RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 44, 00-03-02

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

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 4, No. 44, 2 March 2000

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] AGREEMENT FORMALIZES RUSSIA'S FREE USE OF MILITARY BASE IN

[02] ARMENIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY DENIES LINKS WITH LATEST SHOOTING

[03] UN REPRESENTATIVE CHIDES GEORGIAN OFFICIAL FOR WAR-MONGERING

[04] ADJAR LEADER LAYS DOWN GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT MANDATE

[05] KAZAKH OIL SECTOR EMPLOYEES CALL FOR ANNULMENT OF CHINESE

[06] KYRGYZ FIRST-ROUND ELECTION RESULTS STILL UNCLEAR

[07] ANOTHER ATTACK ON POLICE IN TAJIKISTAN

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[08] SERBIAN GENERAL SAYS NATO RESPONSIBLE FOR TROUBLE IN

[09] ...WHILE UNHCR CONCERNED ABOUT SERBIAN INTIMIDATION OF

[10] SERBS STONE ALBANIANS USING KFOR FOOTBRIDGE

[11] SERBIAN CIVILIANS IN STANDOFF WITH U.S. TROOPS

[12] RUSSIAN KFOR SOLDIER DIES OF WOUNDS

[13] KOUCHNER'S PLAN A NON-STARTER?

[14] ARTEMIJE: NO CHANGE IN KOSOVA'S STATUS YET

[15] ALBANIA SEEKS 'ALBANIAN SPACE IN EU'

[16] ITALY, ALBANIA DISCUSS FIGHTING MAFIA

[17] SERBIA HIKES ELECTRICITY PRICES

[18] SERBIAN POLICE DETAIN OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS

[19] CROATIA'S MESIC NAMES LEGAL TEAM

[20] ANKICA TUDJMAN WANTS AUDIT

[21] SLOVENIA SEEKS REASSURANCE FROM AUSTRIA

[22] ROMANIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY WORKERS MARCH

[23] TWO ROMANIANS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR NUCLEAR SMUGGLING

[24] ROMANIAN LIBERALS DEFUSE GOVERNMENTAL CRISIS

[25] MOLDOVA APPEALS TO MOSCOW TO RESUME GAS SUPPLIES

[26] RUSSIA HELPS BULGARIA IN LIBYAN DOCTORS' CASE

[C] END NOTE

[27] TURKMEN INCONSISTENCY COULD JEOPARDIZE PIPELINE PROJECT

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] AGREEMENT FORMALIZES RUSSIA'S FREE USE OF MILITARY BASE IN

Under a protocol signed by Armenian Deputy Defense

Minister Astvatsatur Petrosian and Russian Embassy official

Igor Gordyushev on 1 March, Moscow is exempt from paying rent

for the use of land, buildings, and other facilities of its

military base in Armenia, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.

That agreement formalizes an arrangement that has existed

since the collapse of the USSR. LF

[02] ARMENIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY DENIES LINKS WITH LATEST SHOOTING

Armenia's Interior Ministry has issued a statement

clarifying that Armen Harutiunian, who was detained on 28

February on suspicion of involvement in the 27 October

parliament killings (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 March 2000), is

not employed by the ministry, Noyan Tapan reported. According

to the statement, since March 1999 Harutiunian has been

employed as a security guard by Armentel. LF

[03] UN REPRESENTATIVE CHIDES GEORGIAN OFFICIAL FOR WAR-MONGERING

representative for Abkhazia, expressed concern on 1 March

over Georgian parliamentary Defense and Security Committee

chairman Revaz Adamia's recent remarks, according to Caucasus

Press. Following talks in Sukhum(i) on 27-28 February with

senior Abkhaz representatives, Adamia had said that Tbilisi

should resort to the "Chechen variant" if Abkhazia continues

to reject the offer of autonomous status within Georgia.

Boden said such statements run counter to Georgian President

Eduard Shevardnadze's insistence that the Abkhaz conflict

must be resolved peacefully. Also on 1 March, Georgian

presidential adviser Levan Aleksidze told Interfax that

"Georgia will not launch hostilities against the separatist

regime in Abkhazia because the international community may

respond with force as it did in Bosnia." LF

[04] ADJAR LEADER LAYS DOWN GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT MANDATE

Supreme Council chairman Aslan Abashidze, who heads the so-

called Batumi alliance of five Georgian opposition parties,

has informed the Georgian parliament that he is relinquishing

his deputy's mandate, Caucasus Press reported on 1 March.

