Yeltsin Fires CIS Executive Secretary
March 6, 1999 - 0:0
MOSCOW President Boris Yeltsin fired CIS executive secretary Boris Berezovsky from his post on Thursday, ITAR-TASS news agency reported, citing the president's press service. In a letter to the Foreign Ministry, the president accused Berezovsky of exceeding the limits of his executive authority as Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) executive secretary and for failing to implement instructions by the chairman of the council of CIS heads of state.
Yeltsin's decision is another in a series of moves during his presidency in which he has dismissed friends and foes alike who seemed to try to exert too great an influence on him. An influential billionaire tycoon widely believed to be close to Yeltsin, Berezovsky has recently been involved in a rancorous war of words with Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's Communist-dominated government.
The Kremlin administration followed up by ordering federal law-enforcement agencies to investigate the allegations while Yeltsin, removed from the political scene, lay in hospital with a flare-up of a stomach ulcer. The president's decision also helps him gain ascendancy by playing one political group off against another. Berezovsky is seen as a classic oligarch whose business interests lie in opposition to the government.
To comply with CIS statutes, Berezovsky's removal must be approved by other CIS heads of state, with whom Yeltsin is expected to discuss the issue by telephone, according to Interfax news agency. The president's administration stated that Yeltsin's decision will be carried out according to proper procedure. Yeltsin proposed that Ivan Korochenya become acting executive secretary. Korochenya occupied the same post before Berezovsky's appointment.
In reply to the news, Berezovsky stated that Yeltsin does not have the authority to order the removal, according to Interfax. The Russian president, as chief of the council of CIS heads of state, does not have the right to do that. This is a decision for the council. Berezovsky added that if at least one CIS president decides against Yeltsin's move, he would retain his position as executive secretary.
In a message to CIS heads of state, Yeltsin urged them to finalize Berezovsky's removal without delay, Russian media reported. In reply, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma stated that he would thoroughly review the situation, according to Interfax. Kuchma nominated Berezovsky to his post last year. An advisor to Georgian President Eduard Shevarnadze said his boss supported Yeltsin's decision. But he added that the Russian president's move was unexpected.
Yeltsin could have at least consulted with his Commonwealth colleagues, Levan Aleksidze said. Berezovsky was appointed CIS executive secretary in April last year. Analysts said that Yeltsin had supported leftists in the Russian government and Duma by sacking the so-called oligarch. Last week, the Berezovsky-controlled Nezavisimaya Gazeta accused an unnamed top government minister of bilking the government out of $130 million, in what many understood to be a clear reference to First Deputy Prime Minister Yury Maslyukov. Berezovsky then appeared last weekend on a political talk show to condemn the government for living in a previous age.
Last month, Primakov began a major anti-corruption drive directed mainly at companies connected to Berezovsky that included highly publicized raids by the tax police. Political support for the sacking has so far been unanimous. The Russian government issued a statement saying that it welcomes Berezovsky's dismissal, adding that the businessman had made statements incompatible with his position as an international statesman and spent too much time on activities unrelated to his CIS post, Interfax reported.
But Georgy Tikhonov, head of the Duma (lower house) Committee on CIS Affairs, said that Berezovsky's removal would strengthen attacks on the government. A person with such money will not be quieted so easily, he said. Maslyukov, speaking through his spokesman Thursday, said that Berezovsky's firing would benefit the Commonwealth, according to interfax. Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev, a moderate Communist, said that he welcomed Berezovsky's removal as a fair decision.
Berezovsky heard the news while having dinner with Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov in the capital Baku. He arrived in Baku Thursday as part of a tour of CIS member states in the Caucusus in his capacity as CIS secretary. Berezovsky was scheduled to meet with Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev on Friday at noon, but it is now unclear whether the meeting will take place.
(AFP)
Yeltsin's decision is another in a series of moves during his presidency in which he has dismissed friends and foes alike who seemed to try to exert too great an influence on him. An influential billionaire tycoon widely believed to be close to Yeltsin, Berezovsky has recently been involved in a rancorous war of words with Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's Communist-dominated government.
The Kremlin administration followed up by ordering federal law-enforcement agencies to investigate the allegations while Yeltsin, removed from the political scene, lay in hospital with a flare-up of a stomach ulcer. The president's decision also helps him gain ascendancy by playing one political group off against another. Berezovsky is seen as a classic oligarch whose business interests lie in opposition to the government.
To comply with CIS statutes, Berezovsky's removal must be approved by other CIS heads of state, with whom Yeltsin is expected to discuss the issue by telephone, according to Interfax news agency. The president's administration stated that Yeltsin's decision will be carried out according to proper procedure. Yeltsin proposed that Ivan Korochenya become acting executive secretary. Korochenya occupied the same post before Berezovsky's appointment.
In reply to the news, Berezovsky stated that Yeltsin does not have the authority to order the removal, according to Interfax. The Russian president, as chief of the council of CIS heads of state, does not have the right to do that. This is a decision for the council. Berezovsky added that if at least one CIS president decides against Yeltsin's move, he would retain his position as executive secretary.
In a message to CIS heads of state, Yeltsin urged them to finalize Berezovsky's removal without delay, Russian media reported. In reply, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma stated that he would thoroughly review the situation, according to Interfax. Kuchma nominated Berezovsky to his post last year. An advisor to Georgian President Eduard Shevarnadze said his boss supported Yeltsin's decision. But he added that the Russian president's move was unexpected.
Yeltsin could have at least consulted with his Commonwealth colleagues, Levan Aleksidze said. Berezovsky was appointed CIS executive secretary in April last year. Analysts said that Yeltsin had supported leftists in the Russian government and Duma by sacking the so-called oligarch. Last week, the Berezovsky-controlled Nezavisimaya Gazeta accused an unnamed top government minister of bilking the government out of $130 million, in what many understood to be a clear reference to First Deputy Prime Minister Yury Maslyukov. Berezovsky then appeared last weekend on a political talk show to condemn the government for living in a previous age.
Last month, Primakov began a major anti-corruption drive directed mainly at companies connected to Berezovsky that included highly publicized raids by the tax police. Political support for the sacking has so far been unanimous. The Russian government issued a statement saying that it welcomes Berezovsky's dismissal, adding that the businessman had made statements incompatible with his position as an international statesman and spent too much time on activities unrelated to his CIS post, Interfax reported.
But Georgy Tikhonov, head of the Duma (lower house) Committee on CIS Affairs, said that Berezovsky's removal would strengthen attacks on the government. A person with such money will not be quieted so easily, he said. Maslyukov, speaking through his spokesman Thursday, said that Berezovsky's firing would benefit the Commonwealth, according to interfax. Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev, a moderate Communist, said that he welcomed Berezovsky's removal as a fair decision.
Berezovsky heard the news while having dinner with Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov in the capital Baku. He arrived in Baku Thursday as part of a tour of CIS member states in the Caucusus in his capacity as CIS secretary. Berezovsky was scheduled to meet with Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev on Friday at noon, but it is now unclear whether the meeting will take place.
(AFP)