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RFE/RL Newsline, 03-02-05
CONTENTS
[01] PUTIN, BUSH CONFER ON IRAQ...
[02] ...AS ECONOMIC ADVISER SAYS WAR IN IRAQ WOULD HARM RUSSIA
[03] RUSSIA CREATES ITS OWN LIST OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
[04] RUSSIA, PAKISTAN SEEK CLOSER TIES
[05] HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO DEATHS OF MOSCOW
[06] ...AS LIBERAL DEPUTY FINDS HE CAN'T FIGHT PROSECUTOR-GENERAL
[07] INTERIOR MINISTRY CREATES ANTIEXTREMISM UNIT
[08] PUBLIC DISAPPOINTED IN PARTY OF POWER?
[09] REGIONAL BUDGETS WIND UP IN DEFICIT...
[10] ...AS SPENDING PRIORITIES SHIFTED IN DECEMBER
[11] HEADS OF GAZPROM, MEDIA MINISTRY MEET TO DISCUSS NTV
[12] WRITER/ACTIVIST COMPARES HIMSELF TO 19TH-CENTURY RADICAL...
[13] ...AS CELLMATES COMPARE HIM TO 'ENERGIZER BUNNY'
[14] INSULIN IN ULYANOVSK: BAD QUALITY AND NOT ENOUGH OF IT
[15] CHECHEN HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY CONDEMNS MASKHADOV STATEMENT
[16] OSCE GROUP TO VISIT CHECHNYA
[17] ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER STABBED
[18] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT STILL PARALYZED
[19] ARMENIA, RUSSIA CONTINUE TALKS ON FUEL DEBTS
[20] AZERBAIJANI POLICE AGAIN RAID PROTEST VILLAGE
[21] OSCE EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER LAWSUITS AGAINST AZERBAIJANI PRESS
[22] GEORGIAN 'FORCE' MINISTERS ACCUSED OF PREPARING 'VELVET COUP'
[23] ONE MAN DETAINED FOR ATTACK ON GEORGIAN OPPOSITION PARTY
[24] PRESIDENT PREDICTS GEORGIA COULD JOIN NATO WITHIN THREE YEARS
[25] EU PEACEKEEPERS FOR GEORGIA A NON-STARTER?
[26] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO ITALY
[27] KYRGYZ COURT SENTENCES ALLEGED ISLAMIC MILITANT
[28] KYRGYZSTAN'S SECURITY INCREASED
[29] TURKMENISTAN BROADENS DEFINITION OF TREASON
[30] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SEEKS TO RAISE IRAQI SPIRITS
[31] BELARUSIAN TV CHIDES U.S. AMBASSADOR FOR MEETING WITH OPPOSITION
[32] UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT SLAMS U.S. DRIVE TOWARD WAR WITH IRAQ
[33] UKRAINE, RUSSIA REGISTER INTERNATIONAL GAS-TRANSPORT CONSORTIUM
[34] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT DECRIES POOR RELATIONS WITH WASHINGTON...
[35] ...URGES PARLIAMENT TO AMEND ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING LEGISLATION...
[36] ...AND PLEDGES TO SUBMIT CONSTITUTIONAL-REFORM BILL
[37] NATO GENERAL PRAISES ESTONIAN STAFF REFORM
[38] LATVIAN GOVERNMENT FIRES TOP TAX MAN
[39] DISCLOSURES SUGGEST LITHUANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPENT
[40] POLAND ACCEPTS EU OFFER OF MIXED FARM SUBSIDIES
[41] POLISH FARMERS CONTINUE PROTESTS
[42] CZECH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS FLOAT SURPRISING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE...
[43] ...BUT ENCOUNTER OBJECTIONS OF COALITION PARTNERS
[44] SLOVAK PARLIAMENT TO DELAY DEBATE ON TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN KUWAIT?
[45] FORMER SLOVAK INTELLIGENCE CHIEF'S LAWYERS CLAIM THEIR PHONES ARE
[46] HUNGARIAN PREMIER DEFENDS IRAQ MOVES
[47] HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT OVERRIDES PRESIDENTIAL VETO OF SOCIAL
[48] STATE OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO IS BORN...
[49] ...AND THE 'REAL WORK' BEGINS
[50] SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DELEGATION VISITS THE VATICAN
[51] ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR SON OF FORMER SERBIAN LEADER
[52] BODIES OF KOSOVARS CONTINUE TO BE FOUND IN SERBIA
[53] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER CONTINUES HIS KOSOVA CAMPAIGN
[54] GERMAN ADMIRAL OUTLINES EU MISSION IN MACEDONIA
[55] IMF REMAINS SKEPTICAL OF MACEDONIAN BUDGET
[56] REGIONAL PRESIDENTS TO MEET IN ALBANIA
[57] CROATIA AND U.S. SIGN MILITARY-COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[58] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TELLS PSD LEADERS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN POLITICS
[59] ...AS PREMIER SAYS LEGISLATION PENDING ON PROHIBITING POLITICIANS
[60] EU NEGOTIATOR SAYS ROMANIA ON ROAD TO MARKET ECONOMY
[61] NATIONALIST ROMANIAN MAYOR TO BE DISMISSED?
[62] ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE CHIEF SEES 'NATIONAL STATE' IN
[63] COUNCIL OF EUROPE OFFICIAL SAYS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD ACCEPT
[64] ...BUT MOLDOVAN COMMUNIST OFFICIAL NIXES THEM
[65] MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION LEADER LEAVES FOR UNITED STATES
[66] CHISINAU MAYOR SAYS SECURITY SERVICES TRAIL HIS STEPS
[67] U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALLY ASKS BULGARIA FOR MILITARY SUPPORT IN
[68] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULES ON PRESENCE OF ALLIED TROOPS ON
[69] AFGHAN TROOPS CLASH WITH SUSPECTED TALIBAN, HIZB-E ISLAMI TROOPS
[70] ...AS COALITION FORCES CONTINUE TO SCOUR MOUNTAIN HIDEOUTS
[71] UN CHILDREN'S FUND RAIDED IN AFGHANISTAN
[72] AFGHAN NGO SAYS REFUGEE RETURNS HAVE DIVERTED ESSENTIAL FUNDING
[73] BRITISH PRIME MINISTER OFFERS SUPPORT TO AFGHAN PRESIDENT
[74] AFGHAN FARMERS DETAINED FOR PROTESTING OPIUM ERADICATION
[75] IRANIAN CLERIC HOSPITALIZED
[76] IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEADS TO LONDON
[77] FIVE IMPRISONED IRANIAN JEWS GET FURLOUGHS
[78] IRAN EXTRADITES ALLEGED TURKISH ASSASSIN
[79] SHIA LEADER DESCRIBES RIFT WITH IRAN
[80] KHAMENEI: IRANIAN BROADCASTERS MUST COUNTER ENEMY PROPAGANDA
[81] IRAN BRACES FOR FOOD SHORTAGES
[82] ARMED FORCES SUSPICIOUS OF U.S. INTENTIONS
[83] IRAQI PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY NOT INTERESTED IN WAR...
[84] ...AND SURMISES THAT U.S. WANTS TO 'CONTROL THE WORLD'
[85] KUWAIT EXTENDS CLOSED MILITARY ZONE
[86] UNMOVIC CHIEF SAYS TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR IRAQ
[87] FRENCH PRESIDENT TO DECIDE 'WHEN THE TIME COMES'
[88] U.S., RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS CONFER ON IRAQ
[89] U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY GIVES COMMANDER FRANKS VOTE OF
[90] ...SAYS COMMAND ROLE NOT THREATENED
[91] CORRECTION:
[92] There is no End Note today.
5 February 2003
RUSSIA
[01] PUTIN, BUSH CONFER ON IRAQ...
President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush on 4
February discussed the Iraq crisis by telephone, Russian and Western
news agencies reported. Bush reportedly called Putin to express
Washington's opinion that the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
continues to resist international efforts to disarm it. Putin repeated
Moscow's position that UN weapons inspections should continue, and the
reports of inspectors should serve as the basis for further action,
which must be initiated and approved by the UN Security Council. Bush
reportedly previewed for Putin U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's 5
February presentation to the United Nations, in which he is expected to
argue the U.S. position and demand further action against Baghdad, TVS
reported on 4 February. The station commented that Moscow will not
resist the seemingly inevitable U.S. military action against Iraq, but
is continuing its efforts to delay it. VY
[02] ...AS ECONOMIC ADVISER SAYS WAR IN IRAQ WOULD HARM RUSSIA
President Putin's economic adviser Andrei Illarionov told journalists
in Moscow on 5 February that a war in Iraq would have unfavorable
consequences for the Russian economy, RIA-Novosti reported. If Iraq's
oil infrastructure were damaged, already high global energy prices
would rise further, and Russia and the rest of the world would
experience "sticker shock." Illarionov said that a peaceful solution to
the Iraq crisis would be much better for Russia, particularly one that
led to the gradual opening of the Iraqi oil market over a period of
12-18 months. Under such a scenario, Russia would experience short-term
problems as energy prices declined, but over the long term would move
toward diversifying its economy and overcoming its "addiction to oil,"
Illarionov said. VY
[03] RUSSIA CREATES ITS OWN LIST OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
The Federal Security Service (FSB) on 4 February handed over to the
Prosecutor-General's Office a list of 15 Russian and international
organizations that have been officially deemed "terrorist
organizations" by the Russian government, RIA-Novosti reported. Most of
the organizations on the list are based in the Middle East and at least
seven of them are also on a similar list compiled by the U.S. State
Department, including Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan. Russia's list, however, does not include some
U.S.-listed Palestinian organizations. The FSB list does include two
Chechen extremist organizations -- the Supreme Military Majlisul Shura
of United Mojaheds of the Caucasus, which is headed by Chechen field
commander Shamil Basaev, and the Congress of Peoples of Daghestan and
Ichkeria, whose co-leaders are Basaev and his ideologue Movladi Udugov.
