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RFE/RL Newsline, 03-02-04
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN URGES COLLECTIVE, PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO IRAQ CRISIS
[02] LDPR LEADER SAYS RUSSIA SHOULD GET PAID FOR SUPPORTING STRIKE ON
[03] ...AS DUMA CONSIDERS PUNISHING HIM FOR SCANDALOUS IRAQ INTERVIEW
[04] CHARGES FILED AGAINST MMM FOUNDER
[05] GOVERNMENT SHIES AWAY FROM RADICAL TAX REFORM?
[06] PAPER PREDICTS COMMUNISTS WILL HAVE TO STRUGGLE FOR ATTENTION OF
[07] ...AS SPLIT AMONG COMMUNISTS SAID TO STRETCH NORTH
[08] DOES THE KREMLIN WANT A MERGER BETWEEN YABLOKO AND SPS?
[09] COSSACKS TO UNITE
[10] MORDOVIAN HEAD GETS ENDORSEMENT FROM CENTRIST FACTION
[11] INTERNET USE IN TATARSTAN PROJECTED TO SOAR OVER NEXT FEW YEARS
[12] CHECHEN PRESIDENT DENOUNCES PLANNED REFERENDUM, WARNS OF NEW
[13] MAJORITY BOYCOTTS ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SESSION
[14] ARMENIA TO USE TRANSPARENT BALLOT BOXES FOR PRESIDENTIAL POLL
[15] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT DECREES CONSTRUCTION OF MONUMENT TO FIRST
[16] PREMISES OF GEORGIAN MODERATE OPPOSITION PARTY ATTACKED
[17] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT PROPOSES MIXED OR EU FORCE TO REPLACE CIS
[18] ...BUT ABKHAZ, AZERBAIJANIS, RUSSIANS SAY 'NO'
[19] ABKHAZ FOREIGN MINISTER PROPOSES AXING UN BODY
[20] ABKHAZ PRESIDENT'S RELATIVE GUNNED DOWN IN MOSCOW
[21] GEORGIA ACCUSES RUSSIA OF VIOLATING CFE TREATY
[22] KAZAKH OPPOSITION PARTY SOFTENS STANCE TOWARD PRESIDENT
[23] KAZAKH SENATOR RECEIVES SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
[24] KYRGYZ OFFICIALS CLAIM REFERENDUM VALIDATED CONSTITUTIONAL
[25] ...WHILE OPPOSITION SAYS TURNOUT FIGURES WERE INFLATED
[26] TAJIK PRESIDENT SACKS EMPLOYMENT MINISTER
[27] RUSSIA HANDS OVER BANK FRAUD SUSPECT TO TURKMENISTAN
[28] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES REGISTER CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL
[29] UKRAINE CONTINUES TO DISCUSS FURTHER LOANS FROM WORLD BANK, IMF
[30] UKRAINIAN PROSECUTORS PROBE POWER ABUSE IN OIL-AND-GAS GIANT
[31] SOVIET PAST CLAIMS ESTONIAN INTERIOR MINISTER
[32] LATVIA LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR REORGANIZATION OF NATIONAL-SECURITY
[33] CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA SUPPORTS EU ENTRY
[34] POLISH AMBASSADOR SUMMONED FROM IRAQ
[35] POLISH FARMERS BLOCK ROADS OVER ECONOMIC PLIGHT
[36] POLAND REPORTEDLY IMPOSES FUEL LIMITS ON BELARUSIAN HAULERS
[37] MOST CZECH DIPLOMATS LEAVE IRAQI CAPITAL
[38] CZECH OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY 'PALESTINIAN TERRORIST' REPORT...
[39] ...AS COMMON TRICK TO GRAB ATTENTION
[40] CZECH OPPOSITION PARTY DEMANDS DATE FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
[41] SLOVAK COMMUNISTS STAGE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST ATTACK ON IRAQ
[42] SLOVAK NATO OPPONENTS SAY REFERENDUM CAMPAIGN IS THRIVING
[43] BRATISLAVA COURT ORDERS RAILWAY WORKERS BACK TO WORK
[44] HUNGARIAN CABINET APPROVES $913 MILLION LEASE OF FIGHTER JETS
[45] HUNGARIAN LAWMAKERS SUBMIT ASSET DECLARATIONS
[46] WORLD COURT GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO BOSNIAN GENOCIDE CASE AGAINST
[47] ...WHICH BOSNIA WILL CONTINUE TO PRESS
[48] SERBIAN RADICAL LEADER TO GO TO THE HAGUE?
[49] SERBIAN FORMER MAYOR SENTENCED FOR WAR CRIMES
[50] LEGISLATIVE SHOWDOWN LOOMING IN KOSOVA?
[51] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT DEBATES CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER
[52] JOINT CIVIL-DEFENSE EXERCISES IN BOSNIA
[53] CROATIAN-AMERICAN POLITICAL LEADER SAYS CROATIA COMMITTED
[54] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH ANNAN
[55] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT URGES PSD LAWMAKERS TO RESIGN FROM COMPANY
[56] BUCHAREST POLICE COMMANDERS REPLACED
[57] ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY SUSPENDS FORMER MINISTERS FROM MEMBERSHIP
[58] ROMANIAN PARTY LEADER TO APPEAL TO ECHR AGAINST OUTLAWING OF HIS
[59] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT OUTLINES EUROPEAN-INTEGRATION CONCEPT...
[60] ...APPOINTS NEW CHIEF NEGOTIATOR IN TRANSDNIESTER PARLEYS
[61] SMIRNOV INVITES OSCE MISSION TO INSPECT LOCAL ENTERPRISES
[62] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION CHALLENGES CONTROVERSIAL DRAFT LAW IN
[63] BULGARIAN ECONOMY MINISTER CRITICIZES MUNICIPALITIES FOR HIGH
[64] BULGARIAN DELEGATION WRAPS UP VISIT TO KUWAIT, PROCEEDS TO IRAN
[65] RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS EXPAND WORK IN AFGHAN PROVINCES...
[66] ...AS AFGHANS EXPRESS GRATITUDE BUT WANT THEIR VOICES HEARD
[67] AFGHAN PRESIDENT HINTS HE WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION...
[68] ...AS PROSPECTS FOR ELECTIONS LOOK DIM
[69] MAZAR-E SHARIF HOSTS CONFERENCE ON FEDERALISM
[70] UNODC ASSESSES IMPACT OF AFGHAN OPIUM ON IRAN
[71] IRAN TO BUILD SCHOOLS IN AFGHANISTAN
[72] IRANIAN OFFICIAL: STATE OF THE UNION COMMENTS BASED ON
[73] STONINGS WILL CONTINUE
[74] IRANIAN BALLISTIC MISSILE APPEARS ON TELEVISION
[75] JUDICIARY TO INVESTIGATE ACTIVIST'S COMPLAINTS
[76] POLLSTERS' SENTENCES INCREASE...
[77] ...BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
[78] IRAQI PRESIDENT BRIEFED BY ARMY COMMANDERS...
[79] ...AND SAYS U.S. RIDING A 'CRAZY MULE'
[80] UNMOVIC FINDS MISSILE MOLDS AT AL-NIDA'
[81] TURKEY CONTINUES WITH PREPARATIONS FOR REFUGEE INFLUX
[82] BRITISH PRIME MINISTER STILL FAVORS UN ROUTE
[83] SPANISH PRIME MINISTER SAYS HE HAS 'EVIDENCE' THAT IRAQ IS A
[84] There is no End Note today.
4 February 2003
RUSSIA
[01] PUTIN URGES COLLECTIVE, PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO IRAQ CRISIS
President Vladimir Putin met on 3 February with Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi, who arrived in Moscow directly from talks in
Washington with U.S. President George W. Bush, ITAR-TASS and other
Russian news agencies reported. Speaking to reporters following the
meeting, Putin said that Moscow prefers to transform "the Iraq issue
from a political matter into a technical one." Putin insisted that the
UN weapons inspections should continue and noted that so far they "have
found nothing." Following the completion of the inspections, the UN
Security Council should decide what comes next, Putin said. He added
that "he and most Russians" continue to believe that a peaceful
solution to the Iraq crisis can be found. He said that military force
should be used only "in the most extreme case." VY
[02] LDPR LEADER SAYS RUSSIA SHOULD GET PAID FOR SUPPORTING STRIKE ON
IRAQ...
