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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 101, 96-05-24
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 101, 24 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TURKEY LOBBIES FOR BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE.
[02] LATVIAN PRESIDENT CONCLUDES VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN.
[03] KAZAKHSTAN SAYS NO RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL SENT TO CHINA.
[04] KYRGYZ-KAZAKHSTANI BORDER POSTS COME DOWN.
[05] KYRGYZ FORCES ON FULL ALERT AT KYRGYZ-TAJIK BORDER.
[06] TAJIK ARMY RECAPTURES NORTHERN HIGHWAY.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] MLADIC'S WHEREABOUTS NOW UNCERTAIN . . .
[08] . . . BUT MLADIC WAS NOT THE ONLY ACCUSED WAR CRIMINAL TO BE SEEN IN
BELGRADE.
[09] IS THE U.S. GETTING TOUGH ON KARADZIC?
[10] BOSNIAN FEDERATION PRESIDENT SAYS MOSTAR ELECTIONS TO BE DELAYED.
[11] BOSNIAN SERBS VETO CROSS-BORDER BUS ROUTES.
[12] CROATIAN PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER SUES PAPER FOR $635,000.
[13] KOSOVARS POSTPONE ELECTIONS.
[14] ROMANIAN ELECTORAL UPDATE.
[15] U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY IN ROMANIA . . .
[16] . . . ALSO DISCUSSES BALKAN COOPERATION IN SOFIA.
[17] PARLIAMENT'S RESOLUTION ON MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
[18] CIS FINANCE MINISTERS REUNION IN MOLDOVA.
[19] ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE PROTESTS VIOLENCE BEFORE ELECTIONS.
[20] ALBANIAN NATIONAL BANK INTERVENES TO SUPPORT THE LEK.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TURKEY LOBBIES FOR BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE.
Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay has wrapped up talks in Washington
aimed at securing support for a $2.5 billion project to move Caspian Sea oil
from Baku to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkish media reported on
24 May. Gonensay's trip was undertaken to shore up what appears to be flagging
support for the pipeline project. -- Lowell Bezanis
[02] LATVIAN PRESIDENT CONCLUDES VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN.
Latvian President visited Uzbekistan on 22-24 May to sign several agreements
with his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, on economic cooperation and
scientific and cultural exchanges, ITAR-TASS and BNS reported. In 1995,
Latvian-Uzbek foreign trade amounted to $19 million (up from $13 million in
1994), with Uzbek imports to Latvia making up 75% of that figure. -- Roger
Kangas
[03] KAZAKHSTAN SAYS NO RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL SENT TO CHINA.
The Kazakhstani Embassy in Beijing has denied reports that Kazakhstan exported
radioactive scrap metal to China, ITAR-TASS reported on 23 May. A complaint
was lodged in the Uighur-Xinjiang region when two loads of ferrous and non-
ferrous material emitting a "radioactive level exceeding norms" was detected
in a shipment coming from Kazakhstan. A Kazakhstani diplomat admitted that his
country had shipped scrap metal to China but added that the shipment in
question came from a Karaganda plant and not from a random gathering of
unchecked scrap metal. -- Bruce Pannier
[04] KYRGYZ-KAZAKHSTANI BORDER POSTS COME DOWN.
In keeping with the recent customs agreement, signed by Russia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, the latter two countries have begun to take down
customs checkpoints along the Kazakhstani-Kyrgyz border, according to RFE/RL.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Apas Jumagulov and his Kazakhstani counterpart, Akezhan
Kazhegeldin, attended a tree-planting ceremony at a dismantled checkpoint in
the Kyrgyz village of Georgievka. -- Bruce Pannier
[05] KYRGYZ FORCES ON FULL ALERT AT KYRGYZ-TAJIK BORDER.
In response to a 21 May attack on a Tajik Interior Ministry post in the city
of Jirgatal, about 25 km south of the Kyrgyz border, units of the Kyrgyz
Defense Ministry on the Tajik border have been put on full alert, ITAR-TASS
reported on 22 May. A unit in the Gulch-Alaiskiy district and the Osh
mechanized rifle brigade are at combat readiness, and officers of the Kyrgyz
Defense Ministry have flown to the area to inspect border posts. RFE/RL's
Kyrgyz Service reported on 23 May that Kyrgyz Defense Minister Myrzakan
Subanov and Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva had denied that border forces had
been put on alert. -- Bruce Pannier
[06] TAJIK ARMY RECAPTURES NORTHERN HIGHWAY.
Tajik government troops have taken the offensive in fighting with opposition
forces along the highway leading northeast to Kyrgyzstan, ITAR-TASS reported
on 23 May. Military officials claim government forces now control the cities
of Komsomolabad, Garm, Tajikabad, Jirgatal, and the areas immediately
surrounding those cities. A military official said opposition casualties were
high but did not comment on losses among government forces. -- Bruce
Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[07] MLADIC'S WHEREABOUTS NOW UNCERTAIN . . .
