|
|
RFE/RL Newsline, 07-04-13
CONTENTS
[01] GERMAN LEADER SEEKS TO 'INVOLVE' RUSSIA IN MISSILE-DEFENSE DEBATE
[02] RUSSIA WANTS TO BUILD BALTIC OIL PIPELINE TO GERMANY
[03] WILL ESTONIA THWART RUSSO-GERMAN PIPELINE PLANS?
[04] RUSSIA'S NUCLEAR ENERGY CHIEF SAYS IRAN CAN'T ENRICH URANIUM IN
QUANTITY
[05] RUSSIAN LEGISLATOR DENIES DUMA IS INTERFERING IN UKRAINIAN AFFAIRS
[06] INDIA TO BUY UPGRADED RUSSIAN JET FIGHTERS
[07] AUTHORITIES IN KRASNOYARSK RAID OFFICES OF OPPOSITION PARTY
[08] NEW PROSECUTOR NAMED IN INGUSHETIA
[09] RUSSIAN FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA
[10] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT REAPPOINTS MEMBERS OF OUTGOING CABINET
[11] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES CALL FOR PROBE INTO EX-MINISTER'S
ALLEGATIONS
[12] PROSECUTOR-GENERAL REJECTS ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARIAN'S
APPEAL
[13] SOUTH OSSETIAN PRESIDENT LAMBASTES U.S.
[14] SPOKESMAN DENIES ABKHAZ PRESIDENT WAS POISONED
[15] KAZAKH DEFENSE MINISTER WELCOMES MILITARY TIES WITH SPAIN
[16] THOUSANDS CALL ON KYRGYZ PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
[17] NEW TAJIK DRUG-CONTROL OFFICE TO OPEN IN AFGHANISTAN
[18] BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES RELEASE OPPOSITIONIST ON BAIL
[19] SUPPORTERS OF UKRAINIAN PREMIER, PRESIDENT HOLD RALLIES IN KYIV
[20] UKRAINIAN PREMIER INSISTS ON SIMULTANEOUS PARLIAMENTARY,
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
[21] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT OFFERS PREMIER ACTION PLAN TO RESOLVE
POLITICAL CRISIS
[22] BOSNIA STRIPS FOREIGN FIGHTERS OF BOSNIAN CITIZENSHIP
[23] BOSNIAN PREMIER SAYS SERBS SHOULD NOT TIE FATE TO KOSOVA
[24] MACEDONIA TO REPAY DEBT EARLY
[25] EU EASES VISA RESTRICTIONS ON ALBANIANS...
[26] ...BUT NOT ON SERBS
[27] BLAST DAMAGES CAR OF ALBANIAN JOURNALIST, POLITICIAN...
[28] ...WHILE ALBANIAN PREMIER VOWS TO PURGE MEDIA OF MAFIA INFLUENCE
[29] ITALIAN CHARITY PULLS STAFF FROM AFGHANISTAN
[30] THIRTEEN DEAD, SEVEN WOUNDED IN AFGHAN VIOLENCE
[31] AFGHANS REPORTEDLY TO RELEASE AMERICAN CONVICTED OF RUNNING HIS
OWN PRISON
[32] U.S. MARINES ACCUSED OF EXCESSIVE FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN
[33] NEGOTIATOR SAYS IRAN READY FOR NUCLEAR TALKS
[34] UN AGENCY SPOKESMAN NOTES ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES IN IRAN
[35] IRANIAN MINISTER WARNS OF FEMINIST, STUDENT ACTIVISTS TRAINED BY
THE 'ENEMY'
[36] TEACHERS DETAINED IN TEHRAN
[37] ATTACKS HIT IRAQI PARLIAMENT BUILDING, BAGHDAD BRIDGE
[38] IRAQI PREMIER TRIES TO DEFUSE TENSIONS WITH TURKEY
[39] AL-SADR THREATENS TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQI GOVERNMENT
[40] HEAVY FIGHTING REPORTED IN CENTRAL BAGHDAD
[41] IRAQI PRESIDENT SAYS FIVE INSURGENT GROUPS READY TO ESCHEW
VIOLENCE
[42] RED CROSS SAYS SITUATION WORSENING FOR IRAQIS
[43] IRAQI OFFICIAL ASSASSINATED IN BAGHDAD
[44] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY
Thursday, April 12, 2007 Volume 11 Number 67
Russia
[01] GERMAN LEADER SEEKS TO 'INVOLVE' RUSSIA IN MISSILE-DEFENSE DEBATE
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on April 11 that
she is determined that Russia be "brought into" discussions with NATO
on the planned U.S. missile-defense system through meetings of the
NATO-Russia Council, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on
April 12 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 22, 28, 29, and 30, and April 5
and 11, 2007). She also wants her coalition government to be united on
the issue and is determined to avoid any political "splits" or
divisions in Europe. In late March, Merkel and U.S. President George W.
Bush discussed in a video conference the importance of "involving"
Russia in the missile-defense debate, the daily reported. Bush
subsequently made the same point to Russian President Vladimir Putin in
a telephone conversation. In recent weeks, Russia has sought to use the
missile-defense project to split NATO and the EU. Some of Merkel's
coalition partners in the Social Democratic Party (SPD) have tried to
improve their sagging poll ratings by appealing to anti-American
sentiments over missile defense. U.S. officials have been at pains to
encourage a factual and nonpolitical discussion about missile defense.
