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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 2, No. 79, 98-04-24Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 2, No. 79, 24 April 1998CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] NIYAZOV AT WHITE HOUSETurkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov met with U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Albert Gore at the White House on 23 April. Agreements were signed whereby the U.S. will provide $750,00 for a feasibility study of Trans-Caspian oil and gas pipelines on the Caspian sea bed and the U.S. Export-Import Bank will grant more credit to Turkmenistan for purchasing U.S.-made goods. The previous day, Turkmen officials signed agreements with U.S. companies Mobil and Exxon on the exploration and extraction of oil in western Turkmenistan. ITAR-TASS on 24 April quoted Niyazov as saying the agreements will be "useful to all the governments of the region." But the Tehran Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 23 April said the "legal regime of the Caspian Sea and water borders of its littoral states are not determined yet." It added that the Iranian route is by far the cheapest for exporting Turkmen gas and oil and that Turkmenistan 'should not submit to the ad hoc pressure exerted by powers outside the region." BP[02] IS THE TRANS-CASPIAN PIPELINE REALLY NECESSARY?In its annual study released on 23 April, the International Institute for Strategic Studies casts doubts on U.S. claims that Caspian oil reserves amount to 200 billion barrels, equal to 16 percent of the world's known reserves. It suggests that a more realistic estimate is between 25 and 30 billion barrels, Reuters and AFP reported. LF[03] NIYAZOV'S VISIT DRAWS STRONG CRITICISMThe Russian newspaper "Kommersant-Daily" on 23 April described Niyazov's visit as the U.S.'s latest bid to break up the CIS and "ensure" that at next week's CIS summit Central Asian and Trancaucasian leaders "are not overly compliant." The Helsinki Commission wrote a letter to President Clinton saying "no political reforms or human rights issues matter to the United States as long as you have oil or natural gas." White House spokesman Michael McCurry said the U.S. is calling for a multiparty system, fair elections, and the release of political prisoners in Tajikistan. With regard to the last-named, Niyazov said "they're free" as he left the White House. Previously, he has denied there are any political prisoners in Turkmenistan, and he has consistently told journalists in the U.S. that they are "poorly informed" in response to questions about the country's poor human rights record. BP[04] TAJIK GOVERNMENT, UTO REJECT ABDULLOJONOV'S PARTICIPATIONAbdumalik Abdullojonov, the leader of the Tajik National Revival Movement, has sent a letter to the Tajik National Reconciliation Commission requesting that his group be included in current negotiations, Interfax reported on 23 April. Abdullojonov, a former prime minister, said that "no real peace will be reached in Tajikistan" until his movement is included. The commission rejected Abdullojonov's request, saying Abdullojonov's "initiatives can harm the tangible results already achieved in the [negotiating] process." Abdullojonov's movement, enjoys widespread in the northern Leninabad region. BP[05] ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN SET TO BEGIN IN KAZAKHSTANAt a 23 April session of the parliament at which a draft law on corruption was discussed, Alnur Musayev, chairman of the National Security Committee, said that "corruption is deeply rooted in Kazakhstan and poses a threat to the republic's national security," Interfax reported. He went on to say "if we don't take urgent and resolute measures, this threat will undermine the foundations of our state system." President Nursultan Nazarbayev said "anyone taking bribes is considered an opponent of the president's policy," ITAR-TASS reported. The parliament is expected to adopt the law in June. BP[06] ARMENIA CONDEMNS AZERBAIJANI CHARGES OF "GENOCIDE"The Armenian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement responding to Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev's decree last month naming 31 March the "Day of the genocide of the Azerbaijani People." That decree claims that in the19th and 20th centuries, Armenia and its "protectors" implemented "a systematic policy of genocide" against the Azerbaijani people, expulsion of Azerbaijanis from the Armenian SSR, and dismemberment of Azerbaijan's historical territory. The Armenian Foreign Ministry rejected those claims as "senseless," unfounded, and aimed at erasing the memory of the genocide against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and elsewhere in Azerbaijan. It said Armenia "categorically condemns the unconstructive approach of the Azerbaijani authorities, which impedes the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict." "Nezavisimaya gazeta", which published Aliev's decree on 22 April, noted its anti-Russian