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OMRI Daily Digest, Vol. 2, No. 98, 96-05-21
From: Open Media Research Institute <http://www.omri.cz>
Vol. 2, No. 98, 21 May 1996
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OVER PRISONER RELEASE.
[02] TURKISH DIPLOMAT WARNS GEORGIA ON RUSSIAN BASE.
[03] MARKET COMPETITION DECREED IN UZBEKISTAN.
[04] VIOLENCE IN TAJIKISTAN.
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[05] KARADZIC REMAINS BOSNIAN SERB PRESIDENT?
[06] REQUESTS FOR MOSTAR ELECTIONS TO BE POSTPONED.
[07] BOSNIAN SERB AUTHORITIES HARASS INDEPENDENT RADIO.
[08] BOSNIANS BEGIN TRAINING IN TURKEY.
[09] SERBIAN HEALTH-CARE WORKERS STRIKE.
[10] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER RESIGNS OVER DISMISSAL OF RUMP YUGOSLAV BANK
GOVERNOR.
[11] MACEDONIA RECEIVES LOAN FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.
[12] SOUTH KOREAN PRIME MINISTER IN ROMANIA.
[13] NEW SOCIALIST PARTY IN MOLDOVA.
[14] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
[15] ALBANIA, GREECE AGREE TO BOOST MILITARY COOPERATION.
[A] TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OVER PRISONER RELEASE.
Many of the 34 supposed Armenian prisoners of war released by Azerbaijan and
brought to Armenia on 9 May by Russian Foreign Minister Yevgenii Primakov were
in fact Azerbaijanis who had been convicted of criminal offenses in their home
country, according to ITAR-TASS and Noyan Tapan. Noyan Tapan also reported on
20 May that three of the Azerbaijani prisoners of war released by the Karabakh
Armenian leadership (one Afghan and two Russian mercenaries) declined to be
repatriated to Azerbaijan for fear of reprisals from the authorities. -- Liz
Fuller
[02] TURKISH DIPLOMAT WARNS GEORGIA ON RUSSIAN BASE.
The Turkish Ambassador to Georgia Tofik Okiauz told the Georgian newspaper
Rezonansi that Turkey would respond in kind if Tbilisi allows Russia to
establish a military base near the Turkish border, ITAR-TASS reported on 20
May. A 1994 basing agreement gave Russia the right to base troops at
Akhalkalaki, some 20 km from the Turkish border, where a Soviet motorized-
rifle division was once based. Okiauz said that in such an event "Turkey will
build a military base on its territory, in direct proximity to the Georgian
border." Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagarishvili said that countries
in the region should "strive to switch over from confrontation...to
international cooperation." He noted that the Russian-Georgian basing
agreement would not come into force until Georgia's territorial integrity is
restored." -- Doug Clarke
[03] MARKET COMPETITION DECREED IN UZBEKISTAN.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov on 15 May established a Demonopolization and
Competition Committee in the Finance Ministry, which will have the authority
to penalize companies that break Uzbekistan's antimonopoly legislation, the
BBC reported on 21 May. The committee will also take on the role of "consumer
advocate" for both citizens and foreign companies. This development is part of
a recent effort by the Uzbek government to encourage foreign investment. --
Roger Kangas
[04] VIOLENCE IN TAJIKISTAN.
Violence continued in northeastern Tajikistan despite the recent signing of
another three-month extension to the ceasefire agreement. Reuters reported
that battles raged around the city of Tajikabad on 17-18 May and ITAR-TASS
reported that two Tajik police officers were killed and four captured in a
raid on an Interior Ministry department on 19 May in Jirgatal. Both cities lie
on the road leading eastward from Dushanbe toward Kyrgyzstan. One police
officer was killed and another wounded in an 18 May attack on a police check
point in the Dushanbe suburbs. On 19 May, police opened fire on a vehicle
containing an Iranian embassy employee in Dushanbe, injuring him and his five-
year-old son. The Iranian embassy is demanding the arrest of the officers. --
Bruce Pannier
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[05] KARADZIC REMAINS BOSNIAN SERB PRESIDENT?
Biljana Plavsic--vice president of the Republika Srpska, whom Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic has named to take over all dealings with the
international community--has stressed that Karadzic has not resigned,
international and local media reported on 20 May. Plavsic says that Karadzic
is still president of the Republika Srpska and that, according to the
constitution, he has the right to delegate certain duties to his deputy.
Meanwhile, the international community's Carl Bildt has announced that he will
work together with both new Bosnian Serb Premier Gojko Klickovic and his
predecessor, ousted Rajko Kasagic, Onasa reported on 20 May. Bildt explained
his decision by saying Klickovic was appointed by the Bosnian Serb assembly. --
Daria Sito Sucic
[06] REQUESTS FOR MOSTAR ELECTIONS TO BE POSTPONED.
Mostar Muslims on 20 May sent a letter to the city EU administrator Ricardo
Peres Casado requesting that municipal elections be postponed, AFP reported.
Former Bosnian Premier Haris Silajdzic the same day called for the ballot to
be held in September, when general elections are scheduled. Meanwhile, Muhamed
Sacirbey, Bosnia's ambassador to the UN and one of the signatories to that
part of the Dayton peace accord on Mostar and the election regulations, said
the signing was the result of a mutual misunderstanding between the Bosnians
and the international community, Oslobodjenje reported on 21 May. -- Daria
Sito Sucic
[07] BOSNIAN SERB AUTHORITIES HARASS INDEPENDENT RADIO.
The Banja Luka station Radio Big was taken off the air briefly on 20 May but
was later allowed to resume broadcasting. The authorities said that the
programming was cut because the station "had not paid its electricity bill."
