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RFE/RL Newsline, 07-09-11
CONTENTS
[01] NATO HEAD WANTS RUSSIA TO 'CLARIFY' VIEWS ON TIES
[02] GAZPROM SEES BENEFITS IN CHINESE MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR DEAL WITH
AUSTRALIA
[03] DID GAZPROM WANT TO BUY DOW JONES?
[04] GERMANY'S EX-CHANCELLOR BLASTS POLAND, U.S. FROM MOSCOW
[05] RUSSIAN POLITICIAN WANTS TO HEAD EUROPEAN BODY
[06] RUSSIANS SKEPTICAL OF POLITICAL PARTY PLATFORMS
[07] UNIFIED RUSSIA HAS TROUBLE COMPILING CANDIDATES LIST
[08] OPPOSITION CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW CANCELLED...
[09] ...AS PARTIES FACE UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD IN SAMARA
[10] PETERSBURG PROTESTS PROPOSED GAZPROM TOWER
[11] RUSSIAN DOCTOR KILLED IN INGUSHETIA
[12] KBR PRESIDENT DOWNPLAYS MILITANT THREAT
[13] INGUSHETIAN MINISTER IMPLICATES GEORGIA FOR SPIRALING VIOLENCE
[14] NEW KARABAKH PRESIDENT INAUGURATED
[15] GEORGIA DENIES RUSSIAN STATEMENT ON WTO TALKS
[16] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW CABINET
[17] SOUTH OSSETIA BLAMES EXPLOSION ON GEORGIA
[18] KAZAKH PREMIER VOWS TO STABILIZE BREAD PRICES
[19] KYRGYZ SECURITY OFFICIALS FORMALLY CHARGE FOUR WITH ESPIONAGE
[20] LAWYER FOR DETAINED BROTHER OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION DEPUTY ALLEGES
TORTURE
[21] TAJIK MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES CALL FOR UNITY AMID 'PERSECUTION'
[22] BELARUSIAN POLICE ARREST OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS NEAR SITE OF
HISTORIC BATTLE
[23] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST JAILED FOR TWO YEARS FOR INTERNET
ARTICLE
[24] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT REPLACES SOVIET-ERA 'PROPISKA' WITH RESIDENCE
REGISTRATION
[25] UKRAINIAN PARTY VOWS TO RETURN LOST SOVIET-ERA SAVINGS
[26] LAST COMMANDER OF UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY DIES
[27] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS EMPHASIZE UNITY ON KOSOVA...
[28] ...AND STRESSES NEED FOR STRONG POSITION
[29] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT DIVIDED OVER THREAT OF FORCE IN KOSOVA...
[30] ...WHILE MEDIATORS CRITICIZE SERBIAN THREAT
[31] SERBIA MOLLIFIES MONTENEGRO...
[32] ...WHILE MONTENEGRO WAIVES BAN ON CONTROVERSIAL SERBIAN BISHOP
[33] CALL FOR BOSNIA TO CHOOSE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION...
[34] ...IS MET COOLLY BY BOSNIAN POLITICIANS
[35] BOSNIA KEEPS HEFTY IMPORT DUTIES ON SERBIAN, CROATIAN GOODS
[36] ICTY HOLDS SPECIAL HEARING IN BOSNIA
[37] TWO BOSNIAN SERBS ARRESTED FOR WAR CRIMES
[38] MACEDONIA APOLOGIZES FOR DEPICTIONS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD
[39] UN SAYS SUICIDE BOMBINGS ESCALATING IN AFGHANISTAN
[40] 'PEACE CAN'T BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT NEGOTIATIONS,' AFGHAN PRESIDENT
SAYS
[41] OVER 40 INSURGENTS, COALITION SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
[42] FRANCE TO SEND 200 MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN'S RESTIVE SOUTHERN
PROVINCES
[43] IAEA BOARD MEETS TO DISCUSS IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
[44] IRAN'S PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRIES ARE ACCEPTING NUCLEAR PROGRAM
[45] IRANIAN GOVERNMENT REJECTS CRITICISM ON ECONOMY
[46] LEGISLATOR SAYS IRANIAN STATE TELEVISION SLIGHTS CLERIC
[47] FRENCH RESEARCHER STRANDED IN TEHRAN, SEEKS EMBASSY PROTECTION
[48] IRANIAN MEDIA SAY MKO FINDS REFUGE IN JORDAN
[49] IRAQI SUNNI BLOC ENDS BOYCOTT OF PARLIAMENT
[50] IRAQI PREMIER VOWS TO BRING SECURITY TO IRAQ...
[51] ...WHILE IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER CHIDES NEIGHBORS FOR MEDDLING
[52] IRAQI PRESIDENT REJECTS EXECUTION ORDER FOR FORMER DEFENSE
MINISTER
[53] COALITION FORCES SAY MASTERMIND OF SINJAR BOMBINGS KILLED
[54] IRAQI PRESIDENT CALLS FOR TURNING SHI'ITE MILITIA INTO 'CULTURAL'
BODY
[55] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
Monday, September 10, 2007 Volume 11 Number 167
Russia
[01] NATO HEAD WANTS RUSSIA TO 'CLARIFY' VIEWS ON TIES
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in Geneva on
September 7 that "for us, a solid, trustful NATO-Russia relationship
remains a long-term investment in European, and indeed global,
security. It is up to Russia to clarify whether she holds a different
view," news agencies reported. He noted that "if we look at Russia's
recent behavior, we see that, even after a decade of steady progress,
the NATO-Russia relationship remains vulnerable to Cold War
stereotypes. We have to get beyond this state of affairs.... We must
not allow short-term, tactical considerations to put at risk a
long-term, strategic partnership. We must move the NATO-Russia
relationship forward." In Viana do Castelo, Portugal, British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband said on September 7 that EU foreign ministers
meeting there "want a constructive relationship with Russia, but we
want responsibility shown by Russia," Reuters reported. He added that
the ministers "wanted to be firm but not macho." An unidentified
British official noted that ministers shared "widespread concern about
a deterioration in Russian behavior" in recent months. PM
[02] GAZPROM SEES BENEFITS IN CHINESE MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR DEAL WITH
AUSTRALIA
The two-day summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum ended in Sydney on September 9 with compromise agreements on
dealing with climate change and advancing global trade talks,
international media reported. World media attention centered primarily
on the roles of the United States, China, Japan, and host Australia at
the summit. Russia's engagement received slight mention outside the
Russian media, except for the huge bilateral trade deals that President
Vladimir Putin signed in Indonesia and Australia before the summit
began (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 4, 5, 6, and 7, 2007). After
meeting on September 8 with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Putin said
that "a great dawn in Russian-Chinese relations" began recently and
that "Russian policy towards China will not change in the coming years"
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 26 and 27, and August 27, 2007, and End
Note, "RFE/RL Newsline," March 23, 2006). On September 9, Putin
endorsed plans for an Asian-Pacific free-trade zone and thanked APEC
leaders who backed Russia's plans to host the 2012 summit in
Vladivostok. Aleksandr Medvedev, who is Gazprom's deputy CEO in charge
of exports, said in Sydney on September 9 that the fact that PetroChina
signed over $45 billion-worth of agreements with Australian firms for
liquefied natural gas (LNG) bodes well for Gazprom's prospects in
negotiations with China, Britain's "Financial Times" reported on
September 10. He said that he has "a feeling that [China's deals with
Australia] were based on the LNG market price in the region. China
paying market prices is good for our discussions." Medvedev pointed out
that "it's no secret that we want to be the biggest supplier of natural
gas to the Asia-Pacific region." PM
[03] DID GAZPROM WANT TO BUY DOW JONES?
