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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 195, 01-10-15
RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 5, No. 195, 15 October 2001
CONTENTS
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION QUESTIONS MILITARY PROSECUTOR'S SHIFT ON
PARLIAMENT SHOOTINGS...
[02] ...AS MORE POLITICAL GROUPS CALL FOR PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
[03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS
[04] AZERBAIJAN HONORS LUKOIL PRESIDENT
[05] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS SEEK TO DEFUSE TENSIONS IN RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA
[06] ABKHAZ LEADERS, OSCE WARNS AGAINST WITHDRAWAL OF CIS PEACEKEEPERS
[07] FIGHTING CONTINUES IN KODORI GORGE
[08] GEORGIA REJECTS ABKHAZ CHARGES OF AGGRESSION
[09] KAZAKH PRESIDENT DENIES TWO MINISTRIES TO BE MERGED
[10] HEAD OF KAZAKHSTAN'S URANIUM MONOPOLY DISMISSED
[11] OPPOSITION PARTY SAYS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST KAZAKH PRESIDENT'S SON-IN-
LAW TRUE
[12] KAZAKHSTAN ASSESSES CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE AFGHAN REFUGEES
[13] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN AGAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER GAS SUPPLIES
[14] NEW KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT FACTION TO OPPOSE BORDER AGREEMENT WITH CHINA
[15] U.S. MILITARY SPECIALISTS ARRIVE IN TAJIKISTAN
[16] TAJIKISTAN HALTS REBROADCASTING OF ORT
[17] UZBEKISTAN, U.S. UNVEIL COOPERATION AGREEMENT
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[18] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON REFERENDUM DESPITE PROTESTS
[19] EU NAMES FRENCH DIPLOMAT AS NEW MACEDONIA ENVOY
[20] AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR CALLS FOR DEBT RELIEF FOR YUGOSLAVIA
[21] MARKOVIC: REFORMISTS OFFERED ME MONEY TO BLAME MILOSEVIC
[22] KOSOVA POLICE DETAINED IN YUGOSLAVIA RELEASED
[23] BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADER IZETBEGOVIC STEPS DOWN...
[24] ...AS SDA PARTY PASSES MANTLE TO TIHIC
[25] CROATIAN CABINET HOLDS CRISIS MEETING OVER 23 DIALYSIS DEATHS
[26] CROATIAN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TO CONTINUE 19 OCTOBER
[27] OSCE CALLS ON ALBANIAN OPPOSITION TO DROP BOYCOTT
[28] ROMANIAN PREMIER ANNOUNCES INCREASED BORDER SURVEILLANCE...
[29] ...DISAGREES WITH PLAN TO BUILD SPECIAL ROMA NEIGHBORHOODS
[30] ROMANIAN PYRAMID SCHEME MASTERMIND TO AVOID PRISON
[31] ROMANIAN PROFESSOR SAYS HE HAS ANTHRAX ANTIDOTE
[32] ROMANIAN PREMIER MAKES PUBLIC LETTER TO VORONIN...
[33] OSCE MISSION HEAD TO END MOLDOVA MISSION
[34] SIX CANDIDATES CONTEST BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
[C] END NOTE
[35] There is no End Note today.
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION QUESTIONS MILITARY PROSECUTOR'S SHIFT ON
PARLIAMENT SHOOTINGS...
Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on 12 October, opposition
Hanrapetutiun party leader Albert Bazeyan noted that Chief Military
Prosecutor Gagik Djahangirian, who heads the ongoing investigation into the
October 1999 parliament shootings, was initially convinced that President
Robert Kocharian masterminded them, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Eight
senior officials died in the shooting, including Prime Minister Vazgen
Sargsian and parliament speaker Karen Demirchian. Djahangirian announced
last week that he is no longer seeking to establish a connection between
Kocharian and the five gunmen currently on trial for the killings. LF
[02] ...AS MORE POLITICAL GROUPS CALL FOR PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
Leaders of several Armenian organizations representing retired military
personnel announced at a press conference in Yerevan on 12 October that
they have aligned to create the Homeland and Honor Association, Noyan Tapan
reported. The association intends to play an "active role" on the Armenian
political scene and to demand the resignation of both President Kocharian
and the present leadership, which they accused of patronizing a "clan
system" that has plunged the country into a profound economic crisis. Also
on 12 October, the Hayots tun (Armenian House) party called for a
nationwide referendum on holding preterm parliamentary elections in order
to replace Kocharian, Noyan Tapan reported. LF
[03] ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS
Meeting in Yerevan on 11 October with a group of visiting journalists from
Azerbaijan, Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian acknowledged that
some citizens of Armenia serve in the Defense Army of the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, adding that the fewer the number of people who
consider that army to be "separatist," the better, Noyan Tapan reported. He
said that Armenia is the guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakh's security, adding
that "I dream that the Karabakh conflict will be settled and a peace
agreement signed," Arminfo reported. Sarkisian also pointed out that
although Armenia's annual $70 million defense budget is only half that of
Azerbaijan. Armenia's defense potential is significantly higher and
mortality within the armed forces much lower. Sarkisian accused Baku of
exceeding the quantities of certain types of military hardware it is
permitted to deploy under the revised CFE Treaty. LF
[04] AZERBAIJAN HONORS LUKOIL PRESIDENT
Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev presented LUKoil President Vagit
Alekperov on 12 October with Azerbaijan's prestigious Honor Award in
acknowledgment of his "significant contribution to the development of
economic relations" between Azerbaijan and Russia, Turan reported. LUKoil
is a participant in five separate consortia engaged in exploiting
Azerbaijan's oil deposits. Alekperov was born in Baku, where he graduated
from the Oil and Chemical Institute. LF
[05] GEORGIAN OFFICIALS SEEK TO DEFUSE TENSIONS IN RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA
Speaking on Georgian state television on 12 October, President Eduard
Shevardnadze criticized as "unfair" the resolution adopted the previous day
by the Russian State Duma blaming the deterioration of bilateral relations
on Georgia, Russian and Georgian agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
12 October 2001). Shevardnadze argued that Georgia's and Russia's interests
largely coincide, and vowed that "normal good-neighborly relations will
prevail" provided Russia "does not get in our way" in Abkhazia, Reuters
reported. Shevardnadze, his spokesman Kakha Imnadze, and Minister of State
Gia Arsenishvili on 13 October all positively assessed Russian President
Vladimir Putin's 12 October statement that Moscow will support Georgia's
territorial integrity and will not intervene in territorial conflicts in
Georgia. Interfax on 12 October quoted Arsenishvili as predicting that the
crisis in bilateral relations will blow over within a few days. Also on 12
October, the Georgian parliament adopted a statement rejecting the
allegations in the Duma resolution that Georgia protects terrorists and
follows "an aggressive anti-Russian policy," Caucasus Press reported. The
Georgian statement attributed those accusations to the influence of
disinformation propagated by the Russian media. LF
[06] ABKHAZ LEADERS, OSCE WARNS AGAINST WITHDRAWAL OF CIS PEACEKEEPERS
Abkhaz Prime Minister Anri Djergenia told journalists in Sukhum on 13
October that he does not think the CIS peacekeepers currently deployed
along the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia should be
withdrawn as the Georgian parliament is demanding (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
12 October 2001). On the contrary, Djergenia argued, the peacekeepers'
mandate should be expanded. Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba's spokesman,
Astamur Tania, told Reuters the same day that "we are categorically opposed
to a withdrawal." Characterizing the peacekeeping force as "the only
guarantee of peace and stability in the region," Tania said its withdrawal
could trigger "large-scale military operations." Abkhaz Defense Minister
Vladimir Mikanba similarly predicted that the peacekeepers' withdrawal
"will inevitably lead to a large-scale war," Interfax reported. He said
that if that force does leave, the Abkhaz army will occupy the positions it
currently holds on the right bank of the Inguri River in Abkhazia's
southernmost Gali Raion, which has a Georgian population of some 60,000-70,
000. In Tbilisi, Minister of State Arsenishvili said on 13 October after
meeting with a visiting OSCE delegation that that organization considers
the withdrawal of the CIS peacekeepers ill advised, and had raised the
question of who would fill the vacuum left by their departure. Also on 13
October, Georgian parliament's Committee for Defense and Security Chairman
Giorgi Baramidze said Tbilisi should ask NATO to send a peacekeeping force
to replace the CIS contingent, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[07] FIGHTING CONTINUES IN KODORI GORGE
Abkhaz Defense Minister Mikanba said on 13 October that a group of some 100
Chechen fighters have broken through the Abkhaz forces surrounding them
near Sugar-Loaf mountain after fighting near the village of Ablukhvara in
which six of the intruders and two Abkhaz were killed, Interfax reported.