According to some media accounts, such as those published in Nasa Borba on
24 May, Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic has made a safe return to the Republika
Srpska following the funeral services of his colleague and fellow accused war
criminal, Bosnian Serb Gen. Djordje Djukic. Onasa, however, reported on 23 May
that Mladic was apprehended after the funeral and placed under house arrest in
Belgrade. According to OMRI reports from the field, the consensus in Sarajevo
is that Mladic has been arrested. Thus far, only IFOR has confirmed Bosnian
Serb military reports that say Mladic is back in Republika Srpska. Radio B 92
reported that Milosevic spoke with Mladic on 22 May, urging him to prove his
innocence at The Hague. -- Stan Markotich
[08] . . . BUT MLADIC WAS NOT THE ONLY ACCUSED WAR CRIMINAL TO BE SEEN IN
BELGRADE.
President of the UN Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Judge Antonio
Cassese, observed in a letter to the UN Security Council that Col. Veselin
Sljivancanin, one of three accused in the 1991 massacre of at least 260
Croatian civilians near the town of Vukovar, also attended Gen. Djordje
Djukic's funeral. Cassese described Sljivancanin's presence as evidence of
"this continuing violation by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of its
obligation to cooperate with our tribunal," Reuters reported on 23 May.-- Stan
Markotich
[09] IS THE U.S. GETTING TOUGH ON KARADZIC?
Washington now says "there is absolutely no deal" over the fate of Bosnian
Serb civilian leader and indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, AFP reported
on 24 May. This follows several days of guarded or equivocal statements
regarding U.S. policy on his future. An unnamed senior official told the New
York Times that the U.S. has rejected a suggestion from Serbian President
Slobodan Milosevic that Karadzic be allowed to "shed his formal duties and
drop from sight" but not be handed over to the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia based in The Hague. -- Patrick Moore
[10] BOSNIAN FEDERATION PRESIDENT SAYS MOSTAR ELECTIONS TO BE DELAYED.
Kresimir Zubak said on 23 May that an agreement was reached on the delay of
Mostar elections originally scheduled for 31 May, Oslobodjenje reported.
He added that elections will take place "before the end of June," but Mostar
EU administrator Ricardo Peres Casado must announce a new date. An
agreement between the Croatian and Muslim officials that would enable the
city's pre-war population to vote either in Mostar or at designated places
abroad where they live as refugees should be signed on 25 May. Meanwhile,
Peres Casado held talks with both Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and
Croatian President Franjo Tudjman. While Tudjman was against the election
delay, Michael Steiner, the High Representative deputy for Bosnia, said the
Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic helped find a compromise, Oslobodjenje
reported. Meanwhile, EU officials in Mostar refused to confirm an announcement
on the elections' delay, AFP reported on 23 May. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[11] BOSNIAN SERBS VETO CROSS-BORDER BUS ROUTES.
UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski said on 23 May that the Bosnian Serb police
prevented a bus from the government-held Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza from
reaching the Serb-run district of Lukavica. Police said the bus failed to meet
"safety standards," but the Bosnian Serb authorities indicated that they
intend to ban all such bus traffic between the federation and the Republika
Srpska, AFP reported. Janowski said the police claims were "complete nonsense
and another example of the hostility of the Republika Srpska authorities to
freedom of movement." That principle is a cornerstone of the Dayton agreement,
but IFOR has shown little enthusiasm for enforcing it. The bus carried mainly
Sarajevo Serbs who wanted to telephone friends or collect pensions. -- Patrick
Moore
[12] CROATIAN PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER SUES PAPER FOR $635,000.
Nevenka Kosutic has sued the independent weekly Feral Tribune for 3.5
million kuna, Reuters reported on 23 May. The paper claimed that she set up a
profitable business using government connections. This is but the latest in a
series of reports in the independent media that Tudjman's family and friends
have enriched themselves while much of Croatia lives in or near poverty. It is
also one of many legal moves that seem aimed at bankrupting Feral. --
Patrick Moore
[13] KOSOVARS POSTPONE ELECTIONS.
Shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova postponed elections planned for 24 May
for one year, AFP reported. He set the date for presidential and parliamentary
elections for 24 May 1997. No reason was given for the postponement, but a
statement by Rugova said the step was taken "in accordance with the
constitution" and after consultation with "parliamentary parties." Meanwhile,
Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov, in an interview for Nova Makedonija on
24 May, urged a solution to the Kosovo problem, which he said poses a "huge
risk for the whole region." The "dream of liberation and unification with
Albania" would lead to conflicts in which the Macedonian Albanians would
inevitably be involved, Gligorov said. -- Stefan Krause
[14] ROMANIAN ELECTORAL UPDATE.
The National Peasant Christian Democratic Party (PNTCD) went back on its
earlier decision to support separate presidential and parliamentary elections
in the fall, local media reported on 23-24 May. Emil Constantinescu, a
prominent PNTCD leader and the candidate of the Democratic Convention of
Romania (CDR) in the presidential elections, also said the CDR will back the
raising of the electoral hurdle for the parliamentary elections from 3% to 5%.
