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FBIS3-17051_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tallinn, Mar 22, BNS -- The first MP coming from Estonia's Russian-speaking community, Social Democratic Party's Sergey Zonov, will start work in the Estonian State Assembly (parliament) Wednesday [23 March]. Zonov replaces Ardo Ojasalu, who was appointed the head of the country's Tax Department and has to step down as MP, as the next candidate on ticket of the 1992 parliamentary elections. Zonov in today's interview with BNS said he was going to aim his activity in the parliament toward the adoption of legislative acts that would contribute to integration of Russian-speakers into Estonia's life and to equal rights in the society. In Zonov's words the population in Estonia could be viewed as divided into five categories: legal citizens of Estonia, those applying for Estonian citizenship, those applying for the citizenship of some other country, citizens of other countries, and those who have to make up their minds yet. Zotov says the country's stability will depend on what will be the official policy toward the last of these five categories. He said it was essential for Estonia that as many as possible of those still making up their minds would choose to apply for Estonian citizenship. In order to achieve this, it is necessary, beside other things, to better inform people about the application rules, work out a national language learning program, and abstain from extremist statements in politics. Apart from this, many problems of legislative and bureaucratic character need to be resolved, he added. "It is also important that Russia withdrew its military units from Estonia, because this is a problem over which particularly active speculation is going on. It may be that upon the final withdrawal other issues for speculation will be found, but currently this is the main one," Zonov said in the interview. He said he was going to use the "good team" that his Social Democratic Party and the Moderate coalition, part of which the Social Democrats are, have in the parliament. He said also his own good personal contacts with Estonian politicians were a factor that would positively contribute to his work. "I have people whom I know well practically in all factions of the parliament," Zonov said, adding that these contacts had been established during his work at the Estonian Popular Front and the Council of Estonian Citizens. Zonov told BNS that he was ready to work closely | First Deputy From Russian Community To Begin Work |
FBIS3-17053_1 | said Russian army representatives had promised to present lists of their military in the town. But he added that this was not enough for Estonia. To pass the procedure, Paldiski residents must answer a questionnaire, after what they will get a special inscription into their passports. Car owners must also present their driver's license and car ownership document. The questionnaires will be filled in by Estonian officials and then signed by the respondent. Estonian authorities will be entitled to deny working and residence permits to non-citizens who have no passport inscription on having passed the registration. The stamp will also give the holder the right to enter Paldiski at the time when special entry regulations are to be introduced. The regulations will be effective during the dismantling of two nuclear reactors at a Russian base in the area. Olesk said the overwhelming majority of Paldiski residents were in favor of the registering. The questionnaires are later to be checked by officials at the Citizenship and Migration Department. "It is clear that as the passport inscription is also a certain kind of guarantee for movement in Paldiski during the time of dismantling of the reactors, most Paldiski residents want to get this inscription. Paldiski residents also understand that the passport inscription and the special regulations to be introduced for the time of dismantling of the reactors are in their own interests," Olesk explained. Government representative Juri Tikk has earlier said that the passport registration campaign which started today "is only the first stage that will give a picture of the town's residents and their documents." "Sooner or later also those who abstain from filling in the questionnaire will have to bring their explanations. At the time when nuclear fuel will be brought out from Paldiski and controls are stepped up at the Pakri peninsula, those people will start to get caught," Tikk said. Tikk said about 250 Estonian citizens and some 4,000 loyal residents and their children were currently living in Paldiski. Those are the people that have received the Estonian privatization documents. Estimates put the number of Russian military in the town at 800-1,000, about 600 of whom must leave the country by Aug. 31, 1994. Then only some 200 Russian military specialists will remain in the town to dismantle the nuclear facility. "Those people will be allowed to remain in Estonia only in their status as civilians," Tikk added. | Minister Says Registering Active Military Vital |
FBIS3-17136_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By BELINFORM-TASS correspondents Vladimir Glod and Leonid Tratsevskiy] [Text] Minsk March 23 TASS -- Official talks between the defence ministers of the United States and the Belarus Republic began here today. The U.S. secretary of defence arrived in the Belarus capital today. His negotiations with Colonel-General Pavel Kazlowski are proceeding behind closed doors. "One of the main subjects that will be discussed during the meeting is American aid to solve Belarusian conversion problems," First Deputy Defence Minister of the Belarus Republic Aleksandr Tushinskiy told BELINFORM. Tushinskiy is a prominent electronics specialist and first civilian appointed to the leadership of the republic's Defence Ministry. He is charged with the task of switching the defence industry to civilian rails. Tushinskiy said that Perry is expected to announce some Belarus- American conversion programmes, covering such Belarusian defence enterprises as "Belomo" and "Intergral." As a result of a tough contest carried out in the United States, several American partner firms have been selected for them, whose technologies, know-how and other parameters coincide with those of the Minsk plants. "During the American secretary's visit," Tushinskiy said, "we expect to sign a joint statement on the principles that will underlie the work of the Belarus-American conversion committee. An organisational meeting of this body will also be held." Tushinskiy stressed that this committee was set up as a result of previous Belarus-American meetings at top level and after repeated consultations between expert delegations of the two countries. The final results of the talks will become known today afternoon during a press conference that will be held here jointly by the U.S. secretary of defence and the Belarus defence minister. | Defense Conversion Discussed |
FBIS3-17155_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["Press Review" -- ITAR-TASS headline] [Text] Moscow, March 24 -- The ROSSIISKIE VESTI newspaper singles out materials on growing social stratification of society. Referring to official data, the newspaper notes that "20 per cent of well-to-do population enjoys now 40 per cent of all cash incomes while 20 per cent of population in the low wage bracket has only seven per cent". "The society's `elite' has formed its closed circle isolated from the popular masses, working for itself and serving itself," the newspaper writes. Noting that such a situation is fraught with a social explosion, the newspaper calls for stepping up state and public control, using economic levers. The same newspaper speaks about "an emerging course for stabilisation" in the country in another article, where premier Viktor Chernomyrdin is called its main herald. According to ROSSIISKIE VESTI, this course should not be rescribed as a rollback on reforms. It means "only a departure from radicalism to more organic development of society". The TRUD, KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA and other newspapers single out a report on the land-crash of an A-310 plane belonging to the Russian International Airlines Company, which flew on the Moscow-hong kong route. All crew members, nine stewardesses and 63 passengers died. In the opinion of the NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA newspaper, an explosion is a possible reason for the tragedy. The newspaper writes that circumstances of the plane's crash are very similar to those of the Boeing's crash in 1986 over Scotland blasted by international terrorists (notorious "Lockerbie case"). The TRUD newspaper carries an interview with Russian Minister for Nationalities Sergey Shakhray who explains reasons motivating his faction (Party of Russian Unity and Accord) in the lower house to vote for the much publicised amnesty. "One cannot be a judge at his own house," he says. "The logic of civil clashes knows only one way out: an attempt for civil reconciliation." The same newspaper features an interview with acting Ukrainian Premier Yefim Zvyagilsky, saying that some Western media fan up "a conflict" between Ukraine and Russia. "These are ravings of a madman," he stresses. "Some people are evidently very eager to direct our relations according to this scenario. But nobody will be able to sow a discord between us." According to Zvyagilsky, "close and equal relations with Russia were and remain the top priority in politics for us". NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA, ROSSIISKIE VESTI and other newspapers print a | ITAR-TASS Carries Press Review for 24 March |
FBIS3-17168_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tallinn, Mar 22, BNS -- Negotiations are scheduled to begin on Wednesday [23 March] between Pro Patria, the senior party in Estonia's ruling coalition, and their fellow coalition members Rural Centrists, who have threatened to quit over that the government allegedly is defying the interests of farmers. Pro Patria will be represented at the talks by the party Chairman Mart Laar, General Secretary Ivo Rull, deputy head of the parliament faction, Kalle Jurgenson, and MP Vootele Hansen. The delegation of Rural Centrists will include party Chairman Ivar Raig, chairman of the party's Central Council, Vambo Kaal, Agriculture Minister Jaan Leetsar and Minister of Reform Liia Hanni. MP Vootele Hansen in a brief interview with BNS said the meeting was to discuss finding finances to credit the farm sector, as well as drawing up legislation for regulation of the market. "Of course, we don't consider it possible to give up free market principles," he said. Rural Centrist Party's Vambo Kaal, in turn, said his party hoped to resolve issues such as protecting of the domestic market, financing and taxation of the rural economy, privatization, problems of cooperation within the coalition. "If we fail to succeed in resolving the problems by mutual compromise, we cannot continue our activity as part of the coalition," Kaal said. Pro Patria this week is also to begin talks with the Social Democrats, the other party beside Rural Centrists in the ruling coalition's Moderate bloc. Mart Laar, Ivo Rull, as well as Pro Patria parliament faction chairman Tiit Sinissaar and Defense Minister Indrek Kannik are to sit down at the negotiating table opposite a delegation of the Social Democrats led by the leader of the party, Social Affairs Minister Marju Lauristin. Mihkel Parnoja, deputy chairman of the Social Democrats, has told BNS the key issue for his party at talks with the senior coalition partner is cooperation within the coalition until next the elections. He said cooperation within the coalition could be better, especially since over some issues coordination in the coalition tends to happen too late. | Coalition Meeting To Avert Centrist Split |
FBIS3-17178_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Report by Tatyana Cherkasova under the general heading "Death in the Russian Skies": "Kemerovo Calling"] [Text] The Novokuznetsk air traffic controllers were the first to get worried: At about 0100 hours local time on 23 March, a plane traveling on the Moscow to Hong Kong route stopped responding to radio signals. All attempts to contact the crew from the ground or the air proved fruitless. The chain of tracking points, Yekaterinburg--Novokuznetsk--Krasnoyarsk, showed that the last of these points had received no signals from the plane. Weather conditions, by Siberian standards, were ideal for the time of year: With a temperature of minus 5, visibility was 10-12 km. At 2310 hours Moscow time, an AN-12 plane and an MI-8 helicopter took off from Mezhdurechensk. After 20 minutes the pilots located a burning section of taiga approximately 17 km south of the taiga settlement of Mayzas. This is a sector of dense, neglected taiga where timber cutting stopped 20-30 years ago. A snow cover 1.5-2 meters thick and dense growths of young fir, spruce, birch, and willow make the locality virtually inaccessible for aircraft landings. Although journalists are strictly prohibited at the disaster site before the special commission starts work, our Mezhdurechensk colleague Vasiliy Gorbunov managed to get there with a rescue party. Here is what he said: "The first impression, as you approach, is a very strong smell of kerosene. You look around -- and it's spooky: a heap of small debris. It looks like the plane literally broke into smithereens. The smallest fragments are scattered over the side of the hill in a band 100 meters wide, stretching for approximately half a kilometer. The biggest fragment of the starboard side which I saw is 3 by 4 meters. Bodies? Nearly everything that is left of the people is deeply embedded in the snow. You can see arms here, legs there, torsos there. If -- God forbid -- the frost deepens, the boys will have to work with crowbars to dig the remains out of blocks of ice. In these places, the worst thought is this: Why are objects more durable than people? Scattered all over the place are beer cans, bags, items of clothing, dollars.... I could not tear my eyes away from a brightly colored Easter egg: Someone was preparing for the holiday." There has been a report that the plane's descent was directly observed | Airbus Seen `Trailing Smoke' |
FBIS3-17208_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By BELINFORM-TASS correspondents Vladimir Glod and Leonid Tratsevskiy] [Text] Minsk March 23 TASS -- U.S. Defense Minister [title as received] William Perry is taking with himself as a souvenir from Minsk a laser pointer which is capable of showing any spot at a considerable distance. William Perry received this present from a representative of the Belarussian Optical Mechanical Association (BELOMO) which is now mastering peace-time production. The BELOMO together with the "Integral" association and the Association of Computing machinery, will cooperate with American firms in the field of conversion of the defense industry to peace-time production. According to William Perry, the United States is prepared to earmark 10 million U.S. dollars to Belarus for the implementation of the conversion program. A special tender was carried out in the United States whose winners will cooperate with the three Belarussian production associations. Now the United States is getting down to business, the U.S. defense minister said commenting on the signing of the conversion documents and the establishment of the joint American-Belarussian committee which will control conversion issues. "We have been coming to this for almost two years," Defense Minister of Belarus Pavel Kozlovskiy noted. The process of conversion will include three stages: The delivery of the latest equipment to Belarussian enterprises, the organization of production of modern products and the creation of an export market," representatives of the U.S. Defense Ministry told BELINFORM. The fact that the United States have set aside 30 million U.S. dollars to Belarus, confirmed the words by Pavel Kozlovskiy that the "geographic remoteness and a different level of the economic development are not an obstacle to cooperation." According to information received from high ranking officials of the Belarussian Defense Ministry, 10 million U.S. dollars will be spent on conversion, another 10 millions U.S. dollars -- on construction of houses for servicemen, 5 million U.S. dollars -- on the destruction of conventional weapons and the remaining 5 million U.S. dollars -- on re-training of officer cadres of the Belarussian Army. | Further Reportage on Perry's Visit to Minsk Defense Ministry Receives $30 Million |
FBIS3-17234_0 | Language: Ukrainian Article Type:BFN [Olena Hubina report: "I Don't Trust You by 96 Percent"] [Text] The Ukrainian population's confidence in all branches of power on the eve of parliamentary elections is so low that it is even difficult to determine whose victory is to be preferred. In February and March 1994, the "Democratic Initiatives" center conducted an opinion poll, which involved 1,799 respondents. It revealed that just 2 percent of the respondents have full confidence in the government, 4 percent -- in the president, 2 percent -- in the Supreme Council chairman, and 2 percent -- in the leadership of local power structures. The level of confidence in Vyacheslav Chornovil, the opposition leader, is not much higher -- just 4 percent of the respondents were fully in his favor. Somewhat higher is the prestige of the militia (6 percent), and 20 percent of the respondents trust the Army. Furthermore, 13.6 percent of the respondents stated their unwillingness to participate in the elections; 63 percent said that they would not like to vote for the same candidate as in the previous elections; and just 13 percent have not changed their preferences. The decision to vote for a particular candidate may be positively influenced mainly by the fact that the candidate is... in favor of a union between Ukraine and Russia. This was pointed out by 48 percent of the respondents. Negative attitude was expressed by 27 percent and yet another 25 percent showed indifference. Some of the respondents considered the candidates' sex as one of their "virtues": 36 percent of them are ready to vote for a female deputy. Thirty-one percent of the respondents like candidates who are in favor of a capitalist economic development, 30 percent -- if they have support of entrepreneurs, 25 percent -- if they are not members of any party. Nineteen percent of the respondents prefer those candidates who assert that authoritarian rule (the "iron" order) is the best road toward democracy. Physical attractiveness of the candidate encourages just 2 percent of the voters. Among the respondents, 54 percent believe that Ukraine will most likely maintain its integrity and independence in the future, 22 percent do not believe in that, 42 percent assume that our country will unite with Russia and Belarus within a Slavic Union, 31 percent believe that it will become a constituent part of a single CIS state (a renewed union), and 28 | Poll Shows Low Confidence in `Branches of Power' |
FBIS3-17241_1 | is bankrupt in the eyes of the people themselves, can be saved would be to immediately cancel all the results of the voting on 20 March as not expressing the position of the voters. That is if you consider it in terms of jurisprudence. And as for real life... Let this endless reading on the radio of endless lists of names of candidates remain only as a nightmare in our memories. Let us have nothing but a memory of the 15 (!) electoral blocs made up of such mutually exclusive individuals that you automatically grab your head and ask outloud: "When were we deceived? Throughout the four years before these elections or just during the past two months of the election campaign?" How can a bloc which bears the proud name of "Democratic Unity of St. Petersburg" and claims to represent democracy "on behalf of and on instructions from" all St. Petersburg, appeal to the mayor and request, beg from him, two or three more hours of voting, another 2-3 percent of the vote? Has our voter really been denied his rights once again and been unable to see anyone but people who think about only one thing--about power--and aspire to only one thing--to power? How was it possible to conduct such an election campaign--without once appearing before the voter, without communicating with him even once? Which psychologists and other specialists in waging election campaigns advised the candidates to do this? It is up to us to make sure that such a thing never happens again. We must make sure that the billions of rubles and hundreds of thousands of dollars thrown at this phantasmagoric spectacle will find a better use. For now we must live with the powers we have. "Do not count your chickens before they hatch"--even we will not manage to put the cart before the horse. And another useful thing to remember. All discussion to the effect that some local authority we have elected in St. Petersburg will independently solve all of our problems is a fiction. As long as the present topsy-turvyness continues in Russia, local authorities will be needed for only one thing--to come another step or half step closer to the big Moscow trough that feeds all the cities, villages, and field camps of the boundless Rus with the ruble as it loses its value. Perhaps our voter has understood this as well. | Elections Viewed |
FBIS3-17250_2 | Yevgeniy Nazdratenko, head of administration of the Maritime Territory, reported in an interview on the television program "Vostok-TV" that the Japanese Government had decided to deliver equipment and finance the construction of two installations for processing liquid radioactive wastes in Bolshoy Kamen and at a facility of the Pacific Ocean Fleet. According to Nazdratenko, the total value of the resources being allocated by Japan under this project amounts to $12 million. Nazdratenko said that Japanese representatives (he did not know exactly who) are disturbed by the problem of effective and speedy implementation of construction and also want guarantees that not one dollar of the proposed sum will be expended for purposes that are not directly connected with the project. The governor of the Maritime Territory sees such guarantees in the mechanism of the resources being transferred directly from Tokyo to Vladivostok. Nazdratenko said in the television interview that a document concerning such a mechanism was actually turned over to Kozyrev. However, any investment operation presumes the presence of some kind of accounts (what is the money to be paid for?), and it is perfectly clear that the Japanese project specifically will be discussed during Hata's negotiations with representatives of the Russian Government. This, in general, is logical: If the Japanese Government intends to build a plant (it is unimportant whether in Japan, the United States, or Bolshoy Kamen), then it is Japanese and not American or Bolshoy Kamen companies that should get the profit and the work positions... However, the total disregard of the territorial administration's incomparably more effective technology for decontaminating radioactive waste proposed by Vladivostok scientists was also confirmed by the fact that literally two days before the Kozyrev-Christopher meeting, Governor of the territory Ye. Nazdratenko promised to receive V. Sergiyenko, chairman of the Far Eastern Department of Russian Academy of Sciences, regarding this question, but the meeting did not occur. As his reception room invariably reported: "The governor is very busy with preparations for the "summit meeting"... The result of this "preparation" is now clear: Nazdratenko personally handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the documentation of Marubeni lobbying. As a result of this, there can no longer be any doubt regarding persistent pushing to the detriment of our interests by officials of the territorial organization of what they know to be an obsolete and extremely expensive Japanese project. Meanwhile, literally the other day scientists of | Maritime Governor Said Lobbying for Japan |
FBIS3-17298_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Text] The situation in connection with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] nuclear inspection in the DPRK was aggravated yet again this week. The United States insists that the DPRK opposes full control. In this connection, the regular round of the Korean-American talks was disrupted and it is not ruled out that the "Team Spirit" exercises might be resumed, which is causing great concern in North Korea. The DPRK Foreign Ministry made a statement in this connection which describes the United States' actions as perfidious. I have spoken to the DPRK ambassador Son Sung-pil. I asked him what importance in this connection North Korea was attaching to the Soviet-Korean friendship treaty, since Russia was the legal successor to such treaties, and under this treaty our state was supposed to support the DPRK in the event of an armed conflict. The ambassador replied: [Begin Son recording, in Korean fading into Russian translation] Russia is the legal successor to all international treaties, and therefore in this sense Russia also inherited this treaty. The only problem is how each side will fulfill its obligations under the treaty. Since there is as yet no military conflict, it is difficult to predict, and one should not predict what Russia is going to do in this case. When concrete actions or circumstances have taken place then, perhaps, Russia will demonstrate its position on the treaty. We can only wish that the Russian Government should understand correctly the essence and truth of this nuclear problem and should not create any obstacles on the way of a fair solution to the problem, and, on the contrary, should assist in resolving the problem objectively and fairly. [end recording] It seems to me that for the time being the Russian position with regard to this incident is very restrained. | North Korean Envoy Interviewed on Bilateral Relations |