Deputy State Duma Speaker and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of
Russia (LDPR) Vladimir Zhirinovskii has said that Moscow should support
a U.S. military strike against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if
Washington promises Russia financial and political benefits in
exchange, newsru.com and other Russian news agencies reported on 3
February. Zhirinovskii, who is known for his long-standing close
personal contacts with Hussein's regime, said Moscow should demand the
right "to pump at least $30 billion worth of Iraqi oil" and completely
free-transit access between the Kaliningrad exclave and the rest of
Russia. He added that Russia should participate in a post-Hussein
"peacekeeping operation" in Iraq and insist upon joint military
administration on the model of post-World War II Berlin. VY
[03] ...AS DUMA CONSIDERS PUNISHING HIM FOR SCANDALOUS IRAQ INTERVIEW
Deputy State Duma Speaker Konstantin Kosachev (Fatherland-All Russia)
has said that Zhirinovskii might be stripped of his post as deputy
speaker because of a harshly anti-American interview that he gave to
Russian television journalists in Baghdad in October, nns.ru and
lenta.ru reported on 2 February. In an interview with Moskoviya and TVS
that was never aired but which has appeared in recent weeks on the
Russian Internet, Zhirinovskii used a number of unprintable expressions
to assault the U.S. administration. Duma Ethics Committee Chairwoman
Galina Strelchenko said that her committee has dealt with
Zhirinovskii's misbehavior many times in the past and added that now is
the time for "the toughest possible measures," including stripping him
of his post as deputy speaker. Deputy Gennadii Raikov, head of the
People's Deputy faction, said his group would support such a motion.
Duma Speaker Gennadii Seleznev, however, said that nothing should be
done because of the interview, lenta.ru reported on 4 February. VY
[04] CHARGES FILED AGAINST MMM FOUNDER
The Interior Ministry's Investigations Department has filed an
indictment on charges of massive fraud against MMM investment company
founder Sergei Mavrodi, Russian news agencies reported on 4 February.
Police have also asked all those who believe they were victims of MMM's
operations to submit evidence supporting their allegations.
Investigators believe that more than 100,000 such victims could
ultimately be identified, and damages could amount to more than $100
million. Mavrodi faces up to 10 years' imprisonment under the charges,
RosBalt reported. Mavrodi was arrested in Moscow on 31 January after
being sought for nearly five years (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 February
2003). The total number of deceived investors in the case is estimated
anywhere from 5 million to 15 million. Business leader and Yeltsin-era
insider Konstantin Borovoi, who now heads an association of deceived
investors, told TVS on 3 February that it would have been impossible
for Mavrodi to build his investment pyramid without the tacit support
of the state. Borovoi alleged that only 10 percent of the money that
MMM took in went to Mavrodi, while the rest was distributed among a
number of entities, including commercial companies and corrupt
officials. He also claimed that some of the largest MMM investors were
criminal groups using the pyramid scheme as a way of laundering
illegally acquired money. VY
[05] GOVERNMENT SHIES AWAY FROM RADICAL TAX REFORM?
The Finance Ministry, acting in agreement with the Economic Development
and Trade Ministry, introduced on 3 February a plan for reforming the
country's tax system during 2003-05, "Kommersant-Daily" reported the
next day. According to the daily, the plan does not propose radically
reducing taxes. The reform of the single social tax, which was planned
for 2004, will now come into force only in 2005. That tax will be
lowered by 5 percent. The VAT rate might be decreased in 2006, but
"only if the financial situation permits this." JAC
[06] PAPER PREDICTS COMMUNISTS WILL HAVE TO STRUGGLE FOR ATTENTION OF
CENTRAL TV NEWS...
"Nezavisimaya gazeta," which is owned and controlled by self-exiled
tycoon Boris Berezovskii, concluded on 3 February that the Communist
Party (KPRF) should expect to be excluded from the air waves during the
run-up to the December State Duma elections, judging by the lack of
attention that the central television stations paid to a recent press
conference by KPRF leader Gennadii Zyuganov. According to the daily,
Zyuganov gave a press conference on 30 January at which he made a
number of provocative statements, and not one word about it was
mentioned on ORT, REN-TV, or NTV. RTR quoted one of Zyuganov's
statements regarding Chechnya in a story about the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Only TV-Tsentr reported
Zyuganov's presentation as the main political event of the day and
commented on it in detail. "Nezavisimaya gazeta" commented that ORT did
not send a camera crew to the press conference. NTV did but apparently
chose not to use any of the footage. JAC
[07] ...AS SPLIT AMONG COMMUNISTS SAID TO STRETCH NORTH
The press secretary of the KPRF branch in St. Petersburg, Aleksandr
Bezzubtsev, told RosBalt on 3 February that Yurii Belov, a former first
secretary of the KPRF's local branch, is "constantly exerting pressure
to force the current first secretary, Oleg Koryakin, from his post" and
has even resorted to the use of "kompromat," or black public relations.
According to Bezzubtsev, the conflict raging among Communists in Moscow
"is even more pronounced" in St. Petersburg. He characterized the
situation as one in which Duma Deputy Sergei Glaziev personifies the
wing of the party that believes the Communists should lead a wide
coalition of left-patriotic forces. Another wing is represented by
party leader Zyuganov, who believes that left-wing forces should
contest the elections under the banner of the KPRF. JAC
[08] DOES THE KREMLIN WANT A MERGER BETWEEN YABLOKO AND SPS?
Both Gleb Pavlovskii of the Foundation for Effective Politics and Igor
Bunin of the Center for Political Technologies believe the Kremlin
supports an alliance of Yabloko and the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS),
"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 3 February. According to Pavlovskii,
the two parties are partners of President Putin and Unified Russia in
the State Duma, and the fireworks surrounding their possible merger
are, according to Pavlovskii, just a ploy to consolidate their
supporters. According to Bunin, the Putin administration wants to have
a liberal party as a front-line group so that it can count on support
when it adopts pro-Western policies, as it did following the 11
September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. However, in an
interview with "Novye izvestiya" on 1 February, Yabloko Deputy Sergei
Mitrokhin commented, "Frankly speaking, I do not think that the Kremlin
could seriously make any of its own strategic interests dependent on
the quality of relations between our two parties." JAC
[09] COSSACKS TO UNITE
The Zaporozhian, Don, and Tersk Cossacks plan to conclude a cooperation
agreement at a meeting in May in Novocherkassk, regions.ru reported on
3 February, citing Ekho Rostova. This decision was made during a
meeting of the atamans of the Don and Tersk Cossacks with the
Zaporozhian hetman. According to Ekho Rostova, the leaders also
expressed support for the longer-term goal of uniting the Cossacks of
Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine into a "union government." JAC
[10] MORDOVIAN HEAD GETS ENDORSEMENT FROM CENTRIST FACTION
A group of State Duma deputies from the Fatherland-All Russia (OVR)
faction led by faction leader Vyacheslav Volodin began an official
visit to Saransk on 3 February, RosBalt reported. According to the
agency, the legislators do not disguise the fact that their trip is
directly connected with the 16 February republican presidential
election and their desire to show their support for incumbent President
Nikolai Merkushkin, who is seeking a second term. JAC
[11] INTERNET USE IN TATARSTAN PROJECTED TO SOAR OVER NEXT FEW YEARS
By 2010, the number of Internet users in Tatarstan is slated to rise to
900,000, about 10 times as many as there are today, RFE/RL's Kazan
bureau reported, citing "Izvestiya Tatarstana." According to the
republican Economy and Industry Ministry, some 90,000 residents of
Tatarstan are currently said to be using the Internet regularly, after
last year's eightfold upsurge in the number of Internet users. The
government expects to cooperate with all 24 Internet service providers
in the republic to establish Internet centers in all schools and
hospitals and eventually to include Internet access on the list of
guaranteed services to all residents. JAC
[12] CHECHEN PRESIDENT DENOUNCES PLANNED REFERENDUM, WARNS OF NEW
OFFENSIVE
In a 20-minute pirate-television address screened in Ingushetia and
western regions of Chechnya on 2 February, Aslan Maskhadov denounced as
"an affront to our people" the referendum scheduled for 23 March on a
new Chechen draft constitution and election legislation, Reuters
reported on 3 February. Maskhadov warned that his forces will renew
their partisan war against the Russian military as soon as spring
vegetation provides cover for military maneuvers. He noted that "our
fighters have been doing well lately in clashes with Russian troops"
and predicted that "this year will be decisive for Chechnya." LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[13] MAJORITY BOYCOTTS ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SESSION
Parliament failed to reconvene on 3 February after its one-month winter
recess because of the lack of a quorum, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's
Yerevan bureau reported. Only 46 of the 131 deputies registered for the
session, fewer than the 66 required. Most of the 46 represent
opposition parties, and only a handful of deputies from the majority
Miasnutiun faction were present. Opposition deputies accused the
pro-government majority of deliberately blocking debate until after the
19 February presidential election. LF
[14] ARMENIA TO USE TRANSPARENT BALLOT BOXES FOR PRESIDENTIAL POLL
The German government will provide Armenia with some 2,000 transparent
plastic ballot boxes for use in the 19 February presidential election,
Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Artak Sahradian announced in
Yerevan on 3 February. Opposition politicians argued in November for
the use of such ballot boxes to help prevent ballot-box stuffing, but
the CEC rejected the proposal, saying the Armenian government could not
afford them. LF
[15] AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT DECREES CONSTRUCTION OF MONUMENT TO FIRST
INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC
Heidar Aliev signed a decree on 3 February ordering the erection of a
monument in Baku to commemorate the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic that
existed between 1918-20, Turan reported. LF
[16] PREMISES OF GEORGIAN MODERATE OPPOSITION PARTY ATTACKED
Some 20-25 heavily armed men forced their way into and ransacked the
Tbilisi offices of the New Rightists party on 3 February, physically
assaulting party leader David Gamkrelidze and other party members,
Caucasus Press and Interfax reported. According to an eyewitness report
posted on 4 February by Eurasia View, the gunmen were prevented from
opening fire on Gamkrelidze only by the arrival of Parliament Defense
and Security Committee Chairman Irakli Batiashvili. Batiashvili joined
the New Rightists in October 2001, but quit at the request of other
party members after voting for the government's draft 2003 budget in
its third reading against the wishes of other members of the party's
parliamentary faction. Other opposition parties issued a statement the
same day condemning the assault as "a terrorist attack" and demanding
the Georgian authorities apprehend those responsible within 24 hours.
