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OMRI: Daily Digest, Vol. 3, No. 35, 97-02-19
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 3, No. 35, 19 February 1997
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS 1997 BUDGET.
[02] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES TO FORM "UNITED FRONT."
[03] REGIONAL UZBEK BOSS ANSWERS TO POOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE.
[04] UZBEKISTAN PROTESTS ATTACK ON CUSTOMS OFFICERS.
[05] TURKMEN UPDATE.
[06] TURGUNALIEV TRIAL UPDATE.
[07] TAJIKISTAN OPPOSITION ON HOSTAGE TAKING.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[08] REASSURING EASTERN SLAVONIA'S SERBS.
[09] BOSNIAN ROUNDUP.
[10] CROATIA REJECTS TRIBUNE'S REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE.
[11] LABOR UNREST ACROSS SERBIA.
[12] UPDATE ON SERBIA'S OPPOSITION.
[13] FUEL, OTHER PRICES SURGE IN ROMANIA.
[14] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT ON FIGHTING CRIME, CORRUPTION.
[15] MACEDONIA TO RECEIVE $46 MILLION FROM EU.
[16] REACTIONS TO BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT'S WISH TO JOIN NATO.
[17] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VETOES CHANGES TO ELECTORAL LAW.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS 1997 BUDGET.
Following more than two months of debate, the Armenian National Assembly on
18 February adopted the 1997 budget, international media reported. The
budget envisages expenditures of 151.9 billion drams ($325 million) with
30.5 billion drams to be spent on defense needs and 16.8 billion allocated
for social welfare. According to Reuters, the budget projects a 10.5%
inflation rate in 1997, and practically all of its 33.9 billion dram
deficit will be covered by international financial institutions. Addressing
the parliament, President Levon Ter-Petrossyan described it as a "budget of
survival but not a budget of development." The Communist Party was the only
faction that voted against the draft. The two other parliamentary
opposition parties, the National Democratic Union and the National Self-
Determination Union, have been boycotting the legislature since the 25
September post-election unrest. -- Emil Danielyan
[02] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES TO FORM "UNITED FRONT."
A round table discussion involving the main Armenian opposition parties
decided on 17 February to form a "united front" against the current
government and to convene the new movement's founding congress soon, Noyan
Tapan reported. According to the opposition leaders, the movement's only
goal is to "establish democracy in Armenia." In particular, this involves
holding fresh presidential, parliamentary, and local elections and adopting
a new constitution. David Vartanyan, a representative of the National
Democratic Union, said that the new organization will include Armenian NGOs
and distinguished individuals who are unhappy with the current regime.
Meanwhile, during a mass rally in Yerevan on 18 February to mark the 76th
anniversary of the 1921 anti-Bolshevik revolt, the opposition reiterated
its claims that the "illegitimacy of the Armenian leadership" is hindering
a solution to the country's pressing problems. -- Emil Danielyan
[03] REGIONAL UZBEK BOSS ANSWERS TO POOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE.
Mirzajon Islamov was removed from his post as administrative head of the
Ferghana Wilayat on 14 February, Narodnoe slovo reported on 15 February.
In a meeting chaired by Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Islamov was accused
of "no longer answering the needs of the time," a charge levied against
other regional hokims in 1996 (see OMRI Daily Digest, 17 December 1996).
The president considered the pace of privatization and economic reform to
have been too slow, noting that only 35 out of 73 registered joint ventures
in the region were still in operation. In addition, light industries were
operating at only 50% capacity and agricultural harvests for 1996 were a
disappointing 77% of the required quota. His successor is Numonjon Mominov,
a district head of administration from the same Ferghana apparatus as
Islamov. -- Roger Kangas
[04] UZBEKISTAN PROTESTS ATTACK ON CUSTOMS OFFICERS.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry protested to Dushanbe after three Uzbek customs
officers were wounded in a 15 February attack on their outpost in Besharik,
RFE/RL reported on 18 February. Uzbek authorities believe the assault from
Tajik territory was well-planned and designed to aggravate tensions between
the Leninabad region of Tajikistan and adjacent Uzbek areas. This is the
second such incident to occur this year. -- Lowell Bezanis
[05] TURKMEN UPDATE.
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov and Barnea Eli, president of the Dutch
subsidiary of the Israeli concern Bateman, signed a $180 million deal to
modernize Turkmenistan's aging pipeline system, RFE/RL reported on 19
February. The U.S. and South Africa are to provide capital for the
undertaking. -- Lowell Bezanis
[06] TURGUNALIEV TRIAL UPDATE.
The Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan changed the verdict handed down by a
Bishkek municipal court to Topchubek Turgunaliev on embezzlement charges
early last month, RFE/RL reported on 18 February. The Supreme Court reduced
a 10-year prison term to a three-year suspended sentence and one year
deportation to the Issyk-Kul region; the other defendant in the case, Timur
Stamkulov, had his sentence reduced from six to three years. Turgunaliev's
lawyers declared their intention to appeal the latest decision in
Kyrgyzstan's Constitutional Court. In other news, the presidential
administration of Kyrgyzstan was shrunk by a 14 February presidential
decree from 127 to 89, RFE/RL reported the same day. -- Naryn Idinov
[07] TAJIKISTAN OPPOSITION ON HOSTAGE TAKING.
The Russian intelligence service and the Tajik government orchestrated the
recently concluded hostage taking crisis in Tajikistan in an attempt to
bring another group into the inter-Tajik talks and set it against the
opposition, according to a clandestine Tajik opposition radio report by the
BBC monitored 15 February Interfax report. According to a Russian media
report issued immediately after the hostages were released, Tajik
Presidential Press Secretary Zafar Saidov was quoted as saying the Sadirov
brothers declared their "loyalty" to Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov and
did not lay claim to the status of a "third force" in the Tajik peace
talks. The next round of talks is scheduled to take place later this week
in Meshed, Iran. -- Lowell Bezanis
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[08] REASSURING EASTERN SLAVONIA'S SERBS.
The UN's special envoy for human rights, Elisabeth Rehn, said in Vukovar on
18 February that there must be a continued international presence in
eastern Slavonia after the region reverts to Croatian control in July. The
current UN military mandate expires in mid-year, but Rehn said that
military observers must remain to reassure the area's 120,000 Serbs. She
also called for civilian representatives of the EU, OSCE, and other bodies
to be present, Novi List reported. The UN has been trying to convince the
Serbs to stay and has obtained pledges from the Zagreb authorities of fair
treatment for Serbs who did not commit war crimes (see Pursuing Balkan
Peace, 18 February 1997). Serbian nationalists have nonetheless urged
people to leave, and the Association of Serbs Expelled from Croatia
announced in Banja Luka that it expects up to 70,000 people to resettle in
Bosnia's Republika Srpska. Eastern Slavonia is expected to top the agenda
today when Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic visits Belgrade, AFP
reported. -- Patrick Moore
[09] BOSNIAN ROUNDUP.
Explosive devices were thrown by unknown persons at the homes of two UN
policemen in Prijedor in the northwest corner of Bosnian Serb territory,
the UN announced on 18 February. Violence seems to have abated in Mostar,
however, although progress still needs to be made on enabling those
expelled recently from their homes to return, Oslobodjenje wrote on 19
February. Meanwhile in Sarajevo, the hunt is on for a successor to the
international community's High Representative Carl Bildt. His term runs out
in April, and he is believed to be anxious to leave, AFP wrote. But the job
requires a former head of government--Bildt is a former prime minister of
Sweden--and no such person seems interested. Names mentioned have included
Spain's Felipe Gonzalez and Britain's Margaret Thatcher. -- Patrick Moore
[10] CROATIA REJECTS TRIBUNE'S REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE.
The Croatian government said it will not surrender to the Hague-based
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia evidence against
Tihomil Blaskic, a Bosnian Croat accused of commanding a massacre of
Muslims during the Muslim-Croat war in 1993, Hina reported on 18 February.
Tribunal Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald ordered that Croatian Defense
Minister Gojko Susak and Bosnian Federation Defense Minister Ante Jelavic
turn over transcripts, memos, and recordings of conversations dating four
years back by 19 February; otherwise, the ministers must appear before the
court and explain their refusal. The Croatian government said such demands
were "inappropriate" and compliance with them could "jeopardize national
security." A Croatian Defense Ministry spokesman said Susak would neither
provide the requested documentation nor appear in court. -- Daria Sito
Sucic
[11] LABOR UNREST ACROSS SERBIA.
An estimated 90% of schools were shut down across Serbia as striking
teachers and their unions demanded payment of salaries in arrears and pay
increases. The government, meanwhile, said that an agreement on resolving
the dispute has been reached but insisted that meeting teachers' demands
would force the printing of more currency, cause inflation, and destabilize
the dinar, Reuters reported on 18 February. Union officials have pledged to
continue striking until their demands are met. -- Stan Markotich
[12] UPDATE ON SERBIA'S OPPOSITION.
