OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
COMMUNISTS SEEK YELTSIN'S IMPEACHMENT OVER BALKAN CRISIS.
The Communist faction in the State Duma has revived an earlier attempt to impeach President Boris Yeltsin because of Russia's position on the former Yugoslavia. In July, the party had collected 175 signatures to begin the complicated impeachment process, but the motion was abandoned when Yeltsin entered the hospital with heart trouble. Since then, only one deputy has withdrawn his signature, Ekho Moskvy reported on 13 September. According to Deputy Duma Speaker Gennadii Seleznev, Yeltsin's decision to brush off the Duma's resolutions adopted at the 9 September special session that called for a halt to NATO bombing of Serbian positions provoked the action, ITAR-TASS reported. -- Robert Orttung, OMRI, Inc.
REGIONAL AUTHORITIES VIOLATE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION.
Kemerovo Oblast adopted its regional charter 12 September, giving "practically unlimited power" to the speaker of the local Legislative Assembly, Amangeldii Tuleev, number three on the Communist Party's electoral list, Segodnya reported on 13 September. The charter gives the assembly the right to appoint the oblast's governor and grants the assembly chairman the power to sign any normative act without the agreement of the administration. According to critics in the Kemerovo Justice Administration, "the charter has nothing in common with the Russian Constitution" since it violates the division of power. Bashkortostan has also violated the Russian Constitution by naming its own procurator, although with the tacit approval of Moscow. According to the constitution, the Russian procurator general should name the local procurators with the approval of local authorities, Kommersant-Daily reported on 13 September. -- Robert Orttung, OMRI, Inc.
U.S. EMBASSY IN MOSCOW HIT BY GRENADE.
A rocket-propelled grenade blasted through a wall of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on 13 September, causing minor damage but no injuries, Russian and Western agencies reported. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.S. State Department dismissed speculation that it was linked to differences between the U.S. and Russia over NATO air attacks on Bosnian Serb positions around Sarajevo, insisting that it was an isolated incident committed by someone who "was either sick or a zealot." The U.S. also praised Russian law-enforcement agencies for their "excellent cooperation" in helping to secure the safety of U.S. diplomats, AFP reported. There have been numerous bomb attacks in Russia in recent years, mostly using explosives pilfered from military bases. Last year more than 300,000 grenades were stolen from army warehouses or dumps. -- Penny Morvant, OMRI, Inc.
RUSSIAN TV ATTACKS NATIONALISTS IN WAKE OF U.S. EMBASSY BOMBING.
Following the 13 September attack on the U.S. embassy, a commentary aired on fully state-owned Russian Television (Channel 2) accused nationalist forces of trying to stir up "a psychosis of hostility towards the outside world" in order to distract voters from domestic problems and ultimately turn Russia into a "beseiged fortress" and a "giant prison camp behind barbed wire." The more pro-government, 51% state-owned Russian Public Television (Channel 1, ORT) put a different spin on the attack. ORT reports emphasized that law enforcement authorities were taking swift action to crack the case, invoking a "level number 1" alert for the first time since the violent street clashes around the parliament in October 1993. The independent NTV speculated that the attack was connected to continuing NATO air raids against the Bosnian Serbs. -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
POLITICAL PARTIES GUARANTEED EQUAL FREE TIME IN STATE-OWNED MEDIA.
Aleksandr Ivanchenko, deputy chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, confirmed that the commission will require state-owned electronic media to give 30 minutes of free air time to all registered politicial parties and electoral blocs between 15 November and 15 December, Russian Public Television and ITAR-TASS reported on 13 September. Parties will be allowed to buy additional time for political advertising. The final version of the rules on campaign coverage, which will not apply to the privately owned media, will be released next week, Ivanchenko said. In a separate directive published in Rossiiskaya gazeta on 13 September, the commission announced that journalists who are themselves running for parliament or are authorized representatives of a political party or electoral bloc will be prohibited from covering the campaign in the mass media. -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
NEW SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC BLOC FORMED.
Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms (RDDR) leader Gavriil Popov, Russian Social-Democratic Union (RSDS) co-chairman Vasilii Lipitskii, and the academician Oleg Bogomolov will top the party list of the new electoral bloc known as the Social-Democrats, Radio Rossii reported on 13 September. Popov, the mayor of Moscow from June 1991 until June 1992, led the RDDR's independent campaign for parliament in 1993, but his party failed to win the minimum 5% vote necessary to secure representation in parliament. Lipitskii's RSDS had previously been allied with Aleksandr Rutskoi within the Russian Social-Democratic People's Party (RSDNP), but the RSDNP split earlier this year after Lipitskii refused to join Rutskoi's Derzhava movement (see OMRI Daily Digest, 27 March and 4 April 1995). -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
KOZYREV SAYS RUSSIA DOES NOT WANT NEW MILITARY BLOC.
Speaking with journalists on 13 September after a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Uladzimir Syanko, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev said Russia does not plan to form a military-political bloc of CIS states to counter NATO, Western and Russian agencies reported. Kozyrev said that President Yeltsin's recent comments on the implications of NATO expansion should be interpreted as a "warning of what could happen if other forces decided to create lines of demarcation," not as an expression of Russian policy preferences. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER IN MOSCOW.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin arrived in Moscow on 13 September for scheduled talks on bilateral issues and the Middle East peace process with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, and Defense Minister Pavel Grachev, Western and Russian agencies reported. Rabin also told reporters before his departure from Kiev for Moscow that he would raise the issue of Russia's planned sale of nuclear power reactors to Iran, which Israel views as a threat to its security despite Russian assurances to the contrary. However, also on 13 September, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Nuclear Power told ITAR-TASS that construction on the first of three planned reactors at the Bushehr power station in southern Iran would begin in one month and rejected Israeli concerns as "completely unfounded." -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
RUSSIA CRITICIZES UN AND NATO OVER SECRET MEMO.
Russian officials criticized the UN and NATO on 13 September over a secret memo on the use of NATO air power in Bosnia, which was not approved by all members of the UN Security Council before the air strikes began, Western and Russian agencies reported. After strident protests from Russia, the UN Secretariat released the text of the memo that Russian Ambassador to the UN Sergei Lavrov said "confirms a lot of our bad feelings." Earlier, Russian officials claimed that under the terms of the memo, the UN had abdicated its authority over the use of air power to protect the "safe zones" in Bosnia, without consulting Russia, despite its permanent membership on the Security Council. Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Vladimir Lukin told ITAR-TASS such an agreement between the UN Secretariat and NATO was "unprecedented" and had effectively divided the Security Council into "first and second class members." Despite recent verbal salvos from Moscow, First Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in Geneva that Russia would continue to cooperate with the other members of the international Contact Group. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
GOSATOMNADZOR CEASES MILITARY INSPECTIONS.