LF
[17] GEORGIAN PRESIDENT PROPOSES MIXED OR EU FORCE TO REPLACE CIS
PEACEKEEPERS IN ABKHAZIA...
In his regular Monday radio address, Eduard Shevardnadze suggested on 3
February that the Russian peacekeeping force currently deployed under
the CIS aegis in the Abkhaz conflict zone be replaced by a force
modeled on that currently deployed in the unrecognized Republic of
South Ossetia, Interfax reported. That force comprises Russian,
Georgian, and Ossetian service personnel. Shevardnadze also suggested
that the EU might send troops from its rapid-reaction force to
Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. At a press conference later on 3
February, Shevardnadze told journalists he will raise with Azerbaijan's
President Aliev the possibility of Azerbaijani troops serving in such
an EU force, BS-Press reported. He said Azerbaijan has "a strong
interest" in resolving the Abkhaz conflict. LF
[18] ...BUT ABKHAZ, AZERBAIJANIS, RUSSIANS SAY 'NO'
Astamur Tania, who is an aide to Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba,
ruled out Abkhazia's consent to the deployment in the Abkhaz conflict
zone of a mixed peacekeeping force that includes Georgian troops,
Caucasus Press reported on 4 February. Tania said only Abkhaz police
should patrol Gali Raion. But at the same time, Tania signaled that
Abkhazia might agree to extending the zone controlled by the CIS
peacekeepers. Georgian officials have said they will agree to prolong
the CIS peacekeepers' mandate, which expired on 31 December, only if
the conflict zone is expanded to encompass the entire Gali Raion (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 27 January 2003). Also on 4 February, Azerbaijan's
Ambassador to Georgia Gadjan Gadjiev denied that Azerbaijan has agreed
to send peacekeepers to Abkhazia, Caucasus Press reported. Meanwhile in
Moscow, Russian Federation Council Constitutional Legislation Committee
Chairman Yurii Sharandin told Interfax on 3 February that the council
is "perplexed" by Tbilisi's efforts to involve the EU in mediating a
solution to the Abkhaz conflict. LF
[19] ABKHAZ FOREIGN MINISTER PROPOSES AXING UN BODY
Sergei Shamba said in Sukhum on 3 February that the UN-sponsored
Coordinating Council intended to promote confidence-building measures
between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides should be abolished unless its
effectiveness improves, Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS reported. The
Coordinating Council was established in November 1997, but has not met
since January 2001. Following the standoff last April between Russian
peacekeepers and Georgian troops in the Kodori Gorge, the Abkhaz said
they will not participate in council sessions unless Georgia withdraws
its remaining troops from the upper reaches of Kodori. LF
[20] ABKHAZ PRESIDENT'S RELATIVE GUNNED DOWN IN MOSCOW
Salibey Ardzinba, who was an unspecified relation to the Abkhaz
president, was shot dead on 3 February in the foyer of the Moscow
apartment building where he lived, Caucasus Press and Interfax
reported. Police said the crime appeared to be a contract killing. A
businessman, Salibey Ardzinba owned two restaurants in Sochi. He had
moved to Moscow only recently. LF
[21] GEORGIA ACCUSES RUSSIA OF VIOLATING CFE TREATY
In a 3 February statement cited by Caucasus Press and ITAR-TASS, the
Georgian Foreign Ministry accused Russia of deploying in the
unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia arms and military vehicles in
excess of what Russia is permitted in the North Caucasus under the
revised version of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE).
The statement demanded an explanation of why the equipment was brought
to South Ossetia and its immediate removal. On 30 January, Georgian
media reported that Russia had provided South Ossetia with large
quantities of arms and military hardware, including four tanks, 20
armored personnel carriers, several dozen grenade launchers, and a
large number of submachine guns. South Ossetian President Eduard
Kokoyty and Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Valerii Loshchinin
both denied those reports later that day (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report,"
31 January 2003). Interfax on 3 February quoted President Shevardnadze
as saying that the buildup does not pose a threat to Georgian security
and that Tbilisi will do everything possible to find a common language
with the Ossetians." On 4 February, ITAR-TASS quoted Russian Deputy
Defense Minister Colonel General Nikolai Kormiltsev as saying, "There
is not a single piece of military hardware in the zone of the South
Ossetian conflict." LF
[22] KAZAKH OPPOSITION PARTY SOFTENS STANCE TOWARD PRESIDENT
In a 31 January statement posted two days later on eurasia.org.ru, the
opposition party Democratic Choice for Kazakhstan (DVK) announced that
at a meeting of the DVK leadership on 18 January, members agreed to
adopt less confrontational tactics vis-a-vis the country's leadership.
Specifically, they decided to abandon the slogan "Kazakhstan Without
[President Nursultan] Nazarbaev." The DVK is one of two major
opposition parties whose status remains unclear after they failed to
meet stringent conditions for reregistration under the law on political
parties passed last year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24, 26, and 27 June
and 16 July 2002). The deadline for reregistration was 20 January. LF
[23] KAZAKH SENATOR RECEIVES SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
The Stepnogorsk City Court has found Marat Koishibaev guilty of
large-scale embezzlement, abuse of office, and forgery and has imposed
a 5 1/2-year suspended sentence, Interfax reported on 3 February.
Koishibaev was also barred from holding public office for two years.
Koishibaev, a member of the pro-presidential OTAN party, was elected to
the senate -- the upper chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament -- from an
Aqmola constituency in October 2002 with 80 percent of the vote. LF
[24] KYRGYZ OFFICIALS CLAIM REFERENDUM VALIDATED CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENTS...
Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Sulayman Imanbaev on 3
February announced the preliminary results of the previous day's
referendum on draft constitutional amendments, akipress.org and
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. He said that 2,128,150 voters -- or
86.36 percent of the electorate -- participated in the referendum.
Imanbaev said that 75.5 percent voted in favor of the proposed
amendments, while 10.2 percent voted against, and 78.68 percent
approved of the proposal that President Askar Akaev remain in office
until his term expires in December 2005 in order to preside over the
implementation of those amendments. Only 7.46 percent said he should
not do so. LF
[25] ...WHILE OPPOSITION SAYS TURNOUT FIGURES WERE INFLATED
Djypar Djeksheev of the opposition Public Headquarters for Monitoring
the Referendum told RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau on 3 February that the
official turnout figures for the referendum were significantly
exaggerated. He said that nationwide some 40 percent of voters
participated in the referendum, while in Bishkek the figure was no
higher than 30 percent. A minimum of 50 percent turnout was necessary
to validate the referendum. Also on 3 February, Edil Baysalov, who
heads the coalition "For Democracy and Civil Society," told
akipress.org that government officials at all levels mobilized all
their resources to falsify the outcome of the referendum. He expressed
concern that the number of registered voters both nationally and in
individual oblasts was deleted from the CEC website -- which was
periodically unavailable -- during the course of the day. Baysalov also
noted that some independent observers were denied access to polling
stations. LF
[26] TAJIK PRESIDENT SACKS EMPLOYMENT MINISTER
Addressing a cabinet session on 31 January, Imomali Rakhmonov harshly
criticized the work of the Labor and Social Security Ministry, Asia
Plus-Blitz reported on 3 February. Rakhmonov highlighted what he termed
the ministry's failure to address the problem of labor migration,
which, he continued, is a serious obstacle to sustainable economic
development. He further criticized the failure to secure agreements
with other CIS states that would create a legal foundation and
safeguards for the temporary employment of Tajik citizens abroad.