Leader of the Democratic Party Zoran Djindjic is slated to become
Belgrade's first non-communist mayor in over 50 years this week. But Danica
Draskovic, wife of Serbian Renewal Movement head Vuk Draskovic, has
signaled her intent to become the head of the greater Belgrade district
government, an office that may rival the mayoralty for influence. Meanwhile,
Vuk Draskovic told Dnevni Telegraf he would neither support nor tolerate
his wife's bid for the position, as such an arrangement would evoke Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic and his wife and main political ally, Mirjana
Markovic. Draskovic added that Djindjic's succession to the mayor's post is
not a foregone conclusion. -- Stan Markotich
[13] FUEL, OTHER PRICES SURGE IN ROMANIA.
The price of fuel, electricity, public transport, and telecommunications
surged on 18 February, Romanian and Western media reported. The price hikes
went into effect less than one day after Premier Victor Ciorbea announced a
shock therapy package for the ailing Romanian economy. Gasoline and diesel
prices, which had already doubled in early January, rose again by some 50%,
the price of rail tickets by 80%, of telecommunications by 100%, and of
electricity by up to 500%. The surge followed the government's decision to
withdraw subsidies for those goods. A chain reaction is expected on the
market, including the staples market. Long queues reportedly formed outside
bread shops; some people bought up to 50 loaves. The IMF's chief negotiator
for Romania, Poul Thomsen, praised Ciorbea's proposal for reforms but
warned against further subsidizing energy-intensive enterprises. -- Dan
Ionescu
[14] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT ON FIGHTING CRIME, CORRUPTION.
Petru Lucinschi on 17 February said that the struggle against crime and
corruption was a top priority for the current administration, along with
paying pension and salaries arrears, BASA-press and Infotag reported the
following day. Lucinschi announced that the Interior Ministry will soon set
up a special department to deal with crime and corruption. He expressed
confidence that, in a small country such as Moldova, order could be
restored within six months. According to data released on 18 February by
the Interior Ministry, organized crime is on the rise in Moldova, where 122
criminal groups operate. A ministry spokesman said that ties between the
underworld and the state bodies are closest in the banking system and in
the institutions in charge of privatizing industry and agriculture. -- Dan
Ionescu
[15] MACEDONIA TO RECEIVE $46 MILLION FROM EU.
The council of EU finance and economy ministers agreed in Brussels on 18
February to lend Macedonia ECU 40 million ($46 million), Nova Makedonija
reported the next day. Greece and Great Britain had on 27 January blocked
such a decision, the former due to its objection to Macedonia's name and
the latter on technical grounds (see OMRI Daily Digest, 29 January 1997).
Part of the money is the EU's contribution to the donors' conference on 25
and 26 February which will settle Macedonia's $30 million debt to the
European Investment Bank; the failure to pay off that debt has held up the
signing of the trade and cooperation agreement reached with the EU in June
1996. The EU's decision paves the way for additional contributions from the
international financial institutions to cover a projected $85 million
balance-of-payments shortfall this year. -- Michael Wyzan
[16] REACTIONS TO BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT'S WISH TO JOIN NATO.
The caretaker government's announcement that Bulgaria will apply for full
NATO membership (see OMRI Daily Digest, 18 February 1997) met with mixed
reactions. The Russian Foreign Ministry on 18 February said that only the
parliament, not the government, has the right to decide on the issue, but
it said it sees Sofia's move "as a declaration" rather than a concrete step
toward membership, Kontinent reported on 19 February. Meeting with
interim Bulgarian Foreign Minister Stoyan Stalev, the ambassadors of the
NATO members asked whether Sofia's new position will be permanent and what
future relations with Moscow will be like. Turkish observers reacted
favorably. Bulgarian Socialist Party Chairman Georgi Parvanov said his
party is considering asking for a referendum on the issue alongside the 19
April parliamentary elections, Duma reported. -- Stefan Krause
[17] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VETOES CHANGES TO ELECTORAL LAW.
Petar Stoyanov on 18 February vetoed changes in the electoral law, saying
they could result in political instability, Reuters and Bulgarian media
reported. The Socialist majority in the outgoing parliament last week
lowered the threshold needed to gain parliamentary representation from 4%
to 3%. A meeting of the parliamentary Judicial Commission was called by
outgoing Parliamentary Speaker Blagovest Sendov for the same day but had to
be canceled for lack of a quorum. Sendov then decided not to call a plenary
meeting. He accused Stoyanov of humiliating the parliament. A presidential
decree dissolved the parliament on 19 February, which some experts
interpreted as midnight between 18 and 19 February. -- Stefan Krause
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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