PM
[02] RUSSIA WANTS TO BUILD BALTIC OIL PIPELINE TO GERMANY
In the latest installment of the energy row between Russia and some of
its neighbors, the Industry Ministry said in a statement on April 12
that it wants to build a new branch oil pipeline from Unecha near the
Belarusian border via Velikie Luki to Primorsk near the Finnish border,
which would then be extended to Germany and beyond via the Baltic
seabed as part of the Baltic Pipeline System, RIA Novosti reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," February 6 and April 3, 2007). Semyon Vainshtok, who
heads the pipeline monopoly Transneft, said recently that his company
is prepared to start construction in April. The proposed pipeline will
have an annual throughput capacity of at least 50 million metric tons
and would cost up to $2.5 million. It is not clear how long it will
take to build the extension of the Baltic Pipeline System, which will
be about 1,000 kilometers long. PM
[03] WILL ESTONIA THWART RUSSO-GERMAN PIPELINE PLANS?
The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reported on April 12 that the
Estonian parliament is considering a proposal to extend that country's
territorial waters from the current 5 kilometers to 20 kilometers,
which is the maximum allowed under international law. The daily noted
that the purpose of the measure is to complicate Russo-German plans to
construct the Nord Stream gas pipeline linking those two countries via
the Baltic seabed. The Russian official daily "Rossiiskaya gazeta"
recently described the bill as an "Estonian gas attack." Poland and the
Baltic states regard Nord Stream as stemming from a unilateral decision
made without concern for Moscow's or Berlin's neighbors. The 2005
agreement between former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who now
is a top official of the pipeline project, and President Putin has been
dubbed in Estonia "the Schroeder-Putin Pact" in an allusion to the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on the eve of World War II, the daily noted. PM
[04] RUSSIA'S NUCLEAR ENERGY CHIEF SAYS IRAN CAN'T ENRICH URANIUM IN
QUANTITY
Sergei Kiriyenko, who heads the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom),
said in Tokyo on April 12 that Iran lacks the technological ability to
enrich uranium on an industrial scale, as Tehran recently claimed that
it is doing, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 16 and
April 11, 2007). He argued that "we do not think that Iran can start
commercial uranium enrichment. It is not enough to build a centrifuge;
it is also necessary to launch it. This is a complicated technological
process." On April 11, the daily "Kommersant" noted that Russia has
responded "more nervously than the United States" to recent
developments in the Iranian nuclear program. PM
[05] RUSSIAN LEGISLATOR DENIES DUMA IS INTERFERING IN UKRAINIAN AFFAIRS
State Duma Deputy Aleksandr Krutov of the Motherland (Rodina) party
said in Kyiv on April 11 that the Russian legislature's April 6
statement supporting the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada and denouncing
President Viktor Yushchenko's decree dissolving it and calling early
parliamentary elections does not constitute interference in Ukrainian
politics, news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 3, 4,
and 5, 2007). He argued that the declaration "is not interference in
[Ukraine's] internal affairs. It is an assessment of the Ukrainian
president's decree. Anybody, any organization, any country may give
their assessment to any legal act in any country. The State Duma has
given its own assessment and it is fully entitled to do so." He added
that "the [Ukrainian] Constitutional Court, which each side counts on,
must say its word. The Constitutional Court judges should not shift
responsibility to the street, but they should make their wise decision
in accordance with Ukrainian law." PM
[06] INDIA TO BUY UPGRADED RUSSIAN JET FIGHTERS
An unnamed Russian "military source" told Interfax in Moscow on April
11 that India and Russia have signed a $700 million contract for Russia
to replace 18 of India's long-haul Sukhoi-30 fighter jets with a new
version of the same plane. It is not clear if this deal is linked to
previously announced Indian plans to buy 40 new Sukhois as part of a
major upgrade of its air force, which is one of the largest in the
world. India was a reliable political, economic, and military partner
of the Soviet Union during the Cold War but has since expanded its
networks of partners and contacts. India's "The Hindu" of January 25
quoted Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the State Duma's Foreign Affairs
Committee, as suggesting that Russia might sell additional arms to
Pakistan if India moves away from Russia as its main arms supplier (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," January 23, 25, and 26, 2007). PM
[07] AUTHORITIES IN KRASNOYARSK RAID OFFICES OF OPPOSITION PARTY
The Krasnoyarsk Krai Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation on
April 11 into charges that the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) is buying
votes for the local legislative elections, which are slated for April
15, Interfax reported. The prosecutors said in a statement that
vote-buying "undermines citizens' constitutional right to free and
equitable voting." On April 12, the SPS said in a statement that the
police raided the party's office that day, detained an unspecified
number of party leaders and activists, and confiscated their briefcases
and personal effects including women's cosmetics, newsru.com reported.
Police officials declined to comment on the report, but SPS leader
Nikita Belykh confirmed it in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio.
Lyudmila Alekseyeva, who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group, said that the
authorities are hounding the SPS in hopes of ensuring a majority for
the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party in the upcoming vote. Russia's
March 11 regional elections were a clean sweep for pro-Kremlin parties,
but the SPS succeeded in surmounting the 7 percent barrier to win
representation in the legislatures of the Komi Republic, Stavropol
Krai, and Leningrad, Samara, and Tomsk oblasts, and polled close to 7
percent of the vote in Moscow and Oryol oblasts (see End Note, "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 13, 2007). PM
[08] NEW PROSECUTOR NAMED IN INGUSHETIA
The Russian Federation Prosecutor-General's Office has named Yury
Turygin to succeed Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov as Ingushetia's prosecutor,
ingushetiya.ru and regnum.ru reported on April 11 and 12 respectively.