Presidential aide Tania said that group, which was believed to include
Chechen field commander Ruslan Gelaev, was retreating northward pursued by
Abkhaz forces. On 14 October, isolated fighting between Abkhaz troops and
the intruders, who had apparently split up into small groups, was
continuing, Deputy Defense Minister Garri Kupalba told Caucasus Press on 15
October. He said that Abkhaz army used artillery and aircraft to bomb one
group of fighters who were heading northeast up the Kodori gorge to the
region controlled by the Georgian military. Also on 15 October, Kupalba
denied, as his Georgian counterpart Gela Bezhuashvili did the previous day,
that Abkhaz troops have exchanged fire with the Georgian army forces sent
to the Kodori gorge on 11 October, Caucasus Press reported. LF
[08] GEORGIA REJECTS ABKHAZ CHARGES OF AGGRESSION
The Abkhaz parliament has called upon the legislatures of the United States,
Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia to condemn the Georgian
leadership for protecting terrorists and for resorting to violence in an
attempt to resolve the Abkhaz conflict, Interfax reported on 13 October.
But Georgian presidential spokesman Imnadze told that Russian agency the
following day that Georgia "has not taken any aggressive steps" against
Abkhazia. Arsenishvili for his part told Interfax on 12 October that
Tbilisi is ready to resume talks with the Abkhaz leadership under the aegis
of the United Nations. He blamed the upsurge of fighting on unnamed "forces
that oppose closer ties between the Georgians and Abkhaz." LF
[09] KAZAKH PRESIDENT DENIES TWO MINISTRIES TO BE MERGED
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev denied on 12 October rumors of a
planned merger of the Finance Ministry with the State Revenues Ministry,
Interfax reported. Nazarbaev said he is "satisfied" with the work of the
latter ministry. LF
[10] HEAD OF KAZAKHSTAN'S URANIUM MONOPOLY DISMISSED
Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev has dismissed Mukhtar Dzhakishev from
his post as president of Kazatomprom, which is Kazakhstan's monopoly
importer and exporter of uranium, Interfax reported. No reason was given
for his dismissal. LF
[11] OPPOSITION PARTY SAYS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST KAZAKH PRESIDENT'S SON-IN-
LAW TRUE
Amirzhan Qosanov, the chairman of the executive committee of the opposition
Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan, on 12 October confirmed that
President Nazarbaev's son-in-law Rakhat Aliyev controls numerous media
outlets and is guilty of abuse of his official position as deputy head of
the Committee for National Security (the former KGB), RFE/RL's Kazakh
Service reported. On 11 October staff members of one of the TV companies
said to be controlled by Aliyev denied that he owns the company. The
original charges against Aliyev were made in an open letter addressed to
President Nazarbaev by parliament deputy Tolen Toqtasynov (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 11 and 12 October 2001). Qosanov said his party plans to make
public a "White Book" containing details of Aliyev's repressive actions
against it. LF
[12] KAZAKHSTAN ASSESSES CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE AFGHAN REFUGEES
Kazakhstan's Security Council Secretary Altynbek Sarsenbaev told
journalists in Almaty on 13 October that Kazakhstan cannot accommodate a
large number of new refugees in the event of upheaval in Afghanistan, ITAR-
TASS reported. He noted that Kazakhstan has already taken in 9,000 refugees
from Tajikistan and 11,000 from Chechnya. He added that refugees are likely
to pose a more serious problem for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, both of which
border on Afghanistan. LF
[13] KYRGYZSTAN, UZBEKISTAN AGAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER GAS SUPPLIES
Uzbekistan's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Alisher Salahitdinov, warned
Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev on 12 October that
Tashkent may suspend natural gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan unless Bishkek pays
back debts for previous deliveries, which a Kyrgyz official estimates are
$659,000 in cash and commodities to the value of $1.5 million, RFE/RL's
Bishkek bureau reported. Tanaev responded by suggesting that Kyrgyzstan
would respond by reducing water supplies to Uzbekistan. Bakirdin Sartkaziev,
director-general of the state-run Kyrgyzenergo, left for Tashkent on 13
October to try to reach agreement with the Uzbek government. Kyrgyzgas
