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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 4, No. 138, 00-07-20Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 4, No. 138, 20 July 2000CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION DEPUTY QUERIES OFFICIAL REASON FOR ENERGYPRIVATIZATIONArshak Sadoyan, who is an opposition parliamentary deputy representing the National Democratic Union, told journalists in Yerevan on 19 July that government arguments for privatizing four energy distribution networks are flawed, RFE/R's Yerevan bureau reported. Sadoyan rejected the official claim that those networks are in serious disrepair and that foreign investment is essential to make them functional and profitable. He claimed that energy sector officials misappropriate some $40 million annually, which if used for the purpose for which it was intended would reduce the need for foreign investment. And he added that he estimates that the four networks are worth $400-500 million, whereas the government intends to sell them for $40 million. Snark the same day quoted the Armenian Energy Ministry press center as saying that the state loses $45 million annually from energy losses attributable to obsolete transmission equipment. LF [02] LAWYER WANTS FORMER KARABAKH ARMY CHIEF'S TRIAL HELD INARMENIAZhudeks Shakarian, who represents former Karabakh Defense Minister and army commander Samvel Babayan, has demanded that his client's trial take place in Armenia, rather than in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Noyan Tapan reported on 19 July. He added that Babayan has been subjected to violence during his pre-trial detention. Babayan is accused of masterminding the 22 March assassination attempt on the enclave's President Arkadii Ghukasian (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 April 2000). Karabakh Prosecutor-General Mavrik Ghukasian said on 27 May that the investigation into the case was completed and would be submitted to the court in mid-June. LF [03] AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN THREATENS TO REVISE ELECTIONLEGISLATIONMurtuz Alesqerov on 19 July condemned the decision by six members of the Central Electoral Commission not to attend a session of that body the same day as constituting "irresponsibility and incompetence," Turan reported. The six were representatives of the opposition Azerbaijan National Independence Party and Azerbaijan Popular Front, which have declared a boycott of the commission's work until the amendments to the election law demanded by the opposition and the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights are enacted (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2000). Alesqerov said that unless the opposition abandons its boycott and agrees to participate in the work of the commission, he will suggest amending the law on the Central Electoral Commission to stipulate that its decisions be taken by a simple majority, rather than a two-thirds majority, as is currently the case. LF [04] AZERBAIJAN DENIES PRESENSE OF MERCENARIES ON BORDER WITHDAGHESTANAzerbaijani National Security Ministry spokesman Araz Kurbanov on 19 July rejected as "untrue" an ITAR-TASS report that Daghestan's State Council discussed earlier the same day the threat posed by the alleged presence on the border between Azerbaijan and Daghestan of some 1,500 Afghan and Pakistani mercenaries. Kurbanov said that the Russian Federal Border Guard Service similarly rejected that claim. LF [05] PROTESTS GROW OVER CLOSURE OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITY INAZERBAIJANStudents of the American University of Baku have launched a campaign to protest the decision taken earlier this month by Azerbaijan's Ministries of Justice and Education to revoke the five-year license issued last year to that institute. They stress that the university is strictly apolitical, that its academic standards are high, and that its faculty members, unlike some at state-funded higher education establishments, do not demand bribes for enrolling students. Faculty members have written to the Azerbaijani president, premier and parliamentary speaker protesting that the closure of the university is unfair and illegal. The university first opened in 1995. LF [06] RUSSIA, U.S. DISCUSS RUSSIAN TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIAMeeting in Moscow on 19 July, Russian Foreign Ministryofficials and a U.S. expert delegation discussed political, financial, and logistical aspects of the planned withdrawal of Russian military equipment from Georgia, Interfax reported. The U.S. has offered some $10 million toward the cost of reducing the amount of Russian military hardware deployed in Georgia and the closure of four Russian bases there. On 17 July, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Burduli told journalists in Tbilisi that the U.K. has proposed creating an international fund to be controlled by the OSCE that would contribute to the Russian troop withdrawal from Georgia, according to Caucasus Press. LF [07] ARMED ATTACK ON POLICE IN WESTERN GEORGIAA group ofunidentified armed men opened fire late on 19 July on a police car in the west Georgian district of Zugdidi, Caucasus Press reported. One police officer and one of the gunmen were injured in the ensuing exchange of fire. LF [08] KAZAKHSTAN TO PROCEED WITH CHINESE OIL PIPELINEKazakhstan'sPrime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev has set up a working group headed by Energy, Industry, and Trade Deputy Minister Kanat Bozumbaev to draft proposals on the joint