPIES ITSELF WITH PARTY MATTERS, URALS POLITICS
Presidential administration head Aleksandr Voloshin has met with the
chairmen of the Unified Russia political council for the Urals Federal
District, Sergei Nosov and Oleg Bakin, for almost three hours,
regions.ru reported on 18 December, citing "Novye region." Also present
at the meeting was deputy presidential administration head Vladislav
Surkov and presidential envoy to the Urals Federal District Petr
Latyshev. According to the site, the men discussed the current
situation in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Nosov is the director of the Nizhnii
Tagil Metallurgical Complex (NTMK) and leader of Unified Russia's
Sverdlovsk Oblast branch, and he has been touted by some Urals-based
analysts as a contender for a top spot in Unified Russia's party list
in the 2003 State Duma elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 August
2002). Nosov has also been touted as a possible challenger in next
year's gubernatorial election in Sverdlovsk Oblast (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 26 April 2002). JAC
[14] STAROVOITOVA INVESTIGATORS EXTEND DEADLINE AGAIN
The Prosecutor-General's Office extended on 18 December the deadline
for the investigation into the November 1998 murder of State Duma
Deputy Galina Starovoitova from 20 December 2002 to 20 June 2003,
RIA-Novosti reported. Last month, operatives in the St. Petersburg and
central offices of the FSB, Interior Ministry, and Prosecutor-General's
Office detained six men in connection with the slaying (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 11 November 2002). The names of the men have been given as
A. Voronin, Yu. Ionov, V. Akishin, I. Krasnov, Yu. Kolchin, and I.
Lelyavin, according to FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev on 15 December.
JAC
[15] FROM TRAFFIC COP TO SENATOR
Deputies in the republican legislature in Karelia voted on 18 December
to confirm Vladimir Fedorov, the republic's chief traffic inspector, to
represent it in the Federation Council, Interfax-Northwest reported.
Fedorov will replace Yurii Ponomarev, who will join the republican
government. JAC
[16] TVS GETS NEW GENERAL DIRECTOR
Ruslan Terekbaev, former general director of Radio Maximum, has been
named general director of TVS, Interfax and other Russian news agencies
reported on 18 December, citing TVS's press office. Terekbaev replaces
Oleg Kiselev, who has been named chairman of the station's board of
directors. Earlier, the station's journalists threatened a mass
resignation if former Gazprom-Media head Alfred Kokh was appointed TVS
general director (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 October 2002). According to
"Kommersant-Daily," Terekbaev, 43, "represented the interests of
[oligarch] Oleg Deripaska" on the TVS board of directors. From
1991-2000, he was on the board of directors of "Moskovskie novosti,"
and in the early 1990s, he worked on a joint project to publish a
Russian-language version of "The New York Times." RC
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[17] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT REVAMPS POWER MINISTRIES
Robert Kocharian initiated a sweeping reorganization of the country's
power ministries on 18 December, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.
According to the presidential decree, Interior Minister Hayk
Harutiunian and National Security Minister Karlos Petrosian have been
stripped of their ministerial status, although both will remain in the
cabinet. Harutiunian has been named chief of police, and Petrosian
becomes National Security Service director. The ministries were also
formally renamed the National Security Service and the Police of the
Republic of Armenia. The restructuring also transfers to the president
the authority to appoint deputy police chiefs and commanders of police
units, an authority formerly allocated to the prime minister. Although
the reform was defended as a move toward European standards, some
critics contend the restructuring is closely tied to last summer's
adoption of security-related laws that greatly strengthened
presidential control over the security apparatus. Notably, the
reorganization did not include any measures beyond the two power
ministries, leaving powerful Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian's powers
unaltered. RG
[18] ARMENIAN CENTRAL BANK INSTITUTES NEW MEASURES TO COMBAT TERRORIST
FINANCING
The Armenian Central Bank began implementing new measures designed to
combat terrorism-related financing and money laundering on 18 December,
according to Arminfo. The measures stem from the expanded powers
granted to the Central Bank by banking legislation enacted in October.
The bank is imposing new requirements that depositors demonstrate the
origin of any large deposits. The bank also is empowered to seize
assets in cases of questionable transactions or if it cannot be
demonstrated that the funds were legally obtained. RG
[19] PHILIPPINES DEPORTS ARMENIAN TERROR SUSPECT
Armenian security officials on 18 December began questioning an
Armenian citizen who was recently deported from the Philippines after
being detained for allegedly plotting to attack the Turkish Embassy in
Manila, according to RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau. The 41-year-old suspect,
Khachik Aslanian, reportedly served a prison sentence in Canada for
attempting to board an aircraft with a hand grenade. His detention in
Manila reportedly came at the request of the Turkish government, which
claimed it had intelligence indicating that Aslanian was planning to
bomb the embassy. An Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson alleged the
man was "acting as a private individual" and said he had no links to
any organized group or terrorist organization. RG
[20] GEORGIAN NGO COALITION LAUNCHES CIVIL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN
A coalition of several leading nongovernmental organizations on 18
December launched a new campaign aimed at strengthening civil society,
Prime News and Civil Georgia reported. The campaign, funded in large
part by grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), seeks to increase public awareness of relevant issues through
several issue-based advocacy campaigns. RG
[21] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VISITS GEORGIA
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze welcomed Ukrainian President
Leonid Kuchma to Tbilisi on 18 December, the Civil Georgia online news
agency reported. In comments following the one-day talks, Kuchma said
he is prepared to "participate in settling the Abkhaz conflict" and
offered to deploy Ukrainian peacekeepers to the conflict area "if the
United Nations supports" such an operation. Both presidents also stated
that they hope a third wave of NATO expansion will include Georgia and
Ukraine. RG
[22] GEORGIAN SOCIALISTS SEEK NEW RESTRICTIONS ON PARLIAMENTARY
IMMUNITY
Citing the growth of corruption among the country's political elite,
parliament deputy Zakaria Kutsnashvili (Socialist) launched an effort
on 18 December to garner the 118 signatures needed on a legislative
petition to force the parliament to consider his proposal to restrict
parliamentary immunity, "The Georgian Times" reported. Opposed by the
Shevardnadze administration and many deputies, the initiative would
introduce important new constraints on parliamentarians attempting to
use their immunity to obstruct criminal investigations into corruption
and other criminal activities. RG
[23] CHECHENS APPEAL TO GEORGIAN PRESIDENT FOR ASYLUM
Three Chechen detainees appealed for political asylum in a letter to