Deputy Director General Mahamatdjan Yusupkhanov told RFE/RL that Kyrgyz
consumers owe his company some 250 million soms ($5.2 million) in unpaid
bills. Uzbekistan cut supplies of gas to Kyrgyzstan early this year over a
similar disagreement over debts (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 January and 27
February 2001). LF
[14] NEW KYRGYZ PARLIAMENT FACTION TO OPPOSE BORDER AGREEMENT WITH CHINA
A group of Kyrgyz parliament deputies plan to align in a new faction to be
named Public Front of Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on 12
October. The group's primary objective will be to campaign for the
annulment of border agreements under which Kyrgyzstan cedes tracts of
territory to China (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 June, 3 July and 7 August
2001). LF
[15] U.S. MILITARY SPECIALISTS ARRIVE IN TAJIKISTAN
A group of six U.S. officers arrived in Dushanbe on 12 October to discuss
with Tajik officials the possible use of Tajik airspace and military
facilities by the United States within the framework of the antiterrorism
strikes against Afghanistan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 and 10 October 2001),
Russian agencies reported. LF
[16] TAJIKISTAN HALTS REBROADCASTING OF ORT
Tajikistan has suspended retransmission of Russia's ORT television and
reduced by five hours rebroadcasts of a second Russian TV station, RTR,
Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 12 October. Tajik Communications Minister
Nuridin Muhiddinov told that agency that the ORT's predecessor Ostankino
owes his ministry a total of 5.5 million rubles ($184,000) in unpaid fees
dating back to 1997, and RTR owes a similar amount. "We cannot afford to
broadcast Russian TV for free," he explained. On 14 October, a Tajik
Interior Ministry spokesman announced the arrest in Dushanbe of two men who
have confessed to the March 1996 murder of ORT journalists Viktor Nikulin,
ITAR-TASS reported. LF
[17] UZBEKISTAN, U.S. UNVEIL COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Under an agreement signed on 7 October, the governments of Uzbekistan and
the United States agree on the nature of the threat posed by international
terrorism and pledge to raise bilateral relations to a qualitively new
level to meet that threat and ensure long-term regional stability,
according to a joint statement by the two governments made public on 12
October, AP and Russian agencies reported. That statement also reaffirms
Uzbekistan's readiness to make one of its air bases available for use in
humanitarian or search-and-rescue operations during the U.S.-led
antiterrorist strikes against Afghanistan. On 15 October, ITAR-TASS
reported that U.S. military specialists are already installing equipment at
the Khanabad air base, which is some 145 kilometers from the Uzbek-Afghan
border. LF
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[18] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON REFERENDUM DESPITE PROTESTS
The Macedonian parliament was set to meet on 15 October to vote on
submitting constitutional changes agreed upon in the August peace agreement
to a popular referendum, a move that could endanger the peace process,
Reuters and dpa reported. Western envoys have urged the parliament to
reject the idea, as it was not included in the Ohrid peace plan and could
bring the fragile agreement to an end. "We are coming to a crucial stage of
the political process. It will be tense, nasty, and frustrating in the next
couple of weeks," one Skopje-based Western diplomat said. Representatives
of the ethnic Albanian parties also condemned the vote. "The referendum has
the tendency to block the peace process -- it's unacceptable for us," said
Aziz Polozani of the Democratic Party of Albanians. DW
[19] EU NAMES FRENCH DIPLOMAT AS NEW MACEDONIA ENVOY
The European Union on 12 October named Alain Le Roy to succeed fellow
Frenchman Francois Leotard as its special representative in Macedonia, AP
and Reuters reported. Le Roy, who has served with the UN in Kosova and then
Bosnia, is currently the Foreign Ministry's coordinator for the
international Stability Pact in the Balkans. "Mr. Le Roy is a highly
talented diplomat with substantial experience of the Balkans," said Javier
Solana, the EU's foreign and security policy representative. Leotard is to
step down from his post on 29 October for personal reasons. DW
[20] AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR CALLS FOR DEBT RELIEF FOR YUGOSLAVIA