VY
[04] RUSSIA, PAKISTAN SEEK CLOSER TIES
President Putin met in the Kremlin on 5 February with Pakistani
President General Pervez Musharraf, Russian and Western news agencies
reported. Putin noted that relations between the two countries have
developed rapidly since Pakistan joined the international antiterrorism
coalition following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the
United States. During his three-day visit to Moscow, Musharraf will
work to boost economic ties with Russia and to strengthen military
cooperation, even though Russia is the main military supplier to India,
strana.ru commented on 5 February. Moscow is also interested in closer
military ties with Pakistan, whose main military suppliers at present
are China and Ukraine. Pakistan's trade volume with Russia in 2002 was
about $98 million, compared with $1 billion in trade with Ukraine. VY
[05] HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO DEATHS OF MOSCOW
THEATER HOSTAGES...
Lev Ponomarev, director of the NGO For Human Rights, has asked the
Prosecutor-General's Office to open an investigation into the security
services' use of a sleeping gas during the 23-26 October hostage taking
at a Moscow theater, "Vremya novostei" reported on 4 February. About
120 hostages died during the incident, almost all of them from the
effects of the sleeping gas (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 October 2002).
The authorities have denied that the deaths were avoidable, blaming
them on the fact that the hostages had been weakened by their more than
50 hours' captivity (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 October 2002). "We
believe that responsibility for the deaths lies with the Moscow
government, which failed to provide [the hostages] with qualified
medical assistance, and with those in the security services and higher
up who ordered the use of [the gas]," Ponomarev told the newspaper. He
added that the names of those responsible should be established and
made public in order to avoid similar tragedies in the future. VY
[06] ...AS LIBERAL DEPUTY FINDS HE CAN'T FIGHT PROSECUTOR-GENERAL
A Moscow court ruled on 4 February against a lawsuit filed by State
Duma Deputy Sergei Kovalev (SPS), who sought to declare some of
Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov's actions unlawful, Interfax
reported. Kovalev accused Ustinov of evading a formal State Duma
request to produce documentation regarding the prosecutor's inspection
of the FSB's purported antiterrorism exercise in Ryazan on 22 September
1999. On that day, it was initially reported that powerful explosives
had been found in a residential building. Later, however, FSB Director
Nikolai Patrushev claimed the "explosives" were really sacks of sugar
that had been placed in the building as part of an FSB drill (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 24 and 27 September 1999). Since then, some human
rights activists and others have speculated that the FSB intended to
blow up the building in order to generate public support for a new
military campaign in Chechnya. According to grani.ru, Kovalev said he
will appeal the court's decision. Kovalev has also filed a lawsuit
against Patrushev, the website reported, and the first hearing in that
case is expected to be held on 19 February. JAC
[07] INTERIOR MINISTRY CREATES ANTIEXTREMISM UNIT
The Interior Ministry's Main Organized Crime Directorate has formed a
subunit to monitor extremist youth organizations, including skinheads
and sports-fan groups, Russian news agencies reported on 5 February,
citing a press conference by the directorate's head Valerii Komarov.
The new unit is headed by Aleksandr Grichanin, Ekho Moskvy reported.
Komarov told reporters that police have registered an increase in
violent crimes -- particularly in crimes targeting foreigners --
committed by such groups over the last year. Komarov estimated that
there are 15,000-20,000 skinheads in Russia, including about 5,000 in
the Moscow area and 3,000 in St. Petersburg, where there are also an
estimated 40-50 "aggressively oriented" sports groups, newsru.com
reported. He said that extremist groups committed 140,000 crimes in
2002; 71 criminal cases were filed; 31 of them were brought to trial;
and 16 people were convicted, nns.ru reported. Komarov also alleged
that there are forces in Russia that "try to gain political capital" by
attracting young people to join informal extremist groups and that
these efforts are often supported by mass media outlets. The new
Interior Ministry subunit will focus on preventing extremist crimes,
Komarov said. VY
[08] PUBLIC DISAPPOINTED IN PARTY OF POWER?
The leadership of Unified Russia is "seriously worried" about polling
results last month that showed that the party with the support of only
14 percent of respondents compared with 27 percent in December (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January 2003), "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on
4 February. Leonid Sedov -- a sociologist with the All-Russian Center
for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM), which conducted the poll --
ascribed much of the ratings decline to changing the names within the
party leadership. In December, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei
Shoigu, Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov, and Tatarstan President Mintimer
Shaimiev were listed as the party's leaders, but in January, the name
of Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov, who is not as popular as Shoigu or
Luzhkov, was listed alone. Gryzlov was named head of the party's High
Council in late November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 November 2002).
However, the daily argued, "Obviously, this was not the only factor."
According to the newspaper, many experts believe Unified Russia's
rating fell because of a cutback in the party's national advertising
campaign. Andrei Ryabov of the Moscow Carnegie Center concludes that
perhaps the rating fell because of the party's failure to live up to
promises made in its advertising. "Unified Russia declared that it
controlled the governors and the government." But when the freezing
population looked for solutions to the recent heating crisis (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 9, 10, and 13 January 2003), it found that the
"influence of Unified Russia was close to zero," Ryabov argued. JAC
[09] REGIONAL BUDGETS WIND UP IN DEFICIT...
Last year the consolidated budget of the 89 subjects of the federation
showed a deficit, as almost two-thirds of the regions could not make
ends meet, "Vedomosti" reported on 4 February. According to data from
the Finance Ministry on 3 February, the deficit totaled 44.12 billion
rubles ($1.4 billion), or 0.4 percent of GDP. Aleksandr Andryakov, an
analyst with the Economic Experts Group, told the daily that because of
tax reforms, regional tax revenues fell by 0.2 percent of GDP, while
the wages of state-sector workers have risen by 70 percent since the
end of 2001. According to Andryakov, the number of "unprofitable"
regions rose from 42 in 2001 to 63 last year. JAC
[10] ...AS SPENDING PRIORITIES SHIFTED IN DECEMBER
Dmitrii Belousov, a leading expert at the Center for Macroeconomic
Analysis, told the daily that the ministry's data should not be
considered final, and that with additional calculations the deficit
could shrink. According to Belousov, a kind of "end-of-the-year" effect
occurs because regional leaders in December finally disburse money for
pet construction projects. The daily notes that according to Finance
Ministry data, some 30 billion rubles ($909 million) were expended
under the construction category in December compared with 100 billion
rubles for the year as a whole. JAC
[11] HEADS OF GAZPROM, MEDIA MINISTRY MEET TO DISCUSS NTV
Media Minister Mikhail Lesin met on 3 February with Gazprom head
Aleksei Miller to discuss the personnel situation at NTV, Russian news
agencies reported. After the meeting, Lesin told journalists that
Miller will meet with NTV's leading journalists on either 7 or 10
February. On 30 January, NTV's Executive Board unanimously passed a
no-confidence resolution in the station's new director, Nikolai
Senkevich (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January 2003). On 31 January,
Gazprom-Media head Aleksandr Dybal met with NTV Editor-in-Chief Tatyana
Mitkova and other leading journalists to discuss the issue. JAC
[12] WRITER/ACTIVIST COMPARES HIMSELF TO 19TH-CENTURY RADICAL...
A Saratov court has dropped some of the charges against National
Bolshevik Party leader Eduard Limonov, including the allegation that he
called for the overthrow of the country's constitutional order, Ekho
Moskvy reported on 4 February. Limonov was convicted of other charges,
including organizing an armed formation and illegal weapons possession,
on 31 January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 February 2003) and is currently
awaiting sentencing. In an interview with a Saratov television station
the same day, Limonov said that he is being prosecuted in the same way
as the 19th-century writer Nikolai Chernyshevskii, regions.ru reported
on 4 February. Limonov explained that Chernyshevskii, who was born in
Saratov, was arrested in July 1862 in connection with an antigovernment
proclamation that he didn't actually sign. "After Soviet power, after
70 years of the dictatorship of the proletariat, we see that our
valiant special services have turned to the methods of 140 years ago
and the time of Chernyshevskii," Limonov said. Chernyshevskii wrote his
most famous book, "What Is To Be Done?," while in prison, and it had an
enormous impact on Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. Limonov has written
seven books since his arrest in April 2001 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6
December 2002). JAC
[13] ...AS CELLMATES COMPARE HIM TO 'ENERGIZER BUNNY'
When asked why his fellow prisoners at Moscow's Lefortovo Prison gave
him the nickname "the Energizer," Limonov in the same interview
responded that he is fairly energetic. While at Lefortovo, he was
constantly walking or running, and he never slept during the day. He
also occupied himself by reading Lenin's works and letters. JAC
[14] INSULIN IN ULYANOVSK: BAD QUALITY AND NOT ENOUGH OF IT
Diabetics in Ulyanovsk will appeal to President Putin for help in
securing a readily available supply of insulin, "Simbirskii kurer," No.
