YELTSIN INSISTS HE WON'T FIRE CHUBAIS...
Russian President Boris Yeltsin on 25 November said he will not "give up" First Deputy Prime Minister Anatolii Chubais, despite opposition calls for Chubais's ouster, ITAR-TASS reported. Chubais was removed as finance minister on 20 November over payments for an unpublished book on privatization, which critics charged were thinly veiled bribes. Yeltsin said the $90,000 fees that Chubais and four associates received in the book deal were a "mistake" but not illegal. Rather, Yeltsin said, the issue posed a "moral and ethical problem." The president, who made those comments before meeting with Chubais at the Kremlin, also criticized the cabinet and said its shortcomings would be discussed at a meeting scheduled for 1 December. AW
...DEMANDS GOVERNMENT REPORT
Saying some criticism of his government is justified, Yeltsin ordered his cabinet on 24 November to deliver a report on its own record at a meeting on 1 December. Yeltsin said most of the criticism was "superficial" but added that State Duma critics are "right in many things concerning the work of the government." Yeltsin said he hoped the 1 December meeting of cabinet ministers and heads of various (unspecified) ministries would yield "a serious talk." ITAR-TASS reported. Yeltsin was speaking before meeting with new Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov, with whom he discussed the government's draft 1998 budget. The draft is due to be debated by the Duma on 5 December. AW
YELTSIN SAYS FOREIGN TRADE MINISTRY EFFORTS LACKING
Yeltsin later continued his criticism of the government in talks with Foreign Trade Minister Mikhail Fradkov, ITAR-TASS reported. The president said trade had not matched breakthroughs in foreign relations with countries such as China, Japan, and, to a lesser degree, Canada and Finland. The poor trade record could be a result of a "lack of energy, intelligence, or something else" at the Foreign Trade Ministry, Yeltsin said. AW
MITINA SUGGESTS CHUBAIS'S OUSTER AS FINANCE MINISTER WAS INEVITABLE...
Viktoriya Mitina, Yeltsin's new deputy chief of staff, has lauded former Finance Minister Anatolii Chubais for his intelligence and organizational abilities. But at the same time, she hinted that his recent sacking as finance minister was inevitable, saying there are bound to be repercussions when one government clique tries to strengthen its position vis-a-vis others, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 November. Mitina was appointed to her new post on 20 November to succeed Aleksandr Kazakov, who, along with two other officials, was fired over the book payments scandal in which Chubais was also involved. AW
...OUTLINES NEW RESPONSIBILITIES
Also on 24 November, Mitina announced she will focus on regional affairs and that Yurii Yarov, who served as Kazakov's first deputy, will take over administrative duties, Interfax reported. Mitina, who previously was a deputy prefect in Moscow's Zelenograd district, said she will spend most of her time outside Moscow, searching for regional administrators, especially women, who have the potential to become national leaders, according to ITAR-TASS. Mitina also called for a restructuring of the presidential administration to rid it of "jealousy and misunderstanding," although she ruled out the need for a further cabinet reshuffle. AW
ACTING CHAIRMAN OF DUMA BUDGET COMMITTEE UPBEAT ON BUDGET
Aleksandr Zhukov, the acting chairman of the Duma budget committee and a member of the communist-allied Russia's Regions bloc, expressed optimism on 24 November that the 1998 draft budget will be approved when the Duma considers it in early December, ITAR-TASS reported. "The delay in the budget is mostly of a political nature," he added. Zhukov said the State Duma will need time to study parts of the draft budget, revised by a tripartite conciliation commission. He also announced the budget committee will meet on 26 November to consider its position on the revised budget parameters reached by the conciliation commission, according to ITAR-TASS. Zadornov held the chairmanship of the budget committee until his recent appointment as finance minister. AW
YAVLINSKII DISMISSES RUMORS OF A SPLIT
Yabloko leader Grigorii Yavlinskii said on 24 November that Zadornov's decision to leave the party and join the government as finance minister has not led to a split in Yabloko, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported. Yavlinskii said Yabloko members unanimously had agreed that Zadornov should not have accepted the offer to join the government, whose policies Yavlinskii described as "bankrupt." Yavlinskii said he did not expect Yabloko's opposition to the government to change now that Zadornov is at the head of the Finance Ministry. AW
