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Peacekeepers being sent to Chad
The government has decided to send peacekeeping troops to Chad, in central Africa, to
support an EU initiative there. Albanian troops have already been serving in international
missions in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. "I think it's a good decision because it is
a very important moment for our country," Prime Minister Sali Berisha said after a
government meeting on 7 May. Albania was invited to join NATO at the Bucharest summit in
early April.
Survey suggests corruption on the rise in Albania
According to a survey conducted by the Research Institute and published on 7 May,
corruption in Albania was 13% higher in 2007 compared with 2006. Around 60% of those
surveyed said that they did not trust the country's judicial system as a top institution
meant to fight corruption. Participants in the poll also criticised the government,
political parties and trade unions. One ambassador to Albania, John Withers for the USA,
said changes would be needed to the law on immunity. That would permit investigations into
every government and administrative official.
Refurbished border facility re-opens
On 26 March the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) opened a renovated vehicle
examination facility at the Qafe Thana border crossing - a primary gateway between Albania
and Macedonia. The work was done with the help of the UNODC project, funded by the Italian
government and assisted by the EU Customs and Fiscal Assistance Mission to Albania.
Vehicle examination is another step in Albania's efforts to establish an integrated border
management system and to combat illicit trafficking.
Defence minister resigns over arms dump explosion
Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu has resigned following a series of fatal explosions at an
arms dump near the Albanian capital, Tirana. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said Mediu's
resignation was "an act of political responsibility". Berisha has ordered an
investigation into the explosions, which started on 15 March and continued for some hours
after.
The blasts killed 16 people and injured nearly 300. Health Minister Nard Ndoka said 10
people were still missing. More than 300 buildings were destroyed as shells fell on nearby
villages. The blasts smashed windows at Tirana's nearby international airport, and flights
had to be suspended for a time. The shockwave was said to have been felt as far away as
the Macedonian capital Skopje.
Workers had been dismantling a stockpile of old munitions. Prime Minister Berisha said the
explosions were accidentally started during work to destroy 100,000 tonnes of excess
ammunition stockpiled from the communist period. Destroying the old munitions has been one
of the conditions that Albania must meet in order to become a member of NATO.
Along with Croatia and Macedonia, Albania is bidding to be invited to join NATO at a
summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest early next month. It was NATO which had
contracted a US company to assist Albanian military experts in disposing of the obsolete
munitions stockpile.
The village of Gerdec lies next door to the base, some 10 km outside the capital Tirana,
and has been declared an emergency zone. Berisha promised aid for those who had lost their
homes. "As soon as the damage is fully assessed, the government will commit all its
resources to quickly react and rebuild the totally destroyed zone," he said.
Rescuers had managed to find and save 25 residents who had hidden in a communist-era
bunker when the explosions began. Witnesses said the initial explosion was smaller than
subsequent blasts, allowing many of the estimated 110 workers on the site to escape. Ten
minutes passed before the biggest blast and many workers used this time to flee.
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EU diplomat calls for an end to harassment of opposition
Peter Semneby, the EU special representative in the South Caucasus, has insisted that the
Armenian government should end its crackdown on the opposition and restore civil
liberties. Semneby had begun another fact-finding trip to Yerevan on 7 May.
He told parliament speaker Tigran Torosian that the release of political prisoners, the
launch of an independent investigation into the post-election violence in Yerevan and the
restoration of freedom of assembly was essential for easing political tensions in the
country. Some dialogue should start between the country’s leadership and its opponents
led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosian. Semneby had met Ter-Petrosian earlier in the
day, and iut was reported that the ex-president had expressed “readiness to engage in
purely political processes.”
PACE (the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly) made virtually the same demands in a
resolution on 17 April reflecting on Armenia’s 19 February presidential election.
It had warned that failure to meet those demands would put at risk Yerevan’s full
membership in the Council of Europe.
Speaking on 2 May former president Ter-Petrosian had said that while continuing to strive
for regime change, he would avoid taking actions that could cause further “upheavals”
or destabilise the political situation. He nevertheless continues to blame the authorities
for the 1 March clashes between his supporters and riot police, which left at least ten
people dead.
The Ter-Petrosian camp says police and other security bodies have continued to detain and
intimidate its supporters across Armenia even after the adoption of the PACE resolution. A
coalition of three Armenian non-governmental organisations which has set up an election
fraud hotline said on 7 May that it was continuing to receive phone calls from citizens
alleging police harassment and other human rights abuses.
Democratic institutions should be strengthened
Congratulating Tigran Sargsyan on his appointment as Prime Minister, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on 6 May sent a message emphasising that in the recent elections “the people
of Armenia confirmed its desire to strengthen democratic institutions in your country in a
bid to achieve prosperity and social equality.”
“I am convinced that under your guidance the government of Armenia will meet its goals
through democratisation and implementation of social and economic programmes.
The Secretary-General also looked forward to working closely on developing regional
co-operation in the South Caucasus. The whole United Nations would support th Armenian
government along this path.
Armenians to have two IDs, for home and abroad
Armenia is going to have a new passport system introduced in 2010 whereby citizens will
carry two documents – a personal card to use domestically and a passport containing
biometrical data to go abroad. The latter will include basic information, including a chip
with fingerprints.
“If we don’t have this, Europe, through whose territory we travel to other countries,
won’t accept us,” Alvina Zakaryan, head of the Passport and Visa Department of the
Armenian Police, explained. She was also pleased to announce that citizens could apply to
local passport offices rather than having to travel first to Yerevan.