FBIS3-17326_0 | Language: Persian Article Type:BFN [Third and last installment of an interview with 'Abdollah Nuri, a leader of Tajikistan's Islamic Movement Party, with an unidentified JOMHURI-YE ESLAMI correspondent; place and date not given] [Text] [JOMHURI-YE ESLAMI] How do you assess the West's stances on and the role of Russia in Tajikistan's civil war? [Nuri] Tajikistan's problem is not an ethnic, regional, or national one. It is not related to Tajikistan alone; it is a world problem. In other words, the war in Tajikistan does not involve only the Kulabs and the Khojands. The center of this war was all the Eastern and Western powers. When the first gathering was held [not further specified], more than 70 world correspondents came to Tajikistan and talked with them. They told all the Islamists that despite communist pressures they had preserved their religion and that if the expansion of Islam is not prevented in Tajikistan, the victory of the Muslims would be definite. Therefore, this was a plot that was hatched by the superpowers of the world. This was a plot that was engineered by the Zionists, executed by the United States, and implemented by Russia. Islam Karimov told the British that if Russia and Uzbekistan did not interfere in the Tajikistan war, an Islamic rule would be established. In other words, he proudly said: Since I, too, am someone who opposes Islamic regimes in the region, I am striving to annihilate Islamic fundamentalism. Thus, the Tajikistan problem is a world problem and the superpowers do not want an Islamic rule to be established. I have repeatedly said that Tajikistan is the door to Islam and the base of infidels. If the door to Islam is opened all the area that was formerly Muslim will turn to Islam and it will spread to all countries, but the infidels do not want this door to be opened. Thus, they have formed a barricade here from which they can attack regional areas; namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, as well as other countries. The extremely weak economic situation in Tajikistan has made the communist leaders sell the country's independence. Abdullodzhanov, chairman of the Council of Ministers, said that we even want to adhere to Russia. Some 70 percent of Tajikistan's budget is supplied by Russia. That country wants to take this area to revive the former Soviet Union. Also, there is a threat against the United States here | Opposition Leader Interviewed on Conflict |
FBIS3-17326_8 | But they are still encouraging the people to return. We cannot say that it is the UN employees who are to blame because others are also not pursuing UN laws, but there are between 40,000 and 41,000 refugees in Tanduz who are not receiving any assistance. It is as though this organization does not officially recognize the refugees. Among their rights, which are not recognized, are education, health, and the protection of children. In their opinion, a needy person is someone who is not a Muslim and someone who professes Islam is not a human being. If a girl shoots at Husni Mubarak, the United Nations and the correspondents of the world will report on this extensively. But when children, women, and men are killed in wars and when young and old die of malaria or of other diseases, no one says anything. We have sent a letter to the UN offices in Mazar-e Sharif and in Pakistan and to Mr. Butrus-Ghali calling for humanitarian assistance for the refugees, but we have not received any reply yet. With the help of UN personnel, the water of a reservoir in Mazar-e Sharif, which was used by refugees, was poisoned and in one day 32 children and 200 others died. Everyone knew about this, but nothing was done. Only the head of the refugees there was deceived. Thus, the behavior of human rights organizations toward the Tajik refugees has not been good until now. [JOMHURI-YE ESLAMI] What are you asking from regional Islamic countries? [Nuri] As I have stated, the Tajikistan problem is not a problem in our country alone. It is a problem that is linked to all the Muslim countries. We should not ignore this. For example, it has been a year since Tajiks began living under dire conditions in Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan. There are about 100,000 refugees in Afghanistan, some of whom do not have shelter. These refugees have not been officially recognized by the Afghan Government until now, and politically they are not even considered full refugees. No Islamic country in the world has recognized them as refugees. No reports are heard on radio and television on these people and their problems. Let them not help because we know that the world is under pressure by the superpowers. Also, the Islamic countries too are being pressured by superpowers. They cannot overtly help the jihad in Tajikistan today. | Opposition Leader Interviewed on Conflict |
FBIS3-17354_14 | talk about these issues. Now, we must seek solutions to these issues, therefore, my address is less polemic and is mostly directed toward finding solutions and practical measures. Corresponding amendments must be made to the new version of the constitution. We must comprehend that conflicts in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali zone are not so much of an ethnic but mostly of a political and social nature and are the results of interference from a third, foreign force. [passage omitted] It is necessary to carry out reforms in the local and municipal authorities, and they must be implemented in 1994-95. [passage omitted] The service of the regional management has been set up at the office of the head of state's staff. This service, although it needs to be perfected, is still [passage indistinct]. New structures of state management have been established -- the mayor's offices in Kutaisi, Poti, Rustavi, Tbilisi, and other towns. But these changes are not enough. Thorough reforms are needed. Municipal elections should be held and local government bodies created; central and local authorities should be constitutionally separated. We think that a regional administration -- a qualititively new institute of government -- must be established. We still need to think about the final model for it. It is an issue for discussion. The law will separate the functions of local government bodies and the regional administration. Dictatorship and [word indistinct] are ruled out. In the opinion of the Union of Citizens of Georgia, taking into consideration world experience, the system of local government must consist of two levels. The first level would include self-government of villages, populated areas, and town governments under rayon subordination; the second level would include self-governing bodies of the republic's towns and rayons. The principle of kray-arrangement is not ruled out. Let us think about it seriously; it has its pros and cons and optimistic prospects. A special two-level system of self-government must also be established in Tbilisi. The first level would include Tbilisi rayon's municipalities, and the second level would include the mayor's office of Tbilisi, the council, and so on. [passage omitted] If we want to have armed forces, we must cooperate with the Russian Army and the Russian servicemen. There is no other way. We have been everywhere, visited every place, and have come to the conclusion that this is the only solution for speeding up this process. We have wonderful | Shevardnadze Addresses Citizens' Congress |
FBIS3-17354_40 | study prices and the economic situation must be set up. The speed of carrying out the strategic and tactical aims, suggested by the economic and social development and their scale, will depend on using Georgia's internal potential, as well as on the nature of the international political and economic situation in which Georgia's economy will have to function in the immediate future. There are such possibilities. [passage omitted -- Georgia has a potential to produce competitive products for the world market; Georgia's geo-political situation can help Georgia's economy; Georgia may become a crossroad from Europe to Asia; Georgia get a foothold into the Russian market; Georgian national products must take root in the Russian market before others do and withstand the competition; Georgia is rich in waters] Many people say that in five, six, or seven years the drinking water may cost more than petrol. We have these water resources, let alone mineral water. True, Georgia today has no useful ores, which, according to the world market would be especially large, but Georgia can make its contribution in economic development for utilization and recovery of manganite, arsenic, ferrous metals [words indistinct] and other existing deposits using modern technology. [passage omitted: Georgia is rich in hydro resources] If we take into consideration how many hydro resources are available per square kilometer, Georgia comes first in the world. Our country has these resources. We can be talking here about big and small hydro-electric stations. In two or three years we can achieve great results together with Western firms which are showing a big interest in it. Simultaneously, oil deposits must be discovered. Without fail, Georgia has oil. I am sure that there is oil and gas in Georgia. One of the pieces of advice from James Baker was that he gave us names of two more companies besides the ones he was here with; we can trust these companies and they will give us a guarantee that in the immediate future we may discover oil deposits. [passage omitted -- talks about Iceland which exists on thermal energy; Georgia also has inexhaustible thermal deposits which are not used] The main factor in the development of Georgia's economy are working resources and working forces which, more or less, know the modern technology of industry and have a knack to learn the most complex technological processes. Georgia's gradual political and economic integration with the democratic | Shevardnadze Addresses Citizens' Congress |
FBIS3-17363_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Tallinn, Mar 24, BNS -- Population Minister Peeter Olesk and special representative of the government in Paldiski Juri Tikk in an interview to BNS resolutely contradicted rumors that the authorities are making up lists of Paldiski residents to be deported. Rumors have lately been circulating in Paldiski that the number in the stamp entered in documents during registration of the population denotes the order in which people will be deported from Estonia. In reality the numbers 1, 2 or 3 in the stamp indicate in which of the three registration stations in the town a person was registered. Olesk condemned the rumors as "utterly false" and blamed them on people's inner anxieties or misapprehensions. "The Estonian nation has never attempted to deport anyone, while we know very well how we were deported more than once," he said. "Since we know what deportation means, we never planned anything like that for others." Tikk voiced the opinion that the rumors were launched with a definite goal in view. "The number in the registration stamp has no ulterior meaning," he affirmed. "The documents of the Russian military, for example, are marked with a stamp bearing number 4. We have no intention of repeating what Russians, Germans or whoever did here in their time." On Wednesday [23 March], the second day of population registration in Paldiski, 906 people were registered. Tikk told BNS there were no incidents, except that some forged documents came to light. On Tuesday 689 residents were registered in Paldiski. Both Tikk and Olesk told BNS there's no particular opposition to registration in the town. "The residents of Paldiski themselves wish to be registered, since it will increase their security during the dismantling of the nuclear reactors when checks on people staying in the town are unavoidable," Olesk said. "The stamps allow people to move freely in Paldiski under the special regime." Registration of Paldiski residents ends on March 26. | Minister Denies Deportation Goal in Paldiski |
FBIS3-17390_1 | communication to Europe and the Black Sea area run through our country. The economies of the Russian oblasts bordering us are the most stable because they maintain direct economic links with Ukrainian enterprises, and, you know, tens of millions of people live in those oblasts. In short, a strong and stable Ukraine is in the interests of Russia and its people. We should always live in peace and friendship. But there is no point in adhering to the principle that one's own interests are what count and everyone else's must fit in with "big brother's." I am sure that's how it will be when politics stop dominating economics and commonsense. It can be said that we are already en route to that today. We are boldly developing bilateral relations and are setting up joint ventures. We should eliminate more quickly the problem of nonpayments and obtain the opportunity to pay in a normal way for the raw materials and commodities of both Russian and our own enterprises. Nonpayments is a common ill, and we have to cure it together, and not by relying on some benefactor to endlessly provide nonrepayable loans. [Prokopchuk] You are thinking of supplies of Russian gas? [Zvyahilskyy] I cannot fault Russia at all here. We ourselves are to blame for the temporary halt in gas supplies. Russia provides us with 140 million cubic meters of gas a day. But there were several days when we were taking 180 million a day, thereby reducing the pressure in the export gas pipelines. Who is going to put up with that kind of presumptuousness. That is why my deputy, V. Landik, flew to Moscow and guaranteed Gazprom that we would not allow such outrageous behavior in future. [Prokopchuk] Is it true that the Russian joint-stock company Gazprom is demanding that the main gas pipelines and the underground gas reservoirs be transferred to it to make up the arrears? [Zvyahilskyy] That is idle speculation. Different terms were proposed: Namely, that a controlling block of shares be given to Gazprom during the flotation of the Ukrainian gas transportation enterprises and gas refineries. But we will not accept that. We propose something else -- flotation with the participation of Russian capital. But Ukraine will retain the controlling block of shares here. We are now preparing documents on yet another issue on which it is time we reached agreement. This involves the so-called | Acting Prime Minister Interviewed on Economy |
FBIS3-17394_1 | in their political or religious struggle were reported in Ukraine. However, a kindling ground for this is now being cultivated in the state, abetted by the flawed legislation and the ever increasing legal nihilism on the part of both specific individuals and entire public groups. In 1993, 172 cases of terrorist threats and attempts on the lives of government officials, deputies, and judges were reported, compared to 110 in 1992. Attempts by criminals and ultraradical individuals to acquire firearms, ammunition, and explosives, with which 762 aggravated crimes were committed, became very frequent. Given the danger to society posed by illegal possession of firearms and ammunition as well as their possible use in staging terrorist acts and other crimes, the SBU and the Interior Affairs Ministry [MVS] conducted several joint operations in 1993 resulting in the seizure of 1351 units of firearms, including 79 grenade launchers, 10 machine guns, 111 assault guns, 103 rifles, 451 hand pistols, and 2517 grenades -- a substantial increase since last year. [Correspondent] Could you give examples of specific cases that were successful? [Burlakov] Last year in January, agents from our administration, in conjunction with the SBU Chief Administration, foiled a conspiracy by one of the Middle East terrorist organizations to prepare in Ukraine a terrorist act against a foreign embassy based in Moscow. As a result, we confiscated grenades and explosives. We also prevented another foreign terrorist organization from purchasing in Ukraine equipment for conducting terrorist acts in other regions of the world. We have some evidence that due to its poorly patroled borders and some other factors, international terrorism has already "zeroed in" on Ukraine. In late 1992, much attention was attracted by the case of V. Yukhno, deputy of the Kherson City Council and head of the Ukrainian Democratic Party Kherson-based organizations, who was severely beaten by unidentified individuals, and died in the hospital on 1 December 1992. Some media and public organizations, prior to completion of the investigation, classified this tragedy as a terrorist act, accusing government institutions, the SBU, and MVS of inaction. Some even went as far as to suggest that law enforcement agencies abetted perpetrators of that murder. A special commission that included experienced agents from the Internal Affairs Administration and the Security Service Administration in Kherson Oblast was established to investigate the case. As a result of the commission's investigation, the culprits were found. They were adolescents aged | Antiterrorism Department Chief Views Situation |
FBIS3-17459_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Chisinau, BASAPRESS 26/3/1994 -- The Patriotic Movement "Pro Moldova" (MPPM) welcomes the electoral victory of the Democratic Agrarian Party and of the Block of the Socialist Party and Unitatea-Edinstvo Movement, as well as the results of the sociologic poll, which demonstrate the "triumph of reason," says the declaration of the Movement published today in KISHINEVSKYE NOVOSTI (News of Chisinau). At the same time, the MPPM is concerned that "although the frontist-unionist ideology and political formations have suffered a total failure, their adepts, hidden in ministries and academies, in structures of the National Radio and Television, public education and culture, in rightist newspapers, in the leadership of the Writers' Union, continue to mislead the people." They corrupt the faith of the young generation in the specificity of the Moldovan people and its culture, they impose by all means the concept of Romanism of the Moldovans, the declaration asserts. Its authors claim that supporters of unionism want to transform Bessarabia, according to the model of 1918, into a province of Grand Romania. [passage indistinct] | MPPM Views Election, Poll Results as `Triumph of Reason' |
FBIS3-17474_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Text] Bill Clinton's decision to lift the embargo on arms and military equipment supplies to the Baltic countries will not affect the progress of Estonian-Russian talks, [Colonel] Ants Laaneots, Defense Forces chief of staff of the Republic of Estonia, told a RIA correspondent. The 18th round of the talks is to be held near Moscow on 5-6 April. The Defense Forces chief of staff expressed the view that differences over social guarantees for Russian Armed Forces pensioners will be overcome at these talks. | Lifting of U.S. Embargo Will Not Effect Talks |
FBIS3-17623_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Telephone interview with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma by Arkadiy Romm under the "Hello!" rubric: "Leonid Kuchma: The President Would Better Resign Voluntarily!" -- date not given] [Excerpt] After the elections for the Ukrainian Supreme Council, which are scheduled for 27 March, Ukraine is in for early presidential elections. Our correspondent, Arkadiy Romm, speaks with former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma, who is considered the most realistic candidate for the presidency. [Romm] Leonid Danilovich, do you really plan to replace Kravchuk? [Kuchma] I have not decided yet; first of all I need to see what kind of new Supreme Council we will have. If it is similar to what we have now, it will be a useless waste of time. I cannot find a single good word for what is presently going on in the country. The economy has suffered a catastrophe. Enterprises have effectively ground to a standstill. The credit and economic system has completely collapsed. The country is ungovernable: there is no state as such. If we are to come out of the crisis, tight measures are inevitable. The president must enjoy the overwhelming support of the population. [Romm] What is your assessment of the president's decision not to contest the early elections? [Kuchma] The best thing for Leonid Makarovich is to resign voluntarily. But will he go? The Kiev authorities do not want the presidential elections to take place along with elections for the Supreme Council. [Romm] "Independence" has become as popular a buzzword in Ukraine as it is painful. What does it mean for you, Leonid Danilovich? [Kuchma] As early as last spring I said that we would not be able to withstand world prices for energy resources. I proposed a number of options. One of them involved the Black Sea Fleet. I am certain that if we had been given it lock, stock, and barrel, we would have returned it ourselves in a week, because we would have been unable to support it. Now developments in Crimea are unfolding in such a way that we may be left without it altogether. We should have leased the naval armada to Russia together with the bases. What we need is a border fleet -- Ukraine does not have geopolitical interests in the world ocean. [Romm] What do you, as former chief of a missile-making powerhouse, think about a nuclear-free Ukraine? [Kuchma] Stepping the | Kuchma Urges Kravchuk To Resign |
FBIS3-17673_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [From RAHVA HAAL 29 Mar p 1; "News Bulletin" No. 60/94] [Text] The EU-Estonian free trade talks in Brussels were successful and the main text of the agreement has been agreed upon, Estonian Ambassador to the EU Clyde Kull said. Both parties recognise in the preamble that the final aim of the agreement is Estonia's full integration to the EU. The free trade regime on industrial goods as well as general trade and customs principles have been agreed upon and the negotiations have reached the most sensitive subjects - textile and agriculture, Kull went on. He added that the EU had made some concessions concerning possible use of customs duties by Estonia. The experts are to meet in Tallinn on April 12-13, while the next meeting of the delegations is to take place in Brussels on April 27. | Envoy to EU Says Free Trade Talks `Successful' |
FBIS3-17687_0 | Language: Armenian Article Type:BFN [Text] The opposition's planned rally in Baku on 26 March did not take place. It was to be led by Iskender Khamidov, the former interior minister, member of parliament, and leader of the Gray Wolves Party. The police made detentions at the Freedom Square, among them ten reporters, including NEW YORK TIMES correspondent Thomas (Gols) who demanded to see a representative of the U.S. Embassy. | Yerevan Reports Police Detain Baku Demonstrators |
FBIS3-17712_1 | the new candidates are merely running for office in order to get rich. Moreover, the speed of the economic reforms and the desire to do everything at one fell swoop, which may be borne out by history some day, has occasioned extremely profound disappointment among voters at these elections with regard to the present forms of Russian statehood and the institution of democracy as a whole. I think it very dangerous that the federal authorities do not realize the significance of these processes. They have not only failed to pay the slightest attention to the local elections, to say nothing of applying any sort of pressure, they have not even bothered to show the most basic interest in this process. I am afraid that against this background the struggle over the Memorandum of Civil Accord will appear to voters as merely a deal stuck between politicians in Moscow. The Memorandum of Accord should be presented as an appeal to the people by power structures and social organizations, letting them know that a new stage has been reached in the establishment of Russian statehood: "We have finished the power struggle, we have stopped pushing each other off our chairs. The Constitution has been adopted, and constitutional work lies ahead of us. If possible we will do everything in our power to correct mistakes. Our work aims to drastically change the nature of state power." The fact that the authorities have been preoccupied with themselves is justified and necessary up to a point: After all, we have been building a new kind of statehood and setting up new institutions. And time has been needed to establish these mutual relationships. However, the time set aside for this purpose has been somewhat protracted. Moreover it has been completely exhausted. There is no longer any need to address this issue. We now have a Constitution, and all parties are united in the opinion that consensus can and must only be reached within the framework of the current Basic Law. Thus we already have a basis for consensus in the form of the Constitution, and it is time to get down to specific tasks rather than the infighting between various authorities. We need consensus not just for its own sake, as a sort of agreement contest, but in order to open a path toward creative work, to correct the mistakes of the past and move ahead. | Federal Authorities Said To Ignore Mood of Local Voters |
FBIS3-17722_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Excerpt] Elections to bodies of representative power and local self-government will take place in 29 regions of Russia today, ITAR-TASS reports. The elections will take place, in particular, in Krasnoyarsk and Stavropol krays, in Kurgan, Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Rostov, Ryazan, and Samara oblasts. The local authorities in Maritime Kray and Ulyanovsk Oblast have decided to postpone the elections there, although the Central Electoral Commission scheduled them for 27 March. However, ITAR-TASS reports that the failure to keep to the schedule does not violate the law. In the Russian Federation, 40 components have already held elections to bodies of representative power, and observers report that the turnout was low. It seems that a similar picture is being painted today. Our correspondent Tamarova Ventsimerova reports on how the elections are proceeding in Novosibirsk Oblast. As sociologists thought, by morning the turnout by the Novosibirsk electorate was low. According to data from the oblast electoral committee, by 1000 local time, just 3.38 percent of the oblast's electorate had voted. According to the city electoral commission, just over 2 percent of the city's electorate had voted by that time. There are 202 candidates who have registered for the oblast soviet; 49 of them are to be elected. For the city soviet, 103 candidates have registered; 25 of them will be elected. Our correspondent thinks confusion over the time change might be one of the many reasons for citizens' lack of interest in the elections. Summertime was introduced in Russia at 0200 this morning. [passage omitted] | Low Turnout in Novosibirsk Elections |
FBIS3-17768_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Russia will supply 2.5 Mn tons of crude oil to Cuba in exchange for one million tons of sugar cane for federal use. Under a Russian government ordinance of March 25, 1.5 Mn tons of this amount will be allocated from the export resources for countries outside the former Soviet Union and the remaining 1 Mn tons by reducing the amounts to be supplied to former Soviet republics by the Roskontrakt corporation. The state customer of the Cuban deliveries is the Foreign Trade Ministry which will determine the actual suppliers shortly. The supplies will be financed from extra-budgetary sources. Meanwhile, the total amount of oil to be exported for federal needs will be increased by 1 Mn tons to a total of 26 Mn tons in 1994. | Oil To Be Supplied to Cuba in Exchange for Sugar |