18, reported. Long queues have reportedly formed at the region's
pharmacies and clinics for the medicine, and to receive free insulin,
area diabetics must wait for months at a time. Deputy Ulyanovsk Oblast
Governor Valerii Kurochek told the newspaper that everything is in
order and that supplies of enough "Bryntsalov" insulin have been
purchased. "Bryntsalov" insulin is manufactured by a firm owned by
State Duma deputy and pharmaceutical tycoon Vladimir Bryntsalov.
However, a Health Ministry endocrinologist said the "quality of the
'Bryntsalov' insulin leaves a lot to be desired." Another issue is that
many patients cannot afford to purchase their own insulin supplies.
Each bottle costs 253 rubles ($8), and generally a diabetic requires at
least four bottles a month, according to the paper. Pensions for those
with medical disabilities are typically around 800 rubles a month. JAC
[15] CHECHEN HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY CONDEMNS MASKHADOV STATEMENT
Abdul-Khakim Sultygov told journalists in Moscow on 4 February that
President Aslan Maskhadov's televised address to the Chechen people on
2 February was illegal, ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4
February 2003). Also on 4 February, a senior Russian officer argued
that Maskhadov's videotaped address, in which he denounced the planned
23 March referendum on a new draft constitution, testifies to the
Chechen resistance's realization that the adoption of the constitution
and new elections will lead to "their inevitable political demise,"
ITAR-TASS reported. LF
[16] OSCE GROUP TO VISIT CHECHNYA
Following talks in Moscow on 4 February with Foreign Minister Igor
Ivanov, Netherlands Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who is the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
chairman-in-office, said that the OSCE will send a "special mission" to
Chechnya to determine whether conditions on the ground are conducive to
holding the planned referendum, Reuters reported. He also said that the
OSCE and Russia will continue discussions, which he predicted will not
be easy, on a long-term OSCE presence in Chechnya. Moscow has refused
to extend the mandate of the OSCE mission in Chechnya, which expired on
31 December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 and 24 January 2003). LF
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[17] ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER STABBED
Parliament deputy Hayk Babukhanian, a leading member of the Union for
Constitutional Rights (SIM), was assaulted and stabbed in the back on 4
February while campaigning in the town of Artashat on behalf of
presidential candidate Aram Karapetian, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's
Armenian Service reported. Babukhanian's driver sustained head injuries
in the attack. Babukhanian was hospitalized in Yerevan, and his life is
reportedly not in danger. A local SIM activist told RFE/RL that
Babukhanian was attacked after he fired a shot into the air in an
attempt to scare off a group of some 30-40 men who had confronted the
campaigners and demanded they leave town. The men were reportedly under
the influence of drugs and alcohol. SIM Chairman Hrant Khachatrian
alleged that the attackers were acting on orders from Minister of Local
Government Hovik Abrahamian, a native of Artashat who is a key player
in incumbent President Robert Kocharian's election campaign. Kocharian
condemned the assault on Babukhanian in a statement issued later on 4
February, Noyan Tapan reported. LF
[18] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT STILL PARALYZED
The opening of the Armenian parliament spring session was again
postponed on 4 February because of the lack of a quorum, Noyan Tapan
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 February 2003). Parliament Chairman
Armen Khachatrian commented that the absence of numerous deputies is
"normal," as political parties are involved with the upcoming
presidential election. He added that parliament will return to its
normal legislative activity after the 19 February ballot. LF
[19] ARMENIA, RUSSIA CONTINUE TALKS ON FUEL DEBTS
President Kocharian met on 4 February with visiting Russian Industry
and Science Minister Ilya Klebanov to discuss bilateral economic
issues, including approaches to repaying Armenia's outstanding $32
million debt to Russia for nuclear fuel, Russian news agencies
reported. Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said last week that
the Armenian government has not yet reached a decision on Moscow's
offer to take over financial and management operations of the Medzamor
nuclear-power plant in payment of the debt. Klebanov told journalists
there have been "small positive signs" that Georgia might soften its
opposition to the proposed resumption of rail traffic from Russia via
Abkhazia to Armenia, ITAR-TASS reported. LF
[20] AZERBAIJANI POLICE AGAIN RAID PROTEST VILLAGE
Masked uniformed police launched an assault early on 5 February on some
100 protesters encamped on the main square of the village of Nardaran
near Baku, Turan reported. Villagers claimed police opened fire without
warning and began beating the protesters, injuring eight of them and
detaining 15. They also claimed an unidentified gas was used during the
assault. A statement issued by the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry and
Prosecutor-General's Office said the operation was undertaken to
apprehend persons charged with staging mass unrest and with using force
against representatives of the authorities. The statement said the
protesters refused to give themselves up to the police and opened fire.
Police clashed with Naradan residents in June 2002, killing one and
injuring 34 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3, 4, and 5 June 2002). Eighteen
people are currently on trial for their alleged involvement in those
clashes. LF
[21] OSCE EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER LAWSUITS AGAINST AZERBAIJANI PRESS
Speaking in Vienna on 4 February, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the
Media Freimut Duve expressed his alarm over the use of defamation suits
against independent newspapers in Azerbaijan, according to an OSCE
press release issued the same day. Duve noted that 13 lawsuits have
been brought in recent months against the newspaper "Yeni Musavat,"
which must pay three fines totaling 100,000 euros ($109,197). Also on 4
February, Baku's Sabayil Raion court ruled that "Yeni Musavat" must
publish a refutation of articles it published in October and November
2002 falsely claiming that Czech businessmen Viktor Kozeny was suing
two former State Property Committee officials in a U.S. court, Turan
reported. But the court rejected a demand by one of the two officials
to close the paper for three years. LF
[22] GEORGIAN 'FORCE' MINISTERS ACCUSED OF PREPARING 'VELVET COUP'
Caucasus Press on 5 February quoted Georgian Interior Minister Koba
Narchemashvili as saying he will not deign to respond to what he termed
Tbilisi City Council Chairman Mikhail Saakashvili's "absurd"
allegations that the interior and national security ministers have
discussed the possibility of staging a "velvet" coup to oust President
Eduard Shevardnadze before the parliamentary elections due this fall.
Saakashvili made those allegations in a 4 February interview with the
independent television station Rustavi-2. Narchemashvili commented that
he believes they were intended to discredit him and his colleagues. LF
[23] ONE MAN DETAINED FOR ATTACK ON GEORGIAN OPPOSITION PARTY
One man has been detained on suspicion of participating in the 3
February attack on the Tbilisi headquarters of the moderate opposition
New Rightists party, Caucasus Press reported on 4 February. Also on 4
February, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi issued a statement condemning the
violence and urging the Georgian authorities to identify the
perpetrators and bring them to trial. The Georgian National Security
Council was expected to discuss the incident at its session on 5
February. LF
[24] PRESIDENT PREDICTS GEORGIA COULD JOIN NATO WITHIN THREE YEARS
President Shevardnadze has announced that although he predicted
following the NATO Prague summit that Georgia could join the Atlantic
alliance in three years, his "friends in the West" subsequently
informed him that Georgia could join NATO even sooner, Caucasus Press
reported on 4 February. Speaking at RFE/RL in Prague on 21 November,
Shevardnadze said he realized that it would take "more than one or two
years" for Georgia to reach the standards required of NATO armies (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 21 November 2002). Also on 4 February, Georgian
Defense Minister Lieutenant General David Tevzadze complained that the
79 million laris ($37.6 million) allocated to his ministry in the 2003
budget is inadequate, Caucasus Press reported. That sum is more than
double the 36 million laris the ministry received last year. Tevzadze
said that virtually the entire 79 million laris will be used to finance
Georgia's contribution to the U.S. sponsored "Train and Equip" program
and that there will be no cash left to pay 14 months' wage arrears to
officers and servicemen. LF
[25] EU PEACEKEEPERS FOR GEORGIA A NON-STARTER?
ITAR-TASS on 4 February quoted an EU official as saying Georgia has not
addressed any request to the EU to provide troops from its embryonic
Rapid Reaction Force to replace the CIS peacekeepers currently deployed
in the Abkhaz conflict zone. Interfax similarly quoted Georgian
presidential adviser Levan Aleksidze as saying the use of the EU force
in Abkhazia is out of the question. Aleksidze also expressed doubt that
the EU would intervene in the Abkhaz conflict, given that Georgia is
not an EU member. Shevardnadze mentioned the possibility of an EU force
for Abkhazia at a press conference in Tbilisi on 3 February. LF
[26] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO ITALY
Nursultan Nazarbaev arrived in Rome on 3 February and met the following
day with his Italian counterpart Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and with ENI
Managing Director Vittorio Mincato, khabar.kz and eurasia.org.ru
reported. Ciampi noted Kazakhstan's role in promoting stability in
Central Asia and Afghanistan, according to Russian news agencies.