President Shevardnadze on 18 December, according to RIA-Novosti. The
three Chechens, part of a larger group arrested in August after
attempting to enter Georgia illegally, are facing a court hearing to
consider their appeal of a decision by the prosecutor-general
authorizing their extradition to Russia. In comments on the case,
Georgian Ministry for Refugee Affairs official Otar Keinishvili said it
is unlikely the asylum requests will be granted. RG
[24] KAZAKH PRODUCTION ON THE RISE
Production at Kazakh industrial enterprises and small businesses rose
in 2002 by 9.8 percent over last year's figures, with the largest
increases being 26 percent in the natural-gas sector and 17 percent in
oil production, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. Iron and ferrous-metal
mining also showed strong growth ranging between 7-15 percent. The only
reported declines were in machine building, water services, and
electricity production. The numbers also show that economic
improvements are spread throughout the country, with production growth
reported in all oblasts. AA
[25] KYRGYZSTAN TO BOOST TIES WITH RUSSIA IN 2003
In an interview with Interfax on 18 December, presidential foreign
policy adviser Muratbek Imanaliev said Bishkek will work to develop
closer political and economic cooperation with Russia next year. He
rejected the suggestion that Moscow's efforts to raise its military
profile in Central Asia was a reaction to U.S. deployments in the
region, saying the move was "dictated by Russia's foreign political
interests." He added that the mutual antiterrorism interests of Russia
and the United States might increase cooperation. Imanaliev worried
that an attack on Iraq would destabilize Kyrgyzstan's relations with
Middle Eastern countries and pressed for a peaceful resolution to the
problem of Iraq. Bishkek has said it will not allow the Manas air base
to be used for an assault against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. AA
[26] KYRGYZSTAN PLANNING MINIMUM-WAGE INCREASE IN THREE YEARS
Minimum salaries will rise by 50 percent in 2005, Minister of Labor and
Social Affairs Roza Aknazarova told journalists in Bishkek on 18
December, Kabar news agency reported. She said the increase has been
included in a draft law on salary reform for the years 2003-10 that has
been approved by President Askar Akaev and is currently under
development. The bill contains provisions on strengthening the right of
workers to receive their wages on time and on improving market
mechanisms. AA
[27] TAJIK SECURITY OFFICIAL CALLS FOR MORE SOCIAL-WELFARE SPENDING
Tajik Security Council Secretary Amirkul Azimov told ITAR-TASS on 18
December that Central Asian states are wasting resources by pouring
money into securing their mutual borders when they could be guarding
the southern frontiers of the CIS jointly and devoting more resources
to social welfare. He said the international antiterrorism coalition's
operations in Afghanistan have created a more cooperative spirit within
the region but that it is still "not enough." Azimov advocated more
social spending as a security measure, because "terrorist organizations
replenish their ranks through recruitment among the poor and
unemployed." AA
[28] TURKMEN GOVERNMENT ALLEGES SHIKHMURADOV HID IN UZBEK EMBASSY
Speaking on Turkmen television on 18 December, Prosecutor-General
Kurbanbibi Atajanova claimed that former Foreign Minister Boris
Shikhmuradov secretly entered Turkmenistan from Uzbekistan on the night
of the 23-24 November in order to be on hand to seize power after the
planned assassination of President Saparmurat Niyazov on 25 November.
Atajanova accused Uzbekistan's ambassador in Ashgabat, Abdurashid
Kadyrov, of hiding Shikhmuradov and an accomplice in the Uzbek Embassy
from 26 November until 7 December. Shikhmuradov is still being sought,
while the alleged accomplice, Nurmuhammed Orazgeldyev, was arrested on
14 December at a bus station in Mary while reportedly dressed in
women's clothes, the prosecutor-general said. Turkmen police raided the
Uzbek Embassy earlier this week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 December
2002). AA
[29] TURKMENISTAN TELEVISES CONFESSION BY ACCUSED U.S. CITIZEN...
Prosecutor-General Atajanova also said that Leonid Komarovsky, an
American citizen arrested last month in Ashgabat (see "RFE/RL Central
Asia Report," 5 December 2002), had met Shikhmuradov and had agreed to
write a proclamation from the conspirators to be read to the country
after President Niyazov's assassination, AP and Turkmen television
reported. The same day, Komarovsky appeared on national television to
apologize for his role, saying he became involved in the plan by
accident by purchasing satellite telephones for the plotters. "I am
ready to atone for my guilt and to do my best to find the masterminds
of this crime," he said. AA
[30] ...AND BY FORMER TURKMEN OFFICIAL
In a further television confession on 18 December, former Foreign
Minister Batyr Berdyev said his role in the conspiracy was to contact
foreign embassies following President Niyazov's removal to ensure that
the new government was internationally recognized. In addition to
Berdyev, another top official now in custody in connection with the
assassination bid is former Tashoguz Province Governor Yazgeldy
Gundogdyev, RIA-Novosti reported on 18 December. Former parliament
speaker Tagandurdy Khallyev has also been implicated (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 16 December 2002). AA
[31] TURKMENISTAN NEARLY DOUBLES FOREIGN-INVESTMENT FORECAST
Addressing an oil-and-gas conference in Ashgabat on 18 December,
Turkmenistan's Petrochemicals and Mineral Resources Minister Tachberdy
Tagiev said the government is forecasting investments of $46 billion in
its hydrocarbons sector by 2010, three-quarters of which is expected to
come from foreign companies, Interfax reported. Previously the
government projected investments worth $25 billion during this period.
According to official statistics, the country received $170 million in
foreign direct investment in 2001. Also on 18 December, the government
announced 21 percent growth in investment in the industrial sector for
the first 11 months of this year compared to 2001, turkmenistan.ru
reported. AA
[32] ADB LOAN TO IMPROVE UZBEK SCHOOLING
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan package totaling
$108.5 million to help Uzbekistan reform its educational system, uza.uz
and Interfax reported on 18 December. Of that total, $38.5 million is
earmarked for financing secondary education, while the remainder is to
be invested in teacher training, modernizing educational materials and
methods, and other sectoral reforms. About 6 million Uzbek students in
secondary education should benefit from the reforms, according to an
ADB official. AA
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[33] BELARUSIAN LEGISLATURE REJECTS PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
The 110-seat Chamber of Representatives on 18 December voted 86 to four
to cancel President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's decree abolishing
income-tax exemptions for inpatient medical treatment, Belapan
reported. The move marks the first time the Belarusian lower house has
ever struck down a Lukashenka decree. Under the 1996 constitution,
introduced through what is widely believed to have been a rigged
referendum, a two-thirds majority is needed in the lower house to kill
a presidential decree. None of more than 20 legislators who spoke
during the debate suggested approving the decree. They condemned it as
"antisocial" but blamed those who drew it up, not President Lukashenka.