TWO BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS OFFERED KEY POSTS IN FINANCE MINISTRY
Mikhail Motorin, the head of the Duma budget committee's office, confirmed on 24 November that he has accepted an offer by Zadornov to join the Finance Ministry, Interfax reported. Motorin said his role is unclear, but he noted he has been offered the post of deputy finance minister in charge of tax policies. That post was held by Sergei Shatalov, who on 24 November announced his resignation. Shatalov said that he expected Motorin to replace him and that Tatyana Nesterenko of the Russia's Regions bloc would succeed Alexander Smirnov as head of the Main Federal Treasury Department. Nesterenko confirmed to Interfax that she has been offered the post, but she declined further comment. AW
FINANCE MINISTRY CLOSES SEVEN ACCOUNTS AT ONEXIMBANK
The Finance Ministry on 24 November announced it has closed seven of its accounts at the Oneximbank, AFP and dpa reported. The accounts were used to handle government tax receipts, according to Deputy Finance Minister Alexander Smirnov. Together, the closed accounts held more than $147 million in foreign currency, he said. Oneximbank accounts of the Federal Customs Service also will be closed by year's end, but two accounts will remain open at the bank for servicing Russia's foreign debt, according to Smirnov. Critics have accused Oneximbank of delaying budget transfers to Russia's regions so that bankers can use the money to earn profits in the high-yield government securities market. In May, Yeltsin issued a decree ordering all state accounts in private banks to be transferred to the central bank by year's end. AW
CHERNOMYRDIN IN VIETNAM...
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin met with his Vietnamese counterpart, Phan Van Khai, in Hanoi on 24 November to discuss cooperation in gas and oil exploration and military sales, Russian media reported. It was announced that Russia will increase arms shipments to Vietnam, but no details were provided. The two premiers failed to reach agreement on Vietnam's debt to Russia totaling 10 billion so-called convertible rubles, which was left over from the Soviet era. That debt is the main topic on Chernomyrdin's agenda during his three-day visit. Also on 24 November, Chernomyrdin met with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong and handed him an invitation from President Yeltsin to pay an official visit to Russia. In related news, a Russian cargo plane delivered more than 24 tons of humanitarian aid to Vietnam, which was recently hit by typhoon Linda. BP
...TOGETHER WITH GAZPROM, ZARUBEZHNEFT OFFICIALS
Gazprom's Rem Vyakhirev and PetroVietnam's Ngo Thuong San have signed protocols to cooperate in gas extraction off Vietnam's northern coast, Interfax reported on 24 November. the protocol foresees cooperation in the construction of off-shore oil rigs and in the transportation of gas from existing fields. Oleg Popov of Zarubezhneft agreed with the same Vietnamese company to build Vietnam's first oil refinery, which will have an annual capacity of 6.5 million tons. Russia is already a partner in the Vietsovpetro joint venture, which produces some 9 million tons of oil yearly. Russian and Vietnamese officials also discussed ways to increase annual production at the joint venture to 14 million tons. BP
RUSSIAN NAVAL OFFICER CHARGED WITH SPYING FOR JAPAN
A Russian naval officer has been charged with spying for the Japanese, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 November. Documents were confiscated from Captain Grigorii Pasko at the Vladivostok airport when he was leaving for Niigata, Japan, on 20 November. The counterintelligence service determined that the documents contained classified information about defense plants in Primorskii Krai. Pasko was arrested on his return from Japan three days later. BP
FLARE-UP AT CEREMONY IN VLADIVOSTOCK
Ill-feelings between Primorskii Krai Governor Yevgenii Nazdratenko and embattled Valdivostok Mayor Viktor Cherepkov came to the fore at a 23 November ceremony at which a new Interior Ministry building was opened in Vladivostock. An RFE/RL correspondent in the city reported the next day that despite not being invited by the mayor, Nazdratenko showed up at the ceremony just minutes before the start and began giving a speech in which he took credit for the building's construction. An angered Cherepkov called a halt to the ceremonies and had all refreshments removed . As the banquet tables were being cleared, Nazdratenko entered the room and reportedly punched an elderly war veteran in the head when the latter failed to heed Nazdratenko's orders to leave the food on the table. The war veteran has filed charges against Nazdratenko. AW
ARMENIA TO PROPOSE "POLITICAL DIALOGUE" WITH EU...
