RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 3, No. 214, Part I, 3 November 1999

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 3, No. 214, Part I, 3 November 1999

A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern
Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the
staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia,
Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Part II covers Central,
Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and is distributed
simultaneously as a second document.  Back issues of
RFE/RL NewsLine and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at
RFE/RL's Web site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline

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Headlines, Part I

* MOSCOW TO ALLOW OSCE TO VISIT NORTH CAUCASUS

* RUSSIA EXPECTING IMF TRANCHE IN DECEMBER

* TAJIK OPPOSITION PARTY URGES BOYCOTT OF PRESIDENTIAL POLL
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RUSSIA

MOSCOW TO ALLOW OSCE TO VISIT NORTH CAUCASUS. OSCE Chairman-
in-Office and Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek told
journalists in Oslo on 2 November that Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov has given permission for an OSCE mission
to travel to Daghestan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya, Reuters
reported. Vollebaek said that the mission will travel to the
region late next week. An OSCE expert said, however, that the
mission will focus primarily on the humanitarian consequences
of the fighting and will not necessarily enter Chechnya. The
resident OSCE mission in Grozny pulled out of the city on 1
November for security reasons. Meanwhile a spokeswoman for
the UNHCR's Moscow office told Interfax on 2 November that no
date has yet been set for a visit by a UN mission to
Daghestan and Ingushetia to assess the amount of aid needed
for displaced persons in those republics. LF

RUSSIAN FORCES CLAIM TO HAVE STRENGTHENED POSITIONS...
Russian military spokesmen on 2 November claimed to have
expelled Chechen fighters from the villages of Assinovskaya
and Sernovodsk in Urus Martan Raion and to have taken the
Terskii and Bragun ridges overlooking Grozny, Interfax
reported. General Gennadii Troshev, who commands the eastern
sector of the Chechen front, said Russian forces have now
completely encircled Gudermes but will delay an all-out
assault on the town in order to keep Russian casualties to a
minimum. Meanwhile Russian aviation continued to bombard
Gudermes and strategic targets in and around the town of
Argun, including bridges across the Argun River. LF

...AS SOLDIERS' MOTHERS SAY RUSSIAN CASUALTY FIGURES HIGHER
THAN REPORTED. An organization representing women whose sons
are currently serving in the Russian army said in Moscow on 2
November that some 600 Russian soldiers have been killed in
action in Chechnya. That figure is four times higher than the
figure of 133 cited by Chief of General Staff Colonel-General
Anatolii Kvashnin, AP reported. The soldiers' mothers said
officers in the North Caucasus have cited a higher death toll
than has Kvashnin, estimating that 185 Defense Ministry and
120 Interior Ministry troops were killed as of 31 October. LF

INGUSHETIAN PRESIDENT SLAMS RUSSIAN MILITARY OVER BORDER
CLOSURE. Speaking at a press conference in Magas on 2
November, Ruslan Aushev again criticized as inhuman the
Russian military's refusal to open humanitarian corridors to
allow displaced persons fleeing the fighting in Chechnya to
enter neighboring republics. He said he had discussed in a
telephone conversation with Russian Deputy Premier Valentina
Matvienko the plight of tens of thousands of Chechens trapped
on the border with Ingushetia, but he did not disclose her
response. On 2 November, only a handful of people were
allowed through that border crossing, where at least one
woman collapsed and died, Reuters reported. Aushev again
offered to mediate between Moscow and Chechen President Aslan
Maskhadov, Interfax reported. General Viktor Kazantsev, who
commands the Russian forces in the North Caucasus, accused
the Ingush Interior Ministry of causing the chaos at the
border. LF

RUSSIA EXPECTING IMF TRANCHE IN DECEMBER. Finance Minister
Mikhail Kasyanov told reporters on 3 November that the next
installment of Russia's IMF loan will likely be disbursed in
December. The previous day, Kasyanov, Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin, and First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko met
with John Odling-Smee, director of the IMF's second European
department, to discuss Russia's compliance with new loan
conditions. Commenting on Odling-Smee's senior status,
"Segodnya" noted that "as a rule, the higher the rank of the
IMF visitors, the greater the uncertainty over the receipt of
the next tranche." According to Khristenko, fund officials
"are worrying whether allocation of additional funds to
finance the military operation in the North Caucasus will
violate the budget's main parameters," according to Interfax.
"Vedomosti" reported on 3 November that the IMF also objects
to restrictions on fuel oil exports, while Reuters disclosed
that the two sides differ over how to resolve the fate of the
troubled SBS-Agro bank. JAC