Turygin entered the procuracy in 1976, working his way up from a
district official in the then Chechen-Ingush ASSR to a senior position
within the republican prosecutor's office. In 1990, he was transferred
to Sverdlovsk Oblast, where he has worked since then. Kalimatov
resigned last month, reportedly to protest high-level corruption
condoned by Ingushetia's President Murat Zyazikov (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 28, 2007). On April 12, ingushetiya.ru quoted another
senior Ingush official, deputy presidential administration head
Movlat-Girey Dzagiyev, as saying he submitted his resignation two days
earlier to protest Zyazikov's tolerance of high-level corruption, his
inaction in the face of a spate of unresolved murders and abductions of
young Ingush by police and security forces, and his seeming inability
to reverse catastrophic economic decline. LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[09] RUSSIAN FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA
Sergei Ivanov completed on April 11 a two-day visit to Yerevan that was
devoted primarily to the discussion of bilateral economic ties, Noyan
Tapan and RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported on April 11. Speaking on
April 11 at a joint press conference, Ivanov said he has good
professional and personal relations with Armenia's new prime minister,
Serzh Sarkisian. Ivanov also noted the steady growth in bilateral
trade, which Sarkisian predicted will increase at an even faster rate
following the inauguration on April 10 of a rail ferry service linking
Russian and Georgian Black Sea ports. LF
[10] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT REAPPOINTS MEMBERS OF OUTGOING CABINET
Robert Kocharian signed a decree on April 11 reappointing to their
previous posts the members of the outgoing cabinet that resigned in
late March following the sudden death of Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian, Noyan Tapan and kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. Kocharian
subsequently named outgoing Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian to succeed
Markarian as premier (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 5, 2007), and First
Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Mikael Harutiunian to succeed
Sarkisian as defense minister (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 10, 2007).
LF
[11] AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTIES CALL FOR PROBE INTO EX-MINISTER'S
ALLEGATIONS
Isa Qamber and Ali Kerimli, who are chairmen respectively of the
Musavat party and the progressive wing of the divided Azerbaijan
Popular Front Party, called on April 10 and 11 respectively for the
Prosecutor-General's Office to launch an investigation into the April
10 allegation by former Health Minister Ali Insanov that President
Ilham Aliyev usurped power in the summer of 2003 during the final
illness of his father and predecessor, Heydar Aliyev, and then
falsified the outcome of the November 2003 presidential election,
realazer.net reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 11, 2007). National
Unity Movement head Lale Sovket-Haciyeva for her part argued that in
light of Insanov's allegations, the West should reconsider its support
for the present Azerbaijani leadership. Also on April 11, presidential
administration department head Ali Hasanov questioned why Insanov did
not go public with his allegations at the time of Ilham Aliyev's
appointment as prime minister in 2003, day.az reported. Hasanov claimed
that Insanov greeted that appointment "more enthusiastically than
anyone else." LF
[12] PROSECUTOR-GENERAL REJECTS ARRESTED AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARIAN'S
APPEAL
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General's Office rejected on April 11 an
appeal by Kyamandar Nasibli, a lawyer for arrested parliament deputy
Huseyn Abdullayev, to drop the charges of assault brought against
Abdullayev following his brawl in the parliament chamber on March 16
with Fazail Agamali, head of the small pro-government Ana Vaten party,
day.az reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 19 and 20, 2007). The
Prosecutor-General's Office also rejected Abdullayev's demand to bring
charges against Agamali, who Abdullayev claims struck the first blow.
LF
[13] SOUTH OSSETIAN PRESIDENT LAMBASTES U.S.
Eduard Kokoity, who is president of the unrecognized breakaway republic
of South Ossetia, accused the United States on April 11 of seeking to
provoke an armed confrontation between Georgia and South Ossetia by
backing Tbilisi's efforts to establish an alternative, pro-Georgian
administration in the region, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
April 10, 2007). Also on April 11, Russian Ambassador to Georgia
Vyacheslav Kovalenko termed President Mikheil Saakashvili's plans to
establish an alternative government in South Ossetia a step in the
wrong direction, and one that risks triggering "a new wave of
confrontation," Caucasus Press reported. In Moscow, Andrei Kokoshin,
who heads the Russian State Duma's Committee for CIS Affairs, similarly
told journalists on April 12 that Saakashvili's initiative is
"counterproductive, to put it mildly," regnum.ru reported. Kokoshin
suggested that if Washington is truly interested in strengthening
security and stability in the South Caucasus, it should encourage
Tbilisi to respond positively to what Kokoshin termed Kokoity's
"constructive" proposals for resolving the conflict. Meanwhile, South
Ossetian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Chochiyev met in Tskhinvali on
April 11 with Ambassador Roy Reeve, who heads the OSCE Mission in
Tbilisi, to discuss the possible resumption of talks under the aegis of
the quadripartite Joint Control Commission tasked with monitoring
developments in the South Ossetian conflict zone, Caucasus Press
reported. LF
[14] SPOKESMAN DENIES ABKHAZ PRESIDENT WAS POISONED
Kristian Bzhania, spokesman for Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh,
rejected on April 11 as "the product of a sick imagination" speculation
in the Georgian media that Bagapsh's recent heart problems were the
result of an attempt to poison him, apsny.ru reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," April 10, 2007). Bzhania said Bagapsh, who was hospitalized
in Sukhum(i) on April 9 and then flown to Moscow the following day for
further medical treatment, succumbed to the pressure of stress and
overwork, but now "feels fine." In a clear allusion to the deaths in
still unclear circumstances of deposed Georgian President Zviad
Gamsakhurdia in December 1993 and of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania in
February 2005, Bzhania declared that "In our country it is not the
custom to praise presidents to the heavens and then kill them and bury
them with honors, or to poison prime ministers and other senior
officials with gas and other chemical substances." Also on April 11, de
facto Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba denied that he withdrew his
application for a U.S. visa to enable him to attend the April 10 UN
Security Council discussion of the situation in Abkhazia, apsny.ru
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 11, 2007). Russian officials
have criticized Washington for allegedly refusing to grant Shamba a
visa; U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told journalists
on April 10 that Shamba withdrew his visa application. LF
[15] KAZAKH DEFENSE MINISTER WELCOMES MILITARY TIES WITH SPAIN
In comments during a news conference in Astana on April 10, Kazakh
Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov welcomed possible military ties with
Spain as "promising," Interfax reported. The statement followed a
meeting with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman in
Office Miguel Angel Moratinos during which bilateral military
cooperation was discussed. Akhmetov added that the two countries are