construction of a 3,000 kilometer oil pipeline from western Kazakhstan to China, Interfax reported on 19 July. The estimated cost of that venture is $3-3.5 billion. During a visit by Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev to Beijing late last year, China reaffirmed its commitment to that project, which was originally agreed on in 1997. Kazakh officials had queried last August whether the pipeline is economically viable (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 November 1999). LF [09] KAZAKHSTAN SUSPENDS TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY FROM UZBEKISTANKazakhTeleCom on 17 July stopped relaying internationaltelephone calls from Uzbekistan, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported two days later. No official reason for that decision has been given, but analysts suggest that it may have been intended as a means of retaliation for Uzbekistan's refusal to increase supplies of irrigation water for southern Kazakhstan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2000). LF [10] TAJIKISTAN UNVEILS MONUMENT TO SLAIN UN OBSERVERSThe Tajikgovernment on 19 July unveiled a monument in Garm, east of Dushanbe, to four UN observers shot dead on patrol two years earlier, AP and Asia Plus-Blitz reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 July 1998). LF [11] TURKMEN AMBASSADOR DENIES RESTRICTIONS ON ARMENIAN CHURCHToyli Kurbanov, who is Turkmenistan's ambassador in Yerevan,has rejected as "absolutely untrue" a Keston News Service report detailing restrictions on the Armenian Church in Turkmenistan, according to Snark on 18 July as quoted by Groong (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 July 2000). LF [12] BANGLADESHI DELEGATION VISITS UZBEKISTANUzbekistan's PrimeMinister Utkir Sultanov and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdussamad Ozod, meeting in Tashkent on 17 July, discussed prospects for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Interfax reported. Ozod expressed support for Uzbekistan's initiatives in the spheres of regional security and combating terrorism. He also met separately with his Uzbek counterpart, Abdulaziz Kamilov. LF [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[13] MONTENEGRO IN 'NO HURRY' ON REFERENDUMMontenegrin PrimeMinister Filip Vujanovic told Czech Radio in a telephone interview on 19 July that his government is in "no hurry" to hold a referendum on independence. He stressed that any decision to hold such a vote will depend on whether the Serbian opposition first succeeds or fails in its plans to oust the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Vujanovic called on the opposition to unite in order to defeat Milosevic in elections widely expected in the fall. He added that the Montenegrin authorities believe that "two- thirds" of the Montenegrin population would vote for independence in a referendum. PM [14] ROBERTSON: 'NO INFORMATION' ON MONTENEGRIN COUP...Speakingin Sarajevo on 19 July, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said: "I have no information about a military coup in Montenegro and I've made it very clear on a number of occasions as secretary-general of NATO that we watch with care and concern what is going on in Montenegro.... President Milosevic should be aware that the international community is also concerned about what is happening and the right of [Montenegrin] President [Milo] Djukanovic to be able to fulfil the mandate given to him by the Montenegrin people," Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2000). PM [15] ...CALLS FOR ONE BOSNIAN ARMYIn Sarajevo on 19 July,Robertson called on the leaders of Bosnia's two entities to cut the size of their respective armed forces and integrate them into one Bosnian army. He added that he hopes that Bosnia will meet the criteria for joining the Partnership for Peace program "in my term of office," AP reported. NATO officials have repeatedly said that only a single, united Bosnian army can apply for membership in the program. PM [16] NATO FINDS POSSIBLE 'EXTREMIST TRAINING' CENTER IN KOSOVAThe U.S. military said in a statement issued at CampBondsteel on 20 July that "extensive security operations" by NATO peacekeepers in the area have revealed "training facilities," including "bunkers and firing positions," AP reported. The statement added: "The multinational effort consisted of extensive surveillance and patrolling missions that ultimately identified suspected training areas that might have been used by extremist elements. During the course of the operation, bunkers and fighting positions were destroyed, including some bearing evidence of recent occupation." The text did not indicate who might have built and used the facilities in the ethnically mixed area. PM [17] KOSOVA VOTER REGISTRATION ENDSA spokesman for the OSCE saidin Prishtina on 19 July that the voting registration process has ended in Kosova and will not be resumed, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. He noted that more than 1 million persons registered but that very few of them are Serbs (see "RFR/RL Newsline," 17 July 2000). PM [18] FRENCH TROOPS DETAIN SERB IN MITROVICAKFOR soldiers brieflydetained Gojko Repanovic in northern Mitrovica on 20 July on suspicion of theft, AP reported. The French troops also attempted to arrest another two individuals, but the latter escaped. Following the arrest of Repanovic, some 100 angry Serbs assembled in the Little Bosnia section of town. The previous night, some 1,000 Serbs marched to demand the release of Dalibor Vukovic, whom KFOR arrested recently for