JM
[34] BELARUSIAN KGB REPORTEDLY FOILS FOREIGNERS' ILLEGAL-MIGRANT PLAN
Belarusian Television reported on 18 December that KGB officers in
Brest thwarted an attempt by a Pole and an Israeli to "organize a
channel of illegal migration of residents of the Afro-Asian region"
across the Belarusian-Polish border. The men reportedly tried to
contact Belarusian border guards in a cafe in Brest in order to set
their criminal plan in motion but were met there by undercover KGB
agents. The Polish national was immediately expelled from Belarus,
while authorities must still decide on the fate of the Israeli, who has
a Belarusian residency permit. "All documentary materials we have
testify that the detained persons made an attempt at political
provocation according to the scenario presented in the Polish weekly
'Wprost,'" Brest Oblast KGB chief Pyotr Aksyuchyts commented. "Wprost"
reported last week that, under a plan concocted by the KGB, President
Lukashenka intends to allow some 50,000 illegal migrants from Asia and
the Caucasus now staying in "transitory camps" in Belarus to enter into
Poland by Christmas (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 and 13 December 2002).
JM
[35] UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION CONTINUES TO BLOCK PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS
The four opposition parliamentary groups -- Our Ukraine, the Communist
Party, the Socialist Party, and the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc -- have
continued to protest what they consider illegitimate voting on 17
December by the parliamentary majority to replace the head of the
National Bank and reappoint parliamentary committee leaders (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December 2002), UNIAN reported on 19 December.
Parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn closed the session on 18
December after some 20 minutes because of angry protests from
opposition deputies and was not able to proceed the following day
either. "We think yesterday's vote is illegal," Reuters quoted
Socialist Party lawmaker Stanislav Nikolayenko as saying on 18
December. "Nobody has shown ballots to us. Four opposition groups
demand annulment of the results. Until our demands are met, the session
will not work." Meanwhile, lawmaker Volodymyr Zayets from the
pro-government majority has accused the opposition of stealing all the
ballots from the contested vote. JM
[36] ANOTHER LAWMAKER ABANDONS OUR UKRAINE
Volodymyr Maystryshyn has quit Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine
parliamentary caucus, thus reducing it to 102 deputies, UNIAN reported
on 18 December. Maystryshyn told journalists that Our Ukraine "is not
planning its actions" and is therefore losing ground in the Verkhovna
Rada. Maystryshyn said he is not going to join the pro-government
majority for the time being. "It is better not to join anybody today,
since one cannot figure out what will be next," he added. JM
[37] ESTONIA SETS EU REFERENDUM DATE, ADOPTS EUROPARLIAMENT ELECTION
LAW
By a vote of 88 to one with one abstention, the Estonian parliament on
18 December approved a referendum on EU membership for 14 September
2003, pursuant to a recommendation from the Constitutional Committee
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 December 2002). Voters will be asked to
answer the question: "Do you support Estonia's accession to the
European Union and the adoption of a law amending the Estonian
Constitution?" Lawmakers on 18 December also adopted a European
Parliament election law, clearing a path for the country's elections to
that chamber on 13 June 2004, ETA reported. Estonia is entitled to
elect six deputies for five-year terms. According to the law, a
candidate must be at least 21 years old and an Estonian citizen or an
EU citizen permanently residing in Estonia. Only political parties
appearing under their own name and single candidates can compete for
seats. A party list may contain a maximum of 12 names, and members of
parties are banned from running on the list of another party. SG
[38] LATVIA INKS NEW PHARE DEAL
Finance Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and the European Commission's
delegation head in Latvia, Andrew Rasbash, signed a financial
memorandum on the PHARE National Program 2002 in Riga on 18 December,
LETA reported. The program provides for the implementation of 18
projects totaling 42.5 million euros ($43.6 million), of which PHARE
will provide 32.14 million euros and Latvia 10.36 million euros.
Dombrovskis said he considers an integrated coast-guard system (5.07
million euros) and bolstered customs (5.4 million euros) the most
significant projects. All agreements for the projects must be concluded
by 15 October 2004 and the financing paid out by 15 October 2005.
Rasbash said the EU is "very satisfied with how Latvia is moving on in
the accession process," adding that this will be the last PHARE program
signed with Latvia, which is already bound for EU membership. SG
[39] LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT PERMITS RUSSIAN CONSULATE IN KAUNAS
The cabinet decided on 18 December to grant Russia permission to open a
consulate in Lithuania's second-largest city, Kaunas, BNS reported.
Lithuanian citizens must have visas to travel to the Kaliningrad Oblast
from 1 July 2003. Russia, meanwhile, has not yet approved a Lithuanian
request filed several years ago to open a consulate in Sovetsk in the
Kaliningrad Oblast. Foreign Ministry Consular Department Director
Gediminas Siaudvytis told a press conference in Kaliningrad that he
will not be able to sign a planned Lithuanian-Russian travel agreement
on 19 December because the Russian government has not yet finalized its
preparation. Kaliningrad Oblast Deputy Governor Mikhail Tsikel
countered that the agreement will be signed "in a few days." Lithuanian
officials have expressed concern over the delay, since the existing
travel agreement expires on 1 January and the new agreement should
offer a simplified visa for haulers, railway employees, and
passenger-transport crews. SG
[40] POLISH FINANCE MINISTER SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE OVER
TAX-AMNESTY BILL
The Sejm on 18 December voted 249 to 150 with three abstentions to
reject a motion of no confidence in Deputy Prime Minister and Finance
Minister Grzegorz Kolodko, PAP reported. The motion -- filed by the
opposition Civic Platform and backed by Law and Justice and the League
of Polish Families -- accused Kolodko of "endangering democratic and
legal statehood" in attempting to put through a controversial
tax-amnesty bill that was subsequently rejected by the Constitutional
Tribunal (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 November 2003). The Civic Platform
also criticized Kolodko's 2003 budget bill, claiming it is deceptively
optimistic and unrealistic. Premier Leszek Miller spoke in the Sejm in
Kolodko's defense, arguing that the minister has also made numerous
good moves to his credit and "breathed optimism into Polish commerce."
JM
[41] POLISH PREMIER URGES NONPARTISAN SUPPORT IN EU REFERENDUM
Leszek Miller on 18 December addressed the Senate with an appeal for
cooperation "above divisions" in order to seal Poland's EU entry in a
referendum expected in mid-2003, Polish Radio reported. "It's important
that on this significant day, which is ahead of us, the greatest
possible number of Poles be willing to participate in the referendum
and that all of them be able to take an appropriate decision according
to their conscience -- a decision based on reliable information that we
must convey and that our countrymen themselves must get," Miller said.
