RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 8, 00-01-12

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From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 8, 12 January 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] KURDS IN ARMENIA, KAZAKHSTAN DEMONSTRATE IN

[02] RUSSIA REJECTS GEORGIAN ACCUSATIONS OF ARMS

[03] ...AS GEORGIAN TELEVISION SHOWS FILM FOOTAGE

[04] DEFENDANT IN KAZAKH MIG SALE TRIAL HOSPITALIZED

[05] KAZAKH NATIONAL BANK CHAIRMAN SUMS UP 1999

[06] KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT CREATES COMMISSION TO DEAL

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[07] PRAISE FOR SERBIAN OPPOSITION DECLARATION

[08] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTY TO SUE MINISTER...

[09] ...WHILE SOLDIERS' FAMILIES TO SUE ARMY...

[10] ...AND OTHERS PROTEST AGAINST SERBIAN REGIME

[11] NOVI SAD TO DEFY MILOSEVIC

[12] POWER CUTS IN KOSOVA

[13] PRISHTINA AIRPORT REOPENED

[14] ROW OVER PRIVATIZATION IN ALBANIA

[15] ALBANIAN POLICE ARRESTED FOR TRANSPORTING

[16] CALL FOR JOINT POLICE FORCE IN BOSNIA

[17] CROATIAN LEGISLATURE TO MEET ON 1 FEBRUARY?

[18] MORE PUBLIC IN-FIGHTING IN DEFEATED CROATIAN

[19] HDZ'S GRANIC NOT TO MAKE SECOND ROUND?

[20] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTY SAYS IT WILL ABOLISH

[21] ROMANIAN INFLATION RATE FAR EXCEEDS OFFICIAL

[22] MOLDOVAN FOREIGN MINISTRY REBUKES RUSSIA

[23] GAGAUZ-YERI PARLIAMENT WITHDRAWS 'DIPLOMATIC

[24] BULGARIAN ANNUAL INFLATION OVER SIX PERCENT

[C] END NOTE

[25] CROATIA'S RACAN SETS PRIORITIES

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] KURDS IN ARMENIA, KAZAKHSTAN DEMONSTRATE IN

Members of Armenia's Kurdish

minority staged a demonstration on 10 January outside the

UN office in Yerevan to protest the failure of the Turkish

Supreme Court to revoke the death sentence passed on

Kurdistan Workers' Party leader Abdullah Ocalan, Noyan

Tapan reported the following day. In Almaty, some 20-25

Kurds staged a demonstration on 11 January to protest the

death sentence on Ocalan, RFE/RL's bureau in the former

capital reported. LF

[02] RUSSIA REJECTS GEORGIAN ACCUSATIONS OF ARMS

Senior officers of the Group of

Russian Forces in the Caucasus on 11 January said Georgian

parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania's claims that Georgian

security officials intercepted a consignment of arms being

transported from a Russian military base in Georgia to

Chechnya are "unsubstantiated" and "deliberate

disinformation," Caucasus Press reported (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 11 January 2000). Federal Security Service

spokesman Aleksandr Zdanovich told Interfax he was

unaware of the interception and condemned Zhvania's claims

as damaging bilateral relations. Characterizing Zhvania's

accusations as "rather serious," an unnamed Russian Defense

Ministry spokesman declined either to confirm or deny them.

LF

[03] ...AS GEORGIAN TELEVISION SHOWS FILM FOOTAGE

footage of weapons being unloaded from a truck in the South

Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, Caucasus Press reported. The

truck driver told journalists that the arms had been loaded at

the Russian military base at Vaziani, near Tbilisi. The identity

of the smugglers is unclear: Caucasus Press quoted Zhvania

as saying that Russian soldiers and one Chechen were

involved, while Interfax quoted him as describing the arms

smugglers as "people from the Caucasus who are not

Georgians or Georgian nationals." LF

[04] DEFENDANT IN KAZAKH MIG SALE TRIAL HOSPITALIZED

Bakhytzhan Ertaev and businessman Aleksandr Petrenko have

again been suspended after Ertaev reportedly suffered a

minor heart attack in the courtroom on 11 January, RFE/RL's

Almaty bureau reported. He was subsequently taken to the

Almaty military hospital. The two men are accused of

arranging the illicit sale to North Korea of 40 obsolete MiG

fighters. Ertaev admitted the same day that on orders from

his superiors he signed a contract on behalf of the Kazakh

Defense Ministry to deliver the aircraft to Agroplast of the

Czech Republic, which was to transport the aircraft to North

Korea. Former Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbaev told the

court the same day that the sale was sanctioned by the

Kazakh government but that he could not recall details,

according to Interfax. Altynbaev refused to answer any

questions posed by RFE/RL's correspondent. LF

[05] KAZAKH NATIONAL BANK CHAIRMAN SUMS UP 1999

Kazakhstan's currency, the tenge, declined by more than 60

percent in value last year to 138.25 to the U.S. dollar,

Interfax reported. The steepest drop in value was in April,

after the tenge was allowed to float freely against the U.S.