setting fire to Albanian-owned cars (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 July 2000). For his part, Bernard Kouchner, who heads the UN's civilian administration in Kosova, said through a spokeswoman that he is "outraged" that some Serbs have recently attacked UN policemen sent to protect the Serbian population, Reuters reported. PM [19] SERBIAN COURT SENTENCES POLICEMAN FOR KILLING ALBANIANS.APozarevac court on 20 July sentenced Boban Petkovic to four years and nine months in prison for killing three Kosovar Albanians during the 1999 conflict. The court sentenced Djordje Simic to one year in jail for providing Petkovic with the gun he used in the killings. AP reported that thousands of Kosovars died at Serbian hands during the conflict but that Petkovic and Simic are the only Serbs to be sentenced for killing Albanians at that time. PM [20] U.S., MACEDONIAN GENERALS PLEASED WITH BORDER SECURITYGeneral Henry Shelton, who heads the U.S. Joint Chiefs ofStaff, discussed regional security with his Macedonian counterpart, General Jovan Andreevski, in Skopje on 19 July. The two men said in a statement that "the situation along Kosovo's border [has become] stabilized after joint efforts by Macedonian forces and NATO-led peacekeepers" following a series of incidents earlier in the year, AP reported. PM [21] EU TO LAUNCH STABILIZATION PACT TALKS WITH CROATIAChrisPatten, who is the EU's commissioner for foreign affairs, announced in Brussels on 19 July that Croatia will become the second western Balkan country (after Macedonia) to begin talks with Brussels over the terms of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 4 July 2000). Talks are expected to begin before the EU's Balkan summit takes place in Zagreb in November, AP reported. Patten stressed that "this proposal is a great step forward in our efforts to stabilize the region. It is a tribute to the courageous steps taken by the new Croatian government in the short time it has been in office; the EU is determined to support Croatia." PM [22] CROATIAN DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVES IN FORMER YUGOSLAVIACroatian President Stipe Mesic told the Prishtina daily "KohaDitore" that he soon hopes to visit Kosova to encourage the process of democratization there, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported on 19 July. In Zagreb, Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said that he will soon visit Montenegro for talks with his counterpart, Branko Lukovac, and President Milo Djukanovic. Picula stressed that he wants to show his support for the democratically elected government of the mountainous republic. PM [23] CROATIAN LEADERS PLEDGE UNITYPrime Minister Ivica Racan andhis coalition partner Drazen Budisa said at a press conference in Zagreb on 19 July that their two-party coalition remains strong and that "nothing" can destroy it, "Slobodna Dalmacija" reported. They added that the problems within their coalition are no greater than the differences within any single party in any country. PM [24] BOSNIAN BISHOP SEEKS HELP FOR CROATSFranjo Komarica, who isthe Roman Catholic bishop of Banja Luka in the Republika Srpska, told Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic in Zagreb on 19 July that many Serbs have returned from Bosnia to Croatia recently, "Slobodna Dalmacija" reported. The bishop added, however, that "nobody is bothering about" the Croats from Bosnia who want to return home. PM [25] ROMANIAN CENTER-RIGHT ALLIANCE IN THE OFFING...The leadersof the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the National Peasant Christian Democratic Party (PNTCD) met on 19 July and agreed to set up a "center-right pole" that would stop "the Left's accession to power," Romanian Radio and Mediafax reported. PNTCD leader Ion Diaconescu said after the meeting that the structure of the new alliance must still be discussed. Mediafax said the PNL is demanding 50 percent of the slots on parliamentary lists and wants the PNTCD to share the remaining 50 percent with other alliance members. PNL First Deputy Chairman Valeriu Stoica said the alliance must include only parties that mustered at least 3 percent in the June local elections. Stoica also said the PNL will continue talks with the Alliance for Romania because it might be necessary to back a joint presidential candidate if the fall presidential elections are decided in a runoff. MS [26] ...BUT WHO WILL BE ITS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE?Diaconescualso said the sides discussed the possibility of backing Premier Mugur Isarescu for president, but Mediafax reported that the PNL has made its backing for Isarescu conditional on the premier's renouncing his political independence. Earlier on 19 July, Diaconescu said Isarescu has "reluctantly" accepted to run "at the urging of President Emil Constantinescu." But in an interview with Rompres, Isarescu said he is "honored" by the proposal but is asking for "some time for reflection." He said he would also consider whether renouncing his political independence is the best way to serve the process of continuing reform. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Decebal Traian Remes has withdrawn his resignation, saying Isarescu has convinced him that the cabinet needs him. MS [27] FORMER ROMANIAN PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO CONSTANTINESCU'SDECISIONParty of Social Democracy in Romania leader Ion Iliescu said on 19 July that incumbent President Constantinescu's decision not to seek a second mandate will not affect his own decision to run for the post, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. PNL First Deputy Chairman Stoica has urged Iliescu to follow Constantinescu's example, but Iliescu responded by telling him to "mind his own and his party's business." He said "no runner gives up the race because another runner has torn a ligament." Iliescu also said he is not afraid of competing against Isarescu. "He who fears the wolf should not enter the forest," he commented. MS [28] BULGARIA PROPOSES HOSTING BALKAN MEDIA ACADEMYNikolaKaradimov, Bulgaria's coordinator for the Southeast European Stability Pact, told journalists on 19 July that his country proposes setting up a Balkan Media Academy in Sofia to operate under the aegis of the pact. Karadimov, who spoke ahead of a visit to Sofia by South East European Stability Pact Coordinator Bodo Hombach, said the academy would help train journalists to work for independent media in the region. MS [C] END NOTE[29] RUSSIA'S TOP BRASS SPLIT OVER CONVENTIONAL, NUCLEAR NEEDSby Sophie LambroschiniLast week, Russian President Vladimir Putin had Defense Minister Igor Sergeev and Chief of the General Staff Anatolii Kvashnin fly to the Black Sea resort of Sochi. There, the men were supposed to mend their rift over the direction of Russian military policy. The row erupted just days earlier when Kvashnin submitted a plan on the future makeup of the military forces. The chief of the General Staff proposed slashing the number of nuclear missiles and ending the Strategic Rocket Forces' independent status as the cornerstone of Russian defense policy. That plan did not sit well with Sergeev, who headed the rocket forces from 1992 until his first appointment as defense minister in 1997. Sergeev said that the nuclear force is in better shape than other sectors of the Russian military and is an important symbol of Russian power. Downgrading it would underscore Russia's loss of superpower status, he argued. Kvashnin's plan is drawn from lessons learned on the battlefield in Chechnya, where poor equipment has contributed to Russian casualties. He reasons that as the risk of nuclear war is now lower and START-3 talks are likely to further reduce both the U.S. and the Russian nuclear arsenals, strategic nuclear forces can be cut without risking security. He argues the money saved by downgrading the nuclear forces could be channeled to the conventional forces, which desperately need upgrading. That plan was in line with proposals adopted under former President Boris Yeltsin and appeared set to win Putin's approval. Alarmed, Sergeev took the offensive, stopping just short of calling Kvashnin a traitor. The scheme, he said, constitutes "criminal stupidity and an attempt to harm Russia's national interests." The two men's longstanding personal animosity added ammunition to the feud. After the Sochi meeting, Sergeev cast himself as the victor. But political analysts doubt that the dispute was settled so easily. The military's glaring shortcomings in Chechnya have added tension to an issue that goes beyond choosing between more rockets or more tanks. Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer told RFE/RL that the problem is that Russia can no longer afford to act like a superpower: it cannot maintain its nuclear capability, wage a ground war against partisans in Chechnya, and undertake liberal reform of the army. Felgenhauer says both men's arguments have merit. But he says Sergeev's emphasis on nuclear capability has contributed to the dilapidated state of the army. "When he became defense minister," Felgenhauer noted, "he purposefully spent almost all of the money allocated for new equipment on the acquisition of new intercontinental ballistic missiles." The defense minister has tried to keep purchasing 20 to 30 ICBMs a year--which is more than the annual acquisitions of all other nuclear powers put together. Meanwhile, the conventional forces have seen their equipment crumble. According to Felgenhauer, Sergeev is thus partly to blame for the death of Russian soldiers in Chechnya, who are sent to war with outdated weapons. Most generals agree. Many of them are said to personally dislike Chief of the General Staff Kvashnin, who comes across as rather boorish, compared with the refined Sergeev. But on the military's needs, they tend to support Kvashnin. As commander in chief, it is of course President Putin who will have the final word. But some commentators doubt that he is sufficiently versed in military matters to make an informed decision. "Izvestiya" even implied that Putin could be manipulated by military leaders and in effect lose political control over the army. The most likely outcome of the dispute is a compromise. According to military analyst Felgenhauer, the Kremlin is likely to agree to a little of everything: "They'll buy a few rockets, they'll buy some tanks, they'll fight a little in Chechnya, and make some liberal reforms. That is, they'll do half measures, with the result that reforms will fail, the war in Chechnya will be lost, and nuclear status will suffer." A third voice, that of Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin, is expected to be heard on the issue. Kudrin is charged with creating a budget surplus by 2001. That economic feat would require drastic cuts in the military budget and might mean the choice between tanks and missiles becomes moot for a military that can afford neither. The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Moscow. 20-07-00 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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