From: senel@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (Hakan)
Subject: News  (forwarding)
Originator: senel@irlsp
Organization: Takanumi University of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 15:42:48 GMT



  From: "(Al Trh)" <trh@jack.sns.com>
  Subject:      Radio Free Europe News Articles

The following are selected news articles from RFE.
It is not written by trknws-l editors. We do not
guarantee the accuracy. We are merely re-posting it
for your information...
AZERBAIJAN'S GOLD RESERVES
In an interview in the 6 September issue of the newspaper
Azadlyg, as summarized by ITAR-TASS, the chairman of
Azerbaijan's State Committee for Geology and Mineral
Resources, Ekrem Shekinsky, claimed that Azerbaijan's gold
reserves exceeded those of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Algeria,
Germany and Great Britain combined.  Although in the past
many of Azerbaijan's numerous gold deposits were declared
unviable, the exploitation of only four of them would yield
approximately 4 tons of gold per year. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL
Inc.)

TURKISH MINISTER IN SOFIA
In connection with a session of the Bulgarian-Turkish
Committee on Economic, Scientific, and Technological
Cooperation, Turkish Minister of State Orhan Kilercioglu
spent 3-4 September in the Bulgarian capital, BTA reported.
Kilercioglu met with Bulgarian Premier Filip Dimitrov to
discuss the problems of returning Bulgarian Turks (forced to
emigrate in 1989) and the crisis in ex-Yugoslavia.  Together
with Bulgarian Transport Minister Aleksandar Aleksandrov
Kilercioglu signed a protocol on bilateral trade, transport
and telecommunications. Other accords--on promoting
investments and avoiding double taxation--are to be signed
before 1993. (Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL Inc.)

ABKHAZ CEASE-FIRE VIOLATED
At a session of the Georgian State Council on 8 September,
Chairman Eduard Shevardnadze accused the Abkhaz leadership
of gross violations of the cease-fire agreement reached in
Moscow on 3 September, according to Interfax. Shevardnadze
argued that the continued shooting demonstrates that the
Abkhaz leadership has no control over its own armed forces--
a charge that could equally be made against the Georgians.
Interfax further reported that Abkhaz Parliament Chairman
Vladislav Ardzinba has fired Abkhaz troop commander Colonel
Viktor Kakalia, who on 6 September signed a protocol on
implementing the cease-fire agreement, and appointed
Vladimir Arshba in his place. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

KARABAKH CEASE-FIRE NEVER EXISTED.
On 8 September, the second day of the fifth round of CSCE-
sponsored preparatory Karabakh peace talks in Rome, Armenian
and Azerbaijani delegates announced that the Kazakh-mediated
ceasefire accord signed on 27 August applies only to
unspecified "hot spots" along the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border and not to the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh,
where fighting continues unabated, Western agencies
reported.  (Liz Fuller)

FOUR CIS STATES WANT TO DISCUSS BORDER ISSUES WITH CHINA.

Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan agreed on 8
September to raise the issue of mutual troop reductions
along their combined 8,000 kilometer border with China, as
well as other border issues. ITAR-TASS, which announced the
agreement, said that it was reached on the periphery of a
meeting of CIS foreign ministers in Minsk. The Russian and
Chinese defense ministers discussed troop pullbacks from
their mutual border when they met in Moscow last month, but
failed to agree on how far back the troops should be
withdrawn. (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

RISING TENSION IN UZBEKISTAN?

On 8 September, Uzbekistan's former Vice-President Shukrullo
Mirsaidov resigned his post as deputy chairman of the Uzbek
parliament, warning in an open letter that "democracy and a
policy of openness are being replaced by an authoritarian
regime," AFP reported.  During the summer there were a
growing number of indications that President Karimov was
cracking down on the opposition, possibly as a preventative
measure against Tajik-style disturbances.  Mirsaidov was
forced out of the vice-presidency by Karimov after what was
reported to have been differences over the pace of economic
reform. Possibly the two men also disagreed over political
reform. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

KARIMOV APPEALS TO UN ON CENTRAL ASIA.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who fears that the unrest in
Tajikistan will spill over into Uzbekistan, appealed to UN
Secretary-General Butros-Ghali on 8 September, warning that
Central Asia could become a hotbed of tension, ITAR-TASS and
Reuters reported.  Karimov cited the heavy flow of arms from
Afghanistan to Tajikistan and complained that external
forces want to encourage political and interethnic strife in
the region.  Karimov has been so disturbed over events in
Tajikistan that he has authorized the closing of the Uzbek-
Tajik border. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

TURKEY PROVIDING WEAPONS TO NAKHICHEVAN? According to an
unconfirmed report on 9 September by Armenia's Snark News
Agency, the military council of the Ninth Corps of the
Turkish army has decided, with the Turkish government's
consent, to supply considerable quantities of Soviet-made
weapons and combat material to the government of
Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. To date, the
Turkish government has publicly resisted pressure to offer
military assistance to Azerbaijan. Turkish Prime Minister
Suleiman Demirel visited Nakhichevan last month and promised
financial and food aid worth $10 million to counter the
effects of the Armenian blockade of the region. (Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL Inc.)

