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RFE/RL Newsline, 07-03-01
CONTENTS
[01] NO BREAKTHROUGH REPORTED IN HAMAS MOSCOW TALKS
[02] FINLAND WANTS 'MORE INFORMATION' ON CONTROVERSIAL RUSSIAN-GERMAN
PIPELINE
[03] U.S. INTELLIGENCE CHIEF CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIA'S POLITICAL COURSE
[04] 'MANUFACTURED OPPOSITION' PARTY HOLDS ITS FIRST CONGRESS
[05] COURT OUSTS MAYOR IN FAR EAST
[06] HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER VISITS CHECHNYA
[07] SPETSNAZ CAPTAIN CLAIMS HE WAS ORDERED TO EXECUTE CHECHEN
CIVILIANS
[08] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ELECTION ALLIANCE REMAINS ELUSIVE
[09] AZERBAIJANI EX-MINISTER SLAMS 'STALINIST' COURT
[10] EU, NATO PRAISE GEORGIA'S PROGRESS
[11] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES RELATIONS WITH GEORGIA
[12] KAZAKH PRESIDENT, AZERBAIJANI MINISTER DISCUSS GAS SHIPMENTS
[13] TAJIK PRESIDENT APPOINTS REGIONAL GOVERNORS
[14] TAJIKISTAN LIMITS ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
[15] REPORT SAYS FORMER TURKMEN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SENTENCED TO
FIVE-YEAR PRISON TERM
[16] INTELLECTUALS APPEAL FOR RELEASE OF JAILED UZBEK ACTIVISTS
[17] WEBSITE PROMOTES BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT AS CANDIDATE FOR RUSSIAN
PRESIDENT
[18] WASHINGTON SLAPS SANCTIONS ON SIX MORE BELARUSIAN OFFICIALS
[19] UKRAINIAN PREMIER REPROVES WASHINGTON OVER MISSILE-SHIELD PLANS
[20] SERBS RALLY AGAINST KOSOVA PLAN
[21] KFOR BELIEVES UCK NOT BEHIND PRISHTINA ATTACK
[22] INTERNATIONAL SUPERVISOR'S MANDATE IN BOSNIA EXTENDED...
[23] ...AND EU REDUCES TROOP LEVELS IN BOSNIA
[24] GENOCIDE RULING RECEIVES MIXED REACTION IN REGION...
[25] ...WHILE U.S. CALLS RULING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RECONCILIATION...
[26] ...AND SPOTLIGHT RETURNS TO FUGITIVE WAR CRIMES INDICTEES
[27] DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR AFGHAN REPATRIATION
[28] UN ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR IMPROVED AFGHAN BORDER SECURITY
[29] DISARMAMENT EFFORTS PROCEED SLOWLY IN AFGHAN NORTH
[30] TALIBAN CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR AFGHAN BOMBING THAT THEY SAY
TARGETED U.S. VICE PRESIDENT
[31] IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WANTS UNCONDITIONAL TALKS ON NUCLEAR
PROGRAM
[32] IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER NAMES NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS
[33] ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN NORTHERN IRAN
[34] WIFE SEEKS ANSWERS FROM IRANIAN AUTHORITIES NEARLY A YEAR AFTER
EDITOR'S DISAPPEARANCE
[35] IRAQ INVITES PERMANENT UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO NEIGHBORS
MEETING...
[36] ...AS MINISTER SAYS IT'S TIME TO 'BREAK THE ICE'
[37] IRAQI INTERIOR MINISTRY FORCES CAPTURE GROUP PRODUCING CHLORINE
BOMBS
[38] TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS REMARKS BY KURDISH LEADER
'IRRESPONSIBLE'
[39] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Volume 11 Number 38
Russia
[01] NO BREAKTHROUGH REPORTED IN HAMAS MOSCOW TALKS
Hamas leader Khalid Mish'al and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
concluded talks in Moscow on February 27 without any apparent
modification in the Palestinian group's hard-line attitude toward
Israel, Russian and international media reported. Lavrov said he
supports lifting an international aid embargo against the Palestinian
Authority, which is Russia's long-standing position. But Mish'al said
Hamas is not prepared to recognize Israel -- a condition of Israel, the
United States, and the EU for lifting the embargo. The Quartet for
Middle East peace (Russia, the United States, the EU, and the UN) says
the Palestinian government must also renounce violence and adhere to
previous peace agreements. Mish'al nonetheless gave Lavrov assurances
that his fighters will halt missile attacks and other acts of violence
against Israel. Lavrov said that "Israel must refrain from the use of
force on the Palestinians' territory and...Hamas must use all the
authority it has...to stop the firing of...missiles at Israel. We have
received confirmation [from Hamas] that such steps will be taken." In
Jerusalem on February 27, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert criticized Lavrov's position on lifting sanctions as being
neither "the international community's stand nor the Quartet's stand."
