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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 3, 97-01-06
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 3, 6 January 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] RUSSIAN RED TAPE HINDERS REMOVAL OF GEORGIAN URANIUM.
[02] TERRORISM IN TAJIK CAPITAL.
[03] NEW BORDER TARIFFS FOR KAZAKSTAN.
[04] STRENGTH OVER JUSTICE IN UZBEKISTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[05] NOISY, CARNIVAL-LIKE WEEKEND IN BELGRADE.
[06] SERBIAN OPPOSITION STICKS TO ITS DEMANDS.
[07] BELGRADE DEMONSTRATORS APPEAL TO POLICE.
[08] FEDERAL YUGOSLAV ARMY WILL NOT OPPOSE STUDENTS.
[09] NEW BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT CONVENES.
[10] BOSNIA'S MUSLIM RULING PARTY CONFIRMS RECEIVING FUNDS FROM IRAN.
[11] CROATIA MAKES OFFER TO SERBS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.
[12] KOSOVO POLITICAL UPDATE.
[13] ROMANIA'S FORMER RULING PARTY LAMBASTS GOVERNMENT OVER ECONOMIC
POLICY.
[14] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH NEIGHBORING LEADERS.
[15] BULGARIAN MASS RALLY CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS...
[16] ...WHILE BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS ELECT NEW LEADERSHIP.
[17] ALBANIAN DAILY PUBLISHES LIST OF PARDONED PRISONERS.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] RUSSIAN RED TAPE HINDERS REMOVAL OF GEORGIAN URANIUM.
American officials blame Russian indifference and foot-dragging for the
failure of their year-long efforts to have about 2 lbs (0.8 kg) of used
reactor fuel and 9.5 lbs (4.3 kg) of highly-enriched uranium transferred to
Russia from a poorly-guarded research institute outside Tbilisi, The New
York Times reported on 5 January. Although in 1994 Washington addressed a
similar problem by directly purchasing Kazakstani uranium and flying it to
the United States, the Clinton administration asked Russia in early 1996 to
accept the Georgian uranium for storage and reprocessing. However, months
of talks on the issue have hit repeated legal, financial, and bureaucratic
snags, despite American offers to pay for the transport and provide
necessary equipment. The uranium remains at the Georgian Institute of
Physics under improved, but still inadequate, security. -- Scott Parrish
[02] TERRORISM IN TAJIK CAPITAL.
The bodies of two Tajik military officials were found on the outskirts of
Dushanbe on 3 January, RFE/RL reported. Both were killed, in separate
incidents, by a shot from a pistol. On 4 January two bombs went off in
downtown Dushanbe, killing one and injuring five, Russian sources reported.
The first blast occurred near a market when four servicemen from the CIS
peacekeeping force and 201st Motorized Rifle Division attempted to start
their car after buying goods at the market. One serviceman was killed, the
others were wounded along with two civilian passers-by. The other bomb went
off two hours later, destroying a police post near the presidential palace.
No casualties were reported. Just prior to these latest attacks the Russian
Foreign Ministry had expressed its alarm at the increase in attacks on
peacekeepers, noting that between 27 December and 2 January six Russian
soldiers were killed and eight wounded in or near Dushanbe. -- Bruce
Pannier
[03] NEW BORDER TARIFFS FOR KAZAKSTAN.
A decision by the Kazakstani government to allow so-called "shuttle
traders" more weight when arriving from foreign countries went into effect
on 5 January, ITAR-TASS and Radio Rossii reported. The previous limit
without a fine was 20 kg per passenger but under the new rule the limit is
70 kg per passenger and the first 270 kg after that is subject to a reduced
tariff. The government is hoping that this new freedom to bring goods into
the country will increase products on the domestic market. However, planes
are often overloaded and Kazakstan has a poor history of air safety,
highlighted by the November mid-air collision of a Kazakstani plane with
one from Saudi Arabia over India which killed more than 300 people. --
Bruce Pannier
[04] STRENGTH OVER JUSTICE IN UZBEKISTAN.
A coat of arms for Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, was issued on 4 January,
ITAR-TASS reported the same day. The emblem's components are an open gate
topped by an oriental dome on a background of a mountain and rivers framed
by flowers, a grape vine and a plane tree in blossom. Encircling all of
this are the words "In Strength is Justice" [Kuch Adolatadir], a mis-
translation of the words "Rasti Rusti" [In Justice is Strength] from
Firdausi's Persian epic The Book of Kings [Shah Namah]. Since the late
October celebration of the birth of Tamerlane, the improperly rendered text
has increasingly been associated with him and is to be found on numerous
billboards, the wall of a museum erected to lionize the great conqueror-
builder, as well as the star of Samarkand state medal in Uzbekistan. --
Lowell Bezanis
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[05] NOISY, CARNIVAL-LIKE WEEKEND IN BELGRADE.