Abashidze was elected a parliamentary deputy in 1992, 1995,

and again in October 1999 but has not attended a single

parliamentary session, claiming that he fears Georgian

security officials may undertake an attempt on his life. On 2

March, "Alia" quoted a member of Abashidze's parliamentary

faction as saying that Abashidze plans to travel to Tbilisi

later this month for the first time since 1991 to campaign

for the 9 April presidential poll. LF

[05] KAZAKH OIL SECTOR EMPLOYEES CALL FOR ANNULMENT OF CHINESE

Employees at the oil production company

Aktobemunaigaz have published in the local Aktyubinsk press

an open letter to Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev

asking him to annul a contract concluded in 1997 with the

Chinese National Petroleum Company, which owns a 60 percent

stake in Aktobemunaigaz, Interfax reported on 29 February.

The appeal claimed that the Chinese management of

Aktobemunaigaz continues to ignore the interests of the

company's personnel and to violate labor legislation.

Specifically, it has reneged on an agreement to pay

unemployment benefit to 2,000 Kazakh staff made redundant in

April 1999. The signatories to the appeal asked Nazarbaev to

establish a government commission to launch an investigation.

Kazakhstan's Premier Qasymzhomart Toqaev discussed the

situation at Aktobemunaigaz with Chinese Vice Premier Wu

Bangguo in Davos earlier this year (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31

January 2000). LF

[06] KYRGYZ FIRST-ROUND ELECTION RESULTS STILL UNCLEAR

March that the final results of voting in the 20 February

parliamentary elections are still unclear, RFE/RL's Bishkek

bureau reported. The commission refuses to grant opposition

candidates permission to resume campaigning until it becomes

clear which candidates qualify for the 12 March runoff in an

estimated 87 constituencies where no candidate won a clear

majority in the first round. A group of 11 prominent

opposition candidates, including the chairmen of the El (Bei-

Bechara) and Ar-Namys parties, Daniyar Usenov and Feliks

Kulov, had intended to tour the country together to meet with

voters. The opposition attributes the delay in publicizing

the results of the first round of voting to the authorities'

attempt to falsify the outcome in those constituencies where

opposition candidates won. The CEC says it is still checking

numerous reported violations. LF

[07] ANOTHER ATTACK ON POLICE IN TAJIKISTAN

were wounded on 29 February in an exchange of fire in

Darband, 80 kilometers east of Dushanbe, with fighters loyal

to one of the former field commanders of the United Tajik

Opposition, Asia Plus-Blitz reported, quoting Interior

Minister Humdin Sharipov. LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[08] SERBIAN GENERAL SAYS NATO RESPONSIBLE FOR TROUBLE IN

General Vladimir Lazarevic, who commands

the Yugoslav army in southern Serbia, said on 2 March that

"NATO forces already call the Pcinj district (Presevo,

Bujanovac, and Medvedja municipalities) 'eastern [Kosova],'

and plan [to annex it to Kosova] as the next phase in

breaking up Serbia and Yugoslavia. In other words, they want

to spread the very bad security situation in [Kosova] to this

part of Serbia," AP reported from Belgrade (see "RFE/RL

Balkan Report," 29 February 2000). Zivorad Igic, a Serbian

official from Kosova, added: "Albanian terrorists now have

aspirations toward Serbian territories outside [the

province]. Unfortunately, the international security forces

are unbelievably and unreasonably tolerant toward the

Albanian terrorists, whose unpunished crimes show that

they...can do whatever they want and be responsible to no

one," Zigic added. NATO officials previously said they are

closely observing the tense situation in the region and will

not allow armed persons to cross the frontier. PM

[09] ...WHILE UNHCR CONCERNED ABOUT SERBIAN INTIMIDATION OF

The UNHCR said in a statement in Geneva on 2 March

that 102 ethnic Albanians recently arrived in Gjilan seeking

safety. They reported an increase in Serbian military and

police presence in southern Serbia, AP reported. The refugees

gave "consistent accounts of harassment, beatings,

confiscation of houses and apartments, forced conscription,

rape threats, and demands for money," the UNHCR added. Young

families make up the majority of the refugees and call the

security situation "intolerable." Observers note that the

incidents reported by the refugees recall the developments in

Kosova prior to the 1999 conflict. PM

[10] SERBS STONE ALBANIANS USING KFOR FOOTBRIDGE

most of whom were women--threw stones at two ethnic Albanians

trying to cross KFOR's new footbridge across the Ibar River

in Mitrovica on 2 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 February

2000). The Albanians fled back to the south side of town.