At his weekly press briefing on 24 November, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arsen Gasparian said Armenia will soon make a formal offer to the EU to start what it calls a political dialogue on security and foreign policy issues, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. That dialogue would be in addition to existing economic cooperation. Gasparian said the proposal reflects "substantial progress" in relations between the EU and Armenia in recent months. He noted that Armenian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian recently signed a temporary agreement on cooperation with the EU in Brussels, which will remain in force until the April 1996 Treaty on Partnership and Cooperation signed by the EU and Armenia is ratified by all union members. LF
...AND TO EXPAND COOPERATION WITH NATO
At the same press briefing, Gasparian said that while in Brussels, First Deputy Foreign Minister Oskanian reached agreement with NATO officials on boosting bilateral ties within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau and Noyan Tapan reported. Gasparian said NATO's role in the Transcaucasus should complement, and not infringe on, the CIS Collective Security Treaty, Russian-Armenian agreements on security cooperation, and the CFE Treaty. Gasparian accused Azerbaijan of trying to use NATO as an instrument to "contain and oppose" Russia in the Transcaucasus. Gasparian termed that policy "destructive," arguing that it may exacerbate "tension" in the region. LF
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ASSESSES CIS MILITARY COOPERATION
In an interview in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 25 November, Vazgen Sargsian affirmed that Armenia aspires to "good-neighborly relations with all neighboring states based on the principles of guaranteeing peaceful coexistence and the regional balance of forces." Sargsian said some CIS states signed the CIS Collective Security Treaty solely in order to obtain the maximum possible share of former Soviet military hardware. He said he finds "incomprehensible" Russia's complaints about NATO expansion eastward in the light of Moscow's failure to promote the creation of a single CIS defense space. Sargsian again denied that Armenia received any illegal supplies of arms from Moscow. He noted that Azerbaijan received three times more equipment, including strategic weapons, from the former Soviet army than did Armenia. Azerbaijan's defense expenditure in recent years was four times higher than Armenia's, he added. LF
ARMENIAN DRAFT BUDGET CRITICIZED
Father Husik Lazarian, the outgoing chairman of the majority Hanrapetutyun faction in the parliament, said on 24 November that there is growing disagreement between Hanrapetutyun and the government over the latter's economic policies, which run counter to the bloc's electoral programs, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Lazarian criticized the 1998 draft budget, which he said provided for "survival" rather than "development." He argued that, if passed, the budget would at best maintain living standards at the same level as this year and may even cause real wages to drop in 1998. Lazarian threatened not to vote for the draft budget unless major changes are made to it. He declined to say, however, whether his views reflect those of the majority faction. LF
ADJARIA AMENDS CONSTITUTION
The Supreme Soviet of Georgia's autonomous Adjar Republic voted on 22 November to amend the region's constitution, Caucasus Press reported on 24 November. The head of the Revival faction within the Georgian parliament said the amendments provide for the creation of the post of ombudsman and a Constitutional Court. But the opposition Party of National Ideology of Georgia issued a statement condemning the amendments, which they claim endow Adjar Supreme Soviet chairman Aslan Abashidze with "virtually unlimited powers" and increase Adjaria's status almost to that of an independent state. On 24 November, Abashidze dismissed the internal affairs ministers and his deputies because of a recent increase in crime. Abashidze will take over as acting interior minister in addition to his chairmanship of the Supreme Soviet. LF
GEORGIAN OFFICIAL RESIGNS OVER MASS POISONING
Rustavi Mayor Temuri Dalakishvili has resigned following the recent gastro-enteritis epidemic in the city caused by the leakage of sewage into the drinking water supply (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 November 1997), Caucasus Press reported on 24 November. More than 400 people, most of them children, have been hospitalized. LF
ENERGY CRISIS IN TBILISI?