YELTSIN WARNS CLINTON OVER ABM PLANS... President Boris
Yeltsin has warned his U.S. counterpart, Bill Clinton, that
Washington's plans to amend the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty could have "extremely dangerous consequences" for the
entire arms control process. In a message delivered by
Russian Premier Putin in Oslo on 2 November, Yeltsin argued
that "strict compliance" with the ABM Treaty and all other
arms limitation accords, combined with political and
diplomatic efforts at various levels, would be sufficient to
counter the threats the U.S. is citing in order to "justify"
its plans to set up a limited national defense system. The
Russian president also stressed that the ABM Treaty affects
the security interests of all countries and that therefore
"consistent international efforts" are required to ensure the
treaty is preserved, according to Interfax. JC

...WHILE WEST WARNS RUSSIA OVER CFE LIMITS. Javier Solana,
the EU's high representative for security and foreign policy
issues, said in Oslo on 2 November that Russia must comply
with the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which
imposes limits on the amount of heavy weapons it can deploy
on its southern flanks, Reuters reported. As a result of its
offensive in Chechnya, Russia's military presence now exceeds
those limits. Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik
commented that it is important to reach agreement on this
issue "before or at" the OSCE Istanbul summit later this
month, at which the revised CFE treaty is to be signed.
Arriving in Oslo the previous day, Prime Minister Putin had
said that Moscow intends to "restore" the CFE flank
restrictions as soon as the "anti-terrorist operation in
Chechnya is over." He added that Moscow will also allow
international inspectors to confirm compliance with the
treaty's provisions, "Vedomosti" reported on 2 November. JC

MOSCOW WON'T YIELD TO PRESSURE TO HALT ARMS SUPPLIES TO IRAN.
Speaking a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak following their meeting in Oslo on 2 November, Russian
Premier Putin stressed that Russia does not want the "club of
nuclear states" to expand. Putin was responding to Barak's
statement during their meeting that Israel is concerned about
Iran's bid to acquire nuclear and missile technology. While
noting that Russia will continue to abide by its commitments
"in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear technologies,"
the Russian premier said Moscow will not allow its defense
contractors to be forced out of international arms markets.
According to Interfax, Putin proposed easing Israeli concerns
by setting up a joint committee to exchange information on
cooperation with Iran. Also on 2 November, Putin met with
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, with whom he discussed,
among other things, fighting terrorism and the Middle East
peace process, ITAR-TASS reported. JC

DISCORD OVER U.S. ACCESS TO RUSSIAN NUCLEAR SITES. U.S.
Ambassador to Russia James Collins has canceled a visit to
the closed nuclear city of Krasnoyarsk-26 after Russian
authorities barred him from bringing his science adviser or
visiting various U.S.-Russian projects on the site, "The New
York Times" reported on 3 November. Collins had been due to
preside over the opening of a U.S.-financed business center
in the city. According to the daily, U.S. Energy Secretary
Bill Richardson protested the Russian move so vehemently that
Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgenii Adamov "stormed out
of the room" during a conference at Denver, Colorado, last
week. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow, meanwhile, has sent a note
to the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry saying that
restrictions are hampering Collins's ability to oversee U.S.
assistance to Krasnoyarsk-26. JC

MEDIA MINISTER DECLINES TO ENFORCE ELECTION LAW. Mikhail
Lesin has announced that his ministry will not take measures
against mass media organizations for violating Russia's
election law, "Novye Izvestiya" reported on 3 November.
According to Lesin, Article 8 of the election law essentially
imposes a moratorium on freedom of speech during campaign
season and violates not only the law on media but also the
Russian Constitution, "Vremya MN" reported on 3 November.
That daily concluded that the Constitutional Court should
resolve the dispute between the election commission and the
ministry. The newspaper also reported that according to its
sources, Lesin advised the head of TV-Center during a 2
November meeting to pull the program "Secret Materials" off
the air because the show undermines social harmony. Lesin,
however, denied the report, saying his ministry does not have
the right to make such recommendations. JAC

ANOTHER GROUP BARRED FROM ELECTIONS... The Central Election
Commission on 2 November registered another five election
groups: Zhirinovskii's Bloc, the interregional movement Unity
(Edinstvo), Russian Cause (Russkoe Delo), the Bloc of General
Andrei Nikolaev and Academician Svyatoslav Fedorov, and the
controversial Savior (Spas), "Vremya MN" reported. The
commission barred the National Salvation Front from
registration because too many of the signatures it collected
in support of its candidates were forged, according to ITAR-
TASS. Eight names were struck from Unity's list, including
that of television personality Arina Sharapova. A total of
172 names remain. On 3 November, Central Election Commission
Chairman Aleksandr Veshnyakov told NTV that no more than 29
election associations will participate in the State Duma
elections. In the last Duma elections four years ago, 43
parties and blocs participated, according to ITAR-TASS. JAC