dollar (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 and 7 April 1999). Marchenko

estimated the annual inflation rate for 1999 at 18 percent. LF

[06] KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT CREATES COMMISSION TO DEAL

A permanent government

commission headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Boris

Silaev has been set up to combat unemployment, RFE/RL's

Bishkek bureau reported on 11 January, citing the

government press service. Minister of Labor and Social

Affairs Imankadyr Rysaliev said in October 1999 that 56,000

people are officially registered as unemployed but that the

true figure is closer to 95,000. Local experts say, however,

that some 1 million of the country's 4.8 million population are

engaged in shuttle trade and have no permanent job. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[07] PRAISE FOR SERBIAN OPPOSITION DECLARATION

statement issued the previous day by 17 Serbian opposition

parties or coalitions (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 11 January

2000). Serbian Orthodox Archbishop Artemije, who is a

leader of the Kosova Serbs, said that the opposition has not

united in support of any one party but rather in support of

one goal: to oust Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Opposition politician and former General Vuk Obradovic

predicted that the Serbian regime will soon face a worse

defeat than the governing Croatian Democratic Community

(HDZ) did in the recent parliamentary elections in that

country, "Vesti" reported on 12 January. Vladan Batic, who is

a spokesman of the opposition Alliance for Change, said the

signatories to the joint declaration will soon visit Kosova,

"Danas" noted. PM

[08] SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTY TO SUE MINISTER...

Christian Democratic Party has filed charges against Yugoslav

Information Minister Goran Matic for "spreading false news,"

RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported from Belgrade on 11

January. Party officials called on the authorities to arrest and

detain him pending his trial. The officials added that the

outspoken minister's frequent anti-opposition statements

unnecessarily upset people. The party decided to file

charges following a recent accusation by Matic that the

opposition is preparing for civil war. Lawyers for the

opposition Serbian Renewal Movement said Matic will have a

hard time defending his accusations in a court of law, "Vesti"

reported on 11 January. Matic has frequently threatened the

private media with lawsuits "for spreading false news" under

the 1998 media law. PM

[09] ...WHILE SOLDIERS' FAMILIES TO SUE ARMY...

of seven Serbian soldiers who died in the 1999 Kosova

conflict plan to sue the Yugoslav military for the deaths of

their sons, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 11

January. The first court case will begin in Nis on 4 February,

when Snezana and Dusan Vukovic will present their

arguments against the army. Dusan Vukovic attracted public

attention in December, when he refused a posthumous medal

from Milosevic for his son (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16

December 1999). PM

[10] ...AND OTHERS PROTEST AGAINST SERBIAN REGIME

violent anti-regime protests in Valjevo in 1999, said in a

statement that he does not want Milosevic to pardon him.

Arsenijevic told his supporters: "I do not want to be

pardoned by the Balkan butcher [Slobodan] Milosevic and his

vassal Serbian President [Milan] Milutinovic, because I despise

them and I do not recognize their authority.... In spite of [bad

health and separation from my children], I would rather die in

Milosevic's jail than live in shame on the account of his

demonic mercy." Private Radio B2-92 carried the report from

Belgrade on 11 January. Also in the Serbian capital, the

pacifist group Women in Black have called a protest for 12

January because of the regime's "continuing warmongering

policies," "Danas" reported. PM

[11] NOVI SAD TO DEFY MILOSEVIC

announced on 11 January that will begin clearing destroyed

bridges from the River Danube in approximately one month.

The city government will cover costs. Milosevic has refused

to clear the wrecks of the bridges, which make international

shipping impossible, unless NATO countries first agree to pay

the bill. PM

[12] POWER CUTS IN KOSOVA

announced power cuts in Kosova on 11 January following a

fire at the Obilic power plant (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11

January 2000). PM

[13] PRISHTINA AIRPORT REOPENED

Prishtina airport to civilian traffic on 11 January. The facility

had been closed since 21 November, following an airplane

crash that left 24 passengers dead. PM

[14] ROW OVER PRIVATIZATION IN ALBANIA

Meta on 11 January sacked Privatization Minister Zef Preci

and State Minister Prec Zogaj. Meta charged Preci with

irregularities in awarding oil industry contracts and Zogaj with

being "uncooperative." Preci replied that unidentified persons

close to Meta wanted him fired because they supported

applicants for oil contracts whom Preci had turned down.

Zogaj said that Meta fired him for backing Preci, Reuters

reported. Preci is an independent economist who has written

a study on corruption in Albania for the World Bank. President

Rexhep Meidani must approve the sackings before they can

take effect. Zogaj is a former adviser to Meidani. PM

[15] ALBANIAN POLICE ARRESTED FOR TRANSPORTING

The Interior Ministry said in a statement on 11

January that two policemen and one member of the secret

police (SHISH) are under arrest for attempting to smuggle

400 kilograms of cannabis to Greece. Police conducting a

routine check along a road near Librazhd discovered the

marijuana in the three men's van on 9 January. Cannabis is

widely grown in Albania and in some other poor regions of

the Balkans, such as Herzegovina, as a source of much-

needed income. The Albanian government's attempts to

crack down on marijuana cultivation have proven

unsuccessful, dpa reported. PM

[16] CALL FOR JOINT POLICE FORCE IN BOSNIA

Stiglmayer, who is spokeswoman for the international

community's Wolfgang Petritsch, said in Sarajevo on 11

January that she hopes Serbian and Croatian hard-liners will

end their opposition to setting up a joint multi-ethnic border

police force to patrol Bosnia's frontiers. Serbian and Croatian

deputies in the joint parliament have repeatedly blocked

passage of a bill setting up the force, which would be able to

operate up to 10 kilometers inside the frontiers as well as on

the borders. PM

[17] CROATIAN LEGISLATURE TO MEET ON 1 FEBRUARY?

continuing talks with representatives of parties that received

more than 5 percent of the vote in the 3 January elections

and will be represented in the new parliament. He added that

he expects the opening session of the legislature will be on

1 February, "Jutarnji list" reported on 12 January (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 11 January 2000). PM

[18] MORE PUBLIC IN-FIGHTING IN DEFEATED CROATIAN

Stjepan Tudjman, who is a son of the late

President Franjo Tudjman, charged in a letter to the HDZ

leadership that Ivic Pasalic, who heads the party's

Herzegovinian faction, approved licenses for regional

television stations without Franjo Tudjman's approval,

"Jutarnji list" reported on 12 January. Elsewhere, mutual

recriminations continue between HDZ parliamentary leader

Vladimir Seks and party spokesman Ivica Ropus, who recently

resigned because of differences with Seks. Pasalic, who is a

bitter rival of Seks, wants the party leadership to vote on

whether Ropus should go (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 21

December 1999). PM

[19] HDZ'S GRANIC NOT TO MAKE SECOND ROUND?

"Slobodna Dalmacija," which usually represents views close to

the HDZ, published the results of an opinion poll on 12

January regarding the 24 January presidential elections. The

poll gives 30.4 percent support to Drazen Budisa, who

represents the main opposition coalition. For the first time in

a major Croatian poll, second place went to Stipe Mesic, who

is the candidate of the smaller opposition coalition. The HDZ's

Mate Granic came in third with 21.4 percent, just behind

Mesic's 22 percent. No other candidate was able to muster

even 3 percent. Some 21 percent of the respondents said

they are undecided. If no candidate wins more than 50

percent on 24 January, a second round will take place two

weeks later. Previous polls published in the press suggested

that the second round would be between Budisa and Granic.

PM

[20] ROMANIAN OPPOSITION PARTY SAYS IT WILL ABOLISH

Ioan Mircea Pascu, deputy

chairman of the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR),

said on 11 January that when it returns to power, the PDSR

will abolish the land restitution law recently passed by the

parliament. Although the Constitutional Court ruled that the

law does not contravene the basic document, Pascu said this

is not the case because all the amendments proposed by his

party were ignored by the ruling coalition. Pascu also

criticized President Emil Constantinescu for having

promulgated the law on television, saying this was a "sound-

and-light" show aimed at discrediting his formation. He added

that the alliance envisaged by right-wing parties to stop the

PDSR's return to power is "undemocratic," RFE/RL's Bucharest

bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 January 2000).