The law was also amended for foreigners staying in Armenia. There would now be three kinds
of status – up to one year, permanent resident status (for a period of up to five
years), and special status granted only to people with Armenian ethnicity for a period of
ten years. Tourist visas would now be valid for 120 days instead of the 21 days granted up
to now.
According to data provided by Alvira Zakaryan, Armenia currently has 188 dual citizens.
Another 1,417 have applied to be registered as dual citizens. Dual citizenship in Armenia
was banned until constitutional amendments were adopted through a referendum in 2005.
Post-election violence worries Council of
Europe
The Council of Europe on 30 March urged the Armenian authorities to allow an independent
investigation into the post-election violence in Yerevan, to release political prisoners
and scrap controversial restrictions on the freedom of assembly.
Council of Europe diplomats, from the group monitoring Armenia’s compliance with its
Council of Europe commitments, spent the previous two days meeting senior government and
law-enforcement officials in Yerevan. They also visited the basement jail of the National
Security Service (NSS) where some 100 opposition leaders and activists have been kept
after being arrested.
The diplomats’ resulting recommendations are virtually identical to those of the
European Union. In two separate statements issued early this month, the EU Slovenian
presidency said that in order to defuse the crisis, the Armenian government should engage
in dialogue with opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian and release those of his supporters
who had been arrested for their political activities. “We stand behind the call for an
independent and impartial investigation of the events of March 1,” Swedish diplomat Per
Sjögren, head of the visiting group, said at a news briefing, standing alongside Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian. Sjögren said the Council of Europe was ready to assist in such
an inquiry but stressed that it should be conducted by a local body enjoying “wide trust
among the Armenian population”.
The Armenian authorities say the arrests and restrictions have been necessary to prevent a
repeat of the unrest at the beginning of March. Ter-Petrosian and his allies insist that
the de facto ban on opposition demonstrations is unconstitutional. Human Rights Watch said
on 28 March that the actions ran counter to the European Convention on Human Rights that
guarantees freedom of assembly.
2800 years of Armenian history on internet
An internet website has set out to contain the complete history of Armenia, covering the
period between 800 BC and 2004 AD. The site includes 370 pages, more than 1000 references
and hundreds of maps. Yet its organisers say the data online is still just a fragment of
the planned content and it will be continuously updated.
Armenica aims to serve as a free
complete reference source regarding Armenia, its history and other relating issues such as
the Armenian Genocide and the Karabakh conflict.
The launch of the Armenica website came alongside the 24 April 2005 commemoration day 90
years on from the Ottoman Genocide. Among many other topics, it aims to inform and shed
light on the rationale, the implementation and the result of the first genocide of the
20th century.
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Armenia: some facts and figures
Geography - Area of 29,800 square km. Bordering
countries are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey.
Population - 3.2 million (October 2001).
Capital - Yerevan, population - 1.1 million.
Ethnic composition - More than 95% Armenian. There are small minorities
of Russians, Kurds (Yezids), Greeks, Assyrians and Jews. Most ethnic Azeris fled in the
late 1980s and early 1990s following clashes between the two communities.
Languages - Armenian. Russian is also widely spoken.
Religion - Most Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, an
ancient independent branch of Christianity. in In AD 301, Armenia was the first state to
adopt Christianity as its state religion. There are small Catholic, Protestant and
Zoroastrian minorities.
Government - Under the 1995 constitution Armenia is a republic.
The President is directly elected for five-year terms, of which he may
serve no more than two. The President appoints and sacks ministers, including the Prime
Minister and Supreme Court officials. The President can disband the National Assembly
(parliament), after consulting its speaker and the Prime Minister.
Parliament - 131 members elected in 2007 for four years.
Parliament can remove ministers by expressing no confidence in a simple majority vote, and
can impeach the President by a two-thirds majority vote once the Supreme Court has ruled
that the President has committed treason or another major crime.
Armed forces - No official figures, number of regular troops thought to
be 50-60,000. Young men are conscripted aged 18 for two years.
Economics
Currency: Dram. (£1 = about 680 drams; $1 = 345 drams).
Inflation 2.0% and GDP growth at 11% in 2006.
Industry - Agriculture, textiles, food processing, construction materials, diamond
cutting, mining and chemicals are all major industries. Gold and molybdenum are mined,
mainly for export.
History - In 2100 BC a greater Armenian state extended from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Caspian. Over the first millennium AD, Armenians lived mainly in
two distinct areas, where they live now and in what is now the eastern Anatolia area of
Turkey.
These areas, western and eastern Armenia, were generally under Persian and Ottoman rule
but also had periods of domination by Byzantines, Mongols, Arabs and Russians. Armenians
also lived in smaller communities in Persia, present-day Syria, Gruziya, Azerbaijan, and
the Lebanon.
Russian armies invaded what is now Armenia in 1820, and Armenians were caught up in the
1914-17 Russian-Turkish war. It is claimed that 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were
exterminated between 1915 and 1923 by Ottoman Turkey. Turkey denies the charge but
acknowledges that thousands of Armenians may have been victims of the Russian-Turkish war
raging at the time.
An independent Armenian state existed from 1918 to 1921 but was swallowed up by the Soviet
Union in 1921, later becoming a full republic until independence in 1991. Russia and
Armenia still have a close strategic relationship. |
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High-Tech Park plans extended
Proposals for a High-Tech Park to be developed were first approved by the government in
December 2007. On 18 April the Director of the High-Tech Park Administration Valery
Tsepkalo announced that the scope of the development had been widened. It was originally
proposed as a home for software development, but would now be expended to include firms
dealing with hardware solutions and mobile telesystems. This would be more likely to
attract international companies, for instance those producing mobile phones.
