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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 22, 97-01-31
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 22, 31 January 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] UN EXTENDS MANDATE OF OBSERVER MISSION IN GEORGIA.
[02] OIL AND GAS SURVEYS TO START IN ARMENIA.
[03] TRIALS UPDATE IN AZERBAIJAN.
[04] U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CENTRAL ASIA.
[05] MORE PRISONERS EXCHANGED IN TAJIKISTAN.
[06] TAJIKISTAN REPORTS TRADE SURPLUS.
[07] CHANGES TO TURKMENISTAN'S FLAG.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[08] ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO REIMBURSE SCAM VICTIMS.
[09] ALBANIAN OPPOSITION COALITION SET UP.
[10] PROTESTS CONTINUE AS BULGARIAN OPPOSITION REJECTS SOCIALISTS' OFFER.
[11] EU: AID TO BULGARIA IS CONTINGENT ON POLITICAL STABILITY.
[12] FEDERAL YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ON OPPOSITION PROTESTS.
[13] MUSLIM REFUGEES BEGIN TO RETURN HOME.
[14] ONLY SMALL NUMBER OF SERBS TO LEAVE EASTERN SLAVONIA?
[15] MIXED SIGNALS FROM KOSOVO.
[16] FIRST MACEDONIAN MINISTER VISIT TO GREECE.
[17] ROMANIAN PREMIER SEEKS TO AVOID "BULGARIZATION."
[18] ROMANIA AND NATO.
[19] HUMAN RIGHTS IN MOLDOVA.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] UN EXTENDS MANDATE OF OBSERVER MISSION IN GEORGIA.
The Security Council has approved another six-month extension of the 125-
member UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) which, with some 1,500
Russian peacekeepers, is stationed along the border with the breakaway
Republic of Abkhazia, Western agencies reported. The council reaffirmed its
support for Georgia's territorial integrity in the Abkhaz conflict and
condemned the Abkhaz leadership for holding "illegitimate and self-styled"
parliamentary elections in November 1996. -- Emil Danielyan
[02] OIL AND GAS SURVEYS TO START IN ARMENIA.
The Armenian government on 30 January approved an agreement on surveys for
oil and natural gas in a large area around Yerevan that was signed between
the Energy Ministry and the Armenian-American oil company in October 1996,
Noyan Tapan and ITAR-TASS reported. Geological exploration works will begin
in February and Energy Minister Gagik Martirosyan said that by next summer
it will be clear whether Armenia will extract its own oil and gas. He said
that the American side will invest some $100 million in the project.
Martirosyan added that an unnamed "American oil company operating in Baku"
will get a concession to develop the prospective oil fields. Martirosyan
did not deny that the company might be the U.S. Amoco corporation,
according to RFE/RL. -- Emil Danielyan
[03] TRIALS UPDATE IN AZERBAIJAN.
The former Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, Faraj Guliev,
was sentenced to 1.5 years imprisonment for his involvement in an attempt
on the life of President Heidar Aliev in 1993, Turan reported on 30
January. Three other defendants, Sahib Huseinov, Fazil Kerimov, and Bayram
Ahmedov received between 11 and 12 years each. -- Lowell Bezanis
[04] U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CENTRAL ASIA.
The U.S. State Department's annual global human rights report, issued on 30
January, said the human rights situation deteriorated in Central Asia in
1996, RFE/RL reported. The report noted that abuses in Turkmenistan and
Tajikistan were the worst in the region. Uzbekistan was not much better,
despite steps to improve its human rights record. The growth of
presidential power in Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan caused them to lag in the
development of democracy and human rights. -- Lowell Bezanis
[05] MORE PRISONERS EXCHANGED IN TAJIKISTAN.
The Tajik government, in accordance with a ceasefire agreement signed in
Moscow in December, released another seven opposition prisoners on 29
January, Reuters reported. This brings the number of opposition fighters
freed by the government to 13. However, the United Tajik Opposition (UTO)
noted that they had set free 111 government soldiers during the same period
and that, while the release of opposition prisoners was encouraging, the
UTO estimates there are still about 600 more held by the government. The
government says there are still 300 of its prisoners held in central
Tajikistan though the opposition claims it captured many more during 1996. -
- Bruce Pannier
[06] TAJIKISTAN REPORTS TRADE SURPLUS.
According to Tajikistan's National Custom's Committee and Statistics
Services, the country had a foreign trade volume of $1.4 billion in 1996,
ITAR-TASS reported on 30 January. Exports amounted to $768 million and
imports $657 million, a surplus of $111 million. Prime Minister Yakhye
Azimov, in an interview in the 31 January edition of Nezavisimaya Gazeta,
claimed the country had not yet reached even half its economic potential.
Azimov said that the "internal conflict" had held the country back but also
noted successes in the privatization of agriculture and small businesses as
an encouraging sign. The Prime Minister said the establishment of peace
following an agreement signed between the government and United Tajik
Opposition in December would hopefully create the stability needed to
attract foreign investment and raise wages, currently among the lowest in
the CIS. -- Bruce Pannier
[07] CHANGES TO TURKMENISTAN'S FLAG.