The State Committee for Nuclear Safety (Gosatomnadzor) on 13 September halted inspections of military nuclear facilities, in line with a presidential decree signed in July giving these functions to the Defense Ministry. Gosatomnadzor Chairman Yurii Vishnevskii was very critical of the decision, taken while Yeltsin was in hospital with heart trouble. According to Western agency reports, he accused the powerful military nuclear lobby of scheming to take advantage of the president's illness and said the committee is very concerned about aging nuclear submarines and the storage of spent nuclear fuel at military sites. Gosatomnadzor was given responsibility for nuclear safety in the military in 1991, but in practice its inspectors were often turned away (see OMRI Daily Digest, 16 August). Also on 13 September, Gosatomnadzor officials said two cases of theft of radioactive material (low-enriched uranium) have been registered this year. -- Penny Morvant, OMRI, Inc.
HARD TIMES AHEAD FOR MOSCOW RESIDENTS?
Moscow flour mills are now paying world prices for grain and the price of bread is expected to increase by 40-50% by the end of the year, Moskovskii komsomolets reported on 13 September. Consumer prices in Moscow rose 7.3% in July, contributing to a 7% fall in the average real income of Moscow residents compared to the same period last year, according to Vechernyaya Moskva on 13 September. Sixty-two percent of the capital's inhabitants are now reported to be living on incomes below the official poverty line. -- Peter Rutland, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
NAZARBAEV CONCLUDES CHINA VISIT . . .
Responding to Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbaev's call for greater bilateral cooperation, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said the prospects for it are "vast," Xinhua reported on 13 September. At the conclusion of Nazarbaev's three-day visit, both countries concluded agreements on reducing border military forces and establishing links between their respective defense ministries. They issued statements condemning separatist activities; Japan's Kyodo news agency said on 13 September that Kazakhstan promised not to assist any of the moves for independence in China's Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous region, which borders Kazakhstan. The two sides signed a series of agreements on bilateral economic cooperation on 11 September. -- Bhavna Dave, OMRI, Inc.
. . . DIFFERENCES OVER NUCLEAR ISSUE . . .
As expected, the nuclear issue played a critical role in bilateral talks. Nazarbaev said he had "discussed" the nuclear issue with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on 11 September, Kyodo reported the next day. China conducted two of its proposed five underground nuclear tests on 15 May and 17 August at the Lop Nur test site in Xinjiang. The Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry issued statements expressing serious concern, RIA reported on 18 August. At his news conference in Beijing, Nazarbaev recalled the damage to the health of half a million people in Semipalatinsk, the Soviet-era nuclear test site in Kazakhstan. However, the joint call for an end to nuclear testing issued on 12 September contained no specific provisions, Kyodo reported. -- Bhavna Dave, OMRI, Inc.
. . . CALLS FOR KAZAKH-RUSSO-CHINESE COOPERATION.
The expansion of transport links between Kazakhstan and China will contribute to the revival of the "Great Silk Road" and increase the prospects for commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries as well as with Russia and the Asia-Pacific region, President Nazarbaev told ITAR-TASS on 13 September. Touching on President Boris Yeltsin's upcoming visit to China, Nazarbaev called for more tripartite cooperation, noting that important rail and road links between China and Russia run through Kazakhstani territory and are most suitable for carrying cargoes between the Urals and the western Siberian regions of Russia, ITAR-TASS reported. -- Bhavna Dave, OMRI, Inc.
JAPANESE BUSINESS DELEGATION IN TASHKENT.
A group of more than 90 Japanese businessmen representing 16 different companies have been meeting with Uzbek officials, Uzbekistan Television reported on 12 September. To date, the Japanese have invested more than $300 million into the Uzbek economy. -- Roger Kangas, OMRI, Inc.
CIS
BLACK SEA FLEET DIVISION PROCEEDING.
Although final agreements on the division of the Black Sea Fleet have not been reached, the fleet is, in fact, being split between Ukraine and Russia, Russian Public Television reported on 12 September. By 15 October, Ukraine is to receive one of the most modern bases of the fleet, the aerodrome complex at Donuzlav. The base is reportedly the only one which can house hoover crafts. All of the equipment on the base will be divided evenly between Russia and Ukraine; the flying regiment will be reorganized and moved to another base; and a helicopter regiment will be dissolved. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
BELARUSIAN AIR DEFENSE FORCES SHOOT DOWN U.S. BALLOONISTS.
International agencies on 13 September reported that the U.S. has denounced the downing of a balloon by Belarusian air defense forces, which resulted in the deaths of two Americans. The balloon, which crossed into Belarus from Poland, was taking part in the Gordon Bennett International Race. Organizers said there were no boundaries as to where the balloons could fly and that they had permission to enter Belarusian air space. Belarusian officials claimed they tried to make contact with the balloonists visually and by radio before shooting it down. US Ambassador to Belarus Kenneth Yalowitz has been in touch with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry over the incident, and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has sent a letter of regret to President Bill Clinton. Another balloon was forced to land in Belarus, but the two pilots are reportedly safe. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
IMF APPROVES CREDIT TO BELARUS.
RFE/RL on 13 September reported that the IMF has approved a stand-by credit worth $293 million to Belarus. The 12-month credit is to help the country implement economic reforms. Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Chyhir told Radio Rossii the previous day that Belarus has met most of the IMF's requirements for the credit: the budget deficit was only 3.2%, inflation stood at around 3%, and the average wage reached $72. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
TUG-OF-WAR OVER UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL CONTINUES.
The Ukrainian legislature has voted to sack Prosecutor-General Vyacheslav Datsiuk for the third time in four months, Reuters reported on 13 September. Lawmakers said Datsiuk was too preoccupied with political scandals, including investigations into alleged criminal activities by the assembly's deputy speaker Oleksander Tkachenko, instead of fighting organized crime. Deputies received a letter last week from former acting Prime Minister Yukhim Zvyahilskyi, who has been under investigation and who accused Datsiuk of leading a politically motivated conspiracy against him. Zvyahilskyi fled to Israel last year amid charges he resold aviation fuel purchased by the government and pocketed $25 million. Datsiuk told a news conference that President Leonid Kuchma had expressed confidence in him and that he vowed to remain in office. Kuchma has issued two decrees overturning the parliament's previous decisions to dismiss Datsiuk. -- Chrystyna Lapychak, OMRI, Inc.
