SIEC INFO: Balts in NATO update, more Polish shakups
Michael Szporer
overview of the Polish transition for which we thank the author, who
happens to be on the SIEC. Some of you had problems with formatting which
might have required recopying and repasting it in email to printer
constraints, if you could not read it off the screen. In the event you
still have problems, please contact us and we will resend it.
Erratum: Ambassador John F. Kordek has asked us to correct the UHMM press
release about the 60th anniversary of the invasion of Poland
commemorative program which erred in identifying him as ambassador to
Poland.
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1. JBANC
2. RFE/RL: Poland, Belarus. Ukraine
3. Dictators Conference at the New School [New York]
4. Washington Chopin Festival [reminder]
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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 19:51:48 -0400
From: "Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc." <jb...@jbanc.org>
To: jb...@jbanc.org
Subject: Press Release
JBANC Press Release
September 13, 1999
contact: Karl Altau
BALTIC-AMERICANS MEET WITH NEW OFFICIALS AT OFFICE OF
NORDIC AND BALTIC AFFAIRS
Washington, DC (Sept. 13) - Baltic-Americans met with new officials at the
Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs at the State Department this past week
to discuss the progress of joint programs between the United States,
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The September 10 meeting, organized by the Joint Baltic American National
Committee, Inc. (JBANC), provided an opportunity to discuss and share
information about U.S. relations with the Baltic countries. The State
Department was represented by the new Director of the Office of Nordic and
Baltic Affairs, Deborah Graze, the Coordinator of the newly-established
Northern Europe Initiative (NEI) Conrad Tribble and Dr. Damian Leader, the
Deputy Director of the Office.
Each Baltic country is currently submitting a Membership Action Plan (MAP)
required by NATO of all "aspirant" countries for NATO membership. The
State Department views progress of Baltic NATO aspirations in positive
terms. They stressed that the 2% GNP threshold is an important element
needed to sustain defense programs.
The officials said that security means more than NATO membership and that
the U.S. is trying to help in all aspects. They said that the MAP, a
"roadmap," provides guidelines not only for developing defense networks
compatible with Western and NATO standards, but also for further
integrating and improving economic and social networks. The April
Washington NATO Summit, they said, was another step in the direction of
integrating the Baltic countries into all European and Western
institutions. They added that the three Baltic governments are seen as
being dedicated and committed to these goals.
Two more recent events have helped to solidify the working relationship
between the U.S. and the three Baltic countries. The Council of Baltic Sea
States (CBSS) Ministerial took place in Lithuania in June. Although not a
member, the U.S. was invited with observer status. In mid-July, the
Partnership Commission met in Washington to discuss issues of U.S.-Baltic
cooperation, as outlined in the U.S.-Baltic Charter. At the July meeting,
Baltic NATO enlargement plans were highlighted along with regional
cooperation issues and NGO and business development.
The Northern Europe Initiative, first conceived in 1997, further details
Baltic integration with the West, establishing a secure and stable
"neighborhood" in Northern Europe by bringing in NW Russia, Germany,
Poland and the Scandinavian countries to further promote regional
cooperation. NEI is developing programs in the spheres of energy,
environment, public health, civil society, law enforcement and in the
business-commercial sector.
In the area of legal enforcement, JBANC chairman Vello Ederma reiterated
JBANC support for opening FBI legal attache offices in Riga and Vilnius.
He said a single office in Tallinn does not serve the needs of three
countries to fight corruption and organized crime. For its part, JBANC
presented its views on various U.S.-Baltic issues form defense to
economics, and summarized actions on the Foreign Operations bill and
military aid to the Baltics and related legislation currently pending in
Congress.
*****************************
JOINT BALTIC AMERICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, INC.
Representing:
Estonian American National Council, Inc.
American Latvian Association, Inc.
Lithuanian American Council, Inc.
400 Hurley Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Tel: (301) 340-1954
Fax: (301) 309-1406
E-Mail: jb...@jbanc.org
Net: http://www.jbanc.org
*******************************************************
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report
Vol. 1, No. 16, 14 September 1999
A Survey of Developments in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine by the Regional
Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team.
POLAND
A CHANGE OF CABINET? According to widespread opinions in
Poland, the discharge of Deputy Premier and Interior and
Administration Minister Janusz Tomaszewski on 3 September
spelled the beginning of a major shakeup on the Polish
political scene. Many commentators do not rule out the
dismissal of the entire cabinet headed by Premier Jerzy
Buzek. Some even predict that both the cabinet and the
parliament will be dissolved and Poland will see early
parliamentary elections. Ironically, Tomaszewski--a
Solidarity veteran who was jailed by the Communist regime
in the early 1980s--lost his job because of allegations
that he collaborated with Communist-era secret services and
did not confess that fact in his lustration statement. But
lustration is a minor problem for the current cabinet. A
recent opinion poll by Demoskop showed that 52 percent or
respondents wanted the Solidarity-led cabinet to resign,
while only 27 percent wanted it to stay. The poll also
showed that negative ratings for Buzek's cabinet increased
to 71 percent in September from 65 percent in August.