Rakhmonov subsequently issued a decree dismissing Labor Minister Rafiqa
Musoeva, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. LF
[27] RUSSIA HANDS OVER BANK FRAUD SUSPECT TO TURKMENISTAN
Murad Garabaev, one of the suspects in the theft of $41.5 million from
the Central Bank of Turkmenistan, was flown from Moscow to Ashgabat on
1 February, turkmenistan.ru reported on 3 February, citing unidentified
"reliable sources." Russian police detained Garabaev, a former Turkmen
Central Bank employee, in Moscow last fall shortly after the theft was
made public (see "RFE/RL Central Asia Report," 26 September 2002 and
"RFE/RL Newsline," 8 October 2002). LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[28] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES REGISTER CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL
ELECTION, BUT NOT ALL
The opposition Belarusian Popular Front (BNF) has managed to register
107 candidates for the 2 March local elections, Belapan reported on 3
February, quoting BNF leader Vintsuk Vyachorka. He said election
commissions rejected the applications of 47 BNF members and that many
of them were denied registration for far-fetched reasons, mostly for
alleged irregularities in income and property declarations. He cited as
an example BNF Deputy Chairman Yury Khadyka's rejection for allegedly
failing to mention 24,000 rubles ($12) in his income declaration.
Belapan also reported that the opposition Youth Front registered 20
candidates out of the 35 who applied for registration and that the
officially unrecognized opposition United Social Democratic Party
managed to place 53 candidates on ballots through the collection of
voters' signatures. In all, 24,012 seats on local soviets (councils)
will be contested in the elections. JM
[29] UKRAINE CONTINUES TO DISCUSS FURTHER LOANS FROM WORLD BANK, IMF
The allocation of the second $250 million tranche of the World Bank's
$750 million Programmatic Adjustment Loan to Ukraine is still subject
to negotiation, Interfax reported on 3 February, quoting Economy and
European Integration Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovskyy. Khoroshkovskyy
was commenting on the results of last week's visit by a Ukrainian
delegation he headed to Washington, D.C. The sum was included in
Ukraine's 2002 state budget but its allocation was later postponed by
Premier Anatoliy Kinakh's cabinet until the first quarter of 2003.
Commenting on his talks with International Monetary Fund (IMF)
representatives, Khoroshkovskyy said the fund is being "rather harsh"
in determining conditions for resuming cooperation with Ukraine. In
particular, the IMF requires that Ukraine proceed with structural and
administrative reform and increase the share of private capital in the
economy. Ukraine reportedly expects that the IMF's new loan program for
Ukraine could be implemented within three to five years, and its size
could vary from $600 million-$800 million. JM
[30] UKRAINIAN PROSECUTORS PROBE POWER ABUSE IN OIL-AND-GAS GIANT
The Prosecutor-General's Office has initiated criminal proceedings into
abuse of authority by officials of Naftohaz Ukrainy in 1998-2000, when
the company was headed by Ihor Bakay, Interfax reported on 3 February,
quoting Deputy Prosecutor-General Tetyana Kornyakova. She told
journalists that during a recent inspection of the company, prosecutors
uncovered a scheme in which Naftohaz Ukrayiny and Itera had signed a
contract for the delivery of 8 million cubic meters of gas worth
approximately $400 million. In operations involving offshore companies,
$5 million ended up in a Lithuanian bank account registered to an
individual named Yeryomin, whose identity has yet to be established. JM
[31] SOVIET PAST CLAIMS ESTONIAN INTERIOR MINISTER
Ain Seppek resigned as interior minister on 3 February after Prime
Minister Siim Kallas urged him to step down amid intense criticism over
actions Seppek took as a Soviet-era Supreme Court justice, BNS and
Reuters reported. With just one month to go before parliamentary
elections, Seppek said he wanted to avoid damage to his ruling Center
Party by "this slander campaign." Opposition parties called for
Seppik's resignation on 29 January after two newspapers reported that,
as a judge in 1985, he participated in the sentencing of five youths
opposed to Soviet rule in what was later discovered to be a highly
flawed trial. A no-confidence motion failed on 30 January, gathering
just 29 votes in the 101-seat parliament. Seppik denied any guilt and
asserted on 31 January that the accusations were not targeted against
him alone, adding that his resignation would effectively write off a
whole generation of individuals active in public life before Estonian
independence in 1991. Former President Lennart Meri and noted writer
Jaan Kros also called for Seppik's dismissal. Center Party Chairman
Edgar Savisaar nominated Toomas Varek, head of the party's
parliamentary caucus, to replace Seppek. President Arnold Ruutel
immediately approved the appointment, partly allaying fears that Prime
Minister Kallas's stand against Seppek might drive a wedge between his
Reform Party and its coalition partner. SG
[32] LATVIA LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR REORGANIZATION OF NATIONAL-SECURITY
SYSTEM
Prime Minister Einars Repse has decided to form a task force of
ministers to prepare proposals for reforming national-security
institutions, LETA reported on 3 February. In addition to Repse, it
would include Justice Minister Aivars Aksenoks, Finance Minister Valdis
Dombrovskis, Interior Minister Maris Gulbis, Foreign Minister Sandra
Kalniete, and Defense Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis. The task force
will consult with officials and experts as well as the leaders of
parliamentary commissions in preparing proposals for the government on
how and why the structure of national-security organizations should be
changed. Repse said he has received numerous proposals on how to
improve national security by reforming such organizations. He invited
any cabinet minister to sign up if they wish to work on the task force.
SG
[33] CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA SUPPORTS EU ENTRY
After a meeting with Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, Archbishop of
Vilnius Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis told reporters on 3 February that
his church will urge people to vote in favor of membership in the
European Union, BNS reported. Backis said it is still unclear how the
Catholic Church will express its opinion on the matter but emphasized
that there "will be no canvassing during the services in the churches."
The most likely method might be a public statement issued by the
Council of Bishops. SG
[34] POLISH AMBASSADOR SUMMONED FROM IRAQ
The Polish Foreign Ministry has summoned Ambassador to Iraq Andrzej
Biera for what it described as "long consultations," Polish Radio
reported on 3 February. PAP reported on 4 February that the
consultations will take place in Amman, Jordan. Poland has also
represented U.S. interests in Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War. Biera,
who is expected to leave Baghdad on 5 February, will reportedly be
accompanied by Krzysztof Biernacki, the chief of the embassy's section
dealing with U.S. interests, and one more diplomat. "We do not envisage
other decisions in the foreseeable future, but the situation is very
dynamic and has been developing all the time. That is why it is
difficult to foresee what is going to happen in the coming days,"
Foreign Ministry spokesman Boguslaw Majewski told journalists. "I
cannot confirm the information about withdrawing our diplomats
representing U.S. interests in Baghdad," Reuters quoted Majewski as
saying. JM
[35] POLISH FARMERS BLOCK ROADS OVER ECONOMIC PLIGHT
Some 3,500 farmers set up road blockades at seven locations in
Wielkopolska Province (western Poland) on 3 February, Polish media
reported, citing police sources. Protesters demanded that the
parliament pass a proposed law on biofuels as well as one on a system
of state support for the agricultural sector. They also protested low
prices for pork and milk and the European Commission's proposed subsidy
system for Polish farmers (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine
Report," 4 February 2003). Last month, President Aleksander Kwasniewski
vetoed the controversial bill on biofuels that, in the opinion of its
authors, was intended to boost agricultural production and provide
70,000-100,000 new jobs (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine
Report," 21 January 2003). "I warned time and again that these protests
will erupt if the government doesn't change its economic and social
policies," PAP quoted radical farmers leader Andrzej Lepper as saying.
JM
[36] POLAND REPORTEDLY IMPOSES FUEL LIMITS ON BELARUSIAN HAULERS
Polish customs authorities at the Berastavitsa-Bobrowniki border
checkpoint on 1 February began to inspect the amount of fuel in the
tanks of vehicles owned by Belarusian haulers, Belapan reported on 3
February, quoting a Belarusian Transport Ministry official. If the
amount of fuel exceeds the limits stipulated by Polish legislation --
200 liters for trucks and 600 liters for buses -- excise and VAT taxes
will be levied. The ministry expressed "serious concern" over the move
and stressed that it violates an intergovernmental accord reached in
Warsaw in mid-January. According to the Belarusian side, Poland
suggested at those talks that fuel limits for Belarusian haulers should
be imposed no sooner than March. JM
[37] MOST CZECH DIPLOMATS LEAVE IRAQI CAPITAL
Most of the Czech diplomats serving in Baghdad have been withdrawn and
all diplomats' families have left the Iraqi capital, CTK reported on 3
February, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Karel Boruvka. He said that
"only diplomats of lower rank who ensure the basic embassy functions"
remain. Boruvka noted that similar measures are being taken by other
European states, including Poland (see item above), and that the
Yugoslav and Spanish ambassadors to Iraq have already left for
consultations at home. MS
[38] CZECH OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY 'PALESTINIAN TERRORIST' REPORT...