Opposition protesters continue to devise novel ways to circumvent the
police ban on marches, which was imposed following violence between
opponents and supporters of President Slobodan Milosevic on 24 December. On
3-4 January, the protesters once again made much noise by blowing whistles
and beating pots and other implements during Serbian TV's evening newscast.
On 5 January, they staged a "protest by traffic jam," in which drivers of
all sorts of vehicles blocked Belgrade streets amid a carnival atmosphere,
international media reported. Protesters plan to extend the traffic jam
tactic throughout Serbia should the government fail to recognize the
results of the 17 November local elections within a few days. -- Patrick
Moore
[06] SERBIAN OPPOSITION STICKS TO ITS DEMANDS.
The opposition Zajedno coalition has rejected the authorities' latest
offer to accept part but not all of those election returns, CNN reported on
4 January. This time, the government proposed to acknowledge opposition
victories in Belgrade and two smaller towns but called for a new vote in
Nis. Zajedno says it will keep up its protests until the government
unconditionally respects the 17 November results. Meanwhile, Serbian
Orthodox Patriarch Pavle gave a radio address in which he repeated the Holy
Synod's recent condemnation of the Milosevic regime, the BBC stated on 4
January. The U.S., for its part, is also keeping up the pressure on
Milosevic, who is increasingly isolated both at home and abroad, Nasa
Borba wrote on 6 January. -- Patrick Moore
[07] BELGRADE DEMONSTRATORS APPEAL TO POLICE.
The Zajedno leadership has called on people to stage a protest in the
form a large "religious procession" on 6 January, which is the Orthodox
Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, the students have appealed to the police not to
block their marches, AFP reported on 6 January. One of their leaders said:
"We appeal to those installing police cordons to withdraw them before
January 9, so we don't have to do it for them." On a more diplomatic note,
Zajedno issued a proclamation to the police as "dear friends," Nasa
Borba wrote. The text stated: "Do not let yourselves be abused by the
[Socialist Party of Serbia] thieves and do not allow yourselves to be
pushed into a conflict with the people, whose lives are as difficult as
yours. Think hard before obeying the orders of the thieves." The police are
one of Milosevic's main pillars of support. -- Patrick Moore
[08] FEDERAL YUGOSLAV ARMY WILL NOT OPPOSE STUDENTS.
One of the reasons Milosevic has relied on the police is that his relations
with the army (JNA) have never been particularly good. On 6 January, Chief
of Staff Gen. Momcilo Perisic told a delegation of students that the JNA
will not oppose them, AFP reported. Army support was crucial to Milosevic
in crushing protests in March 1991, which constituted the most direct
challenge from the streets to his rule prior to the current unrest. --
Patrick Moore
[09] NEW BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT CONVENES.
Bosnia's new government convened for the first time on 3 January in Serb-
run Lukavica, near Sarajevo, international media reported. Earlier the same
day, deputies in the lower house of the Bosnian parliament approved the
government and the nomination of the two joint prime ministers--Boro Bosic,
a Serb, and Haris Silajdzic, a Muslim. Silajdzic said the cabinet discussed
who should take part in a delegation to a conference in Brussels on 9-10
January aimed at raising funds for the reconstruction of Bosnia. Meanwhile,
Momcilo Krajisnik, the Serbian member of Bosnia's three-man presidency, has
said he wants to see "reconciliation and acceptance of the characteristics
of all the peoples" in Bosnia, AFP reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic
[10] BOSNIA'S MUSLIM RULING PARTY CONFIRMS RECEIVING FUNDS FROM IRAN.
The Party of Democratic Action (SDA), headed by President Alija Izetbegovic,
has confirmed that it received $500,000 from Iran in mid-1996,
Oslobodjenje reported on 4 January. But it added that the money was used
for scholarships and not for the party's election campaign. Last week, the
Los Angeles Times reported that Iran gave Izetbegovic that sum for use in
the run-up to the September elections (see OMRI Daily Digest, 2 January
1996). In other news, Drazen Erdemovic, the first war criminal to be
sentenced by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia,
has appealed his 10-year prison term, AFP reported on 3 January. -- Daria
Sito Sucic
[11] CROATIA MAKES OFFER TO SERBS IN EASTERN SLAVONIA.
The Croatian government has drafted a Memorandum on the Completion of the
Peaceful Reintegration of eastern Slavonia and handed it over to Jacques
Klein, the head of the UN Transitional Administration for eastern Slavonia,
Vecernji List reported on 4 January. The document attempts to resolve the
contentious issue of voting rights for those living in eastern Slavonia, as
well as cultural and educational rights. Ivica Vrkic, the government
official in charge of the region, said Croatian Serbs who were not living
there in 1991 but had lived in another part of Croatia will be able to vote
in eastern Slavonia if they choose. Previously, the government had insisted
that only Croatian Serbs who had lived in eastern Slavonia before the war
would be allowed to vote in local elections. The memorandum also offers the
Serbs several senior posts in the government and gives Serbian men the
option of not performing compulsory military service in the Croatian Army. -
- Daria Sito Sucic
[12] KOSOVO POLITICAL UPDATE.