The government had signed an investment agreement with the South African company Lyons
Financial Solutions Holdings to build a commercial real estate area in the High-Tech Park.
It will finance the necessary designing, prospecting and engineering works. The project
was expected to require around $3 million investment at this year’s initial stage.
Valery Tsepkalo said the High-Tech Park would also have shopping facilities, hotels,
sports and other facilities. The first building to be completed should be commissioned in
November 2008. It will house the High-Tech Park administration, resident companies, a
centre for training and retraining specialists, and space for business developers.
The resident companies were expected to contribute some $40 million during 2008 into the
construction.
Government considering scrapping 12-year schooling
Currently children in Belarus start going to school at six years-old and spend twelve
years in school education. On 17 April President Aleksandr Lukashenko announced that the
government was considering whether the 12-year period was really necessary. He asked what
social, moral and legal consequences resulted from making near adult people stay in
school.
The government had taken into consideration the views not only of representatives of the
Education Ministry but also educationalists and scientists, parents, and heads of national
and oblast administration bodies. A large-scale sociological survey on the 12-year school
education scheme, including views of school teachers had been initiated and its results
would be published.
Lukashenko said he had asked individual parents, including top officials, to present their
views and to get opinions of teachers and school directors about the 12-year school
education scheme. “It’s sometimes said that specialists should have the deciding vote
in such issues, not public opinion. That is not totally true in this case. Certainly it
would be senseless to arrange a nationwide poll on methods used to treat complex diseases.
But in such matters as school education the opinion of society as a whole should be taken
into account,” the President said.
Old cannons found at building site in Minsk
Two cannons believed to date back to the latter half of the 18th century were found during
excavation work on Internatsyyanalnaya Street in Minsk. A digger first unearthed one
weapon at a depth of four metres, and another was found later.
Experts at the National Museum of Belarussian History and Culture said
that the finds were unique, and Svyatlana Hawrylava, the museum's chief custodian, said
that the museum did not yet have such relics. A senior researcher at the museum
explained that the cast-iron barrels would have fired six-pound cannon balls, canister
shells and explosive shells, and are likely to have been made in a European country. The
finds would be undergoing restoration that may take up to six months.
MEPs call on Minsk government to meet 12 EU conditions
The European Parliament has called upon the authorities of Belarus to start democratic
reform in the country. This came in a declaration adopted on 17 April summing up the
results of a conference in the European Parliament, where the post-Chernobyl situation in
Belarus was discussed.
The EU was ready to restore relations with Belarus in the framework of European
Neighbourhood policy. The European Parliament called upon the Belarussian regime to
respect democratic values and basic human rights, and in particular to follow the 12
recommendations of the EU, including the release of all political prisoners, independence
of judicial agencies, respect of democratic values and basic rights of its citizens.
The declaration emphasised “From this point of view we welcome release of a few
political prisoners, but at the same time we demand final and unconditional release of
Alyaksandr Kazulin, and end to any further politically motivated arrests, intimidation and
violence against peaceful demonstrators, representatives of the democratic opposition and
civil society.”
Agreement on setting up European Commission representation in Minsk was welcomed, hoping
that the EU could support political, economic and social reforms in Belarus, as well as
improving living conditions of the Belarussians who had been affected by the Chernobyl
disaster.
The European Parliament expressed concern over plans for Belarus to build a nuclear power
station, and offered the government help on reaching international standards to safeguard
security and in the future avoid any tragedy similar to Chernobyl.
Polish and British support for BelSat channel
Both the Polish foreign ministry and the British embassy in Warsaw have pledged to
increase support for TV Belarus (BelSat), a satellite channel serviced from Poland's TVP
public television network.
In late March, BelSat reporters were targeted in nationwide raids carried out by police
and KGB officers on the offices of pro-opposition broadcasters funded by the European
Union and Poland, and on the apartments of journalists working with them. Raids resulted
into the seizure of broadcastng equipment.
The Polish foreign ministry said in a statement issued on 15 April that the raids were
"worrying."
It said that the British embassy had pledged funds to provide replacement laptops for
BelSat journalists, and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had announced that
Poland would increase funding for the TV channel to cover losses suffered by journalists.
"We encourage other Embassies and organisations to provide assistance too," the
statement said.
TV Belarus started broadcasts in December 2007, with most programmes made in the
Belarussian language. The network described its mission as providing “accurate and
independent coverage of events in Belarus, Europe and the rest of the world.”
Belarus - key data
Geography
Area - 207,600 sq km (80,200 sq miles).
Landlocked, Belarus is surrounded by Poland on the west, Lithuania and
Latvia to the north and north-west, Ukraine to the south, and Russia to the east. A
distinct strip of territory to the west was previously part of Poland and ceded to the
Soviet Union in 1939. Mainly flat, one third of the area is forested, and 46% is farmland.
Extensive Pripyat Marshes lie in the south, bordering Ukraine. The principal river is the
Dniepr to the east.
People
Population 9.85 million, primarily ethnic Slavs; 7 million eligible
to vote.
Ethnic breakdown: Belarussians 77.9%, Russians 13.2%, Poles 4.1%, Ukrainians 2.9% and Jews
1.1%.
Capital city Minsk, population around 2 million.
Religion: Mainly Russian Orthodox. Also substantial Roman Catholic and
eastern rite Catholic communities.