Prior to the incident, a French KFOR spokesman said: "We

launched this little temporary footbridge to provide

civilians freedom of movement, which is their essential

right. Freedom of movement is essential for the development

of civic society here. We are monitoring the situation

closely and we hope that there will be no incidents," AP

reported. PM

[11] SERBIAN CIVILIANS IN STANDOFF WITH U.S. TROOPS

some 200 angry Serbian civilians surrounded 15 U.S. KFOR

soldiers near Gjilan after the troops detained one Serb in

possession of illegal weapons. The Serbs let the soldiers

leave with the suspect only after U.S. reinforcements

arrived, AP reported. PM

[12] RUSSIAN KFOR SOLDIER DIES OF WOUNDS

Mitrovica on 2 March that a Russian soldier "died of internal

bleeding overnight," Reuters reported. Unknown persons in an

ethnic Albanian area of Skenderaj shot the man recently while

he was on patrol (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 March 2000).

Meanwhile in Decan, KFOR troops arrested two ethnic Albanians

in connection with the recent mortar shelling of the medieval

Serbian Orthodox monastery complex there, RFE/RL's South

Slavic Service reported on 1 March. The monastery was not

damaged. PM

[13] KOUCHNER'S PLAN A NON-STARTER?

in Kosova, Bernard Kouchner, has prepared a four-stage plan

for the reunification of Mitrovica, "Danas" reported on 2

March. It calls for reestablishing security, allowing all

persons to return to their homes, and setting up a unified

city council and administration. Kouchner has submitted his

proposal to the Security Council. Oliver Ivanovic, who is a

leader of the local Serbs, dismissed the plan, calling it

"cosmetic" and stressing that it will "not lead to a lasting

solution" to Mitrovica's problems. PM

[14] ARTEMIJE: NO CHANGE IN KOSOVA'S STATUS YET

Archbishop Artemije, who is one of the two main leaders of

the Kosova Serbs and who supports the Serbian opposition,

said in Washington that it is too early for any discussion on

Kosova's political future. He said that a change in the

province's status should come only after democracy has been

established in Serbia and Yugoslavia. Some international as

well as Albanian observers have recently called for talks on

the political future of Kosova. They argue that the UN's

interim administration has proved ineffective and that time

has come to set up permanent structures, which presumably

would be controlled by the ethnic Albanian majority. PM

[15] ALBANIA SEEKS 'ALBANIAN SPACE IN EU'

Minister Paskal Milo told Vienna's "Die Presse" of 1 March

that his government does not support the creation of a

"greater Albania," as Belgrade has frequently charged.

Instead, Milo argued, his government wants "an Albanian space

within the EU...[which has] nothing to do with a greater

Albania or Albanian state." He called for increased regional

cooperation involving Albania and all of its neighbors as

preparation for their joining the EU. Referring to Kosova, he

called on KFOR not to allow local Serbs to affect a partition

of Mitrovica or of the province. Milo regretted that Serbs

and Albanians have not yet re-established joint communities,

but he added: "How can that happen in such a short time after

the Serbs have committed so many atrocities?" PM

[16] ITALY, ALBANIA DISCUSS FIGHTING MAFIA

Italian experts on fighting organized crime held talks in

Tirana with top Albanian officials on 1 and 2 March. Issues

include traffic in illegal immigrants, prostitutes, drugs,

weapons, and stolen cars from the Balkans to Italy via

Albania, dpa reported. President Rexhep Meidani argued that

"Albania needs special attention and assistance because it is

the last station in the traffic in illegal emigrants and

other traffic to Italy." In particular, he asked for

technical assistance for Albanian police, prosecutors, and

judges. Albanian efforts in combating organized crime have

been hurt by corruption, inefficiency, and lack of experience

among police and other officials. Italy has long stationed

police, customs agents, and other experts in Albania. Italian

ships also patrol Albanian waters in an effort to curtail

smuggling. PM

[17] SERBIA HIKES ELECTRICITY PRICES

announced in Belgrade on 1 March that it has raised its

prices to consumers by 9.5 percent, effective immediately.