Kicking off a three-day visit to Belgrade, Wolfgang Schuessel said that his
country will support Yugoslavia's efforts to win debt relief from the $12.2
billion it owes to creditor nations and institutions, AP reported on 12
October. He also promised $7 million in aid to go to welfare and to support
the development of small- and medium-sized businesses. DW
[21] MARKOVIC: REFORMISTS OFFERED ME MONEY TO BLAME MILOSEVIC
The former chief of state security under President Slobodan Milosevic,
Radomir Markovic, said at his trial for allegedly arranging an
assassination attempt (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October 2001) that members
of the reformist Serbian government had offered him money to implicate
Milosevic, Reuters reported on 12 October. He said he was taken to a
government villa four months after his February arrest to meet with Serbian
Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic and others. "Mihajlovic suggested I
should claim responsibility and say Milosevic ordered it," he told the
court. "In return I would get immunity from prosecution, I could go to the
country of my choice with my family and I would have enough money for the
rest of my life," he said. "I rejected it." Mihajlovic denied this. "I have
no idea what Markovic is talking about. It's up to him to explain that." DW
[22] KOSOVA POLICE DETAINED IN YUGOSLAVIA RELEASED
The six members of the Kosovo Police Service detained by Yugoslav forces in
the republic of Yugoslavia on 11 October (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 October
2001), were released after more than 24 hours, dpa reported on 13 October.
The release of the five men and one woman was negotiated by the KFOR
peacekeeping troops and they were able to return on 12 October. DW
[23] BOSNIAN MUSLIM LEADER IZETBEGOVIC STEPS DOWN...
Alija Izetbegovic, who led Bosnia's mainly Muslim central government during
much of past decade, stepped down as head of the nationalist Party of
Democratic Action (SDA) on 13 October at a party congress, Western agencies
reported. "Development of the economy and creation of more jobs must be an
imperative of our policy," Izetbegovic said, adding that only a strong and
stabile economy can lead Bosnia toward political integrity and stability.
The last of the signatories to the 1995 Dayton peace treaty to leave office,
the 76-year-old former president had confirmed on 12 October that he would
leave politics, citing poor health and age. He was unanimously voted
lifelong honorary president of the party he helped form in May 1990. AH
[24] ...AS SDA PARTY PASSES MANTLE TO TIHIC
Delegates of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) on 13 October elected
Sulejman Tihic to lead the party following Alija Izetbegovic's departure,
Western agencies reported. Tihic is the Muslim deputy speaker of the
parliament in the Bosnian Serb-run Srpska Republika. Delegates to the third
SDA congress also elected Adnan Terzic as the party's vice president and
Edhem Bicakcic, Seada Paravlic, Elmir Jahic, and Mirsad Kebo as deputy
chairmen, dpa reported. The SDA also made a major decision to move toward
the political center from a more right-wing nationalist position, becoming
more open to non-Muslim Bosnians, dpa said. The party was originally
defined as a political organization "of people from the Muslim cultural-
historical circle." The SDA gathering added it will advocate changes and
upgrades to the Dayton peace agreement, in hopes of further strengthening
Bosnia's integrity. AH
[25] CROATIAN CABINET HOLDS CRISIS MEETING OVER 23 DIALYSIS DEATHS
Government ministers convened on 15 October to respond to the deaths of 23
kidney patients in the past week as investigators sought to determine the
cause of the tragedies, dpa reported. All of the patients, 13 women and 10
men in hospitals in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Sibenik, and Pula, were treated
using dialysis filters manufactured by a U.S. firm, Baxters, according to
Western news agencies. Representatives of that company insisted the
dialyzers were independently tested and proven safe, although Spanish
authorities still have not cleared use of the filters pending a probe of 10
deaths there of patients who reportedly also used the same company's
products, dpa said. Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan told a news
conference that his government had been aware of the Spanish cases, but
added that Pliva, the Croatian importer, had received written guarantees
from Baxter that the imported equipment was safe. Racan said investigations
