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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 12, 97-01-17
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 12, 17 January 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TRIAL OF POLICE ENDS IN BAKU.
[02] LUKOIL GAINS SHARE IN KAZAKSTANI OIL FIELD.
[03] TROUBLE AGAIN IN TURSUN ZADE . . .
[04] . . . AND DEMONSTRATION IN KHOJENT.
[05] KARIMOV ON TAJIK GOVERNMENT, RUSSIAN MEDIA.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] OUTGOING PREMIER SAYS BULGARIA ALMOST BANKRUPT . . .
[07] . . . WHILE NO LETUP IN PROTESTS IN SIGHT.
[08] HAS SERBIAN PRESIDENT BEEN MEETING WITH OPPOSITION?
[09] PRESSURE ON MILOSEVIC INCREASES . . .
[10] . . . WHILE HE BIDES HIS TIME.
[11] FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER COMMITS SUICIDE.
[12] IZETBEGOVIC ENTERS THE HOSPITAL.
[13] MOSTAR CROATS EVICT ANOTHER MUSLIM FROM HER HOME.
[14] NEW ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ON NATO INTEGRATION.
[15] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT NOMINATES NEW PREMIER.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] TRIAL OF POLICE ENDS IN BAKU.
The trial of some 30 former members of Azerbaijan's OPON special police
force, accused of taking part in a coup attempt in March 1995, ended on 16
January, Radio Rossii reported. The accused were given jail sentences of up
to 13 years. The trial began in October 1996: 60 other ex-OPON members were
sentenced in earlier trials in March and April 1996, and some 300 have been
jailed. The OPON force was disbanded after the coup attempt, which was
allegedly led by Deputy Interior Minister Rovshan Djavadov. -- Peter
Rutland
[02] LUKOIL GAINS SHARE IN KAZAKSTANI OIL FIELD.
Chevron announced on 16 January that it will bring Russian company Lukoil
into the Tengiz oilfield project by selling 5% of its shares to Lukoil,
ITAR-TASS reported. The two U.S. companies Chevron and Mobil will then hold
45% and 25% of the project's shares respectively, and the Kazakstani
company Tengizmunaigaz the remaining 25%. In December Russia persuaded the
Caspian Sea Consortium, which will build a pipeline to export the Tengiz
oil, to increase Russia's share in that project to 44% while reducing
Kazakstan's stake to 21% and Chevron's to 15% (see OMRI Daily Digest, 9
December 1996). -- Peter Rutland
[03] TROUBLE AGAIN IN TURSUN ZADE . . .
Russian media reports that the situation in the western Tajik city of
Tursun Zade is once again tense. Following the violence last week when Col.
Mahmud Khudaberdiyev and his unit, the First Brigade, forced a criminal
group from the city, President Imomali Rakhmonov ordered the presidential
guard to take up positions in the city and guard the aluminum plant located
there. However, on 16 January, residents of Tursun Zade, mainly women,
gathered on a bridge 15 kilometers east of the city and are refusing to
allow the presidential guard to pass. The guard commander, Gen.-Maj. Gafur
Mirzoyev, said he will comply with his orders to take control of the
aluminum plant. Khudaberdiyev says he will not sit idly and allow the guard
to enter the city. RFE/RL reports the city is currently under the control
of warlord Sadullo Mirzoev, installed there by Khudaberdiyev. -- Bruce
Pannier
[04] . . . AND DEMONSTRATION IN KHOJENT.
Demonstrators gathered in 15 different places in the northern Tajik city of
Khojent on 16 January, demanding the participation of National Revival
Movement leader Abdumalik Abdullajonov in the peace talks now underway in
Tehran, RFE/RL reported. Abdullajonov told RFE/RL that the government and
United Tajik Opposition can not ignore him or his movement in the formation
of a national reconciliation council. He said that excluding certain
regions or leaders from the talks would lead to a deterioration of the
already catastrophic situation in Tajikistan. Abdullajonov, a former prime
minister and ambassador to Russia, in 1996 formed the National Revival
Movement with two other ex-prime ministers, Jamshed Karimov and Abdujalil
Samadov. -- Bruce Pannier
[05] KARIMOV ON TAJIK GOVERNMENT, RUSSIAN MEDIA.