Mincato, whose company is engaged in oil and gas extraction in
Kazakhstan, praised the level of cooperation between ENI and the Kazakh
government. LF
[27] KYRGYZ COURT SENTENCES ALLEGED ISLAMIC MILITANT
Following a two-day trial, a court in Batken Oblast handed down a
25-year prison sentence on 4 February to 41-year-old Sherali Akbotoev
on charges related to his alleged membership of the banned Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and Russian news
agencies reported. Akbotoev was found guilty of terrorism, hostage
taking, and membership of an illegal armed group. Akbotoev testified
that in August 1999 he helped mediate the release of hostages taken by
a group of IMU militants who then forced him to join them, but that he
voluntarily gave himself up to the Kyrgyz Embassy in Tehran after the
collapse of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, with whom the IMU had
aligned. Akbotoev's activities between late 1999 and late 2001 remain
unclear. Interfax quoted him as saying that he never took part in
combat actions, but only served as press secretary to IMU leader Djuma
Namangani. LF
[28] KYRGYZSTAN'S SECURITY INCREASED
The military threat to Kyrgyzstan's security has been significantly
reduced in 2002, thanks primarily to the country's active cooperation
with fellow members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization
and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Defense Minister
Colonel General Esen Topoev told a press conference in Bishkek on 4
February, akipress.org reported. Topoev noted that Kyrgyzstan currently
hosts the headquarters of the CIS Rapid Reaction Force, CIS and SCO
antiterrorism centers, and a military base used by the international
antiterrorism coalition. Topoev said a decision will be made in April
on deploying Russian military aircraft at the Kant air base as part of
the CIS Rapid Reaction Force, Interfax reported. LF
[29] TURKMENISTAN BROADENS DEFINITION OF TREASON
The Turkmen press has printed a resolution of the country's parliament
that enumerates actions regarded as treason, ITAR-TASS and
turkmenistan.ru reported on 4 and 5 February, respectively. They
include preparing or undertaking for political actions that pose a
threat to the lives and health of the population, attempts to inflict
economic or political damage on the country, attempts to undermine the
population's faith in the domestic and foreign policies of the
president, and attempts on the life and health of the president or to
seize power by force and change the constitutional system or urging
others to do so. Failure to inform the authorities of plans by others
to undertake such actions is likewise qualified as treason. Such
actions are punishable by life imprisonment. LF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
[30] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT SEEKS TO RAISE IRAQI SPIRITS
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on 4 February received the credentials
of new Iraqi Ambassador Salman Zeidan and assured him that the
determination manifested by Iraq in defending its independence will be
rewarded, Belapan reported, quoting the presidential press service.
Lukashenka recalled that Minsk supported Baghdad in its struggle "to
stabilize the situation" even when Iraq "was fighting in fact alone for
its sovereignty," the agency added. The same day, the Palestinian
National Administration opened an embassy in Minsk, and Lukashenka
accepted credentials from Palestinian Ambassador Muntaser Fuada Abu
Zeid. JM
[31] BELARUSIAN TV CHIDES U.S. AMBASSADOR FOR MEETING WITH OPPOSITION
CANDIDATES
"The U.S. ambassador to Belarus [Michael Kozak] has begun an election
campaign," Belarusian Television's main newscast, "Panarama," reported
on 4 February. The commentary pertained to Kozak's trip to Homel on
27-29 January, when the U.S. diplomat transferred a $190,000 donation
by the U.S. armed forces toward the reconstruction of a local hospital
and reportedly met with candidates running in the 2 March local
elections from the opposition Belarusian Popular Front, the United
Civic Party, and the United Social Democratic Party. "This is probably
the first case of the participation of a diplomat in elections in a
foreign country," Belarusian Television added. The network chided Kozak
for bias in favor of the opposition and for failing to meet with "other
candidates" in Homel. JM
[32] UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT SLAMS U.S. DRIVE TOWARD WAR WITH IRAQ
The Verkhovna Rada on 4 February passed a resolution condemning
apparent U.S. plans to launch an attack against Iraq, UNIAN reported.
The resolution was supported by 243 of the 427 deputies registered in
the session hall. The same day, President Leonid Kuchma said Ukraine
will respect any decision by the UN Security Council on Iraq. "We share
the concern that Iraq might have chemical, bacteriological, or nuclear
weapons," Kuchma noted. JM
[33] UKRAINE, RUSSIA REGISTER INTERNATIONAL GAS-TRANSPORT CONSORTIUM
Ukraine's Naftohaz and Russia's Gazprom have registered an
international consortium to manage the transport of natural gas across
Ukraine, UNIAN reported on 4 February, quoting Naftohaz head Yuriy
Boyko. The consortium is being set up on a parity basis under last
year's agreement between the Ukrainian and Russian governments (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 9 October 2002). The same day, President Kuchma said
other countries, including Italy and France, might be invited to
participate in the consortium. Kuchma said trilateral
Ukrainian-Russian-German talks on the consortium, originally scheduled
for this week, have been postponed until July, "not at Ukraine's
initiative." JM
[34] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT DECRIES POOR RELATIONS WITH WASHINGTON...
President Kuchma told a news conference on 4 February that he regrets
the lack of improved relations between Ukraine and the United States
since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian and international news
agencies reported. "On my word, I do not know what else we need to do
to change the mind of the United States," Reuters quoted Kuchma as
saying. The Ukrainian president reiterated that Ukraine has proven its
innocence to U.S. and British experts probing allegations that Kyiv
sold Kolchuga radar systems to Iraq despite UN sanctions. The Bush
administration in its 2004 budget request cut aid allocations to
Ukraine to $94 million from $155 million planned for 2003. JM
[35] ...URGES PARLIAMENT TO AMEND ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING LEGISLATION...
At the same 4 February news conference, President Kuchma called on
lawmakers to amend a number of economic laws this week in order to make
the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) "more loyal
to Ukraine," UNIAN reported. A dozen countries have so far heeded a
FATF recommendation to introduce sanctions against Ukraine over the
country's lax effort to combat money laundering. "We were warned about
the introduction of sanctions two years ago, and [only] we are to blame
for delaying the adoption of appropriate laws and making a political
problem out of an economic one," Kuchma said. JM
[36] ...AND PLEDGES TO SUBMIT CONSTITUTIONAL-REFORM BILL
Also on 4 February, President Kuchma pledged to submit a draft bill to
parliament this month on amending the constitution and reforming the
political system in Ukraine, UNIAN reported. "There is no sense in
waiting until the Constitutional Commission starts to work," Kuchma
said, referring to the body he created following his announcement in
August of systemic political reform in Ukraine. "It is necessary to
transfer the discussion [of political reform] to the parliamentary hall
and move on," he added. Kuchma also expressed his conviction that the
current cabinet of Premier Viktor Yanukovych will survive until the
presidential election in 2004. JM
[37] NATO GENERAL PRAISES ESTONIAN STAFF REFORM
After talks with defense forces commander Vice Admiral Tarmo Kouts,
Chief of Staff Colonel Alar Laneman, and other top military personnel
on 4 February, the commander of NATO's Joint Headquarters Northeast
praised defense reforms undertaken by the Estonian armed forces, BNS
reported. Lieutenant General Jan Scharling said the adoption of the
joint-staff principle was another step toward NATO membership.
Scharling also visited the Baltic Defense College in Tartu the same day
and was scheduled to tour the Amari air base and airspace-monitoring
center near Paldiski before departing on 5 February. SG
[38] LATVIAN GOVERNMENT FIRES TOP TAX MAN
The cabinet voted unanimously to dismiss State Revenue Service Director
General Andrejs Sonciks without debate on 4 February, LETA reported.