Georgian Energy Minister Davit Zubitashvili is negotiating terms with Russia's Gazprom for a resumption of natural gas supplies, which have been cut owing to Georgia's unpaid debts, Caucasus Press reported on 24 November. None of Tbilisi's gas-fired power stations is currently functioning. LF
TAJIK DONOR CONFERENCE BEGINS IN VIENNA
At the opening of a two-day donor conference in Vienna on 24 November, Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov told delegates that $7 billion is needed to repair damage caused during Tajikistan's five-year civil war. Said Abdullo Nuri, the leader of the United Tajik Opposition and the chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission, assured potential donors that the inclusion of UTO members in the government will not have a negative impact post-war reform. "We are not going to impose our political and religious ideas on anyone," Nuri said. The Swiss government is to help Tajikistan's membership in the Asian Development Bank by paying the $3.7 million admission fee. Tajik officials are hoping to raise $65 million at the conference. BP
UZBEK PRIME MINISTER IN U.S.
Utkur Sultanov met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, Energy Secretary Federico Pena, and U.S AID administrator William Atwood in Washington on 24 November, ITAR-TASS reported. Sultanov praised U.S.-Uzbek cooperation, noting that in the last three years the trade volume between the two countries has risen sevenfold. The U.S. is Uzbekistan's second biggest trade partner and accounts for $800 million in direct investment since 1991. Officials announced that the U.S.-Uzbek commission on political, economic, and technological cooperation will convene for the first time in February 1998. BP
BIG DRUG BUST IN UZBEKISTAN
Uzbek customs officials and National Security Service agents have discovered more than 200 kilograms of narcotics aboard a Dushanbe-Moscow train, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 November. The drugs were concealed in the train's dining car. This is reportedly the largest drug bust in Uzbekistan this year. BP
MAJOR KAZAKH CANAL IN DANGER OF FREEZING OVER
Irregular electricity energy to the Irtysh-Karaganda canal may cause the vital waterway to freeze over this year, ITAR-TASS reported on 24 November. Energy supplies have been curtailed to the company operating the canal because of payment arrears. The 458-kilometer long canal supplies nearly all of central Kazakhstan with water. BP
UKRAINE SHIFTS TO CASH PRIVATIZATION
Volodymir Lanovyi, the acting head of the Ukrainian State Property Fund, said on 24 November that Kyiv will sell for cash, rather than use vouchers, to privatize major industrial firms, Ukrainian media reported. Lanovyi said the new approach will bring in billions of dollars to the cash-starved government. In other economic news, the parliament greeted the announcement that Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to dispense with value-added taxes on each other's exports. And the British government announced it will send some $34 million to Ukraine to retrain some of that country's unemployed coal miners, Interfax-Ukraine reported. PG
BELARUSIAN GOVERNMENT CLOSES INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government shut down the country's largest independent newspaper, "Svaboda," on 24 November following a decision of the Supreme Commercial Court, Ekho Moskvy reported. Belarusian authorities said they took this step only after giving the newspaper three warnings about the publication of what they called anti-government articles. The editors of the newspaper, which had a circulation of some 90,000, denounced the move as an effort to stifle freedom of speech. They pledged to continue their work, possibly publishing an underground newspaper. PG
BELARUS, LITHUANIA CONSIDER DROPPING DUTIES ON FOOD
Minsk and Vilnius have begun discussing the abolition of customs duties on food exported from Lithuania to Belarus, the "Verslo Zinios" newspaper reported on 24 November. Minsk officials also indicated that they are also interested in purchasing electric power from Lithuania. PG
PROSECUTOR-GENERAL SAYS NO REASON TO SUSPECT LANDSBERGIS OF KGB LINKS
Kazys Pednycia issued a statement on 24 November saying there are no grounds to believe allegations that parliamentary chairman Vytautas Landsbergis collaborated with the Soviet-era KGB, BNS reported. Testimonies by former KGB employees cannot be regarded as evidence because they are either "rather abstract" or have been refuted by other persons, the statement read. Pednycia also said his office has a former KGB card-index that was started in 1981 and shows Landsbergis was under surveillance. Landsbergis is a candidate in the December presidential elections. JC
DESIGN FAULTS TO BLAME FOR 'ESTONIA' SINKING?