KUCHMA SAYS UKRAINE WILL REMAIN NEUTRAL.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said on 12 September that Ukraine will not participate in any military blocs, including any CIS security or NATO alliances, NTV reported. He also stated that Ukraine has not strayed from a single "letter" of any agreements on the Black Sea Fleet and that the problem is Russia's delay in accepting Ukraine as an equal partner. Russian Public Television reported Kuchma as saying that NATO views Ukraine as an equal partner. This is illustrated by the separate agreement on cooperation it will sign with Ukraine in Brussels over the next two days. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
PROBLEMS WITH ESTONIAN DEFENSE BUDGET.
BNS on 13 September reported that Estonia may not be able to fulfill its obligations under international agreements if defense spending is not substantially increased. Estonia is obliged to pay some $50 million for arms purchases from Israel, pay for the Estonian unit in the proposed joint Baltic UN peacekeeping battalion and Estonian participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, and set up a training center for peacekeepers in Paldiski. This year's defense budget was only 4.7% of the total state budget. Deputy Chancellor of the Defense Ministry Elvo Priks said the defense budget should be closer to 8-12% of the total budget. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
POLISH CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL ON SEJM PREROGATIVES.
The Polish Constitutional Tribunal on 13 September clarified when the Sejm is entitled to overrule the tribunal's verdicts. It stated that if the president has not yet signed a bill that the Constitutional Tribunal considers to be unconstitutional, the Sejm cannot overrule the tribunal's verdict. This Sejm's right to overrule bills applies to only those already signed into law by the president. The tribunal's ruling may have practical consequences for the bill on privatization and commercialization, which has been contested by the president and sent unsigned to the Constitutional Tribunal, Polish media reported on 14 September. -- Jakub Karpinski, OMRI, Inc.
CZECH PARTY CLEARED IN CORRUPTION SCANDAL.
Police investigators on 13 September halted criminal proceedings against three people charged with fraud in connection with a 52 million koruny ($2 million) debt owed by one of the members of the Czech governing coalition, the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), since before the 1992 elections. Among the accused was the head of the ODA Secretariat, Josef Reichman, who resigned his post in August. After a 10-month investigation, police decided no laws had been broken, Czech media reported. The affair caused the ODA's popular support to drop dramatically earlier this year and generated frictions within the coalition. ODA chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Jan Kalvoda said the dropping of charges against Reichman should clear the name of the party. Meanwhile, the trial of the former head of the Czech Republic's Center for Coupon Privatization, Jaroslav Lizner, was adjourned on 13 September for two weeks to ensure that further witnesses can give evidence (see OMRI Daily Digest, 13 September 1995). -- Steve Kettle, OMRI, Inc.
SLOVAK OPPOSITION DEPUTY BEATEN UP.
Frantisek Miklosko, an outspoken deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), told reporters on 13 September that he was beaten up by three unknown men outside his home in Bratislava the previous evening. Miklosko described the attackers as "trained professionals." He alleged that the attack was connected with a recent speech he made in the parliament calling for a thorough investigation into the abduction of President Michal Kovac's son. KDH officials blamed the government for the current state of affairs, saying the cabinet "determines the rate of violation of the law." Roman Kovac of the opposition Democratic Union agreed that the attackers could have had political motives, and he stressed that the Interior Minister should take action, Pravda reported. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARY'S SMALLHOLDERS GAIN IN OPINION POLLS.
Opinion polls indicate that while the popularity of the governing Socialists has dropped from 28% to 23% over the summer, that of the Smallholders' Party is increasing, Hungarian media recently reported. Experts say the growing number of supporters of Jozsef Torgyan's party, which has often been accused of populism, is owing to frustration among Hungarians toward the ruling parties and not to the achievements of the Smallholders. The party has often criticized the ruling coalition but lacks a comprehensive political and economic strategy to solve Hungary's current problems. The next general elections are in 1998. -- Zsofia Szilagyi, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARY: WORLD IS IGNORING SERBIA'S HUNGARIANS.
Hungary on 13 September warned that the world is ignoring the plight of ethnic Hungarians in Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina, where a flood of Serbian refugees threatens to unsettle the delicate ethnic balance, Reuters reported. Csaba Tabajdi, senior official responsible for national minority issues, said that refugees are not voluntarily settling in Vojvodina but are directed to this area by Serbian authorities. He pointed out that Hungarians now only represent some 6% of the Vojvodina population, compared with 28% at the end of World War II. Budapest last month protested to Belgrade over the treatment of ethnic Hungarians and called on the authorities to stop forcible evictions. -- Zsofia Szilagyi, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
HAS JAJCE FALLEN?
Croatian media on 13 September reported that Croatian soldiers were in control of Jajce, in central Bosnia, as well as Sipovo and Drvar. A Bosnian Serb statement called the story "disinformation" and insisted that Serbian lines were holding. But AFP on 14 September quoted UN envoy Yasushi Akashi as saying that NATO intelligence suggested the Croats' reports were true. If that is the case, the road to Banja Luka will be open to Croatian and Bosnian troops, which are advancing on the Serbian stronghold from several directions. Jajce has a key hydroelectric station and its fall would have a significant practical as well as psychological impact on the Serbs. The BBC said that 40,000 Serbs were now in flight in the area. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
CROATS, BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TROOPS ADVANCE.
A UN military spokesman told news agencies on 13 September that Bosnian government forces have scored important gains in the Mt. Ozren area and that claims of successes by the Bosnian and Croatian forces seem "likely." He denied charges that NATO air strikes made the changes on the ground possible, pointing out that the raids have been mainly in eastern Bosnia whereas the land action has been to the west. Another UN official, however, urged caution on the ground at a time when diplomatic initiatives are under way and protested that the government's advance has sent Serb civilians fleeing. Meanwhile in London, the Foreign Office again singled out Croatia for blame. A spokesman told Reuters: "We would condemn what Croatia is doing in western Bosnia." The BBC on 14 September added that the UN Security Council and the U.S. have also called for a halt to the advance. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
GENERAL SMITH STAYS TOUGH ON SERBS.
The Guardian and some other media on 13 September suggested that NATO and the UN might allow the Serbs to keep some of their big guns around Sarajevo. This would be "to reassure their own population," in keeping with statements made by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Some observers have suggested that Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic has been holding out against the air strikes in the hope that Western politicians will lose heart and opt for just such a compromise. UNPROFOR commander Lt.-Gen. Rupert Smith, however, thinks otherwise. As his spokesman told Reuters, he argued that: "Our line remains we're into peace enforcement here. Peace enforcement is not negotiating. . . . We've seen that. It has failed over years here. We are saying if you do not do this, no conditions, you continue to get bombed." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
KARADZIC CLAIMS FEW CIVILIAN CASUALTIES.