Earlier opinion polls testified to the fact that the
government's low popularity is due to the poor performance
in implementing the four sweeping reforms of the
administration, health care, pension, and education
systems, as well as to the government's inability to reduce
unemployment.
The opposition Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) thinks
that anticipated cabinet reshuffles will not change the
current situation. SLD leader Leszek Miller said on 10
September that his party supports early parliamentary
elections. "One can clearly see agony and bankruptcy
[within the current cabinet]," PAP quoted Miller as saying.
Buzek said the same day that decisions on a government
reshuffle will be taken within the next two weeks. The
previous day he stated that he is not considering the
resignation of his cabinet. "I have to be ready for that
but I do not suppose that it would take place now," PAP
quoted him as saying.
WHAT DO POLES KNOW AND THINK ABOUT ETHNIC MINORITIES? It is
estimated that ethnic minorities in Poland make up 3.5
percent of the country's 40 million people. According to
the estimates reported by PAP on 9 September, Poland has
700,000 Germans, 250,000-300,000 Ukrainians, 250,000
Belarusians, 25,000-30,000 Slovaks, 15,000-20,000
Lithuanians, 10,000 Roma, 5,000 Jews, and a small number of
Czechs, Russians, and Greeks.
In a poll conducted by CBOS in August among 1030
Poles, respondents were asked to answer a number of
questions about their knowledge of and attitude toward
Poland's minorities.
Some 35 percent of respondents correctly estimated the
number of people of non-Polish ethnic origin; 34 percent
overestimated and 8 percent underestimated that number; 23
percent were unable to answer this question.
Asked to indicate the largest minorities in Poland,
the respondents named respectively Germans, Jews, Roma,
Ukrainians, and Belarusians. "It seems that the respondents
overestimate the numerical strength of Jews and Roma," CBOS
commented.
Asked to indicate whom they like and dislike, more
than one-third of those polled declared their dislike of
Roma, Jews, and Ukrainians. The most likable Polish
minorities are Czechs (43 percent of respondents) and
Slovaks (42 percent).
BELARUS
RUSSIA AFRAID OF LOSING BILLIONS BECAUSE OF BROTHERLY
FEELINGS. "Love to the brotherly republic--as it is defined
in the [Russia-Belarus union state treaty draft]--may cost
the Russian budget too much," "Izvestiya" wrote on 26
August in a piece titled "Onerous Love." The 9 September
"Vedomosti" in "Tax On Brotherly Friendship" posed an
anxious question: "How should Belarus and Russia avoid
losing many billions and simultaneously not break their
economic union?" Both newspapers are worried that the
Russia-Belarus Union treaty draft provides for a "single
economic and customs area," while not mentioning a "single
taxation area." Their worries are connected with the 2
April 1999 protocol signed by the CIS presidents on
collecting VAT and excise taxes on the CIS territory. The
protocol stipulates that beginning on 1 January 2000, the
CIS countries are to collect VAT and excise taxes on goods
in the country where those goods are destined to be sold.
Belarus proposes to extend this principle to the Belarus-
Russia Union. The Russian budget, the newspapers argue, may
suffer heavy losses due to what can be called "false
exports" to Belarus.
Reportedly, the above-mentioned tax collection scheme
is clear with regard to those CIS countries with which
Russia has real borders with customs checkpoints. A Russian
exporter--who paid VAT twice: first, when buying goods in
Russia (VAT included in the price), and second, when
shipping the goods through the border (paid as a customs
duty to the other country's budget)--can apply for the
reimbursement of the latter cost by the Russian budget on
the basis of his customs declaration confirmed by a customs
officer at the border. But there is no one to confirm such
declarations at the Russia-Belarus border. Virtually
anybody can claim that he has sold his goods in Belarus and
subsequently apply for the reimbursement of the VAT and
excise taxes that were supposedly paid to the brotherly
republic. Such a turn of events, the newspapers warn,
spells disaster for the Russian budget.
To avoid such trouble, Belarus has proposed to entrust
Russian and Belarusian tax inspectors with the task of
watching over the flow of goods between both countries.
However, "Izvestiya" and "Vedomosti" argue that registering
mutual exports by Russian and Belarusian tax inspectorates
is both an inefficient and time-consuming procedure.