"now considering the issues of interaction of an integrated system of
management of and control over Kazakhstan's air space, as well as the
possibility of supplying radio electronic warfare systems to
Kazakhstan's armed forces." An official press release issued by the
Kazakh Defense Ministry also explained that Kazakhstan is "interested
in Spain's experience in building the navy and training military
personnel." RG
[16] THOUSANDS CALL ON KYRGYZ PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
More than 10,000 opposition demonstrators in Bishkek called on April 11
for the resignation of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev, RFE/RL's
Kyrgyz Service and AKIpress reported. Recently appointed Prime Minister
Almaz Atambaev was unable to finish an address to the crowd and
hurriedly left the rally after demonstrators shouted him down. The
protests, which began on April 9, are organized by the opposition
United Front For A Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan and the For Reforms
movement. Those two movements are demanding Bakiev's resignation and
the formation of a coalition government that would rule until new
presidential and parliamentary elections are held (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," April 10 and 11, 2007). Although the rally was closely
monitored by a nearby force of over 4,000 police and security
personnel, Bakiev ordered them to deploy without arms, hoping to avert
any direct confrontation. Prime Minister Feliks Kulov, the head of the
opposition United Front, said another demonstration was scheduled for
April 12, according to AKIpress. RG
[17] NEW TAJIK DRUG-CONTROL OFFICE TO OPEN IN AFGHANISTAN
An unnamed official of Tajikistan's Drug Control Agency announced on
April 11 that a new drug-control office will be established in the
Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif by the end of April, according to
Asia-Plus. The decision to open the office in Afghanistan stems from a
recent agreement forged during a meeting last week between Tajik Drug
Control Agency Director Lieutenant General Rustam Nazarov and Afghan
officials. The announcement follows the opening of two other offices in
Afghanistan in mid-2005 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 19, 2005).
Tajikistan remains seriously concerned over a significant increase in
drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan and due to reports of
dozens of heroin-producing facilities operating in the Tajik-Afghan
border areas (see "RFE/RL Central Asia Report," August 29, 2003, and
"RFE/RL Newsline," December 13, 2004). RG
Eastern Europe
[18] BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES RELEASE OPPOSITIONIST ON BAIL
Belarusian authorities released United Civic Party activist Dzyanis
Dzyanisau on bail on April 11 from a detention center in Vitsyebsk,
Belapan reported, quoting Andrey Kim of the Belarusian Helsinki
Committee (BHC). Bail was 15,500,000 rubles ($7,260). Kim said that the
family and friends of Dzyanisau collected the bail money over the
course of three weeks and paid it on April 9. Dzyanisau, who played an
active part in a three-day protest against Alyaksandr Lukashenka's
reelection as president in March 2006, was arrested in Homyel on
February 16 on a charge of attempting to organize mass riots. The
charge is believed to stem from Dzyanisau's arrest in Vitsyebsk last
summer, when police detained him for passing out leaflets titled "Bunt"
(Riot) during an open-air concert. Kim said that BHC is demanding that
the charge against Dzyanisau be dropped on the grounds that it is
unfounded and politically motivated. AM
[19] SUPPORTERS OF UKRAINIAN PREMIER, PRESIDENT HOLD RALLIES IN KYIV
Supporters of the Ukrainian opposition and supporters of the ruling
coalition held rival rallies in Kyiv on April 11, Interfax reported.
Pavlo Zhebrivskyy of the Our Ukraine Party, who addressed the
opposition rally on European Square, described current developments in
Ukraine as "treachery for 30 pieces of silver." Another Our Ukraine
deputy, Ksenya Lyapina said that "the president has dissolved a
Verkhovna Rada that was based on treachery." "The president has
dissolved it because it has violated the constitution. The president
dissolved it legally and constitutionally," she added. Several thousand
supporters of Prime Minister Viktor Yanykovych gathered on Independence
Square. "Supporters of the coalition have gathered on central squares
throughout Ukraine...to demonstrate to our notorious opposition
that...all want a stable Ukraine and do not want any confrontation
between the east and west of the country," Transportation and
Communications Minister Mykola Rudkovsky told the rally. Communist
Party caucus leader Petro Symonenko said that the ruling coalition set
the main task of unifying Ukraine "via patriotism and purging
government from its 'Orange' intoxication." "The 'Orange' forces want
to force us to live not in compliance with the law, or even with our
beliefs, but to follow instructions from abroad," he said. Symonenko
also reiterated his demand for the abolition of the office of
president. AM
[20] UKRAINIAN PREMIER INSISTS ON SIMULTANEOUS PARLIAMENTARY,
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Prime Minister Yanukovych said while addressing supporters of the
ruling coalition at the April 11 rally in Kyiv that early parliamentary
elections in Ukraine are possible if they are held simultaneously with
early presidential elections, Interfax reported. "If elections are
held, they should be held simultaneously -- both parliamentary and
presidential -- and they should be held within the framework of law,"
Yanukovych said. He also warned his supporters that early elections
could result in the previous government returning to power. Yanukovych
later told journalists that President Yushchenko should not enforce his
decree dissolving parliament until the Constitutional Court rules on
its compliance with the constitution. AM
[21] UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT OFFERS PREMIER ACTION PLAN TO RESOLVE
POLITICAL CRISIS
President Yushchenko offered Prime Minister Yanukovych during their
meeting on April 10 a 15-point action plan to resolve the political
crisis in Ukraine, Interfax reported on April 11. Yushchenko and
Yanukovych agreed not to publish details of the plan before a decision
by Yanukovych supporters on how to proceed. Yushchenko said that one
part of the plan concerns accurately assessing the steps that led to
the crisis. "The second part is substantial. This is the essence of the
compromises we should take in the context of effects of the decree on
the Verkhovna Rada's dissolution to rebalance the system of power,"
Yushchenko said. "The third part is dedicated to systematic
consultations, which should be resumed between the political forces in
the parliament," he added. AM
Southeastern Europe
[22] BOSNIA STRIPS FOREIGN FIGHTERS OF BOSNIAN CITIZENSHIP
Bosnia-Herzegovina's government on April 11 confirmed that it has
stripped 367 foreign-born Bosnians of their Bosnian passports, local
and international media reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 23,
2007). Among those affected are many foreigners who gained citizenship
after fighting as volunteers alongside Bosnian Muslims in the 1992-95
war. Justice Minister Barisa Colak told a news conference that most of
those stripped of Bosnian citizenship came from Algeria, Egypt, Russia,
Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Figures given on public radio
suggest 224 came from these countries, with the largest number (72)
coming from Turkey. It is unclear whether they all served as volunteers
during the war. Colak said a state commission concluded they were
granted citizenship illegally, but he gave no indication that they were
suspected of links to Islamic extremists. Earlier reports suggested at
least 51 others were born in other Middle Eastern or Muslim countries.