Russia believes that the international community should negotiate with
Hamas because it won the January 2006 elections and hence is a
legitimate political force in the region. A Hamas delegation visited
Moscow in March of that year but did not show signs of willingness to
revise that group's hard-line stance toward Israel (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 6, 8, and 15, and April 19, 2006, and January 31,
2007). PM
[02] FINLAND WANTS 'MORE INFORMATION' ON CONTROVERSIAL RUSSIAN-GERMAN
PIPELINE
The Finnish Environment Ministry announced on February 27 that it wants
the consortium behind the projected Russo-German Nord Stream gas
pipeline connecting those two countries via the Baltic Sea to provide
more details of its plans and their possible environmental impact, dpa
reported. Finland wants an assessment of the "methods employed to level
the seabed in the Gulf of Finland" where the pipeline would pass
Finland, and further information as to why the current route was chosen
over possible alternatives. The Finnish authorities want to know how
the consortium plans to deal with munitions and chemical weapons lying
on the seabed along the proposed route. Poland and the Baltic states
oppose the project on political and economic grounds. Sweden is against
it for environmental reasons (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 24 and
December 20, 2006, and January 9, and February 8 and 15, 2007). PM
[03] U.S. INTELLIGENCE CHIEF CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIA'S POLITICAL COURSE
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told a U.S.
Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on
February 27 that "the march to democracy has taken a back step in
Russia," news agencies reported. He added that Russia's political
course has become "less of a democratic process" than Washington
previously assumed was the case, including the succession to President
Vladimir Putin, whose current term expires in 2008 and who is
constitutionally barred from seeking a third one. McConnell noted that
"those that [Putin] is listening to are extremely conservative and very
suspicious of the United States. [They] interpret things through a lens
that portrays Russia as the downtrodden, or [that indicates that] we're
trying to hold them back to the advantage of the United States."
Commenting in Moscow on February 28 on the hearing, Konstantin
Kosachyov, who heads the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, noted
that one of the American participants said that Putin is scheduled to
leave office in 2007, RIA Novosti reported. Kosachyov argued that such
a mistake shows how poorly informed U.S. policymakers are regarding
Russian affairs. PM
[04] 'MANUFACTURED OPPOSITION' PARTY HOLDS ITS FIRST CONGRESS
The A Just Russia party held its founding congress in St. Petersburg on
February 26, the daily "Vedomosti" reported on February 27. The paper
reported that "the congress bore a strong resemblance to similar events
in the Soviet era. President Putin sent his congratulations. [Party
leader and Federation Council Speaker Sergei] Mironov personally read
the message aloud, and the congress responded with an ovation. Mironov
delivered a speech, solemnly promising to defend the workers and fight
'big capital.' He explained the 'main sensation' of the congress to
journalists afterwards: 'A Just Russia will only promote socialist
values and ideas.'" Political scientist Yury Korgunyuk told the daily
that A Just Russia is "a pale shadow of the [openly pro-Kremlin]
Unified Russia [party], which is itself a pale shadow" of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union. A Just Russia was founded in October 2006
through a merger of Motherland (Rodina), the Russian Party of
Pensioners, and the Russian Party of Life. It claims to have 376,000
members, 81 regional branches, and plans to field candidates in all 14
regional legislative elections on March 11. The party is widely seen a
"manufactured opposition" set up by the Kremlin to attract
left-of-center voters (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 30 and November
15, 2006). PM
[05] COURT OUSTS MAYOR IN FAR EAST
The court in Vladivostok's Leninsky Raion decided on February 28 to
"temporarily" relieve of his duties Vladivostok Mayor Vladimir
Nikolayev, news.ru reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 27, 2007).
On February 27, prosecutors charged him with abuse of office in
connection with a land-sale scandal. Nikolayev was on a business trip
at the time of the hearing and was represented by his attorney. He
calls the charges politically motivated. PM
[06] HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER VISITS CHECHNYA
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg told
acting pro-Moscow Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov during talks in
Grozny on February 27 that during a visit earlier that day to a
detention center, numerous detainees complained to him that they have
been mistreated or tortured, kavkaz-uzel.ru and the daily "Kommersant"
reported on February 27 and 28 respectively. Hammarberg concluded that
the use of torture is not confined to "isolated cases" but constitutes
"a complete system." Kadyrov for his part professed to be likewise
concerned at the use of torture, which he blamed on the Russian
Interior Ministry forces deployed in Chechnya. Nurdin Nurkhadjiyev, who
is human rights commissioner within the pro-Moscow Chechen
administration, asked Hammarberg to raise with the Russian leadership
the responsibility of Russian forces for such abuses. Meanwhile,
several prominent Chechen and Ingush human rights activists told
kavkaz-uzel.ru on February 27 that they have not been invited to meet
with Hammarberg during his visit to Grozny. LF
[07] SPETSNAZ CAPTAIN CLAIMS HE WAS ORDERED TO EXECUTE CHECHEN
CIVILIANS
Testifying on February 27 to the North Caucasus Military Court, Eduard
Ulman said he received explicit telephone orders from a superior
officer, Major Aleksei Perelevsky, in January 2002 to execute five
Chechen civilians detained in the village of Day in Shatoi Raion during
an operation to apprehend Chechen field commander Khattab,
kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. Ulman's men opened fire on the car in which
six Chechens were traveling, killing one of them, and on his command
subsequently shot the other five in cold blood and burned their bodies
and the vehicle. Juries acquitted Ulman, Perelevsky, and two other
officers in April 2004 and May 2005, but the Russian Federation Supreme
Court overturned both acquittals, and in April 2006 the Russian
Federation Constitutional Court ruled on the basis of a formal request
from then pro-Moscow Chechen administration head Alu Alkhanov that a
jury trial is inappropriate in cases involving war crimes committed in
Chechnya (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 20 and 23 and June 17, 2005, and
November 14, 2006). LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[08] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ELECTION ALLIANCE REMAINS ELUSIVE
The talks among prominent Armenian opposition parties on forming an
alliance to participate in the May 12 parliamentary ballot have not yet
yielded an agreement, but the differences between the participants are
"tactical" rather than ideological, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported
on February 27, quoting Suren Sureniants, a leading member of former
Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan's Hanrapetutiun party. Hanrapetutiun is
consulting with the National Democratic Union (AZhM) headed by Vazgen
Manukian (also a former premier), the Zharangutiun party headed by
Raffi Hovannisian, who served as foreign minister in 1992-93 under
President Levon Ter-Petrossian, and Ter-Petrossian's Armenian
Pan-National Movement on forming an election bloc (see "RFE/RL Caucasus
Report," January 12, 2007 and "RFE/RL Newsline," February 26, 2007).