THE COURT STOPS THERE. In March 1999, former National Bank
head Stanislau Bahdankevich filed a libel suit with a Minsk
district court against Belarusian Television journalists
Alyaksandr Zimouski and Yauhen Dzmitryyeu as well as the
Belarusian National Broadcast Company. In their comments,
Zimouski and Dzmitryyeu alleged that Bahdankevich--while
being the country's chief banker--had carelessly issued
bank credits that have never been returned. Moreover, they
maintained that Bahdankevich's three sons have not repaid
the bank credits they had been given some time ago.
Bahdankevich demanded that the court check the allegations
in the National Bank. Simultaneously, Bahdankevich
addressed all Belarusian banks with a request to provide
information about whether they issued any credits to his
sons. Although the allegations of Zimouski and Dzmitryyeu
were not confirmed, the court refused to punish the
journalists, arguing that they based their comments on
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's statements in his
interview with "Sovetskaya Belorussiya."
According to Belapan, Bahdankevich is going to appeal
the verdict, simultaneously expanding the set of defendants
with "Sovetskaya Belorussiya" and Lukashenka.
BEST TRACTOR AND HARVESTER OPERATORS TO BE PORTRAYED. On 7
September, an outdoor painting session with the
participation of some 20 painters from Belarus, Russia, and
Ukraine began in Mahileu Oblast. It is already the fourth
such meeting of artists in the oblast. The former meetings
were devoted to depicting local landscapes. This one is
different. According to Belapan, artists will visit the
best tractor and harvester operators in the country in
order to paint their plein-air portraits. The portraits
will be handed to those depicted on them at this year's
nationwide harvest festival in Shklou.
UKRAINE
RIVALS SUSPECT KUCHMA OF INTENTION TO FALSIFY OR INVALIDATE
PRESIDENTIAL BALLOT. Yevhen Marchuk, Oleksandr Moroz,
Volodymyr Oliynyk, and Oleksandr Tkachenko--the four
presidential hopefuls who declared on 24 August to
cooperate with each other and field one of them against the
incumbent on 31 October--have issued another joint
statement. This time they warned that the central
authorities, "taking advantage of the short-sightedness of
local executive power bodies, have seized leading posts in
territorial electoral commissions in order to be able to
falsify the election results in an unimpeded manner." It
turns out that Kuchma's representatives will head 80
territorial electoral commissions out of Ukraine's 225. The
four hopefuls' representatives were less lucky: Tkachenko's
people will head 16 commissions, Moroz's 14, Oliynyk's 12,
and Marchuk's 10. The four argued that this situation was
"created artificially" under "moral and psychological
pressure from the media controlled by the incumbent
president." They also suggested that Kuchma's election
staff harbor expectations that anticipated protests and
legal suits prompted by such "undemocratic actions" in the
election campaign will make it possible for Kuchma to
declare the elections invalid in the event he loses them.
"We say our resolute 'No!' to these plans by the current
authorities! We will prevent the elections from being
disrupted and the people from being deceived through
falsifications of the election results!", the four pledged
in their joint statement.
"KOMUNIST" BLASTS KUCHMA FOR USING "BOURGEOIS" METHODS.
"The nearer the election day, the more visible the 'charms'
of the bourgeois democracy," "Komunist" wrote on 9
September. In a strongly-worded article, the press organ of
Ukraine's Communist Party condemned the incumbent president
for resorting to an "arsenal of election techniques from
bourgeois countries" in his re-election campaign:
intimidation, bribery, "monstrous" lies, slander, cynicism,
and the discrediting of rivals.
The newspaper alleges that Kuchma is using another
Western invention--election "image-makers"--to make his re-
election possible. According to "Komunist," a group of
"image-makers from the near abroad" is residing in a
government-owned resort in a Kyiv suburb. When asked about
their identity, they say they are "from Mosfilm" (Russia's
film-making studio). "Kommunist" calls them "unscrupulous
and cynical mercenaries" and blames them for advising
Kuchma not to allow other candidates to appear in the state
media.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK. "During the first three days of my
arrest I was not given anything to eat and practically not
allowed to sleep--they were taking me for interrogations
every hour or every two hours. I ate for the first time
only when my mother came to see me [in jail]. ...I was
being hit either in my kidneys or belly. Then I was being
led away to my cell and brought back for interrogations
again and again. It continued until midnight. Later I was
transferred to the Central District Interior Affairs
Department in Minsk. There they again threatened me during
interrogations that they would beat me but hit only once."