Visiting one of the areas under attack from allied Bosnian and Croatian forces, Karadzic said that "we have had very few civilian casualties from NATO aircraft and from enemy artillery." This contradicts a Russian statement that claimed that the Serbs were a victim of "genocide" because of the air strikes, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung pointed out on 14 September. The internationally wanted war criminal was seeking to bolster sagging Serb morale. The BBC, however, quoted his "foreign minister" as telling an international audience that the air raids had produced great damage and heavy civilian casualties, which has generally been the Serbian line to date. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
HOLBROOKE MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC.
U.S. envoy and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke concluded talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in the early hours of 14 September, Tanjug reported the same day. Milosevic and Holbrooke spoke at length about regional peace prospects. Rump Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic also participated in the meeting. Meanwhile, AFP on 13 September reported that at least "several hundred" protesters gathered around the U.S. cultural center in Belgrade the same day to protest NATO actions in Bosnia and the U.S.'s "involvement in the Bosnian crisis." The rally was organized by Serbia's opposition Democratic Party. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
ROMANIAN FOREIGN POLICY.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mircea Geoana, at a press conference on 13 September, reiterated his country's position on NATO enlargement, saying that the matter concerns only NATO and the countries that have asked to become members. Radio Bucharest quoted Geoana as also saying Romania welcomes the Geneva agreement on the former Yugoslav countries and considers the agreement "an important step" toward "mutual recognition among the three states." He said Romania was "satisfied" with the renewal of contacts between Greece and Macedonia. Finally, Geoana expressed "full support" for Moldova's rejection of "any parallel" between the conflict in Bosnia and the Transdniester (as alleged in Igor Smirnov's speech before deputies of the Russian State Duma). Romania believes the conflict in "eastern Moldova" must be solved "exclusively through peaceful means." -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
CHOLERA IN ROMANIA, MOLDOVA.
A statement released by the Ministry of Health and carried by Radio Bucharest on 13 September says the number of cases of cholera in Romania has reached 70. BASA-press reported the same day that the number of cholera cases in Moldova has now reached 235. Thirteen cases were reported in the capital, Chisinau -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
NO BREAKTHROUGH IN CHISINAU-TIRASPOL TALKS.
International agencies on 13 September reported that the summit meeting between the Moldovan and Transdniestrian leaders ended with no progress reported. A press release by the Transdniestrian side said the "discussions were tense" and differences persisted. Infotag said Mircea Snegur and Igor Smirnov failed to achieve any progress in defining the legal status of the breakaway region but that it was agreed negotiations would continue. A member of the Moldovan delegation told Infotag that Tiraspol is "taking its time" to await the results of the Russian parliamentary elections in December. He said Transdniestrian "stubbornness" about insisting on the recognition of its independent status prevented solving "simpler matters" of an economic nature or the question of restoring bridges over the River Dniester destroyed during the fighting. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
TRANSDNIESTRIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW ELECTION LAW.
The breakaway republic's parliament on 12 September passed a new election law, Infotag reported the next day. The law provides for a mixed system of party lists and single-constituency representation. Elections are due on 24 December, but Infotag cited Igor Smirnov as saying the timing of the elections may yet be decided in a referendum in which other issues, among them the region's constitution, will be voted on. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTION LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
The Constitutional Court on 13 September ruled that the local election law partly violates the constitution, Reuters reported the same day. The court overruled a provision that reporters of state-run media are not allowed to express their personal opinion about elections to be held in late October. Constitutional Court judge Ivan Grigorov said reporters "have the right to express opinions in their reporting of the local elections" and that this right "in turn guarantees every Bulgarian's right to be kept informed." But the court did not reject two other provisions--that soldiers can vote only in their home constituency and that mayoral candidates are not allowed to have dual citizenship. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
GREECE, MACEDONIA SIGN ACCORD.
The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, Karolos Papoulias and Stevo Crvenkovski, on 13 September signed an agreement in New York aimed at normalizing relations between their countries. The signing came after more than two years of mediation by the UN and the U.S. Under the accord, Greece recognizes Macedonia's sovereignty and will lift its embargo, while Macedonia will change its flag and amend its constitution to stress that it has no claims on Greek territory. Each side will set up liaison offices in the other's capital and will recognize the common existing border. Greece and Macedonia have 30 days to implement these measures, and the agreement will remain in effect for seven years or until a definitive accord is signed. However, the name issue has yet to be settled; negotiations are scheduled to start later this year. According to AFP, UN mediator Cyrus Vance said the agreement will have a ""positive effect . . . in the region." UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali and U.S. President Bill Clinton also hailed the accord. The U.S. established full diplomatic relations with Macedonia only hours after the accord was signed. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
U.S. SUPPORTS ALBANIA'S STAND ON KOSOVO.
Albanian President Sali Berisha on 13 September said the U.S. was watching Serbia's treatment of the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo and that U.S. President Bill Clinton "will insist" on the restoration of Kosovo's autonomy, Reuters reported the same day. Berisha asked Clinton to initiate negotiations between the Kosovar leadership and the Belgrade government under international mediation. Berisha said U.S. support, such as the U.S. contingent in the UNPREDEP force in Macedonia, would have a stabilizing effect. Earlier that day, Boston University President John Silber abruptly canceled plans to award an honorary degree to Berisha after Nicholas Gage, a best-selling author of Greek ancestry, alleged that Albania fails to provide proper education to its Greek minority. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
ALBANIAN OPPOSITION WALKS OUT OF PARLIAMENT.
The Albanian opposition walked out of the parliament on 13 September to protest government attempts to unseat Supreme Court Chief Judge Zef Brozi. The government, claiming that Brozi has violated the constitution in some rulings, asked the Constitutional Court to convene a hearing on Brozi's conduct in office on 14 September. The government, however, has not specified its charges. If the Constitutional Court dismisses Brozi, he will be prevented from reviewing Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano's case on 20 September. Brozi is expected to release Nano, who is serving a
disputed prison term for misappropriation of Italian aid funds. Nano's release might reduce the ruling Democrats' chances of winning the upcoming elections in early 1996, international agencies reported. Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi earlier ignored an opposition request to explain police actions outside the Supreme Court on 6 September (see OMRI Daily Digest, 7 September). -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
COMMUNISTS SEEK YELTSIN'S IMPEACHMENT OVER BALKAN CRISIS.