tone and its promulgation one month before the upcoming CIS summit. LF[07] DEFEATED ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OPTIMISTICNational Democratic Union chairman Vazgen Manukian told RFE/RL on 23 April that his party is gaining strength and many new members, despite his defeat in last month's early presidential election. Manukian came third in the first round of voting, which he later condemned as unfair. Manukian said his party "has remained clean" and will continue competing for power. He predicted that the party will have an important impact on future political developments in Armenia, but he refused to discuss its new strategy or the possibility of new opposition alliances in the runup to the next parliamentary elections. Manukian also denied reports that new President Robert Kocharian repeatedly offered him the post of prime minister. LF[08] FIVE AZERBAIJANIS JAILED FOR PROTESTING RFE/RL BANFive people who took part in demonstrations in Baku on 22 April to protest the suspension of RFE/RL's Azerbaijani-language medium-wave broadcasts have been sentenced to between three and10 days in jail, AFP reported on 23 April. The Radio Liberty Defense Committee said on 23 April that it will stage further protests next week. LF[09] RUSSIAN COMPANY ACQUIRES CONTROLLING STAKE IN GEORGIAN MANGANESE MINEThe Association of Industry, a Yekaterinburg-based joint-stock company, has paid $1 million for a 75 percent stake in the Chiatura manganese mine, Caucasus Press reported. Once one of the country's major industrial enterprises, the mine has been idle for the past two years. Meeting on 22 April with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, Association of Industry president Aleksandr Vyatkin said his company will pay off the mine's estimated $60 million debt, fund reconstruction of the Chiatura municipal infrastructure, and create some 2,500 new jobs. LFREGIONAL AFFAIRS [10] RUSSIAN, LATVIAN OFFICIALS MEET AMID DISPUTE.Latvia and Russia have had their first direct official contact since bilateral relations deteriorated last month over the Baltic State's ethnic Russian minority. Latvian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Maris Riekstins was in Brussels on 23 April to meet with Russian acting Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Avdeev. Riekstins later told Reuters by telephone that the discussion had been "normal." But he would not say whether the talks were a step in improving ties between the two neighboring states. Riekstins also said there was agreement that further talks were necessary but added that no date had been set. JC[11] KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS LATVIA MUST CHANGE CITIZENSHIP LAW.Sergei Yastrzhembskii told Interfax on 23 April that Russia will not lift economic measures against Latvia unless Riga brings its legislation into line with European and international standards. He said that the amendments to the citizenship law submitted to the Latvian parliament this week are "just the very first step" toward "respect for the rights of Russian- speakers" living in Latvia. Yastrzhembskii argued that Russia is "not making super-demands" but that Riga should ensure the "free integration" of ethnic minorities into Latvian society and lift all restrictions on those minorities imposed by Latvian legislation. JC[12] RUSSIAN ORGANIZATION TO VACATE RIGA BUILDING.The Russian Community of Latvia has agreed to vacate an historical building in downtown Riga within the next two weeks, "Diena" reported on 24 April. A small group of ethnic Russians refused earlier this week to leave the premises of the so-called Peter 1 Palace (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 April 1998). They have now reached an agreement with the building's new owner, the Estonian company MERKS, whereby they will have 14 days into which find alternative premises for their offices. The president of the Russian Community of Latvia warned, however, that the fight for the building was not over and that his organization will "continue to work" with the government to get the building back. JC[13] MOSCOW WARNS VILNIUS AGAINST DEPORTING RUSSIAN CITIZEN.A Russian Foreign Ministry official has warned that Russian-Lithuanian relations could be harmed if Vilnius deports Russian citizen Valerii Ivanov, BNS reported on 23 April. Ivanov was jailed for 12 months last year for defaming the victims of the January 1991 Soviet crackdown in Vilnius; previously, he had served a prison sentence for backing the crackdown but was released after seven months under an amnesty. Lithuanian Interior Minister Vidmantas Ziemelis sent a petition to a Vilnius court earlier this week requesting that Ivanov be deported when he is released from prison in July. Russian Foreign Ministry official Vladimir Rakhmanin said that Moscow hopes Vilnius will "demonstrate good-will and humanism toward [Ivanov] and prevent actions that would impair the atmosphere of good-neighborly relations." JC[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[14] FIGHTING