 |
Compact version |
|
 |
        |
|
 |
||
|
Friday, 29 November 2024
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 64, 00-03-30Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 64, 30 March 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] SUPPORTERS URGE COMEBACK BY FORMER ARMENIAN PRESIDENTSome20-30 people gathered outside the Yerevan home of former President Levon Ter-Petrossian on 26 March to urge him to return to active politics and try to reconcile rival factions within the present leadership, Snark reported on 29 March. LF [02] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT OPTIMISTIC ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT...Robert Kocharian said in Tbilisi on 29 March that hisongoing direct talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, on approaches to resolving the Karabakh conflict will resume "soon," according to Armenpress, as cited by Groong. The previous day, Kocharian had told Georgian State Television that he is "optimistic" at the prospects for reaching a settlement of the conflict. But he declined to specify any timeframe for doing so, saying that "we must try to be patient and carry on with this process in a positive and constructive manner." Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze affirmed his readiness to promote an Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue in order to resolve all issues related to the Karabakh conflict. LF [03] ...SUGGESTS FORMAT FOR REGIONAL SECURITY PACTAddressingthe Georgian parliament on 29 March, Kocharian said that the proposed security pact for the Caucasus can be effective only if all regional states are involved, Russian agencies and AFP reported. Kocharian said that the pact should not only address security issues and conflict resolution but provide a basis for economic cooperation and democratic reforms. He suggested the formula 3 + 3 + 2, meaning the pact would constitute an agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, with Russia, Iran, and Turkey as guarantors and the U.S. and the EU as sponsors. Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili expressed approval of that formula, Caucasus Press reported. He said Tbilisi "supports all initiatives aimed at stabilizing the situation in the Caucasus." LF [04] KARABAKH JOURNALIST DETAINEDVahram Aghajanian, ajournalist with the Karabakh newspaper "Tasnerord nahang" who was detained on 28 March, may be charged with slandering the authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno- Karabakh Republic, local law enforcement officials told RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent on 29 March. Aghajanian had claimed in a Western e-mail publication last week that the Karabakh authorities had embarked on "a witch-hunt" following the 22 March attack on the enclave's president, Arkadii Ghukasian. "Tasnerord nahang" is critical of the Karabakh leadership, and some observers believe it is financed by Ghukasian's most prominent political foe, former Karabakh Defense Minister and army commander General Samvel Babayan. LF [05] AZERBAIJAN REJECTS BRITISH PRESS ALLEGATIONSAzerbaijan'sNational Security Minister Namik Abbasov has dismissed as inaccurate and slanderous an article published in the "Sunday Times" on 26 March claiming that Western oil companies were behind the June 1993 insurrection that resulted in President Abulfaz Elchibey's ouster, Turan reported on 29 March. Abbasov also rejected the newspaper's assertion that its findings were based on Turkish intelligence materials. He said that assertion is intended to undermine Azerbaijani-Turkish relations. At a session in Baku on 29 March, the Democratic Congress, which unites 10 Azerbaijani opposition parties, similarly dismissed the British newspaper's claims as unfounded. LF [06] AZERBAIJAN JAIL INSURGENCY PARTICIPANTS SENTENCEDFollowing a two-month trial, sentences of between sixmonths and 15 years have been handed down to 23 persons accused of attempting to break out of the Gobustan jail, near Baku, in January 1999, Turan reported on 29 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11 January 1999 and 26 January 2000). A prison employee accused of abetting the insurgents was sentenced to five years' imprisonment but immediately amnestied. LF [07] RUSSIA PROPOSES STARTING TALKS WITH GEORGIA ON CLOSURE OFBASESA Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov will travel to Tbilisi shortly to begin talks with the Georgian government on implementation of last November's agreement on the closure of Russia's four military bases in Georgia, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman told ITAR-TASS on 29 March. He added that Moscow is ready to discuss with Georgia "all military aspects of bilateral relations." Georgian Foreign Minister Menagharishvili told Interfax the same day that talks with Russia on military and other bilateral issues could begin immediately after the 9 April Georgian presidential elections. LF [08] GEORGIA, ABKHAZIA EXCHANGE HOSTAGESFour Abkhaz, two ofthem police officers taken hostage in western Georgia earlier this year, were released on 29 March under UN auspices, Reuters reported. Eight Georgians who had been held in detention in Abkhazia were released the same day. Meeting with Abkhaz leaders earlier this week, UN Special Representative Dieter Boden had deplored the failure of both sides to implement an agreement signed in Sukhum in early February on the release of all prisoners and hostages (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 March 2000). LF [09] 'SHANGHAI FIVE' DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETMeeting in Astanaon 30 March, the defense ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China, and Russia assessed progress in implementing