Language The Belarussian language, an eastern Slav tongue similar to
Russian and Ukrainian, has been subject to pressure. Russian dominates the country's
political life and state-controlled mass media, and is therefore spoken by most people.
History
Originally part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century, then in
16th century controlled by Poland. Partition of Poland in late 18th century made Belarus
part of Russia. Soviet Socialist republic 1939. Severe health and agricultural problems
followed fall-out from the Chernobyl explosion (just south of its border) on 26 April
1986. Independent state from 1991, initially with liberal government until 1994.
Administrative centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Under President
Aleksandr Lukashenko, in office since 1994, Belarus has become increasingly isolated. Its
government is widely criticised for repression of opposition politicians and news media;
four opposition figures have disappeared under mysterious circumstances in recent years.
Lukashenko, probably not without reason, frequently alleges international organisations
and governments are working to unseat him.
Political system
Belarus is a presidential republic and the President is elected for five years. The
President appoints the Prime Minister, who must be confirmed by parliament, other
ministers and heads of local administrations.
The Parliament consists of two chambers. The lower house of parliament is made up of 110
members elected every four years. The upper chamber has 56 members -- 10 members are
appointed by the president while others are elected by local councils.
Incumbent President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a former KGB officer, was first elected in 1994.
He then extended his rule through a referendum in 1996 and secured apparently landslide
victories in 2001 and again in March 2006. Both polls were condemned by independent
observers, Western governments and opposition as fraudulent.
Economy
The Belarussian economy is centralised with government controlling most
prices and ordering companies what to produce. In the past two years Belarus has enjoyed a
steady economic recovery, mainly due to an economic boom in neighbouring Russia, its main
trading partner. The government expects to secure about 10% GDP growth this year and next.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts 6.4% GDP growth in Belarus this year. The IMF
stopped giving loans to Belarus in 1996, and has said that reforms, tight monetary
policies and a balanced budget were required to sustain growth.
Relations with the EU
The European Commission policy paper "What the European Union could
bring to Belarus" outlines what Belarussian people could expect if the country
succeeded in establishing good relations with the EU. The aim of the paper has been to
rebuff propaganda from the government in Minsk message that nobody in Europe cares much
about political reform in the country. EU-Belarus:
New message to the people of Belarus |
Link:
The Belarussian exile organisation in Prague publishes the Belarusian
Review in English. Click for an on-line
version.
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EU urged not to delay signing SAA
On 7 May High Representative Miroslav Lajčák urged EU member states to sign the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Bosnia as soon as possible. The
previous week, it had been reported that doubts had arisen over the 26 May signing date.
Lajčák said that the public had been angered by the delay from late April to late May,
said to be in order for the documents to be translated, yet the EU had gone ahead with
signing of the SAA with Serbia. The Serbian government, he pointed out, had not yet met
all the commitments required by the EU, chief among them co-operation on war crimes.
Bosnian war crimes court convicts three for murder of unarmed civilians
Bosnia's own national war crimes court, set up in 2005 to ease the
pressure on the UN Hague Tribunal for war crimes, on 22 April convicted three Bosnian
Serbs of killing unarmed Muslim civilians, including women and children. Milorad Savic and
two men who share the same name, Mirko Pekez, were found guilty of killing 23 of a group
of 27 civilians in September 1992. They had been forced to line up at a cliff edge in
Jajce, central Bosnia, and were then shot.
The court said that none of the group of men, women and children killed at the cliff edge
near the town of Jajce were directly involved in the civil war. The convicted men were
sentenced to prison terms between 21 and 29 years.
EU will stand firm on police reform
High Representative Miroslav Lajcak emphasised on 7 April that the EU will not compromise
on police reform. It would be the most important condition for the EU signing a
Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). He was responding to statements from
officials in the main Bosniak party, the Party of Democratic Actions (SDA), who suggested
the SAA could be signed without adopting police reform legislation.
Lajcak also criticised the SDA's calls for changes to the country's basic composition. He
stressed that the constitution recognises two entities and three constituent peoples:
Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
Balkan countries and the EU
EU foreign ministers agreed on 21 November 2005 to start negotiating a
stabilisation and association agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The move
came exactly 10 years after the end of the Bosnian war.
All the Balkan countries hope to follow in the footsteps of Slovenija,
which joined the EU among the central European accession group in May 2004. Croatia
began EU accession talks in October 2005, while in the same month Serbia and
Montenegro began stabilisation and association talks. Macedonia
was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. Albania reached a
stabilisation and association agreement in June 2006.
EU
progress reports (2005) |
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top of right-hand column
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PM promises to eliminate corruption in the Customs
service
The Customs service must be subject to serious monitoring and control, Prime Minister
Sergey Stanishev declared in parliament’s session on 9 May. A European Commission
check had confirmed that the fight against corruption at the country’s borders continued
to yield good results. Nevertheless, Stanishev acknowledged that corruption in
Bulgaria continued to be a serious problem, having become endemic in society.
The Prime Minister told Parliament that after from January 2007 about 54% of the land
Customs stations in the country had been closed. There had been some 23,350 Customs
violations in the period 2006-2007 with 14,000 of them considered serious and dangerous.
2.7 tonnes of narcotic drugs including heroin had been caught at the borders of Bulgaria,
as well as 2086 counterfeit goods.
Stanishev thought that corruption could not be prevented solely through the efforts of
Parliament and the government administration. He underlined the importance of the judicial
system for success. It seemed apparent that the legal system in Bulgaria was still remote
from the problems corroding the country.