MS

[21] ROMANIAN INFLATION RATE FAR EXCEEDS OFFICIAL

Inflation in 1999 reached 55 percent, far

exceeding the 25-30 percent predicted by Radu Vasile's

cabinet, Romanian Television reported on 11 January. MS

[22] MOLDOVAN FOREIGN MINISTRY REBUKES RUSSIA

Foreign Ministry on 11 January said that a Russian Foreign

Ministry statement of 21 December 1999 is distorting the

decisions adopted at the November 1999 OSCE summit in

Istanbul. The Russian statement called for synchronizing the

Russian troops' withdrawal from the Transdniester and a

resolution to the dispute over the special status of the

Transdniester within Moldova. Foreign Ministry spokesman

Iurie Vition said that in Istanbul, Russia undertook to withdraw

or destroy its arsenal in the region by the end of 2001 and

to withdraw all its troops by the end of 2002. Moscow is thus

distorting the OSCE summit decisions when it speaks of a

"synchronization" of those two processes, Vition said,

according to Flux. MS

[23] GAGAUZ-YERI PARLIAMENT WITHDRAWS 'DIPLOMATIC

The Popular

Assembly of the Gagauz-Yeri autonomous region announced

on 11 January that it is withdrawing its recently established

representation on the territory of the Transdniester. In

August, the assembly's chairman, Mikhail Kendigelean,

appointed Ivan Burgujy as representative to the breakaway

region, with the task of promoting economic cooperation.

Burgujy then introduced himself as the "Gagauz ambassador"

and handed forged credentials to Transdniester separatist

leader Igor Smirnov, leading to tension between the

authorities in Chisinau and the Gagauz-Yeri leadership, Infotag

reported. MS

[24] BULGARIAN ANNUAL INFLATION OVER SIX PERCENT

on 10 January. The steepest increases were registered in

the prices of housing, water, electricity, and gas (an average

of 29.8 percent). Prices of food, non-alcoholic drinks,

clothing, and footwear dropped by an average of 4.7 percent

and those for household articles and kitchen appliances by

1.4 percent. MS

[C] END NOTE

[25] CROATIA'S RACAN SETS PRIORITIES

Croatian Prime Minister-designate Ivica Racan has lost no

time giving numerous interviews in which he makes clear what

his immediate tasks will be. Like his predecessors from the

Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), the Social Democrat

stresses that his policies will serve national interests. His

understanding of those interests, however, is very different

from that of the HDZ.

Echoing statements he made during the election

campaign, Racan made it clear to the "Berliner Zeitung" of 7

January that his top priority is to straighten out the domestic

economic mess. He said that it will be necessary to find out

exactly how bad the government's financial situation is

because he suspects that it is worse than the HDZ was

willing to admit. Once that is clarified, he noted, everyone will

be expected to do his part to set things right, which will

mean pay cuts for virtually all state employees. Racan added

that he will use "economic, tax, and fiscal" incentives to

create new jobs and end a policy of state subsidies for loss-

makers.

Turning to foreign relations, he stressed that he will

defend national interests by ending Croatia's isolation. He will

promote national sovereignty by ensuring that Croatia is

represented in international bodies. "Our sovereignty is our

place at the table where decisions are made," he said.

Racan noted in particular that Zagreb must gain access

to the EU. Croatian voters, he argued, showed in the 3

January legislative elections that they have a clear

understanding of democracy even though the HDZ exercised

control over the electronic media. This understanding of

democracy will enable Croatia to gain membership in the EU

more quickly than many may have thought possible, he

continued.

Racan, like virtually all Croatian politicians, said his

country will not form any new "Balkan or neo-Yugoslav" state

unit with its neighbors. But unlike the HDZ, he stressed that

Zagreb will be open to regional cooperation. Late President

Franjo Tudjman always argued that Croatia was not a Balkan

country and hence would have little to do with the EU's

Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe. The new prime

minister, however, feels that "we are at one and the same

time a Mediterranean, a Central European, and a Balkan

country.... We will not try to 'escape' from this region."

What he did say about shedding Balkan ties was that he

wants to "drive Balkan elements out of our political life." By

this he presumably means ending the corruption, back-room

deals, and interest-peddling that characterized much of the

HDZ's rule. That party acquired a reputation for massive

economic corruption at home and a deep involvement with

often criminal elements among the Croats of Herzegovina.

Racan has repeatedly made it clear that those days are over.

He also addressed two other issues that have clouded

Zagreb's relations with Washington and Brussels: the return

of Serbian refugees and Croatia's cooperation with the

Hague-based war crimes tribunal. Racan stressed that the

Serbs are welcome to come home but added that all other

refugees must have that right, too. He specifically referred

to Croats from eastern Slavonia and from Bosnia.

With regard to The Hague, Racan pledged to improve

cooperation. He noted, moreover, that one reason for the

problems between Zagreb and the court was that Croatia has

not been a state based on the rule of law. The new prime

minister pledged to change that and prosecute those Croats

who have committed crimes. He added that "anyone who

conceals crimes committed in our struggle for liberation

thereby tarnishes the image of that struggle."

12-01-00

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URL: http://www.rferl.org

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