In other news, the leader of the Party of Civic Alliance (PAC), Nicolae
Manolescu, told a press conference he no longer "gives a chance" to the
alliance struck by PAC with the Social Democratic Union for the June local
elections due to the latter's "repeated political inconsistencies." Finally, a
meeting between representatives of the coalition partners, the Party of Social
Democracy in Romania and the Party of Romanian National Unity, to decide the
future of the conflict-ridden alliance, ended with no results and the decision
was deferred to another encounter at party-leadership top level. -- Michael
Shafir
[15] U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY IN ROMANIA . . .
Richard Schifter in Bucharest on 23 May discussed with Romanian Foreign
Minister Teodor Melescanu south-east European economic cooperation matters and
bilateral relations between their countries, local media reported on 23-24
May. Schifter is also scheduled to meet President Ion Iliescu and Premier
Nicoale Vacaroiu. -- Michael Shafir
[16] . . . ALSO DISCUSSES BALKAN COOPERATION IN SOFIA.
Shifter also on 23 May briefed Bulgarian politicians on a U.S. plan for
regional cooperation, international and Bulgarian media reported. The plan
includes infrastructure development, energy, and environmental protection.
After talks with Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev and Foreign Minister Georgi
Pirinski, Shifter said there is "full consensus about the American initiative"
between the ruling Socialists and the opposition, while Pirinski said the plan
coincides to a large extent "with the emerging approach of the Balkan
countries." Shifter also discussed the meeting of Balkan foreign ministers
scheduled to take place in Sofia on 8-9 June. -- Stefan Krause
[17] PARLIAMENT'S RESOLUTION ON MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
The Moldovan parliament on 23 May approved its final resolution on President
Mircea Snegur's message (see ) concerning the socio-political situation in the
republic, Infotag reported. According to the resolution, most of the existing
economic problems date back to the time before the existing government. "We
had to pay a very high price to ensure the stability of the national currency,
to stop inflation, and to restructure the country's economy," the document
reads. The parliament acknowledged, however, that the government failed to
implement its 1994-1997 program and called on it to submit a schedule of
clearing wage and pension arrears, as well as to improve the activities of ministries and other state structures mentioned in Snegur's message. -- Matyas Szabo
[18] CIS FINANCE MINISTERS REUNION IN MOLDOVA.
At the initiative of the Moldovan government, CIS finance ministers on 23 May
began a reunion in Chisinau, Moldovan agencies reported. The delegations
representing 10 CIS countries discussed issues related to regional cooperation,
taxation, trade, and banking. Moldova and the Caucasus states opted for a
consulting status of the reunion, while Russia wants to set up a permanent
council with financed executive structures. Moldovan Finance Minister Valeriu
Chitan said some delegations favored radical changes in customs duties.
According to Yurii Belousov, first assistant of the CIS Executive Secretary,
the meeting was a positive step toward the economic integration of CIS states.
-- Matyas Szabo
[19] ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE PROTESTS VIOLENCE BEFORE ELECTIONS.
The Albanian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights called on the government to
ensure that recent violent incidents are not repeated, Gazeta Shqiptare
reported on 24 May. On 22 May, Democratic Party supporters attacked a
Socialist Party rally in Durres. According to various eye witnesses, police
did not interfere to arrest the culprits who injured a number of Socialists
with sticks. Later the electricity in the assembly hall was cut off. Other
reports said that windows of the Socialist's cars were smashed at roadblocks.
Meanwhile, Deputy Interior Minister Agim Shehu blamed the incidents on agents
of the communist-era secret police, saying they were acting on the Socialists'
behalf. An OMRI journalist, however, noted a government license plate among
cars where one roadblock was being built. A Socialist rally in Tirana the
following day and a rally of Democrats in Shkoder ended with no incidents. --
Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
[20] ALBANIAN NATIONAL BANK INTERVENES TO SUPPORT THE LEK.
Following a recent period of rapid devaluation of the lek against the U.S.
dollar and other international currencies, the Albanian National Bank has
intervened and reduced the amount of money in circulation by buying up large
amounts of lek on the free market, Albanian media reported. National Bank
director Kristaq Luniku said that "the Bank of Albania has...eliminated
unnecessary liquidity on the market." The free market value of the U.S. dollar
against the lek fell from 115 on 22 May to only 101 the following day. The
official exchange rate fell from 117.5 to 111 lek. Observers said the move is
an attempt to maintain a stable lek until elections on 26 May and predicted
that the falling tendency will resume again after elections. National Bank
governor Kristaq Luniku, however, predicted that the lek will continue to be a
stable currency. -- Fabian Schmidt in Tirana
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave
News and information as of 1200 CET
This material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media
Research Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in
Prague, Czech Republic.
For more information on OMRI publications please write to [email protected].
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