Timesonline.co.uk reported on September 10 that Gazprom "held talks [in
July] over mounting a rival $5 billion-plus offer for Dow Jones,
publisher of 'The Wall Street Journal,' to see off the bid from News
Corporation.... It is not known how advanced the talks were, or whether
they were conducted through an intermediary.... The fact that the
Russian oil major was contemplating a bid underscores Gazprom's and
Russia's global ambitions." PM
[04] GERMANY'S EX-CHANCELLOR BLASTS POLAND, U.S. FROM MOSCOW
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who heads the stockholders'
oversight body for the projected Russo-German Nord Stream gas pipeline,
said at a book promotion gathering in Moscow on September 8 that the
proposed U.S. missile-defense system is "unnecessary and politically
dangerous," German and international media reported (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," March 9 and 12, 2007). He stressed that the project "is
perceived as an attempt to isolate Russia, which is not in Europe's
political interests. It is Germany's responsibility...to persuade the
United States to abandon these plans." Schroeder added that missile
defense is "presented as though the plans are the business of [Poland
and the Czech Republic] and the Americans. But they concern Europe as a
whole." He called on EU members to brush aside "narrow-minded
nationalistic interests." Germany's "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" on
September 10 questioned the propriety of a former chancellor
criticizing fellow EU member states and Washington from Moscow.
Britain's "Financial Times" of March 6 quoted Czech Prime Minister
Mirek Topolanek as saying that "as for the 18 EU member states who host
U.S. military bases, it is not up to them to comment on the existence
of a similar presence in the Czech Republic." PM
[05] RUSSIAN POLITICIAN WANTS TO HEAD EUROPEAN BODY
On September 10, Mikhail Margelov, who is chairman of the Federation
Council's International Affairs Committee, said that he intends to be a
candidate for the presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) at its January 2008 session, newsru.com
reported. If elected, he would be the first Russian to hold the post.
PM
[06] RUSSIANS SKEPTICAL OF POLITICAL PARTY PLATFORMS
As the parties planning to contest the December 2 State Duma elections
refine their campaign platforms, "Novye izvestiya" on September 10
published an article looking at Unified Russia's 2003 election
manifesto. That document, the daily recalled, promised a redistribution
of profits from the sales of natural resources to benefit the
population, a program to make housing affordable for average Russians,
and a war on poverty. In the intervening four years, during which
Unified Russia enjoyed a huge majority in the Duma, the gap between the
richest and poorest has grown, average pensions remain below the
poverty line, and housing costs have risen at a faster rate than wages.
Analyst Dmitry Oreshkin told the daily that the platforms of the
parties are "clear populism." Leonty Byzov, an analyst with the
All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion, commented that 70
percent of the electorate considers party platforms empty words that no
one pays attention to after the voting. RC
[07] UNIFIED RUSSIA HAS TROUBLE COMPILING CANDIDATES LIST
The pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party intends to announce this week the
results of regional party primaries to select candidates for the Duma
elections, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on September 10. According to
unidentified sources within the party, officials are dissatisfied with
the results in some regions, including Moscow Oblast, where Governor
Boris Gromov rejected the list of candidates dictated by the party's
national leadership. The process is particularly painful for Unified
Russia because current projections indicate that the party will have
20-30 fewer seats in the new Duma than it has in the current
legislature, setting off an intense competition for party-list slots
among current Duma deputies. "Ekspert" on September 6 reported that
Rostov Oblast Unified Russia leader and Duma Deputy Mikhail Emelyanov
intends to switch to the A Just Russia party list. Emelyanov said he
was dissatisfied with his proposed place on the Unified Russia list and
with the fact that several deputies from Rostov who were elected in
2003 in single-mandate voting have not been included on the current
regional party list. "Nezavisimaya gazeta" also reported that Unified
Russia will only agree to participate in televised campaign debates
against representatives of the Communist Party and does not intend to
engage in public polemics with any other parties. RC
[08] OPPOSITION CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW CANCELLED...
The Moscow regional conference of the opposition Another Russia
movement that was scheduled for September 9 was cancelled at the last
minute and has been tentatively rescheduled for next week, RFE/RL's
Russian Service and other media reported. The main purpose of the event
was to endorse a candidate for the 2008 presidential election. Another
Russia activist Marina Litvinovich told RFE/RL the congress was
cancelled by the owners of the venue, the Sputnik cinema, purportedly
because the organizers failed to provide complete information about the
event and because the building is undergoing repairs. Organizers
hastily arranged a second contract with the Izmailovo conference center
but that contract too was nullified by the venue because the Moscow
authorities had not given permission for the event. Litvinovich said
Another Russia is seeking a venue to hold the event next week: "We are
looking for owners who cannot be pressured by the city or federal
authorities," she said. Litvinovich said the party has had similar
problems holding events in Smolensk and Rostov-na-Donu. "Nezavisimaya
gazeta" reported on September 10 that the party has also encountered
problems in Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvashia, Chelyabinsk, and Primorsky
Krai. RC
[09] ...AS PARTIES FACE UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD IN SAMARA
Prosecutors in Samara have ordered that billboards advertising a book
by Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) leader Nikita Belykh be removed from
city streets, "Kommersant" reported on September 10. The advertisements
were judged to be a violation of the law on election campaigning, since
the Duma campaign has not officially begun. Local activists were
dismayed that prosecutors have not paid any attention to advertisements
promoting the ruling Unified Russia party, which reportedly adorn
schools and public transport in Samara, Tolyatti, and Novokuibyshevsk.