All those stripped of their citizenship now face deportation, though
they have 60 days to appeal. In the intervening years, many have
married and settled in Bosnia, local media say. Reuters quoted Serif
Patkovic, a former army commander, as saying that the decision was
political, and the move is widely seen as part of an antiterrorism
drive requested by Bosnia's ally, the United States, which has been
calling for their deportation since the late 1990s. The review
commission was established following accusations that some of the
former volunteer fighters have links to terrorists. In all, the cases
of 716 naturalized Bosnians were reviewed; earlier reports indicated as
many as 1,500 cases were reopened. The newspaper "Oslobodjenje"
reported on March 24 that the commission concluded that legal
differences caused by the war, the arrival of volunteer fighters, and
the presence of humanitarian and other organizations affected the ease
with which Bosnian citizenship and documents were obtained. AG
[23] BOSNIAN PREMIER SAYS SERBS SHOULD NOT TIE FATE TO KOSOVA
In an interview with Reuters on April 11, Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola
Spiric said that "Serbs should in no way link their status to the
resolution of the Kosovo question." Spiric, himself a Bosnian Serb,
said, "that would be nonsense." He said Serbs "primarily have to be
dedicated to Bosnia and to solving problems in Bosnia, taking care that
this wave [Kosova] does not splash against our shore," a reference to
fears of general instability and possible violence across the region
following a UN vote on the future of the UN-administered province. A
number of Bosnian Serb politicians have in the past suggested that if
Kosova gains independence from Serbia, Serbia should be compensated by
being given the Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serbs' autonomous region.
The region's prime minister, Milorad Dodik, has in the past called for
Bosnian Serbs to be allowed a referendum on independence and, in late
January, he declared, "I will ask the international community to
explain why one rule applies to Kosovo and another to the Republika
Srpska" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 19 and 20, 2006, and January
5 and 26, 2007). However, Dodik has repeatedly said there will be "no
revolution" by Bosnian Serbs, a message he reiterated in a meeting with
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried on
April 5, during which Dodik said the Bosnian Serb authorities will do
"everything to preserve peace and stability in Republika Srpska's
territory, no matter what decision on Kosovo is made." Dodik and Spiric
are members of the same party. The future of the Republika Srpska is
uncertain even if it were to remain part of Bosnia. Following a ruling
in February by the UN's top court that an "act of genocide" was
committed at Srebrenica in 1995, Bosnian Muslim leaders have been
pressing for the dissolution of the Republika Srpska, which, they
argue, is the product of genocide. Spiric described "this autistic
message from Sarajevo that the Republika Srpska is unwanted" as the
main problem currently facing Serbs. AG
[24] MACEDONIA TO REPAY DEBT EARLY
Macedonia's government announced on April 11 that it will repay $137
million of the country's foreign debt earlier than planned, AP reported
the same day. Early repayment will save the country interest charges,
savings that Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said will be spent on
development projects. The sum is a little over 10 percent of the total
foreign debt, which is around 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion). The
money will pay off Macedonia's debts to the World Bank and the European
Investment Bank. Gruevski added that Macedonia will soon make early
repayments to other international institutions, including the
International Monetary Fund, and to other governments. Macedonia's
foreign-currency reserves currently exceed $2.4 billion. AG
[25] EU EASES VISA RESTRICTIONS ON ALBANIANS...
In a gesture to one of the least likely candidates for EU membership,
Brussels on April 10 reached an agreement that will make it easier for
Albanians to enter the EU, the Albanian news agency ATA reported the
same day. A statement by the EU's representative office in Tirana said
that, for all Albanians, visas will cost less and be processed faster.
"Document requirements" for some types of travelers -- such as
businesspeople, students, journalists, and nongovernmental
organizations -- will be simplified. The agreements still need to be
approved by EU member governments and authorities in Brussels. AG
[26] ...BUT NOT ON SERBS
Serbia and the European Commission have failed at the last moment to
reach an agreement that would reduce visa restrictions on Serbs,
Serbian and Macedonian media reported on April 11. Reports by the
Macedonian news agency MakFax and Serbian television suggest the chief
stumbling block related to the entry from Serbia of
third-country-passport holders. A specific point of dispute is over
whether the EU should automatically send to Serbia an illegal immigrant
with a Serbian visa in his passport. "Additional consultations are
necessary on this issue, both in Belgrade and in Brussels," Tanja
Mishcevic, the head of the Serbian government's EU Accession Office,
was quoted by MakFax as saying. Mishcevic said she hopes a solution can
be reached this month. The agreement was due to come into force in
January 2008. Serbian television said that date should not be affected
by the delay. AG
[27] BLAST DAMAGES CAR OF ALBANIAN JOURNALIST, POLITICIAN...