so far have led to suspicion that the filters "could have caused these
tragic events." Health Minister Ana Stavljenic Rukavina offered her
resignation on 14 October following the recent deaths, though Racan
rejected it and instead called for an investigation. AH
[26] CROATIAN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TO CONTINUE 19 OCTOBER
The parties to talks on a collective agreement for Croatia's civil servants
signed a protocol for negotiations on 12 October, opening the way for
renewed bargaining from 19 October, Hina reported. The government and
public sector unions have been unable to agree even on the starting point
for the talks since the government abandoned the existing agreement as a
basis for negotiations. The starting point for the new talks will be two
drafts, one from the government and the other from unions, labor leader
Ivica Ihas said on 12 October, according to Hina. AH
[27] OSCE CALLS ON ALBANIAN OPPOSITION TO DROP BOYCOTT
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's ambassador to
Albania has urged that country's opposition Our Union for Victory to call
off a boycott of June election results and "take its place in parliament,"
Reuters reported on 12 October. Geert-Hinrich Ahrens conceded there were
serious flaws in the election process, but recommended that politicians
"stop the incessant internal political bickering and move ahead." The
agency also cited an OSCE report published on 12 October that criticized
the election. The report said the vote marked progress over past polls, a
reference to 1997 elections held amid anarchy caused by the collapse of
pyramid schemes. But it said "serious irregularities in the voting process,
including cases of ballot-box stuffing and use of premarked ballots, were
noted in a limited number of zones," Reuters reported. The OSCE ambassador
also said Albania could and should "act much more vigorously against
organized crime, trafficking of drugs, arms and human beings, and
corruption," Reuters reported. AH
[28] ROMANIAN PREMIER ANNOUNCES INCREASED BORDER SURVEILLANCE...
Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said on 12 October that Romania has increased
border surveillance to prevent the possibility of an "influx of Afghan
refugees," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The same day, Romanian
border police detained 18 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia, Somalia,
Bangladesh, and Lebanon who had crossed the border from Moldova. The
refugees had been told by their Egyptian guide that they were in Germany
and that he would meet them in the next locality. Each had paid $3,000 to
the guide to be led across the border, but he disappeared. On 13 October,
Romanian television reported that German Interior Minister Otto Schilly, in
a letter to his Romanian counterpart Ioan Rus, said Romania has made
considerable progress in improving the security of its borders and has
fulfilled the EU conditions for lifting visa requirement on citizens who
travel within the Schengen system. The same day, Nastase said Romania will
fully implement the EU conditions even before the visa requirement is
lifted, as is expected, on 1 January 2002. MS
[29] ...DISAGREES WITH PLAN TO BUILD SPECIAL ROMA NEIGHBORHOODS
Premier Nastase said on 14 October that he is opposed to Piatra-Neamt Mayor
Ion Rotaru's plans to build a separate neighborhood for the town's Roma
population, Mediafax reported. "I do not believe one can speak of
integration and at the same time perceive solutions in terms of
ghettoization," Nastase said. President Ion Iliescu on 13 October said the
solution proposed by Rotaru is "unwise" and that the problems of the Roma
should be solved through "integration rather than isolation." Meanwhile,
Public Information Minister Vasile Dancu visited the envisaged construction
site in Piatra-Neamt on 12 October and praised Rotaru's project, saying the
intention is to build a "very modern complex, unmatched by any other
similar project in Romania, at an absolutely Western-like standard." Roma
leaders and the Romani Criss association protested the plan. MS
[30] ROMANIAN PYRAMID SCHEME MASTERMIND TO AVOID PRISON
A Bihor tribunal on 12 October ruled that Ioan Stoica, who masterminded the
Caritas pyramid scheme in which more than 250,000 Romanians lost their
savings in 1994, cannot be sent to prison because his crime falls under the
statute of limitations, Romanian television reported. Stoica was sentenced
to 22 months in prison by a tribunal in Oradea, but appealed the sentence.