Finance Minister Kolodko, who also addressed the Senate the same day,
estimated that Poland would have to pay 11 billion zlotys ($2.8
billion) into the EU budget in 2004 while payments from the EU would
likely reach 13.1 billion zlotys. JM
[42] FOURTH OFFICIAL CANDIDACY FOR CZECH PRESIDENT SUBMITTED TO
PARLIAMENT
The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) on 18 December officially
submitted the candidacy of former Justice Minister Jaroslav Bures for
the post of president, CTK reported. A joint session of the Chamber of
Deputies and the Senate on 15 January will convene to elect President
Vaclav Havel's successor. Sixty-two of 70 CSSD deputies backed Bures's
candidacy. He thus became the fourth official candidate for the post,
alongside the Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) candidate, former Premier
Vaclav Klaus; Senate President Petr Pithart, who is backed by the
Christian Democratic Union-People's Party; and the Communist Party of
Bohemia and Moravia's candidate, Miroslav Krizenecky, who was chief
military prosecutor from 1990-92. MS
[43] CZECH GOVERNMENT SCORES EU VICTORY OVER OPPOSITION
The Chamber of Deputies on 18 December approved a resolution praising
the successful completion of EU accession talks and rejected a
resolution proposed by the opposition criticizing the outcome of the
parleys, CTK reported. The ODS draft would have described the
negotiations' outcome as unsatisfactory and as failing to reflect the
leading position of the Czech Republic among candidate countries. The
resolution that was approved also expresses gratitude to President
Havel and all Czech postcommunist premiers -- Klaus, Josef Tosovsky,
Milos Zeman, and Vladimir Spidla -- for their contributions to the
successful outcome of the negotiations. Similar thanks are expressed in
the resolution to former Foreign Ministers Josef Zieleniec, Jaroslav
Sedivy, and Jan Kavan along with current Foreign Minister Cyril
Svoboda. The deputies also praised the contribution of chief Czech
negotiator and soon-to-be Ambassador to the EU Pavel Telicka. MS
[44] SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER SATISFIED WITH EU COMMISSIONER'S STANCE ON
STATUS LAW
Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan on 18 December said a letter on the
Hungarian Status Law recently sent to the premiers of Hungary, Romania,
and Slovakia by Guenter Verheugen, EU commissioner for enlargement, is
basically in line with Slovak reservations about that legislation, TASR
reported. Kukan said amendments to the law proposed by the Hungarian
government do not address the objections raised in Verheugen's letter,
but he declined to reveal the letter's content. Kukan also said his
Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Kovacs has not requested a meeting with
him, despite having told Hungarian journalists he will do so. MS
[45] SLOVAK PARLIAMENTARY DEPUTIES NOMINATE CUBAN DISSIDENT FOR NOBEL
PEACE PRIZE
Forty Slovak lawmakers on 18 December signed an appeal to nominate
Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya Sardinas for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize,
TASR reported. Paya's nomination was also supported by former President
Michal Kovacs, and parliamentarians who signed the appeal include
chamber speaker Pavol Hrusovsky, Human Rights Commission Chairman
Laszlo Nagy, and former Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky. The
nomination is to be submitted to the Nobel Prize Committee by the
People in Need civic organization and the Pontis Foundation in January.
Paya's candidacy for the prize was initiated by Czech President Havel.
MS
[46] PARTY CHAPTER DISTANCES ITSELF FROM CALLS FOR FORMER SLOVAK
PREMIER'S OUSTER
The Kosice regional branch of the opposition Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia (HZDS) on 18 December distanced itself from branch Deputy
Chairman Jaroslav Olenak's call for former Premier Vladimir Meciar to
resign his party chairmanship, TASR reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17
December 2002). The branch's executive board issued a statement saying
Olenak's initiative was personal and does not reflect the position of
the Kosice HZDS. Olenak did not attend the meeting on health grounds
but confirmed in a statement to TASR that he stands by his statements.
He added that he will personally present his appeal to the party
chairman at a meeting between Meciar and district HZDS chairmen
scheduled for 19 December. MS
[47] HUNGARY APPROVES U.S. USE OF AIR BASE TO TRAIN IRAQI
OPPOSITION...
Cabinet ministers on 18 December approved a U.S. request to use
Hungary's military air base at Taszar to train some 3,000 Iraqi
opposition personnel in two stages next year. Government spokesman
Zoltan Gal told Hungarian media that the trainees might eventually
serve as translators, interpreters, or guides in the event of
international military action against Iraq or potentially help set up a
new civil administration in Iraq. He said the United States will
provide all the necessary supplies for the training, and those trained
at the camp will not be deployed directly in combat roles in Iraq.
David Lapan, spokesman for the Pentagon, said in Washington that the
Arabs trained at the air base will not be U.S. nationals but emigres,
the Hungarian MTI news agency reported. MSZ
[48] ...AND PASSES STATUS LAW AMENDMENT
The cabinet on 18 December agreed basic principles for amending the
Hungarian Status Law, spokesman Gal told reporters after the government
session. Gal reiterated that Hungarian Certificates issued for ethnic
Hungarians abroad will not create any political link between Hungary
and ethnic Hungarians abroad and are intended solely to symbolize
cultural and linguistic bonds, as well as to verify legal entitlement
to cultural and educational benefits in Hungary. He said the Hungarian
Standing Conference, which consists of representatives of ethnic
Hungarian organizations abroad, might be convened in January to hold
consultations on the amendment, "Nepszabadsag" reported. Opposition
FIDESZ Deputy Chairman Zsolt Nemeth, a former political state secretary
at the Foreign Ministry, released a statement after Gal's press
briefing saying he finds it regrettable that the cabinet has not made
it clear to what extent it will honor basic principles accepted in the
last closing statement of the Hungarian Standing Conference (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 18 November 2002). MSZ
[49] HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT SLASHES CONTROVERSIAL BUDAPEST MUSEUM'S
BUDGET
Parliament on 17 December voted in favor of a motion submitted by Free
Democrat Ivan Peto to reduce the annual state subsidy for the House of
Terror Museum to 180 million forints ($780,000), from 330 million
forints, Budapest dailies reported. Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy and
Socialist ministers and state secretaries voted against the motion.
Opposition deputies, who walked out of the session over an unrelated
disagreement with the justice minister, did not attend the voting.