According to the "Financial Times" on 24 November, the final report into the 1994 sinking of the "Estonia" passenger ferry concludes that design faults were to blame for the tragedy, in which 852 people drowned. The newspaper said that the report makes up to 20 recommendations covering a range of subjects from ship construction to maintenance checks. The "Estonia" sank en route from Tallinn to Stockholm after its bow doors were ripped off during a storm. The final report, drawn up by a commission composed of Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish experts, is due to be published on 3 December, AFP reported. JC
NO AGREEMENT IN TALLINN OVER NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET
Government coalition leaders and an opposition delegation have failed to agree on how to resolve the row over the 1998 state budget, ETA reported on 24 November. The opposition recently voted an amendment into the budget whereby 200 million kroons ($14.3 million) would be allocated to finance a salary increase for teachers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 November 1997). This would result in a budgetary imbalance, which is prohibited under Estonian law. The government argued it does not have the funds to finance the salary hike, while the opposition insisted the amendment must stay in force. The two sides did agree, however, to meet in one week to continue the search for a compromise. Meanwhile, teachers are planning a one-hour warning strike on 27 November to press their pay demand. JC
OSCE "SATISFIED" WITH ESTONIAN PROGRESS ON MINORITIES ISSUES
Max van der Stoel, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe's high commissioner on national minorities, says he is convinced that Tallinn has taken the most important steps toward resolving issues related to the country's non-Estonian population, according to the Information Service of the Estonian President's Office. Van der Stoel met with President Lennart Meri in Tallinn on 24 November. JC
POLISH LEADERS DISMISS RUSSIAN PROTEST OVER SPY CHARGES
Foreign Minister Broniwslaw Geremek said in Budapest on 24 November that Moscow was playing up Polish press reports about Russian espionage in Poland as part of its campaign against NATO expansion, PAP reported. But if the war of words between Moscow and Warsaw continued, so too did cooperation. On 24 November, Russian Security Council Secretary Ivan Rybkin said his talks in Moscow with the chief of the Polish National Security Bureau Marek Siwiec were "fruitful," ITAR-TASS reported. Meanwhile, the new Polish government has appointed General Bogdan Libera as chief of the State Protection Bureau. Libera lost his job in 1996 following his involvement in bringing charges that then Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy had reported on Polish developments to Moscow. PG
TRUCK DRIVERS AGAIN STAGE PROTEST AT POLISH-GERMAN BORDER
Some of the 2,000 trucks backed up to enter Germany blocked the border post at Swiecko on 24 November to demand that the Polish and German authorities establish more efficient crossing procedures, PAP reported. This is the latest in a series of such protests at the Swiecko border crossing. PG
HUNGARY, POLAND BOOST BILATERAL TIES
Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek and his Hungarian counterpart, Laszlo Kovacs, agreed in Budapest on 24 November to intensify cooperation as they work toward NATO and EU accession, Hungarian media reported. Geremek noted that while Hungary supports, in particular, the accession of Romania and Slovenia into NATO, his country considers it important that the Baltic States join the Euroatlantic structures. Both ministers stressed the need to pay attention to those left out of the first wave of enlargement. They also confirmed that the Czech, Hungarian, and Polish foreign ministers will lobby in the US Senate in February for a favorable decision on NATO expansion. MSZ
HUNGARY, MOLDOVA SIGN MILITARY AGREEMENT
Hungarian and Moldovan Defense Ministers Gyorgy Keleti and Valeriu Pasat met in Budapest on 24 November to sign an agreement on cooperation between their ministries. Pasat said Chisinau does not intend to change its neutral status or apply to join NATO. He also noted that Moldova continues to reduce its armed forces and military hardware. MSZ
KARADZIC PARTY LEADS IN BOSNIAN SERB VOTE