-- 21-year-old Yauhen Asinski, arrested on 27 July for
taking part in the Independence Day opposition march in
Minsk; quoted by RFE/RL's Belarusian Service on 6
September.
"The state-run radio and television [in Belarus] are not
without an alternative. They have a very strong and
professionally trained alternative. It is Radio Liberty,
which broadcasts in Belarusian. [Also], all the Russian
channels have essentially served a very specific part of
our society, that is, our quite microscopic opposition." --
Belarusian Deputy Premier Uladzimir Zamyatalin on
Belarusian Television on 6 September.
"Belarus, as all neighboring countries, exists within a
market framework--[there is] a market for words, a market
for opinions, a market for morals, and a market for
conscience. We, as consumers, are only to choose the right
[items]." -- Belarusian Television correspondent on the
main newscast on 6 September.
"[Belarus] is dead. Close by, Russia is in its death
convulsions, too, but it is being replaced by something
else, something new. The end of the empire is bloody and
hard. However, it is better to have it this way than dying
your pitiful death of a beggar in front of the rich and
angry neighbor's door [and] waiting to see whether he opens
it to give you a drink of water or to kick you. I cannot
love the dead [country] any longer." -- Svetlana Gavrilina,
an ethnic Belarusian living in St. Petersburg, in a letter
titled "Goodbye, Byelorussia" on the Internet page of the
Belarusian Charter-97 group (http://www.charter97.org/) on
7 September.
"I pay no attention to Kuchma's position at all. The
political pre-election period which Ukraine is going
through right now is so tense that a lot of thoughtless
statements are being made. ...With whom else but Russia and
Belarus will Ukraine build relations? We are not needed
anywhere else." -- Lukashenka on 8 September, commenting on
the Ukrainian president's statements that Ukraine is not
interested in joining the Belarus-Russia Union; quoted by
Interfax.
"Were there really any different viewpoints? To introduce a
single currency--and that's it. Regardless of what
[currency] it will be. Regardless of where its issuing
center will be located. ...If we fail to integrate with
each other, then at least we will see a firecracker. But at
the same time, the Belarusian Council of Ministers has
adopted the country's monetary policy plan. Now the bunny
rabbit (ed: a humorous name for the Belarusian ruble) is
going to be gradually pegged to the euro. And to what will
we peg the [Russian] ruble? It seems that to the dollar,
though. So later the bunny rabbit will be pegged to the
[Russian] ruble, and it will be so wonderful." --
"Segodnya" on 9 September, commenting on Russian Premier
Vladimir Putin's 8 September visit to Minsk and his
integration talks with the Belarusian leadership.
"We do not make a single move without the IMF and the World
Bank." -- Leonid Kuchma on 6 September, rejecting
allegations that foreign loans are misused in Ukraine;
quoted by AP.
"An old friend is better than two new ones. Or at least,
dearer. The Soviet Union always paid highly for its friends
in the international arena: the socialist camp states and a
bunch of troglodyte states of the utterly third world,
which pledged under a shower of Soviet money to leap from
the stone age into a communist paradise. At the new spiral
of history, such a nasty situation recurs with regard to
Russia. [It does], even though friends are different and
the form of payment is different, and even though it is
supposedly we who are being paid, not paying." --
"Izvestiya" on 8 September, commenting on Russia's decision
to accept 11 supposedly obsolete Ukrainian strategic
bombers worth $70 million each as payment for Ukraine's gas
debts.
"According to objective data, the popularity rating of the
incumbent president is at least half as low as that
disseminated by his journalists. Besides, it is beyond any
doubt that in September-October his rating will decline
still further because of the worsening economic situation
in the state." -- Ukrainian parliamentary speaker Oleksandr
Tkachenko on 7 September.
(Compiled by Jan Maksymiuk)
*********************************************************
Copyright (c) 1999. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report is prepared by Jan
Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including
reporting by "RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast
services. It is distributed every Tuesday.