Stoica was sentenced to six years in June 1995, but the sentence was later
reduced and eventually commuted by the Supreme Court. MS
[31] ROMANIAN PROFESSOR SAYS HE HAS ANTHRAX ANTIDOTE
Professor Ioan Coman of the Iasi Veterinary Medicine Faculty said he has
discovered a new substance capable of annihilating "within one minute" the
anthrax bacillus, Mediafax reported on 12 October. Coman said the substance
works on both animals and human beings and there are no side effects. MS
[32] ROMANIAN PREMIER MAKES PUBLIC LETTER TO VORONIN...
Romanian Premier Nastase on 12 October made public the contents of a letter
he addressed on 3 October to Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, Mediafax
reported. Nastase reiterated in his letter the accusation that Justice
Minister Ion Morei's Strasbourg declarations are "inadmissible" and
compared them with the "theses of the former Communist (Bolshevik) Party of
the Autonomous Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic." The Romanian premier
called on Voronin to dismiss Morei. He also wrote that the Moldovan
authorities "refuse" to discuss ways of settling a $32 million debt for
electricity deliveries from Romania and to implement agreements on the
setting up of joint companies. Nastase on 14 October said Interior Minister
Ioan Rus will pay a "technical visit" to Chisinau on 16 October, Mediafax
reported. Nastase refused to specify what he means by that or what the
purpose of Rus's visit will be, saying only that Bucharest wants to
continue "technical relations" with Moldova even following the cancellation
of his own visit. MS
[33] OSCE MISSION HEAD TO END MOLDOVA MISSION
William Hill, OSCE mission head to Moldova, is ending his mission this week
and will be replaced by David Swartz, the former U.S. ambassador to Belarus,
Flux reported on 13 October. Hill told the Moldovan agency that some
progress has been made in the course of his two-year mission, particularly
in dispelling doubt about Russian readiness to implement the decisions of
the 1999 November Istanbul OSCE summit, but expressed regret that no
agreement could be reached on a special status for Transdniester due to
"political reasons." He also said the continued detention in Tiraspol of
the three members of the Ilie Ilascu group after Ilascu's own liberation
"makes no sense." MS
[34] SIX CANDIDATES CONTEST BULGARIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Six candidates will contest the Bulgarian presidential elections on 11
November, BTA reported on 12 October. Apart from President Petar Stoyanov
and Socialist Party leader Georgi Parvanov, the race will include four
candidates with slim chances. Former Interior Minister Bogomil Bonev, who
became leader of the Citizens' Party after being removed from Ivan Kostov's
cabinet in 1999, is running on a ticket with Atanas Zhelezchev, a former
deputy representing the Bulgarian Agrarian Union and a deputy chairman of
the previous National Assembly. Renata Indjova, a former caretaker premier,
is running on the ticket of the Democratic Alliance with former Bulgarian
Ambassador to Libya Krutsyo Ilov as her vice presidential candidate.
Maverick politician George Ganchev, seconded by former Deputy Vesselin
Bonchev, is running as leader of the George Ganchev Bloc. Ganchev has so
far contested all Bulgarian presidential elections and has always come in
third place. Finally, Peter Beron, who in 1992 was Ganchev's vice
presidential candidate, is now contesting the presidential post on the
ticket of the Bulgaria Union. His running mate is retired General Stoyan
Andreev, a former national security adviser to President Zhelyu Zhelev. MS
[C] END NOTE
[35] There is no End Note today.
15-10-01
Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org
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