Preliminary results show the hard-line Serbian Democratic Party leading in the parliamentary vote with just over 31 percent of the total (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 November 1997). President Biljana Plavsic's Serbian People's League (SNS) follows with 21 percent. The ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party is in third place with 16 percent. Plavsic's spokesmen said the SNS won in Banja Luka and did well across the Republika Srpska. Twelve percent of the votes cast were by absentee ballots, which will take another two weeks to count. PM
WESTENDORP SAYS NO PROTECTORATE FOR BOSNIA
Carlos Westendorp, the international community's chief representative in Bosnia, said in Brussels after a 24 November meeting of EU foreign ministers that Bosnia is making progress and will not need an international protectorate to manage its affairs (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October 1997). He called, however, for the removal from positions of power in Bosnia of all persons opposed to the Dayton agreement, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from the Belgian capital. PM
DISTRICT COUNCILS SET UP IN MOSTAR
Local councils met on 24 November in six districts of Herzegovina's main town, where relations between Croats and Muslims remain tense. A recent agreement between international officials and the main Croatian and Muslim parties made it possible to set up the councils, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Mostar. PM
ATTACKER OF CROATIAN POLITICIAN FREED
A court in Pula has given a one-and-a-half-year suspended sentence to retired army officer Tomislav Brzovic for assaulting opposition presidential candidate Vlado Gotovac this summer (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 and 7 June 1997). The court agreed with Brzovic that his judgment was impaired because he was drunk. Gotovac and the opposition press argued that Brzovic is a well-known hit-man for nationalist groups. PM
UN WANTS MONEY FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
The UN Geneva office launched an appeal on 24 November to raise $406 million for humanitarian projects in the former Yugoslavia. Some $263 million are earmarked for Bosnia-Herzegovina, $44.6 million for Croatia, $44.5 million for federal Yugoslavia, $3.4 million for Macedonia, and $49.3 million for regional projects. PM
MONTENEGRIN PRESIDENT SLAMS MILOSEVIC
President-elect Milo Djukanovic told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on 24 November that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic behaved "incorrectly and irresponsibly" by meddling in Montenegrin politics before and after the 5 October presidential vote. Djukanovic added that Milosevic did not intervene directly but instead conducted what Djukanovic called a "media harangue" against Djukanovic and his allies. When asked about the possibility that Milosevic would use the army to try to topple the new Montenegrin government, Djukanovic said that no one could possibly have any political or other justification for intervening militarily against his republic. He added that the Yugoslav military behaves "correctly" toward the Montenegrin authorities. PM
KOSOVAR LEADERSHIP RECEIVES ULTIMATUM
Adem Demaci, the leader of the newly formed Kosovo Democratic Forum, said that the Forum will consider the Democratic League of Kosovo (the main Albanian political party) to be a "rival political force" if it does not join the forum within 15 days, an RFE/RL correspondent reported from Belgrade on 23 November. In Pristina the next day, the trial of 19 Albanians on terrorism charges was adjourned until 2 December at the request of the defense. The defense team said that they want to protest what they called a politically motivated assault by unknown persons on one of the defense lawyers the previous week. Also in Pristina on 24 November, the clandestine Kosovo Liberation Army released a statement claiming responsibility for the murder of a prominent ethnic Albanian member of Milosevic's party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 November 1997). PM
ALBANIAN STUDENTS ON FOOD STRIKE
"Koha Jone" reported on 24 November that students at boarding schools in Elbasan, Shkoder, and Tirana went on a hunger strike at various times during the previous week. The students demand more food and complain that most dormitories have neither electricity, water, nor functioning bathrooms. Elsewhere, railway workers on the Tirana-Shkoder line launched a strike on 24 November to demand that the government pay their wages in full for the last five months. They have been receiving only part pay. Meanwhile, sailors of the merchant marine in Durres have threatened to go on strike on 27 November unless the government pays their wages for the last 11 months. FS
WILL ALBANIAN DEMOCRATS RETURN TO PARLIAMENT?