An olive branch motif is to be added to Turkmenistan's national flag,
RFE/RL reported on 30 January. According to a presidential decree issued
the day before, the branch, which is similar to the olive branch on the UN
flag, is to appear below the five motifs situated on the flag's left
corner. The decree noted the olive branch is to symbolize the peace-loving
nature of the Turkmen people as well as the country's "neutral" status.
Changes to the Turkmen national anthem and alphabet have also been made by
presidential decree. -- Lowell Bezanis
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[08] ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO REIMBURSE SCAM VICTIMS.
In a 97-0 vote, the legislature agreed to compensate the victims of the
failed Xhaferi and Populli pyramid schemes, international media reported on
30 January. The government had frozen the two companies' assets, worth up
to $300 million, which will be used toward compensating the victims in cash
payments and in guaranteed savings accounts with rates of interest above
those of inflation. It is unclear whether the compensation will be 100%--
President Sali Berisha had earlier said it would not be--or whether the
legislation will affect those who lost their money in other failed pyramid
schemes. Reimbursement will start on 15 February. -- Patrick Moore
[09] ALBANIAN OPPOSITION COALITION SET UP.
At least seven opposition parties from across the political spectrum agreed
on 30 January to launch the Forum for Democracy, international media
reported. In the wake of the pyramid scheme protests, they demand the
resignation of the government led by the Democratic Party, the setting up
of an interim government of technocrats, and the holding of new elections.
The new coalition brings together the ex-communist Socialist Party and the
vehemently anti-communist Association of Political Prisoners and the
monarchist Legality Movement. The former prisoners' spokesman said: "The
police state of Berisha is pushing Albania into a new communist
dictatorship." Meanwhile, the number of persons detained by the police in
the wake of the protests has been put at between 149 and 200. -- Patrick
Moore
[10] PROTESTS CONTINUE AS BULGARIAN OPPOSITION REJECTS SOCIALISTS' OFFER.
The opposition on 30 January rejected a proposal by Interior Minister
Nikolay Dobrev, the Bulgarian Socialist Party's (BSP) premier-designate,
that a government headed by him would serve only for three to five months
and that early parliamentary elections would then be held, RFE/RL and
Reuters reported. The opposition is demanding that elections take place by
May and that no BSP-led government be formed in the meantime. BSP Chairman
Georgi Parvanov again invited all parliamentary parties to discuss "the
type, the task, and the working period of the new government." Meanwhile,
protests and work stoppages continued throughout the country, and roads to
Greece and Turkey were blocked. A spokesman for the Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria said 250,000 people had joined strikes
and that 1.5 million had taken part in some form of protest. -- Stefan
Krause
[11] EU: AID TO BULGARIA IS CONTINGENT ON POLITICAL STABILITY.
President Petar Stoyanov, meeting with European Commission President
Jacques Santer and EU commissioners in Brussels on 30 January in a bid to
secure EU help, was told that any aid to Bulgaria will depend on political
stability, Reuters reported. A European Commission statement said the EU
will consider launching an international aid effort "as soon as the
political situation in Bulgaria allows it." EU External Relations
Commissioner Hans van den Broek called on the Bulgarian parties to resolve
their differences and create a climate in which economic reforms can
succeed. Stoyanov said meeting international debt obligations could have
"unpredictable social consequences" if international help were not
forthcoming. In other news, former Tsar Simeon II has for the first time
spoken out in favor of restoring the monarchy. He believes that, in his
capacity as king, he could have a calming effect, international media
reported. -- Stefan Krause
[12] FEDERAL YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ON OPPOSITION PROTESTS.
Zoran Lilic, speaking in Montenegro on 30 January, said that Zajedno
opposition victories in the November local elections should be recognized.
However, he added that protesters were making unacceptable demands,
especially by calling for Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's
resignation, Tanjug reported. The opposition "needs to be aware of its
responsibility not to insist on demands that are not following the will of
the people and are not linked to the local elections," he commented.
Meanwhile, the Serbian government met to discuss the ongoing protests. It
was decided to withhold or slash state funds to educational institutions
whose students have taken part in the protest. In a statement, the
government said that student actions have breached several major laws, and
it resolved "to apply the law strictly against the offending establishments
and withhold funds from them for the period they were not working." -- Stan
Markotich
[13] MUSLIM REFUGEES BEGIN TO RETURN HOME.
A group of 28 Muslims returned to the village of Gajevi just inside Serbian
lines on 30 January, Oslobodjenje reported. They had all completed
procedures agreed on by the Serbs, Muslims, and the UN, and SFOR had
checked them for weapons. Joint patrols involving the UN's International
Police Task Force and the Republika Srpska police have also begun. Some 36
families in all are slated to return to Gajevi, in keeping with the Dayton
agreement, but have been delayed by a series of violent incidents.
Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic told the international
community's Carl Bildt that she will issue instructions to local
authorities on the procedures regarding the border area. Meanwhile,
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will meet today with Chief Prosecutor
Louise Arbour to discuss ways of bolstering the effectiveness of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, VOA reported. --
Patrick Moore
[14] ONLY SMALL NUMBER OF SERBS TO LEAVE EASTERN SLAVONIA?
