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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 108, 96-06-04
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 108, 4 June 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] CAUCASUS SUMMIT.
[02] AZERBAIJAN REFUSED TO SHARE CFE QUOTAS WITH RUSSIA.
[03] UZBEK OPPOSITION PARTIES SEND LETTER TO CLINTON.
[04] JUDGES IN KAZAKHSTAN REQUIRED TO PASS EXAMINATIONS.
[05] TAJIK CAPTIVES NOT RELEASED.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] A NEW ROLE FOR IFOR?
[07] BOSNIAN DELEGATION WILL VISIT BELGRADE.
[08] COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO SET FIVE CONDITIONS FOR CROATIAN MEMBERSHIP.
[09] RUMP YUGOSLAVIA'S CABINET "RESTRUCTURED."
[10] SERBIAN PRESIDENT'S PRESENCE MADE KNOWN AT CONGRESS OF BOSNIAN SERB
SOCIALISTS.
[11] ROMANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS UPDATE.
[12] BULGARIAN PREMIER ABOUT TO FALL?
[13] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION UPDATE.
[14] ALBANIAN OPPOSITION WANTS ELECTIONS REHELD...
[15] . . . WHILE DEMOCRATS WIN SECOND ROUND.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] CAUCASUS SUMMIT.
Meeting in the North Caucasus town of Kislovodsk on 3 June, the presidents of
Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan signed a declaration of support for
territorial integrity, the non-violability of borders, and for the rights of
ethnic minorities, Russian and Western agencies reported. The declaration also
abjures terrorism, religious extremism, and aggressive separatism. In a clear
reference to Turkey, whose Anatolia news agency on 26 May questioned the
rationale for the meeting, President Yeltsin warned against "any attempt to
drive a wedge between the Caucasus and Russia," according to ITAR-TASS.
Yeltsin also affirmed his determination to enforce last week's Chechen peace
agreement. The summit was also attended by the heads of the North Caucasus
republics including pro-Moscow Chechen head of state Doku Zavgaev. At the
meeting, Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev expressed support for Yeltsin's re-
election. -- Liz Fuller
[02] AZERBAIJAN REFUSED TO SHARE CFE QUOTAS WITH RUSSIA.
Azerbaijan insisted during the Vienna CFE review conference that its territory
be excluded from any regional agreement with Russia on reallocating national
CFE quotas, RFE/RL reported on 3 June. With strong support from Turkey,
Azerbaijan was said to have forced the negotiations to continue until 3:30
a.m. on 1 June until it obtained a special concession that specifically
excludes it from any temporary deployments of Russian troops or reallocation
of quotas. Georgia has already "lent" Russia some of its "flanks" quotas, and
the Iprinda news agency on 1 June reported that negotiators in Vienna had
agreed that Russia could use part of the Georgian and Armenian quotas
providing those countries "relinquished [them] voluntarily and their
sovereignty was respected." -- Doug Clarke
[03] UZBEK OPPOSITION PARTIES SEND LETTER TO CLINTON.
In an open letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton obtained by OMRI,
representatives of the exiled Uzbek opposition parties Birlik (Unity) and Erk
(Freedom/Will) objected to Uzbek President Islam Karimov's upcoming visit to
the U.S. The letter alleges that many Western countries are ignoring human
rights violations in Uzbekistan in order to pursue economic interests in the
country. The letter lists people who the opposition groups say went missing or
were jailed or killed for political reasons. The letter also notes a critical
Human Rights Watch report on the Uzbek government. -- Bruce Pannier
[04] JUDGES IN KAZAKHSTAN REQUIRED TO PASS EXAMINATIONS.
Judges of the Supreme Court and lower courts in Kazakhstan are now required to
take exams attesting to their professional qualifications, ITAR-TASS reported
on 3 June. A special committee consisting of well-known scholars, lawyers, and
parliamentary deputies will review the exams. Justice Minister Konstantin
Kolpakov said that the certification of judges is a part of the ongoing
judicial reform process in the country. Kazakhstan has already abolished the
Soviet-era practice of people's courts under which judges were simply
nominated by higher authorities. -- Bhavna Dave
[05] TAJIK CAPTIVES NOT RELEASED.