FBIS3-17782_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Konstantin Smirnov report: "Cooperation Ministry Consolidates its Positions. Ministry Gets Government Support"] [Text] Officially circulated yesterday was a Russian Federation Government decree, "Questions of the Russian Federation Ministry on Cooperation with Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States." The Ministry on Cooperation with the CIS Member States has received a stable material base in the shape of personnel, financial support, and buildings. Besides, until provisions on the Ministry of Cooperation with the CIS Member States have been approved, the government decree will provide the legal basis for the ministry's operation. The Russian Federation State Committee on Economic Cooperation with Member States of the Commonwealth (Goskomsotrudnichestvo) was formed in late 1991. One of the committee's prerogatives, as it was steadily gaining in influence, was defending Russia's interests in matters of cooperation with former Union republics. As of last fall, the committee took up the problems of restoring Russia's trade and economic links with countries of the former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance for which purpose a special directorate was created inside its apparatus. There was a valid reason for it: before the CMEA's dissolution, the share of its participants in Russia's foreign trade was 50 percent, and as little as 20 percent in 1993. In forming an economic union of CIS countries (whose founding documents were signed in Moscow on 24 September 1993), the Russian Committee on Economic Cooperation with Member States of the Commonwealth was also virtually the only coordination-consultative and expert organ having what in fact were intergovernmental prerogatives because similar government structures were not in place yet in the other CIS member countries. Besides, one should take account of the fact that the currently functioning Commonwealth organizational structure, which includes councils of the heads of states and governments, a coordination-consultative committee, and an executive secretariat, has no bodies so far that regularly check up on the observance of decisions made by the executive organs of the economic union. The question of setting up an Interstate Economic Council is only to be considered at the upcoming summit in late April. The committee's broader functions increased its status, with the result that it was turned into a ministry early in 1994. At the same time, its activities have not undergone appreciable changes: the ministry remains a test ground (proceeding from the priority of Russian interests) for various projects of development of economic integration with a | Moscow Supports CIS Economic Cooperation Body |
FBIS3-17888_1 | newspaper reported that the West has no antidote for this agent. It goes without saying that the report provided no evidence to prove this sensation. It couldn't be otherwise, since there is no such agent whatsoever. The author of the article, sent from Washington, Mr. James Adams, refers to the testimonies which had allegedly been made by three Russian defectors. One of them gave some information to the CIA, the other two did so to the British secret service. The names of these persons remain of course unidentified -- as a result nobody can verify whether these people really exist. The developments remind one of the practices utilized by special services during the Cold War period, when the East and the West were competing for who is better at darkening its potential enemy. It was just at that time when the fabrications were spread all over the world about the AIDS virus having been released from the Pentagon laboratories to spread around the globe. One can only wonder why even now the mass media is giving reports with misleading information capable of sowing distrust in international relations, the more so that the current pattern of relations between Russia, the United States, and Britain allows these countries to resolve their own problems -- especially those involved in mass destruction weapons -- proceeding from mutual frankness. It was a tripartite Russian-American-British agreement to achieve this concluded as early as 1992. [sentence as heard] The document of the agreement clearly stipulates all the sides concerned can inspect the facilities which had been used for the production of biological weapons. The main question is: Why did this hoax about Russian biological weapons come into being just now? One of the possible answers to it can be found in the SUNDAY TIMES itself. This is evidence that some people are trying to create suspicion among Russian leadership. Could it be for this very reason that the conclusion can be drawn some Defense Ministry officials could ostensibly be deceiving the president in this respect? However, another possibility is also quite plausible. In Washington and London there appear again some groups which would like to damage the prestige of Russia as a great democratic and peace-loving power. At the same time they are eager to put a fly into the ointment of the current process when constructive partnership among Washington, Moscow, and London is now gaining strength. | `Hoax' on Weapons Development Viewed |
FBIS3-17915_11 | illustration of the president's words with respect to the catastrophic situation in the economy. A cleaning lady in a Simferopol hotel, at which a "CIS-er" [Commonwealth of Independent States] is fleeced to the tune of R40,000 per day for an average room, receives less than R9,000 a month. A civil aviation pilot who retires gets R18,000 in pension. The Crimean president himself, I was told by one of his aides, receives a salary of 1,900,000 karbovantsy. Despite the large number of zeros, this comes to just R82,610 as of the moment of my departure from Crimea last Saturday. Today it is reduced still more, since the coupon/ruble rate keeps falling and falling...--O.M.) You have stated that you intend to return Crimea to the ruble zone. [Meshkov] I intend to. For us the ruble is a more acceptable means of payment, since our main flow of tourists--people who spend money in Crimea--are citizens of Russia. To provide them normal services, if you will, is one of the most important tasks of our oblast economy, and we will accomplish this task. [Moroz] But there is no border between Crimea and Ukraine. It would be practically impossible to introduce a currency here different from that used in Ukraine... [Meshkov] What is going on right now is impossible. Our reality of today is impossible. We are striving to return to a normal condition. [Moroz] The way I understand it, to do this you would have to violate the laws of Ukraine? [Meshkov] The laws of Ukraine constitute one of the factors leading to the current economic situation. The results are before you, as they say. [Moroz] What do you see as the primary cause of the catastrophic situation that has arisen in Ukraine and rushed towards you in a wave? [Meshkov] The situation is even more desperate than you think. But the primary cause is encroachment, the way they perceive it, upon the sense of national dignity of some nationalists of Western Ukraine, which has led to a general economic collapse of the gigantic European state Ukraine comprises. This is the price that was paid for the realization of nationalist slogans. And it was effected with the full composure, indifference, and silent encouragement of Europe and the United States. The United States became alarmed only when the nationalists put their finger on the nuclear button. While it was clear from the very beginning that | President Kravchuk Views Crimea Issues |
FBIS3-17928_0 | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Report by Sergey Ponomarev: "When There Is No Bread, Voters Have No Time For Manifestos"] [Text] Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk -- The local legislative organ elections in the Far East were valid only on Sakhalin. But even on the island, where 51 candidates were running for the 16 seats in the oblast duma, the results were very different from what the organizers had expected. In two multiseat districts -- Korsakovskiy and Kholmskiy, which unite the central and southern parts of the oblast as well as the Kuril Islands -- only slightly more than 25 percent of registered voters turned out. The turnout in Tymovskiy District in northern Sakhalin was slightly higher at around 32 percent. But the most discouraging poll result was the fact that the elections were almost wholly ignored by the population of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk -- only 18 percent of voters turned out. It is possible that the weather played a mean trick on the election organizers -- as a result of heavy snow falls many residents of the south of the island had no water for several days, power supplies were intermittent, and no bread was delivered to the stores. Nonetheless, the main cause of the Sakhalin people's political apathy, it seems to me, lies elsewhere. As one of Russia's most "expensive" regions, the island is drifting from one economic disaster to another. The lack of diversification in the old economy, geared mainly to fishing and timber procurement and enriching a narrow group of merchants and former members of the party nomenklatura, has left most of the population on its uppers, and there are only a few projects (of dubious worth from the islanders' viewpoint) as evidence of the widely trumpeted promises to "Taiwanize" Sakhalin and turn it into a kind of oil and gas El Dorado. | Apathy in Sakhalin Blamed on Economic Decline |
FBIS3-17943_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By ITAR-TASS correspondent Igor Shchegolev] [Text] Paris March 30 TASS -- Deciphering of flight recorders of the A-310 Airbus which crashed in Siberia taking a toll of 75 lives proved that the version about depressurisation of the plane was wrong. However, an act of terrorism against the craft is not excluded so far, TASS learned from reliable sources among experts studying the "black boxes" of the craft. Deciphering is carried out jointly by experts of the French Transport Ministry and their Russian colleagues. | Terrorist Act Not Ruled Out |
FBIS3-17977_0 | Language: French Article Type:BFN [Interview with Myroslav Popovych, member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, by Pol Mathil in Kiev; date not given: "On the elections in Ukraine"] [Text] [Mathil] Contrary to all forecasts, 75 percent of Ukrainian voters went to the polls. Is that a surprise? [Popovych] I am surprised. It is further evidence that sociology is not an exact science. [Mathil] Were the Ukrainians not said to be disappointed and apathetic? [Popovych] Disappointed yes, but not apathetic. The Ukrainians seemed to be absent from public life because they did not identify with the existing government. Logically, they went to the polls to express that rejection. There was a surprising resurgence in the last two or three weeks. [Mathil] What was the reason for this resurgence? [Popovych] It is mainly what I call the "Canary Islands phenomenon." Dmytro Poyizd, a vulgar and populist leader, found an audience for his slogans which were very hostile to the whole political class: "We will find all these profiteers and traitors," he said, "even if they hide in the Canaries," a symbol of opulence in his eyes. For some people that was enough. He was elected in the first round. [Mathil] And who will vote in the second round? Do you have any forecast to make for the future Parliament? [Popovych] No. Only 49 deputies were elected in the first round, in other words there are still 802 candidates in the second round. Our electoral Commission was not capable of telling us, 48 hours after the election, who will run against whom in these 401 duels. That being so, my forecast is as imprecise as it is pessimistic. In short, the Parliament will not bring about many changes. Our democracy is very young, the political parties are very weak, and the politicians are not very mature, some are already corrupt. The government has neutralized some of its opponents, in particular by distributing apartments to deputies in the capital's fashionable districts. That area is called "Tsarskoye Selo [as published]," a reference to the residence of the czars near St. Petersburg. Our electoral law is harmful, it has really liquidated the political parties. Honest candidates could not withstand the assault of populist, nationalist, or communist propaganda. [Mathil] So who will govern this country? [Popovych] In general, the same people, those who are called "the government party" in our country. [Mathil] What about the presidency? [Popovych] | Ukrainian Official on Elections, Navy |
FBIS3-18000_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Excerpt] Tallinn, Mar 30, BNS -- As many as 1,000 illegal immigrants may at present be staying in Paldiski, Juri Tikk, special representative of the government in Paldiski, said Tuesday [29 March] at a press conference. Estonian authorities in Paldiski registered 4,576 people by March 26. Civilians, with the exclusion of minors, numbered 3,684; the remaining 892 were servicemen. Tikk claimed the majority of the town's residents turned up for registration. Population Minister Peeter Olesk voiced the opinion that the greater part of the people who failed to register themselves were those who were absent from the town during the registration. Tikk said Estonian authorities received on Tuesday the data about the Russian military who live in Paldiski but serve at the Tallinn base of the Baltic Fleet. The list comprised 69 names, he said. "We still haven't got a list of Russian servicemen who serve in the Tallinn-based 144th motorized rifle division but live in Paldiski," the government representative noted. The registration of Paldiski's residents passed without any particular incidents, Tikk said. It will be followed up by analysis of the forms the residents filled in. The authorities also intend to find out the origin of forged documents that the registration brought to light. [passage omitted] | Officials Comment on Paldiski Registration |
FBIS3-18006_0 | Language: Lithuanian Article Type:BFN [Text] Here is the much awaited report on the reliability of the litas. Government press spokesman Viktoras Baublys informed us that while carrying out the decision of 17 March this year concerning the reliability of the litas -- the Lithuanian national currency -- and after coordination with the Lithuanian Bank, a decision was adopted by the Government of Lithuania on the base currency and the official exchange rate of the litas. Therefore, the U.S. dollar has been determined as the base currency and the official exchange rate of the litas is four litas to one U.S. dollar. | National Currency Pegged to U.S. Dollar at 1:4 |
FBIS3-18021_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [David Gardner report: "Aid for Arctic Region Agreed"] [Text] Brussels -- European Union [EU] foreign ministers reached agreement yesterday in membership talks with Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway on a regional aid programme for the Nordic countries' Arctic regions. Austria warned, however, that the negotiations could collapse unless its concerns were met on lorry traffic through its Alpine passes. Switzerland decided last weekend to phase out truck transit rights through its own Alps. Because of the diverted traffic it now expects to receive, Austria wants the EU transit restrictions it negotiated with the Union to extend until 2005. The EU is offering 1997. As both sides drew up positions for what is supposed to be the final ministerial negotiation between next Friday evening [25 February] and midnight next Monday, there were still seemingly unbridgeable wide gaps. Leading EU negotiators were predicting crisis. The focal points of disagreement have been: how to cut Nordic and Alpine farm prices to EU levels and who should compensate the farmers; how much the newcomers should pay into the EU budget; Norwegian fish; and EU transit rights through Austria's Alps. Regional aid could now be resolved. The Nordic countries reacted favourably yesterday to the new Arctic regime, offering funding only 10 percent less favourable than that for the EU's poorest regions (which will still be offered to Burgenland on Austria's border with Hungary). By yesterday Finland had cleared most of its negotiating hurdles except for agriculture, and Sweden would be in sight of the finishing line but for its insistence on a three-year rebate from the EU budget. Austria also wants to phase in its budget contributions. Money will overshadow much of next weekend's marathon talks. On agriculture, for example, the Twelve want instant food price cuts to EU levels, with the applicant countries paying the difference to their farmers. Austria and Norway want transitions to EU price levels, with border rebates to iron out the differences. This is regarded as an unacceptable threat to the border-free single market by all in the EU except Britain and fundamentalists in the Brussels agriculture directorate. At Spain's insistence, the EU was last night set to demand modest access to Norway's fisheries resources in exchange for free entry of Norwegian fish into the single market -- still being resisted by France and Ireland. Norway's last membership attempt in 1972 was scuppered by the fish | EU, Nordic Countries Negotiate Membership Agreement Reached |
FBIS3-18023_1 | between the European Union [EU] and the Western European Union [WEU], leading eventually to "the absorption" of the WEU by the EU. The EU would then assume full responsibility for foreign policy, Common Foreign and Security Policy [CFSP], and relations with NATO. In his report, Mr. Karel De Gucht, (Belgian EP member [MEP] representing the VLD [Flemish Liberal Democrats] -- BELGA editor's note) advocates the gradual establishment of a single, coherent institutional framework for the EU's CFSP. According to the rapporteur, the establishment of such a framework implies the increased use of a majority vote regarding CFSP, the exercising of democratic control by the EP, and an enhanced role for the European Commission. To this end, the report suggested that the institutions of the EU and the WEU should gradually define their relations in specific terms, and merge at the practical level, notably by organizing simultaneous meetings between the Council of the EU and the Assembly of the WEU, as well as between the European Commission and the General Secretariat of the WEU. In the final phase, the EU should completely absorb the WEU and assume full responsibility for foreign policy, security, and defense, as well as for relations with NATO, indicated the report. After having completed the final phase, in the event of "serious difficulties," Mr. De Gucht foresees the possibility of member states not participating in certain decisions made by the Council or in their implementation. This final phase could be completed as of 1996, the year of the next intergovernmental conference of the EU which could decide purely and simply to "incorporate" the WEU on the basis of the future CFSP. Furthermore, the treaty founding the WEU, signed in 1948, will expire in 1998. Regarding relations between the European Union and NATO, Mr. De Gucht believes that the WEU must continue to strengthen its operational capabilities so as to be able to act independently of NATO "in the long term," even if he recommends that the Allies and the Atlantic Alliance should "consult" each other first. He also advocates the "sharing of tasks" by the WEU and NATO, as well as the definition of various kinds of action. Moreover, he envisions a future "adaptation" of the North Atlantic Treaty, or the signature of a new treaty between the United States and the EU "which better reflects the new egalitarian relations established on both sides of the Atlantic." | EP Favors `Gradual Rapprochement' With WEU |
FBIS3-18024_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [EC Document No. DOC/P/94/10: "Commission Adopts a Communication on Immigration and Asylum"] [Text] On a proposal from Mr. Flynn, Commissioner responsible for justice and home affairs, the Commission today adopted a communication on immigration and asylum policies. Introducing the communication, Mr. Flynn said that "this document represents a significant and important initiative by the Commission. It will initiate a wide-ranging debate with the Council and Parliament and beyond on the long term strategy now needed to respond to the challenges posed by immigration and asylum on the one hand and integration measures for third country nationals legally resident in the community on the other." Immigration, together with the separate but related subject of asylum, has continued to occupy an increasingly prominent place in the political agenda of the European Union and its member states. It gives rise to public and parliamentary debate of growing intensity, and occasionally is the focus of acts of violence totally out of character with Europe's traditions and laws. There is increased recognition that the issues involved need to be tackled on a cooperative basis. That has found expression in the provisions of the treaty on European Union which formally designates the subjects as being matters of common interest, to be addressed in the context of a single institutional framework. That is as it should be. The deepening of the European integration process calls for an integrated and coherent response, which combines realism with solidarity, to the challenges which migration pressures and the integration of legal immigrants pose for the Union as a whole. Failure to meet those challenges would be to the detriment of attempts to promote cohesion and solidarity within the Union and could, indeed, endanger the future stability of the Union itself. The Commission therefore looks to this communication as a basis to stimulate a new and wide-ranging debate as to how the new possibilities which the treaty on European Union creates can be used to provide the coordinated response necessary, and the framework, to guide the Union in its future work. To that end the communication takes account of the work already done and developments on the ground. In addition, it takes as its base a number of agreed starting points drawn from earlier discussions, in particular the need for a comprehensive approach which addresses the key components of an effective immigration policy: - action on migration pressure, | EU Issues Position Paper on Immigration Action to Strengthen Integration Policies for Legal Immigrants |
FBIS3-18034_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Editorial: "Hanging On to the End in Hong Kong"] [Text] Britain and China yesterday came to the end of the line three years before Hong Kong is handed back. Abandoning all hope of an agreement with Beijing Chris Patten has invited the Legislative Council (LegCo) to decide Hong Kong's own political future. In publishing his second-stage bill today on democratic reform, Mr Patten signals his reasonable conclusion that negotiations with Beijing in the past year have achieved very little and that the timetable for the 1995 elections can no longer be delayed. His action will be viewed by the Chinese government as a hostile act which finally demolishes the spirit of Anglo-Chinese cooperation in which the 1984 Joint Declaration was agreed. The hope must be that Beijing will show restraint and take a cool look at what has emerged by 1997, not before. But imperial pride has been wounded and China may well be tempted -- in the familiar phrase -- not to "stand idly by." There is a sense in which the Chinese government can fairly say that it has been misled by Britain over a number of years. The British white paper claims that democracy was not introduced earlier to Hong Kong because "the community had other priorities." Certainly the Beijing massacre stimulated a much more passionate pro-democracy demand. But the Hong Kong government had already shrugged off mounting local pressure from 1984 onwards for electoral reform, leaving too much to be done too late and too provocatively. Even after Tiananmen Square, Sir Percy Cradock's secret mission to Beijing on behalf of Mrs Thatcher encouraged China to believe that further political change would continue to be based upon clear "understandings." Chris Patten then shattered the familiar rules of the game like a typhoon from nowhere. He was certainly right to do so. A large section of Hong Kong opinion would have been demoralised if a new governor had continued to defer to Beijing. Today Hong Kong opinion remains remarkably solid: the decision to go ahead arouses more relief -- that the uncertainty is over -- than alarm at what China may do. But beyond the principle, Mr Patten's tactical judgment on how to deal with Beijing has not always been so sound. Diplomats may say too little: politicians tend to the opposite. Voicing opinions about the future of the Chinese Communist Party is not | Editorials Review Hong Kong, Patten Policies `Watered Down Package' of Reforms |
FBIS3-18062_2 | emancipated in terms of their freedom and well-being. It has, however, also increased the vulnerability of modern and complex societies to transnational processes over which the individual governments have little control (narcotics, terrorism, migrations, economic crises, and the environment). 2. The integrative forces of the markets have given rise to a welcome integration (and consequent rationalization) of diverse economies whereby even industrialized countries are united with developing countries, as in the case of NAFTA. If, however, this process is not supported by a parallel development of the global economy through the GATT, it could lead to a harmful division of the world into spheres of mutually antagonistic economic powers -- a situation that would have a potentially counterproductive impact on the world economy as well as dangerous political repercussions and the inevitable exclusion of the poorer countries. 3. Because it serves as an important instrument for mobilization and socialization, the rediscovery of national identity has revitalized many countries that were formerly enslaved by dictatorship and poverty. An exacerbated nationalism, however, could lead (and in some cases has already led) to intolerant and discriminatory political practices that have consequences of a manifestly conflictual nature. This is especially true in the youngest democracies (such as those created following the collapse of the communist empire), in which the actual capacity for reform is not adequate to fulfill the ever growing expectations of societies that have been waiting all too long. 4. Lastly, it is undeniable that nuclear weapons -- despite their diabolical capacity for destruction -- had a stabilizing effect on relations among great powers, because governments found the very possession of such weapons to be reassuring. The proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction, however, threatens to upset this process. If even weak, illegitimate, paranoid, vulnerable, and nonsocialized governments within the family of nations are able to possess the immense power of nuclear weapons, then international order cannot prevail and we shall all lapse into an anarchic nightmare in which any megalomaniac dictator will be able to keep the entire international community at bay. An international order capable of ensuring that these processes will not break down is therefore a basic prerequisite for bringing prosperity and peace to the people. It is accordingly in our interest -- and it is also our duty -- to contribute to the creation of that stability. Italian politicians, however, are not always clear as to the | Andreatta Views Foreign Policy After Elections |