Two leading members of Stepan Demirchian's People's Party of Armenia
(HZhK) said in parliament on February 27 that the HZhK will run
separately in the ballot, as did Democratic Party of Armenia leader
Aram Sarkisian, Noyan Tapan reported. Earlier reports indicated that
the HZhK too might align with Hanrapetutiun, the AZhM, and
Zharangutiun. LF
[09] AZERBAIJANI EX-MINISTER SLAMS 'STALINIST' COURT
Former Health Minister Ali Insanov pleaded not guilty on February 27 to
charges of embezzlement, accepting bribes and abuse of his official
position, day.az, zerkalo.az and echo-az.com reported. The trial of
Insanov and 10 other former ministry employees opened on February 15
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 16, 2007). Insanov on February 27
branded the proceedings "Stalinist" and said the charges against him
were fabricated by fellow members of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party
of which he was one of the original founders. As on February 22, on
February 27 journalists from independent and opposition media outlets
were not allowed into the courtroom. LF
[10] EU, NATO PRAISE GEORGIA'S PROGRESS
Following talks on February 27 with visiting Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
described as "impressive" the reforms implemented in Georgia over the
past three years, RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent reported. Barroso
said the EU will continue to support Georgia, but at the same time he
made clear that cooperation will be limited to the framework of the
EU's European Neighborhood Policy. Saakashvili also met on February 27
with EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and with NATO
Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. De Hoop Scheffer too praised
Georgia's reforms, adding, however, that "there are also still points
of concern." He repeatedly declined to make any predictions about when
Georgia might qualify for a NATO Membership Action Plan, the final
stage before a formal invitation is issued to join the Alliance.
Saakashvili, who construed very cautiously phrased comments made by de
Hoop Scheffer at the Munich security conference on February 10 (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," February 12, 2007) as a cast-iron promise of NATO
membership by 2009, said on February 27 Georgia "is on track" for NATO
accession. LF
[11] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES RELATIONS WITH GEORGIA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an extended interview
published in "Rossiiskaya gazeta" on February 21 and 28 that "we have
warned Georgia, and those...who actively encourage Georgia to join
NATO, that we shall not permit this." Lavrov said that in addition to
the crucial need to preserve stability in the South Caucasus, Russia is
motivated by its "responsibility" for the tens of thousands of
residents of the unrecognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
who have acquired Russian citizenship. He denied that the distribution
of Russian passports in those unrecognized republics is part of a
broader campaign to undermine Georgian sovereignty, arguing that after
the conflicts in those republics were "frozen," the regions in question
remained outside the Georgian judicial system. Their citizens, deprived
of social support from Tbilisi, then appealed to Russia for help,
Lavrov explained. He further claimed that Romania, now an EU member, is
similarly distributing passports to citizens of Moldova. Lavrov said
the return last month to Tbilisi of Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav
Kovalenko was a response to unspecified "changes" in the approach of
the Georgian leadership. He added that any further improvement in
bilateral relations will be contingent on Georgia's future steps with
regard to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, specifically, on the signing of
protocols on the nonresumption of hostilities. Lavrov described
Georgia's refusal over the past year to sign such pledges as
inexcusable. LF
[12] KAZAKH PRESIDENT, AZERBAIJANI MINISTER DISCUSS GAS SHIPMENTS
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbaev in Astana on February 27 to discuss oil
and gas cooperation, Kazinform and Interfax reported. Mammadyarov told
journalists after the meeting that the two discussed Kazakhstan's
interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline, Kazinform reported.
"Azerbaijan is launching the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline this
year from a field on the Caspian Sea," Mammadyarov said. "The Kazakh
side is also interested in this pipeline." Mammadyarov said that the
two countries are currently discussing the technical details of
shipping Kazakh gas through the pipeline because "there are many
questions in the area of tariffs, customs duties, and the establishment
of technical parameters." DK
[13] TAJIK PRESIDENT APPOINTS REGIONAL GOVERNORS
Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov signed decrees on February 27
appointing the governors of two provinces, Tajik Television reported.