According to the report, there is a banner reading, "Unified Russia --
the Party of Putin," hanging across the main avenue into Samara. A
Unified Russia spokesman told the daily that the materials in Samara
are not oriented toward the campaign and contain only "informational
material" because the party "has every right to inform citizens about
its current activity and work." RC
[10] PETERSBURG PROTESTS PROPOSED GAZPROM TOWER
Some 4,000 people marched in St. Petersburg on September 9 to protest
plans by Gazprom to build a skyscraper near the city center, Russian
and international media reported. The event was organized by Yabloko,
and Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky and Another Russia leader Garry
Kasparov participated. Local Yabloko activist Maksim Reznik told RFE/RL
on September 8 that the authorities took several measures to prevent or
hinder the demonstration. City officials rejected six proposed routes
for the march, Reznik said. "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on September
10 that police blocked all entrances to the Chernyshevsky Garden but
one and marchers were forced to file slowly through a single small gate
and to leave through it as well. Gazprom has proposed building a
300-meter glass skyscraper across the Neva River from the Smolny
Monastery. Protesters say the building will be visible from
Petersburg's UNESCO-protected historical center and will destroy the
city's unique horizontal skyline. RC
[11] RUSSIAN DOCTOR KILLED IN INGUSHETIA
Natalya Muradova, a Russian doctor who headed a blood transfusion
center in Nazran, was gunned down on the street in a drive-by shooting
on September 7, Russian media reported. It was the third attack on
ethnic Russians in Ingushetia in two months. Resistance forces
subjected a Russian Interior Ministry post in the village of Surkhakhi
in Nazran Raion to mortar fire during the night of September 8-9,
killing one serviceman, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. Two resistance
fighters and one serviceman were killed and two servicemen wounded in a
five-hour mortar attack the same night on an Interior Ministry
battalion based on the eastern outskirts of Malgobek. LF
[12] KBR PRESIDENT DOWNPLAYS MILITANT THREAT
Speaking on September 7 in Nalchik, capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria
Republic (KBR), Arsen Kanokov said the number of devotees of "radical
Islam" in the KBR is between 500-700, kavkaz-uzel.ru and Interfax
reported. He said that although "illegal armed units" no longer exist,
"we cannot feel safe" as long as Musa Mukozhev and Anzor Astemirov, the
putative masterminds of the October 2005 multiple raids on police and
security facilities in Nalchik, remain at liberty. (In a decree dated
September 4 and posted on September 8 on the resistance website
chechenpress.info, Chechen Republic Ichkeria President and resistance
commander Doku Umarov named Astemirov acting chairman of the Supreme
Shariat Court, replacing Mansur Yovmirzayev.) Kanokov said the
circumstances and background of the Nalchik attacks will become known
only when the trial of the surviving 59 participants opens, which will
be "soon." He added that from meeting with some of them in pre-trial
detention he gained the impression that they were young men from rural
areas who were "duped." LF
[13] INGUSHETIAN MINISTER IMPLICATES GEORGIA FOR SPIRALING VIOLENCE
Republic of Ingushetia Interior Minister Musa Medov told Russian media
on September 8 that the recent upsurge of violence is linked to the
fact that Ingushetia has an 80 kilometer border with Georgia, Caucasus
Press and kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. Medov did not accuse Georgia
outright of serving as a haven and rear base for Chechen militant
formations, who several years ago used Georgia's Pankisi Gorge for
similar purposes (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 21, 2001, February
20, May 31, and September 16, 2002, and 8 and 12 August 8 and 12,
2003). LF
Transcaucasia And Central Asia
[14] NEW KARABAKH PRESIDENT INAUGURATED
Bako Sahakian was sworn in on September 7 as president of the
unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) in the presence of
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and several Armenian government
ministers, PanArmenian.net reported. In his inaugural address,
Sahakian, a former National Security Service head who polled some 85.4
percent of the vote in the July 19 presidential election (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," July 20, 2007), defined as his primary objective building a
"viable, socially just, economically developed and politically stable
state," capable of protecting the interests of its citizens, including
ethnic minorities. He said international recognition of the NKR as an
independent state would "give a serious impetus to the pace of our
development," and warned that the region's armed forces "will be ready
to rebuff any attack on our state and society," a clear allusion to
recent threats by Azerbaijani officials of a possible new war. The
government of Anushavan Danielian, who has served as prime minister
since June 1999, resigned on September 7, according to Mediamax on
September 7 as reposted by Groong. LF
[15] GEORGIA DENIES RUSSIAN STATEMENT ON WTO TALKS
In a statement released on September 8, the Georgian Foreign Ministry
said the Georgian government has not received from Russia any official
proposal to hold bilateral market access talks in connection with
Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. The ministry
reaffirmed that Georgia will support Russia's bid only when Russia
meets its primary condition, which is to "legalize and ensure the
proper functioning of" two illegal customs checkpoints on the border
between the Russian Federation and Georgia's breakaway unrecognized
republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
November 28, 2005, February 22, 2006, and January 19 and June 26,
2007). On September 6, Maksim Medvedkov, who is Russia's chief
negotiator for talks on WTO membership, said that Georgia has not yet
responded to a Russian offer to resume bilateral talks on September
24-30, prime-tass.com reported. Speaking in Sydney the same day,
Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said Russia
will not be able to join the WTO before the end of this year, but hopes
to do so by the end of 2008. LF
[16] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW CABINET
The Georgian parliament endorsed on September 7 by a vote of 133 in
favor and one against the new cabinet line-up proposed one week earlier
by Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, Caucasus Press reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," August 30 and 31, 2007). The cabinet includes three
new ministers: Aleksandre Khetaguri (power engineering), Davit
Chantladze (environment and natural resources), and Ekaterine
Tkeshelashvili (justice). Former Energy Minister Nika Gilauri takes
over as finance minister, former Environment and Natural Resources
Minister Davit Tkeshelashvili takes over as minister of labor and
social services. Noghaideli told the parliament on September 7 that the
government's primary goal is to secure the peaceful restoration of
Georgia's territorial integrity, Prime-News reported. Speaking the same
day in Adjara, President Mikheil Saakashvili again dismissed as
irresponsible and irrelevant opposition criticism of the cabinet
composition and its amended program, Caucasus Press reported. He said
the new government program is geared towards "strengthening Georgia,"
and that ministers' actions will demonstratively prove their
competence. LF
[17] SOUTH OSSETIA BLAMES EXPLOSION ON GEORGIA
Mikhail Mindzayev, who is interior minister of the unrecognized
republic of South Ossetia, on September 7 accused Georgia of planting
an improvised explosive device concealed in a mobile phone that
exploded that day in Tskhinvali, injuring one man, the website civil.ge
reported. Two separate homemade bombs killed three people and injured
two in Tskhinvali a year ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 10 and 14,
2006). Mindzayev said the explosion was a "terrorist attack" intended
to destabilize the situation in South Ossetia in the run-up to
celebrations later this month to mark the anniversary of the 1991
declaration of independence. Speaking in Tbilisi later on September 7,
Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution Davit Bakradze dismissed
Mindzayev's statement as "rubbish," adding that the Georgian state
never has, and never will, stoop to terrorist acts. LF
[18] KAZAKH PREMIER VOWS TO STABILIZE BREAD PRICES
In a speech to university students in Astana, Prime Minister Karim
Masimov promised on September 8 that the government will "take
measures" to stabilize prices for bread and bakery products, according
to Interfax-Kazakhstan. Masimov explained that a cabinet meeting on
September 10 will consider "relevant measures" in order "to stabilize
the situation." The increase in bread prices, which has more than
doubled since last year, has already led neighboring Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan to study measures to address similar increases in the prices
of bread and flour (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 4 and 5, 2007). RG
[19] KYRGYZ SECURITY OFFICIALS FORMALLY CHARGE FOUR WITH ESPIONAGE
In an official press statement released in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz National
Security Committee announced on September 8 that criminal charges have
been formally brought against four local citizens suspected of
espionage, ITAR-TASS reported. The suspects, charged with collecting
and passing classified information "to foreign organizations," include
a retired military intelligence official, the chief of an information
and analysis department of the Defense Ministry, and a member of the
National Security Committee. The announcement follows the detention
late last month of a retired officer from the Defense Ministry and
National Security Committee on espionage charges, and, in a separate
case, the arrest of an employee of the parliament's press office,
Jypargul Arykova, and a Chinese national in June, who are suspected of
spying for the Chinese intelligence services (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
June 22 and 25, 2007). RG
[20] LAWYER FOR DETAINED BROTHER OF KYRGYZ OPPOSITION DEPUTY ALLEGES
TORTURE
Speaking to reporters in Bishkek, Meilkhan Emilbaeva, the defense
lawyer for Almaz Tekebaev, said on September 7 that her client has been
tortured by police during his recent detention, AKIpress reported.