Kosovo human rights activist Adem Demaci has been elected chairman of the
Parliamentary Party of Kosovo, ATA reported on 5 January. Demaci, who also
heads the Kosovo Human Rights Council, became a party member in fall 1996.
Albanian Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu welcomed Demaci's election and
praised the Kosovar shadow-state party system for its peaceful policies.
Demaci is expected to compete with shadow-state President Ibrahim Rugova in
upcoming presidential elections. Elsewhere, Shehu urged Belgrade to fully
respect the opposition victories in Belgrade and to allow an OSCE
monitoring mission to Kosovo, AFP reported. The last monitoring mission
left Kosovo in summer 1993 after Belgrade refused to prolong its members'
visas. -- Fabian Schmidt
[13] ROMANIA'S FORMER RULING PARTY LAMBASTS GOVERNMENT OVER ECONOMIC
POLICY.
The Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) on 4 January accused Victor
Ciorbea's cabinet of failing to keep its election promises and not drawing
up a government program, Romanian and Western media reported. The PDSR said
recent gasoline price hikes were excessive and part of a "shock therapy"
strategy. The cabinet, dominated by the Democratic Convention of Romania,
responded the next day in a communique saying the hikes were unavoidable
because of the economic "chaos" created by the previous administration. It
also pledged to counter the effects of the price hikes through social
protection programs. The price of gasoline almost doubled as of 1 January. -
- Dan Ionescu
[14] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH NEIGHBORING LEADERS.
Moldovan President-elect Petru Lucinschi and Igor Smirnov, president of the
self-declared Dniester republic, met in Chisinau on 3 January, BASA-press
reported. The leaders discussed resuming bilateral negotiations over a
special status for the breakaway region within the framework of the
Moldovan state. Two days later, Lucinschi had an unofficial meeting with
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Odessa. He appealed to Ukraine to take
a more active part in mediating between Chisinau and Tiraspol. In 1995,
Ukraine joined Russian and OSCE efforts to broker a solution to the
Moldovan-Dniester conflict. -- Dan Ionescu
[15] BULGARIAN MASS RALLY CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS...
More than 40,000 Sofia citizens on 3 January protested the Bulgarian
Socialist Party's policies and called for early elections. The rally,
organized by the United Democratic Forces (ODS), took place outside the BSP
headquarters, where the Socialists were electing a new Executive Bureau.
The protesters shouted "Mafia" and "Red rubbish" and threw eggs, pieces of
bread, and stones at the building. Three windows were broken, and one
policeman injured. Riot police were deployed after protesters broke down an
iron fence in front of the BSP headquarters. Speakers at the rally stressed
that parliamentary means to resolve the present crisis have been virtually
exhausted. They said the ODS will use all legitimate means--including
street demonstrations and boycotting the parliament --to "turn the current
government crisis into a parliamentary crisis." -- Maria Koinova in Sofia
[16] ...WHILE BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS ELECT NEW LEADERSHIP.
The composition of the new BSP Executive Bureau, the party's highest
decision-making body between party congresses, is seen as a victory for
former BSP leader Zhan Videnov, Duma reported. Videnov's most prominent
opponents failed to get elected, although some were proposed by new BSP
chairman Georgi Parvanov,<strong> </strong>including former Foreign
Minister Georgi Pirinski, former BSP Deputy Chairman Yanaki Stoilov, and
the head of the parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, Nikolay Kamov.
Videnov himself refused to run for the Executive Bureau, saying former
party leaders should not be on it. Originally, the Executive Bureau was to
have had 20 members in order to represent all major tendencies within the
party. The BSP Supreme Council, however, reduced that number to 15. --
Stefan Krause
[17] ALBANIAN DAILY PUBLISHES LIST OF PARDONED PRISONERS.
The Daily Albania on 4 January published the full list of people included
in President Sali Berisha's New Year amnesty. Two founders of a communist
party, 54-year-old Timoshenko Pekmezi and 62-year-old Sami Meta are among
those released. They were sentenced last year to two and three years in
jail, respectively. The 15-year sentence of former Politbureau member Lenka
Cuko was reduced by five years. Cuko was sentenced last year for crimes
against humanity and for deporting dissidents into internal exile.
Socialist leader Fatos Nano's prison term for embezzlement was reduced by
six months. He has another 18 months left to serve, Reuters reported.
Elsewhere, police have arrested 13 Kurds from Iraq in Vlora who were
waiting to cross illegally to Italy, international agencies reported on 3
January. -- Fabian Schmidt
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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