Rakhmonov appointed Ghaybullo Afzalov governor of the country's
southern Khatlon Province, and Abduqohir Nozirov governor of the
northern Soghd Province. DK
[14] TAJIKISTAN LIMITS ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
Tajikistan limited the supply of electricity to households and
organizations in the capital of Dushanbe to 17 hours a day starting on
February 26, ITAR-TASS reported. The limitations, which were brought
about by a drop in power generation at the Norak power station because
of low water levels in the station's reservoir, will remain in effect
until mid-March. The report noted that the country's other regions
receive only four to six hours of electricity a day from October to
March. DK
[15] REPORT SAYS FORMER TURKMEN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SENTENCED TO
FIVE-YEAR PRISON TERM
Ovezgeldy Ataev, a former speaker of Turkmenistan's parliament, has
received a five-year prison term in a closed trial, ferghana.ru
reported on February 27. Ataev was reportedly convicted of driving his
fiancee to commit suicide for reasons of "tribal animosity." Ataev had
been next in line to succeed former President Saparmurat Niyazov when
the latter died suddenly in December, but Ataev was sidelined, paving
the way for the appointment of acting President Gurbanguly
Berdymukhammedov, when a criminal case was opened against him (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," December 22, 2006). DK
[16] INTELLECTUALS APPEAL FOR RELEASE OF JAILED UZBEK ACTIVISTS
An international group of intellectuals has appealed to Uzbek President
Islam Karimov for the release of jailed rights activists Umida Niyazova
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," January 30 and 31, 2007), Mutabar Tojiboeva
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 8, 2006), and Gulbahor Turaeva,
ferghana.ru reported on February 27. Noting that "the decision that the
country's executive, legislative, and judicial organs will make depends
on your word," the signatories called on Karimov "to use your power and
influence for humanitarian purposes." The appeal stressed that the
International Red Cross has been denied access to the three women and
that they are reportedly under "psychological and physical pressure" in
detention. Signatories included Russian writer Andrei Bitov, French
philosopher Andre Glucksmann, German songwriter Wolf Biermann, and
Russian rights activist Sergei Kovalev. DK
Eastern Europe
[17] WEBSITE PROMOTES BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT AS CANDIDATE FOR RUSSIAN
PRESIDENT
Aleksei Kanurin, an activist of Russia's ultra-right Movement Against
Illegal Immigration, has recently inaugurated a campaign called
"Lukashenka-2008" to propose Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
as a candidate for Russia's 2008 presidential election and launched a
special website lukashenko2008.ru to promote this idea, Russian and
Belarusian media reported on February 27. Kanurin said in an interview
published on the website that Lukashenka has not been consulted about
the campaign. "We do not need [such a consultation], our task is to
create the situation in which people, including Alyaksandr Ryhoravich
[Lukashenka], will have a choice," Kanurin added. Asked how Lukashenka,
who does not have Russian citizenship, could be allowed to run in the
2008 presidential election in Russia, Kanurin said it is a "technical
issue." "Representatives of this movement have not yet contacted the
president's press office to talk about their initiative or their
priorities and goals. That is why I personally do not have a firm
opinion about this initiative," Lukashenka's spokesman, Pavel Lohki,
told Belapan on February 27. JM
[18] WASHINGTON SLAPS SANCTIONS ON SIX MORE BELARUSIAN OFFICIALS
The U.S. administration on February 27 imposed financial sanctions on
another six Belarusian government officials for what it sees as their
role in rigging the 2006 presidential election in Belarus, Reuters and
RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. The executive order, announced by
the U.S. Treasury Department, prohibits Americans from doing business
with the six officials and freezes their assets under U.S.
jurisdiction. "Those who commit human rights abuses and political
repression have no place in civil society. We will continue to target
Belarusian officials who abuse their positions to steal from their
people and to suppress democracy and freedom," Reuters quoted Adam
Szubin, director of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign
Assets Control, as saying. The six officials targeted by the sanctions
include Prosecutor-General Pyotr Miklashevich, Education Minister
Alyaksandr Radzkou, and Information Minister Uladzimir Rusakevich.
Washington imposed similar sanctions on 10 Belarusian government
officials, including President Lukashenka, in June (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," June 20, 2006). JM
[19] UKRAINIAN PREMIER REPROVES WASHINGTON OVER MISSILE-SHIELD PLANS
Viktor Yanukovych said in an interview with the German business daily
"Handelsblatt" on February 27 that the United States should have
consulted Ukraine and Russia over its plans to establish a
missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The interview
appeared on the eve of Yanukovych's official visit to Berlin. "The
deployment issue should have been discussed with everyone in advance,
including Russia and Ukraine. Only after there has been a comprehensive
European discussion, a dialogue between East and West Europe, should a
decision be taken. Europe should not be divided again like it was
before the Iraq war," the German daily quoted Yanukovych as saying.
Yanukovych also said that the involvement of Poland in the U.S.
missile-defense plan "did not help bilateral relations." In what
appeared to be an indirect reference to Yanukovych's interview,
President Viktor Yushchenko said the same day that individual countries
have the sovereign right to make decisions on the deployment of the
U.S. missile-defense system, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported.