FBIS3-18062_4 | means necessary to make that contribution. A generic profession of faith in the international organization that is currently most favored or most in vogue will not suffice. International organizations are in fact not sufficiently developed to solve -- by themselves -- the problems confronting us, although governments often make them scapegoats in an effort to avoid their own responsibilities. International organizations do in fact play an essential role, in that they provide the individual nations with a forum for making collective decisions -- thereby legitimizing possible international action -- but they do not affect the implementation of such decisions, which today -- rightly or wrongly -- is the responsibility of individual governments. Only individual governments (especially the democratic governments) can decide whether the lives of their soldiers should be put at risk. The international organizations -- such as the UN and the CSCE -- have therefore not eroded the sovereignty of individual states sufficiently to be able to develop their own independent means for implementing decisions. Proof of this is the fact that these organizations have been unable to equip themselves with the decisionmaking mechanisms that would overcome the one state, one vote rule (which in the case of the CSCE is actually one state, one veto) so that the actions taken by these organizations could be more in accordance with the relative proportions of the individual contributions made to their common goal. Moreover, even when the international organizations are not stymied by the obstructionism of one or more states that are driven by selfish and unilateral motivations, they can sometimes be genuinely hesitant when they have to base their action on contradictory principles: for example, having to choose between the principle of the inviolability of national borders and the principle of the self-determination of peoples. You cannot, therefore, have a clear conscience merely by declaring that you are in favor of action by the UN if you are not prepared to pay the physical and moral costs of carrying out that action and are not prepared to carry out strong political intervention if the UN organization in question is stalemated. Italy cannot, of course, accomplish this unilaterally, but the De Gasperian perception of an Italy that is European and Western -- a perception that many would like to disregard now that the Berlin Wall has fallen -- takes on renewed significance in this context. Only the European and Atlantic | Andreatta Views Foreign Policy After Elections |
FBIS3-18065_0 | Language: Italian Article Type:BFN [Unattributed report: "Opinion Poll Shows 60 Percent of Italians Are Undecided"] [Text] Turin -- Who will win the elections? It is impossible to say at present, given the very high proportion of those who are undecided, with confusion reigning supreme. This is the conclusion reached by the ITER social research center, which conducted a survey on the attitudes of Italians just over a month from the election date. No winners or losers emerge from the investigation. "We were not aiming to carry out an electoral survey," explained ITER Director Bruno Babando, "in the first place because we believe such surveys are unreliable. We preferred to analyze the issues and problems --as perceived by Italians -- which will have to be addressed by our new representatives." It is apparent from the survey -- conducted on a representative sample of Italy's population (1,426 interviews) -- that confusion and uncertainty still prevail among the voters. In fact, over 79 percent say they find the present political situation confusing, and no less than 58 percent say they have not yet decided whom to vote for. Furthermore, 56 percent state that in the upcoming elections the candidates' personality will be more important than their party allegiance. In this respect, electors showed that they had fully understood and correctly assessed the changes introduced through the new uninominal system. | 60 Percent of Voters Still Undecided |
FBIS3-18071_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Interview with Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel by correspondent Udo van Kampen in Brussels on 28 February -- recorded] [Text] [Van Kampen] A few moments ago I had a chance to get Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel's first reaction to this first NATO military strike. [Kinkel] This is indeed the first NATO strike of this kind which shows that if peaceful political solutions are not brought about then we will get serious with what we have decided upon. [Van Kampen] Isn't there now the threat that the conflict will escalate? [Kinkel] No, I don't think so. Rather, I think that if it was the Serb side, it will now be clear to those involved that it is a serious matter when the security measures set by the Security Council -- in this case the no-fly zone -- are violated. [Van Kampen] If the Serbs retaliate, will NATO continue to act consistently? [Kinkel] I am not responsible for NATO decisions, but I cannot imagine that the Serbs will retaliate. First we have to look at what took place and I assume that all the details will come to light soon. [Van Kampen] Were German crews involved in the so-called AWACS flights, the reconnaissance flights? [Kinkel] That is still being looked into at the moment. I can't tell you that for sure yet. If they were involved, it will have been within the framework of their mission which was approved by the Federal Constitutional Court. [Van Kampen] Do you assume, or have you already been in touch and know, that the Russians approve of this mission? [Kinkel] No. I haven't had sufficient time to do that yet, but I've instructed the office in Bonn to make all sorts of inquiries and as soon as I have more news I will be happy to tell you. [Van Kampen] The Russians did support Security Council Resolution 816 when it was made. [Kinkel] Yes, of course. They knew that things could get serious in a case such as this if an unpermitted violation of the no-fly zone took place and this is evidently what happened here. It has been said -- and I am not in a position to confirm this either because I don't know -- that the planes either attacked a munition factory beforehand or intended to attack it. | West Reacts to NATO's Downing of Serb Aircraft Kinkel Comments Further |
FBIS3-18087_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Frankfurt, Feb. 26 KYODO -- Japan's towering trade surplus drew strong criticism from other leading industrial countries Saturday [26 February] at a meeting in Germany of their top fiscal and monetary officials, Japanese sources said. Japan was asked to make stepped-up efforts to stimulate its domestic demand in order to make a dent in its 100 billion dollar current-account surplus, the sources said. Finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven (G-7) economic powers convened in the Frankfurt suburb of Kronberg to discuss aid to Russia and world economic growth. During the meeting, Japan sought to obtain support from its G-7 partners for cooperation to put a cap on the yen's uptrend, which quickened its pace after Japan-U.S. trade talks got bogged down two weeks ago, they said. Japan's Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii and Bank of Japan Governor Yasushi Mieno tried to extract commitments from their G-7 counterparts to the agreement last April against any excessive volatility on the foreign exchange market. They emphasized Tokyo's efforts to enliven the groggy domestic economy and thereby curtail its mammoth trade surplus, while arguing a sharp upswing of the yen would offset the effects of such efforts, the sources said. Fujii detailed the government's steps to shore up the economy, including a 15.25-trillion yen stimulus package unveiled earlier this month, they said. After discussions on macroeconomic issues, the G-7 finance ministers and central bankers invited Russian delegates, including Acting Finance Minister Sergey Dubinin and Economics Minister Aleksandr Shokin, to join them for talks over the West's financial assistance to Russia. The Russian delegates briefed the G-7 officials on the Russian economic policy under the new cabinet. The meeting came amid heightening tension over the trans-Pacific trade dispute on how to ensure a substantial reduction in Japan's towering trade surplus with the U.S. With Washington moving toward a tougher posture in the trade row by President Bill Clinton threatening sanctions, Japan has pledged to draft a trade package by the end of March to speed up deregulations and boost imports. Prior to the G-7 meeting, however, U.S. Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen expressed strong dissatisfaction about Japan's achievements so far in slashing the surplus. | Japan's Trade Surplus Draws `Strong' G-7 Criticism |
FBIS3-18096_1 | complete. Of the ECU5-billion budget agreed on at the Edinburgh summit, to which we should add the ECU2 billion from the Copenhagen summit, ECU5.1 billion has already been poured into 100 or so specific projects. I could mention the Paris-Brussels high-speed train link from the Belgian border to Brussels, the Chamoise tunnel, or various environmental protection projects, for example at Nancy, Nantes, or Belfort. We really are ahead of schedule! [Bollaert] We could also mention the ECU1 billion, which includes various government low-interest loans, set aside to finance investments by small- and medium-sized companies.... [Prate] Of course, this project is currently being implemented. However, we need to go further and enter a second stage with the emergence of new projects. This is why the Brussels summit decided to create, along the lines of the white paper, a group composed of the personal representatives of the heads of state and government of the Twelve -- the Christophersen Group -- with the mission of identifying new trans-European projects that should take priority. We are actively cooperating in the work of this group, and 26 projects are currently being examined. However, it is a difficult task and the problems sometimes go beyond merely finding the money.... [Bollaert] For example? [Prate] Take the high-speed rail link between Paris and Strasbourg: It should become the Paris-Frankfurt link. The French part is almost certain to be completed, but not the German part. The low profitability of the project implies a high rate of subsidy and, as a result, major public aid. This had led to a degree of reticence on the part of the Germans. That is why we have great expectations of the Christophersen Group. Through its advice and with the urging of the heads of state and government, we think that a certain number of projects that cannot be normally financed could benefit from the major support of the political authorities. [Bollaert] But it will be difficult.... [Prate] Yes. Take two other major projects, like the Brussels-Amsterdam-Cologne high-speed rail link, or the high-speed Eurotunnel train to London. In both cases, the high population density creates major environmental problems. In addition, the British Government would like a share of the money to come from the private sector. Fundamental Criteria [Bollaert] Maybe we now understand better what [Prime Minister] Balladur meant when he said on the "Hour of Thruth" TV show that nothing much seemed to | EIB Official on White Paper Projects |
FBIS3-18133_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Interview with Hans Peter Stihl, president of the Federation of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce [DIHT], by Rainer Bittermann; place and date not given -- recorded] [Excerpts] [Bittermann] Mr. Stihl, economic experts and politicians, and employers' associations basically agree on one point at present: The recession has reached its lowest level, it is bottoming out. Yet there is no agreement concerning the possible beginning of a recovery. What is the opinion of the entrepreneurs with whom you are talking? What view prevails at the chambers of commerce and industry? [Stihl] The basis of our assessments is information from 83 chambers of commerce and industry in Germany that regularly brief us on the economic situation, and inform us on the mood in enterprises. As a matter of fact, the majority of companies are still planning to lay off people, and only a minority is considering carrying out future-oriented investments. The Federation of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce is able to confirm the statement that the recession is finally bottoming out. As far as exports are concerned, certain positive signs are visible. However, they are not sufficient to trigger a strong recovery of the German economy. The question is: How long will we remain at the lowest point, and how long will it take until positive economic signals from abroad are strong enough to trigger a positive development in our country? Taking into consideration developments in the United States, in North America generally, in Latin America, and in Southeast Asia, we believe that a recovery in Germany will only be possible after the classic increase in exports. Yet I think that this will take some time. [Bittermann] Does this mean that you believe that a proper recovery may not take place before 1995? [Stihl] If we are lucky, we will see certain clear signs in the second half of 1994. However, this will not lead to a fundamental and sustained recovery in Germany. It might happen in 1995. Yet this is mere speculation. [passage omitted] [Bittermann] At present, it looks as though industrial action might take place in the metalworking and electrical industry in western Germany. Might such a conflict have a negative impact on the economic upswing? [Stihl] I believe that labor action is always the last resort in wage conflicts. Against the backdrop of the current difficult situation, it would be deplorable if economic | DIHT President Views Possible Labor Action |
FBIS3-18139_0 | Language: Italian Article Type:BFN [Text] Federalism and liberalism are the principles which inspire the Northern League's manifesto, unveiled today in Milan. According to the League, it is necessary to shift the emphasis of public spending from current expenditure to investment and to reorganize the public sector, cutting state support in order to favor private enterprise. The League believes in the complete freedom of local authorities to levy their own taxes and be responsible for expenditure. Personal and corporate income tax would be reduced. Small and medium-sized businesses would be developed by means of partnerships, aid to southern Italy would cease, and greater flexibility in working hours would be introduced. | Northern League's Manifesto Released |
FBIS3-18158_5 | 56 percent believe Norwegian membership is irrelevant to their own financial situation. In spite of this, the voters have very clear opinions on what membership will mean for important, much-discussed issues. It is interesting to note that the assessments do not automatically coincide with each individual's standpoint on the EU. All of 57 percent think membership would be an advantage for price levels in Norway. Only 11 percent think it would be a drawback. We get the same clear-cut response to such issues as agriculture, districts policy, and fisheries. Only a minority of the voters, even among those who favor membership, think that membership is advantageous in these areas. What is interesting is that as many as 35 percent of the voters think that EU membership will be disadvantageous to employment, while only 19 percent think it will be advantageous. These responses have to be viewed in the context of the notion of welfare institutions: Some 40 percent of those interviewed think EU membership would be a drawback to the Norwegian welfare institutions. Only 11 percent think membership would be an advantage in this area. In these two very significant areas Norwegian voters believe that EU membership will lead to decline in comparison with today's conditions in Norway. It would appear that the so-called Zhirinovskiy effect is present when a full 39 percent believe that EU membership would be an advantage in terms of Norway's defense and security position. If we are to believe the figures of this poll, an even closer relationship with our allies seems reassuring. It is also worth noting that while such groups as Norwegian Environmental Protection Association is strongly opposed to EU membership, 32 percent believe it would be good for environmental efforts if Norway joins the EU, while 27 percent do not. - EU Membership and Employment--Advantage: 19, Drawback: 35, Irrelevant: 29, Undecided: 18 percent. - EU Membership and Prices--Advantage: 57, Drawback: 11, Irrelevant: 15, Undecided: 17 percent. - EU Membership and Districts Policy--Advantage: 10, Drawback: 55, Irrelevant: 12, Undecided: 24 percent. - EU Membership and Norway's Defense and Security--Advantage: 39, Drawback: 12, Irrelevant: 22, Undecided: 28 percent. - EU Membership and Welfare Institutions--Advantage: 11, Drawback: 40, Irrelevant: 25, Undecided: 25 percent. - EU Membership and Environmental Protection Efforts--Advantage: 32, Drawback: 27, Irrelevant: 18, Undecided: 24 percent. - EU Membership and Norwegian Agriculture--Advantage: 9, Drawback: 68, Irrelevant: 5, Undecided: 18 percent. - EU Membership | Majority Favor EU Membership If Finland, Sweden Included |
FBIS3-18173_0 | Language: Greek Article Type:CSO [Article by Yiorgos Kapopoulos: "West and Balkans: Guarantees of Little Significance"] [Excerpts] Beginning with the explosion of Yugoslavia in June 1991 to date, the West has proclaimed uniformly that the main element of its mediating intervention is the defense of the status quo on international borders [passage omitted]. However, recent developments in the conflict over security guarantees in East Europe, as well as the Yugoslav crisis permit us to reach some conclusions about the relative character of U.S. and West European support for a status quo. Clearly by now and for the foreseeable future, there are no prospects for a trustworthy dissuasive security guarantee by the West for East Europe. The vital interests of important West European powers in this region are mainly defined by the attempt to minimize the repercussions of social and nationalist conflicts--the principal concern being how to avoid a wave of refugees and immigrants--rather than by the preservation of the order that prevailed after 1945. The statements made last week by U.S. State Department officials and by German Chancellor Kohl, regarding the prohibitive costs of a military intervention in Bosnia, shed light on the limits of the West's trustworthiness in guaranteeing stability in East Europe. Throughout the 19th century and the period between the two world wars, the status quo and its preservation were part of the balance of power system. Today, the common denominator of the goals of the main Western powers in East Europe and the Balkans is the attempt to minimize the repercussions of a long-lasting destabilizing situation. In light of the above, the West's real security policy in East Europe and the Balkans seems to be the handling of a troublesome change in the postwar order of things at the least possible cost. This development is of the utmost importance to Greece, a country that links its vital interests with the defense of the present order of things in the Balkans. Close to our northern border and centering on the fragile Skopje republic, there are foci of crisis that can threaten the status quo of international borders at any moment. Under present conditions, the probability of a decisive preventive and stabilizing diplomatic intervention by the West in Kosovo or in Skopje aimed at a political settlement of the problems of the Albanian-speaking population must be excluded. The West's intervention in a potential conflict in the southern area of | * Guarantees for Balkan Status Quo Doubted |
FBIS3-18182_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN ["Analysis" by Ismet G. Imset: "Dicle's Mission: Closing Down Democracy Party"] [Text] Ankara--Recent statements made by Kurdish based Democracy Party (DEP) chairman Hatip Dicle and Friday's [20 February] bomb attack on the party headquarters in Ankara have made it even more clear that Dicle's mission in the DEP is to have the party closed down altogether. If those within the DEP want their pro-Kurdish political party to survive and if they are sincere in their bid for unity between the Kurds and turks, they must either toppled the Dicle flank as soon as possible or resign from the party. Otherwise, they have to accept that under Dicle's management, the party is serving only to fan alienation between the people who make up modern Turkey and to take the country to the brink of civil war. The election of Dicle as the party's chairman last December was the result of three developments known to all observers. Firstly, Turkey's military solution to the Kurdish crisis, which prevented any moderate approach or political initiative, had naturally strengthened radical trends within the Kurdish armed and political movement. Second, Dicle had maintained an upper hand in relations with the PKK [Workers Party of Kurdistan] leadership and had thus strengthened his own local support through their support of him. Third, the moderates were too weak seriously to challenge him during the convention. It was evident, months before Dicle's election to the party chairmanship, that the hardline trend which has taken over the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was having its impact on this party as well. Through reports of DEP radicals reaching the PKK chairman and his close aides, the party's moderate and peaceful parliamentarians became targets, and were harshly criticised for the lives they lived. PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, receiving his only information on DEP from the party's hardliners, lashed out at everyone "living in the lodgings" referring to parliamentarians, and in a highly Marxist-Leninist tone, accused them for living in a bourgeois style. Ocalan's European-based political adviser Kani Yilmaz issued a statement about the same time, calling for the DEP to withdraw from parliament altogether and telling its parliamentarians to return to their people. The main motive of the PKK leadership prior to Dicle's election was for the party to be closed down, the democratic platform to be abandoned altogether and everyone to go underground. A TDN [TURKISH DAILY NEWS] analysis | Democratic Party Seen as Increasingly `Radical' |
FBIS3-18187_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Brussels (DPA) -- In Brussels on Monday [28 February] NATO issued the following statement on the downing of four aircraft over Bosnia- Herzegovina (text as translated by DPA): "This morning two NATO combat aircraft, which were monitoring the airspace, downed four Galeb military aircraft near Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovina, after these had entered the no-fly zone that was imposed by the United Nations. The UN Security Council Resolution 816 bans all unauthorized flights by helicopters or aircraft in the airspace of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and permits all necessary measures to ensure compliance with this ban. "At 0648 (Central European Time) the NATO F-16-type aircraft of the U.S. Air Force engaged six aircraft. The pilots asked the aircraft to land according to instructions; otherwise, they would attack. This request was ignored. The NATO Flying Falcons then attacked, downing four of them." | NATO Statement on Downing of Serb Aircraft |
FBIS3-18194_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Excerpt] Mannheim (DDP/ADN) -- The three-day Mannheim election campaign congress of the Alliance 90/Greens ended today with a call for peace and for guaranteed human rights for the Kurds. The national congress also ended by recognizing the Green-Alternative Youth Alliance as the party's new youth organization. The Alliance 90/Greens are embarking on the national election campaign with ecological and welfare policies to counteract the economic crisis, and a radical policy on disarmament. The national assembly adopted a program to that effect, including a call for a new policy on foreigners, refugees, and immigration. [passage omitted] | Alliance 90/Greens Conference Seeks Disarmament |
FBIS3-18198_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Ankara--Turkey's outlawed Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK) is organizing a three-day "Kurdish conference" in Moscow starting today, reliable sources told the TDN [TURKISH DAILY NEWS] on Monday [21 February]. The meeting is seen as the first step towards enhancing relations and understanding between the organization and Russian officials. The conference comes after an influential Russian newspaper reported last Friday that Moscow might establish relations with the PKK in retaliation for "Ankara's use of the Chechen card" against Russia. The NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA said in its report that such an initiative on Moscow's part was natural, and argued that it was illogical that their relations with Kurds were so limited. The paper also said there were representatives of the PKK both in Russia and in Armenia, and that they had established contact with officials there. Moscow-based sources said on Monday that the conference, called "History of Kurdistan," was organized by the Kurdistan Committee-Moscow, one of the PKK's committee offices that are widespread throughout the region. The main participant at the conference is the PKK's so-called Kurdistan National Liberation Front (ERNK), although "other Kurdish parties" have also been invited to attend. According to TDN sources, the Russian Ministry of National Affairs is actively involved in organizing the meeting, in which the "current developments in Turkey" will be the main topic discussed. The nationalist Kurdish movement in general, a review of the Kurdish movement in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, as well as terrorism, were cited among the issues to be discussed. Sources close to the PKK had said earlier this year that the PKK had rented several apartment blocks in Moscow and was aiming at improving its relations with Russia. In recent weeks, messages have been sent from the ERNK to Russian officials requesting for the establishment of relations and cooperation. Although Russia's policy related to Turkish Kurds has not been voiced openly, Western diplomatic sources say that Moscow seems to want to see Ankara sitting at the table and negotiating with the PKK. On March 1, Bilgin Unan, deputy undersecretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, will be visiting Moscow as part of routine political consultations between the two countries. A statement released by the ministry said on Monday that Unan would visit Russia as guest of First Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Anatoliy Adamishin. Bilateral relations and regional and international problems are to be on the agenda of | Kurdish Conference in Moscow Detailed |