The Prime Minister reminded MPs that the introduction of a bill regulating the conflicts
of interest at the higher levels of the government was in the pipeline. It would affect
ministers, MPs, magistrates and members of the municipal administration.
Government reshuffle – five new cabinet ministers
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev has carried out a major cabinet reshuffle. On 22 April the
ministers of defence, agriculture and health were replaced, and Stanishev appointed a new
interior minister to replace Rumen Petkov who resigned the previous week.
A new Deputy PM will oversee the management of EU aid money. The EU has been pressing
Bulgaria to take swift action to tackle corruption and organised crime, and the Bulgarian
government has been concerned that there is a risk that the EU will cut aid if a report
due in July proves critical of its efforts to contain rampant corruption.
Petkov was replaced as interior minister by Mikhail Mikov. Petkov resigned following a
corruption scandal involving his ministry. Two senior police officers had been accused of
passing official secrets to crime bosses, alleged to have been behind a series of contract
murders.
Meglena Plugchieva, currently Bulgaria's ambassador to Germany, will become the new Deputy
Prime Minister overseeing the use of EU funds. The three other new appointments to the
cabinet were: Valeri Tsvetanov as agriculture minister, Nikolai Tsonev as defence minister
and Evgeni Zhelev as health minister.
Interior Ministry scandal triggered by drug-dealer arrest
The trial of alleged Serbian drug smuggler Budimir Kujović was due to open on 27 March in
a court in the southern town of Haskovo. He was arrested together with three Bulgarians on
30 December 2007 in the city of Stara Zagora, after customs officers had seized 60 kilos
of heroin at the Bulgaria/Turkey border.
It was this arrest that triggered a scandal in the Interior Ministry. Despite a 10-year
ban against entering the country, Kujović had Bulgarian identification documents issued
by the police. The ban was put in force in 2005 following accusations that Kujović had
been running a laboratory for the production of synthetic drugs.
Links:
Bulgarian Government
Progress reports on EU measures On 27 June 2007
the European Commission issued its reports on progress by Bulgaria and Romania in meeting
the measures required by the Commission when both countries joined the EU.
Download the EC statement (Word), with
links to full reports
Download key findings on Bulgaria: Word
or PDF
The European Stability Initiative looks at the transformation of Bulgaria since
1997
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New leader of opposition party elected
On Sunday 6 April Radimir Čačić was elected chairman of the opposition Croatian
People's Party (HNS), winning almost 73% support at the party's congress. Čačić
succeeds Vesna Pusić was retiring, partly due to health issues. After his election,
Čačić said his priority would be to ensure the HNS provided quality opposition to the
ruling Croatian Democratic Union, something the other main opposition party the Social
Democrats had failed to do, he said.
More than 1,500 delegates had gathered at the party's 9th electoral congress to choose
between three candidates for the post, to replace Vesna Pusić, who withdrew from the
leadership of the party after eight years at its helm. She herself had nominated Radimir
Čačić as her successor. Čačić was previously chairman of the party's Central
Committee.
US President on historic visit to Zagreb
US President George W Bush visited Zagreb for two days beginning on 4 April, able to
welcome Croatia to NATO. He made a point of praising the country's democratic reforms,
holding them up as an example to other countries in the Balkans. His visit to Zagreb was
sandwiched between the NATO summit in Bucharest and his later meeting with Russian
President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
Croatian President Stjepan Mesić and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said the trip was one of
the most important political events in Croatia’s recent history.
Bush delivered a speech in St. Mark's Square, a symbol of Croatian national sovereignty,
in the historic centre of Zagreb. Congratulating Croatia on the invitation it received to
join NATO at the summit, Bush said it was a vote of confidence in their ongoing reforms.
"Henceforth, should any danger threaten your people, America and the NATO Alliance
will stand with you. And no one will be able to take your freedom away." He
expressed regret that neighbouring Macedonia did not receive an invitation.
"America's position is clear: Macedonia should take its place in NATO as soon as
possible," he said.
Saying NATO is open to all countries in the region, he welcomed Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Montenegro's efforts to get closer to the Alliance by beginning the process of Intensive
Dialogue.
He thanked Croatian, Albanian and Macedonian soldiers for serving in Afghanistan.
"It's only a matter of time before freedom takes root across that troubled region.
And when it does, millions will remember the people of your nation stood with them in
their hour of need," Bush said.
Retired General commits suicide after killing five
On 1 April police charged retired General Ivan Korade with four murders committed in
northern Croatia last week. Korade, aged 44, went into hiding after police found the four
bodies in two villages in the Zagorje region where he lived. Police say identical
cartridge cases were found at the crime scenes. Hundreds of police officers, supported by
helicopters and special cameras, set about searching for Korade. The search ended two days
later when Korade was found dead after a shootout with police. One police officer was
killed during the operation to capture him. Officials say Korade committed suicide after
the gunfight.
Croatia (Hrvatska) - facts and figures
History Slav coastal tribes the Chrobati and
the Hrvati migrated from White Russia in the 6th century. The Croat kingdom reached its
peak in the 11th century. The king of Hungary subsequently claimed the Croatian throne
(1091). In 1526 the defeat of Hungary by the Turks brought the north-eastern part of
Croatia into the Ottoman Empire; the rest of the country elected Ferdinand of Austria as
king. In 1918 it became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, joining
with Montenegro and Serbia in what became in 1929 Jugoslavija (the south Slavs). Croatia
left socialist Jugoslavija in 1991, following the collapse of communism across central
Europe, but had to wage an independence war with its ethnic Serb minority and the Jugoslav
army. The war ended with a peace treaty in 1995, after it had recaptured territory held by
rebel Serbs in a swift offensive.