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Gabriela Bartikova said on 3 February the
ministry has concluded that the Palestinian detained last week at
Prague's international airport did not intend to carry out a terrorist
attack, CTK and international news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 3 February 2003). She said the man has applied for asylum in
the Czech Republic and is now at a camp for asylum seekers. The daily
"Mlada fronta Dnes" the same day cited the ministry as saying the man
might have wanted to "provoke" Czech authorities -- and thus divert
attention from the fact that his travel papers were not in order -- by
claiming he is a member of a radical group, according to dpa. Frantisek
Bublan, director of the Office for Foreign Contacts and Information
within the Czech military-intelligence service, on 3 February told the
BBC that this was not the first incident of its kind. He said people
seeking asylum often use such tricks to attract the attention of
police. MS
[39] ...AS COMMON TRICK TO GRAB ATTENTION
The group with the detained Palestinian was traveling included seven
Palestinians and, contrary to a 3 February report in the German weekly
"Focus," was not on its way to Berlin, AP reported the same day. The
group was flying from Moscow to Beirut via Prague, and, when urged to
board the plane for Lebanon, some individuals reportedly took out razor
blades and threatened to mutilate themselves. All members of the group
demanded asylum and the detained man -- apparently intentionally --
gave the authorities a different name than that recorded in his
passport. MS
[40] CZECH OPPOSITION PARTY DEMANDS DATE FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Miroslav Topolanek on 3 February
accused the ruling coalition of undermining respect for candidates to
succeed Vaclav Havel as head of state, CTK reported. He said the three
ruling parties -- the Social Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic
Union-People's Party, and the Freedom Union-Democratic Union -- are
delaying setting a date for the third attempt to elect a president
because they are still unable to agree on a joint candidate. He said
the date of the elections must be set to comply with Czech law. (The
constitution declares that a presidential vote must be held within 30
days of that office being vacated, which in Havel's case occurred on 2
February.) Topolanek also reiterated his party's backing of its
honorary chairman, former Premier Vaclav Klaus. MS
[41] SLOVAK COMMUNISTS STAGE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST ATTACK ON IRAQ
Some 100 members of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) demonstrated
in Bratislava on 3 February against a possible war in Iraq and the
participation of Slovak soldiers in such a military action, CTK
reported. "The KSS rejects any military intervention in Iraq, be it
with the consent of the Security Council or without it," KSS Chairman
Jozef Sevc told the protesters. He accused Prime Minister Mikulas
Dzurinda of seeking to pave a path to the apex of his career with "the
blood of innocent Iraqi children." MS
[42] SLOVAK NATO OPPONENTS SAY REFERENDUM CAMPAIGN IS THRIVING
Opponents of Slovakia's entry to NATO who launched a petition drive
aimed at forcing a referendum on the issue announced on 3 February that
they have collected 100,000 signatures so far, TASR reported. Under
Slovak law, 350,000 signatures are required to compel the Slovak
president to call a referendum. MS
[43] BRATISLAVA COURT ORDERS RAILWAY WORKERS BACK TO WORK
A Bratislava District Court judge on 3 February ordered the trade
unions representing striking Slovak Railways workers to suspend the
labor action until the court rules on the legality of the strike, TASR
reported. The strike was launched on 31 January (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
3 February 2003). Also on 3 February, Premier Dzurinda, Trade Unions
Confederation Chairman Ivan Saktor, and Association of Slovak Employees
Union Confederation Deputy Chairman Jozef Kollar agreed to seek a
compromise solution to end the strike. They said they will try to use
their personal influence to achieve that goal but refused to reveal the
nature of such a solution. MS
[44] HUNGARIAN CABINET APPROVES $913 MILLION LEASE OF FIGHTER JETS
The center-left cabinet on 3 February authorized Defense Minister
Ferenc Juhasz to sign a lease contract for 14 Gripen fighter jets
manufactured by the British-Swedish BAE Systems-SAAB consortium,
Hungarian media reported. Juhasz made the announcement after a cabinet
meeting. He said the deal allows for Hungary to purchase the jets at no
extra cost once the lease expires in 2016, thus safeguarding air
defense for at least 30 years. Juhasz told reporters that Hungary will
take out a loan for the lease of the jets, which will cost 210 billion
forints ($913 million), including interest. The first jets will be
delivered to Hungary in 2006, and talks on weaponry for the jets
reportedly are still under way with a U.S. company. MSZ
[45] HUNGARIAN LAWMAKERS SUBMIT ASSET DECLARATIONS
According to the asset declarations of Hungarian parliamentarians
published in local dailies on 4 February, Prime Minister Peter
Medgyessy is the richest of Hungary's party leaders or former prime
ministers, with a considerable sum beyond his 200 million-forints-plus
($870,000) fortune placed in insurance securities. Former FIDEZS leader
and Prime Minister Viktor Orban draws a monthly salary of 770,000
forints ($3,350) as that party's honorary chairman and owes 20 million
forints in debt. Socialist Party Chairman Laszlo Kovacs has two flats
in Budapest and slightly more than 5 million forints in National
Savings Bank (OTP) investment coupons. Free Democrat Chairman Gabor
Kuncze has 18 million forints in savings and 26 million in debt.
Socialist deputy and Social Democratic Party Chairman Laszlo Kapolyi is
the wealthiest member of parliament: He draws 216 million forints in
annual dividends from his own consulting company. MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[46] WORLD COURT GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO BOSNIAN GENOCIDE CASE AGAINST
YUGOSLAVIA...
The World Court in The Hague on 3 February rejected a Yugoslav claim
that Bosnia's 1993 lawsuit against Belgrade is unlawful, paving the way
for Bosnia's genocide case to go ahead after nearly a decade of legal
wrangling, regional and international media reported. The court added
that its decision is final. Yugoslav authorities claimed that the court
has no jurisdiction in the matter, since Yugoslavia was not a member of
the UN at the time that Bosnia filed its charges. Ivan Simonovic, who
is Croatia's representative to the court, said he expects that body to
reach a similar ruling in a case that Zagreb has filed against
Belgrade, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service
reported. The World Court, also known as the International Court of
Justice, was set up after World War II to deal with claims between
states. In 1949, it ruled in favor of Britain against Albania, which it
fined $1.38 million in conjunction with the 1946 Corfu Channel incident
in which two British ships sank after hitting mines. Yugoslavia
currently has a case pending before the World Court, charging eight
NATO member states in conjunction with their actions against Serbia in
the 1999 Kosova conflict. PM
[47] ...WHICH BOSNIA WILL CONTINUE TO PRESS
Sulejman Tihic, who is the Muslim member of the Bosnian joint
Presidency, said in Sarajevo on 3 February that he expected the World
Court to reach the decision it did and that Bosnia's case will now go
forward, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported.
Vojin Dimitrijevic, an international legal expert dealing with this
case for the World Court, advised the Bosnian authorities to avoid a
long and costly legal battle and settle out of court. Predrag Simic,
who is foreign policy adviser to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica,
said, "This case is not so much about the damages claim. It seeks to
define the [nature of the] conflict in Bosnia," Reuters reported from
The Hague. Yugoslav attorney Tibor Varady noted that Belgrade has
offered to rebuild the historical Ferhadija mosque in Banja Luka, which
Serbian nationalists destroyed in 1993, if Sarajevo drops the case, AP
reported from The Hague. The mosque was built in 1583, and its
destruction was of great symbolic importance to both sides in the
conflict. PM
[48] SERBIAN RADICAL LEADER TO GO TO THE HAGUE?
In the latest chapter of the ongoing saga of Serbian Radical Party
(SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj and his possible indictment for war crimes
by The Hague-based tribunal, Seselj told a press conference in Belgrade
on 3 February that he has booked a flight to The Hague for 24 February
and will turn himself in voluntarily, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 February 2003). He added
that he "will defend Serbian interests" before the tribunal and prove
his innocence of any charges stemming from the 1991-95 conflicts in
Croatia and Bosnia, during which he was a paramilitary leader. He has
previously called his activities during those years a legitimate
defense of Serbian interests. Seselj told the 3 February press
conference that he expects formal indictments against himself and
former state security chief Jovica Stanisic to arrive in Belgrade
shortly, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported.