FBIS3-18199_1 | the text itself can dispel that doubt. We shall not open back-door negotiations by glossing or shading the Declaration's language and meaning. Let me repeat what it says about self-determination, because this has been misrepresented. First the British government has no..."selfish, strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland." That doesn't mean that we don't care about it, nor that we don't share the interest of its people in a secure, prosperous and peaceful future. It does mean that we would have no reason to wish to frustrate the democratically expressed wishes of the people. We shall abide by these wishes, and if the people prefer to remain in the United Kingdom, as they have done so far, we shall uphold their right to do so. Second, our primary interest is to see peace, stability and reconciliation established by agreement among all the people who inhabit the Island. We will work with the constitutional parties and Irish government to achieve such an agreement, which may, as of right, take the form of agreed structures for the island as a whole, including a united Ireland achieved by peaceful means. But, again, I emphasise this must be by consent not imposition. The way such agreement is to be achieved is set out clearly. We say that "it is for the people of the island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, north and south, to bring about a united Ireland, if that is their wish." Third, we will "introduce the necessary legislation to give effect to this, or equally to any measure of agreement on future relationships in Ireland which the people living in Ireland may themselves freely so determine without external impediment." In short, democracy will prevail. No other route is possible. The Joint Declaration leaves no conceivable reason for continued violence. The reasons given by the republican movement in the past no longer exist. That is not just my view. It is the view which has been expressed by the most respected leaders of the nationalist community, including of course, John Hume. Does Mr Adams share this view? If not, why not? The people have the right to know. He cannot be permitted to argue for peace and yet frustrate it. If Sinn Fein believes in peace, the violence should stop. Let me | Major on Ulster Peace Process Agenda |
FBIS3-18200_2 | 8 interview with the IRISH NEWS Mr Adams asked for clarification on what the exploratory talks would involve. He asked if it meant more than just a discussion with Sinn Fein about how the IRA could hand over its weapons. Mr Major says clearly today that these talks would be meaningful. "We would be ready within three months of an end to violence to begin an exploratory dialogue with Sinn Fein. Its aims would be to discuss how Sinn Fein would become involved in the three-stranded political talks, how they could be brought fully into normal political life in Northern Ireland, and what the consequences of ending violence would be... I believe this amounts to a substantial exploratory agenda. Those exploratory discussions would themselves be part of the process of bringing Sinn Fein back into normal political life, in developing a normal political dialogue between the government and other parties, on matters like education, housing, health care, crime and fair employment." That is a clear and positive statement which should encourage Sinn Fein to become involved, Mr Major is not just offering talks on a narrow agenda. Mr Major has also been unambiguous about the meaning of self-determination, as he sees it. He re-emphasises his government's position that it has no "selfish, strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland", and he goes on to say: "we would have no wish to frustrate the democratically expressed wishes of the people." The primary policy objective of the British government, he says, is "to see peace, stability and reconciliation established by agreement among all the people who inhabit the island." Britain wants to encourage agreement -- agreement which would include an input from Sinn Fein if it enters the democratic process fully. And he pledges to introduce any legislation necessary to give effect to that agreement which "the people who live in Ireland may themselves freely so determine without external impediment." No Sinn Fein president could disagree with his comment "it is not the government's job to tell the Irish people what they should think or to dictate to them where their future should lie." Rightly, Mr Major has said that the political talks -- on the three-strand basis which protects Irish interests -- must continue. The opportunity for Sinn Fein must continue. The opportunity for Sinn Fein to become involved is there. And he takes up the theme of partnership both within | Commentary Urges Sinn Fein Acceptance |
FBIS3-18201_0 | Language: Greek Article Type:BFN [Interview with British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd by correspondent Vironas Karidhis in London; date not given] [Excerpts] [Karidhis] What is the purpose of your visit to Athens? [Hurd] It is my first opportunity to meet Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and other Greek Government officials since Greece took over the European Union [EU] Presidency. We will discuss several issues, such as Cyprus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the strengthening of relations with the countries of East and Central Europe. Expanding the EU to the East is a important aim of the Greek Presidency. [Karidhis] What does Britain expect from the Greek Presidency? [Hurd] Generally, we expect the Greek Government to implement the program it announced. The EU enlargement negotiations, which are at a critical stage, must be concluded. And the economy must continue to be discussed. Everyone in Europe is concerned with unemployment. We are also very concerned with the Yugoslav issue. EU countries have an important role to play in the former Yugoslavia. We are offering assistance, providing troops, and contributing to the peace process. The Greek Presidency has set out some goals for each of these sectors. We would like to contribute so that these goals are implemented. [passage omitted] [Karidhis] Following the implementation of the Greek embargo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia [FYROM] is facing serious economic problems. In Athens, all the political parties represented in the Chamber of Deputies except the Greek Communist Party approve of the economic measures adopted by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou against Skopje [FYROM]. The Greek decision surprised Brussels and greatly annoyed Greece's Community partners. What is the British Government's position on this issue? [Hurd] We share the views of our EU partners. The problem must be settled by negotiations under UN auspices. The negotiations that have been suspended must resume. The Greek measures, which cause serious problems to a small, weak country, contribute to instability in the Balkans. Stability in Skopje is in Greece and the EU partners' interest. Serious Problems [Karidhis] Minister, do you believe the Greek action violates international law (the UN Charter, Treaty of Rome, and Maastricht Treaty)? [Hurd] I am not a judge expressing a legal opinion but I am not so much interested in the legality of the decision as in whether the measures can be considered wise. We understand the Greek reservations. The Greek side has clearly expressed its fears. We believe though that | Hurd Discusses FYROM, EU, Cyprus |
FBIS3-18213_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Ankara, Feb. 28 (A.A.) -- Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Ferhat Ataman called the downing of four Serbian planes by two U.S. F-16 fighters a "legal action" since they violated the United Nations no-fly zone. U.S. President Bill Clinton said Monday [28 February] that NATO jets issued two warnings before shooting down four Serb warplanes over Bosnia and said every attempt was made to "avoid this encounter." Ataman told the ANATOLIA Agency that Turkey has taken initiatives to provide a peaceful, just and lasting solution in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He said Turkey supported all NATO resolutions made toward this end and believes that these resolutions should be enforced. | Turkey: Downing Termed `Legal Action' |
FBIS3-18223_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Bonn (DPA) -- In the Federal Government's opinion, the peace process in the former Yugoslavia must not be stopped by the event over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Government spokesman Dieter Vogel said at the federal news conference in Bonn on Monday [28 February] that the Federal Government is confident "that it will really not be stopped." The four aircraft downed by NATO F-16 planes had clearly violated the flight ban imposed by the United Nations over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Vogel stressed that the invading aircraft had been warned twice. They ignored the warnings. Only then was were they fired on. According to all facts that have become known so far, NATO adhered to the instructions and rules that are laid down in UN Resolution 816. According to it, all necessary means to implement the flight ban are permitted. In this respect, NATO's course of action is a "bitter, but necessary and resolute conclusion of the behavior of the pilots who were subsequently downed," he said. A Defense Ministry spokesman reported that German officers had, as usual, been in the AWACS reconnaissance aircraft that guided the NATO planes to their operational positions. The operation is legally permitted by the Constitutional Court ruling of 8 April last year. The ruling covers both reconnaissance and the control of the fighter aircraft, it was stated. | Reaction to U.S. Downing of Four Serb Aircraft German Spokesman Views Peace Process |
FBIS3-18233_4 | sake of selecting a political class having connections with the ground, with the voters. Precisely the opposite is happening, however -- recycling, the search for safe constituencies... [Napolitano] I am worried by the fact that the political forces have not properly understood the rationale of the single-candidate system. But this option is destined to endure: Other aspects of the electoral system may be revised, but not this. It is also extraordinary that, even before the election, so many attacks are being made on a reform approved by the voters themselves, instead of appreciating all its potential for change. [Franchi] I understand that. But there is still a strong feeling that many expectations could be disappointed. And it is a sense of danger. [Napolitano] This is a traumatic transition -- even chaotic, as [Italian Popular Party (PPI) Secretary] Martinazzoli says -- because of the terrible delay with which it was begun. We must also understand that everywhere -- from West Europe to the United States -- democratic systems are experiencing difficulties that are not easy to understand or to control. The wind of antipolitics; of intolerance; and of opposition to the parties, politicians, and parliament is not blowing in Italy alone. And the only democratic response lies in the regeneration of political life and of the representative assemblies. That is, unless... [Franchi] Unless what? [Napolitano] Unless the voters' choices are well pondered -- and this includes the individuals concerned, their qualities, and their real suitability for representing and governing. As a voter, I would urge candidates standing in my constituency to pledge, first, to attend parliament as long as debates and votes require. [Franchi] Mr. Speaker, you try to keep out of the fray as far as possible. But I would remind you that you are competing on behalf of the PDS [Democratic Party of the Left] and the progressive forces. To return to your idea, what could remain "reasonably united" on the left after the election? [Napolitano] The demarcation line with the right is very clear. I am hoping for a civilized debate also between the progressive forces and the "pole for freedoms," but certainly all the components of the progressive cartel identify with certain major principles. First, the commitment to preserve, reappraise, and strengthen social and civil gains, which are the fruit of action over several decades on the part of the left-wing and progressive forces and which are | Napolitano Calls For Responsibility |
FBIS3-18253_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Interview with Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel by correspondent Udo van Kampen in Brussels on 28 February -- recorded] [Text] [Van Kampen] A few moments ago I had a chance to get Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel's first reaction to this first NATO military strike. [Kinkel] This is indeed the first NATO strike of this kind, which shows that if peaceful political solutions are not brought about then we will get serious with what we have decided upon. [Van Kampen] Isn't there now the threat that the conflict will escalate? [Kinkel] No, I don't think so. Rather, I think that if it was the Serb side, it will now be clear to those involved that it is a serious matter when the security measures set by the Security Council -- in this case the no-fly zone -- are violated. [Van Kampen] If the Serbs retaliate, will NATO continue to act consistently? [Kinkel] I am not responsible for NATO decisions, but I cannot imagine that the Serbs will retaliate. First we have to look at what took place and I assume that all the details will come to light soon. [Van Kampen] Were German crews involved in the so-called AWACS flights, the reconnaissance flights? [Kinkel] That is still being looked into at the moment. I can't tell you that for definite yet. If they were involved, it will have been within the framework of their mission which was approved by the Federal Constitutional Court. [Van Kampen] Do you assume, or have you already been in touch and know that the Russians approve of this mission? [Kinkel] No. I haven't had sufficient time to do that yet but I've instructed the office in Bonn to make all sorts of inquiries and as soon as I have more news I will be happy to tell you. [Van Kampen] The Russians did support Security Council Resolution 816 when it was made. [Kinkel] Yes, of course. They knew that things could get serious in a case such as this if an unpermitted violation of the no-fly zone took place and this is evidently what happened here. It has been said -- and I am not in a position to confirm this either because I don't know -- that the planes either attacked a munition factory beforehand or intended to attack it. | Reaction to Downing of Planes Over Bosnia Noted Kinkel Backs NATO Action |
FBIS3-18259_6 | our two nations for hundreds of years. Bonn politicians invoke Lithuanian, Polish, and French "interests in East Prussia." In doing so, they call to mind the unfortunate "all Germany" Minister Wilms, who, shortly before reunification, demanded that the GDR should only be united with the Federal Republic when, in addition to the four victorious powers, all our neighbors without exception express their agreement. Zhirinovskiy's plan for Germany, which has been put down in writing -- including the famous lines that were drawn on the map belonging to the diplomat Rolf Gauffin, who was himself an ambassador in Moscow at one time -- envisages a completely peaceful revision of the Oder Neisse Line achieved through negotiations. Eastern Pomerania, West and East Prussia, and Silesia should be returned to Germany, while Poland would receive a corridor to the Baltic between Danzig and Koenigsberg as well as a large area around Lemberg, which lies outside its borders today. The Revision of Oder Neisse Line The German eastern territories have really been no blessing for Warsaw. Zhirinovskiy's plan for Germany is a new version of the old, traditional pro-German policy in Moscow or St. Petersburg. It must be recognized as a fact that generally arguments between Russian politicians are accompanied by violent exchanges of words that tend to get out of control, exchanges that are more reminiscent of clashes with sabers than fencing with foils, and by the same token it must also be recognized that what is "cultivated" on all sides in Bonn is a political jargon that is completely incomprehensible to the people. In keeping with Lenin's words that "trust is good, but control is better," no sensible person is going to entertain illusions that paradise will be established in Europe in the near future. A quick look at Sarajevo shows how serious the situation is. This makes the constant reductions in the size and weaponry of the Bundeswehr, especially the splitting up of the Bundeswehr and placing it under foreign command, all the more incomprehensible. We do need a strong Army under German command, but we will no longer tolerate the presence of foreign troops in Germany. NATO's sole task increasingly appears to be that of depriving Germany of its rights. There might be circles in the "Western honorable society" who want to make a bogey man or monster out of Zhirinovskiy, for example to give a boost to the defense | Zhirinovskiy's `Germany Plan' Analyzed |
FBIS3-18262_5 | percent think that it is good. As far as competence for a solution to the economic problems in eastern Germany is concerned, an SPD-led government is considered clearly more capable of achieving that than the present coalition. A total of 35 percent of east Germans consider the Social Democrats more capable of overcoming the crisis; 21 percent trust in the present government, and 11 percent assess both as the same. Yet nearly a third (32 percent) do not think anything of this alternative. Bad Marks for the European Union A far-reaching adaptation of living conditions in the east to the level of the western laender has so far not been achieved in the view of the population (91 percent). The assessment is slightly more optimistic in the old laender. The west Germans are also more confident about the question of when the adaptation will largely be completed; 31 percent believe that a maximum of five years will be required, 47 percent think that this process will last five to 10 years, and 16 percent believe that it will take even longer. In eastern Germany, every fifth citizen expects the adaptation to be completed in five years' time; 56 percent consider a period of five to 10 years necessary, and 23 percent consider more than 10 years necessary. Four months before the next European elections, a negative assessment of the European Union prevails: Only 15 percent believe that membership in the European Union brings more advantages than disadvantages for the German population; 45 percent think that advantages and disadvantages outweigh each other, but 35 percent see more disadvantages. In the east, the assessment is even more unfavorable than in the west. Moreover, most Germans (72 percent in the west and 73 percent in the east) feel that they are not sufficiently informed about the European Union. In view of the skeptical assessment of the European Union, the majority of Germans favor settling problems by individual states. A total of 73 percent believe that, above all, the governments of the individual countries should adopt measures to curb unemployment. Those polled expressed similar preferences concerning economic development: A total of 61 percent want the government to deal with this issue. As far as the fight against crime is concerned, 55 percent favor initiatives by their own government. Only in the sphere of foreign and security policy does a majority want a European-Union-wide solution. | Poll Shows Increasing Support for Kohl |
FBIS3-18266_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Unattributed report: "Open to Radicals"] [Text] The right-wing party Alliance of Free Citizens founded by former Bavarian Free Democratic Party of Germany [FDP] Chairman Manfred Brunner wants to open itself up to former members of "extreme-right parties." This follows from a party resolution that is attached to the applications for membership. Former members of extreme-right rival parties who want to join the Alliance of Free Citizens need only to have left their previous organization "some time ago." The Alliance of Free Citizens, which collects an admission fee of 250 German marks, currently has only 120 members; Chairman Brunner is confronted with a charge of "sedition" because he is said to have put Bonn's European policy on a level with racism during the Nazi era. Brunner had already invited Manfred Rouhs, 29, spokesman of the new Right and publisher of the ultraconservative strategy magazine EUROPA VORN, to his party's federal assembly in Bonn the Sunday before last. Rouhs and his adherents are already beating the drum for using the Alliance of Free Citizens, which does not have many members, for the benefit of their own political objectives. | Right-Wing Alliance Opens Up to Extremists |
FBIS3-18287_1 | States managed to obtain during the 1980's a number of items of advanced Soviet military equipment like air defense missiles, radar systems, communications equipment, torpedoes, attack helicopters, and tanks. Even though the most modern Soviet material was not available in Poland, the deals were made there. Thousands of millions were then paid through the military intelligence agency, CIA, to foreign contacts. They for their part made sure that the money ended up with politicians and officials who were willing to sell Soviet military secrets. The analysis of this material gave the United States the possibility of preparing effective countermeasures and also an advantage in military-technological development over the Soviet Union. The CIA thus had access to excellent contacts in Poland, and from the United States, Swedish defense has also received information on Soviet war materiel. This information has been important in the development work of the JAS-39 Gripen, mainly in its radar and countermeasures against attacking missiles. But Sweden has also had its own channels. The visa freedom between Sweden and Poland in the 1970's and the later emergence of the Solidarity movement created space for contacts that were very useful to military intelligence. Poland is not available for technical reconnaissance in the same way as the Baltic countries, for example, so there has been a need for Polish informers who have been able to give information on the Warsaw Pact's war preparations. The military mapping, of which the Polish sellers of tabulated information are suspected, in Sweden has had its counterpart in the other direction, a former military intelligence officer says to Ekot [the name of this program]. The activities in Poland were led by the [Swedish] KSI, the Office for Special Information Gathering at the Defense Staff, a most secret operation of the military intelligence service. There is also information on the regular exchange of intelligence information between Sweden and Poland. According to information obtained by Ekot, Bengt Wallroth, the then chief of the Military Intelligence Service of the Defense Staff, who earlier was also the head of the KSI, made an official visit to his Polish colleague at the beginning of the 1980's. Such contacts with the East bloc were very unusual and only existed with Poland and Yugoslavia. The information from Poland and Yugoslavia has been of great value both to Swedish defense planning and as a commodity to exchange with other countries' military intelligence organizations. | Soviet Intelligence Reportedly Obtained Through U.S. |
FBIS3-18304_3 | Indochina also played an essential role. The smoldering quarrel about an extension of the most-favored-nation clause for the PRC -- Clinton must decide on an extension by summer -- also has two facets: human rights and the determination to use this means of pressure to urge for a balance of the trade balance, which shows an extreme surplus (similar to Japan) for China. The exception from the economically motivated exercises in loosening up is right on the U.S. door step: Cuba. So far, Clinton has not shown any inclination to lift the 30-year blockade of the Castro regime or even just the restrictions on travel. The sugar island, which is no longer a military threat to Washington because it has lost its godfather in Moscow, would certainly be a market. However, in this case, other considerations are important, apart from the historical and political ones. In contrast to the 10 million Cubans who have become poor in communism, there are 1 million refugees who are living and prospering in Florida. They have influence, votes, and the means to fill the election campaign coffers of candidates for president and Congress. As long as Castro clings to power, Cuba is, therefore, primarily part of U.S. domestic policy. Because of his increasingly criticized "fixation" on Russia, Clinton announced that he will put his ostpolitik on a slightly broader basis and include the other states of the former Soviet Union more. This was done in the interest of denuclearizing Ukraine. Ukrainian President Kravchuk can now go on his longed-for trip to the United States. Something similar was done this week during the visit by Kazakh President Nazarbayev. Clinton praised him twice: for economic reforms and for the confirmed desire for disarmament. Thanks to its enormous oil and natural gas reserves, which are developed mainly with the participation of U.S. companies, Kazakhstan is an attractive partner. On this occasion, Clinton advised Nazarbayev, who still seems to be unsure regarding his tactics, to lay his export pipelines rather through Russia than through the territory of America's archenemy Iran. The trade relations between Iran and the FRG, which are uncannily intensive from Washington's point of view, are still a factor of irritation in the U.S.-German relationship, even though they are essentially based on an attitude, which is orientated toward Germany's own economic prosperity -- an attitude that is not alien to Clinton's pragmatic administration in other fields. | Clinton's Foreign Trade Interests Viewed |
FBIS3-18307_0 | Language: Danish Article Type:CSO [Editorial: "Sanctions Against Croatia"] [Text] It is high time that observers of the tragedy in the former Yugoslavia increased the pressure on Croatia and took steps to impose UN sanctions against the country based on reports in recent days of the deployment of regular Croatian forces in the struggles in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If these reports are put next to the Serbs' preparations for full military mobilization and the deadlocked situation at the peace negotiations, the supposition increases that both Serbs and Croats are now getting into position for the last push on the battlefields and the final division of Bosnia. Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen's move to introduce the call for sanctions at next week's meeting of European Union foreign ministers is thus, given the present situation, correct and necessary. In addition, there are better prospects that the sanctions can be made effective and will have some effect as compared with the sanctions against Serbia. Croatia's borders with Slovenia and Hungary will be easier to monitor than the borders between Serbia and her neighbors. Furthermore Croatia is far more sensitive to western pressure than the Serbian government in Belgrade. As their stated goal, the Croats want to link themselves closely to the rest of Europe and even have ambitions of becoming a member of the European Union. So the prerequisites for the sanctions, or perhaps just the threat of invoking them, to affect Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and the government in Zagreb are in place. But all of that does not remove the impression that the threat is being made far too late. It has long been clear that Croatia is deeply involved in the war in Bosnia even if there are insistent and unceasing denials from the official Croatian side. It is also very obvious that statements from Bosnian Croats about eventually being incorporated into Croatia have never been convincingly contradicted from Zagreb. So there were good reasons to take a firm stand against the Croats as parties to the war at a much earlier time. The fact that this was not done tells us something about the impotence, the divisions, and the lack of international activity that have unfortunately characterized the rest of the world's stand on the drama in the Balkans right from the start. There are exceptions. Yesterday the flow of news from war observation posts contained the remarkable bit of information that | * Paper Supports UN Sanctions Against Croatia |