those countries' 1996 agreement on confidence-building measures, including troop reductions, on their borders, ITAR-TASS reported. They also addressed the issues of separatism and international terrorism, which Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev termed "a headache" for all five states, and pledged to continue cooperation in the field of regional nuclear security, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev told a press conference after the meeting that the foreign ministers of the five states will meet next month, as will the interior ministers and intelligence chiefs. LF [10] KAZAKH OPPOSITION PARTY CONVENES DEMONSTRATIONSeveralhundred people attended an officially sanctioned demonstration in Almaty on 30 March organized by the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan. RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. The participants called on the Kazakh authorities to embark on a dialogue with the opposition and to amend the country's election law. They also expressed opposition to the proposed privatization of land. LF [11] KAZAKH OPPOSITION FIGURES' APARTMENTS VANDALIZEDThe doorsof the Almaty apartments of leading members of the Orleu movement and the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan were daubed with insults and obscenities during the night of 29-20 March, and telephone lines to those apartments ripped out, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. Orleu leader Seidakhmet Quttyqadam said he is convinced the vandalism was politically motivated. LF [12] KYRGYZ OPPOSITION OUTLINES FUTURE TACTICSOpposition El(Bei Bechara) party chairman Daniyar Usenov told a press conference in Bishkek on 29 March that he has no intention of quitting politics, despite the ban on his and his party's participation in the recent parliamentary elections, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. Usenov said the party will hold a congress in May at which its statutes will be amended to state that one of the party's aims is participation in elections. Usenov also said that he intends to begin publication of a Russian- language version of the newspaper "Asaba." Published twice- weekly, "Asaba" is the most popular Kyrgyz-language opposition publication. LF [13] PROTEST PICKET IN KYRGYZ CAPITAL CONTINUESDespite policeharassment and the destruction of the shelters in which they spend the night, some 100 demonstrators continued their picket in central Bishkek on 29 March to protest the arrest of opposition Ar-Namys party chairman Feliks Kulov. Also on 29 March, Kyrgyz Human Rights Movement chairman Tursunbek Akunov told RFE/RL that he has quit the public commission set up under the chairmanship of secretary of the Security Council, General Bolot Djanuzakov, to discuss the protesters' grievances (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2000). Akunov said he will not participate in the work of that body as it does not include any of the protesters. LF [14] CIA DIRECTOR VISITS UZBEKISTANGeorge Tenet arrived inTashkent on 29 March and held "top secret" talks with Uzbek leaders, Reuters reported. The U.S. embassy in Uzbekistan declined to comment on those talks. Earlier, Tenet met with the presidents of Georgia and Kazakhstan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 28 and 29 March 2000). LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[15] NATO WARNS BELGRADE OVER VIOLATION OF BUFFER ZONEYugoslavforces illegally entered the demilitarized buffer zone between Kosova and Serbia on 25 March with a tank and an armored personnel carrier, the "Washington Post" reported on 30 March. NATO officials said that the move was "serious" and a deliberate attempt to test the Atlantic alliance's reaction. A Pentagon spokesman added that Milosevic has long tested others' intentions by "throwing something out and seeing what happens. He starts at the low end of the threshold and builds up." To ensure that Milosevic does not persist, NATO officials met with Yugoslav officers on 28 March to warn them against further incursions into the zone. To reinforce the point, two senior British officers and some 24 peacekeepers entered the zone to look for tank tracks and other evidence of illegal military activity in the area. PM [16] SERBIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST REVEALS COURT SCAMNatasa Kandic,who is perhaps Serbia's best-known human rights activist, said in Belgrade on 29 March that Serbian courts work together with Serbian lawyers from Kosova to pressure families of ethnic Albanian prisoners to buy their relatives' freedom. The lawyers approach the respective families, promising liberty for the prisoners in return for the payment to the lawyer of at least $5,000, AP reported. Once the family agrees, the court gives the Albanians sentences equal to the time they have already served while waiting for their trial, thereby enabling the prisoners to go free, Kandic added. She noted that even poor families turn down human rights lawyers' offers of free services because the Kosova Serb lawyers promise that they can secure their clients' freedom in return for a payment (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 30 March 2000). PM [17] BELGRADE SENDS MIXED SIGNALS ON MONTENEGRO...The state-runTanjug news agency on 28 March quoted Defense Ministry Secretary Milovan Coguric as calling on "Montenegrins living in Serbia to decisively and voluntarily stand up against separatists and traitors of all kinds." He added that "despite attempts at separatism and treachery by Montenegrin leaders [under President Milo Djukanovic], most Montenegrins have a right frame of mind." He did not elaborate. Coguric is a Montenegrin and a member of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) of Yugoslav