...AS JUSTICE MINISTRY VOWS TO FIGHT SAVIOR'S REGISTRATION.
Following the Supreme Court's refusal to consider an appeal
by the Justice Ministry to ban the Savior (Spas) movement,
Justice Minister Yurii Chaika said on 2 November that his
ministry will file suit with a Moscow court to strip the
movement of its registration as an all-Russian association,
Interfax reported. According to Chaika, Savior does not have
the necessary number of local chapters to qualify as a
nationwide movement. Chaika also said that he will ask that
Russian law enforcement agencies be given additional powers
"to suppress social movements and coalitions that are founded
in violation of the Constitution," Mayak Radio reported. JAC

SHOIGU ACCUSED OF CAMPAIGNING. The Communist Party's election
headquarters has accused Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu,
who is also the head of Unity, of using his current trip to
Siberia and the Far East to stump for his party in the lead-
up to State Duma elections, ITAR-TASS reported on 3 November.
According to the agency, the party has asked the Central
Election Commission to render its opinion on whether Shoigu's
activities violate Russian election law. The official purpose
of Shoigu's trip is to check regions' readiness for winter
(see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 3 November 1999).
The previous day State Duma Chairman (Communist) Gennadii
Seleznev told reporters that although "the alliance has been
registered from a formal point of view and has the right to
run in elections," numerous questions still exist since the
bloc's "registration has been cancelled in several regions."
JAC

RUBLE CONTINUES TO SLIP... The ruble fell by 1.1 percent on 2
November to 26.336 rubles to $1 from 26.07 rubles the
previous day. Some currency traders told Reuters that the
Central Bank had bought dollars during the morning of 2
November, contributing to downward pressure on the ruble. On
3 November, the ruble continued to its fall, losing 11 kopeks
against the dollar, according to Interfax. "Kommersant-Daily"
concluded earlier that the Central Bank, which had previously
been propping up the ruble, has apparently decided that a new
lower exchange rate is necessary (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1
November 1999). JAC

...AS LESS CURRENCY TRAVELS OFFSHORE. "Kommersant-Daily"
reported on 2 November that the average amount of hard
currency purchased on Russia's foreign exchange market and
then transferred to various offshore zones fell sharply
during the third quarter of this year, from $1 billion to
just $550 million. The same day, Aleksandr Livshits,
presidential envoy to the G-7 countries, said that in the
first half of 1999 there was a dramatic decrease in capital
flight, Interfax reported. The amount of "gray" capital
flight or money transferred to avoid taxation amounted to
little more than $7.5 billion during the first half of the
year, compared with about $25 billion for the whole of last
year. The Russian Statistics Agency reported on 29 October
that total deposits in Russian banks increased 28.7 percent
as of 1 September, compared with the beginning of 1999. JAC

FAR EAST ELECTRICAL WORKERS WANT TO GET PAID. More than 100
workers at Dalenergo in Vladivostok have gone on strike, the
second work stoppage at the company in less than four months,
"Vremya MN" reported on 2 November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2
August 1999). According to the deputy chairman of the local
electrical workers union, they have only one demand--namely,
that their wages be paid in full. According to the newspaper,
the company owed 15.639 million rubles ($600,000) in back
wages as of 29 October. The problem with unpaid wages is
exacerbating an already difficult situation at the company,
which has insufficient fuel reserves to get through the
winter. According to ITAR-TASS on 3 November, some 40 percent
of necessary coal reserves and only 20 percent of fuel oil
requirements had been secured at the beginning of the heating
and electricity season. JAC

TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS NEW SPEAKER. Meeting in emergency
session on 2 November, deputies elected People's Party member
Armen Khachatrian as parliamentary speaker, RFE/RL's Yerevan
bureau reported. Khachatrian formerly headed the
parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs. Gagik Aslanian,
who is also a member of the People's Party, and Tigran
Torosian of the Republican Party were elected deputy
speakers. All three candidacies were endorsed by a large
majority of deputies. Republican Party chairman Andranik
Markarian, who had been tipped for the speaker's post,
proposed all three candidacies, explaining that leaders of
all factions in the parliament had decided unanimously that
it is important to observe the status quo, whereby the
speaker and one of his deputies are members of the People's
Party and the second deputy speaker a member of the
Republican Party, according to Noyan Tapan. Those two parties
constitute the majority Miasnutiun parliament faction. LF