Croatia's Interior Minister Ivan Penic on 30 January said Croatia is not
expecting many Serbs to move into Republika Srpska--Bosnia's Serbian entity-
-after the reintegration of eastern Slavonia into the rest of Croatia, Hina
reported. Penic was meeting with SFOR commander Gen. Klaus Fruehhaber in
Zagreb to discuss the possible destabilization of neighboring Bosnia in the
event that a considerable number of Serbs left eastern Slavonia and moved
to that country. The two officials also discussed incidents at the border
between Croatia and Bosnia, at a section controlled by Bosnian Serbs.
Meanwhile, Gen. Pero Colic, head of Republika Srpska Army General staff,
said the army will defend the disputed Bosnian region of Brcko "even with
military resources if needed," Onasa reported on 30 January, citing Beta.
At a meeting with SFOR Deputy Commander Gen. Cordy Simson, Colic expressed
the hope that SFOR "understands the significance" of Brcko for Bosnian
Serbs and "our determination to defend it with all our means." -- Daria
Sito Sucic
[15] MIXED SIGNALS FROM KOSOVO.
The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the leading Albanian political
organization in the mainly ethnic Albanian province, said that Serbian
police have arrested 37 ethnic Albanians in recent days, news agencies
reported on 30 January. The LDK said that the police had "exercised brute
force against those arrested and members of their families during
systematic house searches," and that at least one man was badly beaten.
This comes amid much speculation by Serbian opposition leaders that
President Slobodan Milosevic will try to provoke a crisis in Kosovo as an
excuse for declaring a state of emergency throughout the country. The LDK
also suggested that Milosevic is cracking down in Kosovo to divert
attention from his problems in Serbia proper. Elsewhere, on 29 January a
joint Serbian-Albanian commission met in Belgrade to discuss implementing
the 1 September agreement on education in Kosovo, Deutsche Welle's Albanian
Service reported. -- Patrick Moore and Fabian Schmidt
[16] FIRST MACEDONIAN MINISTER VISIT TO GREECE.
Culture Minister Slobodan Unkovski on 30 January arrived in Greece for an
official visit--the first by a high-ranking official from Macedonia since
that country gained independence, Nova Makedonija and AFP
reported. Unkovski was in Thessaloniki for the city's inauguration as 1997
European culture capital. He also met with his counterparts from Greece,
Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia. In other news, the U.S.
State Department's annual report on human rights says that Macedonia
generally respects the human rights of its citizens, according to RFE/RL.
But the report pointed out that problems exist between the government and
the ethnic Albanian minority and that ethnic Macedonians hold a
disproportionately high number of positions in state institutions. It also
noted discrimination against women and occasional police brutality. --
Stefan Krause
[17] ROMANIAN PREMIER SEEKS TO AVOID "BULGARIZATION."
Victor Ciorbea told a 30 January press conference broadcast live on radio
and TV that the tough reform program being drafted by the government is the
last chance to avoid Romania's "Bulgarization." Also present at the press
conference were representatives of the World Bank and the EU, which are
helping draft the program. Ciorbea again accused the former government of
giving false reports on economic performance and failing to take timely
measures to fight economic deterioration. He pledged to introduce the
necessary reforms "whatever the political price" the government may have to
pay. Ciorbea predicted the economy would register a negative growth in 1997,
but he expressed confidence that, soon thereafter, it would take off.
Noting that the reform package will contain measures to protect the
socially disadvantaged, Ciorbea said it will be made public within two
weeks. -- Dan Ionescu.
[18] ROMANIA AND NATO.
U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns on 30 January said the U.S.
administration is "impressed by the progress Romania has made politically
and economically. " He added that Romania should not be ruled out as a
potential member of NATO. The same day, U.S. Senator Tom Lantos said in
Bucharest that he will support Romania's bid to join NATO at the same time
as other Central European states, Reuters reported. Russian Duma speaker
Gennadii Seleznyov, also on a visit to Romania on 30 January, said Romania
does not need to join NATO, which he called "archaic" and "very expensive."
Meanwhile, Romanian Defense Minister Victor Babiuc has announced Romania's
decision to create its first Rapid Reaction Force. The unit will be
compatible with NATO forces and will consist of some 5,000 soldiers. It is
scheduled to be operational in the last quarter of this year. -- Zsolt Mato
[19] HUMAN RIGHTS IN MOLDOVA.
A U.S. State Department report on human rights released on 30 January says
that human rights are generally respected by the Moldovan government but
are being abused in the Transdniester breakaway region, RFE/RL reported.
The Tiraspol authorities continue to put pressure on the media, make
questionable detentions, and discriminate against Romanian speakers. The
report also cites several isolated cases of potential human rights abuses
in Moldova, including the mysterious disappearance of a deputy chairman of
an independent television station who was abducted by men in police uniform
in January 1996. The Interior Ministry says its personnel was not involved
and attributes the abduction to a private settling of accounts among
criminals. -- 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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