"Therefore, the Ukrainian authorities should not make comments on this
issue in an easy-going way," Yushchenko added. JM
Southeastern Europe
[20] SERBS RALLY AGAINST KOSOVA PLAN
A rally organized in Belgrade to protest against the UN's blueprint for
Kosova attracted 15,000 Serbs, international and local media reported
on the day of the rally, February 27. The location of the rally --
outside the U.S. Embassy -- underscored a common belief in Serbia that
the plan is being driven by Western powers, while banners urging
"Russia, Use Your Vote" highlighted the opinion that the fate of the
plan rests with Moscow, which could use its veto when the proposed
settlement is presented to the UN Security Council in late March or
April. Russia has stated that it opposes any imposed solution, but has
not said that it will use its veto (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 6,
12, and 22, 2007). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on February
27 reiterated Moscow's concerns. "Frankly, we are worried at the
absence of any desire to meet the legitimate concerns of Belgrade,"
news agencies quoted him as saying. The rally was also attended by
Kosovar Serbs. Belgrade gave Serbian civil servants in the province a
day off and schools were closed to enable those who wanted to do so to
attend the rally. The demonstration was supported by Prime Minister
Vojislav Kostunica and by Serbia's most popular party, the nationalist
Serbian Radical Party (SRS). According to the Belgrade broadcaster B92,
the SRS on February 24 called for Serbia to withdraw from the UN if the
Security Council supports the plan, whose author, Martti Ahtisaari, is
currently holding consultations with representatives from Belgrade and
Prishtina. The demonstrators delivered a letter of protest to U.S.
Ambassador Michael Polt. AG
[21] KFOR BELIEVES UCK NOT BEHIND PRISHTINA ATTACK
General Roland Kather, the commander of NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosova
(KFOR), said on February 27 that he is convinced that the Kosova
Liberation Army (UCK) was not responsible for a February 20 explosion
in Prishtina that targeted UN vehicles, the online news service
KosovaLive reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 20, 2007). A group
calling itself the UCK claimed responsibility for the attack, but the
original UCK, an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group, was disbanded in 1999
under NATO supervision following NATO's successful intervention to end
a Serbian crackdown in the province (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February
21, 2007). Kather was speaking in Pecs, scene of an explosion that on
February 26 damaged vehicles belonging to the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). However, the agency report does not
indicate whether Kather commented on the Pecs incident (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," February 27, 2007). AG
[22] INTERNATIONAL SUPERVISOR'S MANDATE IN BOSNIA EXTENDED...
The international community decided on February 27 to extend the
mandate of its representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina by a year, news
agencies reported the same day. The decision by Bosnia's Peace
Implementation Council (PIC) extends the mandate to July 2008. The
current high representative, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, said the
reason was concern about Bosnia's political stability and the possible
local impact of the pending decision on the future of Kosova, agencies
reported. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) was established
in 1995 to oversee Bosnia's efforts to rebuild itself in the wake of
the 1992-95 war and was supposed to close its doors this June. The PIC
did not alter the powers of the high representative, who, under powers
conferred in 1997, can sack officials and impose legislation. Nor did
it name a new high representative to replace Schwarz-Schilling, who
announced in late January that he will step down in June (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," January 31, 2007). The PIC includes EU, Balkan, Middle
Eastern, and North American states, as well as Russia, which
Schwarz-Schilling said opposed the extension. The decision received a
mixed response from Bosnian politicians. Milorad Dodik, the prime
minister of the Serbian autonomous region, said on a February 27 talk
show on Republika Srpska Radio-Television that "it is no longer
possible to impose any kind of solutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina" and
that "the Dayton agreement [which ended the war] is being implemented
significantly, with the exception of arrests of war crimes suspects."
Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola Spiric said he does not object to the
mandate being extended, but warned it could limit local politicians'
incentive to compromise, Reuters reported on February 27. However, the
head of the country's three-member presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, told
the Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA on February 27 that the other two
members of the presidency, Haris Silajdzic and Zeljko Komsic, supported
the extension. Radmanovic said, "my position is the complete opposite,
which is that the OHR and the international community have helped a
great deal in the past 11 years, but the time has come for the OHR to
leave Bosnia-Herzegovina at this time and juncture." AG
[23] ...AND EU REDUCES TROOP LEVELS IN BOSNIA
EU foreign ministers on February 27 agreed to slash the EU military
force in Bosnia from 6,000 to 2,500, news agencies reported. The cut
was agreed in December, but a final decision was delayed due to fears
of renewed violence in nearby Kosova, whose final status is currently
being discussed. The cuts will be phased in by June. The EU force
(EUFOR) took over peacekeeping responsibilities from NATO in 2004. At
its peak, after the Dayton accords that ended the 1992-95 war, the NATO
force numbered 60,000. EUFOR's mandate from the UN ends in November. AP
reported that EUFOR troops will be concentrated in the capital,
Sarajevo, but will maintain monitoring posts across the country and a
rapid-reaction force. Republika Srpska Prime Minister Dodik told
Republika Srpska Radio-Television on February 27 that "the European
Commission's decision to withdraw part of the EU forces from
Bosnia-Herzegovina shows that they believe that the situation here is
stable." AG
[24] GENOCIDE RULING RECEIVES MIXED REACTION IN REGION...