KHACHATRIAN PLEDGES CONTINUITY, STABILITY. Addressing
deputies prior to the vote on the three candidacies,
Khachatrian vowed that "all programs that were envisaged by
[the assassinated leaders] will be put into practice by all
of us," RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He called for a
multi-partisan effort to maintain political stability and
help the country recover from the aftermath of last week's
murders of the prime minister and parliament speaker.
President Robert Kocharian told the session that the support
shown for the three candidates demonstrates that the
parliament is capable of discharging its basic functions in
accordance with the constitution, which in turn suggests that
"democracy is becoming stronger in our country," according to
Noyan Tapan. Kocharian said that within the next few days, he
will name a new premier and cabinet, which, he said, should
enjoy the support of the parliamentary majority. LF

OSCE NOTES VIOLATIONS DURING GEORGIAN ELECTION... In its
preliminary assessment, the OSCE Election Observer Mission
termed the 31 October Georgian parliamentary poll "a step
toward Georgia's compliance with OSCE commitments," according
to Caucasus Press on 3 November, but it failed to endorse the
voting as free and fair. The statement said that voters were
generally able to express their will and that the elections
laws provided an adequate framework for genuine multi-party
elections. At the same time, it noted that local officials in
several districts violated the procedures envisaged for the
vote count. Conduct of the poll was termed good in Tbilisi
but less than satisfactory in Samtskhe-Djavakheti and Kvemo
Kartli (which have large Armenian and Azerbaijani minorities,
respectively) and unsatisfactory in Adjaria. The assessment
said that the "heated competition" between political parties
during the run-up to the poll confirms the existence of
political pluralism, but it added that the tone of the
campaign "went beyond acceptable limits." The statement also
noted instances of election-related violence and
intimidation. LF

...AS DO INDEPENDENT MONITORS. Nugzar Ivanidze, who heads the
independent Fair Elections group, told AP on 2 November that
the 31 October elections "can be called multi-party but they
weren't democratic." Ivanidze said that observers were barred
from watching the ballot box at some polling stations and
that 15,000 ballot papers vanished from one Tbilisi polling
station hours before the vote began. Labor Party leader
Shalva Natelashvili told Caucasus Press on 2 November that
contrary to official preliminary returns, his party achieved
the 7 percent minimum required for representation in the new
parliament. Irakli Batiashvili, one of the leaders of the
Industry Will Save Georgia bloc, claimed that the bloc polled
20 percent of the total party-list vote. According to
official statistics, the two election subjects received 6.85
and 6.75 percent of the vote. LF

GEORGIA, RUSSIA OFFER CONTRADICTORY REPORTS OF CHECHEN BORDER
TALKS. The director of Georgia's Border Guards, Valerii
Chkheidze, met with his Russian counterpart, Konstantin
Totskii, in Moscow on 2 November to discuss the possibility
of jointly protecting the border between Georgia and
Chechnya. ITAR-TASS quoted Chkheidze as saying that he and
Totskii agreed on the deployment of Russian border guards
along that stretch of the Russian-Georgian border to prevent
the infiltration of mercenaries into Chechnya from Georgian
territory. But Interfax quoted Totskii as saying that
Chkheidze rejected the possibility of a joint force to
protect the border, which, he said, will be guarded solely by
Georgian detachments. Totskii added, however, that a Russian
contingent will travel to the border shortly to inspect
conditions there. He said that inclement weather is likely to
render that mountain sector of the border impassable within
the next few weeks. LF

SUSPECT IN ASSASSINATION BID EXTRADITED TO GEORGIA. Nugzar
Chukhua, whom the Georgian authorities have identified as one
of the 12 men who participated in the failed bid to
assassinate Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze in
February 1998, was extradited to Georgia from North Ossetia
on 2 November. He was apprehended by Russian police on
suspicion of involvement in the bomb explosion in
Vladikavkaz's central market earlier this year (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 27 September and 20 October 1999). Russian
investigators have established that Chukhua served as
commander of a detachment of the Georgian National Guard
under President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, according to Interfax. LF