Ferdinand Xhaferi, the leader of the Democratic Party's parliamentary faction, told "Dita Informacion" on 24 November that he supports the return of the Democrats to the parliament. The Democrats have boycotted parliamentary sessions since the shooting of Democratic legislator Azem Hajdari by a Socialist deputy inside the parliament building (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 September 1997). Also on 24 November, a roundtable of political parties, formed to discuss the drafting of a new constitution and Albania's policy toward Kosovo, failed to reach a consensus. FS
TURKISH PRESIDENT IN ROMANIA
During his one-day visit to Bucharest on 24 November, Suleyman Demirel met with President Emil Constantinescu and addressed a joint session of the parliament's two chambers, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. The two countries pledged to support each other's bid for EU membership, while Demirel said Turkey backs Romania's quest to join NATO. Constantinescu and Demirel said bilateral trade is expected to grow from $800 million to $1 billion next year. MS
WORLD BANK AFFILIATE INVESTS IN ROMANIAN-TURKISH BANK
The International Finance Corporation on 24 November purchased 20 percent of the equity of Demirbank, a joint Romanian-Turkish venture servicing Turkish-Romanian trade and investment, an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported. The IFC, which is the private sector affiliate of the World Bank, approved a $5 million loan to help the bank set up comprehensive commercial banking services for medium-sized Romanian enterprises. The corporation also noted that Demirbank of Turkey, the Turkish partner in the Romanian-Turkish joint venture, has invested together with its Romanian partner, Romlease, in a joint-venture bank in Kyrgyzstan. Also on 24 November, the Turkish president attended the opening of a Demirbank branch in the Romanian capital. MS
ROMA LEADER CRITICIZES ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT
Nicolae Gheorghe, a sociologist who heads the Romani Cris center for the study of social problems among Roma, told an OSCE meeting in Warsaw on 24 November that the attitude of the Romanian government toward the Roma minority is "ambiguous" and often verged on "duplicity." He said incidents between the ethnic Romanian majority and Roma are prompted by racial attitudes rather than by social causes. Gheorghe added that the government undertakes no concrete steps for the Roma's protection and limits itself to "declaration-making," Mediafax reported. MS
MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT PASSES ELECTION LAW
Lawmakers have passed the election law several months ahead of the vote scheduled for March 1998, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported on 24 November. Under the new legislation, the 101-member parliament will be elected by a system of proportional representation in a single, nationwide constituency, as was the case in the 1994 elections. Meanwhile, Infotag reported on 24 November that the Supreme Court has announced it will examine whether the new law is in harmony with the constitutional provision stipulating that election laws be passed with a "special majority." It also decided not to nominate its representatives to the Central Electoral Commission. Under current legislation, the nominations should have been made by 25 November, 10 days after the president set the date for the next elections. MS
U.S. THREATENS SANCTIONS AGAINST BULGARIA OVER CD PIRACY
A U.S. delegation in Sofia has warned Bulgaria that trade sanctions will be imposed if it does not clamp down on compact disc piracy, Reuters reported on 24 November. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that the head of the delegation "was categorical that if the production and distribution of pirated production is not liquidated by April [1988]..., trade sanctions will be imposed on our country." Bulgaria is considered the world's second biggest producer of pirate CDs and CD-ROMs, after China. Washington put Bulgaria on a piracy "watch list" in 1996. MS
AZERBAIJANI PRIVATIZATION MAKES PROGRESS ON SEVERAL FRONTS
by Michael Wyzan
The privatization process in Azerbaijan is governed by a three-year program whereby 70 percent of enterprises are to be privatized by the end of 1998. The program divides enterprises into small, medium-size, and large and employs different privatization methods for each category of firm. In industry, enterprises with fewer than 50 workers are considered small, while those with between 50 and 300 are classified as medium-sized and those with more than 300 as large. The respective figures in the service sector are 10, 11-50, and more than 50.