FBIS3-18312_10 | an exodus of "clean" enterprises and capital, and a stagnation of Southern Italy's economy, is identifiable with the 1970's. The second period began in the 1980's and is still in progress. It is characterized by an emigration from Southern Italy not only of clean capital, but also of tainted capital in search of exploitable opportunities and camouflage, which are no longer possible in their areas of origin that were degraded and depressed during the preceding decade. It can therefore be stated that some 20 years of expansion of illicit activities in our country have created a situation in which the presence of capital of criminal origin in virtually every geographical zone and economic sector is highly probable. The greatest damage inflicted on southern Italy's economy by the presence of political corruption and organized crime is not the imposition of kickbacks, payment of bribe money, and other forms of graft that distress the heads of industries and translate into blackmail, threats, and damage to dissenters. This is just the most visible and obvious aspect. The greatest damage is that which does not meet the eye. It is expressed in the impeding of business growth, a crippling, "silent" flight of capital from the region, and in the deterring of investment in the region by northern investors. These pathologies represent today perhaps the main obstacles to a takeoff of Southern Italy's economy. Turning to the question on abstention from investment in the entrepreneur's own region because of the dominant criminal activity there, the ratio of resident businessmen who responded affirmatively in the three regions that are traditional mafia strongholds was 27 percent, versus 3 percent for the nation as a whole, and 1 percent for Northern Italy. The discouraging effect on private investment directly attributable to organized crime involves one fourth of the young entrepreneurs in Calabria, Sicily, and Campania. Defeat the Mafia, for Economic Development If the foregoing figures are taken as indicative of the ratio of capital investment being deterred, and if the fact is taken into account that the young entrepreneurs comprise the most dynamic, and the "most resistant to discouragement," sector of the business community, it can be said that the presence of organized crime is responsible for a "shortfall" of a good one third of investments, production, employment, and revenue. In other words, it can be stated that a winning strategy for countering the mafia and corruption could | * Business Survey Shows Widespread Corruption |
FBIS3-18315_0 | Language: French Article Type:BFN [Article signed LVE: "Sweden, Finland, and Austria Place One Foot in the European Union"; as released by Brussels BELGA Database] [Text] Brussels, 2 Mar (BELGA) -- On Tuesday [1 March], several hours after the planned deadline, and after four days of exhausting bargaining, Sweden, Finland, and Austria entered the door leading into the European Union (EU), but they will remain in the vestibule until the 12 national Parliaments of the members states of the EU, the European Parliament (EP), and their own respective electorates have given their backing to these new memberships. At 2100 GMT on Tuesday evening, after having "tied up" the Swedish and Finnish dossiers, the Twelve managed to conclude the talks with Austria, which balked for a long time on the question of the transit of EU trucks across its high mountain pastures. Thus, on Tuesday the EU entered a new era, that of the community of 15 member states, or even 16 if the negotiations with Norway, which are still stymied over the obstacle represented by fishing, are brought to an end within the next few days. "I have rarely felt as happy as I did after going 100 hours without sleep," said Hans Van Den Broek, the European Commissioner responsible for external political relations, at a press conference. The success of the negotiations with these three countries "demonstrates that the EU is not a closed space," emphasized Greek European Affairs Minister Theodoros Pangalos, whose country has the presidency of the Council of the Twelve for six months. "We have laid the foundations of a greater Europe which now needs to be consolidated and strengthened at its structural level, as is due to happen at the intergovernmental conference planned for 1996," he added. The slight delay in the negotiations, compared with the planned schedule, should not prevent the EP from receiving the treaties of accession and ratifying them on 7 May, indicated Hans van den Broek. According to Belgian Foreign Minister Willy Claes, the financial concessions made by the Twelve, especially with a view to "sweetening the pill" of the brutal opening of the borders of the candidate member states to the Community's agricultural products, which are much cheaper than their domestic produce, and in order to satisfy their desire to see the Arctic regions, with their low density populations, sustained, will merely limit the profits that the EU will obtain when | Reactions to EU Expansion Noted |
FBIS3-18316_1 | in the middle of the Balkans. Berlin, perhaps, but not a few miles from Banja Luka, a place that lies outside NATO's frontiers. Now that NATO has struck, the West has no escape route from Bosnia short of utter humiliation. It is therefore a matter of the highest urgency for Western governments to tell their publics what, precisely, is the goal of NATO policy in the Balkans. Since the wars of the Yugoslav succession broke out in June 1991, there have been too many switches of direction, too many disputes inside the Western alliance, too much confusion over how far to involve the Russians and, above all, too little long-term thinking. This is not a conflict like the Gulf war against Iraq. There, the West had a clearly defined and legitimate objective: to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. If, in the course of that action, Saddam Husayn was prevented from posing a future threat to other countries in the region, including Israel, then that, too, was a reasonable objective. But in Bosnia, as in the rest of former Yugoslavia and the Balkans as a whole, it has never been clear what the West stands for. Shots have been fired, aircraft have been destroyed, but in the name of what? We have a military policy, but our political strategy lacks coherence. It is instructive to recall that, only three summers ago, the West was upholding the principle of a united Yugoslavia. Slovenia and Croatia were warned against secession. By the end of 1991, a complete reversal of policy had taken place and the West was promoting Slovenian and Croatian independence. The consequence was that the West also had to endorse independence for Bosnia-Herzegovina, for otherwise the Muslims and Croats of that republic would be vulnerable minorities in a Serbian-dominated rump Yugoslavia. But the West then did absolutely nothing to protect Bosnia. It admitted the newly independent state into the United Nations at a time when it was clear that President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and President Franjo Tudjman of Croatia were colluding in Bosnia's partition. By mid-l992, the damage was done. The West had adopted the mantle of Bosnia's protector but refused to come to its defence. Making the best of a bad job, Lord Owen and Cyrus Vance, the West's mediators, devised a plan for turning Bosnia into a republic of 10 provinces in which the central government's powers | NATO Seen Lacking Clear Balkans Policy |
FBIS3-18319_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Text] Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday [2 March] in the Federal Cabinet described the result of the entry negotiations in Brussels as a great success. According to government spokesman Dieter Vogel, the chancellor, with applause from the cabinet members, thanked Federal Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and his staff for the great commitment they had displayed in the talks. According to Kohl, the entry into the European Union of the new countries will go down as a major event in European history. The Federal Government has a vital interest in the fact that the group of member countries is now increased by Austria and the Scandinavian countries. The close cooperation between the FRG and the new member states will have a positive effect for Germany, in particular. | Kohl Describes EU Entry Talks as `Great Success' |
FBIS3-18325_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Unattributed article:"European Union: Enlargement a `Political Gesture' for Andreatta"] [Text] Brussels, 2 Mar (ANSA) -- The marathon negotiating session, which concluded in Brussels last night with the enlargement of the European Union [EU] to include Sweden, Finland and Austria, delivered for Italy and for the Twelve, "successes and wounds" but was, above all, a political act that cannot help but have political consequences, according to Italian Foreign Minister Beniamino Andreatta. The contribution of these three new members will bring something new and different into the EU even as the nations making up the hard core of the Union search for a political initiative which remains the essential objective to be pursued, Andreatta said in commenting on the outcome last night of the enlargement talks. Andreatta voiced satisfaction over the fact that the necessary compromises reached, especially in the agricultural sector, did not lead to any conservation of frontiers or of customs controls. The understandings with Austria with regard to road transit, while not leading to immediate liberalization, as hoped, nevertheless broke the bottlenecks in Italian traffic flow, he said. However, for Andreatta, the most important aspect of EU enlargement (which could well be extended soon to Norway, as well) was the movement towards a truly European dimension for the Union which does not coincide merely with West Europe but which is heading for the shape and configuration imagined for it by thinkers back in the pre-World War period. This enlargement is a political gesture, he said, because it should serve as a prelude to the inclusion in the Community of the former Communist states of East and Central Europe, whose participation in the continent's process of integration is today the biggest question facing the European Union, in his view. "If we do not manage to give European citizenship to the inhabitants of these countries, Europe will have lost one of those golden opportunities that history rarely offers," he said. With these new members, Europe acquires a wealth of "diverse experiences, new men and new sensibilities," he went on. However, he saw as being necessary a political initiative on the part of a hard core of four or five nations which, due to their importance, should together forge a foreign policy. For this reason, a federal form within the center may be necessary, according to the diplomatic chief. | Andreatta Sees EU Enlargement as `Political Gesture' |
FBIS3-18328_4 | journalist from Cuneo said, dismissively. But what more than witticisms can be produced by a politics that is now conducted with the abacus? [Statera] Who now conducts politics with the abacus? [Martinazzoli] When I visited Berlusconi around Christmas I told him: Look, if you use the arithmetical logic of the abacus, even the traditional mistrust of the Italian Social Movement [MSI] will cease to exist. I tried to explain to him that we have been part of Italian history since 1919: We saw Mussolini grow up and saw many Popular Party members go with him. But Sturzo and others went into exile instead -- an exile which De Gasperi then legitimized. You need to take the long view, I told him. He replied still using the abacus. If it is he who is that the Italians want, then let them have him, but they must know that the exile of politics will not benefit anyone. I am talking not about threats of dictatorship but about the disappearance of the very substance of democracy: The mere fact of appealing to a savior who makes all kind of promises means that democracy is losing its very meaning. We are in danger of becoming what Arbasino calls a Country Without. [Statera] Without what? [Martinazzoli] Without history, without any authoritative voices. People talk about a country reduced to rubble, but that is nonsense recounted by people with bad memories: It is nonsense to say that everything that existed before the Second Republic should be rejected. This displays a shortcoming on the part of Italy's intellectuals: It is not clear whether they are more quick-change artists or conformists. This is a clumsily revolutionary period which some people have exploited. [Statera] Who? [Martinazzoli] What do you mean, who? Berlusconi -- who, if he deserves any credit, it is for having arrived at the right moment, when the whole scene was in disarray, to put forward a change with no sense of direction. [Statera] Upstaging [Pact for Italy leader] Segni? [Martinazzoli] Yes, with a kind of cheap trick. After the trouble over the lists, Segni must at least have realized that referendum movements are not politics and that you really cannot conduct politics without some kind of organization. In modern democracies parties are not redundant, as some maintain: We need to start drawing a distinction between corruptions and the value of parties that have been cured of | Martinazzoli Calls For Constituent Government |
FBIS3-18338_5 | barely 8 million people and whose name [Oesterreich] is too long for the ordinary globes used in schools, this country will participate in a large market of 320 million which would be much more difficult to access without membership in the European Union. The foreign minister has just mentioned the major points of the outcome of the talks in Brussels. Let me add one thing: Austria's social, environmental, and health standards will continue to be valid. Moreover, the European Union has for the first time in its history stipulated an ecological goal in an agreement. The foreign minister pointed this out. I would like to underline his statement about Austria's intention to stick to the ban of the use of nuclear energy and to continue its commitment to a nuclear-free Central Europe. For the future economic and social development of our country the conclusion of the negotiations sets a substantially new course. The full participation in the large single European market as a partner with equal rights will permit Austria to use for our benefit all the advantages that this common Europe offers. At the same time, it eliminates the existing disadvantages of isolation and rules out the danger of future discrimination. In particular it guarantees that Austria will be able to continue to take advantage of being even more attractive as an economic center at the point where East meets West, which will have a positive impact on developments on the labor market. We will conduct a most intensive and enlightening discussion with those citizens who sometimes anxiously ask themselves why we are seeking membership in an economic area whose average unemployment rate is higher than that of Austria. These questions need to be answered -- we will provide the answers. Existing export barriers will fall, cooperation agreements between companies will be essentially facilitated through the harmonization of taxes and a common trade policy. Thus, the significant competitive disadvantages for Austrian enterprises, which are the result of the complicated European regulations of origin, will disappear. The elimination of customs and border checks will not only cut billions in expenses on the part of the enterprises but will result in sizable price advantages for the consumers, particularly in the area of foods, beverages, and tobacco, and articles in daily use, which is why low-income earners, in particular, will benefit from these lower prices. Ladies and Gentlemen, the citizens often ask | Vranitzky Addresses Parliament on Europe |
FBIS3-18338_6 | future discrimination. In particular it guarantees that Austria will be able to continue to take advantage of being even more attractive as an economic center at the point where East meets West, which will have a positive impact on developments on the labor market. We will conduct a most intensive and enlightening discussion with those citizens who sometimes anxiously ask themselves why we are seeking membership in an economic area whose average unemployment rate is higher than that of Austria. These questions need to be answered -- we will provide the answers. Existing export barriers will fall, cooperation agreements between companies will be essentially facilitated through the harmonization of taxes and a common trade policy. Thus, the significant competitive disadvantages for Austrian enterprises, which are the result of the complicated European regulations of origin, will disappear. The elimination of customs and border checks will not only cut billions in expenses on the part of the enterprises but will result in sizable price advantages for the consumers, particularly in the area of foods, beverages, and tobacco, and articles in daily use, which is why low-income earners, in particular, will benefit from these lower prices. Ladies and Gentlemen, the citizens often ask us politicians: You always tell us about the advantages of our participation in European integration. There must also be disadvantages, which you must not conceal. We will not conceal them, and I would like to take this opportunity to mention one point, namely that there will be disadvantages, but that we will be able to eliminate them and cope with them. Regarding peoples' worries about a danger to the security of our country as a result of the elimination of border checks, that it is up to the Austrian Federal Government and, together with other governments through cooperation between interior ministries and security authorities, to provide other, new kinds of checks, so that the citizens' fears of the elimination of border checks can be dispelled. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would finally like to point to the considerable increase in prosperity that will follow from Austria's accession to the European Union, and which, according to provisional calculations by the Austrian Economic Research Institute, will amount to some 50 billions net for the next five years. This would constitute an additional economic growth of 2 percent and create some 30,000 new jobs. The gradual implementation of economic and monetary union will lead | Vranitzky Addresses Parliament on Europe |
FBIS3-18338_7 | from these lower prices. Ladies and Gentlemen, the citizens often ask us politicians: You always tell us about the advantages of our participation in European integration. There must also be disadvantages, which you must not conceal. We will not conceal them, and I would like to take this opportunity to mention one point, namely that there will be disadvantages, but that we will be able to eliminate them and cope with them. Regarding peoples' worries about a danger to the security of our country as a result of the elimination of border checks, that it is up to the Austrian Federal Government and, together with other governments through cooperation between interior ministries and security authorities, to provide other, new kinds of checks, so that the citizens' fears of the elimination of border checks can be dispelled. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would finally like to point to the considerable increase in prosperity that will follow from Austria's accession to the European Union, and which, according to provisional calculations by the Austrian Economic Research Institute, will amount to some 50 billions net for the next five years. This would constitute an additional economic growth of 2 percent and create some 30,000 new jobs. The gradual implementation of economic and monetary union will lead to further income gains. Ladies and Gentlemen, this brings me back to my remark that the conclusion of the negotiations in Brussels has opened the door toward European Union. Whether, we will finally walk through this door will have to be determined by the Austrian people in a democratic decision. Until then a lot remains to be done. Many citizens of our country already have an opinion on the issue. Yet we also want to get the support of those citizens who still hesitate or who do not or not yet want to accompany us on the road to Europe. Therefore, we will have to lead a very open discussion. After all, the point is not to try to talk people into something but to convince people of a path that we regard as the better path for the future, and, by meeting our responsibility as the Austrian Government, we are convinced that we have to pursue this objective. Together with the other countries of the European Union, and probably also with the north European countries, this path should lead us into a common and peaceful European future. [applause] | Vranitzky Addresses Parliament on Europe |
FBIS3-18350_0 | Article Type:CSO [Editorial report] Only the EU Council can decide, acting on a qualified majority, to close a foreign border, reports Renaud de Chazournes in the 19-20 February Paris daily LE QUOTIDIEN DE PARIS in connection with Greece's unilateral closing of the border with neighboring The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia [FYROM]. Nevertheless, Greece is attempting to justify its action by affirming that it conforms to European law, with reference to Article 224 of the Treaty of Rome, he continues. The reference is "rather unfortunate," he notes, since the article stipulates that consultations between member states must precede any action of this type. However, it is "crystal clear" that the European Union (EU) is powerless if one of the member states contravenes Article 224, for the treaty in question does not envision exclusion, or even punitive measures. For instance, notes de Chazournes, Athens' European partners cannot freeze structural funds granted to Greece even if, in the process, EU common foreign and security policy is jeopardized. This does not mean that Brussels, where the Greek move has been termed "irrational," easily accepts Greece's fait accompli, he adds. In fact, a written explanation has been demanded so that the Commission can review the blockade's legality. "There are few illusions in Paris on the European Council's margin of maneuver," de Chazournes comments. At most, 11 countries will simply "express their annoyance" with the present president of the EU. For good measure, he adds, the Greek ambassador was called in by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 February to provide an explanation. | * Impunity Predicted in FYROM Blockade |
FBIS3-18363_2 | I know that another East European state, which really is making efforts toward democracy, directs over 50 percent of its efforts specifically at Germany. [Announcer] Which state do you mean? [Gerster] I do not want to name it. The only positive thing from our point of view in this case is that although these efforts are continuing, financial resources are limited. (?As you know) we are making efforts for a type of security partnership with the East European states -- this (?concerns) NATO -- which naturally also has an effect on the EC. I think one should try -- the Germans cannot do this on their own -- to convene a type of conference with the East European states in order to hold talks and make it clear to them that there cannot, on the one hand, be efforts for cooperation with the EC and a security partnership with NATO, while simultaneously virtually continuing subversive actions. I think this really must be made an international issue and that we have every reason, especially as a target of these espionage efforts, [words indistinct]. [Announcer] Can one assume that the targets of espionage have moved more from the military to the economic sphere? [Gerster] One cannot say that. Both spheres are affected, whereby there were always two main pillars in East European espionage, economic espionage on the one hand, and on the other espionage in the political sphere, thus not only in the military, but in the overall political sphere. [Announcer] Let us stay with economic espionage. Is it in fact still worth finding out things through espionage in the West, given that there are now numerous cooperation, training, and further qualification agreements between the East and West? [Gerster] Let me put it this way. Democracy is still very fragile in Russia as well. What the official policies pursued by President Yeltsin and others are really aimed at, namely an opening up and real friendship with the democratic states of the West, has obviously not yet sunk into those who over decades saw us purely and simply as the enemy and are simply (?carrying on). It is probable that with the efforts for a market economy and democracy and survival in increasingly democratic conditions, conditions are so tense there that the spheres of classic old defense mechanisms, the old mistrust of all these have not yet been dismantled. Therefore, I repeat that | Bundestag Deputy Views Espionage |