Museum Director Maria Schmidt recently said she finds it "particularly
significant" that the motion was submitted by Peto, whose father's name
was inscribed on a wall of the museum as a onetime officer in Hungary's
dreaded communist-run state security department of the late 1940s. She
also threatened to sue the state unless it honors the contract signed
with the museum during the previous government's term of office. The
opposition FIDESZ's cultural section and the right-wing group Alliance
for the Nation released similar statements. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[50] NATO OFFICIAL CRITICIZES EU DECLARATION ON BOSNIA
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an unnamed NATO official told
Reuters in Brussels on 18 December that the EU announced plans at its
recent Copenhagen summit to take over Bosnian peacekeeping from SFOR
without consulting NATO, SFOR, or Bosnia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13
December 2002). The official said the Atlantic alliance does not oppose
the idea of an EU mission in principle, but the Copenhagen statement
"was a less-than-optimal way of announcing" the EU's intentions. The
official added that NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson has
urged that the EU proposal first be examined to see if it is viable,
and that Bosnia be consulted. The official also noted: "The EU is there
to act if NATO decides not to. The forces are the same. It's the
circumstances in which they will be used that will vary" (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 15 and 16 October and 15 and 27 November 2002 and "RFE/RL
Balkan Report," 15 February, 8 March, 3 May, 16 August, and 15 November
2002). PM
[51] BOSNIAN COURT FREES THREE SERBS HELD OVER IRAQ ARMS DEALS
A court in Bijeljina on 18 December ordered the freeing of three Orao
company officials who have been held for one month while that firm's
illegal arms deals with Iraq are under investigation, dpa reported. The
three are former Orao Director Milan Prica, technical department head
Teodosije Kecman, and marketing chief Gordan Santrac (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 6 December 2002 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report, " 25 October and
8 and 29 November 2002). PM
[52] PROSECUTION SEEKS UP TO 25-YEAR SENTENCE FOR FORMER BOSNIAN SERB
LEADER
Prosecutors at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague on 18 December said
they want a sentence of between 15 and 25 years for former Republika
Srpska President Biljana Plavsic, international and regional media
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16, 17, and 18 December 2002). Chief
Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte noted that the prosecution would have sought
a life sentence for the 72-year-old Plavsic had she not pleaded guilty
to one count of crimes against humanity. Plavsic's attorney stressed
she has shown remorse and should be sentenced to a maximum of eight
years in prison. Critics charge that she has not apologized for her
actions during the 1992-95 war and that she has been less than
enthusiastic about cooperating with the tribunal on other cases. PM
[53] UN WANTS BELGRADE TO COOPERATE FULLY WITH THE HAGUE
Speaking in The Hague on 18 December, Del Ponte called on the UN to
take unspecified steps to put pressure on Belgrade to cooperate with
the tribunal, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. She said specifically that the tribunal wants unspecified
documents in several archives to use in the case against former
President Slobodan Milosevic. In New York, the Security Council
approved a declaration calling on Yugoslav authorities to cooperate
fully with the tribunal. In Belgrade, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Djindjic said that outgoing Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, who is
an indicted war criminal, is obliged to go to The Hague after he leaves
office on 5 January and "explain his role" in the developments that
prompted his indictment. PM
[54] SERBIAN LEADER PLAYS DOWN CHANCE OF ELECTIONS
Djindjic said in Belgrade on 18 December that a new constitution for
Serbia could be submitted to the parliament in mid-2003, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
18 December 2002). He added that he does not see any link between
approving a new constitution and holding new parliamentary elections.
PM
[55] POVERTY GRIPS SERBIA
The Serbian government said in a report on 18 December that about
800,000 people, or 10 percent of the population, live in poverty with
an average income of about $60 per month, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported. An additional 20 percent of the
population lives just above the poverty level. PM
[56] HUMAN-TRAFFICKING SCANDAL LOOMS OVER MONTENEGRO
Prime Minister-designate Milo Djukanovic said in Podgorica on 18
December that charges that officials are involved in human trafficking
will be thoroughly and completely investigated, RFE/RL's South Slavic
and Albanian Languages Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6
December 2002). But Helga Conrad, who heads the EU-led Stability Pact's
department dealing with human trafficking, said that outgoing Interior
Minister Andrija Jovicevic told her that the reason he was dropped from
the new cabinet is because he arrested Deputy State Prosecutor Zoran
Piperovic in conjunction with the scandal without consulting
Djukanovic. Elsewhere, Jovicevic called on government bodies to remove
criminal elements from their ranks, "Vesti" reported on 19 December. PM
[57] MACEDONIAN OPPOSITION WARNS GOVERNMENT
The spokesman for the opposition Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization (VMRO-DPMNE), Marjan Gjorcev, demanded on 18 December that
the government halt what he called the "Stalinist persecutions" of
high-ranking VMRO-DPMNE members and their relatives, "Dnevnik"
reported. Gjorcev added that the party leadership is under constant
pressure from its members to adopt a more radical approach toward
"Stalinist methods...[and] totalitarianism." He added: "We can control
[the party members'] dissatisfaction to a certain degree. But if the
totalitarianism continues, we will not be able to control the emotions
and behavior of certain groups, which could assemble and provoke
unrest." Since the new Social Democratic-led government took office on
1 November, it has begun investigating cases of corruption and
mismanagement by members of the previous administration, which was led
by the VMRO-DPMNE. A number of prominent VMRO-DPMNE members have been
arrested, including the director of state-run Nova Makedonija
publishing house (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 13 December 2002). UB
[58] ALBANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS KOSOVA
Ilir Meta said in Prishtina on 18 December that "Kosova's political
status has to be resolved in cooperation and understanding with and be
accepted by the international community and not in confrontation with
it." He suggested that the best way to do this is "to ensure Kosova's
integration with the EU and not isolate it from the entire region's
integration processes" (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 22 and 29 November
2002). Meta and Michael Steiner, who heads the UN civilian
administration in Kosova (UNMIK), signed an agreement "to start early
negotiations in 2003 on a free-trade agreement between Albania and
Kosova." Meta added, "[This] shows clearly that the last obstacles for
economic and trade cooperation between the two countries are coming
down." In related news, Albanian Ambassador to Yugoslavia Petrit
Bushati said a "new climate" exists between Belgrade and Tirana,
Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported from the Serbian capital on 18
December. He noted that Serbia's JAT airlines has recently resumed
regular flights between the two capitals after a break of many years.