Just prior to undertaking his first state visit to Prague and Bratislava,
Uzbek President Islam Karimov accused the Tajik government of being unable
"to cope with leadership" and the Russian media of pitting Uzbeks and
Tajiks against each other, Uzbek Television reported on 14 January. Karimov
described the recent events in Tursun Zade as a game between "thieves and
convicts," some of whom hold "high positions in the Interior Ministry," for
control over the city's aluminum plant. He added that some Russian media
are "taking advantage" of the situation to stir up trouble between Uzbeks
and Tajiks. He termed this futile and called on the Tajik government "to
come to its senses and establish peace on our border and agree with the
opposition forces quickly." -- Lowell Bezanis
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[06] OUTGOING PREMIER SAYS BULGARIA ALMOST BANKRUPT . . .
Zhan Videnov on 16 January said Bulgaria is on the verge of bankruptcy and
that a new government must be formed by the end of the month, RFE/RL and
Duma reported. He said the state will "soon be unable to function"
because its funds are exhausted and the 1997 state budget has not yet been
passed by the parliament. He added that a new government is needed for
negotiations with the IMF, urging that they start within a week. Meanwhile,
four leaders of the Alliance for Social Democracy--a reformist faction
within the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party--have announced they will quit
the BSP because it is "incapable of reform." They called for immediate
parliamentary elections. Kontinent reported they will form a new leftist
party on 18 January. -- Stefan Krause
[07] . . . WHILE NO LETUP IN PROTESTS IN SIGHT.
Some 15,000 people on 16 January protested in Sofia against a new BSP-led
government and urged that early parliamentary elections be held, RFE/RL and
Reuters reported. Some 2,000 students marched to the president's office,
where a delegation was received by outgoing President Zhelyu Zhelev. Zhelev
is still refusing to give the BSP a mandate to form a new government.
Rallies were held in dozens of other towns throughout the country, and
miners, factory workers, teachers, doctors and others continued with one-
hour work stoppages. The BSP and the opposition appear to be no closer to
an agreement on forming a new government and calling early elections. The
opposition plans to stage a rally on 17 January near the parliament
building, which was the scene of violent clashes last Friday. Zhelev is
scheduled the same day to meet with Union of Democratic Forces leaders to
discuss the situation. -- Stefan Krause
[08] HAS SERBIAN PRESIDENT BEEN MEETING WITH OPPOSITION?
The Bosnian news agency Onasa, citing Beta, reported on 16 January that
Zajedno leaders Vuk Draskovic and Zoran Djindjic have in recent weeks met
with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. No details of the meetings were
given. According to Onasa, Djindjic has said the main purpose of the
meeting was to find a solution to the political crisis gripping Serbia. He
is also quoted as saying that Milosevic "indirectly proposed to the
opposition that new elections be organized." However, Nasa Borba on 17
January reports that both Djindjic and Draskovic are categorically denying
having met with Milosevic. Draskovic said that the Beta report alleging
such meetings took place was a "lie." -- Stan Markotich
[09] PRESSURE ON MILOSEVIC INCREASES . . .
Meanwhile, pressure on the Serbian president to recognize opposition wins
in the 17 November municipal runoff elections shows no signs of abating. On
the contrary. Zajedno leaders pledged at a mass rally in Belgrade on 16
January to continue the protests and, if necessary, to intensify pressure.
Zajedno leader Vesna Pesic said, "I propose that we issue [the Serbian
authorities] a deadline for fully recognizing the election results, and to
say that after that deadline not a single institution in Serbia will have
any legitimacy," Reuters reported. The OSCE has said it opposes the idea of
Milosevic making piecemeal concessions to Zajedno. It urged him instead
to recognize the opposition wins without delay. -- Stan Markotich
[10] . . . WHILE HE BIDES HIS TIME.