The scheduled release of 26 government soldiers held captive by Tajik
opposition forces was aborted due to heavy fighting in the Pamir mountains
near the city of Komsomolabad between opposition and government forces, ITAR-
TASS reported on 31 May. The Red Cross/Red Crescent team that was heading into
opposition territory to pick up the captive soldiers was forced to turn back
because of the renewed fighting. The mission's executive chairman, Nicholas
Borsinger, said the team had received no guarantees of personal safety. Upon
returning to Dushanbe, the mission resumed talks with government and
opposition representatives in an attempt to at least secure permission to
visit the prisoners. -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] A NEW ROLE FOR IFOR?
NATO Secretary General Javier Solana said that the alliance's troops in Bosnia
are going to spread out across the republic: "It's going to be difficult for
the war criminals because we're going to deploy troops over the whole
territory to ensure freedom of movement except for war criminals," AFP quoted
him as saying on 3 June. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher stated
that the move will put war criminals "at greater risk of apprehension," but a
State Department spokesman added that this does not mean that IFOR will
organize "posses" to hunt them down, German media added. Nasa Borba noted on
4 June that IFOR can now move into Pale. Critics have charged that IFOR is
letting war criminals like Bosnian Serb leaders Gen. Ratko Mladic and Radovan
Karadzic pass through its checkpoints. They add that IFOR does nothing to
ensure freedom of movement, which is a key provision of the Dayton treaty, and
that its only interest is not causing political problems for Western
governments back home. -- Patrick Moore
[07] BOSNIAN DELEGATION WILL VISIT BELGRADE.
A Bosnian government delegation will visit the capital of rump Yugoslavia for
the first time since the war started in Bosnia to discuss restoring
communications and economic ties, Oslobodjenje reported on 4 June. Bosnian
President Alija Izetbegovic announced on 3 June that at the preceding Geneva
summit, he and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic agreed to the visit that
will take place next week. Normalization of railway and air traffic, postal,
telegraph and telephone services, and other kinds of economic cooperation will
be discussed. In another development, commenting on the Geneva summit decision
to hold September elections in Bosnia, Izetbegovic said that the proper
conditions for elections do not yet exist and possibly will not be achieved by
the date slated for the elections, Oslobodjenje reported. -- Daria Sito
Sucic
[08] COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO SET FIVE CONDITIONS FOR CROATIAN MEMBERSHIP.
Ambassadors of the Council of Europe on 4 June will approve a letter to the
Croatian government setting the terms for Croatia's membership, Reuters
reported on 3 June. The document calls on Croatia to take concrete steps
toward cooperation with the International Tribunal for War Crimes in the
former Yugoslavia, support of free elections in Bosnia and particularly in the
city of Mostar, return of Serb refugees to Croatia, dropping prosecutions
against the independent media, and the resolution of the Zagreb mayor crisis.
Meanwhile, only 19.1% of the electorate participated in the advisory
referendum organized by the government on whether the city of Zagreb should
remain part of Zagreb County, Hina reported on 3 June. However, 51.34% of
the votes were in favor of the City of Zagreb remaining part of Zagreb County.
-- Daria Sito Sucic
[09] RUMP YUGOSLAVIA'S CABINET "RESTRUCTURED."
Tomica Raicevic, currently minister without portfolio, is slated to become the
new federal minister of finance, Nasa Borba reported on 4 June. The daily
also reported that after several delays owing partly to disagreements over who
will hold key ministries, a cabinet shuffle and "restructuring" has been
effected that includes a change of the federal ministers of agriculture,
economics, and justice. Nasa Borba also reported that the post of national
bank governor, left open after a the federal legislature voted to oust
Dragoslav Avramovic on 15 May, is likely to be left "vacant until autumn,"
with the governor's deputy assuming the duties of that office in the interim.
In other news, federal rump Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic on 3 June accepted
the accreditation of the recently appointed ambassadors from Germany and
Italy. -- Stan Markotich
[10] SERBIAN PRESIDENT'S PRESENCE MADE KNOWN AT CONGRESS OF BOSNIAN SERB
SOCIALISTS.
On 31 May the first congress of the Socialist Party of the Republika Srpska
(SPRS) opened in Banja Luka, highlighted by the public reading of a message
from Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. In the message, Milosevic wished
the SPRS success in upcoming elections by calling for "a unity of all
progressive leftist and democratic forces [in the RS]," Radio Serbia reported
on 1 June. By calling on the SPRS to "oppose...violence, hate, and all forms
of national and religious intolerance," Milosevic indirectly referred to his
preference to have Radovan Karadzic and his supporters removed from power
through the electoral process. Milosevic's unabashed support for the SPRS came
the same day Belgrade's NIN published an interview with SPRS head Dragutin
Ilic in which Ilic maintained his party's independence from Milosevic's
Socialist Party of Serbia. -- Stan Markotich
[11] ROMANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS UPDATE.