The Communist faction in the State Duma has revived an earlier attempt to impeach President Boris Yeltsin because of Russia's position on the former Yugoslavia. In July, the party had collected 175 signatures to begin the complicated impeachment process, but the motion was abandoned when Yeltsin entered the hospital with heart trouble. Since then, only one deputy has withdrawn his signature, Ekho Moskvy reported on 13 September. According to Deputy Duma Speaker Gennadii Seleznev, Yeltsin's decision to brush off the Duma's resolutions adopted at the 9 September special session that called for a halt to NATO bombing of Serbian positions provoked the action, ITAR-TASS reported. -- Robert Orttung, OMRI, Inc.
REGIONAL AUTHORITIES VIOLATE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION.
Kemerovo Oblast adopted its regional charter 12 September, giving "practically unlimited power" to the speaker of the local Legislative Assembly, Amangeldii Tuleev, number three on the Communist Party's electoral list, Segodnya reported on 13 September. The charter gives the assembly the right to appoint the oblast's governor and grants the assembly chairman the power to sign any normative act without the agreement of the administration. According to critics in the Kemerovo Justice Administration, "the charter has nothing in common with the Russian Constitution" since it violates the division of power. Bashkortostan has also violated the Russian Constitution by naming its own procurator, although with the tacit approval of Moscow. According to the constitution, the Russian procurator general should name the local procurators with the approval of local authorities, Kommersant-Daily reported on 13 September. -- Robert Orttung, OMRI, Inc.
U.S. EMBASSY IN MOSCOW HIT BY GRENADE.
A rocket-propelled grenade blasted through a wall of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on 13 September, causing minor damage but no injuries, Russian and Western agencies reported. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.S. State Department dismissed speculation that it was linked to differences between the U.S. and Russia over NATO air attacks on Bosnian Serb positions around Sarajevo, insisting that it was an isolated incident committed by someone who "was either sick or a zealot." The U.S. also praised Russian law-enforcement agencies for their "excellent cooperation" in helping to secure the safety of U.S. diplomats, AFP reported. There have been numerous bomb attacks in Russia in recent years, mostly using explosives pilfered from military bases. Last year more than 300,000 grenades were stolen from army warehouses or dumps. -- Penny Morvant, OMRI, Inc.
RUSSIAN TV ATTACKS NATIONALISTS IN WAKE OF U.S. EMBASSY BOMBING.
Following the 13 September attack on the U.S. embassy, a commentary aired on fully state-owned Russian Television (Channel 2) accused nationalist forces of trying to stir up "a psychosis of hostility towards the outside world" in order to distract voters from domestic problems and ultimately turn Russia into a "beseiged fortress" and a "giant prison camp behind barbed wire." The more pro-government, 51% state-owned Russian Public Television (Channel 1, ORT) put a different spin on the attack. ORT reports emphasized that law enforcement authorities were taking swift action to crack the case, invoking a "level number 1" alert for the first time since the violent street clashes around the parliament in October 1993. The independent NTV speculated that the attack was connected to continuing NATO air raids against the Bosnian Serbs. -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
POLITICAL PARTIES GUARANTEED EQUAL FREE TIME IN STATE-OWNED MEDIA.
Aleksandr Ivanchenko, deputy chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, confirmed that the commission will require state-owned electronic media to give 30 minutes of free air time to all registered politicial parties and electoral blocs between 15 November and 15 December, Russian Public Television and ITAR-TASS reported on 13 September. Parties will be allowed to buy additional time for political advertising. The final version of the rules on campaign coverage, which will not apply to the privately owned media, will be released next week, Ivanchenko said. In a separate directive published in Rossiiskaya gazeta on 13 September, the commission announced that journalists who are themselves running for parliament or are authorized representatives of a political party or electoral bloc will be prohibited from covering the campaign in the mass media. -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
NEW SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC BLOC FORMED.
Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms (RDDR) leader Gavriil Popov, Russian Social-Democratic Union (RSDS) co-chairman Vasilii Lipitskii, and the academician Oleg Bogomolov will top the party list of the new electoral bloc known as the Social-Democrats, Radio Rossii reported on 13 September. Popov, the mayor of Moscow from June 1991 until June 1992, led the RDDR's independent campaign for parliament in 1993, but his party failed to win the minimum 5% vote necessary to secure representation in parliament. Lipitskii's RSDS had previously been allied with Aleksandr Rutskoi within the Russian Social-Democratic People's Party (RSDNP), but the RSDNP split earlier this year after Lipitskii refused to join Rutskoi's Derzhava movement (see OMRI Daily Digest, 27 March and 4 April 1995). -- Laura Belin, OMRI, Inc.
KOZYREV SAYS RUSSIA DOES NOT WANT NEW MILITARY BLOC.
Speaking with journalists on 13 September after a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Uladzimir Syanko, Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev said Russia does not plan to form a military-political bloc of CIS states to counter NATO, Western and Russian agencies reported. Kozyrev said that President Yeltsin's recent comments on the implications of NATO expansion should be interpreted as a "warning of what could happen if other forces decided to create lines of demarcation," not as an expression of Russian policy preferences. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER IN MOSCOW.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin arrived in Moscow on 13 September for scheduled talks on bilateral issues and the Middle East peace process with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, and Defense Minister Pavel Grachev, Western and Russian agencies reported. Rabin also told reporters before his departure from Kiev for Moscow that he would raise the issue of Russia's planned sale of nuclear power reactors to Iran, which Israel views as a threat to its security despite Russian assurances to the contrary. However, also on 13 September, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Nuclear Power told ITAR-TASS that construction on the first of three planned reactors at the Bushehr power station in southern Iran would begin in one month and rejected Israeli concerns as "completely unfounded." -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
RUSSIA CRITICIZES UN AND NATO OVER SECRET MEMO.
Russian officials criticized the UN and NATO on 13 September over a secret memo on the use of NATO air power in Bosnia, which was not approved by all members of the UN Security Council before the air strikes began, Western and Russian agencies reported. After strident protests from Russia, the UN Secretariat released the text of the memo that Russian Ambassador to the UN Sergei Lavrov said "confirms a lot of our bad feelings." Earlier, Russian officials claimed that under the terms of the memo, the UN had abdicated its authority over the use of air power to protect the "safe zones" in Bosnia, without consulting Russia, despite its permanent membership on the Security Council. Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Vladimir Lukin told ITAR-TASS such an agreement between the UN Secretariat and NATO was "unprecedented" and had effectively divided the Security Council into "first and second class members." Despite recent verbal salvos from Moscow, First Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in Geneva that Russia would continue to cooperate with the other members of the international Contact Group. -- Scott Parrish, OMRI, Inc.