Small enterprises are privatized by auction. More than 15,000 such firms have been sold this way, and the process is now 70-80 percent complete. A local peculiarity is that, even under communism, small enterprises were run by individuals who were regarded as their "owners." All but one of the auctions have had only one bidder. It is considered unethical to bid against someone who is already seen as owning the firm up for auction.
The absence of competition at auctions may reduce the state's privatization revenues and deprive many individuals of the opportunity to participate in small-scale privatization. Nonetheless, the sense of ownership felt by Azerbaijanis even when "their" small businesses were state property illustrates the entrepreneurial inclinations of much of the population. Those inclinations are evident in the quality of service in Baku's many restaurants and shops, which is unusually high for a postcommunist country.
The privatization of such small businesses is relatively easy and uncontroversial. But determining the fate of large industrial enterprises that have lost their markets in the former Soviet Union is another matter, as is finding a way for the local private sector to participate in the burgeoning oil business. Although the state oil company will not be privatized, experts estimate that private consortia will account for 75 percent of oil production by 2010.
A mass privatization program was launched in March. Under that program, 7,100,000 books--each containing four vouchers--were distributed among the population between 1 March and 15 August. All citizens were eligible to participate, and each was entitled to a single book or, in the case of war veterans, two books.
The first step in the privatization of larger enterprises is to turn them into joint-stock companies, after which 15 percent of the shares must be sold to their employees for vouchers. Another 55 percent must be sold at open voucher auctions and the remaining 30 percent in cash auctions in which foreigners may also participate.
Voucher auctions have been held at regular intervals over the eight months since the program was launched. At any such auction, some 50 enterprises are up for sale and bidding takes place in six cities, with the results pooled by computer. The prices of the shares are determined by the number of vouchers offered for them in those auctions. To date, shares in 340 large enterprises have been sold. By the end of 1997, that figure is expected to reach 400 (out of a total of some 2,000).
Vouchers are tradable, officially at the country's 10-20 voucher shops but in practice also on the black market. There is as yet no stock exchange where the shares obtained with the vouchers could be traded, although it is possible to update computer records to indicate that share ownership has changed.
Large enterprises fall into one of four categories. Companies in the first category may not be privatized and include railroads, water facilities, historical and cultural monuments, pension funds, and the national bank. The second category comprises companies that may be privatized only by presidential decree; such companies are involved in fuel and energy production, petrochemicals, telecommunications, and bread- and wine-making. The privatization method for firms in this category is the same as for other large firms, except that a non-voting "golden share" is reserved for the state.
The third category covers enterprises that may be privatized only by decree of the Council of Ministers; those companies deal with sales of oil and oil products, construction, road maintenance, and medical services. The final category embraces the remaining large enterprises, all of which must be privatized.
Investment funds have yet to be set up, although the legislation governing such bodies is already in place. In the long run, creating mutual investment funds and pension funds--which will allow people to benefit from the nation's vast resource wealth--may be more important for the country's economic fortunes than giving those people shares in moribund industrial enterprises.
The author is an economist living in Austria.