The company stressed that it needs more money to repair the

damage inflicted by NATO's 1999 bombing campaign. PM

[18] SERBIAN POLICE DETAIN OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS

43 supporters of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina

(LSV) to the Novi Sad police station on 1 March. Most of the

activists were later released. The party had called a protest

for that afternoon to coincide with the arrival of Serbian

Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic to inaugurate work on

rebuilding the Varadin Bridge. The LSV has called the

government's reconstruction plans a "sham" and charged that

Belgrade is dealing with the authorities in Novi Sad in a

high-handed manner. PM

[19] CROATIA'S MESIC NAMES LEGAL TEAM

Mesic appointed a five-member legal advisory committee on 1

March to draft proposals for reducing the powers of the

president. Initial drafts could be ready within two to three

weeks, and the final proposals for changes to the

constitution could be finished in about six months, "Jutarnji

list" reported. All parties and presidential candidates in

the recent elections agreed that many of the late President

Franjo Tudjman's powers must be transferred to the parliament

or other governmental bodies. PM

[20] ANKICA TUDJMAN WANTS AUDIT

of the late president, called on Prime Minister Ivica Racan

to launch a formal audit of her family's wealth, "Jutarnji

list" reported on 2 March. She said that she wants to put an

end to rumors and media reports that the Tudjmans possess a

huge fortune that was accumulated illegally. Mesic has said

that the Tudjmans will face legal measures--"as would any

citizen--if they are found to have broken the law." PM

[21] SLOVENIA SEEKS REASSURANCE FROM AUSTRIA

Dimitrij Rupel said in Ljubljana on 1 March that his

government will soon ask its Austrian counterpart not to

block Slovenia's admission to the EU. He also asked Austria

to cease raising objections to the Krsko power plant, which,

Rupel argued, was built according to Western safety

standards. The Freedom Party's Joerg Haider has previously

called for Krsko to be closed. He is governor of Carinthia,

which borders Slovenia and is home to most of Austria's

ethnic Slovenian minority. PM

[22] ROMANIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY WORKERS MARCH

Romanian defense industry and aeronautics workers

demonstrated outside the governmental and presidential

buildings in Bucharest on 1 March, Rompres reported. The

demonstrators called on the government to ensure that workers

receive part payment of their wages during temporary layoffs,

Reuters reported. The same day, NATO Supreme Commander in

Europe General Wesley Clark arrived in Bucharest to discuss

Romania's defense industry reform plans and thank Romania for

its support for the alliance during its bombing campaign in

Yugoslavia last year. VG

[23] TWO ROMANIANS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR NUCLEAR SMUGGLING

Romanian intelligence service on 1 March said it is

investigating two Romanians on suspicion of trying to smuggle

nuclear secrets out of the country, AP reported. The two

suspects were carrying materials from the Cernavoda nuclear

plant when they were detained on 29 February at the border

with Moldova. VG

[24] ROMANIAN LIBERALS DEFUSE GOVERNMENTAL CRISIS

Bureau of the National Liberal Party (PNL) on 1 March decided

to put an end to the coalition crisis triggered by the

resignation of Defense Minister Victor Babiuc from the

Democratic Party and by the subsequent attacks of Democratic

Party Deputy Chairman Traian Basescu against President Ion

Iliescu and the PNL, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The

bureau said it has "taken note" of the Democrats' "regrets"

expressed one day earlier for having "used formulations that

affected the public image of the PNL" (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"

1 March 2000). MS

[25] MOLDOVA APPEALS TO MOSCOW TO RESUME GAS SUPPLIES

Petru Lucinschi met with Russian Ambassador to Moldova Pavel

Petrovsky on 2 March to ask Russia to resume the supply of

natural gas to Moldova, AP reported. On 1 March, Deputy

Moldovan Prime Minister Valeriu Cozarciuco and Mihail Lisnic,

chairman of Moldovagaz, flew to Moscow in an attempt to

persuade Russia to resume supplies. Russia cut off gas

supplies to Moldovan on 28 February because of unpaid bills.

Moldova owes Russian some $7 million for gas deliveries.

Moldovan parliamentary speaker Dumitru Diacov said Russia

could be using the cutoff to gain "political capital," but he

refused to elaborate. Meanwhile, hospitals in Chisinau have

canceled all routine surgery owing to the lack of natural

gas. VG

[26] RUSSIA HELPS BULGARIA IN LIBYAN DOCTORS' CASE

of Bulgaria's National Assembly, Yordan Sokolov, met with

Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Vladimir Titov on 1 March to

discuss the trial of six Bulgarian doctors in Libya, BTA

reported. The doctor are accused of willfully infecting

children with the HIV virus. At the meeting, Titov informed

Sokolov of his contacts with Libyan officials over the trial.