Direct comments to Jan Maksymiuk at maksy...@rferl.org. For
information on subscriptions or reprints, contact Paul Goble
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Technical queries should be emailed to:
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_______________________________________________________
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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Tir...@NYTimes.com, mszp...@polaris.umuc.edu,
THE TRANSREGIONAL CENTER
FOR DEMOCRATIC STUDIES
and the
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
present
Negotiating the End of Dictatorships:
Round Tables and the Future of Democracy
September 16-17, 1999
New School University, 65 Fifth Avenue
(between 13th and 14th Streets), Room 240
P R O G R A M
September 16, Thursday:
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Negotiated Transitions and the Round
Tables: Assessment and General Significance
Speakers: Konstanty Gebert (Poland), Stephen Holmes (USA), Martin Butora
(Slovakia), Jon Elster (USA)
7:15 pm - 9:00 pm -Reception at the Orozco Room (66 West 12th Street, 7th
Floor)
September 17, Friday:
10:00 am - 12:30 pm - Case Studies: Conditions for the Round Tables and
Mechanics of the Negotiated Transitions in Spain, Poland, Hungary and
South Africa
Speakers: Jose Casanova (USA/Spain), Elzbieta Matynia (USA/Poland), Andras
Bozoki (Hungary), Alex Boraine (South Africa)
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm - Lunch
2:00 pm - 4:30 pm - Legacy of the Round Tables and Their
Lessons for Democratic Aspirations around the World
Speakers: Victor Perez-Diaz (Spain), Janos Kis (Hungary), Andrew Arato
(USA)
***************************************
SPEAKERS
Andrew Arato Department of Sociology, New School University, NY
Alex Boraine Vice Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation
Committee, South Africa (currently teaching at the Law School, New York
University)
Andras Bozoki Department of Political Science, Central European
University, Budapest, (currently teaching at Smith College, Northampton,
MA)
Martin Butora Ambassador of the Republic of Slovakia in USA
Jose Casanova Chair, Department of Sociology, Graduate Faculty, New School
University, NY
Victor Perez - Diaz Analistas Socio-Politicos, Spain (currently
teaching at New School University, NY)
Jon Elster Department of Political Science, Columbia University, NY
Konstanty Gebert Editor in Chief of *Midrasz*, Poland
Stephen Holmes Department of Politics, Princeton University, NJ
Janos Kis Department of Political Science, Central European
University, Budapest
Elzbieta Matynia Director, TCDS, Committee of Liberal Studies, New
School University, NY
*****************************
[this information has appeared previously on the Siec]
Frederic Chopin Festival Program
Marking the 150th anniversary of the death of the great Polish Romantic
composer and pianist Frederic Chopin (1810-49)
November 4: Opening Gala Evening for VIPs at the Embassy of the
Republic of Poland hosted by His Excellency Ambassador Jerzy Kozminski
November 5: Concert by pianist JANUSZ OLEJNICZAK at the Kreeger Museum
November 7: Concert for Children by ROMAN MARKOWICZ at the Levine School
of Music
November 8: Lecture in English by the distinguished Polish historian
Count ADAM ZAMOYSKI at the Kreeger Museum
November 10: Concert by pianist KRYSTIAN ZIMERMAN at the Kennedy Center
November 12: International Finance Corporation Concert--to be
announced--
November 13: ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI'S film BLUE NOTE at the National Gallery
of Art Auditorium with the participation of ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI, actress
SOPHIE MARCEAU and pianist JANUSZ OLEJNICZAK
November 14/15: Concert by pianist EWA OSINSKA and vocalist OLGA
PASIECZNIK at the Durbaton Oaks Museum
November 16: Chopin Jazz Concert by ADAM MAKOWICZ at La Maison Francaise
of the Embassy of France
November 17: Lecture by ARLETTE SERRULAZ, Director of the Delacroix
Museum of Paris at the Phillips
November 18: Concert by pianist WOJCIECH SWITALA at the Embassy of the
republic of Poland
November 19: Theater evening with FANNY ARDANT and MATHIEU CARRIERE at
the Kennedy center, Terrace Theater
November 20/27: Films at the National Gallery of Art
November 21: Concert by pianist WOJCIECH SWITALA at the Phillips
November 22: Concert by JUANA ZAYAS at La Maison Francaise of the
Embassy of France
November 23: Lecture by Count JEAN D'ORMESSON at the Cosmos Club and
concert by pianist to be announced
November 29: CHamber Music Trio of STEVE HONIGBERG at la Maison
Francaise of the Embassy of France
November 30: Closing Gala Evening at the Residence of the Ambassador of
France and Mme BUJON DE L'ESTANG
======================
Mme Malgorzata Markowska, Founder
======================
Honorary Committee
HE Francois Bujon de l"Estang, Ambassador of France
HE Jerzy Kozminski, Ambassador of Poland
Comte Eric de Borchgrave d'Altena
Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski
Prince and Princesse Albert Czartoryski
Prince and Princesse Michel Czetwertynski
Comtesse Isabelle D'Ornano
Alain Duault
Henryk M. Gorecki
Ulysse Gosset
Barbara Haig
Mr. and Mrs. Krzysztof Penderecki
Lady Blanka Rosenstiel
Hon. Leonard Silverstein
Hon. and Mrs. Hamilton Southam
Andrzej Wajda
**************************************************************************
Foundation for Free Speech, Washington DC, Michael Szporer, 202-547-7114