Asia Times: Chechnya cracks down on thefts from oil pipeline



	June 12 1999	atimes.com

Central Asia / Siberia

NEWSLINE:
Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Russia

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Chechnya cracks down on thefts from oil pipeline
Chechen National Guard commander General Magomed Khambiev told Interfax on 9 June that his men will immediately take over responsibility for guarding the Chechen sector of the Baku-Grozny-Novorossiisk pipeline to prevent further thefts of oil. Khambiev said that 120,000 tons of oil have been siphoned off since the pipeline went into operation in the fall of 1997. He added that Grozny will compensate for those losses with crude extracted in Chechnya. The Russian pipeline company Transneft has repeatedly halted operation of the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline in recent months, most recently on 8 June, citing ''technical reasons.'' But Khambiev said Transneft will not resume pumping oil through the pipeline until it receives guarantees from Chechnya that there will be no further thefts. Chechnya receives $15.67 in transit fees per metric ton of oil transported through the pipeline. (L.F.)

Turkmen president sets up pipeline working groups
Saparmurat Niyazov on 9 June decreed the formation of two working groups to coordinate talks and the drafting of documents related to the planned construction of gas export pipelines, Interfax reported. One group will deal with the planned trans-Caspian route via Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey, while the second will continue talks with Japanese and European companies on the construction of a pipeline via Afghanistan to Pakistan. Interfax quoted a senior official from the country's Oil and Gas Ministry as saying that Niyazov's decision indicates that at present Ashgabat does not favor one specific pipeline route over others. (L.F.)

Kazakh president outlines priorities
Addressing cabinet members and regional governors on 9 June, Nursultan Nazarbaev chastized those officials for infighting, which, he said, is undermining the confidence of foreign investors, Reuters reported (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 9 June 1999). Nazarbaev criticized the government, and Prime Minister Nurlan Balghymbaev personally, for the lack of a coherent program for the next three to five years, and he outlined 10 tasks for ministers and regional leaders, Interfax reported. Also on 9 June, the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan joined the OTAN party in calling for the government's replacement. The trade unionists noted that real wages have fallen by 25-30 percent in recent months, while food prices have risen sharply. (Liz Fuller)

Kazakh premier assesses economic downturn
Addressing a conference in Astana on 9 June, Balghymbaev said economic output in the first five months of 1999 was down 4.8 percent compared with the same period last year and foreign trade turnover declined by almost 25 percent, Interfax reported. Balghymbaev also criticized the takeover of many large plants by foreign management, which began under his predecessor, Akezhan Kazhegeldin. He accused unnamed foreign investors of failing to meet tax commitments and to pay wages punctually. National Bank Chairman Qadyrzhan Damitov said that Kazakhstan's money base shrank by 20 percent during the first quarter of the year, while gold and hard currency reserves fell by 18.6 percent to $1.6 billion, Interfax reported. And Yerzhan Utembaev, who is chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms, summarized the overall economic situation as ''a serious crisis.'' (L.F.)

Uzbek bombing suspects admit Chechen connection
An unspecified number of the 22 men on trial for allegedly staging the 16 February bomb attacks in Tashkent, in which 16 people were killed, have admitted to undergoing training in camps in Chechnya run by Jordanian-born field commander Khattab, Interfax reported. Several other defendants said they underwent preparations for the attack in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Also on 9 June, Interfax reported that 34 men are on trial in the Uzbek city of Fergana on charges of calling for the overthrow of the present Uzbek leadership. The men hoped to establish an Islamic state, Interfax quotes local court officials as saying. (L.F.)

Azerbaijan president returns home
Heidar Aliev on 9 June flew home to Baku from the Turkish resort of Antalya, where he had spent three weeks recuperating from heart bypass surgery in the U.S. in late April. Before his return, presidential administration officials had announced that he will embark on a grueling schedule of public commitments, including the opening of a new airport complex in Baku on 13 June, a ceremony to mark the 1,300th anniversary of the Turkish epic ''Kitebi Dede Korkut'' on 14 June, and a summit of Turkic states on 15 June. But Novruz Mamedov, head of the foreign relations department within the presidential administration, told Reuters on 9 June that the Turkic summit has been postponed indefinitely because of Aliev's health. Other members of the presidential administration, however, said the postponement was requested by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, who visited Aliev in Antalya before the latter's departure. (L.F.)

Armenian parliament elects new speaker
As widely anticipated, the new parliament elected former Communist Party First Secretary Karen Demirchian as speaker at its first session on 10 June, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Demirchian and Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian head the Miasnutytun alliance, which has some 65 seats in the 131- deputy parliament. Addressing deputies, President Robert Kocharian said there can be ''no alternative'' to political and economic reform. He added that he expects ''close cooperation'' between the legislature and the executive. Demirchian, for his part, said he will strive to ''increase substantially'' the role of the parliament in policy-making, and he called for ''greater transparency' in the work of the government. (L.F.)

Death squad defendant pleads guilty
Only one of the eight former Armenian police officials accused of belonging to a death squad allegedly set up by former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian has pleaded guilty to that charge, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 9 June. Arshak Shukian confirmed his earlier testimony that he received orders from the alleged gang leader, Armen Ter-Sahakian, in 1992-1993 to assassinate several prominent officials and that he participated in one such murder. Ter-Sahakian and the remaining six accused have pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. Ter-Sahakian said his earlier confession was made under pressure from the Armenian authorities. (L.F.)

Stepashin showdown with Duma looms
Stepashin on 10 June said he is prepared to raise the issue of confidence in his cabinet if the Duma rejects the package of legislation prepared by the government in accordance with its agreement with the IMF. If Stepashin lost such a vote, President Yeltsin would have to name a new prime minister or dissolve the lower chamber. The previous day, the Duma postponed until 16 June consideration of a bill that would tax gasoline stations. Numerous Duma factions, including the Communist group, which is the largest, have said they will vote against the bill because they believe its passage will result in higher gasoline prices (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 8 June 1999). In his address to Duma members, Stepashin repeated his government's willingness to ''introduce state regulation of the gasoline market.'' (Julie A. Corwin)

(c)1998 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
________________________________________________ CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB
Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at:GobleP@rferl.orgor fax at 1-202-457-6992
_________________________________________________ RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

Front | China | Southeast Asia | Japan | Koreas | India/Pakistan | Central Asia/Russia | Oceania

Business Briefs | Global Economy | Asian Crisis | Media/IT | Editorials | Letters | Search/Archive

back to the top

©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.