Croatia's first President and architect of its independence, Franjo Tudjman, died in 1999,
and a pro-western reformist coalition came to power in 2000.
The government estimates that some 300,000 ethnic Serbs have left Croatia since 1991,
mostly after their rebellion was crushed in 1995, and gone to such areas as Serb-held
Bosnia. According to recent U.N. figures about a third have returned to their pre-war
homes in Croatia.
On 4 October 2005 the EU opened membership talks with Croatia. It followed a
statement by Carla del Ponte, the UN chief war crimes prosecutor, that the government was
now fully co-operating with the Hague tribunal. The talks had been due to start in
March, but were held up by Croatia's failure to hand over General Ante Gotovina, charged
with war crimes against Serb civilians during a 1995 offensive.
Population 4.4 million (2001 census): Croats 3.98 million,
Serbs 201,600, Italians 19,600, Slovenes 13,000. Muslims 20,755, Hungarians 16,600,
Albanians 15,000
Geography The land area is 56,538 sq km (21,829 sq
miles) plus territorial waters of 31,900 sq km (12,316 sq miles). The Adriatic coastline,
which includes 1,185 islands, islets and reefs, is 5,740 km (3,566 miles) long. There is
fertile plain in the cetre and east and a fairly barren mountainous coastal region. One
thrd of the country is forested. The river Danube forms its north-eastern border with
Serbia. Croatia is bordered by Slovenija in the north-west, Hungary in the north, Serbia
in the east, Bosnia in the south and Montenegro in the south-east. It also has a maritime
border with Italy in the Adriatic.
The capital Zagrab (Zagreb) has a population of 867,865.
Language The official language is Croatian, written
in Roman script.
Religion Roman Catholic 88.6%, Orthodox 4.5%, Muslim
1.3%, with 5.3% of the population declared as agnostic or atheist.(2001 census).
Economy Mainly agricultural, with tourism a major
contributor on the Adriatic coast. Natural resources include bauxite, coal, copper, and
iron. Other industries are metal-working, electrical engineering, lumber and oil-refining.
The Balkan civil war badly affected its economy. Croatia became member of the World Trade
Organisation in mid-2000. It was left out from the first group of former central European
communist countries to join the European Union in 2004 because of its poor human rights
record and nationalist government. Croatia applied for full membership in February 2003.
EU leaders agreed in December 2004 to start entry talks with Croatia if the
country co-operated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Jugoslavija.
The opening of accession talks was delayed until October 2005, but Croatia still hopes to
join the second enlargement group together with Romania and Bulgaria.
Annual inflation was forecast at below 2% this year. Before an austerity programme was
introduced in 1993, inflation ran at 38% a month.
In 2002, Croatia's GDP grew 5.2%, reaching $5,130 per capita and is expected to rise to
almost $6,000 this year. Unemployment stood at 18.3% in September.
Currency - the kuna, introduced in May 1994, valued at about 7.6 to the
euro and 6.5 to the U.S. dollar. |
Link to Croatian Information
Centre
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Agreement on U.S. radar reached
After meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Minister Karel
Schwarzenberg said on 3 April that the Czech Republic and the United States had reached
agreement on the main treaty about plans to site a U.S. radar base on Czech territory. The
meeting took place during the NATO summit in Bucharest. The actual treaty will be signed
in Prague at the beginning of May. Talks on a second treaty – the Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) – are still ongoing.
Washington's plans to expand its missile-defence shield to central Europe would involve
the positioning of a tracking radar in the Czech Republic about 75 km south-west of
Prague, and a launching-pad for ten interceptor missiles in neighbouring Poland. At the
summit, NATO countries expected to back the planned U.S. anti-missile defence system in
Europe and to announce that it would be integrated into a system of joint NATO defence.
NATO leaders were reported to have agreed to endorse the US government’s missile defence
plans, despite Russian objections. The approval of NATO would be likely to raise the
chances of the radar base plan being approved by the Czech parliament. There are, however,
still a number of uncertainties. Parliamentary approval in Prague cannot be guaranteed,
and the U.S. Congress, meanwhile, is still to reluctant to fund the deployment until the
system has been proved to work. Much depends on the outcome of the U.S. elections –a new
Democrat President in Washington could question the value of the whole system.
Recognition of Kosovo independence splits public opinion
On 3 April the CVVM agency released results of an opinion poll on the independence of the
former Serbian province of Kosovo. It revealed that Czechs are divided in their views. 36%
of Czech did not agree with unilateral independence for Kosovo, while 34% believed it
should be accepted. Some 30% of respondents had no opinion on the matter. The Foreign
Ministry proposed earlier in the week that the Czech Republic should recognise independent
Kosovo, but the government has postponed its decision on the matter.
Christian Democrat leader returns to the cabinet
After a 138 day absence as a minister of the Czech coalition government, controversial
Christian Democrat leader Jiří Čunek returned on 3 April to the post of deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for Regional Development. Formalities were completed when the
minister signed an official oath in front of the Czech President at Prague Castle.
Jiří Čunek was forced to resign from the cabinet after irregularities
were discovered in his finances. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg had threatened to
resign if Čunek was re-appointed, but has since agreed as a copmpromise that a private
company of his own choosing should conduct an independent audit of the deputy PM.
Schwarzenberg also stated that he would himself personally pay for the audit.