The car of a leading Albanian newspaper editor was damaged in an
explosion on April 9, UPI reported the following day. The owner of the
car, Erjon Brace, was unhurt. Brace, who edits the opposition newspaper
"Zeri i Popullit" and is also a member of parliament for the opposition
Socialist Party, was quoted as saying he does not know of anyone who
would wish to hurt him. There has been no indication since from the
police of the exact cause of the explosion or why Brace might have been
the target of an attack. AG
[28] ...WHILE ALBANIAN PREMIER VOWS TO PURGE MEDIA OF MAFIA INFLUENCE
Prime Minister Sali Berisha on April 10 repeated recent promises to rid
the country's media of links to the mafia, saying that "the mafia has a
strong media and it even uses it as dagger." According to the ATA news
agency, Berisha said the mafia "has used the media in the past to buy a
minister, to win a tender, to buy a chief prosecutor or prosecutor, to
press a button and other things." He added, however, that "that time is
over, it will not come back again," promising that "any effort to buy
the media, at a time when in Albanian politics there are persons that
exercise terror and politics on the media, that dictate editorials,
news stories and everything, has been and will be punished." During his
premiership, Berisha has set up a national broadcasting regulator, but
it has been accused of inaction and corruption. The media have
responded to Berisha's comments with sharp criticism. "Zeri i Popullit"
said the prime minister's "offensive" is "Berisha's reaction to the
results of the recent local government elections, which his experts are
interpreting as having been brought about by parts of the media that
did not support his party in the country's largest cities" and to
allegations of corruption in the government. The Socialists emerged
ahead of Berisha's Democratic Party in February's elections (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," February 21 and March 13, 2007). In an article
published on March 30, "Gazeta Shqiptare" accused Berisha of linking
the media to the mafia "without concrete evidence," while "the facts
brought up by the free media speak against Prime Minister Berisha -- he
is the one who favors media that support him, and he is the one who
attacks and blackmails his opponents." AG
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[29] ITALIAN CHARITY PULLS STAFF FROM AFGHANISTAN
An Italian aid group, Emergency, withdrew its international staff from
Afghanistan on April 11 in response to the recent arrest of one of its
Afghan employees, Reuters reported. The organization, which helped
secure the release of kidnapped Italian journalist Daniele
Mastrogiacomo in March, said its 38 international staff -- mostly
Italians -- are temporarily in Dubai. "There they will decide what to
do next," an Emergency spokesman said in Milan, according to Reuters.
Rahamtullah Hanefi, who runs one of the charity's Afghan hospitals and
acted as a go-between with the Taliban during Mastrogiacomo's
captivity, was reportedly detained by local security forces on March 20
on suspicion that he played a part in the kidnapping. Afghan
intelligence chief Anrullah Saleh accused Hanefi of helping the Taliban
kidnap the Italian along, with his Afghan driver and translator. Both
of the Afghan hostages -- driver Sayyed Agha and journalist and
translator Ajmal Naqshbandi -- were killed by the Taliban kidnappers.
RR
[30] THIRTEEN DEAD, SEVEN WOUNDED IN AFGHAN VIOLENCE
A suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan on
April 11, wounding seven civilians, while a U.S.-led coalition air
strike killed 13 suspected militants, AP reported. No NATO troops were
injured and one vehicle in the convoy was damaged, Canadian military
spokesman Alex Watson said. In neighboring Helmand Province, U.S.-led
coalition and Afghan troops clashed with suspected Taliban militants on
April 10 and called in air strikes on a compound, leaving 13 militants
dead, a coalition statement said; the statement added that there were
no civilian casualties. RR
[31] AFGHANS REPORTEDLY TO RELEASE AMERICAN CONVICTED OF RUNNING HIS
OWN PRISON
U.S. citizen Jonathan Idema, who has been imprisoned since 2004 for
running a "private war on terror" in Afghanistan, was scheduled for
imminent release, AP reported on April 11. Idema had claimed at his
trial that his actions were part of an antiterrorism effort coordinated
with U.S. and Afghan officials, a claim officials in both countries
denied. Idema's attorneys filed a lawsuit in Washington in 2005
challenging his detention. The U.S. State Department and the FBI faced
an April 10 deadline to answer allegations that they ordered his
torture and manipulated the Afghan judicial system, AP reported. U.S.
District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said on March 21 that he is "deeply
troubled" by the allegations and gave the U.S. government until April
10 to respond. Instead, U.S. government attorneys asked that the case
be thrown out because they say the Afghan government granted Idema
amnesty and commuted his sentence. "As of the time of this filing, it
is our understanding that Mr. Idema's release is imminent," government
attorneys wrote on April 5, according to AP. Idema's lawyer, John E.