GOSATOMNADZOR CEASES MILITARY INSPECTIONS.
The State Committee for Nuclear Safety (Gosatomnadzor) on 13 September halted inspections of military nuclear facilities, in line with a presidential decree signed in July giving these functions to the Defense Ministry. Gosatomnadzor Chairman Yurii Vishnevskii was very critical of the decision, taken while Yeltsin was in hospital with heart trouble. According to Western agency reports, he accused the powerful military nuclear lobby of scheming to take advantage of the president's illness and said the committee is very concerned about aging nuclear submarines and the storage of spent nuclear fuel at military sites. Gosatomnadzor was given responsibility for nuclear safety in the military in 1991, but in practice its inspectors were often turned away (see OMRI Daily Digest, 16 August). Also on 13 September, Gosatomnadzor officials said two cases of theft of radioactive material (low-enriched uranium) have been registered this year. -- Penny Morvant, OMRI, Inc.
HARD TIMES AHEAD FOR MOSCOW RESIDENTS?
Moscow flour mills are now paying world prices for grain and the price of bread is expected to increase by 40-50% by the end of the year, Moskovskii komsomolets reported on 13 September. Consumer prices in Moscow rose 7.3% in July, contributing to a 7% fall in the average real income of Moscow residents compared to the same period last year, according to Vechernyaya Moskva on 13 September. Sixty-two percent of the capital's inhabitants are now reported to be living on incomes below the official poverty line. -- Peter Rutland, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
NAZARBAEV CONCLUDES CHINA VISIT . . .
Responding to Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbaev's call for greater bilateral cooperation, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said the prospects for it are "vast," Xinhua reported on 13 September. At the conclusion of Nazarbaev's three-day visit, both countries concluded agreements on reducing border military forces and establishing links between their respective defense ministries. They issued statements condemning separatist activities; Japan's Kyodo news agency said on 13 September that Kazakhstan promised not to assist any of the moves for independence in China's Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous region, which borders Kazakhstan. The two sides signed a series of agreements on bilateral economic cooperation on 11 September. -- Bhavna Dave, OMRI, Inc.
. . . DIFFERENCES OVER NUCLEAR ISSUE . . .
As expected, the nuclear issue played a critical role in bilateral talks. Nazarbaev said he had "discussed" the nuclear issue with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on 11 September, Kyodo reported the next day. China conducted two of its proposed five underground nuclear tests on 15 May and 17 August at the Lop Nur test site in Xinjiang. The Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry issued statements expressing serious concern, RIA reported on 18 August. At his news conference in Beijing, Nazarbaev recalled the damage to the health of half a million people in Semipalatinsk, the Soviet-era nuclear test site in Kazakhstan. However, the joint call for an end to nuclear testing issued on 12 September contained no specific provisions, Kyodo reported. -- Bhavna Dave, OMRI, Inc.
. . . CALLS FOR KAZAKH-RUSSO-CHINESE COOPERATION.
The expansion of transport links between Kazakhstan and China will contribute to the revival of the "Great Silk Road" and increase the prospects for commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries as well as with Russia and the Asia-Pacific region, President Nazarbaev told ITAR-TASS on 13 September. Touching on President Boris Yeltsin's upcoming visit to China, Nazarbaev called for more tripartite cooperation, noting that important rail and road links between China and Russia run through Kazakhstani territory and are most suitable for carrying cargoes between the Urals and the western Siberian regions of Russia, ITAR-TASS reported. -- Bhavna Dave, OMRI, Inc.
JAPANESE BUSINESS DELEGATION IN TASHKENT.
A group of more than 90 Japanese businessmen representing 16 different companies have been meeting with Uzbek officials, Uzbekistan Television reported on 12 September. To date, the Japanese have invested more than $300 million into the Uzbek economy. -- Roger Kangas, OMRI, Inc.
CIS
BLACK SEA FLEET DIVISION PROCEEDING.
Although final agreements on the division of the Black Sea Fleet have not been reached, the fleet is, in fact, being split between Ukraine and Russia, Russian Public Television reported on 12 September. By 15 October, Ukraine is to receive one of the most modern bases of the fleet, the aerodrome complex at Donuzlav. The base is reportedly the only one which can house hoover crafts. All of the equipment on the base will be divided evenly between Russia and Ukraine; the flying regiment will be reorganized and moved to another base; and a helicopter regiment will be dissolved. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
BELARUSIAN AIR DEFENSE FORCES SHOOT DOWN U.S. BALLOONISTS.
International agencies on 13 September reported that the U.S. has denounced the downing of a balloon by Belarusian air defense forces, which resulted in the deaths of two Americans. The balloon, which crossed into Belarus from Poland, was taking part in the Gordon Bennett International Race. Organizers said there were no boundaries as to where the balloons could fly and that they had permission to enter Belarusian air space. Belarusian officials claimed they tried to make contact with the balloonists visually and by radio before shooting it down. US Ambassador to Belarus Kenneth Yalowitz has been in touch with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry over the incident, and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has sent a letter of regret to President Bill Clinton. Another balloon was forced to land in Belarus, but the two pilots are reportedly safe. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
IMF APPROVES CREDIT TO BELARUS.
RFE/RL on 13 September reported that the IMF has approved a stand-by credit worth $293 million to Belarus. The 12-month credit is to help the country implement economic reforms. Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Chyhir told Radio Rossii the previous day that Belarus has met most of the IMF's requirements for the credit: the budget deficit was only 3.2%, inflation stood at around 3%, and the average wage reached $72. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
TUG-OF-WAR OVER UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL CONTINUES.
The Ukrainian legislature has voted to sack Prosecutor-General Vyacheslav Datsiuk for the third time in four months, Reuters reported on 13 September. Lawmakers said Datsiuk was too preoccupied with political scandals, including investigations into alleged criminal activities by the assembly's deputy speaker Oleksander Tkachenko, instead of fighting organized crime. Deputies received a letter last week from former acting Prime Minister Yukhim Zvyahilskyi, who has been under investigation and who accused Datsiuk of leading a politically motivated conspiracy against him. Zvyahilskyi fled to Israel last year amid charges he resold aviation fuel purchased by the government and pocketed $25 million. Datsiuk told a news conference that President Leonid Kuchma had expressed confidence in him and that he vowed to remain in office. Kuchma has issued two decrees overturning the parliament's previous decisions to dismiss Datsiuk. -- Chrystyna Lapychak, OMRI, Inc.