Ministers had temporarily dismissed Sonciks in November, citing his
office's failure to recover tax debts owed by the Dinaz Nafta oil
company (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 November 2002). The State Civil
Service Administration conducted a probe and also recommended his
firing. Sonciks, who was appointed to the post in August 1996, said the
case against him was investigated in a one-sided manner and pledged to
appeal his dismissal through the courts. He said he was late providing
investigators with his explanations because he was ill and is still
undergoing treatment for "progressive stenocardia," or chest pains. SG
[39] DISCLOSURES SUGGEST LITHUANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPENT
EQUALLY
Official disclosures on campaign spending presented to the Chief
Election Commission on 4 February contradict claims that Rolandas
Paksas's presidential victory over Valdas Adamkus was fueled by much
higher spending, "Lietuvos zinios" reported the next day. According to
those reports, Paksas collected 3.29 million litas ($960,000) and spent
all but 120 litas ($35), while Adamkus collected just 1.86 million
litas and spent 3.07 million litas. The 1.2 million-litas debt is to be
covered by the Valdas Adamkus Foundation. Paksas's main campaign backer
was the Avia Baltika helicopter-repair company, which donated 1.2
million litas. The Adamkus campaign received almost 850,000 litas from
ethnic Lithuanians living in the United States. Paksas aired many more
television commercials than his rival, pushing his media expenditures
(television, radio, and press) some 700,000 litas higher than those of
Adamkus. SG
[40] POLAND ACCEPTS EU OFFER OF MIXED FARM SUBSIDIES
The Polish government on 4 February accepted the EU's proposal of a
hybrid system of direct farm subsidies, PAP reported, quoting Polish
Prime Minister Leszek Miller. Under the EU-proposed system, in the
first year of EU membership all Polish farmers would get 25 percent of
the full EU subsidy based on farm size. Higher production-based grants
would only be given to farmers whose products are subsidized within the
EU. Following the EU summit in Copenhagen in December, Miller told
Polish farmers that all of them will receive 55, 60, and 65 percent of
the full EU subsidy over the first three years of EU membership,
respectively, based on farm size (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and
Ukraine Report," 4 February 2003). Miller admitted that after the
Copenhagen summit he assumed that all farm subsidies will be paid out
under one system and did not realize that payments above the 25 percent
level are subject to other laws. Agriculture Minister Jaroslaw
Kalinowski backed the mixed subsidy system. "I can say with full
responsibility that what we have secured for ourselves in Copenhagen
and later during the year is good and will give Polish agriculture a
chance for growth," Kalinowski said. JM
[41] POLISH FARMERS CONTINUE PROTESTS
Some 3,000 farmers, mostly in Wielkopolska Province, staged a second
day of road blockades on 4 February, halting traffic at some 30
locations, PAP reported. Police used force at some locations to restore
order. Farmers complain that government agricultural policy makes
farming unprofitable. They also are pressing for higher purchase prices
of pork and higher subsidies to milk, calling for lawmakers to overturn
a presidential veto on a biofuels bill, and demanding "honest"
information about the EU. JM
[42] CZECH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS FLOAT SURPRISING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE...
Social Democratic Party (CSSD) deputies in the lower house on 4
February overwhelmingly chose Deputy Premier and Justice Minister Pavel
Rychetsky to be the party's candidate in the legislature's third
attempt to elect a president, CTK reported. Rychetsky was selected
ahead of two academicians and potential candidates, Charles University
Rector Ivan Wilhelm and Vice Rector Pavel Klener. Wilhelm had already
announced he will not run because he will not accept Communist backing,
while Klener said the next day that he has withdrawn from the contest,
according to CTK. The possibility of a Rychetsky candidacy first
emerged at a weekend meeting of the CSSD leadership. Rychetsky said he
will agree to run only if his candidacy is backed by the two junior
coalition partners, the Christian Democratic Union-People's Party
(KDU-CSL) and the Freedom Union-Democratic Union (US-DEU). Two attempts
to elect former President Vaclav Havel's successor ended in stalemates
on 15 and 24 January. MS
[43] ...BUT ENCOUNTER OBJECTIONS OF COALITION PARTNERS
After Rychetsky's selection by CSSD colleagues, Prime Minister Vladimir
Spidla said he will immediately meet with the leaderships of the two
coalition partners and stressed that his own position remains that the
coalition must field a joint candidate, CTK reported. US-DEU Chairman
Petr Mares instantly deemed Rychetsky unacceptable to his party and
said the choice shows there is no realistic alternative to direct
presidential elections. KDU-CSL Chairman and Foreign Minister Cyril
Svoboda expressed surprise at CSSD's choice and said that party is
unable to nominate a candidate capable of rallying the support of all
81 CSSD deputies and senators. The opposition Civic Democratic Party
(ODS) -- whose honorary chairman, former Premier Vaclav Klaus, has
remained its presidential candidate throughout -- on 4 February
proposed that direct presidential elections be held in June, alongside
the planned referendum on EU accession, CTK reported. MS
[44] SLOVAK PARLIAMENT TO DELAY DEBATE ON TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN KUWAIT?
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) Deputy Chairman Rudolf Ziak
told journalists on 4 February that his party wants to postpone the
parliamentary debate scheduled for the following day on Slovak troop
deployments to Kuwait, TASR reported. According to a decision taken by
the government on 29 January (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 January 2003),
75 members of the Slovak antichemical-, antibacteriological-, and
antinuclear-warfare unit are to be deployed there ahead of a possible
military action against Iraq. They are to join a Czech unit already
stationed in that country. Ziak said the opposition HZDS wants the
debate postponed until the UN Security Council takes a stand on
possible military action against Iraq. If the Slovak parliament's vote
is not postponed, Ziak said, his party wants the deployment of Slovak
troops to be conditional on a Security Council resolution allowing for
military intervention. The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), a
member of the center-right coalition, says it is opposed to the
deployment "under current circumstances." Without KDH or HZDS support,
the legislature might well reject the government's decision. MS
[45] FORMER SLOVAK INTELLIGENCE CHIEF'S LAWYERS CLAIM THEIR PHONES ARE
TAPPED
Lawyers representing former Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) Director
Ivan Lexa claimed on 4 February that their telephone conversations are
being monitored by the Interior Ministry, TASR reported. One of the
lawyers, former HZDS parliamentary deputy Jan Cuper, said Lexa's
lawyers are being harassed because they are defending "a prisoner of
conscience of [Premier Mikulas] Dzurinda's regime." The lawyers said
they are ready to provide evidence regarding their allegations to the
parliamentary committee overseeing SIS activities. Lexa is facing
charges of fraud, sabotage, trafficking in illegal weapons, and abuse
of office. He was extradited from South Africa in July, two years after
fleeing the country. Charges of masterminding the 1995 abduction of
former President Michal Kovac's son were dropped after the Supreme
Court ruled that an amnesty granted in 1998 by former Premier Vladimir
Meciar to Lexa and others believed to have been involved in the
abduction was constitutional. MS
[46] HUNGARIAN PREMIER DEFENDS IRAQ MOVES
Addressing lawmakers on 4 February at parliament's first spring
session, Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said Hungary's growing
international stature is reflected by the fact that the country was
asked to sign a letter supporting U.S. President George W. Bush over
Iraqi disarmament last week (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 and 31 January
and 3 February 2003), Hungarian media reported. Opposition FIDESZ
deputy Zsolt Nemeth responded that signing the "gang of eight" letter
was "a servile and irresponsible act" by Medgyessy, since it has
divided the European Union. Nemeth asked whether it was wise to
"unleash the wrath of France and Germany on us." Opposition Democratic
Forum deputy Karoly Herenyi said signing the letter was a hasty move.
FIDESZ also released a statement saying, "There is every indication
that Peter Medgyessy and his government are on the side of war,"
"Nepszabadsag" reported on 5 February. The statement says the current
"clumsy governmental tone" is being dictated by Socialist campaign
adviser Ron Werber, whom it labels a "well-known professional
hate-mongering craftsman." MSZ
[47] HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT OVERRIDES PRESIDENTIAL VETO OF SOCIAL
AMENDMENTS
Legislators on 4 February passed a social-legislation package that was
sent back to the house for reconsideration by President Ferenc Madl in
December, Budapest dailies reported. Madl and the opposition voiced
constitutional concerns, saying the amendments would negatively affect
church institutions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 December 2002 and 7
January 2003). According to the amended law, churches will be paid
state subsidies based on whether taxpayers choose to offer 1 percent of
their income-tax obligations rather than on census data. The opposition
FIDESZ and Democratic Forum also argue that it is unacceptable for
churches to be required to conclude contracts with local governments in
order to gain access to budgetary funds for providing social services.
MSZ
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[48] STATE OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO IS BORN...
Both houses of the Yugoslav parliament on 4 February approved the
Constitutional Charter of the new state of Serbia and Montenegro and a
second document that outlines how that state will be set up within 30
days, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported.