Sokolov says Russia's intervention in the case has helped in

securing a postponement of the trial until April (see "RFE/RL

Newsline," 29 February 2000). Titov said: "Our common aim is

to guarantee just and humane proceedings." Deputy Foreign

Minister Vasiliy Takev said on 1 March that Bulgaria has

demanded that all formalities be settled to allow the

departure of another 17 Bulgarian doctors who were initially

detained in connection with the case. VG

[C] END NOTE

[27] TURKMEN INCONSISTENCY COULD JEOPARDIZE PIPELINE PROJECT

A U.S. official says Washington is working on a finance

plan for the trans-Caspian gas pipeline to meet the concerns

of Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov.

John Wolf, the Caspian adviser to U.S. President Bill

Clinton, told reporters in Istanbul earlier this week that

the project's developers will submit a detailed project plan

by the end of March. The aim is apparently to convince

Niyazov that Turkmenistan will not lose money on the pipeline

to Turkey if it agrees to terms demanded by Azerbaijan.

In an unusual public show of anger toward a U.S.

diplomat, Niyazov last week accused Wolf of "deliberately

holding up" the $2,5 billion dollar project and of pressuring

Ashgabat to accept unfavorable conditions from Baku.

Azerbaijan has demanded half the capacity of the

pipeline for its own gas sales to Turkey as a condition for

allowing transit on its territory. Niyazov believes the

remaining share for Turkmenistan's gas will not be enough to

pay for the line across the Caspian.

In comments carried on the Turkmen Press website on 29

February, Niyazov said if Ashgabat accepts Azerbaijan's

terms, it will take Turkmenistan eight years to realize a

profit once the pipeline opens in late 2002. In the meantime,

Turkmenistan will be faced with an estimated $3 billion debt,

Niyazov said.

Showing frustration, Niyazov noted that previous

attempts to deal with U.S. companies on planned pipeline

projects to Pakistan and Turkey had failed. Turkmenistan

recently opened talks with Russia's Gazprom on selling up to

50 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Some analysts

believe the sales to Russia could replace the trans-Caspian

deal.

The partners for the pipeline will have until 20 March

to present new figures that will address Niyazov's concerns.

He has extended the mandate of the PSG International

consortium for one month from 19 February, when it was due to

expire. U.S.-based Bechtel Corporation and General Electric

Capital have been working on the project, along with the

British-Dutch firm Royal Dutch/Shell.

A further threat to the entire project is posed by

Azerbaijan, which last year laid claim to half the pipeline's

capacity after finding a large gas deposit in its Caspian

offshore field, known as Shah Deniz. At the same time, Baku

started its own push to sell gas to Turkey, pressing its

advantage of shorter transit distance. That move is also

thought to be in retaliation for Turkmenistan's claim to a

Caspian oilfield on its border with Azerbaijan. Niyazov has

refused to give ground on the disputed oilfield.

As originally planned, the trans-Caspian line was

designed to carry 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Turkmenistan agreed to sell 16 billion cubic meters to Turkey

and an additional 14 billion for transit to Europe. But

Azerbaijan's demand for 16 billion cubic meters of capacity

on the same line would make Turkmenistan's agreement with

Turkey impossible to fulfil.

In trying to make the deal work with less gas, the

consortium partners may be facing another problem. Niyazov

himself has negotiated terms with Turkey that may not be

favorable, regardless of what Azerbaijan does.

Turkey has agreed to pay Turkmenistan only a fixed price

for its gas in the first six months of deliveries. After

that, the price may be renegotiated to reflect market forces.

If the price drops, so would Turkmenistan's profits, making

it harder to pay pipeline costs.

Because countries such as Iran and Russia are also

planning to sell large volumes of gas to Turkey, there is a

good chance that prices will decline for supplies that are

not already covered by contract. Turkmenistan is unlikely to

be in a strong bargaining position, even if the trans-Caspian

pipeline is built.

Niyazov has tried to deal with his troubles by

threatening to sell huge volumes of gas to Russia. But higher

volumes may only result in lower prices, making

Turkmenistan's financing troubles worse.

But without the competition from a trans-Caspian deal,

Russia could insist on paying even less for Turkmen gas. The

options appear to be limited, and Niyazov may be in the

process of limiting them even further unless he can

compromise with Azerbaijan.

The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Boston.

02-03-00

Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org

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