Tiffany, said the U.S. government coordinated Idema's amnesty to avoid
having to respond to the allegations of torture and government
misconduct. An Afghan official, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to release the information, said Idema
remains in Kabul's Pol-e Charki prison, according to AP. RR
[32] U.S. MARINES ACCUSED OF EXCESSIVE FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN
A U.S. military commander has determined that marines accused of
killing civilians after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan used excessive
force, and he has forwarded the case for possible criminal inquiry, AP
reported on April 11. The investigation of the March 4 incident, in
which as many as 12 Afghan civilians were reported killed, concluded
that the U.S. troops' response was "out of proportion to the threat
that was immediately there," a senior defense official reportedly told
AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the probe's results have
not been released. Another official, also speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the initial military investigation concluded that there
is "reasonable suspicion" that the marines violated rules on the use of
deadly force and committed crimes, possibly including homicide, after
their convoy was struck by a car bomb. RR
[33] NEGOTIATOR SAYS IRAN READY FOR NUCLEAR TALKS
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said in Tehran
on April 11 that this is a good time for Western states to resume
unconditional talks with Iran over its atomic dossier, if such talks
are to be "constructive" and "with the correct bases and a particular
discourse," ISNA reported. Western states suspicious of the aims of
Iran's nuclear program have asked it to halt sensitive fuel-making and
related activities first, then resume talks. Larijani said that
"determining a precondition means they wish to know the results of
talks beforehand." Iran says it has a right and needs to make fuel for
an expanding nuclear program. Larijani was speaking after meeting with
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta. He dismissed doubts that
some foreign observers have expressed about Iranian declarations that
it has begun industrial-scale uranium-enrichment activities, which
could lead to mass production of nuclear fuel. "If they doubt we have
reached this stage, why are they pressuring us?" he asked. Larijani
said Tehran is "seeking regional adventures" in neither its foreign
policy nor its atomic program. "We have declared we are ready to reach
an agreement" through "correct talks," he said. Larijani told ISNA that
the presence of cameras -- presumably at a nuclear facility at Natanz
-- and routine checks by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) are enough to verify Iran's industrial fuel-making
activities. He said there is no need for closer checks pursuant to the
additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to
show which "stage of work" Iran has reached. VS
[34] UN AGENCY SPOKESMAN NOTES ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES IN IRAN
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told German radio on April 10 or 11
that Iran has a right to have nuclear installations, but its activities
must respect nonproliferation rules and be transparent, Radio Farda
reported on April 11, citing DPA. Fleming said there is still time for
a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program, but
added that she cannot understand why Iran is restricting IAEA
inspections. She suggested that Iran has illegally obtained some of the
material for its program. UPI reported on April 11 that IAEA inspectors
who arrived in Iran on April 10 will press for the installation of
cameras at Natanz. The report did not elaborate, although comments by
Iranian officials indicate that Natanz already has IAEA cameras.
Presumably inspectors want cameras fixed in the immediate vicinity of
the centrifuges reportedly installed in Natanz as part of Iran's
expanding enrichment program. VS
[35] IRANIAN MINISTER WARNS OF FEMINIST, STUDENT ACTIVISTS TRAINED BY
THE 'ENEMY'
Iranian Intelligence Minister Gholamhussein Mohseni-Ejei warned a
gathering of officials in Qazvin, west of Tehran, on April 10 that the
"enemy's new policy" for Iran is to train feminists and student
activists to subvert Iran's political system, "Kargozaran" daily
reported on April 11. "They took some groups to other countries for
training on soft subversion," Mohseni-Ejei said. Iranian officials have
repeatedly accused foreign powers of trying to set off a "velvet
revolution" in Iran, reminiscent of the nonviolent collapse of some
European communist states in the late 1980s. Mohseni-Ejei said Western
states have sought through economic pressure and publicity to
"alienate" Iranians from the government, present the Islamic republic
as ineffective, and "deprive the mass of the people of hope." Iranian
Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told a press conference separately
on April 10 that two feminists arrested on April 2 while gathering
signatures for a campaign to change discriminatory laws in Iran may be
released conditionally, ISNA reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 3
and 5, 2007). Jamshidi said the interrogator handling the cases of
Nahid Keshavarz and Mahbubeh Hosseinzadeh has decided to allow their
release if a legal guarantor or guardian (kafil) is named, ISNA
reported. The guarantor would presumably assure their availability for
subsequent inquiries and a trial. VS
[36] TEACHERS DETAINED IN TEHRAN
Lawyer Manijeh Mohammadi told ISNA on April 11 that three teachers were
detained and sent to Evin prison in Tehran on April 10 when they went
to the Tehran Revolutionary Court for questioning regarding recent wage
protests by teachers. She said her clients Mohammad Taqi Fallahi,
Mahmud Baqeri, and another teacher identified as Montajabi were
detained, apparently to allow their continued interrogation, and were
later transferred from the court building to Evin. Mohammadi said the
three had attended one or several teachers' protests in recent weeks
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 7 and 9, 2007) to report on them for a
daily called "Qalam-i Moallem" (Teacher's Pen). ILNA separately quoted
the deputy governor of the Hamedan Province for political and security
affairs, Akbar Abedi, as saying on April 11 that teachers recently
arrested in Hamedan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 11, 2007) were
detained in their union offices in the provincial capital Hamedan after
police found "about 5,000" pamphlets there urging teachers to go on
strike. "We are not opposed to union activities, but if these demands
follow the goals of the enemies of the revolution, there will be a very
firm response," he warned. VS
[37] ATTACKS HIT IRAQI PARLIAMENT BUILDING, BAGHDAD BRIDGE
An apparent suicide bomber exploded his vest inside the cafeteria of
the Iraqi parliament building on April 12, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq
(RFI) reported. RFI correspondent Layla Ahmad, who was exiting the
building at the time of the blast, said dozens of parliamentarians were
lunching in the cafeteria when she left it minutes earlier. Initial
reports indicated that dozens of people were wounded in the explosion
and two parliamentarians, one a Sunni Arab and one a Kurd, were killed.
Reuters reported that the explosion took place near the cash register.
Parliament was in session on April 12 and, according to Ahmad, many
parliamentarians complained in the session about stricter security
measures that have been imposed recently. In order to enter the
parliament building, people must pass through at least five
checkpoints. Ahmad reported that the first checkpoint was manned today
by U.S. and Iraqi forces, four others by Georgian troops, and a final
gate by Iraqi National Guardsmen. People wishing to enter the cafeteria
area must possess a separate, special-access card. The U.S. military
recently found two suicide vests inside the so-called Green Zone, which
also houses the parliament. In an earlier attack on April 12, a suicide
bomber blew up his explosives-laden truck on Al-Sarafiyah Bridge, a
main east-west artery, killing at least eight and sending several cars
into the Tigris River. KR
[38] IRAQI PREMIER TRIES TO DEFUSE TENSIONS WITH TURKEY
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on April 11 moved to ease tensions
with Turkey after Kurdistan region President Mas'ud Barzani warned
Ankara that interference in northern Iraq would lead to retaliatory
action by Iraqi Kurds (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 10 and 11, 2007),
international media reported the same day. Al-Maliki's office issued a
statement stressing that Iraqi foreign policy is conducted solely by
the Baghdad government and is based on mutual respect of its neighbors.