Tekebaev, the younger brother of opposition deputy Omurbek Tekebaev, is
being held in an Interior Ministry detention facility in the southern
city of Osh since his arrest for "hooliganism." Emilbaeva also
criticized the authorities for refusing her permission to meet with her
client since he was first arrested on September 4 following an
altercation with the Osh city department of the State Veterinary
Service and the Osh city police department. Omurbek Tekebaev, the head
of the Ata Meken (Fatherland) opposition party and one of the leaders
of the opposition For Reforms movement, was arrested in Poland in
September 2006 after heroin was discovered in his luggage by airport
police (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 8, 11, 12, and 13, 2006). A
special Kyrgyz parliamentary commission later found that officials of
the National Security Service (SNB) were responsible for planting the
drugs in his luggage, leading to the dismissal of SNB Chairman
Busurmankul Tabaldiev and his deputy, President Kurmanbek Bakiev's
brother Janysh (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 22, 2006). Tekebaev
was also questioned by security officials in connection with clashes
following several days of opposition demonstrations in Bishkek in April
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 20, 2007). RG
[21] TAJIK MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES CALL FOR UNITY AMID 'PERSECUTION'
Participants in a seminar organized by Tajik media outlets in
recognition of International Journalists' Solidarity Day called on
September 7 for unity amid the "persecution" of journalists and
proposed the creation of a new "press council" to "regulate relations
between independent media outlets and facilitate the development of
freedom of speech," according to the Avesta website. The head of the
Journalists' Union of Tajikistan, Akbarali Sattarov, stressed that
"unity and solidarity" are essential to "establish communication with
the authorities," noting the recent adoption of a new media law that
allows courts to jail journalists for up to two years if they are found
guilty of libel or insults in their reporting (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
August 13, 2007). National Association of Independent Media Chairman
Nuriddi Qarshiboev also noted a "poor level of corporate support" among
media outlets and journalists. An earlier attempt to forge greater
unity among journalists involved the formation of a new organization of
journalists aimed at serving as a "bridge" between "young student
journalists" and the Tajik media (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 14,
2007). RG
Eastern Europe
[22] BELARUSIAN POLICE ARREST OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS NEAR SITE OF
HISTORIC BATTLE
Police detained several dozen young opposition activists in eastern
Belarus on September 8 and 9 to foil their attempt to mark the
anniversary of a major historic battle, Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarus
Service reported. The planned festivities, with the participation of
Belarusian singers and poets, were expected to begin on September 8 on
the bank of the River Dnyapro near Orsha, where a 30,000-strong army of
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by Hetman Kanstantsin Astrozhski,
defeated an 80,000-strong Russian army on September 8, 1514. Since
1994, the Belarusian Popular Front and other opposition groups observe
the Battle of Orsha anniversary as Belarusian Military Glory Day. An
RFE/RL correspondent reported that some 200 people managed to avoid
road blockades and detentions and gathered on September 9 at a village
near the battle site. JM
[23] BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST JAILED FOR TWO YEARS FOR INTERNET
ARTICLE
Opposition activist Andrey Klimau on August 1 was sentenced to two
years in prison for insulting the president and calling for revolution
in an article posted on a website earlier this year, AP and Belapan
reported on September 7. "The authorities closed the trial and the
verdict became known only after a month," Klimau's wife, Tatsyana
Leanovich-Klimava, told journalists. She said she learned of the
sentence, Klimau's third in the past 10 years, in connection with an
effort to visit her husband, who has been jailed since his arrest in
April. She also said he suffered a heart attack while in custody.
Klimau, who was a legislator in the Supreme Soviet of Belarus in
1995-96, put his signature under an impeachment motion against
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, following the 1996 constitutional
referendum. Klimau was arrested in February 1998 and sentenced in a
trial widely believed to be politically motivated to six years in
prison on charges of embezzlement and forgery. He served four years in
prison and was released in March 2002. In June 2005, Klimau was
sentenced to 18 months of "restricted freedom" over his role in
organizing an opposition demonstration in Minsk. He was released in
December 2006. JM
[24] BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT REPLACES SOVIET-ERA 'PROPISKA' WITH RESIDENCE
REGISTRATION
President Lukashenka has signed a decree that will replace the
Soviet-era practice of demanding residence permits from citizens
("propiska" in Russian) with equally strict residence-registration
rules as of January 1, 2008, Belapan reported on September 9. A person
can currently obtain propiska at an apartment owned by someone other
than his/her spouse or other immediate relative if there is at least 12
square meters of space available for him or her. The new rules will
raise the required space minimum to 20 square meters in Minsk and 15
square meters elsewhere in the country. Earlier this year, Interior
Minister Uladzimir Navumau warned that police would intensify
punishment against people living in accommodation without residence
registration after the new rules take effect, adding that citizens'
tipoffs about such violations would be welcome. "The registration
system is needed...or else half the nation will be employed in Minsk
and there will be only old folks in the provinces," Navumau said in
January. JM
[25] UKRAINIAN PARTY VOWS TO RETURN LOST SOVIET-ERA SAVINGS
Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko promised at a meeting with voters in
Kherson on September 8 that her eponymous political bloc, if it comes
to power following the September 30 elections, will return lost
deposits of Ukrainians in the Soviet-era Savings Bank within two years,
the "Ukrayinska pravda" website (http://www.pravda.com.ua) reported.
"We realize that this is an almost sensational commitment, but we are
taking it upon ourselves, basing it on the past six months of analyses
and calculations that our team made regarding all means and sources in
the country, from where we could take resources to restore justice to
depositors who lost their savings in the Savings Bank," Tymoshenko
said. "I am perhaps a weaker economist than Yulia Volodymyrovna
[Tymoshenko], but I don't see how it is possible to return those
savings worth $120 billion within two years," Yuriy Lutsenko, a leader
of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc said on
September 10 about Tymoshenko's pledge. JM
[26] LAST COMMANDER OF UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY DIES
Vasyl Kuk died on September 9 at the age of 94, Ukrainian media
reported. Kuk was the last commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
(UPA) in 1950-54. The UPA was a combat force created by the
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in western Ukraine during World
War II to pursue the ideal of an independent Ukraine. It fought Soviet
and Polish troops after the end of World War II. "He was struggling for
Ukraine until his last breath and was a personification of Ukraine....
Ukraine's faithful son, Vasyl Kuk, will forever stay in our memory as a
paragon of loyalty to the people and selfless service to our state,"
President Viktor Yushchenko reportedly said in a letter to Kuk's family
and friends. Despite repeated attempts by UPA combatants, they have not
been granted the status of war veterans that would make them equal with
veterans of Soviet-led military formations. JM
Southeastern Europe
[27] EU FOREIGN MINISTERS EMPHASIZE UNITY ON KOSOVA...
The EU's 27 foreign ministers vowed on September 8 to adopt a united
front should Kosova's Albanian and Serbian communities fail to reach an
agreement on the future of Kosova, international media reported.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, who chaired the meeting in the
Portuguese town of Viana do Castelo, said that "Kosovo is probably the
biggest challenge Europe faces," but acknowledged that differences
remain and that it is unclear how each individual member state would
react if talks were to fail. Brussels believes negotiations should end
in December and the overwhelming majority of states believe Kosova
should be granted conditional independence. A number of countries have,
however, publicly or privately argued that no decision should be
imposed on Serbia, which opposes statehood for Kosova. They are thought
to include Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. The EU also
moved to quell talk of partition, with several leading EU officials --
including foreign-policy chief Javier Solana and EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn -- saying that one of the three principles of
the talks is that partition will not be discussed (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," August 31 and September 4, 2007). Despite the divisions,
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told AFP on September 7 that the
level of unity within the EU is "good, better than it was. Go back a
year." AG
[28] ...AND STRESSES NEED FOR STRONG POSITION
Portuguese Foreign Minister Amado also stressed the importance of a
unified European position by contrasting Europe's divisions with the
stances of the United States and Russia, the other countries mediating
talks between Belgrade and Prishtina. "I cannot conceive...that we can,
in the end of this process, have a situation where you have a strong
position of Russia, a strong position of the United States and a
European Union [position] simply doesn't exist," Amado said. "I don't
believe we can have any credibility in our foreign policy if that does
happen." In the days before and after the summit, a range of the
continent's most powerful foreign ministers -- including those of
Britain and France -- made public calls for unity, arguing, like Amado,
that unity is "key to the credibility of Europe's foreign policy." In
an article published by Britain's "The Guardian" and France's "Le
Monde" on September 7, Bernard Kouchner of France and David Miliband of
Britain argued that "the external policy of the EU was born in the
Balkans; it must not perish in the Balkans." The Balkan wars and the
intervention in Kosova in 1999 are commonly viewed as having catalyzed
the emergence of more joint foreign-policy initiatives. The pressure
for a resolute European position was added to by U.S. Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Volker on September 7, who said,
according to AFP, that Washington would "recognize Kosovo independence
-- as, we assume, a number of others would as well -- because that is
the only stable way forward in the Balkans." Volker's statement
prompted Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica to say Serbia "is
faced with a direct U.S. threat" and to call on the UN Security Council
to protect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. AG
[29] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT DIVIDED OVER THREAT OF FORCE IN KOSOVA...
Serbia's defense minister, Dragan Sutanovac of the Democrat Party (DS),
on September 7 responded sharply to threats by a senior figure in a
coalition party, the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), to use force in
Kosova. In an interview with the daily "Blic," Sutanovac said, "there
will be no unilateral military response" by Serbia if Kosova declares
independence, and he warned the man who threatened the use of force,
State Secretary for Kosovo Dusan Prorokovic, to "keep his nose in his
own ministry" and against "waving an empty gun." In subsequent comments
made on Serbian radio on September 6, Sutanovac said Prorokovic's
comments did not constitute state policy and that the current debate
about NATO is not "beneficial" for the Serbian Army. Sutanovac's
statements provide further support for the growing perception that the
governing coalition is deeply divided about foreign policy. The DS has
been muted in its response to DSS accusations that the United States is
seeking to turn Kosova into a NATO puppet state, a silence that
initially led some commentators to speculate that the DS was allowing
the DSS to voice sentiments that it shares. However, DSS criticism of
Montenegro and a call for a debate on Serbia's relationship with NATO
have prompted a louder response. While the DS has not adopted an
official stance on a parliamentary debate on ties with NATO, President
Boris Tadic has warned against harming Serbia's interests, Foreign
Minister Vuk Jeremic has said it is imperative to maintain a good
relationship with NATO, Nada Kolundzija, the head of the DS's
parliamentary grouping, has called the attacks on NATO "damaging," and
Sutanovac on September 6 called for Serbia to join both the EU and NATO
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 21 and September 7, 2007). On
Montenegro, one of the DS's top officials, Deputy Prime Minister
Bozidar Djelic, has personally apologized to Montenegro while the DSS
has not (see below). On a related note, Jeremic on September 6
announced the formation of a nonpartisan advisory committee, the
Foreign Policy Council, comprised of party officials, diplomats,
academics, and other public figures. AG
[30] ...WHILE MEDIATORS CRITICIZE SERBIAN THREAT
The three powers mediating talks on the future of Kosova -- the EU, the
United States, and Russia -- have all criticized the threat, voiced by
Serbian State Secretary for Kosovo Prorokovic, that Serbia might use
force in Kosova. Through his spokeswoman Christina Gallach, the EU's
Solana on September 7 condemned Prorokovic's comments, saying they
breached an agreement made by Serbian and Kosovar politicians on August
30 not to use inflammatory phrases. EU Enlargement Commissioner Rehn
said on September 7 that he expects Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica to
clarify Serbia's position on the use of force before he meets with
Solana and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in
Brussels on September 12. The U.S. State Department on September 6 said
it is seeking clarification about Serbia's position after Prorokovic's
"inflammatory and unfortunate" statement. Russia's envoy to talks on
Kosova, Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, was also critical. However, in
comments made on September 7 and carried by Serbian media, he said that
both Belgrade and Prishtina have made "aggressive statements" and
described Prorokovic's threat of force as a reaction to Kosovar
leaders' threat to "unilaterally declare independence." Kosovar Prime
Minister Agim Ceku has called for Kosova to declare independence in
December, but has also reiterated that Kosova would not act
unilaterally (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 31 and September 4, 2007).
AG
[31] SERBIA MOLLIFIES MONTENEGRO...
The controversy sparked by Montenegro's refusal to allow a bishop of
the Serbian Orthodox Church to enter the country took a dramatic turn
on September 7 when Bishop Filaret of Milesevo was hospitalized for
complications caused by a hunger strike. Filaret, who began refusing
food on August 28, remains hospitalized, but is not in a
life-threatening condition. Meanwhile, Serbia's foreign minister and
deputy prime minister continued to attempt to shore up relations with
Montenegro after Montenegro's ban on Bishop Filaret flared up into a
major diplomatic incident. Montenegro lodged an official complaint with
Serbia on September 6 after one Serbian government minister, Velimir
Ilic, refused to visit Montenegro and an adviser to Serbian Prime
Minister Kostunica, Aleksandar Simic, called Montenegro a "quasi-state"
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 7, 2007). In a bid to defuse the
crisis, Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremic made an unscheduled visit to
Podgorica on September 8, two days after reportedly apologizing for
Simic's comments in a phone call and a day after meeting his
Montenegrin counterpart Milan Rocan during a prearranged visit to
Belgrade. In Podgorica, Jeremic publicly reassured Montenegrins that
Serbia respects Montenegro's independence and sovereignty. Serbian
Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, who, like Jeremic, belongs to the
Democrat Party, also responded, explicitly saying on September 6, "I
apologize to Montenegrins." However, there has as yet been no
comparable statement by Kostunica or his party, the DSS. The presidents
of both countries have also become involved. Montenegro barred Bishop
Filaret because he features on a list of people the UN believes has
been helping war-crimes indictees avoid capture. AG
[32] ...WHILE MONTENEGRO WAIVES BAN ON CONTROVERSIAL SERBIAN BISHOP
Montenegro agreed on September 8 to allow Bishop Filaret to enter
Montenegro -- but solely to hold religious services and always in the
company of Montenegrin security forces. Filaret's eparchy of Milesevo
spans the border. The move, which was welcomed by Serbian Foreign
Minister Jeremic, could potentially worsen relations with the EU and
the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
However, Montenegrin television on September 8 quoted Montenegrin
Foreign Minister Rocan as saying that the decision was reached after
detailed discussions with "the international community" and that
Montenegro's concession will not set back its ambitions to join the EU
and NATO. The Montenegrin daily "Republika" on September 8 claimed,
citing a "reliable source," that officials from both Serbia and
Montenegro have unsuccessfully asked the EU and the ICTY to remove
Filaret from their blacklist. According to a Serbian television report
from September 7, Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica on September 6
called on the EU to help broker a solution to the dispute over
Filaret's right to enter Montenegro. AG
[33] CALL FOR BOSNIA TO CHOOSE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION...
The international community's high representative in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Miroslav Lajcak, warned on September 6 that the
country's politicians must choose whether they want to lead the country
into international isolation or into Europe. "Isolation or integration,
today that is your choice and your responsibility," Lajcak said in a
35-minute address broadcast live on state television. He urged the
country's political leaders to address the issue of police reform as a
separate and distinct issue. "Inclusion of all the country's problems
in the process of police reform creates a knot that will be impossible
to untie," Lajcak warned. In his strongly worded speech, the Slovak
diplomat criticized Bosnia's political establishment for "negative
rhetoric, mutual accusations, and the lack of desire to find solutions
to burning issues" and was damning about Bosnia's lack of progress,
describing the past year as "horrendously bad." "The fact that only one
law on the list of conditions necessary for progress in the process of
stabilization and association with the EU [has been passed] speaks for
itself," he said. He also highlighted the costs of inertia, saying that
"in 2006 alone, this country lost $100 million worth of World Bank
funding because it failed to satisfy the conditions that were set." He
sought to shift local politicians' focus away from constitutional
reform, saying that constitutional reform would follow once police
reform has been agreed upon. Lajcak did, though, draw some red lines
about the constitutional debate, seeking to allay ethnic Serbs' fears
that their autonomous region, the Republika Srpska, might be abolished
and to forestall the possibility of the Republika Srpska seceding. "The
cycle of questioning the existence of this state should end," he said.
"No one can secede unilaterally and no one can do away unilaterally
with the entities or any other constitutional feature." AG
[34] ...IS MET COOLLY BY BOSNIAN POLITICIANS
Bosnia's most stridently opposed politicians made no conciliatory
gestures in their response to High Representative Lajcak's speech.
Milorad Dodik, the prime minister of the Republika Srpska, castigated
Lajcak for leaving before hearing his response, criticized the
inclusion of police reform as a precondition for EU membership as an
"unjust demand," and said the underlying principles of police reform
were "invented" by a Europe that itself "does not have its own
standards for police reform." He dismissed the EU's specific demands
for reform, saying they are open to interpretation, and argued that
"Europe will accept any agreement about reforms by us in
Bosnia-Herzegovina." He again highlighted the fundamental red line for
Bosnian Serbs, saying it would be an "illusion" for anyone to think
that the Republika Srpska would agree to dispense with its own distinct
police force. Dodik also disputed that reform of the police and the
constitution are being addressed separately, saying, "An end must be
put to the practice of changing the constitutional order through
certain reforms." Dodik's most outspoken opponent, Haris Siljadzic, the
Bosnian Muslim's representative in the country's Presidency, called on
Lajcak to name Dodik as the main obstacle to police reform, adding that
no progress could be made unless he did so. By not meting out blame,
Lajcak and the international community are following the course of
least resistance, Siljadzic said. Both Dodik and Siljadzic dismissed
out of hand a proposal for police reform when Lajcak presented it on
August 29 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 31 and September 4, 2007).
There have since been some signs of a softening of Dodik's position,
such as comments on September 3 carried by public television that
Lajcak's talk could be "a good basis [for discussions] even for those
who rejected the proposal, and a reason to get together and talk." AG
[35] BOSNIA KEEPS HEFTY IMPORT DUTIES ON SERBIAN, CROATIAN GOODS
One day after ratifying a Balkan free-trade agreement,
Bosnia-Herzegovina's state-level parliament approved the reimposition
of a 40 percent hike in duties on dairy and meat products imported from
neighboring Serbia and Croatia. The September 6 vote flies in the face
of parliament's decision on September 5 to back Bosnia's membership of
the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), a free-trade zone
that now only operates in the Balkans and Moldova (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," September 7, 2007). Both Serbia and Croatia are signatories
of the CEFTA. Bosnia's Trade Ministry called the move a "direct
violation of the CEFTA agreement," the news service Balkan Insight
reported on September 6. Bosnia's parliament was hesitant about
ratifying the CEFTA after Bosnia's farmers voiced concerns and in the
midst of a severe drought, and the head of Bosnia's Council of
Ministers, Nikola Spiric, on September 5 promised to outline within 60
days a set of measures designed to soften the impact of the increased
competition (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 7, 2007). AG
[36] ICTY HOLDS SPECIAL HEARING IN BOSNIA
For the first time in its 14-year history, the International War Crimes
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on September 7 met in session
outside The Hague, in Sarajevo. The decision to hold a three-day
hearing in the Bosnian capital was made in order to hear testimony by
Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, a jailed Bahraini who fought during the 1991-95
with Bosnian Muslim forces. Prosecutors believed that Ali Hamad, who is
also known as Ubejda, would be able to provide evidence that Rasim
Delic, a general in the Bosnian Muslims' wartime army, failed to
prevent troops under his command from raping, torturing, and killing
ethnic Serbs and Croats. Ali Hamad was jailed in 1998 for a car-bomb
attack in Mostar. AG
[37] TWO BOSNIAN SERBS ARRESTED FOR WAR CRIMES
Bosnia-Herzegovina's State Investigation and Protection Agency on
September 6 seized two Bosnian Serbs suspected of committing war crimes
during the 1992-95 conflict, local media reported on September 7. One,
Krsto Savic, is a former police commander in Nevesinje and,
subsequently, in Trebinje. The other, Mile Mucibabic, is a former
rank-and-file officer. They were arrested in Bosnia in the northern
border region in which Trebinje and Nevesinje lie. Five days earlier,
two other war-crimes suspects were arrested in Germany and in Austria
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 5, 2007). Fresh details about those
cases have not emerged. In another case, the State Investigation and
Protection Agency on September 5 confiscated a number of documents at
the police station in Kalinovik, days after the arrest of three former
Kalinovik police officers for their alleged role in war crimes in the
region, which lies on the eastern border between Bosnia's two
autonomous regions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 5, 2007). AG
[38] MACEDONIA APOLOGIZES FOR DEPICTIONS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD
The Macedonian government apologized on September 7 for publishing two
school textbooks containing images of the Prophet Muhammad, local media
reported. The Ministry of Education and Science also said it will
withdraw the textbooks, which dealt with the history of the Arabs. At
issue is not the nature of the depiction, but the inclusion of any
image, since many Muslims contend that the Koran prohibits any
depiction of the founder of Islam. Education Minister Sulejman Rushiti
said the "unprecedented" decision to include pictures of the prophet
was "made by former members of the Education Ministry." The controversy
has not brought protesters out onto the streets. During worldwide
demonstrations against a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in late
2005 and early 2006, several hundred Macedonians took to the streets in
nonviolent demonstrations. Most of Macedonia's Muslims are ethnic
Albanians, who comprise up to one-third of the country's population. AG
Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
[39] UN SAYS SUICIDE BOMBINGS ESCALATING IN AFGHANISTAN
Suicide bombings in Afghanistan are escalating and often carried out by
men trained in Pakistani religious schools, according to a new United
Nations report issued on September 9, AFP reported. The UN Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan study said attackers appear to be driven either
by anger over the presence of international forces in Afghanistan and
the number of civilians killed in their anti-insurgency operations, or
by religious zeal. Those motivated by martyrdom were typically
recruited at a young age and either persuaded or forced into taking on
a suicide mission through the allure of rewards as simple as a cell
phone or a motorcycle. Twice as many suicide attacks occurred in the
first six months of 2007 as in 2006, and 26 times as many incidents as
in 2005, the survey said. Of the 193 people killed in suicide attacks
in January-June 2007, 121 were civilians, despite the fact that more
than 75 percent of the intended targets of the attacks were Afghan and
international security forces. The report was released exactly six
years after the first suicide attack recorded in Afghanistan, in which
Al-Qaeda operatives killed Soviet occupation resistance commander Ahmad
Shah Mas'ud. Since 2006, suicide attacks have become a centerpiece of
the Taliban other Islamist antigovernment groups. JC
[40] 'PEACE CAN'T BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT NEGOTIATIONS,' AFGHAN PRESIDENT
SAYS
President Hamid Karzai said on September 9 that he is ready to hold
official talks with the Taliban, while denying that his government has
already held "formal negotiations" with the Islamic extremist group,
AFP reported. In an effort to seek an end to the escalating violence
driven by the Taliban insurgency, Karzai told reporters that he will
send notice to "an authority that says publicly they are the Taliban"
if he has an address or location. Karzai stressed that he hopes someone
will come forward with the necessary contact information, adding that
his administration has already contacted the Pakistani government for
assistance. Karzai's seeming change of heart came only a day after a
security scare during a televised speech at a ceremony marking the
anniversary of the assassination of mujahedin commander Ahmad Shah
Mas'ud, Reuters reported. Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said
shots were fired outside the stadium, yet it was not clear by whom or
if there were any casualties. While Karzai previously has suggested
negotiations with antigovernment factions, he has never specifically
referred to the Taliban. Karzai also invited the radical and unpopular
Hizb-e Islami faction of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to join the peace process,
without mentioning the former prime minister by name. Former leaders
recently have urged his administration to sit down with the rebel
group, and Hekmatyar, who were removed from power in 2001 following the
U.S.-led invasion (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 4, 2007). As a
movement, the Taliban has repeatedly rejected Karzai's calls for
reconciliation. JC
[41] OVER 40 INSURGENTS, COALITION SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Taliban-led violence across southern Afghanistan between September 8-9
left more than 40 insurgents and an international soldier dead, AFP
reported. The U.S. soldier was killed by an explosion from an
improvised bomb in the volatile Helmand Province, and was the third
foreign soldier to be killed in anti-insurgency operations in recent
days. Four other soldiers were wounded, according to a coalition
statement. The soldiers' names and nationalities were not disclosed.
International military planes on September 9 carried out air strikes
using "precision munitions" against insurgent hideouts in the Garmser
area of Helmand, killing more than 30 suspected militants, a coalition
statement said. Taliban fighters also attacked a convoy of the UN's
World Food Program (WFP) on September 8, instigating a gun battle with
Afghan police in which more than a dozen Taliban fighters and two
policemen were killed. The WFP has previously complained over the
persistent rebel attacks on their convoys transporting food to
civilians (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 22, 2007). In another incident
in Helmand on September 8, a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up
near a parked security vehicle, killing one security guard and wounding
two others, the Interior Ministry said. According to an AFP count,
approximately 4,000 people have been killed in Taliban-linked violence
in 2007. JC
[42] FRANCE TO SEND 200 MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN'S RESTIVE SOUTHERN
PROVINCES
French Defense Minister Herve Morin announced on September 7 that
France has decided to send 200 more troops to Afghanistan, and to
deploy fighter jets to southern Kandahar Province, where Taliban-linked
violence is on the rise, Pajhwak Afghan News reported. Following a
meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe, Tajikistan,
Morin announced that France will send 200 new troops, comprised mainly
of signal officers and military advisers to train Afghan troops,
raising to 1,200 the number of French troops in Afghanistan. Morin also
mentioned French plans to redeploy six Mirage fighters from Dushanbe to
patrol southern Afghanistan, where coalition forces are battling
Taliban militants. The aircraft, scheduled to arrive in batches of
three in late September and mid-October, will be accompanied by 150
engineers and air crews and stationed in Kandahar Province. JC
[43] IAEA BOARD MEETS TO DISCUSS IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Members of the governing board of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) met in Vienna on August 10 to discuss Iran's nuclear
program, and hear a report on Iran's cooperation with the IAEA intended
to answer questions on some unclarified activities of past years, Radio
Farda and news agencies reported on September 9 and 10. IRNA reported
that IAEA Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei told the session that
the IAEA can verify whether Iran's nuclear program is strictly to
produce energy, as it has claimed, and that Iran has given it access to
sites. He said certain issues have already been resolved, such as
Iran's experiments with plutonium, which has military applications. The
United States is concerned that a recent agreement between Iran and the
IAEA on inspections may not uncover every aspect of Tehran's
activities. A deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization,
Mohammad Saidi, in Tehran on September 10 urged unspecified states to
"moderate" their positions on Iran's program and "not to stand against
the wishes of the international community," IRNA reported.
"Unfortunately, in the past couple of days, one or two states" have
"irrationally" opposed international opinion, Saidi said. He added that
the resolution of questions regarding plutonium was a "notable" success
for Tehran. VS
[44] IRAN'S PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRIES ARE ACCEPTING NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said in Tehran on September 9 that
most countries seem to be accepting Iran's nuclear program, except for
"one or two countries" that "know nothing about kindness and justice,"
Radio Farda reported, citing reports from Iran's state broadcasting
body. Ahmadinejad told a conference that "the Europeans are correcting
their position, eastern countries had clear positions from the start,
the nonaligned states were with us beforehand, which just leaves one or
two of these countries, and they know nothing about kindness and
justice." He said Iran's case is closed, "though you might have some
people still saying things for themselves. These are the same people
who made pretexts for the [International Atomic Energy] Agency from the
start. We are resolving other questions and have a close relationship
with the agency." He said Iranians are rational and willing to talk,
but not "on their rights." Separately on September 9, Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Iran and Russia are continuing
talks on some technical or financial differences affecting the
completion of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran, Reuters
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 7, 2007). VS
[45] IRANIAN GOVERNMENT REJECTS CRITICISM ON ECONOMY
Government spokesman Gholamhussein Elham rejected at a September 8
press conference in Tehran the recent criticism by Expediency Council
Chairman Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani of the government's failure to
adequately implement Iran's "20-year perspective" or development plans.
Elham said he noted down the criticisms -- made about two weeks ago in
Mashhad, northeastern Iran -- in his notebook and "I was very surprised
by these remarks" and claims he said are "baseless," the daily "Etemad"
reported on September 9. The daily added that Elham spoke with such
vehemence that the press corps became silent for a moment. He
challenged government critics to prove "their claim." Elham said the
government's progress toward the 20-year plan's goals "has gained
momentum." Hashemi-Rafsanjani said two weeks ago that government
performance figures did not square with the 20-year plan's "executive
indices," presumably the targets to be achieved at intervals, "Etemad"
reported. Elham said those who criticize the government's performance
in this area should specify exactly where it is failing. He said some
government critics "have problems" with Iran's political system, and
"have said anything they liked to the government." VS
[46] LEGISLATOR SAYS IRANIAN STATE TELEVISION SLIGHTS CLERIC
Mashhad parliamentary representative Ali Asgari urged the state
broadcasting body on September 8 to use people's correct titles when
reporting on them, and stop referring to Expediency Council Chairman
Hashemi-Rafsanjani as hojatoleslam -- a mid-ranking cleric -- when he
is an ayatollah, or more senior theologian and jurist, "Aftab-i Yazd"
reported on September 9. Asgari told the Aftab news agency that
Hashemi-Rafsanjani's position and level of learning in theology are
"clear," so referring to him as hojatoleslam is "intended to undermine
his position." Asgari deplored how the broadcasting body referred to
people it described as less learned as ayatollahs. "This title is not
something we can analyze in political terms. Unfortunately, some of the
media and [state television and radio] take a political approach here."
Separately, former Interior Minister and reformist politician
Abdulvahed Musavi-Lari told ISNA in Tehran on September 8 that
Hashemi-Rafsanjani is the most qualified person for the office to which
he was recently elected, chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body
of clerics that supervises the supreme leader's office, but he observed
that the divided vote between Hashemi-Rafsanjani and rival Ayatollah
Ahmad Jannati showed a "new and strange" division of opinions among the
traditionalist clergy. He said this shows that plurality of opinion has
penetrated this most traditionalist sector of Iranian society. He said
there has been "a lot of effort previously" to "exclude
Hashemi-Rafsanjani from the decision-making arena." VS
[47] FRENCH RESEARCHER STRANDED IN TEHRAN, SEEKS EMBASSY PROTECTION
Mehrnush Soluki, a documentary film researcher with French-Iranian
nationality, has for some six months been prevented from leaving Iran
and recently began to sleep in the French Embassy in Tehran, presumably
out of fear of arrest, lemonde.fr reported on September 6. She told "Le
Monde" on September 5 by phone that "I am here as a guest without a
home. I no longer feel safe in Iran." Some of the reasons she cited for
her fear were a spell in prison in February, "pressures" from Iranian
security officials, and "a mysterious accident in late July, when a
motorbike ran into her in a Tehran street," lemonde.fr reported. She
was arrested on February 17 while conducting research for a program on
a wave of executions in Iranian prisons in 1988, which "Le Monde"
estimated may have killed 4,000-6,000 inmates. Most of those were
suspected of being communists or sympathizers or activists of the
Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), a militant opposition group based
now in Iraq and Paris, and considered a terrorist group by Iran, the
United States, and the EU. She was jailed for a month following her
February arrest in Section 209 of Tehran's Evin prison -- where
security suspects or dissidents are kept -- and slept on the floor in a
cell with a neon light kept permanently on. She said interrogators
wanted her to confess to being in contact with members or relatives of
members of the MKO. She was released on bail, which required her
parents to remortgage their Tehran home, but has been prevented from
leaving. She sleeps in the French Embassy but goes out during the day,
lemonde.fr reported. VS
[48] IRANIAN MEDIA SAY MKO FINDS REFUGE IN JORDAN
The reputed leaders of the MKO, Masud and Mariam Rajavi, have along
with four chief collaborators been transferred to Jordan "in
coordination with the Americans," and may be allowed to set up an
office there, "Aftab-i Yazd" reported on September 10, citing the Young
Journalists' Club, an Iranian agency. The report claimed that they are
now under Jordanian protection, and King Abdullah II is showing his
hostility to Iran, Shi'a, and the Iraqi government by giving refuge to
the Rajavis, as it has to Saddam Hussein's daughter. The MKO seeks to
topple Iran's government, and cooperated in the 1980s and 1990s with
Saddam Hussein, who allowed it to establish a base in Iraq. The head of
the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy
Committee, Alaeddin Borujerdi, told the Young Journalists' Club on
September 9 that "we are investigating" reports that MKO members and
leaders are leaving Iraq and unspecified European countries for Jordan,
"Aftab-i Yazd" reported. He said Jordan's government has "unfortunately
shown in its recent initiatives that it is moving in line with the
divisive actions of the Americans and the Zionist lobby." VS
[49] IRAQI SUNNI BLOC ENDS BOYCOTT OF PARLIAMENT
The Iraqi Front for National Dialogue announced on September 8 that it
has ended its boycott of the Iraqi parliament after the bloc's leaders
said the government met its list of demands, international media
reported the same day. Among the demands were that funds be allocated
to help resettle the millions of displaced Iraqis who have fled their
homes due to the sectarian violence, and that more time be given for
all parties to discuss the proposed oil law. The front, with 11 seats
in the 275-member parliament, was one of the last boycotting groups to
return to the Iraqi legislature, although 17 of 40 ministerial
positions in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet are still vacant
due to walkouts and resignations. However, the front's leader, Salah
al-Mutlaq, told Al-Jazeera satellite television in an interview from
Amman, Jordan, that he doubts the current government's ability to solve
Iraq's problems. "We need reconciliation, and this government cannot
make reconciliation. We need a liberal government and this government
is not liberal one," al-Mutlaq said. "Without such a government, the
violence will continue...as people will lose hope if nothing changes on
the political side." SS
[50] IRAQI PREMIER VOWS TO BRING SECURITY TO IRAQ...
During the opening of an international security conference on Iraq
security held in Baghdad on September 9, Prime Minister al-Maliki vowed
to take the necessary steps to restore security and eradicate terrorism
in Iraq, state-run Al-Iraqiyah television reported the same day.
"Baghdad is determined to restore normal conditions and fulfill the
will for victory against those who arouse problems and difficulties in
the face of our political plan; meaning the terrorist organizations,
Al-Qaeda, the gangs of the former regime, the militias, and the
outlaws," al-Maliki said. In addition, he said he hopes that the
conference will lead to enhanced cooperation between Iraq and its
neighbors. "This conference is a meeting to support Iraq and to
establish the best brotherly relations among our states in the service
of our peoples and countries, to continue with the work and to face the
problems that affect stability, prosperity, and security," al-Maliki
said. The conference was attended by 22 delegations, including Iraq's
neighbors, representatives from the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council, and the Group of Eight leading industrialized
countries. SS
[51] ...WHILE IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER CHIDES NEIGHBORS FOR MEDDLING
Also at the September 9 international security conference in Baghdad,
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari criticized Iraq's neighbors for
interfering in its internal affairs, the BBC reported the same day.
"Many countries say they support Iraq's stability and integrity, but at
the same time are interfering in a number of different ways," he said.
"We need to say those interfering in Iraq's affairs must lay their
hands off this nation and leave it to decide its own destiny away from
terrorism," he added. He did not identify any country by name, but he
called on neighboring states to control their borders to prevent
insurgents from infiltrating Iraq. "There should be an active and
practical contribution to controlling borders and banning terrorist and
criminal infiltrators from getting into Iraqi territory. Efforts should
be exerted to tighten the noose on terrorism," Zebari said. He warned
that if Iraq's neighbors fail to do so, "the fire that terrorists and
criminals are setting in the land of the two rivers [Iraq] will extend
outside it." SS
[52] IRAQI PRESIDENT REJECTS EXECUTION ORDER FOR FORMER DEFENSE
MINISTER
President Jalal Talabani voiced on September 7 his opposition to the
execution order for former Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad
al-Tai, international media reported the same day. At a news conference
in Al-Sulaymaniyah, Talabani said al-Tai should be spared execution
because he engaged in unofficial contact with the Kurdish community
under the regime of former President Saddam Hussein. "I have
reservation in implementing death sentences regarding Iraqi Army
officers, especially Sultan Hashim," Talabani said. "We were urging him
to work against the government, so how can I now vote for his
execution? I will never, ever do that," he added. Talabani also
rejected media reports that al-Tai, former deputy director of
operations for the Iraqi armed forces Hussein Rashid Muhammad, and
Ba'ath Party official Ali Hasan al-Majid were to be executed on
September 8 for their roles in the killing of more than 180,000 Kurds
during the Anfal military campaign in 1987-88 (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
September 7, 2007). Talabani has repeatedly expressed his opposition to
the death penalty and previously he has deputized Vice President Adil
Abd al-Mahdi to sign execution orders on his behalf. According to Iraqi
law, the president and the two vice presidents must ratify any
execution order. SS
[53] COALITION FORCES SAY MASTERMIND OF SINJAR BOMBINGS KILLED
The U.S. military announced on September 9 that it killed the alleged
mastermind of the Sinjar bombings during a September 3 operation near
Mosul. The military said it killed Al-Qaeda in Iraq's emir of Sinjar,
Abu Muhammad al-Afri, also known as Abu Jasim, who it said was one of
those responsible for the August 14 truck bombings that targeted the
mostly Yezidi community, killing more than 500 people (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," August 16, 2007). "This doesn't bring back the hundreds of
innocent Iraqis who were killed in the vicious Ninawa bombings, but the
death of Abu Muhammad al-Afri does bring justice to many families,"
U.S. military spokesman Major Winfield Danielson said. SS
[54] IRAQI PRESIDENT CALLS FOR TURNING SHI'ITE MILITIA INTO 'CULTURAL'
BODY
President Talabani's office issued a statement on September 9 urging
radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to transform his militia, the
Imam Al-Mahdi Army, into a social and cultural institution, the
independent Voices of Iraq news agency reported the same day. The
statement was issued after a meeting between Talabani and a member of
al-Sadr's political bloc, Baha al-Aaraji, of which no details were
provided. Talabani expressed appreciation for al-Sadr's decision to
freeze all activities of the Al-Mahdi Army and restructure it. He also
urged the Iraqi government to free all of al-Sadr's followers who were
arrested by Iraqi security forces during the unrest in Karbala, but
were found not to have participated in the fighting. On August 28,
al-Sadr's militia clashed with Iraqi security forces during a Shi'ite
pilgrimage that left 52 people dead and more than 200 injured (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," August 29, 2007). SS
End Note
[55] THERE IS NO END NOTE TODAY.
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