BREAKS OUT NEAR KOSOVAR-ALBANIAN BORDERYugoslav state radio reported on 23 April that the Yugoslav army killed 16 Kosovar Albanians in fighting near the province's western border with Albania, Reuters reported. Other Yugoslav sources said 23 ethnic Albanians were killed and two taken prisoner in three separate incursions from Albania by ethnic Albanians. Reports said the largest of those incursions involved some 200 ethnic Albanians exchanging fire with Yugoslav troops near the village of Kosare. The Democratic League of Kosova called on NATO, the U.S., and other Western countries to stop "the military gallop of Belgrade before Kosova and the entire region blow up and the last chance of a peaceful settlement" is gone. The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry summoned Albania's charge d'affaires in Belgrade, Fllorian Nova, to lodge a formal protest against what it called "systematic armed provocations" originating from Albania. Fighting was also reported in the village of Babaloc, where ethnic Serbian refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina are being protected by Serbian police. PB[15] YUGOSLAV VOTERS SAY 'NO' TO FOREIGN MEDIATIONPreliminary results of the referendum in Yugoslavia on international mediation in the Kosova conflict show that some 97 percent of voters do not want such efforts, Reuters reported on 23 April. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic said after casting his vote that the referendum was to allow "Serbia to make decisions in Serbia," and he urged Kosovar Albanian leaders to "forget about foreign meddlers" concerned only with self interests. Aljus Gasi, a member of the presidency of the Democratic League of Kosova, called the referendum "damaging" and said it could lead to further destabilization of the situation. He added that a third party was needed to mediate talks between Belgrade and the ethnic Albanian leadership in Prishtina to guarantee implementation of any agreements. In Washington, Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said he has a "negative opinion" of the referendum, which, he said, should have asked whether Serbia "wants to be part of the international community or to live isolated from it." Voter turnout is estimated at about 75 percent. Kosovar Albanians boycotted the vote. PB[16] DJUKANOVIC HEADS TO NEW YORKMontenegrin President Milo Djukanovic finished a two-day visit to Washington on 23 April saying that U.S. officials have pledged solid support for his Yugoslav republic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Djukanovic met with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Defense Secretary William Cohen before leaving for New York. Djukanovic said his trip is intended to promote democratic developments in Yugoslavia and not to undermine Belgrade or isolate Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Djukanovic is to meet with business leaders in New York. He said that investment prospects are good in Montenegro, despite the political uncertainty in the region. PB[17] BOSNIAN SERBS PREVENT CROATS FROM HOLDING MASSA mob of several hundred Bosnian Serbs trapped Bosnian Cardinal Vinko Puljic and some 100 worshippers inside a church in the northern Bosnian town of Dervanta before they were rescued by NATO troops, Reuters reported on 23 April. Puljic and several Bosnian Croats who wanted to celebrate a mass at the church received minor injuries after being stoned by the Bosnian Serbs during the evacuation, a UN International Police Task Force official said. The group of Bosnian Serbs also used felled trees to block 20 buses from Croatia travelling to the church. The mob also tried to set fire to the church, which was severely damaged during the war. Republika Srpska Interior Minister Milovan Stankovic said he had warned NATO troops and police that the cardinal's visit would rankle tensions in the area. PB[18] BOSNIAN CROAT WANTS TO DIVIDE FEDERATIONMartin Raguz, a senior aide to the Croatian member of the Bosnian presidency, said on 23 April that Bosnia- Herzegovina should be divided into three entities, the Croatian daily "Jutarnji List" reported. Raguz said the composition of Bosnia as prescribed by the Dayton agreement, "one country, two entities, and three nationalities," blocks "every function of the government." Raguz proposed that the Muslim-Croatian federation, which makes up half of Bosnia-Herzegovina, be divided into Muslim and Croatian territories that would be equal in status to the Republika Srpska. U.S. Ambassador to Croatia William Dale Montgomery recently called on Zagreb to use its influence to dissolve the Croatian quasi-state of Herceg-Bosna (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 April 1998). PB[19] REFUGEES SLOWLY RETURNING TO BOSNIAAndy Bearpark, International High Representative Carlos Westendorp's deputy for Bosnian refugees, said that the Bosnian government is confident that 10, 000 refugees will return to their pre-war homes within the next two months, AFP reported on 23 April. Bearpark said Westendorp will continue to remove officials considered to be obstructing the return of refugees. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 220,000 people will return to their homes in Bosnia-Herzegovina this year. At The Hague, Bosnian officials gave the World Court a document that it says contains "extensive evidence" of Serbian acts of genocide during the war. Bosnian authorities filed a case with the World Court in 1993 saying that Yugoslavia's involvement in the Bosnian war violated the 1948 Genocide Convention. PB[20] FORMER ALBANIAN PRESIDENT SUMMONED OVER ROLE IN UNRESTSali Berisha is among 24 former government officials who will be questioned by a parliamentary commission about their roles in the violent upheaval that engulfed the country last year. The commission said that it has evidence showing that Berisha and many of his government ministers were directly involved in the unrest, which led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people. Commission Deputy Chairman Spartak Braho said evidence "shows that Berisha is the author of the tragic events" that led to the destruction of the country "and the deaths of hundreds." Former Defense Minister Safet Zhulali and several generals and police chiefs will also be questioned about their roles in the events. Berisha's Democratic Party has accused the commission--set up in October--of being biased, and it has refused to send any representatives to it. The Democrats have also blamed the ruling Socialists for using the commission to exact political revenge on their party. PB[21] ROMANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN WASHINGTONIn a statement released after her meeting with Andrei Plesu on 23 April, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Washington wants to "help Romania become a pillar of democracy and stability in the region." She also said the U.S. wants "to see Romania fully integrated into European and Transatlantic structures." She added that the U.S. welcomed the new government's "commitment to reform" and to a "strong relationship" with Washington. And she pledged to "continue to work" through "our Strategic Partnership, the South Eastern European Strategy, and NATO-related activities" to "help Romania achieve those objectives." MS[22] ROMANIAN PREMIER'S AUTHORITY OVER MINISTERS INCREASEDThe government on 23 April published the 6 April agreement between the coalition parties. That accord considerably strengthens the premier's authority over the ministers in his cabinet, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. It stipulates that if the prime minister considers cabinet members' views to be incompatible with his own, the parties to which those ministers belong will be obliged to replace them at the premier's request. The parties themselves cannot replace ministers without the premier's consent. Ministers must refrain from publicly attacking the premier and must back his initiatives for economic reform. Any disagreement with the premier must be communicated to him in writing or in person, while ministers wishing to resign from the cabinet must inform the premier of their intention before telling the press. MS[23] MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS CHAIRMANDumitru Diacov, the leader of the pro-presidential For a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova Bloc has been elected chairman of Moldova's new parliament, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported on 23 April. He was backed by his own formation, as well as by its Democratic Convention of Moldova (CDM) and Party of Democratic Forces (PFD) allies in the new coalition. The Party of Moldovan Communists cast its ballots against Diacov and for its own candidate, party chairman Vladimir Voronin. Iurie Rosca, co-chairman of the CDM, and PFD leader Valeriu Matei were elected deputy chairmen. MS[24] WORLD BANK APPROVES LOAN TO MOLDOVAThe World Bank on 23 April approved a $15.9 million loan to Moldova to promote private land ownership, dpa reported. The same day, James Parks, the bank's resident representative in Moldova, told journalists in Chisinau that the bank will soon "examine jointly with the new government their cooperation strategy for the next three years," BASA- press reported. Parks said there are "contradictory developments" in Moldovan economy, pointing out that "on the one hand, inflation is declining, but on the other hand the budgetary policies have not been adjusted to correspond to this drop, which triggered arrears in wage payment." He noted that the decline in GDP has stopped but that the private sector and services are still very weak. MS[25] BULGARIA PROPOSES 'WRITTEN EXCHANGE' ON KOSOVABulgaria on 23 April proposed to side-step Serbian opposition to foreign mediation in the Kosova conflict by inviting both sides to exchange views in writing. Speaking after consultations with officials from Britain, Austria, and the European Commission, Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova told journalists in Sofia that exchanging