The new polity came into being immediately after the legislative vote,
replacing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which then-President
Slobodan Milosevic established on 27 April 1992. The former Yugoslavia
ceased to exist in late June 1991, when Milosevic's policies prompted
Slovenia and Croatia to declare independence. Bosnia and Macedonia
later followed suit. Milosevic kept the name Yugoslavia to capitalize
on the former state's legitimacy and to reinforce his claim to its
assets (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 March, 20, 23, and 27 December 2002;
17, 28, and 30 January and 4 February 2003; and "RFE/RL Balkan Report,"
15 February 2002). PM
[49] ...AND THE 'REAL WORK' BEGINS
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in Brussels on 4 February
that the "real work" now lies ahead of the Serbs and Montenegrins,
RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported (see
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," 6 December 2002 and 17 January 2003). In
Belgrade, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said: "The government,
which will be formed very soon, will unblock the process of our
European integration, which in the course of the past few months has
[encountered] a number of difficulties. The main reason was that
international organizations did not know who their [negotiating]
partner was. The IMF [International Monetary Fund], the World Bank, and
the EU wondered whether we were going to succeed in forming a union, or
whether [the prolonged political wrangling] was a process leading to a
crisis." He added that the new state might have a greater chance of
succeeding than did the three former states that used the name
Yugoslavia, because Serbia and Montenegro is more limited in its
"ideals and...goals." Most observers, however, have argued that the new
state might not survive the three years minimum until each republic is
allowed to hold a referendum on independence. PM
[50] SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DELEGATION VISITS THE VATICAN
Metropolitan Amfilohije and a delegation of Serbian Orthodox Church
leaders began a visit to the Vatican on 4 February, RFE/RL's South
Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. They are scheduled to
meet with Pope John Paul II on 6 February. On 23 January, the Belgrade
weekly "NIN" published a special supplement on the role of the Holy See
in the 1999 Kosova crisis. PM
[51] ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR SON OF FORMER SERBIAN LEADER
A court in Pozarevac has filed charges against and issued arrest
warrants for Marko Milosevic, the son of the former president, and his
associate, Vladislav Asanin, in conjunction with the abduction and
mistreatment of opposition supporter Zoran Milovanovic in March 2000,
Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported. At that time, young Milosevic is
alleged to have threatened to cut Milovanovic "into pieces" with a
chain saw unless he divulged the names of local members of the Otpor
(Resistance) opposition organization and their sources of financial
support. Marko Milosevic disappeared from public view soon after his
father's ouster in October 2000 and is believed to be living somewhere
in the former Soviet Union. PM
[52] BODIES OF KOSOVARS CONTINUE TO BE FOUND IN SERBIA
Gvozden Gagic, who heads the department of missing persons in the
government's Coordination Center for Kosova, said in Kursumlija that
more than 900 bodies of Kosovar Albanians were found at three locations
in central Serbia in 2002, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported on 3
February. Most of these presumed victims of Milosevic's policies in
Kosova in 1998-99 have not been identified. A further 11 bodies were
found in January. PM
[53] SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER CONTINUES HIS KOSOVA CAMPAIGN
Djindjic has sent letters to U.S. President George W. Bush, Russian
President Vladimir Putin, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to urge
an early resolution of Kosova's status, RFE/RL's South Slavic and
Albanian Languages Service reported on 4 February (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 February 2003 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31 January
2003). In Prishtina, the Presidency of the Kosovar parliament confirmed
that some ethnic Albanian deputies have proposed a measure calling for
independence, but added that the measure will not be taken up without
consultations with all parliamentary political parties and Michael
Steiner, who heads the UN civilian administration (UNMIK). The deputies
put forward the measure in response to a passage in the preamble of the
Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro that refers to Kosova
as part of Serbia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 November and 9 and 12
December 2002). PM
[54] GERMAN ADMIRAL OUTLINES EU MISSION IN MACEDONIA
German Admiral Rainer Feist, who is NATO's deputy supreme allied
commander in Europe and slated to head the upcoming EU military mission
in landlocked Macedonia, told Deutsche Welle on 4 February that the EU
mission will be largely indistinguishable from its NATO predecessor
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2003). This applies to goals,
personnel, and military infrastructure and logistics, he added. The
main difference will be that the EU, not NATO, will have political
responsibility for the mission. This will prepare the EU to take on
similar missions elsewhere in the future and enable NATO to concentrate
its efforts in Macedonia on preparing that country for membership in
the Atlantic alliance, Feist noted (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 22
November 2002). PM
[55] IMF REMAINS SKEPTICAL OF MACEDONIAN BUDGET
Representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remain
skeptical about the government's ability to reduce the budgetary
deficit, "Utrinski vesnik" reported on 5 February. According to the
daily, the government was able to cut the $150 million deficit by
almost 50 percent by reducing public expenditures. However, the IMF
doubts that the reduction was achieved through long-term measures and
might therefore necessitate unpopular tax increases. The large
budgetary deficit is mainly due to the previous government's
free-spending policies as well as to enormous expenditures for income
support and unemployment benefits (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 20
December 2002). UB
[56] REGIONAL PRESIDENTS TO MEET IN ALBANIA
President Alfred Moisiu of Albanian will soon play host to his Croatian
and Macedonian counterparts, Stipe Mesic and Boris Trajkovski, to
discuss their joint efforts at achieving NATO membership, RFE/RL's
South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported on 5 February (see
"RFE/RL Balkan Report," 22 November 2002). PM
[57] CROATIA AND U.S. SIGN MILITARY-COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Croatian Defense Minister Zeljka Antunovic and U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense Mira Ricardel signed an agreement in Zagreb on 5
February aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction
and promoting military cooperation, dpa reported. Antunovic noted that
the agreement "enables Croatia to participate in the international
fight against terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction,
and gives the United States another partner in that field." PM
[58] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TELLS PSD LEADERS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN POLITICS
AND BUSINESS...
President Ion Iliescu on 4 February told a meeting of the ruling Social
Democratic Party's (PSD) leadership and parliamentarians that those of
them who are engaged in business must stay away from politics and vice
versa, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Iliescu said businessmen may
be members of a political party, but should not have official functions
or represent it. The president also said legislation that would make it
obligatory for politicians to declare their assets should be approved
without delay. MS
[59] ...AS PREMIER SAYS LEGISLATION PENDING ON PROHIBITING POLITICIANS
FROM SERVING ON COMPANY BOARDS
Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said on 4 February that the government
will "assume responsibility" later this month for a package of
anticorruption legislation, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Among
the stipulations in the envisaged draft laws is one prohibiting
parliamentarians from serving on the executive boards of private or
state-owned companies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 February 2003).
"Assuming governmental responsibility" is a constitutional provision
that makes it possible for the cabinet to pass legislation without
debating it in parliament, if a no-confidence motion is not submitted
within 72 hours after such responsibility has been assumed. MS
[60] EU NEGOTIATOR SAYS ROMANIA ON ROAD TO MARKET ECONOMY
Vasile Puscas, Romania's chief negotiator with the EU, said on 4
February that Romania is striving to fulfill all EU criteria for a
"functioning market economy," Mediafax reported. Romania was the only
EU candidate that did not receive market-economy status in a European
Commission report last year. Puscas said that to achieve this
objective, Romania must finalize the process of privatizing state-owned
companies, liberalize prices and commerce, pass legislation on property
rights, and attract a higher volume of foreign investment. MS
[61] NATIONALIST ROMANIAN MAYOR TO BE DISMISSED?
Cluj Deputy Prefect Dan Canta on 4 February officially demanded that
Gheorghe Funar, the extreme-nationalist mayor of Cluj, be dismissed,
Mediafax reported. Canta said Funar has approved paying mayoralty
employees "shame-compensation bonuses." Canta said a mayor who
considers work financed from the public budget as "shameful" has no
other alternative than to resign. MS
[62] ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE CHIEF SEES 'NATIONAL STATE' IN
DANGER
Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Director Radu Timofte has told SRI
staff that Romania's "existence as a national state" is in danger of
being undermined, Mediafax reported on 4 February. Timofte also said an
evaluation report by the SRI has concluded that the banking system and
the population's savings are threatened by pressure stemming from the
"underground economy." He warned that discontent among the population
as a result of the undermining of the country's "security assets" could
encourage the rise of extremist movements. MS
[63] COUNCIL OF EUROPE OFFICIAL SAYS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD ACCEPT
REFERENDUMS...
Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer said on 4 February
that the Moldovan authorities should agree both to the referendum on
changing the electoral system proposed by the Braghis Alliance and to
the Popular Party Christian Democratic's (PPCD) initiative on a
referendum on joining NATO and the EU, Infotag reported. Schwimmer made
the statement last week, after meeting members of the Moldovan
delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE). He also recommended that the Permanent Roundtable set up last
year on PACE's recommendations should be restructured and include only
five or six political parties and some nongovernmental organizations.
The roundtable was conceived as a forum for dialogue between the
government and the authorities. MS
[64] ...BUT MOLDOVAN COMMUNIST OFFICIAL NIXES THEM
Victor Stepaniuc, leader of the Party of Moldovan Communists'
parliamentary group, said on 4 February that many of the proposals
Schwimmer made are unacceptable, Flux reported. Stepaniuc said the
Permanent Roundtable was set up to include all existing political
parties, parliamentary as well as nonparliamentary. He said there are
36 registered parties in Moldova and neither PPCD leader Iurie Rosca
nor Braghis Alliance Chairman Dumitru Braghis has the right to decide
who should take part in the forum and who should not. MS
[65] MOLDOVAN OPPOSITION LEADER LEAVES FOR UNITED STATES
PPCD Chairman Rosca left on 4 February for a visit to the United States
at the invitation of the World Romanian Council, an organization
representing ethnic Romanians in that country. Sources from the PPCD
leadership told RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau that Rosca is to meet with
members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate to present
the opposition's positions on developments in Moldova. President
Vladimir Voronin paid an official visit to Washington in December. MS
[66] CHISINAU MAYOR SAYS SECURITY SERVICES TRAIL HIS STEPS
Chisinau Mayor Serafim Urechean claimed at a meeting of the Municipal
Council on 4 February that the Moldovan Security and Information
Service is trailing him and that he intends to appeal to international
public opinion, Flux reported. "I am being shadowed wherever I go, even
when I meet friends. They want to know what I eat and what I drink,"
Urechean said. MS
[67] U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALLY ASKS BULGARIA FOR MILITARY SUPPORT IN
IRAQI STANDOFF
Government spokesman Dimitar Tsonev announced on 4 February that
Bulgaria has received an official request by the United States for
logistical support in the event of a military operation against Iraq,
BTA report. The U.S. government asked Bulgaria to grant overflight and
transit rights as well as to allow the presence of U.S. and coalition
troops on Bulgarian territory. It has also asked the Bulgarian Army to
deploy an antinuclear-, antibiological-, and antichemical-warfare unit
to the crisis area, but not directly to Iraq. Prime Minister Simeon
Saxecoburggotski has informed the largest opposition parties' leaders
-- Sergey Stanishev of the Socialist Party (BSP), and Nadezhda
Mihailova of the conservative Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) -- of
the U.S. request, "Sega" reported. It is expected that the government
will ask parliament in the coming days to decide on the request. UB
[68] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULES ON PRESENCE OF ALLIED TROOPS ON
BULGARIAN TERRITORY
The Constitutional Court ruled on 4 February that, according to the
constitution, troops from countries with which Bulgaria has signed
military or political agreements are not considered foreign troops,
mediapool.bg reported. The court ruled that the government can allow
such troops to enter and cross the country without requesting
parliament's permission. The government also has the right to deploy
Bulgarian troops abroad to participate in allied military operations.