PM
[59] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT, PREMIER AT ODDS ON GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE
President Ion Iliescu said on 18 December that the government headed by
Adrian Nastase will not resign and that the reshuffle agreed upon with
the premier the previous day will result from personnel changes in the
cabinet, Mediafax reported. Nastase told journalists one day earlier
that the reshuffle envisaged for February would result from the
resignation of the cabinet he heads, a scenario that would allow him to
present parliament with a new government structure with himself at its
helm. Government spokesman Claudiu Lucaci clarified later on 18
December that the resignation of the cabinet is "the personal option of
the premier" and must yet be discussed with cabinet members. MS
[60] GREATER ROMANIA PARTY PROTESTS FOREIGN MINISTER'S STATEMENT
In a press release issued on 18 December, the Greater Romania Party
(PRM) protested Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana's statement the previous
day in which he described the PRM as "extremist," Romanian Radio
reported. The PRM said Geoana apparently "receives instructions from
the West" and seeks "the marginalization of the PRM." MS
[61] ROMANIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION FINALIZES LIST OF AGREED
AMENDMENTS
The ad hoc parliamentary commission examining proposed amendments to
the Romanian Constitution announced on 18 December that it has ended
debate after the parliamentary parties represented on the commission
reached agreement, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The commission
said several proposed amendments have not been backed by the required
60 percent majority, and they will now be circulated among members of
parliament. The commission will then resume work on 15 January 2003. MS
[62] KING CAROL II TO BE REBURIED IN ROMANIA
King Carol II, who died in exile in Portugal in 1953, will be
reinterred at the Curtea de Arges Monastery next year, Mediafax
reported, citing government spokesman Claudiu Lucaci. Lucaci said the
royal family has consented to interring Carol II's remains at the
monastery where Carol II's predecessors on the Romanian throne are
buried. MS
[63] MOLDOVAN MILITARY ENGINEERS TO PARTICIPATE IN AFGHANISTAN DEMINING
OPERATIONS
Five members of the Moldovan military-engineering corps will
participate in demining operations in Afghanistan. President Vladimir
Voronin conveyed the information to U.S. President George W. Bush at
their meeting at the White House on 17 December and Bush welcomed the
initiative, Flux reported on 19 December. In an interview with RFE/RL
on 18 December, Moldovan military-engineering official Igor Cutie said
the five specialists are among the elite of Moldova's troops and have
vast experience in demining operations undertaken after the cessation
of military hostilities in Transdniester. MS
[64] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH WORLD BANK PRESIDENT, IMF OFFICIAL
President Voronin, currently on a visit to the United States, met in
Washington on 17 December with World Bank President James Wolfensohn,
Infotag reported. In an interview with Moldovan Radio, First Deputy
Finance Minister Mariana Durlesteanu, who is accompanying Voronin on
his visit, described the talks as "quite tough, but covering the entire
range of relations between Moldova and the World Bank." Voronin secured
Wolfensohn's support to continue backing the reform process in Moldova
and to display particular understanding toward the problems faced by
Chisinau. Wolfensohn was cited by Infotag as telling Voronin that
Moldova is the only country to which the bank is prepared to make
concessions on contentious matters. Voronin met in Washington on 19
December with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Horst
Koehler to discuss economic reforms in Moldova, ITAR-TASS reported.
Koehler told Voronin the business climate in his country needs to be
improved to attract foreign investors and generate economic growth.
They agreed that the reforms must root out corruption, ensure judicial
independence, and restructure the state administration. Koehler
reiterated that the IMF will not resume lending to Moldova as long as
its conditions are not met. MS
[65] NEGOTIATIONS OVER TRANSDNIESTER CONFLICT RESUMED
Negotiations to settle the Transdniester conflict were resumed in
Moscow on 18 December, ITAR-TASS reported the next day. The sides met
in the presence of representatives of the three mediators -- Russia,
Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE). They agreed on an agenda for continuing the parleys. The agency
quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov as saying
the negotiation process must be intensified and the sides must display
"more political will" to reach a solution. MS
[66] BULGARIAN SUPREME JUDICIAL COUNCIL URGES PROSECUTOR-GENERAL TO
RESIGN...
The Supreme Judicial Council decided on 18 December to ask
Prosecutor-General Nikola Filchev to resign, mediapool.bg reported. The
council cannot lift Filchev's immunity but can ask parliament to do so.
The council cited a number of accusations leveled against Filchev as
reasons for the decision, including alleged violations of the Judiciary
Act and abuse of office. According to the council, Filchev set up an
administration of his own and thus violated budgetary provisions. In
addition, he is accused of ignoring the Supreme Judicial Council when
nominating or promoting public prosecutors. The council's decision also
claimed that Filchev has created a system of fear among prosecutors and
magistrates by demoting them without justification. The
prosecutor-general enjoys considerable immunity under Bulgarian law
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 June, 11 July, and 9 and 18 December 2002).
UB
[67] ...PROMPTING NEGATIVE REACTIONS
Deputy Prosecutor-General Hristo Manchev said on 18 December that the
council's decision has no legal basis and that Filchev will not resign,
bnn reported. Lawmakers of both members of the ruling coalition between
the National Movement Simeon II and the ethnic Turkish Movement for
Rights and Freedoms, as well as from the opposition Socialist Party and
the conservative United Democratic Forces, expressed their belief that
the council's decision is not legally binding. They interpreted the
decision as an expression of disunity among the leading members of the
country's judiciary. Justice Minister Anton Stankov warned that the
council's decision undermines the judiciary's authority. UB
[68] U.S. AMBASSADOR SAYS BULGARIAN COURTS SEND WRONG SIGNALS TO
INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS
Speaking in Sofia on 18 December, U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria James
Pardew criticized opposition parties and the courts for halting the
privatization of the state-run Bulgartabac tobacco company and the
Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTK), mediapool.bg reported.
Underscoring that internationally recognized companies such as Advent
International and Deutsche Bank participated in the privatization
tenders, Pardew said: The "parties, courts, and prosecutors who are
aggressive in finding fault with this privatization and blocking an
open and fair privatization process are the same ones who are failing
to be aggressive against organized crime and corruption.... This sends
exactly the wrong signals to international investors." He said this
does real harm to the country's economic prospects. UB
[69] RUSSIA DEMANDS RESTITUTION OF SOVIET PROPERTY IN BULGARIA
In a diplomatic note handed to the Bulgarian ambassador in Moscow on 18
December, the Russian government demanded that parts of Bulgartabac and
the GORUBSO mining company be restituted to the Russian state. The
Russian side reiterated its position that the property, which was
originally transferred to the USSR after World War II as war
reparations, was leased -- not given -- to the Bulgarian state in the
1950s. The Russian note follows a decision by the Bulgarian Supreme
Administrative Court to declare the Bulgartabac privatization procedure
null and void. Three Russian consortiums participated in the
Bulgartabac tender and later challenged the Privatization Agency's
decision to name the Tobacco Capital Partners consortium as the winning
bidder. Tobacco Capital Partners was backed by Deutsche Bank (see "End
Note" in "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 May 2002, and "RFE/RL Newsline," 30
October 2002). UB
SOUTHWESTERN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
[70] AFGHAN VICE PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PIPELINE PROJECT
Afghan Vice President Hedayat Amin Arsala said on 18 December during an
official visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, that "substantial progress has
been achieved to sign a tripartite agreement" for laying the
Trans-Afghan pipeline to carry Turkmen gas to Pakistan via Afghanistan
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 December 2002 and "RFE/RL Afghanistan
Report," 12 December 2002), the Karachi daily "Dawn" reported on 19
December. During a news conference with Shaukat Aziz, a financial
adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, Arsala said the Asian Development
Bank has shown interest in the pipeline project and has funded its
feasibility study. He added that a "number of contentious issues"
regarding the project have been sorted out without indicating what
those contentious issues might be, "Dawn" reported. The pipeline
project faces a variety of problems beyond the issues of security and
lack of central-government control in western Afghanistan. One issue
that has not been discussed much is the issue of availability of
markets for the Turkmen gas in Pakistan. AT
[71] KONDUZ TELEVISION INAUGURATED, BUT NEEDS HELP
Sayyed Ismail Ansari, director of radio and television in northern
Afghanistan's Konduz Province, has said that -- for the first time
since the fall of the Taliban regime -- Konduz television has resumed
operations, the Kabul daily "Arman-e Melli" reported on 18 December.