KARABAKH TALKS COLLAPSE. The fifth round of CSCE-sponsored
Karabakh preparatory peace talks ended in Rome on 10
September; disagreements over procedural issues, such as the
designation of the Armenian delegation from the Nagorno-
Karabakh Republic, precluded substantive discussion of
Chairman Mario Raffaelli's cease-fire proposal, Western
agencies reported. No date was set for resuming the talks.
On 10 September, Turkey's Anatolia News Agency quoted
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Tofik Gasymov as arguing that
all Armenian troops should be withdrawn from Karabakh prior
to the convening of a fully-fledged peace conference in
Minsk.  (Armenia disclaims responsibility for the Armenian
units fighting in Karabakh.) Speaking in Istanbul, Armenian
Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannissian accused Turkey of
abandoning its neutral position and extending military aid
to Azerbaijan, Western agencies reported. (Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL Inc.)


TALKS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ABKHAZ CEASE-FIRE HITS OBSTACLE.
The tripartite Russian/Georgian/Abkhaz talks in Sukhumi on
implementation of the Abkhaz cease-fire agreement were
reported deadlocked on 10 September over the status of the
Abkhaz National Guard, Interfax reported.  Abkhaz delegate
Colonel Viktor Kakalia rejected a demand by Georgian Prime
Minister Tengiz Sigua that there should be no independently
controlled armies on Georgian territory.  The Abkhaz
National Guard is composed exclusively of ethnic Abkhazians
and is directly subordinate to the presidium of the Abkhaz
Supreme Soviet. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

NO ISLAMIC STATE IN TAJIKISTAN.  Akbarsho Iskandarov,
chairman of Tajikistan's Supreme Soviet and the closest
thing the country has to a leader, told correspondents at
celebrations marking the first anniversary of Tajikistan's
independence that the removal of President Rakhmon Nabiev
will not lead to the creation of an Islamic state.
Iskandarov's statement was reported by various domestic and
Western agencies on 9 September, and broadcast on the
Turkish "Avrasya" TV channel for Central Asia.
Correspondents in Dushanbe reported that large crowds turned
out in Dushanbe for the Independence Day celebrations.
However, fighting was reportedto be continuing on 10
September in Kurgan-Tyube between local supporters of the
anti-Communist opposition and an armed band from neighboring
Kulyab Oblast. (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

CIS TROOPS TAKE UP POSITIONS ON TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER. AFP
reported on 10 September that approximately 1,000 border
troops from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan
had taken up positions on the Tajik-Afghan border to
strengthen CIS units trying to stop the smuggling of
weaponsfrom Afghanistan to Tajikistan. The presidents of the
four states announced on 4 September that the additional
border troops were being sent because the situation on the
border posed a threat to the rest of the CIS.  Uzbekistan's
President Islam Karimov is so upset over developments in
Tajikistan that he is looking to Russia as a protector, he
told an interviewer from the French daily Liberation on 8
September.  (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

TURKEY URGES ACTION.  Turkish media report that Prime
Minister Suleyman Demirel, speaking at a meeting of Council
of Europe representatives in Istanbul, urged member states
to convene a summit to discuss means of ending the war in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Turkey, which has historic ties to
Bosnia dating back centuries, fears that the conflict could
touch of a Balkan-wide war. Turkey is especially concerned
about the fate of Muslims in Bosnia and has offered 1,000
peacekeeping troops to assist the UN force there. (Duncan
Perry, RFE/RL Inc.)





The RFE/RL Daily Report is produced by the RFE/RL Research
Institute (a division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
Inc.) with the assistance of the RFE/RL News and Current
Affairs Division (NCA). The report is available by
electronic mail via LISTSERV (RFERL-L@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU),
on the Sovset' computer bulletin board, by fax, and by
postal mail.  For inquiries about specific news items,
subscriptions, or additional copies, please contact:  In
USA: Mr. Jon Lodeesen or Mr. Brian Reed RFE/RL, Inc. 1201
Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20036. Telephone: (202)
457-6912 or -6900 fax: (202) 457-6992 or -202-828-8783;
Internet: RI-DC@RFERL.ORG