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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 157, 96-08-14
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 157, 14 August 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ASTRONOMER AMBARTSUMYAN DIES.
[02] SHEVARDNADZE ON ECONOMY.
[03] NATURAL GAS CONSORTIUM FOUNDED.
[04] UZBEKISTAN TO ASSIST REPATRIATION OF CRIMEAN TATARS.
[05] COSSACKS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST KAZAKHSTANI GOVERNMENT.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] IFOR COMPLETES INSPECTION OF SERBIAN MILITARY CENTER.
[07] BOSNIAN SHORTS.
[08] OSCE REJECTS CROATIAN SERBS APPEAL TO VOTE IN BOSNIA.
[09] BELGRADE REAFFIRMS WISH TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH SUCCESSOR STATES.
[10] BELGRADE'S UN REPRESENTATIVE STARTS NEGOTIATIONS ON TRIBUNAL OFFICE.
[11] MEETING BETWEEN MACEDONIAN, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTERS CANCELED.
[12] ROMANIAN CABINET DISMISSES EIGHT PREFECTS.
[13] SNEGUR ON MOLDOVAN-DNIESTER MEMORANDUM.
[14] BULGARIAN POLITICIANS TO RECEIVE MORE PAY.
[15] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MAKES APPOINTMENTS TO ELECTION COMMISSION BY DECREE.
[16] TWO ALBANIAN POLICEMEN SHOT DEAD.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ASTRONOMER AMBARTSUMYAN DIES.
Viktor Ambartsumyan, internationally renown for his work in theoretical
astrophysics and stellar astronomy, died on 11 August, ITAR-TASS and Western
media reported two days later. In 1989, he went on a three-week hunger strike
to bring attention to Nagorno-Karabakh's efforts to secede from Azerbaijan.
Yerevan plans a state funeral for the scientist who served as the president of
Armenia's Academy of Sciences from 1946 to 1993. -- Lowell Bezanis
[02] SHEVARDNADZE ON ECONOMY.
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said inflation will not exceed 15-18%
this year, and GDP will rise by 10%, according to a 12 August statement on
Georgian Radio monitored by the BBC. He noted that the tax inspectorate has
trebled its contribution to the budget over the last year, which has now
reached 150 million lari. He also said there has been an increase in exports,
notably in wine with 5 million bottles exported to Russia, and in tea with 502
metric tons sent to Turkmenistan. Shevardnadze added that Georgia is set to
supply Uzbekistan with 2,000 metric tons of tea and 50 million bottles of
Borjomi mineral water. -- Lowell Bezanis
[03] NATURAL GAS CONSORTIUM FOUNDED.
The U.S. firm Unocal, Saudi Arabia's Delta, Russia's Gazprom, and the joint
Turkmen-Russian Turkmenrusgaz have signed a memorandum of understanding on the
$2 billion project to move natural gas from Turkmenistan's Dauletbad field to
Pakistan via Afghanistan, Western agencies reported on 13 August. The
companies will now negotiate a definitive agreement defining the rights and
obligations of each member of the consortium, according to AFP. Unocal and
Delta together will hold an 85% share in the deal, Gazprom 10%, and
Turkmenrusgaz 5%. Unocal's chairman said additional parties will be invited to
join the consortium. -- Lowell Bezanis
[04] UZBEKISTAN TO ASSIST REPATRIATION OF CRIMEAN TATARS.
Following a visit to Ukraine, Uzbek President Islam Karimov has expressed a
willingness to help Crimean Tatars currently living in Uzbekistan to return to
their homeland, ITAR-TASS reported on 14 August. The deputy speaker of the
Crimean parliament, Refat Chubarov, said Karimov will participate in the
establishment of a mechanism to ensure repatriation. Uzbekistan has, up until
this point, refused to address the issue. -- Roger Kangas
[05] COSSACKS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST KAZAKHSTANI GOVERNMENT.
A group of Cossacks from northern Kazakhstan and "Moscow nationalists" rallied
near the Kazakhstani Embassy in Moscow on 13 July to protest against Almaty's
policies toward them, NTV reported. The leader of the Siberian Cossack Army,
Viktor Antoshko, said the Kazakhstani government does not defend the rights of
the country's non-Kazakh citizens and that crimes committed against non-
Kazakhs often go unpunished. He claimed that Kazakhs have been awarded all
positions of authority in the country's banking system, law enforcement
agencies, government, and court system. -- Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] IFOR COMPLETES INSPECTION OF SERBIAN MILITARY CENTER.