"Iraqi foreign policy is represented by the commitment to build the
best of relations with its neighbors and noninterference in their
internal affairs and by not allowing these countries to interfere in
Iraq's internal affairs," al-Maliki said. However, Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul insisted that his country has a right to take
action if Iraq refuses to move against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
rebels hiding in northern Iraq. "We're not making threats or indulging
in bravado," Gul said. "We are simply making clear that events have
come to a very dangerous point." Barzani's remarks caused outrage in
Turkey, where more than 37,000 people have been killed in fighting
between Turkish security forces and PKK fighters since 1984. SS
[39] AL-SADR THREATENS TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQI GOVERNMENT
Radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's political bloc issued a
statement on April 11 threatening to withdraw from the Iraqi government
after Prime Minister al-Maliki opposed any timetable for the withdrawal
of U.S. forces, Al-Sharqiyah television reported the same day. "The
al-Sadr trend strongly rejects the statement by Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki, who adheres to the occupation forces remaining despite the
will of the Iraqi people," the statement read. The statement also
criticized "the unjust application" of the Baghdad security plan. On
April 9, thousands of Iraqis heeded al-Sadr's call and descended on the
holy city of Al-Najaf to demand an end to the U.S.-led occupation (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," April 10, 2007). Al-Sadr's political bloc boycotted
the government from November 29 until mid-January to protest a meeting
between al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush in Jordan. His
political movement currently has 30 deputies in parliament, in addition
to six ministry posts, including the health, transportation, tourism,
and agriculture portfolios. SS
[40] HEAVY FIGHTING REPORTED IN CENTRAL BAGHDAD
Heavy fighting in the Al-Fadl and Sheikh Umar neighborhoods of Baghdad
continued for a second day, international media reported on April 11.
U.S. military sources said the fighting started on April 10 when a
joint U.S.-Iraqi detachment came under fire during a routine patrol.
The U.S. military said approximately 20 suspected fighters were killed
and 30 others arrested, while four Iraqi soldiers were killed and 16
U.S. soldiers were wounded. A U.S. attack helicopter was damaged by
small-arms fire, but managed to return to its base. However, the Muslim
Scholars Association issued a differing account of the events. In a
statement posted on its website on April 10, the group claimed that
fighting erupted after Iraqi troops entered a Sunni mosque and killed
two young boys. The group said that more than 30 civilians have so far
been killed and described what is happening as a "massacre." "The
residents of the neighborhood call on the free people in the world and
humanitarian organizations to intervene in favor of halting this
massacre committed against them without discrimination between a man
and a woman or between and elderly and a young person," the statement
said. SS
[41] IRAQI PRESIDENT SAYS FIVE INSURGENT GROUPS READY TO ESCHEW
VIOLENCE
President Jalal Talabani announced on April 11 that negotiations with
five armed groups are entering the final stages, and that they will
abandon violence and join the political process, state-run Al-Iraqiyah
television reported the same day. He declined to name the groups,
fearing they may be singled out and targeted by groups connected to
Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Talabani also stressed that a dialogue should be
opened with all groups that reject terrorism. "We should be ready to
deal with the groups that have distinguished themselves from
terrorists," he said. "There are two trenches: the trench of Iraqi
people and the trench of terrorism. We cannot be in the two trenches."
Talabani singled out the Iraqi Islamic Party as being one of the groups
that has rejected terrorism and as a result should be given the full
support of the government and people. SS
[42] RED CROSS SAYS SITUATION WORSENING FOR IRAQIS
The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement
on April 11 warning that after four years of violence in Iraq, the
humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate and Iraqi civilians are
paying a heavy price, international media reported the same day. "The
suffering that Iraqi men, women, and children are enduring today is
unbearable and unacceptable. Their lives and dignity are continuously
under threat," said the ICRC's director of operations, Pierre
Kraehenbuehl. He said the worsening security situation is causing
"overlapping effects" of hardship for the civilian population, with
medical care deteriorating as doctors flee the country. The Iraqi
Health Ministry believes that half of the country's physicians have
already fled. With regard to the recent Baghdad security operation,
Kraehenbuehl said it has yet to achieve any noticeable improvements for
Iraqi civilians. "We're certainly not seeing an immediate effect in
terms of stabilization for the civilians currently," he said. His
remarks were made in conjunction with the release of an ICRC report
titled "Civilians Without Protection -- The Ever-Worsening Humanitarian
Crisis in Iraq," which highlights the plight of Iraqi civilians four
years after the fall of Baghdad. SS
[43] IRAQI OFFICIAL ASSASSINATED IN BAGHDAD
Masked gunmen assassinated Abd al-Abbas Hashim, the director-general of
projects at the Electricity Ministry, in central Baghdad on April 11,
KUNA reported the same day. Local police sources said unidentified
gunmen ambushed Hashim's vehicle in the Iraqi capital's Al-Qanat
neighborhood, shot him and his bodyguard, and then quickly fled.
Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen attacked the headquarters of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the Al-Nur district of Mosul,
Al-Sharqiyah reported on April 11. Sources said local police eventually
repelled the attackers, wounding two gunmen and seizing several
weapons, including five machine guns and a rocket launcher. SS
End Note
[44] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY
|