Up to 10,000 Bosnians on February 27 held a rally in central Sarajevo
to protest against a February 26 ruling by the UN's highest court, the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), that cleared Serbia of genocide
charges in connection with Belgrade's support for Bosnian Serbs during
the 1992-95 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February
26 and 27, 2007). Bosnia-Herzegovina public radio reported that the
organizers submitted demands by more than 20 organizations representing
the victims of the war. The demands included a call for outlawing
denial that genocide was committed during the war. The demonstrators
were reportedly chiefly war veterans, former camp inmates, and civilian
victims. In Croatia, parliament speaker Vladimir Seks said on February
26 that he is "very disappointed," telling Croatian television that
"not only that justice has not been executed, but injustice has been
served." Croatia has also filed a case against Serbia with the ICJ.
Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic said it is "extremely important
that it was accepted that there was no basis for Montenegro to stand
trial." The suit was brought against both Serbia and Montenegro, which
at the time was still part of the same state as Serbia. In comments
aired by Bosnia-Herzegovina Radio 1 on February 26, Vujanovic stressed
that the ICJ ruled that the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica of 8,000
Bosnian Muslims constituted genocide, adding that Montenegro "has
always clearly seen that as genocide." Newspapers in Slovenia agreed
that the court's ruling will leave the victims unsatisfied and leaves
unanswered the question of who was to blame for crimes committed in
Bosnia. "Dnevnik" on February 27 called the crimes "a sin without
sinners," while "Vecer" said the ruling says the crimes are
"everybody's fault and nobody's." AG
[25] ...WHILE U.S. CALLS RULING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RECONCILIATION...
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on February 26 that
government lawyers are studying the ICJ's ruling, which he described as
a "a pretty complex opinion," but, in comments released by the State
Department, he also said that Washington's initial reaction is to
"encourage the people of the region to use this as another opportunity
to proceed down the pathway of reconciliation and healing of the
historical divides and some of the grievous wounds that have occurred
over the past years in the region." The EU on February 26 welcomed the
ICJ ruling. Javier Solana, the EU's foreign-policy chief, was quoted by
euobserver.com as saying that "the verdict will help to close a page of
history which was dramatic, painful and damaging to many people,"
adding that he appreciates very much that there is "no collective
punishment" in the ruling. Germany, which currently holds the rotating
EU Presidency, on February 26 called on Serbia "to use the judgment as
a further opportunity to distance itself from the crimes by the regime
of the then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic," news agencies
reported. AG
[26] ...AND SPOTLIGHT RETURNS TO FUGITIVE WAR CRIMES INDICTEES
Germany's call echoes one made by the ICJ, which criticized Serbia for
"failing to fully cooperate with the UN war crimes tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia and to hand over war crimes fugitives, including
Ratko Mladic," the Bosnian Serbs' wartime military commander. Serbian
President Boris Tadic said on 26 February that he intends to ask the
Serbian parliament to adopt a declaration condemning the crimes
committed in Srebrenica. Mladic was the commander of the Bosnian Serb
forces that occupied Srebrenica. Republika Srpska Prime Minister Dodik
on February 27 called on Mladic and his civilian commander, Radovan
Karadzic, to give themselves up to the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia. In comments to Republika Srpska's public
television channel, Dodik said: "Who are they? Who are they for a whole
nation to suffer for them, both in the Republika Srpska and in Serbia,
because a certain Mladic has decided that he does not want to surrender
and go to court? Or Karadzic? And then they say -- I love the Serbian
people. The hell they love us. They are pushing us into ever deeper
problems." In May 2006, the EU suspended preaccession talks with Serbia
due to its failure to capture Mladic. However, there have recently been
signs that the EU may no longer view the capture of Mladic as a
precondition for the resumption of talks (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
February 9 and 13, 2007). AG
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[27] DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR AFGHAN REPATRIATION
The government of Pakistan has granted a six-week repatriation period
for Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan, the Associated
Press of Pakistan reported on February 27. Afghans who did not register
with the Pakistani government will be able to return to Afghanistan
with UN financial assistance from March 1 to April 15. UN spokesman
Adrian Edwards has called insecurity and unemployment the main barriers
to repatriation of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries, Bakhtar
News Agency reported on February 27. The 12th tripartite meeting
between Afghanistan, Iran, and the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) began on February 27. The UNHCR estimated that 4.8
million Afghans have returned to the country since 2002, but that 3.5
million Afghan refugees remain in Iran and Pakistan alone. A UN report
concludes that 1.4 million Afghan refugees have returned from Iran
since 2002, with 920,000 registered refugees still living there. UN aid
is available for Afghan citizens who voluntarily return, and those who
do not return by April 15 will be subject to the laws of their new host
country. CJ
[28] UN ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR IMPROVED AFGHAN BORDER SECURITY
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently proposed
a plan to improve security along Afghanistan's borders with Iran and
Pakistan, IRNA reported on February 27. UNODC Executive Director
Antonio Maria Costa outlined the plan to Pakistan's ministers of the
interior and counternarcotics during a recent visit to Islamabad,
indicating that "drug traffickers cooperate better than the regional
governments." Costa stressed that Afghanistan's neighbors "have a
vested interest in stopping the flow of drugs," and he noted that Iran
has taken important steps to prevent drug trafficking. The security
plan calls for patrols on both sides of Afghanistan's border, joint
training exercises between security forces, the creation of border
liaison offices, and improved radio-communication systems. The plan
stresses the need for improved freight-container security and efforts
to intercept the transporation of chemicals used in the production of
heroin. Costa emphasized the importance of better information sharing
among states, saying that "this is a regional problem that requires a
