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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 62, Part II, 2 April 2004

BAVARIAN LEADER CONDEMNS CZECH PREMIER'S PROVOCATIVE REMARKS. Bavarian
Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber objected stridently on 1 April to
statements by Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla two days earlier in
which he conditioned Sudeten property claims on "seat[ing] the 28 of my
relatives whom you murdered during World War II at this table," CTK
reported. "This is a dark chapter in our history, and we must recognize
it. But to apply collective guilt to Sudeten Germans is non-historical
and unacceptable," Stoiber said, according to CTK. "Sudeten Germans
themselves experienced in millions of cases suffering and death as a
result of [postwar] expulsion and the loss of their homeland. Only
mutual recognition of the suffering of people, no matter whether as a
result of war or expulsion and not mutual counting of victims, can lead
us forward." Stoiber added that Spidla's statement does not contribute
to rapprochement in Europe. Spidla's remarks were reportedly made after
he was asked by a diplomat at the EU Embassy in Helsinki about Czech
willingness to return property to the families of millions of ethnic
Germans expelled under the postwar Benes Decrees; they were published in
the Czech daily "Pravo" on 31 March. AH


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 63, Part I, 5 April 2004

KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SIGNS NEW LANGUAGE LAW. President Askar Akaev signed
into law on 2 April new legislation intended to bolster the status of
the Kyrgyz language, Kabar news agency reported the same day. At the
signing, President Akaev went out of his way to stress that the new law
will not impinge on the status of Russia or the rights of Russian
speakers. "As the head of state and guarantor of the constitution, I am
convinced that this law will not only not limit the use of the Russian
language, but will significantly broaden it," akipress.org quoted Akaev
as saying. "The new law constantly emphasizes the principle of
bilingualism and the free use of both the state language [Kyrgyz] and
Russian, which retains official status in all spheres of life." DK


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 63, Part II, 5 April 2004

KOSOVA'S LEADERS SIGN A JOINT APPEAL. The leaders of Kosova's main
ethnic Albanian political parties and those of the non-Serbian ethnic
minorities signed a joint statement in Prishtina on 2 April stressing
that "we should learn a lesson from the events of the past days and move
forward toward rebuilding relations between ourselves and rebuilding
Kosova," dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 19 and 26 March, and
2 April 2004). "We should respect one another [and] not listen to the
extremists, but should work together in building a democratic future. We
should assist the rebuilding of destroyed homes and religious sites and
build a better life," the leaders said. Representatives of the Serbian
minority declined to sign the statement, according to Hashim Thaci of
the Democratic Party of Kosova (PDK), who first proposed the joint
declaration. PM

SLOVENES REJECT RENEWED RESIDENCY RIGHTS FOR FORMER MINORITIES.
Ninety-four percent of those voting in Slovenia's 4 April referendum
rejected a government-sponsored bill to retroactively restore
residency rights to about 18,000 members of ethnic minorities who
lost those rights in 1992, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan
Report," 6 and 27 February 2004). The referendum is valid and binding
regardless of the turnout, which was 31.45 percent. Several
conservative parties demanded the vote, arguing that paying
compensation to those "erased" from residency rolls in the years
following the 1991 declaration of independence would be too
expensive. Most of the "erased" are fellow former Yugoslavs, whom
many Slovenes regard as poor Balkan cousins who failed to show
sufficient loyalty to independent Slovenia. Supporters of the law and
opponents of the referendum called the 4 April vote a victory for
xenophobia and injustice. Backers of the referendum said that the
government has, in effect, lost a confidence test. PM

ETHNIC TURKISH LEADER CRITICIZES GOVERNING PARTY IN BULGARIA. Osman
Oktay, who heads the ethnic Turkish Democratic Wing Movement, on 4
April criticized the governing Movement for Rights and Freedoms
(DPS), which almost exclusively represents the country's ethnic
Turkish minority, mediapool.bg reported. Oktay, himself a former DPS
deputy chairman, said in Pleven that the DPS endangers interethnic
relations in Bulgaria because of its arrogance and its
confrontational stance vis a vis the country's main political forces.
Oktay also criticized what he called the "totalitarian" leadership of
DPS Chairman Ahmed Dogan. Last month, U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria
James Pardew said the Turkish minority, which accounts for about 10
percent of the country's population, should adhere to more than just
one party and leader (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15 March 2004). UB


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 8, No. 64, Part II, 6 April 2004

REFERENDUM FAILURE RAISES POLITICAL STAKES IN SLOVENIA. Despite a
nearly 95 percent referendum vote against a government-sponsored bill
affecting the country's minorities, Slovenian Interior Minister Rado
Bohinc said that he will continue to make retroactive rulings
restoring residency status to "the erased" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5
April 2004, and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 6 and 27 February 2004).
These are non-Slovenes removed from the population registry in 1992
after failing to apply for citizenship or permanent residency, whose
residency status the bill would have restored. Opponents of the
referendum charged that human rights were being subjected to a
popular vote, and several prominent figures -- including Prime
Minister Anton Rop and former President Milan Kucan -- urged a
referendum boycott. The turnout was nonetheless comparable to that in
other recent referendums, and the majority in favor of the
conservative-backed referendum surpassed that of any such vote
previously held in Slovenia. With upcoming European Parliament and
national elections, the center-left government will be eager to
restore public confidence before voters head to the polls again. DR

HOLOCAUST MONUMENT UNVEILED IN TRANSDNIESTER. A monument to victims
of the Holocaust was unveiled on 5 April in the Transdniestrian town
of Ribnita, Infotag reported. The monument, which was erected by the
local Jewish community and received funding from U.S.-based Jewish
organizations, is dedicated to the 5,000 victims ghettoized there by
the Romanian authorities and killed by the Nazis during World War II.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by survivors of the Ribnita
ghetto, as well as by officials from the town. MS