Florence Hartmann, spokeswoman for chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte in
The Hague, declined to comment on the Seselj case, "Vesti" reported. PM
[49] SERBIAN FORMER MAYOR SENTENCED FOR WAR CRIMES
A district court sentenced former Mayor Andjelko Kolasinac of Rahovec
to eight years in prison for war crimes against ethnic Albanian
civilians in 1998 and 1999, regional and international media reported
on 3 February. The court convicted him of aiding in deportations of
Albanians and registration of Albanians for forced labor, and of
failing to prevent looting. The court declared him innocent of charges
that he helped to conceal evidence of murder and forced deportations.
He had appealed a previous conviction and five-year sentence to the
Supreme Court, which then ordered a retrial. Kolasinac's lawyer said he
will launch another appeal on the grounds that the district court
reached its decision under unspecified pressure from local Albanians.
PM
[50] LEGISLATIVE SHOWDOWN LOOMING IN KOSOVA?
Oliver Ivanovic, a Kosovar Serbian political leader and member of the
Presidency of the Kosovar legislature, said on 3 February that
continued Serbian participation in the parliament is out of the
question if ethnic Albanian politicians go ahead with a plan to pass a
declaration on 13 February calling for the province's independence,
Deutsche Welle's Serbian Service reported from Prishtina. Ivanovic
noted that some Albanian deputies proposed the measure just after the
Serbian legislators decided to end their two-month boycott of the
parliament (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 January 2003). Serbian Prime
Minister Zoran Djindjic recently called for talks on the future status
of Kosova and for the return of Serbian security forces to the province
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 February 2003 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31
January 2003). PM
[51] YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT DEBATES CONSTITUTIONAL CHARTER
Both houses of the Yugoslav parliament are scheduled to debate the
Constitutional Charter governing relations between Serbia and
Montenegro on 4 February as well as a second document on the
implementation of the charter, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian
Languages Service reported. Both documents have already been approved
by the Serbian and Montenegrin legislatures and will take effect
immediately upon adoption by their Yugoslav counterpart (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 28 and 30 January 2003). The Serbian and Montenegrin
parliaments will elect a new joint parliament 10 days after the two
documents go into effect. PM
[52] JOINT CIVIL-DEFENSE EXERCISES IN BOSNIA
Military and civil-defense personnel from both the Croat-Muslim
federation and the Republika Srpska are scheduled to hold joint
civil-defense exercises in three separate localities on 4 February,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. The
exercises will simulate a joint response in the event of natural
disasters. PM
[53] CROATIAN-AMERICAN POLITICAL LEADER SAYS CROATIA COMMITTED
AGGRESSION AGAINST BOSNIA
Ivo Banac, the newly elected chairman of the Liberal Party, said in
Zagreb that "Croatia, unfortunately, committed aggression against
Bosnia" during the 1992-95 conflict there, the BBC's Serbian Service
reported on 4 February. Banac, who has written extensively on the
politics, history, and culture of former Yugoslavia, sharply criticized
the policies of the late President Franjo Tudjman. "Tudjman's Croatia
participated in one of the great traumas of the 20th century," he
added. PM
[54] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH ANNAN
Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana met in New York on 3 February with UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, with whom he discussed the current crisis
in Iraq, Romanian Radio reported. Geoana invited Annan to visit Romania
later this year, when a UN Information Center and UN House are to be
inaugurated in Bucharest. On 3 February Geoana began a five-day visit
to the United States. MS
[55] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT URGES PSD LAWMAKERS TO RESIGN FROM COMPANY
BOARDS
President Ion Iliescu on 3 February urged lawmakers representing the
ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) to resign from the executive
boards of state-owned or private companies to avoid possible conflicts
of interest, Mediafax reported. Iliescu spoke at a meeting with Prime
Minister Adrian Nastase and the chairmen of the two chambers of
parliament, Nicolae Vacaroiu and Valer Dorneanu. He said PSD lawmakers
should set an example by resigning from such positions, even if pending
legislation obliging parliamentarians to do so has yet to be approved.
Chamber of Deputies deputy speaker Viorel Hrebenciuc the same day
announced his resignation from the board of an insurance company "in
order to end speculation in the media about a conflict of interest."
The insurance company on whose board he sat won a tender to insure
automobiles used by Romanian parliamentarians. Earlier on 3 February,
Rompres quoted PSD Secretary-General Cozmin Gusa as saying that it is
"immoral" for anyone to use official positions to serve private
interests, and that he had no doubt Hrebenciuc would act accordingly.
MS
[56] BUCHAREST POLICE COMMANDERS REPLACED
Interior Minister Ioan Rus on 3 February replaced the entire commanding
echelon of Bucharest police for inefficiency, Romanian Radio reported.
Police commanders were also replaced in 12 other counties. Attending a
meeting the same day that reviewed the activities of Bucharest police,
Iliescu said it is "intolerable" that violence is used with "impunity"
by people who disobey the law and "intimidate whole communities," while
police display "incompetence, immorality, and corruption" in the face
of increasing delinquency. MS
[57] ROMANIAN PEASANT PARTY SUSPENDS FORMER MINISTERS FROM MEMBERSHIP
Decebal Traian Remes and Ioan Muresan were suspended on 3 February from
membership in the extraparliamentary National Peasant Party Christian
Democratic (PNTCD) for having attended meetings of the newly formed
Popular Action, which is led by former President Emil Constantinescu,
Rompres reported. The sanction is to be in force for two years.
Muresan, who was a deputy chairman of the PNTCD until his suspension,
said he does not consider the sanction valid and continues to consider
himself a PNTCD member, Mediafax reported. MS
[58] ROMANIAN PARTY LEADER TO APPEAL TO ECHR AGAINST OUTLAWING OF HIS
PARTY
Sabin Gherman, chairman of the Transylvania-Banat League, said on 3
February that he will appeal to the European Court for Human Rights
against a Bucharest Court of Appeals' decision that outlawed his party
on the grounds that its program would negatively affect national
security, Mediafax reported. Gherman's party applied for registration
at the Bucharest tribunal in October 2002. The party advocates a new
administrative system under which the country would be divided into
seven autonomous regions, each having its own parliament and receiving
65 percent of the taxes paid by the region's inhabitants. Gherman, a
former Cluj-based telejournalist, is a well-known opponent of the
unitary state and in 1998 published a manifesto entitled "I Am Fed Up
With Romania." MS
[59] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT OUTLINES EUROPEAN-INTEGRATION CONCEPT...
Speaking at a reception for members of the diplomatic corps on 31
January, President Vladimir Voronin said the opposition's insistence on
immediate European integration is an "absurd populist promise,
transformed into an aggressive political slogan designed to serve the
needs of the hour," Infotag reported on 3 February. Voronin said
Moldova must be ripe for European integration and his administration is
pursuing a three-pronged strategy to advance this objective. First, the
Transdniester conflict must be solved on the basis of European values
by granting rights to people living on both banks of Dniester River and
eradicating what caused that conflict in the first place -- chauvinism
and nationalism. Second, Moldova must become economically capable of
facing the challenges of an integrated Europe, and for this purpose
must eliminate corruption, protectionism, and clans headed by local
officials. It must also fight international lending institutions'
"practice of applying double standards" in their treatment of Moldova.
Finally, political institutions must undergo restructuring through the
devolution of power and the promotion of local self-management in line
with the practices of a market-oriented democratic state. MS
[60] ...APPOINTS NEW CHIEF NEGOTIATOR IN TRANSDNIESTER PARLEYS
President Voronin on 3 February appointed Reintegration Minister
Vasilii Sova as new chief of the Moldovan negotiating team in the
parleys under way with the Transdniester, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau
reported. Sova replaces Vasile Sturza. MS
[61] SMIRNOV INVITES OSCE MISSION TO INSPECT LOCAL ENTERPRISES
Separatist leader Igor Smirnov said on 3 February that the Tiraspol
authorities are ready to allow Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission members to monitor industrial
enterprises in the region to refute allegations that Tiraspol is
engaged in producing and trafficking illegal weapons, ITAR-TASS and
Infotag reported. According to ITAR-TASS, the proposal was handed to
OSCE mission head William Hill by separatist Foreign Minister Valerii
Litskay at a meeting in Chisinau last week. Moldova has often accused
Tiraspol of engaging in the illegal arms trade. Moldovan Foreign
Minister Nicolae Dudau spoke at length on this at the OSCE summit
meeting in Porto, Portugal, in December. MS
[62] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION CHALLENGES CONTROVERSIAL DRAFT LAW IN
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
The Constitutional Court announced on 3 February that it has accepted
an appeal by the conservative opposition United Democratic Forces (ODS)
against the controversial draft law on religious organizations adopted
by parliament (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 and 23 December 2002),
mediapool.bg reported. The ODS argues that a number of bill's
provisions pertaining to the registration of religious communities are
unconstitutional because they set different standards for the
registration of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as opposed to other
faiths. The opposition is challenging provisions in the bill that
regulate the internal structure as well as property issues concerning
the Orthodox Church (see "End Note," "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 May 2002).