KUCHMA SAYS UKRAINE WILL REMAIN NEUTRAL.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said on 12 September that Ukraine will not participate in any military blocs, including any CIS security or NATO alliances, NTV reported. He also stated that Ukraine has not strayed from a single "letter" of any agreements on the Black Sea Fleet and that the problem is Russia's delay in accepting Ukraine as an equal partner. Russian Public Television reported Kuchma as saying that NATO views Ukraine as an equal partner. This is illustrated by the separate agreement on cooperation it will sign with Ukraine in Brussels over the next two days. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
PROBLEMS WITH ESTONIAN DEFENSE BUDGET.
BNS on 13 September reported that Estonia may not be able to fulfill its obligations under international agreements if defense spending is not substantially increased. Estonia is obliged to pay some $50 million for arms purchases from Israel, pay for the Estonian unit in the proposed joint Baltic UN peacekeeping battalion and Estonian participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, and set up a training center for peacekeepers in Paldiski. This year's defense budget was only 4.7% of the total state budget. Deputy Chancellor of the Defense Ministry Elvo Priks said the defense budget should be closer to 8-12% of the total budget. -- Ustina Markus, OMRI, Inc.
POLISH CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL ON SEJM PREROGATIVES.
The Polish Constitutional Tribunal on 13 September clarified when the Sejm is entitled to overrule the tribunal's verdicts. It stated that if the president has not yet signed a bill that the Constitutional Tribunal considers to be unconstitutional, the Sejm cannot overrule the tribunal's verdict. This Sejm's right to overrule bills applies to only those already signed into law by the president. The tribunal's ruling may have practical consequences for the bill on privatization and commercialization, which has been contested by the president and sent unsigned to the Constitutional Tribunal, Polish media reported on 14 September. -- Jakub Karpinski, OMRI, Inc.
CZECH PARTY CLEARED IN CORRUPTION SCANDAL.
Police investigators on 13 September halted criminal proceedings against three people charged with fraud in connection with a 52 million koruny ($2 million) debt owed by one of the members of the Czech governing coalition, the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), since before the 1992 elections. Among the accused was the head of the ODA Secretariat, Josef Reichman, who resigned his post in August. After a 10-month investigation, police decided no laws had been broken, Czech media reported. The affair caused the ODA's popular support to drop dramatically earlier this year and generated frictions within the coalition. ODA chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Jan Kalvoda said the dropping of charges against Reichman should clear the name of the party. Meanwhile, the trial of the former head of the Czech Republic's Center for Coupon Privatization, Jaroslav Lizner, was adjourned on 13 September for two weeks to ensure that further witnesses can give evidence (see OMRI Daily Digest, 13 September 1995). -- Steve Kettle, OMRI, Inc.
SLOVAK OPPOSITION DEPUTY BEATEN UP.
Frantisek Miklosko, an outspoken deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), told reporters on 13 September that he was beaten up by three unknown men outside his home in Bratislava the previous evening. Miklosko described the attackers as "trained professionals." He alleged that the attack was connected with a recent speech he made in the parliament calling for a thorough investigation into the abduction of President Michal Kovac's son. KDH officials blamed the government for the current state of affairs, saying the cabinet "determines the rate of violation of the law." Roman Kovac of the opposition Democratic Union agreed that the attackers could have had political motives, and he stressed that the Interior Minister should take action, Pravda reported. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARY'S SMALLHOLDERS GAIN IN OPINION POLLS.
Opinion polls indicate that while the popularity of the governing Socialists has dropped from 28% to 23% over the summer, that of the Smallholders' Party is increasing, Hungarian media recently reported. Experts say the growing number of supporters of Jozsef Torgyan's party, which has often been accused of populism, is owing to frustration among Hungarians toward the ruling parties and not to the achievements of the Smallholders. The party has often criticized the ruling coalition but lacks a comprehensive political and economic strategy to solve Hungary's current problems. The next general elections are in 1998. -- Zsofia Szilagyi, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARY: WORLD IS IGNORING SERBIA'S HUNGARIANS.
Hungary on 13 September warned that the world is ignoring the plight of ethnic Hungarians in Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina, where a flood of Serbian refugees threatens to unsettle the delicate ethnic balance, Reuters reported. Csaba Tabajdi, senior official responsible for national minority issues, said that refugees are not voluntarily settling in Vojvodina but are directed to this area by Serbian authorities. He pointed out that Hungarians now only represent some 6% of the Vojvodina population, compared with 28% at the end of World War II. Budapest last month protested to Belgrade over the treatment of ethnic Hungarians and called on the authorities to stop forcible evictions. -- Zsofia Szilagyi, OMRI, Inc.
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 179, 14 September 1995
HAS JAJCE FALLEN?
Croatian media on 13 September reported that Croatian soldiers were in control of Jajce, in central Bosnia, as well as Sipovo and Drvar. A Bosnian Serb statement called the story "disinformation" and insisted that Serbian lines were holding. But AFP on 14 September quoted UN envoy Yasushi Akashi as saying that NATO intelligence suggested the Croats' reports were true. If that is the case, the road to Banja Luka will be open to Croatian and Bosnian troops, which are advancing on the Serbian stronghold from several directions. Jajce has a key hydroelectric station and its fall would have a significant practical as well as psychological impact on the Serbs. The BBC said that 40,000 Serbs were now in flight in the area. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
CROATS, BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TROOPS ADVANCE.
A UN military spokesman told news agencies on 13 September that Bosnian government forces have scored important gains in the Mt. Ozren area and that claims of successes by the Bosnian and Croatian forces seem "likely." He denied charges that NATO air strikes made the changes on the ground possible, pointing out that the raids have been mainly in eastern Bosnia whereas the land action has been to the west. Another UN official, however, urged caution on the ground at a time when diplomatic initiatives are under way and protested that the government's advance has sent Serb civilians fleeing. Meanwhile in London, the Foreign Office again singled out Croatia for blame. A spokesman told Reuters: "We would condemn what Croatia is doing in western Bosnia." The BBC on 14 September added that the UN Security Council and the U.S. have also called for a halt to the advance. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
GENERAL SMITH STAYS TOUGH ON SERBS.
The Guardian and some other media on 13 September suggested that NATO and the UN might allow the Serbs to keep some of their big guns around Sarajevo. This would be "to reassure their own population," in keeping with statements made by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Some observers have suggested that Bosnian Serb commander General Ratko Mladic has been holding out against the air strikes in the hope that Western politicians will lose heart and opt for just such a compromise. UNPROFOR commander Lt.-Gen. Rupert Smith, however, thinks otherwise. As his spokesman told Reuters, he argued that: "Our line remains we're into peace enforcement here. Peace enforcement is not negotiating. . . . We've seen that. It has failed over years here. We are saying if you do not do this, no conditions, you continue to get bombed." -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
KARADZIC CLAIMS FEW CIVILIAN CASUALTIES.