However, this requires parliament to pass a law defining the country's
rights and obligations deriving from any international military or
political agreement. President Georgi Parvanov had asked the court to
determine whether the constitution must be amended for the country to
join NATO (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 January 2003). UB
SOUTHWESTERN ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
[69] AFGHAN TROOPS CLASH WITH SUSPECTED TALIBAN, HIZB-E ISLAMI TROOPS
NORTH OF KANDAHAR...
Provincial corps commander General Khan Mohammad said on 5 February
that fighting broke out north of Kandahar on 4 February between
government forces and "Taliban and Hizb-e Islami forces," Reuters
reported. "Three people have died on our side, and two were wounded,"
Khan Mohammad said, adding that "five of the enemy were killed, and
that toll could rise." The fighting was continuing as of 5 February. On
27 January, Hizb-e Islami troops battled with coalition forces in the
Adi Ghar Mountains in the most intense fighting in Afghanistan in nine
months (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 January 2003). Military officials
have expressed concern that radical leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has
allied his Hizb-e Islami with Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in an effort
to carry out his proclaimed intention of ousting foreign troops from
Afghanistan. MES
[70] ...AS COALITION FORCES CONTINUE TO SCOUR MOUNTAIN HIDEOUTS
Coalition forces following up on last week's fighting in the Adi Ghar
Mountains on 4 February used F-16 jet fighters to bomb a cave complex
there that is believed to be a hideout for Hizb-e Islami forces,
international media reported. U.S. military spokesman Colonel Roger
King said four caves were destroyed by coalition bombs on 4 February
and that 46 caves have been inspected and 15 destroyed since last
week's battle. "Those caves that show evidence of improvements by
humans or occupation are destroyed," King said. MES
[71] UN CHILDREN'S FUND RAIDED IN AFGHANISTAN
Armed men broke into the central Kabul offices of the UN Children's
Fund late on 3 February and stole "a certain amount of money," AFP
quoted UNICEF spokesperson Edward Carwardine as saying on 4 February.
An employee at the office told the French news agency that the robbers
assaulted some staff members, but Carwardine said that "nobody was
injured because the office was closed at the time," according to AP.
The area was sealed off by Afghan police and the incident is being
investigated by UN security personnel. MES
[72] AFGHAN NGO SAYS REFUGEE RETURNS HAVE DIVERTED ESSENTIAL FUNDING
The nongovernmental group Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
(AREU) has charged that efforts in 2002 to speed the return of some 2
million Afghan refugees by international aid organizations, foreign
donors, and the Afghan government "were hasty and misguided," AFP
reported on 4 February. Citing a report obtained the same day, the news
agency quoted AREU as saying such returnees have channeled funds that
are otherwise needed for development of the country. The group urges
donor states to "help slow down repatriation rates by increasing
support for refugee programs in...Pakistan and Iran in 2003 and by
increasing support of [the UN High Commissioner for Refugees]
protection work in these countries," AFP reported. Neighboring
countries have sought to "legitimize" the Transitional Administration
of President Hamid Karzai by encouraging refugees of decades of war and
strict Taliban rule to return. The AREU is an organization funded by
the European Commission and is directed by two British development
experts, according to AFP. AH
[73] BRITISH PRIME MINISTER OFFERS SUPPORT TO AFGHAN PRESIDENT
British Prime Minister Tony Blair on 4 February assured President
Karzai of Britain's commitment to assisting the Transitional
Administration, Reuters reported on 4 February. "Mr. Blair gave
assurances that Britain will continue to provide assistance and support
in reconstruction and security," Afghan presidential spokesman Sayyed
Fazel Akbar said. Other leaders -- including U.S. President George W.
Bush and Iranian President Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami -- have made
similar statements in the past week, because "they want to give
reassurances that Afghanistan will not be forgotten" in light of the
recent focus on Iraq, Akbar said. MES
[74] AFGHAN FARMERS DETAINED FOR PROTESTING OPIUM ERADICATION
Dozens of farmers in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province have been
detained for protesting the government's program to end opium-poppy
cultivation, Mashhad radio reported on 4 February. According to Iranian
state radio, the farmers claim they will resist counternarcotics forces
if they do not receive compensation for any destroyed crops. BS
[75] IRANIAN CLERIC HOSPITALIZED
Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri-Najafabadi was hospitalized on 5
February because of heart problems, his son, Said Montazeri, told
Reuters. "Suddenly he had a pain in his heart, and we immediately took
him to hospital. The doctors have decided to keep him in hospital for
three days," Said Montazeri said. The ayatollah is in the
intensive-care ward of Qom's Kamkar Hospital, according to AP. BS
[76] IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEADS TO LONDON
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi will arrive in London on 5
February to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw, and parliamentary Foreign Affairs Select
Committee Chairman Donald Anderson, according to IRNA. He will also
address the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA). Kharrazi
made a similar trip three years ago (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 24
January 2000). Human Rights Watch said in a 4 February letter to Straw
that the British government should push Iran to make "measurable
improvements" in transforming promises of political reform into
reality. The HRW letter cited increases in the arbitrary detention of
students and targeting of government critics, and it described the
judiciary's role in targeting reformists. The letter added, "Religious
critics of the ruling clerical elite continue to be targeted for
persecution, and their freedom of expression is limited." BS
[77] FIVE IMPRISONED IRANIAN JEWS GET FURLOUGHS
Five Iranian Jews who were convicted of espionage in 2000 were released
on furloughs about 10 days ago, "The Jerusalem Post" reported on 5
February. The five were the last of the 10 Jews convicted in the case,
which involved 13 defendants, to be held in prison, and their release
coincides with the Ten Days of Dawn (the commemoration of the Islamic
revolution). It is not known yet if the furloughs will be made
permanent. Maurice Motamed, the Jewish representative in the Iranian
parliament, claimed the releases are due to his personal intervention,
while Pooya Dayanim, president of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs
Committee in Los Angeles, said the releases are meant to burnish Iran's
human rights record in the run-up to meetings with the British
government and the EU this week. Motamed said the releases would have
come months earlier if Dayanim had not criticized the Iranian judiciary
in an interview with the Voice of America. Dayanim dismissed Motamed as
a "propaganda tool" of the Iranian government. BS
[78] IRAN EXTRADITES ALLEGED TURKISH ASSASSIN
Officials from Turkey's national security organization (Milli
Istihbarat Teskilati, or MIT) on 1 February announced that the Iranian
Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) has extradited Islamic
Great East Raiders Front (IBDA-C) member Yasar Polat, Istanbul's
"Radikal" daily reported on 2 February. Polat allegedly planned the
IBDA-C's January 1993 assassination of Jak Kamhi, and he eventually
fled to Iran. MIT and MOIS officials met to discuss the matter, and
then the MIT provided the MOIS with Polat's Iranian address and
photographs of him in Iran. The MOIS handed him over at the Turkey-Iran
border. Turkey has previously accused Iran of backing IBDA-C, and the
MIT has documented alleged IBDA-C assassinations of Iranian
oppositionists in Turkey and accused it in the October 1999
assassination of Turkish intellectual Ahmet Kisali (see "RFE/RL Iran
Report," 26 July 1999 and 24 January 2000). BS
[79] SHIA LEADER DESCRIBES RIFT WITH IRAN
Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah has said that his leadership position
in the Shia community is causing discomfort in Iran, "Al-Hayah"
reported on 25 January. Fadlallah said that Hizballah sees spiritual
leadership in Iran and in the person of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He
complained that he has been the target of character assassination, and
also charged with hostility to the Shia faith and the line of the
Prophet Muhammad. BS
[80] KHAMENEI: IRANIAN BROADCASTERS MUST COUNTER ENEMY PROPAGANDA
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 4 February met with officials
from the official Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and told
them the IRIB must counter the propaganda of Western countries that
were harmed by Iran's Islamic revolution, IRNA, "Iran Daily," and
"Tehran Times" reported the next day. Khamenei said the Islamic
revolution ended the Iranian regimes' dependence on foreign powers and
provided the people with political freedom, and this is another reason
why Iran is a target of foreign powers. The IRIB should expose the
enemy's plots and revive hope about the future, he said. Khamenei added
that historically all youth have the same qualities -- dynamism,
energy, idealism, and a thirst for justice -- and the third
post-revolutionary generation in Iran is no different. He called on the
IRIB to improve the quality of its radio and television programming. BS
[81] IRAN BRACES FOR FOOD SHORTAGES
The Agriculture Jihad Ministry recently reported to President
Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami that the price of strategic food items --
including sugar, wheat, and rice -- is rising, unchecked population
growth is leading to rising food consumption, and demand could soon
surpass supply, "Iran Daily" reported on 5 February. Moreover, the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts that the Middle East will
become a major food importer within the next 10 years. The Agriculture
Jihad Ministry called on Khatami to implement its 10-year plan for
attaining self-sufficiency in food production. Khatami, in turn,
ordered the High Institute for Education, Management, and Planning
Research to develop a strategy for inducing a "leap in agricultural
production." BS
[82] ARMED FORCES SUSPICIOUS OF U.S. INTENTIONS
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Major-General Yahya
Rahim-Safavi told a 3 February meeting of his officers at the Imam Ali
Hall in Tehran that the IRGC knows who the enemy is and is ready to
confront any threats, ISNA reported. Ayatollah Mohammad Ali
Movahedi-Kermani, who is the Supreme Leader's representative to the
IRGC, then told the audience, "You can be certain that thanks to God,
America and its lackeys will not be able to do a damn thing." The
previous day, Iranian Navy commander Admiral Abbas Mohtaj told an
audience at Qom's Chahar Mardan Mosque, "America's main and principle
objective in the region is to control energy so that it is able to lead
the world economy, save Israel from its critical situation, and control
Islam and Islamic movements," ISNA reported. Mohtaj said that Iran
could inflict heavy blows on the United States should it attack. Air
force chief Brigadier General Reza Pardis said on 2 February, "The aim
of America, which has come to the region under the pretext of fighting
terrorism, is to control energy resources and dominate the world," IRNA
reported. BS
[83] IRAQI PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY NOT INTERESTED IN WAR...