Editor Igor Crnadak called it "organized harassment." It is unclear how or why
the station was allowed to resume broadcasting, AFP said. The privately owned
station is easily the most popular one in the northern part of the Republika
Srpska and the only one to give anything resembling impartial coverage of the
ongoing power struggle between Bosnian Serb leaders. -- Patrick Moore
[08] BOSNIANS BEGIN TRAINING IN TURKEY.
Some 200 soldiers from the Bosnian-Croatian Federation armed forces officially
began to train in Turkey on 20 May, Western and Turkish media reported. They
are to receive tank warfare and artillery practice at two bases near Ankara.
The Turkish Daily News cited Maj. Mirsad Gutic as saying the training would
be largely technical and would focus on operating the M60 A3 tank. The U.S.
has pledged to donate 45 such vehicles to Bosnia. Turkey is fulfilling a
pledge made in January to provide training worth $2 million under a U.S.-
sponsored program for the federation. Washington's European allies have
expressed anger over the project to boost the Bosnian government forces. --
Lowell Bezanis
[09] SERBIAN HEALTH-CARE WORKERS STRIKE.
An estimated two-thirds of Serbia's 140,000 or so health-care workers have
gone on strike to demand a 50% wage increase and improved working conditions,
Beta reported on 20 May. Minister of Health Leposava Milicevic has offered a
30% hike. According to official government statistics, health-care workers
earn on average the equivalent of $130 a month. -- Stan Markotich
[10] SERBIAN OPPOSITION LEADER RESIGNS OVER DISMISSAL OF RUMP YUGOSLAV BANK
GOVERNOR.
Radoljub Draskovic, vice president of New Democracy, has resigned from both
his post and the party over the firing last week of National Bank Governor
Dragoslav Avramovic, Beta reported on 18 May. Draskovic said he was concerned
that the party had compromised its integrity by supporting Avramovic's ouster.
New Democracy is a wing of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and gives the
SPS its de facto majority in the republican legislature. The alliance seems
to have remained intact despite Draskovic's resignation. -- Stan Markotich
[11] MACEDONIA RECEIVES LOAN FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.
The World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) has approved a
virtually interest-free loan of around $7.9 million to Macedonia, RFE/RL
reported on 20 May. The loan is intended to help fund pilot projects in
agriculture, support privatization of veterinary and epidemiological services,
and improve small farmers' access to commercial credits. According to the IDA,
agriculture accounts for some 20% of Macedonia's economy, while some 70% of
farmland remains divided into small private plots. The loan is repayable over
35 years, with a 10-year grace period. -- Stefan Krause
[12] SOUTH KOREAN PRIME MINISTER IN ROMANIA.
Lee Soo-sung on 20 May began a three-day official visit to Romania, local
media reported. Invited by Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu, the South
Korean premier is accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen from
companies such as Hyundai, Samsung, and Kia Motors. Meanwhile, Council of
Europe Secretary-General Daniel Tarschys was received in Bucharest on 20 May
by Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. Among the topics discussed was Romania's
possible participation in the implementation of the Dayton agreements. The
same day, Anne-Marie Drague, Secretary of State at the French Ministry for
Transportation and Tourism, and Romanian Minister of Transportation Aurel
Novac met in the Romanian capital to sign a cooperation accord. The agreement
provides for French participation in overhauling Romania's transportation
infrastructure as well as the purchase of French-built Airbus planes, trains,
and buses. -- Michael Shafir and Matyas Szabo
[13] NEW SOCIALIST PARTY IN MOLDOVA.
The Socialist Action Party has been founded in Chisinau by some 100 delegates,
BASA-Press reported on 18 May. Aurel Cepoi, a deputy of the Socialist Unity
caucus and chairman of the new party, said that Moldova lacked a truly leftist
formation. He commented that the two existing left-wing parties--the Socialist
Party and the Communist Party--are trying to revive the Soviet regime and are
"discrediting the young democracy" by attacking President Mircea Snegur.
According to its charter and manifesto, the new party aims to apply market
principles in order to restructure the country's economy. -- Matyas
Szabo
[14] BULGARIAN ROUNDUP.
Zhan Videnov on 20 May arrived in Beijing for a four-day official visit, Duma
reported. Videnov's visit is mainly aimed at intensifying economic and trade
relations. Meanwhile, Ahmed Dogan, chairman of the ethnic Turkish Movement for
Rights and Freedom (DPS), has received a death threat, Standart reported. At
a rally on 20 May, DPS parliamentary deputy Remzi Osman called on his party's
followers to be prepared to take to the streets when the party tells them to.
He said 100,000 people blocking roads would be enough to topple the
government. In other news, Plovdiv Mayor Spas Garnevski of the Union of
Democratic Forces refused to meet President Zhelyu Zhelev during the latter's
visit there. Garnevski was quoted by Trud as saying he neither wishes to
meet with the president nor has time to do so because he is busy preparing for
"the [upcoming] visit of His Majesty the Tsar." -- Stefan Krause
[15] ALBANIA, GREECE AGREE TO BOOST MILITARY COOPERATION.
Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhulali and his Greek counterpart, Gerasimos
Arsenis, have pledged to boost cooperation in the spheres of arms production
and training of troops. They also agreed to increase the number of joint
maneuvers within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program. Arsenis
said Greece will support Albania's application for full membership in NATO.
Zhulali, who is on a three day visit to Athens, called on Greece to use its
influence over Serbia to persuade that country to start negotiations on the
Kosovo crisis, the Albanian-language service of Deutsche Welle reported on 20
May. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, at a meeting of the
North Atlantic Assembly in Athens, called for Macedonia's rapid integration
into the alliance, Nova Makedonija reported on 21 May. -- 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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