regional solution with the support of all those who have a stake in
controlling drugs and preventing instability." Afghan, Pakistani, and
Iranian representatives have been invited to further discuss the plan
at a meeting on March 1. CJ
[29] DISARMAMENT EFFORTS PROCEED SLOWLY IN AFGHAN NORTH
Private militias in the relatively quiet northern regions of
Afghanistan continue to arm themselves despite continued government
efforts at disarmament, AP reported on February 27. Residents there
reportedly cite the need to protect themselves due to widespread
criminal activity and a general distrust of police. International
organizations have sought since the ouster of the Taliban regime to
promote disarmament of militias in northern Afghanistan, many of whose
members are from the United Front (aka Northern Alliance). Recent
UN-Afghan efforts to continue disarming those groups has faltered, with
an estimated 2,000 illegal armed groups still active across the
country. Western officials say arms dealers are purchasing weapons in
the north and smuggling them to the south, where Taliban insurgents are
most active. CJ
[30] TALIBAN CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR AFGHAN BOMBING THAT THEY SAY
TARGETED U.S. VICE PRESIDENT
A suicide bombing at the gates to the Bagram Air Base on February 27
killed at least 14 people and coincided with a visit by U.S. Vice
President Dick Cheney, RFE/RL's Afghan Service and news agencies
reported. News agencies quoted a purported Taliban spokesman, Qari
Yousef Ahmadi, as saying that the Taliban carried out the attack;
another purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Hayat Khan, claimed that
the bomber knew Cheney was visiting the airfield and sought to target
him. Cheney arrived at Bagram on February 26 for a meeting with Afghan
President Hamid Karzai to discuss the anticipated Taliban spring
offensive. Heavy snow postponed that meeting, which took place on
February 27 despite the bombing. Cheney held a similar meeting with
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on February 26. Kabul
and Islamabad have long argued over who is responsible for securing the
region around their common border. U.S. President George w. Bush has
announced an increase of 3,200 troops to Afghanistan and requested
additional NATO troops, and recently asked the U.S. Congress for an
additional $11.8 billion to provide further assistance in Afghanistan
over the next two years. CJ
[31] IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WANTS UNCONDITIONAL TALKS ON NUCLEAR
PROGRAM
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said on February 27 that
Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear program with "all relevant parties
without any precondition," referring to Western powers' demand that
Iran halt fuel-making activities before talks can begin, ISNA reported.
He said during a Tehran conference that Iran hopes there will be no
second UN resolution against it, after Resolution 1737 passed on
December 23. Iran is willing to "declare" all the stages of its nuclear
activities, "fuel production and power stations," and "make all state
and private companies of other countries partners in relevant areas of
nuclear activity," as assurances of the peaceful nature of its program,
he said. Mottaki said Iran's activities are presently monitored by UN
cameras, and inspectors can visit "when they want." No report by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that "Iran is
deviating in its atomic activities, and this means a full
compliance...with inspections," he said. "But they say this deviation
may occur in the future. Does that possibility not exist for other
countries?" He stressed that Iran has a right to make its own nuclear
fuel, and that the suspension demand is "illegal, illegitimate, and
based on a nonpolitical strategy that will not be realized." VS
[32] IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER NAMES NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS
In a letter, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has named new members of the
Expediency Council, a key political arbitrating body, IRNA reported on
February 27. The term is five years. The council chairman continues to
be Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and the body will include
the heads of the three branches of government and members of the
Guardians Council, a body of senior jurists. Khamenei said ministers,
government-agency heads, and parliamentary committee chiefs will attend
the council when their organizations are being discussed. Persons
identified as permanent members include Supreme National Security
Council Secretary Ali Larijani; former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar
Velayati; conservative politician Habibollah Asgaroladi; Mohammad
Hashemi, Rafsanjani's brother and a former state television chief;
Finance Minister Davud Danesh-Jafari; Mir Hossein Musavi, a prime
minister in the 1980s; Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi-Reyshahri, a
cleric and a founder of Iran's Intelligence Ministry after the 1979
revolution; the present deputy speaker of parliament, Mohammad Reza
Bahonar; and Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri, a conservative cleric
and speaker of parliament in the 1990s. Former President Mohammad
Khatami is not on the list. VS
[33] ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN NORTHERN IRAN
Three members of the Islamic Iran Graduates Organization were arrested
in Gilan Province on February 22, apparently during a presidential
visit, Radio Farda reported on February 27, quoting organization
spokesman Abdullah Momeni. Two were later released on bail, ISNA
reported. The group comprises university graduates who are former
members of the Office to Consolidate Unity (Daftar-i tahkim-i vahdat
[DTV]), Iran's main umbrella student group. Radio Farda reported that
Intelligence Ministry officials arrested Babak Mehdizadeh, Arash
Bahmani, and Kuhzad Esmaili in the group's offices in Gilan on February
22, although Abdullah Momeni told ISNA on February 27 that Mehdizadeh
was then released on bail and Esmaili was released after an unspecified
third party acted as a personal guarantor. Momeni told ISNA they should
not have been arrested since the Graduates Organization has an activity
permit from the Interior Ministry and the arrested were not formally
charged. Momeni told ILNA earlier that President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
pledged "kindness" to Iranians when elected in 2005, but that his visit
to the province was seemingly causing a curtailment of civil liberties,
Radio Farda reported on February 27, without dating his remarks. VS
[34] WIFE SEEKS ANSWERS FROM IRANIAN AUTHORITIES NEARLY A YEAR AFTER
EDITOR'S DISAPPEARANCE
The wife of Hasan Sarahi, an editor who worked on the writings of the
late Ayatollah Mahmud Taleqani, published an open letter, apparently on
February 25, asking officials to inquire about her husband, who has
been missing for almost a year, Radio Farda reported on February 27.