President Saddam Hussein told former British Labour Party minister Tony
Benn in Baghdad on 2 February that his country is not interested in a
war with the United States and denied links with the Al-Qaeda terrorist
group. "If we had a relationship with Al-Qaeda and we believed in that
relationship, we would not be ashamed to admit it," Hussein said during
the interview broadcast on Al-Jazeera television on 4 February.
"Therefore, I would like to tell you directly and also through you to
anyone who is interested in knowing, that we have no relationship with
Al-Qaeda," Hussein told Benn. "Iraq has no interest in war...if [the UN
Security Council's] purpose is to make sure that Iraq is free of
nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, then they can do that. These
weapons are not aspirin pills that one can hide in his pockets," he
said. "These are weapons of mass destruction.... We say it again today
that Iraq is free of such weapons." Hussein asked rhetorically whether
the Security Council is looking for a pretext to reach a "conclusion
that makes them wage a war against Iraq." KR
[84] ...AND SURMISES THAT U.S. WANTS TO 'CONTROL THE WORLD'
"It seems that the officials in the United States are motivated by
aggression," President Hussein told Benn on 2 February, arguing that
the United States has expressed sympathy for Israel at the expense of
the rights and security of Palestinians. "The consecutive U.S.
administrations were led down a path of hostility against the people of
this region," he said. Hussein added during the interview broadcast by
Al-Jazeera television on 4 February that unidentified "influential"
figures have led the U.S. administration to believe that "if you want
to control the world, then you have to control oil, and one of the most
important requirements for controlling oil is to destroy Iraq." Hussein
concluded, "It seems to me that one of the main causes of this
hostility demonstrated by the current U.S. administration is to control
the world, and...to control oil in the Middle East." He then suggested
that the world owes Iraq a debt of gratitude for making these purported
U.S. intentions known, and added that, if there is a war, Iraqis "will
defend their country, their dignity, their sovereignty, and their
security." KR
[85] KUWAIT EXTENDS CLOSED MILITARY ZONE
The Kuwaiti Defense Ministry has declared all northern territories of
the state a closed military zone according to an order by Deputy Prime
Minister and Defense Minister Shaykh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad
al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA announced on 4 February. The
order becomes effective on 15 February and is essentially an extension
of the October 2002 decree to close the northwestern region of Kuwait
as a precaution to ensure the safety of joint Kuwaiti-U.S. forces
holding military drills in the area. Colonel Yousef Abd al-Razzak
al-Mulla, the director of moral guidance and public relations of
Kuwait's Army, said at a news conference on 4 February that the zone
now "stretches eastward along Kuwait Bay to Ras Al-Sabbiya on the
coast. The military zone also extends in an easterly direction across
territorial sea waters to southern Failaka, and extends toward the
northeast to the maritime border across Abdullah Bay to the northern
borders of Kuwait." He added that special permits will be available for
those needing to enter the area. KR
[86] UNMOVIC CHIEF SAYS TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR IRAQ
Hans Blix, executive chairman of the United Nations Monitoring,
Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), told reporters at
the United Nations on 4 February that time is running out for Iraq to
meet the requirements of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1441,
RFE/RL reported. Blix said, "[U.S. Ambassador to the UN John]
Negroponte says that the diplomatic window is closing. Well, I am
listening to that and I hear others who would like to give more time
and I have said I would welcome more time, fine." However, Blix added:
"Let's not joke, we all know that the situation is very serious. I
don't think the decision is final, I don't think that the end is there,
that the date has been set for armed action.... But I think that we are
moving closer and closer to it, and therefore it seemed to me that the
Iraqi leadership must be well aware of that." The UNMOVIC chief added
that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's scheduled 5 February
presentation to the UNSC will likely be based on satellite imagery,
intercepts of telephone conversations, and "knowledge about Iraqi
procurements" deemed illegal under UN sanctions. KR
[87] FRENCH PRESIDENT TO DECIDE 'WHEN THE TIME COMES'
French President Jacques Chirac told reporters on 4 February that
France will come to a decision regarding Iraq "when the time comes and
given the circumstances," AFP reported. His comments came following a
summit meeting with British Prime Minister Blair in the northern French
resort of Le Touquet. Calling war the "worst of solutions," Chirac
added, "We think there is still a lot to be done on the issue of
disarmament through peaceful means." Chirac noted that the positions
between Britain and France regarding Iraq are not that different. KR
[88] U.S., RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS CONFER ON IRAQ
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Bush on 4 February
discussed the Iraq crisis by telephone, Russian and Western news
agencies reported. Bush reportedly called Putin to express Washington's
opinion that the regime of Iraqi President Hussein continues to resist
international efforts to disarm it. Putin repeated Moscow's position
that UN weapons inspections should continue, and the reports of
inspectors should serve as the basis for further action, which must be
initiated and approved by the UN Security Council. Bush reportedly
previewed for Putin U.S. Secretary of State Powell's 5 February
presentation to the United Nations, in which he is expected to argue
the U.S. position and demand further action against Baghdad, TVS
reported on 4 February. The station commented that Moscow will not
resist the seemingly inevitable U.S. military action against Iraq, but
is continuing its efforts to delay it. VY
[89] U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY GIVES COMMANDER FRANKS VOTE OF
CONFIDENCE...
Donald Rumsfeld on 4 February weighed in to express strong support for
the officer set to command U.S. troops in a possible war with Iraq
despite an ongoing probe into alleged improprieties, Reuters and other
international news agencies reported the same day. The vote of
confidence followed a report in "The Washington Post" the same day
stating that U.S. Army General Tommy Franks is the subject of a
Pentagon investigation and that investigators "tentatively have
concluded that the Central Command chief likely violated some
restrictions involving his wife," citing unnamed defense sources. The
alleged improprieties reportedly concern perks like assigning a
bodyguard and an assistant for his wife, Cathy, and "The Washington
Post" reported that Franks might have allowed her to be present during
classified briefings. Defense Department Inspector General Joseph
Schmitz is weighing the allegations, and Rumsfeld might have to decide
on actions in light of those findings. AH
[90] ...SAYS COMMAND ROLE NOT THREATENED
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld on 4 February called Franks a "man of the
highest integrity," Reuters reported. Franks led U.S. forces in
Afghanistan and currently is working closely with Rumsfeld on a plan
for a possible military attack on Iraq. "There isn't a chance in the
world that [the investigation] will have any possible interference with
his role as the combatant commander in the Central Command," Rumsfeld
said on 4 February, according to "The Washington Post." Rumsfeld said
Franks informed him of the probe, and media quoted the commander as
saying he is cooperating with investigators. AH
[91] CORRECTION:
The 4 February "RFE/RL Newsline" item entitled "British Prime Minister
Still Favors UN Route" should have read that Prime Minister Tony Blair
said the U.K. should not exhibit weakness on the issue of Iraq.
END NOTE
[92] There is no End Note today.
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