Prime Minister Momir Bulatovic, which backs Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. But Bulatovic himself said that Montenegro has the right to secede from Yugoslavia if its people so decide, "Vesti" reported on 30 March. He added that the "army will never attack Montenegro" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 March 2000). Bulatovic noted that he regrets that Montenegro has a leadership that is sometimes involved in "criminal activities." PM [18] ...WHILE WEST MAINTAINS 'DELIBERATE AMBIGUITY'An unnamedofficial of the Clinton administration told Reuters in Washington on 29 March that the U.S. is weighing its options should Milosevic use force against the government of Montenegro. The official stressed, however, that "we haven't stated privately or publicly whether we would intervene militarily." Both Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her press spokesman James Foley maintain a "deliberate ambiguity" regarding possible Western responses to a military crackdown in Montenegro, the news agency added. In Riga, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said that he is concerned about Milosevic's attempts to "interfere or make trouble" in Montenegro, "but we're not saying what we would do about it or what the implications of our thinking are." NATO Supreme Commander Europe General Wesley Clark noted in Lisbon that "we've observed over the last six months how Milosevic has...tightened the noose around Mr. Djukanovic.... Mr. Milosevic should well understand what NATO's capabilities are." PM [19] ARTEMIJE SAYS YUGOSLAV ARMY WILL NEVER RETURN TO KOSOVASerbian Orthodox Archbishop Artemije, who is Kosova'ssenior Serbian cleric and a key leader of the anti- Milosevic Serbian opposition there, said in Vienna on 29 March that there will be no solution to the Kosova problem as long as Milosevic and the "regime" remain in power. Artemije added that the Yugoslav army will never return to the province because the local Serbs do not recognize it as their army, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He urged his fellow Serbs to admit the mistakes they have made in the past and to stop blaming others for their problems. "The world has nothing against the Serbs," he added. Elsewhere, Father Sava, who is Artemije's spokesman, said that pro-Milosevic Serbs staged "provocations" against him during his recent visit to London, "Vesti" reported on 30 March. Sava added that the Kosova Serbs might join the UN's provisional advisory council in the province once Serbian refugees come home and KFOR ensures their security. PM [20] MILOSEVIC HAS NO MONEY FOR PIROTCity Council PresidentBoban Tolic said in Pirot that the new federal budget does not include "even a single dinar" for his city, "Danas" reported on 30 March. He said that the council will take unspecified "emergency measures" but warned that the city administration could collapse without money from Belgrade. Pirot is controlled by the opposition and, together with Nis, was one of the beneficiaries of the EU's Energy for Democracy program in recent months. PM [21] EU PLAYS COY WITH SLOVENIAPortuguese Foreign MinisterJaime Gama said on 29 March in Lisbon that Slovenia is a "true case of success." He declined, however, to suggest a date for the Alpine republic's admission to the EU, saying that he would not make "false promises," AP reported. Gama added that "our relations with the candidate countries are too solid, so we speak a language of authenticity." Portugal holds the rotating EU chair. Gama made his remarks after meeting with Slovenia's President Milan Kucan and Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel. PM [22] EARLY ELECTIONS FOR SLOVENIA?Prime Minister Janez Drnovseksaid in Ljubljana on 28 March that he may call parliamentary elections soon if the legislature passes a new election law. Elections are due at some point during the last three months of 2000, but the future of the government was called into question recently, when nine ministers of the People's Party said they will resign on 15 April to form a new election coalition with the Christian Democrats. The parliament is the center of political power in Slovenia. PM [23] MESIC SAYS GOVERNMENT WRONGFOOTING HIMCroatian PresidentStipe Mesic told "Jutarnji list" of 30 March that the government is trying to prevent him from carrying out his duties by withholding information from him (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 March 2000). "I am the least well informed person in the Croatian state," Mesic added. He stressed that the large two-party coalition has never truly accepted his election because he comes from the smaller four-party coalition. The Zagreb daily noted that Mesic is willing to share with the government the sweeping powers that currently belong to the president. Mesic insists, however, that he will not give up the power to name the head of the intelligence services or to make other key appointments. PM [24] ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL AIDE SAID 'HOT LINE' TO MOSCOW WASONLY DISCUSSEDGeneral Constantin Degeratu, the Romanian presidential adviser on defense issues, testified before a Senate Defense Commission on 29 March that discussions were held between Bucharest and Moscow on the establishment of a "hot line" between 1993 and 1996 but no agreement was ever signed, Romanian radio reported. Senator Alexandru Nicolae, who chairs the commission, said the negotiations were held with the written approval of then Romanian President Ion Iliescu. VG [25] MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT REJECTS PROPOSAL TO LEAVE CISPresidentPetru Lucinschi rejected a suggestion by Christian Democratic Popular Party leader Iurie Rosca that the country quit the CIS, Infotag and