For his part, Milosevic continues to deploy stalling tactics. Tanjug
reports that he has offered concessions to the opposition, such as economic
reform and cabinet shuffles, but has resisted recognizing the opposition
victories. In what may be a related development, the Yugoslav Defense
Council--which includes Milosevic, Federal Premier Radoje Kontic,
Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic, as well as top military leaders--met
on 16 January to discuss solutions to the political situation. Meanwhile,
New Democracy, a coalition ally of Milosevic's ruling Socialists, has said
it advocates finding a solution to the political crisis, Reuters reported
on 16 January. -- Stan Markotich
[11] FORMER BOSNIAN SERB LEADER COMMITS SUICIDE.
Nikola Koljevic, a professor of English literature and former vice
president of the Republika Srpska, shot himself in the head in Pale on 16
January, news agencies reported. The 60-year-old Koljevic had attempted
several times to end his life since his replacement as vice president
following the September 1996 Bosnian elections. Koljevic participated in
the talks that led to the Dayton agreement and cultivated an image abroad
as a moderate, but Muslims in particular regarded him as a war criminal
because of his role in the siege of Sarajevo. -- Patrick Moore
[12] IZETBEGOVIC ENTERS THE HOSPITAL.
Alija Izetbegovic, the Muslim member and current chair of the three-man
collective presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, entered the heart clinic of
Sarajevo's Kosevo hospital on 16 January. His representative Mirza Hajric
said that the 71-year-old leader will undergo a planned series of tests
during a five-day stay, news agencies reported. Izetbegovic suffered a
heart attack almost a year ago. The Croatian member of the presidency,
Kresimir Zubak, has written Izetbegovic to ask him to name an acting chair
of that body during his absence, Oslobodjenje wrote on 17 January. --
Patrick Moore
[13] MOSTAR CROATS EVICT ANOTHER MUSLIM FROM HER HOME.
Two armed men on 14 January threw an unnamed 71-year-old woman Muslim woman
out of the apartment in Croat-held west Mostar where she had lived for 30
years, AFP reported, quoting UN police. The thugs then took her out of town
and dumped her. They warned her not to scream or she would "end up the same
way" as another elderly Muslim woman who was evicted from her flat and left
to die in an abandoned building on Christmas Eve. A Croatian soldier later
moved into that apartment, claiming he had bought it in a bar for DM 3,000.
The woman invovled in the latest forcible eviction case told police she is
too afraid to go home. Both the UN police and the international community's
High Representative Carl Bildt condemned the latest evictions, but they
failed to say how such acts will be prevented in the future or what they
will do to punish those involved. West Mostar is widely regarded as one of
the most lawless areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina and a place where Croatian
military personnel, politicians, and mafia figures cooperate closely. --
Patrick Moore
[14] NEW ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ON NATO INTEGRATION.
Victor Babiuc on 16 January excluded the possibility of Romania not joining
NATO, Radio Bucharest reported. Babiuc said "Romania should be admitted in
the first wave and by all means alongside Hungary." According to Reuters,
he also mentioned plans to privatize the country's weapons industry in
order to bring its military structures in line with NATO standards. Such
plans would depend largely on foreign investors, he added. In related news,
Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Severin has responded to a statement by
his Hungarian counterpart, Laszlo Kovacs, saying that the change of power
in Romania facilitates Hungary's entry into NATO. Severin emphasized that
the two countries should join the alliance simultaneously, pointing out
that the September 1996 bilateral treaty calls for mutual support in the
countries' bid for NATO, EU, and WEU integration. -- Zsolt Mato
[15] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT NOMINATES NEW PREMIER.
Petru Lucinschi on 16 January nominated Ion Ciubuc as prime minister to
replace Andrei Sangheli, international agencies reported. The 54-year-old
Ciubuc pledged to form a "cabinet of experts, irrespective of their
political views." At the same time, he said he would offer posts to some
30% of the previous cabinet's members. Painting a bleak picture of the
Moldovan economy, he promised to foster privatization and restructuring.
During the Soviet era, Ciubuc, a trained economist, was a senior official
at the State Planning Committee. After independence, he served as a first
deputy prime minister and a deputy foreign minister. Since December 1994,
he has headed the State Auditing Office. -- Dan Ionescu
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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