NATO inspectors, led by commander Gen. Sir Michael Walker, visited Han Pijesak
on 13 August, Nasa Borba and Oslobodjenje reported. They had brought along
Bosnian Serb acting president Biljana Plavsic as a guarantee that their access
would not be blocked, as was the case the previous weekend (see ). Walker and
Plavsic were welcomed and escorted by Gen. Milan Gvero, the number two in the
Serbian command. An IFOR spokesman denied media speculation that the purpose
of the weekend mission was to arrest Bosnian Serb commander and indicted war
criminal Gen. Ratko Mladic, whose headquarters is located at the mountain
stronghold, Onasa noted. Meanwhile in Washington, a Defense Department
spokesman said that U.S. forces in Bosnia have been on special alert since
late last week because of bomb threats by an offshoot of Hezbollah, CNN
reported on 14 August. -- Patrick Moore
[07] BOSNIAN SHORTS.
Plavsic told Serbian TV that the Bosnian Serbs' Republika Srpska will "have
more than 80 percent sovereignty" after the 14 September elections, Nasa Borba
reported on 14 August. This is a climb-down from her position that the vote
will mean complete sovereignty. Her view is, nonetheless, still in conflict
with the Dayton agreement, which specifies that Bosnia-Herzegovina is one
state consisting of two "entities," namely the Republika Srpska and the
Croatian-Muslim federation. Meanwhile, Sarajevo airport will re-open on 15
August to civilian traffic with an Air Bosna flight to Istanbul, Oslobodjenje
noted on 14 August. Conditions at the airport are still poor, and standard
navigation equipment is lacking. Flight safety will depend on French IFOR and
on pilots' professional skills. -- Patrick Moore
[08] OSCE REJECTS CROATIAN SERBS APPEAL TO VOTE IN BOSNIA.
The OSCE Election Appeals Sub-Committee on 12 August said it has rejected an
appeal by Croatian Serb refugees to be allowed to vote in the September
elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Onasa reported. The Association of Croatian
Serbs in Bosnia, which made the appeal, said it represented the interests of
almost 60,000 people, some of whom had acquired real estate and settled in
the Republika Srpska. The OSCE noted that, according to preliminary estimates,
77% of all voters living abroad have so far registered to vote in the
elections, Onasa reported on 13 August. Meanwhile, Croats and Muslims have
agreed to hold the first joint session of the new Mostar City Council on 14
August, Oslobodjenje reported. Both, however, have proposed different
agendas for that meeting. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[09] BELGRADE REAFFIRMS WISH TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH SUCCESSOR STATES.
Belgrade on 13 August reaffirmed its wish for a complete normalization of
relations with Croatia and other successor states of former Yugoslavia, Nasa
Borba reported. Belgrade and Zagreb committed themselves to normalizing
bilateral relations following the meeting in Greece last week between
Presidents Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo Tudjman. The rump Yugoslav
authorities said current ties with Croatia in the economic and humanitarian
fields are "positive" and stressed the importance of finding solutions to the
issue of the Prevlaka peninsula, claimed by both Belgrade and Zagreb.
Meanwhile, Novak Kilibarda, head of the Montenegrin People's Party, said
Milosevic is not authorized to solve the border problem of rump Yugoslavia and
Montenegro. He added that the issue should be decided by the people, Nasa
Borba reported on 14 August. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] BELGRADE'S UN REPRESENTATIVE STARTS NEGOTIATIONS ON TRIBUNAL OFFICE.
The head of Belgrade's diplomatic mission at the UN has begun negotiations on
the opening of an office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia in Belgrade, Nasa Borba reported. Vladislav Jovanovic
exchanged letters about the office with UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros
Ghali after the Belgrade government expressed its willingness to reach an
agreement. Meanwhile, a bush fire in the nature reserve of Deliblatska Pescara,
about 70 km north of Belgrade, destroyed some 3,000 hectares of forest, Nasa
Borba reported. Some 600 refugees from Bosnia and Croatia who were settled in
the area were evacuated to nearby towns. -- Fabian Schmidt
[11] MEETING BETWEEN MACEDONIAN, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTERS CANCELED.
Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos on 13 August canceled a scheduled
meeting with his Macedonian counterpart, Ljubomir Frckovski, after the latter
said Macedonia will not change its name, Nova Makedonija reported. Pangalos
and Frckovski were to meet in New York in September during the UN General
Assembly. A Greek Foreign Ministry statement said that Frckovski's recent
statements have created a "negative climate" in bilateral relations. In an
interview with the Greek weekly To Vima on 11 August, Frckovski said
Macedonia wants to continue bilateral talks in New York to sort out
differences but will not change its name. He conceded that a modus vivendi
between Skopje and Athens must be found on the name issue. -- Stefan
Krause
[12] ROMANIAN CABINET DISMISSES EIGHT PREFECTS.
Octavian Cozmanca, head of the government's local administration department,
on 13 August announced that eight prefects were being replaced on the
recommendation of the Permanent Delegation of the ruling Party of Social
Democracy in Romania (PDSR), Radio Bucharest reported. Seven of the dismissed
prefects are PDSR members, while the eighth belongs to the Socialist Labor
Party, a former PDSR ally. Some had been involved in public scandals,
including Constantin Raducanoiu (PDSR), whose children were arrested after
beating up other youths. The police officer leading the investigation into the
incident was initially removed in what the opposition claimed to be a clear
case of power abuse. Romanian observers link the dismissals to the PDSR's
efforts to polish its image ahead of the November general elections. -- Dan
Ionescu
[13] SNEGUR ON MOLDOVAN-DNIESTER MEMORANDUM.
President Mircea Snegur on 13 August issued a statement explaining his
reluctance to sign a memorandum on the normalization of relations between the
Republic of Moldova and its breakaway Dniester region. BASA-press quoted
Snegur as saying that the draft memorandum fails to specify that the Dniester
region is a part of Moldova and instead refers to a "common [Moldovan-
Dniester] state," which, he pointed out, is contrary to the spirit of the
Moldovan Constitution. Snegur commented that, under these circumstances,
signing the document would set "a dangerous precedent for Europe that might
lead to destabilization at regional levels." He also criticized the Moldovan
parliament, which is dominated by conservative and leftist forces, for putting
pressure on him to sign the current version of the memorandum. Such pressure
could only "complicate the negotiations," he concluded. -- Dan Ionescu
[14] BULGARIAN POLITICIANS TO RECEIVE MORE PAY.
The salaries of parliamentary deputies have been raised from 26,169 leva
($130) a month to 32,169 leva ($170), 24 chasa reported on 14 August. Under
the parliament's statutes, deputies are to receive three times the average
salary, which the National Statistical Institute put at 10,728 leva for the
past three months. Since all deputies are members of parliamentary commissions,
they receive an extra 10% of their basic wage. This means they will now have a
monthly wage package of 35,385 leva. President Zhelyu Zhelev, Prime Minister
Zhan Videnov, and Parliamentary Chairman Blagovest Sendov earn 50% more than
deputies, or 48,253 leva at the current level. Sendov's deputies will now
receive 45,036.60 leva, and ministers and heads of parliamentary commission 41,
819.70 leva. -- Stefan Krause
[15] ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MAKES APPOINTMENTS TO ELECTION COMMISSION BY DECREE.
Sali Berisha on 13 August issued a decree giving the three leading posts on
the permanent Election Commission to government appointees. The ruling
Democrats received four posts and their allies--the Republicans, the Christian
Democrats, and the Social Democratic Union--one each. The opposition
Socialists, Social Democrats, and Agrarians received a total of six seats,
Albania reported on 14 August. But the opposition has refused to accept its
seats, saying that the formation of the commission is based on a presidential
decree, not the law. They argued that the commission is fully controlled by
the Democrats and therefore could not guarantee free elections, international
agencies reported. A meeting between the Democrats and the Socialists the same
day failed to resolve the dispute. -- Fabian Schmidt
[16] TWO ALBANIAN POLICEMEN SHOT DEAD.
Unidentified persons on 12 August shot dead two policemen in a Tirana suburb,
Reuters reported. It was the latest in a series of police murders. The two
officers were brothers and were off duty when they were attacked. No suspects
have been arrested, but police said they believed the killing is linked to the
attempted arrest of a murder suspect. -- Fabian Schmidt
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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