Romanian media on 4 June continued to comment on the outcome of the 2 June
local elections whose final returns are expected to be released on 6 June. In
Bucharest, the candidate of the ruling Party of Social Democracy in Romania,
former tennis star Ilie Nastase, lost to Victor Ciorbea from the opposition
Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR). But a run-off seems unavoidable since
Ciorbea reportedly failed to pass the 50% threshold required by law. CDR
candidates appear to have won the race for the mayoral offices in all six
Bucharest districts. Cluj's controversial mayor Gheorghe Funar from the
chauvinistic Party of Romanian National Unity qualified for another four-year
term. Most analysts predict the elections will have to be repeated on 16 June
due to the low turnout. -- Dan Ionescu
[12] BULGARIAN PREMIER ABOUT TO FALL?
Kontinent on 4 June reported that Videnov might be replaced as prime
minister by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) in July. According to unnamed
sources within the BSP headquarters, members of the BSP leadership plan to
give Videnov a grace period until the latest agreement with the IMF is signed
in late June. Former BSP Chairman Aleksandar Lilov and former Prime Minister
Andrey Lukanov reportedly agreed to replace Videnov with Foreign Minister
Georgi Pirinski. However, Pirinski is also named as the most likely BSP
presidential candidate. Standart reported that BSP leaders urged Videnov to
at least replace some ministers. Meanwhile, Demokratsiya reported that the
Political Club "Ekoglasnost" will leave the coalition with the BSP if the
ministers in charge of the economy are not replaced. Such a move would leave
the Left without an absolute majority in the parliament. -- Stefan
Krause
[13] BULGARIAN OPPOSITION UPDATE.
According to the final results of the opposition's primary election of a
common presidential candidate, Petar Stoyanov of the Union of Democratic
Forces received 65.74% of the vote and incumbent President Zhelyu Zhelev
34.26%, Demokratsiya reported on 4 June. Some 849,796 valid votes were cast.
The opposition's Political Council is expected to make an official statement
on 4 June. On the same day the opposition will officially initiate proceedings
for its third no-confidence vote against the government of Prime Minister Zhan
Videnov because of "the collapse of [its] economic policy." The vote is
expected to be supported by all opposition parties including the Bulgarian
Business Bloc, which in the first two votes supported the government,
Standart noted. Meanwhile, the big trade unions announced that they will
intensify and coordinate their protest against the government's recent
austerity measures and synchronize it with the opposition parties' actions. --
Stefan Krause
[14] ALBANIAN OPPOSITION WANTS ELECTIONS REHELD...
The Albanian opposition on 3 June demanded that the parliamentary elections be
repeated in at least 80 of the 115 constituencies, Reuters reported. Social
Democratic Party Chairman Skender Gjinushi said the opposition believes "the
situation was catastrophic" in 80-90 constituencies. The Socialist Party (PS)
asked for international assistance to investigate the alleged irregularities
in the first round of voting on 26 May. An opposition delegation departed for
Brussels for talks with EU officials. The EU, the U.S., and the OSCE had
recommended a partial reholding of the elections but had given no specific
recommendation. The Central Electoral Commission agreed to do over elections
in four constituencies. Meanwhile, the opposition on 4 June canceled a
demonstration planned for the same day after police banned all demonstrations
from Tirana's Skanderbeg Square. The PS called on its supporters to come to
the party headquarters and protest from within the building. -- Stefan
Krause
[15] . . . WHILE DEMOCRATS WIN SECOND ROUND.
Meanwhile, the Central Electoral Commission on 3 June announced that the
Democratic Party won six seats in the second round of the parliamentary
elections, the Republican Party won three, and the Balli Kombetar one. This
gives the Democrats 101 seats out of 125 direct seats. Democratic Party
officials said they expect to have won 15-20 of the 25 seats allotted on a
proportional system. Turnout in the second round was 59% officially, but
reports hint at a lower figure. Socialist Party official Pandeli Majko said it
did not exceed 30%. The second round was boycotted by the opposition. --
Stefan Krause
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Ustina Markus
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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