Although the station has "very minimum technical facilities,"
programming will air for four hours every night, and the station will
receive technical and programming support from the Bakhtar News Agency,
Radio Afghanistan, and German television, according to Ansari. He added
that delegations from Iran, Japan, South Korea, and the United States
have visited the Konduz television facilities and "have pledged to
assist us, but none of their promises have materialized thus far,"
"Arman-e Melli" reported. AT
[72] AFGHAN COMMANDER REFUSES TO HAND OVER HIS WEAPONS
Pacha Khan Zadran, an Afghan warlord who opposes President Hamid
Karzai's government, has said he is not prepared under the current
circumstances to hand his weapons over to the central government,
Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported on 18 December. "Disarmament was a
pretext, [but] in actual fact everything was directed against
Pashtuns," Zadran said. "I do not recognize the present government [so
why would] I turn my weapons over to them?" The central government
announced on 12 December that it is expanding its arms-collection
program with the aid of international coalition forces to provinces in
southeastern Afghanistan, where Zadran is one of the most powerful
warlords (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 and 13 December 2002). Zadran was
an ally of Karzai and the United States, as well as a signatory to the
2001 Bonn agreement, but later took up armed opposition against the
central government. His forces are based in Paktiya Province. AT
[73] PERPETRATORS OF ATTACK AGAINST U.S. TROOPS IN KABUL ARRESTED
Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Wardak told reporters at a Kabul news
conference on 18 December that authorities have arrested three men
accused of perpetrating a recent attack against two U.S. soldiers and
their Afghan interpreter in Kabul (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December
2002), Radio Afghanistan reported. Wardak said two of the men are
foreigners, "while the third one introduced himself as a Saudi citizen,
but later it was determined that he is from Herat Province." Wardak
said the three men arrested "have openly admitted their crime and
admitted they came" to Kabul for the sole purpose of carrying out such
attacks, the radio station reported. According to Wardak, any links
between the three arrestees and terrorist organizations will be
announced after the completion of investigations, Radio Afghanistan
reported. The report did not indicate the nationalities of the two men
said to be foreigners. AT
[74] IRANIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSSES POLLSTERS' TRIAL, SECRET DOCUMENTS
President Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami told reporters on 18 December
that he hopes the trial of individuals associated with the Ayandeh
Research Institute will conducted fairly and that it will not be
politicized, ISNA reported. Khatami condemned reports that the
presidential office provided the accused with classified documents. "I
am so sorry to hear such things about a case that is still being
investigated and [in which] no verdict has yet been issued," he said.
"What they say distorts public opinion. It is illegal to say that
people who are being tried are lawbreakers." But after denying that he
or his office had anything to do with the transfer of secret documents
to Ayandeh, Khatami seemed to equivocate slightly. "Of course, there is
always the possibility of moving a document from somewhere," he said.
"This should be investigated fairly and the matter should not be
politicized." BS
[75] SATELLITE TELEVISION BILL GETS SECOND READING
The second reading of the bill to reform the law on satellite-
receiving equipment took place in the legislature on 18 December, the
official Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 18 December 2002). One of the articles that was ratified
authorizes police confiscation of unauthorized satellite equipment if
use of that equipment continues after the owners are given a week's
notice and a warning. Another ratified article decrees that permits are
required to receive satellite-television programs. Five out of eight
articles of the bill were approved on 18 December, according to IRNA,
and the remaining articles will be examined at the next open session of
the legislature, to begin after a 10-day recess. The parliament
ratified the general points of the bill on 17 December (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 17 December 2002). BS
[76] TEHRAN-EU HUMAN RIGHTS TALKS CONCLUDE...
A European Union delegation on the evening of 17 December concluded a
two-day visit to Iran to discuss human rights issues with Iranian
judicial and parliamentary representatives, ISNA reported the next day.
Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said the talks went
well but that some differences remain. The Danish Embassy in Teheran
released a statement that the talks focused on the prevention of
torture and discrimination against women and religious minorities, dpa
reported on 18 December. The EU delegation also persuaded Tehran to
receive UN rapporteurs. BS
[77] ...AFTER VISIT WITH POLITICAL PRISONER
An unidentified Italian diplomat said the Italian and Danish
ambassadors to Tehran and a Dutch official on 17 December met with
political prisoner Siamak Purzand at his sister's home in Tehran, the
"Financial Times" reported on 19 December. The 73-year-old Purzand is
on temporary leave from prison, and the visitors found that he is "in
not a bad physical and psychological condition," according to the
diplomat. BS
[78] RUSSIA MIGHT DECIDE ON IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE
The 18 December issue of Armenia's "Aykakan Zhamanak" newspaper
reported that Russia runs Armenia's largest natural-gas consumer, the
Razdan Power Plant; therefore, it will decide on the construction of a
gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia. Citing anonymous "informed
observers," the newspaper reported the Russians are unhappy about the
proposed construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and that, when
combined with direct U.S. opposition to the pipeline's construction,
"it is therefore not clear how the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will be
constructed." BS
[79] IRANIAN PRESIDENT REJECTS NUCLEAR ALLEGATIONS...
President Khatami on 18 December rejected U.S. allegations that Iran is
developing a nuclear-weapons capability, IRNA reported. Responding to a
reporter's question, Khatami said the allegations are baseless and that
Iran is in compliance with international standards. "Iran is working
under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
and Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and does
not seek nuclear arms," Khatami said, according to IRNA. BS
[80] ...AND TECHNICALLY HE IS RIGHT...
According to the "The Washington Post" of 19 December, Iranian
government front companies acquire the materials and equipment for
producing weapons-grade nuclear fuel from foreign firms. In this way,
they appear to remain within the NPT regime. Nonproliferation Policy
Education Center Executive Director Henry Sokolski appeared to confirm
this when he told "The Washington Post" that "the problem is that Iran
is not cheating. They haven't broken any rules, and they won't until
they have weapons." BS
[81] ...AS MOSCOW SAYS IRANIANS ARE INCAPABLE OF DEVELOPING NUCLEAR
WEAPONS...
Russian Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev said in an 18
December interview with ITAR-TASS that Iran is not capable of
developing nuclear weapons. Rumyantsev said Iran has a right to develop
peaceful nuclear capabilities. "Iran does not conceal its plans
regarding nuclear-power generation. It has the right to develop this
direction," he said. Rumyantsev also recommended waiting for the
results of the IAEA's February 2003 inspection trip to Iran. BS
[82] ...AND IAEA CHIEF'S VISIT SCHEDULED
The IAEA has announced that its director-general, Mohammad el-Baradei,
will visit Iran on 25 February, Iranian state radio reported on 19
December. According to previous reports, Tehran has postponed
el-Baradei's visit several times (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 16 December
2002). BS
[83] IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER COMPLAINS ABOUT BUDGET
President Khatami on 18 December submitted next year's budget to
parliament (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December 2002), and the same day
Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani said
that "our defense budget is far below our expectations," ISNA reported.