ITAR-TASS reported. Rosca said Moldova should immediately quit the CIS and focus its efforts on joining the EU. Lucinschi said he does not consider Moldova's membership in the CIS to be an impediment to the country's integration into European structures. Moldovan parliamentary speaker Dimitru Diakov dismissed the proposal as the "beginning of electoral canvassing," Infotag reported. VG [26] BULGARIAN, ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS MEETBulgarianDefense Minister Boyko Noev and his Romanian counterpart, Sorin Frunzaverde, agreed in Sofia on 29 March to explore the possibilities for military cooperation with the Dutch contingent in NATO's KFOR mission in Kosova, BTA reported. Bulgaria already has a 35-man engineering unit serving in the Dutch contingent of KFOR. Frunzaverde confirmed that Romania will explore the prospects for sending a Romanian unit to join the Dutch troops in Kosova. The two ministers are scheduled to meet again in mid-April, when Bulgaria and Romania will take part in joint naval exercises near Varna and Constanta. VG [C] END NOTE[27] RECOVERY STILL A LONG WAY OFF IN WESTERN CORNER OF KOSOVABy Jolyon NaegeleThe detritus of war is still visible at every turn in the village of Brovina one year after Serbian forces sent all 600 residents fleeing over the nearby snow-covered mountains to Albania. Most residents were quick to return after Serbian forces withdrew last June. But little has changed in the village since then. In marked contrast to most other war- damaged parts of Kosova, where homeowners have largely finished reroofing their shelled or gutted houses, this westernmost corner of Kosova, known as Rreka, still looks as if the war just ended. Most houses remain in ruins. As is the case in neighboring villages, most of Brovina's 14 fortress-like residential stone towers, known as kullas, are empty shells, having been bombed or burned out by the Serbian forces. Elsewhere are blown-up cars, a burned-out bus on which the initials of NATO and the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) have been scrawled, and a roadside mass grave of Albanians executed by the Serbs, covered with wreaths of plastic flowers. In the center of the village a newly built playground, a donation from abroad, keeps the children out of the wrecks and ruins and away from the surrounding fields, still full of mines and unexploded ordnance. In the next village, Nivokaz, only two out of the 24 centuries-old kullas survived the Serbian assault intact. Many have nothing left but one or two walls and a stone staircase. The owner of one war-damaged kulla is a two- year-old war orphan. International humanitarian assistance has arrived in Brovina, Nivokaz, and surrounding communities. But besides the health-care, food, and educational aid and the donations of livestock and assistance to rebuild infrastructure, little has been done yet for the area's war-damaged architectural heritage. A U.S. foundation has donated some 10,000 square meters of plastic sheeting to cover exposed kulla walls in western Kosova. But the head of the Institute for the Protection of Kosova's Monuments, Fejaz Drancolli, told RFE/RL that this sufficed to protect just 60 damaged kullas out of a total of nearly 500 across western Kosova. Some donated plastic sheeting appears to have found other uses. In Junik, where about half of all Kosova's kullas are to be found, the co-owner of a gutted kulla, Esat Shehu, has used donated plastic sheeting and timber to build a barn for his war-decimated herd of three dozen sheep. "No they didn't give this [sheeting] to us for kullas," he told RFE/RL. "The Serbs burned all the farm buildings. I didn't have anywhere to put the sheep, so I built this shelter. But we will save these kullas. A professor from the Institute [for the Preservation of Kosova's Monuments] was here and told us that there are some Americans who are trying to help us. We'll see, but there is no way that we will let these kullas be further destroyed." As in other villages, residents say visiting foreign aid workers urged them not to tear down the burned out kullas but to try to save them. However, many kulla owners, though proud of their heritage, have no idea where to begin. One local businessman in Decani who grew up in a kulla, Sali Caca-Drini, hopes to change that. He is working to establish a local non-governmental organization to represent the interests of kulla owners and educate them in what needs to be done to save their heritage. Caca-Drini, who owns several photo shops, documented the kullas in some 12,000 photographs over the last 20 years but has recovered only about a quarter of his photo archives. The Serbs burned down his home and shops, but he says what caused him to weep for days was the destruction of Decani's kullas. Virtually the only hope of saving the kullas in the foreseeable future is through local efforts, as the international community treats them as low priority. European Commissioner Chris Patten made that clear on a visit to Prishtina earlier this month. "Doubtless other donors will want to help rebuild the cultural heritage and in due course that may be something we (the EU) look at first," Patten said. "But I think what people require first of all is a roof over their heads, the assurance that the power supply will be more regular next year, better roads so they can get their goods to market or their exports to regional markets." In the meantime, foreign aid organizations continue to put up their plaques on the kulla ruins, taking credit for postwar recovery. But tangible recovery in this corner of Kosova is still a long way off. The author is an RFE/RL senior correspondent based in Prague. 30-03-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
All Rights Reserved.