such written statements "would be the beginning of a dialogue without direct international mediation," an RFE/RL correspondent in Sofia and Reuters reported. She also said the two sides are so divided that written statements would "represent progress." MS[C] END NOTE[26] ARMENIANS REMEMBER 1915 GENOCIDEby Emil DanielyanArmenians throughout the world are today commemorating the 83rd anniversary of the genocide in which more than one million of their compatriots were massacred and another one million or so forced out of their homeland. In Yerevan, hundreds of thousands of people are to proceed slowly toward the genocide memorial on Tsitsernakabert Hill in order to pay tribute to the victims. Many scholars argue that the 1915 genocide was premeditated by the Ottoman Turkish leadership and aimed at the annihilation of Armenians (the largest remaining Christian minority) in the empire's eastern provinces. The arrest on 24 April 1915 of the entire Armenian intellectual elite of Constantinople and their subsequent execution signaled the start of the genocidal policy. Mass executions of Armenian males, who were mobilized into the Ottoman army but then disarmed, were followed by the systematic deportation of their families and the infamous "death marches" to the south. Most of the women, children, and elderly people forced to take part in those marches died in armed attacks, of hunger, or from disease before they could reach their destination, the Syrian desert. Those who survived took refuge in the Middle East and later in Europe and the Americas. A significant number of people escaped to the territory of the present Republic of Armenia. The huge number of victims and the loss of some 80 percent of their historical homeland deeply scarred the Armenians. Turkey, meanwhile, continues to deny the genocide. According to the official Turkish version, it was a "peaceful evacuation" of the treacherous Armenians to preclude their collaboration with advancing Russian troops. For generations of Diaspora Armenians--the direct descendants of survivors-- achieving international recognition of the 1915 genocide has been their life's chief aim. Appeals to various governments and international organizations and demonstrations in front of Turkish embassies have been part and parcel of Diaspora life. The issue also has far-reaching implications for Armenia's foreign policy, in general, and relations with Turkey, in particular. The authorities of independent Armenia have so far not considered recognition of the genocide as a precondition for developing ties with Turkey. Nonetheless, there is still a deep divide between the two nations. Turkey continues to be regarded as the number one threat to the country's national security-- hence, the desire to have a powerful foreign protector. Historically, it was Russia that took on that role. The Russian empire guaranteed the security of its Armenian citizens, something that Ottoman Armenians could only dream about. Even after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Moscow continued to play that role. The troops Russia maintains in Armenia will be welcome as long as there is no political reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey. Indeed, mutual trust between Ankara and Yerevan, a potentially strong stabilizing factor in the region, seems virtually impossible without agreement on the interpretation of the 1915 events. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said earlier this week that the issue of recognizing the 1915 genocide will be on the agenda in the new government's dealings with Turkey, stressing that its inclusion will be "not for the sake of conflict but in order to establish more healthy cooperation." This is a significant shift from the policy of the Ter- Petrossian leadership, which had tried to sidestep the problem, at least in the short term. Many in Armenia opposed that policy, which they claim has not resulted in gestures of good will on the part of Turkey. They point out that Ankara closed its borders with Armenia, refused to establish diplomatic ties with its eastern neighbor, and gave unconditional backing to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It may well be that by putting the issue on its agenda, Yerevan aims to have leverage to counter Turkish engagement in the Caucasus. Meanwhile, lack of recognition of the 1915 genocide undermines Turkish efforts to become involved in the Karabakh peace process. Armenia rejects such involvement out of hand. The average Armenian still identifies Azerbaijanis with Turks and looks at developments surrounding the Karabakh dispute through the prism of the 1915 genocide. Some analysts have suggested that a final peace in Karabakh may require Turkey to face its troubled past and finally recognize the events of 1915. But such a development does not seem likely in the near future. The author is a Yerevan-based RFE/RL correspondent. 24-04-98 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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