UB
[63] BULGARIAN ECONOMY MINISTER CRITICIZES MUNICIPALITIES FOR HIGH
LEVEL OF CORRUPTION
Speaking to mayors from northern Bulgaria's Lovech Oblast on 3
February, Economy Minister Nikolay Vasilev said the level of corruption
is much higher in municipal administrations than in the central
administration, mediapool.bg reported. Vasilev said most foreign
investors are driven away by corrupt and ineffective local authorities,
not by state ministries. Vasilev advised the mayors to employ
English-speaking, computer-literate personnel to deal with foreign
investors. He also said it is necessary for municipalities to draw up
special business plans. Those municipalities with a high unemployment
rate should also consider setting up business parks that would exempt
tenants from corporate taxes, he suggested. UB
[64] BULGARIAN DELEGATION WRAPS UP VISIT TO KUWAIT, PROCEEDS TO IRAN
A delegation headed by parliamentary speaker Ognyan Gerdzhikov and his
deputy Unal Lutfi ended its visit to Kuwait on 3 February, BTA
reported. During their visit, representatives of Bulgarian companies
who accompanied the parliamentarians signed an agreement on the
construction of a gas pipeline in Qatar as well as on the supply of gas
masks to Kuwait. The delegation proceeded to Tehran, where they are
scheduled to meet with parliamentary speaker Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karrubi
and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi. UB
SOUTHWESTERN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
[65] RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS EXPAND WORK IN AFGHAN PROVINCES...
The opening on 2 February of the first Civil-Military Operations Center
(CMOC) in Gardayz, the capital of Paktiya Province, marked another step
in the shift of emphasis by U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan
increasingly to promote reconstruction of the country rather than just
security, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported on 4
February. The Gardayz CMOC should serve as " a place for NGOs,
international institutions, and others to meet, exchange information,
and facilitate the rebuilding" of the area, according to IRIN.
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), which include U.S. civilian and
military personnel, began work in Gardayz in December (see "RFE/RL
Afghanistan Report," 30 January 2003). Ben Mixon of the Gardayz CMOC
said PRTs have "already completed the reconstruction of 10 schools,
three wells, and one health clinic" in and around the city, IRIN
reported. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Robert Finn said new PRTs will
start to work in additional provinces each month, adding that the
central Bamyan Province is next in line, according to IRIN. Afghan
Reconstruction Minister Mohammad Amin Farhag said the PRTs will help
his government "focus on larger, long-term reconstruction work," IRIN
added. AT
[66] ...AS AFGHANS EXPRESS GRATITUDE BUT WANT THEIR VOICES HEARD
Sher Mangal, a tribal leader from Paktiya Province, said his people
want the PRTs to construct schools, clinics, bridges, and irrigation
systems, but he added that if their purpose is "more than
reconstruction and the center [CMOC]...is established to deceive people
and achieve concealed objectives, we will not tolerate such
activities," Hindukosh News Agency reported on 3 February. Mangal did
not elaborate on what he meant by "concealed objectives." Wakil
Amanullah, a tribal elder, expressed his gratitude for the
reconstruction projects under way and said the projects are
concentrated in the city of Gardayz, adding that no plans have been
presented by the PRTs "regarding reconstruction in other parts of the
province," Hindukosh reported. AT
[67] AFGHAN PRESIDENT HINTS HE WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION...
Hamid Karzai, head of Afghanistan's Transitional Administration, said
on 3 February that he is "very strongly" committed to Afghanistan
holding national elections next year under the requirements of the 2001
Bonn Agreement, but he added that "he may not run in them for a full
term as elected president," "The Washington Post" reported on 4
February. "There may be a real possibility that I will not run," Karzai
is quoted as saying, adding that he does not want Afghanistan "to
develop personality cults or icons." Karzai said he wants to see other
candidates come forward to give Afghans a choice in selecting their
next leader. Possible candidates include former President Burhanuddin
Rabbani, current Interior Minister Yonus Qanuni, and unspecified
associates of former Afghan King Mohammad Zahir, "The Washington Post"
reported. AT
[68] ...AS PROSPECTS FOR ELECTIONS LOOK DIM
Although Afghanistan is required under the Bonn Agreement to hold
general elections in June 2004, the prospects for such voting are a
"daunting one in a country still fighting Islamic extremists and with
powerful militia leaders still controlling many of the provinces," "The
Washington Post" reported on 4 February. However, the alternative also
poses dangers for Afghanistan, the paper added, particularly since
there are no mechanisms in the Bonn Agreement for transferring power in
the event that the president is unable to perform his duties.
Afghanistan does not have a history of smooth successions, and the last
time a planned transfer of power took place without coercion or
bloodshed was in 1901. AT
[69] MAZAR-E SHARIF HOSTS CONFERENCE ON FEDERALISM
A seminar titled "Federalism in the Future Afghan Political System" was
held in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif on 1 February, Radio
Free Afghanistan reported on 2 February. Enayatullah Shahrani presented
his proposed federal system for Afghanistan at the gathering, the
broadcaster added. In response to Shahrani's proposal, a participant
and deputy to the Loya Jirga, Mohammad Azam Dadfar, said that without
peace, security, and the establishment of a democratic system in which
suffrage and free speech are guaranteed to all Afghans, any discussion
of a federal system is impossible since the people would have no voice
in its selection. The conference established a commission to draft a
study on a model of federalism for Afghanistan. The seminar concluded
by issuing a report expressing the desire for a federal, democratic
parliamentary system or a union in which all central and provincial
organs of government are chosen by direct and secret ballot and in
which people in the provinces have a right to choose their own leaders.
(For more on the issue of federalism and the future Afghan
constitution, see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report," 16 January 2003). AT
[70] UNODC ASSESSES IMPACT OF AFGHAN OPIUM ON IRAN
The Iranian authorities in 2000 identified 90 places in Khorasan
Province and 50 places in Sistan va Baluchistan Province at which
opiates from Afghanistan enter the country, according to a UN Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report released on 3 February entitled "The
Opium Economy in Afghanistan"
(http://www.odccp.org/pdf/afgopiumeconomywww.pdf). This pattern
shifted in 2001 and Sistan va Baluchistan was used more frequently.
Most of the opium that enters Iran is meant for domestic consumption,
while the heroin and morphine is normally intended for foreign markets
and leaves via the border with Turkey, Iran's southern coast, and the
borders with Azerbaijan and with Turkmenistan. Nevertheless, some 29
tons of heroin is consumed in Iran annually. Iran's Drug Control
Headquarters estimates that counternarcotics efforts cost the country
as much $1 billion a year and that Iranian criminal groups make more
than $1 billion a year in gross profits from Afghan opiates. BS
[71] IRAN TO BUILD SCHOOLS IN AFGHANISTAN
A delegation from the Iranian Education and Training Ministry on 3
February signed an agreement in Kabul to cover the expenses of building
five and rebuilding another 10 schools in Afghanistan, according to an
Afghan Education Ministry press release cited by IRNA and Kabul
Television. The Iranian delegation also said Iran is prepared to
provide pedagogical training and physical-education training, and it is
ready to rebuild the Afghan Education Ministry's publishing house and
to launch an educational-television channel. According to IRNA, only 3
million of Afghanistan's 4.5 million primary-school-age children had
enrolled in schools by 21 December 2002. BS
[72] IRANIAN OFFICIAL: STATE OF THE UNION COMMENTS BASED ON
MISINFORMATION
Guardians Council member and former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad
Yazdi said during the 31 January Friday prayer sermon that although
U.S. President George W. Bush in his 28 January State of the Union
address did not repeat the "axis of evil" phrase he used in his 2002
address, "he could not leave well enough alone and he did not leave
Iran out of what he said," state radio reported. Yazdi said Iran is not
pursuing weapons of mass destruction, and he rejected accusations of
human rights violations. Bush's comments are based on misinformation,
Yazdi said. "Do you think that if two people phone up a phony
imperialist radio like your Radio Farda and say something, or if
someone in some corner of the country phones up Radio Farda, then that
is what the Iranian nation is saying?" he asked the congregation. BS
[73] STONINGS WILL CONTINUE
Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi told visiting EU
Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten on 3 February that
executions by stoning are seen as a way of protecting the family, state
television reported. "At present, we are not considering a substitute
for that punishment," Shahrudi said. Shahrudi said the West has double
standards regarding human rights, terrorism, and weapons of mass
destruction. Shahrudi asked, "Why is it that today -- while Israel is
engaged in perpetrating state terrorism in Palestine; and America,
without any regard for the UN Security Council resolutions, is
preparing to attack a country -- the EU is showing no reaction?" BS
[74] IRANIAN BALLISTIC MISSILE APPEARS ON TELEVISION
Iran's single-stage solid-fuelled Fateh A-110 (formerly Mershad)
short-range ballistic missile has been shown on Iranian television,
"Jane's Defense Weekly" reported on 3 February. It was the first visual
evidence of this missile's existence. According to Jane's, the missile
has an inertial guidance system with a global-positioning system, and
its control fins can shape its trajectory for low-level flight and
maneuvering. It is believed to have a range in excess of 200
kilometers. The missile has been launched from a fixed platform but it
is believed that a mobile, wheeled launcher has been developed for it.