Čunek's reinstatement came nearly five months after he had to resign during
an investigation into allegations that he had taken bribes. Investigations into various
charges were halted, for reasons that were not always transparent. The current government
coalition continues to rely on the votes of the small minority party, the Christian
Democrats. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg had made it a condition for the continued
support of the Green Party, another minority group in the government coalition, that
Čunek should allow his family finances to be examined by an independent auditor.
Czechs uneasy on Tibet repression
Several weeks ago, the Czech Republic raised eyebrows by celebrating the International Day
for Tibet with particular enthusiasm. Politicians hung the Tibetan flag from government
offices, and ministers showed open support for the plight of the Tibetan people. This year
the unrest in Tibet has again brought the event into the spotlight.
For China, which is hosting the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer, these events have
proved to be particularly embarrassing. Ondrej Liška, the Czech minister for sports and
education said: “China has been expected to use the occasion of the Olympic Games this
year as an opportunity to enhance the protection of human rights and guarantee political
freedoms of faith, religion and speech. But as we have seen in Tibet, and we have seen
this continuously in the past several years, it has not been the case.”
Peng Bin, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Prague, insisted that the Olympics
were not an appropriate venue for the airing of political grievances: “The Beijing
Olympics is not an event just for the Chinese people; I think it is a great event for
people all over the world. And the Olympic Games are not a venue for political issues. We
regard the Olympic Games as a good opportunity and a platform for the people from all the
countries of the world to come together – to strengthen communication, to exchange views
and develop a mutual understanding and friendship … we have talked with Czech diplomats
and expressed our strong dissatisfaction and lodged a protest.”
Education Minister Ondrej Liška continues to maintain a firm line. He has announced that
he will not be attending the Olympic Games in Beijing, as a form of protest against the
human rights situation in that country. Yet he insists that his views do not represent
government policy:
“… for me personally, I will not take part in the Olympic Games in China this year,
though I am not calling on the sportsmen and women to boycott the games. I think that they
should go and win, and if they find enough braveness, they should also express their minds
if they feel the same way.”
Speaking during a TV debate programme, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said there was
no need for the prime minister to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in
Beijing in August. On 27 March the Prime Minister said he would ask the cabinet to
vote on the issue. After the violence by Chinese authorities against protesters in Tibet,
the question of whether leaders should attend the ceremony has been debated
internationally. The Czech president, Václav Klaus, will miss the opening ceremony,
citing health reasons.
New education centre at Lidice
The Lidice museum, which stands on the site of the Czech village that was infamously razed
to the ground by the Nazis in 1942, opened a new education centre on 31 March. Among other
things, this facility will give visitors and scholars access to a detailed historical
archive of material about what is considered to be one of the most notorious Nazi
atrocities of WW2.
The Nazi massacre of the Czech village of Lidice was in retaliation for
the assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich. It was an event which still
resonates around the world as a byword for brutality.
On the morning of 10 June 1942, Nazi troops stormed into Lidice and
forcefully removed the villagers from their homes. All the men over 15 years of age were
lined up against a wall and shot while the women and children were transported to
concentration camps. 173 people died that day and another 167 subsequently perished in
detention. The village itself was completely razed to the ground.
The modern education centre that has just been opened stands next to a
commemorative monument, park and museum on the site of the tragedy. It is designed to
cater for the increasing number of school groups and students who currently visit Lidice.
Naděžda Rezková-Přibylová, one of the education co-ordinators there, explained: “There’s
a clear reason for the establishment of the education centre. Essentially it complements
and contextualises the museum, because the museum exhibition has been designed to have an
emotional impact … at the same time the museum’s creators have been aware of the need
to go one step further and create something that caters for people who want more detailed
information and who wish to find out more about the actual history of Lidice.”
The new education centre has an exhibition room with photographs and detailed multilingual
descriptions of the tragic events that occurred in Lidice. There is also a
state-of-the-art classroom with computers which students can use to access an extensive
digital archive of photos, documents and other materials about the village. At the moment,
this valuable archive is only in Czech but there are plans to make it available in English
and German for the benefit of the large number of foreign student groups who now visit
Lidice.
On 31 March some of the small number of villagers who survived the Lidice massacre
attended a sombre opening ceremony for the new education centre. Jaroslava Skleničková,
one of just a handful of Lidice children who survived the massacre in 1942, was now over
eighty years of age. Confined to a wheelchair, she still accepted an invitation to attend
the opening of the facility, which she says is a very important addition to the Lidice
memorial. “Young people will have an opportunity to come and work on the computers here
and study all the things that happened. They will have a chance to take an in-depth look
at the events that occurred in Lidice. This is really important, especially when you see
how Nazism is now on the rise again.”
The Lidice memorial
Government proposes microchip motorway toll
The government unveiled on 31 March plans for a revolutionary change in the country’s
motorway toll system, which will rely on a microchip attached to car windshields,
replacing the current system of motorway stickers. The plan is particularly controversial,
and in European terms would be unique.
The chip would beam a signal to a series of toll gates that are already
in place on Czech motorways, telling a central system whether the vehicle's owner had paid
their annual motorway toll fee. The system would also allow the police to monitor the
traffic burden on the country’s congested motorways, enabling them to divert traffic in
the case of congestion or accidents. But the chip plan has raised concerns from automobile
associations that the authorities would be able to spy on individual drivers. The chips
– which will be transferable from car to car – could also be a magnet for thieves.
The Transport Ministry currently has the system on test, using the existing toll gates. If
it proves viable the tender to run it from January 2009 will be given to Kapsch, the
Austrian firm that administers the current motorway toll system for lorries in the Czech
Republic. If not, the government will announce a public tender.