RUSSIA PLAYS DOWN POSSIBLE DAMAGE FROM ROCKET EXPLOSION OVER
KAZAKHSTAN... Russian Deputy Premier Ilya Klebanov told
journalists on 2 November that Moscow will not pressure
Kazakhstan to lift the temporary ban imposed on the launch of
Proton rockets from the Baikonur cosmodrome following the
explosion of one such rocket shortly after blastoff on 27
October, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 29 October
1999). But Klebanov added that it is unlikely that Moscow
will pay compensation for the disaster, as it occurred at a
high altitude over an unpopulated area and there is little
risk of contamination from toxic heptyl rocket fuel.
Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev had said last
week that Astana will probably demand a larger sum in
compensation than it had received after a similar explosion
in July. On 2 November, Toqaev told reporters that last
week's explosion had damaged bilateral relations, Reuters
reported. LF

...AS LOCAL RESIDENTS PROTEST. The inhabitants of Aqsu
village in Qaraghandy Oblast staged a demonstration on 1
November to demand the closure of the Baikonur cosmodrome,
RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reported. The region was contaminated
with heptyl rocket fuel following the July Proton rocket
explosion. The protestors claim that toxic fuel was also
spilled after last week's explosion. LF

REPEAT ELECTIONS CALLED IN THREE KAZAKH CONSTITUENCIES. A
member of Kazakhstan's Central Electoral Commission said on 2
November that the results of the 24 October runoff elections
in three constituencies have been annulled because of
unspecified violations by candidates or their supporters,
Reuters reported. She added that the chief electoral
officials in those districts have been dismissed. The
districts in question are in the city of Atyrau and in
Dzhambyl and South Kazakhstan Oblasts. Kazakhstan's election
law bans the original candidates from running in the repeat
elections, for which no date has been set. Meanwhile, Orleu
(Progress) Party leader Seydakhmet Quttyqadam has brought a
court case against Almaty City Mayor Viktor Khrapunov, whom
he accuses of fraud during the 10 and 24 October
parliamentary votes, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former
capital reported on 2 November. LF

KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT DENIES HAVING FOREIGN PROPERTY, BANK
ACCOUNTS. Nursultan Nazarbaev told the state-owned Khabar
news agency on 2 November that he neither owns property
abroad nor has any foreign bank accounts, Interfax reported.
The "New York Times" reported last month that Swiss
investigators had discovered an account they believed was
used by Nazarbaev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 October 1999).
LF

TAJIK OPPOSITION PARTY URGES BOYCOTT OF PRESIDENTIAL POLL...
Following a meeting of the United Tajik Opposition on 2
November, the Islamic Renaissance Party, which is the senior
partner in that umbrella grouping, issued a statement the
next day calling for a boycott of the 6 November presidential
election, AP reported. Economics and Foreign Trade Minister
Davlat Usmon, who was registered as a presidential candidate
of the Islamic Renaissance Party, formally requested last
week that his registration be annulled as he had failed to
collect the required number of signatures in his support.
Usmon also demanded that the poll be postponed. ITAR-TASS on
2 November quoted Central Electoral Commission Chairman
Mirzoali Boltuev as saying that ballot papers with the names
of incumbent President Imomali Rakhmonov and Usmon have
already been sent to all electoral districts. LF

...AS EU EXPRESSES CONCERN. In a statement issued on 2
November by the German Embassy in Dushanbe, the EU expressed
concern that incumbent Imomali Rakhmonov is the sole
candidate for the 6 November presidential poll, AP reported.
The statement said that candidates should be able to propose
their candidacies "on a free and fair basis" and that "the
electorate must have a choice." LF

TURKMENISTAN GAS PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION DELAYED?
Representatives of the U.S. company PSG, which is the
operator of the planned Trans-Caspian gas export pipeline
from Turkmenistan to Baku, and PSG's upstream partner, Shell,
told journalists in Ashgabat on 2 November after talks with
Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov that construction
of the pipeline will not begin before the end of 2000 and
will take two years, Interfax reported. Meeting with Niyazov
the same day, Iran's Deputy Petroleum Minister Mehdi Hashemi
Bahramani said Iran is prepared to import 8-11 billion cubic
meters of gas annually from Turkmenistan. Iran currently
receives some 2 billion cubic meters of gas via the
Korpedzhe- Kurt Kui pipeline in payment for Iranian
infrastructure construction. LF

RUSSIA WARNS AGAINST 'POLITICIZING' PIPELINE ROUTES. In
Ankara, Russia's Ambassador Aleksandr Lebedev told Interfax
on 2 November that politicizing "purely commercial deals" to
build pipelines to transport gas to Turkey is "ruinous,"
Interfax reported. The Blue Stream pipeline to export Russian
natural gas to Turkey is expected to be completed by early
2001. LF
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