Taleqani was a prominent and moderate figure in the 1979 revolution but
soon fell out of favor with postrevolutionary authorities. His
daughter, AzamTaleqani, has intermittently been an aspiring candidate
on liberal lists in various elections, and is usually disqualified by
electoral authorities. She runs the Ayatollah Taleqani Cultural
Institute, where Sarahi worked. In her letter, Siadat stated that her
husband disappeared from home on April 3, 2006, and she has inquired in
vain with various bodies including the Greater Tehran police, the
Tehran Revolutionary Court, and the coroner's office. Radio Farda
reported that Sarahi's disappearance was first reported by Azam
Taleqani, who said evidence indicated he was kidnapped while alone at
home and that nothing was stolen. Remarks she made to ILNA months ago
suggested that she suspected the involvement of "rogue" elements in the
Iranian state who have allegedly killed or kidnapped writers or
dissidents in past years, Radio Farda reported on February 27. VS
[35] IRAQ INVITES PERMANENT UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO NEIGHBORS
MEETING...
Iraq has invited representatives from the five permanent members of the
UN Security Council to attend the March meeting of foreign ministers of
neighboring states in Baghdad, the Foreign Ministry announced on
February 27. Security will be the main topic on the agenda. Foreign
Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Al-Jazeera television in an interview the
same day that the government has spent months trying to convince the
parties to sit at the table together in Iraq. "We stressed the need to
hold the meeting in Baghdad, even if it is held on the level of experts
and undersecretaries of the Foreign Ministries. Iraq has proposed ways
to overcome the regional countries' hesitation to invite the
ambassadors of the five permanent Security Council member states...in
order to break the ice and establish a mechanism for more comprehensive
dialogue," he said. KR
[36] ...AS MINISTER SAYS IT'S TIME TO 'BREAK THE ICE'
Foreign Minister Zebari told Al-Jazeera on February 27 that the purpose
of the meeting is to extricate Iraq from regional and international
conflicts. Asked what he hopes to achieve through the talks, he said:
"We want Iraq to change from being a contentious issue in the conflict
of interests among the neighboring states, the Iraqi government, and
big powers, including the United States, to an issue where interests
converge and unite. This can take place by sitting together and
discussing things." He added that the meeting is meant as a starting
point and is "an attempt to break the ice" with regard to the positions
of the countries involved. The Iranian news agency IRNA reported that
deputy foreign ministers will attend a preparatory meeting in Baghdad
on March 12 ahead of the planned conference. U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Appropriations Committee on February
27 that the United States will attend the meetings. "We hope that all
governments will seize this opportunity to improve the relations with
Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region," "The
Washington Post" on February 28 quoted her as saying. U.S. officials
have reportedly said the State Department will likely send Iraq envoy
David Satterfield to the March meeting; Rice will likely attend the
second meeting slated for April to be held elsewhere in the region,
"The New York Times" reported on February 28. KR
[37] IRAQI INTERIOR MINISTRY FORCES CAPTURE GROUP PRODUCING CHLORINE
BOMBS
Iraqi security forces have captured a terrorist cell responsible for
producing chlorine bombs in the Al-Anbar Governorate, London-based
"Al-Sharq al-Awsat" reported on February 27. An unidentified Interior
Ministry source told the daily that the cell members were arrested in
Al-Fallujah earlier this week. The official said information indicates
that a similar cell is operating in the Diyala Governorate north of
Baghdad. The official added that some 1,500 insurgents have fled from
Baghdad to Diyala, and many of the insurgents have links to the
outlawed Ba'ath Party. He also contended that the Ba'athists are
cooperating with Al-Qaeda to manufacture chemical bombs. KR
[38] TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS REMARKS BY KURDISH LEADER
'IRRESPONSIBLE'
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul labeled remarks
by Kurdistan Region President Mas'ud Barzani "irresponsible," the
Anatolia news agency reported on February 27. Barzani told NTV Online
in an interview published on February 26 that "Iran and Turkey should
get used to the idea that the Kurds have a right" to their own
independent state. "It is impossible for us [Kurds] to accept a
cross-border operation or to remain a spectator in such an operation.
We put emphasis on the sovereignty of our country as much as Turkey
puts emphasis on its sovereignty, and we safeguard our sovereignty,"
the Kurdish leader said when asked about the possibility of Turkish
military intervention in Iraq against the Turkish Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) militants holed up in the mountainous area along the
border. In response, Gul told reporters: "While the region, and
especially Iraq, has been passing through a critical period, and while
Turkey is following a constructive and embracing policy, making such
statements are examples of irresponsibility." Turkish political leaders
have called for possible talks with Iraqi Kurdish leaders in recent
days, while Turkey's military leadership has threatened military
intervention in Iraq. KR
End Note
[39] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY
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