FBIS3-18367_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Article by "bb": "The Keating Government Expects More German Investment"] [Text] Melbourne -- Even if Australia now considers itself to be an active member of the Southeast Asian community of countries, this new political and economic orientation should not be pursued at the expense of traditional relations with Europe. That is the impression that Lorenz Schomerus, head of the Foreign Economic Policy Department at the Federal Economics Ministry, obtained during talks with representatives of the Labor government in Canberra. "It was clear that Australia wants to have equal relations with the main players," said the Bonn-based official. Following the German-Australian economic and political consultations in Canberra, an annual forum that the two governments agreed to hold in 1988, Schomerus assessed German-Australian economic relations as "good, sound, and free of problems." Germany's restrictive policy on the import of coal constitutes a temporary problem. The Australian Government repeated its wish to Schomerus that Germany invest more in Australia and, above all, use the Antipodean continent as a springboard for activities in Asia. "The country is a good location for companies, people are well-trained and conscientious, and that also applies to management. All these things are positive," explained the official in a conversation with HANDELSBLATT in Melbourne. Speaking in Canberra, Schomerus drew attention to the Kohl government's new concept for Southeast Asia, which "is geared toward encouraging German companies, including small and medium-sized ones, to become active in the region." The ministerial director noted that the new Southeast Asia concept that Schomerus explained in Canberra, setting out details that had not been provided before, was noted with interest by the Australian Government. There was also a feeling of satisfaction in Canberra, because one could see that a country as important economically as Germany was consciously looking to the Asian Pacific region. The Australian Government noted with regret that the planned visit by Agriculture Minister Jochen Borchert had been called off, reported Schomerus. Australia has one of the most competitive agricultural sectors in the world, and Canberra had many questions to address to Borchert. Following the decline in German exports to Australia over the past few years, during his talks in Canberra, the minister was able to point to "a new upward trend in exports covering the entire range of sectors in which Germany performs well, from automobiles to machine tools." The significance of German-Australian consultations extends well beyond the | Official Reports on Investment in Australia |
FBIS3-18382_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Article by "ban": "Former Greens Politician Heads German Liaison Office in Northern Iraq"] [Text] Bonn, 23 Feb -- Mr. Walde, former federal manager of the Greens, will be the head of an FRG liaison office in northern Iraq. The "German Humanitarian Aid" office -- with its seat in Irbil -- is supposed to coordinate relief operations and to establish contacts with local authorities. After his departure from the Greens, Walde worked for the Caritas organization, the Workers' Samaritan League, and other organizations in the Kurdish areas of Iraq. The Foreign Ministry appointed him to his new position, which he will take up at the beginning of March. Walde was the federal manager of the Greens until the party left the Bundestag in 1990. At that time he was counted among the party's left wing. On behalf of the International Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan, Lower Saxony's Justice Minister Alm-Merk (Social Democratic Party of Germany) called on the Federal Government on Wednesday [23 February] not to supply Turkey with weapons from the stocks of the former National People's Army (NVA) any more. The Federal Government must also make a contribution to having the Turkish authorities investigate human rights violations against the Kurds. A statement by the Association recalls that UN bodies have accused the Turkish Government of deliberate and systematic torture of Kurds. In 1993, too, the Kurdish press was the target of "state repression." There were a total of 626 "extrajudicial executions," 392 villages were destroyed, and almost 380 magazines and newspapers were impounded. The human rights organization also criticized the acts of violence committed by the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK). The PKK must stick to its "basic principles, which have been set down internationally." The statement calls on the United States, Germany, France, and Great Britain to condemn the violations of human rights in Turkey and to make political, military, and economic aid to Turkey dependent on the observation of human rights. | Human Rights Agency Wants End to Arming Turkey |
FBIS3-18384_1 | was accepted as true and authentic by most parliamentarians: In 1992, the FRG moved into third place behind the United States and Russia in worldwide arms exports. Overall, united Germany has exported weapons and weapons systems for about $1.9 billion to all parts of the world. The former USSR was slightly ahead with an export volume of $2 billion. According to the SIPRI researchers, the United States was the unchallenged leader with $8.4 billion. What really lies behind these SIPRI statistics was now studied by the Foundation of Science and Policy (SWP) in Ebenhausen with surprising results: First, the German arms industry "is involved" in global arms exports "only to an infinitesimally small degree" and, second, Germany's top ranking computed by SIPRI results "from applying a questionable method of calculating revenues." Therefore, the SWP analysis sees the SIPRI work as a "distorted picture of German arms export policy." The public discussion ultimately does not even take note that the modification of the arms export policy desired by the Federal Government "in its core aims at reestablishing Germany's alliance and cooperation capability and not, as imputed, at unrestrained expansion of arms exports." According to SWP, Bonn so far has neglected to clarify "these correlations." The SWP study is based on data of a register kept by the United Nations since 1992 on exports of conventional weapons. They showed that "the German arms exports" reported by SIPRI "consist almost exclusively of used NVA [National People's Army] and Bundeswehr equipment passed on" to NATO allies and Scandinavian countries. As a result of disarmament agreements, the Bundeswehr had to muster out considerable weapons inventories and passed this materiel on to NATO allies with less modern equipment. The result: The Bundeswehr saves the costs of scrapping; the receiver country, for little money, gets more modern armed forces; and NATO ultimately has better equipped armed forces overall. SWP uses a second example to illustrate the criticized "distorted picture" painted by SIPRI: Among other things, this deals with exports of "demilitarized" NVA ships, especially to Indonesia (six) and Tunisia (four). SIPRI had calculated this--like other--materiel on the basis of a "hypothetical revenue volume of 40 percent of its potential new value" and had thus arrived at an "exorbitant total sum of $1.9 billion." SWP judges this method: "If SIPRI had looked at the actual revenue obtained, the FRG would have landed on one of the lower places." | Study Challenges Arms Export Ranking |
FBIS3-18389_1 | from the Danish clothing manufacturing firm of Nybo Jensen, Inc., in Viborg. It took just one weekend to move them to the Latvian town of Sloka, 25 km south of Riga. Friday, 2 July 1993 was the last day of work for 44 Danish seamstresses at the plant in Viborg. The entire sewing operation was shut down. The Monday [5 July] after that, 80 Latvian seamstresses were sewing work clothing on the same machines for the firm of Saiva, Inc., in Sloka. Currently, Nybo Jensen produces only 300 pieces of clothing per day in Denmark, and that is done by a subcontractor. There are still about 35 employees working for the company in Viborg, but they are only involved in administration and the design, cutting, and packing of clothing. Danish seamstresses earning a monthly salary of between 12,000 and 15,000 kroner cannot compete with the Latvian seamstresses at Saiva, who earn between 240 and 1,200 kroner -- all dependent on how quickly they can get the clothing through the sewing machines. Even if the wages are low, the Latvian seamstresses are happy just to have work. In just two years, the number of jobs in the Latvian textile and clothing manufacturing industry has been more than cut in half. In 1991 about 56,000 people worked in the industry. Today that number is down to 26,000. And even those seamstresses who still have jobs at one of the state enterprises do not automatically receive their wages. Many of them must now see to it themselves that they get their salary because the plants can no longer sell their goods to the former Soviet Union. Formerly about 90 percent of Latvia's production of textiles and clothing went to the old empire. But that is now over. Business partners in the new SNG [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries no longer buy goods from Latvian businesses. With Hat in Hand So many seamstresses stand in the marketplace behind the train station in Riga each holding the clothes she has made. Even if the winter weather is cold, they stand for many hours and display a sweater or a pair of stockings. To get a monthly wage, the seamstresses must go to the marketplace themselves to sell the clothing they have produced at the state factories. That is why seamstresses stand hat in hand in front of textile and clothing manufacturing firms that have foreign | * Firms Assess Production Move to Riga |
FBIS3-18399_0 | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN [Column by Ertugrul Ozkok: "Critical Decision on Baghdad"] [Text] Turkey has arrived at the point where it must make two critical decisions on its foreign policy. The first is related to Iraq. An Iraqi delegation headed by an under secretary visited Turkey at the end of December 1993. It invited Ozdem Sanberk, under secretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, to visit Baghdad before it returned to Iraq. The Turkish Foreign Ministry is presently considering the way it will respond to that invitation. Until last night, the high-ranking officials were inclined to agree that Sanberk should visit Baghdad. However, the final decision will be adopted in the next few days. The decision is critical to Turkey because Ozdem Sanberk's arrival in Baghdad would be the first high-level visit by a Turkish official to Iraq since the Gulf War. Furthermore, it will pave the way for intensified relations between Turkey and Iraq. However, Turkey's allies do not favor the establishment of high-level relations with Baghdad at this stage. Nevertheless, they are gradually becoming aware that Turkey's situation is different. The current talks between Ankara and Baghdad seem only to be on the question of the oil pipeline between the two countries. Nevertheless, the question of northern Iraq continues to be a serious problem. Turkey wishes to convince Baghdad to adopt a more moderate approach on matters related to its citizens in northern Iraq. In short, Ozdem Sanberk's probable visit will be an important development. Message to Denktas for a Solution In accordance with Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's circular in January, a committee has been established to assess Turkey's foreign policy. Several ambassadors have been appointed as committee members. The committee will work under Prime Minister Ciller. Deputy Prime Minister Murat Karayalcin and Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin are among its members. It plans to hold its first meeting on Turkey's policy on Cyprus at the beginning of the week. It will be recalled that in the United States some time ago Ciller promised to do whatever she could to contribute toward the solution of the Cyprus problem after the elections in north Cyprus. The elections have been held and a new government has been established in north Cyprus. In view of that, the time has come for Turkey to design its policy on the matter. President Demirel has invited President Rauf Denktas to visit Ankara. He will arrive on | Foreign Policy Toward Iraq, Cyprus, Syria Viewed |
FBIS3-18406_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Josef Joffe editorial: "The Attack by the `Falcons'"] [Text] It was the first time in its history that NATO had fired shots at someone: Not at the Soviet Union but at a country that did not even exist during the Cold War, namely Serbia. Why now, and why out of the blue? In fact, NATO registered a thousand violations of the flight ban over Bosnia-Herzegovina since it was imposed by the United Nations in November 1992. Even after it was tightened about one year ago, that is after the adoption of UN resolution 816, which threatened the use of force, the infringements of the air space continued to take place regularly. The alliance has registered approximately 500 violations so far, but it did not attack the intruders. Why did it do so now? If rulers like Bismarck and Talleyrand were still shaping foreign policy today instead of men like Kinkel, Christopher, or Hurd, one might picture an extremely subtle game behind the scenes. The story begins on 17 February, 100 hours before the expiration of the ultimatum against the Serbs in Sarajevo. All of a sudden, Russia appears on the scene like a deus ex machina, dragging the Serbs by the collar. There is no longer any need for the ultimatum and bombs because the Serbs promised to withdraw their heavy artillery according to schedule. This was good for Sarajevo but not so good for NATO and the United States, because the alliance had labored in vain and Washington had to watch how the old and seemingly toothless rival was suddenly pulling all the strings. For four decades, the West had tried successfully (with Tito's help) to keep Soviet influence out of the Adriatic. Now Moscow was the mastermind, the "lead in the tumbler," as Bismarck used to describe the role of the German Reich. NATO was neutralized, and the Russians -- half protectors and half conquerors of the Serbs -- showed that they alone directed the play. Cynics might now believe that the downing of the Serbian Jastrebs ("hawks") which attacked Bosnian ground targets earlier represents an elegant Western countermove. Thus, the operation of the U.S. F- 16 Falcons might be viewed as a signal that NATO is still in charge. It was as difficult for the Russians to protest against this move as it was for the NATO allies to reject the coup of | Further Reaction to Downing of Aircraft Over Bosnia Act Linked With Russian Role |
FBIS3-18408_0 | Language: Czech Article Type:BFN [Interview with Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen by Milos Sklenka; place and date not given: "The Liberalization of Trade Is the European Union's Best Contribution to the Success of the Reforms"] [Text] Denmark is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the gradual incorporation of the Central and East European states into the integrative structures. It is no coincidence that it was under this country's presidency of the European Union [EU] during the first half of last year that the Twelve announced publicly for the first time that they are prepared to accept states from this region in the future. At the same time, it liberalized to a greater extent its internal market for East European exports. One of the men who deserved much of the credit for the progress in rapprochement between East and West on the old continent was Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen. He granted our newspaper an exclusive interview in connection with his visit to the Czech Republic. [Sklenka] The NATO member countries approved the Partnership for Peace [PFP] initiative at their recent summit. In what specific way should the Alliance's plan improve security and stability in Europe? [Petersen] The approval of the PFP initiative can be described as the most important decision made at the NATO summit in January, because its aim is to unite the whole of Europe. The essence of the plan embraces support for practical military and political cooperation, cooperation that reflects the various endeavors and abilities of each signatory country, while involvement in the initiative is open to any country interested in it. In this regard, the PFP eliminates in advance the possibility of Europe being divided and helps to increase stability, confidence, and security. The North Atlantic Alliance's initiative, however, should not be viewed independently, but as an element of the West's broader concept for bolstering peace and improving cooperation and security in Europe. For example, the EU recently came up with a plan for a so-called Stability Pact, whose ultimate aim is the same. [Sklenka] Some of the most senior representatives of the countries of Central and East Europe, nevertheless, point out that, although the initiative de facto brings the postwar division of Europe to an end, NATO could have offered something more than just consultations and joint exercises. [Petersen] The PFP plan is based on the real requirements of the current era in | Petersen Discusses EU Integration, PFP |
FBIS3-18410_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Paris, March 3 (AFP) -- Immigration into most of the developed countries of North America, Europe and Asia has fallen off in what could mark a "turning point" in global migration, the OECD reported Thursday [3 March]. But it added that the potential remains for new bursts of migration, notably by people seeking to escape the turmoil caused by political change in the former Soviet bloc, the organization said Thursday. The 24-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, in its annual report on global migration trends, said that with the exception of Germany, Sweden and the United States, immigration into OECD countries fell off in 1992 and the first part of 1993, the latest period covered by the survey. It said the changes "seem to mark a turning point in migration." The report suggested various reasons for the decline, including the economic recession and subsequent fall in the need for fresh immigrant labour and government measures to combat the abuse of political asylum rights. But it added that the changes could mark "merely a cyclical downturn unlikely to have a fundamental effect on the acceleration of international migration," and said it "would seem premature to suggest that the trend has been definitively reversed." The report said that while economic and population imbalances between North and South remained the main cause of migration, political change in the former Soviet bloc had become a contributing factor. Transition to a market economy in that region was "a completely unfamiliar process whose effects, especially increased unemployment, may have an impact on migration." While noting that the "great East-West exodus feared by some has not so far taken place," the report said the crisis in former Yugoslavia "has triggered substantial unforeseen population movements." It also said that Central and East Europe and the former Soviet Union had "considerable migratory potential, fuelled by economic and political change as well as social and ethnic tension." The transition to a market economy was having contradictory effects, the OECD said. "The political motivations for leaving are gradually disappearing but the re-establishment of freedom of movement, rising levels of unemployment and persistently high income differentials between East and West encourage emigration, especially among the most highly qualified," the report said. The report went on to say that over a very short space of time, OECD countries had been confronted with "all the different forms" of | OECD Reports Indicates Global Migration Falling |
FBIS3-18418_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [By Sian Clare, PRESS ASSOCIATION lobby correspondent] [Excerpts] The Government today admitted there was a three-month-long "incorrect entanglement" between arms sales and aid to Malaysia in 1988. Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said aid to Malaysia and 1 billion pounds in defence sales were linked between March and June 1988 under a protocol signed by the then Defence Secretary George Younger. Mr Hurd told the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee: "There was a temporary, incorrect entanglement, but there is now no link." And the Government accused Malaysia of being "short-sighted" in imposing its trade ban last week in response to British press allegations surrounding the Pergau dam project and arms sales to the former colony. Labour later claimed Mr Hurd's evidence, during a grilling by MPs which lasted almost three hours, was "incredible" and that the link between aid and arms sales must have continued after June 1988. Britain contributed 234 million pounds to the dam construction, believed to be the largest amount of overseas aid for a single project in British history, while the Ministry of Defence discussed a 1 billion pound defence with Malaysia [as received]. Premier Mahathir Mohamad, angered by reports on the affair in Britain which included corruption accusations, has banned UK firms from applying for contracts for Malaysian Government business in a return to its Buy British Last policy. [passage omitted] Earlier, John Major accused the Malaysian Government of being "short-sighted" for freezing out British firms. In a radio interview, the Prime Minister said Malaysia owed much of its economic development to British trade and investment and its interests would be equally badly affected. He told BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme: "I don't believe that what the Malaysian Government has done to British companies is remotely justified." Malaysia was "within striking distance" of achieving its ambition to become an industrialised country. He added: "I believe it is short-sighted to have acted as they have done, and I believe that over time they may be seen to have damaged the Malaysian interest as much as the British." Foreign Office Minister Alastair Goodlad drummed home the message later in a speech to businessmen from the Asia-Pacific advisory group in which he warned that Malaysia had missed its target and was hurting "its friends." Mr Goodlad said British exports to Malaysia were worth almost 1 billion pounds last year alone but added: "Trade benefits both | Hurd Admits Malaysian Arms-Aid Anomalies |
FBIS3-18422_0 | Language: Finnish Article Type:CSO [Article by Riitta-Eliisa Laine: "Minor Impact From EEA Agreement on Social Welfare"] [Text] Many must learn to fill out EEA [European Economic Area] forms. The Finns, who have become accustomed to the benefits of the welfare state, need not fear the dawn of the EEA era, as the EEA agreement will only have a minor effect on Finnish social benefits. However, many Finns must learn to fill out the EEA forms. From a practical standpoint, the agreement affects mainly those who travel abroad to find employment or who come to Finland from abroad to work. While traveling in another EEA country, a Finnish tourist may utilize the agreement, for instance, if he becomes ill, as long as the person can present the necessary documents. A retiree will always receive medical care according to the laws of his country, no matter in which EEA country he resides. If a person resides and works only in Finland, the social benefits will remain the same as before the effective date of the EEA agreement. One of the most important cornerstones of the EEA agreement is the concept of equal treatment of all EEA citizens. While residing in an EEA country, a citizen of another member nation may enjoy the same social benefits as the citizens of the host nation. Refugees and stateless people who reside in EEA countries are also entitled to the same social benefits as the citizens of the countries in question. Pensions Based on Residency Pension benefits, however, are determined based on the laws of each country, as well as the terms governing such pension benefits. In other words, the agreement does not make the pension benefits uniform in the various EEA countries. On the other hand, it becomes easier to secure pension rights in another country in such a way that missing years can be supplemented by years worked in another country. When an EEA worker retires in Finland, the worker is entitled to collect pensions from all EEA countries where he has resided or worked. Each country also defines, based on its own regulations, when a person is classified as disabled. Simultaneously with the EEA agreement, changes in the National Basic Pension Act and the National Survivor's Pension Act came into effect in Finland. According to the new legislation, the amount of basic pension and survivor's pension received depends on the time a person | * Impact of EEA on Welfare State Reviewed |
FBIS3-18422_1 | country, a citizen of another member nation may enjoy the same social benefits as the citizens of the host nation. Refugees and stateless people who reside in EEA countries are also entitled to the same social benefits as the citizens of the countries in question. Pensions Based on Residency Pension benefits, however, are determined based on the laws of each country, as well as the terms governing such pension benefits. In other words, the agreement does not make the pension benefits uniform in the various EEA countries. On the other hand, it becomes easier to secure pension rights in another country in such a way that missing years can be supplemented by years worked in another country. When an EEA worker retires in Finland, the worker is entitled to collect pensions from all EEA countries where he has resided or worked. Each country also defines, based on its own regulations, when a person is classified as disabled. Simultaneously with the EEA agreement, changes in the National Basic Pension Act and the National Survivor's Pension Act came into effect in Finland. According to the new legislation, the amount of basic pension and survivor's pension received depends on the time a person has resided in Finland. EEA Norms for Medical Professions In the field of health care, the EEA agreement requires that the regulations pertaining to the practices of physicians and dentists be adapted to the regulations of the EEA. The same applies to the professions of head pharmacist, pharmacist, optician, dental technician, registered nurse, and midwife. Based on an application, the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs may grant a citizen of another EEA nation the right to practice these professions. The EEA also affects the National Health Insurance Act. The goal is to supervise reimbursement of prescription drugs and to increase competition in the medical drug markets. The regulations regarding products classified as medical drugs are changing. All products, the purpose of which is to cure, palliate, or prevent illness, are considered medical drugs and are subject to the applicable rules and regulations. No longer is it permissible to ascribe medical use to products that cannot, as such, be considered medical drugs. General Information Pamphlet The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the National Pension Institute, and the Central Pension Security Institute have jointly prepared a pamphlet "A Brief Guide to EEA and Finnish Social Benefits," which provides general information about | * Impact of EEA on Welfare State Reviewed |
FBIS3-18424_0 | Language: Norwegian Article Type:BFN [Bard Idas report: "Godal Hopes for Respect for United Nations"] [Text] Foreign Minister Godal hopes that the downing of the Serbian aircraft will lead to all sides respecting UN resolutions hereafter. "The downing of the four Serbian aircraft happened after a clear breach of the no-fly zone over Bosnia set up by the United Nations. All the sides know the consequences of breaking this no-fly ban. The aircraft refused to comply with warnings from the U.S. NATO aircraft before they were shot down," a statement from Foreign Minister Bjorn Tore Godal said. The foreign minister pointed out that there have been a growing number of violations of the flight ban over Bosnia. The action was carried out on the basis of a resolution by the UN Security Council on 31 March 1993, and NATO was asked to implement the resolution on behalf of the United Nations. "It is important that the ban on flights be upheld, if UN resolutions are to be credible," Godal said. | Foreign Ministry Says Serb Jets in `Clear Breach' |