In response to a question about the possibility of reducing other
ministries' budgets in order to meet the Defense Ministry's
requirements, Shamkhani said: "This is not in the plan, but some
solution must be found. We must, and we will, resolve the problems of
the armed forces." Shamkhani said the budgetary shortfall would create
management difficulties in the Defense Ministry, but the situation
would be dealt with. "We will certainly make changes, and these changes
must maintain the capabilities of the armed forces," he said. BS
[84] IRANIAN OFFICIAL COMMENTS ON WAR IN IRAQ
Former President and current Expediency Council head Ayatollah
Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani on 18 December told a planning session of
the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) that U.S. President George
W. Bush "continues relentlessly to beat the drums of war," Iranian
state television reported. Rafsanjani warned that a war in Iraq would
be very different than the one in Afghanistan, because "the Americans
do not have the experience of confronting Iraq's war-engineering
methods and will get caught in a quagmire." Rafsanjani also reassured
his audience that Iran will not be an American target. "The enemy will
not have the courage to attack Iran thanks to our forces' epical
capability and courage," he said. BS
[85] UNMOVIC HEAD TO TELL UN THAT IRAQI DECLARATION IS INCOMPLETE...
UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix is expected to tell the UN
Security Council that the Iraqi declaration on weapons of mass
destruction submitted to the United Nations on 7 December is
incomplete, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on 18 December,
citing UN sources. Blix will tell the UN Security Council the
declaration does not sufficiently address Iraq's chemical and
biological weapons of mass destruction as well as its ballistic
missiles, KUNA reported. IAEA Director-General el-Baradei will tell the
Security Council that the IAEA is missing some information from the
Iraqis, including diagrams for nuclear equipment that was destroyed by
inspectors in 1991, Reuters reported. The report added that items
missing from the declaration include two Scud missiles, 50 mustard-gas
shells, 150 aerial bombs "that at one time were filled with either
anthrax or other biological agents," and 200 tons of chemicals used to
make the VX nerve agent, as well as warheads with traces of VX. KR
[86] ...AS IAEA CHIEF SAYS NO EVIDENCE OF IRAQI NUCLEAR-WEAPONS PROGRAM
HAS BEEN FOUND
IAEA Director-General el-Baradei told the Cairo-based "Al-Ahram" that
his organization has no evidence Iraq resumed its nuclear program
following the withdrawal of UN inspectors from Iraq in 1998. In an
interview published on 18 December, el-Baradei said he plans to tell
the UN Security Council on 19 December that Iraq has stressed it has no
atomic weapons and has not undertaken activities currently banned under
international agreements and UN resolutions. El-Baradei said his report
will be a preliminary one. "In general, so far, there has been no sign
indicating that these facilities are any different from what they were
in 1998," he added. However, the IAEA chief said other states have
provided his organization with information on Iraq's nuclear program.
He told "Al-Ahram" that the IAEA is waiting for additional information
from these states. El-Baradei said inspectors will continue with
inspections. "There is a great deal of work to verify that the Iraqi
declaration was complete and accurate, as required, and does not
contain any ambiguous points," he said. KR
[87] KDP LEADER URGES NATIONAL RECONCILIATION
In his closing remarks at the 14-17 December Iraqi opposition
conference in London, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masud
Barzani called for national reconciliation, the Irbil-based "Brayati"
newspaper reported on 18 December. In his speech, Barzani urged Iraqis
to look to forgiveness instead of revenge and to place the interests of
Iraq above all else, respecting the rule of law. "I consider all the
victims of the Iraqi people as my own family members -- be they victims
of Halabjah and Anfal, and all those who have been annihilated all over
Iraq -- [and] I lost 37 members of my family and 8,000 members of my
tribe," he said. "However, for the sake of the supreme interests of the
people and the homeland, we have discarded the issue of revenge. We
urge all other sides to look to the future with tolerance, [to turn]
away from hatred and revenge, and to consider the supreme interests of
Iraq and its peace. Let only the law deal with perpetrators." KR
[88] IAEA FOCUSES ON RADIOLOGICAL SURVEYS...
IAEA inspectors visited the Institute of Special Engineering Industries
in Baghdad on 18 December, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Three inspectors verified the institute's semiannual report and checked
the seal on one machine before moving to the Al-Fida State Company,
which specializes in hydroelectric operations. The company is part of
the Military Industrialization Organization (MIO). After checking the
machines and touring the company, inspectors visited the Baghdad-based
Vehicles Manufacturing Company, which belongs to the Industry and
Minerals Ministry. The inspectors toured the plant and inspected
machinery. A second group of 15 inspectors continued work in Mosul,
visiting the Saddam Dam, where they inspected a water-storage station
and buildings on the site. Inspectors then proceeded to the Irrigation
Ministry's Al-Jazeera (Island) Irrigation Project, where they reviewed
pumping operations and took swabs from various areas. The MIO's
Al-Rimah project was also visited, as was the Al-Raikiyah gas plant,
the ministry stated. Radiological surveys were conducted at every site
inspected in Mosul, according to the Foreign Ministry. KR
[89] ...WHILE UNMOVIC INSPECTS MISSILE-DUMPING GROUND AND OTHER SITES
A team of four UNMOVIC inspectors visited the Al-Saqlawiyah/Aqarquq
destruction dump north of Baghdad on 18 December, the Foreign Ministry
reported. A second group of six inspectors visited a "military site"
where "destroyed missiles" are stored. Inspectors checked warehouses
and photographed the "sheds and covered galleries" that store destroyed
weapons. A team of 12 chemical inspectors visited the Modern Paints
Company south of Baghdad. The company belongs to a joint public/private
venture, according to the ministry, and manufactures "all kinds of
paints." A team of 18 chemical, biological, and missile inspectors
returned to the Nasr State Company for Mechanical Industries located 30
kilometers north of Baghdad. Inspectors toured workshops "specializing
in the manufacture of strips, frames, and oil tanks" as well as its
foundry and molds. A team of 12 biological inspectors visited the
departments of biological sciences, chemistry, and mechanical
engineering at Mosul University, where it checked the Iraqi
declarations and verified tagged and marked equipment. Inspectors took
two bacterial samples from one lab. Inspectors then went to the Mosul
Yeast Factory, which is an affiliate of the Industry and Minerals
Ministry, to verify declarations. KR
END NOTE
[90] There is no End Note today.
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