BS
[75] JUDICIARY TO INVESTIGATE ACTIVIST'S COMPLAINTS
Judiciary chief Ayatollah Hashemi-Shahrudi in a 3 February letter to
Parliament Speaker Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karrubi said that any complaints
by national-religious activist Ezatollah Sahabi will be looked into,
the "Iran Daily" reported on 4 January. Sahabi had written to Karrubi
and to President Mohammad Khatami that security personnel harassed him
in prison and this has continued since his release (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 3 February 2003). Shahrudi also said Sahabi should make his
complaint through the proper channels, rather than sending letters to
the press. BS
[76] POLLSTERS' SENTENCES INCREASE...
The court has added one year each to the sentences of Ayandeh Research
Institute Managing Director Hussein Qazian and board member Abbas Abdi,
IRNA reported on 4 February, citing the daily "Abrar." The original
sentences were handed down on 2 February (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3
February 2003), and this brings Qazian's and Abdi's total prison terms
to nine and eight years, respectively. The third clause of the
indictment against them, which focuses on the alleged collection of
classified documents, remains open pending responses from the Ministry
of Intelligence and Security, the president's office, the Supreme
National Security Council, and other bodies. ISNA reported on 3
February that Qazian has been granted a temporary release. BS
[77] ...BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
Tehran Justice Department chief Abbas Ali Alizadeh said during a 3
February gathering at the Fayzieh seminary in Qom that confidential,
secret, and top-secret documents were found at the homes of pollsters
Abdi and Qazian, ISNA reported. These documents contained information
about Iran's army and the country's military capabilities. Abdi and
Qazian provided this information to the Washington-based Gallup
Organization, Alizadeh claimed, and were paid a total of up to 450
million rials (approximately $56,000) on three separate occasions.
Alizadeh added that the Justice Department has not had the chance to
study the documents to determine their origins. BS
[78] IRAQI PRESIDENT BRIEFED BY ARMY COMMANDERS...
President Saddam Hussein was briefed by commanders of the Al-Quds Army
brigade in a meeting broadcast on Iraq Satellite Television on 3
February. Several commanders briefed Hussein on the level of readiness
of their divisions. One unidentified brigadier general spoke of having
upgraded light weapons and vehicles, while another said that "eight air
rifles were purchased for each and every firing range" and "recruits
have achieved 80 percent [of their] target hits." The latter brigadier
general noted that his division has "ranges for violent training."
Another commander noted that his men have been trained to use
laser-guided rifles. Yet another commander said his units were trained
in using "supporting weapons" -- the training of which involved a mock
landing of a foreign force in the area of Tal Al-Lahm. "We and our
fighters are ready now for martyrdom more than ever before," one
brigadier general told the Iraqi president. Hussein was also told that
recruits have been trained to read maps and move over rough terrain. KR
[79] ...AND SAYS U.S. RIDING A 'CRAZY MULE'
President Hussein evidently believes that any upcoming confrontation
with U.S.-led forces will be at close range and on the ground. He told
his commanders that he hopes the British will tell the United States
about their experience in Iraq in 1920. "The Iraqis were poor. They
fought the British Army with axes and shovels," Hussein said. "The
difference was between the stick and cannon and between machineguns and
old rifles. Despite this, the Iraqis defended the honor of the homeland
and defeated the British Army," he said. "If [the British], give [the
United States] this piece of advice, then they will be rewarded by God
and humanity," he said. "They should enlighten the Americans so that
they will not continue to ride a crazy mule." Hussein added that he
recognizes the technological disparity between the Iraqi and U.S.
armies, but said, "We are superior in other fields." Hussein then
advised his commanders to remain vigilant and continue training their
recruits. KR
[80] UNMOVIC FINDS MISSILE MOLDS AT AL-NIDA'
An UNMOVIC team of biological inspectors visiting the Al-Nida' State
Company located in a Baghdad suburb "noticed the existence of a
neglected small-missile mold whose size is 20 centimeters in diameter,"
according to a report by Iraq Television on 3 February. According to
the report, inspectors were given "the necessary technical
clarifications regarding the reason for the existence of this mold
there," and "additional clarifications would be provided later."
Inspectors also "noticed" the "existence of a modified warhead for a
70-kilometer Luna missile, which Iraq Television reported as "a
neglected and damaged warhead." "The head of the [inspection] team was
told that this warhead is neglected and has nothing to do with the
previous banned programs," according to the report. Iraq Television
added that the modified warhead was listed in a 1996 report to the UN
Special Commission (UNSCOM) and again in the December 2002 declaration
to UNMOVIC. The Al-Nida' State Company has been inspected several times
by both UNMOVIC biological and missile inspectors. It is affiliated
with the Iraqi Military Industrialization Organization and manufactures
molds and spare parts for missiles, according to previous statements by
UNMOVIC. UNMOVIC has yet to release a statement on the 3 February
inspection. For further information on this and other inspections, see
RFE/RL's "Tracking Inspections" webpage
(http://www.rferl.org/specials/iraq-inspec/). KR
[81] TURKEY CONTINUES WITH PREPARATIONS FOR REFUGEE INFLUX
The Turkish government and international aid agencies continue to
prepare for the possibility of a massive influx of refugees across the
Iraqi border, should a U.S.-led military strike against Iraq occur in
the coming weeks. "Anatolia" reported on 3 February that the Red
Crescent Society has begun to assign personnel to refugee camps that
are being constructed along the border. The Ankara-based newspaper
reported that Red Crescent will erect tents outside the Turkish town of
Zakho, located approximately 10 kilometers from the southeastern border
crossing of Habur. "More than 300 people who were working at public
institutions and organizations in the southeastern provinces of Sirnak
and Mardin [will] be assigned to those camps," "Anatolia" quoted
unidentified sources as saying. The newspaper also quoted "sources" as
saying that 24,000 tents will be erected outside the town of Sirnak in
the event of a massive influx of Iraqi refugees. Meanwhile, Istanbul's
NTV reported on 2 February that a "comprehensive humanitarian-aid
drill" will take place on 5 February in "the area of [a] tent city
[near the Habur border crossing] where some 200 tents have been erected
so far." KR
[82] BRITISH PRIME MINISTER STILL FAVORS UN ROUTE
British Prime Minister Tony Blair on 3 February briefed the House of
Commons on his weekend trip to the United States to meet with U.S.
President George W. Bush. "We are entering the final phase of a 12-year
history of the disarmament of Iraq," he said in his comments posted on
Downing Street's website
(http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page1.asp). "President Bush and I
agreed we should seek maximum support for [a second UN Security
Council] resolution, provided, as ever, that seeking such a resolution
is a way of resolving the issue [and] not delaying or avoiding dealing
with it at all," he said. "I continue to believe [that] the UN is the
right way to proceed," Blair added, saying there "is an integrity in
the process set out in [Security Council Resolution] 1441 and we should
follow it." Blair went on to stress that the U.K. should exhibit
weakness on the issue of Iraq. "Show weakness now and no one will ever
believe us when we try to show strength in the future," he said. KR
[83] SPANISH PRIME MINISTER SAYS HE HAS 'EVIDENCE' THAT IRAQ IS A
THREAT
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar told Spain's Europa Press news
agency on 3 February that he has confidential information that proves
President Hussein's regime represents a threat to "peace, world
security, and to Spain," the Spanish daily "El Pais" reported. Aznar
told Europa Press that all governments "have information that Saddam
Hussein's regime, from the biological and chemical weapons it has and
its links to terrorist groups, does, in effect, represent a threat to
peace, to world security, and to Spain. We have sufficient evidence to
that effect," Aznar said. KR
END NOTE
[84] There is no End Note today.
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