FBIS3-18433_2 | with the Caucasus. Wimmer wants to bring about a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian deputies in Germany. Hassanov said that Azerbaijani deputies were ready to take part in such a meeting. The Armenians have yet to agree. The Azerbaijanis have as little against Wimmer's mediation attempt, which is to bring about negotiations between the deputies on finding a solution to the dispute over Nagorny-Karabakh, as they do against the intentions of Russia and Turkey to become involved in finding ways to reach agreement. The initiative came from Wimmer, but Azerbaijan would also like "Germany to be actively involved in finding a solution to the problem." Azerbaijan has only one condition for an end to the fighting: "Armenian troops must withdraw from the occupied territories." Azerbaijan is prepared to negotiate over a "guarantee status" for the Armenians living in Nagorny-Karabakh. Hassanov described such guarantees as "special rights." International observers, above all the CSCE, could be involved in determining the content of the guarantees. The Armenians living in the enclave could have the same "full rights" as the Azerbaijanis. This would not affect the question of belonging to the Azerbaijani state. Speaking in Bonn, Hassanov charged that Armenia wants to carve up sovereign Turkish territory with the help of the Workers Party of Kurdistan [PKK], the Kurdish underground organization. By contrast, Azerbaijan maintained "clear interstate relations" with Turkey, relations that were constantly becoming closer. Azerbaijan's embassy in the Federal Republic is housed in the Turkish Embassy building. Hassanov was not keen to talk about developments in Russia and their possible consequences for Moscow's relations with other states that formerly belonged to the Soviet Union. Hassanov reacted with apparent incomprehension to questions about Russian imperial aspirations, such as have been noted in the Baltic republics. Hassanov said that in contrast to the Baltic republics, there were no Russian troops stationed in Azerbaijan. There were neither official or unofficial statements emanating from Moscow that allow one to conclude that Russia wished to establish military bases in Azerbaijan. The release of the putschists Khasbulatov and Rutskoy was an internal Russian matter and the result of a decision made by the Russian parliament. After Azerbaijan achieved independence in 1989, relations with Russia at first cooled. Now, however, after President Aliyev came to power, efforts were being made "continually to improve relations." The process is underway. Aliyev was a member of the Moscow Politburo during Soviet times. | Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Holds Talks in Bonn |
FBIS3-18435_1 | to simply send people away, or to let them starve here. For me, the agreement on deportation stands or falls with repatriation assistance. If the Federal Government thinks it has no money for that, then I can only call upon Mr. Kanther to revise our joint resolution. Then everybody will stay here. [DER SPIEGEL] And how do you intend to enforce that? [Schnoor] I am bound by the extremely rigid Aliens Law. Nonetheless, I can order a general halt of deportations for six months. The crux is, however, that the refugees will be concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia, if the other laender don't go along. Naturally, it will also quickly get about among the refugees which land will not deport them. [DER SPIEGEL] So you are not solving the problem, only shifting it. [Schnoor] For a longer halt of deportations I do indeed need the approval of the federal interior minister, but not for other stipulations of the law. Thus I still have the possibility of examining individual cases. For example, I can instruct the authorities dealing with foreigners to exempt hardship cases from deportation. To me that means refugees from the occupied or destroyed part of Croatia, and those who have found refuge with relatives in North Rhine-Westphalia or come from ethnically mixed families. [DER SPIEGEL] What about deserters, whose fate will be totally uncertain in case of deportation? [Schnoor] I would also exempt deserters from deportation if they can expect punishment in Croatia. If I should not come to an agreement this week with my laender colleagues on regulations for such hardship cases, we shall initiate examinations of individual cases in North Rhine-Westphalia. Thereby many people can be helped, and Mr. Kanther can't do anything about it. [DER SPIEGEL] Foreign Ministry situation reports from the respective crisis regions play a decisive role in the decisionmaking by authorities and courts on the deportation of refugees. Its content of truth is controversial. Contrary to the recommendations of the UN refugee commissioner, the Foreign Ministry sees hardly any obstacles to deportations to Angola, a country where there is civil war. Does the Federal Government want to get rid of the costly refugees at any price? [Schnoor] I must defend the Foreign Ministry. I received good cooperation from the Foreign Ministry regarding refugees from Iraq, and in the case of Kurds from Turkey I had the best of experiences with the German ambassador | Minister Criticizes Croatian Expulsion Plan |
FBIS3-18462_0 | Language: Turkish Article Type:BFN ["Commentary" column by Yalcin Ozer: "Russian Domination in the Balkans"] [Excerpt] [passage omitted] A new era has begun in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the aftermath of the NATO ultimatum. This period is chiefly characterized by the fact that the United States has abandoned the region to Russia's influence. Russia has taken the most important step in reestablishing political domination in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as in the Balkans. As we all know well, this domination is based on the foundation of the "Orthodox Alliance". Everyone must now realize that an extremely painful and difficult period has begun for the Balkans. A large number of Turks and Muslims in the region are gradually being dragged into a dreadful predicament. The besieged Sandzak, Kosovo, and Montenegro, as well as Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia--FYROM], on which Greece has imposed an embargo. In the near future, Albania, the Turkish presence in Bulgaria, Western Thrace, and the Turkish and Muslim minorities in other Balkan areas will join these areas. All these people are threatened with extinction within the framework of the Orthodox-Crusader political plan drawn by Russia. This situation paints a picture of desperation, in which the tyranny in Bosnia-Herzegovina will soon become a mere detail. In the coming months, ethnic cleansing policies will be implemented one by one and mass deaths, famine, and refugee movements will be observed in this region. Most of the refugees will move to Turkey. [passage omitted] | U.S. `Abandoned' Region to `Russia's Influence' |
FBIS3-18470_0 | Language: German Article Type:BFN [Interview with Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel by Gerhard Seifried on 2 March; place not given -- recorded] [Text] [Seifried] Do you see yourself as the hero of Brussels? [Kinkel] For God's sake, no. I did what was necessary and right. I am a convinced European. It was absolutely clear that we wanted the conclusion of the negotiations with the four EFTA [European Free Trade Association] countries, which is why I made a great effort and was able to make my contribution. [Seifried] Still, it has been said that you played a crucial role. Reports said that you took off your jacket and rushed along hallways in shirtsleeves when the negotiations were on the brink of failure. [Kinkel] That is true. After very long hours of negotiations, we had reached a stalemate yesterday morning and it looked as if the talks were going to be suspended without result. So it may be true that I can claim that I held the talks together at that moment and pointed out to my colleagues that, in the interest of Europe, we could not tolerate such a situation. And at such a moment, the word that comes from a larger country is probably of some significance, and, as we can see now, things worked out all right. [Seifried] Nevertheless, some criticism has come from the ranks of the European Union [EU], and people claimed that you made too many concessions to the membership applicants. Is there a fear of a greater German bloc, maybe? Do you see such fears? [Kinkel] No, I do not see that. Do not forget, with 80 million people, Germany is now the largest country in the EU, which means that we bear special responsibility. We have in no way tried to push to the fore. We tried to be good mediators, which we could do. Nevertheless, we always made it quite clear, and that is what I said when I arrived in Brussels: We will not exclude any country, and certainly not Austria, but will try hard to achieve a positive result -- in the spirit of the Edinburgh resolutions. Actually, I thought that all that was quite normal. I have participated in heated sessions in Brussels before. Afterwards, one has to say: [word indistinct] what counts is the result -- and that does not look too bad for Austria. [Seifried] Why is Germany, of | Germany Bears `Special Responsibility' for EU |
FBIS3-18475_1 | draft laws, and the other things that are necessary in this connection. [Hochner] Mr. Vice Chancellor, you are standing beside the chancellor and you have just smiled very obviously. Is this just relief that an agreement has been achieved or is this also satisfaction with the compromise that has been accomplished? [Busek] First of all, one has to say that the details of the past hours or minutes have a bit obscured the view on the whole. After all, the whole is Austria's step into the European Union, which gives us more security, more market opportunities, more prospects for the future. My smile was directed at that, because with this, we have opened up a future for us, which gives us the most varied opportunities to make the best of it. I believe we should not overlook the forest in view of the individual trees that we have watched during the most recent negotiations -- a forest gives us hope and provides us with opportunities for development, because it is better to be in the European Union and to follow a path together instead of remaining alone. I think this is one of the main considerations, and this is also the question we are going to ask the Austrians -- namely which way they want to follow. A lot of things will still have to be done in this respect. I already know there will probably be one point or another where someone will know better and say this or that should have been achieved in addition. However, I believe one has to see the whole picture here. It is indeed a historical step we are taking -- just as we followed the path to freedom in 1955 with the State Treaty, we have now followed a path that will, as Austrians and for our homeland Austria, provide more opportunities in the future. [Hochner] Mr. Chancellor, the conclusion of the agreement with the European Union has required compromises -- compromises in agriculture and also regarding the Transit Treaty. What would you tell those critics who do not see the whole picture -- the goal of joining the European Union -- but say: The Austrian Government has toppled over here; it should not have made these compromises? [Vranitzky] I would simply tell those critics the Austrian Government has not toppled over and it should indeed have taken and had to take | Agreements, Negotiations Reported in EU Expansion Talks Vranitzky, Busek Comment |
FBIS3-18532_1 | is rising, and so too is the tendency of American consumers to purchase foreign products, to invest abroad, and to travel abroad. In this way the market mechanisms gradually tend to distribute wealth also to countries distant from the stimulus center; and thus the U.S. locomotive is starting to pull along the cars of the long and varied international train. But this positive process is by no means automatic, much less universal. Some of the cars have had their brakes applied or are applying them, others are falling apart, and still others are actually out of service, lying abandoned on sidings which they are very likely incapable of leaving in order to join the train of recovery. All the Third World countries, including the once flourishing oil producers, lie abandoned on these sidings. Their bargaining power is now a distant memory, the rise of the dollar is proportionate to the fall in the price of crude; the Gulf War sealed the demise of the cartel of great Arab oil producers. Nevertheless, this is the Third World's special area. In other very extensive areas -- the Maghreb, Black Africa, a large part of India and Southeast Asia, and almost the whole of Latin America -- the wind of recovery is not felt even as a light breeze. The cloak of poverty, hunger, and starvation is combined with very high birth rates and is driving increasing masses of poor toward the wealthy metropolises. There no cars rejoin powerful locomotives; there is only despair and subhumanity; the market is a meaningless word, and hope is only a chimera. Among the stationary cars, which will get going again sooner or later and perhaps return to being locomotives themselves, the two most deserving of attention are Japan and Germany. A thorough examination of them would be beyond the scope of these observations, and has in any case been carried out several times in this paper. However, there is one important factor in part shared by these two major economic powers that explains their present crisis: In both the mechanism of accumulation has broken down. So this is no mere passing crisis but something different, more profound, more structural. In Japan what has broken down is the model of development in which enterprises constituted not only the locomotive of production but also the social and cultural locomotive. There has been a breakdown in entrepreneurial monolithism, monoculture, | Daily Assesses Impact of U.S. Economic Recovery |
FBIS3-18532_2 | of Latin America -- the wind of recovery is not felt even as a light breeze. The cloak of poverty, hunger, and starvation is combined with very high birth rates and is driving increasing masses of poor toward the wealthy metropolises. There no cars rejoin powerful locomotives; there is only despair and subhumanity; the market is a meaningless word, and hope is only a chimera. Among the stationary cars, which will get going again sooner or later and perhaps return to being locomotives themselves, the two most deserving of attention are Japan and Germany. A thorough examination of them would be beyond the scope of these observations, and has in any case been carried out several times in this paper. However, there is one important factor in part shared by these two major economic powers that explains their present crisis: In both the mechanism of accumulation has broken down. So this is no mere passing crisis but something different, more profound, more structural. In Japan what has broken down is the model of development in which enterprises constituted not only the locomotive of production but also the social and cultural locomotive. There has been a breakdown in entrepreneurial monolithism, monoculture, the Japanization of Japan (if I may be permitted to use the term). The picture of workers arriving at the factory singing the national anthem and performing martial gymnastics is now a memory; another distant memory is the submissiveness of the trade unions, and yet another is the close associations of the industrial groups, both among themselves and with the major banking groups. In other words, Japanese capitalism is becoming Americanized, nor could it have been otherwise; but it is thus losing part of its influence, while its accumulation mechanism is growing weaker. Japanese protectionism still stands, but American pressure is becoming increasingly vigorous, and sooner or later some breaches will be opened. Meanwhile, the Japanese power is marking time and watching the reawakening of the Chinese giant with an interest not without apprehension. At the start of the third millennium, this part of the planet will witness events that we cannot now even imagine. To talk about Germany entails talking about Europe, that is, about home. Here, too, development has broken down as a result not only of short-term causes but also of structural causes. There are three such causes: Germany has found its own developing area in the | Daily Assesses Impact of U.S. Economic Recovery |
FBIS3-18532_4 | east Laender, and the encounter has been traumatic at times; the government has been either unwilling or unable to meet the costs of unification by physically drawing revenue from a share of the income of the west Laender and the more prosperous classes; the power of the banks has compensated for this by keeping real interest rates high. These three social and political factors have combined with the world recession that has penalized German exports and caused internal liquidity to increase. In order to absorb it, or at least to contain it, the Bundesbank is again turning toward a more restrictive credit policy, after some, albeit timid, signs of recovery in recent months. All this is coinciding with the very recent rise in American interest rates. The immediate effect has been apparent in the past few days in all the world's financial markets: Shares are falling, yield from bonds is rising, and savers are again preferring short-term rather than long-term investments, thus worsening the conditions on which governments can secure credit from the capital market. The American recovery is a good thing for everyone, as I said at the beginning. Nevertheless, there are some countries which, for various reasons, are slow to join that locomotive. However, in order to preserve its recovery without feeding inflation, the United States is raising the cost of money, with a domino effect. Those lagging behind do not yet enjoy the benefits of the economic situation but immediately feel the pinch of more expensive money. In this quandary, within this pincer, so to speak, some problems are also being experienced with the lira exchange rate, the prices of government stock, and the cost of the public debt. For the present these are not real phenomena but, rather, expectations: Italian savers expect that the yield on their bonds will rise and that the cost of the public debt again will rise after a long period of decline. Hence the weakness of foreign exchange and of 5-year, 10-year, and 30-year treasury bonds. There is no cause for excessive alarm; these are at present smoke signals, and no more; the pre-electoral situation is exaggerating their extent. The promise to reduce fiscal pressure, for instance, comes at a most inopportune time, as is amply demonstrated by our foregoing analysis. For that matter, the governor of the Bank of Italy, with the authority that he enjoys by virtue of that | Daily Assesses Impact of U.S. Economic Recovery |
FBIS3-18540_0 | Language: Swedish Article Type:BFN [Unattributed report: "EU Agreement in Brief"] [Text] The alcohol monopoly in the form of AB Vin och Sprit's [import and wholesale] monopoly will disappear, but Systembolaget [state retail monopoly] will remain. Cigarettes and beer will be more expensive. In a year tax on cigarettes will be at the EU [European Union] level, and in three years beer will reach EU tax levels. Animal protection against salmonella, hog cholera, and mad cow disease will continue to be strict in Sweden. Border controls will be replaced by checks on exporters abroad and special certificates. The trade unions will have influence on EU legislation through collective agreements in Sweden. Security policy. There are no legal obstacles to Sweden and the EU having a common foreign and security policy, Sweden states in a declaration. Sweden, Norway, and Finland can retain free trade with the Baltic region. Influence in the decisionmaking bodies is not fully clear. Sweden wants five votes in the Council of Ministers, while the EU wants to give four. Sweden wants 25 seats in the European Parliament, while the EU wants to give 21. Import quotas on clothes will be reintroduced. The EU has promised that quotas will correspond to today's level of imports, but clothes prices could rise. Sweden's tough environmental standards can stay in place for four years in those cases where they are stricter than those of the EU. However, the EU has undertaken to review its own regulations. Financial support for Norrland will be replaced by the EU's support to mountain agriculture and normal agricultural support for disadvantaged regions. In addition the provinces concerned can receive environmental support and money from the structural fund for agricultural areas. The freedom of information principle will remain. A declaration which has yet to be finalized will state that Sweden has the right to decide its freedom of information rules for itself. The Swedes can keep their snuff. But it may only be manufactured and sold inside the country's borders. Swedes will have a duty-free allowance of 1 liter of strong spirits or 3 liters of fortified wine, 5 liters of wine, 15 liters of beer, and 300 cigarettes. After a 5-year transitional period there will in principle be no obstacles to EU citizens buying summer cottages in Sweden. In a year value-added tax will be payable on visits to the movie theater. However, there will be no | Outline of EU Membership Agreement Reported |
FBIS3-18557_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Paris, March 4 (AFP) -- Senior NATO official Gebhardt von Moltke said here Thursday [3 March] the Western European Union (WEU), the only exclusively European defence organisation, could eventually be brought under the control of the European Union. Moltke told a seminar of French senators that the WEU's executive council could disappear, as the Maastricht Treaty in effect conferred the power of political decision-making in defence matters on the foreign ministers of the 12 member states. The WEU, considered the European pillar of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, consists of 10 members. The only two EU states that are not part of the WEU are Ireland and Denmark. | NATO's Von Moltke on EU Control Over WEU |
FBIS3-18578_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Brussels, March 4 (AFP) -- The European Union [EU] sees the U.S. decision to reinstate its Super 301 trade sanction law as a warning to both Europe and Japan, a senior EU negotiator said here Friday [4 March]. He was reacting to the decision by President Bill Clinton to reactivate Super 301, which allows him to order punitive tariffs of up to 100 percent on a country that continues to obstruct imports of U.S. products. The move was aimed at Japan's trade surplus with the United States following Tokyo's refusal to accept numerical targets for opening its market to American goods. The EU negotiator, who asked not to be named, quoted the U.S. Administration as saying the move would be limited to areas of trade not dealt with in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This could mean that the United States could use Super 301 as a threat in current negotiations with the European Union to open up public contracts to full competition by 1996, he said. The two sides are negotiating certain areas in public procurement omitted from a deal struck among the European Union, the United States and 10 other countries last December to open up the sector. They are trying to reach agreement by April 15. The European Union has said it will exclude U.S. tenderers from telecommunications contracts until European firms have full access to American public contracts offered below Federal Government level. The EU negotiator said Washington could use Super 301 to force open the European telecommunications market if the dispute was not settled by the time the Uruguay Round is formally signed in Marrakesh on April 15. "That is why the U.S. decision (to reactivate Super 301) must be considered as a serious warning," he said. But the official added that the United States was not expected to use its trade weapon in another area excluded from the Uruguay Round -- the audiovisual sector where the European Union is officially discriminating against U.S. films and television programmes. The issue is on the agenda of a meeting of EU foreign ministers here on Monday and Tuesday. The ministers are due to discuss the European Union's possibilities of trade reprisals. Earlier Friday, EU Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan said the U.S. decision to resurrenct Super 301 was disappointing. Officials said he had telephoned U.S. Trade | EU Sees Warning in Revival of U.S. Super 301 |
FBIS3-18581_0 | Language: English Article Type:BFN [Text] Prague, March 5 (TANJUG) -- The Committee of Senior Officials of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) meeting in Prague called for the early return of its missions to Kosovo, Sandzak and Vojvodina in the Yugoslav Republic of Serbia. The CSCE missions' mandate in Yugoslavia expired less than a year ago and Belgrade has made its extension conditional upon Yugoslavia's return to the CSCE. Yugoslavia was suspended from the organization in July 1992 for its alleged involvement in war in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina. The CSCE committee said in a written statement late on Friday [4 March] that the return of the missions should be "unconditional." Serbia's southern province of Kosovo, where the first Serbian state was created in the early Middle Ages, is mostly populated by the ethnic Albanian minority. The northern province of Vojvodina and the Sandzak region in the southwest are partly populated by ethnic Hungarians and Moslems, respectively. The CSCE committee did not accept an initiative launched by a group of CSCE member-states to form a permanent CSCE forum for military stability and security in former Yugoslavia, which would also work for disarmament and confidence building in the area. Slovenia and Croatia violently seceded from the former Yugoslav six-member federation in mid-1991. Bosnia-Herzegovina's secession early in 1992 triggered the war which is still going on between its Moslem, Serb and Croat communities. The Former southernmost Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia followed suit so that Yugoslavia now consists of Serbia and Montenegro. The CSCE committee was divided over the establishment of a military stability forum because Russia and Greece urged a slower and more gradual approach, while Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina -- which initiated the idea -- insisted that the body be formed without delay. | CSCE Calls For Early Return of Missions in Yugoslavia |
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