New Slovenian road network debts require highway
pricing
Poll suggests nearly half believe President's re-election not completely fair
A recent poll, conducted by the Median agency and published in the newspaper Lidove noviny
on 31 March, suggests 42.5% of Czechs believe Václav Klaus was not re-elected President
in a completely fair manner. Václav Klaus secured a second 5-year term as Czech President
by just two votes in a joint session of Parliament in mid February. The survey indicated
that people were concerned by the fact that Klaus's election was secured only with the
vote of a turn-coat opposition Social Democrat MP and the absence of a member of the Green
party, who otherwise supported the challenger Jan Svejnar. 30% of respondents said they
were not bothered by the election, while 27.5% had no opinion.
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Citizenship still an issue of conflict
Official sources claimed in April that stateless residents in increasing numbers prefer
Russian to Estonian citizenship. Fresh evidence of the growing antagonism between the
majority ethnic Estonian and minority Russian groups was revealed when Urve Palo, the
minister for population, told the Estonian public television station ETV that the number
of people applying for Estonian citizenship had declined this year. The Russian Embassy in
stark contrast claimed that the number of people applying for Russian citizenship had gone
up. In the first two months of 2008 the number of applicants for Estonian citizenship was
only 332 – almost half the figure for the same time period a year earlier.
As with other Baltic states, Estonia has a substantial minority of ethnically Russian
residents. Nationalist pressure had advocated the return of ethnic Russians to the Russian
Federation, and conditions for gaining Estonian citizenship have ever since independence
been kept significantly difficult.
Unemployment on the rise
The unemployment rate in Estonia has reached record highs as real estate and construction
industries undergo mass lay-offs. The increase in unemployment appears to be closely
connected to the collapse of the real estate market, which has left up to 6,000 people out
of a job. Another factor contributing to the increase is the high number of companies
filing bankruptcy.
The Estonian Labour Office was however not pessimisitic. Its representative, Nele Labi,
said “The number of unemployed people has never been as low as it was last year”. Labi
thought that most of the recently unemployed should be able to find work again quickly.
Work permits for non-EU nationals relaxed
The Interior Ministry announced in late March that the laws governing work permits for
non-EU nationals were to be reformed.
At present, an employer has to advertise a vacancy six months in advance for the Interior
Ministry to allow someone from outside the EU to take the position. This is to be reduced
to two months. At the same time the overall quota of ‘guest workers’ in Estonia is to
be increased from 0.05 to 0.1 percent of the Estonian population. This means that instead
of the current quota of 670 new guest workers per year, in the future about 1,340 migrant
workers will be allowed to enter Estonia.
Facts about Estonia (Eesti)
Geography The country is 45,100 sq km (17,409 sq
miles) in area, including some 800 islands. The northernmost of the three Baltic
countries, Estonia borders the Baltic Sea to the north and the west, Russia to the east
and Latvia to the south. 36% of the land is forested, and there are over 1500 lakes.
Population 1.4 million, of which 65% are Estonian,
28% Russian, 2.5% Ukrainian, 1.5% Belarussian and 1% Finnish.
Capital Tallinn, population 400,000.
Language The official language is Estonian (quite
closely related to Finnish), and Russian is widely spoken (the home language of 32% of the
population, especially in north-eastern parts of the country).
Religions Lutheran and Russian Orthodox.
Government The Republic of Estonia is a
parliamentary democracy. Power is divided between the 101-seat single chamber parliament,
or Riigikogu, the cabinet and the non-executive presidency.
President: Arnold Ruutel.
Prime Minister: Andrus Ansip.
History Estonia was under Swedish rule from 1629,
and then was ceded to Russia in 1721. It first gained independence in 1918. It remained an
independent nation between the two World Wars, then in 1940, under the Molotov-Ribbentrop
pact, it was invaded by Russia and became part of the Soviet Union. Subsequently Estonia
was occupied by Germany 1941-44 during World War 2. After WW2, Estonia was subject to the
Soviet economy and politics, including collectivisation of farms, suppression of religion
and massive deportations. The rapidly expanding planned economy brought hundreds of
thousands of Soviet immigrants to Estonia, causing widespread fear among Estonians that
their national identity would eventually vanish. The Gorbachev reforms prompted an upsurge
in nationalism across the Baltic region in the late 1980s, and independence movements won
control in 1990 after the 'Singing Revolution'. Estonia declared a transitional period
leading to its declaration of full independence on 20August 1991.
Economy Estonia set out to turn itself into a
Western-style market economy at breakneck speed after regaining independence in 1991 and
was the first country in the former Soviet Union to introduce its own currency, the kroon
(=100 centts), in 1992.
It quickly became the most liberal Baltic economy in the often painful transformation to a
market-based system, and has enjoyed fast economic growth despite a global slump, GDP
expanding by 5.8% in 2002. Exports are now mostly forestry and agricultural products.
Estonian sea ports are important transit points for Russian oil bound for the west.
The weak economies of its main European trading partners slowed its year-on-year growth to
4.1% in second quarter 2003 and full-year growth is estimated at 4.5%.
A monetary policy of balanced budgets, moderate inflation and a simple currency board
fixing the kroon to the euro has convinced Estonian leaders that switching to the European
single currency will be largely a technical matter. The government wants to join the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-2), the waiting room for the euro, in 2004 and
become part of euroland in late 2006 or early 2007. |
Link: Estonian government website
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