Visiting one of the areas under attack from allied Bosnian and Croatian forces, Karadzic said that "we have had very few civilian casualties from NATO aircraft and from enemy artillery." This contradicts a Russian statement that claimed that the Serbs were a victim of "genocide" because of the air strikes, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung pointed out on 14 September. The internationally wanted war criminal was seeking to bolster sagging Serb morale. The BBC, however, quoted his "foreign minister" as telling an international audience that the air raids had produced great damage and heavy civilian casualties, which has generally been the Serbian line to date. -- Patrick Moore, OMRI, Inc.
HOLBROOKE MEETS WITH MILOSEVIC.
U.S. envoy and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke concluded talks with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in the early hours of 14 September, Tanjug reported the same day. Milosevic and Holbrooke spoke at length about regional peace prospects. Rump Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic also participated in the meeting. Meanwhile, AFP on 13 September reported that at least "several hundred" protesters gathered around the U.S. cultural center in Belgrade the same day to protest NATO actions in Bosnia and the U.S.'s "involvement in the Bosnian crisis." The rally was organized by Serbia's opposition Democratic Party. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.
ROMANIAN FOREIGN POLICY.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mircea Geoana, at a press conference on 13 September, reiterated his country's position on NATO enlargement, saying that the matter concerns only NATO and the countries that have asked to become members. Radio Bucharest quoted Geoana as also saying Romania welcomes the Geneva agreement on the former Yugoslav countries and considers the agreement "an important step" toward "mutual recognition among the three states." He said Romania was "satisfied" with the renewal of contacts between Greece and Macedonia. Finally, Geoana expressed "full support" for Moldova's rejection of "any parallel" between the conflict in Bosnia and the Transdniester (as alleged in Igor Smirnov's speech before deputies of the Russian State Duma). Romania believes the conflict in "eastern Moldova" must be solved "exclusively through peaceful means." -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
CHOLERA IN ROMANIA, MOLDOVA.
A statement released by the Ministry of Health and carried by Radio Bucharest on 13 September says the number of cases of cholera in Romania has reached 70. BASA-press reported the same day that the number of cholera cases in Moldova has now reached 235. Thirteen cases were reported in the capital, Chisinau -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
NO BREAKTHROUGH IN CHISINAU-TIRASPOL TALKS.
International agencies on 13 September reported that the summit meeting between the Moldovan and Transdniestrian leaders ended with no progress reported. A press release by the Transdniestrian side said the "discussions were tense" and differences persisted. Infotag said Mircea Snegur and Igor Smirnov failed to achieve any progress in defining the legal status of the breakaway region but that it was agreed negotiations would continue. A member of the Moldovan delegation told Infotag that Tiraspol is "taking its time" to await the results of the Russian parliamentary elections in December. He said Transdniestrian "stubbornness" about insisting on the recognition of its independent status prevented solving "simpler matters" of an economic nature or the question of restoring bridges over the River Dniester destroyed during the fighting. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
TRANSDNIESTRIAN PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW ELECTION LAW.
The breakaway republic's parliament on 12 September passed a new election law, Infotag reported the next day. The law provides for a mixed system of party lists and single-constituency representation. Elections are due on 24 December, but Infotag cited Igor Smirnov as saying the timing of the elections may yet be decided in a referendum in which other issues, among them the region's constitution, will be voted on. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
BULGARIAN LOCAL ELECTION LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
The Constitutional Court on 13 September ruled that the local election law partly violates the constitution, Reuters reported the same day. The court overruled a provision that reporters of state-run media are not allowed to express their personal opinion about elections to be held in late October. Constitutional Court judge Ivan Grigorov said reporters "have the right to express opinions in their reporting of the local elections" and that this right "in turn guarantees every Bulgarian's right to be kept informed." But the court did not reject two other provisions--that soldiers can vote only in their home constituency and that mayoral candidates are not allowed to have dual citizenship. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
GREECE, MACEDONIA SIGN ACCORD.
The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, Karolos Papoulias and Stevo Crvenkovski, on 13 September signed an agreement in New York aimed at normalizing relations between their countries. The signing came after more than two years of mediation by the UN and the U.S. Under the accord, Greece recognizes Macedonia's sovereignty and will lift its embargo, while Macedonia will change its flag and amend its constitution to stress that it has no claims on Greek territory. Each side will set up liaison offices in the other's capital and will recognize the common existing border. Greece and Macedonia have 30 days to implement these measures, and the agreement will remain in effect for seven years or until a definitive accord is signed. However, the name issue has yet to be settled; negotiations are scheduled to start later this year. According to AFP, UN mediator Cyrus Vance said the agreement will have a ""positive effect . . . in the region." UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali and U.S. President Bill Clinton also hailed the accord. The U.S. established full diplomatic relations with Macedonia only hours after the accord was signed. -- Stefan Krause, OMRI, Inc.
U.S. SUPPORTS ALBANIA'S STAND ON KOSOVO.
Albanian President Sali Berisha on 13 September said the U.S. was watching Serbia's treatment of the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo and that U.S. President Bill Clinton "will insist" on the restoration of Kosovo's autonomy, Reuters reported the same day. Berisha asked Clinton to initiate negotiations between the Kosovar leadership and the Belgrade government under international mediation. Berisha said U.S. support, such as the U.S. contingent in the UNPREDEP force in Macedonia, would have a stabilizing effect. Earlier that day, Boston University President John Silber abruptly canceled plans to award an honorary degree to Berisha after Nicholas Gage, a best-selling author of Greek ancestry, alleged that Albania fails to provide proper education to its Greek minority. -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
ALBANIAN OPPOSITION WALKS OUT OF PARLIAMENT.
The Albanian opposition walked out of the parliament on 13 September to protest government attempts to unseat Supreme Court Chief Judge Zef Brozi. The government, claiming that Brozi has violated the constitution in some rulings, asked the Constitutional Court to convene a hearing on Brozi's conduct in office on 14 September. The government, however, has not specified its charges. If the Constitutional Court dismisses Brozi, he will be prevented from reviewing Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano's case on 20 September. Brozi is expected to release Nano, who is serving a
disputed prison term for misappropriation of Italian aid funds. Nano's release might reduce the ruling Democrats' chances of winning the upcoming elections in early 1996, international agencies reported. Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi earlier ignored an opposition request to explain police actions outside the Supreme Court on 6 September (see OMRI Daily Digest, 7 September). -- Fabian Schmidt, OMRI, Inc.
[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave